4
OPINION
We need some chill
ROAD JESS TRAVELLED | On the maximizing culture at Penn and why we should probably take a second to breathe MONDAY SEPTEMBER 11, 2017 VOL. CXXXIII, NO. 69 133rd Year of Publication CARTER COUDRIET President DAN SPINELLI Executive Editor LUCIEN WANG Print Director ALEX GRAVES Digital Director ALESSANDRO VAN DEN BRINK Opinion Editor REBECCA TAN Senior News Editor WILL SNOW Senior Sports Editor CHRIS MURACCA Design Editor CAMILLE RAPAY Design Editor JULIA SCHORR Design Editor LUCY FERRY Design Editor VIBHA KANNAN Enterprise Editor SARAH FORTINSKY News Editor
Just a few months ago, the announcements of newly minted Wharton internal transfers, coordinated and uncoordinated dual-degree students of every school at Penn flooded my Facebook News Feed. To all my peers who have successfully switched into the programs that they wanted, I applaud them and admire them. There’s excitement and anticipation behind their cheers, for sure, but also — and this might just be me — an underlying exhaustion. Don’t get me wrong — there’s nothing wrong with transferring or adding degrees if the value of doing so is clear. There’s nothing better than people following their passions or pursuing the perfect education to achieve their dreams. However, I sometimes wonder about people who do this not because they want to, but because they feel they have to — whether it’s to frantically gain a competitive edge, or because they feel pressured by Penn’s culture as a whole. A friend of mine once
noted that everyone at Penn is a “maximizer.” From fighting to take as many classes as possible in one semester to fighting for extracurricular leadership roles to fighting for prestigious jobs, everyone here is aiming to do the most, academically, socially, and professionally. But at what cost, I wonder? At the cost of our mental and physical health? It’s clear that this maximizing culture is toxic and unhealthy in many ways. For the sake of our sanity, we must realize that it’s not necessary to overexert ourselves for resume-building activities we don’t actually care that much about. In many ways, it’s a battlefield out there. My mother told me the other day to start compiling a list of places I wanted to intern next summer. My friend wondered if he should’ve tried transferring to Wharton, someone not even remotely interested in business. As a sophomore, I’ve truly been affected by the pressure to start “excelling”
or setting myself apart in every aspect of my life. Through my own personal experiences at Penn, I realized that Wharton yields a powerful influence in creating a culture in which students feel like they must constantly be doing something to advance their careers. Be-
classes I’m interested in — that’s where the need to maximize and overexert kicks in. During the first week of school, I sat in on four more classes than I was registered for, fearing that I would be missing out on the value of other classes (academic FOMO?). When we’re sur-
For the sake of our sanity, we must realize that it’s not necessary to overexert ourselves for resume-building activities we don’t actually care that much about.” cause of this, many students feel that Wharton is the endgoal, giving them a “necessary” competitive edge even if their passions or missions do not align with this pre-professional business education. Sometimes, it feels like it’s not enough to just be a kid in the College trying to take
rounded by a collective culture that somehow seems to say we’re not doing enough, we feel like we aren’t, even if we’re pushing ourselves to the limit already. At the end of last semester, during the class selection period, I felt myself feeling more overwhelmed than
usual. Over and over again, I went through the classes I wanted to take in my head and on paper, wondering if they were good enough. Would they satisfy the requirements I would need to graduate with two majors? Did they have high enough ratings on Penn Course Review? Would this class mean something to me in the long-run? As the end of freshman year drew to a close, I felt like a period of my life somehow ended — a period in which I could say, “I have no idea what I want to do with my life, and that’s okay.” I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling like this, but I wanted to remind myself — and others — that we still do have the power to be confused, to be unsure and to take a breath every once in awhile. Our maximizing culture may tell us that we can’t ever take a break, that we must keep going even if we’re unsure of where we’re going. We may feel like the road to exhaustive degrees, prestigious internships and an out-
JESSICA LI standing resume is the only way to achieve our dreams, but it’s not as straightforward as this. There are breaks in the road, detours to be taken, space to be filled with things that matter much, much more. There are many paths to success. There are many ways to go on a road that includes a fulfilling education (even without the maximization), a fulfilling career and a fulfilling life that allows plenty of breathing room. JESSICA LI is a College sophomore from Livingston, N.J., studying English and psychology. Her email address is jesli@sas.upenn.edu. “Road Jess Travelled” usually appears every other Monday.
MADELEINE LAMON News Editor ALLY JOHNSON Assignments Editor
CARTOON
YOSI WEITZMAN Sports Editor BREVIN FLEISCHER Sports Editor JONATHAN POLLACK Sports Editor TOMMY ROTHMAN Sports Editor AMANDA GEISER Copy Editor HARRY TRUSTMAN Copy Editor ANDREW FISCHER Director of Web Development DYLAN REIM Social Media Editor ANANYA CHANDRA Photo Manager JOY LEE News Photo Editor ZACH SHELDON Sports Photo Editor LUCAS WEINER Video Producer JOYCE VARMA Podcast Editor BRANDON JOHNSON Business Manager MADDY OVERMOYER Advertising Manager SONIA KUMAR Business Analytics Manager SAMARA WYANT Circulation Manager HANNAH SHAKNOVICH Marketing Manager TANVI KAPUR Development Project Lead MEGHA AGARWAL Development Project Lead
SARAH KHAN is a College freshman from Lynn Haven, Fla. Her email address is skhan100@sas.upenn.edu.
