Proposed renderings of possible Wash. U. housing on the loop. The university recently sent out a survey to undergraduate students seeking their input on possible options for housing expansion. (Courtesy of Washington University)

As Washington University students prepare to make next year’s housing arrangements, the University is looking into possible options for housing expansion, specifically north of the Delmar Loop.

Dean James McLeod, the vice cancellor for students, sent students a questionnaire to gauge interest in the new housing possibility, and he said the administration is still researching different options. Although few would question the necessity of more University-owned housing for students, concerns about safety and the character of the neighborhood complicate this possibility.

Over the course of the last decade, the University has been redoing all of its housing for students, both on and off campus. The results of the remodel lead to the split between new and traditional dorms, as well as off-campus living options for upperclassmen, undergraduates and graduate students such as the Loop Lofts. The next step involves spreading into the community close to the school.

The survey sent to undergraduate students said, “WUSTL is considering the development of an attractive, vibrant, environmentally sustainable, safe and secure residential community for WUSTL Undergraduate Students and other residents.”

The possible new undergraduate home stretches from the neighborhood that begins on the north side of the Delmar Loop through Skinker Boulevard to North Campus on the east.

“We’ve purchased a significant number of buildings off campus,” McLeod said. “This is part of a larger effort to have excellent housing for students on or near campus. It’s not just north of Delmar; it’s also south of Delmar. We are looking at all areas where we have property already.”

One of the benefits of housing north of the Loop includes a 15-minute walk to campus, closer than housing options such as the Loop Lofts. But one of the reasons that Anna Studstill, a senior living her second year north of the Loop, chose to live in this area was the community that already existed there.

“Part of what I like about my building is that it’s not all students,” Studstill said. “It’s a mix. I like the diversity of having families and graduate students.”

But what Studstill said really drew her to the area was the cost. Once Residential Life starts setting rent prices, the cost could be affected as well. Apartments north of the Loop are cheaper than other traditional off-campus areas, like Waterman Court and the Kingsbury area. A two- or three-bedroom off-campus apartment in the ResLife system, like Greenway, costs $8,842 for the upcoming school year, according to the ResLife Web site, where some three bedroom apartments in the area considered for the new housing development cost $1,250 a month, which means only $5,000 per renter for the year. Some students have expressed worries that University-owned apartments would remove one of the few close, affordable options for off-campus living. Higher rents could affect more than just students. If the rent were raised and apartments were to become scarcer because of the University’s plans, families and other non-student residents might also feel the effects.

But community members should not be worried, McLeod said, as the University values the character of the communities surrounding the University, and has no current plans to buy up large amounts of property. The community is “a real asset” for the University, he said, making good neighbor status a top priority.

As for how the University plans to collect enough buildings to make a new complex, the administration says it is still too early in the process to say.

“I don’t know that there is an answer to that,” McLeod said. “There is no aggressive buying plan right now. That doesn’t rule out lots of different ways we could…trade buildings, we could purchase buildings.”

One issue that doesn’t seem to be affecting the situation is the security concern.

After a shooting on the Loop last fall, the assault of a graduate student over winter break, and other safety problems, students regard areas north of the Loop much as they would regard anywhere else off campus—a place where people have to be on their guard.

Security is an ongoing concern, according to McLeod, and it will be looked into. But as this applies to all off-campus housing, the area north of the Loop is not viewed as any less safe than other areas where students typically live.

More students are moving north of the Loop for reasons similar to those of Studstill, but also because they need somewhere to live. As class sizes grow, the University struggles to find places to house everyone, forcing many students off campus. New housing complexes may help avoid situations like that senior Aparna Misra found herself in two years ago.

“Because there were no more suites left on campus to suit our needs, we [my roommates and I] were not assigned to any on-campus housing,” Misra said. “And we went off campus to find a place to live.”

Although the University is, according to McLeod, looking into all areas where the University currently has holdings, the area north of the Loop is the only area about which student interest has been gauged.

Still, McLeod emphasized that the University is still conducting research and any new developments could still be a long way off. As it is still taking into consideration different concerns and options associated with housing north of the Loop, the University simply has not reached a conclusion yet.

