For the first time at Penn, transgender cast members were included in The Vagina Monologues

Reflecting on the past year, members noted that not every member served the full one-year term required by those involved with the organization. Two of the nine who resigned were serving as first-time elected members of the UA.

Last semester, the board introduced a “steering” initiative, which enables sophomores not on the class board or in student governments to influence the initiatives taken and the events put on by the board, and “keep the class board accountable."

The connection between animals and improving mental health has seen a rise in interest, especially on college campuses, where some students have received permission to keep pets as emotional support animals in university housing, where they are not generally allowed.

“We are super committed, all nine of us, to centering people whose narratives typically haven’t been heard and making sure to serve those groups before others,” Board member and Engineering freshman Curie Shim said. 

When College junior and sociology major Tiffany Yau realized that she does not know many other people in her major, she decided to fix the problem herself. 

For College freshman Rachel Prokupek, taking a gap year was a somewhat spontaneous decision.

Several students in the Wharton MBA program organized the march after hearing the struggles of colleagues and faculty members, one who is unable to visit his wife in Canada out of fear he won't be let back into the country.

The Moviegoer was founded in fall 2015 by College senior Brad Pettigrew, a “disillusioned” math major who found his passion in writing about film. 

“A lot of people are too scared to leave for summer,” College and Wharton sophomore Zuhaib Badami said. “I think the safe choice is to stay in the country at least until the 90-day period is over, or at least until we’ve seen people come in and out without an issue.”

College junior and PFRJ co-founder Esther Cohen said PFRJ distinguishes itself from being labeled as pro-choice, instead opting for the label of reproductive rights advocates, in order to remain “inclusive and lead to more activism.”

“The book started as a reaction to the election of Trump, and the effects it had on me as a transgirl, the LGBT community, and so many of us who were terrified of what the regime could bring to this country after so much progress had been made as far as our visibility and rights,” McCool said.

“Last semester, we decided to look back at all of the companies we’ve funded in the last five years and gather insights into what we could do better,” College senior and Innovation Fund Co-Chair Jason Shein said.

Even in light of the near-constant protests his administration have provoked on campus and across the country, the faith some Penn students have in Trump's leadership hasn’t wavered.

Though the stage in the dimly lit theater in the Annenberg Center was set up with a lone microphone, a stool and a chair — the classic setting for a stand-up comedy act — comedian, writer and political commentator Jenny Yang commented as she entered that “even though we’re in this beautiful theater, this is not stand-up — we’re going to make this a chat.”

When leaving the U.S. to go to Turkey during spring break in 2015, Osama Ahmed, a 2016 College and Wharton graduate, was approached by two men in muscle t-shirts. They demanded that he follow them, and they opened their jackets to reveal guns and police badges. 

Dean of Admissions Eric Furda noted that housing and staff restraints prevent ConnectED from becoming an overnight program.