February 9, 2023

‘I want equal because I serve equal’

Hillel dining staff allege poor treatment from University, push for greater integration within Penn

Workers in Falk Dining Commons in Steinhardt Hall come in to work each day ready to serve students at Penn Hillel, but — behind the scenes — they say their dedication is taken for granted. These dining workers, who have worked at Penn for

decades, told The Daily Pennsylvanian that they want the University to fully integrate them into Penn Dining. Unlike other dining halls at the University, Falk workers are not directly hired by Penn. Rather, they are employed by Bon Appétit Management Company.

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Over 700 upperclassmen placed on waitlist for oncampus housing

Penn annouced changes to the college housing system that have affected next year’s capacity

Reporters

A mural for Black History Month on the first floor of ARCH on Feb. 7.

As of Jan. 30, 720 rising juniors and seniors are on Penn Residential Services’ waitlist for on-campus housing for the 2023-24 school year.

Radian a lot," Hammell said. "Whether or not it has caused more applications is to be determined."

Students on the housing waitlist told the DP that the situation has increased stress due to its random nature, with students being told of their placement on the list.

“We — those on the waitlist — are sort of left with not a lot of options,” College sophomore Nora Youn said.

A College sophomore, who was granted anonymity because of fear of retaliation from the University, said that being placed on the bottom third of the waitlist is particularly difficult as a first-generation, low-income student and as a disabled student: “I’m having to resort to fighting with housing and financial aid so that I know where to live, instead of studying for my classes.”

Students who submitted the rising junior and senior room selection application in November were randomly divided into two groups — one for students who would be placed on the waitlist and one for “active” students who will be given housing.

Penn

community celebrates Black History Month with Universitywide collaborations

Student groups and University Life are hosting events recognizing Black History Month

SEJAL SANGANI Staff Reporter

Student groups, cultural centers, and other organizations around campus have planned events to commemorate Black History Month.

UMOJA, Makuu: The Black Cultural Center, and the African American Resource Center, among others, have planned events ranging from speaker series and panels to musical performances and shared meals for the month.

Makuu started its festivities with a kickoff lunch and will continue its programming throughout the entire month, culminating in a closing dinner on Feb. 28. In the coming weeks, Makuu — which is collaborating with Platt Performing Arts House, La Casa Latina, and Penn Alumni Relations — will host a

See MONTH, page 3

Many students who applied for on campus for next year initially received emails on Dec. 1 from Penn Residential Services notifying them that they had been placed on the housing waitlist. Penn Residential Services randomly selected students on the waitlist to provide on-campus housing assignments for the next school year, given that the number of applicants exceeded the allocated number of spots for upperclassmen.

With a large part of the Quad preparing to be closed for renovations, Penn Residential Services shifted both Van Pelt Manor in Gregory College House and Lauder College House to first-yearonly housing next year. Penn Residential Services also leased out the Radian to accommodate upperclassmen beginning in August 2023.

In an interview with The Daily Pennsylvanian, Assistant Director of Housing Occupancy Scott Hammell declined to speculate on how the size of this year's waitlist was impacted by Penn's leasing of the Radian.

“Talking to students, we were asked about the

Penn Residential Services randomly assigned “active” students — which include all rising sophomores — point values based on factors such as their class year and other circumstances that account for changes in housing policy. Rising seniors will be given 300 points, rising juniors will be given 200 points, and younger students will be given 100 points. Students living in houses that are being transitioned to first-year-only housing for the 2023-24 school year are given 10 extra points.

Penn Residential Services randomly selected students to remove from the waitlist based on how many "active" students failed to fill out their housing preferences on the Room Selection application by Feb. 7 at 5 p.m.

If students are not taken off the waitlist, Associate Director of Housing Occupancy Katie Musar said they can contact Penn Off-Campus Services for support.

“Don’t panic, but be realistic and take advantage of the resources we have through our office of off-campus services," Musar said. "There’s housing all around."

PHOTOS BY ANNA VAZHAEPARAMBIL

Workers at Falk Dining Hall on Feb. 6. Liondell Pratt, Troy Harris, and Elijah Wingate (pictured in the top photo), among others, told the DP that they want access to University amenities.

CASSIDEE JACKSON AND YASH RAJPAL Staff

PHOTO BY ABHIRAM JUVVADI

Nearly all political donations from Penn faculty went to Democrats from 2021 to 2022

The Daily Pennsylvanian analyzed more than 37,900 campaign donations by faculty members made between January 2011 and December 2022

KIRA WANG Senior Reporter

Penn professors donated the largest amount of money ever during a midterm election year to federally registered political committees in 2022.

According to an analysis by The Daily Pennsylvanian, faculty members at Penn made 3,976 individual contributions totaling over $300,000 in donations last year — a 13% increase from the previous mid term election year in 2018. The increase in donations came as OpenSecrets projected before the election that total federal campaign spending would exceed $8 billion — a record high for a midterm election year.

The DP analyzed more than 37,900 campaign donations by faculty members made between January 2011 and December 2022. The data was obtained from the Federal Election Commission, which maintains a database of individuals who have contributed over $200 to federally regis tered political committees.

Donations by Penn faculty have increased significantly over time for both general and mid term election years. For example, Penn faculty donated over $1 million in 2020, a nearly 130% increase from 2016, the previous general elec tion year.

Political donations from faculty tend to peak one or two months before a general or midterm election, with professors donating over $230,000 in September 2020 and over $62,000 in Octo ber 2022, both record amounts for the collection period.

Penn political science professor Daniel Hop kins told the DP that September and October are such popular donation months during elec tion years because of a “combination of [these months] being a time period when a lot of campaigns are very aggressively soliciting dona tions, and many professors being very plugged into campaigns.”

Donations from 2021 to 2022 show that Penn professors overwhelmingly donated to causes that support Democrats in recent years. ActBlue, the Democratic Party’s fundraising platform, received over $120,000 from faculty members — over 150 times larger than the amount of money donated to WinRed, the Republican Party’s fun draising platform. WinRed received just under $700 in donations from professors.

“I think that’s definitely to be expected. For

Fetterman (D-Pa.) received the most campaign donations from Penn professors from 2021 to 2022, raising over $37,000. Campaign donations do not include fundraising platforms such as ActBlue or WinRed, but rather contributions to specific candidates’ campaigns. Fellow Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) received the second most donations in the same time period, raising over $17,000.

The highest-raising Independent candidate from January 2021 to December 2022 was Evan McMullin, a Penn in Washington faculty member and former Republican who received

received $90 from Penn faculty towards her candidacy in the 2021 Georgia Senate runoff race against Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.).

In addition to Fetterman and Casey, other candidate campaigns that received a substantial amount in donations include Warnock, Rep. Susan Wild (D-Pa.), and Sen. Maggie Hassan (DN.H.).

“One of the trends that we’ve seen in campaign finance is that candidates increasingly raise money from outside of their home districts and even their home states,” Hopkins said.

Hopkins added that Warnock and Hassan solicited many donations because they were candidates in two highly competitive regional elections that “were potentially races on which

From 2011 to 2022, President Joe Biden received the most money from Penn faculty, garnering over $195,000 worth of donations. Former President Barack Obama received the secondmost donations in the same time period, raising All of the 10-highest fundraising candidates among Penn professors from 2011 to 2022 belong to the Democratic Party. Neither Penn Democrats nor Penn College Republicans view professors as a base that they aim to engage, but both said there is value to professors being politically aware.

Kapp said that professors have the right to hold their own political views but that their beliefs should not “seep into how they’re teaching … which I don’t think is necessarily true on Penn’s campus today.”

Giegerich held the opposite sentiment, saying that she has never been able to tell the political leanings of her professors in her political science classes, but believes that professors should be politically engaged outside of “It’s important for professors to be politically engaged for really the same reason it is for all members of the community,” Giegerich said. “Just because that’s how democracy works.”

