November 10, 2022

Penn turns out for Pa. midterms

Students ‘taken aback’ after PAACH director’s sudden departure

Over 2,200 cast their votes on campus

A total of 2,239 campus residents cast their bal lots at polling locations in Houston Hall and the ARCH building on Election Day. Pennsylvania voters decided the results of closely watched races for governor and senator in the state’s midterm elections — both of which the Democratic candi dates were projected to win.

Polling locations in Houston Hall’s Bodek Lounge and room 108 of the ARCH building were open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. 1,422 ballots were cast at the Houston Hall polling location, 604 ballots were cast at the ARCH building, and 213 ballots were cast at the Civic House. At the Houston Hall and ARCH building

polling locations, Democratic candidates Lt. Gov. John Fetterman received 90.7% of the on-campus votes for senator, and Attorney General Josh Sha piro received 92.1% for governor. Republican candidates Mehmet Oz and State Sen. Doug Mas triano received 8.2% and 8.0% of on-campus votes at these locations, respectively.

which began this spring. The center will focus on providing solutions to current problems in education through entrepreneurialism. Ph.D. students, instruc tors, and education professionals will be invited to participate in the center’s work.

“We all know that leadership matters, and few things matter more to our society than cultivating leaders who can navigate change and are devoted to educating people at every stage of their lives,” Penn President Liz Magill wrote in the announcement. “With the launch of the McGraw Center, those dedi cated to teaching and learning will be able to devise more effective responses to the rapidly changing needs of learners today. We are deeply grateful to the McGraw family for their exceptional generos ity.”

The Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education, founded in 2020, awards $50,000 to innovators in education in three categories: Pre-K-12 Education, Higher Education, and Learning Science Research. Previous winners include Sal Khan, founder of Khan Academy, and Reshma Saujani, founder of Girls Who Code.

“Our family is enormously excited about the new McGraw Center for Educational Leadership,” Terry McGraw, 1976 Wharton graduate and former chairman, president, and CEO of The McGraw-Hill Companies, told GSE. “Our shared goal with Penn GSE is to develop future generations of leaders spanning all types of education — from pre-school through corporate learning — who are at the fore front of educational excellence in the 21st century.”

MEISENZAHL Senior Reporter

Penn’s Graduate School of Education has re ceived a $16.25 million donation, the largest in the school’s history.

The Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Family Foundation will direct $10 million toward the formation of a new center at GSE focused on cultivating leadership,

according to a press release posted Friday. The other $6.25 million will fund GSE’s existing Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education.

The new McGraw Center for Educational Lead ership will launch in the fall of 2023 and will be located in GSE’s ongoing building expansion,

The historic donation comes as the end of GSE Dean Pam Grossman’s tenure approaches. Gross man has spent eight years in the position and “expects to step down” at the conclusion of her term in June 2023, joining Penn Carey Law Dean Ted Ruger, whose term is also coming to an end. Under Grossman’s leadership, GSE has ranked No. 1 in the U.S. News & World Report’s ranking of graduate education programs for two years.

Amid students’ confusion over the sudden departure of Peter Van Do, who served as the Pan-Asian American Community House’s di rector for 10 years, the University has begun a nationwide search for his replacement.

Van Do did not respond to a request for com ment. Associate Vice Provost for University Life Will Atkins told The Daily Pennsylvanian that the University is actively conducting a na tionwide recruitment process to search for the former PAACH director’s successor.

“We want to hire the best person, and so we’re being purposeful in this search and not just fill ing a position to fill a position,” Atkins said, adding that he could not give an exact date on when the new director would be selected or start.

In addition, efforts to hire an associate di rector for PAACH — which have been in the works for over three years — have accelerated in the wake of the vacancy within PAACH, and the University hopes to fill the position by next semester, according to Asian Pacific Student Coalition Chair and College senior Jeffrey Yu.

“Candidates are currently being considered, and we’re hoping to have an associate director selected by next semester,” Yu said. He previ ously told the DP that Atkins has promised that APSC will be able to provide input during the search process.

Yu said while the University has yet to release information on the circumstances surround ing Van Do’s departure, he is optimistic for the future of PAACH.

Nonetheless, Asian American students at Penn report that they remain in the dark about the vacancy of the PAACH director position, de scribing it as a “devastating loss” for PAACH

LAURA SHIN Staff Reporter See PAACH

Director of admissions to leave University at end of year

ELEA CASTIGLIONE Contributing Reporter

Penn’s vice dean and director of admissions will leave the University at the end of the year to become the dean of admissions and associate vice president at Hamilton College starting next January.

Hamilton College announced on Nov. 4 that John McLaughlin, who has served as Penn’s vice dean and director of admissions since 2018, will join the liberal arts college as dean of admission and associ ate vice president, effective Jan. 3. Vice Provost and Dean of Admissions Whitney Soule wrote to The Daily Pennsylvanian that she is working with the vice deans of Penn Admissions on a plan for when to fill McLaughlin’s vacancy.

“It’s hard to imagine Penn and Penn Admissions without John McLaughlin, who is known for his deep love of Penn and his thoughtful, expert ap proach to the work of admissions,” Soule wrote.

The University is actively searching for a new PAACH director through a nationwide recruitment process

PHOTO BY ANNA VAZHAEPARAMBIL

PHOTO BY JULIA VAN LARE

Vice Provost and Dean of Admissions Whitney Soule is working on a plan for when to fill the vacancy

PHOTO FROM UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA John McLaughlin, vice dean and director of admissions.

ELIZABETH

PHOTO BY YOSEF ROBELE

PHOTO BY ABHIRAM JUVVADI

Senator elect John Fetterman and Governor elect Josh Shapiro both received over 90% of the on-campus votes in their respective races

SOPHIA LEUNG Staff Reporter

As of 1 a.m. on Nov. 9, the Democratic candi dates for both Senate and governor were projected to win their respective races in Pennsylvania, ac cording to the NBC News Decision Desk.

Students reported mostly quick and easy campus voting experiences to The Daily Pennsyl vanian.

In an emailed statement to the DP, Netter Center for Community Partnerships Associate Director Cory Bowman said that while youth vote turnout is increasing across the country, Penn’s turnout is “consistently and dramatically been higher than the college and university rate as a whole.”

“Penn voting rate has been growing faster than the overall college and university voting rate,” he wrote.

While the preliminary turnout numbers for the election are lower than the 2018 midterms’ total on-campus voting, Bowman said that once mail-in and absentee ballots are accounted for, he thinks “that the 2022 on-campus participation will be greater than 2018, which was greater than 2014.”

On Election Day, student groups including Penn Democrats and Penn Leads the Vote, a non partisan political program that encourages civic engagement on campus, were set up outside poll ing locations, providing voters with information about candidates and the election process.

College senior and Director of PLTV Nicholas Williams said that voting ran smoothly at each of the polling locations, and that he was happy with the turnout during the day.

“It seems like a lot of students came here to vote, which is really exciting. We saw a lot of enthusiasm in terms of volunteers, people who wanted to help out the polling place,” Williams said. “And for people who turned out that they weren’t registered, we got over 30 voter reg istrations. So they’ll be able to vote in the next election.”

College sophomore and first-time voter Mi chelle Wen voted in Houston Hall, and said that even with some confusion about which district she was registered in, she found the voting process “very smooth.”

“[The voting process] was two minutes, in and

out. I was very happy,” Wen said. “They definitely made it easy for college students. They walk you through it holding your hand.”

There were concerns that it would take days for Pennsylvania’s races to be called. On Nov. 8, the Philadelphia City Commissioners announced that they will reinstate “poll book reconcilia tion,” which will delay the counting of thousands of paper ballots on election night. The decision comes in response to a lawsuit filed by Restoring Integrity and Trust in Elections, a legal advocacy group.

The process is intended to ensure that no mailin ballots are double counted, a fear which has risen due to an increase in absentee voting since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic — though Commissioner Seth Bluestein said that double voting has not been present in the last three elec tions. The New York Times reported that this will result in the delay of between 15,000 and 30,000 paper ballots being counted on election night.

Wharton senior Aman Solanki, who served as an exit poll worker in West Philadelphia as a part of his political science class, said that he found his experience interesting in that he was able to speak to different voters about what was “motivat ing their vote.”

“Everyone there was at very different stages of life,” Solanki said. “And the way that they view the election is different than how kids on campus might, so that was the coolest part.”

