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

If you're anything like me, you read Forbes for one reason and one reason only: the lists. And as anyone who knows anything will tell you, the best list ever compiled by the magazine is "World's Most Expensive Yachts." When at a loss for conversation with my more nautical peers, I have often saved face by holding forth on the relative merits of the Alysia ($116.

Before practice on Tuesday, Sophomore Tobi Olopade took a knee to lace up his soccer cleats. Just last spring, he was tying up his track spikes, which are now collecting dust. The Chicago native elected to leave the confines of Franklin Field for the plush Bermuda grass of Rhodes Field.

View Larger Map Getting lost in the whir of resources available at Penn can be easy, and help is available - if students know where to find it. Cultural community groups make an extra effort at the beginning of the year to publicize their resources to new students.

Unanimous first-team All-Ivy selection. SoccerBuzz.com National Elite Team Player of the Week. Two-time Ivy League Rookie of the Week. The leader of four varsity championship teams - in three different sports - in high school. Needless to say, women's soccer senior Natalie Capuano hasn't had problems with impressing people, whether they're coaches, teammates or opponents.

With the start of a new academic year comes an annual tradition - the release of the U.S. News and World Report college rankings. And with that inevitably comes an angry response from higher-ed officials disgruntled with the rankings system. One particular component that seems to provoke outrage is the peer-assessment section, which comprises roughly 25 percent of the rankings.

Federal authorities yesterday accused Children's Hospital of Philadelphia electrician William Gould of placing a hangman's noose in the work area of a black colleague. Gould, 62, left the noose where his colleague would find it on Aug. 11, according to a press release from the U.

When Penn freshman Christian Barreiro turned down a youth team position with Celtic FC of the Scottish Premier League, he forfeited the chance to experience the "Old Firm," a bitter and l

Usually, a soccer team forced to rotate three goalkeepers doesn't find much success. The Quakers, however, allowed just 15 goals in 18 games en route to an Ivy League title last season, all without a bona fide No. 1 woman in net. "Injuries played a big part in that," coach Darren Ambrose said.

The 19th century British statesman Benjamin Disraeli described the ideal university as "a place of light, of liberty and of learning." For Penn students who want to make their mark on the 21st century, Penn is providing the most dynamic, lovely and liberating learning environment in our proud history by allowing students to stretch their minds, develop their leadership skills and learn from great professors and peers.

NSO: an entire week devoted to introducing new students to the campus and what is has to offer academically and socially. For most, it's a whirlwind of informational sessions, ice breakers, parties and awkward situations. Once students have passed their early years at Penn though, their NSO experience changes dramatically.

In a textbook industry strained by persistent debates over rising prices, many students' cure for high costs may also be a cause. The used book market is booming, but publishers say it is draining their profits and driving up prices. Cash-strapped students, who spend about $900 on books each year, want lower bills while publishers want to maintain profit in a changing marketplace - a tug-of-war that represents one of many challenges in an industry that is frust

Two people attempted to rob a man at gunpoint on the 4100 block of Walnut Street on Aug. 26 at about 7:15 p.m., according Penn and Philadelphia police. Penn Division of Public Safety spokeswoman Stef Cella said the 44-year-old complainant, a man unaffiliated with the University, was approached by the two suspects in a building lobby.

I spent a few hours at the Student Activities Fair yesterday talking to new students about Penn and The Daily Pennsylvanian. It was exciting to be back in the thick of things and to look forward to the new academic year. This semester, in particular, we'll be seeing a lot of changes.

Wharton professor Thomas Dunfee - a pioneer in the field of business ethics - passed away on June 22 due to complications from cancer. He was 66. Dunfee was chairman of Wharton's Legal Studies and Business Ethics department He left behind his wife of 40 years, three children and six grandchildren.

Some low-income students will have a new way to apply to Penn this fall. Penn will partner with QuestBridge - a non-profit program that links low-income students with scholarship opportunities at top colleges - for the first time this year. Through the QuestBridge National College Match, high-achieving, low-income high-school seniors are offered admission and full four-year scholarship grants