The ranking was based on factors including financial aid and academics. It was compiled using official university data and results from student surveys.

Director of Student Financial Services, William Witbrodt, says that the ranking is a reflection on how students feel about the University.

“For one thing I know that the financial aid office is as responsive as it can be to students. We provide excellent service and we would never let a student leave the University because of finances. When the Princeton Review folks interviewed the students on our campus I know that played a large part in the ranking,” Witbrodt said.

University officials say that the school’s academic programs also make it a best value for students.

“We offer a wide variety of academic programs here, so for students who choose to come here we offer a lot of flexibility and I think that certainly adds value. We are an institution where we are able to offer a lot of variety and diversity but we are also a place where you can get into classes that are small enough to interact with a faculty member in that specific discipline,” Assistant Vice Chancellor Rob Wild said.

Some students say that the University’s price tag and academics combine to make it a good value.

“I think for the same amount of money, you get a lot more here. When I visited other colleges of the same caliber, I thought that Wash. U. provided a lot better campuses, dorms, and food [...] As a pre-med [student], when I want to do research I could just ask a professor or he will point me at the right direction. I don’t know about other [majors], but it’s definitely a lot better for pre-meds to be here,” junior Phil Chen said.

Other students say that the school’s value comes in more abstract form.

“I think Wash. U. does it’s best to make it worth it. I think the intellectual capital is priceless. So in that sense I think it’s worth it,” sophomore Bailey Breems said.

Wild agrees with this sentiment.

“We always have felt that Washington University is a great investment for anyone who chooses to attend here as a student. The value has to do with the students feeling like they have gotten a good return on their investment here,” he said.

About 40 students gathered in the Danforth University Center on Monday evening to celebrate Green Action’s kickoff of Renew WashU, a new initiative to get the University to switch over to renewable energy.

Students attending the event took part in interactive arts activities, and listened to speakers, including one from the Sierra Club.

Green Action co-president Claire Christensen said that the group started the Renew WashU initiative in response to a new University task force aimed at discussing renewable energy.

“We want the campus to use 100 percent renewable energy in the future,” Christensen said.

These energy choices would include wind and solar energy.

Christensen said that although this number might be difficult to reach, the University does have the ability to achieve the goal.

Sustainability Director Phil Valko said that the University taskforce is still in the planning stages, but that it’s main goal will be to create a renewable energy plan for the University.

But, even with the new University task force supported by student involvement, not all students think it is feasible for the University to switch to 100 percent renewable energy.

“I don’t know if it’s possible to have everything be renewable. Not 100 percent, but maybe close to it, like 50 percent,” freshman Mari Price said.

Some students doubt that the group will meet its goal, because sustainability is not a top priority for many students.

“Even though the campus is going green I think there is a lot that can’t be done. People aren’t going to want to pay for a renewable campus when there are other things that are probably more necessary,” junior Alyssa Stein said.

Others said that the cost of making the switch may be prohibitive.

“That would require a lot of infrastructure changes and probably would not be cost effective,” senior Ali Hruschka said.

According to Valko, although the goal may be difficult to reach, it does provide a good incentive.

“I think it’s a big bold goal. It’s going to take an awful lot to achieve a goal like that. I think it’s important for us to be setting big goals but we’re in a short time frame,” Valko said.

Still, Christensen is optimistic about the University’s ability to become more sustainable.

“We want to work with the administration so that it is not just words but actual actions. We know that 100 percent is a lot, but we think Washington University has the capacity and the obligation to do it,” she said.

Students received an email alerting them of the change to the Dean’s List criteria from Dirk Killen, an associate dean in the College of Arts & Sciences at the beginning of the semester.

“You will be cited on the Dean’s List if you meet the following academic standards: completion of a minimum of 14 units of graded work while achieving a grade point average of 3.6 during that semester” read the email from Dean Killen.

The GPA requirement for the Dean’s List was previously set at a 3.5, meaning that students will now have to earn a 0.1 higher GPA in order to meet the qualifications.

According to Killen, students have questioned whether College Honors, which in the past have been linked with Dean’s List, would also be affected by the change.

College Honors will not change for the class of 2012, 2013 or 2014. If there is a change, it will only take effect for the classes of 2015 and after. The deans have not yet taken up this question,” Killen wrote in an email to Student Life.

Some students are against the changes to the Dean’s List requirements.

“I think it’s kind of ridiculous” junior Anwesha Majumder said. “We have such high standards as it is that raising them makes them that much more inaccessible.”

Others think the change is reasonable, and even beneficial for students and the University.

“I approve of it. I think it will make Wash. U. more competitive when compared to other schools” sophomore Jonathan Winstone said. “It’ll make it more valuable and meaningful to be on the Dean’s List if it’s harder to obtain.”

The changes will make the requirements to be on the Dean’s List in the College of Arts & Sciences the same as they are in the John M. Olin School of Business and the School of Engineering & Applied Science.

