Student Life Archives

You know, it took me quite some time to think of a topic for this retrospective look on my four years spent at this institution. I ultimately realized that the reason I was asked to write a piece was because I was distinguished as a “leader” on the Washington University campus. Sure, I have been involved in many activities at this school-at times too many-but a “leader?” I have never identified myself as a leader; why was I chosen? Moreover, what is a leader and what makes leaders unique at Washington University? It seems that this word is used so often on this campus, that it would be rather fitting to erect a Danforth- McDonnell-Fox Institute for Leadership. Unfortunately, we scarcely have the physical space to construct a hot dog stand, so this might remain more of a dream than a reality.

I am not sure if anyone here has really spent the time to look up the definition for this overused term. Is a leader identified by a position or a title? Is a leader someone who exhibits courage and bravery? Is a leader that guy in your group who coordinates meeting times? Is a leader the holding of a title or the exhibition of developed characteristics, or both? What or whom does a leader even lead? The fact someone is elected, or even worse, appointed, to a position should not automatically bestow upon him the positive connotations of the word “leader.” The abundance of definitions and rhetorical questions is astounding. It seems appropriate that the term “leader” is fluid and not relegated to one meaning. It is so difficult to pinpoint specific qualities of a leader, but one thing is for sure-leaders are those individuals who do things.

To me, a leader is someone who is remembered by others. College is a unique in that the environment changes on a four-year cycle. Soon enough, no one will remember that free printing in the library ever existed. After May 18, no one on this campus will have had the opportunity to stay in the 12- story high rise “old” Elliot on the South 40 or will have called “new” Elliot a total of three different names in four years (Phase 3, University House and of course Elliot). No one will have played the pool tables or used the computer kiosks that have vanished in Ursa’s. No one will have experienced the utter bliss of free fi le-sharing from Direct Connect, will have drunk from a keg and brought a couch to WILD, will have walked a beautiful tulip-lined brick walkway from the Forsyth sidewalk to the entrance of the business school or will have experienced a time when Student Union actually seemed to fund student groups.

Most of you have had, or will have had, the opportunity to do something significant on campus, something that people will remember. You can be identified as “that guy” who holds an elected position on campus, who is heavily involved in a Greek organization, who planned a big event, who tutors other students, who volunteers in the community, who is excellent at public speaking or that guy who saved a biker from being hit by a campus shuttle.

These are all things that people will remember-whether or not it “qualifies” you as a leader is a matter of semantics. On our campus, leaders are identified as those individuals who do something. Remarkable things will occur on campus and when it comes your time to move on to the real world, you will take with you unique experiences and memories that future generations of Washington University students simply will not. The question is, will you do something extraordinary or be a catalyst for change and be remembered?

The downside is that due to the four-year cycle, it is extraordinarily difficult to leave a lasting legacy at this institution as an undergraduate. However, there is brightside: if you do leave a legacy, that legacy will be with your fellow classmates who will walk the stage with you at your graduation. They are the ones who you will have had the opportunity to lead. They are the ones who will remember you.

To my fellow graduating seniors of the Class of 2007: remain friends and colleagues and continue forging friendships with each other. You are the only ones who will remember each other after May 18-keep that memory alive; if not, all the work and leading you have done on this campus is for naught.

To the future generations of Washington University students: you have a total of four years here to shape one another’s experiences. Who will remember you? Take advantage of your time and the resources on this campus to do something remarkable. Run in a Student Union or CS40 election and be a visible leader to the entire student body; plan a large scale event and be a leader to your student group; be an RA and be a leader to 60 incoming freshman; help and motivate a friend to be a leader to just one person.

There are so many things you can do on campus; take advantage of them! Be there for each other and strive to ensure that come your commencement, at least one person will be able say that you did something memorable.

Jason is graduating from the Olin School of Business and is the former Student Union Treasurer. He can be reached via e-mail at jklewis@wustl.edu.

