2017 Graduation Issue

FRIDAY, MAY 12 – MONDAY, MAY 15, 2017

THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

GRADUATION SPEAKERS ROUNDUP

Commencement

College of Arts and Sciences

The Wharton School

School of Nursing

School of Engineering and Applied Science

Senator Cory A. Booker United States Senator from New Jersey

Jennifer Egan, C’85 Pulitzer Prize-winning author

Nathaniel Snead Turner V, W’08 Co-founder and CEO of Flatiron Health

Patricia Flatley Brennan, GNU’79 Director of the National Library of Medicine

Iqram Magdon-Ismail, ENG’06 Co-Founder of Venmo, LLC

Franklin Field Monday, May 15, 2017 10:15 a.m.

Franklin Field Sunday, May 14, 2017 6:30 p.m.

The Palestra Sunday, May 14, 2017 9:00 a.m.

Kimmel Center Monday, May 15, 2017 7:00 p.m.

The Palestra Saturday, May 13, 2017 2:30 p.m.

SENIOR COLUMNS | DP EDITORS REFLECT

Eleven outgoing DP editors and managers look back on their time at Penn and the DP in a series of farewell columns PAGE A7

SPORTS | THE LONG GOODBYE Saying goodbye is never easy. Eight star Penn athletes describe what it’s like to finally hang up their cleats and move on BACK PAGE FOLLOW US @DAILYPENN FOR THE LATEST UPDATES

DETURCK STEPS DOWN

THE LAST FOUR YEARS

Dennis DeTurck, dean of the College, announced he will leave his post after twelve years.

Take a look at how the social and cultural landscape has changed in the past four years

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A2 NEWS

MAY 12-15, 2017 - GRADUATION ISSUE

THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN | THEDP.COM

How your favorite Penn traditions began

Restrictive visa policies limit int’l students’ plans

Hey Day is by far one of the oldest school traditions

Only 36 percent of H-1B applicants were accepted

LEXI LIEBERMAN Staff Reporter

Penn students are diverse, but some traditions at the University manage to bring everyone together. Looking back on their time at Penn thus far, these students identified three of their favorite Quaker routines.

Throwing Toast: If students threw toast at a football game at other institutions, they would probably get some strange looks — at Penn, they often get applause.

Throwing toast after the third quarter of home football games has a been a tradition in our stands for roughly 40 years.

The tradition began as a response to the line from the song, “Drink a Highball”: “Here’s a toast to dear old Penn.” The actual act of throwing toast began after alcohol was banned from Franklin Field

in the 1970s.

College senior Marielle Trubowitsch remembers being fascinated by the toast-throwing tradition at Penn as an incoming freshman.

“I thought it was really funny that people threw toast on the field during games,” she said.

“At first I wanted to eat the toast but then had to remind myself to throw it instead.”

Trubowitsch said she would like to see more Penn fans at the games take part in the fun.

“I just wish more people showed up to the games to participate in this tradition,” she said.

Spring Fling: College and Wharton freshman Melissa Iglesias said she loves Penn’s tradition of Spring Fling. Also a tradition with roots in the 1970s, Spring Fling is a weekend of concerts, performances and parties for students. This year, DJ and musician Zedd was the headliner for the concert in Penn Park.

“Fling was so much fun,” Iglesias said. “It was also the perfect way to de-stress before studying for finals.”

College senior Rebecca Brown agrees that Fling is a great way to relax.

“I really love Fling because it’s one of the only times of the year when everyone puts their work aside,” she said.

Hey Day: College junior Catherine Oksas said she enjoyed celebrating Hey Day as a junior this year. Established in 1916, Hey Day is a classic Penn tradition and marks the moment when Penn students officially become seniors.

“Everyone was marching across campus wearing red T-shirts, carrying canes and biting into each other’s hats,” she said.

“Hey Day was truly the biggest expression of school spirit I’ve ever seen at Penn,” Oksas added. “And it lasted almost a full two hours. It was crazy.”

CARSON KAHOE | SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER

Throwing pieces of toast after the third quarter of home football games is a Penn tradition dating back to the 1970s.The tradition stems from a line in the song, “Drink a Highball.”

ESHA INDANI Senior Reporter

International students looking for a job in the U.S. after graduation face the added challenge of procuring the appropriate visa requirements.

To stay in the U.S. postgraduation, most international students need the H-1B visa — a non-immigrant visa that allows employers to employ highlyskilled foreign workers for up to six years.

This visa requires a sponsor, which is usually provided by a prospective employer, making it difficult for international students who have not secured work after graduation to obtain the documents they need to stay in the country.

College and Wharton senior Anny Hu is from Shanghai, China and will be working for the consulting firm, McKinsey & Company, after graduation in New York. She said she is still unsure whether she will be able to stay in the U.S. long-term given the restrictions of her national visa.

“Short-term plan is to try as best as I can to stay here,” Hu said.

“Luckily, [on-campus recruiting] worked out [for me].”

Hu said many of her international friends struggled to secure work for after college because sponsoring international workers is costly.

She explained that smaller firms are often reluctant to sponsor — and hire — international students compared to larger firms that have the ability to place foreign employees in other international offices if their visa applications are not successful.

Even after international students secure a sponsor for the H-1B visa, they still have to enter

Congratulations to the Class of 2017 You are always welcome back at Penn!

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With flexible class schedules and diverse academic

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a lottery system for the visa which is known for having a low acceptance rate. In 2016, only 85,000 visas were granted out of 236,000 applications.

“Even though you graduate from a top university like Penn, you still have to go through the lottery system in terms of getting the visa,” said College senior Maaya Murakami, who is returning to her home country of Japan after graduation to begin a career in consulting.

“If you don’t get it within that year, you have to get out of that country, and I think that’s really not fair for someone [who] graduated from college, who is really qualified,” she said.

Hu agreed, adding that because the lottery system is so selective, it’s a risk for companies to sponsor the H-1B application for internationals students.

Hu said that this was why,

during OCR, she was not permitted to interview with a couple of consulting firms that prefer not to hire international students.

College senior Andres De Los Rios said that while Penn provides many resources to help students find jobs, the outcome of students’ job searches is more dependent on the “bureaucratic system” that governs who will be granted work visas, rather than the extent of resources Penn invests into helping students get work.

“I have gone to many workshops and presentations on the topic that do explain how one can look for jobs as an international,” De Los Rios said. “But, no matter how informed you are [about the process of securing work visas], the process won’t necessarily be easier or more convincing for the companies who are doing the hiring and sponsoring of foreigners.”

GISELL GOMEZ | ASSOCIATE PHOTO EDITOR

International Penn students who hope to stay in the United States for work must apply for the H-1B visa.

You are

INVITED The Daily Pennsylvanian Alumni Association and the staff of The Daily Pennsylvanian cordially invite all DP alumni, graduating seniors, and current staff to

A Reception for Daily Pennsylvanian Alumni

Saturday, May 13th from 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. at the DP offices, 4015 Walnut Street.

Please join us for drinks and a light bite to eat.

Chat with former colleagues, reminisce about the old days,’ and see the current DP operation.

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NEWS A3

MAY 12-15, 2017 - GRADUATION ISSUE

Yik Yak, memes and four years of Penn trends And, oh yeah, that ‘squirrel catching club’ too KELLY HEINZERLING Staff Reporter

Before t he Pen n- cent r ic Facebook meme group, Official Unofficial Penn Squirrel Catching Club, there were a few other trends that gripped students across campus.

Parties: Many Penn seniors will remember the TheRedCup application from their freshman year. The app was a way for fraternities to notify students about when and where they were having open parties.

“All the frats would post the time and location of the party with their fake names, like they do on Facebook,” College senior Mallory Kirby said. “I remember all of my freshman hall and friends using it in the fall.”

Over time, however, students have ditched the TheRedCup app for Facebook, which is now the primary way for students to find out about parties.

College senior and former Tau Epsilon Phi Social Chair Avi Colonomos said he remembers

Facebook becoming the main channel for communicating party details starting from his sophomore year.

“Facebook is a platform for a ll,” Colonomos sa id.

“TheRedCup app was sort of dysfunctional from its inception.”

Another big party trends seniors have noticed is Spring Fling parties shifting from mostly on-campus “darties” or daytime parties to “downtowns,” which are parties held in Center City.

“All this downtown stuff for Fling,” College senior Anna Rosenfeld said. “I think that’s the biggest change that we’ve seen.”

Technology: When seniors were freshmen, many were on the app Notice, which Wharton senior Allison Gruneich described as “Yik Yak but just for Penn.”

Founded by 2014 Wharton graduate Edward Lando and Engineering senior Yagil Burowski, the app was intended to encourage positivity on campus by letting students a nonymously post positive compliments or shoutouts.

Pen n sen iors wi l l a lso

CLASS OF 2017

remember the app W hatsgoodly ga in ing popula r ity during their sophomore year.

Launched by two Stanford University students in 2015, the app allowed students to a nonymously create pol ls asking questions that they were always too afraid to ask in person. People who responded could see what other students on campus answered.

Although College junior Ilona Jileaeva remembers the popular app as being “ridiculous,” it did leave its mark on campus.

In the spring of 2016, the app being talked about on campus was Housepar ty, a video-chatting app that allows multiple participants on one phone screen. Seniors said it seemed to improve on the technology used in Skype.

One important tech trend that seniors didn’t have access to in their earlier years at Penn was car-sharing applications like Uber and Lyft.

“There used to be a lot more cabs on campus,” Rosenfeld said. “Since Uber is so cheap,

cabs are definitely less prevalent here.”

Social Media: Some of the changes in social media in the past four years include the rise of Instagram, Snapchat and Tinder.

Seniors noticed that underclassmen tend to use Instagram much more than they do.

However, seniors added that they do have strong memories of one particular Instagram account: @YungBen Fra n klin. A predecessor to the Penn Facebook meme group, @ YungBenFranklin posted pictures satirizing Greek life and pre-professional culture at Penn.

“The Ben Franklin account, when it first started, everyone was talking about it,” Colonomos said. “Ben Franklin has stopped releasing things, and [the meme group] characterizes our campus and has overtaken Ben Franklin.”

Rosenfeld sa id she still stands by the Instagram account. “Yung Ben Franklin is definitely funnier than the meme group.”

Celebrate Graduation with Penn Hillel!

Questions about Commencement?

Information is available at:

Friday, May 12th:

6:30pm - Shabbat Services Shira Chadasha, Orthodox, Conservative 7:30pm - Shabbat Dinner

www.upenn.edu/commencement

Saturday, May 13th:

9:00am - Orthodox Shabbat Services 3:30pm-4:30pm - Taste of Philly Enjoy your classic Philly snacks and drinks

Monday, May 15th:

Following Commencement Bagel Brunch on us at Penn Hillel

Details at PennHillel.org

or (215) 573-GRAD 24 hours a day

THE ROY AND DIANA VAGELOS SCHOLARS PROGRAM IN MOLECULAR LIFE SCIENCES

CONGRATULATES Join Us

B A C C A L A U R E AT E CEREMONY Sunday, May 14, 2017 Please join President Amy Gutmann, Provost Vincent Price, Senior Class President Darren Tomasso, and Chaplain Charles Howard at this inspiring ceremony.

With guest speaker

A N G E L A DUC KWO RT H Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, founder and scientific director of the Character Lab and MacArthur “Genius” Fellow

With music performances: Penn Glee Club Penn Lions Shabbatones The Baccalaureate Brass

Irvine Auditorium 1:30 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.

