Meredith Aska McBride | Finding the faith that fits

I know very few people who entered college particularly comfortable with their religious identity. I knew - and still know - disillusioned atheists: people who felt trapped in the tradition they grew up with and some who were engaged in a particular faith but still wanted to go deeper.

Meredith Aska McBride | Betting against Center City

If you have time, head to Chinatown with your friends for dinner some time soon. Take a good look around over the next 12 months, because by December 2009, you'll see something very different: a casino in the Gallery. And once the casino shows up, it won't be long before crime and decay set in.

Meredith Aska McBride | Supporting the establishment

George Bush was inaugurated for the first time on my 11th birthday. I cried bitterly. A week ago tonight Barack Obama was elected president, to be inaugurated on my 19th birthday. I cried last week and I'm sure I'll cry again on Jan. 20, but this time with euphoria.

Meredith Aska McBride | Investing in yourself

Judaism's got it right. As per the Fourth Commandment (of the most-famous 10), observant Jews don't work on Saturday, the Sabbath (Shabbat in Hebrew). "Work" doesn't just mean paid work; traditionally this prohibition extends to housework, driving, writing and many other things.

Meredith Aska McBride | Reading the fine print

My refrigerator's not working. It's more like the outlet next to the refrigerator; for some reason it only works two days a week (seriously) and keeps blowing some circuit. The refrigerator before this made a lake on my floor every day for a month until it was replaced.

Meredith Aska McBride | Connecting with the Common Market

It might seem easy for a school located in a city surrounded by great farmland to source its food locally. I'm talking, of course, about Penn, located in Philadelphia, a fairly quick drive from Lancaster County, Bucks County and New Jersey. But try finding enough lettuce to feed thousands of salad-eaters several times a day, every day of the week, for eight and a half months of the year.

Meredith Aska McBride | Showing some respect

The other night, as I was walking home from rehearsal, I overheard a conversation that disturbed me more than anything I'd heard in a while (interviews with Sarah Palin notwithstanding). I was walking down 40th Street in front of a couple of guys, clearly Penn students, who were talking about a woman they knew.

Meredith Aska McBride | Getting past don't ask, don't tell

uick, name an aspect of military policy that Obama and McCain agree on completely. It's not the war in Iraq or the best way to handle Iran. No, both candidates think Columbia University should bring back its ROTC program, as they both said earlier this month.

Meredith Aska McBride | Time to step up labor-rights efforts

For a long time, we've taken it for granted that AlliedBarton management isn't receptive to its officers' concerns. In the next few months, that could all change. AlliedBarton security officers have been fighting for better working conditions and a union for years, and it's been a struggle as the company's upper management has consistently refused to talk with guards.

Meredith Aska McBride | DuBois: What I learned

Like most people, I don't think I'm a racist. And until recently, I believed that the racism our country struggles with came from somewhere else - where, I didn't know, but certainly not from my own actions. I was wrong. Just under a year ago, I wrote a column about DuBois College House and what I then termed its false diversity: a column that was written essentially from the perspective of the dumb white Penn student, a perspective that too many of us white kids share.

Meredith Aska McBride | What's in a name?

There are stickers all over Philadelphia - political stickers, advertising stickers, bumper stickers and artsy stickers with mice on them that say "Glue." They're stuck on lampposts, parking meters and subway stops. On Baltimore Avenue at 47th Street, there are two stuck right next to each other, both with little logos that look like biohazard warnings.

HUP again denies wrongdoing

Lawyers for the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania again denied any wrongdoing in College sophomore Anne Ryan's meningitis death last September. Jed Ryan, the brother of Anne Ryan, filed a lawsuit against HUP in January alleging negligence, wrongful death and negligent infliction of emotional distress.

Ryan lawsuit drops punitive damages

Lawyers for the family of Anne Ryan have dropped punitive damage charges from their malpractice lawsuit against the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Ryan, a College sophomore, died of meningitis last September after being misdiagnosed by Student Health and HUP physicians.

Plea deal likely in former professor's child-pornography case | Interactive Timeline

A plea deal is likely in the works for former Marketing professor Scott Ward, who is facing child-pornography charges. Ward, 65, is awaiting arraignment on two counts of transporting child pornography and one count of giving a false statement to a governmental agency.

Merits of motion to dismiss unclear

It's uncertain if Wharton undergraduate Irina Malinovskaya's recent motion to dismiss murder charges against her will succeed, legal experts say. Malinovskaya, who allegedly bludgeoned her ex-boyfriend's then-girlfriend to death in 2004, has already been tried three times, each resulting in a mistrial.

Jailed former prof faces new child-porn charges

Former Marketing professor Scott Ward was indicted last Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on one count of making false statements to the State Department and two counts of transporting and shipping child pornography.

Lawyers: status and sentence shouldn't mix | Interactive Feature

Served sentence won't make a difference | INTERACTIVE FEATURE

Though former Penn Neurosurgery professor Tracy McIntosh has already served his original sentence for the 2002 sexual assault of his college roommate's niece, this likely won't have any effect on the harsher sentence that was handed down Feb. 13, legal experts say.

McIntosh appeal has chance of success | Interactive Feature

Former Penn Neurosurgery professor Tracy McIntosh plans to appeal his sentence for the sexual assault of his college roommate's niece, a move some legal experts say could have a decent chance of success. McIntosh was sentenced last Wednesday to 3 1/2 to seven years in prison for his September 2002 sexual assault of the then-23-year-old first-year Penn veterinary student.

Ex-prof gets prison sentence for sex assault

Former Neurosurgery professor Tracy McIntosh was sentenced to 3 1/2 to seven years in prison yesterday for the 2002 sexual assault of his college roommate’s niece.