When University of the Arts president Sean Buffington began speaking about being an openly gay man, he chose to begin with a disclaimer on his own biases. "I am not a gay or lesbian studies expert. This is based on my own experiences, insights [and] prejudices," said Buffington as he addressed an audience at Steinhardt Hall, sponsored by the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Center.

While violent crime on Penn's campus has largely decreased this year, some property crimes, like burglary and bike theft, have risen significantly in 2008. Violent crimes, such as robberies and assaults, are down 42 percent for the year. This trend held for September, with six violent offenses reported this year, down from 12 in the same month in 2007.

Meeting the presidents of College Republicans and Penn Democrats together for coffee, it's hard to ignore the elephant - or donkey - in the room. However, the way College juniors Zac Byer and Lauren Burdette, the respective presidents of the most prominent politically right and left groups on campus tell it, theirs is a friendship based on similarities, not difference.

As Lehigh forward Kyle Evans took his overtime shot from 30 yards out, Penn keeper Drew Healy lost his footing on the dewey turf. The ball ricocheted off the left post and into the net for the game-winning goal. "That's a save [Healy] makes 99 percent of the time," Penn coach Rudy Fuller said.

The hippest street in town will soon be a little shorter. The South Street Bridge, which connects the University to Center City and the Schuylkill Expressway, is slated to close in early December, Penn officials hosting a Commuter Fair said yesterday. The 2,000-foot bridge will be replaced in its entirety from 27th Street to Convention Avenue at a cost of $50 million, according to the City of Philadelphia Department of Streets.

Left-leaning political magazine Dissent, which has featured work by several Penn professors and President Amy Gutmann, will partner with the University of Pennsylvania Press to alleviate its operation expenses. Penn Press will take over the business side of the magazine, including design, promotion and subscriptions.

The days of students sending files to themselves and waiting in line for computers at Van Pelt may finally be over. Information Systems and Computing is working on configuring a wireless network that would allow students to print directly from their personal computers to Penn-networked printers in libraries and academic buildings.

Let's talk about sex, baby. At least, Trojan Condoms thinks Penn students should. Trojan, which just released its 2008 Sexual Health Report Card, placed Penn 21st out of 129 schools surveyed about the availability of "sexual health resources and information to their students," according to the study pamphlet.

I often wonder about the point of many things: "recommended" books for class, bug-eye sunglasses, the food court at 34th and Walnut streets. But my recent ponderings have been about the Benjamin Franklin Scholars program. The majority of BFS students are mysteriously selected as incoming freshmen and must take at least one Benjamin Franklin seminar per year to graduate with recognition as a scholar.

The Quakers' trainers are being kept busy this week. Two key players - cornerback Tyson Maugle and running back Bradford Blackmon - suffered injuries in Saturday's win over Dartmouth. As reported in yesterday's DP, Maugle broke his nose in three places. According to coach Al Bagnoli, he underwent "a procedure" today and is doubtful for this weekend's game at Georgetown.

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

Having spent the past 20 years in lockstep, defensive backs Josh and Nate Powers have one cardinal rule: Never pursue the same woman. Perhaps that's because, as twins, they've already demonstrated the mischief they can cause when girls can't tell them apart.

A robot that reconstructs itself after exploding. It sounds like an unstoppable cyborg played by a certain state governor, but the ckBot has a long way to go before it can come close to exterminating the human race. The ckBot is the brainchild of Mechanical Engineering professor Mark Yim and Computer Science professor C.

Some schools have been left in the lurch after Wachovia's announcement last week that it would freeze $9.3 billion in funds for nearly 1,000 colleges and universities across the country, but Penn will not be one of them. Wachovia had been managing a short-term cash fund for the management firm Commonfund, but froze the account last week after resigning its position as a trustee.

Ambassador Martine Letts shared a vision for a more globally significant Australia during a visit to Huntsman Hall yesterday as part of the 2008 International Relations Speaker Series, "Think Tanks, Civil Society, and Public Policy." Letts is the former Australian ambassador to Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay as well as the Australian Deputy Permanent Representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The sentencing of former Economics professor Rafael Robb, which was scheduled for yesterday, was postponed out of defense concerns that a vigil for his dead wife would affect the hearing. A new sentencing date for Robb - who pleaded guilty last November to voluntary manslaughter for killing his wife, Ellen - is tentatively set for Nov.

The Penn men soccer team's undefeated run came to an end to night, as the Quakers lost to Lehigh, 2-1, on a golden goal in the 109th minute. The Mountain Hawks struck first off a corner five minutes before halftime. In the second, the Quakers came out gunning, with Omid Shokofandeh burying a cross in the 50th minute to even it up.