April 20, 2023

‘AN UNPROFESSIONAL MANNER’

Penn police captain removed from position after allegedly assaulting Philadelphia high school student

Penn may have quietly fired a University police captain months after she allegedly assaulted a Philadelphia high school student.

Destine McCleary, a high school senior at the Science Leadership Academy at Beeber, told The Daily Pennsylvanian that she filed a complaint through Penn's Division of Public Safety against Nicole McCoy — Penn Police's

MOLLY COHEN Senior Reporter

former commanding officer of diversity, equity, and inclusion — on Dec. 23, after McCoy allegedly physically assaulted her while in uniform. McCleary's mother, who requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the case, said she was told by DPS that they initially suspended McCoy with pay in January and was later told on March 21 that they had fired her.

Penn lifts COVID-19 vaccine requirement

The University has removed one of its last remaining pandemic-related policies

Penn has lifted its COVID-19 vaccination requirement for students, faculty, and staff.

The change, announced by Wellness at Penn on April 13, ends a policy that has been in place since the beginning of the 2021-22 school year. The decision marks the removal of one of the University’s final remaining COVID-19-related policies for students. Prior to the 2022-23 academic year, the University lifted mandatory COVID-19 testing, ended PennOpen Pass, and gave professors the option to mandate masking in their classes.

While members of the Penn community are no longer required to be vaccinated for COVID-19, the University “strongly encourages” all members to remain up to date on COVID-19 immunizations per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendations.

“Vaccines remain a cornerstone of our public health approach to campus health and wellbeing and are one of the greatest tools we have,” the University’s announcement read. “The goal of vaccines has always been to prevent death, severe disease, and hospitalizations. On our campus, they also exist to support the academic mission of the institution by keeping our community healthy during their academic journeys.”

Chief Wellness Officer Benoit Dubé wrote to The Daily Pennsylvanian that the lifting of the mandate is consistent with decisions made by other institutions of higher education in Philadelphia, as well as other Ivy League universities. It "keeps us aligned with the federal guidance as we move into this next phase of the pandemic," Dubé wrote.

"Our public health mission has not changed," Dubé added. "As the virus has evolved, so has our guidance. After receiving advisement from local and federal agencies, we continue to highly recommend that all members of the Penn community remain upto-date with their COVID-19 immunizations."

Penn will return to its pre-pandemic immunization requirements for the 2023-24 school year, Dubé wrote, which are consistent with government agencies, and Penn will continue to hold a flu vaccine clinic in the fall.

"Additionally, the revised guidance encourages more individual agency when assessing risk," Dubé wrote.

The decision follows President Joe Biden's signing of a bill on Monday ending the United States’ COVID-19 national emergency, despite previously stating that he planned to do so on May 11. Earlier this week, the Philadelphia Department of Public Health lifted the COVID-19 vaccination mandate

Van Pelt Library closed for fourth day as flood clean up continues

Students expressed frustration since the library first closed on Monday

Van Pelt Library will remain closed for a fourth day on Thursday as the building continues to recover from flooding and a power outage.

The library first closed on Monday due to a "serious" failure of a chilled water pump that flooded the library's basement mechanical room in the morning, Executive Director of Operations & Maintenance Faramarz Vakili wrote to The Daily Pennsylvanian on Tuesday. The presence of water damaged some of the electrical gear that Van Pelt and two other buildings use for electricity, causing a power outage, Vakili added.

Penn Libraries wrote in a service alert on its website that no staff areas, public spaces, or library collections in Van Pelt were affected by the flooding. Facilities and Real Estate Services is responding in order to pump out all the water and fix the equipment that was damaged, which may cause "[i]ntermittent localized power outages."

Jaffe History of Art Building was one of the two buildings near Van Pelt that lost power, according to an email sent to students that have class there.

Vakili wrote that a timeline is still up in the air for when Van Pelt will re-open.

"We are hopeful to bring electricity back to the building soon, but this is complicated restoration job and we do not have a definite time table at this point," Vakili wrote.

In response to multiple requests for comment, DPS wrote that they do not comment on personnel matters. The DP attempted to contact McCoy through her DPS email and LinkedIn but was unable to reach her for comment.

See POLICE, page 7

In the latest service alert, Penn Libraries wrote that it had extended return due dates for books to April 24, and the library will forgive any fines that loaners of equipment have accrued since they are currently unable to return the items. It also said that the remote computer lab, which has a connection to physical machines in Van Pelt, is not available for use, and no new electronic course reserves can be created.

See LIBRARY, page 3

for all institutions of higher education. The vaccine mandate remains in effect for health care workers at Penn.

In response, Drexel University announced on April 12 that it would no longer require COVID19 vaccination for students or employees. Temple University, Saint Joseph’s University, La Salle University, and Villanova University still currently have mandates in place.

Penn is the third Ivy League university to lift its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for faculty, students, and staff, following Columbia University and Dartmouth College. On Feb. 27, Columbia University Provost Mary Boyce and other university officials announced the lifting of Columbia’s COVID-19 vaccine requirement on May 11. Dartmouth announced a similar policy on April 11.

Penn to support UC Townhomes residents under $3.5 million settlement between City, developers

Residents expressed disappointment in the result — demanding more agency in the development of affordable housing in West Philadelphia

Reporter

Penn will fund support services for University City Townhomes tenants under a $3.5 million settlement reached by the City of Philadelphia.

Under the terms of the settlement, the City will receive $3.5 million and the nonprofit United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey will distribute the funds among the former tenants of 70 units at the UC Townhomes to address relocation costs — equivalent to $50,000 for each displaced family, according to the settlement agreement.

In addition, Penn will help fund a coalition to provide support services to the tenants along with other

University City institutions, including Penn Medicine, Drexel University, University City Science Center, and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

"Penn, along with a coalition of anchor institutions in University City, will contribute funding for the United Way of Greater Philadelphia to provide ongoing support services to the residents, which will include financial counseling, legal aid, and employment counseling for the families that have or will be relocated from UCTH," University spokesperson Ron Ozio wrote in a statement to The Daily Pennsylvanian.

The settlement proposal also requires IBID Associates to transfer a 23,595-square-foot parcel of the land to the City for the development of 70 permanently affordable units and community green space.

In a press release from the Coalition to Save the UC Townhomes, residents expressed disappointment in the result, continuing to demand a "Right to Return" and more agency in the planning and development of affordable housing in West Philadelphia.

“We must have a written commitment from the City that guarantees a ‘Right to Return’ with a housing subsidy for current and former residents and a commitment to work with the residents on the redevelopment of the preserved site,” Rasheda Alexander, a resident and member of the UC Townhomes Resident Council, wrote in the press release.

The lawsuit — I.B.I.D. Associates Limited Partnership v Councilmember Jamie Gauthier and the City of Philadelphia — alleged that Gauthier and the City had violated IBID’s constitutional right to sell the UC Townhomes property and to make use of the property’s former zoning for high-density commercial and mixed uses.

PHOTO BY JESSE ZHANG

PHOTO BY JESSE ZHANG

Penn Police’s Commanding Officer of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Nicole McCoy was allegedly fired after being reported on Dec. 23.

In addition to the $3.5 million settlement, Penn and other University City institutions will provide support services to UC Townhomes residents.

Quaker Days return to all-day programming and welcome admitted Class of 2027

Each Quaker Day included an opening session, campus tours, and academic programming

CASSIDEE JACKSON Staff Reporter

Amy Wax defends accusations of inflammatory remarks to audience of college professors

Wax said she would take Penn to court if she is punished, calling the University “ruthless” and “unprincipled”

Amy Wax refuted allegations regarding her controversial conduct and sought support from professors at an event with a national free speech group.

On April 13 at 3 p.m., the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression hosted the webinar, "Amy Wax and the Limits of Academic Freedom." At the webinar, Wax — a tenured University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School professor who is the subject of ongoing disciplinary proceedings — said she would take Penn to court if she is punished, calling the University "ruthless" and "unprincipled."

FIRE's Director of Faculty Outreach Komi Frey moderated the webinar. Frey gave Wax 20 minutes to explain her case at Penn and defend herself against allegations of her conduct in the classroom. Faculty who attended were also able to ask questions of Wax. Frey wrote to The Daily Pennsylvanian that 152 faculty members attended the event, including 15 people who registered with Penn emails.

While explaining her case, Wax denied ever making certain statements that Penn alleges she made in the classroom — and admitted to making other statements, but argued they did not merit punishment. She painted these allegations as demonstrating that Penn was seeking to sanction her because of her political views and blunt commentary.

For instance, she denied that she ever told a Black Penn Carey Law student that she was only a double Ivy because of affirmative action.

