The Undergraduate Magazine Vol. VI, No. 7 | November 14, 2005 Sportsaholics Anonymous Welcome Back Potter! One-Sided Rivalry Late for Class? Adam, Brian and Tim satisfy your Rob reviews “Harry Potter and the Joanne on Penn’s obsession with beating Adam runs down Locust Walk. How athletic appetite. Goblet of Fire”. Princeton. come you’re strolling? Page 4 Page 6 Page 11 Page 12 SOUND ADVICE MARIAN LEE NO CASH, JUST PLASTIC MY FAIR AMY The Body Worlds Exhibit Lunch with the President CHRISTINE CHEN | TEMPEST IN A TEAPOT ROB FORMAN | MY 13-INCH BOX I ASKED HIM a Franklin Institute Science Museum. The ON MONDAY, when she was Provost at Princeton Univer- question to which exhibition will be in Philadelphia until April November 4th, sity. She actually does care what we think. there was no right 23, 2006 and is $24.95 a ticket. I had never I had the privi- The first task of the session was to inform answer. And I did heard of it before, but apparently it’s “kind lege of spend- Penn students about her policy initiatives. To this knowingly, of a big deal.” Body Worlds is under a lot of ing an hour read more about these, in all their detailed but I couldn’t criticism and controversy. It has caught the with Penn glory, visit http://www.upenn.edu/president/ help myself. Some attention of anti-abortionists, waving their President Amy The only one of these new policies-slash- might say it was a pitchforks—I mean, picket signs—around, Gutmann. The goals that truly affects current undergradu- mean thing to do, but what else is new. occasion? I’m ates is the interdisciplinary initiative, which but I say that it I went into it knowing very little about still in the dark strives to bring in new faculty who bridge couldn’t be helped because human nature en- what I was about to step into, and I might about that. But fields. Many students take classes outside of courages this sort of livid behavior in the form add, was dragged into going. Preserved plas- there was lunch—ample amounts of free Cosí their majors—and many of my friends taking of steaming heaps of philosophical shit, in ticized bodies in poses? No thanks. Making sandwiches and baked goods—and approxi- at least one minor you’d never expect from copious amounts of course. The tiny buzzing matters worse, the weather was not cooperat- mately 14 other students. I didn’t know what their major/specialty/concentration—and part of it was that I didn’t even know what I ing. It was yet another cold and rainy week- to expect. Had my fraternity brothers finally this could be useful for students looking to wanted to hear, what words could have left his end, and generally a terrible day to (partially) gotten fed up with my incessant world domi- combine their interests. mouth to make it better. I suppose life has no walk to the museum. Not to mention the nation schemes and gotten the powers that be In addition, we spoke about independent right answer either, so why bother questioning smell of wet subway mixed with urine doesn’t involved? Was this some brain trust of Penn’s student research, or more specifically the lack it? To question life is a self destructive folly exactly make me jump for joy. Actually, in most prominent student leaders—and I had of awareness of its availability. Uh, it is avail- in itself. It is maddening. It only makes the light of the recent Septa strike, I might prefer somehow been included on an oversight? able, and President Gutmann was eager to blank spaces stark against the backdrop, it that odiferous combination over waiting in a The answer to both unnecessary and exclaim her excitement about the many can- makes us realize that there is something that cab in traffic while the shady carrot-topped space-filling questions is a straight forward, didates for various fellowships. Check out is lacking in our lives that we fear we may cabby picks up ladies, giving them free front in your face “no”. My fellows students were CURF for more information. The potential never attain. Needless to say I didn’t like his seat rides. from all walks of undergraduate life: fresh- for thesis advisors who can pull knowledge answer, and the more he elaborated the more Imagine my surprise when there was a men through seniors, college students, engi- from different fields could be a great boon for I wanted to cover my eyes and close my ears huge line to get into Body Worlds. After ex- neers, Whartonites… and I believe a nursing students looking to do cross-field research, and block him out and kick myself for even tensive analysis, interviews, and chart mak- student as well. My moderately repressed and would definitely help Penn students having the audacity to ask such a Moebius ing, I concluded that there are two general re- marketing research class leaped up from the stand out. strip of a riddle. This was getting us nowhere sponses to the exhibit. Response 1: This is so dark recesses of my mind; I had walked into The real meat, so to speak, of the lun- fast. Like the Carpenters song my mom loves cool/amazing/beautiful! Response 2: This is a focus group. cheon was the Q&A. I took the opportunity to misquote, and that I will continue to mis- wrong/unnecessary/disgusting! In all seriousness, though, lunch with to ask about the planned use for the Postal quote with her: “Some things are better left Over 300 deceased people were used. President Gutmann was a great experience. Lands (recall a somewhat negative editorial a unsaid.”