Natives at Penn hosts 15th annual powwow
Natives at Penn held its 15th annual powwow at Houston Hall on Sunday.
The April 26 event was co-hosted by the Albert M. Greenfield Intercultural Center and ran from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Programming — free and open to the public — featured performances and artwork by Indigenous groups and vendors.
In a statement to The Daily Pennsylvanian, College first-year and Natives at Penn powwow committee member Brendan Bell wrote that the event provides “great outreach to the Philadelphia community and the Penn community.”
“While the pow wow is for the Penn community to experience a glimpse of the native community in Philadelphia, the event is also for [the] native community to come together and have fun,” Bell added.
The Grand Entry, a traditional opening procession featuring flags and music, ushered in the day’s programming at noon. Scheduled activities took place each hour of the event, with exhibition and intertribal dancing interspersed throughout the afternoon.
According to Bell, the event created a space for a wide range of Indigenous communities to gather. He added that the powwow was the first time he has been “surrounded by a diverse array of native tribes and communities in a collective space.”
The event offered attendees “a chance to support Native artists and creators” by engaging with and purchasing their work.
The powwow hosted 11 Native and Indigenous vendors who each donated an item to the event’s raffle. There were also informational booths where attendees could learn more about Indigenous communities.
Natives at Penn also held a fundraiser supporting Kākoʻo Mai — a nonprofit launched in March by the Hawaiian council to coordinate emergency relief efforts for communities affected by flooding earlier this year. The group collaborated with the Penn Hawaiʻi Youth Foundation on the fundraiser and invited its members to perform hula, a traditional Hawaiian dance, during the powwow.
Bell, who is from Hawaii, expressed that this initiative was a “nice way” to include his culture “within the broader native community in Philadelphia.”
Natives at Penn has hosted a spring powwow at the University annually since 2010, reviving a tradition that had not taken place at Penn since 1993.
Beyond the powwow, Natives at Penn hosts Indigenous Peoples’ Day celebrations, supports undergraduate and graduate programming, and participates in intercollegiate events — such as the Ivy Native Conference.
Bell also emphasized the role of the Greenfield Intercultural Center — which houses Natives at Penn — as a space intended to foster belonging. He wrote that the center “is meant to be every Penn student’s home away from home.”
Programming included a senior goodbye for graduating members of Natives at Penn.
This story was originally published on April 28th in The Daily Pennsylvanian.
Writer: Moukthikadevi Kanakala
PVP raises awareness about interpersonal violence
Penn Violence Prevention hosted its annual Clothesline Project on Tuesday to highlight the impact of interpersonal violence.
The College Green display featured colorful shirts that members of the Penn community had painted with individual stories of interpersonal violence. The April 21 event was planned to coincide with Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
Reema Malhotra Phillips, PVP’s associate director for education and student support, told The Daily Pennsylvanian that the event is a “physical representation of survivorhood” and showcases “what it means to support someone who has experienced interpersonal violence.”
“It’s really important — not only to raise awareness of interpersonal violence within our communities — but to let folks know how different types of interpersonal violence can impact someone,” Malhotra Phillips continued.
Each shirt color corresponds with a different type of interpersonal violence. White, for example, represents death due to violence, while pink, red, and orange represent survivors of rape or childhood sexual abuse. The project aims to provide an “avenue for people to courageously share their stories” with the community, according to its description.
The display featured shirts, which PVP provides for attendees, from each annual clothesline event since the organization began hosting the initiative in 2022, according to Malhotra Phillips. She added that PVP organized this year’s display in collaboration with the Facilities and Real Estate Services, the Penn Women’s Center, and Wellness at Penn.
“We wanted there to be a yearly way for folks to engage with this content in a safe way,” Malhotra Phillips explained.
The Clothesline Project is a national initiative meant to “increase awareness of the impact of violence against women.” It began in 1990 with 31 shirts displayed in Cape Cod, Mass. Since then, it has grown to include over 500 displays across 41 states and 5 countries.
