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Prameet Kumar


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Prameet Kumar | A walking tour of your time at Penn

People are surprised when you tell them you’re in Wharton. You don’t seem the type. There’s definitely a type.

May 11, 2012

Obama campaign opens field office at 52nd and Walnut

The office, which opened May 2, is Obama’s sixth location in Philadelphia, highlighting the importance of the city in the 2012 presidential race.

May 10, 2012

Polls see low voter turnout overall, in Penn area

With no major disputed races on the ballot in yesterday’s Pennsylvania primary, few voters went to the polls on or near campus.

April 25, 2012

Low voter turnout expected in Pennsylvania primary

With former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum out of the Republican race, there is little doubt that the general election will be fought between President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

April 23, 2012

Faculty find faults with 'Penn Integrates Knowledge'

John Detre, the director of the Center for Functional Neuroimaging, criticized the extent of resources tied exclusively to recruitment that cannot be tapped into by existing faculty.

April 17, 2012

Mitt Romney talks taxes, election at Tea Party event

Romney spoke of the need to lower taxes to several hundred members of the Independence Hall Tea Party Association, the largest Tea Party group in the tri-state area.

April 17, 2012

Penn's congressional representative proposed education reform in House in March

Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.), who represents the second congressional district, which includes Penn, introduced the American Dream Accounts Act of 2012 in the House of Representatives last month.

April 10, 2012

Penn professors weigh in on constitutionality of healthcare reform's individual mandate

While the Supreme Court deliberates the constitutionality of the Patient Protection Affordable Care Act, Penn professors are also debating the issue.

April 4, 2012

Joke Issue: Canada out as Penn looks for new grad speaker

Bowing to student pressure, the University announced Tuesday that social activist Geoffrey Canada will no longer be this year’s Commencement speaker.

April 3, 2012

Experts sound off on Ivy League candidate for World Bank head

Experts say Kim — a physician and co-founder of the nonprofit Partners in Health — would bring a major change to the banking institution, which has historically been led by economists and government officials.

March 29, 2012

Exploring Penn's financial contribution to the city

Penn and other major nonprofits, which once made millions of dollars in voluntary payments to Philadelphia, pay nothing today.

March 27, 2012

Critics respond to dismissal of ghostwriting accusations

Some bioethics experts are criticizing Penn’s dismissal of the research misconduct charges levied by a psychiatry professor against two of his colleagues in the department.

March 11, 2012

Penn raises tuition despite Obama's motion to cut costs

In his State of the Union address last month, President Barack Obama implored colleges and universities to decrease the cost of getting a degree.

February 27, 2012

Annenberg's 'FlackCheck' attacks deceptive political ads

Annenberg Public Policy Center Kathleen Hall Jamieson — along with FlackCheck.org, run by the APPC as a sister site of Annenberg’s popular FactCheck.org — is on a crusade to prevent deceptive political ads from being aired.

February 21, 2012

After decades of decline, HUP autopsy rate stabilizes

The decline in autopsies at HUP mirrors a drop in autopsy rates across the nation, although academic hospitals have fared better than their non-academic counterparts.

February 15, 2012

Huntsman Sr. backs son's campaign through a super PAC

Jon Huntsman Sr.’s financial backing of his son’s presidential bid has laid bare concerns of potential coordination between super PACs and presidential candidates.

February 14, 2012

Former Penn prof denied lesser sentence in child porn case

Scott Ward, the former Wharton professor of Marketing currently serving time for transporting child pornography, had his request for a reduced sentence denied late last month. Ward was sentenced in 2009 to 25 years in prison.

February 12, 2012

Professors take sides on BDS conference

The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions conference held this weekend exposed a wide gulf of disagreement among Penn professors on opposite sides of the issue.

February 5, 2012

Romney wins Florida primary with strong student support

Mitt Romney coasted to a victory in the Florida primary yesterday, reclaiming his title as the frontrunner of the Republican presidential race. Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, received more votes than his two closest competitors — former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and former Pennsylvania Sen.

January 31, 2012

City embarks on Dilworth Plaza renovations

The City broke ground Monday on a $50-million renovation of Dilworth Plaza, the public square west of City Hall that was formerly the site of the Occupy Philadelphia encampment.

January 30, 2012

Recent posts


Silfen Forum participants split on election predictions

The participants of the Silfen Forum held today at Penn all agreed that Mitt Romney would be the eventual Republican presidential nominee. They disagreed, however, on whether Romney would beat President Barack Obama.

March 19, 2012

Gutmann dines with Obama and Cameron

Penn President Amy Gutmann had dinner with President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron at the White House last night.
Gutmann was among the 362 people who attended a state dinner held in honor of Cameron and his wife Samantha, according to a guest list released by the White House.

March 15, 2012

Nutter's approval rating rises despite concerns about the city

Despite residents’ concerns about the state of the city, Mayor Michael Nutter’s approval rating has improved significantly over the past year.
A poll from The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Philadelphia Research Initiative released today found that 60 percent of Philadelphians approve of Nutter, a rise from 52 percent last year.

February 14, 2012

Pennsylvanians abandon Gingrich, support Romney and Santorum

Pennsylvanians are abandoning Newt Gingrich and throwing their support behind Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum, a new statewide poll found.
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review/WPXI-TV poll, conducted by Susquehanna Polling and Research, showed that Gingrich’s support in the state sunk to 13 percent from 35 percent six weeks.

February 10, 2012

Huntsman named to Ford's Board of Directors

Jon Huntsman was named to the Board of Directors of Ford Motor company, the corporation announced today.
“Jon understands the importance of strengthening the country’s manufacturing base, which will contribute to our success going forward,” Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford said in a statement.

