UA reallocates funds to student groups following University-wide budget cuts
The changes were announced on April 2 and came after a 5% cut to the Undergraduate Assembly’s allotted funding from the Offce of the
Penn’s Undergraduate Assembly convened a special budget meeting on April 2 to reallocate funds for student organizations for the upcoming academic year.
The changes come after a 5% cut to the UA’s allotted funding from the Office of the Provost. The funding cuts — requested by the Provost’s Office and the Office of Student Affairs — are part of a “proactive and preemptive” effort from Penn to “cut funding by a certain percent,” according to College senior and UA President Ria Ellendula.
According to Ellendula, Penn faces the possibility of an unprecedented endowment tax on the University “ranging anywhere from 5% to 40%.” As a result, Penn’s administration implemented a 5% funding cut for each department — including money allotted to the UA by the Provost’s Office.
During the meeting, members of the UA and other constituents expressed concerns for student groups already experiencing financial strain and asked whether it was feasible to tap into reserve funds, which total approximately $170,000.
“We have talked to Katie Bonner, who’s the executive director of the Office of Student Affairs, and she said that depending on certain variables, there’s a likelihood that we could drain the reserve fund up to $150,000,” Ellendula said.
Engineering senior and UA Treasurer Chandler Cheung stressed the unprecedented nature of the funding cuts and the importance of considering the potential need for the reserve fund in the future.
“We don’t know how long these cuts will last, and the Provost’s Office doesn’t know what’s going to happen,” Cheung said. “So I wouldn’t recommend draining the entire reserve fund just
Three Penn students had visas revoked, ISSS says
Several Penn faculty members and state and local politicians spoke with The Daily Pennsylvanian to criticize the revocations
The federal government revoked “at least three” Penn students’ visas and terminated their immigration statuses, according to an email from International Student and Scholar Services sent on April 7.
The Monday message stated that Penn learned of the changes to the students’ immigration statuses through a check of the Student and Exchange Visitor Program database — an online system managed by the Department of Homeland Security that tracks the records of international students studying in the United States. According to the email, the visa revocations were in relation to “immigration status violations and not connected to the 2024 campus protests.”
The terminations at Penn come as 1968 Wharton graduate and President Donald Trump’s second administration cracks down on international students
KNURENKO Staff Reporter
and scholars across the country. Over 400 students, faculty, and researchers across American universities have faced similar actions — with many reporting they have not received direct notice from the federal government.
According to a Tuesday email from Graduate School of Education Dean Katharine Strunk, one of the three Penn students who had their visas revoked earlier this week was an international GSE student.
The April 8 email — which was sent to the GSE community — stated that the school was “working closely alongside colleagues across the University to ensure they have access to all available support and resources.”
“I know how unsettling this is, especially for members of our international community. We will continue to keep you informed as much as we can,” Strunk wrote. “This is the first case we’ve
encountered at GSE, but it may not be the last.”
On Wednesday, a University spokesperson declined to comment on whether more visas have been revoked since the email was sent. ISSS and DHS did not respond to multiple requests for comment. At the time of publication, The Daily Pennsylvanian could not determine the identities or exact number of students affected by the visa revocations.
The email — which was signed by Vice Provost for Global Initiatives Ezekiel Emanuel and Vice Provost for University Life Karu Kozuma — specified that while Penn is “aware of reports of encounters with ICE agents at Penn,” federal agents have not been on campus in connection with the identified visa revocations.
“We want to reassure the community that we are
Conservative group sues Penn, alleging Black Doctors Directory discriminates against white physicians
The March 18 complaint described Penn Medicine’s Black Doctors Directory, an online index designed to help patients locate Black doctors, as “racially discriminatory”
ANVI SEHGAL Staff Reporter
A conservative medical advocacy group filed a lawsuit against Penn alleging that Penn Medicine’s Black Doctors Directory violates the discrimination clauses of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Affordable Care Act.
The March 18 complaint — which the Do No Harm advocacy group filed with the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania — described the Black Doctors Directory, an online index designed to help patients locate Black doctors, as “racially discriminatory.” Do No Harm alleged violations of Pennsylvania law and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, in addition to the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
“The Black Doctors Directory is illegal,” the suit read. “Congress enacted Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to root out racial discrimination by entities that accept federal financial assistance.”
Co-founded by former Penn Medicine Associate Dean of Curriculum Stanley Goldfarb, Do No Harm is seeking “declaratory relief, injunctive relief, and nominal damages.” According to its website, the advocacy group aims to keep “identity politics out of medical education, research, and clinical practice.”
“The Black Doctors Directory is yet another example of Penn Medicine and other institutions prioritizing identity politics over care,” Goldfarb wrote in a statement published the same day as the suit. Do No Harm launched the lawsuit on behalf of “at least one member” of the group who was “excluded from the Directory based on race.” Referred to as “Member A” in the case, the doctor allegedly treated their patients equally and “regardless of race.”
“Tonight is about reclaiming our voices, our spaces, and our power,” one speaker said at the start of See NIGHT, page 8
On April 3, over 100 Penn students, faculty, and community members gathered on College Green to participate in Take Back the Night, an international campaign focused on ending sexual, domestic, and interpersonal violence. Organized by Abuse and Sexual Assault Prevention at Penn, the event featured a resource fair, rally, march, and survivor speakout. Attendees held signs, lit candles, and shared personal stories as a call to action for collective healing and change.
The directory was developed by the Health System, the Consortium of DEI Health Educators, and WURD Radio — all of which were named as defendants in the suit.
A request for comment was left with a Penn Med spokesperson.
“Member A finds it hurtful and disappointing that Defendants consider him to be less equipped or less capable of providing empathy and depth to black patients,” the suit read.
Do No Harm argued that the doctor is “competitively disadvantaged” compared to those included
See PENN MED, page 6
JASMINE NI, ETHAN YOUNG, ISHA CHITIRALA, AYANA CHARI, ANVI SEHGAL, AND CHRISTINE OH News Editors, Senior Reporter, and Staff Reporters
JEAN PARK | MULTIMEDIA EDITOR
CONNIE ZHAO | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER The Penn Band leads the Take Back the Night march across campus on April 3.
Penn faculty, afliates protest federal policy changes
The federal actions have drawn strong criticism, prompting many members of the University community to participate in organized demonstrations THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN STAFF
Members of the Penn community have continued to protest recent actions taken by 1968 Wharton graduate and President Donald Trump and his administration.
Since Trump returned to office on Jan. 20, the federal government has targeted higher education institutions across the country — including Penn — through a series of funding changes, executive orders, and policy measures. The changes have drawn strong criticism, prompting many members of the University community to participate in organized demonstrations.
Labor for Higher Education rally
On April 8, over 150 individuals gathered in Center City to protest and demand the reversal of federal funding cuts targeting research, health, and higher education.
The Tuesday rally — which took place outside the office of United States Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) on Market Street — was organized by Labor for Higher Education in collaboration with United Auto Workers, the Service Employees International Union, the American Association of University Professors, the American Federation of Teachers, and other related organizations. The event featured a range of speakers, including faculty, students, and researchers from Penn.
The Philadelphia demonstration was part of the second “Nationwide Day of Action” organized by Labor for Higher Education and Higher Education Labor United. The event served as the continuation of an initial day of protests in February.
“I want to say that today, as we stand here, we’re not just standing alone,” Pennsylvania state Sen. Nikil Saval (DPhiladelphia) said. “We are standing with thousands and thousands of people across the country.”
After the rally, Ian Gavigan — the national director of Higher Education Labor United, a coalition representing more than 60 labor unions — described the event as “one of more than 40 rallies and events happening across the country” in an interview with The Daily Pennsylvanian. He described the rallies as a means of “coming together with one simple message.”
Gavigan also mentioned the importance of holding “our leaders accountable” and “fully fund[ing] these critical public programs.”
“Dave McCormick is a new senator for Pennsylvania, and he has so far not stood up for the people of Pennsylvania,” Gavigan said. “This is the biggest city in his state, and we’re calling on him to stand up and do what’s right for the people here, which is to keep funding and to fully fund the federal programs.”
on April 5.
During the rally, Saval and Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO President Daniel Bauder attempted to deliver a letter to McCormick on behalf of over 50,000 union workers.
The letter demanded that McCormick “publicly oppose all cuts to federal funding for research, healthcare and education,” according to Clancy Murray, a fifth-year Political Science Ph.D. candidate, graduate student worker at Penn, and the head of the bargaining committee for Graduate Employees Together — University of Pennsylvania, Penn’s graduate student union. The document also called on McCormick to “fight to restore funding already cut” and to “hold a public face-to-face town hall with his constituents in Philadelphia to discuss the impact of these federal funding cuts.”
“We delivered the letter through an intermediary — through security,” Saval said during his speech. “Senator McCormick’s staff has left for the day.”
Corinde Wiers, an assistant professor of Psychiatry and Radiology at the Perelman School of Medicine and a member of AAUP, expressed her frustration over the state of federal research funding.
Wiers described how her lab — which was entirely dependent on grants — was left in a state of uncertainty after a $2 million clinical trial grant was unexpectedly delayed and partially defunded earlier in the year.
“[My research] would directly benefit so many Americans, but currently, the federal government’s actions may make it impossible to do,” Wiers said.
“The tariffs are already hurting people,” Bauder said. “[McCormick] and all those other jokers should be ashamed.”
American founding document reading
Penn faculty members gathered in front of College Hall on April 7 to recite American founding documents that speakers said hold increased significance in the current political climate.
The event featured 10 professors from the Political Science, Physics, Math, and Sociology departments who took turns reciting passages from documents including the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, and the Federalist Papers. Several individuals gathered to observe the 45-minute reading.
The reading occurred as legal experts across the country have called into question the constitutionality of several recent federal actions taken by the Trump administration.
These actions include an executive order to ban birthright citizenship and attempts to freeze congressionally appropriated funds to federal agencies. As a result, some political scholars nationwide have gone so far as to declare
a constitutional crisis.
Political Science professor Daniel Hopkins emphasized the importance of the “timeless American values and principles” in the documents while noting that that those same values are “increasingly under strain.”
“A highly diverse country and society like the United States requires a firm commitment to norms and to laws to figure out how we’re going to resolve our disagreements in a peaceful, practical way,” Hopkins told the DP. “Our founding documents lay out an unparalleled pathway.”
At the gathering, faculty members held up signs reading “Defend them” and “Know your rights.”
“Hands Off!” rally
Thousands of people gathered in Philadelphia on April 5 to march in protest of the Trump administration’s policies as part of a national day of action.
