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E-mail alerts are not instantaneous

To the Editor:

In the wake of the shootout near 40th Street this past weekend, there has been much discussion about the effectiveness of the Divison of Public Safety’s response (“Students angry over delayed UPennAlert,” 11/22/10). An e-mail was not sufficient response, many claim.

This is true, but it also reveals a much larger problem with the University — an over-reliance on e-mail. Penn students are too busy to spend their entire day on their laptops, meaning that they do not have instant access to e-mail. In addition, the University cannot assume that students can access their e-mail from their phones. This issue is not limited to emergency response alone. Groups change the location of their meeting with five minutes’ notice, TAs move recitations and send the e-mails late the night before. For those students without internet access on their phones, last-minute e-mails or e-mails about public safety are useless. Text messages are much more likely to be looked at quickly.

Caitlin Dougherty The author is a College sophomore. Arrest coverage shows power of the press

To the Editor:

I found Emerson Brooking’s column last week to be quite thought provoking, and I admire his courage for criticizing The Daily Pennsylvanian (“The Watergate that really wasn’t,” 11/16/10). I had read the DP’s coverage of the story about Christian Lunoe’s arrest with casual interest and had not given it more thought until Brooking’s column. He made an excellent point about how the paper’s coverage of the event over several days may have resulted in some serious damage to another student’s reputation and therefore future job prospects.

I do not know Lunoe, was not present at the Princeton game where the incident took place and have not followed his achievements as head of the Interfraternity Council. However, my impression of him was tainted after reading the DP’s coverage of the event and, ultimately, his decision to step down from his leadership role. My reason for writing is that Brooking’s column made me pause to consider how the power of the press, in this case the DP, may have brought down a fellow student who has not yet had his day in court. While the DP may not have falsely represented the facts stated in its coverage of Lunoe, its decision to repeatedly make him front-page news may have caused several unintended and harmful consequences that hurt a Penn student.

Robin Hartley The author is coordinator for Student Services for the Master of Bioethics Program and executive assistant to History and Sociology of Science professor Jonathan Moreno.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.