TUESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2019 VOL. CXXXV
NO. 2
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
FOUNDED 1885
Penn’s Lambda Phi Epsilon banned after alleged hazing Alleged activities involved physical exertion
MADELEINE NGO & ASHLEY AHN Senior News Editor & Staff Reporter
Lambda Phi Epsilon, Penn’s only Asian-interest fraternity, has been shut down indefinitely by the national headquarters after “significant evidence of hazing.” The national Lambda Board of Directors voted on Dec. 21 to with-
draw the Lambda chapter following a university-led investigation into the hazing of pledges, according to a press release from Lambda Phi Epsilon Executive Director Jim Gaffney. Former Lambda members at Penn and University spokesperson Stephen MacCarthy also confirmed the chapter’s closure. Bwog, a Columbia University student news blog, reported in December 2018 that members of Columbia’s chapter of Lambda Phi Ep-
silon sent pledges to Penn’s campus to compete with Penn pledges in activities involving extreme physical exertion. The December post attributed information to an anonymous Columbia student who allegedly pledged the fraternity in spring 2018, but no official report confirmed the allegations at the time. “We can confirm that our chapter has ceased all operations. We will not comment on any specifics about our new member education
process, but will say that parts of the December report from Bwog were misleading and dishonest,” an email sent to The Daily Pennsylvanian from the chapter’s official email account read. “Our hundreds of alumni over the past 25 years have strove to make positive change in the [Asian Pacific Islander Desi American] community at Penn and beyond and will continue to individually do so.” SEE LAMBDA PAGE 7
MONA LEE | SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER
Senior Associate Athetic Director leaves Penn David Leach oversaw recreation and wellness SAM MITCHELL Podcast Editor
CHASE SUTTON | SENIOR MULTIMEDIA EDITOR
Penn and Phila. come together for MLK Day SEE MLK DAY PAGE 3
David Leach, senior associate athletic director for recreation and wellness, has “stepped down from his position,” according to emails sent by Penn Athletics Director M. Grace Calhoun on Jan. 18. Of all the administrative positions within Penn Athletics, Leach’s former role has the most direct impact on students — especially those who aren’t athletes. The emails, sent to the Penn Recreation Advisory Committee and Leach’s staff on Friday, described his departure the day before as voluntary. Calhoun wrote that Scott Ward, senior associate athletics director and chief operations officer, would take over Leach’s role on an interim basis.
DAVID LEACH
Penn Athletics did not respond to a request for comment. However, Leach’s departure came as a surprise to some who worked with him. At least one person who worked with Leach reported having ongoing conversations with him and a regular meeting planned for next week. The source wished to remain anonymous out of fear of retribution. “I’m very sorry to leave Penn,” Leach wrote in a statement to SEE LEACH PAGE 8
UA pushes for free Penn given D+ on mental health report menstrual products Highest Ivy League grade goes to Penn
Students are working to provide tampons and pads CONOR MURRAY Staff Reporter
Penn has been lagging behind peer universities in making menstrual products available at no cost across campus — but some Undergraduate Assembly members are working to change that. UA New Student Representative and College and Wharton freshman Nikhil Gupta is leading a project that will expand the accessibility of free pads and tampons in bathrooms and gender-neutral areas across campus. He said he was inspired to take on the initiative after hearing other students say the lack of availability of these products on Penn’s campus is an inconvenience. Since the fall, Gupta has been working with University organizations, such as Stu-
dent Health Service and the LGBT Center, to make access to menstrual products more widespread. Gupta said he aims to tackle highly frequented buildings on campus first, including Huntsman Hall, Van Pelt Library, college houses, and other high-traffic locations. Making these products available in gender-neutral spaces is intended to increase accessibility to everyone regardless of their gender identity, Gupta said. He is also pushing for these products to be free to expand access to first-generation, low-income students, as well as to reduce stigmas that prevent menstrual products from being viewed as a necessity. The UA is also tackling the related issue of a lack of tampon disposal containers in bathrooms across campus. College sophomore and associate member of the UA Armaun SEE UA PAGE 7
ALICE HEYEH | DESIGN EDITOR
HALEY SUH Senior Reporter
Penn scored the highest in a recent mental health report out of all eight Ivy League schools — with a failing grade of a D+. The report, conducted by the Ruderman Family Foundation in December, scrutinizes the policies surrounding leaves of absence across the Ivy League, particularly how universities sometimes force students with mental illnesses to take leaves of absence. None of the eight colleges received a passing grade. Yale University and Dartmouth College both received F’s, putting them at the bottom of the list. The foundation’s Senior Program Officer Miriam Heyman, who wrote the paper, argued that, while a leave can be beneficial for students, it can also be used by Ivy League universities to unfairly discriminate against students. Heyman wrote in her report that Penn has policies that include “community disruption” as grounds for making a student take an involuntary leave. She also argues that Penn does not adequately notify students that they are entitled to alternative options, such as reduc-
EDITORIAL | Free menstrual products
“Students should never have to choose between eating breakfast and managing their periods.” - DP Editorial Board PAGE 4
SPORTS | Big 5 Champions
Penn men’s basketball ended a four-game slide by beating Temple, 77-70, in Fran Dunphy’s final Big 5 game. The win clinched at least a share of the Big 5 title — Penn’s first since 2001-02. BACKPAGE FOLLOW US @DAILYPENN FOR THE LATEST UPDATES ONLINE AT THEDP.COM
NEWS Student groups unite at Women’s March
PAGE 2
JESSICA TAN | DESIGN EDITOR
The report awarded all eight Ivies low grades for harsh leave of absence policies. Penn recently responded to mental health discussions with projects like the Campus Conversation series.
ing course load or receiving assignment extensions. “The University has no comment on the report,” Chief Wellness Officer Benoit Dubé wrote in an email to The Daily Pennsylvanian. “Leaves are unique academic matters overseen by the student’s school, in collaboration with many campus partners.” At Penn, approximately five percent of undergraduate students take a leave of absence for various reasons, including health concerns, preprofessional opportunities, and family needs, according to the University website. The report also states that
mandating a minimum length of time for a leave of absence is harmful to students. “The trajectory of mental illness and treatment varies from one person to the next, and the student should be allowed to return whenever he or she is ready,” the report read. In 2015, the DP released an in-depth look into how students managed taking a leave for mental health reasons and found the process of returning back to campus significantly harder. Melissa Song, College junior and co-director of peer counseling group Penn Benjamins, said she was aware
of instances when the University has put pressure on students to take a leave of absence. “It should be the students’ own volition whether they take a leave of absence” Song said. “If the student wants to stay, then the school has an obligation to take care of that student and do whatever is necessary to keep them happy during their time at Penn.” “For the school to step in and take away that agency can be extremely detrimental to students and loved ones,” she added. According to University SEE MENTAL HEALTH PAGE 3
NEWS New Annenberg dean named PAGE 7
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