Officials announced that they are more than $1 billion into the largest fundraising campaign in University history as the annual fall trustee meetings drew to a close. Friday was the second and final day of trustee committee meetings that had been taking place at the Inn at Penn.

In the advanced calculus that is the elite college admissions process, students already weigh variables like race, home state and legacy status when trying to determine their chances at getting into their dream schools. But now there may be a new application X-factor to grapple with - sexual orientation.

When a fledgling New York-based company called IsoSpace needed some marketing advice, it knew exactly where to turn. IsoSpace Chief Operating Officer Ron Keusch called Marketing professor Lisa Bolton to ask whether she would be interested in setting up research teams in her consumer-behavior classes.

Facing the possibility of losing control of Congress in a few weeks, Republicans are haunted by their mistakes and scandals over the past few years, two political experts say. Political discourse was in full swing Friday evening as about 40 students, alumni and community members gathered at a roundtable discussion entitled "Democracy in Action: A Look at the 2006 Mid-Term Election" in Fisher-Bennett Hall.

Walking around Philadelphia reminds Penn alumnus Steven Conn of the blockbuster movie The Sixth Sense. "This region lives with its own ghosts," Conn said. Conn presented his book, Metropolitan Philadelphia: Living with the Presence of the Past, in front of an audience of about a dozen at the Penn Bookstore Friday evening.

It's a case of political he-said-she-said, and this time Penn is smack in the middle.

Some administrators say seniors hazed and tormented juniors at Hey Day last April. But is that how the juniors saw it? Those students, now seniors, will have an opportunity this week to weigh in on the future of Hey Day through an online survey.

Lucy Kerman --- who helped guide Penn's West Philadelphia initiatives for almost a decade -- -may have left the University President's Office, but her relationship with the West Philadelphia community hasn't ended. In fact, it will be honored when she receives the Calvary Center 2006 Community Beacon Award Nov.

Just in case Penn is ever the target of a terrorist attack, Uncle Sam has the financial part covered. The Department of the Treasury issued a statement last month that said the federal government would pay the most expensive insurance costs if terrorists ever launch a large-scale attack.

Theft Oct. 19 - A laptop was reported stolen from a Towne Building laboratory. There have been no arrests. Oct. 19 - At about 8 p.m., a gray 1987 Toyota Camry was taken from a metered spot on the 3100 block of Walnut Street. No arrests have been made.

Zygi Wilf may be a billionaire businessman, but in a talk at the Law School, he said that he doesn't expect to make any money off one of his most recent investments. Wilf, who led a group that bought the Minnesota Vikings football team last year, spoke on behalf of the Jewish Heritage Project last night.

Residents of a new building just off-campus waited weeks to get in - and now some say the rooms still aren't ready for them. Certain floors in the retail and residential building at 40th and Chestnut Streets were scheduled to open for residents two months ago, but construction was delayed due to shipping problems with materials.

Two students charged with aggravated assault against another student will soon face hearings in Philadelphia's lower courts.

If you want to save money, you're going to have to give up your personal information to companies, according to one Penn professor. Joseph Turow, a Communication professor and author of Niche Envy: Marketing Discrimination in the Digital Age, spoke to an audience of about 20 at the Penn Bookstore on Wednesday.

E-mails that clutter your inbox from the dozens of listservs you're on may be a thing of the past. Clubs may soon be able to send you their announcements straight to your cell phone. The Undergraduate Assembly unveiled a plan earlier this month to introduce a service called Mobile Campus to Penn by the end of next semester.

Comparative literature students may find themselves in familiar territory if they take the LSAT in June. Effective June 2007, the LSAT - an exam students take prior to applying to law school - will add a comparative reading section as one of the four sets of reading comprehension on the test.

Student Health Services Director Evelyn Weiner pleaded with the University trustees at their meeting yesterday for drastic improvements to Student Health facilities. "I sound like a broken record, but ... there is no way we can improve the efficiency ... and maintain the quality of care we have with the facilities we have," she said.