November 2, 2016

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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2016

THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

TRUMP ALMOST

DUMPED

MEAM graduate student dies Monday

College Republicans almost denounced their party’s nominee. Here’s why they didn’t. LEONARD EISEN | Staff Reporter

An email to SEAS community told students of a support session

T

he Penn chapter of College Republicans has been unusually quiet in regards to Donald Trump, neither endorsing nor denouncing the 1968 Wharton graduate. That stance nearly changed this month, but a proposed disavowal of Trump fell through, according to interviews with group members. In the middle of October, the College Republicans executive board voted to formally condemn Trump, chapter vice president and Wharton senior Grayson Sessa said. But the decision was never carried out. The board had originally decided against making any formal statements on Trump after a poll conducted at the start of the school year found the club’s membership was split on the candidate, but the topic was reopened this month, following the release of the Access Hollywood tape where Trump brags about groping women. The board decided to write an op-ed that members could shop around to newspapers such as The Wall Street Journal and New York Times, but the project eventually fell through, Sessa

LAUREN FEINER Editor-in-Chief

On Monday, Engineering graduate student Alfredo “Freddy” Abravanel died “unexpectedly,” according to an email sent to the engineering community Tuesday morning. Abravanel graduated with his bachelor’s degree in 2016 and had sub-matriculated into the Master’s program for mechanical engineering and applied mechanics. Due to his connection to both graduate and undergraduate communities, the University opted to send an email to the entire School of Engineering and Applied Science, notifying them of his death. The email, sent by SEAS Dean Vijay Kumar, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Life Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum, President Amy Gutmann and Provost Vincent Price, notified students of a support session to be held Tuesday starting at 2:30 p.m. in the MEAM Conference Room, Towne 227. Originally from Greece, Abravanel “was known as a careful and creative thinker who would always have a unique thought or perspective to share,” Kumar and MEAM Department chair Robert Carpick wrote in a separate email to the MEAM community. “He was enthusiastic about engineering and was eager to solve challenging problems. Freddy was a smart and curious student; often quiet in class, and inquisitive during office hours. He was regularly seen dashing happily between MEAM classes and projects and his economics classes. He will be remembered as a lighthearted student with an easy smile.” Abravanel had planned to graduate with his Master’s in May 2017. He was 22 years old.

Alleged Castle arsonist delays court date again REBECCA TAN Staff Reporter

SEE BONFIGLIO PAGE 2

SEE REPUBLICANS PAGE 3

Union rejects first poststrike offer from SEPTA

Lorenzo Bonfiglio’s pretrial hearing has been moved back three times

Slightly more than a year after his arrest, former College and Wharton student Lorenzo Bonfiglio has still not gone to trial for his alleged arson of the Psi Upsilon chapter house, also known as Castle. According to a document from the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, Bonfiglio attended his formal arraignment on June 24. His pretrial at the Criminal Justice Center was originally scheduled for July 14, but has since been pushed back three times and is currently scheduled for Nov. 29. When The Daily Pennsylvanian contacted Bonfiglio’s lawyer, Fortunato Perri, to ask why the pretrial was postponed, he replied in an email statement that he has “No comment on the matter at this time.” This is not the first time Bonfiglio has

said. “It was really a cost-benefit analysis,” said College Republicans Communications Director and College sophomore Ryan Snyder, who thought the benefits of a public denouncement at this point in time would be rather low. “That disavowal a month and a half ago would’ve had a lot stronger effect than a disavowal two weeks before the election.” In terms of potential costs, Snyder compared the club’s situation to that of Penn State University’s College Republicans chapter, which announced their decision not to endorse Trump back in August and faced subsequent pressure from the national committee for its board members to resign. Chapter President and College and Wharton senior Jennifer Knesbach opposed making a chapter-wide denouncement this year, on the grounds that the College Republicans serves as one of the only places for conservatives to voice their political beliefs on Penn’s predominantly liberal campus. “This election cycle has been really difficult on the Republican party and on Republican college students,” Knesbach said, “and that’s why as an organization we didn’t want to join the other majority of campus in condemning [Trump].” Following a push by the majority of board members,

As the strike rages, Penn puts contingency plan into effect BOWMAN COOPER Staff Reporter

TIFFANY PHAM | ASSOCIATE PHOTO EDITOR Members of the Transportation Workers Union declared a strike after no appropriate contract deal with SEPTA was reached, shutting down the public transit system.

HOSTILE TAKEOVER

FREE SPEECH BEACH BALL

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At 12:01 Tuesday morning, members of the Transit Workers Union — the largest union of SEPTA workers— began a strike after it was not able to reach a contract deal with SEPTA. In an email statement, the Transportation Workers Union Local 234 cited issues regarding safety and pension plans as reasons for the strike. The TWU also claimed that after receiving a transit aid package from the state of Pennsylvania in 2009, “SEPTA

At Penn, there is a stigma with taking care of ourselves.”

diverted funds to pay for a bloated management pension plan, with unfunded monthly increases averaging $500.” The TWU is demanding a “fair and well-funded pension plan” without any increase in state or local taxes. “Local 234’s bargaining team is prepared to meet round-the-clock,” the TWU’s statement said. “When SEPTA is ready to stop stalling and start talking, we’re confident we can reach a fair agreement.” The union rejected SEPTA’s first strike proposal on Tuesday. Jeff Kessler, SEPTA Youth Advisory Council executive chairman and SEE SEPTA PAGE 5

BEHIND ENEMY LINES BACK PAGE

- Amy Chan PAGE 4

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