Brian Goldman
Recent articles
Brian Goldman | Gradually warming to graduation
Graduation is the nudge that gets us out of college and into the real world.
Brian Goldman | Mingling with Millennials
Young people are often lamented for their lack of organization and mobilization around youth causes. But I’m not sure if this will ever shift, because young people hold such varied political viewpoints.
Brian Goldman | Flinging stress out of the way
Spring Fling accomplishes something that is awfully hard to find elsewhere during most of the academic year. It offers full, unbounded relief from stress and we embrace it like no other.
Brian Goldman | Why family is not the f-word
If you’re lucky to have a tight, strong family — single parent or not — chances are that upbringing was vital in allowing you to attend Penn.
Brian Goldman | A greater say in our graduation speaker
When student input in selecting the commencement speaker is nothing more than a dog and pony show, administrators run the risk of backlash.
Brian Goldman | Can I see your photo ID?
Everyone knows that if you want to get into Smokey Joe’s on a Friday night, you’ll need to show an ID. Last week, Pennsylvania governor Tom Corbett signed a bill that would extend this same principle to the ballot box.
Brian Goldman | No child left behind
Tutoring, baby sitting, the University’s Big Brothers Big Sisters program all subscribe to the idea that children’s lives can be enhanced through interactions with young adults or college students.
Brian Goldman | Countering Penn’s thesis culture
Too often, thesis writing is couched in the semantics of research, research and research. Instead, we should emphasize achievement, ambition, publication and true scholarship on a subject of your choice.
Brian Goldman | Preventing an unfree press
Newspapers are not going anywhere anytime soon. What I fear, however, is that the information within those papers, here in Philadelphia, will no longer tell the entire truth or even pretend to. Our view of the world will be narrowed, impaired and propagandized.
Brian Goldman | Redistricting is ‘gerrymaddening’
Gerry-what? Gerrymandering. It’s a conventional nickname for the art of drawing state district lines in as ill-conceived a way as possible.
Brian Goldman | Flashback to a flashmob
Luckily, my encounter on Saturday left me with minimal injury, but I learned one thing — that the Bystander Effect is very much alive.
Brian Goldman | Put an end to 'Prohiboozetion'
With the recent closing of Fine Wine & Good Spirits on 41st and Market streets, our campus has reverted to its Prohibition-era existence.
Brian Goldman | Gluing back the shattered glass
Certain crimes merit punishment with no second chances. But what Stephen Glass killed was journalism’s code of ethics: a set of principles, not a body or a mind.
Brian Goldman | Too big and bloated not to fail
Two sexual abuse incidents at Penn and Penn State have given us a window into the world of institutional doublethink.
Brian Goldman | Goodbye, goodbye Occupy
There exists no right that permits a group of citizens to permanently “occupy” public space.
Brian Goldman | Friends without benefits
We need to force elected officials to reform Social Security and Medicare so these programs are still standing by the time we are old enough to retire.
Brian Goldman | JoePa the coach v. Joe Paterno the man
There is a dichotomy between sports and real life, and the two must be separated. While JoePa the coach was infallible, Joe Paterno the man failed a basic tenet of human responsibility.
Brian Goldman | Rush-ing to conclusions
Several arguments highlight the fallibility of Rush Limbaugh’s critique of classical studies majors.
Brian Goldman | Coming out of the conservative closet
Today, I’ve decided to come out of the closet. I’m not coming out as a gay man, no. I’m referring to the other kind of closet — the conservative closet.
Brian Goldman | A drawn-out war gets a drowned-out end
President Barack Obama’s announcement to withdraw all troops from Iraq by year’s end garnered relatively little attention but carries weighty implications.
