Archive for October, 2004

Women’s soccer runs record to 13-2 with win against Fontbonne

Friday, October 29th, 2004 | Jeff Novack
Margaret Bauer

The Washington University women’s soccer defeated local rival Fontbonne University 5-1 this past Monday. With the win, the Bears are now 13-2 on the season. Fontbonne’s loss sends the team to 6-5-1 on the year.

The Bears quickly took a 2-0 lead in the game behind goals from sophomores Sara Schroeder and Malia Labadie. The Bears took that same advantage into the second half as they held Fontbonne scoreless through the first half of play. After holding Fontbonne without a point, the Bears replaced senior goalkeeper Charlotte Felber with fellow senior Casey Herrforth. Herrforth allowed a goal three minutes into the second half of play before settling in to shut down Fontbonne the rest of the way. Sophomore Talia Bucci, freshman Katie Campos, and junior Meg Lag all also scored for the Bears. Seniors Kara Karnes and Lindsay Ulkus each contributed assists in the win.

The University’s dominance over Fontbonne was particularly marked in shot attempts as the Bears outshot their opponent 32-2. For the season, sophomore Meghan Marie Fowler-Finn leads the Bears with 22 points. Campos, who scored late in the game, is second with 15 on the year.

The Bears, now winners of three in a row, will look to continue their winning ways this weekend as they face University Athletic Association rivals University of Rochester today at 5:00 p.m. and Case Western Reserve University on Sunday at 11:00 a.m. in away matches. The Bears are 3-1 in UAA play this season. The Bears will conclude their season at home against another UAA foe, University of Chicago.

The University is currently tied for second place in the UAA standings with Emory. University of Chicago is in first place with a 3-0-1 record. The Bears would be guaranteed of at least being the co-champion of the conference if they are able to win out. Victory over these teams is by no means a sure thing though as Rochester comes in with a 9-3-3 record overall and Chicago is 11-1-2 on the season.

Rochester, like the Bears, is in the midst of a three game winning streak and is undefeated with a 3-0-2 record at home. Meanwhile, Chicago is currently ranked number 11 in the NCAA/Adidas Division III rankings, has not lost in seven straight games, and is also undefeated at home with a 6-0-2 record. A win over Case Western is a surer bet as Case is just 3-8-2 on the season.

Still, the Bears should have a good chance against all three teams. Currently, the Bears are ranked number one in the UAA in goals per game and are second in shots per game behind New York University. The Bears are number three overall in goals allowed per game. The Bears offense will definitely be tested against Chicago, who is second in the UAA goals allowed per game.

Bears fans can see the Bears for the last time this season against Chicago on 11 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 6 at Francis Field.

Bears prepare for away matches

Friday, October 29th, 2004 | Jeff Novack
Margaret Bauer

The typically solid backline of the Washington University men’s soccer team proved to be its own worst enemy against 18th-ranked Wheaton College this past Saturday.

After holding the Thunder scoreless through the first half despite giving up seven shots, the Bears conceded the game’s only goal just after the halftime break. Following a scramble in front of their goal, junior midfielder Seth Barkett was the last Wheaton player to touch the ball before Bears senior Jeff LaBoskey inadvertently touched the ball into his own team’s net.

This disappointing turn of events summed up the Bears’ frustration on the day as they struggled to mount legitimate scoring attacks against a stifling Thunder defense. Freshman forward Elie Zenner was the only Bears player to get off a shot on goal, while Coach Joe Clarke’s squad only managed to compile five total shots.

Wheaton, on the other hand, applied solid pressure to the Bears’ defense all day and managed to pile up a whopping 15 shots on the day. The Thunder also dominated the Bears in terms of winning corning kicks, reaching a total of nine to the Bears’ two. The game would end with a final score of 1-0, but statistics indicate that the margin could have been considerably greater.

