Opinion Columns
Matt Mantica | The value of a child
When it comes to Penn Alexander, Penn is acting in its own self-interest. In helping create the school, which it did more than 10 years ago, the University was much more interested in creating a place of instruction for the children of its own faculty and staff than for the children of the West Philadelphia community at large.
Jennifer Yu | Under the knife
My problem with this is that the best way to improve self-image shouldn’t be a superficial change at all. A better form of “self-improvement,” whether for others or for yourself, would be to go for a run or to read a book, instead of looking simply to erase perceived imperfections that we are told define us as people.
Peter Yin | Less is more
The potential for Facebook’s positive use is diluted by its overuse. Only if our time on social media is controlled, either by self-discipline or some direct intervention, can the good outweigh the bad.
Laura Petro | The news isn't good enough
Political scandal is no longer left to trash publications and gossip mags — the most credible news sources in the world are now in the trenches of delivering this same sub-par and, frankly, trashy coverage.
Divya Ramesh | Where the world has gone blank
To fix a national gap in geopgraphic knowledge, perhaps we should be turning to the omniscient oracle on 21st century knowledge: Google. Utilizing Google Maps as an educational tool introduces a novel solution to the national geographic disconnect.
Yessenia Gutierrez | Already tired of Trayvon Martin?
Finding justice represented the difference between feeling safe in this country, and having it painfully highlighted how marginalized, even sacrificed, some people are in the legal system that superficially is meant to provide equal protection.
Laura Petro | A lesson from Leslie Knope
As any student or prospective student would, these people have asked me for some guidance. Once I exhaust the generic advice — whose class not to take, what dining halls are best, where to go during NSO — the best wisdom I can really give to these young hopefuls is to do your freshman year Leslie Knope style.
Yessenia Gutierrez | Midsummer night blues
A part-time internship at the PSPCA (Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) and conducting research for my Latin American and Latino Studies thesis aren’t exactly wastes of time. But I want my summers to be more than just another line of ink on high-gloss resume paper.
Brenda Wang | Brewing a little Independence
If the entire Penn community — students, faculty, staff, and hospital employees — chose to redirect their business away from chains and towards independent coffee shops, local entrepreneurs and the community as a whole would benefit enormously.
Jennifer Yu | Save the schools
Come fall, students will be expected to learn in anemic schools with no arts classes, sports programs or music groups. What I find absolutely abhorrent about this situation is the lack of responsibility on the part of local businesses, city and state legislators alike concerning this issue.
Matt Mantica | The divorce of church and state
By separating the government from the term “marriage,” perhaps we can discard some of the stigma against same-sex marriage — separating the church and the state in such a way could decrease the fear some religions have of same-sex marriages.
Brenda Wang | Let's get the Mandarin
The United States and China are in a time of ever increasing political tension, leading both Americans and Chinese to regard the other as a threat to their own way of life. Such fears are expressed not only through the characterization of fictional supervillains, but — more insidiously — through unconscious stereotyping.
Divya Ramesh | Food on the move
Mobile supermarket produce sections break the American norm, but if we can reconcile with the concept, they might be able to break the national parallel between poverty, poor nutrition and obesity as well.
Yessenia Gutierrez | Shopping for pride
As I looked down at my pins, I started thinking about my need to physically display my personality. Why was it so important to me that people could recognize the pride colors on my wrist, the Guatemalan flag on my books, the soy product brand on my bookbag? Thinking back to PrideDay, I realize that this need might not be unique to me.
Matt Mantica | Defriending the government
A rising surveillance state and an already stark decline in privacy points to a future where hardly anything one says or does can be private for long from the extensive gaze of the United States government. Unless we do something about it
Jennifer Yu | The plight of professionalism
As we go to work and take on an ever greater list of responsibilities, from drafting emails to creating presentations to writing memos, it becomes increasingly important to remember that taking professional responsibility is a commitment that we all must honor.
Brenda Wang | What's in a name?
The issue is that we have become so consumed by our own name that we don’t really know who we are. I can’t help but detect a frisson of desperation when the University slathers the Ivy League label on every possible surface. What exactly is under all that Ivy?
Laura Petro | Hunger games
As students who spend the majority of our year in this community, it is our responsibility to do something about a pervasive, threatening issue — hunger.