Drexel professor Adrienne Juarascio, a self-identified Hillary Clinton supporter, discovered Nov. 11 that her car, parked at 18th and Reed streets had been vandalized.

The words “It’s our p—- now, B—h,” were keyed across the passenger side door of her Toyota Camry.

This message is believed to be related to a 2005 video released Oct. 7, in which President-elect Donald Trump used similar language.

“I’m not sure [why I was targeted],” Juarascio, an assistant research professor with Drexel’s psychology department and also a licensed clinical psychologist, told PhillyVoice on Nov. 12.

“I am a big Hillary supporter and had signs at my house. Maybe somebody saw me get out of my car going home,” she continued.

There have been several incidents of vandalism since Nov. 8 when Trump won the presidential election, defeating Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

Two graffiti swastikas appeared on a storefront at 1300 S. Broad St. the morning of Nov. 9, one of which was used in place of the “T” in the spray-painted “TRUMP.”

Also on Nov. 9, “Trump Rules,” “Trump Rules Black Bitch” and “T” were spray-painted onto one house and three cars on the 900 block of South Sixth Street.

Similar graffiti has been produced through digital means.

On Nov. 11, several African American students at the University of Pennsylvania were invited to join a GroupMe titled “N—– Lynchings.” A student from the University of Oklahoma has since been suspended in connection to this event.

During a “60 Minutes” segment aired Nov. 13, Trump told his supporters to halt their harassment of marginalized groups.

“I am so saddened to hear that,” he said when informed of the harassment encountered by Latinos and Muslims. “And I say, ‘Stop it.’ If it — if it helps, I will say this, and I will say right to the cameras: ‘Stop it.’”

“[T]he silver lining I’ve seen over the past few days,” Juarascio told Philly Voice. “[Is that] more people want to get involved in politics and their communities. More people want to help keep Philly a safe place.”

Drexel University President John A. Fry announced in an email Oct. 28 that Aramark will be replacing SodexoMagic as the University’s food service provider, effective Dec. 11.

Aramark, which is a Fortune 200 company, is a based out of Center City, Philadelphia and provides food service to multiple colleges and universities across the U.S.

“Aramark leaders assure us that, as a company, they strive to provide their customers with the best possible quality and service,” Fry wrote in the email.

Drexel terminated its contract with SodexoMagic Sept. 20, ending a 21-year partnership. At the time, Drexel did not comment on whether current employees would be retained.

“Aramark has contacted some supervisors and managers with offers of continued employment,” Robert Freiling, recording secretary and business agent for the Teamsters Union Local No. 115, told The Triangle Oct. 27 via an email correspondence.

It is still unknown whether or not other SodexoMagic employees will be retained by Aramark.

Kim Post The Triangle

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and her running mate Tim Kaine held a rally Saturday Oct. 22 in University City to encourage attendees to vote on their behalf.

The event took place at the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Park, and Kaine took the stage first around 9:30 p.m. He started off by explaining the importance of the democratic party winning the state of Pennsylvania in the general election, referring to it as a “checkmate state.”

“If we win here, you can guarantee it, take it to the bank, Hillary Clinton will be the next president,” Kaine said.

He then offered his endorsement of Katie McGinty, the Democratic Party’s candidate for Pennsylvania senator, who is currently locked in a neck-and-neck battle with Republican incumbent Pat Toomey. The RealClearPolitics polling average as of Oct. 19 has Toomey polling at 44.8 and McGinty at 43.0.

Kaine lauded Clinton’s performance in the Oct. 19 debate.

“Hillary showed us stamina, backbone, guts, courage, preparation, knowledge, experience, judgment, but especially the grace and the poise and the temperament that we want in a president of the United States,” Kaine said.

He mentioned that Trump had cast doubt upon Clinton’s stamina, but argued that Trump was in fact the one who lacked stamina during the debate.

“She was ready to go…but Donald looked like he just had to get back to start tweeting out more insults,” Kaine continued.

Kaine also criticized Trump’s reluctance to accept the outcome of the presidential election, even if he loses.

“Donald Trump has no trouble praising authoritarian leaders, like Vladimir Putin, but he won’t even defend the basic institutions of our democracy, like accepting the results of an election and having a peaceful transfer of power,” Kaine said

He continued to emphasize that a Trump loss would not be due to a rigged election, but rather the fact that the Republican candidate has alienated multiple demographics of voters.

“It was like after he spent the whole campaign insulting one group after the next, immigrants, women, Muslims, POWs, Gold Star family, African Americans, he got to the end of the campaign, and there was nobody left to insult,” Kaine said.

He transitioned into an endorsement of equal pay and treatment for women, citing important female figures in his life such as his wife, campaign managers, cabinet secretaries and more. He then posited that it was a woman’s turn to hold the highest office in the United States.

