Penn alumni show solidarity in five-page advertisement in today's paper. | Courtesy of Alexis Lamster
Today’s issue of The Daily Pennsylvanian is dominated by one advertisement — five-pages containing over 3,200 alumni signatures and an open letter expressing solidarity with the Penn community after the recent racist GroupMe messages targeting freshmen students of color rocked campus on Friday.
Neil Blumenthal, a 2010 graduate of the Wharton MBA program and co-founder and co-CEO of the eyeglasses company Warby Parker, purchased the advertisement on behalf of University of Pennsylvania alumni.
Blumenthal and the other alumni who signed the letter were spurred by a “visceral” emotional response to hearing about recent acts of racism or intolerance at the University.
“As alumni, we’re not necessarily on campus...so our ability to make a direct impact in a very short period of time is limited,” Blumenthal said in an interview. “But we thought that if we could show solidarity, we could demonstrate to the students that they are part of a very large community that supports them.”
Blumenthal reached out to his classmates and to University board members like 1986 College graduate, Hope Taitz, and 1984 Wharton graduate, Marc Rowan, who helped spread the letter to alumni across schools and classes. Other signers included well-known Penn alumni like 1988 College graduate, Tory Burch, and 1999 College graduate, John Legend.
Although the letter does not address any specific individuals or events, it comes in light of a recent incident where a series of racist GroupMe messages targeted black freshmen, the week of the election of 1968 Wharton graduate Donald Trump to the presidency.
In an earlier petition posted online, nearly four thousand Penn students, alumni and faculty told Trump, “You do not represent us,” calling out the “bigotry that [he had] actively and implicitly endorsed in [his] campaign.”
Unlike that petition, this letter is directed toward the Penn community itself. Blumenthal said that the alumni he had spoken to wanted to express solidarity with students at a time marked by anxiety and fear.
“The most important thing is that we as a community, as alumni, as administrators and faculty, need to do whatever it takes to make students feel safe and appreciated and loved,” Blumenthal said.
The Daily Pennsylvanian is an independent, student-run newspaper. Please consider making a donation to support the coverage that shapes the University. Your generosity ensures a future of strong journalism at Penn.
Donate