According to Solanki, poll workers at the 47th Street polling location said that the turnout they saw during this election was comparable to that of a typical presidential election.

Solanki, who lives off campus, voted at the Walnut Street West Library polling location. Like Wen, he said that the five-minute experience was “super easy.” He said he hopes first-time voters were able to take advantage of the “accessible” voting process.

Leading up the the election, many political groups on campus have worked on registering stu dents for the election and provided educational resources for first-time voters.

“I continue to be impressed each year with the creative new ways and impressive energy that PLTV brings to campus voter engagement,” Bowman wrote. “PLTV had its most significant College House tabling efforts since 2018, and also its most significant athlete engagement program.”

and the API communities.

College sophomore Peter Keo had met with Van Do two days prior to the news of his depar ture and said that he felt “very taken aback” due to the timing of events.

“This happened not even a month after the ARCH reopening, where PAACH got a bigger space and Peter his own office,” Keo said.

Keo had worked with Van Do before coming to Penn as a youth organizer for VietLead, a nonprofit organization that serves the local Viet namese and Southeast Asian communities, and had continued to be involved as a student leader in PAACH-affiliated organizations.

“I really enjoyed working with him,” Keo said. “My initial reaction was just shock, be cause there hadn’t been any prior mentions of Peter leaving at all, and no official statement from PAACH. They’re still posting on Instagram and churning out newsletters like nothing has happened.”

Keo said that the vacancy of the PAACH di rector position is a loss, not just for PAACH but also for underrepresented groups on campus.

“Peter was very much a public figure in con necting minority groups both within and outside the Penn community,” he said.

For others, the news was less shocking. Some students say that they had their suspicions before the news was announced on Sept. 28 by APSC.

College sophomore Jennifer Deng said that she had interacted frequently with Van Do since her first year of college as a former tri-chair for ASPIRE, a mentoring program for Philadelphia high school students which discusses AsianPacific American issues. She said she had felt that something was off when Van Do failed to attend a regular meeting with ASPIRE facilita tors without notice.

“Peter had never missed a meeting before,” Deng said. “When I asked other PAACH staff about his whereabouts, I was told that he was on a honeymoon, but I still found it odd that he hadn’t contacted anyone about not being able to show up. No one has heard from him since.”

Deng said that Van Do’s abrupt departure left student groups supported by PAACH scrambling to seek guidance which was formerly provided by Van Do.

“I just hope we quickly get another director because our students can’t run everything. It’s not going to be sustainable,” Deng said. “And we need someone who’s going to do it.”

Penn’s Division of Public Safety plans to more strictly enforce safety regulations prohibiting the usage of personal mobility items such as electric scooters on campus walkways.

Vice President of Public Safety Kathleen Shields Anderson clarified in a meeting with The Daily Pennsylvanian that no new policy is being created. Instead, DPS will double down to implement the original policy from 2014 — which bans the use of these items on campus walkways from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Mondays through Fridays.

Since 2014, the University’s bike policy has stated that cyclists must dismount and walk their vehicles on campus walkways at the specified times. The department plans to take an “educa tional approach” in enforcement.

Undergraduate Assembly student representative and Wharton junior Xavier Shankle told the DP that DPS wanted feedback from the committee on their existing policy given the recent increase in electric scooter usage.

Students who walk through campus have said that they find the speed at which riders of scooters and bikes travel at to be dangerous.

“I have nearly been hit by scooters and bikes sev eral times,” College first year Mateo Ramirez said.

According to Penn’s UA meeting minutes, the student-organized Penn Bike Committee met with DPS prior to Sept. 21 to discuss the status of bikes, scooters, and other alternative transporta tion methods on campus. The committee generally

recommended against them.

According to Shields Anderson, electric scoot ers are still illegal in Philadelphia, but DPS is not planning on confiscating them. DPS will instead instruct Penn Police officers to regulate scooter traffic in other ways.

“To preserve safety for the rider and officer, it is hard to safely stop someone who is going at high speed [on campus walkways],” Shields Anderson told the DP.

Officers will instead try to flag riders as they ap proach to get them to slow down and subsequently issue them a verbal warning.

“We will do our best to identify people who re peatedly are riding in an unsafe manner,” Shields Anderson said.

Shields Anderson also noted that electric scoot ers are not allowed inside campus buildings.

In light of a citywide rise of bike and scooter thefts in the last year, DPS is looking to instruct students on the best ways to lock their scooters — namely utilizing U-locks instead of cable locks and removing the battery to make it less attractive to steal.

Shields Anderson noted that DPS was not look ing to decrease bike and scooter usage on campus, but instead just wants to maintain an environment most safe for the community.

“Walk it on the [Locust] walk — that should be our new tagline,” Shields Anderson said. “When on the streets, use it at a safe speed and use a helmet.”

LIAM UMBS Staff Reporter

PHOTO BY SOPHIA LEUNG

Obama and Biden host Philadelphia rally for Pa. Democrats, stressing importance of midterms

Roughly 7,500 people attended the rally that Obama and Biden headlined on Nov. 5 at Temple University’s Liacouras Center.

IMRAN SIDDIQUI Senior Reporter

Two U.S. presidents converged in Philadelphia to campaign for Democrats in Pennsylvania this weekend, just hours before Election Day.

Roughly 7,500 attended the rally that President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama headlined on Nov. 5 at Temple University’s Liacou ras Center. At the event, Biden and Obama stressed the importance of this year’s midterm elections, with prominent races for both U.S. Senate and the governorship in Pennsylvania.

“This election requires every single one of us to do our part,” Obama told the crowd on Saturday evening.

The event highlighted the work and campaign platforms of Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and Attorney General Josh Shapiro. Since the rally, Fetterman won the U.S. Senate election and Shapiro won the gubernatorial election.

Reflecting on his own losses in midterm elec tions during his presidency, Obama stressed that Biden can only continue his legislative agenda if Democrats maintain a majority in the U.S. Con gress.

He added that even if everyone at the rally had a plan to vote, there is still more work to be done.

“I don’t just need you to vote. I need you to gather up your friends and family and make sure that they are also voting,” he said.

Obama said that it would be essential for Penn sylvanians to vote Fetterman into the U.S. Senate, calling him “a guy who has been fighting for regu lar folks his whole life.”

Obama also showed support for Shapiro at the event, mentioning that Shapiro was one of the first people to endorse his run for president in 2007.

“[Shapiro] had my back,” Obama said. “If you elect him your next governor, he will have your back every single day.”

As for Shapiro’s opponent, State Sen. Doug Mas triano, Obama said that Pennsylvanians “cannot let someone that detached from reality” be in charge of the state, referencing Mastriano’s attendance at the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and his “extreme” policy positions on abortion, climate change, and gay marriage.

Before Obama took the stage around 6:20 p.m., other speakers also took the stage to tell the crowd how essential it is to vote for Democrats in all of fices this year.

Biden, who called this year’s midterms “one of the most important elections of our lifetimes,” told the supporters that he needs them to vote for Democrats so he can continue advancing his poli cies while in office.

Shapiro explained how important his family and his Jewish faith is to everything that he does. He told the crowd that if he is elected as Pennsylvania’s next governor, he will ensure that communities have a say in local policies.

Shapiro also said that he is not afraid to take on a “big fight,” citing his legal battles with opioid manufacturers and commitment to prosecuting insurrectionists who attended the riot at the U.S. Capitol last year.

“I’m not done taking on big fights,” Shapiro said. “I got another big fight in me. It comes in three days when we defeat Doug Mastriano.”

Fetterman also spoke about being able to handle tough challenges. He made light of his stroke that happened earlier this year, telling the crowd that his “life was saved by Penn Medicine,” and that he will make sure that, if elected, all Pennsylvanians have access to the same care and support.

“The health care that saved my life, that should be the same kind of health care that might save your life,” Fetterman said.

Students gather to celebrate Diwali at Penn Hindu & Jain Association event

The event featured a religious ceremony, catered Indian food, and a DJ playing a mix of Bollywood and English music

CÉLIA DANIEL Contributing Reporter

Around 250 people attended the Penn Hindu & Jain Association’s annual Diwali celebration last Friday.

The celebration began with a religious ceremony and an introduction by HJA's spirituality chair, fol lowed by catered Indian food, while a DJ played a mix of Bollywood and English music. The Nov. 4 event took place in the Hall of Flags in Houston Hall.

