Word on the Street
Word on the Street: A Rude Awakening
Almost three years ago, right before I first came to Penn, the "good luck" and "bon voyage" that I had been hearing all summer from friends and other well–wishers turned into “don’t party too hard!” and “remember, school comes first!” I quickly learned that Penn is wildly known as “the Social Ivy:” the Ivy most affiliated with partying. I have never been a partier, but I was curious to see the fantastic and potentially debauched social establishments for which my school was apparently famous. So, in the beginning of freshman year, my friends and I did as the Romans do: we stood outside frat houses and waited to be invited in. During the last party we went to that fall, a friend and I left disinterested after only fifteen minutes.
Word on the Street: The Big Picture: Instagram
Three times in the past week I have been accused of hating everything. Lena Dunham’s “Girls”? Hate it.
Word on the Street: New Year's Resolutions
New year, new me, new Highbrow. Highbrow knows that all of you lovely Penn kids take the start of a new year and semester in stride and use the opportunity to change something about yourself. And we wanted to know just what resolutions you guys had in store for the new year. So we asked and here are your responses:
How to Survive Your Final Semester, From Someone Who Just Survived Hers
There are firemen in my kitchen right now. They’re here for the second time today and the fifth time this week.
Word on the Street: In Search of Tanya
I’m hopeful every self–respecting senior has, as I do, a bucket list. I have neither the space nor chutzpah to enumerate my personal bucket list here. For those who don’t have one, take comfort in knowing that mine is too long and mostly impossible and any points of completion will surely offer little solace when it actually comes time to graduate. In thinking about how best to utilize this column to cross something off my bucket list, however, I would like to issue a formal search warrant for my apparent doppelgänger, Tanya. If it wasn’t necessary to the comprehension of this story, I would hide the fact that I frequent Einstein’s pretty regularly.
Word on the Street: Why I Didn't Vote
You’ve got two choices: chocolate or vanilla. If you really like pistachio, you can technically choose pistachio, but you’re still going to get either chocolate or vanilla, so you might as well choose between those two. At Penn, liking chocolate means you fit in.
Word on the Street: Calm Down Before the Storm
Standing on the corner of 43rd and Market with my weight in canned food sitting like a ton of steel inside my housemate’s hiking–sized megabackpack, my spine caving into an awful kind of inverted “U,” I truly began to understand the concept of the sophomore slump.
Word on the Street: From Penn to Oktoberfest in 96 Hours
Let’s be real: Oktoberfest is every frat boy’s wet dream: beer, boobs, a selection of heavy, meat–based foods, amusement rides and more beer.
Things I Learned From Sesame Street
Governor Mitt Romney recently announced that he would cut funding to the Public Broadcasting Service, specifically to shows like "Sesame Street," which has been running for upwards of 40 years.
Word on the Street: Black is the New Black
Throughout my time at Penn, I’ve amassed a truly unfortunate number of “that girl” monikers: “that girl who tweets a lot,” “that girl who makes sarcastic comments,” “that girl with the glasses,” to name a few.
Word on the Street: A Modest Proposal
I want to propose something. I know that it’s radical, dangerously so, but, with any luck, some of this world’s problems could be solved with just one simple change in our daily lives: we should look at each other. How often do you pass someone on campus, just casually walking by, and they simply refuse to look at you?
Word on the Street: Wanna Walk to Class?
It’s happened to the best of us. You spend the evening chatting it up with someone in your hall/suite/living unit and end with that fateful question: “Hey, what time do you have class tomorrow?” The other person answers: “10 a.m.” You obviously start at 10 and pose the question: “Hey, wanna walk over together?” The person nods excitedly and your plan is set. Stop right there. That was a terrible idea.
Word on the Street: Culture Shock
It was 2 a.m. when I got off the plane in Kolkata, India, and immediately I noticed two things: the heat, which was almost suffocating, and the condition of the airport, which consisted of only two gates.
Word on the Street: Summer Birthdays Suck
I loathe my summer birthday. Especially since coming to Penn. Take last summer, for example: my mom asked me what I wanted to do for my 19th birthday, which at the time was coming in a few weeks.
Word on the Street: Cry Me A River
I blame my parents. They’re emotional wrecks. My mother has no "average" setting. She’s always manically happy, severely depressed or feverishly angry.
Word on the Street: Latest Discoveries
The Word on the Street column often ends with some sort of inspirational conlusive statement. This one was going to end with praise of the concept of “discovery”. In a fit of inspiration, I decided to skip the actual article.
Whistle While You Work
I promise I’m not a freak and that I have at least a basic–to–intermediate grasp on social interactions.
Word on the Street: Get on the Bus Gus
All I’ve seriously ever wanted from a bus ride is to lean back in my seat, close my eyes and concentrate on hoping no one can hear that I’m listening to the same Simon & Garfunkel song on repeat. I’m not sure if it’s because no one is ever this lucky, or just that the Gods of Transportation hate my guts, but peaceful bus trips are few and far between.
