Student Life Archives

After pouring four years of myself into Student Life, this is my last contribution. And, in true journalistic fashion, this article is being written way past deadline. The hardest part was just figuring out where to start. I could critique the University, but that just opens too many negative doors from a former pre-med. I could offer advice, but I think everyone reading this has gotten into the college groove by now. So, I guess I’ll keep up the stream of consciousness and rambling. It is, after all, a method that worked so well for many a school paper.

People say that the best years of your life are those in college. They’re great, that’s for sure, but I’m also looking forward to what’s ahead. If you allow yourself to get caught up in this cliché, you’ll spend college wondering why you don’t always feel the best and you’ll spend post-graduation dwelling on the (in retrospect) perfect years you left behind. Every stage of life will have its ups and downs, but it’s all about making the most of what you’ve got.

Now I’ll wax sentimentally, so bear with me, but what truly got me to really enjoy college and seize each moment as my own was what you are reading right now-Student Life. This newspaper gave me purpose when I was floundering for it, it reinvigorated my passion when I thought it had faded, and it has given me the career path I am setting out on now, as a science journalist and hopefully an editor some day. Working for Student Life kept me from transferring to another school after freshman year, and it has delivered wonderful friends to me. I am also lucky to have found the love of my life, my fiancé, at this student-run newspaper.

But this wasn’t all a ploy to get you to read my sappy memories. I have a message here too. Simple things really: Select a few activities here at Wash. U., then really throw yourself into them, and also, follow your passions. Of course, working for the newspaper isn’t going to be everyone’s thing (but we are hiring.). I just hope everyone can leave Wash. U. having found something, be it a future, a friend or a stronger sense of self.

When I first came here, as the innocent freshman we all were, I remember thinking how endless my possibilities were. I could go by a completely different name or create a new self-image. I would be making new friends and be presented with new experiences. Needless to say, I decided to just keep going by Erin, but I do think a part of me has changed. I’m still a procrastinator, I’m still reliably five minutes late to any engagement and I can still sleep until noon if undisturbed. But I also have a wider group of friends, I’m not afraid to really take charge of something, and I can step out of my comfort zone to follow my passions.

These things are not necessarily what my parents were looking for from a $44K education of course, but my family has been wonderful in supporting me and has always being there; I’ll never be able to thank them enough. I am also fortunate to have so many friends who never absquatulated when I needed them and were always there to help the Tuesday blues. And, not many people get to go to college with their best friend from first grade.

So I consider myself very blessed, but what does this do for you, dear reader? Probably nothing. I can only hope that you too have made the most of your college career and that you look forward and put your energy into the wonderful future ahead for you. Recognize the fortunes all around you, in friends, love and family and go toward your passions. Life is rich, if you make it happen.

So, good luck to all of my Studlifers (especially you Sam); treasure every minute of it all. I’ll be reading the paper online too, so keep up the good work. And to everyone at Wash. U., get out there and live.

Erin Fults is graduating from the college of Arts & Sciences. She is the former editor in chief of Student Life and can be reached by e-mail at efults@gmail.com.

I was admitted to Washington University off the wait-list on the last day of high school classes. By that point, I had already sent in my housing deposit to the University of Florida and was ready to order my Gator apparel. But before that day of classes began, I was told by my college counselor to keep an eye out for a message. He paged me into his office as our final classes were letting out, and Steve Frappier, the admissions officer for our region, and now the director of college counseling at my high school, was on the other end of the line inviting me to join the class of 2008. I accepted.

A few months later on the eve of freshman orientation, I saw the campus for the first time. It was beautiful, and as I remember, without much construction. The weather was warm but much cooler than the unbearable summer heat of Miami.

Nearly four years later, my apartment is filling with packed boxes of clothing, books, dishes and other souvenirs from my journey-a pint glass and shot glass for donating $20.08 to the Senior Class Gift, binders from courses on American elections, the Cold War, the civil rights movement and a folder of the pictures, maps and letters that I taped to my wall over the years.

