September 22, 2022

Penn to begin $35 million redevelopment of campus McDonald’s

Construction on the new 50,000-square-foot building is expected to begin by January 2023

JARED MITOVICH Senior Reporter

Penn will close the McDonald’s located on 40th and Walnut streets by January to redevelop the property into a 50,000-square-foot office and retail

Thebuilding.University entered an agreement to pur chase the store in December 2021, after years of Penn real estate leadership expressing interest in the property. In place of the restaurant, which has been a community and campus staple for over 50 years, Penn will construct a mixed-use, six-story office building. Executive Director of Real Estate Ed Datz told The Daily Pennsylvanian that McDon ald’s will be relocated into the new building.

“We’re committed to seeing McDonald’s return, and they’re equally excited to let that happen, both the operator and corporate McDonald’s, to be able to renew their retail presence there,” Datz said.

Datz said that the new building is estimated to cost between $35 million and $40 million, pending approval from the Board of Trustees. Construc tion is expected to begin by late December or early January 2023 — “immediately after” the standing McDonald’s closes — and is planned to be com pleted in fall 2024.

The relocated McDonald’s will be on the new development’s first floor and take up 7,500 square feet, which is larger than the restaurant’s current structural footprint.

The building will be developed by Mosaic De velopment Partners, a minority- and women-owned real estate firm that describes itself as intending to “revitalize neighborhoods and marginalized communities.” Datz said that the main reason the University sought to buy the current McDonald’s was because of its age and location on a “strategic corner” of University City.

“If you think about it, with [Gutmann College House] and the retail complex across the street and Acme, we do think that the 40th Street corridor is a very important corridor for University students and the community,” Datz said. “It’s really where all things intersect, so yes, we’d like to continue to see that continue to improve and enhance.”

While specific tenants are not finalized, the new building is expected to focus on student ser vices. Datz said that Facilities & Real Estates Services is working with the Division of the Vice Provost for University Life, which is “projected” to be a tenant. He said that final tenancy deci sions will be made after the building design goes through one more review process to complete

Wharton first year Vedika Jawa edges by nine others in packed class board presidential race

Jawa said that one of her biggest influences was her older brother who served as Class Board 2021 president during his first year

ALLYSON NELSON Staff Reporter

Penn Student Government announced the results of elections to Class Board 2026 and Undergradu ate Assembly Tuesday night.

Wharton first year Vedika Jawa will serve as presi dent of Class Board 2026. She received 190 votes — 39 more than runner-up College first year Ryan Schager. College first year Juan Lopez won the race for executive vice president, securing 237 votes to defeat runner-up College first year Isaac Tang’s 195 votes.

One of Jawa’s major influences in running for president, she said, was her older brother, 2021 Wharton and Engineering graduate Moksh Jawa, who served as Class Board 2021 president during his first “Seeingyear.him serve as class board president, I was able to see a lot of the experiences he was able to be part of, and seeing him lead the class and have such a great time,” Jawa told The Daily Pennsylvanian. “[It] made me more interested in student government.”

Jawa secured her position on Class Board 2026 among a competitive field of 10 candidates. She told the DP that she hopes to make all first years comfortable at Penn by creating a “welcoming and fun” environment at class traditions and events.

“I wanted everyone to feel like Penn was their home,” Jawa said.

Filling the Class Board 2026’s vice president po sitions will be Wharton first year Tiana Wang, who was elected vice president of finance; College first year Jeongmin Lee, who was elected vice president of internal affairs; and Wharton first year Michelle

the footprint of each floor. The McDonald’s lo cated at 3935 Walnut St. has sparked controversy among administrators and community members over the years, with some Penn community mem bers saying that the building’s presence attracts crime. In a 2011 interview with the DP, former Vice President for Public Safety and Penn Police Department Superintendent Maureen Rush said the McDonald’s presence is a “safety concern” due its ability to generate “unruly crowds.”

On Feb. 23 — one month after a grease fire erupted in its rear kitchen — the city issued the McDonald’s four violations of hood ventilation and cleaning codes. In March, multiple gunshots were fired outside of the building. A window of the McDonald’s was shattered in the encounter, and several shell casings were found on the street.

The McDonald’s opened around the fall of 1970 and was last sold in 1992 for $570,000. The

Philadelphia Office of Property Assessment most recently assessed the property’s 2023 market value to be Some$915,900.comments on a 2011 article published in West Philly Local also criticized Penn officials for characterizing the McDonald’s as a “scourge” on campus and condemned the University’s rede velopment of West Philadelphia neighborhoods as gentrification, reflecting broader concerns about the ongoing rise in market values in University City and its impact on the area’s affordability.

Other community members have said they be lieve concerns about McDonald’s are connected to anti-Black racism. In a 2011 interview with the DP, West Philadelphia resident Larry Falcon said safety concerns are a “veil” for racism targeting young Black West Philadelphia residents.

ELIZABETH MEISENZAHL Senior Reporter

Two students are facing disciplinary action from top Penn officials for allegedly disrupting Convocation last month to protest the eviction of University City Townhomes residents.

College senior Andrés Gonzalez-Bonillas and second-year Engineering master’s student Ari Bortman received emails on Sept. 16 informing them of the beginning of disciplinary proceedings based on their alleged involvement in the Convo cation protest, which took place on Aug. 29. The students told The Daily Pennsylvanian they believe the University is targeting them for disciplinary consequences in an effort to stifle the protests against the impending sale of the UC Townhomes, an affordable housing complex located at 39th and Market streets.

“The reporter, Division of the Vice Provost for University Life, alleges that you interfered un reasonably with the activities of others, namely participants in the 2022 Penn Convocation on Col lege Green, when you shouted and spoke into a bullhorn while speakers were delivering prepared remarks to the audience,” the email sent by the Center for Community Standards and Accountabil ity to Gonzalez-Bonillas reads.

“The report further alleges that you refused to stop this conduct when asked by campus adminis trators and that your actions caused an abrupt end to the event before all scheduled programming had been completed,” the email continued. VPUL’s Ex ecutive Director of Strategic Initiatives Michael Elias declined to comment.

The Coalition to Save the UC Townhomes, a group of community members representing the nearly 70 families living in the housing complex, organized the demonstration during the Convoca tion ceremony to educate the students on Penn’s role in the residents’ displacement. While Penn does not own the UC Townhomes and does not plan to purchase the property, activists — including UC Townhomes residents, Penn students, and faith leaders — believe the University should intervene

in the sale due to its role in gentrifying West Phila delphia.Bortman said he and Gonzalez-Bonillas believe they are the only two students facing disciplinary action for their alleged involvement in the Convo cation disruption of the approximately 100 students involved.“Thestudents involved in this matter have been referred to the [Center for] Community Standards and Accountability,” University spokesperson Ron Ozio wrote in an email to The Daily Pennsylva nian. “We will not comment further on any pending student disciplinary matters.”

The two students said they received the emails within the same hour as those that went out to Fossil Free Penn coordinators, who have been hold ing an indefinite encampment on College Green

Amy Wax

cancerproceedings,offormemorandumsubmitsdismissaldisciplinarycitingtreatment

The 59-page document claims that Wax is undergoing treatment for “lifethreatening” cancer, meriting the postponement of the proceedings until “at least” the end of the year

JARED MITOVICH Senior Reporter

Amy Wax’s legal team submitted a memorandum seeking the dismissal of the ongoing University disciplinary proceedings against her on grounds of a “disabled state” from illness.

The 59-page memorandum claims that Wax — the tenured Penn Law School professor who is facing potential punishment for her inflammatory conduct — is undergoing treatment for “life-threat ening” cancer, and asks for postponement of the ongoing proceedings until “at least” the end of the year. David Shapiro, Wax’s lawyer, sent the docu ment to Faculty Senate Chair Vivian L. Gadsden, who is overseeing the proceedings, on Aug. 31.