1:30 p.m. Graduating students A through K 3:00 p.m. Graduating students L through Z

ITS SIXTEENTH CLASS OF GRADUATES MAY 2017

Nikita Agarwal Xiaomao Ding Elizabeth Dresselhaus Bryan Fichera Edward Gomes Carla Hoge Seok Jae Albert Hong Erik Kerkhoven Alexander Kostiuk Matthews Lan Lucy Z. Li Rachel Mardjuki Ashley Sartoris Evan Selzer Lauren Shaw Chunzi Song William Svitko Girish Valluru Edward J. Zhao Now go and do something marvelous!

A4 NEWS

MAY 12-15, 2017 - GRADUATION ISSUE

THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN | THEDP.COM

S N O I T A L U T A 17 R 0 2 G F N CO O S S A L C

From Residential and Hospitality Services Katlin Nuscis Leah Allen Sangmin “Simon” Oh Jennifer Anderson Manga Omasombo Ana Barrera Jordan Palmer Suprabhat Bhagavaghula Gabby Pullia Cora Butler James “Cutler” Reynolds Sean Carlin Shraddha Sawant Sophia Chen Robin Schmitz Mariano Gomes Si Shi “Jamie” Won-Jeong Han Amanda Solch Wenqian Jiang Shivanee Sen Jenna Kapsar Sarah Soley Olivier ‘Sasha’ Lecorps Anh Tran Amy Lee Xuan Trinh Gregory Lewis Gabrielle Jackson Manikaa Nayee Frank Thai May Ngo Lea Nowack

Congratulations #Penn17, it has been a pleasure working with you and we can’t wait to see the amazing things you accomplish next!

THEDP.COM | THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN

NEWS A5

MAY 12-15, 2017 - GRADUATION ISSUE

Nonprofit builds network Debate ensues over Sen. for low-income students Cory Booker as speaker Collective Success founded a chapter at Penn this year

Not everyone is excited about this year’s speaker at Commencement

HALEY SUH Senior Reporter

When internship application season rolled around last semester, College junior David Thai found himself facing rejection after rejection. After speaking with friends who had already been hired for the summer, Thai realized that while he was waiting patiently to hear back, his friends had sent follow-up emails, reached out to alumni and asked people for references.

“I didn’t know the skills or things you had to do to really get your foot into the door,” Thai said. “I thought it was just dropping your resume and waiting to hear back.”

Thai soon realized that his experience was common among first-generation low-income students who do not have the “social capital” that enabled more privileged students to advance in their professional careers, he said.

This prompted Thai to launch Collective Success: a nonprofit organization that con nects f i rst-generation, low-income students with professionals across various industries in the Greater Philadelphia region.

Since its launch in Janua r y, 85 professionals in Philadelphia have signed up to be part of the Collective Success. These professionals come from a wide range of industries — finance, technology, education, the public sector — and from established companies such as Comcast, Ernst & Young and The Vanguard Group.

“My dad is a fish salesman, and my mom doesn’t work, so I can’t expect them to connect me with a lawyer or consultant that can help me get a job,” Thai said. “The Collective Success is providing a way in which professionals can channel their support for FGLI students, whether that’s through workshops or mentorship.”

Thai collaborated with 2006 Wharton MBA graduate Due Quach, whom he met when she visited Penn’s Pan-Asian

STEPHEN IMBURGIA Staff Reporter

PHOTO BY BOWSTRING STUDIOS

David Thai and Due Quach founded a nonprofit helping firstgeneration, low-income students network with local professionals.

American Community House to run a leadership and mindfulness program from her organization Calm Clarity.

Thai and Quach worked together to start Collective Success chapters at Penn and at Drexel University, whose chapter is called Dragon’s First, and they hope to continue to expand the program to universities across the country.

Lananh Ho, a junior at Drexel University studying biomedical engineering, said Dragon’s First will be Drexel’s first campus support group for FGLI students. Understanding the lack of a professional network for FGLI students, Lananh said that she hopes to organize as many professional networking events as possible.

“I didn’t how to create a good resume or socialize in a professional environment, so it was hard to get my first internship,” Lananh said. “I didn’t have any professionals mentoring me, so I had to a create a network for myself, which is very difficult.”

Earlier in April, Collective Success hosted its first “meet and greet” session, where students were asked what they hoped to get out of the program. Of the 75 students that attended the event, many responded that they were looking for both professional mentorship and a community for FGLI students.

Wesley Wong, a first-generation student who now works as a senior consultant at Ernst & Young, said he hopes to serve

as a useful mentor and resource for students who come from similar backgrounds.

“If students have career questions or are interested in certain industries, I can point them to certain resources or give them tips or guidance,” Wong said. “But I’d also say that Collective Success is not just a network, but a community where FGLI students can come together to share their struggles and support each other.”

Penn’s choice for its 2017 commencement speaker has ignited a debate on campus around ideological diversity.

When the administration announced that Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), a frequent critic of Donald Trump, would be this year’s commencement speaker, some students denounced the choice as reflecting the lack of ideological diversity at Penn.

With Commencement only days away, campus opinion regarding Booker remains divided.

“Regardless of my personal opinions, I do think that the commencement speaker should not be making a political statement,” College senior Samantha Rahmin said.

As a resident of New Jersey, Rahmin has already had opportunities to see Booker speak and said she would have preferred another speaker.

“The past few speakers have had such a strong left leaning,” Rahmin said, referencing past commencement speakers, former Vice President Joe Biden, John

Legend, former United States Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Powers and actor-playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda.

“We’re getting to a point where if they were going to choose someone political, they should’ve chosen someone more moderate or more to the right,” she added.

College and Wharton freshman and College Republicans representative Michael Moroz agreed.

“I think intellectual diversity is extremely important, and universities have a deep role in facilitating it. Unfortunately in this case, Penn hasn’t lived up to its mission,” he said.

Moroz previously criticized the administration’s choice of speaker during an Open Forum at a University Council meeting. He claimed that the administration’s choice of Booker, an outspoken critic of President Trump, could alienate conservative students.

Moroz argued that since Samantha Powers had been invited speak in 2015, the University should have considered inviting a political figure from the other side of the ideological divide, such as Nikki Haley, the current UN ambassador under the Trump administration, to this year’s commencement.

“Learning from people who have lived through life and have

JAMELLE BOUIE | CC 2.0

Booker has been a prominent critic of President Donald Trump.

achieved such success is an incredibly valuable thing. But … not only liberals have lessons or values to share with students.” he said.

Despite disagreement, and possible backlash, many of Penn’s seniors continue to defend the choice of Booker as speaker.

College senior Taylor Nefussy pointed out 2017 commencement speaker Lin-Manuel Miranda and Booker come from different occupational backgrounds. While Lin-Manuel shared lessons from his experiences in the theater world, Booker comes from a political background.

“He’s a real rising star in the Democratic Party,” she said. “It will be really cool to say we got to see him speak way back when.”

When you left we said To the Class ofof‘07 to the class years past May the the RoadClass Rise to Meet of You ‘07 To May Always At Your Maythe theWind RoadBeRise to Meet You Back, May the Sun Shine Warm Upon Your Face, May the Wind Be Always At Your Back, And Fall Soft Upon YourYour Fields Maythe theRains Sun Shine Warm Upon Face, And We Meet AndUntil the Rains Fall Again, Soft Upon Your Fields May the Hollows AndGod UntilKeep We You MeetInAgain, OfMay HisGod Hand Keep You In the Hollows Of His Hand Friends, Good

Fond Memories,

Now we meet again Good Friends, Fond Memories, Warmest Bestthat Wishes From Warmest Best Wishes From

SMOKEY JOE’S SMOKEY JOE’S Welcome Back Alumni!

Welcome Back Alumni!

YEAR END SHOW Architecture City and Regional Planning Historic Preservation Landscape Architecture Urban Spatial Analytics

Opening Reception Friday, May 12, 5:30 - 830pm Meyerson Hall and Plaza 210 South 34th Street Exhibition on view through Thursday, May 25

A6 NEWS

MAY 12-15, 2017 - GRADUATION ISSUE

THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN | THEDP.COM

Seniors share their best memories of the year Feb Club events topped the list of memorable moments OLIVIA SYLVESTER Senior Reporter

Many agree that senior year at Penn is bittersweet — bitter when writing a thesis or searching for a job, and sweet when making those last few memories of college.

Penn students shared their best memories of senior year with The Daily Pennsylvanian, and their anecdotes ranged from schoolsponsored senior events to personal achievements.

Former Undergraduate Assembly President and College senior Kat McKay said her favorite moment of senior year was a trip to Atlantic City, N.J. organized as part of Feb Club — the month-long series of events that the senior Class Board organizes every February for graduating seniors.

At Atlantic City, McKay and her friend College senior Jane Xiao each bet $20 on a slot machine called “Hotsy Totsy,” which they had no idea how to play.

“The game doesn’t communicate what is happening,” McKay said.

“I kept getting these credits, but I didn’t even know what they translated to.”

After McKay and Xiao won $85 and $90, respectively, they were “cracking up” and decided to cash in their winnings to buy more happy hour drinks.

“We didn’t get home until 4 a.m., but it was so different than the day-to-day life at Penn and such a special thing to get to do with your friends senior year,” McKay said.

“So many seniors were there, so it was great to run into different people all the time.”

College senior Nirupa Galagedera cited the final toast, another school-sponsored senior event, as her favorite memory.

The Final Toast, which features live music and drinks, occurs at the same time as Hey Day, a Penn

PHOTO FROM FEB CLUB TEAM

Feb Club, the month-long series of events organized by the senior Class Board, included a trip to Atlantic City, N.J.

tradition for juniors. “[Penn President Amy Gutmann] declares the junior class seniors, so then we were all standing there like ‘What are we then?’”

Galagedera said.

She added that it was one of the few times that the entire senior class was all together before graduation, so it was a good time to catch up with people she hadn’t seen in a while.

Engineering senior Elizabeth Handen said her the best memory of senior year was when the fourth floor of King’s Court English House was selected as the “Closest Freshman Hall” in 34th Street’s Senior Superlatives. Even though Handen did not live in the hall, she was voted an “honorary member” because she “basically lived there.”

“It was exciting because obviously they are some of my closest friends and I love them to death,” Handen said. “But it was exciting for other people to see how close we were and recognize that.”

Other seniors recall more personal achievements as their highlights of senior year.

College senior Samip Sheth said the best moment of his senior year was realizing that he was going to

publish a paper on his cardiology research.

College and Wharton senior Milan Savani said his favorite memory was giving his final presentation at the end of his Vagelos Life Sciences & Management capstone course. The presentation marked the end of a year-long senior course for LSM students that requires them to commercialize a product.

“It was a culmination of a lot of hard work with some really good friends,” Savani said, “because it was teams of people I’ve known for four years, and it was a lot of fun to work together.”

He added that not only did he get to apply all of the skills he learned throughout Penn, he was also able to make connections with people he hopes to cross paths with in his future career.

Although Sheth’s favorite moment from senior year was a personal achievement, he acknowledged that events like Feb Club served an important role in bringing graduating seniors together.

“It’s really special to see how people are coming together to celebrate the memories we’ve made in the last four years,” he said.

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OPINION A7

MAY 12-15, 2017 - GRADUATION ISSUE

senior columns Just throw this at the end…

SENIOR COLUMN BY COLIN HENDERSON FRIDAY, MAY 12 MONDAY, MAY 15, 2017 VOL. CXXXIII, NO. 57 133rd Year of Publication CARTER COUDRIET President DAN SPINELLI Executive Editor LUCIEN WANG Print Director ALEX GRAVES Digital Director ALESSANDRO VAN DEN BRINK Opinion Editor REBECCA TAN Senior News Editor WILL SNOW Senior Sports Editor LUCY FERRY Design Editor CHRIS MURACCA Design Editor CAMILLE RAPAY Design Editor JULIA SCHORR Design Editor VIBHA KANNAN Enterprise Editor SARAH FORTINSKY News Editor MADELEINE LAMON News Editor

When you’re working for a news organization, it’s very easy to get the impression that nobody trusts you.

