Rina Thomas | A wicked problem down south

By Rina Thomas · Oct. 18, 2007

Halloween approaches, and our thoughts turn to wicked things. Vampires, ghouls and . problems in urban planning. Wicked problems are practically indefinable. Issues like poverty, crime, broken infrastructure, failing schools and racism are tangled in a knotted mess.

Stephen Krewson | Warming up to Gore, almost

By Stephen Krewson · Oct. 18, 2007

Who's honoring Al Gore now? These days it seems like just about everybody is. Last Friday, Gore - along with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - won the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts "to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change.

Guest column | Art Casciato

By Art Casciato · Oct. 12, 2007

Hello, I must be going. Thus Groucho Marx, who knew better than even cousin Karl that every statement turns into its opposite, that all that's solid melts into air. And so - after two years as the first house dean of Harrison College House followed by seven as the first director of the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships - hello becomes goodbye and poof! - I'm gone.

System of standards in place for TAs To the editor: Let me correct some misconceptions voiced in your recent staff editorial, "Making TAs better," (10/2/2007) regarding the preparation of teaching assistants at Penn. Contrary to the editorial, there are, in fact, basic standards of preparation for new teaching assistants that apply on a school-by-school basis.

Stephen Krewson | Exit Music (for an era)

By Stephen Krewson · Oct. 12, 2007

Imagine a world in which everything cost as much as you wanted to pay. Airline tickets for fall break? $50 sounds reasonable. That Porsche you've had your eye on? Yours for a grand. Dinner at Le Bec Fin? No more than the Dollar Menu. Such a state of affairs is both ludicrous and impossible.

Shawn Safvi | A successful Open Forum

By Shawn Safvi · Oct. 11, 2007

This past week I had the pleasure of hosting the DP's first Open Forum of the semester. What began as a simple experiment last year has blossomed into a great way for you to share your thoughts and give us feedback. As usual, you had a lot on your mind.

Mara Gordon | A ride on the 'fun bus'

By Mara Gordon · Oct. 11, 2007

It was sort of an urban safari. They were young professionals, clad in business casual, intrepid explorers of Philadelphia's concrete jungle. They sipped champagne as they boarded the bus, ready for an adventure into uncharted territory. "With drinks in their hands," the driver chuckled, "I gotta be careful with the brakes.

Rina Thomas | Fasting for New Orleans

By Rina Thomas · Oct. 11, 2007

Every day we dodge and weave past the flyer-laden students on Locust Walk. We turn down offers of cookies, parties, executive-board positions and concerts by unknown artists. Sympathy for the Locust loiterers might impel us to grab a few leaflets before dropping them into the next trash can along the way.

Meredith Aska McBride | Reclaiming the walk of shame

By Meredith Aska McBride · Oct. 10, 2007

"Orgasm is the body's natural call to feminist politics," wrote feminist author Naomi Wolf. Go out and sit on Locust Walk on a Sunday morning, though - are Penn's women just not getting any satisfaction? Why won't anyone make eye contact? We're all familiar with the walk of shame: The endless march across campus in f***-me pumps and clothes that are clearly not meant to be worn in daylight, paired with sex hair and morning breath.

Harry Lee | Complaining: a guide

By Harry Lee · Oct. 10, 2007

Avoiding weirdos is often easy, even though they crowd this world. But at Penn, you can get stuck with blossoming freaks as roommates every semester. School acts like a greenhouse for oddities, which thrive once removed from parental shadows. How can you deal with your roommates' peculiar ways and odd beliefs? For example, many weirdos believe that were they not to leave thickets of pubic hair in the shower, others would die from frustrated curiosity about its length, color and curliness.

Opinion Board | Take health seriously

By Opinion Board · Oct. 10, 2007

When it comes to combating HPV, Penn's student health-insurance program needs a shot in the arm. Human papillomavirus, the leading cause of cervical cancer, is expected to kill another 3,700 American women this year. But with the development of Gardasil, a vaccine that protects against four most dangerous types of the virus, scientists have finally found a way to halt the spread of this frighteningly common sexually transmitted disease.

Opinion Art | Alicia Puglionesi

By Alicia Puglionesi · Oct. 9, 2007

Alicia Puglionesi is a College junior from Haverton, Pa. Her e-mail address is puglionesi@dailypennsylvanian.com.

Michaela Tolpin | Guilty until proven innocent*

By Michaela Tolpin · Oct. 9, 2007

In the early morning hours of Sept. 9, a student at Georgetown University was brutally assaulted. Why? Because he's gay. According to NBC, the victim, whose identity remains anonymous, was leaving a party near Georgetown's campus when he was allegedly assaulted with homophobic taunts before being physically attacked.

Jim Saksa | A real University City

By Jim Saksa · Oct. 9, 2007

As goes University City, so goes the University. This mindset permeates the administration's rhetoric so often that it's almost hackneyed. Even the new postal-land developments are being marketed as "forging connections between University City and Center City.

Opinion Board | Be informed or die

By Opinion Board · Oct. 9, 2007

Today is the last day you can register to vote before the meaningless mayoral election in November. We're all for voting and fulfilling your civic responsibility. Considering we're supposed to be enlightened, engaged citizens, Penn's past voter-participation rates in past elections have been embarrassing.