Each of us will end our college journey in our own way. My roommate Aaron and I have decided to road trip to Miami. Some of my friends will relax around St. Louis for a few more weeks until their leases run out. And for many others, like ripping off a band-aid, they’ll fly out as soon as they can before the emotions hit hard.

I’ll leave you with three stories from my experience.

My freshman year dorm, Eliot House, was unique. Each floor was split evenly between sophomores and freshmen, Residential Life’s goal being to facilitate mentorship and camaraderie between the wiser 19-year-olds and the less wise 18-year-olds. Naturally, we on Eliot 3 forged bonds of friendship with our freshmen peers on Eliot 2. One weekend, the perfect set of circumstances emerged. All four RAs on E2 and E3 were out for the evening. As soon as this information was passed on, we began to decorate one of the common rooms with a Halloween theme and hosted our first major college party, complete with a drink budget that rivaled the cost of some of the smaller meal plans from Bon Appétit. All it took was a group of friends, a healthy bending of the rules and some quick thinking. Many Washington University students are resourceful and inherently risk-takers. Find them and keep in contact with them. Your paths will collide in the future-as business moguls, doctors or future candidates for higher office.

This year, I had the opportunity to have dinner with members of the College Republicans, other representatives from Student Union and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. I believe Gonzales’ presence revitalized campus for a few weeks and encouraged many of us to learn about his controversial tenure and the ensuing outrage. As we ate dinner with him, I found myself increasingly uneasy at the fact that this widely-abhorred man presented himself as a charming, laid-back and well-meaning individual. It dawned on me that perhaps Gonzales, this entire time, truly believed what he was doing was the morally right thing to do.

As we go out and work in the world, many of us as advocates and protectors of our fellow citizen, be aware that the source of poor decisions are sometimes found in the most powerful of places. And one’s intentions do not justify the process; the ends do not always justify the means. As Washington University graduates, we should strive to uphold a higher standard together.

Nearly a year ago, I was at the Leadershape Institute, a week-long retreat supported by the Office of Student Activities and other departments around campus. Leadershape taught us about how to be good leaders and team-players by being sensitive to the diversity around us, respectful of all ideas and progressive in our thinking. The ultimate goal was to improve the world around us for all citizens, not just a subset of the population. While the world after college is far from ideal, I believe our common experience at the University has prepared us to make it a better place.

Strength through truth-per veritatem vis. It’s Wash. U.’s motto, and now it’s ours.

Neil Patel is graduating from the college of Arts & Sciences. He is the former Student Union president and can be reached by e-mail at neilpatel@wustl.edu.

Scott Bressler

Well, that was a fun four years. Remember when there was a Taco Bell on campus? And that time when those dudes (and dudettes) from SWA sat in the admissions office? Oh, the memories. Frankly, however, there is only one thing that really unifies the Class of 2008: Facebook.

Facebook, formerly known as Thefacebook.com, first landed at Wash. U. on May 2, 2004. That makes us the first class to have started school with Facebook as part of our lives, whether or not we were actually on it. We complained when more and more schools were added to Facebook and were even louder when high schoolers, and then, anyone, joined as well. Instead of actually protesting for a living wage, now we can just join a Facebook group saying that we need a living wage-and NOW. In just four short years, it has morphed from a cute little distraction to an all-encompassing, ubiquitous monster. How can we not love it?

The possibilities for Facebook’s further involvement in our lives are limitless. The big awkward “what are you doing next year?” conversation is all but gone-we can just check Facebook now. The infinitely more awkward getting-to-know-you conversations with the people we will soon meet are gone as well-we’ll just check Facebook and make friends that way. And who knows what features Facebook will roll out next? Surely, we’ll hate them. And we’ll use them all.

Most of all, it will let us all stay in touch without really trying. If I somehow graduate law school and get a job, I’ll try to put it up for you to see. When you get engaged or married, I’ll be able to congratulate you, and we won’t have to exchange a single word! When you have kids, make sure you sign them up for Facebook immediately. That way, we can all see how adorable your baby is, and you don’t want little Troy or Ruth (obviously, you’ll name all your children after the MVP of our national championship basketball team) to be the last kid without Facebook in his or her nursery. And when one of you (not Neil Patel, but maybe Troy Ruths?) becomes president of the United States, I can feel special since I’ll know which pictures you deleted.

