As wrestling coach Zeke Jones put it, the Quakers will be spending Thanksgiving "training and eating turkey" as they prepare to take on some of the nation's top teams this weekend. Coming off of a second-place finish at the Keystone Classic last Sunday, No.

Penn women's basketball coach Pat Knapp knew that defense was the key to stopping La Salle's Crista Ricketts. As it turned out, merely good defense wasn't enough, as the Explorers came away with a deserved 73-63 win over the Quakers at the Palestra. "She gets too many calls," Knapp said of the Explorers' star forward, adding that defenders need only to "breathe on her" to be called for a foul.

Professors cancel today's classes because of absences, but that's not their choice to make - we're footing the bill.

As holiday mascots go, Christmas has Santa Claus, Valentine's Day has Cupid and New Student Orientation has Troy Majnerick.

Philadelphia deserves a full-time congressman.

Nelson Pavlovsky says culture should come from the bottom up - and that intellectual property rights keep it from happening. Pavlovsky, a Swarthmore College undergraduate and founder of FreeCulture.org, gave a talk before a small number of students and faculty in the Class of 1938 Lounge in Kings Court/English House yesterday.

Glen Miller may be a newcomer to the Big 5, but the "other" bastion of Philadelphia college hoops is giving him plenty to worry about. With a 97-74 whooping of Division II Florida Gulf Coast still fresh in their minds, Miller's Quakers (2-2) tip off tonight against Drexel (2-0), a team now on the rise after showing only intermittent brilliance last year.

When you enter the Palestra and look above the east basket, you see flags representing the Big 5 schools. While Penn has created great rivalries with Villanova, Saint Joseph's, Temple and La Salle, it is the Philadelphia school without a flag that Penn should have its greatest rivalry with.

W. E. B. Du Bois, a co-founder of the NAACP, once taught classes at Penn. But until now, the University never had a chapter of its own. Having elected a board and amassed more than the 25 dues-paying members required to form a chapter, Penn's branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, a civil-rights group, recently held its first public meeting.

The Quakers men's basketball team posted a solid 68-49 win over Drexel tonight at the Palestra. Strong defense on both sides led to a multutude of turnovers for each team, but the Quakers were able to pull away early in the second half, and never trailed in the game.

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

Travelers everywhere this Thanksgiving can anticipate fare hikes, heavy traffic, long lines and lots of red tape as a precursor to turkey and mashed potatoes.

A huge part of the allure of college basketball is the opportunity for players to display their talent on a national stage and go up against the best in the country. That's what guard Dominick Mejia intended to do when he went to NC State in 2002, and he finally did last year when he lit up Duke for 25 points in a near-upset.

Misplaced loyalty To the Editor: Adam Cohen's column ("The future is bright for a Democratic America," DP, 11/16/06) is laced with the same brand of ignorance and partisan rhetoric that permeates contemporary politics in America. First, he lists recent ethics scandals - interestingly omitting Democratic ones.

Asian applicants are incredibly successful at gaining spots at top colleges - so why complain?

Democrats looking to add another seat to their Election Day victory should brace themselves for disappointment - Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter is sticking with the GOP.

For the second time in five days University officials have released a security warning to students, this time involving one crime adjacent to campus and three just east of campus. The second security warning, released earlier today, comes after a series of four incidents which may be connected.