Although Penn has had its fair share of hazing incidents in past years, Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs Directory Scott Reikofski said he's confident that his office has responded to each one appropriately, always conducting "a full investigation" and working with alumni and national chapter representatives when necessary.

Running in a race as long as a half-marathon (a whopping 13.1 miles) requires much more than God-given athleticism and endurance. Running in a half-marathon at any kind of pace requires an intangible element. But for veteran runners like 39-year-old Chad Simpson of Virginia Beach, Va.

When Ben Kweller was picked to headline the Social Planning and Events Committee's fall concert, many Penn students had the same reaction: "Who?" Last Thursday the DP reported that only five out of 62 surveyed students were familiar with Kweller. Given his lack of popularity at Penn, Kweller is an odd choice to say the least.

This summer, a gay nurse at HUP asked me to go on a date with him. And I said yes. But we weren't interested in getting down and dirty (I'm straight, and he has standards.) We wanted to make sure we were clean. We got tested for HIV. Together, my friend and I ventured into the heart of the Gayborhood to the Washington West Project, an LGBT health clinic associated with the Mazzoni Center.

Though senior guard Brian Grandieri won't be around past the 2008-09 season, the Penn basketball team might have found the right guy to fill his shoes. Rob Belcore, a 6-foot-5 guard from Loyola Academy in Chicago, has become the second high school senior known to commit to Penn, joining 6-1 point guard Zack Rosen of St.

Thomas Robertson's resume spans positions at several business schools stretching from Los Angeles to London. But Robertson, no stranger to Penn after he taught Marketing here 13 years ago, is settling in to a new office in Steinberg-Dietrich Hall.

Gary DeVercelly just wanted to join Phi Kappa Tau. And for that desire, he paid the ultimate price. The 18-year-old from Long Beach, Calif., died in late March after a pledging ritual at the Rider University fraternity. DeVercelly, authorities said, had a blood alcohol content of 0.

Jennifer Jagger is out to make giving birth a little bit easier - or, at least, the preparation for it. Jagger, a Nursing graduate student, co-edited the newly launched Philadelphia Guide to a Healthy Birth. Published by Choices in Childbirth - a non-profit consumer advocacy group that educates the public about women's rights and options in childbirth - the Guide lists 155 female-friendly practitioners, all of whom have been referred by mothers and midwives.

Thanks to the recent opening of the Jean Madeline Aveda Institute, students can get pampered on a budget.

A report released last month by the panel charged with investigating the Virginia Tech shootings sheds light on a blatant shortcoming on the part of the Virginia Tech's counseling services, which may provide guidelines for other universities to follow in the future.

Even though Penn dominated almost all of the 200 minutes it played to win its fourth consecutive Penn Soccer Classic title, it came away disappointed. Playing Hartwick on Friday night under the lights in its home opener, the Quakers came away with an impressive 2-1 victory.

There will always be that one student who just doesn't understand question five. Fifty minutes later, the frustration in the classroom is palpable, recitation is over, and the teaching assistant has yet to explain the answer thoroughly. It's a problem that is troubling - and all too familiar - to the undergraduate population: A lack of communication between TAs and students.

Anthony Melillo looked like he had a screw loose. On fourth-and-long and the ball on the one-yard line, Penn was clinging to a 7-3 lead over Lafayette, and Melillo, the trusty veteran punter, was going to have to finesse his way out of a tough situation. But after taking the snap almost underneath the goalposts, he half-faked a punt, danced around the end zone for a few seconds and ducked out of bounds, even though he would have been in no danger of having his kick blocked.

Prosecutors continue efforts to send former Penn professor Tracy McIntosh to prison, but McIntosh's lawyers now argue that a previous backroom deal proposed by the case's former prosecutor should keep him from serving time.

As a Penngineer, I've been prejudged as a socially awkward Asian who's good at math but inept at the English language. This stereotype is almost true: I'm actually not very good at math. Self-mockery aside, I find that the typecasting of engineers as poor speakers and writers manifests a common tendency to create a divide between the arts and sciences.

When College sophomore Anne Ryan died from meningitis last Sunday, she left behind a legacy as a model of two kinds. First, as a girl whose striking beauty didn't stop at the surface, and second, as a scholar whose passions for learning and life made her an ideal student, her friends at Penn say.