If you weren't "The Luckiest" when it came to getting Ben Folds tickets and are wondering why the venue won't change, SPEC wants to explain. In an effort to address student concerns about the upcoming Spring Fling concert featuring Ben Folds and Third Eye Blind, SPEC Concerts and SPEC Exec have written an open letter to "members of the University Community" explaining why the concert is set up the way it is.

Free food, live music and . floccinaucinihilipilification? That was just one of the strange words competitors were asked to spell at the Kelly Writers House Spelldown Saturday evening. The event, held to collect children's books for donation to the South Philadelphia YMCA Early Head Start Program, attracted a few brave Penn students and many adults who were eager to show off their spelling skills.

With Spring Fling less than two weeks away, the campus is gearing up for a fun - but safe - weekend of music and partying. Today marks the start of T-shirt and guest pass sales on Locust Walk. Both items, which cost $10 and $20, respectively, will feature the Spring Fling logo, designed by College sophomore Kathleen Sieffert.

Penn's overall admission rate dropped to a record-setting 15.9 percent for the Class of 2011, according to data released by admissions officials Friday.

If you weren't able to get Ben Folds and Third Eye Blind tickets during the initial sale, the Social Planning and Events Committee is giving you a second chance.

College freshman Kevin McMullin started out as just another suburban kid from halfway between Philadelphia and New York, spending his summers under the fireworks at Jersey shore. But after being given a cheap video camera, and a Mac, McMullin found inspiration from his summer experiences for his short film, The Silence Then, which will be screened at the upcoming Philadelphia Film Festival.

For the lucky residents of Mayer Hall, laundry troubles may be a thing of the past. Penn officials and representatives from Mac-Gray Corporation, the company that manages Penn's laundry services, officially opened the newly renovated laundry room in Stouffer House's Mayer Hall last night.

Lawyers for mayoral candidate Bob Brady petitioned the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Friday to take jurisdiction away from a lower court and decide the status of Brady's candidacy. A local judge decided last week that Brady would be allowed to stay on the May 15 primary ballot after his candidacy was challenged for allegedly filling out campaign finance-disclosure forms incorrectly.

The City Council overrode a veto by Mayor John Street to keep a referendum banning casinos in any of Philadelphia on the May 15th ballot. Street vetoed the legislation passed by Council this month that would limit casinos to sites that are 1,500 feet or more away from any residence, church or school.

Attention, college coaches: You're overpaid. So says Andrew Zimbalist, an economics professor at Smith College and one of the most renowned sports economists in the country. Zimbalist addressed an intimate crowd at the Penn Bookstore last night, reading an excerpt from his new book, The Bottom Line: Observations and Arguments on the Sports Business, before fielding questions for nearly an hour.

A baby elephant, on average, weighs 230 lbs. Last night, Richard Scarlett benchpressed about one and a half baby elephants: 425 lbs. at Pottruck's benchpress competition. The hour-long event, open to anyone in the Philadelphia community, started at 7 p.m.

The second retrial for Wharton undergraduate Irina Malinovskaya has been pushed back to September, Delaware State Prosecutor Victoria Witherell said yesterday. After two mistrials, a third trial was slated to begin in April. Malinovskaya is charged with the murder of Irina Zlotnikov, a Temple University graduate student.

Voter turnout may be at a record high of 41.4 percent, but the message of the voters hasn't changed: They like the status quo. The results of the student-government elections were released last night, and, of the 53 positions up for grabs, only 12 were filled by new faces.

The Penn Police Department was re-accreditatied by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies this month, according to a PPD press release. The PPD became the first international accredited campus police agency within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania when it received its initial accreditation award in March 2001.

With no easy solution, a decision regarding the move of the liquor store could go either way. The looming controversy regarding the possible move of the 41st and Market streets liquor store to 4237 Walnut St. is still unresolved, with a ruling from the city zoning board expected to come sometime in the next week.

Hip-hop artist Papoose will join Juelz Santana to headline the annual SPEC-TRUM spring concert, organizers announced late last week. The concert will be held downtown at the Theatre of the Living Arts on April 20 at 7:00 p.m. Tickets can be bought either on Locust Walk or through Ticketmaster.

Both the Graduate Student Associations Council and the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly voted almost unanimously at their body meetings this week to amend their constitutions to approve a new graduate student government structure.