CHART BY WEI-AN JIN

CHART BY WEI-AN JIN

HILLEL , from FRONT PAGE

Penn has utilized Bon Appétit as its food service contractor since 2009. Falk worker Troy Harris said that even though students view Hillel’s dining hall as an integrated part of the Penn community, he does not feel that the University truly cares about their well-being and is unsure about how to receive equal union representation.

“I want to be fair treated, and I want equal because I served equal,” Harris, who has prepped, cooked, and cleaned at Falk each day for the past 23 years, said. “We smile even though we’re underpaid. We do a great service even though we’re underpaid. When is it time for us to stand?”

In an emailed statement from a Bon Appétit representative, the company said that there is an “open-door policy” for any employees and their on-site management and HR leaders to present workplace concerns or complaints.

“If, at any time, the employee feels as if there isn’t resolution, there is an established grievance process that is available to them that has been agreed upon by both [their] union and Bon Appétit,” the representative wrote.

Falk worker Marti Bates — who primarily swipes in students for every meal — said that while she has seen problems with how Bon Appétit has managed its workers, she places more blame on Penn for not treating all workers the same, regardless of contractors’ decisions.

Penn Business Services Director of Communications and External Relations Barbara Lea-Kruger wrote in a statement to The Daily Pennsylvanian that there are many avenues for employees — regardless of if they are employed directly by Penn or by Bon Appétit — to raise concerns with their management.

“For serious issues or if an employee feels that their problems are not being addressed, there is a formal process that has been agreed upon by the unions and Bon Appétit or Penn which an employee can also use,” LeaKruger wrote. “Employees are apprised of and encouraged to use these opportunities.”

Earlier this year, an employee who had worked at Falk since 1999 fell ill and was forced to take a leave of absence, according to Falk worker Elijah Wingate. He said that workers were disheartened to hear that after more than 20 years of service, his request for medical aid from the Family and Medical Leave Act was denied because he “lacked enough hours for the year.”

Wingate said that the lack of support from Penn frustrated staffers who felt it was wrong for a worker who committed two decades of service to receive no support during his time of need. This prompted Wingate, Harris, and other workers to call out Penn for what they saw as clear indifference toward them.

“They threw [him] out like trash,” Wingate said.

Wingate said that another example of Penn’s detachment toward Falk workers occurred three years ago when Bates and her husband, co-worker Lonidell Pratt, welcomed a new child to their family. Pratt said that his wife was put in a position where she would lose her job or miss out on significant pay if she didn’t come back after two weeks of maternity leave.

Bates said that she received no compensation during her maternity leave,

and Pratt said his job was put in jeopardy because he had to constantly commute from work and home to check on their children.

The Bon Appétit representative wrote that the collective bargaining agreement for hourly employees “allows for up to twelve weeks of maternity leave at the employee’s discretion, which is compliant with the Family Medical Leave Act and Philadelphia Pregnancy Leave Law.”

Bates said that she felt like she would have to rely on her vacation hours and personal hours if she had taken the 12-week leave, and she said that it would have been an unpaid leave, which was a sacrifice she could not make.

“I took off my hospital gown and two weeks later had to get back to work,” Bates said.

The most recent collective bargaining agreement between Bon Appétit and workers was in 2021, almost a decade after these same Falk workers partnered with student activists in early 2013 to demand union representation. After months of organizing, Bon Appétit workers at Hillel officially gained representation from the Teamsters Local 929 in April 2013.

Initially, workers said that they were optimistic about this representation and believed that Penn was finally doing its part to enact necessary changes for the workers.

However, as time passed, Wingate said that workers’ experiences have worsened. Now, he said that dining hall workers at Hillel have seen their specific titles reduced to one general title — for example, “cook” — while they are still required to fulfill other tasks like cleaning, prepping, and working the cash register.

Teamsters Local 929 did not respond to an immediate request for comment.

Harris said that one of the workers’ most pressing demands is inclusion in the AFSCME Local 54 union. Previously, the DP reported that over 100 Penn Dining workers are unionized under Local 54. Harris added that workers at Falk want the same benefits as other Penn Dining workers.

Wingate agreed, adding that all the small things that workers face on a day-to-day basis add up. He said that workers want access to Pottruck Health and Fitness Center, and they want to see their dedication to the University rewarded with compassion when going through hardships.

Lea-Kruger wrote that the terms of employment for Bon Appétit employees are governed by their collective bargaining agreement that was agreed upon earlier. This includes their job titles, wages, and benefits.

“As there are two separate unions, the CBAs are not identical,” Kruger wrote. “However, in each case, the CBAs were mutually agreed upon by the Union and either the University, AFSME, or Bon Appétit, Teamsters, and ratified by a vote by union members.”

Students told the DP that Falk is one of their favorite places to get food on campus, and they said that the staff plays a significant role in that.

“I like eating at [Falk] because the staff is the friendliest, it tends to be less crowded, conditions are nicer, and people reciprocate the kindness,” College sophomore Nathan Zhang said.

Harris said that he loves the students that come to the dining hall each day, but as he watches Penn develop new programs and build new infrastructure, it is striking to him that he and his co-workers remain stuck in what they view as a stagnant workplace.

“Everything is elevating but us,” Harris said.

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MONTH, from FRONT PAGE

dinner and career talk with 2014 College graduate Kalyne Coleman, a performance by Step Afrika!, a Makuu x Penn Fund philanthropy event, and a Black music conversation with Guy Ramsey.

According to Makuu Associate Director S. Craig, following a theme of "past, present, and future,” Makuu will also highlight members of Black Penn on social media platforms.

“We will be touching on different elements of the Black diaspora related to Penn. One thing that’s important to note is that Blackness is not a monolith,” Craig said. “There are multiple ways of expressing and embodying Blackness as a Black person at Penn.”

Makuu is located in the ARCH building, where a new mural was recently installed for Black History Month. The mural features influential members of the Black Penn community and showcases an illustration by a Black alumnus of the University alongside photographs highlighting the history and activism of Black Penn.

Craig added that they further call upon Penn to recognize its history and origins in Philadelphia, specifically in Black Philadelphia.

“[I would love to see] more uplifting and acknowledgment of Black Philadelphia as the backbone for the University. And we are doing that from our center’s perspective, but it would be nice to see that even more so from a University-central aspect,” Craig said.

In addition to its own programming, Makuu is highlighting events planned by student groups, such as UMOJA, which is part of the 7B.

The 7B is Penn's minority coalition.

"During this time we prioritize highlighting the work of our student organizations and collaborating with different groups to promote community between us, Makuu, the Black student groups and the other Black centers on campus,” College juniors and co-chairs of UMOJA Tarah Paul and Taussia Boadi wrote in a statement to the DP.

W.E.B. DuBois College House, University Life, Penn Libraries, Kelly Writers House and the Department of Sociology are other groups hosting events in celebration of Black History Month.

Earlier this month, a panel discussion with the AARC and the Division of Public Safety took place, which focused on inequities in police treatment regarding the Black community. AARC has also hosted its second and final installment of its "King the Preacher" series, which highlighted the role of faith in social justice and Martin Luther King Jr.’s activism.

Looking ahead, AARC’s Alliance for Understanding program begins during Black History Month, taking place over the course of five weeks and culminating in a trip to Alabama to visit the sites important to the Civil Rights Movement. The Alliance and Understanding course is a collaboration with the Greenfield Intercultural Center and Penn Hillel.

“We really take a lot of pride in being able to partner with the other cultural centers,” said Darin Toliver, AARC's associate director.

AARC will inaugurate its Harold J. Haskins Lecture Series on Feb. 23 with speaker Joanne Bland, a community activist who was present on Bloody Sunday during the Selma to Montgomery marches in 1965. Toliver hopes to see participation from the Penn community in all of AARC’s programming, but particularly in the lecture series.

“I think it’ll be very powerful, very impactful, having her talk to the Penn community and giving us a valuable piece of Black history,” Toliver said. “Black history is also American history.”

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Across some of the most famous paintings in the history of American art, Johns and Rauschenberg conducted a very public love affair that was also, by design, very private. In this talk Katz, a founding figure in queer art history, decodes their pictorial language and reveals their complex relationship.

