Universities across the nation are combating wastefulness and focusing on sustainability, but only one will be able to take home the title of America's Greenest Campus. The America's Greenest Campus contest is the first national competition among colleges to reduce their communities' carbon footprints.

With the summer riding season coming up, Division of Public Safety officials are intent on stamping out bike crime on campus. As a city with a very high student population, Philadelphia has become notorious in recent years as a bike theft hotspot. Bike lock manufacturer Kryptonite publishes a "Top 10 Worst Cities for Bike Theft List" on its blog every year, and Philadelphia is its reigning champion.

For students looking to help others while working with contraceptives, vaccinations and diseases, yesterday's Public Health in Philadelphia panel set them on track for success. As part of National Public Health Week, the event hosted a panel of five distinguished members of various local public health organizations.

Wharton announced yesterday that it will cosign loans with Digital Federal Credit Union for international MBA students who lack a U.S. credit-worthy cosigner. The loans can help pay tuition as well as living expenses and can also offer low interest rates, no origination fees - a processing fee - and attentive customer service.

SEPTA has just made traveling in Philadelphia cheaper, faster and easier. In a press release, SEPTA announced that it will introduce a "One Day Independence Pass" and a "Family Independence Pass," for use on trains, trolleys and buses. According to the release, the passes will provide riders with the "independence of convenient, economical and unlimited travel on all SEPTA trains.

"Simple is sexy" seemed to be the theme of the Wharton Asia Exchange-BCBGeneration Walk-Off, a competition that pitted students against each other in the categories of modeling and fashion sense. The Walk-Off, sponsored by WAX and BCBGeneration, consisted of three rounds: professional, evening and model's choice.

For 2007 College alumna Sophia Termini, the Miss Philadelphia Pageant last week was a great way to help pay for med school, but she will never repeat it. Termini, along with College junior Samantha Greene and College seniors Cara Bumgardner and Geneva Campbell competed and won prizes in last week's pageant.

Besides merely serving as a distraction in that political science class you now realize was a mistake signing up for, perhaps that iPhone or BlackBerry will actually give you the power to drop the class on the spot. At Stanford - and more recently, Duke - that choice will soon be available to students on campus.

Assault March 29 - Clifford Jorden, 20, unaffiliated with the University and of the 6000 block of Lindbergh Boulevard, was arrested at about 1:45 a.m. for allegedly striking a male student, 21, in the head with a glass bottle on the 300 block of 40th Street.

Elizabeth Grant, like many other Penn students, went to several Greek parties the first weekend in February. And like other students who had connections to the Greek system, Grant, a College sophomore, went to get a prophylactic dose of Ciprofloxacin on Feb.

The small room that will house the new Nursing Biobehavioral Research Lab in Claire Fagin Hall may not look like much, but for the researchers in the School of Nursing, it's a place to call their own.

College sophomore Hillary Ross, who is studying abroad in Barcelona next semester, said while she will be conscious of how much money she spends in Spain, the economy "was never going to prevent" her from studying abroad. "I may have to take out a bigger student loan for next semester to cover spending costs," she said, adding that her parents have been supportive of her decision.

In today's economic climate, financial uncertainty is problematic for many international students applying to U.S. universities for graduate study - and a Council of Graduate Schools survey released last week confirmed these concerns. Based on preliminary numbers of international graduate applicants, the survey found that doctoral applications increased over the past year, but master's applications decreased.

Despite receiving almost 23,000 applications and attracting students from all around the world, Penn is still not a "dream school" - at least according to The Princeton Review. Although Penn did not make the company's "Dream Colleges" list from its "Colleges Hopes and Worries Survey," administrators and college consultants say the rankings will not affect Penn's reputation.

With two weeks until Spring Fling, the Social Planning and Events Committee announced the design that will display the event's theme: "Some flings never get old." College freshman Yilu Zhang created this year's winning design, which features Ben Franklin sporting a pair of "Kanye shades," SPEC Spring Fling co-director and College sophomore Jayme Van Oot described.

Penn's Medical Emergency Response Team wants 1920 Commons to become an emergency base. Completely student-run, MERT responds to medical emergencies. "We are the first response, and we make sure the patient is stable," College junior and Chief Josh Glick said.

Nancy Nielsen, president of the American Medical Association, shared "sobering statistics" Tuesday in Huntsman Hall. In Nielson's lecture, "U.S. Health Care: Is 2009 the time for a Revolution?" she discussed the need for major health care reform in the U.S. The event was hosted by the Wharton Politics and Business Association, Wharton's newest student group.