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SEEING DOUBLE | THE SECRET LIVES OF TWINS ON CAMPUS | SCENE, PAGE 10

STUDENT LIFE

THE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER OF WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS SINCE 1878 VOLUME 128, NO. 63

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FRIDAY, MARCH 23, 2007

Committee presents heightened security recommendations to senators, administrators

BY SAM GUZIK ASSIGNMENTS EDITOR Immediately after the assault of a student on campus this past February, the Chancellor formed a committee to review the University’s safety and security policies.

The committee, consisting of students, staff, members of the Residential Life Advisory Board and the police department, presented its results to the Student Union Senate on Wednesday night.

“What we’re trying to do is balance everyone’s interests by having an open campus while still meeting concerns about safety,” said Executive Vice Chancellor John Kline and the leader of the work group. “That balance will reduce the number of incidents...and make people safer.”

The Chancellor’s work group reviewed a number of initiatives ranging from preventative education to the installation of closed circuit video cameras (CCTV) in residence hall entrances.

These changes will apply to University housing both on and off campus and are on track to be implemented by next fall.

“The chancellor embraced the recommendations and said ‘Yes, move forward,’” said Don Strom, chief of University Police.

One of the most notable changes on campus will be the installation of card locks and automatic closing doors in the old dorms.

“Card locks are more convenient for the students and this is something that lots of schools are doing,” said Tim Lempfert, assistant director of

Residential Life. “There’s a value for the students that comes from the fact that cards are easier to replace when lost, and there is added security because cards cannot be copied.”

The combination of card locks and doors that close automatically is meant to cut down on students who leave their doors unlocked even as they leave their rooms.

The installation of these new locks represents the acceleration of a five-year plan that had been in place to transition from traditional, key locks to card locks.

The installation of CCTV in residence hall entrances also represents an accelerated version of a previous plan. Originally, CCTV was to be installed on a pilot basis.

The committee chose to recommend the installation of

CCTV cameras rather than suggesting that security guards be placed in the entranceway of dorms, as some other institutions have done.

“Putting security staff at the entrances to buildings seems to create a lockdown environment.

During meetings with students, the committee found that students were not favorable to that type of plan,” stated Rob Wild, assistant to the chancellor.

Importantly, the initiatives suggested by the work group also focused on additional preventative education.

“We’ve already tired to have some basic education by using the RAs to go over basic safety, but we feel that we could do more about education throughout the year,” said Lempfert.

“All the new hardware will only

See SECURITY, page 3

NEW SECURITY MEASURES 1) CCTV cameras to be installed at dorm entrances 2) Swipe Card Locks to be installed on all dorm doors 3) WUPD trying to establish Rape Aggression Defense Program course 4) Additional preventive education through ResLife, focusing on basic safety

SU Treasury runs out of cash

PUTTING THE SPARK INTO ON CAMPUS ROMANCE

BY SARA RAJARAM STAFF REPORTER

LIONEL SOBEHART | STUDENT LIFE

David Wygant, the inspiration for the movie Hitch, spoke at Lauderman Hall Thursday night. Students enganged in role playing to demonstrate the right and wrong moves to make when picking up that special someone.

Medical school enrollment increases at universities across the nation v WU School of Medicine remains steady

BY PUNEET KOLLIPARA STAFF REPORTER Although an annual survey of American medical schools conducted by the Association of American Medical Colleges indicates that fi rst-year national medical school enrollments will increase 17 percent by 2012, Washington University’s School of Medicine does not currently have the capacity to expand its enrollment.

In a press release on the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Web site, AAMC President Darrell Kirch said that the major reason for the expansion is the need for increased physician manpower to accommodate an increasing

United States population.

“The need for more doctors is real and will become more urgent as our population grows and ages,” he said. “This increase is a significant step in the right direction, and we are pleased that 71 U.S. medical schools plan to expand their class sizes over the next five years. But clearly, we must fi nd additional ways to stimulate more growth in medical school capacity so that we have enough doctors to care for our nation in the coming decades.”

According to the survey, the future predicted enrollment was compared to enrollment in the 2002-2003 school year.

That year, fi rst-year enrollment totaled 16,448 students. By

Men’s basketball takes third in D-III Senior sports editor Andrei Berman chronicles the Bears’ final four run that finished off an epic season.

Sports, Page 4

2012, with the expansions implemented, fi rst-year national medical school enrollment is projected to reach about 19,000 students.

According to W. Edwin Dodson, associate dean for Medical School Admissions and Continuing Medical Education, the School of Medicine’s applicant pool size has generally fluctuated in eight- to 10-year cycles.

In 1996, applicants peaked at 7,014, but according to admissions data from the School of Medicine, in recent years there have been about 4,000 applicants per year, with 4,064 applicants in 2006.

Even with the increasing and aging U.S. population, the School of Medicine has kept its

entering class size constant at approximately 120 since the mid 1970s. According to Dodson, 99 percent of entering students will eventually graduate.

“Once someone is accepted, the medical school is extremely supportive and tries to provide whatever [the students] need to fi nish,” said Dodson.

Additionally, graduates get into some of the most competitive residency programs in the country, including programs affi liated with the University of California-San Francisco, University of Washington, University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University and Harvard University. A significant number of

See MED SCHOOL, page 3

One last slice of pizza pie Our Stepping Out team of Matt and Ryan bid adieu to their column. What restaurant do they honor with their final review? Scene, Page 8

For the remainder of the semester, student groups will no longer be able to appeal for Student Union treasury funds.

Treasury doled out the last of its funds at Tuesday’s meeting, leaving some student groups disgruntled over aspects of the appeals process.

“If they adhered more strictly to the rules, they would have more money now.

There is a tendency of a lot of people in treasury to give additional funds to student groups just because they asked for it,” said junior Olawale Hassan, a former Student Union treasury member and the current treasurer of the African Students Association (ASA). The ASA received the final $705.27 of funds out of the requested $1,260 to bring in the speaker Nwando Achebe, professor on gender studies in Africa.

According to Hassan, the treasury strayed from the rules on Tuesday and on other occasions when it has approved student groups for funds who have not sufficiently fundraised on their own.

Treasury policy mandates that groups must fundraise approximately 35 percent of the money necessary to conduct events or activities. Treasury cannot compensate groups for the money they fail to fundraise.

On Tuesday, debate over

whether to fund the Washington University Political Review (WUPR) to publish its eighth issue of the semester focused on the publication’s inability to meet this requirement. SU had already allocated enough funds for WUPR to publish seven of its eight issues for this semester. Excess funding at this point is considered a violation of the fundraising percentage rule.

Representatives of WUPR cited that it has not been able to generate its own funds because businesses are generally unwilling to advertise in a magazine that is relatively new and contains political content.

“We do want to support WUPR because they are a publication that can’t fundraise $10,000 like other groups can. But at the same time, we did require them to fundraise some part on their own,” said SU Treasurer Jason Lewis, a senior.

Out of the $4,000 of remaining revenue that Treasury gave out on Tuesday, the elected body granted the publication $1,449 out of the requested $4,347.69.

“What’s the point of having a fundraising percentage if Treasury is going to give them the money anyway?” said Hassan. “Treasury needs to be bit more strict.”

Senior Ashley Smith, presi-

See TREASURY, page 2

LUCY MOORE | STUDENT LIFE

Student Union Treasury members debate on how to address the current funding crisis during the meeting on Tuesday in Simon Hall.

INSIDE: Forum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Sudoku . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

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2 STUDENT LIFE | NEWS

STUDENT LIFE One Brookings Drive #1039 #42 Women’s Building Saint Louis, MO 63130-4899 News: (314) 935-5995 Advertising: (314) 935-6713 Fax: (314) 935-5938 e-mail: editor@studlife.com www.studlife.com Copyright 2007 Editor in Chief: Sarah Kliff Associate Editor: Liz Neukirch Managing Editors: Justin Davidson, David Tabor Senior News Editor: Mandy Silver Senior Forum Editor: Daniel Milstein Senior Cadenza Editor: Ivanna Yang Senior Scene Editor: Erin Fults Senior Sports Editor: Andrei Berman Senior Photo Editor: David Brody Senior Graphics Editor: Rachel Harris News Editors: Troy Rumans, Laura Geggel, Josh Hantz, Shweta Murthi News Manager: Elizabeth Lewis Assignments Editor: Sam Guzik Forum Editors: Tess Croner, Nathan Everly, Chelsea Murphy, Jill Strominger Cadenza Editors: Elizabeth Ochoa, David Kaminksy, Brian Stitt Scene Editors: Sarah Klein, Felicia Baskin Sports Editor: Scott Kaufman-Ross Photo Editors: Alwyn Loh, Lionel Sobehart, Eitan Hochster, Jenny Shao Online Editor: Scott Bressler Design Chief: Laura McLean Production Chief: Anna Dinndorf Copy Chiefs: Willie Mendelson, Indu Chandrasekhar Copy Editors: Shari Feirman, Julia Jay, Brian Krigsher, Cecilia Razak, Maria Hossain Designers: Ellen Lo, Jamie Reed, Chris Maury, Kim Yeh, Dennis Sweeney, Courtney LeGates General Manager: Andrew O’Dell Advertising Manager: Sara Judd Copyright 2007 Washington University Student Media, Inc. (WUSMI). Student Life is the financially and editorially independent, student-run newspaper serving the Washington University community. First copy of each publication is free; all additional copies are 50 cents. Subscriptions may be purchased for $80.00 by calling (314) 935-6713.

