For Engineering and Wharton sophomore Prateek Bhide, a day doesn't go by without hearing his classmates talk about grades. Though competition prepares students for future careers, he said, "most of the people I talk to in the workforce say GPA doesn't matter in the real world in getting

There's a light at the end of the reconstruction of South Street Bridge for the many students and city residents who have changed their commuting routines since the bridge's closure. When drafting the latest plans for the new bridge, developers opted for a pedestrian-friendly design, a fact that pleases many weary Penn commuters.

In the face of the typical year-end onslaught of high-fat foods and rich holiday meals, some Penn employees left family gatherings lacking something - extra weight. The "Maintain, Don't Gain" program, run by the Health Promotion and Wellness division of Human Resources' Quality of Worklife Department , challenged participants to keep their weight after New Year's within two to three pounds of their starting weight as measured on the day before Thanksgiving.

Although the Class of 2009 will graduate to a fiercely competitive job market, its Commencement speaker happens to head a company that annually tops Fortune magazine's "Best Places to Work" list. Eric Schmidt, Google chief executive officer and chairman, will speak at the 253rd Commencement Ceremonies on May 18 at Franklin Field.

Remember when you threw up last Friday? So does the guy who responded to the 911 call, and he's in your math class. Groups designed to have students help their peers provide valuable services, but also raise privacy concerns and may create uncomfortable situations.

Cristina Bicchieri isn't just the director of Penn's Philosophy, Politics and Economics program and a game-theory scholar. She's also an Italian knight. Bicchieri was knighted at the Italian consulate last June for merits in the arts and sciences. Many received the news with enthusiasm and congratulation.

In addition to access to 20,000 scholarly journals, the Penn libraries are now aiming to make 200,000 out-of-print books available as well. Through a partnership with Kirtas Technologies, students, faculty and the general public will be able to purchase digitized copies of these books by way of Kirtas' new digitize-on-demand project.

In his journey from Bloods gang member to best-selling author, Dashaun Jiwe Morris has proven that it is possible to "sell someone a 10-foot dream with a five-foot ladder." Saturday afternoon, the Penn Bookstore and the Arts and Spirituality Center's HeartSpeak program hosted Morris, former gang member and author of War of the Bloods in my Veins: A Street Soldier's March to Redemption.

When high-school senior Melissa Parratto chose to apply to Penn early decision, she was nervous about the more than $48,000 per year for tuition and fees. "I applied because Penn is an amazing education, and I had my heart set on it," said Parratto, who attends Dover High School in New Hampshire and was accepted to the College in December.

Sigma Alpha Mu put all its chips on the table for Alzheimer's research yesterday. The fraternity, with the help of the Chi Omega and Sigma Kappa sororities, staged a large fundraising poker tournament in Houston Hall's Bodek Lounge. Students played to support Alzheimer's research for The Judy Fund, named after the grandmother of SAM brother Brian Gelfand.

According to Jonah Berger, the popularity of a child's name depends on his or her parents' environment. Berger, a Wharton marketing professor since 2007, studies "how products, ideas and behaviors catch on and die out," he said. His main focus is the social aspect of decision making, with regards to popularity.

Philadelphia Newspapers Incorporated, which owns The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Philadelphia Daily News, Philly.com and Philadelphia Media Holdings - which prints The Daily Pennsylvanian - filed for bankruptcy yesterday. The move is an attempt to restructure the company's $390 million in debt load.

The December home invasion and sexual assault at 44th and Spruce streets sparked debate about security west of Penn's campus. But as Penn expands east toward Center City, the Division of Public Safety is planning for the new security challenges it will face on the other side of campus.

A growing number of students are turning to social entrepreneurship, and groups are looking to fill that demand. The Wharton Dean's Undergraduate Advisory Board has made significant progress toward a secondary concentration in social entrepreneurship, but the Undergraduate Assembly and Student Committee on Undergraduate Education are looking to expand developments to the College curriculum.

It might be hard to understand when someone who pulls an all-nighter and someone who got a full night's sleep get the same grade on an exam - but a new study by Penn's School of Medicine may explain the phenomenon. The study found the mechanism that shows how cellular changes in the sleeping brain are related to the formation of memories.

In raising $300,000 to build solar panels for a West African hospital, Kathryn Hall did more than solicit funds. She won national awards, appeared on television and 25 million bags of Doritos and even got Hollywood stars to join her cause. A 2008 College graduate and current student in the School of Medicine, Hall created Power Up Gambia after volunteering at the Sulayman Junkung General Hospital in The Gambia in summer 2006.

The second of the three students hospitalized last week with meningococcal infection was released yesterday, according to a Student Health Service update. One of the two students hospitalized over the weekend with flu-like symptoms was also released.That leaves only two students in the hopsital of the original five that were brought in - one infection case and one who had with flu-like symptoms.