In a corner of Abyssinia, bathed in dim yellow lighting, I sit across from Walden Green (C ‘24), and stare down an oversized rainbow–hued palette of Ethiopian food. Amidst the buzz of our fellow restaurant goers, Walden types furiously, tweeting about Italian Disco Stories.
"I'm sorry, I have to self–promo my article right now," Walden quips.
Walden is a Rolodex of every significant cultural event of the last two decades and a master of comedic riffs; to know him is to be captivated and fascinated. Despite being a Twitter (which he refuses to call “X”) aficionado and carrying the cultural influences of a 2000s baby, Walden Green is utterly singular. There are no comparable forces of personality, self–assurance, or individuality within a ten–mile radius of Penn’s campus.
“I’m a bit of an acquired taste. You either love me or you don't want to get anywhere near me, but I think that the people [who] are with me are loyal to me to the core, and I am loyal to them to the core,” he proclaims. Granted, this was his response to the question: “what kind of milk would you be”, to which he responded, “Goat milk.” But the sentiment remains applicable. Walden is steadfast in his devotion—whether to his friendships or his former role as editor–in–chief of Street. Every act he performs is a passionate manifestation of the wellspring of creativity upon which his identity is sustained.
So when Walden abruptly sets his phone face down, done composing his Tweet it seems, a quiet mischief colors his gaze.
Over the next two hours, we tumble down a rabbit hole, documenting our recollections of Walden’s tenure as EIC.
Name: Walden Green
Hometowns: New York and Philadelphia
Major: Psychology
Activities: 34th Street Magazine, Marks Family Writing Center
You’ve mentioned that editing your writers’ work was one of your favorite parts of Street and working in journalism. What about the craft of editing and composition enthralls you the most?
I think editing is the perfect balance of selfishness and selflessness. When I’m working with another piece of writing, half of my brain is focused on what this person [is] doing really well—there might be a turn of phrase, a way of framing an idea, or a sort of particularly compelling sentence structure [...]. But then the other half loves seeing a finished piece published, and even if nobody else knows where my fingerprints are on it, I know. But then, I think it’s also the idea [that] it’s a very noble line of work, because you’re helping amplify other people’s voices, right? The heart of editing—and this is something that I’ve had to learn over time—is not imposing what you want the writer to be saying or the argument you want them to be making. It’s about figuring out exactly what they’re trying to get at, and helping them to say it in the way that’s going to reach, and hopefully meaningfully impact, the greatest number of people.”
À la Dua Lipa's “New Rules,” what are your three maxims of life while being young, hot, and on the rise?
Rule number one: practice radical openness. This goes for anyone who dates men specifically, but I think is pretty universally applicable. Never assume that a man implicitly understands something that has not been stated explicitly.
Rule number two: Learn how to be delighted by things. If you’re sitting on an airplane, and there’s a baby in your row and you do not play peekaboo with the baby, you are not the kind of person that I want to spend time with.
Rule number three: As @glamdemon2004 famously said: “Spell Pharaoh. Tell me what the FTC does. Name one hobby you have outside of media consumption.”
During your 34th Street career, you were famously promoted every semester. Other than editor–in–chief, what do you find was your most pivotal position?
Yes, I was Music Beat, Summer Culture Editor, Arts Editor, Culture Managing Editor, Print Managing Editor, and editor–in–chief. For the most pivotal [position], there are two answers, right? The first one, and this is a bit of a cop–out, is my first position—I would not be sitting here at this table across from you right now had I not made the fateful decision to take over for my high school best friend Liwa Sun [as a music beat] midway through the semester. That’s [when] I fell in love with Street. That’s where I first learned what it meant to be an editor. I mean, I could not have picked a better person than Kyle Whiting to be that first person for me.
But it feels like there’s only one right answer here. And it’s [inaugural] Print Managing Editor. I was the first one [that] not only got to shape that position into what it was, but because of it, I got to shape the new version of 34th Street into what it is [now]. Of course, so much of that was the clarity of vision and planning that Emily [White, Walden’s predecessor as Street editor–in–chief] brought to the table, but I was honored just to be along for the ride. I can still see my fingerprints all over [the print magazine] and I hope to be able to for a long time, or I will become a meddling alum and send very strongly worded emails.
You notably came up under Emily’s wing, and you were the first editor–in–chief to produce glossy mag for a full academic year. What were some of the early challenges, especially going print–centric in a digital age?
With regard to going print–centric in a digital age, I would say the main battle was trying to convince the alums that there was a reason why we actually needed to be doing this. They’ve been pushing for a digital–first approach for The [Daily Pennsylvanian] for a long time now, and to actually say, ‘Hey, let's invest more money in print’ was sort of an interesting proposition. So Emily had to convince the alums that it was going to be valuable to the students and valuable to the brand; but most importantly, that it was just going to be valuable. We needed to convince them that it was going to make money—and it does! 34th Street now pays for its own printing for the entire year.
