The University has added a number of courses to its curriculum for this coming semester, including classes related to the vice presidential debate which will be held on campus in October.

There are also new freshman Focus seminars and 300- and 400-level Arts & Sciences courses that will investigate a variety of updated subjects.

“We’re excited about the new courses,” Trevor Bilhorn, curriculum coordinator for the College of Arts & Sciences, said. “And we’re glad to have a vibrant curriculum.”

One of the most topical courses being offered is an 80-person class in the Olin Business School titled “The Business of Presidential Elections.” According to Steven Malter, who will be teaching the course, enrolled students will be examining the impact of the 2008 Presidential election on the world of business.

The class will include lessons on marketing and branding of the campaigns, polling and the differences between the candidates in their healthcare, tax and trade policies and how those policies will impact global business.

Although at this point enrolled students will not have a way to participate directly in the activity surrounding the vice presidential debate, Malter says that discussions are underway about ways to engage class members with the event, which will be held on campus on October 2.

“Americans and their Presidents,” a new freshman Focus course, will also study issues relevant to the nation’s highest office. Other new Focus courses to be offered include “Argentina: Past and Present,” an historical survey of Argentina that will culminate in a spring break trip to Buenos Aires, and “Phage Hunters,” a biology course in which students will take part in a national experiment organized by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI).

Freshmen enrolled in “Phage Hunters” will collect bacteriophages in the soil outside of Rebstock Hall, then conduct lab work on the microscopic organisms, including isolation of their DNA. Upon completion of the course, instructors and one student from the class will attend a HHMI-hosted research symposium, and one of the collected phages will be selected for genome sequencing.

“Students will get experience in the field of genomics, an increasingly important area of biology research,” Professor Kathy Hafer, who will be team-teaching the course alongside several other members of the Department of Biology, wrote in an e-mail.

Hafer also notes the value of taking a more hands-on approach to an intro-level Biology course.

“I think the phage hunters course will be a more realistic experience with biology research than the typical introductory biology lab course,” said Hafer.

Several other new science courses have been added to the Arts & Sciences curriculum that deal with current issues, including a 100-level “Introduction To Global Climate Change In the 21st Century” in the Earth and Planetary Sciences department, and 400-level “Topics in the History of Eugenics” in Biology and Biomedical Sciences.

Other upper-level courses to be offered include 300-level “Advanced Hindi I,” a 400-level Anthropology course entitled “Tobacco: History, Anthropology, and Politics of a Global Epidemic,” and the 300-level “Hooking Up: Healthy Exploration or Harmful Exploitation?” which will be offered in the Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies (formerly Women and Gender Studies) program.

According to Professor Susan Stiritz, “Hooking Up” will examine young adult sexual culture through a study of students’ own sexual cultures, as well as through reading the relevant literature in gender theory and sexuality studies.

“We will explore if hooking up differs along axes of gender, sexual orientation, class, religion, and ethnicity-as well as class status,” wrote Stiritz in an e-mail. “I hope students will leave the course understanding better the cultural phenomenon of hooking up and its historical contexts.”

That course, like many of the other new classes being offered this semester, is already a popular one as measured by enrollment, with as many students on its wait list-22-as there are students in the class.

Wait lists aside, however, it seems that the biggest dilemma with all the new courses being offered this semester may be picking between them.

The trend began in September when Columbia University drew national attention after inviting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to speak on the university’s campus in New York.

Ahmadinejad, widely protested by Columbia students and faculty, touched off a firestorm of controversy with his speech when he denied the existence of homosexuals in Iran.

Bringing in such a controversial speaker according to former Student Union (SU) President Neil Patel is not necessarily a bad thing.

“I don’t think controversy should be the sole motive, but if the speaker can be educational, I don’t think controversy should prevent universities from bringing one in,” Patel, a graduating senior, said.

Indeed, as the year progressed, Washington University seemed to have taken Patel’s words to heart and generated its own fair share of controversy regarding the selection of campus speakers.

On Feb. 19, former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales delivered a Student Union-funded speech in which he recounted his life story, addressed many issues related to the war on terror and answered various questions submitted by an audience of about 600 University students, faculty and staff.

“Gonzales had a pretty superficial speech,” Patel said. “But the College Republicans and the College Democrats and the Wash. U. Peace Coalition put forth a lot of effort to educate the student body, and so I think that was a very good thing.”

