January 18, 2018 by The Daily Pennsylvanian

THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 2018 VOL. CXXXIV NO. 3

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U. unlikely to shift policies on marijuana The University’s policy must be consistent with federal law, as aspects of life at Penn rely on federal funding MAX COHEN Staff Reporter

The past month has brought a whirlwind of activity in laws surrounding the sale and consumption of marijuana: the state of Vermont passed a recreational marijuana bill, Attorney General Jeff Sessions allowed federal prosecutors to crack down on state marijuana programs, and Pennsylvania announced plans to open its first medical marijuana dispensary in late January. But amid this atmosphere of change, Penn’s policies towards marijuana remain constant. According to Director for the Office of Alcohol and Other Drug Program Initiatives Noelle Melartin, Penn’s campus follows federal laws on marijuana in order to maintain federal funding. So unless marijuana becomes legal in accordance to federal law, it will continue to be a banned substance at Penn. As outlined on the Vice Provost for University Life website, Penn follows the national Controlled Substances Act passed in 1970. The law states that distributing small amounts of marijuana could lead to a year in prison and/or a $5,000 fine. If distribution takes place on a college campus or within 1,000 feet of a campus, the penalties could double. Penalties could double or triple if the dis-

tribution is to a person under the age of 21. Penn also has a specific University Alcohol and Drug Policy that includes expulsion as a possible consequence for violating the antidrug campus policy, despite the fact that marijuana is decriminalized in Philadelphia. “While there is a big variety of what’s happening across the country [with marijuana laws] in different states, institutions like universities fall under federal law,” Melartin said. “Certain things that are very central to the life of a university, such as financial aid and grant funding for research come from federal funding.” As a University, Penn falls subject to the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act Amendments of 1989 that decrees that schools who violate federal law with regards to drugs are at risk of losing federal funding. However, Inside Higher Ed reported that this threat to funding has never been formally implemented. Federal law currently classifies marijuana as a Schedule 1 substance, according to Marcel BonnMiller, a Penn assistant professor of Psychology in Psychiatry. Bonn-Miller’s research specializes in the potential for cannabis to be used as a treatment for individuals SEE POT PAGE 6

Penn Figure Skating Club in need of University funding SAC rejected the club’s request for funding CLAIRE SLINEY Staff Reporter

For almost two years, the Penn Figure Skating Club has fought to receive University funding. Time and time again, it has been turned away. The Penn Figure Skating Club, comprised of almost 40 active members, is in a difficult position compared to most other clubs on campus. Although the skating club is recognized by the Student Activities Council, it cannot receive SAC funding. According to the SAC website, “earning SAC recognition provides groups with access to SAC funding as well as a budget code and bank account in [the Office of Student

Affairs].” However, because the skating club is recognized as both a recreational and competing activity, it has to receive its funding from the Sports Club Council — a subdivision of Penn Recreation — rather than from SAC. In other words, SAC cannot provide funding for the club. Sports clubs that are part of the SCC allow their members to hold practices several times a week, as well as to compete against surrounding schools in designated leagues and tournaments, according to its website. In a Nov. 25 email from SAC Vice Chair and New Group Recognition Director and College and Wharton senior Nikita Sood to Figure Skating Club President SEE SAC PAGE 2

ALANA SHUKOVSKY | DESIGN EDITOR ANANYA CHANDRA | SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER

Five of the respondents alleged sexual harrassment at Penn KATIE STEELE & MICHEL LIU Contributing Reporter & Assignments Editor

new public survey on sexual harassment in higher education has pointed towards a range of alleged incidents at Penn. One respondent said their Penn professor hugged her and caressed her neck even when she tried to break free; another wrote that “in a sick moment, [their professor]

stuck his tongue inside [her] mouth.” Karen Kelsky, a former anthropology professor at the University of Oregon and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign started this survey on Nov. 30, inviting victims of harassment to share their stories, Philly Voice reported. As of Jan. 16, over 2,300 responses were filed in the rapidly-growing spreadsheet that calls on anonymous respondents to describe incidents of sexual harassment that they have faced within the realm of academia and high-

er education. Five entries of sexual harassment allegedly were perpetrated by Penn colleagues, mentors, and faculty members. Four of the respondents were graduate students at the time of the incident, while one was an adjunct lecturer. All the respondents said their alleged harassers were male. On Dec. 7, an adjunct lecturer described an incident with a tenured dissertation adviser who made an unwantSEE SURVEY PAGE 3

Wharton alumna launched startup to help students with financial aid The startup has worked with 200,000 families NAOMI ELEGANT Staff Reporter

When College junior Kenneth Lac was applying to college, he had to fill out all his financial aid applications himself — his parents, firstgeneration immigrants, did not speak enough English to be able to complete the forms. When his mother lost her job at the start of last semester, Lac had to renegotiate his financial aid by himself, a process he described as “a struggle” that made tasks like buying textbooks for class and applying for study abroad programs extremely complicated. “Life is on hold when money is on hold,” Lac said. In launching her startup Frank, 2013 Wharton graduate Charlie Javice set out to help people exactly like Lac.

OPINION | Taking a Break from Social Media

“We use our phones to avoid making eye contact with people on Locust Walk, in line at a grocery store, and in the elevator.” -Jay Shah PAGE 4

SPORTS | Great Expectations

After returning all but two gymnasts from last season, Penn gymnastics sets the bar high on its goals for the year BACKPAGE

Founded in 2016, Javice’s company is a 20-person startup that aims to reduce student debt by advocating for better initial financial aid, rather than saddling college graduates with large student loans. Javice said Frank has saved an average of $7,000 in tuition for each student who has used the service. Since its launch, Frank has worked with over 200,000 families, according to the website. Frank seeks to minimize the cost of college in two ways — assisting with the “difficult” federal financial aid application process and negotiating with college financial aid offices to get more aid for students. Javice founded Frank to make higher education more affordable after her own struggles renegotiating financial aid at Penn. “The concept of the American Dream is really dead if

you look at student debt,” Javice said. “I grew up in a household where my parents were always very much saying ‘If you love what you do you will become something and be someone if you work hard enough at it’, and that just isn’t true for most of America because of student debt.” Any student applying for financial aid begins by filling out a FAFSA application, and Frank helps those students in a manner similar to how TurboTax helps people file their taxes. The company also offers an aid appeal service that helps students renegotiate their aid packages, with “the lowest tuition guaranteed.” “You should never accept the first aid offer that you get,” said Javice, who described her “frustrating” experience dealing with her own financial aid. As an undergraduate at Penn, Javice undertook

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an appeal for better financial aid and learned how time consuming the process can be for families. The “back and forth” with Penn’s financial aid office to negotiate for more aid, though ultimately successful, took a semester, and happened every year with every new aid award. “It’s grueling, it’s emotional,” Javice said, adding that her mother was “in tears” during several phone conversations with the financial aid office. “That doesn’t help the administrator get the information out of you,” Javice said. “We work with you and make sure they get someone professional on the other side.” According to Director of Communications in the Division of Finance Paul Richards, though, Penn Student Financial Services has never worked SEE STARTUP PAGE 2

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Penn Law professor defends Guantanamo prisoner Ammar al-Baluchi has been imprisoned for 13 years SETH SCHUSTER Staff Reporter

In a case that The New York Times said “may be the most significant trial of our lifetimes,” Penn Law School professor Alka Pradhan will defend Ammar alBaluchi, who has remained a prisoner at Guantanamo Bay for his alleged involvement in the 9/11 attacks. The United States has charged Baluchi and four co-defendants with conspiracy, terrorism, hijacking, and 2,976 counts of murder. Pradhan will serve as “human rights council” and said her primary objective is to detail Baluchi’s torture and mistreatment while in custody for more than 13 years. To the best of her ability, she said she will emphasize human rights protected by the Geneva Conventions, which

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and College senior Chiara Bettale, Sood wrote, “It is SAC’s policy to only recognize competitive sports groups that are also recognized by their umbrella organization: Sports Club Council (SCC). This is to control costs and allocate practice space fairly.” “Upon reading through your group’s mission and we concluded that your group would be considered a competitive sports group and therefore must seek SCC recognition (through which your group would be able to gain SAC funding),” Sood added. Bettale responded to Sood’s email saying that although the club was interested in competing in the future, its foremost priority was to receive enough funding to be able to skate recreationally together as a club. “After all the effort to gather enough skaters in the past 3 years here at Penn, it is a real pity to find

state that not only can tortured prisoners not be executed, but it also states that they must be rehabilitated. Pradhan — who holds a B.A. in International Relations, an M.A. in International Law and South Asia Studies, a J.D., and an LL.M. in International Human Rights — said she has always been drawn to international law. Her career as a Guantanamo attorney began on the “habeas side,” representing “low-value detainees” in litigation regarding habeas corpus claims and detention conditions. “She has helped bring a global spotlight on the defense of detainees and continues to have a transformative impact on the legal regime applicable to them,” Penn Law professor and Director of Perry World House William Burke-White said. “[Pradhan] has been a champion of the due process rights and fair procedures for detainees at Guanta-

out that the only obstacle to pursue our club aims is completely out of our control,” she wrote back. Sood explained that Penn Recreation recently implemented a moratorium temporarily blocking any new groups from receiving financial support due to a lack of available funding within the SCC. “We have been trying to become SCC recognized in the past two years, but the moratorium does not seem to allow new groups any time soon,” Bettale said. “We tried to apply for SAC without being SCC recognized, and they recognized our value as a club, but they kindly rejected us because we do not meet one technical qualification which is that we are not in SCC.” Bettale explained that as a senior, it is extremely frustrating knowing that she will graduate without reaping the benefits of all of her hard work. “It’s just a very unfortunate situation,” she said. When Bettale arrived on cam-

