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Despite events like the Pope’s visit and the DNC, Phila. still lags behind peers CHARLOTTE LARACY Deputy News Editor
Philadelphia is the fifth-largest city in the United States with an up-and-coming food scene, various music venues and a diverse array of bars and clubs. While New York City is known as the “city that
never sleeps,” Philadelphia magazine recently said “Philly refuses to become a 24-hour city.” Why is that? “I think it is primarily the size of the city and where people live who work in the city. You can’t compare Philadelphia — that has 1.5 million people — to New York City with 8.1 million,” said Eugenie Birch, a professor of urban education and research in the School of Design. “You need a certain size city in order to support the kinds of things
that make a 24-hour city, which is the commercial activities. You need a certain amount of people that it would make economical sense for commercial stores to stay open.” A “24-hour city,” according to the Urban Land Institute, contains urban spaces that have residential neighborhoods near downtown, shopping districts close to job centers, safe streets, great mass transit and plenty of recreational and entertainment amenities.
While New York City has the late-night clubs and bars that are open into the wee hours of the morning , the city also functions on a more practical level. The New York City subway system provides 24-hour public transportation, which makes it easy to seek out all-night stores and food places. Philadelphia is a 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. city, according SEE PHILLY PAGE 2
Joe Biden encourages students to vote at Drexel rally
Penn changes policy for reporting deaths
Biden also discussed his thoughts on the first presidential debate
Communication of student deaths will be streamlined
ISABELLA FERTEL Contributing Reporter
AMINATA SY Staff Reporter
Crowds of people filled the intersection of 31st and Chestnut streets Tuesday morning in anticipation of hearing Vice President Joe Biden speak at the Hillary for America National Voter Registration event at Drexel University. American flags and bunting, as well as signs with the slogan “Stronger Together,” covered every surface of the inside of the building. In the wake of the previous night’s first presidential debate, people were eager to hear Biden’s response to the candidates’ performances. “I want to hear what Joe [Biden] has to say about the debate last night. Trump told a lot of lies, and I want answers,” Drexel freshman Tran Mai said. Biden’s speech lived up to the expectations of several attendees. “If this isn’t clear [now], then I don’t know,” Biden said, in reference to the candidates’ behavior. Biden directly addressed students, emphasizing what he called the generation’s tolerance, generosity and progress, but also its
Penn has instituted a new policy for reporting student deaths to the student body. In the wake of more than a dozen student deaths, including 10 reported suicides since 2013, the University has drawn criticism for its inconsistent method of announcing student deaths to the University community. In April 2016, the University’s
SEE BIDEN PAGE5
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The new policy aims to announce student deaths in a timely manner as well as show respect to the student, their family and their friends.
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… if Congress remains gridlocked, much of the promises the candidates tout will be nearly unattainable.”
handling of the announcement of the death of Wharton junior Olivia Kong provoked a negative reaction on campus. An email from the President’s Office notified students of Kong’s death but did not mention her name. Wharton then informed its undergraduates about the news via email 20 minutes later and provided Kong’s name, but she was not identified to the full University. Students also criticized the email for referring to her death as “an accident,” when it was ruled a suicide. SEE POLICY PAGE 3
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- Alessandro van den Brink PAGE 4
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A Greek organization different from the rest More about the little-known Alpha Delta Phi Society
STEPHEN DAMOS Contributing Reporter
Does size matter? The Alpha Delta Phi Society doesn’t think so. Comprised of only 16 people, the Society takes pride not only in its distinction as one of Penn’s smallest greek organizations, but by it’s mission to “Greek Differently.” Alpha Delta Phi president and College junior Adam DeLisle described the society as “distinctly” different from other greek organizations. “We really do operate very differently,” he said. College sophomore and the society’s “parliamentarian,” Caitlin Howell agreed. “We think of ourselves as the kind of people who you wouldn’t meet elsewhere ... we are greek but not necessarily in the way you might expect.”
College junior and new member educator Lydia Ramharack initially ignored the letter inviting her to rush, adding “I [didn’t] want to do greek things.” She now laughs at that reaction. “Technically we’re a greek organization, but we’re not typical,” she said. The society’s unique nature lies in its history. Alpha Delta Phi was founded in 1832 as a literary society at Hamilton College. The fraternity grew to encompass several charters, including the Dartmouth College charter, which inspired the controversial 1978 film “Animal House.” In 1992, the Brown University chapter decided to accept women, splitting off to create the Alpha Delta Phi Society. Members of the organization are quick to highlight the difference between the Alpha Delta Phi Society and the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity, a distinction that caries both moral and legal
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Despite only having 16 members, the Alpha Delta Phi Society has a rich and varied national history. The Society, which is separate from the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity, strives to promote inclusivity and diversity.
weight. Today, the groups are legally and ideologically disjointed. The society’s separation from its fraternity counterpart comes not only from legal binds, but also from a desire to cultivate a healthy and
safe greek environment they feel the fraternity lacks. Alpha Delts, as they call themselves, take pride in their membership to an organization which prioritizes inclusivity and diversity above all.
“Across racial boundaries, gender boundaries, sexuality ... in general the Alpha Delta Phi is a very diverse organization,” Howell said. She pointed also to the Society’s
use of “gender-inclusive” rather than “co-ed” as evidence of the group’s commitment to its mission. The society looks to redefine greek affiliation and rid fraternities and sororities of the stereotypes which so often plague campus and national discourse. “If you’re treated like an enemy, you’re going to get a lot more defensive,” DeLisle said. Though not explicitly a service organization, the Society does partake in several philanthropic outings. Their recent fundraiser, “Blind Date with a Book” sold books wrapped in newspaper on Locust Walk. Proceeds benefitted “Books though Bars,” a local organization that brings literature to inmates in the tristate area. “We emphasize trust, commitment, loyalty, friendship and also generally scholarship and philanthropy,” Howell said, adding that their goal is “just being good people.”