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Senior News Editor / Mandy Silver / news@studlife.com

Pulse

Compiled by Shweta Murthi

Friday, March 23 The Many Faces of Islam How does Islam relate to politics and culture? Professor Fred Donner from the University of Chicago, a scholar of early Islam, is speaking at the Brookings Residential College today at 5 p.m. in Gregg Lounge. Bring questions and an open mind. Sponsored by the Brooking Faculty and Residential College Staff.

Mama’s Pot Roast 24-Hours of improv comedians doing what they do best: going crazy! Midnight dance and karaoke parties, improvisation, a cappella singing, Guitar Hero tournaments, board games, costumes, puppet shows, rock bands and much, much more! $5 gets you a pass for the entire 24-Hours of madness! You get to choose the charity your money will be going to! The improv marathon runs from 8 p.m. Friday to 8 p.m. Saturday in the Danforth classroom.

Iranian Cultural Society Free food, music, and maybe even…Persian dancing! Come find out more about this brand new club at Wash. U. and learn about Iranian tradition while enjoying Middle Eastern cuisine and live music. This event, which celebrates Eid-e-Norooz, an Iranian festival, will be held at the Gargoyle from 8 p.m. to midnight.

Saturday, March 24 WuStock Enjoy live music and free food on the swamp! Kicking off CS40 week, WuStock will feature a battle of the bands and variety show hybrid which will provide music entertainment and activities to all residents of the South 40. An array of Wash. U. bands and a cappella groups are set to perform, and WuStock will also feature spin art, henna tattoos, hemp jewelry-making, eating and arm wrestling contests, trivia and the ever-popular Free Pot and Plant station. The fun lasts from 1 to 4 p.m.

Tofu Festival Tired of Bear’s Den? Add some Tofu to your life! Chinese Students Association is hosting its first ever Tofu Festival on the Basketball Court of the Swamp. With several booths to sample from, you can enjoy tofu salad, soy milk, spicy sautéed tofu or even soy sushi! Hurry and grab a bite between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.

Rain location in Mudd Lounge.

Hawaii Club Luau Say ‘aloha’ to the Hawaii Club’s Annual Luau! Come for a taste of Hawaii with delicious food and hula dances! Tickets run for $10.

Join the festivities in Northwest Wohl from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Sunday, March 25 Classical Indian Music Concert World-renowned sitar player Imrat Khan, a distinguished artist-in-residence in the Department of Music in Arts & Sciences, will be joined by virtuoso tabla (percussion) player Samir Chatterjee for a concert of Indian classical music at 8 p.m in Edison Theater. Tickets are $5 for students and $10 for WU faculty and staff. Tickets are available through Edison Theater Box Office.

FRIDAY | MARCH 23, 2007

Administration discusses tuition hike

BY JOSH HANTZ NEWS EDITOR Washington University’s administration addressed anxious students concerned about the rising cost of education at the annual Tuition Forum.

The 2007-2008 academic year will see a 5.5 percent increase over last year, now standing at $34,500. Room-and-board will increase by $456, or 4.1 percent.

Chancellor Mark Wrighton and other administrators, including Deans Ed Macias and James McLeod, met with students on Monday night on the South 40. “[Tuition] is going up, but that’s not a surprise, I suppose,” said Wrighton.

The forum was more of an information session for students to hear the data fi rsthand about why tuition is increasing and what their money is funding.

Sophomore Dan Maher, academic affairs chair of Student Union, helped organize the event in hopes of allowing students to gain a better understanding of tuition in general.

“We want them to learn where their money is going, and relative to other universities, what they’re getting,” said Maher. “We just want to lay our concerns and questions to students to let them know where everything stands.”

Wrighton began the discussion by explaining the process of setting tuition. At the beginning of the academic year, the administration appraises a desired rate and submits it to the Board of Trustees, who has the fi nal word. The administration is then responsible

for relaying the decision to the public, typically through the Chancellor’s annual letter to students and parents.

Wrighton emphasized three factors used to determine tuition—competition, parents’ ability to pay and strengthening the University—and why they are important.

“This is the only unrestricted revenue stream we can control,” said Wrighton.

Chief Financial Officer Barbara Feiner elaborated on these factors. The University fi rst figures out who its competition is based on the number of overlapping applications with other universities, mainly schools supporting private research.

Out of its 26 competitors, of which the University was the fi rst to announce next year’s tuition, Washington University ranks 18th based on the percentage increase. This year’s tuition hike is below the 5.9 percent average of increasing tuition. The University ranks ninth in room-and-board based on the double room rate and 13th in mandatory fees.

Feiner compared the University’s $988 fee to the $984 national average and Harvard University’s $3,400 fee.

“Sometimes fees cover what we cover in tuition,” she said.

“Our philosophy is to have fewer fees and have the cost of what you’re paying for cover as much as possible.”

Feiner elaborated on where the tuition dollars end up, from the operating budget to employee paychecks. The four undergraduate schools receive 62 percent of their operating

revenue from tuition, with their largest expense being employee salaries and benefits.

“There are always pressures on [employee] compensation,” he said. “It tends to rise higher than inflation.”

Part of the reason for this pressure is that the University’s competitors want to attract its professors as well as the students, thus driving up the price to keep them here.

Another challenge, Feiner admitted, was the University’s endowment. Fourteen percent of fi nancial aid comes from its endowment, compared to the 72 percent average of its competitors. Feiner said that the endowment has historically been a problem that the University is trying to improve.

Still, fi nancial aid increases as tuition does, according to Bill Witbrodt, director of Student Financial Services.

“We want students to understand what goes into deciding how much to raise tuition, and how it affects their fi nancial aid package,” he said. “All else remaining equal, an increase in cost leads to an increase in fi nancial aid.”

Not all colleges are increasing tuition though. According to the online magazine Inside Higher Ed, Princeton University decided to keep tuition at $33,000 due to gains from its endowment, valued at $13 billion. Yet, Princeton is increasing room and board from $437 to $1,780, making the overall yearly bill go up 4.2 percent, as opposed to 4.9 percent from last year.

TREASURY v FROM PAGE 1 dent of Harambee Christian Ministries, also disagreed with aspects of the money allocation process. Smith, on behalf of her organization, appealed prior to spring break for funds to send the group on an urban community service project called City Lights.

“SU should fund events

[and] activities that are representative of the diversity of the Wash. U. student body,” said Smith. “I feel that SU is wellintentioned for the most part, but there is certainly room for re-evaluation of where and in what proportion funds are being distributed.”

Lewis noted that Treasury

improves from year to year and he approves of their management of funds for the 20062007 school year.

“Treasury had a very defined set of criteria in what it looks for in funding events, and it has been very consistent in how it looked at appeals this year,” said Lewis.

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Senior News Editor / Mandy Silver / news@studlife.com

FRIDAY | NARCH 23, 2007

Jewish community to host national LGBTQIA conference

BY BEN SALES

to be welcoming and incorporate these people’s differences,” he said. “We focus on all these differences, but people just want to fit in a Jewish context and live their lives in a Jewish manner.”

After a day of workshops on Saturday, the participants will hear from S. Bear Bergman, a transgender Jew who spoke at Hillel last year. Bergman will present a one-person show called “Monday Night in Westerbork,” about a group of drama players at a concentration camp during the Holocaust. Although Bergman has, in the past, raised controversial issues in performance, Buck said that challenging the audience is a goal of the show.

“It is not comfortable,” said Buck. “It is meant to make you think. It is going to be entertaining, but also thought-provoking and challenging.”

Based on her experiences at the NUJLS conference last year, Buck said that the conference aims to widen the range of people that NUJLS reaches by hosting it at Wash. U. and to show University students a group of people who are serious about being Jewish and LGBTQIA. “They were looking to have [the convention] in the midwest and reach a good audience,” she said. “They wanted to branch out. It was a substantial community of people who were committed to being Jewish and to being openly, happily and comfortably queer and Jewish at the same time.”

