After his speech at Friday’s commencement ceremony, Andy Cohen sat down for an interview with Student Life reporter Zach Trabitz. The following Q&A has been edited for length and clarity. 

I just saw “Hoppers,” the new Pixar film that isn’t a sequel, and I had a lovely time. The film was sweet and funny, and I do really appreciate the fact that something original is finally coming out of Pixar again, since the studio is known for producing many, many sequels. However, I couldn’t help but think that the way it addressed environmentalism missed the mark. 

Nicholas Thompson, former Editor-in-Chief of WIRED and now CEO of The Atlantic, has reported on artificial intelligence since 2017. As part of WashU’s +AI Perspectives Week, Thompson reflected on what he’s learned about AI and his advice for college students to a packed crowd of WashU students and community members on March 25.  

Stuart Banner, Norman Abrams Distinguished Professor of Law at UCLA, presented his research on the history of the politicization of the Supreme Court, March 25. 

Banner’s lecture and argument centered around the fact that, despite popular opinion, today’s Supreme Court is not especially partisan compared to previous iterations of the Court. The event was part of the David T. Konig Lecture Series hosted by WashU’s Department of History. 

This week, WashU is running +AI Perspectives Week, a series of events and workshops focusing on the role of artificial intelligence (AI) at WashU as part of their +AI initiative. The initiative aims to encourage discussion about the role of AI at the University, promote the use of AI to supplement teaching and learning, and familiarize members of the WashU community with how to utilize artificial intelligence tools.

This semester’s Student Union election, featuring races for Senate, Treasury and the Executive Branch, began this Tuesday at 9 a.m. CST and will end this Thursday at 9 p.m. CST.

Andy Cohen was announced as the 2026 Commencement speaker by Chancellor Andrew D. Martin at the annual Class Toast event on March 24. Cohen will speak at WashU’s University-wide Commencement ceremony on Friday, May 15, 2025, at 9 a.m. on Francis Field.

A guide to St. Louis’s exceptional cafe scene with a focus on studyability! (study + ability)

On Tuesday, Feb. 24, WashU’s Danforth Campus went into shelter-in-place protocol following false reports of an armed person on campus, according to the Washington University Police Department (WUPD). WashU Emergency Management first notified campus of the potential armed individual at 9:19 a.m. after WUPD “received multiple calls reporting an individual with a weapon on the Danforth Campus.”

WashU Police Department Chief Angela Coonce wrote in an 11:30 a.m. email that there is no active threat to campus, and that no armed individual was located during a thorough search. She said that though WUPD received multiple reports of an individual with a weapon, WUPD believes “the reports were not a credible threat.”