August 31, 2023

National Labor Relations Board rules

Penn RAs are employees

The union election will take place in late September

Penn’s $3.7M

loan to Amy Gutmann

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Penn loaned then-President Gutmann millions for new home in Center City

JARED MITOVICH

Senior Reporter

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Penn froze hiring, furloughed workers, and cut program budgets. It also issued then-President Amy Gutmann a $3.7 million home loan.

The University's loan to Gutmann – which was disclosed in the University’s tax filings and Gutmann’s ethics disclosures to become the United States ambassador to Germany – appears to rival the largest-ever loan issued to a college administrator in the Ivy League, according to an analysis by The Daily Pennsylvanian. The DP previously reported that the same tax filings showed that Gutmann received $23 million in compensation during the final year of her presidency, likely a record single-year payout to a university president.

How Penn’s testoptional policy has impacted students’ test

scores

Penn saw the biggest decrease in SAT score submissions among Ivy League schools who have shared data, according to the DP’s analysis

MAKENZIE KERNECKEL Staff Reporter

Nearly one-third of Penn sophomores did not submit any test scores in their applications, according to a Daily Pennsylvanian analysis.

Using data from the Common Data Set, the analysis examined trends in test scores for incoming first years from 2017 to 2022, comparing Penn to six other Ivy League schools. Dartmouth College was excluded due to missing test score data in 2021 and 2022.

According to the data, approximately 30% of the Class of 2026 did not submit test scores in 2022. This is an 8.7% increase from the previous year — the highest among the Ivy League schools that published SAT score information.

Despite having the most significant decrease in test submissions among the Ivy League from 2021 to 2022, Penn's median composite SAT score for incoming first-year students has displayed consistent growth since 2017. However, compared to other Ivy League schools, Penn has experienced a slower growth rate in median SAT scores since enacting a test-optional policy.

In 2023, Penn announced it would continue its undergraduate test-optional admissions policy for the 2023-24 application cycle. The Class of 2027 is the third class admitted under the policy, with the

See TESTS, page 2

According to Gutmann's ethics disclosures, the loan was issued in October 2020 at the federal mid-term rate of 0.38% and has a term of nine years or the termination of Gutmann's tenured professorship at Penn.

In the same month that the loan was issued, Gutmann said that she would take a pay freeze rather than a pay cut in light of the pandemic, when four other Ivy League presidents took pay cuts of 20% or more.

“In 2020, the Trustee Compensation Committee approved an employee loan for President Gutmann consistent with University policy and applicable laws and regulations to assist in her post President transition,” Board of Trustees Chair Scott Bok

Penn experienced the largest decrease in first-year SAT submission rates among the Ivy League from 2021 to 2022

CornellColumbiaPennBrownHarvardYalePrinceton

wrote in a statement to the DP. “The University, like many peer institutions, has from time to time made loans to senior leaders in order to attract and retain the best available talent in key positions.”

A spokesperson for the University declined to share the written loan agreement or minutes of the meeting where the loan was approved by the Compensation Committee.

Gutmann resigned the Penn presidency in February 2022 after she was confirmed as U.S. ambassador to Germany and since then has been on a leave of absence from her tenured professorship at Penn. In response to a request for comment

The National Labor Relations Board recognized Penn residential advisors and graduate resident associates as employees last week, ordering an official union vote.

A supermajority of RAs and GRAs filed to unionize earlier this year in March. Previously, when RAs and GRAs petitioned to unionize, the University argued that the students were not technically employees, and therefore the unionization laws did not apply. The NRLB rejected Penn's arguments on Aug. 21.

There are 223 RAs for the 2023-24 school year, and they will have the chance to partake in an oncampus election Sept. 27 and 28.

The Board of Trustees' official Statement of Position, obtained by The Daily Pennsylvanian, claims that the RAs are not employees of the University, but instead classifies them as student leaders with an "educational relationship" to Penn since they are not on the payroll.

“I find that the petitioned-for RAs are employees within the meaning of the act, and that there is no legal basis to preclude further processing of the petition, and I am therefore directing an election in the petitioned-for unit to be conducted," acting Regional Director of NLRB Region 4 Emily DeSa wrote in the agency's decision.

College senior Conor Emery, a second-year RA in Harnwell College House, said Penn has been pushing a narrative that a union “may not help” and could “actually make things worse.”

“From my point of view, Penn has been trying to avoid sending out too much information to RAs,” Emery said. “Even if we may only be in a position for a school year, it’s still work. It’s still something that we should receive more compensation [and] worker rights for.”

In response to a request for comment, University spokesperson Ron Ozio wrote that "RAs and GRAs

Penn welcomes Class of 2027, transfer students at this year’s Convocation

for the first time in recent memory

Penn welcomed the Class of 2027 and transfer students at the 2023 Convocation ceremony Monday night.

Numbers represent the percentage of incoming first years who submitted their SAT scores. Dartmouth College was excluded due to a lack of publicly availbale SAT score data.

This year’s Convocation took place for the first time in recent memory at Franklin Field, as opposed to the typical location on College Green, due to ongoing renovations to College Hall. Penn President Liz Magill, Vice Provost and Dean of Admissions Whitney Soule, and Provost John Jackson delivered speeches welcoming the incoming students, and Penny Loafers, Penn Band, and Penn Glee Club performed.

Magill began her speech with an interactive exercise,

prompting students in the first row to pass multicolored cards displaying the Class of 2027 logo backward until it reached the back row. Magill questioned if people remembered the color of their cards as well as the ones around them.

Magill said that the idea of how most students only remembered the color of their card represented that “we are hardwired to focus on what’s right in front of us." Instead, Magill said that the Class of 2027 should develop

PHOTO BY ABHIRAM JUVVADI

PHOTO BY KYLIE COOPER

This year’s Convocation featured speeches from Penn President Liz Magill, Vice Provost and Dean of Admissions Whitney Soule, and Provost John Jackson.

Over

6,000 students move into on-campus housing for new school year

For the first time in recent memory, students moving into the high rises via car were instructed to drive onto Locust Walk

NITIN SESHADRI AND EMILY PARK Senior Reporter and Staff Reporter

Over 6,000 students moved into Penn’s on-campus housing in the past week.

Penn Residential Services expected 2,423 firstyear and 133 transfer students, 2,398 second-year students, 553 third-year students, and 359 fourthyear students to move into campus housing between Aug. 21 and Aug. 27. In addition, 101 students returned to The Radian and 359 moved in, according to Barbara Lea-Kruger, director of communications and external relations at Penn Business Services.

As was the case last fall, Residential Services continued to use measures implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as mobile check-in, mobile guest passes, and arrival time slots, according to Penn Residential Services.

Students in specific groups began moving in starting Aug. 21, such as pre-orientation program participants and transfer, exchange, international, Penn First Plus-sponsored, and first-generation, low-income students. Incoming first years started moving in on Aug. 22, and returning students who did not move in early moved in between Aug. 25 and Aug. 28.

For the first time in recent memory, students moving into Harnwell, Harrison, and Rodin College Houses on Aug. 26 and Aug. 27 via car were instructed to drive onto Locust Walk from Walnut Street where they would stop at the unloading zone. Move-in team members would unload cars into carts, and drivers would move their cars off of Locust Walk once unloading was completed.

This year was also the first where graduate students could visit the Student Services Fair and the

Penn pilots first critical writing seminar for transfer students

This seminar will be the first class to be composed of only sophomore transfer students

HARSHA RAVINDRAN Staff Reporter

Penn has launched a new writing seminar this fall exclusively for incoming sophomore transfer students.

The seminar, titled “Sophomore Transfer Critical Writing Seminar: Belonging,” will be held twice a week from 5:15 to 6:44 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays by Fayyaz Vellani at Rodin College House. This critical writing seminar will be the first class to be composed of only sophomore transfer students.