So, Class of 2008, let’s all be Facebook friends. We joined Facebook back when it was Thefacebook. Maybe it’s too important now, but we have to cherish our memories. And we’ll stay connected through that Washington University in St. Louis ’08 on the top of our pages.

Daniel Milstein is graduating from the college of Arts & Sciences. He is a former Senior Forum Editor for Student Life and can be reached by e-mail at daniel.milstein@wustl.edu.

It’s a striking, familiar story. Ask a person what he or she had for dinner two weeks ago, and you’re likely to elicit blank stares. But ask that same person to describe for you an important historical event that he or she witnessed and the story changes completely. Not only will you hear a detailed account of the event itself, but you’re also likely to learn exactly what that person was doing when he or she first learned about this event. If you don’t believe me, then try to think about what you were doing when you first heard about the September 11 terrorist attacks. You can probably do it. If you were alive during the 1960s, then try to imagine where you were when you first heard about the Kennedy assassination. Again, you’ll probably be able to do it.

This phenomenon isn’t restricted to trying to remember events that were particularly tragic, however. The events themselves just need to elicit a strong emotional response. So this means that you could also experience something similar when attempting to remember special birthdays, important family reunions and even graduation ceremonies. Researchers have referred to these kinds of recollections as “flashbulb memories” because they are unusually vivid, and they’re a fairly common occurrence. All you have to do is experience something that was extremely significant for you on a personal level, and your memory of that event will likely become a flashbulb memory. The reason for this is that emotion plays a role in enhancing the recollection of your own memories. Consequently, emotional memories are the ones that you are likely to remember in the most detail.

I’m telling you all of this for two reasons. First, graduating from Washington University is a very significant personal event, so you’ll probably develop a flashbulb memory of what happens. Second, I want to give you a caveat about flashbulb memories even after everything I have just said about them: Unfortunately, they’re not necessarily accurate.

Researchers have known for decades that flashbulb memories carry unique properties. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until recently that they figured out that better accuracy wasn’t one of them. Sure, you can probably recall the general details of a flashbulb memory faster than you would normally be able to do with a regular memory. But what about that vivid quality of a flashbulb memory that helps you remember all of those minute details? It turns out that your flashbulb memories aren’t necessarily more accurate; you’re just more confident that they’re more accurate. It is entirely possible that you can remember vivid details that didn’t actually happen. Moreover, the specific details that you remember can be inconsistent over time. In short, the memories that you have of your greatest personal achievements (e.g. your college graduation) are fallible.

So why am I making this point? Because if you’d like to remember all of the important details from graduation, the best solution is to jot everything down in a journal. Now I’ll admit that I have never held much enthusiasm for writing down one’s thoughts in a journal. The short answer for why this is the case is that it’s an incredibly time consuming process, and college students don’t exactly have a lot of free time. That said, even I can bring myself to make an exception for one day. After all, if you’re going to harbor fond memories of your own college graduation ceremony, then you should at least keep all of your facts straight.

Nathan Everly is graduating from the college of Arts & Science. He is a former Senior Forum Editor for Student Life and can be reached by e-mail at neeverly@gmail.com.

Right as my high school graduation party was wrapping up one night four years ago, someone told me that college would be the best four years of my life and to make the most of my experience. I didn’t take his advice seriously at the time because I thought it was cliché and didn’t think living my undergraduate years in a meaningful way would be difficult. It is only now that his statement resonates with me the most, for as I write this column only three weeks of college remain. While college gave me many occasions to wonder if I was making the right choices and making the most of my time at Wash. U., looking back, I really don’t see how, for me, life could have been lived any other way.

When I asked my dad what subject to write about for this piece, he jokingly suggested, “Well, just tell the truth. You were lazy for four years, and you didn’t do any work.”

