Opinion Columns
Letter from the President | Black Lives Matter
For too long, the DP has failed to lift up the voices of Black students, and make sure their unique experiences and perspectives are heard and valued. We have also failed to make sure our staff represents the diversity of the student body at Penn. With such a large platform on campus, we must do better.
Jessica Gooding | Take down the George Whitefield statue
As Philadelphia reckons with its own racist statues of Christopher Columbus and Frank Rizzo, now is the time for Penn to do the same on its own campus.
Christine Kim | Everything wrong with Philadelphia’s criminal justice system
Why should we care? As students lucky enough to attend a prestigious university as Penn, we have the power and resources to make the city government listen to us.
Angelina Eimannsberger | Read Black women authors
As a Ph.D. student in Comparative Literature, I naturally think that reading is the answer to everything.
Jessica Gooding | We don’t need another Starbucks
It is up to us, as consumers, to support small, local businesses. We can do this in our hometowns and when we are able to return safely to campus.
Varun Saraswathula | Don’t ignore COVID-19’s ongoing threat
Our nation is slipping back into the grasp of a pandemic, and we’re blindly letting it happen.
Stephanie Yoon | College should not be the best four years of your life
Our time at Penn should be remembered as a “great” four years, rather than the “best.”
Angelina Eimannsberger | How do we integrate our private and academic lives on campus?
Our campus is an intersection of productive labor and studying, the reproductive work of eating, taking care of needs like healthcare or even laundry, and relaxation.
Bridget Yu | Stop mindlessly using the word “crazy”
If we are to combat mental health stigma, completely eliminating negative usage of the word “crazy” is a necessary step.
Jessica Gooding | The human price of COVID-19
As states begin to open, we must acknowledge that COVID-19 has not disappeared and its rampage will continue to rattle families like mine.
Stephanie Yoon | Don’t let the pandemic spoil your friendships too
It’s ironic. Our generation, comfortable with, and dependent on, virtual interactions, finds our friendships at risk with the coronavirus’ mandate for physical distancing.
Agatha Advincula | Online classes do not align with a “Penn” education
This abstracted version of Penn’s community, though inspiring, still fails to provide students with one of Penn’s core values: engagement.
Lark Yan | Privilege as an Asian American Christian
Asian Americans and Christians are part of a unique niche in American society that seems to tell us it’s best we stay out of the fight.
Isami McCowan | Rioting is a nuanced and deeply misunderstood form of protest
Here are seven explanations of the deeper truths, purposes, and misinformation behind rioting —and why blanket condemnations can blur truth and the pursuit of justice.
Morgan Gilfond | First the virus, now the protests. Black-owned businesses are hurting.
Small business owner Leon Scott founded the Silver Legends jewelry boutique over fifteen years ago. This past week, looters inflicted severe property damage on the store and stole some merchandise.
Surayya Walters | How to be anti-racist
As someone who is tired of the cycle — wrongful death, post about it, protest, repeat — we must remain committed to the fight against injustice, even when it is not convenient.
Pedro Saltos Montenegro | The challenges of studying at Penn in a foreign language
Despite having the perfect answer in my head, I sometimes don’t share it, and if I do, it doesn’t always sound like I meant it to.
Varun Saraswathula | Racial discrimination in the standardized testing system
By giving standardized testing the weight it currently has, we end up heightening the barriers to higher education that many Black students already face.
Jessica Gooding | I don't see the American flag as a representation of freedom
Black Americans do not have the privilege to look at the American flag as a representation of freedom.