March 22, 2017

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2017

THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

PENN BRACKET SEE PAGE 6 Administrators criticize Trump’s budget Joint statement condemns cuts to education and arts MADELEINE LAMON Deputy News Editor

Penn released a statement on Monday criticizing President Donald Trump’s budget proposal.

Penn President Amy Gutmann,

Provost Vincent Price, Executive Vice President Craig Carnaroli and Executive Vice President and Perelman School of Medicine Dean Larry Jameson co-authored the statement, which expresses concern about proposals “to slash or eliminate federal support for scientific research, the arts, humanities, our environment and education (to name only some of

the major areas that are threatened).”

The statement also included the text of an email sent by School of Arts and Sciences Dean Steven Fluharty and Associate Dean Jeffrey Kallberg to School of Arts and Sciences humanities faculty on Thursday, March 16, shortly after the initial budget proposal was released.

The budget proposes the elimination

S

tudents caught a glimpse of one of the most notable television stars of the ‘90s on Tuesday night, as Kenan Thompson, a cast member on “Saturday Night Live” who has also appeared in movies such as “Snakes on Plane,” spoke in Irvine Auditorium.

The event, hosted by the Social Planning and Events Committee Connaissance & Film, was moderated by English and Cinema Studies professor Kathy DeMarco Van Cleve.

“I want to do work that resonates with people … that’s what makes me the most happy,” Thompson said. “If they did do a book

Kenan Thompson reflected on his prolific career in comedy from “All That” to SNL KATIE BONTJE | Contributing Reporter

SEE BUDGET PAGE 3

on great black comedians and left me out, well, I would clearly have to crap all over that book because they clearly didn’t do their research.”

Before the event, College Junior and SPEC director Austin Borja praised the choice of Thompson as a speaker.

“I think he’s very intersectional. He’s an African American man in media,” he said. “He’s also very nostalgic … a lot of people are here to see their childhood and potentially their hero.”

The interview was wideranging, and at one point touched on Thompson’s start in SEE KENAN PAGE 3

Why students stay on a meal plan as upperclassmen

Similar to any other student, athletes contribute to the mission of our university …

- Calvary Rogers PAGE 4

Both the convenience and hearty portions attract athletes

LEAH ALLEN CHASES SOFTBALL RECORDS

CATHERINE DE LUNA Staff Reporter

BACKPAGE

FILE PHOTO

The recently renovated Gourmet Grocer, the grocery store located in 1920 Commons is a location frequented by upperclassmen with meal plans.

Best PENN of

presented by

of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

“Most of us in the Penn humanities community have benefited either directly or indirectly from the support of the NEH,” the email read. “The School of Arts and Sciences affirms its unwavering support for the NEH

Dining halls are a staple of the Penn freshman experience. But as students move beyond their days in the Quadrangle, local restaurants and grocery stores tend to replace trips to 1920 Commons as a go-to source of food.

But some older students choose to remain on meal plans — and Dining Services employs various tactics to keep them happy.

“We are always trying to tweak the amount of retail that we have because we know upper class students want more retail and less swipes,” University

spokesperson Barbara Lea-Kruger said.

For example, Gourmet Grocer has recently expanded to offer produce by the pound, as well as hot and cold meals.

Director of Business and Hospitality Services Pam Lampitt also cited the 5 percent discount Penn students receive when using their Dining Dollars at retail locations on campus — for example, 100 “real” dollars buys 105 Dining Dollars for use in such locations.

Lampitt says that this system adds value to the Dining Dollar and benefits students who choose to stay on meal plans throughout their years at Penn. ”Satisfaction will breed better retention,” Lampitt said, noting that Penn Dining frequently asks itself, “How are SEE DINING PLANS PAGE 2

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Wharton prof. picked as commencement speaker for Utah State University Grant is the youngest tenured Wharton prof.

HARI KUMAR Staff Reporter

Wharton professor Adam Grant has been chosen to speak at Utah State University’s undergraduate commencement ceremony this May, according to the Herald Journal.

The ceremony will take place on May 6, where Grant will be

joined by former United States District Judge Ted Stewart, humanitarian Don Wang and former member of the Utah House of Representatives Beverly Jean Larson White. Grant, Stewart, Wang and White will receive an honorary degrees from the university.

Regarding the decision to give Grant and the others honorary degrees, Utah State University President Noelle Cockett wrote in a statement that all “of these

individuals have contributed in a number of ways and in a number of fields, but all of them deserve honor for their passion and determination to serve others.”

Grant, who is the youngesttenured professor at the Wharton School, has been recognized as Wharton’s highest-rated professor for the past five years.

He is well-known for having written The New York Times bestselling books “Originals” and “Give and Take.” “Originals”

VISIT

DINING PLANS >> FRONTPAGE

students using their meal plans?”

A large factor for many Penn students who stay on a meal plan is the convenience of dining halls and retail locations. Many of these students are athletes, who tend to crave hearty, ready-to-eat meals.

“We have worked very closely with athletics and they really strongly encourage them to be on a meal plan,” Lampitt said.

College junior Kyle Heubner is a member of the Penn Running Club and sometimes eats with fellow club members after a run. He echoed the meal plan’s benefits for athletes.

“If I go on a 12-mile run the last thing I want to do is spend 30 minutes cooking a meal,” Heubner said. “[Eating together] is a good bonding experience.”

Heubner is on the Away From Kitchen meal plan, which allots for 250 meal swipes and 100 Dining Dollars per semester. He eats three full meals a day at dining halls and says he schedules his classes around his meal plan.

“I’m not the best cook and [the dining hall] gives me something that I know is edible and I can kind of continue on with my day from there.”

explores how individuals can avoid groupthink and “Give and Take” demonstrates the value of helping others.

Grant is also an advocate for education reform. In particular, he wrote an editorial piece for The New York Times last September advocating for colleges to abandon the use of forced grading curves. He wrote that grading curves “create an atmosphere that’s toxic by pitting students against one another.”

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GRAND FINALE NIGHT

But Heuber’s appreciation for the dining halls goes beyond the food itself.

“One of the reasons I am on the meal plan is because some of the Bon Appétit workers are really nice, especially Ms. Anita.”

But jocks aren’t the only upperclassmen eating at the dining halls.

