The year was 2004. It was a simpler time. Usher's "Yeah!" played on the radio, you never had to worry about your drunken actions becoming a Facebook album, and Britney Spears was hot. But most importantly, I started college. I was excited when my cab pulled up to Hill House for the first time.

Although shoppers have generally accepted that eating organic foods will be more costly, a recent and rapid rise in prices may force some consumers to alter their eating habits. Food prices have been rising for several months now, and at first, organic prices stayed steady.

Hillary Clinton isn't the only one who wants to make sure everyone is insured. SASgov, the School of Arts and Sciences branch of graduate student government, hosted an essay competition in which participants wrote a 125-word essay to answer the question, "Why do I need dental insurance?" The winners won $250, allowing them to purchase insurance.

John Gallagher is man enough to admit to crying. He cried when he left Hartford last month, along with nine members of the basketball team he was leaving behind. But that was quickly tempered by the knowledge that he would be returning to his Philadelphia roots, not to mention taking a small step up the college basketball ladder.

When seventh-year English Ph.D. candidate Anna Foy enrolled at Penn, she planned to be here for at least seven years before finishing her dissertation. Now, about a year from completing her dissertation on 18th-century poetry, she finds herself facing pressure from the University to hurry up or pay up.

Off the court, senior Julia Koulbitskaya and sophomore Kate Kosminskaya are quiet, reserved and calm. But on it, they're fierce and aggressive, according to coach Mike Dowd. Yesterday, the NCAA officially announced what Dowd and the Quakers already knew: The two women from Moscow are heading to Tulsa, Okla.

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification standards hold a monopoly over colleges' sustainable construction projects. But a lesser-known alternative is beginning to make a mark at universities. Penn's master plan calls for the construction of a number of environmentally sound buildings, which will be certified as such by LEED, the widely used and expensive third-party review system.

CHEERS  To student political groups, for their impressive efforts in increasing voter turnout to record levels in the Pennsylvania primary.  To the University, for unveiling a bold financial-aid plan that will replace loans with grants and greatly increase the affordability of a Penn education to middle-income students.

The $26 million, three-phase construction project of Claire M. Fagin Hall, the building that houses the School of Nursing, will be completed on time and on budget for the fall semester. The final phase, which is already underway, will bring newly renovated research laboratories to the school, creating a "futuristic environment," according to Nursing Dean Afaf Meleis.

My time here comes to a close. I only got three years at Penn because I transferred here and I found out the difference between a good university and a great one (relax, this is the great one). Yet I feel a certain sense of disappointment that we, at an elite university, are not coming away with the education we should have received.

In the midst of falling national approval ratings for the Republican Party, a smile should be the last thing on the face of John McCain, the Republican nominee for president. But in Pennsylvania, McCain has reason to be happy. New York Sen. Hillary Clinton's primary win over Illinois Sen.

It was their turn to play, and play they did. Decked out in bright red T-shirts with straw hats and canes, the Class of 2009 followed in the footsteps of 76 classes before them to celebrate Hey Day and officially become seniors last Tuesday. The juniors marked the event with a picnic on Hill College Field before making the traditional march down Locust Walk, lined with seniors clutching everything from streamers and silly putty to eggs, fish and Windex and ready to throw it all at the newest reincarnations of themselves.

The sentencing date for former Economics professor Rafael Robb, who confessed to killing his wife last year, has been postponed. Robb was slated to be sentenced in the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas Monday, but a hearing will be held instead. The hearing will be to examine a motion to disclose relevant case records.

Second year Annenberg graduate student Angel Ho wants us all to keep it in our pants. On April 22, Ho was named winner of the "Keep It In Your Pants" Student Video Contest for creating a public service announcement about the threat that credit debt poses to American consumers.

The men's lightweight rowing season is one filled with familiar races and familiar faces: the Navy Day Regatta, the Head of the Charles, the Princeton Chase, the Callow Cup - all year-in, year-out events. But this season brings a less familiar foe to the water: the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Second-year MBA students Irene Susantio and Brian Smith are $20,000 closer to achieving their dream of fighting cancer. On Wednesday, their team, named Solixia, secured the title of Grand Winner at the tenth annual Wharton Business Plan Competition. A radiopharmaceutical company, Solixia has created an agent for diagnosing breast cancer and a treatment for ovarian cancer.

The men's lightweight rowing season is one filled with familiar races and familiar faces: the Navy Day Regatta, the Head of the Charles, the Princeton Chase, the Callow Cup - all year-in, year-out events. But this season brings a less familiar foe to the water: the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.