"I deny that I ever made such a remark," Wax claimed. "I just don't talk that way unless students consult me directly in a personal way — and they do that sometimes. I just don't make such remarks."

SCREENSHOT FROM “AMY WAX AND THE LIMITS OF ACADEMIC FREEDOM”

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression hosted a webinar with Amy Wax on April 13.

2012 Penn Carey Law graduate Lauren O'Garro-Moore told the DP in September that Wax made that comment to her during the second semester of her first year of law school.

She also admitted that she criticized samesex relationships on an academic panel where Penn Carey Law professor Tobias Barrington Wolff, who is openly gay, was present. She said that it was fair for her to make such claims in an academic setting and added that same-sex couples using surrogacy to have children was "extramarital" and "artificial."

Wax also admitted that she said, "finally, an American" after she listened to a group of students with "exotic" names introduce themselves.

“American universities should primarily educate American citizens," Wax told the audience.

Wax claimed that many of the allegations she is facing did not occur in the classroom, where she said professors should be held to a higher standard than their public commentary.

Penn Carey Law Dean Ted Ruger started a faculty investigation of Wax in January 2022 and since then has served as the University's prosecutor in the proceedings that are taking place. Ruger began the faculty investigation after years of inflammatory remarks made by Wax.

The proceedings are ongoing, although a hearing date had not been set as of March 23. Wax filed a counter-complaint against Ruger in January and said she intends to sue Penn if she receives a punishment, which could range from a letter of reprimand to termination.

Hundreds of admitted students visited Penn’s campus for Quaker Days between April 13 and April 15 marking a return to all-day events.

Each Quaker Day included a Class of 2027 welcome and opening session, campus tours led by the Kite and Key Society, and academic programming specific to each school and dual-degree program. The days concluded with a “The Last Hurrah” celebration at the Palestra.

Last year, Quaker Days returned to in-person programming following a hiatus of two years due to COVID-19. The programming spanned over five days between April 11 and April 19 with morning and afternoon session options.

A Penn Admissions spokesperson wrote in an email to The Daily Pennsylvanian that Penn Admissions is "thrilled to welcome" students through virtual and oncampus programs throughout April.

“I think Kite and Key has been really making sure that there’s a variety of ways that students can engage with the campus when they get accepted, despite COVID-19 and everything,” College and Wharton sophomore and Kite and Key tour guide Alicia Xiong said.

Each registered student for Quaker Days was limited to one guest. Visitors were strongly recommended to use face coverings while indoors.

The Kite and Key Society led both general campus tours and academic programming centered tours during Quaker Days, according to Xiong.

“We have special tours that are a little bit shorter and more targeted … on things like housing and resources that are available on campus, so it’s a lot more directed,” Xiong said.

College senior and Kite and Key President Brittany Darrow, a former DP staffer, said that virtual programming, which started because of the

Kelly Writers House hosts

Grammynominated performer Britt Daniel for symposium

Held annually since 2006, the event is endowed by Penn alumnus and philanthropist Mitchell Blutt and his wife Margo Blutt

TARAN COURCHESNE Contributing Reporter

Britt Daniel, frontman of the 2022 Grammynominated indie rock group Spoon, came to Penn on April 13 to talk and sing for the 17th iteration of the Kelly Writers House Blutt Singer-Songwriter Symposium.

Held annually since 2006, the event is endowed by Penn alumnus and philanthropist Mitchell Blutt and his wife Margo Blutt. The symposium — which singer Rosanne Cash inaugurated — has since featured the likes of Suzanne Vega, Michelle Zauner, Patti Smith, and Rufus Wainwright.

The seminar-concert itself, which stretched from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., was held in the main reading room of the Kelly Writers House and was hosted by longtime Penn professor and eminent music critic Anthony DeCurtis.

The seminar-concert began with a question from DeCurtis to Daniel and then continued in a cycle of question-performance until the very end.

The four songs that Daniel played across the night include: “I Summon You," “The Agony of Laffitte," “My Babe," and “Wild." The last two songs are from Spoon’s most recent Grammy-nominated album, “Lucifer on the Sofa."

Audience feedback was unwaveringly positive, with many staying afterward to ask Daniel questions, take selfies with him, and get their coveted records signed.

“He asked my name and shook my hand, and I don’t imagine that’s a thing that frequently occurs,” 2022 College graduate Rachel Swym said. “[He] was very personable.”

Others at the venue echoed Swym's sentiments.

“It was really good energy … I go to a lot of events, and honestly, sometimes I get tired. But this event was

COVID-19 pandemic, helped students who do not have the ability to attend Quaker Days in-person experience campus.

This year's Quaker Days marks the first in which the Kite and Key tour guides received compensation from Penn following a shift to a paid model beginning last semester. According to Darrow, this change increased tour guides’ internal and external motivation to perform well for incoming students.

"Each day will move through iconic spaces across campus, including Irvine Auditorium, Locust Walk, the Palestra, and various academic facilities, and will include a variety of student performances and experiences that will highlight student research and campus life," a Penn spokesperson wrote in discussion of the plans.

The April 14 Quaker Day included a Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships Poster Symposium in Houston Hall’s Reading Room. This event focused on the diversity of research done by Penn undergraduates and provided the incoming class an opportunity to learn about different ways to get involved with academic research.

Incoming Wharton first year Madeline LaSata said she attended Quaker Days to learn more about campus and about student organizations through the club fair.

“I felt like I didn’t have a good feel of what the campus was previously, so I wanted to get a better feel for where I would be living,” LaSata said. Admitted students can also connect with their peers through the Penn Admitted Students Network, managed by Penn Admissions.

Darrow said that the best part of Quaker Day celebrations would have to be the students — introducing and then seeing them on campus, especially once the school year begins.

really good and I really, really appreciate that I was there,” College senior Andrés Gonzalez-Bonillas said.

Mingo Reynolds has been organizing the Blutt Singer-Songwriter Symposium since its inception in 2006.

“I don't think people who want to spend their lives telling their stories in song could possibly be people you don’t want to know more about … Sometimes you just need the right angle of approach to be able to figure out why you want to listen to them — and that’s what the [Blutt Singer-Songwriter Symposium] does for me every single time,” Reynolds said.

The love was mutual, with Daniel himself singing high praise for his time on campus — including his sit-in on DeCurtis’ class, “Writing about the Arts and Popular Culture."

“I’ve met a lot of good kids today. It’s really good to see and meet these kids who are really interested in music and how it's made,” Daniel said. “We [Spoon] started out playing a lot on college campuses, so it’s still really exciting for me to do that.”

Daniel, who first picked up the guitar at 13 and began the group in 1994 while enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin, has since produced nine albums across his 29-year career, including numerous songs for movies such as “Cloverfield," “Spider-Man: Homecoming," and “Stranger Than Fiction." He currently lives by himself in Austin, where he said the endless opportunities to “see live music out” make him “a happier person.”

PHOTO BY BENJAMIN MCAVOY-BICKFORD

As part of the Quaker Days festivities, a student engages with an admitted family during the Locust Walk Fair on April 14.

PHOTO BY TORE SÆTRE | CC BY-SA 4.0

Britt Daniel, member of the indie rock group Spoons, performed at Kelly Writers House on April 13.

Penn West African Vibe wins first place at Princeton dance competition

WAVe won $1,000 and first-place recognition at an annual sakata dance competition

YASH RAJPAL Staff Reporter

LIBRARY, from FRONT PAGE

Penn’s West African Vibe, one of Penn’s African-style dance groups, won an annual sakata dance competition at Princeton University this past week.

Princeton's premier African dance group DoroBucci hosted the competition on April 8, in which WAVe won $1,000 and first-place recognition. The sakata competition returned this year after going on hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Describing the competition, College senior and group member Edith Oteng said that the team was provided with an “extremely detailed rubric” but not a theme. As a result, they decided to use music from all over Africa that highlighted the team’s “technique, style, personality, and creativity,” which she said led them to place first out of the six teams at the competition.

WAVe's win comes after their 10th anniversary show titled "Genesis: A WAVe Through Time" on March 18.

"It’s nice having that moment on stage and being recognized for all the work we put in,” College senior Toluwalase Akinwunmi said, reflecting on her last year as a member of the team.

Other members also said that WAVe has positively impacted their experiences at Penn, citing how it created a sense of community both on a personal and cultural level.

“Things can get tough, and WAVe is a way for me to really express myself and let go of everything," Nursing sophomore Ugonma Ajomiwe said. "It’s also helped me get a way into the Penn Black community.”