“Business and Engineering raised their Dean’s List requirements to 3.6 a number of years ago, and Arts & Sciences is now in line with a standard that better reflects current student achievement, which has been continually rising,” Killen wrote in an email to Student Life.

“A 0.1-higher GPA is manageable and I hope it can be used as a chance for students to challenge themselves to go a little farther” junior Dan Pasque said. “But if [the administration] did something else within that same trend and continued raising it, students would have a good reason to do something about it.”

The change in the criteria will go into effect for the spring 2012 semester, and the Dean’s List will be announced in June 2012.

Aslo see

Video: How to raise a dragon show

Although the fireworks took place earlier in the week, a profusion of dance numbers, sparkles and costumes set the crowd of the 16th annual Lunar New Year Festival (LNYF) ablaze with excitement.

When the lights dimmed in Edison Theater on Friday and Saturday evenings, students were treated to a three-hour-long sample of both traditional and modern Asian dances.

This year, the LNYF celebration was focused on the Year of the Dragon.

“The theme of this year’s show was to be a dragon. To be a dragon is to learn your strengths and to develop your own independence, your own individual differences from others—the journey to becoming your own individual,” junior Kathee Li, LNYF executive director, said.

The performances at the show ranged from samul nori, a traditional Korean drum performance, to an Asian pop performance, a fashion show and the traditional Philippine tinikling dance.

Proceeds from the event were donated to Youth for 3.11, an organization that has helped young people volunteer in northern Japan following the major earthquake and tsunami that affected the region last March.

“We’re really excited to be donating to Youth for 3.11 this year partly because it’s a platform formed by college students; it’s a network of college students and young people trying to rally to support those who have been affected by the disaster in Japan,” Li said.

According to the performance’s philanthropy chair, sophomore Miki Maruyama, the group planned to raise $1,500 to donate to the charity. Although she has not tabulated the total amount of money raised, she expects it to exceed the goal.

“We haven’t counted all of it yet, but we were definitely close to that by the time the show came around, so I am pretty sure we met it,” she said.

According to Maruyama, the LNYF executive board chose Youth for 3.11 as its charity, because the members wanted to make sure that the affected areas of Japan continue to receive aid.

“I think we will make a pretty big difference. They [Youth for 3.11 executives] said the amount of public interest is decreasing so they need all the support they can get. They still need the manpower and the resources to rebuild, there is still a lot of work to be done and there are still a ton of people displaced; it will definitely help to send more volunteers to the north,” she said.

Audience members said they enjoyed the performance.

“I was very impressed,” junior Grace Preston said. “A lot of college productions, you can tell they are college productions but this one looked professional.”

Freshman Elynna Youm was a performer in the show. She said it helped her to grow and work on her own strengths.

“When we first started out our performance we weren’t dragons, but after we performed, we were dragons,” Youm said.

Construction for the Institute’s new office is scheduled to begin this spring, so that it can move into the new space between commencement and June 1, Director of the DUC Leslie Heusted says.

Remaining space on the floor will be converted into a new media suite to include offices for print publications Washington University Political Review, Hatchet Yearbook, One World magazine and Spires literary magazine. The expanded space will also include the DUC recording studio and WUTV. It is also possible that KWUR will move there as well.

The Gephardt Center is currently located in Eliot Hall and will move before Eliot is demolished.

“That portion of the construction will be happening over the spring once we have confirmed plans because of that timeline—because of Eliot,” Heusted said.

Jill Carnaghi, assistant vice chancellor for students, noted that the DUC seemed like a logical place to move the Gephardt Institute.

“They work with a big number of students, so the University center seemed like an ideal location with the Community Service Office located here and parking underneath,” she said.

Heusted says the institute will be a positive addition to the DUC.

“I am really excited about the Gephardt Center moving into the building and onto the third floor. It is a focal point for the community; it’s a connection between Washington University and the community,” she said.

“We’ve been in this building for three years now; we are looking to enhance student media spaces,” Carnahgi said.

Heusted said that the new space will allow student media groups to work more closely with one another.

“This has allowed us to take a second look at how the media groups interact and there is endless potential for collaboration for the media groups, and this helped us tap into some of that potential,” she said.

Carnaghi said it is likely that KWUR will eventually move from its space in the Ann W. Olin Women’s Building into a space in the DUC. Students involved in KWUR are currently discussing the possibility of moving to the DUC with University administrators.

Huested noted that the renovation will also add more common space to the third floor, which few students view as a hangout.

Her shooting schedule for “Modern Family” conflicted with her ability to visit.

Student Union approved the Association of Latin American Students’ (ALAS) appeal to bring Vergara to campus to speak at one of the group’s 20th anniversary events, but according to Speaker of the Treasury Julian Nicks, no contract was ever drawn up to bring Vergara to campus.

