Feminist! Huntsman To Be Renamed Huntswoman

Women. in. Wharton. What a powerful statement. What a poised, no-nonsense group of young professionals. They deserve more. They deserve everything Penn has to offer. They deserve justice. 

Well, at least the Penn Board of Infrastructure thinks they need justice. I don’t really think they need anything special.

Wharton has announced a groundbreaking new initiative to rename Huntsman, the academic Mecca of business students, to Huntswoman, following an unanimous vote by the board of infrastructure last week. It is rumored that similar initiatives will take place campus-wide, renaming Speakman hall and Perelman quadrangle to Speakwoman and Perelwoman, respectively. 

This initiative is thanks to the long-time work of female rights activist Melania Trump, former first lady and current spouse to Penn alum Donald Trump. Although her words are few and far between (if she speaks at all), Melania has used morse code to blink her support for Penn’s work in female empowerment. Some of the messages we have received include “S-L-A-Y H-U-N-T-S-W-O-M-A-N Y-A-S-S-S” and “G-I-R-L-B-O-S-S G-U-T-M-A-N-N”, in reference to President Gutmann’s public approval for the changes to take place. In a recent email to the school, Gutmann applauded the renaming and encouraged other schools to participate. She also promised to create similar initiatives during her time in Germany.

However, not all of the feedback from outside the Penn community has been positive. Members of multiple alt-right patriarchal groups have gone as far as to claim that Huntsman is someone’s legitimate last name, and that to rename the building means we are “ignoring the 50 million dollar donation given towards the construction”. This hateful and ignorant rhetoric is not something the Penn community stands for. How dare they compromise the integrity of Wharton women in this manner!

Whether through Melania’s blinking or Gutmann’s immense approval for the renaming process, we are extremely thankful for the Penn board’s recognition that change is necessary. We are tired of seeing the infiltration of sexism into Penn’s life, especially in Wharton. Not only do these women have to walk into a large, chode shaped building every single day, but this chode represents the toxic patriarchal system they fall prey to. Thank you, Penn, for at least changing the name to Huntswoman, as a nod to these brave students and the hardship they face.