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

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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."

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.”

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.