Student Life | March 20, 2009

Transcription

Student Life | March 20, 2009
INSIDE
PARK + TAYBEAR
NAT’L CHAMP!
ANNOUNCING: SPRING WILD ’09!
South Park review in Cadenza today, and the
creator of renowned ‘Taybear’ comes to Wash. U.
Junior Alex Beyer
wins NCAA 400-yard
IM, in Sports today.
The Black Keys
PAGES 7 & 10
plus
T he Cool Kids - Kid Cudi - Filligar
PAGE 6
STUDENT LIFE
the independent newspaper of Washing ton Universit y in St . L ouis since eighteen sevent y-eight
www.studlife.com
Vol. 130 No. 68
FOREVER IN BLUE JEANS
Friday, March 20, 2009
Wrighton: financial aid
endowment ‘relatively
modest’ compared to peers
Board of trustees
solidifies Plan for
Excellence
Ben Sales
Senior News Editor
MATT MITGANG | STUDENT LIFE
Freshmen Alannah Glickman and Kathleen Brophy browse the merchandise at Delta Gamma’s Charity Denim Event.
All proceeds from the event go to Service for Sight, a charity benefiting individuals with impared vision.
University expands latenight dining options
Washington University dedicates
a lower percentage of its available
endowment funds to financial aid in
comparison to peer institutions, according to Chancellor Mark Wrighton.
The University, however, will
be increasing its commitment to financial aid in light of the economic
downturn.
Financial aid and its role in endowment spending were two of several topics discussed at a three-day
meeting of the University’s board
of trustees the week before spring
break. The main topic of conversation at the meeting, which took place
at the board members’ expense at a
retreat center in Arizona, was the
Plan for Excellence, the University’s 12-year plan to improve the
University on several fronts.
The University’s previous strategic plan, Plan 21, was formulated
in 1993 and culminated in construc-
tion of the Danforth University Center this year.
Expanding financial aid
Securing the University’s financial situation, with a focus on financial aid, is one of five components
of the Plan for Excellence.
Following a 25 percent drop in
the endowment last year, Wrighton
told Student Life that the University’s spending power is constrained
and that donors determine much of
the endowment’s spending.
“We have to work with what we
See FIN. AID, page 8
Team 31: Black Keys to
headline spring W.I.L.D.
Sophie Adelman and
Dan Woznica
News Staff
Eaters across campus can rejoice
now as Dining Services has expanded
its late-night offerings at the Danforth
University Center.
Dining Services has extended the
hours of the Trattoria Verde and DeliciOSO eateries in the Danforth University Center (DUC) Dains Dining Hall
until 10 p.m. on weekdays to provide
students with a greater variety of eating
options for a longer period of the day.
“We’ve done the reviews and we’ve
done focus groups and we’ve talked to
dining committees, and we’ve found
that there’s definitely a need for latenight food,” said Nadeem Siddiqui,
resident district manager for Dining
Services.
Trattoria Verde will serve pizza by
the slice and Caesar salads from Monday to Friday, and DeliciOSO will offer
Latino and vegetarian cuisine all week.
“We looked at what was popular
at nighttime and what students would
MATT MITGANG | STUDENT LIFE
Trattoria Verde and DeliciOSO in the DUC will now be open until 10 p.m. on
weekdays.
like,” Siddiqui said. “With those two
choices we can offer different vegetarian meals and other healthy options and
give more of a variety of food to students.”
Although the 1853 Diner will no
longer be open past 3 p.m. and will be
closed on weekends, its sweet potato
fries, among other dishes, will still be
available for students.
DeliciOSO will be serving most
items from the 1853 Diner after 3 p.m.
and will be open on weekends from
noon to 8 p.m.
See DINING, page 8
MCT CAMPUS
Team 31 and Eleven Magazine released the lineup for spring W.I.L.D. early Friday morning. The Black Keys,
pictured above, a folk-rock duo from Akron, Ohio, will headline the event. The Cool Kids, a hip-hop group from the
Chicago area, along with Kid Cudi and Filligar will open the concert, to be held on April 24. Team 31 hopes that the
mix of rock and hip-hop in this semester’s event will appeal to a broader range of students’ musical tastes. Eleven
Magazine will feature the Black Keys in its upcoming issue. Check www.studlife.com for full coverage of the lineup.
GlobeMed focuses on global
McCaskill hires WU
grad as new media chief health and travels to Uganda
David Messenger
Staff Reporter
Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.,
hired Washington University graduate Sam Drzymala just over two
weeks ago to be her new media
coordinator.
The move is part of a wave of
lawmakers who are looking to hire
new media consultants in response
to an increase of politicians using
new media technology to advance
their electoral prospects.
Drzymala, class of 2006, was a
political science major.
New media is a term that refers
to the emergence of modern communication technology. According
to Drzymala, new media has drastically altered politics.
“New media is another tool
in the arsenal,” Drzymala said.
“Making things more available to
the public is definitely something
that will change politics. Very little information was put up before.
Congress’ role is now relatively
more open.”
Drzymala’s
responsibilities
include forming and building an
online presence for McCaskill. He
®
has been charged with improving
and increasing the opportunity for
constituents to communicate with
their senator.
According to Drzymala, his
position is intended to strengthen
the ties that bind McCaskill with
her constituents.
“She’s very interested in technology,” Drzymala said. “My role
as facilitator is intended to help
her learn tools in her goal of being
a better representative.”
Fellow lawmakers share McCaskill’s goals.
“Every politician wants to develop a reputation for finding creative way to communicate with
voters,” Professor of Political Science Steven Smith said. “When
there is a new technology, it is not
too surprising that an ambitious
politician would seek to exploit
it.”
McCaskill was declared to be
the most active user of the micro-blogging Web site Twitter in
Congress. Despite her desire to
add transparency to congressional politics, McCaskill frequently
posts items that are not related to
goings-on in Washington. Earlier
this week, she listed a recipe for a
One Brookings Drive #1039
#330 Danforth University Center
St. Louis, MO 63130-4899
Lauren Olens
Staff Reporter
MATT MITGANG | STUDENT LIFE
Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.)
speaks at a press conference in
Whitaker Hall on Saturday afternoon
about the expected impact of the
Economic Recovery bill.
spinach soup.
“One of the most important
things is authenticity,” Drzymala
said. “Constituents want to know
See McCASKILL, page 8
Newsroom: (314) 935-5995
Advertising: (314) 935-6713
Fax: (314) 935-5938
Seeking to educate students on
global health issues, a Washington
University international health organization and other school service groups
will sponsor Global Health Week on
campus next week.
Each day will focus on one aspect
of the global health situation, beginning with a look at HIV and AIDS on
Monday in the Danforth University
Center, where students will be able to
study the lives of HIV patients in the
developing world. Tuesday will focus
on pharmaceutical companies and access to medicine.
Kim Bouldin-Jones, a health educator who has worked in Africa and
South America on HIV and for universities on sexually transmitted diseases,
will discuss sanitation and clean water
on Wednesday.
The week will finish with programming on tobacco epidemiology
on Thursday, and hunger and poverty
on Friday.
The week is cosponsored by
GlobeMed, a student and faculty
group focused on international health
issues, and other service groups like
Editor: editor@studlife.com
News: news@studlife.com
Calendar: calendar@studlife.com
Keep a Child Alive and Wash. U.
HIV Outreach Prevention Education
(H.O.P.E.).
Juniors Evan Blank and Anupam
Kumar formed a GlobeMed chapter at
the University last spring because they
saw that the University did not have
a global health-related student group.
GlobeMed is a national collegiate
organization that originated at Northwestern University.
“We really saw [that] there’s this
growing interest, and we really wanted
to capture some of that passion and do
amazing things with it,” Kumar said.
“There really wasn’t any type of
mechanism or any type of group for
students interested in global health.
So GlobeMed is a unique way for undergrads to engage in global health,”
Blank said.
GlobeMed has 18 chapters across
the United States.
“What’s really powerful is that
we’re not just working on campus
by ourselves but we’re also working
across the nation with other students,
exchanging ideas,” Kumar said.
Although GlobeMed is a national
organization, each chapter chooses its
own non-governmental organization
as a GlobeMed chapter affiliate.
More than 40 members and eight
www.studlife.com
executive members belong to the
Washington University chapter of
GlobeMed. These students and faculty
partnered with the Uganda Health and
Development Associates, as part of a
project for a long-term impact on Eastern Uganda.
Run by local volunteers, the Uganda Health and Development Associates concentrates on high-risk persons
such as youth, pregnant women and
mothers.
This summer, four members of
GlobeMed will travel to Uganda and
help locals set up a youth clinic.
“These local Ugandans are all volunteers working to improve the health
of their community and I saw that
this was really powerful,” Blank said.
“They’ re working to use their skills to
really help people who are most vulnerable to disease.”
The group hopes to implement
income-generating projects at the center for the girls and a soccer project for
the boys. According to Blank, students
will be the most appropriate workers
for these projects.
“A lot of public health stuff is behavioral change, and young people
will be best and want to learn and are
See GLOBEMED, page 8
Please
Recycle
2 STUDENT LIFE | NEWS
News Editor / Ben Sales / news@studlife.com
THE FLIPSIDE
eventcalendar
newsbriefs
FRIDAY 20
Conference hosts the “Federal Budget
and Tax Policy for a Sound Fiscal
Future”
DUC Orchid Room, 8:30 a.m.
Hosted by the School of Law Center
for Interdisciplinary Studies, this
conference will feature a diverse group
of policymakers, academic experts, and
professionals with critical viewpoints on
the economic state of the country. The
conference is free of charge.
Drop Knowledge Presents Live Art!
Hollah for a Dollah Campaign
Gargoyle, 6 to 9 p.m.
Drop Knowledge Magazine will be hosting
a free artistic music performance. Drop
Knowledge will ask for $1 from everyone
who would like to see what the online
magazine calls “the coolest art and music
event ever.” Three bands (reggae, funk, and
hip hop) will perform while artists paint
to the music. There will also be a break
dancing show as well as a freestyle battle
with a DJ.
SATURDAY 21
FRIDAY | MARCH 20, 2009
weatherforecast
Friday 20
Saturday 21
Sunday 22
Mostly Sunny
High 60
Low 39
Showers
High 51
Low 42
Showers
High 64
Low 51
Campus cont.
International
New mother leaves her child aboard a plane
festival is put on in different cities in each.
This year’s festival focuses on migration and its effect on changing African
identity.
