STUDENT LIFE
THE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER OF WASHINGTON UNIVERSIT Y IN ST. LOUIS SINCE 1878 Why don’t black men join in when students streak on campus? See Dmitri Jackson’s take on the phenomenon in Forum. Page 4.
Wide receiver Brad Duesing made record books Saturday as he completed his fourth consecutive 1000-yard season. Page 6.
VOLUME 127, NO. 33
Senior News Editor An intoxicated student fell from a third-story window in Wheeler House early yesterday morning as she attempted to remove a screen from her dormitory window. The student landed in a grassy area between the residence hall and Wydown Blvd. and is currently reported to be in stable condition. “It appears to have been an accident and there’s no reason to inspect any sort of foul play,” said Don Strom, chief of the Washington University Police Department. “The student was transported to the hospital. I heard at one point she might be released [on Sunday].” Strom added that the fall occurred when she “was trying to open the window and pushing up against the screen area and lost her balance and fell.”
Away message fanatics, beware—Scene’s got your number. Page 10.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2005
Intoxicated student falls from window in Wheeler House By Sarah Kliff
Women’s volleyball is still hot, advancing to the NCAA quarterfinals after this weekend’s play. Find out more inside. Page 6.
Shortly after the student’s fall at 2 a.m., WUPD responded with an ambulance dispatch that conveyed the student to a hospital. The student’s condition has not been confi rmed, but residents of Wheeler 3 did report that they initially thought her shoulder had been dislocated. Those reports were later found to be untrue. Residents also reported that they expected her to return to campus from the hospital sometime today. Strom said that WUPD had determined the fall to be an accident, but could not comment on the involvement of alcohol in the situation. Residents of Wheeler House and individuals who had seen the student before her fall that night, however, reported that she was intoxicated at the time of the fall. Sophomore Michelle Reed lives on the fourth floor of Wheeler and saw the emergency
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VERTIGO LIGHTS UP SATURDAY NIGHT
response to the fall taking place outside Wheeler. “I was in my room and I heard people talking outside, so a couple of us went to see,” said Reed. “There was a group of people, someone asking, ‘Hey, is she okay?’ The police came out with flashlights and an ambulance. We overheard them saying she fell out of a third floor window.” WUPD considers the matter closed. Strom noted, “Based on everything we saw this morning, our investigation was pretty much closed. Our crime scene investigators had looked it over and selected what we needed.” Junior John Orozco, the resident advisor for Wheeler 3, declined to comment on the situation to maintain the safety of his residents. -With additional reporting by Brad Nelson
Students battle St. Louis’ rate of homelessness By Margy Levinson Contributing Reporter The homelessness rate in St. Louis far exceeds that of the rest of the country—and now, for the fi rst time, Washington University students are banding together to fight this problem. The new Homelessness Awareness Week, beginning today and running through Friday, will bring together many campus organizations to increase students’ knowledge about the homelessness epidemic in the city they call home. As the city of St. Louis’ Web site notes, “National statistics on homelessness indicate that families comprise the fastest growing group of homeless persons across America today.” Junior Luz Silverio, a member of Helping Hands, an organization that tries to foster relationships between Washington University and the homeless, said that the St. Louis homelessness rate stands at approximately six percent. The rest of the country has a one percent homeless population, said Silverio. “We aren’t too much better or worse than the rest of the country; that doesn’t mean the problem isn’t bad and it’s continually getting worse” said junior Lorin Kline, a member of the Alliance of Students Against Poverty (ASAP), an organiza-
tion that unites the efforts of groups around campus. Helping Hands and ASAP are two of many organizations helping out around campus and the surrounding community for Homeless Awareness Week. Other organizations, including Stone Soup, First Watch and Feed St. Louis, have been involved with the organization and execution of this week. Homelessness Awareness Week will begin today and Tuesday with Lay Out, where volunteers stationed at two sites on campus will be soliciting donations and handing out information. The week will continue with other events, including as a showing of “The Fisher King,” a fi lm about a radio DJ who helps a homeless man he unknowingly victimized. On Thursday, speaker Tyrone Darris, who has worked with the homeless through St. Patrick’s Center, will give a lecture in Prince Hall. A service project will also take place Friday, followed with the week’s culmination on Saturday in the Hunger Banquet. Although not much information can be disclosed about this banquet, Silverio said “it will open your eyes socially, and show a lot about world poverty and hunger.” This week is National Hunger and Homeless Awareness Week across the country, and many other universities are participating as well.