Michael Phelps (Christophe Guibbaud | Cameleon | Abaca Press| MCT CAMPUS)

Hot is a matter of opinion, and in my opinion, Michael Phelps, while an amazing swimmer, is not hot. His athletic feats are another story entirely. Speaking of his athleticism, no one could say that the man isn’t on fire. He is by far one of the greatest Olympians of our time. That is not my point. My point is that pure athleticism, while attractive, is not enough to make a person really and truly hot.

So what exactly goes into being hot? In our everyday lives, someone who is hot makes our eyes bulge out of our head and our hearts dance out of our chest via cartoon characters. It’s a person who makes you drool when you look at them. Unfortunately, this is not Michael Phelps.

Click here to read the opposing viewpoint

Physically, Phelps was designed to be an amazing swimmer, with the super-long torso, the huge feet, and arms longer than my entire body. He was created for the sport, if you will, and that shows up in his 14 gold medals. But I have grown up around swimmers and noticed that swimmers are built with a certain look. Michael Phelps takes that look to the next level. Unfortunately, that next level tends to seem a bit gawky. Let’s just say that when I’m watching him give a press conference, I’m thinking more about his amazing performance than his looks. In short, I’m not drooling. And that gawkiness is the nature of the beast; call it a byproduct of amazing natural talent. Add the goofy grin and, well, let’s just say he is no Jeremy Bloom (also a wonderful athlete and Olympian). In fact, it’s the goofy grin that takes him, for me, categorically away from hotness. I don’t get that thrown off by his proportions, although they always look a bit off. Instead, I find myself not wanting to look at the big ears, semi- vacant eyes, and cockeyed grin. Phelps’ body is attractive, no doubt, but the face… Personally, I’d rather watch the time clock.

I have been and will remain in awe of Phelps’s swimming abilities. He is by far one of the greatest athletes ever to grace a swimming pool. I admire his dedication to the sport. But Phelps, while perhaps the hottest swimmer around, is not an all-around-hot person. I hope his gold medals and goofy grin can forgive me that.

Click here to read the opposing viewpoint

Among the topics discussed was an online SU survey that asked 504 students about issues of racial profiling on campus. Two hundred seventy-five students responded to a question in the survey asking, “Do you feel as though you have been racially profiled on campus and by whom?” Twenty of these students said yes, and shared a variety of stories about being discriminated against for being Jewish, Asian and white, among other things.

Several black students said in the survey that they have been racially profiled on campus by WUPD.

One student wrote in the survey that, “I have been racially profiled when walking around on the 40 with my black (mostly male) friends on a Friday night, on multiple occasions. We were asked for our IDs, something that I didn’t see WUPD asking for to any white students.”

Much of the discussion at the forum centered on the role that WUPD plays in on-campus racial profiling.

According to senior Chase Sackett, speaker of the Senate, “Chief Don Strom is really eager to work with us on this issue.”

Students also talked about ways to combat discrimination on campus, including Greek Life mixers with city-wide black fraternities and diversity training. SU plans to appoint a task force to prioritize these solutions. The task force will deliver its report, and next steps will be decided on at the next Connect 4 meeting.

Sackett said that he was impressed with the town hall’s openness and that the event was productive.

“It was a very open town hall, with no distinctions between Senators and the students,” Sackett said.

The ADL contacted the group of six black students three days after the original incident to offer them access to the organization’s infrastructure and advocacy from the group. This was unusual, as most people with a complaint need to contact the ADL before it will consider a case.

In this case, however, a parent of a University student was an ADL board member in Houston, and according to ADL Chicago regional director Lonnie Nasatir, “it kind of came through the ranks.”

For the students from Washington University, the support came as a welcome surprise.

“I was surprised because I hadn’t contacted them,” said Fernando Cutz, senior class president. “I was just really grateful they reached out.”

The ADL first asked the students if they would be interested in the organization writing a coalition letter to be circulated among civil rights groups in Chicago. The organization then hand-delivered a letter to the bar last Friday. This prompted the first response from Mothers. According to Cutz, the ADL “was certainly a major part in that reaction.” The group also helped the students find free legal counsel.

The Anti-Defamation League is a non-profit organization focused on fighting anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry.

“It goes back to that notion that if one minority group is targeted, we all are targeted, and that we can really be much more effective in a broad way than if we just sort of stick within our own communities,” said Karen Aroesty, the St. Louis regional director of the Anti-Defamation League.

