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Opinion

02/25/13 10:43pm
Secularism as understood today, although a great idea in the West, isn’t always exportable. The problem is that secularism is not a neutral concept but has positive associations with modernity and democracy.
02/24/13 11:32pm

Nominations and Elections Committee | Taking charge

With advertisements implying we, the United States’ constituents, possess the power to elect “leaders of the free world,” many were pulled in by the allure of such a glamorous opportunity. When it comes to student government on Penn’s campus, however, that same fervor is not shared by the masses, both in regard to applicant pool and voter turnout. But why?
02/24/13 11:30pm
Stepping away from our compulsive need for action to adopt a version of the NRK’s digitized natural world might be a healthy choice. After all, with Norway recently ranked first on Forbes’ list of the happiest world nations, the country might have something to show beyond its magnificent fjords.
02/21/13 11:53pm

Editorial | Small steps

It is unequivocal that Penn’s administration should be more diverse. However, less than two years ago, Penn launched its Faculty Diversity Action Plan, geared at increasing the diversity of Penn’s faculty.
02/21/13 11:47pm
It is absurd to suggest that we consent, by virtue of our participation in a professedly democratic society, to whatever abuse the government may dole out.
02/21/13 11:44pm
There is little evidence that disparity in spending has a big impact on outcomes. Research into the effect has found a modest positive link between disparity in spending and vote outcome. However, one of the confounding problems is that popular and well-organized candidates are probably more likely to win.
02/20/13 11:27pm
But what sounds good in a political ad doesn’t necessarily make good policy sense. If we allow ourselves to continue to pursue big vs. little, we might forget the more important fight: smarter vs. dumber.
02/20/13 11:24pm
To many students, Locust Walk is just a means to get from one class to another. This, unfortunately, reflects an attitude found beyond the cobbled blocks of Locust: to many students, Penn is just a stepping stone between high school and the “real world.”
02/20/13 11:22pm

Alla Abramov | Teaching finance is a good investment

Just as vocational school is more practical than a four-year undergraduate degree for many high schoolers, so is personal finance a more useful class than something less applicable to the real world.
02/19/13 11:35pm

Kira Silk | Where are your priorities?

If those arguing for their right to bear arms claim that it is within their constitutional right to hunt and own a gun for self-defense, the statistics surely demonstrate that this is rarely what guns are being used for.
02/19/13 11:30pm

Your Voice | Pedagogical potential

It is important to appreciate the potential of professor Ghrist’s course to revolutionize the teaching of calculus during the internet age.
02/19/13 11:29pm
Penn has a pre-professional aura that radiates outward from Huntsman, enveloping the rest of campus. This internal pressure, coupled with the external pressure from career-minded parents, can discourage students from seeking other opportunities, even if those opportunities might be a better fit than finance. There should be more support for students who want to spend their summer incorporating their play — or better put, their passions — into their work.
02/19/13 12:28am

Editorial | The Coursera cliff

Two weeks ago, ACE recommended that Penn should give course credit for mathematics and engineering professor Robert Ghrist’s calculus course offered on Coursera. Our concern is that ACE is trying to leave the nest too soon, so to speak.
02/19/13 12:25am
Today, instead of shifting education to match the new century, people point to the status quo as an argument to preserve it. But to suggest, for example, that there is a dearth of qualified minority candidates for administrative positions at Penn is evidence itself that the system is broken.
02/17/13 11:35pm
We all find it awkward when we mix up names, but it seems I’m the only person upset over rechristening Sam as Wesley and mistaking Mary Kate for Caroline.
02/17/13 11:34pm

Anthony Liveris | The fall of the American empire

We are only $550 billion away from reversing Tytler’s Cycle. More so, this is over a 10-year period. That makes it $55 billion a year in a $13 trillion economy.
02/15/13 1:14am

Your Voice | Preserving a dream

I was disheartened to see so many fellow students in the crowd show support to someone who presented a case to ultimately break up a huge part of what contributes to Penn tradition based largely on their admiration of his personal status.
02/15/13 1:11am
The lifetime ban on males that have had any sexual contact with another male (MSM) since 1977 seemed a little extreme to me.
02/15/13 1:07am

Shaun O'Brien | How you can save science

If these automatic budgets cuts occur, expect Penn’s ability as a science innovator to be hampered as the sequester would slash billions from the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and Graduate Medical Education programs — all programs that fund science research at Penn.