April 12, 2017

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 12, 2017

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Why is this meal more expensive than any other meal?

Passover meals at Hillel’s dining hall cost $4 more than a usual meal CATHERINE DE LUNA Staff Reporter

inside!

Q&A with Michelle & Jay

For many students, Penn Hillel provides a welcoming home to eat meals that are kosher Passover. But these meals come at a price — one that is higher than for the rest of the year.

Meals at Hillel’s Falk Dining Commons in Steinhardt typically cost one meal swipe and three Dining Dollars. During Passover, this increases to one swipe and seven Dining Dollars for dinner and one swipe and five Dining Dollars for lunch on Thursday through Sunday. For students not on the meal plan, lunch and dinner cost around $20 each. Registration is required for Passover meals and free Seder dinners.

SEE HILLEL PAGE 2

ADMISSIONS KEEPS 2021 FACEBOOK GROUP PAGE 3

The newly elected UA leadership will focus on mental health ISABELLA FERTEL Staff Reporter

I am encouraging professors to design their tests in a way that promotes grades based on merit … ” - Calvary Rogers, on the need to abolish the system of curved grading PAGE 4

THE UNSUNG HERO OF PENN MEN’S LAX

Newly elected Undergraduate Assembly President, College junior Michelle Xu, and Vice President, College sophomore Jay Shah, ran together on a platform to improve mental health, combat Penn’s competitive culture and reduce costs for students. The Daily Pennsylvanian sat down with both leaders to discuss their future initiatives for the Undergraduate Assembly and what it means to them to be elected.

The Daily Pennsylvanian: Why did you run for the UA Executive Board?

Michelle Xu: The first time I ran for the UA was freshman year and it was really a way for me to branch out and meet new people but also to get to understand the school more. As I kept going on with the UA, I became really passionate about certain projects I was working on, like club recruitment and allocation because I was the treasurer the past year. I’m also just the most experienced member on the UA — me and Jay are the only ones who have had both exec and cabinet experience so we were just really confident in what we believed in and also our ability to carry it out.

Jay Shah: Running for vice president is not a decision that is made quickly. A lot of thought has to go with it. We saw a lot of aspects of the UA that really

needed to be improved upon and we felt that there were changes that need to be made both internally and externally for the UA to reach its maximum potential.

DP: Michelle, you won by a pretty major margin. What do you think made your platform so successful?

Xu: Our election platform really focused on the five biggest issues that we feel affect Penn’s campus and I think that’s partly why it was such a successful platform — it really spoke to Penn students. First, we wanted to focus on facilitating a campus climate that emphasizes and prioritizes mental wellness. Our second thing we really wanted to focus on was reducing the SEE Q&A PAGE 3

Fresh Grocer’s looming closure upsets students and Phila. locals Grocery store to be replaced

by Acme Supermarkets

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Both Penn students and members of the Philadelphia community are concerned about the termination of The Fresh Grocer’s lease.

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The replacement of The Fresh Grocer

by Acme at 40th and Walnut streets has sparked mixed reactions from members of the University City community.

Despite an ongoing legal battle, Penn and Acme announced in a joint statement Monday that Fresh Grocer will be replaced with an Acme supermarket, which will include a Starbucks. The new Acme supermarket will, like Fresh Grocer, be open 24 hours a day and will feature a beer and wine shop.

For some local residents, the turnover is fairly unremarkable.

“From a personal perspective,

I do feel bad that it is getting replaced due to employee job security,” April Johnson from Saunders Park, Philadelphia said. She was shopping in Fresh Grocer Tuesday. “However, from a business standpoint, [Fresh Grocer] failed to comply with their leasing terms — they did not renew their lease on time, so it’s on them that they’re getting replaced by Acme.”

The University, which is Fresh Grocer’s landlord, said in January that the store did not renew its lease on time. But Karen Meleta, a spokesperson for ShopRite, which is the larger chain that Fresh Grocer is affiliated with, disputed this statement.

“We do believe we notified them on SEE FRESH GROCER PAGE 5

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2 NEWS

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 12, 2017

THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN | THEDP.COM

Group forms to oppose grad. student unionization

GETDN claims current stipends are sufficient

is the best option. A lot of students in SEAS were unaware of what was going on, so we realized we needed to inform students about both sides of the issue before they vote.

DP: Do you think that, perhaps the GET-UP platform is worthwhile, but now is not the time to unionize?

Lisa Mariani: We want to recognize that just because we may personally have not experienced some of the grievances pushing the GET-UP platform along, these grievances may be real.

MK: GET-UP’s hearts may be in the right place. We think

Penn’s infrastructure is good, but we recognize that any system can use improvement. However, we should determine together the best way to affect change, and vote no until we have explored other alternatives to a union. We’re also open to new measures — for instance, we could hire a professional to bolster GAPSA and other organizations to reduce the dependency on consistent student activism. We’re graduate students first; we’re not executives.

DP: You are both in Engineering, so you receive better funding packages than many of Penn’s graduate schools. Do you think

your perspective is tainted by the fact that you’re not experiencing some of these grievances firsthand?

LM: We don’t seek to even argue the financial issue of it.

So as students ourselves, we’re not going to be affected by any change of the union. But one thing is that the lowest stipend reported

by Penn is $24,000. And we’re not sure if that’s nine months or 12 months but its you take $24,000 and divide it by 52 weeks out of the year and 40 hours per week — even though most research appointments are 20 hours per week — it comes to $11.54 per hour, which, if you take the Philadelphia living wage, is right on point.

DP: Your website said you disapproved of how GET-UP was choosing the bargaining unit.

How could they do this better?

MK: GET-UP has to specify who the bargaining unit is before they send their pro-union petition to the National Labor Relations Board, so they can come to Penn to facilitate the internal vote.

It would be easier if GET-UP would actually ask the individual schools if they were interested in doing this before they brought this to a vote. Maybe all schools would like to be in it, but it should be a choice.

DP: And you feel like you weren’t presented a choice? You’re

to Hillel for Passover than any other time of the year.”