Movies that will be playing include “Waiting for Men” and “Shoot the
Messenger.” (Lauren Olens)
On a New Zealand flight going from Auckland to Samoa on Thursday, a woman
gave birth to a baby and then left the baby on board.
A couple of hours later, a flight attendant found the child in the trash can in the
airplane’s bathroom. The mother was recognized in the airport. When she couldn’t
find her passport, the authorities realized that she looked pale and was covered in
blood.
The airline, Pacific Blue, has since enacted a rule where passengers who are
more than 36 weeks pregnant need to obtain a medical clearance before they are
allowed to fly. (Lauren Olens)
Metro cuts mean more joblessness in St Louis
With unemployment rates in St Louis approaching 7 percent, the last thing
employed people need is a reason to quit their jobs.
Metro is in the process of effecting cuts of 44 percent of its MetroLink
and Bus operations, making transport to and from many places of employment
impossible for those without cars. This has forced many living in areas where
unemployment is most severe to quit jobs they can only get to with public
transport.
Places most affected include Lambert St. Louis International Airport and
locations outside of downtown St. Louis (Kelly Fahy)
Sarkozy returns France to NATO’s military command,
may face vote of no confidence
In a controversial decision, French president Nicolas Sarkozy announced his
intentions for France to rejoin the integrated NATO army. While France already
has troops serving, this would increase the number. Sarkozy claims that this move
will give France more power within NATO, and the ability to contribute to military
decisions.
Many are displeased with the idea. Sarkozy may face a vote of no confidence
in the French parliament due to the decision. People are worried that France will
become even more dependent on the United States.
Although the decision is unpopular, Sarkozy is not likely to receive the vote of
no confidence because his party (UMP) has a significant majority in both houses of
the parliament.
Sarkozy hopes to complete the plan before the celebration of NATO’s 60th
anniversary next month, which will be hosted by France and Germany in Strasburg.
(Michelle Merlin)
policebeat
PROPERTY DAMAGE—Mar 16, 2009,
2:13 p.m.
Location: PARKING LOT No. 4
Summary: A Thurtene Carnival member,
drivng a rental truck, attempted to exit
parking lot No. 4 by making a left turn
and ran over the gate arm demolishing
it. The driver then fled the scene and was
pulled over by a Transportation employee
at Big Bend and Northmoor. Disposition:
Cleared.
National
Relay for Life
Francis Field, 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Join the Washington University community for
Relay for Life. This all-night national walking
event benefits the American Cancer Society.
quoteoftheday
Obama writes more books
President Barack Obama agreed to write more books after he leaves the White
House. He is planning on writing a children’s version of his memoir “Dreams From
My Father.” He will author a nonfiction book as well. He has received a $500,000
advance from the Crown Publishing Group. If he wins his second term in office, the
book will not come out until 2017. (Lauren Olens)
SUNDAY 22
The Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD: La
Sonnambula
“English is a choice system—the way you decide
what you wear, you decide your language.”
Campus
St. Louis Art Museum, 12 p.m.
Enjoy an opera performance at the St. Louis
Art Museum. Composer Vincenze Bellini
underlines La Sonnambula’s dual elements
of sleep and wakefulness in an intriguing
staging set in the present. Bellini’s
hauntingly lyrical score soars, as performed
by Natalie Dessay and Juan Diego Flórez.
The event costs $22 for the public.
African Film Festival Comes to Campus
This year marks the 13th year of the African Film Festival held at Washington
University. Sponsored by the New York State Council on the Arts, the Andy Warhol
Foundation for the Visual Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts, the
IMPORTANT
New Delicious Food Items
Begins Monday, March 16th
Nights @ the DUC!
Trattoria Verde
...will start serving Pizza-By-The-Slice
& Caesar Salads (served Monday - Friday ONLY)
DeliciOSO
...will now be offering the best of the
Latino & Vegetarian options!
...will also offer your Favorites from the Grill:
- Hamburgers
- Grilled Chicken Sandwiches
- Black Bean Burgers
- French Fries
Hours •••
Monday thru Friday: 11am - 10pm
Saturday & Sunday: Noon - 8pm
You Should Order the
DUC Pizza To-Go ...Today!
10
DINING SERVICES UDATES...
You don’t want to miss this!
Erin McKean, lexicographer
Top Ten Reasons
BREAKING
NEWS!
DRUG OFFENSE—March 18, 2009,6:07
p.m.
Location: LEE DORM
Summary: Officers responded for a
smell of marijuana and spoke to several
subjects located nearby. RCD completed a
safety inspection of suspects’ dorm room.
Disposition: Referred to JA.
No tip is ever needed for a delivery driver
9
Dine-in or dine-out
8
Trained chefs are preparing your pizza with care
7
The meat and cheese are hormone-free
6
Fresh -with available local ingredients
5
Our sauces are made from scratch
4
Zero trans fat in the crust
3
Size -our large pizza is 16” instead of 14”
2
Value! $15 for any of the four choices :
Cheese, Pepperoni, Buffalo Chicken,
or Mediterranean Vegetable
and the #
1
Reason:
It Tastes GREAT!
•••
*The 1853 Diner will no longer be open past 3pm Mon - Fri,
and will be closed on the weekends.
Trattoria Verde
to go
11:00 am - 10:00 pm | Monday – Friday
STUDENT LIFE | NEWS
questions for
Janine Benyus, a leader in field of biomimicry, speaks in Graham Chapel on
Thursday evening. Engineers Without Borders and the Assembly Series cosponsored the lecture that attracted students and faculty from a wide range of
academic backgrounds.
Student Life: You’re going to be talking about dictionaries being broken.
What’s wrong with them?
Erin McKean: There are lots of people who love words and dictionaries,
but for every person who feels that way, there are 10 who feel looking up
a word in the dictionary is the punishment their fifth grade teacher gave
them.
When information sources aren’t engaging, we tend to blame the user,
but not the resource. Dictionaries set up an expectation that the words
available in them are good, and the ones that aren’t in them aren’t good.
Also, they can be unresponsive to users. People learn words from context—dictionaries tend to prioritize definition. Which actually makes them a
very elaborate literary form, like the haiku or the villanelle.
SL: So how do we fix these faults?
EM: Once you relieve the constraints paper imposes on the dictionary,
you can do a lot more.
But if you’re going to put a print dictionary online, you can’t just slap it
on a screen. Once you put something online, it has to behave a certain way.
If you have no outgoing links, are you really a Web page? If you don’t have a
system for comments, are you really a Web page?
One Brookings Drive #1039
#330 Danforth University Center
Saint Louis, MO 63130-4899
ERIN McKEAN
Lexicographer Erin McKean
will be delivering the Arts &
Sciences Undergraduate Honors Fellowship on Monday in
Duncker Hall at 4 p.m. Monday. McKean has served as editor in chief of the New Oxford
American Dictionary, and blogs
on the English language at dictionaryevangelist.com. Managing Editor David Song spoke
with McKean on problems
with dictionaries, the Internet
and the English language.
tionaries?
EM: Speed is one thing. And it’s also about having the tool at hand when you’re in the place that
you need the tool. When you used paper, a paper
dictionary was perfectly reasonable, when you’re
on a computer, do you really want to switch
modes?
EVAN WISKUP | STUDENT LIFE
3
STUDENT LIFE
THE INTERVIEW
photooftheday
LEXICOGRAPHY
News Editor / Ben Sales / news@studlife.com
FRIDAY | MARCH 20, 2009
SL: You advise the Wikimedia Foundation. How
does the Internet, as a mass participatory device,
change our way of looking at language?
EM: It’s given us a lot more to look at. A lot
of lexicographers are anthropologists of language.
And over the last 400 years we’ve only been able
to observe behavior in the royal court—but we
never see how they behave in the kitchen, the
serfs in the fields, in the full canopy of culture.
What the Internet lets us do is get a little further outside the court—the educated, standard
English. The Internet is how you talk when you’re
at home—most of what people write online is
informal. We see a much broader use of language.
It’s great.
body who doesn’t belong in the human race?” If
people have used the word deliberately, then it’s
English. Everyone has his own subset of English.
English is a choice system—the way you decide
what you wear, you decide your language.
SL: Are there trends you notice among new popular words?
EM: I don’t know if we can separate the fact
that we can observe more words from our empirical judgments that there are more words lately.
It’s not that there are new words, just that’s it’s
easier for us to find them.
SL: And say the English language goes kaput—
which words do you salvage first?
EM: I’d feel the temptation to be a practical
joker—to tell [archaeologists] of English that the
word for “tomato” is actually “omato-tay.”
“Serendipity” is pretty high on the list for
beautiful words. But the idea of the death of the
English language is so depressing that I may not be
able to contemplate it for long.
SL: You’ve talked about how there’s no such thing
as a single, capital-D “Dictionary.” How many dictionaries do we need?
EM: It depends. How many hammers do you
have? I have about four hammers. But I’m not a
carpenter.
SL: What was the biggest challenge you faced
in turning out the most recent edition of the Oxford
American Dictionary?
EM: The most difficult [challenge] any lexicographer faces is when to know it’s done, because
there’s always something you can update, change
or fix.
a quaternary
constellation
of cromulent
words
Erinaceous (adjective): Like or pertaining to a hedgehog.
Mubble-squibble
(noun): A North
Carolina term for
a noogie.
Muffineer (noun): A
dish for keeping English
muffins hot.
News: (314) 935-5995
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e-mail: editor@studlife.com
www.studlife.com
Copyright 2009
Editor in Chief: Sam Guzik
Associate Editor: Indu Chandrasekhar
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Senior News Editor: Ben Sales
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Student Life is a publication of WUSMI and does
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Life are available for purchase; e-mail editor@
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the right not to publish all submissions.
Skeuomorph (noun): An object that persists in
its design based on its history, with ornamental
design based on originally necessary features.
SL: Is there any word that just doesn’t belong in
the English lexicon?
EM: No. That’s like that saying, “Is there any-
If you’d like to place an ad, please contact the
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If you wish to report an error or request
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SL: What do you see as the benefits of online dictionaries over print dic-
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4 STUDENT LIFE | FORUM
Forum Editor / Jill Strominger / forum@studlife.com
A culture of
having done
How we tend to
live life in retrospect
Dennis Sweeney
Forum Editor
S
ometimes when you are
doing things, people with
cameras will say “Wait!”
and get out their cameras
and take pictures of you, and then
when they are done you will go
back to what you were doing. The
experience is odd, because the idea
of the photograph is to capture you
living a moment, but you have to
interrupt the living of that moment
in order for it to be recorded.
