When actor Kalpen Modi - more commonly known as Kal Penn - started teaching at Penn, students were bound to take notice. Now, his class has attracted interest in a smaller University department: Asian American Studies. Enrollment in ASAM classes has increased in number as a result of Modi's appointment to the department faculty, program administrator Fariha Khan said.

It might be surprising that the Penn employee helping you plan your career also makes jewelry on the side for friends and family, but then again you probably haven't met Senior Associate Director at Career Services Kelly Cleary. Raised not far from Philadelphia in Dallas, Pa.

Yesterday, members of the Penn community got the opportunity to listen, laugh and learn from one of its own, Penn alum and accomplished journalist Brian Tierney. Tierney, publisher and CEO of The Philadelphia Inquirer and CEO of the Philadelphia Daily News, addressed a group of 36 students, faculty and alumni at the St.

Tracy McIntosh, the former Penn Neurosurgery professor who pleaded no contest in December 2004 to sexually assaulting his college roommate's then-23-year-old niece in 2002, will be resentenced this morning in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. The resentencing should bring closure to a lengthy legal battle that began in March 2005 when McIntosh was sentenced to 11-and-a-half to 23 months of house arrest, probation and fines and restitution to the victim, who was about to enter Penn's School of Veterinary Medicine.

Sometimes even trash can become a work of art - or be the cause for one. Students from the Residential Advisory Board and the Penn Environmental Group painted murals in the trash room in Ware College House and outside the Starbucks under 1920 Commons, respectively.

The prospect of an 11-story hotel in a residential neighborhood near campus has become a contentious subject among residents. Tonight, the Zoning Committee of the Spruce Hill Community Association is holding a meeting to discuss the proposed extended-stay hotel, which would be located at 40th and Pine streets.

When Mathematics professor Erik van Erp began teaching in America, he was struck by a focus on grades that didn't exist in his native Holland. Astronomy professor Ravi Sheth was thrown off by students using teachers' first names - a norm not found in India, where he grew up.

While preliminary plans for a Philadelphia bicycle-sharing program are in the works, a more local plan is developing in Penn's own backyard. Engineering seniors David Gorski, Baris Seven and Gabriel Kaplan have put together a proposal for a program called PennBikeShare for their senior design project.

The Princeton Review's Best 366 Colleges: 2008 Edition aims to dish out the real deal with information from actual students - but schools have some say over which students fill out the surveys used to compile the book. This year, the Admissions Office asked members of the Kite and Key Society, a volunteer group of undergraduates who serve as ambassadors to the Penn community through tour guiding, overnight hosting and other outreach programs, to fill out the questionnaire.

With the presidential election fast approaching, College freshman Atlee Melillo thought it would be the perfect occasion for some wedding cake. Adorned with two grooms on one side and two brides on the other, Melillo said she hopes the white cake she passed out yesterday in Houston Hall will serve as an educational - and delicious - reminder that gay marriage is still very much an election issue, she said.

With the arrival of Philadelphia Runner, fans of locally owned businesses have a new place to turn to for their running needs. The store, located on Walnut Street between 36th and 37th streets, celebrated its grand opening last week. Philadelphia Runner's opening was the latest in a series of local businesses that have come to University City in the last several years, following student staples like The Last Word Bookshop, Pizza Rustica and Metropolitan Bakery.

A Delaware Superior Court judge has granted a change-of-venue request from lawyers for Wharton undergraduate Irina Malinovskaya should she be tried a fourth time. Malinovskaya, accused of killing her ex-boyfriend's then-girlfriend in December 2004, has been tried three times for murder, each time resulting in a hung jury.

Whartonites no longer have to make their way to Van Pelt to print for eight cents per page. Last December, Wharton computing labs lowered their price from 10 cents per page for black-and-white printing to meet the level charged at libraries and other locations on campus.

Penn students are usually pretty vocal about letting the administration know exactly what they want. Cheaper printing! A longer add/drop period! Better high rise elevators! But a proposal to install an energy-producing wind turbine in the "wind tunnel" on Locust Walk? Now, that's a different story.

Student life and safety were the main topics on the agenda at Sunday night's Undergraduate Assembly meeting as the body tackled housing, printing, a student union and security improvements around campus. - The Housing Committee announced it will soon put out a survey for students on academic support at the University.

On the day of the Pennsylvania primary, choosing a candidate will be the hardest part. But in some other states, registering to vote can be an even bigger challenge. As the youth vote becomes increasingly pivotal this election year, young voters are facing additional requirements before they are allowed to cast a ballot at their respective voting precincts.

College junior Meredith Jones, 21, was arrested early Friday morning at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania after she allegedly assaulted a female hospital employee during treatment, Division of Public Safety officials said. The incident took place at about 2:30 a.