Passed in July 2025, the legislation establishes a three-tiered endowment tax system for the nation’s wealthiest private universities. Penn will fall in the middle bracket at 4%.

Biden reportedly underwent weeks of treatment at Penn Medicine’s Radiation Oncology clinic in Philadelphia.

Two days after the Oct. 20 deadline to provide feedback, seven of the nine universities initially asked to sign the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” have rejected the proposal.

According to a recently filed disclosure, Penn lobbied the federal government on multiple issues, including National Institutes of Health and research, international student visas, and student financial aid.

During the demonstration, AAUP-Penn members emphasized that the University’s rejection of the compact was only the “beginning” and argued that the White House would continue “exerting pressure” on Penn.

The Philadelphia protest was part of a series of over 2,700 demonstrations that took place across the country. 

The bill was introduced in partnership with students in Penn Government and Politics Association’s Forum for Legislative Action.

According to an Oct. 16 email from Penn President Larry Jameson, the University rejected the compact after considering input from Penn faculty, alumni, trustees, students, and staff.

With the decision, Penn became the third university to decline the offer.

The Executive Committee emphasized that signing the compact would “compromise” Penn’s academic freedom and scholarly diversity.

At the Oct. 15 conference, lawmakers criticized Penn for not immediately rejecting the White House agreement, and asserted that it threatens campus diversity and academic freedom.

Over 30 members of Penn’s research and postdoctoral community joined the bargaining committee to offer suggestions for negotiation priorities.

Amid lower, off-year turnout, they argued, individual voters will have an outsized impact on several notable local and state races. 

The student groups — Penn Democrats, Penn College Republicans, and Penn Leads the Vote — emphasized the importance of civic engagement ahead of this year’s election. 

In a talk hosted by the National Association for Business Economics, Smetters detailed that his research has determined tariffs damage the economy and will not reduce the deficit.

With less than a week remaining before the Oct. 20 deadline for universities to provide feedback on the draft document, The Daily Pennsylvanian examined the potential University-wide implications of signing it.

The document was drafted in partnership with student representatives from six of the eight other universities initially approached with the federal government’s proposed higher education compact.