Students arrived on campus in August to find construction on the South 40 complete. The new Bear’s Den dining facility was built, it and offered expanded dining options, including an Indian station, a stir-fry station, a pizza station and a pasta station. Two dorms started last year, the South Forty House and Eliot B, were completed.

The University went fully tobacco free in July, and students arriving in August were forced to leave campus to indulge their tobacco habits. Almost immediately, smokers on campus began to congregate on Forsyth and at other places around the border of the Danforth campus to smoke. University officials said that they hoped not to have to implement punishments for students who smoked on campus, and Student Health Services stressed the services it offered to students interested in quitting smoking.

In January, dining services introduced its new “Connie’s Choice” initiative, named after University nutritionist Connie Diekman. There were stickers posted at dining facilities around campus promoting healthy eating options. In conjunction with the program, Dining Services began to enforce tater tot portion size. To the disappointment of many students, dining facilities began to give students 12 tater tots in each serving. This did not last long, however, and by the end of the year, servings were back up to their old, large size.

The Student Health Advisory Committee (SHAC) decided to expand Sexual Awareness week to include discussion on alternative sexual options, and, in a controversial move, invited Bristol Palin to lead a panel discussion on abstinence. In January, Student Union Treasury approved the panel, which was set to cost $20,000. The Treasury’s approval caused an immediate uproar on campus; many students believed that Palin, who was infamously pregnant during the 2008 election cycle, was not an appropriate person to speak about abstinence on campus. The controversy lasted for two days and garnered national media attention until SHAC and Palin both agreed that she shouldn’t come.

The winter was notable for its severe weather, and in February the University had its first snow day since 1982. The administration shut down the University preemptively because of a bleak weather forecast. The weather did not live up to its forecast, however, and little snow actually accumulated on the ground. The University opened the next day, although certain services, including dining, remained limited over the next few days.

In March, the women’s basketball team fell one game short of winning a consecutive National Championship.

This spring, the University admitted members of the class of 2015 and posted its lowest ever admissions rate, dropping to 15.4 percent.

In April, the University announced its decision to bring Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel to campus as the 2011 Commencement speaker. Seniors were excited that the University was bringing in such a well-known speaker for graduation.

The year ended with Student Union elections. Students voted the UP slate into office, and the new Senate and Treasury voted on the new budget without contest.