SENIOR STAFF REPORTER A national Jewish LGBTQIA group will host a convention at Hillel this weekend. The group, National Union of Jewish LGBTQIA Students, is hosted by Keshet, Washington University’s Jewish LGBTQIA student group.

The conference is the main event for the National Union of Jewish LGBTQIA Students (NUJLS) and brings college students from across the country to spend the Jewish Sabbath together.

The conference will focus on issues of sexual orientation and gender identity in the Jewish LGBTQIA community, with speakers and workshops provided for students to network and learn about current issues.

“NUJLS exists to create community and connections between students who identify as LGBTQIA,” said junior Margaux Buck, co-president of Keshet.

“It gives people who lack community the chance to be part of an active, open and friendly community both as Jews and as LGBTQIA folk.”

The first speaker of the convention, Paul Cohen, is the regional director of Hillel in California and will discuss issues of integrating the LGBTQIA community into the Hillel sphere.

Zeitlin said that though there are hurdles to overcome in integrating LGBTQIA students into traditional Judaism, it is something that is necessary and valuable.

“There is a way for [tradition]

Sophomore Ross Zeitlin, the group’s other co-president, said that the conference also allows those the Jewish LGBTQIA community to confront the broad scope of the challenges that it faces.

“It exposes more issues that are out there,” said Zeitlin, who ran the committee that brought the convention to campus. “Even though we have had some programs, a national conference puts those issues into a global aspect. It attracts other people.

It makes people think about what we are thinking about.”

For Buck, the emphasis on a sense of connection between students is a central aspect of the conference as students who attribute themselves to both the Jewish and LGBTQIA communities often face conflicts of identity.

“It is not terribly common to stand in both of those identities at once,” she said. “There are a lot of identities out there and integrating two—it is not easy to do that as an individual and it is amazing to do it as a community.”

Zeitlin agreed with Buck and said that though there are challenges, a discussion of identity is meant, in the conference, to show people the chance to belong as an LGBTQIA Jew. “This convention shows that people can use Judaism to fulfill their lives, and that it could work for the entire population,” he said. “[Judaism] is not meant to exclude people. It is a possibility.”

MED SCHOOL v FROM PAGE 1 our class size without diluting our educational experience,” he said. “As a result, there are currently no plans to increase the class size,” he said.

One reason for the decision was that the school does not currently have the ability to expand its clinical training programs to accommodate increased class sizes.

“Students spend a lot of time with faculty. One concern is that we would have to go outside our clinical facilities and

students stay at Wash. U., completing residency programs at Barnes-Jewish Hospital or the Children’s Hospital.

The School of Medicine has recently discussed the possibility of increasing its enrollment.

However, despite the continually aging American population and the eventual need for more physicians, Dodson said that the school has decided against expanding for now.

“For the time being, we don’t have the capacity to increase

develop new clinical training options for our students, which not a feasible option at this time,” said Dodson.

At this point, the medical school can only realistically expand by a minimal amount.

“We really have state-of-theart classroom facilities, and we can accommodate some degree of increase based on the facilities. But the limiting factors at this point are clinical capacity to provide students opportunity for clinical education.”

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STUDENT LIFE | NEWS

3

SECURITY v FROM PAGE 1

JENNY SHAO | STUDENT LIFE

WUPD Chief Don Strom has announced that the University will implement new security precautions, including the installation of security cameras at the entrance to residential halls. have an impact if you start with square one and educate students: education and security go hand in hand.”

In an attempt to expand awareness of self-defense, the University Police department is working to establish a Rape Aggression Defense Program as a course for credit.

At the meeting, senators

were impressed with the steps that have already been taken.

Some senators expressed concerns about privacy issues resulting from the CCTV program and hoped that there would be student representation on the committee overseeing the implementation.

“I think they’re actively seeking out ways to increase

security both on campus and off campus. I think they are doing an incredible job and their response has been incredible,” said Jeff Zove, former speaker of the Senate. “I do think that security needs to be improved in an off campus area.”

4 STUDENT LIFE | FORUM

Senior Forum Editor / Daniel Milstein / forum@studlife.com

FRIDAY | MARCH 23, 2007

FORUM

Our daily Forum editors: Monday: Chelsea Murphy cemurphy@art.wustl.edu

Wednesday: Nathan Everly Friday: Tess Croner neverly@wustl.edu tacroner@wustl.edu

To ensure that we have time to fully evaluate your submissions, guest columns should be e-mailed to the next issue’s editor or forwarded to forum@studlife.com by no later than 5 p.m. two days before publication. Late pieces will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

We welcome your submissions and thank you for your consideration.

STAFF EDITORIAL

The sanctity Reforming ResLife lottery of flying G A etting a bad lottery number in the drawing for ResLife housing is not an enviable situation. One of the results of getting a high number is often moving off campus. This is not because the student did not want to live in ResLife housing, rather, the student just had bad luck and was not able to live where he or she wanted to. Unfortunately, this is essentially the last time the student will be able to live in ResLife housing, as the following year, that student is not assigned a lottery number. The housing selection process is unfair to upperclassmen who, for one reason or another, choose to live off campus, and it needs to be reformed.

There are legitimate reasons to want to move back on-campus after moving offcampus for a year. In addition to moving off-campus to deal

with a high lottery number, students can decide to come back to campus because of safety concerns, for example.

With the way the housing system is currently set up, students in situations like these have very little recourse. It is almost impossible for them to get desirable on-campus housing the following year, and they would be forced off-campus yet again.

According to Cheryl Stephens, associate director of ResLife, the reason that students who choose to live off-campus cannot reenter the lottery with their class is an issue of space. “We just simply don’t have enough beds to let people back into our process,” Stephens said. We understand that this is not an easy problem for ResLife to solve but the current housing selection system only amplifies the problem.

The decision to move off-campus is effectively a permanent one, as it does not allow students to change their minds. In turn, this can add to the problem.

Students afraid of not being able to get back on campus may choose to stay on campus if they are not sure about leaving ResLife housing. If they knew the possibility of going back to ResLife housing was still open, they would be more willing to try living off-campus and seeing if they like it.

But because of how the system is set up now, students who are positive about living on campus, but decided to live off campus the year before end up stuck off campus.

Students who live offcampus should be allowed to participate in the lottery the following year if they would like to, without getting pushed to the bottom of the heap. By

giving such students lottery numbers, it would afford them to change their mind the following year. This is a right that students should have.

ResLife tries to give students the best housing possible.

Sometimes, students would rather forego ResLife housing and fi nd other options. And sometimes, these students regret their decision. In trying to make sure students can have the best housing possible, they should be allowed back into the ResLife housing process.

ResLife responded admirably to the freshman housing crunch at the beginning of the year, and they achieved another success with the approval of a mixed-gender housing trial run. ResLife should not be complacent though, and they should try to fi x the current selection system so that all students can have the opportunity to live where they want.

EDITORIAL CARTOON

MCT CAMPUS

Housing horror I

t’s that time of the year again. More stressful than the holidays, more melodramatic than that junior high soap opera you barely survived. It’s time to pick your housing, or more importantly, it’s time to pick your future roommates.

Hey, you might luck out and get Tess Croner off easy. It might be a no-brainer, smooth sailing all the way to move-in day. But for most of us, it’ll be a bumpy ride. You’ll have to be both tough and flexible. No time for panic or desperation. No room for whiners. Just get out your straw and suck it up.

Personally, I think I’d

rather just live in a hole in the Swamp than deal with all the frustration and hurt feelings of housing selection. Forming a group forces you to exclude. And if you’re the one excluded, it can be demoralizing—especially when it comes as a shock. It’s like not getting picked for the PE dodge ball team, only 50 times worse. The unfortunate truth of housing selection is that being a friend on the fringe can leave you hanging, and hurting. So what to do? If I were a proactive student (in my dreams!), I could recommend preemptive action. Keep all core social groups to four or less (standard suite size), or if you must be in a group of five, six, or more, make sure everyone likes you best.

There’s nothing like a good safety net.

But there’s no sure thing

in this process. Even popularity now comes with a price.

If you’re in demand, choosing a group requires that you pick favorites. In the search for the best situation, you have to reject some friends in favor of others. Housing is a cruel master, and it requires that you are straightforward enough to get the people you want while politely declining your other suitors. And it’s also a fact that there are some friends you can live with and some you just can’t. Wash. U. is full of Type A people who need their space. Room with the wrong one and you’ll be surprised at how much space you start to need.

