Student Life Archives

Alvaro Briones knows more about healthcare than the average landscaping employee. A medical school graduate from Nicaragua, Briones hopes to one day practice medicine in the United States. But for now, he works for a landscaping company that sub-contracts to Washington University.

Briones presented his story of transition into American culture at Wednesday’s town hall meeting on ‘Xenophobia and Immigration in St. Louis,’ co-hosted by the International and Areas Studies Department and its honor society, Sigma Iota Rho.

Speakers discussed the current state of immigration and its associated implications.

Sunita Parikh, associate professor of political science, presented the historical and sociological context of America’s current immigration issues. Cities like St. Louis, she said, were pivotal for expanding immigration beyond gateway metropolitans and into smaller cities and towns. “We [St. Louis residents] are on the forefront of what immigration will look like in the next 30 years as opposed to what it looked like in the previous 30 years,” she said.

In spite of the encouraging diversity across the nation, she noted that the more recent waves of immigrants from Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East experience stigmatization that is comparable to the treatment of Italians, Slovaks and Jews during the early 1900s.

“Xenophobia is alive and well,” said Parikh.

Briones spoke to the crowd of about 75 graduates and undergraduates following Parikh. His experiences in St. Louis reflected the “invisibility” of the immigrant worker that is prevalent in today’s American society.

Joan Suarez, J.D, is the co-chair of Workers’ Rights Board and Immigration Rights Action Task Force, reaffirmed by Briones’ feelings of invisibility. Suarez further discussed constitutionality of immigration ordinances and legal rights of immigrant workers. During the question and answer session, Suarez reported that Missouri did not allot state government funds toward the assimilation of immigrants. Instead, she pointed out that the Illinois state government allocates fund towards immigration projects such as English programs.

Both Parikh and Suarez used Briones’ case to illustrate that Americans must realize that their ‘needs and demands’ for labor as an economy equal the financial needs of immigrants.

The speeches illuminated various aspects of immigration and xenophobia, opening up imperative questions that the guests took turns in answering. The questions ranged from generalized concerns about the current trend in immigration to specific queries about Missouri State Government’s involvement in immigrant programs.

“Worries about a changing cultural climate are not illegitimate,” Parikh said in response to a question about possible reasons that have contributed toward demands for immigration reform. She explained ideological and economic reasons to corroborate her statement.

Ideologically, certain parts of the American population oppose multiculturalism and favor assimilation, she said. Groups that believe transparency is an essential American trait would probably view women in ‘burkhas’ [veils] as non-transparent and non-assimilating.

In the economic perspective, along with growing population concerns, the willingness of immigrants to work for lower wages thereby has been cited as reason for the financial woes of poor Americans.

“It’s important to also note that people are coming in response to our needs, demands and incentives,” Suarez said.

Although the speakers admitted that a concrete solution is not yet evident, a general remedy would entail a National Comprehensive Package that confers full working rights and privileges to guest workers during their stay in the country.

The meeting adjourned with a question asking for the panelists to compare America’s treatment of immigrants to other nations experiencing an influx of foreigners.

In response to this question Parikh, Briones and Suarez unanimously agreed that the United States is more transparent in its policies.

However, in today’s politically complex world where laws and regulations can change from one term to the next, Parikh offered an optimistic view of the future of immigration in the U.S. “Our political system has a foundation that has the ability to incorporate immigration protection easily,” she said.

Alvaro Briones knows more about healthcare than the average landscaping employee. A medical school graduate from Nicaragua, Briones hopes to one day practice medicine in the United States. For now, he works for a landscaping company that sub-contracts to Washington University.

Briones presented his story of transition into American culture at Wednesday’s town hall meeting on “Xenophobia and Immigration in St. Louis,” co-hosted by the International and Areas Studies Department and its honor society, Sigma Iota Rho.

Speakers discussed the current state of immigration and its associated implications.

