Washington University, with the exception of the School of Medicine, will remain closed through Feb. 1 in response to the severe weather threatening the area. All non-essential services on the Danforth, North, South, West and Tyson campuses will be suspended, including classes. Essential services, which include the Washington University Police Department, Dining Services and certain personnel in Facilities Planning and Management, will remain operational. The medical school remains open. Per University policy, individual employees must decide for themselves whether it’s safe to travel to and from work.

Washington University, with the exception of the School of Medicine, will close at 3 p.m. on Monday, the administration announced. All non-essential services on the Danforth, North, South, West and Tyson campuses will be suspended. Essential services, which include the Washington University Police Department, Dining Services and certain personnel in Facilities Planning and Management will remain operational. It is unclear whether the University will close any or all services on Feb. 1 in response to the severe weather. Closures will be announced on a daily basis on the University website and through the usual communication channels.

Students expressed overall satisfaction with the new Bear’s Den facility on the South 40 in a recent electronic survey conducted by Student Union. In a survey of 158 students, 58 percent of respondents said that the new Bear’s Den is better or “substantially better” than last year’s South 40 dining facilities.

Picture the scene: Walking through a snow-clad Wash. U., a student desperately tries to ignite his lighter, his frostbitten fingers failing to strike the flint. As his lips turn blue and hypothermia starts to set in, he turns back to campus, unfairly thwarted in his attempts to enjoy a cigarette. The health issues at the crux of the smoking ban cannot be denied.

I headed off to college for the first time. I stepped off the plane and reveled in my newfound sense of unlimited freedom and total control. However, I quickly discovered Washington University has rules and regulations that appear to limit the freedom of its students, such as the newly implemented campus wide tobacco ban.

Though Washington University in St. Louis dropped one step in the U.S. News & World Report’s Best National Universities rankings, Chancellor Mark Wrighton remains confident in the University’s quality of education and community. Before the new report was released, Wash.U. was ranked 12th, but in the newest report, it was moved to 13th.

We hope that your years at Wash. U. are and will be a time of direct engagement with your surroundings, during which you can apply the critical thinking skills you learn in your classes to the world around you.

As a lifelong resident, I have very mixed feelings about the city of St. Louis. While I think it is a nice place to raise a family, I’ll admit that it is not the most exciting place to be a student. Still, the STL has its gems, and while it may not be as easy to find an exciting day in St. Louis as it is in New York City, it can be done. As a native, I know that many Wash. U.

A female graduate student was found physically beaten in the basement laundry room of her off-campus apartment building in the early afternoon on Monday, Dec. 21.

BLTs at Wash. U. have just dropped the T. Effective this past Monday, Bon Appétit—the subcontractor that provides catering for Dining Services—no longer serves tomato slices or wedges on campus.