(Johann Qua Hiansen | Student Life)

To the unknowing passerby, the rowdy scene in McMillan Café on Wednesday evening might have resembled an unrehearsed, B-rated drag show.

But the seven young men strutting around in dresses were no drag queens—they were contestants in the Mr. Engineering Pageant (EnPageant).

Hosted by the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) at Washington University, the “beauty” pageant is part of Engineering Week (EnWeek) and the larger efforts of engineering student groups to promote their field and show the entire student body that engineers really do know how to have a good time.

EnCouncil, the student governing body of the engineering school, coordinates EnWeek.

“I think [EnPageant] represents the spirit of engineering and that our students will get out there and have fun,” said Melanie Osborn, assistant dean in the engineering school and one of the pageant’s five judges.

And there was plenty of fun to go around Wednesday night as the seven male students—each representing a different department in the engineering school—danced to pop songs, paraded in the pageant’s “evening gown” portion and wooed the crowd with their eclectic collection of talents.

Fifth-year senior Sam Wight, or “Mr. Mechanical Engineering,” showed off his aptitude as an impromptu haiku writer.

The subject of his haikus? Mechanical engineering courses yelled out from the audience.

Mr. Chemical Engineering, junior TJ Pepping, used principles of gas expansion to fit an egg through the narrow opening of a bottle. Meanwhile, junior CJ Carey—Mr. Computer Science—counted to 31 in binary with one hand.

Prior to the talents portion of the evening, the contestants performed a semi-coordinated dance routine to the Spice Girls hit “Spice Up Your Life.”

“I noticed during the dance, Jeremy, that you weren’t wearing any underwear,” Associate Dean Chris Kroeger, another one of the five judges, said to Mr. Electrical Engineering amid laughter from the audience.

The pageant also included an interview portion, in which the contestants answered different questions from the judges.

In the end, Carey, or Mr. Computer Science, clinched the pageant’s grand title.

Could there have been bias, especially since Bill Smart, associate professor of computer science and engineering, was on the panel of judges?

“Absolutely! Total bias,” Kroeger said.

Smart agreed. The self-proclaimed “Simon Cowell” of the judging panel joked before the pageant, “I can tell you right now—CJ is going to do very well.”

Emceed by engineering school seniors Dan Brewster and Sydnie Lieb and sophomore Katie Disterhoft, the pageant had a great turnout.

“We had more people than we initially anticipated,” said Lieb, SWE president. Everything went really well. The contestants, audience and judges all had a really good time, and that was our main goal.”

Brewster, president of EnCouncil, said that he predicted that EnPageant would be one of the more popular events this year, and that the good turnout fits well into the purpose of EnWeek.

“We’re increasing our visibility to other students,” Brewster said. “Our audience is not just engineers but students across the entire school. It’s a good opportunity, and we want people to come out.

According to Lieb, the male beauty pageant had been an event in previous EnWeeks, though not since the 1990s. This year, SWE decided to bring it back—but with its own spin.

“When they were doing it, they had boxer-shorts and tights. We thought it would be more fun to do drag,” she said.

For Lieb, EnPageant was a perfect event for showcasing the excitement of engineering during EnWeek.

“EnWeek is about being really exciting to be in engineering, being really spirited,” she said. “The idea [of EnPageant] was to do an event with all the different schools within engineering together and have a great time.”

Aside from the pageant, EnWeek featured events such as a Nerf gun capture the flag competition in Lopata Hall, a paper plane competition, a “Super Smash Bros.” tournament, EnWeek student breakfast, and various panels focusing on research and career opportunities for engineering students.

EnWeek, which began on Sunday, will continue through Saturday.

Friday, students can enjoy a field trip to Monsanto Co. EnWeek will end on Saturday with Women in Engineering Day, which is also put on by SWE, Engineering Without Borders Community Service Day and a catapult competition.

Mr. Computer Science was crowned with a tiara lined with pink fuzz, and handed a bouquet of plastic flowers. The runner-up was Wright, Mr. Mechanical Engineering.

The forum, titled “Monetary Policy Amid Economic Turbulence,” was hosted by the Murray Weidenbaum Center on Economy, Government, and Public Policy at Washington University in partnership with the Department of Economics and the Undergraduate Economics Association.

Professor of Economics Steve Fazzari served as moderator for the event.

“We do live, indeed, in interesting times. A year ago we were facing the most severe financial crisis of two generations and falling into a very severe recession,” Fazzari said during the opening remarks.  “According to some people, it’s over. For other people, it still continues.”

