Ira Glass has been labeled by Time Magazine as the "best radio host in America." And tomorrow night he will be making his Philadelphia debut at the Kimmel Center in Center City. Holding this event at the Kimmel Center will be a huge factor in accomplishing one of the Kimmel Center's missions: bringing renowned artists to perform in Philadelphia.

The first words that often come to mind upon hearing "West Philadelphia" are "underprivileged" and "dangerous." One professor is working to change those words to "rich in history." That was the goal when History professor Walter Licht started the West Philadelphia Community History Center virtual museum, a site that will hopefully gather the area's history in one central location.

Spring rush is a done deal for this year's sorority girls. Last night, a new class of recruits received their bids as part of a wild ceremony in Houston Hall's Hall of Flags. The ceremony marked the end of a week-long process of dances, tours and sorority parties, which College freshman Jamie Nichol described as "speed dating, only with girls.

The decline in homicides in Philadelphia last year didn't meet the ambitious goal Mayor Michael Nutter outlined when he took office but still showed a considerable drop. Homicides were reduced by 15.3 percent last year, down from 392 in 2007 to 332 in 2008.

In the plans for eastward expansion, the University is not limiting itself to the postal lands. In fact, recent developments have planted Penn even farther east - 7,245 miles, to be exact. The University recently announced key partnerships with two universities in China: Shanghai Jiao Tong University in Shanghai and Tsinghua University in Beijing.

Penn's early decision acceptance rate increased this year to 32 percent, up from last year's all-time low of 28 percent. The higher acceptance rate is a result of the fact that fewer students applied early, Dean of Admissions Eric Furda said. This year, Penn received 3,666 early decision applications, compared to last year's 3,912.

When President Barack Obama declared in his inaugural speech two days ago that "America is a friend of each nation ... and we are ready to lead once more," many hoped that a new era had dawned in U.S. foreign policy. With this in mind, Penn students and faculty members gathered yesterday in Houston Hall for an open discussion about the international challenges facing the Obama administration.

Hillel is up and running again after flooding on Saturday from a sprinkler break caused the building to close for about 24 hours. "We worked diligently that day and night to make sure the building was accessible to everyone the next day," said Hillel Operations Director Bob Williams.

Move over James Bond-- Penn Engineers are the new heroes. On Jan. 4, a four-member team consisting of a professor, a hydro-geologist and two undergraduate engineers chosen by Penn's Engineers Without Borders program travelled to Cameroon, a country in West Central Africa, to bring sanitary water to the village of Gundom.

Staying up late to finish that term paper may cause more than just a need for coffee the next morning. According to a study released by Carnegie Mellon University, people who sleep fewer than seven hours per night are almost three times more susceptible to the common cold than people who get adequate rest.

Even though Martin Luther King, Jr. Day has passed, the University continues to celebrate his life and work. The annual MLK Interfaith Program and Award Ceremony, which will take place this evening at 6 p.m. in Bodek Lounge in Houston Hall, is part of Penn's two-week-long "Commemorative Symposium on Social Change" designed to honor King.

Sometimes the best way to appreciate something is to miss it altogether. On Tuesday morning, the more than a million people on Washington, D.C.'s National Mall screamed a clear message: Barack Obama had been sworn in as President of the United States. The message punctured the barricades around the Mall, saying to those who didn't even know the presidential oath had been administered, "you've missed it, history happened without you.

For the second year in a row, the heat is on to lower the global temperature - or at least, to lower the amount of trash Penn produces. RecycleMania is a national competition between colleges and universities to produce the greatest reduction in the waste.

Parents' office buildings may not be an ideal place to spend the night, but for some students attending the inauguration, they were the way to go. Although hotels in Washington, D.C. and the city's surrounding suburbs were completely booked for yesterday's inauguration, students who traveled to the inauguration managed to find other, less-costly places to stay.

The Office of Study Abroad may have closed the door on studying abroad in Israel this semester, but the window of opportunity might not be closed for good. College sophomore Elliott Thomasson, a modern Middle Eastern studies major who plans to study in Israel next year, is confident that the current situation in Israel will not inhibit his study abroad plans.