THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2020 VOL. CXXXVI NO. 15
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
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s Joe Biden emerged from Super Tuesday as the Democratic presidential primary frontrunner, oncampus political groups began preparing for a brutal competition between the former Penn Presidential Professor of Practice and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Students running Penn for Biden said they anticipate a close race, and despite the setback, Penn for Bernie remains determined to secure their candidate’s nomination. As the two candidates double down on their campaign efforts, both Penn for Biden and Penn for Bernie will do the same — phone-banking, door-knocking, and hosting events for their presidential favorites. Super Tuesday revealed the two obvious presidential frontrunners for the Democratic primary were Biden and Sanders. The former vice president emerged from the nation’s most consequential primary day with the majority vote across numerous Southern states, as well as in Texas, Minnesota, and Massachusetts, while Sanders was victorious in Vermont, Utah, Colorado, and the delegate-rich state of California. Biden currently leads with 529 total delegates, with Sanders following closely behind with 455. Either will need 1,991 delegates to secure the party’s presidential nomination, and 13 states have yet to hold primaries. Penn for Biden Co-founder and Wharton senior Dylan Milligan is optimistic Biden’s Super Tuesday successes show Biden holds the widest appeal among Americans, especially older voters of color and more moderate Democrats. “Biden definitely exceeded expectations by all measures,”
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Milligan said. “He proved that he can build a coalition that’s incredibly broad, not just amongst his solid base of voters primarily in the South — he also picked up that surprise victory in Massachusetts and Minnesota.” Penn for Biden Co-founder and College senior Gabriel Barnett said Biden’s Tuesday victories show that he is the best candidate to defeat Republican incumbent and 1968 Wharton graduate Donald Trump. “[Biden’s supporters] trust him to beat Donald Trump, to keep the House, to be the person at the top of the ticket to win the Senate, and to get results in Washington,” Barnett said. Despite their optimism, Milligan and Barnett do not think Biden’s win will be an easy one. “Going forward, there’s still a big race up ahead,” Milligan said. “I anticipate it being quite competitive, given that Sanders, if anything, is a persistent man. So we’re going to focus on turning out voters who support Biden in the Pennsylvania primary.” Penn for Bernie Co-director and College sophomore Jack Cahill said the group is not deterred by Sanders’ setbacks, even though the Senator himself expressed frustration in the lack of Super Tuesday youth voter turnout. “All the students for Bernie groups I’ve talked to are still very energized, still very excited, and not at all stalled in terms of the energy that they are going to bring in the future,” Cahill said. “It’s obviously going to be a much longer fight than what we had hoped it would be just two weeks ago – we’re definitely ready for it.” Penn for Bernie Co-director PHOTOS BY KYLIE COOPER, CHASE SUTTON, AND SHARON LEE
SEE SUPER TUESDAY PAGE 6
Penn student forced to quarantine in Israel due to coronavirus A College junior is stuck after a trip to Italy ELIZABETH MEISENZAHL Staff Reporter
MIA KIM
A Penn student studying abroad in Israel has been required by the Israeli Ministry of Health to self-quarantine after a visit to Italy, which has been plagued by a recent coronavirus outbreak. College junior Talia Rosenberg said she and approximately 40 other students studying abroad at Tel Aviv University traveled to
Florence, Italy on Feb. 13 for a vacation and returned to Israel on Feb. 22. Rosenberg said Tel Aviv University and the Israeli Ministry of Health emailed the students five days after their return, instructing them to self-quarantine by isolating themselves in their residences. Rosenberg said she and the other students began quarantining on Feb. 27 and expect the quarantine to end on March 8, approximately two weeks after their return from Italy. On Feb. 27, the Israeli Minis-
try of Health required all people returning from Italy to self-quarantine for 14 days. Since then, Israel has mandated that people traveling from France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, and Austria must also self-quarantine. Approximately 100,000 Israelis are currently in isolation, according to The Jerusalem Post. Rosenberg said she has not left her apartment since the quarantine began approximately one week ago. Upon returning from Italy, Rosenberg said she read online that Israel may require
people returning from Italy to self-quarantine, so she stocked up on groceries in preparation. She added that the Israeli government has provided quarantined students with 100 shekels, approximately $30, per day to order food. Rosenberg described being in self-isolation for a week as “a weird kind of dystopian feeling.” Rosenberg added that her professors at Tel Aviv are aware of her situation and reassured her that the quarantine period will SEE QUARANTINED PAGE 2
Performing Arts Council accepts new groups
Coronavirus prompts U. to suspend certain air travel
ELIZABETH MEISENZAHL Staff Reporter
Penn follows CDC’s travel guidelines
PAC added groups for the first time in six years
The Performing Arts Council, an organization that allocates oncampus space to Penn performing art groups, barred new groups from joining in 2014 due to space limitations. Six years later, PAC has temporarily lifted the moratorium with the addition of two new groups. College senior and PAC A Cappella Chair Levi Cooper said a cappella group Dischord and theater group Penn Chinese Theater joined PAC last month. Both groups said their PAC membership will help increase their recognition at Penn and allow access
PHOTO FROM ZIHAN CHEN
A capella group Dischord and theatre group Penn Chinese Theater are now eligible to receive funding from the Student Activities Council.
to rehearsal and performance space on campus. Dischord Copresident and College junior Aaron Kahane added that groups who perform dance, a cappella,
musical and comedy, and theater at Penn must be part of PAC in order to receive funding from the Student Activities Council. PAC halted the addition of new
OPINION | Penn needs more child care centers “For student parents, not having access to adequate child care can erode the opportunity to obtain the education of your dreams.” - Jessica Gooding PAGE 4
SPORTS | Basketball closes regular season Penn men’s and women’s basketball wrap up their schedules this weekend against Cornell and Columbia, with both sides eyeing bids to Ivy Madness. BACKPAGE
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groups with a moratorium from 2005 to 2007, citing rehearsal and performance space limitations and lack of resources. PAC placed a second moratorium in September 2014 and had not accepted a new group since last month. PAC said in 2014 that they would consider lifting the moratorium when they were able to support the needs of current groups and new groups. From 2007 to 2014, PAC added 10 new groups. Since then, Cooper said PAC has consistently had 46 groups. College junior and PAC Technical Chair Hannah Paquet said that while non-PAC performing arts groups can secure space on campus for rehearsal if a space is vacant, PAC groups are pri-
ANYA TULLMAN Staff Reporter
In response to the deadly coronavirus outbreak, Penn is suspending all University–af-
SEE PERFORMING ARTS PAGE 6
filiated travel to China, Italy, Iran, and South Korea in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. Provost Wendell Pritchett, Executive Vice President SEE AIR TRAVEL PAGE 7
ISABEL LIANG
NEWS MERT sees an increase in calls during fall 2019 semester
NEWS Lyft buys Halo Cars, a startup founded by Penn students
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