Local lawmakers held a press conference on Penn’s campus on Wednesday urging Penn administrators to reject the Trump administration’s preferential funding compact.
At an Oct. 15 conference, lawmakers criticized Penn for not immediately rejecting the White House agreement, and asserted that it threatens campus diversity and academic freedom. Several also announced plans to introduce bills that would prevent Penn from receiving state funding if it signs the compact.
Pennsylvania state Reps. Napoleon Nelson (D-Montgomery), Rick Krajewski (D-Philadelphia), and Malcolm Kenyatta (D-Philadelphia); state Sens. Anthony Williams (D-Delaware, Philadelphia) and Art Haywood (D-Montgomery, Philadelphia); and Philadelphia Councilmember Jamie Gauthier (D-Philadelphia) spoke at the press conference.
Speaking from 34th and Walnut streets, Krajewski and Kenyatta announced they would soon introduce a bill in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to prevent Penn from receiving state funding should the University sign the compact.
Williams also circulated a memo on Tuesday to introduce a similar bill in the state Senate.
The legislation was introduced in the state House on Wednesday following the press conference and is primarily sponsored by Kenyatta. Krajewski is one of 11 co-sponsors.
Williams indicated that Democrats in the state House and Senate could block state funding to Penn even if the bills didn’t pass — telling reporters that there were enough lawmakers to prevent the necessary two-thirds vote to approve new funding.
“[Penn] will not get away with being silent. They have to say, ‘We’re not going to accept it,’ and until such time … Penn will not get a penny of state funding,” he said.
RELATED:
Marc Rowan helped draft the White House compact. The ideas echo his 2023 plan to reform Penn
Penn to begin review of White House preferential funding compact, Jameson writes
Several of the lawmakers present met with Penn President Larry Jameson in February to discuss Penn’s rollback of diversity, equity, and inclusion policies amid mounting pressure from the Trump administration.
Nelson, who was present at the February meeting, said he hoped Penn would refuse to comply with the federal government this time.
“To President Jameson, we look forward to hearing your ‘no’ to the President. We look forward to hearing that you will follow the president of MIT in saying that you will reject this compact,” he said on Wednesday. “People are looking to you, President Jameson, to actually lead.”
Lawmakers also criticized the compact’s provision preventing universities from considering race or national origin in admissions and hiring.
“It is nothing more than federally subsidized discrimination,” Kenyatta said. “It is a federally subsidized attack on our students based on the color of their skin and based on their country of origin, and we as legislators are saying very clearly, we are not going to stand for it.”
Williams criticized Penn for not communicating with the legislators about the compact.
“For those of you who are on this campus … we want you to be in direct conversation with us as we move forward. And most disappointing, we will not be able to do it through the administration,” he said.
He added that Penn never replied to the legislators’ request for a permit to hold the press conference.
“I think that’s a statement in itself about what they think about the elected representation of this community and beyond,” he said.
Multiple speakers also criticized the influence of 1984 Wharton graduate Marc Rowan, who helped draft the compact.
“This compact, drafted by rogue Penn alumnus and billionaire Marc Rowan, is a thinly veiled attempt to drag Locust Walk back into the 1800s when the only people allowed to study here were rich white men like Trump and Rowan,” Gauthier said.
Williams characterized the compact as “quid pro quo” between Penn and the federal government — adding that Rowan doing so while part of the Wharton Advisory Board is “outrageous.”
The White House has requested that universities submit feedback on the compact by Oct. 20.
