An elderly woman walked up to a policeman stationed at 46th and Market streets, reached into her purse and pulled out a handgun. Holding the weapon up to the officer, the woman - likely pushing 70 - gingerly dropped it into his hands and walked away with a pair of basketball tickets in her hand.

With students submitting the Common Application for the first time, the University saw the number of total undergraduate applicants once again reach an all-time high this year. The admissions office has received 22,427 applications, a 10-percent increase over last year's total of 20,423, according to Dean of Admissions Lee Stetson.

When Penn Law professor David Rudovsky walked through a Philadelphia prison this summer, he was disgusted by what he saw - severe overcrowding, prisoners without access to showers and inadequate medical care, among other issues. So Rudovsky did what any lawyer does best - he filed a lawsuit.

Harvard University will likely appoint former Penn professor Drew Faust as its next president this weekend, according to The Harvard Crimson. Citing three unidentified sources, the Crimson reported yesterday that Faust, currently the dean of Harvard's Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, will be named as the university's first female president Sunday.

The GSC's mascot, a garden gnome, was well-represented Wednesday night at the opening of the Global Gnome art exhibit, which featured an array of photographs of gnomes from eight University graduate student photographers.

If President Bush's newest budget proposal passes, Biology professor Fevzi Daldal likely won't be getting a new microscope for Christmas. President Bush's announcement of a $2.9 trillion budget proposal includes a $500 million cut for the National Institute of Health, the organization that supplies over 70 percent of Penn's research funding.

While most people dread the idea of spending Valentine's Day alone, students and faculty in the English Department celebrated love gone awry last night in a student-faculty performance entitled Unrequited. The performance, sponsored by the English Undergraduate Advisory Board and the English Department, took place before a mixed crowd of students and faculty in the Annenberg Studio Theatre.

Students, faculty and staff are once again partaking in Black History Month, taking time out of their busy schedules to reflect on black heritage and achievements. Black History Month is observed across the country throughout February. With an undergraduate class made up of an average of 6-percent black students, the Penn community is participating in the celebration as it does every year.

Seductresses and torrid love affairs - these were the topics of conversation last night at the Young Friend of Penn's second-annual Valentine's Day celebration at the Penn Museum. Almost 200 people attended "Ancient Girls Gone Wild," in which museum researches regaled the audience with the drama-filled lives and sinful details of some of ancient history's most impassioned women.

When Pia Ramchandani first signed up for "Introduction to Electrical and Systems Engineering" last semester, she expected a typical lecture course. But for this Engineering freshman, the class turned out to be a bit more exciting. Students in this course, which takes two semesters to complete, learn how to program robots.

After the first five years of Philadelphia's experiment with private management of district public schools, a study released last week indicates that it may be time to go back to the drawing board. But not so fast, education officials say. According to the study, released in part by Philadelphia-based Research for Action, students in the privately managed public schools - schools controlled by Educational Management Organizations - did not score higher than students in regular Philadelphia district schools on national and state tests, despite the extra money that is spent on these students Six private institutions, both for-profit and nonprofit - including Penn - manage the 41 EMO schools in the Philadelphia District.

Instead of taking your valentine to the Philadelphia Museum of Art to impress her with your cultured intelligence, why not take her there to see the nudes? This Saturday afternoon, the Philadelphia Museum of Art will be holding a scavenger hunt - with a special Valentine's Day twist.

The City Council took the next step in protecting the health of Philadelphians yesterday by approving a bill that bans trans fats from almost all foods in restaurants across the city. The first part of the bill will take effect Sept. 1, when restaurants will no longer be permitted to fry foods using trans fats-based oils or use trans fats-based spreads.

Penn is the most financially stable it's been since 1998, according to Moody's Investors Service. Moody's, which provides bond ratings for commercial and nonprofit enterprises, upgraded the University from an Aa3 rating up to an Aa2 one at the end of last month.

"A great American city is literally fighting for survival." And Marc Morial, the former Mayor of New Orleans, is urging Penn students to help rebuild the city in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The 1980 College alumna asked students how they "wanted to be counted," challenging their participation in community outreach.

He calls it Campusdock, but potential users might begin to refer to it as "Greg's List." Last month, Wharton junior Greg Morillo started Campusdock.com, a site that students can use to do everything from selling books and furniture to finding job and house listings.

The preliminary hearing for the Troy Brown, the "screwdriver bandit," was postponed yesterday following the arrest of his attorney. Larry Charles, Brown's lawyer, was found naked with his 14-year-old goddaughter on Jan. 15 in the Philadelphia Criminal Justice Center in Center City and charged with statutory sexual assault, Philadelphia Police Department officials said.