Guest column by Katiera Sordjan | Dear Titus Adkins, you are an embarrassment to our community
Dear Titus,
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Dear Titus,
I suppose I should be grateful that the dialogue on campus has changed.
The story is becoming all too familiar. A student struggles with symptoms of anxiety and restlessness because of academic and personal stress. They make an appointment at Counseling and Psychological Services or a local clinic, only to be told that they most likely have a much more serious, underlying mood condition, like bipolar disorder or major depression. The student is subsequently handed a prescription and sent on their merry way.
Last week, my fellow columnist Sophia Wushanley brought up an interesting observation: The workout areas of Pottruck are very segregated by gender. Often, you will find women predominately using the cardio machines on the first floor, while men tend to gravitate towards the weightlifting rooms.
Ask many people, and they will tell you that journalism has an identity crisis.
March is Women’s History Month, and International Women’s Day was during spring break, on March 8. On campus, we had the first Women’s Week in two years at the end of February, hosted by the Penn Consortium of Undergraduate Women, among other groups.
On high-pressure campuses like Penn, there is still great shame and misconception surrounding depression and suicide. The death of Madison Holleran, a 19-year-old freshman, was one of a group of student suicides that devastated the Penn community in 2014. A year later, Holleran’s family recently released her suicide notes to the public. Along with starting a foundation in their daughter’s name, Holleran’s parents hope that their story might help other young people in crisis, especially those transitioning to college.
Last Thursday, a column by Nursing junior Hannah F. Victor ran in the DP in light of the 42nd anniversary of Roe v. Wade. This Supreme Court case established that by extension of the 14th Amendment, a woman has the right to privacy, which includes her decision to abort her pregnancy. My issue with Victor's article, however, is that the claims made are not only factually inaccurate, but present a dangerous, unsupported view of the nature of abortion and women’s bodies.
P rivilege is a word I don’t like using. Especially at a place like Penn where many of us are “privileged” in some way or another. I have too often seen it break down to a contest: who has the most qualities that society has deemed secondary, be it race, gender, ability, sexual orientation or socioeconomic class.
F ootball. It comes naturally to the American mind when thinking of our culture, up there with apple pie, baseball and the stars and stripes. Our marveling at the physical prowess of athletes and adoration of celebrities seems boundless. We crowd around television sets and stadiums to watch our favorite stars, and spectatorship is nothing short of a tumultuous wave of emotions.
F rater nity pledges are stripped of their belongings and clothing and forced to parade around.
S i nce the election of President Obama, many people have tried to claim that we are a colorblind, post-racial society. It is an all-too-common claim of tolerance, especially on a campus as culturally diverse as ours: “Some of my best friends are Black/Asian/Latino/etc.,” “I don’t see race,” “Color doesn’t matter to me.”
P ho t ography was an essential part of my life as a teenager. Not only did it allow me to express myself creatively and receive recognition for my work, but it was also a way for me to bond with my father. Also having taken up photography when he was young , his experiences helped shape my passion and appreciation for the art of looking.
I am grateful to have met many people over the course of my time at Penn who are passionate. Many students are driven to make changes in the Penn community, and our larger society, by being activists both on and off campus. They regularly speak out about the injustices they see, whether it be transphobia, racism or sexism. I am proud to know people who take the seemingly commonsense idea of equality to the next level and constantly challenge others to re-examine their personal prejudices and biases.
W h en I found out about the most recent suicide at Penn, I immediately picked up my phone to talk to my mother. I had told her of the string of deaths in the Penn community since my own mental health leave, including that of someone I knew personally. On the phone, I asked her if she had heard any news regarding what happened. Unsurprisingly, she had not.
W e a ll know that one person in class who, with one comment or hand raise, has the power to make the entire room of students roll their eyes simultaneously. The one who constantly interrupts the lecture or discussion by interjecting their personal experiences that aren’t relevant, but seem to showcase something about that person’s achievements. I remember a music class where someone constantly brought up taking chorus in his private high school, or a student who always raised her hand in neuroscience to go off on a tangent on how she personally read up on the subject before taking the class.
“All About That Bass” is a cute tune by 20 year-old Meghan Trainor : poppy, infectious and full of feel-good vibes. In the song, Trainor encourages bigger women to embrace their curves and see themselves as beautiful, despite the constant societal messages telling them otherwise.
F res h fro m my mandatory vacation from Penn, I have spoken of the benefits one can find on a leave of absence and how needing one does not doom your academic career.
S i tt ing in the College offi ce over a year ago after a week of hospitalization was uncomfortable at best. I could begin to feel the weight of the terrible situation I was in. Missing the last week of classes meant that half of my courses could not be completed because finals had to be in on time, no excuses. But I could always withdraw, right? Surely, I could fix this one.
A s a high school student, I absolutely loved Tumblr. You know, that blogging site where you can lose hours of your life scrolling through pictures from music and TV fanatics, girls with film cameras and animal enthusiasts. I once came across a post that affectionately referred to the platform as the “feminist cat website.” That about sums it up.