I had lunch with a former high school classmate last week, like me an aspiring journalist and, like me, a blogger. She asked me how many different sites I had ever posted for, and, silly me, I told the truth: two. When she told me that she wrote regularly for four blogs - two were paying gigs, one served to keep the fam up to date on her goings-on, and the last one was a personal diary - I didn't know who to be sad for, me or her.

After five months of campaigning in every state and territory in the nation, the race for the Democratic nomination is finally over and Illinois Senator Barack Obama has won the nomination over New York Sen. Hillary Clinton. Clinton will concede the nomination and endorse Obama on Saturday.

The University announced Tuesday that Marjorie Jeffcoat, dean of the School of Dental Medicine, will step down from her position on July 1. She will be replaced by Interim Dean Thomas Sollecito until a permanent replacement is found. Jeffcoat has served as the dean since 2003 and is credited with strengthening the school's academic and financial standing.

Jesse Carlin is fast. Learning how fast, though, surprised even her. The outgoing senior won the 800-meter event at this weekend's NCAA East Regionals in Tallahassee, Fla. Winning the event gave her an automatic bid to the NCAA Outdoor Championships at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa June 11-14.

Before her graduation from high school, Tariro Mupombwa had never owned a passport. With a retired mother and a father who passed away in 2000, Mupombwa spent all of her youth in Kadoma, Zimbabwe. And by her senior year, Mupombwa had given little serious thought to studying abroad.

By elizabeth rubin The Summer Pennsylvanian elizr@dailypennsylvanian.com "One, two, three, four, five, six. Step back, side, together. Let the leader's body decide the next step," said Penn alum - and dance instructor - Christy Kam. This summer, get ready to take off your flip-flops, strap on some dancing shoes and salsa, waltz and swing the balmy nights away as the Penn Latin and Ballroom Dance club continues its social lessons throughout the summer.

Planning and budgeting before spending can help put an end to debt and boring weekends alike.

Littering hurts Penn students' image To the Editor: As a UPenn employee, I get to travel across campus and around University City every day. I'm unfortunately one of those parking spot sharks, though it's tolerable. What isn't is the almost laughable amount of garbage filling the sidewalks outside of off-campus student housing all year long.

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

In a press conference yesterday, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter outlined his new initiatives to fight homelessness in the city. Nutter's plan includes a partnership with the Philadelphia Housing Authority to create 700 new housing units for homeless Philadelphia residents.

A small crowd gathered at the Paul Peck Alumni Center at Drexel University yesterday to hear Melissa Thomas, a professor at Johns Hopkins University, speak about the effectiveness of international debt-relief programs in improving the quality of life in third-world countries.

The women's lacrosse team continues its history-making season, even after losing in the NCAA championship game. Yesterday, five members of the team were named to the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association All-American teams. That is the most ever for the program, and only the third time in history that more than one Quaker has been honored.

University commencement speakers range from public officials to TV celebrities this year, with many colleges seeming intent on procuring big-name speakers to address their graduating classes. But students noticed that their graduation speakers and ceremonies focused on political issues - sometimes excessively - because the country is in the midst of a highly contested election.

TOWSON, Md. When I joined the Daily Pennsylvanian sports section two years ago, never did I think I would cover an NCAA national championship game. And looking at Penn Athletics history, there's no reason I should have thought so. In the long history of Penn sports, never had a Penn team played in an NCAA-sanctioned championship game of a team sport.

The Penn women's tennis No. 1 doubles team knew they could beat their first-round opponents in the NCAA doubles championship. In fact, they had already topped them in the fall. When advancement in the NCAA tournament was on the line, however, the 29th-ranked team from Arkansas bested the Quakers' Ekaterina Kosminskaya and Julia Koulbitskaya, 6-4, 6-2 May 22 in Tulsa, Okla.

For Penn's graduating seniors, stepping out into the real world may be tougher than expected. According to a survey by Vault.com - a leading media company that focuses on inside career information - only 50 percent of graduating seniors have received job offers this year.