TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2014
THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN | THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
Alumni interviews receive mixed reviews The University hopes to offer alumni interviews to 100 percent of applicants in coming years CLARE CONNAUGHTON & CAROLINE SIMON Staff Reporters
Senior soccer athlete looks to pursue passion for acting after graduation
While the Admissions Office continues to work towards its goal of interviewing 100 percent of applicants, the effectiveness of the program remains unclear. In 2012, only 51 percent of applicants received an alumni interview during the admissions process. Last year, 86 percent of applicants were reached, and this year — which the Admissions Office named its deadline for interviewing every applicant — the numbers are expected to reach an all-time high, though finalized data is not yet available. The alumni interviewers themselves are generally supportive of the program, although their feedback can be subjective. Lisa Haywood Meiselman, a 1991 College graduate and 1997 MBA recipient, became an interviewer to reconnect with her alma mater. “I just wasn’t that connected to the school anymore, and I wanted a way to stay connected and contribute something,” she said. “This was my way of giving back.” Although interviewers are required to take educational steps before interviewing applicants, each approaches the interview uniquely. For the most part, Meiselman avoids submitting negative
HOLDEN MCGINNIS Sports Editor
On a cold night at Rhodes Field, Mariano GonzalezGuerineau took the field for one final game with Penn men’s soccer. It was the end of a successful career, but the beginning of a new opportunity for the senior. Soccer had been the focus of Gonzalez’s life for the past four years. After all, it’s why he’d come to Penn in the first place. Born in Argentina, the sport had been a part of his life from a young age, and in high school in Beverly Hills, Calif., it became apparent that he would continue into college. But just before he came to Philadelphia, Gonzalez stumbled upon another passion: acting. “It’s definitely something that came to me. I was fortunate enough and it came out of nowhere,” Gonzalez said of how he got into acting. “I wasn’t looking for it. In the process, I really found something that ignited a little spark in me.” The Perfect Role During Gonzalez’s senior year of high school, he was cast in the short film “Underprivileged.” In it, he played a young man who receives a scholarship to play soccer in the United States but learns he’s an illegal immigrant. Gonzalez’s uncle, Rafael Lanus, produced the film as part of a directing program at UCLA and built the story somewhat around his nephew’s life. “I was thinking about how things were going in his life and then I take my car to this mechanic [...] and he’s telling me about his daughter — who was deported [for living in the country illegally],” Lanus, who works primarily as a photographer, said. “I was listening to his story [...] and I thought well maybe I should combine both stories.“
SEE INTERVIEWS PAGE 2
A Year of Crimes: 2014 in Review
SEE GONZALEZ PAGE 8
A look at the most notable crimes and campus security breaches of 2014 DAVID CAHN Staff Reporter
CRIME
Student calls for increased security in Quad
2014 was a busy year for criminals and the Penn police officers that fight them. From the murder at Copabanana to a crime spree that ended in a student arrest on 14 counts of burglary, last year saw a number of high-profile incidents. Behind the scenes, policing technology and undercover work by plainclothes cops helped catch many perpetrators and prevent violence — including a potential homicide. Murder at Copabanana On Tuesday, April 15, 31-year-old Timothy Cary was shot and killed outside of Copabanana on 40th and Spruce streets. Penn Police responded to the scene, apprehending 26-year-old Corey Gaynor, who was later positively identified by several witnesses and subsequently charged with murder. Gaynor’s pre-trial conference will be held on Feb. 18. Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush attributes Penn Police’s quick response time to vigilance by her officers. PennComm dispatchers operate PTZ cameras, which allow
With recent break-ins, Wharton freshman wants more surveillance cameras ANNA HESS Staff Reporter
SEE CRIME REVIEW PAGE 6
LUKE CHEN/DIRECTOR OF ONLINE PROJECTS
EMPLOYMENT STATS
SOPH. SPINS POETRY
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In the wake of the Jan. 24 Quadrangle break-ins, Wharton freshman Christine Esserman calls for a higher level of security surveillance within the Quad. Esserman is one of three residents in the second room broken into by another Quad resident.
We are, to some degree, deprived of the normal mechanisms which compel us to challenge ourselves and grow as individuals.”
The Division of Public Safety stated that the Quad college houses are secured at the perimeters by 24-hour security and camera surveillance, as well as by restrictions upon who can gain access past a certain hour. However, past the Lower and Upper Quad entrance gates, there is no stationed security or camera surveillance either at the college house entrances or in the hallways. Esserman says she believes SEE SECURITY CAMERAS PAGE 2
AWAD BREAKS RECORD BACKPAGE
- Oscar A. Rudenstam PAGE 4
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