Valerie Ross, senior director of the Marks Family Center for Excellence in Writing, said that a transfer-specific writing seminar is needed because sophomore transfer students don’t have the same first-year experience as most students in writing seminars.

“This writing seminar is a brilliant way to have a class that is designed for [transfer students], for what they’re encountering coming here from a different institution, for them to build peer networks, and to have some of those shared experiences themselves,” Ross told The Daily Pennsylvanian. “I hope that this gives them the community that [others] would get from the first-year writing seminars and enables them to ask the questions that they would otherwise be uncomfortable asking in regular writing seminars.”

When asked why it was important for the university to introduce a Transfer Critical Writing Seminar, Shannon Rogers, a senior in the School of Nursing and the current co-president of the Transfer

dining cafes were open for students to dine with their families and guests, Lea-Kruger wrote.

Wharton sophomore Allen Lin moved into The Radian, which will function as a part of Penn's College House system for the next three years. In a text message to the Daily Pennsylvanian, Lin wrote that the move-in process was "smooth overall" due to few people moving in early and an "abundance of close parking spaces and carts.”

There were a number of move-in coordinators to help students with the move-in process stationed around campus, including cart tents, unloading

zones, and designated move-in parking spots.

Some first years living in the Quad, where Riepe College House is currently closed for renovations, said their move-in process was chaotic. College first year Moussa Dibassy said his experience moving into Fisher Hassenfeld College House was a "little hectic” and that the PennCard system was a "nightmare.”

“There were so many different stations I had to get to before I could settle in,” he wrote. “Our car ended up in several different locations before we accessed any building – actually more of a hassle than I could

imagine.”

Another College first year, Sophia Mirabal, said that her move-in experience to Fisher “went as smoothly as possible.”

“Any issues I ran into during NSO were largely technical," she said. "I know most freshmen were not provided a lot of the attendance codes for [Thrive at Penn] after events, were unable to access laundry servers, et cetera."

Mirabal added that she had relied on student-made group chats or other third-party communication for navigation on campus.

Student Organization, spoke to the DP about the importance of providing a community for incoming transfer students.

“It can be a very overwhelming experience to transfer,” Rogers said. “[For incoming transfers] to have this opportunity to … take this class together means that they don’t just get to bond with other transfer students.”

College junior Mackenzie Sleeman, who formerly served as the New Transfer Representative of the Undergraduate Assembly and the Vice President of Student Life — Admissions & Academic Initiatives — for the Transfer Student Organization, spearheaded the initiative for the class.

Unlike most first years who currently populate the majority of transfer writing seminars, according to Sleeman, sophomore transfers can build on their previous, complex college writing experience and

he said.

Class of 2025 being the first.

Approximately seven out of 10 of Penn’s incoming first years did submit test scores in 2022. This places Penn's 2022 test score submission rate as the third-lowest among Ivy League schools excluding Dartmouth, with Columbia University and Cornell University having slightly lower rates at 68% and 59%, respectively.

Brian Taylor, a managing partner of the college counseling service Ivy Coach, said that Penn has one of the lower submission rates because of what he called "squeakers" – students who think they can be accepted without submitting test scores.

"Based on this data, it seems that there are more squeakers applying to the likes of Penn and Cornell and Columbia, thinking they can squeak into the Ivy League, whereas they know better when they’re applying to the likes of Harvard, Yale, and Princeton,"

understanding. He believes that having a transferspecific writing seminar enables students to receive a more tailored academic experience that acknowledges and builds on their previous learnings.

As a transfer student himself, Sleeman said he has been pioneering this initiative since fall 2022, when he realized that there were no transfer student-specific classes or writing seminars that spoke to this need.

Sleeman began by speaking to current transfer students and researching transfer writing seminars at different universities to form a proposal to administrators here at Penn. After working with The Marks Family Center for Excellence in Writing to develop the seminar, he worked with the Vice Provost for Education Karen Detlefsen to find optimal times for the seminar to be held and with Rodin College House to find a space for the seminar to be conducted in.

TESTS, from FRONT PAGE

Compared to the drop in test score submission, Penn’s median composite SAT score has increased steadily since 2017 for enrolled first years, increasing 9 points per year on average. Penn is the only Ivy League school where scores grew at a constant rate, with other Ivies experiencing accelerated growth in median scores after test-optional policies were announced in 2020.

If growth were to continue at its current average pace, Penn’s median SAT score would be on a trajectory to reach approximately 1560 by 2025.

Unlike Penn, whose median test scores have grown at a constant rate since 2019, other Ivies saw a decrease in median test scores from 2019 to 2020. But those schools, like Penn, saw significant jumps in median composite SAT scores following the implementation of test-optional policies.

For Penn's test scores only, the median SAT score has increased from 1490 to 1535 in the past five years, while the median ACT score has increased from 33.5 to 34.5. Penn’s median ACT score also experienced three plateaus since 2017.

Under a test-optional admissions policy, Vice Provost and Dean of Admissions Whitney Soule has said that first years can submit scores if they are happy with them.

“If you take a test and you feel good about the result, then you can include it and we’ll review that, too," Soule wrote in February 2022. "Or, if you take a test and you’re not happy with the result – for how it represents you – then you can withhold it, and that's just fine with us."

College first year Moe Mansour – an international student from Lebanon who was admitted as a member of the Class of 2026 but took a leave of

Sleeman said that this Transfer Critical Writing Seminar is a pilot program and that if it is successful, the program will be considered again for future semesters. He is currently focused on increasing transfer student engagement with the writing seminar and creating more awareness of its existence among incoming transfer students.

Sleeman said that he hopes to accomplish his goals through moderating information sessions for prospective students at other institutions who are looking to transfer to Penn, and using the transfer student Instagram account and communication channels to promote this course.

“Our aim is for this to be a safe space for transfer students to share their experiences in a place where the environment can shape how the curriculum is played out in a way that is relevant to them,” Sleeman said.

absence before beginning this fall – said he submitted his SAT score because he was competing with applicants who had the advantage of taking IB or AP classes.

"People submitted scores, even if it was on the lower end or [in] the 10th percentile," Mansour said of students with whom he has spoken about their test scores.

Taylor said that students who submit scores are typically not submitting scores that are below the mean and added that he would still encourage applicants to submit a test score.

"No matter what schools like Penn tell you, students with great scores will always enjoy an advantage over students who do not submit scores," Taylor said.

Note: The available data does not include students who submitted both SAT and ACT scores.

PHOTO BY ABHIRAM JUVVADI

PHOTO BY ABHIRAM JUVVADI

If it is successful, the Transfer Critical Writing

Seminar

will be considered

again for future semesters.

Incoming first-years started moving in on Aug. 22, with returning students moved in after starting Aug. 25.

Black first years participate in new student-run summer mentorship program

Over 70 first years and a dozen mentors were involved with the program in its second year

DEDEEPYA GUTHIKONDA Senior Reporter

A new program offers Black rising first years at Penn a mentorship experience beginning the summer prior to their arrival to campus.

Founded last summer by College senior Mason Perry and College junior I’deyah Ricketts, the program — called the Pregame — attracted over 70 first years and 12 mentors in its second year. Although the Pregame is not directly affiliated with Penn organizations, its membership overlaps closely with the Black Student League, which helps advertise the program to incoming first years.

Originally, Perry and Ricketts said they founded the program after Perry witnessed a need for a preorientation program specifically for Black first years.

“I was the first from my school coming to an Ivy, and I didn’t know anyone here,” Perry said. “I wanted to create something that could help people not feel lost, especially within their own community. I created the Pregame so Penn students could have a real and uncut version of what it means to be Black at Penn.”

