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THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA • FOUNDED 1885

PHILADELPHIA, THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2026

VOL. CXLII

NO. 13

Penn’s athletes hail from 40 U.S. states

New Jersey is the state most represented by student-athletes, according to data collected by The Daily Pennsylvanian. Page 3

Penn welcomes Class of 2030 for Quaker Days The annual programming, which ran from April 13-15, included University-wide events and activities planned across all four undergraduate schools MBRESA SIMNICA Staff Reporter

Darker shading indicates a higher concentration of student-athletes’ hometowns.

Ben Shapiro talk draws sold-out crowd at Penn As the conservative commentator spoke to a crowd of over 600 attendees inside Penn Museum’s Harrison Auditorium, hundreds more waited in line outside ARTI JAIN AND JAMES WAN Senior Reporter and Staff Reporter

Political commentator Ben Shapiro visited Penn Tuesday to discuss capitalism, conservatism, and affordability in his first appearance on a college campus this year. The April 14 event — titled “Why Capitalism Makes America Great” — included a keynote speech and a series of audience questions. As Shapiro spoke to a crowd of over 600 attendees inside Penn Museum’s Harrison Auditorium, hundreds more waited in line outside. The event was hosted by the Wharton School’s Adam Smith Society chapter, an association for MBA students and professionals at Penn. Second-year Wharton MBA student Colin Duffy, who serves as the organization’s president, delivered opening remarks for Shapiro. “It’s one thing to argue anonymously in the comments section, and it’s a whole other to put yourself directly in the line of fire. As we saw with the tragic murder of Charlie Kirk — who considered Ben both a mentor and a friend — this job comes at a very high cost,” Duffy said. As Shapiro walked across the stage, half the audience rose to their feet in a standing ovation.

Penn Take Back the Night campaigns against sexual violence

Throughout the event, a noticeable portion of student attendees refrained from clapping when the conservative commentator paused for applause. Shapiro began by distinguishing between “high-IQ conservatism” and “low-IQ grievance politics.” The former, he said, relies on “free minds, free markets, public virtue, and a properly constructed government,” while the latter category “rejects all of these essential principles.” Shapiro listed certain “pseudo” conservative commentators — such as Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, Megyn Kelly, and Alex Jones — as those within the “low-IQ” category. “What they have in common is a grievance-based view of the world in which they and those like them are perennial victims of the American system, in which they’ve been betrayed by the very ideas and institutions that make America the greatest place in world history,” he said. Shapiro added that “high-IQ conservatism will win the day when Americans recognize the inestimable bounty that we’ve been given: a unique country in human history that values free minds and free markets and public virtue.”

Penn Abuse and Sexual Assault Prevention held its annual Take Back the Night march last Thursday. The April 9 demonstration — organized in collaboration with Penn Violence Prevention and Penn Women’s Center — drew nearly 300 participants. Before the march, a resource fair hosted on College Green featured speeches from Vice Provost for University Life Karu Kozuma and women’s health nurse practitioner Joyce McNeill from the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. ASAP President and Take Back the Night CoChair Ashley Kim, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences, told The Daily Pennsylvanian that the event was meant to “create a movement where students can participate and really stand in solidarity with survivors.” The group marched down Locust Walk from College Green before returning to the ARCH building for ASAP’s survivor speak-out. During the march, participants hoisted posters in the air and chanted slogans such as “students unite, take back the night.” See CAMPAIGN, page 2

OPINION Columnist Sienna Bevan argues “world-class” health care remains a hollow promise for West Philadelphia

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See SHAPIRO, page 7

What ‘hope’ means for outgoing UA President Nia Matthews Citing major initiatives under the 53rd session of the Undergraduate Assembly, Nia Matthews said her focus has always been on prioritizing ‘the everyday student experience’

The April 9 demonstration drew nearly 300 participants CANDICE FELDERER AND LUKE PETERSEN Staff Reporters

He also used the event to reference Penn’s history of controversies surrounding pro-Palestinian protests and the University’s response to allegations of campus antisemitism. “It’s wonderful to be here at the University of Pennsylvania, a place that now apparently recognizes that calls for genocide against Jews are bad,” Shapiro said. “Congrats on that,” he said to the applauding crowd. In December 2023, then-Penn President Liz Magill faced widespread backlash for a congressional testimony in which she said that whether calls for the genocide of the Jewish people violated Penn’s code of conduct was “context dependent.” On Dec. 9, 2023, Magill announced her resignation. Outside the venue, nearly 25 protestors held up signs — one of which read “smash fascism” — and sounded whistles, drums, and bells. Many protesters repeated “anti-worker, anti-gay, Ben Shapiro go away” while urging those in line to exit. According to an April 9 social media post, the protest was coordinated by the Coalition of Workers at

