BYOB. Europe does it. America used to do it before the Second World War. African nations may soon join in. So will you if the Philadelphia City Council succeeds in banning plastic bags. It's not that hard. Just bring your own bag when you go shopping. If eco-conscious council members have their way, Philly will soon join the ranks of green cities like San Francisco and Paris.

College sophomore Anne Ryan was "unequivocally" misdiagnosed with a viral infection when she visited the emergency room at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania three days prior to her death, the Ryan family attorney said yesterday.

When Todd Klawinski heard from a friend that The Climate Project - a nonprofit movement led by former Vice President Al Gore to increase awareness of global warming - was seeking volunteers, he applied online without a second thought. "I felt a sense of calling," said the 34-year-old teacher and environmental enthusiast.

Joanne Tong is a Wharton senior from Manila, Philippines. Her e-mail address is tong@dailypennsylvanian.com.

Hundreds of Penn officials are busy sprucing up campus to prepare for Oct. 20's Celebration on the Green, which will officially kick off Penn's multi-billion dollar fundraising effort slated to last through 2012.

Several Ivy League schools have recently announced that students under their insurance plans will be eligible for a low-cost HPV vaccine, but Penn officials say they currently have no plans to do the same.

With $150 million in state funding and additional revenues from Monday's fare hike coming in, SEPTA officials finally have a golden ticket to put Philadelphia's mass-transit system on the right track. SEPTA has long postponed ticketing-system improvements because of inadequate state funding.

It's every woman's worst nightmare. She's rushed to an emergency room after being raped or sexually assaulted. She's been physically hurt, she's disoriented and humiliated, too. She has to undergo countless interviews and tests before she can even go home and take a shower.

Under former Dean of Admissions Lee Stetson, the Penn admissions office gained a reputation for its emphasis on early decision and its outreach to minorities. Now, it's unclear how, or if, those priorities will change with Stetson's departure.

With official approval for funding from the Board of Trustees, Penn is ready to bring a seventy-year-old electrical system into the 21st century. With electrical voltage in some of its buildings dating back to the 1930s and '40s, the second phase of construction on Penn's electrical infrastructure will include replacing electrical cable and making electricity distribution more reliable.

The competition may not have been as tough as the Ivy League, but the Penn squash team's top dogs blew through it anyway. The Quakers left a sizable imprint on the Under-23 National Championships on Sunday in New York, with senior Lee Rosen conquering the men's bracket and sophomore Kristen Lange claiming the women's crown.

When a team that hasn't made the playoffs in 14 years reaches the postseason, everyone catches Phillies fever, even unexpecting Penn students. Following a remarkable comeback - the Phils made up seven games on New York Mets with 17 games to go - the hometown nine went on a tear and won the National League Eastern division.

I'm sure it would be quite the cliche to call Penn-Princeton a great rivalry. But it would become a little less of a rivalry if the opposing team ceases to exist. The Princeton sprint football team announced Tuesday that, due to injuries it sustained Friday in a 60-7 loss at Penn, it would forfeit its upcoming game against Army.

Christian pro-life advocate Randall Terry paid a visit to Logan Hall yesterday in an effort to recruit Penn students to help "end legalized child killing." Terry's name recently surfaced in the media as the spokesman for Terry Schaivo's family, but he is best known for founding Operation Rescue, the anti-abortion group responsible for staging hundreds of protests and sit-ins since its creation in 1987.

It costs almost $50,000 a year to attend Penn, but tuition revenue doesn't come close to supplying the amount of money it takes to run this university. Penn relies on endowment profit to pay for financial aid, new facilities, academic programming and much of the rest of the operating budget.

What should have been a dramatic day in the trial of Wharton undergraduate Irina Malinovskaya became a mundane affair as the testimony of her ex-boyfriend, Robert Bondar, was pushed back to next week. After grilling Bondar through Monday's session, the defense called him to the stand yesterday, but his testimony was cut short.

Last Thursday, the Senate Finance Committee heard testimony from a panel of experts who recommended forcing universities to spend at least 5 percent of their endowments, with the intention of making college more affordable. At first glance, it seems like a fantastic idea.