September 23, 2015

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

SEPTA considers student discounts

How to

track a campus

A new proposal offers an annual pass at a 50 to 75 percent discount EUNICE LIM Staff Reporter

Despite Penn’s proximity to the heart of Philadelphia, a large majority of Penn students choose to eat, party and stay on campus.

But the SEPTA Student Fare Discount Program, an initiative started by the SEPTA Youth Advisory Council, promises more students the chance to break out of the “Penn bubble.”

The discount program is still in the works, but if successfully adopted, it would offer an unlimited annual student pass at a 50 to 75 percent discount. The price would be included in the cost of attendance at Penn and would be eligible for financial aid coverage if it is beyond one’s Expected Family Contribution. Though a price for Penn students has yet to be agreed on, the annual fee for the program at Pittsburgh schools is around $180, said Engineering and Wharton senior Jeff Kessler, the executive chair SEE SEPTA PAGE 3

DINING HALLS ADD NUTRITION FACTS

The PennComm Center has cameras covering campus 24/7 ANNA HESS Staff Reporter

Ommett Levine vigilantly watches an array of live camera feeds in front of him — toggling, panning and zooming between 41st and 36th, Locust Walk and Walnut streets. At 37th and Locust, Levine catches sight of an

AlliedBarton officer collapsing to the ground in a seizure.

Levine immediately alerts the Medical Emergency Response Team, which sends responders to her side and gives her the help she needs.

Levine is a PennComm Dispatcher. The PennComm Operations Center, a department under the Division of Public Safety, functions as a 24/7 virtual patrol center where operators monitor the Penn patrol zone via CCTV cameras.

The zone runs from 30th Street to 43rd Street and from Market Street to Baltimore Avenue. It includes full camera coverage as well as stationary cameras in areas at a high risk for theft, such as bike racks.

Levine monitors the streets from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m., five days a week. He noted that the evening can get interesting as students go out. If AlliedBarton officers notify PennComm that a student seems to be intoxicated, Levine can locate

and follow that student and send MERT or assistance if that student appears in need of help.

Each operator in the control room is assigned to monitor certain camera regions. Levine monitors numerous cameras and emergency alarms set up within the patrol zone, on and off campus. His days are spent surveying for burglary and fire alarms and sending out help SEE PENNCOMM PAGE 6

PAGE 3

Saxbys to debut renovations within next two months The coffeehouse is ‘literally changing everything’ NADIA KIM Contributing Reporter

Once you start noticing the sexual violence that takes place at parties, you will not be able to stop.”

— Giavanni Alves PAGE 4 NADIA KIM | CONTRIBUTING REPORTER

FAITH AND FOOTBALL

Saxbys Coffee on 40th and Locust streets is temporarily closed until late October or early November for renovations.

Saxbys Coffee is about to get a much-needed facelift.

The popular coffee shop on 40th and Locust streets will be closed until late October or early November as it undergoes serious renovations.

Changes to the cafe include a newly designed coffee bar, furniture, lighting, artwork and an updated “comfortably upscale” aesthetic, Saxbys founder and CEO Nick Bayer said.

“We are literally changing everything. The only thing students will recognize is the placement of the

bathrooms,” Bayer said.

The decision to renovate the coffee shop was largely based on feedback received from Penn students throughout the years. In response to a variety of surveys and focus groups, Saxbys will add soft furniture, big communal tables for collaboration, more seating areas, accessible outlets and even separate rooms for study groups or interview sessions.

Although there will be no major menu overhauls associated with the renovation, Saxbys will still continue to add and change menu items as they constantly try to improve their products, Bayer said.

In addition, Saxbys is refining its overall aesthetic to reflect the tastes SEE SAXBYS PAGE 2

BACK PAGE

Wharton looks to prove they can teach creativity The marketing course is also offered to MBA students BRYN FERGUSON Deputy News Editor

One of Wharton’s most soughtafter classes is not in Finance, but in a topic thought of by many as unteachable: creativity.

Ma rket i ng professor Rom Schrift introduced Marketing 292, a class simply called “Creativity,” to Wharton when he arrived at the

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school in 2011. Schrift was introduced to the subject when he took an MBA class in Israel that was taught by Jacob Goldberg, one of the professors that developed the methods of creativity study.

Schrift emphasized that the class cu r r icu lu m cha l lenges common conceptions about what it means to be inventive and innovative. In the first half of the semester of Marketing 292, Schrift teaches students the “templates” that underlie and explain creative

ideas.

“The approach [to creativity] challenges the intuitions that most people have about creativity,” he said. “No constraints, just thinking outside of the box. The empirical research argues that, in order to come up with empirical ideas, we need to think inside of the box.

So it’s a very structured approach to creativity. It’s an approach that ha r nesses constraints, saying constraints do not hamper creativity, but are extremely helpful to

coming up with creative ideas.”

After learning the methodology, the second half of the semester focuses on learning how to work with the templates to generate ideas in real-life contexts. Schrift invites representatives from companies such as Hilton, Dr. Scholls and U.S. Playing Card Company to present their companies’ challenges to the students, who are then responsible for applying the SEE CREATIVITY PAGE 7

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2 NEWS

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN | THEDP.COM

Senator Pryor shares thoughts on the current state of U.S. politics

Wharton graduate launches photo-sharing app for vacations

Pryor declares ‘the Senate is broken’ and calls for bipartisan legislation

Founder Andre Borczuk attributes his success to his Wharton education

MICHAEL GROSS Contributing Reporter

ERIC LEI Contributing Reporter

Even with Yom Kippur services and a papal visit, Penn had room for one more visit from a high-profile guest.

On Tuesday night, the Government and Politics Association brought former Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) to speak at Penn. More than 100 students listened to Pryor, who lost his seat in the U.S. Senate in the past election cycle, discuss the partisanship sweeping across the country.

“Senator Pryor is a rare breed; he is a Southern Democrat. But, there was great attendance, strong questions and we are very happy with the way it turned out,” said Wharton senior Brian Goldman, the GPA vice president of external affairs.

Pryor fielded questions about how he thinks the U.S. political system can be fixed.

“The system is broken, and we have to fix it,” Pryor said while discussing campaign finance reforms. “The problem is not with the campaigns.

The problem is that there is so much money out there floating through organizations that voters have no clue about.”

Pryor’s comment was eerily similar to one he made in his farewell speech after losing his Senate seat to then-Rep. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.). “As great an institution as the Senate is, the Senate is broken, and the American people know it,” Pryor said in the speech last December. “But the rules aren’t the problem around here,” he continued. “We’re the problem. All 100 of us.”

Pryor was part of the 113th U.S. Congress, which enacted 13 more laws than the 112th U.S. Congress, which was

2013 Wharton graduate Andre Borczuk is making dream vacations a reality with his new app, Worldview.

Worldview is a photo-sharing app where people can take photos of their current locations and share them with app users all over the world. People can share the photos they capture on the app’s “enhanced, ultra HD camera” on social media sites like Facebook.

