When college influencers grow up | Morning Newsletter
And how to celebrate Pride Month 🏳️🌈
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The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
Happy Friday. It’s my kind of weather. Expect it to be a hot summer day with temps reaching the 90s.
If you want to take advantage of sunny skies and you haven’t made your weekend plans yet, it’s a good time to sign up for Paola Pérez’s Outdoorsy newsletter. The weekly newsletter launches today and will give you a practical guide of hikes, secret spots, and more throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey. 🌳
Our lead story today explores what happens after college influencers graduate.
If you see this 🔑 in today’s newsletter, that means we’re highlighting our exclusive journalism. You need to be a subscriber to read these stories.
— Taylor Allen (@TayImanAllen, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
At 23, Dominique Malcolm has already aged out of her side hustle.
Before graduating in 2022, she documented her college experience as a University of Pennsylvania student and spent four years filming candid interviews with students at elite universities for her 90,000-plus YouTube subscribers.
College influencers are young adult content creators who share what it’s like to attend prestigious or party schools through first-person dorm tours, livestreams of study sessions, and TikToks about sorority rush.
When they graduate, some creators quit the gig altogether while others attempt to rebuild their content to reflect their new life beyond school.
Note: Snagging eye-popping paychecks isn’t realistic for most. A 2022 survey from affiliate marketing platform Linktree found that only 12% of content creators make more than $50,000 a year.
Keep reading to follow what’s next for several of Philly’s local college influencers.
What you should know today
The family of slain Temple University Police Sgt. Chris Fitzgerald sued Miles Pfeffer, the Bucks County 18-year-old charged with his death, along with his parents.
Bill Cosby is facing another sexual assault lawsuit. A former model filed the case in California in accordance with a new law that temporarily lifted the state of limitations for civil cases related to sexual assault.
Ninety-one of Philly schools that are not fully air-conditioned will close early Friday because of the expected heat.
Two Pennsylvania representatives voted against the debt ceiling bill.
A new $500K loan fund is designed to help small businesses of color in Philly buy their own building.
Former two-term Auditor General Eugene DePasquale announced he’ll run to be Pennsylvania’s next top prosecutor. 🔑
Summer is here which means Philadelphians will flock to the Jersey Shore. Check out this illustrated guide on the characters who you might meet. Also, be aware of how much a last-minute trip could put a dent in your wallet.
The old Roxy Theater building will be partially demolished and get replaced with short-term rental apartments.
The largest Pride celebration is the Philly Pride march and festival in the Gayborhood on Sunday, but it’s not the only one.
Some options:
Queer Prom: Galaei, a nonprofit, will host the annual Queer Prom on June 10 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art to help support QTBIPOC youth. Dress to impress for this year’s theme, Queer Fashion through History. Prom for ages 16 to 20 will be from 6 to 9 p.m. After 9, adults are welcome.
Philly Queer Flea: Peruse the market while walking down Frankford Avenue. Local vendors will be selling queer art, apparel, home goods, and more. Mural City Cellars, NKDC, and Fishtown BID will host this summer’s outdoor market in their wine market June 17.
Slutty Poems Night: Tattooed Mom is hosting a sex-positive poetry night June 7. Poets Sean Hanrahan and Kate Carey start the night off, then anyone is welcome to take the stage for an open mic hosted by Lindsay Hargrave. If being on stage isn’t your thing, put something into the anonymous confessions box.
Keep reading to discover who’s putting on monthlong events.
🧠 Trivia time 🧠
Which Eagle was the celebrity drummer at Wednesday’s Philadelphia Union game against Charlotte FC?
Hint: He almost broke the drum mallet and then chugged a beer.
A) Jason Kelce
B) Jalen Hurts
C) Fletcher Cox
D) Dallas Goedert
Think you know? Check your answer.
What we’re...
👀 Watching: Twitter may be worth only a third of what Elon Musk paid for it just seven months ago.
📷 Reminiscing: All those big hats from Ladies Day at the Devon Horse Show.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram 🧩
Hint: This annual street festival’s name is a Yoruba word that means “Happy New Year”
DENDUO
We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Send us your own original anagram to unscramble if you’d like. Cheers to Christina Stelljes, who correctly guessed Thursday’s answer: Dippin Dots. Email us if you know the answer.
Photo of the day
And that should have you covered before you start your weekend. Paola will be back in your inbox Sunday. See you soon 👋🏽