What began as a cross-cultural exchange program during one student's summer eventually inspired a project that will save hundreds of lives, if not more. After volunteering at a hospital in West Africa in the summer of 2006, College senior Kathryn Cunningham founded a non-profit organization that uses solar power to provide the energy and running water the hospital desperately needed.

Who was the first mayor of Philadelphia? Who designed Independence Hall? What influence did Italian Americans have on the city's architecture? While these questions may seem trivial and better left for a history department midterm, many believe they are critical to the story of Philadelphia.

Though international air travel may be increasingly pricey, many Penn students are choosing to fly anyway. According to an analysis of airfare ticket sales conducted by Sabre Airline Solutions - an airline consulting and software distribution firm - the average price of airline tickets purchased for transatlantic flights this spring has increased from last year.

As Penn's admissions officers review applications for the class of 2012, they are finding a handful of essays that seem too polished and mature to have been written by high-school seniors, interim Dean of Admissions Eric Kaplan said. "There are definitely occasions where the writing seems too good to be true," he said.

Over the past 50 years, Dr. Jack Ramsay has been involved at all levels of basketball. Originally a high-school coach, Ramsay moved on to his alma mater Saint Joseph's in 1955. From there he became the Philadelphia 76ers GM, and later their coach. After a four-year stop with the Buffalo Braves, he moved to Portland for the next decade, in 1977 leading the Blazers to their only NBA title.

$542: The maximum monthly food stamp allotment for a family of four. $121.93: The monthly deficit this family would face if it shopped for nutritious goods at the average Philadelphia super market. This was just one of the many stark facts Mariana Chilton of the Drexel University School of Public Health presented in her seminar "Hunger in Philadelphia? Evidence of Food Insecurity in the Midst of an Obesity Epidemic" yesterday at Houston Hall.

Bad calls are an unfortunate but ubiquitous aspect of most athletic competitions. But in some college sports - such as tennis and squash - opponents traditionally officiate each other, making bad calls even harder to swallow. Brandon O'Gara, a senior co-captain of the Penn men's tennis team, estimates that cheating occurs about a couple of times each match.

The Graduate School of Education's recent drop in U.S. News and World Report rankings will require Penn to increase its focus on research, which could potentially jeopardize partnerships with local schools. In the past year, GSE has fallen from seventh to 11th in the U.

Eric Furda won't be making any decisions about the class of 2012, but is already planning how the class of 2013 will interact with Penn. On Monday, Furda, who was appointed Penn's next dean of admissions in January, began his transitional role as a special assistant to the president.

Last week, I went to my commencement. Or at least I'm pretending I did. It was everything I wanted in a great graduation speech. A famous, influential speaker. Inspiring rhetoric. I left with a sense that no matter what I set my mind to, I would be able to change the world.

A place that most students haven't heard of will soon become the site of the greenest building owned by Penn. The Horticulture Center at the Morris Arboretum, a project that could cost up to $11 million to be completed, is currently being designed by a team of architectural firms from around the country.

Although Penn raised more money than ever before last year, a recent report reflects that its fundraising has fallen slightly behind compared to its peers. According to an annual report published by the Council for Aid to Education in late February, Penn ranked seventh out of over 1,023 universities in total charitable fundraising for 2007.

The decimated women's softball team was only able to keep it together for so long. Already at only 14 players, the roster was further whittled down to 11 thanks to illness and exams before yesterday's doubleheader at Delaware. In fact, the situation was so dire that King rang up Penn soccer midfielder Natalie Capuano - who last played softball in high school - to temporarily join the team.

Beneath Penn's Upper Quad greens, through an extensive, underground network of hidden tunnels, stands Ware College House Dean Nathan Smith. These low-ceiling, secret passageways, which Smith describes as "bizarre," are just one of Smith's discoveries from his time spent living in the Quad.

For far too long college students have avoided the political process, neglecting their right to vote. This theme is old and tired, but true. In 2004, only a bit more than 40 percent of 18-to-24-year olds voted in the presidential election. Nevertheless, as statistics start to roll in from yesterday's primaries in Texas and Ohio, the national media will remind us once more this election season that young Americans are finally voting.

Universities around the country have long struggled with how to best meet the needs of minority groups. Case in point: the controversy over single-sex exercise facilities. While some religious groups have requested such spaces, Harvard's policy of shutting off an entire gym for female-only exercise is both unnecessary and unreasonable.

Alicia Puglionesi is a College junior from Havertown, Pa. Her e-mail address is puglionesi@dailypennsylvanian.com.