Mentors are selected through an application process, and the program is widely promoted through Instagram to Penn first years, including on an Instagram page specifically created for Black students new to Penn.

Each mentor is assigned a group of mentees, and sessions are held on Zoom throughout the summer for all program participants. Lessons — with topics ranging from academics and dating to parties and transportation around Philadelphia — are designed for each session. Additional "unfiltered sessions” are designed as a space for more personal topics to be discussed.

“We talk about our personal experiences as Black people, and you see some very vulnerable and deeply personal stories [during unfiltered sessions],” College sophomore and mentor Corey Brooks, who participated in the program as a first year last summer, said.

The Pregame is entirely student led, and although

the program's founders plan to incorporate it into the Student Activities Council in future years, Ricketts and Perry originally wanted to run the program adjacent to Penn.

The student-led aspect of Pregame distinguishes it from other pre-orientation programs at Penn, which receive a greater level of direct support from the University.

“I wanted to hear [about the Black student experience] firsthand from a student and not organized by the school,” College first year and mentee Mayokun Omitogun said.

Many students come to the program nervous about choosing Penn as a predominantly white institution.

“We want to emphasize the challenges and adversity that can come with navigating a PWI, but also how to make the most out of your experience at Penn,” Ricketts said.

Brooks, who attended a predominantly white high school, chose between attending a historically black college or university and Penn.

“I didn’t necessarily know if I was going to find my community,” Brooks said. “The Pregame definitely opened my eyes and made me a little bit more confident in moving and acclimating into Penn.”

Perry, on the other hand, attended a predominantly Black high school, but the Black community at Penn still surprised him because of its diversity.

“Our goal is to make sure that our mentees understand that the Black community at Penn is diverse, and that no matter who they are or what they are, there is a pocket in the Black community for them,” Perry said.

Another topic regularly discussed is safe spaces for Black students to go to on campus, including the cultural house Makuu: The Black Cultural Center,

and social events that other Black organizations often host. Social norms at Penn are among the popular topics discussed, including the expenses often associated with the social scene at Penn.

“I think something that a lot of people talk about are very pricey events that a lot of people who aren't used to this type of lifestyle can't get into, so I think having the Pregame early on before people get to campus allows them to be aware of what they're about to walk into,” Wharton junior and BSL President Claire Kafeero said.

Perry said a defining moment for him for learning about Penn's social scene was when a group of Black students were egged during a Spring Fling party in 2022.

“It was a moment in my college experience where I realized racism is very much still alive,” Perry said.

While the Pregame has concluded its summer mentorship sessions, mentors and mentees are given the opportunity to meet during a New Student Orientation event. The mentorship aspect of the program is anticipated to continue, although informally, throughout the year.

“The epitome of this program is just the fact that this is everything I would have wanted as a freshman,” Perry said.

As Ricketts and Perry prepare to graduate, they said they are hopeful that the program will continue to grow and anticipate incorporating the program formally into Penn in order to receive funding and expand.

“We have been passing the reins off to them a little bit more, being a little less involved than we were last year just to give them more agency and control over things,” Ricketts said. “I'm excited to see where it goes.”

New

PAACH director talks to the DP about creating ‘a welcoming space’

Mei Long is a 2011 Graduate School of Education graduate

DIAMY WANG

Staff Reporter

The Daily Pennsylvanian spoke with the new director of the Pan-Asian American Community House about her journey at Penn and her goals for the future of the organization.

PAACH welcomed new director Mei Long on July 3, filling a vacancy created after the abrupt departure of former Director Peter Van Do in September 2022. Long, a 2011 graduate from the Graduate School of Education, has served in numerous roles at Penn, her most recent being the associate director of academic affairs and advising in the Wharton School’s undergraduate division.

Long told the DP that she was optimistic about PAACH’s future in regards to its headquarters in the ARCH. Previously, PAACH was housed in the ARCH basement, but will soon be incorporated into the rest of the building as part of the University’s commitment to expanding the cultural resource centers.

“I’m really excited about [the changes to the ARCH building,]” Long said. “President Magill actually reached out to me. I was a little surprised, but then I also appreciated that because it really speaks about the University’s attention to our community as well.”

Long started her career at Penn as a student at the Graduate School of Education after moving to the United States from China. She said that had she stayed in China, her goal would have been to become a college professor. However, she told the DP that during her time at Penn, she

GUTMANN, from FRONT PAGE

directed to Gutmann, the U.S. Department of State referred the DP to Penn.

"Pursuant to written policy, the University grants leaves of absence for employment elsewhere for up to two years," Gutmann wrote in her ethics disclosures to the U.S. Office of Government Ethics in 2021. "If the University extends my leave of absence past two years so that I may continue to serve as Ambassador to Germany, I will refinance the loan with a different lender, pay market rate for the remaining period of my government service, or pay off the loan."

Multiple experts that spoke with the DP said that universities commonly issue home loans to top administrators for retention purposes, often in the earlier stages of the hire. They said that more public information was necessary to determine whether the loan issued to Gutmann was fully appropriate, though it is not illegal.

"[$3.7 million] is a large amount, even for the wealthiest charities," Notre Dame School of Law professor Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer said. "And often university presidents are provided with housing by the university, particularly the more elite universities."

As president, Gutmann was contractually obligated to live in the President's House, known as Eisenlohr, located at 3812 Walnut St. Mayer added that the size of university loans issued for home purchases is typically associated with the cost of the home but could also cover furnishings and related expenses.

According to Philadelphia property records and Zillow, a 5,000-square-foot home in the Fitler Square neighborhood of Center City was purchased under the name of Michael Doyle, Gutmann's husband, for $3.6 million in December 2020. The address is the same as the address listed in Gutmann's voter registration records.

Mayer said that universities typically issue home loans to deans and other senior officers as part of their compensation package, to help them purchase houses when they begin their tenure — especially at universities in expensive real estate markets.

In addition to Gutmann, Penn currently has two $150,000 loans issued to Penn Nursing Dean Antonia M. Villaruel and Graduate School of Education dean Pam Grossman before she left office in July.

The purpose of Gutmann's loan was initially listed as "retention" in the University's tax filings for fiscal year 2021 and as a "special employee loan" in the same filings for fiscal year 2022. It was issued during the 16th year of her presidency and had increased to a balance of $3,714,060 as of Penn's most recent tax filings.

"It's less common, in my experience, that this happens that there's a general loan as this one appears to be to the officer without ties, for example, to buy the house when they first take the job," Mayer said. "But it does happen."

Glenn Colby, the senior research officer in the department of research and public policy at the American Association of University Professors, said a home loan "can be viewed as an investment" of the University's money.

"A university the size of Penn has an endowment, and they have to decide, what are our investments?" he said. "In this case, it appears that they said, for one investment, would we give a large loan to [Gutmann]?"

Colby added that the nine-year term of the loan matches what limited research has typically observed for loans issued by universities to professors.

Separately from issuing home loans to University officers, the Office of Penn Home Ownership Services offers an application for financing for home purchases and renovations in West Philadelphia. According to the office’s website, over 1,400 employees and families have participated in the program.

"It's definitely not a good look," Colby said. "It's like why, why are they giving her a loan that massive? And then she left two years after she got the loan."

While Colby said it was positive that Penn reported the loan in its tax filings he said he would expect minutes of the meeting where the loan was approved to be available to the public.

"The public information raises a lot of fair and legitimate questions that need to be answered about the specifics of the actual loan agreement with the University," Dean Zerbe, a former senior tax counsel on the United States Senate Committee on Finance who has conducted oversight of loans to charitable officers, said.

quickly discovered that she had other passions.

“I enjoy having the opportunity to have conversations with students about their personal, professional life and their career,” Long said.

“After coming to the U.S., especially at Penn, I realized there are so many other different ways for me to do that, instead of just becoming a college professor.”