Lampitt noted some students notice the benefits of meal plans when they no longer have one. This results in many students returning to a plan as juniors after going without one their sophomore year.

“We are trying many different ways not only in quality of food, variety of food, meal plan options, retail options, all those kinds of things to [make it] advantageous for students wanting to stay on a meal plan.”

Penn Dining also undertakes efforts to make dining halls reliable places where students feel comfortable and supported by employees.

As evidence, Lampitt pointed to the March 14 snow day, when various area restaurants and food trucks were closed but Penn Dining remained open.

“We were here to be supportive to the student population,” Lampitt said. “That is reflective of the commitment that Penn Dining has [to] students.”

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2017

Summit shows Penn women how to OWN IT Group aims for inclusion, intersectional feminism ISABELLA FERTEL Staff Reporter

A group of female students has organized Penn’s first OWN IT Summit, a women’s leadership conference designed to connect college-age women to female leaders.

The event, “completely open” to anyone who purchases a ticket, features an all-female cast of speakers — including former Pennsylvania senatorial candidate Katie McGinty and New York Times Associate Digital Editor Jazmine Hughes — who are business owners and leaders in their professional fields. It will be held on March 25 in Meyerson Hall.

The conference will host four “main stage” speaker panels to discuss the role of women in different arenas, such as politics and media, as well as themes that apply to women in the workplace regardless of field. In between the panels, the 50 speakers will separate into break-away sessions and “office hours,” allowing attendees to speak with the panelists about career specifics and issues in a “more intimate” setting due to the capped

attendance.

OWN IT UPenn Co-Executive Chair and College senior Anna Rosenfeld said that while she noticed a community of students and women on campus who think about women as leaders and diversity in the workplace, she noticed a lack of activity on campus regarding female empowerment.

“It is important on any campus but I have definitely found that, as impressive as the women on this campus are, there is not a lot of conversation about female leadership,” Rosenfeld said. “We obviously have a female president of the University. Our student body president is a woman — our last three student body presidents have been women — but I just don’t think there’s enough active conversation about empowering women to be leaders in our fields.”

The board designed the event with the tenants of “accessibility, diversity, and embracing feminism” in mind, Rosenfeld said.

Both she and College junior Natasha Galperin, also co-executive chair of OWN IT UPenn, wanted the speakers to be as representative as possible of the different identities and the varied professional aspirations women have at Penn.

Rosenfeld explained that what she

called the “typical” professional fields at Penn that are promoted by campus culture — business and finance — are traditionally “male-dominated” and are not representative of all students’ professional interests.

Penn Women’s Center Director Litty Paxton assisted Rosenfeld and Galperin in bringing their ideas for the conference into fruition. Through regular meetings, Paxton worked with the pair to iron out all of the details involved with putting on a major event on campus and to ensure that the conference was inclusive and representative of all identities.

From “day one” the OWN IT board has worked to “make sure that this is a conference that’s going to have a broad appeal and that brings in a diverse group of speakers that addresses a diverse set of issues,” Paxton said.

One of the things Paxton addressed with the board was the OWN IT logo used for previous conferences. The logo features a silhouette of a thin woman with straight hair and her hands on her hips, which Paxton called a “stereotypical” pose. After considering the identities that were “left out of the conversation” by being unrepresented in the logo, the OWN IT

board decided to use a different one for the event featuring what Rosenfeld called “the female symbol,” the Venus astrological symbol commonly used to denote gender.

“We decided to go with the female symbol which we think is inclusive of people who identify as a woman in whatever that means to them and hopefully doesn’t make anyone feel excluded from the conference and the idea of a women’s conference,” she said.

Speakers co-chair and College senior Ayan Aidid said that the representation of “diversity in all realms” was a priority when choosing the speakers for the event. Both of the speakers co-chairs and other members of the board reached out to a diverse group of women who they felt personally inspired by or to whom they were referred by other members of the Penn community.

While Aidid said that she and the other speakers co-chair were in contact with “big names” within the non-cis and non-binary communities, they were ultimately unable to secure a speaker from those communities for the event. Aidid said that she hopes future conferences will include such speakers and that including LGBTQ women “has definitely

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been on the forefront” of speaker selection and the conference as a whole.

Rosenfeld hopes that the event’s diversity is recognizable and impactful for people attending the summit. She stressed the importance of embracing the intersectionality of feminism and challenges conference goers to learn about ideas of feminism “beyond themselves,” especially in the work place.

“Feminism, especially now, is such a broad term and it’s really easy, I think, to pigeon-hole ourselves into feminism that fits our own identities,” Rosenfeld said. “I hope that every student leaves feeling like they learned something and that they gained some perspective on their feminism. Even someone who already feels like an ardent feminist can challenge themselves and learn something new.”

The OWN IT Summit was created by two female Georgetown University students in order to “address the leadership gap” present in the workforce, according to their mission statement. Rosenfeld and Galperin were both connected to the summit’s founders and decided to bring the event to Penn’s campus in between their freshman and sophomore years.

mission, and indeed of the enduring value of the humanities that form part of the School’s own mission.

Yesterday’s statement emphasized that Penn’s Office of Government and Community Affairs will lobby for Penn’s interests throughout the budget process “in federal policy discussions through direct meetings with members and staff from our local Congressional delegation and through leadership positions in our nonpartisan advocacy organizations.”

It also included links to statements by the National Humanities Alliance, Association of American Universities President Mary Sue Coleman and United for Medical Research criticizing proposed funding cuts.

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Gutmann and Provost Price urge grad. students not to unionize They insist that graduate students are not employees HALEY SUH Staff Reporter

Penn President Amy Gutmann and Provost Vincent Price asked graduate students to reconsider their efforts to unionize in an email sent to the graduate student community on Monday.

The administration’s response comes after a group of Penn graduate students known as GET-UP, an acronym for Graduate Employees Together — University of Pennsylvania, publicly announced their unionization movement earlier this month. Last week, 53 Penn professors also released a letter in support of the graduate students’

effort to unionize, and more have since signed the letter.

“It would be impossible to overstate how extremely proud and strongly supportive we are of our graduate students and their essential contributions to research and education at Penn,” Gutmann and Price wrote in the email. “We are absolutely committed to supporting not only their current endeavors but also their future successes.”

