Student Life Sports launches a new series, Bear Basics, where athletes teach a reporter a special skill associated with their sport. In this video, Washington University volleyball star Meghan Byrne demonstrates her signature jump-serve for senior sports editor Sahil Patel and gives him some coaching tips for improvement.

What does it take to put on a big cultural show such as Lunar New Year Festival? Student Life goes behind the scenes to talk with directors and performers in this year’s show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpxdpVE4XfM

Joseph Gordon-Levitt sings “Words We’re Wailing” at hitRECord WashU in Graham Chapel on Tuesday, October 25, 2011. Joseph Gordon-Levitt sings “Any Day Now” by Sam Cooke

Student Life talks to Rabbi Andy Kastner about Sukkah City St. Louis.

Student Life sat down with each of the UP slate’s five candidates for Student Union Executive Council to get a sense of their reasons for running and goals for the coming year.

On Saturday, 155 Wash. U. students took a bus trip to Washington, sponsored by Student Union, to attend the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, hosted by Jon Stewart. After a 16.5-hour bus ride, the students found themselves waiting at a Metro station in West Falls Church, Virginia for up to 2 hours. Some hitchhiked to the rally; others did not make it at all.

“Parkour is a way of moving through your environment as fluidly and efficiently as possible, using your surroundings and the human body. It’s an art form, it’s exhilarating, and we do it to challenge ourselves.”