In the memorandum — which was published on conservative website Legal Insurrection — Wax’s lawyers also made numerous additional requests which, if not met, may “force” Wax to file a formal grievance procedure. This proce dure serves as a way for faculty to claim that University action taken against them is unrea sonable, discriminatory, or non-compliant with school

Amongpolicy.itssix requests, the memorandum asked Gadsden to dismiss the current charges against Wax, bar Penn Law Dean Ted Ruger from acting as the charging party, and appoint an “independent forensic expert” to examine Wax’s unsubstantiated claims that Black law students “rarely” perform in the top half of their class.

“The substantive and procedural problems with the proceedings instituted by Dean Ruger are im mense and require immediate rectification before any more harm is done to the University, the Law School, Professor Wax, and other University stake holders,” the memorandum reads.

Wax, Shapiro, and Ruger did not respond to the DP’s requests for comment.

Penn Law declined to comment on Wax’s numer ous allegations against Ruger and the University

calling on Penn to divest its endowment from fossil fuels, stop the eviction of UC Townhomes resi dents, and make Payments In Lieu of Taxes to the City of Philadelphia’s public schools. FFP coordi nators involved in the encampment have also been referred to CSA, Ozio told the DP.

Bortman, a 2022 Engineering graduate, said he believes his involvement in student activism and protest throughout his time as an undergraduate at Penn — including with FFP, Police Free Penn, and Penn Against the Occupation — was a factor in his referral to Gonzalez-BonillasCSA. similarly felt singled out due to their involvement in previous on-campus pro tests during which Penn Police were present.

University refers students for disciplinary action after UC Townhomes protest at Convocation say the action is an effort to single out highly stifle and deflect attention from the causes

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PHOTO BY ANNA VAZHAEPARAMBIL

Save the UC Townhomes protesters at Convocation on Aug. 29, 2022.

In the past, Penn officials have expressed interest in purchasing and redeveloping the Mc Donald’s building. In 2011, then-Director of Real Estate Paul Sehnert told the DP that he wanted to transform the building into a residential space with restaurants and retail.

The McDonald’s had previously planned to re locate in 2001 to 43rd and Market streets, but construction was canceled following petitions by Falcon and the activist group he founded, Neighbors Against McPenntrification, who were concerned about how construction disturbed their“We’reneighborhoods.veryexcited about this project,” Datz said. “We’re hopeful that everybody appreciates the renewal of the McDonald’s and a building that contributes to the overall environment there.”

Faces of Black Penn returns, onofdecades-longrevitalizinghistoryBlackpublicationscampus

MATTEO BUSTERNA Senior Reporter

Faces of Black Penn, a publication highlighting the Black student experience at Penn, is returning this se mester, reviving a long history of platforms uplifting Black students’ voices and achievements on campus.

The first edition of the newly revived Faces of Black Penn publication will be released this No vember. The returning publication seeks to amplify the Black student experience on campus through a variety of media including photography; jour nalism; opinion pieces; and student, alumni, and professorCollegespotlights.juniorTarah Paul and College senior Marcus Ramirez are leading the creation of the 2022 Fall Edition of Faces of Black Penn as joint editors-in-chief. Both students said they were in spired by past efforts and successes to center the Black experience at Penn through publications.

“There have always been moments in Black Penn history in which students have tried to create Black literary outlets,’’ Paul said. “[We want to] continue

the legacy that was started by previous generations and to be a larger publication, focusing on issues of Black student life and Black Penn culture.”

The creators look forward to establishing Faces of Black Penn as a long-term publication inspired by older publications which center Black identity and experience.

“Black voices, specifically, compete for vis ibility and having a strong presence on campus,” Ramirez said.

In fall 2019, the Faces of Black Penn magazine, published by the Black Student League, highlighted student interviews and photographs of Black Penn students. Paul and Ramirez said they plan to expand on the 2019 edition and create a publica tion that offers more opportunities for students to express“We’rethemselves.tryingto showcase and highlight the stories, the experiences, and the opinions of Black students at Penn,” College junior and the publica tion’s Campus and Culture Creative Editor Mason

PerryThesaid.first

Black publication at Penn was released in 1979 as a yearbook called “Black Pride ’79: Black Student News Anthology,” which focused on Black student life, extracurricular activities, and in terests, according to Reflections: The UPenn Black History Project.

In the following years, Penn students also founded a multicultural magazine called The Voice in 1982 and The Vision in 1989. The latter would become the longest-running publication focusing on Black student life, popular culture, and campus events, publishing sporadically through the ‘90s.

A version of The Vision briefly returned to campus in September 2014 as a weekly column in The Daily Pennsylvanian featuring Black voices on campus, but the opinion column ended in February the following year.

“[Similar publications] have always been an im portant facet of Black Penn,” Paul said. “And it’s

always been an important facet of being able to share our stories. And to have our stories be recognized.”

Brian Peterson, the director of Makuu: The Black Cultural Center, has taught classes on the history and advocacy of publications centering the Black experience at Penn. He said that he believes in the importance of student-led initiatives like Faces of Black Penn.

“Advocacy is fueled by publications [like The Vision] by having a space to say we need to talk about our experiences and our stories,” Peterson told the DP. “Black Penn has always had its own narrative, but it just depends on student capacity and how to really leverage different resources.”

2022 College graduate Hadriana Lowenkron, the first Black editor-in-chief of the DP, said she has

emphasized efforts to center more Black voices at Penn in her tenure as a senior editor. Lowenkron said she hopes that, in the future, the DP will col laborate with the Faces of Black Penn publication to highlight more Black voices on campus.

“[Faces of Black Penn] gives students a chance to share their opinions, their thoughts, their ideas, and highlight all of their talent,” Lowen kron told the DP.

The publication’s creators said they are ex cited for students to see the 2022 Fall Edition of Faces of Black Penn, which will be released this“WeNovember.areexcited for [Black students] to see it and hope that it resonates well with them and they see themselves in the magazine,” Perry said.

Ph.D. student campaigns to build new SEPTA line in Northeast Philadelphia

EVA NEE Senior Reporter

Jay Arzu, a second-year Ph.D. student at Penn’s Stuart Weitzman School of Design, is leading a cam paign to construct a new subway line in Northeast Philadelphia.Theproposed line, which will be called the Roo sevelt Boulevard Subway, would stretch as far north as Neshaminy in Bucks County, Pa., and will con tinue south to Center City, according to Arzu. The line will also connect to the Broad Street Line and extend the Market-Frankford Line by one mile. The line — which could take the form of either an el evated line or a subway — would provide Northeast Philadelphia residents faster and more convenient transportation to Center City, Arzu said.

“Northeast Philadelphia is an area that has 500,000 people. It’s larger than the island of Manhat tan, and it has very, very poor public transportation connection to the rest of the city,” Arzu said.

While also working on his Ph.D. in City and Re gional Planning at Weitzman, Arzu is heading the campaign for the Roosevelt Boulevard line with sup port from Pennsylvania state Rep. Jared Solomon and 5th Square, Philadelphia’s urbanist political action committee. After Arzu began campaigning for the project in February 2022, he worked with the group to hold a public town hall on Aug. 27 to gauge the community’s opinion.

“I was nervous to see how many people would come. Would people actually show up and show face for something like this? So I got there and people just started streaming in, and the room was standing room only,” Arzu said about the Aug. 27 town hall.

At the town hall, there was a whiteboard with three options: “subway,” “elevated rail,” and “im prove bus service,” where the attendees could tally their votes. The majority of the people tallied their

votes under elevated rail or subway, which are “kind of interchangeable” because the Roosevelt Boule vard Subway could be a subway that turns into an elevated rail, Arzu said.

“People were just so gung-ho about the subway idea,” Arzu said.

One of the main reasons for the construction of the subway line is to reduce the traffic on Roosevelt Boulevard, a 12-lane highway that contains some of the most dangerous intersections in the country, as designated by State Farm Insurance.

Arzu says the line is especially important for the

one day after the Coalition to Save the UC Townhomes posted a picture of them on Instagram, according to College senior and Coalition to Save the UC Town homes member Gigi Varlotta.

minority communities that have moved to Northeast Philadelphia. For people who don’t have a car, the commute from Northeast Philadelphia to Center City can take over an hour. With the new line, the trip would take 35 minutes, Arzu says. He adds that it is important that people who do not have a car can also have access to opportunities in the city, and that people from other areas of Philadelphia should be able to access the culture in Northeast Philadelphia.

