Greeted by a handshake from University President Judith Rodin, bowls overflowing with Starburst and M&Ms; and a gourd-filled vase of orange flowers, students and faculty packed into the president's house last night as part of the University's Halloween celebration.
"I feel like it's everyone's house," Rodin said, adding that similar events are held at the house each year for Christmas and during Graduation Week for the seniors.
Showing off their creative costumes -- like Ben Franklin, complete with a kite and key, and the Tin Man -- visitors munched on snacks, snuck out with gourmet cookies, chatted with Rodin and toured the grand house.
Most of all, people came to the event to enjoy themselves, and Rodin was no exception.
"It's a great time for me to meet people, and it's really fun," she said.
While the opportunity to trick-or-treat drew a good portion of the crowd, many students also said they were thrilled at the chance to meet Rodin.
"I came to meet J-Ro", said Wharton freshman Daniel Cope, who was wearing the same black and orange Penn t-shirt as Rodin.
Others said they were curious about what was behind the gates that guard Rodin's Walnut Street home.
"I just wanted to see President Rodin's house. I love its Victorian style, and I wanted to see it from the inside," Wharton senior Natalia Ratulengi said.
Dressed as a fireman with an ax, fire hat, gloves, a badge and suspenders, College freshman Jennifer Kessler said that the event made her feel more at home at Penn.
"It makes a big school seem much smaller when the president invites everyone into her home," Kessler said.
While the event was intended as a holiday celebration, some students seized the opportunity to voice their opinions and get Rodin's attention.
The student group Undergraduates for Graduate Employees Together-University of Pennsylvania performed a skit in which the chairman of the Chemistry Department sent a letter to the department's graduate students, saying that they would not receive a raise this year because of the possibility of graduate student unionization.
According to College senior and group member Lincoln Ellis, the skit represented a similar incident in the Chemistry Department that led GET-UP to file a labor suit against the University.
"We just wanted to let [Rodin] know that undergraduates support our TAs in their struggle to unionize," Ellis said.