The six black students who were allegedly denied entry to Mothers bar in Chicago due to their race. (Matt Mitgang | Student Life)

View a slideshow from the town hall event

Students expressed anger at the Original Mothers bar and demanded that the establishment issue an apology during a town hall forum Monday night.

“I’m flabbergasted that an apology hasn’t been given because the first step is admitting that you have a problem,” senior Jessica Strong said at the forum.

Almost 300 students showed up at the meeting, which was organized by the Association of Black Students, Connect 4 and the Senior Class Council.

The forum, held in Lab Sciences 300, was arranged to discuss an incident of alleged race discrimination by the Original Mothers bar in Chicago against six black male students on Oct. 17. Students have accused the bar of denying entry to the six because of their race.

Although the bar has not returned phone calls from Student Life, it released a statement saying it does not discriminate but will investigate the incident.

Students at the forum called for another student protest against the bar to follow up on the first one held by seniors in Chicago. Others demanded that the bar’s managers be fired or be given anti-discrimination training.

“We need to demand that they write an anti-discrimination policy, and they need to post it outside of their bar,” senior Nikki Spencer said at the forum.

Still other students suggested that the bar return the money that was spent there by seniors on the night of the incident.

“Our money is our vote,” senior Audrey King said. Another suggestion was made that Mothers should fund a scholarship for a University student.

The forum was intended to help the six black students and members of the Senior Class Council develop an official list of demands to give to the Original Mothers bar. The demands will be presented at a news conference held by the Senior Class Council at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday in Danforth University Center room 276.

Summary of the town hall

All six students who were denied entry to the bar were in attendance at the forum.

Senior Class President Fernando Cutz announced at the beginning of the event that the incident and the University’s response to it have prompted national and international media attention. CNN ran a TV spot on the story Sunday night, and The New Zealand Herald covered the story Monday.

Cutz also addressed questions about why students at the bar had not staged a walk-out from the establishment on the night of the incident.

Cutz took full responsibility for this and cited concerns he had on the night of the incident that people “weren’t level-headed and that it could escalate the situation.”

“The Senior Class Council and the six students who were involved were the only ones outside when it happened,” Cutz said in an interview. “The majority of students, I don’t believe they should be blamed for that decision. It wasn’t their decision to make.”

Karen Aroeste, St. Louis regional director for the Anti-Defamation League, also spoke at the event.

Aroeste said University students have the potential to use the incident to make a significant positive change.

“You do have an opportunity to turn lemons into a seriously large pitcher of lemonade,” Aroeste said.

Students react to Mothers,University-wide response

After the event, students shared their personal reactions.

Alex Cooper said he was unsurprised when he first heard about the incident at Mothers.

“I think the things that happened at Mothers bar were ridiculous but not too surprising just knowing how America is,” Cooper said.

Brandon Wilson, a sophomore and African-American studies major who is black, echoed Cooper’s sentiment that incidents of racism are common in America today.

“I’ve been called n—-- and have racist comments directed towards me all the time,” Wilson said. “This [incident at Mothers] is really a microcosm of a bigger issue. We can get angry all day about six young men being rejected from a bar, but there’s 60,000 men being rejected from society in East St. Louis.”

Junior Wandalyn Savala, a member of Connect 4 who was involved in planning the event, said she felt students at the town hall were energized about the issue but fears they will not be for long.

“Everyone’s really fired up, and I’m excited about that,” Savala said. “But I know in a few weeks, people are going to be like, ‘Eh. Kinda don’t really have time. Kinda have a midterm.’”

Said junior Audrey Morrow, “I just really hope that when the spotlight goes away, that people still remember that we still have these problems to fix.”

Click here for updated coverage of the town hall and the Mother’s incident

Students expressed anger at the Original Mothers bar and demanded that the establishment issue an apology and return students’ money at a town hall forum Monday night.

Some students called for another protest against the bar. Others demanded that the bar’s managers be given anti-discrimination training or be fired.

Almost 300 students showed up at the forum, which was arranged by the Association of Black Students, Connect 4 and Senior Class Council to foster discussion about an incident of alleged race discrimination by the bar against six black male students on Oct. 17.

