March 3, 2022

THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA • FOUNDED 1885

PHILADELPHIA, THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2022

VOL. CXXXVIII

NO. 7

Students stand with Ukraine

PHOTO BY SUKHMANI KAUR

Students walking down Locust Walk in solidarity for Ukraine on Feb. 28.

Ukrainian students fear for their families at home amid Russian invasion Students said their families are conflicted about whether to stay in Ukraine or seek asylum in neighboring countries

Board of Trustees to confirm Liz Magill as Penn president tomorrow Magill will be the ninth president in University history, succeeding Amy Gutmann JONAH CHARLTON Senior Reporter

JACOB POLLACK Staff Reporter

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, Penn students from Ukraine are worried about the safety of their families and the future of their home — and the Penn community is rallying to support them.

On Feb. 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian forces to invade Ukraine. As Russian rockets, bombs, and soldiers continue to attack Ukrainian military and citizens, Penn students who have family in Ukraine told The Daily Pennsylvanian that their families are conflicted about whether to stay at home or seek asylum in neighboring countries.

College first year Olga Loiek grew up in Kolomyia, a city in western Ukraine. She said she worries for her family’s safety who have decided to stay at home in Ukraine.

“I’m not even sure when I’m going to see my family again,” Loiek said. “My family is currently okay, but they can hear the Russian planes that are flying on our sky, and they’re waking up at 5 a.m. scared for their lives because at any moment, [the Russians] could just bomb a random house, which is very possible.”

While conflict has been ongoing between Ukraine and Russia, Loiek said she and her family never imagined their country would experience war.

“We assumed war would never come to us and

never thought that Putin [was] going to be this slaughterous and bomb civilian houses,” Loiek said.

Wharton and Nursing sophomore Max Potlov grew up in Odesa, one of Ukraine’s most populated cities. He said he is concerned about his family’s safety because they experienced military threats close to their home.

“My family can hear some bombs, and there was a missile five miles away from my house, and you can feel it. It’s like a little earthquake,” Potlov said.

While speaking to his family, Potlov said he found out that his father, who he said is an honorably discharged officer in the Ukrainian military, may be drafted into the war.

“Any day, I can wake up and call my dad, and he might not pick up,” Potlov said.

Potlov said that if conditions become more dangerous, his mother and grandmother will join the hundreds of thousands of other people leaving Ukraine, which has become very difficult due to the mass exodus, according to reports from The Washington Post.

College junior Elena Tisnovsky, who identifies as Ukrainian American, helped organize the Penn and Drexel Solidarity March on Feb. 28, giving Ukrainian and other Eastern European students a platform to raise awareness of the violence occurring in

See UKRAINE, page 7

Ukraine.

“There’s much better and more concrete action that you can take as an individual, as an American, than just posting a hashtag or posting a story [that says] ‘Praying for Ukraine,’” Tisnovsky said. “We don’t really need prayers right now; we need action.”

Some Russian students at Penn have also expressed opposition against Russia’s invasion. College first year Daniel Shevchenko, who identifies as Russian American, said he finds Putin’s actions a poor representation of Russia as a nation.

“It’s horrible and an event that is just full of shame for our entire country. There’s nothing positive about the conflict, and I would say most of the Russian population, including my family, shares that opinion,” Shevchenko said.

Kimberly St. Julian Varnon, a Penn doctoral student specializing in Soviet and Eastern European history, is using her Twitter account to update on the conflict and detail the Black experience in Russia and Eastern Europe.

Varnon said that Black Ukrainians are currently facing racism at Ukraine’s borders.

“Race is definitely involved in not allowing Black families to be in the front of the line,” Varnon said.

Varnon added that African visa holders in Ukraine are also facing difficulties in leaving the country.

See also IN PHOTOS, page 6

Penn announces Ken Burns as 2022 Commencement speaker Burns is an Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker RACHEL MILLER Staff Reporter

Penn announced on Tuesday that renowned documentary filmmaker Ken Burns will deliver this year’s Commencement, which will take place on May 16.

Burns, an Emmy-Award winning filmmaker, will give the Commencement speech and receive an honorary doctor of arts degree from Penn. The ceremony, which is set to be held at Franklin Field, will feature the granting of degrees, remarks by University officials, and the awarding of honorary degrees to Burns, former Penn President Amy Gutmann, and several other recipients.

Burns has been nominated for two Academy Awards for his documentaries focused on the history of the Brooklyn Bridge and the history of the Statue of Liberty.

His newest documentary “Benjamin Franklin” will premiere in April 2022.

Along with Gutmann and Burns, others who are expected to receive honorary degrees at the 2022 Commencement ceremony include Mary Frances Berry, Atul Gawande, Carla Hayden, George Lewis, Margaret Marshall, and Edward Witten.

Gutmann will be receiving an honorary doctor of laws degree. During her Penn presidency, Gutmann focused on increasing access to higher education for SEND STORY IDEAS TO NEWSTIP@THEDP.COM

first-generation, low-income students along with engaging locally and globally through the creation of the President’s Engagement Prize and investing in local schools.

Marshall will be receiving an honorary doctor of laws degree. She is senior counsel at the Choate Hall & Stewart law firm, and has served as chief justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts. While serving as chief justice, she wrote the groundbreaking opinion that prohibited Massachusetts from denying same-sex couples access to civil marriage, making Massachusetts the first state in the country to legalize gay marriage.

Berry, who will receive an honorary doctor of humane letters degree, has taught at Penn since 1987.

She currently serves as the Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought, and professor emerita of History and Africana Studies. She has written 13 books and has a history in public service throughout multiple presidential administrations.

Hayden, who will receive the same honor as Berry, serves as the 14th Librarian of Congress as the first Black person and the first woman to be appointed to this

Award-winning documentary filmmaker Ken Burns will deliver the Commencement speech for the graduating Class of 2022 on May 16.

position. As the former CEO of Baltimore’s Enoch Pratt Free Library, she is credited with keeping the library open during the civil unrest that resulted from the death of Freddie Gray.

Gawande, who will receive an honorary doctor of sciences degree, is the current head of global health at the United States Agency for International Development.

His research has focused on how to improve quality and safety in health care.

Witten, a professor in the School of Natural Sciences at the Institute for Advanced Study, will receive the same honor as Gawande for his renowned work in theoretical physics and string theory.

Lewis is a Columbia University professor, composer, musicologist, and trombonist who will receive an honorary doctor of music degree. He is credited for pioneering computer programs that utilize artificial intelligence techniques to improve alongside human musicians.

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Penn’s Board of Trustees will confirm Liz Magill as the University’s ninth president on March 4.

The board is slated to vote on Magill’s nomination at its Stated Meeting, which will be held at 11 a.m. on the second day of its Winter Meeting. Immediately following the vote, at 12:10 p.m., the Penn community is invited to welcome Magill with a procession down Locust Walk led by the Penn Band.

The procession will run from “Ben to Ben” — beginning at the statue of Ben on the Bench and concluding at the Ben Franklin statue on College Green.

The trustees, a group of University officers, and deans from multiple schools and centers will join Magill in the procession, according to an email sent by the Office of the University Secretary Associate Vice President Lizann Boyle Rode. Pom poms will be provided to attendees, the email added.

The event will mark Magill’s first public appearance on campus since her nomination as Penn president.

Magill — a longtime legal scholar and the current Provost at the University of Virginia, nominated to replace longtime University leader Amy Gutmann — will be the fourth woman to serve as Penn president. She will begin her term officially on July 1, 2022, taking over for current Interim President and former Provost Wendell Pritchett, who has led the University since Gutmann’s departure.

In an interview following the announcement of her nomination as Penn president on Jan. 13, Magill told The Daily Pennsylvanian that she had “admired Penn, like I think most of the world, for a very long time” and was incredibly excited for the opportunity.

“You can’t time these extraordinary opportunities.

The process of learning much more deeply about Penn over the course of the search, both spending time with members of the committee and then learning myself about the institution — just every bit of learning — has deepened my admiration and honestly my awe of the institution from its beginning,” Magill said.

Magill began her post as provost at the University of Virginia in 2019 after serving as the dean of Stanford Law School since 2012. Before that, she held a variety of titles at the University of Virginia School of Law, including vice dean, across a 15-year tenure. She also clerked for United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Student groups call on Penn to immediately fire Amy Wax The tenured Penn Law professor has come under fire repeatedly for her racist rhetoric JASPER TAYLOR Staff Reporter

Penn’s Undergraduate Assembly and three other student organizations passed a resolution on Feb. 20 calling for the termination of Penn Law School professor Amy Wax on the basis of her repeated promotion of white supremacist ideology.

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Wax, who is currently the Robert Mundheim Professor of Law at Penn Law, has faced ongoing criticism for racist remarks in the past several years.

In 2018, she was barred from teaching a mandatory first-year course after she falsely alleged that she had never seen a Black student graduate in the top quarter of their class at Penn Law. Most recently, Wax sparked national scrutiny for claiming that “the United States is better off with fewer Asians and less Asian immigration.”

The UA resolution, written in tandem with the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly, the Penn Law Council of Student Representatives, and the Wharton Graduate Association, outlines Wax’s offenses. The resolution states Wax has “espouse[d] racist and derogatory commentary regarding the presence of Asian Americans and Asian nationals in the United States,” and has “made statements indicating that Black people have lower IQs and commit more crime.”

In addition to Wax’s termination, the resolution also calls for transparency regarding her sanctions hearing procedure, public notice of any sanctions levied, and expansion of measures on campus to combat hateful speech. It also requests that Wax’s teaching duties be suspended during the possible sanctioning process.

