Opinion

Charles Gray | Listening to students' needs

Say you're a DJ for Penn's student-run radio station, WQHS. Your show airs at 8:00 p.m. every Wednesday, which is a great time - most of your friends can listen as they do homework. But right now you're not worrying about listenership, it's getting to the Hollenbeck Center, a good 30-minute walk to the no man's land of Penn's campus.

Guest Opinion | Patricia Rose

This month marked the bicentennial of Charles Darwin's birth, and he has been getting considerable attention. My subject here is not his work on evolution. No, as director of Career Services, I am interested in the beginnings of his career. How does one become a Charles Darwin? A doctor's son, Darwin was sent to the University of Edinburgh, where he studied medicine, but it did not sufficiently interest him.

Editorial | When the presses stop

Two days ago, Philadelphia Newspapers LLC - publisher of Philadelphia's two dailies, The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Philadelphia Daily News, as well as the printer of The Daily Pennsylvanian - filed for bankruptcy protection preventatively. The announcement, unfortunately, was not unexpected.

David Lei | Retrospective debate

This year marks the 20th anniversary of a famously controversial free speech incident involving Penn. No, I'm not speaking of how FBI agents observed club meetings during the 1970s or the theft of an entire run of The Daily Pennsylvanian in the early 1990s - it might be hard to imagine, but Penn was once a recurring backdrop for national debates about free speech.

Editorial | Sticking to the books

For many freshmen, finishing (or starting) the Penn Reading Project's selected book is one of the least-enjoyable activities of New Student Orientation Week. But the Reading Project, for better or for worse, is a valuable way to connect on an intellectual level with the rest of the floor or parts of the House community, and it is frequently touted as an introduction to college-level reading and analysis.

Opinion Art | Alicia Puglionesi

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

Colin Kavanaugh | Keeping the conversation open

I love Pink Floyd. I'll shamelessly spend hours in my car on summer days listening to the British rock band. Give me a surround-sound system and the album Dark Side of the Moon, and I'll never complain about anything ever again. It's very easy for me to make connections between their lyrics and a number of situations, including the one between the district attorney's race in Philadelphia and the song Welcome to the Machine.

Your Voices | Letters to the Editor

Questions about 'Don't ask, don't tell' To the Editor: Clearly the matter of the continued military presence at Penn is an unsettling situation for nearly everyone, one which would be easily resolved if the federal government discontinues preventing LGBT people from serving openly in the military, something President Obama has pledged will happen.

Wiktoria Parysek |Not a major problem

As I walked to Fisher-Bennett last October, armed and ready to declare my major, I quickly mapped out my life. A B.A. from Penn, a semester abroad and a few extracurriculars should be enough for a decent start in life. But I slowed and thought to myself, "I can't just be an English major.

Opinion Art | Daniel Schwartz

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

Ryan Benjamin |Being OK with Big Brother

Forget the fine print. Anyone who's been paying attention to the latest Facebook "crisis" - in which the site's terms of service removed the users' right to their own content after deleting their accounts, and then reneged - must realize that no matter what the words say, Facebook will always have access to our content.

Editorial | Letting information flow

Last Thursday, when the University received confirmation of the first student case of meningitis, officials had several tough decisions to make, and they knew that they had to be made as quickly as possible. Penn, as all students know by now, made many of the right decisions.

Opinion Art | Amira Fawcett

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

Brandon Moyse | When we waiver on public-health issues

With meningitis, and now measles, on everyone's mind, many students are wondering: "How could this have been prevented? How can I keep myself safe?" If you don't believe me, just look at the 3,000-plus who went to Student Health to get prophylactic treatment last week.

Lisa Zhu | Treating mental side effects as well

A week after Penn's outbreak of meningitis, things seem to have finally calmed down. Social gatherings have resumed as usual, the collective paranoia over sharing drinks and food has diminished and the three patients are well on their road to recovery. With the incident almost behind us, now may be a good time to review some of the major takeaways from this latest health scare.

Emerson Brooking | Lessons from 1969

Forty years ago next week, a determined group of students filed into College Hall with sleeping bags under their arms and no intention of leaving. These students' actions sparked a six-day demonstration that would grow to involve nearly 1,000 people, encapsulating the counterculture movement of the late 1960s and marking arguably the most successful student protest in our University's history.

Opinion Art | Janice Dow

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

Ashley Takacs | Taking a chance on castles in the air

Last year, the Radian rose from the 40th block of Walnut like some great postmodern giant. From my Rodin window, I watched the structure slowly eclipse the sun. With its metallic prefab rain screens and infatuation with industrial concrete, the building was rife with modernity and promised a new age of student living.

Editorial | Time to ask and tell

Last week members of Lambda Law organized a protest voicing dissent about the continued presence of the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps and military recruiters on Penn's campus, despite the fact that the military's dated "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy is clearly not in agreement with the University's own nondiscrimination policy.

Editorial | Changing our clothes

In a positive step toward becoming more labor-friendly, the Penn Bookstore recently announced its intent to market and sell an apparel line made with labor standards exceeding the ones currently set by Penn, at the recommendation of the Worker Rights Consortium.