For these Penn women, frisbee is the ‘ultimate’ club sport Venus is Penn’s all-women ultimate frisbee team ESHA INDANI Contributing Reporter
A noticeable increase in popularity is propelling Venus, Penn’s 35-year-old all-women ultimate frisbee team, into a new competitive season. At nearly 11 p.m. on Thursday, members of Venus made their way down to Penn Park for their second practice of the week. Coached by Penn alums, 2005 Wharton graduate Patrick Sherlock and 2012 dental school and 2008 College graduate Raha Sherlock, a group of roughly 30 women, many of whom are freshmen, committed themselves to a two-hour grueling workout. College seniors Alison “Truck” Elliott and Camille “Camjam” Jwo are the team’s co-captains. The women’s dedication is indicative of not only the growing popularity of ultimate frisbee at Penn, but that of the sport in
general at national and international levels. Ultimate was invented in the 1960s and first arrived at Penn in 1976 with the birth of the team Void, which was then co-ed but is now all male. With the growing demand for a women’s team, 1984 College graduate Roberta Shields founded Venus (first named Zephyr) as a sophomore in the fall of 1981. The team’s success began early with its advancement to nationals in 1985. Such achievements have continued to the present day, the most recent being in 2013, when the team placed first at sectionals. Clearly, the team has a strong competitive streak, as indicated by the success of its players in and outside of Venus. For example, fitness co-captain and College sophomore Anna Thompson plays club ultimate with a top-ranked local team, Green Means Go, with which she has advanced to club nationals. Sherlock, a former player
on Venus, went to the ultimate world championships this year. However, despite the team’s success, Venus stands out from other competitive and club sports at Penn in that the captains and coaches do not cut anyone from the team, although in recent years, the women have noticed a spike in the number of freshmen with high school ultimate experience. Coach Patr ick Sherlock echoed this sentiment, describing the team as “very inclusive.” Elliott , one of the co-captains , referred to the “spirit of the game,” a phrase referring to the value that ultimate places on sportsmanship. She added that community is a “huge thing in ultimate.” College junior Emman Raja , an exchange student from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland and a new member of Venus, described the team as a “melting pot.” This sense of inclusion and community encouraged graduate student Monica Donegan to
COURTESY OF ISABELLA GONG
Venus Ultimate, Penn’s all-women ultimate frisbee team, was founded 35 years ago, Since then, the team has seen a number of successes on both the local and national frisbee circuits.
stay on for five years and College freshman Aubrey Luk to be “95 percent sure” she will continue with Venus until she
graduates. College junior and social cocaptain, Sophia Simon summed up the team’s mission statement,
saying “This is a great sport we want you to be involved in, want to teach you how to play, want you to love it.”
PHILLY
With the growing population in the city, there needed to be better safety, more parks, more retail stores and, overall, a quality of life that can compete with the suburbs.” There have been various attempts to extend last call beyond 2 a.m., but efforts stalled in City Hall, neighborhood groups and amongst state lawmakers. For special events, there are occasional exceptions: during the Democratic National Convention, a few bars were able to stay open until 4 a.m. Events like the DNC help the city become a more lively and economically stimulating region, Birch said. “There are tweaks from the public policy point of view that create more liveliness that a 24-hour city is often known for. They can be investment in big infrastructure projects in public
spaces, there can be programs or there can be major events. You can create a city that is ideal for large gatherings of people,” she said. Other recent investments include Spruce Street Harbor Park, Center City District Sips, the Made in America concert and Pope Francis’ visit in the fall 2015. Birch said Philadelphia has the potential to be a 24-hour city based on the design of the city, which includes small blocks, walkability, a concentrated downtown area and the lack of sprawl or automobile dependence, like other large cities such as Los Angeles or Phoenix. Until then, Penn students will have to be satisfied with their 2 a.m. last call at Smokey Joe’s and their 2:15 a.m. hoagies at Wawa.
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to the Urban Land Institute, as a large majority of workers commute home to their suburban home instead of living in the city. There are few restaurants open 24-hours besides Wawa, which is known for its late night consumers. While Philadelphia is also one of just three American cities to offer 24-hour subway service and Center City has an ideal mix of residential, retail and office buildings, Birch said there is a slow movement for Philadelphia to mirror other 24-hour cities. “It doesn’t happen overnight. When I came to Penn in 1998, there was very little retail,” Birch said. “Over the years, the city has built up a population that wants to stay in the city.
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“I’m the first one on the scene when there is an emergency on the college campuses. I put the safety of others before myself. I’m fighting for $15 for the dignity and the respect I deserve.” - LaRhonda Whitmore Philadelphia security officer
LaRhonda Whitmore works as a security officer on college campuses across the city. For her hard work keeping Philadelphia’s college students safe, she only earns $10.25 an hour. She barely makes enough to support her daughter. LaRhonda and 2,500 security officers who work across the city in prominent office buildings, hospitals and universities are fighting for $15 an hour so they don’t have to struggle to provide for themselves and their loved ones. Shouldn’t the men and women who keep our families safe earn enough to support theirs? 32BJ SEIU is the largest property worker’s union in the country. 1515 Market St., Suite 1000, Philadelphia, PA 19102 | www.seiu32bj.org
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Engineering senior visited tech leaders for TV show The trip focused on underrepresented backgrounds SARAH FORTINSKY Contributing Reporter
Engineering senior Natalie Melo had never seen anyone in the tech industry who looked like her. That changed when she toured the country meeting high-profile Latina leaders in tech — and starred in a documentary series in the process. Roadt r ip Nat ion’s 13t h season, entitled “Code Trip,” will stream online and on PBS this fall and will feature Melo, along with two other student coders from underrepresented backgrounds, as they visited 16 states in an RV to meet with tech leaders from similar backgrounds. “We know that computer science careers are just booming,
but not everybody is actually represented in the careers in the field,” senior program manager of Roadtrip Nation Megan Dester said. “So we want to help young people understand what these jobs are actually like and help young people picture themselves in these careers, even when they might not see many role models who look like them.” This theme was what initially drew Melo to apply for the roadtrip. Growing up in Malden, Massachusetts, Melo was one of three daughters born to immigrant parents who had just come from Brazil with only $60 in their pockets. In high school, Melo took her first computer science class, where she was the only girl and only student of color in a class of 30. Her experience seeing the lack of diversity in computer
COURTESY OF ROADTRIP NATION
science made this Roadtrip Nation opportunity even more attractive to her. “I just thought it would be really cool to meet people who could give me some insight, meet people that looked a little
more like me,” Melo said. “You don’t see many people of color in the tech industry or engineering.” Melo says she sees this phenomenon across academic fields as well. Even in the computer
science department at Penn, Melo feels underrepresented by gender and color. “I’ve never seen a role model in computer science,” Melo said. “Most of the professors are male, and it shouldn’t make that much of a difference because they’re all amazing, but when you see someone who’s more like you, I guess, you see yourself in that role.” Melo was certainly able to see herself in Laura Gomez, the founder and CEO of tech company Atipica. Gomez immigrated with her family from Mexico as a child and, like Melo, was supported by her mother, who cleaned houses for a living. But, in an industry in which tee-shirts and jeans are the norm, Gomez’s high heels, tattoo and perfectly blownout hair were almost equally
inspiring to Melo. “You can look like anyone,” Melo said. “I can look weird and crazy, but I’m still smart and can still pursue tech. Just because I look a certain way, doesn’t mean I can’t be smart.” Filmer and field producer Craig Polesovsky said living in the RV, he had the opportunity to get to know Melo and to watch her grow over the four weeks. Her warmth and relatability played a significant role in why they chose her to participate on the trip. “Part of watching the show is living vicariously through the roadtrippers,” Polesovsky said. “Who knows how many people watching are sons and daughters of immigrant families and they’re gonna look at Natalie, like, ‘You know what? They’re going to go for it, maybe I should, too.’”
