People Who Went to Penn: Frank Luntz

Political drama at Penn is hardly a new phenomenon, as Penn alum and political consultant Frank Luntz knows. This well-known politico studied History and Political Science at Penn before going on to receive his Ph.D. in politics from Oxford University. Luntz regularly appears on shows including the Colbert Report, Good Morning America, and Meet the Press, and also writes op-eds for publications like the New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

While Luntz is currently known for his work as a Republican party strategist, he was also an adjunct professor at Penn between 1989 and 1993. Luntz stirred up political drama in a typical Penn fashion when he challenged the students in his class to run in Undergraduate Assembly election (putting our dreaded midterms in some perspective). When the Nomination and Elections Committee objected to Luntz's assignment, he made it known that he just DGAF, saying, "I will not fuck up my class by buckling to the NEC."

The university eventually cancelled his classes two years later, which Luntz blames on a poll he published that described Penn as the Ivy with the lowest quality academics and the highest promiscuity. Between controversies over the democratic process and the high DFMO rate, it appears that not much has changed since Luntz's time at Penn.