Guest Columns

Guest column by Emmanuel Cordova | Undocumented medical students: Opening the doors and addressing health disparities

Granting medical school admission to undocumented students with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) like myself has the potential to alleviate the declining Latino physician workforce.

Guest column by Sara Jones and Victoria Pereira | The Fling party that never got busted

A few hours after the weekend ended and our tired bodies were flinged/flang/flung out, curious friends pelted us with the same question: "What’s Fling like for MERT?" Our answer to this question is always the same: "organized chaos." But also, as far as our positions are concerned, "you have no idea." It’s no rumor that Fling weekend is MERT’s busiest.

Guest column by Jeremiah Keenan | Flowers, cake and the RFRA

In last Tuesday’s Toe the Line, Carter Skeel argued that Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act is a reasonable law.

Guest column by Zakya Hall | Restoring the Voting Rights Act

The right to vote is sacrosanct in the United States, and the attack on voting rights is a fundamental threat to American democracy.

Guest column by Aderinola Adejare and Angela Ddamba | Disengaging with an Africa rising

Africa is a diverse continent, with a great number of political, economic and cultural strides being taken, in line with the “Africa rising” narrative.

Guest column by Robert Klein | Our voice in 2016

Here at Penn, it’s all too easy to get caught up in our immediate to-do list. In 2016, our campus will be caught up in our foremost national duty: electing the 45th President of the United States.

Guest column by Joyce Kim and Joshua L. Chilcote | A year in-review: having already built a better government

A Year In-Review: Having Already Built A Better Government This past year, we were excited to lead a campus that was named the the best college nationwide by USA Today and of course No.

Guest column by Lindsay Balow and Liza Johnson | Speaking out

Penn is one of the most prestigious universities in the world, and we’re proud of that — especially considering that women literally run Penn. The University president, the Undergraduate Assembly president and our senior class president are all women.

Guest column by Jade Huynh and Lauren Ballester | Penn divest from displacement

Historically, students have been at the forefront of change by demanding accountability from their own institutions.

Guest column by Jane Meyer and Ray Clark | More than school, it's our home

The Penn community has a diverse collection of backgrounds, experiences and interests. As a student body, we are at our best when we collaborate, so that’s why we are planning to improve relationships between Greek life and cultural groups, increase male involvement in sexual assault prevention, and also bring the UA closer to the students to raise the level of transparency in student government.

Guest column by Charles Mark | Jerome, you deserved better

Is this the lesson a first rate university wants to teach its students? Appearance, not merits, should dominate?

Guest column by Adam Hersh | Perpetuating exclusivity: the superfluousness of senior societies

On a regular basis this month, we’ll all get to enjoy the spectacle of well-credentialed people in silly clothes running drunkenly around campus drawing chalk symbols on whatever surface they can find.

Guest column by Cheyenne Rogers | A call to action: increased University support for low-income students

In order to become a University that is truly invested in improving the lives of its low-income students, the first step is simple: talk. The University needs a forum for discussion if we are to understand where support for low-income students is lacking and how to improve it.

Guest column by Nate Bronstein | After graduation, walk the walk

There’s something you should know about me: I believe in superheroes. When I was a kid, I used to rush home from school every day to catch the latest episode of the Super Friends — a cheesy superhero cartoon series from the 70s.

Guest Column by David Britto | Why pride isn't an admissions criteria

In her column, “Inviting Quaker pride,” two weeks ago, Dani Blum argued that Penn should continue to admit high percentages of the freshman class through the Early Decision program.

Guest column by Connie Chen, Will Johnson and Thomas Lee| Five myths about fossil fuel divestment

Fossil fuel divestment is often misunderstood by opponents, so we're here to debunk common myths.

Guest column by Julia Slater | More than a week for women

Sometimes it’s easy to sweep sexism under the rug. Sometimes it's easy to see it as a problem that exists elsewhere — not on college campuses, and certainly not at a place as progressive as Penn.

Guest column by Dia Sotiropoulou | The blue-and-red-eyed monster

As I’ve scrolled through my Facebook news feed recently, I’ve stumbled every so often on emphatic promotional blurbs urging me to “beat Harvard.” With a “like” to the Daily Pennsylvanian’s Facebook page, apparently, I can stick it to those sneering Cambridgeites and help overtake the popularity of their altogether-too-revered Crimson.

Guest column by Xeno Washburne and Amber Blaylock | Autism Speaks and Penn's Neurodiversity Problem

Autism Speaks has no interest in improving the lives of autistic people. It is dedicated entirely to improving the lives of those without autism, who, it holds, are unfairly burdened by having to deal with people whose sensory and social experiences differ dramatically from their own, to the point where cold-blooded murder is an understandable, sympathetic response. Autism Speaks seeks not to change the future for autistic people, but to end it.

Guest column by Will Johnson and Thomas Lee | Gutmann’s climate plan is not enough

Last Tuesday, President Amy Gutmann sent an email to the Penn community about the launch of Climate Action Plan 2.0. Despite its account of previous accomplishments and plans for the next five years, CAP 2.0 falls short of the mark. To be a genuine climate action leader, Penn must divest its endowment from fossil fuels and reinvest in clean energy.