Opinion

Guest Columnist | SEPTA's far from being saved

On its billboard and subway ads, SEPTA upbeat slogan promised that it was "Serious About Change."

Weekly Digits

550Pounds that a recently found giant squid weighed. The squid, which washed up on an Australian beach, weighed less than a 1,100 pound squid found in February. Source: The Associated Press

Guest Columnist | Finding a reason for faith-based funding

I was petrified of my boss this summer. Before I started work in May, I would spend nights lying awake worrying about what it would be like to work for her. I had never had to answer to someone like her, and I had no idea what to expect. No, she's not a workaholic i-banker in New York.

Opinion Art | Abdi Farah

Guest Columnist | A different sort of July 4th

In Philadelphia's graveyards, history comes alive. Take a stroll through the cobble-stoned heart of Old City, and you'll find some of America's earliest burial grounds. Christ Church Burial Ground is one of these. On the corner of 5th and Arch streets, the church's property holds the graves of seven signers of the Declaration of Independence, including that of Benjamin Franklin.

Editorial | Rankings just a red herring

It was with much ado and media attention that the Annapolis Group announced after a recent meeting that the majority of its members - presidents of well-regarded liberal arts colleges - supported dropping out of the much-read U.S. News & World Report rankings.

Weekly Digits

1MDollars Warren Buffet bet audience members at a Hillary Clinton fundraiser that the nation's wealthiest individuals pay lower tax rates then their subordinates. Source: CNNMoney.com

Guest Columnist | A new global war for a new president

With Election Day still over sixteen months away, the 2008 presidential race is already well underway. We're in store for what will likely be another invigorating campaign season, and once again, a main issue on the mind of the average college student is, you guessed it - the War on Terror.

Opinion Art | Alicia Puglionesi

Editorial | A more global Penn

With the news that the House of Representatives passed a bill that would authorize $80 million of federal aid to study-abroad students - particularly those seeking to spend a semester in non-traditional locations -the future of international study seems to have brightened.

Guest Columnist | How Motorola started selling morality

The advertisements for Product Red are nothing else if not striking. A faded blood-red background plays host to messages printed in broken black block font: "As first world consumers, we have tremendous power. What we collectively choose to buy, or not to buy, can change the course of life and history on this planet," one such ad reads.

Guest Columnist | A better way around campus

With a death grip on my Fodor's map, I tentatively took a right. It was my first day in Munich, Germany, and I was determined to put my footprint (literally) on my home for the summer.

Weekly Digit

80Number of presidents of liberal arts colleges in the Annapolis Group, the majority of whom intend to bow out of the annual U.S. News & World Report rankings. Source: The New York Times

Weekly Digits

187,000Pounds of garbage a group says it collected from the slopes of Japan's Mount Fuji.Source: The Associated Press

Guest Columnist | Bringing politics and students together again

Let's face it: I landed a Capitol Hill internship this summer, but I don't exactly spend my days rubbing elbows with the House leadership or shaping U.S. policy. Instead, much of my time is spent answering an onslaught of constituent calls for Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.

Editorial | A ban worth keeping

On Feb. 9, it seemed like the debate would be over. That's when City Council took the logical step of banning trans-fat-based frying oils in restaurants, with a full ban of trans fats to go into effect on Sept. 8, 2008. A number of groups lauded the decision, pointing to a similar ban in New York City and arguing that the health benefits it would provide for area restaurants would greatly outweigh any downsides.

Guest Columnist | Of heritage and homelands

After weeks of anticipation, I finally made it off the waiting list for a free Birthright Israel trip through Oranim: Let Israelis Show You Israel. I was excited for this incredible opportunity - my chance to explore the Jewish holy land, meet new people and inhale a vibrantly historic culture that still thrives today.

Opinion Art | Alicia Puglionesi

Weekly Digits

35Years Bob Barker served as host of the game show The Price Is Right. He retires today.Source: The Associated Press

Guest Columnist | Building a diet on $5 a day

Watch out, Rachel Ray. If you think America on $40 a day is a challenge, consider this: The maximum food stamp benefit for one American tops out at less than $40 a week. With a little number crunching, that comes to about $5 for three square meals a day. Admittedly, the federal food stamp program is usually just meant to supplement low-income budgets.