Opinion Columns
Toe the Line: Penn Democrats | Keystone XL
After six years of offering no substantial policy alternative to President Obama and his administration, the new Republican Congress has seemingly found its silver bullet: the passage of the Keystone XL pipeline by both houses. The pipeline will travel from the oil fields of Alberta to Nebraska, traversing about 1,100 miles with most of it being built in the United States.
Oscar A. Rudenstam | Depoliticizing the science of life
Charles Darwin was hesitant, and rightly so. The implications of his crowning achievement, “On the Origin of Species,” would reach far and wide, setting off an upheaval in our conception of the natural world and our place within it.
Sophia Wushanley | Science says
Somewhere along the line, a lot of people have come to see science as an ideology we can opt in or out of rather than a process of logical enquiry.
Dani Blum | Back out of black outs
We’re embarrassed to admit that we can’t handle our alcohol. No one wants to be the person who can’t go out. Nobody wants to ask for help.
Ravi Jain | The apocalypse of technology
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.
Alec Ward | Practice isn't what we preach
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.
The Vision | A "black problem"?
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.
Katiera Sordjan | The selfish gene
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.
Sophia Wushanley | Life and deadlines
This Thanksgiving, my sister was back from her first semester of college, already a little bit overwhelmed.
Shawn Kelley | Guilty until proven innocent
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.
Jonathan Iwry | Offended? Good.
That’s the beauty of free speech: Every now and then, people might actually prompt us to rethink, revise or even reinforce our ideas.Guest column by Devan Spear | Reclaiming the Undergraduate Assembly
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.
Jonathan Iwry | Why your major sucks
We should be relying on universities to teach us not what to think, but how to think.
Sophia Wushanley | Free speech and political correctness
The problem ... stems from the fact that people conflate freedom of speech with being given a microphone and a pat on the back.
Yessenia Gutierrez | The 'easy' way at Penn
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.
Dani Blum | Confessions of a student shopaholic
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.
Maya Rawal | Mirror, mirror
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.
Katiera Sordjan | The new Stockholm syndrome
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.
Jeremiah Keenan | Public practice of private faith
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.