Try and say it: Philadelphia sells sea shells by the Jersey shore. It doesn't carry quite the same ring, but if the tongue twister is the most consideration you've given shells recently, it's worth paying a visit to the annual Philadelphia Shell Show this weekend.

For a year now, student government leaders have been unsure of Penn's future role in Ivy Council, a consortium of student leaders from around the Ivy League. The disagreement resurfaced in a debate at last Sunday's Undergraduate Assembly meeting about whether to fund the Penn delegation's travel to the upcoming conference, which will be held tomorrow at Columbia University.

The question for Yale is: How long until Mike McLeod's numbers matter? How long can the running back's production drop like subprime mortgage values before it is impossible to deny that something is off? Coach Jack Seidlecki and McLeod himself have said that he is healthy, and pointed out the obvious - McLeod is leading the Ivy League in rushing, at 88.

Some Wharton courses have, in one sense, become paper-thin recently. A number of Wharton professors have offered course bulk packs online to students this semester. By going the paperless route, professors say they are giving students a convenient, cost-effective and environmentally friendly way of acquiring their course material.

Do you speak to your parents more than four times a week? Discuss course selections with them before you register? Seek their guidance when something in your residence malfunctions? Welcome to the "Umbilical Cord" clan. That's the term my professor once used last year to explain what she deemed an unhealthy attachment to one's parents.

Sun Tzu once said: "Every battle is won before it is fought." Or was it Penn field hockey midfielder Rachel Eng? At least, those are the sentiments she echoed as the Quakers (2-8, 1-2 Ivy) get set to face No. 1 Maryland (11-1) on Sunday at College Park and then No.

The Times Higher Education, a London-based higher-education magazine, recently ranked Penn the 11th-best university in the world, a three-place improvement over last year. The rankings are based on peer and employee review as well as data on the school's research output, teaching, and international orientation.

The Penn volleyball team split its Fall Break matches, losing, 3-1, at Cornell on Friday before sweeping Columbia one day later. The Quakers jumped out to an early first-set lead against the Big Red and held on for most of the set. But up, 18-13, the Red and Blue came unwound and dropped 10 of the next 12 points en route to a 25-22 Cornell win.

This week in practice, the volleyball team pitted its starters against the reserves, with the former challenged to win the set down 20-17. "We couldn't get it for the first five times, and then they started to shrivel like they did against Princeton," coach Kerry Carr said.

Who has a bye in college football? Few other than Georgetown, which enters its home game with Penn tomorrow fresh from two weeks' rest after a stomach virus outbreak forced its game against Colgate to be cancelled. Contrast that with the Quakers (1-2, 1-0 Ivy), who are a bit beaten up.

Last Saturday, Bruce Springsteen Barack-ed out for fans and politicos alike on the Ben Franklin Parkway in support of his favorite presidential candidate. As the voter registration deadline loomed in Pennsylvania, The Boss took the stage to inspire us to vote in favor of The One who was born to run, Senator Barack Obama.

Defending the GRE To the Editor: Christina Domenico's column last Wednesday was sadly misinformed about the Graduate Record Examination. Many have claimed throughout the years that GRE is useless for predicting college success or that you can't boil down someone's ability to a number.

Some coaches may look at a match between Penn and Columbia's women's soccer teams and ask: How do the Quakers plan on stopping the Lions' potent duo of Sophie Reiser and Ashlin Yahr? But Quakers coach Darren Ambrose looks at it another way: How does Columbia plan on stopping Penn's Sarah Friedman, Molly Weir, Ursula Lopez-Palm and Marin McDermott? Ambrose is confident that when Columbia (8-2-1, 2-0-0 Ivy) visits Rhodes Field for a pivotal Ivy matchup tonight, his Quakers (6-3-1, 2-0-0) "will be able to control the tempo, play at our pace . and essentially impose ourselves.

One early Sunday this past September, College senior Zachary Roseman hopped onto the Bolt Bus with his friend Benji and headed to New York City. "It was one of the last times Yankee stadium was going to be standing" said Roseman, "and my friend had never been to a game.

Chris Wynn set the tone when he returned the game's opening kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown, as the Quakers cruised to a 27-10 win over Georgetown. Bradford Blackmon was out with a sore ankle and Mike DiMaggio was a non-factor, but freshman Matt Hamscher - seeing his first NCAA action - more than picked up the slack.

Alex Jacobson is a College junior from Los Angeles. Her e-mail address is jacobson@dailypennsylvanian.com.

Penn men's soccer captain John Elicker has a chip on his shoulder. That may be surprising, considering his 7-1-3 Quakers just lost their first match of the season and reeled off seven straight shutouts to open their schedule. But heading into tomorrow night's match at Rhodes Field against Columbia (2-6-1), Penn's previously impregnable defense has looked very vulnerable, surrendering eight goals in its last four games.