Opinion Columns
Dawn Androphy | The missing half at campus events
While I’m thankful for all the events that the Social Planning and Events Committee, in particular, organizes for students, I still feel like they’re really letting Penn students down.
Sally Engelhart | Is 2015 doomsday for the pre-med?
If it sounds like the MCAT is about to get a whole lot longer, more comprehensive and difficult — that’s because it is.
Sara Brenes-Akerman | I want you to want me
I don’t feel like being compressed to quick sound bites anymore. It’s time to bounce back and say the things that don’t fit in a tweet.
Robert Hsu | Not so Gleeful after all
Glee’s success to date gives it the potential to reverse ignorant views of gays and lesbians that plague society.
Samantha Sharf | Battling brand management bullies
Louis Vuitton has a right to protect their brand from those who manufacture and sell knockoff goods, but it should not treat every organization that uses their image as their enemy.
Hayley Brooks & Ali Kokot | Protesting the picture perfect
Stop being so concerned with how others perceive your vacation and focus on how you see it. Satisfaction ultimately comes from making the most of your own experiences, not having over a hundred photos of yourself mid-jump on a beach.
Kyle Henson | How to beat the curve
For those who are unfamiliar, the curve means two things: stress and a lower GPA. Most classes with curves have exam averages that float somewhere between the high 50s and the low 60s.
Brian Goldman | No child left behind
Tutoring, baby sitting, the University’s Big Brothers Big Sisters program all subscribe to the idea that children’s lives can be enhanced through interactions with young adults or college students.
Rachel del Valle | Being too fast and loose to use 'slut'
“Slut” is certainly an unkind way to describe someone, but it’s not the most disrespectful noun in the vernacular. Essentially, it’s a lazy way to offend a girl.Editorial | Transcending boundaries
Diversity in outward markers often reflects diversity of experience and thought, which are highly beneficial for a college community.Arielle Pardes | Go screw yourself
I had just reached the ripe age of 16 when my mother marched into my room, fresh from watching The Oprah Winfrey Show and announced: “We need to get you a vibrator.”
Joseph An | In defense of religion
I personally don’t know what dedicating a theme year to the Bible would have achieved, but what concerns me is the public’s outrage against the slightest semblance of religiosity in our government.
Ernest Owens | Saying it to my face
My mother taught me that problems are best addressed face to face. As confrontational and initially aggressive as that suggestion might sound, it is one of the most empowering things that a civilized individual can do.
Zachary Bell | Why I’m walking out
Walking out is not tantamount to signing an “I agree” petition — it’s deciding to engage in a discourse.
Hayley Brooks & Ali Kokot | Blackout or get out
If college is supposed to be the best four years of our lives, then why are we so eager to forget it?
Brian Goldman | Countering Penn’s thesis culture
Too often, thesis writing is couched in the semantics of research, research and research. Instead, we should emphasize achievement, ambition, publication and true scholarship on a subject of your choice.
Aya Saed | Notes from an NYPD subject
Before this incident, I was pretty confident that I was in no way subjected to the scrutiny of American law enforcement, but I was naïve. The same might apply to you.
Sally Engelhart | Are you working out for nothing?
Q: I’ve really been kicking my ass at the gym since the beginning of the semester. Why aren’t I losing any weight? — Gym Fanatic*Arielle Pardes | From the bedroom to the classroom
Despite learning very dutifully how to wrap a condom onto a banana, I have yet to find a practical use for applying contraceptives to my fruit.