“Just isn’t it time, after 240 years of American history, 96 years after women got the right to vote when the constitution was changed — isn’t it about time that a woman should be president of the United States and our commander-in-chief?” Kaine said.

He concluded his speech by urging the audience to vote before introducing Clinton.

Clinton thanked the Daily Pennsylvanian for endorsing her. She also started her speech with words of support for McGinty and a recap of her performance in the third debate. Like Kaine, she criticized Trump for refusing to guarantee that he will accept the election results.

“Make no mistake, my friends. This poses a direct threat to our democracy,” Clinton said.

She then remarked that more people are currently registered to vote than ever before. In November 2012, 8,508,015 voters were registered in Pennsylvania. As of Oct. 24, 2016, that number has risen to 8,693,648.

“This could truly be the election that young people turned out in larger numbers than ever to make their votes and voices heard,” she said.

“What I think is happening is that people are coming together, Democrats, Republicans, and independents, all to reject hate and division that sets Americans against one another,” Clinton continued.

She then appealed to those in the audience who weren’t among her supporters, saying that she would advocate for them as well.

“I want to be your president too, and I will work for you, and I will fight for you as well. I believe we can disagree without being disagreeable,” she said.

Clinton criticized Trump for wanting to cut taxes for the wealthy, and for refusing to release his tax returns. She then pivoted towards her own plan to create more employment opportunities for Americans.

“We’re going to make the biggest investment in new jobs since World War II — infrastructure jobs, advanced manufacturing, technology, innovation, research, clean energy jobs,” she said.

In terms of education, she touched on several major issues. She expressed her intention to establish universal pre-kindergarten programs as well as apprenticeships and high school technical education programs. She also discussed her plans for modifying tuition at public colleges.

“Bernie Sanders and I got together and we worked out a plan that will make it possible for any student in a family that makes less than $125,000 a year to go to public college tuition free – and over that family income, to go debt free,” she said.

Kim Post The Triangle

She wrapped up with a final encouragement for the audience to vote, citing her positions on raising the minimum wage, equal pay, Planned Parenthood and gun control.

“Friends don’t let friends vote for Trump,” she said.

She ended the speech by entreating the audience to consider the future of the country.

“So think about the future we want, think about the future we can create, and remember, love trumps hate,” Clinton concluded.

The presidential election will take place Nov. 8. Registered voters can find their polling place at iwillvote.com. In Pennsylvania, polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Rachael Ferry, The Triangle

The union representing SEPTA workers voted overwhelmingly Oct. 16 to strike if a new contract is not reached by Oct. 31 — the date on which the current contract is set to expire.

The trolley lines and the Market-Frankford subway lines, which both have stops on Drexel University’s campus, would likely be affected by the strike. The Broad Street subway lines and SEPTA bus services would also be affected. Regional Rail lines, however, would not be impacted.

Nearly 5,000 employees of SEPTA are represented by the Transportation Workers Union Local 234. After voting to authorize a strike pending the contract expiration, the union also voted to determine whether or not a strike could be averted or at least delayed by extending the current contract.

Photo Courtesy: Adam Moreira

“It was made clear by the members and leadership that there would be no extension,” Jamie Horwitz, spokesman for the TWU, told philly.com.

The union claims that employees seek improvements to wages, health care, pensions and break time between shifts for vehicle operators. Willie Brown, president of TWU Local 234, said a lack of sufficient break times is leaving employees responsible for rider safety overworked and overtired.

“[Vehicle operators without enough break time between shifts] become a liability out there on the street,” Brown told philly.com.

The most recent strike by the TWU was in 2009 and lasted for one week. This coincided with the Phillies World Series games, and the nonfunctional transit lines caused citywide traffic jams.

Rachel Ferry, The Triangle

If the strike begins Nov. 1 and lasts more than a week, major transportation systems could be out of commission on Nov. 8, the day of the presidential election. This could be detrimental for voters relying on SEPTA to get to the polls.

“The parties continue to bargain to reach a new agreement,” Andrew Busch, SEPTA spokesperson, told philly.com. “While we hope that the union does not exercise its right to strike, we are focusing on reaching a new contract that’s in the best interest of our riders, employees and stakeholders.”

6ABC Action News received the statement as follows from SEPTA officials:

“Taking a strike vote in advance of contract expiration is not out of the ordinary. As you know, both parties exchanged proposals on July 13 and have continued to meet in negotiations since that time. We remain hopeful as we work to bargain an agreement in the best interest of our employees, riders and the public,” the statement read.

Negotiations between officials from the TWU and SEPTA are expected to continue throughout October.

