Amira Fawcett is an Engineering senior from Houston, Texas. Her e-mail address is fawcett@dailypennsylvanian.com.
'A pragmatic love of knowledge." In case you haven't seen any of Penn's recent advertising material, this phrase is now linked to our University with such other buzzwords as "entrepreneurship," "invention" and "outreach." The phrase represents a nervousness about appearing too intellectual, too smart for our own good.
Alicia Puglionesi is a College senior from Havertown, Pa. Her e-mail address is puglionesi@dailypennsylvanian.com.
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Two weeks ago, The Daily Californian, the independent student newspaper at UC Berkeley, announced that it would suspend its Wednesday print edition. The Daily Orange, the paper at Syracuse, announced days later it would do the same for its Friday edition. Many in college journalism - myself included - hoped that student papers would remain largely unaffected by the turmoil in news media.
Recently, I had a conversation with a current high-school senior about chances and strategies for applying to Penn. She was from my alma mater - a rural public school of 1,600 - and if admitted, would be only the second graduate to break into the Ivy League in more than 10 years.
Last May, President Amy Gutmann talked to FastCompany Magazine about Penn's efforts in fields that "are not just life enhancing but also life saving." We're glad this isn't just talk. In June, Penn received a $50 million donation for a translational research center to help facilitate interactions between clinical and academic medical staff, and the $232-million Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine opened its doors.
Last May, President Amy Gutmann talked to FastCompany Magazine about Penn's efforts in fields that "are not just life enhancing but also life saving." We're glad this isn't just talk. In June, Penn received a $50 million donation for a translational research center to help facilitate interactions between clinical and academic medical staff, and the $232-million Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine opened its doors.
'A pragmatic love of knowledge." In case you haven't seen any of Penn's recent advertising material, this phrase is now linked to our University with such other buzzwords as "entrepreneurship," "invention" and "outreach." The phrase represents a nervousness about appearing too intellectual, too smart for our own good.
Alicia Puglionesi is a College senior from Havertown, Pa. Her e-mail address is puglionesi@dailypennsylvanian.com.
I've never been particularly drawn to activism. I always thought of it as unproductive: too extreme, too angry. So when I met the women of the Granny Peace Brigade Philadelphia, I was surprised on two fronts: first, that they were pragmatic and pleasant, and second, that they were old and liberal.
During freshman year, I decided to audition for CityStep, an organization under the Civic House umbrella that provides an extra-curricular dance program for several elementary schools in the West Philadelphia area. Imagine my surprise when I found out halfway into my service at the Harrity school that because of a piece of legislation passed in the spring of 2007, the school district would be requiring all volunteers to undergo criminal background checks and fingerprint testing by the FBI.
Sitting in the audience at Freshman Performing Arts Night, many of the bits rattled me. The acts and the actors, the songs and the singers impressed me, but all the humor centering on having sex and having money left me quite uncomfortable. I'm not a prude, and I don't possess such a sophisticated sense of humor that I can't enjoy my peers' performances.
A chance to explore public-service jobs To the Editor: Thanks to Julie Steinberg for calling attention to the career opportunities in government and public service in her column, "Preparing for Boomsday." To help Penn students learn more about these opportunities, we are hosting our third-annual Policy and Government Career Fair on Friday, Oct.
Alex Jacobson is a College junior from Los Angeles. Her e-mail address is jacobson@dailypennsylvanian.com.
As they say, you can put lipstick on a pig - but it'll still be a pig. Pennsylvania's Liquor Control Board is using a whole lot of lipstick. The Board, which regulates alcohol sales, recently announced a $3 million effort to revamp the image of Pennsylvania's state-run liquor stores.
The doctor looked at me apologetically. "I'm sorry," he said. No, it wasn't a bad prognosis. I wasn't about to die. The doctor was apologizing for the inadequacy of the medical system in America generally and at Penn specifically. "It's just not a good system," he added.
Two Penn students walk into a bar. The DJ says to them, "Why are you talking to that girl?" Then, bouncers come and beat the two guys until one of them loses consciousness. If this joke doesn't seem very funny to you, that's because it wasn't a joke.
Jennifer Lesser is a College junior from Minneapolis, Minn. Her e-mail address is lesser@dailypennsylvanian.com.
Publishers have found some clever ways to squeeze money out of students. With unnecessary new editions or costly supplementary material, it seems that we're doomed to shell out more and more cash at the beginning of every semester. And so far, the University doesn't seem to care much.
With the start of every school year, students and parents are bombarded with reminders about the dangers of drinking on college campuses. Don't drink. If you're going to drink, don't drink too much. If - and when - you drink too much, something bad will happen (since that's what why you're being warned), so just don't drink.
Janice Dow is a College sophomore from Rowland Heights, CA. Her e-mail address is dow@dailypennsylvanian.com.
In my ninth grade sex-ed class Ms. Dorado one day tried to explain that the use of the word "gay" as a pejorative could be quite offensive. "No, no Ms. Dorado," retorted a classmate of mine. "We don't use it to offend anyone. We just use it to say that something is stupid.
Alicia Puglionesi is a College senior from Havertown, Pa. Her e-mail address is puglionesi@dailypennsylvanian.com.
