Opinion
Jennifer Yu | Save the schools
Come fall, students will be expected to learn in anemic schools with no arts classes, sports programs or music groups. What I find absolutely abhorrent about this situation is the lack of responsibility on the part of local businesses, city and state legislators alike concerning this issue.
Matt Mantica | The divorce of church and state
By separating the government from the term “marriage,” perhaps we can discard some of the stigma against same-sex marriage — separating the church and the state in such a way could decrease the fear some religions have of same-sex marriages.
Brenda Wang | Let's get the Mandarin
The United States and China are in a time of ever increasing political tension, leading both Americans and Chinese to regard the other as a threat to their own way of life. Such fears are expressed not only through the characterization of fictional supervillains, but — more insidiously — through unconscious stereotyping.
Divya Ramesh | Food on the move
Mobile supermarket produce sections break the American norm, but if we can reconcile with the concept, they might be able to break the national parallel between poverty, poor nutrition and obesity as well.Guest Column | The internship dilemma
The Fox Searchlight ruling helps us to realize that internships are not accomplishing what they were designed to do. An intern theoretically accepts a position in return for a learning experience, not an opportunity to do menial labor such as licking envelopes for seven hours a day, five days a week.
Yessenia Gutierrez | Shopping for pride
As I looked down at my pins, I started thinking about my need to physically display my personality. Why was it so important to me that people could recognize the pride colors on my wrist, the Guatemalan flag on my books, the soy product brand on my bookbag? Thinking back to PrideDay, I realize that this need might not be unique to me.
Matt Mantica | Defriending the government
A rising surveillance state and an already stark decline in privacy points to a future where hardly anything one says or does can be private for long from the extensive gaze of the United States government. Unless we do something about it
Jennifer Yu | The plight of professionalism
As we go to work and take on an ever greater list of responsibilities, from drafting emails to creating presentations to writing memos, it becomes increasingly important to remember that taking professional responsibility is a commitment that we all must honor.
Brenda Wang | What's in a name?
The issue is that we have become so consumed by our own name that we don’t really know who we are. I can’t help but detect a frisson of desperation when the University slathers the Ivy League label on every possible surface. What exactly is under all that Ivy?
Laura Petro | Hunger games
As students who spend the majority of our year in this community, it is our responsibility to do something about a pervasive, threatening issue — hunger.
Peter Yin | Hurry up and decide
All of us encounter a myriad of decisions every day, whether big or small. From choosing our major or what classes to take to whether or not we should watch just one more episode of Gilmore Girls before going to bed, we all have to make decisions. It would seem that, with so much practice, decision-making should be a skill we have all mastered by now.
Matt Mantica | Don't be a butt
Penn is in a position to influence more than the approximately 6,000 smokers on campus. Banning smoking would not only serve as an incentive for these individuals to lead a healthier lifestyle but may also have an effect on our peer institutions that are in need of change just as much as we are.
Jennifer Yu | Give sports a shot
The lifelike drama of it all is only amplified by its unpredictability. Sports take on grand storylines, featuring a landscape of conflicts and climaxes and heroes and villains to rival any fairy tale. It’s drama that is fundamentally human on one of the largest of stages.Yessenia Gutierrez | No speaky Spanish, my love
Just know that fulfilling a requirement is not the same as understanding a language or its accompanying culture. Learning the language means little without learning about its people.Letter from the editor | Keeping it hot and SP-icy
While Penn is much emptier than what we’re accustomed to, the campus and the rest of Philadelphia are still bustling throughout the hot summer months. From May to August, The Summer Pennsylvanian will continue to honor its commitment to bring to you all the latest news and need-to-know.Jennifer Yu | A summer to remember
Summer is 12 weeks of limited responsibility and people who are just as willing to try new, potentially regrettable things as you are. Take advantage of this, and never be afraid to make some mistakes along the way.
Divya Ramesh | Accepting Partial Credit
Few blame banks and bank tellers who don’t realize their role as teachers. Their subject of expertise is the credit card system, but their problem is their method of instruction. It is not conducive to the learning style of the average American consumer.
Farewell Column by Anjali Tsui | Breathing room
I’ve always struggled to be in one place at a time. In 2009, I unpacked my global baggage into a 9-by-10-foot box in Hill College House. I had a British passport and an American accent. I spoke fluent Chinese, but I wasn’t really Chinese.
Farewell Column by Dan Nessenson | Learning to say yes
I had to hit rock bottom in order to see it. I hadn’t been accepting of my situation before then to understand that all I needed to do was say yes.