At The Daily Pennsylvanian, I aspired to share the best stories that the Penn community had to offer; to translate the hearts and souls of my peers into words on a page.

And I got frustrated countless times when my intentions were questioned, when distrust of my organization impeded my ability to share these stories.

I now realize that I should have been able to more fully understand this reticence. All my life I have been reluctant to share myself with the outside world. Painfully reluctant. Although I have put all of myself into my work, I have struggled to share the most essential parts of myself, even with those most important to me.

I’ve asked and expected others to do what I have refused to do myself — to open themselves up to being known by others. This contradiction bothers me deeply.

Over the years, I’ve rationalized this behavior in a number of ways, but at the end of the day, it comes down to

ALLY JOHNSON Assignments Editor

this: I was afraid. And I still am.

But now, with this column, I have a chance to face this fear.

So, with my time running out at Penn, I’d like to give you a bit of a late introduction to myself.

About 30 years ago, my parents met at a wedding between my dad’s brother and my mom’s childhood friend.

To hear them tell it, my mom wasn’t all that interested at first. How my dad managed to change that, I will likely never know. They’ve devoted the rest of their lives to building my family.

I wasn’t much of an athlete as a child, but when you grow up in small town, rural Pennsylvania, you make do. I remember spending my childhood playing football with the neighborhood boys (even when I’d rather have been picking daisies) or belly-flopping down a slip-n-slide on a hill in my backyard when the heat would pick up.

Despite being two years my junior, my sister would often get the best of me and the other boys in our ragtag pickup games. Apparently,

YOSI WEITZMAN Sports Editor

HARRY TRUSTMAN Copy Editor ANDREW FISCHER Director of Web Development DYLAN REIM Social Media Editor DAKSH CHHOKRA Analytics Editor ANANYA CHANDRA Photo Manager JOY LEE News Photo Editor ZACH SHELDON Sports Photo Editor LUCAS WEINER Video Producer JOYCE VARMA Podcast Editor

The Daily Pennsylvanian wishes all of its graduating senior editors, managers and staff a phenomenal future!

COLIN HENDERSON President, 132nd Board LAUREN FEINER Editor-in-Chief, 132nd Board GENEVIEVE GLATSKY News Editor, 133rd Board

On the night of Nov. 8, 2016, while the world watched the unexpected ascent of Donald Trump to the presidency, I had one mission: to put out a paper. This goal — which was hard enough on any less eventful day — required rallying reporters across campus (and in New York) to submit articles and photos and getting dozens of editors to headline, caption and design the print product. Not to mention asking them to put aside their reactions to the world-changing event unfolding in front of them.

This was no small ask.

After all, everyone who works for The Daily Pennsylvanian is a student, who had just voted in what was likely their first presidential election and still in the midst of building their perspective on the world. I tried to let my staff experience this moment how they needed to, but I knew that if I were going to be able to get this paper out, I needed

KRISTEN GRABARZ Campus News Editor, 131st Board

SYDNEY SCHAEDEL Senior News Editor, 133rd Board

LAINE HIGGINS Sports Editor, 132nd Board HOLDEN McGINNIS Sports Editor, 131st Board PAOLA RUANO Copy Editor, 131st Board TIFFANY PHAM Photo Manager, 131st Board EMMA HARVEY Business Manager, 132nd Board MARK PARASKEVAS Circulation Manager, 133rd Board EMILY JOHNS Street Editor-in-Chief, 132nd Board MIKAELA GILBERT-LURIE Street Managing Editor, 132nd Board GIULIA IMHOLTE Street Audience Engagement Director, 132nd Board MATT KELEMEN UTB Editor-in-Chief, 132nd Board

nalizing for the first time that I was “smart.” I wouldn’t quit sucking my thumb for several more years.

As a senior in high school, I had to be taken off the course in the middle of my last cross country race due to illness.

As I despondently wandered around, I noticed my brother — four years my junior — crying under a maple tree. It

one that used to belong to her second husband — and let me drink tea out of his favorite mug. It has a beautiful, bigeyed owl on it. He had passed away before I could ever remember him.

On May 15, I will attend Commencement. Afterwards, I’ll hug my friends and family and run up my parents’ credit card bill and talk about all of

COLIN HENDERSON in the face and moving forward anyway. It’s about being empathetic.

Thank you so much to all my friends and family for supporting me through my time here at Penn — I love you all.

And to everyone at the DP, thank you for helping me learn that being a good journalist means being a good person, and in some sense, being a good person means being a good journalist.

COLIN HENDERSON is a Wharton senior from Nazareth, Pa., studying finance and marketing. He served as the president of the 132nd board.

Previously, he was a sports editor, director of internal consulting and sports reporter.

He most recently served as a circulation staffer.

to stay focused. What I needed that night was to be less student, and more journalist.

As a student-journalist for all four of my years at Penn, the separation of both parts of that identity has become necessary on many occasions. And while it’s made it difficult to experience either one to the fullest extent, I feel that it’s given me a unique perspective on Penn.

This split identity was perhaps the most difficult to straddle during our coverage of mental health.

The first time I reported on a suicide was at the beginning of my second semester, freshman year. I finally felt like a journalist when my editor pulled me aside and asked me to report on the recent death by suicide of a graduate student.

I felt like a journalist when I spoke to the best friend of this student for two hours, asking about her life and the school’s

com mun ication of her death. I felt like a journalist when I found the phone number of her mother through linking names in the local newspaper to the White Pages.

But I felt like a student when I trembled dialing the number into my phone.

I felt like a student when a

how to shift from student to journalist and back in the right moments. I’ve learned that thoughtful repor ting on suicide and mental health can be beneficial for a community, not harmful. I’ve learned that there is a way to be a part of the greater Penn community, to feel the pain they feel

…every choice I’ve made has been an investment into the people and things that I love.” school administrator told me I was going to cause “psychological harm” to the community with my reporting. I felt like a student when I cried in my dorm, asking my roommate if I was doing the right thing.

Over time, I’ve learned

of losing a classmate, and still step back and report on the information they are looking for and that is responsible to report.

When we learned of a student’s death last April, the journalist in me thought about all of the contacts we

needed to reach out to, and which reporters I could put on the story. But the student in me wrote an email to my staff, letting them know I was there for them and wanted to open my office door to conversation later that night.

As I prepare to graduate from Penn, I am thinking about a lot of the choices that I’m facing ahead about who I will become. I know that taking one job means losing out on the potential future of another, being in a relationship with someone means putting another person above yourself and living somewhere totally new could fulfill a craving for different opportunities but may make me miss old friends.

But we all make these choices, and we make them so that we can dive deeper into one career, one person and one place. It’s easy to wonder what college would have been like if I were all student and no journalist.

If I’d joined a sorority, if

LAUREN FEINER I’d changed my major, if I’d entered the random roommate lottery freshman year …

But every choice I’ve made has been an investment into the people and things that I love. I am so thankful to all of the friends I’ve made at Penn who have allowed me to be not just a student and not just a journalist, but also just a person, when I needed it most.

LAUREN FEINER is a College senior from New York City, studying communications. She served as editor-in- chief on the 132nd board. Previously, she was city news editor, a senior reporter and a beat reporter.

Being okay with failure

JESSICA McDOWELL Enterprise Editor, 132nd Board

NICK BUCHTA Senior Sports Editor, 132nd Board

…in some sense, being a good person means being a good journalist.”

my big dreams and probably think a lot about owls and slipn-slides and maple trees.

The truth is, the DP will never accurately translate the hopes and dreams of the Penn community into words, just like I could never fully put my soul into words in this column.

I could tell you that this past February, I told the person that has taught me more about journalism than anyone that I loved her. But I could never describe the way I feel when I’m around her.

When you try to fully understand someone or be understood, you are doomed to fail — that’s why it’s so scary. But that doesn’t mean we should stop practicing empathy.

We share ourselves with each other and we do our best to translate it into words and music and paintings because that’s how we tap into our shared consciousness, and that’s ultimately how we grow and evolve as people.

So in that sense, being a good journalist isn’t about being a great writer or eschewing bias or any of that. It’s about staring inevitable failure

SENIOR COLUMN BY LAUREN FEINER

JONATHAN POLLACK Sports Editor

AMANDA GEISER Copy Editor

may be tough for us to talk about it, but in that moment I realized there was nothing we wouldn’t do for each other.

About two years ago, I went back home to see my dog and my family and to get away from Penn for a bit. I was talking with my nana when she gifted me a brown sweater —

Part student, part journalist

BREVIN FLEISCHER Sports Editor

TOMMY ROTHMAN Sports Editor

around this time, I told one of my parents that I wanted to marry her. To be clear, I’ve since learned what the concept of marriage actually means, but there’s still nobody that I admire more.

I remember walking down the halls of my elementary school in first grade and inter-

SENIOR COLUMN BY TIFFANY PHAM It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.

Actually, it was probably more worst of times, but who’s counting? Serving on the 131st Board of Editors and Managers of the Daily Pennsylvanian killed my GPA and also kind of crushed my soul (temporarily). Going from an A student in high school to becoming painfully average at Penn, and getting two C-pluses during the first half of my term at the DP was something that nearly almost broke me.

Factor in the fact that I’m an only child of two immigrants who managed to make it in America and expect way too much of me and well, you get the idea. But I’d like to think I kind of rose from the ashes right? There were also good times to be had, don’t worry.

I’m currently procrastinating writing my last final paper while listening to really loud party music outside of my house so all I have on the brain

is microbio and saltiness.

That’s also a sentence I’m sure you weren’t expecting as part of a senior column for the DP. What the hell is a bio major doing in the DP? Frankly, I still have no idea.

I honestly thought being in the DP was the straw that broke the camel’s back: the camel’s back being my chances of getting into dental school. It is SO hard to be pre-health and serve on the DP’s board. I enjoyed being part of something bigger than myself but used it as a crutch to enable my procrastination and poor time-management skills. I didn’t try to do anything about the too-long hours I wasn’t supposed to be spending in the office; my job description was not supposed to include 15+ hours a week in the office. I felt like a failure in all aspects. I was close to quitting so many times; I would’ve done it too, if I thought that I could actually go through with what I saw was abandoning

my peers. Obviously and thankfully, I didn’t.

But don’t get me wrong, serving on the board was a really rewarding experience in hindsight; I just screwed myself over a little. While I do blame the

Not just people who could relate to my pre-health struggles (shout out to Julio and Ananya) but also those who were just there for me.

Though my involvement has somewhat wavered, what keeps me coming

What the hell is a bio major doing in the DP? Frankly, I still have no idea.”

DP for much heartache and unnecessary stress in the dental school application process, it also gave me a sort of clarity and sanity in the form of its people. The best thing about it was not just being a part of something bigger, but being a part of these people in particular. I met so many amazing people that I still consider my closest friends.

back is the faces I get to come back to, the department that I had a hand in growing and cultivating. I guess, in a way, one of my biggest takeaways from being in the DP was being okay with failing and learning how to adapt and grow from it; it was a lesson in humility but also a lesson in just being present. I still find it very weird

that I feel so attached to something so unrelated to my life, but I don’t regret it.

Stepping out of my comfort zone has helped me grow so much and I can’t emphasize that enough.

To Carter: Thank you for convincing me to not quit. I’m really proud to have been able to watch you grow from video editor t o p r e sid ent /exe cut ive editor, whatever your title is now??

