Sarah Cantin

With graduation on the near horizon, many seniors are probably panicking about impending good-byes and separations. Some of us may be moving to a new city or country alone; some of us may be living apart from that best friend, girlfriend or boyfriend that we hoped we'd still share a zip code with.

Let's be honest - as college students, we take a lot for granted: no class on Fridays, Wawa and FroGro's late-night hours, our ability to watch daytime television like retirees and often, our health. Sure, we keep Student Health on their toes, but for the most part, the diseases that plague our nation tend not to affect our age group.

Last Thursday evening was warm, and the energy at the rally portion of Take Back the Night was high. "Tonight is a night about emotions. However, there's one emotion we're not going to feel - fear!" proclaimed Kristie Thomas, a School of Social Policy & Practice doctoral student.

I loved everything about my semester abroad in London - except, of course, how much it cost. I lived frugally, but when a load of laundry sets you back $10, you can't help but feel that you're fighting a losing battle. With many students thinking twice before purchasing so much as a latte, it's easy to assume that a semester abroad - with its high exchange rates and weekend-whirlwind tours - is an impractical indulgence.

Today at noon, the Penn Women's Center is hosting its Sex Toy Social, a popular Women's Week event. You'll probably find some vibrators and flavored lubricant - but you probably won't find anything much more spiritual than a Kama Sutra, even though the Office of the Chaplain is just across the hall.

Before being considered the next Jackie O., Michelle O. was a senior at Princeton, and like countless before and since her, she wrote a senior thesis. The university's Web site proudly states that the thesis is "quintessentially Princeton" and claims it to develop "mental discipline" and "the skills of analysis, synthesis and clear writing.

Almost two weeks ago, many in this country stood up and chanted, "Yes we can!" The more accurate claim might have been, "Yes, some of us can." Some of us can marry, that is. On Nov. 4, three states passed measures to ban same-sex marriage, and none has proved more controversial than California's Proposition 8.

This weekend, the eight on-campus sororities are holding Open Houses, a time for informal conversation between sisters and interested underclassmen. If you had asked me as a freshman whether I was attending this event, I would have responded with a look of disdain and an emphatic, "No.

I've never been a minority in a classroom. As a white female English major partial to courses on gender and sexuality, I tend to be surrounded by people who look a lot like me. Until this semester, when I enrolled in "African Americans in TV and Film." For the first time, I'm in the racial minority, learning about a group that far outnumbers me in the classroom.

It's been one month today since John McCain announced that Governor Sarah Palin would be his running mate. Does it seem like longer to you? We've already witnessed her rise, and it's safe to say that she's beginning to fall - or at least plateau. Palin's initial popularity had little to do with policy.