THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2017
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
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Wednesday afternoon crash damages Penn Police vehicle
Why Penn students choose to transfer REBECCA LIEBERMAN Staff Reporter
Driver was allegedly under the influence of alcohol during the crash
Look around your 100person lecture. Odds are, five of you won’t graduate from Penn. Penn’s aggregate undergraduate graduation rate is 95 percent. Each year, students choose to leave Penn, and this year is no exception. Several undergraduates have already dropped out or are planning to transfer to a different university this fall. Engineering freshman Brian McGrath, who was studying computer and information science, withdrew from Penn in December and is preparing to start at Drexel University in the fall. “I am really into music,” McGrath said. “I decided
CARSON KAHOE Staff Reporter
A van nearly struck a Penn Police officer close to the intersection of 40th and Sansom streets around 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The van’s driver was allegedly under the influence of alcohol, eyewitnesses said. “It’s an open investigation,” said a Penn Police Department official, who did not give his name. “Somebody will get locked up for driving under the influence.” Other bystanders said the driver, whose identity has not yet been officially released, nearly hit an officer and, in the process, damaged at least two other vehicles parked along Sansom Street before ramming into a telephone pole. Down the stretch of Sansom Street west of 40th, three different vehicles had scrape marks. Penn’s Division of Public Safety headquarters are located at 4040 Chestnut Street. Some police cruisers are generally stationed south of the office, on that block of Sansom Street where the crash occurred. “This incident is still be investigated, so at this point we cannot confirm the cause of the accident,” a spokesperson for DPS said in a statement. Penn Police blocked off Sansom Street to vehicular traffic with a police cruiser
halfway through the first semester at Penn that I didn’t really want to continue doing something like computer science that I didn’t care about as much as music.” McGrath recognizes that the decision to leave Penn and pursue a major in music production at Drexel was risky. “It’s a lot safer to go through four years at Penn and get a job in computer science than it is to go somewhere like Drexel and try to get a job in music,” he said. “But I just reasoned with myself that I’d rather be happy actually learning stuff that I care about than try to just grind through for a safe job and more money.” Although he has withdrawn from Penn, McGrath remains involved in the SEE TRANSFERS PAGE 7
SEE DRIVER PAGE 7
FOSSIL FREE PROTESTS AT U. COUNCIL PAGE 2
Panelist leaves Biden forum amid lawsuit She allegedly discriminated against an Iraqi-American MADELEINE LAMON Staff Reporter
“… I am constantly adjusting and trying to navigate this huge, wealthy space that was not made for someone like me.” - James Fisher
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ZACH SHELDON | SPORTS PHOTO EDITOR
Lori Alf, the Penn Medicine ambassador scheduled to speak with former Vice President Joe Biden at a Feb. 28 forum, will no longer appear at the panel.
A Penn Student-Led Town Hall:
Improving Campus Culture: A Discussion of Student Safety, Interpersonal Violence and Substance Abuse FOLLOW US @DAILYPENN FOR THE LATEST UPDATES
Lori Alf, the Penn Medicine ambassador scheduled to speak with former Vice President Joe Biden at a Feb. 28 forum, will no longer appear at the panel, a Penn Medicine spokesperson confirmed on Wednesday. Alf is a cancer survivor who was given a ”revolutionary" treatment at Penn Med for multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer. In her role as an ambassador for the organization, she was scheduled to speak at the forum, “A Formidable Foe: Cancer in the
21st Century,” which also included Biden and Penn President Amy Gutmann. Around midday Wednesday, Alf was no longer included as a “featured panelist” on the forum website. She had initially been listed along with a picture. Alf’s spot in the forum quickly came under scrutiny after The Daily Pennsylvanian reported that she was being sued in Florida over allegedly discriminating against an Iraqi-American family. Alf, who owns an ice rink in Florida, allegedly made profane, racist statements directed at Hyaat Aldahwi, a young Iraqi-American skater, who Alf ultimately banned from her rink in January 2013. SEE PANELIST PAGE 7
Thursday, February 23 5:00 - 6:30 p.m. ARCH 208 Food will be served
Co-sponsored and facilitated by The Daily Pennsylvanian, Undergraduate Assembly, Graduate and Professional Student Assembly and University Honor Council. Event in partnership with the Task Force for a Safe and Responsible Campus Community and the Division of the Vice Provost for University Life.
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