Molly Antos, Forum Editor
At Wash U, I’m thankful for….
1. Great food-especially chicken parmigiana.
2. The balance of grade inflation-just enough to keep your hopes up, but not quite enough to be an Ivy League.
3. A beautiful campus setting and architecture.
4. The new library-I love it!
5. The wonderful speakers we bring here-like Mo Rocca.
I’m NOT thankful for…
1. The food is too freakin’ expensive…as is everything else.
2. The lack of name recognition despite all the hard work we do.
3. There aren’t enough computer labs; build more!
4. The advising system-a great idea in theory…
5. I really hate the lack of drainage around here!
Roman Goldstein, Senior Forum Editor
At Wash U, I’m thankful for….
1. Accessible administrators and professors.
2. A lack of school spirit.
3. My pre-law advisors-they are really, really helpful.
4. ALAS and ARS-my second family.
5. Vegetarian and kosher food options.
I’m NOT thankful for…
1. The lack of social responsibility at this school-we need to implement a living wage, cut ties to tobacco, move to organic food, etc.
2. Wasteful expenditures, like the Arc’s plasma TVs.
3. The ridiculous cost of living on campus.
4. All the JAPs in the Jewish community.
5. Underclassmen with their fakes causing long lines at local bars because of the alcohol ban.
Jonathan Greenberger, Editor in Chief
At Wash U, I’m thankful for….
1. Good people-from students to faculty to staff, this campus is filled with good, fundamentally decent people.
2. Passionate students-some people complain that many student groups here are run by just one or two really dedicated individuals; I prefer to see this as emblematic of the intense passion each student here has for his or her group, idea or issue.
3. Flexibility-we take it for granted sometimes, but just think about how easy it is to change your school, major, etc.; it’s not this easy on many other campuses.
4. The get-out-the-vote efforts on campus-I’m still blown away when I think about what Project Democracy, Rock the Vote and countless others did to help students exercise their right to vote this year; kudos to all of them.
5. The renovated Olin Library-from dingy, dark cavern to beautiful, bright and comfortable, the transformation of Olin was well worth the years of construction, dust and noise.
I’m NOT thankful for…
1. No need-blind admissions policy-it’s shameful that one of the wealthiest universities in the country, with a $4 billion+ endowment, is among the few holdouts that refuse to make admissions need-blind.
2. The end of minority scholarship programs-the Ervin and Rodriguez scholarship programs, among others, have been enormously successful in bringing much-needed diversity to campus; they won’t return as they once were, but it is critical that we find good substitutes.
3. Our “rankings culture”-my sixth grade English teacher once wrote on the blackboard, “You are not your grades”; to the chancellor and everyone else at this University, “You are not your ranking.”
4. Rude students-granted, they are a minority, but how can anyone think it is appropriate to arrive for class 30 minutes late and then drown out the professor with a side conversation, shutting up only for the 10 seconds it takes to turn off a loudly ringing cell phone?
5. The plethora of committees and task forces-does every conceivable issue really need a yearlong, 10-person committee to examine it? And why even convene a task force if you’re not going to respond to its findings?
Liz Neukirch, Senior News Editor
At Wash U, I’m thankful for….
1. Suite-style housing options with private bathrooms. No flip-flops for me. (Or the U.S.)
2. Professors that are sympathetic of students with busy schedules. Give us the time to do our best, and we won’t let you down.
3. Whenever I’m depressed about all the student loans I’m going to have to pay off, I can look outside at all the pretty landscaping. So at least I know where my $40K is going.
4. I can eat a real dinner at midnight in BD if I so choose, rather than snacking on the junk food in my room to tide me over till morning.
5. Students who are less haughty than the administration. We’ve got an Ivy League atmosphere (sort of) without the brats.
I’m NOT thankful for…
1. Harvard’s tuition for the 2004-2005 school year: $39,880. Our tuition for this year: $40,186. Will the extra money really make our degrees look as prestigious as theirs?
2. Center Court has hours that are adequate for senior citizens, not busy students who eat at all hours of the night (and are sick of BD).
3. Other top-10 institutions have one-upped us with their grand performance halls. But hey, at least we’ve got the experiment that is Edison Theatre!
4. Students who complain about the alcohol policy when it’s rarely enforced. Have you been to a freshman dorm on a Friday night recently?
5. Please stop wearing pajama pants to class. Please.
Cory Schneider, Associate Editor
At Wash U, I’m thankful for….
1. Continually full or undersized classes have forced me to register for classes I had no interest in taking and wasn’t the better for having attended.
2. The institution-like atmosphere of the dorms drove me to live in an off-campus apartment.
3. Wash U’s obscure name gives me the chance to talk about my college to the random strangers who peg me for a community college student.
4. The crappy attitude of the people paid to work in the library has driven me to familiarize myself with where to find books, journals and other academic necessities.
5. Bear’s Den pasta with only a little bit of red sauce, cut up chicken fingers, cheese and spices.
I’m NOT thankful for…
1. Wash. U.’s ungenerous funding-the money goes to kiosks and tree plaques instead of education.
2. The generally hideous appearance of the student body (for self-esteem’s sake), but it’s more depressing than anything.
3. Faces and its great stalking capabilities-honestly, sometimes what it has revealed has given me nightmares.
4. The lax academic standards-professors are more interested in research, thus the “three papers per class, ‘A’ if you’re literate” attitude.
5. The only thing the student body really cares to challenge is alcohol policy, not to excel and make the best of each other’s education.
Aaron Seligman, Forum Editor
At Wash U, I’m thankful for….
1. They actually have Euchre as an intramural sport.
2. The Daily Show replay at 11:30.
3. Food in Whispers Caf‚. I was starving walking from Mallinckrodt to Holmes.
4. Reality TV shows. I can’t wait until they come to Wash U and we have “Trading Roommates,” “Desperate RAs,” or “Who Wants to Hook-up with my TA?”
5. All you can eat food at Center Court.
I’m NOT thankful for…
1. People who take intramural sports too seriously. Oops, that includes me.
2. Wash U Wash. Sorry, you’re just for lazy people.
3. Spam. I get enough useless emails from friends and listservs; I don’t need more from people I don’t know.
4. People complaining about how much work they have. Although, did you know that my friend has 2 papers and a test next week? In college classes! Amazing…
5. How long it takes for the all-you-can-eat Center Court food to leave my system.
Rachel Streitfeld, Contributing Editor
At Wash U, I’m thankful for….
1. The employees at Whispers who are always so patient when you’re puzzling out coffee options.
2. When it’s warm outside and everybody converges on the Quad to play Frisbee or chat with friends.
3. I’m really savoring this last year that I can wear pajamas or workout clothes on a weekday.
4. The spring a cappella concerts in Graham Chapel-they’re so collegiate! In fact, Graham Chapel itself-(i.e., dreaming of having my wedding in Graham Chapel).
5. Walking through Eads and hearing people speak a smattering of different languages.
I’m NOT thankful for…
1. Wash U charges full tuition to students who study abroad no matter how much the specific program costs.
2. I can’t imagine Edison Theatre ever having been attractive-even when it was first built.
3. Navigating Prince Hall. Any building where you have to designate which of four entrances will lead you to a specific room is a problem.
4. Red and green? Did that not seem like a bad idea at the time?
5. Some of that really tacky Wash. U. gear-I don’t need my school’s name emblazoned on a Hawaiian print shirt, thank you.