Perhaps one of the lone bright spots for the Bears was the play of senior goalkeeper Colin Robinson, who made seven saves in the losing effort. Robinson, who had compiled an impressive seven shutouts in the previous 14 days, looked to be in top form but fell victim to a crucial defending gaffe on the part of the Bears.

Apparently unfazed by the loss at Wheaton, Robinson came out strong during the Bears’ Sunday match against Dominican University. Stopping two shots, Robinson notched his eighth shutout of the season and was able to move his incredibly low goals against average to 0.53. Dominican, a tough opponent that has been ranked in the national top 25 on several occasions this season, could get nothing going against Robinson and the Bears defenders.

Dominican also had no answer for standout freshman forward Onyi Okoroafor, who scored the game’s lone goal in the 10th minute. Okoroafor received a pinpoint cross from speedy junior midfielder Andrew Franklin that he was able to redirect into the net with a header. The strike was Okoroafor’s second goal of the year. These tallies, combined with his four assists, are enough to place Okoroafor in the second position as the team’s leading scorer.

The Bears also got considerable offensive contributions from their substitutes, particularly senior midfielder Allen Gleckner and sophomore transfer Will Cockle. Gleckner and Cockle combined for four of the Bears’ ten shots on the day coming off the bench.

Joe Clarke’s team is back in conference action this weekend as they travel to New York to take on the 18th-ranked University of Rochester, who moved ahead of Wheaton College in this week’s national rankings. Despite their superior ranking, Rochester currently sits below the Bears in the University Athletic Association (UAA) rankings, with six points compared to the Bears’ seven. A win for the Bears against Rochester would help them gain valuable ground in the UAA, where they sit in third place, a mere one point behind leaders Emory University and the University of Chicago.

After facing Rochester on Friday, the Bears will travel to Cleveland to face cellar-dwelling Case Western Reserve University. If they take care of business against Case Western as they are expected to, they should have a legitimate shot at the UAA crown if Emory or Chicago slips up in the least. As of now, the Bears control their own conference destiny and will need a strong weekend of play to achieve their ultimate goal of an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

Online course evaluations are more in-depth

Friday, October 29th, 2004 | Laura Geggel

Instead of filling out course evaluations in class, last spring around two-thirds of Washington University students in selected classes completed them online. Now, in an effort to better help students decide which courses to register for next semester, course evaluations from a large handful of classes in each school are available online through WebSTAC.

“It’s such a boon for students,” said Henry Biggs, director of undergraduate research and associate dean of Arts and Sciences, who helped design the new evaluations program. “I think it’s going to be neat when students see the results of their work [from last spring].”

Planning for the project began five years ago when Richard Smith, chair of the anthropology department, acknowledged that the current evaluation system was lacking in specific content. Working with several others, Smith developed better templates and questions that would correspond more with the needs of certain classes.

Instead of dispensing the same course evaluation forms to every class, the new program allows professors to ask up to three questions directly pertaining to the classes they teach. According to Biggs, this allows for “more teacher feedback.”

The updated evaluations also publish the responses to all of the questions asked on the survey. Unlike the old results, which only allowed students to view the feedback from twelve questions, a bar graph of overall class satisfaction, a pie chart of whether students would recommend the class to a friend and general class requirements, the latest version gives students the opportunity to further investigate classes.

With responses from over 23 questions ranked on a scale from one to seven, students can view the results as either detailed averages or as bar graphs. Class requirements are also listed.

New evaluations also allow students to more efficiently navigate through course listings.

“The old evaluations seem to allow you to skim through the courses more easily,” said sophomore Marcus Gostelow. “But the new one is more in depth.”

“I think [students] can more easily query,” said Biggs. “If you simply want to query in computer science, all classes in the pilot of Arts and Sciences [will show up].”

Biggs also noted that the WebSTAC program allows cross-listing between the University’s different schools. If a student wants to search for a specific teacher or type of class, the program will list all courses regardless of division. Arts and Sciences currently leads the other schools with 220 listed classes, and University College already has about 50 classes. The art school has posted 20 classes, and the business school is off to a slow start with around three courses on the new program.