WAVe was created in 2013 and specializes in dance styles from across West Africa, specifically Ghanaian and Nigerian styles. They perform as an independent group, meaning that they are not recognized by the Dance Arts Council that oversees several dance groups. As a result, members said the team’s victory at the competition felt legitimizing to them.

“It was a way to show that we were serious," Ajomiwe said.

“It felt kind of legitimizing, and seeing the growth of WAVe has been really special," Oteng said. "I’m really happy to leave on such a high note.”

Oteng added that, as a first year coming into the group, the progress made by the team as a whole despite the pandemic has been “amazing.”

All members said that the next steps for the group included getting DAC and SAC recognized, which would give them a path toward more legitimacy within the Penn dance community. Members repeatedly alluded to the difficulties of being an independent dance group on campus, which gaining recognition may alleviate.

SETTLEMENT, from FRONT PAGE

“In the truest form of equity, nobody gets displaced from their home,” Gauthier said. “But if you look at what we got in a settlement, it is certainly more than I have ever seen for one of these expiring subsidies.”

She also said that the current residents of the UC Townhomes will "have the opportunity" to return to the new development "if that is what they want."

In a statement from Mayor Jim Kenney's office, the mayor wrote to the DP that the settlement will "facilitate equitable development through the preservation of affordable housing in West Philadelphia."

As a part of the agreement, the City will exclude the IBID property from the Affordable Housing Preservation Overlay, which was proposed by Gauthier.

A statement from IBID said that they are "pleased" to have reached a settlement.

"From the day that we made the decision to opt out of the Section 8 Agreement after nearly 40 years of operating the Townhomes, our preference was to build a campus that would create jobs, including jobs for residents of the West Philadelphia community, and generate major new investment in the city," the statement said.

Controversy over the UC Townhomes has

continued since 2021, when Altman Management Company — a partner under IBID — announced plans to sell the property to a developer who would use the space for housing and life sciences.

The settlement says that the agreement should not restrict IBID from evicting residents who have not relocated by August 15 nor prevent IBID from demolishing the property.

UC Townhomes residents have joined forces with Penn and Drexel students and housing activists to organize against the sale since it was announced. Protests over the past year have included an encampment on the UC Townhomes property and a protest in front of City Hall.

Both Gauthier and the Coalition to Save the UC Townhomes attribute the residents' activism to the settlement progress.

In their press release, the Coalition to Save the UC Townhomes wrote that it will "continue to call upon the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University to address the displacement of historically Black communities by contributing funds toward this future development and other sites in the area."

Staff reporter Katie Bartlett contributed reporting.

PHOTO COURTESY OF UGONMA AJOMIWE

THIS YEAR’S BOARD

The dos and don’ts of advertising on Locust

C.H.’S SPIN | Club advertising should not be a dreaded experience for anyone

Also, instead of chatting only with your other walkshifters, shifting the conversation to include people walking by can help engage your target audience. What people also like to hear, other than slogans or “come see ___ this weekend,” is background music. A single speaker can do a lot.

All of this is contingent on walkshifters talking to their audience instead of socializing solely with each other. Too often do you see a poster for an interesting event accompanied by people with zero salesmanship. Drawing in a crowd can be fun with the right people, and on the other side of the spectrum, not guilttripping your friends into doing something looks good too. Sometimes, passersby say no, and that comes with the job. Walkshifting is a chance to sell, and not everyone wants what you’re advertising.

in your pocket for the rest of the day. The best case scenario is that you are exposed to something new which is kind of what college is all about. Instead of ranting on Sidechat or ignoring someone on Locust, take in the opportunities to engage while you have them.

Like myself, you may be concerned about running to your next class, but those 15 minutes offer plenty of time to say hi to a friend at a stand or have a brief conversation with a new face. Those 15 minutes might be the only time to socialize for the next couple of hours. Yes, we all enjoy listening to music during the brief moments of silence in a busy schedule. Nonetheless, I suggest pulling out your earbuds between 1920 Commons and ARCH to hear the heart of campus. Especially when it’s warm outside, this stretch of activity buzzes with marketplace energy.

QR codes, leaflets, and posters litter the hallways of campus. On some bulletin boards, show posters are stapled atop of others. These layers of advertising draw a quick glance from any pedestrian, but the real show seller is not a paragraph in GroupMe or slip of paper taped to the wall.

Tables on Locust Walk do the bulk of the work for any event, so it’s about time for walkshifters and walkers to rethink how to advertise. For anyone unfamiliar with the dreaded task, walkshifting is the practice of selling tickets, collecting money, or passing out something for a club or organization. You might wonder, is it fun? The answer is usually

no. Trying to pass out flyers for an hour to an indifferent crowd sucks the life out of you — take it from me and my countless walkshifts for the Mask and Wig Club. Leaving a Monday morning lecture and holding out tiny slips of paper within eyeshot of blank stares ate up my free time and enthusiasm.

Thankfully, there are ways to alleviate the pain of publicizing and make interactions between classes better for everyone. Instead of being scrapped, walkshifting can be revamped. Hyping up a cause should not be a hassle for either party, but it does require both to work together. First, for walkshifters, the more people you have to help out, the better the experience.

Yes, you can leave the lights on

Back in late August of 2019, news coverage was often dominated by climate change. On Aug. 28, Greta Thunberg crossed the Atlantic via boat, so that her trip would not, as The Washington Post reported, “add carbon to the atmosphere.” Two months later, Reuters reported that one in five Americans were choosing to fly less in response to Thunberg’s activism, and this trend was worrying airlines that feared declining demand. Now, in 2023, with reports that “flight shaming” — socially pressuring others to not fly on airplanes due to their carbon emissions — will return, it is worth asking the question if this climate guilt and social pressure should return at all.

The answer is no. Well, not necessarily. It depends on the purpose of the flight and what alternatives there were.

What too often all of these reports fail to acknowledge is something that Thunberg freely admits herself: “I have never said that people should stop flying . . . I think that we need to move away from focusing on individual actions . . . because we need to focus on the bigger picture. Of course, stop flying is a way of activism to . . . send a message . . . that we need to do something about this . . . I didn’t stop flying . . . to lower my carbon footprint.”

Regardless of what one Nobel Prizenominated climate activist has to say, it is worth thinking about — as is the phrase “carbon footprint” itself, which was widely

popularized by oil company BP in the mid2000s. The goal of this marketing was to assign responsibility for carbon emissions, and as a result the climate crisis, to the individual.

Front pages and trending stories often discuss the alleged blatant carelessness of celebrities, shamelessly emitting greenhouse gasses without a care in the world, like in August 2022 when Taylor Swift’s private jet was found to have emitted 1,184.8 times “more than the average person’s total annual emissions.” But what often gets left out of those discussions is what makes up the lower end of the emissions spectrum in the United States: the actions of average Americans.

In 2008, three years after BP’s carbon footprint campaign, an Massachusetts Institute of Technology study found that while the average American’s annual carbon emissions were 20 metric tons, the average emissions among the homeless, living in shelters and eating from soup kitchens, were calculated at 8.5 tons of CO2 emissions annually. Now 15 years later in 2023, according to a study which calculated average emissions based on geodemographics in the United States, those with the lowest incomes were still emitting 6.4 tons of CO2 annually, which is over 900% higher than necessary emissions per capita in 2050 to meet the goals of the most recent 2021 United Nations Glasgow Climate Pact and 2016 Paris Agreement.

Not essential but helpful is providing a bit of entertainment or incentives too. The frequent salsa and other fast-paced movement dances snatch the most attention, but who says you can’t act out a scene from a play in public? Even the charity whipped cream pie-ing, while messy, entertains the people involved and those headed to class. If you are forced to walkshift for a group, make the most of it by showing the rest of campus what you have to offer.

Second, for the marketable walkers, there is no need to be hostile to a vibrant student life salesplace. Grab a flyer — remember there is no obligation to go to a show or event. The worst outcome is now you have something small that could be recycled or tucked away

change

These are not people with private jets; this is not a problem which can be moralized and solved by individual action even with collective behavioral change. As stated by Oxford’s Benjamin Franta in Mashable’s excellent article about carbon footprints, “as long as fossil fuels are the basis for the energy system, you could never have a sustainable carbon footprint. You simply can’t do it.”

Some consumption can be reduced to decrease emissions — not driving when it is not needed for example — but everyday consumption of goods and services is inherently emitting carbon dioxide when the economy runs on fossil fuels. While we can cut back on wasteful consumption, there is a limit to the emissions people can reasonably reduce without sacrificing welfare.

