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.

In the fall, Penn became the last Ivy League university to establish a group promoting vegetarian interests when two freshmen created the Penn Vegetarian Society, according to the club's Facebook group. In the past month, the group has worked with the Undergraduate Assembly and Penn Dining Services to create a Nutrition Week.

While many Penn students spend tonight getting an early start on Spring Fling, the brothers of Beta Theta Pi will be hosting a concert for life-saving research. Nappy Roots, a Southern rap quintet, is set to play at the Roxxy tonight for the fund-raising concert put on by Beta.

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

Flanked by two burly security guards, U.S. conservative writer and activist David Horowitz posed the question to a packed crowd: are we all being indoctrinated? Last night, the Penn College Republicans brought Horowitz to Huntsman Hall to discuss his latest book, One-Party Classroom: How Radical Professors at America's Top Colleges Indoctrinate Students and Undermine Our Democracy.

John Agbaje, Wharton senior and creator of the Penn Art Club's "Squirrels on Locust" exhibition, said the project began with the hope that the "whole campus would be brought together." Seven months later, a host of larger-than-life squirrels representing Penn's diverse student population are lining Locust Walk.

When Penn President Amy Gutmann checks her mail in the near future, she might see letters from students urging her to take a stance against the plans for the new casinos in Philadelphia. Last night at the Rotunda, College senior and Daily Pennsylvanian copy and design assistant Lauren Ladd and College junior Jeannie Tso outlined negative consequences of the proposed casinos and urged the audience members - many of whom were Penn students - to write to Gutmann to express their concerns about the potential new gambling outlets.

As the economy worsens, many schools committed to disregarding candidates' financial conditions when considering their applications are using creative methods to admit more students who can afford tuition while still adhering to their need-blind policies. Some colleges are accepting more international, transfer or waitlisted students, whose applications are not evaluated on a need-blind basis at some otherwise-need-blind institutions.

Self-proclaimed visual artist and art activist Zoe Cohen believes that art is in the eye of the beholder. Last night, Cohen offered a room of students a look at some of her avant-garde works, expressing her mantra that you don't need the artistic prowess of Michelangelo to create art.

The sign still says "Open 24 hours," but Philly Diner is closed during many of its previously nocturnal hours. At 3 a.m. a few weeks ago, the intersection would have been bustling. People would trickle in throughout the night to order burgers and fries. Now, the restaurant sits empty and dark on the corner of 39th and Walnut streets.

Many students may not have had time to notice the appearance of ceramic squirrels along Locust Walk over the past few days since several of them have been disappearing. The project, called "Squirrels on Locust," is coordinated by the Penn Art Club and is the first large-scale student-initiated art installation on campus.

The best landlords are those east of the Schuylkill River, according to the Graduate and Professional Students Assembly's Landlord Survey. That was one of the principal findings in GAPSA's survey that rates landlords in the area based on 1,200 responses collected November through February.

Despite the struggling global economy, SEPTA is not likely to increase its fares for the next fiscal year. SEPTA submitted its budget proposal for fiscal year 2010, with no service cuts and no planned fare increases. This measure will apply to all SEPTA lines, including buses, subways and regional rail.

Glenn Cummings, a student in the Graduate School of Education's Executive Doctorate in Higher Education Management program, was chosen as deputy assistant secretary of education in the Obama administration. Cummings, a former speaker of the house in the Maine House of Representatives, will work in the Office of Vocational and Adult Education on issues related to adult education and literacy, career and technical information and community colleges.

Three Penn professors and a senior critic in the School of Design were awarded fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation last week. Recipients of this year's fellowship - grant money given to artists, scientists and scholars for their research efforts - include English professor David Wallace, Sociology professor Susan Watkins, Music professor Anna Weesner and design critic Alexi Worth.

Recently-elected Penn College Republicans chairman, Wharton junior Peter Devine, spoke to the Daily Pennsylvanian about his plans for the future of the minority political group on campus. Daily Pennsylvanian: How is the hand-over going? PD: I've been passed the baton pretty quickly - I took over on day one.