THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSIT Y OF PENNSYLVANIA
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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2014
March crime statistics show rise from 2013
Total crime increased from 57 to 84 incidents compared to last March, and property crime is up 61 percent BY JILL CASTELLANO Staff Writer This March saw record-breaking increases in certain types of crime, according to Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush. A total of 71 property crimes were committed this March, compared to 44 property crimes in March 2013 — an increase of 61 percent. While there were no robberies in March 2013, four were committed in March 2014, and total crime rose from 57 to 84 incidents compared to last March. “We wish we had a better story to tell you,” Rush said. In February, there were only 45 property crimes compared to the 71 in March, and the total number of property crimes committed so far this calendar year is 179 compared to 148 for the last calendar year from January to March. Rush attributed much of the significant rise in property crimes to the increase in burglaries, which rose from two in March 2013 to 16 in March 2014. “We haven’t had big trends on burglary, period,” Rush said. “This is very
unusual.” Nine of the month’s burglaries occurred in the Quad. College freshman and Penn basketball player Tony Bagtas was arrested for two of the Quad burglaries. The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office did not press charges for one of the alleged incidents. When asked why there was such a big increase in burglaries this month, Rush said that it’s hard to predict major changes. “Who thought that we’d ever see that many burglaries in the Quad?” Rush said. Other burglaries included one at the Horizon House at 120 S 30th St., which resulted in the arrest of an exemployee of the building and another in a student room in Du Bois College House. There was also a burglary against an affiliated individual in an off-campus house and another in the Restaurant School. “What makes someone burglarize one dorm room over another? It’s the doors that are unlocked,” Rush said. “The easy fix is always to lock your door when you go to sleep at night and when you leave your room.” In one of the burglaries, according to Rush, an undercover officer decided to surveil someone who looked like he was “casing” houses. When the officer saw him commit a burglary in an offcampus house, the officer arrested him.
BREAKDOWN
Thefts from buildings in March 2014 0 University academic or administrative buildings
6
Retail buildings
5
Unaffiliated buildings in the Penn Patrol Zone
6
Rush said that Division of Public Safety is “conducting very active investigations into the burglaries that occurred this month,” but she was unable to provide any information on the details of the investigation. Rush also said that the rise in total property crimes is partly due to the increase in bike thefts, which rose from three thefts in March 2013 to 12 this March. The total number of bike SEE CRIME PAGE 5
BY YUEQI YANG Staff Writer Penn women’s lacrosse coach Karin Brower Corbett issued a statement Friday saying “many of the allegations” that team members damaged Fado Irish Pub in Center City on March 29 are “unfounded or are not attributable to members of the Penn Women’s Lacrosse Team.” Casey Neff, the general manager
of Fado Irish Pub, alleged that party attendees at a Penn women’s lacrosse team formal held at the bar behaved badly, stealing alcohol, breaking furniture and smoking marijuana in the bathroom. Corbett wrote that she investigated the incident and received more information from Neff. The statement did not specify which of the allegations she deemed unfounded based on the investigation. Corbett declined a request from The Daily Pennsylvanian for an interview for further clarification and members of the lacrosse program were not available for interviews.
6
8
10
12
28
WORDS OF WISDOM FROM WARBY PARKER CO-FOUNDER NEIL BLUMENTHAL
Allegations ‘unfounded,’ women’s lacrosse coach says A Center City bar manager alleged members of women’s lacrosse damaged the bar
4
11
University health system buildings
TOTAL
2
BY JESSICA WASHINGTON Contributing Writer Ying Pan/Staff Photographer
Wharton MBA graduate Neil Blumenthal, a co-founder of successful prescription eyeglass and sunglass company Warby Parker, spoke yesterday at Huntsman Hall about his company's journey from pipe dream to popularity. Blumenthal's visit was coordinated by the Jay H. Baker Retailing Center's Executive Speaker Series.