Where the food at the farmer’s market actually comes from Produce at market by bookstore is from local orchard KATHLEEN HARWOOD Staff Reporter
Many Penn students’ Wednesday routines include a stop at the small, white-tented farmer’s market outside the bookstore. The vendor is a family-owned farm called Beechwood Orchards, which offers a variety of fruits and vegetables as well as homemade canned goods and jars of preserves each week — and students can use their dining dollars to stock up. For many students trying to practice a healthy, plant-based diet, the market is a go-to. “I really like knowing the produce I’m buying is local,” College sophomore Natalie Breuel said. “I go each week and buy things
POLICY
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Other student deaths in the last three years have been handled on an individual basis, with emails alerting the student population being sent by different administrators and saying different things. After having a conversations the Undergraduate Assembly, among others, Vice Provost for University Life Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum said the students have requested two main things: that the University be timely in announcing students’ deaths, and that it be as respectful as possible to the student’s memory, to family members and to friends. “Any notifications in the past have been episodic,” Cade said. “Well-intentioned and thoughtful people do what they thought was best for one community ... but it’s created situations where one group of students, a small group of students, might hear information that actually might not have been as accurate, or another group of students might not hear of anything.” The University now aims to inform the Penn community in a
with a nutritious recipe in mind … it’s really convenient.” Beechwood Orchards is located two hours west of Penn’s campus, in a small town called Biglerville that happens to be home to the country’s National Apple Museum. The farm, which has been around for over a century, is operated by David and Tammy Garretson, with support from their children, Shawn Garretson and Melissa Allen. Shawn, who graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 2005 with a degree in horticulture, can often be found arranging the apples at the market on Wednesdays. “Yes, we’re a real family business,” David Garretson said. “It’s a bustling business.” Until 11 years ago, the 200acre farm sold its produce mostly to wholesalers and food processing companies. The farmers first
forayed into the farmer’s market scene by opening a stand at the market in Head House Square, an area in Philly’s Society Hill district. The farm now caters to 11 different farmer’s market locations, including a corner stand at Swarthmore College, and other sites in Christ Church, Rittenhouse Square and, of course, outside Penn’s very own bookstore. Students who know the market only for its selection of fresh apples have a limited scope of the variety of products that Beechwood offers. Among apples, peaches and berries, the farm also grows a slew of vegetables, makes packages of different kinds of dried fruit and cultures its own honey (the bees on the farm serve the double purpose of pollination and honey
more systematic way, according to the new policy. Cade said in the case of an undergraduate death, the entire community will be sent an email notification from her directly. In the case of a graduate or professional student death, those communities will be notified directly, and the notices will be sent to The Daily Pennsylvanian afterward — as has been the case for the two student deaths this semester. The range of people notified in those cases will vary by the community, sometimes being a student’s closest colleagues, and other times being the entire school for the smaller graduate schools. “Graduate and professional students told me something that was different when we had the conversation,” Cade said. “What they said to me is they define their communities more often by their graduate group and/or their department.” Announcements will mention the location of the death as well as any long-standing illness that the student may have suffered that the family chooses to disclose. The University also plans to send an official release with any additional information to be published on the Penn News website. The
policy also extends to parents, who will be alerted with new information following a student death. Cade said that in consultation with Penn Parents, they found that families wanted to know what was going on to help their students cope. She noted that students’ voices are important to the University. “I do think that it is our commitment to the student community that asked us to do this, to let you all know,” Cade added. Counseling and Psychological Services Director Bill Alexander said the University is making the right decision in implementing more transparent policies, though he is not directly involved in the University’s decision-making process in announcing student deaths. “What students told me and what we really really attended to is that it’s really important for a student, for the community, to be notified,” Cade said. “Not just to assume that because a student was a member of a particular class or a particular major, her or his ties reached throughout the institution, and that really was an important message that we really took to heart.”
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production). “We are in operation yearround,” said Melissa Allen, who manages vegetable production. “We love being able to work at [Penn] throughout the school year. The dining dollar system works out so well. The students are right there with it and we’re right there with it.” Melissa said that Beechwood has been in talks with Bon Appetit about expanding access to their produce to dining halls for a while now, but have been “unable to get in there.” “I think it’s great that we have it there as an alternative to buying mediocre stuff from the Fresh Grocer,” said College and Wharton sophomore Shane Meyers. “Eating healthy is easier when you know where it’s from, and that what you’re buying is quality.”
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Many Penn students take advantage of the farmer’s market, located at 36th and Walnut outside of the bookstore, each Wednesday.