Penn Arts & Sciences’ long-running Knowledge by the Slice lunchtime series offers educational talks led by our insightful faculty experts. Did we mention there’s pizza? So come for the discussion and have a slice on us.

PHOTO BY ANNA VAZHAEPARAMBIL

Falk Dining Hall Worker on Feb. 6.

Georg Hegel wrote in his famous text, “The Philosophy of History,” that Africa is “no historical part of the world; it has no movement of development to exhibit … What we properly understand by Africa, is the Unhistorical, Undeveloped Spirit, still involved in the conditions of mere nature, and presented here only as on the threshold of the World’s History.” More disturbing than Hegel’s ideations about Africa is the esteem to which we hold him today. I’ve read about this guy in sociology classes. When discussing W.E.B. Du Bois’ double consciousness, we used a passage from Hegel’s "Phenomenology of Spirit" to better understand the African-American struggle during the Civil Rights era. I’m horrified now thinking that I’ve learned about "The Souls of Black Folk" through the eyes of someone who didn’t consider Africa, our ancestral home, a worthy subject of study in the first place.

But the position of Hegel is not so uncommon. Even today, African scholars fight for our histories to be accepted by the academic world. It wasn’t until the late 1950s and 1960s, when several African countries broke their colonial shackles to become independent nations, that Afrocentric histories were taught in universities. This global push to decolonize the continent at a political and intellectual level gave birth to the African Studies Association, one of the first scholarly bodies to disseminate African knowledge in American universities. Though the organization has made great strides since its conception, the legitimacy of Africanist scholarship is still under heavy contention today.

In fact, at many universities, students can satisfy liberal arts requirements without taking a single non-Western humanities course. Within academia, Eurocentric perspectives are so highly prioritized that the UNESCO World Social Science Report 2010 reported that social science in Western countries had the most “global influence.”

But the world is becoming increasingly internationalized, and the time to engage in a comprehensive university curriculum is now. If we hope to survive the multitude of moral dilemmas which face modern society, we must have a thorough understanding of the civilizations that came before us. No such understanding of humanity is complete without an exploration of its first people; one cannot construct an accurate history of mankind without first examining its foundations. If universities are institutions that aim to shape young people into global citizens, then we have done these young minds a great injustice by excluding histories from the cultural and evolutionary bedrock of humanity.

More urgently, young people benefit from seeing their experiences — their pasts — represented in the classroom. Including African history in university curricula allows students from the African diaspora to become visible in a world that has long excluded them. Highlighting the contributions Africans have made to the global community can even function as an antiracist practice. When we read about ourselves and our ancestors in textbooks and learn about the complexities of our precolonial pasts, we affirm our value within the modern polity.

Still, it is not enough to simply include

African history in university curricula. We must ensure that this history is as authentic and complete as possible — that it does not misrepresent the immense diversity of the continent; that it does not center itself around the arrival of Westerners in the fifteenth century, a mere pittance in the vast timeline of the African story. To share the continent’s truths, we must focalize the work of African scholars. As many African societies relied on oral traditions to mark the past, language barriers make it difficult for foreigners to correctly interpret our complex histories.

Furthermore, it’s important to remember that the portrayal of an ethnic group is often biased in a way that benefits the portrayers. Early European scholars heavily focused on representing Africa as a primitive and static continent — a mindset that was used to justify colonial exploitation of the land and its people. To this day, it benefits outsiders to portray Africa as a place in need of saving. As foreign governments wage their stakes on vast plots of arable land on the continent, nonAfrican governments reap agricultural investments that exclude African economies from their own resources. Global citizens must understand that Africans are capable of controlling their own markets. It has already been done before; with greater emphasis on deimperialization, the world’s fastest-growing continental economy can stake its claim as an international force.

Still, the question of how to incorporate non-Western stories into university curricula remains. At Columbia University,

“makes not doing your work easier. Just like you could have asked your friend for their homework, you can now ask AI to do it with a similar or worse result.” He added, “ChatGPT is basically a really good calculator. We didn’t stop teaching addition because of the invention of the calculator, did we?” He makes a good point. Should we really change what’s being taught just because it can now be done with AI?

I certainly think so. I don’t want to learn things that you can generate for free from a website, and I don’t think that the students at Penn that pay $85,000 a year want to learn skills that are already obsolete or will be in five years. AI is simply our generation’s calculator.

a peer institution of the Penn, students must take "Contemporary Civilizations" as a requirement of the Core Curriculum. Courses like these would be further enriched by including V.Y. Mudimbe’s "The Invention of Africa" or Achille Mbembe’s "On the Postcolony" — texts that center around the African experience when telling African stories.

Here at Penn, students should take "Africa Before 1800" with Cheikh Babou. I am taking this course this semester to fulfill the History and Tradition requirement, and in turn, am receiving an immense and exciting introduction to the African continent — a place with a rich, complex, and gorgeous past, a past that has been foundational in the historical development of the human spirit.

At the end of the day, we must recognize that dynasties have a stake in retelling history. Power is only legitimized when a group has proven themselves “worthy” over the course of time. If we want to establish the value of the non-Western world within the global community, then we must teach African history and we must teach it right.

JULU NWAEZEAPU is a College sophomore studying behavioral and computational neuroscience from Chicago. Her email is julunwae@sas. upenn.edu.

the class.

In the humanities, for example, learning how to use ChatGPT to write a more effective first draft of your essay would be really helpful in improving your writing speed and quality of your piece. Or, to get a bit more in the weeds, learning how to use the GPT-3 API to fine-tune your own model for a specific type of paper you are writing, can drastically improve outcomes.

ChatGPT reached 100,000,000 users in two months. This is a new world record that took TikTok about 9 months to reach. Its fast adoption and seemingly endless use cases have prompted stories saying it will destroy the world, save the world, and … make beer? However, among the millions of takes, I couldn’t find anything about how the Ivy League plans to change its curriculum in light of AI’s abilities. That’s a problem.

Higher education needs to rethink curriculums to prepare students for the future they are already living in. Penn needs to stop teaching useless skills, and should instead introduce model-prompting in relevant coursework and embrace an AIassisted education system.

Education systems are responding to AI in one of two ways. The first and loudest of these responses is the “Get Off My Lawn,” Homer Simpson type. This group’s response has been to ban ChatGPT generated text with the argument that

it eliminates the need for critical thinking skills, dilutes public discourse, and devalues human-centered experiences.

The second is the counterculture, “Make Love, Not War” response, which stresses the value that ChatGPT can provide in the classroom, while minimizing its impact on academic integrity. Both of the Penn professors that I spoke to about AI fell into this category; it also has many public proponents.

The first school of thought is a deadend; just as Socrates once argued against writing because it damaged memorization abilities, so too do AI’s naysayers fear human cognition will be damaged to the point of a Simpson-like existence. The second, while more open to the use of AI, is minimizing the long-term impacts of it on our society, and consequently, is not adequately responding to prepare the next generation for the future.

Itamar Drechsler, a professor of finance at the Wharton School, said that ChatGPT

So why don’t all elementary schools stop teaching addition now that we have calculators? Addition is still a critical skill to have because it’s instrumental for doing difficult math that cannot be so easily performed by a calculator. Thus, Penn doesn’t need to stop teaching everything that can be done by AI; rather, the University could refrain from providing instruction on skills that are ends themselves and not means to acquire other skills.

I call these skills intrinsic skills, or skills that are not necessary to support future learning. An example is building a Discounted Cash Flow model, which helps analysts value a company but is not necessarily instrumental in future learning (Goldman Sachs, if you’re reading this, I’m sorry … please give me a summer internship).