While I won’t claim that I didn’t do work for four years (okay..maybe my total work done in college amounts to three years), there have been instances where my laziness has been oddly justified. Somehow, whatever I did when I was unproductive tended to lead to different academic opportunities never open to me before.

My tendency to meditate on the meaning of life in the middle of my calculus section and jot down poems in the margins of psych notes during lecture made me realize that I personally was taking the wrong sort of classes, and the programs in English/writing and Social Thought and Analysis helped set me straight in channeling my random thoughts-whoever thought people could appreciate a sestina on lost opportunity and cake?

Another major reason to avoid work in college was my love of Bollywood movies. Nights with friends were spent indulging in the saga of Veer and Zaara or being impressed with the crime-fighting skills of Mr. India. Since I invested greatly in these movies, I decided to take Hindi, just as the language program here really started to bloom. The establishment of a Hindi minor, starting next fall, and the possibility of a South Asian studies program are exciting and I cannot wait to see how they grow.

However, the biggest cause of procrastination over these last four years had to be Facebook. Time that could have been spent outlining chapters or highlighting text were instead used to go log in and answer such pertinent questions as “are they really going out with each other?” and “who does he think he is-Kevin Federline?” However, when those questions turned into “how did people ever go to college without Facebook?” and “how is Facebook changing Wash. U.?,” I was motivated to write my senior STA thesis on Facebook and the Wash. U. community-an experience that was both challenging and eye-opening. It seems strange that what I did when I was unproductive turned out to work in my favor. However, I think it shows that in choosing what we study and really what we devote our minds to for four years, we really have to go with what engages us. For the undergrads still waiting for their Commencement, I recommend you choose classes-whether for a major or an elective-based on what you love to do and the questions you find that you ask yourself. Whether you seek answers as to why a certain painting is historically significant or how you can succeed in the corporate world, using your years at Wash. U. to answer those questions will never be time wasted.

While I now understand the depth of the advice given to me after high school, now that I have completed college, I don’t see why the best experiences of our lives have to be limited to only four years. Even though I know the real world and the Wash. U. bubble are vastly different, I hope that in whatever jobs we work at or lives we pursue, that we-the Class of 2008-use what we learned in college about what we value and what makes us happy to make our post-college days just as fulfilling for us.

Since this is the last opportunity I have to speak to everyone as an undergrad, I would like to give my thanks to Wash. U. Thanks to the faculty like Prof. Brockmann who have encouraged me to voice my opinions, and our thesis group advisor Bret Gustafson whose support during my thesis writing has been like that of a friend, not necessarily because thesis writing has taken me away from all of my other friends.

To everyone I have worked with in ResLife, the Office of Publications and the School of Law, thanks for giving me opportunities to give back to the University and grow in ways I could have never imagined. I look up to all of you, and I will definitely listen to the pointers in life that you all have given me.

To my residents, old and current, I can honestly say that I have gained something positive from meeting each and every one of you, even if you were one of the bad babies (and you know who you are…Jason Feldman!). I wish you all the best with your remaining undergrad years and encourage you to go ahead and have all the fun that you want-hey, I certainly won’t be here to break up any more of your parties! (Though someone else probably will be there…sorry..)

To my buddies who have made college an exhilarating and wonderful time, thank you for always being there for me and teaching me through your kindness and strength what a true friend is. Some of you are going to law school, med school, TFA and some of you are even getting married, but I hope that wherever life after college takes you, you find your bliss.

Class of 2008, its been a long and crazy ride, and I was glad to take it with all of you. Congratulations!

Paromita De is graduating from the college of Arts & Sciences. She can be reached by e-mail at pde@artsci.wustl.edu.

I showed up at Wash. U. four years ago because I didn’t get in to a better school. Now, I’m leaving because I don’t have a good excuse to stay longer.

Washington University is a good school. It’s not great, but it could be worse. We have above-average academic programs and a below average social scene. We’re all pretty smart, but most of us aren’t as smart as we think we are (except for me of course).

