34th Street Magazine's "Toast" is a semi-weekly newsletter with the latest on Penn's campus culture and arts scene. Delivered Monday-Wednesday-Friday.
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At Penn’s 260th Commencement this morning, playwright, composer and self-described “painfully aware” Lin-Manuel Miranda addressed the “dear, terrified graduates,” encouraging them to live and tell the stories of their lives.
On Hey Day, scores of juniors were blocked from entering the Quad with some witnesses even describing a tense standoff between Penn Police, AlliedBarton security guards and the boisterous students.
The email stated that “in the interim, effective Wednesday, April 20,” Counseling and Psychological Services’ hours will be extended until 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturdays.
This time, the task force will need to evaluate the effects of its 2015 recommendations, which did not set firm deadlines nor include ways to measure the impact of its proposed changes.
On April 8, Fossil Free Penn released a letter in support of divestment from fossil fuels that was signed by 100 faculty members across 10 out of the 12 schools at Penn.
Kong died Monday morning at the 40th Street Station on SEPTA’s Market-Frankford line, according to an email sent to undergraduates by Provost Vincent Price and President Amy Gutmann at 2:22 p.m.
The protests that interrupted and ultimately ended a discussion between Penn professor Marjorie Margolies and CIA Director John Brennan have kicked off a series of reactions across campus, from a petition by a student publication to an official debate sponsored by the Penn Political Union.
In the email, Provost Vincent Price and Vice Provost for University Life Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum called free speech a “treasured freedom” and asked students to familiarize themselves with the University’s Guidelines on Open Expression.
Administrators are most concerned about making sure that their promotion of ‘tobacco-less’ culture does not alienate them from students, but students have had varied reactions to Penn’s ‘philosophical shift’ on tobacco use.
In April of 2015, Penn’s administration launched the campaign, an umbrella initiative encompassing events, grants and partnerships that encourage discussion about issues that “may appear to be difficult or intractable,” according to the Campaign’s website.
In early May, a group of faculty from Penn’s four undergraduate schools will receive training to “learn the signs of distress and mental health crises that can affect college students,” according to the CAPS website.
The University said in November they would add more questions about sexual violence to existing Penn surveys, shortly after the American Association of Universities’ Campus Climate Survey on Sexual Misconduct and Sexual Assault was released.
Controversial Religious Studies professor Anthea Butler has frequently said her status as a tenured professor protects her from sanction or censure. But it really may be the Penn Police that are protecting her from backlash.