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MONDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2018
Penn Vet trains amateur dogs in scent skills The new skills will benefit research and competition HAWTHORNE RIPLEY Contributing Reporter
The Penn Vet Working Dog Center is hosting training for local non-professional dogs to enhance their sense of smell in a new class this fall. The class, titled “Citizen Science,” teaches dogs to improve their smell-detection skills. After completing all the levels of training, the dogs participating in the class will be able to take part in School of Veterinary Medicine research studies that use their sense of smell to detect ovarian cancer, find artifacts, and identify bacterial biofilm infections. Shelby Wise, who is pursuing a Master of Science in Criminology at the School of Arts and Sciences and a Master of Social Work at the School of Social Policy & Practice, is currently an intern at the Center. Wise said the Center currently only has a handful of dogs who participate in the research studies, but this new class will significantly help increase the number of dogs involved. Philadelphia resident Anastasia Ayzenberg began scentidentification training to mentally stimulate one of her dogs on the advice of a Penn Behavioral Services specialist, and ended up at PVWDC. Ayzenberg added that her dog, Challah, gets excited in anticipation of the Penn Vet class every time she picks up the tracking leash for scent detection training. “[Challah] hops like a bunny. She’s seven years old now, but she prances around like a young puppy,” Ayzenberg added. Wise said while the course’s dogs are considered amateurs, many of them do participate in scent detection for sport. “These dogs that take the class have already had some nose work
GSE
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Penn’s 12 schools, it is one of the schools that most lacks space. GSE began to expand this summer when it started to move into Stiteler Hall in August. Stiteler is now home to GSE’s Higher Education division and several Executive Education programs, which offer executive-style degree programs for working professionals and other nontraditional students, Frantz said. Before the move, Stiteler underwent minor renovations, including a new paint job and carpeting, movable chairs and tables, enhanced lighting, open work spaces, and two new classrooms. GSE Executive Director for Communications Kat Stein said the new connecting space will prioritize collaboration. “The expansion will establish more flexible and collaborative spaces, and ensure these spaces are accessible to the entire community,” Stein said. Current GSE Ph.D. student Aldo Anzures Tapia said he notices a lack of space in the
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tainability Manager Julian Goresko, and Architecture professor Bill Braham. All five speakers agreed that more needs to be done across the board to raise awareness and to respond to imminent threats, such as wildfires and floods. Whether through improved architectural structures, the use of cleaner energy sources, or simply making the facts accessible, they suggested that there are plenty of ways to address climate change. Particular attention was brought to the drastically different approaches taken by American politicians towards environmental issues. Huemmler, who talked about the potential of nuclear and renewable energy sources as replacements for oil and gas, noted that political candidates’ willingness to accept donations and sponsorship from the latter two industries could potentially serve as a roadblock even though
experience, meaning that they have practiced the skill set of searching for a scent before, and have competed in some form of competition as well,” Wise said. If the dogs in the course perform well enough on certain scent identification tests, they are invited to participate in a more advanced course to further develop their abilities, Penn Today reported. Owners also have the option to enroll their pets in Penn Vet research studies. However, Wise said that the center does not always do serious researches and trainings, and that a highlight of her summer was going to Great Adventure in New Jersey with other members. “If you’ve never seen 25 dogs and 40 trainers, handlers, hiders, and data recorders run around a water park for the day doing searches, environmental agility, and letting the dog swim in the lazy river you’ve missed out on pure happiness,” Wise said. “Every dog and human went home happy and tired that day.”
The Penn Vet Working Dog Center is hosting the class in order to teach dogs to improve their smell-detection skills. Dogs who perform well enough in the first class will have the opportunity to participate in a more advanced course that will provide even more training.
PHOTO BY ERIC SUCAR, UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS
current GSE building, especially for students to come together and discuss their work outside of class. “Sometimes conversations get cut off because there are no spaces where you can just hang out,” Tapia said. “If you go out [of a classroom] and may start to talk loudly, or you know, get a little more passionate about something, professors’ offices are right outside of the classroom or right outside of the halls.” Tapia said he was scheduled to have a seminar in Stiteler this year, but that the class was moved to a building on 34th Street without an explanation. Former GSE graduate student Gabriel Angrand said he appreciated the communal spaces, like the GSE cafe, that existed in the central building while he was there, though he does think that students would benefit from classroom spaces that are more conducive to group work. “We had space issues somewhat,” Angrand said. “The classes I was in, there were some project components and group discussions, so it would have been nice to have like round tables in order to work with people better.”
