Monthly Archives: October 2011

October 19, 2011 · 1:56 pm

What I Found in the Bookstore

Author: Jonathan Cousins, SEAS’14

On my way to class, I often take a shortcut through the Penn Bookstore.  As I glance down the aisles, I see some of the things you expect: books, hats, shirts, computer materials, and the like.  But recently,  I walked over to the Penn gear section, and some of the things I found surprised me.  Interestingly, the bookstore had a sign on the information desk that described the type of items that I found, as many of them were odd, curious and cool.

And so, I would now like to  present a list of the strangest things I found for sale in the Penn bookstore.

1. Penn Belt

The idea of wearing a Penn Belt is an interesting one.  It would not make sense for the business world, since it is red or blue instead of the classier black or brown normally worn with business clothing.  It also has the repeating Penn logo, which makes it stick out.  I don’t think I could match the belt itself to many things in my wardrobe, and I don’t think I have ever seen anyone wearing one around campus.

2. Penn Chocolate Bars

I’m having a little trouble imagining when one might need this item. While I might be inclined to imagine a high-class Penn party, even then,the dessert would probably be fancier than a chocolate bar.  The only fun scenario I could see with these is using them as application responses.  Imagine receiving a Penn chocolate bar in the mail, and having to open it to discover either nothing or a red and blue foil ticket, granting you admission to the University.  But I digress…

3. Penn Boxers

Another item that is not usually seen, and so the Penn logo part of it is pretty irrelevant.  Maybe those items give the wearer some sort of school pride, but it takes a certain type of person to buy school brand clothing that doesn’t get seen by the general public.

4. Penn Birdhouse

This item really struck me.  Sitting on the bottom of a shelf up against the wall of the store, it is pretty hard to find.  But there it was, a custom painted wooden birdhouse  with “Penn” painted on it.  However, I imagine that having birds use the bathroom on your beautiful red and blue birdhouse roof would put a damper on your school spirit.  But someone must love birds and Penn enough to make this purchase.

5. Penn Stuffed Animals

The Quaker doll I can understand, as I can the generic teddy bear with a Penn shirt.  But a Penn zebra or elephant or giraffe?  Why?  Who could they be trying to market towards that would not appreciate a simple teddy bear?  If people want nice stuffed animals, they go to a toy store.  If they want a souvenir animal, they can get a mascot or a bear. I, for one, don’t see the need for such a large selection.

6. And finally, one of my favorites, the Penn Invitation

This ties into the golden ticket idea from above.  Imagine getting an invitation in the mail, “You’re invited to Penn!”  Sadly, upon further reading, you would discover that this would be a birthday party at a football game, instead of admission to the University.  Now, I love Penn Athletics, and, as a Red and Blue Crew Leader, I am committed to making Penn sports more popular.  But one thing I don’t see very often is Penn birthday parties.  I know this is a common occurrence at other pro sports, and even popular college sports, but at Penn?

It may seem like I am down on the Penn Bookstore, but I’m really not.  I have made many purchase from there, and will continue to do so.  I just have fun wandering through the endless piles of Penn gear and wondering what kind of person would pick up and purchase a Penn birdhouse.  If you have not made a trek to explore the Penn section of the bookstore, I highly recommend it.  You never know what you might find.

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October 18, 2011 · 9:00 am

The Urban Nutrition Initiative

Author: Lisa Marie Patzer

As a new employee at the University, it is a daily experience for me to discover something new on campus.  Last week was no different.  While walking through the Franklin Building Annex where I was attending new employee training, I smelled the most wonderful scent of fresh apples.  The aroma was coming from the other side of a door.  I poked my head in and met Brian Cassidy, a Nutrition Education Coordinator for the Urban Nutrition Initiative (UNI).  He was busy sorting apples into large grocery bags for a school program.  I asked him if I could come back for an interview to find out more about the organization.  He agreed and on October 7th I met with Brian and Neena Pathak, also a Nutrition Education Coordinator for the UNI.