Sunita Parikh, associate professor of political science, presented the historical and sociological context of America’s current immigration issues. Cities like St. Louis, she said, were pivotal for expanding immigration beyond gateway metropolitans and into smaller cities and towns.

“We [St. Louis residents] are on the forefront of what immigration will look like in the next 30 years as opposed to what it looked like in the previous 30 years,” she said.

In spite of the encouraging diversity across the nation, she noted that the more recent waves of immigrants from Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East experience stigmatization that is comparable to the treatment of Italians, Slovaks and Jews during the early 1900s.

“Xenophobia is alive and well,” said Parikh.

Briones spoke to the crowd of about 75 graduates and undergraduates following Parikh. His experiences in St. Louis reflected the “invisibility” of the immigrant worker that is prevalent in today’s American society.

Joan Suarez, is the co-chair of Workers’ Rights Board and Immigration Rights Action Task Force, reaffirmed by Briones’ feelings of invisibility. Suarez further discussed constitutionality of immigration ordinances and legal rights of immigrant workers. During the question and answer session, Suarez reported that Missouri did not allot state government funds toward the assimilation of immigrants. Instead, she pointed out that the Illinois state government allocates fund towards immigration projects such as English programs.

Both Parikh and Suarez used Briones’ case to illustrate that Americans must realize that their ‘needs and demands’ for labor as an economy equal the financial needs of immigrants.

The speeches illuminated various aspects of immigration and xenophobia, opening up imperative questions that the guests took turns in answering. The questions ranged from generalized concerns about the current trend in immigration to specific queries about Missouri State Government’s involvement in immigrant programs.

“Worries about a changing cultural climate are not illegitimate,” Parikh said in response to a question about possible reasons that have contributed toward demands for immigration reform. She explained ideological and economic reasons to corroborate her statement.

Ideologically, certain parts of the American population oppose multiculturalism and favor assimilation, she said. Groups that believe transparency is an essential American trait would probably view women in ‘burkhas’ [veils] as non-transparent and non-assimilating.

In the economic perspective, along with growing population concerns, the willingness of immigrants to work for lower wages thereby has been cited as reason for the financial woes of poor Americans.

“It’s important to also note that people are coming in response to our needs, demands and incentives,” Suarez said.

Although the speakers admitted that a concrete solution is not yet evident, a general remedy would entail a National Comprehensive Package that confers full working rights and privileges to guest workers during their stay in the country.
The meeting adjourned with a question asking for the panelists to compare America’s treatment of immigrants to other nations experiencing an influx of foreigners.

In response to this question Parikh, Briones and Suarez unanimously agreed that the United States is more transparent in its policies.

In today’s politically complex world, where laws and regulations can change from one term to the next, Parikh offered an optimistic view of the future of immigration in the U.S.

“Our political system has a foundation that has the ability to incorporate immigration protection easily,” she said.

With Nov. 7 less than two weeks away, groups across campus are ensuring that students will cast their vote.

“We consider Wash. U. students part of our base vote,” said senior Aaron Keyak, president of Washington University College Democrats. “We feel that the vast majority of students we turn out will vote for progressive candidates.”

The University College Democrats have spent the past couple of months registering students to vote, and since the registration deadline passed, have been trying to raise awareness of Election Day and the importance of voting. While the group has been registering students regardless of party affiliation, they hope most students will end up voting Democrat.

“If we get students that are not going to vote for us, that is all right,” said Keyak, “but we should get the vote out.”

The College Republicans have not put much effort towards registration, and have instead focused on helping Missouri’s incumbent senator, Jim Talent, beat his Democratic challenger- State Auditor Claire McCaskill.

“We focused on efforts in the outside community,” said junior Stacey Goodwin, president of the University’s Republican chapter. “Us registering voters would not make a difference – not that we don’t care about democracy. The niche has already been filled.”

Goodwin’s group has been reaching out to the surrounding community, canvassing the area for potential Talent supporters and working phone banks at the local campaign office.

