Debate was in the air at Sunday evening's Undergraduate Assembly meeting, which ran for four and a half hours and had a significantly higher attendance than usual. About a dozen students, mostly from Lambda Alliance, the umbrella organization for all LGBT groups on campus, and ALLIES, an on-campus gay-straight alliance, were present to support the much-anticipated Blood Donor Discrimination Proposal, which was ultimately passed by the body.

For some, the costs of studying abroad include more than just plane tickets, hostel fees and European bar tabs. With some study abroad programs in the Southern Hemisphere beginning as early as mid-July, students heading below the equator for fall semester will see their breaks cut in half and formal summer jobs and internships possibly impacted by their academic calendars.

The second largest group of physicians in the United States sees evidence that marijuana can relieve severe pain and supports its medicinal use, according to a recently issued position paper. This paper from the Philadelphia-based American College of Physicians urges the federal government to acknowledge and sanction research into the plant's medicinal uses.

Data breaches and identity theft have become a prime focus on college and university campuses. A recent report by Educational Security Incidents found that the number of data breaches on college campuses rose 67.5 percent last year, compared to 2006. But at Penn, officials say, a number of measures are in place to protect data.

Last Friday, the chapter presidents of Penn's sororities and fraternities met with a team from the University to discuss next year's facilities budget for the Greek houses. Every year, each chapter meets individually with the University facilities team to discuss fixed costs, projected utilities, rent and any additional small projects that need to be done around the house for the upcoming academic year.

One telling sign of a veteran team is an ability to put together a complete game - 40 minutes of solid play in all phases, offensive and defensive. The youth of the Penn men's basketball team is no secret, and it has most often manifested itself away from the Palestra.

This Sunday night, the fate of over $1.7 million will be unveiled by the UA Budget Committee. Every spring, this mammoth sum is doled out to each of Penn's six student government branches, which carve up the money until it finally trickles down to you - the constituent.

HANOVER, N.H. - They enjoyed it. Good thing, because it didn't last. On the eve of their Saturday clunker against Harvard, the Quakers went to Leede Arena with all the answers and walked away with an 88-62 rout of Dartmouth. And even if the Quakers hadn't shot a better percentage than the Big Green from the foul line and out-rebounded them by 20, they would have had little trouble.

Last Friday at the second and final meeting of the Board of Trustees, Penn President Amy Gutmann announced that the "Making History" campaign is well on its way and will help fund the University's future loan-free financial aid initiative. The University has successfully engaged 1,800 alumni and has raised $1.

Elections are always competitive, but this year' presidential campaign has been exceptional. And as the battle intensifies, especially on the Democratic side, more and more celebrities, politicians and even companies are weighing in on the voters' decision.

For the Quakers, two heads worked better than one over the weekend. The women's tennis team split six singles matches against Maryland, relying on a 2-1 doubles victory for the overall win, 4-3. Fourteenth-ranked doubles partners Julia Koulbitskaya and Ekaterina Kosminskaya downed their Terrapins' counterparts, 8-4.

It wasn't pretty, but the women's lacrosse team got back to its winning ways of 2007. In the first game of the 2008 campaign yesterday, the No. 6 Quakers beat Drexel on its home turf, 6-5, in a back-and-forth affair. Aside from a one-minute stretch in the second half when Penn was up 6-4, neither team took a lead of more than one goal.

Scales, yogurt and music - just some of the tools Nursing graduate students are using to gather research and to prevent obesity and diabetes in children. The Nursing students will meet in four sessions over two weeks and assess up to 80 elementary-school-age children in the Sayre Beacon After School Program.

When the Quakers traveled to Dartmouth and Harvard earlier this season, they held second-half leads before losing in two encouraging performances. This time, there was no silver lining. Penn suffered ugly 62-47 and 76-54 losses to the Big Green and Crimson, respectively.

In an unusual ending to their season, the Quakers won a tough meet against Lehigh in front of a boisterous Palestra crowd before heading to Princeton for a dominating victory. In the first dual meet of the day, the Quakers and Mountain Hawks battled back and forth throughout the match.

The Philadelphia School District is evaluating the role of private-management companies, including Penn, in its schools. Although Penn's official management of local schools might be in jeopardy, the University says it is committed to staying involved. In 2002, Penn and five other private institutions, including Temple University, were hired to manage different public schools in the district.

HANOVER, N.H. I didn't see the Dartmouth scouting report, but I doubt Joe Gill's name was on it. The senior guard's participation is usually limited to a couple of dunks in warm-ups and the ritual "frisking" of the captain during the lineup introduction.