Despite this potential increase in students, Prieto finds that some are discouraged to dine at Hillel because of the steep price. Prieto explained that Passover involves highly specific restrictions on food.

For instance, meals must be

made in a kosher for Passover kitchen, which is only available on campus at Hillel. This is especially difficult for freshmen who might not be able to cook in their dorm and thus have nowhere else to go.

Prieto also said the issue lies in timing; since Passover is near the end of the semester, some students run low on Dining Dollars.

“There are people who eat at Hillel every single meal because it is the only place to eat, so the fact that you have to pay more to begin with is not exactly fair.”

College sophomore Emily Lurie echoed this sentiment.

Lurie mentioned that during her freshman year she only ate once

or twice at Hillel during Passover because of the price. She is not on a meal plan this year and does not need her food to be prepared in a kosher for Passover kitchen.

“I can go to Sweetgreen and get a salad for less than I would be able to go to Hillel.”

Lurie finds that during a religious holiday with dietary restrictions, it is comforting to have a community where people are in the same situation. For many, Hillel provides this community. But too many Penn students, Lurie said, are turned away by the pricing.

“Especially during the holidays, in my mind, that is a time to be more accommodating

NATALIE KHAN Staff Reporter

Many of Penn’s Ph.D. students have been mobilizing under Graduate Employees Together — University of Pennsylvania, better known as GET-UP, in hopes of securing their own labor union so they can negotiate with administration for improved working conditions.

But not all students are in favor of GET-UP’s plan.

Third-year Ph.D. student in Engineering Lisa Mariani and fifth-year Ph.D. student in Engineering Monroe Kennedy are among the founders of Graduates Entitled to Decide Now, a group designed to counter GET-UP’s efforts.

Mariani and Kennedy sat down with The Daily Pennsylvanian to discuss GETDN’s perspective.

Daily Pennsylvanian: When did GETDN start, on what platform, and with what support?

Monroe Kennedy: We started two weeks ago, after a Graduate and Professional Student Assembly information session on graduate unionization. Our platform is to give graduate students in different schools the ability to decide whether they think a union

HILLEL

>> FRONT PAGE

“Some people, while they may not keep kosher all year round, might be more likely to do so during Passover,” College sophomore Elena Prieto explained. “So technically there should be more people coming

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GETDN finds that GET-UP has asked students to support the formation of a labor union without giving sufficient information.

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saying they’re going to submit this petition — MK: Without data about who actually wants to be a part of that unit.

LM: So they may have 30 percent of the graduate student population, but they might have 29 percent from the School of Arts and Sciences and 1 percent from SEAS. DP: If GET-UP approached you and explained their dynamic, would you reconsider?

MK: We have an open mind; however, we also have done our own research. We feel that a union is a very blunt tool and there might be more precise ways to handle the issues at hand.

LM: We’ve had conversations with GET-UP members, including those in SEAS, and we’ve felt that they have not persuaded a change in our perspective. For instance, GET-UP will tell you that if the union comes through, you can pay an agency fee — typically 85 percent of the dues, a figure given to us by an American Federation of Teachers member we spoke to — not to join. Those dues actually go directly to the external organization, like the AFT, and not to the Penn union. So you’re not in the union; you can’t vote, but you are still covered. This isn’t necessarily unfavorable, but it’s possible that GET-UP decides

at the negotiation table that the agency fee won’t be an option and that everyone must join and pay full dues.

DP: Do you feel like people are blindly following the union?

LM: Yes. So a student in my lab — this is how I became involved in this — asked me if they could hear an opposing side of the union because they’ve only heard from pro-union people. And the first thing I mentioned was the union’s affiliated with AFT. The student had signed a card authorizing the union without knowing what the AFT was. So I felt that GET-UP was not showing the full story to students signing the cards. While a union may actually benefit students, students should be able to make an informed decision. So we’re not saying “never,” we’re saying “not now, not this fast.”

DP: Anything else you want to add?

LM: We want to emphasize voting. Though we prefer that the vote be “no,” we want everybody to vote and we want the vote to be reflective of the bargaining unit.

So if the union vote goes yes and it’s reflective of the student body, then we are at peace and we’ll happily join. We just want everyone to vote.

Responses have been edited for brevity and clarity.

instead of less accommodating,” Lurie said. “There has to be some way to make [Hillel during Passover] more inviting.”

Dining Services explained that the increased Passover prices are a direct result of the increased costs of preparing the resource-intensive meals.

“The ingredients required for Passover meals are substantially more expensive. Additional steps are also required for preparing the meals. There are specific guidelines for extensive cleaning which require, in some cases, that equipment be totally replaced,” Penn Director of Hospitality Services Pam Lampitt explained in an email.

“Penn Dining has worked with

Hillel to minimize the financial impact of these requirements.”

College freshman Ariela Stein keeps kosher and eats all of her meals at Hillel.

“Hillel is literally the only place in Philly where I can eat,” Stein said.

Stein mentioned that certified kosher for Passover food is difficult to find in a supermarket.

Though she understands that Passover meals can be expensive, Stein still sees issues with Hillel pricing.

“The majority of students who go to Hillel are freshmen and don’t have access to [those things],” Stein said. “It is concerning for a lot of kosher students.”

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NEWS 3

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 12, 2017

Class of 2021 Facebook group is not going anywhere Admissions considered deleting group after racist GroupMe incident BRIAN ZHONG Staff Reporter

The Class of 2021 Facebook group is here to stay, the Admissions Office confirmed Tuesday morning.

The announcement followed Dean of Admissions Eric Furda’s comments to The Daily Pennsylvanian two months ago that he was considering disbanding the group after a certain date, such as the May 1 enrollment deadline.

“The Class of 2021 Facebook group will remain active this year, barring any unforeseen issues,” Vice Dean and Director of Marketing and Communications Kathryn Bezella said in an emailed statement.

