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(05/30/25 1:55pm)
Underground Arts—an unassuming concert venue tucked just a few blocks north of Reading Terminal Market—sure lives up to its name. Upon entry, guests head down a stairwell into a music hall. With concrete floors, exposed brick, and hulking structural pillars, the place feels industrial, maybe even drab—but the barebones design provides a blank canvas for creativity. And on this Thursday night in late March, it’s filled with a symphony of sounds and a kaleidoscope of colors.
(06/03/25 8:51pm)
Among United States cinephiles, no time of year bears greater importance than summer. As temperatures peak, film enthusiasts foresee an influx of dramatic, enthralling blockbusters. Hollywood has traditionally packed this season’s releases with catharsis—maximizing action and tear–jerking suspense. From Jaws to E.T. to Jurassic Park, these productions have sustained in popularity across generations, with producers even issuing anniversary editions of the original screenplay. Although the once–thrilling ritual of starting summer at one’s local drive–in or movie theatre has largely faded, this year’s lineup reflects directors’ continued push for spectacle.
(05/29/25 10:41pm)
I saw it, you saw it, we all saw it: the White House’s Instagram post featuring an illustration of a tearful immigrant in handcuffs, inexplicably resembling a screengrab from a Studio Ghibli film if Hayao Miyazaki was really into Triumph of the Will. The post is hardly out of the ordinary for the Trump administration and its gleeful cruelty, yet is brings up strange sense of unease. I was surprised to find that the friends I shared it with felt the same.Although difficult to articulate it at first, one could describe it as the feeling of your favourite backwoods being replaced by a parking lot, or when a childhood sweet suddenly tastes cloying and gummy, the feeling that some fundamental connection has been severed.
(05/23/25 12:00pm)
As Anthony Wong (C ‘25) puts it, he’s a “certified yapper” who loves connecting with others. Now preparing to speak at college graduation as a senior, Anthony reflects on how Penn helped him grow, become a leader, and form meaningful relationships. From leading Penn Mock Trial to the Kite and Key Society and much more, Anthony’s voice had been heard in every room, hall, and corner of campus. Anthony uses his voice to make a difference each and every day.
(04/28/25 6:06pm)
Welcome to this week’s Street Sweeper! I’m your host Fiona Herzog.
(05/22/25 2:20am)
College kids and elementary school students, brought together by vibrant choreography and a shared creative vision: This is the magic of City Step. A combination of civic engagement and a pedagogy of creative expression is what drives the vision of CityStep and its founder, Sabrina Peck. Beginning on Harvard’s campus over 40 years ago, they’ve since branched out to establish chapters in Columbia, Yale, Princeton, University of Chicago, and of course, Penn. As of today, over 500 Penn undergraduates and more than 2000 local school children have been involved in this dynamic network.
(04/30/25 4:25pm)
Five people sit in the train car, staring out at the trees, listening to music, reading the newspaper. I sit on the right side of the car, in a two seater three seats back from the very front of the train, homework strung about next to me. This has been my seat for over five years, with countless nights fighting sleep, reading books for school and for pleasure, and laughing with friends engraved into its heat signature. This story was meant to be a love letter to the Chestnut Hill West, the regional rail line that loops from Northwest Philadelphia to Center City, but as of late, it’s seeming more and more like a farewell.
(04/30/25 6:04pm)
The third episode of the fantastic network slopfest that is 9–1–1 features one of its leads, Chimney (Kenneth Choi), getting what my roommate affectionately refers to as “Phineas Gage’d” and coming out of it pretty much unscathed. His wife Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) recently survived a brutal throat–slashing incident with little more than a line across her throat. This is a show that had shark attacks on the freeway in its second season and recently featured a subplot about a man cheating on his girlfriend with a woman who looks identical to his dead ex–wife (played by the same actress). So why did my over–the–top, feel–good firefighter show decide to get real sobering, real quick, decimating the plot armor that has always protected its leads without warning?
(04/30/25 4:00am)
I meet Simon Richter the morning after a thunderstorm. I’ve wandered to a far corner of campus, pointed in the right direction by a friend on Locust Walk. I step around puddles, toeing stray leaves and browning petals mashed into the brick pathway leading me towards Gregory College House.
(04/25/25 4:00am)
When Valeria Andrango (C ‘25) milks her family’s cows in the Andean mountains, she’s “literally in the clouds.” We’re sitting outside of La Casa in the ARCH basement, but speaking to the senior transports me to the mountains of Ecuador. When she was two years old, Valeria immigrated from Chimborazo—the highest volcano in Ecuador—to Harlem. Despite the cross–continental distance, Valeria has been intent on preserving her Kichwa Puruha ancestry and advocating for Indigenous immigrant populations.
(04/24/25 7:26pm)
What makes a Hollywood comeback?
(04/30/25 4:48pm)
“Thank you for trusting me today.”
