The annual ritual of freshmen elections began yesterday as students gathered at the Office of Student Life to formally declare their candidacy. Freshmen from all four undergraduate schools are represented with 23 students from the College, 20 from Wharton, eight from Engineering and one from Nursing.

When students apply to Penn this fall, the admissions office will not print out their essays, grades or test scores. Instead, their applications will form the basis of a digital file that will stay with them throughout their years at the University. Admissions officers will manage student applications on Penn's new digital media imaging system - Oasis.

Like most people, I don't think I'm a racist. And until recently, I believed that the racism our country struggles with came from somewhere else - where, I didn't know, but certainly not from my own actions. I was wrong. Just under a year ago, I wrote a column about DuBois College House and what I then termed its false diversity: a column that was written essentially from the perspective of the dumb white Penn student, a perspective that too many of us white kids share.

After the Penn field hockey team couldn't get going in the first half of either of its games this weekend, coach Val Cloud could think of only one solution to remedy her squad's slow starts. "Put a bomb under them," Cloud said. "I'm at wits end." The Quakers fell to William & Mary, 3-2, on Saturday and to Virginia Commonwealth, 3-1, yesterday.

Coming into Friday's game, the women's soccer team was 0-10 all time against Villanova. Unfortunately for the Quakers, they still haven't beaten their rival from the Main Line. Despite leading, 2-0, after 47 minutes, Penn gave up three late goals to fall, 3-2, to the Wildcats, who ended up winning the Penn Invitational at Rhodes Field.

Lauren Sadaka understands that for the youngsters on the women's tennis team, it's all about confidence and experience. From these points of view, the Quakers were able to kill two birds with one stone this weekend. But they also showed that they are too green to seriously contend with the big boys of the Ivy League.

Last May, President Amy Gutmann talked to FastCompany Magazine about Penn's efforts in fields that "are not just life enhancing but also life saving." We're glad this isn't just talk. In June, Penn received a $50 million donation for a translational research center to help facilitate interactions between clinical and academic medical staff, and the $232-million Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine opened its doors.

On Friday, Wharton officials released a statement revealing that three current and past students' scores for the Graduate Management Admissions Test were cancelled last week because of cheating. "We are in the process of investigating the matter and, after we have completed our review of the facts, appropriate action will be taken in accordance with our policies," said Anjani Jain, vice dean of Wharton Graduate Division.

Sometimes you can't leave something dead and buried. That was apparent in many of Edgar Allan Poe's stories, and it now seems to be true in an ongoing debate over the author's remains. Last October, local writer Edward Pettit began arguing that Poe's body should be moved from Baltimore to Philadelphia.

Hearing about emergencies on campus is about to take on a new meaning. DPS is planning an audible-alert system, which will include audible sirens and a public-address system spanning the area from 33rd to 40th Streets. Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush explained that the system would benefit University visitors and nearby residents -- people not included in UPennAlert, Penn's emergency-notification system that alerts students and faculty through e-mail and text messages.

I've never been particularly drawn to activism. I always thought of it as unproductive: too extreme, too angry. So when I met the women of the Granny Peace Brigade Philadelphia, I was surprised on two fronts: first, that they were pragmatic and pleasant, and second, that they were old and liberal.

Alicia Puglionesi is a College senior from Havertown, Pa. Her e-mail address is puglionesi@dailypennsylvanian.com.

PRINCETON, N.J. - It had been 36 seasons since Penn posted four consecutive shutouts. But at the Princeton Soccer Tournament this weekend, Drew Healy tied the program mark, blanking American and the previously unbeaten Seton Hall. He has now played all 380 minutes this season, recording 16 saves without a ball crossing his line.

The six branches of student government have begun efforts to increase minority representation by collaborating with six of Penn's cultural and minority coalitions. The initiative is meant to address a noticeable decline in the presence of minority and female undergraduates in student government in recent years.

With her team down one set and 21-20 in the second against Oral Roberts, Ashley Hawkins slammed a game-tying kill through the Golden Eagles' blockers to give the Quakers the momentum they so desperately needed. Hawkins followed up her powerful attack with a strong block on ORU's top attacker, Jackie Oliveira, to help propel Penn to a crucial 29-27 win.

'A pragmatic love of knowledge." In case you haven't seen any of Penn's recent advertising material, this phrase is now linked to our University with such other buzzwords as "entrepreneurship," "invention" and "outreach." The phrase represents a nervousness about appearing too intellectual, too smart for our own good.

Penn spent $980,038 on activities in Washington and Harrisburg for the fiscal year that ended in May 2007, an increase from $218,199 the year before. Much of that money was spent on lobbying expenses. However, according to Jeffrey Cooper, the vice president for government and community affairs, the increase was simply the result of a new law mandating that the University health system's expenses be included in the general report.