“Hello, my name is Steve Mendell,” College junior and Student Labor Action Project coordinator Rosie Brown said, rehearsing the pitch she aimed to give Penn President Amy Gutmann.
Brown is one of four students who used Gutmann’s Halloween party on Oct. 29 as an opportunity to protest Penn’s economic sponsorship of HEI Hotels and Resorts, in a setting where they could not be ignored.
“Our University makes unethical investments,” College sophomore and SLAP coordinator Meghna Chandra said. “We want to let people know there’s something wrong.”
Penn has $15 million invested in HEI, a company started by Gary and Steve Mendell — both Wharton graduates. HEI has been accused of violating federal labor laws against the mistreatment of employees and faces complaints before the National Labor Relations Board.
“We feel we’re continuing the student moral imperative in asking the University to do the right thing,” Chandra said.
Chandra spent last summer collecting worker testimonies from HEI-owned Embassy Suites in Irvine, Calif. She described an encounter with one employee in which he said, “I just want enough money to send my daughter to college.”
“We have so much money, and our students are so privileged,” said Brown, who also finds it hard to reconcile the social injustice at play.
The SLAP students approached Gutmann armed with flyers and HEI business cards bearing their Halloween identities. While they were able to take a photo with the President and handed her a flyer, the hectic atmosphere and crowded space made it hard to have a substantial conversation.
Earlier that morning, five SLAP students arrived at Executive Vice President Craig Carnaroli’s office with candy and a hard copy of an unanswered e-mail expressing SLAP concerns. Although Carnaroli was out of office at the time of their visit, students left their names and contact information with the hope that he would reply.
Office of the Vice President spokesman Tony Sorrentino could not be reached for comment over the weekend.
“It’s pretty sad we have to go to such extreme measures to get [Carnaroli] to respond to us,” College senior and SLAP member Jade Watkins said.
Students at Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Notre Dame universities are leading similar campaigns at their respective schools.
For College freshman and SLAP member Penny Jennewein, Friday’s events were about “being out there, being bold, being dedicated to fighting for economic and social justice."
“It’s just something that we need to do,” Jennewein said.