The discussion over whether to eliminate the Facebook group stemmed from revelations last November that one of the individuals responsible for the racist GroupMe messages that targeted black freshmen used his access

Q&A

>> FRONT PAGE

costs associated with attending Penn; our third point was that we wanted to create a safe and inclusive and responsible environment for all students here; our fourth was that we wanted to modify academic resources to just better fit students’ needs and our fifth was that we wanted to modify currently un-utilized space.

DP: Jay, your election was a little different and you had a much closer race. You’ve run for other positions before, how was this election different?

Shah: This is my third election. This was very different in the sense that you’re trying to reach a greater population … the race is more competitive as a president and vice president — you’re really trying to develop a platform because the way that it has been historically is that the president and vice president’s platform eventually turn into the main projects that the UA works on throughout the year.

DP: What do you want to change internally within the UA? Shah: One of the biggest things we want to focus on internally is making the UA a more cohesive unit. I really believe, and we both really believe, that the stronger the UA is as a unit, the more effective it will be and the better it will be able to serve the student body.

DP: What are your future

to the private Class of 2020 Facebook group — which he joined because he was admitted to Penn — to add members of the class to his offensive GroupMe. Bezella said the admissions office will be working with other departments to moderate the group, especially after the incoming class arrives on campus in August.

“Admissions has collaborated with New Student Orientation, the Registrar’s Office, and the Office of Student Affairs to develop a plan to manage enrollment in, and content for, the private Facebook group for admitted students,” Bezella said in the statement. “[We] will reevaluate the plan on an annual basis.”

“The potential benefits of having the Facebook group beyond the move-in date for that class does outweigh the possible potential dangers,” Class of 2021 admit Will Castner said.

“Especially for someone like me, who doesn’t go to a high school with other students from the class, the Facebook group is still the only way I have contact

with my classmates until I move in in August,” Castner added.

“Deleting it on May 1 would restrict contact I have with the rest of my class between now and August.”

Class of 2021 admit Julci Areza holds a similar viewpoint to Castner, in that she would advocate for some preventative measures to ensure the privacy of the group but wouldn’t want to group to be fully disbanded after the May 1 reply deadline.

“As much as I know that it’s important to try and avoid something so horrible from happening again, I don’t think we should overlook the benefits that the Facebook group has to offer,” Areza said. “At first I was kind of intimidated and didn’t know what to expect, but seeing everyone’s posts makes [the class] so much more real and human.”

However, not all admitted students are on board.

Although Class of 2021 admit Kirti Shenoy has used the Facebook group to organize meetups with fellow classmates, she would support the creation

initiatives for next year?

Xu: For mental wellness, we’ve been working on modifying or restructuring club recruitment policies. I sat on SAC exec this year, so because of that unique position we’re able to have influence on over 200 clubs on campus and make sure that because it’s such a competitive culture here and it’s really stressful on a lot of students, we kind of want to restructure recruitment to ease that stress. For reducing the costs associated with attending Penn, there are three ways that we want to do that. We want to lobby for a decrease in the tuition every year. My past year as treasurer, I worked on reducing the cost of certain Penn traditions, so Hey Day used to be $35 and now its $19.99 . Also, just working on reducing course costs — so maybe asking professors not to request the newest editions of a textbook because there are certain subjects, like math and econ, that don’t really change that much.

DP: The past three [UA] presidents have all been women.

What does it mean to be a female president, especially in today’s political climate?

Xu: I am so proud and honored and humbled to be president. Alec Webley, a past UA president, was the first one to point out to me that my year will be the only year that has never seen a male president, and I think that’s a super cool, quirky fact. When I was a freshman, Joyce was president,

and it was so empowering and inspiring to see a female leading the school. And then it was Jane, who was amazing, and then it was Kat, who has been my mentor since my freshman year, and I am so proud of the fact that we’ve had really strong female presidents.

DP: What do you want to be your legacy?

Xu: I would just be really proud if we could somehow make it easier for the next generation of students coming to Penn, for them to just not have to deal with all the struggles that we have had to deal with. Which is obviously a lot to say and these problems are a lot of long-term problems that won’t get fixed within the year, but if we could just make it a little easier for them, I would be really happy.

Shah: Essentially, we all join the UA to make a change and the reason why I really joined the UA and started to believe in the potential of the UA was I faced a lot of problems freshman year, especially with mental health — it was very, very hard and pretty stressful, especially in the first couple weeks dealing with rejections from clubs. The academic environment was totally new, so I was kind of like “this might not be the healthiest of environments” and so I wanted to make Penn more healthy in the four years that I have here. So, one of the biggest projects that we focused on this year — Michelle and I and Brian Goldstein, he’s

VISIT

34ST.COM

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Despite the use of the Class of 2020 Facebook group in relation to the racist GroupMe messages scandal in the fall, Admissions has decided to leave the Class of 2021 page active.

of a new Facebook group after the May 1 reply date only for students who’ve committed to Penn.

“That way, we know that every single person that we’re talking to is for sure going to Penn,” Shenoy said. “In that

sense, it would be a little bit safer and a little bit nicer because you know that everybody in the new group will be officially at Penn.”

While Shenoy personally prefers Instagram — she enjoys engaging with fellow classmates through their photos — she

acknowledged the Facebook group has drawn the largest population of students and has generated a constant stream of activity.

“People comment and make new posts every single day,” she said.

one of the freshmen — is trying to make the club recruitment process less stressful, especially in the first couple of weeks.

DP: What do you want to tell students about next year?

Shah: One of the things that we really want to focus on and that was a central theme is —

it’s seen as this body that’s kind of exclusive, and we really want the UA to be a resource for all of the organizations on campus. As vice president, one of my major responsibilities is to work with other groups, so I lead UA steering which is held biweekly. It has the heads of the major organiza-

I really want to work to make changes within that and as vice president try to meet with all of the steering members one-on-one and try to bring that to the UA to try to solve the issues that are on campus.