What a mess, huh? I’m seeing it all happening now: friendships unraveling, cliques cementing, housing papers signed, housing plans dashed. You can try telling

yourself over and over again that it’s not personal (it’s usually not). But if you get stranded and forced into a less than satisfactory situation, it feels pretty damn personal. So like I said, you suck it up and fight on. You keep a plucky attitude and doggedly pursue your desired group. You attempt to seduce people with your super low lottery number. You cry and guilt trip. And somewhere you strike a balance between going with the flow and sticking up for what you want.

You do your best not to get screwed (and try, if possible, not to do the screwing). After all is said and done, remember: it’s not your life on the line, it’s just your Reslife.

Tess is a sophomore in Arts & Sciences and a Forum editor.

She can be reached via e-mail at forum@studlife.com.

BY ZACHARY STEINERT-THRELKELD STAFF COLUMNIST

irplanes represent both the height of capitalist individualism and the last refuge of collectivity, an awesome embodiment of impersonal market coordination and the forced undergoing of a collective experience. This is what makes them glorious, at least until technology creeps into the metal cocoon.

The progress of technology is the progress of impersonality. The quicker one travels, the less contact one has with the environs as the traveler becomes more removed from the actual experience of traveling. A runner still must hear, see, and smell, and touch his surroundings while jogging, and the slow speed of a carriage forces the rider to acknowledge his surroundings in spite of his seclusion. Trains, faster still, lower the contact with the passing area but forces its occupants together, creating a community inside the car to replace the anonymity of the outside.

An automobile —with its complementary highways, air conditioner, and radio—symbolizes the apex of anonymity, of self-sequestering from society by blurring through it. The driver enforces his own narrowness—less people, less awareness of the surroundings, less contact with the environment: less of what makes society congeal.

Raising its occupants above the ground, above weather systems, and above society itself, airplanes further increase the divide between traveler and environment. By the inescapable acceleration of technology, they further atomize the traveler from his surroundings, another inexorable step towards isolation. But, unlike the car, riding in an airplane is a collective experience from which one cannot escape. Removed from the physical environment, the airplane smashes the passengers together in a hyper-social environment, bringing individuals into unavoidable contact.

“Removed from the physical environment, the airplane smashes the passengers together in a hypersocial environment, bringing individuals into unavoidable contact.”

This unavoidable contact forces socialization, creating more contact than most people receive in today’s bubbled world. The banalities of life require newfound consideration: getting out to use the bathroom, using an elbow rest, sleeping, reclining the seat, or turning on the overhead light all require that the individual considers the dif-

fuse impact of his actions.

In the car, the driver can belt Kevin Federline lyrics forever; in an airplane, the same person risks getting slapped. To travel requires that the individual situate himself, even if only for a short time, within a larger context. Almost nowhere else in modern life does this happen—from breakfast to bed, the car to the cubicle, the iPod to the cell phone, society fosters atomistic separatism and increasingly drives a wedge between individuals. The airplane, though removing the individual from life below, forces each passenger into a conjunctive state, temporarily combining student and retiree, lawyer and mechanic, sports fan and scientist into one interacting mass.

Yet the airplane only works as a cohesive force because of its internal hindrance of technology. Of course, laptops and iPods are increasingly compartmentalizing the airplane, but the proximate nature of airplane travel mitigates this: seat companions will, without fail, be listening along to the neighbor’s music or glancing over at his screen, transforming an individual experience into a collective one. Once the FAA allows phone calls during flight, however, that last bastion of sociability, the airplane, will slowly disappear. Then, everyone will have the Internet at their fingertips and their Rolodex a speed-dial away.

The silent nature of laptops and music devices also facilitates communication, whereas the cacophony that is the cell phone erects a verbal and technological barrier between the caller and everyone else.

No longer as impelled to share the flight experience with a neighbor, each passenger will become further withdrawn into their overly personal world. “I met the most interesting person on the plane” or “You will not believe how long we circled the airport” will transform into “I barely noticed anyone else” or “I’m circling the airport and have no idea when we’ll land.”

Airplanes, meticulously assembled from millions of parts provided by thousands of suppliers, represent a monumental achievement of industrial society.

Just as the physical plane symbolizes the congealing of disparate material elements into a functional whole, so each flight assembles disparate peoples into a bonding mass. Not able to stare past anyone, fake a cell phone conversation, or rush to a “meeting,” the airplane collects the shards of humanity into a whole for a fleeting moment. Until disembarkment, the airplane remains a holy bulwark against modern society – at least until the F.A.A. caves to telecoms and allows cell phones on flights.

Zachary is a junior in Arts & Sciences. He can be reached via e-mail at zsteiner@artsci. wustl.edu.

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FRIDAY | MARCH 23, 2007

STUDENT LIFE | FORUM

5

The petri dish

BY MICHELLE ALBERT STAFF COLUMNIST

S

pring Break has come and gone. Students are returning to campus in droves, ready (or grudgingly so) to get back to work, sporting fresh tans, textbooks, and…cough drops? Silly me, I thought winter was fl u season.

Now, more than ever, everyone (and I mean everyone) is getting sick. I can’t walk into Whispers without hearing someone saying, “Oh, well, I didn’t sleep last night, I think I’m coming down with something.” Runny noses and sore throats abound.

Granted, I have already added to this epidemic: I was sick last month, with a death cough like no other. But, in all fairness, it was really cold then.

With spring comes life; flowers budding along the sidewalks and happy stu-

“Sick is the new stressed.” dents skiving class to play frisbee or sunbathe in the middle of the Swamp. Who wants to stay in bed when its 65 degrees out? A virus just ruins all the fun. No one wants to be that guy honking into a Kleenex during a class held outside. It’s rather irritating to others, and, as I know from experience, not at all attractive. You are more likely than not to be avoided when sporting a runny nose and red-rimmed eyes. Quite a blow to the ego. But it seems this cannot be helped.

College comes with certain adjustments to seemingly normal living arrangements.

Even in the new dorms,

students live right on top of each other, sharing food, memories, bathrooms, and germs. If a friend comes down with something, you’d better start inhaling that Vitamin C, pal, because you’re next. It’s kindergarten sharing taken to a whole new level. Friends bond over herbal tea and trips to the health center rather than late-night pizza and study sessions.

And there is always someone conspicuously absent from that four-person class. Sick is the new stressed.

There seems to be a new culture arising. Where conversations used to be dominated by the ‘most stressed out’ person, it is now the ‘most sick’ person that garners all the sympathy.

Because the fl u always hits when you have two exams and a paper due all in the same week. Murphy’s Law. Hopefully, something useful will arise from this campus-wide epidemic. Perhaps, as we all will have been exposed to a great number of things during our time at Wash. U., we will have developed a sort of super-immunity to most common viruses by graduation. And then some inspired bio-chemist will research this immunity and develop the ultimate prevention for the common cold. Far-fetched? A little. But think of the possibilities.

Until then, I think we are stuck. Although, it probably wouldn’t hurt to Lysol the doorknobs every once in a while.

Michelle is a junior in Arts & Sciences. She can be reached via e-mail at mgalbert@artsci. wustl.edu.

TEMU BROWN | STUDENT LIFE

How to start your very own wall of shame

BY SARA REMEDIOS STAFF COLUMNIST

S

ome of my campers asked how horses have sex. I said, ‘in their own special way.’” “You should have said doggy-style.” “I’m better than a vibrator!” “It’d be kind of weird if there were little Jewish people living inside me.” “I wish someone would say this to me: be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth.” “Honey that’s what everyone in Iowa would say to you.” “I like watching zebras mate.”

“Maybe I should get in touch with my inner sex kitten.”

“Couldn’t hurt.” “Going to the AC doesn’t make you a lesbian, just a little butch.”

“You know what I bet happened? I bet some beautiful

man came up to her and was like, ‘Hello, I’d like to take you back to my room now and marry you and have lots and lots of babies.’” “But she wouldn’t miss Grey’s!” “Big Bird is Hitler.” “He pees like a fucking… moose.” “That’s not true, that happened to my great uncle and he didn’t have to eat anyone!!!”

Aren’t you just inspired?

Come on, you know you want to. You know you want to have a written testament to all the absurd, insane, inappropriate, incomprehensible things that your friends and roommates say over the course of the semester. All those unintentional oneliners that still have you rolling on the floor, wiping your eyes and gasping for breath 10 minutes later

when you finally realize from all the awkward looks you’re getting that whatever it was wasn’t actually that funny. All those times you have to stop, appraise, and ask, “How the hell did you get into college?” It’s a good time.

“All those times you have to stop, appraise, and ask, “How the hell did you get into college?””

Still don’t believe me?

