Hill Square renovations complete

Clusters of women huddled around benches on Friday to remember a time that remains vivid for some yet unimaginable for others.

As part of the dedication ceremony for the $2 million, five-month-long renovation of Hill Field into Hill Square, a group of predominantly women from all strata of the University joined to celebrate the unveiling of the sculpture project commemorating 125 years of women at Penn.

"Our original idea was to have one sculpture at 34th and Walnut," Alumni Trustee and Project Chairwoman Deborah Marrow said in a speech. "Instead, we have an entire series extending all the way until 33rd and Chestnut... filled with statements by and about women at Penn since the beginning of the 19th century."

The revamped field by Hill College House has been transformed into a meandering walkway adorned with quotations from members of the Penn community etched along the path's curb and in newly built benches by sculpture artist Jenny Hover.

Together, these words tell the tale of the 125 years of women at the University, from discrimination against women to the first female president of both Penn and the Ivy League.

Indeed, Judith Rodin's own words fill the meandering walk -- "Get in someone's way, don't whisper your story, shout it and be willing to stand your ground."

This is "Penn women paving the way, literally," Rodin said at the dedication. It "is a chance to launch our look back as we look forward."

For Rodin, the quotations demonstrate a sense of "pride, aspiration, confidence and sometimes ambivalence."

"These words shake us out of complacency," she said.

A quote from Wharton graduate George Fletcher Snyder from 1918 -- "I was very much disgusted to find some girls in my German class. I thought I had left that sort of thing behind when I left high school" -- is juxtaposed with the 1972 words of Penn alumna Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander -- "It was best for me to secure an outstanding record and a solid education so that when I entered public life I would have the background to assume responsibility and leadership."

In the not too distant past, Hill College House, once the women's dormitory, was situated just across from Bennett Hall, the former women's college at Penn. This location, far from the center of campus, made Penn feel isolated and inhospitable for many women.

For 1968 alumna Elsie Howard, who helped out with the event, the walkway "is leading us right out," connecting Hill to the heart of campus.

"This is really a journey, a destination," she said. "To have this here is huge for us. It demonstrates the impact the University allowed us to make, both human and now in bricks and mortar."

Lela Jacobsohn, a 1997 College graduate and graduate student in the Annenberg School for Communication, concurred. "This gives women far more of a presence in a tangible, formal form," she said.

Hill College House residents are giving the new renovations mostly positive reviews.

"They made it a lot more beautiful," Engineering sophomore Carl Anku said. "I thought it would change completely, but there is still open space, which is good."

"It's about time they did something like that at Penn for women," Anku added.

College freshman Samantha Marshall agreed, after seeing the dedicated benches.

"Not only are they interesting to read, but they make you feel like you're a part of something."

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