Dear Penn,

I was asked to write this editorial, my first one, for the final issue of the year. Me. A freshman-going-on-sophomore assistant editor. Oh, what an interesting year this has been. I’ve come a long way, and I’ve learned a lot about this school of ours, so I thought I would share with you what I have come away with from this year.

First, NSO is a time to get drunk and make mistakes. Like the time I paid a $5 entry charge to a PennQuest party (when I wasn’t even in PennQuest) while every fraternity on campus was throwing free parties. Oh well.

Next, I quickly learned that first impressions can be deceiving, especially when it comes to public art. All of the fine “pieces of art” we have on campus soon turned into things I would never want to touch with a ten foot pole. The bench with Franklin on it is supposedly something everyone pees on; the Button is where everyone has sex; and the Dueling Tampons…well they’re freakin’ tampons. Oh, and we can’t even walk across the damn Compass on Locust until our first midterm? What the hell!

Another important bit of information they should include in the handbook: pre-requisite classes for all recitation sections of Bio, Chem, and Physics classes are Chinese, Spanish, French, German, and Russian. I never knew the sciences could be so worldly.

And lastly, rush week is a low-income male student’s best friend. ‘Nough said.

Of course, there are many little stories that I could share from this year, and the best thing about them is that each and every student here would have a story similar to it. We have all had the time when we got denied from entering the “cool” party. Or had those weeks when we changed our future plans from being a doctor to a writer to a lawyer to a McDonald’s drive-through attendant. We have all had those nights where our best friend got drunk and started hitting on us (unfortunately in this situation, I’m talking about a guy). And we all have wanted to shoot the countless people running for office that send Facebook messages like they’re the cure for cancer.

We go to this great school, and what amazes me is that, more than just getting one of the best educations in the country (we hope), we all end up bonding through these shared experiences. In one year I have learned so much about myself. We all have. Read this self-absorbed issue of First Call and find out how much we, the editors, have learned from Penn, both in class and out.

I thank First Call for helping me in part, because as a science major who honestly would have worked myself to death, this magazine has so far given me an outlet to get out my frustration and stress in new and creative ways. On the down side (for all of you), the magazine made me think I could write, so now I am going to continue plaguing you all with it for a few more years. Keep reading though. The best is yet to come!

Sincerely,

Benny Laitman, Assistant Editor