Opinion

Editorial | Taking responsibility

AlliedBarton's treatment of its security guards has always proved a thorny problem for Penn. For many years, the University passed the buck on the whole issue, arguing that any involvement with the guards' unionization efforts would be inappropriate. But since 2005 - when AlliedBarton suspended and transferred five guards because they petitioned President Gutmann for more benefits -- Penn officials have slowly become more involved in the situation.

Opinion Art | Daniel Schwartz

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

Zachary Noyce | Learning comes first

What do you mean, you haven't settled on your final project yet? We're already three weeks into the semester! This year, as always, Penn students will launch advertising campaigns, write unique research papers and think of business proposals. More and more classes ask students to apply the knowledge that the classes purport to teach.

Ruben Brosbe | Teaching on a wing and a prayer

Last Friday, I walked into class wearing jeans for the first time. My students, accustomed to seeing me in slacks, button down and tie predictably freaked out. "Mr. Brosbe's wearing jeans! Finally!" None of the other male teachers at P.S 33, an elementary school built for 750 students but currently serving 1,050, wear a tie.

Lisa Zhu | Education, not litigation

From force-feeding pledges various mysterious substances to quaffing copious amounts of alcohol in creative ways, the fraternity initiation process has always been one of the more curious practices of American college culture. However, this rite of passage took a turn for the worse at Yale, where a recent Zeta Psi pledge event resulted in a spate of controversy when the Women's Center threatened to file a lawsuit against the fraternity.

Your Voice | Letters

Students don't need alcohol to have fun To the Editor: With regard to last Friday's article "Building school spirit one brewski at a time" (Jan. 25, 2008), the column failed to mention that the state of Pennsylvania must grant a liquor license to any venue that intends to sell alcohol.

Christina Domenico | Conquering the kitchen

There are two blackened pots sitting in my kitchen cabinet. One features a pasta pattern, while the other has charred Rice-A-Roni permanently glued to its steel surface. Speaking of cooking casualties, one of my plastic bowls perished last year due to a bad interaction between a microwave and chocolate chips.

Opinion Art | Avery Lawrence

Avery Lawrence is a College senior from Charlottesville, Va. His e-mail address is lawrence@dailypennsylvanian.com.

Simeon McMillan | Increasing access at home

Last week, the Daily Pennsylvanian ran an editorial advocating the expansion of need-blind admissions to international students. In other words, it argued that Penn shouldn't factor a foreign student's ability to pay in the admissions process. I'm in favor of diversity, but I beg to differ.

Opinion Art | Daniel Schwartz

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

Editorial | Better safe than sorry

As Penn's Faculty Senate debates whether or not to require prospective professors to self-disclose criminal backgrounds, it's important to remember that a little precaution goes a long way. To that end, we encourage the Faculty Senate to go a step further in its efforts to reform the University's hiring practices, by requiring criminal background checks on prospective professors.

Adam Goodman | Cheaters never win - unless Penn lets them

I hate cheaters. I generally believe they belong in the lowest circles of the Inferno, chilling with Judas, Brutus and Cassius in Satan's mouth. But, unlike many professors at this fine institution, I'm realistic. Cheating exists everywhere, and Penn's no exception.

Opinion Art | Alicia Puglionesi

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

Mara Gordon | Finding the perfect person

I was almost beginning to think that Penn doesn't deserve its inferiority complex. My fellow seniors and I have spent three and a half long years convincing ourselves that our Penn education actually is as good as our friends' at Harvard, Princeton and Yale.

David Kanter | Getting your money's worth

Most students at Penn and other highly selective institutions are smart - at least book smart. Throughout high school, they received good grades and earned top test scores. Four years at an elite college or university is then supposed to accelerate their academic growth.

Editorial | Sooner the better

Over the past couple of days, a rumor quickly spread that the University had selected Emeril Lagasse, celebrity chef, as commencement speaker. For a while, seniors probably wondered if their graduation speech would focus more on Cajun cooking than inspirational advice.

Opinion Art | Amira Fawcett

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

Elizabeth Song | College House haven

To stay on campus or move off? That is the question of the moment. Whether 'tis nobler to suffer the hand holding and formalities that surround on-campus living or end them by joining the off-campus exodus. Before I begin, let me disclose a little bit about myself.

Editorial | A double standard

Freshman students have long complained about having to purchase unnecessarily large mandatory meal plans. So when 107 freshmen agreed to donate their leftover meals -- all 5,151 of them - to charity, it seemed like a great way to help out the community. After all, if these students have to pay for meals they aren't going to use, at least they should have some say in how those meals are spent, right? Not according to Dining Services.

Nicky Berman | Being realistic about race

Whether it's CBS's latest poll, Anderson Cooper's post-debate special on Race and Politics or last week's blog post on ABC's "Political Radar" Web site, it seems that everyone is talking about the role of race in this unprecedented election. Everyone, that is, except for the candidates.