Student Life Archives

Nearly four years ago, a 4:30 a.m. dorm fire at Seton Hall University caused the deaths of three students. This tragedy followed 18 consecutive false alarms within 4 months.

A late-night false alarm comes as an unwelcome wake-up call for students hard at work or getting a few precious hours of sleep, but a lack of response to alarms is a cause of concern among students and Washington University officials.

Sophomore Jie Wang was awakened by a recent early-morning false alarm.

Although annoyed, safety concerns caused her to join the rest of her building’s residents outside.

“If I didn’t [leave], what if it was real?” said Wang.

Wang added that she understands why other students might hesitate to evacuate.

“Alarms go off so often, and every time they go off, it’s because someone’s making popcorn,” said Wang. “But I wanted to be safe, because I thought no one would be making popcorn at 4:00 a.m.”

According to University Safety Coordinator Paul Landgraf, the recent false alarms have had various causes, including steam from a shower, a bag of burnt popcorn and an activated fire alarm pull station.

“There are always those people who choose not to take fire alarms seriously or hesitate to leave a building when a fire alarm goes off,” wrote Landgraf in an email to Student Life. “Fortunately, this is a small percentage of the student population.”

According to Landgraf, the fire drills that took place at the beginning of the year went well overall.

“In all but one or two buildings, most students evacuated in less than three minutes, which is very good,” wrote Landgraf.

Not leaving when an alarm is sounded has legal consequences, according to Landgraf.

“It is against the law and local city ordinance for people not to respond to a fire alarm and obstruct the operation of fire department or police department personnel,” wrote Landgraf. “This is because it not only puts themselves at risk, but the police officers, fire fighters and emergency medical personnel who respond to fires, as they may have to perform search and rescue because someone chose not to leave a building.”

Senior Jason Kenny, a residential advisor, noticed that some of his building’s residents did not leave during a recent false alarm.

“I really thought about not going outside,” said Kenny. “There were a lot of people who didn’t leave. It was really cold outside that night.”

Senior Melissa Woolls is an RA in another building where a false alarm sounded early in the morning.

“I know my whole floor went down, but I’ve heard that some slept through it,” said Woolls. “Some people were a little upset [about having to leave], but it’s not a weekly occurrence, so it’s not a huge deal.”

According to University Chief of Police Don Strom, hesitation to evacuate is present not just among students in dorms, but also among other people who use academic buildings throughout campus.

“I think we all have to make the assumption that when the alarm goes off that some sort of threat has been recognized,” said Strom. “Unfortunately [lack of response] is part of the problem that occurs by having false alarms…people become less conscientious.”

Not leaving a building immediately can have tragic consequences.

“I remember situations during which people didn’t heed the warning of the alarm, and the fire spread so quickly that the small window they had to get out of the building evaporated,” said Strom.

Sophomore Amin Shazly shares this concern.

“It worries me to think that when people hear a fire alarm, they’ll think it’s one of those [false alarms] and not leave the building,” said Shazly.

According to Landgraf, a cautious attitude toward alarms is vital to fire safety.

“Getting to that mindset takes many different things to occur,” said Landgraf. “The University tries to address them through education programs, training sessions and asking each student to get out and stay alive when fire alarms go off.”

Uncle Joe’s Peer Counseling and S.A.R.A.H. came together Wednesday night to give information and offer advice on what to do when the pain of love is due to more than heartache. The groups co-sponsored a panel discussion entitled “When Love Hurts: A Forum on Unhealthy Relationships,” to increase awareness of relationship problems on campus.

“Abusive relationships at college don’t get talked about a lot,” said Jami Ake, S.A.R.A.H.’s advisor and one of the panel members. “There are a lot of different factors that make it very invisible. Even when it is a big deal, many people think it isn’t.”

Ake, an assistant dean in Arts & Sciences, said that many people do not consider college relationships serious. She also believes that it is a myth that smart women, such as Washington University students, do not let themselves get into these kinds of relationships.

Many situations are also complicated by confusion about what is and is not normal in a romantic relationship. While many find a degree of jealously normal in a relationship, Ake said she believes it is usually a sign of some sort of abuse.

“There is no place for jealousy in a relationship,” said Ake. “If there is jealousy, something is wrong. There is no need to exert power over one another.”

The panel also tackled the difficulty of getting out of an abusive relationship. Panelist Michelle Schiller-Baker, who works at St. Martha’s Women’s Shelter, believes that many people overestimate the ease of leaving abusive situations.

“One of the most difficult things for a woman in an abusive relationship to do is to admit that the person she loves is the person that scares the hell out of her the most,” said Schiller-Baker.

Schiller-Baker emphasized the resources available to students.

“Resources in the St. Louis area are abundant for anyone in an abusive relationship,” said Schiller-Baker. “We are able to accommodate any situation.”

Junior Anne Nelsen, another panelist, emphasized that friends are an important resource in these situations. Nelsen believes that friends must keep trying to help, even if they are turned away.

