by Anonymous
The Penn community rallies in response to injustice on- and off-campus. Among some of the most notable events that occurred in the past year were pushes for unionization from multiple groups, organizing against Penn’s role in gentrification, large protests regarding climate justice, and student protestors facing disciplinary actions and arrests from the University.
Residents and fellows at Penn Medicine vote to unionize: May 2023
After months of organizing and facing anti-union tactics from Penn Medicine, residents and fellows successfully voted to unionize, making them the first housestaff union in Pennsylvania. They entered into the bargaining phase of their effort at the end of May this year “to advocate for safer working conditions, better benefits, and better patient advocacy,” as one resident told the Daily Pennsylvanian.
Graduate, masters, and undergraduate research and teaching assistants organize for unionization: April 2023-present
Graduate Employees Together – University of Pennsylvania (GET-UP) has been organizing for several years, with their most recent campaign to unionize launching in April with a rally of over 200 student workers gathering on College Green. “We realized that a union would be the best way to secure all of the things we want — better compensation, better health care, better grievance policies, better protection for international students, and disability justice,” one PhD student told the DP.
Notable Palestinian activist Mohammed El-Kurd speaks at Penn, faces backlash from pro-Israel on-campus groups: March 2023
Penn Against the Occupation (PAO) invited writer Mohammed El-Kurd and professor Noura Erakat to speak at Penn during Israeli Apartheid Week last spring, drawing over 250 attendees. Pro-Israel groups on campus criticized inviting El-Kurd claiming that he has made anti-semitic statements, specifically by saying that Zionists were “harvesting Palestinian organs” and comparing the actions of the Israeli government to that of Nazi Germany. El-Kurd acknowledged the criticism at the event, claiming that his statements were taken out of context. Israel admitted to harvesting organs from dead bodies, including those of Palestinians, without consent in the 1990s.
Resident and Graduate Resident Advisors organize for unionization: March 2023-present
RAs and GRAs announced their unionization efforts last spring semester, with a supermajority of RAs and GRAs signing a petition to unionize. On Mar. 31, they held a rally and a march down Locust Walk where local politicians like Helen Gym and state Rep. Rick Krajewski spoke in addition to local union leaders and RAs. This month, they won the right to hold a unionization vote from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The vote will take place on Sept. 27 and 28.
Fossil Free Penn occupies College Green in a 39-day encampment, culminating in protest at Homecoming football game: September-October 2022
Fossil Free Penn (FFP) camped out on College Green last fall to protest for climate and community justice. Their three demands were (1) for the University to stand against gentrification at the University City Townhomes (see: Townhomes), (2) divest the endowment from fossil fuels (see: Penn and the Climate Crisis), and (3) pay Payments In Lieu of Taxes (PILOTs) to support underfunded Philadelphia schools (see: PILOTs). On the last day of their encampment, they stormed the field at halftime at the Homecoming football game, at which Penn Police arrested 19 protestors.
Protestors also faced disciplinary charges from the University for both the encampment at their actions at the Homecoming football game. Additionally, members of Penn Band who participated in the protest were suspended from the band. These incidents add to the University’s pattern of charging peaceful protestors with disciplinary infractions since spring 2022. Students have been largely successful in pushing back against disciplinary charges in part thanks to support from the University community, including an open letter in support from 73 Penn faculty and a petition to drop disciplinary charges that reached over 1,000 signatures.
Penn Middle East Center (MEC) loses federal funding: September 2022
MEC lost federal Title VI funding due to “insufficient institutional support” from the University, in a blow to the many that relied on the center for community as well as for valuable resources such as scholarships. In October 2022, Penn announced a new funding plan for the MEC where the University will fund the center’s operations for the next four and a half years.
ARCH building continues renovations: September 2022-present
The Arts, Research, and Culture House (ARCH)—home to all of Penn’s cultural houses—held a grand reopening at the beginning of last fall semester after finishing the first phase of renovations. In addition to the fact that the cultural houses will have more space in ARCH overall, Natives at Penn will have a dedicated space, which they currently lack unlike other members of the 7B coalition of minority groups.
