Penn in the News

Brigham Young Students Who Report Sexual Assault Won’t Face Honor Code Sanctions

Brigham Young University announced on Wednesday that it would spare students who report sexual assaults from facing punishment for violations of its honor code, such as drinking or extramarital sex, that may have happened near or at the time of the assault. The university called the handling of sexual assault reporting “a complicated and evolving issue” and said in a report released on Wednesday that offering amnesty from potential sanctions would help encourage students to report sex-related crimes.

When a Grad Student Called on Black Academics to Vent, Hundreds Answered

Tangled Up in Spacetime

Vijay Balasubramanian of the School of Arts & Sciences is highlighted for researching the fundamental links between quantum information and the quantum theory of gravity.

College is the Goal. Will These Three Teenagers Get There?

Tune in for daily installments as The Times follows three teenagers in Topeka, Kan., on their quest to go to college. Today: Three moms try to shepherd their children into college: Charla Shaner, raising two gifted sons with limited resources; Tera Triggs, who never realized her own dream of going to college; Tracy Gary, pregnant in high school, now determined to save her daughter from the same fate. Click on the links at the bottom of each story to leave your comments, and see what other readers are saying. If you’re just joining us, see where the journey began.

With Pennovation, Forgotten Bottom Looks to Its Future

Ed Datz and Anne Papageorge of Facilities and Real Estate Services, Vice Provost for Research Dawn Bonnell and Executive Vice President Craig Carnaroli comment on opening the Pennovation Center in the “Forgotten Bottom.”

A Mighty Time for Community Colleges

My favorite columns to write are when I discover what I have missed, where I have been flat-out wrong. This is one.

Can a Building Engineer Innovation?

The architecture and design of the Pennovation Center is featured.

Hillary Clinton’s Free-College Plan Draws Scrutiny

There Is No Leadership Gene

Jonathan Moreno of the Perelman School of Medicine and the School of Arts & Sciences is quoted about genetic testing.

Resident Assistants Find Themselves on the Front Lines of Title IX Compliance

When Rachel Nelson, a biochemistry major at Hamline University, became a resident assistant, in August 2014, she went through training on the federal gender-discrimination law known as Title IX. As an RA, she was told, she was a mandatory reporter, a designation given to some staff and faculty members who are obligated to report any potential Title IX violations brought to their attention. Sometimes the violation takes the form of a harassing remark or concern about another student’s relationship; often, it’s unwanted sexual contact. "It’s an interesting dynamic," Ms. Nelson said.