CHICAGO - Hundreds of thousands of supporters turned out last night in Chicago's Grant Park to celebrate the man who will be the next president of the United States: Sen. Barack Obama. The Illinois Democrat will become the country's 44th president, and is the first African American to be elected to the position.

As predicted, network analysts last night painted Pennsylvania blue as Illinois Sen. Barack Obama overwhelmingly won the state, 55 to 45 percent. Pennsylvania was the first major step on the way to victory for Obama. This was reflected in the emphasis put on the announcement that he had won less than an hour after polls closed at 8:00 p.

If the stickers, megaphones and sea of blue T-shirts didn't make everything clear, the message scrawled across the chalkboard of a Huntsman Hall classroom last night did: "Penn Baracked the Vote." The Penn Democrats election night party brought at least 80 students out to watch the results roll in.

If you thought the language requirement at Penn would never come in handy, think again. Several Penn students spent election day yesterday offering language assistance to Spanish-speaking Philadelphia voters at voting locations across the city. The project was organized through a collaboration between the city of Philadelphia and Campus Philly.

Political analysts widely predict major gains for the Democrats in the Senate and House of Representatives today. But few think the Democrats will win the nine extra Senate positions they need to have a filibuster-proof "supermajority" in that branch of Congress.

For many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender faculty members, being open about their sexuality doesn't always come so easily. Some simply don't feel comfortable meshing their personal and professional lives, and others report actual discrimination on the job.

Over the past several weeks, both presidential candidates have deployed massive resources in Pennsylvania to keep, or pick up, the state and its 21 electoral votes. Today, they'll find out if it paid off, and polls and analysts are predicting a win for Democratic nominee Barack Obama - but say it's not a sure thing.

"It was an eye-opening experience," said Engineering junior Young Yim of his trip to do bioengineering in southern China this summer with the Engineering school's Global BioMedical Service Program. Now in its third year, GBS takes a group of 12 students and a faculty member to work on medical problems in China each summer.

Yes, we can, says Senator Barack Obama. But will we? With the recent projection that youth voter turnout could smash all previous records, Penn's political groups are spending their final hours making sure student turnout lives up to the hype. Penn Leads the Vote, Penn Democrats and the College Republicans will be all over campus today encouraging students to go to the polls.

Inside the beltway and to politicians around the country, Peter Hart is a highly regarded Democratic pollster conducting surveys for NBC and The Wall Street Journal. But to some Penn students, Hart goes by a different name - Professor. This fall, NBC and the Journal are the principal clients for the Communications professor's polling firm, Hart Research Associates, and Hart has spent much of his time working on questionnaires and analysis and appearing on television to discuss the results.

The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania affirmed their commitment to expanding the school despite the economic downturn at their annual fall meeting last Friday. The group passed eight proposals that will pour millions of dollars into medical buildings, student housing and the University museum.

Penn - along with the rest of the nation - watched the cable news networks with bated breath this evening. And when the outcome of the presidential election were announced at about 11 p.m., Penn students - who voted overwhelmingly for Obama - took the streets in celebration. Hundreds have marched downtown and are converged on City Hall.

With only four Undergraduate Assembly meetings left this semester, Sunday night's meeting was brief, with the body passing no new proposals. One of the first issues discussed was New Student Orientation, which may undergo some changes in the coming years.

Tina Fey may do a great Sarah Palin impression, but that doesn't mean Saturday Night Live is the only way young people get their election news. This year, Penn students - and young people across the country - are more engaged in politics than ever before, and they are increasingly turning to online news sources for their political information.

About eight hours before polls open in Pennsylvania, Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden addressed a large rally in South Philadelphia in his last stop on the campaign trail. "In less than 24 hours, we will know who the leader of the free world is," Biden said at the Marconi Plaza at South Broad and Bigler streets.

Going against the stereotype of the apathetic college kid, youth have been more involved in this election than any in recent memory - and experts think they will show up at the polls. This year, youth turnout "will probably surpass 50 percent, and it could be closer to 60 percent," said Peter Levine, research director of CIRCLE, a Tufts-based research group that studies youth political involvement.

It's the economy, stupid. In the wake of significant financial losses, a massive federal deficit and weak job growth, this election's most pivotal issue is, not surprisingly, the economy. Here's where the candidates stand: TAXES McCain McCain plans to maintain the current tax rate structure in which the highest income tax rate is 35 percent, and he plans to maintain the capital gains tax rate at 15 percent.