The Penn Cheerleading team, coached by Joe Neary, has made a nice home for itself on the track behind the Penn bench at Franklin Field. And as the team continues to grow in size and scope, there's a good chance that its appearances might not be limited solely to Penn sporting events.

An alleged backroom deal has complicated the resentencing of former Neurosurgery professor Tracy McIntosh and has raised questions about the role and propriety of such agreements.

After the men's soccer team's season-opening 6-2 loss to Seton Hall, coach Rudy Fuller told his team that that if they worked on their defense, everything else would fall into place. With the defense in order, the Quakers finally managed to show their high-powered offense on Sunday against La Salle.

Freshmen interested in rushing a fraternity next semester may be able to do more than get their name etched onto another paddle. When Sigma Pi comes back to campus next month, they could end up as a founding father. Sigma Pi, which was first established at Penn in 1909, will have two expansion consultants on campus from Oct.

The office of a West Philadelphia state representative was targeted by arsonists early Friday morning, an attack that officials say resulted from the politician's efforts to clean up the area. Police say that at about 4:05 a.m. Friday, an unknown person broke a plate-glass window on the side of state rep.

Although Penn has had its fair share of hazing incidents in past years, Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs Directory Scott Reikofski said he's confident that his office has responded to each one appropriately, always conducting "a full investigation" and working with alumni and national chapter representatives when necessary.

Running in a race as long as a half-marathon (a whopping 13.1 miles) requires much more than God-given athleticism and endurance. Running in a half-marathon at any kind of pace requires an intangible element. But for veteran runners like 39-year-old Chad Simpson of Virginia Beach, Va.

When Ben Kweller was picked to headline the Social Planning and Events Committee's fall concert, many Penn students had the same reaction: "Who?" Last Thursday the DP reported that only five out of 62 surveyed students were familiar with Kweller. Given his lack of popularity at Penn, Kweller is an odd choice to say the least.

This summer, a gay nurse at HUP asked me to go on a date with him. And I said yes. But we weren't interested in getting down and dirty (I'm straight, and he has standards.) We wanted to make sure we were clean. We got tested for HIV. Together, my friend and I ventured into the heart of the Gayborhood to the Washington West Project, an LGBT health clinic associated with the Mazzoni Center.

Though senior guard Brian Grandieri won't be around past the 2008-09 season, the Penn basketball team might have found the right guy to fill his shoes. Rob Belcore, a 6-foot-5 guard from Loyola Academy in Chicago, has become the second high school senior known to commit to Penn, joining 6-1 point guard Zack Rosen of St.

Thomas Robertson's resume spans positions at several business schools stretching from Los Angeles to London. But Robertson, no stranger to Penn after he taught Marketing here 13 years ago, is settling in to a new office in Steinberg-Dietrich Hall.

Gary DeVercelly just wanted to join Phi Kappa Tau. And for that desire, he paid the ultimate price. The 18-year-old from Long Beach, Calif., died in late March after a pledging ritual at the Rider University fraternity. DeVercelly, authorities said, had a blood alcohol content of 0.

Jennifer Jagger is out to make giving birth a little bit easier - or, at least, the preparation for it. Jagger, a Nursing graduate student, co-edited the newly launched Philadelphia Guide to a Healthy Birth. Published by Choices in Childbirth - a non-profit consumer advocacy group that educates the public about women's rights and options in childbirth - the Guide lists 155 female-friendly practitioners, all of whom have been referred by mothers and midwives.

Thanks to the recent opening of the Jean Madeline Aveda Institute, students can get pampered on a budget.

A report released last month by the panel charged with investigating the Virginia Tech shootings sheds light on a blatant shortcoming on the part of the Virginia Tech's counseling services, which may provide guidelines for other universities to follow in the future.

Even though Penn dominated almost all of the 200 minutes it played to win its fourth consecutive Penn Soccer Classic title, it came away disappointed. Playing Hartwick on Friday night under the lights in its home opener, the Quakers came away with an impressive 2-1 victory.