This happened to me a number
of times as I climbed rocks, walked
by dead cows, and sat in Anasazi
Indian cliff dwellings in New
Mexico this spring break. Which is
quite all right, and I do appreciate
these photographer-types for giving
us these undeletable memories
that will revive the trip for us even
as we progress into old age. But I
think this interruption of moments
for the sake of their visual transcription is symptomatic of a larger
bizarrity in the culture of, say, the
post-millenial United States.
That is, this phenomenon points
to what I see as a recent, collective
culture of “having done” (as opposed what might seem a more sensible culture of “doing”). I note this
culture with such fervency because
I find myself particularly embodying the ideals I am about to assert
that it holds. I find that when I have
an especially cool experience—say,
my friends and I find and swim
in some little-known hot springs
up on a mountain with a beautiful
overlook—I am more excited about
that experience after having done it
than I am while participating in it. I
find that I prefer saying, “That was
awesome,” to saying, “Wow, this
is great.” And most importantly, I
find that when the idea is brought
up of returning to that spot because
it was so universally rated highly, I
say with conviction, “No, that’s all
right.” The idea is that I’ve had the
experience. Why do it again?
I see this also in the rhetoric we
sometimes use in our daily lives.
Often I’ll say, “Wow, I feel like
such a college student. This is the
real deal,” as if the most important
measure of my experience is its
authenticity through the eyes of
a 40-year-old me. I’ll even make
major decisions by asking myself,
“What will I want to have done
in college/ in this scenario?” Our
future understanding of our present
actions, the understanding we gain
once we are comfortably ensconced
in “real” life, becomes the real measure of their value. We read books
to have read them. We do things to
have done them.
An accompanying question (always) follows: why? My hypothesis
is that we understand the core of
ourselves as lying in our “real,”
“everyday” lives. Sure, I went to
New Mexico this spring break, and
I’ve been to Europe a few times, but
the real me is the one with a warm,
comfortable home near Washington
University, flushing toilets, and
24/7 access to e-mail. I understand
such aforementioned extra-normative experiences as useful only
insofar as they enrich the “real”
me, the college kid surrounded by
all the amenities. Sitting around a
fire, I wonder how this will change
my perspective on “real” life (life
at school). Waking up in a sleeping
bag with frozen toes, I look forward
to the “real” condition of my feet,
which is in slippers and abnormally
warm.
I call this an excursional
culture—a culture of having done.
We set out, certainly, on miniature
“excursions,” adventures, we even
take risks; but our home base,
and the area we understand as our
core, is our warm bed. To enjoy
a typically excursional experience without conceptualizing it as
necessarily referent to some kind of
“real” personal state is rare. Such an
ability to enjoy is worth striving for.
6
:44 a.m. CDT. That may
not mean much to you.
It is, after all, a rather
ordinary time, far less sexy
than midnight. But for Zoroastrians like me, 6:44 marked Nowruz
(“No-rooz”), the new year. There
were no noisemakers or glasses of
champagne; I was still asleep. On
this first day of spring, Zoroastrians instead gather with friends and
family to celebrate their heritage,
one rich with history and culture,
yet sadly unfamiliar to most of the
world.
Odds are you have never heard
of Zoroastrianism, one of the first
monotheistic religions. Once the
defining characteristic of ancient
Persia, my religion has dwindled
to a tiny community of followers
spread across several continents.
STAFF EDITORIAL
Varsity sports appreciated
D
uring Washington University’s recent spring
break, the No. 6 Wash.
U. women’s basketball
team defeated No. 1 Illinois Wesleyan University in a very close
finish to secure a spot in the Final
Four. In addition, the No. 2 men’s
basketball team has secured a spot
in the finals over the weekend,
after defeating No. 3 Wheaton
College on its home floor and No.
1 University of St. Thomas.
Both Wash. U. teams deserve
special congratulations and
recognition for their achievements. Their victories are another
important step toward dispelling
the attitude that athletics cannot
be taken seriously at a Division
III school with an academic focus
like Wash. U. We would also like
to give our congratulations and
appreciation to all of the students who will be traveling this
weekend to watch the men’s and
women’s teams as they compete
in the Final Four.
Because of its academic
prestige and its membership in
Division III of the NCAA, the
University’s athletics program
often fails to receive the attention
that it deserves. Many may think
it is not worth their attention to
attend sporting events at a school
with a primarily academic reputation. The impressive performances by the men’s and women’s
basketball teams, along with the
national championship victories
of the women’s volleyball, men’s
basketball and men’s tennis teams
last year should go a long way
toward altering these unfortunate
attitudes. We believe that more
students should take advantage of
the free admission offered at these
games, especially since taking advantage of this free entertainment
will also reward and encourage
Wash. U.’s hardworking athletes
and foster a greater sense of
school spirit and tradition.
Accordingly, we would also
like to commend the 40 students
who have taken advantage of the
free transportation offered by
Wash. U. to attend the women’s
finals this weekend at Hope College in Holland, Mich., as well
as the 120+ students who will be
traveling to Salem, Va. to cheer
on the men’s team. The school
spirit and support exemplified
by these students is extremely
valuable, and their presence will
no doubt be a great asset to our
teams as they make a run at the
championship.
At the same time, it is disappointing that the men’s team
receives far more support than the
women’s team, which has won
the most national titles of any
Division III women’s basketball
program and has reached the Final
Four eight times, the second most
in Division III. The success of the
men’s team notwithstanding, it
would be nice to see a more equal
attendance at both teams’ upcoming games.
Wash. U. may not have Division I teams, but its athletes are
among the most dedicated and
talented in the country. As student
athletes who excel in and out
of the classroom, they are great
representatives of the Wash. U.
name, and their hard work should
be recognized.
RACHEL YOON AND JEREMY LAI EDITORIAL CARTOON
Dennis is a junior in Arts and Sciences. He can be reached via e-mail at
djswee@gmail.com.
Acknowledge
your religion,
individuality
Cyrus Bahrassa
Op-Ed Submission
FRIDAY | MARCH 20, 2009
My high school world history
textbook devoted merely two lines
to it. Unmentioned were good’s
struggle against evil and how tradition dictates that we neither bury
nor cremate our dead.
Yet I am not writing this to bemoan Zoroastrianism’s anonymity.
As sad as it is, not long ago I was
guilty of something worse. Growing up, I never acknowledged my
religion. When asked in what I
believed, I did not explain the importance of Humata, Hukhta, and
Hvareshta—good thoughts, good
words and good deeds. Maybe I
was ashamed of my little secret,
my unheard-of religion. When
asked about Zoroastrianism, I did
not explain why it does not accept
converts. Maybe I thought no one
really cared.
I am writing this because for
the first time in a long while,
See BAHRASSA, page 5
People watching for
the people
Charlie Low
Staff Columnist
A
s I was sitting in class
not paying attention
(I’m sorry mom and
dad, I promise I am still
learning something), I was thinking about what to write my article
about this week. At some point
during my daydream I flashed back
to a brief moment of spring break.
This is not the part of break where
I teleported down to Florida and
flashed my chest hair to all the
crazy partiers on “MTV Spring
Break,” so…sorry to disappoint. I
had just gotten off my flight from
St. Louis and had landed in Salt
Lake City where I was going to
ski for a few days. My father was
flying in from New York, so I was
waiting for him in the baggage
terminal with an absurdly large
suitcase and a stomachache. I
don’t why, but every time I fly my
stomach hurts. I think it’s the flight
attendants, perhaps the in-flight
movie selection.
Anyways, as I was waiting,
instead of politely minding my
own business with an iPod, or
messing around on my computer, I
chose a different pastime. I would
prefer to call it observing, but
really I spent my time spying on
the people unfortunate enough to
be with me in baggage claim and
then forming absurd conclusions
about their lives with absolutely
no basis, while recreating their
past and future in my own design.
I think the flight attendants might
have spiked my drink. I swear I
have no previous experience mind
stalking airport persona. Poor,
unfortunate travelers subject to the
whims of my flight crew altered
state of mind.
My first “observation” proceeded as follows. There was a
guy sitting near me at one of the
uncomfortable metal tables placed
conveniently near the Tombstone
Pizza vending machine. He was
pretty young, probably not older
than 25 and he looked anxious.
My first thought, “He probably has to go the bathroom.” My
second thought, “No, wait, he
has hair gel in and is wearing a
nice-ish shirt, he doesn’t have to
go to the bathroom, his hair gel
must be uncomfortable.” Then
I saw flowers. Third thought,
“Laaaaaammmmeeeeee.” He was
fidgeting a lot, checking his phone
and the time. Then he tucked
the flowers inside his sweatshirt.
Fourth thought, “Aww, he’s gonna
surprise her.”
Something about the surprise
made me angry, so his past and
future got much more bleak. Eventually his girlfriend came down, he
showed her the flowers, she looked
happy, but not my-boyfriendbrought-me-flowers happy. I assume they went home and got in a
huge fight and broke up. The end. I
concluded that his childhood consisted of being a bully, until one
day a tiny little nerd that he had
picked on gave him an eloquent
speech which changed him into a
softy for the rest of his life, thus
resulting in the bouquet surprise.
My second “observation”
tended to be less detailed, as I was
getting increasingly frustrated at
the amount of time I had to spend
near a pizza vending machine.
One woman came flying down
the escalator, dropped her bag,
shrieked, and literally long jumped
into this guy’s arms. Her legs were
around his chest, and I’m surprised
he didn’t fall over. My thoughts,
“Stop being so annoying and
loud.” Then, “Wow… I’m really a
soulless jerk.”
The bottom line is that as
much as people watching can be
entertaining, there is no doubt that
you will reveal to yourself that you
are in fact a giant negative Nancy
(term used for lack of a better
polite term). If you do choose to
follow in my footsteps, proceed
with caution. I’ve already ruined
too many imaginary futures.
Charlie is a freshman in Arts and Sciences. He can be reached via e-mail at
Chlow@artsci.wustl.edu.
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Forum Editor / Jill Strominger / forum@studlife.com
FRIDAY | MARCH 20, 2009
STUDENT LIFE | FORUM
5
Why love and
time travel don’t
always mix
Tess Croner
Forum Editor
IAN ROSS | STUDENT LIFE
Why the bottled water ban
should be reversed
Andrew Gottlieb
Staff Columnist
L
ately I have been hearing a
lot about the ban on the sale
of bottled water on campus.
From what I have heard,
many people seem to be enthusiastic
about this ban. I, however, am not.
I believe that the ban is a superficial
change that will have little to no positive environmental impact and only
serves to bolster the school’s image.