In a press release, organizers of the nationwide “Hands Off!” protests called them “the largest day of collective action since Trump’s inauguration.” Demonstrators held signs bearing anti-Trump slogans and chanted as they marched from City Hall to Independence Mall, where several members of Congress and Pennsylvania legislators spoke.
U.S. Reps. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) and Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.) joined union workers and several Pennsylvania and Philadelphia legislators in speaking out against Trump’s policies and the work of the Department of Government Efficiency, headed by 1997 College and Wharton graduate Elon Musk.
2013 Engineering graduate and Pennsylvania state Rep. Rick Krajewski (D-Philadelphia), who represents the district that includes Penn, spoke to the crowd at City Hall before the march started.
“I am so proud and honored to be here with y’all and show them that Philly fights back,” Krajewski said.
“[Trump has] come at us before. We told him, stay out of Philadelphia. Keep your fascism out of Philadelphia.”
“I think this is us trying to support our institutions in doing the right thing, and standing up for our communities, standing up for our trans folks, or immigrants, or Black and brown people,” Krajewski said of the rally in an interview with the DP. “And so I hope that this event and this turnout is the support that institutions like Penn need to be able to stand up and do the right thing.”
Pennsylvania state Rep. Chris Rabb (D-Philadelphia), while criticizing the Trump administration’s use of Immigration and Customs Enforcement against student protesters, also criticized universities for not resisting immigration policies.
“We are the masses who will hold our institutions to
account, governmental, financial, religious, philanthropic, and educational — especially those universities with the most money, the biggest endowment, but the least courage to use their ‘F**k you’ money,” Rabb said. “Why are you gonna have ‘F**k you’ money if you aren’t gonna use it?”
Open letter
A total of 56 Penn professors signed a March 31 open letter condemning funding cuts and federal investigations into American universities.
The faculty members are among nearly 2,000 signatories, all of whom are academic researchers and elected members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. They called for the Trump administration to end its “wholesale assault” on science and asked the public to “join this call,” urging the American people to understand that the United States’ “scientific enterprise is being decimated.”
Professor of Nursing and Sociology and Dean Emerita of the School of Nursing Afaf Meleis spoke to the DP about her motivations for signing the letter, articulating her concern as a previous Penn administrator, a healthcare professional, and “a mentor for the future of young scientists.”
“We are protesting because there should be independent scientific inquiry, rather than political inquiry, in what people are studying,” Meleis said. “I don’t like silencing or antagonizing scientists because of ideological issues.”
Medical School professor Emeritus of Epidemiology in Biostatistics and Epidemiology Shiriki Kumanyika told the DP that she was “very much willing to endorse the entire letter.”
“Just like people say, ‘Stop taking people’s jobs away’ — well, stop taking our science away,” Kumanyika said. Biology Department Undergraduate Chair Scott Poethig said he did not find the letter controversial, noting that its main message was to “stop screwing around with science.”
The letter came together after an initial group of “13 or so people” drafted it and reached out to fellow National Academies members with whom they had previous contact, according to Computer and Information Science professor Michael Kearns. The authors asked their colleagues to consider signing the letter and share it with others. While the researchers are connected through their involvement in the National Academies, the decision to sign the letter was a personal one for each signatory.
“The views expressed here are our own and not those of the National Academies or our home institutions,” the letter read.
Kearns told the DP that his concern revolved around the federal government’s historic support for science and technology. He said that he doubts — “entirely understandably” — that most Americans “really understand the extent to which science and technology research in this country have been supported by the federal government since World War II.”
Other faculty signatories expressed similar concerns, not just for the temporary impact of Trump’s actions on Penn, but also for their impacts on academia and education in the long term.
“Thousands of scientists have been fired because of the stop work [order], because of the lack of funding, and there is a pressure to shape the nature of discovery and the nature of science, rather than leaving that for scientists themselves to decide what science needs to be advanced,” Meleis told the DP.
Hands of YOUR (UN)FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD | The University, in all its parts, must fght back
The terror is here. Mahmoud Khalil. Rumeysa Öztürk. Ranjani Srinivasan. Unidentified goons are snatching students off the streets, shipping a legal resident and expectant father 1,000 miles away, making a social media post or an op-ed grounds for deportation. All this is accompanied by the impending suspension of due process. You’re a citizen? You have no chance to prove it. Not anymore. If the funding cuts, incursions into academic freedom, and anti-transgender demonization weren’t enough, as of Monday, the terror is here, on Penn’s campus. When I learned that the announcement of this week’s visa revocations were unrelated to activism, the relief I felt was short-lived. They haven’t come for the students brave enough to publicly oppose the genocide in Gaza (at Penn) (yet). Even still, three members of our community have been taken from us as part of a political crusade with stated interests in the dismantling of diversity, dissolution of international cooperation, and death of free speech. A
grand welcome by the oligarchs empowered by what has become a surveillance state.
Less than 80 days in, we all know this is just the beginning. Donald Trump’s term is only 5% of the way through. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has already revoked 300 student visas in connection with pro-Palestinian protests. They will not stop with the students deemed the “most deportable” for the coincidence of their birth outside our borders, the students who hold opinions that may clash with those of the American empire. They will not stop with the students who share my skin tone, who share my political beliefs, or who share a last name from my continent.
When the time comes — and the question is clearly when, and not if — the students who will be targeted are the same ones who were arrested when Penn called the cops, were subjected to Penn’s internal disciplinary action, and were doxxed with Penn Trustee approval. Penn must acknowledge that it has handed students over to Trump’s deportation machine on a silver
about the swim team
platter.
More insidiously, Trump and Elon Musk are both alumni of this University. They are examples of how the education here fails, producing demagogues and oligarchs. Penn is responsible for their creation. This should trouble you.
We must take steps to prevent our future graduates from mimicking Musk and Trump’s corrupt career trajectories and personalities. The actions taken by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the past weeks and in the upcoming years aren’t happening to us. They’re our fault. Our culpability is existentially debilitating, but it’s also an opportunity to fundamentally reassess. If we let students get deported, the entire value of what we are doing here is irreparably called into question.
We cannot be educated when we have to cower behind beliefs given to us by a regime. Now is not the time to retreat further into defense of a failing status quo that produced the conditions of today. A reinforcement of neoliberalism is not the answer when it’s exactly was what got us into this mess. The assault on higher education is an opportunity for every stakeholder to decide who they are, what they stand for, and why they fight. This institution needs to make radical changes to become a positive force in the world.
These steps may betray the inclination to believe that education is apolitical. Education is, will always be, and always has been political. The partisan leaning of the University is a product of engagement with the important questions of the world. Learning to critically think is fundamentally in conflict with neoliberalism, conservatism, fascism, and other ideologies that reproduce the oppression of racial capitalism, patriarchy, and their compatriots. The Republican Party is acutely aware of this. The longevity of this regime is dependent on an ostracized academy and inadequate K-12 schooling.
Going forward, Penn must put a political project of liberation at the center of its
pedagogical mission. We must change our principles and our practice. We need to stop creating oligarchs and those who serve them. Unless we’re okay with having created the harbingers of new-age fascism, of course.
To the Trump administration, take your hands off of my University. This place belongs to us: the students, staff, faculty, and administrators who believe in the transformative power of education. You cannot terrify us into submission.
To Penn’s administration, do not let the hands at our throats slowly asphyxiate the knowledge that remains here. Protect your students from deportation. If you are unwilling to entertain breaking the law to stand for what is right (slavery was legal once), then refuse to comply with Trump’s illegal and legally dubious actions. In the immediate short term, Penn must declare and enforce sanctuary. When faculty and students reach out, Penn needs to listen.
To Penn’s students, refuse to stop breathing. If our hands are tied, we still have our feet. When ICE is on campus, drop what you’re doing and walk out. Flood Locust. You want campus community? Prove it. Stand up for your fellow students. Are the rights of your peers more important than landing that consulting/ finance/big tech job? This is not a rhetorical question. I implore you to pause and answer this to yourself.
These next four (plus) years will be a test of radicalism, resilience, and resistance. I may be catastrophizing here, but I’d rather be the boy who cried wolf than yesterday’s dinner. To those lost in this moment, I invite you to cry with me. All I ask in return is that you fight with me too.
NIHEER PATEL is a College sophomore from Atlanta studying history and English. His email is niheerp@sas. upenn.edu.
A vs. K | Is the playing feld really being leveled at all? This isn’t
HAWTHORN | Stop using transgender people as a distraction
Lia Thomas who? I opened up my news feed a week ago to a surreal sight: headline after headline devoted to how the United States has been gripped by intense political dogfights and moral reflection over … watersports. A genocide in Sudan? The collapse of the United States’ international alliances? $4 trillion of capital value wiped out in the stock market due to tariffs? No, clearly the Penn swimming and diving team is our most important concern.
There are 35 members, give or take, of the Penn women’s swimming and diving team. The $175 million in funding stripped by the Trump administration is enough to give each of them $5 million. Frankly, given how underpaid female athletes are, it would be a better use of the funds than President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s real intention: to suppress dissent and distract from their immense incompetence.
Trump and Musk stripped funding from Penn, citing “policies forcing women to compete with men in sports.”
By “men,” the administration meant 2022 College graduate Lia Thomas, a transgender woman who swam on Penn’s women’s swimming and diving team until graduating three years ago. Barred from all women’s swimming competitions by World Aquatics — the governing body of international water sports — Thomas currently does not compete with women, has not done so for three years, and likely never will again.
Regardless of your thoughts on the transgender community, let’s not kid ourselves about what the Trump administration is doing. That $175 million didn’t go toward trans athletes, transition treatment, or programs promoting trans participation in sports; it went to medical and national security research. This is the oldest trick in the political book — any social ill, any economic woes, any anger we the people feel because we have been neglected and failed by our government — just pin it on “them.”
I can cite any number of examples — the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, the “colored” population in Indonesia, Jewish people everywhere. Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Black, or white — name any descriptor you can imagine, they’ve been the out-group somewhere at some time. The critiques are just as vapid each and every time, the same lurid fantasies of a tiny group (trans people comprise just 0.95% of the American adult population) conquering and corrupting society at large, from blood libels to bathrooms. American history is essentially a history of things we considered unnatural and perverse until we didn’t: a white man marrying a Black woman, two
women holding hands, or even a Catholic president. The vast majority of us were “them” once, the supposed source of all our nation’s ills, as uncomfortable as that fact might make us. Trump and Musk are like a giant anglerfish, holding out trans people in sports like a big light to distract us until we’re swallowed whole by MAGA stupidity and greed.