Malhotra Phillips emphasized the importance of such events in helping people “truly understand what the impacts of interpersonal violence could be for someone.”
“I want Penn students to know that it is okay to seek out help, no matter how small you may think the issue is,” she added.
PVP held several other events this month to raise sexual assault awareness — including a “Well, What Were You Wearing” art installation and “Teal Day of Action” on April 7. It was also involved in organizing the University’s annual Take Back the Night march earlier this month in collaboration with Penn Abuse and Sexual Assault Prevention.
This story was originally published on April 23rd in The Daily Pennsylvanian.
Writer: Moukthikadevi Kanakala
Penn South Asian dance team wins first national title
This story was originally published on April 23rd in The Daily Pennsylvanian.
Writer: Ananya Karthik
Penn Dhamaka won the Desi Dance Network national circuit last weekend, marking the first time the University’s all-male South Asian fusion dance team has secured the title.
The April 18 victory capped a season of consistent first- and second-place titles for Dhamaka. The national circuit was hosted by DDN Inc., a platform founded in 2014 to support South Asian performing arts through competitions and conventions.
For Dhamaka members, the win represents a culmination of long-term planning amid a highly competitive national landscape.
“It’s something we’ve all dreamed about,” College senior and Dhamaka co-captain Krishna Khawani told The Daily Pennsylvanian, describing the win as “the highest level of achievement that you can get in South Asian competitive dance.”
The DDN circuit operates through a season-long structure. According to College sophomore Aditya Bala, teams first submit audition videos to individual competitions. Each competition typically selects around eight teams to advance, ranking each based on performance.
Shared Roots: PAACH unveils mural celebrating America 250
Penn’s Pan-Asian American Community House hosted its fourth annual mural unveiling on Wednesday.
The April 8 event featured speeches by several PAACH team members and an appearance from Penn President Larry Jameson. The mural, made by PAACH Associate Director and Filipino studies lecturer Vicky Faye Aquino, was created to celebrate United States’ semiquincentennial and Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in May.
“The entire point of these unveilings is to build this community and create a safe space for people to feel like they belong in any sort of way,” PAACH programming assistant and College sophomore Kelly Chen told The Daily Pennsylvanian.
At the event, Aquino explained that the artwork was meant to “highlight” Penn’s “thriving” South Asian and Central Asian communities.
“We want them to be more visible — not just through words or events — but literally through art and thought,” Aquino told the DP.
The mural — “Shared Roots: A Community Tree of 250 Mandalas” — is made from individual drawings of 250 mandalas that are arranged to form a tree. Mandalas, according to Aquino, symbolize “wholeness, balance, and connection.”
PAACH hosted two coloring events earlier this semester where Aquino and over 100 members of the Penn community drew mandalas for the mural.
Aquino told the DP that the purpose of involving several people in the mural’s creation was to showcase “the beauty of the individual contributions” which came together to “form something larger, vibrant, and meaningful.”
“When we make art as a group, we address who we are — recognizing our interconnectedness, the community tree,” Aquino said during the event. “From afar, the mural may appear as a single, unified tree, but up close, you can see the uniqueness of each piece that reflects the authenticity of the person who made it.”
Aquino added that the number of mandalas were a reference to America’s 250th anniversary, and a way to “acknowledge the importance of the Asian presence and the Asian immigrants who have also shaped and built America.”
This marks the fourth mural Aquino has unveiled for PAACH’s annual celebrations. Aquino’s past murals — which remain on display at the organization’s hub — feature flowers and a butterfly mural with flags representing Asian and Pacific Islander countries, and a mandala made from 1,000 paper cranes based on a tradition from a Japanese legend.
“I think it’s really good to expose yourself and expand your knowledge about other cultures,” College senior and event attendee Hina Sako said. “At events like this, you learn, but you also meet people through it.”
This story was originally published on April 9th in The Daily Pennsylvanian.
Writer: Moukthikadevi Kanakala
Photographer: Alan Doan
Here’s how Penn groups are celebrating Gender Equity Week this year
This story was originally published on March 25, 2026 in The Daily Pennsylvanian.
