Overwhelmed by finals and in the need of some comic relief? If so, tomorrow's stand up comedy show "Spring Bring" - put on by Penn group Simply Chaos - might just be the ticket. The five-year-old student organization will be putting on two shows at 7:30 and 9:30 p.

Penn President Amy Gutmann has named Gregory Rost vice president and chief of staff for her office, officials announced yesterday. Rost, currently the chief of staff at Temple University, will join Penn on Dec. 18. He will replace Joann Mitchell, who will assume the position of Vice President of Institutional Affairs.

University President Amy Gutmann echoed her commitment to remain Penn's president at yesterday's Board of Trustees meeting. "I will say it, and I will say it for the last time: I am absolutely committed to being Penn's president, and I am not interested in any other presidency," Gutmann said.

At a construction site, two workers are laying bricks. When asked what they were doing, one man answered, "Laying bricks," while the other optimistically remarked, "Building a cathedral." Richard Carrion used this anecdote to inspire audience members at his lecture last night to work diligently toward their goals and to inspire others with their passion.

Next year, frats won't just be counting the number of beers to buy for their next party. Under the newly approved InterFraternity Council "Pillars of Excellence," fraternities can earn points based on their fulfillment of specific goals laid out by the IFC.

With flailing arms and short quick jabs, avid gamers are embracing Nintendo's newest video-game console. Although the Wii, released Nov. 19, is trailing behind market-leader Sony's Playstation 3 in terms of sales, it has still been highly sought after by Penn students.

At 11:50 yesterday morning, Communication professor Joseph Turow's Mass Media and Society class broke into applause. Such claps - in this case, marking the last Mass Media and Society class of the semester - are often a way for students to show appreciation to their professors.

School of Arts and Sciences Webmail crashed again yesterday at about 6:30 p.m. The server was down for 18 hours on Wednesday and has had several related problems throughout the semester. SAS is currently in the midst of finding a replacement server - either Microsoft or Google - but officials have yet to announce which they will choose.

Week in photos for week of December 4, 2006

As students begin planning for Christmas trees and menorahs, the Penn community praised a different winter holiday celebration yesterday. "Thank you for the future," Rev. Charles Howard, of Penn's Office of the Chaplain, said. "Thank you for Kwanzaa." Makuu, Penn's Black Cultural Center, hosted its 14th annual Kwanzaa ceremony in the Bodek Lounge, attended by more than 75 students, staff and community members.

When 1996 Penn alumnus Peter Kuperman decided to throw financial support at Penn, he knew exactly how to gauge support for his philanthropic impulse. Facebook.com.

Expect a more sober Quadrangle next year. Fisher Hassenfeld College House will institute a Substance Free housing program that will go into effect next year, the Undergraduate Assembly announced earlier this week. It will be part of the existing Healthy Living program, which focuses on helping students maintain and improve their well-being.

School of Arts and Sciences Webmail crashed for the entire work day yesterday, hindering students and faculty during the last week of classes.

All fifteen Taco Bell restaurants in Philadelphia - including the Penn Food Court location - shut down yesterday afternoon, according to The Associated Press. The eateries closed after E. coli was believed to have been found in New Jersey, New York and Montgomery County Taco Bell locations.

A Penn student will face reduced charges of simple assault after allegedly severing part of another student's ear with a beer bottle two months ago.

Christina Antiporda, an Architecture student, makes a 21st-century blueprint in a 19th-century Fine Arts Library. Taken from the fifth floor. F 4.0 1/25 sec 12/5/06 5:16 p.m.

Early-application rates may have dropped, but have no fear, admissions officials say - regular decision is right around the corner. The next round of applications should get a boost from the introduction of the Common Application, they say, and that could make up for the smaller early-decision pool.