ALKA PRADHAN

namo Bay.” In 2015, when Baluchi was granted the opportunity to add a member to his team, Pradhan was at the top of his list. Since then, in addition to teaching “International Human Rights Post 9/11” in spring 2017 and 2018 at Penn Law, Pradhan has traveled to Guantanamo every month or two to speak with Baluchi. Piecing together what happened to Baluchi while in U.S. custody can be difficult for the defense, Pradhan said, as there

pus as a freshman, Penn’s Figure Skating Club was barely in existence. There were no skaters during designated practice hours and no official elections for the club’s board. But by the beginning of her junior year, Bettale said she was able to reinvent and stimulate the growth of the club. “I just started asking any skater I could find if they would want to be part of a Penn skating club,” she said. “I’m very satisfied with what we have accomplished so far.” However, she also added that there is more work to be done and that funding is key to growing the club. Currently, the club cannot afford to reserve private slots at the ice rink because each one costs around $400. Although there are designated time slots for anyone to come and skate for fun at the Penn Ice Rink at the Class of 1923 Arena, these time slots are often infrequent and inconvenient. In addition, each hour-long

exists a wealth of evidence and documents to which only the prosecution has access. “This is the biggest criminal trial in U.S. history and we are not being given the basic information that we should be given to properly defend someone in a capital trial,” Pradhan said. Pradhan added that she said does not even know when the case, which is still in pretrial motions, will reach trial — and she currently believes this day is far away, if it will come at all. Even if a trial is held, Pradhan said human rights violations make it impossible for that trial to be fair since “all of the evidence is tainted.” “From the first moment a detainee is water-boarded or walled, I don’t think it’s possible to hold a fair trial,” she said. “Most of the statements and documents are from after their years of torture.” Despite the difficulties of

AERIAL VIEW OF CAMP PHILLIPS, GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA

The case is expected to be one of the biggest criminal trials in U.S. history and is still in the process of going through pretrial motions.

Pradhan’s latest case, her students and colleagues have confidence in her abilities. “It is quite rare in law school to find a professor who has both such a strong grasp on the legal

doctrine and practical experience,” Penn Law graduate and former student of Pradhan, Patricia Stottlemyer said. “It was really a formative and unique experience.”

STARTUP

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COURTESY OF PENN ICE SKATING CLUB

The club cannot currently afford to reserve the private slots at the ice rink and the free-skate hours are infrequent and inconvenient.

freestyle session, where trained skaters can practice, costs $10 per person, making it unaffordable for club members on a regular basis. Bettale said University funding would help to cover the costs of the freestyle sessions so that the club could skate together on a weekly basis without financial restraints. College junior and Chair of the Student Activities Committee Michael Krone said members of SAC

are trying to find a way to solve the moratorium crisis, but did not immediately indicate if Penn Figure Skating would be able to receive funding. “Any sports clubs that want to form should be able to, and a lack of facilities shouldn’t mean that students can’t pursue their interests and passions,” Krone said. “That just doesn’t seem right.”

with the company before. Frank has already attracted significant interest from investors, and recently raised $10 million in funding. Frank’s new lead investor is 1984 Wharton graduate Marc Rowan. At Penn, Javice was involved with Wharton’s Social Impact Initiative, as well as its Entrepreneurship Center. She also founded the non-profit PoverUp, a microfinance and investment platform for students to alleviate poverty. Currently, Frank is expanding its student outreach, with plans to create work-study positions and services to help students apply for state aid and scholarships. “That’s really what Frank’s about,” Javice said. “Enabling people to pursue their dreams and not let student debt hinder them.”

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 2018

Suspect in Bernstein case charged with murder

Bernstein’s murder may have been a hate crime SARAH FORTINSKY Senior News Editor

The primary suspect in the homicide case of College sophomore Blaze Bernstein was charged with murder on Jan. 17 for allegedly stabbing Bernstein to death. At a press conference on the afternoon of Jan. 17, Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas announced there would be a bail hearing later that day for defendant Samuel Woodward, 20, with the scheduled amount set at $1 million. He said bail likely will be set “because it’s a murder case, but it’s not a special circumstance case.” But by later that afternoon, it was reported that prosecutors had persuaded a judge to remove the option of allowing Woodward to get out on bail. Woodward’s arraignment has now been postponed until Feb.

2. If he is convicted of the charges laid out on Wednesday, Woodward could face up to 26 years in state prison, the Register reported. “We’re going to work to try to make it as high as we can under the circumstances,” Rackauckas said. “You’ll hear the arguments in court, but we have some reasons to suggest bail should be higher.” On Jan. 15, it was revealed that Bernstein, who was gay, was stabbed over 20 times in what authorities suggest was “an act of rage.” Rackauckas began the press conference on Wednesday by noting the heights and weights of the defendant — 6 foot 2 inches, 185 pounds — and of the victim — 5 foot 8 inches, 135 pounds — and by detailing the accusations that have been made against Woodward, who had attended high school with Bernstein at the Orange County School of the Arts. Woodward was accused of communicating with Bernstein through

Snapchat on Jan. 2, the night of Bernstein’s disappearance; he was accused of picking up Bernstein that night at his parents’ home after communicating via social media; he was accused of having abrasions, scratches, and dirt on his hands; and he was accused of cleaning up the car he used the night he picked up Bernstein. Additionally, Rackauckas said Woodward was accused of visiting the crime scene in the days following Bernstein’s murder. “This is a senseless murder of a young man who possessed a combination of a high caliber mind and a heart of a poet,” Rackauckas said. Bernstein’s death has had a profound impact on the community of Lake Forest, CBS reported. This is the only homicide reported in the city in the past four years, authorities said. Hundreds of people attended his funeral held earlier this week. At Penn, Bernstein had been elected to serve as the managing ed-

itor of the food magazine Penn Appétit just before he returned home from break. He was also a copy associate for Penn Review and was slated to work as a copy associate for 34th Street Magazine. Following Woodward’s arrest, there have been reports that the murder was also a hate crime specifically targeted against Bernstein’s sexuality. Rackauckas said at the press conference that they have yet to establish motive, but that they were “open to all evidence.” “The question of a hate crime is one question that we have about the possibility of special circumstances, and so we’re looking to see whether or not that might be supported,” he said. Bernstein’s parents, Gideon Bernstein and Jeanne Pepper, said to the LA Times that a hate crime could be a possibility in the murder of their son. “Our son was a beautiful gentle soul who we loved more than any-

COURTESY OF GIDEON BERNSTEIN

Woodward was accused of communicating with Bernstein through Snapchat on Jan. 2, the night of Bernstein’s disappearance.

thing. We were proud of everything he did and who he was. He had nothing to hide. We are in solidarity with our son and the LGBTQ community,” the Bernsteins wrote to the LA Times. “If it is determined that this was a hate crime, we will cry not only for our son, but for LGBTQ people everywhere that live in fear or who have been victims of [a] hate crime,” they added. Bernstein went missing five days

before he was meant to return to campus for the start of his second semester. He was on the pre-med track and Bernstein’s father said his son was considering majoring in psychology. “Blaze should be back at college right now doing what college students do,” Rackauckas said at the press conference. “Going to class, organizing study notes, hanging out with his friends, dreaming about who they were going to become.”

Penn’s newest interdisciplinary initiative promotes research MindCORE mixes disciplines related to the brain CLAIRE SLINEY Staff Reporter

MindCORE, a newly developed program housed under “Mapping the Mind,” joins the slew of interdisciplinary initiatives within the College of Arts and Sciences. The Center for Outreach, Research, and Education — the newest of Penn’s neurological, behavioral, and intelligence-based research initiatives — is launching this January. One of its primary goals is to connect intelligence and behavior-based research both within the College and between other schools at Penn. The University offers a plethora of neuroscience-based majors and programs. However, many of the

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ed advance towards her. When she tried to stop the unwanted propositions by going to her superiors, she was shot down. “[M]y (male) chair said he thought it was likely a misunderstanding and that he couldn’t protect my identity if he discussed it with the faculty member; the Dean of our division said that we could do nothing and see if the problem went away; or I could approach him, or the chair could. Not trusting my chair, I decided I had to address the harasser myself,” the adjunct lecturer wrote. “As frustrating and uncomfortable as my situation with the harasser was, the institutional response was and remains far more upsetting,” she continued. “Knowing that the University’s primary goal [is] to protect itself and [its] image rather than vulnerable women is repugnant.” President of Graduate and Professional Student Assembly and third-year graduate student in the School of Design and School of Arts and Sciences Miles Owen said the lecturer’s frustrating outreach to several different administrators is a “fairly common occurrence.” “[They] went to the Ombudsman, went to the Dean’s office, went to their chair, and nobody could specifically deal with it,” Owen said. “If you create such a barrier for reporting, it makes it hard to fully address the issue.” A former woman graduate student wrote that a male senior fellow in her graduate fellowship at Penn would aggressively flirt with the “newest, prettiest women” in their annual society of fellows meeting. “I know you will hear much worse stories, but this type of sexual harassment is completely pervasive and undermines our careers,” she said. Professor Greg Urban, the department chair of Anthropology, one of the fields mentioned in the allegations, wrote in an emailed statement that, in over a cumulative decade as department chair, he had not been made aware of sexual harassment allegations against Anthropology department faculty. He referred to the University’s Sexual Harassment Policy and added that the Anthropology

