05/04/09 5:00am
The task of writing this farewell has been on my mind for months. While I knew I had to do it, finding a way to fit four years into 700 words wasn't easy.
I thought the best way to bid adieu to my undergraduate life was with a nice bedtime story a la Goodnight Moon.
04/21/09 5:00am
Last week, the Columbia Spectator wrote about the college's plan to add a sustainable-development major for fall 2010. Cited as "trans-disciplinary," the major would encompass multiple topics and include a fieldwork component.
This degree program - which sounds like old-school environmental studies on steroids - will be the undergraduate arm within the school's Earth Institute, which works to "help achieve sustainable development primarily by expanding the world's understanding of Earth as one integrated system," according to its Web site.
04/14/09 5:00am
As we close in on the final days of the school year, Spring Fling and Hey Day begin to overshadow our scholarly duties once again. Fried Oreos and skimmer hats are just a lot more fun than exams, obviously. But unlike last year, when many juniors were uncertain about whether or not they could attend Hey Day because of its scheduling, this year we all find ourselves with a new twist on tradition.
03/31/09 5:00am
Spring Fling concert tickets went on sale yesterday - did you line up to throw down $30?
From my own casual observation yesterday morning, there was no line in sight at the Social Planning and Event Committee's table on Locust (aside from the line of Dzine2Show models posing on trash cans).
03/24/09 5:00am
Beer may be becoming the new cheesesteak in Philadelphia. Left and right, gastropubs and bars devoted to craft beers are found throughout every neighborhood of the city. It's just as easy to find a microbrew as an "American without" anywhere you go downtown.
03/17/09 5:00am
Spring is in the air, finally. Lovey-dovey couples will soon stroll hand-in-hand along the daffodil-lined Locust Walk giggling in their happiness. Cue the music, if you please.
But appearances can be deceiving. As anyone with an Internet connection knows, even the most seemingly happy relationships can have a dark side.
03/03/09 5:00am
It's that time of year again. What's the beginning of spring without a column about graduation speakers? With 76 days to go before the Class of 2009 becomes the newest group of Penn alumni, the senior class is forming expectations about this year's Commencement speaker, Eric Schmidt, Google chairman and chief executive officer.
02/17/09 5:00am
Random selection is no friend of mine. I've been signing up for preceptorials since I was a freshman, and I have yet to be among the chosen few in the small, non-credit courses that get lauded as a major selling point for the University. My first disappointment came after I registered for a Harry Potter discussion in 2005, and I don't expect to land a spot in wine or cheese tasting this semester.
02/10/09 5:00am
It was a week of endings - Izzy and Zoe's, Ruckus and Juicy Campus all said their quiet goodbyes, slipping off the college scene without too much commotion. That can't be said for the end of Michael Phelps' era as the All-American poster boy. The Olympic champ's national image took a big hit (ha! Get it?) after a British newspaper published a photo of him smoking marijuana from a bong at the University of South Carolina.
02/03/09 5:00am
Last Monday, at 7:36 p.m., Philadelphia police responded to shots fired at 39th and Ludlow streets, about a block away from Hamilton Court, Chestnut Hall and the Hub. A black Escalade drove off from the scene, later apprehended by police. Seven casings were found, no injuries reported.
01/27/09 5:00am
In case you didn't get the memo, the economy's not doing too hot right now. This week's corporate report cards won't likely brighten the situation, so brace yourself for a financial Hurricane Katrina. On the home front, the job-seeking senior class grimaces over the uncertainty of their post-Penn lives, but the anxiety over securing a coveted junior-year internship amid a deepening recession is the big story among the Class of 2010 right now.
01/20/09 5:00am
I'm easily distracted. I have to have my background noise while studying, and during class there are plenty of things that can steal my attention away from the professor --- Gchat, Digg and Perez Hilton, to name a few.
The majority of my distractions have one thing in common - they originate on a lovely little thing we call "the Internet" and are accessible on a portable device called the "laptop.
12/03/08 5:00am
Provost Ron Daniels and I have something in common: We'll both depart dear old Penn next semester.
But we're also very different in that sense - I'll take off in May after donning a cap and gown, but he's heading to Johns Hopkins at the beginning of March to assume his new position as the university's president.
11/26/08 5:00am
"What was the source of the following phrase: 'government of the people, for the people, by the people?'" Your choices are: the "I Have a Dream" speech, the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution or the Gettysburg Address. If you don't know the answer, don't fret - I missed it too (It was the Gettysburg Address).
11/19/08 5:00am
We all know what NSO involves - a healthy dose of hellos, welcome backs and of course, partying. Freshmen spend their days at University events that introduce them to Penn and its workings. But once 11:00 chimes in, off-campus houses fling open their doors to those hoards of students exploring the campus party scene for the first time.
11/12/08 5:00am
I always pity the professor or TA grading my blue-book exams. My handwriting gradually deteriorates to a foreign alphabet by the last page, and cross-outs overwhelm my intelligent reasoning and argumentation.
Then there's the lack of flexibility to change an answer I wrote 50 minutes earlier.
11/05/08 5:00am
I received a promotional e-mail from Starbucks on Monday that proposed a question: "What if we cared as much on November 5th as we care on November 4th?"
Don't let the origin of this message diminish the question's merit. Today is Nov. 5 - how much do you care about the election now? Or better yet, how much will it matter tomorrow?
After such a long election season, it's easy for us to let out a sigh of relief and settle back into our politically apathetic lives.
10/22/08 5:00am
We're nearing the end of October, Fall Break has come and gone, so that can only mean one thing - it's almost Halloween!
That may be the first event which comes to most students' minds - my own costume is waiting impatiently to make its debut - but before Halloween week rolls in, some students find themselves playing host to mom and dad.
10/08/08 5:00am
I often wonder about the point of many things: "recommended" books for class, bug-eye sunglasses, the food court at 34th and Walnut streets. But my recent ponderings have been about the Benjamin Franklin Scholars program.
The majority of BFS students are mysteriously selected as incoming freshmen and must take at least one Benjamin Franklin seminar per year to graduate with recognition as a scholar.
10/01/08 5:00am
Applying to graduate school? Get ready to familiarize yourself with some alphabet soup: GRE, GMAT, LSAT, MCAT. The latter three concern those students applying to business, law and medical school. Students hoping to pursue the arts and sciences take the GRE, or the Graduate Record Examination.