After graduating from GSE, Long worked in career and academic advising positions across multiple universities, including Penn and Drexel University. In her most recent role

RAs, from FRONT PAGE

are important student leaders on campus and valued members of the Penn community." He added that Penn encourages RAs and GAs "to be as informed as possible and to vote on the significant issue of unionization."

Ozio said that College House & Academic Services has emailed a Frequently Asked Questions page to all RAs and GAs that contains information about the unionization process.

Scott Williams, an OPEIU Local 153 union organizer and 2016 graduate of the Graduate School of Education, is helping with unionization efforts at Penn and has worked on campaigns at other schools, such as Wesleyan, Tufts, Barnard, and Fordham. Williams, who has several years of experience under his belt, said that the NLRB's decision is “historic.”

While this is the second time that the federal government has ruled RAs and GAs as employees — previously, Columbia University RAs were recognized as employees — the upcoming election will be the first time that there is going to be an election based on a hearing.

“It’s creating a precedent that student employees have rights as employees and are entitled to the rights of collective bargaining and will impact students all over the country,” Williams said.

Many RAs said that they are not receiving adequate compensation. One component RAs are pushing for is a larger dining plan.

“We have to strategically think about where we’re going to get our next meal,” College sophomore and Fisher-Hasenfield College House RA Omar Elsakhawy said. “My friends who were returning RAs have told me different strategies about maximizing my food.”

Elsakhawy said that the University has employed union-busting tactics, especially against international students.

“They fear that if we are recognized as employees, then they have to comply with the visa restrictions that apply to employees,” Elsakhawy said.

Union activity across Penn is increasing. Around 1,400 residents and fellows at Penn Med residents voted to unionize in May, becoming the first house staff union in Pennsylvania. Several thousand undergraduates and graduate student workers are in the process of gaining union recognition as well.

at Wharton, she spearheaded efforts to strike up conversations about the Asian identity and experience, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Long’s assumption of her new role completes PAACH’s professional staff, which has seen numerous vacant roles over four years. This past January, PAACH hired Vicky Aquino and Daniel Hoddinott as associate directors after a vacancy of three years. Cindy Au-Kramer, PAACH’s finance, operations, and program coordinator, oversaw its day-to-day operations in the interim period before Long and the associate directors were hired.

“Now, we’re really in a great position in terms of staffing,” Long said, adding that she believes PAACH is now prepared to “help increase the awareness of the issues that are facing and impacting our Asian community and to try to find ways to address those issues.”

Among the issues that Long identified is the “bamboo ceiling,” or the stereotypes and discriminations that Asians face in the workplace. Long specifically cited the lack of Asian roles in higher leadership.

“Because of our history of this country, because of the misperceptions of who we are, we are often seen as doers and not leaders,” she said. “I feel like we, as a Center, need to talk about these issues with all our schools so that they can think about how they can better support our Asian students — in all those different aspects of their life: in the club process, as they go through the recruiting process.”

Long told the DP she was most excited about a fully staffed professional team and having the opportunity to actualize PAACH’s goals.

“We just want to ... think about how we can make PAACH a welcoming space for the entire Asian community of undergrad and grads ... so that we can come together to uplift each other’s experience,” she said. “That’s really our goal moving forward.”

CONVOCATION, from FRONT PAGE

a “fisheye lens” while at Penn and be open to fresh new ideas and a broad perspective.

“Definitely focus on the card in front of you, but don’t lose sight of the brilliant array of cards around you,” Magill said.

Convocation for the Class of 2027 was markedly different from last year’s event, where the ceremony was cut short by over 100 protestors who interrupted Magill’s first Convocation speech. The protestors chanted “Save UC Townhomes” and “Stop Penn-trification!” in an effort to challenge the planned eviction of residents living in the 70 affordable housing units near campus.

University Chaplain Chaz Howard acknowledged that this year's Convocation coincided with the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington, making it an “auspicious day” for students to begin their studies.

Newly appointed Provost John Jackson encouraged students to take advantage of student groups and new opportunities to meet others with different stories than their own. President of the Class of 2024 and Wharton and Engineering senior Toyosi Abu presented the official flag of the Class of 2027.

During the ceremony, messages and photos posted on X – formerly known as Twitter – or Instagram with the hashtag #Penn2027 were displayed on the LED scoreboard behind the podium. After the ceremony, students attended a refreshment ceremony at a tent on Shoemaker Green.

First-year students said that they enjoyed the ceremony.

“[Convocation] was really amazing," Wharton first year Vikram Baliga said. "… I think the scenery was great as well; it was a beautiful day and the background made for great photos.”

Engineering first year Evan Canis echoed Baliga's sentiments and said they appreciated the opportunity to hear from University leadership.

“It’s inspiring to see everybody here together and hear exciting words from the great leadership and membership of UPenn faculty,” Canis said.

Magill's speech inspired Engineering and Wharton first year Patrick Zhou to look forward to his time at Penn.

"I agree with [President Magill] as we often focus on what’s ahead of us and don’t pay attention to everything else around us," Zhou said. "I’m looking forward to the next four years.”

PHOTO FROM PAACH

Mei Long, a 2011 Graduate School of Education graduate, said she wants Penn’s schools to think about how they can improve Asian students’ experience.

At the start of a new academic year, what I really enjoy is learning how students spent their summer. Some of you had internships and other work experiences that opened your eyes to new post-graduation possibilities. Some of you spent time in classes or research labs. All of you, I hope, also found time to rest, recharge, and have some fun.

As for my summer? I continued to get out and meet with the Penn community, including at our second annual ice cream social in July. Not long after, I attended a different kind of social — this time for Leadership@Penn, a program at Penn that offers professional development and mentorship to staff who are rising leaders in their fields. I joined alumni of the program for a great conversation on the idea and ethos of service-leadership: a leadership philosophy that prioritizes helping other people advance and thrive. Such service is woven into Penn’s DNA. Benjamin Franklin recognized the vital role that service plays in education when he noted in “Proposals Relating to the Education of Youth in Pensilvania” that “an inclination joined with an ability to serve … should indeed be the great aim and end of all learning.” Service-leadership is a privilege, no matter the role we are called to fulfill. And it’s a privilege that Penn gifts us day in and

day out. There’s College senior Stephanie Chen, who uses ping-pong to empower Parkinson’s patients. The Weitzman School of Design’s Molly Lester collects fresh-baked goods for underserved populations and nonprofit partners across the city. Physics and astronomy professor Arnold Mathijssen is pioneering “kitchen science,” a unique concept that teaches Philadelphia high school students basic scientific concepts using inexpensive tools and materials from the kitchen.

These are just a few examples at Penn. And service-leadership isn’t just in our founding DNA. It is also critical to the future — both Penn’s and the world’s. As many of you know, our University community engaged in Tomorrow, Together, a strategic planning process for several months, last academic year. This University-wide effort generated a range of compelling ideas and institutional values responsive to our world’s needs. I was not at all surprised to find among them the critical necessity of cultivating excellent leaders — leaders who serve others and not themselves. Our planning process is ongoing, but I can confidently predict that educating and empowering leaders who serve will be integral to Penn’s future path. As we mark the beginning of another

The ‘Freshman 15’

academic year, I encourage you to embrace this distinctively Penn calling. Be mindful of all the ways, every day, that you may already serve as a leader. Seek out additional opportunities to grow your role and help others thrive. For all this and more, welcome to another

exceptional year at Penn. Have a great year, Quakers.

GUEST COLUMN | Navigating college one step at a time through parties, pranks, and kiddie pools

you to do something illegal. That said, “institutions” boil down to people, and those people say “no” less often than you’d expect. Bring a kiddie pool onto Locust Walk, ask for free food, and pretend to know a frat brother.