All six students, who have said they were denied entry to the bar because of their race, were in attendance at the forum.

Senior Class President Fernando Cutz announced at the beginning of the event that the incident and subsequent response have generated both national and international media attention. CNN ran a TV spot on the story Sunday night, and The New Zealand Journal covered the story Monday.

Cutz also addressed questions about why students at the bar had not staged a walk-out from the bar on the night of the incident.

Cutz took full responsibility for the decision not to stage a walk-out, citing concerns he had that people “weren’t level-headed and that it could escalate the situation.”

The Mother's Men stand in front of a packed town hall meeting to discuss the next steps following the alleged discrimination incident at Mothers bar in Chicago. Approximately 400 people filled Lab Sciences 300 Monday evening for the town hall event. (Matt Mitgang | Student Life)

“The Senior Class Council and the six students who were involved were the only ones outside when it happened,” Cutz said in an interview. “The majority of students, I don’t believe they should be blamed for that decision [not to stage a walk-out]. It wasn’t their decision to make.”

Karen Aroeste, St. Louis regional director for the Anti-Defamation League, also spoke at the event. Aroeste made the suggestion that Mothers could fund a scholarship for a University student as a means of making amends for the incident.

The floor was then opened up to students to express their opinions and suggest future courses of action.

Students react to Mothers, University-wide response

Alex Cooper said he was not surprised when he first heard about the incident at Mothers.

“I think the things that happened at Mothers bar were ridiculous but not too surprising just knowing how America is,” Cooper said.

Brandon Wilson, a sophomore and African and African-American studies major who is black, echoed Cooper’s sentiment that incidents of racism are common in America today.

“I’ve been called n—-- and have racist comments directed towards me all the time,” Wilson said. “This [incident at Mothers] is really a microcosm of a bigger issue. We can get angry all day about six young men being rejected from a bar, but there’s 60,000 men being rejected from society in East St. Louis.”

Junior Wandalyn Savala, a member of Connect 4 who was involved in planning the event, said she felt students at the town hall were energized about the issue, but will likely not be for long.

“Everyone’s really fired up and I’m excited about that,” Savala said. “But I know in a few weeks people are going to be like, ‘Eh. Kinda don’t really have time. Kinda have a midterm.’”

Said junior Audrey Morrow, “I just really hope that when the spotlight goes away that people still remember that we still have these problems to fix.”

Click here for updated coverage of the town hall and the Mother’s incident

Griffin, who described himself of mixed background, said that he experienced the same treatment as six Washington University students on two different occasions—once six years ago and again two weeks ago.

During Griffin’s first attempt to enter the bar when he was 21 he was refused based on the same dress code that was applied in the case of the University students.  Two weeks ago after hearing that there had been a change in the atmosphere at Chicago bars, Griffin tried to again to enter Mother’s.

Wearing a pair of regular jeans, which Griffin described as the tightest pair of jeans he owns, and a Sean John sweater,  Griffin was turned away as according to the bouncer “that brand [Sean John] doesn’t fit in here.”

While Griffin stood at the door, three white patrons exited the bar wearing Eckō brand jeans. When he questioned the bouncer as to why the three white men had been allowed to enter wearing such clothing,  he was told “We don’t want your business.”

Griffin believes that the difference between him and the other customers was not his clothing, but his race.

“They don’t try to hide it at all. They’re real jerk with it,” Griffin said.

Representatives from Mothers declined to be interviewed this weekend by Student Life but said in a news release that the bar “does not discriminate against guests or patrons on the basis of race, and would never tolerate discriminatory conduct.” Mothers said it is conducting an investigation into the case and will take disciplinary action if necessary.

In reviews of the Bar on ChicagoCitySearch.com, there are multiple allegations of discriminatory conduct by bouncers at Mother’s.

Click here for more information about allegations of discrimination at Mothers Bar

The Association of Black Studentss, Connect4 and the Senior Class Council are hosting a town hall-style forum tonight to address students’ reactions to the alleged discrimination that took place at the Original Mothers Bar during the senior class trip to Chicago two weeks ago. The forum is meant as an opportunity for the students involved to tell their story and to deal with some of the larger issues at play in the controversy. Student Life will be live blogging from the forum in LabSci 300.

