Opinion Columns
Kurt Mitman | Internalize this
Fundamentally, should the government be funding research at Penn or in general? The private sector is great at applied research — it is easily monetizable. Basic research? Not so much.
Jeffrey Nadel | Penn’s on welfare
In an era of unprecedented government debt, if anyone should be begging the federal government to take some people’s money by way of taxation in the name of research, surely it should not be us.
Hayley Brooks & Ali Kokot | Social slacktivism
Supporting a cause has become as simple as clicking “upload” with an ease that undermines actual activism.
Morgan Jones | Problematic policy
Access to the Quadrangle building access will be restricted during Fling. According to Penn, the administration is trying to “curb the threat of underage or irresponsible drinking” and reduce the number of hospitalizations. I don’t think the new policy will be effective. In fact, I think it may have the opposite effect.Arielle Pardes | Advice for the young women of Penn
In a letter to the editor published in The Daily Princetonian on March 29, Princeton alumna Susan Patton gave her two cents to the “daughters she never had.” The advice: Now that you’ve made it to the Ivy League, it’s time to start husband hunting. The idea that my time in college is best spent finding a suitable man is, frankly, insulting.
Rachel del Valle | Pick a job, any job
There’s an unavoidable, nettling sense of superficiality that comes with mentally aligning yourself with a certain life — or in my case, lives.
Divya Ramesh | Not worth the wait
Last week, as I stood alongside a man with “Penn Maintenance” embroidered on his jacket, I received a very didactic response as I rambled on about the motivational power of a Friday evening.
Xavier Flory | A beautiful game
It’s that time of year. Grab a wurst and sit back for the sporting highlight of the year. No, I’m not talking about March Madness. I refer to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League, the annual tournament for the best footballing clubs in Europe.
Kurt Mitman | ’Til Constitution do us part
This issue goes beyond the question of straight and gay marriage currently before the court.
Robert Hsu | Give me your best shot
There will always be people who don’t like you, who want to be mean to you and who will put you down. It is impossible to control others, but we do have control over ourselves. When it comes to bullying, we have to worry less about the bullies and more about the victims.
Adam Silver | Rethinking and reforming College requirements
This is the problem with requirements: they don’t make sense. So many courses that obviously should fill them just don’t.Joke Issue: Don’t oppose the majority’s authority (DOMA)
Today, the Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments about the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act.
Rachel del Valle | Now or later
Because sometimes you don’t actually have that much to do. At the end of every horrible week, there’s a calm, and you can either choose to embrace it or unnecessarily stress yourself out about the next thing.
Caroline Brand | I think, therefore you are
Especially at Penn — a world in which six degrees of separation feels more like two — it’s all too easy to “know” someone despite never having met them.
Anthony Liveris | Information overload
The pursuit of legislation has been sidelined for the pursuit of finding true news. The creative side of entertainment is intersecting with the content, leaving us satisfied with the story, not the necessary results.
Divya Ramesh | Empty apologies
Sorry has become the panacea, but the word is caving under the weight of our demands.Paulo Bautista and Ana Bautista | For one another
We are a place of tolerance, appreciation of diversity and respect. Except this Friday, when there is a party planned with the tagline, “Join the brothers of St. Elmo for a night of papal blasphemy. Let’s get sacrilegious in honor of Pope Francis, a true minister to the poor, the sick, and the blackout.”
Kurt Mitman | A wasted opportunity
Obama should have used his visit to Israel to put forth a comprehensive proposal for peace and the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Jeff Nadel | We are criminals
Every weekend, college campuses across the country are transformed into hotbeds of crime by misguided laws with track records of abysmal failure.