5 lbs — Seek discomfort: Novelty can lead to unprecedented levels of selfgrowth. One of my most uncomfortable yet rewarding Penn experiences? Taking CIS 1600. My next great idea: start a band with minimal music skills or audition for every campus performing arts group.

6 lbs — Experience the joy of missing out: There will always be a limitless number of fun things to do. Instead of agonizing over your absence, take joy in knowing that you made the decision to skip the activity. As author Oliver Burkeman writes, “It’s not really 'missing out' if everyone’s inevitably doing it; feeling bad about that is like beating yourself up for being unable to count to infinity.”

10 lbs — Talk to strangers: I met one of my closest friends at Penn by asking them about rotten eggs. While not all interactions will work out like that, some of the best conversations and friendships can arise from the least expected places. After all, strangers are friends you haven’t met yet.

11 lbs — Venture out of the Penn Bubble: Don’t just pop the bubble, burst it. While Penn and University City have their charm, Philadelphia has many well-known corners and hidden gems worth exploring. Penn also offers a relatively underused, yet free transit system that can take students into Center City.

12 lbs – Say thank you: Penn students enjoy a caring community of security guards, dining staff, friends, family, and professors. Their impactful efforts, however, often go unnoticed. A brief "thank you" can heighten your awareness and enrich the lives of those who support you.

My college trajectory rocketed me from a pantless, COVID-strained first year to a somewhat lucid senior who typically remembers to put on pants.

Along the way, I’ve played party music and handed out peanuts in an elevator for three hours, interned for the moon (okay, maybe not literally — I worked at NASA — but you get the idea), and fallen victim to a prank by a professor.

That’s my way of saying I’m still winging it and still want and need to grow. In the spirit of offering some unsolicited advice, here's my not-so-typical "Freshman 15."

1 lb — Strategically underachieve: At Penn, the word “underachieving” is understood about as much as letting Wharton kids schedule class on Fridays. But it will be incredibly difficult to

balance acing your studies, taking care of yourself, and having a blast. Strategically deciding where you’re okay with having an imbalance can take a lot of pressure off your shoulders.

2 lbs — Learn what to think about, not just how to think: The value of a liberal arts education lies in learning about attention. What you pay attention to defines your reality. I can’t recommend enough listening to David Foster Wallace’s 22-minute speech about this idea.

3 lbs — Never say no because of homework: Okay, maybe not “never,” but it’s generally a good idea to jump at and into opportunities. Prioritize the unforgettable by choosing lasting memories over lengthy assignments.

4 lbs — Break a few rules: For my own sake, don’t take this as me telling

7 lbs - Embrace yourself and your genius: Imposter syndrome can definitely feel real – look anywhere on campus, and you’ll find someone who’s cured some new disease or started a revolutionary new non-profit. Penn chose you for a reason; own and celebrate that.

8 lbs — Seek communities, not clubs: Clubs at Penn love their rejection letters. While clubs can provide close friendships, I’ve found my best communities through freshman seminars, religious groups, and semesters abroad.

9 lbs — Contextualize: Before all four midterms in my sophomore year intro psych course, my professor would give the same speech: “This is one of four tests you will take in this class, one class of 5 you’re taking this semester, one semester of 8 you’ll have during your time at Penn, and one four-year blip of time in a long life.”

13 lbs — Read for fun: A great book not only provides solace from hectic days but also imparts knowledge. Try to finish just one book a semester by reading for 10-20 minutes before you sleep.

14 lbs — Create class spreadsheets: Organize course requirements, track completed courses, and ensure graduation readiness.

15 lbs — Gain 15 pounds: Care a little less. Rare are the junctures in life that gift you both the opportunity to learn and the pleasure of having a fun, smart, and unique cohort of friends. Wear pajamas to formals, gain 15 pounds, and realize you’ll be fine in the end.

DANIEL GUREVITCH is a senior in the College studying political science and psychology from Wynnewood, PA. His email is dgure@sas.upenn.edu.

Life beyond Locust: The disappearing act of upperclassmen engagement

GUEST COLUMN | Unraveling the enigma of upperclassmen integration

As most of you are aware, Penn requires students to live on campus for the first two years of undergraduate study. While some students choose to remain in the dorms for the remainder of their time at Penn, many upperclassmen opt for off-campus living arrangements. Whether these upperclassmen are living alone, with friends and teammates, or with complete strangers, their overall social interactions tend to diminish rapidly.

Although forming deep connections and tight-knit groups is a hallmark of the college experience, spontaneous experiences help cultivate individuals as social beings. As an institution, Penn must do more to incentivize campus involvement for its upperclassmen.

Not only is Penn a world-class institution that offers a plethora of academic resources, it is home to roughly 10,000 undergraduates who provide remarkable socioeconomic and cultural diversity. Many students decided to attend a university like Penn to broaden their horizons, yet they are depriving themselves of countless opportunities to do just that.

A study conducted by Alexander W. Astin explored the connection between campus involvement and students’ sense of belonging. Utilizing a longitudinal design, in which roughly 24,000 students were surveyed nationwide about their levels of campus engagement and emotional connections to their institutions, Astin found a positive correlation between the degree of involvement in extracurricular activities and the sense of belonging that a student felt at a respective university.

The study also found that students who took it upon themselves to undergo independent research and studies felt a deeper connection to their academic performance and reported higher grade point averages in the aggregate. Finding new avenues to communicate with others in a productive manner fosters growth on both the individual and campus level, allowing an institution like Penn to act as a social catalyst for its student population.

The objective of this piece is not to discredit Penn’s ability to foster lifelong friendships and an incredible college

experience. Even with the residual effects of the COVID-19 pandemic still impacting our personal lives, Penn is known as "the Social Ivy." But with the help of our administration and faculty, we can do more to elevate the campus experience for upperclassmen. One’s experiential curiosity and social integration does not need to end after sophomore year. Our upperclassmen have so much left to offer and receive from an immersive campus experience at one of America’s premier institutions. Granted, Penn is located in one of the country’s most populated cities, making it potentially challenging for students to balance the downtown excursions with campus life. However, I would argue that the urban experience enhances our ability to interact with different cultures and ideologies that we can, in turn, bring back to the Penn ecosystem. Incentivizing campus involvement may seem like an uphill battle at the present moment, but I am confident that most students at Penn are not actively disengaging themselves. Rather, it is likely a direct

byproduct of students’ off-campus living arrangements coupled with increased physical and psychological distance from the campus center.

There are countless tactics and strategies to resolve this phenomenon. A few potential solutions that would be relatively simple to implement include specialized upperclassmen events, condensed scheduling that promotes longer stays on campus grounds, community partnership initiatives, and an off-campus student advisory board that addresses the needs of students living on their own. While it may take years for Penn to reap the benefits of these initiatives, it is nevertheless an endeavor that would provide immense upside for the student community. Life at Penn does not stop beyond Locust Walk, so our engagement with Penn should not either.

AIDAN NASH is a College senior studying philosophy, politics, and economics from Philadelphia. His email is aidan01@sas.upenn.edu.

is the ninth president of the University of Pennsylvania. Her email is president@upenn.edu.

PHOTO BY JESSE ZHANG

Penn President Liz Magill greeted new students at the President and Provost’s First-Year Family Welcome in front of College Hall on Aug. 23.

PHOTO BY OLIVIA WEST

Students walk through the Lower Quad on Oct. 31, 2021.