Penn Law Dean Theodore Ruger previously initiated sanctions against Wax on Jan. 18. The sanctions process will determine whether Wax threatened the University’s mission by violating behavioral standards.

Wax’s sanctions process followed a wave of criticism from both Penn community members and government officials. On Jan. 3, Penn Law third year Apratim Vidyarthi and other Penn law students created a petition, calling on the University to suspend Wax. As of Feb. 28, it has garnered over 2,500 signatures. The Philadelphia City Council also sent a bipartisan letter on Jan. 10 to University officials, urging them to review Wax’s role within the University.

According to UA President Tori Borlase, resolutions passed by the UA do not require or guarantee the Penn administration will respond to or act on them, but they signify to the administration that students are concerned about certain issues.

The UA previously passed a resolution in 2019 calling for Wax’s termination and alleging that Wax violated University policy. However, Borlase said that not all of the UA’s requests from the resolution passed in 2019 were granted.

“Penn has refused to recognize student groups, including the UA, as official members of this process,” Borlase said. “I hope the Penn administration will see that this is an issue that many Penn students care about.”

Michael Krone, a first-year Penn Law student in the JD/MBA program who currently serves as the interim professional council chair for the Graduate and rofessional Student Assembly, was one of the authors of the resolution. He said that the resolution’s writers wanted to limit the resolution’s goals to things that they knew “were possible and achievable.”

Krone, who is also a member of Penn Law’s Council of Student Representatives, explained how he hopes the process can be applied to future cases regarding similar matters and improve expediency and transparency.

“Success for me looks like this process being much quicker, much more transparent, and applying much more tangible sanctions than otherwise absent intervention of the voice of students,” he said.

“The problem is not going away. We need to keep our voices active until something is done.”

Robert Watson, the GAPSA wellness director and the chair of the GAPSA subcommittee regarding Amy Wax, also helped write the resolution. He noted that one of the biggest things discussed while the resolution was being written was whether or not to call for Wax’s termination, which he said that he was heavily in favor of pushing for.

Watson, who is in the JD/MSEd Education Policy Program, echoed Krone’s sentiments about the need for the University’s transparency during the sanctioning process.

“The problem is that the timeline by which [University sanctioning] happens is extremely unclear — to the extent that we don’t really know what stage they’re at right now,” Watson said.

He said that the University’s handling of Wax’s case represents a larger issue that goes beyond just Wax. “What does it mean for the University to continue to hire, and continue to have as a professor, someone who has openly espoused white supremacy view points?” he said. “This isn’t just about Professor Wax. This is more procedurally about how we address, in the future, professors that will say the same thing.”

PHOTO BY KYLIE COOPER

Philadelphia moves to “All Clear” response level, dropping indoor mask mandate.

Philadelphia lifts indoor mask mandate, moves to ‘All Clear’ response level Masks are still required in “higherrisk” settings of schools, health care institutions, congregate settings, and public transportation JONAH MILLER Senior Reporter

Philadelphia Health officials lifted the city’s indoor mask mandate for most indoor settings after a move to the “All Clear” COVID-19 precautions tier on Wednesday.

Effective immediately, masks are no longer re-

National search for new VP of Public Safety begins The search follows Maureen Rush’s retirement in December 2021 KEVIN BRYAN Senior Reporter

A nationwide search for Penn’s next vice president for public safety has commenced following the retirement of Maureen Rush.

Craig Carnaroli, Penn’s senior executive vice president, is leading the search for Rush’s replacement.

While Rush acted as both superintendent of Penn Police and vice president of the Division of Public Safety, the roles will now be separate positions. Once in office, the appointed vice president of DPS will select the new chief of police.

An external search firm, Spelman Johnson, is actively sourcing and reviewing candidate submissions for vice president of public safety. The interview process is expected to begin soon, Carnaroli wrote in an email to The Daily Pennsylvanian.

“The search continues to remain on schedule,” Carnaroli wrote. “I am very pleased with the quality and diversity of the candidate pool.”

A consultative committee works closely with Carnaroli to review candidate submissions that come through Spelman Johnson. Comprised of Penn administrators, an Undergraduate Assembly representative, and a representative from a West Philadelphia community organization, the committee works to build a diverse pool of candidates, Carnaroli told the DP. Carnaroli said that he and the committee are searching for an individual who will foster positive relationships between Penn Police, Penn’s student body, Penn Medicine, and the local West Philadelphia

PHOTO BY JESSE ZHANG

Penn extends the deadline to upload the COVID-19 booster vaccination information to March 14.

Penn extends deadline to upload proof of COVID-19 booster shot Individuals who do not upload proof will be required to test twice weekly JONAH MILLER Senior Reporter

quired indoors, with exceptions for the “higherrisk” settings of schools, health care institutions, congregate settings, and public transportation.

According to the announcement, schools in Philadelphia could potentially drop their indoor masking mandate on March 21, one week after classes resume following spring break. Penn has not yet announced any plans to lift its indoor mask mandate.

The announcement comes after the City of Philadelphia’s recent introduction of key metrics used to determine the extent of COVID-19 precautions, and to regulate the move from one response tier to another.

“All Clear” requires that at least three of the four following conditions must be met before masking can end: city-wide average new cases per day is fewer than 100, hospitalizations are under 50, positivity rate has dropped below 2%, and cases have not risen by more than 50% in the past 10 days.

The drop in the city-wide positivity rate fol-

lows the health department’s recalculation of the positivity rate, which now includes data received from rapid and other tests in addition to the previously used PCR tests. The reconfiguration moved the percent positivity rate to 1.7%, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Health officials said if COVID-19 trends remain encouraging, the indoor mask mandate for schools could be dropped on March 9, followed by a one-week mask requirement after spring break to circumvent a potential post-break case surge.

Penn’s COVID-19 case count has remained stable over the past two weeks at a semester low, with a campus-wide positivity rate of 1.17% during the week from Feb. 20 to Feb. 26, below the 2% threshold the City of Philadelphia uses to move to the “All Clear” response tier. A total of 88 community members tested positive for COVID-19 during the week from Feb. 20 to Feb. 26 — up slightly from the semester low of 75 the week before.

The low COVID-19 positivity rate and case count comes one week after the University lifted the indoor double-masking mandate in a Feb. 22 email, in which top administrators reversed the requirement for all community members to double-mask or wear a KN95, N95, or KF95 mask in campus buildings. Community members are still required to mask indoors.

The mostly stable campus-wide positivity rate and case count mirrors statewide trends, which have seen the lowest on average daily case count in Pennsylvania since August.

A number of universities have recently dropped indoor mask mandates in recent days. Penn’s peer institution Northwestern University ended its indoor mask requirement on Feb. 28. Brown University recently loosened its masking requirement, allowing students both vaccinated and boosted to remove masks during performances, athletic practices, and when exercising in the university’s fitness center but still requires students to mask during class.

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney tweeted that just because the city has moved to the “All Clear” response tier, it does not mean that health officials will not need to reintroduce a mask mandate in the future.

“This is great news for Philadelphia,” Mayor Kenney wrote, thanking the Philadelphia Health Department, health care workers, and the over one million vaccinated Philadelphians. “It’s taken all of us working together to get to this point.”

Penn extends the deadline for community members to upload their COVID-19 booster vaccination or risk facing screening testing twice each week.

To ensure eligible community members meet the booster requirement — which was first announced on Dec. 21 — Interim Provost Beth Winkelstein, Senior Executive Vice President Craig Carnaroli, and Executive Vice President for the Health System J. Larry Jameson wrote in a March 1 email that the University will extend the deadline to March 14 for

PHOTO BY AVI SINGH

Penn’s Division of Public Safety is searching for its next Vice President, following the retirement of Chief of Police and Vice President Maureen Rush last year. community. built a great program and we are functioning on a top“[The next vice president] is a person I think who has level as she expects,” Anderson said. to have that level of emotional intelligence to underRush announced her retirement in October 2021 stand the complexities of managing and leading safety after her 27-year tenure as Penn’s chief of police and in a diverse environment like Penn,” said Carnaroli.

21-year tenure as vice president of DPS. Kathleen Shields Anderson, who worked alongside During Rush’s tenure as vice president of DPS, Rush Rush for nearly 10 years as executive director of opera- initially had two chiefs of police working under her. tions and chief of staff of DPS, serves as interim vice However, due to her concerns about communication president during the transition period. through the chain of command, she created a proposal Anderson told the DP that other than the first few to integrate the role of chief of police into her own job, weeks of the leadership transition being busier than according to Carnaroli. usual, operations at DPS are running smoothly.

Rush continues to serve as an advisor to Carnaroli “We have great support from SEVP Carnaroli — we during this period of leadership transition to assist in were left in good hands, coming from VP Rush. She the onboarding of DPS’s next vice president.

those who are eligible for a booster shot to upload their information.

The announcement comes after the conclusion of a friendly competition to encourage undergraduates to complete three goals by the end of the month. If 95% or more students from any class year uploaded their booster shot and flu vaccine information and completed biweekly screening tests by Feb. 28, the class would receive $25,000 toward their Penn traditions.

The University wrote that just over 60% of community members have reported their booster vaccine information, meaning no class fulfilled the three tasks needed to receive the prize money.

Regardless of the University’s continued push for improved compliance with uploading booster vaccination status, the campus-wide COVID-19 positivity rate remained relatively stable during the week from Feb. 20 to Feb. 26 at 1.17% — up slightly from 0.98% the week before. This week’s positivity rate remains the second lowest during the spring semester.

