Student Life Archives (2001-2008)

Sports in St. Louis

Josh Goldman — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:00:00 +0000

CHRIS LEE | ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH | MCT

Though not as notorious as New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles, St. Louis is a sports city. With successful professional teams in three of the four major U.S. sports, St. Louis is a great city for the sport enthusiast to spend his or her college years. Here is what St. Louis has to offer aside from Washington University athletics.

Hockey

Though in the lower echelon of teams now, the St. Louis Blues have been around since 1967 and were competitors for the Stanley Cup throughout much of the eighties and nineties. Tickets are easily obtainable, even for games against Western Conference powerhouses.

Baseball

The St. Louis Cardinals are one of the original professional baseball teams, though they debuted as the St. Louis Stockings. The Cards are second only to the Yankees in World Series won with 10, the last coming in 2006.

Though the team has left the original Busch Stadium for a newer version of the namesake, the new stadium is still a sight to see.

More open than its predecessor, the new stadium offers all of the modern amenities and is still a great place to watch a baseball game.

The Cardinals also feature one of the best players in the game, Albert Pujols, a career .333 hitter who has hit as many as 49 home runs in a single season. Rick Ankiel, the pitcher turned outfielder and feel-good story of the past year and a half, also patrols center field for the Cardinals.

Though the fans are always loud, Cubs-Cardinals games carry added significance with the huge rivalry between the two teams.

Football

Though they only moved to St. Louis in 1995, the Rams are beloved by the city, though they are currently struggling to compete with the elite in the NFL. The team brought home its only Superbowl in 1999 with Kurt Warner as the quarterback.

Now the team is led by Marc Bulger, one of the best passers in the league. His main target, Tori Holt, is a sure-fire hall-of -famer whose speed makes every pass play exciting.

Even though the team is struggling, the Edwards Jones Dome is always packed since the Rams play only eight home games a year. They host the Superbowl Champion New York Giants in week two of the 2008 season, a game sure to be packed with excitement.

College Basketball

With the hiring to Rick Majerus to begin the 2007-2008 campaign, the Saint Louis University Billikens competed for the Atlantic 10 conference title for a good part of last season and promise to do the same this year. Majerus led Utah to the national championship game, as well as an Elite Eight and Sweet Sixteen appearance. A coach willing to speak his mind, his presence is felt wherever he goes.

The 2009 Women’s Final Four will be held in St. Louis, so for all of those UConn, Tennessee, Rutgers, Duke, Maryland, North Carolina and LSU fans, you will have a good chance to see your team compete for the title.

Competition 101: The truth about IM and club sports

Trisha Wolf — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:00:00 +0000

If you love the thrill of competition but are not quite ready for varsity action, check out Washington University’s club and intramural sports scene. With 40 IM events andÃ¿over 30Ã¿club teams, it is very easy to find an athletic niche.

There are several ways to become involved inÃ¿IM sports. Freshmen floors often formÃ¿co-ed teams-though make sure to sign up early for the more popular sports like ultimate Frisbee. Fraternities, which freshmen can join after a semester, participate in the hugely popular points league while sororities also have a league of their own. Friends also can easily establish their own teams.

IM sports have a very loyal following. Eliana Hurwich-Reiss, who graduated in 2008, participated in four different IM sports annually. “You get to meet new people and do something that you love with friends,” she said.

IM sports can be far more out of the box than soccer and flag football. They also feature unique events like innertube water polo, arm wrestling and euchre. Students can also be trained as officials for the various competitions, positions which generally either pay or contribute to points in the points league.

Club sports provide a different type of competitive atmosphere. Many teams compete on an intercollegiate level, against schools ranging from Division I to Division III. Some of the teams have particularly strong records. Men’s roller hockey makes regular appearances at nationals as does women’s volleyball.

The Sports Club Federation serves as the governing body for most of Wash. U.’s club sports. “One thing that I like about Wash. U. is that you do not have to be a varsity athlete to be an athlete,” SCF president Hannah Cowan said. “SCF is not only run of the mill sports likeÃ¿baseball, soccer and volleyball, but sports like rock climbing and sailing.”

ThereÃ¿will be an opportunity during orientation to learn all about the various club sports teams on campus. Sign up for as many as you think you might be interested in; many teams love toÃ¿teach newcomers and the vast majorityÃ¿do not cut.

Recreational sports very much have their place at Wash. U. “IM sports are one of my fondest memories of Wash. U.,” Hurwich-Reiss said. “I wish I could play them out of college.”Ã¿Ã¿Ã¿
Ã¿

For more information about IM sports, go to http://intramuralsports.wustl.edu. For more information about club sports, go to http://scf.wustl.edu.

Just the Facts About Wash. U. Sports

Johann Qua Hiansen — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:00:00 +0000

MASCOT: Bears

Colors: Red & Green

Division: NCAA Division III

Conference: UAA (University Athletic Association)

Varsity Sports: 15 (baseball, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, cross country, football, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, softball, swimming & diving, men’s tennis, women’s tennis, track & field, volleyball and women’s golf)

NCAA National Championships: 15 (Volleyball (9), Women’s Basketball (4), Men’s Basketball (1), Men’s Tennis (1)

2007-2008 National Championships: 3 (Volleyball, Men’s Basketball, Men’s Tennis)

UAA Championships: 124

Club Sports: 32 (badminton, baseball, crew, cycling, equestrian, fencing, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse (M), lacrosse(W), racquetball, rock climbing, roller hockey, rugby (M), rugby (W), running, sailing, soccer (M), soccer (W), softball, table tennis, tae kwon do, tennis, ultimate Frisbee (M), ultimate Frisbee (W), volleyball (M), volleyball (W), water polo (M), water polo (W), wrestling (M))

Intramurals:Kickball, Field Goal Kicking, Ultimate Frisbee, Volleyball, Football, Soccer, Badminton, Tennis,Racquetball, Billiards, Card Night, Golf, Arm Wrestling, 3-Point Shooting, Table Tennis, Basketball, Water Polo, Swimming, Sports Trivia Bowl, Track & Field, Home Run Derby, Cross Country

Notable Fan/Support Groups: Red Alert, Cheerleading, Jive Dance Team, Phi Delta Theta Bomb Squad

WU engineer enters NBA draft

Johann Qua Hiansen — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:00:00 +0000

Courtesy of Zach Feinstein

Senior Zach Feinstein doesn’t fit the image of a professional NBA player, but he’s officially part of the 2008 National Basketball Association draft.

The 5-foot-8-inch, 130 pound, applied mathematics and systems engineering major wasn’t part of the 2008 Division III men’s basketball national championship team. Feinstein hasn’t even played organized basketball since third grade. But he filled out the appropriate forms and can be picked up by any NBA team, including the New York Knicks.

To be eligible, Feinstein needed to be at least 19 and one NBA season had to have passed since his high school graduation. The senior also had to express his desire to enter the draft in writing at least 60 days before the draft to the NBA. “All included, it probably cost me at most $10 to do all of this, and that is because I used Hi-Tec Copy to fax the forms,” Feinstein said.

Feinstein, who is the webmaster of Washington University’s Intramural Sports website, took the process one step further by creating a site that explains the draft process and provides his qualifications and stats. The most common reaction to the news is either laughter or disbelief. “My parents think it is hilarious,” Feinstein said. “They never expected me to be famous because of sports.”

Senior Dan Braunstein suggested that Zach declare for the draft in 2007. “I just happened to suggest it to the one person with the foresight and wherewithal to create a humorous website chronicling the process,” Braunstein said. “Add that to his blissful ignorance of what he was getting into, and you have the Internet sensation that was Zach Feinstein.”

Feinstein’s website, draftfeinstein.com, has been visited hundreds of times, and a Facebook group supporting his efforts has over 500 members. His key stats include “Assists: I work alone,” “Steal: Like a Times Square Rolex,” “BLK-WHTE,” “Game-got none and “Rebound: Only to get over Sarah.” According to Feinstein, the information was a group effort with several close friends who completed the statistics after much brainstorming.

“I can’t choose a favorite, but I have gotten the best reactions over the Rebounding statistic,” Feinstein said. “That is still too painful to talk about at this time, though if Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell) from the movie wants to give me a call, I would be all for that.”

Multiple media outlets including NBC Sports, the Saint Louis Post-Dispatch and ESPN.com have written about Feinstein’s story. “The attention and positive support that Zach has received has gone far beyond what we ever could have imagined,” Braunstein said. “In a way, I feel bad for the other fifteen kids who went through with declaring as an ‘unknown individual.’ To his credit, Zach and his website have made it seem like he was the only one.”

Feinstein boasts many skills including a vast knowledge of basketball trivia, a team oriented attitude and strong work ethic. Feinstein is also more than willing to take the minimum salary to aid a team’s salary cap.

“It’s been a long time coming,” second year law student and close friend Joel Volotzky said. “His mental game was always there, but I think he had doubts if his physical game could match up. What you’re seeing now is a complete player, ready to enter the league.”

Feinstein will be researching structural dynamics in China this summer when the draft occurs in Madison Square Garden on June 26. “If I get picked I would definitely go. I would happily be paid to sit on the bench for 82 games,” Feinstein said. “You can’t get better seats than that.”

Softball falls at regionals

Johann Qua Hiansen — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:00:00 +0000

Doovy Han

The post season appearance of Washington University’s softball came to a screeching halt as DePauw University and Coe College shut them out.

The Red and Green (25-15) came into the NCAA Tournament after edging No.1 DePauw 1-0 in its regular season finale. The victory on a sunny day in May ended the Tiger’s 37-game winning streak.

Wash. U., the 2008 UAA Conference Champion, was given a low seed in the Midwest Regional. “Coming off of last year’s season, no one knew what to expect from this team who had lost such a big part of their line-up,” freshman pitcher Claire Voris said. “But, I think this little group of 13 really surprised some people.”

The Bears had another closely contested game against Tri State University in the first round. Junior Kerry Kreitman hit the game winning RBI to score senior Karli Stander in the top of the third. The Bears put together three straight singles and capitalized on a fielding error to win the game. Freshman Claire Voris excelled in the pitcher’s circle, striking out eight.

The double elimination tournament brought the Bears face to face with the Tigers of DePauw in the second game. The offense was unable to strike at crucial moments, and Wash. U. fell 5-0 despite stranding nine runners throughout the game. “We would get a lead off single or double almost every inning, but we couldn’t get those key hits to score runs,” co-captain and junior Lindsay Cavarra said.

DePauw struck fast with three runs in the second off a fielding error. The Tigers finished off the Bears with two doubles to score two runs in the fifth.

Wash. U. had one last chance to stay in the tournament, but Coe College prevented the Bear’s offensive machine from getting ignited. With only three hits, the Red and Green could not overcome Coe’s early lead. Coe started to pull away by taking advantage of two Wash. U. errors in the bottom of the second to score two. The Kohawks added another run in the third before putting the game out of reach with a four run sixth inning that spelled doom for the Bears. Wash. U. fell 7-0 to take sixth in the Midwest Regional.

For seniors Karli Stander, Kaylyn Eash, Amy Vukovich, Krista Swip and Laura D’Andrea, this was their last time on the field in their collegiate career. D’Andrea had a single in her last collegiate at bat, but the team was unable to rally in the seventh.

“This season was one of my favorites because of how close our team was, and it will be hard replacing our five graduating seniors,” Cavarra said.

Next year will see the return of eight veterans. “I look forward to what I know we will accomplish in the future,” Voris said. “The outcome this season will only serve as motivation for next year.”

Men’s tennis nets national title

Josh Goldman — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:00:00 +0000

Doovy Han

On May 15, the Washington University men’s tennis team captured its first national championship after defeating Emory University 5-3 in Lewiston, Maine. The Golden Eagles suffered their second consecutive loss in the championship match while Wash. U. won the title in its first appearance in the title match. The Bears also avenged a loss to Emory in the UAA Championships final on April 27.

“We realized when last season was over that we would have a chance at the national championship this year. We had everyone returning from a team that made a run to the Elite Eight and recruits that we knew would help the team.We knew we’d be competing at the end of the year,” junior Chris Hoeland said.

Wash. U. jumped out to an early lead after doubles play, as the 18th ranked doubles team of juniors Charlie Cutler and Chris Hoeland won at first doubles 8-4, overcoming a 0-4 deficit. Sophomore John Watts and junior Nirmal Choradia win by the same margin at second doubles. The freshman duo of Isaac Stein and Max Woods fell 5-8 at third doubles to give Wash. U. a 2-1 lead heading into singles play.

Stein started singles play nicely for the Red and Green with a 6-3, 6-2 win at sixth singles to give the Bears a 3-1 lead in the race to five. Emory then evened the match with a 3-6, 4-6 win over Woods at fourth singles and a 6-4, 6-3 win by No. 20 Michael Goodwin over top-ranked Watts at first singles.

Wash. U. stormed back to take a 4-3 lead after Hoeland captured fifth singles with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 come from behind win while second and third singles were still early in the final set.

Sophomore Danny Levy clinched the win for Wash. U. with a come from behind win at third singles, taking the match 4-6, 6-4, 7-5.

“After my match finished, before I could even shake my opponents hand, I got mobbed by all of my teammates who ran out onto the court into a huge pile, and we started the celebration. I don’t think any of us had ever been nearly that excited before for any reason, so it was one of the best experiences and feelings of our lives,” Levy said.

“I was just like ‘Oh my god, we won, we did it!’ I couldn’t believe it. I mean, I could, but it was just like finally, all of this hard work has paid off. It was amazing,” Hoeland added.

The march to the title match began on campus for the fifth ranked Bears, and the team easily defeated Grinnell College and DePauw University 5-1 and 6-0 to advance to the Elite Eight on the campus of Bates College. In the Elite Eight, the Red and Green defeated No. 6 Gustavus Adolphus College 5-0 before winning for the second time this season against second ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 5-1.

Despite the magnitude of the NCAA tournament, the team stayed relatively loose throughout.

“We all have a great time hanging out with each other, so staying loose wasn’t a problem in Maine. Yet, at the same time, we were all aware of the gravity of the moment, and come match time, everybody took their responsibilities very seriously, and we managed to compete with a great deal of focus every match,” co-captain Mark Partridge said.

Not only was the team ecstatic to win the title, but the entire Washington University community was thrilled to have taken down Emory, the school’s biggest rival, though tensions between the two universities have subsided in recent years.

“It truly does. And it goes beyond us [this team]. Emory has had our number since we joined the UAA Conference in the late 80s. They have won conference ever single year on the women’s side and all but once on the men. Countless WU affiliates have congratulated our team on not only winning NCAA’s but also taking down a program rich in tennis history. It has been awesome telling the non-fiction tale time and time again of our run to the NCAA tournament title to our WU tennis alumni that have called or e-mailed us,” Head Coach Roger Follmer said on defeating Emory.

“We wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. We have a strong rivalry with that team, and with our contentious history, it was great to win a national title over them,” Hoeland added.

The team concluded a dominant year by Washington University athletics, a year that saw the volleyball team win its ninth national title and the men’s basketball and tennis teams bring home their first national championships, also the first and second by a male team at Wash. U. These titles, as well as NCAA tournament berths by both soccer teams, the women’s basketball, softball, track and field and tennis teams and a strong showing by both swimming and diving teams at the NCAA Championships have thrust Wash. U. to the top of the Director’s Cup standings. Wash. U. scored 899 points to take second, which is the highest finish in school history.

Stepping Out

Brooke Schachner — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:00:00 +0000

Scott Bressler

Located in University City, only a short walk from the South 40, the Delmar Loop is a great place to spend an early autumn afternoon or evening. There are countless things to do on this one street, including seeing a movie, shopping, or going to a concert. Additionally, the Loop is home to some of the most delicious restaurants in St. Louis. From pizza to sushi to burgers, the Delmar loop has many appealing options for every appetite.

The restaurants on the Loop promise to satisfy any and every craving of the average college student. These options are not only appetizing, but reasonably priced. In addition, reaching Delmar Boulevard does not require a car or taxi, as it is walking distance from campus. Feel free to celebrate orientation with a stop at any one of the fantastic eateries on the Delmar Loop.

Seki’s Japanese Restaurant
6335 Delmar Boulevard
St. Louis, MO 63130
314-726-6477
$10-20

Seki’s is a popular place to go for a tasty Japanese meal at a reasonable price. Both the maki sushi (rolls) and the nigiri sushi (pieces) are always fresh and tasty, and there is an extensive menu consisting of traditional Japanese dishes. The chicken teriyaki proves to be a flavorsome selection for any diner who doesn’t eat sushi. Also, many dishes come with Miso soup and cucumber salad at no additional cost.

Pi
6144 Delmar Boulevard
St. Louis, MO 63112
314-727-6633
$15-25

One of the newer eateries on Delmar, Pi’s offerings include San Francisco-style deep-dish pizza as well as thin crust pizza, salads, and several appetizers. In addition to the items on the menu, patrons can pick and choose toppings to design their own personal pie. The Lincoln Park thin crust pizza, made with mozzarella cheese, garlic olive oil, zucchini, fresh tomatoes, fresh basil, and feta cheese, and the Western Addition deep-dish pizza, topped with mozzarella cheese, spinach blended with ricotta and feta cheeses, mushrooms, onions, and garlic, are two particularly delectable choices at this delightful eatery.

Fitz’s
6605 Delmar Boulevard
St. Louis, MO 63130
314-726-9555
$5-15

Blueberry Hill
6504 Delmar Boulevard
St. Louis, MO 63130
314-727-4444
$5-15

These two very well known restaurants, located almost across the street from each other, serve up two of the best hamburgers in the city. Blueberry Hill, famous for hosting concerts-including a monthly one by St. Louis legend Chuck Berry-in the Duck Room, is notable for much more than just delicious burgers. Other options include various salads, breakfast plates, and vegetarian dishes. Fitz’s, known for its root beer, is another Loop restaurant with a menu that boasts scrumptious burgers and more. The chicken club sandwich, topped with bacon and Provolone cheese, is a superb substitute for a Fitz’s hamburger.

The Right Stuff: Eating Healthy at Wash. U.

Lana Goldsmith — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:00:00 +0000

Scott Bressler

So besides knowledge, fun, new friends and good times, what else are you hungry for at Wash. U.? Food is going to be an important-and necessary-part of your college experience. You will bond over meals with your newfound friends and learn just how long certain potables and comestibles can marinate in your mini fridge before the smell becomes utterly offensive to your roommate. There is a lot of fun to be had with food, but it is important to recognize that your eating habits could change. Here are a few suggestions to help you maintain healthy patterns of eating.

Make time for breakfast: You’re in college now-one of the best ones in the nation, at that!-and you will need all the brainpower you can get. Nine and ten o’clock classes are going to continue to feel earlier and earlier as the semester progresses, but remember to take the time to fuel yourself with a nutritious breakfast. Bear’s Den offers breakfast food in the mornings where you can sit with some eggs and toast and read Student Life before leaving for class. Something like fruit, cereal or instant oatmeal is easy enough to prepare in your room while you get ready. Eating breakfast will ensure that you are prepared for the busy day ahead of you. Also, it is best to eat carbohydrates earlier because they will give you the most energy to burn throughout the day. As the day winds down, you do not need as much energy-which will turn into fat if you do not use it-so you can cut back on the carbs.

Remember portion control: Just because the guy in the pasta line manages to stuff three pounds worth of pasta with meat sauce into that tiny white box does not mean you have to eat it all. Stop when you’re full and try to remember to diversify what you eat-meaning some protein, some dairy, some fruit and vegetables, etc. You can be sure to get all the different food groups in by eating several small meals a day instead of stuffing yourself with a few.

Don’t eat late at night: It is tempting to stop at Bear’s Den at two in the morning just because you can, but it is not the healthiest choice. Eating so close to bedtime does not give you the chance to work off the calories you just took in, so it turns to fat. It may also interfere with your sleep schedule.

When in doubt, check it out: It seems that Wash. U.’s catering service, Bon Appétit, does its best to provide students with a plethora of food options, some healthy, some not. Their web site provides the nutritional information for most of their meals so you can keep track of your caloric intake.

Eat fresh, eat healthy!: By now, you know which foods are good for you and which are not. Try to eat things that are unprocessed, such as fruits and veggies. Don’t eat too much of one thing and don’t overindulge in fried foods and sweets. Michael Pollan expands on the notion of eating more natural foods in his book In Defense of Food if you’re interested in learning more about food, like stuff we eat and when we should cut back on red meat.

Don’t be afraid to use your kitchen: Dorms are equipped with functioning kitchens, so have at it if you like to cook or are hoping to learn how. Unfortunately, they do not have pots and pans, so bring your own or find a friend who has some and wants to share some quality cooking time with you.

Open packages alone: If you do get some eatable goodies shipped to you, you may want to assess if you want to share them or not before others know you have it. It’s not everyday anymore that you get to have your mom’s awesome oatmeal chocolate chip cookies or something of the like, so guard those puppies and eat them sparingly!

There are a number of exciting new culinary prospects ahead of you. Your class will be the first freshman class to experience the new dining facilities in the University Center, as well as the old classics. So get out there while the eating is good and enjoy your meals.

Traditions of Washington University in St. Louis

Eric Rosenbaum — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:00:00 +0000

Scott Bressler

Diwali
Before this epic cultural event, a line of RAs and other students in sleeping bags will plug up the Mallinckrodt hallways. Dancers, actors, and crew members give their lives for weeks to the wildly popular show in Edison theater hosted by Ashoka, the South Asian Students Association. Their work does pay off; students expertly perform a wide array of Asian dances and a skit with a lesson about Asian-American life. My advice: if you want to see it, get tickets early. This is a good time to take advantage of your RAs.

Vertigo
Three guesses: who are the greatest partiers on campus? Would you guess the engineers? Well, you should. With their lighted dance floor and their great DJs, this is one of the most popular parties of the year. I can’t get any more specific than that. My advice: see it for yourself. Otherwise you won’t believe it.

W.I.L.D.
Anyone can walk in someplace. You can walk into class. You can walk into your room. But how many places can you walk in AND lay down? Well, your room is one.but still, the twice-yearly W.I.L.D. concert is a completely unique experience. A crazy, excited mass of kids gathers to listen, jump around uncontrollably, and be, well, W.I.L.D. Past headliners have included George Clinton, OK Go, Guster, Ben Folds and Outkast. My advice: To get the most out of W.I.L.D. forget, for a second, that you have any sort of a reputation to maintain.

2:59 a.m. at Bear’s Den
Okay, so this isn’t really an official event. And technically, nothing happens at exactly 2:59 that doesn’t happen at 2:58 or earlier. But something does happen at 3 a.m. every Saturday and Sunday which is important to all students: Bear’s Den closes for the night. And something else important happens one minute later: you will get hungry. Thus the forward-thinking residents of the South 40 grab their last-minute quesadillas after their night on the town. My advice: definitely do this. Food always tastes better late at night.

Holi
So you’ve slogged through a whole year of college. You’re thinking about exams. It’s spontaneously hot outside. And you want nothing more than to smack that annoying kid on your floor with a water balloon. Can Ashoka, the South Asian Students Association, help? Of course! In mid-April, the group prepares 20,000 short-lived water balloons for this sloppy free-for-all on the swamp. My advice: take advantage of the mud. Your Holi success is judged by how indistinguishable your friends are.

Who’s Who on Your Freshman Floor

Student Life Staff — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:00:00 +0000

MCT

Your freshman floor will be your new home at Wash. U. It’s a veritable melting pot of new ideas, diverse perspectives and fresh opinions. More importantly, it’s where most of you will learn to live with your peers away from home for the first time. While the school rightly prides itself on stimulating intellectual conversation spilling into the residence halls, one of the most important things you’ll learn in college will be how to get along with this crazy group of students from all different backgrounds. Sometimes, the most important thing you’ll learn each week won’t come from a physics class, but from the girl down the hall who just turned you on to an awesome new band or your roommate teaching you how to clean up your hard drive. There are a few especially important people who will contribute to the ecosystem of your freshman floor; get to know them.

The music aficionado
This is a great friend; he knows about acid jazz, zydeco and everything in-between. The music fanatic will be more than happy to burn you CDs of all these “awesome little indie bands that would totally be the next big thing except that their music is too deep for the big corporate labels, man” until you tell him to stop. Additionally, the music aficionado is always down to see a live show and will probably know all the obscure opening bands. He’ll usually try to get you to convert to his file sharing software so you can keep finding new artists; check with the computer whiz to make sure you won’t get arrested.

The guy who will play on all your IM teams
Many freshmen floors bond over Intramurals. And there are always those guys who will roll you out of bed on a Sunday morning to play anything from ultimate Frisbee to inner tube water polo. Always go. Even if your floor has all the combined athleticism of a potato, the games are a blast and the guy who will play on all your IM teams will make a great coach/head cheerleader.

The movie librarian
Sometimes you’ll just go nuts if you try to derive one more equation or read another act of Shakespeare. It’s times like these that it’s nice to spend a quiet weekend in the dorm with friends, PJs and popcorn. When you need to veg out, look for the movie librarian. Not every floor has one, but those who do cherish him. Boasting classics, popular new movies, foreign flicks and whole TV series, he runs a little Blockbuster right out of his room and can often suggest the perfect movie for you simply by looking deeply into your eyes for a few seconds.

The kid with extra meal points
On every floor, there is that lucky kid with a huge meal plan who can subsist on a mere bagel and some sushi day after day. Others are frugal and will be eating the special end-of-the-year lobster at Bear’s Den while you try to decide which clothes you wouldn’t mind selling to get enough scratch to survive on Ramen. Find the one who has more meal points than time to use them and remind him that they don’t carry over to the next year. What is he going to do, donate his points to charity while you’re starving next door?

The studious notetaker
We’d all like to be great students, and most of us go to most of our classes, but that 9 a.m. lab on Saturday morning is more than some of us can take. In times of crisis-midterms, the flu, etc.-find your floormate with the color-coded flashcards. His meticulous attention to detail is almost as good as you actually showing up to class. As long as you’re not a total mooch and have something intelligent to add to the conversation, this is a great person with whom to study.

The guy who can change your bed height
Listen up ladies! Able to move heavy furniture, deftly handle his tools and help lend a hand, the guy who can raise your bed is worth keeping around even after the first two days.

The person who knows absolutely everyone
This friend can’t walk into a room without getting hugged by about half the people around. A master networker, he is on the list for all the parties, is on a first name basis with a few deans and can always call in a favor. You’ll never know how this person got to know all his acquaintances, but try not to sweat it. He’s great for introducing you to new friends. Also, if you ever need to know about obscure medieval music or the literature of Mongolia, this person is likely to put a phone number in your hand before you can finish asking for help.

The guy with the air mattress
In a perfect world, your roommate would at least give you the courtesy of a phone call before cozying up with a romantic friend for the night. Unfortunately, every weekend, students get back to their room at 3 a.m. to find the tell-tale tie on the door handle. For those sexiles, the guy with the air mattress is a phenomenal asset. He’ll board you up for the night while your roomie’s having a romp between the sheets. He’s so nice that he’ll probably even grab brunch with you in the morning and attempt to make your roommate’s walk of shame even more hilariously awkward.

The computer whiz
This guy can do it all, from cleaning out your spyware to synchronizing your zip drive (or whatever it is that computers need fixed). He can run Macs and PCs and knows how LINUX works. Usually trilingual-fluent in English, some Asian language and binary-he will try not to laugh at you when you spend half an hour screaming at a word document but will politely point out that you are simply out of printer toner.

The local
This floormate knows all the great little Italian restaurants on the Hill, the best coffee places near campus and which of the five Thai restaurants on the Loop is the best. He can give you directions to the Central West End and suggest good places to club or to take a date. Best of all? He usually has a car.

The super-volunteer
Has anyone on your floor ever pan-handled? How about baked upwards of 500 brownies? Every year, Wash. U. students have hundreds of opportunities to volunteer. The most popular events are Dance Marathon and Relay for Life, and each team (floor) needs a captain. So find some young idealist who will ring a bell outside of Schnucks for sick kids and doesn’t mind learning a spirit dance.

The one with the fake
.uh, mustaches. You know, the Groucho Marx ones with the glasses and big noses? Yeah, those fakes. They make a great last-minute Bauhaus costume.