Opinion

Robert Hsu | Here to burst your bubble

Living in Philadelphia has pushed me further outside of my comfort zone than most of my classes at Penn have.

Emily Orrson | Convention celebrates celebrity

I don’t want to know how much Romney’s horse cost. I don’t care to read Obama’s Occidental transcripts. I don’t have a particular interest in Michelle Obama’s shoe size.

Lauren Agresti | Licensed to wave

The amount of almost-waving, half- smiling and awkward eye-contacting I see around campus every day is absurd.

Adam Silver | From Cairo to Charlotte

If there ever was a part of American democracy that a newly enfranchised democrat should see, this is it.

Amy Gutmann | A year of ‘Penn Gold’

An Olympic medal is wonderful, but the real gold at Penn can be found in all this great University has to offer.

Adam Silver | Saying sorry to my subletters

Subletters, I know I told you that pets were not allowed in HamCo, but that is simply because it already comes with pets.

Divya Ramesh | An illness with no prescription

Now that I have moved in and Convocation is around the corner, I realize that the vaccines on my chart have failed to prevent one thing: homesickness.

Editorial | Guns on campus

The Aurora, Colo., massacre gives a renewed sense of urgency over the role of firearms in American culture. Being situated near a hotbed for violent crimes, Penn students in particular have a big stake in the debate over gun control.

Will Marble | Disconnected from distraction

Our generation lives on the internet. We wake up to new iMessages, “friending” people is an almost necessary social exercise, we are expected to respond to emails instantly and many of us run our own blogs. And suddenly I could not access any of that.

Hayley Brooks & Ali Kokot | ThinkTwice.Wordpress.com

While today’s hot social media sites, Twitter and Facebook, serve mostly to feed our vanity and self-absorption, the blogosphere often provides a more productive outlet.

Editorial | NCAA was fair in its punishment

While detractors have criticized the unprecedented nature of the penalty against Penn State, the response was justified by the unprecedented nature of an atrocity enabled by a culture of football worship.

Spencer Small | A call to (un)arms

In the wake of the Aurora, Colo., shooting, the issue of gun control has resurfaced in a big way. But it looks like nothing is going to change. Since 1968, the number of Americans that have been killed by guns in the United States exceeds the number of U.S.

Arielle Pardes | Poly what?

“Infinite possibilities” describes polyamory at its core. Those who practice poly range from the lovestruck triad in Oliver Stone’s recent film “Savages” to full-on group marriage within an entire community of people.

Mohammed Alyahya | An open letter to Bashar al-Assad

I’ve been doing some research on potential retirement destinations for unsung despots. After an extensive process of elimination, I’ve isolated two that would not abhor your presence: North Korea and Mars. For logistical reasons, I highly recommend you sacrifice human habitability and opt for North Korea.

Ernest Owens | Confessions of an Ivy League snob

In many ways, acceptance to Penn is a blessing and a responsibility. It is a fortunate chance to launch a better life and an even greater task to maintain it. If you don’t feel a level of high spirits for such a worthy burden, then you’re just lying to yourself.

Editorial | Sexual violence and fair decisions

On Tuesday, Penn announced a rewriting of the sexual violence policy. We commend Penn on the revision, in particular the updates to its definitions — which include a more detailed definition of consent — and the inclusion of a list of support resources for victims of sexual violence.

Editorial | Student debt solutions

With a student debt crisis mounting — Americans owe more student loan debt than credit card debt — and college tuition continuing to rise, the bleeding must be stopped.

Nina Wolpow | Why I want to be a writer

Writing is in my DNA. I’m stuck with it, and though most likely it won’t make me much money, it is my fittest gene.

Aya Saed | Local actors supplement failing governments

The issues facing Sudanese citizens and those facing students of Philadelphia are not one in the same. They do, however, represent similar injustices.

Steven Jaffe | Carving a legacy

When Chief Justice John Roberts arrived at the tax question, he chose to uphold “ObamaCare” — a decision that may ultimately define the Roberts court.