News Briefs: Thursday, April 18, 1996

Fire on 40th Street injures no one Residents were evacuated from the third floor of the building for half an hour while the fire was put out. Five-year resident Maria Larracuente, who called in the fire when she smelled smoke in a neighboring apartment, speculated that the blaze ignited as a result of electrical and plumbing work that had been going on earlier in the day. According to Larracuente, the apartment has been vacant due to renovations which have been underway for the past three months. "All this work down the drain," she said, pointing to the newly-installed jacuzzi and recently-unpacked appliances, all covered with debris from the caved-in ceiling. – Marisa Katz Frosh elect officers for next year Wharton freshman Clive Correia defeated College freshman Vijay Chatta yesterday in a runoff to determine next year's sophomore class president. Correia, the incumbent Class of '99 president, said he was thrilled with his victory and excited to get to work. "This is probably the hardest election I have ever run in, and I think that because people saw that I was dedicated this year, they came out and voted for me," he said. "I'm really psyched, and I'm looking forward to getting to work next year and kicking ass for the class." In other races, College freshman Ariella Poncz defeated Wharton freshman Thomas Shelton to become sophomore class treasurer. And Leslie Adelson and Daily Pennsylvanian sports writer Jared Belsky beat out Marisa Toccin for the College representative positions on the board. – Dina Bass