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.

Confidence. Every athlete wants it. Every golfer needs it. Lisette Vitter has it. Before coming to Penn, the New Orleans native and junior captain of the Penn women's golf team blossomed at Metairie Park Country Day School and made a name for herself, as she was being recruited by multiple Division I golf programs.

Can a crusade consist primarily of gentle suggestions? Something along the lines of, "Hey all you heretics, how about maybe converting? Just think about it, OK? Please?" As an English major, I care a lot about usage and about not getting tangled in bad analogies.

Janice Dow is an College sophomore from Los Angeles. Her e-mail address is dow@dailypennsylvanian.com.

The Social Planning and Events Film Committee will leave its mark today by bringing Spike Lee to campus as the first-ever SPEC Film keynote speaker. The Emmy award-winning filmmaker will speak at Irvine Auditorium tonight at 7:30 p.m. at an event entitled "The World Through My Lens: A Conversation on Film Making with Spike Lee.

As a result of a last-minute amendment to the stimulus bill, some Penn students may find themselves out of a job come this summer. The amendment, which will affect any bank or company receiving money from the Troubled Assets Relief Program, places stricter limits on employers' ability to hire foreign workers with H-1B visas.

View Larger Map Theft Feb. 20 - Eugene Chakejian, 39, unaffiliated with the University and of the 900 block of Meadow Creek, Chester Springs, Pa., was arrested at about 12:15 a.m. for allegedly attempting to leave Wawa, located at 3744 Spruce St., without paying for merchandise valued at about $40.

As of 2007, 33 million people were infected with HIV internationally, according to AVERT, an international HIV/AIDS charity. For decades, researchers around the globe have been working to alleviate this annually growing number of people infected with the disease.

Student-athletes often seek a close, caring community within their teams. The 30 or so Penn athletes involved with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes in Action are looking for something more - they are on a quest toward a more enlightened path. Lacrosse player and College junior Jill Taylor and several other members of varsity sports teams at Penn founded The Fellowship at the end of last year in order to give student-athletes a place to celebrate their shared faith alongside their shared passion on the playing field.

Students registering for fall classes later this month can base their selections on more than just paragraph-long descriptions on Penn InTouch. During advance registration professors from Penn's 12 schools will be able to upload syllabi through a centralized repository system.

On the heels of student protests at New York University, a group of graduate students is asking University President Amy Gutmann to make a public statement on the events and clarify Penn's position on the use of force against students. The student activist group "Take Back NYU!" - who recently occupied a student center for two days over concerns including tuition costs and the school's investments - accuses NYU of using "excessive force" against them, according to the group's Web site.

Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, the Thames - nine students will see it all without paying. The Thouron Award, a Penn-specific scholarship, was awarded to sophomores, juniors, seniors and graduate students interested in studying in the United Kingdom last month. British students interested in doing graduate work at Penn can also benefit from the scholarship.

As I walked to class last Friday morning, I was abruptly shaken out of my 10 a.m. stupor by a series of CNN trucks and secret service vehicles blocking my path to the Fine Arts Library. I looked up to hear students buzzing about Vice President Joe Biden's visit and thought to myself, Toto, we're not in Buffalo anymore.

It was 10:56 on a chilly Wednesday evening. Six of us hunched over the coffee table, waiting for the finale while I attempted a complicated recipe I had seen the week before. "Dammit! I never should have tried this!" My roommate peered up at me. "You're microwaving popcorn.

While a season of wear and tear leaves most squash players begging for a break, Penn coach Jack Wyant said he would have to work hard to keep Kristen Lange off the court in the coming days. Lange retained the title of Ramsay cup bridesmaid Sunday by finishing as runner-up at the College Squash Association Individual Championships for the third consecutive year.

Alan Isenberg wanted to be a millionaire. After appearing on ABC's "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" Isenberg, an MBA student at Wharton, became $100,000 closer to his goal. "I am pretty humbled by this experience," said Isenberg. "My winnings have paid for a year of business school and a vacation to Mexico for spring break.

International students who had lined up permanent employment on an H-1B visa may find themselves out of a job, according to a Career Services e-mail circulated among students today. The e-mail notified students of an amendment to the stimulus package proposed by Sen.