UNI is part of the  University of Pennsylvania’s Netter Center for Community Partnerships and The School District of Philadelphia’s EAT.RIGHT.NOW. Nutrition Education Program. Their primary mission is to facilitate nutrition education programs in public schools to address issues of poor nutrition and physical fitness in West Philadelphia.  UNI organizes school day, after school and summer learning opportunities for more than 10,000 students and their families at 20 public schools in Philadelphia. Their programs include after school cooking clubs, community gardens and giving students the opportunity to share the food they grow at farmers market in the local neighborhood.

I asked Neena and Brian how they became involved with UNI.  Turns out, they are both proud Penn alumni.  Neena (GED’10) taught English in the public school system while working on her Master’s degree in education at Penn.  She is passionate about urban education and food justice.  Working for UNI provided an outlet to pursue these interests.

Brian (GED’10) taught high school in Camden NJ for two years while he attended the Graduate School of Education at Penn.  His first introduction to UNI was through the University City High School garden located at 36thand Filbert. Brian wanted to find a way to engage with youth about nutrition and food justice.  He soon found himself working full time for the organization.

In addition to their standard school programs, Brian and Neena are actively developing new ways of engaging youth.  One of the programs Brian is managing partners University of Pennsylvania student volunteers with students from Parkway West High School.  Using nutrition curriculum developed by Drexel University, the high school students are creating music videos about comfort foods and developing a healthy emotional relationship to food.

Neena is working with the University City High School on a cooking enrichment class that teaches students the basics of nutrition and healthy cooking.  At the end of the class, they will have a Top Chef style competition that will emphasize the importance of their Think A.H.E.A.D. strategy. This involves preparing food that is Accessible, Healthy, Easy, Affordable, and Delicious.

Are you interested in nutrition, food justice, community gardening and empowering youth? Find out how you can volunteer for UNI by contacting Jarrett Stein, volunteer coordinator, at stein.jarrett@gmail.com.

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October 17, 2011 · 5:21 pm

Art Contest Winner

Last week, we asked you to correctly identify both the name and location of the following sculpture on Penn’s campus:

We had a large number of correct responses, but the first to get it right is Lisa Bardfeld Shapiro, C’93. Within minutes of the post, she properly identified the location as Hamilton Walk between HUP and the Med Education Building and the name of the piece as Quadrature# 1 (1977) by artist and Penn Professor, Robert Engman. Professor Engman is also known for Triune, a trifold Moebius strip located near Philadelphia’s City Hall.

In addition, he collaborated with his students to create Peace Symbol (1967),  also a favorite sculpture found on Penn’s campus near the Van Pelt-Dietrich Library.

Congratulations to Lisa, who will be receiving  a free Penn T-shirt for her participation. Thank you, too, to our enthusiastic and responsive readers, many of whom also correctly identified this somewhat obscure piece. You can view more of Penn’s art work on campus by going here.

In the meantime, keep checking back for more opportunities to show your Penn spirit and to win!

Here’s the full view of the piece for your viewing pleasure:

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October 14, 2011 · 9:19 am

My Top Penn List: The Class of 95’s Top Singles

Author: Casey Ryan, C’95

I jetted up to Boston for an alumni event with Eric Furda this Monday. While that event will be a future Locust Walk Talk entry, some of the particulars of the day inspired me to pursue a nostalgic topic for my Top Penn list today.

I had scheduled 6:05am flight to Boston. I rushed to the gate and learned there was a major delay with the flight. While I was waiting in line at the counter to learn about the delay’s impact on my travel I saw a fellow classmate and reunion planning committee member, Christine, heading down to her gate for an early morning flight too. We said “Hi” and waved, like two ship passing the night.

While finally en route, I cursorily scanned the invite list, so I didn’t notice that surprised that laid in store for me. Finally in town and at the Boston Marriott Copley Place, I set up the event and I remained oblivious to my future good fortune. As I was checking in attendees, someone called my name and I knew that she wasn’t reading my name tag. It was one of my Class’s Vice Presidents, Ari. We caught up a little as I checked her in and directed her into the reception.

Before the Dean arrived, I looked up and saw yet another classmate. I shared with Clé, who was on the reunion planning committee also, that I saw Christine in the morning. We also had a nice moment to chat before the program started and I was generally energized by seeing three of my classmates unexpectedly that day.

