On Nov. 4, 2008, 96.4 percent of Penn students made it to the polls in what is now remembered as a truly historic election. That night, students flocked the campus en masse in celebration of President Barack Obama's victory. In those months leading up to Election Day 2008, I recall walking down Locust Walk and seeing the vibrant and energized student body here at Penn.

Yesterday evening, Penn students took back the night. Take Back the Night, an initiative addressing sexual violence and abuse, brought students together for a rally on College Green and to hear a survivor speak out on Wynn Commons. The event also included several speakers and slam poets from Excelano, Penn's spoken word project, and a march around campus.

By DARINA SHTRAKHMAN Staff Writer shtrakhman@dailypennsylvanian.com High-school seniors are used to checking their mailboxes for college admissions decisions, but this year, a letter from Penn may not have arrived. For the first time, the admissions office chose not to send rejection letters, Dean of Admissions Eric Furda said.

Tweet! - your U.S. Senator has a message. Students are following their favorite politicians' real-time thoughts on the social-networking site Twitter. Arizona Sen. John McCain, who admitted last year during the campaign to having never sent or received an e-mail, is now tweeting many times a day to his 341,720 followers.

Lately, President Obama has been all over talk shows, Sunday morning news programs and the Internet trying to sell his bloated budget. But he hasn't sold me. Among his numerous planned tax increases on the upper income brackets is a proposal to cut tax breaks on charitable donations from 35 percent to 28 percent, effectively increasing the cost of giving.

BALTIMORE - Her teammates praise her offensive repertoire. But for whatever reason, women's lacrosse midfield Samantha Bird never developed much of a scoring touch. In 27 games over her first three seasons, she managed just six points. Her numbers were slightly better to start this year, with seven points in the team's first eight contests, but coach Karin Brower said the senior is still more of a role player.

For the most of the class of 2013, gaining the coveted Ivy League acceptance was tougher than ever. But for two Ivy League schools, Penn included, the acceptance rate increased -- Penn's rate went from 16.4 percent last April to 17.1 percent this year. Princeton's rate also rose slightly, from 9.

Domenique Wilson, the suspect in the home invasion and sexual assault at 44th and Spruce streets last December, allegedly attempted to break out of prison in Feb. On Feb. 20, the 23-year-old tried to escape from his segregation cell at the Clinton County Correctional Facility, according to Warden Tom Duran.

By ZACH KLITZMAN Sports Editor klitzman@dailypennsylvanian.com Jon McLauhglin, Penn's offensive line coach for the last three years, has officially been named offensive coordinator, the Athletic Department announced yesterday. The promotion was first reported by Daily Pennsylvanian senior staff writer Andrew Scurria on Feb.

Penn softball players and coaches have persistently claimed that they are a far better team than their losing record shows. Yesterday they finally proved that with a drubbing of cross-town foe La Salle. The Quakers won, 9-1, at La Salle in a game that was ended after five innings due to the mercy rule.

The Graduate and Professional Student Assembly passed a resolution March 25 to raise awareness among students and faculty about the Grassley-Sanders Amendment to the federal stimulus bill. The amendment, passed by the Senate unanimously in February, places restrictions on the hiring of foreign workers holding H-1B visas by companies receiving Troubled Asset Relief Program funding.

While other groups on campus have seen recent pullbacks in spending and drops in funding, Penn's Big Brothers Big Sisters program is growing more robustly than ever. The five-year-old organization received its largest number of applicants this semester, bringing up its "matches" between Bigs and Littles to 300 so far this spring, according to Penn student director and College senior Eileen McKeown.

The Undergraduate Assembly is beginning work on an initiative to add American Sign Language to the list of courses that can fulfill Wharton's foreign-language requirement. The initiative - headed by Wharton and Nursing sophomore and Undergraduate Assembly volunteer member G.

He may be 6-foot-6, but Hicham Laalej does not have a devastating jump shot - he has a wicked forehand instead. The junior transfer from Stetson and Morocco native plays No. 1 singles for the Penn men's tennis team and has lived up to his ranking. Ironically, his Quakers teammates dubbed him "Hicham the Dream," due to a pronunciation error, confusing "Hicham" (pronounced He-sham) with the first name of NBA great Hakeem Olajuwon.

Huntsman Hall was host last night to "Mental Health Camp," a program designed to "show that everyone could use a little help," according to College junior and Reach-A-Peer Line President Jordan Coello. The event, now in its second-annual installation, was the result of collaboration between a variety of mental-health and minority groups on campus.

For longtime Philly resident Tamara Ali, William Penn High School changed her life. A 2000 graduate of the North Philadelphia school, Ali participated in its communications and journalism program, which at the time was one of the best in the city. "I transferred to William Penn from Strawberry Mansion, which was in a bad neighborhood," she said.

Last night, the students in Accounting professor Victor Defeo's Managerial Accounting class were the victims of an April Fool's Day prank. At 9:22 p.m., an e-mail was sent to the course's listserv from what appeared to be Defeo's Wharton e-mail address saying that, because a number of students were discovered to have cheated on the last exam, all students enrolled would be required to take a make-up exam this Saturday at 10 a.