Is the reality of technology that grim? The possibility of being imprisoned by robots seems to make for a good action film at best. As cliché as it sounds, I think the only thing we should fear being imprisoned by is our own close-mindedness.
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This Thanksgiving, my sister was back from her first semester of college, already a little bit overwhelmed.
The presumption of innocence is such a fundamental human right that a majority of democracies, constitutional monarchies, republics and even the UN have written it into their legal codes and constitutions.
The Latest
By
Alec Ward
·
Feb. 10, 2015
There are self-evident problems with mandatory community service, namely that any work done not out of altruism but out of a desire to either complete a mandatory step toward the receipt of one’s own degree or a desire to make one’s transcript more appealing to potential evaluators is probably better described as “self-service by means of community-related work” than as true community service.
Now, 16 years later, we find ourselves in the middle of Black History Month and UMOJA Week at a time where black unity and reflection are needed most. We not only find our nation in the grips of a raging debate in regards to systemic oppression and genocide of black bodies, but our campus community as well.
While loved ones try to make sense of the death, suicide victims and depressed individuals often cannot understand the effect on their family, or ultimately, feel that their loved ones would be better off.
While loved ones try to make sense of the death, suicide victims and depressed individuals often cannot understand the effect on their family, or ultimately, feel that their loved ones would be better off.
This Thanksgiving, my sister was back from her first semester of college, already a little bit overwhelmed.
The presumption of innocence is such a fundamental human right that a majority of democracies, constitutional monarchies, republics and even the UN have written it into their legal codes and constitutions.
That’s the beauty of free speech: Every now and then, people might actually prompt us to rethink, revise or even reinforce our ideas.
Even more indicative of the problems with the political process of the Penn Undergraduate Assembly was the widespread propagation of the idea that the UA is not the place for activist work.
We should be relying on universities to teach us not what to think, but how to think.
The problem ... stems from the fact that people conflate freedom of speech with being given a microphone and a pat on the back.
I’ve been told by too many people to remember that it must have been easy for me to get into Penn. That I have it so easy because I am on full financial aid and don’t have to take out loans. That I was the perfect diversity candidate. And I am sick of it.
Furthermore, as college students, we’re consumers of a product. Penn’s tuition is $47,668 a year. If the average student takes five courses a semester, that’s $4,766.80 per class. We wouldn’t buy a $4,000 dress without trying it on, and we shouldn’t have to register for courses without testing them out.
While none of us really need to learn how to build a fire or hut anymore, mirror neurons are still important in the modern world. As college students in an environment that will shape our lifelong opinions and beliefs, we should use these neurons to expand our knowledge of other people, times and places.
Fraternity pledges are stripped of their belongings and clothing and forced to parade around. New student leaders are verbally belittled before assuming their positions. Members of a club are dragged out of bed in the middle of the night, doused with alcohol comma and pressured to drink.
Across the country, similarly misguided school authorities have ordered the removal of nominally religious images and quotations (such as an educational poster featuring the five pillars of Islam or a Ronald Reagan quote that mentioned God) and banned or bullied religious clubs.
There are plenty of people walking around with fancy positions who haven’t accomplished much. And then there are those without any formal recognitions who will always be remembered for the impact that they have had.
I understand where my friend is coming from. Part of my selfish, pre-frosh fantasies about Penn was making something more of myself, of standing out somehow in the massive crowd. I didn’t know how that would manifest or what I would do to achieve that, but I wanted to be different. I think we all did.
A feeling of too many problems to be able to affect change has begun to permeate the activism community. Too many problems and too little time. How is a student supposed to spend time contending for a cause, while also keeping up with school work?
I should be able to identify as a Zionist without being called a fascist. I should also be able to criticize particular policies by the Israeli government without being anti-Zionism. As the debate stands, it’s all or nothing. It’s inaccurate and unfair to those of us who are looking for a middle ground. To put it simply, it’s unreasonable.
This pervasive notion that black people have to change their bodies is ingrained in our society and makes it difficult to recognize how external forces have been internalized. Whether this self-loathing comes in the form of using makeup or chemicals to brighten skin tones or using heat or treatments to straighten hair, the goal has been to meet a standard of beauty that elevates one group of people and simultaneously demeans another.
