During the 2022-23 academic year, Penn experienced several changes related to student activism, admissions, and residential and dining services.
Student activism
Penn’s campus saw heightened student advocacy in response to changes to University administration and the broader Philadelphia area.
In August 2022, over 100 protesters interrupted former Penn President Liz Magill’s Convocation speech to criticize the eviction of University City Townhomes residents and demand University action.
As the fall semester continued, members of Fossil Free Penn held a five-week encampment on College Green. FFP members called for a University-wide divestment from fossil fuels, the preservation of the UC Townhomes, and payments to Philadelphia public schools instead of taxes. During Penn’s homecoming football game, FFP protesters rushed onto Franklin Field to insist that University officials meet the group’s demands, pausing play for over an hour and leading to 19 arrests.
In November 2022, students marched across campus in opposition to the proposed construction of a Philadelphia 76ers arena near the city’s Chinatown. The coalition of Philadelphia college students — Students for the Preservation of Chinatown — continued to organize through March 2023, when they demanded Penn cut ties with arena developers outside of a University Board of Trustees meeting.
The increase in student activism sparked debate about the University’s open expression and free speech guidelines. In April 2023, FFP members objected to the Committee on Open Expression’s new proposed interpretation of the guidelines. In interviews with The Daily Pennsylvanian, Penn administrators discussed the updated guidelines, and students expressed frustration with the University’s lack of clarity.
Housing and dining
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Amid renovations to the Quad, Penn entered a three-year lease with the Radian to convert the apartment building into another upperclassmen housing option as first-year students moved into four-year houses.
Over 700 rising juniors and seniors were placed on the waitlist for on-campus housing for the 2023-24 academic year, leading to student concern about their housing options.
In response to student feedback from the Fall Dining Survey, Penn Dining expanded its food offerings to include breakfast smoothies, all-day breakfast sandwiches at Gourmet Grocer, more peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and more frequent made-to-order pasta at each dining hall.
Penn Dining locations received 100 observations of health code violations during a winter inspection by the Philadelphia Office of Food Protection. Hill House and 1920 Commons failed to attain satisfactory compliance with the health code. In response, Penn Dining launched an action plan to target the named issues, and Hill passed its reinspection by April, 2023.
In an April 2023 policy reinforcement by Penn Dining, students were asked to show their PennCards to confirm their identity before swiping into dining halls. The policy prevented students from sharing swipes with peers, eliciting backlash from students who felt the policy was restrictive.
Analyses by the DP on Penn’s local food truck and Bring-Your-Own restaurant scenes broke down student options outside of campus dining halls.
Admissions
Despite a record-breaking application cycle, with over 59,000 students applying to Penn in 2023, the University maintained its policy of declining to share the admit rate and demographic data for the Class of 2027. Penn removed enrollment deposits for incoming students, eliminating the need for admitted students to put any money toward their tuition until the beginning of their first semester.
Quaker Days drew hundreds of admitted students to Penn’s campus in April 2023, marking a return to all-day events. Kite and Key tour guides were paid for the first time in the organization’s history, beginning in fall 2022.
Alumni, students, and college admissions experts discussed changes to Penn’s legacy admissions policy in interviews with the DP. Under Dean of Admissions Whitney Soule, the policy’s wording was adjusted, suggesting that preference for legacy applicants may decline. Jordan Pascucci assumed a new role as the vice dean and director of admissions, replacing John McLaughlin in March 2023.
Penn prepared for the possibility of the United States Supreme Court overturning affirmative action in the spring of 2023. After the June ruling, Magill and Provost John Jackson Jr. released a statement emphasizing the importance of a diverse academic community, while stating that Penn would fully comply with the law.