Writer: Moukthikadevi Kanakala
The week is comprised of nine events, many of which will be co-hosted by student groups and Penn organizations. Ahead of the programming, The Daily Pennsylvanian spoke to members of the PAGE team about their goals.
“Our goal is to get as many people energized as possible,” College junior and PAGE Chair Ashley Kim told the DP. “Gender Equity Week is really open to everybody and all lived experiences.”
Programming began on Monday with a zine-making dinner hosted in collaboration with the LGBT Center, followed by a Safe Sex Trivia Night co-hosted by PennFems and Penn Women’s Center. College first-year and PAGE Programming Chair Fernanda Portales said “it was really nice to see” people “willing to collaborate, start talking, and share about their lives” during the dinner.
Tuesday’s events included a Sustainable Period Workshop hosted with Penn Reproductive Justice — aimed at providing education on and distributing menstrual products — and a free Plan B distribution in partnership with the Women’s Center.
“Gender Equity Week is a great way of familiarizing yourself with the resources and the overall events that we try to have for the Penn community,” Portales said. “These events can bring you so much learning, whether or not you identify with the student body that we usually represent.”
Kim added that collaboration was a central focus in planning this year’s programming. PAGE partnered with multiple campus groups, including the Cultural Resource Centers and Penn’s minority coalition groups — commonly known as the 7B — to highlight various aspects of gender equity.
Penn Arts & Sciences Pathways: Luke Godsey, C’26
This story was originally published on March 16, 2026 in Penn Arts & Sciences.
Godsey, who grew up in the foothills of Appalachia, has gained new ways of connecting with their roots as a linguistics major at Penn.
“I do come from a place that is more cows than people, and Philadelphia is chock full of people,” says Luke Godsey, C’26, a linguistics major from Science Hill, Kentucky. After arriving at Penn as a Spanish and Biology double major, Godsey was drawn to linguistics; the work, especially research they did on Appalachian dialects to combat harmful stigmatizations, helped them feel more seen. In a particularly notable moment, Marlyse Baptista, President’s Distinguished Professor of Linguistics, reached out to them to join her research team. It was so influential that Godsey is now working toward a doctoral program in linguistics.
Outside of their studies, Godsey enjoys crocheting, quilting, and working at Penn’s Women’s Center, where they collaborated with a coworker, Tryphena (Vena) Zarief, C’25, to establish an art program called “What’s your Story?” that awards grants for students on campus. As their future unfolds, Godsey hopes to continue connecting with people and learning their stories: “I’ve just really learned the beauty of people.”
A quarter-century of supporting Asian Pacific Islander students
This story was originally published on November 26, 2025 in Penn Today.
Writer: Dan Shortridge
Twenty-five years ago, the Pan-Asian American Community House(PAACH) opened its doors as a space to support Penn’s Asian Pacific Islander student communities and anyone interested in their diverse cultures and experiences.
Since then, it has provided both a physical space and a support network for students from Asia and of Asian descent, offering comfort, advice, counseling, food, and just a place to relax.
PAACH is also a place for cultural events and community celebrations, including student mixers, local trips, and workshops covering food, festivals and art. The center also supports events such as Asian Pacific American Heritage Week and groups highlighting music, dance, theatre, and spirituality.
“I think all of the students would agree with me when I say that PAACH is almost like a second home,” says fourth-year Megan Chan, chair of the Asian Pacific Student Coalition. “It’s more than just a cultural center.”
Alumnus Franklin Shen, an early PAACH founder who graduated in 2003, says he welcomed the community atmosphere and support. “I could find food, community, advice, mentorship,” Shen says. “My parents never went to college, so there was information about financial aid, how to navigate university life, how to study. PAACH really helped fill the gaps.”
La Casa Latina hosts Phila. high schoolers for Día de los Muertos college readiness event
This story was originally published on November 3, 2025 in The Daily Pennsylvanian.
Writer: Liya Ma
On Oct. 30, La Casa Latina hosted a Día de los Muertos event for local high school students to celebrate the holiday and be introduced to college readiness resources.
