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 Student Life Editorial staff believes that these six departments — and their academic independence — are imperative to the WashU community, especially given the Trump administration’s attacks on academic freedom, marginalized communities, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). As such, we are skeptical of the University’s stated intentions due to their lack of transparency in this process so far.

Hands vigorously mixing the ingredients in the bowl, Rafia Zafar followed the recipe made by a former slave. In front of her stood a film crew. With their cameras focused on her, they tried to capture her in the moment.

On Sunday, Sept. 11, students held a memorial service for the 10th anniversary of the attacks. While most were concerned with the moving content of the service and personal ties and emotions regarding this anniversary, professor Heidi Kolk had a different concern. “No one was going to record it,” she exclaimed.

Starting this year, students have the option to major solely in American Culture Studies (AMCS), a course of study that previously could only be a secondary major. In light of the change, the major has been redesigned to provide students with some of the depth they would have garnered from a second major in the past.

On Saturday morning, 200 people gathered in Graham Chapel to mourn the passing of Professor Wayne Fields’ granddaughter, 4-year-old Sarah Brooks.

Washington University Libraries received one of the largest grants in the institution’s history, a $376,426 National Leadership Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The money will fund the St. Louis Freedom Suits Legal Encoding Project, which aims to digitize pre-Civil War lawsuits that slaves brought against slaveholders in the St. Louis Circuit Court.