Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, who represented Pennsylvania in the Senate for 12 years, has joined the national law firm of Eckert, Seamans, Cherin & Mellott after failing to secure a third term in office in November. According to a press release, Santorum will provide business and strategic counseling services in the firm's Washington, D.

Long before her expected arrival, the audience had already packed the Kelly Writers House Seminar Room, buzzing with anticipation for Jamaica Kincaid's reading last evening. Best known for her lyrical prose that reflects the challenges of mother-daughter relationships and the effects of colonialism, Kincaid has written books including My Brother, Lucy, and The Autobiography of My Mother.

A 30-year-old male unaffiliated with the University was robbed at around 42nd and Sansom streets Thursday morning, Philadelphia and Penn Police officials said. The man, a taxi driver, parked his cab at about 7:00 a.m. and was walking toward his residence when he was approached by a male demanding money.

Penn's LGBT community is painting the campus red with QPenn 2007, Penn's annual celebration of LGBT life at Penn, today. The week-long event is themed "The RED and The Q," a play on Penn's school colors meant to highlight the LGBT community's presence on campus, said College senior Kellyn Goler, the co-chairwoman of QPenn's planning committee.

The government wants to curb underage drinking, but Penn says it's already doing everything it wants. The U.S. Surgeon General's office released a Call to Action report last week, which highlights the threat that underage drinking poses to the country. The report includes a section devoted to measures that universities should consider to curb underage drinking.

Officials from the Nominations and Elections Committee announced today that, since spring 2006, there has been an increase in the number of students who have received the necessary numbers of signatures to run for student-government positions. A total of 67 students are running for 76 positions this year, meaning that some students are running for multiple positions.

A 46-year-old female attempted to commit suicide Friday morning at the SEPTA subway station at 40th and Market streets.

College sophomore Shoshana Rosenthal enjoys many subjects at Penn. But this blessing became a bane when she realized she had to pick one for a major. "I like a lot of things, and I got overwhelmed [when deciding] what to study," she said. Like her sophomore peers, Rosenthal must declare a major to be eligible for advanced registration for the next semester, which begins today.

If you're in Wharton, your professor is probably out to get you. At least if you're a participant in Hostile Takeover, the Wharton Council's version of the popular game Assassins. For the first time since the game began four years ago, faculty members will participate in the event.

After the 'Button,' 'Covenant' and 'Plateau,' a new piece of public art appears alongside campus

The commercials recently developed by the University were not shown during Penn's NCAA Tournament game last Thursday because CBS decided not to broadcast any university advertisements during this year's tournament, Vice President of University Communications Lori Doyle said Friday.

Get it while it's hot: Starting today, 665 copies of The New York Times will be available for free around campus. The distribution is part of an Undergraduate Assembly initiative to bring the newspaper to University students, free of charge. The Times approached the UA in January to see if it was interested in implementing the Pilot Readership Program, said College junior Jason Karsh, the UA's vice chairman of external affairs.

More and more, universities are putting materials from their courses online for public access.

Most gay students would probably agree that coming out is hard. But at Penn, LGBT officials hope to make it a bit easier. This evening, the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Center will kick off Qspace, an online chat room open twice a week to the entire Penn community.

The University hit some nerves earlier this week after it announced its decision to bring in James Baker to speak at Commencement. And it wasn't the first time such an episode occurred. In 1980, the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan was slated to speak at Commencement.

When Jodie Foster was selected as last year's Commencement speaker, University officials had little to worry about her views on the Middle East, the United States and politics in general. But with a long career of divisive politics, James Baker is a different story.

A new University program will bring 41 young female professionals from abroad to campus for a legal and business fellowship program, Penn officials announced yesterday. The Legal and Business Fellowship Program will run from March 18 through April 13, offering participants an executive education at either Penn Law or Wharton.