Cheers & Jeers

CHEERS

- To the Social Planning and Events Committee, for selecting a band for the Spring Fling concert that the majority of students liked. Selling out the concert was a big step, too, after a tough year in 2005.n To Fran Dunphy, for 17 years of great basketball coaching. He was the face of Penn to the sports world, and he led the Quakers to 310 career victories and 10 Ivy titles. Dunphy will be tough to replace.

- To University information technology officials, for beginning the process of moving Penn's e-mail system to an outside provider, such as Google's Gmail or Yahoo. Penn has provided its own e-mail for about 15 years, but the service has increasingly proved to be outdated and unreliable. Administrators have rightly realized that outside firms can do it better.

- To the University, for beefing up Penn's security budget by a hefty amount to help fight an uptick in crime this winter. Since the additional money and new uniforms were announced, the increased security presence on campus has been visibly noticeable.

- To senior Matt Valenti, who captured the NCAA wrestling title for his weightclass -- being the third Penn wrestler in history to win the title.

- To the FlingSafe and the Medical Emergency Response Team. Students who volunteered for these programs showed that students are willing to work to help other students and help save Penn traditions.

- To the University, for attracting a record number of applicants this year.

- To the men's basketball and men's tennis teams, for winning Ivy League titles this season. Unfortunately, they were the only teams to do so.

- To City Council, for passing the Rental Suitability Bill, which requires that landlords' apartments be up to code before being rented. While it will be very difficult to enforce, it will provide tenants with a new legal tool to get landlords to maintain their own apartments.

JEERS

- To University officials, for announcing that Hey Day will no longer exist in its current form. With the threats to move Spring Fling earlier this semester, some of Penn's best and most popular traditions are under attack. Hopefully, administrators will put students' interests first and reconsider the change.

- To the seniors who threw condiments and more at juniors on Hey Day. The University warned them that Hey Day might end if the throwing continued, but that didn't stop the mess.n To University officials, for slightly improving financial aid -- by replacing loans with grants -- but advertising the change as a major one that put Penn nearly on par with its peers. It's a welcome improvement, but there is still a long way to go.

- To the University, for taking far too much time in organizing the search for the next vice president for facilities and real estate's replacement.

- To City Council and Mayor John Street for still not banning smoking in restaurants and bars because of petty politics.

- To the University, for announcing it would not accept Advanced Placement credit for general requirements in the new curriculum.

- To Facilities and Real Estate Services, for the continual delays which plagued the long-awaited opening of Taco Bell at the Food Court.

- To the University, for having to perform major $9-million renovations to the Inn at Penn only seven years after it was built.

- To the athletic department, for its poor treatment of crew coach Stan Bergman, who had coached for 22 years.

- To the Undergraduate Assembly, for its inability to attract a strong number of candidates to fill its many positions, including its chairmanship.

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