Let me be clear: These figures are not cause for nihilism, nor are they cause for wasteful behavior. We should define wasteful emissions as emissions that are not being utilized with purpose, rather than defining simply emitting greenhouse gasses as wasteful. The carbon footprint oversimplifies an otherwise complex geopolitical problem into just using metal straws and recyclable grocery bags. I’m not saying that you should not do those things, but be sure not to lose sight of the bigger picture. Landmark legislation, such as the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act, and corporate action, such as reducing supply chain waste, are the key to

How Wharton can prevent the apocalypse

Extracurricular activities and charitable causes are abundant at Penn. They occupy the time of committed students, raise funds through their supporters’ passion, and captivate incoming first years each fall. Advertising on Locust should be less of a chore and more of an opportunity, but that reality can only change with a revitalized effort among walkshifters and an openness to experience among Locust walkers.

C.H. HENRY is a College sophomore studying communication and diplomatic history from Nashville, Tenn. His email address is chhen@sas. upenn.edu.

implementing change.

Penn Sustainability puts out excellent resources on how to minimize waste and reduce wasteful consumption, such as using single-stream recycling and considering ride-sharing alternatives. But it is important to recognize that if something is being fully and smartly used, even if that use is a convenience, this does not mean it is being wasted.

So, yes, you can leave the lights on in your apartment — if you are using them. You should not feel guilty for taking a flight to pursue a once-in-a-lifetime career opportunity or to see friends and family during time away from campus. When you are emitting greenhouse gas emissions with the purpose to better your life or the lives of others, this should not be considered wasteful.

But, at the same time, do not forget the urgency of the climate crisis. Vote and be politically active. And yes, we should all reduce our carbon emissions, but make sure to identify which of our carbon emissions are wasteful and which of these are necessary for our everyday life.

SPENCER GIBBS is a College and Engineering sophomore studying philosophy, politics, and economics and systems engineering from Tallahassee, Fla. His email is sgibb25@upenn. edu.

DUBEUX’S VIEWS | It is time for the Wharton curriculum to train environmentally responsible corporate stars

The Wharton School is undoubtedly a corporate education household name. With an average starting salary of $85,345 for Wharton undergraduates and 53% of the graduating class committing to the financial sector, it is not hard to see how Wharton became famous as the go-to education for finance aficionados. Walking through Huntsman Hall on a weekday only deepens this impression. I spy Patagonia sweatshirts, Pret recyclable latte cups, and ESG-related recruiting or networking session posters everywhere.

“Incubate ideas to transform businesses,” reads a flag on the Patty & Jay H. Baker Forum. Yet, a part of its education reluctantly holds onto the past, and changing it may be necessary to stop the climate apocalypse.

Although the University has recently announced its Environmental, Social, and Governance Factors for Business concentration, Wharton is still the only U.S. News top five undergraduate business school without an ESG-focused class requirement, unlike other top-tier institutions, such as the University of California at Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and New York University’s Stern School of Business. That is to say that, against the grain of business education practices, Wharton still pumps high-profile finance professionals into the market who have never set foot in a class about sustainable investment practices. Besides an unwise business decision, avoiding updates to the curriculum make the corporate climate transition challenge even more far-fetched. By not providing ESG education to its students, Wharton is failing to address its socio-environmental responsibility within its core curriculum and putting an expiration date on its alumni.

Wharton famously produces CEOs and managers, but not always for good.

J.P. Morgan Chase, Citibank, and Bank of America — all primarily led by Wharton graduates — top the 2020 fossil fuel investments ranking, contributing over $1.5 trillion to the oil and gas market in the last decade. These banks are responsible for providing high-value loans for fuel companies’ expansion projects, such as Citibank’s investment in the highly controversial Enbridge’s Line 3 oil pipe in Minnesota responsible for emitting an additional 193 million tons of carbon dioxide per year. The very same kind of fossil fuel operations that Wharton-run companies fund are directly responsible for emitting 75% of all gases related to the greenhouse effect. Incidentally, these gases caused an increase of 1.8°F in global temperatures from 1901 to 2020, leading to accelerated rising sea levels and the potential displacement of 1.2 billion climate refugees.

Climate change is also expected to increase the rate of flooding and hurricanes in Philadelphia’s University City, harming communities, campuses, and even Huntsman Hall itself. Besides being an unwise business decision, avoiding updates to the curriculum makes the corporate climate transition challenge even more far-fetched.

The CEO Bubble, a concept introduced by Hal Gregersen for Harvard Business Review, highlights how top executives can become insulated from the fast-pacing changes in the reality of this century and, therefore, turn into obsolete managers.

Global investors have identified effective corporate governance and greenhouse gas emission reduction as among the top five priorities for businesses to deliver,

according to PwC. Motivated by policy changes, environmental taxes, and media awareness, most markets are shifting towards ESG-compliant practices. From financial taxes in Congress to eco-labeled products on supermarket shelves, climate change conscious measures are undoubtedly proliferating across markets and society. CEOs need to step up their game to continue to generate value.

This investment “green shift” is also a compelling argument for Wharton’s core curriculum transformation. Donations to educational institutions increasingly depend on ESG compliance, and Wharton is losing this money race. In 2021, the University of Michigan, one of Wharton’s direct competitors for the U.S. News Top #1, received an $11 million donation to support its sustainability efforts. By adding an ESG-centered class to its requirements and demonstrating a commitment to sustainability and social responsibility, Wharton can attract

donations from investors and philanthropists who prioritize ESG factors. This can also help Wharton stand out among other top business schools and attract students who are looking for a program that values sustainability and social responsibility. Regardless of how impressive the Wharton brand is in the financial world, it is not immune to reality. As the backbone school of the most relevant banks and investment funds on Earth, failing to update its practices is not only a bad business strategy but also causes indirect harm to billions of people. Warren Buffett famously said, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it”. In Wharton’s case, it may take a climate apocalypse.

VICTOR DUBEUX is a Wharton and Engineering sophomore studying management and bioengineering from Recife, Brazil. His email is vmpd@

PHOTO BY BENJAMIN MCAVOY-BICKFORD

A student hands out flyers for a spoken word poetry show organized by the Excelano Project on Locust Walk.

PHOTO BY ABHIRAM JUVVADI Wharton is still the only U.S. News top five undergraduate business school without an ESG-focused class requirement.

Editorial Art: Penn’s latest crackdown on swipe sharing

BECKY LEE

Fraud — the Ivy League’s best friend

BRICK IN THE WALL | Penn is defrauding its students, and it’s only natural that we’re defrauding them back

You might have scoffed at your aunt last week when she posted on Facebook about this amazing new superfood smoothie powder that’s “definitely not a multi-level marketing scheme, thank you very much.” But in the end, the joke is on you: you’re a student at the University of Pennsylvania, and you’re roped in the longest and one of the most expensive marketing schemes you’ll ever bear witness to.

I don’t mean to say that college is worthless — there are undeniably countless material benefits to attending college (even if degrees aren’t necessarily guarantors of future jobs). Everyone should have access to higher education, and we’re privileged to be attending a school with resources and weight to its name. But after reading that Penn is increasing tuition by 4% — the highest hike in recent history — I can’t help but wonder if I’m being scammed.

You can think of tuition as a transaction: you pay Penn, they give you an education. You can also think of it as an investment. The more money a student puts into their education, the more they will eventually be worth (and, of course, it goes the other way around — the more a student’s labor is worth, the more Penn will receive in alumni donations down the line).

When I started at Penn in 2020, the total cost of attendance was $76,826. Now, it’s $84,600, up by almost $8,000 — far outpacing both rates of wage growth and inflation. If a college education was truly transactional, I’d expect my education to increase in value by $8,000 (or, at the very least, have a vastly expanded financial aid program). Tuition hikes are indicative of an Ourobouran economy, one that is going to keep devouring profit while still choking on its last bite. Post-secondary education feels absurd; we submit checks far beyond what our families can afford only to be taught by a graduate student that can also barely afford their own rent. The quality of education or access to resources at Penn isn’t improving, yet we’re still expected to forgive for its shortcomings. In appearances, it seems like we’re getting something for our money, even though we’re being sold an unfinished product that

squeezes as much money as it can from us before the four years are up.

It’s only natural that Penn is defrauding its students. In all fairness, fraud is the Ivy League’s legacy — and Penn is leading the charge. Even if we ignore the less than favorable histories of Penn’s more famous alumni — including a certain alumnus currently being tried for 34 felonies — we find fraud, both overt and discreet, peppered throughout Penn’s history. Charlie Javice, a 2013 Wharton graduate, is being sued by J.P. Morgan. They allege she paid a data science professor $18,000 to fabricate a list of nearly four million names in order to make her financial aid application assistance company appear more popular and profitable than it was. Ashik Desai, a Wharton MBA graduate, was recently charged in a $1 billion dollar fraud scheme for faking data and deceiving clients in healthcare technology company Outcome Health.

