TOWSON, Md. - Senior attack Rachel Manson's 115 career goals ranks her second all-time in Penn women's lacrosse history. But of all those tallies, No. 115 was the sweetest of them all. With less than 45 seconds left in the second half of non-sudden death overtime in Friday's NCAA national semifinal against Duke, Penn freshman Giulia Giordano earned a free position shot.

Boys in the United States and Asia face more pressure to achieve "normal" height than boys elsewhere in the world, researchers from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia found in a new study. The study, released in April, found that male children are twice as likely as girls to be treated with recombinant human growth hormones in the U.

Former Law student Joseph Cho's latest psychiatric evaluation found him mentally incompetent to face charges of attempted murder. Cho, 32, allegedly fired 15 rounds from a 9 mm handgun into the door of his downstairs neighbors, two male Drexel University students, whom he believed to be spies.

Over the course of the last four years, the Class of 2008 has learned a lot about life - and taught us just as much. As mentors and friends of the other undergraduate classes, the graduating seniors will be sorely missed. With their days as Penn students numbered, this year's senior class can review their time at Penn with pride, and the future looks nothing but bright.

Thirty-two years ago, Betty Costanza never could have imagined the success that the Penn women's track team would have over the next three decades. That's because there wasn't a varsity team - just a newly formed club squad. She was a pioneer of the program and its first (and, until 2002, its only) head coach.

At the end of January, the Division of Public Safety initiated a campaign to curb unattended theft on campus, and DPS officials say the results appear promising. According to Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush a couple of recent key arrests should substantially lower the high number of thefts from buildings.

Penn President Amy Gutmann announced at the University Board of Trustees' Stated Meeting on Thursday that the University has appointed Marilyn Jordan Taylor as the new dean of the School of Design. Taylor, who will assume her new position Oct. 1, will take over from current dean Gary Hack, who has been dean of the School of Design for the past 12 years.

For the graduating seniors, last weekend's Outdoor Heptagonal Championships was an event to remember. For the rest of the Quakers, it was a track meet they'd rather forget. Stacy Kim was named Co-Athlete of the Meet and Jesse Carlin won the 800-meter title; on the men's side, Tim Kaijala won his second-straight 800m and Mike Hall finished just five points back of first in the decathlon.

Students trying to figure out where to pick up a six-pack of beer on a Friday night may soon have more options to do so. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday in a case that could overturn current law and allow convenience stores to sell beer packs to-go.

Boy, did I get gypped. The Daily Pennsylvanian, like most other campus student organizations, is of the hierarchical sort. You put in the time, you make the commitment, you work your way up and then the perks start rolling in. Well, I put in the time. I made the commitment - half the guys in my fraternity didn't even know me by the time my term as sports editor had finished.

Hello. Some of you may know me as the zany former editor 'n chief of 34th Street magazine who woefully will soon be pushed, rather shoved, into that nebulous place commonly referred to as the real world, but some of you may not. I would like to share some brief ruminations with you and I hope that you will be entertained.

Although Lasik eye surgery has relieved 8 million Americans of the need to wear glasses or contact lenses, new concerns about surgical risks are being raised on the eve of its 10-year anniversary. New findings show that people who are not suitable candidates for the procedure for a variety of reasons are at greater risk for a problem during the surgery.

When the women's lacrosse team held its annual winter meeting in early 2005, the freshmen sat in the back of the room, as is customary for the team's youngest members. But when the coaches asked the Quakers what their team goals were, the Class of 2008 had something to say.

The preliminary yield rate for the class of 2012 fell to 63 percent, leading the admissions office to utilize its waitlist more extensively this year. The percentage of students accepted before May 1 who decided to enroll is down from the 66-percent yield at this time last year.

The University Board of Trustees Executive Committee heard updates from administrative officials and from the heads of two Trustee Committees at their Stated Meeting Thursday afternoon. After chairman James Riepe opened the meeting, Penn President Amy Gutmann spoke briefly about accolades the University and its researchers and professors had received in the past few months.

Shortly before I graduated from high school, I opened a fortune cookie that would change my life forever. "The work of the world cannot wait for perfect people," it read. I was a girl who was plagued by self-doubt throughout high school - a girl in love with the idea of going off to college (proudly sporting a Penn sweatshirt during her senior spring) but who was terrified of messing up an experience that she knew could impact her entire future.

1:52 a.m. - May 20, 2008 Standing in the middle of a sunny Franklin Field and before a sea of excited students in black robes and mortarboard caps, University President Amy Gutmann started out the 252nd Commencement Ceremony by warning the graduates that, before receiving their diplomas, "you must prove yourselves worthy of your Penn degrees by performing one last task: Endure our speeches." But despite the light-hearted start, the speakers of Monday's ceremony went on to address politics and activism in their remarks to the graduating class.