Check out this Thursday’s feature in
4
OPINION Just a crush SMALL TALK | We should care this much about politics all the time
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 28 2016 VOL. CXXXII, NO. 76 132nd Year of Publication COLIN HENDERSON President LAUREN FEINER Editor-in-Chief ANDREW FISCHER Director of Online Projects BRIELLA MEGLIO Director of Internal Consulting ISABEL KIM Opinion Editor JESSICA MCDOWELL Enterprise Editor DAN SPINELLI City News Editor CAROLINE SIMON Campus News Editor ELLIE SCHROEDER Assignments Editor LUCIEN WANG Copy Editor SUNNY CHEN Copy Editor NICK BUCHTA Senior Sports Editor TOM NOWLAN Sports Editor
I’d wager that more than half of the Penn student body either watched the presidential debate on Monday or at least kept track of it somehow. Taking into account the fact that more than 100 million people were estimated to have watched the spectacle, it’s also probably fair to say that the American populace is interested in politics at this very moment. Political scientists will try to debate endlessly why the candidates keep breaking viewership records, but a simplistic answer would be that both candidates have massive name recognition. This is what happens when you get a faceoff between a billionaire businessman/reality star and one of the most prominent politicians of the past 25 years. But at the end of the day, we’ve overstated the impact of who wins to a ridiculous degree. We make the president’s office seem like the most important governmental position, but if Congress remains gridlocked, many of the promises the candidates tout will be nearly unattainable.
As of Sept. 22, statistics blog FiveThirtyEight has predicted that Democrats have a 59 percent chance of reclaiming the Senate, meaning that even if the Republican nominee wins in November, he may not be able to pass much of his platform. Republicans have a 247 to 188 lead in the House as well, so even if the Democratic presidential nominee won along with the Democrats in the Senate, Republicans would still likely have an outlet to block Democratic legislation. What actually makes a difference are our local elected officials, whom we often take for granted due to the fact that their roles are just not as glamorous. If you think the liquor taxes are way too high or that marijuana should be legal in Pennsylvania, the two presidential nominees can’t help you. For these changes to occur, we need to vote for governors, state representatives and even mayors and city councilmen. The 10th Amendment of the Constitution grants pretty extensive reserved powers to local governments, such as the
ability to regulate intrastate commerce and establish public school systems. This means if we can hold our local governments more accountable, there’s a greater likelihood that we’ll see policies more
people. The reality is, though, that we don’t take great interest in politicians running for these less notable positions and as a result we waste our bargaining power. Almost all Penn students
We make the president’s office seem like the most important governmental position, but if Congress remains gridlocked, many of the promises the candidates tout will be nearly unattainable.” indicative of what we really want. The main way to hold these local politicians accountable is through the power of voting. Elected officials are essentially subservient to voters, so when we threaten not to vote for them unless they pass certain legislation, the power immediately shifts to the common
can recite rich biographies of the two presidential candidates, but the amount that can even name the mayor of Philadelphia is most likely nothing more than a fraction of the school. Many Americans will end up voting for candidates in their respective party, but these candidates don’t always care about the same issues as
the majority of the constituents in their party might value. We’ll only know what we get if we research our options properly. As I mentioned in a column last year, the 2014 midterm elections had a voter turnout of just 36 percent of eligible voters — the lowest since 1942 — proving that our political civic duties are starting to slip. This is especially true when we look at the weak excuses many citizens had for not voting. In a poll from 2014, 28 percent of respondents said they were too busy to vote on Election Day, while 16 percent said they were not interested and 8 percent claimed they forgot to vote. If these citizens were generally more interested in politics, they’d almost certainly be able to overcome these obstacles and vote. This suggests that a general lack in basic political interest and engagement has made us less likely to actively seek the change we desire. Therefore, I’d argue that when we find ourselves frustrated with the political system (as we do in seemingly every
ALESSANDRO VAN DEN BRINK election), instead of railing against the establishment, the media and various interest groups like the NRA, we can instead look inwards and take some of the responsibility. Every couple of years we seem to remember how dissatisfied we are with how government works but unless we can sustain these passions more frequently, we won’t be able to see the policies that we think can make our lives better. ALESSANDRO VAN DEN BRINK is a College junior studying economics, from New York. His email address is alevan@ sas.upenn.edu. “Small Talk” usually appears every other Wednesday.
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FAIR ENOUGH | Trigger warnings aren’t necessarily harmless
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There’s a particular reaction that folks like me — who worry openly about the presence and spread of “trigger warnings” on American campuses — hear a lot. It gets phrased in a variety of different ways, but basically it boils down to “what’s the big deal?” A version of this line of reasoning was well-articulated in The New York Times in early September by Sophie Downes, a senior at the University of Chicago. “A trigger warning is pretty simple,” Downes says. “It consists of a professor’s saying in class, ‘The reading for this week includes a graphic description of sexual assault,’ or a note on a syllabus that reads, ‘This course deals with sensitive material that may be difficult for some students…’ A little heads-up can help students engage with uncomfortable and complex topics, and a little sensitivity to others, at the most basic level, isn’t coddling.” On its own terms, that argument is strong. To the extent that trigger warnings are simply notifications of potentially disturbing materials to come, I’d agree they’re pretty harmless. To say, however, that a trigger warning is necessarily only
such a notification misses a few important points. In the connotation-heavy lexicon of campus rhetoric, asserting that a book, image or idea is “triggering” often implies more than just that it might disturb some people by virtue of what it depicts. Rather, it is not uncommon for a student who says that something is “triggering” to mean that it is actually or even medically harmful, because of the subject it deals with, the message it conveys or the idea it represents, rather than the method of depiction itself. An example of this meaning of “triggering” was seen in use at Occidental College a few weeks ago, when Oxy’s College Republicans dotted the quad with miniature American flags and signs to commemorate the anniversary of 9/11. Next morning, someone had replaced the signs, snapped the flags in two and thrown them into trash cans. Folks were rightly outraged, but one student group took to Facebook to defend the vandals’ actions on substantive grounds. “As students of color, this symbol of the American flag is particularly triggering for many different reasons,” the statement said. “For us, this
flag is a symbol of institutionalized violence (genocide, rape, slavery, colonialism, etc.) against people of color, domestically as well as globally.” Disregard the hyperbole for a moment and look at the logic. The suppression of the image by vandalism is justified because what it represents, rather
harmful because of the ideas, messages or histories that they represent — may still operate. The same logic presumptively applies to those ideas, messages or histories when represented directly. It may seem like I’ve cherry-picked an extreme example here, but such thinking isn’t
That’s why I worry about trigger warnings; because “feared, and so unexamined” is precisely the all-too-human state of affairs which liberal education is supposed to remedy.“ than what it depicts, is actually harmful to these students. Destroying the display is akin to tearing down an asbestos-filled building — the neutralization of a health and safety hazard. Even if one rejects out of hand the surface-level argument that triggering images can justifiably be vandalized, censored or suppressed, the underlying premise — that such images are dangerous and
rare on campus. Ask the folks at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, where I interned this summer, how often they encounter the proposition that ideas can be a form of violence. They lost count a long time ago. It’s sort of a silly comparison, but imagine if a biology professor said to her class, “Just a heads-up, I’m about to release an untamed arctic wolf
into our classroom.” Sure, it’s just a notification, but there’s a great deal that’s implied, but goes unsaid. The wolf is dangerous. The wolf might hurt someone. Interacting with the wolf might have some educational value, but everyone would get that they are being warned to behave differently, more cautiously when the wolf is at large in the lecture hall. If everyone in the room understands that an idea or a work of art which is triggering is like a wolf — that it’s dangerous and might hurt someone if interacted with improperly — that’s necessarily going to narrow the spectrum of ways in which students feel comfortable engaging with it. A student might want to know, out of academic curiosity, what the wolf would do if he snarled at it, but he’s not going to, because someone might get hurt. When the wolf is around, curiosity takes a back seat to safety. My worry, therefore, is that the common understanding that triggering materials are dangerous combined with the official labeling of certain materials as triggering will result in anything that gets slapped with a trigger warning becoming like the wolf: unexamined because feared.
