These days, a Penn diploma will set you back a cool $180,000. Wait - make that $180,044.95. Plus tax. If members of Penn's graduating Class of 2007 want to flip their tassels at Commencement next month, they will have to wear required regalia purchased at the Penn Bookstore.

(The reporter recounts his experiences covering the Virginia Tech tragedy in Blacksburg, Va.) Standing on the edge of the crowd at Monday night's vigil, I asked Virginia Tech junior Kathryn White how she was coping with the previous day's tragedy. "It's getting easier every day," she said.

All that Penn sophomore J.J. Lian could say about Saturday's game was "that third quarter really killed us." It didn't matter that for a little over 49 minutes on the field, No. 8 Maryland was forced to play an unexpected game of catch-up against the Quakers.

Abdi Farah is a College sophomore from Owings Mills, Md. His e-mail address is abdm@sas.upenn.edu.

SAS officials revealed yesterday that Google was initially their first choice to replace the crash-prone Webmail server, but the school turned to Microsoft after negotiations stalled in mid-March.

Wharton senior and class president Andrew Kaplan said over 550 seniors have signed a pledge not to throw non-approved items - like eggs, ketchup and mustard - this afternoon at juniors walking down Locust Walk.

With finals week fast approaching, it's important to know where to get that extra jolt to keep you going at 3 a.m.

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Junior Christina Khosravi is doing it for the seniors. The whole Penn softball team is. This weekend, the Quakers (21-15, 12-4 Ivy) travel to Princeton, N.J. to play the Tigers (18-25, 8-4) in two doubleheader matches that could clinch the Ivy League South Division title for the Quakers and give them a berth to the League Championships.

The ice water felt good. Both coaches and Senior co-captain Ashley Lostritto got the celebratory bath on Saturday as Penn beat Columbia 7-0 to cap a perfect Ivy League season. As the music glared and his players danced, a wet Coach Michael Dowd described the mood.

The Ivy League crown is Penn's to lose. Just one year removed from sharing the Ivy tennis title with Brown, No. 69 Penn heads into the homestretch in complete control of its destiny: two wins over Cornell and Columbia, and the Quakers win the title outright for the first time in 36 years.

A year ago, this team may not have won these two games. But this season's baseball team is different. Andy Console came on for a tiring Jim Birmingham and struck out Adrian Turnham to snuff out a Princeton comeback, and Penn moved ever closer to its first Lou Gehrig Division title since 1997, sweeping the Tigers 11-1 and 6-4 Saturday afternoon.

From over-priced storage to long plane rides, going to school away from home is challenging but ultimately rewarding.

20Months former Camden councilman Sloan El was sentenced to jail yesterday for accepting bribes.Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer

Think Philly's got nothing going for it? Think again. Design Philadelphia has been showcasing Philadelphia's local talent in the applied arts for the past two weeks, with over 60 events. It aims to give a platform for the city's designers, especially for the young and vibrant designers that Philly seems to specialize in.

When the Tigers roll into Meiklejohn Stadium this weekend, they'll be the underdogs at two games back in the division.

For the past week, about 6,100 city planners from around the country have flocked to Philadelphia to discuss the future of urban life. But even before these development gurus had packed their bags for home, they had managed to stir up controversy among the city's mayoral candidates that brings into question the economic growth of the city and Penn's plans for the future.