I’m supposed to use this space for some productive purpose. I’m expected to impart some life lesson to younger students, offer a wizened critique of University policy or inspire others to change the world. But I’m not. Because frankly, I don’t have anything to say that hasn’t been said before. And while that may seem disheartening or anticlimactic, I find it to be somewhat fitting. How simple and boring the world would be if I had all the answers.

Underclassmen will figure it out for themselves. If advice exists that can head off potential mistakes, someone else has already told it to them. All other mistakes are experiential, so I’m probably not going to be able to offer too much help there.

The University has problems. Its lack of socioeconomic diversity is troubling, to say the least. The lack of administrative transparency is a major cause of concern. The school’s position on the environment, while progressive, sometimes seems to lack sincerity. But don’t look to me for any silver bullets.

For the past seven years, our federal government has somehow managed to make the wrong choice at just about every fork in the road. We have a pointless war that we cannot unload. Because of it, we can’t afford to pay for the myriad of domestic programs necessary to maintain our standard of living. And we have barely acknowledged the threat of global warming, let alone tried to address the underlying causes. In the aggregate, our generation might fix some of these problems, but it would be rather arrogant for me to suppose that my fellow graduates or I have the solutions.

This is a real downer, isn’t it? Well that’s life. But here’s what I can do: I can learn from my mistakes; I can call out problems when I see them; I can live in an environmentally sustainable fashion and support others who do the same. And I can take solace in acting justly in accordance with moral principles.

My favorite book is Mark Twain’s “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.” In it, there is a passage that I’ve always relished, which seems apropos at this juncture:

“Training – training is everything; training is all there is to a person. We speak of nature; it is folly; there is no such thing as nature; what we call by that misleading name is merely heredity and training. We have no thoughts of our own, no opinions of our own; they are transmitted to us, trained into us. All that is original in us, and therefore fairly credible or discreditable to us, can be covered up and hidden by the point of a cambric needle, all the rest being atoms contributed by, and inherited from, a procession of ancestors that stretches back a billion years to the Adam-clam or grasshopper or monkey from whom our race has been so tediously and ostentatiously and unprofitably developed. And as for me, all that I think about in this plodding sad pilgrimage, this pathetic drift between the eternities, is to look out and humbly live a pure and high and blameless life, and save that one microscopic atom in me that is truly me; the rest may land in Sheol and welcome for all I care.” (Chap. XVIII).

We, the students of Washington University, are not special. While that may be disappointing for many of us, there is a silver lining. For I believe that I have the ability to live a just and productive life. If I can do it, then the rest of you must be capable of the same. If we can all do it, odds are the individuals who make up society at large can do it too. With any luck, our collective lives can cause tomorrow to be brighter than today. Can you reasonably ask for anything more than that?

David Brody is graduating from the college of Arts & Sciences. He is the former executive editor of Student Life and can be reached by e-mail at davidrbrody@gmail.com.

I don’t know if I necessarily have anything particularly insightful to say here. After all, my college experience was probably pretty typical. I double majored in psychology and math. I was very involved in my two extra-curriculars (StudLife and club rugby) and didn’t do much else. I had a job working in a psych lab. I went out with friends. I dated. Sometimes, I drank more than I should have. I got fairly good grades. I made mistakes. I had fun. I learned.

We all come to Wash. U. to learn, specifically to get an education from a prestigious university that we can then use when trying to get a job or otherwise move on in life after graduation. But necessary as that logistical stuff is, the most important things I learned in college I didn’t learn in a classroom.

I know everyone says that, and I’m going to try not to make this into one giant cliché. Instead of preaching to you about the college experience, etc. etc., let me just share with you a couple of valuable lessons I learned in college.

You can’t change people. I know that many will try to argue with me on this one. Don’t. If you think you can change someone, you’re wrong. I managed to get myself into this situation on more than one occasion, and believe me, it doesn’t work. People don’t change unless they want to. You can’t make them, no matter how hard you try.

Most of the time, things aren’t as catastrophic as you think they are. We all get into situations where we think everything is terrible and the world is going to end. Guess what? You’ll get through it. I’ve noted over the years that things have a way of working themselves out. Life may seem terrible now, but give it a few days, or even a few weeks or months. Eventually, things will even out again.