10:02 p.m. | Signing Off: The forum just wrapped up and students are slowly filing out, though a significant number are hanging around to continue the discussion. This concludes our live coverage of the town hall, but check StudLife.com later tonight for full coverage of the forum.

9:55 p.m. | Thanking Fernando: Iboro Umana makes a point of thanking Senior Class Council President Fernando Cutz for his hard work and Cutz receives a standing ovation.

9:52 p.m. | Closing Words: Cutz says that the Senior Class Council will be meeting tonight to discuss the recommendations from the forum and to formulate their “demands to Mother’s. On Wednesday, Cutz says that Student Union Senate will be taking up this issue. Iboro Umana takes the microphone back to wrap up with a message to students: “We have so much unlimited potential,” said Umana. “If you see something going on, I challenge you to take part in it.”

9:45 p.m. | Be Creative: “We need to demand that they write an anti-discrimination policy, and they need to post it outside of their bar,” and they need to be accountable to that policy said senior Nikki Spencer. She went on to say that the University has an opportunity to create tools for people who are not students to take advantage of and to make Mother’s an innovator in solving the problem.

9:41 p.m. | What one who was discriminated against wants: Senior Chuka Chike-Obi said that “I’m very happy with the amount of support we’ve gotten from my friends and from across the country…It’s hard for me to be in this position and talk about what I want because part of me was hurt and part of me wants to lash out.” He then continued that “It’s very easy for those of us in this institution to become comfortable…and one of the things I think is to show that it happens to all African American males.  The second thing is that I want to show Mother’s and all the places, not just bar and restaurants, that this is not acceptable.  When Mother’s did this they did not expect this to happen. And the next thing is I want those who get discriminated across the world on a daily basis not to internalize it but to feel like they can fight back.”

9:38 p.m. | Take it to the courts: Senior Natacha Lam said, “There is no demand that I think could make this stop. Money would be nice. Making them train could be fun, but there is no demand that should make this stop.  We need to take this to the courts.”

9:36 p.m. |A time out for Mother’s: One student told the auditorium, “I don’t know if a thing like counseling for racism exists, but Mother’s Bar needs to sit down and think about what they did…I’m flabbergasted that an apology hasn’t been given because the first step is admitting that you have a problem.”

9:32 p.m. | What’s The Real Issue?: Senior Nadia Mann is asking the room what the core issues at play are—the most infuriating thing to her has been that people cannot grasp what the magnitude of the problem is. “People keep asking why this matters and that’s the issue that’s really at hand here,” she said.

9:27 p.m. | Remembering beyond college: “The worst thing I think that could happen is for us to forget about it three years,” one student says. He went on to say that when the students have graduated this conversation needs to go on.

9:25 p.m. | Our Money is Our Vote: Senior Audrey King suggests that seniors’ money should be returned. Another student suggested that the money go toward education.

9:20 p.m. | How Could Mother’s Make it Up?: According to Cutz, attorneys from Mother’s Ball reached out to him earlier today looking to know what they could do to help make the situation better and alleviate the media storm. Cutz posed the question to the room: What could Mother’s do to make up for this?

9:15 p.m. | Acting in Our Own Community: Students are discussing whether the community’s response should focus on Mother’s in Chicago or whether it should focus on the local St. Louis community and discrimination broadly. “It’s absolutely necessary that we reach out to the people who don’t want to have this conversation,” said one graduate student.

9:13 p.m. | More than an apology: One student who witnessed the even says that he wants “One, an apology, but not only an apology. I want an admittance that this was racism.”

9:09 p.m. | More protests- A Junior asked is there is another protest planned, as she could not be a part of the first one. Fernando Cutz answered that “We would be open for discussion on whether you would be open to that tonight.”

9:04 p.m.| Punishment for Mother’s: The moderator asked “What, in your world, would you like to see done to Mother’s Bar?”

9:00 p.m. | What’s Next?: The conversation is shifting toward what the student body should do next. Cutz is recapping what has happened so far: Chancellor Wrighton wrote a letter to Mayor Daley calling for an investigation and Northwestern University has been involved with the discussion (a reporter from the Daily Northwestern is at the forum)

8:58 p.m. | “A seriously large pitcher of lemonade”: “Never underestimate the power of a Washington University education,” Karen Aroeste the Anti-Defamation League said. “You do have an opportunity to turn lemons into a seriously large pitcher of lemonade,” she added before telling students “I would think carefully before you decide operate, because the nature of civil rights cases is that you still take it on the chin.”

