According to a new study, black students who are either first- or second-generation American are overrepresented at selective colleges and universities, compared with those whose families have resided in the United States longer. This overrepresentation may stem from stereotypes - such as that immigrant blacks are smarter or work harder.

Harvard University admissions announced its plans to cut down on travel outreach last month, and now Penn plans to do the same. Dean of Admissions Eric Furda said he expects "to scale back in the fall" and find "more cost-effective ways of recruitment than planes, trains and automobiles.

When Council chairwoman Anna Verna brings down her gavel, the Philadelphia City Council hearing is in session. Council hearings allow members to ask questions of the mayoral departments regarding the budget on which they will ultimately have the final vote.

Universities across the nation are combating wastefulness and focusing on sustainability, but only one will be able to take home the title of America's Greenest Campus. The America's Greenest Campus contest is the first national competition among colleges to reduce their communities' carbon footprints.

This year, Penn sent congratulatory letters to 3,926 students out of the 22,939 that applied - an acceptance rate of 17.11 percent. But last year, the acceptance rate was (gasp!) 0.10 percent lower. A minute fraction of a percent, but unfortunately many students - and this newspaper - seem to think such an increase in acceptance is a "situation.

Men's lacrosse can't win the Ivy League tomorrow at Brown, but the opportunity for an upset is still very much in the cards - again. After nearly toppling No. 2 Princeton Tuesday at home, the Quakers (2-7, 1-4 Ivy) will make a quick turnaround, heading to Providence, R.

Daniel Schwartz is a College junior from Decatur, Ga. His e-mail address is dschwartz@dailypennsylvanian.com

Elizabeth Grant, like many other Penn students, went to several Greek parties the first weekend in February. And like other students who had connections to the Greek system, Grant, a College sophomore, went to get a prophylactic dose of Ciprofloxacin on Feb.

Ivy League lacrosse is in Samantha Bird's blood. Penn's senior attack comes from a line of women's lacrosse players. Bird's older sister, Courtney, graduated from Princeton last year, while her younger sister, Georgia, is currently a freshman on Dartmouth's roster.

Assault March 29 - Clifford Jorden, 20, unaffiliated with the University and of the 6000 block of Lindbergh Boulevard, was arrested at about 1:45 a.m. for allegedly striking a male student, 21, in the head with a glass bottle on the 300 block of 40th Street.

Many Penn students (read: haters) tend to harbor a certain disregard for our peer institutions, as exemplified by basketball fans' over-enthusiastic trash-talking at basketball games and the obligatory groan-plus-rolling-of-the-eyes reaction whenever anyone mentions the word Princeton.

On March 30, 2009, Colin Kavanaugh wrote a column praising Sen. Arlen Specter for his recently declared opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act. We wish to respond to his piece and explain why we, and many others, view Specter's decision as a gross betrayal of the working people in this state who have so long supported him.

What do you get when you blend a fake afro, a Celine Dion video, a cookie monster mask and a human banana? Besides a phenomenal theme party, of course. The answer: a third-place finish at the Student Athlete Advisory Committee's athlete talent show, revived for the first time since 2006 at the Zellerbach Theater this past Monday evening.

The small room that will house the new Nursing Biobehavioral Research Lab in Claire Fagin Hall may not look like much, but for the researchers in the School of Nursing, it's a place to call their own.

Rodin College House recently announced that, for the next two years, it will no longer admit freshman. There are several sound reasons behind the decision. The communal culture in the high rises - something most consider essential for a successful freshman year - is not nearly at the level of the Quadrangle, Hill or King's Court-English.

SEPTA has just made traveling in Philadelphia cheaper, faster and easier. In a press release, SEPTA announced that it will introduce a "One Day Independence Pass" and a "Family Independence Pass," which will be available for use on trains, trolleys and buses.

Future changes in Rodin College House's demographics will be less about excluding freshmen and more about giving sophomores what they want. College Houses and Academic Services director Leslie Delauter explained that Rodin was chosen as the college house to pilot the changes not due to any issues involving freshmen, but rather due a need to accommodate the growing sophomore demand in high-rise living.