For Penn's lawns, when it rains, it pours. Even during the heaviest downpours, the University sprinkler system is in full operation - saturating grass that has already been watered by the elements.

Want to block traffic for a good cause this Sunday? Sign up for the AmeriHealth Ben Franklin Bridge Challenge and run or walk across the bridge, which spans the Delaware River. The event benefits the Larc School - a special education school in South Jersey for students with moderate to severe disabilities.

If the battle for control of Congress weren't reason enough for Penn students to flock to the polls for this Tuesday's congressional midterms, here's another: The outcome of the election could significantly affect how they pay for college. Two of the major issues on the table are Pell Grant and Stafford Loan funding for students.

Tim Strickland shocked the Penn faithful last year, picking off quarterback Pat McDermott twice and helping Princeton end almost a decade of football frustration against the Quakers in a 30-13 win. But the 6-foot-1, 190-pound strong safety's performance was no surprise to opposing coaches, who have watched Strickland wreak havoc on Ivy defenses from the moment of his arrival in Old Nassau.

For those looking to celebrate diversity or champion a cause, Penn's calendar offers no shortage of opportunities: This week is Asian Pacific American Heritage Week, two weeks ago was Breast Cancer Awareness Week and next week marks both Unity Week and Muslim Awareness Week - and many more are coming.

Author Joyce Carol Oates says she is always thinking about writing, even when she goes running. "Running is much easier than life," she said. Oates, a National Book Award winner, gave a book reading at the Penn Bookstore yesterday evening. Oates presented her two new books, After the Wreck, I Picked Myself Up, Spread My Wings, and Flew Away and Black Girl/White Girl, to a fairly large audience made up of students, aspiring writers and admirers.

When bottles of Jose Cuervo tequila, corn husks and edible candy skulls adorned with the names of the deceased cover an altar on College Green, it must be the Day of the Dead. Dia de los Muertos, the "Day of the Dead," is typically celebrated on Nov. 2 and is an Aztec-Mexican tradition honoring relatives and mocking death itself.

College students not planning on entering business are left battling midterms while other students pick up job offers.

For College senior Ezra Billinkoff, May 16, 2006, was a day of waiting. And waiting. And more waiting. It was the day of Pennsylvania's primary election, and during Billinkoff's 13 hours serving as an election judge, exactly seven voters came in to Steinberg-Dietrich Hall and gave him a reason to get off his chair and help them vote.

Swimming season starts on Saturday, but Penn has already conceded the title. In fact, the team couldn't care less about who wins the Ivy League crown. Instead of championships, the men are focused on team growth. Coach Mike Schnur knows his team can't beat Top-25 Harvard or defending-champion Princeton, but he is not giving up on the season.

West Philadelphia resident Solange Chadda wants her name on the Pennsylvania ballot for the U.S. Senate race in Pennsylvania - even if it means pushing back this Tuesday's election. Chadda filed a complaint in the Philadelphia District Court against Bob Casey, the Democratic candidate for Senate, and the Board of Elections on Tuesday.

For the last two years, Camden, N.J., has been ranked the most dangerous city in America - but not anymore. This year, Camden is ranked fifth in the annual study by the Morgan Quitno Press, while Philadelphia came in at 29th. The 78,000-person city of Brick Township, N.

Penn recycles only 11 percent of its trash - less than half the next-best Ivy - and the city could save millions with better recycling.

Coach Glen Miller has yet to announce who will be on the floor at tip-off against the University of Texas at El Paso on Nov. 10. "I'm not one to label a starting team too early," Miller said. "There's still a lot of work to be done; we're still implementing the system and making progress there.

Walking around campus last weekend, it would've been difficult to not feel some Quakers pride. Countless red and blue balloons were wrapped around lampposts and hung from buildings. Crowds of alumni - young and old - wandered with smiles around College Green and down Locust Walk as they fondly recalled their warm memories at Penn.

Its location is classified. It costs millions of dollars. And its inhabitants are less than two inches long. The University's Board of Trustees granted about $1.6 million last week to expand the School of Medicine's zebrafish facilities, hundreds of tanks that house thousands of fish - at an undisclosed location.

Penn is getting a new neighbor - the country's premier space for life sciences and technology companies, University City Science Center officials hope. The Science Center is planning an expansion, and last week marked the groundbreaking of a facility at 3711 Market St.