WUPD issued a report last week saying that a student assaulted two others while at a Halloween party in the Rutledge residence hall on the South 40. The assault was reported to the police on Nov. 2.

A Student Life investigation found that sophomore Eric Potter struck sophomore Michael Biehl as well as another girl at a Halloween party on Oct. 30 in Rutledge.

A police investigation into the assaults found that the conflict started earlier that week during an incident that involved fraternity members and that was possibly hazing.

“It appeared as a result of our investigation there were some practices that some in the investigation indicated were part of sort of historical acts by members of the fraternity,” WUPD Chief of Police Don Strom said. Strom did not discuss which students were involved with the assault or the incident leading up to the assault, what fraternity was found to be connected with the incident, or what the incident was.

Potter is a brother in the Sigma Nu fraternity, and Biehl was at the time in the process of pledging membership to Sigma Nu.

Earlier that week, on Oct. 28, Potter and another Sigma Nu brother mock kidnapped Biehl’s girlfriend, sophomore Michelle Chen, shortly before 9 p.m. at Simon Hall, according to Chen. The two bound her ankles and covered her mouth with duct tape, according to Chen. Chen described the mock kidnapping as a game, and said that she had agreed to participate in it beforehand. Potter and the other student took a photograph of Chen that they intended to send to Biehl.

The two then removed the duct tape from Chen’s mouth and suggested to her that they carry her to the Student Union Senate meeting with her feet still bound. Chen, an SU senator, said she initially laughed at the suggestion, although she was not OK with it. Chen said she did not want to be put into that situation, which she did not think was appropriate. She told the two that she did not want to be dropped off at the meeting while she was being carried to it.

Potter could not be reached for comment.

The two then dropped her off at the meeting, which was in progress, in Simon 113. Chen said that she thought it was possible that there was a miscommunication in the situation.

As she was entering the Senate meeting with her feet bound, Chen fell and was assisted by Senators Robyn Michaelson and Mike Post. Chen then re-entered the room and attended the meeting.

Chen said she considers what happened to have been a prank that went too far.

Sigma Nu President David Ingber said that Sigma Nu investigated the matter internally and found that the students involved with the assault at the Halloween party had relations with Sigma Nu but the assault was an isolated incident that was not associated with the fraternity.

“They [Biehl and Potter] were freshman roommates,” Ingber said. “Whatever happened between them is much bigger and larger than anything that happened at Sig Nu. There is a clear distinction between the events that occurred and Sigma Nu in the fact that they are separate entities and separate things.”

Chen said she does not feel what happened reflects on Sigma Nu as a whole, and she does not blame the fraternity for what happened.

Strom said that because the incident leading up to the assault was possibly hazing, the case will be reviewed per standard protocol by the county’s prosecuting attorney office in January.

“I think most people who’ve looked at it have said, ‘It’s kind of a close call,’ and I think that’s what people really want to delve into a little further with it,” Strom said.

Ingber noted that Sigma Nu was founded on a principle of no hazing.

“That statement of no hazing is something that we as a house and organization take unbelievably seriously,” Ingber said.

Ingber said he was not aware of any incidents involving mock kidnapping occurring in the past.

“This is nothing I have ever heard of in the past, and nothing that we have done, or ever done to my knowledge,” Ingber said.

Because the students who were assaulted at the party are not requesting prosecution, WUPD has referred further handling of the case to the judicial administrator.

Senior Kevin Smith, president of the Interfraternity Council, said that the Greek Life Standards Board is not investigating allegations of hazing by Sigma Nu.

Director of Greek Life Michael Hayes could not be reached for comment and left town to go on vacation on Thursday, but a representative from the Greek Life Office said that the case had been discussed.

Biehl recently stopped pledging Sigma Nu. Biehl said this was not related to the assault or the incident leading up to it, and he made the decision that Greek life was not for him independently of what happened.

While the SU meeting was momentarily stopped by Chen’s unusual entrance, the meeting proceeded as normal.

“I had no idea what was going on,” Speaker of the Senate Chase Sackett said. “It was confusing.”

