Penn Glee Club becomes fully gender inclusive
Penn Glee Club becomes fully gender-inclusive after 159 years of all-male singers. In a merger with the Penn Sirens, the chorus will add soprano and alto voices and be open to singers of all genders.
The University of Pennsylvania Glee Club and the Penn Sirens have decided to merge their choral groups, meaning that for the first time since its founding 159 years ago the Glee Club will include singers of all genders and will perform repertoire for soprano and alto voices, in addition to tenor and bass, and for all four voice parts.
In the final step in a yearslong process to make the Glee Club fully gender-inclusive, currently active members voted unanimously Friday afternoon to approve an amendment to the Club’s constitution and by-laws to allow singers of all genders and all voice parts.
“It’s a milestone day for sure; we are all really excited. It’s quite the accomplishment for all of us. It’s incredible that it’s done. It’s one for the history books,” said senior Jake Milner, Glee Club president, minutes after the vote.
“This merger will provide amazing performance opportunities to all Penn students and creates a more inclusive performing arts community,” says junior Marina Dauer, Sirens President.
“The Penn Glee Club and Penn Sirens—two student groups near and dear to my heart who often perform at our most coveted celebrations on campus—have decided to merge, singing a most beautiful song of their commitment to gender inclusivity,” says President Amy Gutmann. “This change is historic, as the all-male choir component of Penn Glee Club is almost 160 years old. Both groups have exhibited enormous care, with the thoughtful direction of advisers and leaders at Penn, during the process of making this transformative shift, and I am proud to see where they’ve landed.”
MaskUPenn: A year of mask-wearing in pictures
Following CDC guidelines and campus mandates, the Penn community put their best face coverings forward for a masked photo series.
From cotton, cotton blend, plain black, floral, or even bedazzled, the ubiquity of face masks on Penn’s campus throughout the pandemic has marked the commitment of the community to do its part to keep everyone safe. The CDC called on all Americans to mask up to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in 2020, and Penn responded with guidelines making masks mandatory on campus. In response, faculty, staff, and students who remained in the city all masked up. While every member of the Penn community received Penn mask compliments of the Division of Human Resources, masks doubled as both necessity and accessory. And accessories often dazzle or express the whimsy of the wearer.
Eric Sucar, University Photographer, put together an amazing photo gallery of our community masking up.
Performing Arts Council Executive Team Video
The students from the Platt Performing Arts Council Executive Team put together a video demonstrating the struggle the community has endured.
Commemorating a Challenging Year
To mark one year since COVID-19 changed our lives, we honor the essential workers within our entire Penn Community for their selfless work and dedication. We also look to the future with hope and optimism for brighter days ahead.
Supporting Penn’s Asian community
A year marked by the global pandemic was also marked by anti-Asian xenophobia, evidenced most recently in the Atlanta shootings. The Trump administration’s reaction to COVID-19…
In response, the University launched the Task Force on Supporting Asian and Asian American Students and Scholars at Penn in April 2020, affirming its commitment to diversity and anti-discrimination. As part of the task force, Van Do has been working with Penn Global and Pablo Cerdera, associate director for restorative practices at Penn, to hold healing spaces for Asian and Asian American populations.
COVID-19 and Women in the Workforce
Sherisse Laud-Hammond, director, Penn Women’s Center
It is very difficult to juggle being a parent while working from home in the same space as your child, who is stressed out or frustrated with online learning, in addition to the social emotional piece with not being able to have playdates with friends.
Parents have also had to figure out childcare to support their children in their own home. Many people don’t think about how hard it is to work a full-time job and parenting through a pandemic. You have children with computer and Zoom connection issues—while in the middle of an important meeting. What if you are a parent who is a frontline worker or a single parent with no childcare? Thanks to GSWS [Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies] and Penn, many parent employees were offered a grant to subsidize these costs, but unfortunately, many other women have dropped out of the workforce or become unemployed. Women’s jobs are more vulnerable and women are leaving the job market with increased childcare burdens.
There is also the health component. Reproductive health service appointments were canceled or delayed because of the pandemic. Women are also at greater risk of domestic violence.
Giving grace to other people and having grace for yourself is the most important tool through this pandemic.
University Life Technology Services Team wins Models of Excellence
The Models of Excellence Award program celebrates the extraordinary achievements of full- and part-time staff across the University’s schools and centers. The program helps Penn staff feel more connected to the University’s successes. It positively affects not only those who are recognized, but also their fellow nominees, those who submit nominations and references, the people who work with the honorees, and the honorees’ families and friends—all of whom are invited to the springtime award ceremony and reception.
