Students staying on campus this fall break can help to ensure that the red and yellow autumn foliage gives way to a whole lot of green next spring. This Saturday, UC Green - a local, non-profit group dedicated to forestry - will be sponsoring a large-scale tree planting effort in the West Powelton and Saunders Park neighborhoods of West Philadelphia.

Not every Penn student gets to go out drinking with Steven Colbert, chat it up with Diane Sawyer or hobnob with Russell Crowe. But for Puneet Singh, it's just another day at work. On a day-to-day basis, the Wharton junior deals with complaints about the future of Hey Day - he is the junior class president - and accounting homework.

In a lecture full of phallic images, guest speaker Anita Steckel discussed sexual art in the 1970s and the battles of censorship that ensued. "The whole concept of an artist is freedom," said Steckel. "And what is freedom? Being able to go all the way." Steckel is a feminist artist who has been dealing with sensitive issues such as race, sex and gender for over 40 years.

You may not be able to buy alcohol - or congregate in large groups - in certain areas of the city if one city politician has his way. Mayoral candidate Michael Nutter is urging Philadelphia Mayor John Street to declare a state of emergency in the parts of the city that have been hit by the greatest amount of violent crime.

Those ratty T-shirts stuffed in the bottom of the dresser can be used for more than just dust rags, one author says. Megan Nicolay, the author of the do-it-yourself book Generation T: 108 Ways to Transform a T-shirt, spoke and gave a demonstration yesterday evening at the Penn Bookstore.

Former Bush Administration official Richard Clarke will headline this year's Integrity Week, student leaders announced this week. A 1972 College graduate, Clarke was serving as an anti-terrorism expert in the federal government on Sept. 11, 2001. He is widely known for his public criticism of how the Bush administration handled surveillance information about al Qaeda.

Penn is gearing up for a season of tough congressional lobbying after planting its flag in D.C. this past summer.

Parts of the Delaware riverfront are "the densest, most historic, least planned" areas in Philadelphia, Harris Steinberg says. Now, his group at Penn has a shot at making them better. Steinberg is director of Penn Praxis, an arm of the School of Design, which is set to play a big role in developing the riverfront.

Retail Theft Oct. 14 - Police say Mike Osborne, 29, and Joseph Nucci, 43 - both unaffiliated with Penn - stole assorted books from the University Bookstore. They were arrested in the 3900 block of Walnut Street at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 17 - At about 5:30 p.m., a number of shirts valued at up to $1,000 were stolen from Urban Outfitters on 36th Street.

Hannah Arendt's writings on totalitarianism could have ominous resonances in the modern era, according to author Elisabeth Young-Bruehl. At the Penn Bookstore yesterday, Young-Bruehl presented her book Why Arendt Matters. The author related the theory of autocracy discussed by Arendt, a provocative author and political commentator as well as Young-Bruehl's doctorate professor and mentor, to current events.

Environmentalists, student leaders and University officials all agree: Penn is sending too much of its trash to the dump. Student environmental leaders said that Penn doesn't recycle as well as its Ivy League peers and presented their proposal for better conservation on campus at yesterday's University Council meeting.

Can't decide whether to go into science or business? Steven Nichtberger has made a career in both. Nichtberger, an alumnus of both Wharton and the College and the founder of Tengion, Inc., spoke last night in Huntsman Hall about "opportunities and challenges for the scientist-business leader.

The flu season has arrived once again, and many Penn students are expected to line up outside Student Health Services for their flu shots. This year, Student Health officials say they are much better prepared to fight the flu virus than they were last year.

Students at some schools are saying they need to bring their pets into school dorms - for their mental well-being.

Prosecutors can count on racking up more bills if they retry Wharton undergraduate Irina Malinovskaya for murder, but not on a better chance of a conviction, law experts say. Malinovskaya's first-degree murder trial was declared a mistrial for the second time last Thursday after the jury announced a 6-6 deadlock.

It's all about the name game in Pennsylvania. In the past weeks, with the Nov. 7 election approaching, a number of big-name politicians - some of whom are running for office themselves - have dropped in on Philadelphia and other cities in the state to throw their weight behind local candidates.

In the often cruel world of big business, some minority students are finding that getting a job is not so scary after all. In increasing numbers, many businesses are finding their way to Penn's campus to recruit minority students and help calm their job-hunting fears.