This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

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4

OPINION

It’s time to end Early Decision EDITORIAL BY THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN OPINION BOARD

WEDNESDAY APRIL 12, 2017 VOL. CXXXIII, NO. 47 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 LUCY FERRY Design Editor VIBHA KANNAN Enterprise Editor GENEVIEVE GLATSKY News Editor

Looking over the official Class of 2021 admissions statistics, which were released publicly last Thursday, we at The Daily Pennsylvanian are reminded of a few simple, disheartening truths.

Penn fills a higher proportion of its incoming classes with early decision admits than almost any other school. It provides no meaningful advantages to the student body and inflicts many detriments. We have pointed this out before, and yet the numbers continue to rise, year after year.

Of the 60 schools surveyed by the Washington Post in 2016, Penn had the second-highest percentage of students admitted via binding Early Decision at 54 percent, and was the only Ivy to break 50 percent. If Penn hits its target class size this year, that number will rise to 55 percent.

It’s no secret why this happens. Among “highlyselective” colleges, a low acceptance rate is consid-

ered a sign of prestige and desirability. The Early Decision cycle produces one enrollment for every offer of admission extended — a “yield rate” of 100 percent.

Regular Decision, on the other hand, tends to yield slightly less than 50 percent year to year. Therefore, early decision admits mean fewer admits overall, and therefore a lower overall acceptance rate.

Applying the actual numbers to the equation gives a sense of how this really works. This year, 40,413 students applied to Penn.

Of that amount, 1,354 were accepted early and enrolled automatically. That meant that, come spring, there were 1,091 additional spots to fill. A further 2,345 applicants were accepted, indicating an expected yield rate of 46.5 percent. If the whole class were filled that way, Penn would have needed to accept 5,258 applicants, leaving the overall admit rate at 13 percent, as opposed to the actual result of 9.2 percent.

Still selective, yes, but on

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the high end for any school that wishes to be thought of as top-tier. Higher, for instance, than competitors Vanderbilt University, Georgetown University, Duke University and Johns Hopkins University.

But bolstering the ap-

cision applicant pool compared to that of the regular cycle.

Though schools, including Penn, have made efforts to diversify their early applicant pools, a recent study of Common Application data by the Jack Kent

Penn can no longer claim to be doing all it can to assemble the highest-quality class possible each year while drawing well more than half of its admittees from less than a sixth of the applicants.” pearance of prestige is a poor reason to accept the many downsides which come along with such heavy use of the Early Decision system, which are many and have been extensively chronicled. Perhaps the most egregious of these disadvantages is the relative wealth of the early de-

Cooke Foundation, which supports and advocates for high-achieving low-income students, showed that “29 percent of high-achieving students from families making more than $250,000 a year applied early decision, compared with only 16 percent of high-achieving students from families with in-

comes less than $50,000.”

The study highlighted a laundry list of other ways in which the Early Decision process disadvantages applicants of lesser means, including the long-known fact that such students often need to compare financial aid offers from multiple schools to ensure their families’ ability to pay for their education.

And the results show, particularly at highly selective schools. At America’s top colleges, a mere 3 percent of students come from families in the bottom quartile of the US income distribution. It has been known for years that binding, preferential admissions practices contribute to this disparity. And yet Penn, for all its talk about inclusivity, diversity and engagement, has been filling greater and greater shares of its incoming classes from this same pool. That is all the more tragic considering that a top-quality education of the kind which may be found here is worth the most to the very students whose ac-

cess early admissions practices impedes.

Even if it is true, as Early Decision’s supporters claim, that its use ensures that the students who are most enthusiastic about attending Penn get the best possible chance to do so, there are numerous other ways in which this objective might be accomplished.

As other schools have done, Penn could switch to an “Early Action” model in which enthusiastic students may apply early on a nonbinding basis. Alternatively, early admissions could be abandoned altogether in favor of a regular-only process. We have little concern that doing so would render Penn unable to fill a class with qualified students.

It is long past time to correct this error. Penn can no longer claim to be doing all it can to assemble the highest-quality class possible each year while drawing well more than half of its admittees from less than a sixth of the applicants. It is time to do away with Early Decision.

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JONATHAN POLLACK Sports Editor TOMMY ROTHMAN Sports Editor 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

BRAD HONG is a College freshman from Morristown, N.J. His email is bradhong@sas.upenn.edu.

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Abolish the curve

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LETTERS

Have your own opinion? Send your letter to the editor or guest column to letters@thedp.com.

Unsigned editorials appearing on this page represent the opinion of The Daily Pennsylvanian as determined by the majority of the Editorial Board.

All other columns, letters and artwork represent the opinion of their authors and are not necessarily representative of the DP’s position.

CAL’S CORNER | How the curving system diminishes collaboration and merit amongst students I have never believed in a curving system when it comes to grading, and, similar to many, it was a rude awakening for me when I came to Penn. While radical, I believe that curves diminish the motivation to learn among students, discourage collaboration and stimulate a hypercompetitive environment that injures efforts to boost mental wellness on campus.

I’ll never forget getting my first test back here at Penn.

Nervous and tense, I had an odd feeling that I had aced it, even though we all know that that can be a scary feeling to have. The grade I had on my paper was so low that I frantically called my parents immediately. I felt like I didn’t belong at Penn. However, after attending office hours just the next day, my professor made it clear to me that despite my perceived failure on the test, my grade was around the average. In other words, because of the results of other students in the class, I was comparatively successful.

When we ask ourselves,

“What is wrong with the grading system of higher education?” the answer you may formulate probably pertains to the the hypercompetitive and failure-based environment we go through.

And while I understand that the goal of the curve is to fight grade inflation, I believe that it sets restrictions on the number of students who can excel in a class and minimizes collaboration amongst students.

Firstly, the curve limits the number of students who can do well in a given class.

When professors come into a class having an idea about how many A’s, B’s and C’s they can give out, the vast majority of students get stuck in such categories and learn the content of the class to either break out of their given category or stay in it.

Such a system causes us to value grading over learning, as we aren’t just studying to do well on a test for ourselves, but rather to do better than the same classmates we should be collaborating with.