At the end of the program, I was able to chat a little longer with my classmates and we all were pleased about our very mini-reunion. Musing on our last quinquennial reunion, we all had remembered how good the song list was. I know from my days in Classes and Reunions how diligently our student volunteers, College House Alumni Ambassadors (CHAA) , worked to come of with a good list of songs for our DJ to use to plan the reunion’s music. I remember in one meeting that we, the committee, suggested that the CHAA students look up the top singles from our last year at Penn. That would be a great source of songs that would be evocative of our senior year. They did it and it brought us back to 1995.

Reminiscent from seeing my classmates, I looked up the 10 Billboard Hot 100 songs for our last year at Penn. This list ranks the best-performing singles in the United States on a weekly basis. Ending with the best performing single of our senior week, I give you the last Ten Hot 100 number-one singles for the Class of 1995.

10. “Bump n’ Grind,” R. Kelly

9. “The Sign,” by Ace of Base first hit the best single list on March 12, 1994, and ran for four weeks until R. Kelly dethroned it.  After a month of “Bump n’ Grind,” “The Sign” came back an bumped R. Kelly from the number-one position and earned the top spot in time for the Class of 1994’s senior week.

8. “I Swear,” All-4-One held on for eleven weeks as number one during the summer before our senior year.

7. “Stay (I Missed You),” Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories

6. “I’ll Make Love to You,” Boyz II Men ruled the airwaves for 14 weeks, defining our fall semester.

5. “On Bended Knee,” Boyz II Men

4. “Here Comes the Hotstepper” Ini Kamoze

4a. “On Bended Knee,” Boyz II Men took a break for two weeks for “Here Comes the Hotstepper” and resurged back on the list. Our senior year was the year of Boyz II Men; their two singles were on the list for a total of 17 weeks!

3. “Creep,” TLC

2. “Take a Bow” Madonna, and, if you know me, you know that I’m very happy to include her!

As the class of 1995 donned its graduation robes and lined up in Superblock (now known as Hamilton Village), the Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of the day was:

1. “This Is How We Do It” Montell Jordan, which is a great song for the Class of 1995, and this is the song that heralded us onto College Green as we marched in the parade for our 15th reunion.

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October 13, 2011 · 9:28 am

Push Ball: An Old Tradition Reborn

Author: Elise Betz

The Penn Traditions program revived an old tradition for the Penn Park opening on September 17.  On a beautifully cloudy late summer afternoon, the 21st century Push Ball was unveiled almost 103 years after the tradition started.    For five brief years in the early 20th century, the Push Ball Fight surfaced as one of the traditional confrontations between University of Pennsylvania freshmen and sophomore classes. The first Penn Push Ball Fight took place on Franklin Field on October 22, 1908.

The ball to be pushed was always quite large in size. The ball used in the first fight was six feet in diameter.  The fight began with the ball in the middle of the field and the two opposing classes lined up on their individual goal lines on opposite ends of the field. The point of the fight was to move the ball over the opponent’s goal line. At the sound of a whistle, the members of each class rushed to the huge ball and tried to score a goal, hopefully by straight clean line as in football rather than by means of slugging matches.  It looked like this:

Here is an original news article about the Push Ball Fight in 1912:

The reborn Push Ball is ten feet in diameter.  The first step was inflating it – we did so with a leaf blower.

We then got it to Penn Park and it was a smashing success the second it hit the grass.

The Penn Traditions program adapted the rules a little bit and let the kids, young and old, push the ball around the field and into the goals “free style.”

The day ended after many happy alumni, students and their families enjoyed the new Push Ball, taking advantage of the photo ops it provided.

Final step?  Deflating the ten foot ball.  Not as easy as you might think.  It took 6 adults almost a full hour to take the air out of this Penn tradition.    It won’t stay deflated for long – it is clear that this new old Penn tradition has some momentum!  Look for the Push Ball on campus at Homecoming, November 4 – 6, 2011!

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October 12, 2011 · 6:04 pm

Where Am I?