“I would say most Penn students have never been in Northeast Philadelphia because the commuter rail lines that run there are not convenient to anybody,” Arzu said.

Although the majority of the community is in favor of establishing the Roosevelt Boulevard Subway, the team faces several challenges — such as the cost of the line. According to Arzu, the price of the project will likely cost anywhere between $7 billion to $10 billion.

Arzu referenced the National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank as a source of funding for the project, from which Philadelphia would obtain a low-interest loan to build the subway. However, the projected price of the line will only increase with time, Arzu said.

“What needs to happen is that there has to be a way to get this fully funded from the beginning be cause otherwise, Philadelphia can’t afford it,” Arzu said. “The state of Pennsylvania can’t afford it. We need everyone to come together.”

Another challenge for the project is gaining the cooperation of SEPTA. According to Arzu, SEPTA has other priorities, such as the King of Prussia Rail. The King of Prussia Rail will have about 4,000 riders, while a 1999-2003 study projected 124,500 riders for the Roosevelt Bou levard Subway.

The subway also needs to be approved by the government with an environmental impact state ment, a process that can take anywhere from three to five Arzuyears.addedthat the physical construction of the subway would be a “huge endeavor” if approved, but would create thousands of jobs and economic development.

“I’m putting my feet on the pavement because I know that the process of getting the community to gether is going to take so much time. Meanwhile, there are community members who need the subway today. I’m fighting every day,” Arzu said.

“I’m a Chicano Latinx activist that’s been visible for a lot of actions across campus, and I feel especially singled out in that they report that I put a stop to [Convo cation], when there was a community and coalition-led action of expression that was right there,” GonzalezBonillasGonzalez-Bonillassaid. said they believe the CSA referral is the result of University surveillance of student activ ists, particularly on social media. Bortman added that students who disrupted President Liz Magill’s speech at Convocation declined to show their PennCards in response to requests from officials, which led him to believe that he and Gonzalez-Bonillas were identified by the University by other means.

Gonzalez-Bonillas received the email from CSA

Both Bortman and Gonzalez-Bonillas said they be lieve the lack of information around the timeline of the CSA proceedings and what consequences they could face serve to discourage the act of student protest. The letter Gonzalez-Bonillas received instructed him to reach out to case managers in CSA by Sept. 23, but did not provide any further timeline for the proceedings.

“I think that what the new administration is doing in its intimidation of student protesters, they’re trying to set a dangerous precedent,” Gonzalez-Bonillas said. “In these actions of expression we’re trying to demand something of the University as students, as people in this community, and we’re being singled out and and possibly reprimanded for that, as opposed to the University actually listening to our demands and the demands of the surrounding community.”

PHOTO FROM MARCUS RAMIREZ

Faces of Black Penn is a publication highlighting the Black student experience at Penn.

PHOTO BY JESSE ZHANG

Demonstrators protest at the Class of 2026 Convocation on Aug. 29, 2022.

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A SEPTA trolley pulls into a stop on Oct. 7, 2021.

The publication seeks to amplify the Black student experience on campus through photography, journalism, and more

PHOTO BY ROGER GE

but said that the University process is still underway. Gadsden wrote to the DP that she is unable to com ment on the memorandum.

Wax — a self-described “race realist” who has a years-long history of stirring national controversy by making racist, xenophobic, and homophobic remarks on podcasts and national television — is under a faculty investigation that Ruger initiated in January.Inadherence to the formal University procedure for seeking disciplinary action against tenured faculty, Ruger has charged Wax with violating Uni versity standards and has recommended that the Faculty Senate impose a “major sanction” against her, which could result in the professor being stripped of her tenure protection, or fired.

The memorandum from Wax’s lawyers claims that during the proceedings, Ruger has refused to pro vide medical accommodation to Wax throughout her cancer treatment under the Americans with Disabili ties Act. The memorandum asked Gadsden to delay the current proceedings until Wax’s “disabled state” from treatment has abated, portraying their request as an issue of fairness.

The memorandum also claims additional pro cedural, legal, and ethical issues with the current proceedings against Wax, arguing that the current charges should be dismissed.

It asked the University to publicize data and in formation substantiating the charges that Ruger outlined in his June report to the Faculty Senate, where he accused Wax of repeated “racist” conduct — such as hosting “renowned white supremacist” Jared Taylor in her seminar LAW 956: “Conserva tive Political and Legal Thought” in November 2021.

The memorandum reiterated many of Wax’s pre vious counterarguments, including that Penn Law consented to Wax’s request for permission for Taylor to speak in the class and that the school reimbursed the lunch at White Dog Café where Taylor spoke with

Thestudents.Penn Law alumni and faculty quoted in Ruger’s report, most of whom are Black, detail instances of Wax making racist and homophobic re marks in front of them against people of color and LGBTQ individuals. In one instance, Wax allegedly told 2012 Penn Law graduate Lauren O’GarroMoore, who is Black, that she had only become a double Ivy “because of affirmative action.”

Since Ruger’s report calling for “major sanctions” against her, Wax has appeared more frequently on a variety of conservative talk shows and podcasts

— including that of conservative commentator Char lie Kirk. She has repeatedly refuted the allegations regarding her conduct and reiterated inflammatory statements. She previously said she would not resign or accept being fired “without a fight.”

Wax has started a fundraising campaign for her legal defense against the University and has raised over $180,000 so far on GoFundMe.

During an August appearance on “The Glenn Show” — the show where she previously ignited controversy after telling host Glenn Loury that the United States would be better off “with fewer Asians and less Asian immigration” — Wax called accusa tions of racism against her “laughable.”

“There is so much palaver and cheap talk in that set of accusations, I wouldn’t know where to start,” Wax told Loury, describing her case as the “death of academic freedom.”

Wax accused universities like Penn of giving

minority students “a pass on rigor, on logic, on ob jectivity” that should not be given to them, saying that they are allowed to use their struggles as a crux and should instead “grow up.” She connected this ac cusation to her criticism of affirmative action, saying that its beneficiaries are “over-placed” relative to theirDuringclassmates.theshow, Wax denied telling O’GarroMoore, a Yale University graduate who attended Penn Law, that the only reason she was admitted to two Ivy League universities was because of affirma tive“Iaction.havenever said that to any student,” Wax said to Loury. “In what class? What was the lesson? What was the context? Nothing is supplied; it’s just this kind of fertile imagination that I said this.” O’Garro-Moore told the DP that Wax made that comment to her during the second semester of her first year of law school, during a reception following

an event hosted by the Penn Black Law Students As sociation.“There is really something to be said for the power of self confidence and knowing that you can do something and hearing someone say very clearly and plainly that they do not believe that you are capable of it simply because you are of a different race. That is really, really damaging,” O’Garro-Moore said.

O’Garro-Moore added that Wax represents some one who is testing how far she can get away with “unchecked” influence and protection while hurt ing those who have encountered her. She said there are other people who have conservative philosophies that could do a good job teaching without harming their

“Overall,students.Istill hold my experience [at Penn Law] in the highest esteem,” O’Garro-Moore said. “I feel that it was just a shame that [Wax] also gets to say that she’s a part of Penn Law.”

Fossil Free Penn is camping out “indefinitely” on College Green, demanding that Penn preserve the Uni versity City Townhomes and divest from fossil fuels.

Students began setting up tents on Sept. 14. Accord ing to College junior Jae Hargest, an FFP coordinator, they intend to remain until their demands are met. As part of the protest’s focus on supporting the townhome residents, FFP joined with the Save the UC Townhomes coalition to host a teach-in today at 3 p.m. to educate the Penn community about climate justice and gentrifica tion.Currently, residents of the UC Townhomes — a hous ing development near Penn that is primarily occupied by Black and low-income Philadelphians — face eviction on Oct. College8. junior and FFP coordinator Megha Neelapu said that University administrators have “tried to intimi date” the group during the encampment.

