Guest Columns

Guest Column by Elliot Bones | Penn students have a responsibility to pursue sustainable careers

I am suggesting that everyone commit themselves to build a just and sustainable society, whether that’s through becoming a teacher, civil rights lawyer, therapist, an environmental engineer, a regenerative farmer, or any of the many jobs that are essential to creating a society founded on justice and sustainability.

Guest Column by Alex Yang | Criticize the principles, not the people

Are we a community that, despite how much we may disagree, will at least show a classmate basic respect for putting their thoughts out onto a public forum? Or are we a community that will destroy and belittle someone over a mistake? 

Guest Column by Sabrina Ochoa | Legacy students, we have a responsibility

Legacy students, don’t hide your legacy status. Instead, acknowledge the privilege you hold in a faux-meritocratic system, speak out against it, and support others who share their struggles with the system. 

Guest Column by Oliver Stern | Stop attacking those you disagree with

A successful campus and democracy rely on healthy public debate. As a community, we must ensure that our discourse is grounded in challenging the perspectives of others and our own rather than cheaply personal shots. 

Guest Column by Lucia Gonzalez | I'm a FGLI student. This is my perspective on legacy admissions.

The notion that the only way legacy students can contribute to the “prestige” of a university implies that FGLI students can not. 

Guest Column by Jacob Hershman | The extent of Penn’s climate inaction is disturbing

Our University will never proactively address the climate crisis of its accord. And so it is time that that we — Penn students — show the University that it must change its habits and its investments whether it wants to or not. 

Guest Column by Benoit Dubé | Dear Penn: Let’s Talk.

Penn remains steadfastly committed to your health and wellness. I am personally overseeing the transition at CAPS.

Guest Column by Lauren Drake | How to help someone in crisis

When someone is in crisis, the most important thing you can ask is, "How can I help you?"

Guest column by Penn Fund co-chairs | Why we donate to the Penn Fund

We give to The Penn Fund because Penn changed all of our lives.

Guest Column by Abdul-Aliy Muhammad | Penn, complicit in slavery and displacement must engage in reparative action

This isn’t a radical idea, but a necessary demand — for nations and institutions that made their fortunes and secured their futures on the backs of the enslaved — to be held accountable.

Guest Column by Penn President Amy Gutmann | Engage daily at Penn

As we embark on a new academic year, I encourage you to seize the enormous array of opportunities at Penn to get out there, to connect with others, and to engage every day.  

Guest Column by Jaden Baum | In defense of writing seminar

Reisman’s logic, although echoing commonly circulated complaints, does not fully delve into the reasons the writing seminar exists in its current form.

Guest Column by Brittany Xiao | Callowhill BID could harm Chinatown's immigrant communities

We can do our part by showing up and protesting against construction projects that may threaten to encroach on Chinatown in the future. More than ever, it is urgent that we protect what is left. 

Guest Column | An open letter to the Penn community concerning Amy Wax

Penn must decide where its value lies: in the safety and well-being of the minorities that it proudly touts, or the pockets of those supporting Wax’s problematic discourse. 

Guest Column by Mark Hughes | Philadelphia Oil Refinery explosion is a learning moment

Penn students, staff, and faculty can better inform the City’s approach to the future of the PES site. I would like to represent Penn’s multitudes by facilitating the Penn community’s potential contributions to the advisory group’s mission. 

Guest Column by Alex Yang | Penn needs more socioeconomic diversity

While Penn’s recent efforts to expand financial aid and support to first-generation low-income students are commendable, they are insufficient. Improving access to education needs to be a foremost priority for institutions that have the resources to do so. 

Guest Column by Daniel Khashabi | Thanks to politics, I am mourning at graduation

In just a few days, the class of 2019 is going to graduate. But many individuals, like me, will walk across the stage without any parents present at the ceremony, thanks to President Trump. 

Guest Column by Daniel Song | Show exchange students some love

Before landing in America, I thought I would be able to quickly form friendships at Penn, just like I did back in my university, and have a memorable, if not a little hectic, few months before flying back to normalcy. I just didn’t count on Penn being too busy for me.

Guest Column by Andrea Goulet | Why the Penn Book Center is our Notre-Dame

An independent bookstore like the Penn Book Center is central to the preservation and continuation of culture. Its book-stocking decisions are local and responsive, not centralized or top-down like those of a corporate chain. 

Guest Column by Daniel Traister | Penn’s community needs an independent bookstore

The independent Penn Book Center has always been and still remains stocked with both books and booksellers possessing the potential to surprise a reader.