The first person to correctly identify (1). the location and (2).  name of this sculpture will be sent a free Penn t-shirt in your requested size. Email alabrie@upenn.edu with your answers.

Here it is:

As soon as we have a winner, I’ll post the answer.

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October 11, 2011 · 2:34 pm

Getting Excited for the Penn Gala

Author: Stephanie Y., C08

I am so excited to attend my first Alumni Award of Merit Gala during Homecoming Weekend featuring arts and culture this year. The Gala, sponsored by Penn Alumni, is a celebration of Penn’s most passionate and dedicated alumni volunteers, and awards are given for outstanding service to Penn.

The Alumni Award of Merit and Young Alumni recipients are chosen by Penn Alumni’s Awards & Resolutions Committee, which is comprised of former winners. These winners are always super accomplished and impressive, and they have contributed so much to the Penn community. Reading their bios always inspires me and reminds me there is always more to give back to the Penn community.

The Club Award recipient is chosen by the Global Alumni Network Advisory Board. Two years ago, the Penn Alumni Club of Philadelphia received this award, and those of us in Philadelphia are still excited about it.

The two awards that are near and dear to my heart are the Class Award of Merit and the David N. Tyre Class Communications Award. The recipients of these two awards are chosen by the Alumni Class Leadership Council. As a member of the ACLC, I have worked closely with many alumni classes during their reunion years, and it is a wonderful feeling to see classes receive recognition for their hard work. The Gala is open to the whole Penn community — alumni, family, students, faculty, staff and friends – and I hope to see you there.

The 77th Annual Alumni Award of Merit Gala

Friday, November 4, 2011

6-10 PM

Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts

3680 Walnut St – Philadelphia, PA

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October 10, 2011 · 7:00 am

Ode to the Penn Bookstore Card Section in Paintbrush

Author: Leigh Ann P.

I have been receiving birthday cards for nearly 30 years now, and I have been receiving “Wow, you’re old” birthday cards since I turned 22.  Twenty-two!  You know the ones I’m talking about.  “You’re old. You sag. You forget everything. Getting old equals bad.”  I get it!  Thanks for the card!  Anyone who knows me knows I would hate giving these as much as I hate receiving them, which is why I become so frustrated at a certain drug store whose card selection features only those of the “Jeez, you have gray hair and wrinkles now.  Because it’s your birthday and you’re old.  Amazing.” – variety. 

I have exhausted every lovable cartoon character I can find in order not to offend those close to me, because those cards are generally pretty innocuous and readily available.  Snoopy.  Scooby.  Sleepy, Happy, Dopey.  Mickey.  Buzz Lightyear.  But when you find yourself searching for a card for your mother-in-law’s birthday and you’re stuck between a pink, glittery Princess Jasmine card and one about an overabundance of ear hair, you may be treading on dangerous ground.

This is why I love the Penn Bookstore! (I’m not working for them, even though I keep plugging them!).  Funny, yet inoffensive cards!  Thoughtful, but not gag-inducing!  Glamorous and grown-up!  Thank you, Penn Bookstore, for never letting this Penn employee (or her mother-in-law) down.

A very pretty, very simple birthday card for a Mom in your life.

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October 7, 2011 · 4:41 pm

Penn Alumni Travel goes to the Italian Lake District

By Kiera R.

In June, Penn Alumni Travel is once again offering a trip to the Italian Lake District. Travelers will stay in Chernobbio, a short boat ride away from the town of Lake Como (known for its movie-star resident George Clooney). While we can’t guarantee bumping into Mr. Clooney in town, we can promise a wonderful stay in one of the most beautiful parts of the world.

I traveled with a Penn group on this program in 2007 and was recently reminiscing about Lake Como with someone else who traveled there. We were both encouraging our dinner companion to visit.

Here’s why:

There’s water

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Surrounded by mountains

The setting itself is breathtaking. It’s calming, it’s peaceful, it’s relaxing, it’s beautiful.

The town of Lake Como is small and charming – lots of people are walking around the streets, visiting the market, eating at outdoor cafes.

I always enjoy spotting Fiats – this is an old model sandwiched between more modern cars.

