February 12, 2018

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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2018 VOL. CXXXIV NO. 10

THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

FOUNDED 1885

The Penn Biden Center in D.C., which will serve as Biden’s new base in the country’s capital, officially opened on Feb. 8. MANLU LIU Deputy News Editor

T

he Penn Biden Center officially launched in Washington, D.C. on Feb. 8. At the opening, former United States Vice President and Penn professor Joe Biden faced a packed room of policy makers, international affair advisors, and University administrators to answer questions on foreign policy. The celebration marked the official opening of the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement, but the center’s “soft opening” took place in March 2017, according to its Director of Communications Carlyn Reichel. She added that since then, Biden has led its work in diplomacy, national security, and

foreign policy. Biden was interviewed by former NBC News Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent Andrea Mitchell — a 1967 College graduate, who was recently announced as the 2018 commencement speaker — following an introduction from Penn President Amy Gutmann. Since Gutmann announced Biden’s new appointment as a Penn Benjamin Franklin Presidential Practice professor last year, students have flocked to attend Biden’s appearances on campus, with tickets to his speaking events selling out in a little over an hour and Snapchat stories flooding social media. Many students have questioned exactly what Biden’s role at Penn would actually involve. In February 2017,

Biden’s spokesperson Kate Bedingfield confirmed he would not be instructing classes. Several Penn undergraduates, however, have had opportunities to work alongside Biden by taking on semester-long internships at the center. The event took place in the Penn Biden Center’s conference room. The center itself consists of a series of about 10 office spaces located in the 101 Constitution building. This functions as Biden’s main office for the roughly two or three days a week that he is in Washington, D.C. In attendance were various Penn administrators and SEE BIDEN PAGE 2

MANLU LIU | DEPUTY NEWS EDITOR CHRISTINE LAM | DESIGN EDITOR

Penn Appétit faces challenges after loss of managing editor

New Penn club teaches students to train service dogs

To honor Blaze Bernstein, it will feature his recipes

Trained dogs are given to people in need for free

MADELEINE NGO Staff Reporter

SARAH KIM Contributing Reporter

After news of the death of College sophomore Blaze Bernstein surfaced on campus, many of those close to Bernstein — and many who had never met him — found support among friends and loved ones and found ways to mourn his loss on campus. Board members of Penn Appétit, however, had the additional task of making challenging decisions about the future of the magazine. Before Bernstein went home for winter break a couple months ago, he was elected to serve as the managing editor of the food publication Penn Appétit, where he previously worked as a copy editor for both the magazine and “Whisk,” Penn Appétit’s upcoming cookbook. Bernstein was involved with both the editorial and culinary side of the magazine, creating recipes and editing articles. College sophomore and Penn Appétit Culinary Director Jennifer Higa said deciding the direction of the magazine

A new club on campus wants to give students the opportunity to work with and train service dogs. Service Dog Training and Education Program at the University of Pennsylvania, or STEP UP, formed this semester by Nursing sophomores Malia Szyman and Ally Sterner, and College sophomore Matt Kolansky. The club aims to train students to build a dog-raising community for the nonprofit organization Canine Companion for Independence. Canine Companion for Independence trains dogs that would help people with disabilities. The dogs can be taught how to turn on lights or pick up dropped items. After training, the dogs are worth $500,000 and are given for free to people who need them. Kolansky said that STEP UP can provide a unique hands-on experience for Penn students. “I didn’t join a lot of clubs

PHOTO FROM NOEL ZHENG, PENN APPÉTIT

Higa said Penn Appétit board members decided to publish the magazine and add pieces in the issue that honored Bernstein’s life.

has been difficult for board members. “Blaze put so much time into [the magazine],” Higa said. “It’s hard to find someone as passionate, devoted, and who liked writing so much.” In charge of all written content, the managing editor is integral for the magazine, which generally completes the written component of the process within the first month of the semester, according to Higa. “We had to figure out what to do about the magazine fairly quickly because the club fair was coming up and we had our new

member recruiting GBM the week after we got back to school,” said Rachel Prokupek, Wharton sophomore and Penn Appétit’s executive director. Bernstein went missing last month on Jan. 2 before his body was found in a park in Orange County, Calif. a week later. Authorities ruled his death a homicide and charged Samuel Woodward, a 20-year-old male who went to the Orange County School of the Arts with Bernstein. A report from ProPublica found Woodward has ties to a neo-Nazi hate group. SEE PENN APPÉTIT PAGE 9

OPINION | Fraternity pledging needs to end

“People bond through suffering together. But does that mean we, as a society, should create artificial environments of brutality for the purpose of forging friendships.” -Lucy Hu PAGE 4

SPORTS | Perfect No More

Penn men’s basketball made it halfway through the Ivy League season without a loss — but no further. The Quakers lost to Crimson in their very next game. BACKPAGE FOLLOW US @DAILYPENN FOR THE LATEST UPDATES ONLINE AT THEDP.COM

NEWS Penn student opinions on commecement speaker PAGE 2

IDIL DEMIRDAG | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

The club hopes to train students and build a dog-raising community for the nonprofit organization Canine Companion for Independence.

at Penn because I feel like they just sit and talk about what they want to do, but they never get around actually doing it,” Szyman said. “Our club is very unique in that when you come to your first GBM, you already get to work with Maui and learn

how to train dogs.” STEP UP allows members to get hands-on interaction by practicing basic dog commands with dogs like Maui, a mixed breed of labrador and golden reSEE STEP UP PAGE 7

NEWS Renovations of Houston Market to start in May PAGE 7

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