Opinion Columns
Editorial | Transcending boundaries
Diversity in outward markers often reflects diversity of experience and thought, which are highly beneficial for a college community.Arielle Pardes | Go screw yourself
I had just reached the ripe age of 16 when my mother marched into my room, fresh from watching The Oprah Winfrey Show and announced: “We need to get you a vibrator.”
Joseph An | In defense of religion
I personally don’t know what dedicating a theme year to the Bible would have achieved, but what concerns me is the public’s outrage against the slightest semblance of religiosity in our government.
Ernest Owens | Saying it to my face
My mother taught me that problems are best addressed face to face. As confrontational and initially aggressive as that suggestion might sound, it is one of the most empowering things that a civilized individual can do.
Zachary Bell | Why I’m walking out
Walking out is not tantamount to signing an “I agree” petition — it’s deciding to engage in a discourse.
Hayley Brooks & Ali Kokot | Blackout or get out
If college is supposed to be the best four years of our lives, then why are we so eager to forget it?
Brian Goldman | Countering Penn’s thesis culture
Too often, thesis writing is couched in the semantics of research, research and research. Instead, we should emphasize achievement, ambition, publication and true scholarship on a subject of your choice.
Aya Saed | Notes from an NYPD subject
Before this incident, I was pretty confident that I was in no way subjected to the scrutiny of American law enforcement, but I was naïve. The same might apply to you.
Sally Engelhart | Are you working out for nothing?
Q: I’ve really been kicking my ass at the gym since the beginning of the semester. Why aren’t I losing any weight? — Gym Fanatic*Arielle Pardes | From the bedroom to the classroom
Despite learning very dutifully how to wrap a condom onto a banana, I have yet to find a practical use for applying contraceptives to my fruit.
Samantha Sharf | A font for Philadelphia
In our text-heavy world, fonts are everywhere — from the page you are reading to the sign on the building you are reading it in to the cellphone that you will likely fish out of your pocket at least once during these 668 words.
Kyle Henson | Detangling Diversity
Penn’s efforts amount to little more than a band-aid on a gushing wound.
Hayley Brooks & Ali Kokot | Bring back the banter
While intellectual curiosity does live at Penn, it struggles to coexist in a habitat pervaded by a pre-professional culture with an Animal House mentality.
Brian Goldman | Preventing an unfree press
Newspapers are not going anywhere anytime soon. What I fear, however, is that the information within those papers, here in Philadelphia, will no longer tell the entire truth or even pretend to. Our view of the world will be narrowed, impaired and propagandized.
Rachel del Valle | A soundtrack for every task
Digital music hasn’t only changed the way we listen to our favorite songs. I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say that it has changed the way we live our lives.
Alice Lee | Why I did not drop out of Penn
What is the true value of a structured Penn education in comparison to the education that the rest of the world has to offer? This question is particularly relevant to students who wish to pursue nontraditional careers or have a pure thirst for learning.Arielle Pardes | Rethinking sexual consent
The “no means no” take on consent suggests, falsely, that if you’re not saying no you must mean yes. If you’re drunk at a party, you must mean yes. If you’re on a date, you must mean yes. The truth is that there is only one way to say yes (hint: it’s the word yes) and nothing else is permission for getting into your partner’s pants.
Joseph An | Not another column about Jeremy Lin
When I see mocking “kowtows” coming from the stands whenever Lin scores or spectators in Asian face masks with slit eyes, it makes me realize that Lin’s break into the world of NBA is but a small step towards dismantling stereotypes about Asian people.