THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA • FOUNDED 1885
PHILADELPHIA, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2022
VOL. CXXXVIII
NO. 23
Magill’s first
100 days
IN PHOTOS by jesse zhang PAGE 4
Magill’s inauguration to feature Sheryl Crow, Elena Kagan, and her goldendoodle, Olive The inauguration will include a procession down Locust Walk, a 5K around Penn Park, and Penn-themed ice cream SOPHIA POWELL Staff Reporter
This Friday marks the long-awaited inauguration of Penn’s ninth president Liz Magill, and the University has planned a plethora of festivities during Homecoming Weekend to celebrate. The inauguration will feature events including a procession down Locust Walk, a 5K around Penn Park, and a pet-friendly walk with Magill and her goldendoodle. The evening before Magill’s inauguration, the University Board of Trustees and president’s special guests will attend a dinner, according to the University. The two-day program will represent Magill’s official installation as the University’s ninth president, according to the University’s announcement in August. The festivities begin on Oct. 21 with an academic robing at 8:30 a.m. at the Annenberg Center. Magill, student leaders, and faculty will depart at 9:30 a.m. and walk in a procession through campus with Irvine Auditorium as the destination. Penn has invited presidents and delegates from peer institutions to attend the procession and inauguration, including Amy Gutmann and Judith Rodin, Penn’s
seventh and eighth presidents, respectively. The inauguration ceremony will take place in Irvine Auditorium at 10 a.m. Attendance is by invitation only, but the ceremony will be streamed live online, and members of the Penn community can watch the livestream of the ceremony under the tent at Penn Commons, in front of Houston Hall. After the inauguration ceremony, there will be a picnic and concert on College Green from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m., which members of the Penn community must register to attend. The concert will feature some of Magill’s favorite musicians: Jeff Tweedy, of the Grammy-winning rock band Wilco, and Sheryl Crow, a celebrated country music star, songwriter, and nine-time Grammy Award recipient. At the picnic, members of the Penn community can sample bites from restaurants such as Zahav, Federal Donuts, and Goldie; enjoy picnic fare from Neuman’s Kitchen; and taste a special scoop of “Penn-augural Berry Chocolate Chunk” ice cream from Bassetts Ice Cream. The University will host an academic symposium from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. in Irvine Auditorium. The
invitation-only event will feature Magill in conversation with United States Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan. The event will be live-streamed online and shown under the Penn Commons tent. The event harkens back to Magill’s background as an up-and-coming lawyer who clerked for late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg from 1996 to 1997. Ginsberg had described Magill as “the kind of law clerk I wish I could have kept forever” in a 2017 conversation with the World Justice Project. On Saturday, students can register to join Magill and Olive, her goldendoodle, on a walk down Locust along with the Quaker mascot, members of the Penn Band, student-athletes, and members of the Penn Vet Working Dog Center to Franklin Field, which is where the Penn Relays 5K will take place. Registrants are encouraged to bring along their own dogs. Members of the Penn community are also invited to participate in the second annual Penn Relays 5K, See MAGILL, page 2
Penn to fund Middle East Center after loss of federal funding sparked outcry The plan will be announced at the Oct. 26 University Council meeting and will sustain the Center for four and a half years JARED MITOVICH & SIERRA WEI Senior Reporter & Staff Reporter
Penn will fully fund the Middle East Center after it lost its federal Title VI funding, which had temporarily jeopardized the Center and its future. The University’s funding plan — a collaboration between the MEC, the School of Arts and Sciences, and the provost’s office — will be announced at the Oct. 26 University Council meeting and will sustain the Center for four and a half years. The MEC lost its federal Title VI funding from the United States Department of Education in August due to insufficient institutional support from the University. In response to a request for comment, SAS Dean Steven Fluharty wrote to The Daily Pennsylvanian See MEC, page 13
