Law & Order is the second longest-running primetime drama in television history, and yesterday Penn students could've killed for the chance to meet one of the writers responsible for the show's success. Jonathan Greene, a writer and co-executive producer of the NBC television series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit was brought to the Kelly Writers House by English professor Gail Shister.

"Yes, al Qaeda is an Islamic organization," affirmed Imam Zaid Shakir to a group in Logan Hall on Tuesday night, "in the sense that it is an organization associated with Muslims." But Shakir was anxious to divert the audience's attention to "the very real question of whether such an organization actually exists, or whether the U.

Engineering senior Ryan Goldstein was sentenced yesterday to one year of various types of confinement and was fined $30,000 for his involvement in a hacking scheme that caused a Penn server to crash. He received five years of probation from U.S. District Judge Michael Baylson.

Two higher-education groups are asking colleges and universities to provide them with completed copies of a questionnaire recently distributed by the Internal Revenue Service. The Association of Governing Boards and the National Association of College and University Business Officers hope to collate and analyze the data from the form, which Penn has not received.

With less than two weeks left before Election Day, recent polls in Pennsylvania suggest Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama leads Republican nominee John McCain by as much as 10 percent. But this doesn't eliminate Pennsylvania's battleground status just yet.

Four robberies were reported on or near campus over the weekend and early this week, marking an unusually high number of violent incidents in the area. On Monday night, Kasim Brown, 26 and unaffiliated with the University, was arrested in connection with a robbery at the World Café Live, located at 3025 Walnut Street, a little before 11 p.

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The whole 2008 election cycle played out in just under two hours at Clark Park on Saturday afternoon. Enormous puppets of elephants, donkeys, oil wells and ballot boxes wheeled and danced around the park's main lawn, as about 200 spectators alternately cheered and hissed.

Cindy McCain, wife of Republican presidential nominee John McCain, held a rally in downtown Philadelphia yesterday morning touting her husband's candidacy and stressing his readiness to "put country first." The rally, held at the National Constitution Center, came just 14 days before the country goes to the polls to vote for president on Nov.

Starting with a banquet in Houston Hall Sunday night and a musical performance last night, the Muslim Students Association is working to increase knowledge about Islam. It is Islam Awareness Week, an event held annually on college and university campuses nationwide in an effort to raise awareness and eliminate any existing misconceptions of Islam.

For College sophomore Calvin Gruss, Physics and Astronomy professor Larry Gladney "couldn't have tried harder to provide a good education experience and environment." "He really made an effort to have everyone understand the topics of the class, and he was always willing to meet with students outside the class to go over anything they didn't understand," Gruss added.

Biking isn't just for trendy kids anymore. As bicycle use increases in Philadelphia, city and Penn officials are taking steps to accommodate bikers and promote bicycle safety. Data from the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia shows that bicycle commuters in the city increased by 76 percent between 1990 and 2006.

In a memo written to "Members of Our University Community", Penn President Amy Gutmann yesterday addressed the University's place in the current precarious economic market, a move met by nonchalant student reactions. Writing that the note was prompted because "the state of the economy is on everyone's mind," Gutmann detailed Penn's current financial situation, including the ongoing capital campaign, Penn's commitment to no-loan financial aid to undergraduates and the recent dip in the size of Penn's endowment.

To infinity, and beyond! Philosophy professor Scott Weinstein lectured at the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity last night about the mathematical concept of infinity. SAM president and College junior Charlie Isaacs and academic chairman and Engineering sophomore Andrew Hicks hosted Weinstein as part of their chapter's initiative to bring in various faculty speakers over the course of the year.

Engineering senior Ryan Goldstein is set to be sentenced today for his involvement in hacking into the School of Engineering and Applied Science's computer system in February 2006. Goldstein pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting another person to gain unauthorized access to a protected computer in March.

On Sunday, the Undergraduate Assembly did not pass any new proposals but did discuss recent work on the redesign of the Penn InTouch system and updated the body about the University's new policy for dealing with copyright infringement by students. In its new policy, Penn will no longer act as a buffer between its students and the Recording Industry Association of America.

The Philadelphia City Planning Commission convenes today to review legislation that would allow the controversial Foxwoods Casino to open in the Gallery at 11th and Market streets. City Councilman Frank DiCicco, whose district includes the Gallery, proposed the city block containing the Gallery be designated a commercial entertainment district at an open Council session last Thursday.