Last week, a group of 14 students traveled halfway across the world to address global water issues at the the fifth World Water Forum. Attendance at the event - which took place in Istanbul, Turkey - was required for the students, all taking Earth and Environmental Science professor Stanley Laskowski's course, "Global Water Issues," which specifically centers around the Forum for the semester.

Though work-study jobs at Penn are facing a potential budget decrease next year, funds from President Obama's stimulus package are expected to help keep the number of available jobs steady. There has been no significant change this academic year in the number of work-study jobs or students employed, according to Student Employment Office manager John Rudolph.

Phillies baseball fans crammed into Houston Hall yesterday to behold the trophy that, after 28 years, they could finally claim as their own. The Phillies brought the World Series Trophy to the Houston Hall Bistro yesterday at 3 p.m. The event, hosted by the Student Planning and Events Committee, was a part of the Phillies' World Series Trophy Tour, which has made stops at cities all over the country.

Men's lacrosse coach Brian Voelker may have sealed his fate at birth. The choice is an easy one when you grow up as a gifted athlete in Baltimore, Md. - the lacrosse capital of the world. Voelker's pre-coaching years afforded him a playing career most athletes in the sport can only dream about.

Amira Fawcett is an Engineering senior from Houston. Her e-mail address is fawcett@dailypennsylvanian.com.

This Hey Day, the Class of 2009 will greet the current juniors not with condiments but with a raised glass. The Senior and Junior Class Boards have established what they hope will become a new tradition with the "Final Toast," an event that aims to welcome the outgoing seniors into the alumni community while at the same time celebrating the incoming seniors.

College senior Eric Karlan came to Penn knowing that he wanted to study nonfiction and creative writing. And when he found out that the University does not offer a specific writing major, Karlan decided to create his own. With nearly 60 departments to choose from, it is hard to imagine that the College of Arts and Sciences doesn't offer a major for everyone.

Last November, when Mayor Michael Nutter announced emergency budget cuts that would close libraries and public recreation centers, many were bewildered that the typically receptive and thoughtful mayor made such a tone-deaf decision, without considering others' opinions.

In late January, Mayor Michael Nutter announced that the City was contemplating raising taxes in order to close the $1.4-billion budget deficit Philadelphia faces over the next five years. A week ago, he and his team officially unveiled a projected budget and five-year plan intended to close the gap and mitigate the effects of the recession.

After yesterday's game against Villanova, it seems as though depth will not be an issue for the baseball team as it heads into the Ivy League Tournament this weekend. Sophomore Mike Mariano more-than-literally stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the fourth inning, still searching for his first hit of the season.

In an increasingly competitive job market, young professionals are turning to the resources of networking, and Career Services is showing them how to do it. Yesterday afternoon, a small crowd gathered in the living room of Civic House in order to discuss the art of networking, in an event sponsored by Career Services entitled "Networking - Launching a Career in the Public Interest Sector.

Erin Brennan has the speed, the build and the skills of your average lacrosse player. So what separates the Penn freshman from the pack? She plays left-handed. As the only natural southpaw on the team, Brennan can confuse the opposition since teams most often see attackers shooting from the right side of their bodies.

The bacteria isolated from the campus' fourth reported case of meningitis is "genetically similar" to the bacteria that infected three students last month. All four cases are part of the same outbreak, a City health official said. Despite this, Student Health Service director Evelyn Wiener said the fourth case, reported during spring break, is distinct from the first three and that there is no common source linking the two groups of incidents.

As Penn searches to replace women's basketball coach Pat Knapp, I have some advice for potential applicants: Make sure you know what you're getting into. To be clear, I don't say that because of the makeup of the team, even though on paper the current roster does not have great prospects.

Former Penn student Diexia Wang pleaded guilty on Monday to five separate counts of defiant trespassing in the dormitories of female residents at Penn. Under a negotiated agreement, Common Pleas Judge Rayford Means sentenced Wang to five consecutive years of probation that includes mental-health counseling and restitution payment to the victims.

UC-Riverside broke its pre-match team huddle yesterday by erupting in a powerful chorus of "1, 2, 3. FIGHT!" If its match against Penn were indeed a brawl, the Highlanders left Levy Tennis Pavilion in the same condition as the rest of the Quakers' home opponents this season - black and blue.