The Daily Pennsylvania Review
January 27, 2020 – February 2, 2020
https://www.thedp.com/article/2020/01/crime-saftey-dps-penn-police-call-box-upenn-philadelphia
Currently, the University of Pennsylvania is protected by 700 blue light phone boxes that allow students access to dialing Penn Police. However, first-year student, Gabriela Montes De Oca, has proposed an initiative with the campus division of public safety to replace these boxes with a single button that would immediately alert authorities of an emergency when pressed. Recent university cases of sexual assault have encouraged her to make these changes that she believes would allow help to respond faster. Pressing a single button would be more discrete and safer than opening a box to pick up a phone. This is a method that Gabriela has witnessed many other campuses using effectively. She also wishes to increase the overall number of blue light boxes. Other students on campus have suggested making an addition of the button but, keeping the phone system as well; in the event of a fire for example, specific instructions that would be unable to convey via a button may be important to quickly report. Some students argue however that cell phones are currently widespread and accessible in these types of situations. Student surveys will be sent out shortly in order to receive more feedback.
https://www.thedp.com/article/2020/01/coronavirus-china-study-abroad-travel-outbreak-penn
The deadly coronavirus has currently taken 170 lives out of the 7,700 reported cases. This virus has reached sixteen countries, including the United States, and the University of Pennsylvania hopes to keep their students and faculty safe. All students who have planned to study abroad in China for this semester will be declined. Students currently abroad in southeast Asia will also be returning to the Pennsylvania campus in order to ensure optimal protection. Despite the Center for Disease Control raising Chinese travel warnings to the highest level, and the confirmation of five positive cases of coronavirus in the United States, the University assesses its current risk to the college to be low. Campus health services explains that students who have traveled to China over the past winter break have passed the virus’s characteristic fourteen-day incubation period. If students have traveled to China within the past two weeks however, the college encourages those experiencing a cough, fever, or difficulty breathing to contact health offices. The university health system assures students and faculty that this matter is being monitored and communication is especially open with international students from China and with those planning to study abroad in the immediate future.
February 3, 2020-February 9, 2020
https://www.thedp.com/article/2020/02/penn-australia-wildfires-animals-extinction
The University of Pennsylvania and Sydney University of New South Wales adjunct architecture professor, Richard Weller, modified his currently biodiversity project to better fit the needs of Australia. The Hotspot Cities Project was originally created with the intention of encouraging preservation of biodiversity against big city expansion. This hypothetical project has been introduced in Los Angeles, Bogota, and now Sydney. Weller explains that while hotspot cities grow, they push out and endanger biodiversity in their path. However, once the wildfires spread through Australia, killing one-billion animals, Weller decided to focus this project on the personal and relevant biodiversity damage in Sydney. This project is putting students at Sydney and Penn up to the task of designing model conservation sanctuaries at Sydney’s Centennial Park. Using incubators, Wells explains that while these models are enclosed like that of a zoo, they preserve the competitive and synergistic relationships shared among animals within them. While it is speculated that we are living within the man-made sixth extinction, Weller’s encourages everyone to help rebuild our biodiversity by being sustainable.
https://www.thedp.com/article/2020/02/asbestos-philly-public-school-toxic-penn
Students at the University of Pennsylvania are expressing their concern as asbestos damage shuts down at least six Philadelphia schools/learning centers. These schools/centers are among the schools that many Penn students either attended or currently volunteer at. After the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers sued the school district in January for their negligence, the district committed to spending $14 million to address the issue within a few years. Many do not find this promise sufficient. Environmental scientist, Jerry Roseman, explained that while asbestos is safe to use as an insulator, there is no safe level of its airborne microparticles that are released once the asbestos is damaged. Mesothelioma is one of the biggest health risks associated with asbestos; one teacher has already been diagnosed as a result. Robin Roberts, a public-school physical therapist expressed her frustration for the lack of action taken by those in power despite their funding issues. She thinks that lead and mold exposure are also of major concern. Some residents believe that this issue was only handled once the most affluent schools were affected; but the district assures that they are concerned for all involved. In the meantime, affected schools are encouraged to mop the floors daily.