University spokesperson Ron Ozio wrote to The Daily Pennsylvanian that “students violated Univer sity policy when they erected tents on College Green and refused to comply with multiple requests to remove the tents and leave the area. Their actions also stood to disrupt planned events on College Green that had been properly reserved by other students on campus.”

Hargest told the DP that while the group plans to camp indefinitely, “it is a duty of ours to make sure that we are not interfering with other student groups by using this space, and so we want to be accommodating.”

Ozio added that students involved were referred to the Center of Community Standards and Accountabil ity, and that the Penn administration has made an offer to meet with FFP, which was declined. CSA declined to comment.“There is nothing new in any of the student ‘de mands,’ to which the University has responded

repeatedly over the years,” Ozio wrote.

In a press release today, FFP clarified its three main demands from the University: to preserve the Univer sity City Townhomes by committing funds to preserve them and meeting with residents this month, to divest Penn’s endowment from both indirect and direct fossil fuel holdings by 2025, and to pay PILOTs — payments in lieu of taxes — to public schools in Philadelphia.

“The ask from the townhomes is to pay 5 to 10 mil lion as a symbolic amount to support affordable housing to the city so that the city can buy the block,” Hargest added.Penn’s most recent policy change regarding fossil fuels took place in November, when administrators announced Penn would halt new commitments to pri vate equity vehicles dedicated to investments in fossil fuel production. At the time, FFP coordinator and then-Engineering senior Ari Bortman told The Daily Pennsylvanian that this move was “not [University] di vestment in any sense.”

Neelapu said that she feels the demands are “really clear,” and said that the members of FFP do not think that further meetings with the administration will be productive, but instead “a waste of time.”

“We’ve tried to go through the correct, normal chan nels. We’ve submitted divestment proposals, we’ve done town halls, things like that,” she said. “When we became more of a direct action group, that was as a last resort because we were like, ‘Okay, clearly, you know, all admin listens to is stuff like this.’”

In April, FFP camped out on College Green for six days to call on the University to divest and support cli mate justice. Penn Police had asked for the Penn IDs of several organizers and the Office of Student Conduct held a meeting to discuss the incident.

“We are here with a larger focus, because our goal right now is to camp here until we get our demands met,” College sophomore and FFP coordinator Eug Xu said.

FFP connected its three demands in the press release by stating that they all relate to climate justice, adding that the encampment intends to occupy campus until the University commits to preserving the townhomes.

“The people who are most affected by climate change are people who are going to be displaced because of things like gentrification,” said Xu.

Students have previously participated in and helped lead protests against the UC Townhomes residents’ looming eviction. Additionally, UC Townhomes resi dents and supporters interrupted Convocation during Penn President Liz Magill’s first speech to students on Aug.

“We29.are a climate justice organization, which means that we don’t think that climate change is a far-off distant possibility where everyone dies and is treated equally in that sense,” Xu said. “We believe that climate change is hurting people now. And that there needs to be action now to stop climate change and to diminish the effects of climate change on the people that it hurts the most.”

Chen, who was elected vice president of external af fairs.College first year Eric Lee was the sole candidate for Class Board 2026’s two College class chairs. En gineering sophomore and Nominations & Elections Committee Vice Chair of Elections Yousef Elyoussef told the DP that there will be a special election to fill the vacant position, with information to be released soon.Wharton first year Akash George will serve as Wharton class chair, Engineering first year Faraz Rahman will serve as Engineering class chair, and Nursing first year Ellie Mayers will serve as Nursing class

Thechair.eight new student representative seats on the UA will be filled by Chen, Lee, Lopez, Wang, Whar ton first year Martina Bulgarelli, College first year August Crane, College first year Jaideep Grewal, and

College first year Abhay Srivastava. Elyoussef said that the new transfer student representative will be elected during the transfer student elections, which are set to take place this upcoming Thursday through Sunday.Thisyear, 935 students voted in the Class Board 2026 presidential race, down slightly from last year’s turnout of 970. Turnout has not yet returned to preCOVID-19 pandemic levels, when 1,160 votes were cast in the 2019 new student elections — the last elec tion held before the pandemic.

Elyoussef said that the NEC worked with multiple cultural and socioeconomic groups on campus to encourage first years to run for student government, using classwide emails, GroupMe chats, and social media to publicize the election. He added that the NEC believes the election season went well overall.

“We definitely think that this election has done a lot better than previous years just because we were able to work with other branches [of] student government to make sure that the election was fair and appropriate, and that it happened in a timely manner,” Elyoussef said. “A lot of our candidates campaigned very well.”

DESIGN BY TYLER KLIEM

PHOTO FROM VEDIKA JAWA

PHOTO BY ANA GLASSMAN

Protesting with a purpose: Analyzing the UC Townhomes movement TAKE | Can spreading awareness come at the cost of intentionality?

The futility of civic engagement at Penn

P rotests are undoubtedly an extra-le gal characteristic of our democracy and Anglo American political tradition. Mobs were used as means of civic en gagement in England and later colonial America, and were often considered a routine, if not always approved and ap preciated, way for people to voice their grievances. Nevertheless, it would be ignorant and untruthful to say that all protests are created equal in their inten tion, delivery, and impact.

In his piece, “The Moral Economy of the English Crowd in the Eighteenth Century,” historian E. P. Thompson holds that a riot with merits is one that is “disciplined and with clear objectives.”

Activists throughout history have some times failed to deliver on this quality.

The recent protest by the Coalition to Save the UC Townhomes at Penn’s Class of 2026 Convocation has brought about conversations regarding the merit and le gitimacy of various forms of activism all around campus. The protest, which inter rupted new President Liz Magill midway through her speech at Convocation and continued on until the end of Convoca tion, brought on mixed reactions from first years, many of whom were deeply frustrated about their Convocation being taken from them.

College first year Krystof Purtell ex pressed his concerns with the actions of the protestors, stating that “I think Con vocation is a core tradition of the Penn college experience, and it was stripped away from us. The protesters clearly in tended to end Convocation, not just get their message heard, considering they continued for so long. They should’ve eventually stopped; I don’t see how they benefited by continuing despite jeers from the crowd and clear disinterest from much of the class.”

As a student in the Class of 2024 who had her own Convocation, among many other pinnacle Penn first-year experiences, stripped from her by the COVID-19 pandemic, I sympathize with Purtell’s dismay. Convocation is ex tremely trivial compared to people losing their homes, however, so the question then arises: Was the coalition’s Convoca tion disruption meaningful? And did the protest have “clear objectives” beyond disruption?Despiteobvious consequences for the students whose Convocation was inter rupted, the protestors succeeded in doing something that could have only been delivered at a first-year event — awak ening an entire class of students before their very first day of class. Wharton first year Adrian Rafizadeh, reflecting on the success of the protest, said, “I think that the protestors achieved their goal — start a conversation about the issue, identify supporters, and rally them to take action. No incoming freshman knew about it prior to the protest. Afterward, it got us all

Whiletalking.”informing the first-year students of their place in the broader Philadelphia

community, which Penn notoriously ne glects, is a valiant cause, it is important to do so in a way that is truthful and mo tivates them to feel a calling for activism rather than breeding resentment.

A commonly held misconception re garding the UC Townhomes is that they are owned by Penn. The signs held by protestors at Convocation certainly said as much: “PENN is DISPLACING BLACK FAMILIES.” But the town homes are, in fact, privately owned, and the displacement which is motivating the protests is rooted in the discontinuation of a federal affordable housing contract and the current owner of the UC Town homes’ plan to sell the property.

That being said, there is no doubt that an argument is to be made for the role Penn has historically played in the gen trification (or “Penntrification,” as it is referred to on campus) of West Phila delphia, notably by purchasing more and more property around campus. Si multaneously, it is true that Penn is the largest employer in the city, holding a wide sphere of political and economic influence, and that it operates as a 501(c) (3) organization with tax-exempt status.

As a result, protesters and organizers have expressed their desire to hold Penn accountable for what they see as their historic mistreatment of the community, despite not owning the townhomes them selves. This is a reasonable and fair goal, but yet seems inconsistent with the pro test itself, given it was directed at people who hold no responsibility for Penn’s pre vious actions. The students who lost their Convocation, and Magill, who has only been president for a few short months, have played no role in the institutional faults of the University. They simulta neously haven’t had the opportunity to prove themselves, or what they can do to better the West Philadelphia community.

