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From the Muslim Students Association, and sponsored by the UA:

The Philadelphia community is warmly invited to this year’s 9-11 Ramadan Banquet. Please join us for an evening of remembrance as we celebrate an organization that has truly improved our country since 9-11. The event is on Friday September 11th at 6pm in Hall of Flags. Dinner will be served to all who attend.

Details below the jump:

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After a semester of work, and the sponsorship of the Vice-Provost of University Life, the Office of the Provost, and College House and Academic Services, the UA is very proud to announce that this NSO will feature no less than 14 great new night-time activities, run by student groups. Open to freshmen and upperclassmen, these activities will run on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday night of NSO!

The activities include:

Friday, 9/4, from 11pm

Philomathean Society (Philo Halls, 4th floor College Hall, access at East Entrance opposite Fisher Fine Arts)
Join the Philomathean Society, Penn’s oldest student organization and the nation’s oldest collegiate literary society, for an evening of gentle madness, thrilling conversation, impromptu executions, and light refreshments.

Daily Pennsylvanian (DP Office, 4015 Walnut)
Come have desert with the editors and managers of The Daily Pennsylvanian, the daily campus newspaper, and 34th Street, the weekly arts and entertainment magazine. Learn more about joining our staffs, careers in journalism and how Daily Pennsylvanian, Inc., runs.

Muslim Student Association (McClelland Hall in the Quad)
Attention all teetotal freshman – and those who just want to have an amazing Friday night they’ll actually remember! Join the Muslim Student Association for fun, laughs, and a gratuitous amount of exotic Senegalese food and desserts! Come and mingle with your fellow classmates as well as some wise upperclassmen – and compete in a Taboo & Wii tournament!

Penn Environmental Group (College Green)
Come roast marshmallows over fire pits, make s’mores, and listen to (and play) music against the backdrop of stunning images from Planet Earth with the Penn Environmental Group, the umbrella environmental and sustainability group on campus, at their Campfire on the Green!

Queer Student Alliance (LGBT Center)
Come play Queer Quizzo for fabulous prizes at the LGBT Center and snack on Insomnia Cookies all night long. After the competition, stick around for some Guitar Hero and a midnight screening of Were the World Mine, a gay film festival favorite. All are welcome, not just LGBT students! Bring your friends!

Saturday, 9/5, from 10pm

“A Late Night in Houston Hall”
All of these events are in Houston Hall, where PennFest was Friday night!

Penn Student Government (Reading Room, to the west of the main entrance)
Learn about serving your peers while we serve you dessert at the first Penn Student Government mixer. Meet the CEOs of all of government branches, learn how you can join them, and win fabulous prizes!

Latino Coalition (Houston Bistro, to the east of the main entrance)
Dance the night away to a live salsa band accompanying some hot Latin steps performed by Latino Coalition dance groups, with free Latino food!

Panhellenic Council (Perelman Quad)
Interested in Greek life at Penn? The Panhellenic Council, the umbrella group for Penn’s sororities is hosting a nighttime carnival filled with free food, fun and festivities like balloon darts, pie-a-frat-guy and cupcake decorating. Learn about the Greek system at Penn by speaking with some of our members and discovering what other events Panhellenic will be hosting prior to spring recruitment.

Latin and Ballroom Dance (Hall of Flags)
Penn Latin & Ballroom Dance will be presenting a performance showcase of classy ballroom and latin pieces, followed by free Rumba and Tango lessons, where everyone will be taught to dance like the stars! Afterwards, we will be holding a general social mixer, with food provided. Come out and DANCE!

Penn Alumni Student Society (Bodek Lounge)
To welcome the incoming class of 2013, Penn Alumni Student Society (PASS) will host “PASSport to Philly,” a Philadelphia themed night. We will show the movie Rocky which is based in Philadelphia and have classic Philadelphia foods. Also, students can join the raffle for a $50 Steven Starr gift certificate!

Sunday 9/5, from 9.30pm

Hillel (at Hillel)
Hillel’s open late to flip up some fun and satisfy your after-hours cravings with hot-off-the-griddle pancakes topped with strawberries, blueberries, chocolate chips, syrup, and whipped cream. Make it Sunday’s night big event or stop by on your way back to the dorms for good food, better company, and the perfect ending to your first weekend at Penn.

After receiving complaints from student groups whose reservations for Perelman Quad spaces (which includes Houston Hall, Williams Hall, and the ARCH) were “bumped” for other groups, the UA launched an investigation into the reservations process.

The UA passed a resolution on reservations, accepted by the Vice-Provost of University Life, which:

• Mandated the Student Government Info Session be given priority access to the Cohen Auditorium,
• Insisted that Perelman Quad not “upgrade” room reservations without prior notice and consent of groups booking rooms. Once a room is assigned, barring priority-order conflicts, that room should not be reassigned.
• In the case of reassignments, the UA asked VPUL Facilities to not reassign any room assigned to a student group without notifying the affected groups at least sixteen (16) calendar days in advance of the booking.
• Ensured that notice of early bookings for the next academic year (usually made available in March) be communicated to the UA and to SAC and distributed widely to the undergraduate population.

These policies are slated to go into effect in Fall 2009.

The UA is confident that in the next year at least one new late-night dining facility will open around campus.

Unfortunately, owing to Philadelphia’s high crime rate, it’s very difficult for dining facilities to remain open late at night. Most recently, we saw this when the 24-hour Philly Diner on 39th and Walnut, having been the site of a fatal shooting over Winter Break in 2005 and most recently another shooting this past Spring, agreed to close its doors at 1am Sunday to Wednesday and at 2am on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

With Philly Diner’s closure, only very few vendors, such as Wawa, McDonalds and the Fresh Grocer, serve food on campus after 1am. Less than a day after the early closure deal was announced, the UA began to forcefully lobby for additional late-night options.

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