Consider this: First, you can only remember so much. Think

about it. All those inside jokes stored up in the recesses of your brain, endlessly amusing but alltoo-quickly pushed out by magnetic nuclear resonance and/or Hamlet’s second soliloquy… having them written down and publicly visible means that you can have them at your fingertips, forever!

Second, your wall, your call. So be the one to do it first. Seriously, do you want to be that poor boy who has to live with having said, “I promise I’m not a lesbian… no, really!” for the rest of the year? If it’s your wall, you can set the rules—including absolute authority over what gets written up and what gets taken down.

Better to be the mocker than

Melancholy paradise: now with extra flavor

BY GREG ALLEN STAFF COLUMNIST

I

am flying back to Wash.

U. from San Francisco.

On long flights like this one the Airline offers in-flight meals and snacks.

A bag of M&M’s is three dollars. The Asian Chicken Salad is five dollars. It’s late and I haven’t had dinner, so I purchase the Asian Chicken Salad. It comes in a small, sealed plastic container that has a label on it. With some effort, I manage to open the stupid little box. Inside there is slightly wilted lettuce, slightly dehydrated fruit, and chicken that by itself tastes like recycled air.

There are also four packets: the first is an abnormally short plastic fork with a single napkin, wrapped in clear cellophane. One says “SALT” in big black letters.

Another is the same but “PEPPER.” The last packet is bigger than the others and is made of cellophane rather than paper. It reads

“FLAVOR.” I tear open the FLAVOR and pour it on my salad attempting equal distribution. I take the fork out of its packaging and easily force it through the slightly wilted lettuce and a mandarin orange slice and a piece of chicken. The FLAVOR of this meal is that of diluted Tang and saltwater. I wonder if everyone else on the plane is as euphoric as I about eating this engineer-designed astronaut food.

I am in my hometown at a park I like to run at. It’s nice here. There’s a big lake and enough trees to have some shade, but not so many that there isn’t a breeze. There’s a big open field for picnics and even a playground for kids. There is one thing, however, it doesn’t have—a water fountain. Of course, the park used to have a water fountain, but it doesn’t anymore. Now it has a Coke machine. The Coke machine sells Disani so I suppose I could get water if I wanted to fork over a buck fifty.

Truth be told, I probably would pay such an amount since I just ran and I’m thirsty, but I don’t bring my wallet to run, and the machine is sold out anyways and has been since I got into town. Maybe the fountain broke and they’ll replace it sooner or later. Maybe the lake is getting dirty and it’s

“Psychologists say the happiest people on earth are the Amish.

Maybe that’s because they’ve still got everything everybody else sold away.” not safe to drink the water anymore. Maybe there are a million mitigating factors, but I doubt it. They closed the restrooms too and put in a Johnny on the Spot.

People’s jobs keep them

in cubicles, and they get depressed from want of the sun. Buy a sunlamp.

Modern agriculture uses fertilizer that makes crops big but not nutritious. Take vitamins.

I often think something in the world is very wrong.

I don’t mean that capitalism is evil, or that greed is destroying the world. It’s just that something seems off about our society where happiness is standardized, commodified, and somehow always designed for minimal satisfaction while advertised as endless delight. At the same time, the happy things we all might share and enjoy are neglected. Psychologists say the happiest people on earth are the Amish. Maybe that’s because they’ve still got everything everybody else sold away.

Greg is a freshman in Arts & Sciences. He can be reached via e-mail at gcallen@wustl. edu.

the mocked, right?

Third, dorm walls are ugly and good decorations can be pricey. However, a few pieces of construction paper, some ResLife-approved blue tape, a brightly colored marker, and you are set. Cover up those pin-holes you keep forgetting to chalk, that hole you accidentally punched through the wall last semester when you lost at Mario Kart (you know who you are). And added bonus, you get cover up and the feeling of being supercrafty. And super-frugal!

Fourth, if you ever need to blackmail anyone… having a written record of all the brainless/thoughtless/ sexist/racist/homosexual/ homophobic things your friends may or may not have

said over the course of your friendship is incomparable.

It might not seem like it now, but when you’re both up for the same summer grant working with rescued dogs and you have “I bought a puppy to abuse it” in your back pocket, really, the feeling cannot be beat.

Fifth, humility is a good thing. Especially when you force it on someone else.

Cue evil cackle.

Happy shaming! One last laugh, for the road: “Fine, I’ll stay away from his genitals, but I still want to be his friend!”

Sara is a sophomore in Arts & Sciences. She can be reached via e-mail at saremedi@ wustl.edu.

OPPOSABLES NICE WEATHER

It’s like spring break never ended... except for that whole class thing.

CAMPUS WILDLIFE

Nothing perks up your day like a woodland creature crossing your path.

GRADUATING

Seniors start considering thoughts of life outside the Wash. U. bubble. Massive confusion ensues.

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It’s not like we have anything more worthwhile to spend the tuition hike on.

- Compiled by Sarah Kliff

6 STUDENT LIFE | SPORTS

Senior Sports Editor / Andrei Berman / sports@studlife.com

FRIDAY | MARCH 23, 2007

SPORTS

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Bears cap special season with first ever Finar Four appearance

BY ANDREI BERMAN SENIOR SPORTS EDITOR When D3hoops.com released its first weekly Top 25 poll back in late November, Virginia Wesleyan College, The College of Wooster, and Amherst College held the top three places. Washington University, apparently in rebuilding mode, sat almost at the very bottom of the “Others Receiving Votes” category.

Though no one tabulates such factoids, the young Bears squad was technically ranked 50th in the season’s initial poll.

The voters proved prescient with respect to the first three teams, as each member of that elite trio ultimately wound up qualifying for last weekend’s Division III Final Four in Salem, Va. But their hardwood acumen failed miserably in determining who might end up as the fourth participant. That fourth squad to make it to D3 basketball’s grandest stage was the one they once had as 50th, Wash. U. When the clock finally struck zero in Wash. U.’s Friday evening national semifinal contest against Virginia Wesleyan, the once unheralded, unranked Bears had fallen just milliseconds short of competing in the national title game the following afternoon, losing 67-65 to the defending champion Marlins.

Tyler Nading appeared to have hit a basket as time expired, but the officials ruled that the sophomore swingman’s shot attempt was released just after the horn sounded, discounting the bucket and thwarting the Bears’ hopes of winning a national championship.

By far the youngest team in Salem, the Red and Green had its championship dreams dashed by a veteran Marlins club that was playing in front of a favorable crowd about four hours from its Norfolk campus. VWC

would go on to lose to Amherst the following afternoon in the national title game, 80-67.

As difficult a loss as Friday’s was to take, the UAA and regional champion Bears went on to knock off Wooster in Saturday’s consolation game, 92-84, to finish the 2006-2007 campaign third in the nation with a final record of 25-5. It was the first time in head Coach Mark Edwards’ 26 year tenure that a Wash. U. team has advanced to the Final Four and no one was disappointed.

“By the time a season ends, you usually say well that was fun but its time for a rest,” said Edwards. “I really don’t feel that way this year. I felt that it was a really invigorating and enjoyable year right up to the last buzzer.”

Along the road to Salem, the surprise upstarts stunned thennumber one ranked Wisconsin—Stevens Point the previous Friday in Sweet 16 play. Wash. U. knocked off the highly touted Pointers, 78-66 before a sold-out crowd in Stevens Point. The Bears followed that victory with a riveting 58-55 triumph over Hope College in the regional championship game the next night, also at Stevens Point.

Retracing the best season in Wash. U. basketball history In a certain sense, it’s difficult to fault prognosticators for initially overlooking the Bears.

On paper, the team had lost two key contributors from the previous season, in seven-footer Mike Grunst and three-point specialist Scott Stone. Last year’s starting point guard Neal Griffin, a senior, opted not to play this season, leaving the team less depth at the position. Making matters considerably worse was the early-season loss of junior captain Danny O’Boyle to injury.

Although Wash. U. played well in the season’s beginning stages, Sean Wallis’ early season procla-

COURTESY OF JOE ANGELES | WUSTL PHOTO SERVICES

Coach Mark Edwards gives the team a pep talk during their third-place game vs. Wooster College on March 16. The Bears won, 92-84. to take into account the clichéd but vital factors which ultimately propelled the Bears to a run at the title: an unmitigated passion for the game and high basketball I.Q., a rejuvenated student fan base, and loads of heart. Throw in a trio of terrific first-years and the marked improvement of several returnees and one begins to understand the squad’s rise to the zenith of the Division III bas-

mation that the team’s goal was to win a national championship nonetheless came off as a naive, if not an obligatory bromide from a novice point guard who had just been handed control of a young offense.