Sophomore Dan Willis had mixed feelings about the new evaluations.

“I think they are clearer,” he said. “But some of the classes I plan to take, like higher level French, don’t seem to be listed yet.”

The project end-date for posting all current classes online is Jan. 1, 2005.

Police Beat

Friday, October 29th, 2004 | Lauren Katims

Wednesday, October 20

9:07 a.m. LARCENY-THEFT, SIMON HALL: A contractor from Helmcamp reports his company van broken into, and tools stolen. Vehicle was parked on south side of Simon Hall between 7:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. At the same time, a suspicious person was reported hiding boxes in the bushes along Forsyth just south of the theft location. Tools were recovered and suspect was taken into custody a short time later. Disposition: Cleared by arrest.

9:58 a.m. PARKING, BRYAN HALL: Transportation reported a truck blocking the dumpster near the Bryan Hall dock. The truck had a fraudulent monthly permit. The driver was contacted about the fraudulent permit and corresponding fine. Disposition: Cleared.

11:26 a.m. FIRE, MALLINCKRODT CENTER: Vehicle caught fire by the meters on the south side of Mallinckrodt Center. Clayton Fire Department responded and extinguished the fire. The fire appeared to be electrical in nature. Two vehicles parked on either side of the burning vehicle were damaged. No one was injured. Disposition: Cleared.

5:32 p.m. LARCENY-THEFT, PARKING LOT #59: The student reported parking his vehicle on the second level of the Wohl garage, near the northeast corner, approximately two weeks ago. The student had not returned to his vehicle again until about 5:15 p.m. this date. At that time, he discovered that someone had forced entry to the right front door of the vehicle and had removed the stereo. Disposition: Under investigation.

Thursday, October 21

11:37 p.m. AUTO ACCIDENT, UNDESIGNATED AREA OFF CAMPUS: NSP Guard, operating department vehicle #112, was involved in a vehicle accident in the rear of 6461 Delmar. No injuries. Disposition: Cleared.

Friday, October 22

12:39 a.m. ALARM, WOHL CENTER: Fire Alarm sounded due to a pull station being activated. Disposition: Cleared.

2:06 p.m. LARCENY-THEFT, PARKING LOT #34: While recovering stolen signs from Hurd Residence Hall, the officer and transportation staff found the seven-foot barricade arm for the auto barricade on Lot #34, which was broken off and stolen on Oct. 1. Value of damage/loss was $175. Disposition: Under investigation.

Saturday, October 23

12:27 p.m. TRESPASSING, BOWLES PLAZA: Complaint received concerning skateboarders on campus. Officer contacted both subjects, who were videotaping stunts. Subjects were not WU Students. One subject had outstanding warrant from City. Other student released at scene. Both given no-trespass warnings. Disposition: Cleared.

11:36 p.m. BURGLARY, MILLBROOK APARTMENTS: Caller states that upon returning to his room, he found his front door had been forcibly opened. Caller further advised he noted that nothing had been taken from his room. Disposition: Under investigation.

Sunday, October 24

1:23 a.m. MEDICAL, NEMEROV RESIDENCE HALL: Sick case. Disposition: Cleared.

5:11 a.m. MEDICAL, LEE DORM: Sick case. Disposition: Cleared.

11:42 p.m. MEDICAL, SHANEDLING DORM: Sick case. Disposition: Cleared.

Monday, October 25

2:52 a.m. INFORMATION, UNDESIGNATED AREA OFF CAMPUS: Traffic stop of mailroom employee who had campus mail in his possession. U.S. Postal Inspector notified. Disposition: Under investigation.

9:10 a.m. LARCENY-THEFT, BEAR’S DEN: Student had ID card stolen at Bear’s Den between 7:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 24. No suspects. Access control cancelled the card. Disposition: Pending.