ALEC WARD That’s why I worry about trigger warnings; because “feared, and so unexamined” is precisely the all-too-human state of affairs which liberal education is supposed to remedy. It is why we built university gates through which the fears that plague us everywhere else could not pass so that we, unencumbered by them, could have the courage to ask that most terrifying of questions — what is true? So forgive me if I am perhaps too cautious in defense of those gates. I fear to lose them. ALEC WARD is a College senior from Washington, D.C., studying history. His email address is alecward@ sas.upenn.edu. Follow him on Twitter @TalkBackWard. “Fair Enoug h,” u suall y appears every Wednesday.
THEDP.COM | THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN
NEWS 5
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2016
PHOTO FEATURE
VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN AT DREXEL Joe Biden spoke at Drexel University on Tuesday to rally support for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. He recognized voters may be frustrated with their choices, but said a vote for Hillary is a step toward progress.
SHIVANKI JUNEJA | CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
BIDEN
>> PAGE 1
disengagement in politics because of a “dysfunctional” Washington. “I know … [that] a lot of students on campus are frustrated … and [are] not thrilled with the choices,” Biden said. However, he assured spectators that a vote for Hillary is a vote for the
“progress” of the last eight years of the Obama administration and a vote that will benefit students and their lives to come. “Students are what make America great in the first place,” Biden said. He also underscored the importance of not just college attendance, but also job training and apprenticeship programs.
Embracing his unofficial moniker, “Middle Class Joe,” Biden argued that issues including debt, taxes, retirement, social security and healthcare would suffer under a Trump administration. He asserted his belief that the middle class is an integral component of stability and progress and that Clinton is the only suitable candidate to keep that progress going.
Biden further described Trump as part of the “rigged system” of a corporate culture in dire need of a switch from “short-termism” to a more far-sighted approach. “What bothers me about this race is how palpable his cynicism is about this country … Can you imagine Ronald Reagan saying it is ‘good business’ to profit off of people’s misery?” Biden said.
Other speakers at the event included Democratic senatorial candidate Katie McGinty, who is running against the Republican incumbent Pat Toomey, as well as Democratic congressional candidate Dwight Evans. However, while all the speakers touched upon the frustrations of the American people and their disapproval of Trump, there was
an overwhelming message of positivity and hope. Biden said we stand upon the precipice of “the most optimistic time in modern history,” adding “we own the future; we own the finish line.” Similarly, in her speech, McGinty quoted President Obama, urging spectators, “Do not boo, vote.”
Do you want to use your Penn education to make a difference in the lives of others? Do you have an idea for a commercial venture that has a positive social impact? Could you use $100,000 to help turn your idea into a reality? If so, then the President’s Innovation Prize is for you. Information sessions held in the Fireside Lounge (2nd floor of the ARCH):
October 13, 3:00 PM October 17, 3:00 PM October 25, 4:00 PM
November 10, 4:00 PM November 29, 3:00 PM December 5, 4:00 PM
Deadline: January 13, 2017
Application information can be found at www.curf.upenn.edu/prizes
6 SPORTS
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2016
THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN | THEDP.COM
ROUNDTABLE
Which Penn teams are best position for Ivy play?
DP SPORTS EDITORS
Last season, the team’s goal-scoring was essentially a onewoman show: then-sophomore Alexa Hoover led the conference (by a lot) with 27 tallies. This year, the attack has only three scores as the team has shifted to a more balanced offense: three different players — Gina Guccione, Sophia Palacios and Rachel Huang — currently outpace Hoover with four goals on the season. But even with its star in something of a scoring slumber, Penn has bounced out to a quick start to the season. If and when Hoover heats up and the midfield gains experience, the Quakers will be a tough team to beat in Ivy play.
At this juncture in the season, Penn’s fall sports are either entering or have just entered the Ancient Eight part of the year. We asked the editors which team they think is in the best spot headed into Ivy play. Tom Nowlan, Sports Editor: If the past is at all prelude, field hockey is best-equipped for a title run. After being an overtime goal away from a conference championship a season ago, the Red and Blue have hit their stride right away in 2016. They sit with a pretty 6-2 record and have already recorded a tough road win against Cornell in their first Ivy game of the season. Yes, the team lost some key seniors after last season — most notably midfielder Elizabeth Hitti. Without the distribution skills that led her to lead the conference with 18 assists a year ago, the Quakers have had a few growing pains in their transition game. Still, their stout defense has already pitched three shutouts and has kept the team in games, even when the offense isn’t firing on all cylinders.