Faculty should not participate in Penn’s anti-union campaigns

GUEST COLUMN | We can say no to Penn’s anti-union talking points

Today, two union organizing drives are underway at Penn: one among resident advisors in the dorms, and another among research and teaching assistants. These campaigns follow successful unionization drives by Penn Medicine housestaff, now organized in CIR/SEIU, and Penn Museum Workers United, now members of AFSCME DC 47. Unionization at Penn is a hopeful sign of the times: After decades of attacks on unions and an attendant rise in economic inequality, young workers nationwide are exercising their legal right to organize, and public support for unions has reached historic heights. Unfortunately, our University administration has responded to organizing drives by launching antiunion campaigns. As faculty members, we object to those campaigns, and we are particularly troubled by administrators’ attempts to enlist faculty in them. In recent months, administrators have emailed professors across the University to direct us to anti-union websites, hoping that we would pass their messages along to student workers. It is incumbent upon us not to do so.

Penn’s websites present talking points that have been part of anti-union campaigns since the 1970s, crafted by anti-union law firms and consultants. When workers launch organizing drives, over three-quarters of United States employers hire such firms. Penn is no different, and currently uses the law firm Cozen O’Connor.

Anti-union campaigns target workers with a standard set of messages, delivered through phone calls, text messages, emails, websites, mailers, and meetings with supervisors.

They depict unions as third parties that supposedly interfere with workers’ individual relationships with

employers. In fact, unions are organizations of workers themselves. Workers make up the bargaining committees that negotiate contracts, vote on contracts, and participate in grievance procedures. Workers organize unions precisely because individuals do not have effective negotiating power with large institutions. Collective bargaining is a way to make workers’ voices heard.

They warn workers about union dues, implying that they might be worse off if they unionize. This is not a credible argument. Workers don’t pay dues until they vote to ratify their first contract and they have no reason to ratify contracts that leave them worse off.

Furthermore, according to the Department of Labor, unionized workers earn 18% more than non-union workers in the United States; union dues are generally less than 2% of wages.

They issue threats couched as expressions of concern. For instance, employers warn that it might take workers years to negotiate a first contract and the terms might be even worse than their current terms of employment. These are threats indicating the employer intends to fight workers in contract negotiations.

They warn that unions impose rigid rules. This obscures the fact that union contracts take many forms.

Unionized workers in U.S. universities have negotiated contracts protecting some forms of flexibility, such as work hours, while establishing guarantees that workers need. This argument also ignores the fact that workers in non-union settings are already subject to rules; unionizing simply allows them a voice in determining and enforcing them. Finally, this argument

loses its luster when one realizes that all employers make it: Big-box stores, manufacturers, and institutions of higher education all claim that they are uniquely flexible workplaces where unions could not operate.

They present positive workplace policies as evidence that workers don’t need unions. This obscures the fact that current policies are products of past mobilizations. For instance, in recent decades, organizing drives by graduate student workers have led universities nationwide to improve funding and benefits packages. Penn’s websites now present those improvements as evidence that organizing is needless or destructive.

All of these talking points appear on Penn’s websites. The administration is deploying other standard anti-union tactics as well. For instance, in April, lawyers from Cozen O’Connor challenged resident advisors’ right to unionize before the National Labor Relations Board. The NLRB rejected that challenge in August, ruling that RAs and GRAs are indeed employees with the right to unionize and engage in collective bargaining.

Anti-union messages and tactics have no place in our community. Their fundamental purpose is to interfere with workers’ right to organize, guaranteed in the 1935 National Labor Relations Act. That law established that the decision to form a union — or not to do so — belongs to workers themselves. Employers do not get a vote in certification elections, and their views are simply irrelevant. Penn’s anti-union campaigns convey an unwillingness to accept those facts. They aim to sow doubt, fear, and confusion among

workers to sway the outcome of elections. Their legal maneuvers seek to strip workers of their right to organize entirely.

We further object to these messages because they aim to enlist faculty members in anti-union activity.

The Provost’s guidelines for faculty advisors present intimidating and misleading messages for us to pass along to graduate student workers. They aim to instrumentalize our relationships of mutual respect and trust with TAs and RAs, and in setting us up to transmit misinformation, they threaten to corrode those very relationships and compromise our integrity.

Finally, we object to these tactics because they are inconsistent with the research and teaching mission of the University. Paying law firms to fight our own teaching assistants, research assistants, and RAs simply is not a productive use of Penn’s resources. Neither is it a rational defense of institutional interests. The improved working conditions that unionization might yield would not harm the university; rather, they would make Penn a better place for all of us to teach, learn, and conduct research.

The proper posture of an employer during an organizing drive is neutrality: management should simply step back and allow workers to make their decision. Neutrality not only respects the original spirit of the National Labor Relations Act, but it lays the groundwork for a productive, mutually beneficial relationship with a union should workers vote to form one.

For all these reasons, Penn’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors wrote to Penn’s president and provost in June asking them to take down all anti-union websites and end the antiunion campaigns. They refused to do so.

Faculty advisors, department chairs, graduate chairs, and deans now have decisions to make. Will we pass along Cozen O’Connor’s talking points and allow ourselves to be used in an anti-union campaign? Or will we decline to do so?

We all have the latitude to say no. In past organizing drives at Penn, some deans simply have not transmitted anti-union communications and have declined to testify against graduate student workers before the NLRB. Some department chairs, graduate chairs, and faculty advisors have likewise made principled decisions not to serve as conduits for antiunion messages.

If we value our integrity, our relationships with student workers, and the principles of freedom of association and workplace democracy, we will follow those examples today.

AMY C. OFFNER is an associate professor of History and president of AAUP-Penn. Her email is offner@sas.upenn.edu.

EMILY STEINLIGHT is an associate professor of English and vice president of AAUP-Penn. Her email is emily.steinlight@english.upenn.edu.

PHOTO BY ABHIRAM JUVVADI

Over 200 Penn graduate student workers rallied for union recognization in front of College Hall on April 26.

Men’s soccer nationally ranked ahead of 2023 campaign

The Quakers slot in at No. 25 in the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll

WALKER CARNATHAN Deputy Sports Editor

As the current defenders of the Ivy League Title, expectations have already began to mount for Penn men’s soccer, despite the start of the season remaining days away.

The Quakers were ranked as the No. 25 team in the nation by the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll, the final team on the list. This placement comes after a 2022 season that saw the Red and Blue bring home the Ivy League title and advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Despite their status as reigning Ancient Eight champions, the Quakers are not the highest ranked team from the Ivy League. Cornell slots in at No. 20, setting the stage for another season of stiff competition between the Big Red and the Red and Blue. Penn will host the Big Red on Oct. 7 at Penn Park.

Many of the Quakers’ biggest contributors from their banner year last season are returning for the season ahead. Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year and second team All-American Stas Korzeniowski will look to continue wreaking havoc on opposing defenses, fresh off a summer campaign in which he led semi-professional club Ballard FC to a USL League 2 championship victory.

Also back in the fold are Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year Leo Burney, second team All-Ivy goalie Nick Christofferson, and All-Ivy Honorable Mention Ben Do, who was also a part of the Ballard FC title team.

The Quakers have not won back-to-back Ivy League titles since 1973. But if preseason predictions are any indication, they have what it takes to do it again.

now just has two opponents set: Saint Joseph’s and Villanova. Depending on the results of those two matchups, Penn will then face either Drexel, Temple, or La Salle in the Big 5 Classic at the Wells Fargo Center on Dec. 2.

That game will be one of two the Quakers play in South Philadelphia this season; they return the following Saturday to play Kentucky at the Wells Fargo Center. Additionally, UCLA and Villanova are scheduled to face off that day in the same venue, according to Jon Rothstein.

Another highlight of the Red and Blue’s non-conference schedule comes as the calendar turns to 2024. While most students rest at home for winter break, the Quaker team will head south to face Houston and Auburn on Dec. 30 and Jan. 2, respectively. These represent what will likely be two of Penn’s toughest matchups this upcoming campaign. The Cougars spent numerous weeks as the Associated Press’ No. 1 ranked team in the country last season and ultimately were the top seed in the midwest region of last year’s March Madness. Auburn, meanwhile, went 21-13 overall in 2022-23 — including an impressive 14-2 at home.