“It seemed like the general consensus was it would be taken care of, and she came back in a few moments anyway,” freshman Senator Mamatha Challa said.

The University hazing policy states, “Any activity organized by a student organization, or members of a student organization, which involves a member in practices which are injurious, or potentially injurious to an individual’s physical, emotional, or psychological well being (as determined at the sole discretion of the University) shall be immediate cause for disciplinary action.”

Dan Woznica, Michelle Merlin and Perry Stein contributed reporting

(Brittany Meyer | Student Life)

The median compensation of private university presidents increased 5.5 percent in the 2007-2008 fiscal year, up to $627,750, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education’s annual executive compensation survey. The survey’s data came from federal tax documents released before the economic downturn. In light of the economy, many private university presidents have frozen their salaries or, in the case of Washington University Chancellor Mark Wrighton, taken voluntary pay cuts.

The CHE survey, which included the presidents of 419 colleges and universities, found that the median pay of private university presidents in 2007-2008 was $358,746, a 6.5 percent increase from the previous year. Pay is defined as salaries, fees, bonuses, severance payments and deferred compensation. Compensation is defined as pay plus benefits, which include health and pension plans.

Over the previous five years, the median presidential pay, adjusted for inflation, grew by 14 percent.

To explain the nationwide increase in college presidents’ pay and compensation, Wrighton said that presidents’ salaries reflect the increasingly demanding and complex nature of their jobs. Wrighton said high salaries are necessary to attract talented leaders qualified for the position.

Wrighton predicted that the trend of increasing presidential salary will continue after the economy recovers.

Wrighton’s total pay was $539,250 in 2007-2008, according to the survey. His total compensation in 2007-2008, including benefits, was $769,027. The chancellor’s total compensation more than doubled between 1997-1998 and 2007-2008.

Last November, Wrighton announced he would voluntarily take two 5-percent pay cuts from his base salary to compensate for the University’s shrunken endowment. The first pay reduction went into effect on Jan. 1 and the second on July 1.

Amid the economic hardship, Wrighton said he considers his pay cut an “important symbol” of sacrifice.

“By indicating that I would be taking a pay reduction, this helps people understand the seriousness of the circumstance that we were facing,” Wrighton said.

Chancellor Wrighton is not alone in his symbolic gestures. Other top University officials, including school deans and vice chancellors, volunteered to have no increase in their compensation in 2009. High-ranking officials at other institutes of higher education have also taken pay cuts.

For example, John Hennessey, president of Stanford University, announced last December that he would take a 10 percent pay reduction from his base salary of $700,000.

With the recent signs of economic recovery, however, Wrighton said he looks forward to unfreezing the increases in compensation for administrators, faculty and staff as a means of rewarding their dedication to the University.

“I’m hoping that we’ll be able to move on to a situation where we see strong enough an economy where we can increase compensation,” Wrighton said. “We’ll be monitoring the economic situation very carefully and try to determine how best to reward the outstanding faculty and staff that we have at the University.”

Although many students were surprised by the magnitude of Wrighton’s salary, many believe it to be a legitimate compensation for his contributions to the University.

“I had no idea how much the chancellor made, but I’m sure that he deserves his salary,” freshman Elizabeth Fang said.

Others responded with more reservations.

“I have no idea what Chancellor Wrighton does on a daily basis,” freshman Allison Brenner said. “He only deserves such a high salary if his responsibilities merit it.”

On November 8, in a special weekend session of Congress, the House of Representatives approved a sweeping health care reform bill, which if passed by both houses, would create the most dramatic health care policy changes in four decades.

While many college and health policy experts contend that the bill would extend coverage to recently graduated students, the legislation seems unlikely to have an instantaneous impact on undergraduate students.

The American College Health Association (ACHA) has hired a lobbying group to help monitor developments pertaining to the health care reform legislation and forward their goals. Among other things, the ACHA is looking to include college health in “school based” and “community based” policy initiatives or programs.