The feature that differentiates Woldview from other photo-sharing apps like Instagram is that when people post photos, they are entered in contests to win plane tickets to any destination of their choice.

Additionally, users can share other people’s photos that they find on the app. Each time a user shares a photo, their name is added into a pool. With each additional share, their name is entered into the pool again. Each month, the person who posted the most shared photo, as well as another user drawn from the pool, wins a plane ticket.

“The idea is that you share images of what you see to spread awareness, and then you get rewarded for actually creating and sharing content,” Borczuk said.

CONNOR AUGUSTINE | CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

Former Senator Mark Pryor spoke at Penn on Tuesday night.

dubbed “the least productive Congress in modern history,” according to the Pew Research Center.

“So what can the Democrats learn from 2014?” a student asked, referencing the Democratic Party’s large losses in the Senate, which gave the Republican Party control of both the House and Senate. After taking control of the House and Senate on the back of President Obama’s historic victory in 2008, the Democrats lost more than 70 House seats and 9 Senate seats by 2014.

“Obama was definitely a factor [in 2014],” Pryor said.

“The President is immensely unpopular in some parts of the country, especially Arkansas.”

“We just need to get back to being Democrats, a party of the masses. This is a perfect opportunity to make America great again,” he added.

GPA decided to bring Pryor to campus because of his background as a Southern Democrat who worked on several bipartisan bills during his

tenure in Congress. “We are Penn’s largest political group, but we are also one of the few nonpartisan groups,” GPA president and College junior Sarah Simon said. “Our goal this year and mission as a club is to increase GPA’s size and diversity, especially political diversity.”

“The nation is polarized, and we need to fix that,” Pryor said in one of his concluding comments. “Unfortunately, there are politicians that are afraid that working on bipartisan legislation will cost them what would have been a guaranteed reelection. That mentality has to change if we ever want to get anything done.”

It might be starting to change at Penn. Wharton freshman Patrick Lobo, who heads one of the newest political groups, Penn for Trump, said he was interested in hearing what Pryor had to say.

“I do plan on attending the event, if I can get all my work done,” Lobo said.

SAXBYS >> PAGE 1

of Penn’s evolving student body.

“The students that we see there are domestic, if not international, travelers. They have sophisticated tastes — we’ve really seen that evolution,” Bayer said.

Saxbys’ renovations will bring the same level of refinement to its decor, while still maintaining its warm, neighborhood-cafe

COURTESY OF RISHIKESH TIRUMALA

A shot of Volcan Baru, a volcano and the tallest mountain in Panama, taken by a WorldView user.

Worldview is not a social media app. Rather than solely providing another way to communicate with others, Worldview aims for global transparency.

“That is the true vision — where everyone gathers around and all see the same thing, and things like ‘Ahmed with the clock’ will not happen,” Borczuk said. “The things that you try to hide in the corners and shadows — that can’t happen anymore because we are looking for it.”

Borczuk attributes much of his success to his experience at Penn.

“I can say very honestly and clearly that my Wharton education — and I didn’t realize it at the time — was an extremely valuable thing. The education itself helped me understand statistics and conceptualize consumer behavior on the softer side. It was

very well-balanced.”

Worldview has big plans for its future. He envisions that the app users who win trips will spread Worldview’s reach to the places that they travel.

“They are setting up little colonies of people taking pictures in that area. So we will be able to see Tianjin when the explosion happens. We will be able to respond to the Baltimore riots with our own eyes. We won’t need the news anymore because news is just people writing opinions on what happened, but we will be able to see what’s happening right now,” Borczuk said.

Those with iOS devices can download Worldview on the App Store today. Unfortunately, Android users will have to wait for the app to be released in the coming months.

atmosphere, he added.

Bayer also announced that Saxbys is partnering with Penn’s Fine Arts Department for the wall features. It plans on showcasing student artwork on rotation.

“One of the things we pride ourselves on is designing every [Saxbys to be] unique,” Bayer said. The new Saxbys will even feature a hand-painted Penn crest on the restaurant’s

millwork.

Saxbys will celebrate its re-opening with community outreach events.

“It’s really important to us to be an asset to the community,” Bayer said.

Based on the changes being made, Saxbys’ dedication to serving the community seems to hold true. Penn students will have to wait only one month before seeing it for themselves.

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NEWS 3

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

Counting calories? Penn Dining offering more nutrition info. on website Nutrition information for daily specials will be more difficult to measure JEFFREY CAREYVA Deputy News Editor

Worried about your calorie count at 1920 Commons?

Nutritional information is becoming easier to access as Bon Appétit works with Penn Dining to update their new website.

Online menus for dining halls and retail cafes have been updated since the first day of fall classes.

“Menus are streamlined, have easier access to information, increased readability, require less scrolling and now you can filter the menu you see based on your dietary preferences,” Bon Appétit dietitian Dan Connolly said.

The biggest and still ongoing update includes detailed nutritional information for a wide range of foods served at dining halls like Commons, Kings Court English House and Hill College House.

“Nutritional information will be available for our regularly occurring, static items because we can get information from the foods that we always serve,”

SEPTA

>> PAGE 1

of YAC. Kessler hopes to facilitate talks between SEPTA and Penn administration before the end of SEPTA’s fiscal year in June so that the discount program’s implementation can take place by the next academic year.

To show SEPTA and Penn administration that students are interested in seeing this

Connolly said. Facts will include serving size, calories, fats, cholesterol, sodium, total carbohydrates, dietary fiber, sugars and protein.

Menus also identify food as vegetarian, vegan, made without gluten, locally sourced and seafood.

Though a significant amount of foods still need their nutritional information calculated and uploaded, information will gradually be available for the salad bar, pizza station, cereal and drinks, condiments and any regularly occurring item.

“Our daily specials — which set Penn Dining and Bon Appétit apart from everyone else — don’t necessarily have a regular recipe so we can’t have detailed nutritional information for them regularly,” Connolly said. Ingredient information is still available for those dishes.

The update in nutritional information follows from student demand.

“If you invest money into a meal plan, you should have the right to the nutrition facts of what you have to eat,” College freshman Shannah Reagan said.

But students say the additional information won’t necessarily

proposal become a reality, the YAC launched an online petition four days ago, with 519 signatures to date.

Due to its diverse student population and central location, Penn is one of the YAC’s target schools for initial implementation, though Kessler envisions this discount program eventually being implemented in the entire Philadelphia region.

Kessler points to the success of a similar discount program for

make up for other considerations that go into choosing a meal plan.

“It doesn’t change the fact that I feel the nutritional value of the food isn’t that great,” College sophomore Connie Miller said. “I didn’t want a meal plan anymore

because I never felt like I got the quality of food that I wanted.”