Neff and the waitstaff at the Fado have also refused multiple requests for an interview after Corbett issued the statement. Corbett also said that the women’s lacrosse program does not condone any of the alleged misconduct, and she has taken the allegations of wrongdoing seriously. “This week has been a wake up call for all of us,” she wrote. “We hold ourselves to high standards of professionalism, and are deeply disappointed by our players’ poor judgment in holding this event.” “This has been an important learnSEE LACROSSE PAGE 6
How did Warby Parker get its start?
“We came up with the idea for Warby Parker upstairs in the [Huntsman] computer labs,” Blumenthal said. The original idea was to sell prescription eyewear for around one-tenth of their competitors' prices, or $45. When Blumenthal and co-founders Andrew Hunt, Jeffrey Raider and David Gilboa — who all attended Wharton — went to a professor for advice, he quickly shot down their idea. But by surveying their classmates, they discovered that “the willingness to purchase [glasses] increased, and then plateaued at $100,” according to Blumenthal. They settled on $95 per set of glasses, and the Warby Parker concept was born.
Expanding to storefronts, from SoHo to Atlanta
Blumenthal said Warby Parker's co-founders never originally envisioned storefront locations for their business. The company, which originally operated out of Blumenthal’s apartment, currently has five retail locations, with a sixth one in the works in Atlanta. SEE PARKER PAGE 9
Wendell Pritchett to be interim Law School dean BY FOLA ONIFADE Staff Writer Wendell Pritchett, a recently appointed Presidential Term Professor, will step in for outgoing Law School Dean Michael Fitts as the interim Penn Law Dean. Penn President Amy Gutmann and Provost Vincent Price announced on Tuesday that Pritchett, currently the chancellor of Rutgers
University-Camden, will succeed Fitts, who will become president of Tulane University on July 1, as interim dean for the upcoming 2014-15 academic year. The search for Fitts’ permanent successor will begin later this spring and continue into the next academic year. “We were looking for somebody with extensive experience in administration and as an academic leader
and who would know the law faculty and would continue Dean Fitts’ trajectory for the year we conduct the search,” Gutmann said in an interview. “We also wanted someone who didn’t want to be a candidate for the deanship.” As interim dean, Pritchett will not be considered for the dean position. “I am grateful for Pritchett’s willingness to serve as interim dean and very pleased with the trajectory
1994: A ‘STRANGE’ FLING
of Penn Law, which will without a doubt continue under Dr. Pritchett’s interim leadership,” Gutmann said. Pritchett, who served as the associate dean for academic affairs at Penn Law from 2006- 2007, was also a member of the faculty from 20012009. He received his Ph.D. in history from Penn in 1997 and his J.D. from Yale University in 1991. His recent appointment as a Presidential Term Professor makes him the first
BY COSETTE GASTELU Staff Writer
DP File Photo/Ashley Roach
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SEE PRITCHETT PAGE 3
Hearing concerning Quad burglaries postponed Originally scheduled for yesterday, it will now be held on May 29
A student crowdsurfs in the Lower Quad during the Fling of 1994, themed Stranger Flings Have Happened. The sunny moment was apparently a rare one; rain consumed campus most of Friday and Saturday that year.
professor of this designation to be appointed to a position at Penn Law. Law professor Ted Ruger shared his excitement on Pritchett’s return to Penn. “I think the world of Wendell, and I think he’s a tremendous choice as interim dean,” Ruger said. “He brings the added experience of running a major university in the Philadelphia area and that will play
A hearing for College freshman Anthony Bagtas has been postponed. Bagtas, a member of Penn’s men’s basketball team, is facing charges for one of the eight burglaries that struck the Quad on March 22. Bagtas was originally
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scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday morning, but his preliminary hearing has been rescheduled and is now set to occur on May 29. Bagtas is currently facing four charges — two felonies and two misdemeanors — for an alleged burglary that took place in Riepe College House. As The Daily Pennsylvanian reported on March 27, Bagtas is a Riepe resident but was removed from the Quad following his arrest.
As of press time, Bagtas’ attorney had no comment on the case. According to the Division of Public Safety, Bagtas was initially arrested for two Quad burglaries. However, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office declined to press charges for one of the alleged incidents. As of press time, a spokesperson for the District Attorney’s Office was unable to provide information as to why the charge was dropped. ■
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