Student Life Archives

The Student Union Senate and administration discussed a draft of a policy designed to clarify the limits of student demonstrations on campus last Thursday.

“Essentially it puts into writing what the administration has already expected of students and Student Groups,” said Eric Gradel, speaker of the Student Union (SU) Senate. “It doesn’t put any restrictions on them.”

The draft, if it becomes a resolution as is, will not make any major innovations in administration policy towards demonstrations. The resolution would stipulate that student groups must clear a time and place with the Office of Student Activities before demonstrating, and that the demonstration may not disturb the academic experiences of students on campus.

Although Gradel is in favor of the policy, he said that some of its clauses need to be fleshed out.

“It is a very vague statement and it is something that the administration will have to clarify a little bit more. But disruptive behavior in my mind is anything that interferes with the academic experience, like occupying a classroom.”

Gradel added, however, that the draft does contain some specific instances of disturbance, such as preventing a professor from lecturing, interfering in another group’s activity or blocking off part of the campus without prior permission from the OSA. The clause, however, added that disruptive behavior includes but is not limited to those instances.

Despite such uncertainties, there was little opposition during the senate meeting to the draft policy. Several senators agreed that this policy would serve to better inform student groups of what they can and cannot do.

“There was no real issue with the policy,” said Gradel. “A demonstration policy creates more freedom for students because they don’t have to tread so lightly when they are demonstrating. The rules have been laid out.”

Concerns arose, however, regarding how much the policy will be publicized, and how its publication will affect student groups’ actions.

“The only problem we saw was if this is not publicized to students,” said Gradel. “Unless this policy is publicized, how will students ever know the boundaries within which they are supposed to operate?”

Student Union Senator Jeff Zove, a senior, noted that if the administration makes students aware of the policy, it will foster a better relationship between students and faculty.

“Rather than having the student groups feel anxious about how the University will respond, now they will know by having the policy in place,” said Zove, former Speaker of the Senate. “Now student groups can protest peacefully.”

Impulse to put the demonstration into writing may have come as a result of the Student-Worker Alliance (SWA) protests in April 2004. During those demonstrations, students staged a sit-in outside of Brookings Hall to protest the lack of Living Wage conditions for University workers. Gradel said, however, that that was not the main drive behind the policy.

“It is safe to say that that is part of it, but this is not a knee-jerk reaction to that demonstration,” he said.

Questions remain as to whether the policy will be effective, as student groups that want to protest the administration’s policies may not be concerned with its guidelines.

“The policy is really only useful to those student groups that are interested in behaving,” said Gradel. “Groups that want to break the rules, that is what they are going to do. The administration cannot talk them out of it.”

Another question arose as to consequences for policy violations.

“There is not one specific response,” he said. “The policy opens the door to different types of responses for different types of actions. It remains broad enough because there are so many types of extenuating circumstances.”

Aside from specific policy discussions, senators were pleased that the administration came to them for input and discussion.

“It is good that, rather than enacting this policy without student input, they have come to student representatives and asked them for it,” said Zove. “It is a testament to how great the administration is that they are actively seeking out student input in this policy.”

Students can now drain their coffee cups while engaging in conversation topics from outer space to biology at the Saint Louis Science Center’s Science Caf‚. Held every Thursday, the new program will provide an environment that promotes the discussion of intriguing and controversial subjects led by scientific experts.

Raymond Arvidson, chairman of Earth and Planetary Sciences and deputy principal investigator for the Mars Rover Mission, was the Caf‚’s first expert to lead discussion.

According to Al Wiman, vice president for public understanding of science at the St. Louis Science Center, the idea for a science caf‚ is not unique to St. Louis.

“It originated in England, and I think there are maybe 15 or so of these around the United States,” said Wiman.

The program’s coordinators expect the series to be well received by the community. St. Louis is known for its large populace of technically oriented residents due to the presence of Boeing, Monsanto, Emerson electric and other high tech companies.

Arvidson noted that places such as Washington University, St. Louis University (SLU) and University of Missouri St. Louis (UMSL) have “a large community of people who appreciate science and are hungry for information.”

“[The caf‚ is] an opportunity to engage the public in the topics of science and to give people an up-close and personal encounter with the scientists,” said Arvidson.

The speaker for each Science Caf‚ gives a short presentation and then bounce from table to table to answer questions and spur dialogue.

