American businesses took a back seat to the largest democracy in the world last night. Palaniappan Chidambaram, the finance minister of India, opened the Wharton Leadership Lecture series yesterday with a speech followed by a Q&A; session in Huntsman Hall.

From attacking a "sausagefest" to pictures of students urinating on Princeton's crest, this year's freshman-election campaign posters set a new bar for superficiality. And what the mildly amusing posters make abundantly clear is that Penn's freshman fall elections are focusing more on rhetoric and less on substance.

University President Amy Gutmann, Provost Ron Daniels, faculty and student leaders met yesterday afternoon in Bodek Lounge for the year's first meeting of the University Council. The Council discussed which issues the Steering Committee would focus on when developing Council agendas for the upcoming year.

Last night at the launch of the new Cooking Series at the LGBT Center, students learned the art of healthy eating by grilling vegetable skewers and veggie burgers while discussing health-related questions.

A student at the Universal Technical Institute in Exton, Pa., died this past weekend due to a rare form of meningitis. Jeffrey Cox, 21, of Bowie, Md., was found dead in his West Chester apartment on Saturday, two days after classes ended for the 1,400-student trade school.

Barack Obama sparring with Hillary Clinton, Dennis Kucinich trying not to be ignored and John Edwards' hair - it's all coming to Philadelphia next month. State Democratic party officials have confirmed that the Democratic National Committee will hold its fourth official primary presidential debate in Philadelphia Oct.

Back in 2002, Beth Linker was a third-year graduate student at Yale. Like all Ph.D. students, she had a lot on her plate - preparing for exams, teaching classes, doing her own research, worrying about the job market. And then she had a baby. That July was when her already busy life got a lot busier.

Joanne Tong is a Wharton senior from Manila, Philippines. Her e-mail address is tong@dailypennsylvanian.com.

The Penn volleyball team may have recorded its last upset of the season. From here on out it could be the favorite. The Quakers (6-5) defeated a strong Villanova team (9-6) in three games last night. "We are an upset team this year," coach Kerry Carr said.

When Steve Pederson, athletic director at the University of Nebraska and chairman of the Division I Football Issues Committee, briefed the media six weeks ago on the various proposals that the committee considered, there was one topic at the forefront of his mind.

Way back during my freshman year, a homeless stranger led a couple of my buddies on an epic quest for fried chicken. After wandering around West Philly late at night, they all ended up at Crown's on 40th and Market. Bonhomie flowed forth, and much crispy fowl was consumed.

When Penn State scored the winning goal in its 3-2 overtime win over Penn last night, it was Kevin Sweetland - not starting goalkeeper Drew Healy - who watched the fatal header fly by. Four minutes earlier, Healy had been sent off in a strange incident that gave new meaning to the phrase "sacrificing yourself for the team.

The Athletic Department has announced that the Line - when students sleep over at the Palestra to get their hands on the choice seats for the upcoming season - will take place on Oct. 5, the same night as SPEC's Ben Kweller concert.

There was no better place to for poet and Penn professor Thomas Devaney to share the fruits of his labor. Devaney read from his new book of poetry, "A Series of Small Boxes," yesterday night at a book release party held at the Arts Cafe in the Kelly Writers House.

Pens and pencils? Check. Notebooks and paper? Check. Computer? Check. Cell phone equipped with a GPS device linked to your school's public-safety division? For students at schools like Fairleigh Dickinson University and Georgia Gwinnett College, the back-to-school-shopping list has gotten a little bit longer.

Joe Sandberg is back in the lineup -and will start Saturday at Dartmouth -- but that doesn't mean he'll be carrying the ball at the clip he was before his injury. Coach Al Bagnoli said yesterday that he will be reluctant to give the running back more than 25 carries on Saturday.

"Dutch Total Football?" Men's soccer coach Rudy Fuller laughed when his team was compared to the 1970s Netherlands teams with their flowing soccer styles, where players were versatile enough to play any position on the field. But it's no joke - for the Quakers, no positions are set in stone.