Penn students like green, and they're not waiting until incoming students get here to spread the message. Members of the Undergraduate Assembly passed a proposal last Sunday evening supporting the creation of an environmentally themed pre-orientation program.

If you're looking to get out of the city for a bit and you're ready for a little adventure, Max and David's in Elkins Park, Pa. is just the place for you. Not only is this newly opened BYO kosher - a perk for those like me, who keep these strict dietary regulations - but it is also a culinary experience you will likely not forget.

It's no secret that the top summer internships are often unpaid. But what's less known is that many students must pay their universities to receive the academic credit that some employers - wary of labor laws governing unpaid internships-require as a condition of the job.

With an ocean, a twenty-four-hour plane ride and a closet door separating him from his family and friends in Australia, College freshman Alec Webley was facing the frightening prospect of coming out without a clear support system. Unsure of how to approach his friends and family "who had only known me as straight," Webley sought the help of the Queer Student Alliance's program for questioning and closeted students.

After almost 20 debates each for the Democrats and Republicans this election season, one would think that both candidates and voters would grow weary of the discussion. But according to analysts and Penn students, these debates have played - and will likely continue to play - an important role in shaping this year's primaries.

In New York City, a group of sophomores got a glimpse of life after Wharton. As a part of the Sophomore Cohort Career Exploration Series, around 30 sophomores headed to the city for an optional trip to expose themselves to various possibilities for their futures.

Penn prides itself on hosting the "largest community of color in the Ivy League," according to interim Admissions Dean Eric Kaplan. But that figure can be deceiving as Penn simultaneously ranks low when it comes to Latino students. College junior Angel Jacome, chairman of admissions and recruitment for the Latino Coalition - the umbrella organization for Latino student groups - hopes to reconcile Penn's small Latino population with its reputation for diversity with a series of recruitment initiatives targeted at Latino students.

New York Mayor and Bloomberg LP founder Michael Bloomberg will speak at this year's Commencement ceremony, according to a University press release. Penn's 252nd Commencement will be held on May 19 at Franklin Field. Bloomberg is now serving his second term as mayor and is credited with reducing crime and creating jobs in New York.

An amendment to the Higher Education Act, which was recently passed by the House of Representatives, aims to reduce illegal file-sharing on college networks. Universities are now required to make their policies on illegal downloading publicly available, develop a plan for offering alternatives to illegal file-sharing and explore technology that would prevent illegal downloading.

As the last day to drop classes approaches, students may ditch because they're uninterested or overloaded - or maybe because they don't see an A in the forecast. Over the last few decades, students have developed an increasing focus on grades over educational value, which puts pressure on professors to hand out top marks, educators say.

It has been more than two weeks since the revelation that Wharton MBA admissions officer Judith Hodara also held jobs in the admissions consulting industry, but it remains unclear how her outside positions have impacted the University's conflict-of-interest policy.

While some Quakers were playing basketball on the courts of the Palestra last Friday, another kind of game was going on in the stands. Last Friday night marked the second annual Clash of the Classes, a University-wide event during which the four classes competed for fame and prizes during the Penn vs.

Former Penn Neurosurgery professor Tracy McIntosh plans to appeal his sentence for the sexual assault of his college roommate's niece, a move some legal experts say could have a decent chance of success. McIntosh was sentenced last Wednesday to 3 1/2 to seven years in prison for his September 2002 sexual assault of the then-23-year-old first-year Penn veterinary student.

A sentencing date has been set for former Economics professor Rafael Robb, who pleaded guilty in November to killing his wife. Robb will be sentenced, on June 5 in the Montgomery County Common Pleas Court. Robb's wife, Ellen, was found bludgeoned to death inside the couple's Upper Merion home on Dec.

Universities often draw on their famous alumni to bring well-known speakers to campus. But this political season, there have been no guarantees that the presidential candidates will favor their alma maters. At some college campuses, famed alumni have been noticeably absent, drawing criticism from some students.

Neither the change of venue nor long lines could deter the approximately 600 spectators who gathered to hear the famed Angela Davis at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at College Hall. The culminating event for the fifth annual Women's Week at Penn, Davis' address, "Social Change in the 21st Century," attracted people from both the Penn community and the greater Philadelphia area.

For the class of 2012, the University received the largest number of applications in the school's history, the Admissions office announced this week. But the less-than-1-percent rise in the number of total applicants to Penn is significantly less than increases reported by peer institutions.