Gutmann and Price argued that Penn’s relationship with its graduate students is “quite different” from that of employer to employee, writing that unionization would adversely affect the relationship between the Penn faculty and students.

“The relationship between

faculty and graduate students at Penn has succeeded so well, and our commitment, to preparing Penn students for their future careers is so strong, in no small part because Penn faculty serve as mentors, not managers,” they wrote. “That clearly changes when the interaction — which would be governed by an external third party — is no longer collegial, but instead the subject of union rules.”

The email added that Penn has worked with existing student groups, including the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly and other graduate student governments within the graduate schools, to increase “graduate student funding, mentorship, and community support.”

LUCAS WEINER | VIDEO EDITOR

Penn President Amy Gutmann and Provost Price’s letter to graduate students discourages them from forming labor unions despite the support of 53 faculty members for the unionization movement.

Profs. say Trump’s executive orders won’t stop IS Event held by Government and Politics Association ELAINE LIU Contributing Reporter

IDIL DEMIRDAG | ASSOCIATE PHOTO EDITOR

Political Science professor Ian Lustick discussed hot topics in foreign policy such as the relationships between the U.S. and Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia.

KENAN

>> FRONTPAGE

the entertainment business. He recounted his experience as a movie reviewer, and how he reviewed the movie, “The Mighty Ducks.”

After meeting the actors, Thompson auditioned for and was hired to appear in the second and third “Mighty Ducks” films.

Thompson also described how he came from humble beginnings.

“When they asked me to send them another tape, I was like ‘I can’t afford all these tapes,’” he said.

Thompson said his mother was incredibly supportive from the start, when he acted in his kindergarten production of “The Gingerbread Man.” As his career progressed, Thompson described his work at Nickelodeon as “school,” and working for SNL as “college.”

When he joined SNL he said he

remembered thinking, “Oh crap, I have to write a sketch for myself.”

Despite the long hours, Thompson said he is “afraid” to leave SNL because he thinks it is such a special job.

“It’s rare to have Mick Jagger sitting there eating lunch [asking] ‘Do you know where the loo is?’” he said.

Since President Donald Trump’s election, SNL has gained continual notoriety for a series of sketches mocking the Republican president and his advisors, including Press Secretary Sean Spicer, who was played by actress Melissa McCarthy in recent sketches.

Thompson said the current political climate energized the show’s writing. Trump, before becoming a frequent critic of the show, appeared as a host on Nov. 7, 2015.

“Back then the Trump we all knew was just egotistical; it wasn’t like he had control over all of our lives … he was just being his

typical self,” Thompson said.

Regardless of who hosts or appears on the show, Thompson said the cast always has fun with it, including during Trump’s appearance.

During the question-and-answer period, a young child was first in line ahead of over a dozen eager Penn students to ask a question. He asked Thompson to name the funniest person he had ever met. Thompson said Anthony Anderson because of his “super contagious laugh.”

“He made me laugh so hard I popped out a tooth,” Thompson said.

Another attendee later asked about how his identity affected his journey as a comedian.

“For me, I speak from the black perspective. I speak from the male perspective. Now, as a dad, hopefully I’ll start telling dad jokes,” Thompson chuckled. “I’m not a huge fan of categorization … but

Students gathered in Perry World House Tuesday to listen to Political Science professor Ian Lustick and International Relations lecturer Samuel Helfont share their views on Donald Trump’s policy toward the Middle East at an event organized by the Government and Politics Association.

They discussed his recent executive orders limiting immigration, American relations with Saudi Arabia, Israel and Iran, terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Both professors agreed that Trump’s executive orders restricting immigration are poor solutions to prevent terrorism.

Lustick said the travel ban “decredibilizes the commitments that our people will be trying to make to recruit help.”

“Unless there is a political reorganization in place,” Helfont added, “we will see some other sort of [the Islamic State group] in three or four years.”

The professors also discussed Trump’s recently released budget proposal, which includes budget cuts for the United States State Department and other foreign policy programs. Lustick called this budget cut “irrational.”

The funding cuts are “going to leave tactics with no strategy,” Helfont said. He said the ideal course of action would “work with the local actors to build security.”

College sophomore Whitney Stewart, president of the Government and Politics Association, said the discussion was

organized because of the potential for significant change in U.S. foreign policy under Trump.

In the question and answer portion of the event, some students expressed frustrations with the intentions and actions of the U.S. government.

There are people in the government and military who “care deeply about these countries” and what happens to them, Lustick said in response to one of these questions, but added that some conflicts are not currently possible to solve.

Lustick said he does not forsee progress toward resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the near future.

“We have this so-called Nash equilibrium, where everyone — all the players are trapped on a global maximum, and it won’t get off it,” he said.

SAM HOLLAND | ASSOCIATE PHOTO EDITOR

Among other topics, comedian Kenan Thompson discussed how the current political climate has inspired the writers of Saturday Night Live, leading to popular sketches starring Alec Baldwin as President Trump.

4

OPINION

Nickel-and-dimed by Penn CUP O’JOE | Penn’s costs are out of control

WEDNESDAY MARCH 22, 2017 VOL. CXXXIII, NO. 35 133rd Year of Publication CARTER COUDRIET President DAN SPINELLI Executive Editor LUCIEN WANG Print Director ALEX GRAVES Digital Director ALESSANDRO VAN DEN BRINK Opinion Editor SYDNEY SCHAEDEL Senior News Editor WILL SNOW Senior Sports Editor CHRIS MURACCA Design Editor CAMILLE RAPAY Design Editor JULIA SCHORR Design Editor VIBHA KANNAN Enterprise Editor GENEVIEVE GLATSKY News Editor TOM NOWLAN News Editor ALLY JOHNSON Assignments Editor COLE JACOBSON Sports Editor JONATHAN POLLACK Sports Editor TOMMY ROTHMAN Sports Editor

Just before spring break, I went to the Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks basketball game on a trip sponsored by my dorm. My ticket was free, subsidized

by Sansom West College House. Naturally, I thought this was awesome. Free tickets!

Except, it wasn’t free. I paid for them through my College House fee, as did everyone else in my dorm, whether they went to the game or not.

Were all the students demanding 42-inch flatscreen TVs in every single suite in New College House? I personally think this is an unnecessary amenity, but the administration fell all over itself to fund it.