—Excerpted from the Carnival Death Entire bodies were posed with themes such as Essentially, she wanted to get student opin- few issues back). The fear, expressed by oth- Party Diary, Volume II of “L’Original 1980s dancer, teacher, hurdler, or a man holding his ions about some of her new policies and her er students in the group as well, was that it Deco Art Lock Book” skin dangling in front of him like it was a coat, plans for the future of Penn, while also getting would detract from Penn’s campus-within-a- Last month, I visited Gunther von Ha- while isolated organs and organ systems were student feedback on the current student life city feel, one of many things that makes Penn gens’ Body Worlds: The Anatomical Exhi- encased in glass. All of the specimens used and atmosphere through an open Q&A. Re- stand out physically from other universities. bition of Real Human Bodies exhibit at the Continued on PAGE 5 member, Gutmann was huge with students Continued on PAGE 9 PAGE 2 NOVEMBER 14, 2005 | FIRST CALL | VOL. VI NO. 7 FirstCall Editorial Vol. VI, No. 7 | November 14, 2005 The Undergraduate Magazine BITTERSWEET CHARITY Editor-in-Chief Last week’s riots outside World Café Live were dreadful, shocking, and debauched. But Robert Forman let’s face it: they were pretty freakin’ cool. Editors No, we’re not condoning violence, or belligerence, or even getting arrested. But think Andrew Pederson about it. 600 Penn Students. One double-door. Police officers waving handcuffs and night- Lauren Saul sticks above their heads. Chaos. Mayhem. Beautiful. Assistant Editors It’s unfortunate that some people got hurt, arrested, and even cut in line. But when Shira Bender you think about the underlying causes for these events, it kind of makes sense. Penn Anna Stetsovskaya students simply don’t have enough outlets for their pent-up street rage. All those hours Columnists watching MTV’s Making the Band with Diddy combined with unchecked coffee addictions, Shira Bender untouched term papers, and unstudied midterm exams add up to some pretty hefty stress- Christine Chen bombs surreptitiously lurking beneath the surface of seemingly benign and innocuous Robert Forman Adam Goldstein underclassmen. Little did you know that the smartly dressed Whartonite marching down Mickey Jou Locust like he’s got a porcupine in heat stuffed in the back of his Scooby Doo boxers is Andrew Pederson actually a riotous insurgent waiting for the right moment to explode. He’s just hoping for Lauren Saul Thuy Tran some opportunity, some perfect moment, to let out his wrath on a convenient target, like, say, a police officer. And then: Yes! A charity event! Too many people! Too little space! Start Writers the revolution!! Kelly Cataldo Ale Jackson Seriously, though. We feel bad for all those who were forced to wait outside the venue and Brian Levy put up with sweaty, aggressive, and impatient, yet charitable, individuals. We also feel bad Timothy Potens for the officer who got punched in the chest, and the students who got kicked in the balls. Adreyo Sen Liz Thomas It’s sad, really, that such a fine institution of higher learning, home to the Quakers—pacifists Joanne Yuan by nature, apparently—breeds such unruly and mutinous behavior as witnessed by several video-capturing cell phones outside the Café. According to the Daily Pennsylvanian, “the Artists Shira Bender ‘unruly’ crowd was pushing and shoving and refusing to back away from the doors when asked Stephanie Craven by police and bouncers to disperse.” Really, what was so extraordinarily remarkable about Shelby Prindaville the Big Man On Campus philanthropy event that instilled such urgency and determination Photographers in those who were “pushing and shoving and refusing to back away”? What was the event Robert Forman even raising money for? It was probably an extremely worthy cause, but apparently, Alpha Marian Lee Chi Omega, the hosts of the event, plan on refunding people’s ticket money if they didn’t get Layout Editor into the event itself due to the “riots”.