Adjusting to the new market and society that AI has created will help Penn stay ahead of the curve in preparing its students for the future. Important skills for the 21st century will be less organized around execution (or being able to do things), and more about knowing what you want to do and being able to prompt a machine to do it for you. Therefore, I suggest adding a prompting chapter to every course at Penn that runs students through effective use of AI for content related to

Chris Callison-Burch, an associate professor of computer and information science who teaches artificial intelligence at Penn, agrees, and thinks AI could and should be used in all areas of the classroom. He has used AI to help him summarize his lectures and even come up with multiple choice questions about the material he covers in class. CallisonBurch thinks that prompt engineering "is useful for people to understand how models behave and to have a basic familiarity with how AI can support the work you are doing.”

Penn professors and administrators need to rethink curricula that can be displaced by artificial intelligence and replace it with instrumental skill teaching, prompting, or anything that could become more valuable in the context of artificial intelligence.

Today, we lead the Ivy League and global education system in preparing students with marketable skills, and have never genuflected to a humanities curriculum the way many other elite institutions have. We have never hesitated to adopt new curricula that are critical to the markets our students have gone on to participate in. We should not hesitate to do so again.

PHOTO BY BENJAMIN MCAVOY-BICKFORD

A computer screen at the front of a classroom displays ChatGPT, a recently developed chatbot from OpenAI.

BRETT SEATON is a Wharton sophomore studying finance from Manhattan, Kan. His email is bseaton@ wharton.upenn.edu.

Falk employees need fair wages and benefits

GUEST COLUMN | The hidden costs of contracted labor are too much to bear

A day on Penn’s campus is remiss without visiting one of its most coveted eating-spots for students: the renowned Falk Dining Hall. Each visit, students enter the welcoming, familial environment and are met with compassion and kindness from the staff.

However, behind their smiles, Falk Dining workers — a marginalized group within the broader Penn Dining, already rife with inequality — face a much darker reality: poor benefits and no promotions after decades of service.

The culprit of their marginalization? Bon Appétit Management Company. Its accomplice? Penn.

Bon Appétit, a subsidiary of the multinational company Compass Group, provides contracted labor to Penn Dining. While workers in residential dining halls, such as Hill House and 1920 Commons, are employed by Penn, Falk workers are not. As a result, the small team of nine receives less benefits and compensation under Bon Appétit.

After 23 years of service to Hillel and Falk, Elijah Wingate and Troy Harris, two Kosher chefs, have shared their story with the hope of changing the way Falk Dining employees are contracted.

As avid Falk-goers, members of Black Wharton, and constituents of the broader Penn student body, we stand with the workers of Falk Dining and second their cries for equality and fair treatment. Most importantly, we condemn the University for its complicity in labor issues occurring on its own campus.

We believe that progress for the Black community at Penn is stalled by the injustices experienced by Falk staff. The University must make amends. The first step lies in converting Falk staff from contractors to employees of the University.

Falk is more than a meal swipe. It is an environment that fosters community and belonging, demonstrated by the interpersonal relationships fostered between Falk workers, like Harris and

Wingate, and the student body. Despite being an integral part of the Penn community, Falk is the black sheep of Penn Dining.

We believe the current system of contracting labor disregards the commitment and contributions of Falk staff and subjects them to greater systemic injustices under Bon Appétit. At one point, Harris was forced to come back to work only one week after his son was shot. Another worker had a stroke while on the job and was left unemployed without health care or income after more than 20 years. The small team even risked their lives to keep Falk open during COVID-19, but did not receive essential pay.

The experiences of Falk staff point to larger labor issues and racialized systems of injustice.

The discrepancies between the treatment of Penn and privately contracted employees exemplify a broader University-wide focus on profits that consequently result in a disregard for the welfare of its workers. Despite increased support of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and underrepresented student groups and faculty, the University neglects the dilemmas and well-being of Black Falk workers.

Injustices against the nine workers are a threat to progress made to further advance the Black Penn community. These advancements may be in vain if Penn continuously fails to address and adhere to the needs of all Black people on this campus.

While these experiences occurred under the employment of Bon Appétit, we believe it is the responsibility of the University to ensure that the workers who wear Penn Dining across their chest and feed hundreds of Penn students each day are treated fairly. In light of Penn’s history of urban upheaval and gentrification, which has made it increasingly difficult for Falk workers to afford rent and high costs of living, there is also a moral imperative on the University to take responsibility for providing

adequate wages and benefits.

The small team of nine is more than chefs, cashiers, and servers. They are catalysts for change and voices of inspiration within their communities. They do not seek disruption. Rather, they are working to overcome recurring cycles of financial and emotional hardship through social mobilization. Their drive for change does not stem from personal incentives, but a desire to transform the narrative for their families and future generations of Falk workers.

The wrongs perpetrated by the current Penn Dining system must be rectified. A thank you card does not suffice.

MASON MORIAL is a College junior studying philosophy, politics, and economics from South Orange, N.J.

MATTIAS HANCHARD is a College junior studying philosophy, politics, and economics from Baltimore.

SHELBY DUGAS is a Wharton senior studying finance and management from Dallas.

Power-tripping professors deny students the respect they deserve

EMILY’S EYE | Viral videos from Columbia and Harvard point to the broader conversation of unequal student-professor power dynamics

in a learning environment, especially since they pay — sometimes exorbitant amounts of money, like at Columbia — to be there. According to the Columbia Daily Spectator, Capra later released an apology and Dean Gillian Lester also condemned such behavior.

However, there have been other instances in higher education, particularly among the Ivy League, where accountability fails to materialize and unequal power dynamics continue to prevail.

For example, Harvard University was recently placed under the microscope with another viral video that circulated the Internet. According to The Harvard Crimson, over 100 students staged a class walk-out last month, protesting Professor John Comaroff’s “continued presence on campus after he was placed on leave last year for violating the University’s sexual harassment and professional conduct policies.”

This relates to a 2022 lawsuit alleging that Harvard not only ignored years of sexual harassment accusations against Comaroff, but they were also aware of his misconduct prior to hiring him. Despite this, he returned to campus last fall.

When it comes to higher education, professors are often held in the highest regard. And rightfully so — they possess years of experience and expertise, so we must acknowledge and appreciate the wealth of knowledge that they supply to younger generations of scholars.

And while there is no doubt about the respect we must provide our professors, it is only fair to expect that students receive respect in return.

Many have seen the viral video of a Columbia Law School professor flinging expletives at a student. Such behavior demonstrates the power trip that professors perpetually hold over students’ heads.

In the video, a student explains how it would

DESIGN BY COLLIN WANG

be beneficial if the professor, Daniel Capra, spoke a bit slower, especially on behalf of the international students in the class. The professor denied her request and proceeded to curse her out with an audible “f**k you” that was caught on the lecture recording.

As a professor, Capra has every right to run his classroom the way he intends. He sets the pace and the syllabus, so the speed of his lecture is his prerogative. Yes, it is inconsiderate that he refused to accommodate this student as he certainly could have offered alternate solutions. But he is in charge, so his decision is justified. What’s not justified is the vulgar profanity that followed.

No student deserves to feel unsafe or targeted

Once again, this illustrates the need for action and accountability in regards to professor misdemeanors. The fact that Comaroff was cleared to teach despite such serious claims is appalling, and quite frankly, offensive. Not only is this severely agonizing for current students, it also completely invalidates the trauma of those who bravely spoke up about the assault they endured.

While this demonstrates the protection that tenured professors unfairly receive, it is also important to point out the unequal power dynamic that continues to plague the classroom. The Crimson reported that Comaroff allegedly “retaliated against students who warned of his misbehavior by threatening their careers.” Using fear and intimidation, Comaroff asserted his power and resources in an attempt to silence his vulnerable

An open letter to my seventh graders

GUEST

I see a light in each of you. I hope you know that.

I took a leap to become your teacher; after four years as an undergrad at Penn, I thought I would be ready to instruct middle schoolers. I declared a major in English very early on, but I grew a passion for serving students and schools upon joining an after-school outreach program on campus, GEAR UP. I found it more gratifying to spend several hours per week mentoring in the halls of West Philadelphia High School than to talk in small discussion groups about 18th-century British literature. Everything I thought I knew about myself was slowly unraveling.

