Opinion

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.

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.