"Our customers used to want a big shopping bag with our label on it to carry around after their purchase. But now, they just want a simple brown bag," pronounced Roxanne Paschall, Senior Director of Merchandising of Bottega Veneta. "It's like they don't want to flaunt their wealth anymore," she said.

Joan Didion's National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning book, The Year of Magical Thinking, speaks of the difficulties of coming to terms with the death of one's loved ones. As part of the yearly Fellows program at the Kelly Writers House, Didion read excerpts from her latest nonfiction novel, which details an account of the year following her husband's death.

Although interest in Arabic language programs is increasing around the country, the number of U.S. students opting to study in Arab countries still remains relatively low, according to a report issued by the Institute of International Education. The challenges that prevent U.

Opponents to the proposed Philadelphia casinos are up in arms about Mayor Michael Nutter's recent statement that the City will create "no barriers" to their development. But the Mayor's Office maintains that legally, there is no other choice.

The ever-looming danger of phoning an ex, a boss or any of the several people in their phone books most people would not call sober only increases with their level of intoxication. The release of two iPhone applications that allow users to block themselves from calling certain contacts for a set amount of time will help remove the potential repercussions of drunk dialing.

This afternoon, 3,926 high-school seniors will receive exciting news as they read their Penn acceptance letters online. Penn accepted the nearly 4,000 students out of a pool of 22,939 applicants --- an overall admit rate of 17.11 percent for the class of 2013.

The Undergraduate Assembly looked to implement tangible change this past Sunday as many members are currently up for re-election by their peers. Most notably, the UA passed their New Student Orientation Night-Time Activities Proposal, an initiative the assembly has pursued since passing the "NSO Fraternity Safety Proposal" last fall.

Last night Michael Oren, a New York Times best-selling author and the CBS Middle East expert, spoke to a standing-room-only crowd in the Shotel Dubin Auditorium at Hillel's Steinhardt Hall. In a talk sponsored by Penn Hillel, Oren described four existential crises Israel presently faces to a crowd of both students and local residents alike.

If you want to fit in at Penn but want to try something different than rushing a fraternity or singing a cappella, consider research. Though research is typically associated with graduate students in lab coats, at Penn and peer institutions, undergraduate interest in research seems to be on the rise - and it's taking many different forms.

Art is the latest subject of an ongoing trend to become more environmentally friendly at Penn. For the next three weeks, world renowned sculptor Patrick Dougherty will work on an all-natural sculpture approximately 22-feet tall at the Morris Arboretum, Penn's historic public garden and educational center.

"Cancer never sleeps, so tonight neither will we." This was the motto of the 1,774 participants in Penn's 2009 Relay for Life this weekend. This year's Relay for Life, an annual event that raises money for the American Cancer Society, involved 171 teams and raised over $150,000.

It was in a conversation with a friend that 2007 alumnus Cho Kim, now a graduate student in the School of Social Policy and Practice, heard about the Davis Projects for Peace Foundation. Kim took one day to formulate his idea to win the $10,000 grant and one more day to write the proposal for the foundation, which grants students funding for projects to be implemented this summer. He received the award on March 16.

Grabbing a quick meal before class or going to dinner with friends is now easier for many students with thinning wallets. Local restaurants and businesses are offering students recession specials in an effort to bring in more business at a time when financial concerns are a priority.

The collapse of Ruckus has left the Undergraduate Assembly searching for a new way to legally distribute music on campus. Choruss, a new blanket licensing system that bills universities based on the amount of music students download and distributes the money to content owners, could potentially make that goal happen.

Psychology professor Lori Flanagan-Cato researches brain hormone activity in Penn's Psychology Department where she employs two graduate students and four undergraduates. When she started her research, the National Institutes of Health - Penn's primary grantor of research money for the School of Medicine and science programs - granted her a First Award for new researchers and then a five-year Research Project grant, which supports health-related research.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton doesn't spend all her time chatting with interns - but College senior Rafaela Zuidema will still have a good chance of seeing her around the office this summer. Zuidema will start work in the State Department just one week after graduating, providing day-to-day support to Clinton in the Office of the Secretariat.

At this year's Spring Fling concert - which will take place at Franklin Field on April 17 - alternative rock group Guster will share the stage with hip-hop artist Akon. Each year, Fling's musical guests are selected through the Social Planning and Events Committee's student-body survey.