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

PHILADELPHIA, THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2025

VOL. CXLI

NO. 13

KATE AHN | SENIOR DESIGNER

Penn owns over $3 billion in University City real estate, DP analysis finds The Daily Pennsylvanian analyzed the property values of Penn’s real estate holdings in University City EMILY SCOLNICK Editor-in-Chief

The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania own over $3.3 billion worth of real estate in University City — three times as much as any other educational institution in the area — according to an analysis of city property records by The Daily Pennsylvanian. Penn’s real estate holdings in Philadelphia include the buildings on campus, University of Pennsylvania Health System facilities, several properties around the city, and many off-campus houses traditionally leased by students. Using the City of Philadelphia’s property records website, the DP analyzed over

1,600 properties located within the boundaries of 29th and 42nd streets and between Powelton and Grays Ferry avenues — the area depicted in Penn’s online Large Campus Map. According to the Consolidated Statements of Financial Position detailed in Penn’s fiscal year 2024 financial report, the net book value of Penn’s facilities — excluding properties within the Health System — is closer to $3.9 billion. In an interview with the DP, Penn Executive Vice President Craig Carnaroli said that the discrepancy between Penn’s records and the city’s can be attributed to a delay in

the city updating its records — illustrated by the fact that Gutmann College House, which opened in the fall of 2021, does not appear on the city’s website. On the city’s website, the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania are listed as the owner on the deed of around 185 properties on Penn’s campus map, making Penn the largest real estate holder in the University City area. By comparison, Drexel University is listed as the owner of just 12 properties worth just under $1 billion total, and the University of the Sciences — now owned and recently put up for sale by Saint Joseph’s University — also owns

12 properties worth close to $200 million. The University City Science Center, which was established in 1963 with significant help from the West Philadelphia Corporation — of which Penn is a member — owns six properties. Of the 20 properties with the highest estimated value within Penn’s campus map — which include several Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia facilities, Domus Apartments, Brandywine Realty Trust’s Philadelphia campus, and the area containing the See PROPERTY, page 2

Penn faculty criticize lack of University transparency after student visa revocations

Nia Matthews, Musab Chummun elected as UA president, vice president

In statements to and interviews with The Daily Pennsylvanian, faculty members criticized Penn administration’s lack of transparency and clarification since announcing three visas had been revoked

Wharton sophomore Nia Matthews was elected president by a vote of 1,169 to 964 over College junior and former Daily Pennsylvanian staffer Nicole Muravsky, and College sophomore Musab Chummun was elected vice president with 1,319 votes

ISHA CHITIRALA AND FINN RYAN Senior Reporters

CHRISTINE OH Staff Reporter

Higher education institutions have offered varied responses as the number of student visa revocations has continued to rise across the country. But two weeks since the news of the terminations first came to light, Penn remains silent. An April 7 email from International Student and Scholar Services to the international Penn community announced that “at least three” student visas were revoked by the federal government. Since then, in statements and interviews to The Daily Pennsylvanian, faculty members have criticized the Penn administration’s lack of both transparency and clarification on the issue. At the time of publication, the Trump administration has revoked over 1300 student visas across the country. Penn learned of the changes to the students’ immigration statuses through a check of the Student and Exchange Visitor Program database — an online system managed by the Department of Homeland Security that tracks the records of international students studying in the United States, according to ISSS. “Know that we will make every effort to provide you with timely guidance about recent immigration policy changes,” the April 7 announcement read. Since its initial message, Penn has not informed the wider University community of further revocations,

nor has it announced additional support to international students and faculty. Following numerous requests for comment, a University spokesperson did not disclose if any additional Penn students have been affected. After multiple requests for clarification, a University spokesperson told the DP that Penn is checking students’ visa statuses twice a day through SEVIS. ISSS later added that it was monitoring the impacts of a new federal policy terminating the visas of all South Sudanese passport holders. “I’m very concerned about this issue — what’s happening is outrageous,” Douglas Darian, the Mary Amanda Wood Professor of Physics and Astronomy, wrote in a statement to the DP. “Students and faculty, as well as general citizenry, should all be protesting. I also wish the administration issued more and frequent updates as well as a statement of support. In an ideal world Penn would also offer legal assistance.” School of Veterinary Medicine professor Andrew Vaughan emphasized the need for clarity regarding the immigration statuses of Penn community members in an interview with the DP. “You’re hard-pressed to find one of these professors who doesn’t have at least one international student or See VISAS, page 6

PHOTO COURTESY OF ERICA WIGUNA

Mat thews (lef t) and Chummun (right) were elected as the UA’s nex t president and vice president.

Wharton sophomore Nia Matthews and College sophomore Musab Chummun will serve as the Undergraduate Assembly’s next president and vice president. Matthews was elected president by a vote of 1,169 to 964 over College junior and former Daily Pennsylvanian staffer Nicole Muravsky, and Chummun was elected vice president with 1,319 votes. The Nominations and Elections Committee announced the results on April 15 at 10 a.m. after voting closed on April 10 at 10 p.m. In a statement to the DP, Matthews described the campaign as “one of the most strenuous and intense, yet meaningful processes of [her] life.” Chummun similarly wrote that the experience was “one of the most exhilarating, eventful, and moving things” he had ever done. This spring’s election also decided leaders for the 2026, 2027, and 2028 Class Boards. Wharton junior Vedika Jawa, College sophomore Natasha Kobelsky, and College first year Mert Kayabas were elected as the presidents of the 2026, 2027, and 2028 Class Boards, respectively. The results were released after NEC convened a See UA, page 3

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