Under the bill approved by the House, students can remain listed as dependents on their parents’ insurance plan until age 26. Under current law, coverage under one’s parents’ plan is kept until graduation from an undergraduate institution. For many insurance providers, dependency ends at age 23.

Bradley Stoner, a medical anthropologist and professor of anthropology at the University, praised this dependency extension.

“I think it would be good for a lot of students because then they would not have to worry about their health insurance once they graduate from college,” Stoner said. “A lot of adults are found in a circumstance where they had insurance as undergraduates. When they take entry-level jobs, many times they find themselves without health benefits. I’m hoping this plan will close the gap and provide health insurance for those undergoing the transition from college to the workforce.”

The bill’s non-discrimination provision, which bars insurance companies from denying patients insurance if they have a predisposition to illness, will have profound effects on students who graduate without individual plans and get sick.

“If the law passes, if you get sick, the insurance company has to provide insurance,” William Peck, a professor in the University’s medical school, said. “They can’t deny you for illness. The question is what are the rates that they will charge you for that insurance. That is indeterminate.”

Healthcare coverage for Washington University students, which is required by the University, is unlikely to change if the bill passes Congress. The only changes that undergraduates might experience are a slight adjustment in the insurance premium, the cost that insurance policy holders have to pay for their coverage.

“What may happen is that if all of these laws pass, the insurance sector may decide to raise premiums for the young healthy people,” Peck said.

The original drafts of the bill were aimed at setting up standards that would get rid of poor college health plans. Approximately 60 to 80 percent of colleges nationwide do not offer health plans that meet American standards.

The University’s plan already surpasses the criteria outlined in the healthcare bill. Therefore, if the bill is passed, students at the University in their coverage will see very few changes.

As there is a national primary care physician shortage, the bill will also benefit the University’s medical students. The final bill is expected to include funding for increased primary care training programs and potentially medical school loan alleviations, since many in the field worry that high rates of debt deter those interested in primary care from becoming involved in the field.

Many experts argue that the healthcare bill in itself will increase the demand for medical services and as a result, increase the supply of people wishing to be primary care physicians.

“[The bill] surely will increase the demand overall for medical services and hence [medical students] will not have to worry about finding a job,” economics professor Lee Benham said.

Overall, there are high hopes in the University community for the bill’s ability to affect the lives of students.

“I hope is enhances coverage, particularly for graduate students,” Stoner said. “Some students are covered by their parents’ health insurance and some by the University. With any luck, this change will facilitate all students getting health coverage. From what I’ve heard, if the bill passes, it will cover 94 percent of the population.”

The Senate version of the bill was released this week and is undergoing further analysis for differences from the House version.

Prior to the release of the Senate bill, the ACHA was concerned that the bill would preclude college student health centers from providing health insurance. According to Mary Hobin, Director of the ACHA, the Senate bill does not prohibit these health centers from providing health insurance.

“We were concerned in the past that the legislation may prevent student health centers from offering student health insurance, but [the Senators] did put in a statement that makes explicit that the bill wasn’t intended to affect [student health centers ability to provide insurance],” Hobin said.

“On a yearly basis, we have about one in 10 students seek mental health help at Student Health Services,” said Thomas Brounk, director of the Mental Health Services at Washington University. “Approximately 65 percent of those students are females and 35 percent are males. The typical reasons that students seek help include but are definitely not limited to depression, anxiety, family issues, academic stress, relationship problems.”

Brounk indicated that the number of students seen in the counseling service has doubled from 500 in 1995 to more than 1,000 in 2008.

“Certainly, college and university counseling centers are seeing a substantial increase in the numbers of students who are making use of services,” Brounk said. “This is not necessarily a negative trend as it may signal that there is less of a stigma to taking care of the emotional side to one’s health and to pursue treatment, especially in younger generations.”

In a 2008 national survey of college counseling directors, 95 percent of directors agreed that there has been an increasing trend within recent years of students arriving at counseling centers with serious psychological problems.