Were all the students demanding cable subscriptions? According to University Board of Trustees Chair David L. Cohen, who also serves as executive vice president at Comcast, “students request[ed] more flexible services in their residencies.” This year, the University bought every oncampus student an Xfinity on Campus package from Comcast. We have no idea

what the University paid for this service, which is redundant and unnecessary to anyone who already has a media subscription such as Netflix. Mr. Cohen maintains there was no conflict of interest.

There are all sorts of ridiculous things we pay for.

Every freshman and transfer student is required to buy a pricey meal plan which can be used at dining halls. On average, a meal swipe costs roughly $13 – an absurdly high price far exceeding its value. Because you are forced to buy so many meals up front, there is actually a perverse incentive for dining halls to provide terrible service.

There is one contractor, Bon Appétit Management Company, with little University-sanctioned competition and a functional monopoly on any students who have a plan. You’ve already given them revenue at the beginning of the semester, and their costs gradually add up based on the more people they serve. They lose money when students eat there, so the worse of a dining experience you have,

the better it is for their bottom line.

The New York Times recently did a piece highlighting the extreme economic stratification of higher education, showing that Penn has more students from the top 1 percent than the bottom 60 percent combined.

Admissions Dean Eric Furda responded to this by

Maybe fewer people would need financial aid if college weren’t so expensive?

We are somewhat removed from the costs, because we never actually see the dollar amount. Most of the time, we are given a price ahead of time for a specific item and we are able to say “Yes, I want

If the administration is serious about making education affordable, they can start by admitting the problem is the way they spend money.” highlighting Penn’s growing financial aid program.

Recently the University announced that tuition would increase by 3.9 percent, bringing the total cost of attendance to an astronomical $66,000 for 2016-2017.

President Gutmann mentioned that the financial aid budget is increasing by more to compensate.

this” or “No, I don’t want this”.

When it comes to these college expenses, we are not given such a choice.

All sorts of stuff is first purchased for us, then offered to us in a false show of generosity on behalf of the University. Would we really want the things we are “offered” if we could see the

price tag?

The Penn Operating Budget is big and detailed but far from complete. For example, the School of Arts and Sciences, a $500 million operation, is given a total of three pages of breakdown. Still, there is some evidence of mismanagement. Case in point, there are more full time employees in “Administrative Centers,” which includes alumni relations, human resources and information technology, among others, than full time faculty members in all the undergraduate and graduate schools combined (on page 105). It is quite obvious that a University with more fulltime bureaucrats than professors is doing something wrong.

Let me be clear. The University of Pennsylvania is nickel and diming us, providing us poor services, buying us things we never asked for, spending our money on things we don’t use, then crying crocodile tears wondering why working- and middle-class students can’t afford to attend.

Every time the University raises tuition and other

JOE THARAKAN costs, then increases financial aid to compensate, it creates another opportunity for low-income students to fall through the cracks and be denied a chance at a Penn education.

If the administration is serious about making education affordable, they can start by admitting the problem is the way they spend money. But as Upton Sinclair said, “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”

JOE THARAKAN is a College senior from the Bronx, N.Y., studying biological basis of behavior. His email address is jthara@sas.upenn.edu. “Cup O’Joe” usually appears every other Tuesday.

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AMANDA GEISER Copy Editor HARRY TRUSTMAN Copy Editor ANDREW FISCHER Director of Web Development DYLAN REIM Social Media Editor DAKSH CHHOKRA Analytics Editor ANANYA CHANDRA Photo Manager JOY LEE News Photo Editor ZACH SHELDON Sports Photo Editor LUCAS WEINER Video Producer JOYCE VARMA Podcast Editor BRANDON JOHNSON Business Manager MADDY OVERMOYER Advertising Manager SONIA KUMAR Business Analytics Manager MARK PARASKEVAS Circulation Manager HANNAH SHAKNOVICH Marketing Manager TANVI KAPUR Development Project Lead MEGHA AGARWAL Development Project Lead

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In defense of student athletes

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CAL’S CORNER | How the values of students athletes correlate with the mission of Penn If you know me, you know that one thing keeps me laughing every day: Twitter memes. The best part about this is that practically every month or week, a new meme dominates Twitter’s social feed. This week, student athletes have been the center of laughter in a popular meme across social media platforms that mocks them for being overly enthusiastic and self-centered, making every conversation about themselves and their physical fitness. In the joke, someone says something innocuous and the student athlete replies by somehow spinning the topic to physical fitness while peppering their response with emojis.

While there may be some truth to this, I feel like the general stigma of student athletes is pretty flawed, especially here at Penn and similar institutions.

Recently, a student at Yale University published an article slamming the university’s entanglement of admissions and athletics, claiming that “sports have nothing to do with the mission of college.” This week, I want to discuss why recent statements about student-

athletes have underestimated and limited what Penn students are capable of by shaming and devaluing this specific group within our community.

It’s safe to say that we all came to Penn because it fosters an opportunity that no peer institution can through a community of different thoughts, talents and identities. However, it is no secret that our community often can feel fragmented due to such differences. As a student-athlete involved in groups such as Undergraduate Assembly, UMOJA and, of course, The Daily Pennsylvanian, I have found it hard to find Penn student athletes within time-demanding student groups and clubs due to the expectations of their sport.

However, I do not feel that non-student athletes bear this burden, as I’ve met theater kids in Undergraduate Assembly, musicians on The Daily Pennsylvanian and even students with start-up companies in groups of the like.

Why? I can almost guarantee that virtually every athlete at Penn has been told to quit their sport by a

non-athlete when they decided to invest their time in other programs and student-run clubs. Given the rigor, practice schedule and pressure student athletes experience, we often stick to our respective worlds — sports and academia — not just due to a lack of time, but also a lack of understanding by those outside of our realm.

missions. But fortunately, student athletes, non-athletes, coaches and even faculty members alike, assert that this is simply not true.

The implication that one is less smart, qualified or does not contribute to the student body as a student athlete scares me. When I came to Penn, a university that does not grant athletic scholarships to any of its

A college is meant to cultivate minds, and athletes do so every day whether on the court, field, track or ice rink by facing challenges in both the athletic and academic realms of Penn.”