8:56 p.m. | Civil Rights groups reaching out: Fernando Cutz speaks about the Anti-Defamation League and how they were the first group to reach out after the incident.

8:49 p.m. | A “microcosm of the real problem”: One student said that, “We can sit here all day and be angry about six guys being rejected from a bar—and I support you guys totally—while there are 50,000 black men in East St. Louis getting rejected from society.”

8:49 p.m. | The Discussion Heats Up—In Cyberspace: The discussion in the room is heating up as the topic of conversation begins to turn toward life Washington University. At the same time, there is a very lively discussion of the forum happening on Twitter—a number of students are posting live updates from the forum to the social networking site. The online participants include @jdherg, @lyricist3 and @brittneyroetzel.

8:46 p.m. |Self-Segregation at Wash.U: “Maybe we need to look in the mirror and see what we perpetuate before we condemn someone else for what they’ve done,” one student said.

8:44 p.m.| Interracial Association: One student says she is not surprised about the Chicago incident as “It happens all the time. I’ve seen it happen on campus.”  She says that as a white woman she doesn’t have to deal with it but “it’s important to realize that even associating iwth black people can still be an issue even at Wash. U.”

8:38 p.m.| Is student Leadership important: “I do have a problem with some of the fliers that were put up. I knew some of these men personally, and I know that they are exceptional student leaders. But this wasn’t about whether they were student leaders, this was because they were black…and I don’t want this to turn into a class issue.” – Washington University student.

8:33 p.m.| Student’s react: Multiple students reacted as dismayed by what their peers went through, but extremely proud of their school

8:28 p.m | International Coverage: The New Zealand Journal is the first international news organization to cover the Mother’s incident.

8:26 p.m. | The F.B.I. is On The Case: Fernando Cutz confirms that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has begun a formal investigation of the incident at Mother’s Bar. According to Cutz, Representative William Clay (D-MO) will be submitting a letter to the F.B.I. tomorrow asking them to expedite their investigation. Cutz also reiterated that Mother’s is in the process of conducting its own internal investigation.

Senior Class President Fernando Cutz speaks at a town hall forum on the Mother's Bar incident. (Sam Guzik | Student Life)

8:24 p.m. | Why No Walk Out: Senior Class President Fernando Cutz  takes responsibility for the decision not to hold a walk out, stating worries that people “weren’t level headed and that it could escalate the situation.”

8:22 p.m. | The Mother’s Men Speak: The six Washington University students who were denied access to Mother’s Original Bar are now telling their story. Senior class Treasurer Regis Murayi presented the story and has handed the microphone off to Senior class president Fernando Cutz.

8:10 p.m. | Presentation Has Begun: The lights have dimmed and a PowerPoint presentation is running right now with news clips from stories about the Mother’s Men from the past several days. So far Student Life and the Chicago Tribune have featured prominently—as well as the CNN story that brought the incident into the national spotlight. The room is entirely silent.

(Sam Guzik | Student Life)

8:03 p.m. | Just Getting Started: The auditorium is about three-quarters full (the total capacity of the room is 400) and students continue to mill in. Rob Wild is in attendance and there are news crews from a number of TV stations.

If you have any questions that you would like to see answered during the live blog, post them to the comments section or reply to @StudLife on Twitter.

Correction (10/27/09, 9:49 a.m.):
In an earlier version of this post, Representative William Clay was mistakenly referred to as Representative Henry Clay. Student Life regrets the error.

Professor Anca Parvulescu (Courtesy of the English Department)

You hear it when sitting in your economics class, while sipping coffee at Whispers and even as you watch television. Indeed, laughter is one of the most common acts in our society. Yet, while the concept of laughter is so pervasive and constantly surrounds us, there has been little research on the topic. Washington University professor Anca Parvulescu, however, decided to investigate the background of laughter further and set out to explore why this freeing expression has a history of repression. She explains her findings in her new book, “Laughter: Notes on a Passion.”

