This fuels a constant, underlying thread of competition in our interactions. If a peer says he has two midterms this week and got four hours of sleep last night, another will counter in a show of supposed empathy that she has two papers due tomorrow, pulled an all-nighter last night and is in the midst of Hell Week for an upcoming show.
Calling Palestinian deaths “murder” discourages objective scrutiny. To a layperson without serious knowledge of the conflict, it presents the situation in over-simplistic, one-sided and emotionally exploitative terms.For one thing, the accusation of murder yields little insight and discourages scrutiny by those who want to understand the conflict. How many deaths, for example, were accidental, or provoked by local insurgents? How many deliberately attacked Israeli soldiers? On important details such as these, the exhibit was characteristically silent.
Right now, as we grapple with yet another tragedy on our own campus, any effort to help those suffering with mental health issues should be praised and bolstered, not condemned. When even the care that Counseling and Psychological Services provides — from one-on-one counseling to group therapy sessions — is not always enough for a student struggling with mental health issues, how can we begin to think about repealing a law that works to make this type of care affordable for all Americans?
I felt out of place from the first time I stepped onto Penn’s campus. Being a black male from the South who isn’t affluent and wasn’t given the opportunity to attend an elite private high school, I knew I was different from most of my peers in every aspect.
Thus, moral relativity becomes a convenient way to dogmatically support any worldview whatsoever. Of course, the relativist has the advantage of being keenly aware of his intellectual superiority because he does not really “believe” what he preaches. But this absence of belief does not necessarily represent greater practical rigor than all the dominant theistic philosophies from Lao-Tzu to Plato to Descartes.
Hannah Rosenfeld is a College sophomore from Tokyo.
Hannah Rosenfeld is a College sophomore from Tokyo.
Calling Palestinian deaths “murder” discourages objective scrutiny. To a layperson without serious knowledge of the conflict, it presents the situation in over-simplistic, one-sided and emotionally exploitative terms.For one thing, the accusation of murder yields little insight and discourages scrutiny by those who want to understand the conflict. How many deaths, for example, were accidental, or provoked by local insurgents? How many deliberately attacked Israeli soldiers? On important details such as these, the exhibit was characteristically silent.
Right now, as we grapple with yet another tragedy on our own campus, any effort to help those suffering with mental health issues should be praised and bolstered, not condemned. When even the care that Counseling and Psychological Services provides — from one-on-one counseling to group therapy sessions — is not always enough for a student struggling with mental health issues, how can we begin to think about repealing a law that works to make this type of care affordable for all Americans?
These shouldn’t be the only two options, but stress creates a mob mentality. We talk about how overwhelmed we are, and then we feel left out if we’re not equally as scrambled. If we haven’t worked until midnight like our friends have, then we feel like we’re not adequate students. There’s a general feeling that if you’re not stressed out of your mind, you’re doing something wrong.
We can help by providing students with safe and sober living quarters so they can stay in school even as they work to overcome addiction. The Haven At College is a nonprofit organization that provides housing and support services for students who attend school while dealing with addiction. The Haven has given college students the opportunity to attend college, despite their recovery needs.
Jonathan Iwry is a 2014 College graduate from Potomac, Md. His email address is jon.iwry@gmail.com.
Who is fighting whom? A democratic country versus a terrorist organization. Is “number of deaths” the only way to measure justice? Or should we instead look at how well a government protects its people? Let’s ask, why did the Hamas leadership tell the citizens of Gaza to ignore the pamphlets, phone calls and text messages sent by the Israel Defense Forces to Palestinian civilians before attacking rocket-launching sites?
At an institution that boasts of its numerous opportunities available to all students, I was a system blip that went down unnoticed. After declaring my departure from the program, I was instantly and somewhat viciously asked by Penn Global staff to return all previous funding.
Anneka DeCaro is a College freshman. Her email address is annekaxiv@gmail.com.
While I appreciate Watson’s candor, and don’t wish to take away from her experiences, I scarcely feel that a rich, Caucasian actress from a wealthy, developed nation such as Britain is the best spokesperson for women’s issues on equality. Yes, Emma Watson brings celebrity and media attention, but by making women like her, Hillary Clinton and Angelina Jolie the spokespeople for these causes, we heedlessly claim that the only voices worth listening to belong to privileged white women.
We all 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.
Nick Moncy is a College junior from North Miami, Fla. His email address is nickmon@sas.upenn.edu.
As a hub for university management and life, it falls on the administration to ensure that serious news is disseminated broadly and thoroughly, rather than leaving it to individual student groups and word of mouth.
Like most Penn students, I have political and social ideas about what should be done to help “the underclass.”But there’s a guy who sits on the corner of 38th and Chestnut in a wheelchair that I’ve walked past many times. He’s the poverty I’d like to solve. But not once — even just with a passing smile — have I acknowledged his humanity.
Furthermore, we need to be aware that when we uphold the value of artists such as Iggy Azalea, we allow them to take space from other artists — in this example, black artists — who are producing art that is both more authentic and less offensive.
Of course language is supposed to change — it should always be evolving with the ideas of its speakers. But being eager to create new uses of language doesn’t necessarily excuse us from stomping on old ones. When we scramble, garble or generally maim language with reckless abandon, we risk burying important concepts alive.
Let’s start with the fact that universalizing beauty is a lie, and it’s not a lie that’s fooling anyone. Not everyone is beautiful. Beauty is a relative term. As such, for some to gain the label “beautiful,” others must lose it. Beauty, like cleverness and athleticism, is a spectrum, and there’s nothing wrong with appreciating particular beauty in others. If everyone is beautiful, the term is meaningless.
Solutions by The State News