Even beyond this, similar to the Yale situation, every now and then I hear about how athletes, “don’t deserve to be here” or how they are “not as smart as their classmates” and “took the easy route” when it came to ad-

student athletes due to regulations, I never had thought this would be the case.

Student athletes across the Ivy League and at other prestigious institutions face stringent academic scrutiny within their application,

and the sacrifices that craft our success at Penn and beyond is a testament not only to our perseverance and fortitude, but more so to our augmentation of intellect here at Penn. For virtually every student athlete here, it was — and is — the esteemed academic reputation of Penn that contributed to their decision in attending, and hence our contributions to the University fall both in and outside of our academic grit and qualifications, especially given that we could have received scholarship offers from less-prestigious institutions.

A college is meant to cultivate minds, and athletes do so every day whether on the court, field, track or ice rink by facing challenges in both the athletic and academic realms of Penn. While the author of the Yale column may think, “the virtues or lessons learned in sports are acquirable in intellectual activities,” student athletes contribute to the mission of our University differently than any other organization on campus. Athletics teaches lessons about sportsmanship, mental toughness, for-

CALVARY ROGERS titude and integrity in ways that the classroom can’t.

Just 2.25 percent of high school student athletes go on to compete in Division I athletics, let alone at a university as esteemed as Penn. Similarly to any other students, athletes contribute to the mission of our University by embodying the values of leadership, responsibility and intellectualism, just in a way that not everyone can fully appreciate. As a student body, that truth should not separate us, but should unite us.

CALVARY ROGERS is a College sophomore from Rochester, N.Y., studying political science.

His email address is calvary@ sas.upenn.edu. “Cal’s Corner” usually appears ever y Wednesday.

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This destination district includes over 100 businesses, cultural and recreational venues, and public spaces in and around This penn’s destination district over 100 businesses, cultural and recreational venues,between and public in and around campus, alongincludes the tree-lined blocks of chestnut, walnut and spruce streets 30thspaces and 40th streets. penn’s campus, along the tree-lined blocks of chestnut, walnut and spruce streets between 30th and 40th streets.

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2017

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Jewish delicacies: latkes and hamantaschen duke it out Penn’s Chabad House hosted humorous debate COLLEEN O’MALLEY Contributing Reporter

Two professors met on Monday to continue a 71-yearold debate over the relative merits of the latke and the hamantaschen.

The Chabad House at Penn hosted its first latke-hamantaschen debate, where political science professor Ian Lustick and Penn Law School Dean Theodore Ruger took opposing stances. The debate fell eight days after the Jewish holiday Purim, during which hamantaschen — a triangular pastry fashioned after the three-corned hat worn by the villain in the story of Purim — is traditionally consumed.

Although the tone of the debate was lighthearted, it took

a formal structure with opening and closing arguments in addition to questions from the audience. “Doesn’t the latke prove that the war was all about the oil?� one student asked, jokingly drawing a parallel between modern conflicts and the role of oil in the story of Chanukah.

After the event, Lustick explained that the humorous tone reflects the nature of Purim. “Every culture has a holiday in which everything turns upside-down,� he said. “Purim is that for Jews — there’s a silliness associated with it.�

T he lat ke-ha ma nt aschen debate has been a tradition at many universities for decades, beginning in 1946 at the University of Chicago. On Monday, attendees received samples of the potato pancake and triangular pastry upon entry and voted on their favorite food at the end

of the event. During the final vote, 50 students chose latkes and 50 students chose hamantaschen.

One audience member suggested the hamantaschen is superior because it represents a time of prosperity as opposed to the latke, which he said “reminds us of a harder time.� “Now if you ask me to say that now, in times of prosperity, we should celebrate hamantaschen, and forget the bad old days of the simple foods that our ancestors ate, you are forgetting the 99 percent of people that lived, struggling every day for their existence,� Lustick said in response. “We are not in the time of a messiah when we can think only of peace, only of prosperity for all,� he continued. “We are trying to get there, and I argue that we get there through latkes.�

College sophomore Holden Caplan, who helped organize the debate, said that the event is intended to bring more people to the Chabad House “to celebrate Jewish tradition and culture.� “The best way to do it is through fun, silly topics like this debate,� he said.

Col lege a nd Eng i ne ering sophomore Jesse Berliner-Sachs, president of the Chabad Undergraduate Committee at Penn, said he hopes the latke-hamantaschen debate will become an annual event at Penn.

Ruger closed his argument for the hamantaschen by arguing that it is improving as Jews continue to experiment with recipes. “Is the best latke you’ve eaten going to get any better?â€? he said. “I think we’ve got centuries of experience with good latkes ‌ the brighter days for hamantaschen are ahead.â€?

PHOTO FROM RABBI LEVI HASKELEVICH

The tradition of the latke-hamantaschen debate began at the University of Chicago in 1946 and has since been held at many universities.

National Review executive editor talks conservatism, Trump College Republicans hosted Reihan Salam ALLY STERN Contriubting Reporter

Penn’s political groups hosted the editor of a leading conservative publication on Tuesday to discuss the future of conservatism in the age of President Donald Trump.

Penn Political Coalition — the umbrella organization for political student groups — joined with College Republicans and Penn in Washington to host Reihan Salam, the executive editor of National Review, in Huntsman Hall.

Salam said his biggest concern about politics now is “racial stratification.� He emphasized the need to “have a multiracial democracy and a society in which everyone really feels like they have a chance.� “I think that a lot of people feel that Donald Trump is a terrible person because he is this kind of a populist who represents identity politics and the idea that he will be the last person like that just seems strange,� he said, explaining that aspects of Trump’s ideology are

shared by other politicians.

Moderated by political science professor Daniel Hopkins, the discussion was part of the Penn Political Coalition 2017 Policy Week. “The big goal of this week is to bring people together on campus who are already interested in politics and public policy, but who maybe have only dealt with politics from one side,� said Wharton sophomore Owen O’Hare, Penn Political Coalition vice president of external relations and College Republicans political director. He said Policy Week invites students to participate in discussions with experts on topics such as environmental, trade and education policy.

Throughout the night, Salam addressed possible changes to policies such as immigration under Republican leadership. “I want a society in which people who are coming from today’s poor immigrant families are going to be in a position where they can enter the elite of our society, or at least expect to have a good middle class life — and I don’t think we are there right now,� he said, adding that his parents are immigrants.