Penn doesn’t offer an education major to undergraduate students, but there are plentiful opportunities to take classes within the Graduate School of Education — I took enough to declare a minor in urban education. As my academic interests shifted, I spent more and more time at local middle and high schools participating in University-assisted programming and supporting classrooms. I also learned more about Philadelphia and recognized major issues in our system of Universitycommunity partnerships. Rates of tutor turnover were high, college students often lacked consistency and experience, and our bias and trauma training were largely superficial. I was vocal about these problems as the student coordinator for GEAR UP and as the chair of the Netter Center for Community Partnerships Student Advisory Board. All the while, I still saw opportunities for growth.

I believed in the volunteer work I did through the Netter Center, in the classes that pushed me to think about equity and child psychology, and in the popular rhetoric supporting alternative teaching certifications, like Teach for America. I look back now and laugh at how naive I was to consider myself any sort of expert, or even prepared to

teach you

influence students and their futures in the real world. I also wonder how much of this weight should be resting on my own shoulders, as well as on Penn as a pre-professional institution. This is all on my mind because of the impact it has on you every single time you step into the classroom. No day is ever perfect, of course, but our time spent together is always an honor — laughing, learning, and making mistakes. I love it when you make mistakes. You show me that you’re trying and pushing yourself through difficult material. I hold high expectations for you all. Yet, you never give up, and you make your strides — big ones, too. Those moments remind me of why I come to school each day.

The mistakes that I make are another story. I’m always curious about how you’ll reflect on those mistakes at the end of the school year, or when you’re applying to high schools, or when you’re approaching your final graduation. Will you think about me at all? Will it matter what I did in your seventh grade English language arts classroom for nine months?

I find myself in a constant state of resentment, and I don’t know if it’s directed toward Penn or myself. I worry about how unprepared I am to be the teacher that I should be, and that I want to be. I want you all to feel seen and heard in the classroom, challenged and supported at the same time. I want you all to feel joy and confidence when you read and write. All of these things are possible, but on some days, I convince myself that I’m not good enough. I scrap my lesson plans and lose my voice.

I was a 21-year-old in front of 31 sixth graders — I thought everything would be fine. When you asked questions, I improvised. When you broke down and cried, I improvised. When you lost a friend, I improvised. My experiences through GEAR UP and the Netter Center gave

me the confidence to not give up on you, but none of it could compare to living and growing with you for nine hours a day, for 185 days a year. I thought I knew so much, but I knew absolutely nothing about how your brains work and absorb new information, how your peer relationships would influence your class participation, how my feedback would bolster or inhibit your growth. A lot of people at Penn told me that I could figure it out and get better along the way.

And now, many of you have grown with me, and sit in those seventh-grade seats. I’m still your unconventional cheerleader, but I have not stopped improvising or failing. Teaching you felt like experimenting on you, and I wish that I was pushed to be better before stepping into the classroom. I wish that Penn held us to a higher standard, by investing in sustainable community outreach

students.

Furthermore, Comaroff apparently “broke into a smile and nodded at the protestors” during the walk-out. Such mockery is blatantly disrespectful to the students who are attempting to voice their concerns, and this is a clear example of how one professor is more formidable than hundreds of students.

Here at Penn, professor misconduct is omnipresent when it comes to Amy Wax. By now, we are all aware of Wax’s “racist, xenophobic, and homophobic” commentary and her continued ability to teach at Penn. Her bigoted, prejudiced statements create hostility and hatred within the classroom. How can any student feel safe and respected when their professor is blatantly discriminating against them?

Capra, Comaroff, and Wax may be under scrutiny for different reasons, but these instances all demonstrate the power that professors have over students. Being a distinguished professor means you have expertise and authority, but that shouldn’t grant automatic immunity.

There is a difference between authority and power, and professors must realize that their position does not warrant the latter. It is not difficult for meaningful respect to occur on both ends of the student-professor relationship in order to facilitate a positive learning experience. Students pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in tuition in order to learn, not to get mistreated.

At the end of the day, status and prestige cannot excuse immoral and inappropriate behavior. Professors deserve respect, but students certainly do too.

EMILY CHANG is a College junior studying communication and law & society from Holmdel, N.J. Her email address is changem@sas.upenn.edu.

programs, by prioritizing teacher education and offering method classes for undergraduate students, and by illuminating critical dialogue about the state of the teaching career.

You see me at my weakest. We’re honest to one another about it. I love it when you beg me not to stress myself out, because you remind me that I still have potential. You don’t see the end of the road for me, even though I sometimes think I do. You are what keeps me going.

Thank you for always meeting me halfway, even when it’s hard.

PHOTO BY ANNA VAZHAEPARAMBIL

ANIA ALBERSKI is a current Penn Graduate School of Education master’s student and

2021 College graduate.

PHOTO BY BENJAMIN MCAVOY-BICKFORD

Workers at Falk Dining Hall prepare the food stations for the dinner service on Feb. 6.

West Philadelphia High School, where guest columnist Ania Alberski mentored students.

In Photos: President

Joe Biden visits Philadelphia

Amid controversy involving the Penn Biden Center, The Daily Pennsylvanian followed Biden and Harris as they spoke in Philadelphia on Friday

JONAH MILLER AND ABHIRAM JUVVADI

Senior Reporter and News Photo Editor

President Joe Biden visited Philadelphia for the first time since the controversy involving the Penn Biden Center to speak at the Democratic National Committee's winter meeting reception. Biden — who was accompanied by newly elected Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) and Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) — landed at 2:01

p.m. at Philadelphia International Airport.

In back-to-back speeches, DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Biden touted Democratic midterm victories and legislative successes ahead of the president’s State of the Union Address on Feb. 7 and a potential announcement of a 2024 re-election campaign.

Harris began by highlighting recent investments in Philadelphia infrastructure, such as new lanes and sidewalks on Roosevelt Boulevard, and policies that have defined the Biden-Harris administration, such as maintaining welfare programs, addressing the climate crisis, and protecting reproductive rights.

“When someone asked me a few weeks ago

for my one word to describe the new year, I said, ‘momentum,’” Harris said, adding that Democrats are “delivering big-time.”

“To our college Dems, let’s remind people that because you organized — because you voted — we made the largest investment in the climate crisis in history,” Harris said. Following Harris’ speech, Biden began his own by referencing his previous visit

to Philadelphia in November 2022, during which he campaigned with former President Barack Obama in advance of the midterm elections.

“Remember how our friends in the press and pundits alike, and even some in our own party, were predicting a giant red wave? Well, guess what? It never happened,” Biden said to laughter and applause from the crowd.

Biden went on to flaunt recent policy victories, ranging from investments in infrastructure, reduced health care costs, and the historic confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman to serve on the court.

“So let me ask you a simple question: Are you with me?” Biden said, to which numerous members of the crowd chanted, “Four more years! Four more years!”

Biden referenced younger generations when talking about historic investments in alleviating the climate crisis.

“We carry a heavy responsibility, and it means we have an extraordinary opportunity as well — an extraordinary opportunity to build the future we want for our children

and grandchildren," Biden said. "It hadn’t been available to us in the past."

The visit to Philadelphia comes after the FBI discovered classified documents at the Center on Nov. 2, a University think tank in Washington. The discovery prompted the Republican-led House Oversight Committee to send a

letter to Penn President Liz Magill inquiring about foreign donations and visitors to the center.

The president did not comment on the situation, although he spoke just over one mile away from Penn’s campus. In response to the Oversight letter, Penn repeated its denial of allegations of foreign influence.

Since the November searches, the FBI searched Biden’s home in Wilmington, Del. on Dec. 20, where they found six additional classified documents. All documents are currently under investigation by Special Counsel Robert Hur.

Testing the Reward-Drinker Hypothesis of Naltrexone Using an Extended-Release Formulation

University of Pennsylvania

This study is being conducted to compare the effects of a medication (extended-release naltrexone or XRNTX) or placebo (an inactive substance) together with brief counseling on reducing or stopping drinking.

