LIGHTS! CAMERA! ACTION!| THE ST. LOUIS INTERNATIONAL FILM FEST | CADENZA, PAGE 10
STUDENT LIFE
THE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER OF WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS SINCE 1878 VOLUME 128, NO. 35
Amendment 2 propels WU’s stem cell research BY MARLA FRIEDMAN STAFF REPORTER With Missouri voter approval of Amendment 2 in last week’s elections, the University is free to advance its research facilities. Although some provisional ballots have not been counted, final numbers show that Missouri residents approved the Amendment by 48,627 votes. “Amendment 2 has expanded and defined the boundaries of scientific investigation and will eliminate interference with those boundaries,” said F. Ses-
sions Cole, the vice chairman of pediatrics and director of newborn medicine at the Washington University School of Medicine. Cole is a member of The Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures, which began the initiative for Amendment 2 in response to legislation in 2001 that would have criminalized stem cell research in Missouri. “There is no longer the cloud of uncertainty that has been hanging over our head for the last five years,” said Connie Far-
row, the media liaison for the coalition. “We can now be assured that whatever is allowed at the federal level is the standard in Missouri.” Farrow is excited that residents of Missouri will have the opportunity to receive the highest standard of health benefits. “The approval of the Amendment shows that Missourians don’t want to become secondclass citizens when it comes to their health care; they deserve the best that is available to other Americans,” she said.
Amendment 2 ensures Missouri patient access to any therapies and cures, allows all research in Missouri permitted under federal law, bans human cloning or attempted cloning, requires expert oversight of stem cell research, imposes criminal and civil penalties for violations and prohibits governments from preventing lawful stem cell research. Washington University’s
See STEM CELL, page 2
Students ‘repulsed’ by HPV display in library
EITAN HOCHSTER I STUDENT LIFE
Junior Sara Yael Morris (left), and sophomores Ben Sales and Avi Rose examine the Human Papillomavirus display in the library on Tuesday, Nov. 14. The exhibit contains graphic images of the effects of the disease, which some students find objectionable. BY ELLEN JONES CONTRIBUTING REPORTER When Phi Lambda Psi, the Greek Women’s Health and Wellness Honorary, created an informative display about human papillomavirus (HPV), they wanted to catch the eye of Washington University students. In the end, however, the controversial exhibit, currently on display in Olin Library, has left many students unsure if they should take a closer look or avert their eyes completely. Scattered with condoms, a dental dam and statistics about HPV, the display offers suggestions for safe sex practices and lists important facts about the relationship between the virus and cervical cancer. It also provides information on how to obtain Gardasil, the vaccine recently approved by the FDA and proven to protect against four types of HPV.
WWW.STUDLIFE.COM
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2006
Melissa Ruwitch, Assistant Director of Student Health Services and Chief of Health Promotion Services, believes that the display will play an important role in increasing HPV awareness on campus. “College students may not understand that if they engage in any kind of sexual activity involving genital contact they are at risk for HPV,” said Ruwitch. The most talked about aspect of the display, however, is not its educational value. Two large color photographs, each displaying the genital regions of persons infected with the virus, depict some of the more graphic consequences of acquiring HPV. Some individuals believe that these images are both an effective and essential part of increasing HPV awareness. “Visuals are necessary in this display because words alone can not truly illustrate
Bio class in your birthday suit? What would happen if you decided to take it all off for one day—literally. Forum columnist Dennis Sweeney looks at the hidden naked lives of WU students. Forum, Page 7
HPV,” said junior Samantha Lattof, president of Phi Lambda Psi. Some students, however, think there’s a distinct difference between exploiting images for their shock value and using them as an educational tool. “It’s repulsive,” said junior Robert Schuh. “I think it’s too out there, too in your face to be effective. HPV is a big issue, but I’m not sure this is the best way to go about it. There’s a big difference between getting people’s attention and scaring them off.” Needless to say, these photographs have remained a topic of conversation amongst library visitors more accustomed to seeing displays honoring Rosa Parks or Slam Poetry, two subjects celebrated by student groups in the past. However, Lattof maintains that the images Phi Lamda Psi chose are relatively tame,
