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OPINION The college admissions process is broken, and Penn is no exception
THURSDAY MARCH 14, 2019 VOL. CXXXV, NO. 15 135th Year of Publication JULIA SCHORR President SARAH FORTINSKY Executive Editor BEN ZHAO Print Director SAM HOLLAND Digital Director ISABELLA SIMONETTI Opinion Editor MADELEINE NGO Senior News Editor THEODOROS PAPAZEKOS Senior Sports Editor GILLIAN DIEBOLD Senior Design Editor ALICE HEYEH Design Editor JESS TAN Design Editor LUCY FERRY Design Editor
THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN EDITORIAL BOARD
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ach year, tens of thousands of students apply for coveted spots as undergraduates at Penn. Less than nine percent of the applicant pool was accepted last year. It is no secret that certain groups have advantages in college admissions: legacy students, recruited athletes, and students who come from families that can afford college counselors or that make hefty donations to Penn. While some consider these advantages to be as ethically murky as the crimes revealed this week in a national bribery scheme, students from these privileged groups still earned their spots at Penn legally. Penn was not named in the nationwide admissions scandal. But that doesn’t mean the University is off the hook. Just last week, former men’s basketball coach Jerome Allen testified in federal court that he received
TAMSYN BRANN Design Editor
MANLU LIU News Editor MAX COHEN News Editor DEENA ELUL Assignments Editor
KATIE STEELE Copy Editor TAHIRA ISLAM Copy Editor DANIEL SALIB Director of Web Development AVNI KATARIA Audience Engagement Editor CHASE SUTTON Senior Multimedia Editor MARIA MURAD News Photo Editor ALEC DRUGGAN Sports Photo Editor SAGE LEVINE Video Producer SAM MITCHELL Podcast Editor REMI GOLDEN Business Manager JAMES McFADDEN Director of Analytics JOY EKASI-OTU Circulation Manager LAUREN REISS Marketing Manager THOMAS CREEGAN Senior Accounts Manager SHU YE DP Product Lab Manager
ALICE HEYEH
that this kind of situation does arise, so that we can be vigilant in our efforts going forward.” If anything, Operation Varsity Blues has shown us that the college admissions process is broken. We can’t forget that Penn is no exception, and the University should not be left out of discussions about col-
lege admissions offices’ vulnerabilities to fraud. We shouldn’t be patting ourselves on the back because Penn wasn’t named in this particular lawsuit, and we must continue to hold the University responsible for involvement in these kinds of scandals.
STIRRING THE POT | We must use our privilege to help those who don’t have our luck
DANNY CHIARODIT Sports Editor
WILL DiGRANDE Sports Editor
processes since October 2018. “Penn Admissions and DRIA have worked with an outside consultant to review and strengthen our processes for the recruitment of student athletes and, in light of the current charges, will again consider whether any further changes are called for in our recruitment and evaluation processes,” Furda wrote in an email to the DP. It is encouraging that the University is taking this matter seriously. Still, it is crucial that we pay close attention to how the University responds to this scandal, particularly at a time when the admissions process is under nationwide scrutiny. “We believe we have a culture of compliance here and have put in place appropriate policies and practices to prevent the kind of unlawful and unethical activity reported in the news today,” Furda wrote. “But it is always important to be reminded
Students of color must give back to the Philadelphia community
GIOVANNA PAZ News Editor
MICHAEL LANDAU Sports Editor
about $300,000 in bribes from the father of a current Wharton senior in exchange for helping his son get into Penn as a recruited athlete. Allen also said that former men’s basketball assistant coach Ira Bowman was involved in the bribery scheme. Obviously, this is both extremely unethical and illegal. But it is nonetheless concerning that this happened at Penn, and it sheds light on the ways the college admissions process has been corrupted. It’s easy to get bogged down by the overwhelming number of stories of corruption unearthed in this scandal. But we can’t dismiss the fact that a very similar scheme succeeded in defrauding Penn. Dean of Admissions Eric Furda told The Daily Pennsylvanian that Penn Admissions and the University’s Division of Recreation and Intercollegiate Athletics have been considering changes to admissions