According to a 2003 study conducted by psychologist Sherry Benton and colleagues at Kansas State University since 1994, stress and anxiety problems were reported more frequently than developmental concerns, such as relationship difficulties. Significant increases were also seen in the number of students reporting depression, suicidal thoughts and sexual assault. This particular study examined 13,257 students seeking help.

While these various studies do indicate the trend of increasing mental health issues among college students, the reason behind the increase is not definitive.

“The trend of increasingly competitive college environment might lead to the increase in mental health issues among college students,” Brounk said. “This trend eventually translates into the message that being good isn’t good enough, which means more competition and stress connected to getting good grades. More competition and stress can easily translate into more anxiety and depression if coping skills begin to fail.”

Sophomore David Vera-Vazquez said, “Society today is definitely much more competitive than it used to be. While competitiveness can bring many positive end results, there can also be negative consequences such as added stress to succeed.”

Brounk also said that some theories point to today’s over-emphasis on raising youth with healthy self-esteem, which can lead to an overly protective learning environment. He said that younger people today are not allowed to fail and therefore have yet to learn how to effectively cope with failure and setbacks. Since life can be full of failure and setbacks, these incidents now result in more misery and deeper feelings of depression and anxiety.

No matter what the reasons behind this increasing trend of mental health issues in college students are, there is plenty of help on campus. The Habif Health and Wellness Center has a comprehensive mental health service comprised of psychologists, psychiatrists and counselors who are able to assist students with a wide range of concerns. The first nine mental health visits with a counselor are free of charge and psychiatry appointments are $15 each.

In addition to these in-person options, students can take online assessments to better assess their level of stress and depression. Health Promotion Services also offers stress management classes and individualized stress reduction consultations.

“Practicing good stress and time management skills is key to preventing mental health issues,” Brounk said. “Students should try to achieve some balance in their lives with respect to how much they focus on academics versus doing things that they naturally enjoy and bring them energy. Sleep deprivation can be a significant trigger for depression and anxiety, so students should try not to skimp too much and for too long on sleep.”

Said Vera-Vazquez, “I would definitely talk to my parents first if I feel that I’m too stressed or depressed. I would not rule out utilizing the services on campus to help me cope with any mental health problems I might develop in the future.”

Other resources include Stressbusters, which is a new program in which students can get a free five-minute back rub. Furthermore, Uncle Joe’s is a student-run peer counseling service available during the fall and spring semesters, and is located in the basement of Gregg Hall, or by calling 314-935-5099.

Lewis Wall of the Washington University School of Medicine has led a multi-pronged campaign to repair obstetric vesicovaginal fistulas—ruptures in the wall between the bladder and the vagina that can result from obstructed childbirth. This tends to occur in young mothers with underdeveloped birth canals who do not have access to Caesarean sections. It’s an easily repaired injury that, if left untreated, can cause incontinence, which sometimes makes the victim an outcast for life.

“The thing that draws me to it is…the paradigm of innocent suffering. These women have this condition as a result of no fault or behavior of their own,” he said. Rather, it is the result of poor obstetric care.

Fistulas are not a concern Western mothers face because at-risk pregnancies are delivered through C-sections. But C-sections are not available in much of Africa, and since girls frequently marry as young as 14, obstructed labor is more common. The delivery can last days, result in a stillborn baby, and leave lasting damage to the mother.

Because they typically smell of the urine and sometimes feces that constantly trickle from their vaginas, these women are often divorced by their husbands, cast off from their villages, and find themselves unable to find steady work. In short, their lives are ruined by an injury that can be prevented by decent health care and cured by a $300 surgery.

But this problem has received little attention in the past “because the victims are the most voiceless of the voiceless,” as Nicholas Kristof, a prominent New York Times columnist, wrote in a blog post about his Sunday column on Nov. 1 about Wall’s new fistula hospital plans.

Wall is changing this state of affairs. The government of Niger recently approved his proposal for a fistula hospital. Once $850,000 has been raised, the 40-bed facility will be built next to an existing hospital for lepers.

“One of the reasons we’re working with this leprosy hospital is that a lot of the patients require significant psychosocial and economic rehabilitation,” much like with leprosy patients, he said.