Salam, Hopkins said, was a

valuable speaker for one of the week’s events because he does not conform to all aspects of Republican or conservative orthodoxy. “Reihan is a tremendously sharp-minded, original and heterodox speaker in the best meaning of the term in an age when political orthodoxy often defines people,�

Hopkins said. “Reihan’s thinking is always challenging and always grounded in principle.�

College freshman Dominic Gregorio said after the event that he enjoyed hearing Salam’s perspective because he �[does] not align with just one party or just one ideology all the time.�

Salam said the diversity of views among self-identified conservatives has created confusion about the Republican Party’s ideals. “One way to think about conservatives is that some people are dispositional conservatives who are comfortable with the status quo and do not want really radical change,� he said. “And there are other people who identify as conservatives, but who have a really strong ideological worldview and a really strong sense of what they want the world to look like.�

IDIL DEMIRDAG | ASSOCIATE PHOTO EDITOR

Attendees of the event appreciated the fact that Salam touched on a range of topics related to conservatism, such as the future of conservatism and unorthodox positions with the ideology.

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10 SPORTS

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2017

THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN | THEDP.COM

Quakers begin season with annual trip to Florida

Penn shakes off rust en route to 4-6 record REINA KERN Sports Reporter

After a successful spring break trip to Clearwater, Florida, Penn softball’s season has officially started, and the Quakers are ready to make their mark in the Ivy League.

Victor ious aga i nst St. Bonaventure, Indiana UniversityPurdue University Fort Wayne, Towson, and University of Southern Florida, the Red and Blue opened their season on a high note against some competitive opponents.

“I think we did really well and held our own against some tough teams for our first time out for the season,” junior captain Mason Spichiger said.

Sophomore infielder Sarah Cwiertnia proved to be a key part of the squad with her performances in Florida. Similar to Spichiger, she felt positive about the team’s progress and is confident in its abilities.

“The purpose of going to Florida is to fine tune everything,”

she said. “We spend a month in the bubble scrimmaging so I think it was really great to come out and play some good teams to get ready for the Ivy league season.”

Playing these teams was important to establish the team dynamic for the season ahead, but it is also crucial that the team uses these games as a way to improve and tweak mistakes early on in the season before hitting the Ivy League season.

“We have a pretty deep team and I feel confident that anyone on our team can get a hit in our lineup,” Spichiger said, “so with that, we’ll go far.”

By utilizing everyone on the team and creating depth in their squad, the Red and Blue will have strength in numbers over their opponents. With the entire team on the same game plan and striving for the same goals, Penn can overcome adversity that comes its way as the season progresses.

While in Clearwater, the team got a taste of such adversity with a brutal slate of ten games, and the Quakers didn’t back down.

“It was our first games so we were just trying to get a feel for everything, but we tried to keep

and Blue could easily pinpoint what they did well as a group.

“We try to put the ball on the ground and keep the ball in play and we seem to be very effective at doing that,” Cwiertnia said.

“We want to continue to score runs and make the other team a little bit uneasy on their feet and I think we’ve been successful at doing that.”

While the team played a total of ten games while in Florida, there was also time for team bonding.

“It is the first time we are really stuck with each other for a week so it is great for team bonding and getting to eat dinner together is always really fun,” Spichiger said.

Similar to her teammate, Cwiertnia thought the team bonding experience was very rewarding, and Florida was a great place to spend spring break.

“Besides team dinners we watched movies and got to sit by the pool. Some of us even went to the beach which was really nice,” Cwiertnia said.

With a lot of hard work and some down time in between, the Quakers set the tone for a successful season that lies ahead.

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Boosted by the offensive outburst of sophomore middle infielder Sarah Cwiertnia, Penn softball managed a 4-6 record during a tough trip to Florida, putting the Quakers in prime position for Ivy play.

the energy high and play hard all the way through so that when we are in those tight games we can keep fighting. I thought we did that really well,” Spichiger said.

The team reacted well to some highly competitive opponents, and came out with some triumphs

despite their foes’ gaudy reputations.

“We played some really good teams and beat USF so that was really big for us,” Cwiertnia said.

“We were really excited and really pumped, and I feel like this is great for our season because we

can carry this momentum over into our [Ivy League] opening weekend next weekend.”

Some of the most important parts of traveling to Florida to play were finding the strengths and weaknesses of the squad.

Through these games, the Red

Strong class of freshmevn ready to make immediate impact Group of six rookies to play big role for Quakers GREG ROBINOV Sports Reporter

In the revolving-door world of college sports, teams know that even their best players are only around a bit longer. However, given the strength of its freshman class, Penn softball has nothing to worry about.

This year, the Quakers (6-6) have welcomed in six new faces to the program, each with her own unique background set of skills. An interesting note on that recruiting class is the range of positions spanned, bringing in a pitcher, catcher, two infielders, an outfielder, and a utility player. This should help to integrate the freshmen as a unit, as one day, they can all take the field side by side.

Currently leading the freshmen in batting average with a noteworthy .375, is Jennifer Brann, who actually does most of her work in the circle.

Having just picked up her first win, Brann has tossed 9.2 innings and fanned seven with only a single walk. Although she trekked to Philadelphia, Brann has a twin sister playing for the UT Dallas program, so perhaps down the line the schedules will call for a family reunion.

Up next is the power-hitting Raven Houck, who set high school records for most home runs in a game and consecutive plate appearances. Her production is already paying off, scoring twice on her two hits in seven at bats this season.

Catcher Corey Bur rough likely already feels at home with the team, thanks to her past playing Texas club ball with current junior third baseman Molly Oretsky. Having already gone 1-for-4 at bat, Burrough will look to increase her workload and settle in behind the plate as the season goes on.

An L.A. Daily player to watch in high school, infielder Julia Duarte is looking to make a bigger impact with the Red

and Blue, already scoring a run and making five put-outs in the field. Although a first baseman by training, Duarte may look to increase her versatility to find a spot in the talented Penn infield.

Another player with the sport in her veins, Berit Batterton shares her skills with her cousin John Ryan Murphy, who now applies his craft for the Minnesota Twins. The first team All-County utility player from her hometown in Maryland will be aiming to get familiar with a handful of roles in the Penn system, having played shortstop, first base, and outfield in the past.