Gonzales was invited to speak by members of the College Republicans, a student group on campus, and was paid $30,000 for his appearance.

Several student groups on campus, including the College Democrats and the Wash. U. Peace Coalition, protested the event by staging a demonstration outside of the 560 Building on Delmar Boulevard, where Gonzales delivered his speech.

More than 100 University students and faculty waved signs and chanted in protest, with some of them dressed in orange jumpsuits in imitation of the terrorist inmates at Guantanamo Bay whom they believed to be wrongly interned and tortured. The groups’ protest generally centered on what students considered to be Alberto Gonzales’ objectionable tenure as attorney general, as well as the University’s decision to fund his speech.

The protesters had been under the public eye even before the day of Gonzales’ speech, especially when it was announced that SU would provide funding for demonstrations. For the first time in recent memory, the University would be allocating funds to both an event and that same event’s protest.

One month later, the University drew heat once again when it refused to allow Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama to speak on campus. The University, which will play host to the only vice presidential debate in October, made the decision in an effort to avoid appearing to favor any particular candidates in the presidential race.

The University’s highly-contested decision led to the formation of the Student Civic Initiative, a student group dedicated to the promotion of civic engagement on campus through the invitation of more political speakers to the University.

“I think when we do bring speakers to campus, we should be sure that they have some substance behind them and that they’ll teach the student body a lesson, be that in what they say or in what students do when they respond to them when they come to campus,” Patel said.

To finish the year, the University chose a less controversial speaker when it announced that Chris Matthews, host of MSNBC’s “Hardball,” would deliver the University’s Commencement address.

When asked if he thinks Matthews will cap the year with yet another controversy, Patel expressed some doubt.

“He was brought in here to talk to a class and to parents that come from a lot of different points of view,” Patel said.

The Department of Athletics at Washington University was recently ranked No. 7 in Hall of Fame Magazine’s annual ranking of the top 15 collegiate athletic programs in NCAA Divisions I, II and III and NAIA.

“We are honored to be recognized among the nation’s best,” Director of Athletics John Schael said. “It is a tribute to our student athletes, coaches and Washington University.”

According to a Hall of Fame Magazine article, the ranked athletic programs were “judged by their excellence across all sports.”

This year, the Bears had nine teams qualify for NCAA post-season competition. Two of these-women’s volleyball and men’s basketball-won Division III national championships.

The men’s basketball team brought in the University’s first NCAA basketball title when the team defeated defending champion Amherst this March. Additionally, the women’s volleyball team set a Div. III record when it won its ninth NCAA crown.

Rich Luenemann, head coach of volleyball, said he was “astounded in a very positive” sense to hear of the athletic program’s ranking.

“We have proven at Washington University that you can have the best of both worlds: the highest level of academic opportunities and strong success in athletics in the field, court or whatever it may be,” Luenemann said.

In addition to bringing in two championship titles, the University placed third in women’s cross country and women’s indoor track and field, fifth in men’s soccer, sixth in women’s swimming and diving, ninth in women’s soccer, 13th in men’s swimming and diving and 17th in women’s basketball.

Mark Edwards, head coach of the men’s basketball team, feels that a key element in the overall success of the University’s athletic program has been its interconnectedness.

“One of the big pluses this department has is that we’re very supportive of each other,” Edwards said. “That’s not always there in some places, so it’s something that we’re proud of, and it’s very important for us.”

In order of ranking, the top six collegiate athletic programs honored were Stanford, Texas-Austin, Louisiana State, Grand Valley State, Southern California and Ohio State.

Washington University was followed in ranking by Kansas, Tennessee, and California.

Schael says that while he feels the ranking is a great honor, he also takes pride in some of the University’s other recent rankings.

For example, Schael points to the fact that the University is currently ranked first in the running for the Div. III Director’s Cup.

The Director’s Cup is an annual award given by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics that is based on order of finish in NCAA post-season play. The Div. III title in the Director’s Cup has recently been dominated by Williams College, which has won the award consecutively since the 1998-99 academic year.

Additionally, the University’s athletics program was ranked 12th last summer by the National Collegiate Scouting Association, which bases its ranking not only on athletics, but academics and student athlete graduation rates as well.

Above all, Schael says he is most proud of the overall experience offered to student athletes at the University.

