Emily Goodwin extends her arm straight back at a high angle, the ball bounces in front of her, she bends her knees and accelerates her racquet head through the rising ball. While this stroke is routine on a squash court, it's especially sweet for the Penn senior and co-captain.

Thanksgiving was weird. Many of us were home, content amidst our families and a constant supply of food and celebration. But the weekend was also marked by tragedy. Last Thursday, we first heard about the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. Then on Black Friday, a temporary employee was trampled to death at a Wal-Mart in Long Island.

The season may be young, but the men's squash team is already facing the sport's heavy-hitters. The Quakers travel to Brown (0-1, 0-1 Ivy) on Sunday, but are more concerned with Saturday's match against Yale. The Bulldogs are the first member of squash's elite quadrumvirate --- Trinity, Harvard and Princeton will come later - that Penn will play this season.

The Student Activities Council announced yesterday that it plans to give annual budgets to political groups for non-partisan and non-candidate-related purposes starting in the 2009-2010 fiscal year. The move will give regular SAC funding to political groups for the first time, explained College junior and SAC chairwoman Natalie Vernon.

The United Minorities Council, the umbrella for 20 minority groups on campus, elected Wharton and College junior Ezegozie Eze as its chair Wednesday night. Eze, who transferred from Princeton University this semester, won the three-way race for the helm of the organization, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary.

SAS will implement a school-wide freeze on hiring, staff position reclassifications and salary adjustments, as well as various budget reductions, Dean Rebecca Bushnell announced in an e-mail to School of Arts and Sciences faculty and staff yesterday. Bushnell's office also plans to work closely with departments and programs to identify the most effective cost-cutting measures and to allocate remaining finances only to matters of the highest priority for the 2010 fiscal year.

You might have seen students studying you as you passed by on Locust Walk last month, but don't worry - it wasn't because you were having a bad hair day. Students in professor Paul Rozin's Psychology 001 class conducted a "racial association" study which found that, despite Penn's diverse student body, people on campus tend to spend time with others of the same ethnicity.

Since last year, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by almost 40 percent, while President Amy Gutmann's salary went up by that percentage. Gutmann's $1.1 million compensation trailed even higher figures paid to academic executives like Columbia's Lee Bollinger ($1.

December 3, 2008 Dear Members of Our University Community: Earlier this semester, I wrote to you regarding the turmoil in the American capital and credit markets, and how this economic instability was affecting our University. Since the time of that communication, the volatility of the economy has continued unabated.

Welcome back Naomi Delphin. After missing the start of the season with back troubles, the talented sophomore returns to action this weekend. With one quarter of the Penn women's swimming team out with injuries, her return could not be more timely. The Quakers will clash with some of the nation's top talent at the Kenyon Invitational in Gambier, Ohio, which will take place today through Saturday.

Excuse Penn swimming coach Mike Schnur if he's not exactly thankful for Thanksgiving Break. Junior John Benigno is out of commission after cutting off part of his finger while slicing bread, and several other swimmers are battling lingering colds. But the Quakers (1-2) will have to persevere despite those hardships, as this weekend brings one of the most demanding meets of their season.

The Civic House Associates Coalition elected two new leaders Tuesday night who plan to increase collaboration among constituent groups and visibility both on campus and in the West Philadelphia community. College and Wharton junior Julia Luscombe and College junior Nick Eng will serve as co-chairs of CHAC, Penn's community service umbrella organization which includes 50 member groups.

In light of budgetary pressures, the University will take a number of steps to reduce expenditures, including freezing the base-pay of all top University officials, Penn President Amy Gutmann announced yesterday. In a letter e-mailed to members of the Penn community, Gutmann outlined measures the University will take in response to budgetary constraints related to the country's economic problems.

Penn sophomore Erin Power jumped on the loose ball with seven seconds left. With Penn up by one, she called a timeout thinking that the Quakers had secured a victory over Lafayette. Unfortunately, the Quakers had no timeouts remaining. That devastating error allowed Lafayette senior Cristin Zavocki to shoot two technical foul shots for a chance to put the Leopards ahead.

Penn coach Glen Miller said that the No. 1 culprit in Penn's 69-47 loss to Villanova Tuesday night was poor shooting by the Quakers. A close second were the offensive rebounds that made the Wildcats look as if they were sporting metal jerseys that attracted the seemingly magnetized basketballs coming off of the rim.

Anne Waters will become the new executive director of the Office of International Programs today, Provost Ron Daniels announced in a press release on Monday. In her new position, Waters will lead the Penn Abroad and International Student and Scholar Services offices, as well as other programs that provide the Penn community with international services.

The number of Early Decision applications decreased for the third year in a row, admissions officials announced yesterday. This year, 3,610 students applied early to Penn - an almost 8-percent drop from last year's 3,917 early applications. As in years past, about 30 percent of this year's Early Decision applicants will be accepted, said Dean o