Firstly, one of the main arguments
against bottled water is that it tastes
no different from plain tap water, and
that in many cases it simply IS plain
tap water. The argument continues
that there is no reason to waste
plastic bottles when we can get the
same water from any faucet. While
I agree that there is little if any taste
difference between bottled water
and tap water (except for FIJI water,
that stuff tastes great!), I do not buy
bottled water for the taste.
For me, and many others, the
main reason for buying bottled
water is the convenience factor it
offers. The disposability of a plastic
water bottle is its greatest feature.
When entertaining thirsty friends,
it is convenient and cheap to hand
them a bottle of Dasani rather then a
possibly germ covered and cumbersome Nalgene or similar bottle. After
finishing a jog or sporting contest,
nothing is more refreshing than a
cold bottle of water. Unfortunately,
due to the bottled water ban, my
only options now are water from a
bottle that has been lying in the sun,
lengthy and repeated trips to a drinking fountain if there even are any
around or a less healthy choice such
as soda or Gatorade. So, while a few
people may switch to Nalgenes, or
other more environmentally-friendly
alternatives to bottled water due to
the ban, most still need and want
bottled water, due to situations like
the ones I described, not due to its
enhanced taste.
With the myth that people drink
bottled water for its taste dispelled,
it is time to consider the actual
consequences of the water ban. So
far the consequence I have seen is
the replacement of bottles of water
in vending machines with soda
and other beverages in the exact
same size and dimensions as plastic
bottles. Is selling a Coke in a plastic
bottle any more environmentally
friendly than selling water? I highly
doubt it! Really, what the ban does is
ensure that trash cans everywhere are
filled with bottles labeled “Coke” or
“Sprite” instead of “Dasani” and “Ice
Mountain.”
Now to those readers who want to
strangle me for being so insensitive
and not caring about the planet, hold
your horses. I am not against environmentalism, I DO believe in global
warming, I am simply opposed to the
ban because it is based on misinformation, and it does little to actually
help the environment. What the ban
does do is bolster the environmental
image of the University without actually doing much.
There are, however, simple things
that could be done which would
have much more of a positive impact
than the plastic water bottle ban.
Firstly, bottle use could be reduced
by more carafes of water with cups
being placed around campus similar
to the one in Whispers. This would
allow people to get portable water,
which is one of the major upsides
of bottles, and the lack thereof is the
major downside of water fountains.
Secondly, rather than simply replace
plastic water bottles with soda
bottles, the time, money and effort
going into the significant campaign
for the ban could instead be used to
encourage recycling of bottles, cans
and paper. While the university has
done an excellent job of providing
ample recycling bins around campus,
I see many plastic bottles in almost
every trash can that could have been
recycled. Perhaps a campaign to
get those bottles into recycling bins
could replace the ban, and do a lot
more good.
While I am confident that the
people behind the bottled water ban
are well-intentioned, their efforts
unfortunately do little to help the environment, and create an annoyance
for many. I hope that with some prudent thinking on their part they might
dedicate the same well-intentioned
efforts toward a more meaningful
initiative. In the meantime, I will
unfortunately have to get in my car,
waste gas and emit carbon on my
way to Sam’s Club to pick up a case
of Dasani.
Andrew is a freshman in Engineering. He
can be reached via e-mail at ayg1@cec.
wustl.edu.
The less visible threat
Caleb Posner
Staff Columnist
T
oo often, political discourse
is focused exclusively on
the readily apparent, ignoring what lurks beneath the
surface. For instance, in discussing
the War on Terror, the emphasis is
primarily on our two major theaters
of combat, or on rare occasion the
totalitarian ideology that inspires our
enemy. Certainly, discussion of such
things is important, for in a clash
of civilizations we must understand
the enemy, and we must critically
review the steps taken to date in
combat against them. Still, to limit
discussion to those components of
the War on Terror is detrimental to
our cause, for we treat the theaters
and the ideology as separate, not
looking for and emphasizing the real
but camouflaged connection. In other
words, we are ignoring the very real
threat of stealth jihad.
As Robert Spencer, the noted
expert on Islamic theology who
wrote “Stealth Jihad: How Radical
Islam is Subverting America without
Guns or Bombs” remarked in a
recent interview, “Obviously ‘the
problem’ is rooted within Islamic
texts and teachings that mandate
warfare against and the subjugation
of unbelievers. Ibn Warraq’s observation that there are moderate Muslims,
but no moderate Islam is absolutely
true.” Realizing that, the natural
question arises as to what forms this
effort of subversion for the purpose
of caliphate building is permitted. Dr.
Walid Phares, terrorism expert and
professor at the National Defense
University, points out that while the
jihadists often employ violent tactics,
many instead have utilized the Islamic concept of taqiya (a false front,
or concealment of belief) to present a
moderate image while still retaining
Islamist ideological aims. In other
words, realizing that jihad cannot
be fought only on the battlefield,
especially when militarily speaking
the ummah (Islamic community) is
overwhelmed, many Islamists rely on
liberal Western multiculturalism and
political institutions to advance the
same agenda without spilling blood.
The disturbing truth is that there
are a great many examples of stealth
jihad, most of which never get
adequate mainstream attention. For
instance, the Council on American
Islamic Relations, often regarded as
the Islamic NAACP, is a proponent of a thoroughly anti-Western
agenda, and it associates readily with
organizations who regard us as evil
incarnate. Speaking to a crowd of
Californian Muslims in July 1998,
CAIR co-founder Omar Ahmad
stated, “Islam isn’t in America to
be equal to any other faith, but to
become dominant. The Koran should
be the highest authority in America,
and Islam the only accepted religion
on earth.” Similarly, their Executive
Director Nihad Awad participated
in a conference for Hamas members
and supporters in 1993. Fundraiser
Rabih Haddad was convicted of
helping transfer money to a Hamas
front group, and other CAIR members members including Randall
Royer and Ghassan Elashi. The head
of their Michigan chapter Muthanna
Al-Hanooti has been charged with
spying on behalf of the Iraqi government. And that is just the beginning
of a laundry list of disturbing details
about CAIR that implicate them as a
force for stealth jihad. In the United
States, they are perhaps the most
influential group, though it would
be a great mistake to disregard the
many other powerful forces for the
non-violent destruction of Western
civilization, including their indirect
parent the Muslim Brotherhood, and
Hizb ut-Tahrir.
It is therefore critical for the success in the misnamed War on Terror,
which should instead be relabeled the
War for Western Civilization, that we
understand there are links between
the ideology and the violence, and
often times said connections are the
“moderate” front groups operating
here and abroad. Such organizations,
if not watched and held accountable
for their cooperation with jihadists,
threaten our very civilization. If their
aims succeed, though the results may
not be quite as bloody, the outcome
is unthinkable. To live in a society
where a woman has half the legal
worth of a man, where homosexuals
are executed by the state and where
the kuffirs (infidels) are forced to pay
an extortive protection fee to continue living (the jizyah) is a prospect
that should alarm any decent person.
The best step then is to educate
ourselves, and demand our political leaders do the same. To start, I
strongly recommend that you attend
Robert Spencer’s talk on Stealth Jihad on Tuesday, March 24 at Graham
Chapel, beginning at 6:30 p.m.
L
et me preface this by
saying that I do not
watch Lifetime: Television for Women. Except
for that one time. Hey, we all
get desperate, and a little while
back—a night when my brain was
particularly fried after a long day
of thinking—TV left me with no
choice but to go glassy-eyed under the spell of a Lifetime original
movie. The movie itself has been
wiped from my memory; I can
venture a guess that it was about
a woman triumphing against all
odds, possibly with the aid of a
kickboxing class.
What I do remember, however,
is the preview for a different
chick-flick (another Hallmark
channel masterpiece, no doubt)
titled “Before You Say I Do.”
From the preview I gathered the
basic premise: this guy wants to
marry this girl, but her previous
marriage was so utterly disastrous
that she can’t bring herself to
marry again. Luckily for the frustrated fellow, he gets to go back
in time to nab her before she says
her vows and makes the whopping
mistake of marrying dude number
one. Love has no limits, especially with the aid of time travel.
“Before You Say I Do” seems
to suggest a love free from the
bounds of place and time. I
think that’s just dumb. The time
traveler makes the pretty risky
assumption that he can skip 10
years into the past and find his
lovebird unchanged. Guess what?
Ten years ago I was 11. If he
were to go back in time for me,
he’d land himself a jail sentence.
Surprise surprise, I’ve changed
in 10 years; in fact, change is my
life’s ever-faithful constant. And
I’d argue that a person’s capacity
to love is one of the many things
that changes greatly with time and
experience. Mine has. I think we
really do need the bad to help us
appreciate the good.
Almost all of us at some point
or another get stuck in a sticky,
messy, unpleasant relationship.
Call it a growing pain. If my current boyfriend were to go back
in time to save me from all the
trouble college has caused me,
he would find me an immature,
unsure little twit, unfit to function in any real relationship.
Bummer. On top of that, he’d be
stuck with another four years of
President Bush. Bummer number
two. They may not be fun, but the
hard things in life seem to shape
us and allow us to grow far more
effectively than the good. When
you love someone, you love him
completely, with all the scars and
history and baggage that make up
his past. Without all our bumps
and bruises, we have no flavor.
Who wants bland?
So how does the movie end?
Well, if I were the writer, he’d
travel 10 years back in time to
find that she blindly, slavishly
loves dude number one. Dude
number one is mysterious and
elusive, sexy qualities that easily
trump the time traveler’s dopey
nice-guy act. The disappointed
lover boy ends up alone, stuck in
the ’90s, sad but having learned
a valuable lesson about love and
growth. Shockingly, Hallmark
has yet to approve my alternate
ending.
Tess is a senior in Arts & Sciences and
a Forum editor. She can be reached via
e-mail at tacroner@wustl.edu.
The revolution
continues
Philip Christofanelli
Staff Columnist
T
wo years ago when a relatively obscure congressman from Texas began his
quest for the presidency,
no one was surer than he that little
would come from it. Nine months
later, this same congressman had
won more straw polls than any
other Republican candidate combined and had out-fund-raised Mitt
Romney. Ron Paul, a 72-year-old
doctor, watched with amazement
as his quest to remind his party of
its humble conservative origins
became a grassroots revolution.
All over the country, his ardent
supporters plastered homemade
signs on every space available.
With no direction from the proper
campaign, thousands of Meetup
groups were formed at the local
level with a sort of spontaneous
order conducive to the free market
principles espoused by Dr. Paul.
