Opinion

Harry Lee | I feel pretty, oh, so pretty...

I left Heathrow airport wearing old jeans, a light jumper - Americans: read sweater - and a suede jacket. One flight later, I stumbled for a cab at Philadelphia airport in sizzling heat with a giant wedgie, dripping like a chicken on a spit roast. My first sartorial error: dressing like an Eskimo in heat high enough to induce nuclear fusion.

Opinion Board | Going up in flames

It has been over a week and electrical fires continue to crop up around campus. Residents have been displaced, put in harm's way, and forced to guess when their power will go out next. The first fire at 41st and Walnut streets last Monday could have been forgiven as a malfunction - that is, if PECO hadn't taken 30 minutes to arrive on the scene.

Opinion Board | Heading south fast

In its eagerness to push through a flawed design, Philadelphia's Streets department is burning bridges with its residents. With the planned reconstruction of the South Street Bridge, Philadelphia had the rare opportunity to develop a vibrant, pedestrian-friendly link between Penn's campus and Center City.

Daily Digit

293Homicides committed in Philadelphia through Saturday, 23 more than through the same period last year. Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer

Opinion Art | Alicia Puglionesi

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

Jim Saksa | Down with the Ivy League

About once a week, I hear the same complaint about our dear University: no one has ever heard of it. We form facebook groups proclaiming our inclusion in the Ivy League, we buy shirts that not-so-subtly differentiate us from Penn State, and we bitch and moan every time Princeton gets a media mention and we don't.

Michaela Tolpin | Cold War: Round two?

It's been a few years in the making, but LUKoil is now officially omnipresent. Or so it seemed two weeks ago as I was anxiously driving around New Jersey, looking for a gas station to fill up my minivan. Stubbornly ignoring my angry orange light, which had been glowering at me for the past 15 miles, I zoomed past the clean-looking red-and-white station.

Elizabeth Song | How not to fight racism

Imagine if an internal bleep censor screened out all the inappropriate words you heard everyday. You know, the ones that are shown as *@#&! in Sunday morning comic strips. That's the idea New York City Council members put into play last February when they passed a symbolic ban on the n-word.

Opinion Board | Reform the liquor laws

Amid the confusing legal battle currently being fought between convenience stores and state beer distributors, at least one thing is clear. Legislators must step in and bring Pennsylvania's archaic liquor laws into the 21st century. At the heart of the court case is whether Sheetz, a central Pennsylvania convenience store, should be allowed to sell alcohol.

Cassandra Tognoni | Taking chivalry back

As I happily returned to Penn last week, I was not-so-happily faced with the realization that "going out" requires a little more caution than I'm used to back in suburbia. All of us girls returning to Penn must now remember to congregate in groups when walking home at night.

Opinion Art | Daniel Schwartz

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

Daily Digit

250,000Dues-paying members of the National Rifle Association who live in Pennsylvania. Source: The Associated Press

Opinion Board | Honesty is the best policy

The abrupt and unceremonious resignation of long-time Dean of Admissions Lee Stetson has left many in the Penn community scratching their heads. Admissions officers have said they were told by the University not to speak about Stetson's departure and high-ranking administrators claim they were given no information about the dean's resignation.

Stephen Krewson | A slippery slope

Critics and fans have already hailed The Bourne Ultimatum for its heart-stopping cinematography, crescendoing chases, and spy-thriller smarts. Yet the summer's most popular action flick is also remarkable for its political timeliness. There's a particularly gripping scene in which Matt Damon's Jason Bourne arranges a meeting in London's Waterloo Station with a British reporter who has just uncovered a black-ops CIA program.

Jenny Zhan | The upper-middle class squeeze

Parents: Beware. Another tuition hike strikes colleges across the nation this academic year and our beloved Penn is no exception. While many of us who disregard e-mail reminders from Penn.Pay may not be aware, Penn parents are surely not oblivious to the change - in my case, the parentals obsessive-compulsively refreshed my "Statement of Account" page, hoping the system had experienced an error.

Daily Digit

252Locally-owned bridges in the Philadelphia area which are considered structurally deficient.Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer

Mara Gordon | It is easy being green

A city-run Philly Bike Share program funded by Penn would be a boon to Philly and the University

Opinion Art | Joanne Tong

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

Opinion Board | A suitable measure

In the wake of Virginia Tech, PennAlert is necessary and well-conceived

Rina Thomas | Transit for the masses

A student-transit-pass program would be mutually beneficial to both SEPTA and Penn students