In reaction to a DP column about racism students have been silently protesting racism at Penn on the Green since noon. Inspired by the Day of Silence, protesters created a movement (and a tumblr) entitled We Belong and will remain silent for the rest of the day. All members of the Penn community, regardless of race, are encouraged to join while wearing all black.
Whether you support the protest or not, it’s always inspiring when Penn kids care about something other than Hey Day.
Leave your thoughts on the protest in the comments. Got pictures of the protest? See some after the jump and send them to tips@underthebutton.com.
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Outside McDonald’s this afternoon, a bunch of Little People in chicken costumes marched in circles chanting, “I am not a nugget!” while their fellow PETA protesters gave out pamphlets for McCruelty.com and shouted, “Cluck you, McDonald’s!” Also, they appeared to all emerge from a giant pink SUV stretch limo. None of this is an exaggeration. More photos after the jump.
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Last year's protest on Dec. 7, 2009
They can’t get enough of Penn, it seems! The Westboro Baptists, the protest group that fervently pickets against homosexuality and Jewish organizations (again, a shocker they love it so much around these parts), are coming to campus on Saturday, according to their website, GodHatesFags.com. What’s irking them this time? They’re protesting Annenberg’s production of The Laramie Project, the critically acclaimed and well-known play that tells the story of the hate-crime murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay student. From November 11 – 13, the theater is putting on productions of The Laramie Project and an update on the play called The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later.
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Sometimes, when McDonald’s only serves Filet-O-Fish and burnt fries past 12 a.m., we’re like, “yeah, a protest sounds great right now.” We thought Pretenders singer Chrissie Hynde totally felt us on that one, but apparently she’s coming here today on a larger mission.
According to this Livejournal post (do we even need to ask– okay, fine– who on earth still uses Livejournal?), the rock star will be gracing our presence on PETA’s time. She’s gathered a solid force of 10 “yes” RSVPs on Facebook (there we go, normal social media) to protest McDonald’s cruelty toward chickens from 12 p.m. – 1 p.m.
The abuses they cite do sound pretty gross, but really? Our McDonald’s runs out of chicken nuggets half the time anyways. Pick your battles.
via @HebrUPenn
You’ve likely heard by now that members of the Westboro Baptist Church, a group known for its fervent anti-homosexual and anti-Jewish sentiments, is scheduled to picket in front of Hillel on campus at 11:30 a.m.
In peaceful protest, Hillel is hanging a banner that says “We Support Diversity” with logos from over 100 campus organizations and the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity is hosting a Tolerance BBQ on its lawn adjacent to Hillel. Organizers at Penn have stressed that the Church makes money by suing counter-protesters who attack its members, so engaging these people is not something you want to do. Head on over to 39th and Locust soon to be part of the action.
We’ll have recaps during and after the whole ordeal, so check back for updates later. As always, we’d love to see your photos, videos and accounts of the event, so send ‘em on over.
Seems like Philadelphia police have had it up to HERE with you kids and your fancy no-training-wheels-bicycles. DP Photographer Pete Lodato sent us this warning:
Here’s a bit of a heads up for bikers at both Penn and throughout Philly: get ready for a crackdown. While pedaling up 40th Street, I was lucky enough to be warned by a Penn police officer of the impending shake-up. Apparently, there are a lot of really awful bikers who don’t like to follow the rules of the road, and as a result, Philly police are going to start issuing citations to bikers who run red lights and use sidewalks instead of the street. In addition, the city council is also debating on a bike-registration system to help track problematic bikers and repeat offenders.
Follow the rules of the road, guys. Or: protest! Our friends at the local Fox affiliate reported yesterday on a Philadelphia Bike Messenger Association protest of the crackdown. The couriers say it shows a “rise of an anti-cycling climate in our city.” How do you guys feel about this? Has anyone been pulled over? Hit us up in the comments.
We think Philadelphia taxis are trying to say something, but all we hear are the sounds of their tooting horns. Hoards of Philadelphia cabs are parading down Market Street (near City Hall), honking. Since their protest signs (displayed on their dashboards) are too small to see from the surrounding office buildings, we aren’t quite sure what the cabbies want. Some shoddy photos of the scene from an office building on 15th and Market can be found after the jump. If you know what’s up, let us know in the comments.
UPDATE: According to Philebrity: “Taxi drivers are protesting a rash of PPA ticketing and, of course, credit card payments.”
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Finals have been kicking our collective ass, but the news never sleeps. Here’s all the dish you need, in convenient digest form:
Image credit: The Clog
- Oh look, Penn is once again the setting for a perfunctory “college graduates can’t find jobs” article, this time on NPR. Especially ridiculous considering the abundant opportunities available on PennLink — didja know that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is hiring Correctional Officers, and you can earn up to $73,000 a Year? Get those resumes in, people!
- Notice any angry dudes outside Gia today? The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America is boycotting Gia Pronto because the company is opening another store in Philly and is using a contracter that supposedly pays substandard wages. Somehow we don’t think a whole lot of sorority girls moonlight as construction workers. Unless it’s Halloween, in which case: plaid + toolbelt + cutoffs = slutty construction workers.
- This year’s College graduation speaker and Penn alum John Legend made the 2009 Time 100, and he’s also featured in a video recap of the Time 100 gala. We wish he would come out with another song, ’cause we’re running out of ways to make “Ordinary People” puns.
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In reaction to a DP column about racism students have been silently protesting racism at Penn on the Green since noon. Inspired by the Day of Silence, protesters created a movement (and a tumblr) entitled We Belong and will remain silent for the rest of the day. All members of the Penn community, regardless of race, are encouraged to join while wearing all black.
