Student Life Archives

Thank you very much Chancellor Wrighton for your wonderful words of introduction and for the Honorary Degree, which I think I will get.

Chancellor Wrighton and the Board of Trustees, representatives of the 50th reunion class, distinguished faculty; fellow honorees, family, friends and members of the class of 2003, good morning.

What a fabulous place. What a fabulous crowd.

There are so many people here I feel like I should have brought a guitar or a baseball glove.

It reminds me of the time shortly after I became Secretary of State, when I was asked by the Baltimore Orioles to throw out the first baseball of the season.

After my daughter told me I threw like a girl, I practiced for weeks and became so good that I am SURE my throw would have reached the catcher without bouncing if it hadn’t been for gravity.

I never thought then that I would one day share a stage with a man who could defy gravity – Ozzie Smith. That is, Dr. Smith.

But commencements are designed to bring people together and I feel particularly privileged to participate in a commencement at this university, on the eve of your 150th anniversary year.

Few academic institutions are as much a part of their community as Washington University is to St. Louis.

This is reflected in the history you share, the community outreach you do, the facilities you make available and the values you teach.

As a result, this University is a central part of the local scene.

But it is also part of the global scene because of its reputation for high standards, its Nobel Prize-winning faculty, and the ethnic and cultural diversity of its student body.

This outward orientation is appropriate because those of you who graduate today will live global lives.

You will compete in a global workplace, shop in a global marketplace, and travel further and more often than any prior generation.

This is quite a contrast from when I was in college. The pace back then was not so fast.

Our phones had cords, our mail had stamps, and we found the web not by clicking on a mouse but by dusting in the corners.

At the time, I myself had one basic ambition, and that was to be accepted.

Having heard about my background as an immigrant, all I wanted to do was to fit in; not to stand out.

Fortunately, in the 1950’s, conformity was encouraged.

I attended a women’s college, Wellesley, where we were all expected to become young ladies.

When we enrolled, we each had to pose for what they called a posture picture to see whether we had, and I quote “an understanding of good body alignment and the ability to stand well.”

The thing is, we were not allowed to wear any clothing above the waist.

They actually graded the pictures, and if we flunked, they made us do exercises.

We always wondered what happened to the pictures; until a few years ago, they were discovered in a vault – at Yale.

While attending Wellesley, I learned much that I have since forgotten about European philosophers, classical authors, and dissected frogs.

But I also learned much about myself and got a first-class education, but I wanted to use the knowledge I had acquired for something more meaningful than table conversation.

I wanted to test – not simply accept – the limits and boundaries of the life I was preparing to lead.

And I wanted to give something back to this country that had given so much to me and my family.

I suspect the same is true for you and your experiences here at Washington University.

You have learned a lot about the world outside you.

But you have learned a lot about what is inside you, as well.

This is vital, because from this day forward, you will have to rely not on grades or guidance from professors to tell you how you are doing and where you stand.

You will have to rely, instead, on an inner compass; and whether that compass is true will determine whether you become a drifter who is blown about by every breeze; or a doer, determined to chart your own course and unafraid, when necessary, to set sail against the strongest wind.

As we go through life, each of us must choose whether to live timidly and complacently, or to act with boldness and faith.

Nations must make a similar choice as they move through history.

And in our era, America is faced with an historic choice about the role it is to play in the world.

The strength of the United States is not in doubt.

Our economy is the largest; our military the mightiest; our influence the most pervasive – not by a little, but by a lot.

What is in doubt is how we intend to use our power.

A little more than half a century ago, an earlier generation of Americans faced this same question. They had emerged triumphant after battling perhaps the greatest evil our world has ever known only to be confronted by new dangers.

America then stood alone in a damaged world, facing a rising Soviet empire and a devastated Europe.

In the White House was a plainspoken man named Harry Truman – one of Missouri’s many great gifts to our country.

“Events have brought our American democracy to new influence and new responsibilities,” said Truman. “This will test our courage, our devotion to duty and our concept of liberty.”

“Tyranny,” he continued in words that could have been uttered today, “is not new in the world.

“As long as democracy has existed, so has tyranny.”

