Bianca Gonzalez

Have you ever dreamed of breaking into the performing arts industry? Five alumni have done just that and shared their experiences with students yesterday at the Platt Student Performing Arts House 2008 Alumni Performing Arts Career Symposium. The five College alumni panelists featured included David Hilder '89, Gabriel Mann '95, Eduardo Placer '99, Lillian Ringel '07 and Jennifer Weber '00.

Houston Hall in the early 1980s was home to more than just study rooms and a cafe. It was also home to the first Steve and Barry's retail store. Barry Prevor, a Wharton alumni who is the co-founder and co-chief executive officer of the retail chain Steve and Barry's, spoke to students yesterday at Steinberg-Dietrich Hall as part of the Jay H.

Next time you watch Meet the Parents, the lie detector test used on Ben Stiller will be out of date - some companies are now replacing the old polygraphs with new imaging techniques. Yesterday Paul Wolpe, chief bioethicist for NASA, senior fellow of the Penn Center for Bioethics and Sociology professor, spoke to students about emerging brain imaging technology and the underlying ethical and legal implications of these innovations.

Family, food, Black Friday and traffic jams are just some of the things commonly affiliated with Thanksgiving. Beyond that, though, the upcoming holiday has a long history dating back to the first American settlers. Attendees of "Thanksgiving 101," a lecture held at the Graduate Student Center yesterday, learned about the historical origins of Thanksgiving and the facts and fictions behind the holiday.

Penn students did not generally express enthusiasm for the Social Planning and Events Committee's choice to have Ben Kweller as the headlining fall performer, but those who attended the concert would beg to differ.

Thanks to the recent opening of the Jean Madeline Aveda Institute, students can get pampered on a budget.

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell made an appearance at Penn's School of Nursing last Friday to sign five bills as part of his Prescription for Pennsylvania health-care reform package. This legislation will directly broaden the scope of nursing practice in Pennsylvania and aims to curb soaring health-care costs while making care more accessible to low income individuals and families.

Books and bikes? While it may seem like an unlikely combination, two activists in a '70s style mini-bus are taking their cause national. The multi-colored bus that houses Books on Wheels was on Penn's campus last Sunday at Saint Mary's Episcopal Church for a community event called Bike Church.

So you think you can dance? With the recent surge in popularity of shows such as Dancing with the Stars and So you think you can dance?, Penn Latin and Ballroom Dance is catering to student interest this summer and is heating up Houston Hall with its own repertoire of moves.

For many students the only exposure they have to Japanese culture is sushi and anime, but this summer rising College junior Aya Nakanishi is immersing herself deep into that nation's customs. Nakanishi, along with rising College senior Gurpreet Kalra, is about to embark on a month-long journey to Japan to participate in the 59th Japan-America Student Conference.