The pandit — a Hindu priest — began the celebra tions with the puja, a moment of prayer involving physical components for each attendee, such as pour ing water from one recipient into the other, covering a coin with rice, and other activities.

Nursing junior and HJA Co-President Nikita Patel said that attendees enjoyed the food that the organi zation catered. While mostly Indian Americans and international students from India gathered for the event, it was open to anybody who wanted to learn about Diwali and the celebrations, Patel said.

Engineering sophomore Saraswati Sridhar, who attended the Diwali celebration, said that she en joyed the festivities because they provide a familiar community.

“[The Diwali celebrations] provide a really good opportunity to find people just like me and to find a community," Sridhar said.

The event demanded a lot of preparation, accord ing to Patel. Club members coordinated volunteers, gathered all the materials needed for the puja, and created the decoration in the Hall of Flags. The HJA presidents said that the Penn Spiritual and Religious Life Center was highly involved and helpful during the preparations by providing guidance for funding, the reservation of the venue, and catering.

Diwali has been celebrated by HJA since the orga nization was founded at Penn in 1999. Also known as the "festival of lights," Diwali is celebrated by many Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs. Widely associated with Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of prosperity, and Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom and the re mover of obstacles, Diwali also marks the end of the Vikram Samvat calendar.

“We light our houses as a way to welcome her [Lakshmi] into your homes. It is a way to say we are thankful for what she has given us over the year,” Hanshita Rongali, a graduate student in environmen tal studies who attended the event, said.

HJA holds events throughout the year, with the main ones being Garba, Diwali, and Garbhangra. The association also welcomes its members as well as new guests to join in regular meetings every Tues day to participate in spiritual activities and talks, such as a presentation of intersectionality in Jainism, Patel said.

Patel said that HJA creates a safe space to explore Hindu spirituality for anyone who wants to discover it. HJA aims to be an open environment to join, whether it would be for the religious and spiritual aspect or the social and cultural one. The goal is to do more outreach and welcome anyone who wants to be a part of the community, Engineering and Whar ton senior and HJA Co-President Arushi Aggarwal said.

Feeling pressured to experiment on animals?

PHOTO BY ANNA VAZHAEPARAMBIL

Former President Barack Obama speaks at a rally for Governor-elect Josh Shapiro and Senator-elect John Fetterman at Temple University’s Liacouras Center on Nov. 5.

PHOTO BY ANGELA YE

Penn students celebrate Diwali in Houston Hall on Nov. 4, 2022.

THIS YEAR’S BOARD

Penn should invest in redesigning campus spaces to maximize the student experience

THE PINE OBSERVATORY | Learning spaces at Penn are in need of a modernization effort

Have you ever walked down Locust, hunkered down in a slightly damp jacket, dodging some freezing sleet, and stumbled into a basement classroom with no windows and flickering fluorescent lights that feel like they penetrate the depths of your brain? I have. I can tell you it is not a pleasant experience. Many of Penn’s classrooms and buildings feel outdated and stale, and often lack proper lighting, adequate space, and modern ame nities.

Some may argue that there are more important issues facing our University than proper classroom design, but making learning areas more hospitable and wel coming would bring a huge improvement to the student experience.

University is difficult. It always has been and likely always will be, and there’s no getting around that. However, depres sion rates among students around the country have risen over the past decade, with nearly 44% of college students expe riencing depression. This has a massive impact on students’ performance as well, with 64% of college dropouts having dropped out due to experiencing mental anxiety or depressive states. Penn, while ranking best among the Ivy League, has a particularly poor record on mental health. A report by the Ruderman Family Founda tion gave Penn a D+ mental health rating. While improving mental health support infrastructure is a necessity, improving the buildings and areas we learn in would have a significant impact as well.

I believe the benefits of these renova tions are well worth the costs. Access to natural light, large windows, and high ceilings not only improves moods, but also betters sleep quality and work per formance. A lot of this psychology has to do with our natural instinct. Humans have spent the majority of our existence in wide-open spaces without roofs or

enclosures, and crucially, with constant access to natural light during the day. This is particularly important in locations which have dark winters, which Philadel phia does. Seasonal Affective Disorder is a condition in which the darker months of the year lead people to have higher rates of depression and anxiety. Natural light also has a significant impact on sleep, improv ing both longevity and quality over time. However, addressing these issues is by no means a simple task, nor a cheap one. Architecturally, many of Penn’s buildings are not built with access to natural light in mind. Particularly, brutalism, which is the style in which many of Penn’s build ings are designed, focuses on reducing costs by having fewer windows incorpo rated into its architecture. To rebuild or renovate these areas would require serious planning and time. This would also mean disruption for students and faculty. Serious renovations can take years to complete and cause knock-on effects beyond the build ing being renovated itself.

However, there are several reasons as to why these renovations would be worth the disruption beyond the benefits they would have for the student experience at Penn. First, updating dated buildings before they begin to have serious issues (think the Quad mold), is a good practice, especially in learning spaces and residential build ings. If done before absolutely necessary, the renovations can be staggered as to reduce disruption to daily life. Lastly, ren ovations could improve the environmental sustainability of many of Penn’s older buildings, bettering HVAC efficiency, in sulation, and other green initiatives.

Considering Penn’s $20 billion endow ment, it is high time that the University invested in the student experience. It is not easy or cheap, but I would argue renovat ing and improving Penn’s learning spaces would have a huge impact on student life. The school should make a conscious effort to make sure that learning spaces are not just barebones utility rooms, but that they take into account the realities of life as a

college student.

While many of Penn’s new buildings, such as Huntsman Hall and the Whar ton Academic Research Building, take modern building principles into account, there are plenty of learning areas that require updates. Stitler Hall is a perfect ex ample. It has basement classrooms, some of which have no windows at all. Ceilings are low and the building is unwelcoming and drab, both inside and out. Of course, there are limits to what can and should be done, but taking modern design theory into account could go a long way in help ing students feel more welcome in the building.

Perhaps this proposal comes across as entitled or demanding, but if you are a stu dent here, take a minute to think about it. How hard have you worked to get here? How many more hours will you spend studying and living on this campus? Penn has a history of under-allocating resources to mental health, and while classroom and living renovations are a small part of that, they would have a legitimate impact. Nor should Penn’s investment in the stu dent experience stop at access to natural light. New gym spaces, areas with free amenities, and recreational centers are all valuable additions to improving everyday life at Penn.

Sure, these renovations would not solve everything all at once, but they would help make that dark Monday afternoon in the middle of February just a little better. And sometimes, a little better is what you need to get by.

OTTO PIASECKI is a College senior studying economics and diplomacy from New York. His email is oabp@ sas.upenn.edu.

Dear first years: Be the little fish

DEAR PENN | For students who always win, academic failures and club rejections hold a powerful lesson

Every autumn, first years’ naive smiles fade into competitive grimaces. The culprit? Penn’s competitive club applica tion process.

Three months into the school year, the reality of life at an Ivy League is setting in for our newest class of students. Club applications offer the first chance for first years to prove that they belong as Quak ers. While joining a community can offer a source of pride and belonging for new students, every acceptance comes with the price of rejection.

Our new students are left wondering: What do you do if the community you want doesn’t want you?

Perhaps the most recent round of club applications brought you a rejection; per haps it brought you many. To my dismay, in my first-year fall, I was rejected from all but one club I applied to. I quickly learned that the exorbitant demand for a limited supply of spots meant someone always had to lose.

Dear first years: Surprise! In your four years here, you’ll face rejection.

Despite “Penn Face” or your aggressive classmate in ECON 1010 who might con vince you otherwise, every student at Penn will fail. For one, the math for constant suc cess just doesn’t shake out. There are too many smart, qualified students grabbing

for the allure of the same internships and club acceptances.

My morning commute on Locust Walk reminds me that every student here was once a big fish in their hometown pond. When 10,000 talented fish start swimming together in one pool, competition and sub sequent rejection will ensue.

This realization doesn’t make rejection hurt less, though. Maybe you danced for 10 years but were rejected by Masti. Perhaps you thought you were a perfect match but weren’t accepted into MUSE or WEDIG. You love to sing but didn’t even get call backs for Glee.

In the face of rejection, you might wonder: Maybe everyone here is more tal ented than me.

To new students unaccustomed to Penn’s competitive nature, it’s easy to ruminate after a surprise rejection. You might catch yourself thinking, “Maybe if I answered that one interview question differently,” or, “Maybe if my coffee chat was a bit less awkward.” The worst of the self-deprecat ing thoughts: “If only I was smarter, louder, or funnier.”