In addition to fixing fistulas, the hospital will both educate women on ways to rebuild their lives once they leave the hospital, and run a microfinance program.

Women may also need physical rehabilitation for lower limb paralysis that can occur during obstructed surgery, called “foot drop,” and sometimes require treatment for malnutrition because of their prior poverty.

The foundations of the hospital are already in the ground, and fundraising and construction are underway. Wall expects to be there in December to perform surgeries in the small fistula unit already in operation in the leprosy hospital.

Building the hospital is far from the end of his campaign, however. Wall has also drawn up a plan to build 30-40 fistula hospitals worldwide that would cost $1.2 billion over 12 years. The goal is not just to repair fistulas, but also to improve obstetric care to prevent them from occurring.

To advance this plan, a meeting convened in Washington, D.C., last Sunday and Monday of not-for-profit and charitable organizations “interested in putting fistula on the government’s foreign aid agenda in a much more substantive way than in the past,” Wall said. “It’s in the early stages, but it’s a broad, bipartisan coalition to push that forward that’s starting to form.”

In addition, he is active in the Washington University community. In the spring, he will be teaching the undergraduate courses Anthropology of Human Birth and Anthropology of Maternal Death. In the past, he has taught courses such as The Female Life-Cycle in Cross-Cultural Perspective and Anthropological Perspectives on the Fetus.

Mitch Jenkins is a pre-med senior who took Anthropology of Human Birth with Wall in the spring of 2009. The course covered the physiology and public health aspects of maternal health issues.

“It definitely showed me how prevalent an issue maternal health is,” he said. “I don’t think I grasped how big of a problem that is.”

Wall also works at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, runs a practice focusing on reconstructive gynecological surgery, teaches medical students and residents, and serves on the hospital’s ethics committee. He is also president of the Worldwide Fistula Fund, which has already funded fistula surgery centers.

Wall’s interest in women’s health began not as a doctor, but as an anthropologist. After graduating from Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, he spent time in Nigeria working as an anthropologist on a Fulbright Scholarship. But this initial foray into the field convinced him that he there was more urgent work to be done as a doctor, and he entered medical school at age 27. Now, he promotes women’s health on many fronts as an anthropologist, doctor, teacher and activist.

Called “A Fresh Look at Government Jobs: Civil Service in the 21st Century,” the event featured George Selim, a Department of Homeland Security employee who spoke with students at the Danforth University Center and attended a luncheon with them. A number of other government employees attended the event, including representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency, the Central Intelligence Agency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Employees from the FDIC and the Department of Commerce held programs at the Olin Business School.

The event stemmed from a grant that created a partnership between the Gephardt Institute and the Career Center to promote government careers.

“With the economy being what it is now, students I think are more open to the idea of looking at different alternatives, including the public sector,” said Robin Hattori, program director for the Gephardt Institute.

Hattori also noted the need for young talent in government agencies to replace retiring government employees.

While the event was relevant to seniors who are considering pursuing government jobs after graduation, it also catered to graduate students, sophomores and juniors.

“People might not be ready to start looking for a job yet, but maybe a summer internship would be another option to look at,” Hattori said.

For Washington University law student Michael Wu, his internship created job opportunities on Capitol Hill. After working as an intern, Wu became a staff assistant and subsequently a scheduler for three different members of Congress. Wu is now enrolled in law school with the hopes of becoming a national security lawyer.

“Lawyers represent clients generally, and I feel like that’s not as exciting to me as the idea of trying to do good,” Wu said.

Senior Laura Lane-Steele is considering joining AmeriCorps during her gap years between graduating from the University and enrolling in graduate school for anthropology.

“I’m interested in working with people and trying to get on that community-based level,” Lane-Steele said. “I’m more of a public interest kind of person, and corporate America doesn’t really appeal to me in terms of social justice.”

Lane-Steele also finds the health insurance, benefits and non-discrimination policies that government jobs provide to be appealing.