At the same time, getting an audience with an acknowledgment by Magill may be valuable in the public relations of the coalition’s cause, but fails to help deliver concrete action on the issue. Magill, whether she might want to or not, does not have the power herself to purchase the townhomes, or change city policy. Rather, protests like the one the coali tion organized last week at City Hall are more likely to deliver concrete responses, such as the joint statement signed by City Councilmembers Helen Gym and Kendra Brooks.Thereality is that civic engagement without disruption is unrealistic, inef fectual, and un-American. However, that should not resolve us to overlook how to effectively deliver our desired solutions in a “disciplined” way with “clear objec tives.”

eeting the chants of dozens of protest ers crashing one of the largest first-year events, new Penn President Liz Magill simply replied with: “My message tonight is about the importance of productive disagreement … May I go back to my speech?”

M

Penn’s image as a university heavily involved in the community is one that is consistently touted in every admissions bro chure, tour, speech, and mission statement. Civic engagement is an inseparable part of the University’s brand. And yet, when faced with radical, disruptive action from the community — like from the recent Save the UC Town homes protest at Convocation — University officials easily dismiss their demands under the guise of “productive disagreement.”

At times feeble, at times aggressive, but mostly entirely dismissive, Penn’s actions — or lack thereof — in response to student ac tivism stand in stark contrast to their branding as a university centered around community involvement. What civic engagement really means for Penn is something that we, espe cially the new students still navigating this unfamiliar environment, must interrogate.

The conscious choice to organize the Con vocation protest to be publicly visible and actively disruptive was crucial to expose the University’s complicity in the forcible dis placement of Black families, and Magill and the Board of Trustees’ ambivalence toward the organizers’ demands. By doing so, new community members were made aware of the months-long fight to prevent the impend ing eviction of 68 families just blocks from campus while, simultaneously, intense pres sure was applied on the new administration. While some students’ irritation toward the Convocation protest is, to an extent, un derstandable — and Magill’s indignation, expected — the protest accomplished exactly what it was designed to do: disrupt. In choos ing to demonstrate at one of the biggest events of the year, attended by virtually every top University official and a sizable portion of the student body, the Coalition achieved radical visibility for the cause in front of thousands of communityDisruptivestakeholders.protestswith radical demands have a storied — and occasionally success ful — history at Penn. Student-led protests led to the creation of the current Africana Stud ies Department and establishment of Du Bois College House, as well as the introduction of courses in Asian American Studies. Yet, for every protest, there is an equally striking story of Penn’s repression. Workers’ attempts at unionizing were met with aggressive unionbusting tactics, and last semester, Fossil Free Penn’s encampment was met with hostile police response, among countless other ex amples. Penn, in an attempt to intimidate student activists involved in both the Convo cation protest and the current College Green encampment, has threatened students with disciplinary action.

Any actions from Penn have always been performative, with the goal of placating and ulti mately silencing students — for example, Amy Gutmann participating in students’ “die-in” for the cameras, but then refusing to entertain their demands. Penn has consistently positioned itself as explicitly anti-radical; countless student

protests and lists of detailed demands are met with empty platitudes, then business as usual — “May I go back to my speech?”

Penn’s largely disingenuous vision of civic engagement must be understood within the context of the fact that the status quo benefits the University to the tune of hundreds of mil lions of dollars a year. In the absence of any active public challenges to its financial and administrative operations, Penn is able to continue its highly profitable and damaging activities with next to no transparency. Penn’s institutional greed is the biggest obstacle to progress.Tothis end, Penn has created an envi ronment where meaningful protest isn’t necessarily easy and accessible; it has a vested interest in pushing down, co-opting, and sani tizing radical thought and action. But that’s why activism, especially disruptive public ac tivism, is all the more necessary. And it has been successful before, even at other extremely wealthy and prestigious institutions — after student pressure, Harvard divested from fossil fuels, and despite resistance from their admin istration, Columbia student workers managed to win a Trulyunion.meaningful civic engagement does not fit into the neat boxes Penn provides — after all, it’s in Penn’s best interest that a cul ture of silence prevails around its institutional negligence and profiteering. But part of being an engaged student is constantly questioning and challenging the University’s power, and putting those in charge in uncomfortable posi tions which force them to listen.

Protecting Penn — or remaining indifferent — will not protect you. If you are really inter ested in civic engagement at Penn, learn about its history. Learn about the MOVE bombing, the Morton Collection, the decades of dis placement and Penntrification, its neglect of Philadelphia public schools, its experiments on prisoners, ties to slavery, its excessive policing, and its unremitting exploitation of, and violence against, the city that houses the University.

Understand this history, and help fight against its replication. It’s not going to boost your resume and it won’t fit neatly into the pro grams Penn provides us, but it’ll be one of the most important things you do during your time at Penn.Penn is not an abstract, benevolent force, but a multibillion dollar institution with en trenched interests which have tangible impacts on Philadelphia, the environment, and the world. Protests are loud, they are messy, and they are inconvenient. But this is how change occurs.After all, how is change anything but dis ruptive?

VINAY KHOSLA is a College sopho more studying history and political science from Baltimore. His email is vkhosla@sas.upenn.edu.

TAJA MAZAJ is a College junior study ing political science from Skippack, Pa. Her email is tajam@sas.upenn.edu.

Penn has the responsibility of being a civic leader COLUMN Civic engagement starts with a vote

At the tail end of the pandemic, I am look ing for ways to make up for the lack of community-oriented opportunities that char acterized the last years. In my experience, emergence from the pandemic marked a re newed personal need to get involved: Time spent acquiescing turned into time spent or ganizing. I sought opportunities to strengthen my civic engagement at Penn, which I have found through my involvement at Penn Leads thePennVote.Leads the Vote is a nonpartisan orga nization led by undergraduate and graduate students, rooted in promoting democratic engagement on Penn’s campus. PLTV recog nizes the unique position the University has to influence the civic habits of the surrounding community. We encourage students to de velop and share positive civic habits early in their lives. Penn has the privilege and respon sibility of being a civic leader in Philadelphia. As Penn affiliates, it is our responsibility to uphold and execute the influence Penn is situ ated to have in the community. Penn students have the tools to be ambassadors of civic

engagement in the community, and it starts with a vote.

In the 2020 presidential general election, 77% of eligible Penn students voted accord ing to the 2020 National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement Report, marking a 9.2% increase in turnout from that of the 2016 election. Penn’s voter participation sur mounted the national college student voter turnout rate by 11%. The progress repre sented by this data indicates Penn students responding to and acting upon their respon sibility to vote, and taking advantage of the opportunity to help create the world they envision. Penn Leads the Vote has worked tirelessly to make this happen, educating and registering students year round. In order for Penn to achieve 100% eligible voter turn out by 2028, it is imperative to build on the momentum from these historical improve ments. While we’ve come far, we still have a long way to go.

In an effort to build on this momentum, Penn Leads the Vote hopes to alleviate the stress of the voting and registration process.

As Penn students, you are eligible to vote in Pennsylvania or in your home state if you are a citizen of the United States. We can help you change, check, or create your voter reg istration. If you have an existing registration in your home state, you may, but do not have to, change your registration to Pennsylvania. In a swing state like Pennsylvania, one vote could be the difference in highly contended elections like the gubernatorial race ahead. Changing your registration will not affect your financial aid or residency status. We’re here to make registration easy, so you can vote with confidence.

Keep up with Penn Leads the Vote events on our Instagram and Twitter @pennvotes. Register to vote in five minutes or less, or con firm or change your existing registration with the help of PLTV staff and volunteers. Take advantage of our events to support civic en gagement on Penn’s campus and inspire your peers to mobilize, too. This fall we’ll be tabling at College Houses, sporting events, and more.

