SEPTA General Manager Joseph Casey announced last week that the agency will attempt to improve quality for riders without raising fares with a $1.08 billion operating budget for the 2009 fiscal year. The transportation organization said it wants to improve on several issues, including "service, cleanliness, convenience, courtesy and communications," according to a SEPTA press release.

College sophomore Phillip Benedetti was awarded the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship last week, with College and Wharton sophomore Stefan Sabo receiving an honorable mention. They were among 321 sophomores and juniors who were recognized for success in math and sciences, chosen from among 1,035 nominees for the Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation.

Despite an April Fools' Day prank about a speech by Illinois Sen. Barack Obama on campus, the importance of young voters to the Democratic presidential candidates is no joke. With the Pennsylvania primary set for April 22, the campaigns of Obama and New York Sen.

There is a growing gap between the life expectancies of richer and poorer Americans, recent government data shows. Although Americans as a whole are living longer lives, the life expectancy gap is growing between the rich and the poor, according to data from the Department of Health and Human Services.

April Fools' Day came early, thanks to a campus-wide prank planned by three students. But contrary to the information contained in eggs and flyers Wharton freshmen Nick Greif and Marko Horvat and College freshman Logan Steinhardt scattered around campus, Illinois Sen.

WEST CHESTER, Pa. A few inches shorter than most of the other players on the ice, but just a little bit sprier, No. 4 seemed to hold the hockey team together. The Utah Edge defenseman was putting on a bit of a show for the sparse crowd that formed at West Chester's Ice Line rink complex, but something about her was a little unusual.

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

To the untrained eye, the line between Class Boards and the Undergraduate Assembly is pretty blurry. The two groups do serve very different functions: While the UA lobbies administrators, the Class Boards focus on promoting school spirit. But many students often confuse the two organizations, especially during elections.

It's not often that the men's and women's track teams compete against each other. It's even rarer that they tie in a relay. And it's almost unheard of that the men's track team would simply brush off the result and eat pie next to its opponents. Penn's first-ever Pride Games, however, were not a place for arguing between groups divided by gender, race or, most importantly, sexual identity.

'Isn't she beeeeauutiful?" whispered the suited woman standing next to me. "There's just nothing like being in the presence of someone with that much charisma." We were caught in the middle of the pushing and crowding in Houston's Hall of Flags last Monday, flush from our meeting with Hillary Clinton herself.

Looking for a post-midterm stress reliever? Mental Health Awareness Week has plenty of offerings. Active Minds, Penn's mental health advocacy group, hopes to bring mental health issues to the forefront of students' minds by hosting everything from workshops and lectures to more hands-on activities, like chalking the walk and holding rounds of Quizzo at Cavanaugh's.

The Quakers are in the middle of a thoroughly tiring week. They will face Saint Joseph's at 3 p.m. today, and again tomorrow, after already playing four games totaling 36 innings the last three days. The Hawks (9-16, 2-4 Atlantic 10) are not in much better shape, though.

In an effort to channel some good old bulletin-board inspiration, the men's lightweight crew team picks daily quotes for the boathouse, chosen for their encouragement and insight. Dave Mannion's favorite? "It's from Ben Hogan," the sophomore rower prefaced.

Penn alum Dr. Arnold Eisen, current chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary, addressed a full audience at Hillel yesterday, offering a sociological perspective on the current state of Judaism. He focused his speech on the importance of youth reinterpretation and redefinition of Jewish history, culture and text.

From class visits by Karl Rove to Los Angeles field trips, the Creative Writing Program plans to kick off the next academic year with an exciting array of new courses. During Dick Polman's journalism course on the 2008 Presidential Election, for example, students with a passion for both writing and politics will have the opportunity to track and critique the news as the election unfolds.

Put on some salsa shoes and get ready for a week-long fiesta. Latino Coalition, the umbrella group for all Latino groups on campus, is organizing the 26th annual Festival Latino from March 30 to April 5. Packed with events designed to entertain and educate the Penn community, Festival Latino is "a way for Latino students to bond and illustrate the diversity and richness of their cultures," said Wharton sophomore and chairman of the Latino Coalition Rami Reyes.

It's not an uncommon scenario. You're waiting in line for the $2.50 egg white sandwich at Bui's Food Truck, and an unshaven man in scruffed-up Timberlands, reeking of stale cigarettes, asks you for change. Sister, can you spare a dime? Will you help a brother out? God bless.