In addition to providing opportunities to work for the public good, government jobs allow new employees to take on significant responsibilities.

“Most of the agencies have a lot of money for professional development and for training,” Hattori said. “The pay is not what you would find in the corporate sector, but to make up for it you really do get some great responsibility at the get-go.”

Hattori added that government jobs also provide mobility.

“Once you get in the government you can look at other agencies, and you can look at other departments within your agency,” Hattori said.

Undergraduates at the University are preparing for government jobs by selecting specific coursework.

Senior David Weisshaar, who has an interest in international policy and development, double majors in Latin American studies and political science with a concentration in international relations. He also minors in business.

“Having a little bit of quantitative skill I think is always useful in any government career,” Weisshaar said.

In addition to preparing for a government career through his majors, Weisshaar learns from the experiences of his fellow students.

“Just hearing their experiences, how they’ve gone about getting internships, the kind of perspectives they have on this field have certainly informed my own opinion and perspective on how I can best go about procuring a job in this field,” he said. Weisshaar also plans to pursue a master’s degree in public policy.

“I’m personally encountering a kind of skepticism among people in our general age range, 18-22, and a cynicism about government that I think is rather unhealthy,” Weisshaar said. “My personal viewpoint is that government is the quickest and most effective way to have an impact on public policy.”

“Government is a place where good can happen and inspiration can happen,” Wu said.

Effective this past Monday, Bon Appétit—the subcontractor that provides catering for Dining Services—no longer serves tomato slices or wedges on campus.

This decision stems from an agreement that Bon Appétit Management Company signed with The Coalition of Immokalee Works (CIW), an organization that represents thousands of workers who pick tomatoes in Florida.

In an effort to improve the workers’ wages and working conditions, the agreement establishes a code of conduct for tomato growers in Florida that calls for higher safety standards and requires workers to be paid a fair minimum wage.

The agreement also requires that an independent monitor enforce the code.

Bon Appétit will serve tomatoes only from growers that agree to abide by the specifications of the agreement.

Alderman Farms, a commercial tomato grower in Boynton Beach, Fla., was the first company to sign on and agree to the standards outlined by the agreement.

Since the company grows primarily grape tomatoes, Wash. U. will not be serving tomatoes of other varieties.

“We are doing this for justice of the farm workers, and we believe that our students will be very supportive, because that’s the nature of the students here at Washington University,” said Jill Duncan, director of marketing and communications for Bon Appétit Management Company. “We are excited about it, and we hope that our students are as well.”

The current average wage for tomato farm workers is about 45 cents for every 32 pounds of tomatoes picked, according to Marc Rodrigues, an organizer for the Student Farmers Association.

In order to earn a Florida minimum wage for a 10-hour day, a farm worker would have to pick 2.5 tons of tomatoes.

Rodrigues said that Bon Appétit’s decision to terminate its relationship with farms with sub-par working conditions is a significant move.
The Bon Appétit Management Company has more than 400 venue locations in 29 states.

“People often don’t think about where their foods come from or under what conditions they are produced,” Rodrigues said. “[What] Bon Appétit is doing is raising awareness of this issue and I think that’s a huge step.”

Rodrigues said that the Student Farmers Association, which works closely with the CIW, is trying to get other campus food providers to sign the agreement.

Aramark—the food provider for the medical and law schools—has not signed the agreement.

“We are going to put pressure on Aramark and make sure they do the right thing, ” Rodrigues said.

This decision is coming to the forefront now because Bon Appétit purchases tomatoes from Florida during the winter season.

The company purchases tomatoes locally when possible, according to Duncan.

Junior Jessica Goldkind, co-president of Students for Fair Trade, said that she believes students will react positively to the change since they will still be able to get tomato sauces and grape tomatoes.

“I personally really support this decision that Bon Appétit has made,” Goldkind said. “We are always pleased that we don’t have to do a lot of protesting and work to get Bon Appétit to make the right decisions.”