Penn Leads the Vote tabling is made possible by volunteers committed to

strengthening voter participation and edu cation. If you want to create a more active and informed Penn, volunteer with Penn Leads the Vote! As ambassadors of youth civic engagement, we need your help reg istering new voters and providing voting information. Sign up to volunteer by emailing pennvoters@upenn.edu. All are welcome to help mobilize, including our friends who can’t vote. Visit our website vote.upenn.edu for more information on dif ferent volunteer opportunities.

ELIZABETH FORD is a College senior studying communication from Glen view, Ill. Her email is fordeliz@sas. upenn.edu.

PENN LEADS THE VOTE s the Univer sity’s nonpartisan election hub. Visit vote.upenn.edu for more information.

JOINT COLUMN

PHOTO BY ANNA VAZHAEPARAMBIL

LEXI BOCCUZZI is a College junior studying philosophy, politics, and economics from Stamford, Conn. Her email is boccuzzi@thedp.com.

PHOTO BY ANNA VAZHAEPARAMBIL

I found out I was pregnant in a Starbucks bath room, only a few weeks after starting my first year at Penn. I was 18, and I did everything to keep it a secret. Buying a test on campus risked fellow students seeing me, so I walked about 15 blocks downtown to the Rittenhouse CVS. After that, I headed into the Starbucks across the street, where I remained, hyperventilating, until my tears subsided enough to be able to walk outside again.

I knew right away that getting an abortion was the right decision. In fact, never did I dwell on any of the concerns that would soon be hammered into my head by the State of Pennsylvania nor the anti-abortion picketers I ignored outside the doors of Planned Parenthood at 12th and Locust. The bright future I strived — even competed — to achieve was in jeopardy now, so I had to do what was necessary to fix it.

Yet I still felt shame, which fueled my effort to keep quiet. Growing up, I was raised with a chilling fear of this day. Getting pregnant in high school or college was a non-option, never mind the choice to get an abortion.

At the time, my only strategy moving forward was a steely compartmentalization, though it was (and remains) unsustainable. The ability to connect with a community who understands the messy, contradictory nature of these feelings would have changed my mental health for the better.

I understand the roadblocks currently in place to get a safe abortion to be traumatic and unneces sary, and I am arguing in this piece that sharing our stories publicly can not only demonstrate how impossible it is to escape emotionally unscathed, but also help others who may be painfully pro cessing their experiences in isolation.

Instead, the government made more emotional what I was trying to endure as clinical. At the first appointment, the nurse gathered me and the other patients to watch a mandatory video that emphasized the gravity of our decision and cited misrepresented facts about the percentage of us who would go on to regret this.

Afterwards, I needed to take a urine test, blood test, and undergo a transvaginal ultrasound before continuing on further. Looking back, I question the medical necessity of such invasive procedures, as the requirements vary so widely across jurisdic tions. For example, the U.K. government rapidly pivoted to allowing access to medical abortion pills by mail in the height of COVID-19, and doc tors and medical health professionals advocated to keep the program in place as COVID-19 restric tions

Abortioneased.

regulations in Pennsylvania have de veloped since 2010. Patients now must receive state-mandated counseling that includes infor mation shifted to discourage the choice to have an abortion, and then wait 24 hours before the

procedure or the medication is provided. This delay forces many to travel long distances to a clinic more than once and take extra time off work.For my second appointment, I stayed at the clinic all day just to get two pills. Even more, the whole thing cost $800, which I was privileged enough to have in cash from my high school grad uation money. Currently in Pennsylvania, health plans offered under the Affordable Care Act can only cover abortion if the patient’s life is endan gered, or in cases of rape or incest.

Inequitable access to abortion in the United States is obviously nothing new.

The LA Times reported that the University of California and California State University are set to provide abortion pills to students for about $50. Even some colleges outside California, including the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the University of Illinois Chicago, plan to make medi cal abortions more easily available to students.

I am not writing this to lay out why Penn should follow suit. It’s easy for me to say abortions should be cheaper and simpler to access. It’s harder for me to admit that I guarded a stigma about sharing my experience, even as the fragility of the right to choose became more evident. To tell an acquain tance might be oversharing. To tell a colleague would be unprofessional.

I am writing this now because I am afraid a

ILLUSTRATION BY MAGGIE SONG

future employer may find this on Google. That fear was planted there by a process that is hostile and condescending by design. These regulations have an insidious impact on how people process their experiences of getting an abortion. While they are still in place, one power we have is not to let them silence us.

Six states mandate that patients look at their ul trasound and have the nurse describe the image to them prior to receiving an abortion.

Some patients may turn to see a stubborn col lection of cells, while others may bite their lip to hold back tears. No matter the reaction, such measures are constructed to wear people down, to manipulate us. They only build upon the shame I grew up with.

There is serious work to be done in the wake of overturning Roe v. Wade — and perhaps we do await Penn providing $50 abortion pills in the future. In the meantime, let’s not move backwards. I hope speaking openly and coming forward about my experience having an abortion when I was at Penn helps other students navigate a similar ter rain.

BRIDGET MCGEEHAN is a 2014 College grad uate in English, living in London. Her email is bridgetcmcgeehan@gmail.com.

Before landing in Belgrade, Serbia to lift himself alone atop a monumental apex of American wres tling, freestyle wrestler Jordan Burroughs had been tuning the final few details of his craft on the red mats of the Penn wrestling center.

On Sept. 16, on those same mats he had practiced on through the summer, members of Penn wrestling gathered in front of two screens showing simul taneous broadcasts of the 2022 World Wrestling Championships in Serbia — awaiting the moment when a page in American wrestling history would bear an incredible feat signed only in Burroughs’ name.“This is a historic day for the sport of wrestling, and particularly for American wrestling,” sopho more wrestler Cole Spencer said, as he watched the competition advance through bronze-medal matches ahead of Burroughs’ attempt at gold.

A now seven-time gold medalist in Olympic or World championships competition, Burroughs has been a part of PRTC Wrestling — Pennsylvania Re gional Training Center, which practices out of Penn’s wrestling facilities. Having been with PRTC so far for just over one year, this world title is the second he

has claimed while training at Penn.

Roger Reina, who has been continuing his life long connection to Penn as the head coach of the wrestling program, has also been bridging the rela tionship between PRTC and Penn.

“We’re one community. The PRTC is a separate nonprofit, but we work symbiotically. As organi zations, we support each other,” Reina said. “The Olympic-level guys support our college guys. They come and support our meets, and they provide men torship and leadership to our undergraduates, and they’re also training partners.”

Burroughs has thus been sharing the mats with members of Penn wrestling — a team returning 11 of its NCAA Championships competitors for its up coming season.

“We were super excited that he’s been here wres tling with us all summer, and his leadership has really had an impact on us as well,” Spencer said.

On Friday, as the sunny afternoon peered through the windows of the Penn wrestling center, atten tion was aimed toward two screens showing the live scenes of the Belgrade evening. World-class wres tlers each took the stage on the distinct orange circle of the mat through the preceding schedules, but the gold-medal match between Burroughs and Moham mad Nokhodi of Iran was the clear center attraction.

Also present in Philadelphia to watch along with Penn wrestling was Mark Hall, PRTC wrestler, former NCAA champion, and one of the most ac complished wrestlers to come out of Minnesota.

But another PRTC coach would witness

Burroughs’ moment in history from just beside the mat in BrandonBelgrade.Slay, a 1998 Wharton graduate, Olym pic gold medalist in 2000, and executive director of PRTC, instead made his appearance through the TV screens. As the finals competitors faced off inside the orange circle, Slay was right behind the mat, wearing a visor of focus just as intense as Bur roughs’.“Itwas just a very, very passionate moment,” Slay said following the match, having stepped outside from the restaurant where Burroughs, his family, and the team had been celebrating. “Many people deeply cared. Jordan deeply cared about perform ing at his highest level. I deeply cared for him as his coach. I deeply cared for Team USA.”

To the infrequent watcher, wrestling matches feel deceptively brief. Burroughs’ swift movements on his feet were no less precise than ballet, but his signature blast double could catch even seasoned supporters off guard. Penn wrestling kept close watch at every move, even through the frequent pauses of a broadcast signaled from almost five thousand miles away.