“We’ve always taken pride in the quality of experience our students have,” Schael said. “That’s where we hang our hat.”

The past year saw another record-breaking admissions cycle in colleges and universities across the country, with unprecedented numbers of students both applying for and being rejected from institutions of higher education.

“This year has been a very interesting one around the country, so it’s difficult to predict what will happen with all colleges and with Washington University,” Nanette Tarbouni, director of admissions, wrote in an e-mail.

Of more than 27,000 students who applied for admission into Harvard University’s freshman class, only 7.1 percent were accepted, making this year the most competitive in the school’s history. Princeton University, which received 21,369 applications, accepted just 9.3 percent of its applicants, a decrease from the 9.5 percent it accepted last year.

One of the principal factors cited for the increase in applications this year to universities like Harvard and Princeton has been the discontinuation of these schools’ early admissions programs, which has led many students to apply to more schools instead of committing early to one.

Applications to Washington University, which retained its early decision program, did not rise significantly. Similar to last year, about 22,000 students applied for entrance into the Class of 2012, with admission being offered to about 20 percent of applicants.

In response to this, junior Niki Wagstaff said she thinks the University could benefit from adopting a policy similar to Harvard’s or Princeton’s.

“I think that having all students apply together could draw more people to Wash. U., especially because of what Wash. U. has done recently to improve its financial aid program,” Wagstaff said.

Wagstaff said that another factor that is being used to explain this year’s large applicant pool is the recent trend among selective colleges and universities to expand their financial aid programs, which has made many highly-ranked institutions more accessible to students from all economic backgrounds.

Many colleges, including Washington University, have eliminated loans for students from families earning less than a certain income-$60,000 in the case of Washington University-in a year. Other selective universities have increased the number of students eligible for financial aid by permitting more students from middle-class backgrounds to receive assistance.

Jimmy Cox, a sophomore and member of the Student Admissions Committee, thinks that the University could benefit from expanding its financial aid.

“I believe that students in the middle tax bracket, say 100 to 180 thousand dollar annual income, shouldn’t have to pay more than 10 percent of that on tuition,” Cox said.

As a result of this year’s unique admissions season, many universities remain uncertain of the number of incoming freshmen who will matriculate.

Washington University is aiming for an incoming class of about 1,350 for next year, though Tarbouni said the University’s exact yield is unpredictable.

“We can’t predict what will happen,” Tarbouni wrote. “It’s the time of year when we remember that the decisions are where they should be-with the students.”

As in the past, admissions officers at the University are controlling the yield by relegating many applicants to the waiting list.

However, Tarbouni said that given the reactions of prospective freshmen to last week’s Celebrations Weekend, she expects many of the students who visited to attend the University.

“Last weekend provided a challenge, with the canceling of so many American Airline flights,” Tarbouni wrote. “But most students still made it here. When they left on Sunday, many were saying they would be back in August.”

Ashoka Holi
Ashoka will be hosting a water-balloon fight on the Swamp from 3 to 4 p.m. to celebrate the South Asian festival of Holi. In past years, the event has ended in a mud fight, so participants are advised to dress accordingly.

Amnesty International Jam for Justice
Amnesty International will be holding a concert at the University Co-op at 6021 Pershing Avenue. from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. Tickets are $5 at the door and all benefits will go to the St. Louis Center for Survivors of Torture and War Trauma.

Saturday, April 12

Association of Latin American Students ALAS Formal
The Association of Latin American Students will be having its annual formal from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. at the Lemp Mansion. Tickets are $25 and cover both dinner and the dance. Buses will be leaving from campus.

Pride Alliance Gayla
Pride Alliance will be hosting an art-themed semi-formal from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. in the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum. Tickets are free for students and $5 for the public.

Sunday, April 13

Thurtene Junior Honorary Thurtene Carnival
Thurtene Carnival will hold its festivities-including rides, theatrical performances, and a cappella music-from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday on the North Brookings parking lot. Thurtene is the oldest and largest student-run carnival in the nation.

“It was a very positive meeting,” freshman David Fox, co-founder of the Student Civic Initiative (SCI), said.

Present at the meeting were several members of SCI and Pam Lokken, vice chancellor for government and community relations, Jim McLeod, dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, and Rob Wild, assistant to the chancellor.