The Greek Life Office (GLO) took away Sigma Alpha Mu’s (SAM) house in late December following a drug bust on Dec. 8 in which the Washington University Police Department (WUPD) arrested three fraternity members, all of whom were then given alumni status by the chapter.

Under the direction of the national organization, the chapter completed a membership review. Senior Brian Grobman, the chapter’s president, said the review helped the fraternity strengthen and consolidate its sense of brotherhood.

“We were looking for a more committed active membership,” he said. “Our numbers have gone down since January, but our remaining members are more committed to being a fraternity that takes the initiative to be more active on campus and to [go] in a more proactive direction.”

The chapter currently has 21 active members, compared to approximately 50 at this time last year, with 14 new pledge candidates from the past fall recruitment—the highest number of pledges among all the fraternity chapters on campus.

Grobman and junior Sam Werboff, the chapter’s vice president, see this year’s pledge class as one of the signs that SAM remains a full, strong brotherhood.

“Even though the time has been difficult and the life of the fraternity has changed, the overall strength has never been stronger,” Werboff said. “The guys that have decided to stay with it through the tough times—it’s brought us together in a way that we’ve never seen before.”

Mike Hayes, director of the GLO and executive director of campus life, said he believes the experience has led the members to shift their focus in a more important direction.

“They now understand it is bigger than just living together,” Hayes said. “They define the whole experience differently and see the benefits of why a person would want to join a fraternity. There is a misperception out there that you have to have a house to be a fraternity, and that is just not the case.”

Grobman called the past year a “process of change,” and new commitments to the membership are part of that process.

Junior Adam Savaglio, former SAM president, devised an action plan for the chapter that includes yearly full chapter meetings with the GLO director, WUPD and Betsy Foy, the substance abuse specialist at Student Health Services, and required completion of GreekLifeEdu, an online prevention program. Chapter members are now also subject to a revised internal standard and code of conduct.

“Our biggest thing right now is having a strong sense of accountability, and all these things are here to introduce self-accountability and accountability for our brothers,” Grobman said.

Yet, despite their progress and continued efforts as a brotherhood, the chapter’s members have realized that it can be hard to shake a bad image from the past. Grobman also expressed frustration that some students are under the impression that the chapter is no longer recognized.

“People don’t seem to understand the difference between losing your house and losing your recognition,” he said. “We don’t have the house anymore, but we still have recognition from both the school and national.”

As for the chapter’s image, Grobman emphasized that the only way to change it is to focus on strengthening the chapter through its actions and sense of brotherhood.

“Overall, we can’t concern ourselves with what people say about us. At the end of the day, we can only concentrate on our own behavior, and ultimately, that will change the things people say about us,” he said. “It’s a learning experience. You can learn from it and become better and strong from it—which we did.”

Hayes also remains hopeful for the chapter’s future, saying, “I think they are ready to do what they need to do to be a good chapter.”

The Olin Cup Competition is co-sponsored by Olin Business School and several corporate sponsors from the community to help and encourage young entrepreneurs to create successful and viable business ventures.

This year, 45 teams entered the competition, an increase from last year’s 38 teams.

On Nov. 2, in the first round of the competition, 18 semifinalist teams were selected after submitting an executive summary, which mapped out specific details of their business plans.

“Both the quantity and quality of the entries this year has definitely increased,” said II Luscri, student services coordinator of the Skandalaris Center. “We spend a week with the executive summaries. It’s not an easy decision to make. We don’t have a strict number about how many teams we allow or don’t allow. Each judge stack ranks the teams 1 to 45.”

The business ideas submitted this year include Equity Benefits, a pre-employment screening device that solves discrimination problems; Eyelten Therapeutics, which develops therapies to treat age-related macular degeneration; InkBlot, a software solution that cuts student printing costs; LockerDome, a networking platform for amateur sports; and Visipo, a monitoring system that detects, confirms and cites offenders who talk, text and drive.

The second round is called a public “elevator pitch.”

“[The elevator pitch is a] 2-minute description about their idea; what would you say to somebody if you got caught in an elevator with them for two minutes?” Luscri said.

