Penn students and Philadelphia residents might soon be bidding SEPTA tokens farewell. With plans in the works for a new "smart-card" fare-collection system, SEPTA passengers will only need to wave a card to ride the subway. SEPTA plans to use contactless bank cards that will make the use of public transportation just a "common retail purchase," SEPTA spokesman Gary Fairfax wrote in an e-mail.

Brown and Stanford universities' announcements of free tuition, room and board for undergraduates below a certain income level sound impressive - but Penn's program is already very similar. In the past week, both Stanford and Brown announced expanded financial-aid policies that increase the amount of grant aid given to qualified students.

Cora Daniels, the author of Ghetto Nation: A Journey Into the Land of Bling and the Home of the Shameless, which calls 'ghetto-ness' a "mind set which embraces the worst," came to the Penn Bookstore yesterday to promote and discuss her book.

If you think stress has to be a normal part of your Penn life, think again. Last night, several student organizations on campus hosted leaders from various groups for the campus' first Mental Health Camp. The initiative was started to provide students with practical mental-health techniques and strategies they can apply in their everyday lives.

"I've never tried this before" is the last thing you want a doctor to say to you. However, there is a first time for everything, and medical procedures are no exception. Fortunately, Penn's School of Medicine uses advanced technology to enable students to practice procedures on mannequins that can simulate complex surgical procedures.

Madonna. Cher. Prince. Quaker. So famous he needs no last name, the Quaker, Penn's famous mascot, holds a special place in the hearts of students and alumni. When not relaxing in his memorabilia-laden dorm in the Palestra, "Penn Athletic's #1 Fan" can be found cheering on his beloved football and basketball teams, encouraging the fans and meeting past and future Quakers alike.

With the pending stress of Fall Course Registration on the horizon, the School of Arts and Sciences is doing its best to make students happy. For some students, that happiness comes with more night-class options in the College of General Studies.

Burglary Feb. 19 - Jermaine Harris-Stevens, 27, of the 5400 block of Osage Ave., was arrested by Penn Police after he was observed allegedly removing metal scaffolding from inside a construction site at the Center for Advanced Medicine, located at 3401 Riverview Dr., at about 11:50 p.m.

At some schools like the University of Southern California and New York University, rush occurs within days of arriving on campus freshman year.

University President Amy Gutmann will receive a leadership award from the Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania on March 3 at the organization's 22nd annual Take the Lead awards ceremony.

Engineering freshman Dara Elass wears long sleeves, pants and a burkha, a head scarf traditionally worn by Muslim women, every time she pays a visit to Pottruck. She follows traditional Islamic law, which requires that women cover up in the presence of men - even at the gym.

Last Friday, the chapter presidents of Penn's sororities and fraternities met with a team from the University to discuss next year's facilities budget for the Greek houses. Every year, each chapter meets individually with the University facilities team to discuss fixed costs, projected utilities, rent and any additional small projects that need to be done around the house for the upcoming academic year.

Data breaches and identity theft have become a prime focus on college and university campuses. A recent report by Educational Security Incidents found that the number of data breaches on college campuses rose 67.5 percent last year, compared to 2006. But at Penn, officials say, a number of measures are in place to protect data.

The second largest group of physicians in the United States sees evidence that marijuana can relieve severe pain and supports its medicinal use, according to a recently issued position paper. This paper from the Philadelphia-based American College of Physicians urges the federal government to acknowledge and sanction research into the plant's medicinal uses.

For some, the costs of studying abroad include more than just plane tickets, hostel fees and European bar tabs. With some study abroad programs in the Southern Hemisphere beginning as early as mid-July, students heading below the equator for fall semester will see their breaks cut in half and formal summer jobs and internships possibly impacted by their academic calendars.

Debate was in the air at Sunday evening's Undergraduate Assembly meeting, which ran for four and a half hours and had a significantly higher attendance than usual. About a dozen students, mostly from Lambda Alliance, the umbrella organization for all LGBT groups on campus, and ALLIES, an on-campus gay-straight alliance, were present to support the much-anticipated Blood Donor Discrimination Proposal, which was ultimately passed by the body.

Engineering junior Peter Beltramo couldn't help but look up and stare as he walked down Walnut Street last week. He walks this way often and has observed Penn's newest off-campus housing option, The Radian, take shape from the start. But while Beltramo says he has enjoyed watching the construction, he doesn't like what he sees.