Tristan Schweiger: Getting beyond a defeatist attitude

There's a lot about SEPTA that falls below par, but one thing in particular always struck me as particularly bizarre and annoying.

One of its slogans: "We're getting there."

I don't remember when I first noticed this line, but I do remember thinking it was a perfect illustration of all that once bothered me about Philadelphia. As a native of Delaware, I was always partial to this city, but was struck by its seeming pride in being relegated to the ranks of the second-rate. With its history and wealth of culture, Philadelphia should be mentioned in the same breath as New York and L.A. when talking about America's great cities.

Instead, we have "We're getting there." A lame pun doubling as an admission of utter mediocrity. Talk about defeatism. It's the same attitude that prevails at Veterans Stadium when the Phils get booed, and it's the same attitude that's going to keep this city stagnant.

But in my four years at Penn, I've changed my mind completely on all that. I don't see defeatism in this city. I see endearing, brutal honesty.

That's not to say the idea that Philly somehow doesn't cut it as an American gem is at all honest. It's not. From Independence Mall to the Italian Market to 69th Street, this city's got a hell of a lot of character. And even some class.

But at the same time, there's something quite refreshing about a place where boosterism's as dead as it is alive in the Baltimore suburbs. SEPTA knows it doesn't measure up. And though I would never ever boo the Phillies, when it happens at the Vet, they usually deserve it.

Is all that holding the city back? I doubt it. All great metropolises need a way of thinking that's unique to them, a certain attitude. Without its self-deprecation, Philadelphia might as well be Boston. Its false second-rate status is a product of the ignorance and superiority complexes of its neighbors, and not its own doing.

God, am I going to miss it.

I've done a lot of reflecting in the past few weeks, as have all my fellow members of the Class of 2003, on my time at Penn, but invariably my thoughts always turn back to Philadelphia. And while I can be fairly cynical about Penn, this city has become my home -- which is why I know I did the right the thing when I decided to come here.

For all the hype we saw as pre-frosh about this school's excellent professors (and quite a few are truly excellent) and academic environment, the single strongest point of my experience here was this city.

In my time at The Daily Pennsylvanian as a reporter and then as managing editor, Philadelphia gave me the chance to do something far more fulfilling than simply work at one of the most highly regarded college papers in the nation. I worked for a real urban daily, a metro desk in miniature. And to me, the most rewarding part of the job was never some story about dean searches or University Council meetings, but our coverage of the disastrous conditions in the city's school system or Penn's interaction with and effect on the surrounding communities. My only hope is that some day I can again work in a place that is capable of as much passion as I've seen in the DP newsroom.

Then there's the wealth of memories I've accumulated from the city itself. Drives up the Ben Franklin Parkway, with that magnificent vista of the art museum at the end; walking the length of Kelly Drive to Mt. Airy on a spring day; heading down a deserted Washington Avenue at 4 a.m. after a Pat's run in celebration of putting yet another issue to bed.

These moments are far more important to me than anything I learned in a Penn classroom.

But I must give a nod to Penn itself. I have bitched and moaned with the best, but this University and its campus also constitute Philadelphia gems. If you've never seen how beautiful College Green is in the early morning hours after finals are over and the dormitories are empty, you need to see it before you bid farewell.

Yeah, Philadelphia's got a lot to be proud of. And it is. Don't let any amount of surface negativity fool you about that. It's just that this is an honest city -- one that I'll always think of as my adopted home.

Now if only they wouldn't boo the Phils.

Tristan Schweiger is a 2003 College graduate from Harrington, Del., and former managing editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian.

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