Word on the Street
Word on the Street: Closeted Pride
The summer before coming to Penn, I would have considered myself halfway out of the closet.
Older, Not Wiser
4 a.m. fears rarely stand to reason in the morning light. The irrational insecurities that race through your brain, colliding like cars on the Autobahn, slow down as the sun comes up.
Word on the Street: Bursting the Penn Bubble
Penn students could all benefit from being a little less afraid of our neighborhood.
Word on the Street: Housing My Concerns
A pre–frosh recently asked me what my least favorite part of Penn is. My immediate answer was housing.
Eating Up Our Time
There’s no denying that at a school like Penn every minute is working overtime, and even then there never seems to be enough time.
You're a Wizard, Harry
For the majority of my generation, the Harry Potter series conjures memories of magical childhood nights lined up outside of Barnes and Noble and heated debates about which Hogwarts house you would be in.
The Warmth of Privilege
I have, over the course of the last few years at Penn, occasionally left my jacket behind at a party.
Doing it for the Insta
Your life, cropped and filtered.
My Summer Job Is Better Than Yours
Better than coffee runs and Bank of America.
Word on the Street: Sometimes I Go To the Movies By Myself
And you can, too.
Word on the Street: Death, Meditations and Positivity
Remembering an alumnus, leader and friend.
Word on the Street: So I Fucked Up My Five Year Plan
At the beginning of this summer, I made a 78–item to do list. Tasks ranged from the mundane (email academic advisor) to the absolutely critical (bikini wax ASAP) to the unlikely to receive a check mark (run half marathon). The List (one of many) is part of my Five Year Plan, an ambitious—probably cocky—set of goals which include drafting a novel before turning twenty two, getting into a top law school, and deferring the offer for a year or two participate in a fellowship abroad that fuses human rights research with journalism.
Word on the Street: Life 101
I think our understanding of a “general education” needs an update. Living World and Formal Reasoning are, in theory, useful subject matters.
Word on the Street: Drag Me To Heaven
It’s 1 a.m. on Thursday morning and I’m sandwiched between a mirrored wall and four drag queens at a booth in an empty gay bar.
Word on the Street: The Lucky Ones
Last Thursday, Penn released its regular admission decisions for the class of 2018. Only 9.9% of the 35,868 applicants were accepted.
Word on the Street: An Hour of Our Own
Penn breeds Winners. Every hour of every day, we’re Achieving and becoming Leaders. And it never stops. 6–8 a.m., we’re competing for the title of “Woke Up Earliest to Do Homework.” 9–11 a.m., the game is on for “Has Too Much Class to Eat Breakfast.” 12–3 p.m., “Spent the Longest Amount of Time at Pottruck.” 4–6 p.m., “Too Much Volunteering to Eat Dinner.” 7–9 p.m., “Finished Lab Report Before Pregame.” 10–12 a.m., “Took Most Shots Without Blacking Out.” 1–3 a.m., “Stayed Out the Latest, No FOMO.” 4–6 a.m., “Slept the Least.” We just can’t stop competing, against our friends and ourselves.
Word on the Street: Our Better Half
We didn’t ask for this to be easy. We didn’t come to Penn looking for a relaxing four–year spring break.
Word on the Street: Sharing Semen
Walking out of VP on Saturday afternoon, I had five new Grindr messages. Booyah. Three messages were from an old “professional type” looking for a twinky college boy, and the others were from a steamy grad student in the School of Design.
