Early applications to Penn dropped slightly this year, admissions officials announced yesterday.

Jonathan Saidel's surprise withdrawal from the mayoral race may be one potential candidate's gain. Saidel's decision not to run means that U.S. Rep. Bob Brady and union head John Dougherty are now left as the only two major white candidates in the May Democratic ballot race.

College senior Bryce LeFort and Wharton senior Stephen Lande face preliminary hearings this morning on charges of aggravated assault. LeFort and Lande are being charged for their alleged involvement in an incident that left College senior Andrew Scharf missing a chunk of an ear on the night of Oct.

In a heated debate last night, experts disagreed about whether affirmative active is the solution to the problem of racial inequality, or the problem itself. The Hall of Flags in Houston Hall was packed with people eager to listen to two authors who have both written extensively on the effects of affirmative action.

Recruiting international athletes to come to Penn is like reaching into Forrest Gump's box of chocolates: coaches never know what they're going to get. Whereas American high school athletes are very visible due to highly-publicized national competitions, it's harder to find and recruit international athletes.

Amira Fawcett is an Engineering sophomore from Houston. Her e-mail address is fawcett@dailypennsylvanian.com.

Seven games into the season, there is no doubt who Penn's most valuable player has been. That honor belongs to senior Mark Zoller, who yesterday was named the Big 5 and the Ivy League player of the week - and the Big 5 award was Zoller's second of the season.

University President Amy Gutmann made the list of about 30 leading contenders for Harvard University's next president, according to an article published yesterday in The Harvard Crimson.

It's hard to miss the blow-up Santa Claus hanging from a window of the Sigma Chi fraternity house on Locust Walk. Surrounding houses boast multicolored lights, red-and-green flowers, seasonal ornaments and even presents underneath the tree. These customs, Penn fraternity brothers say, have been going on for years and are still going strong.

The message of last night's Relay for Life kickoff was simple: "Cancer doesn't wait, so why should you?" This year's annual Relay for Life information session occurred last night in Huntsman Hall. The organization, which raises cancer awareness, is managed by Colleges Against Cancer and is endorsed by the American Cancer Society.

Patrick Harker's colleagues and fellow Wharton professors can sing only praises as they begin to bid farewell to their dean. And while most agree that replacing Harker - who will leave Wharton to serve as University of Delaware's president in July - will not be easy, some point to Wharton Deputy Dean David Schmittlein as a likely successor.

Penn will be adding a full week to its winter break, a move that will put it on par with just about every other school.

There's no mystery surrounding the main challenge for the Penn men's track team, at least to its coaches. "We have a lot of top-end people who are really national-class guys," assistant men's coach Jamie Cook said. "We just need some of the younger underclassmen and supporting staff to step up.

16,837Average number of Philadelphia public school students skipping school each day. Source: Philadelphia Inquirer

Philadelphia needs a mayor to reform and transform this city, not a party boss.

College sophomore Chris Yeager gazed at his screen in disbelief. He raged. He cursed. He almost clawed the walls. His Internet had gone out. But Yeager is only one of hundreds of students whose worlds fall apart when the Internet stops working, and cyberpsychologists have even invented a name for their affliction: Internet Addiction Disorder.

For college students, beer, pizza and bowling are a winning combination. At least that's what College Pizza owner George Ballouz is banking on. The pizzeria will move from its current location - which it was forced to leave due to a planned construction project on the 3900 block of Walnut Street - into the mezzanine of Strikes Bowling Lounge over winter break.