October 29, 2018

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MONDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2018 VOL. CXXXIV NO. 50

THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

What’s at Stake

FOUNDED 1885

The outcome could influence Penn admissions MAX COHEN Deputy News Editor

Many politicians have deemed this one of the most important midterm elections in our lifetimes. For many across the country, as well as those of us at Penn, much is at stake come Nov. 6. The fallout from the elections will affect Penn in a variety of ways, from Supreme Court decisions that could spell the end of affirmative action to higher education laws that change the way financial aid is distributed. “In every election I’ve ever covered going back almost 30 years, politicians have always said this is the most important election of our lifetime,” Dick Polman, WHYY political columnist and Penn writer-inresidence, said. “It’s kind of become a cliche — but this one really is.” Republicans could lose control of both houses of Congress, Democrats could gain an opportunity to launch investigations into the Trump White House, and on the local level, 87 of the 99 state legislature chambers and 36 governorships could turn over. With over a dozen battleground states in play, voters will have a chance to respond in the first national election since the Wharton 1968 gradu-

ate won the White House two years ago. As Penn students get ready to head to the polls, The Daily Pennsylvanian breaks down what’s at stake in the midterm elections through four key categories: the Senate, the House of Representatives, governorships, and national civil discourse. Senate: the battle for the future of the judiciary There are 35 Senate seats up for grabs on Nov. 6, and with Republicans enjoying the slimmest of majorities in the 5149 current split, many experts view the senatorial elections as extremely consequential. Policies at Penn, too, could be at risk. “The Senate is important because key parts of the U.S. Constitution mandate that the Senate is a check on key elements of presidential power,” said Penn political science professor Dan Hopkins, a contributor to FiveThirtyEight. “We saw this with Judge Kavanaugh and the very recent nomination for the Supreme Court, but we also see this on treaties and judges not just for the Supreme Court, but throughout the federal judiciary.” Following the confirmation of Justice Kavanaugh, experts said the future of affirmative action was in doubt, and more conservative judges on the SEE ELECTION PAGE 7

Penn alumnus among dead in Pittsburgh shooting

Wharton receives $25 million to fund new building, Tangen Hall

The shooting occurred at a synagogue on Saturday

Tangen will be a hub for student entrepreneurship

MANLU LIU Deputy News Editor

A shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue has left at least 11 dead, including a former Penn alumni, Jerry Rabinowitz. Several hours after the shooting, which occurred on Saturday morning, Penn President Amy Gutmann released a statement condemning the deadly attack and the wave of gun shootings that have taken place across the nation. Rabinowitz was a two-time Penn student, graduating from the College with a degree in biochemistry in 1973, and then from the Perelman School of Medicine in 1977. He worked as a geriatrician in Bloomfield, Pittsburgh, according to the US News and World Report. Ben Schmitt, a writer at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, wrote a eulogy commemorating Rabinowitz on Sunday, including quotes from his father, who had been a longtime patient of the Penn graduate. “He was a really remarkable

JERRY RABINOWITZ

guy in everything he did,” Schmitt wrote that Rabinowitz’s father said. “Every time I would see him, he would do the exam and he would then take me into his office and we talked. There was no rush to get out of his office. It was like I was the only patient he had — and I know that’s not true.” The suspect in the shooting, Robert Bowers, 46, opened fire at the Tree of Life Congregation in eastern Pittsburgh and attacked during a service, Pennsylvania’s attorney general told the Associated Press. Bowers later surrendered to the police after barricading himself inside an office. It was later found that he frequently posted antiJewish slurs and anti-semitic

conspiracy theories on social media, The New York Times reported. He is expected to face hate crime charges. In response, Gutmann posted a statement on her personal Facebook page several hours following the shooting. “I know I speak on behalf of the entire Penn community in saying how horrified I am at the unconscionable, despicable acts of violence perpetrated against members of the Tree of Life Synagogue earlier today,” Gutmann wrote. College seniors Debbie Rabinovich and Cooper Robinson, the co-chairs of the Penn Reform Jewish Community, posted a joint statement on the RJC Facebook page on Sunday. “We encourage everyone to reflect and recover first, and then to consider their role in making the world a place in which anti-semitism, xenophobia, racism, and gun violence are no more,” they wrote. “Our freedom and our healing is bound to that of all marginalized communities, and the privilege within the SEE RABINOWITZ PAGE 3

OPINION | How to save democracy

“It’s time to take off our red hats and blue pins and give each candidate a fair shot.” - Lucy Hu PAGE 4

SPORTS | Mission accomplished

Penn women’s soccer continued its recent run of success, extending its unbeaten streak to 12 games, and with its latest win, securing a piece of the Ivy title. BACKPAGE FOLLOW US @DAILYPENN FOR THE LATEST UPDATES ONLINE AT THEDP.COM

NEWS U. offers four online master’s degrees this year PAGE 2

RACHAEL RUHLAND Staff Reporter

The Wharton School has received a $25 million donation to fund the construction of the first-ever designated space for student entrepreneurship on Penn’s campus, Tangen Hall. The new hall will be around 70,000 square feet and located at the intersection of 40th and Sansom Streets. The AKO Foundation, the charity branch of hedge fund AKO Capital LLP, granted the donation which will also fund the Katja and Nicolai Tangen International Endowed Scholarship. Katja Tangen and 1992 Wharton graduate Nicolai Tangen, founder and CEO of AKO Capital, recommended the AKO Foundation to fund the donation. The gift is part of the More Than Ever Campaign, which is part of the Power of Penn campaign, the most ambitious fundraising campaign Penn has ever undertaken. It also follows a $50 million gift to Wharton earlier this semester.

PHOTO FROM PETER WINICOV, DIRECTOR OF MEDIA RELATIONS AT WHARTON

Katja Tangen and Wharton graduate Nicolai Tangen, founder and CEO of AKO Capital, recommended the AKO Foundation to fund the donation.

The donation’s scholarship fund will provide financial aid to international undergraduate students, who face unique concerns when applying for college as low income students. “I’m very privileged to contribute to one of the University’s main goals, both

entrepreneurship and innovation, but also the undergraduate financial aid program,” said Nicolai Tangen in an interview with The Daily Pennsylvanian. In a press release, Penn President Amy Gutmann said the SEE WHARTON PAGE 8

NEWS Penn has most alumni in Forbes’ wealthiest list PAGE 3

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