2:29 p.m. BURGLARY-THEFT, PARK HOUSE DORM: Student reported his laptop taken from Room 341 in Park Dorm. Both the main suite door and the individual room door were unlocked. Theft occurred between 10:00 a.m. and 2:15 p.m. this date. Loss = $900. Disposition: Under investigation.

4:22 p.m. TRAFFIC, SHEPLEY DRIVE: A vehicle was observed speeding on Shepley Drive. The student was stopped and referred to the Judical Administrator. Disposition: Cleared.

4:51 p.m. SOLICITORS, MALLINCKRODT CENTER: A solicitor from Elite Marketing had a table set up in the southwest corner of Bowles Plaza, near the entrance to Subway, and he was attempting to solicit business for CitiCard credit cards from students in the area. Subject was advised that he was trespassing on private property and soliciting without a license. Subject was issued a verbal warning. Disposition: Cleared.

5:14 p.m. LARCENY-THEFT, FORSYTH/HOYT PAVED LOT: Stereo taken from vehicle while parked on Lot #10 between 8:10 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.. No suspects or witnesses could be located. Total loss valued at $520. Disposition: Under investigation.

5:40 p.m. LARCENY-THEFT, MUDD HOUSE DORM: Unattended laptop was missing upon owner’s return. Taken between 12:25 p.m. and 2:25 p.m. Total value $3500. Disposition: Under investigation.

Tuesday, October 26

10:26 a.m. INFORMATION, MALLINCKRODT CENTER: Student possibly shoplifting. Informational report. Disposition: Under investigation.

11:13 p.m. ARTICLE, LIEN RESIDENCE HALL: A student reported the loss of a wallet from Oct. 25 between 10:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. in Lien Dorm. Disposition: Pending.

11:40 a.m. LARCENY-THEFT, MALLINCKRODT CENTER: A student was caught by the bookstore manager attempting to steal a ballpoint pen. The pen was recovered, but the student refused to remain in the area. Disposition: Under investigation.

3:05 p.m. PARKING VIOLATION, MILLBROOK APARTMENTS: Parking and Transportation employee discovered a fraudulent parking permit in a vehicle parked in Millbrook garage. The owner of the vehicle was issued a ticket and fined $500. Disposition: Cleared.

Getting out to vote

Friday, October 29th, 2004 | Lauren Katims

Pro-voting student organizations like Rock the Vote and Project Democracy are teaming up with the St. Louis Voting Rights Commission in order to ease the voting process on Nov. 2 for Washington University students.

Two polling places will be available for students living on campus based on where they live. Students on the South 40 will vote at Wydown Middle School, and students living in Small Group Housing or Millbrook will vote at Lady of the Lourdes, which is located just south of Forsyth. Students living off campus will vote at one of a number of different locations. (See end of article for more information.)

Josh Gantz, the University coordinator for Rock the Vote, said there would be shuttles running to and from both sites from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

With 20-25 volunteers aiding the voting process, Rock the Vote plans to eliminate any possibilities for confusion over where to vote.

“I will be standing at the polls all day long to make sure any Wash U student will be able to vote, and if there are any problems I’ll be able to take care of it,” said Gantz.

Student Union President David Ader has also been involved in preparing transportation services for students.

“It’s such an important issue that affects the entire community,” he said. “I want to do anything I can to help.”

Rock the Vote and Student Union hope to notify all students about polling places by this weekend. The polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., which Ader said should give students enough time to fit voting into their class schedules.

Senior Teresa Sullivan, president of Project Democracy, said that the organization is going to dorms on the South 40 and calling students who completed issue surveys to let them know where to vote.

Information is also being gathered for students living off campus.

“We’ll be going on Sunday to canvass those apartments and put up fliers to let them know where to vote,” said Sullivan.

Fliers with additional details are being posted throughout campus, and information will be available in Mallinckrodt on Monday.

While Sullivan said the focus of Project Democracy is remaining on campus, other groups, such as the League of Pissed off Voters, are concentrating on students off campus.

