Following continued student advocacy, the American Culture Studies (AMCS) program at WashU has created a “focus area” for Native American Studies. 

Noah Cohan, assistant director of AMCS, said that Native American Studies (NAS) will be available as a subject focus area alongside pre-existing focus areas in American Culture Studies (AMCS) such as Race & Ethnicity, Gender & Sexuality, and Ability & the Body. Students will be able to add the focus area to their AMCS major or minor by taking three courses in the field, two of them above the 300-level.

The Sexual Assault and Rape Anonymous Hotline (S.A.R.A.H.) at WashU is ceasing 24/7 service after almost 10 years, citing decreased staff capacity. The peer hotline will now only be available from 4 p.m. to 8 a.m starting Feb. 6 and through to the end of the semester.

Ella Johnson, a senior at WashU, passed away on Jan. 14 following a long and difficult struggle with mental health challenges. She was 21 years old.

WashU’s dining team announced that a new 24/7 convenience store is being built on the South 40, located in Ursa’s Fireside, and is expected to open in late spring of 2026.

When WashU junior Soma Amaechina received a call from her mom saying there had been a shooting on Brown University’s campus, Amaechina said she was “shocked.” She lives about 15 minutes away from the Brown University campus, her mom works there, and several of her friends attend the university.

During an April panel on growing public distrust in higher education hosted by the Association of American Universities (AAU), Christopher Eisgruber — Princeton president and AAU chair — criticized Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier and WashU Chancellor Andrew Martin for their handling of President Trump’s attacks on universities, according to an article published by The Atlantic on Aug. 11. 

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 were anything like me when you got to university, you didn’t have a ton of stuff to decorate your room with. I had a few things: tarot posters gifted by my friend’s younger sister, a local newspaper that I liked the front page spread of, and a museum catalogue.

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. 

WashU’s Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing has ended its postgraduate fellowship, a one-year program where students in the MFA program had the opportunity to teach classes as a postgraduate fellow for a year following the completion of their two-year degree.