Defanging Radicals

by Anonymous

Reading this guide is the first step toward becoming involved with student groups advocating for a better world. We’re excited for you to join our efforts at radical change!

Penn, however, isn’t. They’ll do just about anything to avoid making real progress. Prior generations of students have witnessed their attempts to dilute, redirect, avoid, and punish radical action on campus. Penn continuously undermines its own students and community members to preserve its institutional power. Here are some of their strategies, so you can name and successfully oppose them:

REDIRECT: When it is suggested that Penn harms West Philadelphia, Penn will use its paternalistic programming to deflect the criticism. For example, they will claim it can make up for its role in underfunding local schools with tutoring programs at the Netter Center, even though Penn allocates hardly any funding for the organization. They will attempt to redirect your energy from activism that calls for long-term structural changes into programs such as Civic Scholars, which ultimately just puts a bandaid on the grave harm Penn has done and continues to do to the neighborhood.

TOKENIZE: Penn will cherry-pick palatable student groups or leaders and use them to represent the concerns or opinions of entire communities on campus. This is not only an effort to deflect any criticism originating from marginalized students but also to turn students who might otherwise stand together against each other.

REFORM: When students suggest abolishing or defunding bastions of racism and sexism on campus, such as fraternities and Penn Police, Penn will suggest increased diversity and inclusion within those institutions or create opaque bureaucratic advisory boards and committees. These proposals are ineffective as they attempt to make minor internal changes to systems that are rotten at their root.

BEFRIEND: Certain Penn administrators tend to play “good cop” in their interactions with student activists. They will attempt to convince you to compromise on your demands, change your tactics, or even offer you one-off meetings with other key administrative members to placate you. In your interactions with these administrators, it is important to hold your ground and remember that at the end of the day they work for the University—they are not on your side.

SURVEIL: Penn will surveil radical students by monitoring their Google Drives and social media as well as sending Penn Police to student actions. Before administrators meet with radical students or student activists, they will review profiles of the students to find information that they can use against them. In this way, they ensure that students are forced into respectability to protect themselves from punishments like police violence.

THREATEN: If all subtler moves fail, Penn will threaten students to inhibit their ability to work or cause them to receive negative press. They will attempt to hand out disciplinary action to students, withhold their degrees, or burden them with fines) to bully activists into giving up. Last year’s convocation and homecoming protests saw nearly 20 students slapped with such disciplinary actions.

REMOVE: If a radical project is gaining too much traction on campus, Penn will work to displace the project, removing its ability to continue. For example, in the 1960s, Black students, faculty, and staff were granted a space at 3914 Locust Walk to promote Black history and culture. This became the Society of Afro-American Students or the “House of the Family.” However, due to what was perceived as growing “radicalism,” the University revoked its lease, eliminating the Black cultural hub on campus. This building later became Penn’s Department of Public Safety, the home of Penn Police.

DELAY: Penn stalls any progress towards a change for so long that students cycle out by graduating, allowing the University to get away with maintaining the status quo. When the change is raised by a new group of students, Penn treats the change as a completely new suggestion and begins the process again.

Each of these strategies aims to prevent radical action on campus. Penn sees that radical organizing can, and has, led to actual change throughout the University’s history, so they do whatever they can to prevent this from happening. They will pretend that they are your friend, that they are benevolent and care about your concerns, and that they will help you to achieve your goals for justice. Instead, they will co-opt, water down, and render your attempts at change powerless.

However, don’t let this demoralize you: radical activism has persisted for decades at Penn and continues to grow. We have successfully thwarted the university’s tactics by working together in the past and look forward to joining you in pushing back against their attempts today–may we succeed together!