College majors that pertain to the study of the brain, such as cognitive science, visual studies, biological basis of behavior, and psychology, are often kept separate from one another, psychology professor and MindCORE Executive Committee member David Brainard said. “MindCORE, among other things, will provide support to those majors to make sure that they are getting attention beyond what the departments do on their own,” Brainard said. “The time is right so that a little bit of injection of support could allow faculty and their students in these fields to accomplish more together than they would as individuals.” According to a press release, the center’s objectives are threefold — outreach, education, and research. Each objective is supported by the implementation of concrete initia-

tives, such as a regular interdisciplinary Mind and Brain Seminar Series, endowed graduate fellowships, and coding bootcamps. One of the center’s major principles is to focus on the undergradu-

department will support students and faculty who report such incidents. Professor and Chair of the Art & Archaeology of the Mediterranean World Graduate Program Tom Tartaron declined to comment on an incident that allegedly took place in the “Arts and Archaeology” graduate discipline. University spokesperson Stephen MacCarthy made similar remarks. He did not directly address the allegations made in the spreadsheet, but said in an email statement, “We do not tolerate sexual harassment and take any allegation seriously. Anyone who feels they have been a

victim of harassment should report it immediately, and know that the University will investigate and take appropriate action.” The survey initiated by Kelsky comes in light of the surging #MeToo movement, which has brought the ubiquity of sexual harassment into the international spotlight. Last October, following various reports of sexual harassment by faculty, students in the Graduate School of Education organized a petition calling on Penn to clarify the policies that Penn has in preventing and investigating incidents of sexual harassment on campus.

ate population specifically. MindCORE Executive Director Heather Calvert explained that one of the many opportunities the program offers is the Undergraduate Summer Fellowship Program in

Interdisciplinary Mind and Brain Studies. The ten-week-long, fulltime fellowship will grant selected students $3,500 as a stipend as well as a position on a research project with MindCORE faculty. “MindCORE promotes cuttingedge research, increases the broader societal impact of new knowledge about human behavior and decision making gained from current research, and influences public policy and education through coordinated outreach programs,” the press release read. College senior Chiara Bettale said that as a student majoring in the biological basis of behavior and minoring in psychology, interdisciplinary study has been vital to her learning experience at Penn and that she would have been interested in the program had it been created earlier.

Bettale explained that the two subjects complemented one another and each helped to contextualize what she was learning in the other. “Psych classes gave me some perspective on what I was studying in BBB,” said Bettale. “It was the combination — it was translating science into understanding actually who we are, it was that connection that made me think that BBB and psych were the best fit.” MindCORE is a new sector of the “Mapping the Mind” efforts within the College’s recently announced Foundations and Frontiers strategic plan. One of the plan’s primary goals is to promote interdisciplinary research and teaching. MindCORE is still in its early stages of establishment and its specific programs remain in development.

In the 2015 Association of American Universities Campus Climate Survey, 42 percent of female Penn graduate student respondents and 32 percent of male graduate student respondents reported being the victims of sexual harassment. Across the board, the petition also showed that graduate students were more likely than undergraduate students to identify faculty members as offenders. “For graduate students who work for Penn, the power and supervisory role of faculty can make reporting difficult and retaliation a

serious threat,” the 2017 petition reads. Programming Chair for Penn Association for Gender Equality and College sophomore Tanya Jain said PAGE views such anonymous surveys as “helpful in refuting plausible deniability.” “So if someone was to say, ‘I don’t think sexual harassment is a problem at Penn,’ these stories could be used to show that it is,” Jain said. However, Jain added that anonymous surveys are not enough

to address sexual harassment in academia. She said the University should facilitate survivors coming forward and reconsider its responses to sexual harassment. “A verbal reprimand isn’t going to be effective at stopping this system of abuse because it’s based on the power that these professors hold,” Jain said. “So when administration is thinking about ways to respond to [harassment], they should think about what will be effective at stopping the system of abuse that’s very ingrained within academia.”

By bringing disciplines such as psychology, neuroscience, and visual studies together, MindCORE promotes cutting-edge research.

Live music • Film • Dance • Theater Art Education • Community PEACE-A-THON: Public Health Initiatives on Aggression, Violence, Bullying and Preventive Life Choices of Grief & Loss as a Community Engagement Jan 17 @ 4:00 PM

A 2018 Celebration of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday and Civil Matters Keepsakes. Honoring Peace Not Guns, Penn’s Fels School of Government Peace-the-Hood, Peace in the Streets Campaign

Who Will Win the Bag? Competition Jan 18 @ 7:00 PM

Come witness a show like no other...some of the best Artists around competing for ONE BAG OF MONEY. The crowd picks the winner...the crowd can also boo the artist they don’t like off the stage...this gone be too much fun...DON’T MISS IT!!! doors open at 630 show starts at 7! @supaflynowings

Audrey Chen + special guest with Daniel de Jesús pres. by Bowerbird Jan 19 @ 8:00 PM

Admission is FREE Bowerbird is excited to present a rare Philadelphia appearance by experimental vocal duo Audrey Chen and her British singing partner Opening the evening will be cellistsinger Daniel de Jesús.

Sirius JuJu | Fly Or Die Jan 21 @ 7:00 PM

Admission is $5. More appreciated. Sirius JuJu | Fly Or Die a soundbending by Bop Life & Pionic Records. Sirius JuJu: Heru Shabaka-Ra – trumpet, Mike Watsun - bass clarinet, Alex Kulick – guitar, Ben Rosen – bass & Julius Masri - drum

As an alcohol-free/smoke-free venue, The Rotunda provides an invaluable social alternative for all ages.

4014 Walnut • TheRotunda.org

OPINION For Blaze GUEST COLUMN BY JAMIE-LEE JOSSELYN

THURSDAY JANUARY 18, 2018 VOL. CXXXIV, NO. 3 134th Year of Publication DAVID AKST President REBECCA TAN Executive Editor CHRIS MURACCA Print Director JULIA SCHORR Digital Director HARRY TRUSTMAN Opinion Editor SARAH FORTINSKY Senior News Editor JONATHAN POLLACK Senior Sports Editor LUCY FERRY Senior Design Editor GILLIAN DIEBOLD Design Editor CHRISTINE LAM Design Editor ALANA SHUKOVSKY Design Editor BEN ZHAO Design Editor KELLY HEINZERLING News Editor MADELEINE LAMON News Editor HALEY SUH News Editor MICHEL LIU Assignments Editor COLE JACOBSON Sports Editor THEODOROS PAPAZEKOS Sports Editor

The following guest column is the text of a speech given at a memorial service for College sophomore Blaze Bernstein by his academic advisor, JamieLee Josselyn. My name is Jamie-Lee Josselyn and I was Blaze’s academic advisor at Penn. Gideon and Jeanne [Blaze’s parents], thank you for letting us all be here with you today, and thank you for sharing Blaze with us. I met Blaze in the fall of his senior year of high school when I visited him and his fellow writers at the Orange County School of the Arts, which, in my opinion, is one of the best schools for creative writing in the country. It is my job to recruit promising writers who are also strong students to Penn, and so, every year, one of my favorite days is when I gather with Josh Wood [the director of OCSA’s Creative Writing Conservatory] and his students in their cozy, book-filled basement space and we exchange copies of our respective literary magazines and eat some snacks together. Blaze emailed me immediately following my fall 2015 visit to express his excitement about Penn’s Kelly Writers House, and I remember thinking, “How is your name Blaze?” It didn’t take long for me to realize that Blaze’s name was not the only thing about him

that made him unique — not by a long shot. After being blown away by his short story, “The Animals Among Us,” I wrote a letter of advocacy in support of Blaze’s candidacy and when he was admitted to Penn, I asked to serve as his advisor. Because Blaze was as brilliant when it

and outside. I didn’t need to be nervous that we wouldn’t see Blaze at the Writers House. Before he even arrived on campus as a freshman, he was published in the Penn Review. He was the first high school student I ever knew, out of the 500 or so that I meet every year, to be published

came to science as he was with writing, he was also invited to join a rigorous dual-degree program. When I heard this news, I was proud of Blaze, but also a little nervous. Were the biochemists trying to steal one of our best writers? In my role as Blaze’s advisor, I would help him balance his intellectual and creative life at Penn, both inside the classroom

in one of our magazines as a high school student. That was Blaze. He described his writing process in that piece, “Picking Marbles From Dirt” – “I write until I can’t write anymore, until the page is bursting with so many words and letters and syllables that if I were to fit one more period into the end of a sentence, the entire page might just burst.”