February 10, 2020-February 16, 2020
https://www.thedp.com/article/2020/02/penn-medicine-smartphone-wearable-tracker-research
A 2015 study from Penn Medicine found that both smartphone apps and wearable devices were sufficient for tracking activity level. However, a study conducted by Penn Medicine professors, Mitesh Patel and Daniel Polsky, has now found that patients are more likely to continue tracking their activity level through an app as opposed to a wearable device. In this study, 500 patients discharged from Philadelphia hospitals were provided with either an activity tracking app or wearable device. After six months, it was determined that those using the app were 32% more likely to continue tracking their activity and sending their data to the researchers for the entirety of the experiment. Patel believes that these findings are due to the fact that carrying a smartphone has become a sort of “built-in habit.” Polsky however recognizes that wearable devices are still most beneficial for tracking sleep patterns and heartrate. It was also found that men were more likely to continue tracking compared to women and, those receiving Medicaid were less likely to continue tracking compared to those not receiving Medicaid. In the future, Penn Medicine plans to look into whether or not app and wearable device usage is able to predict hospital readmission.
https://www.thedp.com/article/2020/02/top-law-schools-journal-women-penn-country
At this moment, the top sixteen United States law schools (including Penn Law) are boasting review journals that are primarily led by women. This is the first time in history that such a significant number of women have risen to these honorable roles. Yale, Standford, Harvard and Penn Law are all included in this achievement and, in addition, their review journalists have come together to make up a collaborative publication entitled, “Women & Law.” This publication features essays specially written by women in the profession. Gabriella Ravida, the editor in chief of Penn Law Review, expresses her great pride for this accomplishment. She is also only the second African American women to lead the review journal in its entire history. Many are stunned and are hopeful that this is a sign of change within the field. Many women continue to face challenges within the legal arena. Less than one-fourth of law firm equity partners, and only one-third of federal district and appeals court judges are female to date. It is the ultimate wish that this is only one sign that with time, women will be making great advances in law.
February 17, 2020-February 23, 2020
Fifteen states, including Pennsylvania, still do not have a statute that automatically provides exonerees with assistance after their wrongful imprisonments. Currently, PA requires exonerees to file independent civil lawsuits in order to receive compensation. This has cost the state $29 million as the state has identified 103 total exonerations, 88 of those being identified since 1989. Furthermore, many wrongfully imprisoned individuals do not obtain exoneration status due to agreements previously made in plea deals. A bill recently proposed by 2006 Penn College of Liberal and Professional Studies graduate and Pennsylvania state representative, Christopher Rabb aims to partially fix this issue. His proposal would automatically provide exonerees with $65,000 per each year they were wrongfully imprisoned. This bill would also provide those with resources for transitioning back into the real world. Especially if these innocent individuals were serving a life sentence, they are physically and emotionally damaged afterward. Many of these individuals were not allowed to gain educational and job skills through prison programs. Furthermore, the trauma of being labeled as a criminal, being mistreated by officers, and receiving poor medical care greatly affects these exonerees for the remainder of their lives.
https://www.thedp.com/article/2020/02/fresh-grocer-acme-penn-closing-student-reactions
For twenty years, Penn University has leased out a nearby lot to Fresh Grocer. In April of 2016 however, the store did not renew their lease in a timely matter according to Facilities and Real Estate Services. In December of 2016, Fresh Grocer filed a lawsuit against Penn for this claim. Despite their pushback, it was announced in April of 2017 that Fresh Grocer would be closing, and an ACME supermarket would replace it. After all this time, Fresh Grocer will finally be closing in March of 2020, and Penn students are not happy. Many students fear they will lose their most convenient (Fresh Grocer was open 24/7) and affordable source of groceries, although student Hope Cho admits that Fresh Grocer was disorganized at times. Many students also fear that the time it will take to open the new supermarket will leave them at a loss of where to shop in the meantime. Students planning to live off campus are especially worried about where they will be shopping next academic year. According to a 2018 Philadelphia Magazine, ACME was the most expensive grocery store in the local area. Student, Grant Pavol said that the university has a “profit first mentality.”
February 24, 2020-March 1, 2020
https://www.thedp.com/article/2020/02/philadelphia-supreme-court-same-sex-foster-care-adoption
Catholic Social Services (CSS), one of twenty-nine foster agencies in the area, is suing the City of Philadelphia for violating their religious freedom when they refused to allow a same-sex couple to adopt. Philadelphia ended their contract with CSS due to their strict nondiscrimination laws already set into place. The city has already won the case twice in lower courts and a third time in April of 2019 at the U.S. Court of Appeals. Now, announced as of Monday, the case will be brought the supreme court as Fulton v. City of Pennsylvania. A lawyer representing CSS, Lori Windham, suggests that since there are twenty-eight other agencies in Philadelphia where same-sex couples may adopt children, it is okay for CSS to keep their policies in place. In March of 2018, Bethany Christian Services was also criticized for turning away a same-sex couple, but they promptly changed their policies to adhere with the city. This court decision will impact at least 400,000 children in foster care, especially considering that there is already a shrinking number of willing foster families.