Photo: Matt Coakley, The Triangle

Green Day returned to the greater Philadelphia area Sept. 29 for the first time in over three years to play at the Tower Theater in Upper Darby. Their last visit to the city was Temple University’s Liacouras Center in April 2013, when they were promoting their ill-fated album trilogy, “¡Uno!,” “¡Dos!” and “¡Tre!.” I was at that show too — frontman Billie Joe Armstrong was fresh out of rehab following a catastrophic performance at the 2012 iHeartRadio Music Festival, the album trilogy was a veritable dud in terms of sales and everyone in the audience was wondering what was next for the punk rock veterans. To this day I will contend that they played a good show, but something was off. The atmosphere was tense. Both the band and the audience seemed to be wondering, “Is this how Green Day ends? Not with a bang, but with an underwhelming album trilogy?”

It’s a question that, for the last three years, has remained largely unanswered. But last week at the Tower, every fan in the audience breathed a collective sigh of relief.

The five-time Grammy-winning trio jogged onto the stage to the theme song from “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” and were met with thunderous applause from the pit to the upper balcony. As the clapping subsided, they launched straight into “Bang Bang,” the first single for their upcoming album “Revolution Radio.” They followed that up with the album’s title song, but with the exception of “Still Breathing” and “Ordinary World” (which were played around the end of the show), that was it for the new releases — after that, they transitioned into over two hours of past hits spanning their entire career.

Armstrong is known for pulling audience members on stage to sing portions of songs, and he didn’t disappoint. For both “Know Your Enemy” and “Longview,” he hand-picked fans from the pit to sing the choruses before launching them off the stage to crowd surf.

As expected, they played a slew of songs from their two most popular albums — “American Idiot” and “Dookie.” “Holiday” and “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” were high-energy and effective crowd pleasers, though I preferred the lesser-known “Letterbomb.” They were also sure to include “Basket Case,” “When I Come Around,” “Welcome to Paradise” and several other 1994 hits that skyrocketed them from a garage band to a national sensation all those years ago.

My favorite part of Green Day shows is always when they play the deep tracks, and at times I could have sworn they were catering to me specifically. The inclusion of “Christie Road,” a heartfelt anthem of adolescent longing from their sophomore album “Kerplunk,” was a wonderful surprise. Armstrong’s voice has changed tremendously since the song was first recorded over two decades ago, but the emotion is still palpable in the way he delivers the melody. They also chose to play “Scattered,” a rather obscure song off of 1997’s “Nimrod” that tugs at your heartstrings with its sentimental nature, and I was thrilled to finally see it live. It’s been one of my favorites since I discovered Green Day as a 13-year-old eyeliner and teen-angst enthusiast, and I felt like I had a real (one-sided) moment with Armstrong when he announced it was one of his favorites as well.

“I really have been waiting a long time,” Armstrong sighed into the microphone during a beautiful performance of “Waiting” — an optimistic “Warning” single that also graces my favorites list. Was the comment an allusion to the band’s recent hardships, maybe the poor sales of the trilogy albums, the cancer diagnosis for touring guitarist Jason White and Armstrong’s struggles with sobriety? Was it a reference to Green Day’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last year after 25 long years as a band? Or am I reading ridiculously far into a passing comment at a fast-paced show? Believe what you want.

As per tradition, the band played a mashup of “King For a Day” and “Shout,” mixing in other covers like “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” and “Hey Jude.” It was a nice change of pace, as well as a reminder that even as the band moves in a new musical direction they refuse to abandon their past identity.

They ended the set with the ever-rousing “Minority,” but quickly came back out to perform four encore pieces. “American Idiot” was a hit with the crowd, but I was more excited when they followed it up with their nine-minute epic “Jesus of Suburbia.” Armstrong finished it off with two solo acoustic songs, “Ordinary World” and “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life).” I thought it was a perfect way to leave the crowd, with one brand new song looking towards the future, and one time-proven smash hit honoring the past. I might’ve reversed the order to leave it on an optimistic note, but I really can’t complain. My only criticism is that neglecting to play “Wake Me Up When September Ends” at the very end of September was a little bit of a missed opportunity.

After the disappointing outcome of their last major release, I was unsure of what to expect. When they released three singles from their upcoming album, all of which I loved, I started to feel better — but now, after seeing their performance at the Tower, all my faith is restored. Instead of coming off as hesitant and anxious, they were confident, energized and relaxed, and they allowed those emotions to take root in the audience. To be fair, I’ve been a Green Day fan for a significant chunk of my life, and I’ll admit that I’m inherently biased. Call it misguided loyalty, wishful thinking or even delusional optimism, but I’ve got a really good feeling about this album. A really, really good feeling.

