Opinion Columns
Angelina Eimannsberger | Penn, listen to grad students when planning the fall semester
As graduate students, we experience the ongoing COVID-19 crisis both as students and as teachers.
Sophia DuRose | Difficult family conversations are a part of change
We are all complicit in allowing systemic racism to remain alive if we do not do the necessary, dirty work of calling out microaggressions, dismantling harmful generalizations, and ridding our personal conversations of stereotypes.
Lark Yan | Penn made the right decision, now can it follow through?
Penn is prioritizing the health of its community by announcing stringent tracking and tracing measures, following the example of other nations who have effectively curbed the rampant spread of the virus by implementing such digital systems.
Varun Saraswathula | Even with a hybrid model, returning to campus will inevitably spread the virus
You would be wrong if you expect 10,000 18-22 year olds living in one place to exercise safe COVID-19 practices.
Jessica Gooding | Police abolition is the only solution
Our policing system has never been fair, it has never represented justice for all, and it will continue to be riddled with injustices until radical change occurs.
Morgan Gilfond | The power of pressing record
Cell phones make it so that America, and the world, cannot look away from the vivid brutality Black communities have already known for generations.
Emilia Onuonga | Four reasons why systemic racism is real and alive today
Now more than ever, it is important to address the counterarguments against systemic racism in order to promote systemic change.
Letter from the President | Black Lives Matter
For too long, the DP has failed to lift up the voices of Black students, and make sure their unique experiences and perspectives are heard and valued. We have also failed to make sure our staff represents the diversity of the student body at Penn. With such a large platform on campus, we must do better.
Jessica Gooding | Take down the George Whitefield statue
As Philadelphia reckons with its own racist statues of Christopher Columbus and Frank Rizzo, now is the time for Penn to do the same on its own campus.
Christine Kim | Everything wrong with Philadelphia’s criminal justice system
Why should we care? As students lucky enough to attend a prestigious university as Penn, we have the power and resources to make the city government listen to us.
Angelina Eimannsberger | Read Black women authors
As a Ph.D. student in Comparative Literature, I naturally think that reading is the answer to everything.
Jessica Gooding | We don’t need another Starbucks
It is up to us, as consumers, to support small, local businesses. We can do this in our hometowns and when we are able to return safely to campus.
Varun Saraswathula | Don’t ignore COVID-19’s ongoing threat
Our nation is slipping back into the grasp of a pandemic, and we’re blindly letting it happen.
Stephanie Yoon | College should not be the best four years of your life
Our time at Penn should be remembered as a “great” four years, rather than the “best.”
Angelina Eimannsberger | How do we integrate our private and academic lives on campus?
Our campus is an intersection of productive labor and studying, the reproductive work of eating, taking care of needs like healthcare or even laundry, and relaxation.
Bridget Yu | Stop mindlessly using the word “crazy”
If we are to combat mental health stigma, completely eliminating negative usage of the word “crazy” is a necessary step.
Jessica Gooding | The human price of COVID-19
As states begin to open, we must acknowledge that COVID-19 has not disappeared and its rampage will continue to rattle families like mine.
Stephanie Yoon | Don’t let the pandemic spoil your friendships too
It’s ironic. Our generation, comfortable with, and dependent on, virtual interactions, finds our friendships at risk with the coronavirus’ mandate for physical distancing.
Agatha Advincula | Online classes do not align with a “Penn” education
This abstracted version of Penn’s community, though inspiring, still fails to provide students with one of Penn’s core values: engagement.