I was asked to write an article (OK, actually begged to finally be in Student Life for it has been a dream of mine for the past four years) for the Commencement issue about a month ago, yet continued to put off writing it until the day before it was due. This is probably the first time I have ever procrastinated anything; I always wrote my exposition papers three weeks before they were due and began studying for the next exam as soon as I finished the one before.

This assignment, however, was different. This required me to reflect on my four years at Wash. U. and face the reality that pretty soon I would be graduating. Four years ago, I never would have guessed that I would ever accidentally slip in front of my parents and call my Millbrook apartment “home.” While all the other seniors at my high school were eager to be independent, meet new people, be in new cities, I was dreading the thought of leaving Orland Park and all my family and friends. I had never gone away to summer camps and was convinced that I would never meet as amazing people as the friends that I had back home.

Why did people actually want to graduate? I did not know what everyone was so excited about, but rather lay awake at night wondering how I would ever figure out how to do my own laundry. Perhaps the only thing that allowed my parents to pull away from my Liggett dorm without me still in the backseat was knowing that one of my best friends from home, Lauren, was also going to be a freshman at Wash. U.

Fortunately, I had probably the best random roommate assignment that anyone could ask for. While some of my friends recounted roommate horror stories during Thanksgiving break, all I talked about was the dance parties Jeri and I had in our room to Britney’s “Toxic.” Before long, I met the fifty other residents on Liggett 2, who were all equally as amazing. Not only were these the people that I went to weekly Center Court brunch with (to see how many apples we could sneak out) or hung out in the hallway late into the night talking about the most random topics, but they also helped me survive my pre-med courses. While all being competitive people, everyone helped each other on chemistry problem sets and biology concepts. The friendly, supportive environment of my floor extended into the classroom and to everyone that I encountered during my four years.

As I joined other extracurriculars, I continued to be amazed at the remarkable quality of students that attended Wash. U. I especially never would have guessed the friendships that I obtained from joining Delta Gamma. If I ever needed to call someone crying at 3:30 in the morning, to drive me anywhere and everywhere or just to have a definite night of fun, I knew that I had a strong support network. The compassion and love that my family and friends from home had provided me were quickly given to me by my new friends.

As I am about to leave these remarkable individuals and not know how I am going to be able to say goodbye to so many, I comfort myself with my experience of these past four years. I was convinced that high school was the best four years of my life, and then college only ended up as an even better four years. Thus, as I get ready to start a new part of my life, I remind myself that many more great times are only to come.

As one of my best friends here at Wash. U. told me the other day-“Changes are scary, endings are sad, but life is what is all in between.”

Nicole is graduating from the College of Arts & Sciences. She can be reached via e-mail at nlnejedl@wustl.edu.

Would you get along with yourself when you were a senior in high school?” Last night, this one question incited much contemplation and debate at the table. Being the talker that I am, I quickly said, “Absolutely not.” I realized in that instant that Washington University shaped me; the college experience changed me. Be it that I was teased in “a good way” by caring and wonderful guy friends, or just took advantage of the countless opportunities, I became more outgoing, and in consequence, social.

I was a serious academic somewhat quiet in high school. All I cared about was “making something of myself.” At that time, I consciously forfeited a social life for academic achievement. I was most comfortable reading books and studying chemistry. Now, I thrive off people and social atmospheres. The only thing that stayed the same is my passion for history-I am a history geek at heart.

While my belief that college defines you might not apply or be believable to everyone, I am positive that all graduating seniors have memories-memories of drinking with buddies, frat parties, formals, taking pictures, making countless dumb and wise decisions, relationships/hook-ups and laughing over anything and everything. When I remember sophomore year, I think of watching SNL with friends on a Saturday night or Beta’s Foam Party. I never reflect upon college and focus on that exam I took in Statistics. Instead, I reflect upon the friend that was wonderful and generous enough to help me study for that course.