Keyak, meanwhile, has kept his group’s post-registration efforts focused on the University.

“Now we are trying to get people aware of absentee voting,” he said. “Letting people know that they should not forget to vote.”

The push for voting has been slower than in 2004 because this year’s cycle only contains midterm contests. Keyak added that students are relatively apathetic due to the perception that this year’s results, with no presidential race, are less meaningful.

“There has not been as much excitement. In non-presidential years it is harder to get people to vote,” he said. “There is a perception that the presidential races are more important, that they are sexier.”

He added, however, that those who are already involved recognize the significance of this year’s ballots.

“People who have volunteered recognize the importance,” said Keyak, whose volunteers are also going to McCaskill’s office. “Anyone who cares about Democratic policies or progressive values needs to work on election days.”

Non-affiliated campus groups are also contributing to the voting push, without necessarily supporting one candidate or the other. One such group is Project Democracy, a non-partisan initiative determined to inform students and bring them to the voting booths.

“Our focus before the registration deadline was getting as many people voting in Missouri as possible, and now the big focus is getting people to vote and getting them to the polls,” said freshman Eric Reis, an activist with Project Democracy. “Its purpose is solely to get people to vote regardless of who or for what they are voting.”

Reis, like Keyak, has had difficulty motivating his peers, in part because they feel reluctant to vote outside of their home state. Reis says that students should be aware of issues affecting Missouri, even if they hail from elsewhere.

“You live here for four years or even more,” said Reis. “When you live here for four years, it is something you should be cognizant of. There are important issues that affect members of the University community and outside of the Wash. U. bubble.”

Despite the widespread nonchalance regarding elections, Keyak hopes students can find something to care about on the next Tuesday.

“We constantly remind the people we are involved with that they must vote on Nov. 7,” he said. “Everybody has a reason to get involved in this election.”

Lawerence Tychsen

Neurologist Jan Brunstrom diagnoses a host of special needs children who have disorders ranging from autism to cerebral palsy. When she finds a patient with impaired eyesight, she refers him to Lawrence Tychsen.

Tychsen, a pediatric ophthalmologist at Washington University’s Medical School and ophthalmologist in chief at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, first started working with Brunstrom five years ago after she approached and explained her referral system to him. The special needs children she works with, ages one to young adulthood, often receive diagnoses in multiple areas, from impaired vision to skeletal development. If she suspects one of her patients needs further medical attention beyond neurological help, Brunstrom will refer the patient to a pediatric specialist.

“Children who have profound neuro-behavioral problems have great difficulty wearing glasses,” Tychsen said. “Most of the time they didn’t have glasses on, where the glasses were broken or lost, or they left them on their head. They went through life with profoundly blurred vision to the point of legal blindness.”

Special needs children have the same eye problems as otherwise healthy children, but they tend to have a higher prevalence of them. Tychsen suspected that most of the special needs children in the St. Louis area have access to treatment, but nationwide many younger patients’ problems go unaddressed. Children with special needs take up more time and energy and parents may find it difficult to concentrate on all their maladies.

“It can be very frustrating for the parents of a multi-handicapped child to deal with the vision issues because their plate is full. In that sense their vision problems tend to get neglected because many people think they aren’t as serious as the other issues the kids have,” said Tychsen.

After Brunstrom refers her patients to Tychsen, he runs a variety of tests to determine how to best treat them. Many of the special needs children are either non-verbal or quasi-verbal and are unable to cooperate through standard testing, but Tychsen can sidestep their communication deficiencies by using tests to measure their vision and focusing.

“We have a number of computerized, digital tests that measure brain activity in relation to the child looking at visual pictures,” he explained.

Cerebral palsy patients tend to have normal cognitive abilities, but their motor abilities can impede their ability to comfortably wear glasses.

Many sight-impaired children have trouble focusing on objects, a problem that is exacerbated by not wearing glasses. Tychsen described them as living “in a cocoon of visual blur where the walls of that cocoon can be only inches from their face.”

