THURSDAY, JULY 6TH, 2017
The Independent Student Newspaper of the University of Pennsylvania
Despite President Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric during both his campaign and while in office, his administration last week ruled to allow more than 750,000 undocumented immigrants to stay in the United States — at least temporarily. Penn students, while relieved at the ruling, are hesitant to celebrate just yet. Trump said in a June 16 memo that he plans to continue the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which protects “dreamers” — individuals who entered the United States as children. However, White House officials have been quick to emphasize that this is just a temporary ruling. “There has been no final determination made about the DACA program, which the president has stressed needs to be handled with compassion and with heart,” said Jonathan Hoffman, the assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security. Penn’s administration was pleased with Trump’s turn on DACA. “We are glad that President Trump has expressed this new position,” University spokesman Stephen MacCarthy said in a statement. Penn has been outspoken in favor of immigrant rights in the past. After several petitions from student groups last year, Penn declared itself a “sanctuary” for undocumented students, in a
letter sent by top administrators, including Penn President Amy Gutmann. In the Nov. 30 letter, Penn affirmed that the University wouldn’t allow immigration officers on campus without a proper warrant, or proffer any information about undocumented students without proper legal proceedings. Frank Calabrese, a former immigration lawyer and the associate director of Penn’s International Student and Scholar Services said DACA is a worthwhile measure that provides individuals “hope and a means to come out of hiding.” But Calabrese added that he did not consider this any great victory, as Trump made no definitive statement on the permanent status of DACA. “This could change. Who knows? I think the president’s a little bit erratic in what’s going on, and the thing with DACA is that it doesn’t necessarily work,” he said. “It’s not a pass to a green card.” Besides, the extension of DACA doesn’t solve all the problems that undocumented immigrants face, according to Erik Vargas, a rising College sophomore and media liaison of Penn for Immigrant Rights. Many students at Penn protected under DACA still fear for the potential separation of their families if they have undocumented, and thus unprotected, parents, he said. Vargas noted that there are also Penn students who are citizens
The state will continue giving $30 million to the school HALEY SUH Staff Reporter
Penn Dining does not currently permit withdrawal from meal plans CHRIS DOYLE Staff Reporter
SEE DINING PAGE 2
but have undocumented parents. Like many DACA students, they too face the threat of homelessness if their parents are deported. Vargas said he is particularly worried about potential legislation in his home state of Texas. According to The Los Angeles Times, Texas legislators have already passed a bill that allows local law enforcement to request the immigration status of anyone they arrest for any type of felony. The state has also passed laws punishing local police who ignore federal immigration requests to detain suspected undocumented immigrants. The bill is supposed to go into effect on Sept. 1, but five large Texas cities such as Houston, Dallas and Austin have challenged it, halting its progress for now. Vargas fears that, if passed, the bill could set a precedent that could influence Pennsylvania legislation and threaten Penn’s current status as a sanctuary campus. Calabrese said it is crucial that Penn remains a sanctuary campus in order to protect the students who are not on DACA — in other words, undocumented students who didn’t come to the United States as young children, or who fail other requirements of the DACA program. Calabrese said he thinks students protected under DACA are “relatively safe,” but Vargas is still skeptical. “Although it is a source of relief, there is plenty that has to be done,” he said. “It’s not just something that you can sit back on.”
Penn Vet’s state funding restored
Penn students petition for the right to cancel dining Penn students launched a petition to protest Penn Dining’s policy of disallowing students to cancel their Penn dining plans. The petition, which had collected 131 signatures by Wednesday evening, was created by rising Engineering sophomore and web developer for The Daily Pennsylvanian Colby Cox. While students are able to register for a dining plan independent of a housing plan, there is also a section of the undergraduate housing plan application that prompts students to register for the dining plan at the same time. So, in the process of settling his housing for the upcoming year and making choices on bedroom types, roommates and other living conditions, Cox said he registered for one of Penn Dining’s eight meal plans “not even thinking about it.” As a result, Cox said he didn’t have the opportunity to properly consider the expense and logistics of the plan he chose. Before selecting a dining plan, students
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The dean of Penn Vet urged people to recognize that veterinarians help provide care for companion animals, and protect the food supply and public health.
The School of Veterinary Medicine, which for months appeared to be on the verge of losing millions in state funding, will almost certainly have its funding from Harrisburg remain in place, according to the latest updates from the state budget negotiations. In the Pennsylvania state budget for the upcoming fiscal year, funding for Penn — close to 90 percent of which goes to the Vet School — was slated to be cut. The Vet
School stood to lose almost $30 million, which constitutes 20 percent of their total budget. This funding now looks like it might be restored by a bill that allocates $30.1 million from the state budget to the Vet School and over $281 thousand to the Division of Infectious Diseases at Penn Medicine. The state Senate has already voted unanimously for the bill to pass and the House of Representatives will vote on the bill later this week, University spokesperson Stephen MacCarthy said in a statement. SEE PENN VET PAGE 3
Kelly Writers House announces its 2018 Fellows The KWH Fellows program is in its 19th year MICHEL LIU Staff Reporter
The Kelly Writers House has announced the KWH Fellows for 2018: novelist Paul Auster, poet Bernadette Mayer and journalist and
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commentator Charles M. Blow. The KWH Fellows project is in its 19th year and is funded each year by a grant from Paul Kelly, according to Penn professor and KWH Faculty Director Al Filreis. It consists of a semester-long seminar for undergraduate students on the work of each of the KWH Fellows.
This culminates in a three-day visit from each of the fellows, during which students can interact with the writer and ask them questions. The writer will also hold two programs which will be available to all members of the public. The KWH Fellows for 2018 have a wide range of backgrounds: Auster is
an experimental novelist of postmodern fiction, Mayer is an avante-garde feminist poet and Blow is a New York Times columnist and commentator on contemporary topics. All three authors are doing work that is very cutting edge,” said 2012 SEE KWH FELLOWS PAGE 3
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