Opinion
Letter from the Editor | Redefining Relevance
We continue, as we have for 129 years before us, to commit ourselves to telling your stories, to giving you information you can use, to speaking up about the issues you care about and, most importantly, to providing a platform through which your voice — as as member of the Penn community — can be heard.
Akshat Shekhar | Location, location, location
Rhetoric about fairness, supply and demand, GSR abuse and the “One University Policy” will be thrown around, while we wallow in the inequity of having to walk a couple of blocks to study.
Alexandra Friedman | Political identity theft
Growing up in Marietta, Georgia, I was a proud liberal. Like my parents, a blue dog Democrat. At a young age, I didn’t necessarily know what being a liberal meant, but I rubbed it in the faces of my classmates, who, like their parents, identified as conservatives.
Frida Garza | S is for sisterhood
But as a woman, and as a sorority woman, I am done hearing about what’s wrong with Greek life. It is easy to point out the flaws. It’s not new. It’s not interesting. And I’ve found that many of the things people will say about sororities are just untrue.
Sam Sherman | A call for creativity
The key to succeeding in such enterprises is the unhindered development of creative thinking, in which one proposes new ways of considering problems and uncovering their solutions. However, many schools, including Penn, tend to do just the opposite — they obstruct and even shun creativity.Guest Column by Erica Ligenza | Overcoming anxiety
This year, I realized I had a problem. And I don’t think I’m alone.
Sara Schonfeld | Misanthropy 101
For some reason, though, it feels taboo to strike up a friendly conversation before a lecture starts. At best, the conversation fizzles out after questions about other classes and dorms, and you end up nodding to yourself, muttering, “Cool, that’s cool. Very nice. Cool.”
Jonathan Iwry | Social Media and the New Modernity
The geezers are right about one thing: It’s a brave new world. And mass media is starting to taste like soma.Letter to the Editor by Rabbi Joshua Bolton | The gifts we give ourselves
Our life, the beating of the heart, the joy of friendship, the peace of well-being — these are the most precious gifts. Nothing is more important than them. No exam, no recruitment, no rush, no anything is more important.Guest Column by Hillary Barlowe | A communal fight
These students won’t have the opportunity to become what they should have become, and it isn’t their fault — it’s ours. We haven’t taken responsibility for the well-being of our friends.Guest Column by Alexandra McCabe | Reaching for help
The constant feeling like you’re alone inside your head and helpless is a very scary thing to deal with, but it’s important to know that you are certainly not alone and — with time and help — it will get better. Madison didn’t have the benefit of time. Please make sure that you do.
Collin Boots | Papal Bull
I care because Pope Francis has made no effort to correct the lie that condom use increases AIDS transmission — a falsehood propagated in Africa by the previous pontiff.
Diane Bayeux | Dream in 45 seconds
We are not able to want, desire, take pleasure in accidental beauties passing in front of our bodies each day.
John Byon | Table Talk: Greekin' Out
One of the greatest aspects of joining a fraternity or sorority is the sense of camaraderie between people who accept and trust each other.
Frida Garza | Table Talk: Greekin' Out
By joining a sorority, I’ve found women who support me in my feminism, not who diminish it.
Roderick Cook | Table Talk: Greekin' Out
We should continue to make fraternities and sororities safer for queer and trans people, but ultimately, these places are built around a binary that alienates an entire segment of the Penn population.
Sara Schonfeld | Table Talk: Greekin' Out
I’ve learned what kind of friendships I need and how it feels to find a group of girls that will share even your lowest moments — and sometimes even laugh at your worst jokes.
Jonathan Iwry | Table Talk: Greekin' Out
Issues associated with frats and sororities run deeper than letters on a jacket.