The steel structure on 40th Street called "Plateau" may have garnered some vocal student criticism, but school officials promise they will ask for student perspectives the next time they embark on a public art project. "Plateau" - a 150-foot-long series of seats and tables with built-in night-time lighting - was dedicated Saturday by its New York-based artist, Andrea Blum.

It was mid-summer, the church looked gorgeous, and family and friends dotted the premises. But as Shannon Barbour stood at the altar next to her husband-to-be, she started "zoning out." While the priest spoke, Barbour turned her attention to the pretty murals adorning the church walls.

Two Penn students charged with assaulting a University senior with a beer bottle could face years in jail and hefty fines if convicted, according to state sentencing guidelines. College senior Bryce LeFort and Wharton senior Stephen Lande are facing charges of aggravated assault over an incident in which LeFort allegedly broke a glass beer bottle over the head of College senior Andrew Scharf, ripping off a portion of his ear.

Ex-Wharton professor Scott Ward still has no trial date, according to the Clerk's Office at the U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va. Ward, who was arrested in August for importing child pornography, has remained in custody in Virginia while awaiting a formal indictment.

With over a dozen signs hanging from trees on College Green and a six-foot cardboard ear of corn, 20/20 Vision's first event as a Penn organization was hard to miss. The College Green Energy Fair, sponsored by 20/20 Vision, was held to mark Earth Day's half-birthday, which falls on a week from today, on Friday.

Newer ways of rating professors and classes are infiltrating the Ivy League, but Penn has no plans to join the world of online academic evaluation, officials say. Brown University registered earlier this month for Pickaprof.

Iran's greatest threat to the world may be an attack straight out of a James Bond movie - electromagnetic pulses. "EMP is the threat of the future," Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.) said in a campus appearance yesterday. Before a crowd of roughly 20 in Huntsman Hall, Weldon presented his thoughts on the security of Israel in a talk jointly sponsored by the Penn Israel Coalition and the College Republicans.

High on stress but low on cash? No problem. Next week is Philadelphia spa week - but you'd better book your reservations this weekend. Starting Monday, spas and salons across Philadelphia are offering $50 deals for the week on everything from hour-long Swedish massages to seasonal apple-and-spice facials.

A new way to tour Philadelphia involves more than just stops at Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. SoundAboutPhilly.com, a site launched last month, allows users to listen to short segments that discuss the lesser-known and more unusual aspects of the city.

The Penn football team shut out Columbia on Saturday to cruise to a 16-0 win. It was their first shutout since 2004 against Dartmouth. Penn picked up a field goal in the first quarter and a touchdown each in the second and third quarters. Four points were lost on the kicking game, however, with a missed extra point and a later missed touchdown.

A former U.S. ambassador said yesterday that Iraq's constitution is a plan for splitting the country up - and that might not be the worst thing. Speaking at a special event at the Law School yesterday, former ambassador to Croatia Peter Galbraith said the constitution was a "roadmap for partition" of the country into more autonomous regions.

Social Security debates, aging baby boomers and potential health care crises have raised the question: Can the United States afford to grow old? According to Bill Novelli, CEO of the AARP, yes, it can. "We have a great need for change and that coincides with our power to create change," he said yesterday at the Penn Bookstore in a presentation of his new book, 50+: Igniting a Revolution to Reinvent America.

Former Marketing professor Scott Ward was fired from Penn immediately following his arrest for importing child pornography in August - but if he had been teaching at another university, he might still be on the faculty. Penn made the decision to terminate Ward's employment immediately after his most recent arrest.

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) said that a bill passed by Congress denies terror detainees their rights in an appearance on campus yesterday. The act, backed by President Bush, goes too far in depriving detainees habeas corpus, which is enshrined in 800 years of legal history, he said.

The School of Nursing is Penn's smallest undergraduate school, but it's looking to get a whole lot bigger. As the nation tries to cope with a projected shortage of 800,000 nurses by the year 2020, Nursing School administrators prepare for a different type of shortage - a lack of research space.

WILMINGTON, Del. - After seldom showing much emotion during her five weeks on trial, Wharton undergraduate Irina Malinovskaya cracked a smile yesterday when she learned that jurors had failed to agree - again.Judge John Babiarz declared a mistrial in the first-degree murder case at about 1:20 p.m. yesterday after jurors released a note stating their inability to reach a decision. They split 6-6 after 27 total hours of deliberating.The first mistrial, which occurred in February, resulted from a jury split 11-1 in favor of acquittal.

Penn alumnus Dennis Spivack says his political career began at age six, when he would place bumper stickers on the back of his parents' car. Now, the Democrat is a first-time candidate running for Delaware's sole congressional seat. After fending off his party rivals in the primary last month, Spivack faces popular 14-year incumbent Mike Castle in the election on Nov.