For much of the summer, a beat-up Russian bus sits amongst the foothills of eastern Kazakhstan, within the Dzhungar Mountains. This solitary bus, outfitted with state-of-the-art scientific and electronic equipment, wireless Internet, and a driver’s area that transforms into a makeshift sleeping cabin, is a recent supplement to the equipment that has fostered years of groundbreaking fieldwork and research on nomadic pastoralism and human history.

What a difference one week makes. Just seven days ago, the Washington University baseball team was reeling after three straight losses to open its 2012 season, including a 22-9 blowout. This past weekend, against visiting No. 16 Buena Vista University and No. 13 College of St. Scholastica, the Bears showed that those losses are far behind them.

This wasn’t the start the Washington University baseball team was expecting. Not by a long shot. Four games into the 2012 season, the Bears are just 1-3, and in a three-game sweep at the hands of DePauw University this past weekend at home, were outscored by 24 runs, allowed 21 walks and committed 11 errors. “We didn’t see that coming.

When he reflects on his time as a Washington University student, Rob Hazelwood remembers both the good and the bad. Carrying couches and cases of beer to the quad with his fraternity brothers for W.I.L.D.; legally drinking on the patio of the Theta Xi Fraternity house; receiving dirty looks at and rejections from restaurants in the area; drunk driving on the way back from bars downtown.

Inside of a small, unassuming bar on Locust Street, up a narrow staircase and through a large doorway lies the heart of St. Louis’s improvisational comedy scene. The Improv Shop, located in the performance space above the Tin Can Tavern & Grille at 1909 Locust St., is working to build a healthy, thriving improv community in St. Louis.

For the Washington University women’s soccer team, 2010 and 2011 could not be any different. Last season, the Bears fielded just six returning starters en route to an 11-8-2 record, a fourth-place conference finish and a second-round NCAA tournament exit. The fourth-place conference finish broke the Bears’ streak of four consecutive conference titles.

John Oliver, the British political comedian of “The Daily Show” fame, will be headlining Campus Programming Council’s (CPC’s) fall comedy show.

The Washington University baseball team suffered a setback in its hopes of making the NCAA playoffs on Saturday, losing all three games of a triple-header against the University of Chicago. “They were a very good hitting team––one of the best that we’ve seen all year––and we just didn’t get any breaks.

The Washington University baseball team (24-13, 3-3) ‘stole’ a victory over Principia College on Saturday, breaking a school record in the process. Freshman Kyle Billig had five steals as the Bears ran rampant against the Panthers. The team stole a season-high 15 bases in a 14-4 mercy-rule win.

Expect to see changes in the near future at Kelly Field, Washington University’s baseball complex, starting with a new name. On Saturday, the University’s Department of Athletics will host a dedication celebration and baseball alumni reunion, renaming the complex Kelly Field at Irv Utz Stadium.