To participate in this study, you must be:

• 18-65 years old

• Express a desire to reduce or stop drinking

• Able to complete all study visits and willing to receive 2 injections of study medication over 8 weeks of treatment.

This is a 7 visit study to occur over 12 weeks. This includes an initial screening visit, an 8-week treatment phase (during which time you will receive 2 injections at 4-week intervals of XR-NTX or a placebo), and a follow-up visit 4 weeks after the treatment phase. Participants may be compensated up to $345 if they are eligible to participate and complete all study visits.

PHOTO BY JESSE ZHANG

PHOTO BY NATHANIEL BABITTS

PHOTO BY ABHIRAM JUVVADI

PHOTO BY ABHIRAM JUVVADI

PHOTO BY ABHIRAM JUVVADI

PHOTO BY ABHIRAM JUVVADI

Arthur Ross Gallery features rediscovered painting unseen for a century

Gustave Courbet’s rediscovered painting was found in storage at Penn’s School of Dental Medicine in 2016

Penn’s Arthur Ross Gallery unveiled a new exhibition last Friday, which features a recently rediscovered Gustave Courbet landscape painting that has been unseen for almost 100 years.

Courbet’s painting was found in storage at Penn’s School of Dental Medicine in 2016, according to the Arthur Ross Gallery. The painting, entitled “The Source of the Lison,” depicts the source of the Lison River in France. It was completed in 1864 using oil on canvas. Courbet was a French realist painter active in the 19th century.

The exhibition, “At the Source: A Courbet Landscape Rediscovered,” will feature Courbet’s painting and other 19th-century landscape paintings from Feb. 4 to May 28.

The exhibition is accompanied by a catalog featuring leading Courbet scholarship, as well as the podcast Big Art Energy, which will tell the journey of the painting’s rediscovery. Special programs and events are planned for the remainder of the exhibit, including lectures, short talks, and conversations with the Courbet scholars and experts.

“Focusing on the motifs of grottos and waterfalls in his art of the 1850s and 1860s, the exhibition highlights

and security is what we do’: New chief of Penn Police shares priorities

the newly re-discovered Courbet painting, not shown in public for close to 100 years, emphasizing the process of authenticating and conserving this historic work,” the Arthur Ross Gallery said in a press release.

Penn President Liz Magill toured the exhibition on Feb. 3, according to the Office of the President.

The exhibition was curated by Lynn Marsden-Atlass, executive director of the Arthur Ross Gallery and University curator, and André Dombrowski, Frances Shapiro-Weitzenhoffer associate professor of 19th-century European art at Penn.

Following the discovery in 2016, the painting was conserved, and in 2018 it was scientifically examined.

In April 2022, the painting was officially authenticated by the Institut Courbet in Ornans, France, according to the Arthur Ross Gallery.

The painting was a 1912 bequest of Thomas Evans, who was a Philadelphia-born surgeon dentist to Napoléon III and Empress Eugénie. After Evans’ death in 1897, he gave most of his fortune to The Thomas W. Evans Museum and Institute Society in Philadelphia.

In 1912, the society and Penn signed an agreement to establish the Thomas W. Evans Museum and Dental Institute, which is now part of Penn Dental Medicine.

New Chief of Penn Police Gary Williams told The Daily Pennsylvanian that he will prioritize “safety and security” and re-engaging the University and West Philadelphia communities.

Williams — who was appointed as the interim chief of police in May 2022 — was announced as the new chief of police on Jan. 17. Williams has previously served with Penn Police for 21 years, joining in 2001 after working as an officer for the Philadelphia Police Department.

Throughout his time at Penn, he has been promoted to sergeant patrol, executive lieutenant, liaison to student groups on campus, captain of patrol, and now chief of police. Williams said that his years of experience in a variety of roles with Penn Police have made him “well-rounded” and prepared him for his new leadership role.

“As I worked my way up the department, my scope of responsibility got a lot larger,” Williams said. “I was able to learn throughout my time here.”

During his time at Penn, he has helped develop

the Strategic Crime Prevention west end Grid Patrol, as well as spending time as an emergency response team leader and a negotiation team member for the Division of Public Safety Union. Williams has also been involved with community outreach programs, specifically the Police Athletic League, which aims to engage with local children.

Williams reflected on his six months as interim chief of police by emphasizing how he gained important skills, especially since he maintained the responsibilities of captain of patrol — a role that has yet to be filled since Williams’ appointment — while serving in the interim role.

“I respect anyone who has served in an interim role,” Williams said, adding that he became better at multitasking while in the role.

The opening for a new chief of police came about following the retirement of former Vice President for Public Safety and Superintendent of Penn Police Maureen Rush in 2021. Rush’s responsibilities have since been divided into two roles: vice president for public safety and chief of police. Kathleen Shields Anderson became vice president of DPS in 2022 after previously serving in that role in an interim capacity.

Anderson shared excitement for Williams’ appointment to his new role, highlighting his previous contributions to Penn Police, such as his “integral part” in bringing the body camera program to Penn before most places in the country.

Anderson added that Williams plans to focus on re-engagement of the community. Williams highlighted his participation in a recent panel at the African American Resource Center in which he discussed how Penn Police can take steps to avoid incidents like the recent police violence in Memphis, Tenn.

“I had the opportunity to discuss how we can prevent something similar from happening at Penn,” Williams said, adding that Penn Police officers are equipped with de-escalation and bystander training.

Williams told the DP that his biggest goals for Penn Police are to ensure the safety and security of its constituents.

“Safety and security is what we do,” Williams said. “That is my main priority for the students, faculty, staff, and West Philadelphia community.”

As a father of two college-aged children, Williams said he hopes to take care of the student body. He added that while he understands students work hard and want to enjoy socializing, he hopes to prioritize that they do so safely.

“We are here for you, and we take care of you,” Williams said.

PHOTO BY ANNA VAZHAEPARAMBIL

‘Safety

Gary Williams was announced as the new chief of police on Jan. 17

MOLLY COHEN AND EMILY SCOLNICK Senior Reporter and Staff Reporter

PHOTO FROM PENN DIVISION OF PUBLIC SAFETY

Newly selected Chief of Police and 21-year veteran of the Penn Police Department Gary Williams.

The awards keep rolling in for Penn men’s lacrosse as five members of the team were named by Inside Lacrosse as Preseason All-Americans. Voted on by the media, athletes could either be selected first team, second team, or honorable mention.

Most notably, senior midfielder Sam Handley was unanimously named first-team All-American. He was one of three players to receive a unanimous first-team selection. Earlier this month, Handley was also voted Preseason Player and Midfielder of the Year by USA Lacrosse Magazine.

Following Handley’s lead, senior midfielder Piper Bond was named to the second team.

Senior attacker Dylan Gergar, senior long-stick midfielder BJ Farrare, and junior defender Brendan Lavelle all received honorable mentions.

Last season, Handley served as both a powerhouse and team captain for his team, winning Ivy League Player of the Year, being the second Quaker in the program’s history to receive the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association’s Top Division I Midfielder award, and being one of five finalists for the Tewaaraton Award, given to the most outstanding college lacrosse player in the nation.

Bond also had a very successful season last

year, forcing 11 turnovers and adding 29 ground balls. The Baltimore native was also named third-team USILA All-American, first-team All-Ivy, and served as the team captain.

Gergar had an incredible season in 2022 as well, etching his name in Penn record books. He scored the second most goals in a single season, he is eighth in career goals, and third in points scored in a single season. He was named All-Ivy second team and was on the Tewaaraton Award Preseason Watch List.

Last season, both Farrare and Lavelle received honorable mentions for USILA All-America and Inside Lacrosse Media

All-America. Farrare received an All-Ivy honorable mention and Lavelle was named second-team All-Ivy and was on the Tewaaraton Award Midseason Watch List. Farrare led the team with 19 caused turnovers and added 55 ground balls.