“We foster an environment to aim big in the sport of wrestling with no limits. And so having Jordan represent that at the pinnacle of the World

2003. When he first came to the school, he was the equipment manager, but soon after that, he became the Pirates’ head golf coach.

To hear White tell it, though, becoming the golf coach came down to happenstance more than anything else.

“I guess the full story behind me becoming a golf coach is I was just in the right place at the right time, essentially,” he said. “My volleyball coaching experience maybe had a little bit to do withButit.”over his 18-year tenure at Seton Hall, White proved he could belong. The Pirates came in second in the Big East in 2017, losing to Mar quette by just one stroke. And in 2022, White led Seton Hall to its first conference championship in 22 years.

It was also there that White developed his coaching style. Above all else, he prioritizes re cruiting “good players that are great people,” he said.“I’m not gonna take a 76 player and create a swing that will [make him] a 74,” he continued. “That’s not who I am. I’m not a swing coach. I’m

not a PGA professional.”

This humility also extends to what White includes in his pitch to recruits. “I’m very trans parent in my recruiting,” he said. “I feel like I recruit the weaknesses of a program, more so than the strengths of a program.”

This commitment to not overselling prospec tive players on his program is best summed up in a situation involving a new facility at Seton Hall. Despite the money and plans being in place, White didn’t promise the facility in pitches, opting to only say that “it should be done by the time you get here.”

White thinks that this approach benefitted him and the Pirates, noting that “what I found is that kids want someone that’s just straightforward with them and doesn’t try to tell them they’re the greatest player ever.”

It was also during his time at Seton Hall that White’s eye came toward the Penn job. His am bition to coach for the Quakers, and in the Ivy League more broadly, began on the course.

“I’ve gotten to know the other Ivy coaches, being in the Northeast and having coached at Seton Hall for so long,” he said. “And I just had really enjoyed their camaraderie.”

But what White finds so admirable about the Ancient Eight goes deeper than some on-course banter among coaches.

“I feel like the Ivy League is one of the last conferences that still puts being a student before [being an] athlete,” he said. “The purpose of being a student-athlete is to have that aspect of it, and I think it’s getting a little lost in today’s landscape, about why kids are playing college sports. So I think the Ivy League is just … always going to put, at least in my opinion, being a stu dent

Sofirst.”when the Penn job opened up after Jason Calhoun stepped down in late July, White saw his opportunity. And it didn’t take long for his talent at Seton Hall to come through in the interview. Senior Associate Athletic Director and Golf Sport Administrator Kevin Bonner explained that despite other candidates applying for the job, White stood out from the pack.

“Clay impressed the interview committee by conveying his vision for the future of the pro gram and why he would be the best fit in the position,” Bonner said. “We are thrilled to land a proven and successful head coach with Clay’s experience.”Butonce White got the job with the Quak ers, the real work began. There was about a week between when White started at Penn and the team’s first competition, held in Hamilton, N.Y. over Labor Day weekend. Despite the Red and Blue placing 11th out of the 14 teams in con tention, White thought that the first day went “decent.” He also said that the week leading up to the tournament was “pretty crazy,” with time for only two practices as players were “trying to figure out the classes and their schedules and get cleared.”Despite the slow start, the team has already shown improvement, finishing tied for fourth out of 16 schools at a tournament hosted in Berlin, Conn and third out 12 teams this past weekend at a tournament in Plymouth Meeting, Pa.

As his tenure with Penn continues this fall, White is optimistic that his approach to coach ing won’t change much. He still plans to focus on recruiting, and will probably spend more time explaining the downsides of the Quakers’ golf program than its positives.

Championships is just tremendously inspiring,” Reina said. “And at the same time, he shares a locker in our locker room. It makes it attainable. He’s here with us every day.”

A moment in history doesn’t take very long to be written. The match concluded as Nokhodi trudged toward the center of the mat where Burroughs awaited in stance. Nokhodi was clearly exhausted as the clock showed only one second remaining. On the other hand, Burroughs seemed like he could battle another match and still have strength to spare.

“Making history is a big thing,” Slay said. “The key to this was, though, is not talking about it all the time. We rarely ever brought it up. It was more of, [Burroughs] knew that the task was at hand. We knew that that’s what he wanted to accomplish.”

After the victory, Burroughs carried the Ameri can flag in celebration for having just lifted himself above the tie with John Smith and Adeline Gray for most world titles. Burroughs had become the most decorated wrestler in American history.

“That big thing is not going to happen unless you take care of all the small things right,” Slay said. “The fundamentals on the wrestling mat; those are all the small things, and if he focused on taking care of all the small things, then the big things will take care of themselves. And they did.” wrestling

“I want to bring a similar philosophy to Penn, because it worked well at Seton Hall,” White said. “Obviously, what I’m going to tell kids is going to change. But the manner in which I communicate with kids, I’m hoping will not change.”Thisattitude about recruiting students is representative of White’s entire coaching phi losophy. He knows he can’t magically make a golfer shoot several strokes lower. But what he’s ready to do is give guidance on what to improve and advice on how to get there so that his play ers can “put in the work … be prepared to go to tournaments, and be prepared to compete.”

PHOTO FROM LEVI VENTURA

Jordan Burroughs lunges toward opponent Ali Umarpashaev of Bulgaria at the 2022 World Wrestling Championships in Serbia on Sept. 15

PHOTO FROM ROGER Wrestling screen.

PHOTO BY ANNA VAZHAEPARAMBIL

The Daily Pennsylvanian sat down with Penn football’s Micah Morris — who earned an honor able mention All-Ivy nod last season — to ask 15 questions about his time on the team, his interests, and his future plans. Here’s what the senior defen sive lineman had to say.

1. Can you introduce yourself?

Micah Morris, Pittsburgh, Pa. Urban studies major. Senior.

2. What’s something fun you did this summer?

I interned at SSH Real Estate. It’s a commercial real estate firm in Center City, right across from City Hall. I learned a lot there, and I enjoyed my time and was very appreciative of all the people that I got to work with.

3. Favorite football team? Pittsburgh Steelers.

4. What’s your major/academic interests?

I’m very interested in real estate. As I said, I’m an urban studies major, so, within that major, I learn a lot about real estate and that caught my eye, and I think I’m gonna move forward with that after school.

5. Do you have any pre-game rituals?

I listen to a lot of R&B music. [The] locker room tends to get very hyper and intense. I like to calm down and slow down with some R&B music.

6. What are the three best qualities in a teammate?

Composure, discipline, and good work ethic.

7. What or who motivates you?

The 110 kids on the football team here. Every day we come out, we work hard, and I have to sup port them while they support me.

8. Where do you see yourself in five years?

In five years, it’d be a dream to be playing in the NFL. Hopefully, that can turn into a reality.

9. What are your main goals for this season?

I want to get to first team All-Ivy instead of honorable mention. I need to record at least fiveplus sacks this season, and also I hope to get a defensive touchdown.

10. Favorite pre-game hype song? “Movie” by Rio Da Yung OG.

11. Favorite football memory? Termite football back in the fourth or fifth grade. I got the game-winning touchdown to send us to [the] playoffs.

12. What are your hobbies aside from football?

an above-average Leopards passing defense; Lafay ette ranks 59th in the FCS in passing yards allowed. Another key will be avoiding turnovers. In last season’s 24-14 loss to the Leopards, it was a trio of interceptions that doomed the Quakers.

Football kind of rules my life. I want to say I don’t have many hobbies outside of football, but I do enjoy being with my friends and teammates and listening to music.

13. What is your favorite restaurant around campus?

I would say Pattaya Thai food. I like a lot of Thai food.

14. Dream Super Bowl matchup?

Steelers vs. Packers rematch. We need that one back.

15. If you could go back in time, what is one piece of advice you would give to your freshman-year self?

Leave the women alone. Focus on school and football.

performance last week. An improved Red and Blue defense will shut down a struggling Lafayette of fense that is averaging under 10 points per game through three contests. With Lafayette starting freshman quarterback Ryan Schuster, the Leopard attack will live up to its name and be quite spotty.

