Student Life Archives

Five speakers talked about the importance of environmental action at a panel hosted by the Washington University College Democrats on Tuesday.

The panel consisted of Richard Smith, Chair of the Anthropology Department, Erin Robinson, a graduate student who chairs the University Committee on Environmental Quality, Henry Robertson and Ken Schechtman from the Eastern Missouri Sierra Club and Paul Moinester, the Student Union President.

“Currently, our major issue of the semester, due to its importance to the Wash. U. campus, is the environment,” said junior Meredith Sigler, president of the University College Democrats. “We thought it would be a good idea to inform our [group] members with a diverse panel.”

The panel was geared toward addressing a variety of environmental issues in an attempt to portray the breadth of the issue. Issues from domestic energy reduction to more environmentally friendly agriculture came to the forefront, but the topic of global warming dominated the speakers’ statements.

“Global warming is an extraordinarily dangerous problem for all of us, globally and locally,” said Schechtman, an associate professor of biological statistics at the Medical School. “The political system simply is not doing the job in terms of dealing with it.”

Despite the focus on global warming, Sigler said she was pleased with the myriad issues that the speakers addressed.

“It pointed towards the diversity of issues that we are currently facing,” she said. “You cannot pinpoint one issue, and that is the problem. One of the reasons that there are so many environmental groups is that there are a lot of issues that we are presented with.”

Still, Sigler appreciated that the panelists came from different viewpoints.

“It was a diversity of issues, a diversity of experience and a diversity of thought. We wanted different perspectives on the panel. Having like-minded people does not tend to be effective.”

Schechtman stressed the importance of environmental activism, saying that policies need to be changed as soon as possible in order to sustain the global climate.

“All of us have an obligation to realize that what is happening now has consequences for both the immediate and distant future,” he said. There are so many examples of the potential disasters that might happen.”

Sigler hopes that the panel leads to action on campus, something the College Democrats hope to initiate.

“We do have a couple of other things in the works,” she said. “We are looking for a proactive event about the environment, most likely something with legislation.”

Moinester, who spoke in the panel about more activism within the administration, also said that action is the key to environmental change.

“I think that [the panel] was a great first step,” said Moinester, an environmental studies major. “With the exception of the environmental studies department, there is not any focus that the administration or the faculty really places on teaching people about the environment outside the classroom.”

The College Democrats hope to partially fill that void by placing a new focus on on-campus activities, a shift from the focus it placed last semester on national elections.

“This is a new area for us,” said Sigler of on-campus activities. “In the past we were focused around election efforts. We do have a lot of stuff that we do off-campus, with local politicians, so currently we are trying to be more on-campus.”

Schechtman said that education should be the focus of the movement to help the environment by changing personal behavior.

“We have an obligation to educate ourselves, to educate others, to change our behaviors in ways that reflect personal sacrifices,” he said. “There are specific actions that we can take.”

Tuesday, Feb. 20

10:21 a.m. PROPERTY DAMAGE – WOHL CENTER – Bon Appetit reports person(s) unknown attempted to force open one of the employee lockers. Entry was not gained. Time of occurrence: between Feb. 19 at 3 p.m. and Feb. 20 at 7 a.m. Disposition: Pending.

10:50 a.m. AUTO ACCIDENT – PARKING LOT #54 – Vehicle backing from a parking space backed into a university-owned vehicle being operated by a communications technician. Minor damage, no injuries. Disposition: Cleared.

6:31 p.m. FALSE FIRE ALARM – MCDONNELL HALL – Unknown subject pulled the fire alarm. No sign of fire or smoke. Disposition: Pending.

Wednesday, Feb. 21

11:33 p.m. PARKING VIOLATION – PARKING LOT #40 – Parking monitor reported a fraudulent temporary permit. The permit was removed by Transportation and the vehicle towed. Disposition: Cleared.

5:15 p.m. LARCENY-THEFT – OLIN LIBRARY – Student reported her purple Trek mountain bike stolen from the Olin Library bike rack near the south main entrance. The front wheel of the bike was secured to the bike rack with a U-lock and was still present. Time of occurrence: Feb. 19 between 3:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Student was not sure of the value of her bike. Disposition: Pending.