So, let’s swim away from the light and take a good look around: In the first 60-odd days of this administration, they’ve pushed us to the brink of recession, handed every American’s Social Security funds over to teenagers who can barely manage their own acne, and spilled national secrets in their DMs. That’s just domestic policy; foreign policy-wise, the Trump administration called our most loyal allies in Europe pathetic, aligned us with North Korea on a crucial resolution at the United Nations, and threw a hissy fit when Ukraine didn’t get down on its knees to beg us for more help. This is the most disastrous start to any American presidency in history.
Millions of retirees may not receive their Social Security checks on time — if they receive them at all. Tens of thousands of servicepeople are at risk because their information is being leaked to Russia, and every last friend of ours is turning into an enemy. None of this happened because of transgender people.
We can argue about the trans community all we want. I myself have complicated thoughts about how we as a society should approach issues of gender and sexuality, and I reject the notion that discomfort over these issues constitutes bigotry. The fact remains, however, that they’re not the ones making our country less safe, our food more expensive, and our economy less secure. Trump and Musk are.
Transgender people are not stripping funding for research into lifesaving allergy remedies, cancer research, and search-and-rescue robots. Trump and Musk are.
When we watch our loved ones gasp for breath as they go into anaphylactic shock, when we watch cancer tear their bodies apart with excruciating pain, when we watch them drown as floodwaters carry them away, think of Trump and Musk. Think of what they are willing to take away from you because they’re angry at a swimmer.
The ambiguity of being FGLI
What does being first-generation, lowincome mean for college students? For me, the identification as “FGLI” is just like any other social identifier. It’s a testament to my educational journey, a mark of my family’s persistence, and a classification I wear with confidence. From my first weeks on campus, I was thrilled to connect with Penn’s FGLI community and the Penn Questbridge Scholars Network. Even though I found many that shared my excitement, the pride of being FGLI in a distinguished institution seemed confined to certain spaces. Peers that once so openly embraced the identity in one club avoided mentioning it entirely in another.
My initial assumption was that many students may feel the sense of shame that’s common in FGLI students all over the country and not just exclusive to Penn’s campus. Yet what I once perceived as a widespread embarrassment of the identity I now recognize to be a distortion of its purpose. The FGLI designation houses a wide umbrella of familial situations that are often defined differently depending on the club, organization, institution, etc. This ambiguity makes college students eager to take advantage of the title primarily when the status comes with worthy benefits.
At Penn, the largest hub that serves firstgeneration and/or low-income students on campus is Penn First Plus. P1P’s definition of FGLI encompasses students who are “first in their families to pursue a four-year baccalaureate degree or come from modest financial circumstances.” It’s a definition that is widely accepted by Penn clubs and often used as a model for defining what FGLI means. This means that students whose parents attended college but undertook less traditional routes (i.e. associates degree, trade school) can still be considered FGLI. Penn First, another first-generation, low-income organization on campus, defines first-generation students as the first in their family to “pursue higher education at an elite institution.” What is deemed as “elite” is completely open to interpretation. For example, students who only consider top-20 colleges as “elite” but still have parents who attended distinguished institutions may consider themselves first-generation. After all, who can truly contest a word that carries such nuance?
“Low-income” is just as vague a terminology as first-generation. Highly Aided students are often most clearly identified as low-income, but there are plenty of other students who may still struggle financially but qualify for less aid. These individuals are stuck in a middle ground, lacking access to certain resources provided by the school yet still facing challenges that strain their college experiences. Others may have home situations that prevent them from receiving any support from family members. In that case, the assets reflected in their application don’t accurately mirror their current circumstances. Because of these inevitable scenarios, P1P acknowledges that the subjective nature of the term “limited income” prevents them from
strictly defining or regulating the term in order to allow for students in these predicaments to make use of their resources. The one downside to such an approach is that students take advantage of its absence of regulations.
With so many loopholes in its definition, the FGLI community is composed of both students whose college experience is contingent on the resources provided by programs like P1P and the wealthier students who take advantage of the obscurity of the status. More than once I’ve stumbled upon a conversation where students admit to avoiding reporting minor property holdings abroad in order to appear more financially “needy” than they actually are. However, we must not forget that FGLI needs do extend outside of financial support. Getting acclimated to a college environment is already daunting, but not having additional support from family members who have experience with the demands of college is another disadvantage. So where exactly do we draw the line between self-advocacy and policing?
No one wishes to create an environment where students feel pressured to justify their use of certain resources. Yet there exists significant discrepancies between those who need institutional support and those who simply game the system.
As universities like Penn struggle to balance accessibility with fairness, this gray area raises critical questions about student privilege and the ethics of resource distribution. Ultimately it is up to students to determine whether they genuinely need these resources. But ask yourself: Are you taking advantage of a system designed to support those with fewer opportunities than you?
If we want to truly level a playing field that has long been uneven, we must realize why these programs are put in place in the first place. The way the student body engages with FGLI resources is not just a reflection on us as individuals, but also on the integrity of the institution.
SANJANA JUVVADI | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Columnist Niheer Patel argues that the University must reevaluate its place in society in the midst of student deportations.
JASON ZHAO is a Wharton junior from Seattle studying finance and computer science. His email address is jaszhao@wharton.upenn.edu.
ALYMA KARBOWNIK is a College first year from Maplewood, N.J. studying international relations and environmental studies. Her email is alymak@sas.upenn.edu.
ABHIRAM JUVVADI | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Columnist Alyma Karbownik delves into the inequities that emerge from the vague definition of the FGLI student experience.
No, you are not in the trenches
LET’S BE FRANC | You are not the problem; your words are
You say you are in the “trenches” during midterms. I took a “shot” at applying for a job, but I am unsure how to “market” myself. You “paid” attention and “invested” time and effort in your lab report. I “killed” my presentation. Our understanding of the world is fundamentally shaped by metaphors so ingrained in language that we barely notice them. As an international student, I unconsciously adopted the metaphors of violence and money prevalent in contemporary English, and this has morphed my understanding and perception of the world. I miss how, in my native language of Italian, I do not “pay” for attention, I lend it (“prestare”); or I do not “spend” time, I pass through it (“trascorrere”).
It is a scientific fact that the more you stare at something, the more your eyes will stop seeing it — language included. In “Metaphors We Live By,” philosophers George Lakoff and Mark Johnson argue
that our everyday thoughts and actions are shaped by a metaphorical conceptual system that structures how we perceive and navigate the world. Put simply, metaphors are not just for poets — we all use them to understand ourselves and our world. The two deeply ingrained systems in contemporary English are ones of dominance (“master” a skill, “hit” a target) and of markets (“invest” time, “sell” yourself). Let me give you my “two cents” about it. At Penn, time is money, a limited resource, and a commodity to use. We “invest” time in clubs, relationships, and applications, but we are “wasting” it if we are not productive. My senior friends would have me believe they are “running out” of time. What if their time just is, unencumbered and unregimented? I do not believe in “having” time; rather, time is something I “make” based on what matters to me.
Metaphors are also directional, since we arbitrarily decided that more is up and less is down (my article views just went “up” by one). For instance, our friendships are additive: We “add” each other on Instagram or Snapchat. Social media friendships are also “requested” or “sent” and certainly not given or built. In some sense, this unilateralism implies a concession, where a superior “up” grants friendship to an inferior “down.” What if we collectively thought of friendships as plants to cultivate, or even better, seeds to diligently plant and patiently nurture?
Another example I must annoy you with is treating the Penn experience, not to say life as a whole, as a container: We want to get the most “out of” it and we hope to live it “to the fullest.” Our own aspirations are also containers we desperately try to “get into” as if we were inferiorly “out.” We forget that only in a strict sense does one get into consulting, let us suppose, and that there is no such thing as getting into consulting; you just consult. It is not surprising, then, that we treat college in the same performative way that the market necessitates of us.
I hope that by now you are calling me pedantic, because perhaps I am. I do not fool myself. After all, what difference does a word make? Well, I cannot help but think that all this talk of winning, getting into clubs, investing time and effort, is at least in part contributing to making us feel irreparably inadequate. I suspect these metaphors are reductionist and mislead us to denote our experiences as mere successes or failures as opposed to what they are: just experiences. However, their ubiquity is good for productivity and they persist. What we are forgetting is that a rose losing its petals does not regard itself as a negative failure just as much as a caterpillar becoming a butterfly does not enjoy a positive success. They both just are. I cannot fail just as much as I cannot succeed. But if we are not our “wins” and our “returns on investments,” then what are we? Who are we? Well, we are, and this is disappointedly it. We are us. Something mysterious, constantly evolving. We tend to see ourselves in terms of our linear
Has Penn corporatized our relationships?
PENN | On love and Penn
While other Ivy League schools take pride in their high marriage rates between students (50% of Princeton students marry another Princeton student), the college marriage market of the elite seems to take less prominence at Penn.
In our limited Penn experience, committed relationships are rare — Penn students are the least likely to get married in the Ivy League, after all. Penn hookup culture is rampant, and it seems no one wants anything “serious.” While friends from home ask, “Have you found your future husband?” friends at Penn discourage “dating” for any amount of time longer than a weekend.
As our cultural attitudes around dating constantly fluctuate, we have little authority in declaring that commitment is the best way to find love and satisfaction. Maybe we don’t need to “go steady,” but it’s worth figuring out why we’re so afraid to.
At the heart of the issue is Penn’s hyper-individualistic culture, which leaves little room for commitment, love, or fulfillment.
Penn students operate almost solely for our own gain. We are obsessed with what clubs and connections can give us rather than what we can contribute in return. We’re all sharks, fighting mercilessly for our own survival, not concerned about anything but ourselves. Meeting people is more about the connections they offer rather than the value of the relationship itself. When we volunteer, we do it for our resumes, not because we are convinced that we are helping to better our community. If we really wanted to make a difference, we would have to sacrifice something — time or comfort, something few are willing to do in the self-centered world of our college.
Penn’s preprofessional campus is obsessed with the allocation of our time. We squeeze coffee chats in the 15-minute breaks between our consulting club
and superficial volunteering, allowing networking goals to take precedence over actual conversation, connection, and bonding. We pack our Google Calendars full until we don’t have time to think about who we are outside of those colored blocks, forgetting that what we take away from the college experience is not the clubs we joined but the people we formed relationships with.
If we cannot even sacrifice time to practice our ethics, how are we supposed to engage in meaningful relationships, the basis of which depends on sacrificing part of ourselves to make us, and the other person, better?
