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.

Ernest Gomez | Counterpoint: Diversity programs have value

'Everyone's a little bit racist," according to a song from the Broadway musical Avenue Q. The recently terminated Whole New World diversity training program at the University of Delaware told 7,000 dorm residents otherwise. The program came under scrutiny after students complained that they were pressured into accepting politically slanted views on sensitive topics including race.

Ernest Gomez | A second look at minority faculty recruitment

In a paper released on Oct. 31st, Donna Nelson of the University of Oklahoma highlights the lack of tenured and tenure-track underrepresented minority faculty in the top 100 departments of science and engineering disciplines. Nelson states that having fewer underrepresented minority (URM) faculty members creates a shortage of mentors for minority students that can decrease the appeal of academia.

Ernest Gomez | Nipping depression in the bud

Think of any 10 undergrads at Penn. Would you believe that four or five of them might be depressed? According to a national survey of 13,500 college students published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2005, 45 percent of undergraduates reported experiencing depression severe enough to prevent them from functioning day to day.

Ernest Gomez | The great sex survey scam

We might be unranked in football, but we've almost cracked the top 10 in the world's most-played sport. Penn took 11th place in the second annual Sexual Health Report Card, a ranking of sexual health resources at 139 U.S. colleges and universities released by the makers of Trojan condoms.

Ted Gomez | A road not taken for SEAS

As a Penngineer, I've been prejudged as a socially awkward Asian who's good at math but inept at the English language. This stereotype is almost true: I'm actually not very good at math. Self-mockery aside, I find that the typecasting of engineers as poor speakers and writers manifests a common tendency to create a divide between the arts and sciences.

Ernest Gomez | Heavy drinking and high-school students don't mix

Scheduling Spring Fling and Penn Previews for the same weekend is a disaster waiting to happen.

Ernest Gomez | Law students behaving badly

Students should be responsible on public forums, since slanderous information online can affect job offers.

Ernest Gomez | Realizing that it's all in your head

Allowing students to use cheat sheets in class prevents them from learning how to commit information to memory in life.

Ernest Gomez | Unemployment lines outside the research lab

Greater opportunities are needed for non-work-study students seeking out part-time jobs on campus.

Ernest Gomez | A haze-y situation

Anti-hazing policies should be enforced for all campus groups, not just Greek organizations.

Ernest Gomez | The unspoken admissions dilemna

The internal transfer process should be more difficult to stop students from using other programs to get into Wharton.