Connolly acknowledged that “nutrition information isn’t really the whole picture when it comes to wellness because we know from studies and other

professionals that having the facts listed doesn’t necessarily lead to increases in wellness. It’s great information to have, but it doesn’t always get you to where you want to go.”

Bon Appétit relies on other

methods like nutrient-rich ingredients and behavioral economics “to make the healthy choice the easy choice,” Connolly said.

For example, the salad station is prominently placed in the front of Commons.

The new website is also designed to make it easier for students to access healthy foods and information.

At the top of the page, students can see the hours of operation for each dining facility and what meal each is serving currently.

The new menu website is mobile friendly, and diners can also sign up for a daily menu email featuring whichever dining halls and cafes are requested. The website features a “farm-to-fork map” that highlights where ingredients come from. Students may also ask Connolly specific dietary questions directly through the website and look at frequently answered questions.

“We need to always be explaining what we do and how students can eat well because it’s the new freshman class that eats the most in the dining halls each year,” Director of Communications and External Relations for Business Services Barbara LeaKruger said.

students in Pittsburgh as a model.

Before, students attending schools in Pittsburgh, like Carnegie Mellon University, would just stay on campus and only occasionally go to the downtown area, similar to students at Penn.

“Today, you can’t go through a single tour at a school in Pittsburgh without an administrator or student talking about the wonders of being able to just show student ID and go to the downtown area,” Kessler said. “We want to repeat

that here.”

Kessler argues that the discount program would be a win-win situation for both SEPTA and Penn students. Even at the discounted price, SEPTA would generate a huge revenue, and students would get easy access to the city.

“Even though the cost of a SEPTA token is not expensive at all, the cost makes people consider whether they really want to leave campus,” Kessler said. “But by removing the cost barrier, it

makes spontaneous trips possible.

Students can go out and about and enjoy all that Philadelphia has to offer. If you want to go to Trader Joe’s to buy just one item, you can do that. If you want to go to Rittenhouse Square for lunch, you can do that.”

Kessler has teamed up with Wharton and Engineering sophomore Kanishka Rao, who is a member of both the Undergraduate Assembly Dining, Sustainability and Facilities committee and the

Sophomore Class Board, to bring this to the attention of Penn students and administrators.

“Penn sells itself on Philly when prospective students visit Penn, but when students actually get here, we’re not giving them adequate access to the treasures inside the city,” said Rao, a Philadelphia native. “I hope to leverage my unique access to the student body and administration to show each side that the other is also interested in making this happen.”

ANANYA CHANDRA | CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

Due to student demand, Penn Dining will soon be publishing all of its nutritional information online. The website will be updated with correct location hours, menus and health information as well.

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Hoping to work in journalism or publishing after college? A knowledgeable panel of four Penn alumni — who have held every job in the business — will discuss the early trials, tribulations, and eventual bliss of working in the media. Come get the scoop, as these professionals will field your questions and advise aspiring writers and editors on the ever-changing landscape of new media.

JESSICA GOODMAN ’12 is the Digital News Editor at Entertainment Weekly, where she runs the music and books sections of EW.com. Previously, she was an Entertainment Editor at The Huffington Post, and has written for the Village Voice, Mashable, NYMag.com and Noisey.

MARIA POPOVA ’07 is is a reader and writer, and writes about what she reads on her Brain Pickings blog, which is included in the Library of Congress archive of culturally valuable materials. She has also written for Wired UK, The Atlantic, The New York Times and Smithsonian Magazine.

DAVID BORGENICHT ’90 is the CEO and owner of Philadelphia book publisher Quirk Books, and co-author of the best-selling “Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook.” Quirk publishes 25 books a year, including international best-seller “Pride & Prejudice & Zombies.”

STEPHEN FRIED ’79 (moderator) is a best-selling author and award-winning journalist who teaches non-fiction writing at Penn and Columbia J-School. A former contributing editor at Vanity Fair, GQ, Glamour and Philadelphia Magazine, his sixth book, “A Common Struggle” will be published in October.

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4

OPINION

LETTERS

Have your own opinion? Send your guest column to Opinion Editor Shawn Kelley at kelley@thedp.com.

Sexual healing? … I think not WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 23, 2015 VOL. CXXXI, NO. 74 131st Year of Publication

MATT MANTICA President JILL CASTELLANO Editor-in-Chief SHAWN KELLEY Opinion Editor LUKE CHEN Director of Online Projects LAUREN FEINER City News Editor KRISTEN GRABARZ Campus News Editor CLAIRE COHEN Assignments Editor STEVEN TYDINGS Social Media Director PAOLA RUANO Copy Editor RILEY STEELE Senior Sports Editor COLIN HENDERSON Sports Editor

W

hile it manifests itself in different ways across a variety of parties, sexual violence against young women occurs on a regular basis both on and off our campus.

To properly discuss this community issue beyond my own view, I sent a questionnaire to 26 Penn students ranging in race, ethnicity, age, school, gender and sex. I received responses from 15 people, 10 of whom were men and the remaining five, women.

Only four out of 10 random men interviewed on this topic agreed that sexual violence is an issue at Penn parties. Meanwhile every woman reported multiple instances in which they experienced unwanted touching and repeated forceful attempts at dancing from men at parties, despite their resistance and declines.

I have lost track of the number of experiences that have left me seething at parties, both multicultural and predominantly white. I have been groped from virtually every possible angle,

JA FEEL | Discussing and addressing sexual violence at Penn parties dragged to the wall, pulled away from a female friend that I was dancing with and flung onto a guy, been at the receiving end of a “f**k that bitch” one too many times after ignoring men’s thirsty presence and repeatedly grabbed and attempted to be danced with by men that I resisted.

As one woman stated in her response, “Guys at parties think us women are their property. Their bitches. Their reward for paying $5 at the door.” The notion that men are entitled to women and can take advantage of us is part of a larger perpetu-

out consequences as tone of music, women’s outfits, dancing and alcohol are used as justification. And so the culture and violence continues to be perpetuated, even welcomed.

However, this year a rather public attempt was made to address the issue. About a month ago, a group of black male students on this campus took to Facebook, notifying the Penn community and the rest of their friends that they were pledging to “combat various forms of violence on campus,” specifically “sexual and verbal assault”

Furthermore, one of the men who took the pledge responded in the survey that I conducted, deflecting the issue to the white community in the same breath saying “It hasn’t particularly been a major issue that I’ve personally seen.” So please, tell me what it is that you are pledging to combat if you don’t acknowledge the issue?

While I clicked “like” on the post whenever I saw it and applaud the attempt, I cannot wholeheartedly believe in it.

Moreover, this post has barely skimmed the surface of the is-

Coping quietly only makes us angrier and allows the violence to continue.” ated societal culture that incessantly delivers mass messages in media that project women as sex objects for men to play with and manhandle to their heart’s content.

Parties become the perfect setting for sexual violence with-

as the post that was copied and pasted across my news feed read.