Pan-Asian American Community House (PAACH) left without leadership: September 2022
Peter Van Do was the director of PAACH for 10 years, so his sudden departure at the beginning of last school year came as a shock to the University community. It meant that the Asian-American community at Penn was left without critical guidance last school year. In June of this year, Mei Long was announced as PAACH’s new director after a months-long search process.
Penn ends COVID-19 precautions: August 2022-present
Starting at the beginning of the fall semester, Penn loosened masking requirements, leaving it up to individual professors to mandate masks or not in their own classrooms. Requirements for COVID-19 testing ended and Penn closed down the majority of its testing sites. In April of this year, the University also ended the COVID-19 vaccination requirement. Many have criticized these measures for putting immunocompromised members of the Penn community and surrounding area at increased risk.
Director of the LGBT Center leaves: May 2022
Erin Cross was the director of the LGBT Center for 25 years, leaving a lasting impact on the queer community at Penn. University Life has begun searching for a new director, but one has not been announced yet.
Mackenzie Fierceton continues to seek justice from Penn: March 2022-present
Mackenzie Fierceton is a former Penn student whose Master’s degree from the School of Social Policy & Practice (SP2) was put on hold by Penn administration. After accusations that she had been untruthful about the domestic abuse she endured that landed her in foster care before coming to Penn, Fierceton was investigated—losing her Rhodes Scholarship and halting her degree. On Mar. 28, 2022, the New Yorker released an article outlining Fierceton’s story and the mistreatment she endured. After weeks of public outrage, on Apr. 12, 2022, SP2 released the hold on her degree but met no other demands. The next day, around 150 Penn community members gathered outside of the SP2 building to demand a formal apology from Penn to Fierceton and justice for all First Generation-Low Income (FGLI) students (see: Mackenzie Fierceton; FGLI Students). Most recently, multiple Penn professors and administrators testified in June 2023 in the lawsuit Fierceton filed against the University in January 2022.
Fight to save the UC Townhomes continues, protests at Convocation: December 2021-present
The University City (UC) Townhomes are a 70-unit low-income housing development between 39th and 40th on Market St. After 40 years, the Altman Group (the realty organization that owns the Townhomes) announced they would not be renewing their contract with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and that residents would be forced to move. In response, the Coalition to Save the UC Townhomes have held multiple demonstrations at the Townhomes, Penn, Altman offices, and City Hall.
In the summer of 2022, the Coalition held an encampment at the Townhomes for over a month, protested at Convocation, and participated jointly with FFP in their 39-day encampment on College Green and protest at the Homecoming football game. The advocacy of the Coalition secured multiple extensions, which allowed residents more time to find new housing. The City of Philadelphia and the Altman Group reached a settlement in April of this year where the Townhomes will be demolished but around one-fifth of the site will be reserved for new affordable housing. Residents were made to leave the Townhomes by Aug. 15.
Other notable events
NLRB alleges union-busting activity at Starbucks on 34th and Walnut St: January 2023
Multiple Starbucks around Penn’s campus unionized in 2022, including the Starbucks at 34th and Walnut St, at 39th and Walnut St, and near Penn Medicine’s campus on Civic Center Blvd. the NLRB filed a complaint against Starbucks claiming that store managers reduced workers’ hours and wages in an attempt to discourage them from participating in a union, failed to bargain with already unionized employees, and fired two employees for participating in union activities, thus violating the National Labor Relations Act.
NCAA swimmer Lia Thomas faces transphobia at the University, nationally: 2021-present
Despite encountering transphobia from her own teammates in addition to hecklers at her swimming events, Thomas has continued to compete. Both Penn Athletics and the Ivy League have released statements supporting her. In July, Penn nominated Thomas for the 2022 NCAA Woman of the Year Award.
Penn seeks disciplinary action against Professor Amy Wax for years of racist comments: 2017-present
Professor Amy Wax at the Carey Law School has a years-long history of making racist comments, including claiming incorrectly that there has never been a Black student that graduated in the top quarter of the class at the Carey Law School and saying that “I think the United States is better off with fewer Asians and less Asian immigration.” As Penn continues to seek disciplinary action against her, enrollment in her classes have dropped significantly, with only two students in one of her classes.
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