Monday Morning: Penn Dining saga continues

Monday, January 29

Good morning, Penn.

Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) spoke with The Daily Pennsylvanian following a campaign event with Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker and labor leaders. Meanwhile, University City's Urban Outfitters — a clothing company co-founded by a Penn alum with its first location in West Philadelphia — officially closed in December of last year. And also, expect a gray week ahead, with sun forecast to brighten up the end of the week.

But first, three students expressed concern after finding unexpected ingredients in their meals from Penn dining halls.

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☀️ TODAY'S TOP STORY

Photo by Hannah Shumsky

A roach, a maggot, and glass allegedly found in dining hall food

Photos of the three instances, which were allegedly taken at 1920 Commons and Penn Pi at Houston Hall, have circulated among Penn students.

Penn Dining’s pest control company verified that no bugs were seen in Commons during its last inspection and confirmed there is no glass at the station at Penn Pi or in Houston Hall’s kitchen. Students involved critiqued the quality of Penn Dining's offerings, and a petition with the picture of the roach and calling for an overhaul of Penn Dining's services currently has 358 signatures.

The photos are the latest in an on-going saga that has seen criticism of Penn Dining. Last February, they announced a new action plan after Hill House and Commons were found to have 100 Philadelphia health code violations.

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FIVE MORE BIG STORIES

The DP spoke with Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) at a campaign event with Philadelphia Mayor and 2016 Fels Institute of Government graduate Cherelle Parker last Friday.
Professor of sociology and law Dorothy Roberts won the Martin Luther King Social Justice award and spoke about grassroots activism at the awards ceremony on Jan. 24.
Employees at the Starbucks location at 39th and Walnut streets voted to unionize on Jan. 10, becoming the eleventh location in Pennsylvania to do so.
A Penn Medicine hospital was cited for safety violations for the second time in a month — one of which contributed to a patient's death.
The location of Urban Outfitters near Penn's campus closed in December 2023 after more than 50 years in University City.

📰 MOST READ

From hot chicken to Southern seafood, University City to welcome three new restaurants

OPINION

COLUMNIST LEXI BOCCUZZI concludes that while Greek life has its flaws, it provides a unique benefit to Penn culture as the last independent organizations on campus.
Photo by Jintong Wu

SPORTS

In a sport that depends so heavily on momentum and rhythm, the Palestra's student DJ Ryo Lindsey is tasked with satisfying the needs of the basketball teams.
Penn men's basketbal l and Penn women's basketball both fell to Columbia over the weekend, sliding them further down the Ivy League table.

TODAY IN DP HISTORY

In 2013, the DP reported that the six students suing the University over poor housing conditions reached a settlement. The students alleged "utterly reprehensible" conditions in their house, which was managed by Campus Apartments and owned by the University.
Photo by Jill Casselman

🧩 TAKE A BREATHER

Click here to play today’s DP mini crossword, which was constructed by Srikar Venkatesan.

FROM 34TH STREET MAGAZINE

If you're a Penn student, you’ve likely been inundated with media coverage of Liz Magill's rollercoaster one-year tenure — you've seen everything from Sidechat posts to national news coverage, and it’s certainly not over yet. Here's 34th Street's state of "SNL"'s latest spoof on Locust Walk.
I'm sure you've spent too long staring at the cover of "A Little Life" wondering what could have caused such anguish (or pleasure) in this man's visage. Whether you judge a book by its cover or you're somehow a saint and don't, there's no doubt the cover photo of "A Little Life" is the window into the soul of a novel.

FROM UNDER THE BUTTON

Social commentator and part-time sociologist Benji Elkins explores the theme of the diaspora this week as students go abroad, yet Penn acts to mitigate their merciless, relentless slew of inane content. Read more to learn the truth.

Today's newsletter was copy edited by Asha Chawla.

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