All Eyes Are on University of Pennsylvania Encampment

A woman walks by the encampment of protesters at the University of Pennsylvania on Saturday. (Getty Images)

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All Eyes Are on University of Pennsylvania Encampment

Protests and encampments at colleges and universities have grown in recent weeks in response to the war in Gaza. Hundreds of arrests have been reported. Some schools have canceled classes and graduation events. And here in Philadelphia, all eyes are on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania.

Protesters began an encampment at the University of Pennsylvania last Thursday. They’re calling for Penn to disclose any financial ties the school has to Israel and to divest of any Israeli financial interests.

Since then, officials have told the protesters at the University of Pennsylvania to leave. They haven’t. University of Pennsylvania police will reportedly begin asking those at the encampment for ID. And it sounds like the protesters have no intention of producing any. There have also been counterprotests.

University of Pennsylvania leaders haven’t had much to say publicly on the matter. And City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, who represents that part of the city, says that interim University of Pennsylvania president J. Larry Jameson hasn’t responded to a single one of her repeated calls, with a staffer confirming that she still hadn’t heard from Jameson as of Monday morning.

This morning, I reached out to the University of Pennsylvania to learn more about the school’s plans for the encampment.

“After many efforts to engage the protestors, the Interim President and Provost met with several student and faculty protestors Saturday night to hear their concerns. They reiterated to the protestors the importance of complying with Penn’s policies, which are designed to support open expression, while ensuring the safety of all on our campus,” wrote a university spokesperson. “Last night, representatives from Open Expression communicated Penn’s identification policies and informed the protestors of their obligation to comply with these policies.”

For an opinionated perspective on what’s happening at the University of Pennsylvania and other colleges, check out this ominous piece from Inquirer columnist Will Bunch: “Storming Colleges with Riot Cops to Keep Them ‘Safe’ Should Scare America About What’s Next.”

In John Fetterman Clothing News…

Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman and his wife, Gisele Barreto Fetterman, attended the White House Correspondents’ Dinner over the weekend. Gisele showed up in a lovely number she most likely acquired at a thrift or resale shop. (FYI: That’s not a diss; she loves thrifting.) And he showed up in, well …

(Getty Images)

Don’t ever change, John.

And You Thought YOU Had a Candy Crush Problem

Police have arrested a Chester County priest, charging him with stealing more than $40,000 from a church. And what did he allegedly do with the money? Well, according to police, he spent much of it on cell-phone games. Among his favorites? Candy Crush.

By the Numbers

4th: Placement of the University of Pennsylvania’s law school on the latest U.S. News ranking of law schools. Penn tied with Harvard, the University of Virginia, and Duke University. As for the rest of our law schools: Villanova, 48; Temple, 54; and Drexel, 75.

29.9: Average age of women having babies in Pennsylvania these days. That number has steadily increased over the past 25 years.

$13.45 million: Asking price for the storied Albermarle estate in Villanova. Yes, $13.45 million is a lot of money. But it’s a real bargain when you consider that the asking price was $25 million in 2012. Talk about a discount!

And From the Oh-So-Close Sports Desk …

Starters for Game 4 in the home-court playoff series vs. the Knicks on Sunday afternoon were Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris, Tyrese Maxey, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Kyle Lowry, and the house was raucous. Joel looked strong from the start and much looser than in other playoff games, while the Knicks’ shooting was frigid; at the close of the first quarter, we were up 27-17. Joel took a breather in the second, and the Knicks tied it and then went ahead, 34-32, mid-quarter as Jalen Brunson had the hot hand. Luckily, Maxey started hitting, Joel came back in, Josh Hart picked up a third foul — and at the half, we were up, just barely, 49-47. Boban Bogdanovic was out of the game with an ankle contusion, courtesy of Nico Batum.

Beautiful out, perfect day to stay inside and get mad as shit about basketball.

— Rob Wesley (@eastwes) April 28, 2024

In the third, Hart got hit with a fourth foul, and the Sixers battled back to a 10-point lead. But they got sloppy toward the quarter’s end, with three straight turnovers. Isaiah Hartenstein fouled Embiid for his fourth, and Brunson and Embiid started trading treys. And a fifth on Hartenstein, all in the third quarter! Oh hell — Joel blocked Brunson and went down hard, clutching his knee. And we were down, 77-76, to start the final frame. Brunson had headed to the locker room, though he came back out to the bench and then back into the game. But the Sixers couldn’t get it going and could not buy a rebound. There was a wild and woolly final minute, not in a good way, as we went 0-for-10 down the stretch. Final score: 97-92. Damn. Back to Madison Square Garden we go, down three games to one.

How’d the Phillies Do?