“We don’t have a specific concern about off campus voters, but of course we want to include them,” said Sullivan. “As they have lived in Missouri longer we’re assuming they have more access to this kind of information.”

The St. Louis County Board of Elections says on its Web site that all citizens registered to vote in Missouri should have received informational cards about their voting locations during the past week.

Volunteers will be around campus all day Nov. 2, reminding people to vote and telling them where to go, said Sullivan.

Although students have expressed interest in using the shuttle, many would have liked to know about voting further in advance.

“Maybe people didn’t register because they didn’t know if they would have a way of getting to the polls,” sophomore Katharine Howard said.

Senior Amy Liskow still thinks that providing transportation to students without cars will increase the number of student voters, especially freshman.

“For the majority of students on campus it is their first time voting, and I’m sure many of them are not going to be sure what to do,” said Liskow.

While Gantz will have to wait and see how many students are present at the polls, he expects voter turn out to be high.

“People understand the importance of voting in this election. I don’t think classes will be a problem,” Gantz said.

Where to vote:

South 40
Wydown Middle School
6500 Wydown Blvd.

University Drive
Trinity Presbyterian Church
6800 Washington Ave.

Forsyth, Millbrook, the Village
Our Lady of Lourdes School
7157 Northmoor Dr.

Waterman and Rosedale
St. Rochs Middle School
6040 Waterman Blvd.

Skinker
Missouri History Museum Library
225 S. Skinker Blvd.

U. City, west of Trinity
Center of Creative Arts
524 Trinity Ave.

SU delays elections

Friday, October 29th, 2004 | Caroline Wekselbaum

Student Union (SU) fall senate elections were delayed by one week due to administrative issues related to WebSTAC programming. Elections were originally to be held on Oct. 21, but they were rescheduled to begin yesterday at 8 a.m. and end at 5 p.m. this afternoon.

“It’s not like we had some sort of insidious plan to disenfranchise people,” said junior Spencer Young, SU’s election commissioner. “Everything was set for Oct. 21, which was right before fall break, but the WebSTAC people were really busy and were unable to set up the voter site in time.”

Director of Student Records Susan Hosack, who organizes the elections on WebSTAC, said the SU request for elections came too late to accommodate the original date.

“They notified me a week before they wanted the real election, and the programmers were not available on that short of notice,” said Hosack. “Usually they tell us at the beginning of the semester [when they want the elections]. Had we known earlier, we could have done it in time.”

According to Hosack, it usually takes about one month from the time SU notifies her to organize the election on WebSTAC.

The perceived effects of the postponement are mixed. Incumbents and SU members believe this mishap can have a positive impact, or, at worst, no viable effect on the election.

“It hasn’t really affected my campaign at all,” said sophomore and incumbent senator David Hall. “I haven’t really done much of anything. I don’t think it really has impacted anyone-the ones running for reelection don’t seem to be bothered.”

“It will make for a longer campaign period, but I don’t believe it will have any drastic effects,” said SU President David Ader. “Hopefully it will give people more time to get to know the candidates.”

On the other hand, some new candidates for the one-year senate positions expressed frustrations with the delay.

“Because I was focused on campaigning for such a short period of time, it will be harder for people to remember me,” said freshman candidate Emily Ginsberg. “I put up posters and because they were up for so long, a lot of them were taken down. There’s no way to really tell how this will affect [the election]. I don’t really think it hurt my chances of winning because it happened to everyone, so it’s an even playing field.”

Young suggested that voter turnout will be higher with the new election date because the original election was scheduled for just before fall break, when many students leave campus.

“A lot of people leave town right before fall break, and so now that [the election] is in a normal week, we should get a higher voter turnout,” said Young. “More people will be able to vote.”

Junior Tony Zand, a new candidate, maintained the opposite opinion about the postponement.

“It was really annoying,” said Zand. “I think it will definitely affect voter turnout because no one knows when [to vote] anymore. I don’t think anyone knows when the election is at all.”