Among undergraduate students, the positivity rate slightly decreased, dropping below 1% for the first time this semester to 0.99% — down from 1.19% during the previous week.

Beginning March 14, community members who have not yet uploaded their booster information will be required by the University to complete COVID19 screening testing through Penn Cares twice each week. Currently, vaccinated students are required to participate in screening testing once every other week.

Community members who have tested positive for COVID-19 within the past 90 days are exempt

from screening testing but are required to continue reporting symptoms and exposures through PennOpen Pass.

Overall case count followed a similar steady trend, with a total of 88 community members testing positive during the week from Feb. 20 to Feb. 26, the second lowest case count of the semester — up slightly from 75 the previous week. Graduate students composed the majority of positive cases for the first time this semester with 46, more than double from last week’s 22 positive tests.

The mostly stable campus-wide positivity rate and case count mirrors statewide trends, which have seen the lowest on average daily case count in Pennsylvania since August. It also follows the University’s softening of the campus mask mandate since Feb. 22, in which administrators announced the measures requiring either double-masking or the use of a KN95, N95, or KF95 mask in campus buildings are now reversed.

The University wrote on the COVID-19 Dashboard that despite the double-masking lift and changes to COVID-19 guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, all community members are still required to wear masks inside all campus buildings, in accordance with the City of Philadelphia’s “Mask Precautions” response level.

The number of students in isolation continues to decrease, reaching a semester low of 48 students during the week of Feb. 20 to Feb. 26 — down from 96 the week before and far below the semester high of 1,318 students in isolation during the week from Jan. 9 to Jan. 15.

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NEWS 3

THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2022

University City restaurant Pod reopens as KPod with reimagined South Korean dishes The restaurant had been closed for nearly two years due to COVID-19 KATE RATNER Contributing Reporter

Two Penn professors awarded fellowship for promising scientific research Engineering professor Deep M. Jariwala and Wharton professor Yuxin Chen are among the 118 total recipients SNEHA PARTHASARATHY Contributing Reporter

PHOTO BY ANNA VAZHAEPARAMBIL

Pod — a University City restaurant popular for its Pan-Asian cuisine and futuristic atmosphere — has reopened with a new name and a new menu.

Restaurateur Stephen Starr reopened Pod as KPod on Feb. 9 after almost two years of a COVID-19 pandemicinduced shutdown, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Inspired by the “K wave” of Korean music, fashion, and culture in Western life, KPod — located at The Inn at Penn — seeks to celebrate and explore Korean cuisine.

Chef Peter Serpico, drawing upon his Korean American background, has reimagined traditional South Korean dishes for the menu, the Inquirer reported.

KPod’s menu features traditional Korean foods such as mandu (Korean dumplings), rice cakes, banchan, and bibimbap, in addition to American dishes such as shrimp cocktails and wedge salads. Serpico also seeks to blend Korean and American flavors, offering dishes such as a grilled pork chop with kimchi and brown butter.

Serpico, the former second-in-command for New York City-based restaurateur David Chang, relocated to Philadelphia in 2012 to collaborate with Starr on his other restaurant, Serpico, an upscale American restaurant in South Philadelphia.

Through his partnership with Serpico, Starr intends for “something new and fresh … that brings a level of attractiveness to a new population and some of [Serpico’s] existing customer base that existed prior to the pandemic,” Penn’s Executive Director of Real Estate Ed Datz said.

Along with the revised menu, KPod has a new design, replacing Pod’s futuristic white lacquer furniture with

Penn’s Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics to hold webinar discussing opioid deaths The event will be held virtually at 12 p.m. as a Zoom webinar SOPHIA LEUNG Contributing Reporter

The event “An Action Plan for Reducing Opioid Overdose Deaths” will be held virtually at 12 p.m. as a Zoom webinar featuring panelists such as University of Southern California professor Ricky Bluthenthal, Stanford University professor Keith Humphreys, and former acting director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy Regina LaBelle. The speakers will discuss a variety of potential policy solutions to the opioid epidemic.

Penn Nursing assistant professor Shoshana Aronowitz will moderate the event, which will be co-sponsored by the Center for Health Economics of Treatment Interventions for Substance Use Disorder, HCV, and HIV. Aronowitz said that panelists will discuss some of the federal policy changes that the Biden administration has implemented to overcome barriers to treatment amid the COVID-19 pandemic, including harm-reduction treatments rather than the punitive approaches promoted by previous administrations.

The Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics aims to connect faculty with shared interests across

earth tones and brown wooden accents. KPod will continue to offer Pod’s three “pods” — popular semiprivate dining rooms — with LED patron-controlled colored lighting, the Inquirer reported.

Additionally, KPod replaced Pod’s revolving sushi conveyor belt with a Korean-inspired raw bar, according to the Inquirer.

STARR Restaurants, Starr’s restaurant conglomerate, has been anticipating Pod’s reopening since before the pandemic. “The renovation and refresh [was] already planned,” Datz said. “It just was literally delayed [by the pandemic].”

Starr first opened Pod in 2000. In 2018, Pod was named one of Philadelphia Magazine’s “5 Restaurants Worth Revisiting in University City.” Originally marketed for upscale suburban crowds, Pod’s prices appealed more to Penn faculty and staff than students.

STARR Restaurants owns over 30 restaurants spanning two continents, including Philadelphia’s Parc in Rittenhouse Square and Morimoto in Old City. In 2017, Starr was named “Outstanding Restaurateur” by the James Beard Foundation.

KPod is located at The Inn at Penn, 3636 Sansom Street. The restaurant is open from 11:30 a.m.-2:30 . p.m. and 5-10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. and 5-11 p.m. on Friday, 5-11 p.m on Saturday, and 5-10 p.m. on Sunday.

“We hope the students, faculty, staff, and the [Penn] community will find a place [at KPod] to enjoy a good meal as we come out of the pandemic,” said Datz. the University, allowing them to collaborate on projects. The institute’s Opioid Epidemic Working Group, for example, is currently working to release public research briefs and federal policy recommendations. In a brief published in March 2021, it called for improved access to prevention, treatment, and recovery services, mortality reduction strategies, and limitations on the overprescription of opioids.

Fellows at the institute have been conducting relevant research through the Opioid Epidemic Working Group for several years. Aronowitz is both a senior fellow at the Leonard Davis Institute and a member of the working group, as well as a family nurse practitioner focused on access to substance use disorder treatment.

According to Aronowitz, opioid-related deaths saw nearly a 30% increase from April 2020 to April 2021.

The institute also allows Penn to connect with groups at other universities, Aronowitz added, providing access to nationally recognized experts like LaBelle, who was the first woman to serve as acting director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy under the Biden administration and is now director of the Addiction and Public Policy Initiative at Georgetown’s O’Neill Institute.

Leonard Davis Institute Director Rachel Werner said that she expects between 200 and 400 attendees at the hour-long panel. Although attendees will not be able to actively participate in the conversation, they will be able to submit questions to the panelists in a chat box monitored by the moderators.

Aronowitz said that Penn’s recommendations are often taken into serious consideration by government officials, given the University’s influence.

“I don’t think anyone thinks that we’ll figure it all out in this webinar, but I think it’s an opportunity for experts in this field to talk about what their research has found and what they think needs to happen,” Aronowitz said.

Two Penn professors have been awarded the 2022 Sloan Research Fellowship, a prestigious award that recognizes early-career faculty for outstanding and novel research in scientific disciplines.

Professor Deep M. Jariwala of the School of Engineering and Applied Science and professor Yuxin Chen of Wharton are among the 118 awardees. They join the 124 members of Penn faculty who have previously received this award since its inception in 1955.

The Sloan Research Fellowship is a two-year fellowship that awards early-career faculty $75,000 to fund their research. It honors researchers who have the potential to revolutionize a variety of scientific fields, including chemistry, computer science, Earth system science, economics, mathematics, neuroscience, or physics.

To be eligible for the fellowship, candidates must be nominated by their peers. Then, independent panels of scholars select the winners based on their research, creativity, and potential as a scientific leader.

Chen, an associate professor in the Department of

Statistics and Data Science at Wharton, received the award for his research in mathematics.

“It’s a great honor for me because the Sloan Foundation is a way to recognize young researchers in fundamental fields who can potentially impact the world,” Chen said.

Chen’s research is at the intersection of statistics, mathematical optimization, and machine learning. According to Chen, these areas have traditionally been developed in an independent way.

He seeks to integrate these areas to understand how to make the best use of data to enhance machine learning accuracy.

“The great thing about the Sloan research funding is that it is very flexible, so you can use it to carry out a more bold, risky idea. I’m going to use it to develop theory for emerging areas, one of which is reinforcement learning,” Chen said.

Jariwala, who received the award in chemistry, is an assistant professor in Penn’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Systems Engineering.

“The Sloan Research Fellowship is special to me because both of my Ph.D advisors also won the Sloan fellowship in chemistry, so it was a proud moment for me and for them.”

Jariwala, the leader of Penn’s Device Research and Engineering Laboratory, is interested in increasing energy efficiency through new materials.

“If we continue the rate at which we are consuming power, by 2040, all the electricity we can produce will only be used for computation devices, not to mention transport, electricity or anything else. There is no sustainable path forward unless we increase computational efficiency,” Jariwala said.

Jariwala plans to use the funding to explore a new set of materials that may play a role in light-driven chemical reactions.

“I want to start producing fuels from sunlight directly. It would be transformative to solving our energy needs as a society,” Jariwala said.

Last year, the Sloan Research Fellowship was awarded to five Penn faculty members.