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enn’s long and sordid history of the expansion and displacement of thousands of indigent Philadelphians — a process known as “Penntrification” — is hardly a secret. Many humanities classes study it as a microcosm for urban renewal gone awry, and a Google search will tell you all you need to know in seconds. And the problem is exacerbated by our complacency. Upon applying to Penn, I was told there would be limitless opportunities for improving Penn’s problematic relationship with Philadelphia. While I wasn’t necessarily lied to, my naivete allowed me to overestimate the number of students who would voluntarily engage in this type of work, and wrongly assume there would be more students of color involved. The “Penn Bubble” is so capable of distorting our perceptions of the outside world that many of my peers aren’t even aware that Philadelphia is a majority non-white city. Unless forced to, many people don’t see a need to engage in community service, unless it’s part of a class, and that class is required for either
general education or major/minor credits. And venturing into Philadelphia is often only undertaken for birthday dinners at The Cheesecake Factory, Thursday night “downtowns,” or weekend shopping trips. This needs to change. On my first day of tutoring at James Rhoads Elementary School in West Philadelphia — my personal attempt at escaping the Penn bubble — four black female students ran over to me the second I walked into the room, obviously thrilled to see someone who looked like them. I was taken aback, simultaneously filled with pride and disappointment. Pride because they wanted me and I would get the chance to be a source of inspiration, and disappointment because only one of those girls would get to work with me, due to our pitiful ratio. While Penn’s West Philadelphia Tutoring Project is a group that claims it is “diverse,” there are only two black student tutors in my section, and I am the only black woman. When working for an elementary school that is 92 percent black and 100 percent people of color, this is a huge problem.
JACKIE LOU
The students at Rhoads Elementary live right around the corner from Penn, yet feel that Penn is as inaccessible as if it were a plane ride away, due to their overworked parents and unstable living conditions, as well as the school’s negligible resources and underpaid — sometimes under-qualified — teachers. The students’ feeling of being shut out is magnified when none of Penn’s tutors look like them. As studies have shown, this can be ameliorated with black mentors who will enable the black students to realize that higher education is possible, and then actually go on to graduate high school and attend college. Since joining the West Philadelphia Tutoring Project, I’ve found myself living in two completely
different worlds, one in which the most stressful part of life is deciding which sorority or fraternity to join, and the other in which children can’t even say “See you next week!” with any sense of definiteness, knowing that anything could happen in between. Given these extreme inequities in our education system, we need to put our problems into perspective. Penn needs more students of color to join not only the Tutoring Project, but any type of community service that focuses on helping Philadelphia’s children and other indigent residents. We must accept that we didn’t get into Penn just because we’re smart, but because we have privilege and luck. And we must use our privilege to help
HADRIANA LOWENKRON those who don’t have our luck. In any community, but particularly in a minority community, it is important to give back and benefit as many as possible. A few hours a week really isn’t much considering that the benefits we reap from Penn are at the expense of these children; the “every person for themselves” attitude is completely counterproductive and frankly, offensive. It is our job to look out for the next generation of students of color and help them the best we can, because if we don’t, who will? HADRIANA LOWENKRON is a College freshman studying urban studies and journalism. Her email address is hadriana@sas.upenn.edu.
THIS ISSUE
Don’t be ignorant of others’ cultures on your next spring break trip
ANA HALLMAN Copy Associate CECELIA VIEIRA Copy Associate NICK AKST Copy Associate AGATHA ADVINCULA Copy Associate ALICE GOULDING Copy Associate SAM MITCHELL Copy Associate LINDA TING Design Associate CAROLINE CHIN Design Associate WINNIE XU Design Associate OLIVIA ZHA Design Associate SYDNEY LOH Design Associate JACKSON SATZ Associate Sports Editor MONA LEE Photo Associate SON NGUYEN Photo Associate SUKHMANI KAUR Photo Associate
LETTERS Have your own opinion? Send your letter to the editor or guest column to letters@thedp.com. Editorials represent the majority view of members of The Daily Pennsylvanian, Inc. Editorial Board, which meets regularly to discuss issues relevant to Penn’s campus. Participants in these meetings are not involved in the reporting of articles on related topics.
