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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 2017
Philadelphia reviews Penn’s nonprofit tax exemptions Penn currently qualifies for $30.6 million in exemptions CHRIS DOYLE Staff Reporter
Penn administrators and government officials seem to disagree on whether the University pays its fair share of taxes. Penn qualifies for an estimated $30.6 m illion of non-profit property tax exemptions per year, but now these exemptions are being called into question. In late March, the Philadelphia Office of Property Assessment announced that it is reevaluating the city’s “commercial, industrial, and institutional properties,” for the 2018 tax year . Penn — among other non-profit organizations, including charitable hospitals, sports teams and churches — came under particular scrutiny, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. Penn’s Director of Media Relations Ron Ozio said Penn does not expect the OPA’s
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stolen last year, also from the machines in the Class of ‘28 building. “I just didn’t think that that kind of thing was something that anyone does,” Hu said. “What kind of person would take it?” Hu remembers putting her
reevaluations to alter the nonprofit status of University properties. “We are working with OPA to address routine audits of exemption status at a number of Penn-owned properties,” Ozio said in an email statement. “These audits appear to be a new initiative by OPA. We do not expect any significant changes in the tax status of these properties as a result of the audits.” Ozio wrote in the statement that the University pays over $2.2 million in real estate taxes each year. “The University pays taxes on any property it owns that is leased for commercial use (e.g., Starbucks or CVS stores leasing space in University buildings),” he added. As the city’s largest employer, Penn also generates $136 million from wage taxes that its employees pay, according to the Penn Almanac. The Almanac also reported that Penn invests $1 million and $800,000 in the Netter Center for Community Partnership and Penn Alexander
School . This new tax assessment by the OPA is not the first time that Penn’s tax contributions have been called in question. In 2013, the City Council passed a resolution asking that “mega-nonprofits” receiving tax exemptions, such as Penn, join the city’s Payment in Lieu of Taxes program. Under PILOT, nonprofit organizations would volunteer a sum of their earnings to the City of Philadelphia. Penn did not respond to this resolution. Philadelphia Mayor and former Penn professor Jim Kenney, as well as Philadelphia Councilwoman Helen Gym, a 1993 College graduate and former Daily Pennsylvanian editor, have said that they think Penn ought to contribute more to the city. During their 2015 campaigns, both public officials said they would urge the University and other large non-profits to participate in PILOT. Penn Law School professor Wendell Pritchett said actions
laundry in the washer and when she returned to flip the load, she found her clothes already in the dryer. She then set her timer and left. Hu said when she returned, she found nearly all of her clothes gone, save for a few socks and towels. “I lost like a lot of my athletic apparel and pretty much had to
restock everything,” Hu said. “It was probably $2000 worth of clothes.” Hu explained that after she had searched the laundry room and asked around her floor for information, she went to the Quad gate front desk. They suggested that she file a police report. Unlike Goldman, Hu chose to do so, but her laundry
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As a nonprofit organization, Penn is entitled to certain tax exemptions. In recent years, members of city government have called into question Penn’s tax contributions, amid debate about the PILOT program.
like Kenney’s, Gym’s and the OPA’s are “nothing new.” Pritchett, a former member of the School Reform Commission, said cities always try to solicit
more revenue from large institutions such as Penn. “It is probable that Kenney administration has tried to ramp up efforts [to collect revenue],”
Pritchett said. “But the city always has revenue struggles, and so they’re always looking to get the full amount of revenue they’re supposed to get.”
was never found nor returned to her. “I cried. It was the first tragic thing that happened at school,” Hu said. “Within that hour, two hour frame, I was kind of frantic.” Penn Residential Services said students should keep a close eye on their laundry. “We encourage residents to
utilize the laundry monitoring service, and to collect their laundry in a timely manner. If a resident reports their laundry stolen, we encourage them to file a police report. The reality in most cases is that another student is responsible for the missing laundry, whether maliciously or accidentally,” Director of Residential Services John Eckman
said in an emailed statement. Despite her experience, Hu said she does not think that her stolen laundry situation is reflective of the general Penn population. “After that incident, I have never experienced big problems with dishonesty,” Hu said. “I think it was the wrong place, wrong time.”