“But never has it been harder for tyranny and democracy to coexist.”

“The reason is the elimination of distance,” said Truman.

“Where once we could ignore a far off tyranny, there are no longer any far-off places.”

“Today, everybody on the globe is our neighbor.”

Truman and the leaders of his time responded to this new reality by inventing institutions that would increase cooperation among nations.

These included NATO, the UN, the Organization of American States and Bretton Woods.

Over the years, the combined strength of those organizations made the world more prosperous, brought down the Berlin Wall and helped make the democratic tide a rising tide on every continent.

Today, our leaders face a similar choice.

The extent of American power has created an opportunity for us to make our nation more secure within a world that is healthier, richer and more peaceful than it has ever been.

But if we are not prudent in exercising that power, we will create resentments that will make it much harder in the long run to achieve our goals.

After September 11, 2001, former President George Bush said he hoped the shock of the terror attacks would [and I quote] “erase the concept in some quarters that America can go it alone in the fight against terrorism or in anything else for that matter.[unquote]”

During his trip to Europe next month for a meeting with the other great industrialized countries, the members of the G-8, the current President Bush will have the opportunity to clarify the character and purpose of American leadership.

I hope the President’s message will be a unifying and an uplifting one, reaching minds and hearts across every border of geography and culture.

I hope the President will emphasize not only what our country is against in the world, but also what America is for; taking a hard line against terror, but also outlining plans to strengthen democracy, forge peace in the Middle East, help people around the world to live better lives, and transform the plague of HIV/AIDS from a menace into a memory.

I hope he will put to rest suspicions about our intentions in Iraq, and fears that we see ourselves as somehow above the international standards we apply to other countries.

I hope he will be frank in stating American positions but also clear in recognizing that others have their own views and that nothing is more natural than disagreement and debate among the leaders of free societies.

And I hope he will reaffirm America’s conviction that the alliances and institutions created by Harry Truman’s generation are platforms for progress, not relics to be bypassed for fear they will hold us back or tie us down.

We have to stop bashing the United Nations. Granted it’s full of foreigners, which frankly can’t be helped.

There are times when the United States, like any country, must act alone to defend its most vital interests.

But today, in most places, in most cases, America will stand taller and do better if we are part of a larger team.

This matters to us all, because we have learned over and over again through history that the ideals transmitted and cherished at Washington University and other great centers of liberal education are not self-perpetuating.

Our ideals have enemies, and those enemies can amass great power and inflict enormous harm, especially when democratic forces are divided and bickering.

Even the closest of friends will not agree on every specific issue or policy. No nation sees the world precisely the same as any other.

What is vital is that free nations continue to agree on the big things, so that past mistakes become future lessons, and the demons of terror and totalitarianism, genocide and ethnic cleansing are recognized early and stoutly opposed.

To the class of 2003, let me say that I do not intend this afternoon to put the weight of the world upon your shoulders, for that is your parents’ job.

However, I do hope that each of you will use the knowledge gained here at this University to be more than a consumer of liberty, but also a defender and an enricher of it, employing your talents to heal, help and teach.

I hope you will be doers not drifters, and that you will choose to live life boldly, with largeness of spirit and generosity of heart.

It is said that all work that is worth doing is done in faith.

Today, at this ceremony of celebration and anticipation, I urge us all to embrace the faith that every dispute remedied by our patience; every prejudice rebutted by our courage; every danger surmounted by our vigilance; and every barrier to justice brought down by our determination will ennoble our own lives, inspire others, and explode outward the boundaries of what is achievable on this earth.

To those who graduate today, I again say, “congratulations, the world is waiting for you.” And thank you again for inviting me to share with you this glorious day.

courtesy of WU Photo Services

“From this day forward, you will have to rely not on grades or guidance from professors to tell you how you are doing and where you stand,” said Madeline Albright, the 64th U.S. secretary of state, to the graduating seniors at Commencement this morning.

“You will have to rely, instead, on an inner compass; and whether that compass is true will determine whether you become a drifter who is blown about by every breeze; or a doer, determined to chart your own course and unafraid, when necessary, to set sail against the strongest wind.”

