Napoleon Dynamite became a celebrity after his debut in Park City, Utah. The same was true for blockbuster hits Clerks, Saw and The Blair Witch Project - after they were featured at Park City's Sundance Film Festival. And Marketing professor Nelson Gayton hopes the festival can do the same for the Wharton Media and Entertainment Initiative, a group of Wharton professors dedicated to turning Penn - and Wharton, in particular - into a prominent research institution in media and entertainment.

Eduardo Glandt will chair the 14-person consultative committee that is charged with replacing Wharton Dean Patrick Harker, University President Amy Gutmann announced in a press statement yesterday.

For some Philadelphia residents, fighting injustice is a daily routine. Last night, before a group of 15 students seated in comfy couches and chairs at the Greenfield Intercultural Center, local Asian Americans spoke about dedicating their lives to remedying social injustices in their community.

Discussions about Philadelphia politics are usually conducted in English, but Harris Sokoloff began one with a "ni-hao." Sokoloff, director of Penn's Project on Civic Engagement, was greeting the members of a bilingual citizens' forum last weekend in Chinatown - part of a citywide initiative called Great Expectations, which aims to increase dialogue about local issues as the mayoral election approaches this fall.

Despite her uncle's advice not to write about other books, Rita Barnard found that the best way to talk about South Africa's period of apartheid was through examining the literature that described the phenomenon. Last evening, the Penn English professor introduced her new book, Apartheid and Beyond: South African Writers and the Politics of Place, to a small - but devoted - crowd at the Penn Bookstore.

Penn Student reactions were mixed the week of President Bill Clinton's inauguration on Jan. 21. "This is the first presidential election in which I participated, and I felt like a part of something which will be historically significant," said then-College junior Josh Penn.

Four-hundred-six is the number on the minds of most Philadelphians, but only the number two concerns Penn Division of Public Safety officials. Philadelphia saw 406 homicides in 2006, an increase of 27 from last year and the city's highest murder rate since 1997.

Engineering junior Mari Oishi was shot in the left thigh last January as she walked near the intersection of 38th and Walnut streets - the stray bullet came from a robbery that was occurring down the block. Partly as a result, President Amy Gutmann pledged an additional $5 million to the Division of Public Safety to create Operation Safe, through which the security presence, technology and lighting were all increased on campus.

Congressional pork-barrel spending for academia will dry up in 2007, but Penn's researchers probably won't feel the pinch. Both the Senate and the House of Representatives have now passed sweeping ethics reforms mandating that legislators must publicly disclose all earmarks they insert into bills.

Although most people today identify Harry Belafonte with songs like "Day-O" and his hit album, Calypso, Belafonte is continuing to touch millions - but with words, not lyrics. The former singer and actor sat down with Penn History professor Mary Frances Berry for the seventh annual Rev.

In a statement released Monday, U.S. Rep. Bob Brady confirmed what many political analysts have long speculated: He is running for mayor in the Democratic primary. Brady, who represents the eastern part of the city in Washington will officially announce his bid Thursday evening at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

A Penn student was robbed at gunpoint outside of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity house at about 2:45 a.m. yesterday morning, Philadelphia Police said.

With the help of the Undergraduate Assembly, high-rise dwellers may be a step closer to getting faster elevators. At its meeting last night, the UA passed a proposal - authored by UA member Enoch Arthur-Asmah, a College freshman - urging the University to "fully investigate the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of upgrading the high-rise elevators" in Harrison and Harnwell college houses.

WAYNE, Pa. - The only thing that distinguishes 670 Forest Rd. from the surrounding houses is a cross made out of evergreen branches on the front lawn. As you get closer, you can make out dried flowers spilling out of small vases, burned-out candles and two stuffed animals - one pink, one purple. A sign reads: "Ellen may you be at peace. Love your friends."

The Department of City and Regional Planning - part of the University's School of Design - has been ranked No. 5 in the U.S., University officials announced last week. It was additionally ranked No.3 in the Northeast in an independent, nationwide survey distributed to professionals, educators and students, who were asked to name the top urban-planning graduate schools in the country.

Over the last year, anti-casino neighborhood groups have been fuming - mostly at the state for legalizing slots parlors across Pennsylvania and at the city for not doing more to stop their placement in Philadelphia. Now, the groups' ire is turning to Penn Praxis, the consulting arm of Penn's School of Design that was brought in to be above the very political fray that has already involved both city and state officials.

Imagine being able to taste a candy bar before ever reaching for your wallet. Then imagine doing the same for soda, alcohol or chocolate. That's exactly what Adnan Aziz - a 2004 Engineering and College alumnus - wants you to do. Aziz, 24, is the founder of two-year-old First Flavor, Inc.