The event is open to the public, and audience members will be able to judge the event. The person that most closely matches the judges’ results of ranking the teams will win $250 in prize money.

The final round will take place on Jan. 21, 2010, and will consist of a 15-minute business plan presentation followed by a 15-minute question and answer session.

“We have about 25 experts [judging] from the community, some affiliated with the University, but mostly from Angel Investor network, Venture Capital network, Successful Entrepreneurs and the regional Commerce and Growth Association,” Luscri said.

Last year’s winner was VirtualNerd, an interactive online tutoring service that targets high school students struggling in math and science and that was developed by entrepreneur Josh Salcman and current University Ph.D. candidate Leo Shmuylovich.

“The biggest weakness with [teaching] videos is that people are unable to ask questions while watching the video,” Shmuylovich said. “We built a Web site that allows you to interact with the video [with] access to links and problems that have solutions to common questions and problems.”

The VirtualNerd Web site has been established with video tutorials, but the actual tutor videos won’t begin until early December, Shmuylovich added.

“The Olin Cup was a really fantastic opportunity for us,” Shmuylovich said. “Our executive summary was ranked somewhere along the bottom, and our elevator pitch was somewhere in the top-middle. I think that really speaks to the value of the competition. There’s so much feedback and opportunities for asking questions.”

Shmuylovich’s advice to current teams is to have a thorough financial plan that details how money that someone else has invested in the team will be used.

He believes the judges were most impressed with their considerations of potential pitfalls and how to get past them.

“The competition gave us a lot of confidence, and having confidence in the face of adversity is a very important thing in business,” Shmuylovich said. “The Olin Cup opens a lot of doors because people automatically know who you are; people from outside are offering to invest and help out.”

Mark Stockwell, chief financial officer of the Clayton school district, said that Clayton’s high property value has resulted in the money being most helpful in supporting bonds for renovations and additions, also known as Qualified School Construction Bonds.

“The stimulus act is essentially playing the interest down on those bonds,” Stockwell said. “We’re going to pay less than 1.4 percent interest rate on those bonds and save $2.5 million over the life of the bonds.”

The amount saved on the Qualified School Construction Bonds, combined with other government bonds and subsidy payments, could total up to $3.5 million over the next 20 years.

Approximately $38,000 has been allocated to early intervention programs. These are programs that are intended to identify children who need help before they have been identified as having an educational disability.

Stockwell said, “We can get them caught up earlier and avoid future needs.”

Another portion of the funding goes to Title I federal revenues for resident students and Title I moneys for transfer students, totaling about $225,000 over the next two years. Title I is a government policy that aims to promote the academic achievement of disadvantaged students.

“These programs were created to support initiatives in the early-level grades,” Stockwell said. “I believe that most people would say that all kids must read effectively, or they can’t progress through the systems. Title I funding will have a big impact on that.”

Rich Carver, chief financial officer for the special school district in Missouri, said that up to $80 million has been allocated over the next two years for schools that provide special education.

“We’re in pretty solid financial shape without the stimulus package, but we did cut a few positions, not because of budget constraints,” he said. “We’ll be putting $2 million this year into the salary components.”

Much of the money will go into supporting part-time employees and professional development programs for teachers and staff.
Carver expressed concerns over what will happen once the stimulus money runs out.

“We’re going to be dealing with lower property taxes revenue, and that’s where funding is from. There’s going to be significant decrease in state finding,” he said. “We’ll have a challenge in dealing with a lower revenue base. We’ll have to make some cuts here, and it depends on how much state aid and federal aid drops to determine what cuts we’ll have to make.”

Junior Allison Pearson, an educational studies major, plans on pursuing a career in educational policy. She said she would like to participate in Teach For America, which saw a record number of college graduates last year join the program.

“I know their application rate has gone way up, and people are thinking about that because the job market is pretty shaky,” she said. “Those sorts of programs are more competitive, and keeping those jobs is probably more competitive because it’s hard to hire people. That’s definitely something to think about when going into that field. The workforce is still flexible, and it’s not as steady as you think it is.”