Editors’ Letter

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Penn students protest the construction of Meyerson Hall on campus. These protests were one of the many free speech cases that the University has dealt with in its history. Other instances include the “water buffalo” incident, race-based protests and, more recently, Occupy protests. Photo courtesy of The Daily Pennsylvanian.

Welcome to the Disorientation Guide (DG), where you get to read about all the things Penn doesn’t want to tell you.

While the University will present you with an overly favorable image of itself, we attempt to remove the sugarcoating and give you a more honest picture. In this publication, we discuss how Penn has affected the Philly community with its project of gentrification (see: UC Townhomes), its harm to its own students and workers (see: Mackenzie Fierceton, union-busting), and how it impacts the larger world through its place in modern-day colonialism (see: Penn & Indigenous Peoples).

The DG is written annually by a collective of campus activist groups (see: On-Campus Groups) and individuals all working for our shared goal of liberation, including Police Free Penn, PILOTs Action at Penn, Penn Against the Occupation, Fossil Free Penn, and more. We disseminate this online guide at the beginning of each school year in hopes that it will be a starting point for both new and returning students to join this community of activists. This is why in the DG, we additionally provide informative guides to help students navigate an imperfect university as well as tips on how to push Penn into taking the right action (see: Confidential Resources).

Although most students are returning to typical pre-pandemic campus life this year, we urge you not to forget how the pandemic has highlighted the way our institution repeatedly failed people of color, disabled people, and workers (see: Penn’s Response to COVID-19). Not only does the pandemic continue to cause mass death even while Penn behaves as if it is practically over, but the University also continues to actively mistreat marginalized groups, as it has done for decades (see: History of Policing). As students who benefit from Penn, we have a responsibility to learn about the unjust practices that this University does in our name, and we hope that this guide is an accessible, educational first step to doing so.

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Email: penndisorientation@gmail.com