I look back on junior year of college remembering the countless car rides listening to the Garden State soundtrack and seeing a friend or two goofily car-dance to the soothing sounds of Frou Frou. Or, there was the night that two of my close friends drank an entire wine bottle with me, so that there would be no more remnants of an old boyfriend in my room. My friends shaped my college experience.

Moreover, when I think about senior year, I will not concentrate on my thesis writing experience, but on the friends that kept me sane throughout it. I will always remember those nights of making “monkey faces” or gossiping about one’s latest crush. I will block out of my mind the all-nighter that I pulled the night before the binding of the thesis.

Clearly, the academics do not factor into college reflections for most of us. They only come into play when we see that diploma in our hands, pick up those honor cords, try to get into a graduate program or attempt to secure a job for next year.

Yes, this is a sampling of my memories. Everyone’s college experience is unique, except for one main component. No one will remember that chemistry exam or that Civil War and Reconstruction mid-term essay, two, five or even fifteen years down the road. As soon-to-be graduates, we will have our memories, and hopefully always our friends-overly sappy and potentially cheesy? Yes, but true.

Amanda is graduating from the College of Arts & Sciences. She can be reached via e-mail at abrosenb@wustl.edu.

I am graduating with a BA in Drama, acting emphasis. Translation: after four years and $160,000, I’m an actor. And despite what you may be thinking, I learned more from this major than I could have hoped to learn from any other. Lessons about life, about personal identity. Things I will take with me long after Commencement even if I decide not to pursue acting professionally.

Lesson one: being present within your own life, or living moment-to-moment. How often, in the past week, have you been taken aback by the beauty or significance of a single moment? How often do you recognize moments that you will never forget? Acting is not about simply “playing” a scripted role. It is about living through a journey one moment at a time, reacting to each stimulus on the stage as though it is the first time you have ever encountered it. On stage you are not a “character.” You are still yourself, but doing what is necessary to travel through a different set of circumstances. And this takes an incredible attention to detail; you must remain present and honor every moment.

It is not easy to maintain this sort of presence within our everyday lives. We run on “auto pilot” most of the time, voyaging from our apartments to class nary remembering a moment of the walk there and back. While these trips across campus may not be the most life-changing experiences, how many other parts of our lives do we breeze through in the same manner? We’re all so occupied with the past (what we’ve done) and future (what needs to be done) that we don’t take the time to think about our lives as we live them, moment by moment, and the significance some of these moments may have. Just as a single look or word within a play may lead an individual to life-changing consequences, so may single moments affect our lives and identities.

Which brings me to acting lesson two: knowing thyself. With each play, each character, comes the challenge of learning about another part of yourself. Because as I’ve said, it’s always you on stage. The concept of “character” is just a bunch of words (however well-crafted) on a page, which is far less interesting than you as an individual. As an actor you are forced to bring yourself to the work, always. And this takes an invested interest in learning more about yourself-a seemingly endless process.

However, in the process of exploring new circumstances and shades of your personality, you are also able to recognize exactly what it is you believe in outside of the world of the play. What it is you most hate and love, what it is that motivates you to scream or cry or laugh uproariously. In discovering each of these things, the “character” you portray on stage is none other than a more fully realized version of. you. Just you. And the new journeys you travel through on stage teach you about the ways in which you react to similar circumstances in your daily reality. Really, the two are quite the same. Both onstage and off, you react to what comes your way as it happens and decide what to do from there. No choices are forced upon you. The world lies before you and you must simply make your move, informed by the knowledge you carry, whether it is scripted in a play or learned in classrooms or whispered in confidence from friends.

To quote my favorite playwright, “To be or not to be? That is the question.” And as we graduate, as we move on from this familiar place, we must make a decision. I say choose to be. Be present. Be yourself. Figure out what both of these things mean to you. And don’t let a single moment pass you by unnoticed.

Elizabeth is graduating from the College of Arts & Sciences and is the former Associate Editor of Student Life. She can be reached via e-mail at ejneukir@artsci.wustl.edu.