Unfortunately, these supposedly genuine intentions are undermined by lack of strategy and implementation, as well as the fact that many of these men have been the aggressors at parties.

sue, becoming more of a question than an answer. In fact, this pledge highlights the disconnect between men and women around the discussion as well the issue of addressing sexual violence at parties here at Penn.

The first step here is to actu-

ally acknowledge that it is one.

Awareness is key. Once you start noticing the sexual violence that takes place at parties, you will not be able to stop. Yes it is a vibe killer, but think about all of the girls that have been victims of sexual violence and how they are reminded of it every time they step into parties or pass their violators on Locust.

That being said, women, while we do speak on the topic, we don’t do so enough. We have to speak up and make the men on this campus hear our stories.

Coping quietly only makes us angrier and allows the violence to continue. As for the men: LISTEN! It is not your job to act on behalf of us, but to pay attention to the issues we bring up. As one guy said, “This is when men need to listen ... let women lead.

Men support from the back, not dictate from the front.”

Initiative comes in the forms of having this open discussion, strategizing how to spread awareness and making these spaces intolerant of sexual violence. There are the immediate case-by-case approaches of stop-

GIAVANNI ALVES ping aggressors in the moment at parties, but there also need to be standards set by those running the parties. Furthermore, in drawing up all these solutions there must be follow through.

The fact of the matter is, sexual violence is very much an issue at the parties here at Penn.

This baby elephant in the room is not going anywhere; in fact it is growing. Now let’s do something about it.

GIAVANNI ALVES is a College sophomore from New York. Her email address is alvesg@sas.upenn.edu. “Ja Feel” appears every other Wednesday.

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SOPHIA OAK is a College senior from Honolulu. Her email is oakjsas.upenn.edu.

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The numbers racket

NICK BUCHTA Associate Sports Copy Editor PAT GOODRIDGE Associate Photo Editor GUYRANDY JEAN-GILLES Associate Photo Editor WILL AGATHIS Associate Sports Editor TOM NOWLAN Associate Sports Editor JACOB ADLER Associate Sports Editor CAROLINE SIMON Deputy News Editor

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 artword represent the opinion of their authors and are not necessarily representative of the DP’s position.

I

suppose I should begin with a disclaimer that I don’t know for certain exactly why Penn dropped from 8th to 9th in this year’s U.S. News and World Report’s “Best Colleges” rankings. What I do know is that I won’t be losing any sleep over it, save perhaps the time it will take me to write this column. As a matter of fact, I’m actually somewhat pleased about the rankings slide.

Don’t get me wrong — I like external validation (almost) as much as the next Quaker. U.S. News’ approval, however, is something I can do without, given what’s necessary to gain it.

To justify this, it’s important to understand the rankings methodology in some detail. The system used to rate and rank colleges is pretty complex, even by U.S. News’ own account. What it boils down to as far as Penn is concerned, however, is this: Competition at the top

TALKING BACKWARD | Why I’m pleased at Penn’s rankings slide is fierce. Penn is realistically competing for the top spots with only a handful of prestigious institutions. These schools all tend to score comparably well on the broad categories like reputation, retention and faculty resources,

remaining 17.5 percentage points, 12.5 are awarded for selectivity — the proportion of students the school accepts versus turns down — and the percentage of alumni who give above a certain threshold.

out.

Beyond simply being trivial, these incentives start to really matter when they begin to affect how schools make decisions about resource allocation. If the shot-callers start thinking less about where

Besided being fundamentally dishonest, this is a classic case of ‘quantity-before-quality’ thinking by administrators … .” which make up a majority of the available points.

By their very nature, all of these schools graduate a high number of successful students, all of them are able to spend lavishly on education, all of them maintain a low dropout rate. These metrics account, collectively, for 82.5 percent of an institution’s “grade.” What puts one school above another at the top end, then, is what remains: the small stuff. Of the

The result of this system is a perverse set of incentives for top colleges who want to boost their rankings; namely, to put a great deal of effort into boosting selectivity and alumni giving participation rates and wringing the last few hundredths of a point out of the broad categories in which they perform well by default, which might make the difference between, say, 8th and 9th place. Thus, other excellent schools are beaten

the money they have to allocate will do the most good for students and faculty and more about where it will get them points on the U.S. News rubric, opportunity costs start to build up. “We could put this money toward funding undergraduate research” thinks an administrator at University No. 7. “But we’re already beating University No. 6 in spending-per-student, and our alumni giving numbers could be improved,

so we’d better spend it on a fundraising push instead.”

Of course, this is an oversimplification. No university would admit to making decisions this way, but there are documented cases of schools engaging in just this kind of thinking. Washington University in St. Louis, for example, was heavily criticized a number of years ago for rejecting students its admissions office considered likely to receive admission at more prestigious schools. Such students, they reasoned, were likely to turn down their offers of admission, therefore hurting their ranking metrics. Besides being fundamentally dishonest, this is a classic case of “quantity-before-quality” thinking by administrators — a willingness to sacrifice the quality of the academic experience for the sake of boosting stats.

So I’m glad to see that Penn has fallen a spot, not because I know for certain that they’ve rejected metrics-first thinking outright, but be-

ALEC WARD cause it’s at least an indication that if they are trying to sacrifice academic quality to the gods of U.S. News, they’re not doing it very well.

Maybe the brass deserves more credit than that, maybe less. From my point of view, however, things are at least headed in the right direction.

ALEC WARD is a College junior from Washington, D.C., studying history. His email address is alecward@ sas.upenn.edu. Follow him on Twitter @TalkBackWard.

“Talking Backward” appears every other Wednesday.

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NEWS 5

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

New community programming in Rodin aims to unite minority groups Rodin United caters to intersecting identities ISABEL KIM Deputy News Editor

If you want to talk about issues within a specific minority group, there are plenty of organizations to join on campus. But if you want to talk about all minorities and how to be allies, Rodin United offers a unique forum for these conversations.

Each college house has different methods of bringing programming to their community, and while often this programming is involved with either various aspects of diversity, minority-specific groups proliferate at Penn. Rodin United is an attempt at bringing together many different identities for a sustained period of time.

Rodin United aims to bring the conversation about inclusivity to Rodin College House in a long term way, and to people who might

not be part of a marginalized group, or people who are interested in learning more about the way various identities intersect.

A large part of the program focuses on “how to be an ally, a program that focuses on what is ally-ship. What is diversity, and what does it mean to be an ally to people from non-dominant groups,” Resident Advisor and College senior Hannah Watene said.

“It’s not only that your identities are intersectional, it’s that your oppressions are also intersectional,” Graduate Advisor and Graduate School of Education student Richard Liuzzi said.

Rodin United was created this year by melding two different programs: a diversity program and a program for international students. The way that the creators of the group saw it was that the two groups, when put together, could be greater than the sum of their parts.