CHRISTINE OH Senior Reporter

On Sunday night, Wharton junior Nia Matthews delivered her final address as president of Penn’s Undergraduate Assembly. Hours prior, Matthews sat down with The Daily Pennsylvanian to reflect on her tenure. Citing major initiatives under the 53rd session of the UA — including a resolution to support club sports and a budget reallocation project — Matthews said her focus has always been on prioritizing “the everyday student experience.” Despite serving as her high school’s class president, Matthews — who is also a current staffer at the DP — said she initially had no intention of participating in student government at Penn. “People would always ask me, ‘Are you going to do student government in college?’” Matthews recalled. “I was always like, ‘Absolutely not,’ because it just took so much of me.” When she arrived at Penn, however, Matthews described feeling a “natural inclination to start running again.” Reflecting on her presidency, Matthews explained that the role “really changed and defined” what “leadership” meant to her. “I think that when I first joined the UA, I joined with a much narrower perspective and understanding NEWS A federal bill could complicate voter registration for Penn students, experts say

of what leadership was and what it was supposed to look like,” she said. Matthews recalled her initial expectations for herself as a leader, describing “someone who was always composed, having the answers, being very certain.” “But through this role, and through the UA in general, I’ve learned that it’s more so about the patience, the humility, the having difficult conversations, and being comfortable with having uncomfortable conversations,” she said. She also added that it was “really important” for her to run for the highest office within the UA “in a time that’s so politically fragile and sometimes uncertain.” “I knew going in that this year was going to be hard, that there was so much political turmoil,” Matthews said. “What I didn’t realize was how much of an impact … the federal administration was going to have on higher education.” Matthews described the challenges she faced while approaching political issues from a studentcentered perspective — including a March resolution that urged Penn to establish clear protocols in response to potential federal immigration enforcement See MATTHEWS, page 6

SPORTS Penn women’s basketball alum Jordan Obi was drafted to the WNBA this week

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Penn welcomed admitted students from the Class of 2030 to campus this week for Quaker Days. The annual programming, which ran from April 13 to 15, included University-wide events and activities planned across all four undergraduate schools. Penn will host five “Quaker Campus Visits” throughout the month for students and families who were unable to attend the larger event. The Daily Pennsylvanian spoke with attendees about their Quaker Days experiences at Penn. Each of the three days featured similar scheduling, with major events held at the Palestra, Houston Hall, Penn Museum, and on College Green. University Life hosted a recurring “Student Life Fair” in Bodek Lounge, which featured several campus clubs and organizations. Cultural groups — such as Casa Latina, the Pan-Asian American Community House, and the Penn Women’s Center — held open houses throughout Quaker Days to showcase Penn’s various community hubs. Academic programming specific to the four undergraduate schools also drew large audiences. On Monday, students admitted to the College of Arts and Sciences gathered for a question and answer session as Dean Peter Struck, faculty, and current students shared their insights on life at Penn. During the event, Struck described Penn as a “restless” place where “great ideas are made to be put to work.” “The power of ideas is in front of you,” Struck added. “Find the great idea first, and then figure out how it’s going to transform the world.” He emphasized that “being undecided is See 2030, page 2

EBUNOLUWA ADESIDA | SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER

Admit ted s tudent s on Locus t Walk during Quaker Days on April 15.

Penn moves to stay court enforcement of antisemitism subpoena The April 13 motion to stay was filed alongside a notice of appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit LAVANYA MANI Staff Reporter

Penn filed a motion Monday requesting a Philadelphia court temporarily halt the enforcement of a ruling ordering the University to comply with a federal subpoena seeking information about Jewish students and faculty. The April 13 motion to stay was filed alongside a notice of appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. The filing is the latest development in an ongoing legal battle between Penn and the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over whether the agency has the authority to enforce a subpoena issued in July 2025. The motion comes after U.S. District Court Judge Gerald Pappert ordered the University to respond to the agency’s subpoena requests by May 1. In its memo, lawyers for the University argued that Penn was “likely to prevail on the appeal” and would face “irreparable injury absent a stay.” “Whether the constitution protects against the See EEOC, page 2

SPORTS Breaking down Penn track and field’s strongest performances of the season