A three-time first-team AAA All-State outfielder in Pennsylvania, Clare Sebastianelli is already making her mark by crossing the plate three times.

Recognized as a skilled fielder, Sebastianelli will hope to work her way into the roster more consistently and build upon her three putouts this year.

This talented group will be working to move themselves

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If Penn softball is to avoid the pitfalls of previous seasons and seize its first Ivy League title since 2013, its talented class of six freshmen will unquestionably have to step up in key spots late in the year.

up in the depth chart as the season progresses, constantly striving to adjust to the speed

RETZER

LEAH ALLEN

True to form, Retzer has made astounding progress in the six weeks since her accident. After spending three weeks in a coma at Albany Medical Center, Retzer was transferred to the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in West Orange, N.J. Upon arrival, she emerged into a semi-conscious state and began to flutter her eyelids and wiggle her fingers.

In the last two weeks, she has slowly begun to regain greater movement of her body, the ability to speak and increased awareness.

“This week her therapist called her the rock star of 2017 because she woke up right away,” her mother said.

At the moment her words are only whispers, but she has near full recollection of her life before the accident.

“One question that made us really laugh was, ‘Who is the owner of the Blarney Stone?’ and she was like ‘Kevin!’” Ms. Retzer said. “So we were like, ‘Oh my god, she remembers everything.’”

Remarkably, Retzer was not paralyzed in the accident, and it appears that the only part of her body affected by the trauma is her brain.

“It’s just going to take a lot of time and it’s going to be a very long recovery, but she is going to do it,” her mother said. “Her brain now has to connect to her body, she has to teach herself how to walk, how to talk, how to sit. All those things.”

To help keep her brain engaged, Ms. Retzer plays audio clips with messages from loved

established herself as the new record-holder in a category that, until Allen came along, certainly did not go hand-inhand with the stolen base.

“She’s pretty special. It’s very, very rare to have that combination of power and speed. If you asked anybody who follows softball or baseball, if you ask anybody who set a record for both stolen bases and home runs, it’s rarified air, it just doesn’t happen,” King said. So her ability to run and swing the bat, with power, is something that we knew, when we were recruiting her--we felt very, very fortunate that she chose to come to Penn.”

Allen, who entered her final season on the brink of the home run and stolen base crowns, is also just 14 runs batted in short of becoming the leader in that category, and is

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and caliber of the collegiate D1 game. With each game that goes by, these young ball players

three triples away from setting a new mark for that statistic as well. The team is well aware of this ongoing assault on the record books, and they were very aware on that sunny day in Florida when history sailed over the fence.

“It was one of my furthest home runs I think I’ve ever hit, so it was a really good feeling,” Allen recalled. “I hit it out and I knew in my head it was 25, so I was running around the bases and I was really happy. It was a really good one to get 25 on.”

“I stole the ball,” King laughed. “And the umpire kept asking me for the ball. He was like, ‘can I have the ball, coach?’ And I was like ‘no.’

And I didn’t wanna call a time out to tell him why that I kept the ball that she hit out, but yeah, we were all very aware.”

The records won’t be enough for Allen. She wants an Ivy League championship, and she knows this is her final chance.

will grow and improve, inching closer to one day being the faces of the program.

But she fully understands and values the significance of her astounding numbers, and the permanent place she has earned in Penn softball history.

“I think it’s just really awesome to know that all the hard work over the years--- not just here at Penn, but in high school when you’d go for trips you’d miss so many things like Homecoming or dances,” Allen said, “it’s really nice to know that all those missed things that I was really upset about then paid off in the long run. It’s really nice to know that everything worked out in the end.”

It didn’t come easily, or conveniently, but Allen’s legacy as the best offensive dual-threat in the history of the program is something that can never be taken away from her.

Unless another Leah Allen comes along. But don’t hold your breath.

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Though coach Leslie King is focused on the season ahead, the Quakers’ support of Jen Retzer shows that winning isn’t everything.

ones for her daughter on a near constant loop. The need for new audio messages has given Retzer’s former teammates a way to stay involved with her recovery.

“We’ve been sending her audio clips after games and practices during our spring trip in Florida,” said Kranzmann.

“We want to keep doing that for as long as we can and as long as [Ms. Retzer] will take them.”

On Saturday, the team will be helping host a fundraiser for Retzer at the Blarney Stone, a campus bar where Retzer

bartended for a time during her college years. All proceeds from the $25-a-ticket open bar will go towards funding Retzer’s medical bills.

Due to the unpredictable nature of brain injuries, there is no concrete timeline for Retzer’s recovery and ultimate departure from Kessler.

But neither Ms. Retzer nor her daughter are daunted by the long road ahead.

“We’re not leaving until she walks out of here.”

And Penn softball plans to walk with her the whole way through.

Most HOME RUNS: 26

Most STOLEN BASES: 48

2 TRIPLES Until Record

13 RUNS BATTED IN Until Record

THEDP.COM | THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN

SPORTS 11

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2017

SENIORS

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2.80 ERA in four appearances.

Aside from those two seniors, Penn has just two other pitchers on the roster. While junior Mason Spichiger and freshman Jennifer Brann both have experience from the circle, neither have shouldered the bulk of the work like Sargent has. Having someone like Sargent for the younger players to learn from can help sustain success from Penn’s pitching staff.

Despite the individual successes of the two star players, the Quakers have not been able to break through to get that elusive Ivy Championship, and you can bet that the players know this.

“It would mean the world to me,” Sargent commented on potentially winning the Ivy Championship. “I mean, we’ve been fighting for this for four years now, and I know Leah and I and the rest of the seniors, that’s the one thing we want to bring home right now.”

With Allen, Sargent and the

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As dominant as senior Alexis Sargent has been in the circle in her career at Penn, she and her classmates have yet to secure an Ivy League title.

rest of the senior class having only one season left, Penn has only one shot left at getting them an Ivy

title. But if they have anything to say about it, they might just cash in on that opportunity.

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SOFTBALL ISSUE Pair of star seniors make their final title charge

SOUNDING LIKE A

Leah Allen, Alexis Sargent have one last chance to win an Ivy League championship

OR TWO, OR THREE, OR FOUR

JONATHAN POLLACK Sports Editor

The window is still open, but it might be closing fast.