School doesn’t really matter that much. Obviously school does matter, and it’s important to get decent grades and make an effort in classes and whatnot. But school is not everything. If you’re studying all the time, you’re going to miss out on so many experiences and opportunities that you’re never going to get again. You’re in your early 20s. Enjoy it while you’ve got it.

If you’re not happy, make a change. The great thing about college is that you have so many opportunities to do the things that you enjoy. So why stick with something that’s making you miserable? If you don’t like your major, change it. If you’re unhappy in an activity or club, quit and try something else. Experiment. That’s what this time is for, and you’re not going to have this kind of freedom after you graduate. Enjoy it while you can.

Treasure your friendships. There are a lot of bad people out there, but there are also some pretty incredible ones. Some of the best people I know in my life, I met here. There is nothing more valuable than a friend who cares about you and you can rely on. Hang on to the good ones and they’ll be with you to the end.

I probably haven’t said anything here that is particularly surprising or earth-shattering. But I think that at times, like right before that orgo test or while frantically finishing a paper before the 5 p.m. deadline, we can all lose sight of what really matters, not only in college but in life. We’re here to get an education, yes, but we’re also here to learn how to be adults. We come to Wash. U. as na’ve 18-year-olds excited to escape our old lives, and leave as seasoned 22-year-olds ready to start our new lives. Somewhere in between we grow up. We may do it in completely different ways, and some of us may do it more than others, but we all get there. And when it comes down to it, getting there is what really matters.

Anna Dinndorf is graduating from the college of Arts & Sciences. She is the former production chief of Student Life and can be reached by e-mail at adinndorf@gmail.com.

Respect the commitment of treasury to student groups

Dear Editor:

I would like to whole-heartedly agree with Sara Remedios’ column, “Why should SU fund Mr. Wash. U.?”

As a former Student Union (SU) Treasury member, I think it is lost on the general student body just how hard each SU executive and legislative member works to keep all student groups funded. Every policy in place has been decided by elected students, themselves participants in an overwhelming number of activities. I had to end my time with the SU Treasury not only because I was going abroad, but because meetings would extend from 9 p.m. on Tuesday usually into early Wednesday.

The students on Treasury are not only concerned for their CVs. I know many of them well. They genuinely want to make life at Wash. U. as good as it possibly can be. It is fortunate that more students are now interested in the budgeting process, but a shame that it has taken them this long.

I have a few suggestions that we can implement both now and for the future:

1. Include in Student Life a weekly account of what has been voted on in Treasury and Senate. This will give us a greater appreciation for what goes on in the hallowed halls of Student Union and might even provide encouragement for more students to run for open positions.

2. Demand of Student Union increased access to laws and policies now in place. Publish these policies. Let’s discuss the policies before they “harm” student groups, not after!

3. Finally, be willing to ask tough questions. Given the lack of competition for SU seats, you would think that people have always been content with the way SU is run, yet there are always complaints. It might not be impossible to find out what budgets will be cut ahead of time. These cuts don’t happen spontaneously. Student Life can’t be the only institution on campus interviewing candidates. Everyone must take part. These are your groups, this is your money, this is your University. Don’t complain when it’s too late.

-David A. Shapiro
Class of 2009

Budget cuts don’t occur in a vacuum

Dear Editor:

As this week has progressed, I’ve become increasingly concerned by some of the arguments and data presented in this paper regarding the funding of Executive Committees in the SU General Budget.

The frequently-cited statistic that the KWUR allocation has been reduced from $50,000 two years ago to approximately $20,000 this year neglects to mention that this year, KWUR only requested $35,000. SU executives cannot read minds, they cannot allocate more than was requested. Additionally, the graph printed along with the article “SU Treasury clashes late into the night” in Wednesday’s News section also neglects to report what percentage of the initial request was funded, a key parameter for interpreting trends.