“I think it’s really exciting that this is our big opportunity to be part of the national beat,” said Kline. According to Kline, the ideas for the event began after students attended a national conference this past summer. “We were able to talk to people who ran groups on campuses all over the country. It seemed like all campuses have a few groups that are similar to ours, [and] a lot of campuses hold a homeless awareness week” said Kline. St. Louis in particular has recently stood out from the rest of the nation in addressing its homeless problems, as the St. Louis homeless community recently won a case against the St. Louis police department. According to information on the American Civil Liberties Union’s Web site, a suit was fi led against the police department on Sept. 17, 2004 alleging that the police have unfairly and unjustly tried to remove members of the homeless community for no reason. Complainants alleged that police arrested and held the homeless without any accusations of a crime committed, and verbally and physically abused them with such actions as throwing fi reworks at them, racial slurs and taking their food. The homeless situation has also gotten a lot worse over the
See HOMELESSNESS, page 3
RACHIT PATEL | STUDENT LIFE
Students dance on Vertigo’s illuminated dance floor early in the evening on Saturday night, Nov. 12, 2005. Several hundred people packed into Lopata Gallery, which was decorated with strobes, black lights, and smoke machines. At one point, a fire alarm was accidentally set off by smoke from the machines, but the party quickly resumed once the area was cleared.
WU shuttle hits student By Sarah Kliff Senior News Editor A Washington University shuttle collided with a student on a bike Thursday morning near the intersection of Forsyth Blvd. and Shepley Drive. The biker, hospitalized after the incident with shoulder injuries, did not endure any serious physical harm and is reported to be in stable condition. Eyewitness reports indicate the biker, a graduate student in the performing arts department, ran a red light as a University shuttle left Mallinckrodt Center at approximately 9 a.m. The bike slid underneath the shuttle but the biker did not. “[Of the people involved in
the accident] one was a student and one was a driver for Wash. U.,” said Lieutenant Stuart Glenn of the Clayton Police Department, which handled the accident. “The student was on a bike. The preliminary investigation has shown it’s possible that the bike did not yield.” University police officers were also present but only to direct traffic around the accident. Freshman Vivek Kulkarni saw the biker as he walked to his 9 a.m. class. “I was walking to class, it was a little bit after nine and he was in the middle of the street, lying in the middle of the street,” said Kulkarni. “It seemed like the wheel of the shuttle was still on his back. He was not moving but conscious. His left arm was pretty bloody—a little contorted, but
not much.” “Not many people were helping him,” said Kulkarni. Another guy with me was helping talking to the shuttle driver who was pretty hysterical. He got her to move the shuttle off of him. It wasn’t quite on him, but touching his shoulder.” Shortly following, a former paramedic stopped on Forysth [and] exited his car to help the biker. WUPD officers on bicycles and students on the Emergency Support Team soon followed. Another student in the drama department, freshman Alexa Shoemaker, knew the biker and noted, “I think he is in stable condition right now…there weren’t any puncture wounds, just broken bones.”
See STUDENT HIT, page 3
Bear’s Den disturbances may engender reduced hours By Jessie Rothstein Contributing Reporter
EITAN HOCHSTER | STUDENT LIFE
Business as usual is carried out at Bear’s Den on Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2005. An increase in the number of late-night disturbances may result in Bear’s Den shortening its hours and thus beginning to close earlier.
Due to an increase in latenight disturbances at Bear’s Den, Student Union’s Food Committee has suggested a reduction in evening hours—a move that could leave many South 40 residents with grumbling stomachs late at night. According to Kathy Carmody, the general manager for Bon Appétit, a far greater number of disturbing incidents have occurred this year than in the past. She describes incidents including students “drinking… people fighting…food fights, and it seems to be going on a regular basis.” Such incidents have posed difficulties for students who are trying to eat at Bear’s Den late at
night, as well as for the staff. The suggestion to change the hours at Bear’s Den, which currently stays open until 3 a.m. on weekends, came primarily from the Student Union Food Committee, a group consisting of representatives of the student body, University administration representatives, the University nutritionist and Bon Appétit managers and chefs. The committee meets on a weekly basis and has an advisory role for food services. Chaired by sophomore Timothy Ingalls, the committee works to address any pertinent dining issues, and during the past few weeks has been discussing the implications of recent disturbances occurring at Bear’s Den. Most of the information regarding these incidents has
come from the managers, who are on duty at Bear’s Den until it closes each night. In addition, security reports that the University receives have provided another source of information about these episodes. No one is quite sure why the incidents have increased to such a great degree this year. As Vice Chancellor for Students Paul Schimmele noted, “There is no easy answer for why it happens. It is a small number of people making a bigger problem for others.” Although the Food Committee and student leaders have suggested a reduction in Bear’s Den’s hours as a manner of addressing this issue, Carmody insists that Dining Services does not intend to pursue such drastic measures in the near future.
Friday and Saturday nights provide some of Bear’s Den’s peak hours, and late-night hours at the venue also give students a place to eat when everything else is closed. Currently, the Food Committee and the administration are trying to get the word out to students about the potential implications of their late-night behavior and to make the student body aware of future consequences. “It’s an issue up for debate if things don’t change,” said Carmody. Schimmele has already observed some notable changes, asserting, “In fact, since students have begun to discuss this, student behavior seems to
See BEAR’S DEN HOURS, page 3