2018 at Penn was a year to remember. It was the year of shocking upsets, of significant change to our campus infrastructure and plenty of political excitement. From the Eagles Superbowl win to the vandalization of Wynn Commons and the dramatic announcements on Huntsman Hall and sophomore housing, take a look back on the year's most memorable moments with The Daily Pennsylvanian's Year in Review.
In February, the Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl for the first time in history. On the night of the Eagles win, herds of Penn students paraded to Center City to join the chaotic celebration, which saw people climbing lamp posts and flipping cars. Philadelphia later scheduled a parade to honor the Eagles' homecoming, prompting local schools and colleges to close for the day. After a student petition that garnered over 3,000 signatures, Penn joined the other schools in suspending operations for the day. With the day off, Penn students flocked to the historic parade to catch a glimpse of the football team, joining 700,000 Eagles fans and Philadelphia natives.
Penn has suspended University operations for the city-wide parade Thursday
From wind chills to public urination, here's what you missed at Eagles Parade of Champions
Portraits from the Eagles parade: meet the 'greatest fans in the world'
Calvary Rogers | Avoiding the bird’s eye view: integrating ourselves in Philadelphia
Since the start of fall semester, Penn has seen major changes to on-campus housing. In September, Penn announced that sophomores must live on campus starting in fall 2021. In October, Penn announced that the Quad will undergo a renovation for the first time in 20 years. The same month, nearly two dozen rooms in the Quad experienced mold problems, forcing students to relocate. Later in October, Penn announced that it will install air conditioning in two college houses next summer, after students slept in lounges to escape the extreme September heat. Most recently, in December, Penn began construction on its record-breaking $163 million dorm, New College House West, which is slated to open in 2021.
After the midterm elections on Nov. 6, Penn's political groups had something to cheer about. Democrats reclaimed control of the House of Representatives, buoyed by crucial races that Penn Democrats canvassed in. Republicans also maintained their hold on the Senate, granting Penn College Republicans optimism for the next two years. In the weeks leading up to election day, students across the political spectrum advocated for a nonpartisan get-out-the-vote campaign, which ultimately resulted in Penn students voting in record high numbers — Penn’s voter turnout for the Nov. 6 elections was higher than that of any midterm election in the past 12 years. Nationwide, multiple Penn grads were also elected to Congress.
After real estate mogul and 1963 College graduate Steve Wynn was accused of sexual misconduct by dozens of women, Penn rescinded Wynn’s honorary law degree. The same day, Penn also revoked the honorary degree of Bill Cosby, who was accused of sexual misconduct by more than 50 women. This marked the first time Penn rescinded any honorary degree in more than a century. Penn also removed Wynn’s name from the “Wynn Commons" sign and renamed it “Penn Commons.” Wynn soon resigned from his position as financial chair of the Republican National Committee in light of the allegations, which he denied.
In September 2016, a Penn spokesperson claimed the University found no evidence of Penn's ties to slavery. A team of student researchers formed the Penn History of Slavery Project in 2017 to further investigate the claims. With support from the History Department, the student group found that 20 of the 28 early Penn trustees owned slaves and had ties to the slave trade. After the students presented their preliminary research, the University formed a Faculty Working Group to examine the role of slavery in Penn's early years. On June 28, Penn walked back on their initial claims and announced that 75 of Penn's former trustees were slave owners, including Penn’s first provost, William Smith.
Penn forms group to address new research tying its founding trustees to the slave trade
Penn Slavery Project student researchers express concern over role of faculty working group
Penn unveils new findings on history with slavery: over 75 former trustees owned slaves
Penn has acknowledged its ties to slavery, but student researchers say their work is far from over
In early January, former College sophomore Blaze Bernstein went missing over winter break at his home in California. Days later, after his disappearance captured national attention, Bernstein’s body was found in a park near his house. Bernstein’s former high school classmate was later charged with the murder. On campus, students and faculty members mourned his death and honored his legacy. Bernstein, a pre-medical student studying psychology, was involved with several publications and had been elected managing editor of the food magazine Penn Appetit before winter break. After reports surfaced that his alleged killer had ties to a Neo-Nazi group, a judge added a hate crime enhancement to the murder charge in August. The alleged killer is now being held without bail, awaiting the trial.
