TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2015
THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN | THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
ALUMS HOP INTO SHARK TANK
Four phones stolen at Sigma Alpha Mu party Students’ phones went missing at “Sammy” over the weekend ANNA HESS Staff Reporter
On the Friday of Spring Fling, four students had their phones taken at a fraternity party. The students reported to Penn Police that their phones went missing at the Sigma Alpha Mu — also known as “Sammy” — fraternity house at 38th and Walnut streets around 1 a.m., according to the Division of Public Safety. Penn Police is currently investigating the thefts. DPS said the phones were unattended at the time of the thefts. However, College sophomore Natalie Meeder, one of the victimized party guests, said her phone was not unattended at the time of the theft. She said she had her phone in her purse, which she was wearing, although it was not zipped entirely closed at the time. Meeder recalled feeling something pull on her purse as she passed through the crowd at
Penn alum Jordan Lloyd Bookey was featured on Shark Tank for her company Zoobean.
COURTESY OF JORDAN LLOYD BOOKEY
SEE SAMMY PAGE 3
WHARTON DEAN RETURNS TO HIS ROOTS
COURTESY OF ALEX FURMANSKY
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COURTESY OF ALEX FURMANSKY
Wharton and Engineering graduate Alex Furmansky launched his company, Budsies, in 2013.
Wharton grad presented his business to reality show in episode last week MARLENA HANNA Contributing Reporter
When guerilla warfare is needed, we stubbornly stick to the big guns.” — Oscar A. Rudenstam PAGE 4
Competition exists outside Penn, too. In recent years, several Wharton alumni have gone on the cutthroat reality TV show “Shark Tank” to present their businesses to investors. In the show, independent entrepreneurs present their business ideas to a panel of
businessmen and women, who can then choose to invest in the company. 2007 Wharton and Engineering graduate Alex Furmansky took his company, Budsies, to the investors, known on the show as “Sharks,” in an episode that aired last week. Budsies launched in 2013 when Furmansky saw his little sister Michelle’s artwork go to waste. “She’d come home from school with these little cool drawings which would go on the fridges and then meet their death in the recycling bin,” Furmansky said. Furmansky started Budsies
Frumansky’s company, Budsies, brings children’s artwork to life by turning it into custom stuffed animals.
when he realized that he could bring Michelle’s artwork to life by turning it into custom stuffed animals. “Budsies was this incredible way to treasure her creativity,” Furmansky said. “It’s combining the best of both worlds for a child.” To date, Budsies has had over 9,000 orders of custom toys. “We literally bring kids’ creativity to life,” Furmansky said. “It’s certainly the most rewarding thing I’ve ever worked on.” Furmansky’s experience on the show started with a long audition process. “Imagine having to write a business plan, create a 10 minute
video of yourself and do it all within five days,” he said. Though Furmansky acknowledged that the show had elements of the Hollywood culture, he said that he was surprised by how authentic the experience felt. “It was very real — very raw. It truly felt like I was in that room, just me and the Sharks,” he said. Despite the Sharks’ offers, Furmansky said he thought he “could do better elsewhere.” Even though he walked away without an investor, Furmansky said the experience SEE SHARK TANK PAGE 7
Waitlist not cause for hope for applicants Furda said some students are waitlisted to maintain relationships with schools
THE NEW FACE OF PENN BASKETBALL
CAROLINE SIMON Staff Reporter
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COURTESY OF WAHTEE/CREATIVE COMMONS
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At Penn, waitlisting is a courtesy, not a reason for hope. According to the Admissions Office, between 2,400 and 2,500 students were placed onto the waitlist this year — about two-thirds of the number of students who were accepted. Only 75 to 200 — between about 3 and 8 percent of waitlisted students — are expected to gain acceptance. Dean of Admissions Eric Furda added that the waitlist is usually meant as a courtesy. For example, if Penn cannot accept any applicants from a given high school, it may waitlist some of those applicants in order to maintain a relationship with that school. This logic, Furda said,
even applies to parents. “Although that waitlist isn’t an offer of admission, there is a distinction [from a denial] with phone calls that we have with high schools and sometimes with families,” Furda said. Levia Nahary, master college admissions counselor at IvyWise and a former admissions officer at Penn, said that it has become increasingly difficult to get off college waitlists as applicant pools have increased. “It’s kind of like when your boyfriend or girlfriend breaks up with you but they say, ‘Let’s still be friends,’” she said. Even though the vast majority of waitlisted students will never receive acceptances, Furda said that the number of students Penn places on its waitlist is relatively small compared to the overall number who apply. “To waitlist another couple SEE WAITLIST PAGE 3
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