Letters to the editor

Waiting for action

To the Editor:

Late last summer, Rui DaSilva and a friend were stopped on campus by a white female campus cop for carrying bicycles while black.

Mr. DaSilva is associate master of Spruce College House. His wife, professor Ann Farnsworth-Alvear, is a professor of Latin American and Latino Studies, and faculty master at Spruce. The three bikes belonged to her. She had asked Mr. DaSilva to bring them home from the on-campus shop so that she could give them to students who needed them.

Allegedly, as the pair approached Spruce College House, the cop came toward them and shouted, "Drop the bikes!" At first, Mr. DaSilva didn't know that the order was meant for him, but as he turned toward the cop she repeated the order. Mr. DaSilva replied, "But the bikes are mine." The cop then said, "If you don't drop the bikes, I'm going to pepper-spray you!" Feeling sure that she was only misunderstanding him, Mr. DaSilva said to her, "Before you pepper-spray me, I can explain about the bikes!" At that, the cop pepper-sprayed him directly in the face. Following the encounter, he was taken to a hospital for treatment.

After the alleged assault by the cop, President Rodin was quoted saying something or other about racial profiling ... maybe how unfortunate it is. She ordered an inquiry and said that a report would be out within four months. The Daily Pennsylvanian reported the whole thing.

Seven months have passed. I'm waiting. I don't know Mr. DaSilva, but I assume that he is too. Obviously, sweeping out racism has a low priority at UPenn. Would someone please take a peek under the rug in the new president's office?

Russell Phillips

Thoughts on US-CAR

To the Editor:

I don't know much about the United States-Cultural Analysis Requirement, and so I feel that I can speak authoritatively on this issue. In the words of a leaflet I received, US-CAR would require Penn students to take "any existing course that analyzes the perspective of one or more underrepresented identities." By "underrepresented identities," I hope that they are not only referring to blacks and Latinos, because there are many minorities in the United States that are equally underrepresented.

When we think about minorities, we tend to think ethnically; however, religious, sexual, gender and cultural minorities are just as legitimate as what I will call "mainstream" minorities. According to what I pieced together from various Web sites, Latinos are the largest minority in the United States and account for around 13 percent of the population; blacks are the second largest minority and comprise about 12.5 percent of the population. By contrast Jews, Muslims, atheists and homosexuals comprise about 2 percent, 3 percent, 13 percent and 3 percent of the U.S. population, respectively.

Keep in mind these figures are very rough, but regardless, the overall picture is clear. Since the Undergraduate Assembly thinks that "multiple perspectives is a necessity if we are to excel as citizens in this society," it would be both short-sighted and prejudiced to deem that courses concerning ethnic minorities are the only classes that could fulfill this requirement. Taking a course on Judaic or Islamic culture, different forms of sexuality, Hinduism, Buddhism or atheism is equally valid as taking a course on black culture. I personally object to this well-meaning proposal, but if US-CAR is going to become a part of our core curriculum, then it should encompass all "underrepresented identities" and not reinforce the prejudice it is trying to eliminate.

David Becker-Weidman

College '07

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