Of the higher-education initiatives proposed by President-elect Barack Obama during his campaign, college accessibility and affordability rank highest on the priority list, education experts say. Additional financial aid will most likely come in the form of an American Opportunity Tax Credit, a fully refundable credit program that would cover students' tuition costs in exchange for community service.

Forget about the election. Students all over campus are engaging in a new battle: iPhones versus BlackBerrys. While choosing a candidate was simple for most students, , the debate over which phone to buy is not as clear-cut. Engineering sophomore Samantha Collins, who had a red BlackBerry Pearl before switching to an iPhone, said the iPhone's colorful features appeal to the younger generation more than the BlackBerry's professional look.

College senior Abigail Seldin - who co-curated an exhibit at the Penn Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology - was among the 32 American students awarded a Rhodes Scholarship yesterday. Seldin plans to study anthropology at Oxford University. "I'm really happy that this will bring more attention to my work with the Penn Museum," Seldin said.

The votes are counted. There are no candidates to canvass for and no campaign calls to be made. But that doesn't mean Penn students plan to step out of the political world for good. For political junkies, the fun is just beginning - President-elect Barack Obama's transition to power, his first few months in office and the future of the Republican Party hold the potential for excitement.

When College sophomore Cris Barrios and Wharton sophomore Wendy De La Rosa take over as the new chairman and vice chairwoman of the Latino Coalition next year, they hope to promote unity among the various Latino groups at Penn.

Experts say it is common for someone to receive a relatively light sentence following a guilty or no-contest plea, as the cases of several Penn students and professors have shown over the past few months. Most recently, former Economics professor Rafael Robb was sentenced Wednesday to five to 10 years in prison for killing his wife following a guilty plea of voluntary manslaughter.

The next battle over union rights is being fought on college campuses. That fight extends to Penn, which appears to be invested in HEI Hotels and Resorts, a company that buys and manages hotels and is being accused of creating poor conditions for workers.

The Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools has awarded Nursing Dean Afaf Meleis with its 2008 International Distinguished Leadership Award. Meleis is being recognized for her international, professional and personal achievements in global health, a subject on which she has published six books and over 150 journal articles.

By ALEX MELAMED Staff Writer amelamed@dailypennsylvanian.com Philadelphia's Mural Arts Program, which uses art to improve local communities and collaborates with Penn's Fine Arts Department, will lose $500,000 in funding with the city's recent budget cuts.

On Wednesday, the Asian Pacific Student coalition, an umbrella organization for 20 Asian-Pacific student organizations, elected Wharton junior Raymond Flores as its new chairman. Flores, who is originally from the Philippines, currently serves as the vice president of Cultural Programming for the Penn Philippine Association and is a member of the bid team to bring the East Coast Asian American Students Union Conference to Penn.

It was too good to be true. With over 5 million votes registered, Drexel University had overwhelmed the Victoria's Secret online poll to become the first school to be added to the Pink Collegiate Collection. The nearest competition - Texas Tech and George Mason University -trailed behind Drexel by at least two million votes.

Tonight, Penn students will be strutting their stuff on campus, modeling the artistic creations of over 10 student designers. Smaller than its spring edition, the annual Dzine2Show fall fashion show is a sample of the dedication and success of the University's premier fashion organization, which was founded in 2003.

The trek down Locust Walk just got a little brighter. Over the past two weeks, Penn has been installing its annual light displays along the trees lining Locust Walk, a winter tradition that dates back to 1995. Prior to that, sporadic holiday displays were put up around the center of campus.

See the scene at last night's Big Man on Campus event.

Philadelphia's Mural Arts Program, which uses art to improve local communities and collaborates with Penn's Fine Arts Department, will lose $500,000 in funding with the city's recent budget cuts. The cuts will have an immediate impact on MAP, which plans to turn to philanthropists and other organizations in order to continue projects affected by the cuts.

At last night's State of the School, heads of the six branches of student government recounted the past semester's progress, outlined future plans and fielded questions from students in attendance. To increase interaction between the student body and leaders, the annual update on student government activities featured a question-and-answer period for the first time.

Former Economics professor Rafael Robb is "remorseful" for killing his wife, Ellen, Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Paul Tressler said yesterday, and Robb is not likely to commit another similar crime. But Tressler also said he wanted to ensure that Robb would not interfere too much in the life of his tee