The Undergraduate Assembly held its first meeting of the spring semester last Sunday night in Houston Hall, updating members on a number of ongoing issues and proposals and introducing new business. As is traditionally the case, the UA hopes to bring to fruition this semester many of the projects and proposals initiated during the fall.

It's a common complaint among math and science students that their grades are lower than those of their peers in humanities classes. And it turns out the figures back up their feelings - 63 percent of students in humanities courses get As compared to only 40 percent in the natural sciences, according to College of Arts and Sciences data from 2004-05.

Leave two engineers alone with a large brush, two bottles of water, a sensor and a pile of wood and the results may be impressive. Engineering seniors Elyse Newman and Francesca Lattanzio developed a "smart trash can" that automatically sorts recyclables that people place on a track.

After beating Drexel's Omar Laalej last season, Penn's Jonathan Boym neglected to shake his opponent's hand. Drexel coach Tricia Udicious called the episode "embarrassing," and then-Quakers' coach Mark Riley ultimately forced Boym to return to the court and conform to tennis etiquette.

Mechanical problems and rising gas prices might make that trip to Center City a little more expensive. According to the Philadelphia Parking Authority, a potential price increase in cab fares could raise the cost of an average cab ride from $9.15 to $9.87, a 72-cent increase.

A man robbed the Commerce Bank located at 38th and Walnut streets yesterday afternoon and got away with an unspecified amount of money, according to Det. James Horm of the Philadelphia Police. The robber did not display a weapon and no one was injured in the incident.

The National Institutes of Health has failed to adequately investigate financial conflicts of interest of researchers, which can potentially lead to skewed and unreliable results, according to a recent report by Daniel Levinson, the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Daniel Schwartz is a College sophomore from Decatur, Ga. His e-mail address is schwartz@dailypennsylvanian.com.

He has been called the "architect" of the White House, has stirred up some of the most controversial debates in recent years, and now he's coming to Penn. Karl Rove, political strategist and former deputy chief of staff to President Bush, will speak to the Penn community at 8 p.

The appointment of a new dean of admissions will likely not affect the way potential applicants and admissions counselors view Penn, admissions experts say. Because the admissions dean is only one component of the administrative team, it's unlikely that the appointment of Eric Furda, who was selected for the position Jan.

Despite rumors circulating around campus and on the Internet, Penn administration confirmed earlier today that the 2008 Commencement Speaker will not be Emeril Lagasse. "I have no idea how that rumor started," said University Secretary Leslie Kruhly, said.

Spruce and Walnut streets were alive with cheering and dancing on Thursday night as sorority recruitment came to a close with Bid Night. Wynn Commons was filled with groups of sorority sisters ready to welcome the new recruits, who awaited them in the Hall of Flags in Houston Hall.

Former Penn Law student Joseph Cho, accused of trying to kill his neighbors last January, has been deemed mentally competent to stand trial. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for today. Cho faces charges of attempted murder and related offenses stemming from a Jan.

Earlier in the semester, the DP ran a guest column by Colleen Honigsberg entitled, "Closing the LSAT Gender Gap." In it, Ms. Honigsberg managed to masterfully illustrate the terrible flaws of modern feminism. Citing a year-long period, she noted that while women were 49.

Trinity's men's squash team came to Penn Friday night boasting the No. 1 national ranking and the nation's longest winning streak of any college sport. The Bantams last lost in February 1998, seven months before Google was incorporated and ten months before then-President Bill Clinton was impeached.

Almost two weeks into the spring semester, the Penn InTouch shopping season is nearing its end and students are quickly turning their eyes and ears to a new order of business: the summer. Love it or hate it, the season of the internship search is here, the time when many students feel the burn of Penn pre-professionalism.

Most definitions of a strong home court advantage relate to crowd noise. However, for the Trinity squash team, it's the color scheme of the court that makes all the difference. "They've got two tri-glass-walled courts that are actually tinted blue and then the front wall is a solid painted blue, " Penn women's squash coach Jack Wyant said after the Quakers played at Trinity on Saturday.