While attending college in Philadelphia, Nick Miccarelli's experience was twice interrupted to serve in the military overseas. The 2007 Penn alumnus and Iraq War veteran has long been preparing for a life of service - he completed basic training with the Pennsylvania National Guard before finishing high school - and is now running for a position in Pennsylvania's General Assembly.

When College sophomore Pamela Putnam was deciding which classes to take this fall, she knew she wanted to take a Political Science course along with her pre-med ones. Putnam said November's presidential election motivated her to learn more about American government.

Penn Law and Wharton announced yesterday that the two schools would partner to form a three-year graduate program in which students would pursue both a JD and MBA. The accelerated program would be one of just a handful of its kind in the country. "As the world becomes more complex, leaders must be able to integrate financial, legal, political and cultural issues like never before," Law School Dean Michael Fitts said in a press release.

Legal experts are divided over whether universities are common targets in discrimination lawsuits. In July, two former University employees - one of the Medical Center, the other of the Dental Care Network - filed lawsuits against Penn, citing discrimination and retaliation.

When it comes to picking a PIK professor, the requirements are stiff, and the stakes are high. PIK, or Penn Integrates Knowledge, professors hold joint appointments in two departments in two schools in the University.

This year, Penn's freshman cohort of international students had one more way to ease their transition to life at Penn. The International Mentoring Program, which was organized by the International Student Council at the end of last semester, paired new international students with current Penn upperclassmen from their home countries this fall.

Student leaders across the University are helping Penn lead the vote. Penn Leads the Vote - a nonpartisan group that aims to increase voter participation - wants student leaders to "take on voter registration and civic engagement as their own task," PLTV President and College senior Stephanie Simon said.

A curfew is something that most Penn students haven't had to deal with in a long time - but for anyone still under 18, it's something to be aware of. Local businesses like Fresh Grocer and Izzy and Zoe's have recently posted signs with information about Philadelphia's curfew, prompting surprised reactions from students who didn't know the city had a curfew.

An Iranian human rights scholar scheduled to teach at Penn Law as a visiting professor is reportedly being detained by the Iranian government without charges or explanation. The scholar, Medhi Zakerian, was arrested in mid-August as he waited for U.S. visa clearance, said Penn Law professor and international law expert William Burke-White.

One Penn professor is in Switzerland today to test drive the largest particle accelerator ever built. Physics professor Hugh "Brig" Williams traveled across the Atlantic to fine-tune Penn's contribution to the Large Hadron Collider. The LHC is located at the European Organization for Nuclear Research laboratory near Geneva and is the world's highest-energy particle accelerator.

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Two robberies were reported near campus over the weekend. A 52-year-old woman was threatened at gunpoint on the 4000 block of Pine Street at about 12:45 p.m. on Saturday, according to Capt. Benjamin Naish of the Philadelphia police. The man approached the woman from the rear, displayed a black gun and demanded money, Naish said.

The Obama-Biden campaign opened 35 new offices in Pennsylvania yesterday, bringing the total number of offices in the state to 65, according to a campaign press release. These openings come as the campaign enters its final eight weeks. "To mark the eight-week home stretch, volunteers will register 8,888 new voters on college campuses alone this week," the press release said.

The Nu chapter of the Phi Sigma Sigma sorority announced today that due to insufficient membership numbers, the group will be seeking new strategies to foster expansion this semester. According to a statement from the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs, Phi Sigma Sigma's numbers "have not been as strong as they could be" recently, despite many years of "close sisterhood and strong programming.

When Penn established the Institute for Regenerative Medicine in late 2007, it made a major statement about the University's commitment to stem cell research. And even with struggles for funding in the biomedical sciences and some political opposition to stem cell research, Penn isn't having trouble fulfilling that commitment.

Two new groups on campus have embarked on a "quest" to "push" for more lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender awareness. Queer Undergraduates in Engineering, Science and Technology, founded last semester, will primarily serve students studying science and technology in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences or the College of Arts and Sciences.

Loftstel, a combination of "loft" and "hostel," is a house that provides temporary housing for guests - often students - who need a place to stay for anywhere from a night to six months. In addition to Philadelphia, it has locations in New York City, Los Angeles and Washington, D.