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(05/31/24 5:15am)
What if I told you that your neighborhood doctor, global–business and manufacturing CEOs, and an esteemed professor were once radical Philadelphia activists? Nearly 40 years ago, they belonged to an intimate community of Penn students who led the crusade against the university’s investment in apartheid South Africa. You may not guess it at first glance—they bear little resemblance to the bright–eyed teens (or “scruffy hippies,” as the now–professor and lawyer self–describes) who fought the Penn administration all those years ago—but that same fire is visible after mere minutes into speaking with each.
(05/17/24 5:00am)
For the Class of 2024, every student remembers where they were when they saw the news—the bleak headlines of the COVID–19 era were the backdrop for the beginning of their undergraduate careers. These memories play through the minds of this year’s graduating class when they reflect on their first year at Penn.
(04/26/24 4:00am)
The reveal of Gossip Girl’s identity during the hit 2010s show’s series finale in 2012 was a closing door on paper, an albeit disappointing end to the anonymous figure which tormented Blair Waldorf and teen viewers alike. In real life, the domination of anonymous not–so–social media, however, had only just begun. Within the year of the show’s close, Yik Yak, ASKfm, and Whisper had wriggled their way onto the iPhone 5s of middle and high school students, bringing with them a slew of controversies in schools across the nation.
(04/12/24 4:00am)
An impatient motorist honks incessantly on Walnut Street. Hundreds peck away at their Macbook keyboards in Van Pelt. A freshman unleashes an ear–splitting scream as “Love Story” starts playing in a frat basement. From its loudest parties to its most solitary corners, Penn’s campus is bursting with sound, not all of it particularly desirable. But escape to the top floor of Fisher Bennett, or the depths of Platt Performing Arts House, and you might hear something unexpected. Entering those halls, the stray notes of instruments being tuned and singers doing warm–ups wash over you. Like the horns of the Angel Gabriel, they announce that you have entered another realm—one alien to the one most of us inhabit. Welcome to the world of Penn musicians.
(04/19/24 2:39pm)
When the inaugural Spring Fling was held in 1973, with performers including Zack’s Band, Glass, and The Jesse Clanton Band, students rejoiced at the opportunity to revel in the arrival of spring and the impending end to the academic year.
(03/29/24 4:00am)
You’re probably not very funny.
(03/22/24 4:00am)
Content warning: The following text describes disordered eating, student assault, and death.
(04/05/24 4:08am)
When visitors walk through the main entrance of the Penn Museum, they are greeted by one of the signature items in the museum’s collection: a 13–ton granite sphinx dating from the reign of Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses II in the 13th century BCE, the largest such object in the Western Hemisphere. Next to the entrance hall lies a gallery dedicated entirely to people from a different part of the world, and one much closer to Philadelphia. Through a pair of double doors to the left of the sphinx lies an exhibition titled “Native American Voices,” dedicated to describing the past and present Indigenous communities where the U.S. and Canada now reside.
(03/15/24 2:49am)
Early in the morning of June 16, 1915, professor Scott Nearing received notice about his dismissal from Penn. “As the term of your appointment as assistant professor of economics for 1914–1915 is about to expire,” disclosed the letter from the Provost, “I am directed by the trustees of the University of Pennsylvania to inform you that it will not be renewed."
(02/23/24 5:00am)
Obama, Trump, and Biden walk into a bar and talk about baking gingerbread cookies. This scenario has likely never happened in real life, but on TikTok, you can find an audio recording of this conversation happening, down to the correct voices and all. It’s pretty obvious from the context that the recording is fake, and most people who encounter it will probably find it funny, regardless of what side of the political spectrum they’re on. But the recording itself begs the question: What if we didn’t have that context to know that the recording was fake? What if the three presidents had been discussing something other than baking gingerbread cookies? Given that people now have the technology to create videos of anyone doing anything, how can we tell what is real and what is not?
(02/16/24 6:17am)
Apple cider donuts, gravelly cello music, a vegetable stand run entirely by three blond tweens, and wailing children scraping their knees in the middle of the street. Who runs Clark Park?
(02/09/24 3:47pm)
What do a Wattpad story about One Direction, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet all have in common with each other?
(12/08/23 3:08pm)
There’s a quaintness to Jacques–Jean “J.J.” Tiziou’s abode on Osage Avenue beyond the kind typically embodied by West Philadelphia's colorful rowhomes. It’s reflected in the year–round Christmas lights strung across the narrow zigzag staircase and above the table, which, aside from a small lamp, are the only source of light in the dark wooden dining room. Deep shadows paint the faces of the soirée guests. Brows furrowed and eyes twinkling, the visitors exchange words and bowls of thick pottage. Somehow, I’ve found myself a part of the semimonthly tradition as nearly as old as I am—Tiziou’s French soirées.
(12/01/23 2:00pm)
Content warning: The following article includes mentions of rape, sexual violence, and murder, and can be disturbing and/or triggering for some readers. Please find resources listed at the bottom of the article.
(11/17/23 2:00pm)
Search “things they don’t tell you about pregnancy” on TikTok and a slew of videos pop up. New parents, shock evident in their voices, and people on their second or third child hoping to educate others, describe unexpected bodily changes—everything from chronic nose bleeds to rapid hair and nail growth. How could no one tell them this would happen?
(11/03/23 1:00pm)
The day is almost here. An explosion of Penn pride is only a breath away. Homecoming, an annual tradition dating back more than a century, welcomes students and alumni alike to celebrate school spirit and enjoy an all–American game of football. This Saturday is the day for Penn kids to rally. To flood the streets with blue and red. To darty–hop all the way down Locust to Franklin Field dressed in their finest bookstore merch. To cheer on our fellow Quakers against Cornell and the Big Red Bear. And, of course, to raise a toast to our dear old Penn.
(10/27/23 1:00pm)
In the Victorian era, “coming out day” evoked a stifling image of gloved upper–class girls lined up and formally presented to high society. Today, the term means something else entirely—sharing part of your identity with family and friends, rowdy street celebrations, and boisterous declarations of love. Nonetheless, some members of the LGBTQ community still see a thread of resemblance between the daunting rush of declaring one’s sexuality and the now archaic debutante, terrified and forcibly exposed to the world.
(10/20/23 1:59pm)
Put a finger down if you love eating the same foods over and over again. Put a finger down if you don’t eat. Put a finger down if you pick at your fingers a lot … and put a bonus finger down if it’s because it helps you focus. If you put more than six fingers down, you might have ADHD.
(10/06/23 1:00pm)
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then celebrity impersonation is a lifelong devotional. Career impersonators—from Elvis officiants for elopers in Vegas to washed up cover bands performing to senile audiences—are often disparaged as the runts of the entertainment industry.
(09/29/23 12:00pm)
A few inches away from a dumpster in a parking lot sit half a dozen people, their legs hanging over a hole they’ve been digging for the last week. It’s a motley crew. An undergrad student works in sync with a Ph.D. who’s decked out in round glasses and a safari hat to clear away the dirt with brushes and spades. A professor helps an older woman get up after her legs fall asleep while digging in the pit. A mom and her 13–year–old son can hardly contain their excitement when they find a broken glass bottle.
