International students coming to the U.S. not only have to adjust to a new cultural, social and educational environment, but also to a more Americanized writing style. In an attempt to ease this transition, the Center for Programs in Contemporary Writing started the Global English course last semester.

In each of the past three seasons, Penn has headed into the final weekend of the regular season with NCAA Tournament seeding on its mind. This year, all that's left is pride. Senior captain Brian Grandieri and Joe Gill have three Ivy League titles under their belts; classmate Mike Kach - who didn't play in his sophomore year - has two.

An unknown driver assaulted a Penn Police officer with his vehicle Wednesday afternoon, Division of Public Safety officials said. While directing traffic on the 3100 block of South Street, the Penn Police officer observed a vehicle accelerating around the corner at a high rate of speed.

With talk of ethanol and agricultural subsidies galore, this year's elections have been more than just a little bit country. But somewhere between our amber waves of grain and our purple mountains' majesty, America lost sight of one of its greatest competitive advantages in the future global economy - its cities.

This weekend, Penn's track teams will embark on the ultimate alternate spring break, as they head north to compete in Boston. The women will compete in the ECAC Championships, while the men will race in the IC4A Championships. Penn Women's track coach Gwen Harris says there are two goals that every track team aspires to achieve at every big meet.

One of Penn's most popular student organizations may be in jeopardy following the School District of Philadelphia's proposed implementation of stricter volunteer policies. The West Philadelphia Tutoring Project partners with local schools to provide one-on-one tutoring and mentoring opportunities with over 300 Penn students.

Men's lacrosse coach Brian Voelker is hoping that his trip out west proves to be a Rocky Mountain high and not a Rocky mountain low. The men's lacrosse team traveled to Colorado last night for its two spring break contests against Air Force and Denver - its last tune-up before the six-game Ivy slate.

Philadelphia natives today have experienced their fair share of pride and pain - with regard to their city and their baseball team. Yesterday, author Mitchell Nathanson shared his ideas about the baseball team in front of a small crowd at the Penn Bookstore.

Of all the lumps it has taken this season, the women's basketball team's matchup with Cornell a month ago may have left the deepest bruise. The Big Red starting frontcourt poured in 34 points en route to an 80-56 victory. But the Quakers had a six-hour bus trip up to Ithaca, N.

2:00pm - March 12th, 2008 Hillary Clinton kicked off six weeks of political attention for Philadelphia with a rally yesterday evening at Temple University. Before a cheering crowd of 3,000 to 4,000 supporters Hillary delivered a campaign speech that was decidedly short on mentions of her chief rival, Barack Obama, but big on populist promises to help the working class.

A Dental student was held captive in his apartment by armed robbers for about 12 hours earlier this week. One man, Justin Sheppard, 25, of Havertown, has been arrested in connection with the incident.

Penn Electrical and Systems Engineering professor Nader Engheta received one of Penn Engineering's top honors on Wednesday. Engheta, who has been named one of the 50 most important leaders in science and technology in America by Scientific American magazine, was presented with the Heilmeier Faculty Award for Excellence in Research.

Crime rates for February saw a 26-percent increase from this month last year with year-to-date total crime up 12 percent from 2007. The main cause is an increase in general theft, which rose from 35 incidents in February 2007 to 55 in 2008, despite the Division of Public Safety's ongoing theft-awareness campaign.

Despite recent discussion nationwide about allowing licensed students to carry concealed weapons on campus, Penn does not plan on changing its existing policy. The University is "absolutely not" looking into revisiting its policy, which prohibits faculty, staff and students from carrying weapons or firearms on campus or in any Penn building, said Vice President of Public Safety Maureen Rush.

Staying at Penn over spring break? Well, if you're over 21, you can join the annual festival to celebrate Philadelphia's unique beer-drinking history. Philly Beer Week begins today with a special event on Sunday called The Brewer's Plate, which celebrates Philadelphia culture by offering a gourmet experience consisting of the city's finest food and drink.

Wharton received a gift from its alumni to support research in a less traditional field of business. Julie and Kenneth Moelis, both Wharton alumni, donated $5 million to the Wharton Sports Business Initiative, a program that aims to conduct research on sports business and provide education on the sports industry.

Despite weeks of research, students in one Electrical and Systems Engineering class are still pondering the best way to climb the fabled "Rocky steps" at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Of course, their task is more difficult than it sounds: While climbing those stairs may be an easy trek for tourists, getting a robot to make the same jaunt isn't so simple.