It might seem like political deja vu. After the critical Democractic primary battle between Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, Pennsylvania is gearing up for its role as a general-election battleground state. Both Obama and his Republican challenger, Sen.

By JESSICA RIEGEL Staff Writer jriegel@dailypennsylvanian.com As textbook publishers navigate a contentious market, they are attacked on many fronts. Rhetorically, they are confronted by angry student activists; financially, by a booming used book market; and now legislatively, by attempts to curb practices said to inflate book prices and make college less affordable.

SAINT PAUL, Minn. - Both political parties know they need Pennsylvania to win the presidential election, and both parties think they can get it. All eyes were on the state - which is considered one of the most important battleground states and has given its electoral votes to the Democratic Party since 1992 - at the Democratic and Republican conventions, and Pennsylvania's politicians were given prominent speaking roles.

This year, in addition to a new dean, eight of the 22 admissions officers in Penn's Undergraduate Admissions department are recent hires.

Yesterday, Student Health Services performed 100 more exams than they do on a typical day as Penn athletes flooded in to get their physicals. And, thanks to its new building, they could handle the influx.

Locals call the traffic triangles along Baltimore Avenue "barren" and "boring." But two 13-foot-tall ironwork planters spilling over with wisteria blossoms may grace those triangles in a few years, if University City residents soon voice strong support for their installation.

Some rooms in Rodin College House are missing smoke detectors. Several students have reported that where the smoke detectors in their rooms should be, there are only exposed cords dangling from the ceiling. Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush said the smoke detectors are only one component of three layers of fire protection, including a sprinkler system and a fully addressable fire alarm system.

The Obama campaign wants easy voter registration to be just a click away. With this goal in mind, the campaign has launched a voter-registration Web site in an effort to make registration straightforward, actor Kal Penn and Facebook co-creator Chris Hughes said in a conference call organized by the Obama campaign last night.

NSO: an entire week devoted to introducing new students to the campus and what is has to offer academically and socially. For most, it's a whirlwind of informational sessions, ice breakers, parties and awkward situations. Once students have passed their early years at Penn though, their NSO experience changes dramatically.

In a textbook industry strained by persistent debates over rising prices, many students' cure for high costs may also be a cause. The used book market is booming, but publishers say it is draining their profits and driving up prices. Cash-strapped students, who spend about $900 on books each year, want lower bills while publishers want to maintain profit in a changing marketplace - a tug-of-war that represents one of many challenges in an industry that is frust

Two people attempted to rob a man at gunpoint on the 4100 block of Walnut Street on Aug. 26 at about 7:15 p.m., according Penn and Philadelphia police. Penn Division of Public Safety spokeswoman Stef Cella said the 44-year-old complainant, a man unaffiliated with the University, was approached by the two suspects in a building lobby.

Wharton professor Thomas Dunfee - a pioneer in the field of business ethics - passed away on June 22 due to complications from cancer. He was 66. Dunfee was chairman of Wharton's Legal Studies and Business Ethics department He left behind his wife of 40 years, three children and six grandchildren.

Some low-income students will have a new way to apply to Penn this fall. Penn will partner with QuestBridge - a non-profit program that links low-income students with scholarship opportunities at top colleges - for the first time this year. Through the QuestBridge National College Match, high-achieving, low-income high-school seniors are offered admission and full four-year scholarship grants

Freshmen are quickly learning the joys of free food and merchandise during NSO. Upperclassmen can now take part by grabbing a free notebook around campus. All By Students, a student-run notebook company founded in Chicago, will be partnering with Penn Student AProxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age=0 ncies to distribute 12,000Proxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age%3

Penn President Amy Gutmann welcomed what she called the "mighty class of 2012" to Penn yesterday evening by giving them the "license to take their first test flight" and asking them to "enjoy the view." The ceremony, held every year to officially introduce the freshman class to the University, wa

Philadelphia may be home to a few more founding fathers this year as a new fraternity arrives on campus. Phi Gamma Delta, also nicknamed FIJI or Phi Gam, was recently approved to restart its Beta chapter on campus. The fraternity, FIJI's second chapter, was colonized on Feb.

Philadelphia public schools reported significantly higher crime rates in 2007 than in previous years, but some say those statistics distort the actual environment in the schools. Penn officials and students who have worked in Philadelphia schools are worried that the latest round of statistics might deter potential me