2017 HONOR SOCIETY INDUCTEES & SENIOR AWARDS
PHI BETA KAPPA Class of 2018 Austin J. Borja Kevin Y Chen Ethan C. Fein Gideon J. Haber Phillip J. Huffman Olivia L. Katz Jonah S. Peter Jennifer C. Saouaf Sheridan S. Small Max B. Smiley Helena C. Von Nagy Shelby C. Wilkinson Jimin Yoon Olivia Y. Zhou
Class of 2017 Jessica Taylor Abrams Jennifer Marie Anderson Samantha Sharon Ashok Isabella Catherine Auchus Shaili Babbar Rachel A. Banks Kyle W. Bigley Austin Bream Jamie Lauren Brensilber Rebecca Cecile Brown Theodore L. Caputi Evan Harry Cernea Kasey Chambers Riya Chandiramani Konhee Chang Bofeng Chen Aneesh Kush Chona Michael William Coyne
Jordan Leigh Doman Elizabeth Jayne Dresselhaus Sophia Elliot Elizabeth Marie Schrenk Eyermann Bryan Thomas Beauregard Fichera Julia Elizabeth Fine Adam S. Freed Michael A. Freeman Lucy Gao Anna Louise Garson Liam Gennari Mikaela Wynne Gilbert-Lurie Eli Matthew Goldman Claire Tepper Greenberg Zachary Samuel Griff Ben Jake Griffiths Alexandra Gurley Mathew R. Hause Laine Ann Higgins Emily Anne Hoeven Cole Hurwitz Anya Friedman Hutter Akansha Jain Jongmin Jeon Hannah Mary Judd Chloe Anna Kaczvinsky Golda Rachel Kaplan Joseph James Maurey Kiernan Ava Irysa Kikut Alexander Thomas King Grant Randal Kleiser Alexander Kulchycky
Kostiuk Lily Jade Kravetz Peter Christopher LaBerge Senna Lamba Susan Nicole Landon Lee Zi Xin Robert Morris Levine Jessie Jie Xi Lu Miranda Grace Lupion Taryn MacKinney Kathryn A. Marshalek Darby Kate Marx Joely Alyssa Mass Emma A. McNamara Margaret Haley Molen Bianca Paola Molina Emma Rebecca Montoya Peter Francis Moon Shane Murphy Taylor Altman Nefussy Chloe Nurik Siobhan Aislinn Ann McDonald O’Muircheartaigh Irem Oz Arielle Panitch Andrew William Parsons Samantha Holly Rahmin Tara Rajagopal Joseph Sageman Kate Ellen Samuelson Elizabeth Victoria Sanchez Ashley Nicole Sartoris Milan Rashmin Savani Will David Schupmann Rachel Haley Simon Sarah Elizabeth Simon
Senior Honor AwArdS
Althea K. Hottel Award: Gaylord P. Harnwell Award: David R. Goddard Award: R. Jean Brownlee Award: Spoon Award: Bowl Award: Cane Award: Spade Award:
Temilola M. Ransome-Kuti Hanna E. Fagin Tunmise A. Fawole Olivia Nelson Darren R. Tomasso Michael E. Karam Jonathan C. Muruako Ian E. Jeong
LeAderSHip AwArdS Association of Alumnae Fathers’ Trophy: Class of 1915 Award: James Howard Weiss Memorial Award: Penn Student Agencies Award: James Brister Society Student Leadership Award: Assn. of Latino Alumni Student Leadership Award: Assn. of Native Alumni Student Leadership Award: Black Alumni Society Student Leadership Award: UPenn Asian Alumni Network Student Leadership Award: LGBT Alumni Association Student Leadership Award: William A. Levi Kite & Key Society Award for Service and Scholarship: Penn Alumni Student Award of Merit:
