WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2015
THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN | THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
Q&A with new OFSL director Banks-Crosson talks goals for Greek life LILY ZANDI Staff Reporter
This summer, the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life announced the appointment
WHO ARE PENN’S NEW DEANS? PAGE 7
$3.50 TACOS AT A CAMPUS FAVORITE
of Eddie Banks-Crosson as director, a position he officially assumed on Aug. 17. The hire comes after a series of controversies at Penn involving Greek life. Last April, Alpha Chi Omega announced its move off campus, with Pi Kappa Phi following
suit over the summer. Last December, Phi Delta Theta received widespread criticism for an allegedly racist holiday photo and was subsequently placed on probation. Following the first few weeks of serving in his new role, The Daily
Pennsylvanian sat down with Banks-Crosson to learn about his background, his positions and his goals for the future. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR BACKGROUND? I’m an inner city kid, from Birmingham, Ala. … I knew I
wanted to go away from home … Went to [Jacksonville State University], had a great experience but learned very quickly that I was unprepared to be there. So I had a young man that was a hall director SEE OFSL PAGE 5
The reputation behind
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Wharton students compare their pre-Wharton expectations with reality
It is as if we want our conception of the world to be doctored like the headlines of the CCP.”
BRYN FERGUSON Deputy News Editor
Like many incoming freshman, Kevin Chou wondered whether Wharton would live up to its reputation as a highly competitive and stressful environment. So far, however, Penn’s business school has not been what he imagined. “I feel like Wharton in general, and maybe Penn, too, has a reputation of being
— Jeremiah Keenan PAGE 4
WOMEN’S SOCCER ISSUE
a pressure cooker, and that the cutthroat competition can really get at you,” he said. “But at least for me — and granted it’s only been two weeks — I don’t really sense that.” Fellow Wharton freshman JJ Vulopas said that he has also been “pleasantly surprised” about the atmosphere at Wharton after arriving on campus. “I’ve heard some horror stories,” he said. I guess [it’s SEE WHARTON PAGE 8
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LULU WANG | ASSOCIATE PHOTO EDITOR
Penn First builds support for first-generation students It can be jarring to be a first-generation college student at an elite school VIBHA KANNAN Staff Reporter
Neither of Wharton senior Megan Humes’ parents has graduated college. Between them, they have collectively applied to only one job. But Humes was an excellent student who grew up in an idyllic middle-class neighborhood and was the first person in nine years to get into Penn from her high school. She was excited to
join a community of students who shared her own academic ambitions. However, she soon realized that, on an elite campus like Penn, being a first-generation college student can be a jarring experience. While a friend had an internship set up in Turkey by her father, the only job her parents could get her was at the car dealership where her dad worked. In her management class, she encountered students whose parents were CFOs of large corporations, and along Locust Walk, she brushed sleeves with
children of doctors, lawyers and politicians. Inspired by her experience, plus a social impact class about low-income students, last spring Humes and several other first-generation students founded Penn First, a group for low-income and first-generation students. “There is a stigma on campus with saying you are a low-income or firstgeneration student, but we want Penn First to be a safe space,” College senior and co-founder Sam Trinh said. College senior Cheyenne Rogers, another co-founder,
said the club plans to create a mentorship program where entering freshmen can speak about their concerns with upperclassmen. Her parents had never attended college and didn’t come to her high school parent-teacher conferences because they were intimidated by the institutional formalities. During her freshman year at Penn, she felt ashamed to ask for help when she began struggling in her economics and calculus classes. “I didn’t want to admit SEE PENN FIRST PAGE 8
GUYRANDY JEAN-GILLES | ASSOCIATE PHOTO EDITOR
Founders of PennFirst, a new student group for low-income and firstgeneration students, gathered outside of their adopted base of operations at the Greenfield Intercultural Center.
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