At 10 p.m. on a Monday night, Penn's campus remains far from asleep. Many students, like College freshman Colleen Donovan in Houston Hall, are busy studying by lamplight.
While Donovan is busy reading and writing, College junior Alice Cao uses her hands and expert eye to perfect her architecture project in a studio on the second floor of Charles Addams hall. She and her fellow students in the self-described "hardest major on campus" plan to be at work until 5 a.m.
Both the University and the city are still wide awake at 10 p.m. The skyscrapers of Philadelphia glitter from the 19th floor of Harrison College House, as do the less lofty lights of campus.
Meanwhile, others are far from cracking open the books. Just a wall separates Donovan from Wharton sophomore Elena Granovsky and Philadelphia resident Hansen Chen, who strike a pose during ballroom dance practice in Bodek Lounge. Others prefer a more solitary form of exercise, such as these female students running on a treadmill at Pottruck Gym.
Yet, Penn's campus also plays host to the broader community. Kiddi Nguyen, a 26-year-old student of Information Technology at Drexel University, and Jimmy Lam, 41, dine in Cos¡'s outdoor seating with their 3-year-old daughter, Chloe, chatting easily in Vietnamese. Back in the heart of campus, Penn students take a break from their academic pursuits.
College junior Andrew Scharf (left) and College sophomore Jay Gleacher relax and smoke cigarettes on the front steps of the Fisher Fine Arts Library after studying for their "History of the South" class for an estimated five hours.
As Scharf and Gleacher continue to take drags, Urban Studies professor Andy Lamas stops in front of the steps to point out campus landmarks influenced by Benjamin Franklin. Lamas is leading a tour around Philadelphia focused on Franklin and "ownership culture" for CEOs of employee-owned companies from all around the country. The program, run through the School of Arts and Sciences, is the first of its kind in the nation.