I am not calling on professors to refrain from curving a test

if the entire class does poorly — I am encouraging professors to design their tests in a way that promotes grades based on merit rather than systemic distribution.

Secondly, the curving system stagnates collaboration among students through a

prompted by the comparative results of another, in an environment where students so often compare themselves to each other already. In reality, I believe that if two students both know the core elements of a unit, there is no shame in them both doing well natural-

We are all qualified to be here and thus can all succeed in a class, regardless of the grade distribution a professor has in mind before they give their first lecture of the semester.” hypercompetitive environment. By pitting students against one another, grade curves create an atmosphere that’s toxic as students compete against each other rather than learn with each other.

Through a win-lose zerosum game, curves affirm that the success of one student is

ly, rather than systematically.

Furthermore, abolishing the curve can create an atmosphere in which students want to help one another.

Collaboration, especially, proves to be a quality that adds to personal and professional relationships inside and outside of the classroom.

For example, if you don’t know how to fix the washing machine, your roommate can help you simply if you ask. If you’re at work and you don’t know how to use features on Microsoft Excel, you’ll ask your colleague for assistance.

However, when it comes to the grading system at Penn, collaboration is discouraged rather than encouraged, as students fear studying with their classmates and asking for help as it could influence their placement on the curve.

As Penn and just about every college today has actively sought to manage mental wellness and academic excellence in a healthy way, I’ve always wondered just how much the academic realm of our institution contributes to each one of those topics we discuss so very often.

As students, we would be much healthier, happier and relaxed if we weren’t scared to study with our classmates and help them on problem sets that they don’t understand, rather than stay strictly to ourselves in order to increase the chances of the curve working in our favor.

CALVARY ROGERS We are all qualified to be here and thus can all succeed in a class, regardless of the grade distribution a professor has in mind before they give their first lecture of the semester.

Doing well and internalizing the material of the classes we pay so much to take should never be mutually exclusive. Tests should fundamentally reflect the core knowledge that is expected, and shouldn’t be designed for failure. It’s time we abolish the curve.

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.

THEDP.COM | THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN

NEWS 5

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 12, 2017

CIS hopes students will take a ‘byte’ out of coding Number of CIS majors has tripled in the last 10 years HALEY SUH Staff Reporter

Interest in coding and computer science is on the rise, and Penn’s Computer and Information Science Department is working to accommodate this newfound popularity.

At Penn, the number of computer science majors in the School of Engineering has increased threefold within the last 10 years, from 250 majors across the undergraduate student body in 2007 to 800 majors in 2017, department chair

FRESH GROCER >> FRONT PAGE

time, but there is some discrepancy on what that period of time should have been and therein lies the difficulty,” Meleta told The Daily Pennsylvanian in January.

Others expressed concerns about the ways in which the closure could threaten the accessibility of groceries for members of the community.

“It’s critical that we have a grocery store near us because, otherwise, many people like me who do not have the means to travel far cannot get basic groceries,” said a frequent shopper at the store Tuesday who asked to remain anonymous. “If there is even a small delay between when Fro Gro shuts down and Acme opens, that is going to be a big problem for me and other shoppers.”

West Philadelphia resident Rhoda Johnson, who was also shopping on Tuesday, also expressed worry concerning the possible lapse in service during the transition between the two stores, since the Fresh Grocer is extremely accessible from her residence.

Many students, like College freshman Gabrielle Ramirez, expressed misgivings concerning the accessibility of affordable groceries.

“There’s still a whole month of [school, when students] ... need food and we have no idea when Acme’s

Sampath Kannan said.

Across universities nationwide, the number of CIS majors has more than doubled since 2011, and more than tripled since 2006, according to the Computing Research Association. At Stanford University and Princeton University, CIS is now the most popular major, The New York Times has reported.

Recognizing this growing interest in CIS, the Undergraduate Assembly is currently working to create an introductory level course that will be less challenging than CIS 110 — a course which outgoing UA president Kat McKay calls a “weed-out” class meant to deter

students who do not have a high level of investment.

“There’s already CIS 110, which is an intro course, but that’s taught as a sequence that’s part of the CIS major [and minor] program,” McKay said. “But there are a lot of people at Penn that don’t have the hours in their weekly calendar to take that course.”

“There’s a desire from many students to understand CIS, and so this course would be focused more on breadth than depth,” McKay added.

“The focus would be on broad application of CIS as opposed to getting a major or a minor in it.”

About 40 percent of Penn’s

undergraduate population takes at least one course in CIS, Kannan said. This amount is in line with national trends. The number of non-majors in CIS courses increased at an equal or greater rate than the increase in majors between 2005 and 2015, the CRA reported.

College freshman Isabella Pilotta is a self-described humanities enthusiast. The furthest she has gone in using computer science for a class has been to upload discussion posts onto a blog. Nonetheless, she wants to learn how to code.

“I think right now, it’s a really viable skill to have and a lot of

people at Penn do know how to code,” she said. “So I think it’s useful and would like to learn it at some point.”

Last year, the Obama administration launched the “Computer Science for All” initiative, urging students of all ages and interests to learn coding, which has become a sought-after skill in the workforce.

Kannan hopes to get the number of students taking a CIS course close to 100 percent, and he believes it can happen without making it a requirement.

“Computational thinking is an important aspect of reasoning that everyone should have,” Kannan

said. “Even if we didn’t require [students to take a course in CIS], I think the interest is there among students, and it will happen organically.”

The computer science department is currently working to create a “richer selection” of CIS courses that will appeal to a more diverse student body, in partnership with various departments in the University. It has several courses cross-listed with the anthropology, biology, psychology and linguistics departments and is collaborating with the Wharton School to develop a minor in the Statistics Department.

going to open,” Ramirez said.

“There’s no guarantee that Acme’s going to be open next fall and I wish that the University would speak more to that — it would be more transparent.”

While she is not extremely upset over the loss of The Fresh Grocer, College junior Mariana Olave found the replacements to be a bit strange.