Upon returning to the Palestra, Penn will begin its Ivy League schedule with 14 conference games — one at home and one on the road against each Ancient Eight team between Jan. 6 and March 9. Of note is that of the three back-to-backs Penn has to play, two of them are on the road – at Brown and Yale on Feb. 2-3 and at Dartmouth and Harvard on Feb. 23-24. The latter of those could be especially difficult for the Quakers, given that they are playing two games the previous weekend as well, hosting Yale and Brown on Feb. 16-17. Therefore, Penn will have four games in nine days — the most crowded stretch of their conference schedule.

As has been the case in recent years, the final game of the Quakers’ regular season schedule is set to be with the Princeton Tigers on March 9. But, while last year’s matchup was in New Jersey, this year’s will be at the Palestra – with spots in Ivy Madness or even a conference title potentially on the line.

Men’s soccer was named Ivy League champions last season, following their win against Princeton on Nov. 12,

Quakers ring in 2023 by taking on North Carolina, a chance to make a huge statement and score revenge.

In 2022, the Tar Heels blanked the Quakers 4-0 in part of a turbulent 0-7 start for the Red and Blue.

But Penn turned that season around, winning seven of its last 10 and going 5-3 in the Ivy League. It is that drive that will carry the team into 2023. With two of their top three scorers back in the fold, the sky is the limit for the Red and Blue.

Football Following an impressive 8-2 campaign last season, Penn football will be trying to continue the momentum gained in 2022. Last year, the Quakers started red hot by winning their first six games before falling to Brown and Harvard late in the year and finishing second in the Ivy League. This time around, Dan Swanstrom returns for a second year as the Quakers’ offensive coordinator, and junior quarterback Aidan Slayin is set to enter the season as starting quarterback.

Despite losing some of last year’s standouts to graduation or the transfer portal, Penn also has several other key contributors returning this year. Senior defensive backs Jaden Key and Kendren Smith are both back for a fifth year, and have both been chosen for preseason first-team All-Ivy recognition, alongside junior Julian Stokes, who was selected as a kick returner. Eight additional Quakers received second-team honors.

Sprint Football

Last year brought much of a mixed back for sprint football as the team finished 3-4, down from a 5-2 record in 2021. But over the summer, the Quakers made some moves as they hired Bobby Ray Harris as defensive coordinator, promoting him from the role of video coordinator. Harris previously held coaching positions at Rowan, William Paterson, and Saint Peter’s, as well as with the Rams of the NFL.

This year, the Quakers will kick off with their traditional Alumni Game on Sept. 9, followed by their

FALL SPORTS, from BACK PAGE

first intercollegiate match the following weekend at Chestnut Hill. Penn will be seeking to win the Collegiate Sprint Football League for the first time since 2016, and break the service academies’ recent hold on the league.

Women’s Golf

For the fall portion of its 2023-24 season, women’s golf has four tournaments ranging from mid-September until late October. In these four competitions, the Quakers will be out to begin their defense of last year’s Ivy League Championship. In the conference championships last April, Penn finished just four strokes ahead of Harvard.

Coming into the year, the team will need to replace multiple graduated seniors, Selina Li and Susan Xiao, who both had strong showings in several tournaments throughout last season. But the team also returns plenty of talent, as two sophomores — Julie Shin and Bridget O’Keefe — bring experience from their participation in last year’s Ivy League Championships. Without a single senior currently on the roster, this fall should lay the foundation for several seasons to come.

Men’s Golf

The men’s golf team also has four competitions in the fall before its winter break, beginning with the Alex Lagowitz Memorial at Colgate this upcoming weekend. The team finished last season with a fifthplace result at Ivy Championships, but had strong showings in other spring tournaments, including tying for second at Columbia’s Roar-EE Invitational.

Similar to the women’s team, the men will be losing a key contributor in the form of Mark Haghani, who graduated last spring after a storied career in Red and Blue. But other than Haghani, the Quakers will be returning the other four members of their squad at the conference championships, including junior John Richardson, who tied with Haghani for low score at that tournament.

Men’s Soccer

After capturing its first Ivy League title since 2013 and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, 2022 will be hard to top for Penn men’s soccer. The Quakers kick off 2023 with four straight games on the road, including the program’s first ever matchups against Fordham and Hofstra, before the season’s first game in front of a home crowd at Penn Park on Sept. 16 against Albany. But a tough schedule may be no match for an even fiercer returning roster — including the reigning Ivy League Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, Stas Korzeniowski and Leo Burney, who scored 11 and five goals last time out, respectively.

With an Ancient Eight title to defend and a national ranking at No. 25 in the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll, eyes will be on Penn men’s soccer this fall.

Women’s Soccer

Entering the 2023 slate after a troublesome 3-6-7 overall record and a 0-5-2 conference record in 2022, women’s soccer is looking to make a complete 180.

Last season was coach Krissy Turner’s first at the helm, and the team’s struggles to adjust were evident. Plagued by low scoring matches — including a three-game stretch where the team lost each contest 0-1 — only three players found the back of the net more than once all season. The Red and Blue may have found the stable footing they were desperately searching for in 2022, though, as the Quakers kicked off their 2023 campaign with a pair of wins against American and Delaware last weekend. Having nine new players on this year’s roster itching for their chance on the field, and the kinks of last season ironed out, the future of Penn women’s soccer is looking bright.

Volleyball

22 losses, only two wins, and far too many 0-3 defeats to count — 2022 was nothing short of a struggle for Penn volleyball. But a new season means a chance to start fresh, and the team will hit the ground running with three games at the Molly Howard-Gerwig Memorial Tournament this Labor Day weekend in Houston.

The team welcomes a diverse class of fresh players to the roster, offering exceptional support to the back line. Assistant coach Sara Parson also joined the Red and Blue this offseason, building on the all-hands-on-deck mentality carrying the Quakers this year. Ivy League play is still a ways away, when Penn will go up against Princeton on Sept. 22 at home. But this season’s non-conference slate will be one to keep an eye on, as the team attempts for a completely different 2023.

This season, Penn is set to return three of its top five scorers from last season including senior guard Clark Slajchert. However, there were several notable departures during the offseason. In particular, guards Jordan Dingle and Lucas Monroe transferred to St. John’s and Drexel, respectively.

But with a new freshman class on the roster, plus several other players set to receive more minutes this season, one can’t rely on last year’s numbers to tell this season’s story. Only the games will tell what this year’s team will be like.

FRANKLIN FIELD, from BACK PAGE

two are not hosts to Power Five teams: San Jose State’s Spartan Stadium and the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, which does not currently host a college football team.

The Caucus was first announced by Reps. Garret Graves (R-La.) and Mark Pocan (D-Wis.). Both of their districts also have selected stadiums, with LSU’s Tiger Stadium in Graves’ district and Wisconsin’s Camp Randall within the region Pocan represents.

The Caucus’ efforts will be focused on enhancing security and safety at the stadiums, as well as making technological and infrastructure upgrades. All of these are intended to make sure that these stadiums maintain their historic character and unique energy, while updating certain aspects to keep them up to date with governmental building standards and emergency needs.

The formation of this Caucus comes at a time when many of these venues will soon be hosting major events. As part of the College Football Playoff’s expansion in 2024, several games will be held on college campuses. Additionally, the Rose Bowl and the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum are slated to be key venues of Los Angeles’ 2028 Olympics. They will become the first two stadiums to see the Olympic Games visiting three times, having also taken part in the 1932 and 1984 Olympics.