Trustees’ Council of Penn Women Leadership Award: Sol Feinstone Undergraduate Award: Stephen Wise Award:
Sydney A. Stipanovich Casey S. Kent Daniel B. Durham Megan C. Yan Megan C. Yan Bianca P. Molina Tyler S. L. Hallmark Krisna S. Maddy William Wang Michael E. Karam Meredith R. Kline Sophie Y. Beren Lauren D’Amore Jared M. Fenton Werner A. Glass Sarah M. Gubara Lukas Vacek Aimee C. Knaus Rebecca C. Brown C’17 Christopher J. D’Urso C’18 Alexis-Amanda Malcolm W’18 Sophie Beren Guatam Nagaraj Chaz Smith Eric Tepper
Gabrielle Skladman William S. Slotznick Julia Jordan Spandorfer Francine Isabel Stephens Matthew S. Survis Daniel Clark Thompson Katrina Lenhart Truebenbach Kaitlyn Ugoretz Zachary Martin Willis Sarah Elizabeth Wilson Sarah Lamble Winton Samuel S. York Grace Zhao Zhang Yu Ren Zhou Class of 2016 Maria Andrea Arroyo Ornelas Melissa Robin Beswick Kartik Bhamidipati Diana Marie Bongiorno Ariana Elizabeth Brenner Louis Joseph Capozzi III Sarah Abigail Emmerich Sara-Laure Faraji Benjamin Harry Feis Sean Cadden Foley Kyle B. Grigel Sean Koji Hamamoto Tianran Hang Ariel A. Jacobi Joanna Kass Jenny Mollie Markell Karanbir Singh Pahil Margaret Ann Pendoley Joseph Anthony Pereira Jordi Armani Rivera Prince Rachel Bailey Scott Naomi Stark Iulia Tapescu Jenny Wei SENIOR SOCIETIES CARRIAGE (FALL 2016) Alec Josiah Amine Sahmoud Julián Hernández Louisa Baidoo Matthew Moronta (SPRING 2017) Anuj Amin Blake London Cheyenne Davis Darline Justinvil Hillary Nguyen Ila Krishna Kumar Isabelle Tersio Jackson Burke Kai Kornegay Leanie Williams María Arévalo González Phillip Huffman Sean Collins CIPACTLI (FALL 2016) Alberto Jimenez Alexa Salas Alexia Jiménez Ana Barrera Camilo Toro Restrepo Cristina Buenahora Gabriela Fajnzylber Geraldine Bustamante Maria Alonso Paula Pereira Sasha Lecorps (SPRING 2017) Amanda Nart Bryan Rodriguez Christopher Hofstadter
Fernando Fernandez Gabriela Goitía Isabella Mayorga Jaime Mares Karina Miranda Marcella Marquez Maria Arevalo-Gonzalez Nayadis Couce Nicole Loor FRIARS (SPRING 2017) Akhil Chakravarti Allie Rubin Anthony Anchelowitz Austin Borja Cory Lesher Darby Mason Freddie Dunau Gabe Kleiman Hayes Murphy Helen Nie Isabelle Tersio Jake van Arkel Kayvon Asemani Kendall Covington Lo-Lo Lomax Matt MacDonald Medha Sharma Meredith Brandt Michelle Nwokedi Nick Silverio Orly Greenberg Sahil Ahuja Taylor McCorkle Virginia Burns Zeeshan Mallick HEXAGON (SPRING 2017) Andrew Frederick Bari Gordon Ben Roggen Brittany Phillips Carey Landon Caroline Duckworth Claire Frankel Daniel Klyde Daniel Moreno Daniel Zhang Eli Cohen Emily Bachner Eric Helfgott Eugenia Bejar Gwendolyn Eastaugh Isabella Jimenez Jessica Perry Jessica Rose Joshua Johnson Julian Mickelson Julie Engel Keen Butcher Kirin Naidu Leandro Grigera Max Newberger Michael Pearson Michael Solomon Mike Terracciano Nate Gertzman Nikhil Krishnan Rachel Hoying Rachel Warren Rhianna La Chance Rome Arnold Ros Shinkle Samantha Carter Sarah Organ Sonia Kumar Tim Schanstra Tyler Douglas MORTAR BOARD (FALL 2016) Alexander Caruso
