The Ivy League as a whole is moving toward gender-neutral housing with Yale University's recent consideration of the policy. Penn has offered gender-neutral housing since fall 2005, after a gay male student who wanted to live with his female best friend raised the issue.

Penn is helping Philadelphia's top officials to become better leaders. Two weeks ago, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter's senior administrators assembled at the Steinberg Conference Center on Thursday and Friday to participate in the University's executive education program, a two-day institute program to develop leadership and management skills.

What do Sumo wrestlers and schoolteachers have in common? Why do crack cocaine dealers live with their mothers? Steven Levitt has the answers. In continuing with his style of analyzing questions from an unconventional perspective, Freakonomics author Steven Levitt gave a lecture at the Penn Museum yesterday entitled "Beyond Freakonomics.

Yankee stadium was packed yesterday afternoon - but not with the usual baseball fans. Almost 60,000 people from all over the country gathered to attend a mass led by Pope Benedict XVI during his first trip to the United States as leader of the Roman Catholic Church.

The Provost, Council of Undergraduate Deans and the Office of College Houses and Academic Services announced last week that Neil Shubin's Your Inner Fish: A Journey Into the 3.5 Billion-Year History of the Human Body will be the reading for the 2008-2009 Penn Reading Project.

We've long been told to drink eight glasses of water a day - but that may not be necessary. Penn researchers Stanley Goldfarb and Dan Negoianu reviewed research on water intake and concluded that there is no reliable scientific data to support the idea that drinking those eight glasses makes a person healthier.

The governor and mayor of Philadelphia aren't the only political leaders endorsing a candidate for the upcoming presidential primary. Last week, student government leaders at several Philadelphia universities, including Penn, Temple and Villanova Universities and Haverford College, jointly authored a letter endorsing Senator Barack Obama as the Democratic candidate for president.

After graduation, most seniors are looking forward to stepping out into the real world alone. But this summer a group of six seniors will travel to New Orleans to try to make a difference - together. Inspired by an Urban Studies class that explores various models for revitalizing impoverished communities around the world, College senior Yasmin Radjy decided she wanted to turn her classroom lessons into reality down in the Big Easy.

A small fire broke out in Rodin College House Friday evening, causing no injuries but forcing residents to evacuate. A plastic container that was too close to the stove top while students were cooking caused the blaze, Rodin House Dean Ken Grcich said. The plastic caught on fire at about 8 p.

Between farmers' markets, sword fights, local sports leagues and flea markets, Clark Park is constantly abuzz with activity. This summer, a local theater company will provide even more action for students staying on campus with its third-annual free show in the park.

On one of the nicest days this semester, College Green was filled with guitar players, tie-dyed T-shirts and a solar-powered grill - all to celebrate the environment. Friday was Penn Environmental Group's fourth Green Fest, a twice-yearly celebration of sustainability and green alternatives for Penn students.

For the past seven weeks, Penn for Hillary and Penn for Obama have competed for the votes of students across Penn's campus. But with Penn overwhelmingly Obama-friendly -- 73 percent of students said they supported Illinois Sen. Barack Obama in a recent DP/CBS News poll - Penn for Hillary has pivoted its resources into the suburbs and the inner-city, where undecided voters abound.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama may not be a rock star, but he can draw a bigger crowd than most musicians. Despite the 85-degree heat, Philadelphia residents came out in record numbers to hear Obama speak at Independence Mall Friday night.

Penn's class on mural painting in Philadelphia is mixing more than just paint. The fine arts class, called "Big Picture: Mural Arts in Philadelphia," aims to mix the practical and the theoretical by teaching students about mural painting and how to "use art as a vehicle for social change," said Fine Arts professor Donald Gensler, the co-professor of the course.

It's been a long time since the Pennsylvania primary has had such an influential role in determining the presidential nominee for either major party - 32 years, in fact. Usually, Pennsylvanians vote so late in the primary season that both parties have a clear frontrunner for the nomination.

In light of the crunch in the credit markets, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday that will increase the maximum amount that a college student can borrow from the government for educational purposes. "It's been [a priority] for a while now," Tony Pals, spokesman for the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, said.

Five gun-control measures unanimously passed by City Council and signed into law last Thursday by Mayor Michael Nutter have been met with heavy opposition throughout the past week. The laws prohibit the possession of an automatic weapon within Philadelphia, limit the number of firearms an individual can purchase to one a month, mandate that owners of lost or stolen guns report the loss within 24 hours and ban persons with orders of protection against them from owning guns.