New details emerge in homicide of Penn student Blaze Bernstein
As homicide case unfolds, friends of Blaze Bernstein find ways to remember him on campus
A month after Blaze’s death, the Bernsteins come to Penn to pack up what he left behind
Judge revokes bail set for former Penn student's alleged murderer
In April, The Daily Pennsylvanian reported that psychology professor Robert Kurzban allegedly engaged in multiple romantic relationships with students under his purview, an apparent violation of a decades-old University policy that prohibits sexual relationships between faculty and students for whom they have "supervisory academic responsibility." The policy was updated in March to ban all sexual relations between faculty and undergraduate students regardless of time or context. Amid a University investigation, Kurzban was removed from his position as director of the honors program in the Psychology Department and as a faculty member of the Integrated Studies Program. He was also removed from the senior honors psychology seminar that he was slated to teach in fall 2018, and later resigned in July.
Penn removes Kurzban from course roster for Fall 2018, says they are investigating allegations
Prof. Kurzban steps down as president of academic society after allegations of U. violations
Rebecca Alifimoff | How Penn can better manage student-professor relationships
Editorial | Penn undermines its own misconduct policy by staying silent on Professor Kurzban
This year, our columnists reacted to some of the most pressing issues affecting Penn students and the Philadelphia area. Here are some of the year’s strongest pieces.
After two consecutive losing seasons, Penn men’s basketball defeated Harvard in the Ivy League Tournament final to secure its first trip to the NCAA tournament since 2007.
The Quakers led the League almost wire-to-wire, but a final weekend loss to Yale meant they were awarded the No. 2 seed in the tournament after sharing the title with the Crimson.
However, despite locking down their spot in the big dance, players, coaches, and fans were shocked to learn that the Quakers were given a No. 16 seed, the lowest seeding for an Ivy League champion since 1989. Furthermore, they would have to play a de facto road game against No. 1 Kansas in Wichita.
Like its last trip to the tournament, Penn did not get the result they were hoping for, falling to the Jayhawks 76-60. Though Penn did not make history as the first No. 16 seed to beat a No. 1 seed, it represented the Ivy League admirably on a national level and showed the conference’s best could hang with any team in the country.
During her fifteen seasons as the head coach of Penn softball, Leslie King has coached 45 All-Ivy players and won an Ivy League championship. But there is evidence to suggest that between 2010 and the start of 2018, more than 26 players left the team before their senior seasons. Multiple sources alleged that the team’s poor retention can be partly attributed to King’s insensitivity to the physical and mental well-being of her players.
In the days after The Daily Pennsylvanian first reported on the team’s poor retention, Penn Athletic Director M. Grace Calhoun sent an email inviting Penn softball alumni to share feedback about their experiences with the team. Penn Athletics declined to share specifics about what kind of feedback they received or whether a plan had been made moving forward.
Then, in March — after the team’s season had already started — questions about the program continued to mount after then-sophomore captain Corey Burrough quit the the team. Now, more than 10 months after the DP first reported on the team’s poor retention, King is still coaching the team.
For the first time since 2002, a Penn football player was drafted into the NFL. Former star wide receiver Justin Watson rewrote the Penn and Ivy League record books, setting records in just about every receiving category over his four years here.
Rumors started as early as December that Watson could be a potential late round pick, and after strong performances at two all-star games and his pro day, scouts across the football landscape were predicting draft slots as early as the fourth round.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers made Watson an NFL player with the seventh pick in the fifth round of the draft. The rookie battled a deep stable of receivers in preseason before making the team as a sixth receiver. Watson has made one catch for five yards.
In July, Bloomberg, the Boston Globe and the Miami Herald reported that former Penn men’s basketball star Jerome Allen had received bribes in his time as coach of the program. Allen allegedly received more than $74,000 in bribes from Philip Esformes, a Miami-area businessman, in order to recruit Esformes’ son Morris. A federal investigation into the elder Esformes’ business led to indictments of bribery, health care fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy.
Allen later pleaded guilty to the allegations and paid over $210,000 in fines. Penn Athletics has not revealed the contents of an investigation into the matter, which was in its “final stages” as of Oct. 6.
2018 is nearly over. And with the new year comes reflection, retrospection, and some top ten lists. This year gave us an onslaught of pop culture, and now Street has endeavored to choose the best of all of it — best albums, best television shows, best books, and best movies from this year, based on staff’s picks.
In 2018, students stormed into center city when the Eagles won the Super Bowl, threw a "throwback show" for Spring Fling, and planned a (failed) protest against the decision to close Huntsman Hall early. Take a look back at this past year in photos.
With 2018 coming to an end, The Daily Pennsylvanian looked back on some of the highlights from the year.