https://www.thedp.com/article/2020/02/penn-budget-record-student-government
University of Pennsylvania student government has requested and been accepted for a $2.75 million budget for the next academic year as of this past Sunday. This is a 3.7% increase from the previous year, which correlates with the historical annual tuition increase rate of 4%. This increased budget will benefit Penn labs, Medical Emergency Response Team, and six student government branches (including Student Activities Council, and the Student Planning and Events Committee, SPEC). the funding for this budget increase will come from the $5,000 in general fees charged to students through the cost of attendance. An increased budget will make many things possible including: diversity training for student government branches, election publicity for branches, on-campus conferences, and a new sophomore tradition called U-Night in which will celebrate class unity. Furthermore, much of this increased budget will be going to SPEC in order to alleviate their $135,200 cost of spring fling. After SPEC made an excessive amount of money during the 2017 spring fling concert, their budget projections have been locked in to expect this same revenue. This will help SPEC pay for spring fling without having to sell more tickets than is realistic.
March 2, 2020-March 8, 2020
https://www.thedp.com/article/2020/03/child-care-upenn-philadelphia-youth-ivy-league
The student writer of this article is a parent of twin boys and a member of Penn’s Student Parent Advisory Board. The father of her children is also a current Penn student along with the other 1,500 students on campus. Harvard currently has six on-campus childcare facilities for students. Princeton, with half of the student-body of Penn’s, has two. However, Penn only has one student childcare facility; and, the waitlist for this facility is years long. Although the writer lives only fifteen minutes away from Penn, her children attend a daycare facility one hour away. This makes for a rough living and academic schedule. Furthermore, when this parent must tend to her children, she or the father must waste a lot of travel time in order to do so. In order for Penn to foster a supportive environment for their student parents to take full advantage of educational opportunities, more childcare resources are needed. Even though there are not policies against bringing children to classes, this option is simply inconvenient for all involved. Penn’s Family Center is currently conducting a survey in order to assess the current need for additional childcare resources as a result.
https://www.thedp.com/article/2020/03/artificial-inteligence-upenn-academics-ivy-league
With a new course called Article Intelligence for Business being offered in 2021 at Penn, many students are being encouraged to rethink their learning in terms of industrial changes. Artificial intelligence is relied on by many shipping and medicinal businesses, and while they evolve, it is important that students are adapting in order to enter the workforce with the most beneficial skills. It is no longer enough to gain knowledge in one single field. Employees are now being expected to collaborate across a wide variety of knowledge and areas. Jobs are not as static as they used to be; students must start learning how to adapt for the long term. Pew Research Center aggress that creativity and abstract thinking are much more important to businesses, and this is unfortunately something that not many classes are able to teach. Students need to value the process of learning more than the outcome. It is in a student’s best interest to choose classes less for the requirements they fulfill and more for the skills that they provide.
March 9, 2020-March 15, 2020
https://www.thedp.com/article/2020/03/coronavirus-hospital-university-pennsylvania-penn-treatment
The Hospital at University of Pennsylvania is treating its first positively tested coronavirus patient as of Monday (March 9, 2020). This makes seven confirmed coronavirus patients in Pennsylvania, and five of them are from Montgomery county. This patient is a cardiologist from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia who works at the King of Prussia Specialty Care and Surgery Center. Exposure to coronavirus is thought to have been due to recent international travel. This doctor is in critical condition, and the hospital is working to care for both this patient and the hospital staff at this time through their specialty isolation rooms. Penn Medicine feels fully prepared to handle the coronavirus, even as the Hospital of UPenn sits in the heart of campus. Meanwhile, many surrounding colleges are calling off classes and shifting to online forms. UPenn has yet to make the same decision, but the admissions office has already canceled all events to welcome incoming students.
https://www.thedp.com/article/2020/03/online-classes-penn-coronavirus-preparation
The University of Pennsylvania is asking teachers to prepare for the possibility of having to switch to an online format. In an email sent out to faculty as of Monday afternoon, professors are being encouraged to familiarize themselves with the online teaching tools provided to them. Although classes are expected to resume as normal on March 16th, updates are expected to come out within the next few days regarding travel and upcoming events. In the university decides to move online, the dean is requesting teachers to keep things simple and straightforward, using tools they are most comfortable with. Labs, studio courses, and clinicals are still being planned out in the event that this change occurs. Professors will be expected to use tools such as Canvas, Panopto, Zoom, and BlueJeans in order to continue lectures and discussions seminars. At this time, it is important that professors test their computer’s video and microphone capabilities and update operating systems. Many surrounding colleges have also already made this hard decision.