But basketball isn’t played over obscure Internet message boards, and the denizens of D3 basketball junkies who annually forecast the season often neglect

ketball world.

The squad blossomed progressively throughout the year, winning 16 of their first 17 games, including 13 straight at one point. The Bears opened the first half of league play with a perfect 7-0 record, highlighted by a weekend in which the team took a close win over Brandeis and a shocking comeback victory over NYU in overtime. Even

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the team’s two straight losses the following weekend on the road against the same opponents served as valuable experiences.

“Being able to play against pressure is very important in the tournament. Our team never became unglued in tough situations,” said junior captain Troy Ruths, citing the triple overtime

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Senior Sports Editor / Andrei Berman / sports@studlife.com

FRIDAY | NARCH 23, 2007

STUDENT LIFE | SPORTS

7

BASKETBALL v FROM PAGE 6 loss to Brandeis on the road in addition to the overtime win against NYU at the Field House as key examples.

The very Achilles heels which typically burden young basketball teams—namely the numerous variations of on and off-court inexperience—actually buoyed Wash. U.’s unanticipated success. The team unambiguously bought into Edwards’ uptempo offense and it paid great dividends. The squad’s style of controlled chaos on the offensive end left room for a slightly larger learning curve; mistakes proved less costly, since the fastpace allowed the team more possessions, more opportunities to score.

Additionally, there was a healthy amount of youthful naiveté apparent from the season’s outset, prompting Wallis to say that the lack of high expectations allowed the team to play especially freely. “We didn’t really understand the magnitude of what was going on,” said the second-year guard. “That definitely helped us knock off some of the teams we knocked off and play the basketball we wanted to play without worrying about meeting the expectations of others.”

While Edwards didn’t deny that the team’s youthfulness may have proven beneficial, the veteran coach believes the overall character of his team pushed the squad to its first-ever Final Four. “You were put at ease by your own teammates. They don’t worry about making a mistake.

They just go out and play,” he said.

Even so, few could have fathomed the level of poise which came to define the team’s character. Or maybe, if the skeptics had done a bit more homework, they could have. After all, just two shorts years ago Wallis had teamed with current Duke star John Scheyer to lead his Glenbrook North High School team to an Illinois state title before 14,000 fans in Peoria.

Nading paired with NBA prospect and Gonzaga star Matt Bouldin at Thunder Ridge High School in Colorado, where he won a state championship and competed in two others. Reserve sophomore guard Phil Syvertsen routinely competed in front of massive crowds in suburban Chicago, as the tenacious defensive specialist called Notre Dame star Colin Falls as well as Michael Jordan’s son teammates.

Freshman forward Cam Smith, a key contributor in his rookie season, lost a quarterfinal high school state tournament game in Indiana after Indiana Universitybound Eric Gordon dropped 45 points in a two-point win.

But no amount of previous immersion in big-time basket-

ball environments can compare to the leadership and statistical dominance provided by Ruths.

The third-year center from Sugar Land, Texas will be remembered as the offensive and defensive focal point of the 2007 Bears, without whose presence such a tournament run would have been little more than a quixotic dream. Despite routinely facing double-teams, Ruths averaged 19 points and eight rebounds on the year.

It’s often stated that unlike at the Division I level where guard play is generally deemed the ‘X’ factor in winning championships, Division III titles are won by strong post play. Ruths proved the adage true.

“Teams keyed on him so much, yet what was really amazing was his ability to get others involved. It’s a testament to how good he really is,” said Wallis.

Ruths was far from the team’s only dynamic weapon, however.

Wallis joined the big man on the UAA all first-team and also took home the Midwest regional MVP award. The 6’1” second-year floor general also was named to the Final Four All-Tournament team.

Nading, the versatile small forward who gained Conference Rookie of the Year honors last season continued to establish himself as one of the best players in the UAA. His 15 points and six rebounds per game ranked him second on the team in both categories. Nading also emerged as one of the league’s best defenders.

Freshman Aaron Thompson, a lights-out three point shooter, won the UAA Rookie of the Year award, after starting 26 of 30 contests. He entered the starting line-up the game after O’Boyle’s injury and never looked back, averaging over seven points an outing after making the transition to the starting five with ease.

Sophomore Phil Syvertsen and Nick Nikitas, the team’s lone senior starter, added meaningful minutes for the 2007 Bears.

Nikitas hit on over 40% of his three-point attempts and shot an uncanny 29-30 from the charity stripe. The silky smooth suburban Chicago product was the only senior on the team who played at least ten minutes a night.

What’s next for the team?

The same skeptics of three months ago are now believers.

With four of five starters returning next season and a deep bench also coming back, Wash.

U. has instantaneously experienced a role reversal. Once the hunters, the Bears have now become the hunted. Wallis noted that already since he has been back, members of what, over the

COURTESY OF JOE ANGELES I WUSTL PHOTO SERVICES

Freshman Tyler Nading drives to the basket against a Wooster defender during the NCAA tournament. course of the year, became quite a large student fan base have told him they plan on being in Salem next year for the Final Four. Nading said that fans in Virginia told the team they expected to see Wash. U. back as well.

But the players have expressed no fear of a let-down, insisting they are looking forward to the challenge. And there’s good reason to believe them. After all, to a man, each member of the squad insisted the team had Final Four potential this year, no matter what was said by the doubters.

“Were going to be playing with a target on our back. But I don’t think that’s something we’ll struggle with,” said Nading. “But I do think we’ve raised

the bar as far as expectations for Wash. U. men’s basketball goes, which is good. Those are expectations we want to have.”

There’s only one thing the team hopes to change next year.

The third-place trophy looks awful pretty, but the possibility of obtaining another piece of hardware will have to wait another year.

“I only wish it could have been a championship banner.

But that’s for next year, right?” said Troy Ruths.

Right.

presents a guide to places of worship in the WU community

Religious Directory For advertising information, call (314) 935-6713 or email advertising@studlife.com

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8 STUDENT LIFE | SCENE

Senior Scene Editor / Erin Fults / scene@studlife.com

FRIDAY | MARCH 23, 2007

Stepping

Out

St. Louis Pizza Haus

Rating:

6602 Delmar Ave. St. Louis, MO 63130 $8–12

BY MATT KAUFMAN AND RYAN JACOBSON SCENE REPORTERS Those of you who have been regular readers of our reviews over the past year and a half know that we like to go on adventures and try off beat restaurants.

Well, this week we were simply not in the mood for an adventure. Spring break had just ended, and we were ready to relax, unwind, and pig out. To that end, we decided to try St. Louis Pizza Haus, located just a short walk from our apartment.

When we got to the restaurant the hostess seated us promptly. This surprised us because we thought that we would just be ordering at a counter; table service was a pleasant surprise. We glanced at the menu and quickly decided on an order

of baked chicken wings and a large pizza to feed the two of us and our friend.

The chicken wings at the Haus are available in five flavors, ranging from mild to hot and including a barbeque variety. We chose the “hot” wings that came with a side of ranch dressing. We found these wings to be satisfying but not exceptional. The meat was moist and flavorful and the sauce had a tangy zing to it. These wings were a good size, too.

One improvement to these could have been tossing them in the sauce; the sauce was simply poured on top of the wings, which made some wings rather drenched while others were left in want of sauce.

The pizza at St. Louis Pizza Haus has a classic thin crust, but you can get a thicker crust for an extra

charge. Our pie, which we ordered with green peppers and onions, took about 20 minutes to cook. The pizza was sliced into squares and we each eagerly grabbed one.

The crust was perfectly cooked with a great crunch.

The sauce was a basic tomato sauce and the cheese was generous. The toppings we ordered, however, were less than generous. The onions and peppers were diced into small cubes, while we would have much preferred more substantial rings and chunks. Using ingredients like these could lend the pizza a fresher flavor.

The service was satisfactory. Our server was knowledgeable about the menu and checked in on us often.

We would have liked to have our drinks refilled a bit more often, but that was a minor concern. Overall the

COURTESY OF MATT KAUFMAN | STUDENT LIFE

Matt and Ryan check out Pizza Haus, a pizza joint located near Blueberry Hill on Delmar Loop. staff at St. Louis Pizza Haus made our visit a pleasant one.

The greatest asset of St. Louis Pizza Haus is its location. Located right on the Delmar Loop, the restaurant’s huge windows made for great people watching.

We also enjoy Raccanelli’s New York Pizza, which is across the street from the Haus, but the Haus pizza joint is notable in that it

allows you to sit down and chat with your friends while you enjoy your pizza. Also, though Raccanelli’s offers pizza by the slice, St. Louis Pizza Haus also features personal sized pizzas, something we might try on our next visit. The pizza at St. Louis Pizza Haus isn’t the best that you will have in your life, but it is convenient and a welcome addition to the Wash. U. neighborhood.

