A new U.S. Cultural Diversity requirement for the College of Arts and Sciences's Class of 2012 was unanimously approved at the faculty meeting on Tuesday. The requirement "aims to develop [student] knowledge of the history, dynamic cultural system and heterogeneous populations" of the United States, according to its proposal.

A relaxed atmosphere, class evaluations, maybe some donuts: These are the traits that characterize the last days of class at Penn. But the bar may have been raised yesterday, when Malcolm Gladwell, bestselling author of The Tipping Point and Blink, and rising musical star Kenna appeared on campus to lecture at Sociology professor David Grazian's "Sociology of Media and Pop Culture" class.

It took him eight years to complete, but New York Times sports columnist William Rhoden's new book is starting to make some noise. With a title like Forty Million Dollar Slaves, the buzz would have been impossible to avoid. But at yesterday's "Race and Sports" lecture, sponsored by Penn's Center for Africana Studies, Rhoden proved his book is more than a catchy title.

The controversial application for a new liquor store at 4237 Walnut St. has been denied by the Philadelphia Zoning Board of Adjustment, site owner Daniel DeRitis said yesterday. DeRitis said he will immediately appeal the decision. "We're not going to give up on it," he said.

It's Microsoft. The School of Arts and Sciences and the Wharton School chose Microsoft over the other finalist, Google, to replace the crash-prone Webmail system, with a new service to be called "Penn Live," SAS officials will announce today. The choice comes after a long negotiation process that lasted well past the final Jan.

This year's Spring Fling can't have been that much fun - there were fewer parties busted than ever. But the event has been heralded by University officials as being safer and more sober than previous Flings, meaning thoughts of moving it out of the Quadrangle are likely to be shelved for the time being.

With 25 days to go until graduation, it's time for you to do that one thing that you've always wanted to do, yet have never gotten the chance. For some of you, maybe it's having sex under the button, or it's a five-course meal at Le Bec-Fin. For me, it's writing a column in poetry.

From Vietnamese hoagies - "the new Philly cheesesteak," as one student called them - to buckets of hummus and Chinese egg tarts, tables of food reflected the diversity of Penn's campus. Eighteen minority student groups gathered yesterday afternoon in Bodek Lounge, where the Houston Hall room was abuzz with music and conversation.

Joanne Tong is a Wharton junior from Manila, Philippines. Her e-mail address is tong@dailypennsylvanian.com.

How Penn landed a heralded tennis recruit against all odds - and how one man's questionable dealings helped do it

Three days later, Penn professors, graduate associates and residential advisors are asking themselves what they would have done in a similar situation.

Despite its Ivy League credentials, a Penn education can only go so far; for life's real mysteries, students have to delve deeper.

If only every Penn-Princeton game went this way. Playing against its archrival, the women's lacrosse team won at least a share of its first Ivy League Championship since 1982, beating the No. 15 Tigers 14-10 during Senior Night at Franklin Field. The Quakers can win the league outright with a victory over Brown on Saturday.

When Philadelphians come out to essentially choose their next mayor in May, many Penn students won't be joining them. At least, that's the indication from the Penn Democrats' voter-registration drive. Penn Dems President and Wharton sophomore Clayton Robinson said the organization registered about 300 students this semester, a steep drop-off from the several thousand it registered before the fall midterm elections.

After a year of scavenger hunts and pie-eating contests, the Yen cohort has come out on top. The group claimed the freshmen Cohort Cup yesterday at an end-of-the-year freshmen celebration in Huntsman Hall. This celebration marked the end of the first year of the Undergraduate Cohort program, introduced last fall for the Wharton Business School's Class of 2010 to provide students with better social networks.

Second-year MBA student Daniel Grabell is prepared to test the waters of the newly structured Graduate and Professional Student Assembly. In an election Monday night, Grabell beat out two other contestants, Jamie Ford and Soren Harward, securing the position of GAPSA chairman for the 2007-2008 academic year.

The Quakers have struggled against Princeton, but with Penn riding an eight-game win streak, perhaps the Tigers aren't so sure of themselves anymore.