On Wednesday night, more than 60 students gathered in the DUC to hear 20-year-old Amin Abu-Hashen, a citizen of Egypt, participate in a panel about Egypt’s current political climate.

Junior Parsa Bastani was sitting in Whispers on Thursday afternoon with just a duffel bag, a laptop and a pay-as-you-go phone. The rest of Bastani’s belongings are still in Egypt, where his semester abroad was cut short due to political unrest.

The two Washington University students spending the spring semester abroad in Egypt have safely been evacuated from the country following political unrest. Junior Parsa Bastani, who was studying in Alexandria at the School in the Middle East at Alexandria University, is now on his way back to St.Louis from Prague and is contemplating various options for finishing out the semester. Junior Allegra Skurka, studying at Cairo University, flew to Athens this week and plans to finish the semester in Jordan.

Confusion surrounded the implementation of the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County smoking bans on January 2, but owners and patrons of local establishments say that the ban has been met with largely positive reactions.

Students seeking jobs with the federal government may be at a disadvantage if they’ve used social media sites to comment on or post links to classified State Department documents released by WikiLeaks, according to emails sent out last month by several schools’ career service offices.

Priya Sury, a 2010 Wash. U. alum, was named one of 32 Rhodes Scholars in the nation on Saturday afternoon. Winners of the Rhodes Scholarship are chosen on the basis of their academic achievements, personal integrity, leadership and physical vigor.

Four Loko is noticeably absent from local shelves, following plans from its manufacturer to remove caffeine from the alcoholic malt beverage under pressure from the FDA.

The Food and Drug administration is investigating whether caffeine is an unsafe food additive to alcoholic drinks, with a decision to come as soon as this week, the Associated Press reported Tuesday. A ruling could result in the banning Four Loko and similar drinks from the public market.

After 35 years on the Loop, Riddles Penultimate Café and Wine Bar is closing. The restaurant, which was an integral part of the Loop’s revitalization in the 1980s and attracted local musical acts to the Loop, was popular among students for its locally-sourced cuisine, extensive beer menu, and accessible weeknight entertainment.

Whispers, Bear’s Den and other dining outlets on campus are serving 5 oz. biodegradable cups instead of the former 12 oz. plastic cups. According to Cody Katz, SU’s vice president of public relations, the change in water cups received the biggest volume of complaints from students when SU execs tabled in the DUC last week