On a personal note, we would like to thank our loyal fans and readers who have stood by us as restaurant reviewers through the good and bad food. This is our last review. It has been a pleasure writing for the paper and serving the hungry Wash. U. community over the past year and a half. We hope to see all of you out at a restaurant sometime soon.

week in the dream with the waking life that follows? How does he face the girls he’s genuinely interested in while still thinking of the ones he wined and dined in beachfront cabanas? Even worse, what if the girls of spring break go to Wash. U.? How does he deal with the onenight-stand on the Monday after break?

There’s no foolproof answer here, and if you’re one of those guys you could end up getting slapped in the middle of Mallinckrodt when “that girl” recognizes you ordering a wrap. The only thing that may ameliorate the situation is to keep the whole thing in perspective.

On one hand, spring break and school are two different worlds. On the other hand, however, the baggage from

one might carry over to the next. In other words, the dream isn’t life, but it’s not entirely forgotten either.

So if you’re a single guy, go sow your wild oats and have some fun. But don’t come back acting like the king of the world because you got into some girl’s pants, and don’t forget that that girl, especially if she’s someone you’re going to see again, is more than a pair of bead-covered breasts.

And if you’re thinking of telling that story at a party and then you spot her walking by, you might want to keep your mouth shut. The experience is over. Then again, if you’re channel surfing and you see your topless girlfriend on MTV2, you might have something to talk about.

Springtime of love If you turn on MTV2 in the next couple of weeks, odds are you’ll see some program being fi lmed in Cancun or Miami with a title along the lines of “Spring Break 2007—Crunk to the MAX!” or “See your Significant Other Sexually Violate Three People on TV!” You might not catch that second one, but then again, you probably don’t watch MTV2 all that much either.

Regardless, we’ve all heard the myth of the ideal college spring break—a week of debauchery in some tropical party town fi lled with gorgeous blonde girls and muscular men in board shorts. If you decide to go to a spring break hot spot, rumor has it you’ll come back with a tattoo, some inappropriate pictures that you

have to keep off Facebook, and a massive hangover to top it all off. We all know someone who’s been there if we haven’t been ourselves, though the people we know might not remember exactly what happened.

The most glorified part of spring break, by far, is the phenomenon of topless girls: the stars of Mardi Gras, the brave bead wearers of Bourbon Street. These are the protagonists of the stories that guys will tell upon return from break, and more often than not those stories will fi nd their respective conclusions in a youth hostel bed, with the “climax” of the plot holding two meanings.

Hook-ups abound; men go home happy.

When guys hear these stories they’ll exchange high

even remember the fi ves and pounds, names he’s supand will probably posed to put in. So say “snap!” at least there’s no problem, fi ve times during right? Let them have the tale because, their fun. well, their friend is Well, there’s no getting tail. But the problem when the more college boys guy’s in Cancun, build up the myth Ben Sales where the beer of the spring break flows like water and with Sex on Steroids, the bars never close. the more they’ll But the issues arise when he distort what those hook-ups returns from Mexican wonreally mean. If we look at the derland to the schizophrenic break as a kind of week long weather of St. Louis and sexual fantasy camp, we let real life begins once more. the hook-ups lose authenticity. The girls become no more Here, work replaces play, and MTV becomes WUTV. Here, than further entries in the men have real love lives, not guy’s little black book. adventures that begin in the Of course, almost all of waves and end with sandthe hook-ups aren’t authenfi lled bathing suits. tic, and most of the girls will And how do you reconcile have little or no idea that those two experiences? How their names are in a book. does a guy incorporate that The guy most likely won’t

HealthBeat

Over spring break I had the pleasure of spending a few days with my grandparents and learning a lot more about them. As the days passed, one of the random things I learned is that my grandma Doreen, at almost 70-years-old, is still afraid of public restrooms. When I asked her why, she gave me a one word answer—germs. So I did a little research on public bathrooms. My conclusion?

My grandmother has reason to be concerned.

Due to the warmth and moisture in bathrooms, counter tops, toilet seats and faucets are the perfect breeding grounds for bacteria. What

most people don’t realize is that our home bathrooms are no better than public restrooms, especially if “home bathroom” means a bathroom in a dorm.

So why are so many girls I talk to afraid to go to the bathroom at a Cardinals game, but will use their dorm bathroom without a second thought? People who fear contracting a sickness from other peoples’ germs in bathrooms should be aware that they can also get sick by touching a desk, computer, etc. In reality, public restrooms may not be any more harmful than any of the other places we visit on a daily basis. Still, I have

Are public bathrooms risky?

compiled a few tips to help you prevent infection when you use public restrooms.

My fi rst tip comes from a magazine article I read a few months Brooke back. I’m not sure if this theory has been concretely proven, but the article recommended using the fi rst stall since fewer people tend to choose it. If the theory works, you can reduce your risk of coming in contact with bacteria within seconds of walking in the bathroom. A big flaw to this plan, of course, is that if

everyone who reads this article starts using the fi rst stall in bathrooms on campus, the desired effect might not occur.

Secondly, always put a toilet seat Genkin cover or toilet paper down on the seat before you sit on it.

Thirdly, when you’re fi nished and it’s time to flush, move away from the toilet as often water sprays back into the air, contaminating the air with millions of bacteria. Lastly, always, always, always wash your hands.

Recently, the South 40 was

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hit by multiple cases of viral gastroenteritis. Alan Glass, director of Student Health Services, advised “meticulous hand washing” to prevent illnesses and dorm bathrooms are being given extra cleaning. Public health officials recommend that you wash your hands for at least fi fteen seconds. If counting isn’t your style, try singing “Happy Birthday” twice to make things a little more exciting.

Then, rinse off the soap as normal, but instead of touching the faucet you should try and grab a paper towel, wipe your hands and use the paper towel to turn off the faucet.

If possible, use the towel to

open the door as well and throw the paper towel in a trash bin as you walk out the door. These last few steps are important because they help prevent recontamination.

If you are public-bathroom-phobic, you might want to remember that it is always worse to hold it in. “Holding it” can lead to kidney and bladder infections that are far more severe than the bacteria you might encounter in the bathroom. It’s pretty much impossible to avoid using a toilet that someone else has used in the past, so just remember to play it safe and pay attention to your bathroom behaviors.

FRIDAY | MARCH 23, 2007

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$350- ROOM IN Great Waterman Group House! 7 minute walk to WU, 5 minute walk to Metrolink, on gold shuttle route. Graduate students preferred. Call (314) 374-9645.

3 BEDROOM 1.5 BATH APARTMENT. Half block from RED line shuttle. Many amenities! For more info w w w.homeandapar tmentrentals.com Tom 314.409.2733 3 BEDROOM 2 BATH AT U. CITY. Close to the campus and Loop. Complete renovation with fenced backyard.

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3 BR, 2 full bath on blue Shuttle, garage and off street parking, new kitchen, many amenities! For more info w w w.homeandapar tmentrentals.com.

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CLOSE TO CAMPUS available June 1. Complete renovation with fenced backyard and washer/dryer provided. $1,400/mo. 6833 Bartmer Ave. Reply to cwseyer@seyerind.com or call 314-3224936.

3 BEDROOM APARTMENT, 1 block from campus on Forsyth, AC, hardwood floors- sublet after graduation until August 15th. $1500/-month plus utilities.

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SUMMER SUBLET! 2 bed, 1 bath, fully equip kitchen available for summer. On the corner of Forsyth and Big Bend (very very close to campus and the 40). Great, safe, neighborhood. Contact us for more information at: kr.kk@hotmail.com.

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SUMMER SUBLET: 1-3 Bedrooms, 2 Bath apartment available May-August. Short walk to campus, Metrolink, S40, bus stops. Large rooms, kitchen, washer/dryer. wustlsublet@yahoo.com.

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10 STUDENT LIFE | SCENE

Senior Scene Editor / Erin Fults / scene@studlife.com

FRIDAY | MARCH 23, 2007

SCENE

Happiness Was Born a

TwinniwT

BY INDU CHANDRASEKHAR

Twin fun facts Compiled by Indu Chandrasekhar

SCENE REPORTER As long as life has existed on earth, there have been twins. Twins are something of a common phenomenon, appearing frequently enough to be exempted from the ‘freak of nature’ category, but not often enough to escape endless fascination.

Twins have been the feature of countless movies and television shows; we have Mary-Kate and Ashley to thank for gaining a new appreciation of the phrase “two of a kind.”

