Yamini Nabar

Penn is full of noteworthy initiatives. But we would like to highlight one in particular: Penn Dining and Bon Appetit’s efforts to work with students to implement a food recovery program.Starting this fall, our dining services providers, Penn Dining and Bon Appetit, will establish a program that transfers food unable to be consumed at dining halls to a local hunger relief agency.

Students who frequent Houston Market found a new addition to the site this year — large shadowboxes above the recycle and landfill bins that help direct trash to the proper location by displaying example objects for each bin.

Under the new system, students will form groups of one to four students and submit their applications together under the name of a group captain. They will select their rooms through a new online housing portal — My Home at Penn — set to launch on Dec. 5.

Until Nov. 20, the Power Down Challenge, an effort by the Green Campus Partnership and student Eco-Reps, will encourage students to conserve energy. Students from the college houses will be challenged to reduce their house’s electrical energy consumption by at least 5 percent.

Upon returning from Thanksgiving break, students will find construction on Locust Walk complete.

Since Penn Park’s opening over a month ago, the University community has been using the space for athletic practices, student-run events and general recreation. TOPICS: Penn Park

Bon Appétit and students in the academically based community service and Fox Leadership class “The Politics of Food” coordinated Food Week to explore the nature of food in America.

A recent study conducted by psychologist Reynol Junco and published in Computers in Human Behavior shows that “time spent on Facebook is a strong negative predictor of overall college GPA.”

Beginning Friday, College Houses and Academic Services is offering students the opportunity to submit ideas for residential programs that they wish to participate in.

Construction on Shoemaker Green, a new 2.75-acre public commons next to David Rittenhouse Laboratory, began in September and will be completed next fall.