Opinion

Editorial | Hitting the books

Publishers have found some clever ways to squeeze money out of students. With unnecessary new editions or costly supplementary material, it seems that we're doomed to shell out more and more cash at the beginning of every semester. And so far, the University doesn't seem to care much.

Christina Domenico | A healthier alcohol culture

With the start of every school year, students and parents are bombarded with reminders about the dangers of drinking on college campuses. Don't drink. If you're going to drink, don't drink too much. If - and when - you drink too much, something bad will happen (since that's what why you're being warned), so just don't drink.

Opinion Art | Janice Dow

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

David Kanter | Thinking before we speak

In my ninth grade sex-ed class Ms. Dorado one day tried to explain that the use of the word "gay" as a pejorative could be quite offensive. "No, no Ms. Dorado," retorted a classmate of mine. "We don't use it to offend anyone. We just use it to say that something is stupid.

Opinion Art | Alicia Puglionesi

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

Meredith Aska McBride | What's in a name?

There are stickers all over Philadelphia - political stickers, advertising stickers, bumper stickers and artsy stickers with mice on them that say "Glue." They're stuck on lampposts, parking meters and subway stops. On Baltimore Avenue at 47th Street, there are two stuck right next to each other, both with little logos that look like biohazard warnings.

Julie Steinberg | Preparing for Boomsday

The federal government is in trouble. No, not for the usual litany of reasons concerning diplomatic blunders abroad, lack of unilateral credibility or a skyrocketing deficit. This time, it's about Boomsday - the looming retirement of thousands of baby boomers from the government.

Editorial | Getting connected

You can buy books, pay your bills or order clothes online. So why can't you register to vote? Political groups like Rock the Vote offer easy-to-use Web sites which include printable forms, but many states - including Pennsylvania - still require residents to mail in voter registration papers.

Editorial | SHS gets a makeover

The new face of Student Health Service is just what the doctor ordered. Thanks to the new facilities at 3535 Market St., SHS can handle more patients any day. The new space more than doubles the number of patient rooms and gives clinicians, nurses, administrative staff and other employees more room to go about their respective business.

Opinion Art | Amira Fawcett

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

Jacob Schutz | Getting past 43rd Street

As the Class of 2012 arrives on campus, they will be thrust into a bewildering new environment with little to no operational knowledge. What food trucks to go to (Yue Kee and Magic Carpet), what classes to take (Creative Writing) and where - or more importantly where not - to go within West Philadelphia? As usual, the University has provided information on this last question to incoming freshmen through an imposing presentation of the Penn patrol zone.

Ryan Benjamin | What lies beneath

Normally I wouldn't waste my time perusing a site like Juicy Campus, because it's just a bunch of anonymous kids gossiping and venting anger. But when a fit of boredom recently brought me to the site, I discovered something I never expected. One of Penn's posts, "Ghetto Tours on Campus," caught my eye.

Your Voice | Letters

Refocusing the drinking discussion To the Editor: President Gutmann notes that she has not seen conclusive evidence confirming the claim "that the higher drinking age causes increased levels of binge drinking" ("Gutmann: Drinking-Age debate needed" 8/28/08).

Mordechai Treiger | No trays for you!

About 15 minutes before most students returned to Philadelphia, they were instructed to return their tray tables to the full upright and locked position. Better advice would have been to carry them off the plane: Trays on Penn's campus have begun to make themselves scarce.

Dani Wexler | Study abroad for all

'Donde esta la tortuga?" I would ask my friend. "La Tortuga esta en el agua," she would matter-of-factly reply. Such was the extent of my command of the Spanish language during the three-week trip I took to Spain last summer. For those of you who are similarly unfamiliar with the language, this question-answer phrase is translated as, "Where is the turtle?" "The turtle is in the water.

Opinion Art | Jennifer Lesser

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

Editorial | Flawed, but still valuable

With the start of a new academic year comes an annual tradition - the release of the U.S. News and World Report college rankings. And with that inevitably comes an angry response from higher-ed officials disgruntled with the rankings system. One particular component that seems to provoke outrage is the peer-assessment section, which comprises roughly 25 percent of the rankings.

Stephen Krewson | We're number (sixty) one!

If you're anything like me, you read Forbes for one reason and one reason only: the lists. And as anyone who knows anything will tell you, the best list ever compiled by the magazine is "World's Most Expensive Yachts." When at a loss for conversation with my more nautical peers, I have often saved face by holding forth on the relative merits of the Alysia ($116.

Opinion Art | Amira Fawcett

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

Lisa Zhu | Go abroad, young man

Oh, to be a senior - finished with course requirements; empowered by the ability to stride past bouncers, legal ID in hand; sitting pretty with the cool confidence of a full-time job offer. Alas, this year's seniors are considerably worse off than their predecessors, at least on the job-hunting front.