Sophomore quarterback Aidan Sayin of the Quak ers will make fewer mistakes than last week, but in just their second game Penn’s offense still won’t be perfect. Even so, the Quakers’ chances will seldom be in jeopardy on Saturday as they use it as an opportunity to tune up for the following week’s allimportant Ivy-opener versus reigning co-champions Dartmouth on the road.

Penn 28, Lafayette 10 Joey Piatt, Senior

Sports Associate

As will be the case for the Quakers’ entire season, Aidan Sayin and the Penn passing game will be the biggest factor in the team’s Saturday matchup with Lafayette.Lastweek against Colgate, the sophomore quar terback spread the wealth, connecting with 10 different Penn receivers. He picked apart the defense with a mix of short completions, many of which were directed to junior Joshua Casilli, as well as chunk passing plays, like his 30-yard connection to junior Sterling Stokes. A similar recipe will be key against

Expect Sayin to lead an efficient passing attack, and don’t be surprised if he throws for 300+ yards and three touchdowns in a convincing win.

Penn 24, Lafayette 7 Walker Carnathan, Sports Reporter

After a lackluster first-half performance against Colgate last week, the Quaker offense came alive in the second half to earn a rousing 25-14 victory. But the more consistent unit was the same one that I believe will lead Penn to a victory over Lafayette: theGoingdefense.back to last season, the Penn pass defense has smothered opposing air attacks, a trend which continued when Colgate quarterback Michael Brescia managed just 149 yards passing. Luck ily for the Quakers, Lafayette features one of the more anemic offensive units in college football. The Leopards have scored just 27 points over their first three games, and their lone victory came in a 6-0 snoozer against Sacred Heart in their seasonopener.Expect a dominant showing for the Quaker de fensive unit, and look for them to force both their first and second turnovers of the season, both by way of interception. Offensively, Penn will perform well enough to earn a comfortable victory and head into Ivy League play undefeated.

PHOTO BY ANNA VAZHAEPARAMBIL

Senior defensive lineman Micah Morris during the game against Colgate at Franklin Field on Sept. 17.

Penn seeks revenge

Football prepares to adapt Lafayettedefensivelyagainststout

This Saturday, Penn football will aim to build on the success of its season opener, hosting the Lafayette Leopards (1-2) at home on Sept. 24.

The Quakers started the 2022 season on the right foot. In their 25-14 victory over the Colgate Raiders, the Quakers pushed for a sec ond-half comeback after trailing 14-3 at half by scoring 22 unanswered points in the third and fourth quarters.

“We played great, with more consistency, and execution of our play was a lot better,” coach Ray Priore said. “Defensively we did well both halves. If we can just build on what we did last week, we’ll be in good shape.”

The Quakers’ offense showed off a new-look game plan in their opener under the guidance of new offensive coordinator Dan Swanstrom. Last season, the Quakers rushed for an average of 127.8 yards per game. Comparatively, the Quak ers only rushed for 78 yards against Colgate. The offense took more to the passing game, with sophomore quarterback Aidan Sayin having a career game of 289 yards and two touchdowns on 44 attempts. Sayin threw to 11 different re ceivers.Penn has the chance to capitalize on its pass ing strengths in its next matchup, also at home. Lafayette has given up an average of 221.0 pass ing yards per game across its first three contests.

But the reliance on the passing game isn’t set in “Istone.think we take what they give us,” Priore said. “We knew they were very good against the run last week, and it’s very similar to this week, so we’ll need to spread the ball out and do what it takes to win. If it’s ‘run the ball for 200 yards,’ we’ll do that. If it’s ‘throw the ball to eight dif ferent receivers,’ we’ll do that as well.”

But the Quaker offense could be stopped in its tracks by the Leopards’ defense, according to “TheyPriore. have a very, very good defense,” he said. “I believe either eight or 10 guys are re turning from last year’s defense … And they played great defense through their first three games.”Lafayette’s defensive squad holds a simi lar arsenal compared to its group against Penn last year. That defensive lineup amassed three interceptions against the Quakers, including a pick-six.Onesuch player facing off against the Quak ers is senior defensive lineman Malik Hamm, an NFL prospect who posted five tackles and 1.5 sacks against Sacred Heart this year.

The Quakers aim to exploit the Leopards’ lack of offensive firepower. The Leopards

have struggled to get the ball into the endzone this season. Across three games, the Leopards scored just 27 points and five touchdowns so far. Freshman quarterback Ryan Schuster has ac counted for four out of five touchdowns via both passing or rushing.

Penn’s second-half shutout of Colgate could indicate another strong defensive showing. The defensive squad, led by seniors like Jonathan Melvin and Jake Heimlicher, can especially con tribute to keeping Lafayette at bay.

And the returning players for Penn will be playing with a vengeance after their perfor mance last season, when Lafayette stole the victory, 24-14.

“We went up there last year and they played well against us. We did not play well, and they beat us. So, our guys remember that dearly,” Priore said. “But we’re really focused on just coming out of the blocks fast and just playing fast.”The second game of the 2022 season will be key to maintaining Penn’s momentum, while the team attempts to prove a departure from last season. But first, the team must confirm consis tency by repeating the same energy and finesse of last Saturday’s second half.

The Lafayette game will kick off this Satur day, Sept. 24 at 1 p.m. at Franklin Field.

The picks are in: Penn vs. Lafayette

year, and returning most of the starters on a strong, veteran defense. Last year, the Leopards beat the Quakers 24-14, while picking off three passes from then-quarterback John Quinnelly. After one game, though, it seems that this offense is light years ahead compared to last season’s with Sayin and Swanstrom at the helm and can easily take advantage of Lafay ette’s relatively weak pass defense this year.

This Saturday at 1 p.m., Penn football (1-0) will take on Lafayette (1-2) in its second game of the season, hoping to avenge last year’s week two loss against the Leopards. Four Daily Pennsylvanian sports reporters make their picks ahead of the Quak ers’ last game before beginning Ivy competition.

Penn 21, Lafayette 10 Eashwar Kantem neni, Deputy Sports Editor

Last week was an impressive win for the Quakers, aided by a dominant second half after being down 11 at halftime. I expect the Quakers to carry their momentum forward Saturday to beat the Leopards at Franklin Field.

Though Lafayette might be a similar opponent to Colgate rankings-wise, they are one that has a famil iarity with Penn, having played the Red and Blue last

Defensively, Penn might face some challenges against the Leopards’ passing attack, but it shouldn’t be anything that the likes of senior defensive backs Jaden Key and Kendren Smith cannot handle. And like last week, I believe limiting turnovers will be key for the Quakers’ chances at victory.

I do think that the Quakers will struggle some what out the gate, like last week, but can once again take over in the second half with a more open offense and motivated defense.

Penn 31, Lafayette 12 Brandon Pride, Former Senior Sports Editor

The Quakers will avenge a disappointing sea son-opening loss from last year, this time relying on a strong quarterback who will build on a solid

Men’s golf coach Clay White achieves Ivy ambitions

For Clay White, being able to coach at Penn represents a dream long in the making. But the path to achieve it took 30 years, crossed among three sports, and began over 3,000 miles away.

In high school, White played volleyball. When he got to Humboldt State University in Arcata, Calif. in the early 1990s, he worked with the school’s softball team.

“I was an undergrad student, assisting with the softball program more as a manager,” he said. “Then I kind of started helping the coach a lot.”

Afterwards, White went back to coaching vol leyball at the College of the Redwoods, a junior college in nearby Eureka, Calif. He held that po sition from 1997 until 2000, during which he was also Humboldt State’s assistant athletic equip ment manager.

It was also at the College of the Redwoods that White played the only competitive golf of his life.

“The extent of my competitive golf career is one semester of junior college … while I was the head volleyball coach,” he said.

After two years at Ohio University, White arrived at Seton Hall in South Orange, N.J. in

A opening

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PHOTO BY ANNA VAZHAEPARAMBIL

Senior running back Trey Flowers stiff arms a defender during a run in Penn’s victory over Colgate.

PHOTO BY ANNA VAZHAEPARAMBIL

Head coach Clay White and junior Jimin Jung during the Cornell/Temple Invitational in Plymouth Meeting, Pa. on Sept. 18.