Student Body

Apologies to Penn and due respect to Drexel, but the most remarkable and encouraging local higher education story of the last 15 years has been the rebirth and reinvention of Temple University. Encouraging because the forces behind Temple's transformation bode extremely well for Philadelphia's future. Remarkable because not that long ago, Temple was a pit. Think back to the 1980s and early 1990s, when Philadelphia was in sharp decline. Temple was, too. Enrollment was low. The university was so starved for cash and kids that it welcomed even weak applicants.

  Tucked away behind Langhorne Manor Borough's stately stone homes, Philadelphia Biblical University's bucolic campus sits hidden from cars rushing to the nearby SEPTA train station and bustling Route 1. Little do those motorists know what they're missing: 450 picturesque acres dotted by a pond, gardens, athletic fields, and historic and modern buildings. And the campus is completely open to the public - no guard shacks, security gates, or metal detectors. "We want to be part of the Bucks County community," university President Todd Williams said.

LAWRENCE IS THE VICTIM, NOT THE RUTGERS STUDENTS The desperate attempt by students at Rutgers University to "force" Francis Lawrence to step down is infuriating. In a Feb. 11 article, one student was quoted as saying: "He has been a good slave master to his slaves for the last 35 years. " Correct me if I'm wrong, but here is an African American calling himself a slave. What these students are relaying is that they live in the past, a time that none of us has lived or experienced, or thinks about whenever we make a comment.

In the 67 years that the Manna Bible Institute has trained clergy for the ministry, the private, independent school has moved 12 times. The low point in that pilgrimage was 1999, when its home on Church Lane in Germantown went up in flames in an arson. Every move since then has drained the school of its enrollment and prominence in the community. "When I would say I was with Manna, people would say, 'I didn't know Manna was still around,'" said Cleonia J. Walker, the college's academic dean.

Before he walked into an honors communications course at West Chester University, Grant Hubbard's ethnic identity was the stuff of skin color and oral history. He was the white guy with European roots whose family came to the United States shortly after the Mayflower arrived. Then science took over. The swipe of a cotton swab inside his cheek and a DNA test indicated that he had ancestors from Europe, and elsewhere. "My results came back 60 percent Southeast Asian," said Hubbard, 20, of Downingtown.

Principal Frances Colon-Gibson beamed with pride as she stood on the stage of Camden's Northeast Elementary School and beckoned a dozen bashful elementary students to come up and show off their new uniforms. "Look how beautiful they look," she said above the din of English and Spanish as parents and children milled about the school cafeteria in the hectic atmosphere of the first day of school registration. Pointing to the boys, in navy blue slacks, white shirts and dark shoes, and the girls, in navy blue jumpers, knee socks and blouses, Colon-Gibson smiled broadly and proclaimed: "Northeast is part of a pilot program in the district and the school will be wearing uniforms this year.

One month into the new school year, the cafeteria at Medill Bair High School is yet divided. Divided, like the school district, into north and south. Youths from one area still sit with youths from their old schools. Across the busy room they define each other, by neighborhood, by clothes, by hair. As part of a systemwide reorganization, the Pennsbury School District brought together ninth- and 10th-grade students from the working-class south - Falls Township and Tullytown - with those from the more affluent north - Lower Makefield and Yardley.

LeChaune Grant, 15, giggled as she stumbled in an attempt to fly through the air like the two dancers in front of her yesterday at Woodrow Wilson High School in Camden. She tried again, and like schoolmates Ahnna Ledbetter, 16, and Lieu Jones, 16, actually found that she was getting better at it. But the success failed to wash away the giggles and smiles of embarrassment on the faces of all three as they bounded through the wonderland of classical dance with experienced dancers from the nationally known Alvin Ailey Repertory Ensemble.

The Westampton Township School District could grow by 36 percent during the next four years, and a half-dozen additional classrooms will be needed for those 300 new students, a recently completed demographic study predicts. The report by the Gloucester County office of the Vitetta Group, a Philadelphia architectural, engineering, planning and interior design firm, was presented to the Westampton school board two weeks ago and may be formally accepted by the board at its meeting on Monday night.

STATE COLLEGE - Pennsylvania State University said the body of a missing student has been found at the bottom of a stairwell about 75 yards from where he was last seen alive. The university said last night that 18-year-old freshman Joseph Dado of Latrobe was found dead about 6 p.m. at the Hosler Building. University police say it looks like Dado fell about 15 feet to the concrete below. University Police Director Steve Shelow said that there was no reason to suspect foul play and that the death appeared to be an accident.