WashU has eliminated 316 staff positions and “closed 198 open and vacant positions” from the Danforth and Medical campuses and the Central Fiscal Unit (CFU), Chancellor Andrew Martin announced in a University-wide email addressed to faculty and staff on Tuesday afternoon. 

WashU’s board of trustees, the chief governing body of the University, elected the newest batch of graduate and undergraduate students representatives to the board. Since 1853, the board of trustees has acted as the legal authority in major decisions regarding the University’s assets, the awarding of tenure to professors, and the approval of construction projects.

Welcome to WashU! Here’s a chronological recap of some of the major events and happenings from last school year, both around campus and in the greater community. This includes how national politics have affected the WashU community, so you can get up to speed on all of the campus goings-on. 

If you knew me during my first year, you probably would’ve heard me claim that I was majoring in just about every program WashU offers at a different point in time. I did this for a couple of reasons. The first is that I loved so many of the classes I took in my first year that I could’ve seen myself taking more classes in every single department.

Washington University will host U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor for a “fireside chat” Wednesday, Sept. 10 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the Field House of the Athletic Complex.

WashU’s Danforth Campus and surrounding areas were in the direct path of a tornado which touched down early in the afternoon of May 16. Radar from The Weather Channel confirmed the tornado struck the suburb of Clayton, where the Danforth Campus is located. 

Former McKelvey professor of Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering Tae Seok Moon filed a lawsuit against WashU on March 4, claiming that he was forced to resign because he spoke out against discrimination on campus. 

WashU first-year Farah Bader was selected to receive the Cochlear Graeme Clark Scholarship for recipients of the Cochlear Nucleus Implant who demonstrate high academic achievement, along with Saint Louis University (SLU) first-year Grace Fleming. Both will be awarded $2,000 annually for up to four years.

After a year of development from student organizers, WashU will have its own chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). This development comes after decreased Black-student enrollment this year following the Supreme Court’s decision to end affirmative action.

During my first-year at WashU,  I was flabbergasted by how difficult it was to find alone time. I was assigned a traditional double in a six-person suite, which left me relatively pressed for space with privacy. Gone were the days of doing homework in total isolation in my bedroom, screaming along to music in my car, and choreographing elaborate ballets in my bathroom mirror.