But, as Young asserted, the original date of the election was never officially announced.

“People didn’t know when the original election date was because we weren’t promoting the election yet, so people didn’t know it was changed,” he said.

Young said that the new date of the election was promoted through an e-mail announcement sent to all undergraduates, and candidate statements printed in Student Life. In addition, student voters could rely on information available on the SU Web site as well as candidates’ word of mouth.

Young discussed another positive element of postponing the election, citing that the delay will even out the term lengths of members elected in the fall with their spring counterparts.

It has yet to be determined whether this postponement of the elections will remain permanent.

“We’ve talked about pushing it back a little bit, but we always have to look at when fall break is, when Thanksgiving is, and when religious holidays are happening because we don’t want campaign periods to overlap with those, and we haven’t looked that far in advance yet,” said Ader.

Young reiterated that SU is undecided.

“We are open to suggestions,” he said.

‘Curse’ lifted by Red Sox victory

Friday, October 29th, 2004 | Kelly Donahue
David Hartstein

With additional reporting by Dan Daranciang

After 86 years of close calls and disappointments for dedicated fans, the Boston Red Sox won the World Series Wednesday night for the first time since 1918. With a 3-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on their home turf at Busch Stadium, Boston overcame its famed “Curse of the Bambino” to pull off a four-game sweep against the season’s winningest team in the Major Leagues.

“All of our fans have waited all their lives for this night, and it’s finally here,” Red Sox Owner John Henry told the Associated Press.

A fourth-pitch homerun by Red Sox center-fielder Johnny Damon, a two-run double by right-fielder Trot Nixon in the third inning, and an outstanding game for pitcher Derek Lowe contributed to the team’s victory. Lowe allowed just three hits in seven innings.

Boston was the first team in World Series history never to trail in any of the championship’s four games. They were also the first club ever to win eight straight games in a postseason after upsetting the New York Yankees 3-0 lead in the American League Championship Series.

Left-fielder Manny Ramirez was the first Red Sox player ever to be presented with the World Series’ Most Valuable Player award. Ramirez hit an average of .412 in the series, scoring one homerun in Game 3, four RBIs, and one run. Ramirez is now tied with New York Yankees Hank Bauer and Derek Jeter for the longest postseason hitting streak of 17 games.

Ramirez also received this year’s Hank Aaron Award as the top hitter in the American League, leading with 43 homeruns, 130 RBIs and a .308 batting average.

Despite an outstanding regular season record of 105 wins to 57 losses, the Cardinals failed to win a championship for the 22nd year in a row.

“I’m disappointed that we didn’t play well in the World Series just for the sake of the people, and to hear that crowd go crazy again,” said Cardinals’ center-fielder Jim Edmonds. “That’s tough. We didn’t even give them a chance to cheer.”

Freshman Adam LaMore, a Cardinals fan, expressed frustration over the team’s performance in the series.

“The Cardinals could have beaten Boston if they hadn’t played their worst four games of the season in the World Series,” said LaMore. “The only thing more humiliating would have been being swept by the Cubs.”

Graduate student Josh Brockman, who has been a Red Sox fan since he was old enough to watch them play, was unable to score tickets to Wednesday night’s game but went to Busch Stadium after it was over to be a part of the visiting Boston fans’ celebration.

“It still hasn’t set in for me,” said Brockman. “Two weeks ago, I had resigned myself to the fact that they were going to lose to the Yankees. I never thought the Red Sox would sweep a World Series.”

Site sealed for asbestos removal

Friday, October 29th, 2004 | Rachel Streitfeld
David Brody

In the course of renovations of Ridgley Hall, workers unearthed and are removing asbestos from two sites in the building. The asbestos, found in floor tiles on the ground and third floors, is in non-friable “chunk” form and not in the more dangerous friable form, which is airborne.

“There’s no asbestos problem on campus,” said Ralph Thaman, associate vice chancellor for facilities planning and management at Washington University.

