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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2017 VOL. CXXXIII NO. 70

THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

Penn Vet student dies in his off-campus residence

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How Penn Stacks Up College Factual

Brett Cooper, 30, was a member of Alpha Psi, the veterinary fraternity DAN SPINELLI Executive Editor

Brett Cooper, a student in the School of Veterinary Medicine, died Sept. 13 afternoon in his off-campus residence, Penn announced in an email to the Penn Vet community. Cooper attended the University of Delaware as an undergraduate and was slated to graduate from Penn Vet in 2018. He was 30 years old. Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum, the vice provost for university life, and Joan Hendricks, dean of Penn Vet, sent the email on behalf of Penn President Amy Gutmann and Provost Wendell Pritchett. “Any student death is difficult, but a loss in a small school community can be especially painful,” the email stated. “We urge PennVet students, faculty, and staff to comfort each other.” The cause of Cooper’s death was not immediately clear. The Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office did not return a call requesting comment. Penn Vet also declined to comment. Cooper was a member of Alpha Psi, the veterinary fraternity. In the early afternoon, an ambulance was spotted outside the fraternity’s

U.S. News & World Report QS World Univ. Rankings Times Higher Education Forbes Academic Ranking of World Universities

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Rankings of Penn within the U.S. across publications

SEE COOPER PAGE 7

CAMPUS RESOURCES

2016

Penn has consistently placed in the top-10 of the U.S. News ranking HARRY TRUSTMAN Copy Editor

Penn remains at No. 8 in the 2018 edition of the U.S. News and World Report National Universities ranking, which was released early Sept. 12 morning. Despite some small rises and falls, most of the top universities kept their ranks from last year. For the seventh year in a row, Princeton University topped the list, and it is the sixth

year Harvard University finished in second. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology jumped from No. 7 in the 2017 ranking to the No. 5 ranking, which it shares with Columbia University and Stanford University. Yale University and Dartmouth College remain at No. 3 and No. 11, respectively. In the 2017 ranking, Penn tied with Duke University for the eighth spot, but Duke dropped to No. 9 this year. In an emailed statement, Penn Dean of Admissions Eric Furda noted that, “Rankings certainly shape the perception of prospective

students, families and to an extent alumni.” “It’s always good to see Penn’s excellence recognized,” Furda wrote. “But each ranking evaluates colleges and universities differently. I believe that students should first look within themselves to conduct a thoughtful, personalized assessment. That’s what can really help them understand what they want out of their college experience and hone in on the colleges that might be the best fit for them, regardless of rankings.” SEE RANKINGS PAGE 7

Penn reacts to DeVos’ proposed changes to sexual assault policy

Administrators and anti-violence educators are still waiting on the release of a formal DOE policy HARRY TRUSTMAN AND KELLY HEINZERLING Copy Editor and Deputy News Editor

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos’ announcement on proposed changes to sexual assault policies last week has prompted widespread anxiety on Penn’s campus. While students are looking for affirmation, Penn administrators said they are waiting until the Department of Education releases a formal policy before making any definitive statements. “The policy wouldn’t change, but we’re waiting to see if the ‘burden of proof’ is going to be

altered,” Sexual Violence Investigative Officer Deborah Harley said. In a 2011 statement known as the Dear Colleague letter, the Obama administration called on all federally-funded schools use the lowest possible standard of proof, or a “preponderance of evidence” in sexual assault cases. DeVos proposes changing the legal rhetoric from this to “clear and convincing evidence,” which some schools had been using prior to 2011. The shift would make it more

difficult for disciplinary panels to find alleged perpetrators responsible. “We will need to study what they ultimately propose. But at Penn we have worked very hard to address the issue of sexual assault on campus by developing policies and procedures that are responsive to our community, fair and effective,” University spokesperson Stephen MacCarthy wrote in an emailed statement. “Penn has a long track record of offering innovative education and prevention programs and has been a longtime leader in responding to complaints of sexual violence,” Penn President Amy Gutmann and former Provost Vincent Price wrote in the policy.

Penn Law professor John Hollway, the executive director of Penn’s Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice, stressed the importance of “accurately” investigating sexual assault complaints. “We need to be aware that sexual assaults happen, and we need to be aware that issues of proof can be very, very difficult,” Hollway said. “The consequences have meaningful impact on everyone involved.” College senior Caroline Ohlson, the president of the Panhellenic Council, a member of Penn Anti-Violence Educators and an executive board member of Abuse and Sexual Assault Prevention, said that regardless of policy, the message and

education methods of PAVE would not change. “We live in a culture that already puts so much blame on victims and survivors of sexual assault,” Ohlson said. “It’s important that we continue to push to foster a community at Penn that wants to support people, believe people and demystify a lot of myths surrounding sexual assault accusations.” Ohlson also noted that false allegations for sexual assault are rare — FBI reports show that only about 2 percent of all rape and sexual assault charges are false. Ohlson advocated for continued on-campus conversations about sexual assault, particularly in Greek life.

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“…Penn needs to improve its existing resources so that it is better equipped to cope with students’ loneliness.” PAGE 4

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Penn football opens up its 2017 campaign this Saturday when it hosts Ohio Dominican at Franklin Field BACKPAGE

“I think that Greek life will continue to promote these conversations, and I personally will continue to push for these issues,” Ohlson said. “Now, just as always, it’s important for us to care for each other, support each other and keep our campus safe.” This message of unity and support was echoed by Vagina Monologues Producer and College senior Ariana Martino. “Penn has done a really great job in the past few years coming together over this issue,” Martino said. “So if anything, that would become even more strong if these guidelines were to change, because we’d just have that much more to fight for.” SEE DEVOS PAGE 7

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