Amidst the growing debate over AI’s role in the classroom, Student Life’s Managing Multimedia Editor, Sanchali Pothuru, and Multimedia Editor, Mireya Coffman, join three professors, Tarrell Campbell, Konstantina Kiousis, and Guy Genin, to see if they can distinguish between student essays and ChatGPT-generated content.

Carl Phillips, Professor in the Poetry MFA Program at Washington University, spoke about his journey of self-discovery through poetry writing during his talk, “Pressure Against Emptiness: On Making, Being Made, and What is Made” for the first lecture in the Dean’s Distinguished Lecture series, April 1.

Looking at the schedule of the season that never was, this would have been an excellent weekend in WU sports.

Professor Carl Phillips has been named a finalist for the National Book Award in poetry for his most recent book, “Double Shadow: Poems.” This is his fourth time being nominated for the award. “Double Shadow: Poems” is Phillips’ 11th published collection of poetry.

At the end of every semester that I’ve had at Washington University, I’ve written at least one 15-20 page essay. First, it was the triumphal columns of Istanbul; second, female stereotypes in Spenser’s “The Faerie Queene;” third, why Egyptian civilization persevered while the Mycenaeans vanished around the 13th century B.C. Each of these essays was entirely unrelated in all ways but two: They were written in a concentrated frenzy of creativity from about 10 p.m. to 5 p.m. the next day (when they were due) and they are the best pieces of writing I have produced in my life.

Academics are smart, highly educated, deeply intellectual people. Yet most of them insist on writing as if they failed Composition 101. Twice.