THIS ISSUE THEODOROS PAPAZEKOS Sports Associate MARC MARGOLIS Sports Associate WENTING SUN Design Associate CHRISTINE LAM Design Associate RYAN TU Design Associate JULIA MCGURCK Design Associate ALEX RABIN Copy Associate SANJANA ADURTY Copy Associate ALISA BHAKTA Copy Associate CATHERINE DE LUNA Copy Associate
LETTERS Have your own opinion? Send your letter to the editor or guest column to letters@thedp.com. Unsigned editorials appearing on this page represent the opinion of The Daily Pennsylvanian as determined by the majority of the Editorial Board. All other columns, letters and artwork represent the opinion of their authors and are not necessarily representative of the DP’s position.
Embracing the inefficiencies in our lives MERICAN IN AMERICA | Efficiency is our strength but also our weakness A few evenings ago, my group of friends walked from Wishbone, carrying boxes of takeout. Party music and chatter drifted from the houses along Walnut. Groups of students stroll past us, ready for the night out. The early autumn breeze picked up, and we wrapped our jackets around a little tighter. When we arrived at our friend’s apartment, we chomped down our late dinner, made citron tea and a friend picked up her ukulele and started to sing. We lazed around, sometimes chatting, sometimes scrolling through our phones. We played a few games of Bananagram and decided to head home around 2 a.m. As I walked across campus back to my room, I tried to find words to describe the contentment I felt. Yes, I felt accepted, I felt comfortable, I loved the company and I loved how beautifully inefficient everything was. I sometimes forget how wonderful inefficiency is, in a fast-paced environment like Penn’s. Sit at the back of lectures or seminars, and you will see rows after
rows of classmates’ Macbooks lighted up with all sorts of windows and tabs obviously unrelated to the course. These are sometimes opened to Facebook or boredpanda.com, but also to math problem sets, coding homework and Anthropology readings. The minute the class we are in starts prodding us towards the slightest feeling of boredom or non-productivity, we turn to our computers and fervently open new windows and tabs. We write our English papers in history class, code in anthropology class and design marketing material for our start-up in art history class — the environment must have been inspiring. We give our classes ten minutes to prove their relevance, worth or entertainment before descending into our pursuit of maximum productivity, with occasional feeble half-stabs at listening to the ongoing lecture. We slowly begin to reduce each class into a list of papers to write, problem sets to complete and exams to study for, which will at the very end, hopefully add
up to the grade we desire. “Is what the professor is saying now going to appear in the midterm or help me in writing my paper?” We suddenly lose sight of the process. Learning is a process and it often isn’t efficient. It involves meanders and detours, planting and waiting, pruning and correcting. The
means giving your professor the undivided attention and respect he deserves, even though what he may be saying is sometimes not of “urgent relevance” to you right there and then — especially in comparison to your English paper which is due by tonight 11:59 p.m. Our chronic efficiency is most pronounced in our ac-
… streamlining the flow of information between professors and students — and between students themselves — can act effectively as an investment from Penn in its students … ” mind is laboriously sharpened and slowly refined. It accumulates various unconnected thoughts and facts, and brings them into dialogue sometimes immediately, sometimes later, sometimes never. Choosing the “process”
ademic life, but also seeps into other areas. Some of us don’t like eating in dining halls not just because of the quality of food, but also because it “takes too much time”. We leave our friends mid-meal and midconversation once we are
done with our own lunch to run off to finish a problem set. We attend talks because “hey, Penn has many opportunities and we should take full advantage of them” but end up doing our work within the first ten minutes there. We go for meetings late and leave early. Our days, weeks, months are a mad chase to tick items off our growing, exploding checklist of to-dos and do-not-forgets. We are ruthlessly efficient, we do and accomplish many things and yet, we perhaps learn very little. We don’t give the process of learning, or friendship or developing relationships the chances they deserve. Of course, on the flipside, it doesn’t mean we indulge in inefficiency all the time and in everything we do. Efficiency may be our problem, but it is also our strength. Time is finite and efficiency helps us cope with that. What I’m arguing for is for us to slow down a little, and give each moment, each process its opportunity to unfold and bloom. Hold back on other work
SARA MERICAN and focus on the class you are in. Let the dining hall meal with your friend spill over the hour. Choose to walk the long, “inefficient” route back home, if it allows you those extra minutes to stroll and chat with your friend on his way. Slow down on Locust Walk, watch the squirrels, and go beyond the basic “Hi” when you recognize someone. Some of our best college memories will come from the most inefficient moments. Slow down. Be present. It’s worth it. SARA MERICAN is a College sophomore from Singapore. Her email address is smerican@ sas.upenn.edu. “Merican in America” usually appears every Monday.