Until 1972, asbestos was frequently used in building construction across the country. So, when the University looks to renovate older buildings, they sometimes discover asbestos in the floors.

This week, rooms on the ground floor in Ridgley have been sealed off while a company comes in at night to remove the “chunk” or non-friable asbestos. The company installed critical barriers and filters around the rooms, and workers wore protective suits during the removal process.

Workers did not find friable asbestos in Ridgley. Unlike “chunk” asbestos, the highly dangerous friable variety comes in a powdered form and can be inhaled.

Ridgley houses the Department of Romance Languages. Employees say they worry about the danger of the construction projects.

“I think people need to be reassured that they’re proceeding in a safe manner,” said Kathy Loepker, who works on the third floor of Ridgley. “I feel that the University-they’re not communicating with us. How do we know if it’s being done properly?”

Loepker said yesterday morning she found dust all over the stairways in Ridgley. She called maintenance and someone came to clean up the debris.

“How do I know that wasn’t dangerous?” she said. “I just want to make sure that they’re doing this correctly. I think there is a lack of communication.”

Steve Rackers, manager of capital projects, said the form of the asbestos in Ridgley does not present a danger to people working near the sealed-off rooms.

“Unless somebody’s sanding on the floor, it’s not a problem,” said Rackers,

The University is renovating two old language labs on the ground floor to make one large classroom. Students exiting the food service line in Holmes Lounge by way of Ridgley are confronted by these two sealed-off doorways, with large danger signs warning of asbestos in the rooms.

Upstairs on the third floor, the University has blocked off rooms that will later be used as offices for romance language employees. The asbestos removal of these rooms has not yet begun. Faculty and staff will continue to work on the third floor during this renovation.

Rackers said the people working on the third floor understood that the asbestos removal was not dangerous to their health.

“We tell them what’s going on and they know what’s going on because of the [renovation] project. By laws and regulations, you’ve got to protect the public,” said Rackers. “The only thing is, when you put up those [danger] signs, sometimes the public gets a little alarmed.”

Employees working in Ridgley said they would like to be more involved in the process, especially considering questions about the potential danger of asbestos removal.

“I think it would be great if when this work is going to take place, they just say, let’s have a meeting, anybody who has questions about how we’re going to remove it, you can attend the meeting,” said Rebecca Messbarger, an associate professor of Italian. “No one is hysterical. We just want to know when it’s going on and how long it’s going to take.”

However, Messbarger said she wants to avoid the construction area more for her allergies than for worries about asbestos poisoning.

“I’m not really worried about it,” she said. “I assume the University is going to do the right thing.”

Senior Lauren Kaczmar, who attended a meeting in Ridgley yesterday, agreed.

“People have been taking care of asbestos for years and I feel like they know how to do it,” she said.

Last month, the men’s bathroom in Urbauer Hall closed temporarily while workers checked for asbestos. Thaman said the testing proved negative.

Bauhaus: the last party standing

Friday, October 29th, 2004 | James Lewis

Like every senior here, I have watched the slow, steady decline of our wet campus. It began when I was a PF when “The Row” lost the ability to have kegs. As a freshman, Thursday night dancing came to a halt after the only on-campus bar, “The Rat” was forced to stop serving beer.

Sophomore year began with the phasing out of kegs at WILD, a process was completed at the end of junior year. Although couches are still allowed, what is the point if I cannot sit in the quad with my friends and drink all day? In the last two weeks, we have seen the next step in the systematic elimination of alcohol, as the Row has shut down abruptly.

So what is left, you ask? Bauhaus, the last major on-campus party that serves beer, and good beer at that (13 kegs of Schlafly). The last time for the whole campus to come together and celebrate what it is to be in college. The last time to experience a period at the University that has now passed. The last time to dress up in ridiculous costumes, drink with friends and dance your heart out. The last time many of you will journey to the far end of campus to see what those crazy architects are up to.

