Penn to Introduce PennOpen Pass+ For High-Paying Red Passes

Amid endless financial struggles for the University, Penn has found a new, sustainable revenue stream: PennOpen Pass+.

When students get red Passes, they’re normally restricted to their dorms or Sansom Place West. With Penn’s new subscription service, that all changes. For $50 a week, students with red Passes can go wherever they want: dining halls, other college houses, Center City — you name it. Not only is this a massive win for Penn administration, it also relieves a lot of the tension certain Penn students have been feeling.

“One of the biggest fears I’ve been having is that, if I’m out every weekend, when I catch COVID-19, I’ll have to spend like two weeks just by myself,” freshman Richie McMrich said. “With PennOpen Pass+, I really feel like my needs are met, and I’m glad that my other friends who haven’t caught COVID-19 yet won’t have to quarantine either. As for the other kids that get it and — for whatever reason — can’t get PennOpen Pass+, well, that’s tough luck. Maybe don’t go out being so COVID-19-unsafe when you know the consequences.”

On top of providing benefits for those paying for the subscription, Penn is also clamping down on students in isolation to make them more enticed to purchase it. From now on, those in isolation will have their PennCards deactivated so that they won’t have access to their respective bathrooms. For Penn, it’s a waiting game. Once their dorm is filled with urine/shit, they’ll have no choice but to tack on the extra $50 a week to their tuition.

Additionally, for $100 a week, students can purchase a PennOpen Pass+ VIP subscription, which lets those with red Passes opt out of wearing masks entirely. The University feels that this multi-tiered subscription model is the best way of doing the most amount of good for the “community at large.”