During the meeting, the administration charged SCI with the task of exploring new ways for the University to create forums for political discussion that would remain open, independent and educational while still implementing some of SCI’s goals.

“I think all our students and faculty like the idea of an open campus where opinions can be expressed without regard to the institution being involved in a partisan way,” McLeod said. “This group has shown the will and the ability to offer leadership effectively, so I think we should line up behind them and try to come to some understanding.”

The administration also discussed its principal concerns with SCI, especially regarding the University’s ability to maintain a position of political neutrality when bringing in speakers who are also running for political office.

Much of this concern relates to the University’s concern about how those outside of campus view its political leanings.

According to Fox, a non-partisan, student-led initiative such as SCI-which would invite political speakers to campus independently-could help the University administration remain nonpartisan while still fostering a politically-engaged atmosphere on campus.

For this reason, Fox envisions SCI acting as a liaison for the University, bringing political speakers to campus in a manner similar to that of the student group Team 31, which brings in musical artists for W.I.L.D.

“The administration basically wants us to be like the student group that puts on W.I.L.D. or the group that puts on Thurtene, in the sense that they want this to be a student-run initiative,” Fox said. “So it’s not the University bringing in speakers, it’s us bringing in speakers.”

Sophomore Eric Reif, another member of SCI, said he supports SCI taking charge of promoting civic engagement on campus.

Reif said that SCI is ultimately seeking University support in its proposal to increase student voter registration.

“It is the Student Civic Initiative, not the Administration Civic Initiative. So we’re seeking [the administration's] support and want them to support what we’re doing, but we’re not asking Dean McLeod to go door-to-door handing out registration forms,” Reif said.

Fox said he feels that SCI’s non-partisan nature will also help the group to succeed in the future.

“We encourage politically-engaged students from across the political spectrum: green, red, blue, orange, whatever,” Fox said. “And we want Ralph Nader as much as we want Barack Obama as much as we want Mitt Romney as much as we want Ron Paul as much as we want Hillary Clinton. We just want Washington University students to be educated and to be a bigger part of the democratic process.”

SCI, which was formed earlier this semester in response to the administration’s decision not to invite Democratic candidate Barack Obama to campus, has since expanded its focus and now emphasizes the general promotion of an active political climate in the University.

“We just think that the school needs to do more to support civic engagement on campus,” freshman Katherine Filaseta, another member of SCI, said.

The idea for the survey came from sophomore William Osberghaus, a Student Union (SU) Treasury representative and chair of the Student Groups Activities Committee (SGAC). Osberghaus says that he came up with the idea because he believes the Treasury can benefit from new methods of gauging student opinion.

“I thought it was a good idea to get student body input if we’re going to represent the student body,” Osberghaus said. “We should know what the student body wants and how they want their student activities fee to be spent.”

The survey was conducted via an e-mail sent to the student body and linked students to a Web site with questions asking students to prioritize different ways to spend the student activities fee. Students could respond by ranking their agreement or disagreement with different ideas. According to Osberghaus, about 850 students responded to the survey, 700 of whom completed it in full.

The survey included a wide range of questions. Some of the issues included the amount of money given to large university programming groups like the Gargoyle Committee, Campus Programming Council and Team 31; whether the University should invite a smaller number of well-known speakers or a greater number of lesser-known speakers; and whether or not the University should pay for student groups to travel to conferences and competitions across the country.

According to Osberghaus, the survey will help settle issues that are often debated in the Treasury.

For example, early analysis of the survey suggests that a majority of students approve of funding student groups to travel, an issue which has long been contested in Treasury’s allocation of funds.

“The survey will also make the Treasury more efficient,” Osberghaus said.

Of the students who completed the survey, a majority ranked campus speakers and concerts as most valuable to them in terms of SU funding allocation. Regarding concerts, it appears from early estimates that most students would like to see equal or greater funding for concerts between the Gargoyle and W.I.L.D.

Student reactions to the survey have varied, though most seem to think that it is a good idea in theory.

Freshman Tolya Kuznetsov considers the survey to be a successful method of gauging student input, but thinks the polling could be expanded over time to better represent the student body.

“I think they could use more surveys throughout the school year itself to more specifically decide what they want to spend funds on,” Kuznetsov said.