They even created a blimp to float
along the East Coast, spreading the
doctor’s message of individualism
and liberty. Despite their organization and creativity, however, Paul
supporters were unable to convince
enough of their Republican counterparts to propel the congressman to
the presidency.
Dr. Paul swore to not let this
organization go to waste, and responded by forming the Campaign
for Liberty. The goal of Campaign
for Liberty (or as it’s called, C4L) is
to bring the Republican Party back
to its roots of fiscal conservatism,
personal responsibility, individual
liberty, sound money, and noninterventionist foreign policy.
Within a month, C4L had 100,000
members. Many of these members
are Precinct Leaders who organize
supporters at the local levels to promote various causes and candidates
that are friendly to the platform.
Here in St. Louis, C4L will be
having its first Regional Conference. The conference will begin on
Friday, March 27. Having predicted
the burst of the housing bubble
as early as 2002, Dr. Paul makes
for an interesting and insightful
speaker that any student of politics
or economics could benefit from
hearing. His Campaign for Liberty
will be a powerful force in the 2012
Republican Primaries and elections
to come. We in St. Louis have the
privilege of witnessing the birth of
this organization, and that is an opportunity too good to miss. Anyone
interested in the conference is
encouraged to visit www.campaig
nforliberty.com for details.
Philip is a freshman in Arts & Sciences. He can be reached via e-mail at
pchristofanelli@hotmail.com.
Caleb is a sophomore in Arts & Sciences.
He can be reached via e-mail at csposner@artsci.wustl.edu.
BAHRASSA from page 4
KEVIN WOLF PANGAEA
Nowruz is significant for me. It
is a rebirth of sorts, a new chance
for me to appreciate what makes
me unique. I admit that I am at a
point in life at which my spirituality is still uncertain, yet I choose
to believe that Zoroastrianism will
forever be a huge part of me. By
birth and upbringing, it shapes my
identity, much like your background shapes yours. All of us
grew up with particular lessons,
experiences and cultures, which
undeniably influence who we are.
We often eagerly await the future,
but it is important to remember
that everyone has a past. Zoroastrians altogether make up 0.004
percent of this world, but their
willingness to persevere shows me
the importance of one’s roots. I
encourage you to always remember yours.
I am a follower of the teachings of Asho Zartosht, a believer
in the hymns of the holy Gathas.
I am a Zoroastrian; what are you?
Thank you, and Nowruz Mubarak.
Cyrus is a freshman in Arts & Sciences.
He can be reached via e-mail at cfbahras@wustl.edu.
SPORTS
6 STUDENT LIFE | SPORTS
Sports Editor / Josh Goldman / sports@studlife.com
Men’s tennis sweeps spring break matches
Scott Drattell
Sports Editor
The No. 2 Washington University
men’s tennis team began outdoor play
by sweeping its spring break trip to
California in an impressive fashion,
dropping only four of 27 matches. The
defending national champions made
easy work of No. 11 Bowdoin College
and No. 30 Pomona-Pitzer Colleges
by defeating them 8-1 and 9-0 respectively in Claremont on Wednesday and
Thursday. The Bears then knocked off
NAIA No. 5 Azusa Pacific University
6-3 in Azusa on Friday.
The wins came two weeks after the
then top-ranked Bears fell to rival and
then-No. 2 Emory University 6-3 in
the finals of the Intercollegiate Tennis
Association National Indoor Championships.
“Obviously being disappointed
coming off the loss to Emory, we wanted to play some good quality matches
out in California against some difficult
opponents, and we played well and
came away with [some] wins,” sophomore Issac Stein said.
Wash. U. dominated doubles play
during the trip, going 9-0 overall and
allowing the team to jump out to a 3-0
lead in all three matches.
“It’s especially important now that
doubles are worth three points, so you
can potentially get up 3-0,” junior John
Watts said. “It’s something we pride
ourselves on, having very good doubles
and always trying to start out a match
very quickly with good doubles play.”
After seniors Charlie Cutler and
Chris Hoeland, ranked third in D-III
doubles, completed the doubles sweep
against Bowdoin in a hard-fought 9-8
(7-1) victory over the No. 9 team, the
Bears picked up five of six singles vic-
tories to win the match 8-1. No. 3 Watts
recorded his third win over a ranked
opponent this season with a 6-2, 6-2
defeat of No. 17 Stephen Sullivan at
first singles.
Against Pomona-Pitzer, Watts, Cutler, sophomore Max Woods, Hoeland,
junior Slavi Fildish and freshman Chris
Gordon swept singles play to cap a 9-0
sweep in which the Bears did not drop
a set.
In the Bears’ toughest test of the trip
against Azusa, Cutler and Hoeland got
the Red and Green off to a hot start by
dominating Ronald Chow and Daniel
Moore 8-2. The doubles victory was
the 88th of Hoeland’s career, leaving
him just two shy of the all-time school
record of 90 set by Ari Rosenthal.
No. 8 Woods and Stein then won
8-3 at second doubles, and senior Nirmal Choradia and Watts completed the
sweep by winning 8-5.
Backed by a 3-0 cushion, the Bears
did not let up. Hoeland took down
Whitman Hough at No. 6 singles 6-3,
6-2 to increase the lead to 4-0. After
Cutler fell to Janosch Aplet at No. 2
singles 6-3, 6-1, junior Danny Levy secured the Wash. U. victory with a 6-0,
6-3 win. Watts also fell to Matthijs Bolsius 6-4, 6-3 in first singles.
Stein also posted a singles victory,
the 25th of his career, 7-6, 6-2, to defeat
Azusa Pacific 6-3 overall.
“We just wanted to start our outdoor season off on a good foot,” Cutler
said. “We played a couple of teams that
are ranked lower than us, but the match
against Azusa was pretty important
’cause they’re always top in NAIA, so
we knew that was going to be a tough
match. Winning that was definitely
very positive and a good way to start
our season.”
The team continued its dominance
yesterday against Emporia State Uni-
SAM GUZIK | STUDENT LIFE
Senior co-captain Nirmal Choradia hits a forehand against Division II
Emporia State University on March 19.
versity, winning 9-0. Watts, Cutler,
Woods, Levy, Hoeland and Fildish
swept singles play while Cutler/Hoeland, Stein/Woods and Choradia/Watts
swept doubles.
The team returns to action on Saturday against Graceland University and
Sunday against Grinnell College. Both
matches will be played at the Tao Tennis Center.
LIBERATION
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Beyer also topped the existing record of 3:53.99 set by
Carnegie Mellon’s Brian McCarthy in 2004, in the morning
preliminaries, swimming the
race in 3:53.63. With the win,
Beyer received the 11th AllAmerican citation of his career
and his second of the meet, as
he also finished second in the
500-meter freestyle Wednesday.
“He had a great race and
worked very hard for it,” Head
Coach Brad Shively said. “He
went out with a plan and took
advantage of an opportunity.”
Complete coverage of the
2009 NCAA swimming championships will appear in Monday’s edition of Student Life.
Women’s tennis picks
up big wins in California
Trisha Wolf
Managing Editor
Washington University’s 15thranked women’s tennis team (5-0) went
3-0 on its spring break trip to California.
Their biggest win was a 5-4 upset over
No. 12 Bowdoin College in Redlands,
Calif.
“We were very thrilled with the
results,” Head Coach Kelly Stahlhuth
said. “We were thrilled with the aspect
that things are starting to gel with doubles. We got good results from trying a
few different things.”
“Bowdoin was the team we wanted
to beat the most. It was definitely the
only thing we were all ready for and
had prepared for. We played a strong
match,” added junior Allison Dender,
who went 6-0 on the trip.
The Red and Green jumped out
to a 2-1 lead following doubles play
against the Polar Bears and never relinquished the advantage. Sophomores
Jaclyn Bild and Elise Sambol defeated
Elizabeth Pedowtiz and Charlotte Hitch
8-5 at the number two spot. Dender and
sophomore Alex Cassady also won 8-5
playing third doubles over Stephanie
Langer and Rachel Waldman. Senior
Erin Swaller and sophomore Karina
Kocemba fell 8-0 at first doubles to
Sarah D’Elia and Erin Lombardi.
In singles action, Bild defeated
Waldman 6-0, 6-2 at the third spot.
Cassady and Dender also won at the
fifth and sixth spots respectively, with
Cassady defeating Hitch 6-0, 6-0 and
Dender overcoming Langer 6-3, 6-4.
Swaller fell to D’Elia 6-0, 6-0 at first
singles while Kocemba also picked up
a 6-4, 6-2 loss to Lombardi at second
singles. Sambol lost to Pedowitz 6-1,
6-4 at fourth singles.
“I don’t think the match was ever in
doubt,” Dender said. “I was the last one
playing. I have confidence in my teammates and our ability to be a top team
this season.”
Bowdoin is the second ranked team
the Bears have defeated this season.
The then-No. 16 Bears defeated then
No. 12 DePauw University in February
by the same score. “Ranking-wise, they
were ahead of us, and we got them,”
Stahlhuth said of the Bowdoin match.
“Last year, we would lose [to ranked
opponents] by one point, and now we
can finish them off.”
Earlier in the week, the Bears defeated Occidental College and California Lutheran University both by scores
of 9-0. Against Occidental, the doubles
matches proved to be the tightest of the
day with Swaller and Cassady overcame Jennifer Wahba and Krishnaveni
Subbiah 9-8 (7-4) at the top spot. The
team swept singles in straight sets
across the board. Swaller again played
in the closest match of the day, defeating Subbiah 7-5, 6-3 at first singles.
The Cal Lutheran match was also
a fairly straightforward win for Wash.
U. Swaller and Kocemba played in
the most competitive doubles match,
defeating Suzuye Nomura and Nicole
Morikawa 8-5 at the top spot. The singles matches featured five straight-set
wins. Swaller also prevailed in a 2-6,
6-1, 6-4 battle against Nomura at first
singles.
“[These matches] were good tests to
help us get adjusted to the environment.
Then we were ready come Bowdoin,”
Stahlhuth said.
Yesterday afternoon, the Bears took
on Division II Emporia State University at home, prevailing 8-1. Wash. U.
suffered its only loss at first doubles,
with Swaller and Cassady losing 8-5 to
Amanda Morris and Michelle Banger.
The Bears the swept singles play,
with five athletes winning in straight
sets. Kocemba took first singles 6-3,
6-7 (6) 10-7.
Wash. U. will play two more
tough home matches before traveling
to Emory University for the Fab Five
Tournament next weekend, where they
will face three teams ranked in the top
15. The Bears play NAIA opponent
Graceland University at 9 a.m. today.