To Ilana: Thank you for everything, including all the dog and cat snaps and always smiling even when you’re salty af.

To the photo department: Thank you for accepting me and loving me even though I’m old and washed up and sometimes messy.

To Ananya, Carson, and Julio: Thank you for constantly making me feel like it was all worth it, because I got to watch y’all build something great. And also for the constant compliments and making me feel good about myself.

To Paola and Holden:

TIFFANY PHAM Thank you for always keeping it (high)key real (#blowitup) and always being there for the good times a nd the bad. I couldn’t have done it without you.

And finally, thank you to everyone else I forgot because I’m not really good at remembering things, and thank you to anyone who read this all the way through because I’m not really good at writing things.

TIFFANY PHAM is a College senior from Houston, Texas, studying biology and fine arts. She served as the photo manager for the 131st board.

She was also a photo associate.

MAY 12-15, 2017 - GRADUATION ISSUE

A8 OPINION

THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN | THEDP.COM

senior columns The myth of certainty SENIOR COLUMN BY MIKAELA GILBERT-LURIE I’ve spent four years studying philosophy, and all I have to show for it is a lot of uncertainty about life. I have never finished a philosophy course and said, “I get it now.” But I’ve gotten pretty good at being unsure.

What my discipline lacks in answers, it more than makes up for in questions. Philosophy asks what I like to call “big questions”. Those that form the bedrock of the human experience, like, “why are we all here?” or, “what makes an action ethical?” or the classic, “what is the meaning of life?”

You might think that asking unanswerable questions is a trivial or even nonsensical exercise. But to draw this conclusion would be to misjudge the importance of the unknown.

As the reality of my impending graduation sets in, I have never been more grateful for an education that forced me to confront uncertainty.

Leaving this nurturing red and blue cocoon is scary. It’s scary to close the undergraduate chapter of my life, which has been characterized by

friends and mentors more inspiring and loving than I could have ever imagined. I have grown accustomed to my routine here, where each night I go to sleep knowing that all of the tomorrows in the foreseeable future will proceed with little variation from the yesterdays before. I love that security. But once I switch that tassel to the other side the tomorrows are going to start looking really different, and I can’t picture with any kind of clarity what life is really going to look like after Penn.

Graduating is terrifying because of all the uncertainty that comes with it. Up until now most of us were on pre-charted trajectories that we didn’t have a need to deviate from. We were set up on paths to get where we are today. Middle school led invariably to high school, and high school to college. But what was once a clear path is now splitting off into thousands of smaller, windier, less certain roads. We’re standing at this fork, diploma in hand, staring out at the so-called real world wondering which way to go.

Should we get jobs or go to grad school? What do these choices say about us and how decisive are they in determining our futures? If we commit to X job at Y company, what else are we committing to? Are we picking where we’ll be for the next five years or the next fifty? Should we pick the more

for evaluation. What I do know is that I’m not nearly as uncomfortable in this interstitial space as I might have been if I hadn’t spent so much time asking big questions.

These shared anxieties are absolutely valid, but they don’t need to feel crippling. It is so much easier to approach the

Just because questions don’t have easy answers doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to seek them.”

lucrative job or the one we think will be more satisfying? Will that satisfying job be unsatisfactory when all of our friends can afford what we can’t? What if we choose wrong?

I cannot answer any of these questions. I have no idea if what I’ve chosen to do next year is really “right” for me. I don’t even know the relevant criteria

daunting question of “what now?” if we accept that we’re guessing as to what will make us happy or be right for us.

Sure, our guesses are educated, but they are guesses nonetheless.

The most dangerous behavior at a time like this, where everything feels volatile, is to feign certainty. I know how calming

it can be to pretend you’re sure about your plan, especially if you’re sacrificing something for it. Maybe you’re taking out enormous loans to pay for grad school, or maybe you’re accepting a job that’s going to require you to work 140 hours a week, so you tell yourself you’re absolutely sure that it’s what you want. But wouldn’t it just be easier if you told yourself the truth? That you’re making a decision based on limited information, and that you’re probably not actually sure? And that it’s okay that you’re uncertain?

In philosophy, brilliance is born in uncertain spaces, in grappling with seemingly impossible questions to gain a deeper understanding about the world. It hinges not on producing the right answers, but on asking the hard questions and embracing indeterminacy. In an uncertain world, being able to confront big questions is the best metric of success.

There is value in the uncertainty we’re all experiencing right now. I don’t know what next year will bring, or what

MIKAELA GILBERT-LURIE success will look like. I don’t know who exactly I am now or who I want to be. But I know that the most challenging and rewarding part of my life will be trying to figure it out. Just because questions don’t have easy answers doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to seek them. It means we should be comfortable with the uncertainty, but driven to keep searching in spite of it.

MIKAELA GILBERT-LURIE is a College senior from Los Angeles, Calif., studying psychology and creative writing. She served as managing editor for 34th Street on the 132nd board. Previously, she was a lowbrow editor for 34th Street.

Reaching the last page SENIOR COLUMN BY JESSICA MCDOWELL There’s nothing sadder than the final page of a book.

When you’re a storyteller, the final chapter is always the hardest to write. When you’re the reader, it’s always the hardest to finish. And that’s what I’m tasked with here.

I’ve never been good at goodbyes. I’ve developed a pattern in my life of avoiding them. It’s easier than confronting the fact that, when it’s really goodbye, the story is over. This, I suppose, is the final page of my book of thousands of words I’ve written in this paper.

To most of you reading this, I am just another name in the paper. The faceless byline of those stories you might remember but that will fade into the background of your “college experience” in time. Sometimes I was Jessica, other times I was Jess. I was a senior reporter, the Enterprise Editor, and even once an Associate Sports Editor.

To all of my peers at Penn, it has been my honor and privilege to tell just some of your stories.

Thank you to all the Penn

Administrators I crossed paths with, for teaching me the value of persistence and not taking no for an answer, and for inspiring me with creativity and a healthy dose of contempt for your authority when necessary.

To my friends of the 130 and the 131: your mentorship and guidance has meant so much to me as a journalist and a leader over the last four years, and your friendship has meant even more.

To the 132: we spent far too much time together, patched up more than our fair share of catastrophes, and shared an excessive amount of embarrassing stories. I’m lucky to still call some of you my friends.

To my successors on the 133: the job never gets easier, but it also never stops mattering.

Keep the faith.

Finally, to all the other amazing people who work at the DP, but never get the recognition of their name on the masthead: you’re the smart ones, and you make everything else possible.

The truth is, all of us want to matter in some way. We all come with a story, and the

greatest joy in life comes in sharing our own stories and feeling as though it’s made a difference to someone.

We, at the DP, like to treat this place as a job. We spend about 40 hours per week, stuck in a windowless office full of stale air and sleep-deprived staffers, straining our eyes over

A very wise professor once told me that the ultimate goal is not a good job, but a good life.

This place gave me a good job, and maybe, just maybe, helped me figure out how I might have a good life.

The goodbye I say now is to the job, not the life. The life lies ahead of me, as it does for all of

…the job never gets easier, but it also never stops mattering. Keep the faith.”

computer screens and bickering about things like inch counts and deadlines. We give ourselves homework that is more overbearing than our actual homework.

And we do it all in the hope that, by trying to tell everyone else what matters, we, ourselves, will matter in some small-but-discernable way.

my fellow graduates today.

That’s where this story ends.

It’s the end of the job at hand.

For now, at least, I’m no longer a student, no longer an editor, and no longer a semi-permanent resident of 4015 Walnut.

As wr iters, we have a tendency to want to make everything somehow grander than it is — everything should be a

statement. As a journalist and an editor, it was quite literally my job to make everything into a newsworthy, clickable statement.

But the meaning I found in this story doesn’t come in the final chapter. It came instead in all of the short, passing moments along the way, injected with life lessons and that allimportant “meaning.”

Those late nights of walking home past 2 a.m. taught me that friendships and passion can drive you in a way that sleep never will. The overwhelming sense of urgency you get with a 24-hour news cycle taught me that nothing is more important than my own mental health.

The constant stream of corrections and too-often mistakes that found their way into the paper taught me how to confront failure head-on, and how to pick myself back up again.

Middle-of-the-night interviews and edits while I was in Paris taught me the importance of staying connected to the people who matter; living through and reporting on a terrorist attack there reminded me

JESSICA MCDOWELL of the importance of living in the moment.

As a journalist, I met and learned about the lives of people I never would have crossed paths with otherwise.

Most important of all, this job reminded me that every single one of those people has a story.

The stories I have told in the past four years will stay with me forever. Thanks to all those who were a part of that. Now, what’s next?

JESSICA MCDOWELL is a College senior from Hockessin, Del., studying political science. She served as enterprise editor on the 132nd board. Previously, she was a senior reporter and summer news editor.

Thoughts brought to you by the DP guy SENIOR COLUMN BY MARK PARASKEVAS The one other time I wrote about my experience as the “DP Guy,” I mentioned that I grew up listening to The Clash. That same semester, I said “nice shirt” on the Compass to a girl with a London Calling shirt on. I didn’t remember that happening — until she told me the story after we had dated for two months.

The semester after the shirt comment, she would pass me at the Compass every morning.

We developed a little rapport — she was often reading books while walking down Locust, so I would ask her what the book was about. “Death.” “Nice,” I would answer back. She would giggle and I would smile. Once she was behind me I would give myself a little fist pump.

I didn’t always have something clever to say, though. I would see her walking from the distance and my head would start racing. What’s she wearing? Is the weather interesting?

When is it ever interesting to talk about the weather? Get your shit together, man! I would always have something to blurt

out. Sometimes it wasn’t my best work, but hey, we all have our moments, right?

This isn’t a Nicholas Sparks novel — Nick, if you want the idea, we can talk numbers — so I won’t go on about this little Compass romance forever. After all, it was only one of many recurring interactions — probably close to 2,000 a day — I had out there every morning. Being the “DP Guy” has been my most recognizable feature for most of my Penn experience, whether in class, at a party, at Smokes, on Tinder or on the Penn meme page. I can’t remember the last time I met a new person who didn’t say something along the lines of “Hey, don’t you hand out the DP?” no later than ten minutes into the conversation.

And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Not all of those interactions were with my classmates, either.

I became a part of the morning routine of Wharton Ops staffers, homeless people, neighborhood grandmothers, constr uction workers and popular Econ professor Rebecca Stein. Often

from the Penn undergraduate perspective, we’re too caught up in our own little world to consider the larger Penn universe and the different people who make that up. And that’s not too surprising — after all, the vast majority of Penn undergrads went through their adolescence

application game.

It’s no wonder we end up being such self-obsessed people — and not to beat a dead horse, but the competitiveness of nearly every realm of the Penn experience only amplifies that feeling. Being on the Compass helped me realize that this

I became a part of the morning routine of Wharton Ops staffers, homeless people, neighborhood grandmothers, construction workers and popular Econ professor Rebecca Stein.”

dominating academics and extracurriculars, while at the same time looking over their shoulders, comparing themselves and their test scores for the college

campus, and the community, is bigger than me, and some of the sillier barriers we build between each other on Penn’s campus — arbitrary Greek

associations, “scenes,” campus groups — don’t mean shit in the grand scheme of things. And they definitely don’t contribute to true happiness, either.