In Penn’s dating scene, self-preservation is the priority; never text first, never reply quicker than they did, and whatever you do, never — under any circumstances — admit you actually like them. Demonstrating that you care more than the person you’re involved with would be losing the upper hand.
Don’t you see it? We’re treating our relationships like a business contract, negotiating terms, all in the name of preserving our own assets. In the economy of Penn dating, the moment you “catch feelings” is the moment your stock plummets. Perhaps we’ve corporatized, or rather Whartonized, connections with one another. It’s become embarrassing to show vulnerability because it’s a liability in our performative dance of indifference. Students are constantly projecting nonchalance and apathy in order to be the one that doesn’t “lose.”
It’s exactly this fear of losing that’s preventing so many of us from genuine connection. Losing control, losing power, losing the upper hand in a dynamic where caring too much feels like a weakness. “Ghost before you get ghosted. Leave before they can leave. Drop them before you get dropped.” Penn’s culture is more about having to stay single,
The art of critical thinking
stay winning, and stay preserving our egos.
But since when did maintaining the upper hand outweigh finding the love (or loves) of your life?
We grew up watching characters race through the streets (“When Harry Met Sally”), confess their love over an intercom (“10 Things I Hate About You”), or write a letter every day for a year (“The Notebook”). These cinematic characters put their egos aside, willing to risk embarrassment for connection, something bigger and more fulfilling than self-interest.
It’s not “negotiate in love,” it’s “fall in love.” Jump before you look. Speak before you think. We learn to love from the people who love us. Those who love you don’t hesitate to help you in a crisis. Our best friends don’t wonder if caring about us makes them look weak.
ASHTI’S AFFIRMATIONS | Taking shortcuts is beginning to replace learning altogether
get everything down.
At first, I hated that class. I couldn’t check my emails or finish up another assignment during lectures. Skipping wasn’t an option, and there were no slides to rely on if I missed something. Every test challenged my understanding of the lectures, the readings, and my ability to critically analyze them.
Yet, by the end of the semester, I had undoubtedly learned a vast amount. I honed my ability to think critically about the material, making it one of the most rewarding academic experiences I’ve ever had.
To most Penn students, that class probably sounds like a nightmare, and at one point, I almost dropped it myself. Why? Because it was tough, and if given the choice between an easy or hard path, most of us would opt for the easier one. Not out of laziness, but because we’re managing other challenges — whether it’s recruiting, internships, extracurriculars, or other demanding classes.
Thus, we tend to take shortcuts to make space for the things we care about. What do I mean by shortcuts? The obvious one is artificial intelligence, but I’m also talking about copying information without comprehension, using SparkNotes instead of reading the material, and memorizing content but not thinking any deeper. When we use these tools as a replacement for learning, it undermines our critical thinking skills.
We lose the art of critical thinking when we rely on shortcuts, and the tradeoff isn’t worthwhile. The ability to form thoughtful opinions is essential in every aspect of life, as is the skill of understanding nuance in any situation. Without these abilities, we lose the very essence of thought and risk becoming mere information processors.
happenings, mistakenly assuming that this defines our existence. It was Spanish novelist Javier Marías who taught me that our lives are also made of our omissions, our unmet desires, and our ineffable voids. We believe we can tell our lives in a reasoned linear way, but as we start to do this, we realize they are crowded with gray areas, unexplained and inexplicable episodes, choices not made, and missed opportunities. We are not only merely what we choose, but also what we have not chosen in the process of choosing.
The truth is that life is, by definition, ineffable. We live in language, but our home is not in language. Language frustrates us. This means we have to be careful when we use language; we have to develop the emotional granularity to understand our experiences, and as I hope I briefly demonstrated to you, our current language sometimes fails us. Replacing deforming metaphors is not easy. We are habituated to the vision of ourselves and the world that it provides, yet no one said it needs to be this way.
How we define a problem is often part of the problem. I am part of the problem if I tell you that I am in the trenches for midterms or that my time on social media was wasted. We have to do the laborious but inevitable exercise of inventing alternative metaphors.
What is at stake when we ask what our language does to us is nothing less than our ability to remain fully human — not merely to communicate with one another, but to understand and live with one another. I am not asking you to be as pleonastic as me, but rather not to be oblivious to the metaphors you live by. I guess all I ask is that you pay attention, that you be mindful of how one small change in the way you talk could change you, us, all.
FRANCESCO SALAMONE is a Wharton junior from Palermo, Italy studying decision processes. His email address is frasala@wharton. upenn.edu.
People who care for us are willing to sacrifice their needs for us. We should be willing to sacrifice our comfort in exchange for something greater, too: a community based on an ethic of love. Relationships are a transformative force, and we should be prioritizing personal relationships over material advancement.
Sure, this all sounds right, but how? We can’t single-handedly change the culture of nonchalance that our generation is so attuned to. However, we can on Penn’s campus. Penn isn’t merely Locust Walk and Huntsman Hall. Penn is us.
Our advice: Reject the instinct to save yourself. Text first and respond fast. Admit you like them. Take the risk even if it makes you feel vulnerable. Vulnerability doesn’t guarantee falling in love, but preserving our egos at all costs guarantees loneliness. If we treat one aspect of our lives like a business deal, we risk treating our relationships like one, too.
Human connection can’t be a game where we save our assets. The apathy wars are killing our ability to connect, and Penn continues to be a battlefield. Be a real soldier and take the risks, not just for yourself, but for others who reap the benefits of your love, too.
TIYYA GEIGER is a College first year from Lancaster, Pa studying political science and history. Her email address is tiyyag@sas. upenn.edu.
PIPER SLINKA-PETKA is a College first year from West Virginia studying health and societies. Her email address is pipersp@sas.upenn. edu.
No shortcut is worth sacrificing that. I could spend 10 minutes reading SparkNotes instead of an hour doing the actual reading, but when I participate in class the next day, my contribution will inevitably be superficial and lacking depth in comparison to the person who labored over each page of the assignment. There should be a greater emphasis on class participation, requiring meaningful and thoughtful contributions to class discussions. Of course, this can only be achieved through smaller classes. But when 70% of College classes are under 25 students, and the other 30% likely have recitations where more interactive participation could happen, the potential is there. These smaller classes and recitations are often more powerful because they offer a better space for discussion and deeper engagement. There’s no simple fix, but pushing students to move away from shortcuts could help steer us in the right direction.
College administration is even advocating for adjustments to adapt to the age of AI, where we can incorporate creative elements in assignments to make them “ChatGPT-proof.” This effort to standardize AI policies raises a larger question about what students should be gaining from higher education, which should certainly include the development of critical thinking skills.
This is a positive step because while we can’t ignore AI, adapting our learning processes so that AI remains a tool rather than a replacement will ensure it doesn’t diminish our knowledge as students.
It’s worth noting that for some students, higher education isn’t just about learning. In many cases, it’s the opportunities that come with it, and I even recently
argued how students should be taking greater advantage of preprofessionalism. In situations where academics aren’t the main focus, taking shortcuts can lighten the load, allowing students to dedicate more time to what matters most to them. However, critical thinking is a skill everyone will need in every area of life. College is the perfect place to practice the ability to take in new information and challenge it. I’m not suggesting you take the exact class I mentioned earlier, but I encourage you to think twice before relying on shortcuts and instead use your judgment to assess information.
That said, it’s not just academics where shortcuts can be tempting. Professional and personal skills should also be developed naturally, as these are crucial for long-term career success and personal growth. My main point is, don’t shortcut the things you truly care about. Spend time with them, engage deeply, and you’ll find that the critical thinking skills you build along the way will serve you for a lifetime. Challenge, critique, or embrace ideas because you’ve formed that opinion yourself, not because of AI or another online source. The art of critical thinking is a valuable and ever-evolving skill, so don’t lose it by relying on shortcuts.
ASHTI TIWARI is a College sophomore from Corning, N.Y. studying philosophy, politics, and economics. Her email address is ashti@ sas.upenn.edu.
GRACE CHEN | SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER
Columnist Francesco Salamone emphasizes the importance of recognizing the language and metaphor influences that shape our perceptions.
JEAN PARK | MULTIMEDIA EDITOR
Senior columnists Tiyya Geiger and Piper SlinkaPetka explore how Penn’s intense individualistic and preprofessional culture corporatizes dating and relationships.
BENJAMIN MCAVOY-BICKFORD | DP FILE PHOTO Columnist Ashti Tiwari discusses how taking shortcuts is replacing critical thinking.
A 2023 tax document shows that Canary Mission — a website that “may be providing road maps for ICE” — received $100,000 from the spouse of a Penn trustee’s family foundation
ISHA CHITIRALA AND FINN RYAN Senior Reporters
The family foundation of a University Board of Trustees member donated $100,000 to the proIsraeli “blacklist” group Canary Mission, tax documents show.
According to a 2023 tax document — which was first reported on by The Intercept — Canary Mission received a $100,000 donation from the Natan and Lidia Peisach Family Foundation. The foundation’s treasurer, 1988 Wharton graduate Jaime Peisach, is the husband of 1987 Wharton graduate and Penn Trustee Cheryl Peisach.
Since 2014, Canary Mission has identified and investigated “people and groups that promote hatred of the USA, Israel and Jews,” according to its website. The organization’s “Ethics Policy” page says that the group obtains its information through “open sources on the internet” — including social media posts, articles, and other media. The site publishes such information of individuals and organizations it considers proponents of anti-Israeli activism — a practice critics have labeled as “doxxing.”
Canary Mission has numerous webpages dedicated to Penn, including a “campaign” page that describes the “rising tide of antisemitism” at the University. The site lists the contact information
of senior University administrators and profiles numerous Penn students and faculty.
“Shockingly, since the Oct. 7th attack, UPenn, along with a number of other prominent Ivy League schools, has been a bastion of SUPPORT for Hamas and their horrific attack,” the page reads. “Large numbers of students and faculty – in statements and rallies – have justified the attack, which they condoned as legitimate ‘resistance.’”
In addition to its 2023 donation to Canary Mission, the Natan and Lidia Peisach Family Foundation donated $200,000 to Penn and $180,000 to the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces organization. Requests for comment were left with Jaime and Cheryl Peisach. Both a University spokesperson and Board of Trustees Chair Ramanan Raghavendran declined a request for comment.
In January, 1968 Wharton graduate and President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to identify and deport non-citizen participants of pro-Palestinian protests. Two months later, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the State Department had revoked more than 300 student visas, including
those of students who participated in pro-Palestinian activism on college campuses.
