Boy, did I get gypped. The Daily Pennsylvanian, like most other campus student organizations, is of the hierarchical sort. You put in the time, you make the commitment, you work your way up and then the perks start rolling in. Well, I put in the time. I made the commitment - half the guys in my fraternity didn't even know me by the time my term as sports editor had finished.

Hello. Some of you may know me as the zany former editor 'n chief of 34th Street magazine who woefully will soon be pushed, rather shoved, into that nebulous place commonly referred to as the real world, but some of you may not. I would like to share some brief ruminations with you and I hope that you will be entertained.

Although Lasik eye surgery has relieved 8 million Americans of the need to wear glasses or contact lenses, new concerns about surgical risks are being raised on the eve of its 10-year anniversary. New findings show that people who are not suitable candidates for the procedure for a variety of reasons are at greater risk for a problem during the surgery.

When the women's lacrosse team held its annual winter meeting in early 2005, the freshmen sat in the back of the room, as is customary for the team's youngest members. But when the coaches asked the Quakers what their team goals were, the Class of 2008 had something to say.

The preliminary yield rate for the class of 2012 fell to 63 percent, leading the admissions office to utilize its waitlist more extensively this year. The percentage of students accepted before May 1 who decided to enroll is down from the 66-percent yield at this time last year.

The University Board of Trustees Executive Committee heard updates from administrative officials and from the heads of two Trustee Committees at their Stated Meeting Thursday afternoon. After chairman James Riepe opened the meeting, Penn President Amy Gutmann spoke briefly about accolades the University and its researchers and professors had received in the past few months.

Shortly before I graduated from high school, I opened a fortune cookie that would change my life forever. "The work of the world cannot wait for perfect people," it read. I was a girl who was plagued by self-doubt throughout high school - a girl in love with the idea of going off to college (proudly sporting a Penn sweatshirt during her senior spring) but who was terrified of messing up an experience that she knew could impact her entire future.

1:52 a.m. - May 20, 2008 Standing in the middle of a sunny Franklin Field and before a sea of excited students in black robes and mortarboard caps, University President Amy Gutmann started out the 252nd Commencement Ceremony by warning the graduates that, before receiving their diplomas, "you must prove yourselves worthy of your Penn degrees by performing one last task: Endure our speeches." But despite the light-hearted start, the speakers of Monday's ceremony went on to address politics and activism in their remarks to the graduating class.

After hitting double-digits in scoring in last week's loss to Towson, the men's lacrosse team appears to have put its offensive woes behind it. The only problem: It's about to face the nation's fourth-best defensive team. Penn (5-7, 3-3 Ivy) will look to end its disappointing season on a high note when it hosts No.

After 33 years away from Penn's campus, 1975 Law School alumnus Jeffrey Cooper will return on July 1 to take over as the new Vice President for Government and Community Affairs. Currently the chief counsel for the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education and the executive deputy general counsel to Gov.

On the sidelines of every men's lacrosse game are the familiar faces - head coach Brian Voelker, his assistant coaches and, of course, the players. But for Penn, there's one more person who makes his presence felt as strongly as anyone else: 12-year-old Pat Kelly.

Whoever said the ending is always anticlimactic couldn't have been more right. With only two weeks until graduation, I look at myself and realize how little has changed over the past four years. In many ways, I'm leaving Penn the same way I entered: broke, single and with a mild case of insomnia.

Actor Kalpen Modi-more fondly known as Kal Penn - conquered Hollywood after his hit movie Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. But, with students raving about his Asian American Studies class as the semester ends, it seems Modi has conquered something perhaps more significant than teenage humor: the field of academia.

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

Late recruit to join Miller's squad Better late than never. Larry Loughery probably agrees. The Philadelphia Daily News reports that the 6-foot-6, 210-pound senior at the Academy of New Church - who previously played for St. Joseph's Prep - has gained admission to Penn and will play for men's basketball coach Glen Miller.

Misleading rhetoric To the Editor: Sarah Rothman's recent opinion piece on the current administration's "war on science" was misleading. After 9/11, George Bush described a war against freedom being waged by the terrorists and suggested that they are against all forms of freedom since they attacked the U.

Out of the $15 billion worth of property stolen nationwide in 2006, only about 31 percent - property worth about $4.6 billion - was recovered by police forces across the country, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. "Everything is difficult to recover," said Penn Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush.