Students need a real 'Practical Penn'

I have to admit that my relationship with my peer adviser was fleeting. After the awkward brown-bag lunch on College Green where I was encouraged to "ask questions," I never interacted with my peer adviser again.

Instead, I found the information I needed from older friends I made freshman year -- ones who were wise in the ways of the world between 34th and 40th streets and who I knew well enough to actually ask the questions that I wanted answered.

But some students don't have older friends right away. And what about those questions regarding campus life that are just too personal, awkward or explicit to ask someone you only know conversationally?

At McGill University in Montreal, students don't have to worry about finding an older friend who isn't afraid to tell it how it is. McGill's student government publishes a handbook that answers many of the irreverent -- but relevant -- questions about campus and city life. Pretty cool, eh?

"When I first came to McGill and read the advice about drugs and sex, [I found that] nothing was censored at all," said Talia Berman, a 2004 McGill graduate who edited the handbook for the 2003-04 academic year. "Coming from the states where everything is censored, it was shocking."

A pair of students who are selected by McGill's student government write and edit the McGill student handbook each year. It's funded by advertisements that run in the book, and about 6,000 copies are distributed for free to the incoming freshman class.

At Penn, a small guide called Practical Penn is the closest thing to an authentic student handbook. According to Practical Penn, "Starting with the history and tradition of Penn and ending with resources for your future at Penn and beyond, Practical Penn covers the past, present and your future and will guide you along the way." The online version was last modified in 2002.

My own college visits taught me that academic mission statements and generic remarks about diversity and student life tend to be similar across campuses. Students would be much better served by a handbook that does not sugarcoat student issues.

McGill's handbook covers issues from drug use, campus lingo and reviews of restaurants and bars to descriptions of the student government and student groups on campus.

It also includes insider advice for new students.

"There was a page on secrets," Berman said. "For example, in the basement of the arts building you can get a locker for free. Just little things like that that you might not know about. Not so much about resources but little tips."

The partial Practical Penn handbook that is available online reads more like an advertisement than a student guide. Accepted students don't want to read generic statements full of euphemisms; we prefer honesty and an authentic student voice.

For example, the housing section of Practical Penn describes each college house in the idyllic terms used by the college housing guide. Instead, it should gather student opinions and include general facts, benefits and drawbacks of the different college houses.

While an honest portrayal of everything at Penn -- the good, the bad and the ugly -- might not be every parent's dream, it would be a valuable addition to help new students understand the quirks of the University, while providing older students with a city guide and broader resources to the Philadelphia area.

The most engaging aspects of Practical Penn are the student life and city guide sections.

And these are the unfinished parts.

Penn should make the effort to create a real student handbook that strives for the informal and engaging tone used in the McGill guide. Berman said the handbook is written in a very light and informal voice, and swearing dots some pages.

Formal writing is not how we actually communicate at Penn. An effective and useful handbook should evoke a real student voice. The result will be a guide that is used and enjoyed by students across the University.

Penn students would benefit from a candid student guide that represents the real voice and opinions of students. This way, new freshmen could benefit from an insider's knowledge of Penn from day one.

Anna Hartley is a sophomore comparative literature and French major from Palo Alto, Calif. Penn's Annatomy appears on Tuesdays.

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