Stress relief at Washington University is now instantaneous. Each Friday for the past two months, freshmen Greg Herren and Mike Bjorgaard have positioned themselves by the Forsyth Boulevard Underpass to compliment students as they walk to class. They arrive at 8:30 a.m. and continue to dole out compliments until 11 a.m.

Washington University has set undergraduate tuition for the 2011-2012 academic year at $40,950, a 3.9 percent increase from $39,400 tuition for the current academic year. Barbara Feiner, vice chancellor for finance, made the announcement in a news release on Thursday.

An ice machine motor ignited in the Bear’s Den kitchen and forced evacuation of the Dining Hall and all of South Forty House at around 9:35 p.m. A Bon Appetit employee burst out of the kitchen asking for assistance, which was followed by the chefs shouting for everyone to “get out of the building.” There was an accumulation of smoke in the kitchen.

On Nov. 18, the St. Louis Hillel at Washington University hosted what was arguably the most successful example of religious pluralism in recent memory at Washington University, the first event of a new program at Wash. U.—Sacred Meals.

The Washington University swimming and diving team continued its season at the Washington University Thanksgiving Invite on Nov. 20-21. The women’s team took second in three-team field, finishing behind Division I St. Louis University and ahead of NAIA member Lindenwood University.

The new-look Washington University women’s basketball team is learning how difficult it is to defend a national championship.

The home-court advantage of the Dwight Davis and Tao Tennis Centers offered no help to the Washington University women’s tennis team at the 2010 United States Tennis Association/Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Division III Women’s Tennis Central Regional on Oct. 1-4.

The Washington University women’s tennis team breezed through play at the first annual Lynn Imergoot Invitational on Sept. 17-19, reaching the final of all three singles and both doubles flights. The championship matches were not completed due to rain on Sunday.

Although freshman Rebecca Ye will not take her first biology course at Washington University until next semester, her expertise in biological research has the potential to revolutionize management of the world’s most important resource: water.

Washington University announced Wednesday afternoon that it will award five honorary degrees during the school’s 149th Commencement on May 21. In addition to Commencement speaker Steven Chu, the U.S. secretary of energy and a Nobel laureate, degrees will be awarded to research physician Brian J. Druker, Joanne Knight, Richard A. Roloff and Nelson S. “Strobe” [...]