“It will give people speed dating with scientists and provide an opportunity to talk to the scientists one on one to learn more about the topic. [The audience] will hopefully have a greater appreciation of the work of the presenter and for science,” said Arvidson.

Plans for the Science Caf‚ began about five years ago. Wiman explained that the Science Center wanted to do a weekly program but didn’t want to conflict with other events on campus or with SLU programs.

The Science Caf‚ discussion yesterday focused on the Mars Rover Mission. Arvidson worked in collaboration with a professor at Cornell University and NASA on the two Mars Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, that were launched in January of 2004.

“We expected these rovers to last 90 days and now we’re over 900 days. They are ten times over their mission length time, which is kind of neat,” said Arvidson.

“In terms of Spirit, we landed on volcanic plains that are billions of years old.and then Opportunity is on the other side of the planet and landed on a plains area,” explained Arvidson.

Upcoming discussion topics include stem cell research, biodiversity and genetic modification. A presentation on stem cell research, a key issue in the upcoming election, is scheduled before voters turnout at the November polls.

The Science Caf‚ takes place Thursdays from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the Saint Louis Science Center. Arvidson encourages students to attend.

“We’re very excited about the guests who are coming [and] we hope this will be the beginning of a new tradition at the Saint Louis Science Center,” said Arvidson.

For more information on tickets, visit slsc.org.

COURTESY OF JEFF ADER

An engineered rivalry between Washington University and Emory University has burned out soon after it ignited. Just a year after students from Emory University in Atlanta, Ga. vandalized the Washington University campus in attempt to begin a rivalry, little remains except a few memories of the incident.

“I think people got over it really quickly; better things to focus on,” said Emory sophomore Diana Zelkovich.

The rivalry began when the War Department, an Emory student government entity, sprayed graffiti on the University overpass with provoking slogans including: “Wash. U. girls are ugly” and “George Washington is dead. Emory owns you.” The department also planted fliers throughout their own campus with phrases such as “Die Emory Die! Go Wash. U.,” to galvanize their own student body.

These days, the War Department now works under the name “The Department,” after a war veteran complained to the Emory student council about the use of the term war. The name change has made the organization less visible on campus, and as a result, the manufactued rivalry has been a failure in the opinions of many Emory students.

“I haven’t received any e-mails this year about it,” said Zelkovich.

Erica Breese, co-leader of the Department along with Jeff Ader, disagrees. While most of the groups’ leaders graduated last year, Breese said the group still shows promise.

“We definitely feel that we have the same amount of students involved,” said Breese. “We are getting a lot of the freshmen involved.”

Looking again to last year, many Emory students were unaware of the War Department’s existence on their campus and were just as surprised as their rivals to discover their campus had been vandalized the morning of Sept. 17, 2005.

“My first reaction was to think to myself, must have been a crazy night on frat row,” said sophomore Peddy Brown, who attended meetings for the War Department. “Then when I realized what happened, I thought it was kind of funny.”

According to Brown, it was difficult not to feel embarrassed when he learned the Department of War was responsible for the vandalization of both college campuses.

“When I heard it was Emory I thought that it was a sad attempt to boost school spirit for a non-existent athletic program,” said Brown.

Modeled after the University’s Red Alert program, the Department of War at Emory was founded in the spring of 2005. The original purpose was to begin a rivalry between Emory and Washington University.

Breese noted that the name change had no effect on the actual organization. They still plan to carry on their efforts this year.

“We’re not doing anything different this year,” said Breese. “The rivalry lives on.”

Washington University may not own a magic school bus or employ a professor as unique as Ms. Frizzle, but students will soon be able to explore anything from inside of the human body to Mars’ surface. Virtual reality will take a new form when the 3-D Fossett Laboratory for Virtual Planetary Exploration opens in the Earth and Planetary Sciences building this coming spring.

The laboratory, a five-year project, will be used primarily for teaching and research and will enable students to feel as though they are on the surface of Mars. Steve Fossett, a professional record setter and alumnus of Washington University, provided considerable funding for the million-dollar laboratory.

The idea for the project came from Ray Arvidson, chairman of Earth and Planetary Sciences (EPS), and from Fossett.

