New School protest may reflect resurgence of student activism

Student activism may not be dead. Last Friday, about 30 student and local activists staged an occupation at a buidling slated for demolition at The New School in New York City. The protest followed a similar lock-in at The New School in December, a student occupation at NYU in February and the many meetings and rallies that accompanied them.

SLAP still pushing for Penn action in labor dispute

On March 13, three Penn students associated with the Student Labor Action Project returned early from spring break to attend their much-anticipated meeting with Executive Vice President Craig Carnaroli and an executive from HEI, a hotel-management corporation with ties to the University.

Students ask Penn to flex muscle in unionization debate

In economic and business classes across campus, students learn about labor as an abstraction, as a commodity, as something to be traded on the market. But for Peter Ho and three other hotel workers who spoke last week with a group of students, faculty and staff, labor is deeply personal.

Perspective | Structuring the problem: from streets to shelters

In Philadelphia, poverty often means death. At last count, more than 90 homeless men and women - a group that represents some of Philadelphia's most marginalized citizens - died on the streets in 2008. They died of exposure. disease and a lack of both service and support.

Students take sides in Gaza crisis | With interactive feature

As Gaza burned and violence by Hamas and the Israeli Defense Force added to the mounting death toll of the current conflict in the Middle East, Penn students gathered on Locust Walk and College Green yesterday in protest, solidarity or both. They carried signs: "End the Genocide in Gaza"; "Israel We Stand with You"; "Zionism=Racism"; "Free the Palestinians from Hamas.

On the Campaign Trail | Eight years later, still committed to Clinton's cause

When he was 13 years old, David Helfenbein fell head-over-heels in love - political love, that is - with Hillary Clinton. It all began on a fateful day eight years ago when Clinton came to speak at the now-College senior's middle school in Chappaqua, New York.

Students fight for security guard rights

Don't let anyone tell you student activism is dead. Students involved in last week's victory for AlliedBarton security guards at Temple would say they proved the contrary. The security company granted its Temple guards up to three days' paid sick leave after coming under pressure from a coalition of its employees, Temple students and local activists.

Rap for a cause - keeping alumni in Philly

In its continual effort to keep young talent in Philadelphia, city officials are turning to an unlikely source this weekend - hip-hop star Talib Kweli. This Saturday, Campus Philly is hosting its annual kick-off event at the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, with live performances by Kweli and other artists and free access for college students to 11 museums across the city.

Deep in West Philly, it's help on jobs, taxes

West Philadelphia resident Latisha Turnage needed help. At 26, she had no job, no house, no education and no prospects. Her mother Tracy told her to go to a small office building at 61st Street and Osage Avenue, the local home of National Student Partnerships .

You threw up in my restaurant? That'll be 50 bucks

The management of El Azteca was fed up with the vomit, the dining and dashing and the missing sombreros - all symptoms of having a drunken, college-age clientele. So the famous -or perhaps notorious - margarita-making restaurant at 7th and Chestnut streets took action last December.

Vacant lots start bearing fruit

Paul Glover says cities are like armies, and Philadelphia is camped way too far from its sources of supply - the average ingredient in a Philadelphia meal comes from 1,500 miles away.

A fresh coat of paint goes a long way

First impressions are everything. And the crumbly, paint-chipped, 15-year-old signs that once stood above Spruce, Walnut and Chestnut streets were not very impressive. The signs, looming over a few of the main gateways to Penn's campus and University City, were an unattractive welcome for freshmen coming to the University for the first time.

New concerns over local bridge

Is the South Street Bridge falling down? The question is on the minds of Philadelphia residents, Penn students and local officials, especially in the wake of the fatal Aug. 1 rush hour collapse of the heavily traveled Interstate Highway 35 West bridge in Minnesota.

Penn ordered to pay $4 million in lawsuit

In a decision last Friday by a Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas jury, Penn was ordered to pay Mark Helpin, a former Penn faculty member, more than $4 million in a workplace dispute centering around a dental clinic he helped start up. Helpin, a dentist, was employed at the University from 1989 to 2003, during which time he helped to found a dental clinic that specialized in treating special-needs children.

Stay young and hip even longer

From Botox and plastic surgery to red sports cars and Rogaine, it seems everybody wants to be younger. And while science has not uncovered a method to prevent aging altogether, stem cell scientists at Penn recently uncovered new information that may be useful in slowing down the aging process.

Some people wish they could stay at college forever.

Some people love college to death. And now a growing number of colleges and universities have found a never-ending way to return the love. A recent trend has hit higher education, with more and more institutions offering their alumni the opportunity to reside for eternity on campus grounds.

A healthy expansion for healthier foods

The farmer's market at 36th and Walnut streets is getting bigger and better - and it's all natural, of course. On May 23, the market will add two vendors to its collection: Metropolitan Bakery and Pumpkin Ridge Farms. These vendors will provide baked goods and cut flowers, respectively, according to Andrew Zitcer.

Honoring Native American culture

When Rosita Worl was born, she was sent to live with her grandparents in Alaska in order to learn about her Native American heritage. But when she was six, this "good life" ended. "I was literally kidnapped," said Worl, the grandmother of College senior Rico Worl and a professor at the University of Alaska Southeast.

Korean students worry about Cho backlash

When College freshman Alex Lee learned that an Asian was responsible for the 32 deaths at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, one thought crossed his mind: "I hope he's not Korean." Speaking about Cho Seung-Hui, a 23-year-old Korean who committed the massacre, Lee was one of many Koreans and Korean Americans who expressed unease with being associated with Cho's racial identity.

A myriad of cultures assemble at Houston Hall

From Vietnamese hoagies - "the new Philly cheesesteak," as one student called them - to buckets of hummus and Chinese egg tarts, tables of food reflected the diversity of Penn's campus. Eighteen minority student groups gathered yesterday afternoon in Bodek Lounge, where the Houston Hall room was abuzz with music and conversation.