“Don’t give up,” said Nelsen. “Even if your friend starts ditching you every weekend to hang out with their significant other, don’t give up and stop calling. As hard as it is, keep trying to penetrate the situation. The second it becomes mutually exclusive, that’s when it becomes dangerous.”

Steve Moses, a senior and an Uncle Joe’s peer counselor, hoped that students walked away with a better idea of what their resources are.

“I think it is something on campus that not a lot of people realize is going on,” said Moses, who helped to coordinate the outreach program. “We want people to walk away more aware of things that are going on around them, not even always with significant others, even just with friends. We want to let them know that they have the ability to change situations.”

Senior May Okada, also a peer counselor with Uncle Joe’s, hopes to remind the University community that not only do they have the ability to change things, but they also have the resources.

“If students are in these kinds of situations, we want them to know that they are not alone,” said Okada. “They should know that it is important and does need to be addressed.”

“If you need to vomit, we have trash cans all around, so make your way to the back,” said Freshman Class President Gad Rouache to contestants as Freshman Fear Factor kicked off last Thursday night at the Gargoyle.

Roughly 40 students attended the event. By the end of the night, at least three of the 12 contestants had used the surrounding trashcans, especially during the mealworm-eating contest.

“The night went a lot better than we ever expected,” said freshman Eric Senta, who co-chaired and emceed the event.

Freshman Fear Factor, a take-off on the network series “Fear Factor,” included five main events. The first event was a “Soda Can Stack,” where contestants created towers using recycled contaminated soda cans. The second event was the “Shot Round,” during which contestants took “shots” of olive juice, pickle juice, mayonnaise, hot salsa and French onion dip.

The next event was called “Make-out Timeout.” In the event, contestants grabbed a partner and made out with him or her for as long as possible.

“We were afraid that 90 percent of our contestants would drop out during ‘Make-out Timeout,’ but surprisingly enough stayed in,” said Senta.

Following “Make-out Timeout” was a “gross out” event called “High Protein Boost,” in which contestants ate a bowl of live mealworms.

“We bought several hundred of them hot off the presses, and they’re live, squirmy and juicy,” said Senta.

Freshman Josh Lawrence, who was eliminated during “Make-out Timeout,” was disappointed he did not reach this round.

“All mayonnaise and pickle juice and no worms?” said Lawrence. “I was disappointed because I was kind of looking forward to the worms.”

In the final event, called “We All Scream for Ice Scream,” the contestants ate ice cream covered with olive juice, hot sauce, Thousand Island dressing and salsa.

The whole event took less than two weeks to plan.

“We zipped through it in 11 days when normally it takes a month to plan,” said event co-chair Samantha Oberkfell.

Oberkfell said that the event was meant primarily for freshmen to get to know each other.

Freshman Dan Jorisch won first place.

“It feels almost as good as when I kissed [fellow contestant] Dallas,” said Jorisch of his victory.

He took home a $50 gift certificate from the Esquire. Other prizes included Bubble Tea gift certificates, a stack of CDs and free root beer floats from Fitz’s on the Loop.

Out of more than 900 applicants, two Washington University students were chosen as Rhodes Scholars over the weekend.

One of the winners, senior Allison Gilmore, said she can hardly believe it.

“I could not believe both students from the University won,” she said. “I keep asking myself if it’s really real.”

Gilmore’s fellow honoree, Bethany Ehlmann, agreed.

“I wasn’t very confident after my interview,” she said. “So I was shocked and thrilled when they announced the winners.”

The application process is broken down into three stages. First, a student’s college or university must endorse applicants. Then selection committees in each state make nominations based on applicant interviews. Students who pass this stage move on to appear before district committees in eight cities across the country; four finalists are eventually selected from each of the eight regions. Winners are chosen in accordance with the standards set by the will of Cecil Rhodes, based on high academic achievement, integrity of character, a spirit of unselfishness, respect for others, potential for leadership, and physical vigor.

Gilmore said that all the interviews were very tense.

“The interviews were the most nerve-wracking, but they were also the most fun,” she said. “You have to go in with the attitude that it’s just the luck of the draw. I felt ready for anything they could throw at me because we did a lot of mock run-throughs beforehand.”

Despite the intimidating atmosphere of the interviews, both agreed that the personal statement required on the application was the hardest part of the process. Ehlmann said it took her eight drafts.

“It was hard getting the personal statement down and in a way I wanted it to be,” she said.

Now that everything is over, both are thrilled and ready for new experiences as they join the other winners at Oxford next year.

Gilmore is receiving a B.A. and an M.A. in mathematics at the end of this year from Washington University, and she is also involved in politics, political activism and social networking theory. At Oxford, Gilmore plans to pursue a Masters of Philosophy in sociology.

“It brings everything in my life together,” she said. “The program gives me the freedom to study whatever I want to study. This is phenomenal because I don’t have to worry about grad school or career choices. I get to pursue something that I’m really passionate about.”

Ehlmann is currently majoring in earth and planetary sciences and environmental studies. In addition to being thrilled at the chance to pursue a Masters of Science in environmental geomorphology at Oxford, she says the overall experience will be enlightening.

