Opinion

Christina Domenico | Lost in translation

Unlike most students, I won't receive my first semester grades until March. As one of around 600 juniors, I studied abroad this past semester. And at this point, I have no idea what grades to expect - especially because the University of Seville has yet to discover the wonders of e-mail communication between students and professors.

Lisa Zhu | Saving the planet, one tofu burger at a time

Once only associated with Birkenstock-sporting, stoned-out hippies, vegetarianism has enchanted many mainstream Americans in recent years - from Chelsea Clinton to Natalie Portman. Indeed, the march away from meat is gradually changing the landscape of dining, with posh restaurants now offering separate vegetarian menus and even Burger King adding veggie burgers as a Meal Deal option.

Opinion Art | Avery Lawrence

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

Opinion Art | Jennifer Lesser

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

Simeon McMillan | Moving math to the next level

I'm all about learning the fundamentals, the basic rules of the game. Fundamentals dictate why we must learn to walk before we run, babble before we talk and are pretty much the only good thing that could be said about the spectacle that is the WNBA. Unfortunately for the educational purists, the fundamentals of how we teach math in America are desperately in need of change.

Collin Beck | Nothing but a number

'Tired of bio labs and calculus homework? Take Shakespeare!" says a commercial on the Penn Video Network. "Hamlet: Incest! Murder! Mayhem!" Sunday, Sunday, Sunday! And who wouldn't want to switch integral tables for a little incest? As recently released data from the College of Arts and Sciences points out, the average grade for a humanities class is 3.

Editorial | Troubling news

When it comes to conflicts of interest in the world of higher-ed admissions, there are always gray areas. That's why universities need to explain to their admissions officers which activities are okay and which activities aren't. Unfortunately, the communication process seems to have failed in the case of Judith Hodara, a Wharton MBA admissions officer who simultaneously worked in two private admissions-counseling businesses.

David Kanter | Fighting for feedback

The first time I got a paper back from a professor here at Penn, I was a little confused. Other than a few perfunctory, illegible comments found scribbled in the margins, insightful, constructive criticism was nowhere in sight. I thought (incorrectly, I suppose) that I would receive extensive feedback on each assignment.

Editorial | All aboard

With a new general manager dedicated to improving customer service, $150 million in state funding and concrete plans to modernize fare-collection systems, SEPTA could be in the middle of a renaissance. Unfortunately, Penn doesn't seem to be on board. So far, the only discounted SEPTA pass that the University offers to students costs over $280 per semester.

Mara Gordon | A sickening situation

Last week, Katie Derickson got sick. Really sick. The kind of sick when your throat hurts and your fever is soaring and all you want to do is feel better. It was only Derickson's third day at her new job at Penn's School of Social Policy and Practice, but she knew she had to see a doctor.

Opinion Art | Alicia Puglionesi

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

Julie Steinberg | Catching up with culture

The Glasgow concert hall was packed. The sets were lavish, the costumes ornate and the singing unparalleled (though an Italian opera sung in Scottish-accented English was certainly an experience). The price for a center balcony seat for a regular adult? 58 pounds.

Elizabeth Song | Stuck in traffic

Cars and Philadelphia streets are a match made in hell. The circulation situation is a heart attack waiting to happen. Rush hour traffic glides through city streets as easily as cheesesteaks and scrapple slide down clogged arteries. With SEPTA buses and taxi cabs jostling for room, motorists navigate circuitous routes down potholed streets.

Opinion Art | Amira Fawcett

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

Editorial | Power of competition

Some universities are suffering from an embarrassment of riches. Last week, Senators Max Baucus (D-Montana) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) requested financial aid data from 136 universities with large endowments. The senators want to investigate whether colleges are doing all they can to make higher education affordable.

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.