Blaze strove to get as much as he could from his time at Penn, to build a life that was full of the things he loved: chemistry and psychology, writing and cooking, friends. This was not always an easy equation to solve, for Blaze or for many students whose passions are diverse. What I remember from my conversations with Blaze is that he was always seeking the right balance, making changes that others might shy away from, resisting the sense that he “should” be pursuing any particular path and instead working to choose what would make him happy, whether it was a new apartment, the position of managing editor of our food magazine, Penn Appétit, or the friends he made who also loved food and jokes and doing things their own way. In this unspeakably sad time, I’ve been buoyed by conversations with Blaze’s friends. Another advisee of mine at Penn, Jacob, sent me some thoughts he wrote to Blaze, and he said I could share them today. Jacob wrote, “Your kindness, intelligence, charisma (and hey, uniqueness, nerve, and talent) were apparent from the moment I met you. I’m probably going to miss texting you about food the most. In just the week since you’ve been gone, I’ve had the urge to send you so many things, to tag you in posts and

snap you pictures of the shows I’m watching. You made the world feel small and me less alone, and for that I thank you.” As a writer and teacher myself, I can’t help but think about how Blaze’s name is a verb. And not just any verb, one that means “to burn fiercely or brightly.” That was Blaze. He was active, not passive. He was never complacent. He was funny and sassy. He made it clear when he thought things could be better. I loved our conversations about what he believed education should be, about what happens in a classroom when students and professors are mutually engaged in common goals and in supporting one another. I am going to miss Blaze deeply, more than I can adequately say. I will honor him every day by incorporating his values and his spirit, his Blaze-ness, into my own life and in my conversations with students. We can’t settle for what is easy, what is simply given, or what we imagine someone else’s standards dictate. Blaze helped me see this and I’m so grateful to him for it. May his memory be a blessing and may his memory burn fiercely and brightly in all of us. Thank you. JAMIE-LEE JOSSELYN is is the Associate Director for Recruitment at the Center for Programs in Contemporary Writing.

JONATHAN POLLACK Sports Editor YOSEF WEITZMAN Sports Editor ALISA BHAKTA Copy Editor ALEX GRAVES Director of Web Development

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BROOKE KRANCER Social Media Editor SAM HOLLAND Senior Photo Editor MONA LEE News Photo Editor CHASE SUTTON Sports Photo Editor CAMILLE RAPAY Video Producer LAUREN SORANTINO Podcasts Producer DEANNA TAYLOR Business Manager ANDREW FISCHER Innovation Manager DAVID FIGURELLI Analytics Director JOY EKASI-OTU Circulation Manager REMI GOLDEN Marketing Manager

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SARAH KHAN is a College freshman from Lynn Haven, Fla. Her email address is skhan100@sas.upenn.edu.

ZACH SHELDON Photo Associate BONNIE MENDELSON Photo Associate

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What I learned from taking a break from social media JAY SHAH | Warning: Your friends might think you’re ghosting them My mom had always told me to get my head out of my phone and banned it any time we ate as well. I never really understood why and thought maybe it was just a generational gap thing. When I was feeling a little stressed at the end of last semester, I decided to take a break from social media by deleting my Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook apps. I did keep Messenger for emer-

gency communication, even though I was not the best at responding through it. But in the back of my mind, I feared not being “in touch” with everyone, not knowing what was going on, and most of all, being alone. Only after deleting the apps did I realize how much I used them. My usage was almost unconscious and many people might have experienced the same. The smartphone

GILLIAN DIEBOLD | DESIGN EDITOR

has gone from being used as a communication device to more of a crutch. We use our phones to avoid making eye contact with people on Locust Walk, in line at the grocery store, and in the elevator. We mindlessly scroll through our feeds when we can’t think of anything else to do. A study from the University of San Francisco found that increased smartphone usage before bed was correlated with fewer hours of sleep and less sleep-efficiency. And after just a week of being off social media, I found that my sleep schedule had improved significantly. I woke up earlier because I was no longer staring at a phone before I went to bed every day. Consequently, I was more alert in my morning classes because I was no longer tired. When I reviewed my notes, I actually understood what they meant. I finally understood why my professor for a class on circadian rhythms kept telling us to keep the light out at night. And those were just the physical effects. Social media is bombarded by images taken multiple times, then cherry-picked,

then maybe touched up and edited, and then finally posted. Pictures of struggling, crying, or being scared of the uncertainty of the future will never be posted. When we’re on break, we see pictures of countries around the world, though many individuals, like myself, may not be able

This internalization of others’ lives creates a pressure to fit a mold that is not even there. We create a persona that is not even our own, leading us to live fake lives. When we come home, we ask ourselves why we are forcing things. When I went off of social

The smartphone has gone from being used as a communication device to more of a crutch. We use our phones to avoid making eye contact with people on Locust Walk, in line at the grocery store, and in the elevator.” to explore other places just yet. Social media is flooded by the small minority that are loud and vocal and is devoid of the majority of students. It paints an unrealistic picture of the lives of those around us, making us believe that everyone is living a certain type of life that we must live too.

media for a bit, I didn’t see any of that and didn’t have to think about it either. The focus was not on anyone but myself. I also didn’t feel an urge to respond to others immediately. I would respond to messages on my time — granted, they were not emergencies. Still, I had time to hear my-

self breathe. Time seemed to slow down. It no longer felt like everything was a race. It was quite a surreal feeling, to say the least. In retrospect, this was one of the best things I could have done for my mental and emotional health and I would highly recommend it to anyone. At a meeting with Counseling and Psychological Services administrators and staff, we came to the same conclusion. Social media, in many cases, propagates Penn Face, and a break is sometimes very necessary. Be warned that you might miss some status updates, some “stories,” maybe some birthdays, some interesting articles, and some friends might be a little annoyed, but there is nothing more important than you, your health, and those who are closest to you. You will certainly thank yourself later. JAY SHAH is a College junior from New Hyde Park, N.Y. in the Behavioral Basis of Behavior Program. He is the Vice President of the Undergraduate Assembly. His email is shahjay@sas.upenn. edu.

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CLAUDIA LI is a College senior from Santa Clara, Calif. Her email is claudli@sas.upenn.edu.

Why are Penn Koreans speaking in Korean? JENNIFER LEE | How the desire to be in the ‘in-group’ leads to exclusionary practices One will likely hear them on the first floor of Huntsman and the Starbucks Under Commons. Many travel in packs, donning long coats and texting away on an esoteric app called “KakaoTalk.” They are: Korean students at Penn. Many Korean students are found chatting enthusiastically in Korean around campus, usually huddled in small groups. These Korean students are high-spirited and loud, and their voices can sometimes be heard across the room or down Locust Walk. So why is it that so many Korean students, who as Penn students have impeccable English skills, speak in Korean when together? This is a phenomenon that can be seen among both Korean-American and Korean-national students at Penn. Among Asian-American (not international) students, this case is uniquely Korean: In my experience, it seems to be less common for other Asian-American students to use Asian languages when together. As a fluent South Korean who is currently sitting on the board of the Korean Stu-

dent Association, I find myself scratching my head at this phenomenon. My personal take is that, while I would use Korean at school in circumstances such as calling friends and family or in a language course, I primarily speak in English with all of my acquaintances. However, I admit that speaking in a foreign language can bring a sense of thrill and exclusivity, especially when you are aware that no one else is able to understand what you are talking about. Despite my own preferences, there are countless Koreans at Penn who still choose to text and speak to each other in Korean. I would like to propose a few possible reasons for this occurrence. Perhaps the use of Korean was influenced by the rise in prominence of Korean culture through technology and K-pop. Or perhaps it is a way to connect with like-heritage students in a school teeming with people from every corner of the globe. Maybe, it is just a way to look cool. What’s for sure is that for a Korean American to be fluent in Korean earns recognition

from both family and school seniors. South Korea has rigid Sunbae-Hoobae (senior-junior) norms, in every setting including the home, workplace, school, and college life. It is a given to be polite and eloquent when speaking to Koreans older than you, even if it is just by one year. It also isn’t uncommon for younger students to always greet older

graduate Business Society, or PennSori (Penn’s premier Korean a cappella group), where networking and friendships thrive on Sunbae-Hoobae relationships. This phenomenon may also be reflective of Korean society. In South Korea, it is common to establish in-groups and out-groups for anything from socializing to school

Perhaps it is a way to connect with like-heritage students in a school teeming with people from every corner of the globe. Maybe, it is just a way to look cool.” students first, and maybe even treat them to meals and coffee. In this way, Korean underclassmen may be seeking to look good to their seniors in organizations such as the Korean Student Association, Wharton Korean Under-

life. Given the importance of in-groups and the highly compacted society of South Korea, it is very inconvenient to be non-conforming. In fact, many South Koreans criticize returning Korean Americans for not being able to speak Ko-

rean perfectly or adopting too many western values. I have seen also this self-selection among Korean international students at Penn, who tend to form circles of “real” Koreans studying abroad, from Korean Americans who have become too “Americanized.” Despite these idiosyncratic reasonings, speaking in Korean at school might just be a reflection of the very human desire to relate to others and find common ground. There are certainly many exciting topics that a Korean would be hard-pressed to describe in any other language, especially in regards to hometowns, Kpop, and the oddly prevalent blood-type personality matching. I know I would certainly find it awkward to rave about my favorite Korean BBQ dish, beef chitterlings, without using its Korean name, “gopchang.” But whether it’s Korean or Swahili, I believe that outside of class and student organizations, students should be free to speak whatever language they choose. Unfortunately, this doesn’t come quite as

JENNIFER LEE naturally to a few. At a Walnut Creek, Calif. Starbucks a woman ostracized two Korean students for speaking in “Oriental,” a moment that went viral. While speaking a foreign language may be perceived as exclusionary to some, I believe the choice should ultimately be the prerogative of the speaker. This especially rings true for an exceptionally cosmopolitan school such as Penn. JENNIFER LEE is a College sophomore from Fairfax, Va. studying international relations. Her email is jlee2017@sas.upenn. edu.