Fossett is more widely known for traveling around the world in hot air balloons, gliders, sailboats and solo airplanes. At the request of Chancellor Mark Wrighton, Arvidson and a team of students supported several of Fossett’s world record setting balloon missions. The EPS team developed an infrastructure used to track Fossett’s balloon operations. Grateful for the support, Fossett developed Fossett Fellowships to provide research funds for undergraduate students.

The virtual laboratory will allow students to feel as if they are part of a scene by putting on 3-D goggles and seeing stereo, or 3-D images.

Arvidson is excited about the possibilities of this project.

“Imagine if you could walk into a room, put on stereo goggles, and have a sense of actually being there,” said Arvidson.

Fossett also noted that the new addition would expand the options available to students at the University.

“[The laboratory] is an opportunity for students to be involved in the space program,” said Fossett.

The first of its kind in the world, the laboratory is primarily devoted to planetary exploration. Arvidson also plans to use the laboratory to work with NASA’s Mars Rover explorations.

“In terms of where to send the Rover, we can use this facility. Also, we will have a lot more data for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter that will be sent in two years,” said Arvidson.

Besides planetary exploration, the lab can also simulate anything that can be seen in 3-D, like being inside of the human body and being able to walk into a crystal and see its atoms.

Within five years, a joystick will be developed that will help students move the scene around them. Undergraduates and graduates will have the chance to aid in the creation of some of this software. Walking through the laboratory before the joystick is created might be harmful because of a lack of depth perception.

“You can’t walk through the scene because you would hit your head on the wall,” said Arvidson.

When the laboratory is first ready for use, however, it will not be open to everyone.

“[The lab] is primarily for research and teaching. If time and data sets exist, it can be used for other purposes,” said Arvidson.

Both Arvidson and Fossett are excited about the opportunities that this lab will provide for the University.

“We want to make sure that Washington University is in the forefront. [The lab] is also in line with Fossett’s interests because he is an explorer,” said Arvidson.

“One reason we are doing this is to offer opportunities at Washington University, which are extraordinary,” noted Fossett. “We think that this will help to attract the very best students.”

Courtesy of Bruce Lindsey

Washington University named nationally renowned architect and designer Bruce Lindsey as the new dean of the School of Architecture on Thursday. Formerly an architecture professor at Auburn University, Lindsey is known for his work with digital technology and environmental sustainability.

“[He’s] done incredibly interesting work building homes for African Americans in rural parts of Alabama, so he’s really interested in the social context of architecture,” said Carmon Colangelo, dean of the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts.

Colangelo noted how Lindsey sees the bigger picture when working on various projects.

“I think he’s really interested in how architecture serves the community,” he said. “I think that he has ideas about working with the local architects and community members in terms of looking at problems in the inner city and urban and rural issues.”

He specifically elaborated on Lindsey’s work in Alabama as proof of his vision.

“If you look at the rural program, it’s not just that they build housing, but build homes that are very contemporary, beautiful spaces that are responsive to the needs of the people there,” said Colangelo. “They’re not just building shelters, but making the point that low-income housing doesn’t have to be poorly designed.”

Lindsey succeeds former deans Cynthia Weese and Jerry Sincoff as a leader of the School of Architecture. The University hoped to have named a new dean by July of last year to replace Weese, but the process took longer than expected. Chancellor Mark Wrighton therefore named Sincoff as interim dean, though that was never his official title.

“Jerry has done an outstanding job,” said Colangelo. “I think he’s happy that we now have a new dean in place.”

Lindsey’s education in design began at the University of Utah where he received a bachelor’s degree in art in 1976 and a master’s degree in sculpture and photography in 1979. In 1986 he received a master’s in architecture from Yale.

A year later he began teaching at Carnegie Mellon and in 1994 became head of its architecture school. While there, he researched ways to use digital tools in the real world of construction. The “Engineering News Record” listed his work as one of 1992’s 10 most important contributions to construction. He also won the New Faculty Teaching Award from the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture in the same year for his development of Carnegie Mellon’s first-year program.

Lindsey hopes to bring the same success here.

“Washington University has a great architecture school,” he said. “We hope to build on the momentum of the program by working on issues of environmental sustainability.”

Most recently, Lindsey worked as the head of Auburn’s architecture school and chaired its Masters of Landscape Architecture Program from 2001 – 03. He also helped strengthen the school’s interdisciplinary and joint-degree programs.

Lindsey’s term as dean is effective Nov. 10, 2006.