Members of some Christian sects have been known to utter a meaningless language of sounds that they say are divinely inspired. According to some Penn researchers, these people really do experience an altered consciousness.

The 2007 Rhodes scholars were announced on Friday - and Penn students are conspicuously absent from the list.

Sometimes, a little competition can go a long way. The College House Cup Fall Fest, held yesterday afternoon in the Quadrangle, gave students the opportunity to compete against residents of other dorms to gain points toward becoming House Cup Champions.

An official Penn wall calendar says students get an additional day off during Thanksgiving break. Courses resume, the calendar reads, on Tuesday Nov. 28. Unfortunately for students who booked flights based on the wall calendar, this is not the case. According to the official University-wide calendar available on Penn's Web site, classes actually resume 8 a.

Public Safety no longer saying when students specifically are the victims of crime in area

While reading a survey, Anthony Lo Sasso became intrigued when he noticed a woman had said she did not need private health insurance because she could "get around it."

Being on the cutting edge is tough. The rapid rise in new technology means that brand-new computers may need to be replaced within years in order to keep up with the pace of new software development. Experts say that the time it takes to get a Penn degree is about the lifespan of the average iBook.

One female student was assaulted by a cab driver. Another was the victim of a hit-and-run. And both found help in an office in Houston Hall.

Forget the Big Apple - Penn students might want to give the City of Brotherly Love a chance after graduation, especially if they are seeking a job.

The qualities that colleagues praise in Wharton Dean Patrick Harker may be exactly what the University of Delaware wants in its new president.

Penn's partnerships with two public elementary schools may face significant funding cuts as part of the proposed Philadelphia School District budget. A provision in School District CEO Paul Vallas' $70 million budget cut proposal would reduce district funding for the partnerships by 10 percent this year, and 50 percent next year.

It's Wednesday night, and as usual, Mathilde Poussin has a long subway ride ahead of her, all the way from Penn's campus to the last stop on the Market-Frankford line. Her clothes are contemporary and her manner is unassuming; fellow passengers would probably never guess that zipped up inside the bag sitting next to her are swords, shields and a mask - the gear of a medieval fencer.

In 20 years in law enforcement, Peter Christ says he made drug-related arrests on a daily basis. Ever since he retired, however, he has been traveling the country to speak out against the so-called war on drugs - and to push for legalizing illicit ones. Christ spoke in Huntsman Hall Wednesday night to a crowd of about 40 people on behalf of the Penn Libertarians Association.

Students who want to tour 26.2 miles of Philadelphia the hard way are in for a treat this weekend. Around 9,000 runners will participate in the Philadelphia Marathon this Sunday, running through University City, past the Liberty Bell, through Penn's Landing and along the Schuylkill River before finally ending up at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

According to Alison Stones, Wharton may have a thing or two to learn from the medieval clergymen who founded the Santiago pilgrimage. Santiago managed to attract pilgrims from across Europe to see relics that didn't even exist. "It is absolutely fascinating how they successfully launched a commercial venture," she said.

Top area high-school students matched wits in a verbal battle on campus last night. The prize: $5,000 and a trip to the National Vocabulary Championship in New York. But Central High School junior Hannah Zickgraf proved too tough for her competitors. The event was run by the Game Show Network, which brought Dylan Lane - host of the Chain Reaction game show - along with giant TV screens, computerized podiums and an elaborate stage and lighting set-up to Harrison Auditorium in the Penn Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.