Opinion Columns
Varun Saraswathula | Penn must provide more information on its response to coronavirus
Across the University, the sentiment is that Penn was not only late in communicating its message, but also incredibly unreasonable in creating the timeline.
Sophia DuRose | Penn service workers cannot be forgotten
Penn has over a 14 billion dollar endowment. If a killer pandemic isn’t the perfect time to use some of it, I don’t know when is.
Letter from the President | Inside The Daily Pennsylvanian's response to coronavirus
We have decided to run a final print edition of the DP this Saturday, focused on how the coronavirus has changed life at Penn. After, we will pause print editions of the DP and 34th Street for the first time since World War II.
Tejaswi Bhavaraju | Penn students must rethink learning in an era of rapid industry change
Considering the ways in which industries are evolving and requiring new skills from the workforce, there is an urgent need for Penn students to review the role/application of AI in our studies much more clearly.
Lark Yan | Penn needs to be more transparent in why and how they increase tuition
As the ones paying the bill, it seems only right that students receive at least more information and price transparency on how and why these decisions were made.
Tyler Larkworthy | Penn must stop raising tuition
Under the new tuition rate, Penn’s incoming class can expect to pay their school over $300,000 by the time they graduate. That is absurd.
Jessica Gooding | Penn students and post-docs need access to on-campus childcare
For student parents, not having access to adequate child care can erode the opportunity to obtain the education of your dreams.
Alfredo Praticò | An open letter to Erika James, from a College student
When you start in July, Penn will ask you to be a trailblazer. We ask you to be a trailblazer for all 20,000 of us.
Harrison Selznick | Penn should allow concealed carry on campus
Presently, the University of Pennsylvania bans the use and possession of firearms on campus, thereby making Concealed Carry Weapon Permits moot.
Surayya Walters | What incoming Dean Erika James represents for higher education
As a young Black woman who is a Wharton student, times like this make me feel a little prouder and more at peace with myself in this environment.
Sophia DuRose | Take time to understand eating disorders this week
A failure to understand that eating disorders are mental illnesses, where a rejection of food is merely a symptom, is literally a matter of life or death.
Varun Saraswathula | We’re motivated, but do we know why?
I urge you to put the books down for a minute, step away from your laptop, and introspect. Consider what motivates you. Is it passion or interest? Is it a career prospect? Is it money?
Agatha Advincula | Voters should be wary of Bernie Sanders. Here’s why.
It is easy to look at Sanders’ numbers in the primaries and polls and feel as though he is destined to be the candidate. But Sanders’ political progressivism has never stood the test of the general public.
Harrison Selznick | Penn students should visit The Fresh Grocer before it closes
With The Fresh Grocer’s inevitable demise in the upcoming weeks, Penn students and the University City populace should take advantage of the sales occurring before they run out.
Ton Nguyen | Be conscious of fetishization
Whether it be from fellow Penn students to Uber drivers to random cat-callers, many people find it more socially palatable to use explicitly racial terms towards Asians — as if they were forms of “complimenting” or “flirting.”
Ilyse Reisman | Professors should put grades in before the drop deadline
By putting some grades in before the drop deadline, students can assess if they are taking a class that is the right level for them.
Jessica Gooding | Penn's language classes need a new approach
Cringey. That word appears in my mind when I think about my experience with Spanish 110
Alfredo Praticò | For the summer, give Philadelphia a chance
By spending a summer here, we can better integrate ourselves into a community that often views Penn as an affluent island in a city where many are just trying to stay afloat.
Sophia DuRose | You’re never too old to start over
If you’re unsatisfied with the career path that your selected major will afford you, find a career path that will make you happy and run with it.