34th Street Magazine's "Toast" is a semi-weekly newsletter with the latest on Penn's campus culture and arts scene. Delivered Monday-Wednesday-Friday.
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Tomorrow, Penn's juniors will pick up their canes and march their way into senior year.
But since the last day of classes falls on a Tuesday rather than a Friday, many juniors this year won't be able to participate in Hey Day festivities because of class presentations or exams.
With the desire to learn foreign languages steadily increasing, graduate students have found a way to hone their conversation skills outside of the classroom.
"Language chats" - organized by and often conducted at the Graduate Student Center - bring together students to discuss anything from politics to spring break plans in a foreign language.
So this is my last column for The Daily Pennsylvanian - unless my editor talks me into writing one for finals week, but I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you.
Since this will be my last glorious chance to bestow my sagacity and insight upon you, my public, I have scribbled down some advice that some of you will hopefully take to heart during your time here at dear old Pennsylvania.
If the men's lacrosse team had any prayer of earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, Towson shot down those dreams. Eighteen times, to be exact.
The Quakers struck first on Saturday, taking a 3-1 lead in the first quarter, but their opponents sealed the victory by halftime with a 10-1 run.
The girls from the high school relay team returned to their seats, pictures in hand. They had no idea who Jeremy Wariner was, but damn, was he hot!
Wariner was the only runner at this year's Penn Relays to run 400 meters in under 44 seconds. He was also the only one to hold an autograph session, signing photos that bore his Adidas endorsement.
Amid such a trying season, the men's heavyweight rowing team is looking past its competition against other teams and instead focusing on personal improvement.
And after losing to top teams like Harvard, Navy and Northeastern in the Adams and Burk Cups, that attitude has never been more crucial to the development of the program.
A Philadelphia judge found Wharton junior Felix Qu not guilty on assault charges last week.
Qu, 20, had been accused of striking his girlfriend in the face after an argument during winter break.
He had been charged with simple assault and recklessly endangering another person.
Have you ever dreamed of breaking into the performing arts industry? Five alumni have done just that and shared their experiences with students yesterday at the Platt Student Performing Arts House 2008 Alumni Performing Arts Career Symposium.
The five College alumni panelists featured included David Hilder '89, Gabriel Mann '95, Eduardo Placer '99, Lillian Ringel '07 and Jennifer Weber '00.
As spring comes into full bloom and talks of graduation can be heard, tomorrow will mark another change for the University of Pennsylvania.
In the afternoon, the 253rd Graduating Class will march from Hill Field to the Quad, up the stairs to the Junior Balcony and down Locust Walk to the steps of College Hall.
Penn coach Brian Voelker said that there are a lot of "lasts" this time of year.
He was referring to the team's last road trip of 2008 and the seniors' last of their careers.
More noticeable, however, is the last time that the Red and Blue scored more than five goals - April 5.
Penn senior lacrosse captain Sarah Waxman has accomplished a lot in her career: She's has been named National Goalkeeper of the Year, has been to the Final Four, and is currently leading the nation in goals against average.
But one thing she hasn't done in four tries is beat Northwestern.
It's been a hard-luck kind of season for Penn. It lost its number-two starter, two of its everyday outfielders from last year and countless games that could have gone its way.
But if the baseball gods have any mercy, they will send some good fortune the Quakers' way this weekend when they face Columbia in their final games.
Last summer, while many of her friends in Washington and Wall Street made coffee for congressmen and CEOs, College senior Elizabeth Slavitt did something inconceivable. She went on vacation.
"I went to Peru with my friend for a month," Slavitt told me. "We traveled all over the whole country, practiced our Spanish and did a five day trip to Machu Picchu.
As finals week approaches, teaching assistants across the university are probably gearing up for long nights spent answering last-minute questions over e-mails and extra office hours.
However, they did have an opportunity to relax with free food and drinks last night at the Graduate Student Center, where the University honored 12 TAs for Excellence in Teaching.
Remembering
Genocide
To the Editor:
Nearly all elements of history can be contested, except one: history repeats itself.
This is what makes historical study so crucial and the denial of historical facts so dangerous.
April 24 represents a part of history that has been both contested and denied.
I'm ready to march my way into senior year in four days.
And I'm going to - thanks to the saving grace of my Spanish professor. But many juniors aren't so lucky.
Due to a change in the academic calendar and thanks to a 2006 decision by the Council of Undergraduate Deans, Hey Day - traditionally held on the last day of classes - falls on a Tuesday this year.
Thanks to a new program by Housing and Conference Services, throwing out unwanted items at the end of the school year has never felt better.
In an effort to promote environmental and social responsibility, HCS will be collecting students' old clothes and appliances and donating them to charity during the move-out period.
Former Dean of Admissions Lee Stetson, whose 29-year tenure at Penn ended with an abrupt resignation last semester, is starting his own college consulting company, to the surprise of the admissions community.
The company - called Stetson College Advisory - will work with "colleges and universities in evaluating their admissions programs, advising selected high-school students regarding the college search process and conducting searches for secondary schools," according to the description posted on the Harvard Summer Institute on College Admissions's Web site, which lists Stetson as a faculty member.
Green is the new red and blue - at least, that's the message Penn is hoping to instill in incoming students before they even set foot here.
PennGreen, a new pre-orientation program created by the Undergraduate Assembly earlier this year, will officially debut with a pilot run to train 14 recently-selected freshmen and sophomore leaders this August.