ENGINEERING >> PAGE 8
rigorous schedule, but points out that there are valuable lessons in time management that it has taught her. “Of course it’s a lot, I knew it would be,� Morton said. “But I definitely think I’ve improved my time management. After practice, I often go off and study and code for hours. I also work most of the day on my days off, like Sundays.� Nick Demes, a senior football player and mechanical engineering major, agrees with Morton on the importance of time management. “You really just have to set aside time every week just for school,� Demes said. “For me, that’s Sunday into Monday. That’s my day to grind every week.� Most engineer-athletes know what they are getting into from
A loss to Harvard is bearable, considering they could win the Ivy League this year. But the Quakers should make a run in the coming weeks to make their case for why they belong in the top half of the conference and maybe even the top couple spots. Freshmen Emma Loving and Emily Sands are showing they belong in the starting XI already, but they’ll surely improve as they settle further into the team. Loving and Sands have five goals and two assists between them in seven games, but the stats don’t tell the full tale. Sands’ footwork and Loving’s technique indicate that the talent is there, and as the chemistry develops more, their midfield/attacking partnership could flourish into the most potent in the Ivy League.
Will Snow, Sports Editor: The best team headed into Ivy play has to be women’s soccer. The caveat with my claim is that the team has already played its first Ivy League match — a 1-0 loss to Harvard. And while the Quakers may not have played spectacularly, the game was decided by a highly controversial penalty that really should not have stood. But Coach Nicole Van Dyke’s system is finally starting to reveal
itself in her second year in charge. Harvard notwithstanding, the team has been scoring goals for fun — 12 goals in its first five games — and
not letting in many, either: 6 goals conceded in seven games so far, with three coming from a strong Maryland side.
Tommy Rothman, Sports Editor: There’s no such thing as an Ivy League title in sprint football, on account of there being just two Ancient Eight teams competing at the varsity level. But Penn is well positioned to win something even bigger: a national championship. The Quakers are off to a 2-0 start after a drubbing of Mansfield on
the moment they enroll to Penn, but even the most prepared have to tweak some habits once the stress starts to mount. “I really started appreciating the value of sleep,� Morton said. “I manage my time to make sure I get in the right number of hours to keep me functioning at a high level, both academically and athletically.� Harris also tries to manage his time, but for him, that means taking advantage of every waking free moment. “If I have a free five minutes, that’s five minutes to hunker down,� Harris said. “We don’t have a lot of free time to eat, so a lot of times I will eat and work at the same time.� The forgotten factor in the midst of all the strain is the coaches and teammates of the engineerathletes, the ones who get to see
firsthand how difficult life can be for these students. Particularly with the regimented nature of the engineering program, there’s often little flexibility which classes need to be taken — and “My coaches are unbelievably understanding,� Morton said. “One of my classes this semester is actually in the middle of practice. I go to practice, leave to go to class, and then come back to catch the end.� Whatever the negatives of having such a stringent calendar are, there are equally as many positives. Engineers who play sports have the luxury of applying the valuable lessons learned on the field to the classroom, or vice versa. “In engineering, it’s a lot of problem solving,� Harris said. “On the court, I address a lot of situations like a problem that needs a specific solution. By doing this I
can break down my game and my opponents.� “For me, it’s definitely the work ethic that I teach myself on the practice field that translates into my studies,� Demes added. “We have a limited time to prepare for the weekend’s game during the week, and in the same way, there’s limited time outside of practice for me to get my work done. I know how strict I have to be with myself.� In the end, athletes who decide to delve into engineering clearly have a tough mountain to climb from the second they step foot in University City. These athletes are the model for time management, perseverance and dedication to the sport they love. “It’s what has to happen,� Demes said. “I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t love it.�
Junior setter Sydney Morton (left) devotes considerable time to her role as captain for Penn volleyball, but must balance engineering as well.
ANGEL FAN | CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Freshman Emma Loving has had an immediate impact for Penn women’s soccer and is part of their strength headed into Ivy play.
SUDOKUPUZZLE Skill Level:
HIGGINS
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academic standards and entertainment value. Not once in my article did I mention any of those points, which goes to show that what people glean from an article is not always the writer’s intended message. Perhaps that was a sign that my argument was not clear enough. I thought the storm had blown over, but then three days later I received a Facebook message from the captain of the sprint football team. His issue was with that one sentence my editor added — and rightly so. He wrote that my team was of no importance to the University, discredited my research, called my article “extremely uncalled for� and ended it with a terse “Happy Holidays!� Happy Holidays? Are you kidding me? Adding one insincere nicety to the end of a rant doesn’t neutralize the damage done by being rude. I didn’t care that he disagreed with me or that he missed the main point of my article. I cared that he couldn’t find a civil way to express his disagreement — one that would prompt a productive discussion
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NEWYORKTIMESCROSSWORDPUZZLE Edited by Will Shortz Crossword ACROSS 1 To-do list item 5 Skatepark features 10 Something in a KFC bucket 14 YouTube journal 15 Main ingredient in soubise sauce 16 Lake ___, home of Presque Isle 17 T-shaped crosses 18 Activity for Hobbes 20 One of the Wilson sisters of rock’s Heart 21 Cash crop in Colombia 22 Electioninfluencing org. 23 Activity for Anakin Skywalker 26 Colorful parrot 30 Start, as an adventure 31 “I’ll have another� 33 Coastal inlet
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ESPN 3 and a huge win over Army. The Black Knights squashed the Quakers’ dreams at a title last year and claimed it for themselves, but the Red and Blue got their revenge on Friday when they beat Army 14-9. Other than Navy, there aren’t any real threats to Bill Wagner’s squad, so the Quakers have very few hurdles to clear to make the coach’s 47th season a triumphant one. As for Ivy supremacy, Penn’s lone Ivy foe, Cornell, is already a game behind the Quakers at 1-1, so Penn can pretty much wrap that up with a win against the Big Red on Oct. 28. In addition to Wagner’s endless supply of experience, Penn has a star quarterback in the form of Mike McCurdy, who broke the program’s all-time passing yards record last week and, for what it’s worth, has a hell of a voice. Wide receiver Andrew Sutton has done a nice job filling in for 2016 graduate Henry Mason. And the defense has been stout so far, allowing just 16 points in two games. The University of Pennsylvania will soon be on top of the sprint football world.