Thursday, Feb. 22

10:33 a.m. AUTO ACCIDENT – BRYAN HALL – Faculty reported that a Road Way truck was damaging the concrete area of Bryan Hall’s dock. Disposition: Cleared.

10:45 a.m. LARCENY-THEFT – PARK – Complainant reported the theft of 3 generators and 2 refrigerators from the storage facility located in the west side of Park. Time of occurrence: between Feb. 12 and Feb. 14. Disposition: Pending.

Last April, a team of Business School students developed a model to use an indigenous African plant in a new approach to creating alternative fuel. The concept was originally conceived by the World Agricultural Forum and then elaborated upon in the Practicum program in the Olin School of Business.

Unlike many previous studies of alternative energy, the team made use of the Jatropha bean, originating in Africa.

The model consists of refining the Jatropha bean into a biodiesel to be used to provide electricity. The biodiesel would power a simple diesel engine and could be used, for example, to power a grain mill. For a village, this would provide a heavy source of electricity in comparison to solar or water energy.

Jacob Schnarre, the team leader, insists that the model was designed to be applied globally to different areas, not just to Africa.

“Africa is at the forefront for thought on economic development,” said Schnarre.

Schnarre explained that the Jatropha bean is a better choice than current alternative fuel choices because it has a higher yield than soybean, used in the U.S., and rapeseed, used in Britain.

The Business School model boasts that if just two percent of Africa’s landmass was planted with the Jatropha bean, its production per year would match the Alaska’s North Slope where most of Alaska’s petroleum production occurs.

Further, unlike many other sources of alternative energy, Jatropha does not conflict with pre-exisiting farming.

“At the community level, [Jatropha] can grow really easily and can be used as hedge since animals won’t eat it,” said Schnarre.

The Practicum program is designed so that corporations, both local and global, can find new solutions by employing students. The corporation pays a fee to work with the school and to also pay the students in the team.

This allows students an “opportunity to practice what they have learned and apply it to the real world,” said Mark Soczek, the director of the program.

Teams are made of four or five upper-level undergraduate or graduate students and work for 10 hours a week. Projects are typically market-research based.

For the alternative fuel project, the World Agricultural Forum (WAF), a St. Louis-based organization, approached the Business School for an idea of an alternative fuel that would be easy to grow in less developed areas of the world.

The team presented their model in April 2006 to the WFA board in Washington, D.C. They also presented to the United Nations and have been featured on CNN and in “The Business Review.” The project will soon be put before more forum groups and corporations in the U.S. to promote as a local energy source.

The team consisted of leader Jacob Schnarre, Kevin Lehnbeuter, Keith McLamb, Thomas Stehl and Steven Gabster. Their faculty advisor was Todd Zenger, professor of Organization and Strategy.

After the presentations, Schnarre continued to develop the business plan in corroboration with the WAF.

Schnarre said he continued with the program because he felt a personal connection. After growing up on a farm in Missouri, he later majored in Agricultural Systems Management at the University of Missouri-Columbia. He felt that he “didn’t get to use all the knowledge that [he] grew up with” and “wanted to explore the developmental aspect” of agriculture. The Practicum allowed him to “use the learning and skills [they] had but in a non-traditional sense.”

The Practicum is sponsoring 10 projects for the current semester. Started in 1992, the Practicum and Taylor have both sponsored over 200 projects each.

Area schools have used the Feb. 12 assault incident on the Washington University campus to review their safety protocols and to emphasize the importance of public safety.

“Everyone learns from the mistakes other people make, and we’re trying to make sure that we don’t fall into the same traps,” said Jack Titone, St. Louis University Director of Public Safety.

At St. Louis University, the recent events are being used as an impetus to finalize changes that had been suggested a number of months ago.

Instead of employing students to check student IDs and monitor the activities of visitors entering dorms, St. Louis University will soon begin to use professional security guards.

“We had an incident several months ago where our student workers failed to stop an unauthorized entry,” said Titone. “By having a professional down there, the rules will be more closely followed.”

At both Webster University and Fontbonne University, the departments of public safety have stressed to students the importance of constant awareness.

“Nothing has been changed. We followed our standard procedures,” said Bob Kraeuchi, Director of Public Safety at Fontbonne University.

Kraeuchi elaborated that in the days after the assault there were increased patrols on Fontbonne’s campus and flyers had been posted warning students about the events at Wash. U.