Unlike what the headlines would lead you to believe, Javice, Desai and others aren’t exactly aberrations from the otherwise squeaky clean business world. Fraud oils the gears of capitalism — capital needs to unfairly compensate workers for their labor in order to turn a profit. It needs to promise endless returns while also contributing to an endless boomand-bust cycle, and it needs to promise opportunity and class mobility to maintain its spotless mythology. Delineations between what is ethical and what is not in the business world are entirely arbitrary lines drawn in the sand to give the appearance of at least some law and order within the free market.

Javice and Desai, and even Trump, were just a little too good at playing the game.

Just as the lines are drawn in the sand for Desai, Javice, and others, tuition increases are wholly arbitrary. Penn claims to be a nonprofit university, but considering the highly corporatized university market, this is a bit hard to believe. For decades, policymakers have advanced the idea that education is not a public good, but a private one — a privilege afforded to those who can pay for it. This was essential in expanding the highly profitable student

loan market, and since the late 1970s, the cost of education has increased by 1120%, while college endowments, including Penn’s, have been skyrocketing.

So, all things considered, we can’t be shocked at the rise of things like ChatGPT in academic settings like Penn. When tuition increases and the quality of education doesn’t, students are expected to make up for their education’s shortcomings. It’s not that students are lazy or unoriginal, but we’ve started to recognize, even implicitly, the absurdity of the economic relationship between a student and their university. Whether we pay 4% more for tuition, or whether we cheat our way through all of our classes,

we’re still getting the same degree in the end. Overworked and undersupported, it’s easier to take the path of least resistance.

Penn works because it launders wealth as merit; those who can afford it, win. So the ubiquity of fraud, cheating, and deception at Penn is no surprise. We’re engaged in the world’s most pervasive fraud scheme, and in the end, fraud goes both ways.

Style versus substance: Finding identity at Penn and beyond

A BRIT ABROAD | Obsession with our commitments can make us lose ourselves

about an acquaintance as a networking opportunity or an “in” to a party than someone whose well-being they are genuinely interested in. Maybe I’m not being cynical enough and being too critical of Penn in believing that classmate and colleague relationships are ever built around more than that — though the phenomenon is stronger here, it exists at home, too. Nonetheless, I’ve never felt that sense of objectification more than since coming here.

This also translates into our senses of selves and how we display them. The obsession with getting into these in-groups can mean that we don’t spend enough time forging an identity outside of them. Coming into the latter stages of junior year, I’ve found several friends going through an identity crisis of sorts: T11hough they’re constantly busy with academia and extracurriculars, they don’t feel like they have any unique hobbies beyond campus and pre-professional life. While those things are important, forging who we are wholly based on others’ validation is an extremely unhealthy way to live. Our personal style has become a display of commitments that others care about, rather than interests that we value. Maybe Europeans’ decreased emphasis on that is what makes their fashion sense seem so much more defined and individual.

As an exchange student from the United Kingdom, something that American students often mention to me, especially those who have visited Europe, is how impressed they are with our (or their, post-Brexit?) sense of style. We dress so much more fashionably, I’m told, with such a stronger sense of individuality — though they never say this about my style, which I’m attempting not to take personally. This wasn’t something I instantly noticed upon coming here: Europeans hardly dress for the runway, but we don’t exactly turn up to lectures in our pyjamas either. An interesting difference that I have picked up on, though, is that European students wear far less university, club, and employer merch. That small distinction is representative of a significant cultural gap.

One of the key features I’ve found of the Penn experience is how deeply it’s centred around finding a sense of belonging. Much of our identity is founded

upon the things we’re a part of: Greek life, clubs such as The Daily Pennsylvanian, down even to the sense of pride we have in being at Penn in itself. I have been absolutely swept up in it. Half of my wardrobe is now branded merch, and I will unashamedly admit to having bought P-sweaters in both colourways.

Walking Locust on any given day, a significant portion of the outfits you come across are emblazoned with university, sports team, social organisation, and college house logos. We aim to convey who we are through our outfits and, by extension, our social circles and the list of commitments displayed on our LinkedIn profiles.

I’m not meaning to criticise anyone for this — we have every right to take pride in the groups we choose to invest our time in. The more engaged and better-funded nature of clubs at Penn means that generally they are a bigger part of our lives compared to clubs in Europe. But this feeling of belonging is also

partly manufactured by the validation and exclusivity of the cutthroat recruitment process, which was initially very blindsiding to me. At home, you just turn up to a GBM and you’re in. The culture that creates for both our relationships with our peers and our personal perceptions can turn worryingly toxic.

Meeting people socially here is often prefaced by a list of the things they’re involved in. There’s an instinctive desire, conscious or not, to judge people’s social standing based on how “cool” their frat or sorority is, the “clout” their clubs have, and so on and so forth. This factors into our future careers, too: I’ve seen the demeanour of people entirely change midconversation when a friend casually drops in their job offer at some big-shot investment bank or consulting firm (you know exactly which ones I mean).

What this generates is a culture of extremely superficial and transactional views of who people are. Students here, it seems to me, tend to care more

Our clubs and future careers may make us interesting to others, but they’re very unlikely to make us unique. I’m not saying that Europeans are free from falling into that trap: I have plenty of friends at home who have high positions in similar clubs and graduate jobs at the exact same firms. But unlike here, that isn’t the first thing you notice upon meeting them. If their outfits are anything to go by, anyway, they may be closer to moving beyond it. Our personal and social identities should not be founded on a generic laundry list of commitments. We are all genuine, individual personalities. That is what we should aim to express.

PHOTO BY MEHAK DHALIWAL Penn’s total cost of attendance was $76,826 in 2020; nest academic year it will be $84,600.

TAJA MAZAJ is a College junior studying political science from Skippack, Pa. Her email is tajam@sas.upenn.edu.

PHOTO BY BENJAMIN MCAVOY-BICKFORD

Penn-branded merchandise for sale at the Penn Bookstore.

ALEX BAXTER is a junior on exchange from the University of Edinburgh studying politics, philosophy, and economics in the College. His email is ajgb@sas.upenn.edu.

Editorial art is created by the design department at The Daily Pennsylvanian Inc. Artists are not involved in the reporting of of articles on related topics.

College Republicans, Penn YDSA back mayoral candidates while Penn Dems abstains from endorsement

The Penn Dems Communications Director said to the DP that the club has hosted and built “good relationships” with several of the mayoral candidates

JONAH MILLER Senior Reporter

Ahead of the Philadelphia mayoral primary election in May, student political groups are divided on how and whether they will be making a formal endorsement.

While Penn College Republicans will be endorsing David Oh and Penn Young Democratic Socialists of America will be endorsing 1993 College graduate and former City Councilmember Helen Gym, Penn Democrats is abstaining from endorsing a single candidate in the mayoral race.

Penn Dems Communications Director and College sophomore Nicole Giegerich told The Daily Pennsylvanian that since the club typically does not make a formal endorsement in primary elections. The decision to not endorse in the mayoral race simply “follows our precedent.”

“Obviously there are a lot of Democratic candidates in the Philly mayoral race and Dems is a large group representing a variety of people,” Giegerich said. “We think it would be hard to come to a consensus that reflects the views of the majority of the organization.”

Giegerich added that Penn Dems has hosted and built “good relationships” with several of the mayoral candidates and making an endorsement could “burn bridges.”

Penn Dems have hosted events with Gym, Jeff Brown, and Rebecca Rhynhart, among other candidates this semester.

When Penn Dems does make an endorsement, Giegerich said the process starts when a member brings up the idea of an endorsement at a deputy board meeting, which is followed by discussions among the executive board and an ultimate vote. The vote to endorse needs two-thirds of the entire body to be approved, Giegerich added.

While an endorsement will not be made ahead of the mayoral primary, Giegerich said that the club will publish a voter guide to provide an overview of each candidate, their policies, and how they differ from each other in addition to providing instructions to the Penn community on how to vote by mail and use absentee ballots.

Penn YDSA board member and College junior Taja Mazaj, who is also a DP staffer, said that

when the club makes an endorsement, it wants to build a connection with a candidate and invite them to speak on campus.

“We love having them at our meetings. We’ll try to invite them to our GBM and get them to speak about their platform," Mazaj said. "We just try to build a relationship with them and then decide if we want to endorse them."

To discern a candidate that aligns with Penn YDSA beliefs, Mazaj said that she looks for individuals that tailor their platform toward working-class Philadelphians, with support for investments in education, health care, and anticarceral policies. Candidates with significant corporate and Democratic Party backing are “definitely a turn-off,” Mazaj added.

