The time was Oct. 20, 2007 and the place was College Green. Attendees of the campus-wide fiesta queued up for some promising opening remarks from President Amy Gutmann, an array of scrumptious food, gratis booze and ear-splitting hip-hop beats. Just like that, Penn's much-anticipated capital campaign was officially set into motion.

Former Neurosurgery professor Tracy McIntosh's lawyer has filed a petition to halt McIntosh's Dec. 21 court-ordered resentencing for a 2002 sexual assault.

Penn certainly puts on a good show. The capital-campaign kickoff party this weekend pulled out all the stops. Free food, free beer, lots of red and blue. It was a party worthy of an ambitious $3.5 billion fundraising goal, the amount the University hopes to raise by 2012.

What was supposed to be a dialogue among three national experts on terrorism yesterday turned into a fractured, and at times raucous, event. However, it still offered the audience a diverse set of views on issues surrounding terrorism, with Ian Lustick, Stephen Gale and Daniel Pipes speaking about "What Today's College Students Need to Know About Terrorism.

I want to take this moment to thank the entire University community for the overwhelming outpouring of support that has accompanied the launch of our $3.5 billion campaign for Penn, which we have named Making History. Whether measured in financial terms - we already have $1.

Philadelphia has become increasingly well-known for its murals, and for their effects on the community. And with mural culture an established part of Philadelphia, Penn has increasingly seen itself joining in.

So far, Pennsylvania legislators have kept gays off the altar, but the Philadelphia Gryphons Rugby Football Club is showing that you can't keep them off the pitch. As members of the International Gay Rugby Association and Board (IGRAB), the Gryphons are the first gay-friendly team in Philadelphia, and have only one straight player on the roster.

After this past weekend's Celebration on the Green there's no denying the increased visibility of the Capital Campaign. It's amazing to see how the weekend really brought together all members of the Penn community from students to alumni, faculty to staff and even the occasional passersby who happened to stumble upon our festivities.

Loukas Tasigianis, King of Rhodes? That moniker may be a little premature - but if he keeps playing as well as he did against Yale on Saturday night, he'll earn it. The sensational-of-late freshman netted two goals, including the extra-time gamewinner, as Penn edged out Yale 2-1 in a key Ivy matchup.

Al Bagnoli must be a masochist if he has any fondness left at all for overtime. If he does, he is doing a good job of concealing it. Head bowed, the Penn coach walked into the postgame press conference after a 26-20 loss to Yale in three overtimes and began an eerily familiar refrain.

College Green was transformed on Saturday night with tents, ice sculptures and more ethnic food than a United Nations potluck dinner. With free beer, performances by student groups and large crowds of students, the event gave the impression that Spring Fling had moved to fall. But this party was different - it kicked off Penn's $3.5 billion capital campaign.

During my wanderings on the Saturday of my first Homecoming as a Penn alumnus, I came across what appeared to be Epcot Center on College Green. As I found out, the campy festivus was actually the kickoff of Penn's new, $3.5 billion capital campaign. Penn, you slut! Anyone else go to this thing? Lasers! Amy Gutmann in strapless red! Promotional campaign videos featuring students with fun ethnic names! But hey, what about that three-beer limit? If you're throwing a party celebrating the end of the world, at least get the kids drunk.

It's no coincidence that Islam Awareness Week and Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week begin today at many campuses nationwide. It's also no coincidence that there will be no fliers bearing the word "Islamo-Fascism" floating down Locust Walk. After much debate with student leaders, College Republicans nixed plans to sponsor Islamo-Fascism Week this week and is instead sponsoring Terrorism Awareness Week, a series of events funded by the same right-wing think tank that is sponsoring Islamo-Fascism Week across the country.

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

After much anticipation, the secret's out. On Saturday night, Amy Gutmann announced that Penn's goal for the five-year capital campaign will be $3.5 billion. Gutmann also announced that Penn had already raised a whopping $1.6 billion in the quiet phase of the campaign - 43 percent of the target number.

On Saturday night, Penn President Amy Gutmann officially announced the goal of the multi-billion dollar campaign that the University began two years ago.

Given that Penn lost in Connecticut last year on a field goal that drifted six inches too far to the right, it would have been a superbly ironic justice if Yale's botched snap in the second overtime on Saturday had ended things for The Team That McLeod Built.