On the University’s campus, safety and security efforts have focused around the continuing investigation.

According to Washington University Chief of Police Don Strom, investigators from both the Clayton Police Department and the Washington University Police Department have continued to work full time on solving the case.

While there have been no specific developments recently, the St. Louis County crime lab is still analyzing evidence from the scene of the crime. Data from that analysis has helped to rule out a number of suspects.

Additionally, Chancellor Mark Wrighton has appointed a committee that will review the University’s public safety policy and make recommendations to improve that policy. The recommendations are expected to be complete in about a month.

“Any time something like this happens, it’s an opportunity for us as a community to examine our own safety and security systems,” said Rob Wild, assistant to the chancellor. “There might be some new things there, and there might be some things we were already moving towards to make the community more safe.”

The Chancellor’s committee comes in addition to continuing efforts to collaborate with other university police and the public safety department in the area.

“We’re all concerned because people like this [perpetrator] don’t pick on any one institution, so there’s a good chance that any university could be affected,” stated Titone. “We all work together to stay safe.”

Scott Bressler

Since the late ’70s when the Loop began its resurgence from a worn-down urban neighborhood deeply affected by white flight to the thriving cultural center of St. Louis that exists today, generations of Washington University students have come and gone.

Few at the University, with the exception of older professors and a limited number of St. Louis natives, have even heard the story of the Loop’s development. Yet, the University is one of the central forces that helped to return the Loop to prominence.

“The block where I am living now used to be a serious drugs and guns area. A lot of the windows on the storefronts were bricked up. [The Loop] has really bounced back, and it is almost startling,” said architecture professor Bob Hansman, a St. Louis native who encourages his students to support the Loop.

Since the earliest businesses started to return to the Loop, University students have been active in supporting their return. Students eagerly received Loop institutions such as the Tivoli Theater and Blueberry Hill. Over the past 10 to 15 years, however, Loop business owners have noticed a decline in the number of University students taking the time to visit the Loop.

“Washington University students and the Loop have a symbiotic relationship,” said Joe Edwards, owner of Blueberry Hill and a leader of the Loop business community.

Edwards is the entrepreneur responsible for colorful venues on the Loop like Blueberry Hill, the Tivoli and the Pageant, in addition to coordinating the St. Louis Walk of Fame.

According to Edwards, the Loop creates an arts and entertainment community close to the University which thrives partially because of the business provided by students and professors. Yet this student patronage may be on the decline.

“Sometime in the early ’90s, the make-up of my business changed because fewer students came over here,” said Lew Prince, co-owner of Vintage Vinyl.

A number of years ago, Prince used University undergraduates to conduct a survey and found that many students found it difficult to walk to the Loop.

“Transportation and weather are the two reasons why I don’t really get out to the Loop,” said freshman Kimberly Burfiend. “I’d love to take advantage of things like Vintage Vinyl and Cold Stone Creamery. I would go to eat and to look around.”

For many students, it is easier to walk to Bear’s Den for a quick bite rather than investing an entire night traveling to the Loop for dinner.

“I don’t take advantage of the Loop as much as I would like to, but when I have time I like to go. Especially on school days, it’s difficult to get out there,” said freshman Mitch Jenkins.

Other students suggested that much of what the Loop has to offer is targeted towards younger students, removing some of the incentive to travel there.

“When I was a freshman and a sophomore, we went to the Loop often because a lot of the good clubs were 21 and up. We might walk out in order to go to Blockbuster or Cold Stone every once in a while,” said junior Kashay Moring.

“The Loop is no further than it’s ever been, but students are different,” said Hansman. “If they can’t even get to the Loop, think of what else they’re missing in St. Louis.”

Hansman explained that as students become more accustomed to fulfilling their needs online, whether it is for research, shopping or entertainment, they are less likely to go out to the Loop.

Still, the constant presence of University students helps to infuse the Loop with a new source of ideas and experiences that gets along well with its existing and already diverse inhabitants.

“Sometimes, a lot of different people come to a place and they water down their identities in the process. People in the Loop don’t water themselves down much for each other; people are there pretty much as they want to be and there is room for that,” said Hansman.

In a city largely divided along racial lines, the Loop provides a neutral ground conducive to cultural learning and openness. This is reinforced by the historical role of Delmar Blvd. has played as the dividing line between black and white St. Louis.