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TON TALKS | Your spring break plans and to-dos aren’t more important than people’s cultures
fter heavy weeks of academ ic work and commitments, spring break can be quite cathartic for college students. Penn has the lowest number of break days in the Ivy League, and many students like to use the week to their full advantage by traveling to exotic destinations. Some return home to spend times with their loved ones. Others stay on campus due to financial limitations. Regardless of how you spent your spring break, it is important to recognize how social stratification is represented by the drastic differences in how students have different experiences during breaks. In an attempt to be more “worldly” and well-travelled, college students can often be a
nuisance to locals abroad. The tourism industry is especially detrimental to certain countries’ cultural and environmental integrity by tokenizing certain aspects of their culture and ignoring the rest. Penn students should be capable of showing mindfulness and respect in the places they visit during break, so that their massive wealth and privilege doesn’t disrupt their communities. Your spring break plans and to-do’s aren’t more important than people’s cultures. Traveling can have a lot of benefits and encourage people to immerse themselves in exciting settings and engage with vibrant cultures. But there is a difference between being appreciative of cultures and being ignorant of the
CATHERINE LIANG
harmful effects of your presence. Additionally, if you’re visiting a country with tumultuous social and environmental issues, I implore you to understand what it means to be a visitor in a place that you will never have to suffer from the social issues its residents must face. Tourists are merely temporary visitors in beautiful cities, islands, and beaches, whereas the wildlife and native inhabitants oftentimes have to suffer from the consequences of spring break parties. This carefree attitude might not seem like a big deal given the short time frame of spring break — but the mindset of not caring about the world around you can be indicative of how you handle being a college student at an elite institution while living in one of America’s poorest major cities. On that note, there shouldn’t be an assumption that every Penn student had the opportunity to go anywhere during break. Spring break can actually be a very difficult time for some students, both financially and emotionally. Imagine being Puerto Rican and not being able to visit your home country while watching many of your peers visit it for fun. College Junior Daniel Gonzalez, who is half Puerto Rican, expressed disappointment seeing how many Penn
students will often ignore the history of oppression and the ongoing suffering from natural disasters in Puerto Rico. It’s not a crime to want to travel to this beautiful location, but it can be vexing if you’re “ignorant and don’t acknowledge the space you’re in or if you become arrogant because workers or the location doesn’t meet your expectations. My culture deserves to be treated with respect,” Gonzalez said. It’s quite disappointing to see people ignore their racist or discriminatory views in order to freely enjoy ethnic foods without guilt. I’m glad that we can share our cultures through food, music, and fashion — but cultural groups should not have to seek your money or approval in order for our existence to be validated. It hasn’t always been the case that diverse food tastes were celebrated and encouraged. In fact, there is a lot of historical racism behind looking down on ethnic foods. You’re not doing anyone any favors by harping on your cultural depth and travel count if you haven’t actually made real efforts to understand a culture in ways beyond how you yourself can benefit from it. Traveling is truly one of the most fulfilling experiences people can
TON NGUYEN have. But your experience could be even more meaningful if you’re better equipped with mindfulness and social consciousness. Whether it be traveling for leisure, for work, for studying abroad — do your research. Don’t butcher or disrespect someone’s culture just for the sake of your social media clout. When you’re reflecting on your spring break or making plans in the future, be mindful of your presence and interaction with other cultures. Traveling is an immense privilege and we owe it not only to other communities, but to ourselves, to challenge ourselves not to be blissfully ignorant. TON NGUYEN is a college junior from Atlanta, Ga. studying philosophy, politics and economics. Her email address is nton@sas.upenn.edu.