6 NEWS

THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 2018

THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN | THEDP.COM

Author Michael Wolff visits Phila. on book tour Wolff’s book details the workings of the West Wing JAMES MEADOWS Staff Reporter

On the first stop of his national book tour, author Michael Wolff of the best-selling “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House,” described the Trump White House as “stupid people doing stupid things.” The event was moderated by Dick Polman, a “writer in residence” at the Kelly Writers House and a national political columnist at WHYY, and was held at the Free Library of Philadelphia Central Library at 1901 Vine St. Hundreds of people attended the free event, and two overflow rooms allowed many more attendees to watch the event on a screen. While the publisher, Henry Holt and Company, originally

slated the book’s release for Jan. 9, the book began to gain attention from many across the country, as well as from the president. On Jan. 4, Trump’s attorney sent a letter to the publisher asking it to halt the book’s release, apologize to Trump, and forward him a copy of the manuscript. In response, the publishing company moved up the date of production by four days, publishing the book the next day. The book debuted at the top of The New York Times bestseller list and has jettisoned to the top of both Amazon and Barnes and Noble websites, backlogging orders. At the beginning of the event, Polman announced that the book has already gone through its 11th iteration of printing, which Wolff described as “a political event within itself.” “It takes a Wolff to catch a wolf,” Polman said.

Wolff described himself as a writer outside of the traditional press who was able to position himself inconspicuously within the day-to-day workings of the West Wing. His unique access, he contended, was partly due to the fact that he typically does not cover politics and that he is currently unassociated with mainstream news organizations. Wolff added that he thought his access could also be attributed to the lack of understanding by the president and by his advisors of the possible consequences of his presence in the White House. “I really didn’t say anything. I was just the guy listening,” Wolff said. “Over this period of time, they poured their hearts out.” Following the book’s publication, Trump denounced it as a work of fiction, calling Wolff “a mentally deranged author.” However, members of Trump’s

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administration are not the only ones to scrutinize Wolff’s credibility. In the days following the book’s publication, numerous journalists have expressed doubts concerning his trustworthiness. David Brooks, an author and opinion writer for The New York Times, described the book as a marker of lowbrow resistance to Trump in an op-ed published in the Times. At the conversation, Wolff addressed his critics by acknowledging that he made minor errors such as misspelling names and incorrectly describing the circumstances surrounding John Boehner’s resignation from political life, but shirked off the most insatiable accusers as envious of his success. “Everybody is trying to figure out how to cover this story. Everybody, I think, is resentful when someone else does it,” he said. One of the main points of discussion was Steve Bannon,

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with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. “The dichotomy has always been between the federal government and the states. The government has classified cannabis as a Schedule 1 substance, which means it is illegal and has no medical benefit,” Bonn-Miller said. “On the flip side, you have a growing number of states that are allowing it medicinally, with a number of those states also allowing its use recreationally.” This dichotomy was brought to the forefront of national talks in

the White House’s former chief strategist, whom Wolff described as “a remarkable source.” As with many working in the West Wing, Wolff remarked, Bannon became more open to speaking with him as his faith in the president deteriorated. “I think Steve came to believe that Trump was an illusion that he had and that the reality was that Trump is an idiot,” he said. Following backlash from the president and his administration, Bannon issued a statement praising the president and then stepped down from his role as the executive chairman for Breitbart News. Most recently, special counsel Robert Mueller issued a subpoena for Bannon to testify before a grand jury as part of the ongoing investigation into possible links between the president and the Russian government. “I think Steve knows where the skeletons are so it will be interesting to see [what Bannon will say

during his testimony].” Pressed on whether he would ultimately publish any recordings that were used to write the book, Wolff admitted that the thoughts had never occurred to him, but confessed that his recordings of Bannon – which he dubbed the “Bannon Tapes” – are “just sort of marvelous.” However, Wolff remained uncertain of whether the Trump White House was capable of successfully carrying out collusion with Russia. “The idea that they could have put together a grand strategy here, I don’t know how they would have done it,” he said. “There have been rotten White Houses in the past, and you can hate them or love them, but there have been few White Houses, and maybe no White Houses ever, in which the entire senior staff thinks that there is something wrong with the President of the United States.”

the opening weeks of 2018, when Jeff Sessions terminated a policy that allowed states to legalize marijuana without fear of prosecution from the federal government. Just weeks later, Vermont’s senate passed a bill legalizing recreational marijuana. This move was welcomed by Julia Wenick, a freshman at the University of Vermont, who said she was pleased that the state legislators “seemed to be as liberal as the citizens” with regards to marijuana policy — even though UVM still prohibits the drug. “With the legalization, I hope that the school and administration changes its attitude on marijuana,”

Wenick said. “Right now, the school seems to care less about educating and more about making sure it’s not there at all.” UVM officials have maintained their anti-marijuana stance and stated that they will continue to follow federal law, similar to Penn’s stance after Philadelphia decriminalized the drug in 2014. However, Wenick also expressed disappointment over Sessions’ recent announcement that the federal government could prosecute states that violate federal marijuana laws. “That concerns me,” Wenick said. “Law enforcement could redirect their energy into so many other things that are more worth their while.”

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The State of Our Union

Jan. 31 | 5:30 pm

Jon Huntsman Hall, G06 3730 Walnut Street Our panel features:

Judith Browne Dianis

Executive Director, The Advancement Project

Iván Espinoza-Madrigal

Executive Director, Lawyersʼ Committee for Civil Rights and Economic Justice

Amber Hikes

Executive Director, Office of LGBT Affairs for the City of Philadelphia

Marc Morial

President & CEO, National Urban League Moderated by

Dr. Camille Z. Charles

Director, Center for Africana Studies, University of Pennsylvania

| FREE and OPEN to the Public | To register, go to cfasmlk2018.eventbrite.com | If you require reasonable accommodations, please provide at least 5 days notice | For more info go to africana.sas.upenn.edu

THEDP.COM | THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN

THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 2018

NEWS 7

8 NEWS

THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 2018

THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN | THEDP.COM

Penn reacts to immigration decision on El Salvador Protected status will officially end on Sept. 9, 2019 GIOVANNA PAZ Staff Reporter

In another blow to the international community, the Trump administration announced on Jan. 8 that it would end the Temporary Protected Status program for El Salvador, which currently allows for over 200,000 immigrants to live in peace in the United States. The protected status for Salvadorans will officially end Sept. 9, 2019. TPS, which is not intended to lead to citizenship, was created in order to allow migrants from a list of endangered countries to flee natural disasters or internal conflicts. One of the almost 193,000 children, who have been born in the United States to at least one

parent who is a Salvadoran with TPS, expressed worry about the impending struggles that he and his family will face. College junior Jonathan Guevara, who has family members protected by TPS, said he is working on “plans a, b, and c” to protect his family once their TPS protection ends. He, along with his close relatives, have been worried about what is to come following the decision to terminate TPS for Salvadorans. “Since [my family] has until September 2019, they’re just scrambling around right now,” he said. “For me, my first thought was, ‘Now I have to petition for my mom as soon as possible,’ which is tough because I, myself, have to earn a really high income. So, it’s not that easy.” Penn Law professor and Director of the Transnational Legal Clinic Sarah Paoletti noted immi-

JDKLUB // CC BY-SA 3.0

Salvadorans make up the largest portion of Temporary Protected Status holders — roughly 60 percent of all beneficiaries in the U.S.

grants from El Salvador make up the largest portion of TPS holders out of all the beneficiaries. According to the National Immigration Forum, more than 320,000 immigrants have been granted protected status under TPS, including those from nations for whom the Trump administration has chosen not to renew

protections. Salvadorans make up roughly 60 percent of those in the U.S. that are protected by TPS. Congress first granted Salvadoran migrants protected status with the passage of the Immigration Act of 1990, in order to aid citizens fleeing from its brutal civil war. The initial protection expired two years later.

Former President George W. Bush’s administration returned the country to the TPS list after a 2001 earthquake. Both Bush and former President Barack Obama renewed the protections for 18-month periods more than 10 times, as the nation continued to suffer from intense gang violence and a fragile economy. TPS – and frequent changes in its coverage – has been on the minds of students and faculty since last November when the Trump administration announced the endings of protections for various countries. On Nov. 6, the Trump administration announced that it would not be renewing protected status for close to 5,000 migrants from Nicaragua. They were informed they would be given 14 months to leave the United States. On Nov. 21, the administration announced it would allow the protected sta-

tus of approximately 59,000 migrants from Haiti to expire. They would be given 18 months to leave, prompting widespread panic in the community. Paoletti raised the question of why the administration is compelled to make this decision now. She also noted recent remarks from President Donald Trump that were anti-immigrant and racist. The Washington Post reported that at a recent White House meeting, Trump specifically questioned why the government should allow Haitian immigrants into the U.S. “I think if we look at this decision to terminate TPS for Salvadorans in the same vein as recent comments made in the White House by this president we can see sort of what is driving this determination in an anti-immigrant administration,” Paoletti said.

