Third World Center Sought for UPenn

PHILADELPHIA--Minority students at the University of Pennsylvania are postponing the planning of a Third World center until UPenn's new president, F. Sheldon Hackney, takes office in February.

A poll taken last month showed undergraduates favor creation of a Third World center, and Mark Rodriguez, president of the United Minority Council, said enough support and concern exists on campus that "we've got to capitalize on that."

Carther Harris, president of the Black Student League, said the minority council officially will request establishment of a Third World center as soon as Hackney is inaugurated.

Last semester, Provost Vartan Gregorian created a minority advisory board, composed of faculty and students, to investigate the possibility of creating a Third World center, as well as to discuss admissions and recruitment of minority students and faculty.

The university then granted Third World students office space in a university building, but students complained the location is secluded and does not perform the functions of a student center.