The styrofoam hats and wooden canes are back - but not on the usual Friday afternoon. Next Tuesday, the class of 2009 will officially make its passage into seniordom as part of the 93-year-old tradition of Hey Day. Hey Day is traditionally held on the last day of classes, a Friday.

To many schools with less-than-rigorous threat assessment systems, the past year's spate of school shootings have been a wake-up call. Over the past year, many universities around the country have responded to shootings at Virginia Tech and other colleges by forming new groups to monitor students who display troubled behavior and assess whether they pose a wider threat to the community.

The Undergraduate Assembly elected its new executive board for the 2008-2009 school year last night after a six-hour meeting that was open to the public. College and Wharton junior Wilson Tong will lead the UA as the body's new chairman. Tong, the current vice chairman for external affairs, is also the first Asian-American chairman in the UA's history.

Of the three candidates, only Senator Hillary Clinton has actually promised to end the war. The war on science, that is. Did you know we're in the middle of a war on science? We are. And it's being fought on many fronts. There are life-science researchers at Universities and the National Institutes of Health whose research could benefit from access to embryonic stem cells.

Every year, there are pre-season workouts, and then there is the pre-season meeting. The captains and coaches of Penn men's swimming sit down and lay out the rules for the upcoming season. How many practices can you miss? Can you drink two or three days in advance of a meet? But 2006 was different.

Following a two-hour search, the man suspected of shooting a constable and one other person yesterday in Yeadon was arrested in West Philadelphia. Tamarr Minor, 21, was arrested by Philadelphia police for the shooting, according to Philadelphia Police Lt.

From the moment he opened The Daily Pennsylvanian upon visiting Penn's campus for the first time, Ken Rosenthal knew he had found the launching pad for his budding career in sports journalism. After four years at the DP, Rosenthal graduated Penn with an English degree in 1984 and embarked on a journey that eventually led him to his current posts as a columnist for Foxsports.

For the Penn track team, this is the most wonderful time of the year. Senior captain Jesse Carlin said Penn Relays are "like Christmas." Women's head coach Gwen Harris said, "I've been coming to Penn Relays since I was a kid. It is one of the best meets there is.

Lawyers for the family of Anne Ryan have dropped punitive damage charges from their malpractice lawsuit against the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Ryan, a College sophomore, died of meningitis last September after being misdiagnosed by Student Health and HUP physicians.

Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School senior Mike Alleman may be the defending champion when the high-school shot putters take to Franklin Field on Friday afternoon - but he's not the favorite. Instead, Nick Vena, a freshman at Morristown High School in Morristown, N.

Trindon Holliday has always had his doubters. The football coaches at Duke and Louisana-Lafayette thought the 5-foot-6 running back was too small to play big-time college ball. His mother prevented him from getting on the gridiron until seventh grade for fear of her son's well-being.

Alicia Puglionesi is a College junior from Havertown, Pa. Her e-mail address is puglionesi@dailypennsylvanian.com.

Photos by Mustafa Al-ammar, Rachel Baye, Ivona Boroje, and Alvin Loke

When the men's lacrosse team had a coaching vacancy after assistant Todd Cavallaro bolted for the head job at Franklin & Marshall, Penn decided to keep it in the family - literally. Cavallaro's replacement was Matt Heiderman, former Georgetown standout and brother to Penn junior midfielder Garvey.

Hometown chance sparks coach's exit Men's basketball assistant coach Chris Sparks is leaving Penn to return to his alma mater. Sparks will coach at Wilbraham & Monson Academy, a Massachussetts prep school, after two years under Glen Miller in Philadelphia, and another at Brown.

I kind of felt like I'd been there before. Maybe it was the shameless opportunists selling Obama '08 buttons - one for $2, three for $5 (how could I pass one up?) I guess they did sort of remind me of those annoying venders hawking foam fingers and pennants along Yawkey Way and Lansdowne Street.

Leslie King is looking for "city bragging rights." Even though the Quakers' Ivy League Championship hopes have come and gone, they still have plenty for which to play. Penn (21-19) will face city rival Drexel (21-16) at home today in a doubleheader at Warren Field.