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SPORTS 9

THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 2018

Quakers confident for Behind the numbers of matchup with Big 5 rival Rothschild’s emergence M. HOOPS | Penn seeks first Big 5 win of season

M. HOOPS | Junior has been efficient for Penn

MARC MARGOLIS Associate Sports Editor

JACOB ADLER Associate Sports Editor

SATURDAY

Temple

(9-9, 1-2 Big 5)

Penn

(12-5, 0-2) 2 p.m. The Palestra

CHASE SUTTON | SPORTS PHOTO EDITOR

Senior Captain and Guard Darnell Foreman said the team has to defend and compete in this weekend’s game against Temple.

something else to prove.” Foreman also noted how Philadelphia is known for its hardnosed persona and tough style of play. With Temple historically known for its connection to the Philadelphia area’s top talent, Foreman fully expects a physical game. “The first thing we have to do is defend and just compete,” Foreman said. “Don’t worry about how big or how athletic a guy is.” One of the best ways to combat superior athleticism is to shoot well from deep. On the season, Penn collectively hits 35.6 percent from three-point range, with sharpshooters Betley and Caleb Wood each in the 40s. Aside from what happens on the court, this game is also particularly important for coach Steve Donahue, who sees Temple coach Fran Dunphy as a mentor.

Donahue spent 10 years as an assistant under Dunphy at Penn from 1990 to 2000 before moving onto Cornell. “It’s always fun for me to go against him,” Donahue said. “That being said, we’ll try and beat each other’s brains in for 40 minutes and then go back to being friends after.” At Penn, Dunphy was nothing short of phenomenal, winning 10 Ivy League championships in 17 seasons while compiling a winning record against every other school in the Ancient Eight. Over the past four years, Donahue has been building a program he hopes can emulate the successes of the Dunphy era. Now, he seems to finally have the roster to do it — and that roster will be put to the test on Saturday.

@DAILYPENN

Eleven years. That’s how long it’s been since the last time Penn men’s basketball defeated Temple in 2007 — which is also the year of the Quakers’ last NCAA tournament appearance. Penn (12-5, 0-2 Big 5) heads into Saturday with a better record than its Big 5 rival, albeit against a weaker schedule. Temple (89, 1-2), has also competed more than its record necessarily indicates, as the Owls have lost six games by less than five points. Still, behind the superb play of sophomores Ryan Betley and AJ Brodeur, the Quakers are confident they can take their first win over Temple in a decade. Even with the Owls’ recent struggles, they still possess talented Philly product Shizz Alston, Jr. and an NBA prospect in forward Obi Enechionyia. Their athleticism will pose some trouble for the Quakers, but the Red and Blue are still looking at one of their best chances of taking down Temple in recent memory. “Especially being [at Penn], we might not get as much respect as other Philadelphia schools,” senior captain and guard Darnell Foreman said. “That just adds another chip on our shoulder, it’s

Penn men’s basketball has won its first three games in conference play and looks to follow up on its promising yet disappointing 2017 Ivy League tournament run. Guards Ryan Betley and Darnell Foreman and forward AJ Brodeur return to the starting lineup and have provided continuity, while guard Antonio Woods has been a mainstay in the rotation after rejoining the team following a one-year hiatus. For the Quakers, the only starter who was not previously a fixture in the starting lineup is junior forward Max Rothschild. After averaging 13.6 minutes per game and starting three games combined in his first two seasons at Penn, Rothschild has averaged 23.9 minutes per game this season, starting all 17 games. And so far, he has validated coach Steve Donahue’s decision to increase his role. Rothschild’s usage rate (the percentage of offensive plays ending in a shot attempt, free throw attempt, or turnover in which the player is involved) has held at 21.3 percent, close to his career figure. He is also shooting 50.9 percent from the field, about two percentage points off his previous marks. More or less, he has maintained his stats while his playing time increased and he was being used in more situations, something not all players can accomplish. With his usage rate and shooting percentage effectively constant, it appears Rothschild’s career-best 66 percent clip from the free throw line is helping him to a career-high 100.1 offensive rating, which estimates points

CHASE SUTTON | SPORTS PHOTO EDITOR

By maintaining his per-possession rate stats, junior forward Max Rothschild has proven his first year as a starter is no fluke.

produced per 100 possessions, up from his 92.5 career mark. With more playing time, Rothschild has found more opportunities to show off his passing skills, as he has assisted on 16.9 percent of teammates’ field goals while he is on the floor, close to his 16.5 percent rate last season. He and Brodeur are combining to average five assists per game, which Donahue has acknowledged is rare for a frontcourt duo. Brodeur addressed how playing alongside Rothschild has opened up the Red and Blue offense after the Quakers took down Cornell. “A lot of the assists go big-to-big because a lot of teams realize they have to double down in the post on either me or Max,” Brodeur said. “We’re able to cut off that and that will lead to a chain reaction of other defenders having to pick us up and that leaves our shooters wide open.” “That’s where passing out of the post becomes one of the most vital skills that me and Max have on offense, because it opens up all these different scoring opportunities for

shooters, cutters and the other big,” Brodeur added. The Quakers have a defensive rating of 98.61, second in the Ancient Eight to only Harvard, so it is not much of a surprise that all five Penn starters rank in the top seven in the Ivy League in the individual version of the stats. Brodeur leads the way, allowing 93.0 points per 100 possessions, while Rothschild and Foreman are second and third with 94.0 and 95.7 points allowed per 100 possessions, respectively. Rothschild’s defensive rating has decreased in each of his campaigns; the forward has cut it by almost 12 points from its high two seasons ago. Rothschild is also grabbing rebounds at the best clip of his career, and checks in at second in the conference in that category only behind teammate Brodeur. Rothschild is playing the best basketball of his career as the Quakers are making a push for an Ivy League title, and they’ll need him to keep producing at a high level. All stats from sports-reference.com.

The Zell/Lurie Real Estate Center at the Wharton School presents the 17th Annual:

Real Estate Career Fair Friday, January 19, 2018 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Houston Hall

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10 SPORTS

THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 2018

THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN | THEDP.COM

Penn gymnastics seeks Justin Watson set to boost NFL hopes at All-Star game redemption at Yale Rematch of last seasonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s epic comeback victory

FOOTBALL | Senior will play in East-West Shrine game

EVAN VIROSLAV Associate Sports Editor

CARTER COUDRIET Sports Reporter

You win some; you lose some. What matters is winning when it counts. After finishing last out of four teams in its first meet of the season, the Lindsey Ferris Invitational, with a relatively low score of 190.375, Penn gymnastics (1-2, 0-1 Ivy) hopes to bounce back this upcoming weekend as it travels to New Haven to take on Yale. This meet is both teamsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; first one-on-one Ivy League matchup in 2018. Last season, the Quakers managed to edge past Yale 193.275 to 192.125 in Philadelphia, only taking the lead after the final floor routine. This year, the Bulldogs look to exact some revenge on their home floor, but Penn is keeping an optimistic and determined mindset in its week of preparation. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We just keep moving forward, and, if we make any mistakes, we learn from those mistakes,â&#x20AC;? coach John Ceralde said in terms of making adjustments following this past meetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s results. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Last week wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t an accurate representation of all the hard work weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve put in,â&#x20AC;? junior Nicole Swirbalus added. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Going into this week, everyone is extra motivated.â&#x20AC;? Despite the disappointing start to the year, the teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s atmosphere seems to be filled with excitement and anticipation going into its matchup against Yale (2-1, 0-0). â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a chance for us to get fired up about the upcoming championships,â&#x20AC;? Levi said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We really figured out where our gaps are and what we have to do over the next couple of days.â&#x20AC;?

To have a chance to be the first Quaker drafted to the NFL since 2002, Justin Watson must shine at the Shrine. Over 100 NFL hopefuls will take the field Saturday in the East-West Shrine Game, the longest-running annual college football all-star game. Watson â&#x20AC;&#x201D; who is Pennâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all-time leader in receptions, receiving yards, receiving touchdowns, and allpurpose yards â&#x20AC;&#x201D; is one of 13 wide receivers hoping to stand out this weekend in St. Petersburg, Fla. He is one of seven on the roster for the East Team. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am thankful for the opportunity to represent Penn one more time at the Shrine Game,â&#x20AC;? Watson said in a press release last month. â&#x20AC;&#x153;My coaches and teammates have all helped me become the player I am and have helped put me in the position to play at the next level. I look forward to this challenge and taking the next step in my football career.â&#x20AC;? Watson, who is not yet ranked on any major online draft boards, needs to stand out to get a chance to participate in the NFL Combine. The Combine is an important step in any playerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s path to the pros, but an invite is near-vital for somebody from an obscure conference like the Ivy League. 2017 graduate Alek Torgersen, the most accurate passer in Pennâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s history, was not invited to the Combine even with a strong Shrine Game showing, and he went undrafted in the 2017 NFL Draft.