Unable to perceive their environment, friends and family clearly, these children often have a general increased fearfulness as well as blunted social interactions and decreased interest in people and objects because they cannot see, Tychsen said.

Once he diagnoses the child, Tychsen decides the best form of eye operation. His most frequent surgery, refractive, which includes a variation of Lasik, and intraocular lens implants, have a 90 percent or greater success rate, he said. Tychsen also operates on children who have wandering, crossed or wiggling eyes, which often involves eye muscle surgery.

Non-disabled patients are normally discouraged from Lasik laser eye surgery until age 21 and above as the eye continues to change shape until young adulthood. Tychsen said that he has to retreat about 10 percent of his patients as they grow older. “You deliberately plan for the growth of the eye, so you overcorrect the younger children a bit to compensate for that,” he said. His pediatric Lasik operations are done without making a flap in the cornea, the outer part of the eye, as children usually rub their eyes and could damage the healing flap.

Tychsen’s patients pay him multiple visits for check-ups in the following months and years. “Often the responses of the child are dramatic. It’s very gratifying, some of the testimonials that the parents give are very moving,” he said, explaining that children often develop substantially after their eyesight is corrected. “The child becomes much more interested in other people and in trying new things. There’s a flowering of self confidence.”

Student Life Archives

Mix together a fog machine, techno music and body paint, and a Washington University student will be face to face with the School of Architecture’s annual “Bauhaus” party. But this year, the costume party is being held two weeks after the traditional Halloween weekend.

According to junior Samantha Giorgio, treasurer of the Architecture Student Council (ASC), the school had to bump the party back because of scheduling conflicts.

“Parents Weekend is this weekend, which is when we normally have it, and the weekend after this is Dance Marathon, so we had to have it Nov. 11,” said Giorgio.

Bauhaus, a 15-year tradition organized by sophomore architecture students, has always been held as a Halloween party, according to Giorgio. The timeliness of the costume party is not a complete coincidence.

“Bauhaus [was] an architecture school in Germany in the 1920s and one of the things they always did [was] have themed parties. It’s keeping with the tradition,” said Giorgio.

The date change has raised concerns with some students, such as sophomore Leah Bressler.

“I think it’s annoying [that the party is later] because the school should have planned better and not had Parents’ Weekend be the weekend closest to Halloween. Bauhaus is traditionally a Halloween party.” Bressler also expressed her concerns about the weather saying, “[The weather] will be even colder outside two weeks later.”

Others, such as sophomore Avi Rose, are not worried.

“This just means that Halloween will last two weeks longer,” said Rose.

Giorgio did not think that the date change would affect people’s decisions to attend.

“I feel like everyone usually dresses ridiculously for Bauhaus,” said Giorgio. “I don’t know if it being later and colder will really change that. I think if people want to dress up in little clothing [then they will].”

In spite of the changes being made, Bressler agreed. “I still think it will be a fun party.”

In addition to moving Bauhaus back two weeks, this year’s Bauhaus theme aims to educate the campus community about architecture in general. Last year’s theme, “The Sustainable Party” went unnoticed by many students, but this year, ASC is hoping to make the connection to architecture more pronounced with the theme “Pass Le Corbusier.” Le Corbusier is a French Swiss architect known for his pioneer work in modernism, urban planning and furniture.

“We’re just trying to make people more aware of who he is as an architect,” said Giorgio. “The week before Bauhaus, we’re going to try and have decorations inspired by his design.”

This year’s theme will also include a larger focus on education. “We’re going to have an exhibit in the library with.Corbusier building books and we’re hoping to have a model display of the architect’s work.”

Giorgio also said that ASC would host a “spirit week” with themed days, such as “Dress like your professor” day and “Dress like your favorite architect” day, within the architecture school.

Free tickets, required for admission to Bauhaus, will be available in the week leading up to the party. Last year, a rush of students left some students ticketless.

