Student Life Archives

Margaret Bauer

Award-winning author and psychologist Dr. Mary Pipher will present her research on eating disorders at 8 p.m. tomorrow in Graham Chapel as a special event for Eating Disorders Awareness Week. Sponsored by Reflections Peer Educators, the awareness week runs from Feb. 28 through March 1 and is focused on spreading awareness about eating disorders within the community.

Pipher is the author of “Hunger Pains” and “Reviving Ophelia,” two books about dealing with teenage eating disorders. “Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls,” published in 1995, spent 27 weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list. The book details the struggles of adolescent girls in choosing between maintaining their own identities and the one that society deems appropriate. Pipher is a clinical psychologist and an adjunct clinical professor at the University of Nebraska.

“I think that a lot of people are very familiar with [Pipher’s] books,” said junior Natalie Antin. “It might be better for her to come to Graham Chapel rather than getting a panel of nutritionists to speak because that’s been overdone. This is a new approach to getting people to listen through a book that’s very popular.”

Reflections, a campus group focused on promoting eating disorder awareness, has teamed up with Phi Lambda Psi, the Greek women’s health and wellness honorary, to publicize the event. Reflections’ biggest event is Eating Disorders Awareness Week and they predict Pipher will draw big crowds.

“We’re hanging up flyers, prospecting the RAs and trying to get as much publicity as possible,” said sophomore Liz Boddicker, a member of Reflections. “The bookstore is working with us to set up a display.”

Boddikher sees Pipher not only as a well-known name, but also as someone able to address a current problem on the University campus.

“I think that it’s important that we’re bringing someone like Mary Pipher, because so many of the people on campus are so high-drive, and it seems eating disorders are just more prevalent [here] than in the general college population,” said Boddicker.

In addition to Phi Lambda Psi, the week is being cosponsored by the Women and Gender Studies and American Culture Studies departments. Phi Lambda Psi is involved in spreading eating disorder awareness within the Greek community, specifically targeting sororities.

Antin became involved in the event through Phi Lambda Psi and has been largely responsible for publicizing the event in ways that fit the speaker’s message.

“Our involvement with that is to let the girls know that the event is going on, and we had discussed having some sort of incentive like a raffle prize for a spa certificate that everyone can enjoy no matter what their eating disorder status,” said Antin.

The blood was only red corn syrup, but that didn’t stop EST’s red Explorers from storming Mallinckrodt yesterday as medics rushed to save “injured” victims.

Emergency Support Team (EST) medics conducted a disaster drill Sunday, attending to roughly 25 students with injuries ranging from third degree burns and broken legs to smoke inhalation and swollen abdomens.

According to Disaster Drill Co-Chair Erica Kane, a drill is conducted each semester in order to train EST medics and make sure protocols are effective. The fall drill is much smaller and usually takes place on the South 40. The spring drill is larger, with the whole team of medics participating. Victims were spread out around Mallinckrodt in the green chairs, the Gargoyle and the food court. Chairs and other debris were placed over and around student victims to make access for medics difficult.

“The team on duty receives the call and does triage,” Kane said. “Additional teams are called in, and crews are then sent into the building to assess victims.”

After the medics assess their wounds and heart rate, victims are tagged with colors that represent differing levels of injury. Eventually, medics will carry them out of the building on backboards if they are unable to walk themselves.

EST Field Director Matt Vogt noted that the point of this drill was to learn how to package patients correctly, whether on backboards, stretchers or simply carrying them out. Medics also focused on how to run a situation when there are many patients.

“We have to improvise,” Vogt said. “In real life you don’t have everything you need. The point of this is to watch the other medics, think critically and also learn from your mistakes.”

The disaster drill marks the type of situation that would be an extreme case for EST medics. Kane said a large-scale disaster hasn’t occurred on campus in close to seven years, but they still execute these drills so that all medics are well trained to handle a disaster in which they are the first medics on the scene.