If you want to argue with me about it, you’re going to have to do it after “Revolution Radio” drops, and for better or worse, it’s the only thing I’m going to be listening to.

Ann Haftl, The Triangle

Drexel University terminated its contract with SodexoMagic Sept. 20. Effective Dec. 10, 2016, the company will no longer manage Drexel Dining and its subsidiary food services. This contract termination ends a 21-year partnership.

SodexoMagic currently provides food service for the Handschumacher Dining Center, Urban Eatery, ThirtyOne41, Northside Dining Terrace, which features Chick-Fil-A, Subway and SUSHI as well as Starbucks at Gerri C. LeBow Hall. The University Club, Chestnut Street Caterers and Drexel’s Queen Lane Cafe are also operated by SodexoMagic.

“Drexel has terminated its contract with SodexoMagic effective at the end of the fall 2016 academic term and expects to announce a new food service provider in the near future,” Rita LaRue, vice president of campus services, said in an email correspondence.

The Teamsters Union Local No. 115 informed SodexoMagic employees Sept. 22 that Drexel terminated its contract with SodexoMagic, according to documentation from an anonymous source. The documents indicate that the union will attempt to secure employment for the approximately 250 current workers at the company Drexel chooses to replace SodexoMagic. However, this outcome is not guaranteed. The replacement company is unknown to The Triangle, the current SodexoMagic employees and the Teamsters Union Local No. 115.

“Because Drexel is not the employer of these individuals, we cannot comment on the terms and conditions of future employment. For the employees [who] are represented by Local No. 115, as soon as a new food service partner is selected, Local No. 115 will be notified of the company as well as supplied with contact information for a senior member of the company’s labor relations team,” LaRue said.

Millo Ling, The Triangle

According to Robert Freiling Jr., recording secretary and business agent of the the Teamsters Union Local No. 115, a local food service company may be the replacement.

“We have heard rumors that Aramark will be the successor but this has not been communicated officially,”  Freiling said in an email correspondence.

“[Teamsters Union] Local 115 asked the University to assure that the new contractor would retain all the current Sodexo employees. The University has declined to do so,” Freiling continued. “No Sodexo employees, bargaining unit or management, are being retained to my knowledge.”

The reasons for the contract termination have not been determined.

“The University is making this transition because it believes that the University and its students will be best served by this change,” LaRue said.

In an attempt to increase retention rates and to ensure that Drexel is the right fit for accepted students, the university’s incoming freshman class size has cumulatively decreased by about 600 students over the last two academic years, which is estimated to have reduced revenues by up to $1.8 million for the 2015-2016 academic year and the fall term of 2016. An anonymous source at SodexoMagic has suggested that the contract termination may be related to the company’s reduced revenues stemming from smaller freshman classes.

LaRue said that Drexel had an operating surplus of $72.4 million in the 2015 fiscal year. LaRue also noted that Drexel received strong ratings in July due to their consistent operating surpluses and growth in financial resources.

Millo Ling, The Triangle

According to LaRue, the contract termination is not related to the reduced hours at the Hans or the closings of Currito, Seasons, Vegetate and Market 16 & Noodle Bar.

“The retail dining locations were evaluated based on sales volume, number of transactions, student feedback and market compatibility,” LaRue explained.

“The reduced hours at the Hans Dining Center are a result of moving all-you-care-to-eat breakfast to the Urban Eatery,” she continued.

Likewise, Market 16 & Noodle Bar was closed due to low sales. A proposal process will determine future use of the space.

Currito was replaced by SUSHI because Currito’s brand license expired and the incoming Chipotle on Lancaster Avenue is expected to capture the Mexican food market on campus.

No explanation was provided for the closing of Vegetate or Seasons. The Vegetate brand will continue at campus dining locations, but Vegetate’s former location now houses “Tech Lounge on the Square”, a collaborative technological support space operated by the Office of Information Resources and Technology.

“Seasons is slated to continue to be a retail location, with opportunities for experiential learning similar to the Saxby’s,” LaRue said.

The Triangle will continue to update this story as more information becomes available.

Photo Courtesy Drexel Nanomaterials Institute

Whether it’s in water, air, or even light, residents of Philadelphia are no stranger to pollution. However, a relatively new and pervasive form of pollution is impacting not just Philadelphia, but the entire developed world. This phenomena is known as electromagnetic pollution, and is much less visible than the murky coloring of the Schuylkill. Its impact, however, is equally significant.

Electromagnetic pollution can originate from cellular phones, radios or any device that carries an electric current. Electric currents create electromagnetic waves, which have a tendency to interfere with each other; if left alone, this interference can cause electrical devices to malfunction. Luckily, a team of Drexel researchers led by Yury Gogotsi are seeking not only to contain these interfering waves, but to do it in the most efficient way possible — with two dimensional nanomaterials known as MXenes.

