Opinion Columns
Jonathan Iwry | Begging to be questioned
Of course language is supposed to change — it should always be evolving with the ideas of its speakers. But being eager to create new uses of language doesn’t necessarily excuse us from stomping on old ones. When we scramble, garble or generally maim language with reckless abandon, we risk burying important concepts alive.
Sophia Wushanley | The ugly truth
Let’s start with the fact that universalizing beauty is a lie, and it’s not a lie that’s fooling anyone. Not everyone is beautiful. Beauty is a relative term. As such, for some to gain the label “beautiful,” others must lose it. Beauty, like cleverness and athleticism, is a spectrum, and there’s nothing wrong with appreciating particular beauty in others. If everyone is beautiful, the term is meaningless.
Dani Blum | There’s a Yak for that
More importantly, though, Yik Yak also forces us to face the aspects of Penn we’d rather ignore. Maybe we have to be anonymous to feel comfortable calling attention to the lesser-discussed elements of Penn’s campus. Yaks like “Penn is the school for smart kids who constantly need to counter their intelligence with binge drinking,” and, “Everyone on campus is a functioning alcoholic and it’s a beautiful thing” call attention to elements of Penn we accept without question.
Guest column by Joshua Spector | 'An Inconvenient Truth about American politics
The College Republicans’ article may not have been trendsetting, as I have already mentioned, but rather than continue the trend of partisan squabbling, we can still foster a new style of politics in response based on mutual respect. Penn Dems and College Republicans do not have to be mutually exclusive. They are not by default or by definition opposed and perennially at odds with one another.
Akshat Shekhar | Eat, read and be merry
The next bucket of cases centers around vague, almost meaningless benefits, such as “learning how to learn” and “learning for its own sake.” The latter advantage is particularly dubious; roller coasters are ridden for their own sake, the experience to be quickly forgotten once the seat belt is unbuckled. In the current environment, would a student really embark on a course of study whose benefits leave him as soon as he obtains a diploma, just for its own sake?
Jonathan Iwry | Why we need the past
To study history is to take ownership of the human race, sharing in its triumphs and bearing witness to its sins and follies. We join a legacy of transient beings striving to craft a fleeting world for the better. Only by linking ourselves to them across the ages do we keep that legacy intact.
Maya Rawal | Not so special
We have the rest of our lives to focus on our chosen field of work. Take advantage of Penn’s opportunities now.
Katiera Sordjan | Beyond the male gaze
“All About That Bass” is not the first pop song to tell young women and girls that the only real value of their bodies is how men perceive them. “What Makes You Beautiful” by One Direction, “Just the Way You Are” and “Treasure” by Bruno Mars are just some examples of pop hits that require the man to define a woman’s beauty for her. “Men love curvy women.” “Guys love skinny girls.” These back and forth arguments are unhealthy and put down other women. Girls shouldn't have to justify their body types by pointing to what men find attractive.
Samantha Antrum | West Philadelphia students need investment
The building was filthy. Roaches and mice frolicked about on dirty walls and stained hallway floors. Program instructors watched the unsanitary circumstances continue outside, as the cleaning staff dumped dirty mop water and cleaning chemicals into a flooded drain in the school yard. Internet access ceased and took several days to be restarted, which was a major barrier for instructors attempting to academically engage their students.Where I once was frustrated with the conditions at some schools, I was now livid. Children attended the program because of its potential to provide fun and enriching activities. Our purpose was to supplement the students’ school-year learning experiences. We aimed to provide encouragement and support for the students, demonstrate that learning is more than sitting in class looking at books.
Dani Blum | Yes, you're a feminist
I’ve identified myself as a feminist since middle school, but it’s difficult to apply that passion into real social settings. I note trends, but I don’t see the significance in them. I spend too much time trying to determine if a friend’s joke or a passing comment is anti-feminist that I end up letting it pass. I want to practice what I preach — or more accurately, what I share on Facebook — but I over-rationalize my way into inaction.Furthermore, it’s difficult to put the more idealistic points of feminism into place at college. I consider myself a feminist, but I compare myself to other women. Few of my conversations are about women’s issues, and I have no plans to take a gender studies class. Eighty percent of the music on my workout playlist is overtly misogynistic. I don’t freak out when “Blurred Lines” comes on at a party. I go to the gym not so I can release endorphins, but so I can fit into my skinny jeans.
Sophia Wushanley | Race, gender and grades
Everything you’ve ever put your name on has been tinged with your race and gender, be it a paper, an exam, a lab report or a resume. No matter how well you know your professors, and how earnestly they condemn prejudice in any form, a bulk of scientific literature suggests that who you are influences how they see the work you produce.
Roderick Cook | Rethinking the 'true academic experience'
Still, some who recognize this fact think that prefacing something with a trigger warning somehow disrupts the intellectual experience of reading or viewing it. As the DP editorial put it, “It is sometimes deemed necessary for students to experience visceral reactions to the material with which they come into contact. The purpose of such material is to be taken by surprise, offended and even, at times, disturbed.”This statement shows a fundamental misunderstanding of the difference between being surprised or offended and being traumatized. Furthermore, it exposes the unsettling fact that many people out there genuinely care more about some assumed abstract “true academic experience” than the safety of students.
Katiera Sordjan | A mutual effort
A year sounds like a long time, but it took me most of that time to find a working medical treatment. Then, I had to address my classes or risk not being able to declare my major. In order to receive medical clearance, I had to mediate between my clinician and the Counseling and Psychological Services staff, who evaluated my current health status. I spent a lot of time making repeated calls, emails and campus visits to ensure the various conditions set by Penn for my return were met, and frequently worried about my ability to come back.
Shawn Kelley | In defense of the president
What’s really telling is when you look at the compensation per $1 million in total expenditures for each institution. Gee was paid $1,332, Zimmer received $1,113 and Gutmann $376.
The Vision | A weight we all must carry
We have the tendency to believe that sexual assault doesn’t affect us, that it happens to other people but certainly not to our friends, not at our parties, not by our people. This is a dirty lie. The longer we buy into it and coddle our ignorance, the longer we smother each other.
Jeremiah Keenan | ?Nap more, sleep less
But for some reason most Penn students don’t take a regular nap. Why? Because much as we’d all love to nap, we just don’t have the time. Of course, we’d feel better if we slept more. We’d also feel better if we spent four hours a day in the gym! But you just can’t do that if you’re taking six credits and working weekends in a lab. Napping isn’t an Ivy League thing.
Sophia Wushanley | What’s so special about leadership?
Our fixation on leadership worries me because it implies that the be all end all of a successful life is to have the greatest possible influence over the greatest number of people. “Leadership” has become one of those words that our brains automatically categorize as a Good Thing, and our conflation of the terms “leadership” and “good leadership” makes us believe that influence itself is the goal, rather than just a good first step to effecting positive change in the world.
Dani Blum | Give up the numbers game
We remind ourselves we go to a fantastic school, but we put ourselves down for being one of “the lower Ivies,” as I overheard someone refer to Brown and Penn. We use Penn as an ego boost, but we’re not satisfied.
Jonathan Iwry | Save America from itself
To ignore such issues and debate how safe we are is like crossing the street without looking both ways while pondering the danger of shark attacks. It’s tempting to assess our condition solely in terms of radical threats — terror has a way of stealing our attention — but whoever does so is looking through a faulty lens. National security and national integrity must go hand in hand.