On Tuesday, they will face Division
II Drury University at 4:30 p.m. Both
matches will be played at the Tao Tennis Center.
“The next couple of matches will be
tough, but they are good preparation for
the Emory tournament,” Dender said.
“We want to go out, have a good time
and get wins under our belt.”
6128 Delmar
in the Loop
314-862-2304
Wherever you are on life’s journey,
you are welcome here!
Join us on Sunday mornings for the 9:45
Forum and 11:00 Platform Address.
Children's Sunday School meets 10am-noon
Alex Beyer wins first
NCAA individual title
Junior Alex Beyer won the
first NCAA individual title
of his career Thursday at the
NCAA Championships in Minneapolis, Minn. The swimmer
finished the 400-meter individual medley (IM) in an NCAA
record time of 3:51.45.
Beyer’s main competition
in the race came from longtime Emory foe Keith Diggs.
“We were neck and neck the
entire way until the last 25. I
put my head down and put every last bit of energy into it and
out-touched him,” Beyer said.
Religious Directory
The Ethical Society is a community of
people united in the belief that an ethical
life creates a more just, loving and
sustainable world for all.
SWIMMING
Trisha Wolf
Managing Editor
STUDENT LIFE presents a guide to places of worship in the WU community
INSPIRING ETHICAL LIVING
FRIDAY | MARCH 20, 2009
www.liberationcc.org
Catholic Student Center
We’re here for YOU!
Masses at the CSC:
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Masses and Free Soup Meal:
Tuesdays at 5:15 pm
Fridays at 12:05 pm
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STUDENT LIFE
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CADENZ A
Cadenza Editor / Cecilia Razak / cadenza@studlife.com
FRIDAY | MARCH 20, 2009
STUDENT LIFE | CADENZA
7
ALBUM REVIEW
Don’t Feed Da Animals
Gorilla Zoe
Alex Terrono
Cadenza Reporter
After a lackluster debut, Gorilla
Zoe impresses with his sophomore
album, “Don’t Feed Da Animals.” Musically and lyrically, Zoe has evolved
far from his last album.
Following in the footsteps of Lil
Wayne and Kanye West, Zoe trades in
his signature deep, hoarse voice for the
infamous auto-tuner in a few songs. He
manages to mostly avoid the overuse
of the device, unlike those aforementioned rappers. The album is perfectly
produced; every beat is catchy, unique
and perfect for bumping in the car with
the windows down.
The album’s first single, “Lost,”
steals the show: It is completely different from anything else on the album.
Using the auto-tuner, Zoe is able to
transform his voice into a gravelly,
spaced-out drawl that perfectly fits the
hypnotizingly slow beat. The voice
effect changes pitches as he sings/raps
the song, varying his flow and delivery.
In this song he questions his move toward depression, and Zoe displays topnotch lyrical abilities that don’t shine in
his other songs. “I Got It,” another song
on which Zoe uses the auto-tuner, has
more of a catchy melody, an amazing
beat and varying vocal effects.
The low points of “Don’t Feed
Da Animals” come when Gorilla
Zoe resorts back to his original voice.
“Hood Clap,” for example, is, as can
be expected, about life in the hood,
and has a beat that features a handclap,
which in and of itself is a bad idea.
The unoriginal beat mixed with the
unoriginal lyrics and boring, deep voice
creates an uneventful song that just fills
the space between more original tracks,
and that eventually becomes irritating.
The rapper sinks lower with “Talk
Back,” which details Zoe’s excellence
in bed with awful lyrics and an even
worse guest spot from EbonyLove.
That said, one of the best songs
on the album, and the album’s second
single (“What It Is”), doesn’t apply
the auto-tuner effect to Zoe’s voice.
He does use the effect on the chorus to
create an extremely catchy melody, but
during his verse, he raps in his signature deep, rough voice. The production
on this song especially stands out. It fits
in perfectly with rap music today, but
still distinguishes itself through its hard
beat and unique use of synthesizer.
Though guest rapper Rick Ross doesn’t
add much, he fits in well with the
theme and flow of the song.
At the end of the album, Gorilla
Zoe takes his auto-tune effect to the
extreme, creating a more Kanye-like,
pop sound on the songs “So Sick” and
“Echo.” Both tracks feature space-like
beats with Gorilla Zoe relying much
more heavily on the vocal effect. The
songs also differentiate themselves by
being much more lyrically substantial
than some of the hood-based songs
preceding them. These crossover
songs differ greatly from the rest of the
album, but work well to demonstrate
Zoe’s versatile style.
Overall, the tracks in which the
rapper uses the auto-tuner far outshine
TELEVISION REVIEW
‘South Park’ starts season
those in which he doesn’t. The vocal
effect showcases the rapper’s musical
ability and creates catchy melodies that
help to smooth over the questionable
lyrics. Songs that would normally stick
out as awful due to their unoriginal
lyrical content, like “Man I” or “Watch
Me,” become enjoyable due to the auto-tuner. On “Don’t Feed Da Animals,”
Gorilla Zoe is able to prove himself as
a quality artist. He shows what he can
do and now just has to follow all the
way through.
★★★✮✩
for fans of
Yung Joc, Rick Ross,
the auto-tune effect
tracks to download
“Lost,” “What It Is,” “I Got It”
OBITUARY
Natasha Richardson, a stage and film
actress, died on Wednesday from head
injuries sustained in a skiing accident.
Richardson, daughter of acclaimed actress
Vanessa Redgrave and Oscar-winning
director Tony Richardson, was considered
theater royalty in Britain and made a
name for herself on the American stage as
well. She is survived by her two sons and
her husband, Liam Neeson.
★★★★✮
Percy Olsen
TV Editor
“South Park” premiered its thirteenth season last week, and initial
reactions were a unified, “Meh.”
It’s not quite the show’s fault that
it didn’t start off quite as brilliantly
as hoped. Over the past 12 years,
“South Park” has set up a remarkable pedigree of crude humor and
over the top, yet unfortunately
truthful, parody. Who can forget the
time when Cartman sought revenge
against Scott Tenorman by killing
Scott’s parents and cooking them
into a chili, which he then fed to
Scott? What about Al Gore’s latest
cause, teaching the good people of
South Park about the horrifying and
“real” ManBearPig?
You’d think that the show has
been consistently funny, but that
is not the case. It’s moments like
the ones listed that stick in our
heads and give our memories some
unwarranted bloom effect. So when
I say that the season premiere was
not received very well, I did
not mean to imply the show
wasn’t good.
It was great;
the plot centered
around a Disney
conspiracy that
used the Jonas
Brothers to both
sell sex to kids
and to promote
purity rings
to deflect any
criticism that
they could
possibly
be sell-
ing sex to kids. A visit from the
big guy himself, Mickey Mouse,
as Disney’s physically violent
president, only brought the episode
down—the impression was grating,
not funny.
You have to wonder when this
season’s great moments will come
around. The second episode seemed
to raise the bar. Clear inspiration
came from “Watchmen,” but most
of the good times would have been
had if you were one of the six gajillion people who saw “The Dark
Knight” last summer.
Cartmen, I mean, ahem, The
Coon, runs around South Park at
night, stopping kissing couples
(Cartman calls that “rape”) from
causing harm to each other. Things
escalate when another vigilante,
Mysterion, begins to roam the
streets, and Cartman grows jealous
and, ahem, seeks revenge. His plan
isn’t so grim this time; let’s just
say it involves everyone’s favorite
tinfoil-clad superhero, Professor
Chaos.
The moral messages weren’t as
heavy-handed in the second episode
as they were in the first, but it did
raise a point. What ever happened
to the goofy superhero movies?
From Batman to the Hulk, it seems
like every comic book hero movie
has been given a splotch of mud
and some dim lighting before being
sent out the door. This episode only
showed further how completely
goofy it is to have Batman fight for
the moral good and then disappear
from frame every time you turn
away from him.
I’m convinced that what has
kept “South Park” so memorable
over the years is how each episode
is made. Creators Trey Parker and
Matt Stone continue to impact all
of the episodes, which are started
and completed literally days before
they are aired. The creation format
has allowed for more great moments over the years, such as when
the World Canadian Bureau, abbreviated, somehow, into the WGA,
goes on strike. Recently, the
Jonas Brothers’ publicist
has specifically forbidden reporters from
asking the band
about the episode.
Parker and Stone
keep the good
times rolling
by staying
current and
keeping up
with the Joneses,
or rather, the
Kardashians.
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8 STUDENT LIFE | NEWS
News Editor / Ben Sales / news@studlife.com
FRIDAY | MARCH 20, 2009
FINANCIAL AID ENDOWMENT from page 1
have and the rules that surround
the endowment resources that have
been given to us,” Wrighton said in
a speech to the Student Union (SU)
senate Wednesday night.
But he added that the University
spends a lower percentage of its endowment on aid than comparable
research universities because many
of the endowment’s funds have specific guidelines for what they may
be spent on.
“Some of the endowment is
completely unrestricted,” Wrighton
told Student Life. “We have, in relative terms, a small endowment for
financial aid altogether compared to
some of our premiere competitors.”
Wrighton also noted that about
one-tenth of the University’s financial aid dollars come from the
endowment, and that despite financial difficulties, the administration
hopes to ease the financial burden
on students, who will have to pay
more than $50,000—including
room and board—in tuition and fees
next year.
“We can strengthen our program
if we have more financial aid re-
sources and students can leave with
a smaller encumbrance of loans if
we had stronger financial aid resources,” Wrighton told Student
Life.
“We’re going to be increasing our commitment to financial
aid even though our endowment is
down and we face constraints on
compensation. That represents a
resetting of priorities, even for the
next year.”
David Cohen, the incoming SU
vice president for finance, heard
Wrighton speak to SU and would
like to see the University do more to
help students afford education.
“I personally would love to see
a higher percentage [of the endowment] go toward financial aid,”
Cohen said. “I think its one of the
most important issues facing higher
education today. Needs play a role
on whether or not you are accepted
into an institution, and I think that’s
a problem.”
Determining faculty and staff
pay
In a letter sent to the University
community last November, Wrighton wrote that several upper-level
faculty and staff at the University
would be accepting pay freezes.
Wrighton said that those employees would not be accepting increases when salaries would change
on July 1, but that several increases
would still happen despite hard economic times. He added that though
several employees offered to accept
pay cuts, the University chose not to
cut salaries due to the recession.
While the University is not
planning widespread salary raises,
Wrighton said that a staff or faculty
member’s salary would increase in
three instances: promotion, competition from peer institutions or salary inequity between two employees
of equal rank.