Yuxin Chen (left) and Deep Jariwala (right) received the 2022 Sloan Research Fellowships, which awards researchers $75,000 with the potential to revolutionize scientific fields.

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Opinion

138th Year of Publication

The Moncler Ethos: Bridging the wealth gap at Penn

THIS YEAR’S BOARD ALESSANDRA PINTADO-URBANC President PIA SINGH Executive Editor JONAH CHARLTON DP Editor-in-Chief TYLER KLIEM Design Editor TORI SOUSA News Editor EMI TUYẾTNHI TRẦN News Editor DELANEY PARKS Assignments Editor SOPHIE APFEL Copy Editor JESSE ZHANG Photo Editor ASAAD MANZAR Opinion Editor PHOEBE LEUNG Social Media Editor MATTHEW FRANK Sports Editor ESTHER LIM Sports Editor KAVEEN HAROHALLI Video Editor NICOLE ZHAO Podcast Editor GREG FERREY Business Manager RAUNAQ SINGH Technology Manager ANVIT RAO Analytics Manager BAILEY CAMPBELL Marketing Manager SUNNY JANG Product Manager

THIS ISSUE’S TEAM

ISKRA (THE SPARK) | Why recognizing privilege in the Penn bubble is important to creating a stronger community

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art of Penn’s appeal as an institution of higher education is its elite status and the prestige associated with attending an Ivy League school. However, Penn’s prestigious reputation also results in a massive concentration of the wealthy and powerful who have historically attended elite colleges, often disproportionately aided by generational advantages such as legacy status.

Despite being aware of this fact, coming from a working- to middle-class background, the general wealth of Penn students and the ostentatious displays of this wealth were jarring to me. Any normalization of this affluence that I had subconsciously internalized during the fall quickly dissipated as winter arrived — and with it, the infamous Canada Goose and Moncler jackets became nearly ubiquitous on Locust Walk. Wearing my own hand-me-down coat gifted to me by grandfather, I found it hard not to marvel at the popularity of the jackets despite their exorbitant price — generally around $1,000 for a Canada Goose and over $2,000 for a Moncler.

While the winter season highlights the sheer wealth of Penn’s student body, the culture of consumerism that is catered toward upper class peers is deeply pervasive throughout student life year round.

After all, more students at Penn are from the top 1% than the bottom 60%, so it makes perfect sense that this should be the case.

Upon arriving on campus, I observed this almost immediately through a social life heavily centered around restaurant dining, traveling into Philadelphia, and retail shopping, among other things. I found myself going out to eat with friends at local or fastfood restaurants as many as three to four times a week. This constant spending on

ALICE CHOI Deputy Design Editor SOPHIE NADEL Deputy Copy Editor ALLYSON NELSON Deputy Copy Editor DEREK WONG Opinion Photo Editor ANNA VAZHAEPARAMBIL Sports Photo Editor LILIANN ZOU News Photo Editor

food alone — even though I already was on a $5,946 dining plan — was simply not sustainable. However, in my attempts to conserve money and spend responsibly, I was also missing out on spending time with my peers or getting to know new people.

Although I was always invited to dinners or shopping trips, there is a certain feeling of otherness in not being able to buy

believe such a shift would go a long way in fostering an environment in which low- to middle-income students — a major portion of Penn’s student body — can form meaningful relationships with their peers without feeling pressure to break the bank.

Additionally, this change is increasingly important and necessary as Penn continues to commit to maintaining a low-income

DESIGN BY COLLIN WANG

food or clothes when surrounded by others who do so without a second thought. As a result, I was continually faced with choosing between the uncomfortable situation of awkwardly tagging along to outings without being able to spend money or simply not going at all.

This brings me to my first point: Penn students of all socioeconomic backgrounds should attempt to shift the norms of social life to be less centered around moneyspending activities and instead toward spending quality time with friends in an affordable, or preferably free, manner. I

student population.

Beyond on-campus life, the concentration of wealth within the Penn bubble also puts the majority of the University’s students at odds with the surrounding West Philadelphia area where the median annual household income is around $35,000.

To put this into perspective, the national median income is approximately $67,000, nearly double that of the West Philadelphia area. Meanwhile, the median family income across the Penn student body is $195,000 (over 5.5 times that of the surrounding neighborhoods). Now this alone

is not necessarily indicative of anything, but it is clearly evident — especially after a Wharton professor polled her class on the average American worker’s salary and found over a quarter of her students thought it was over six figures — that Penn students at large are detached from the realities of working class life.

This brings me to my second point: I believe that Penn students of all backgrounds — but especially those who do not have personal middle- or working-class experiences — have a responsibility to recognize the realities of life outside the Penn bubble. It is important that students who are sporting Canada Goose and Moncler jackets realize that they are wearing over one month’s worth of rent in a neighborhood just blocks away. The concentration of wealth and privilege at Penn does not exempt Penn students from remaining vigilantly cognizant of the disparities that exist both on our own campus and just minutes off campus. In fact, it necessitates such reflection and awareness. As the future leaders of this country, it is imperative that Penn students work to be aware of these realities in order to translate this awareness into proactive action later in life, such as advocacy and organizing grassroots change.

By doing so, Penn students as a whole can develop a necessary and more holistic understanding of working- and middleclass life while fostering a more inclusive community for all.

VINAY KHOSLA is a College first year studying philosophy from Baltimore.

His email address is vkhosla@sas. upenn.edu.

Stop comparing Philadelphia to other cities

ECON 001 is not a prerequisite to life at Penn

ALLISON’S ATTITUDE | We should learn to appreciate the

ISABELLA’S IMPRESSIONS | Penn students should not

individuality of Philadelphia

BECKY LEE Deputy Design Editor CALEB CRAIN Deputy Design Editor

THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN | THEDP.COM

B

efore coming to Penn, I was beyond excited to finally live in a truly cosmopolitan and metropolitan city, in spite of a slew of comments from people that Philadelphia is a gritty and rough city. I largely ignored these comments, but after a short time here, I quickly realized that many students feel similarly. A lot of people remark that Philadelphia’s no New York or Boston.

I only got here last August, yet I completely agree. Of course, this city is no New York or Boston. It’s uniquely Philadelphia.

from the Phillies’ record-long history as the oldest continuous one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional sports.”

The art, both within the museums and on the city’s walls, reflects the broader theme that Philadelphia has a rich history and special culture. I don’t just mean the colonial history, such as Philadelphia’s being the capital and home to George Washington and the home to the Liberty Bell; I also mean the history of other important historical figures such as W.E.B. Du Bois, who began his research

TAJA MAZAJ Deputy Opinion Editor ANDREW YOON Deputy Opinion Editor VALERIE WANG Deputy Opinion Editor

feel the pressure to take economics courses

U

nder the looming, Death Star-like shadow of Huntsman Hall, it is hard to forget Penn’s deep-rooted connection to finance, big business, and all things economics. As a philosophy, politics, and economics major, I am no stranger to the allure of consulting and have been enrolled in a variety of economics courses in my Penn student career. ECON 001 is popular amongst firstyear students — there is the Econ Scream after all — but the popularity of this course is rooted in the preprofessional mindset of the institution as a whole. To say that this class is vital to a robust education neglects the difficult nature of it, the varying interests of students, and its uselessness in providing everyday financial literacy.

anyone could explain in detail.

Penn’s pipeline to the world of business and economics is evident in the post-graduation plans of undergraduates. Among the Class of 2020 graduates who completed Penn Career Services’ Career Plans Survey, 30% of the employed students were in financial services and 20% in consulting. Operating in the so-called Penn Bubble of finance and consulting serves as a push for students to take economics courses for no reason other than to fit in with the crowd of moneyminded individuals. While there are students who may truly be fascinated by the intricacies of economics, that is not always the case.

Students should be inclined and encouraged to follow their own interests and passions.

LEXI BOCCUZZI Deputy Opinion Editor CAROLINE MAGDOLEN Deputy Opinion Editor CAROLINE DONNELLY MORAN Copy Associate TIFFANY PARK Copy Associate EMMA SCHULTZ Copy Associate LAURA SHIN Copy Associate JORDAN WACHSMAN Copy Associate LEANNE WATTAR Copy Associate

LETTER SUBMISSION Have your own opinion? Send your letter to the editor or guest column to letters@thedp.com.

Editorials represent the majority view of members of The Daily Pennsylvanian, Inc. Editorial Board, which meets regularly to discuss issues relevant to Penn’s campus. Participants in these meetings are not involved in the reporting of articles on related topics.

PHOTO BY KYLIE COOPER

My favorite pastime at Penn has been exploring all the beautiful and hidden corners of this deeply interesting city. One of my favorite memories from first semester was going to the Barnes Foundation with my friends. I was amazed that we easily have access to an illustrious collection of modern European art created by renowned artists such as Matisse, Picasso, and Van Gogh. While waiting for our time slot to enter the museum, we went to a used bookstore across the street where there were hundreds of peculiar books, magazine prints, and other trinkets. I proudly walked away with a thrifted book on the psychology of love and a laminated map of Philadelphia, both under $5.

During another walk around the city when my parents visited, I noticed something else: There is an unusually high amount of public art and murals. “A People’s Progression Towards Equality,” a mural in Center City painted by Jack Ramsdale and Jared Bader, struck me as especially meaningful.

Atop the mural, the words “WITH MALICE TOWARD NONE, WITH CHARITY FOR ALL” reaffirm the image depicted below it.

Both white and Black citizens are participating collaboratively in the construction of the “Colossal Lincoln,” which represents a united movement toward equal rights for all.