The panel consisted of James Bullard, president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; Costas Azariadis, Edward Mallinckrodt Distinguished Professor in Arts & Sciences and director of the University’s Center for Dynamic Economics; Thomas Cooley, Paganelli-Bull Professor of Economics at New York University; Richard Sylla, Henry Kaufman Professor of the History of Financial Institutions and Markets at New York University; and Joel Prakken, chairman of the economic consulting firm Macroeconomic Advisers.

Addressing the recession and the Federal Reserve from a different perspective, the five speakers shed light on the current state of the economy and its potential direction in the future.

Thomas Cooley (Matt Mitgang | Student Life)

Thomas Cooley

-“In 2007, the credit prices that we all should have anticipated became apparent with great suddenness. The first response of monetary policy, one has to say, was best described as being in something of a state of denial about the severity of the problem.”

-“By comparison, the year 2009 has seemed relatively calm. Of course, that’s not really true, since it began with the inauguration of a new president, big debate about stimulus and the effectiveness of stimulus, the bankruptcy of General Motors and Chrysler, the rolling out of plans of reforming the financial regulatory system, the new administration’s proposals for helping the housing sector and removing troubled assets from the balance sheets of banks—both programs which have been partially ineffective. On top of this, we have experienced the worst recession in the post-war era. It hasn’t exactly been a picnic in 2009.”

-“Eventually the Fed is going to have to drain reserves in the system, and that’s going to have repercussions elsewhere in the economy.”

-“I think the problems of monetary policy are manageable for the Fed. What to do about the size of the Fed’s balance sheet is a little bit more problematic.”

-“It’s really the case that the Federal Reserve should not be in the business of propping up particular sectors of the economy and allocating capital to that sector. That’s really the role of the Treasury, and going forward the Fed is going to have to find a way to shift their role to the Treasury where it belongs.”

Richard Sylla (Matt Mitgang | Student Life)

Richard Sylla

-“It’s a not a new thing that the Fed’s balance sheet doubles over time. It happened in the 1930s. It happened in the 1940s. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen from 1929 to 1933, which is why the Great Depression was as bad as it was.”

-“Financial crises are part of the capitalist system.”

-“A lot of the financial crises just had one year attached to them. But whenever financial crises seem to have more than one year attached to them, it’s probably quite a bit worse. The one we’re in now appears to have at least three years attached to it, maybe more.”

-“Nonetheless, despite all these crises, the story of U.S. economic growth over two plus centuries is a good story.”

-“There is a displacement. The pattern is then during the upswing everyone wants to. That’s the upside building up the financial crisis. Then something happens. Distress happens. And then everybody heads to the exits. This is called the leveraging regulation.

-“What is the central bank supposed to do during a financial crisis?”

On unity day in Graham Chapel, on Jan. 17, all the sororities join with their new members to celebrate being Greek. (Whitney Curtis | Wustl Photo Services)

As January ushers in a new semester, each of the seven sorority chapters at Washington University also welcomed a new member class following a weeklong recruitment process.

This year, 311 women arrived on campus a week earlier than the rest of the student body to participate in formal recruitment.

According to Lucy Morlan, coordinator for chapter development in the Greek Life Office, 274 women were initiated into a sisterhood by the end of the week. Students who had to leave due to a family emergency or withdrew during the course of the week for other reasons accounted for the difference in numbers, along with a small percentage of those who did not receive a bid.

“[274] is certainly better than what we have done in a number of years in terms of taking everybody,” Morlan said. “Definitely a high number of women received bids this year as opposed to last year.”

The total number of women who originally registered for formal recruitment this year was 325 at its peak, which is also higher than average, according to Morlan.

“Usually we have around 300 people register for recruitment, and then we have 10 or 15 that can’t come back because of weather or they get sick,” Morlan said.

Morlan attributes the increase in interest partly to the entrance of Alpha Omicron Pi (AOII), the newest addition to the University’s Greek Life system.

The chapter was colonized at the beginning of the 2009 spring semester and, since then, has only held informal recruitment sessions. This year marks its first formal recruitment.

“[AOII] definitely gave another option for people to go to. I do think it had an effect on the number of people increasing this year, because there was a different option and people were maybe a little bit more interested in that,” Morlan said.

According to senior Amanda Coppock, president of the Women’s Panhellenic Association, AOII boasted a positive and smooth experience with its first recruitment.

“It was a real success. They have an excellent new member class,” Coppock said.

Morlan echoed Coppock’s praise of AOII’s recruitment results, emphasizing the number of positive responses from both the chapter and its new members.

“With this being their first, they did extremely well with it,” Morlan said. “Everything we’ve heard from the women and the chapter has been an extremely positive experience. It was the first time they got to spend the entire week together. They really enjoyed it, and we were really happy to hear that.”