Albright also offered words of wisdom obtained after her four years at Wellesley College.

“I also learned much about myself and got a first-class education, but I wanted to use the knowledge I had acquired for something more meaningful than table conversation,” she said. “I wanted to test – not simply accept – the limits and boundaries of the life I was preparing to lead.”

Albright, the first female secretary of state, also discussed issues that applied not only to graduating seniors, but to everyone in the audience.

“As we go through life, each of us must choose whether to live timidly and

complacently, or to act with boldness and faith,” said Albright.

Albright used this message to address the situation in Iraq.

“Our economy is the largest; our military the mightiest; our influence the

most pervasive not by a little, but by a lot,” she said. “What is in doubt is how we intend to use our power.”

Albright quoted Harry Truman and reminded the crowd of past conflicts. She emphasized the solutions brought about by this discord, namely the creation of institutions that promoted cooperation among nations, such as the U.N.

“Over the years, the combined strength of those organizations made the world

more prosperous, brought down the Berlin Wall, and helped make the democratic

tide a rising tide on every continent,” said Albright. “The extent of American power has created an opportunity for us to make our nation more secure within a world that is healthier, richer and more peaceful than it has ever been.”

Then, interrupted by numerous bouts of applause, Albright expressed her hopes for the future of this country.

“I hope the President will emphasize not only what our country is against in

the world, but also what America is for; taking a hard line against terror, but also outlining plans to strengthen democracy, forge peace in the Middle East, help people around the world to live better lives, and transform the plague of HIV/AIDS from a menace into a memory,” she said.

Albright tied this back to the graduating class by discussing the WU community as compared to America.

“America will stand taller and do better if we are part of a larger team,” she said. “We have learned over and over again through history that the ideals transmitted and cherished at WU and other great centers of liberal education are not self-perpetuating.”

Albright also offered a little comical relief.

“To the class of 2003, let me say that I do not intend this afternoon to put

the weight of the world upon your shoulders, for that is your parents’ job,” she said.

The speech ended on an inspirational note.

“Today, at this ceremony of celebration and anticipation, I urge us all to

embrace the faith that every dispute remedied by our patience; every prejudice rebutted by our courage; every danger surmounted by our vigilance; and every barrier to justice brought down by our determination will ennoble our own lives, inspire others, and explode outward the boundaries of what is achievable on this earth.”

Bernell Dorrough

“The history of Washington University” is a timeline of major university events over the past 150 years, looking at WU’s ascent from a regional to a national university.

To timeline is availabe in Adobe PDF format by clicking on the icon to the right.

To download the Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is required to view the timeline, please click here.

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This school year was one of improvement in many areas for Washington University. The overall undergraduate program rose from the 14th to the 12th-highest ranking in U.S. News and World Report, which also ranked 19 graduate programs among the top 10 in their respective categories. Highlights of these rankings include the School of Medicine’s rise to become the second-best medical school focused on research, the Olin Graduate School of Business’s rise to 29 from its previous position of 31 and the School of Art’s new position of 21. WU also improved in its food rankings, offering the best food of any college in the country according to The Princeton Review.

In response to student complaints that there was not enough security for off-campus housing, the WU Police Department began patrolling surrounding neighborhoods of university-owned property. The other goal of this new program was to help improve the relationship between students and other members of the neighborhoods.

Students this year were given the option of taking new “themed” English composition courses to fit their interests. The different options included: Technology and Society, Journey and Quest, Language and Identities and the traditional English composition class, Writing and Critical Thinking.

With the assistance of 18 WU student interns and Chancellor Mark Wrighton, alumnus and balloonist Steve Fossett brought the Bud Light Spirit of Freedom capsule to its final destination at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C.. The capsule was used in Fossett’s circumnavigation of the globe last summer, which took him four days, 19 hours and 50 minutes.

The one year anniversary of September 11 was marked by a candle-light vigil in the Brookings Quadrangle to remember the victims and their families. Almost 1, 000 people sat in silence as a variety of students and faculty shared their thoughts, reactions and experiences about the tragic event.