One day there was an excursion to Milan. We visited da Vinci’s “Last Supper” which was truly amazing, and I climbed up to the roof of the Duomo to get up close views of the statues on the roof and a wonderful view of the city.

We visited beautiful homes and gardens.

Villa del Balbianello was used as a backdrop for some scenes from Star Wars Episode II and Casino Royale.

And we visited Bellagio, charming with steep streets and expensive shops.

I haven’t even mentioned the wonderful food we had – risotto is a regional specialty and my daily habit of cappuccino and gelato was hard to break!

Our group thoroughly enjoyed our visit, and I encourage you to join us there next June!

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October 6, 2011 · 8:28 pm

I Remember…Sorority Rush

Author: Elizabeth Kimmelman Schwartz, C’04

A confession:  I wasn’t that cool in high school.  (I know you are shocked by this given that I’ve divulged my love for the X Files on here).  But wait – I wasn’t a nerd either – I was in that in between category, mainly reserved for people who cared too much about school to ever be cool.  I had a lot of friends and a fun social life but I was in the smart classes and didn’t party.  In any case, I really did like high school.  I still have great friends from that time in my life and wonderful memories.  However, I knew when I got to college, things would be different.

Here’s one of the unspoken, great things about Penn.  Probably 80% of the people at this school were not cool in high school.  But then we come to Penn, a place where it is okay to study and work hard, a place where it’s okay have a conversation about nerdy things and where there are so many people and groups that you don’t have to worry as hard about fitting in.  There is no cool clique or popular crowd because there are just too many people for that to make sense.  Additionally, most of the students here were like me in high school – “nerdy” by default but social and fun.  So, what did I decide to do with this newfound sense of belonging and “coolness?”  I rushed a sorority.

I am sure most of my high school friends were taken aback by the thought of me in a sorority.  Girls who watch The X Files and take Calculus for fun are not the type of girls who are supposed to join sororities.  I didn’t care.  I wanted to try it out – I wanted to be part of a world that seemed completely inaccessible to me when I was a high school freshman, singing second soprano in choir and performing in the shows (yup, I’m dropping nerd alerts along the way as you keep reading).  So, I signed up for rush and was on my way!

Let me tell you – for an extrovert like me, rush was amazing.  We recently learned in a seminar at work that the difference between extroverts and introverts is that extroverts derive energy from interacting with large groups of people, whereas introverts are drained by it.  Sorority rush, to me, was like drinking five cups of coffee, and I don’t drink caffeine.  I put my black pants on and met new person after new person, after new person.  It didn’t stop at the girls in the sororities! I met the girls who stood near me in line, the girls in my rush group, the girls who were preffing (a word for the last round of rush) the same houses – so many new people!  It was awesome…until I got rejected from a couple sororities I liked.  But, I bounced back, kept going, and found my home at Chi Omega.

With some of my Chi Omega sisters at our 5th Reunion

Of course there were parts of the process that weirded me out.  At some rounds, when the sisters talked about how much they loved their house, they would cry.  I didn’t like that.  One of the sororities dressed up as hippies for the first round.  As someone who shopped solely at the Gap and maybe Arden B when I was feeling “wild,” I cut them immediately.  But those experiences were few and far between.

I know that rush might sound silly.  Parading around campus in black pants meeting lots of girls and having nothing more than superficial conversations does not seem particularly productive on the surface.  But, sorority rush taught me a lot about life.  It taught me how to have a conversation with almost anyone, something that comes in very handy in my job in Alumni Relations.  It taught me to be polite (you never wore a watch during rush because if you glanced at it while talking to someone it would be rude).  It taught me, when I was on the other side of rush, how to work as a team.  (Just ask me, I still remember our dance to “Funky Cold Medina” which became “Funky Chi Omega.”)  And, it taught me how to face rejection, keep my head up, and how to have faith that in the end things work out.

Sorority rush also led to one of the most defining experiences in my Penn life – serving as Panhellenic Council President.  But, I’ll save that for another day!  Now, I’m off to a work meeting where I will no doubt have a great conversation with someone and not glance at my watch.

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