Recruitment proceeded as usual this year, save for one change. In past years, women were required to visit all the chapters on both the first and second day of recruitment. This year, they were only required to visit six of the seven chapters on the second day.

“We are working to shorten the days basically to make it convenient for everybody involved,” Morlan said. “In a bigger system like this, it helps the women get it through their mind and start thinking about, ‘This is what I want to focus on,’ instead of having two days of going to all of the chapters.This is a little bit more gradual and eases into the process of choosing which one they want.”

The change was implemented at the recommendation of the National Panhellenic Council. The new arrangement and the formal debut of AOII both contributed to the overall success of this year’s recruitment.

“This year definitely had a different feel,” Morlan said. “With AOII’s entrance, there was a real feeling between all the chapters and women of supporting them and working together. The attitude carried over the entire process, and we were constantly hearing that message of support. Everyone had a positive and amazing experience and it was a big relief to see that.”

Though the addition of a seventh chapter may have helped make the process smoother, Coppock still described the week as being “a little crazy, spirited, exciting and exhausting,” which is what the week has typically been known for.

Ames Place, the neighborhood between The Delmar Loop and Washington University’s Danforth Campus, has been the center of various complaints submitted to the University City Police Department about the behavior of students in the area. (Matt Mitgang | Student Life)

Junior Sean Fischer, who lives near the Ames Place neighborhood between the Danforth Campus and the Delmar Loop, received a court summons three weeks ago from University City police for creating a disturbance in the neighborhood, though he denies any involvement with the incident.

Fischer said he was on bed rest from swine flu early Saturday morning when his roommate, returning from a charity gala, woke him around 1:45 a.m. to tell him the police were outside the door looking for him.

“I had gone to bed at 9 p.m. It took me two and a half hours to fall asleep,” he said. “I was really frustrated to be woken up. I had no idea what was going on. I thought I was dreaming.”

Fischer was approached by two officers and their sergeant in the hallway of his building and charged with disturbing the peace. According to Fischer, the sergeant said one officer had seen a perpetrator lighting fireworks enter the building and let in to his apartment.

Despite Fischer’s protests that he could not have been involved because he was asleep, the police presented him with the summons.

“They didn’t listen to anything I said,” he said. “They didn’t say this, but what seemed implied was they couldn’t find whoever was lighting off the fireworks, and the officer thought I had let someone in, so the blame falls on me, which doesn’t make sense. I was almost an easy scapegoat.”

Fischer’s encounter with the police comes two months after University officials’ call for a “Good Neighbor” brainstorming session between student leaders and administrators to address the mounting problem of complaints from local residents. Area residents have cited loud noises from students late at night, beer cans left on residential property, stolen signs, inappropriate drawings on cars, and other acts of misconduct.

Since the second meeting in early October, the administration has made short-term efforts and prepared more long-term ones to help increase the number of positive interactions between students and local residents.

Along with a leaf-raking charity event benefiting fallen firefighters and police two weeks ago, members of the “Good Neighbor” initiative also plan to implement future programs that would raise student awareness about their responsibilities as community inhabitants, according to Cheryl Adelstein, director of community relations and local government affairs.

Complaints against students generally go to Adelstein’s office—sometimes directly or through police reports.

“We work very closely with the U. City police. [They] take the lead as they should,” Adelstein said.

“We have a strategy and use certain protocols about what we do in certain situations.”

Fischer, however, believes the police department’s effort to respond to every noise complaint has caused some officers’ frustration.

“These officers are actually responsible for a much larger territory that has a lot more crime going on than noise complaints,” he said. “I’ve talked to some of [them,] and they say one of the most frustrating things is that they have to respond to all these calls. That frustration may or may not have been taken out on me.”

Fischer also said he is aware of other students who have had similar experiences.

“[The police] might not necessarily be giving hard evidence as to why they are writing summons for people who they assume are probably at fault,” he said.

“The overall attitude of some of these officers has been very accusatory, I would say.”

According to Captain Mike Ransom of the University City Police Detective Bureau, the police department maintains a good relationship with students and “an excellent working relationship” with the University administration.

Ransom cannot comment on Fischer’s specific case since it is still pending in court, except to say, “We have a good relationship with the students living in the area. We treat them just like any other residents of University City.”

Fischer, after consulting a lawyer, has decided to present his case at his January court summons and file a formal complaint against the officers who wrote his summons.

“What I want to get out of it is to show the U. City cops that this is ridiculous and that [they] can’t be pushing people around like this, scaring them with their badge,” he said.