Now, as a junior, I’m all too familiar with the post-rejection feeling of embarrassment and self-doubt. I can procure a laundry list of research jobs, board positions, or club acceptances that I did not receive.

The secret is that my life at Penn became a lot easier when I became OK with being the little fish. The catalyst for my pivot from perfectionism was Penn’s Anti-Re sume Project.

After a particularly brutal no, I turned to the internet to search for advice and shared misery. The Anti-Resume Project shares the behind-the-scenes rejections of some of Penn’s most successful students. Reading story after story of students who persevered through no’s reminded me that I wasn’t alone.

The Anti-Resume Project reveals that Penn is an ecosystem of talent, motivation, and drive. We all have something valu able to offer our community. Sometimes, though, someone else is just the bigger fish.

In my past two years here, I learned more about myself from being the little fish than I ever learned from celebrating my own ac complishments. How? By watching others succeed. Resist the temptation to view your hallmates as competition. Instead, look to each other as inspiration. Our classmates are best-selling authors and tech startup wizards — celebrate them! You won’t fail forever, so use your low points to uplift others.

First years: Rejection teaches resilience.

Don’t let the failures you face in your first semester stop you from pursuing what

you love. If you aren’t failing, you’re miss ing an opportunity to learn what you’re truly passionate about. Do you really want to join that club, or are you just tempted by clout chasing? Sure, rejection hurts, but it hurts less once you realize everyone else faces rejection. Complain, cry, then carry on. If failure is unavoidable, you might as well fail aiming for what you truly desire.

Dear first years: The transition from being the big fish in high school to the little fish at Penn is hard. Yet, learning to be the little fish is a rite of passage. It will make you a stronger student and a better person.

In the next four years, sometimes you’ll be the big fish, dominating the Penn pond and staying afloat with ease. Sometimes — and if you’re like me, most of the time — you’ll be the little fish, learning from the role models around us.

So why did I choose Penn? Because I wanted to be the little fish.

PHOTO BY MAITREY PRAJAPATI

FIONA MILLER is a Wharton junior studying behavioral economics and social impact from Roanoke, Va. Her email is fimiller@wharton.upenn.edu.

DESIGN BY SARAH TRETLER

How Penn is affecting their studentathletes’ lives with NIL

BINGLE’S BANTER | Penn’s real stance on name, image, and likeness

Name, image, and likeness is a new phenom enon allowing collegiate athletes to capitalize on their talents similar to the world of professional sports. It is an opportunity for athletes to use their identity in return for exposure, opportunity, or money from brands, companies, or sponsors. With over 25 NCAA Division I sports teams competing in the Ivy League, Penn claims to support their studentathletes who want to participate in NIL activities, but are they carrying out their promise?

As a former student-athlete myself, I can attest that NIL is a huge advantage to being a collegiate athlete. It helps us gain outside recognition, sup port, money, or opportunities which can be limited with a busy schedule. I have seen the benefit of NIL through teammates and friends who took part in the opportunity, and were greatly successful.

While playing a varsity sport has perks, such as a team environment and athlete-specific resources, the sacrifice is large and can go unnoticed. Most ath letes at Penn are practicing twice a day, on weekends, and participating in weights and lifts, team activities, games, and competitions, all the while handling a university workload and social schedule.

In addition to the NCAA-predetermined timeconsuming schedule of being a student-athlete, pressures from coaches and teammates to do even more than required are prevalent. One example is the off-training season. While the NCAA does not consider any training in the offseason mandatory, athletes are expected to participate anyway. This can make minimal free time even more scarce.

Time to study and succeed in school and clubs is already minimized, let alone time for a job. Most sports are more time-intensive than a part-time job, with none of the monetary benefits. Especially at a school that does not offer athletic scholarships, NIL is critical for some students to earn money to pay for school and their everyday lifestyle.

In a recent interview with Penn’s NCAA compli ance lawyer and Associate Athletic Director Rachel Kuperinsky, we discussed the University’s stance on NIL activities and where it’s headed. She defines NIL as an opportunity for a student-athlete to use their name, image, or likeness in exchange for goods, money, or opportunity. She adds, “At Penn specifi cally, it’s an opportunity for athletes to make money in a new way,” which can be used to help support them as young adults. I definitely have seen exam ples of this in our own athletics department.

Kuperinsky went on to say that NIL has benefit ted the athletes that have taken advantage of it. She mentions the most popular way our students use NIL is by representing products they use every day, like Liquid I.V. or a sports drink. Penn’s athletes mainly use NIL to support a product or brand they like rather than becoming mainstream celebrities in col lege sports. As a school, Penn’s notoriety, athletic

program, and NIL program is weaker than at other schools. Kuperinsky added that our strong focus on academics as an institution could be a factor leading to a smaller program in general.

Could Penn do more to support athletes through this important opportunity? Schools aren’t allowed to be agents for NIL activities due to NCAA policies. While the exact differences between NIL programs at other schools are complicated, some universities have seen more success regarding NIL due to col lectives. Collectives are groups started by alumni to help fund NIL activity. However, there hasn’t been a collective started at Penn yet.

As someone who was a competitive athlete for most of my life, I think I could’ve really benefited from a chance to monetize based off of my own ath letic work and achievements. For example, because my primary season was the summer, it was hard to find time for a summer job outside of practicing. For me, and for many athletes with struggles similar to mine, a chance to make money from doing a sport you love and exceed at would be an amazing op portunity. I think Kuperinsky recognizes this, and I agree with her that NIL is a beneficial addition to college sports.

I also learned in the interview that Penn doesn’t allow their student-athletes to use the Penn name or logo in any NIL-related activities. This, while not uncommon, overall shows a lack of support for these athletes by the University, and could be due to pro tecting the brand of the University.

I believe a larger NIL program would also mean a stronger athletics program at the University, because it is attractive to athletes going through the recruit ing process. Kuperinsky says Penn will continue to expose student-athletes to NIL in every way possible, and that further NCAA guidance will be helpful in the future, because NIL as a whole is a new concept in college sports. I think as the NCAA continues to review and revise NIL policy, we will see more NIL in collegiate athletics programs as a whole.

I agree with Kuperinsky’s statements, and I learned a lot from my time talking to her. I think Penn’s direction to keep exposing students to NIL activity shows support and a positive direction for Penn athletics as a whole in the future. While we are on the right track, I encourage the University to continue to prioritize athletic support, as it is critical to the development of our student-athletes academi cally, emotionally, and physically.

Don’t let fear keep you out of the gym

GUEST COLUMN |

Many of the fears that people

have about going to the gym are uninformed

There are plenty of reasons not to go to the gym. For some, playing a sport is a more enjoyable way to get their exercise. For others, going for a run or bike ride gets the job done. A lot of people, espe cially at Penn, have such busy schedules that they can’t make time to exercise at all.

Those are all good reasons not to go to the gym, but not going out of fear is often misguided.

Countless friends have divulged to me that they have been wanting to start going but are afraid to for various reasons. I’ve even had friends order dumb bells online so they can work out at home, which is notoriously expensive, not to mention cumbersome.

Stories like these are always upsetting for me to hear, as going to the gym for me has long been a way to get in good shape, clear my head, improve my mental health, and genuinely enjoy myself. I would hate for someone to miss out on an opportunity like that for a silly reason.

The fear that many face when going to the gym for the first time — or the first time in a while — is cer tainly not unfounded or irrational, but it is in many cases uninformed.

A lot of people assume they will be judged, fear ing they look too skinny or too fat, or otherwise don’t fit the mold of their perceived “typical gym-goer.” However, many people’s views of a gym’s patrons are distorted — most of them do not at all resemble the roided out, greased up, shirtless stars of Venice Beach in the 1980s; they actually look a lot more like the people you sit next to in class every day.

There certainly are muscle gyms full of macho weightlifters grunting at a rate faster than most in terstate speed limits, and those would admittedly not be a great place to start in your gym journey. How ever, Pottruck is not one of these muscle gyms — and neither are the vast majority of gyms one would en counter.

With that being said, even at a normal gym there’s a solid chance that as a beginner, you may not be as in-shape as everyone there. However, that is no reason for fear, as I can assure you that no one there is paying attention to you.

That may sound harsh, but I mean it in the best way possible.