ZACH SHELDON | SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER

Junior Nicole Swirbalus is one of the Quakers who will be looking to improve upon last weekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s showing on the vault.

Ultimately, what happened this past weekend added fuel to the Quakersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; motivational fire, and gymnastics is a game where the level of oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s motivation can make or break a meet. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Whether youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re ranked first or last, you can win or lose,â&#x20AC;? senior and student assistant coach Emily Shugan stated. This Penn squad certainly has the talent to make an impact this year, with 10 current gymnasts who went to the 2017 USAG Collegiate Nationals and two out of three of Pennâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s USAG finalists returning as well. Yale is heading into this weekendâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s matchup coming off of an impressive showing where it came in second at a four-team meet at Rutgers, also featuring Illinois and Southern Connecticut State University. The Bulldogs topped the hosts and SCSU,

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but fell to Illinois with an overall score of 191.550 to 195.100. The Quakers are poised to halt the Bulldogsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; momentum and do much more than that. Having already seen Cornell in action, and taking on Yale soon enough, Penn will only have Brown, the remaining Ivy League gymnastics program, in its sights. After an up-anddown 2017, ending in a last place finish at the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championship, Penn gymnastics dons a different mindset this year and has a chance to gain some confidence in Connecticut on Saturday. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re just trying to continue our winning traditions,â&#x20AC;? Ceralde said. Penn certainly has the firepower this year to live up to its history, and this weekendâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s results will tell whether or not the team is willing and able to fire its first shot.

Skill Level:

9 4 Complete the grid so each row, column and 3-by-3 box (in bold borders) 6 contains every digit 1 to 9. 4 8 5 7 Solution to Previous Puzzle: 8 6 1 3 6 2 5 8 7 8 3 1 5 6 9 3 8 4 The New York Times Syndication Sales Corporation 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10018 New York Times Syndication Sales Corporation Information 9 4 2 The For 3ForRelease 1 Call: 620 Eighth Avenue, New1-800-972-3550 York, N.Y. 10018 Wednesday, January 17, 2018 prizesudok ÂŠ Puzzles provided by sudokusolver.com

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EXPECTATIONS >> BACKPAGE

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sophomore Caroline Mitsch said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;She knows exactly what weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going through and exactly what can help us, and her ability to do that for us is extraordinary.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;If I need more motivation at practice or if Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m having a bad day I can always turn to her for a pump-up speech or some extra corrections, so thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s really helpful for me,â&#x20AC;? Swirbalus added. What really makes Shugan stand out is her passion for the sport and sense of duty to help those around her. She knows while she cannot compete anymore, she still has the opportunity to improve the performances of the girls on the team. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the first one every day to ask what we need, and I think thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s really important for the team as a group; everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s learned a lot from her,â&#x20AC;? said senior captain Kyra Levi, who is also one of Shuganâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s housemates. As for her relationship with her former teammates, Shugan has worked to keep it unchanged from when she competed. On the other hand,

to supplement her new role on the team, she now functions as a liaison between the gymnasts and the coaching staff and collaborates with each. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s better to be approachable and I felt like my role would be more beneficial if I had as much access as possible to both the coaches and the team, so I try to keep my relationship with the girls pretty much the same,â&#x20AC;? she said. She also touched on her unique relationship with the newer members of the team. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I find it hard sometimes to set an example because I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t compete or practice with them anymore, so I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t help them in that way,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But what I can do and what we always emphasize is attitudes. I do my best to be positive and ask people what they need and contribute in that way.â&#x20AC;? Shuganâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s steadfast efforts for the team lead everyone around her to be changed for the better, and even though her role has changed, her dependable and supportive spirit has not. Although she is not competing on the mat, she is unstoppable off of it.

back, one thing is clear. The Red and Blue have all the ingredients needed to make a run at the conference throne again, and theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re fully aware that this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s team has potential to be special. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a lot more depth in all the events; now instead of having six people compete for spots in an event, we might be having 10,â&#x20AC;? Swirbalus said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We definitely have the most talented team weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve had in the last few years.â&#x20AC;? For much of last season, it looked like that team would be the one to return to the top of the podium. At their best, the 2017 Quakers had scores in the 193s â&#x20AC;&#x201D; generally the rough level where the Ivy Classic champion lands â&#x20AC;&#x201D; in four of their ten meets, including a seasonhigh 193.950 at Temple where a group of Levi and four freshmen set a school record on the bars event. But when it came down to the biggest competitions of the season, Penn came up short, falling to Cornell by a mere 0.400 points

in the 2017 Ivy Classic before sliding into a surprisingly low sixth-place finish at the ECAC title meet. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Last year we had so much potential, and we started off the season looking like a championship team,â&#x20AC;? Moore said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s team is even better than last year, so I think that overall, the expectations have definitely increased.â&#x20AC;? As much as those finishes hurt in the moment, though, they could pay off dividends for the Red and Blue a year later. And with the teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s motivation, depth and star power all combined together â&#x20AC;&#x201D; not to mention the ECAC Championships being hosted by Penn â&#x20AC;&#x201D; it could be the perfect recipe for the Quakers to jump back to the top of the Ivy gymnastics world. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think we feel like this team that we have now, in comparison to that 2015 team ... if we could get a ring with that team, then we absolutely can with this team,â&#x20AC;? Shugan said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We want to bring that Palestra magic back.â&#x20AC;?

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to drop the athlete role, but there was no question that I wanted to stick around for the rest of it.â&#x20AC;? This determination led her to pursue her current role on the team as a student assistant coach. When the coaches heard of her intentions, they were more than eager to welcome her to the staff. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been in gymnastics for that long, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s very hard to walk away, especially when it wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t by choice,â&#x20AC;? coach John Ceralde said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;She came to us and still wanted to be involved, and stepped into that role pretty easily.â&#x20AC;? Although she cannot make a direct impact on the mat anymore, her caring and supportive presence is felt by both the team and the coaching staff. She is always there for help when the gymnasts need it and they appreciate her selfless attitude and commitment to the team. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Even though sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not doing gymnastics anymore, she knows everything about it,â&#x20AC;?

hopeful quarterbacks including Ohio Stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s J.T. Barrett, whose successful 2014 campaign was cut short by injury in a year when the Buckeyes still went on to win a National Championship. Barrett is unranked on CBSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s draft prospect list and comes in as the No. 19 QB prospect on Walter Footballâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s list. The other two men under center will be Memphisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Riley Ferguson (No. 9 QB on CBS, No. 8 on Walter Football) and South Floridaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Quinton Flowers (unranked on CBS, No. 18 on Walter Football).

19 22

>> BACKPAGE

Watsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s competition for targets on the East team includes a few notable receivers, including Penn Stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s DaeSean Hamilton. Hamilton, who is the No. 19 wide receiver prospect according to CBS, is the Nittany Lionsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; all-time leader in receptions. Other names to look out for include Pittsburghâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Jester Weah (No. 21 WR on CBS, No. 32 WR on draft site Walter Football) and Canadian player Regis Cibasu of Universite de Montreal. The Eastâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wide receivers will be catching balls from NFL-

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SHUGAN

CHASE SUTTON | SPORTS PHOTO EDITOR

Senior wide receiver Justin Watson will have a chance to prove himself in front of NFL scouts at the East-West Shrine Game.

Preliminary

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edge. Taking a look at their personnel, the Quakers appear set to have both their deepest and most talented squad in years. Last yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s team only had two seniors out of 19 athletes. And while those two recent graduates, Kelly Tan and Rachel Graham, were talented enough to be among Pennâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 12 selections to the USA Gymnastics Nationals, it still means the Quakers return 89 percent of their 2017 roster, most out of the Ivy League schools. And the Red and Blue return not just quantity, but plenty of quality too. Among other standouts, sophomore Emma Cullen already ranks No. 2 in school history on bars, senior co-captain Kyra Levi and junior Nicole Swirbalus were both 2017 USAG All-Americans on the floor, and Moore is both the Ivy Leagueâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and ECACâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s defending champion on vault. With all of that talent coming

THEDP.COM | THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN

Sophomore gymnasts ready to soar on bars Group played major role in huge performance last year JOSH STONBERG Sports Reporter

Call them the “Swaggy Six,” “Super Sophs”, or the “Bars Bunch”; no matter the alias, Penn gymnastics will be tough to beat this year due to a record breaking crop of sophomores on the bars. Sophomores are usually some of the more inexperienced members of a college sports team, but for this group, that is not the case. Sophomores Emma Cullen, Kellie Flavin, Alex Kothe, and Caroline Mitsch all competed on bars in each of Penn’s ten meets last season. Tara Mills and Natalie Borden, the remaining sophomores, competed in bars in five and two meets respectively. This experience allows the sophomores to go into competition season without the nervous “butterflies” that plague many underclassmen, which has coach John Ceralde excited. “I feel that we have a lot of opportunity and that there is a lot of room for success ahead of us,” Ceralde said about the upcoming season. Not only do these sophomores have experience competing, though, they have experience dominating. Cullen heads into her second season already having her name in Penn’s record books — her 9.925 on bars at Temple on March 12 last year was the second-best score in team history, and the best since 2004. Penn posted a team score of 49.200 on the day, the highest in program history. But Cullen is far from the only sophomore standout in the event. In fact, it was actually Flavin who was named last season’s team Rookie of the Year. The versatile Flavin qualified USAG Nationals in floor, vault, and bars last sea-

SPORTS 11

THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 2018

ZACH SHELDON | SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER

With a season-high of 9.800 last year, sophomore Caroline Mitsch was only one of several standouts on bars who seeks to improve even further.

son, with a seasonal best of 9.775 on bars at the ECAC Championships. Kothe, a bars specialist, set a season-high mark at 9.825 in the event, also at the March 12 Temple meet. Mitsch, also a bars specialist, consistently put in top-end performances, scoring 9.725 or higher on three separate occasions with a season-high of 9.800. Mills, who qualified for vault at the USAG Nationals and was named Penn’s Most Improved Gymnast in 2017, herself holds a 9.750 personal best on the bars. Even Borden, who only competed twice last season due to injuries, still excelled both times, with scores of 9.575 and 9.550 on bars. Combine the six of them together, and it’s a murderers’ row the likes of which the program has never seen in one event. “I’m so excited for bars and have been since the begining of the offseason,” said Kyra Levi, the only non-rookie to compete in the event for the majority of last season. “Last year, they had some big performances, and this year we have even more freshmen, we have more depth, and can score even more.”