Additionally, as a previous chair of the Budget Committee, it has been my experience that budgets are determined based on line-item requests; allocations are not value judgments, they simply reflect a summation of line items funded. Each line item is evaluated individually with respect to a group’s purpose, current SU funding policies and the values and goals of SU for the semester. A decrease in funding from the previous year does not reflect anyone liking that group less, only a change in either what was requested or what was deemed fundable.

-Jennifer Hadley
Class of 2008

I have been in the unique position of knowing Professor Tzachi Zach well in and out of the classroom. As a Master of Accounting student, I have taken two courses with Zach and feel confident saying that he is a truly fantastic professor.

As a resident advisor for freshmen in my junior and senior years, I had the pleasure of working with Zach in his role as faculty associate for my residents. Zach had been a faculty associate in previous years, in addition to taking part in Delta Sigma Pi and judging for Kappa Karaoke and Thurtene Carnival. Zach was more than a professor at this school; he was an integral part of the community.

When it comes to the classroom experience, students often do not see how research is directly related to their learning, and therefore, they prioritize teaching quality above faculty research. This is not an unreasonable point of view, but it is incomplete in its understanding of the purpose of a research university and the role of faculty at such institutions. What students need to understand is that to receive the highest-quality learning experience at a university, the professors must not only impart knowledge upon their students, they must generate it. That being said, quality research does not guarantee quality teaching. If too much emphasis is placed upon research, schools can jeopardize their teaching quality.

When rankings and prestige take top priority at a school, research is often overemphasized. To be honest, excellent teaching does not make headlines, does not matter to professors’ colleagues at other schools and does not have any universal and easily-quantifiable metrics. Research, on the other hand, breaks headlines, is the talk of professors at their seminars and can be measured in terms of papers published, written, cited and downloaded. Students do not come to this University because of the number of papers published in top journals, but they do expect their professors to regularly conduct research and to be experts in their respective fields.

The point I wish to stress is that high-quality teaching and high-quality research are not mutually exclusive, but too much value placed on one can lead to a degradation of the other. Professor Zach did not become a professor just to impart students with knowledge; he enjoys taking part in its creation. What is clear is that he is a better teacher and community contributor than he is a researcher. This, however, has more to do with his being a superstar in and out of the classroom, not his being a poor researcher. The combination of Zach’s less-than-ideal production of research and his outstanding contribution to students should have warranted three more years to produce research. The same level of research without any other accolades would be more appropriate conditions for the consequences Zach faced. Zach’s contributions must have made up an insignificant factor in the decision to let him go.

For this failure in the decision regarding Zach’s future at Olin, the senior faculty and dean owe the students an explanation for why he must be let go at this time. Explain to us why his superior teaching and immense contributions to the University community were not enough to grant Professor Zach three more years of time to prove his worth as a researcher. Demonstrate to us how the quantity and quality of his research were below your standards, within the context of accounting research. Prove to us that teaching quality and outside-of-class interaction with students matter in some significant way in your review process.

The decision to let Zach go highlights some problems with the decision-making process in Olin. The tenured faculty that play a part in the tenure review process are not representative of the undergraduate program. Of the 25 or so tenured faculty in Olin, more than half only teach MBAs and the overwhelming majority teach few BSBA (undergraduate) courses. Why do professors who have no stake in the BSBA experience have such a major say in BSBA faculty decisions? Could the faculty review committee not be split up based upon whether a professor primarily teaches undergraduate or graduate courses? Since students finance a significant portion of faculty salaries with their tuition payments (which are among the highest in the country), shouldn’t they have some degree of input as to the value a professor brings to the university?

Ultimately, the Olin Business School and its students will lose the most in the decision to let Zach go. Olin (and really the whole University) will lose one of the best professors at the school. Current students will lose a phenomenal teacher, a great mentor and a one of a kind friend. Zach, on the other hand, is going to a school where the accounting program, faculty and students are some of the best in the country.

Professor Zach, thank you for touching our lives. We wish you all the best.

Daniel Goldstein is a graduate student in the Olin Business School. He can be reached by e-mail at dgoldstein@wustl.edu.