Working out can be a very involved and personal process, so most people are focused on themselves. They are thinking about their own workout, counting their reps, planning their next set, changing the song they’re listening to, replying to a text, or maybe even checking themselves out in a mirror. People are nar cissistic, especially at the gym. The last thing anyone has time for is to scrutinize others.

Others may not care as much what people will think of them, but choose not to go because they simply don’t know where to start. This is under standable, and for people in this boat, it may be a good idea to tag along with an experienced friend the first few times — most gym-goers would be happy to help.

If you don’t know anybody, then maybe check out YouTube. I mean this in all seriousness — there are probably more internet videos on gym and workout tips than there are rats in New York City, so it is a great place to look for help. As someone who has been going to gyms since middle school, I still con sult the web all the time when I want to try out a new workout.

Avoiding free weights in favor of machines — which are often straightforward to use and display instructions on them — is also a good move.

If after all this you still have worries, you can try to start working out during times and places in which you will be less visible. For example, Pottruck is noticeably less busy during the day, and the fourth floor and multipurpose rooms always have less foot traffic. You can even try the Fox Fitness Center, a rarely used cozy Pottruck alternative nestled inside Franklin Field.

I’m not here to tell you to start going to the gym or to extol its benefits. Others can do that for you. But if you have a desire to go, don’t let fear stand in your way.

Election

A Look at the Results of the 2022 Midterm Elections

Knowledge by the Slice returns! This lunchtime series offers educational talks led by our insightful faculty experts. Did we mention there’s pizza? So come for the discussion and have a slice on us.

This event is co-hosted by the Department of Political Science, PORES, and the Pi Sigma Alpha Political Science Honor Society

ANNIE BINGLE is a College first year from Connecticut. Her email is bingle@sas.upenn. edu.

PHOTO BY ABHIRAM JUVVADI

BRANDON PRIDE is a Wharton senior study ing finance from Morgan Hill, Calif. who was a Senior Sports Editor for the 137th Board of Editors. His email is bpride@wharton.upenn. edu.

PHOTO BY WILLIAM BARTOC

In Photos: 20 hours of Election Day in Philadelphia and at Penn

BY JESSE ZHANG AND BENJAMIN MCAVOY-BICKFORD

Americans across the country turned out for the midterm elections on Thursday, and the Penn community was no exception. 2,239 ballots were cast at two voting locations on campus, Houston Hall and ARCH, with students voting as early as 7 a.m. Pennsylvania Democratic gubernatorial candidate Josh Shapiro was declared the winner by CNN at 11:22 p.m., and while Lt. Gov. John Fetterman had a longer wait, he was eventually declared the winner of the Pennsylvania U.S. Senate race over 1986 Wharton and Medical School graduate Mehmet Oz by MSNBC at 12:53 a.m. on Nov. 9.

With two of the most contentious races in America taking place in Pennsylvania, and the future of reproductive rights, the control of the Senate, and many other issues hanging in the balance, here’s a look into this historic midterm Elections Day.

6:48

10:06

PHOTO BY DEREK WONG

a.m. — Poll workers in Houston Hall set up ahead of polls opening at 7 a.m. This is the first year the City of Philadelphia is offering three language options — English, Spanish, and Mandarin — on the voting machines. The City also dispatched two interpreters to be on call at Penn.

PHOTO BY JESSE ZHANG

PHOTO BY DEREK WONG

8:47 a.m. — Penn President Liz Magill voted at Bodek Lounge in Houston Hall and talked with Penn Leads the Vote volunteers after, thanking them for their work.

PHOTO BY HANNAH SHUMSKY

a.m. — College first year Jane Kinney (right), who is also a volunteer with Penn Leads the Vote, voted in the morning after volunteering for three and a half hours and before her first class. “Penn Leads the Vote works hard to make voting fun and easy so that more people can make a difference, and I know that their work today helped empower young voters. I’m really glad that I got to be a part of that,” Kinney said.

PHOTO BY LILIANN ZOU 12:12 p.m. — Students wait in line for the voting machines in Houston Hall.

PHOTO BY BENJAMIN MCAVOY-BICKFORD 12:52 p.m. — Members of Penn’s volleyball team pass out free pizza and coffee to voters outside ARCH.

PHOTO BY ANNA VAZHAEPARAMBIL

3:39 p.m. — College first year Margot Schneider noted all the voter registration efforts on Penn’s campus as well as the prevalence of civic participation. “I’ve talked to a couple of friends at different schools who have not had as strong voting efforts and have had a lot of people scramble to figure out their voting plan super last minute,” Schneider said. “So I’ve just been grateful to have a lot of people putting efforts to promote whatever candidate, or just help getting people registered all throughout the fall.”

PHOTO BY ZIMO HUANG

the results posted outside after.

votes were cast at Houston Hall and 604 were cast at ARCH, with 91.54% voting for Shapiro for Pennsylvania’s governor and 8.46% voting for Mastriano.

voted for Fetterman for Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senator, and 8.41% voted for Oz.

PHOTO BY ABHIRAM JUVVADI 8:21 p.m. — Crowds gathered at Oz’s election night party at Newtown, Pa. Penn State junior Nicholas Regos, a member of College Republicans at Penn State, said that Oz “is right on the issues that matter for me, such as energy independence. I really just like his overall demeanor as a common sense [person] who wants to work with people.”

PHOTO BY ABHIRAM JUVVADI

8:38 p.m. — Hunter Steach, a first year at Penn State and chief of staff at Penn State College Republicans, told the DP that he was invited to Oz’s election night party. “We had an interaction with [Oz] a few weeks ago up at Penn State, and he was very genuine man. I was a little nervous going in because, you know, this big TV doctor … it was a great experience, and it made me really understand and appreciate working for him on his campaign.”

PHOTO BY JULIA VAN LARE

9:04 p.m. — College senior Annie Hait, president of Penn Students for Shapiro, told the DP that “Josh stands for creating a more inclusive culture in Pennsylvania, making sure that everyone’s represented, everyone’s rights are being protected … it’s something that has motivated me to work for Josh for such a long time and stay on the campaign, and I’m really excited to see his vision come true.”

PHOTO BY JULIA VAN LARE

11:22 p.m. — Shapiro was declared the winner of the gubernatorial race, winning the race by 11.4%.

PHOTO BY JULIA VAN LARE

11:28 p.m. — Crowds cheered as Shapiro walked onto the stage with his family. “Real freedom prevailed here tonight in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” Shapiro said in his victory speech. “And I can stand before you tonight, thanks to all of you, in the birthplace of our democracy in the cradle of liberty, and look you in the eye and say, because of you, our democracy endures.” As of 2 a.m. on Nov. 10, Mastriano has yet to concede the race.

Perry World House event examines impact of nuclear technology on diplomacy and defense

MEHEER COMMURI Contributing Reporter

Perry World House held a talk on Tuesday about nuclear technology and the debate surrounding its uses in science, diplomacy, and defense.

The hour-long talk featured a discussion between M. Susan Lindee, professor of the history and so ciology of science, and Lynn Meskell, professor of anthropology and historic preservation. It was mod erated by Thomas Shattuck from PWH. The hybrid talk began at 4 p.m. on Zoom or in person at PWH.

The Daily Pennsylvanian spoke with Lindee and Meskell prior to their talk about nuclear technology.

A key focus of the talk was understanding how the current nuclear weapons situation in the world has evolved. For many, the threat of nuclear weap ons might seem normal. However, according to Lindee, this is not “life as usual.”

“It is the invention of a given time and the result of a technological system that has had devastat ing consequences which will never disappear for humans,” Lindee said.

College sophomore Sean Bray, who is study ing international relations, agrees and thinks that nuclear weapons are one of the fundamental issues that the world needs to reconcile with.

“They’re universally important, they define the nature of every relationship between every state. They have completely changed the way we think about war,” he said.

For Meskell, part of this understanding involves examining the history of the disciplines of both an thropology and archeology, to see how they were influenced by nuclear developments.

“It is not just policy and political science, but there are also other fields that are implicated in the history [of nuclear development],” Meskell said. “I want to look back and see these unacknowledged

legacies.”

Another one of the focuses of the talk was the link between science and military technology, and how the latter drives the pursuit of the former.

Lindee said that military and defense technol ogy affects almost all sciences. The Department of Defense, she explained, is the “most important potential funder” in the life of a scientist. What the Department of Defense wants shapes what scientists choose to research, she said.