Since then, about a dozen students, faculty, and researchers from universities across the country have been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
descriptions of more than 15 members of Penn’s faculty and staff — each with links to further personal information. Additional profiles identify over two dozen Penn students, including signatories of a pro-Palestinian open letter circulated by student organizers.
According to a recent analysis by The New York Times, immigration lawyers and experts have noted “coincidences that suggest to them that the information circulated by Canary Mission … may be providing road maps for ICE enforcement actions.”
In addition to her position on the Board of Trustees, Cheryl Peisach formerly served on the Wharton Undergraduate Executive Board and co-chairs the programming committee for the Trustees’ Council of Penn Women. Her husband, Jaime Peisach, formerly served on the Wharton School’s Executive Board for Latin America.
1986 Engineering graduate Alberto Peisach serves as the president of the Natan and Lidia Peisach Family Foundation, and 1991 College graduate Monica Peisach Sasson serves as vice president. Sasson is also a current member of the Board of Advisors for Penn’s Center for High Impact Philanthropy.
Requests for comment were left with Sasson and Alberto Peisach.
Canary Mission currently features full-length
PENN MED, from front page
in the directory. According to the lawsuit, Penn Med is “well-known and prestigious” and being on the directory “would help him reach many additional potential patients.”
The site also criticized the aftermath of the Palestine Writes Literature Festival, which was held on Penn’s campus in September 2023 to celebrate Palestinian writers and performers while discussing their right to national independence. Canary Mission describes the event as a showcase of “virulently antisemitic and anti-Israel speakers.”
Shortly before the festival, former Penn President Liz Magill sent an email to the University community expressing concern about antisemitic vandalism found at Penn Hillel and pledging support to Penn’s Jewish community. In her message — though not referring to the festival by name — Magill acknowledged that the antisemitic incidents coincided with upcoming visits to campus by “controversial speakers.”
The day before the festival, several members of the Peisach family, including Jaime Peisach, signed an open letter addressed to Magill criticizing the “platforming” of the festival, which the letter described as hosting “known antisemitic speakers.”
The complaint contended that Penn’s endorsement of “racial concordance” — which occurs when a patient shares a race or ethnicity with their doctor — caused “the deprivation of valuable economic benefit for non-black doctors.” The suit also alleged that the reasoning behind the exclusion “sows distrust” into the relationship between patients and doctors who are not of the same race.
On April 9, WURD Radio responded to the lawsuit in a statement that noted its commitment to “tirelessly” addressing gaps within health care. The company emphasized its continued support of the directory, writing that it is an “important and needed contribution” to the health of Philadelphia residents.
YVAN PHAN | STAFF DESIGNER
ANNA VAZHAEPARAMBIL | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Penn Med is being sued after creating an online directory of Black doctors.
High School of the Future and Horace Howard Furness High School — both within the School District of Philadelphia — were selected to participate in The Academy at Penn, a fve-year educational initiative
LYAN
did anything “wrong” or “illegal” that would result in status terminations.
Two Philadelphia high schools have been named inaugural participants in The Academy at Penn, a college and career readiness program for students from underserved communities set to launch this spring.
Inc. was awarded $3.5 million to develop the initiative, and CPRE was granted $1 million to evaluate its success.
monitoring and investigating all reports and providing appropriate support to people when these incidents arise,” the email stated. “This is an extremely unsettling time for international students and scholars at Penn and in the United States. Know that we will make every effort to provide you with timely guidance about recent immigration policy changes.”
On April 6, ISSS launched a “SEVIS Termination
F.A.Q.” webpage to provide guidance to international students on what to do if their visa is revoked. The website states that a SEVIS revocation indicates that an individual’s “F-1 or J-1 immigration record is no longer active,” which “usually happens when a student is out of compliance with U.S. immigration rules.”
“A terminated SEVIS record means you are out of status and can’t legally study, work, or remain in the U.S.,” the website states. “Depending on the circumstances, you may begin to accumulate unlawful presence from the date of termination.”
The site notes that “in cases triggered by outside agencies, the termination may happen without notice,” adding that some visa revocations are “automatic and triggered by outside agencies” — including the Department of State or law enforcement databases.
According to the SEVIS website, once a student visa is terminated, the individual must leave the United States immediately and is not allowed to reenter. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are also authorized to investigate and verify the student’s departure, the site states.
That email — sent by Emanuel and Associate Vice Provost for Global Initiatives Amy Gadsden — added that the University was in “communication with government officials to convey how unsettling these policies are for our community.”
Several Penn faculty members condemned the recent student visa revocations in interviews with the DP.
Professor of History and Sociology of Science Harun Küçük — who formerly served as the faculty director of the Middle East Center before resigning in 2023 — described the situation as “terrifying,” but “entirely expected.”
Immigration attorney and University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School lecturer Nicole Simon similarly said the situation was “unprecedented” and “alarming.” She added that visa cancellations have historically not affected student statuses — defined as a student‘s ability to remain in the United States — and stated that the decision left students “in limbo.” Simon also questioned the legality and constitutionality of the “frightening path that the government is going down” and noted that there is no proof that any of the students who have faced visa revocations
Presidential Penn Compact Professor of Political Science Erik Wibbels described the revocations as “political theater” and said they were “unconstitutional and meant to intimidate people.” Küçük similarly questioned “whether these [cancellations and revocations] follow due process or whether they are entirely arbitrary.”
Faculty members also highlighted concerns that the Trump administration’s broader immigration policies would lead to a “brain drain” if international students are disincentivized from coming and staying in the United States for work or study. Simon, noting the difficulty of the visa process, speculated that “a lot of these students are going to opt to leave” — and added that they are “probably not going to want to come back.”
“Penn and universities like it in the U.S. are just not going to be attractive to international students,” Wibbels said. “We want to be institutions that attract the best and the brightest, and it’s kind of pathetic to imagine that we’re not going to be able to attract such students. They’re not going to want to come here.”
Professor of Sociology Wendy Roth described the policies as an “absolute travesty” and said they would cause the United States to lose its “leadership position at the forefront of innovation, scientific discovery, and the creation of knowledge.”
“We’ve attracted people from around the world to the United States to study at our universities, and now we are very quickly, in one fell swoop, losing a lot of that reputation that has taken decades and decades to build,” Roth said. “I think it is absolutely one of the most horrendous things that I have experienced.”
Wibbels also said that he believes that these policies would discourage international students, who feel “too intimidated to be involved at this point in broader programming,” from getting involved with on-campus activism and politics.
Local and state politicians also criticized the recent federal action.
Pennsylvania state Rep. Tarik Khan (D-Philadelphia), who received a Ph.D. from the School of Nursing in 2022, wrote in a statement to the DP that “it’s despicable to watch the attack on our freedoms by this regime, including at Penn — these assaults are radical and un-American.”
Other Pennsylvania state House Democrats echoed Khan’s sentiment, referencing the impact that the Trump administration’s actions have had on their communities and higher education institutions.
“I’m horrified by the Trump Administration’s actions that are hurting many of our communities, including our college campuses,” Pennsylvania state Speaker of the House Joanna McClinton (DPhiladelphia) wrote in a statement to the DP. “The seemingly indiscriminate revocation of student visas will have a devastating effect not just on individual students, but on our nation’s world-class higher education sector.”
Some officials criticized the University’s lack
High School of the Future and Horace Howard Furness High School — both within the School District of Philadelphia — were selected to participate in The Academy at Penn, a five-year educational initiative designed to support firstgeneration college students. Participants will receive year-round support in academics, social and emotional services, career exposure, and postsecondary transitions.
The program is designed to serve up to 200 students. As of March 28, an initial cohort of 25 students was selected based on their performances during their first year of high school.
Director of Penn Graduate School of Education’s Office of School and Community Engagement Caroline Watts emphasized that the program seeks students who are academically “in the middle” in an interview with The Daily Pennsylvanian.
“We have always wanted to target this program to students … who may be academically competent, but [are] not getting support that would help them as first-gen students and as students who … might benefit from a different kind of opportunity,” she said.
The Academy at Penn was developed in collaboration with GSE, the Consortium for Policy Research in Education, the School District of Philadelphia, and the nonprofit Foundations, Inc. The program is fully funded by philanthropist Robert Schwartz, who serves as president of the Schwartz Creed Foundation. Foundations,
of response in supporting members of the Penn community affected by recent federal actions. Pennsylvania state Rep. Chris Rabb (D-Philadelphia) called on Penn to “leverage its vast resources to protect and otherwise support students” in the face of “harassment and potentially illegal actions by federal agents and their accomplices.”
Philadelphia City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, who represents Philadelphia’s third district — which includes University City — acknowledged that while Penn’s recently launched Know Your Rights website is valuable, it alone is not enough.
“We’ve seen other universities sue the president and successfully counter his hateful, cruel, and legally questionable actions,” Gauthier said. ”Penn needs to show the same type of strength and fight in this moment, and they need to do that to protect their mission but also to protect their students.”
Pennsylvania state Sen. Nikil Saval (D-Philadelphia) echoed Gauthier’s sentiments.
“I hope that [Penn is] forthright and in condemning these actions and working with impacted students to complete their coursework and degrees and ensuring the safety of all students,” Saval said.
“Imagine what it must feel like to be in the shoes of these students,” Gauthier said. “They come here legally to learn. They get their visas. They want to do what every college kid is trying to do and what every
Once selected, students will engage in a variety of activities, including programs aimed to promote academic success, well-being, and college and career readiness. During the school year, students will attend Saturday classes and summer programming on Penn’s campus. The program will also offer project-based learning, personalized mentorship, and internship opportunities.
To further support students, participating schools will be assigned a program counselor to assist with the demands of high school and the transition to college or the workforce. GSE representatives will also oversee the program’s social services support, summer and Saturday programming, and college and career initiatives.
Watts described the process for selecting the two inaugural schools, noting that “a group of 20 schools were identified that then was honed down to six and six schools.” The process also focused on city-wide and comprehensive schools rather than selective or special-admission institutions.
While not a direct pipeline to studying at Penn, The Academy at Penn equips students with the skills, resources, and networks to pursue higher education and various career pathways.
“We’re excited to open the campus and open our experiences, to learn from and with these young people,” Watts said. “We hope that the Penn community, equally, will be excited about welcoming them here, getting to know them, and opening all of ourselves up to thinking about the future for youth in our city.”
immigrant is trying to do — build a better life for themselves, their families, [and] their communities. And then, without warning, their visas are revoked, and now somehow they’re here illegally and can be rounded up by ICE and sent to prison.”