I didn’t know it at the time, but Philadelphia is widely known for having one of the best public art collections of any American city. I knew then that this art is a uniquely powerful reflection of this city’s values, its history, and its progression into the future.

Similarly, the art reflects the city’s strong dedication to its sports teams. Just across the Walnut Street bridge over the Schuylkill River, there is an intricate mural of the Phillies baseball organization. The artist, David McShane, is a lifelong Phillies fan, and the mural includes “players, stadiums, and events

for the groundbreaking “The Philadelphia Negro” in 1896 while he was appointed as an assistant instructor here at Penn. Beyond that, Philadelphia is home to other cultural and historical realities such as the boxing tradition that has progressed from Rocky to Creed. Even many modern-day artists, such as Kevin Hart, Meek Mill, Diplo, and Lil Uzi Vert, hail from this city.

Philadelphia is also known to have an extremely dedicated fanbase for all of its sports, particularly for its football and basketball teams, the Eagles and 76ers. If the city’s reaction to the Eagles winning the 2018 Super Bowl, which included daylong celebrations, parades, and chaos throughout the streets, isn’t a testament to their fans’ fierce loyalty, I don’t know what could be. Although I just mentioned popular artists and fans who exhibit Philadelphia’s culture, there are many athlete icons too, such as Wilt Chamberlain and Kobe Bryant. This “grit,” a word initially used to paint Philadelphia in a negative light, has an entirely different meaning to me now.

Gritty, just as is represented by the Philadelphia Flyers mascot, is not negative by any means. Having grit means having courage, loyalty, and tenacity.

I think we should have more pride in the fact that we get to call Philadelphia our home.

Many of us Penn students may not live here after college, but I feel certain that Philadelphia will have imparted its grit and creativity onto us in various ways. Penn students should take pride in these qualities, invest in them, and be part of the tradition to perpetuate them.

ALLISON SANTA-CRUZ is a College first year studying philosophy, politics, and economics from Jackson, Miss.

Her email address is allisant@sas. upenn.edu.

PHOTO BY IPEK OBEK

It is a massive understatement to say that Penn is difficult; taxing students mentally, emotionally, and physically (if you have to trek to David Rittenhouse Laboratory).

Mental health concerns among the student body have not waned, especially after the effects of social isolation associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Many first years, new to Penn’s environment, may struggle with acclimating to the University and the constant pressure to be excellent. As a result, courses like ECON 001 are notoriously popular among first years, who consider them a rite of passage for their academic and professional success. The course, however, is difficult: Penn Course Review ranks it a 2.7 out of 4.

In comparison to other first-year-oriented courses like writing seminars which peak at difficulties of about 2 out of 4, ECON 001 is a more difficult undertaking. Encouraging students to take this course because it is supposedly necessary for financial success fails to take into account the resulting stress of completing a difficult course, which could be potentially damaging in an already stressful environment.

But why are students so inclined to take this course in the first place? When I took the course I remember being surprised to see some of my friends in it. They were all Engineering students, so why were they adding more to their already heavy course loads?

Anecdotally, I can say that the answers were all the same — because they could make money in business. There was minimal passion for economics in the room but rather a streamlined focus on the enigmatic world of finance and business — neither of which

Some argue that every student should take microeconomics and macroeconomics for the purposes of financial literacy. I implore these individuals to ask themselves what they mean by financial literacy because, perhaps, before people begin to tackle the economic implications of the North American Free Trade Agreement, they should know how to write a check or how stocks work. None of these are discussed in introductory economics classes, including the application of these concepts to more real-world issues besides, at best, allusions to the economic effects of COVID-19. Perhaps an economics course that contributes to a more well-rounded education and applications of economic principles could provide greater financial literacy in a more low-stakes environment.

Given the difficulty and stress caused by the introductory economics courses at Penn, students should not take them merely to conform to the preprofessional environment at the University. They should also not take them with the expectation of gaining meaningful financial literacy. The courses may explain what marginal utility is, but without real-world applications and examples of these principles, the knowledge is relatively useless in establishing financial literacy. Take it from a PPE major: Do not succumb to the allure of economics, only enroll if you are genuinely passionate about it.

ISABELLA GLASSMAN is a College junior studying philosophy, politics, and economics from Suffern, N.Y. Her email is iglass@sas.upenn.edu.

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OPINION 5

THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2022

“The Great Penn Resignation” is happening.

How will you take back your time?

THE RED & BLUE SOAPBOX | In the newfound culture of reconsidering and reimagining how we spend our time, Penn students should embrace the power of resignations

T

he COVID-19 pandemic changed a lot: the way we view friendships, how often we actually wash our hands, and many other seemingly trivial facets of how we are collectively reorganizing our sense of life. But perhaps one of the most significant things it changed in a lasting way is how we view our relationship with our careers and how we consciously choose to spend our time.

The pandemic has accelerated something social anthropologists are calling “The Great Resignation,” where young- and mid-career professionals are quitting their jobs in record numbers, and more seasoned ones are retiring early after realizing they are unhappy with the way they are spending their lives. Many people, across cultures, are understanding that there are likely better and more fulfilling ways to lead a meaningful existence. Interestingly enough, this phenomenon is not just isolated to the professional world; it is also happening right here at Penn, in the form of resignations from student activities and organizations.

I know this is true because I’ve participated in “The Great Penn Resignation” myself.

Approaching the end of my time at Penn this semester, my journey has been highlighted by my extracurricular experiences, and the various organizations where I have either been a member or held a leadership role. I was the 539th Moderator (president) of the Philomathean Society, copresident of the Collegium Institute, VP external of the Penn German Society, office manager of Harrison College House, and too many other positions and commitments for my own good. At first, I joined anything and everything to figure out what I liked and where I could find a community I enjoyed, but soon, contrary to this plan, I ended up choosing to stay in organizations that I felt would best serve my future goals. This phenomenon — where our collective environment has instilled the false narrative that if you do not do X, you will not achieve Y — is all too familiar to us Penn students.

This all came to an inflection point in the fall of my senior year, when a club leader demanded I do something extremely time-consuming. This organization was nothing but a burden on both my personal and academic self, and higher leadership within the club did not seem to care. I thought back to my time during the pandemic, and how so much of life is fickle that we must try to enjoy every second of certainty in a sea of uncertainty.

Knowing that my departure would not have any serious repercussions for the other members of the club, I resigned suddenly from my post at the beginning of my senior spring.

DESIGN BY SARAH TRETLER

The excitement I felt after that one small message freed me was intoxicating. I then decided to re-evaluate all of the other commitments I was in.

For many of the organizations, I had no animosity toward them, but rather felt that my last semester at Penn would be better spent focusing on the relationships I have cultivated thus far and enjoying the amazing institution I am so lucky to attend. In short, I started my own “Great Resignation” once I realized that sometimes, you simply need to prioritize yourself.

What I gained from this was the freedom to explore the things that I am genuinely passionate about during my last semester. I was able to write more for The Daily Pennsylvanian, I have been able to explore Philadelphia with friends more often, and I joined the Wharton Passion Project program where I am teaching myself how to

weave fabric. I even returned to acting in a theater production, something I have always loved but have not done since high school — all because my younger college self only prioritized things that would benefit my career goals.

Resigning in a fashion like I did, akin to Oprah’s “You get a car!”— except it became “You get a resignation letter” — is not for everybody.

Some may have tangible obligations, or their continued commitment in their clubs is genuinely vital to their life goals. But for most of us, we need to re-evaluate why we are a part of the things we are a part of at Penn. In Marie Kondo’s book, “Spark Joy,” she encourages her readers to discard whatever physical items in our possession do not literally “spark joy,” or make one feel happiness.

We should prioritize our commitments in the same way, where we keep the ones which our friends are

in or those which genuinely make us excited to get up in the morning. If your strenuous commitment in an organization doesn’t inspire any of that, resign. Your time at Penn is woefully too short to be unhappy and futile.

I truly believe the zeitgeist of our pandemicstricken generation is in finding what genuinely makes us happy through reimagination. And for those of us who are starting to embark on the beginning of the rest of our lives, we may paradoxically begin to find that through the power of resignation.

JOSEPH M. SQUILLARO is a College senior studying philosophy, politics and economics from East Setauket, N.Y. His email is jsqu@sas. upenn.edu.

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6 NEWS

THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2022

THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN | THEDP.COM

In Photos: Penn, Drexel march in solidarity with Ukraine

On Feb. 28, 2022, students from Penn and Drexel, as well as members of the Philadelphia community, gathered in front of College Hall to stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian people. Though the armed conflict is on another side of the globe, the Penn community certainly felt its ripple. With the crowd passionately chanting, banners flying, and the Ukrainian national anthem echoing in the wind, here’s a look into the march in solidarity with Ukraine.

BY JESSE ZHANG

PHOTO BY SAMANTHA TURNER Penn and Drexel students and community members gathered at the Compass at noon carrying protest signs and Ukrainian flags as they began their march on Locust Walk.

PHOTO BY SAMANTHA TURNER Michal Wyrebkowski, one of the organizers of the march, spoke about the history of conflict and oppression in Eastern Europe, especially Ukraine.

PHOTO BY ALAN ZHANG Many students of Eastern European origin and descent also participated in the protest to demonstrate solidarity with the Ukrainian people.

PHOTO BY JESSE ZHANG Still, the atmosphere was also at times permeated with contemplation, frustration, anger for the situation in Ukraine.

PHOTO BY SUKHMANI KAUR

The protest was originally organized by Penn and Drexel communities to demonstrate solidarity with the Ukrainian people.

