INSIDE
HOUSING GUIDE 2022
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA • FOUNDED 1885
PHILADELPHIA, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2022
VOL. CXXXVIII
NO. 22
President Joe Biden stops by Penn’s campus in unexpected visit Biden walked down Walnut Street to the Penn Bookstore, greeting students along the way JONAH CHARLTON Senior Reporter
PHOTO BY EDWIN MEJIA
Fraternity houses at 38th and Walnut streets.
Fraternities struggle to meet occupancy requirements as sophomore housing policy takes hold Student leaders in Greek life reported less occupancy, greater difficulty in building community within their chapters RADWAN AZIM Staff Reporter
Members of Greek life expressed frustration toward Penn’s requirement that sophomores live on campus — which excludes fraternity and sorority housing — one year after the policy was implemented. The second-year housing policy, which was first announced in 2018, was enacted for the first time in fall 2021 for members of the Class of 2024, drawing pushback from students involved in Greek life. Penn has since reaffirmed that on-campus housing will not include affiliated fraternity and sorority housing, prompting changes in how Greek housing operates. Student leaders in Greek life told The Daily Pennsylvanian that they have seen less occupancy in Greek housing and greater difficulty in building community among their chapters. Penn’s Office of Fraternity & Sorority Life, the administrative liaison between Greek life and the University, acknowledged that the sophomore housing requirement has caused significant shifts among fraternity and sorority chapters, but said it has worked with Greek life homes to address issues. “The Office of Fraternity & Sorority Life has adjusted to the sophomore housing requirement by
working with chapters to plan next year’s occupancy during the fall term,” OFSL told the DP via email. “We’ve [the Office of Fraternity & Sorority Life] also worked collaboratively with campus partners and chapters to review occupancy configurations in each home.” Greek life housing occupancy has posed a problem since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, but intensified specifically with the second-year policy among Greek life. Before the policy, sophomore members contributed to a significant portion of fraternity and sorority houses’ occupancy. College junior Praveen Rodrigo, the president of Penn’s Beta Theta Pi chapter, said that his fraternity house has seen reduced occupancy as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the sophomore housing requirement. The chapter house currently houses 15 members, coming short of the school’s expected occupancy of 25 members. However, Rodrigo expects the numbers to increase to between 20 and 27 members in the next semester. Rodrigo added that the housing process includes guidelines for the occupancy rates in chapter houses. For example, a chapter house receives warnings for
each year there is a steady decline in occupancy, eventually leading to the threat and loss of the chapter house. He said that chapter houses across the board are feeling the pressure of maintaining occupancy in order to keep their houses, describing it as a “stressful” situation. “I would say definitely with the new rules, people adjusting to it, and COVID still lingering, it’s probably a problem [that] I would assume many chapters are feeling,” Rodrigo said. College senior Andrew Wilks, Alpha Epsilon Pi chapter president, expressed similar sentiments and stated that while their chapter has managed to maintain occupancy, other organizations have been more heavily impacted than others. “I think it’s put a large amount of strain on Greek life. We’ve already seen some Greek organizations lose their houses because prior to it sophomores at least [in] the large chapter houses, sophomores would comprise most of the house,” Wilks said. In addition to reduced occupancy, students — including College junior Lucas Loschiavo — told the DP that the sophomore housing requirement negatively impacts Greek life community building.
PHOTO BY DEREK WONG
President Biden walking down Walnut Street on Oct. 7, 2022.
In a surprise visit, President Joe Biden stopped by Penn’s campus on Friday afternoon, attracting hundreds of students and community members. Biden arrived around 3:45 p.m. at the University Meeting and Guest House, located at 3808 Walnut Street, before exiting around 5:25 p.m. and walking down Walnut Street to the Penn Bookstore, stopping to greet the crowd of students and Philadelphia residents who had gathered along the way. Biden, former Benjamin Franklin Presidential Practice Professor and founder of the Penn Biden Center, was accompanied by Penn President Liz Magill and his granddaughter, Natalie Biden, who was reportedly visiting the University. See BIDEN, page 2
Penn begins search for successor to Penn Carey Law Dean Ted Ruger
Wharton to offer environmental, social, and governance concentration, major
The announcement precedes the end of Ruger’s term on June 30, 2023, after eight years in the position
The undegraduate concentration requires the completion of 4.0 credit units of coursework from a list of approved courses
SIERRA WEI Staff Reporter
VIDYA PANDIARAJU Contributing Reporter
PHOTO BY MAX MESTER
Penn Carey Law School on Feb. 4, 2021.
Penn has formed a search committee to select a successor for University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School Dean Ted Ruger. President Liz Magill and Interim Provost Beth Winkelstein announced the formation of the committee on Oct. 4. The committee will be chaired by Wharton Dean Erika James and consists of 17 other members, including faculty, students, alumni, and consultants from Korn Ferry, an organizational consulting firm. “We are pleased to announce the formation of an ad hoc Consultative Committee to advise on the selection of the next Dean of the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School,” Magill and Winkelstein wrote in the announcement. The announcement precedes the upcoming end of Ruger’s term on June 30, 2023, after eight years in the position. In 2021, Penn extended Ruger’s term through June 2023, along with the term of Graduate SEND STORY IDEAS TO NEWSTIP@THEDP.COM
School of Education Dean Pam Grossman, who “expects to step down” at the end of her term. According to University policy, deans typically serve no more than 12 years in their position, with a first term of no more than seven years. Under Ruger’s tenure, Penn Carey Law rose to sixth in the U.S. News & World Report law school rankings, the highest ranking the law school has achieved, and continues to lead in employment rate after graduation, spokesperson Meredith Rovine wrote in an email to The Daily Pennsylvanian. Penn Carey Law also improved student diversity and access to legal education. Students at the law school today come from a broader range of backgrounds, have higher median LSAT scores and grades, and have greater demographic diversity than ever before. Since 2013, financial aid has risen 83%, See CAREY LAW, page 3
The Wharton School announced the new Environmental, Social, and Governance Factors for Business concentration and major, which will be available for students to declare in the 2023-2024 school year. The ESGB concentration, which will be offered at the undergraduate level, requires the completion of 4.0 credit units of coursework from a list of approved courses. Students can take on the concentration either with or without additional specializations, which are offered in Business, Energy, Environment, and Sustainability or in Social and Governance and require at least 3.0 CU of required courses in these areas of focus. The ESGB major, which will be offered to Wharton MBA students, is designed for “individuals of all backgrounds with a vested interest” in Environmental, Social and Governance — a field focused on sustainable and socially responsible investing
Huntsman Hall on May 1, 2021. ONLINE AT THEDP.COM
— who see it as the future of business, according to Vice Dean and Faculty Director of the ESG Initiative Witold Henisz. “In order to be a business leader in this century, [one] needs to understand the essentials of how to run and finance a business — the operations, marketing, management, financing — but also to understand the social context in which [one’s] business operates,” professor of Legal Studies and Business Ethics Sarah Light said. The exact team that started the development of the new concentration is “hard to isolate,” according to Henisz, who highlighted Light’s involvement. He also indicated “lots of stakeholder support,” specifically referencing the Penn senior leadership team, alumni currently working in or pursuing ESGB-related See WHARTON, page 3
PHOTO BY DIEGO CÁRDENAS URIBE
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