At this point last season, both the men and women's squash teams were holding down the status quo, doing nothing exceptional by beating lower-ranked teams and losing to higher-ranked ones. This time, it's a different story. Both teams have impressed early on, with the women's team currently ranked No.

Last time the Penn men's basketball team took the floor at Columbia's Levien Gymnasium, it was 7-0 in the Ivy League, having just completed a perfect run through the first half of the conference slate. Forty minutes later, the Quakers were 7-1 after a shocking 59-57 loss to the 1-7 Lions, in which Penn didn't score a point in the final 4:42 of the game.

At a University where "global" has become an administrative buzzword, a globetrotting crime specialist will soon join the faculty.

Penn has accepted 29 percent of early applicants for the Class of 2011, a group that will make up about 48 percent of the total class. Last year, the University accepted 28 percent of its early applicants, and this year's slight rise in the acceptance rate comes in conjunction with a 2.

Restaurant nights, themed culinary dinners and visits from Philadelphia chefs are all on the menu this month. Despite mixed student opinions about previous marketing initiatives, Penn Dining has revealed a new series of programs designed to generate student interest in meal plans.

As I roll out of bed this morning, it's time to embark upon the most dreaded part of my day, at one of the scariest places on campus. No, I'm not referring to making the long trek to my 9:30 a.m. class or even walking around West Philly with a screwdriver-wielding criminal on the loose.

If you haven't tried the foie gras torchon at the Striped Bass or foie gras and fig empanadas at Alma de Cuba, your window of opportunity has just closed. Stephen Starr, owner of 11 of the city's premiere restaurants, has removed the French delicacy, a fattened duck or goose liver, from his Philadelphia menus due to what he has called "incredible amount of protest.

Steve Donahue is in his seventh year coaching Cornell. In that time, Penn has lost 15 Ivy League games, but none to its former assistant Donahue.

Today, for the last time, The Daily Pennsylvanian was published by its 122nd Board of Editors. Beginning on Monday, the names listed above - along with those on page two - will change, and a new board of editors will take the reins of Penn's newspaper of record.

This weekend could be make or break for the Penn women's basketball season. The Quakers (4-8, 0-1 Ivy) are in the midst of a four-game slide, and already dropped their Ivy League opener. While the conference slate is just beginning, home losses to Cornell (4-9) and Columbia (3-10) would be difficult setbacks to overcome.

ITHACA, N.Y., Jan. 12 - Playing against a zone defense was Penn's Achilles heel last year. In the second half on Friday evening, when Cornell switched from a man defense to zone, the Quakers turned their old weakness into a newfound strength. Brian Grandieri's 18 points, including 10 in the second half paced Penn (8-6, 1-0 Ivy) to a 74-56 thumping of Cornell (7-8, 0-1 Ivy) at Newman Arena in the Ivy League opener for both teams.

The Democrats' proposal to cut interest rates on federal need-based student loans will come to a vote next Wednesday in the House of Representatives.

The track teams, who have not competed in over a month, kick into high gear this weekend. The men's team will head to Annapolis, Md., while the women's team will make the trip to West Point, N.Y.

Opening up club sports to all interested students - regardless of talent or experience - is a win-win situation.

A month ago, a bunch of frat boys could have spent the evening at Smokey Joe's drinking beer and smoking Marlboros. Happy hour might have seen a 9-to-5-er puffing cigarettes as he drowned his sorrows.

College students are notorious for spending hours on their cell phones, stalking their friends on Facebook.com and sending multitudes of e-mails per night. But when it comes to using that technology for research, Educational Testing Services officials say that many students lack the necessary skills to take advantage of all that computers have to offer.