PHOTO BY SAMANTHA TURNER The salute, “slava Ukraini,” resonated in the air as protestors chanted and made their way down to College Green.

PHOTO BY JESSE ZHANG Protestors amassed by the statue of Benjamin Franklin as they attentively watched the speakers of the day.

PHOTO BY JESSE ZHANG College junior Ballina Prishtina highlighted Penn’s responsibility to be more transparent with monetary donations coming from Russia.

PHOTO BY SUKHMANI KAUR Fulbright Scholar studying physics Mykola Stetsko reminded the crowd that Ukrainians are not fighting for their own freedom, but to preserve democracy worldwide.

PHOTO BY JESSE ZHANG One of the speakers was Rymma Mylenkova, a Fulbright research scholar at Penn’s Stuart Weitzman School of Design, who called on Russian soldiers to stop the violence and return to their families.

PHOTO BY SUKHMANI KAUR The air was full of strength and solidarity.

PHOTO BY JESSE ZHANG The protest ended with the singing of the Ukrainian national anthem.

THEDP.COM | THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN

THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2022

NEWS 7

Penn community competes in third annual PENNTRIathlon Thirty students, staff, and faculty participated in the event NITIN SESHADRI Contributing Reporter

PHOTO BY LUKE CHEN

Penn Campus Recreation hosted its third annual PENNTRIathlon on Feb. 26 at the Pottruck Health and Fitness Center.

Penn Campus Recreation held its third annual PENNTRIathlon at the Pottruck Health and Fitness Center.

The indoor triathlon, held from 7 a.m. to 12 p.m., consisted of a 3.1-mile run, a 12.5-mile stationary bike ride, and 700-meter swim. Thirty students, staff, and faculty participated in five “waves” consisting of six people each.

The PENNTRIathlon aims to give the Penn community an opportunity to participate in a fitness challenge during the winter months that is both competitive and welcoming, according to Matt Livziey, the assistant director of aquatics, adventure, and risk management at Penn Campus Recreation.

Originally a five-event PENNtathlon that included rock climbing and rowing, it was changed to a triathlon in 2019 to garner more participation.

“Hosting indoors allowed us to pilot this event with the hopes of encouraging the Penn Community to come out and have some fun, while also challeng-

ing themselves,” Livziey said in a written statement to The Daily Pennsylvanian.

The triathlon is open to anyone on campus — regardless of fitness level, age, or experience.

“This is the perfect event for seasoned triathlon competitors or those who have never raced before and want to get a feel for racing in this type of event,” Livziey wrote.

Lauren Woodie, a postdoctoral student at Penn Medicine, placed first in the female division, while Andrew Gray, a first year in the College, placed first in the male division. They both received a prize pack which included Penn gear.

Woodie said that she heard about the event from various posters at Pottruck and participated because she wanted to begin biking and swimming in addition to running.

“I’ve been trying to transition from just running into doing triathlons for about six or seven months now, so this was a perfect opportunity for me to test

how well that training is going and then get prepared for some outdoor races in the summer,” Woodie said.

Gray said that he was motivated to participate in the PENNTRIathlon as a part of his training for the Ironman Triathlon, which he began preparing for last summer.

“I like doing triathlons,” Gray said. “I came here to see if I could win and beat everybody else.”

Jonathan Crescenzo, a research engagement coordinator for the Graduate School of Education, said that he saw the triathlon as “a goal to work towards.” He trained for a few weeks before attending the event.

Participants overall said that they found the triathlon to be a positive experience.

“It was better than I thought,” Engineering sophomore Sylvia Mihailescu said. “An indoor triathlon didn’t sound like a great thing, plus with masks on, but it was actually pretty fun and they organized it really well.”

For Stephanie Pfahnl, also an Engineering sophomore, this was her first indoor triathlon.

“I’ve never done an indoor triathlon before, so it was kind of a new experience, but it was pretty fun overall,” Pfahnl said.

Karen Glanz, the George A. Weiss University Professor at the Perelman School of Medicine, said that she has been participating in triathlons for almost 30 years, and has taken part in the PENNTRIathlon for two years. “[The triathlon] was well organized and has lots of support,” Glanz said. “It’s a good event.”

Livziey added that seeing different participants complete the triathlon despite their challenges is what makes organizing the event worthwhile.

“It is a great moment when you have a competitor who has never done a triathlon, or a similar event, and they finish their last lap of the PennTRI. Seeing that joy and sense of accomplishment they feel is always a rewarding moment,” Livziey said.

UKRAINE, from front page

“Poland has its own visa [process] with African countries, so they’ve opened the border to Ukrainians, but if you do not have a Ukrainian passport or Ukrainian ID, then you have to deal with the laws that have been established between your country and Poland.”

Varnon further emphasized how what is happening in Ukraine impacts the rest of the world, specifically America.

“We have to care because nothing that happens between Ukraine will stay in Ukraine,” Varnon said. She explained that Russia’s use

of online misinformation could pose a threat to world order.

Mitchell Orenstein, Penn professor and department chair of Russian and East European Studies, predicts that Putin’s invasion will likely fail and could lead to Putin’s own expulsion from power.

“I think that the outcome of [the invasion] is more likely to result in Putin’s ouster from power than it is to result in him completely subduing the Ukrainian nation,” Orenstein said. “If he leaves power, it will not be because of popular action entirely, but it would be more because of elite action.”

On Feb. 28, the Vice Provost for University Life Mamta Accapadi and Vice Provost for Global Initiatives Ezekiel Emanuel sent an email to Penn students expressing the University’s “condemnation of the violence in Ukraine and [its] solidarity with those who are suffering as a result of the incursion.”

Penn Abroad currently has no students in Ukraine or Russia, but wrote to the DP that they are “monitor[ing] the current situation in Ukraine” and “check[ing] in with all spring 2022 students currently abroad.”

Tisnovsky said there are still many ways to

support the Ukrainian government and citizens, including donating to Ukrainian organizations and writing to United States representatives to increase aid to Ukraine. College and Wharton senior Artem Palyanychko has compiled a list of charitable organizations that provide help on the ground in Ukraine.

“We really need support from the West,” Loiek further expressed. “Please help Ukrainian people and find a way to donate something. Even the smallest contribution can add up and save someone’s life.”

Penn researchers find that alcohol and drug-related deaths are rising in the U.S. Professors Michael Platt and Peter Sterling conducted the study MICHAEL PALACIOS Contributing Reporter

Two Penn researchers found that alcohol and drug-related deaths in the United States are rising at a more rapid rate compared to other wealthy nations.

Professors Michael Platt and Peter Sterling conducted a study to explore why “deaths of despair” have sharply increased in the United States, while peer nations have experienced considerably smaller increases — or even decreases — in alcohol and drug-related deaths.

Platt and Sterling decided to research the reasons for the rise in alcohol and drug-related deaths after the National Academy of Sciences released a report in March 2021 that compared deaths of despair in the United States to the situations in 16 other wealthy nations — including Canada, Australia, Japan, and Western European countries. The 476-page document concluded that deaths of despair are an epidemic in the United States, Penn Today reported.

Platt and Sterling aimed to research why there was such a considerable discrepancy between deaths of despair in the United States compared to other countries.

According to Platt, attaining a dopamine pulse has become more difficult in modern life, and the dopamine pulses associated with the consumption of drugs and alcohol can lead to excessive usage.

“One factor that may be contributing to this [increase in alcohol and drug consumption among

Michael Platt (left) and Peter Sterling (right) sought to explore the causes for large disparities between the number of “deaths of despair” in the United States compared to other wealthy nations.

college students] is the stress and anxiety students have to deal with,” Platt said.

The research concluded that the United States would be able to solve the health crises of rising drug and alcohol-related deaths if it adopted practices such as income redistribution, universal child care, more affordable college, affordable health care, built-in paid family leave, a higher

minimum wage, and vacation time. These practices have been implemented by the 16 other wealthy nations included in the study.

Platt and Sterling’s research arrives in the context of a reported increase in drug and alcohol usage among college students in recent years.

According to recent statistics from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, an esti-

mated 1,519 college students ages 18 to 24 die each year due to unintentional, alcohol-related injuries.

Additionally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that the COVID-19 pandemic may have contributed to a rise in deadly drug overdoses.

“It’s going to take courage for people to stop drinking and using drugs as a way of addressing this problem,” Platt said.

8 SPORTS

THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2022

THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN | THEDP.COM

Wharton club hosts Memphis Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins for speaker event NICKY BELGRAD Former Sports Editor

The torchlight of the Grit ‘n Grind era of the Memphis Grizzlies has successfully been passed.

After just an hour of listening to coach Taylor Jenkins inspire current Penn students on a Zoom call, it’s hard to imagine how someone like Jenkins could have ever failed.

Jenkins — the third-youngest coach in the NBA — is cur rently the head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies — the second-youngest roster in the NBA — and together, the Grizzlies are ascending as one of the league’s best teams.

Despite his job on basketball’s biggest stage, each year Jenk ins takes the time to speak with Penn students at meetings hosted by the Wharton Undergraduate Sports Business Club, which occurred yet again on Friday, Feb. 25 over Zoom.

Jen k ins’ stor ybook jour ney in the N BA began on the same day he graduated from Wharton in 2007 when he received a call to begin a yearlong front office internship with the San Antonio Spurs. After a short stint working in the front office, he developed a rapport with the current head coach of the Utah Jazz Quin Snyder.

Snyder was the D-League coach of the Austin Spurs at the time, and Jenkins shocked the organization by claiming he was interested in moving from the front-office to a coaching role.