Right now, electromagnetic interference from most devices is controlled using metal plates or brackets that cover certain components such as microchips. These plates are often made of aluminum, which contributes significantly to the weight and girth of the device.

“As technology evolves, we need to get rid of them [the metal plates and brackets] to make smaller, flexible and lighter devices,” Babak Anasori, a researcher on the MXene team, explained in a digital correspondence.

So the materials used currently to prevent electromagnetic pollution are, relatively speaking, clunky and inefficient. That begs the question: what exactly are MXenes, and how are they better than run-of-the-mill aluminum plates?

“MXenes are a family of two dimensional transition metal carbides or nitrides,” Mohamed Alhabeb, a graduate student on the MXene team, explained via email.

In simpler terms, not all MXenes are exactly the same. There are multiple existing varieties with different molecular formulas. Some of them consist of a transition metal bonded to carbon (transition metal carbides) while others are composed of a transition metal bonded to nitrogen (transition metal nitrides).

The key behind the superior efficiency of the MXenes is their size. A single sheet of MXene is one nanometer thick. For reference, that’s roughly 100,000 times thinner than a piece of paper or a single strand of hair. It can also be coated onto any surface, making it more versatile than the traditional metal plates.

“In a MXene paint or ink, there are billions and billions of individual 1-nanometer MXene flakes. When we spray or print MXene, 1000 to 10,000 or more MXene flakes lay over each other to make a MXene paper (again imagine putting sheet of papers over each other to make a bundle or book). MXene layered structure combined with its electrical conductivity leads to its best performance as electromagnetic shielding material,” Anasori continued.

Essentially, multiple sheets of MXene stacked on top of each other facilitate shielding of electromagnetic waves while taking up very little physical space.

“We can make sheets of MXenes with thickness of around one-tenth of regular paper that can outperform any known synthetic material in electromagnetic interference shielding,” Anasori claimed.

In other words, MXenes are currently the best known nanomaterials in their class — no other substances have been engineered that shield electromagnetic waves as efficiently. So what was the inspiration for this unprecedented breakthrough?

The answer is simpler than one might expect. In 2004, two researchers in the United Kingdom extracted from graphite a sheet of carbon that was one atom thick. Six years later, the pair received the Nobel Prize in physics for the impact their discovery had on the field of materials science.

“Since then, scientists around the world synthesized new 2-D materials from layered materials,” Anasori explained.

The meaning of the term “two dimensional materials” is not immediately obvious. In order to better understand them, it is easier to picture them on a larger scale.

“Imagine a book as a 3-D material and each page as the 2-D material. In graphite (book), there are layers of graphene weakly bonded together (sheets of paper), that we can separate by a simple Scotch tape, since the bonds between the sheets are weak,” Anasori said.

In this analogy, single nanometer-thick sheets of MXene would be pages, and the book would be a series of MXenes stacked together to effectively block electromagnetic interference. But how did the research team get from graphene to MXene? The answer to that lies in a Drexel laboratory as well.

Photo Courtesy Drexel Nanomaterials Institute

“At Drexel, professor Michel Barsoum had been working on a family of layered ternary carbides and nitrides called MAX phases. In fact, MAX phases were rediscovered at Drexel, too, in Barsoum’s lab in 1996. In MAX phases, there are layers of strongly bonded metal carbides (covalent bond) which are separated by aluminum by weaker bonds (metallic),” Anasori explained.

Barsoum and Gogotsi hypothesized that those metal carbide layers could be separated in the same way that graphene sheets could be separated from graphite. However, the metallic bonding in the metal carbides was much stronger than the Van der Waals forces present in graphene, so in that instance Scotch tape would not suffice. The pair of researchers resorted to a technique with a little more power.

“To do so [separate the layers], MAX phase was put in an acid and the weakly bonded metal layer (aluminum) was selectively etched out, because it is more reactive than the strongly bonded metal carbide. This resulted in the synthesis of MXene,” Anasori explained.

Anasori was one of several co-authors of the paper “Electromagnetic Interference with 2-D Transition Metal Carbides (MXenes),” which earned publication in the journal Science. The other co-authors were research leader Gogotsi, Alhabeb, Faisal Shahzad, Christine B. Hatter, Soon Man Hong and Chong Min Koo.

Gogotsi compared earning the publication in Science, a prestigious scientific journal, to climbing Mt. Everest.

“Even if you have been on the top of the world more than once, climbing it is a major challenge every time,” Gogotsi explained in an email correspondence.

“When scientists author a paper in Science, this is an indication that they have done world-class research. Our students can be very proud of their achievement,” Gogotsi continued.