by HPV standards. “The photos that we chose to use in the display are actually on the mild end of the spectrum compared to other photos of HPV found in textbooks and the Internet,” she said. To those who might argue that certain aspects of the display might condone casual sex, Lattof still insists otherwise. “[The condoms and the dental dam] merely serve as reminders of the many precautions people should consider before having sex. While the new vaccine prevents against certain strains of HPV, other forms of protection like condoms are still necessary for a more complete protection,” said Lattof. Many students have accepted this line of thinking. “It’s really important that people know about HPV, even
See HPV DISPLAY, page 4
Complete post-season coverage After a winning weekend, the Bears are taking on more opponents as they advance in NCAA tournaments. Get the complete schedule of when the Bears are set to score. Sports, Page 5
Buried treasure: University-owned mummy kept at St. Louis museum BY ANDREA WINTER CONTRIBUTING REPORTER Washington University owns one of the world’s most prized mummies, currently on display at the St. Louis Art Museum. Many in the university community would like to see her moved to campus. Prominent St. Louis banker and private collector, Charles Parsons, donated two mummies to the University in 1896. Both mummies have been on permanent loan to the St. Louis Art Museum since 2002. They were displayed at the University from August to December of 1999. Prior to this showing, they were in storage at the University. One of those is PetMenekh, a male mummy, from the 4th or 3rd century B.C.E., whose wrapped toes can be seen at the foot of the coffin. The female mummy, Henut-Wedjebu, from roughly 1391-1350 B.C.E., is held in much higher esteem. “It’s really a fluke that we have such a rare mummy,” said Professor of Art History and Archeology Sarantis Symeonoglou. Henut-Wedjebu is the only one of the eight gilded mummies from the New Kingdom that is in the United States. The other seven mummies, from the age of the New Kingdom, are in Egypt. The New Kingdom, spanning from approximately 1550 to 1080 B.C.E., is considered the most glorious period of Ancient Egypt. Henut-Wedjebu’s gilded status, marked by the gold foil on her coffin, represents a major accomplishment. The gilding of a coffin required special permission from the pharaoh. Out of the eight mummies gilded during the New Kingdom, she is the only one that was not a king or a queen. She was simply a temple singer at the Temple of Amun in Kalnak. “She must have been an extremely beautiful and important woman to receive gilded status. Like a Marilyn Monroe of Ancient Egypt,” said Symeonoglou. As artwork, He nut-Wedjebu’s coffin is lauded for its realism. In particular, it is one of the only coffins with carved nipples. “The modeling is extremely rare and beautiful. The coffin is very a nth ropomor ph ic,” said Sid Goldstein, curator of ancient
and Islamic art at the St. Louis Art Museum. Henut-Wedjebu’s body has significance in the history of embalmment as well. “She represents the end of the tradition in which mummies were buried with their brains intact. Radiographs of her body show that her brain is still in there,” said Goldstein. The Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum of Washington University has chosen not to include either of the two mummies in the museum. It has decided to dedicate its space to the strengths of its collection which lay in 19th, 20th, and 21st century art. “In a perfect world everyone would like to have the mummies here, however, collection space is limited. The mummies are supersafe there, and they fit into an appropriate context so much better than we could fit them in here. Also, they are more available to the public. It’s not an ideal solution, but it’s better than having them in storage,” said Sara Hignit, chief registrar of the Mildred Kemper Lane Art Museum. Hignit said that the mummies are loaned to the St. Louis Art Museum on a yearly basis. The University reconsiders them each year when its signs the papers to renew the loan. “It’s something that is continually reassessed. Any museum ideally wants to show as much of its collection as possible,” said Michael Murawski, coordinator of education and public programs at Kemper. At the St. Louis Art Museum, Henut-Wedjebu is surrounded by a collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts including alabaster vessels holding organs, statues, wooden figures and a mummy mask. “She fits in context at the museum. She is consistent
See MUMMY, page 4
Of the eight surviving sarcophagi in the world, seven are in Egypt. The eighth, pictured here, is owned by the University and resides in the St. Louis Art Museum. DAVID BRODY I STUDENT LIFE
INSIDE: Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Forum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Cadenza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Sudoku . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
NEWSROOM PHONE 314-935-5995 ADVERTISING PHONE 314-935-6713 E-MAIL US editor@studlife.com ON THE WEB www.studlife.com