“We don’t need another Starbucks,” she said. “I was actually kind of hoping that they were going to do something like add a Trader Joe’s or something, which I though’t would’ve been amazing, but that wasn’t the case.”

The closure is worrisome for some current employees of The Fresh Grocer.

“I am upset that [Fresh Grocer] is closing down because it’s been around here for so long. This is a community grocery store, and I know a ton of residents that are really upset [that] it is going,” a current employee said. He wished to remain anonymous due to possible repercussions.

The employee also acknowledged that The Fresh Grocer has been a constant source of employment for the community for a long time.

For local resident Lynn Bird, who was in the store on Tuesday, her criticism is much simpler: “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.”

“I’m anxious because I love this store — I have been working in this

community for more than 25 years and Fro Gro has always been there for everything,” Bird said. “It serves a diverse community, and I think

Acme has a lot to live up to.”

The Fresh Grocer has continued to fight the turnover and continued operating well past March 31,

the date of the expiration of its lease. The store has also continued purchasing ads in The Daily Pennsylvanian throughout April and

has tweeted the hashtag, #savepennfrogro.

“I’m just happy I’m on a meal plan right now,” Ramirez said.

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 12, 2017

THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN | THEDP.COM

Baseball and Softball take hiatus from Ivy play

Quakers prepare for midweek non-Ivy foes THEODOROS PAPAZEKOS Sports Reporter

Exhale.

For Penn baseball and softball, Ivy League weekends are action-packed marathons of excitement. A lot can change over four games in two days, so any weekday contest is often a welcome break from the chaos of the conference title races.

This Wednesday, both teams are in action again, with baseball (14-13, 4-4 Ivy) traveling to Newark to face Delaware (16-14, 4-5 CAA) and softball (14-12, 5-3 Ivy) making the long journey to Drexel (9-17, 1-8 CAA).

For baseball, the midweek matchup is a chance to rediscover its winning ways. After an 11-1 hot streak, the Quakers dropped three of four last weekend against Yale and Brown.

Ultimately, these midweek nonconference games don’t directly affect the Ivy League standings.

But what they can do is create momentum and confidence before entering another crucial

KREINZ

>> BACK PAGE

has always been a leader to me,� junior long stick midfielder Connor Keating said. “He demonstrates all of the qualities of leadership. He puts the team before himself. He always has everybody else’s best interests at heart.�

As a captain, Kreinz’s responsibilities are many. “Being a captain of this team means that everyday, day in and day out, I have to be able to lead this team,� Kreinz said. “Whether it’s vocally in practice, whether it’s getting the team ready for lifts in the morning, it’s just executing the little things.�

And execute the little things he does. On the field, Kreinz is a menace between the lines,

BONNIE MENDELSON | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

As one of the many underclassmen contributors for Penn softball, sophomore infielder Sam Pederson will likely have a significant role in Wednesday’s non-conference showdown at local rival Drexel.

Ivy weekend.

Delaware should be a good test for Penn. The Blue Hens, led by senior DH Doug Trimble

(.393/.439/.528) average more than 7.5 runs a game. Their offensive prowess is coupled with solid – if not superlative

– pitching. The matchup is perfect for the Quakers, who are looking for a rebound from their bullpen after two collapses over

flying towards ground balls with no regard for his body, hurling his 5-foot-11, 195 pound frame into the opposition. He races from boxline to boxline, taking on three attackmen at once as he clears the ball for his team.

Working as the lead defensive midfielder, he shuffles his feet masterfully in order to keep up with the fleet-footed offensive middies in the Ivy League, waiting patiently to deliver a timely wrap or poke check to dislodge the ball.

In transition, Kreinz is never one to over dodge, always willing to make the correct pass, playing not for personal glory but for team victory. But when he’s open, Kreinz doesn’t wilt in the spotlight. Instead, he shoots the ball with the velocity and accuracy of an All-Ivy offensive middie, registering 11 goals for

his career. “It says a lot about Austin as a teammate and as a leader that a lot of the stuff he does doesn’t really show up on the stats and isn’t really noticed as much. But we all notice it,� Keating said. “How hard he plays really energizes the team, and the little things he does really make him the player that he is, and the person that he is.�

When talking about Kreinz and the person that he is, there is perhaps no higher praise than that which came from his own coach, Mike Murphy. “He’s a heart and soul guy.

He’s tough as hell, and he’d do anything for you. He’s the kind of guy you want around you at all times,� he said. “I think one of the highest compliments you can pay a player is that he’s somebody that you’d want with

you in your foxhole. I’d want abilities, the athletic direcAustin in my foxhole.� tor and coaches at Portsmouth However, with the unortho- Abbey sent out film to many of dox way in which Kreinz’s the top lacrosse programs in the recruiting process was devel- Northeast. Among the schools oping in high school, it seemed to receive that film was Penn, unlikely that coach Murphy would ever meet the man he’d soon want with him in I think one of the trenches. the highest Wisconsi n, K rei n z’s compliments you home state, is by no means a lacrosse hotbed. In fact, can pay a player is that Kreinz said that his introduction to lacrosse came he’s somebody that you’d when his brother Drake want with you in your Kreinz, now the faceoff foxhole. I’d want Austin in specialist at Penn State, joined the first ever rec my foxhole.� team in their home town of -Penn coach Mike Murphy Delafield. Austin, meanwhile, didn’t start playing the sport until he was in sev- and Murphy was so impressed enth grade. Considering that by what he saw that he offered eighth and ninth graders regu- Kreinz a spot without ever larly commit to play Division I seeing him play in person first. lacrosse, starting in the seventh It’s safe to say that coach grade put Kreinz at a distinct Murphy’s gamble paid off. Aldisadvantage with recruiting. though he was recruited as a Undeterred, Kreinz stuck two-way midfielder, Kreinz has with the sport and began to thrived in his more specialized excel, and in the eleventh grade, role as a transition-sparking dehe decided that it was time to fensive midfielder. In fact, he capitalize on his growing skill, has become so adept at the posiso he began attending Ports- tion that he has been tasked with mouth Abbey, a boarding school teaching the next generation of across the country in Rhode Penn defensive middies.

