The number of Early Decision applications decreased for the third year in a row, admissions officials announced yesterday. This year, 3,610 students applied early to Penn - an almost 8-percent drop from last year's 3,917 early applications. As in years past, about 30 percent of this year's Early Decision applicants will be accepted, said Dean o

Anne Waters will become the new executive director of the Office of International Programs today, Provost Ron Daniels announced in a press release on Monday. In her new position, Waters will lead the Penn Abroad and International Student and Scholar Services offices, as well as other programs that provide the Penn community with international services.

In light of budgetary pressures, the University will take a number of steps to reduce expenditures, including freezing the base-pay of all top University officials, Penn President Amy Gutmann announced yesterday. In a letter e-mailed to members of the Penn community, Gutmann outlined measures the University will take in response to budgetary constraints related to the country's economic problems.

The Civic House Associates Coalition elected two new leaders Tuesday night who plan to increase collaboration among constituent groups and visibility both on campus and in the West Philadelphia community. College and Wharton junior Julia Luscombe and College junior Nick Eng will serve as co-chairs of CHAC, Penn's community service umbrella organization which includes 50 member groups.

Nov. 27 - A man unaffiliated with the University, 63, reported that someone stole his CD player from his secured vehicle on the 4300 block of Chestnut Street at 10:30 p.m.

Youth civic engagement in Philadelphia isn't just limited to voting on Election Day. Almost one year after it began, the Philadelphia Youth Commission - a group of city residents between the ages of 12 and 23 - has helped young people get more involved in politics and made plans to work with City Council on key issues.

Developers' plans to build an 11-story extended-stay hotel at 40th and Pine Streets received unanimous approval from the architectural committee of the Philadelphia Historical Commission last week. The committee's decision has no legal bearing on the hotel's construction, but its recommendation will be factored into the decision of the full historical commission.

Lawyers for former Economics professor Rafael Robb filed an appeal of his 5 to 10 year sentence for killing his wife, Ellen, two years ago. Frank DeSimone, Robb's attorney, told The Philadelphia Inquirer he filed a motion for reconsideration because he felt Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas Judge Paul Tressler did not understand the motive of a letter Robb sent to his 14-year old daughter, Olivia.

Two separate violent incidents involving weapons were reported last week near Penn. On Friday night, a 50-year-old man reported that a security guard denied him access to a building at 43rd and Walnut streets, Detective Swann of the Philadelphia Police said.

Sometimes, you don't need to travel far to learn first-hand about the world. That's what the roughly 50 students of Cathedral of Praise Community Church's after-school program learned two weeks ago when members of the International Student Council visited.

Penn is channeling outrage about violence against women into action. Thanks to a $270,000 grant from the Department of Justice Office on Violence AgaProxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age=0 st Women, Penn will institute recent Rutgers graduate Jessica Mertz as a Violence Prevention Educator. Mertz will promote education about violence against women by coordinating cooperation between v

President-elect Barack Obama met with the nation's governors in Philadelphia yesterday to discuss state issues affected by the financial crisis. Obama called on the National Governors Association to assemble at Independence Hall, in a move Pennsylvania Gov.

In a remarkably close election, the Penn Democrats has elected College sophomore Jordan Levine as its next president.

The University Board of Trustees nominated 1981 Law school alumnus David Cohen to replace James Riepe as chairman of the board beginning in Nov. 2009. Riepe, senior advisor and retired vice chairman of investment firm the T. Rowe Price Group, has been chairman of the board since 1999.

Though the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India last week were thousands of miles away, for some students, they hit close to home. And for some, the Thanksgiving break meant they were in Mumbai on Wednesday when a group of terrorists stormed the Taj Mahal and Oberoi Trident hotels, the popular Café Leopold and a highly c

By JIN PYUO LEE Contributing Writer gamail@dailypennsylvanian.com This past summer, New York Times columnist David Brooks wrote that education is the biggest issue facing the country today. And yesterday afternoon, Penn president Amy Gutmann echoed this view in a conversation with the students in Education, Proxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age=0 lture and Society, a Graduate