Perhaps it is a way to connect with like-heritage students in a school teeming with people from every corner of the globe. Maybe, it is just a way to look cool.

While I empathize with students who are just trying to get the highest grades possible, they should not do so at the expense of students who did not have access to these higher-level high school courses.

As for Penn, it’s a safe bet that none of us students knew exactly what we were signing up for. Still, as with any new path, we signed up for possibility. 

 The smartphone has gone from being used as a communication device to more of a crutch. We use our phones to avoid making eye contact with people on Locust Walk, in line at the grocery store, and in the elevator.

Like editing an essay, reinventing doesn’t mean that we’re erasing everything we had before. We are tweaking it, refining it, uncovering the original spark hidden in the chaotic mind. 

It is a challenge to think about jumping into the swamp that so many are shouting about draining. But, members of the Penn community are precisely the sorts of individuals that America needs now.

GPAs in college do not reflect how smart we are. They’re designed to reflect how much we are willing to work for each class.

An online world of people seeking sex with no strings attached, waiting to pass judgement on our appearances, can be toxic.

If we insist on viewing time as ours, then we have to acknowledge that we’ve never misplaced a single second; only put it somewhere it’s a little more difficult to show off on a plaque.

Letting what others do bother you, and critiquing them for it, is less productive than observing and understanding.

Students should have adequate breaks that enable them to de-stress and process everything that has happened since the beginning of the year.

The fall semester is just about to end and a lot has happened that has left lasting impressions and changes on this campus.

Our neglect to take responsibility for our contribution to the toxic parts of Penn is what allows it to persist.

The drive to create some sort of legacy, though often expressed in unusual ways, stems from a common desire to remember and be remembered.

Especially at Penn, we’re trying our hardest to cram as much as we possibly can in the four years we’re here, or at least we’re trying to make something of ourselves.

You should not and do not need to believe that Penn is perfect. You should not love it unconditionally. You only need to love it enough to believe that it is worth saving.

You cannot always repress and ignore grievances you have with certain people. Nor can you avoid becoming close to those same people in the first place.