As strong as the group’s overall rookie year was, that one meet at Temple undoubtedly stands as the greatest sign of its potential. Levi pitched in with a 9.900 mark, number three in school history, but the record setting effort was defined by freshmen. The rookies’ scores: Cullen’s 9.925, Kothe’s 9.825, Mitsch’s 9.800, Mills’ 9.750, and Flavin’s 9.550 — the former four of which still stand as career-highs in what was just about as close to perfection as possible. “I’m only a sophomore, but that’s gotta be my top memory here,” Mitsch said. “That sincere feeling of pure joy when not only you hit your bars set, but everyone else hits their bars set ... it was the best feeling that I’ve had since I’ve been at Penn.” When all was said and done, five of the then-freshmen qualified for USAG Nationals in some capacity, including four on bars. And the future is bright for the group, as the sophomores will only continue to improve as they get older. So Penn’s season may well come down to one question: just how high can these sophomores fly?

CAPTAINS

>> BACKPAGE

draw from each other, the two captains also value the experience they’ve gained from last season. Last year, they had the opportunity to work alongside 2017 graduate Rachel Graham, and learned valuable lessons both from their senior teammate and from working through difficulties. This is why coach John Ceralde selects captains based on a variety of different factors, rather than just seniority. “We like to give those guys experience so they can learn from their upperclassmen so that sets the tone for their following year,” Ceralde said. “So they don’t just run into being a captain cold, they actually have some experience.” Ceralde also echoed his captains in emphasizing the role that they play in keeping the team on an even keel and helping the team stay positive

and together. “Good captains always promote camaraderie in the team,” Ceralde said. “We’ve got a great camaraderie on the team, so they keep it positive in the gym as well as out of the gym and they just lead by good examples.” Promoting communication between the team, captains, and coaching staff is another element of Levi and Moore’s captainship that has resulted in major benefits for the program. The two teammates are also close friends, and they make an effort to stay in touch, talking every day about gymnastics and life. The two have such a close bond, they sometimes think the same, too. Although they answered without knowing the other’s response when asked what their most important impact was on the team, they gave eerily similar answers. “Obviously I have bad days, but my goal is to try

and be as positive as I can in the gym so that transfers over into meet situations,” Levi said. “That’s something that I’m proud of, to try and help everybody to be as positive as they can.” “It’s attitude. We all have bad days, we all have good days,” Moore said. “I think at the end of the day it’s just about how you respond when something doesn’t go your way, and how you can learn from overcoming those difficulties and being better the next weekend and each week.” Although the team may not have achieved what it hoped to at the Lindsey Ferris Invitational last week, expectations are high. It is clear that if the team is to reach its full potential and win the Ivy or ECAC Championship, a significant part of the credit should go to the two returning co-captains, and the attitude and togetherness they bring to the program.

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THE

GYMNASTICS ISSUE

THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 2018 VOL. CXXXIV NO. 3

THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

FOUNDED 1885

GYMNASTICS | The team is looking for a title for the first time in three years COLE JACOBSON Sports Editor

t’s one of the oldest adages in the English language: “time flies.” But for Penn gymnastics, three years can feel like a lifetime. Back in 2015, when the current seniors were freshmen, the Quakers took home the Ivy Classic championship at the Palestra, capping a stellar run that included four titles in a nine-year span. But after coming up short in two straight years, the program finds itself in an unfamiliar spot, one where more than three quarters of the roster has never seen a confer-

ence championship in her college career. Though most programs would hesitate to refer to a two-season title hiatus as a drought, the mentality for this year’s Quakers is clear. It’s “ring-or-bust time” for the Red and Blue, and the 2018 squad is more than ready to do so. “I don’t think there’s a day that goes by where we don’t think about wanting a [championship] ring,” junior co-captain Caroline Moore said. “We all walk in here each day and

we say, ‘We need a ring.’” “That was the best day of my life,” senior and student assistant coach Emily Shugan, who competed in 2015, added. “Since that day, we’ve been waiting to relive that, and I think this year has the most potential to do that since.” It’s not just in motivation where Penn has an SEE EXPECTATIONS PAGE 10

CHRISTINE LAM | DESIGN EDITOR ZACH SHELDON | SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER

Second-year captains poised to take Red and Blue to new heights Levi and Moore already among elite gymnasts

After major injury, Emily Shugan steps into new role Career-ending injury doesn’t limit Shugan’s involvement

SAM MITCHELL Associate Sports Editor

WILL DiGRANDE Associate Sports Editor

Steady, uplifting leadership is critical to keeping a team on the path to success. Luckily for Penn gymnastics, that’s exactly what returning co-captains senior Kyra Levi and junior Caroline Moore bring to the table. The two teammates were at the helm for last year’s season, and this year they are bringing that experience to be even better leaders for their team. Both Levi and Moore, as athletes, are two of the best gymnasts in school history: Levi ranks No. 3 in school history in bars, while Moore is already in the top five in beam, floor, and vault. But for these two captains to be effective leaders, it is crucial that they can work together off the floor as well. “We really have to be on the same page for everything to go smoothly,” Levi said. “She and I have to understand how the other is feeling and what the other thinks about certain decisions and just in general how our lives are going.” In addition to the connection the two athletes foster between one another, Moore emphasized the value that she puts on being able to learn from Levi and draw on her positive

She may not be competing anymore, but she is definitely still a vital part of the team. After back injuries during her sophomore year forced Emily Shugan to end her career as a gymnast, the senior has since leaped into a new role on the team: student assistant coach. The Bridgewater, N.J. native was a standout at the high school level, helping her team to multiple county and conference championships and being named Central Jersey, Section 2 Gymnast of the Year her senior year. She continued to shine on the mat at the college level, competing in 10 of Penn’s 11 meets her freshman year. She was also instrumental in the Quakers’ Ivy Classic team title in 2015, where she posted a career-high score of 9.800 on bars, the team’s highest score in that competition. However, things began to take a turn for the worse the following season. “My sophomore year was when I started having back pain. I didn’t necessarily know what it was for a while, so I just tried to work through it,” Shugan said. At the Ivy Classic during

FILE PHOTO

Senior Kyra Levi has plenty of talent to bring to the team, but her biggest contributions come from being a captain.

spirits. Not to be outdone, Levi responded that her co-captain’s level-headedness was just as important for keeping team emotions on an even keel, even when the going gets tough. “I learn from her every day,” Moore said. “Whenever she falls, she always gets up; she falls very little, I will say. Whenever it does happen, she always yells, ‘Go Penn,’ so really she’s been an inspiration to me on how to remain positive

in tough situations, where you just want to be frustrated.” “Caroline’s really a steady person,” Levi said. “So, being someone who’s maybe not as steady as Caroline, it’s extremely helpful to always have her as a guiding tool to kind of bring me back down to earth or lift me up. She makes life a lot easier for me.” On top of the strength they SEE CAPTAINS PAGE 11

PHOTO FROM CAROLINE MOORE

Senior Emily Shugan can no longer compete for Penn gymnastics, but the student assistant coach refused to walk away from the program.

her sophomore year, she would step onto the mat for the last time as a competitor. “In the middle of my bar routine, something pulled in my back and I pretty much had to be carried off the mat,” she recalled. The results were heartbreaking: a herniated disc and a condition called degenerative disc disease, the result of a lifetime’s worth of training in the gym. Watching from off the mat, then-freshman Nicole Swirbalus saw Shugan’s final moments on the bars as characterdefining. “I will never forget that even when she hurt her back in the middle of the routine, she still finished and it was almost perfect, and I really think that just

goes to show her strength and how much she cares about the team,” Swirbalus said. Despite this setback, Shugan still searched for a way to continue with the team. But when faced with a difficult choice — have spine surgery and attempt to return to competition, end her career as an athlete but stay around the program, or walk away from Penn gymnastics altogether — she knew what she had to do. “It was a hard decision, but there wasn’t a question in my mind whether I wanted to stay involved with the team or not. It’s a huge part of my life; I love the girls and coaches, and it’s who I am at Penn,” Shugan said. “It was very hard for me SEE SHUGAN PAGE 10

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