College sophomore Gareth Glaser spent his spring break in the coastal Mexican city of Playa del Carmen, enjoying the breathtaking views of the sea, the sand - and the soldiers carrying submachine guns. Despite a travel alert from the U.S. Department of State last month warning Americans about the dangers of visiting the violence-ridden nation, many students still went to Mexico for spring break.

President Barack Obama's administration has set high expectations with its promises of health care reforms. Currently, the administration has not laid out a specific health care plan, but Obama set a number of related goals during his campaign. The most prominent of these is expanding coverage to include the over 47 million uninsured Americans.

To aid students struggling to pay tuition costs as a result of recent economic downfalls, Penn's Board of Trustees passed a resolution last month stating that Penn will share risk with a U.S. bank that has yet to be named in order to to secure loans for international students.

At a demonstration Monday at The Susquehanna International Group Center for Graphics, a student volunteer attached sensory markers to her legs, and a crowd watched as her cartwheels were imitated on a screen by an animated pair of legs. The demonstration held for graduate students showed off the center's new motion-capture studio, the largest academic motion-capture studio in the region, and part of renovations to the building completed in January.

Assault March 7 - Police arrested a 15-year-old female suspect for allegedly assaulting another 15-year-old girl at the 4000 block of Sansom Street at about 6:15 p.m. Both parties are unaffiliated with the University. Theft March 6 - A woman unaffiliated with the University reported that an unknown suspect removed her unattended wallet from the Food Court at 3409 Walnut St.

Yesterday, students and researchers gained a new perspective on visual attention in children. At the Institute for Research in Cognitive Science, Sabrina Smith, Neurology and Pediatrics professor at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, delivered a talk that addressed her recent research on visuospatial defects in children who have experienced neonatal and pediatric stroke.

This week, the Penn Women's Center is celebrating its 35th anniversary with several service projects to benefit the Women Against Abuse shelter, Philadelphia's sole domestic-violence center. However, 35 years ago, PWC had to fight to establish itself as a home for women on campus before it could tackle domestic violence elsewhere.

At Sigma Alpha Mu yesterday, World War II was revisited - over Coke and Thai takeout. SAM brothers crowded their chapter house to hear History professor Tom Childers discuss the war, addressing topics from veterans' mental disorders to the political consequences of Hitler's table talks.

Jimmy John's hosts $1 sub day Thursday In this economic crisis, a dollar can barely buy an item at the food carts on Spruce - but tomorrow, one dollar can purchase a gourmet sub. Jimmy John's, located at 3925 Walnut St., will be selling its signature subs for only a dollar from 11 a.

The recent demolition of an old mansion has left Spruce Hill resistant to the way the neighborhood is being reshaped. The site at 4224 Baltimore Avenue - built in 1860 - has been demolished by James Campanella over the objections of other residents of the area.

For some, last week's spring break was an opportunity to help the less fortunate. Students traveled across the United States and beyond to give back through activities such as building houses and tutoring disadvantaged children. Here are the stories of four students who participated in four different trips in places ranging from Mexico to Philadelphia.

The ever-growing encroachment of online social networking and electronic media on people's everyday lives begs the question of what effect these virtual interactions are having on the mind and body. According to a paper recently published in Biologist, the increasing displacement of face-to-face contact by time spent online can be associated with negative physiological changes.

Restaurant and bar Tap House is expected to open in the Radian Apartments Aug. 1, according to Brian Harrington, founder of Public House Investments, which owns the restaurant. He said he hopes it will be up and running before the bulk of the University community returns for the fall semester.

The undergraduate student hospitalized with meningococcal meningitis March 7 remains in critical condition but is stable and improving, University spokeswoman Phyllis Holtzman said yesterday. There are no new cases.

Counseling and Psychological Services named Bill Alexander as its new director last week. He assumes his position this month after ten years as deputy director of CAPS, according to a press release issued by the Vice Provost for University Life. Although he has worked there a long time, Alexander explained that this is a major change in his role and duties.

Former Wharton finance professor Anthony Santomero was just announced as one of four nominees to serve as directors of CitiGroup. The bank, once the largest in the world, is struggling to fix itself after posting a $37.5 billion net loss in the last five quarters.

Leonore Annenberg, emeritus trustee and founding member of the Annenberg School for Communication, died last Thursday morning at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, Calif., at the age of 91. Annenberg was elected to the University's Board of Trustees in 1982, and was elected a life trustee in 1987.