But even during his time in college, Jenkins knew that he wanted to be a teacher. Jenkins and a friend of his spearheaded a recreational league in West Philadelphia, hoping to provide kids with an outlet in sports.

Even though he was chasing his dream, Jenkins talked about how it was not easy to see his Wharton classmates earning six-figure salaries while he was making a mere $183 every two weeks. Fast forward 15 years, and he is now making more than almost all of his former classmates.

In his team’s first game, Jenkins and his friend dressed in full suits and ran zone defense — equipping themselves with video equipment in order to show his players film afterwards.

“Guess what happened week two: Everyone is wearing suits, and everyone is playing zone defense,” Jenkins said. “You just could see from the weeks and the seasons everyone’s commitment to this.”

Jenkins’ teams won the championship in 2004 and 2006, and the cut nets still hang in his office as a reminder of where his journey in coaching began.

Although the league died out a few years later, Jenkins is now collaborating with Penn basketball and the Netter Center to organize a similar experience for West Philadelphia youth.

During his time with the Spurs, Jenk ins emphasized his sponge-like nature, learning from Gregg Popovich, whom he considers the sport’s best coach ever, and Mike Budenholzer.

He would even bombard the video coordinating team with questions.

After five years of experience as an assistant coach and head coach in the D-League, Jenkins followed coach Budenholzer to the Atlanta Hawks and later the Milwaukee Bucks as an assistant coach.

Under the tutelage of these great coaches, Jenkins learned that coaching is all about crafting relationships with his players. He loves giving back to and investing in others, the same way his coaches and mentors did for him.

“I wanted to teach. My dream was going back to my high school and being a coach, teacher, and advisor,” Jenkins said. “The way to gain my players’ trust was to get to know them, spend time with them, take them out to lunch, and be in the gym with them. Serve them, basically. It sounds kind of weird but Quin Snyder told me early on, ‘We’re in the servant industry. We’re here to give.’”

After years of hard work, sacrifice, and faith in himself, Jenkins finally landed the head coaching job in Memphis due to a relationship with the current general manager, Zach Kleiman. In his three short years with the Grizzlies, Jenkins has transformed the culture within the organization.

Small market teams in the NBA inherently have it harder than big city teams. For Jenkins, one of his main goals was to change the narrative surrounding his team.

“You can’t change the market; all you can hope to do is change the narrative in your environment,” Jenkins said. “You see it on the court, we’re a fun, competitive bunch that plays together on both sides of the court.”

It is easy to understand why the Grizzlies feel like such an energetic, selfless, and competitive group; Jenkins works effortlessly to create a culture where every member of the team is valued, appreciated, and eager for their opportunity.

“Luckily I have a great partner in Zach Kleiman where we sit down and talk about the message of our team, the culture of our team, the identity of our team,” Jenkins said. “My number one goal when I first got to Memphis — outside of winning championships and winning ball games and this and that — was to have everybody — players, staff — to be excited to work in Memphis every single day.”

Despite his role as the top decision-maker, Jen k ins glea ned from coach Popovich to always be open-minded and curious about what other staff members and players have to offer.

Although from top to bottom the Grizzlies are extraordinarily young, the team illustrates its poise and wisdom in the way they play and

Spring Sports, from page 10

make big contributions this year.

“Emma Nedley was Ivy League Rookie of season, the team finished with a record of 5-5 the Year for freshman year,” King said. “Obviand hopes of winning a title dashed. The softball ously, we haven’t had Ivy League play in [the] team is excited to work towards an Ivy League two years since then, but she’s a player who we title this season, especially with some exciting expect to have an impact. We have a couple of talents on its current roster. sophomores that we expect to have an impact: “Every season, we want to be competing for Julia Mortimer and Sammy Fenton. Julia Longo, an Ivy League title at the end of the spring, and our senior pitcher, is outstanding; she’s definitely I think that’s a very doable goal for this squad our number one, so we’re expecting a lot out of and something that we’ve been focusing on,” her as well.” head coach Leslie King said. “We want to be in Some standout freshmen have also competed in The New York Times Syndication Sales Sales Corporation Corporation it going into the last couple weeks of the season.” their first collegiate 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10018 softball games — an exciting N.Y. 10018 King also recognizes some standout play-Call:opportunity for them to showcase their skills.

1-800-972-3550 For Information 1-800-972-3550 For Release Thursday, March25, 3, 2022is our seniors are the only ones February ers from the past seasons, whomFor sheRelease hopes Friday, will “The reality

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Penn alum and coach of the Memphis Grizzlies Taylor (top) and Wharton Junior and DP sports associate Joey Piatt (bottom).

interact with one another. You would be hardpressed to find a moment when the Grizzlies are not either playing hard, supporting one another, or having fun.

In just a one-hour call, Jenkins demonstrated both his passion for teaching and why no other coach in the NBA is a better fit for the Grizzlies than himself.

who have seen Ivy League play, so it’s not just the freshmen who we have to try to get into that mode,” King said. “It’s hard to replicate in a practice setting, even in offseason games like during spring break trips. Our senior class is going to have to be the leaders in that regard and try to give the younger players an idea of what it’s going to be like.”

Having lost its most recent game against Norfolk State, the Quakers hope to get right back on track with their next game against Fresno State this coming Friday.

After dominating against Delaware in its first matchup, Penn has hit a little bit of a skid, losing its last two games by two goals each. The 1-2 record shouldn’t come as such a bad sign, though, as both of the Quakers’ opponents — Johns Hopkins and Loyola Maryland — were ranked and will be the last ranked competition they face all season.

Women’s Lacrosse Not only was it hard for women’s lacrosse to lose two seasons, but the Quakers are playing with only two players on the team who played as freshmen. Coach Karin Corbett emphasized the importance of seniors Taylyn Stadler and Ellen O’Callaghan’s leadership within the team, especially since they are the most experienced players on the roster.

Senior goalkeeper and DP sports associate Krissy Kowalski is also one of the few who saw time on the field as a freshman. Without the experience of playing collegiate lacrosse, the freshmen have the opportunity to step up and cement sizable roles for themselves. “[Collegiate lacrosse is] a very different game [and] is much more physical,” Corbett said. “I want to get them to understand the physicality of the game, especially when attacking.”

Men’s Lacrosse Similar to the women, men’s lacrosse sits at a beginning record of 1-1 after dropping its first game against Georgetown, 10-8, but defeating Duke this past weekend in an overtime thriller, 14-13. Like the other spring sports, an Ivy League title is on the mind of every player and coach.

Returning from a restricted season and having only played one game (a win against Cabrini), the team is eager to get back to Franklin Field.

Many returning players will find playing time, including senior attacker Jack Schultz, who scored the game-winner against Duke, junior defender Peter Blake, and junior attacker Robert Schain.

Due to the COVID-19-induced break in action, the Quakers have 11 freshmen and eight sophomores who will be receiving their first meaningful collegiate playing time. Whether or not these players can integrate themselves effectively with the team will likely determine whether it can keep the momentum going from its big win on Saturday.

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Jenkins graduated from Penn in 2007 and has since gone on to work for several NBA teams

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SPORTS 9

THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2022

Catching up with women’s lacrosse captains Ellen O’Callaghan and Niki Miles

PHOTO BY SAMANTHA TURNER

Captains senior defender Ellen O’Callaghan (left) and junior attacker Niki Miles (right) during the game against Delaware on Feb. 19 at Franklin Field.

The captains reflected on the team’s first two games, and detailed their goals for the season OLIVIA WEST Sports Reporter

After a decisive victory against Delaware to open the season, Penn women’s lacrosse came up just short to No. 24 Johns Hopkins on Saturday, losing 10-8. Through two games, the Quakers’ season is only barely underway, but the team has high hopes for what’s to come.

The DP sat down with the team’s captains, senior defender Ellen O’Callaghan and junior attacker Niki Miles, to get their perspectives on the season.

The team started the season off with a strong win against Delaware. How did that play into your motivations and mindsets for the rest of the season?

Ellen O’Callaghan: The win against Delaware was a confidence boost for our team and was clear proof of the things we are capable of. Being the first official game of this season, first college game for many of my teammates, and first game in a very long time, it felt great to be back out there and have fun.

Niki Miles: It was exciting to see some of our younger girls see the field for the first time, score big goals, and celebrate all together. Moving forward, our mindset will continue to [be to] grow each day and learn from our successes.

Your most recent game against Johns Hopkins resulted in a close loss. How is the team rebounding from that? What are you focusing on for the coming week and season in general?

EO: Johns Hopkins is a good game every year and was a good test for our team. Although I think the game should have gone differently, I am happy we were able to see our mistakes now, instead of later on this season. We are using this game as a lesson as well as fuel for games to come. Taking it one day at a time, we are focusing on not making the same mistakes.

NM: We definitely saw some areas that we need to improve on to be the team that we can be. This team is going to rebound this week by implementing improvements from the coaches efficiently, taking care of the ball better, and holding one another accountable.

You’re coming off of a season that, while with a winning record, was canceled after five games.

How has this affected your expectations for this year?

NM: Our expectations are the same as they are every year. An Ivy League Championship and an NCAA Championship. Our 2019 team was extremely talented and stacked with awarded veterans, and now we are also stacked. The difference now is that we are currently in the process of learning a lot every day and everyone is coming out with a passion to represent Penn lacrosse that we had all admired for so long and defined who we are as a program.

EO: I do think we all recognize how different this year will naturally be. We didn’t have the season other conferences had and basically have one class with full-season experience. There are going to be challenges that we wouldn’t normally face, and it’s going to take some time for some of our inexperience to wear off. That being said, our goals and standards stay high. Yes, things might be different, but we have the talent to hold these high expectations.

