Syrian journalist Zaina Erhaim was scheduled to speak at Penn this semester after being named this year’s "Writer at Risk." However, because of the Trump administration’s travel ban, she has been barred from entering the country.

Erhaim was invited to Penn last summer as part of a new annual program co-sponsored by Perry World House and the Kelly Writers House. The program brings journalists who are “under threat and working in crisis conditions" to Penn to host speaking events. Last year’s inaugural guest was Russian opposition journalist Yevgenia Albats.