Controversies
From 1930–1966 there were 54 documented Rowbottom riots, a student tradition of rioting which included everything from car smashing to panty raids. After 1966, there were five more instances of "Rowbottoms", the latest occurring in 1980.
In 1965, Penn students learned that the University was sponsoring research projects for the United States' chemical and biological weapons program. According to Herman and Rutman, the revelation that "CB Projects Spicerack and Summit were directly connected with U.S. military activities in Southeast Asia", caused students to petition Penn president Gaylord Harnwell to halt the program, citing the project as being, "immoral, inhuman, illegal, and unbefitting of an academic institution." Members of the faculty believed that an academic university should not be performing classified research and voted to re-examine the University agency which was responsible for the project on November 4, 1965.
In 1984, the Head Lab at the University of Pennsylvania was raided by members of the Animal Liberation Front. 60 hours worth of video footage depicting animal cruelty was stolen from the lab. The video footage was released to PETA who edited the tapes and created the documentary Unnecessary Fuss. As a result of an investigation called by the Office for Protection from Research Risks, the chief veterinarian was fired and the Head Lab was closed.
The school gained notoriety in 1993 for the water buffalo incident in which a student who told a noisy group of black students to "shut up, you water buffalo" was charged with violating the University's racial harassment policy.
In 2007, the undergraduate Dean of Admissions, Lee Stetson, abruptly resigned one year before his expected departure date. Penn President Amy Gutmann remained quiet about the event, stating only that the resignation was made in the best interests of the University and Stetson himself.
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