Opinion

Christina Domenico | If I only had a job

Wanted: an on-campus job for a self-starting, motivated undergraduate with attention to detail and the ability to work independently. Minimum wage, 10-15 hours per week. Please? Is that so much to ask for? Apparently it is, since I don't possess the coveted status of a Federal Work-Study student.

Editorial | The more, the merrier

In any emergency, fast communication between officials and the public proves absolutely crucial. The University's Department of Public Safety worked last year to instate UPennAlert, designed to alert students and faculty of any crisis situation through e-mail and text messages.

Opinion Art | Janice Dow

Janice Dow is a College sophomore from Rowland Heights, CA. Her e-mail address is dow@dailypennsylvanian.com.

David Kanter | In teaching, experience matters

Unless you've been living under a rock for the last two weeks, you've probably seen the Teach for America advertisements around campus. TFA is certainly doing a good job getting its message out, and it's paying dividends: 27 College graduates from the class of 2007 reported to Career Services that they signed on with the program, making it the College's top employer.

Meredith Aska McBride | DuBois: What I learned

Like most people, I don't think I'm a racist. And until recently, I believed that the racism our country struggles with came from somewhere else - where, I didn't know, but certainly not from my own actions. I was wrong. Just under a year ago, I wrote a column about DuBois College House and what I then termed its false diversity: a column that was written essentially from the perspective of the dumb white Penn student, a perspective that too many of us white kids share.

Opinion Art | Amira Fawcett

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

David Lei | Feeling the pinch

Two weeks ago, The Daily Californian, the independent student newspaper at UC Berkeley, announced that it would suspend its Wednesday print edition. The Daily Orange, the paper at Syracuse, announced days later it would do the same for its Friday edition. Many in college journalism - myself included - hoped that student papers would remain largely unaffected by the turmoil in news media.

Emerson Brooking | Public-school pride

Recently, I had a conversation with a current high-school senior about chances and strategies for applying to Penn. She was from my alma mater - a rural public school of 1,600 - and if admitted, would be only the second graduate to break into the Ivy League in more than 10 years.

Editorial | Wave of the future

Last May, President Amy Gutmann talked to FastCompany Magazine about Penn's efforts in fields that "are not just life enhancing but also life saving." We're glad this isn't just talk. In June, Penn received a $50 million donation for a translational research center to help facilitate interactions between clinical and academic medical staff, and the $232-million Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine opened its doors.

Jacob Schutz | Proud to be an intellectual

'A pragmatic love of knowledge." In case you haven't seen any of Penn's recent advertising material, this phrase is now linked to our University with such other buzzwords as "entrepreneurship," "invention" and "outreach." The phrase represents a nervousness about appearing too intellectual, too smart for our own good.

Opinion Art | Alicia Puglionesi

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

Sarah Cantin | What's your excuse?

I've never been particularly drawn to activism. I always thought of it as unproductive: too extreme, too angry. So when I met the women of the Granny Peace Brigade Philadelphia, I was surprised on two fronts: first, that they were pragmatic and pleasant, and second, that they were old and liberal.

Dani Wexler | Curbing the volunteer spirit

During freshman year, I decided to audition for CityStep, an organization under the Civic House umbrella that provides an extra-curricular dance program for several elementary schools in the West Philadelphia area. Imagine my surprise when I found out halfway into my service at the Harrity school that because of a piece of legislation passed in the spring of 2007, the school district would be requiring all volunteers to undergo criminal background checks and fingerprint testing by the FBI.

Emily Fox | Manners for a modern era

Sitting in the audience at Freshman Performing Arts Night, many of the bits rattled me. The acts and the actors, the songs and the singers impressed me, but all the humor centering on having sex and having money left me quite uncomfortable. I'm not a prude, and I don't possess such a sophisticated sense of humor that I can't enjoy my peers' performances.

Your Voice | Letters

A chance to explore public-service jobs To the Editor: Thanks to Julie Steinberg for calling attention to the career opportunities in government and public service in her column, "Preparing for Boomsday." To help Penn students learn more about these opportunities, we are hosting our third-annual Policy and Government Career Fair on Friday, Oct.

Opinion Art | Alex Jacobson

Alex Jacobson is a College junior from Los Angeles. Her e-mail address is jacobson@dailypennsylvanian.com.

Editorial | Privatize the liquor stores

As they say, you can put lipstick on a pig - but it'll still be a pig. Pennsylvania's Liquor Control Board is using a whole lot of lipstick. The Board, which regulates alcohol sales, recently announced a $3 million effort to revamp the image of Pennsylvania's state-run liquor stores.

Callum Makkai | A not-so-clean bill of health

The doctor looked at me apologetically. "I'm sorry," he said. No, it wasn't a bad prognosis. I wasn't about to die. The doctor was apologizing for the inadequacy of the medical system in America generally and at Penn specifically. "It's just not a good system," he added.

Lisa Zhu | Playing it safe

Two Penn students walk into a bar. The DJ says to them, "Why are you talking to that girl?" Then, bouncers come and beat the two guys until one of them loses consciousness. If this joke doesn't seem very funny to you, that's because it wasn't a joke.

Opinion Art | Jennifer Lesser

Jennifer Lesser is a College junior from Minneapolis, Minn. Her e-mail address is lesser@dailypennsylvanian.com.