Wharton sophomore Eduardo Mayoral starts each morning by reading not The Daily Pennsylvanian or The New York Times, but El Tiempo, a Colombian newspaper, online. Mayoral, like many international students at Penn, concerns himself daily with the political happenings in his native country as well as those in the United States.

Going off to grad school can seem like entering a foreign country - especially to those coming from one. The Graduate and Professional Student Assembly International Council is creating two programs to help international graduate students make this transition by connecting them with peer and alumni mentors.

Over two weeks after student government elections came and went, the transition process is not yet over. On Wednesday night, the Undergraduate Assembly will hold its annual internal elections to select members from the 2009-2010 UA body to fill the group's five executive offices.

This past weekend, roughly 200 prospective students attended Multicultural Scholars' Weekend, a preview weekend geared toward minority students accepted to Penn's Class of 2013. The weekend - which lasted Sunday through Tuesday - is an integral part of Penn's efforts to build a community of traditionally underrepresented students, according to director of multicultural recruitment David Toomer.

Violent crime has dropped significantly since Drexel University unveiled its new police department, according to Drexel's Senior Associate Vice President for Public Safety Domenic Ceccanecchio. New manpower and state-of-the-art technology means Drexel now has a public safety program comprable to that of Penn and Temple University, and University safety officials say the developments are positive for the area.

The Division of Public Safety responded to 38 Spring Fling-related incidents this year, an increase of 58 percent from 24 last year. The number of hospital cases went up from 19 last year to 24 this year. The majority of the individuals hospitalized were female.

Despite significant increases in the numbers of applicants to Penn's Ph.D. programs, the number of acceptances at most schools will remain relatively similar to past years. Some schools, such as the School of Arts and Sciences, School of Medicine, Graduate School of Education and School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, saw smaller increases in applications, while others, such as Wharton and the Annenberg School for Communication, reported much larger increases.

Members of the Penn Democrats are looking west of campus to encourage civic engagement in high-school students. The group is two weeks into a pilot program that delivers interactive civics workshops in an after-school program at West Philadelphia's Sayre High School.

By JIN PYUO LEE Staff Writer lee@dailypennsylvanian.com With funding from the National Institute on Aging, Penn's School of Medicine launched a new study that aims to to identify genes that influence the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. The National Institute on Aging, a division of the National Institutes of Health, will provide $18.

Andrew Shatte wants to turn the fight against global warming into a war.

According to a recent report by Pew Research Center, Philadelphians are more optimistic than the rest of the country - even though they consume a record high of cigarettes and have dismal job prospects. At a time when only 20 percent of the U.S. population answered that the country is headed in the right direction, 46 percent of Philadelphians look forward to the city's future.

Violent crime has dropped significantly since Drexel University unveiled its new police department, according to Drexel's Senior Associate Vice President for Public Safety Domenic Ceccanecchio. After being officially recognized as a law enforcement agency by the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office in June 2008, the department has been operational since March 15.

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A 30-year-old man affiliated with the University was hit by a car near 38th and Walnut streets on Friday night, according to Division of Public Safety spokeswoman Stef Cella. Cella was unable to confirm the man's condition, since the investigation is being handled by the Philadelphia Police.

Despite significant increases in the numbers of applicants to Penn's Ph.D. programs, the number of acceptances at most schools will remain relatively similar to past years.=Only 10 of Penn's 12 graduate schools offer Ph.D. programs - the School of Law and the School of Dental Medicine do not.

Penn's reputation as "the social Ivy" is well-known among the Ancient Eight, and apparently among the prospective class of 2013 as well. "I'm really impressed by the Greek life at Penn," Monica Lindrooth, a high-school senior from New York City, said during Penn Previews last week.

As high-school seniors choose between colleges this month, accepted students' days have played a major role in the decision-making process. Dean of Admissions Eric Furda described Penn Previews as "an anchor" in the admissions recruiting program because it is the University's main way of attracting accepted seniors to Penn.