“It’s really exciting because Rhodes Scholars come from all over, and it brings together people from all disciplines at Oxford,” she said. “To get to know future leaders and just to have the experience is really exciting.”

Both are extremely involved in activities outside the classroom as well. Ehlmann is a Goldwater Scholar, Udall Scholar, and Compton Scholar. She has served as a collaborating scientist on the NASA Mars exploration mission and is president of the nationally qualifying Women’s Ultimate Frisbee Team.

Gilmore is a Byrd Scholar and a Compton Scholar. She is also president of Students for a Sensible Drug Policy and a leader of the University Stop the War coalition.

Both feel they owe much of their success to helpful advisors, including Deans Dirk Killen and Sharon Stahl, plus Michael Cannon and Lars Arvidson. These mentors provided help with mock interviews, letters of recommendation and words of wisdom.

Stahl said she was extremely happy and proud.

“I think it’s wonderful for them personally, and it’s also wonderful for the College of Arts & Sciences and the University as a whole,” said Stahl. “They’re both outstanding women-they’re both very involved in the community and are very strong students.”

Sarah Johnson and Ian Klaus from the University were named as scholars three years ago, and the year before that, Ben Cannon received the honor.

“Ben was the first the University had had in quite a while,” said Stahl. “Having these scholars is a reflection about the kind of students that come here-someone that is not only involved in academics, but also strongly involved in the community.”

Behind a raucous crowd of 1,087 fans, the Bears shut down the No. 5 Ohio Northern University attack Saturday night, winning 30-28, 28-30, 30-27, 30-18 to earn a trip to another Final Four.

The win marks the volleyball team’s third Final Four appearance in four years and the 12th in the history of Washington University.

“The consistency this team has shown over the last four years is amazing,” said coach Rich Luenemann.

The Bears came out flat in the first couple of games, and the Polar Bears took advantage, reeling off five straight points to win the second game.

Senior middle blocker Katie Quinn said, “Typically we come out flat, unfortunately…I think everybody had a lot of jitters tonight.”

Despite their early struggles, the enthusiastic crowd breathed life into Bears as the match went along.

“It was just great because we knew that [Ohio Northern] was going to bring loud fans, which they did,” said Quinn. “It is just good to have your school backing you.”

“The crowd was outstanding,” Luenemann said. “The crowd had a big hand in this win tonight, there is no doubt about it.”

Luenemann also made some changes during the third game to curb the potent Polar Bear attack. “We made an adjustment halfway through the third game and changed some back court defense around and that seemed to slow them quite a bit after that.”

While the Bears regained some momentum in the third game, they came out swinging in the fourth.

“The great thing we saw tonight was how we came out that fourth game and really dominated,” said Luenemann. “[…]it was a ten point spread and we just came out and played really well.”

“In the fourth game our defense was impeccable, we were blocking, putting the ball away, and being aggressive,” Quinn said.

“We have certain expectations of how we want to come out and play so it was just a matter of executing…the last game was fun,” said junior outside hitter Colleen Winter.

Luenemann was impressed with how the entire team came back to take control of the game. “Everybody played well,” Luenemann said, “we had certain areas that we had to pick up on…the left side attackers, Colleen Winter and Heidi Pfeiffer were struggling in the beginning but they came back and had some great swings”

Katie Quinn continues to lead the team. She posted another outstanding performance collecting 21 kills to go along with nine blocks.

“Katie Quinn is a money player,” said Luenemann there is no doubt about that”

“I am just trying to be aggressive,” said Quinn, “if you put the ball on their side hard they have more chances to mess up the point.”

Sophomore setter Kara Liefer also poured in an impressive outing coming away with 55 sets, 10 kills, nine digs, and eight blocks.

“Kara Liefer continues to improve by leaps and bounds,” said Luenemann, “when she graduates she will be the best setter in Division III.”

Sophomore defensive specialist Nicole Hodgman also tallied her third straight 30 dig performance to give her the University single season dig record.

The Bears now have a long layoff before they hit the hardwood for their final four match against No. 3 La Verne University in La Verne, Ca. on December 5th. But Luenemann thinks the time off will give his team time to rest up. “We have a lot of people who have nagging injuries, back injuries and shoulder rotation problems and they will have some time to just rest and relax and come back rejuvenated,” said Luenemann.

While the Bears came back to dominate the Polar Bears, Luenemann knows his team needs to work on some things going into the Final Four.

“We have to brush up on some things, said Luenemann. “We expect ourselves to be perfect all of the time and we found some shortcomings in the first two and a half games and we will have to shore those up and get better.”

If the Bears can get past La Verne, no easy task, they will play either NYU or Emory, both University Athletic Association team, in the final.

“We are as good as anybody out there and we have a chance to win just like everybody else,” said Luenemann.

NCAA Division III Quarterfinals
Saturday, Nov 22 at the Field House

GAME SCORES 1 2 3 4
Ohio Northern Univ. 28 30 27 18
Washington Univ. 30 28 30 30