Lindee said that she wanted the audience to leave the talk with a better understanding of the role de fense plays in shaping science.

“Every kind of technology you’ve ever used prob ably has some military dimension,” she said.

Meskell agreed, adding that “even fields that seem quite removed like archaeology have ben efited from developments around the atomic bomb.”

This was another focus of the talk — how those seemingly far-removed fields like anthropology and archeology benefited from new techniques and pro cesses associated with nuclear development.

“Archaeology was and still is very directly in volved with military technology, whether it was Carbon-14 dating, rubidium, cesium magnetom eters, underwater submarines, or U2 spy planes,” Meskell said.

Meskell added that she believes it is time for dis ciples that benefited from nuclear technology to understand their histories and scrutinize the ethics of their past.

“The United States at one point had 30,000 nu clear weapons when it was possible to destroy the whole world with about seven,” Lindee said. “So, why do you have 30,000?”

Penn Sikh Organization leaders aim to revive club, gain official University recognition

SEJAL SANGANI Staff Reporter

Students leading Penn Sikh Organization, a club that fosters greater awareness of Sikh values and tra ditions, are working to revive the organization after years of little activity.

Founded almost 20 years ago, PSO has a mission to broaden the understanding and awareness of the Sikh religion and heritage in the Penn community through cultural, social, and religious activities, according to its leaders. In recent years, however — due in large part to the COVID-19 pandemic — the organization has held one or two events per year celebrating holi days together, and other significant events.

College juniors and PSO co-leaders Jasleen Gill and Rhea Bakshi hope to expand the organization’s presence on campus, including getting it registered on Penn Clubs and receiving official recognition and funding from the University.

Gill and Bakshi said taking Punjabi courses with lecturer Amrit Gahunia, who serves as the faculty advisor for PSO, helped inspire them to undertake the goal of reviving PSO.

“I want [the] Penn community to [be] aware of Sikh religion and heritage,” said Gahunia, who has been working with PSO since its inception nearly two decades ago. “That [has been] our goal from the be ginning.”

“We want to be able to hold at least one or two events every semester to keep things going,” Gill said.

In previous years, PSO members invited the Penn community to participate in Langar on Locust, in which PSO students brought meals to campus from the local gurdwara and hosted a langar on Locust Walk where students sat on the ground and ate their meals together. While Langar on Locust has not hap pened for a few years due to the pandemic, Gill and Bakshi are planning to host one before the end of this semester.

Singh hopes that holding more events through PSO will increase the group’s exposure to other Sikh, and even non-Sikh, students at Penn who may not know about it.

Gahunia said that in addition to Langar on Locust, PSO has previously hosted events such as turbantying demonstrations, film screenings, and trips to a nearby gurdwara in Upper Darby, Pa.

PSO has already held several meetings within the organization this semester, Bakshi said.

“[At our meetings], I saw this connection that warmed my heart and made me incredibly proud to be a Sikh woman,” she added.

Such community connections are an integral facet of PSO. Gill, Bakshi, Singh, and Gahunia all mentioned PSO’s role in bringing together the Sikh community at Penn.

“My religious identity is a very important part of who I am,” Singh said. “[PSO is] a space for Sikh people to meet others in the community.”

McLaughlin, a 2005 College graduate, oversaw some of Penn’s largest application pools during his eight years at Penn Admissions. He served as interim dean of admissions during the Class of 2025 cycle, the largest pool of applications in Penn’s history. The 56,000 received applications were a 34% increase from the previous year’s applicant pool.

He first began working with the admissions office during his time as an undergraduate student at Penn.

“I’ve worked with so many talented people at Penn, and I have some relationships that stretch back to my time as a tour guide and student worker in the admissions office,” McLaughlin wrote to the DP.

McLaughlin assumed the role of interim dean of admissions beginning in January 2021 after the de parture of former Dean of Admissions Eric Furda. He served in this capacity until Soule was named dean of admissions in July 2021.

McLaughlin wrote that his goals as interim dean were to “first, do no harm, and second, try and leave things a little better than I found it.”

This past year, McLaughlin oversaw the Class of

2026 cycle of admissions, which received 55,000 ap plications and was the first cycle in recent memory when Penn Admissions declined to immediately share the regular decision acceptance rate.

“I’m proud of the work that we’ve done to reduce barriers to access,” McLaughlin wrote. “Penn is far more diverse now, on many dimensions, than it was when I was a student in the early 2000s.”

In his position as vice dean and director of ad missions, McLaughlin helped create a group in Penn Admissions that used experimental and data analytics to understand and improve the admissions process at Penn, according to a 2020 statement from former President Amy Gutmann and former Provost Wendell Pritchett announcing McLaughlin’s ap pointment as interim dean.

When asked what he will miss most about Penn, McLaughlin wrote that he will miss his colleagues: “It’s a uniquely dedicated and diverse group of people, and I’ve enjoyed working with and learning from everyone. I feel that I’m leaving Penn Admis sions in a strong position, and I owe much of that to the guidance and support of my colleagues.”

“Penn will always be a special place for me. My connection to this place persists beyond my profes sional relationship,” McLaughlin wrote. “Wherever life takes me, I’ll still raise a toast to dear old Penn.”

This fall, PSO hopes to once again host its annual Langar on Locust event. Gill said that langar, a free community meal served by the gurdwara — the Sikh place of worship — is an important part of Sikhism where gurdwara members and non-members serve each other and sit on the floor as equals to partake in a meal together.

“The basic idea is that food should be available to everyone,” Wharton junior and PSO member Harjap Singh said.

Bakshi echoed this sentiment, also explaining that she has grown more in touch with her religious iden tity since coming to college.

“We all had Sikh friends here and there, but bringing them all together was really important to us because it’s not really a community that can con nect as one unless you bring everyone together in one space,” Bakshi said. “It’s been easier to connect to my own religion and my own identity at Penn. I found a lot more people like me.”

DIRECTOR , from front page

Student leaders a part of Penn Sikh Organization work to revive the club after years of inactivity

PHOTO BY SAMAIRA SIRAJEE AND LU SHU

The hour-long talk featured a discussion between Penn professors M. Susan Lindee and Lynn Meskell

PHOTO BY GIULIANA ALLEVA

Meet Adam Thomson, Penn wrestling’s 22-year-old freshman

SEAN MCKEOWN Sports Reporter

Adam Thomson went from completing a twoyear mission trip to representing his home country in multiple wrestling world championships in under a year.

Now, Thomson is a 22-year-old freshman for the Penn wrestling team. It’s been quite the journey for the Calgary, Canada native, which he knows better than anyone.

“I had a little bit of a different path than most athletes,” Thomson said. “After I graduated high school, I went on a two-year mission trip with a faith-based charity in Canada, mostly just working in the eastern United States and eastern Canada.”

After his two years of service were complete, Thomson went to America with the intention of resuming training for the 2022 U23 World Champi onships in Spain, and to figure out what he wanted to do for college. Eventually, he decided that a good place for both of those hopes would be the Pennsyl vania Regional Training Center.

“I was just looking for a place to train,” Thomson said. “I had heard about the PRTC. I thought, ‘OK, I’m going to go there.’ I’m going to train for a little bit. I’m going to see if I can figure out how this uni versity thing is going to shake out as well.”

Before his charitable excursion, Thomson had established himself as one of the best young ath letes in Canada by becoming a four-time national wrestling champion, two-time freestyle wres tling national champion, and a two-time national judo champion. So with that pedigree, and time at PRTC, his path to Penn became clear, if not wholly unique.

“One day he walked into our wrestling meeting — we call it our film room — and he said, ‘I’ve decided I would like to go to university,’” Penn wrestling coach Roger Reina, who worked with Thomson at PRTC, said. “And he came in with a manila folder filled with exceptional academic acumen.”

The time spent giving back to the community, which Reina noted as a key factor in his acceptance to the school and to the team, allowed Thomson to keep his NCAA eligibility for sports due to the charitable nature of the break, and it also explains his unusually old age for a freshman.

His first semester of college, though, over lapped with his expected appearance at the U23 Wrestling World Championships, which was slated for late October. Thomson’s already packed schedule started to become even busier when he learned he would have the chance to rep resent his country in the Senior Wrestling World Championships just weeks before his U23 com petition.