February 9, 2012

Huntsman exits politics, returns to private sector

Jon Huntsman Jr., who dropped out of the presidential race last month, said he’s exiting the political sphere for the near future.
“No politics for me,” Huntsman said in an interview with The Salt Lake Tribune. “We gave it our best shot, and now we’re building the base once again in private life.”

February 7, 2012

Amy Gutmann's remarks at the Dershowitz talk

Printed below is a letter from Penn President Amy Gutmann that was read aloud before the talk by Alan Dershowitz last night. It reaffirms Penn’s commitment to Israel. Gutmann could not make it to the event, so the letter was read aloud by David Cohen, chair of the Penn’s Board of Trustees and Executive Vice President of Comcast Corporation. Here is the letter, in full:

February 3, 2012

A flyer being distributed before the Dershowitz talk

Reproduced below is a flyer being distributed outside the Annenberg Center before tonight’s talk by Alan Dershowitz.
The flyer, apparently printed and distributed by the David Horowitz Freedom Center, compares some Penn professors’ support of the BDS movement to the actions of Nazi Germany.

February 2, 2012

Dershowitz talk met with polarized online reaction

Alan Dershowitz, a professor of law at Harvard Law School and well-known supporter of Israel, spoke tonight at Penn’s Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts. The speech generated a very polarized response online.

February 2, 2012

Santorum's daughter hospitalized at CHOP

Rick Santorum canceled his campaign events today after his three-year-old daughter was hospitalized at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Isabella Santorum has trisomy 18, a rare genetic disorder caused by the presence of an additional 18th chromosome.

January 29, 2012

Bain & Co. distances itself from Bain Capital

But another firm caught in the crossfire is Bain & Company, a management consulting firm at which the founders of Bain Capital, including Romney, worked prior to starting the new firm.
Last week, the political journalism website Talking Points Memo published an email sent from Bain & Company to “Wharton Bainies,” or newly hired Wharton students, that attempted to distance the firm from Bain Capital.

January 26, 2012

Mayor Nutter compliments Obama's address

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter issued a very praise-heavy statement following President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address last night.
“I applaud President Obama’s determination to strengthen the economy, create family-sustaining jobs, and reaffirm America’s commitment to the middle class,” Nutter said. “As the President emphasized, we need to bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States, invest in education, and ensure a fair opportunity for all Americans to succeed. Millions of Americans are still hurting, and job creation is imperative.”

January 25, 2012

Liveblog | 2012 State of the Union address

President Barack Obama will deliver his 2012 State of the Union address tonight at 9 p.m. Join us at 8:30 p.m. right here as we liveblog the speech from the bipartisan State of the Union watch party hosted by the Penn Democrats and College Republicans in room G60 of Huntsman Hall.
We’ll see you at 8:30 tonight. Until then, check out this video of a behind-the-scenes look at Obama crafting the speech.

January 24, 2012

Rick Perry drops out, endorses Newt Gingrich

Rick Perry dropped out of the presidential race today, two days before the South Carolina primary, and endorsed Newt Gingrich.
“​As I have contemplated the future of this campaign, I have come to the conclusion that there is no viable path to victory for my candidacy in 2012,” he said at a news conference in South Carolina. “​Therefore, today I am suspending my campaign and endorsing Newt Gingrich for president.”
The endorsement may give a boost to Gingrich in the South Carolina primary, where Mitt Romney is currently the frontrunner.

January 19, 2012

Amy Gutmann praises Jon Huntsman

Penn President Amy Gutmann had some kind words for Republican presidential candidate and Penn alum Jon Huntsman.
“I’m really proud of Jon Huntsman Jr.,” she said in an interview with The Daily Pennsylvanian today.” He’s a model for Penn students — for all of us — for being willing to serve.”

January 12, 2012

New Hampshire behind them, candidates look to South Carolina

With yesterday’s primary in New Hampshire behind them, the Republican candidates have shifted their focus to the battleground of the next primary, South Carolina.
The latest poll by Public Policy Polling finds that Mitt Romney leads the pack in South Carolina at 27 percent, followed by Newt Gingrich at 23 percent and Rick Santorum at 18 percent.
Although Romney won decisively in New Hampshire, Gingrich’s campaign believes he can be defeated in South Carolina.
“I think that’s going to go well,” said Mattheau LeDuc, a spokesman for Gingrich’s campaign.

January 11, 2012

In New Hampshire, an uncertain fight for second place

With the New Hampshire primary underway, it’s almost all but certain that Mitt Romney will emerge the winner.
Despite losing some ground in statewide polls in the past few days, Romney still has a commanding lead over the other Republican contenders. A Jan. 8 Suffolk University/7News two-day tracking poll found that 35 percent of likely Republican voters supported Romney.
More contested is the struggle for second place.

January 10, 2012

Romney edges out Santorum, and Bachmann bows out

With just eight votes separating them, Mitt Romney barely edged out Rick Santorum to win Tuesday’s Iowa caucuses. Both candidates garnered nearly 25 percent of the popular vote (30,015 vs. 30,007), with Ron Paul finishing at a close third with more than 21 percent.
Michele Bachmann — who kicked off her campaign in Iowa, won the Ames straw poll and spent a significant amount of time and money touring the state for support — came in last among those candidates who had competed in Iowa, with a disappointing 5 percent of the vote. On Wednesday, Bachmann dropped out of the race.

January 4, 2012

Occupy Philly | Protest video

Occupy Philadelphia’s General Assembly, the protest’s decision-making body, speaks Thursday afternoon to protesters. (Video by Jennifer Sun/DP)

October 6, 2011

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