You will have to plan ahead; tickets are required for entrance (given out for free at Mallinckrodt and Wohl) and a costume is highly encouraged. It also should be noted that the party starts at 9 p.m., this Saturday, and ends at midnight. That is only three short hours to experience the last, true wet party. And when I say the last, I do mean the last.

The student leadership of the architecture school has been fighting tooth and nail for the previous three years to maintain our precious event, conforming to the demands of the OSA, but preserving the character of Bauhaus. The fight this year has been a brutal one. I cannot tell you if Bauhaus will survive next year; however, I can guarantee this will be the best party you will ever experience here. One last time, let us come together and celebrate what we have left.

And if you were to ask me what can be done to save Bauhaus, the only answer I can offer you is to simply pause and enjoy it.

Groups swing elections

Friday, October 29th, 2004 | Ian Schatzberg and Sam White

Margaret Bauer’s article, “Don’t Mess with Missouri,” rightly asserts that individuals should be well informed about the issues before voting, but the League of Pissed Off Voters would like to take a minute to break down some of her more contentious points. Bauer’s rhetoric tries to persuade young people to silence themselves and not participate in local elections despite the fact that local politics directly affect young people with issues ranging from tax rates to ability to receive financial aid to the enforcement of civil liberties laws.

The local voter guide the League published, as did 50 other organizing groups in cities across the nation, encourages researching candidates, engaging in the political process, and finally, voting. The League is not about to “really screw up our local elections” by participating in the election, voting and reading up on candidates. Why is “screwing up” equated with having an opinion and being pro-active? We believe casting informed votes on Nov. 2 is critical to maintaining democracy in this wonderful country.

Bauer claims that many of us are not qualified to vote for local races because we will not be here to see the results. Such is the nature of being young. We are transitory and few of us know when we will live in a city for more than four years.

We live in St. Louis now, and we can and should engage with the politics where we are. We’ve seen the neighborhoods around the University undergo drastic changes, read about the public health crisis in the Riverfront Times and put up with the famously unpredictable weather.

Since Bauer claims to know the primary concerns of most Missourians, perhaps she should mobilize them. Make sure they vote. Give them literature on the elections-their votes count too. But there is no need to ask us undergrads to refrain from voting in local elections.

Our guide is obviously not nonpartisan: “Progressive” is written on the front. We are young, pro-choice, pro-public education, pro-gay rights and pro-empowering ourselves. The research for the guide is professional, thorough and serious. The guide uses casual language because it is meant to appeal to all young people, not just political junkies and political science majors.

We want people to know who their representatives are. It is not a lie that Matt Blunt is anti-affirmative action or that Bekki Cook supports a woman’s right to choose and funding public schools over stadiums. Voting based on such issues cannot be rendered irrelevant.

Issues such as gay marriage and a woman’s right to choose, which Bauer deems “whatever heady issue interests you most,” affect our entire nation. The constitutional ban in Missouri on gay marriage that passed this past August affects other states. Additionally, gay marriage and a woman’s right to choose are issues worth fighting for. We are grateful that our parents’ generation saw civil rights granted to people of color in our country so that today we do not have to struggle to right such extreme social injustices. Today, the rights of women and homosexuals are likewise screaming for our support. Anyone with any opinion on these issues should take their anger and knowledge to the polls.

The purpose of our voting guide is to show politicians that informed young progressives are paying attention. The idea is to simplify the electoral process and make it usable and engaging.

When you join our voter bloc you agree to vote for the slate of candidates we endorse. The voter bloc allows us to hold our candidates accountable by showing them that we young progressives comprise a population that will be the margin of victory in many local elections and to create a community that goes beyond Nov. 2. When we check our lists with voter files after the election we can show that our organized support got certain representatives elected and can just as easily get them out of office if they do not stick to their stated intentions.

The real work starts Nov. 3, and we will continue to participate locally and vote until there is a progressive governing majority in our lifetimes. Join the bloc and amplify your voice: www.indyvoter.org/stlouis.