Held at the ARCH, the event was attended by around 60 high school students from George Washington Carver High School of Engineering and Science and Howard Furness High School, as well as around 50 Penn community members. The event featured cultural celebrations as well as college insights from current Penn students and Emmanuel Martinez, the associate director of Scholarly & Professional Development at Penn First Plus.
Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a tradition celebrated in many Latin American cultures to “commemorate the lives of the dearly departed and to welcome the return of their spirits,” according to an article by the National Museum of the American Latino.
The Penn event, titled “Remembering Our Past, Building Our Futures,” began with an introductory presentation by Krista Cortes, the director of La Casa Latina. El Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan, a Mexican American-focused student organization, and Istmo y Vos, a Central American-focused student organization, sent volunteers to the event to talk with high school students.
1,000 Paper Cranes: PAACH unveils new mural
This story was originally published on April 28th 2025 in Penn Today.
Writer: Tina Rodia
Photographer: Eric Sucar
Members of Penn’s Pan-Asian American Community House (PAACH) unveiled a new mural ahead of Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month in the ARCH building at an event on April 16.
tudents, faculty, and staff members gathered in the lobby at Penn’s ARCH building, passing around baskets of small origami cranes. The month of May is Asian / Pacific American Heritage Month, and the Pan-Asian American Community House (PAACH) team holds its annual mural unveiling in April as a preview event for APA heritage month. “We host the celebration before the month of May, before students leave campus,” said Mei Long, director of PAACH.
Established by Congress in 1992, APA heritage month was designated in May in recognition of two historical events: the arrival of the first Japanese immigrant to the U.S. in May 1843, and the completion of the transcontinental railroad in May 1869. Standing beside the concealed mural before its reveal, Long explained why the railroad was significant: It was largely built by approximately 20,000 Chinese laborers. At its completion, the railroad cut travel time from New York to San Francisco from several months to just seven days.
“The railroad united the country and made a strong foundation for the economic prosperity in the years that followed,” said Long. “But the Chinese laborers suffered prejudice, abuse, significantly lower wages, and social isolation. The laborers organized strikes for better conditions.” These strikes, Long explained, “paved the way for labor rights that benefit all of us today.”Tina
Long offered another history lesson. “PAACH is celebrating 25 years in 2025, after Penn students called for an Asian Pacific Islander cultural resource center in 2000.”
The PAACH team—Long and associate directors Vicky Faye Aquino and Daniel Hoddinott, and program coordinator Cindy Au-Kramer—asked the crowd to form a circle, count to three, and then unveiled a large canvas with a central mandala. Looking closer, 1,000 paper cranes comprise the mandala, all intricately folded with decorative origami paper.
The mural, “1,000 Paper Cranes Mandala,” is the handiwork of Aquino. “On my first day at PAACH, I noticed tiny paper cranes hung from a pillar and they provided a warm and colorful welcome to the space,” she said. In planning and designing this year’s mural, Aquino chose to create 1,000 origami cranes by hand, alone, over the course of three months.
“In Japanese culture, cranes symbolize longevity and fortune. It is believed if you fold 1,000 cranes and make a wish, your wish will come true,” explained Aquino. “The cranes symbolize hope, healing, and strength in challenging times.”
Aquino chose to mount the cranes in the shape of a mandala, which means “sacred circle” in Sanskrit. “It became a meditation for me; it takes patience, dedication, and focus. I gave birth eight months ago, and I got to share the experience with my newborn daughter. She was strapped to me while I folded cranes.”
“Despite the kind offers I accepted no help,” she added. “I was committed to doing it myself so I can have my wish granted. I’m grateful for the opportunity to bring the community together through art. Like a paper crane, we are shaped by each fold, delicate yet resilient, grounded in patience and possibility. So, give yourself a challenge, commit to it, and pour your heart into it a thousand times.”
Aquino then asked everyone to close their eyes, make a wish, and whisper it to the paper crane. After they opened their eyes, Aquino revealed her wish: “My wish is that all your wishes come true.”