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JESS KATZ | CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
about the issue at hand rather than attack who I was as a person. I read his message after spending two days in Van Pelt cramming for my first college final and avoiding the DP website. I was so emotionally drained that I couldn’t form a coherent response. So I cried. When I related the sequence of events to my high school friend, she tried to cheer me up by saying “haters make you famous.� I wasn’t convinced that a few disgruntled Penn athletes lent me any fame or my journalistic craft any validity. My DP experience is only a sliver of what professional journalists face. Last summer while covering a Phillies game for the Philadelphia Inquirer, a female beat writer from Wilmington, Del., told me stories of her Twitter trolls who told her to “go back to the kitchen� whenever they disagreed with her baseball assessments. She eventually grew a thicker skin and began confronting them directly, replying “you wouldn’t want that because I’m a terrible cook.� That usually shut them up. I won’t get into the issues of sexism inherent in both that initial tweet and the sports journalism world. That’s another column entirely. But the anecdote is
indicative of the problems with the comments section and other online forums. Hiding behind a screen removes the element of humanity from both the person posting the response and the journalist who penned the article. That anonymity emboldens readers to the point that they feel comfortable writing things that they might not ever say in person. Those things they write are in cyberspace forever, mind you. Now that three years have passed, I can laugh about the whole experience. I even became friends with one of the sprint football players that wrote me an email. But if you take anything away from this column, I hope that you think about what you type before you post. If you have nothing nice to contribute, don’t leave it on some anonymous message board where neither you nor I can adequately explain our reasoning. Just avoid the virtual mudslinging and say it to my face. LAINE HIGGINS is a College senior from Wayzata, Minn., and is a senior sports reporter at The Daily Pennsylvanian. She can be reached at dpsports@thedp.com.
THEDP.COM | THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN
SPORTS 7
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2016
Video replay opens door to in-game coaches’ challenges VOLLEYBALL | Quakers
use technology in-game COLE JACOBSON Associate Sports Editor
In more ways than one, it’s a new era for Penn volleyball. Sure, it’s easy to point out the absences of five senior captains from 2015 — players that accounted for four of the team’s top five in kills, not including Ivy League assists leader Ronnie Bither. But while the Quakers have certainly seen drastic personnel changes, coach Kerry Carr’s squad has also seen itself at the forefront of an ongoing transformation striking Ivy League athletics as a whole: increased television coverage. Founded in 2013, the Ivy
League Digital Network has exploded in popularity, announcing in August that it had created an application enabling users to access it on both Apple TV and Roku devices. “It’s really important [to boosting fan interest]; there’s interest and appetite among our alumni worldwide, so this gives them access,” said Penn Senior Associate Athletic Director of External Affairs Roger Reina. “And for the ILDN Penn channel, there’s a series [“I Am Penn”] that is mostly personal stories on our student-athletes, which shows you more than the highlights and scores. … So to get their stories out really helps engage our alumni further.” But even in a conference seeing increasingly thorough coverage across the board, Penn volleyball still has a step on the remainder
KERRY CARR and Video Replay 1st year of video replay at Penn volleyball matches Penn has attempted 5 challenges 4 have been successful 1 has been unsuccessful
FIELD HOCKEY >> PAGE 8
keep telling her it’s going to come at the right time when we need it most and when it does, floodgates are going to open.” “I think she’ll be able to score next game. She just has to stay positive and I know she can do it,” Guccione said. “I’m especially excited for her because we [are best friends] so I’m really excited for my
friend to do that.” Much like in prior years, the current offense features significant contributions from the midfield attacking up-field. They don’t always make their presence felt on the score-sheet, but they are setting up plays and clicking with the offense. Guccione is thankful for the midfield’s increased playmaking lately. “The midfield has definitely been able to get more involved,” Guccione said. “It’s nice to have
of the Ancient Eight. This season, its broadcasts have incorporated an extra camera located on the net and a microphone attached to Carr. “I think Coach Carr really is the impetus in all of this; she’s the one who reached out to me, so when a coach comes to you with that idea you have to make it happen,” Penn Sports Network Video Content Creator Ryan Koletty said. “We’re able to pick up very clear audio from the huddle, so that takes the viewer where no one else is allowed to go … and in terms of the net cam, it’s able to survive the volleyball hits, and that puts viewers in another spot that no one else can see.” Still, adding extra entertainment for the ILDN viewers is far from the only benefit to the recent live-stream changes. Aided by the new camera, Penn volleyball instituted video replay challenges for its non-conference home matches in 2016. In the challenge system, teams can use three challenges per match, and the reviewable plays include players making contact with the ball or net, balls landing in or out of bounds and service foot faults. According to Coach Carr, Penn and New Hampshire are the only Division I teams in the northeast to have implemented the system in 2016. “After [the Big 12 and Big 10] used it last year, everyone thought it was best for our game to have
that review system,” Carr said. “And after using it three or four times this season, I wholeheartedly agree that it made the game better, because it allows you to get rid of that frustration of not getting a call right.” Unfortunately, the remainder of the Ivy League did not give approval for the system to be utilized in conference games this season, but Carr expressed confidence that this wouldn’t be the
case for long. “Yeah, I think nationwide [the challenge system] is going to go everywhere — the only resistance might be from cost,” Carr said. “It’s just a matter of education; I didn’t know that much about it until the past year and I thought it was more complicated than it was, so it’s my job now to educate others.” So as Carr’s squad leads its companions into the future of
college sports coverage, it’s clear that both on the floor and on the web, the new age of Penn volleyball is only getting started. “We’re so fortunate because Penn puts a lot of energy, money and time into being one of the best video programs anywhere,” Carr said. “I think a lot of people have to catch up to us because we’re at the highest level of production, and that’s really exciting for Penn volleyball.”
that extra layer and transfer the ball in the midfield and look up-field.” In addition to playing a role on offense, the midfield has also improved drastically in transition. Previously, the team was slow to recover on defense, which led to prime scoring opportunities for aggressively attacking opponents like UNC. On Tuesday, they were quick to get back and, along with a solid showing from the defense, kept the Dragons in check all game long.
