M O N D A Y APRIL 12, 2004 Vol. 125, No. 71
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INSIDE WEBSTER & WILLY WONKA
Melissa Langdon profiles the Webster Film Series—if you like Oompa Loompas, you’ll love this! Also, Travis Peterson checks out Jim Green’s local punk show and Matt Simonton reviews 90 Day Men.
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STUDENT LIFE T H E I N D E P E N D E N T N E W S PA P E R O F WA S H I N G T O N U N I V E R S I T Y I N S T. L O U I S S I N C E 1 8 7 8
Coalition plans presidential debate protests By Kristin McGrath q Staff Reporter When members of the October 8 Coalition ask, “Where’s the debate?” they aren’t asking for directions to the Washington University Field House, where one of the three presidential debates is scheduled to take place this fall. Using this slogan, the Coalition hopes to point out that the real debate should take place outside the walls of the Field House. “[The Coalition is] very much about raising concern about the long-term trends in American policy and recent events,” said senior Peter Jones, one of the Coalition’s organizers. “We feel that a lot of the issues relating to those trends are not going to be discussed in the debates.” Like the October 17 Coalition in 2000, this year’s October 8 Coalition will be an alliance of various student and local groups that encompass a “wide swath of people with issues,” according to Jones. Concerts and speeches will take place on the days leading up to the debate. “The events leading up to [October 8] are going to be more educational and music [related],” said Jones. “[The speakers we will have are] very much up in the air. We’re going for the Socialist Party candidate, the Green Party
OFF AND RUNNING
candidate, maybe Ralph Nader—if we can get him—and the Libertarian candidate. We’re trying to get any presidential candidate who can qualify to run for president in at least one state.” The speakers invited by this year’s coalition will add a complexity that Jones feels is absent in the presidential debates themselves. “I think the speakers leading up to the debate are going to be talking about issues in a more nuanced form than what’s going to happen at the debate,” he said. “Presidential debates are not very complicated, usually.” Jones cited the war on drugs and local issues, such as the creation of a civilian oversight board to reduce police brutality, as issues that were likely to be left out of the debate. He feels that even well-known issues may be simplified in the process. “We would not be having these events if we felt this debate was enough,” said Jones. “Iraq is defi nitely going to be touched on, but there’s more to Iraq than the American casualties, and a lot of groups that will be involved in the coalition will be more concerned about Iraqi civilian casualties and our long-term policies in Iraq.” Freshman Irene Compadre, another of the Coalition’s organizers, feels that getting atten-
See DEBATE, page 2
STUDENT LIFE ARCHIVES
Protestors rally outside the 2000 presidential debate that was held in the University’s Athletic Complex. Students involved with the October 8 Coalition are already planning a series of protests, concerts and speeches for this year’s debate.
Sorority members walk to save lives
SOLDIERS DOWN
By Kelly Kanayama q Contributing Reporter
The track and field team competes in Edwardsville, the softball team picks up another victory and there’s a very special Passover edition of “I Don’t Roll on Shabbos.”
PAGE 7 STUDENT SNAPSHOT
Q:
It’s the tenth anniversary of the death of Kurt Cobain. Are you sad?
Sometime between 2 a.m. and 10 a.m. Sunday morning, the installation piece created by junior sculpture major Emily Renner entitled “Our Little Corner of the World” was completely destroyed. The installation, a part of the University City Sculpture Series, consisted of six toy soldiers, each six and a half feet tall, that were placed along Big Bend Boulevard near the gates at Pershing, Kingsbury and Waterman. “I am amazed that they were destroyed so quickly,” said Renner. Renner created the sculptures by hand using wood, foam, and plaster. Each weighed about 90 pounds, and the installation as a whole was supposed to have stayed up for one month. At the time of the installation’s destruction, however, the soldiers had only been standing for one week. “I wish they could have made it longer,” said Renner.
A. 21% B. 40% C. 22% D. 18%
A:
A. Yes. Kurt Cobain is God. I’m still grieving over the loss of such a great musician. I plan on spending the whole week listening to “Nevermind.” B. Maybe. Nirvana definitely rocked, but the dude was married to Courtney Love. Courtney Love, for God’s sake! If that isn’t indicative of severe mental issues, I don’t know what is. C. No. He was such a sell-out. If people want to worship a punk band, they should listen to someone way more hardcore. Plus, he did drugs, and drugs are not cool. D. Who’s Kurt Cobain? I’ve never even heard of him! Was he that one guy who sang that one song about the girl who didn’t love him? Results are unscientific, based on 104 votes cast.
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In a celebration of life, members of Washington University’s Mu Phi Gamma sorority will continue their annual tradition of participating in the Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Walk on April 18. Multiple sclerosis is a chronic disease that affects the brain and spinal cord and typically strikes adults between 20 and 50 years of age. The National Multiple Sclerosis Society created the MS Walk as a fundraiser to help fi nance research towards fi nding a cure for the disease. The MS Walk is of particular significance to Mu Phi Gamma because one of its members has experienced the effects of the disease in her own family. Barbi Stewart, the older sister of junior Mu Phi Gamma member Cecily Stewart, has lived with multiple sclerosis for ten years. During this period, Stewart has watched Barbi “go from being able to walk to being wheelchair-bound” due to the effects of the disease. Stewart has resolved to increase public awareness of multiple sclerosis, and this weekend will mark her third year of participation in the MS Walk. Stewart sees the event as an opportunity to help combat the disease, as well as a chance to “get the word out there that MS exists.” Stewart’s endeavors are beginning to pay off. An intern from the
- Photos and text by Emily Tobias
See WALK, page 2
New York teacher slams public schooling as ‘propaganda’ By Sarah Kliff q Staff Reporter John Taylor Gatto, a three-time recipient of the New York City teacher of the year award, delivered a speech entitled “Weapons of Mass Instruction” last week, in which he explained his belief that the public school system is a method of extending childhood and limiting young peoples’ potentials. Gatto believes that our efforts to study for the SAT and AP tests are misguided. Students would reap much greater benefits from actual field experience, he said. “If these numbers were of any importance at all, doctors, lawyers, and other professionals would hang SAT scores over their front doors,” explained Gatto. “In the real world, track experience comes fi rst, second, third, fourth, and so on.” Along with the SAT, Gatto believes that grades are only a measure of obedience and memorization. He cited the fact that current President George W. Bush and past presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy all had “C” averages in college,
STUDENT LIFE
yet went on to become major political infl uences. Not only are the test scores and grades insignificant, Gatto said; they also have detrimental effects on students’ wellbeing. “The constant demand that students memorize creates a susceptibility to propaganda,” said Gatto. “This is a susceptibility that is going to carry with them throughout life.” Instead of focusing on the numbers, Gatto believes that the key to students’ success is actual experience in the real world. He pointed out that the most important quality that the top twenty American boarding schools, which have produced most of our presidents, stress is “strong competency in the active literacies, without which full citizenship is impossible.” The College Libertarians sponsored Gatto’s speech. Senior Kevin Vallier, the organizer of the event and a four-year member of the College Libertarians, thought the event went well, even if it wasn’t exactly what the audience had expected.
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SYLIVA HARDY | STUDENT LIFE
Three-time New York City teacher of the year John Taylor Gatto spoke last week about what he sees as the failings of the American public school system. The College Libertarians sponsored the lecture, entitled “Weapons of Mass Instruction.”
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