When Irshad Manji gets up in the morning, she checks her e-mail for death threats and forwards them to the police. It's a regular day for Manji, who has become a target for religious extremists after publishing her international best seller, The Trouble with Islam: A Muslim's Call for Reform in Her Faith.

Alumni networking, once relegated mainly to reunions and Homecoming, is being transformed as more alumni join social-networking sites like Facebook - and schools are paying attention. Alumni clubs, which help alumni within a certain geographic region connect, are discovering that the Internet is a faster and more interactive way to reach alumni, especially those who have graduated since Facebook opened to Penn in 2004.

The $26 million, three-phase construction project of Claire M. Fagin Hall, the building that houses the School of Nursing, will be completed on time and on budget for the fall semester. The final phase, which is already underway, will bring newly renovated research laboratories to the school, creating a "futuristic environment," according to Nursing Dean Afaf Meleis.

Lawyers for the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania again denied any wrongdoing in College sophomore Anne Ryan's meningitis death last September. Jed Ryan, the brother of Anne Ryan, filed a lawsuit against HUP in January alleging negligence, wrongful death and negligent infliction of emotional distress.

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification standards hold a monopoly over colleges' sustainable construction projects. But a lesser-known alternative is beginning to make a mark at universities. Penn's master plan calls for the construction of a number of environmentally sound buildings, which will be certified as such by LEED, the widely used and expensive third-party review system.

When seventh-year English Ph.D. candidate Anna Foy enrolled at Penn, she planned to be here for at least seven years before finishing her dissertation. Now, about a year from completing her dissertation on 18th-century poetry, she finds herself facing pressure from the University to hurry up or pay up.

Hillary Clinton isn't the only one who wants to make sure everyone is insured. SASgov, the School of Arts and Sciences branch of graduate student government, hosted an essay competition in which participants wrote a 125-word essay to answer the question, "Why do I need dental insurance?" The winners won $250, allowing them to purchase insurance.

Although shoppers have generally accepted that eating organic foods will be more costly, a recent and rapid rise in prices may force some consumers to alter their eating habits. Food prices have been rising for several months now, and at first, organic prices stayed steady.

A greener future is blowing in the wind. The University recently made a commitment to increase its expenditure on wind energy for the next two years, making it the biggest patron of wind power among universities in the United States. Renewable wind energy will account for nearly half of Penn's power because of the University's purchase of an additional 80,000-megawatt hours per year from Community Energy Inc.

On Wednesday, minority student groups reached a significant milestone in their push for a comprehensive campus climate assessment with the release of much-anticipated 2006 survey data. The results, however, weren't entirely satisfying to student leaders. Associate Provost Andrew Binns presented the data at the last University Council meeting of this academic year.

Out of the $15 billion worth of property stolen nationwide in 2006, only about 31 percent - property worth about $4.6 billion - was recovered by police forces across the country, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. "Everything is difficult to recover," said Penn Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush.

Actor Kalpen Modi-more fondly known as Kal Penn - conquered Hollywood after his hit movie Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. But, with students raving about his Asian American Studies class as the semester ends, it seems Modi has conquered something perhaps more significant than teenage humor: the field of academia.

Most graduate students in Penn's nine Ph.D.-granting schools will pay lower tuition next year thanks to University-wide reforms that standardize fees in order to enhance academic flexibility and increase financial efficiency. The new tuition is $24,000 per year for students in their first through fifth years and $3,000 per year for the sixth year and beyond.

"Harambe" - Swahili for "come together as one" - is the theme of a new organization working to implement technology and business proposals to further develop the economies of 10 sub-Saharan African countries. The Harambe Endeavor - an alliance of 60 students studying at colleges and universities across the country, including Penn, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University - will create partnerships with students and future leaders in Africa.

With both skyrocketing theft on campus and economic troubles making local and national headlines, the relationship between the two has come into question. As rates of property crime have been rising across the across the nation, some experts have pointed to a link between the state of the economy and crime.

Just because the political circus has left Pennsylvania, the race for the Democratic primary isn't over - and for some students, the hard work is just beginning. Whether it's traveling across the country as the remaining nine contests are decided or staying in Philadelphia to organize volunteers, several Penn students plan to spend their summers working with a presidential campaign.

The living room of the Kelly Writers House was packed yesterday with Penn students and Philadelphia residents alike to hear a reading by the poet Jerome Rothenberg. Rothenberg, the author of over 70 books of poetry, is the last of three Kelly Writers House Fellows to visit Penn's campus this spring.