Troy Brown - the man known as the 'screwdriver bandit' for 10 robberies he committed in University City in November 2006 - was sentenced to serve a term of 45 to 80 years in prison on Friday. Brown was convicted on 10 counts of robbery and related offenses in December 2007 for committing a string of robberies using a screwdriver to threaten female victims, two of whom were affiliated with Penn.

As the Ursinus gymnasts exhibited quality performance after quality performance during Saturday's quad meet, the Penn cheers could not be heard over those of the Bears and their supporters. While the Quakers hosted the meet in Hutchinson Gymnasium, the home team advantage seemed negated by an audience divided equally among Penn, Ursinus, West Chester and Wilson fans.

These days, Penn students study abroad in all corners of the world. But wherever students travel, they can't escape the long arm of the University's full-tuition policy. Implemented in 1994, the policy requires students to pay normal tuition - currently at $16,080 per semester - even when studying abroad at other institutions.

Last week, inexperienced medical students fumbled around in the emergency room, unable to locate IV bags or organize their efforts, as their patient's blood dripped to the floor. Fortunately, although their patient "died" that afternoon, there was no family to inform - it was all just a simulation.

An exhibition of photos and testimonies about the Israeli-occupied area of Hebron made its first stop in the United States, opening on Saturday night at the Rotunda to a hotbed of discussion. The exhibit is organized by an Israeli-based foundation known as "Breaking the Silence.

Daniel Schwartz is a College sophomore from Decatur, Ga. His e-mail address is schwartz@dailypennsylvanian.com.

ITHACA, N.Y.- As Penn slogged through its non-conference schedule, Glen Miller and his players expressed similar sentiments after some of the rougher blowouts. Wait 'til the Ivy League, they'd say. That's where the real season begins, that's where the NCAA berth lies, that's where our season can take a positive turn.

Harvard may have dominated the pool this past Saturday, with a 189-104 victory, but it was Penn's seniors who had the crowd on their side as they competed in their final career home meet. Before the meet began, Coach Mike Schnur introduced his four senior swimmers - Alex Keeney, Chris Weitekamp and co-captains Devon Carr and Pat Gallagher - to a crowd filled with family members and friends.

Could College Hall become the next campaign soapbox? Several university presidents have chosen to endorse a candidate in the 2008 presidential election, but Penn President Amy Gutmann says she will not be one of them. As nonprofit organizations, universities are legally prohibited from engaging in campaign-related activities, Political Science professor and Fels Institute director Don Kettl said.

Penn has been facing nothing short of a housing crisis for years now. In spite of all the faithful converts to off-campus housing options, the fact that Penn doesn't have the space to accommodate its students in College Houses means too many have been forced converts.

A bill passed by the U.S. Congress eight years ago is slowly beginning to change the face of urban development in West Philadelphia. The Hub, an apartment and retail building located at 40th and Chestnut streets, was the first project in Pennsylvania to take advantage of the New Markets Tax Credit program, created as part of the Community Renewal Tax Relief Act of 2000.

Two more games, two more losses. The streak now stands at 14 for the women's basketball team. Despite playing at home, Penn lost 70-61 to the Lions (7-13, 4-2 Ivy) on Friday and 80-56 to the Big Red (13-6, 5-1) on Saturday. In both games, the Quakers (3-17, 0-5 Ivy) came out sluggish, down 25-12 at one point against Columbia and 27-14 against Cornell.

Kids in college are incessantly subjected to the "you're the leaders of tomorrow" mantra. We need to soak up all the knowledge we can and learn from our parents' mistakes now, so we can finally be that generation that doesn't screw everything up. Yet some classes at Penn aim to do a little more than just teach students.

When Penn officials broke ground on Skirkanich Hall in October 2003, they claimed they were making a strong statement about the architectural vision for Penn's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. And now, with the planning phase underway for the Singh Center for Nanotechnology - which will be built at 32nd and Walnut streets as part of the Penn Connects eastward expansion project - that vision is being realized.

This year's Philly Auto Show took place from Saturday, Feb. 2 through Sunday Feb. 10 at the Convention Center. A wide variety of cars were displayed, ranging from tuners to concept cars. Several high-end brands were represented, including Jaguar, Maserati, Lamborghini, Rolls Royce, and Aston Martin. One dollar of every ticket sold will be donated to the Auto Dealers CARing For Kids Foundation benefitting The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. One thing is for certain, car fans, young and old, will be coming back next year.

Although several months still remain before the graduating class walks down the aisle, they have been breaking all records in the Senior Class Gift Drive.

Come this fall, students will likely be able to watch Penn Transit - live from the Web. Schools around the country have implemented GPS tracking devices for their transit systems, allowing students to track the buses and shuttles in real time from any online source, including Web-enabled cell phones.