So if I can leave you all with anything, it’s to reconsider how you value yourself on this campus. A lot is said about finding a “home” on campus — and I’m lucky enough to have a few different communities I could look to in that light, the DP included. But what I’m most thankful for is the opportunity to just be myself. That goofy, music-blasting dude on the Compass is the closest version of the real me I was able to give to Penn, and I think that’s because I was forced to knock down all those imaginary walls we tend to build between each other here. Once I realized how happy that made me feel, I tried to do that all the time — not just when I was on the clock — and in a weird, roundabout way, I came to love the place that I f*****g hated for my first two years.

My mission for all of you sticking around after May is to

MARK PARASKEVAS find that thing that really makes you happy, no matter how small or trivial it seems, or how useless it is on a résumé. Take that happiness and apply it to the other realms of your life. Who knows — maybe you’ll score a date with the girl with the London Calling shirt.

MARK PARASKEVAS is a College senior, studying history, consumer psychology and Hispanic studies. He served as circulation manager on the 132nd board. Previously, he was a 34th Street music editor, music beat, word on the street editor, marketing director, copy editor, supplemental features editor and a DP internal consulting staffer.

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OPINION A 9

MAY 12-15, 2017 - GRADUATION ISSUE

senior column

VISIT

Cut short SENIOR COLUMN BY SYDNEY SCHAEDEL The Daily Pennsylvanian has a challenging road ahead.

The entire media industry is changing. I’ve worked with a lot of dedicated people this semester to put us on the right track — toward quicker breaking news, more relevant and representative content, and tougher reporting.

But we will improve only if talented students choose to work for this newspaper, and stay on to become leaders — even if fewer of them want to become journalists than their counterparts did 50 years ago.

Students must have an investment in the DP even if they don’t want to write, take photos or sell ads. Because building a better DP can help fix Penn.

Everyone knows Penn is f lawed.

Students’ struggles with mental health are painfully immediate. Horrific, racist messages left deep wounds this year. Controversy surrounding off-campus groups shows no signs of abating. All of these things and more have fueled complaints, activism and a ridiculous number of memes.

These problems need to be addressed. And the DP puts pressure on the administration to make sure action is taken. I have seen this happen with my own eyes. Especially in an age when a story can go viral, Penn’s administration and trustees want to protect its reputation, and they care about what gets written. This means reporting on the school is probably the most difficult it’s ever been in its long history, but it is also that much more important to keep at it.

This is not a rallying cry to report, or even work, for the DP, though I encourage everyone to do so. It’s simply an appeal to not let distrust, or worse, apathy, prevent you from feeling that investment. This is your paper. Tell us what you want to see, tell us what we’ve done wrong, and tell us when we do stuff right.

No one gets to the end of their time at Penn and says it was easy.

For me, getting to this point took injuries on the track team and a hard decision to quit. It took homesickness and feeling like I didn’t have friends.

It took CAPS appointments. It took hours spent in advising offices trying to make graduating

34ST.COM

SYDNEY SCHAEDEL In between tougher moments, my time here was filled with wonder. I loved exploring art museums, restaurants, parks and picturesque tree-lined streets in the city of Philadelphia. I learned as much as I could from compassionate and fascinating professors, listened to famous actors, authors and activists speak, and got to know hilarious, kind hearted people. And I can’t express how much this newspaper has meant to me. It gave me a purpose and a drive. It gave me a window into the inner workings of Penn, a place to tell people’s stories and a means to have an impact on the University. It gave me strength in the midst of political attacks on the media.

It has also been my community and my home.

Penn has enough good things going for it that it’s worth fixing, and I sincerely believe the DP can help. But it needs everyone’s investment to do the job. There’s more I’d like to do here, but my short time at Penn, and with this newspaper, is over.

It’s up to all of you now.

Congratulations

Congratulations

…Students must have an investment in the DP even if they don’t want to write, take photos or sell ads.

Because building a better DP can help fix Penn.”

to

Demie Kurz

early work, despite a system that sometimes felt set up to make it difficult. And then it took trying my hardest to enjoy a hastily assembled senior year, while also panicking about not having a job.

I got through all of it by knowing I was doing some small part to make Penn a better place for others. I found this efficacy through my work with the DP, attempting to shed light and make our campus a better place.

But other people find it through mental health advocacy organizations, or student government, or cultural groups. Every piece of the puzzle is important.

SYDNEY SCHAEDEL is a College senior from Alexandria, Va., studying English. She served as the senior news editor for the 133rd board.

Previously, she was a senior reporter, administration beat reporter and summer editor-in-chief.

to Demie Kurz

Congratulations to Demie Kurz he Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies to the Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Stu Demie Kurz

Congratulations

n her retirement after 29 years of service on her retirement after 29 years of servic to Program, the Alice Paul Center, and

Program, the Alice Paul Center, and

the Penn Community.

the Penn Community.

on her retirement after 29 years of service on her retirement after 29 years of service to

theto the Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Program, the Alice Paul Center, and the Penn Program, the Alice Paul Center, and Community. the Penn Community.

A10 NEWS

MAY 12-15, 2017 - GRADUATION ISSUE

THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN | THEDP.COM

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OPINION B 1

MAY 12-15, 2017 - GRADUATION ISSUE

senior column Letting go

SENIOR COLUMN BY PAOLA RUANO “LEAVE AND NEVER RETURN.� I would read those four words every day as I exited 4015 Walnut. Yet every day, I always returned.

Being on the Daily Pennsylvanian board is easily the biggest time commitment I have ever had in college. Thirty hours a week were spent at the office, running around making sure that the paper came out the next morning. I loved every minute of it.

The DP gave me what a lot of college students look for: a purpose. I was known as the “DP person� to my friends, and they knew better than to invite me to do things Sunday through Thursday — I would be at the DP. My schedule, thoughts and actions revolved around the paper. It became a part of my identity.

One year later, and it was over.

I didn’t run for another position. I didn’t return to my department. No more late nights at the office. No more bitch fests about how much working there sucks. No more

stressing out at 1:20 a.m. because the paper still wasn’t finished. No more staying up til 7 a.m. finishing an essay. It was liberating!

Sort of.

You see, a large part of me didn’t want to give it up. It had become an essential part of me, and not having somewhere automatically to go every night made me feel a bit empty inside. I had nowhere that I belonged. I had given so much of my college life to the DP. If I wasn’t the “DP person,� who was I? So I joined the design team. I told myself that I wanted to learn something new, expand my horizons.

I would come in once a week for four hours and relive the late night mayhem, telling myself that I was still part of the paper. I just couldn’t let it go.

This semester was when I finally realized that I couldn’t be a part of it anymore. It just ‌ wasn’t the same.

I had gotten as much as I could to do this paper. It was a chapter in my life that needed to close.

So why am I going through this pathetic attachment I had to my college paper? Because it’s the same pathetic attachment I have to Penn.

Graduation looms and as much as I like to kid that I’m emotionless, the thought of leaving terrifies me.

As messed up as Penn is, it’s home.

that seems to grow heavier with each, “So what are you doing after the summer?�

But I’ve come to accept that it’s OK. It’s OK not having a “purpose.�

It’s OK to have the future dangling.

While half of me aches to cling onto my student life, the other half knows

But I’ve come to accept that it’s O.K. It’s O.K. not having a “purpose.� It’s O.K. to have the future dangling.�

Every time I left for the summer, I knew that I would always have Penn to come back to. Back to studying, back to working, back to partying. At the end of this summer, that promise is not there anymore. It’s a big blank with a crushing weight

that it’s time to close this chapter, too. Of course, moving on doesn’t mean I can never return — but for now, it’s time to let go.

Here’s to all of the people who made letting go even harder: 131 Copy: Thanks for making

VISIT

FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM

@DAILYPENN

being a boss that much easier. You’re The New York Times the reason why I didn’t dread going 620 Eighth Aven into the office every day.

For Informatio Genesis and Matt: Thanks for For Release S leading by example and supporting me when I couldn’t support myself.

(Also thanks Genesis for our weekly lunches/ rants).

Joey, Michael and Hannah: Thanks for dealing with my shit and always being down to hang out.

25 One who might 42 G.I. Joe Cash me ousside howACROSS bow dah?? action on and Cobra PAOLArecall RUANO 1 Subject of plays (And let’s watch Survivor).

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B2 NEWS

MAY 12-15, 2017 - GRADUATION ISSUE

THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN | THEDP.COM

Seniors who graduated early return for graduation Some December graduates have remained in Phila.

ISABELLA FERTEL Staff Reporter

For many Penn seniors, graduation serves as the last hurrah for senior spring, a semester marked by various celebratory events such as Feb Club and the final toast.

However, for seniors who received their diplomas in the mail after graduating a semester early, the ceremony in May can feel more like a homecoming.

Penn students can choose to graduate a year or a semester early if they have completed the requirements for their degree. Students who choose to do so often stress the financial benefits, explaining that graduating a semester early allows them to save a semester’s worth of tuition.

“Penn is so unbelievably expensive,” said College senior Emily

PHOTOS FROM MARILYN YANG & RHIANNON GRODNIK

Wharton senior Marilyn Yang and College senior Rhiannon Grodnik both graduated early but will attend the graduation ceremony.

True who graduated last December.

“I was contemplating taking a semester off anyway because I knew I would finish all of my courses.”

Seniors who graduate a semester early do not have a ceremony arranged for them in the fall, but are invited back to campus to

participate in the spring ceremony with the rest of their class.

Wharton senior Marilyn Yang, who concentrated in finance, marketing and management, decided to graduate early when she finished the requirements for her degree during her fall semester of senior

year. She plans to attend the graduation ceremony this May. Despite graduating in December, Yang has largely stayed at Penn to continue a job on campus. To fill up the rest of her free time, Yang has also been working part-time for a public relations and marketing startup based in New York City.

While Yang said she chose to step down from all of her clubs on campus by February, not all seniors choose to give up their extra-curricular activities.

True, who was involved in CityStep, the Vagina Monologues and the a cappella group, Counterparts during her time at Penn, said she has still been heavily

involved with her extracurricular clubs throughout the spring semester.

True said being involved in these activities made her feel like she was still a Penn student, even though she already received her diploma after the fall semester. She added that she was able to spend more time in the semester meeting friends since she wasn’t enrolled in classes anymore.

While True and Yang have maintained contact with their peers after graduating early, other seniors who have left to take on jobs elsewhere, find themselves slightly disconnected from the Penn community.

College senior Rhiannon Grodnik left campus during the spring semester for her work with AmeriCorps, where she worked as a tutor in the Boston area.

“It was definitely a bit distancing from friends at Penn especially since I wasn’t in the [Philadelphia] area this past semester,” Grodnik said. “However, I did come down to [Philadelphia] for breaks and one of my school breaks aligned with Spring Fling so I came for that.”

Grodnik added that despite her time away, she is excited for the graduation ceremony.

“It feels like I’ve been away for a while,” she said. “But grad[uation] is still pretty hype for me.”

DeTurck stepping down as dean of the College this year Dean DeTurck will focus on teaching and research DAN SPINELLI & OLIVIA SYLVESTER Executive Editor & Senior Reporter

Dennis DeTurck, the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, will step down from his post at the head of Penn’s largest undergraduate school. The decision was announced in an email on Thursday sent by Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences Steven J. Fluharty.

DeTurck, who is a professor of mathematics and the faculty director for Riepe College House, has been on leave this semester. He has been a faculty member at Penn since 1980 and the College dean for twelve years, but he acknowledged that “it was time” to step down from that position.

“I’ve been doing it for a long time,” DeTurck said. “It started to feel like time to stop.” Moving forward, he plans on focusing on his research and teaching full-time.

He said that this decision has been

“coming on for a while,” which was why he took the leave of absence this spring.

“This semester, I discovered I still like mathematics,” DeTurck said.

“There are still theorems inside of me that would like to get out.”

