University of Pennsylvania students and alumni received a fraudulent and disparaging email Friday morning that appeared to come from the Penn's Graduate School of Education, the university confirmed.
The email, which was shared with PhillyVoice, used derogatory language toward Penn and its students, calling the university "elitist," and urging people against donating to the Ivy League school. The subject line reads: "We got hacked (Action Required)" and the email appears to come from real email addresses from Penn employees.
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A Penn spokesperson said Penn's Office of Information Security is working to address the email.
"A fraudulent email has been circulated that appears to come from the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education," a spokesperson for Penn said. "This is obviously a fake, and nothing in the highly offensive, hurtful message reflects the mission or actions of Penn or of Penn GSE."
In social media posts about the incident, Penn students and alumni reported receiving the message as many as 10 times. Some people with no affiliation to Penn said they also received the email.
The email said Penn has "terrible security practices" and is "unmeritocratic" in its admissions, criticizing the university's use of affirmative action. The U.S. Supreme Court invalidated affirmative action, a policy that permitted universities to consider race in admissions, in 2023 to the dismay of many diversity advocates. The email also accused Penn of a violating the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which governs student records.
It's not the first time Penn students have received fraudulent emails. Last year, students received a satirical email appearing to come from the school's Board of Trustees. It criticized Penn interim President Larry Jameson and said former President Liz Magill would return to her post.