Island. “He has taught me everything Recogn izing K r e i n z’s really. He knows the defense

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inside and out,� freshman defensive midfielder Matt McIlwrick said. “He teaches me, he answers my questions, and he’s always there to show me what I should be doing and how I can improve. Just through his example and his leadership, I have learned so much.�

However, in a testament to the Penn lacrosse program as a whole, those around Kreinz aren’t the only ones who have been learning and benefitting these last four years.

The man himself claims to have received as much from his experience with Penn lacrosse as his teammates and coaches have received from him. “ H o n e s t l y, playi ng lacrosse at Penn has been everything to me,� Kreinz said. “It has changed my life drastically.

Whether it’s the people that I met, whether it’s the opportunities off the field and outside of the classroom, this experience has really allowed me to open new doors that I never would have imagined before coming to Penn, playing lacrosse in Wisconsin. It’s been the best decision of my life by far.�

Thanks in large part to the presence of Kreinz, many of his teammates would likely say the same thing.

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Quakers have looked impressive at times this season, but consistency in the details could still use improvement. While the Quakers are deep, their success has been heavily reliant on their biggest stars, Allen and senior Alexis Sargent.

With the craziness of Ivy weekends, King has used the midweek games as a chance to give younger fringe players a chance to shine while resting Sargent. Last Wednesday, a young lineup featuring eight underclassmen resulted in a blowout loss to Villanova. It remains to be seen if King will continue the same strategy, but if so, Drexel presents a great opportunity for role players to prove themselves. If the Quakers can show that they can play mistake free and win without their stars, the Ivy schedule would suddenly seem a lot less daunting.

Both teams will play their biggest series of the season this weekend when archrival Princeton comes to town. The midweek games are the final tune-up before things get crazy again on the weekend.

Take a deep breath.

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the weekend.

Pitching depth was supposed to be a strength heading into the season, but seniors Jake Cousins and Mike Reitcheck remain the only pitchers with multiple wins. The back half of the rotation and bullpen were outstanding over the last few weeks, but left something to be desired against the Bears and Bulldogs.

With next weekend’s massive series against defending champion Princeton looming, Penn’s pitchers will look to make a statement against a stellar offensive team in Delaware.

Softball’s matchup with Drexel is more favorable on paper; the Dragons have no real superstars on par with Penn senior Leah Allen, and the home-field advantage is negligible at best. Penn enters the latest edition of the Battle of 33rd Street fresh off a 3-1 weekend that puts the Quakers a game back from division-leading Princeton, whom the Quakers will meet for a four-game series this weekend.

Coach Leslie K ing has stressed the importance of doing the little things right. The

12:00PM MEIKLEJOHN STADIUM 12:00PM MEIKLEJOHN STADIUM

2:00PM PENN PARK 4:00PM PENN PARK

THEDP.COM | THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN

SPORTS 7

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 12, 2017

Quakers score big win in first spring tournament FIELD HOCKEY | Penn

wins three, ties Syracuse

COLE JACOBSON Sports Editor

Sure, it’s early. Five months early, to be exact. But if last weekend was any indication, take the over on any 2017 Penn field hockey betting odds.

Coming off a frustrating thirdplace finish in the Ivy League last fall, the Red and Blue have entered the offseason hungry to get their first Ancient Eight title since 2004, and it showed in their first spring tournament. Hosting Rider, Lafayette, Lehigh, Columbia and 2015 NCAA Champion Syracuse, the Quakers finished 3-0-1, taking first place and putting the field hockey world on notice that this team is ready to

USBC

>> BACK PAGE

Pro Bowler Tuck being the most noteworthy — the crowd was thoroughly engaged the entire way, as all four figures shared some behind-the-scenes input on their respective careers.

Perhaps the highlight — or lowlight, depending on one’s NFL loyalties — came when Tuck talked a bit of smack to local fans, saying: “Not only were the [best leaders] motivated to get kids to be the best athletes, but also to be the best people, something I’ve always tried to emulate ... to all you Eagles, Cowboys, Redskins fans, there’s two Super Bowl rings in my closet because we did it the right way.”

compete with the nation’s best.

A 2-1 win over Lafayette featuring an Alexa Hoover game-winning goal in the opening match wasn’t unexpected, but handling Syracuse — which finished the most recent regular season ranked No. 3 in both the National Field Hockey Coaches Association poll and RPI — would be no easy task.

But only six months after thenNo. 1 Syracuse trounced the Red and Blue, 4-0, Penn proved that the 2016 is entirely in the past.

Boosted by a goal from sophomore Rachel Mirkin — who only scored once during the entire 2016 regular season — off an assist from Sofia Palacios, the Quakers salvaged a 1-1 tie against the defending NCAA quarterfinalists.

With 1-0 wins over Rider and Lehigh, both including shutout

But despite his surplus of jewelry, Tuck was far from the only accomplished sports figure in the room, as the USBC successfully managed to create a strongly balanced field of panelists. In addition to Donahue’s coaching experiences at Penn, Cornell and Boston College, all four speakers played college sports — Donahue played basketball at Ursinus and Shropshire played football at Stanford — giving the audience a diverse group of esteemed figures.

“It was [Penn Athletics] who reached out to Tuck and Hutchinson, and we were also looking for someone to come in and give the coaching side to counter Justin’s playing side, and given coach Donahue’s wealth of experience, he

efforts from junior goalie Liz Mata, Penn finished its first spring tournament unbeaten, making a major statement.

Of course, scheduling tough is nothing new for Penn. In addition to the Orange, the 2016 Red and Blue also faced off against thenNo. 1 UNC and Delaware, which proceeded to win the national championship.

Next season, all three foes return to the schedule, in addition to Big Ten powers Iowa and Rutgers, which will provide thorough tests for a Red and Blue squad returning all but two starters.

Until then, though, the Quakers will continue their spring season, hosting Monmouth and American this Saturday before playing in the City Six tournament on April 23. And if those events look anything like the most recent one, the Ivy League best be on watch.