On April 30, Saint Louis University rescinded the charter of its student newspaper, The University News, citing poor quality and financial mismanagement as grounds. The administration then presented the non-independent newspaper with the choice of either accepting a new charter dictated by the University or moving off campus and becoming completely independent.

After an initial tempest of protest and a student government resolution, the SLU Board of Trustees voted on May 5 to give the administration until May 15 to revise the proposed charter with some input from UNews Editor in Chief Katie Lewis and Student Government Association President Andrew Clifton.

We find the actions of the SLU administration to be poorly executed at best and quite possibly calculated to give the school more control over the publication. For the betterment of the University News and the school as a whole, SLU should listen to its student government and postpone revisions of the UNews charter until the fall semester.

At the heart of the issue is the editorial independence of the UNews. The proposed charter places the SLU Vice President for Student Development Kent Porterfield in a position to veto the hiring of the editor in chief and the top editors. The charter also gives him the ability to fire members of the editorial staff. Although they may not be removed, “because of an expressed viewpoint, news article content, or editorial commentary,” they could be dismissed if their published materials are “contrary to the mission and values of Saint Louis University.” SLU is a Catholic Jesuit school.

Even more troubling than the potential for infringement on editorial independence is the manner in which the SLU administration is handling the situation.

In February the administration conducted an audit of the UNews without notifying the editorial staff until after the fact. The April 30 rescission of the charter occurred just as students were engrossed in studying for finals before leaving for the summer. The UNews had no prior notification that the administration was interested in writing a new charter and, prior to the uproar, had zero input on the content of the charter.

The University is stressing that they are trying to improve the quality of the publication.

Porterfield said in a written statement that they are not trying to silence the newspaper, force it off campus or constrict its editorial decisions. He said that the declining quality of the newspaper led the university to the conclusion that the previous charter was “not sustainable” and that intervention is needed. Clifton concurred that the journalistic quality of the newspaper was low, saying that it was the worst he’s seen in his three years at the school. He said that student opinion of the newspaper was also unfavorable.

The administration cited financial mismanagement as another reason for their intervention. Saint Louis University spokesman Clayton Berry emphasized a need for financial oversight and said there were “budgetary control” issues. Neither he nor Porterfield’s statement cite specific examples of financial problems. Porterfield declined to comment beyond his statement.

With the adoption of the new charter, the university will create the positions of student media coordinator and production advisor. These staffers will be SLU employees, who help the newspaper function on a day-to-day basis by providing administrative, financial and mentoring services.

While SLU officials say that this new charter is in the best interests of the UNews, a May 2 St. Louis Post-Dispatch article also reported that, “Porterfield said he wanted student feedback on the changes, but added, ‘I don’t think it would be fair to say it is a negotiation.'”

While we agree that the entire SLU community could benefit from a stronger newspaper, the administration’s tactics are underhanded and self-serving.

SLU administrators and the University News have a history of bad blood. In the 1998-99 school year, Father Lawrence Biondi, SLU’s president, tried to shut down the newspaper for printing editorials criticizing his decision to sell the school’s hospital, says former editor in chief Diana Benanti. The school has also shuffled various people into the role of official faculty advisor over the past five years, but none of them made themselves a resource to the staff. The staff’s true mentor, communications professor Avis Meyer, is no longer recognized by SLU as their advisor. Finally, Benanti claims that the university cut back her scholarship because of her critical editorials, although the University denies that this was the reason.

Clifton says that the recent actions have aroused suspicions among students that the University wants to either control or marginalize the newspaper.

Unlike Student Life, UNews is not independent of SLU. While the newspaper claims to be financially independent via advertising revenue, it is still a subsidiary of the University and it receives various goods and services from the school. These include free office space, utilities and legal protection.

Lewis said that the newspaper most likely could not survive if it moved off campus and that full independence is probably five to ten years away. According to Benanti, the administration would not say to what extent the UNews would be allowed to distribute its newspaper on campus if they went independent.