Looking forward to the 2023 season, the Quakers were picked fourth in the Ivy League preseason media poll announced Tuesday. The squad is also ranked ninth by USA Lacrosse Magazine and 10th by Inside Lacrosse in the country. To kickoff the season, the team will travel to Georgetown on Feb. 18 — a tough open to an even tougher schedule that follows.

Plaque unveiled to celebrate the Palestra’s historical significance

The arena has been hosting Penn basketball and more for over 95 years

TROY

EZRA

Sports Associate

The Cathedral of College Basketball is a name fitting for one of the oldest college basketball arenas in the country and the place that has hosted the most college basketball games in NCAA history.

The Palestra opened its doors on Jan. 1, 1927. The first match held there saw Penn men’s basketball defeat rival Yale 26-15. Since then, in addition to basketball, the arena has hosted college wrestling, volleyball, gymnastics, and even tennis. The Palestra had also been the site of concerts, campaign rallies, and Penn commencement ceremonies, making it a mainstay on Penn’s campus for nearly a century.

As its famed nickname suggests, the Palestra is most commonly known for basketball. In addition

to being the home of the Quakers, it has hosted a record 48 NCAA Tournament games, including Penn’s 1978 first-round victory over Saint Bonaventure and five regional finals. It has seen all 26 of Penn’s Ivy League titles and the greatest basketball players in Penn history. Ernie Beck, Penn’s all time leader in points per game, and AJ Brodeur, highest total scorer in Penn history, have called the Palestra their home.

The Palestra is also the original home of Big 5 basketball competition. Starting in 1954, when it was announced that five of Philadelphia’s NCAA Division I college basketball teams — Villanova, Penn, St. Joseph’s, La Salle, and Temple — would play against each other, the Palestra became the

place to be to witness Big 5 play. While the teams moved to home games for Big 5 competitions in 1986, the Palestra is still considered the home of Big 5 basketball.

To commemorate the historical importance of the arena, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission installed a plaque outside the Palestra. The plaque reads: “Home to the Penn Quakers basketball, volleyball, and wrestling teams. Opened in 1927, it is one of the first steel and concrete arenas in the US, with an arched steel truss system providing unobstructed views of the court. Known as ‘The Cathedral of College Basketball,’ it hosted the East Regional of NCAA’s first national tournament in 1939, Philadelphia’s Big 5 basketball, and as of 2022 more college basketball games than any other arena.”

A ceremony was held this past December at the unveiling of the plaque, with remarks from Penn men’s basketball coach Steve Donahue and state Sen. Tim Kearney.

This plaque is the third of its kind on Penn’s campus, with one set up in 1995 to honor the Penn relays and another unveiled in 2000 to mark the birthplace of the ENIAC, the first general-purpose digital computer.

The Palestra truly is an iconic site on Penn’s campus. It has stood for nearly a century, watching the University evolve and grow over the years, always serving as a place for people to gather and enjoy a game of basketball inside its storied walls. Now it will be honored as such.

Skill Level:

Solution to Previous Puzzle:

PHOTO BY BORNA SAEEDNIA

PHOTO BY ANNA VAZHAEPARAMBIL

LACROSSE PREVIEW

Following Ivy title run and NCAA Tournament disappointment, men’s lacrosse aims even higher

CALEB CRAIN Sports Editor

Entering last season’s NCAA Tournament, Penn men’s lacrosse had sky-high expectations. The team was seeded third and had just won an Ivy League title, with five wins against top 10 programs in the regular season and defeats of No.1 Brown and No. 3 Yale in the conference tournament.

But under two weeks later, the dream came crashing down, as Penn was eliminated by Rutgers in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Quakers had a lead in the fourth quarter, but allowed five straight goals to the Scarlet Knights, ultimately losing 11-9.

Coming off the field in Hempstead, N.Y., the team was “upset [they] didn’t put [their] best foot forward that day,” senior long-stick midfielder BJ Farrare said. “It’s tough to see those seniors leave the field after that knowing it was a lot of those guys’ last game.”

However, last season’s finish has given the team a sense of unfinished business. Coach Mike Murphy noted that throughout the offseason, this hunger to avenge 2022’s disappointing result has been apparent throughout the team, with many athletes putting in extra work on the field or in the weight room.

“I think [the athletes] know that we can be very good if we put the time and work in,” Murphy said. “[They] own that process individually and collectively, so I think that extra work has really been a demonstration of that belief and that desire.”

Winning a national championship would be especially important to senior midfielder Sam Handley, who chose to return to Penn for his fifth year. Having missed nearly all of two seasons due to a spleen injury and the COVID-19 pandemic, last season was Handley’s first full campaign since 2019.

This year, Handley was named a preseason firstteam All-American by Inside Lacrosse. But this is nothing new for the 6-foot-5 midfielder from Portland, Ore., who was named Freshman of the Year and first-team All-American following the 2019 season. Since then, though, perspective has only

Penn Pride: Women’s lacrosse fosters new slogan in effort to rebound from losing 2022 season

AMEILA SCHARFF Sports Associate

strengthened Handley’s play.

“That lesson taught me that, you know, as quick as the fame and accolades can come, just as quickly they can go,” he said.

Murphy praised Handley’s ability to look past the individual accolades and see through the noise, lauding his immense mental maturity and capacity to work through challenges.

With the accolades and statistics — Handley led the team with 73 points last year — comes increased attention from opposing defenses. Yet when asked about it, Handley shrugged it off, saying “some teams like to try to tee off on me, but, whatever.”

But with extra efforts given to guarding Handley, other players go undefended and get the opportunity to score.

Handley won’t have to wait long for one of his most personally impactful games of the season.

When the Quakers open their season at Georgetown on Feb. 18, he will face off against former teammate Tucker Dordevic. The two were teammates from third grade through high school, and Handley said it would be extra special to share the field with him.

Georgetown, who enters the year ranked third in the nation, opens an incredibly tough schedule for the Quakers, with matches against top-10 Ivies Cornell, Princeton, and Yale. While the highranked opponents give more room for losses that could threaten Penn’s standing nationally, Murphy wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I think if you take weeks off, at some point that will catch up to you,” he said. “You never really let your guard down when you have a schedule like this and that’s the way we want to play.”

Navigating a schedule such as Penn’s will require nothing short of the consistent, comprehensive excellence as Murphy preaches, but it should also bring out the best in this Quaker team. For a team whose only goal is hoisting a trophy on Memorial Day weekend, a high level of play couldn’t be more essential.

After an uncharacteristically tough season last year for the women’s lacrosse team, the squad has come back with a new motto for the 2023 season: Penn Pride.

Last season, the Red and Blue went 3-4 against Ivy League foes and had a 6-9 overall record. This losing season was surprising for the Quakers, given that under coach’s Karin Corbett tenure, the squad has reached 11 Ivy League championships in 16 years, with the most recent wins being in 2016, 2017, and 2018.

“We brought back a couple alums [in the offseason] who were in the Final Four runs from 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 teams to talk to this team about rebuilding a culture that they built,” Corbett said. “It’s getting [the team] to understand the work that that takes, and how to get back there. I think they’ve been really receptive to that and they’re really excited to hear the stories of the alums and how they did it. They’re excited to step into that, and to really get us back to the top.”

These visits have transformed the team’s culture, according to senior defender Grace Fujinaga. This season is all about Penn pride for both her and her teammates.

“We’ve really gone back to Penn pride and [asked], what does Penn pride mean?” Fujinaga said. “We cheer it almost every day, and that’s why our alumni have come back because it’s a huge part of our culture. What each letter of pride means to Penn and our lacrosse team is unique, and it’s why we all came to Penn.”

The biggest obstacles the squad faced last season was injuries. This season, however, many key players are back, giving the Quakers new strength in both the defensive and midfield position groups. Senior defender Izzy Rohr, who missed all of the 2022 season, is such a Quaker returning to the field this year.

Another returning player is senior midfielder Caitlin Cook. She hasn’t played for three years

due to the cancellation of the 2020 and 2021 seasons to COVID-19 and then an injury in the 2022 season. Given all the time spent on the sidelines, she said that she has learned a lot, but more importantly is excited and hungry to return to the field.