While reading one day, Parvulescu, who teaches English classes and works with the Interdisciplinary Project in the Humanities, stumbled across a situation that struck her as strange.

“I came upon a rhetorical moment that said ‘and then I laughed,’ and a lot seemed to be in that moment,” Parvulescu said.

That moment eventually led to the exploration of what Parvulescu says is the long tradition of writing about laughter. “Laughter: Notes on a Passion” explores the ideas behind social constructions that once considered laughter as inappropriate and follows these constructions through today and the reintroduction of laughter into society. This tradition included notes on etiquette, conduct books or letters about proper behavior in society. Laughter, in this context, was not considered mannerly.

“You find expressions like ‘You make a spectacle of yourself,’” Parvulescu said.

Laughter was grouped with bodily functions such as farting or belching. Laughing was even more embarrassing if you were a male, according to Parvelscu, because to laugh was to be a woman. But even women were not supposed to laugh, and the ability to laugh was only granted after a woman no longer had to worry about her appearance. These stipulations carried through into literature.

“The figure of the old hag that laughs—she does so because she has nothing to lose,” Parvulescu said. “She’s no longer on the market, so to speak.”

What makes her book unique, according to Parvulescu, is the focus on laughter itself and on laughing people as subjects. Other books tend to take laughter for granted or see it as a tool used to hint at something larger.

“No one asked the question of what laughter does [in Helene Cixous’s ‘The Laugh of the Medusa’],” Parvulescu said. “Rather, they took it for granted that ‘The Laugh of the Medusa’ is an argument about the subversiveness of women’s humor.”

This tradition of laughter and how it was reclaimed, or “the return of laughter as a passion,” intrigued Parvulescu because in many ways, she says, laughter is something we can’t understand.

“We mostly laugh in non-humorous situations,” she said. “There is a strong distinction between humor and laughter.”

Whether laughter is a loud, awkward or joyous act, Professor Parvulescu’s book helps us recognize that laughter may be far more intricate than anyone who has laughed at a Jim Carrey movie could ever think.

The teams that have clinched playoff spots this year include the New York Yankees, both teams from Los Angeles—Californians should be proud, since this is quite a rare occurrence—and, of course, the St. Louis Cardinals. Others in the running include the Phillies, the Boston Red Sox and even the Colorado Rockies, which all have a shot at the Wild Card.

With so many teams, I normally would not even consider entering the postseason. My allegiances will be decided by two things: I really don’t want the Cardinals to win. And the Yankees are only slightly better.

About to enter my second Cardinals’ playoff series in four years, I might feel bad about publicly stating my distaste for the Cardinals had I not lived through four years of their heckling. I can feel people stare as I walk down the street in my Fukudome shirt. I am, in effect, living in enemy territory. It only gets worse if the Cardinals win a Cubs-Cards series. But at the same time, if the Cubs win so much as a game, Cardinals fans are quick to retort, “When was the last time you won the World Series?”

Some might say this is what I get for being a Cubs fan. And in all fairness, it works both ways. When the Cubs make it to the playoffs next year (statistically, it has to happen soon), Cardinals fans in Chicago might know what I’m going through.

Regardless, I really hope the Cardinals crash and burn.

While my feelings towards the Cardinals are complex—I do go to school in St. Louis, and I really admire Albert Pujols—my feelings toward the Yankees are very simple. They win too much. Last time I said this, a very adamant Yankees fan whined that the Yankees have not won since 2000. Cry me a river. When a Yankees fan has to wait over a hundred years for a pennant, then we can talk.

Now, I could not care less about the teams from California. I bear them no ill will and, in fact, feel very little about them one way or the other. Which means that this year, I will be cheering for them only slightly less fervently than I would if the Cubs were in the playoffs. The same goes for the Phillies or the Red Sox if they claim a spot. If the Cubs cannot be in the playoffs, I will be extremely happy for my friends from Detroit—again, assuming they make it. All of this extra energy, exerted for a team I really could not care less about.

When your team does not make the playoffs, you don’t have many options. For now, I will cheer for anyone but the Cardinals or the Yankees. And I pray that it does not come down to a Cards-Yankees playoff. Because then you enter the real conundrum: Which team do you cheer for when you really despise both? The only option is to choose the team you hate less.