He noted there are many things he will miss about the position such as the students on the Dean’s Advisory Board and the people at the College Office.

Former Co-Chair of the Dean’s Advisory Board Samip Sheth described DeTurck as constantly “supportive and reassuring.” He said that DeTurck attended every Sunday DAB meeting, which “meant a lot” to the students. Sheth, a College senior, also noted that DeTurck attended DAB’s “Deconstructing the Penn Face” event to gain a greater understanding of mental health oncampus.

“He really cared about what was going on that professors might not necessarily see,” Sheth said. “If there is one thing I want to emphasize, it’s that he really cares about students.”

Fluharty said the University has

begun to “consult broadly” about candidates for the position of College dean. The position does not lack importance: two-thirds of undergraduate students are enrolled in the College and all students, regardless of their undergraduate affiliation, must take courses within this undergraduate school.

According to Fluharty, Andrew Binns, a biology professor, will remain the interim dean until New Student Orientation. He said that he hopes the university is able to find a new dean before then, however, to have more transition time.

“Having some amount of time for transition would be useful,” Fluharty said. “But, I’m not going to rush this if in any way I think it jeopardizes finding the very best person.”

Both DeTurck and Sheth agreed that, despite stepping down as College dean, DeTurck still has many roles at Penn.

“I will be able to pay more attention to my teaching and that kind of stuff,” DeTurck said. “And I will still live in Riepe, of course, which is always a lot of fun.”

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NEWS B 3

MAY 12-15, 2017 - GRADUATION ISSUE

university university square square a complete list retailers visit visit for aforcomplete listofof retailers, ucnet.com/universitysquare bit.ly/upennretail

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at penn shopping shopping american Ann Taylor Loft apparel 3661 WALNUT ST. 120 S. 36th St. ann taylor loft AT&T Mobility 133 SOUTH 36th ST. 3741 Walnut St. at&t mobility Bluemercury 3741 WALNUT ST. 3603 Walnut St. bluemercury Computer Connection 3603 WALNUT ST. 3601 Walnut St. cvs CVS 3401 WALNUT ST. 3401 Walnut St. eyeglass encounters 3925 Walnut St. 4002 CHESTNUT ST. Eyeglassthe Encounters gap 4002 Chestnut St. ST. 3401 WALNUT Hello World hello world 3610 Sansom St. 3610 SANSOM ST. House ofhouse Our Own of our own 3920 SPRUCE ST. 3920 Spruce St. Last Word Bookstore last word bookshop 220 SOUTH 220 S. 40th St. 40th ST. Modernmodern Eye eye 3401 WALNUT 3419 Walnut St. ST Naturalnatural Shoe shoe store 226 226 S. 40thSOUTH St. 40th ST. penn book center Penn Book Center 130 SOUTH 34th ST. 130 S. 34th St. penn bookstore Penn Bookstore (Barnes & Noble) 3601 WALNUT ST. 3601 Walnut St.

services philadelphia Philadelphia Runner runner 3621 WALNUT ST. 3621 Walnut St. piper boutique Piper Boutique 140 SOUTH 34th ST. 140 S. 34th St. united United By Blue by blue 3421 WALNUT ST. 3421 Walnut St. urban outfitters Urban Outfitters 110 SOUTH 36th ST. 110 S. 36th St. verizon wireless Verizon 3631 Wireless WALNUT ST. 3631 Walnut St.

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madRamen mex Nom Nom 3401 WALNUT ST. 3401 Walnut St. mediterranean cafe o’Chatto 3401 WALNUT ST. 3608 Chestnut St. bakery Phillymetropolitan Pretzel Factory 4013 WALNUT ST. Philly is Nuts!

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This destination district includes over 100 businesses, cultural and recreational venues, and public spaces in and around This penn’s destination district over 100 businesses, cultural and recreational venues,between and public in and around campus, alongincludes the tree-lined blocks of chestnut, walnut and spruce streets 30thspaces and 40th streets. penn’s campus, along the tree-lined blocks of chestnut, walnut and spruce streets between 30th and 40th streets.

B4 NEWS

MAY 12-15, 2017 - GRADUATION ISSUE

THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN | THEDP.COM

Students still uncertain over Biden’s role at Penn Penn announced Biden’s new position in February HARI KUMAR Staff Reporter

Two weeks after the announcement that former Vice President Joe Biden will join Penn as a professor, administrators, professors and politically minded students alike are still confused about the nature of his role at the University.

On Feb. 7, Penn President Amy Gutmann announced that Biden will lead the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement in Washington, D.C. as a “Benjamin Franklin Presidential Practice Professor,” but nearly a month later the administration seems unclear about what this means.

Many students thought Biden would be teaching courses at Penn, but Biden spokesperson Kate Bedingfield said he will not be teaching classes when she spoke to The Daily Pennsylvanian at the beginning of the month.

Un iversit y spokesp erson Stephen MacCarthy said the specifics of Biden’s role at Penn are still uncertain. He noted that his office wasn’t “able to have conversations around [Biden’s] specific role until he left office four weeks ago, so details are still being ironed out.”

Despite this ambiguity, many are excited by the idea of a former vice president working with the University. Penn Democrats Communications Director and College sophomore Erin Farrell said she is still shocked by the news of Biden joining Penn.

“I think that we’re all really excited by his decision,” she said. “It’s a great opportunity to have hands-on experience working with him.”

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Biden will lead the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement in D.C., but the specifics of his role are still uncertain.

Fa r rell added that Penn Dems is collectively awaiting Biden’s arrival. However, she is also still confused about what exactly his role will be.

“We know as little as everyone else on campus about what Biden will try to do here,” she said. “If he ever wants to speak to us, we, of course, would be very grateful.”

Members of the Penn in Washington program, which allows students to study in Washington, D.C. for a semester and helps them land a part-time internship in the city during that time, said they are also still trying to figure out what Biden’s decision to join Penn as a professor means.

However, PIW Director and professor Deirdre Martinez said she has a clearer idea of what Biden’s plans at Penn will look like.

“I [think] that he will be based out of Washington working towards foreign policy education,” Martinez said.

Although it was first reported

that Biden was going to focus on the Cancer Moonshot initiative, which he launched at Penn in 2015, Martinez noted that Biden decided to pay more attention to diplomacy-based work in the nation’s capital rather than on Penn’s campus.

Martinez also affirmed that Biden is expected to play a critical role in improving existing organizations at Penn, like the Penn in Washington program.

“Having that positive presence [at Penn] probably means that people will look at the PIW program more than they might have a year or two ago,” Martinez said.

Se cond-yea r Pen n L aw School student Jennifer Reich, who founded a student group in January dedicated to bringing Biden to Penn, said she was unsure about Biden’s day-today responsibilities as a Penn professor. She noted, however, that being based out of Washington could provide Biden the opportunity to make an impact on the national level.

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NEWS B5

MAY 12-15, 2017 - GRADUATION ISSUE

senior sports column

‘Why do you do that to yourself?’

SENIOR COLUMN BY HOLDEN MCGINNIS I was standing in the bathroom of my house on campus, brushing my teeth after a late night of working on the sports section of The Daily Pennsylvanian. It was my sophomore year, in my first month as a sports editor.

Akhilesh was standing next to me, confused as to why I was spending 20 hours a week working an unpaid job in an industry I wouldn’t be pursuing a career in. Maybe it was just the Whartonite in him, but what I was doing simply did not compute.

He had a good point.

Unlike many of my colleagues, media and journalism have never been my goals. I wrote about sports because they’re entertaining and human. The sport may vary, but the emotion and the intensity are constant.

In DPOSTM — the DP’s O n ly Se ct ion That Matters — I found many great friends and mentors. We took a lot of pride in our work, but we also knew how to have fun in the sports office. Whether it was playing soccer in the middle of the office or having music-themed weekdays, there was always something going on and good friends to hang out with.

Best of all were the roadtrips.

I’ll never forget my first trip up to Columbia, when I was in my first semester and barely understood the first thing about the DP or sports writing. Little did I know that those were just the first of hundreds of hours I’d spend with Steven Tydings working in our department.

There was the trip to Brown and Yale, where I woke up to

find that my car had been towed in Providence. There was the trip to Duke last semester — where I wrote my final story for the DP — covering the team I cared about the most.

Most important of all, there was our trip to Tennessee.

It was one of the most boneheaded decisions we made, but between a penguin hat and the joys of watching the sun rise over the horizon in Virginia, that trip was everything.

I’m glad I spent all the time I did there and I’m glad I stepped away last year when my term as

HOLDEN MCGINNIS spent a lot of long nights in that office and it wouldn’t have been nearly as fun without the two of you. It was exactly the right amount of craziness and sanity.

To Nick, you were the best scopy editor in DPOSTM’s history. But realistically, thank you for working your ass off to keep DPOSTM great.

To Steven, we didn’t start the fire.

To R iley, I still follow Vanderbilt women’s bowling on Twitter, and it’s all your fault.

To Carter, I can’t find the right words to thank you. You know how much you mean to me.

To Paola and Tiff, LCL may be dead but my terrible dance moves will be forever.

To Alexis, Sam, Memes, Munson, Nowlan and the rest of DPOSTM, thanks for giving the editors a reason to work their asses off. You all made DPOSTM the enjoyable experience it was for every one of us.

You all a re the reason I worked at the DP, and I wouldn’t trade those experiences for anything.

In DPOSTM — the DP’s Only Section That Matters — I found many great friends and mentors.” sports editor came to a close. I learned a lot in that office, and I have so many people to thank for those experiences.

To John Philips and Mike Tony, thanks for introducing me into the wackiness that is DPOSTM. I’m thankful I had such good writers to look up to when I was a freshman.

To Ian Wenik, you’re a big guy.

To every reporter who uses “Talk about” questions, that’s still my biggest pet peeve. For the love of God, please actually ask a question.

To uberdashes, I never used you before I came to the DP — but I don’t know what I’d do without you now.

To Colin and Laine, we

HOLDEN MCGINNIS is an Engineering senior from Gladwyne, Pa., studying computer science. He served as a sports editor on the 131st board. Previously, he was a sports reporter.

Congratulations

to the outgoing cohort of College House Research Fellows!

Thank you for your contributions to undergraduate research at Penn.

Christy Charnel

Du Bois College House Research Fellow

Haralambos "Aris" Mourelatos

Fisher Hassenfeld College House Research Fellow

Jacob Berexa

Gregory College House Research Fellow

Arjun Gupta

Harnwell College House Research Fellow

Ivana T. Kohut

Harrison College House Research Fellow

Christopher Koch

Hill/Sansom West College House Research Fellow

Caroline Lachanski

Kings Court English College House Research Fellow

Linda Lin

Rodin College House Research Fellow

Nicole Flibbert

Stouffer College House Research Fellow

Anton V. Relin

Ware College House Research Fellow

MAY 12-15, 2017 - GRADUATION ISSUE

B6 NEWS

THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN | THEDP.COM

congratulations to the graduating staff of the College Houses!