Students participating in the event received makeup beforehand to make their injuries look realistic. Senior Amy Soll served as the makeup artist and said that Kane asked her to take on the job after seeing her work in the production of “Trojan Women.”

“This is a very different job from working for theatre,” Soll said. “There we do design and other preparation, but in this type of situation there’s much less prep work.”

Freshman Manav Singla had not participated in an event like this before. His injuries included blunt leg trauma that left him spread out over a couch in the green chairs area.

“It should be fun, but I don’t know what to expect,” Singla said before the drill started.

Other students found their makeup to be almost too realistic. Freshman Laelle Busch had her leg blown off and was wearing a bloody prosthetic as she lay under the stairs in Mallinckrodt.

“Five people thought I was really hurt and offered to help me,” Busch said. “It’s been a lot of fun lying around pretending to be hurt.”

University police department officials were also on hand to monitor the situation and make sure protocols were being executed correctly.

EST functions 24 hours a day, seven days a week during the school year. Three medics are sent out on all calls after completing EMT training, which involves exams, class, clinical and ambulance hours. These student medics deal with everything from sports injuries to cardiac arrests.

Courtesy of Gina Anderson

In front of a packed Friday night crowd, senior Jim Mourey was crowned Mr. Wash U 2005. The event not only gave the University a beauty king, but also raised over $14,000 for City Faces, a local community arts organization.

“I’m honored by it,” Mourey said of his title. “It’s a really great event. All the guys in it were fantastic.”

Although over 450 males were nominated, only 16 of those nominees were selected to compete on stage. They were freshmen Matt Adler, Kristopher Kelley, Logan Whalen and Chris Rhodes; sophomores George Alba, John Flessner, James Spiller and Barrington Lloyd; juniors Bobby Hoernschemeyer, Mike Duncan, J Reese and Jeff Stepp; and seniors Andy De, Earl Mah, Jim Mourey and David Hill.

The diverse group brought diverse talents to the stage, ranging from Adler’s self-choreographed cultural dance, replete with mad booty shaking skills, to Kelley’s double-dutch. Other talents included Mourey performing a “scintillating” rendition of Britney Spears’ “Toxic,” Spiller’s quick table construction, Stepp’s toe-tapping tune on the piano and the mystifying magical feats of Hill.

Eight competitors moved to a second question-and-answer round, but in the end, there could be only one Mr. Wash U. While Kelley and De were first and second runners-up, respectively, Jim Mourey was given the title. Hoisted up on the shoulders of his compatriots, Mourey, all smiles, joined in to the Mr. Wash U refrain: “… He’s the apple of our eye, he’s Mr. Wash U.”

All of the profits from the competition went to City Faces, a community arts program founded by Bob Hansman, a professor of archietecture and a Mr. Wash U judge. The program, which offers art classes to underprivileged inner-city youth, also provides help with food, rent and legal aide for youth who are forced to fend for themselves or struggling in the projects.

“Through art these kids are breaking down problems,” said Hansman. “What we have is a labor of love. It’s not just a drawing program, but a life program.”

While the Mr. Wash U committee originally started with the goal of raising $10,000 for City Faces, proceeds exceeded the target and Hansman graciously accepted a check for $14,307. All ticket sales for the competition, along with t-shirts and shot glasses sold during intermission, also went to City Faces.

“It’s because of you that City Faces has a future,” said Hansman.

Sophomore Sarah Qian, a member of the Mr. Wash U production committee, said that surpassing the original $10,000 fundraising goal was one of the show’s strongest points.

“The most important aspect of the show was surpassing our fundraising goal, but I was especially pleased that everyone enjoyed the show,” said Qian. “Everyone was congratulating the committee after the show.”

Judges for the Mr. Wash U competition included Student Union President David Ader, Assistant Vice Chancellor and Director of Campus Life Jill Carnaghi, Assistant Dean Darla Dale and Bon App‚tit employee Avion L. Ingram. They selected a winner based on traits such as personality, character, integrity, extra-curricular involvement and contribution to the campus and community. For Mourey, the event was an unforgettale way to give back.

