Huntsman family, longtime Penn supporters, will halt donations to 'unrecognizable' University

Parents Forum
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I understand the issue but felt compelled to answer the general inquiry of why anyone would attend Penn. As with most groups or institutions, fit matters. While the culture is/was not an issue for my Quakers, I can respect that not everyone has the same experience.

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The fallout for Penn continues:

https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/14/business/upenn-antisemitism-gop-pet-medicine-funding/index.html

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I’m Jewish and very pro-Israel. But holding the vet school responsible for the former school president’s ham-handed response to a question is ridiculous.

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The governor is a democrat. Unlikely that legislation is going anywhere. They should give Penn a minute to show what they’re doing to address anti-semitism on campus.

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I hope their changes are wider and not narrower


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It’s a spending authorization, which needs to be put on the Governor’s desk by the legislature with Penn Vet funding in it. I suppose, if it comes to it, he could veto the bill and send it back with a message insisting the legislature add the Penn Vet funds back, but that would mean he’d be effectively vetoing funds for a lot of other worthy programs. Also, if a spending bill “doesn’t go anywhere,” Penn still doesn’t get its money.

The PA legislature is divided. Also, I wouldn’t be so sure that the Governor and some Dems don’t mind having some leverage over Penn right now, or that they would want to be seen as “pro-Penn.”

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https://www.wsj.com/us-news/pennsylvania-governor-josh-shapiro-penn-159f1675

HARRISBURG, Pa.—Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro worked behind the scenes for months trying to shape how the University of Pennsylvania balanced free speech and harassment, as the Ivy League institution faced mounting criticism for its handling of antisemitism on its West Philadelphia campus.

The first-term Democrat said he spoke several times with Penn’s then-president, Liz Magill, and Scott Bok, chair of the private university’s board of trustees, laying out recommendations on disciplining faculty, responding to vandalism and combating misinformation.

“They failed to take concrete action,” Shapiro said in an interview from his office in the state Capitol. After Magill’s widely panned congressional testimony Dec. 5—when she didn’t unequivocally say that calling for the genocide of Jews would violate school policy—he went public, all but saying she had to go. Days later, Magill and Bok said they were resigning from their respective positions.

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Deleted.

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Deleted.

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“ Should Penn’s rules on free expression or its student code of conduct be amended? Public universities must follow the First Amendment. The notion that a private university like Penn should have more restrictive speech constraints than Penn State — or Harvard than UMass — may seem odd, but many have now suggested it. For a real-time case study, check out Barnard College with its political speech ban, administrative censorship, and resulting protests.”

:joy: