Penn could certainly use a quick pick-me-up after Wednesday's disappointing extra-inning 2-1 loss to Lafayette: Columbia.

For students and professors struggling with e-mail etiquette, keeping it formal is the safest choice.

Voting seems a lot less tedious when it comes with cotton candy. This afternoon, the Nominations and Elections Committee held its annual "Get Out the Vote" event, an afternoon of free food and music to remind students to vote for the 66 candidates running for spots in the Undergraduate Assembly and all four class boards.

Steve Capus, president of NBC News, has come a long way from his days as a Temple University undergraduate working at local television station WCAU. As Gail Shister said to her television criticism class in her introduction of Capus, "19 years later . the [Temple] owl is running the peacock.

Alternative viewpoints To the Editor: It's not surprising that when Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz spoke at Annenberg, University of Pennsylvania on March 14, he seized his opportunity to grandstand in polemics against renowned political scientist Norman Finkelstein.

Complaining to friends and family is a good way to blow off steam, but it shouldn't get in the way of real communication.

After losing a close game to Lafeyette 6-5 in the first half of its doubleheader, the Penn softball team had the last word, rallying to take the second game 5-0. Penn's first game was plagued by defensive miscues. The Quakers (8-6) committed a total of four errors that cost them five unearned runs.

Penn coach Karin Brower and the women's lacrosse team have employed a simple formula: play at home and win. So when Cornell comes to town on Saturday, the red-hot Quakers - who have yet to lose in Philadelphia this season - will try to take full advantage of Franklin Field's comforts while they still can.

At a Philadelphia Zoning Board meeting yesterday, it was the prospect of alcohol that caused emotions to run high. About 80 West Philadelphia residents, mainly local Muslims affiliated with the Masjid Al-Jamia mosque, filled the zoning hearing to capacity, standing in firm opposition to the relocation of the liquor store on 41st and Market streets to 4237 Walnut St.

The Penn softball team is ready to resume play after being idle for over a week - and, as a surprising treat, will do so in its own backyard. Following a weekend full of snow, sleet and several cancelled games, including one against St. Joseph's, the players will get to stretch their legs today against Lafayette (5-5), a team whose number they've regularly had in the past.

To fully appreciate Baker's speech, graduating seniors have a responsibility to research the facts and tune out the spin.

Another fencing season is drawing to a close. For Michael Galligan, it will be his final one at Penn. Although the team's qualifiers were having fun and joking during the car ride over to Madison, N.J., to participate in the four-day NCAA Championships starting today, the Quakers still had mixed emotions about the seniors' final hurrah.

Key points from the Undergraduate Assembly's meeting on Monday night: n The UA passed a proposal to work with Housing and Conference Services and Facilities and Real Estate Services to implement a number of short-term renovations to all college houses excluding the Quadrangle and the three high rises.

According to a study released by the Lumina Foundation for Education, your dream job could be in danger of being outsourced. The foundation's Making Opportunity Affordable: Reinvesting in College Access and Success initiative released a report earlier this month entitled "Hitting Home" that suggests that the United States is falling behind other countries in the amount of degrees that are being produced within its borders - a troubling trend for Americans as globalization continues to spread.

The campus Papa John's Pizza, located at 104 S. 40th St, was robbed at gunpoint early Monday morning, Philadelphia and Penn Police officials said. A male Papa John's employee, 22 and unaffiliated with the University, reported that two males entered the establishment through the side door at about 12:50 a.

Doing well on Advanced Placement tests is paying off - literally. The Advanced Placement Training and Incentive Programs is rewarding students at participating high schools with $250 for receiving a three or higher on AP exams in math, science and English.

Have members of a generation taught to believe that anything is possible turned into narcissistic egomaniacs? According to a recently published report, maybe. The study, initiated by a professor at San Diego State University, analyzed surveys taken by 16,000 college students over the last 25 years and found that key indicators of narcissistic personalty have increased slowly but significantly.