With Penn softball’s two star players, centerfielder Leah Allen and pitcher Alexis Sargent, both graduating in May, this year might represent Penn’s last opportunity to utilize two program greats and capture an Ivy championship.

Penn’s last Ivy title came in the 2013 season — the season right before this current crop of seniors joined the team. Since then, the Red and Blue have captured two division titles, but fell both times in the Ivy Championship Series. Last year, the team finished second in the Ivy South Division, and did not even get a chance to play for the title.

“I wouldn’t say urgency would be the right word; there’s a lot of determination,” coach Leslie King said about this season. “There’s not a sense that it’s a now-or-never thing.

We have a lot of quality throughout our lineup and all of the classes that are there.”

Allen, who has been named first team All-Ivy twice in her career, holds program records for both home runs and stolen bases, and will presumably also take the RBI record by the end of the year. She boasts a career batting average of .339, and has been a constant in the heart of the Red and Blue’s lineup over the past three seasons.

Sargent, the team’s star pitcher, is also in the record books, albeit not at the top quite yet. She currently sits fourth in program history with a 2.44 ERA and 227 strikeouts, although with fewer innings pitched than many others on those lists. She is also a formidable hitter, with a career average of .301 and 81 RBIs. Both Allen and Sargent factor strongly into the Quakers’ game plan for the season. Sargent has already appeared in more than half of the team’s games as a pitcher, and leads the team in innings pitched and ERA. Meanwhile, Allen has been dominant at the plate, leading the team with a .417 average.

“Sargent and Leah have been tremendous leaders for this team for four years and they have been two of the finest players to come through this program,” King said.

While the team does have several other younger, established sluggers, the same cannot be said about the pitching staff. Eight of the 12 games this year have been started by seniors, and of the three returning players with experience in the circle, two are seniors. In addition to Sargent and her sparkling 2.51 ERA this season, classmate Courtney Cuzick has pitched well for the Red and Blue, posting a

Softball star Leah Allen is re-writing the history books TOMMY ROTHMAN Sports Editor

P

enn softball coach Leslie King knew her sta r player would be re-writing the record books this season.

She didn’t know the Quakers’ stolen bases record would be shattered at that exact moment, because she hadn’t given Leah Allen a steal sign.

But Allen, who stood tied for the all-time program record with 42 career steals after a stolen base against St Bonaventure in the season opener earlier that day and at this exact moment stood on first base in the fourth inning of Penn’s matchup with Ball State, thought King had called for a hitand-run.

The hit-and-run play

usually requires two players to work, but if anybody was going to turn a play with that name into a solo mission, it was going to be Leah Allen.

No player in the history of the program has been so capable of dominating the game both with the bat and with their legs.

But Allen is unlike any player Penn softball has ever seen. When she slid safely into second, it ended her approximately 45-minute-long drought of not having shattered an all-time Penn record.

Leading off in the first inning of that same game, Allen had hit her 25th career home run and SEE LEAH ALLEN PAGE 10

SEE SENIORS PAGE 11

Players and team rally to support former teammate in coma 2015 grad Jen Retzer is on the road to recovery LAINE HIGGINS Associate Sports Editor

Sometimes in the wake of tragedy, there is fortitude. The Penn softball team has found such strength from its former teammate Jen Retzer, who graduated in 2015, and sustained a traumatic brain injury while skiing last month at Stratton Mountain in Vermont.

On February 4, Retzer was found unresponsive by ski patrollers, and she was airlifted while in a coma to the intensive care unit at Albany Medical Center. Despite wearing a helmet, Retzer fractured

her skull and damaged her cerebellum, the region of the brain primarily responsible for coordinating movement. Doctors told her mother, Karen Retzer, not to be optimistic.

“They had told us that she had a very bad injury and that she probably wasn’t going to wake up,” she said. “It was horrible.”

The day of the accident, coach Leslie King sent an email to her team to inform them of what had happened. Although only the juniors and seniors on the roster had played with Retzer, all of the current members of the team had the chance to meet her when she returned to campus for an alumni mentorship event in January.

According to senior Lainey Dorris, Retzer only needed

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that one afternoon with the underclassmen to make an impression.

“You’d talk to her and she would always put a smile on your face, she was always very supportive, not one to complain,” Dorris said. “I don’t think anyone has had a bad experience with her.”

As a show of support, every member of the team wrote letters to Jen for Ms. Retzer to read to her daughter. The team also created a fundraising page for Retzer on Generosity.com that has raised $27,796 from 316 donors as of March 20.

“We really talked about perspective and think about her every day and every practice,” Dorris said. “I really think that it’s helping the team become

close.”

“A few of us write, either with a sharpie on our wrist or on our headbands, Jen’s initials, JR, and her number, 15, to remind ourselves constantly of her,” Dorris added.

During her time in University City, Retzer made a profound impact on the Penn softball program despite not playing a single inning after her freshman year when she herniated a disc in her back. The injury was career-ending for a pitcher like Jen, but she chose to stay on the team because “she felt she had so much more to contribute,” said her mother.

“She literally would show up to every single 6 a.m. pitching practice with a smile on her face and a coffee in her hands ready

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to do what she could,” senior captain Sydney Kranzmann said. “I don’t know someone who just lived life more fully than she did.”

D u r i ng ga mes, Ret z er brought an infectious energy to the team. “She’s always someone who would cheer everyone on, even when the team was doing bad, even though her back was hurt and she couldn’t play,” recalled Dorris. “It didn’t matter; she was there and she was really in it.”

Coach K ing recognized Retzer’s resilience and honored her with the program’s Coach’s Award in 2013, 2014 and 2015 — a three-peat of no insignificance. It is exactly that spirit that Dorris, Kranzmann and their teammates hope to

channel by wearing “JR” during practices and games. Later in the season, the team will don “JR 15” patches on their jerseys during Ivy League competition.

After initially sending letters, the team wanted to do more to support Retzer and decided to dedicate their season to their former teammate.

“Coach King was very clear from the beginning that she didn’t want it to be a remembrance. She didn’t want it to be saying that Jen was gone,” Kranzmann said. “She wanted it to be more highlighting the fact that Jen is fighting and we’re behind her and she is someone who completely embodies the spirit of Penn softball.”

SEE RETZER PAGE 10

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