Sophomore Melissa Goodwin also feels that the survey is a good idea but believes that the method in which it was conducted could be improved in order to maximize student involvement. She says she did not complete the survey because she did not notice it in her inbox.

“Lot of people just delete mass e-mails,” said Goodwin.

Although Goodwin did not fill out the survey, she still cares about spending decisions made by SU Treasury.

“Some things are given too much money, and other things aren’t given enough,” she said.

The Olin Business School will be offering a new undergraduate major next semester in “healthcare management.” The program will include courses taught by professors from both the business and medical schools.

“Healthcare is a very important component of our economy and of the global economy,” Mahendra Gupta, dean of the Business School, said. “Our students in the Business School and at Washington University will benefit tremendously from an understanding of healthcare issues and how they affect business.”

Business School Professor Barton Hamilton and Bruce Hall, a medical school professor who also has a master’s degree in business administration, developed the program. Hall said that he has long envisioned the development of the major, which he said has become a reality because faculty resources and student interest have reached a critical mass.

“It’s always been my opinion that we ought to be devoting more effort to education around the healthcare industry,” Hall said. Hall, like Gupta, mentioned the importance of healthcare in the business sector. “The healthcare industry, if you hold out the military-industrial complex, is the largest industry in the country.”

The program will consist of three new courses: “Health, Economics and Policy,” “Healthcare Management,” and a research seminar course, which along with Olin Grand Rounds-a lecture series in the business of medicine-will comprise a “core” curriculum for the program. This core will be supplemented by several other business and medicine courses, including some in the science of medicine.

The focus of the program will be on healthcare economics, policy, management and research.

Gupta said that the program’s approach will concern both broad issues relevant to healthcare in general and specific topics that arise within the field.

“Our students will learn about many macro issues-the policies surrounding healthcare, why they arise the way they arise, and different organizational entities and interest groups,” Gupta said. “On a micro level, students will learn how healthcare organizations work, whether it be a hospital, an insurance company, or a pharmaceutical company.”

The courses will be open both to students enrolled in Olin and students outside the school, who may choose to either major or minor in the program. Students who choose to major in the program will participate in faculty-guided research on issues relevant to healthcare management, while those completing a minor will also have the option of participating in research projects.

“By the time the students come out, we would like them to have a great appreciation for business and management issues that surround healthcare, and also the great opportunities that lie in finding a career or creating a business there,” Gupta said.

Both Gupta and Hall expect the program to grow in the future.

“We hope that with every semester that goes by, we’ll be able to expand course offerings and involve even more faculty,” said Hall.

University administrators, St. Louis Department of Health officials and more than 200 campus volunteers collaborated in a public health drill Tuesday that simulated the distribution of medication at Mallinckrodt in the event of a terrorist anthrax attack, and tested the University’s emergency text-message system.

“We have protocols in place for a public health event, but we’ve never tried them and we haven’t trained a lot of people,” said Mark Bagby, the University emergency coordinator. “We came up with a very simplistic protocol [for responders to follow].”

The faculty, staff and students who volunteered to participate in the event were given a story to tell as they proceeded through the simulation, which was held in the Gargoyle.

During the drill, faculty and staff-including professors and administrators-were given an algorithm that helped them to identify symptoms in the volunteers and dispense medication to them. In a real-life scenario, qualified medical personnel would oversee the distributors.

The success of the distributors was measured against predetermined University and county health criteria.

“We’ll be able to track the forms to see if they made the right choices,” said Bagby.

The drill was held at the University because it is considered to be a place where mass mobility could be limited in the event of a disaster. Elsewhere in St. Louis, people showing symptoms of an epidemic would go to open public points of distribution (PODS), such as high schools, community centers and government sites.

Two observers from the St. Louis Department of Health were also present at the drill to give the University feedback on its response.

“We would be considered partners [with the University],” said Saralou Hendrickson, Bioterrorism and Emergency Response Planner for the City of St. Louis department of health. “It is our responsibility to make sure that people receive medication if they are exposed to a biological agent.”

In the drill scenario, an anthrax attack was said to be detected during the St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Monday. The simulation was meant to model “Day Two” of the attack.

Students from the Emergency Support Team (EST) were also present at the simulation in order to familiarize them with University disaster protocol.