Additionally, the Caucus’ efforts come at a time of uncertainty in college football. While most schools — including Penn — have secure conference futures, some do not. In particular, the University of California at Berkeley is currently searching for a new home following numerous exits from the Pac-12 earlier this summer.

The Caucus’ leaders currently plan to send a “Dear Colleague” letter to other members of Congress in order to increase membership in the Caucus. The Caucus has yet to yield a bill designed to boost funding to the selected stadiums.

PHOTO BY SAMANTHA TURNER

2022.

Time away: How track and field’s Kampton Kam made the most of his offseason

Kam spent the summer balancing his internship with other responsibilities

VIVIAN YAO Sports Associate

With a name that sounds like it came straight out of a superhero comic book, sophomore high jumper and Singapore native Kampton Kam of Penn men’s track and field has made his greatest superpower time management as he balances competing, working, and relaxing over the summer.

As a kid, Kam had always been active, participating in various activities such as swimming, table tennis, badminton, rock climbing, and rollerblading. Despite his enjoyment of those hobbies, Kam’s discovery of his innate gift for the high jump made track and field a bigger priority as time went on. As just a nine-yearold participating in his school’s yearly track and field competition, he beat not just the students in his grade, but also the kids in the grade above. And as Kam refined his craft, he fell more in love with the sport.

“[I really enjoy the feeling of] carrying the bar when you’re in the air,” reflects Kam. “It’s sort of like a feeling of floating as you get higher and higher. So that’s what really draws me to the sport.”

At 17, Kam would receive the opportunity to compete internationally for the first time, representing Singapore at the Southeast Asian Youth Championships. In his international debut, Kam placed first and secured a spot to the Youth Olympic Games. This progression from competing at a school-wide level to doing it at one of the biggest international stages for young athletes was a surreal moment for Kam. He has found success at the national level and currently holds the Singapore high jump records for the U18, U20, U23, and men’s indoor.

“I think the lesson that I learned looking back is just to keep pushing ahead,” reflects Kam. “And it doesn’t matter who your competition is. It could be anyone’s game at that day.”

Since entering college, Kam has faced tough decisions regarding how much time he should be committing to competing versus academics. On one hand, one of the driving reasons behind him choosing to continue his athletic endeavors at Penn is the institution’s reputation for strong academics, notably the prestige of the Wharton School. On the other hand, Kam knows that his days as an athlete are limited and wants to get the most out of them as possible. This past May, Kam had to pass up on competing at the Southeast Asian Games due to conflicts with his final exams.

Over the summer, Kam has once again had

to work to balance his athletic ambitions with what is best for his future career prospects. During a typical day, he puts in the hours at his internship from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. before then hitting the field for about three hours of practice. To balance out these busy weekdays, he has allocated plenty of time on the weekends to relaxing and spending time with friends.

One worry Kam held entering the summer was the possible time conflicts that would occur between summer competitions and his internship. Fortunately for Kam, he won’t have to choose between an internship and competing just yet. His current internship allows him to work remotely and is very flexible, which has allowed Kam to take time off when needed to focus on his training leading up to the FISU World University Games, which took place in late July and early August.

“It’s not easy having an internship while also pursuing something that I’m passionate about,” acknowledges Kam. “So I’m really grateful for this internship because my bosses understand … I’m not sure how this will be for sophomore and junior summer, but I’m hoping that I would still be able to have the opportunity to do both in the summer.”

As the start of the new academic school year approaches, Kam is more than excited to be heading back to campus. After a summer during which he has been extremely focused on representing his nation, he is more than ready to shift his focus toward donning the Red and Blue again. Despite his collegiate career starting off slowly due to an injury sustained early on during his freshman season, Kam has high hopes for the upcoming year. A major goal on his mind is finally obtaining the last Singaporean high jump record that he doesn’t have just yet — the open record.

“I’m really proud to represent Penn,” stated Kam. “It’s been a long time coming. And although I didn’t do as well this year, I’m looking forward to the next season when I’ve regrouped.”

At the end of the day, Kam is incredibly honored to be in the position he is currently in, being able to represent both school and country. And much like his role model Armand Duplantis, the current world record holder in the pole vault, Kam aims on continuing to push his boundaries higher, both literally and figuratively.

PHOTO BY BENJAMIN MCAVOY-BICKFORD

Now-sophomore Kampton Kam competes in the College Men’s High Jump Championship during the Penn Relays on April 29.

THE RED AND BLUE RETURN

As classes hit the ground running, so do Penn sports. Many Quaker teams have either begun competition or are on the precipices of beginning their seasons. From football to cross country, and everything in between, here is what you need to know about the Penn teams competing this fall.

Men’s basketball releases 2023-24 schedule with four Power Six matchups

The Quakers will host Villanova, face Kentucky at Wells Fargo Center, and travel to Auburn and Houston

CALEB CRAIN Sports Editor

With a little over two months before tip-off, Penn men’s basketball has announced its schedule for the upcoming 2023-24 season. In addition to the standard 14 Ivy League games, the Quakers will also play 15 out-of-conference matches this year. Penn will be participating in several notable tournaments over the non-conference season. The Quakers will host the Cathedral of College Basketball Classic at the Palestra over Thanksgiving weekend and seek to repeat last year’s victory. This time around, though, Penn will play host to Lafayette, Belmont, and Monmouth from Nov. 24 to 26.

Additionally, the 2023-24 season marks the first year of a reworked structure to Big 5 play. Instead of playing four other Philadelphia-area schools, Penn

Women’s Cross Country

Following a third place finish at last year’s NCAA Regionals, Penn women’s cross country returns in 2023 with much of their previous talent still in tow.

Most importantly, Maeve Stiles is back for her senior year in the Red and Blue after finishing last season with a third-place finish in the regional meet and earning an All-Ivy selection. Her 20:15.3 in the Regional meet also set a new program record.

The Quakers return all seven of their top finishers from the Regional meet — setting them up for a chance at gold this November. But first, the team’s season begins at the Lehigh Invitational on Sept.

1 — the first step in what the group hopes will be a prosperous fall.

Men’s Cross Country

While the men’s cross country team will not have quite the same level of continuity as the women’s team, there is still plenty to look forward to heading into the new campaign. The team will miss some of last year’s senior leaders — notably Michael Keehan and Zubeir Dagane — but features several promising young runners striving to make their mark this season.

Sophomores Sahil Dodda and Dennis Fortuna both

got the nod in last year’s NCAA Regionals, and return with the chance for even further improvement. Coach Steve Dolan said the team’s early meets, including the opener at Lehigh, are intended to help the group gain “experience.” For the younger runners, that will go a long way.

Field Hockey

Penn field hockey has perhaps the most exciting season opener imaginable waiting for them on Sept. 1: a date with the reigning national champion. The

See FALL SPORTS, page 6

Franklin Field among stadiums considered for Congressional protection

A non-partisan caucus announced 18 initial targets for preservations, enhancements

CALEB CRAIN

As college football programs around the country were well into their preparations for the upcoming seasons, Penn’s Franklin Field became one of 18 stadiums designated by U.S. Congress as a historic stadium.

On Aug. 25, a group of congressmemembers announced the creation of the Historic Stadium Caucus, a non-partisan group designed to ensure that the “integrity” of college football venues are protected. Penn football has played in Franklin Field since 1895, and the venue has also been the longtime home of the Penn Relays and hosted the Philadelphia Eagles for many years.

Franklin Field is one of two FCS stadiums targeted for the caucus’ efforts, alongside the Yale Bowl at Ivy League rival Yale. Of the other 16, only

PHOTO BY ANNA VAZHAEPARAMBIL

Franklin Field during the 127th running of Penn Relays on April 29.

PHOTOS BY ANA GLASSMAN, ANNA VAZHAEPARAMBIL, DIEGO CÁRDENAS, SAMANTHA TURNER, AND PENN ATHLETICS