Elaine Wilner

Four generations of Penn alumni and students crowded the Kelly Writers House Arts Cafe on Nov. 8 to listen to poetry, drama and a witty take on the art of the letter to the editor.

There is something about a uniform. Whether it’s the schoolgirls’ crisp white blouses and plaid pleated skirts, the marching band’s bright brass buttons and splendid gold braid or College of Cardinals black cassocks and red birettas, they are all freighted with meaning and convey important information about rank, responsibilities and group identity.

There is something about a uniform. Whether it’s the schoolgirls’ crisp white blouses and plaid pleated skirts, the marching band’s bright brass buttons and splendid gold braid or College of Cardinals black cassocks and red birettas, they are all freighted with meaning and convey important information about rank, responsibilities and group identity.

The modern metaphor for the brain is a computer, but that hardly begins to capture how extraordinary the human brain is. Just take one example—what Martha Farah, professor of psychology and director of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience calls “knowledge systems.”

The modern metaphor for the brain is a computer, but that hardly begins to capture how extraordinary the human brain is. Just take one example—what Martha Farah, professor of psychology and director of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience calls “knowledge systems.”

There were only 11 days left in Philadelphia’s contentious mayoral race. The entire Philadelphia media scrum had descended on a small classroom at Olney High School.

On a beautiful day, when there was just a nip of fall in the air, I went for a scenic walk through Philadelphia’s distinguished past—not in Old City, not in Society Hill, but just a few blocks from Penn at Woodlands Cemetery. I had seen it from the train, but never visited.

Whoever said that you can’t get too much advice must have been a student at Penn. On the College web site alone under “Advising,” there is an extensive list that includes freshmen advisors, pre-major advisors, major advisors, pilot curriculum advisors, and peer advisors as well as the nine College advisors.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of women’s studies at Penn. Not coincidentally, the campus Women’s Center is also celebrating its 30th year. Separately and together they are sponsoring a yearlong series of programs—lectures, seminars and conferences that highlight the enormous influence the women’s movement has had.

Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan, the author of a best-selling autobiography, “Leap of Faith” (Hyperion), told a full house in Irvine Auditorium on September 8 that “the United Nations is one of the most powerful engines for co-operation in the world.”