December 3, 2015

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2015

THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

CARSON KAHOE | PHOTO MANAGER - ELECT

Admins advise on avoiding sexual assault abroad 27.5 percent of women reported nonconsensual contact while abroad

CHARLOTTE LARACY Contributing Reporter

This Wednesday, the Penn Women’s Center and Penn Abroad held an informational session to discuss helpful tips and advice about ways to avoid situations that could elicit sexual harassment or violence while studying abroad. Sexual harassment and sexual violence are reoccurring problems on American college campuses, but the session stressed that is also a global problem and that most sexual assault victims who study abroad are women. A study done by the American Psychological Association found that 38.1 percent of the sample reported some type of unwanted sexual experience while abroad, and 27.5 percent of women reported at least one experience of nonconsensual sexual contact while abroad. Jessica Mertz, the director of sexual violence prevention and education at Penn, first SEE ABROAD PAGE 3

Getting ‘Screwed’ on student-run Classless TV Classless TV, a web series group, is funded by Kelly Writers House CAROLINE CARBALLEIRA Contributing Reporter

The creators of the next “Seinfeld” could be in our midst here at Penn. Classless TV, a comedy web series group on campus funded by the Kelly Writers House, has a new web series out this year called ”Screwed.” Classless TV releases a new series on YouTube each year with an entirely unique premise and characters, and is now in its fifth year. The videos traditionally range from five to eight minutes and are self-contained, so each episode’s plot is not dependent on the previous episode. “Screwed” has a projected six episodes for this year; the pilot has already been released, and the next one is expected by the end of the semester. “Screwed” centers around four seniors who must deal with realistic college issues, such as ending a long-distance relationship or going to a party to meet new people. According to College senior and Executive SEE CLASSLESS TV PAGE 2

FUELING THE

FIGHT

Penn Fossil Free rallied at annual U. Council open forum JINAH KIM Contributing Reporter

CARSON KAHOE | PHOTO MANAGER - ELECT

THE PATH TO DIVESTMENT 1. Fossil Free Penn:

493 signatures on a petition needed to create referendum

2. Referendum:

at least 15 percent of undergrads must vote, at least 50 percent in favor of divesting

3. UA:

presents proposal to divest to University Council

C

arrying posters rendered limp by the drizzly weather, a small group of students and protesters walked through Perelman Quadrangle Wednesday with the chant, “Hey Amy G, make Penn fossil free!” Following the passage of a student referendum last winter urging Penn to divest from fossil fuels, the University Council recently voted to move forward with the divestment

proposal submitted by the student group Fossil Free Penn. Before heading over to Wednesday’s UC open forum, Fossil Free Penn members and supporters held a brief rally on College Green about the need for divestment. The speakers framed the choice as one of not only environmental but also social justice; Michelle Lopez, a College senior, said Penn couldn’t claim to show support for social justice while

“supporting oppression via fossil fuels,” while College freshman Zach Rissman also emphasized the school’s mission of social impact. Once at the forum, the group sat together in the auditorium as various Penn students and alumni spoke on issues ranging from the University’s approach to sexual assault to religious diversity on campus. Fossil Free Penn members

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U. Council Steering Committee:

decides whether proposal meets standards of divestment, can choose to pass on proposal to Ad Hoc Advisory Committee on Divestment

Ad Hoc Advisory Committee on Divestment: determines whether proposal meets high standards for divestment, can present proposal to Trustee Subcommittee on Divestment.

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Trustee Subcommittee on Divestment:

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Executive Committee of the Trustees:

further study the proposal and provide a recommendation to the board of Trustees

ultimately decides action on recommendation

SEE FOSSIL FREE PAGE 5

Gutmann talks race at open forum Participants also discussed divestment, retirement benefits CAROLINE SIMON Campus News Editor-elect

CARSON KAHOE | PHOTO MANAGER - ELECT

Issues of divestment, retirement benefits, sexual assault and religion as an aspect of diversity were raised at the University Council’s open forum.

HIDDEN IMAGES

DISASTER PLAN

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Student leaders, faculty, staff and administrators gathered in Houston Hall on Wednesday afternoon for the third University Council meeting of the year, which was the first open forum. The open forum, which happens annually, invites members of the community to raise concerns about Penn policies and initiative in threeminute speeches. After the speeches, Penn President Amy Gutmann addressed the topic of racial discrimination on college campuses, which has been brought into a national spotlight by

Doesn’t feminism grant women a choice to do whatever the hell they want?”

protests at the University of Missouri and Yale. Gutmann said that any discrimination runs counter to Penn’s values, and that the Campaign for Community is working to alleviate racial tensions. This year, however, the conversation was dominated by the issue of divestment rather than racism. Three individuals urged Penn to reinvest in clean energy companies in order to protect the environment, while a fourth argued that divesting was a poor solution to the issue. Retirement benefits were another issue addressed in the forum. An Information and Computing Services worker, who has worked for Penn since 1986, argued that Penn’s retirement benefit policies did not SEE OPEN FORUM PAGE 2

OUTFLANKED BACK PAGE

- Caroline Simon

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