Opinion

Wiktoria Parysek | Requiring more depth

Over winter break, I spent hours and hours poring over the registrar's Web site to find that elusive double whammy: that course that fulfills multiple requirements and has an easy course rating and a high professor rating. I finally found the gem that is "Introduction to the Koran," which fills Cross Cultural Analysis and Sector IV, interdisciplinary humanities and social sciences - perfect.

Opinion Art | Daniel Schwartz

Daniel Schwartz is an College sophomore from Decatur, Ga. His e-mail address is dschwartz@dailypennsylvanian.com.

Your Voices | Letters to the Editor

To the Editor: David Lei ("Another Stitch in the Seam" 2/2/09) does not mention zoning laws in his paean to Penn's hotel project at 40th and Pine. Wharton, where he studies, does not teach zoning, but an aspiring journalist should learn on his own to document his allegations and seek a variety of sources.

Editorial | Paying now for progress

Of the many provisions in the economic-stimulus plan recently passed by the House of Representatives and currently being deliberated in the Senate, a few in particular - increases in federal student-aid programs, extra assistance for researchers and funding for campus infrastructure - are designed to assist students and schools, and for those we should be grateful.

Opinion Art | Amira Fawcett

Amira Fawcett is an Engineering senior from Houston. Her e-mail address is fawcett@dailypennsylvanian.com.

Lisa Zhu | Better while separated

Recently, Georgia state Senator Seth Harp caused an uproar in the community of higher education by proposing that two of the state's historically black colleges be merged with predominantly white ones. Specifically, his resolution stipulates that Savannah State University and Albany State University (both historically black public schools) be merged with the predominantly white colleges, Armstrong Atlantic State University and Darton College, respectively.

Brandon Moyse | Not a quick, superficial fix

Is a nose job medically necessary? Sometimes. What about a sex change? That has been the question raised recently by transgender individuals and their supporters. They contend that the University's lack of health care coverage for sexual-reassignment surgery violates Penn's non-discrimination policy.

Opinion Art | Janice Dow

Janice Dow is a College sophomore from Los Angeles. Her e-mail address is dow@dailypennsylvanian.com

Editorial | Expanding horizons

The Greek culture at Penn is one rich in history but replete with stereotypes. And one of those, unfortunately, is an image of intolerance. Whether substantiated or not, the belief that the Greek community is unwelcoming, specifically to gays, is a problem in and of itself.

Ashley Takacs | Marking our campus

As a freshman who couldn't find Greek Lady with her NSO-issued map, there was one landmark that was easy to find: the LOVE statue. My peer adviser, as well as many others, instructed the 12 of us to meet in front of the sculpture, which we all remembered from tours and brochures - a near-miracle, considering that it was only days after we arrived on campus.

Emerson Brooking | Not a question of diversity, but dedication

Few movements have seen more recent success than our country's march toward greater diversity representation. The past two decades have borne witness to a flood of historic "firsts," culminating in last month's inauguration of President Barack Obama. These landmark achievements have boosted the diversity crusade to new heights, with no sign of stopping soon.

Christina Domenico | An alert to alert, not to alarm

Last Monday, at 7:36 p.m., Philadelphia police responded to shots fired at 39th and Ludlow streets, about a block away from Hamilton Court, Chestnut Hall and the Hub. A black Escalade drove off from the scene, later apprehended by police. Seven casings were found, no injuries reported.

Opinion Art | Ilana Millner

Ilana Millner is an College junior from Washington's Crossing, Pa. Her e-mail address is millner@dailypennsylvanian.com.

Editorial | Practical planning

For most freshmen, NSO is a time to travel in hall-sized groups, stumble down Spruce, drink too much jungle juice and figure out the stereotypes that define each fraternity house (and to figure out how to pronounce Greek lettering). But that is obviously not the way everyone envisions spending their first nights away from home, and the Undergraduate Assembly is right to acknowledge this fact through their creation of late-night alternatives.

Julie Steinberg | Time is our element

We look forward to several traditions when February rolls around: the symmetrical nature of the month's four weeks*, the repeated airing of Groundhog Day, the repeated airing of Groundhog Day and for seniors, the start of Feb Club, a chance to socialize with the people whose phone numbers you have from NSO, but whom you never got around to calling (Sylvia, we sat on the bus together to the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Opinion Art | Alicia Puglionesi

Alicia Puglionesi is an College senior from Havertown, Pa. Her e-mail address is puglionesi@dailypennsylvanian.com.

Sarah Cantin | The unification theory behind theses

Before being considered the next Jackie O., Michelle O. was a senior at Princeton, and like countless before and since her, she wrote a senior thesis. The university's Web site proudly states that the thesis is "quintessentially Princeton" and claims it to develop "mental discipline" and "the skills of analysis, synthesis and clear writing.

David Lei |Another stitch in the seam

For over a year now, a quiet but heated dispute has been taking place literally on the periphery of campus: On one side, Penn and its partners are trying to clear the way for a hotel development at 40th and Pine streets; on the other, a committed group of neighborhood activists are saying "not in our backyard.

Editorial | Fixing what is broken

The University recently announced that renovations to Du Bois College House - originally set to begin next year - will in fact start next month. This decision to renovate the increasingly dilapidated low rise could not be more welcomed. For years, students and staff who live and work in Du Bois have pushed for these updates, charging that the dorm was ignored in favor of the Quadrangle and high rises, which are more popular with on-campus residents.

Opinion Art | Daniel Schwartz

Daniel Schwartz is an College junior from Decatur, Ga. His e-mail address is schwartz@dailypennsylvanian.com.