A year of weekly performances in a small dining room at Bear’s Den and annual shows featuring inebriated performers and full audiences donning mustaches has paid off for K.A.R.L. Improv.

As students began to prepare for Mardi Gras, one of St. Louis’ biggest party weekends, bar managers and a Washington University Police Department officer came to campus to share their cautionary tales with the Washington University community.

Student Life interviewed Alternative Lifestyle Association (ALA) president Diana Goeller to find out about kink on campus. Here is what she had to say. SL: Tell us a little bit about ALA. DG: In the past year and a half or so we’ve been more about being a resource. We call it SSC: safe, sane and consensual.

A new high-speed train connecting St. Louis and Chicago will provide students with an alternative way to travel. The railroad, which is currently under construction, should be complete sometime in 2014, according to officials involved in the project.

Chill Frozen Yogurt on Wydown Boulevard is the latest off-campus business to accept Bear Bucks, the program that allows Washington University students to charge purchases to their Campus Cards. In the fall semester, Kayak’s Coffee and Bobo Noodle House began accepting Bear Bucks. Blueberry Hill soon followed.

Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton ranked fourth on a list of the 10 biggest earners among leaders of the nation’s 50 most-endowed universities, compiled through a survey conducted by The Daily, a tablet-based newspaper.

Following the recent Troy Davis execution controversy, the Washington University Pre-Law Society presented a panel of experts to discuss the practice of capital punishment and whether or not racism plays a role in implementation of the death penalty.

A campus group dedicated to students who are interested in technology entrepreneurship is on the rise. Members of Washington University Technology Entrepreneurs (WUTE) are behind business ventures including the Greenvelope virtual invitation service and Cloudy, a social application. WUTE was formed over the 2009-10 year.

There’s a new gang on campus, and the University is supporting it. The Student Union-approved Wash U Bike Gang seeks to promote sustainability and encourage bike riding as a means of transportation to explore the city and foster community. The new student group is working to incorporate bike culture into the Washington University campus.

Professor Carl Phillips has been named a finalist for the National Book Award in poetry for his most recent book, “Double Shadow: Poems.” This is his fourth time being nominated for the award. “Double Shadow: Poems” is Phillips’ 11th published collection of poetry.