Fifty years after the publication of Jack Kerouac's On the Road, students, faculty and area residents gathered together at the Kelly Writers House yesterday for a marathon reading to celebrate the benchmark novel. Starting at 4 p.m., 48 scheduled guests read for ten minutes each before an audience that filtered in and out throughout the evening - sometimes just a handful of people, and, at other times, swelling out of the room.

Despite Democrats' pre-election promise to make college more affordable, their newest legislation fails to do enough.

Penn has over a year to sort through its dirty laundry, but the Undergraduate Assembly is taking measures now to ensure that student complaints are heard. Come July 2008, the University's contract with laundry provider Mac-Gray Corporation will expire. In the meantime, the UA is compiling a survey to gauge just how faulty Penn's laundry facilities are - general student sentiment has confirmed a widespread dissatisfaction - but Housing and Conference Services is not rushing to do anything major before next summer.

25Percent of the floor in Atlantic City casinos that will allow smoking, despite a ban in the rest of N.J. Source: Philadelphia Inquirer

By Brian Finkel Staff Writer finkel@wharton.upenn.edu It's hard to miss the renowned "Not Penn State" shirt around campus. For the members of the women's tennis team, there is more at stake against Penn State this Saturday than who is who. Junior captain Julia Koulbitskaya understands full well what's at stake when the Red and Blue visits the Nittany Lions in their first match of the season.

A fire broke out at 210 S. 41st St. this morning, gutting it and forcing residents to evacuate. No one was injured. At around 6:15 this morning, the Philadelphia Fire Department responded to a 911 call made about the fire. According to a statement released by Division of Public Safety spokeswoman Karima Zedan, Penn Police were notified about the fire by the Philadelphia Fire Department at around 6:20 this morning, which then joined Philadelphia firefighters at the scene.

Positive thinking To the Editor: We want to respond to Mara Gordon for her editorial entitled "A very different kind of upper" (DP, 1/11/07). It is true that some students view CAPS and other resources as a "last resort." But many of the students seen at CAPS are coming for help for life situations and stress issues and overall, are extremely psychologically healthy.

For the many Penn students that volunteer at Sayre High, last Thursday's shooting outside the West Philadelphia school hit a little too close to home. Tariq Hannibal, a 17-year-old student at Sayre High School on 58th and Walnut streets, suffered non-fatal wounds after being shot before classes last Thursday.

A pair of Yale University activists is fighting for better financial aid - by telling students to apply to Princeton University. Yale senior Phoebe Rounds and alumnus Peter Hasegawa recently called on high-school seniors at Phillips Exeter Academy and other top private schools to use aid offers from peer institutions - such as Princeton - to pressure Yale to up its aid.

After Penn failed to acquire Rhodes or Marshall scholarships this year, a new program aims to put students back on the fast track to some of academia's most prestigious awards. Penn's Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships announced this week the establishment of the Provost's Undergraduate Research Mentorship Program, which will provide 12 freshmen with $4,000 stipends to conduct research this summer.

The floor around Sheerr Pool is already wet from splashed pool water. On Saturday it might get a little wetter when emotions run high during the Penn swim teams' final home meets of the year against Navy. For the six seniors on the men's team (6-6, 1-6 Eastern Intercollegiate Swimming League) and the nine on the women's (10-4, 4-3 Ivy), tears might be shed, especially before the meets begin.

Jawan Carter may have locked up a spot in the Saint Joseph's starting five this season, but just because he's playing well in his rookie year, don't think for even a second that the spot is his forever. Logging 25.7 minutes per game, the freshman guard would seem to be a fixture in the lineup for his entire stay on Hawk Hill.

Familiar territory and a familiar opponent may be the formula for capturing the biggest win of the season this Friday at the Palestra. The No. 14 Penn wrestling team will face the fourth top-10 opponent out of its last five dual opponents when it hosts a No.

High-quality meals and service will please students on the meal plan, but might not be enough to bring upperclassmen back.

By John Cesarine Staff Writer cesarine@sas.upenn.edu Both the men's and women's track teams are competing at the Penn State Open this weekend against powerhouses like Penn State, Villanova, Army, Navy, and Virginia Tech - but someone forgot to mention that to the Penn head coaches.

It was the biggest non-news event in the mayoral race thus far: Bob Brady is running for mayor. Long rumored to be a potential contender, Brady officially announced his candidacy at the Convention Center yesterday evening, becoming the fifth and likely final candidate to enter the upcoming Democratic primary.

Walk past the field outside Harrison College House late one night and you might see a crowd of people circled around a hookah, with Aman Agarwal passing the hose to his left. College students like Agarwal, a Wharton and Engineering sophomore from India, are increasingly smoking hookahs as a way to relax and socialize.