Controversial author of Step Across This Line Salman Rushdie spoke at WU on Oct. 3 and 4. Rushdie was invited back this year after his visit last year was cancelled due to security concerns. Rushdie went into hiding after the publication of his work The Satanic Verses, because Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini placed a death threat, or fatwa, on Rushdie. His appearance on campus marked one of the occasional public appearances Rushdie now makes.

Religious group Jews for Jesus ignited provocative debate on campus concerning religious boundaries earlier in the year. Sponsored by members of the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, Jews for Jesus made an effort to spread their beliefs in order to convert “traditional Jews,” or members of the Jewish community who do not believe that Jesus was the Messiah, into believers of Jesus.

WU Television came out with a new show this year called “Wake Up Wash U.” This is a daily morning news program that provides students with both campus and national news, as well as entertaining segments.

University College started giving employees free tuition this year, compliments of a new WU benefit package which also includes 50 percent remission for graduate courses. The result was a 32 percent increase in University College enrollment, from 2,028 students last fall to 2,681 students this year. The number of university employees enrolled increased by over 500.

The School of Law’s Student Bar Association (SBA) denied funding to the Law Students Pro-Life, but upon LSPL’s appeal, the decision was reversed and funding was granted. Previous to the reversal, this had been the first time in WU history that the SBA, the law school’s student government, had denied any group of students the right to become an acknowledged organization on campus.

Senior Arianna Haut represented WU on “Jeopardy!” as part of the college tournament. On her first appearance on the show, Haut came in first, winning $17, 200. She lost in the semi-finals, however, but won $5,000 for advancing that far.

Dr. Larry Shapiro was named Dr. William Peck’s successor as dean of the School of Medicine. Shapiro, along with two of his three children, is an alumnus of WU. Peck will remain with the university as a professor and researcher.

Undergraduate tuition increased by 5.2 percent, from $26,900 this year to $28,300 for the 2003-2004 school year. This hike was in response to new construction costs and rising faculty salaries. Currently, 60 percent of WU undergraduates are receiving some form of financial assistance; this number should increase next year, however, due to the tuition increase.

After an electric pole caught on fire at the corner of Wydown and Big Bend, the South 40 was without power for approximately 12 hours. The after-effects of this event included flooding in Eliot dormitory as a result of frozen pipes.

WU announced its support of affirmative action in university admissions policies by signing an amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) brief submitted to the United States Supreme Court. WU joined 37 other universities in this endeavor, and according to studies of student opinion, was backed by the student body.

WU students and staff watched on television as hundreds of law enforcement officials searched the “debris belt” of the exploded Columbia shuttle for remnants and bodies. The campus mourned after the shuttle broke up over Texas only 16 minutes before it was scheduled to land in Florida.

Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was announced as the speaker for this year’s spring graduation. Albright will also receive an honorary doctor of humanities degree. Graduation will take place on Friday, May 16, in the Brookings Quadrangle.

President George Bush delivered a speech that shocked parts of the campus and the nation, in which he gave Saddam Hussein and his sons 48 hours to leave Iraq. When these demands were not met, the U.S. invaded Iraq on March 20, 2003. This event was met with anger from segments of the WU community; a protest of the war was held the next day in the Quadrangle.

After three years of meetings, planning, engineering and financial decisions, groundbreaking for the new MetroLink line finally took place. The groundbreaking was marked by a ceremony in the West Campus parking lot. Forest Park Parkway will be closed for more than a year, and the new line will open in March 2006. The new route will run underneath Millbrook Boulevard via a tunnel, and it will surface at the intersection of Hoyt Drive and Throop Drive to pick up passengers.

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This year marked not only the largest number of available rooms on campus, but also the highest number of students, nearly 4,000, living on campus in university history. The increase in students was due largely to more upperclassmen applying to live on campus, as opposed to moving to an off-campus apartment as had been the trend in the past.

As a result of resident complaints concerning vandalism and noise, the University City Police Department increased the number of police patrolling the area between Washington University and the Delmar Loop. This patrol increase prompted uneasy relations between residents and police for the rest of the year.

For the first time, medical school applicants could apply to 116 medical schools for the 2002 academic year through an online program created by the American Medical College Application Service, though lack of server capacity and increased usage posed serious problems for online appliers.

