ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Bail for former Wharton professor emeritus Scott Ward was set at $2 million yesterday, as prosecutors sought a tougher ruling and the defense called evidence into question.

With 10 returning players, eight new freshmen and two new assistant coaches, this volleyball season seems to be full of promise. But the team will have to turn things around; Penn went 10-16 (7-7 Ivy) last season, a tough follow-up to 2004, a season in which they went 15-11.

Former Duke University anthropologist John Jackson has arrived at Penn to kick off Penn Integrates Knowledge, the University's initiative to recruit faculty members who will have appointments in multiple departments. Jackson will be teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in both the Annenberg School for Communication and the School of Arts and Sciences, where he will share his research on issues of race, religion, class and the impact of the media in contemporary America.

The number of burglaries and sex offenses during New Student Orientation rose this year, while police reported a precipitous drop in the number of thefts. Overall, crime during NSO was down from the same period last year, but officials from Penn's Division of Public Safety say the drop is insignificant.

The School of Arts and Sciences e-mail system didn't even wait to for the semester to begin before its first breakdown. On Sept. 1, the thousands of professors and students who check their e-mail via SAS's Webmail system were unable to access their account for more than 8 hours.

"It could have been worse." Penn soccer optimists - and senior captain Dan Cepero - were reduced to that phrase after Monday's 2-0 defeat to Lehigh in Bethlehem, Pa. The game was a rematch from last year's clash at Rhodes Field, which Penn won, 2-1. This time around, the Quakers were never a threat to the Mountainhawks, who outshot Penn 17-6.

Penn's School of Medicine ranked second in the nation in National Institutes of Health research and training grants received in the last fiscal year. The NIH awarded Penn 924 individual grants worth $399 million, a 1.4-percent increase from last year and a record sum for the University.

On the first day of school (for you suckers who - unlike me - couldn't avoid Wednesday classes), it's fitting to welcome you all to another exciting year of Penn sports. Good to see we're off to a flying start with the three Quakers teams that have started their seasons going a combined 0-3-1.

Investigators uncovered child pornography in the Penn office of Wharton professor emeritus Scott Ward yesterday, piling fresh charges on top of allegations that he brought child pornography into the country. University Spokeswoman Lori Doyle confirmed that investigators found a CD containing more than 80 still images of sexual acts between a man believed to be Ward and a teenage boy.

Penn students are now only a mouse click away from all the free - and legal - music they can download. But they aren't supposed to have it yet. As news slowly spread over the weekend that Ruckus - a music downloading service spearheaded by the Undergraduate Assembly - is available, students began registering for the site, which allows them unlimited digital music from its library of 1.

Pouring rain put a damper on some events that were scheduled to occur yesterday. The Student Organization Fair that was scheduled to take place on Locust Walk has been postponed, with no decision yet as to if and when a make-up will be held. Wharton senior Corey Hulse, a New Student Orientation coordinator, said students interested in learning about clubs and organizations that are available at Penn should visit the NSO Web site, which has a listing of groups that would have been present at the fair.

When college junior Amanda Dewundara logged onto Facebook.com yesterday morning, she quickly learned which friend broke up with a boyfriend, who declined what party invitation and what all her freshman buddies took pictures of during New Student Orientation.

David Anderson is a College senior from Denver. His e-mail address is dga@sas.upenn.edu.

I begin this new academic year at Penn grateful to be a part of a University community so joyfully infused with the desire to learn and the commitment to serve. Thanks to our dedicated move-in and New Student Orientation teams - who did a fabulous job helping new students navigate the transition to life at Penn-our campus is bustling with more creative energy and camaraderie than ever.

If the Penn women's soccer team's season opener against Rice was going to come down to a battle of the goalies, the Quakers may have looked like clear underdogs. After all, Penn freshman Cailly Carroll had yet to play a collegiate game, while Owls goalkeeper Amy McClintock had three years of college soccer and a full month of the 2006 season under her belt.