PennGenEq is a pre-orientation program offered to incoming first-year undergraduate students interested in the topics of gender equity and social justice. Students of all gender identities who would like to learn about gender equity and social justice are invited to apply. Hosted by Penn Association for Gender Equity (PAGE) and Penn Women’s Center, PennGenEq aims to:
- Discuss the challenges of gender equity on Penn’s campus
- Develop leadership skills for advocacy and organizing
- Create a safe space for first year students of marginalized genders and their allies to share their experiences and continue to grow
PennGenEq’s curriculum is built to cover a variety of topics and conversations, including gender and queer theory, participants’ personal experiences, and learning from the lives of people of marginalized genders in our own community. Some topics include intersectionality and identity politics, binaries and labels, privilege and personal reflection, and presentations from campus resources and academic departments. Each day will consist of learning, discussion, activities, bonding, and acclimation to Penn.
There is no program fee for students to attend PennGenEq. If you have questions, please contact Jasmine Greene, Associate Director of Penn Women’s Center, at gjasmine@upenn.edu.
Selection Process
Applicants must be first-year undergraduate students joining in Fall 2023. Students of historically marginalized genders, and students of all genders who support historically marginalized genders, are encouraged apply. This includes transgender and cisgender women, transgender men, non-binary individuals, and their allies. See Penn LGBT Center’s glossary of terminology.
Participants will be selected based upon a careful review of the applications. Each application is reviewed and rated by the student leaders of the program and a consensus is reached. Students may apply to other pre-orientation programs as well but will only be able to participate in one pre-orientation program. Click the PennGenEq Application link below to apply.
Applications are due no later than Tuesday, June 20, 2023.
Schedule
PennGenEq participants will move to campus early. The program will run from Friday, August 18, 2023 (participant move-in) until Tuesday, August 22, 2023.