In reference to his concerns on the future of higher education, Pennsylvania state Rep. Ben Waxman (DPhiladelphia) wrote that “international students are a critical part of Philadelphia’s academic community.”
“The crackdown on international students that has begun under this administration is shortsighted and will ultimately hurt our nation’s ability to attract people from around the world to attend our institutions of higher learning. This is not a good thing,” Waxman added.
In February, Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to identify and deport noncitizen participants in pro-Palestinian protests.
“To all the resident aliens who joined in the pro-jihadist protests, we put you on notice: come 2025, we will find you, and we will deport you,” Trump said in the fact sheet for the order. “I will also quickly cancel the student visas of all Hamas sympathizers on college campuses, which have been infested with radicalism like never before.”
Since then, nearly a dozen pro-Palestinian student organizers and professors across the country have been detained by ICE agents and deported.
ALEKHA CHOKSEY | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
The Academy at Penn will launch this spring.
for this short-term need now.”
Financial delegates from Penn’s Medical Emergency Response Team, the Student Activities
The UA received a 5% funding cut for the upcoming
the rally. “This gathering is a testament to the fact that our campus and all campuses must continue striving for a future free from sexual violence and harassment, a goal we share.”
The event began at 4 p.m. with a resource fair on Locust Walk and College Green, where student groups and advocacy organizations distributed materials and connected students with support services. Despite the cloudy weather, dozens of people stopped to engage with representatives at each table.
At 5:30 p.m., a crowd gathered near the Ben Franklin statue for the rally. Speakers addressed the lasting impact of interpersonal violence, the strength of survivors, and the importance of community accountability.
Millan AbiNader, a speaker at the event, reflected on how Take Back the Night has evolved over the years.
“This feels a lot more activist and connected to other movements and not isolated,” AbiNader said. “The most important thing about Take Back the Night is that no one is alone, that silence isn’t okay, and there’s always someone that will be there to talk with you if you need support.”
At 6 p.m., the Penn Band led participants in a march throughout campus. Protesters carried signs and chanted as they moved past Van Pelt-Dietrich Library and along Locust Walk. Some students joined the march or stood in solidarity, while others watched from the steps of College Hall or from inside Houston
Council, the Social Planning and Events Committee, and other entities presented their proposed budget cuts, followed by a brief Q-andA session after each speaker.
The budget reallocation plan included an almost 7% decrease in SPEC funding — a total reduction of $83,350 — with a $15,000 cut from SPEC’s concerts talent category, which helps fund the annual Spring Fling festival.
SAC will also experience a cut of around 2%, or $32,000, according to a spreadsheet provided at the meeting.
The Nominations and Elections Committee proposed a $4,500 cut to its funds, which would account for a 49% decrease in the organization’s original allocation.
“We are cutting about half of our budget, it hurts to say,” an NEC representative said. “But we recognize the importance of this. This is an unprecedented situation, and we’re willing to make some of these sacrifices.”
MERT plans to decrease its equipment and supplies allocation from $12,300 to $11,750 and fully cut its modernization fund, which was previously budgeted for $1,700. The change amounted to a $2,250 overall reduction in its budget, marking nearly 12% of its previously allocated funds.
The four class boards plan to cut $21,000 from their budgets, with a $1,000 reduction from the
first year events fund, $7,000 from both the sophomore and senior events funds, and $6,000 from the junior events fund.
“It’s important to notice that there are denominators and numerators here,” College junior and UA Speaker Leo Solga said. “It looks as though the sophomore and senior [funds] are cutting about the same. But when it comes to percentages, it varies widely. There’s an effort to preserve senior spending capability due to Feb Club and other such traditions.”
The UA itself decreased its budget by 15%, completely defunding UA Steering’s original allocation of $400 and UA Operations’ $500 budget.
The Student Committee on Undergraduate Education and Penn Labs plan to reduce their budgets by about 10% and 11%, respectively.
The budget reallocation also proposed a 60% decrease in funding for pre-orientation programs, cutting funding for PennGenEq and Penn Global Mosaic scholarship programs from $2,500 to $1,000 — a $3,000 overall decrease.
“My understanding is that we have quite a lot of leeway and flexibility [with amendment procedures] because we are not passing the budget,” Solga said. “These are not budget meetings. Technically speaking, what we’re in is an ‘emergency meeting.’”
The UA will host a second budget meeting on April 9 to finalize the amended budget.
Students carried posters during the Take Back the Night march on April 3.
Hall as the group passed by.
The march ended at Houston Hall with a moment of silence and candlelight vigil. Participants formed a circle outside to mourn those impacted by sexual violence, and the event concluded with a “Survivor Speakout,” where students and community members
shared personal testimonies.
College senior Valeria Andrango, a member of Sigma Lambda Upsilon, also known as Señoritas Latinas Unidas Sorority, Inc., told The Daily Pennsylvanian that the event’s inclusion of diverse voices was particularly important.
“A lot of the time, when we think about sexual violence and what it means for our communities, we don’t take into consideration different intersectional aspects of our identity and what that looks like,” Andrango said. “I’m really glad that all the organizations came together to provide this space for students.”
JUSTIN ABENOJA | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
academic year.
CONNIE ZHAO | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Track and field dominates in Transatlantic Series meet against athletes from the United Kingdom
Junior thrower Angeludi Asaah broke the all-time Penn record for shot put twice in the meet
SAMANTHA WICKHAM
Sports Associate
In a fun display of athleticism, tradition, and international camaraderie, Penn track and field delivered standout performances this past Friday in one of collegiate athletics’ most storied meets: the Transatlantic Series.
With more than 100 years in its history, this competition brought together student-athletes from Penn and Cornell to face off against the Achilles Club — a joint squad composed of track and field athletes from Oxford and Cambridge Universities in the United Kingdom. Hosted at Franklin Field, this lighthearted invitational meet provided both veterans and young talent the opportunity to showcase their skills.
The meet wasn’t just a source of new competition, as it was also a fun experience for the athletes from all the schools involved. Many Quakers opened their homes to visiting athletes from the United Kingdom, hosting them throughout the weekend and forming connections that extended far beyond the track. This special tradition, rooted in over one century of shared athletic history, added a personal and cultural depth that made the event stand out from a typical meet.
“It brings back the fun in the sport; it’s so cool competing with athletes from different countries, and competing for something bigger than ourselves,” said junior distance runner Anna Weirich, who partook in this tradition for the first time this season. “It really shows what a great sport and community track and field is, and how the team aspect
CONNOR , from back page
Big Ten championship victory in 2022 as well as multiple NCAA tournament games. During his time at Iowa, Connor McCaffery played with his brother, Patrick McCaffery, and amassed numerous records, including the second-best assist-to-turnover ratio in NCAA history. Off the court, his years in Iowa City, Iowa were just as meaningful, as this was when he met his current girlfriend, women’s basketball star Caitlin Clark, who now plays for the Indiana Fever.
After his playing career, Connor McCaffery took a job as basketball development coordinator for the Indiana Pacers in 2023, where his role consisted of running the scout team and working out with the active roster. Currently, he serves as an assistant coach at Butler, a position he has held since 2024.
Two paths, one playbook
Like his father, Connor McCaffery also played college basketball before transitioning into coaching. For Fran McCaffery, he played one season at Wake Forest before transferring to play at Penn. From there, he would go on to coach four different programs to the NCAA tournament — Lehigh, UNC Greensboro, Siena, and Iowa.
The parallels between father and son could not be more striking — a shared vision, high basketball intelligence quotient, and relentless competitiveness. When reminiscing about Connor McCaffery’s time playing under his father, former Penn men’s basketball coach
FRAN, from back page
Penn. McCaffery acknowledged the changing circumstances at hand in college basketball, particularly the Ivy League’s policies against merit-based scholarships and revenue sharing, but endorsed the commitment of the current team and its desire to contend at the national level.
“I think we know that we have some challenges with regard to being a need-based institution in a world where guys are getting paid,” McCaffery said. “There’s still an interest. We have an
is such a big part of it.”
While the meet was much more than just the competition, the day was still marked by success from the Red and Blue with the friendly environment providing many Quakers with the opportunity to put their best foot forward. The Penn-Cornell combination women’s track and field team ended the day with a win, outscoring their foreign competitors 14-5, while the Penn men’s track and field defeated the Achilles Club 13-5.
The afternoon opened with a first-place title in men’s javelin for junior thrower Atticus Soehren, who recorded a personal best mark of 66.86 meters.
In the next event, the success for the Red and Blue continued with another personal best performance from freshman sprinter Mary Rozier who finished second in the long-jump, jumping 5.95m. Rozier went on to also place second in the 100m dash, raking in another top-three finish for the Quakers with a time of 12.02 seconds.
Contributions from rookie Quakers did not stop there, as freshman jumper Zofia Limbert achieved another firstplace finish for Penn with a personal-best mark of 1.71m in the high jump. The men saw success in this event too.
Senior and sophomore jumpers Conrad Moore and Mark Hellwig hit a one-two punch with marks of 2.11m and 2.06m respectively in the high-jump.
Penn veterans also made their presence known. Junior thrower Angeludi Asaah continued what has been a season
Bob Weinhauer noted the similarities between Fran and Connor McCaffery’s game; in particular, one game against Stanford stood out.
“They’ve got the ball, and they’re going to hold for the last shot and try to win the game. He steals it, goes down, gets fouled, makes the foul shot. We win the game,” Weinhauer said. “Those are the things that Franny did, and his son, Connor, played just like it. Yeah, Connor was, to me, the heart of the Iowa basketball program, because he understood the game so well.”
Bloodlines and baselines
There’s no denying that Connor and Fran McCaffery’s close relationship has played a key role in shaping Connor McCaffery’s basketball journey. From coaching him at Iowa to mentoring him beyond the court, Fran McCaffery has been a steady presence every step of the way. And for Connor McCaffery, the admiration is clear — his respect and fondness for his father are woven into both his playing days and his path to coaching.
“It’s exciting. You could see in the press conference how much it means to him. Obviously, he was incredibly emotional, and we still hear stories. Siblings and I joke about it. My mom — we joke about it. He remembers everything that happened in this building,” Connor McCaffery said.
“The Cathedral of College Basketball — there’s no better feeling from me seeing him to be able to do that.”
Connor McCaffery also emphasized how much more important it was for his father to play in Philadelphia, and in particular, at the Palestra.
“I always wanted to play here because of all the stories.
… We played Penn State here when I was at Iowa, and the feel and the aura of [the Palestra] is special. … You just
incredible group of young men.”
