This is just a weird week. Jews went home for a while, and now aren’t eating yeasty things. KFP is an acronym recently incorporated into my vocabulary. Christians are in the home stretch of Lenten suffering, looking forward to their own break fast of Peeps, Cadbury and ham.
And for a campus where religion is more of a social qualifier than a spiritual state of being, moral issues have had a surprisingly prominent presence during the past week — news of flags representing thousands of abortions on the Green, a petition against McDonalds marketing to children and meetings to protest offensive Snoop Dogg lyrics have all graced the pages of the DP and my Facebook inbox the past week.
All this adherence to religious tradition (tradition! tradition!) and do-gooding has me confused; since when do Penn students care? Since when do injustice, political issues or misogyny cause even the scene-iest of the Penn community to stop and take note?
I suppose that the enthusiasm for en-masse sacrifice of bread, chocolate and Allegro Barbeque Chicken Pizza could have more to do with Ivy League OCD and unhealthy body images than spirituality. But regardless, perhaps it’s the gentle reminders of cravings, endless dinners and easter egg hunts that motivate us college kids to care just a little about making a social difference.
I can only hope that this effect isn’t short lived — that once thoughts — however secular — of Holy Week and Peisach subside, Penn won't withdraw back into its thick-skinned bubble of apathy.
Although it is exactly this bubble that we’re celebrating this week in Street. It’s not saving whales, but we feel it's our moral(ish) duty to bring to you the creme-de-la-creme of our campus — we are proud to present the 2010 Best of Penn (starting on pg. 13). And don't miss work from graphic design guru David Comberg's Information Design and Visualization class, interpreting the ins and outs of this year’s Best of Penn data (the back cover, and online on Under The Button).
'till next week, SB