“We kind of get this notion that international communities selfsegregate,” Watene said, adding that continuing to have a program that was just about international issues did not help that and that they needed to “stop this idea of ‘secluded communities need secluded programming.”

RU is still defining what they want to be, and the leaders say that they’re “just facilitators,” according to Watene, and that the goal of the group is “getting residents to talk about what they want to learn.”

As of now, the group is mainly following traditional modes of programming in Rodin, and they are thinking about partnering with other minority, LGBTQ and international groups on campus.

“Diversity does apply, it’s a discussion that everyone needs to be having,” Watene said. “Being aware of your privilege is just as important as being aware of your lack of privilege.”

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CONSERVATIVE

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Student led at Steinhardt Hall Community Service at Irvine Auditorium

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Kol Nidre Services 6:25 pm

Kol Nidre Services 6:25 pm

Wednesday, September 23

Wednesday, September 23

Wednesday, September 23

Morning Services 8:30 am Yiskor after Shacharit

Morning Services 9:00 am Yiskor after 11:30 am

Morning Services 10:00 am

Bodek Lounge, Houston Hall

Afternoon & Evening Services 4:40 pm

Student led at Steinhardt Hall Community Service at Irvine Auditorium

Afternoon & Evening Services 4:40 pm Student led at Steinhardt Hall Community Service at Irvine Auditorium

Kol Nidre Services 6:25 pm

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Afternoon & Evening Services 4:40 pm Yiskor at 4:40 pm

Community/Student Service at Harrison Auditorium

Fast Ends 7:48 pm

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For information about Break the Fast with Penn Hillel go to www.pennhillel.org.

Holiday meals will be served following services Falk Dining Commons, Steinhardt Hall.

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6 NEWS

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN | THEDP.COM

Silfen Forum caps opening of the Penn Wharton China Center

Institute of Contemporary Art unveils three new exhibitions

Forum was attended by 600 guests, including General Colin Powell

The ICA offers free guided tours for Penn students

CAROLINE SIMON Deputy News Editor

SANIKA PURANIK Contributing Reporter

President Amy Gutmann’s first trip to the Penn Wharton China Center included exhibiting academically diverse showcases, conversing with intellectual leaders and presenting new awards.

The weeklong series of events, staged six months after the Center’s opening in March, was capped by the Silfen Forum, a discussion that was moderated

by Penn President Amy Gutmann featuring General Colin Powell, former U.S. Secretary of State, Li Zhaoxing, former Foreign Minister of China, Zhang Xin, CEO and co-founder of SOHO China, and Howard Marks, co-chairman of Oaktree Capital Management.

The forum, which was attended by around 600 guests, focused on US-China relations, especially in the areas of business, technology and higher education.

“You could hear a pin drop.

Everyone was listening to every word of the discussions,” Gutmann said, adding that a highlight of the forum was a lively debate between Powell and Li over U.S. and Chinese foreign policies.

“General Powell and Minister Li — who have been diplomatic friends for decades — had some wonderful high level sparring of the exactly right kind,” Gutmann said.

Penn’s efforts in developing the PWCC reflect the importance that the University places on engaging with China. Two thousand undergraduates have ties to China, Gutmann said, while thousands of alumni are scattered throughout Asia.

What do a local Philadelphia artist, a New York based poet and a British photographer have in common? Up through Dec. 27, The Institute of Contemporary Art, located 36th and Sansom streets, will be featuring the three artists in its fall exhibition.

Becky Suss, Christopher Knowles and Josephine Pryde each bring a different tone and dynamic to the institute’s exhibit.

Communications Associate at the ICA Becky Huff Hunter said that the fall exhibits don’t necessarily follow a certain theme. “The shows that we have up don’t necessarily relate to each other, often they can be chosen to rub up against each other rather than complement each other,” she said.

The exhibitions, according to Hunter, can take anywhere from one to five years to put together.

“We have a curatorial team that meets every week and the curators bring up their ideas to each other and collaboratively work together,” she said. “Our curators travel and do studio visits and reading and research, so there’s a lot of aspects that go into figuring out which artists to bring.”

COURTESY OF LAURA CAVENDER/UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

​The Silfen Forum was led by Amy Gutmann, and the panel also included former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and former Chinese foreign minister Li Zhaoxing.

“I think for students, studying China and understanding China is key to a lot of different opportunities in the world,” Executive Director for Penn Global Amy Gadsden said. “China is playing a role in virtually every sector from business and economics to politics and geostrategic relationships, but also arts and culture.”

The week at the PWCC was filled with various events and programs put on by Penn’s different schools, including the opening of the Penn Design Exhibition called “An Investigation on Architecture Practice in China” and a robotics symposium put on by the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Ten of Penn’s

12 deans visited the Center, as well as Dean of Admissions Eric Furda and Director of Athletics and Recreation Grace Calhoun.

During her visit, Gutmann also announced the first recipients of the Penn China Research and Engagement Fund awards, which provide research grants to Penn faculty to encourage engagement in China, and will award up to $10 million over the next five years.

Vice Provost for Global Initiatives Ezekiel Emanuel explained that although some Penn professors have focused their research on China since well before the PWCC opened, the center “provides a more solid institutional structure and support that not only helps existing relationships but also catalyzes additional interactions with the Chinese.”

In the months and years ahead, the PWCC hopes to expand, pushing global engagement even further.

“More — that’s what’s ahead,” Emanuel said. “More programs, more conferences, more classes with students. Lots more engagement and activity — that would be the ideal.”

Post finals CALLS FOR A

PENNCOMM >> PAGE 1

when needed. He has helped to save the life of an AlliedBarton Security officer, stopped bike thefts and responded to countless emergency calls.

Besides the high-stakes support Levine has provided to the community, he also witnesses a lot of the everyday faux pas that students get into around campus.

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The artists themselves are varied, spanning a wide range of experience and styles. Becky Suss is a Philadelphia native, born, raised and currently living in the city. The exhibit at ICA is Suss’s first solo museum exhibition. Distinctive by her use of oil and ceramics, Suss’s work documents her grandparent’s suburban home through a perspective that paints a narrative of America through various political and cultural environments, such as Cold War America. Thus, Suss is able to evoke questions of family dynamics, politics and religion in her work.

In complete contrast, Christopher Knowles is a Brooklyn-based artist and poet whose exhibition centers around alarm clocks. His pieces ebb and flow with different color intensities and volumes, featuring sharp edges and optical illusions. There is an element of politics in Knowles’

more recent work, with the names ‘Trump,’ ‘Obama’ and ‘Romney’ popping up sporadically throughout his pieces.

From the other side of the pond, Josephine Pryde’s exhibition at ICA is the British artist’s first in America. Her photographs are notable for their varied lighting and composition, but her gallery varies in content as well, featuring documentary-style footage, polaroid-type snapshots and art photography.

Hunter said that having the ICA so close to campus provides a unique opportunity for Penn students.