ANANYA CHANDRA | PHOTO MANAGER

With the help of two goals and one assist from two-time NFHCA All-American and junior Alexa Hoover, Penn field hockey made a major statement by winning its first spring tournament.

COLE JACOBSON | SPORTS EDITOR

Former NFL star and current Wharton student Justin Tuck (seated, right) headlined a panel which also featured Penn basketball coach Steve Donahue. The panel was hosted by the Undergraduate Sports Business Club.

was a really good get,” Faust said. “The biggest thing is just making sure students get here,

and when you have names like that on the panel, that was fairly easy to do.”

With approximately 60 students in the crowd, Tuesday was only the latest example of

what’s been a fantastic semester thus far for the USBC. With events in recent months including talks with Atlanta Hawks assistant Taylor Jenkins, FOX MLB reporter Ken Rosenthal, 2000 Olympic wrestling gold medalist Brandon Slay and many more, it’s obvious that the rapidly growing club is on the rise.

“I think we’re going in a great direction. ... When it comes down to it, one of our main goals is to make sure that students know about the oppor t un ities ava ilable in sports,” Faust said. “If we’re able to grow our club, fight that ‘Wharton mentality’ that it’s either consulting or banking, and make students realize that they really can do what their dreams are, it’d be awesome.”

OFF-SEASON SUCCESS

MID-WEEK DUELS

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 12, 2017

Still in the thick of their seasons, Penn baseball and softball each have crucial matchups today

In the spring season, Penn field hockey took down some highcaliber competition

>> SEE PAGE 6

>> SEE PAGE 7

Flying UNDER The Radar E

M. LACROSSE | Senior doesn’t put up star

numbers, but leads the way for Penn BREVIN FLEISCHER Sports Editor-elect

very once in a while, there comes along a player who transcends statistics, who provides more than goals and assists, who leads in such a way that the level of those around him can’t help but improve. Every once in a while, there comes along a player like Penn men’s lacrosse’s Austin Kreinz.

Operating from the defensive midfield, the senior might go unnoticed by the casual observer. For those interested in the Quakers solely for the highlightreel goals and doorstep saves, a player like Kreinz might not even be on their radar. He clears, he plays

defensively, he scoops up ground balls, and he provides the occasional transition tally, but he’s by no means a goal scorer.

Although not a star by traditional metrics, Kreinz’s impact on a lacrosse game, and more importantly, on a lacrosse team, could rival any player’s impact across the country. A leader through his actions and through his words, Kreinz is the definition of a captain.

“Austin, ever since I came in here as a freshman, SEE KREINZ PAGE 6

PRANAY VEMULAMADA | ASSOCIATE PHOTO EDITOR

Nwokedi, Stipanovich earn All- Sports business Big 5 honors for stellar seasons club hosts starfilled panel

W. HOOPS | Nwokedi

gets First-Team nod

WILL SNOW

SPORTS | Panel

Senior Sports Editor

Penn women’s basketball may have ended its season almost a month ago, but the awards haven’t stopped coming in, recognizing the team’s standout season.

Junior forward Michelle Nwokedi was just named a member of the All-Big 5 FirstTeam for the season, while senior center Sydney Stipanovich picked up a Second-Team honor herself.

The two bigs combined all season long to form a terrifying pair in the paint on both ends of the floor. On offense, they combined for over 26 points per game — while on the opposite end, Nwokedi and Stipanovich racked up the most and third-most blocks in the Ivy League, respectively, over the course of conference play. And in the process of getting her 55 total blocks, Stipanovich became the all-time record holder for career blocks in the Ivy League.

But the Big 5 proved to be a thorn in the Quakers’ side all

included Justin Tuck

COLE JACOBSON Sports Editor

ZACH SHELDON | SPORTS PHOTO EDITOR

Senior Sydney Stipanovich and junior Michelle Nwokedi were recognized for their stellar play this past season with Big 5 honors, The two also garnered Ivy honors earlier in the year.

season long, providing half of the team’s eight losses in the end. It was a stark contrast to Penn’s 13-1 Ivy League record.

For their performances, Nwokedi and Stipanovich were already named Ivy League Player of the Year and Second-Team All-Ivy, respectively, so it’s no surprise that the two earned

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similar honors in the Big 5. They were simply too good not to be recognized, even though Penn went 0-4 in the Philadelphia mini-conference, losing by slim margins to all four opponents — an average of seven points each time.

The pair of stars will be honored at the Big 5 banquet next

Monday at the Palestra. It will be a fitting end to the college career of Stipanovich, who leaves the program as one of the topthree players in Penn history.

For Nwokedi, meanwhile, it will mark the official end to her junior season and give her full rest until the team gears up for the 2017-18 campaign.

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Want a free trip inside a Super Bowl team’s locker room? On Tuesday night, Penn’s undergrad student body got as good a glimpse as possible.

Aided by Penn Athletics, the University’s Undergraduate Spor ts Business Club held a panel discussion titled “L eadersh ip Development Through Sports,” featuring a bevy of names headlined by two-time Super Bowl champion and current Wharton MBA student Justin Tuck.

The panel — which also feat u red W ha r ton Spor ts Business Initiative director Kenneth Shropshire, Penn men’s basketball head coach Steve Dona hue and 2007 Penn sprint football alumnus

and current PNC Senior Vice President J.T. Hutchinson — covered topics ranging from how sports can teach leadership traits in other fields to how the desired traits in non-athletic job markets have changed over time.

“To pull this together, I was reached out to by [Penn Sports Properties Client Services Coordinator] Adam Goldberg. ... It was really his brainchild; he asked if I wanted to do something as kind of a talk for student development through spor t,” junior and USBC President Jared Faust said.

“So between him and working with Michael Hamann, who’s a senior here and also works in the athletic department, we were able to pull this together.

We got a great group of speakers, and I really think it went pretty well.”

With such a star-studded cast of names — the two-time SEE USBC PAGE 7

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