New for 2021 only, the Sustaining Penn Through COVID-19 Award will shine a light on those individuals or teams that contributed directly to creating extraordinary outcomes for the Penn community. They may include those who serve in roles maintaining life-sustaining on-campus services and support, delivering mission-critical programs and services from their homes, finding new ways to work safely onsite, and improving the morale and well-being of students, staff, and faculty at a time of need.
The University Life Technology Services Team—working on behalf of the larger Penn community, in addition to its divisional obligations—securely administers the COVID-19 tests that enable Penn to keep students, staff, and faculty as safe and healthy as possible. The University Life Technology Services team’s support of the departments in University Life allows students to receive seamless care and support with minimal disruption to their student experience.
The Technology Services Team consists of:
- Charles Bears
- Eric Bowden
- Robert J. Butler
- Weining Guo
- Gregory Kinter
- Nasrin Mani
- Steven Rosato
- Mary Spada
- Jordan Springer
Penn Women’s Center Director makes history as first Black woman to hold post
Sherisse Laud-Hammond is a modern-day pioneer at the University of Pennsylvania. She’s the first Black woman to lead the Penn Women’s Center, one of the oldest women’s centers in the country.
It was founded in 1973, and for more than 40 years the organization has been at the forefront of women’s rights.
“I’m the first but that’s because of many firsts before me,” Laud-Hammond said. “I think of Sadie T. Alexander, who was the first woman to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.”
While the center remained closed during the pandemic, she kept the mission going virtually.
Through Zoom, the women’s center conducted various psychological, financial and legal workshops. Laud-Hammond said it was also an outlet where students, staff and the greater community could have fun during a challenging time.
Penn Women’s Center held cooking workshops and even webinars that focused on meditation. It also served as a bright spot for new and expecting mothers. The center offers help for everything from breastfeeding workshops to childcare advice
But Laud-Hammond said one of the biggest focuses during the pandemic has been the gender wage gap. She said right now that issue is crucial when unemployment has significantly impacted women the hardest.
Penn Women’s Center has also focused a lot on the racial divide throughout the country sparked by the death of George Floyd. Laud-Hammond said the center continues to serve as a safe haven for everyone.
“With inclusivity that means intersectionality, and so whomever comes to our doors, this is a brave space for them, where their identity is never questioned,” she said.
Laud-Hammond has been on the job for a little more than two years. She said, in her eyes, being able to help others has always been a passion.
She looks forward to serving more of the community in the future. The Penn Women’s Center is about to undergo major renovations, which she believes will attract more people to their mission.
2021 Women of Color at Penn Awards
On March 19, the Women of Color at Penn honored the award winners whose work has promoted education, cultural diversity, and positive change on campus and in the world. The Staff award went to Sherisse Laud-Hammond from the Penn Women’s Center.
Sherisse Laud-Hammond is the director of the Penn Women’s Center (PWC). In this role, she supports students, staff, faculty, and all Penn community members through counseling and innovative programming related to women’s support and advocacy, gender equity, and interpersonal violence. Her exceptional leadership has transformed the physical space and the branding of the PWC to make it feel more welcoming. Her distinguished service has enabled her to positively affect the lives of students, faculty, and staff throughout the Penn family through increased programming.
Ms. Laud-Hammond has a longstanding record of being an effective collaborator at Penn, spearheading a Hurricane Katrina relief initiative, participating on the search committee for Open Mind for Africa, and advising students in multiple dual degree programs. A Philadelphia native, she is a longtime member of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and a board member of Inspiring Minds Greater Philadelphia, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to engage, inspire and empower youth to reach their full potential through education. Because of her contribution to the Penn and Philadelphia community, we recognize her with the Women of Color Staff Award.
Weingarten counselor and Penn grad reflects on race, religion in an upcoming book of poetry
After grappling with the impact of COVID-19, the Trump administration, and numerous shootings of Black men, Weingarten Learning Resources Center counselor Gabriel Angrand is publishing his second book of poetry on Feb. 26.
In his book, titled “Love, God,” Angrand reflects on love, race, gender, religion, and social issues. Angrand said many of his poems come from thoughts he has had following the shooting deaths of many Black men, including Ahmaud Arbery and Walter Wallace Jr. in Philadelphia. As a 2017 College graduate and a 2018 Graduate School of Education graduate, Angrand also reflects on his role in educating youth at Weingarten at age 25.