BRAD HONG is a College sophomore from Morristown, N.J.

SIYIN HAN is a College senior from Birmingham, Ala.

CLAUDIA LI is a College senior from Santa Clara, Calif.

From NFL players kneeling during the national anthem to the anti-LGBTQ preachers on College Green, free speech dominated national and local headlines this year. 

Students still swarm the former vice president nearly every time he appears on campus, and events where he has spoken have drawn hundreds on campus. 

The House of Representatives passed a version of the $1.5 trillion tax plan on Nov. 16, and it included a provision taxing tuition waivers for graduate students.

From the closure of popular gelato place Capogiro to the announcement of New College House West, 2017 was a big year for real estate at Penn. 

Regardless of what students thought about Trump’s first year, the Penn brand has inevitably entered the national discussion surrounding his administration. 

Penn women’s basketball ended its semester on Monday night with a tough trip to Saint Joseph’s, escaping with a 57-50 win to kick off a brief 11-day break. 

Considering the sheer competitiveness and ubiquity of Penn’s club culture, it seems only fitting that the Year in the Review issue takes into account the successes of Penn's club sports in 2017. 

For many teams at Penn, there is one event that stands out over the others: The Ivy League Championship.

Both Penn men’s basketball and women’s basketball saw their seasons end in agonizing fashions last March, but neither of those final games should take away from thrilling 2017s for both teams.

The wire-to-wire domination that Penn women’s basketball displayed en route to its third conference title in four years was impressive, but that wasn’t the only Penn team to bring home Ivy League glory in 2017. A pair of Penn programs continued the elite play they’ve shown in recent years, as both Penn men’s fencing and Penn women’s lacrosse took home shares of the Ivy League title.

After earning his first Ivy League Player of the Week award of the season two weeks ago by putting in a 55-minute effort at Monmouth, the sophomore guard won his second this week after totaling 41 points across three games. 

While multiple former Quakers have been bouncing around preseason and practice squads for the past few years, the past year represented the program’s best chance in decades to land skill players in high-profile spots. 

After playing the most minutes of any men’s basketball team in the country in November, the schedule quiets down considerably in December. After dispatching Dayton at their home court on Saturday, the Quakers won’t return to action until December 27. That is a gap of 17 days without a game. 

At 8-4, Penn is off to its best start since the 2002-03 season, when the Fran Dunphy-led Quakers finished undefeated in Ivy League play. That’s notable in itself, but what’s even more impressive is that the Red and Blue have been doing nearly all of their damage away from the Palestra.