For the crowded Democratic mayoral primary, Penn YDSA will endorse Gym. The endorsement follows Gym’s speech at a rally in support of resident advisors and graduate assistants’ efforts to unionize. Penn YDSA has expressed support for the unionization efforts.

“Gym is not running just to run. She’s actually willing to [support] our concerns and have a sense of solidarity with issues that are affecting Philadelphians,” Mazaj said in support of her club’s endorsement decision. College Republicans Political Director and College first year Peter Kapp told the DP that the organization will be endorsing David Oh, the only Republican candidate.

When choosing whether to endorse a candidate, Kapp said that the club looks into the individual’s beliefs and the press they received from both conservative and liberal-leaning media.

“We as a club do have varied beliefs but there are some things that we will universally agree on, and if these Republican candidates don’t meet our criteria — which is a relatively broad spectrum of conservative values — we’re not going to endorse them,” Kapp said.

With the most recent mayoral election ending with a four-to-one Democrat-to-Republican vote ratio, Kapp acknowledged that College Republicans’ endorsement of Oh “doesn’t really matter.”

McCleary contacted the DP after the publication reported that McCoy was no longer employed by DPS earlier this month.

McCleary alleged that, at around 2:45 p.m. on Dec. 21, McCoy involved herself in an altercation on the sidewalk outside of SLA Beeber, a Philadelphia public school located at 5925 Malvern Ave. McCleary said that McCoy was waiting outside the school in a Range Rover with two other women, one of whom McCleary alleged is McCoy’s daughter, as students left the school building and walked to a bus stop.

McCleary said the women started verbally attacking a group of ninth grade students before a physical altercation began. She told the DP that she believes McCoy has another daughter in ninth grade at SLA Beeber.

McCleary said that she was one of only a few seniors accompanying a group of ninth grade students when the situation escalated, which motivated her to try to resolve the dispute.

"In the middle of me trying to defuse the situation, [McCoy] had punched me in the left side of my mouth,” McCleary said. “Then she just started harassing me.”

The same day, McCleary said that she went to the 19th District police station to report the incident that had occurred with McCoy. McCleary’s mother said that the family is still waiting for a Philadelphia police detective to begin investigating the case.

Philadelphia crime logs show that an assault was recorded at 3:45 p.m. on Dec. 21 on 5900 Malvern Ave., near where the school is located.

At the time of the incident, McCleary said she did not know that McCoy was employed by Penn Police, but she said that McCoy appeared to be wearing a uniform during the altercation.

McCleary said that at the 19th District police station, an officer named all of the members involved in the incident, including McCoy. She then searched McCoy’s name and discovered her affiliation with Penn.

McCleary’s mother added that her daughter reviewed videos taken by students who witnessed the event, and the videos show that McCoy’s name was included on the vehicle she exited, which displayed a police symbol.

It is unclear whether or not McCoy was on duty during the incident.

On Dec. 23, two days after the incident, McCleary said she and her mother visited the Penn Police station, where Chief of Police Gary Williams instructed them to file a complaint either online or in person. McCleary said she filed a complaint with DPS that day.

After filing an initial complaint online, McCleary said she met with University police and detectives multiple times.

McCleary’s mother said that Penn told her during meetings and interviews that McCoy was initially suspended with pay.

At a meeting on Feb. 7, McCleary said she received a letter from DPS signed by Williams. She provided the DP with a photo of the letter, in which Williams apologized for McCoy's "unprofessional" conduct and confirmed that she had been disciplined.

“As outlined by your complaint, the interactions were thoroughly investigated by Deputy Chief Michael Morrin," Williams wrote in the letter. "After careful consideration of all the facts and circumstances of the matter,

Deputy Chief Morrin has indicated to me that he was able to sustain your complaint that our Officer acted in an unprofessional manner. The Officer's actions during this incident were addressed formally with discipline."

McCleary said that Williams told her she would be “very satisfied” with the disciplinary action taken against McCoy, but McCleary said that not knowing if McCoy was still employed by DPS troubled her.

“I was not satisfied with the conclusion because I had just gotten a letter, but that still did not take away the trauma,” McCleary said. Because they did not know whether McCoy was still employed, McCleary and her mother contacted DPS a second time for more information. During a follow-up meeting with Williams and Vice President for Public Safety Kathleen Shields Anderson on March 21, McCleary said that she was informed that McCoy had been terminated on Feb. 7, the day she received the letter. According to McCleary, Anderson told her that DPS could not inform her of the status of McCoy’s employment at the time because Anderson was not present at the meeting.

McCleary’s mother expressed skepticism that DPS was telling the truth. The mother told the DP that she thinks that McCoy was still employed until the March 21 meeting.

“How is it that you're allowed to tell me that she's suspended with pay, but you can't tell me if she is terminated or not?” McCleary’s mother said to the DP.

McCleary’s mother expressed frustration with the disciplinary process, adding that her daughter had to miss school for numerous meetings. She also said that the letter from DPS was not satisfactory, saying that she wished that they had offered her daughter therapy.

“If she were a [Penn] student, would she have been treated any differently?” the mother said.

“I’m glad that she was terminated, because who was to say that she would not have done it again,” the mother said.

McCleary added that she had been admitted to Penn as a member of the Class of 2027, but the incident and how DPS handled it has made her question whether she should attend.

“The whole incident kind of made me change my mind about going to school,” McCleary said, adding that representatives from DPS told her to not let the incident determine her decision and offered to arrange meetings with certain major departments.

Anderson told the DP on March 22, the day after McCleary said she met with Anderson and was informed of McCoy's termination, that McCoy was no longer employed by Penn.

McCoy first joined the Penn Police Department as a patrol officer in 2002. She rose to the role of patrol lieutenant before she was appointed as the police department's first commanding officer of DEI in 2021, when she was also promoted to captain.

McCoy's unexpected departure, which was not initially made public, leaves the position vacant. Two articles about McCoy on Penn Today now display the message "Page Not Found" when loaded. DPS is currently reassessing its diversity, equity, and inclusion program before appointing someone to the position that McCoy held, Anderson previously told the DP.

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POLICE, from FRONT PAGE

PHOTOS BY ABHIRAM JUVVADI

Penn College Republicans endorsed David Oh (left) for Philadelphia mayor, and Penn Young Democratic Socialists of America endorsed Helen Gym (right).

Double play: Former two-sport Quaker Mark DeRosa details path to Team

USA manager

The 16-year MLB vet led the Quakers to an undefeated season as quarterback of the football team in 1994

BRANDON PRIDE Former Sports Editor

“You’re going to let him play?”

That was the reaction Mark DeRosa’s father had at a recruiting visit when longtime Penn baseball coach Bob Seddon mentioned his son’s potential involvement on the Quakers’ baseball team on top of his football commitments.

It may seem hard to believe that this is the campus welcome that a player who would go on to have a 16-year MLB career would have, but that career was never a sure thing.

By DeRosa’s own admission, football was why he got into Penn, but he stuck with baseball just to keep his doors open. Little did he know at the time that the hallway behind those doors would be gold-plated and deeper than he ever imagined.

“I just wanted to give myself the best opportunity to be successful in life, regardless of whether that means playing in the NFL or the MLB, or maybe not getting the chance to do either,” DeRosa said.

After two years on campus, a career in the NFL was certainly looking like the more likely scenario.

Starting at quarterback as a sophomore, DeRosa led the Quakers to an undefeated record and an Ivy League title, in what is still one of the program’s best seasons in history. However, DeRosa maintains that he never heavily favored one sport over the other and kept a commitment to both when necessary. His former teammates echo these statements.

“While he was playing both, I don’t think there was a focus on one or the other,” Mark Fabish, former Penn wide receiver and DeRosa’s teammate said. “I think when he was doing baseball, he was doing baseball. When he’s doing football, he’s doing football.”

Fabish, who is now the offensive coordinator for Columbia football, has a unique lens into DeRosa’s trajectory as they were high school teammates at New Jersey powerhouse Bergen Catholic before being roommates for four years at Penn.

Fabish recounts how the football team would schedule its practices around DeRosa’s baseball commitments. Even if that meant starting at 6 a.m. or finishing at 1 a.m., the team was always happy to accommodate its quarterback. Fabish recalls the entire football team heading out to Penn’s baseball stadium to watch the quarterbackturned-shortstop throw heaters across the diamond — an event that eventually became a longstanding tradition.

“That held true for his 16-year career. I don’t know if there was a season where I didn’t see him play live at some point,” Fabish said. “Whether it be in the minors, or when he was playing in the majors, [at least] one game a year I saw him play live.”