“One thing is that we have contemporary art that you don’t really find in Philadelphia . . . it’s on the doorstep of Penn’s campus,” Hunter said. “We’re free, so there’s not much risk involved. We also offer freeguided tours to Penn students, so that can be a way to deepen your personal experience.”

other,” Levine said.

Levine came to Penn in 2004 with decades of experience under his belt in the Philadelphia Police force, where he worked for 23 years as an officer and dispatcher. He said he is able to empathize with the community because of a personal connection — his brother’s medical condition allows him to identify with people in need of help.

“Because of my experience, I’m looking for something that someone else wouldn’t see,” Levine said. “The job can change you.”

PennComm also dispatches the calls for Walking Escort services, where any student can call at any hour of night and have an AlliedBarton officer walk them anywhere within the patrol zone. DPS provides on average about 1,400 walking escorts per month.

To stay safe on campus, Levine recommends that students call escorts when they don’t feel safe and pay attention to their surroundings and belongings — especially high ticket items like phones and laptops.

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Commuters save over $11,000 living at home Standard tuition fails to capture total cost of living at Penn REBECCA LaPOINTE Staff Reporter

The 2015-2016 undergraduate cost of attendance is no precise calculation.

Expenses differ for students living on- or off-campus as opposed to those living at home with their parents. According to the Student Financial Services website, the estimated cost of attendance for students living on-campus is $66,800, compared with $55,100 for students living at home with family.

But there are more to these costs than can be expressed in a budget.

The total cost of attendance is made up of tuition and fees, meals, housing, books and personal expenses. There are many

factors that can affect the outcome of a student’s total cost when living at home with their parents, which is why the University stresses that these comparisons cannot really be represented by fixed numbers.

With many other variables to take into consideration, the approximate amount of money that students save by living at home totals around $11,700, according to the SFS website.

“If you’re talking about a commuter school versus a residential school, Penn’s a residential school.

One hundred percent of our freshmen live on campus,” Executive Director of Business Services Doug Berger said, adding that commuting is not something that Penn administrators see often because many of the students come from a wide geographic range.

There are even variables affecting costs for students who live in off-campus housing. Off-campus

NEWS 7

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

apartment expenses can include cable, internet, some utilities, a security deposit and usually a 12month lease. Because these costs vary, there is no real way to put a definite number to the actual cost of off-campus rent.

In terms of dining and meal plans, the job of the school is to provide an adequate number of meals per week for the students.

While freshmen are required to enroll in a meal plan, upperclassmen are not — leading them, especially those who move off-campus or have kitchens, to choose to cook instead.

Some students opt to go home on the weekends as a moneysaver. Penn recognizes that there is a difference in cost between students living at home versus those living on campus because they have meals provided at home, but the situation is dependent on each individual and their own expenses.

“Most of the cost of attendance items are set by the Board of Trustees. Those happen annually — generally in the spring, they’ll make an announcement of what the tuition and fees will be,” Director of Financial Aid Joel Carstens said. “Cost is individual to students — you can’t generalize that everyone is going to save an exact dollar.”

Carstens emphasized how hard the trustees work to keep the cost of attending Penn affordable for all students.

When it comes down to the cost of attendance for undergraduate students, Vice President of Budget and Management Analysis Bonnie Gibson stressed that an accessible Penn education is the most important issue for the school to consider.

“We have an endowment, and we have philanthropy, which help to cover the other costs,” Gibson said.

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CREATIVITY >> PAGE 1

templates for coming up with ideas of how to overcome the challenges.

2014 College graduate Gabriela Coya, a former copy editor at the Daily Pennsylvanian, took the class as a junior at Penn.

Coya said that it was learning about the little-known structured aspect of creativity that attracted her to enroll, and what she ended up finding most interesting.

“One of the biggest takeaways is that you can unlock creativity through various means and it doesn’t have to be this fuzzy, unclear process,” Coya said. “With brainstorming, we commonly think that it is a great way to come up with ideas. And while it usually gets you to where you want, there are more efficient approaches to reach the same ideas without having to have no guidance.”

While Schrift initially taught the class only to undergraduates, he added two 70-student MBA

sections in 2013.

Like Coya, 2014 Wharton MBA graduate Jeremy Lemer said he was attracted to the unconventional elements of the class.

“There are lots of classes [at Wharton], but most of them are very technical and they are closely connected with the standard business topics,” Lemer said. There’s not as much that tries to bring different approaches and different ways of doing things to business problems.”

While Lemer and Coya, who both work in consulting, said they do not explicitly apply the principles they learned in the class in their professional lives, they emphasized that the skills are still valuable.

“Even if I hadn’t applied the principles [from the class], I have enjoyed telling lots of people about them since school,” Lemer said. “And if I do get presented with a new idea, I would like to think that I would apply the concepts.”

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8 SPORTS

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN | THEDP.COM

GUESS THEIR

FAVORITE

Alec Neumann

“Matt’s pre-game meal’s gotta be a chicken plate, string beans or green beans, and mashed potatoes.�

What is the other person’s favorite pre-game meal?

“Alec is big on the Denver omelet is it? Oh no, it’s the Western Omelet. We’ll go with that.�

“Oh, it’s gotta be Commons. Or Bridge.

Either really.�

What about the other’s favorite dining spot here at Penn?�

“Alec’s really into Chinese food, I gotta go with Spring Chinese food, yeah.�

“Probably every Seattle Seahawks jersey available, every player.�

(MP: “Fair.�)

If the other one had a million dollars, what’s the ďŹ rst thing he’d buy?

“Oh just about everything, it’s not even guilty for him. Probably Whitney Houston.�

“Someone with a big smile.

Spongebob I guess would be the best comparison.�

“Backstreet Boys for sure.�

What’s something the other one thinks he’s good at, but actually isn’t good at?

“FIFA. He thinks he can beat me but he really can’t.�

Finally, if the other was a character from a kid’s TV show who would it be?

“That dude with the big hair, what’s his name‌ Johnny Bravo!â€?

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33 City founded by a twin, in myth 36 Actor Katz of “Dallas�

37 Turf war adversaries 38 Pass with flying colors 39 Sewer’s protection 41 Narc’s org.

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43 Oregon city named for a furrier 45 Cyborg, in part

57 Student’s viva voce 59 Partner of away

48 Head of the class, in pioneer schools

60 Score for a post-touchdown kick

50 Theme 52 Distiller ___ Walker

61 Big name in chips and pretzels

39 His and hers

53 Sign into law

62 Saddler’s tool

40 Olympic downhill event

56 Granny

31 Croaking sound 33 Indira Gandhi’s ill-fated son 34 Eye-shaped openings 35 French red wine

both teams. We are enemies on the field but when that clock stops, we all play for God, so we are brothers and sisters in the light.�

Off the field, Vecchio and Ugwu both attend Fellowship of Christian Athletes meetings on Tuesday nights, and they said that, along with the prayer circle, has established a special bond between players who deeply value their faith.

