Opinion

Jim Saksa | When measuring student service, no A's for effort

Universities are cathedrals of higher learning. While the congregants at St. Agatha's may be united through their faith in God, students here are united by their faith in Almighty Education. We place sacrifices on the altar (about 40,000 of them a year), beseech our prophetic professors for their wisdom and lay prostrate every Saturday night before the holy Trinity of Smokes, Blarney and Copa - Gloria in excelsis vino! Like congregations of faith, students devote a considerable amount of time and energy to serving others.

Opinion Art | Alicia Puglionesi

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

Ernest Gomez | Downloading away financial aid

I'm used to being the bearer of bad news. As a former ITA manager, I've delivered many copyright-violation notices to on-campus residents who were caught downloading and sharing copyrighted music and video. Most downloads do not result in lawsuits, but if the House of Representatives passes the College Opportunity and Affordability Act, colleges might lose eligibility for federal student financial aid if they fail to address illegal downloading on their campus networks.

Cassandra Tognoni | A lesson in gun control

'Ok, people, we're going live, with simulated ammunition." So started my gun safety lesson last Wednesday at Philadelphia Archery & Gun Club in Southeast Philly. After last weeks's tragic crime, I was searching for anything that would make me feel safer on an increasingly dangerous campus.

Opinion Board | Defenseless Diversity

Diversity as an abstract value is one thing. Emphasizing it at the expense of merit is quite another. Last month, the School of Engineering and Applied Science touted its recruitment of three female professors. Engineering Dean Eduardo Glandt even boasted that having "three female faculty is a record in our history," and said that he hoped "to sustain this in the future.

Jenny Zhan | A racism epidemic at Penn

By now, students have probably heard of the infamous Jena Six case that triggered national outrage. While the gross injustice in this display of modern-day Jim Crow certainly should be redressed, I'd like to shift the attention to the less-obvious ethnic tensions that silently permeate our campus.

Mike Baiocchi | Having a say in your health insurance

The Student Health Insurance Advisory Committee (SHIAC) has started its annual assessment of the Penn Student Insurance Plan (PSIP). This is my second year as part of SHIAC and I'm excited, because we have a couple of long-term projects in development and we have another good group of people this year to help us move these projects forward.

Opinion Art | Avery Lawrence

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

Your Voice | Letters

Don't forget about class segregation To the Editor: With recent discussion in the The Daily Pennsylvanian's pages about DuBois House, let's not forget that just across Walnut Street, the University is building student housing that promises to be truly segregated.

Opinion Art | Joanne Tong

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

Mara Gordon | Working with 'The Rules'

It's what every 21st-century woman doesn't want to hear. "The Rules - they actually work," a friend of mine told me over coffee last week, referring to the infamous dating book that teaches women to play games, be passive and above all, wait for him to call.

Rina Thomas | O Gutmann, where art thou?

Amy Gutmann hit newsstands this Tuesday. With the three other female Ivy League presidents, she strikes a jaunty pose for Glamour's Women of the Year issue. Hands on hips, she gazes upward, envisioning great things for the future of Penn. Gutmann is gaining national attention.

Opinion Board | A deafening silence

On Monday, a horrible crime shook our campus. Our hearts go out to the victim, the female Penn student who was sexually assaulted in her home at 40th and Spruce streets. Sadly, the tragedy only added to the litany of recent crimes in the area surrounding Penn's campus, including the shooting at Koko Bongo just a few weeks ago.

Harry Lee | Lost in transatlantic translation

I landed here in a flying machine over a year ago. Officially, I'm a resident alien. Life as an alien can be hard. Imagine trying to learn the language of aliens that inhabit a distant planet very dissimilar to our own. A tough task. Philosophers call it "radical translation" and few believe it possible.

Opinion Board | Spectacular shows

Last week, the Roots gave Penn students a fantastic show. The concert was sponsored by SPEC-TRUM, a branch of the Social Planning and Events Committee that organizes events geared toward the minority community on campus. SPEC-TRUM sold over 1,000 tickets to students, despite announcing the show barely a week before it occurred.

Opinion Art | Amira Fawcett

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

Meredith Aska McBride | She thinks my tractor's sexy (and so should you)

Most people wouldn't mention "ag school" and "Ivy League" in the same breath. This is probably because along with Penn, everyone forgets about that school up in Ithaca. Nonetheless, I was surprised to learn recently that Yale did, indeed, have an ag program of sorts - a food-and-agriculture concentration within their environmental-studies department.

Michaela Tolpin | Study abroad in the Poconos?

I am not ashamed to say that, as a female at Penn, I fit quite neatly into several aspects of the "Penn girl" stereotype: I drink coffee from Bucks, eat salads from Gia, work out exclusively indoors and rely heavily on these luxuries to make it neatly and efficiently through the rush of my daily life.

Opinion Board | Let lame ducks be lame

In with the new, out with the old? Well, maybe. Last Tuesday, Philadelphia voters approved two misguided amendments to the City Charter that would create public-advocate positions: one for handicapped and disabled people and one for the families of public-school children.

Opinion Art | Alicia Puglionesi

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