“Not only is there great ethnic and racial diversity where everyone feels comfortable, but there is also age and economic diversity. This is one of the few areas in St. Louis where things are open in this way,” said Edwards.

The Loop began its initial decline as shoppers began to prefer large commercial malls over the small, locally-owned shops on the Loop. As fewer active businesses operated on the Loop, it became worn down and ignored by most.

“When we came here, it was 1979 and the Loop basically consisted of a bunch of empty storefronts and manufacturing businesses,” said Prince.

Despite that, the combination of cheap real estate, diversity and proximity to Washington University and other St. Louis area universities proved appealing for the new business.

“A lot of the appeal of this business is getting to hang around and talk about music. We built a store for the musically literate because that’s who we wanted to talk to and that has held up in this neighborhood largely because of Washington University,” said Prince.

To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the infamous Dred Scott ruling, Washington University will be hosting a symposium called “The Dred Scott Case and its Legacy: Race, Law and the Struggle for Equality” this weekend.

A series of distinguished speakers, including legal scholars, historians, direct descendents of Dred Scott and six out of the seven Missouri State Supreme Court judges will be giving talks during the symposium. The keynote address will be delivered by the Honorable Michael Wolff, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Missouri, on Friday at 4 p.m. in Graham Chapel. Professor Jack Greenberg, who argued the case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka in 1954, will be a commentator on Saturday.

“This case marks the first great civil rights case in American history. One could argue that the legal battle of the civil rights of African-Americans began here in St. Louis in 1846,” said David Konig, Director of Legal Studies, professor of history and law and one of the chief organizers of the event.

The symposium’s purpose is not to celebrate, but to commemorate the Dred Scott case which eventually ended with the racist ruling by the United States Supreme Court in 1857 that all persons of African descent did not have any legal rights and could never be citizens.

“It is important to commemorate this event because the struggle for equality is something that has not come to its conclusion. This case is a vivid reminder of how bad things once were, and where we need to be in order to have true equality,” said John Baugh, director of African and African-American Studies and one of the symposium’s co-planners. “The consequences of slavery are still with us and need to be addressed with care and attentiveness.”

According to Konig, the symposium’s purpose is to place this historical case in the context of the present.

“Legal scholars are constantly making us aware of the fact that the law is supposed to be color blind, but that it certainly isn’t,” he said.

Speakers will also consider contemporary legal issues which concern not only African Americans, but also anyone who is denied full civil rights, such as the detainees in Guantanamo Bay who were recently refused the right of habeas corpus.

The symposium, which is free and open to the public, is geared toward academics as well as the St. Louis community. “The symposium combines a scholarly conference with community outreach, which is quite unusual,” said Konig. Hundreds of postcard invitations were sent to K-12 educators and there will be a special presentation focused on how teachers can incorporate the case’s civic issues into their curricula.

The University, as well as the St. Louis community, has reason to celebrate its historic involvement in the case. “One of the most important things about the case is that the jury that voted here in St. Louis voted to give the Scotts liberty. The Supreme Court overturned that decision. White citizens, and all St. Louis citizens, should take pride in the progressive position that was put forward by this jury,” said Baugh.

In recent years, many universities have begun to confront their historic connections to slavery. Brown University, which was initially endowed largely by wealth acquired through slavery, instituted a Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice in 2003.

Unlike Brown, Washington University has a legacy for “being on the right side of history,” said Konig, because it was founded by abolitionists. William Greenleaf Eliot, one of the university’s co-founders, would buy slaves so that he could free them. He also educated slaves during a time at which it was illegal to do so.

Today, the University and the St. Louis community are at the foreground of efforts to commemorate the anniversary of the Dred Scott case. “On a national level, we would like to make it clear that St. Louis is taking the lead. The University is giving this case the upfront focus it deserves. I don’t think there is any similar anniversary taking place anywhere in the country,” said Konig.

“I am very proud of what we are doing here in St. Louis. To the best of my knowledge, the event will be the premier event celebrating the 150th,” said Baugh.

Konig and Baugh both said that the Dred Scott case is frequently a topic in their courses in law, history, and African-American studies.

“It comes up all the time. It’s unavoidable. It’s a boulder in the road that has to be encountered,” said Konig.