When I became Print Managing Editor, I had to invent the workflow, and that’s a lot of pressure because you're balancing so many different things that need to get done in a timely manner, but also you can’t ask too much of the people that are working under you. And you want things to be of the highest quality possible, but also, at a certain point you have to be okay with good enough. I think it really taught me how not to be a perfectionist.
You notoriously do not have social media besides X (formerly known as Twitter). How you keep your ear to the ground as a culture connoisseur without other social media, and why is X the best social media platform?
Great question. Things reach Twitter first. I would say that the two most prolific breeding grounds of culture right now are Twitter and TikTok. But TikTok may not be with us for much longer. And also, I know that if I was on TikTok, I wouldn't do anything else; I would just be on there all day. In a weird way, I love Twitter more now than I did before Elon Musk bought it out because it feels like two versions of it exist side by side.
Representing the duality of America’s current state?
Right; it’s like dialectics because you have the evil empire of blue—to use a metaphor from a film franchise that I don't even like that much. You have the evil empire of blue checks, right? And their sort–of emperor, Elon Musk. But then you have this system that runs parallel that is keeping the more fun, cultured, chaotic side of Twitter alive. And there are a lot of writers in that ecosystem. A lot of writers, a lot of artists, a lot of people who are doing interesting things in the media industry, and we really just haven’t been presented with a viable alternative yet. We tried Mastodon, we tried Bluesky for a second, but like neither of those have the built–up user bases. So yeah, I love Twitter. Follow me @waldenmgreen. But yeah, in the cultural pipeline, it’s TikTok and Twitter are at the top, then Instagram, and Facebook is last.
If you could encapsulate your tenure as Street EIC in one “word of the issue,” what would it be?
It has to be “Stramily” [aka “Street Family”]. Which I know is so dumb. But I'll tell you why. I think the one thing that was lost in COVID–19—I mean many things were lost—but for Street especially, was a sense of community and [a loss of] people who are not just a part of Street, but [embody] Street in their whole Penn lives. That was something that I brought into my tenure with the real expressed intent of "building back build back better" [so to speak]. And I mean [...] I think I succeeded.
Who and what at Street left the most indelible mark? Metaphorical or literal …
Beatrice Forman. Literally a twink despite being a straight woman and the person [who] I modeled myself after. I wanted to be her when I grew up. And Emily White, who theoretically could have ended up being my rival, but instead became my friend and part of the dynamic duo that made glossy magazine. And of course Arielle, the Strommy to my Straddy, love of my life. I would literally marry her.
In a lot of ways, even though you’re a solid ten months younger than me, you’ve always felt like a father figure at Street. What advice do you have for the new generation of staffers?
For the writers: No pitch is too dumb. The worst thing that [your editor] can say is, ‘Come back to me with another one.’ And if it's something that you're passionate about and interested in, and that you’re preoccupied with [...] that's what makes the best articles. For editors: Make your section feel like a little family. Get excited about the topics that your writers are going to be covering, because the best thing that you can be for them is like an expert. For Strexec: Be each other’s support system, devote time to hanging out and talking about things that are not related to Street; be each other’s biggest cheerleaders. It’s about unconditional support, I think, at the end of the day.
One day, when people point to the cutout pictures of your face on the walls of the Stroffice, what would you want them to remember you for?
Wow. That's a great question. I think if you had asked me that a year ago, I would have said glossy mag. However, I think that’s Emily’s achievement to claim before mine. And in a weird way, I think that the sense of community and family that I’ve worked to cultivate feels to me like an even more monumental achievement. So I want them to remember me as the Strodfather, right; like, I want them to look at the cutouts of my face in the Stroffice and be like, “Wow, he must have been really beloved.”
*Miranda Priestly voice*: That’s all.
Lightning Round:
Last tweet you liked:
To hark back to the early days of your Street career as a Music beat, what is your current hot music take? I think the new Ariana Grande album is her best one.
Fuck, Marry, Kill, Penn landmarks: The Button, The Tampons, The Compass. Marry The Tampons, obviously. Fuck The Button. Kill The Compass; you know the real history behind the “don't step on the compass,” right?
If someone were to make a biopic of your college years, who would play you? Joseph Gordon Levitt. Or Alex Consani.
There are two kinds of people at Penn: Drunk friends and sober friends.
And you are? The sober friend you want to get drunk with.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Do you know that one senior who brings a smile to everyone’s face or always has the craaaaziest stories? It’s time to give them the recognition they deserve. Ego of the Week seeks to showcase seniors, not for their grades or other fake academic construct, but for who they are as a person and the joy they bring to the people around them! Nominate your favorite Penn Seniors for Ego of the Week!
