It’s Time For PILOTs

The University of Pennsylvania has an annual budget of $6.6 billion and an endowment of $9.3 billion.  Although Jeff Cooper, the University Vice President for Government and Community Affairs, has justified lobbying against PILOTs by claiming that "our capacities are limited" it is clear that our school's capacity to pay its fair share is far from limited.  As one of the oldest universities in the country, a member of the Ivy League, and one of the wealthiest and most powerful institutions in the city, it is callous and shameful for Penn to claim that it can't afford PILOTs while Philadelphia's students go without nurses, guidance counselors, and textbooks. 

Selective disinvestment in black and brown communities is racism, and every day that Penn lobbies against PILOTs, it writes a new page in this country’s legacy of racial injustice. The fight against systemic disinvestment in black and brown communities necessitates that Penn, the largest mega nonprofit and a hugely influential force in the city, join the PILOTs program. We refuse to allow our education to be bankrolled on systemic racism and economic bullying.

As students at the University of Pennsylvania, we demand that Penn join the PILOTs program.