In the past, local politicians have tackled Philadelphia's problems - but President Barack Obama's newly created Office of Urban Affairs will take City issues to the federal level. The Office of Urban Affairs will bring "long-overdue attention to the urban areas where 80 percent of the American people live," said Obama on Feb.

Faye Allard may be from London, but her British accent gives her an unusual advantage in West Philadelphia. Yesterday night, Allard gave a talk about her dissertation, titled "Mind the Gap," as part of the Philomathean Society's weekly lecture series. For her recent in-depth study on the disparity between black male and female academic achievement in Philadelphia, Allard spent the majority of a year with students in West Philadelphia, following them from their classes to their neighborhoods, and even on excursions to the mall.

Penn fans have said all season that sophomore Tyler Bernardini has looked out of sorts compared with his freshman campaign. This weekend may have been the first time they were unequivocally correct. The sharpshooting guard suffered a concussion early in the second half of Saturday's contest against Brown at the Palestra, and is "real questionable" for this weekend's games against Cornell and Columbia, according to coach Glen Miller.

The Penn women's golf team was short one crucial player during its fall season, but now junior Meredith Kotowski is back from a semester abroad in Greece and is more than ready to get back into the action and test her swing outdoors this spring. "I'm so excited.

In response to the global economic downfall, World Bank President Robert Zoellick advocates a "multidisciplinary approach" to solving the current problems. Last night, in a moderated discussion held by the Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business, Zoellick outlined specific ways in which the World Bank aims to help developing countries during the crisis.

In his budget proposal last week, President Barack Obama announced that he wants the United States to have the "highest proportion of college graduates in the world" by 2020. His $3.55-trillion budget presents this kind of "real and dramatic change," including a significant amount of education budget reform, Obama explained.

Confidence. Every athlete wants it. Every golfer needs it. Lisette Vitter has it. Before coming to Penn, the New Orleans native and junior captain of the Penn women's golf team blossomed at Metairie Park Country Day School and made a name for herself, as she was being recruited by multiple Division I golf programs.

Can a crusade consist primarily of gentle suggestions? Something along the lines of, "Hey all you heretics, how about maybe converting? Just think about it, OK? Please?" As an English major, I care a lot about usage and about not getting tangled in bad analogies.

Janice Dow is an College sophomore from Los Angeles. Her e-mail address is dow@dailypennsylvanian.com.

The Social Planning and Events Film Committee will leave its mark today by bringing Spike Lee to campus as the first-ever SPEC Film keynote speaker. The Emmy award-winning filmmaker will speak at Irvine Auditorium tonight at 7:30 p.m. at an event entitled "The World Through My Lens: A Conversation on Film Making with Spike Lee.

As a result of a last-minute amendment to the stimulus bill, some Penn students may find themselves out of a job come this summer. The amendment, which will affect any bank or company receiving money from the Troubled Assets Relief Program, places stricter limits on employers' ability to hire foreign workers with H-1B visas.

View Larger Map Theft Feb. 20 - Eugene Chakejian, 39, unaffiliated with the University and of the 900 block of Meadow Creek, Chester Springs, Pa., was arrested at about 12:15 a.m. for allegedly attempting to leave Wawa, located at 3744 Spruce St., without paying for merchandise valued at about $40.

As of 2007, 33 million people were infected with HIV internationally, according to AVERT, an international HIV/AIDS charity. For decades, researchers around the globe have been working to alleviate this annually growing number of people infected with the disease.

Student-athletes often seek a close, caring community within their teams. The 30 or so Penn athletes involved with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes in Action are looking for something more - they are on a quest toward a more enlightened path. Lacrosse player and College junior Jill Taylor and several other members of varsity sports teams at Penn founded The Fellowship at the end of last year in order to give student-athletes a place to celebrate their shared faith alongside their shared passion on the playing field.

Students registering for fall classes later this month can base their selections on more than just paragraph-long descriptions on Penn InTouch. During advance registration professors from Penn's 12 schools will be able to upload syllabi through a centralized repository system.

On the heels of student protests at New York University, a group of graduate students is asking University President Amy Gutmann to make a public statement on the events and clarify Penn's position on the use of force against students. The student activist group "Take Back NYU!" - who recently occupied a student center for two days over concerns including tuition costs and the school's investments - accuses NYU of using "excessive force" against them, according to the group's Web site.

Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, the Thames - nine students will see it all without paying. The Thouron Award, a Penn-specific scholarship, was awarded to sophomores, juniors, seniors and graduate students interested in studying in the United Kingdom last month. British students interested in doing graduate work at Penn can also benefit from the scholarship.