On the sidelines of every men's lacrosse game are the familiar faces - head coach Brian Voelker, his assistant coaches and, of course, the players. But for Penn, there's one more person who makes his presence felt as strongly as anyone else: 12-year-old Pat Kelly.

Whoever said the ending is always anticlimactic couldn't have been more right. With only two weeks until graduation, I look at myself and realize how little has changed over the past four years. In many ways, I'm leaving Penn the same way I entered: broke, single and with a mild case of insomnia.

Actor Kalpen Modi-more fondly known as Kal Penn - conquered Hollywood after his hit movie Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. But, with students raving about his Asian American Studies class as the semester ends, it seems Modi has conquered something perhaps more significant than teenage humor: the field of academia.

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

Late recruit to join Miller's squad Better late than never. Larry Loughery probably agrees. The Philadelphia Daily News reports that the 6-foot-6, 210-pound senior at the Academy of New Church - who previously played for St. Joseph's Prep - has gained admission to Penn and will play for men's basketball coach Glen Miller.

Misleading rhetoric To the Editor: Sarah Rothman's recent opinion piece on the current administration's "war on science" was misleading. After 9/11, George Bush described a war against freedom being waged by the terrorists and suggested that they are against all forms of freedom since they attacked the U.

Out of the $15 billion worth of property stolen nationwide in 2006, only about 31 percent - property worth about $4.6 billion - was recovered by police forces across the country, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. "Everything is difficult to recover," said Penn Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush.

On Wednesday, minority student groups reached a significant milestone in their push for a comprehensive campus climate assessment with the release of much-anticipated 2006 survey data. The results, however, weren't entirely satisfying to student leaders. Associate Provost Andrew Binns presented the data at the last University Council meeting of this academic year.

A greener future is blowing in the wind. The University recently made a commitment to increase its expenditure on wind energy for the next two years, making it the biggest patron of wind power among universities in the United States. Renewable wind energy will account for nearly half of Penn's power because of the University's purchase of an additional 80,000-megawatt hours per year from Community Energy Inc.

The year was 2004. It was a simpler time. Usher's "Yeah!" played on the radio, you never had to worry about your drunken actions becoming a Facebook album, and Britney Spears was hot. But most importantly, I started college. I was excited when my cab pulled up to Hill House for the first time.

Although shoppers have generally accepted that eating organic foods will be more costly, a recent and rapid rise in prices may force some consumers to alter their eating habits. Food prices have been rising for several months now, and at first, organic prices stayed steady.

Hillary Clinton isn't the only one who wants to make sure everyone is insured. SASgov, the School of Arts and Sciences branch of graduate student government, hosted an essay competition in which participants wrote a 125-word essay to answer the question, "Why do I need dental insurance?" The winners won $250, allowing them to purchase insurance.

John Gallagher is man enough to admit to crying. He cried when he left Hartford last month, along with nine members of the basketball team he was leaving behind. But that was quickly tempered by the knowledge that he would be returning to his Philadelphia roots, not to mention taking a small step up the college basketball ladder.

When seventh-year English Ph.D. candidate Anna Foy enrolled at Penn, she planned to be here for at least seven years before finishing her dissertation. Now, about a year from completing her dissertation on 18th-century poetry, she finds herself facing pressure from the University to hurry up or pay up.

Off the court, senior Julia Koulbitskaya and sophomore Kate Kosminskaya are quiet, reserved and calm. But on it, they're fierce and aggressive, according to coach Mike Dowd. Yesterday, the NCAA officially announced what Dowd and the Quakers already knew: The two women from Moscow are heading to Tulsa, Okla.

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification standards hold a monopoly over colleges' sustainable construction projects. But a lesser-known alternative is beginning to make a mark at universities. Penn's master plan calls for the construction of a number of environmentally sound buildings, which will be certified as such by LEED, the widely used and expensive third-party review system.

CHEERS  To student political groups, for their impressive efforts in increasing voter turnout to record levels in the Pennsylvania primary.  To the University, for unveiling a bold financial-aid plan that will replace loans with grants and greatly increase the affordability of a Penn education to middle-income students.