WU basked in the glow of rising rankings in the media. Princeton Review ranked WU Dining Services number two in the nation, based upon student feedback, diversity of cuisine, new policies, and student-administrator meetings. The university also moved up in U.S. News and World Report’s America’s Best Colleges 2002 to #14, the highest ranking WU has ever received.

When hijacked airplanes crashed into the Twin Towers in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington D.C. on Sept. 11, the ripple effect on WU saddened and motivated the university community towards discussion and change. The university immediately responded to the terrorist attack by placing televisions and professors and counselors in common rooms across campus to comfort distraught students.

Students’ regular routines were fundamentally disrupted that Tuesday, with the cancellation of classes, constant activity on cell phones, and numerous incidental and planned campus gatherings. The WU community offered support to New York victims through letters and donations-400 people were turned away from an emergency blood drive on campus because of overwhelming interest. Team 31 decided to add an extra “D” for Donations to the fall WILD and transform the event into a keg-free benefit concert, with funds going to East Coast relief efforts.

Following isolated acts of violence and threats against American Muslims, including a harassing phone call at WU, administrators shut down the university’s online directory. WU students and faculty members joined together to form the September 11 Committee to discuss their concerns with planned U.S. military response to the terrorist attacks.

With more original programming, increased student involvement and a new selection process for videos, Washington University Television (WUTV) attracted more viewers with new shows like Missionary Positions and WU Cribs. WU religious leaders gathered with students on Missionary Positions to discuss different religious views, both official and individual, on sex, love, and sexuality.

In October, the opening of the Charles F. Knight Executive Education Center complemented the Olin School of Business’ $500,000 makeover and the school’s state-of-the-art program in China in an effort to increase the school’s international reputation. WU welcomed these additions despite a financial blow. Following downturns in the Dow Jones industrial average and other economic indicators, the WU endowment fell from $4.3 billion to $4 billion in 2000-2001.

Greek life expanded this year to include the Mu Alpha Gamma fraternity for women and welcome back the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity. After serving a two-year suspension issued by its national board of directors in 1999, the SAM fraternity returned to Washington University this fall. The fraternity’s suspension came on the heels of a rocky year, which according to Director of Greek Life Karin Horstman, included poor leadership, financial woes, troubling behavior and alcohol abuse, culminating in accusations of hazing stemming from SAM’s spring pledge events.

The university raised undergraduate tuition in the spring by $1,200 to $26,900, a 4.7 percent increase from last year’s tuition rates. Administrators cited the need to attract and keep faculty members, costs of construction of new facilities, and the implementation of the new Arts and Sciences undergraduate curriculum. This new curriculum, however, was met with mixed reviews, as some students and advisors are confused by the complexities of the new curricular model.

Student Union’s Constitutional Review Committee (CRC) announced their proposal for a revised SU constitution that will go into effect next year. Some of the most significant changes include the adoption of a bicameral legislature, which will be composed of a senate and a treasury. The senate will be responsible for representing the interests of the student body, while the treasury will manage the allocation of the student activities fee to WU’s student groups.

Olympic officials chose Francis Field, the site of the 1904 Olympic Games, as a stop on the flame’s route to Salt Lake City, Utah. Students tuned into the winter Olympics for comfort and friendly competition after the past year’s tragic events.

The university introduced a Loan Repayment Assistance Program to provide financial assistance for students from the School of Law who enter public interest law with tuition debt. Initially, WU faculty voted not to aid students who enter into the military, explaining that the military’s anti-homosexuality stance does not comply with the school’s non-discriminatory policies. However, the Dean Seligman of the Law School overturned the hotly debated vote to provide equal treatment to all WU law students.

The Office of Residential Life implemented a revised room selection process this year, reducing the number of rounds in the housing lottery from nine to three. The first round covered apartment spaces, while the second round was for specialty locations: two-, three-, and eight-person suites, and substance free housing. The final round, which attracted the most students, covered general spaces, including four- and six-person suites, Eliot, small houses nine and 10, and rooms remaining in Small Group Housing (SGH) after selected groups were assigned rooms.