Student Union Treasury allocated $32,251 for Vergara’s appearance on Sept. 21.

“Sofia Vergara’s contracts never came in…a lot of her coming was contingent on whether they were filming for ‘Modern Family.’ So they ended up filming this spring so she couldn’t come,” Nicks said.

He learned on Thursday that Vergara would not be coming to campus.

Edward Poyo, president of ALAS, says the group was looking forward to bringing a popular public figure for its 20th anniversary.

“All of ALAS is very disappointed; I think she would have been a very good speaker. From ALAS’ perspective, it would have attracted a lot of people to our event,” Poyo said.

According to Nicks, the money that was set aside to fund her visit has been put back into the Treasury appeals account, which now stands at a bit more than $150,000.

Earlier this year, the College Democrats’ attempt bring former Vice President Al Gore to campus failed as well, after SU allocated $92,350 for the event. Gore was unable to come due to scheduling difficulties.

Nicks says that the multiple speaker cancellations are unusual but may be due to the particularly high-profile speakers SU funded this year.

“It has never happened before, but we’ve never funded speakers of this size before. This initiative to bring big speakers is new, so we’ve never seen problems like this,” Nicks said.

Last year, Harry Belafonte and Richard Gephardt also cancelled their speaking engagements on campus. Gephardt was not funded by SU.

“Of course it’s sad—[Vergara] was one of the ones that Treasury and the student body was really excited to see come to campus, but these kind of things happen on other campuses all the time. It happens, and hopefully we try to change the structure to make it less common in the future,” Nicks said.

Treasury funded two other major speakers for this year: Amy Chua and John Legend. They are booked to come to campus later this semester.

According to Poyo, ALAS may organize another event to replace Vergara’s appearance.

“We’ve been brainstorming and trying to figure something out, but with time constraints it is going to be pretty hard to get anything in. I would like to bring someone else in or replace the event with something else,” he said.

Popular Internet destinations, including Wikipedia and Reddit blacked out their websites yesterday to show their opposition to the proposed Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA). Although Google did not blackout, it blacked out its logo on its homepage.

Many students say the acts, which aim to prohibit piracy on the Internet, are too restrictive.

“I’m a proponent of civil liberties and [oppose] any action where big government is imposing on the civil liberty of its citizens, which is exactly what this act is doing. It’s an insult,” senior Becca Craig said.

Still, some see why the entertainment industry is aiming to stop piracy.

“I see both sides of the argument…I think that it makes sense that the entertainment industry should have the rights over what they are creating and stopping piracy, but I don’t think the bill is perfect, and I value the free flow of information on the Internet,” sophomore Jane Luer said.

Some say the opinions of these popular websites affect their own views on the bills

“The fact that Wikipedia and Google are both openly opposed to it makes you think it’s a bad thing,” sophomore Zachary Hernandez said.

Three University law professors—Gregory P. Magarian, Kevin Collins and Neil Richards—signed a petition that was sent to Congress from prominent law professors in protest of the SOPA and PIPA.

“I signed the petition because the SOPA and PIPA Acts impose liability on information providers and search engines,” Magarian said. “There are two main problems I see with the acts. First, the laws can intimidate the search engines to alter the search results. Second, [the acts] are trying to solve an offshore problem of infringement, but the way I see it, there is no way to do so on the Internet without infringing on free speech rights.”

Magarian is a constitutional law and free speech expert in the Washington University Law School.

“Search engines are legally allowed to show you results that [condone] illegal activity. This is protected in free speech rights,” he said.

Magarian suggested other options of ending Internet piracy.

“The illegal copyright infringement activities can be stopped through signing of treaties with other nations, but to try to stop the information flow on the user end is a violation of the First Amendment,” he said.

With additional reporting by Allison Neuwrith.

According to senior Amanda Sabele, the former vice president of the Washington University in St. Louis Habitat for Humanity campus chapter, the group has won the grant one other time in recent memory, although it has been turned down for the grant the past couple of years.

State Farm will match every dollar that the University’s chapter raises, up to $5000.

According to Sabele, the group raised around $8000 last year. She says that this year is Habitat for Humanity St. Louis’ 10 year anniversary, and that the group hopes to increase the money it raises by at least 25 percent. She expects the grant will help the group meet that goal.

The organization has four main objectives: to build, educate, advocate and fundraise.

“I think it’s going to be great because with this grant we will be able to donate even more to Habitat for Humanity St. Louis. Every bit of money helps, and this is a lot of money,” former chapter president Justin Dollinger said.

The Washington University chapter of Habitat for Humanity has between 20 and 30 members and participates in around six builds each school year.

According to Sabele, the increased donation that the group will likely make will enable it to participate in more builds than before.

The group holds about six fundraisers annually. The two biggest are a trivia night in the fall and the Washington University Build Challenge in the spring.

