All of the surveys about the hotel have the problems of internet surveys with self-selected respondents. Or as Ray pointed out, selected computers.
But the DP survey is offensive and divisive! I want to clarify that point that I brought up in my response to Ray. First of all, the student population reading the DP does not have the information to make an informed thoughtful opinion on the hotel project. Consider the information given to the DP student readers. Without the longer-term connections to this area and multiple sources of information, all of their information about the hotel came from the DP stories. They read the PR stuff fed to them by "the team" and then Thurs. they saw a brief report about the overwhelming community opposition. The reporter's coverage was generally good with a few minor mistakes. All of that is fine, but a short news report cannot comprehensively give the important information for the students to form an intelligent opinion about the relevant issues. The DP then asked this question the next day for its poll: Should the university power brokers respect the opinions, concerns, and neighborhoods of local Philadelphians? That was the real question being asked by the DP poll! The likely student respondents (other than some of our local characters voting 1000 votes of support) were responding to that issue and not the hotel. (Generally respondents to these surveys are those who feel strongly on both sides of the question. The massive missing data from the population are the majority in the middle) Our neighbor, Magali, spoke very highly about students helping local residents to get signatures on petitions. But some people hold stereotypes that Penn students are elitist and snobbish. Also, around campus and to the student population, there is a stereotype reinforced that locals are stupid and selfish and incapable of seeing the brilliance in the superior visions of Penn experts. We're dirty and dangerous obstructionists. The DP poll, immediately after the Thurs article, is playing with that stereotype. Do over 50% of Penn students believe in a plutocracy for Philadelphia led by Penn trustees? I'm not ready to make judgements about Penn students from a tiny sample and an offensive survey. That DP poll was useless about the hotel, like all such surveys, and extremely offensive for tugging at stereotypes. It wasn't entertaining; it wasn't a useful survey, and it was tugging at divisive stereotypes while questioning the right of locals to have a voice.