Down by two with less than 25 minutes to play, the Dragons started to put their foot on the gas. They attacked aggressively and began to come up with some chances of their own, one of them resulting in a goal. It was one blemish in an otherwise impressive defensive showing for the Red and Blue. As the clock kept winding down, the Dragons became desperate. They took a timeout with seven minutes left to try and steal the
game’s momentum, but their efforts were in vain: Penn owned the field of play for the waning minutes and did not allow a shot on goal following the stoppage. “At that time we were still in control so I just reminded them of that,” Fink said of her speech during the timeout. “The style of play that Drexel likes to play is picking up those loose balls so the message was to try and stay as tight as you can.”
The Quakers’ win improved their record to 3-1 at Ellen Vagelos Field, their only home loss coming at the hands of then top-ranked UNC. Tuesday’s win leaves Penn at 2-0 against City Six opponents, with games against Temple and Villanova still to come. The Red and Blue now prepare for their second Ivy contest, this one against Harvard. The game will be played at Vagelos Field on Sunday at 12 p.m.
COURTESY OF PENN ATHLETICS
The introduction of new camera angles — such as those on the net — have enabled Penn volleyball to introduce a challenge system that allows officials to review calls made on the court at coaches’ requests.
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ROUNDTABLE
IT’S A CHALLENGE
The DP Sports editors take turns evaluating which Penn squad looks best headed into Ivy play
Penn volleyball is on the cutting edge, utilizing video replay to allow for coaches’ challenges
>> SEE PAGE 6
>> SEE PAGE 7
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2016
down to a
[science]
Some athletes elect to take on sports, engineering JACOB SNYDER Associate Sports Editor
“Engineering’s really fun and cool, but if you’re going to play a sport with it, you’re just not going to sleep most of the time and you’re going to feel crappy a lot of the time.”
PENN 2
The life of a college athlete — like men’s tennis’ Dan Harris — is hectic. Between playing almost every day and keeping up with classwork, student-athletes are constantly spreading themselves thin. The thought of having to perform this balancing act is enough to make any confident time-manager quake in his or her boots; however, there is one subset of student-athletes that have a particularly difficult run of things.
They are the minority — or maybe you just never see them because they are tucked away on the east end of campus coding into the waning hours of the morning. They are the engineerathletes. Attempting to manage the added stress of the engineering curriculum while still performing at a high level athletically is a challenge that a select few Penn students are tasked with every day.
“For the general requirements it’s already pretty tough to keep up,” said Harris, who is a mechanical engineering major. “But for some classes, like the mechatronics class I’m taking now, it’s near-impossible.” Junior volleyball player and computer science major Sydney Morton agrees that the coursework in engineering makes for a particularly SEE ENGINEERING PAGE 6
Let me expLaine
1 DREXEL
Penn victorious in midweek tilt Pay no mind at all to comments FIELD HOCKEY | Junior
scores twice in 2-1 win
WILL AGATHIS
Associate Sports Editor
Once again, Penn field hockey won in a one-goal game that fails to represent the team’s dominance during the course of play. This time, the Quakers took down cross-city rival Drexel, 2-1, in a contest where the score fails to paint an accurate picture. The Dragons (5-5) never gained a firm grip on the game and faced a barrage shots for the entire 70 minutes. The Red and Blue (6-2), however, needed just over 30 minutes to start the day’s scoring. Sophomore Paige Meilly hit the ball in but Drexel’s Erin Gilchrist came up with the save. Junior Gina Guccione drove in to score off the rebound but hit the post before knocking away her second opportunity. That goal was Guccione’s third of the season and first of two in that game.
“The goalie kicked it out to the middle of the circle. I tipped it, it hit the post, went across the goal and I got it backhand for a little tap-in,” Guccione said. The Quakers continued to take over in the second half with plenty of chances, including a beautiful feed from junior Alexa Hoover to Guccione for the junior’s second goal of the game. The two have an incredible relationship on the field when attacking and have assisted each other’s goals numerous times over the years. That helper was Hoover’s team-leading 11th point of the season. Currently, she is tied with Lisa Romig for Penn’s goalscoring record with 44 goals, but has been unable to net that elusive record-breaker. Heading into the season, Hoover was adamant about taking on a greater playmaking role. She has been very successful in that department to date, but is suffering a four-game scoreless drought and is seemingly snakebitten. “Anyone who watches our
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ANANYA CHANDRA | SPORTS PHOTO EDITOR
Junior Gina Guccione got Penn field hockey on the board Tuesday, scoring both the Quakers’ goals in their 2-1 win over Drexel at home.
games knows she’s one of the number one playmakers on the field,” coach Colleen Fink said. “It’s frustrating for her, for sure, that she’s not getting the goals
she wants but she has to know that she has 100 percent support of her teammates and coaches. I SEE FIELD HOCKEY PAGE 7
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eware the comments section. It’s a nasty, nasty place where productive discussions turn vile, where attacks are not based on arguments but the people who produce them. Four years of publishing articles and I’ve only had one foray into the pseudo-cyber bullying the comments section breeds. It was the December of my freshman year, and I wrote a column on Title IX compliance in Ivy League athletics. The draft of the story I turned in explained how Penn dealt with Title IX but did little to suggest alternative solutions to cutting athletes from non-marquee sports and inflating female rosters. The senior sports editor suggested we add a line about cutting sprint football,
calling it a “welcome novelty sport.” His words, not mine. His words, put under my byline. I was intimidated by my editor, so I didn’t protest the addition. When the article was published, I immediately wished I had stood up for myself in the newsroom. What ensued were some of the worst days I’ve ever had at Penn — days that made me question whether I wanted to be a journalist. In the comments section, someone called my article “piss poor journalism” because they did not agree with my opinion. Another wrote, “awfully said and humorous to read.” Several members of the sprint football team sent me strongly worded emails. I responded with profuse apologies and invitations to meet in person to discuss their concerns further. None took me up on the offer. Other commenters started a debate comparing football to swimming, discussing injury risk, athlete SEE HIGGINS PAGE 6 CONTACT US: 215-422-4640