"Big Bellies" aren't easily filled - at least when it comes to trash. Facilities and Real Estate Services has installed Big Bellies - energy efficient, solar-powered trash and recycling compactors - outside the Penn Bookstore and the Wawa at 38th and Spruce streets, and within the next week, five more machines will be installed along Spruce and Walnut streets.

In the spirit of political journalism, American political news correspondent and commentator Tucker Carlson encouraged debate last night at St. Anthony's Hall fraternity. "I will do my best not to impose my opinion," he said. "If you disagree, shout out louder!" Carlson is a former co-host of CNN's Crossfire and MSNBC's Tucker and is currently an MSNBC senior campaign correspondent and senior fellow for the Cato Institute.

Next Year, the Undergraduate Assembly and the Civic House Associates Coalition are making New Student Orientation more civic-minded. The UA's Civic and Community Engagement committee is introducing five new proseminars - courses taken by incoming freshmen during NSO for no credit - that will focus on community service and civic involvement.

Diagnosed as the cause of death for over 8,000 Americans annually, oral cancer is a disease that rarely garners the attention it deserves. But this year, Penn Dental School students are raising awareness with the first Oral Cancer Walk Philadelphia. Organized by the Oral Cancer Awareness Society, the walk is to be held tomorrow - regardless of weather conditions - beginning at 10 a.

Next Year, the Undergraduate Assembly and the Civic House Associates Coalition are making New Student Orientation more civic-minded. The UA's Civic and Community Engagement committee is introducing five new proseminars - courses taken by incoming freshmen during NSO for no credit - that will focus on community service and civic involvement.

If Bradley Inman is right, books will no longer be just printed words, but will involve videos supplementing the storyline, characters "tweeting" away their thoughts online and readers collaborating and revising the original story. Inman is the man behind the "Vook," an e-book platform that wraps text, video, and social networking together into one package.

As the school year comes to a close, students with 12-month leases for their rooms are faced with a challenge: finding summer subletters. For those seekers, the economic crisis seems to add an extra burden to an already-difficult task. College junior Michael Kleinman is actively looking for a student to summer sublet a room in his house.

Of the 32 U.S. universities in the middle of capital campaigns of at least $1 billion, Penn gained the most in February with $26.1 million in new gifts and pledges. Though this is not the most Penn has received in a single month - that record belongs to June 2007, when the school took in $129 million just before the Making History capital campaign entered its public-fundraising phase - the number is strong given the current economy.

Glenn Cummings, a student in Penn Graduate School of Education, has been selected as deputy assistant secretary of education in the Obama administration. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan offered Cummings the assignment in the Office of Vocational and Adult Education, which will start on May 4.

The economic downturn has had a mixed effect on summer programs at Penn, with some experiencing growth and others seeing a decrease in applications. Penn hosts a wide variety of summer programs, including athletic and academic programs targeted at high-school and college students.

By MATTHEW BURNARD Staff Writer burnard@dailypennsylvanian.com At a time when a cash-strapped media industry lacks the resources to monitor government spending, one recent Penn alum is using new media to fill this role. Stephen Morse, an '07 College alumnus and a former Daily Pennsylvanian columnist, recently founded the Web site mytwocensus.

The economic downturn has had a mixed effect on summer programs at Penn, with some experiencing growth and others seeing a decrease in applications. Penn hosts a wide variety of summer programs, including athletic programs and academic programs targeted at high school and college students.

Long before the first batch of fried Oreos or tapped keg of Natty Light, Spring Fling was born. While Spring Fling's history officially began in 1973, University Archives suggest a longer tradition behind the event - previous incarnations of the spring celebrationcan be traced back 90 years.

Student activism may not be dead. Last Friday, about 30 student and local activists staged an occupation at a buidling slated for demolition at The New School in New York City. The protest followed a similar lock-in at The New School in December, a student occupation at NYU in February and the many meetings and rallies that accompanied them.

Of the 32 U.S. universities in the middle of capital campaigns of at least $1 billion, Penn gained the most in February with $26.1 million in new gifts and pledges. Though this is not the most Penn has received in a single month - that record belongs to June 2007, when the school took in $129 million just before the Making History capital campaign entered its public fundraising phase - the number is strong given the current economy.

A recent proposal is weighing the value of pot in more than just grams. A new proposal called the Emerald Initiative calls on college and university presidents to consider reducing penalties for marijuana use as a way to lower alcohol abuse. Drafted by the nonprofit Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation, the proposal claims that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol to users and to society and advocates that colleges punish for marijuana use no more than for alcohol use.

Robert A. Fox Professor of Leadership Donald Kettl, a Political Science professor, was appointed dean of the University of Maryland's School of Public Policy, the school announced Tuesday. Kettl will officially step into the position in June, although he admitted he might act as "virtual dean" via e-mail until he can officially become settled in College Park, Md.