Following a national trend, the WU School of Law decided to inflate the grades of its graduating students. The decision, prompted primarily by grade inflation at peer schools as well as an increase in the quality of the School of Law’s student body, was aimed at giving more of a competitive edge to WUSL graduates. This new scale was intended to run closer to grades students receive at similar institutions.

Anthony Whittington, a senior in the School of Engineering, accused Professor Robert Morley of racial discrimination and considered filing a lawsuit against Washington University. Whittington alleged that his professor harassed him and gave him an unfairly low grade. School of Engineering Dean Christopher Byrnes convened two committees and in fact offered to let the student retake his class. However, Byrnes stated that the committee was satisfied by Morley’s explanation for his conduct.

In March, the university’s Committee on Alcohol proposed changes addressing WU’s closed-container policy. Specifically, the proposed changes would increase policing for underage possession of closed containers on campus. Though minors’ possession of closed containers has always been illegal under Missouri law and university policy, this rule previously had not been enforced.

Fraternities came under fire in March when members of Sigma Chi offended three visiting women’s tennis teams and the WU administration, allegedly yelling sexually explicit epithets and throwing a dead squirrel onto the courts during a tennis match.

Scandal struck the university when members of WU’s Progressive Action Coalition (PAC) and the Missouri Democratic Party said that the university implicitly contributed to the political campaign of Republican U.S. Senate candidate Jim Talent by paying him a unusually high salary. Talent received $90,000 to teach two courses at WU.

Drawing comparisons to Taliban fighter John Walker Lindh, Adam Shapiro, a humanitarian aide worker and 1994 WU graduate, was one of the individuals barricaded in Yasser Arafat’s compound on the first day of the Israeli siege of the West Bank Town, Ramallah this spring. Shapiro is a member of the International Solidarity Movement, a Palestinian group that uses non-violence to end Israeli occupation.

WU students gave back to the St. Louis community with events like Empty Bowls, an open microphone night to increase awareness of homelessness, and Thurtene Carnival, which moved back to the law school parking lot this year. Senior Jay Swoboda started Whats Up St. Louis, a magazine both chronicling and benefiting the homeless.

Seniors frantically searched for post-graduation jobs, but encountered few opportunities due to what the Associated Press called the highest unemployment rate in almost eight years, 6 percent. Many students decided to work at WU as TAs or in the admissions office.

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Small Group Housing made its way onto campus, though progress was slowed because of strikes by concrete workers, inclement weather, and an alleged $11 million budget increase. The Chemistry Lab building and the Charles F. Knight Executive Education Center progressed in their construction and contractors broke ground on the Biomedical Engineering building by Brookings. New building in the works for the near future include three additional engineering buildings, an Earth and Planetary Sciences building, the Visual Arts and Design Center, a new art museum, and the new University Center. Olin Library began renovations in the spring.

Issues of parking and trees sparked debates in the fall, as university administrators suggested uprooting trees for above-ground and underground parking lots of fulfill the needs of the student body and the city’s parking regulations. Student Union and the campus community fought back, requesting that the trees on Oak Allee remain standing and the university find a new solution to the parking problems.

Changes in Health Services altered the state of health insurance coverage, as students were informed that in the following years they would have to pay a fee of $400 for mandatory university-based insurance. The WU School of Law was forced to allow military recruiters on its campus for the first time in ten years, after an amendment to a federal bill spelled the retraction of all federal funding from the university if the law school were to maintain its policy. The recruiters’ visits were met with student rallies opposing the presence of the recruiters.

The university took over ownership of all Greek housing in the fall, stating that the purchases of the houses would solidify Fraternity Row and make maintenance easier. In addition, Greek Life formed its own office, separate from the Office of Student Activities, under the leadership of Karin Horstman.

Former cherry-bombing suspect, fugitive, and student radical Howard Mechanic was sentenced in September to four months in federal prison for his alleged role in the 1970 bombing of the WU ROTC building. Mechanic was released from prison on December on probation and was pardoned by President Clinton in January.