From faulty elevators to dirty common Criminal trial areas, high rise residents report date set for Penn maintenance issues senior charged Students also reported slow response times from maintenance, clogged trash chutes, with alleged and malfunctioning elevators assault at Castle party last year NITIN SESHADRI Staff Reporter
Some student residents have reported numerous maintenance issues, pest disturbances, and clogged trash chutes in Penn’s high-rise college houses. Home to nearly 2,400 students, Rodin, Harrison, and Harnwell college houses were constructed in the 1970s. The students that The Daily Pennsylvanian spoke with described slow response times to maintenance issues, including dirty common areas; clogged trash chutes; and malfunctioning elevators. Walt Molishus, the director of utilities with Facilities and Real Estate Services, said the most prevalent calls to maintenance in the three high rises are for light bulbs, clocks, sinks and toilets, and batteries for the locks on the doors. Common calls also include plumbing services, which is due
to the presence of kitchens and private bathrooms in the high rises. “In general, lighting, light bulbs, and plumbing account for about 80% of our calls on high rises,” Molishus said. “Routine work orders are targeted to be completed within 30 days or less. Emergencies are responded to immediately. ... Overall, [the average response time] is four and a half days.” Molishus added that if a student has any urgent issues, they should call FRES on the phone directly. However, an RA in Harrison — who asked to be anonymous out of fear of retaliation from the University — wrote to the DP that complaints felt See HIGH RISES, page 3
PHOTO BY JESSE ZHANG
Rodin College House on Oct. 17, 2022. SEND STORY IDEAS TO NEWSTIP@THEDP.COM
The College senior allegedly injured a Penn sophomore at a party held in the chapter house of his fraternity IMRAN SIDDIQUI Senior Reporter
The Municipal Court of Philadelphia County has set a criminal trial date for College senior Nicholas Hamilton, who has been charged in an alleged assault that occurred on campus last September. Hamilton allegedly injured a Penn sophomore at a party held on Sept. 4, 2021, in the chapter house of his fraternity, Psi Upsilon — also known as “Castle.” According to court documents viewed by The Daily Pennsylvanian, Hamilton has been charged with both simple assault and harassment, subject other to physical contact. His court trial is set for Nov. 8 at 10 a.m. after a private criminal complaint was filed on Oct. 3, 2022. Both Hamilton and his lawyer did not respond to requests for comment. The Philadelphia District Attorney’s office also did not respond to request for comment. A witness from the event, who requested anonymity due to their close relationship with the victim, previously told the DP in September 2021, that other Castle brothers were witnesses to the assault but did not intervene. After the victim appeared to be partially unconscious, the witness had told the DP that two other Castle brothers carried the victim out of the house. Later that night, the victim was transported via ambulance to the Penn Presbyterian
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PHOTO BY NICHOLAS FERNANDEZ
The chapter house of Psi Upsilon fraternity, commonly known as “Castle,” on Sept. 19, 2021.
Medical Center. The victim’s brother, a Penn student who was also present at the party but who did not witness the assault, previously told the DP that he suspected that race played a factor in the incident. The victim’s brother had said he previously had a disagreement with Hamilton after Hamilton allegedly made racist comments about South Africa, which is Hamilton’s home country, during a Castle rush event at an offcampus apartment in January 2021. In response to news of the alleged assault, Penn students had hung 300 flyers around campus calling to “END FRAT CULTURE.” A petition, created by students in September 2021, has garnered over 5,800 signatures to remove the Castle fraternity from their house and reuse the building as a central campus space. Over 50 students also held a four-day protest outside of the Castle chapter house in September 2021. The protestors previously told the DP they wanted Hamilton expelled from the University, the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life remove Castle from its chapter house, and Penn to release a statement condemning the incident and reassuring the student body that it would not tolerate any kind of hate crimes on campus. The University, however, has not released a statement on the matter. University spokesperson Ron Ozio did not respond to an immediate request for comment. CONTACT US: 215-422-4640