Gogotsi emphasized that each team member was essential to earning this milestone publication, stressing the importance of collaboration.

“This is one of the best examples of real teamwork, when all co-authors worked together contributing as much as everyone could to produce a great paper for the best science journal in the world. There are no secondary authors in this paper — all co-authors are key contributors,” he said.

With publication in Science under their belts, the MXene team must determine the next step for their lauded nanomaterial. It is yet to be determined if and when MXene will be marketed and incorporated into products, but Anasori supposed that it may happen soon.

“Currently we are working with a lab scale level, but at the same time we are working on large scale production [so] that companies can easily adapt the process,” Anasori stated.

Gogotsi also shared his vision for the future applications of MXenes, agreeing that their usage could be widespread in coming technologies.

“The finding of MXenes ability to provide excellent electromagnetic shielding may lead to use of these new materials in cell phones. We also hope that the ability of thinner-than-a-hair MXene films to reflect and absorb electromagnetic radiation will make MXenes a part of future miniature devices enabling the Internet of Things and Wearable Internet,” Gogotsi said.

Whether or not MXenes will be implemented in future technologies is still yet to be seen. For now, Gogotsi and his team will continue to research this one-of-a-kind nanomaterial.

Gina Vitale, The Triangle

On the morning of Sept. 27, National Voter Registration Day, Vice President Joe Biden took the podium at Drexel University’s Main Building with one simple message for students, faculty and all other Philadelphia residents: don’t vote for Donald Trump.

“He doesn’t represent America. He does not represent our basic, fundamental values,” Biden said.

Two massive Clinton/Kaine posters were placed in the lobby — one over the auditorium and another over the front entrance — to emphasize the alternative option for voters.

“I’m glad Donald Trump found out that Crimea is part of Ukraine. He’s on the verge of acknowledging gravity,” Biden said of Clinton’s opponent.

The vice president acknowledged that many students were displeased with both presidential candidates, but implored them to vote for Clinton regardless.

“I know a lot of students on campus are frustrated. And I know they are not overjoyed about the choices. I know they think that Hillary didn’t do A, B, C or D. I know that well. But my lord, my lord, what are we going to do?” he asked.

Biden was preceded by Katie McGinty, the Pennsylvania Democratic candidate running for a seat on the U.S. Senate against incumbent Republican Pat Toomey. She encouraged the audience to break two glass ceilings at once by electing her as Pennsylvania’s first female senator and Hillary Clinton as the first female president.

Gina Vitale, The Triangle

“This is the most optimistic time in modern history. We are second to no one … and, god willing, Hillary Clinton and Katie McGinty will write the next chapter of that history,” Biden said.

Throughout the event, Drexel students and members of the Philadelphia community packed the Main Building lobby, spilling over onto the grand staircase. Following Biden’s address, they gave their opinions on the messages he expressed.

Gina Vitale, The Triangle

“What I think the most impactful thing that Biden brought up was kind of the whole positive side of America, and how really our country is defined by people working hard and thinking positively,” C.J. Kraft, a technology management and marketing major at Drexel, said after the rally.

For economics student Grace Mellor,the rally reinforced her desire to see Clinton clinch the presidency.

“For me, it was really encouraging and really powerful and it really made me stand up for what I believe in, which is Hillary Clinton. I just thought it was an amazing experience,” Mellor said.

International area studies major Rachel Wallace expanded on that sentiment.

“I think it also just reassured us [about] any fears we had in this election, and really nailed home that Trump isn’t the solution. Clinton is the only solution that we have right now,” Wallace stated.

Biden spoke for half an hour, but in that time he was able to engender strong feelings in many members of the audience. Some felt that his blue collar attitude — he referred to himself at one point as “middle class Joe” — helped to appeal to members of the audience of all socioeconomic classes.

Gina Vitale, The Triangle

“He’s personable too. He was saying stuff that I think everyone in the audience could relate to,” Mellor said. “There were college students in there, little kids in there and I was sitting next to two women who were from West Philadelphia…and I felt very unified in there.”

Regardless of party affiliation, the deadline to register to vote in Pennsylvania is Oct. 11. Those who are currently unregistered or need to update their address can do so online at https://www.pavoterservices.state.pa.us/.

Photo Courtesy: Drexel University

Drexel University initiated its 125th year as an institution on Sep. 16 with Convocation, an annual tradition consisting of a series of speeches to ring in the new academic season. President John A. Fry welcomed the incoming freshmen, and distinguished speaker Michael Crow gave the keynote address.

Chairman of the Drexel Board of Trustees Richard Greenawalt gave a few opening remarks preceding President Fry’s welcome, comparing Drexel’s current status to the original vision of its founder.