And just as the City of Brotherly Love has been planning for the Pope’s arrival, the two players have been thinking about his visit as well. Both said that they would love to see Pope Francis, but they aren’t sure yet if their practice schedule will permit them to, as the Red and Blue gear up for their first Ivy game next Saturday against Dartmouth.

If one things is certain, it’s that, in the long run, faith is always more important than football for Vecchio, Ugwu and many other members of the Quakers squad. “Things don’t always go your way in football,� Ugwu said. “It’s nice to have faith that you can fall back on because it lets you know that everything is going to be ok.�

the team,� Genske said. “After you sit out for a year, I think you just come in ready to play, and ready to play hard. Especially since we’re seniors, she really feels that there’s no reason not to leave it all on the court and just go for it. She does a really good job of reminding us of that any time we’re not feeling like ourselves, if we’re coming out quieter or less confident than we should be. She never lacks confidence.� “You see the court so much better when you’re off the court,� DeSilva said. “I learned so much sitting back and watching. I’m a way more consistent player now, I hit smarter shots, I feel like I know what to do if we’re out of system — all these little skills I didn’t have before,

I have now.� “She’s such a smart player out there,� Carr echoed. “She doesn’t make the same mistakes she made in [previous] years. And physically, she’s just as good a player that left the court. In fact, I think she’s stronger, because she really got the chance to hit the weight room and lift more than she had been. “To take something that could have been terrible and ended her career and make it into something that pushes her career even higher, it’s amazing.� “I was most worried about coming back and not being the same player,� DeSilva said. “But I’m actually glad I’m not that same player.�

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yet it often provides respite from everything the players deal with on and off the field.

For players who juggle rigorous academic schedules, Division I athletics and faith, the prayer circle makes balancing these things a little bit easier — especially considering this balancing act most likely wasn’t necessary during their youth playing days. “When I was young, I never had to balance anything because my mom was like ‘church on Sunday,’� sophomore defensive lineman Chibuzor Ugwu said. “Then, when I got here, where no one was making me do anything, and we have practice on Sundays, it was rough at first. “It’s harder to balance, but when you are firm in your faith, it makes it okay.�

Vecchio echoed these sentiments, noting that, in college, it takes a conscious effort to maintain strong faith with such a demanding schedule. “As a kid, practices end early, so there is always time at night,� he said. “But when you get to college, it’s pretty tough,

especially practicing on Sundays. “I mean we are here almost all day Sunday, so its pretty hard to find a church that is doing something later in the day, so [the prayer circle] definitely helps after every practice.�

The post-practice prayer circle isn’t the only way the players balance faith and football. In fact, in some cases, practicing faith is a way to prepare for football. “Before the game, we have chapel, and it really helps us focus and get geared for the game,� Ugwu said.

Although they have a good crowd for the prayer circle after every practice, both players said the turnout was even bigger before Saturday’s game against Lehigh, perhaps as part of mental preparation. The religious activities continue after the game as well, and sometimes include members from rival teams, especially those from Catholic schools like Villanova, the Quakers’ opponent on Thursday. “After games, our chaplain will get a huge circle going,�

Vecchio said. “We come together in the middle of the field and get an open prayer with

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“I’d probably say a bigger tank for his ďŹ sh, the one he has right now isn’t big enough.â€?

What’s the other one’s guilty pleasure music?

“Singing. For sure. Have you heard him sing?�

Matt Poplawski

54 Diner basketful

63 Start of many French surnames

Online subscriptions: Today’s puzzle and more than 7,000 past puzzles, nytimes.com/crosswords ($39.95 a year).

Read about and comment on each puzzle: nytimes.com/wordplay.

Crosswords for young solvers: nytimes.com/studentcrosswords.

>> PAGE 10

have to play every point as a freshman. So I wanted to help them any way I could. I gave them all the advice I could, and that really got me through the recovery.�

Now, DeSilva is back, and the people around her can see that a year off the court was most certainly not a year wasted. “When Jasmine was out, that’s when she really stepped forward and became the leader she is today,� coach Kerry Carr said. “I’m not sure that would have happened without the injury.� “She came in this year a lot hungrier than anybody else on

thedp.com/sports

THEDP.COM | THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN

SPORTS 9

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

Penn’s midweek foe dealing with injury barrage

FOOTBALL | ‘Nova QB

has torn knee ligament RILEY STEELE Senior Sports Editor

Maybe, somehow, this will be the year.

If Penn football is going to buck one of the longest active losing streaks in the sport, it might actually be the squad’s lack of game experience in 2015 that helps it out.

Heading into Thursday night’s game against their Big 5 rival, the Quakers have played only once, a 42-21 drubbing at the hands of Lehigh last Saturday.

On the contrary, No. 5 Villanova — who hasn’t lost to the Red and Blue since 1911, winning each of the 14 meetings since the squads’ series resumed in 1980 — will be playing for the fourth time in 21 days.

Despite its dearth of meaningful playing time in comparison to its cross-town foe, Penn (0-1) emerged from its season opener relatively injury free. Meanwhile, the Wildcats (2-1), whose only loss came in their first game against Connecticut, are bruised

M. SOCCER >> PAGE 10

number of rookies, the team insists it has had no problems gelling together.

“From the first day it really felt like a family,” freshman Jerel Blades said. “The older guys are really welcoming, and when we step out onto the field, we’re all a part of the same unit.”

Blades also admitted that there are “new relationships being formed” and that it’s taking time to develop them to their fullest potential.

“It’s been a challenge — certainly not a negative, but definitely a challenge. It’s bound to happen any time you have new guys playing with each

DP FILE PHOTO

Villanova’s then-redshirt junior John Robertson torched the Quakers in the teams’ matchup in 2014, throwing for four touchdowns. The veteran suffered a torn PCL on Saturday and will miss Thursday’s game with Penn.

Villanova fifth-year senior quarterback John Robertson injured his right knee in Saturday’s game against Delaware and was immediately ruled out for team’s game against Penn. On Tuesday, Wildcats’ coach Andy Talley announced that an MRI revealed the reigning CAA Offensive Player of the Year suffered a torn posterior cruciate ligament and will be out indefinitely.

Into Robertson’s place steps redshirt freshman Zach Bednarczyk, who entered last weekend’s game against the Blue Hens in the fourth quarter and threw a touchdown pass and ran for another to give his side a come-from-behind 28-21 win.

The Wallington, N.J., native finished four-for-six with 57 yards through the air, while adding 21 yards on the ground on his game-winning score. "[Bednarczyk] has the same stuff John has,” Talley said on Tuesday. “He can throw, he can run. He’s as fast as John is, he’s a really good runner. What he doesn’t have is a total grasp of the offense for the last four years. John was a master of our offense.”

