Look at an aerial photo of Philadelphia and you will see a dark line that starts just north of Girard Avenue and snakes to the southwest, where it veers away from SEPTA’s Ninth Street viaduct and branches into two. One track curves west and heads out (mostly underground) to the Schuylkill River and Fairmount Park, while the other turns south, terminating abruptly at Vine Street.

REPORTING/A witness to genocide wrestles with the moral questions it raises

The first class of American Rhodes Scholars enrolled at Oxford University 100 years ago. Since then, Penn has won very few of the prestigious scholarships compared to its Ivy siblings—15 as opposed to Harvard’s 300, for instance.

A 21st birthday used to represent a significant milestone in every American’s life. Not only could you get into bars legally, it was presumed that you had left adolescence behind, achieved psychological maturity and were ready to take on adult responsibilities. “That no longer applies completely,” according to Frank F. Furstenberg, Zellerbach Family Professor of Sociology.

The folks in Iowa and New Hampshire have had their say on who the Democrats should choose as their presidential candidate. Unfortunately, we Pennsylvanians don’t get our say until late in the spring, by which time the nomination is usually in the bag. So we thought we’d offer you a chance to cast your straw vote now, while the prize is still up for grabs.

Two dynamic speakers from two generations with two very different life experiences took the podium in Huntsman Hall Auditorium on January 13 to speak about race in America.

On a crisp sunny Sunday morning in January, the Franklin Institute forecast said the temperature outside was 18 degrees Fahrenheit. On a day like this even a miserable klutz’s thoughts can turn to ice skating.

No one is quite sure why ivy became synonymous with academia, but we know when Penn’s ivy traditions began—in 1873, the year the University moved to West Philadelphia. If early photographs are accurate, the campus looks barren and windswept and the urge to plant the evergreen vine, genus Hedera, seems inspired.

A survey released by the Modern Language Association in November reported a boom in interest in Arabic studies by college students around the country. “That certainly reflects our experience,” said Roger Allen, professor of Arabic studies and comparative literature and director of the Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business. “We have seen a 92 percent increase.

BY ELAINE WILNER