NEWSBRIEFS: Cheerleading tryouts begin today

Penn also placed second in the "fight song" competition. Villanova, New York and Liberty universities participated in the camp, which holds workshops for cheerleaders. The first practice and tryouts for the Penn varsity mascot and for junior varsity cheerleaders will be held tonight in the gymnastics room in Hutchinson Gym from 6 to 9 p.m. -- Andrea Ahles Student gov't to hold info meeting There will be an informational meeting tonight for students interested in joining student government, Undergraduate Assembly Chairperson and College senior Lance Rogers said last night. The meeting is open to all students, but freshmen are particularly encouraged to attend, he added. Representatives from all six branches of student government -- including the UA, the Student Committee on Undergraduate Education, the Student Activities Council, the Social Planning and Events Committee, the Nominations and Elections Committee and the Class Boards -- will speak about their respective roles and how students can become involved. The meeting will take place in Houston Hall's Bodek Lounge at 9 p.m. -- Daniel Gingiss Three U. professors win award Three University professors will receive the Melville Medal of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in November. Pediatrics Assistant Professor Flaura Winston, Bioenginnering Professor Lawrence Thibault and Cell Biology Associate Professor Edward Macarak will be awarded the medal for their paper, "An Analysis of the Time-Dependent Changes in Intracellular Calcium Concentration in Endothelial Cells in Culture Induced by Mechanical Stimulation." The Melville Medal is awarded annually for the best original paper on a mechanical engineering subject presented for publication. The presentation will be made during ASME's International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, scheduled to be held from November 12 until November 17 in San Francisco. -- Keith Blackman