October 1, 2014

Page 1

THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA | WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2014

Philadelphia Police confirm cause of College student’s death SARAH SMITH Senior Writer

Incoming freshmen will take an online mental health module JILL CASTELLANO Deputy News Editor

Penn’s mental health task force offered preliminary recommendations to student groups at an Undergraduate Assembly steering committee, which included establishing a helpline staffed by Counseling and Psychological Services trainees and standardizing academic leave policies across Penn’s schools. Members of the task force also told students at the meeting last week that mandatory online modules for Penn students about mental health and managing stress will begin next summer, according to students who attended.

College student Amanda Hu’s death was ruled a suicide, a spokesperson at the Philadelphia Police Homicide Unit said early Wednes-

Campus Resources

Mental health task force: Implement helpline, standardize leaves

day morning. Hu, 20, died in her bedroom on the 4000 block of Sansom Street late Sunday night. She was on a voluntary leave of absence from Penn at the time, working in a biochemistry lab.

Counseling and Psychological Services: 215-898-7021 215-349-5490 (Nights and weekends)

President Amy Gutmann sent an email Tuesday to all undergraduates and parents in response to Hu’s death announcing the formation of a 24-hour helpline staffed by Counseling and Psychological Services trainees — an initiative the mental

University Chaplain’s Office: 215-898-8456 Student Health Service: 215-746-3535

Office of the Vice Provost for University Life: 215-898-6081

Wishbone extends hours for late-night fried chicken runs

Penn administrators proposed the office handle on student-on-student sexual misconduct cases SOPHIA WITTE Staff Writer

Penn administrators proposed to move sexual misconduct cases from the Office of Student Conduct to a separate investigatory office. The proposal recommends hiring a Sexual Violence Investigative Officer to oversee all cases involving sexual assault, sexual violence, relationship violence and stalking. The new office would focus exclusively on student-on-student sexual misconduct cases, which are currently directed to the Office of Student Conduct. The person hired to head the investigatory office would be expected to have experience in issues concerning Title IX — a federal mandate that prohibits federally funded organizations from discriminating based on gender.

SEE HU PAGE 6

Reach-A-Peer Helpline: 215-573-2727 (9 p.m. - 1 a.m. every night) Letter-writing service (Any time)

Launch of student financial aid board delayed a semester The advisory board was supposed to start this semester HUIZHONG WU Staff Writer

consideration as food served in a four-star restaurant. That’s why we don’t serve ketchup. We make our own sauce, and it tastes goddamn awesome.” According to a Wishbone employee, recent weekends have been more profitable than ever. “Saturday night we made more money over three hours than on all of Sunday,” he said.

A student advisory board to address concerns with financial aid will launch a semester later than planned. In spring 2014, student leaders of the 5B — the coalition of umbrella groups for minority communities — met with Student Financial Services to propose and implement a board for early this fall. However, it will now officially launch in January 2015. The board is meant to address a perceived gap between SFS and minority students, who may face financial circumstances that are not addressed by the standard financial aid formula. It will be made up of nine student members from across the schools. The University’s Director of Financial Aid Joel Carstens said that he realized in spring 2014 that the board would not be ready to launch in the fall, but did not have a specific reason for the delay. “We just wanted to make sure we were moving forward in the right direction and if that takes a little bit more time to accomplish, we’d rather get it right,” he said. Students were worried when they first learned about the delay. “One of my complaints was that I was speaking with people from our past board, and they heard the same rhetoric, like, ‘It’ll be developed in a semester,’” said United Minorities Council chair

SEE WISHBONE PAGE 7

SEE FINANCIAL AID PAGE 2

SEE MENTAL HEALTH PAGE 3

Sexual misconduct cases may be handled by new investigatory office

health task force proposed to students last week in a closed meeting. “The subject of mental and emotional issues facing college and university students is a critically impor-

LUKE CHEN/ WEEKLY PENNSYLVANIAN EDITOR

Wishbone extended their closing time from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights starting late August in an attempt to bring in more late night business from Penn students. BENJAMIN ZOU Contributing Writer

Move aside, Allegro — Wishbone is the newest player in the lucrative late-night crave-busting trade. Started by two Drexel scholars originally from France, the fried chicken restaurant between 40th and 41st streets on Walnut Street just opened its doors last October, and in late August extended its closing time from 11 p.m. to 3

a.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. General Manager Erica Hope made the executive decision to change the store’s hours, believing that the home-style, handcrafted chicken and mac ‘n’ cheese would lure in hungry partiers. “Drunk college kids are coming here instead of Wawa because they know good food when they see and smell it,” Hope said. “Fast food should be given the same

PHOTO FEATURE

PICNICKING WITH GUTMANN President Amy Gutmann welcomed juniors with a welcome back picnic at the President’s Mansion, where she donned a 2016 Classic Ivy Sweater and mingled with students over free food, drinks and music yesterday. She will be welcoming the Class of 2017 in a similar fashion tonight at the Sophomore Welcome Back Picnic at 6 p.m.

SEE SEXUAL VIOLENCE PAGE 5

INSIDE OPINION MORE THAN MONEY We all want to solve the problem of poverty — but it’s not just about food and shelter PAGE 4

SPORTS THOMAS AWAD: THE FACE OF PENN TRACK AND FIELD Awad has taken cross country by storm with big things on the horizon BACK PAGE

M. SOCCER WINS OT THRILLER

SOPHIA LEE/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

BACK PAGE

SEND STORY IDEAS TO NEWSTIP@THEDP.COM

ONLINE AT THEDP.COM

CONTACT US: 215-422-4646


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.