Opinion

Jenny Zhan | A more humble Huntsman program

Here in Philly, VIP treatment isn't just limited to the hottest nightclubs in town. At the highly anticipated Republican Senator John McCain /Utah Governor Jon Huntsman event last Monday, while hundreds of students patiently waited outside Zellerbach Theater, my Huntsman colleagues and I effortlessly skipped the queues despite our late arrival.

Opinion Board | Unacceptable incompetence

If you build it, they will come - at least, that's part of the rationale behind SEPTA's massive reconstruction of the Market-Frankford El. Improved public transit means more people can access nearby businesses, stimulating the local economy. That's the long-term goal.

Mara Gordon | Sex ed: an hour doesn't cut it

They just seemed too young. Too young to be pregnant, too young to be worrying about HIV, too young to be making the kinds of choices they were making. It sounds like a cliche, or a tool of the right wing to illustrate the decline of American morality. But, to me, they're just kids who are falling through the cracks of Philadelphia's inconsistent sex-education policy.

Rina Thomas | The helicopter-parents epidemic

We've been called a lot of unflattering things lately. Some call us the millennial generation, a hyper-needy bunch. Put-upon college administrators are forced to acquiesce to our demands for bigger dorm rooms and fancier dining options. Thomas Friedman calls us Generation Q, the quiet Americans.

Opinion Art | Joanne Tong

Joanne Tong is a Wharton senior from Manila, Philippines. Her e-mail address is tong@dailypennsylvanian.com.

Opinion Board | A necessary measure

Thanksgiving is family time - maybe that's why it's a brief holiday. I like my family, but since we're divided by the Atlantic, I'm stuck with a surrogate family for most of the year - the Penn family. No, I haven't been hired by the administration to whip you into a frenzy of love for your peers.

Harry Lee | One big dysfunctional family

Thanksgiving is family time - maybe that's why it's a brief holiday. I like my family, but since we're divided by the Atlantic, I'm stuck with a surrogate family for most of the year - the Penn family. No, I haven't been hired by the administration to whip you into a frenzy of love for your peers.

Opinion Art | Amira Fawcett

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

Meredith Aska McBride | Philadelphia water: it's what's on tap

Pay a little more for a bottle of water, help a thirsty child in the third world. Sounds great, right? The founder of Ethos Water was on campus two weeks ago to describe how this business model is going to save the planet. As far as bottled water goes, Ethos is all right - I mean, if I'm going to allow someone to commodify something essential to my survival, the profits might as well build a well in Bangladesh rather than a pool in an executive's backyard.

Jim Saksa | Penn: no place for strip clubs

Sunday night there was another fatal shooting just off Penn's campus. This shooting was at that fine Penn institution, Club Wizzards, conveniently located next to Koko Bongo and only a block from Penn's Jerry Lee Center of Criminology. Koko Bongo and Wizzards (the extra Z is for Zest!): Your one-stop shop for all your murder and mayhem research needs.

Zac Byer | Start playing politics with funding

On Monday, Nov. 19, the College Republicans hosted Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) for a presidential town hall. Visiting the school with him were Governor Jon Huntsman of Utah and John Lehman of the 9/11 Commission. We were elated by the student response to this event - we had to turn away over 100 people from Zellerbach Theatre, which had reached its capacity at 980.

Opinion Board | Enough is enough

Three mistrials and you're out. At least, that's what should happen. Two weeks ago, the third jury to consider murder charges against Penn student Irina Malinovskaya decided it could not reach a unanimous verdict, resulting in a third mistrial. Delaware's Attorney General Office is still deciding whether or not to take the rare step of trying Malinovskaya for a fourth time.

Opinion Art | Alicia Puglionesi

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

Elizabeth Song | Saving humanity through human research

Saving the world and getting paid for it may only be a pinprick, x-ray or survey away. Whether you're strapped for cash this holiday season or simply looking to get on Santa's good list, go out and volunteer for a Penn research study. At first glance, the transformation from student to experimental subject may seem daunting.

Meredith Aska McBride | No more excuses

As she let herself into her house late last Monday night after being walked home by an escort, a Penn student turned around and was confronted with the guard's penis in his hand. She reported the incident, and the Division of Public Safety and AlliedBarton have since fired the guard and instituted new policies to prevent this from happening again - a necessary step to protect student safety.

Opinion Board | Apathetic? Think again

Penn students are famous for their supposed political apathy. But, last night, nearly 1,000 students made their way to Zellerbach Theatre to hear Republican senator and presidential candidate John McCain speak and answer questions. Throughout the event, a crowd waited eagerly outside the doors, hoping some students would leave so they could hear some "straight talk.

Opinion Art | Amira Fawcett

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

Opinion Art

Michaela Tolpin | Retry Malinovskya

The prosecution argues that it was a fatal attraction. The defense calls this an empty argument. For three trials over the past two years, three different juries have slinked away from taking a unanimous stance. When it comes to Irina Malinovskaya, the Wharton undergrad charged with murdering her ex-boyfriend's girlfriend Irina Zlotnikov, the American justice system deems her not guilty by default - a result of three hung juries.

Opinion Board | Three-ring circus

When universities make things unnecessarily complicated, students pay the price. And complication is exactly what defines Penn's system for student payment. We can use Dining Dollars to eat at some on-campus dining locations, but not at others. Meanwhile, there's Penn Cash, which can pay for laundry machines, printers, on-campus dining and textbooks.