34th Street Magazine's "Toast" is a semi-weekly newsletter with the latest on Penn's campus culture and arts scene. Delivered Monday-Wednesday-Friday.
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What I am lobbying for is for in this time of social change that my employer challenges the very boundaries I have discussed here. To align itself with efforts of correcting wealth inequalities and to entertain serious discussion that could affect the lives of many of its employees of color.
We make this appeal to Penn not just because we believe it is the socially just thing to do, but because we also feel it is the neighborly thing to do. In our time as teachers, we have taken part in reciprocal relationships with the university grounded in mutual respect and genuine concern for the education of our students.
I urge everyone to think about what kind of harm they’re doing to their peers when they record them on Zoom, and what kind of harm this does to the safe space of education more generally.
Once at Penn, unless we take it upon ourselves, we can skip learning about the ways in which our society is strongly tainted by racism. This must change. All Penn students must be taught how white supremacy directly influences every element of our society.
Especially given the dire circumstances the District now faces as a result of Covid-19, Penn and other wealthy nonprofits must fulfill their civic and financial obligations through PILOTs.
Thinking towards the future, one should wonder why would professors ever want to return to the previous organization of syllabus week when instead they could begin class almost right away, perhaps only devoting a 20-minute block of class time for syllabus-related or logistical questions.
We, the undersigned faculty, staff, students, and alumni believe that the long-term good name and reputation of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton School depends on Penn’s administration doing the right thing in the present moment.
What matters now is that as students, we focus our energy on holding ourselves and our peers accountable to health protocols and procedures, averting one another from acting carelessly and selfishly amid rising case counts.
At the start of this new academic year, our call to action for all Penn faculty, students, and staff has never been clearer: Stick to our mission. Stand with our community.
While we will not be printing this semester, we remain more committed than ever to our digital product. Expect to see engaging new digital projects, enterprise stories, photos, and videos that will capture what it means to be a Penn student during a global pandemic.
Even though we can’t meet them in person, we can sympathize with Penn students who attended in fall 1918. Their past can inform our present. By using history as our compass, we can get through this together.
Penn’s decision to limit on-campus housing and instruction is a positive one. However, this does not excuse the lateness of the announcement, which places an undue burden on students.