“It was a fun night, a lighter way to bring people together for a strong charitable cause,” said Mourey. “People get stuck in the Wash U bubble, and I think they find out that there is stuff like City Faces and Campus Y and ways to contribute to the community without leaving the campus. It’s a reminder in a fun way.”

Craig Wilen

Craig Wilen needed a car. Disinclined to spend frivolously, he put in hours of research on the matter: comparing prices, brands, model-years, calling dealers, calling friends and even his parents (after peak hours, of course). He finally decided on a silver 2004 Toyota Corolla. After the whole ordeal-picking it out, paying for it, signing the paper work-he allowed himself a moment of triumph, celebrating the purchase at the Courtesy Diner.

Six hours later, his car was totaled by a driver who was in an argument on his cell phone. While Wilen wasn’t injured, he was devastated.

“I can’t imagine my car would have been totaled if that driver hadn’t been talking on his cell phone,” he said.

According to a study published earlier this month, drivers talking on cell phones had impaired reaction times and attention lapses on par with those who had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) above .08, the legal limit for drunkenness in most states. Their reaction times were also slowed to levels observed among drivers over 70 years old.

“If you put a 20-year-old driver behind the wheel with a cell phone, their reaction times are the same as a 70-year-old driver who is not using a cell phone,” said Dr. David Strayer, a University of Utah professor who was the study’s principal investigator. “It’s like instantly aging a large number of drivers.”

What may come as a bigger surprise, perhaps, is that the study was conducted using hands-free cell phones. In other words, drivers were not distracted by holding cell phones or dialing-their impairment was solely due to the distraction of talking.

As Strayer explained in a phone interview, talking on a cell phone while driving can cause attention blindness, a phenomenon where the driver fails to focus on important details in the road and scenery around them. This can include street signs, stop signs, traffic signals-and even other cars and pedestrians.

“Most people think that it’s only other people who are impaired while talking on a cell phone,” he said. “But everybody is impaired.”

Study participants of all ages were about equally affected when talking on cell phones. The researchers used a driving simulator, which measured reaction time before braking, turning to avoid obstacles and other tasks.

Strayer also found that people talking on cell phones tend to drive more slowly than other drivers, making them an obstacle.

Strayer’s study is the sixth to date that tested hands-free cellular devices, and like all five previous studies it found that these are just as distracting as the hand-held variety. This has led Strayer to question the effectiveness of banning hand-held phones but allowing hands-free units, as has been the case in counties in New York, New Jersey and elsewhere.

“There’s no scientific evidence for the hands-free distinction,” said Strayer.

Despite the results, the finding has been slow to catch on. A conversation with a Cingular representative, who would only go on the record as Abby, yielded the suggestion that while driving with a hand-held cell phone was bad, driving with a hands-free device was acceptable.

“My son will be getting a new phone in a month, and I don’t see any problem if he uses Cingular’s [hands-free hardware],” she said.

Don Strom, Washington University police chief, urged students to use care when driving with cell phones.

“The best advice is to not use cell phones when driving,” said Strom. “And if you do, hands-free devices are much preferred, recognizing there are limitations with this technology as well.”

Strayer’s other study results indicate that cell phone use while driving is unique among driving distractions. Talking to passengers, for example, is not as important of a distraction because the person can actually aid the driver in reacting to the driving environment. They can point out signs, speed limits or be quiet if the driver needs to concentrate in a busy intersection.

Strayer’s research has allowed him the opportunity to appreciate the real world effects of driving with cell phones.

“I’ve had the opportunity to reveal tapes in which drivers using cell phones have caused accidents which killed them or somebody else,” said Strayer. “That sort of thing goes beyond the academic material I normally deal with and puts real faces on it. It’s a sobering experience.”

