Impact on Students and Staff – Penn Disorientation Guide

Penn’s Treatment of Indigenous Peoples

n Pennsylvania, there are no federally recognized Indigenous tribes, even though more than 18,000 Native Americans live within the state. This sets the tone for understanding the University of Pennsylvania’s relationship with local Native communities and with Native students. It is a relationship

A Case of Institutional Failure: Penn’s Response to COVID-19

A white girl in a mask and a winter jacket stands at a table in one of the COVID testing tents on Penn's campus.

Over the past three years, the COVID-19 pandemic has ravaged the globe. So much loss could have been avoided if the people leading our institutions took the right steps to save lives instead of protecting their reputations and profits. Penn is no exception.

Sexual Violence at Penn

Unfortunately, like most universities, Penn has a poor record of supporting survivors of sexual assault. When individuals do try to hold perpetrators of harm accountable, they are often left retraumatized and unsatisfied.

How Frats Get Away with Shit: A History of Greek Life, Violence, and Impunity at Penn

Greek life commands university space and identity. In fact, a whopping 25% of students belong to Greek life at Penn. Not only are fraternities a physical force to be reckoned with on campus, they’re deeply embedded into University bureaucracy.

“Just trying not to get sued”: Student Experiences with Weingarten

Disabled students at the University of Pennsylvania describe Weingarten and the way they treat students saying, “It feels like they’re just trying not to get sued because of an ADA violation.” What a way to sum up a resource center supposedly meant to take care of hundreds of Penn students!

Physical Inaccessibility at Penn

A lone masked man with black short hair and a blue coat and sneakers walks down the steps outside the Weitzman School of Design toward 34th St.

Although Penn’s historical buildings are not exempt from adhering to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance, they only need to be made accessible by the bare minimum of standards. This access often hinders students from engaging in social contexts as they cannot easily commute throughout the largest dormitory for Freshmen housing.

Understaffed, Underfunded, and Undersupported: Medical Services at Penn

Penn’s Student Health Services (SHS) claims to help students with both their physical and mental health, but their mission towards student wellness has come under much scrutiny due to accessibility issues, insurance policies, and poor mental health services.

The Reality of Mental Health Resources at Penn

Penn breeds a culture of toxic ambition and perfection, as a commonly held belief among Penn students is an expectation to succeed, manifesting from an endless list of LinkedIn brag posts to students’ failure to be candid about inevitable struggles with their academic, social, or personal lives.

Student Experiences with Confidential Resources at Penn

Penn Women's Center, one of the University's confidential resources, is on Locust Walk. It is a brown building, and there are fallen leaves around the building. Photo courtesy of The Daily Pennsylvanian

Many students have had traumatizing experiences when trying to speak to a confidential resource about their experience with sexual violence. Similarly, students have had negative experiences with confidential resources provided for other issues, those of which we discuss in this article.

Inside the Fight for a Grad Student Union

Photo shows a black paper sign with white lettering that reads "GET UP" on a bulletin board with other posters. Photo courtesy The DG

Graduate students serve as teaching assistants, instructors, and research assistants that carry out operations essential to university life and experiences. However, despite the amount of work that graduate students do in order to ensure that undergraduate education and research goes smoothly, the University does not recognize them as workers.