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.

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.

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

Eight months after being endorsed, iTunesU is now officially a resource for the Penn community. The Undergraduate Assembly brought in Apple representatives last Friday to discuss and spread awareness about the program. iTunesU is an online digital media database located in the iTunes Store, accessible through any version of iTunes.

Traveling downtown just got a bit less exclusive. The Octobus, a Graduate and Professional Student Assembly initiative that provides transportation between Penn's campus and 14th Street, was recently opened to undergraduates, giving another option for travel into Center City.

WILMINGTON, Del. - Wharton undergraduate Irina Malinovskaya was called to the stand by the defense yesterday, marking a pivotal juncture in a trial that has now lasted over a month. Malinovskaya is being tried a third time for the 2004 murder of Temple University graduate student Irina Zlotnikov, the then-girlfriend of Malinovskaya's ex-boyfriend Robert Bondar.

On the eve of homecoming and the official kickoff of Penn's capital campaign, the University Board of Trustees met yesterday at the Inn at Penn for their second round of meetings this year. The Board of Trustees is the University's top governing body and is responsible for major budget and hiring decisions.

The University's capital campaign kick-off this weekend is arguably the most important event in Penn President Amy Gutmann's tenure. But as the tents go up and officials prepare to reveal their multi-billion dollar goal for the campaign, the University remains demonstrably less public about another turning point from this semester: the abrupt departure of former Admissions Dean Lee Stetson.

Penn's Center for Education and Research on Therapeutics will receive $4 million to continue research into infection therapies, according to a press release. "This award allows us to continue and expand our work in improving the use of antibiotics, incorporating the new tools of health IT," said Penn CERT director Brian Strom.

It's never too late to do some back-to-school shopping. Hundreds of alumni coming back to campus this weekend will be greeted by, among other things, a bookstore revamped for their return.

The major construction projects and what their completion will mean for the University.

With tomorrow's launch of the long-anticipated public phase of the University's capital campaign following the acquisition of 24 acres of postal lands this summer, it seems like the stars are aligning for Penn. Is it possible that the timing is nothing but a coincidence? Actually, yes, says Executive Vice President Craig Carnaroli: The two projects were developed apart from each other, but they managed to fit together quite nicely.

As alumni and administrators gear up for one of the most ambitious fundraising campaigns to date, many students aren't exactly sure what the weekend's festivities are all about.

Deep below the surface of the earth, scientists are researching the best ways to dispose of nuclear waste left over from defense projects without harming the environment. As an inaugural speaker for its 2007-2008 lecture series, the Institute for Environmental Studies invited Laurence Brush from the Sandia National Laboratories to talk yesterday afternoon at the Lynch Auditorium in the Chemistry Building.

Penn is getting a little more Hollywood. From one alumnus who directed treadmill-oriented music videos that are viewed 20 million times since its release on YouTube to another who became a singer-songwriter, Penn alumni like these were featured last week at PennFest - an annual alumni festival that takes place in Los Angeles, Calif.

Peter Galbraith refused to beat-around-the-Bush during his lecture on America's involvement in Iraq on Wednesday, calling the war a mistake and a failure in front of 100 students and faculty members who gathered in Silverman Hall to hear his speech. Galbraith, the former United States ambassador to Croatia, delivered a decisive and resounding seminar for 45 minutes.

Economics professor and accused murderer Rafael Robb plans to use surveillance-camera footage at several locations he visited the morning his wife was killed in order to provide an alibi at his November trial, according to court papers filed Friday. In the papers, defense attorney Frank DeSimone outlines Robb's activities on the morning of Dec.