October saw an influx of police and security as the Athletic Complex was transformed into a debate hall to host the third and final debate of the Presidential campaign. Al Gore and George W. Bush brought their entourages to campus, along with a train of Secret Service and police surveillance. Ralph Nader spoke before a throng of students and community members at Northmoor Park before twice attempting-and failing-to make his way onto campus. Student protests during and after the debate resulted in pepper-sprayed victims and five arrests. Following months f preparation and construction, just a few days were sufficient enough to erase all signs of the debate.

The results of November elections showed a division between Democrats and Republicans statewide as Bush received 51 percent of the popular vote and Gore 47 percent. Jean Carnahan replaced her husband Mel Carnahan in his race for U.S. Senate following his death in a plane crash just weeks before the election. Mrs Carnahan, a Democrat, narrowly beat Republican John Ashcroft for the seat, and President Bush later appointed Ashcroft U.S. Attorney General after heated debate in Congress. Republican Jim Talent lost to Bob Holden in a close race for Missouri governor. Talent went on to teach a spring course at WU titled “Thinking Like a Congressman.”

Student governments suffered losses of several high-ranking officials during the fall as both the President of the Council of Students in Arts and Sciences Paul Michalski and SU Attorney General Jeremy Brenner resigned. Maiko Kusano and Christiana Shourshtari replaced them to carry the organizations through the remainder of the year.

As predicted, WU students received a tuition increase in January. A 4.9 percent increase in tuition-putting the grand total at $25,700-was sufficient enough to surpass the rate of inflation and also the tuition increases at many Ivy League schools.

In sports, the Bears women’s basketball team won a fourth straight title as NCAA Division III Champions after breaking their 81-game winning streak in a January loss to Fontbonne.

Campus activists and listeners gathered several times during the spring at Strong Brew and 7th Hour events. Highlighting topics of religion, freedom, and the environment, the events sparked debate between students and faculty members whose expertise lies in those specific issues as well as politics and philosophy.

Stemming from the 7th Hour concerning the environment, a six-person group researched the environmental sustainability of the university, passed out petitions, and drafted a report on their findings, including suggestions for the future. The report was presented to the Chancellor and other high-ranking university officials in April.

In volunteer efforts, Sigma Alpha Epsilon’s Point Out Hunger raised an unprecedented $42,000 for Operation Food Search, while Dance Marathon nearly doubled its total from last year by raising $50,753.17 for the Children’s Miracle Network. Center Court Sharing brought in dozens of homeless people monthly to Center Court for free using student flexes.

Administrators altered campus food plans to accommodate new eating establishments, overhead costs, and Bon Appetit’s monetary loss. Students opposed the increasing number of points and flexes offered by each plan, the increases in food price, the lack of point exchange, and the requirement that off-campus students buy a meal plan. IN response to the changes, SU passed a resolution asking that the administration lower the additional cost that would be required for Kosher meal plans and tack on $10 to every students’ meal plan to cover the Kosher charges. Bon Appetit’s overhead costs increased this year-and will increase next year-with the addition of new eating establishments such as Ursa’s, Taco Bell, and the Small Group Housing Dining Services.

Throughout the year, SU passed several other resolutions concerning parking and trees, the law school’s stance on discriminatory recruiters, and the environmental sustainability of the university.

SU also created an umbrella organization called the Social Programming Board (SPB), incorporating FilmBoard, Team 31, the Garoyle Committee, and the Campus Programming Council. The concept for the SPB stemmed from difficulties in booking acts in advance because of short-term funding. By creating the SPB, SU will offer yearlong funding in advance to the groups to aid them in planning programs.

In March, the Greek Life put all campus sororities on indefinite probation for alleged hazing violations. The term of probation lasted until March 19.

The Eliot Residential Hall saga continued as administrators promised that the building would be demolished during the summer of 2001. Though the addition of Small Group Housing and non-Greek living in fraternity houses added several hundred beds, the incoming freshman class and the desire of rising sophomores to remain on-campus posed problems. The administration informed the campus in April that Eliot would remain for at least another year.

WU received 21,000 applications for the Class of 2005, more than the university has ever received before and more than any college its size. April brought prospective students to campus, along with a 12-foot tall bronze statue of a thinking rabbit.