The student government passed a resolution on May 2 that said the University did not adequately consult with either the UNews or the student body about the revision of the charter. It stated that the Board of Trustees should table their revision until the fall semester so that everyone’s voice could be heard.

We agree with this motion; the SLU administration has presented no reason why these changes must be rushed through right now.

We stand with the University News in their quest for editorial independence. The newspaper’s quality may have declined this year, but there are better ways of improving it. If the SLU administration wanted to help the newspaper, they could have had open discussions throughout the year with the editorial staff about their grievances and how to rectify them. Instead, they chose to impose their will upon the paper.

Freedom of the press, while a founding principle of our country, is not an inalienable right within private institutions. For decades, student newspapers across the country have battled their institutions for the right to speak their mind. Many newspapers, Student Life included, pursued full independence to rid themselves of the spectre of institutional interference.

It is our belief that learning occurs more efficiently, more honestly and with more integrity when it occurs within an open, free thinking environment. By cracking down on their student newspaper, Saint Louis University is hurting itself, its students and its future.

As a reporter, I typically write and edit stories about others on this campus. This once, I am delving into my life outside of the Women’s Building and off the pages of Student Life. For the past four years, I have depended on a support system that stretches from my home in Seattle to this campus in St. Louis. For four years, Student Life has been my life. And in my life, a few people deserve a thank you:

To my parents, who were the first ones to call me crazy for becoming Student Life’s editor in chief. You called me crazy, but also encouraged me to pursue the challenge if it was important to me-as long as I was alright sacrificing a piece of my insanity. Your encouragement-along with the occasional free latte-has meant so much to me and helped me find the confidence to succeed.

To Stephen, my brother, my twin and, above all, my wombmate. This thank you will probably embarrass you but you deserve it. Since we left the womb 22 years ago, you have been my partner in crime and a best friend. You keep me entertained with 4 a.m. phone calls, challenged by all your success and safe by not telling Mom and Dad about that dent in the Honda. And, since I know you’re probably incredibly bored sitting at my graduation, there should be a crossword and Sudoku near the back of this newspaper.

To all my roommates, past and present: Margot, Alexa, Neve, Danielle, Ana, Sara and Mandy. When I do eventually come home from the Student Life office at odd hours of the night, you all are the people that I look forward to seeing. From the conversations that stretch through the night to support through the rougher spots, I cannot imagine what life will be like without you living next door.

To the rest of my friends, you know who you are. You dragged me away from my stories and my editing to Thursday nights at the Landing and Saturday night potlucks. Thank you for reminding me to enjoy my senior year.

To my freshman floor, Lee 1 2003-2004, the 50 students who ended up on the first floor of Lee in August 2003 and made me fall in love with this campus.

To the Gargoyle, for putting on the most enjoyable programming at this campus over the past four years. When I did inevitably need an escape from the Student Life office, I could think of nothing better than heading to Mallinckrodt for one of our amazing shows. Good luck finding someone else who enjoys ticket sales.

To all of my past editors, at Student Life and elsewhere. I would not still be a journalist today if it were not for a sympathetic editor who directed me through my first article freshman year. I had no clue what I was doing; she stuck with me anyway, draft after draft after draft. The editors I have gone on to work with have kept me challenged, encouraged and constantly improving.

Most importantly, thank you to the Student Life staff. There are too many of you to name, but you all know who you are. You have consistently impressed me with your commitment to quality, excitement about your work and your uncanny ability to make the dreary basement of the Women’s Building a hilarious place. As you have often read in my night notes, you are all the reason that I ran for editor in chief and stuck with it day in and day out. I am certain that you will do great things in the upcoming year. Take care of Jon for me and make the most out of your time in the office.

Sarah is graduating from the College of Arts & Sciences and is the former editor in chief of Student Life. She can be reached via e-mail at sarahkliff@gmail.com.