Ben Rosenbaum Caroline Huber Elliott Ismail Gillian Reny Julian Mickelson Maya Rivera Robert Levine Sydney Hard Yasmine Novian (SPRING 2017) Ahmad Attia Alexa Ignaczak Ana Geoana Andrea Hakim Andrew Witherspoon Caleb Chodosh Casey Seivright Cole Grims Dory Merritt Grant Ross Hugo Lieber Jessica Haghani Joey Piaker Julia Sokoloff Katie Schlager Lauren Wolf Liv Matin Madeline Rosato Marcus Cole Moni Arslan Nick Scian Oliver Young Paul Asselin Rosalind Shinkle Ross Gordon Sam Tedori Sara Solasz Sufyan Dabbous William Rosato Winter Chernak ONYX (FALL 2016) Ayokunle Fagbemi Jonathan Muruako Justin Gonsalves Justin Hash Sarah Gubara Tahirih Nesmith (SPRING 2017) Amir Baiyina Chaela Nutor Dawit Gebresellassie Fernando Fernandez Gabrielle Dreux Gabrielle Jackson Ibukun Olubowale Kai Kornegay Kimberly Maduabum Krisna Maddy Maramawit Abera Nali Asamoah Ngozi Amaefule Phil Ezeala Sabrina Hagan Saidah Belo-Osagie Samiza Palmer Silicia “Lo-Lo” Lomax Sydney Rodriguez ORACLE (SPRING 2017) Akhil Chakravarti Brian Park Connor Wen David Ongchoco David Thai Dhruv Agarwal Ed Jing Lindsey Lui Medha Sharma Meghana Nallajerla Meghavi Talati Michelle Xu
Nayab Khan Rachel Huang Sola Park OSIRIS (FALL 2016) Adina Goldstein Alec Josiah Ayo Fagbemi Frances Patano Hope Mackenzie Jake Levitt Lainie Bailey Lily Kravetz Lydia Roberts Matt Howard Natalie Meeder Mikie Sakanaka Ryan Solomon (SPRING 2017) Adam Mansell Albert Cai Alicia Lu Anthony Anchelowitz Ariana Martino Blake London Doris Hamilton Emily Peters Grant Shao Hannah Ceisler Isaac Shapiro Isabelle Tersio Jacob Pardo Jillian Karande Jon Potter Justin Lee Karis Stephen Kayla Allison Lea Kichler Lolo Lomax Meredith Brandt Mikael Mantis Nicholas Silverio Nicole Frazzini Serena Tibrewala Shailly Pandey Vinesh Arun SPHINX (FALL 2016) Clare Whitney Kellen Wartnow Max Levy Megan Kelly Megan Yan Tunmise Fawole William Wang (SPRING 2017) Blake London Caitlin Doolittle Carter Coudriet Claire Schmidt Conner Wen Dhruv Agarwal Edward Jing Farah Otero-Amad Gabriela Goitía Kai Kornegay Kyle Kuhns Krisna Maddy Jacob Kahn Jessica Davis Johanna Matt-Navarro Meghavi Talati Michelle Xu Nayab Khan Rogelio Caro Ross Wilson Sydney Rodriguez William “Tre” Solomon III Yen-Yen Gao
The Hey Day picnic for the Class of 2018 will be held on Thursday, April 27th from 10:00am – 11:45am on the High Rise Field. The class procession will depart from High Rise Field at 11:45am. The Hey Day ceremony will take place at 12 noon in front of College Hall. No bottles, cans or containers permitted in the picnic or in the procession down Locust Walk.