Staff Editorial: Fall Cheers and Jeers

CHEERS:

* To the University community for its calm, caring response to the horror of Sept. 11 and the further tragedies that have befallen the University and the world since. With each other's help, we managed to get through a very difficult semester.

* To the University, for finally responding to student demands for a no-frills diner on campus. We only hope that Philly Diner works out better than its predecessor.

* To University President Judith Rodin, for her wise selection of Pedro Ramos to be vice president and chief of staff. Ramos has a long history of dedication to the city, the University and public education and will be an invaluable asset.

* To the University of Pennsylvania Health System for showing the first clear sign of fiscal recovery with the recent upgrade in its bond outlook.

* To the women's soccer and volleyball teams, on their championship seasons.

* To former governor Tom Ridge, on his new job as director of homeland security. As he works to combat terrorism and protect the nation, we hope he is as successful in Washington as he was in Harrisburg.

* To the University, for breaking into the top five national universities in U.S. News & World Report's controversial rankings, with hopes that it can go even higher.

JEERS:

* To the University and Campus Dining Services, for closing Stouffer Dining, exposing once and for all that the new, larger meal plan requirements have nothing to do with "building community."

* To the University and Campus Dining Services, for failing to make necessary changes while maintaining the ridiculous meal plan requirement for freshmen. Dining's refusal to address the most basic problems of poor quality food and service rightly led students to look elsewhere for their meals.

* To James M. Wilson and the Preceptorial Committee, for leading the controversial class on gene therapy in secrecy. Silence is the enemy of the academic world.

* To the Graduate School of Fine Arts, for failing to adequately fund the required senior thesis projects and for eliminating the budget for publishing the exhibition catalog for those projects. While budgetary cuts are necessary, this was not the place to make them.

* To Mayor John Street, Gov. Mark Schweiker and former governor Tom Ridge, for the never-ending delays and bickering that have defined the search for a solution to the problems facing Philadelphia's public schools. We must not forget that as conflicts drag on, the city's children suffer.

* To the University, for refusing to make needed repairs to the high rises. The dorm and dining renovation project may be on hold, but basic maintenance, specifically to the elevators, cannot wait on the 30-year-old structures if they are to remain inhabitable.

* To SEPTA, for raising fares on subways, trolleys and buses to $2 without any improvement whatsoever in its services. Philadelphians now are forced to suffer not only with the one of the nation's worst public transportation systems, but also one of its most expensive.

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