W.E.B. Du Bois

Harrison

Rodin

Tyneisha Harden Brittany Keesling Lydia Paver Kierson Romero

Ethan Abramson Lynette Ashaba Ellen Duong Kingson Lin Hari Nath Olivia Nelson Chike Nwaezeapu Brad Pettigrew Hari Santhanaraghavan Raina Searles Elizabeth Silvestro Janelle Tong Evan Yang

Pee Agyei-Boakye Ishita Batra Irtiqa Fazili Esha Khurana Darlina Liu Crystal Lu Jimmy Park Christina RoldĂĄn Evan Schueckler Raines Taylor Kevin Walden Catherine Yee

Fisher Hassenfeld Benson Ansell Ana Barrera Christina Belknap Jessica Castaneda Emma Craig Nirupa Galagedera Gabrielle Hickmon James Howard Abdul-Qadir Islam Gabrielle S. Jackson Eric "Chuck" Lazarus Katrin Marquez Destiny McLennan Amine Sahmoud Rishingh Solanki Sy Stokes Kalie Wertz Gregory Elana Chapman David Ferguson Tabeen Hossain Chia An ( Joanne) Lin Andres de los Rios Kate Zambon Harnwell Danielle Cano-Garraway Melanie Cook Kenneth Galazka Brendan Galloway Reggie Gilliard Christina Ingraldi Joanna Mangar Joseph Martin Raymond McCormack Carol Quezada Olivo Amy Smith Kei Takigawa

Kings Court English

Sansom West

Mackenzie Bortner Austin Bream Eric Chen Brittany Hamon Priya Palanichamy Kala Sriram Sridharan Fatima Zahra

Kevin Beaford Phylicia Coleman Danielle Combs Kevin DeCorso Jacquelyn He Quan Lam Sarah Polech Elizabeth Sollecito

New

Stouffer

Elaida Dimwamwa Tyler Hallmark Silvia Ibrahim

Naomi Fitter Jemi Jacob Henisha Patel Jenny Wang Fatima Zaidi

Riepe Alaina (Lainey) Bailey Susanna Buff Valentine d’Hauteville Aastha Jain Jaron Ma Vanamala Narasimhan Manga Omasombo Kayla Richards Gaurav Shukla William Svitko Persephone Tan

Ware Carlos Carmona Purna Chandrasekhar Gretchen Cyros Monica Hanza Sam Joo Annie McGunagle Colin Plover Brian Sajorda Dan Sheehan Cody Smith

Best of luck, and thank you for your hard work!

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NEWS B 7

MAY 12-15, 2017 - GRADUATION ISSUE

senior sports columns From Bylines to Goodbyes SENIOR COLUMN BY LAINE HIGGINS I wish I could start this column out with a heartwarming anecdote, a poignant quote from a press conference from years past that still resonates with me or something of the sort. That would be journalistic gold. I know because that’s the format I use for most of my stories.

Just kidding.

In the past when I did not have an idea for my biweekly “Let Me ExpLaine” column, I googled motivational sports quotes or one-liners from sports movies to get the gears turning. But after talking to fellow DPOSTM-ite Nick Buchta and learning that he has been revising his senior column on an endless loop for the past four months, my usual brainstorming strategy felt like a cop-out.

Despite three weeks of reflection, I don’t have a clue how to start to say goodbye to the organization that helped me become what I wanted to be: a writer, a storyteller and, for once in my life, not the biggest sports nerd in the room.

Coming to Penn, the only club I knew I wanted to join was

The Daily Pennsylvanian. I had fallen in love with journalism in high school, but only had what I thought was a passing interest in sports. Sure, I read the sports section of the Wall Street Journal and Sports Illustrated every morning, but I assumed that was just normal behavior for most teenagers.

I decided to join DPOSTM on a whim, thinking it would be a good way to meet other athletes at Penn. The first article Mike Tony assigned me back in October 2013 was a recap of the men’s soccer team’s game against nationally ranked Georgetown, a game that ended in a brutal loss for the Quakers and one of the most uncomfortable post-game interviews I’ve ever done.

Looking back at the experience of writing that first story, it’s a miracle I didn’t quit the section.

The version of the 500-word article I turned in that appeared in the next day’s paper was so heavily edited that I didn’t even get a byline. The message was clear: I was pretty bad.

But I was also, unfortunately for the 128, very persistent. I pitched the same column idea to

the sports editors five weeks in a row until I finally wore down them enough to let me write it.

Luckily that article turned out a little better and I’ve been writing columns with an actual byline ever since.

It’s a little strange to think that of the thousands of words I’ve contributed to the DP, these will

that some of the internship offers I received were due to employers not really knowing that I operated under the tutelage of a senior sports editor, or that there were two other sports editors doing the exact same job as me.

To the five senior sports editors I had a privilege of working under and learning from — Mike,

I’m so thankful I had the opportunity to grow within the inches of the Daily Pennsylvanian for the past four years.” be the last. And for that reason, I want to move on to the thankyous.

To the DP Executive Board, thank you for naming the subordinate editors within DPOSTM “sports editor” rather than “deputy” or “assistant sports editor.” I have a sneaking feeling

Steven, Riley, Nick and Will — thank you. The amount of time and discretion that goes into each day’s paper is certainly under-appreciated here at Penn, but I never took for granted the hours of sleep you lost while stuck in that windowless office at 4015 Walnut.

To the sports editors of the 131

and 132 — Holden, Colin, Tommy and Tom — and the dozens of associates who served during those semesters, your levity made all those hours writing related links and captions worthwhile. I may not have always (read: ever) understood your jokes, or been nice to you on nights when Mets games overlapped with production, but people like you are why I’m so fond of our department.

And thank you to Taylor Culliver for convincing me to run for sports editor back in the fall of 2014. My Penn experience would have been unrecognizable without that knowing nudge.

It’s pretty terrifying to think that at the age of 18 I had already set myself on a course to become what I wanted to be when I grew up. While I’m older now, there’s still much growing left to be done.

I’m so thankful I had the opportunity to grow within the inches of the DP for the past four years.

In the hallway you must walk down to exit the DP offices, a cynical staffer scrawled in pencil “LEAVE AND NEVER RETURN.” The graffiti used to make me smirk when passing it in

LAINE HIGGINS the wee hours of weekday nights during my sophomore year. But the last time I left the office on the final day of production of 2017, those four words made me tear up. I really was leaving. Perhaps I’d return soon, but not for a long time.

So now, a final goodbye. I write this only because Memes told me not to use a quote from a movie I haven’t seen: “Hasta la vista baby.”

LAINE HIGGINS is a College senior from Wayzata, Minnesota, studying international relations and journalistic writing. She was a sports editor on the 131st and 132nd boards. Previously, she was a sports reporter and a design associate.

Goodbye, Farewell & Amen SENIOR COLUMN BY NICK BUCHTA

After spending more than a year writing a thesis on Farewell Addresses, I would have figured I’d have some idea how to say goodbye. But, like so many times these last four (really, 22) years, I’d be dead wrong. Instead, I’ll just say thanks.

You could have told me four — or even two — years ago that I would be sitting here and writing a farewell column for the DP as a washed-up senior sports editor, and I would have laughed and walked away. This was an adventure that happened basically by accident.

When I joined DP Sports my junior year, I wanted to try to get more people to care about Penn Athletics. I quickly realized it wasn’t going to happen.

All I could do was keep telling stories — and try to do it well. It wasn’t just what happened on the court that mattered. Penn athletes do more than play sports; they’re our friends, neighbors, classmates, and colleagues. Their stories matter to us for bigger reasons than just the names on their jerseys.

People read about sports because they provide the sense of shared experience that seems to be missing in so many other parts of campus today. There’s beauty in the ordinary — we see that in the profiles and features and recaps that tell the narrative of Penn athletes’ everyday lives. They’re students and athletes and interns and workstudies, and that’s why their stories matter. They’re just like us.

In the last two years, I got to tell a lot of other people’s stories. In the process, I wrote my own.

I’m not just talking about the places I got to go and games that I got to see, though those experiences have been unforgettable. As you spend time on the road with the people you cover, interview them before and after games, sit in their offices, and share their deeply

personal stories with the world, it’s impossible to walk away unchanged.

When I profiled women’s basketball’s Mike McLaughlin, I thought it would be as cut and dry as any other story. But as I talked to players and assistants and sat in the offices in Hutch, I established trust and forged relationships in ways that made me a better reporter than I could have imagined.

At one point I asked McLaughlin what he wanted people to say about him and his program when all was said and done. Quietly, almost inaudibly, he responded with something that shaped my entire approach to journalism: “Hopefully the wins and losses are closer to the end of the story, that it’s not the beginning of it.”

I realized that was what I wanted to do with my time as senior sports editor. As a sportswriter, it was my job to report the wins and losses.

As a journalist, it was my job to do much more. It’s effortless to go online and find a box score for any Penn game. I was there to tell the story, not just the score.

When I sat down to tell the life story of the inimitable BG Lemmon, I’m not sure I even asked a question. We took over his coach’s office and he just started talking.

It was the last story I wrote as senior sports; it was also the most read. To be sure, most of that is because of BG’s sheer force of personality. But as I was writing it, something unusual happened. I realized that I was at the end of a journey just as much as BG was approaching the end of his own career.

In BG’s story, you can see every one of the other articles I wrote that year. That last feature was the culmination of everything else I had done as senior sports. I closed out my tenure with the best piece I ever wrote — because my own journey

was reflected in BG’s.

These things — the impacts of these stories — happened in such a way that I simply didn’t foresee as part of my path at Penn. Time and again, that’s been the case. The best things that have happened to me here are the ones that I never anticipated.

And so much of that journey played out for me as it did because I decided I wanted to spend my time here telling other people’s stories.

None of that would have happened without others’ faith in me and the incredible people I’ve gotten to share the last few years with.

Thank you to Matt and Genesis, for inexplicably making the decision to hire me at the DP and changing my life in the process, and to Riley for having so much faith in me despite being the toughest possible act to follow.

Thank you to Will, you’ve been a worthy successor. Keep the faith.

Be assertive.

Thank you to Ilana and Alex and Ananya for at least making even our worst content look amazing.

Thank you to Mike McLaughlin and Ray Priore, Gilly Lane and John Yurkow. Not every coach gets it. You guys do.

Thank you to BG and Laine and PWBB for making me a better writer — and making sure I had a little fun along the way.

Thank you to all the athletes and coaches who answered my shitty questions and always responded to my phone calls and texts. I’m not a great writer now, but I was even worse two years ago. You still gave me a shot.

Thank you to Brooks and Hayes and all the other Fries too innumerable to name that have made this last year at Penn the best of my life.

You’re all incredible. Except Frances.

There are more people to thank than I have the space for, and that

fact alone reflects just how lucky I’ve been in my time here.

In the last two years, there was frequently the late night in the office, the tough loss to recap, or the long drive from Dartmouth.

It wasn’t always easy, but it was never hard. The people around me made sure of that — athlete, coach, parent, sportswriter alike.

I was telling other people’s stories but at the same time writing my

own. You all made it possible. You sat for interviews, you gave advice, and, occasionally, you even read a story or two.

Thanks for all of it.

NICK BUCHTA is a College senior from Olmsted Falls, Ohio, studying communication & public service and political science. He served as the senior sports editor on the 132nd board.

NICK BUCHTA

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MAY 12-15, 2017 - GRADUATION ISSUE

B8 NEWS

KASEY CHAMBERS WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

MIKE MCCURDY SPRINT FOOTBALL

BROOKS MARTINO WRESTLING

GOODBYE

down there before the title led him to reconsider.

“To finally get it, to get it senior year, and do it in the style that we did really helped

>> BACK PAGE

to be seven games on the calendar. No more, no less. There was no question of a title game or NCAA Tournament.

The same is true for Penn football. There will be ten games. A visit from Cornell or the trip to Ithaca is going to close things out no matter what.

“We had seven Super it Bowls a year against each of the other Ivy teams,” said Nick Demes, a former offensive lineman and 2016 captain. “And we cherished each and every one of those games and so we had ground it out and yeah it made it easier, but it also made it that much more intense each of those seven games. Because we knew that was it for us.”

It made things easier. It wasn’t just the feeling of going out a champion; there was the added element of knowing exactly when the end would come.

That feeling is not necessarily universal.

