CAMPUS BUZZ
BY SANDY SMITH
Concrete bungle: The “temporary” landscaped terraces that replaced the plaza between Sansom Place East and West look good enough to be permanent. So Buzz was startled to see workers tearing up parts of the ordinary-looking sidewalks within weeks of their completion and replacing them with … ordinary-looking sidewalks. Why? According to a construction worker, the higher-ups in charge of the project didn’t like the barely visible pattern of the finished concrete. What were they expecting, herringbone?
On or off the block?: You may have noticed that the huge “For Sale or Lease” banner has disappeared from the doorway of the Christian Association. We certainly did. So is the building still up for sale, or has a buyer been found? Is the CA still trying to negotiate with the University? Your guess is as good as ours: We called the CA’s director, the Rev. Beverly Dale, to get the latest news, but she declined comment.
Everyone’s a critic: Well, it just seems that way. But there is now an honest-to-God critic in our midst: David Fox, associate director of college houses and academic services, will contribute theater reviews to the City Paper on a regular basis beginning this fall.
Anchors aweigh: It turns out that Bruce Franklin, promotions manager for the University of Pennsylvania Press and the provider of our regular “Bookquick” feature (see page 2), is himself an author — and an amateur military historian, to boot. His book “The Buckley-Class Destroyer Escorts” (United States Naval Institute, 1999) documents the history of the U.S. Navy’s principal class of World War II escort ships and has been well-received by naval historians.
Bigger fish to fry: Two Penn administrators were tapped over the summer to head organizations with some connections to Penn. Wharton Deputy Dean Janice Bellace was chosen as the first president of Singapore Management University, the new Asian business school established with assistance from Penn. And Senior Associate Athletic Director Carolyn Schlie Femovich is now the executive director of the Patriot League athletic conference, whose member schools appear frequently as non-Ivy League opponents of the Quakers.
Penn in ink: The New York Times reported July 27 that crimes on board cruise ships will now be reported to law-enforcement officials in accordance with new industry standards. The rules were adopted in the wake of Carnival Cruise Lines’ disclosure of 62 sexual-assault accusations against crew members over five years. Associate Professor of Legal Studies William Laufer called the disclosure “remarkable,” adding that “the last thing on the mind of the vacationing public is that they are vulnerable to assault when aboard a luxury cruise.”...A biography of Frederick Law Olmsted as “beach reading”? Well, why not? The editors of Newsweek put Martin and Margy Meyerson Professor of Urbanism Witold Rybczynski’s “A Clearing in the Distance” on its short list of beach books in its June 14 issue. “This is the latest of many Olmsted bios; there’s none better,” they said.
What’s the buzz? Tell us what’s happening! Call us at 898-1423, send us e-mail, or write us at 200 Sansom East/6106.