The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching studied 40 U.S. engineering schools last month and found that most schools place heavy emphasis on textbook learning and not enough on hands-on experience, leaving students unprepared for the real world.

For some of Penn's Greek houses, Earth Day is coming a little early this year. Six fraternities and one sorority have joined the eight-week Greek House Recycling pilot program in an effort to reduce waste and promote environmental awareness in Penn's Greek houses.

Brett Rendina roomed with golfing buddy Mike Blodgett freshman year. Ever since, Rendina's career has gone down a seemingly opposite path. While Blodgett made an impact from his debut season onward - ultimately becoming Penn's first individual Ivy League champion last spring - Rendina competed in just two events combined during his first two seasons.

It's time to talk title scenarios. March Madness creeps closer every day and as the only Division I league without a conference tournament, the Ivy League will decide its NCAA Tournament representative in the next few days - as early as Friday but perhaps later if the stars align.

Remember The Odd Couple? If you're like me, then probably not. It was a 1965 Neil Simon play (later a movie, then a TV show) about a neurotic neat freak who moved in with a shameless slob. Hilarity ensued. Every year, many freshmen unwillingly enact their own little "Odd Couple" revival, only it's not so funny for them.

Anyone who's seen a Spike Lee film will tell you that the Emmy award-winning director is not afraid to express his opinions. Lee's appearance as the Social Planning and Events Film Committee's first keynote speaker last night at Irvine Auditorium further demonstrated his outspoken demeanor.

Amira Fawcett is an Engineering senior from Houston. Her e-mail address is fawcett@dailypennsylvanian.com

Penn students challenged by the task of completing a demanding curriculum within four years often choose not to study abroad - but within the next 10 years, they may have more opportunities to do so. U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Roger Wicker (R- Miss.

This spring, the men's golf team has a winning formula that seems to be equal parts new and old. The new starts at the top. The University hired Scott Allen to be the new head coach for the team in August following the retirement of twelve-year veteran Francis Vaughn.

In the past, local politicians have tackled Philadelphia's problems - but President Barack Obama's newly created Office of Urban Affairs will take City issues to the federal level. The Office of Urban Affairs will bring "long-overdue attention to the urban areas where 80 percent of the American people live," said Obama on Feb.

Faye Allard may be from London, but her British accent gives her an unusual advantage in West Philadelphia. Yesterday night, Allard gave a talk about her dissertation, titled "Mind the Gap," as part of the Philomathean Society's weekly lecture series. For her recent in-depth study on the disparity between black male and female academic achievement in Philadelphia, Allard spent the majority of a year with students in West Philadelphia, following them from their classes to their neighborhoods, and even on excursions to the mall.

Penn fans have said all season that sophomore Tyler Bernardini has looked out of sorts compared with his freshman campaign. This weekend may have been the first time they were unequivocally correct. The sharpshooting guard suffered a concussion early in the second half of Saturday's contest against Brown at the Palestra, and is "real questionable" for this weekend's games against Cornell and Columbia, according to coach Glen Miller.

The Penn women's golf team was short one crucial player during its fall season, but now junior Meredith Kotowski is back from a semester abroad in Greece and is more than ready to get back into the action and test her swing outdoors this spring. "I'm so excited.

In response to the global economic downfall, World Bank President Robert Zoellick advocates a "multidisciplinary approach" to solving the current problems. Last night, in a moderated discussion held by the Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business, Zoellick outlined specific ways in which the World Bank aims to help developing countries during the crisis.

In his budget proposal last week, President Barack Obama announced that he wants the United States to have the "highest proportion of college graduates in the world" by 2020. His $3.55-trillion budget presents this kind of "real and dramatic change," including a significant amount of education budget reform, Obama explained.