Graduate students rally in front of Brookings

Graduate students and undergraduate allies from Fossil Free WashU and the Asian Pacific Islanders Demanding Justice rallied outside of Brookings Hall Feb. 14. After rallying, around 40 students marched into Provost Holden Thorp’s office to hand-deliver approximately 500 cards demanding actions to be taken by the University in regard to the rights of graduate students on campus Feb. 14.
Because Thorp was not available to speak with the students, the cards, which detailed the rights graduate students felt were not granted, were placed in front of his personal office door. These notes included rights such as guaranteed summer funding for research students, adequate maternity leave and affordable childcare.
The healthcare plans of graduate students were revised to include subsidized dental insurance and decreased out-of-pocket maximums Feb. 7.

Sam Fox School of Art & Design loses water Feb. 11

Sam Fox School of Art & Design buildings lost access to water due to a water main break Feb. 11. The line break under Forsyth Boulevard, which was resolved by Feb. 12, was handled by the Washington University Facilities Planning & Management department. Maintenance workers at the school received emails from multiple students early in the morning with complaints of water issues. Soon after, an email was sent out to notify affected students in the art school of the break. A notification was also sent to locals in the affected area.

Commission on Diversity and Inclusion releases report

Washington University released a report on diversity and inclusion of the University. Twelve committees were established to address such concerns as diversifying staff, graduate and undergraduate populations and providing diversity training in addition to social justice and gender equality. The sub-committees were then tasked with identifying avenues that the University could take to foster greater diversity and inclusion in their respective committee. The report, the results of the two-year initiative, detailed a two-year, 12-point plan to “strengthen diversity and improve gender balance and inclusiveness in all segments of the University community.”

Olin Business School hosts first Diversity & Inclusion Summit

Olin Business School hosted its first Diversity & Inclusion Summit, organized by members of business fraternities Alpha Kappa Psi, Delta Sigma Pi and Phi Gamma Nu, Feb. 9.
Sophomores and co-directors Charlyn Moss, Lexi Jackson, Sema Dibooglu and Claudia Rivera had been working and organizing the summit since October 2017.
“I wanted to frame Olin as an environment where inclusivity is encouraged,” Moss, a student in the Olin Business School, said. “I also got inspiration from OwnIt because we need a summit with more focus on intersectionality… of other identities besides gender.”
The summit included panels, breakout sessions and networking opportunities aimed at addressing diversity issues and advantages in the workplace. Panels included representatives from Build-A-Bear Workshop, Express Scripts, US Bank, Pfizer and Edward Jones, and the breakout sessions covered topics such as navigating microaggressions in the workplace and women in technology.