Opinion
Bridget Yu | Don’t take a gap year during the pandemic
Don’t take a gap year out of fear or discomfort with the chaotic state of the world. It’s our new normal and will continue to be in the foreseeable future.
Lark Yan | Incoming first years, a gap year is in your best interest
Since incoming college first years are at a key transition stage of their lives, they should highly consider taking a gap semester given their inability to receive a complete college experience under present circumstances.
Guest Column by College Dean's Advisory Board | We need access to course syllabi now
Currently, Penn students mostly rely on Penn Course Review and word of mouth to make decisions on which classes to take.
Jessica Gooding | Professors, stop using microaggressions with students
Microaggressions are uncomfortable, harmful, and demeaning for students because they ultimately influence a student’s perception of their ability to excel, feel comfortable and be accepted within the Penn community.
Varun Saraswathula | Doctors are facing a silent mental health crisis — and they need help
Dr. Lorna Breen’s passing reignited a conversation surrounding well-being among physicians, but struggles with mental health often begin more than a decade before medicine itself.
Jessica Gooding | Paying PILOTs will save lives
Poverty is a problem in Philadelphia. Here, one in four residents live below the poverty line, but this reality is not apparent every day on Locust Walk.
Isami McCowan | Why aren’t we talking about the crisis in Yemen?
The crisis in Yemen, already the poorest country in the North African and Middle East regions, can be traced back to 2011.
Letter from the President | Rethinking, not shrinking: Our print plan for the fall semester
We will be printing the DP this semester, with 34th Street Magazine as an insert, once a week on Thursdays.
Sophia DuRose | Online classes aren’t inherently worse
Online learning comes with side effects, as does every classroom.
Guest Column by Lyla Rose | Pre-meds, we can’t act like the pandemic is over
Healthcare work can be all-encompassing, especially in this environment, and we must hold ourselves accountable to the standards of our profession.
Agatha Advincula | We need to follow Penn’s Student Campus Compact
Based on the idea that we are all responsible enough to look out for each other, the Student Campus Compact places the onus on us to make the safest choices.
Alfredo Praticò | Bring back the Pass/Fail option
Standard grading is designed for normal times, and these are not normal times.
Guest Column by Bruce Shen | Penn, explore “Go Local” option for international students
With over 1,500 international undergraduates enrolled, Penn should make Go Local available. This is feasible, given that Penn Abroad has over 50 exchange partners in 17 countries.
Bridget Yu | The reality of eating disorders during quarantine
It’s important that we discuss the reality of eating disorders during quarantine, along with specific, concrete approaches to best support our loved ones. Here are seven tips.
Editorial | What if COVID-19 continues to worsen? Students must know how Penn will respond.
Penn needs to be clear about which criteria it will use to reassess the viability of its hybrid model leading up to and beyond the start of fall semester.
Urooba Abid | Ivy League admissions are structurally racist
While Ivy League universities boast their students as the nation's most accomplished, public universities are actually accomplishing much more in terms of achieving equity.
Guest Column by 568 Penn Faculty and Staff | Penn must pay PILOTs
When the University does not pay for the services and environment that make its work possible, other Philadelphians are left to make up the difference — or, city schools and other institutions simply go without.
Guest Opinion Art by Alice Zhao | Welcome International Students!
ALICE ZHAO is a rising junior in the college majoring in PPE and minoring in Art History from Beijing, China.
Jessica Gooding | Words matter
Harvard graduate Claira Janover's viral Tik Tok featuring imagery attached to inflicting brutal harm is not acceptable.