July|August 2013
Volume 111, No. 6
What You Don’t Expect
From the Editor, July|Aug 2013
Hope is Part of the Plan
Paralyzed from the neck down by a gunshot wound in 2011, Kevin Neary C’04 can’t help imagining that someday a medical miracle might allow him to walk again.
Good Returns
The dangers and rewards of giving more than you get. An excerpt from Give and Take by Wharton professor Adam Grant. Plus: Interview with the author.
The Purple Passion of Michael Smerconish
Can an unpredictably centrist talk-show host with a yen for “nothing” really have an impact on the national discourse?
Glen Berger’s Amazing Spider-Man Experience
What happens when a playwright best known for a one-man show about a seriously overdue library book gets involved in creating a blockbuster musical about an iconic superhero? In one word: Kapow!
Alumni Weekend 2013
Our annual photo essay.
Letters
July|Aug 2013: Spy, Captain, Pope
Uneasy Rider
Notes from the Undergrad | On the road (parents cautioned).
The Reluctant Reunion Goer
Alumni Voices | What happened at the reunion.
April in Iraq
Elsewhere | Measuring the distance since Saddam’s fall.
Resident Roulette
Expert Opinion | Helpful hints for the hospitalized.
Biden to Class of 2013: Time to “Bend History”
Biden calls on Class of 2013 to “show us what you can do.”
Honorary Degrees
2013 Honorands
Tom Friedman Predicts the Future(s) of Higher Education
Friedman on MOOCs: What happened to media will happen to education.
Democracy in the Age of Big Data
Annenberg conference examines data-mining in politics.
Nursing Student By Day, Micro-Philanthropist By Night
Sink or Swim founder—and new Nursing grad—Marion Leary GNu’13.
HUP Pulmonologist Goes Down the Blowhole
HUP pulmonologist saves the day for a dolphin.
Ancient Books Get a “Modern Temple”
Van Pelt’s new Special Collections Center looks, well, pretty special.
Challenging the Consensus on Dietary Salt
Q&A on dietary salt: too little can be bad, but you still eat too much.
Gut-wrench and Glory in the Postseason
Great day for Penn women’s athletics.
Penn Rugby Continues Rise
Rugby team earns invitation to USA Sevens Collegiate Rugby Championship.
Scoreboard
From April 8 to June 9
Updating Tradition
Soulful, poetic, un-puzzling composer David Ludwig Gr’09.