Alumni visiting for homecoming this weekend may find the retail areas on 39th and 40th streets unrecognizable. As recently as the mid 1990s, the southwest corner of the 40th and Walnut streets intersection was occupied by a surface parking lot and a Burger King.

Everybody knows that Tuesday is Election Day. But it's a mistake to think that it happens only once every four years. In fact, you vote nearly every day. And unlike ACORN, you're not just trying to destroy the fabric of American democracy. There are striking parallels between what Americans do in the voting booth and what they do in the shopping aisle.

Twenty years ago, the Penn field hockey team won the Ivy League and defeated Penn State in an overtime thriller in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. On senior day this Sunday at Franklin Field, the Quakers will remember that squad with a pregame ceremony before hosting Brown at 1 p.

The fans who packed the student section at Rhodes Field on Saturday expected to see a showdown between two of the Ivy League's best defenses. Instead, they witnessed a 4-0 rout, as the Penn men's soccer team beat Brown for the first time in five years. Omid Shokoufandeh scored two goals, Andrew Ferry had one and assisted on another and Drew Healy recorded his ninth blank slate of the season, one shy of the program record.

Are you ready for some football? Saturday's nationally televised matchup between the two remaining unbeaten teams in Ivy League play, Brown and Penn, has all of the storylines you could ever want for a homecoming game at Franklin Field. VERSUS television network calls it the Ivy League game of the week.

Leading the way To the Editor: Lest any readers jump to the false conclusion from Chakravarthy's story about the HathiTrust (October 24, 2008) that Penn Libraries are not actively engaged in transforming our collections into digital resources, I offer an elaboration for the record.

Living in a swing state, you might be used to seeing a lot of Sarah Palin. But what about seeing her at a frat party? Or seeing four of her at a frat party? With Halloween falling the weekend before the presidential election this year, girls across campus are pulling out their favorite suits and dressing up as the Alaskan governor and Republican vice-presidential nominee.

Raiam "Brazil" Santos leaned on a Franklin Field bleacher. He's happy. But excuse him, just on this one point. "The punter last year graduated. They were set on Kyle Olson, even though I was kicking better than him," he said. "They said, 'No, you're too raw.

As usual, when Columbia visits Yale tomorrow, it will be an Ivy matchup of one of the hottest teams in the league against one of the nottest teams in the league. Only this year, they're playing out of position. The Lions (1-5, 1-2 Ivy) are coming off their first win in 14 games.

When the volleyball team went up to Ithaca, N.Y., to face Cornell, the Quakers were easily dispatched for their fifth-straight loss. But that was three long weeks ago. Penn's gone 4-1 since then, and when the Big Red (7-11, 6-2 Ivy) visit the Palestra along with Columbia (6-12, 0-8) this weekend, they'll be greeted by a squad that's won seven consecutive sets.

With the Hub retail and apartment building completed in 2006, and with plans for a second complex in the works, the developer has announced that a Hub III is also on the way. The Philadelphia-based development firm Teres Holdings has secured a contract to build the Hub III at 3939 Chestnut Street.

The candle light, the raven perched on a shoulder and the rickety wooden furniture were reminiscent of a genuine speakeasy. But despite the shady atmosphere and colorful characters, the scene was not set in prohibition-era America, but rather a "spookeasy," a Halloween-themed event hosted by Kelly Writers House.

A number of incidents involving large groups of teenagers on the western end of Penn's campus have prompted Penn and Philadelphia Police to take action to control the area. The Division of Public Safety began noticing the crowds over the summer and, as a result, is improving lighting and coordinating with local businesses to improve area security.

Since Zeke Jones stepped down as the head coach of the Penn wrestling team on Sept. 27 in order to take the same position with USA Wrestling, the Penn reins have been up for grabs. But yesterday, Rob Eiter - an assistant under Jones for two years and the interim coach after his departure - was named the permanent head coach.

Researchers at Penn's School of Nursing have found that sexual-assault injuries are more easily detected in light-skinned women than in dark-skinned ones, potentially putting black women at a disadvantage in the health-care and legal systems. In the study, published in the November issue of The American Journal of Emergency Medicine, 120 women were examined after engaging in consensual sexual intercourse.

Summer camps, perseverance and Sarah Palin were all subjects of comedian and director David Wain's presentation yesterday evening. Hillel's Social and Cultural Committee invited Wain to discuss his cult classic, Wet Hot American Summer, and his newest film, Role Models.

Jennifer Lesser is a College junior from Minneapolis, Minn. Her e-mail address is lesser@dailypennsylvanian.com.