UPDATE: Animal Collective has postponed their March tour due to an illness afflicting Avey Tare, a vocalist and founding member of the band. Though they’ve long been critical darlings, Animal […]

I think it’s safe to say I would not have been accepted into Washington University in St. Louis in March of 2010 had my personal essay contained as many “likes” as my interview in StudLife has. What’s my point? Well, I’ll tell you.

The No. 23 Washington University softball team could not have asked for a better start than its wins this past weekend. The Bears took all four of their contests by a combined score of 47-18 while hitting .443 as a team. Among many very productive players for the Bears was freshman infielder Adrienne White, who went 10 of 17 from the plate while slugging .

It is not unusual for freshmen to see playing time on the Washington University men’s and women’s basketball teams, but regardless, the play of Melissa Gilkey and Brayden Teuscher has been exemplary. Through five games, Teuscher has averaged 13.2 points per game (second on the men’s side), while shooting .400 (12 of 30) from behind the 3-point line and averaging 2.

John Schael has been Washington University’s athletic director for 33 years, and in his time overseeing the department, Wash. U. has won 139 University Athletic Association (UAA) titles and all 18 of its national championships. After a notably successful fall season for Bear sports, Student Life sat down with Schael to discuss these recent achievements and the state of Wash. U. athletics

Do you remember your first impression of Washington University? If you walked through Brookings anytime in the past few years and Delise Le Pool sat behind the desk at the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, chances are it was a good one.

Tina Butler, the cashier supervisor at the Washington University Danforth Campus Bookstore and one of the longest-serving members of the Wash. U. community, talked to Student Life about love and humanity, emphasizing what it means to be true to yourself and never give up. Student Life: What do you enjoy most about your hometown (St. Louis)?

Senior Chris Malaya took first in the 400-meter dash and helped lead a 4×400 squad to a first place finish at the Illinois College Snowbird Open.

Student Life reporter Cordelia Palitz sat down and spoke with Julie Otsuka, the Japanese-American author of “When the Emperor was Divine,” this year’s Freshman Reading Program. Otsuka was a speaker in this fall’s Assembly Series. Hailing from California, Otsuka is 47 years old and one generation removed from Japanese Americans who were interned in camps by the U.S. government from 1942 until 1945.