(04/29/25 8:58pm)
It’s Lesbian Visibility Week, which means two things: a) I’m posting a link to my Venmo on my Instagram story every day in the hopes that a few charitable souls take the bait (I got $8 last year, thank you very much), and b) I have been legally mandated to rectify one of the greatest oversights of my life—I’ve never seen the 1999 cult classic But I’m a Cheerleader. Complimentary cup of tea in hand, I made myself comfortable on the green couch in the Kelly Writers House and pressed play.
(04/24/25 7:29pm)
On April 18, 2025, the date of Good Friday in the Christian faith this year, two groups face off at 12th and Locust. Roughly 100 anti–abortion protesters arrive in front of Planned Parenthood Health Center. As they move towards the entrance, however, they are met by the human wall of the Philadelphia Abortion Rights Coalition. The group stands shoulder–to–shoulder defense, keeping the sidewalk in front of Planned Parenthood clear and the entrance accessible for incoming patients.
(05/04/25 8:20pm)
When Carlee “Lee” Reid (W ‘25)—also known by her stage name carLEEE—came to Penn as a freshman in August 2021, she had never sung in front of an audience before. Though she had a liking for music and songwriting since she was a kid, music was nothing more than a hobby, a distant aspiration. Four years later, after releasing her debut single “chew” alongside a self–produced music video, Lee can hardly believe that her love of music was once confined within her bedroom walls. The singer’s college years have been a whirlwind of musical talent, passion, and discovery, establishing herself as an involved musician within the Penn community. But how did she get here?
(04/28/25 6:21pm)
Djo had quite the year in 2024—a spike in success spurred by the sudden popularity of “End of Beginning”—a single from his 2022 album DECIDE. It became the alternative, nostalgia–provoking power–ballad of the summer. In a way, Djo proved that you could have it all—a successful acting career starring in one of the biggest shows on Netflix and a top 20 mega–hit to boot. Riding the wave of this success, Djo announced his triumphant return this year with his third studio album, The Crux, a concept album where he details his adventures through the lens of a fictional hotel and its guests. Really, the record has emerged as some kind of performance test for the artist: Will he be able to recapture the hearts of his audience again, or is it … djover?
(05/28/25 1:40am)
Are you really a Tate McRae fan if you can’t recall her YouTube days; an image of her playing the keyboard in her bedroom, singing a song from the perspective of an angsty teen butting heads with her parents? What do you know about the Troye Sivan and Tyler Oakley collabs? Have you ever watched meticulously as Conan Gray taught you how to make a five–minute microwave mug cake? What looming connection exists between Joji and chaotic internet persona Filthy Frank? Or maybe you caught a glimpse of Shawn Mendes during his Magcon days?
While these may sound like scattered trivia about today's chart–toppers, they point to an awkward truth: many of our favorite artists have their roots in early to late 2010s influencer culture. While today the musical ventures of influencers like Dixie D’amelio and Chase Hudson, also known as Lil Huddy, are frequently dismissed as desperate cash grabs, something just seemed to “click” for past aspiring internet personalities, successful in their transition to “serious” artists. In fact, their unfledged digital footprints have become ignored vestiges to current audiences, who hardly associate these artists with their previous online presence. So, why were they able to ditch the influencer image, while so many current creators seem to be unable to?
(05/22/25 7:22pm)
When pre–teens scratch their goals for their lives onto a piece of scrap paper, it is bound to be marked by green tea stains and develop creases from folding it onto itself multiple times. It is a well–loved document, collecting years of dust in a sacred desk drawer; only the owner of the document knows its location but never really expects it to be completed. Just the idea of creating the list is most compelling, because it reflects individuals’ aspirations for their future selves, while also demonstrating the kind of person you were at the time. A bucket list like this is not necessarily only for checking off all the things you want to accomplish; it can be used to reconnect with family members, fuel self–discovery, and even bring love in the most unexpected way.
(04/28/25 6:36pm)
Most people lose their taste for breast milk around the age of two. We grow our first set of teeth and begin to experiment with solid food—eventually, there’s no need for breast milk in our diets anymore. But if you head down Locust Walk at just the right time, you might be confronted with a table advertising human breast milk for adults, and maybe even be approached by someone asking if you were interested. You’d soon realize that this isn’t actually a scheme to get you hooked on a strange new nutritional fad: It’s a publicity stunt by the Allied Scholars for Animal Protection, a nonprofit advocating for the morality of veganism.
(04/27/25 4:55pm)
Just as I could tell spring had arrived on campus by the daffodils and cherry blossoms pushing up from the flowerbeds down Locust, the barrage of micro shorts and belt–on–belt fit pics on my Instagram feed let me know Coachella season was here. Like any major pop–culture festival, Coachella is just as much a parade ground for proving how well you can dress in front of 80,000 sweaty strangers as it is a music event. Those who could afford to go religiously posted daily fit checks, while those who couldn’t posted reviews of those outfits with equal fervor.
