Music PhD candidate Lisa Mumme presented her thesis as a part of the Film and Media Studies (FMS) Department’s Colloquium Lecture Series, arguing that the power of the witch in film is conveyed through the witch’s voice, which is articulated through songs, chants, and spells on Oct. 16. 

The University employs professional lobbyists at the federal, state, and local levels, and since last spring, has included student volunteers in the effort through Bears Caucus, a student lobbying group created by WashU’s Office of Government & Community Relations.

Student Union (SU) financial leadership plans to be stricter with giving additional funding in the current 2026 fiscal year’s (FY) quarter 2. The move comes after a 54% increase in appeals funding allocated to student organizations in FY2026 Q1 compared to FY2025 Q1.

Tenured faculty aged 60 or older with five or more years of experience at WashU received an email on Oct. 31 asking them to consider retiring. The email was sent from the respective deans of WashU’s seven schools on the Danforth Campus. Faculty who accept the offer would receive 1.5 times their annual salary plus $43,500, according to the email obtained by Student Life.

Approximately 20 protesters marched from Anheuser-Busch Hall around 1:10 p.m. this Friday to the steps of Brookings Hall. The march, following the protest on Oct. 23 against the University administration, included a beating of a drum and chants of “no compact for fascism.”

Journalist and author Karen Hao urged the WashU community to increase its awareness around the artificial intelligence (AI) industry, Silicon Valley’s actions, and the negative impact of both on society and the environment.

Hinton described crime control policies as a “self-fulfilling process” wherein preemptive policing targeting Black men motivates Black rebellion that is met with further policing.

A group of Native American students and alumni submitted a report to the WashU administration calling for increased academic options for Native American studies (NAS) and greater outreach to prospective Native students. WashU has not confirmed whether they will institute these changes, but Vice Dean of Undergraduate Education Erin McGlothlin has confirmed that she will meet with the writers to discuss the possibility.

“Although the task force [is] currently done, I would argue that students probably don’t feel like it’s the end. In this whole attack on higher education, which happened to be coinciding with this proposed task force — whether or not those are connected, I can’t say — it’s a scary time to be a student,” Scott said. 

About two-thirds of WashU students who responded to a recent Student Life survey reported using AI chatbots like ChatGPT for academic tasks during their time in college. Yet, roughly the same share also believed that students nationwide would learn more if such tools were unavailable to them.