Weitzman Student & Alum Designate Penn’s Oldest Property to Philadelphia Historic Register
Ke-An Chiang (MSHP’25), uncovered the 250-year history of the Greenfield Intercultural Center at 3708-12 Chestnut Street, which served several families as a suburban villa before being acquired by the University in 1982.
The building that houses Penn’s Greenfield Intercultural Center has been listed on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places, thanks to a nomination authored by Ke-An Chiang, a Master of Science in Historic Preservation (MSHP) student at Weitzman.
Built circa 1845, the Reed-Hubley Residence, a 3-story villa at 3708-12 Chestnut Street, is believed to be the oldest building owned by the University of Pennsylvania, outside of Hospital properties.
Chiang conducted original historical research for the nomination in the Fall 2023 semester of HSPV 6000 Documentation, Research, and Recording I, taught by Francesca Ammon, associate professor of city and regional planning and historic preservation; Kecia Fong, senior lecturer in historic preservation; and the late Aaron Wunsch, an associate professor of historic preservation.
The instructors then passed Chiang’s final paper on to Amy Lambert, a preservation alum from 2016 who serves as the president of the board for the University City Historical Society (UCHS). UCHS sponsored the nomination for submittal to the Philadelphia Historical Commission, which voted unanimously to designate the property on March 15.
Ke Feng (MArch’98), senior architect in the Office of the University Architect, spoke at the Historical Commission meeting on behalf of the University. “We’re very happy and grateful for this nomination,” he said, “so we support that designation to the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places.”
Site designation is one of the fundamental tools of historic preservation at the local, state, and national levels. Nominations document the historic significance of their subject property and, if approved, can afford those properties protections going forward.
Developing historical arguments for the significance of sites is the core of the Documentation I course. In her nomination, Chiang argues that the structure merited designation because it stylistically reflects a suburban aesthetic preference during a rapidly industrializing period, and exemplifies the moment Greek Revival architecture began to turn toward the Italianate.
Further, she argues that it is emblematic of the changing social history as the area developed as a “streetcar suburb” in the late 1800s, a new urban form enabled by the burgeoning technology of the rail-born horse-drawn streetcars. Chiang combined original deed research at the City Archives with historic newspapers to craft a narrative about the people who occupied 3708 Chestnut.
“I live on Chestnut Street, so I saw that building a lot,” Chiang remembers. “But I never thought that I could dig into the history so much and find an argument for the building. I did have fun in putting all these together.”
“Documentation I is a foundational course for all historic preservation students,” notes Ammon. “Whether they intend to focus on materials-based conservation, adaptive or new designs in historic settings, preservation planning, or the public history side of the field, our graduates will all need to know how to research the history of a building, site, or neighborhood. This course equips them with the archivally-based research skills to establish that starting point.”
Each year, course instructors select a focus neighborhood in Philadelphia. 2023 students’ properties clustered around Spruce Hill, a West Philadelphia neighborhood with the largest intact collection of Victorian architecture in the country.
In addition to the excess of historic character, the neighborhood selection was strategic in its timing: that October, Spruce Hill Civic Association (SHCA) submitted an historic district nomination for the third time in almost four decades. In July 2024, the Southeast Spruce Hill Historic District, nominated in partnership with UCHS, was designated to the local Register, safeguarding all properties within its boundaries from demolition.
Most of the other HSPV 6000 students’ properties will likely be protected under the auspices of this or a further three proposed historic districts within Spruce Hill. 3708 Chestnut is not within those boundaries and held the potential for designation based upon its individual significance. The property therefore warranted an individual nomination.
Wunsch, a former resident of Spruce Hill, knew about the neighborhood’s upcoming designation effort, which was launched in response to increased demolition and gentrification to the north.
Ammon explains, “Aaron had been keeping a running list of buildings in the area that could possibly merit designation based upon their architectural significance. As our students dug into these properties, however, they oftentimes uncovered meaningful social and cultural stories that went beyond architecture alone, demonstrating the many rich layers of history embodied in the built environment all around us.”
