WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2017
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
That’s Professor
Biden To You
Muslim students react to University’s statement Students are pleased with Penn’s response, but fear for the future ESHA INDANI Staff Reporter
Penn students from the Middle East reacted with anger and disbelief when President Donald Trump issued his temporary ban on immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries. These students later commended the University for the proactive role it took to assist affected students. “I was quite shocked to be honest,” College and Wharton freshman Jonathan Lahdo said. “Trump obviously spoke a lot about this in his election campaign, but I did not realize how soon it would be put into effect.” College and Wharton sophomore Zuhaib Badami pointed out that it was not only those from the designated seven majority-Muslim countries who are affected by the ban. Badami is president of the Muslim Students Association, but said he did not want to speak on behalf of the organization, only as an individual. “What people don’t realize is that it’s affecting far more than the seven countries on the list,”
Former Vice President Joe Biden will lead the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement, based out of Washington He won’t be teaching classes though
SEE IMMIGRATION PAGE 6
APP TO HELP MUSCLE DISEASE PATIENTS
SYDNEY SCHAEDEL & JACOB WINICK Senior News Editor & Staff Reporter
PAGE 2
Penn shocked no one by continuing a stated trend of having unabashedly liberal public figures…” - Editorial
PAGE 4
PRINCETON THRASHES M. HOOPS TEAM
The wait is over. Former Vice President Joe Biden has been officially named a University professor, Penn President Amy Gutmann announced Tuesday. Under the title of “Benjamin Franklin Presidential Practice Professor,” Biden will lead the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement, based out of Washington, D.C. The center, which is set to open later this year, will be focused on diplomacy, foreign policy and national security, according to a University statement released Tuesday morning. Biden will hold joint appointments in the Annenberg School for
Communication and the School of Arts and Sciences, with a secondary affiliation in the Wharton School. “We are thrilled to have Vice President Biden here at Annenberg,” Annenberg Dean Delli Carpini said in a statement. “Although he is not scheduled to teach a formal course at this time, we are certain that there will be opportunities for our students to benefit from his presence at Penn.” In fact, a spokesperson for the former vice president said Biden won’t be teaching at all. “He will not be teaching classes,” Biden spokesperson Kate Bedingfield told The Daily Pennsylvanian on
Tuesday morning. Biden’s work with Penn will be based out of Washington D.C. and Philadelphia, Bedingfield added. The University’s announcement finally confirms months of speculation surrounding Biden’s plans at Penn. After speculation in December that Biden would “set up shop” at Penn when he left the White House, the former vice president verbally confirmed his plans on a hot mic to come to Philadelphia in January. Biden was spotted at Penn Law School last month, and Gutmann attended SEE BIDEN PAGE 5
Asian Americans fight for funding Students protested for more faculty members and greater support HALEY SUH Staff Reporter
BACKPAGE
HALEY SUH | STAFF REPORTER
Penn students gather on College Green to express their discontent over cuts to the Asian American Studies program.
FOLLOW US @DAILYPENN FOR THE LATEST UPDATES
“Know your history, know yourself! We are not your model minority,” students declared at a protest held in front of College Green on Monday afternoon. The protest group, largely comprised of Asian-American students, was demanding increased legitimacy and funding for the Asian American Studies Program at Penn. Marching past Locust Walk and onto Walnut Street, students held posters and raised their voices to express frustration over the current levels of funding, administrative support and number of faculty dedicated to the ASAM program. In particular, students demanded that Penn hire a standing senior Asian American sociology professor to replace professor Grace Kao, a key founding faculty member of the program who will be leaving Penn for Yale University.
“We are all gathered here today because we are not some docile model minority afraid to make noise,” Wharton junior and Asian Pacific Student Coalition chair YenYen Gao said. “We already know that our stories and experiences matter. And it’s time for this school to realize that once and for all.” The protesters also called for the administration to provide a physical space to house the program and to increase funding for the permanent ASAM professors. The protest came after an editorial column the Asian American Studies Undergraduate Advisory Board wrote in The Daily Pennsylvanian. The article included similar complaints — a lack of funding and faculty for ASAM, they said, despite growing student interest in the program. The ASAM UAB also created a petition around the same time they wrote the editorial column calling for College Dean Steven Fluharty, President Amy Gutmann and Provost Vincent Price to address their SEE PROTEST PAGE 6
ONLINE 7 DAYS A WEEK AT THEDP.COM