Aaron Nola got the start on Friday night in San Diego, and Kyle Schwarber very kindly gifted him a lead-off home run in the first. OMG, the Padres’ City Connect uniforms are … how should I put this politely? Gaudy AF! After Schwarbs, Alec Bohm whacked a two-out double — he’d doubled in 10 straight games. J.T. Realmuto walked, and Brandon Marsh doubled Bohm home. Padres starter Joe Musgrove was not having fun.

There were Phils fireworks in the third, as Bryce Harper homered, Realmuto doubled, and Marsh and Castellanos went yard back-to-back: 6-0 lead! The Phils didn’t let up; in the fourth, Trea Turner dolloped a single and stole second, precipitating a pitching change. Bohm singled Turner in, and it was 7-1. After that, our bats were fairly quiet until the seventh, when Bohm singled (yawn) and Realmuto homered off Tom Cosgrove. Man, ballparks don’t get much quieter than Petco Park was. Nola gave up a one-on homer in the seventh to Graham Pauley, but he made it through the inning and the eighth as well. It was Seranthony Dominguez for the ninth, and he got it done. A 9-3 win — whee!

On Saturday night, we were still in Cali, with the Padres in much more attractive outfits. In the first inning, after Turner singled, Bohm did this to starter Dylan Cease:

Alec Bohm is hitting .354, has an 11-game hit streak, and is on pace for 144 RBI’s pic.twitter.com/k6Qzno1FPZ

— Eagles Fan Central (@EagleFanCentral) April 28, 2024

Ranger Suárez took the mound for us with that two-run cushion, and he was doing fine. In the fifth, a Whit Merrifield single, a Schwarber walk and a Turner single, all with two outs, loaded the bases for Bryce Harper, who also walked, costing Cease another run. Bohm at bat! He singled another two in, and Realmuto just missed a homer to end it all.

Castellanos stole a hit from Azocar in the bottom of the sixth with a spectacular catch at the wall, helping Ranger reach 31 consecutive scoreless innings. The Padres brought Adrian Morejon on to pitch the seventh, and Turner promptly doubled. He got to third on a Harper ground-out, and here came Bohm, with Turner at third. This time, he popped out. Hey, nobody’s perfect! Well, except maybe Ranger, who racked up his 32nd straight. But a two-out solo homer by Eguy Rosario in the eighth put an end to that. Jeff Hoffman, in for the ninth and struck out the side. Woo!

And on Sunday? It was another long-ball haul, as a Bryson Stott homer after Castellanos walked put us up 2-0 in the second. Taijuan Walker, starting for us for the first time this season, had this nifty (lucky?) double play.

Here’s Scott Franzke on the mic for Taijuan Walker’s unbelievable play in the second. (via @_piccone) pic.twitter.com/XhBg5SHbz1

— Phillies Nation (@PhilliesNation) April 28, 2024

But Jake Cronenworth gave the Padres the leg up in the third with a three-run homer. Never fear; in the fourth, Castellanos walked, and Stott homered. Again! His first-ever multi-homer game. Bohm chipped in a single followed by a Realmuto homer to make it 6-3 Phils. We got another run in the seventh on a Schwarber single, a wild pitch, a Harper walk, and a Realmuto single. But Walker allowed a walk, a single and a homer to Luis Campusano in the Padres half to cut the lead to 7-6. That brought on Jeff Hoffman, who ended the frame.

In the eighth, after Marsh singled, Stott got to first on a fielder’s choice, stole second, and scored on Johan Rojas’s ground-rule double: 8-6. Yunior Marte, in for the eighth, got burned by a Bohm error but then got three straight outs, and José Alvarado got three straight in the ninth. Another win for us! The Phils are in L.A. tonight against the Angels, with a 9:38 start.

Any Doop News?

The Union hosted Real Salt Lake at Subaru Park on Saturday night under cloudy skies, and it was an even match until Salt Lake scored first, on a strike deflected by goalie Andre Blake that bounced in. But five minutes into the second half, Dániel Gazdag made a lovely goal to tie it up:

https://twitter.com/PhilaUnion/status/1784385035614794095

There was some shoving and jawboning 10 minutes later, naturally involving José Martínez, and Jakob Glesnes and Brayan Vera got hit with yellow cards. Salt Lake’s Matt Crooks got one as well, five minutes after that. Temper, temper, guys! And then a fourth yellow on Salt Lake in the 74th minute. Then one on Julián Carranza for us, three minutes after that. And then, in the 88th minute, a killer Salt Lake goal from a million yards out. Boogers. Seven minutes of overage, though. A final yellow on Alejandro Bedoya, and it was in the books: a 2-1 loss for the Union, their first home loss in more than a year.

All Philly Today sports coverage is provided by Sandy Hingston.