some progress has been made in states like Texas. “We’re still on the edge politically as to how the future’s going to unfold,” Huemmler said. Fleming, who worked on urban policy development under the Obama administration, recalled having to “field panicked calls and texts” from colleagues in the transition to a more conservative White House with reduced funding to organizations like the Environmental Protection Agency. He did note, however, that “at this point, [industries] know they’re going to have to do something on the mitigation side,” which will likely start with the imposing of carbon taxes. “What really struck me was how the entire panel concurred that climate change is an almost entirely political issue,” College freshman Vyshnavi Kosigi said. “While in theory climate change should be a non-partisan issue, where governmental leadership is vital, industry has stepped up and become the de
Cannabis club aims to reduce stigma
The Wharton group taps into the growing industry AMY KAPLAN Contributing Reporter
The Wharton Cannabis Business Club aims to bring Penn to the forefront of the cannabis industry while also working to eliminate the stigma surrounding it. The group has amassed a membership of approximately 70 students and is one of the first groups of its kind among business schools. The club’s main activities include hosting industry speakers and connecting members with jobs in the emerging field. They also aim to professionalize and advance “the broader cannabis industry both on the medical and adult use sides,” said Colin Keeler, a WCBC board member and second-year Wharton MBA student. WCBC was also formed to help Wharton students take advantage of the profitable field. The industry is projected to create approximately 300,000 jobs by 2020, and has already seen a 690 percent increase in job listings between January 2017 and August 2018.
facto pioneer in fighting, quite literally, the greatest threat to humanity.” The event also comes at a time of uncertainty surrounding the role Penn can and should play in the effort to understand and control climate change. While Penn’s 2017 Sustainability Report claimed there was progress on some of the goals the University set in the 2014 Climate Action Plan 2.0, the Department of Earth and Environmental Science still severely lacks faculty specializing in climate change or sustainability. Marinov, who spoke at the panel and is Penn’s only standing faculty member at Penn studying climate change, previously told The Daily Pennsylvanian that “the problem here is that the University is not truly investing in the expansion of this department of Earth and Environmental Science.” During the panel, Marinov further questioned the lack of a “detailed or very specific plan” put
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Keeler said the group also hopes to eliminate barriers to the cannabis industry by working to “dispel the taboo” around it. “This is a product that, as it legalizes, you’re seeing it go from an illegal drug to now a consumer product,” he said. Since the Nov. 6 midterm elections, 10 states and Washington D.C. have legalized recreationaluse marijuana. 33 states have legalized it for medical use, including Pennsylvania. “The industry is at a really interesting inflection point with the Democrats taking back the
forth by Penn. In response, Braham referenced documents like Penn’s annual sustainability frameworks, projecting that in less than three decades, the University could have a “neutral carbon footprint.” That is, it could release a net total of zero carbon emissions into the atmosphere. While the University Council Steering Committee recently rejected Fossil Free Penn’s second official attempt towards fossil fuel divestment, the panelists acknowledged that there are at least some signs of decarbonization around the institution. The University has used its marketing power to help nearby power plants switch to less carbonintensive steam, and the local grid is seeing more natural gas use, Braham said. One of the next steps, according to him, is to look towards solar and wind power sources. “You have to be an optimist to design for the future,” said Braham, who currently serves as the director of the Master of Environmental
House,” Keeler said. “People see a much higher likelihood that federal legalization might happen, or at least decriminalization, might happen within the next few years,” Keeler said. While cannabis is not legal for recreational use in Pennsylvania and in many other states, that does not halt the club or industry from expanding. Keeler said “the market isn’t just contained to just deregulated jurisdictions” because of the ability to separate two parts of the cannabis plant, CBD and THC. THC is the chemical that gives its user a high, while CBD is
Building Design and of the Center for Environmental Building + Design. He later added that while climate change often appears as an isolated problem for climate scientists, engineers, and architects, every discipline at Penn has a role to play. “So many times the topic is approached with just science, and that
better known for medical benefits. “CBD right now is just exploding,” he said. The club’s official stance on legalization is nonpartisan, and it encourages members to form their own opinions on the matter. Keeler said, however, he personally wants to see cannabis decriminalized. “The federal illegality of the product has ruined far more people’s lives and put a tremendous amount of burden on our society by putting people in jail who don’t deserve to be there,” Keeler said. “We are sort of righting a wrong right now that has gone on for far too long.” Keeler, who manages the club’s communications, was introduced to the industry during his summer internship at cannabis-focused venture capital firm Salveo Capital. He then turned to the WCBC to expand his expertise. Cannabis is also present on other parts of Penn’s campus. Penn Medicine recently received approval by Pa. Gov. Tom Wolf to study the effects of medical marijuana. Penn students can also drink CBD oil-infused smoothies at the restaurant Fuel on 32nd and Chestnut streets.
can alienate people. I’m glad the panelists were able to show other sides of climate change,” said College freshman Marina Dauer, who helped organize the event. “There are solutions out there, as our panelists can speak to, and they now need to become front-of-mind for everyone,” Roman added.
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Penn professors Billy Fleming, Irina Marinov, Andrew Huemmler, Bill Braham and Sustainability Manager Julian Goresko led the conversation.