“Last year, we could only get 2,000 people because of the fire code in the tent. People I know made fake ones and were selling them but that wasn’t through [ASC],” said Giorgio. “I think that they’ve always had an issue [with tickets running out].”

Tickets will be available starting Nov. 6 in Wohl Center, Mallinckrodt, and Givens Hall, among other places on campus. The party, which takes place in the Givens parking lot, will last from 9 p.m. to midnight and a student ID is required for admission.

Student Life Archives

Engineering students are still concerned about the future of the School of Engineering & Applied Science under the leadership of Dean Mary Sansalone. Although she has shown an increased effort to connect with the students and explain her plans for the engineering school, many questions remain.

“I think that she a great plan for the future of the School of Engineering in general, but the lack of short term plans are worrying me. The students currently here and the students that will be here in the next few transition years will fall through the cracks. There’s not a system set up for them right now,” said Elaine Cheng, a student of the dual degree engineering program. Sansalone sought to improve the communication between students and the administration last week when she hosted a second forum.

The students feared that recent changes indicated an end to the current dual degree program. Most notably, one of the two dual degree program advisors, Judy Sawyer, had her position eliminated earlier this month with no warning to the dual degree students.

“A lot of students pointed out that it was very poor timing, and it was extremely sudden and that we would like to be more informed about these processes that directly affect us,” said Cheng. “Dean Sansalone said they would make an effort to do so in the future.”

Additionally, the January intensive term was removed from the dual degree program. The program allowed potential dual degree students to come to the University for two weeks in January and finish necessary liberal arts requirements before actually enrolling in the University.

Sansalone noted that she had not seen enough student participation in the program and she was not convinced that the January intensive term could effectively teach the material to students.

“She seemed incredibly surprised that the program was for prospective students and not students already enrolled in the program here,” said Cheng. “There was a lot of discussion as to why it was cut and what students would be able to use to fulfill that requirement.”

There is currently no plan to replace the January intensive term. Sansalone, however, discussed what could be done with students and assured them that their suggestions would be taken into consideration.

In spite of the forum with Sansalone, many regular engineering students still have concerns for the future. The School of Engineering & Applied Science administration has yet to explain to students why various faculty members were removed from the University outside of purely budgetary concerns. Furthermore, little has been said as to how students will be served during Sansalone’s restructuring. Many of these fears are unfounded, however, notes computer science Professor Jon Turner.

“There was an impression that Dean Sansalone was making decisions without faculty input, but that’s not true,” said Turner. “She’s actually met individually with every faculty in the School of Engineering, something that hasn’t happened in 20 years. I think there’s a great deal of sharing in her vision of where the school will go, and what people’s concerns are.”

Turner mentioned that her extensive changes, while seemingly detrimental to students, are meant to improve the long-term teaching capability of the school.

“I think that any time there are changes it makes people uncomfortable. While change is unsettling, it’s something we need to do to keep the school moving forward. The fact that the dean is making changes and working toward institutional changes shouldn’t.be a cause for alarm,” said Turner.

History of faculty concerns

Concerns over faculty involvement have marked Sansalone’s academic career. During her time at Cornell University, Sansalone spearheaded an administration initiative to create eCornell in 2000, a program that sought to essentially sell classes through an online venue.

“The Cornell faculty senate was very unhappy with the process by which the administration went about proposing eCornell,” said Risa Lieberwitz, one of the major actors of the Cornell faculty senate at that time. “The faculty senate felt that the administration did not respect the faculty governance.[the administration did not] seek consultation with the faculty about an issue that was at the core of academic concerns.”

Lieberwitz hoped that this less than stellar communication sent a strong message to Sansalone about the importance of an open dialogue.

“We always hope that if there are conflicts that occur, that people come out of conflicts learning more about the situation,” said Lieberwitz. “[We] can shape our conduct better to avoid conflicts on similar issues.”