TUESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2016
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
Compose new Tweet
Tweet now, read later Media
Location
Poll
Students attempt to revive Greek cultural sensitivity board
119
Tweet
GIFs and tweets entry point into politics for some NICOLE RUBIN Staff Reporter
For any political observer, Donald Trump’s sound bites have become as familiar as his rising poll numbers: build a wall, make America great again, our politicians are stupid. With the advent of tweets , GIFs and memes, it’s become even easier to qualify political information into granular bits. The traditionalist would argue that this simplification of political discourse is destructive, but political communication experts beg to differ. “We get a little bit hysterical and a little bit reactive when we see things that seem to be somewhat less rational, more emotional [and] more visual,” Annenberg professor Barbara Zelizer said in a description of GIFs. “If it makes us care about it, if it perks our interest, then that’s achieved half the game.” Kathleen Hall Jamieson , the director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, agreed. “Policy itself is always complex, but there are facets of the process which lend themselves to simple, digestive statements,” she said. Candidates gain an advantage
New board will not have the ability to levy sanctions on Greek groups JESSICA WASHINGTON Staff Reporter
The idea of a collaborative board overseeing acts of cultural insensitivity by fraternities and sororities has returned. In the fall, Undergraduate Assembly Vice President Ray Clark and Interfraternity Council Judicial Inquiry Board Manager Griffin Rubin — both College juniors — discussed in an op-ed the creation of an external body composed of members of the Panhellenic Council, the IFC and the Multicultural Greek Council. The board, as outlined in a Daily Pennsylvanian guest column, would serve as an outlet for Penn students to voice their complaints regarding cultural insensitivity within Greek life. If the board found a Greek organization guilty of cultural insensitivity, Clark and Rubin said, it would impose sanctions, usually in the form of education. SEE GREEK PAGE 2
SEE POLITICS PAGE 6
OPEN FORUM ON RACE IN CLASSROOMS PAGE 5
In landmark move, SEPTA introduces police body cameras The program launched this month after six-month pilot
There is only one constant in the many-variabled equation of our lives, and that is ourselves.” - Emily Hoeven
CHARLOTTE LARACY Staff Reporter
COURTESY OF SEPTA
SEPTA police officers will now wear body cameras when they are on duty.
As the national debate surges on whether state and local police should wear body cameras, SEPTA Transit has already put a plan in action. SEPTA police officers are now equipped with body cameras that will be turned on while
responding to radio calls and during any interaction with people on patrol. The SEPTA Board approved the $400,000 permanent program in July after a six-month pilot stage last year, which tested 10 different camera models. Since the beginning of January, 289 SEPTA Transit officers have been using Digital Ally SEE SEPTA PAGE 5
PAGE 4
LOOKING AT AN IVY TOURNAMENT BACKPAGE
No sign of AXO as OAX recruits first pledge class Alpha Chi Omega did not participate in formal rush LILY ZANDI Staff Reporter
Alpha Chi Omega has made no tangible steps toward recolonizing since the vast majority of its members deactivated to join OAX last spring. During the spring rush period, the sorority house remained empty and closed as potential new members filtered in and out of neighboring houses. The sorority’s former members, however, successfully recruited their first pledge class as the off-campus organization OAX. The Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life is unaware whether the sorority plans to recolonize at Penn, OFSL Director Eddie Banks-Crosson said.
FOLLOW US @DAILYPENN FOR THE LATEST UPDATES
“The national sorority will not be participating in formal sorority recruitment, and we await next steps,” he said. “Unfortunately, that’s all the information we have right now.” Last spring, members of Alpha Chi Omega deactivated and vacated the sorority house located on 39th and Spruce streets after being subject to 22 sanctions from the University. Alpha Chi Omega could not participate in formal recruitment because there are no current members. Representatives from the Alpha Chi Omega national chapter came to campus last fall and passed out flyers to recruit members in an effort to recolonize, but these representatives did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
DP FILE PHOTO
Alpha Chi Omega has made no tangible steps toward recolonizing since the vast majority of its members deactivated to join OAX last spring.
ONLINE 7 DAYS A WEEK AT THEDP.COM