In addition to being a firsthand witness to his quarterback’s athletic prowess, Fabish also saw him display a more latent ability: singing. He recalls many nights of karaoke at Smokey Joe’s near campus, where DeRosa would embody Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam in a very “onpoint” manner.

Perhaps to DeRosa’s dismay, the legendary grunge rock band was not in the market for a new lead singer, so he turned his focus to baseball for a summer. That was when his future started to take a more definite shape.

After a successful sophomore summer playing in the Cape Cod League, nearly half of all MLB teams sent scouts to Penn baseball games during DeRosa’s junior season. By that point, Seddon was more than happy to have him on the team, as he led the squad in RBIs while batting over .300, culminating in the Atlanta Braves drafting him after the season.

While this was great news for DeRosa, it did mean the end of his Penn career — at least on the field.

After a season in the minors, DeRosa returned to campus in October 1996 to finish his Wharton degree.

DeRosa wanted to focus on his academics as a fallback, even if that was an uncommon choice for a professional baseball player.

“You’d hear comments throughout the minor leagues,

like ‘If you were gonna end up here on the buses with us in the minor leagues, why’d you have to study so hard?’

My answer to that would be I didn’t know I was gonna end up on the buses,” DeRosa said.

School wasn’t the only thing on DeRosa’s mind that year though. Just as his football teammates had supported his baseball career, he supported their football careers that year as he would often throw to his former receivers in workouts as they chased their gridiron dreams.

Pearl Jam releasing a new hit album that summer may or may not have also played a role.

Flash forward 15 years, and with his playing career winding down, DeRosa was presented with a new opportunity: sports media. During the 2011 playoffs, DeRosa began providing analysis for MLB Network on television.

“I thought it would be fun, and I honestly wasn’t looking at it as anything more than that,” he said. “But I guess in their eyes, it was kind of a mini audition, right?”

By all indications, the audition was a home run.

Within a few years, DeRosa had become one of the faces of the channel, co-hosting the morning show “MLB Central”. Given his extensive experience both playing and commenting on the game, it perhaps should not have been much of a surprise when he was named Team USA’s manager in the World Baseball Classic this year, even though he had no prior managing experience at any level.

“His ability to make those around him comfortable [prepared him for the role],” Fabish said. “He always set his teammates at ease, it was unparalleled and unique. You didn’t have to do anything other than be yourself.”

While leading an Ivy League football team is certainly no laughing matter, managing a roster filled with superstars like Mike Trout and Paul Goldschmidt is a different rodeo. Still, DeRosa drew heavily on his experiences at Penn as he took on the job.

“I think that definitely goes back to football: being in the huddle, having to constantly communicate, having

to constantly count on your teammates,” DeRosa said.

The experience certainly paid off for Team USA, as the team made it all the way to the finals, when it lost a thriller to Shohei Ohtani and Japan. Despite the loss, DeRosa thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to manage the team, even calling Trea Turner’s walk-off home run against Venezuela a “top-five moment” of his professional career.

As for his future, DeRosa remains open but not committed to future managerial roles.

“It’s not something I’m like pounding the pavement to do. But yeah, I certainly would be up for the challenge.”

Three decades after “letting” DeRosa on the baseball team, Seddon couldn’t agree more.

“He’s a real player guy,” he recently told The Philadelphia Inquirer. “He’s a people person, and he’s a guy that could someday be a coach or manager in professional baseball, if he wanted that, because he fits the mold. He just has it.”

Despite his self-proclaimed lukewarmness towards the idea of returning to the MLB, DeRosa has interviewed for coaching positions with both the Miami Marlins and New York Mets. Even if his managerial career never takes off, DeRosa is more than happy at MLB Network, which also allows him the spare time to focus on one of the few ventures in his life that he has not excelled at: fantasy football.

Almost three decades after sharing a field together, DeRosa and his closest Penn teammates still play in a fantasy league together every year and talk constantly in a group chat. However, Fabish says DeRosa’s personal biases often get the better of him come draft time.

“He goes with his heart. He goes with the Cowboys too much.”

So unless either the Cowboys rebound decades of mediocrity, or Eddie Vedder announces a surprise retirement, the next big step in DeRosa’s career might be back to the big leagues.

COLUMN, from BACK PAGE

environment for the away team. These hostile environments are everything for college sports — the packed arena, the deafening volume. College sports are built off a passion and love for the game and players deserve these types of environments to thrive in.

Outside the stadium, you cannot give leeway. You cannot say, “I’ll root for Princeton because they’re the closest to Penn in March Madness.”

Quite the opposite. You can’t root for the rival. This is a rivalry. A rivalry does not waver in the face of a losing streak. Sure, it can feel one-sided, but it should never be forgotten. I said that a rivalry thrives off intense love and intense hate. That intense love should implore you to always have hope — hope for a change of the tides and a victory in your name.

At the end of the day, it’s the love for your team that implores you to show up and be present in the game — and to hate your enemy’s success.

It’s time to take pride in Penn’s rivalries. Time to start booing at the top of your lungs. And sure, you can wear your free t-shirt for showing up while you’re at it.

PHOTO BY KEITH ALLISON | CC BY-SA 2.0

Penn alumnus Mark DeRosa during his time playing for the Toronto Blue Jays.

PHOTO BY ANNA VAZHAEPARAMBIL

INJURIES, from BACK PAGE

Referencing his personal philosophy towards mental well-being, Larson said that he is “a big proponent of mental health over everything.” However, Larson also noted that growing up playing basketball and leading into a collegiate basketball career, the sport became easily associated with his personal identity.

“One of the things that you grow up with is that your identity is a basketball player,” Larson said regarding his injury, reflecting on the mindset of collegiate athletes that makes injuries all the more challenging to overcome.

Naturally, individuals who have dedicated much time and energy towards a sport find themselves tying their self-worth to their athletic abilities. However, that also makes it increasingly difficult to rebound from setbacks when that athletic ability is compromised.

Larson admitted that one of the most challenging aspects of having an injury as a athlete whose identity is intrinsically tied to a sport is “to have to sit there and be reminded every day that your missing out on something, the toll it takes on your mental health is quite

severe.” Injured athletes can experience a sense of isolation from their teammates, given that they can no longer participate in the same degree they once could.

Larson noted his frustrations with being unable to communicate with his teammates in the same manner because he felt his injury left him without the credibility to comment on what was happening on the court.

“It’s difficult to tell somebody to do something when you don’t do it yourself,” he said.

Larson described having felt a fear of missing out while on the bench, both in terms of playing on the court and within his personal relationships with his teammates. For most athletes, self-confidence can be derived from their success within a sport. When their abilities are restricted, they must seek that confidence from external sources.

Athletes preparing to return encounter the added challenges of not only maintaining their physical health, but also regaining confidence in their abilities. More people must acknowledge that athletes’ unique talents don’t render them invincible to the mental pressures that any other person can encounter.

The invisible injuries associated with mental health when facing adversities as a student-athlete are perhaps even more pernicious in this sense: While broken bones can be fixed with a cast, it takes years of practice and

dedication to develop the resilience-based mindset required to overcome mental roadblocks. Moreover, when the cast comes off, it’s a tangible sign that recovery has been achieved — but the road to recovery from mental setbacks is neither linear nor uniform.

Former UCLA basketball all-star and current Miami

Heat forward Kevin Love made headlines in 2018 when he published his seminal essay on mental health in The Players Tribune, titled, “Everyone Is Going Through Something.” The essay detailed his decades-long battle with severe anxiety and depression, opening the door to conversations regarding the mental pressures that professional athletes battle — many of which arise early in their college careers. Regardless of the whether that conversation is prompted as the result of an injury or not, it needs to be held more often.

As Love wrote, “Mental health isn’t just an athlete thing. What you do for a living doesn’t have to define who you are. This is an everyone thing.”

Love’s mindset, in particular, was central to Larson’s recovery as he set out to redefine his sense of self. Larson noted that most practices turned into the constant reminder of the limitations of his abilities. As an athlete, it is an arduous battle to prioritize regaining physical strength when it feels like there’s no concrete signs of improvement. This is why resilience is key.

While it can often be easy for athletes to become trapped in a negative mindset when faced with injury, Larson advocated for the value of exploring other interests. His time on the bench turned into a rediscovery for him: the rediscovery of how much basketball meant to him.

“That’s the biggest thing I’ve learned, to understand yourself, understand what you’re passionate about, and then go from there,” he said, explaining that regaining his confidence in other aspects of his life has allowed him to find self-worth outside of athletics.

Recently, Larson put up solid numbers on a fitness test, prompting an all-clear from his trainer to head back to the court. However, he remains optimistically cautious. He noted that a season on the bench has affected his physical fitness in various ways, and while he remains committed to regaining his full strength for the upcoming season, there’s still a long road ahead of him post-recovery.