“They recognize the value of what we offer, and that’s what we’re going to be selling,” he added. “Yeah, OK, we didn’t opt into the [House v. NCAA] settlement. We get that. But that doesn’t mean we’re gonna stop competing. That doesn’t mean we don’t expect to play and do everything we can to beat those teams. That’s what these guys want to do.”
McCaffery took time to reiterate to reporters that building relationships with his players and searching for missing pieces on the roster will be one of his staff’s main focuses heading into the coming months.
“The only way the players are gonna want to stay
of dominant performances breaking the school record not once but twice, finishing first in shot put for the Quakers. Asaah recorded a personal-best fifth-round mark of 16.52m after first breaking the record by putting 16.07m in the third round.
In the distance events, sophomore and freshman distance runners Sarah Fischer and Kate Hos finished second and third respectively in the 2000m
Senior pole vaulter Meghan Hart and sophomore pole vaulter Evangeline Thomson tied for second place in that event with a mark of 4.08m, a personal record for both Quakers.
A day of personal records continued on the track when junior sprinter Christiana Nwachuku placed first in the 400m race, recording a time of 54.48 seconds. This moved Nwachuku to No. 7 on Penn’s all-time performance list.
Back on the field, junior thrower Stella Inman claimed second place in both discus and hammer throw. Inman achieved a personal best of 44.63m in the discus and 50.22m in the hammer. On the men’s side, senior thrower Scott Dochat also set a personal record of 62.42m in the hammer throw, finishing in first place and coming in at No. 2 on Penn’s all-time performance list.
Connor McCaffery, son of Fran
April 7. have an appreciation for Penn basketball,” Connor McCaffery said. “Being in a place of such rich history, I think, is going to be a great place for him to be because ultimately, that’s where he wants to be.”
Anything is on the table
Although Connor McCaffery will be coaching for at least another year at Butler, he acknowledged that anything was on the table for his coaching career, including the possibility of reuniting with his father on the sidelines. Jack McCaffery, Fran McCaffery’s youngest son, will be playing at Butler beginning in the 2025-26 season.
“I’m at Butler now but definitely not closed off to anything at some point,” Connor McCaffery said. “I know
[Fran McCaffery’s] got his staff set to this point, but I [got to] hang out with my little brother. He’s coming to Butler, so I [got to] stick with him for now.”
The McCaffery family is a story of legacy, loyalty, and love for the game. Whether Connor McCaffery ultimately chooses to follow directly in his father’s footsteps or continue forging his own path, one thing is clear: The game runs deep in the McCaffery bloodline.
As the eldest son, Connor McCaffery has already begun to echo Fran McCaffery’s journey, building his own coaching career and keeping the possibility of a future reunion open. The McCafferys have proven that basketball isn’t just a profession; rather, it’s a family tradition.
is if they are treated with respect,” McCaffery said.
“If they’re coached the right way, and they feel like they are getting better, and they’re enjoying the journey. That’s what we’re going to do; after four years, they would want to do it all over again.”
“First thing would be to develop relationships with my players and the recruits that we will sign, and add a couple guys out of the portal to fill needs, hire a staff,” he said.
Tristan Spurlock, McCaffery’s incoming lead assistant coach who followed him from Iowa to Penn, also expressed excitement for the current roster as well as at the prospect of new additions.
“We’re excited for all the guys to be here,” Spurlock said. “I had a great conversation with [senior guard/forward] Ethan [Roberts]. I’ve had great conversations with a lot of the guys over text. … We’re already getting to work. We’ve got some
things already lined up, visits already scheduled.
It’s time to get to it.”
McCaffery and his staff will have adjustments to make as they aim to develop the Quakers into an Ivy League contender. But in some ways, returning to the place where it all began for the legendary coach will be just like old times.
At the end of the press conference, McCaffery was asked if he would consider restoring the team’s tradition of hosting a pregame meal at Smokey Joe’s, Penn’s on-campus bar and a frequent weekend destination for students. A photo of McCaffery from his playing days is one of many athlete photos that adorn the walls.
“That would be my first choice,” McCaffery said with a smile. “I don’t know if our nutritionist would agree, or our strength coach. But it’s worth a conversation.”
LYDIA TONG | SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER
Jameson welcomed McCaffery at his first press conference on April 7.
KENNY CHEN | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Nwachuku competed in the Penn Challenge on March 22.
LYDIA TONG | SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER
McCaffery, attended the press conference at the Palestra on
From the weight room to the lecture hall: How Penn student-athletes schedule their classes
A deep dive into the schedules of Penn’s Division I student-athletes
HANNAH CHANG
Sports Associate
5 a.m. 5:15 a.m. 5:50 a.m.
Three morning alarms ring.
Junior swimmer Emma Stolberg, senior wide receiver Jared Richardson, and sophomore heavyweight rower RJ Sylak wake up.
Stolberg makes her bed and cleans her room before heading to Van Pelt-Dietrich Library to do homework. Usually around this time the swimming and diving team goes to practice, but because Sheerr Pool is under renovation for this school year, the team has had to practice at Drexel. This year’s practice schedule looks different, so Stolberg can have a bit more time to study in the morning.
Richardson takes a shower and eats four hardboiled eggs and fruit for breakfast.
Sylak gets ready for the 15-30 minute bus ride to Boathouse Row, several miles away along the Schuylkill River. It’s where the team practices, because the boats, or shells, are housed there. Today, he might bike there.
6:30 a.m.
Sylak leaves for practice.
6:50 a.m. Richardson leaves for the football team’s first meeting.
8:50 a.m.
Stolberg heads to swim practice at the Drexel pool.
10:50 a.m.
Stolberg and Richardson finish their respective morning practices. Stolberg gets ready for classes. Richardson takes a much-needed nap for one hour.
“After football, I’m dead tired,” he said. “I take a nap every day. … I don’t think there’s more than, I’d say, like 15 days where, in season and out of season … I didn’t take a nap.”
From after 12 p.m., the three athletes’ schedules diverge.
Depending on the day, Stolberg and Sylak might have afternoon practices for another two hours. Depending on the semester and whether or not they have swim meets, rowing races (called regattas), or football games, the three student-athletes’ practice schedules change, and their weekends may be taken up by travel.
With chunks of their day dedicated to their sport, classes have to fit in the time left over.
Penn football is not allowed to take classes before 12 p.m. On days when the rowing team practices morning and afternoon, there’s only time for 10:15 a.m., 12 p.m., or evening classes for Sylak. Sometimes, swimmers will have to go straight to class after practice. Dripping wet, hair frozen in the winter, smelling of chlorine, and somehow having to concentrate on Math 1400.
Coach Kelly Killion departs
“Swimmers … may be the most productive people you have ever met,” Stolberg said, “because the scheduling — it sucks.”
And it does “suck” to have to pass on classes because of sports.
Instead of taking Spanish in high school, which would have counted toward her Penn language requirement, Stolberg had to take Malagasy, which was held twice a week instead of three. Many athletes take the class for the same reason she did: It just fit better into their schedules.
Sylak had to postpone a major requirement class — OIDD 2200 — to next semester so that he would miss only one practice every week instead of two.
For a sport such as rowing, players missing practice can mess up the whole team. In a sport where groups of eight or four athletes race together, rowers need to form a sense of unity with one another, so the groups in each boat are kept relatively consistent. “If you’re gone because you have class,” Sylak said, “that puts a big detriment on the boat and on the team as a whole.”
An early bird, Richardson would much rather take 8:30 a.m. classes and 10:15 a.m. classes to end the day early, but he can’t due to football practice in the mornings.
“I don’t have the luxury to do that,” he said.
In between and after classes, student-athletes work on assignments whenever they can, making use of any few hours they have left in a day.
“You just get it done when you get it done,” Sylak said.
Stolberg barely has time to eat, often consuming egg bites, protein bars, and cheese sticks to hold her over until dinner, when sometimes she feels like she’s a “massive football player eating anything in sight.”
When seeing her non-student-athlete roommate cook dinner, Stolberg remembered that it was normal to be able to cook dinner.
“I would love to have time to cook a meal,” Stolberg said.
Sylak also acknowledges that student-athletes “make a lot of sacrifices, you know, beyond sort of the normal weekend stuff.”
In another life, he would’ve considered studying abroad for a semester like some of his friends. But, as a rower, he has to stay on campus even over spring break to practice and compete.
For Richardson, who hopes to play football professionally, there is nothing else that could compete
for his time outside of classes and football. He understands that everyone, even among his teammates, has different priorities, but for someone who wants to take his passion to the highest level, Richardson keeps himself on a strict schedule.
“My fraternity is the football team,” he said. “I obsess over football.”
That doesn’t mean he, or any other student-athlete, doesn’t have a life outside of their sports. Richardson is doing his capstone project this semester, studying slavery and the conditions of transatlantic slave ships. He hopes to go into health care administration in the future. Stolberg is part of a sorority, and though she isn’t as involved as she would like because of time constraints, she still does hang out with her bigs. Sylak is involved in a myriad of clubs, including but not limited to Wharton Undergraduates in Public Policy and Wharton Undergraduate Aerospace Club.
Student-athletes have to use their time wisely, and that means making different decisions than others around them. Stolberg attends classes even when she’s sick because all of her excused absences have to be used for swimming and diving meets. Both Sylak and Richardson are not involved in greek life on campus, going to bed earlier than the average college student.
“It’s really funny,” Sylak said. “Because there will be things happening in a group chat for a class project, and you’ll just wake up to 30 unread messages, and you’re trying to piece your way through what happened after you went to sleep.”
There are also conflicts in their personal lives or breaks with athletic commitments beyond class scheduling. Stolberg’s younger sister half-jokingly asked her to “quit swimming,” so they could have time to call. Stolberg said she consistently feels like she’s running around with her head slightly cut off, Sylak has to compete even during finals and into the beginning of June, and Richardson has to be on campus for parts of the summer for 6 a.m. workouts — for which he wakes up at 4:30 a.m. But these small sacrifices are worth it for their sports.
“It’s a lot, but I signed up. I chose this life and decided to be a college football player, and I’m gonna live with it,” Richardson said.
9:30 p.m. Lights out.
Penn women’s basketball to be American’s head coach
Killion served two stints as an assistant coach for Penn women’s basketball
AVERY BROBBEY AND SAMANTHA WICKHAM
Sports Associates
ANNA VAZHAEPARAMBIL | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Killion led Penn women’s basketball in its team huddle before facing Yale on Feb. 17, 2023.
After 11 seasons with Penn women’s basketball, coach Kelly Killion is set to become the head coach of women’s basketball at American University.
