Sphinx News: April 25, 2007

Another day, another 4 front page stories in the Daily Pennsylvanian.

Guards lead charge for more sick days

Following complaints from guards about not receiving paid leave for illnesses, the University has decided to fund a program for AlliedBarton to provide guards working on campus with sick days.

"If the University can create this policy, they can do better," said Shakirah Simley, co-president of SLAP. "Penn has a lot of power and a lot of influence."

Safer Hey Day Secures Tradition

Vice Provost for University Life Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum credited the "diligent work of the classes of 2008 and 2007" for this year's turnaround.

She also commended the junior and senior class presidents - Wharton junior Puneet Singh and Wharton senior Andrew Kaplan, respectively - for being "scrupulously thoughtful about their planning" in fostering cooperation between classes.

In the end, Kaplan and Singh said they felt their efforts paid off.

"Our class and the community and the University were able to change the most historic tradition for the better," Singh said.

Borat Impersonator seeks a 'face' for UA

After being elected last week as the next Undergraduate Assembly chairman, College junior Jason Karsh sat down with The Daily Pennsylvanian to discuss life at the UA, goals for the year and girls with the new big man on campus.

Sarah Waxman makes Women's First-Team All Penn

• Ivy League-best 6.03 goals against average
• Helped take Quakers to No. 4 spot in nation

DP Cheers:

• To the Undergraduate Assembly, for bringing free newspapers, Ruckus, buses to the airport and other programs to campus, as well as for their support for sustainable practices.
• To the Social Planning and Events Committee, for choosing two bands that appealed widely to student taste and negotiating with the performers to make sure there were more tickets available.
• To the junior and senior classes, for acting responsibly on Hey Day and ensuring the survival of this tradition for future classes.

UA Releases end-of-year report

This summer, the University will begin to make small improvements to the low-rise college houses, the result of a UA proposal. In addition, Student Health Services will likely move to a new location in part because of talks with the UA.

This year, the UA brought improvements to student life in the form of Ruckus, the free music downloading service; free copies of The New York Times, USA Today, The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News; and $3 buses to and from the airport during peak travel times, like school vacations.

"I was happy that we were able to balance focusing on long term major initiatives and delivering short term tangible results," said Wharton senior Brett Thalmann, the outgoing UA chairman.

W. Lax enters final test perfect in Ivies

Having clinched the Ivy title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament last Wednesday against Princeton, the women lacrosse team's 12-4 win over Brown on Sunday may have seemed like icing on the cake.

But the No. 3 Quakers (13-1, 7-0 Ivy) knew they still had a lot to play for.

By defeating the Bears (4-9, 1-4), Penn clinched its first outright Ivy title in program history and took one more step towards homefield advantage throughout the NCAAs.

After failing to capitalize on a number of scoring opportunities in the first half, Penn went into the break with only a 3-0 lead. That they even had a lead at all came thanks to strong play by goalkeeper Sarah Waxman and the Quakers defense.

The DP also got a shoutout in the Penn Parents Magazine:



~Sphinx Newsie

Sphinx in the News

In addition to being spotted around campus, Sphinges have been really busy doing what they do best: getting things done. Unsurprisingly, Sphinges have been all over the news recently both on and off campus.

Our very own Sarah Waxman has been "solid in goal this season for the Quakers, allowing only 55 goals in ten games and starting every contest." And the DP just named the Women's Lax (that means Lacrosse) team "Overnight celebrities" after 16 years of Dartmouth's dominance over the weekend.

Sphinx was also out in force for a 36-hour sit-in for Darfur this week. According to the DP:

With more than 3.5 million people in the Darfur region of Sudan are completely reliant on international aid for survival, student leaders say they've felt compelled to help out.

"We feel really invested in educating the Penn community about this issue," said College senior Ezra Billinkoff, who was involved in organizing the event, a result of only two weeks worth of planning.

Student groups involved in the effort include Hillel, Sphinx Senior Society, Alliance and Understanding, STAND, Tzedek and the Darfur Action Planning Committee.

The Undergraduate Assembly also made the DP after passing a proposal on improving Penn's Student Health Service and a proposal on climate change that was co-sponsored by Ivy Council.

In other UA news, Brett Thalmann was could be seen posing a question at the last University Council meeting. The meeting featured some administrative updates and a presentation by Kevin Rurak on behalf of the Lambda Alliance regarding the issue of whether Penn's policy on blood donations is discriminatory.

Shawn Safvi had a great column in the DP's joke issue and campus was so relieved to finally hear the truth from the DP leadership:

You accuse us of deliberately targeting you or simply ignoring what you do. I tell you that's not true to your face, but I'm lying. The DP really doesn't care, and the news editors usually delete your e-mails once they realize it's you.

It's not that they don't like you … well, it kind of is, but that's not the point. The DP just doesn't cover boring events, and let's be honest, watching you "appreciate your heritage" doesn't make the cut

Shakirah was also quoted supporting the UMC's recent actions to campus events:

"I think they did a great job," said College senior Shakirah Simley, 2006's UMC chairwoman.

"Their energy is on how they can enact structural change, which I think is more important, useful and constructive. I think this incident is just a platform to talk about what's going on in the greater context," she said.

And in local, national and international news:

"Marshmallow Compromise Saves Penn Ritual"

If you've been living under a rock, the Penn tradition being referenced is Hey Day. Both Puneet Singh and Brett Thalmann were quoted in this AP story:

"I really enjoyed it," said senior Brett Thalmann, who participated in the festivities last year despite having things thrown at him. "I think it's one of Penn's great traditions."

Junior class president Puneet Singh agreed it was "a great resolution."

Thalmann said Hey Day does. It's one of only a handful of times Penn students get together with their entire class, he said.

"It's a really powerful feeling," said Thalmann, a student government leader who worked on the compromise. "The focus on the negative aspects definitely has been more recent and really is a minor part of the day."

The story was picked up by over 43 news outlets including the Washington Post, Philly Inquirer, Houston Chronicle, Chicago Sun-Times, LA Times, Forbes, Guardian Unlimited UK, and the Kalamazoo Gazette.

That's all for now, but I'm sure I'll be back soon to mention even more Sphinges in the news.

~SN