“Just imagine if the legendary financier and philanthropist Anthony J. Drexel could step out of the nineteenth century and be here with us today. I can only trust that he would say that the Drexel University of today is just what he envisioned in 1891,” Greenawalt, class of 1966 Drexel alumnus and Chairman, stated.

President Fry followed Greenawalt on stage. He noted that this Convocation was not only the first to be held in the Recreation Center, but also the first to allow graduate students in the procession alongside distinguished faculty. He informed the audience that the university had accepted almost 2500 new graduate and professional students this academic year.

“Convocation is a chance for me to thank you all personally. It’s also an opportunity to greet the newest members of our Drexel family, our new faculty…and the incoming members of the great class of 2020,” President Fry began.

He then transitioned into a review of Drexel’s policy to accept fewer applicants, which was implemented two years ago. He explained that the decision was made so that time could be allotted to give each applicant extensive attention to determine if the university was the best choice for them.

“We began this emphasis on getting the right students, and I’m happy to report that it’s working. The current one year retention rate for the class of 2015 is 88.7 percent, which is at an all time high, and we think we’ll make more progress from there,” he reported.

President Fry then echoed Greenawalt’s sentiments on continuing to carry out Anthony Drexel’s original vision for the university.

“As the founder once put it, he wanted a Drexel education to be not only good, but good for something. He planted the intellectual seed for what would later become Drexel’s cooperative education approach, and make us a global model for combining academic depth and excellence with intensive career discernment and preparation,” he elaborated.

He also reminded the audience that in 1891, Anthony Drexel was unique in his belief that all applicants should be considered equally, regardless of gender, race, religion or socioeconomic class.

“And I like to think that the head start we got 125 years ago set the stage for a strong commitment to inclusion, and the kind of civic engagement that’s such a big part of who we are today, especially here in Philadelphia. We remain hard at work on our goal of making Drexel the most civically engaged university in the United States,” he stated.

He then explained how the university’s involvement with the Schuylkill Yards innovation district would work to further this goal of serving the community as well as provide resources for Drexel students and staff.

“Schuylkill Yards will create substantial long-term employment opportunities for our neighbors in Mantua and throughout West Philadelphia, not by chance, but by design. And as it develops over the next two decades, it will result in new co-op jobs for our students, and research and commercialization opportunities for our faculty,” he described.

President Fry then introduced the event’s keynote speaker, Arizona State University president Michael Crow. Crow began by highlighting what about Drexel makes it a unique university, informing the incoming freshman of the type of institution they were about to enter.

“Drexel — for those of you coming in as students, you may not know this — that you’re sitting now as a part of one of the last remaining free independent universities, not trapped in the box of playing a game wherein the entire [of the] institution is built on who you didn’t admit. This is an institution with a purpose,” Crow claimed.

He also stressed the importance of a well-rounded education, and becoming students who are capable of learning anything.

“What do we do at Drexel? We produce master learners. What do those master learners do? They create the future. How do they create the future? Differently than the other hard, rigid, fixed, institutions. We’re committed to the city, we’re committed to the city and its future,” Crow continued.

Following Crow was Ludo Scheffer, Chair of the Faculty Senate. Scheffer, also a teaching professor in the psychology department of the College of Arts and Sciences, highlighted some of the ongoing changes at the university intended to improve it even further. Among these changes were the increased focus on civic engagement, the establishment of Responsibility Center Management (RCM) and the renaming of Enrollment Management to Enrollment Management and Student Success to reflect its broader purpose as a division.

“We are changing the way we do business, the ways in which we support and encourage research, the way we become an integral part of the fabric of the Philadelphia environment to become a true urban university…and the way we recruit and enroll and support all students towards their graduation,” Scheffer explained.

Provost M. Brian Blake wrapped up the ceremony by wishing the best in the coming academic year for the students and faculty in attendance. The honored guests filed out of the hall as Rebecca Siler sang the first verse of the Drexel Ode, concluding Convocation 2016.

A video of the Convocation ceremony in its entirety is available online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rxn3V30Y2g.

The Drexel Shaft (noun and verb)

The Drexel Shaft (or just the shaft) is a term that refers to any event or policy brought about by Drexel that impacts students negatively. The term originates from an old smokestack that used to reside near campus and served as a symbol of student malcontent. The structure was demolished in 2009.

In a sentence (noun): Man, we really got the shaft today with that new add/drop policy.

In a sentence (verb):  I got totally shafted today. Drexel Central says I can’t take out any loans while I’m on co-op.

The DAC (noun) (pronounced dack)

This is the Daskalakis Athletic Center. It is the home games for most of Drexel’s indoor sports teams are held here.

In a sentence: We should head over to the DAC to watch the basketball game tonight.