“It’s been part of our mission to provide emergency medical services to campus in the event of a disaster,” said Eric LeFebvre, a senior and EST field director. “There are no written plans to utilize the team in a disaster, however the team has been working closely with the administration to formalize our role.”

“If this happened, this is the role we would be doing, so this is a good way for us to train,” said Jessalin Schultz, a senior and EST disaster coordinator.

This was the first time that a public health drill of this scale was carried out at the University.

In addition to the POD simulation, University administrators tested the WUText Emergency Notification System for the first time campus-wide. Students registered for the service received mock text messages informing them of an emergency test.

According to Bagby, the success of WUText could not be measured directly, but an online poll was being used to determine if students received the messages.

For more information on disaster protocol, visit emergency.wustl.edu.

-With additional reporting by Sam Guzik

The magazine, which is currently released on a monthly basis, is published online at www.theeasternreview.com. Its content varies widely, and includes such titles as “Biology professor discovers new Pokémon,” “Something about Islam in Southeast Asia” and “Dogs look a lot like sheep, say six-year-olds.”

Sophomore and founder Josh Delman says that his ultimate goal in publishing The Eastern Review is to make a magazine that students will consider to be a staple of the University.

“We’re hoping that they’ll say something like, ‘Wash. U. is famous for good academics, a good Division III basketball team, and also a really good humor magazine,’” said Delman.

Delman cites The Harvard Lampoon as having that kind of widespread recognition and praise that he hopes The Eastern Review can one day have. The editorial board that produces The Eastern Review was recently named a category III student group by the Student Group Activities Committee (SGAC). Although the group does not yet receive funding, members hope to earn a future stipend that will go toward publishing the magazine in print.

Delman and several of his former floor-mates, including sophomores Joey Stromberg, now the magazine’s managing editor, and Josh Malina, a current contributor, conceived the idea for the magazine last year. Now, The Eastern Review has at least 10 regular contributors in its ranks.

The Eastern Review’s name, according to Delman, “is kind of in the vein of a higher-class magazine, like Harper’s or The Atlantic Monthly.”

“We thought it’d be really funny if we juxtaposed the high-brow style of a magazine like Harper’s with low-brow humor,” said Malina.

Delman distinguishes The Eastern Review from the WUnderground, the University’s satirical newspaper, by emphasizing that the material covered in The Eastern Review is more typical of that featured in a magazine.

Whereas the WUnderground generally covers news events on campus, said Delman, The Eastern Review includes movie reviews, advice columns and leisure articles as well as coverage extending beyond University grounds.

For example, the latest issue of the magazine included “Freaking awesome movie ideas!” an advice column written by freshman Danny Weltman, and an article entitled, “Butterflies are delicious.”

“The things that wander across my mind-which very often have to do with children or animals-I just put down on paper. I’ve sort of realized that you don’t really need a great topic to make something funny,” said Malina. “You get comedy when you combine the absurd with reality.”

In an effort to raise awareness about the magazine on campus, members of The Eastern Review have engaged in a campaign of what Stromberg terms “alternative advertising,” and Malina likens to the film “Fight Club’s” “Project Mayhem.”

For example, contributors to the magazine recently distributed mock Bon Appétit inserts in the plastic triangles on tables throughout University dining facilities.

The ads imitated Bon Appétit’s food spotlight inserts, which have previously highlighted the nutritional benefits of foods like apples and honey. In their food descriptions, the ads deemed pumpernickel bread “a pillar of civilization for time immemorial.”

Another time, members of the group handed out fliers in Holmes Lounge, Whispers and the Mallinckrodt Food Court while wearing hats with spinners on them and playing the musical theme from Space Jam.

Group members declined to discuss future advertising ideas, but Stromberg did warn that students should, “Be on the lookout for a big surprise.”

“A big surprise,” Malina followed up jokingly. “We’re talking Hiroshima. Times a million.”

Stromberg says he plans for the magazine to have a significant presence at the University in the future.

“Our plan is to establish a presence on campus in a lot of different ways,” said Stromberg.

Among other things, Stromberg envisions the magazine producing audio and visual podcasts that could be broadcast on KWUR and WUTV. He also imagines the magazine working with improv comedy groups on campus.

“It’d be great if in the future, people would use ‘Eastern’ as an adjective to describe our kind of humor,” said Stromberg.

Malina agreed.

“When people want to laugh, we want them to think of The Eastern Review.”