When roommates Priscilla Matos and Jessie Daniel head to class in the morning from their 18th-story Harnwell College House dorm room, Matos typically takes the stairs, and Daniel uses the elevator. Usually, they say, Matos reaches the lobby first. For Matos, a Wharton senior, and Daniel, a Nursing senior, that result underscores problems with the high-rise elevators that have recently drawn attention from students and alumni.

In a Senate Finance Committee hearing yesterday, a panel of experts urged Congress to set a minimum spending requirement for university endowments in order to make college more affordable.

The pioneer group of Penn Civic Scholars has arrived on campus. Penn welcomed its first group of Civic Scholars this semester, and its students are set for a college career immersed in community service. The Civic Scholars program, thought up by Civic House faculty director Walter Licht less than two years ago, aims to integrate academic achievement and civic engagement.

As far as extracurriculars go, yearbook editor or debate team president seemed to lack that certain something for College sophomore Josh Corn. Instead, Corn went for a hobby that was a little more magical.

For just 75 cents a day, you, in the words of Sean "Diddy" Combs, could have "silky smooth cocoa-butter skin." How? Just ask Katie Rodan, who led a lecture last evening at Levine Hall.

Freshmen running for Class Board President made some waves with their responses to the annual Daily Pennsylvanian quiz, designed to familiarize readers with the candidates.

One by one, they keep jumping off the wireless bandwagon. But Philadelphia keeps on plugging along. One of a handful of pioneers to announce plans for a citywide wireless system in 2004, Philadelphia's wireless network is now 70 percent complete and on track to be finished by the end of the year.

The prosecution rested its case yesterday, finishing its portrayal of Wharton undergraduate Irina Malinovskaya as a jealous woman whose obsession drove her to the murder of her ex-lover's then-girlfriend, Irina Zlotnikov, in 2004. Jurors also saw the defense's side for the first time yesterday afternoon, hearing expert testimony that the forensic evidence should absolve of her of the crime.

"In 1987, three white Jewish boys from New York City were the most fascinating phenomenon in the burgeoning rap music scene. "No, really." So reads the back cover of music journalist Alan Light's 2006 book, The Skills to Pay the Bills: The Story of the Beastie Boys, about which Light spoke last night at the Kelly Writers House.

Barack Obama sparring with Hillary Clinton, Dennis Kucinich trying not to be ignored and John Edwards' hair - it's all coming to Philadelphia next month. State Democratic party officials have confirmed that the Democratic National Committee will hold its fourth official primary presidential debate in Philadelphia Oct.

A student at the Universal Technical Institute in Exton, Pa., died this past weekend due to a rare form of meningitis. Jeffrey Cox, 21, of Bowie, Md., was found dead in his West Chester apartment on Saturday, two days after classes ended for the 1,400-student trade school.

There was no better place to for poet and Penn professor Thomas Devaney to share the fruits of his labor. Devaney read from his new book of poetry, "A Series of Small Boxes," yesterday night at a book release party held at the Arts Cafe in the Kelly Writers House.

In its continual effort to keep young talent in Philadelphia, city officials are turning to an unlikely source this weekend - hip-hop star Talib Kweli. This Saturday, Campus Philly is hosting its annual kick-off event at the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, with live performances by Kweli and other artists and free access for college students to 11 museums across the city.

WILMINGTON, Del. - Apartment B4 in the Brandywine Apartments complex bears no trace of the brutally beaten body of Irina Zlotnikov, who was found dead in her then-boyfriend's kitchen there in December 2004. But yesterday, prosecutors in the murder trial of Wharton undergraduate Irina Malinovskaya - accused of killing Zlotnikov - brought jurors to the apartment in an attempt to increase juror trust in eyewitness statements.

Any senior hoping for a simple, streamlined class-registration system should stop holding their breath: Penn InTouch will not be updated this year. But there is still hope for freshmen, sophomores and juniors, who will likely see a big improvement to the system by the time they graduate.

His career boasts acclaimed performances in The Sting and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. He won an Oscar for directing Ordinary People, and he's starred alongside actresses such as Meryl Streep and Michelle Pfeiffer. Hands down, Robert Redford has made an epic journey through Hollywood.

Both Jose Garces and Stephen Starr have recently released details about the upcoming openings of two Mexican restaurants in the area.