From Stanford to Syracuse, new professors flocked from across the country to teach at Penn this year. But no matter where they come from, the people who get up and lecture to undergraduates each semester have gone through a rigorous selection process and training to meet the University's high standards.

Just 23 minutes into the Penn men's soccer season opener on Friday night, Quakers sophomore Loukas Tasigianis set off a scuffle when he took down Marquette's Matt Stummer . Penn captain John Elicker and Marquette forward Anthony Colaizzi ran in to break it up.

In 15 matches last season, Penn midfielder Natalie Capuano tallied only three goals on 16 shots. But with juniors Jessica Fuccello and Jess Rothenheber - the team's leading scorers last season - absent due to injury, senior captain Capuano stepped up with two goals on Sunday and led the Quakers to a 3-0 win over Robert Morris.

As the Class of 2012 arrives on campus, they will be thrust into a bewildering new environment with little to no operational knowledge. What food trucks to go to (Yue Kee and Magic Carpet), what classes to take (Creative Writing) and where - or more importantly where not - to go within West Philadelphia? As usual, the University has provided information on this last question to incoming freshmen through an imposing presentation of the Penn patrol zone.

The PennCard software is getting its first makeover in six years, but its impact will be felt mainly be PennCard administrators, not card carriers. The new software will mainly help the PennCard office handle what Business Services spokeswoman Barbara Lea-Kruger called "idiosyncratic" situations that come up occasionally.

Because professors select the textbooks students must buy, they are caught in the center of a debate over book prices and industry practices. Experts say professors are increasingly concerned about what students shell out but must balance easing financial burdens with finding high-quality materials that complement their courses.

Total crime on and near campus for both the summer months and the year-to-date is lower than last year. Year-to-date crimes in the Penn patrol zone dropped from 616 reported incidents in 2007 to 579 in 2008, a 6-percent decrease. The summer crime rate showed an even greater drop with a 21-percent decrease in incidents between 2007 and 2008.

Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, a Scranton, Pa., native, is often referred to as "Pennsylvania's third senator" for his strong ties to the state. Last Friday morning, it was obvious why, as the Democratic vice-presidential nominee spoke confidently to nearly 200 invited guests at the Ironworkers Union in Northeast Philadelphia.

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

The new face of Student Health Service is just what the doctor ordered. Thanks to the new facilities at 3535 Market St., SHS can handle more patients any day. The new space more than doubles the number of patient rooms and gives clinicians, nurses, administrative staff and other employees more room to go about their respective business.

With Hurricane Hanna wreaking havoc on the Northeast as the Penn field hockey team readied for its contest against Rutgers, the Quakers had a decision to make. Instead of canceling the game - and likely never facing the Scarlet Knights this year - they opted to play through torrential rain on Saturday.

Builders and developers nationwide are increasingly targeting universities to profit from a fast-selling college product: off-campus housing. By focusing their efforts on selling upscale, mixed-use apartments to the general public, developers have capitalized off the growing demand created by a record number of students enrolling at universities across the country.

What a difference an extra week of preseason makes. With the Ivy League loosening its restrictions on preseason men's soccer practice from seven days to 14 this year, the Quakers appeared confident and ready to embark on their road trip against Marquette and DePaul.

While enticing people to visit a liquor store might not seem like a challenge on a college campus, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board is launching a major effort to get more Pennsylvanians over age 21 to do just that. In the coming year, the PLCB will be re-branding its 621 stores to "create a whole new shopping experience for Pennsylvania consumers," Patrick Stapleton, chairman of the PLCB, said in a statement.

'Donde esta la tortuga?" I would ask my friend. "La Tortuga esta en el agua," she would matter-of-factly reply. Such was the extent of my command of the Spanish language during the three-week trip I took to Spain last summer. For those of you who are similarly unfamiliar with the language, this question-answer phrase is translated as, "Where is the turtle?" "The turtle is in the water.

With the installation of new laundry machines in all of the College Houses, student will no longer need to save up their quarters - laundry will be free for the next two years. Housing Services recently signed a new contract with Equipment Marketers, a commercial laundry equipment distributor based in New Jersey.

No wonder Penn volleyball captain Kathryn Turner is talking about a steep learning curve. Not only does the Ivy League have an abbreviated preseason schedule - a disadvantage against non-conference opponents who have already played matches by now - but the Quakers haven't won a season opener since 2004.