THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSIT Y OF PENNSYLVANIA
FRIDAY, APRIL 4, 2014
An innovative choice for Wharton dean Garrett does not have an MBA, but his political economy research is prescient and influential, professors say BY YUEQI YANG Staff Writer
Courtesy of Office of University Communications
Penn announced Geoffrey Garrett will be the next dean of the Wharton School of Business on March 17. He will take office on July 1 2014.
Even Geoffrey Garrett acknowledges that he is an unusual pick for the Wharton dean position “I look like an unusual candidate for the dean job,” Garrett said in a Skype interview with The Daily Pennsylvanian last Sunday.
Masterman alums fundraise in memory of classmate They hope to pay for a renovation of Fatima Rahman’s family mosque BY LAURA ANTHONY Deputy News Editor $3,278 in 12 days. That’s how much 2011 graduates of Julia R. Masterman High School in Center City and a number of other community members have raised in honor of Fatima Rahman, a 2011 Masterman graduate who went missing in January and whose
online at thedp.com
body was found in March in the Schuylkill River. Penn is a popular choice for Masterman students — Quakernet currently lists 79 undergradues who attended the high school — and many of Fatima’s former classmates at Penn are participating in the fundraising campaign, which will benefit her family’s mosque, Masjid AlJamia of Philadelphia, at 42nd and Walnut streets After attending Rahman’s funeral at Masjid Al-Jamia, many
Can J Street, Hillel agree to disagree?
“One, I am in an institution halfway around the world in Australia. Second, my academic training is in political economy. It’s not in management or finance. “But the more I think about it, the more I see that my experience both as a research academic and an academic leader positioned me well for the Wharton job,” he added. Unlike his previous three predecessors, Geoffrey Garrett does not have a degree in business or economics. A former Fulbright Scholar, he completed his master’s and doc-
Can J Street U Penn and Hillel agree to disagree?
SEE WHARTON PAGE 5
BY JESSICA MCDOWWEL Staff Writer
‘Empowered to Take Back the Night’
SEE FUNDRAISING PAGE 7
Bring on the tech Philly Tech Week 2014 kicks off today and will feature Tetris on a building, robotics and more
Students, administrators and faculty rallied against sexual and domestic violence BY JILL CASTELLANO Staff Writer Over a hundred students marched beside one another last night, holding signs and shouting to everyone who could hear: “Break the silence, end the violence!” The march was part of Penn’s annual event Take Back the Night, a peaceful protest to speak out against domestic and sexual violence. The event — run by Penn’s student group Abuse and Sexual Assault Prevention, with the help of the Penn Women’s Center and Penn’s all-male sexual assault peer education group One in Four, as well as other organizations — began on College Green with a rally. This was followed by an hour-long march around campus, and then a survivor vigil and speakout at Wynn Commons. The keynote speaker for the rally was Ivone Falk, an alumna of Penn’s School of Social Policy & Practice, who was raped while in college. As
SEE TECH WEEK PAGE 2
she shared the details of her personal experience with sexual violence, audience members both cried and cheered in support. “My life has been drastically altered but my spirit has not been shattered,” Falk said. After recovering from the physical injuries she received that night, Falk started speaking in classrooms at her undergraduate university, the University of California, San Diego, about sexual assault and was even interviewed by her local media station about her experience. “So many women would approach me and would tell me that my story convinced them to come forward about their own abuse,” Falk said. “I think that’s the only thing that kept me going.” College junior Joanna Kamhi, the chair of ASAP, said that Take Back the Night is intended to provide a safe space for survivors to share their stories and to help others rally in support. “Unfortunately, this kind of space is rare in society today, given the systems and institutions in place that permit and condone sexual violence,” she said. “We’re here to celebrate the SEE RALLY PAGE 7
Courtesy of Aidan Un
Drexel University professor of digital media Frank Lee, pictured here, programmed a game of Pong to play on the side of the Cira Centre across from 30th Street Station during last year’s Philly Tech Week. Philly Tech Week 2014 kicks off at the Singh Center for Nanotechnology on Friday.
Editorial (215) 898-6585 • Business (215) 898-6581
Raquel Macgregor/Staff Photographer
Students rallied on College Green as part of Take Back the Night, a peaceful protest against sexual and domestic violence sponsored by Penn’s Abuse and Sexual Assault Prevention group.
Visit us online at theDP.com
The line between criticism and conversation isn’t always clear. Last Thursday, the documentary “J Street Challenge” was screened as part of an event cosponsored by Hillel of Greater Philadelphia and other Jewish organizations in the area that addressed the question of what it means to be pro-Israel. In the documentary, J Street activists were criticized for being “moral narcissists” because of their support for a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine. Penn’s chapter of the organization, which describes itself as “pro-Israel, pro-peace” and advocates for a two state solution for Arab-Israeli conf lict, felt “shocked and betrayed” said J Street U Penn co-chair Ryan Daniels, a College senior and former Daily Pennsylvanian columnist. J Street is part of the Penn Hillel umbrella organization, and by extension HGP, “so it was really surprising to hear that they would be sponsoring an event that is so marginalizing toward our organization,” he said. For some students, the documentary’s open criticism of J Street has raised many questions about the openness of HGP itself. The documentary screening has made other students within the HGP umbrella question HGP’s loyalty to its constituent groups. “Our issue is not with the movie itself being screened, but rather the fact that HGP has associated itself with it,” Daniels said. “We rely on HGP for funding and support. We are really confused as to why they would sponsor an event that attacks us, especially without student support,” he said. While HGP admits that they d id n’t have ti me to consult students before endorsing the event, a fact that they “deeply regret,” they maintain that this event is not an attack on J Street U Penn. “We do have certain misgivings about the movie, but we felt that, because of the other aspects of the event, it would have some sort of educational value, and, because of that, we had to support it,” Rabbi Howard Alpert, executive director of HGP, said. Rabbi Mike Uram of Penn Hillel also maintained that Hillel is supportive of J Street U Penn. “Hillel is incredibly proud of J Street and the work they do,” he said. “They do an incredible job of being pro-Israel activists and contributing to larger discussions on campus,” he said. In addition to the screening, the event also featured a panel discussion between several prominent Jewish professionals and academics in the Philadelphia area. “I hope that this event will lead to a robust conversation both about the topic of the program itself — asking the question ‘What constitutes support for Israel?’ — and I hope this will lead to a robust conversation about the larger idea of expression.” Alpert said. SEE J STREET PAGE 3
Send story ideas to newstip@theDP.com