Given his hindsight, Larson wants to encourage athletes to remember that injury is a temporary state of the body, whereas resilience is a continual state of mind.

“Mentally, I’m ready to go, but physically there’s work to be done,” Larson said. “If you’re hurt right now, just know that you’ll heal one day, and you have to be ready for when that day comes.”

PHOTO BY ANNA VAZHAEPARAMBIL

Penn men’s basketball’s athletic trainer Phil Samko performs a concussion test on junior forward/guard Max Martz after a fall during a game on Jan. 28.

Dear Penn students: Our sports rivalries need your help

Rambaud | Rivalry and fierce yet friendly contests are at the heart of college athletics, but Penn’s are lacking in recent years. The school — and its student body — must do a better job to nurture more adversarial competition, both on and off the field.

KRISTEL RAMBAUD Sports Reporter

We all saw what happened in March: a semifinal loss in the Ivy League Tournament for Penn and a Sweet 16 run for Princeton. While some cheered the Tigers’ historic victories, watching them make history did not sit right with me.

Frankly, I hated watching every second of it. And if you root for Penn, you should have too.

Because, despite the narrative that the rivalry is dead, Penn and Princeton’s rivalry — and all of Penn’s rivalries — cannot and should not die. And we need you.

Rivalries are the lifeblood of collegiate sports. Turn on ESPN for college football or basketball or really any college sport and an anchor will bring up a rivalry. The Duke and UNC rivalry. The Army and Navy rivalry. The Michigan and Ohio State rivalry. They’re everywhere in the college landscape.

Rivalries play an undeniable role in collegiate athletics — I’d argue more than in the professional sports world. Incoming recruiting classes choose to inherit centuries’ old rivalries year after year. They build off the success and losses of players before them.

Baseball moves into first place in Ivy standings with sweep at Brown

Despite several late surges from the Bears, the Quakers hung on for another critical Ivy series win WALKER CARNATHAN

Deputy Sports Editor

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — When Penn baseball made the nearly five-hour trek to Providence, R.I. to face off with Brown, the team brought with them one very important item: the brooms.

In yet another crucial Ivy League tilt, the Quakers (2111, 9-3 Ivy) brought their best, sweeping the Bears (7-21, 4-8) over the course of a three-game series. The wins showcased Penn’s ability to not only gain leads quickly, but also hold them — carrying the team into first place in the Ivy League and giving the Quakers a record of 8-1 over their last nine Ancient Eight matchups.

“We go up to Dartmouth and get a sweep, we get two out of three against Princeton … we’re starting to get some consistency,” coach John Yurkow said. “This is why you coach — for the joy, the excitement this time of year.”

Under the common theme of victory, each game in the series told a unique story for the Red and Blue. Friday’s game had all the makings of a drubbing by Penn, despite early struggles by senior left-handed pitcher Owen Coady. Coady walked three in the first inning, but the Quaker fielders and hitters backed him up — holding Brown scoreless and opening up a 6-0 lead in the top of the seventh inning.

Then, the Bears stormed back in the bottom of the seventh, scoring three runs on three hits, part of a 13-7 advantage in total hits on the day. Though Brown got the tying run to first base in the bottom of the ninth, the Quaker bullpen ultimately did just enough to hold on for a 6-4 victory.

That scrape with defeat set the stage for Penn to flex their muscles in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader. The Quakers shelled Brown’s starting pitcher, hitting into every gap and capitalizing on every Bears mistake en route to a 6-0 lead before the end of the second inning. On the mound for Penn, junior right-handed pitcher Cole Zaffiro delivered a gem of his own, striking out four Brown batters over six scoreless innings.

Again, the Bears would not go away. As the scoreboard flashed a bleak 11-0 in the bottom of the eighth, Brown refused to fold — rallying for six runs on six hits and narrowing Penn’s advantage to five. But with two runs in the top of the ninth and a pristine effort on defense, the Quakers again quelled the Bears’ comeback hopes, taking the win 13-6.

“You get up early, I guess it’s human nature to have a little bit of a letdown,” Yurkow said of the team’s ability to withstand Brown’s late runs. “But one of the nice things is, when you get out early with the lead, we pitch really well. Starting pitching was really good all weekend, [Zaffiro] threw well.”

Finally, with a seat atop the conference standings on the line, the series’ final game was ruled by one name: Ryan Drombroski. Fresh off breaking the program record for strikeouts with 15 last week against Princeton, the sophomore right-handed pitcher again terrorized opposing batters with his pitches. Drombroski — equipped with his fearsome slider — mowed through the Bears’ lineup

Invisible injuries: Why resilience is essential for an athlete’s recovery

Men’s basketball’s Gus Larson documents overcoming his physical injury, and subsequent mental struggles

WICKRAMASINGHE

NETHRA

Sports Reporter

During a routine practice in December 2022, sophomore forward Gus Larson of Penn men’s basketball twisted his ankle, resulting in a season-ending injury and a formidable mental roadblock for the New Canaan, Conn. native.

Later on, during a scrimmage over winter break, Larson crashed into a teammate and landed in an unnerving position. After consulting with Penn Medicine, he was told he had a herniated disc in his L5 and S1 vertebrae — an injury that saddled him on the bench for the remainder of the new semester. For many of us, one semester isn’t a lot of time in the grand scheme of things. But for someone

who’s lived and breathed basketball for the majority of their life, Larson’s physical injury also meant a profound injury to his mental health. Going into a second season of basketball with no prospect of playing in the immediate future was a mental hurdle that Larson found himself at odds with. While his experience is not distinctive in that most athletes experience some form of injury over the course of their careers, his mindset in dealing with the psychological and physical repercussions of a season on the bench is unique.

See INJURIES, page 9

with furious precision, as cheers of “Drombo!” filled the stands, growing louder with every strikeout.

There was nothing to close, because the door was never open — Drombroski made sure of it.

“As soon as you get out there, coach always stresses to work ahead, stay ahead, just fill up the zone,” Dromboski said. “I knew these guys weren’t going to be a team to be taken lightly. Coach was on one with the strike calling. I loved the pitch selection that he chose, and obviously the slider is my best pitch, so it’s really nice to be able to do it.”

Drombroski allowed just three hits and one run in his complete-game effort, striking out 12 Bears in the process. While the Quakers were not as hot at the plate as they had been in game two, home runs from junior third baseman Wyatt Henseler — his fourth in the last four games — and senior infielder Cole Palis were all the offense they needed to secure the 4-1 victory.

From Zaffiro and Dromboski’s heroics to the team’s composure in the face of Brown’s late surges, Penn has a lot to celebrate as the team returns home from Providence and looks ahead to the games to come.

“It’s really good,” Dromboski said of Penn’s new place atop the Ivy. “We just gotta keep it rolling. I’m happy with the guys. We’re all starting to heat up — offense is starting to get going, the pitching staff are bringing it all together. We’re going to be a threat to anyone if we just keep on working together.”

While the Penn and Princeton rivalry is not on the same level as the one between Duke and UNC, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t care. We should. We should care a lot more than we do right now.

On other college campuses, rivalries are lauded. The whole campus essentially shuts down on the day of the big game in favor of student celebrations. The anticipation is palpable everywhere you turn. You boo and jeer at the very mention of the other school.

But that’s not the case at Penn.

Sure, people turned up for the Princeton game on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in January. But would have that many people came if Penn was not giving out food or free t-shirts? The short answer is probably no. Even when there is a packed student body at the game, it is often not an engaged one. We need a study body that screams at the top of their lungs at every free throw and cheers for every three-pointer made.

We also need a student body that boos.

Rivalries are not only built off the concept of competition. They are also built off the dichotomy of love and hate: love for your team and hatred for the opposition. You need both factors to keep a rivalry going, and that hate is just as important as love. In my opinion, you cannot start rooting for your team’s rivalry just because your team is out of the competition. That defeats the point of a rivalry. A rivalry is supposed to be 24/7 — you don’t get days off just because they aren’t playing each other.

These rivalries thrive off intensity, intense love and intense hate. The hatred manifests itself into boos and jeers and mocking taunts in the arenas or stadiums that create a hostile

See COLUMN, page 8

PHOTOS BY ANNA VAZHAEPARAMBIL

On Wednesday night, No. 15 women’s lacrosse defeated Princeton 15-9 at Franklin Field with four goals from junior midfielder Maria Themelis. The Quakers are now 5-0 in Ivy competition, while every other team in the conference has at least two losses, guaranteeing Penn the regular season Ivy League title and home-field advantage in next month’s conference tournament.

PHOTO BY SAMANTHA TURNER