Opinion Columns
Carlos Arias Vivas | What Penn’s drag performers taught me about self-exploration
The night at the drag show showed me a new level of confidence I know I can adapt in my daily life.
Rebecca Alifimoff | Why study abroad shouldn’t count in your GPA
Penn students should be trusted to make the most of their study abroad experiences, both academically and personally, without being limited by the narrow metric of the GPA.
Jessica Li | We are the ones who shape our college experience
Underneath the perfect facade of the superstar student, there are always doubts, and even regrets, about the choices they have made. There are infinite paths we can all go.
Lucy Hu | Why the Asian-Pacific Islander label is inaccurate
It’s time for Asian Americans to stop talking about their struggles in the “API community,” without actually knowing anything about the PI community.
Isabella Simonetti | Life at the most insecure Ivy
Penn might not be “the best” school in the Ivy League, but let me pose an important question: why does it matter? And why does it hurt our egos so much? Four years go by too quickly to walk around with chips on our shoulders.
Mateen Tabatabaei | What Amy Wax's critics get wrong
Wax’s general and anecdotal observations may be distasteful and impolitic, but equating them with a breach of privacy to further “her scholarly ends,” as Ruger puts it, seems dishonest.
Dylan Reim | Snarty in the USA — Penn came together for the snow day
Walking down Locust between the snarties connected me with multiple groups I’d otherwise have no business associating with, and connected me to my peers in a way that could only come about here and now.
Amy Chan | Kicking and screaming into adulthood
I feel as if there is something wrong with me, especially because everyone around me seems to be moving on. And for the first time in my life, I don’t know what’s going to happen.
Locust Talk with Lucy Hu (Episode 1) — The Liberal Bubble
Columnist Lucy Hu takes to Locust Walk to get students' opinions on Penn's "liberal bubble" in a new weekly video series.
Sara Merican | Don't forget to have a summer
You don’t have to fill every week. You don’t have to always be doing “something.” Summer isn’t a competition.
Carlos Arias Vivas | DNA tests don’t define your identity
Even though I was excited to receive my results, I knew that the outcome wouldn’t dramatically change who I was. Whatever 23andMe had in store, my upbringing is already set in stone.
Rebecca Alifimoff | Don't feed the ravenous internet mob
We can no longer completely separate our private lives from our technological footprint.
Jennifer Lee | What designer threads and Penn Crushes reveal about our desire to be seen
Many Penn students’ fixation on fashion is due to the simple fact that we know people will be watching.
Mateen Tabatabaei | What we can learn from problematic historical figures
How should we deal with great works by ethically dubious people or communities, even in the past?
Amy Chan | To be a small fish in a big pond
I never realized how worthless being mediocre can make us feel. I’m sure that everyone at Penn has experienced at some point the sensation of being “less than,” of trying one’s best and still falling short.
Isabella Simonetti | The price tag of sisterhood
What happens when the cost of joining a Panhellenic sorority is as opaque as it is exclusionary?
Christine Olagun-Samuel | Police response to Eagles riots reveals double standard
In the case of actually violent and disruptive acts, the police force wasn’t prepared to keep fans accountable. Yet, in the case of peaceful protest, advocating for protection against unjust law enforcement, police reinforcement seem prepared with a militaristic response.
Lucy Hu | When the liberal bubble is justified
The lives of racial minorities should not be used as horseplay for political banter. This is a realm where viewpoints from the right seek to silence those who have already been traditionally suppressed.
Dylan Reim | Disagreeing on politics is one thing. Demonizing your opponent is another.
One of the deepest benefits of my education has been teaching myself to unlearn. Unlearning that our natural outlook is the objectively best one.