Midterm(s) (noun)

At a traditional, semester-based school, midterms would be a series of examinations that occur halfway through the semester. Due to the quarter system, Drexel doesn’t work that way. Most students will have three to five exams throughout the term before finals week, and generally all of these exams are referred to as midterms.

In a sentence: I can’t believe I have four midterms Week 3!

PISB (noun) (pronounced PIZ-bee or pizb)

PISB stands for Papadakis Integrated Sciences Building. Home to a spiral staircase and a wall covered in plants (The Biowall), it’s one of Drexel’s more unique buildings. Most biology classes and labs are held here.

In a sentence: I have to get to PISB by 9 a.m. for Bio 122 or I’ll miss my Week 3 midterm.

The Hans (noun)

The Hans is short for The Handschumacher, which is the university’s main dining hall. The entrance is located in Chestnut Square, outside of the Creese Student Center.

In a sentence: I went to the Hans alone the other day… I guess you could say I went Hans solo.

Mario (noun)

Mario is the name of Drexel’s big blue mascot, the dragon. Generally, when people refer to Mario, they are referring to the statue of the dragon on the corner of 33rd and Market streets.

In a sentence: We’ll meet up at Mario around noon.

The Drexel Football Team (noun)

No, Drexel does not have an actual football team. That’s the name of the university’s improv comedy club. Funny, right?

In a sentence: The Drexel Football Team is doing a show tonight, want to go?

LeBow Engineering vs LeBow Business (aka G. Hall) (noun) *

Just to make things fun, Drexel has two academic buildings with LeBow in their titles. LeBow Engineering Center, which was built first, is named after Drexel graduate Bennett S. LeBow and generally hosts math and engineering classes. LeBow Business Center is named after Bennett’s late wife, Gerri, and is often referred to as G. Hall. The on-campus Starbucks is located inside.

*Note: neither of these buildings should be confused with the LeBow College of Business, which refers to all the students and departments under the umbrella of the business school.

In a sentence: I have to go all the way to LeBow Engineering for my Linear Algebra Class.

In a sentence: We’re going to meet up in G. Hall to get frappucinos.

Perelman Plaza (noun)

Perelman Plaza is a paved walkway that stretches between the Main Building and Disque Hall. It’s a common meeting place for students, and it houses several benches and tables for outdoor studying when the weather’s nice. Also commonly referred to as “the quad” since Drexel does not have a formal Quadrangle — yet.

In a sentence: Want to meet up at Perelman Plaza?

The MFL or The Blue Line or The El (noun)

These all refer to the Market Frankford Line, which is a subway route that goes from the Frankford Transportation Center (East Philadelphia) to the 69th Street Transportation Center (West Philadelphia). It’s also known as the Blue Line. The El refers to the elevated rail system, which is a segment of the MFL in West Philly in which the subway transitions from underground to above ground.

In a sentence: The dang El was late today and I almost missed my co-op interview.

The BSL or The Broad Street Line or The Orange Line (noun)

This is a subway route that runs perpendicular to the MFL, going from AT&T Station (South Philadelphia) to Fern Rock Transportation Center (North Philadelphia). At the City Hall station (or 15th Street Station), there is a free interchange to switch from the MFL to the Broad Street Line or vice versa.

In a sentence: We took the Broad Street Line last night to get to Citizens Bank Park for the Phillies Game.

The Schuylkill (noun)

The Schuylkill is a river that lies adjacent to the city of Philadelphia. The Schuylkill River Trail, a scenic route stretching over 60 miles, is often used for running, biking, or taking a leisurely stroll. Schuylkill Yards, an upcoming construction project associated with Drexel, is also named after the river.

In a sentence: Wow, the Schuylkill looks super brown today — like, even more than usual.

The Rec Center (noun)

The Drexel Recreation Center and Gym (not to be confused with the DAC) is open to all Drexel students as a part of their tuition. It was even voted Philadelphia’s Best Gym by the Philadelphia Inquirer.

In a sentence: I haven’t worked out in a week – time to hit the Rec Center.

RTM (noun)

RTM stands for Reading Terminal Market. Located on 51 N 12th St. near the Convention Center, RTM is a virtual smorgasbord of practically every food imaginable. Inside, one can purchase everything from fresh produce to cheesesteaks to wedding cakes. It’s open Monday through Saturday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. as well as Sunday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

In a sentence: I went to RTM for lunch and I’m so full I’ll never eat again.

The Triangle

The Triangle is the independently funded, student-run newspaper of Drexel University. You’re reading it right now! If you like what you see, come on down to MacAlister 3010 at 6:30 p.m. Sep. 21 for our first general body meeting. Note: there will be free pizza galore.

In a sentence: I’m going to join The Triangle — it’s what all the cool kids are doing.