Grabbing a quick meal before class or going to dinner with friends is now easier for many students with thinning wallets. Local restaurants and businesses are offering students recession specials in an effort to bring in more business at a time when financial concerns are a priority.

I have a confession to make: I don't want the Democrats to have a filibuster-proof majority in the United States Senate. I know, I know, this is heresy, and I'm betraying all kinds of liberal-college-campus protocols here. But with a 60-vote supermajority, Democrats could pass whatever legislation they want without the slightest input from Republicans.

Down 7-4 and facing match point, juniors Ekaterina Kosminskaya and Maria Anisimova were on the brink of losing the doubles point in their match against No. 48 Princeton Saturday. Kosminskaya extended the match by rifling a cross-court return to set up a strong volley down the line for a winner.

It was in a conversation with a friend that 2007 alumnus Cho Kim, now a graduate student in the School of Social Policy and Practice, heard about the Davis Projects for Peace Foundation. Kim took one day to formulate his idea to win the $10,000 grant and one more day to write the proposal for the foundation, which grants students funding for projects to be implemented this summer. He received the award on March 16.

"Cancer never sleeps, so tonight neither will we." This was the motto of the 1,774 participants in Penn's 2009 Relay for Life this weekend. This year's Relay for Life, an annual event that raises money for the American Cancer Society, involved 171 teams and raised over $150,000.

Last year, Penn admitted 16.4 percent of its applicants, Princeton University admitted 9.3 percent. This year the Wine Preceptorial topped all with its 2.3 percent admit rate. Out of the 869 students who applied to participate in this year's wine-tasting class, only 20 were allowed to enroll through a random selection process.

Piercing a woman with copper needles may seem like a strange mating ritual, but for the ancient Greeks, this action was part of a love spell. Classical Studies professor Peter Struck mentioned this spell and others in a talk entitled "Presto Changeo! Magicians in Ancient Times," held last night at the Penn Museum.

By JOE SANFILIPPO Staff Writer sanfilippo@dailypennsylvanian.com Tomorrow's contest at Cornell is of huge importance to Penn men's lacrosse, but it may be for the wrong reasons. A loss against the No. 4 Big Red - which would be the Quakers' sixth loss in a row - all but guarantees Penn will be on the outside looking in for this year's NCAA tournament.

Last week residents of Gregory College House, received an e-mail informing us that Facilities would be replacing the showerheads with new, water-conserving models. I was very impressed - the Oxygenics showerheads will save millions of gallons of water and reduce greenhouse-gas emissions (natural gas is used to heat the water).

A mea culpa of sorts was issued Tuesday by Facebook, as the recent redesign of the popular social-networking site has been met with extreme criticism and backlash from users. Product director Christopher Cox "apologized" on the company's blog, indicating that Facebook would focus on four specific problematic areas of the new design that users have given the most feedback about.

If the ads on your Facebook profile page are looking eerily catered to you, there may be a way to get rid of them. Joseph Turow, associate dean for graduate studies at the Annenberg School for Communication, has proposed a clickable icon that will tell Internet users what personal information has caused a specific ad to appear.

Last Sunday's Undergraduate Assembly meeting confirmed that we live in an age in which we must please everyone. And by everyone, I mean "minorities." This week it got so bad that the UA's Working Group on Minorities in Undergraduate Education introduced several proposals to "stand up for these gender and ethnic minorities and say that they are an important part of the University," as volunteer member and Wharton and Nursing sophomore G.

While the No. 2 Penn women's lacrosse team boasts a balanced offensive attack, Columbia relies mainly on two threats: senior Holly Glynn and junior Brittany Shannon. When the Red and Blue (6-0, 2-0 Ivy) travel to New York to face Columbia (5-2, 0-1) at 3:30 this afternoon, the dynamic Lions duo will surely be on their minds.

Mayor Michael Nutter's budget proposal - which faces criticism from the City's unions - will be scrutinized in City Council public hearings until mid-May. Proposed last week, the budget contains a "number of difficult choices," said Luke Butler, deputy press secretary to the Mayor, but the level of public engagement demonstrated that citizens will support the decisions.

It may not be obvious - or it may even seem doubtful thanks to its 1-11 record in its last 12 games - but things may be looking up for Penn softball. Although their record doesn't indicate it, the Quakers have been showing steady improvement - and the time may be right for the slump to end.

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