Last year, Robertson was a

force against the Red and Blue, registering 230 yards through the air and four touchdowns in the Wildcats’ 41-7 romp. In addition to playing without their veteran behind center, Villanova will also be without its two starting tackles — junior Brad Seaton, who suffered a knee injury against Delaware, and freshman Ethan Greenridge, who will miss the game with a high ankle sprain.

For tunately, despite the epidemic of injuries on the offensive front, the Wildcats should be getting one of their starters back for their contest with Penn.

Heading into the season, Talley knew he would be without starting guard Jake Prus for at least the team’s first three games. After starting all of the Wildcats’ 14 games in 2014, the junior biochemistry major donated bone marrow on Sept. 10 to help a 65-year-old man suffering from a blood disorder.

Regardless, over a century since the Quakers last took down Villanova, their chances might have gotten a little bit better as their opponent deals with a M.A.S.H. unit on offense.

and battered and will be without a collection of offensive talent when the teams face off for their

midweek contest.

A year removed from winning the Walter Payton Award,

an honor given annually to the top player at the Football Championship Subdivision level,

other.”

With so many young players playing important roles on the team, maybe it should not come as a surprise that the Red and Blue are starting the season so slowly.

Against Penn State, these freshmen, in addition to the rest of the Quakers’ squad, will look to stop the scoring prowess of star Nittany Lion striker Connor Maloney, who netted 10 goals last season. Although he has yet to put up the same numbers in 2015, Maloney will try to prey on a recently porous Penn defense. The Red and Blue will also have to look out for Penn State freshman Mac Curran, who has burst onto the scene with a team-leading two goals

this season.

One bright spot heading into Wednesday’s match is the status of senior goalkeeper Max Polkinhorne, who sustained a head injury in the team’s Sept.

10 loss to Florida International.

When asked for an update on the injury, Fuller confirmed that Polkinhorne is “good to go” for Penn State.

If last year’s encounter is any indication, Polkinhorne will be kept busy in the net for the Quakers following their grueling 6-2 loss at the hands of the Nittany Lions in 2014. If Penn expects anything different in this year’s clash, the team will need to see a much different effort on Wednesday than observed on Sunday.

After a head injury suffered in a loss to Florida International on Sept. 10, senior goalkeeper Max Polkinhorne is “good to go” against No. 21 Penn State on Wednesday according to coach Rudy Fuller.

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WOUNDED ‘CATS

We spoke to two Penn soccer captains about each person’s favorite things

With Penn football’s game with ‘Nova on tap for Thursday, the Wildcats are dealing with injuries

>> SEE PAGE 8

>> SEE PAGE 9

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

ILANA WURMAN | SPORTS PHOTO EDITOR

FAITH &

FOOTBALL FAITH | Prayer shapes

players practices, games ANNA DYER Associate Sports Editor

At the end of every football practice, after the whistle is blown and the team disperses from the huddle, there exists at

the center of the field a quiet spirituality.

Some coaches strategize with players off to the side. Most players have already jogged off to the locker room. A few chat or toss footballs back and forth in the end zone. But for a group of about 20 players, the practice is not yet over. For some, the most important part of the session is

just starting.

Gathered in a circle holding hands, the group stands with their heads bowed in prayer, listening to the words of team chaplain Mark Pass.

Although sometimes Pass’ prayers and devotional readings relate to football, for most players the daily prayer circle transcends the game and

reminds them that what they do on the field is not the most important thing in life.

“Football has a ton of ups and downs,” said sophomore defensive end and prayer-circle participant Louis Vecchio. “It definitely becomes a lot more bearable knowing that there is a higher power, knowing that God is with you no matter what goes

DeSilva rallies for senior campaign VOLLEYBALL | Veteran

resilient after injury TOMMY ROTHMAN Associate Sports Editor

With a kill in the opening set of Penn volleyball’s open ing ga me, Jasm ine DeSilva’s 2014 season was off to a quick start. But the end would come just as quickly.

A few p oi nt s lat er, DeSilva felt in her knee a sensation that many athletes refer to with dread as “The Pop.” “I pretty much knew what I had done to it right then,” DeSilva, now one of Penn volleyball’s five senior captains, said.

“The Pop” is perhaps the most telling symptom of an ACL tear, which ended up being only part of DeSilva’s diagnosis: A torn ACL, MCL and meniscus.

“T hat was a ter r ible moment. ... It was really hard to watch that happen and watch her have to go through

the whole recovery process,” DeSilva’s classmate and cocaptain Alexis Genske said.

“It was pretty upsetting,” DeSilva admitted.

But the Maryland native didn’t spend much time feeling sorry for herself. After her surgery, DeSilva travelled with the team, never missing a game or practice.

Even if she couldn’t step on the court, she couldn’t peel herself away from the action, there was too much work to be done.

“When such a bad injury like that happens, you have to focus on something else.

I really picked up my communication with my team, trying to figure out another role I could fill,” DeSilva said.

“If I couldn’t help them on the court, then how could I help them off the court? We had freshman outside hitters stuck in that role [replacing me]. And I remember as a freshman, feeling so overwhelmed, and I didn’t even SEE VOLLEYBALL PAGE 8

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on.”

As the prayer wraps up, the players huddle together in a tight cluster, their hands raised in the air. Soon, the cheer “Live for Him” echoes throughout Franklin Field.

The prayer circle is only a small component of the practice, SEE FAITH PAGE 8

Quakers ready for Penn State battle

M. SOCCER | Looking

to snap winless streak JACOB SNYDER Contributing Reporter TONIGHT

No. 21 Penn State (3-1-2) 7 p.m.

The Palestra

ALEX FISHER | CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

After sustaining an ACL tear in the first game of the 2014 season, 2015 has been healthy and productive for rightside hitter Jasmine DeSilva.

ONLINE AT THEDP.COM

When will the goal-barren start to the regular season end for Penn men’s soccer?

After dropping another game to Temple, 3-0, at home on Sunday, the Red and Blue look ahead to Wednesday’s matchup at Rhodes Field against Penn State, another opponent ranked in the top 25.

The No. 21 Nittany Lions come to University City seeking their fourth win of the season and hoping to bounce back after a 1-1 draw versus Ohio State on Sunday. A win against Penn State (3-1-2)

would be the first victory for Penn (0-4-1) against their cross-state foes since 2008, a stretch that contains a fourgame losing streak spanning across the past five seasons.

After a series of unconvincing displays both offensively and defensively, it is clear that something needs to change for the Quakers and fast.

“We need to continue to get better on both sides of the ball,” coach Rudy Fuller said.

“The team needs to be more solid and sound defensively, but we also need to be aggressive and take more risks in the final third.”

A big factor in Penn’s recent struggles may be the large extent of squad turnover from last season to this season — nine of the 22 players are freshmen, with many seeing significant playing time in the past few matches.

Despite t he la rge SEE M. SOCCER PAGE 9 CONTACT US: 215-422-4640