The squad was also fairly young last season, but Corbett believes last season has given many of her players the practice on the field they need to succeed this season. This year, there are eight seniors on the squad.

In terms of the squad’s strengths, Penn has a large and versatile group of strong midfielders that are able to speed up the game, in addition to a variety of players in the attacking position. To Corbett, each athlete has an individual style of play, and these different strengths will make the squad very difficult to defend.

“I think this team is really embodying Penn pride and the tradition that [Corbett] has created,” Fujinaga said. “We are so ready to start fighting our way through this amazing Ivy League. We’re totally bought in and we’re all ready to go, we’re ready to start competing.”

The squad is looking forward to a tough schedule this season. Not only does the team hope to make a comeback and win an Ivy League championship, but they also hope to compete on the national level too. The squad is set to play both Florida and Johns Hopkins this season to get more national exposure.

“We always want to play a tough schedule,” Corbett said. “I think it makes us better for our league games, as well as preparing us for the tournament. So if [we] don’t win the Ivy League, [we] have shown a body of work that can get you into that [national] tournament as well.”

The Quakers look ahead to their season opener against La Salle at Franklin Field on Feb. 18.

PHOTO BY BORNA SAEEDNIA

PHOTO BY SAMANTHA TURNER

Then-senior faceoff Jamie Zusi cradles the ball during last season’s game on April 16, 2022.

Now-senior Grace Fujinaga runs down the field during last season’s game on April 3, 2022.

Road to Questions and answers for women’s basketball with five games to go

Crain | The Quakers sent mixed signals about their Ivy Tournament potential in games against Cornell and Columbia last weekend

CALEB CRAIN

Sports Editor

As Charles Dickens once wrote, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times ... it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness.”

He wrote that to make a point about the haves and have-nots of Victorian England. The world in which Penn women’s basketball played this weekend looks a lot different than the one Dickens wrote about, but his message still stands. The team’s performances on Friday night and Saturday afternoon were almost as opposite as light and darkness.

Against Columbia on Friday evening, the Quakers were thoroughly dominated for all 40 minutes, eventually succumbing 72-50 to a Lions squad that they beat at the Palestra just four weeks earlier. The final score doesn’t do justice to the destruction, though. Penn was obliterated in nearly every statistical category, including 16-7 in offensive rebounds, 22-7 in assists, and an impossibly bad 30-0 on fast break points.

But less than 24 hours later, the team rebounded with a winning performance at Cornell, skillfully defeating the Big Red 67-54. The team that looked sluggish and cold the night before played loose, meshed well as a team, and seemed like a squad that could be a serious threat in the Ivy League Tournament.

Many questions I had walking away from Levien Gymnasium were answered by Saturday evening, most important being in regard to whether the team can generate offense outside of senior guard Kayla Padilla and junior forward Jordan Obi. On Friday night, the rest of the team underperformed, with only one player making multiple field goals. Nearly every possession seemed to rely on Padilla or Obi overcoming a tough defense to make a contested layup or jumper.

On Saturday, though Padilla and Obi again led the Quakers in scoring, others stepped up.

Senior guard Mandy McGurk dished out six assists, and the ball seemed to move better overall, with many Quakers making plays for themselves and their teammates.

Another massive flaw on Friday was transition defense. Penn gave up a staggering 30 points in transition, and it seemed like every time the Lions got a defensive rebound, the possession would result in an open three-pointer or minimally contested layup before the shot clock even hit 20. But on Saturday, the Quakers seemed to get back on defense better, only giving up six points on the fast break.

But even though their performance at Cornell answered many questions, some linger, one of which relates to coach Mike McLaughlin’s management of his rotations. Despite the game’s result against Columbia becoming clear not long into the third quarter, McLaughlin refused to pull his starters until there were around four minutes left in the game. By the end of the night, both Padilla and Obi played 35 minutes.

Against Cornell, the exhaustion showed. The team turned the ball over 20 times and looked tired in the second half. Why did McLaughlin keep his starters in for so long on Friday? I don’t know. What’s scarier is that I’m not sure McLaughlin knows, either.

Playing two games without a day of rest in between is hard. Really hard. Basketball is a demanding sport, and winning at this level requires a player to give their all. If a player is on the floor, she is going to give it her all. McLaughlin should know that, which is why part of his responsibility as a coach is to protect the players from themselves, especially if they have another game the next day. Penn wasn’t making any progress against Columbia, and so he should have pulled his starters sooner to keep them fresh for Saturday.

Fortunately though, it didn’t matter. Penn won on Saturday, and the team’s 6-3 conference record is enough to keep them inside the coveted top four of Ancient Eight standings. With five games to go, the Quakers control their own destiny for the Ivy League Tournament. They also have five games to answer remaining questions before every game is life-or-death.

The score is the fourth-highest in program history and came in the Quakers’ third consecutive victory

The best is not enough for Penn gymnastics, with the Quakers topping the charts for a third successive weekend.

After capping off the 2022 season with an impressive 196.950 first-place finish at the Gymnastics East Championship to set a new program record, the stakes were high for this year’s squad to replicate last year’s success. So far, this season has not disappointed.

On Jan. 22, the team recorded its highest team score at home in Red and Blue history with a 194.800-190.025 win against William & Mary — ranking ninth best all-time.

Penn dominated William & Mary in every category to put on a dazzling show for the Palestra crowd. Junior Kristen Kuhn impressed on the bars with a first-place 9.800 routine. The Quakers also secured first-place finishes with their beam and floor routines, with juniors Campbell Marr and Sara Kenefick putting up 9.825 and 9.875 performances, respectively. On the vault, junior Kiersten Belkoff and freshman Marissa Lassiter tied for the top spot, with a score of 9.800.

Lassiter’s shining finishes against the Tribe — not just from her vault routine, but on her uneven bars and vault exercises as well — earned her a Gymnastics East Conference Newcomer of the Week award. Despite being a newcomer on the team, the Waldorf, Md. native is already finding a way to make a name for herself.

The following weekend, all eyes were on the Red and Blue again, setting a new seasonhigh score of 195.025 at New Hampshire. The Durham, N.H. crowd was wowed with another stellar Campbell Marr beam routine and phenomenal Belkoff vault performance — picking up right where the team left off against William & Mary.

The Quakers didn’t feel like stopping there, though.

This past weekend, the squad shattered their season best and recorded their fourth-best score in program history with a 195.250-191.025 victory over the Cornell.

Penn’s first victory of the day came on the uneven bars, which featured standout performances by senior McCaleigh Marr — who scored a 9.850 — and Lassiter, who finished second on the team with a 9.750.

Next was the vault, which was once again a win for Penn. Sophomore Olivia VanHorn led the pack with a score of 9.875. Junior Rose DeBarberie, making her 2023 debut, followed in pursuit with an impressive 9.750.

The Big Red edged out the Red and Blue on the floor routine by a mere 0.2 points. Nevertheless, Penn had multiple highlights in the form of a team-high 9.850 from Lassiter, and a 9.775 from sophomore Emma Davies. Lassiter came in second overall, just behind Cornell’s Sydney Beers, who finished with a 9.900.

Penn ended the day on a high as Campbell Marr put up an astonishing 9.925 on the balance beam. This score ties for second all-time in program history, and her routine challenges the best in program history. It is also the highest score so far by a Quaker in any individual event this season.

It’s clear the gymnastics squad is building on their previous successes with every coming competition. With six matchups left before the end of the regular season, the Quakers still have plenty of time left to potentially best the program record set last year.

The team will next compete on Sunday, Feb. 12 at the Palestra against Towson, Ursinus, and West Chester.

PHOTO BY SAMANTHA TURNER

ALEXIS GARCIA & ANIKA GURUAJ

Sports Editor & Sports Associate

Sophomore Zara Gazdak performs her beam routine during the Red & Blue Intrasquad meet on Dec. 11, 2022.