student resources – Penn Disorientation Guide

Cultural Resource Centers: A Decades-long Battle

Over time, marginalized students and staff formed their own communities on campus and advocated for formal recognition from the University of Pennsylvania. These are their stories.

The Reality of Mental Health Resources at Penn

by Anonymous Poor mental health is surging, especially among college students. Poor mental health seems to be a hallmark of the Penn experience as we’ve been ranked as one of the worst colleges in terms of mental health. Penn breeds a culture of toxic ambition and perfection, as a commonly held belief among Penn studentsContinue reading “The Reality of Mental Health Resources at Penn”

Editors’ Letter

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.

The Disorientation Guide is an annual project that attempts to paint an honest picture of life at Penn.

The Ongoing Fight for RA Unionization at Penn

by an organizer with United RAs at Penn On March 14, 2023, the residential advisors (RAs) of Penn’s college houses filed for unionization, a historic first for student workers. The unionization effort was an inevitable response to Penn’s relentless and shameless mistreatment of its workers. We intend to use our collective power to create aContinue reading “The Ongoing Fight for RA Unionization at Penn”

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.

“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.

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.

The Erosion of Asian American Studies

Six student protestors stand in front of the Ben Franklin statue on College Green with other protestors demanding more resources for the ASAM program. Photo courtesy of The Daily Pennsylvanian

AM Program was the result of countless and constant efforts on part of students and faculty, and its existence holds an important place not only for academic enrichment but for students who fall under the AA+NHPI label at Penn. While it is important to celebrate the program’s tenacity, it is equally important to understand the program’s past, specifically Penn’s consistent institutional disregard of the program and its students and faculty.

Cultural Houses at Penn: A Decades-long Deadlock

Photo of the ARCH Building and a portion of Locust Walk in front of it on a cloudy day. Currently, the three major race-based cultural centers are housed in the ARCH building's basement. Photo courtesy of The Daily Pennsylvanian.

For those who are not already aware, the University of Pennsylvania is a predominantly-white institution. This detail is overlooked by some who are aware of Penn’s strong history of establishing some of the nation’s first Cultural Resource Centers (CRCs) on college campuses. However, many remain unaware of the history behind these spaces and the war that their student leaders have continuously waged in their journey to advocate for students of color at this institutions.