Wellness Win: Penn to Remove Mirrors From Van Pelt

Finally, a step to improve mental health at Penn! The administration just announced a new policy that would require mirrors to be covered or removed in every bathroom of Van Pelt. The reasoning behind this decision was based on a study by Penn psychologists which found that students were more likely to have negative feelings after viewing themselves in the mirror mid-study session.

Lead researcher on the study, Paul Jenson, said “In this case, as in many other cases in life, it’s just better not to know. They do say ignorance is bliss.”

Amy Schwarz (C ‘22) gave her input on the decision: “Yeah I guess it’s probably for the best. Whenever I’d go to the bathroom in the middle of a long study period I’d have mascara running down my face from all the tears. Then when I go back to studying I have the newfound knowledge that I’m stupid and ugly.”

Jonathan Gary (E ‘21) agreed. “When I go to the bathroom in Van Pelt I pretty much always look like an anvil just fell on my face. I mean I don’t know what I was expecting–I feel like an anvil just fell on my face.”