Student Life
Jonathan Iwry | Fewer sheep, more shepherds
Our unforgivingly competitive and pre-professional environment teaches us to place getting ahead before genuine human connection. But too many people get caught up in the flow of “every man for himself,” and too many students bristle at sharing notes for fear that someone else might get a chance to excel.
Roderick Cook | A different kind of financial aid
Recently, my fellow columnist Yessenia Gutierrez wrote about challenging the misguided notions about low-income students being “privileged” and “lucky” for not having to pay tuition.Your Voice by Megan Ault | A response to Hillel's 'Kosher Porn' banner
I recognize that intermarriage within the Jewish community is a loaded, and controversial topic. But instead of opening the door to a thoughtful discussion, this banner casually sends an alienating and racist message.
Anneka DeCaro | Quaker problems
Anneka DeCaro is a College freshman. Her email address is annekaxiv@gmail.com.Guest column by Vera Kirillow | Care to talk about your eating disorder?
I never used to think my four-times-a-week gym schedule and refusal to eat fatty meals more than a couple times a week was unusual or unhealthy. Freshman year at Penn, I gained 15 pounds, and my new habits were just part of a healthy lifestyle helping me shed that weight.
Penn Masala's endowed scholarship was three years in the making
Penn Masala recently announced the establishment of the Penn Masala Alumni Scholarship, an alumni-endowed scholarship fund for both international and American Penn students interested in the performing arts.
Sophia Wushanley | Life and deadlines
This Thanksgiving, my sister was back from her first semester of college, already a little bit overwhelmed.
Dani Blum | Expectations versus reality
I found the list scrawled in last summer’s notebook, buried in my desk drawer back home. “To Do at Penn: Don’t get too stressed about grades.
Jonathan Iwry | Offended? Good.
That’s the beauty of free speech: Every now and then, people might actually prompt us to rethink, revise or even reinforce our ideas.
Maya Rawal | Mirror, mirror
While none of us really need to learn how to build a fire or hut anymore, mirror neurons are still important in the modern world. As college students in an environment that will shape our lifelong opinions and beliefs, we should use these neurons to expand our knowledge of other people, times and places.
Katiera Sordjan | The new Stockholm syndrome
Fraternity pledges are stripped of their belongings and clothing and forced to parade around. New student leaders are verbally belittled before assuming their positions. Members of a club are dragged out of bed in the middle of the night, doused with alcohol comma and pressured to drink.
Sophia Wushanley | The culture cop-out
Luckily enough, after three years of immersion in “Penn culture,” I have good news to share with any worried underclassmen or compassionate, concerned outsiders who’d like to hear it. I am, in fact, capable of occupying myself with activities that will never make it onto my resume, I have never justified the time I’ve spent eating a meal with a friend by calling it networking and Fear Of Missing Sleep consistently trumps Fear Of Missing Out on my list of concerns.Guest column by Nikita Agarwal, Sophia Tareen, Vivek Nimgaonkar and Vishal Patel| Finding a cure to Penn's pre-med culture
It’s easy to understand how pre-medical students can constantly feel overwhelmed by a sense of competition here at Penn.
Jeremiah Keenan | Revising the writing seminar
There is probably no single course on-campus that is as profoundly hated as the writing seminar. Organic chemistry plagues the pre-med, math is feared by many, BEPP is the bane of the Wharton freshman, but the writing seminar is the common enemy of all.
Sophia Wushanley | Eat less meat
Although I subscribe to the belief that, in our advanced society, it’s wrong to kill animals for food, I understand that we live in a world where there are enough starving people that moral outrage on behalf of the exploited honey bee seems a little misplaced, and where the objectification of women causes enough damage that PETA’s “I’d rather go naked than wear fur” campaign makes me worry more about the state of women in our society than the state of cattle.
Shawn Kelly | Spirit in the material world
However, there is one thing that tends to separate athletics from other extracurriculars: risk of serious injury. I can think of few other extracurriculars where there is a real possibility of suffering injuries such as concussions, torn ligaments and broken bones, including the spine.
The challenges of finding a long-term provider after CAPS
Establishing a relationship with a long term care provider can be difficult, even with the help of the referral coordinator.
Emergencies abroad: how Penn keeps students safe
When disaster struck in Paris last week, Penn Abroad went into emergency mode.