Sabele, who completed the application process for the group, says that the decision was based on factors including the group’s fundraising efforts and the number of builds they attend.

To apply, the group had to fill out an online application and participate in a phone interview.

“The app process was so nerve-racking,” Sabele said. “It was insane, an hour long interview. [They asked] what we would use the money for, what our involvement on campus has been and about our fundraising and how effective we have been.”

Habitat for Humanity is an organization that aims to provide affordable housing for all people.

“Housing is such a difficult issue. Children under the age of 18 account for 40 percent of the homeless population worldwide, and it is our mission to offer stable housing worldwide. That extra money, $5000, is an incredible amount for us,” Sabele said.

Courtesy of Danish Institute for Study Abroad

The Danish Institute for Study Abroad building in Copenhagen, Denmark. DIS hosts the new study abroad program at Denmark for psychology students.

The program, led by the Danish Institute of Study Abroad (DIS) in Copenhagen, will offer psychology students academic opportunities they are not able to have on the Washington University campus.

Psychology professor Leonard Green, coordinator of the program, says that students will be required to take a core class in one of two tracks, either positive psychology or European clinical psychology. Students will also be required to enroll in a practicum for the core area they choose.

According to Green, students do not have much of an opportunity to study European psychology at Washington University.

The students will also be required to take two non-psychology programs, at least one of which must focus on Europe or Denmark specifically.

Betty Hallock | Los Angeles Times | MCT

Bikes line the canals in the Christianshavn neighborhood in Copenhagen, Denmark.

“It is the first year, although it is only temporarily approved, it’s not a fully approved program for psychology students,” said Julie DiBerardino, the study abroad advisor in charge of the new program.

Green said he hopes the program will be offered in future years.

“We will evaluate it at the appropriate time to see if we want to make it a permanent option,” Green said. “I’m hopeful it will be a permanent part of the curriculum.”

According to DiBerardino, there are seven students who are signed up to go on the program in the spring.

Green views study abroad as a beneficial addition to Psychology students’ educations.

“If a student can work it in, I think study abroad offers a wonderful opportunity for a psychology major. This really expands and enriches their major…providing them a larger, broader perspective [and a chance to pursue an] area of expertise…that they would not necessarily find [offered] here,” he said.

This program is not held at a specific university, but rather is sponsored by DIS, a Danish-government recognized study abroad program. All DIS classes are taught in English.

Psychology students can also study abroad at a number of other locations, including the University of Queensland in Australia and the University of Sussex and Exeter University in England.

Courtesy of Blair Sackett

Washington University students Kait Mauro and Adam Hasz, far left, were arrested at the Occupy St. Louis protest on Thursday, Nov. 17, 2011.

The three students, seniors Adam Hasz and Molly Gott and sophomore Kait Mauro, were arrested near the Martin Luther King Bridge. They were held in the St. Louis City Justice Center for about 10 hours and released on bail Friday morning.

The students participated in the march from Kiener Plaza to the bridge as part of a national day of action recognized by the entire Occupy movement. The Post-Dispatch reported that 800 people marched and 14 were arrested.

The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) planned the local rally. Their main demand is the rebuilding of the crumbling public and social infrastructures. One of SEIU’s short-term solutions is to create new infrastructure jobs to repair the ill-maintained bridges.

Upon arriving at the bridge, Hasz said that police gave protesters the option to either step back or be arrested.

Hasz, Gott and Mauro chose to stay put and were put under arrest.

“The people who were willing to take the rap stood forward and the others stood back,” Hasz said. “It means that I am fully committed to the ideas of the Occupy movement and making it my own. The arrest symbolized my personal commitment.”

Hasz said he is part of the Occupy St. Louis movement because of the light that it sheds on social issues.

“We need to invest in our physical and social [infrastructure] in order to create jobs and revive the national economy,” he said. “For me the Occupy movement represents this unique [opportunity] to talk about all of society’s problems and how they’re connected, how economic injustice is related to economic issues, or how racism is related to sexism.”

Mauro views the movement as a way she can contribute to the country’s future.

“For me, a student about to graduate and engage with the world, with the economic crisis, with all of these social ills, I see this movement as a way for students to fully get involved in what the future of our country looks like,” Mauro said.

Hasz said that this particular march was important to him because of the recent, nationwide crackdowns on the Occupy movement.

“I had to take a stand when evictions were happening this past week. I thought that marching was the best way that I could take a stand and say I want to be a part of it and I want to contribute in any way I can,” he said.

The arrested students say, in comparison to schools like University of California at Berkeley, few students at Washington University are getting involved in the Occupy movement.

“For me it’s really about the fact that everyone here has privilege… it’s not, in my experience, a place that fosters action,” Mauro said. “We spend so much time talking about really good questions but at a certain point it becomes an excuse to not take action, but I think there has to be a balance of both in the culture.”