THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA • FOUNDED 1885
PHILADELPHIA, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2024
VOL. CXL
NO. 23
Greek Lady ordered to cease operations following numerous health code violations The restaurant amassed 19 city health code violations, according to the most recent inspection report EMILY SCOLNICK Senior Reporter
Greek Lady, a popular restaurant near Penn’s campus, was shut down by the City of Philadelphia’s Department of Health on Oct. 16 due to health code violations. Greek Lady, which first opened in 2004 at 40th and Walnut streets, was ordered to cease operations on Wednesday morning, according to a sign on the door of the restaurant. In total, the restaurant amassed 19 Philadelphia Health Code violations, according to the most recent inspection report published on the Philadelphia Department of Public Health’s website. The order states that the restaurant must correct its violations and be recertified by the Philadelphia Department of Health in order to resume operations. It is unclear how long the restaurant will be closed. A handwritten note at the top of the Cease Operations Order paper reads “2 days,” but The Daily Pennsylvanian was unable to confirm the length of the shutdown. Greek Lady ownership and the City of Philadelphia have not responded to requests for comment by the time of publication. The restaurant is required to correct its violations according to Section 6-502 of the Philadelphia Health Code, says the inspection report, which adds that a failure to comply may result in the restaurant’s health license being revoked. The notice adds that the restaurant will be required to pay a $315 fee for reinspection. The violations, all of which fall under Section 6-300 of the Health Code, included a lack of proper date marking of food, inadequate food service certification from the City of Philadelphia, and a lack of proper sanitation of food-contact surfaces — all of which are repeat violations. See GREEK LADY, page 3
DESIGN BY EMMI WU
How the presidential candidates’ digital ad spending in Penn’s zip code compares The analysis found that Harris has outspent Trump by an estimated $36,004 since she became the Democratic nominee MAKENZIE KERNECKEL Staff Reporter
Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign has outspent former President and 1968 Wharton graduate Donald Trump’s campaign on digital advertisements targeted to the University of Pennsylvania’s ZIP code, according to an analysis by The Daily Pennsylvanian. The DP used data concerning locally targeted ads on Google and Snapchat from a project developed by Andrew Arenge, director of operations for the Penn Program on Opinion Research and Election
Studies, to compare targeted digital ad spending in the 19104 ZIP code. The analysis found that Harris has outspent Trump by an estimated $36,004 since she became the Democratic nominee. Harris ran 867 ads between Aug. 2 and Oct. 7 targeted to Penn’s ZIP code, compared to 20 ads from Trump starting from April 17, with the most recent on Sept. 5. In September alone, the Harris campaign spent an estimated $26,389 on digital ads locally targeted to the 19104 ZIP code. The Trump
campaign’s highest spending month was May, with an estimated expenditure for targeted digital ads of $2,184. “I’ve long been convinced that this data is a good leading indicator of where candidates are allocating their resources and how they perceive their voters’ locations,” Arenge said in a recent article with Penn Today. Higher digital Democratic spending levels See SPENDING, page 3
Students criticize campus closures during Indigenous Peoples’ Day vigil for Palestine
Indigenous groups at Penn Faculty for Justice in Palestine hosted the vigil, which. drew over 250 participants who rallied for nearly two hours Penn celebrate community, on native presence” — as an overarching theme identity of the vigil. JASMINE NI AND VIDYA PANDIARAJU Senior Reporters
ETHAN YOUNG | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Gates were installed at Blanche P. Levy Park ahead of the vigil on Oct. 14. Philadelphia and Penn Police closed off Locust A University spokesperson did not respond to a Walk from 34th to 36th streets — as well as sev- request for comment on the vigil. eral surrounding roads — in response to a vigil The vigil started at 3:30 p.m. and directly mourning the Palestinian, Lebanese, and Syrian blocked traffic at the intersection of 34th and lives lost in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. Walnut streets for about 10 minutes. It then Penn Faculty for Justice in Palestine hosted the moved in front of Fisher-Bennett Hall briefly vigil in conjunction with Penn Students Against while police redirected traffic. Police closed the Occupation of Palestine and Penn Jewish Walnut and Chestnut streets between 33rd and Voice for Peace, as well as eight organizations 34th streets to traffic, and the vigil then returned not affiliated with the University, including Na- to the intersection for about 25 minutes. Speaktives in Philly and the Philly Palestine Coalition. ers addressed the crowd, who chanted and took The vigil, which was called “Indigenous Peoples part in moments of silence. Day Palestine Solidarity Vigil,” had over 250 One speaker at the vigil pointed to “survivparticipants who rallied for nearly two hours. ance” — which they defined as “the insistence
“Keep in mind that we are standing on Indigenous land that has been colonized and pillaged the same way Palestinian land is currently being colonized and pillaged,” the speaker said. As participants arrived, organizers passed out cardboard key necklaces which listed the names of “depopulated villages in Palestine,” an organizer of the vigil who did not identify themselves by name told The Daily Pennsylvanian. In the first speech of the afternoon, the speaker encouraged the group to wear them “as a symbol of connection to the homeland and eventual return.” Throughout the vigil, around 10 organizers held up olive branches. The first speaker said they serve as an homage to the olive branch’s “integral” role in Palestinian culture. “Our farmers themselves have been fostering, keeping, and maintaining their olive trees for over 100 years, and in 1948, when European colonizers came to pillage their land, the way the European colonizers pillaged this land, they burned over 800,000 [olive] trees,” the speaker said. At around 4:15 p.m., the vigil marched to the 200 block of South 34th Street, behind Fisher Fine Arts Library. A UPennAlert was sent out notifying the University community of the group’s movement, writing that traffic was “restricted in that block.” The group again stood in the middle of the street as speakers addressed ecocide — the pollutant and landscape-altering effects of the ongoing conflict in Gaza — and read poetry. One speaker also criticized Ghost Robotics, a company housed in Pennovation Works that See VIGIL, page 3
There will be record high voter turnout this year. You have the right to vote. If anyone tries to stop you, call the Election Protection Hotline at 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683).
SEND STORY IDEAS TO NEWSTIP@THEDP.
ONLINE AT THEDP.COM
College senior and DP staffer Mollie Benn, a member of NAP and the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, said that Indigenous Peoples’ Day serves as a reminder that “Indigenous people are still here” VIDYA PANDIARAJU Senior Reporter
Indigenous student groups at Penn commemorated Indigenous Peoples’ Day on Monday with a picnicstyle lunch at Greenfield Intercultural Center. Members of Natives at Penn and Quechua at Penn gathered on Oct. 14 to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day, which “recognize[s] and honor[s] Indigenous resilience and endurance through history,” according to NAP’s Instagram post. Students also later attended a celebration organized by Indigenous Peoples’ Day Philly celebrating communities in Philadelphia and beyond. College senior and DP staffer Mollie Benn, a member of NAP and the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, said that Indigenous Peoples’ Day serves as a reminder that “Indigenous people are still here.” “Some people consider [Oct. 14] to be Columbus Day, but that’s very forgetting of what happened in America. A whole population of people existed prior to the arrival of Europeans,” Benn said. Philadelphia started recognizing Oct. 14 as Indigenous Peoples’ Day rather than Columbus Day in 2021. See INDIGENOUS, page 3
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov 5, 2024. Paid for by VoteAmerica.org CONTACT US: 215-422-4640