Junior Andrew Bort, Zeta Beta Tau president, who resides in his fraternity house on Forsyth and was present at the “Good Neighbor” meeting, remembers one incident last year that gave him the impression the police were cracking down heavily on noise complaints.

“There were probably 30 brothers at the house,” Bort said. “We had music in the basement but nothing upstairs. [The police] came into our house and told everyone to leave. It was actually really strange.”

Bort, however, said the fraternity has improved its relationship with the police this semester “by not giving them anything to worry about.”

“We had a lot of problems last year with noise complaints,” he said. “We’ve been a lot more careful with how we run events at our house [this year]. It was just a matter of being aware of the people who live in the community.”

The Greek Life Office (GLO) took away Sigma Alpha Mu’s (SAM) house in late December following a drug bust on Dec. 8 in which the Washington University Police Department (WUPD) arrested three fraternity members, all of whom were then given alumni status by the chapter.

Under the direction of the national organization, the chapter completed a membership review. Senior Brian Grobman, the chapter’s president, said the review helped the fraternity strengthen and consolidate its sense of brotherhood.

“We were looking for a more committed active membership,” he said. “Our numbers have gone down since January, but our remaining members are more committed to being a fraternity that takes the initiative to be more active on campus and to [go] in a more proactive direction.”

The chapter currently has 21 active members, compared to approximately 50 at this time last year, with 14 new pledge candidates from the past fall recruitment—the highest number of pledges among all the fraternity chapters on campus.

Grobman and junior Sam Werboff, the chapter’s vice president, see this year’s pledge class as one of the signs that SAM remains a full, strong brotherhood.

“Even though the time has been difficult and the life of the fraternity has changed, the overall strength has never been stronger,” Werboff said. “The guys that have decided to stay with it through the tough times—it’s brought us together in a way that we’ve never seen before.”

Mike Hayes, director of the GLO and executive director of campus life, said he believes the experience has led the members to shift their focus in a more important direction.

“They now understand it is bigger than just living together,” Hayes said. “They define the whole experience differently and see the benefits of why a person would want to join a fraternity. There is a misperception out there that you have to have a house to be a fraternity, and that is just not the case.”

Grobman called the past year a “process of change,” and new commitments to the membership are part of that process.

Junior Adam Savaglio, former SAM president, devised an action plan for the chapter that includes yearly full chapter meetings with the GLO director, WUPD and Betsy Foy, the substance abuse specialist at Student Health Services, and required completion of GreekLifeEdu, an online prevention program. Chapter members are now also subject to a revised internal standard and code of conduct.

“Our biggest thing right now is having a strong sense of accountability, and all these things are here to introduce self-accountability and accountability for our brothers,” Grobman said.

Yet, despite their progress and continued efforts as a brotherhood, the chapter’s members have realized that it can be hard to shake a bad image from the past. Grobman also expressed frustration that some students are under the impression that the chapter is no longer recognized.

“People don’t seem to understand the difference between losing your house and losing your recognition,” he said. “We don’t have the house anymore, but we still have recognition from both the school and national.”

As for the chapter’s image, Grobman emphasized that the only way to change it is to focus on strengthening the chapter through its actions and sense of brotherhood.

“Overall, we can’t concern ourselves with what people say about us. At the end of the day, we can only concentrate on our own behavior, and ultimately, that will change the things people say about us,” he said. “It’s a learning experience. You can learn from it and become better and strong from it—which we did.”

Hayes also remains hopeful for the chapter’s future, saying, “I think they are ready to do what they need to do to be a good chapter.”

Method Man, legally known as Clifford Smith, reportedly failed to pay $32,799 in personal income and earnings taxes to New York State that date back from 2004 to 2007, according to a press release from the New York district attorney’s office.

The former Wu-Tang Clan member turned himself in to the DA police squad car shortly after 8 a.m. in his native Staten Island and was charged with two counts of tax evasion.

The 38-year-old rapper, producer and actor could face up to four years in prison if convicted.

“Taxes are a burden that all citizens share in a civil society, whether you are an ‘average Joe’ on the street or a high-profile rap artist,” said Staten Island District Attorney Daniel Donovan.

Method Man was busted for marijuana possession and driving under the influence in 2007. The following year, his Lincoln Navigator was repossessed after he fell $52,503 in debt. Method Man is divorced with four children. In 1995, he and Mary J. Blige earned a Grammy for their song “I’ll Be There for You/You’re All I Need to Get By.”

Method Man, half of the Method Man-Redman duo, raps during their headlining performance. (Princeton Hynes | Student Life)

Sounds of laughter and chatter drifted through the Brookings Quad along with the mingled smell of pizza, beer and smoke. Hands waved in the air and bodies swayed against each other while the music flowed on.

