Cell phone text messages may not be an effective way of getting information out in an emergency, according to a recent report by a Georgia Institute of Technology professor. But Penn's Division of Public Safety officials say they are confident the UPennAlert emergency system - which sends notifications through text, e-mail and voice messages - will work if it is needed.

Transparency in politics and public policy isn't just figurative anymore. When construction is completed for the Annenberg Public Policy Center next summer, students will be able to see more clearly into what's going on inside - literally. That's because the structure, located on 36th and Locust streets, is being built entirely out of glass.

Less than a day after its first successful run, the Large Hadron Collider - the largest particle accelerator in the world - ran into its first glitch on Sept. 11 and has been shut down since. Penn researchers who were participating in the project say they are disappointed but still have plenty of work to take care of while waiting for the accelerator to be fixed.

Unresponsive elevators are fast becoming a thing of the past for Harnwell College House residents, though they may experience inconvenience on the way up. Over the next year, the building will undergo $1.75 million of extensive elevator renovations, which have already been finished in Rodin College House and will occur in Harrison College House following work in Harnwell, according to Mariette Buchman, director of Design and Construction Management.

White Dog Cafe owner Judy Wicks considers herself an independent thinker. So when she decided to stop selling bottled water at her establishment early this year, the decision was based on her commitment to preserving the environment, not local or national trends.

With the current bleak economic situation on the forefront of many peoples' minds, last night a panel of Penn professors turned to similar situations abroad to brainstorm potential financial solutions. Members of the panel, which was held at Steinberg-Deitrich Hall, included Wharton professors Luzi Hail, Bulent Gultekin and Marshall Meyer and Political Science professors Jennifer Amyx and Heiner Schulz.

Wharton named Marketing professor Z. John Zhang the first chairman of the Murrel J. Ades Professorship last week. Zhang, a Marketing professor who specializes in pricing, retail management and competitive strategies, has been a professor at Wharton since 2002.

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Penn's endowment may have shrunk over the past fiscal year, but a spending rule and an upward trend in donations to the endowment mean the University won't be feeling a squeeze yet. The University takes certain steps in the way they plan endowment spending to ensure that year-to-year fluctuation in endowment returns does not have an immediate or large effect on the operating budget.

This year's Greek Week kicked off on Monday night with bowling at Strikes and a new resolve for campus-wide Greek collaboration. The Panhellenic Council and the Interfraternity Council are working more closely with the Multicultural Greek Council this year than in the past in order to strengthen relationships between all members of the Greek community.

"Focus on your strengths, not weaknesses," Marcus Buckingham, a well-known motivational speaker, said at Zellerbach Theater last night. Buckingham discussed his latest book, The Truth About You, which directs readers toward self-empowerment. The Truth About You focuses on identifying one's strengths at an early age and developing the unique traits that every individual possesses.

Most college-bound high-school seniors are hesitant to fill out a more arduous application than necessary. But college admissions counselors and students alike agree that for seniors from low-income families, filling out a QuestBridge application is well worth the extra effort.

In addition to text messages and e-mail notifications, many colleges are now turning to siren-alert systems to make sure their whole campuses are aware during emergencies. A survey conducted by the Campus Computing Project in fall 2007 found that 17 percent of private research universities and 38 percent of public research universities in the United States had

With research becoming a vital part of the undergraduate experience at Penn, the Nursing school has devised a way to allow its student researchers to showcase their work through a research journal dedicated to them. The Journal of Nursing Student Research is a publication that compiles the research of students and gives them a platform to receive recognition for their work.

Many of Penn's peer institutions eked out modest endowment growth for the past fiscal year, despite a rocky economic climate. Of peer institutions who have reported figures at this time, Penn's endowment is the only one to have shrunk, droppin

Amid the chaos and turmoil on Wall Street, business schools across the country, including Wharton, are doing all they can to reach out to their alumni and offer a helping hand. As major financial firms have collapsed over the past two weeks, Career Services sent e-mails to alumni letting them know of services available to them, Career Services counselors said.

Five dollars was all she needed to make her point. During the Democratic primary, College sophomore Sarah Arkebauer clicked on an e-mail from Sen. Hillary Clinton. In the e-mail, Clinton asked for any donation to help counter a statement from Sen. Barack Obama comparing her to President George W.