You'll have to forgive Lauren Sadaka for feeling a little long in the tooth. She is, after all, the only member of the Penn women's tennis team who can legally drink. Indeed, with her squad about to open its fall campaign at this weekend's Princeton Invitational, Sadaka - the Quakers' lone senior on a roster of nine - has spent the season's early stages honing her skills as elder stateswoman.

Concerns over bisphenol-A - the chemical found in Nalgene bottles and other plastic goods - has sparked nationwide-debate over its safety for consumer use. Since concerns over the chemical surfaced this spring, universities have been paying attention to any possible risks.

Whatever the Golden Eagles said during a fifth-set timeout paid off, as they rattled off three straight points en route to winning the set, 15-13, and the opening match of the Florida International Invitational. From there, it was all downhill for the Red and Blue. They didn't win a single set the rest of the way, getting swept by both FIU and Central Florida.

On the surface, there are two great barriers awaiting the Penn women's soccer team tonight against Villanova, its opening game in this weekend's Penn Invitational. First, the big, round zero at the end of the Wildcats' 2008 record (5-0) is waiting for the Quakers - just like it was leading into last year's 4-0 Penn loss.

Mayor Michael Nutter announced "Philadelphia's Education Promise" - his plan to improve the city's education system - last night before a crowded auditorium at South Philadelphia High School. The speech outlined Nutter's plans to involve the entire Philadelphia community in working toward goals that include decreasing the drop out rate and increasing college enrollment.

Athletes weren't the only members of Penn's community participating in the Olympics last month in Beijing. Three of Penn's chefs and food coordinators worked with 250 other employees of Aramark, Penn Dining's official partner, to serve 3.5 million meals during the Olympics and Paralympics this August.

Coming off a tough 3-2 loss at the hands of rival Villanova Friday after leading 2-0, the women's soccer team was angry going into Sunday's game against East Carolina. Instead of letting their emotions get the better of them, the Quakers used their intensity to dominate the Pirates from the opening whistle.

As the men's golf team starts its 2008 fall campaign this weekend, there will be some fresh faces for the Quakers. They travel to Annapolis, Md., to compete in the Navy Fall Invitational and its par-71 USNA Golf Course. First, the team lost captain Dean Merrill to graduation; he's currently looking to compete at the professional level.

Alex Jacobson is a College junior from Los Angeles. Her e-mail address is jacobson@dailypennsylvanian.com.

A chance to explore public-service jobs To the Editor: Thanks to Julie Steinberg for calling attention to the career opportunities in government and public service in her column, "Preparing for Boomsday." To help Penn students learn more about these opportunities, we are hosting our third-annual Policy and Government Career Fair on Friday, Oct.

Some students and University officials are praising a move to discourage tray use in campus dining halls, but others are finding it difficult to adjust. In an effort to reduce food waste and conserve energy, trays in the dining halls are no longer easily accessible, though officials say they are still available.

Sitting in the audience at Freshman Performing Arts Night, many of the bits rattled me. The acts and the actors, the songs and the singers impressed me, but all the humor centering on having sex and having money left me quite uncomfortable. I'm not a prude, and I don't possess such a sophisticated sense of humor that I can't enjoy my peers' performances.

Yarimar Rosa has already received international acclaim for her volleyball prowess. At the ripe age of 15, the outside hitter played for the Puerto Rican National Team, and one year later, became captain on its under-18 squad. Now, she's a junior at Florida International University, which hosts a four-school tournament this weekend.

Val Cloud has lost plenty of recruits to William & Mary over the years. Indeed, a rising freshman spurned the Penn field hockey coach to play for Tribe. Cloud has returned the favor - tapping the high-school pipeline for talent that had considered the Williamsburg, Va.

Information Systems and Computing has reconfigured Penn's wireless settings. ISC has remodeled the available wireless networks on campus, consolidating older networks and creating new ones to provide better access and support. Prior to this summer, AirPennNet, AirSAS, AirSEAS and Wireless-PennNet were all wireless networks available in specific areas around campus.

During freshman year, I decided to audition for CityStep, an organization under the Civic House umbrella that provides an extra-curricular dance program for several elementary schools in the West Philadelphia area. Imagine my surprise when I found out halfway into my service at the Harrity school that because of a piece of legislation passed in the spring of 2007, the school district would be requiring all volunteers to undergo criminal background checks and fingerprint testing by the FBI.

Despite a new dean, Penn's major undergraduate admissions policies and initiatives have remained intact. Early decision enrollment and Exploring College Options have become standard admissions programs at Penn, and according to Dean of Admissions Eric Furda - who took over the position in July - both are here to stay.