However, there is one thing that tends to separate athletics from other extracurriculars: risk of serious injury. I can think of few other extracurriculars where there is a real possibility of suffering injuries such as concussions, torn ligaments and broken bones, including the spine.

I don’t believe in taking this life for granted. Obsessing over what happens after death is often a disguise for obsessing over death itself, and fearing the inevitable casts a bitter and unnecessary shadow over the time we still have. Others might feel that their time on earth is spoiled by its lack of permanence; I think that makes it all the more precious.

Sam Sherman is a College junior from Marblehead, Mass. His email address is samsherman6@gmail.com.

Penn alumni returned to Penn's campus this weekend for reunions and festivities as part of Homecoming weekend. 

Playing in a game that Rudy Fuller had earlier described as one where “if you don’t win it, we don’t deserve to be [Ivy League] champions,” Penn men’s soccer failed to live up to its coach’s ultimatum .

A look back at the colorful characters on Penn's campus during Halloween day. 

After defeating Lehigh earlier in the week, the Quakers continued their winning streak with another victory against Brown, 2-0, in conference play.

On Saturday, two Penn wrestlers, senior Lorenzo Thomas and senior C.J. Cobb, represented the Quakers in the National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Star Classic in front of over 5,000 fans.

What a way to go out. On Senior Day, the Quakers took their seniors out on top, outlasting Brown, 2-1, on a cold and rainy Saturday afternoon on Ellen Vagelos field.

After the women’s team was unable to break through at Heptagonals – finishing last as a team in the Ivy championship meet – junior Tom Awad took first in the men’s race, leading the men’s team to an impressive third-place finish.

A bitterly cold rain drove much of the anticipated Homecoming crowd away, and the Quakers didn’t give the several thousand that braved the rain many reasons to cheer.

At Penn, innovation is welcomed with fireworks, confetti and flying drones.

A bitterly cold rain has kept most fans from attending Penn football’s homecoming game against Brown. It apparently drove away Penn’s offense for much of the first half as well.

To Penn men’s soccer, every upcoming game is like playing for the Ivy League championship. The team will need to maintain that approach through Saturday when the Red and Blue host Brown at Rhodes Field.

If there was ever a time where Penn football needed to bear down, this would be it.

Creator of the TED conference and School of Design graduate Richard Saul Wurman finds creativity through terror.