THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA | MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2014
Pennsylvania moves closer toward medical marijuana legalization Sponsor hopes to bring the bill to a vote in the state Senate this month
INSIDE
JONATHAN BAER Staff Writer
NEWS THIS WEEK IN PENN HISTORY
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OPINION
As the Pennsylvania state Senate is set to reconvene on Sept. 15, a hotly contested national issue sits near the top of its agenda: medical marijuana. The bipartisan Senate Bill 1182, titled the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Act, passed the Senate’s Law and Justice Committee unanimously on June 27. When state senators return from their summer recess, the bill
will go up for a vote in the Appropriations Committee, after which it could be voted on by the general body. Currently, 23 states and Washington, D.C., have some form of legalized marijuana for medical use. Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania all have pending medical marijuana legislation that could act as decisive issues going into the 2014 midterm elections. “We are planning on hopefully moving out of appropriations on Sept. 15 and on to a full Senate floor vote on Sept. 16 ... and get it over to the House as soon we can,” state Sen. Mike Folmer (R-Leba-
non County) and one of the bill’s sponsors said. “We have the votes, but we just need to get through the political process, and that can be very slow because our system of government is never really meant to be fast.” While it remains unclear if the state legislature will pass the bill, Pennsylvanians increasingly favor medical marijuana. According to a poll by Quinnipiac University taken in March 2014, 85 percent of Pennsylvania voters support some form of medical marijuana. But even with public COURTESY OF DANK DEPOT/CREATIVE COMMONS
SEE MARIJUANA PAGE 6
ASSESSING OUR ACTIVISM When it comes to advocating for change, depth is just as important as breadth
PHOTO FEATURE
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NOT MUCH TO CHEER FOR It’s not that we naturally don’t care about sports — we’ve been taught not to
A NEW FRONT YARD FOR CITY HALL
Dilworth Park, an area to the west of City Hall, reopened last Thursday after a $55 million renovation that began in 2012. New features include a cafe operated by Jose Garces, elevator entrances for SEPTA trains and trolleys, and an ice skating rink in winter. The last phase of the park’s renovations is scheduled to be completed in October.
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SPORTS COMING ALL THE WAY BACK Penn women’s soccer fell down 2-0 against Old Dominion but came back to win in overtime BACK PAGE
LACROIX COMES THROUGH IN THE NICK OF TIME
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ONLINE DILWORTH PLAZA PHOTO GALLERY Check out more scenes from the newly-opened Dilworth Plaza THEDP.COM
Ask for help to appear competent, finds Wharton study COREY STERN Staff Writer
Facing challenges in a new work environment can be tough. Should you ask for advice, ensuring that you perform well while risking appearing incompetent? Or should you refrain from doing so in an effort to maintain an image of competence while risking failing the task at hand? A new study suggests that those faced with this dilemma aren’t caught in as much of a pickle as they might believe: In certain situations, seeking advice can make one appear to be more intelligent. The study, called “Smart People Ask For (My) Advice: Seeking Advice Boosts Perceptions of Competence”, was co-authored by Operations and Information Management professor Maurice Schweitzer, along with Harvard Business School’s Alison Wood Brooks, a former Ph.D. student of Schweitzer’s, and Francesca Gino. It is set to be published in the next issue of Management Science. “My intuition, which we confirmed, was that people are very reluctant to seek advice,” Schweitzer said. “They worry that by asking for advice, they’re going to look like they don’t know what they should know and what they should be doing.” However, Schweitzer and his colleagues found that asking for advice can actually make an individual appear to be more intelligent and caSEE ADVICE PAGE 6 SEND STORY IDEAS TO NEWSTIP@THEDP.COM
LUKE CHEN/WEEKLY PENNSYLVANIAN EDITOR
Phila. schools open amid looming woes Students across Philadelphia begin school today with a big question mark in the district budget. To maintain "the status quo" — the same level of services offered last school year — the School District of Philadelphia announced over the summer that they would need $81 million. $32 million in cuts will possibly resolve part of the $81 million gap. These cuts included cleaning schools less often, leaving police officer vacancies unfilled and 20 departmental staff position cuts.
The district wants a total of
$440
million
$224 million to provide better opportunities
As part of the cuts, the District proposed to lengthen the 1.5 mile-distance eligibility for a SEPTA TransPass to 2 miles, meaning 7,500 students who live less than 2 miles from school would have to find an alternative ride to school. After parents raised concerns about safety and truancy, this $3.8 million plan was not implemented and the district worked with SEPTA to restructure debt to keep the passes, CBS Philly reported. See page 7
$216 million to maintain the current budget
The School District has yet to account for $81 $216 million.
million of the
The district assumes $49 million of the $81 million will come from passage of $2-a-pack cigarette tax with an Oct. 1 passage (though estimates range from $38 million to $60 million).
$32 million in cuts announced on Aug. 15
SOURCE: The School District of Philadelphia
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