I was in shock, but also had a nice transition into student coaching, so it was not as immediate for me as my fellow teammates.”

Germinaro spent his re“I felt like I was maining two seasons as an prepared, but it’s assistant with the team, offering a chance for closure not at all what I expected that many athletes don’t get to be.” to experience. The end was just as abrupt, but the transition was different.

- BG Lemmon It doesn’t have to end on Former Men’s Squash Captain a sour note. Some teams, especially those without postseason play, can walk out with the closure of not being an on top. athlete anymore. … It seemed Mike McCurdy went out as like the time to accept that it’s a national champion, lead- been great, and it’s been a lot ing sprint football to a perfect of fun, and it’s something that season in 2016. The title com- has been a part of me for a very pelled him to end his career on long time, but it’s time to hang his terms — he’ll be attending up the spikes,” he explained.

Georgetown next year and had No matter how well or poorly been in talks before the cham- they played, sprint football pionship of joining the squad players knew there were going

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NEWYORKTIMESCROSSWORDPUZZLE Edited by Will Shortz ACROSS

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THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN | THEDP.COM

NICK DEMES FOOTBALL

BG LEMMON MEN’S SQUASH

TIM GRAUL BASEBALL

BG Lemmon knew when he stepped on the court against Yale’s Pierson Broadwater that it would be the last squash match of his career. Lemmon got a win, and the Quakers beat Yale for the first time since he’d been to Penn, securing a seventh-place finish at the national championship tournament. But still, even knowing and being able to prepare for the fact that the end had arrived, the moment was raw.

“It was just one of those weird — not that I was dying — life flash before your eyes kind of moments,” Lemmon noted.

For many Penn athletes, their sport defines them. They’ve often been playing for 15, 16 years or more.

The final game ends and it isn’t just about picking up the pieces. It means redefining who they are.

and that emptiness and loneliness. You think it’s so easy to get yourself to work out, to stay healthy, and you think it’s not going to be that much different but it is.”

There is no structure in place to help athletes navigate the process. Most of them don’t want one. Instead they turn to the people whose experiences offer the most help: their classmates.

“We’re all going through the same things together, so we support each other,” Martino added. “We kind of unspeakingly know what each other is going through — we don’t really talk about it or feel like we need to — but the other seniors, we’re at the same point.”

Cousins] would just because all my friends are getting jobs.

That kind of forces you to think about that side of things. But a lot of baseball kids just ignore it.”

Graul, for his part, was lucky. He didn’t have his breakout year until 2016. He wasn’t expecting to be in a position where a professional career was really an option and locked down an internship before hitting his stride in Ivy play.

That sequence of events has allowed Graul to avoid the negative effects of an uncertain future. As the season winds down, the unpredictable nature of the draft means guys might have played their last game without even knowing it.

“Multiple times I’ve seen it in the past where kids will go into the season and then all of the sudden the end of the year sneaks up on them and they realize they don’t have much going on for plans after and it’ll start to kind of stress them out,” Graul added. “And it affects the way the play because the stress of everything starts to pile up as the season comes to a close.”

Even if a professional career isn’t in the cards, there remain elements of sports that can be seen in athletes’ postgrad lives.

There’s widespread agreement throughout Penn Athletics that a correlation exists between athletes and the types of careers they end up in.

“You see athletes come back to competitive-type jobs where they’re driven,” McLaughlin explained. “They’re on a teamoriented job where they’re working together. Where there is a result at the end. I think many athletes go back to a job like that because that’s what they know, that’s what they’re good at, that’s how they got here.”

One year out from her ow n r et i r ement , 2016 graduate and former field hockey captain Elizabeth Hitti embodies McLaughl i n’s poi nt — havi ng foregone a career in engineering because she wanted the intensity of consulting.

“I wanted to travel. It would keep me busy,” she said. “I didn’t want to be home thinking about things all the time. I wanted to be moving, moving, moving. My mom calls it ‘running away,’ I call it ‘exploring.’”

There’s no finite trajectory an athlete’s career is going to take. It will end at different times, in different ways, and everyone is going to handle it differently. Many, like Hitti, find ways to prolong their careers, or recreate the feeling sports offered.

But no matter what they do, no matter how they prepare or how they handle life once retirement comes, nothing will change the inevitability of the end. Perhaps the only real solution is a simple one. Graul doesn’t know when his last game will be. And he’s all right with that.

“I’m somebody who appreciates things and I don’t take it for granted, but for the most part, I take it one day at a time and try to enjoy that game and not think too much.”

Next Steps Although much of an athlete’s identity is wrapped up in their sport, the end of a career does not mean the loss of the underlying personality that provided the drive and intensity that underscored their time wearing the Red and Blue. Perhaps that’s why many athletes don’t walk away entirely from their sport when their time at Penn is done.

For Chambers, that means finding a new role. Starting in September, the former point guard will take on a new position at a new school, serving as a graduate assistant at George Washington while pursuing a master’s degree in education.

“I want to be able to help others have the experience that I had at Penn and I want to be able to give that to other people because it was so much fun,”

The Aftermath While there’s widespread agreement that there is no formula for how to cope with retirement, there is consensus on one thing — it’s a long process. There are different outlets for different athletes; some are personal, some profession.

Germinaro turned to photography, really picking up the art for the first time after his diagnosis.

“I figured photography is Solution to Previous one of those hobbies Puzzle: where you can’t be amazing at right away, and you’re never going to be done learning about it,” he said.

“And that’s kind of how sports are too, you’re always getting a little better or fine tuning this and fine tuning that.”

Many go seek out something to fill the void in the same way as Germinaro; I wanted to be it’s about replicating the moving, moving, challenge and adrenaline of athletics. Penn athletes are moving. My mom used to committing hours calls it ‘running away,’ I of their lives to their sport; retirement opens their call it ‘exploring.’” schedules in ways they’ve never experienced at col- Elizabeth Hitti lege.

Former Field Hockey Captain In fact, multiple athletes pointed to the same activity as a source of comfort follow- she said. “I mean, the ride that ing their final games.

I had here, it couldn’t get any “I found my outlet through better.” softball,” Lemmon explained.

For some, Penn might not be “Something like that, it’s weird the end of the line. Football’s to have that every single day, Alek Torgersen recently signed that little thrill, that adrenaline a contract with the Atlanta Falrush, that thrill of competing in cons. Several baseball players a sport and winning or losing are positioning themselves for and you have that rush taken the MLB Draft. away and it’s almost like a But there’s a downside to drug. And you keep weaned off that. Particularly for the baseit and it’s like you’re detoxing ball players, the drive to stay and it’s the worst thing ever.” around the sport can come Martino, too, offered up that at a cost. Many spend every one of the blessings of the end summer at Penn playing in colof his career has been him feel- legiate leagues in an attempt to ing healthier than he has a long showcase their talent for pro time — with shoulder injuries clubs. That means forgoing insubsiding to the point where ternships, running the risk of he could throw a baseball (and being caught without a backup softball) without pain for the plan if their pro dreams fall first time in years. through.

But even if athletes are able “I think, honestly, they try to fill the gaps in their sched- not to think about [ job prosule, that does not diminish the pects if a pro career falls larger, emotional impacts of re- through],” said Tim Graul, a tirement. Many athletes simply senior outfielder and the 2016 aren’t prepared for it.

Ivy League Player of the Year.

“I felt like I was pre- “They don’t think about it as pared, but it’s not at all what much as they should. [St. AnI expected it to be,” Lemmon thony Hall] made me think conceded. “I didn’t expect about it way more than somethere to be this much of a void, body like [senior pitcher Jake

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MAY 12-15, 2017 - GRADUATION ISSUE

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NICK BUCHTA | FORMER SENIOR SPORTS EDITOR

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FRIDAY, MAY 12 – MONDAY, MAY 15, 2017 GRADUATION ISSUE

The Long Goodbye.

PHOTOS FOR THIS STORY BY ZACH SHELDON | SPORTS PHOTO EDITOR

Eight athletes. Eight stories. Eight Penn journeys find their end.

Nick Buchta | Former Senior Sports Editor

T

here’s no stopping it.

Your final game might end in heartbreak. It might end with injury. It might even be for an Ivy title.

But no matter what, the last interview is going to happen.

The last practice is going to end. You’re going to be honored at the last banquet. And then it all comes crashing down.

It happens immediately. One moment you’re a Penn athlete, the next you’re not. But despite the transition happening in a flash, the process of acceptance is never that quick. Different players prepare for the moment in different ways, but it’s impossible to really anticipate just how the end is going to come.

Penn women’s basketball learned that the hard way.

The Shock Up 21 points with barely nine minutes left against fifthseeded Texas A&M in the NCAA Tournament, it seemed as though the Quakers were on the verge of the first tournament win in program history.

But the Aggies weren’t done, chipping away and ultimately overtaking the Red and Blue,

63-61.

Sydney Stipanovich, Kasey Chambers and Jackie Falconer all thought they were going to have one more game. In an instant, it was gone. The trio was left to pick up the pieces and figure out what came next, and what they were walking away with as Penn athletes.

“The A&M game might have been more of a reality check just because it ended in such a hard way,” Chambers said. “So to end on that as the last game, it sucks because that’s what I’m going to think about when I think about my career.”

Instead of one of the biggest wins in program history, the Quakers were left with a devastating loss and at the flip of a switch, were at the end of the line.

It’s not just on players alone to deal with the end. Although there is not much of a formalized structure within Penn Athletics to help athletes transition out of their careers, each team and coach has their own approach in guiding the 200plus seniors who take off the Red and Blue for a final time each year.

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For women’s basketba ll coach Mike McLaughlin, the process begins at the start of senior year, initiating conversations with his soon-to-be

much a coach can do to prepare an athlete. On top of it, coaches are not immune to the emotions of the moment. As the Red and Blue made their way to the

“We had seven Super Bowls a year against each of the other Ivy teams. And we cherished each and every one of those games” - Nick Demes

Former Football Captain

graduates and making sure they won’t walk away from Penn with any regrets.

McLaughlin acknowledged, however, that there’s only so

locker rooms of Pauley Pavilion, McLaughlin had to sort out his own feelings while preparing to address his team and his three seniors.

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“This is the last time that group that sits together, that I can address them with the uniforms on, with the sweat, with the emotions — I want to make sure that I try to capture that as much as I can, that they can remember this moment,” he explained. “Unfortunately, that was such an emotional ending of a game that it was hard to capture it… I was stuck, I didn’t know what to say, I apologized to them.”

Oftentimes in that moment, there isn’t much anyone can say anyway. That was the case for Brooks Martino, who saw his wrestling career come to an end at the NCAA Tournament in a match he seemed to have locked up until the final moments.

It was a finale he wasn’t ready for.

“I did prepare myself for the final season, but as for that moment, I didn’t prepare,” Martino said. “It was a tough match. I thought I had it won with ten seconds left. That would’ve been the last match of the night, and that all turned around real quickly — going from thinking about making weight the next day to no longer

having to make weight again in your life.”

He walked off the mat after being knocked out of the tournament, and his coaches just let him take it in alone. The transition was jarring, born in many ways out of the manner in which that final match ended.

The emotions many Penn athletes bring up stem not just from the fact that their careers ended — it’s also how they ended.

For Martino and Chambers, even if there wasn’t certainty about exactly when the final game and match would come, they knew the end was on the horizon.

Kaleb Germinaro didn’t have that luxury. Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2014, his football career ended before the thought of a finale even crossed his mind. Interestingly, though, in some ways this actually eased his transition process.

“I feel like it was more of a shock than anything,” he explained. “I was in shock for a good amount of time until I realized it was totally over.

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