Could you talk about the overall atmosphere on the team and how it has grown or changed since you started playing?

EO: Our team is incredibly close and I think that has always been a strength of ours. What we have grown in and what will distinguish us is our ability to use how close we are to hold each other accountable. We can be hard on each other and say the tough thing because we have built this trust. [That] will make a difference this season.

NM: The team is fun and competitive, and the locker room is full of smiles. As I have moved from being a freshman trying to figure out a role on the team to now a more experienced junior, I think I have grown to understand the importance of relationships on the team. That has been one of our

staples this year: being connected and trusting one another to make mistakes, to grow, and hold one another accountable.

What are you and the team most looking forward to this season?

NM: We are looking forward to each day and taking it one day at a time. The Ivy League canceling spring sports for two seasons in a row highlighted what it is that we truly enjoy and love to do, and that is play lacrosse and compete. Whether it is practice when it is 30 degrees or a sunny game against Northwestern, we are grateful to be playing again and doing what we do best. For me, I look forward to the traditions and the opportunity that we have to finally compete and contend for a national title.

EO: I’m looking forward to soaking up every moment. Highs and lows, I am just simply grateful

to have the opportunity to play again. Beyond that, I can’t wait to see how our team grows as individuals and as a collective.

What do you and the team hope to accomplish?

NM: As a team, we hope to accomplish the little things every day. This is an important message, as we all have so many goals and we definitely have the potential. It is going to be a necessity that we break down those goals into actionable changes and improve each time we come out. I also hope that we enjoy it in the process and understand how the journey to get here has been different for each girl.

EO: I hope most of all that we improve every day.

I hope that we surprise people by remaking a name for ourselves in the Ivy League and nationally [and] that we have pride in this program that stays long after I am gone.

SPRING BREAK SKATE

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Student tickets available!

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SPORTS

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NO. 7

Quakers conquer College Station: Baseball upsets Texas A&M in season opener

PHOTO BY NICHOLAS FERNANDEZ

Now-sophomore Jackson Appel prepares to bat during a game against La Salle at the Meikle John Stadium on April 2, 2021.

Unusually cold temperatures in Texas played to the Quakers’ benefit as they upset the Aggies in a weekend series KATHRYN XU Sports Associate

Penn traveled down to College Station, Texas to face the undefeated Texas A&M Aggies for a difficult test to open the season last weekend, and pulled off a series win in a massive upset.

The three-game series opened on Friday with a tight win, as the Quakers pulled off the 2-1 victory by plating the game-deciding run in the eighth inning. On Sunday, Penn dropped the first game, but won the series finale by a score of 8-5 in a dramatic ninth inning comeback.

“Just nervous anticipation,” junior pitcher Owen Coady said about the feeling going into the series.

“We were ready to get out and play some baseball, especially against an opponent like Texas A&M from a well-known conference. We were excited to be out there.”

Despite the hope that scheduling late-winter games in the south would lead to warmer temperatures, the first game on Friday afternoon played out in 40-degree weather.

“I actually think [the weather] might’ve helped us, to be honest,” head coach John Yurkow said. “I think we’re used to practicing in it and they’re not, so. At least that’s what I told the team.”

Both offenses ran similarly cold — possibly due

to the unseasonably cold Texas weather — to start the series. When Coady took over for senior pitcher Kevin Eaise in the bottom of the fifth inning, the game was tied at 1-1. Penn’s one run came courtesy of sophomore Wyatt Henseler’s RBI double in the third inning.

After inducing a double play with runners at the corners, Coady closed out the second half of the game, racking up eight strikeouts in 4.2 innings pitched. Thanks to strong defensive efforts and an RBI single by junior Cole Palis in the top of the eighth — making the Aggies pay for intentionally walking Henseler before him — the Quakers came out with a tone-setting win. “[Coady’s] not your typical reliever,” Yurkow said. “He can throw four or five innings if need be, so it’s a nice luxury to have them down there.”

The double-header on Sunday proved more eventful offensively.

Penn started the afternoon on the wrong foot as it was unable to touch Aggies pitcher Micah Dallas. Dallas struck out 10 players through eight innings, allowing only one hit and one walk. Penn quickly fell into a three-run hole in the first inning and could never require. Ultimately, the Quakers lost 5-0 as the Aggies threw a combined one-hitter.

With the series split heading into the second game of the doubleheader, Penn seemed equally dead in the water. Going into the top of the seventh inning, the Aggies led by a score 5-1. Penn had used four pitchers already, had little to show offensively except for two hits from Henseler, including a home run, and struggled to find its defensive footing.

“It was such a long game. A lot of unforced mistakes,” Yurkow said. “We walked a lot of guys, and we made some errors.”

But after a double from Henseler to lead off the seventh inning, Penn was able to slowly chip away at the Aggies’ lead. The team scored one run in the seventh, another in the eighth, and, entering the top of the ninth inning, the team had narrowed the Aggies’ lead to two runs.

A single by senior catcher Andrew Hernandez and an RBI single from junior Seth Werchan at the bottom of the order allowed the top of the order to go to work. Two more singles from Courtney and junior Jackson Appel loaded the bases for senior Craig Larsen.

When Larsen went up to bat, he was 0-for-4 on the night with two strikeouts. But when he hit a bases-clearing double down the right field line to give Penn the lead, none of that mattered anymore.

After Larsen, Henseler came up to bat a triple shy of the cycle. After hitting a rocket past the Aggies’ center fielder, Henseler rounded second base as if he were going for three before he was held up by the third base coach.

Was he going for the cycle at the end?

“That’s a great question. We were all yelling that,” Coady said. “That late in the game and for the comeback like we did, it was probably the safe option to stay at second, but it definitely would’ve been fun to see him hit for the cycle.”

So Henseler didn’t quite finish the cycle, but he did finish the night 4-for-4, going 6-for-10

throughout the entire series with two walks for an OBP of .667 and an OPS of 1.867.

Upon their return to Philadelphia, Henseler was named Ivy League Player of the Week and Coady Pitcher of the Week, sweeping two of the three Ivy League honors.

“There’s definitely a lot of things we need to work on so we’re not going to be put in that position again. But that was a testament to the grit that a lot of these kids have and that the team has as a whole. It felt like we were down by a lot more runs than we were,” Coady said. “And we exploded for a lot of runs, and it was so exciting being down there and seeing everybody fired up and runs come across the board.”

While the team’s showing this weekend was far from perfect, the opening series win on the road against a strong Texas A&M team feels like an auspicious start for Penn’s first full season in two years.

Over spring break, the Red and Blue will embark on a nine-game road trip through South Carolina as they face Wofford four times, the College of Charleston twice, and Winthrop three times.

The road trip marks a return to normalcy for the team as well.

“Overall, [I’m] just [looking forward to] having a full season. Having home series with the team here in Philly and being able to travel on the road and play away,” Coady said. “And just having baseball every weekend and once a week during the week, too. It’s going to be a better spring than I’ve had here at Penn so far.”

Spring sports forecast with lacrosse, softball, and baseball Spring sports are playing with the top prize in mind: to become Ivy League champions JOYCE DAVIS Sports Associate

With warmer weather comes stolen bases, swinging lacrosse sticks, and cleats in the grass.

Spring sports are finally back, and all the teams’ coaches share one goal: winning an Ivy League Championship. The feat will demand commitment and perseverance from all the players and coaching staff, but the Quakers appear ready for this uphill battle.

Baseball Baseball started strong this season, as the Quakers won a series upset against Texas A&M. Ahead of the season, head coach John Yurkow noted a desire to chase the Ivy League title, especially given the unpredictability of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This year, even more so [because of] the disruptions that we experience because of COVID,” Yurkow said, “I think guys are more excited to start and get the season off to a good start here this weekend.”

Penn baseball went 6-8 overall in last year’s abridged season, losing its first five games in a row — three against Villanova and two against La Salle. This season, the team aimed to not repeat the slow start. And so far, so good, as SEND STORY IDEAS TO DPSPORTS@THEDP.COM

PHOTO BY ANNA VAZHAEPARAMBIL

Senior attacker Taylyn Stadler high fives her teammates as the starting players are introduced before the game against Johns Hopkins on Feb. 26 at Franklin Field.

things are looking up for the team.

But with a roster of talents including junior Owen Coady, senior Tommy Courtney, and senior Kevin Eaise, who all starred this weekend, Penn looks poised to make a run at that title. To aid Yurkow’s title chase, there are many returning players to contribute valuable leadership to the team.

“We’ve got five captains that we’re going to rely upon: Tommy Courtney, Craig Larson, Andrew Hernandez,” Yurkow said. “We also have Joe Miller and Kevin Eaise, who will be

two of the starting pitchers. Those five guys are a pretty good place to start.”

Along with the old faces, the team expects to see some new names on the field. Yurkow looks forward to seeing how the freshmen on the team progress, as they’ll get to show their skills in their first-ever collegiate games. “[The freshmen] have done a pretty good job,” Yurkow said. “We’ve been at it for about nine or 10 weeks total in the fall. Some are a little more ahead than others. I think just looking at guys on the team, specifically [at] the

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freshmen that can make an impact, there’s Cole McGonigal, an outfielder, and Ryan Dromboski.

These are two guys that should see some time this weekend.”

Softball At the moment, Penn softball holds a record of 2-3 with a win in its season opener against Hampton, 12-3, and its fourth game against Norfolk State, 10-2, during the Battle of the Bay. Last See Spring Sports, page 8 CONTACT US: 215-422-4640