“The week before the senior tournament in September, I got a call from my coach from Canada,” Thomson said. “He’s like, ‘Hey, look, the No. 1 guy, he’s injured. He’s out of the tourna ment. Would you be interested in going to Serbia next Saturday and competing?’ And obviously

you don’t get a ton of those opportunities. You only get to do those a couple times. And I said, ‘Absolutely.’”

On only a half-week’s notice, Thomson performed valiantly in the Senior World Cham pionships against other more-prepared opponents representing their home countries, but he truly shined with his eighth-place finish in the U23 Championships finish, where he lost in the quar terfinals.

“I feel pretty good about how I did,” Thomson said. “Obviously, there’s things to work on all the time. And there’s lessons to be taken away from that tournament. I didn’t win a medal and that’s always the goal, but there’s a lot of positive takeaways.”

Now, Thomson’s focus is directed toward suc ceeding nationally for Penn, which poses a unique challenge for the Canada-based wrestler.

“I’ll be competing and hopefully earning a start ing spot,” Thomson said. “But NCAA wrestling competes under different rules than the rest of the world. So there’s some adjustment to be made there. I’m going to try as hard as I can, but I’m not expecting to go be an All-American or an NCAA champion this year. I’m just going to try and com pete as hard as I can and learn as much as I can.”

Despite the whirlwind of changes, setbacks, sur prise tournaments, and Penn classes, Thomson has kept the same resolve for the future that he has held for both his competitions and his missionary work.

the court like leadership, assists, and defense are things I’m working on and things I still want to achieve while I’m here.”

Grasela also assumed the point guard posi tion during her time with the Red and Blue, and became the person McGurk looked up to — liter ally.

The four-inch height difference between the two constitutes for their differing playing styles. But just because McGurk isn’t as tall as Grasela, doesn’t mean she can’t make up for her size in other ways.

“I was a very pass-first point guard,” Grasela said. “She’s a lot shorter than I am, and I think when you are smaller, you have to be a really good passer. If someone is taller than you, they can deflect a lot of your passes so you have to get really crafty with how you deliver the ball. So that was my major emphasis with her.”

The two worked on using size as an advantage rather than a disadvantage. They honed in on perfecting new passing techniques and angles to deal with the size aspect. McGurk’s boosted ag gressiveness on the court helped her both run the team and dictate much of the opposing team’s play. Grasela also focused on building her onthe-court presence.

“[Point guard] is one of the most important po sitions on the floor because you are the coach’s mind out on the court,” Grasela said. “You are running what the coach wants you to run and have to make sure everyone is in the correct posi tion. I focused on trying to build her [McGurk’s] confidence. She is an amazing shooter, she can pass it, and she can make it to the basket — she can do a little bit of everything. A lot of the spot light falls on our higher scorers, but she can turn it on whenever she needs to.”

Since point guard is such a vocal position, McGurk spent the offseason developing her on-court leadership abilities. She worked on un derstanding coach Mike McLaughlin better in ways such as getting into his mind a bit more, knowing what he is going to say before it is said, understanding what kind of call he might make, or translating his calls to her teammates on the floor.

Now commanding the team as co-captain in her last season as a Quaker, her evolved lead ership skills will be of the utmost importance, along with cherishing every moment.

“Even now, I don’t feel like I am done with the sport,” McGurk said. “I definitely want to continue to play after college in some type of adult league or anything of that sort. If I am in the position to coach in any way, even if it is just a volunteer opportunity, considering that here at Penn we do a lot of volunteer coaching opportu nities, I’d also want to do that.”

Being a Quaker is a dream come true for the West Chester, Pa. native. McGurk grew up in a basketball family and attended Penn basketball games often. She was immediately thrown into the sport from the moment she could grasp the ball.

The upcoming season with her Red and Blue family will be bittersweet, but with her eyes set on an Ivy League Championship title, McGurk hopes to extend her time on the court beyond the 27 regular season games.

game, but does a good job of keeping opponents out of the end zone and forcing turnovers. Through eight games, the Quakers have only allowed eight passing touchdowns while picking off opposing passers seven times, good for second and third in the Ivy League, respectively.

Senior defensive lineman Micah Morris em phasized the role of communication in potentially stopping, or at least slowing down, the Harvard of fense this Saturday.

“Last week, we got messed up on a couple of plays,” Morris said. “We … didn’t set the front in the right place and they had some breakout plays.”

On the other side of the ball, the Quakers can find more room to capitalize. Harvard’s defense has been allowing over 25 points and nearly 350 yards per game this season. Penn has been one of the most potent offenses in the conference in 2022 behind a balanced attack directed by first-year of fensive coordinator Dan Swanstrom and led by sophomore quarterback Aidan Sayin.

The Quakers have the potential to benefit from Harvard’s middling pass defense. Quarterbacks against the Crimson have averaged over 250 yards per game and tallied 16 touchdowns.

Priore, though, was reluctant to reveal what Penn’s strategy would be this week.

“[With] everything that we’ve done on offense and defense, you have to study the tape [and] see what people do,” he said. “You take advantage of what you feel your strengths are versus their

weaknesses, [but] I’m sure there’ll be a dash of ev erything.”

Regardless of the game plan to come, the Quak ers are optimistic about their chances of success this weekend. After having lost at Brown two weeks ago, last weekend’s triumph against Cornell was a nice bounce-back performance.

“It assured us of who we are,” Morris said. “After losing to Brown, we kind of scrambled, everybody was worried that we wouldn’t bounce back. But after beating Cornell, it definitely … [got us] back on track.”

Most importantly, their win keeps them in con trol of their own destiny in the Ivy League with 80% of the season in the books.

Penn will take on Harvard this Saturday at 1:00 pm from Franklin Field. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.

After mission trips to world championships, the rookie looks forward to a career with Penn

PHOTO BY DEREK WONG

Freshman Adam Thomson faces off against teammate junior Lucas Revano during the first day of the Wrestle-Offs competition at the Palestra on Nov. 5.

PHOTO BY ANNA VAZHAEPARAMBIL

Junior wide receiver Joshua Casilli looks to run the ball down the field during the Homecoming game against Yale at Franklin Field on Oct. 22.

Over Penn’s first three possessions, Larson and Lorca-Lloyd both turned the ball over, and Lorca-Lloyd missed a two-handed jam. And while Lorca-Lloyd poured in an excellent performance defensively, locking up Iona big man Nelly Junior Joseph and finishing with three blocks, those early miscues were ultimately a sign of things to come for Penn.

The Gaels’ offense operated at a frenetic pace, racing up and down the court with agility and abandon. Each missed shot or turnover from the Quakers threatened to ignite Iona’s blazing attack, and they were given no shortage of fuel. The Quakers turned the ball over a whopping 18 times, leading to 20 points for Iona.

“Once we made it a chaotic game, the game turned around,” Iona coach Rick Pitino said. “We’ve got great speed. We’re very athletic.”

Toward the middle of the first half, the Quakers led 17-11, but fell victim to Iona’s electric tempo. The Gaels sprinted out to a 37-4 run, highlighted by a ferocious one-handed jam from junior guard Daniss Jenkins, that further energized the already wild home crowd. From there, they never looked back.

After missing time in the preseason, both of Penn’s leading scorers from 2022, junior guard Jordan Dingle and junior guard Clark Slajchert, were full participants in the opener. But their abridged preparation time showed, with the pair shooting a combined 5-22 from the field and 0-13 from three.

“You stop Dingle, you neutralize him, that’s the game,” Jenkins said.

Iona is coached by Pitino, a legendary col lege basketball figure, who won national

championships in 1996 at Kentucky and in 2013 at Louisville. But in 2017, a recruiting scandal sent him into basketball exile, and resulted in his 2013 title being vacated. He joined Iona in 2020, and has led the Gaels to a 37-14 clip during his tenure. Last season, when asked if he would consider a return to the heavyweight class of the sport, Pitino said he was “in Heaven” at Iona.

Many of the critical errors for the Quakers are fixable — from taking care of the ball to convert ing their open looks from deep. But as far as its debut, Penn’s self-inflicted wounds in tandem with Iona’s pace were enough to ensure the Quak ers departed New Rochelle with an opening-night defeat.

The Quakers have two months of non-conference play to pull it all together. But, just like the Gaels, the regular season operates at a breakneck pace — a pace the Quakers must adapt to over the course of the year ahead.

of the AQs earn their spot by winning their respective conference tournament, but the remaining three are decided by conference standings — the Ivy League included. The rest of the field is filled through 25 at-large bids de termined by the committee. The top 16 seeds in the tournament also earn a first-round bye and automatically advance to the second round.