Killion, who was promoted to recruiting coordinator and associate head coach in 2022, has left an impressive mark on the program over the past decade. Killion held especially close ties to the Penn women’s basketball head coach Mike McLaughlin, for whom she played in college before being hired at Penn.
Before coaching, Killion earned her countless recognitions playing for Holy Family University during her undergraduate years, including being named two-time Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Player of the Year and receiving a Holy Family Athletics Hall of Fame honor in 2021.
After her distinguished basketball career at Holy Family, Killion began her coaching career as an assistant coach at Penn under McLaughlin for the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons.
She then left the Red and Blue to become an assistant coach at Sacred Heart University for the 2012-13 season, before serving as recruiting coordinator at William & Mary for the following three seasons.
Both teams greatly benefited from Killion’s guidance. At Sacred Heart, Killion’s coaching aided in leading the team to its first-ever appearance at the Women’s National Invitational Tournament. At William & Mary, Killion helped produce two back-to-back record-setting seasons with 15 wins each, the fourth most in program history. Killion could not stay away from Philadelphia, though, as she returned as assistant coach for the Quakers in 2016.
“She’s what you saw now, an energetic, really talented athlete, a winner [in] every part of her,” McLaughlin told The Daily Pennsylvanian. “She’s just older in a different role, but she shared the same traits that made her such a special player and why I was so attracted to having her with us.”
“Being back at Penn, it’s home for me. It’s where I started my career,” Killion said at the time. “It’s just one of those things where it was the right fit — it’s a great feeling to be back.”
Killion’s second run as assistant coach was impactful as she aided in leading Penn women’s basketball to an Ivy League title and NCAA tournament appearance in the 2016-17 season.
Killion was also integral to the program’s
shared Ivy League regular-season title with Princeton in the 2018-19 season, after finishing 12-2 in conference play. The Quakers received an invitation to the Women’s National Invitation Tournament, where they defeated Killion’s new team, American, in the first round.
Throughout her time with the Red and Blue, Killion’s impact on the program can be seen not only through its championships and titles, but also through her behind-the-scenes efforts with the team.
She both recruited and oversaw the development of some of the Quaker’s most awarded players. Under Killion’s guidance, Penn women’s basketball has had four Ivy League Rookie of the Year honors, including most recently, now-sophomore guard Mataya Gayle and current freshman guard Katie Collins.
“The more experience she got, the more … command she got as a leader, as a coach, and the more she developed in her skills to coach the game,” McLaughlin said. “She’s always been someone that people have been attracted to because of [her] personality.”
Killion’s coaching has also shown through the success of senior guard Stina Almqvist, who was initially recruited by Killion. This season, Almqvist earned first-team All-Ivy honors and became the 26th player in program history to record 1,000 career points.
CANCER , from back page
“I remember I texted her [when I got in to Penn] and she texted me back from the hospital bed [after] having just had her first child,” Almqvist said. “It’s kind of insane how much they really care and do everything for you. It’s just such a big family.”
“We all are just really happy for her to get this opportunity, even though it’s going to hurt a little for the girls that are coming back,” Almqvist added.
“[Killion] left a legacy here,” McLaughlin said on her departure. “In the locker room, telling the players that she was leaving, you could feel that. You can feel the excitement, [and] the passion and care. You can feel the sadness that she’s leaving. … We can share [these] four things in one person. I think you understand why we’re so, so proud of her.”
Killion is excited for the new opportunity at American but is still sad to depart from her longtime home with the Quakers.
“My 11 years at Penn, especially these last three as the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator, have helped shape me as a coach and given me a blueprint that I plan to carry forward as I step into my first head coaching position,” Killion said in a statement to Penn Athletics. “The Penn program, and especially the women that I coached here, will always hold a special place in my heart.”
so when you see the new Penn men’s basketball coach bringing the Quakers to victory this coming season, remember the victories he continues to achieve off the court as well.
KARA BUTLER | STAFF DESIGNER
LYDIA TONG | SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER McCaffery continues to push for cancer awareness.
SPORTS WELCOME HOME, FRAN
‘No prouder moment’: Fran McCafery welcomed as men’s basketball coach
McCaffery was formally introduced at a press conference that featured appearances from Penn President Larry Jameson and athletic director Alanna Wren WALKER CARNATHAN AND SEAN MCKEOWN Former Sports Editor and Sports Editor
There’s no place like home.
On Monday, 1982 Wharton graduate Fran McCaffery was officially introduced as the new head coach of Penn men’s basketball in a press conference at the Palestra. After being announced as the program’s new leader on March 27, Monday marked a homecoming for McCaffery, who returns to coach the Red and Blue after playing at Penn from 1979-82.
“I could not be — and I think you can see it — more excited, more proud, more emotional to be standing right here today,” McCaffery, who was visibly choked up at times during the press conference, said. “The Cathedral of College Basketball — there could be no prouder moment.”
The event also featured remarks from 1996 College graduate and Athletic Director Alanna Wren — who emphasized McCaffery’s “impressive”
resume and his commitment to forming relationships with his players — as well as Director of Athletic Communications Mike Mahoney, who called McCaffery’s introduction “another historic day” at the Palestra.
Penn President Larry Jameson also attended the press conference, appearing shortly after Mahoney, Wren, and McCaffery finished their respective opening remarks. Jameson had lofty praise for the high-powered acquisition.
“He’s got a long track record of winning, a huge amount of experience,” Jameson said of the hiring.
“We’ve got this fantastic group of student-athletes who are in the room today. And the coaches serve many different roles. They are certainly here to lead in basketball, but they are also life coaches; they help on the academic side, and with his experience, I think we couldn’t have done better.”
Other attendees included former Penn men’s basketball head coach Bob Weinhauer — who coached McCaffery during his time at Penn — and former head coach Fran Dunphy, who holds the most wins in Penn men’s basketball history. McCaffery was also joined by his family, including his wife Margaret; his brother Jack; his sons Connor, Patrick, and Jack; and his daughter Marit.
“I hope that coach will put together a group of players that the student body will be proud of,” Weinhauer said. “I called Alanna [Wren], and I spoke to her … but that’s because I believe in Fran and I believe in what he will bring to the program.”
McCaffery touched on a range of subjects in his first appearance as Penn’s head coach. A Philadelphia native, he reminisced on his days as both a fan and player in the Palestra, specifically the
Fran McCafery is a champion on and of the court
McCaffery has made a devout commitment to advocating for cancer awareness throughout his coaching career
AVERY BROBBEY Sports Associate
Every cancer. Every life.
Fran McCaffery, Penn men’s basketball’s new coach and a 1982 Wharton graduate, has traveled to multiple schools in his coaching career across the nation, but he has stayed consistent on one specific subject: cancer advocacy.
While coaching at Iowa from 2010-25, McCaffery became a key proponent in Coaches vs. Cancer, a national organization that establishes a collaboration between the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches. According to the organization’s site, their collaboration has “leveraged the personal experiences, community leadership, and professional excellence of coaches nationwide to increase cancer awareness and promote healthy living through year-round awareness efforts, fundraising activities, and advocacy programs.”
In 2015, McCaffery was awarded the Coaches vs. Cancer Champion Award for his decades of cancer advocacy. This award honors a college coach who has devoted much time and engagement to the organization’s fundraising, education, and promotional initiatives through leadership.
And that’s not all. McCaffery also spearheaded the foundation of the Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Program at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital. In this age range, the survival rates of cancer are slightly lower compared to older individuals or young children. This
program has provided further research and awareness to this disparity, and McCaffery’s family has raised over $1 million for cancer research and care.
Though this program was established in Iowa, McCaffery has explained that his commitment is not limited to one geographic area.
“My wife is on the [American Cancer Society] CAN board, which is the Cancer Action Network,” McCaffery said. “I’m on the national council for Coaches vs. Cancer. So we will continue to do what we’ve always done. [We are] anticipating various golf outings and events. … The Big Five coaches have really sort of been the gold standard for Coaches vs. Cancer and events that we do.”
His dedication to the cause was sparked after the unfortunate diagnosis of thyroid cancer in his son, Patrick McCaffery. In a report by University of Iowa Health Care, Patrick McCaffery was 13 years old when his basketball trainer noticed his delayed recovery after physical exertion. Following pediatric visits, surgical procedures, and treatment, the mass on his thyroid was removed, and he has been in remission since then.
“[At Iowa], the hospital came to us when my son Patrick was diagnosed with cancer at age 14 and decided that the Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Program at the hospital was only the second in the Midwest to study why cancer patients from 13 to 31 [were] having worse outcomes than pediatric cancer patients and adult cancer
patients,” Fran McCaffery said.
The subject hits close to home for the entire McCaffery family, but everyone in the family has remained devoted to the cause.
Patrick McCaffery, who now plays basketball for Butler, said, “We really became personally invested, and, you know, that’s kind of something that they’ve really taken to heart and tried to … keep moving forward and … raise money, resources, [and] awareness.”
How will this program be carried out in Philadelphia? Both father and son have ideas about this matter.
“They’ve invested a lot of time and money into it and a lot of resources,” Patrick McCaffery said. “I would imagine they’re gonna keep plugging away at it. I know that they are connected to a bunch of different doctors all over the world through that program. … I haven’t necessarily talked to them about it specifically yet, but I know that’s something they’re incredibly passionate about and it’s carried on throughout everywhere they’ve been.”
“We’ll continue to [raise money] as best we can. My wife stands ready [as] she is on the ACS board, and we [will] lobby Congress and Senate for funding for cancer research.” Fran McCaffery said.
The McCaffery family will not let up in its commitment to adolescent cancer awareness,
Quakers’ run to the Final Four during his first year playing at Penn. He also emphasized the importance of “brotherhood” to the team’s current players, adding that the bond he shared with his teammates was one of the most memorable aspects of his time at Penn.
“Some of my teammates are here, and it’s such an incredible feeling for me to have them here,” McCaffery said. “Because the experience that I want these guys [the current players] to have right here is: You are teammates for life. You are brothers for life. And that’s what this experience is, and that’s what it will be … when you play for me.” Among the Quakers in attendance was sophomore guard Sam Brown, who is currently in the transfer portal but has not ruled out a return to
The saying goes: “like father, like son.” As Penn basketball ushers in a new era with the hiring of Fran McCaffery as head coach, what shouldn’t go unnoticed is how deeply basketball runs in the family. All four of Fran McCaffery’s children play sports, with all three of his sons playing college basketball. While many players hang up their sneakers after college, for one son, the game is just beginning. From the court to the clipboard Coached by his