David Brody

Fraternities saw an increase in new pledges this semester, disproving fears that last semester’s alcohol ban would lower Rush numbers.

The fraternities boasted a combined total of 223 pledges, an increase of 10 people from last year, said Interfraternity Council President Alex Curcuru. He also noted that 330 students attended Rush, also an increase from the last Rush period.

“Many freshmen and sophomores wanted to see what the house was about and what they had to say,” said Curcuru.

Curcuru said that not only did numbers increase, but that they rose in spite of some houses’ decisions to accept fewer pledges. One fraternity, Kappa Sigma, only took 19 pledges this year as compared to last year’s total of 29.

Curcuru attributed these higher pledge numbers to an increased effort from the fraternity houses to woo new brothers.

Earlier this semester fraternities had expressed concern that the alcohol ban could negatively impact recruitment efforts. Junior Sam Fitz, a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon, said the ban affected the image freshmen had of Greek life.

“This year, the freshmen haven’t seen the way the campus usually is,” said Fitz. “We’re spending a lot more money on Rush this year. Usually we just rely on guys to show up at the house. This year we’re really making Rush bigger and better than ever.”

Fraternity efforts to improve rush seem to have paid off. Sophomore Alex Waters, Sigma Nu’s co-Rush chair, organized his fraternity’s Rush events with his sophomore co-chair Hari Amar. Waters said that he and Amar had taken last semester’s alcohol ban in stride and planned a strong series of Rush events.

“The regulations really didn’t have as big as an effect as everyone thought they would,” said Waters.

While Sigma Nu’s pledge class was smaller this fall than it had been in previous semesters, Waters explained that it was not due to problems with the alcohol ban. Sigma Nu was looking not for quantity but for pledges who fit well with the fraternity brothers.

“We’re very excited about the pledge class, and Ben [Kornfeld, Fraternity Marshall] is ecstatic,” said Waters.

Sophomore Joey Spinner, Rush chairman for Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi), said that the alcohol ban did not lower the number of students rushing but did push the houses to put more effort into their rush events.

“We were getting to meet kids at the Rush events. In the past, we got to meet the kids first semester,” said Spinner. “We didn’t make our Rush events bigger-we just made a greater effort to meet people. I think there was more overall effort from the entire community. I think everyone really put in effort to meet kids. It was really overall throughout the whole chapter. Everyone was rushing, it wasn’t just me and my co[-chair].”

Since many of the students rushing had not been exposed to the party side of Greek life, Spinner thinks that it may have created an even stronger pledge class. Although he does not see the alcohol ban as beneficial, he found that AEPi pledges were more interested in brotherhood than alcohol.

“It really helped get quality guys interested not just in alcohol but in a fraternity,” said Spinner. “We had guys join the fraternity for the fraternity brothers.”

Freshman Barry Dan expressed the same sentiment. In rushing this year, Dan wanted to expand his social circle and found that the alcohol ban actually made it easier to get to know people.

“It was easier to meet people who were in fraternities and to see who friends for life will be,” said Dan.

Freshmen Dave Wolpert echoed Dan’s experience in saying that he liked the guys he ended up meeting during rush.

“I liked the guys in SAE and thought Greek life would be fun,” said Wolpert. “Also, being in a fraternity will add to my social life.”

Earlier this semester, Women’s Panhellenic Association President Nicole Soussan reported that sorority Rush also went well, with every potential member that turned in a preference card on the last night of activities receiving a bid to a sorority the next morning-something that did not happen last year. This success, combined with every chapter meeting its quota (a specific number of new members needed in relation to the size of this year’s pledge class), made for a successful Rush.

“If you look at the numbers, they’re pretty much the same as last year,” she said of the approximately 280 women who rushed. “The potential new members were just as enthusiastic about Greek life, and the community was just as excited to have them. This is good evidence that this is not a community based on or that highly values alcohol consumption, but instead values sisterhood, philanthropy and a strong commitment to academics.”