The committee will look at head-to-head competition, adjusted Rating Percentage Index, results against teams already selected, and per formance in the last eight games when the time for at-large selections comes — all promising criteria for the Red and Blue.

Penn had a 10-game undefeated streak snapped following its loss to Harvard on Oct. 29. Aside from this, the Quakers still boast a 6-1-1 record in their previous eight games and haven’t had an issue finding the back of the net or shutting out opponents all season.

The top 16 seeds and at-large bids will be an nounced at 1 p.m. on Nov. 14, with first-round play beginning just three days after.

Penn men’s soccer is one undefeated game away from its most successful season since 2013. For Penn to be dubbed as Ivy League champions and secure a spot in the NCAA Tour nament, the Quakers will have to beat two teams on Saturday, rather than one.

PHOTO BY ANNA VAZHAEPARAMBIL

Junior guard Jordan Dingle puts up a shot against Iona during the team’s season opener at Hynes Athletics Center in New Rochelle, N.Y. on Nov. 7.

PHOTO BY SAMANTHA TURNER

Senior midfielder Jack Rosener maneuvers around Columbia players during the Senior Night match-up at Penn Park on Nov. 5.

Football, soccer chasing championships

The Crimson contest: Penn’s crucial last chance at home

Just two games lie ahead of the Quakers after a thrilling run of seven wins and one loss

CALEB CRAIN Sports Associate

Penn football has won seven out of eight games this year, scoring 12 more points per game than its opponents. But with two games left, the fate of this season, and how it will be remembered, is still to be determined.

This Saturday, the Quakers (7-1, 4-1 Ivy) face a crucial test when they play Harvard (5-3, 3-2) at Franklin Field in the final home game of the 2022 campaign. If they win, Penn’s hopes of its first Ivy League title since 2016 will survive into Princeton next weekend.

But for any chance of success, the Quaker defense must find a way to contain the Ivy League’s most explosive player. Harvard run ning back Aidan Borguet has tallied over 1000 yards on the ground so far this season, nearly twice the next leading rusher in the confer ence. The senior star has averaged 6.0 yards per carry and notched 11 total touchdowns in 2022.

Penn coach Ray Priore mentioned stop ping Borguet as one of the priorities for the Quaker defense this week. In order to do it, the Red and Blue must resort to fundamentals.

“He does a great job of yards after con tact, he doesn’t go down easily,” Priore said. “I think the key with him is you … got to [tackle him] with more than one person. You got to have a lot of guys swarm to the pile.”

The Quakers have done a good job of bottling up powerful backs before. Last month, when Yale’s Tre Peterson came to town, he was held to just 37 yards, well below his season average of 76.6.

What might get lost behind Borguet’s brilliance, though, is the Crimson pass attack. Led by senior quarterback Charlie Dean, the Crimson stands fourth in the Ivy League by yards per game at 219.5. Dean has also been remarkably efficient, throwing 12 touchdown passes to only a trio of interceptions.

Harvard will face a Quaker pass defense that has been giving up a lot of yards at 221 per

Mandy McGurk: The mentors and motivations behind the co-captain of women’s basketball

Meet the starting point guard looking to lead by example and take the Quakers to new heights this season

ALEXIS GARCIA Sports Associate

Captains can be quiet and lead by example, or be loud and vocal — Mandy McGurk of Penn women’s basketball is the latter.

The senior point guard is coming off of a 2021-22 season filled with numerous careerbests — 108 points, 50 rebounds, 35 assists, and 31 steals — earning her the co-captain title this season alongside fellow senior guard Kayla Pa dilla. But for McGurk, such a stat line didn’t come easy.

As a result of COVID-19, all Ivy League winter sports were canceled and McGurk missed out on the entirety of her sophomore season, which she considers the biggest setback of her career.

“Freshman to sophomore year is usually a huge year for growth,” McGurk said. “You are stepping out of that rookie season and plan to have a bigger role. But we didn’t have a season my sophomore year, so it was difficult for the team to gauge our improvement as we weren’t playing against anyone. The same goes for me. I was having trouble gauging if I was improv ing my sophomore season and what that would amount to.”

But numbers don’t lie, and they certainly in dicate improvement.

McGurk jumped from the 12th to the fifthhighest scorer on the team her freshman to junior year, with her points per game average improving to 4.9 points per game from 1.1. This past season also saw her role in the starting lineup become solidified as she started 17 of the 22 games she played — averaging 22.9 minutes per game.

So what changed? How did McGurk trans form into the team’s on-the-court leader? Well,

she attributes much of her success to the men torship from former assistant coach and former Quaker Kendall Grasela.

“Kendall Grasela was a volunteer coach last year, and she’s been my biggest mentor since freshman year,” McGurk said. “She was the

person I always looked up to and the person my coaches always told me to look at on the court. I don’t think we have similar playing styles, but I think all the intangibles she used to bring to

Men’s soccer in control of NCAA Tournament destiny

ALEXIS GARCIA Sports Associate

This past weekend, Penn men’s soccer se cured its first win over Columbia since 2011. Now, the Quakers find themselves at the door step of an Ivy League title, with a bid to the NCAA Tournament on the line.

Penn (11-2-2, 5-1 Ivy) currently stands alone atop the Ancient Eight standings, on account of Cornell’s draw with Yale this past Satur day. However, the Big Red (12-3-1, 4-1-1) are not out of the running just yet. With only one game left in the regular season, the naming of Ivy League champion will come down to Penn’s matchup with Princeton, and Cornell’s matchup with Columbia this upcoming Satur day, Nov. 12.

The Tigers (6-5-4, 1-2-3) are the reigning Ivy champs, but currently hold the fifth spot in Ancient Eight standings after struggling with low-scoring performances in conference games as of late.

Of the nine possible scenarios that can play out, Penn corals a title in eight of them. The Red and Blue can clinch the championship and an automatic berth to the NCAA Tourna ment with either a win or a tie. Should Penn draw and Cornell win, the two teams would share the Ivy title, but Penn would collect the automatic tournament berth by virtue of defeating the Big Red in its head-to-head match earlier in the season.

If Penn loses and Cornell wins this weekend, the Quakers would fall to second place in the Ivy standings, losing the championship title and its automatic berth.

In such a case, though, the Quakers wouldn’t be entirely out of hope. Penn can still be awarded an at-large bid by the NCAA DI Men’s Soccer Committee.

A total of 48 teams will punch a ticket to the NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer tournament, with 23 of them being automatic qualifiers from each participating conference. Twenty

Iona alarms men’s basketball in 78-50 defeat

The Quakers spent their first game of the season away in a packed house

WALKER CARNATHAN Sports Associate

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. — A season ago, the Iona Gaels were a perfect 13-0 at their home arena, the crackling Hynes Athletic Center. On Monday night, Penn became the latest victim of their tenacious home court en vironment.

In the opening game of the 2022-23 cam paign, Penn fell to Iona 78-50, in New Rochelle, N.Y. It was a deflating outcome for the Quakers, who went through several brutal, scoreless stretches on offense and struggled to keep up with the Gaels’ up-tempo attack. De spite an early Quaker lead, Iona dominated the middle portion of the game, with a 37-4 scor ing run ultimately spelling doom for Penn.

The undeniable X-factor of the game was the Iona home crowd. With a student section packed to the gills and a general attendance that brimmed with both the accent and spirit of New York, the Gael faithful made life very difficult for the visiting Quakers. They booed Penn’s starters, erupted at every Iona basket, and made for a home court advantage that left a noticeable imprint on the contest.

“It was a good environment for college bas ketball,” Penn coach Steve Donahue said. “I think it’s a fun place. … I thought it got the best of us during that run in the first half.”

Penn employed a much larger starting lineup than it did in 2021, when small ball defined its offensive attack. Sophomore forward/center Gus Larson, 6-foot-10, and senior center Max Lorca-Lloyd, 6-foot-9, began the game for the Quakers, but struggled out of the gate.

A win at Princeton on Saturday guarantees a conference title and an automatic berth

PHOTOS BY ANNA VAZHAEPARAMBIL (LEFT) & SAMANTHA TURNER (RIGHT) DESIGN BY CALEB CRAIN & SOPHIA LIU

PHOTO BY KYLIE COOPER

Now-senior guard Mandy McGurk during last season’s away game against Brown on Jan. 2.