Katiera Sordjan

Racism is not over. Not even close. But our efforts cannot be wasted on the policing of words. We need to correct imbalances and make sure all groups' voices are heard.

I suppose I should be grateful that the conversation on campus has changed. I suppose I should be grateful that, unlike 19 year-old me sitting in a hospital full of shame, Penn students have a better chance to be heard and get the care they need when it comes to mental health.

When it comes to pharmaceuticals, the stakes are high as far as identifying proper treatment.

Just as we have gendered expectations for ourselves, we also have gendered expectations for others. If we as women think we should be focusing on cardio, we expect men to focus on muscle training.

Ask many people, and they will tell you that journalism has an identity crisis. Whether it’s the increasing number of comments on The Daily Pennsylvanian website lamenting the loss of journalistic integrity, or the fall of once highly trusted national personalities like Brian Williams – it is clear that we are suffering from a persistent problem.

We are familiar with the challengeable, but still prevalent stereotypes about gender. This is just the way things are, we are taught, with “biology” being thrown around as a casual and vague explanation.

While loved ones try to make sense of the death, suicide victims and depressed individuals often cannot understand the effect on their family, or ultimately, feel that their loved ones would be better off.

As an American, I know that my fellow citizens have a right to freedom of expression and religious practice. But I also recognize the right to privacy and the responsibility to treat women and all uterus-bearing people as more than incubators.

Privilege is a word I don’t like using. Especially in a place like Penn, where many of us are “privileged” in some way or another.

Ray Rice hopes for “a second chance,” but we should not be so quick to forgive and forget. Abusive behavior is not merely a mistake to be dismissed. We learn only one thing from Rice: Make enough money, have enough fame and you become untouchable.