There goes another Walk In Lay Down (W.I.L.D.).

With Method Man and Redman as the headliner preceded by K’Naan and Passion Pit, Team 31 Productions did not disappoint its audience in this fall’s W.I.L.D.

Senior David Schubert, co-chair of Team 31, knows there is always one reliable measure he can count on to gauge student satisfaction and event success.

“We were out of pizza, so the turnout had to be good,” Schubert said.

Many students crowded around the stage to position themselves closer to the music and excitement of the concert.

Indie-electronic musicians Passion Pit, an opening act, take the stage at W.I.L.D. (Joshua Goldman | Student Life)

“I liked Passion Pit the most,” junior Ian Chui said. “I really like Passion Pit.”

Sophomore Michael Offerman echoed Chui’s appreciation for the opening alternative band.

“I think Passion Pit was the most well known and probably should have been the headliner,” he said. “Method Man and Redman—not many people knew their lyrics, but they were a good combo.”

Freshman Michaela Sass commented on the liveliness of the acts and the concert atmosphere.

“[The performers] were very energetic and engaging,” Sass said. “It was crowded and pretty intense and confusing—but fun. It was a lot of fun.”

W.I.L.D. with a political twist

Though most of the concert carried on as it would in the past, this fall’s W.I.L.D. started on a very different note.

Minutes before K’naan’s performance, a new kind of presence took the stage and demanded everyone’s attention.

Junior Alex Greenberg ran to the stage, grabbed the microphone and identified himself as a straight male and a member of Sigma Epsilon fraternity. For the next four minutes that followed, Greenberg introduced the Right Side of History—an organized effort supported by several University undergraduates to recharge the LGBT movement by garnering support from straight youths.

Greenberg spoke of his friend, senior David Dresner—one of the two founders of the Right Side of History. Dresner along with 2008 alum Brian Elliot, both of whom are openly gay, started the organization with the hope that it will one day become a national movement.

Dresner said he is glad Greenberg was the one to deliver the message.

“I think that having Alex deliver the message maintains the narrative that we’re using to garner support from straight people,” Dresner said. “He is close with me, and personally vocalized in the past his concern for my future. It was touching that [he] did that for me.”

A crowd of students cheer and dance as they listen to opening act K’Naan at W.I.L.D. in Brookings Quad on Saturday. (Princeton Hynes | Student Life)

Greenberg’s speech drew mostly positive cheers from the crowd. Many students clapped to acknowledge the group’s mission, while others remained more reserved while processing the message.

“Starting at Wash. U. in this quad at W.I.L.D. begins the trek to the Right Side of History,” Greenberg cried out to the audience. “It is not an event. It is not a student club. It is nothing of the sort. It is strictly a civil rights movement that all of you are very welcome to be a part of.”

Since the announcement at W.I.L.D. and an article focusing on The Right Side of History published in Student Life last Friday, Dresner said his inbox has been flooded with e-mails.

“There’s an unbelievable number of alumni and students who are interested. We’re building infrastructure as it grows,” he said. “We will continue to reach out at Wash. U. while reaching out to other universities in the country.”

Team 31 approved of the stage time that the Right Side of History had requested—a decision that Schubert deemed “just seemed right.”

“Honestly, it’s not a perfect venue, but it’s the only large-scale venue at the University to give a speech like that,” he said. “We did think about the appropriateness, but we knew it would be a good chance for them. We are all really supportive of the group and its mission.”

“We wanted to help them in whatever way we could,” Schubert added.

Team 31, however, is not making any promises to give other social issues stage time in future shows.

“We didn’t want to politicize W.I.L.D.,” Schubert said. “The Right Side of History was a group that had reached out to us. They had a great agenda, a pretty clear-cut message and an idea of how we could help them.”

For Dresner, there was no better place or time to deliver the message of activism.

“The noble energy complements the fun, cohesive message of W.I.L.D.,” he said. “At the end of the day, there aren’t that many times when all of Wash. U. gets together. We had the opportunity, and we seized the day.”

Junior Alex Greenberg delivers a speech at W.I.L.D. on behalf of nascent campus political organization The Right Side of History. In his speech Greenberg urged his fellow students to join a new civil rights movement that would take the nation by storm and secure equal rights for the LGBT community in America. Co-founded by senior David Dresner, The Right Side of History seeks equality for the LGBT community by engaging straight youth.

Students react to The Right Side of History’s political speech at W.I.L.D. this past Saturday. Co-founded by senior David Dresner, The Right Side of History targets straight people to join the organization’s quest for LGBT rights in America. Junior Alex Greenberg delivered the 4-minute speech right before opening act K’Naan took the stage.