Alicia Puglionesi is a College senior from Havertown, Pa. Her e-mail address is puglionesi@dailypennsylvanian.com.

I spent my August as an incoming Wharton MBA student in pre-term mode, taking preparatory courses on my new campus in advance of the first semester. Like many classmates, I studied sampling distributions, logarithmic functions, demand curve and other foundation concepts.

In the eyes of Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, this election is more than just a presidential race - it's a generational transition. Last Friday, The Daily Pennsylvanian sat down to discuss the role of young voters in the 2008 election with Dean and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter.

Looks like the Penn women's soccer team has finally gotten opposing defenses to - ahem - "open up." The Quakers' drive back from the nation's capital may have been accompanied by thoughts of their failure to bring home a win. But head Coach Darren Ambrose and his players certainly have made some offensive breakthroughs this weekend - right through some of the toughest defenses

They were looking for a blank slate, a new beginning. Instead, the players on the Penn field hockey team produced a another slow start in their 3-1 loss to Cornell on Saturday in both teams' Ivy League opener. "We were looking at [the conference season] like a new season," said freshman Abigail Egan, wProxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age=0

Robert Irvin - he's in the game. That game would be EA Sports' NCAA 09. And, perhaps in a testament to its realism, Irvin takes his shoulder troubles into the digital world. In a PS2 simulation of the 2008 season, the Quakers finished 7-3 (5-2 Ivy), tied with Harvard atop the Ivy League for their first title since 2003.

Drew Healy rewrote the Penn record books on Friday night with his fifth consecutive shutout, but the Quakers had to settle for a scoreless, double-overtime draw with visiting Buffalo. In their first game of the Penn Soccer Classic, the Quakers (3-0-2) came out firing on all cylinders, but a 30-minute injury delay robbed them of their momentum, after Buffalo defensive back Eric Johnson went down with post-concussion symptoms.

The Philadelphia Zoning Board of Adjustment is likely to give significant weight to the City Planning Commission's recommendation to approve plans for a hotel at 40th and Pine Streets, but community opposition still has the project up in the air. After hearing from developers as well as long term residents of the area, the City Planning Commission recommended on Tuesday that the ZBA approve the 11-story extended-stay hotel.

It might not be easily noticeablProxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age=0 2C but the area near 40th and Spruce streets has recently become a little sweeter. Cream and Sugar, a coffee and sweet shop, opened on Aug. 11. Spruce Street CD's had occupied the property for almost 20 years, and when it closed, Cream and Sugar owner Blythe Dim seized the oppor

The contest was billed as The Game of The Century. On a rainy Saturday in 1993, Penn and Princeton faced off at Franklin Field, each bringing a 7-0 record. The last time two undefeated teams had met this late into a season was 1968. In front of a Homecoming crowd of over 35,000, Princeton got the ball first - but wouldn't have it for long.

From his "straightforward rhetoric" to his "piercing blue eyes," Anderson Cooper is giving the students who know him plenty of reasons to get excited about his upcoming speech. CNN's Cooper, host of the nightly newsmagazine Anderson Cooper 360ø and the Social Planning and Event Committee's fall speaker, will appear at Irvine Auditorium on Oct.

Getting involved in a historic election To the Editor: No matter one's party affiliation or political convictions, the excitement of this election season has been undeniable. Amid a fierce debate of ideas among individuals who feel passionately about this country, history has been made.

Penn has endured many heartbreaking losses since senior linebacker and defensive captain Jay Colabella first arrived in West Philadelphia four summers ago. But perhaps no losses have been more frustrating than the ones at the hands of the Quakers' cross-town rival, Villanova.

I know what you're thinking. After the release of a college fantasy football game that uses the real names of student-athletes, what else can we do to make a profit off the blood and sweat of unpaid college kids? With that, the second-annual Penn football official bettors' guide is here to advise you in all of your Ivy League football gambling endeavors.

After 70 minutes against Cornell last season, the Penn field hockey team was heading for overtime and teetering on the brink of a 1-5 start. But Kathryn Rose deflected a penalty-corner shot into the net and with it, the Quakers' season back into Ivy League relevance.

This week's chaos and upheaval on Wall Street has hit home for many Penn students, who are feeling the backlash in an increasingly competitive and unstable job search. On-campus recruiting, Penn's main job hunting mechanism, is bearing the brunt of the financial industry's woes, according to Career Services counselors.

At the Liberty Medal Ceremony at the National Constitution Center last night, former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev spoke of both the past and future of Russia's relations with the United States and the rest of the world. Gorbachev, who served as the leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991, received the 2008 Liberty Medal for his role in ending the Cold War and increasing cooperation with the United States.