Of all the lumps it has taken this season, the women's basketball team's matchup with Cornell a month ago may have left the deepest bruise. The Big Red starting frontcourt poured in 34 points en route to an 80-56 victory. But the Quakers had a six-hour bus trip up to Ithaca, N.

2:00pm - March 12th, 2008 Hillary Clinton kicked off six weeks of political attention for Philadelphia with a rally yesterday evening at Temple University. Before a cheering crowd of 3,000 to 4,000 supporters Hillary delivered a campaign speech that was decidedly short on mentions of her chief rival, Barack Obama, but big on populist promises to help the working class.

A Dental student was held captive in his apartment by armed robbers for about 12 hours earlier this week. One man, Justin Sheppard, 25, of Havertown, has been arrested in connection with the incident.

Penn Electrical and Systems Engineering professor Nader Engheta received one of Penn Engineering's top honors on Wednesday. Engheta, who has been named one of the 50 most important leaders in science and technology in America by Scientific American magazine, was presented with the Heilmeier Faculty Award for Excellence in Research.

Crime rates for February saw a 26-percent increase from this month last year with year-to-date total crime up 12 percent from 2007. The main cause is an increase in general theft, which rose from 35 incidents in February 2007 to 55 in 2008, despite the Division of Public Safety's ongoing theft-awareness campaign.

Despite recent discussion nationwide about allowing licensed students to carry concealed weapons on campus, Penn does not plan on changing its existing policy. The University is "absolutely not" looking into revisiting its policy, which prohibits faculty, staff and students from carrying weapons or firearms on campus or in any Penn building, said Vice President of Public Safety Maureen Rush.

Staying at Penn over spring break? Well, if you're over 21, you can join the annual festival to celebrate Philadelphia's unique beer-drinking history. Philly Beer Week begins today with a special event on Sunday called The Brewer's Plate, which celebrates Philadelphia culture by offering a gourmet experience consisting of the city's finest food and drink.

Wharton received a gift from its alumni to support research in a less traditional field of business. Julie and Kenneth Moelis, both Wharton alumni, donated $5 million to the Wharton Sports Business Initiative, a program that aims to conduct research on sports business and provide education on the sports industry.

Despite weeks of research, students in one Electrical and Systems Engineering class are still pondering the best way to climb the fabled "Rocky steps" at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Of course, their task is more difficult than it sounds: While climbing those stairs may be an easy trek for tourists, getting a robot to make the same jaunt isn't so simple.

For the men's tennis team, spring break will signify more than just a week without classes. With a three-match road trip in California on tap, it will also mark the annual switch from indoor to outdoor courts. "Normally it's a tough transition," Penn coach Nik DeVore said.

After months of inclement weather, infield puddles and indoor practices, the Penn baseball team is finally headed for greener pastures - if only for one week. The Quakers (0-1) flew to Boca Raton, Fla., last night, where they will play out an eight-game spring break slate over the next eight days.

It may be the one class every Penn student has to take during his or her undergraduate education, but it's also the one class whose merits students can't seem to pinpoint. A foundation at many colleges across the nation, Penn's 50 to 60 writing seminars seek to transition the writing of incoming freshmen from "five-paragraph, SAT or free-form writing" to shorter essays with more peer revision, said program director Valerie Ross.

For the wrestling team, the last four months of bouts, pins and takedowns all comes down to this weekend. Starting tomorrow and finishing up Sunday, the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association will hold its conference tournament at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa.

It's the biggest concert of the biggest party of the year at Penn - and Ludacris and Gym Class Heroes will headline it. The Social Planning and Events Committee announced Monday that the rapper and indie hip-hop band will take the stage at this year's Spring Fling concert at 8 p.m.

For years, scientists have been devising ways to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy - the most common and serious form of the disease - without actually replacing the mutated gene that causes it. That approach may soon pay off, as researchers start testing the most promising of such techniques.

It's that time of year again - spring break, of course - when students flock off campus to more exotic locations around the globe. The one thing they all have in common? They'll all be feeding whatever economy they happen to find themselves in. Not that that's any different from a normal week at Penn.

Former Wharton professor Scott Ward, currently serving a federal prison sentence for child pornography, is facing new charges for allegedly transporting and shipping child pornography and lying to authorities. Ward, 56, allegedly shipped images of himself engaged in sexual activity with a 16-year-old boy, according to an indictment filed today by U.S. Attorney Pat Meehan.