The chancellor recognized the
sacrifices that such increases entail
but said that they are necessary for
the University’s long-term success.
“We need to be mindful that we
have to be considering the economic situation but that tactics that we
employ in the short run should not
compromise our ability to be strong
in the future,” Wrighton told Student Life.
Solidifying the Plan for Excellence
Wrighton outlined five components of the Board’s Plan for Excellence as determined at the meeting
in Arizona, which lasted for three
days while most such meetings end
after a few hours.
The first component of the plan
involves strengthening diversity in
the University community. While
Wrighton does not see a particular
dearth of diversity in the student
body, he said that the University
needs to increase diversity among
its employees.
“If we’re to be successful as we
are now in recruiting talented students, we’re going to have to have
stronger faculty and staff in terms
of diversity,” Wrighton told Student
Life. “We have not done nearly as
well in drawing to the University
faculty members of underrepresented minority groups.”
none of your
The second priority of the plan
is to continue strengthening the
undergraduate experience, including improving career services and
focusing on the Sam Fox School of
Design and Visual Arts.
“Just like any other students you
want people to know Wash. U.,”
Cohen said. “You want more students to apply here and recognize
what a good school it is, and when
you leave here, you want to be recognized for the hard work you put in
over four years.”
The third and fourth priorities,
respectively, are improving the
University’s graduate programs and
maintaining the reputations of the
medical school and school of social
work. The fifth priority is ensuring
the University’s financial success.
While Cohen would have wanted to hear the chancellor speak more
about students’ everyday experiences, he admired Wrighton’s vision
and poise.
“I’m just always really impressed when I hear the chancellor
speak,” Cohen said. “He has an answer for everything.”
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McCASKILL
from page 1
what their representatives are like.
They want to know they are human. It is very personal.”
The use of new media is also
intended to fulfill the reelection
goals of politicians.
“Some of these technologies
actually give an elected official or
candidate an advantage over the
competition if the technology actually allows the candidate to come
into contact with more people,”
Smith said. “That is a political advantage. Reaching young people is
especially a big political move.”
The outburst in new media
comes after Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, which used an
unprecedented amount of new
media to forward its message to
masses of people, especially the
country’s youth.
Drzymala, who worked on the
Obama campaign, cited the importance of Obama’s use of new media.
“In D.C., since Obama’s campaign, there has been a large
amount of interest in using online
tools,” Drzymala said. “It was important to open the election process
using those tools.”
Drzymala hopes to continue to
add transparency to the political
process in the future.
“I see myself continuing to help
make government better and more
efficient,” Drzymala said.
According to Drzymala, the
ease with which one can use new
media for political ends allows for
more engagement in government
by a greater percentage of the population.
“Everyone who wants to be involved, can,” Drzymala said. “For
anyone who is interested, it’s easy
to get your start.”
Many believe that new media
will continue to evolve into the future and will play a larger role in
politicians’ communication with
the public.
“We’re going to be seeing a
convergence of technology over
the next five or 10 years,” Smith
said. “What we will find is that as
the technology converges, politicians who are ambitious, younger
and newer will be looking for ways
to distinguish themselves and exploit the new technologies.”
GLOBEMED
from page 1
interested in the future,” Blank said.
This year, GlobeMed has raised
$3,500 for the organization and expects
to reach their $4,000 goal before the year
ends.
“The idea of students making a longterm impact is kind of a new idea, but I
think it’s a pretty unique and pretty powerful one,” Blank said. “Hopefully after
[we] are gone, people are still working to
make this stronger.”
The group, Kumar said, seeks to inspire University students to become part
of the larger global health cause.
“Undergraduate students are making
sustainable long-term change and making a structure in the community that will
help thousands of patients in the future,”
Kumar said. “[This program is] mobilizing University students to be a part of a
larger movement for health equity so the
next generation of global health leaders
will have this idea for the future.”
DINING
from page 1
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“What we were hearing from students was that the grill was great, but
they felt they didn’t have as many choices. After a few meals you get tired of
grill,” Siddiqui said.
Siddiqui thinks that the new dining
arrangement will give students all the
benefits of the former plan while providing more options for students to choose.
Students agree.
“I think it will be nice to have the variety,” said senior Frank Beling, speaker
of Student Union Treasury, who eats in
the DUC a few nights a week.
The DUC has also collaborated with
Dining Services to provide late-night
coffee.
During the week before spring break,
the DUC began Café-i-nated, a program
that will allow students to self-serve Kaldi’s coffee during the week from 10-12
p.m.
“It’d be nice,” freshmen Michele
Markovitz said. “You can study [in the
DUC] instead of the library.”
All coffee is free of charge, and paper
cups are provided, although students are
encouraged to bring their own mugs.
“We encourage students to use their
own mugs, but there are paper cups
available,” said Leslie Heusted, assistant
director for programming and marketing
for the DUC. “We certainly want people
to be sustainable.”
Scene Editor / Shayna Makaron / scene@studlife.com
FRIDAY | MARCH 20, 2009
hotseams
Guide to being a recessionista!
Ginika Agbim
Fashion Columnist
You’re back from an amazing spring break full of spending,
partying and sun. Though classes
have started, you may still find
yourself out of touch with the real
world. Whether you’re willing to
accept it or not, America is still in a
recession, and yes, this affects even
you. Here’s a guide to stretching
the dollar, shopping wisely and still
looking great despite the slump.
Shop out of season
Right now stores are displaying their spring and summer pieces
while attempting to rid themselves
of all the sweaters and long sleeve
shirts from this past winter. Why not
capitalize on these sales and stock
up for winter 2009? The basics
usually don’t change from season to
season, so a red thermal now is just
as good as a red thermal next fall.
As soon as the summer ends, buy
a new swimsuit or sandals for next
summer!
Organize your closet
Sorting your closet allows you
to finally see all the clothes that you
have. After sorting and donating the
clothes that you don’t want, make
a list of items you need to buy. By
organizing your closet and shopping
with a list, you can avoid buying
the same thing twice and also avoid
buying unnecessary items.
Look for sales and
coupons online
Many times, you can receive
coupons or information about sales
and store events just by joining the
e-mail lists of your favorite stores.
Take advantage of these deals and
plan your shopping around major
sale times.
Shop at discount
stores
Stores like DSW and T. J. Maxx
hare often hit-or-miss, with “hidden
gems” that must be sought out. If
you have the time, try shopping for
shoes and clothes that you would
normally find at the mall at these
places instead. Keep in mind that
the selection in these stores varies
by city, so if you’re looking for
reduced price Joe’s or True Religion
jeans, go to a T. J. Maxx in a more
expensive neighborhood.
Read discount/budgetfriendly fashion blogs
Blogs like The Budget Fashionista and College Fashion that
are aimed at the wallet-conscious
shopper provide coupons, deals and
insight on online stores. Checking
these blogs weekly will keep you
on top of things, such as what deals
are happening when, and they also
provide advice to help you shop
sensibly.
Know your stores
By following the price trends
of your favorite stores and brands,
you’ll soon be able to discern a
“sale” from a genuine reduced price.
In particular, stores such as Macy’s
seem to have sales every other
week, however, these sales might
not offer the particular item you
seek at the lowest possible price. By
waiting until that item’s price is reduced again, you can end up buying
items for up to 75 percent off. Keep
in mind that many stores rotate their
stock about every six weeks.
There are lots of deals to discover, if you just know how to look
out for them. Don’t let a thin wallet
keep you from attaining the look
you want.
-Stay Stylish!
STUDENT LIFE | SCENE
9
There’s a fee for that?
Jump Sosothikul
Scene Reporter
It seems like accomplishing
anything requires money, and often
lots of it. Nowadays, this statement
holds true more than ever. Yes, even
Washington University has succumbed to charging student groups,
even those with beneficent causes, for
the use of school facilities. Renting
a room in the Danforth University
Center (DUC) now comes with a fee
between $25 and $150 for any nonStudent Union group. Think the price
of using the DUC is steep? Think
again.
This year, Relay for Life, an organization dedicated to raising money
for cancer research, was charged
$1,000 to use Francis Field. Thurtene,
the Greek philanthropic carnival
usually held in the Brookings parking
lot, has to pay a sizable fee to the
University as well. Dance Marathon,
raising funds for Children’s Miracle
network, was also charged $1,000 to
use the Athletic Complex.
Of course, this is the final price
after factoring in discounts from the
University. “Let it be known that the
Athletic Complex cuts us a deal when
they charge us a thousand dollars
for this space,” said senior Lauren
Statman, 2008 Dance Marathon chairperson. “It still sounds like a lot of
money to us, but from their end it’s…
a nice thing?”
Where does all this money go?
This is a broad question that, unfortu-
Despite rising prices, student
groups seem largely unaffected by the
change. Student Union already pays
a flat fee to use the DUC, so Student
Union (SU) groups need not worry
over new charges. And groups that
aren’t classified as SU organizations
seem to be managing just fine.
What about large-scale events for
which even the DUC and other facilities are inadequate? Student groups
that face such an issue have very
often needed external space. “We’ve
always been charged a thousand dollars to use Francis field,” said senior
Carol Dye, co-chair or Relay for Life.
“There’s never been a year when we
haven’t.”
That doesn’t mean student groups
have resigned themselves to drowning under the deluge of rising costs.
In fact, student groups typically rely
on external funding to conduct largescale events. “We need to grow our
area of outside sponsorship. We don’t
really know how to write grant applications but we’re doing it.” Statman
said of the Dance Marathon board.
“We’re really trying to become more
autonomous.”
Autonomous is preicsely what
describes some student groups. Dance
Marathon raised more than $130,000
last year with a budget of only
$23,000. With almost 50 percent of
this subsidized by Student Union, the
full $130,000 went directly to their
cause. Relay for Life also used only 5
percent of their earnings to cover their
bases. Despite budgets tightening, it
seems charity flows from the Wash.
U. and St. Louis communities.
nately, does not have a simple answer.
Each Wash. U. facility is operated by
different departments.
“You can’t go to one source,” said
Jill Carnaghi, associate vice chancellor for students and dean of campus
life. “If you’re trying to reserve a
room on campus, you may go to literally 20 different individuals.”
In all cases, though, part of the fee
goes toward customizing the rented
space to suit the student group’s
needs. And let’s not forget upkeep.
The Women’s Building Lounge,
one of the more popular spaces on
campus, recently got an overhaul.
Fixing the ceiling, replacing the floor,
restoring old furniture—the bill adds
up very quickly.
“We’ve spent thousands upon
thousands of dollars,” Carnaghi said.
“The rental rates don’t even begin to
match that.”
Standard wear and tear from daily
use can increase strain on upkeep
as well. Holmes Lounge, frequently
used for various events, got new
tables and chairs over spring break.
“We don’t want to do major renovations,” Carnaghi said. “We want to
get it to where we want, then we want
to do little things each year.”
That’s not to say that the
University won’t go for any major
reconstruction. As recently as 1998,
Holmes Lounge didn’t have the beautiful ceiling paintings it sports today;
it also had no air-conditioning, no
door connecting to Eads and no café
with carvery wraps. And as for those
antique-looking chandeliers, they
were added in 1998 as well.
MCT CAMPUS
Caption caption caption xxxxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx. Fantastic. Fantastic.
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Spires,
April 2009
E-mail your idea incorporating Student Life newspaper
to contest@studlife.com. Full Rules: www.studlife.com/contestrules
Deadline is March 20, 2009. Wanna see last year’s calendar for some
inspiration? Stop by Room 330 in the DUC for a free copy.
Sudoku
By The Mepham Group
Level: 1
2
3
4
Complete the grid so each row, column and
3-by-3 box (in bold borders) contains every digit
1 to 9. For strategies on how to solve Sudoku, visit
www.sudoku.org.uk.
Solution to Wednesday’s puzzle
© 2009 The Mepham Group. Distributed by Tribune Media Services. All rights reserved.
3/20/09
10 STUDENT LIFE | SCENE
Scene Editor / Shayna Makaron / scene@studlife.com
SCENE
FRIDAY | MARCH 20, 2009
Ta y B e a r
MCT CAMPUS
Shayna Makaron
Senior Scene Editor
By the time she graduated elementary school, freshman Taylor Crabtree
had touched more people’s lives than
many people could in a lifetime. At
seven years old, Crabtree combined
her hobby of painting hair clips for
gymnasts with a desire to make other
children happy. The end result was
TayBear, a nonprofit organization
dedicated to giving teddy bears to
children with cancer and chronic blood
disorders.
“It just all kind of came together
for me,” said Crabtree of the creation
of TayBear. She began selling her hair
clips and using the profits to purchase
the teddy bears, hoping to donate 50
bears to a local hospital. Twelve years
later, Crabtree has sent out about
28,000 bears and has another 2,000
ready to go once she gets home for the
summer. These numbers don’t even
include the other stuffed animals and
Beanie Babies that people donate,
which Crabtree also tries to pass on to
children.
Crabtree has a copyright on the
style and shape of the bears that she
sends out, which are produced by
Build-A-Bear Workshop. While the
bears all look the same and wear the
same shirt featuring a poem about hugging bears and having them grant your
wishes, each bear has a tag with an
original name ranging from Binki Bear
to Riley to Tosca. Perhaps most special
of all is that each and every bear is
hugged before it is sent out, either by
Crabtree or by one of the many children now on board with her project.
The road to success, as is often
the case, was still no easy feat for
Crabtree. She noted that one of her
biggest challenges while starting the
project was learning persistence at a
very young age.
“I’m not going to lie: I heard ‘no’
from a lot of people. I started originally
selling my hair clips to buy the bears
outside of Albertson’s and other stores.
I got kicked out of the front of a couple
stores because I was loitering. They’d
give me a little red square to stand
on and I couldn’t move from it,” she
explained. “It was definitely difficult,
but when I started giving speeches and
reaching out to business people and
optimist-type clubs, it really took off.”
Crabtree explained the developing
publicity of TayBear as a spiral effect;
she started giving speeches at local
Lion’s Clubs in the San Diego area,
and one article in the local newspaper
led to more people learning of her
organization. Soon enough, she was
being featured on CBS News and in
People Magazine as one of the top five
“Heroes Among Us” in 2006.
When asked what her most
meaningful recognition experience
was, Crabtree recalled a trip to Disney
World that she was sent on at age ten.
The group consisted of 1,000 kids
from the U.S. and 1,000 kids from
a friend for the journey
abroad, all performing acts of kindness
like hers.
“It wasn’t necessarily a personal
recognition or for TayBear, but it was
just an amazing experience getting sent
to a place where I could meet other
people that were really trying to make
a difference and really trying to do
something bigger than themselves,”
she said.
While Crabtree still sells hair clips
after she gives speeches in order to
raise money for TayBear, she pointed
out that she now relies a lot on donations and that she has seen people
from the community get involved in
expected ways.
She told a story of one conference
of the Young Entrepreneurs Organization at which she spoke while still in
elementary school. After the speech,
the attendees mingled and gave out
their business cards. As she was flipping through the business cards when
she got home, Crabtree found one from
the man who started yellowpages.com.
On the back of the card it said, “I owe
you $10,000.” After taking her out on
his yacht to talk business, the donation
came through.
It was the generosity of people such
as this man, and the smiles on sick
children’s faces that make Crabtree’s
persistence well worth it. “Five people
saying ‘no’ and then one person saying
‘yes’ was definitely worth it,” she said.
As one can imagine, Crabtree has
received countless letters and e-mails
from children, parents, hospitals and
admirers thanking her for her work.
But even so, Crabtree admitted that
one letter in particular stands out: it
was regarding a 3- or 4-year-old boy,
named Ryan, whom Crabtree met at
the hospital while he was there for a
routine checkup. Ryan had taken a bear
to give to his sister. About a week later,
Crabtree received a letter from his father saying that Ryan had died shortly
after his doctor’s visit. They buried him
with the TayBear.
“It was one of those letters that
was written at 3:30 in the morning and
you could tell it had just happened,”
Crabtree explained. “It was just like,
wow—to be able to make a difference
and just help him, especially in his last
days.”
Crabtree plans to transfer into the
Olin Business School to study business
finance and stated that she plans to
continue with TayBear in the future.
“At some point I can’t really be as
much a part of TayBear as far as kids
helping kids, so I’ll be working more
than I used to with Girl Scouts and
getting kids involved and community
groups. I’ll be taking more of a managerial role.”
This should be no problem for
Crabtree, who mentioned that she was
doing her own taxes when she was 10
years old. From audacious child to a
young entrepreneur, Crabtree will be
measuring her success in teddy bears
for years to come: almost 30,000 and
counting.
EVAN WISKUP | STUDENT LIFE
To date, freshman Taylor Crabtree, creator of the nonprofit organization
TayBear, has now donated 28,000 of her unique bears to hospitals.
what’s so special about bears that no one should miss?
Just give them your hugs and they will grant you your wish.
Is it wings you desire to fly over a cloud? Hug a bear, get your wish, you’ll make it so proud.
Is it sweet dreams you need to get through your nights? Hug a bear, get your wish, you’ll have no more frights!
Bears have the biggest, kindest hearts, it’s true.
Just hug them tightly and your dreams will come true.
-poem on T-shirt of every TayBear
Modesto Tapas Bar
5257 Shaw Avenue
St. Louis, Missouri 63110
(314) 772-TAPA (8272)
★★★★✬
Sophie Adelman
Scene Reporter
Nestled among cozy pizzerias
and extravagant Italian restaurants
on the Hill is Modesto Tapas Bar
and Restaurant. Though I was
initially skeptical, my dining experience at this Spanish restaurant
turned out to be one of the best
I’ve had in St. Louis.
If you’re unfamiliar with the
concept of tapas, take a clue
from Modesto’s menu: “Tapas
are a time-honored and cherished
part of Spanish cuisine. The tapa
(from the verb tapar—to cover)
was originally a slice of bread or
cured ham, placed over the mouth
of a wine glass. As the popularity grew, so did the variety. In
Spain, tapas are much more than a
culinary delight—they represent a
lifestyle—an opportunity to share
good times with friends in an
unrushed, carefree manner.”
This gem of a restaurant combines a welcoming and intimate
atmosphere with an extensive, innovative menu. The décor is contemporary but comforting, with a
warm color scheme and inviting
table arrangements—perfect for
conversation.
We started off with a round of
tapas frias, or cold tapas. While
waiting, our friendly and helpful server (heavy Spanish accent
aside), presented us with homemade French bread and olive tapenade. This dip, made from black
olives, capers and anchovies, was
rich and hearty with a strong olive
flavor.
The first dish was the Puré
de Garbanzos, a Modesto take
on hummus. Without the bitter
tahini (a sauce that often accompanies hummus in Middle Eastern
cooking), however, the purée was
milder and sweeter, with a creamy
consistency that contrasted well
with the crostini.
Next came the Boquerones con
Alubias, a white anchovy dish that
combines white beans, red onion,
radish and capers. The lighter,
less savory white anchovies didn’t
overpower the rest of the ingredients, but instead created a lively
fusion.
The last of the tapas frias was
the Tortilla Española, a quiche-
like dish. A mainstay on tapas
menus, Tortilla Española serves as
a general marker for good tapas
restaurants. It was no different for
Modesto’s. Although the omelet
looked dense, it was light and
fluffy—a perfect combination of
eggs, potato and onion drizzled
with a creamy, slightly salty aioli.
For the tapas calientes, or
hot tapas, we tried the chorizo
special. This came with two types
of chorizo: a dark, milder sample
and a lighter, more traditional
variety. Not being a huge chorizo
fan myself, I found myself
gravitating more toward the accompanying roasted onions in
hearty olive oil sauce. The portion
size was a little disappointing—
only six bite-sized pieces left me
wondering if these were worth a
dollar apiece.
My favorite dish was the
Mejillones en Salsa de Cidra,
mussels steamed in hard cider
with chorizo and peppers. The
cider gave the mussels a hint of
sweet, tangy flavor, which was an
unexpected but delicious fruity
complement to the seafood. I
could barely stop myself from
slurping up the tasty broth…so I
went ahead and did it anyway.
The final dish was the Dátiles
Rellenos. By this point in the
meal, we were so full we could
barely breathe, but these treats
were just so scrumptious, we
managed to force them down. The
dates were wrapped in hot, crispy
bacon, then stuffed with Cabrales
cheese. The creaminess of the
cheese, combined with the savory
bacon and sugary dates, created
an unbeatable blend of flavors and
consistencies.
By this point, I decided to
commit a serious faux pas and
ask for my dessert to go. But even
after a day in the refrigerator, the
flan too was complex and pleasing. This traditional Spanish dish
moved with a hint of citrus flavor,
which cut through the too-often
sickly sweet caramel sauce, and
balanced well with its creamy
consistency.
Overall, the Modesto experience was wonderful. The service
was excellent, the food delectable,
the atmosphere inviting and the
trip well worth the effort.
SOPHIE ADELMAN | STUDENT LIFE