“Full House” snuck two sets of twins onto their set. Famous twins attract a special kind of limelight, capitalizing on the fact that—as the “Sister, Sister” tagline goes—“We look the same, but we’re different.”

As a twin, I have found myself parroting Tia and Tamara’s line more often than I’d like—this is despite the fact that my twin sister and I don’t look the same at all. The most frequently asked question: “Do you look the same?” Then, “Are you guys best friends?” “Do you like the same things?” “Why didn’t you go to school together?”

My twin sister and I are fraternal; that means I invariably disappoint my inquisitive friends when they start a twins-themed round of 20 questions, especially when they find out that my sister and I have never even tried to switch places. Contrary to the assumptions, however, most twins cannot switch places, because only ten percent of twins are identical. Genetically, the other 90 percent of twins only share about 50 percent of their DNA—the same percentage that is shared among brothers and sisters.

Identical twins hit closer to that mark. They result when one embryo splits in two and share the same genetic material; they end up looking very similar, if not exactly the same.

The question of silent communication among twins is often posed. This phenomenon of a “secret language,” called cryptophasia, tends to exist

PHOTO COURTESY OF INDU CHANDRASEKHAR

Indu and her sister Rajni when they were babies. among babies, and often happens (much to the dismay of parents) when the babies are alone in their crib or playing by themselves. This incidence seems to manifest itself in grownup twins as well, although it is not a documented phenomenon. Freshman Julia Keighley often experiences this connection with her twin brother.

“Sometimes I [would] be singing a song in my head and my brother would walk into the room [and] be singing it out loud. I would ask him, ‘Why are you singing that song?’ but there isn’t usually a reason. This happens frequently,” she said.

Researchers and twins are quick to verify that growing up in such immediate proximity with someone who, in some cases, looks exactly like you, forges a bond that extends beyond siblinghood.

Keighley recalled early memories of this closeness.

“When [my brother and I] were babies and still slept in the same crib, though [our mom] would place us at opposite ends of the crib when we fell asleep, by morning we would always be cuddled up right next to each other,” she said.

Senior Jess Friedman, an identical

twin, also experiences this connection with her sister.

“We’ve spent so much time together that we argue over who had which nightmare when we were younger—it’s so vivid that each of us thinks it’s hers,” she said.

Being an identical twin, Friedman encounters another kind of link with her twin. “When one of us…looked in the mirror as a little kid, we thought it was the other one,” she said. “This still happens to me sometimes.”

With the secret languages and instinctive closeness that comes from being a twin, and the fact that twins themselves can get mixed up, one has to wonder just how similar twins really are. There is no question that physical similarities affect the perception of twins; many attest to the fact that people tend to view twins as a single unit.

“I think people often view us as a set instead of individual people,” said senior Patti Jo Jaiyeola, whose twin sister Diana also goes to Wash. U. Hartsell encountered a similar reaction throughout her childhood.

This perception can have sticky results: “When we were little, people felt like they had to invite both of us

PHOTO COURTESTY OF CAITLIN HARTSELL

Meghan and Caitlin are standing outside their house with their father.

• “Twin” comes from the German word “twine,” which means “to wind together.”

• Two to three percent of the world’s population are twins.

• In the Yoruba and Hausa tribes in Africa, the frequency of twins is five times higher than in the rest of the world.

• Twins and multiple births occur most frequently in African cultures and least frequently in Asian cultures.

• Boy-girl twins are the most common, making for about 40 percent of all twins.

• Female fraternal twins are more common than male fraternal twins.

• Identical twins are less common, accounting for about 10 percent of all twins. Male identical twins are the least common.

• Twins typically stay in the womb for 37 weeks, three weeks shorter than the average term.

• The frequency of twins has increased 50 to 60 percent over the last 25 years, due to women having children later in life and the increased use of fertility treatments.

• There is a higher instance of to everything,” she said.

This poses an interesting problem: how are you supposed to know the right way to treat twins? Are they better off experiencing the endless typecasting of being “inseparable,” as so many twins have? Do most twins actually feel that way? And how, when it comes time to actually grow out of those matching clothes, do twins attain individuality?

Friedman found herself reacting against the constant closeness she and her twin experienced growing up.

“Instead of trying to figure out where I fit into all of the social stuff, I focused on differentiating myself from [my sister] Kaitlin,” she said.

Hartsell noticed that the school environment also worked its way into this quest for individuality. “Even if neither one acknowledged it, everything in school was always a contest to see which twin could do better.”

The solution some twins reached was to go to different schools, sometimes to avoid competition, but often because they were looking for different things.

“We didn’t necessarily separate on purpose,” said Keighley. “We both looked for what was right for us.”

With this idea of separation comes the realization that no two people are exactly alike. The Jaiyeolas realized they were living examples of this fact early on. “We have totally different personalities and interests,” said Patti Jo. “I was always more athletic and played soccer and track while [my twin sister] Meghan was into theater and singing,” said Hartsell.

For Keighley, the differences are a little more obvious. “The fact that we [are] different sexes definitely makes us more different.”

The issue of similarity, however, is not always black and white.

“I think in terms of our natures,

left-handedness among twins—18 to 22 percent; that is almost twice that of the worldwide frequency— 10 percent.

• Most twins are both righthanded; about 20 percent are one of each. Two left-handed twins are incredibly rare.

• Despite the corresponding fame, the frequency of conjoined, or Siamese, twins is one out of every 200,000 births, or just 0.0005 percent.

• Every year, over 90,000 people gather at the Twins Day Festival in Twinsburg, OH. • In the United States, at least 150 of identical twins are married to identical twins.

• The current Prime Minister and the President of Poland are identical twins.

• A certain species of armadillo naturally gives birth to two sets of twins every gestation cycle.

• Twins are found among the best and worst of us; Aaron Carter, Napoleon Dynamite (Jon Heder), Liberace, Fred and George Weasley, Jose and Luis Mendez and Jenna and Barbara Bush have all shared the womb, the spotlight and our hearts.

we are very similar,” said Keighley.

“I say things sometimes that are so much like him, I feel like he could have said them.”

For many twins, the difficulty is in striking the right balance between the undeniable similarities and those distinguishing characteristics that make each part of the pair unique.

This problem, however, is not without accompanying benefits.

There is a certain advantage in having a constant companion, even if it gets exasperating. When it came to the best part about being a twin, virtually everyone had the same opinion.

“It’s like a built-in best friend,” said Hartsell.

For Friedman, the feeling is sentimental, yes, but true. “She’s my best friend and the only friend I’ve had for such a long time.”

Jaiyeola echoed that sentiment.

“I always have someone to chat with who knows me better than anyone else in the whole world.”

The benefits extend to the curious friends, too, when they get to meet ‘the other half.’

“They sound the same!” was a common reaction from Friedman’s friends. “About 10 minutes into [meeting my sister], people are rolling their eyes because we’re laughing about the same thing, in the same way.”

So, is being a twin all it’s cracked up to be? As Lord Byron said, “All who would win joy, must share it; happiness was born a twin.” And it’s something Keighley would like to repeat.

“I honestly think it has been a great experience in my life and if I could, I would want to have twins.”

By now, we don’t need to ask why.

“I don’t remember [hardly] any lonely times in my childhood,” she said.

“The best part about being a twin is having a friend always by your side.”

Staying in touch with siblings

BY LANA GOLDSMITH SCENE REPORTER This time last year I was in the middle of my first semester in college. It was the longest time I had ever spent away from my brother and sister in my whole life. Being so close in age—all three of us born within three years—we are practically triplets. I missed them terribly and would mope about it to everyone. Then one day, my boyfriend had an epiphany.

“Why don’t you just call them?” Why didn’t I think of this simple solution before?

I did call my siblings. We talked about the good old days and what was going on at home. That way, I was

alerted to the fact that our kitchen was being remodeled, so I didn’t think I was in the wrong house when I got back for the summer. They made me laugh until my sides hurt. Now, I call each of them at least once a week, but I usually hear from them much more than that.

For me, the easiest and most direct way to reach my siblings is by phone. While it is always a great option, it can get time consuming (not to mention expensive if you are not on a family plan). It is not hard to keep in touch with your darling brothers or sisters using ways of communicating that you are already operating everyday. Online communicating is a realm in it of itself. Anyone

can join Facebook now and it’s a great way to be sure that you never miss your sibling’s birthday, but if there is anything on there that you do not want used against you as blackmail to your parents, be wary of Facebook communications within the family.

Blogs and online journals are very popular. If you or your sibling already has one, allow each other to make comments. These are excellent mediums for knowing what goes on in each other’s daily life. Just make sure you are both comfortable with exchanging that information as well.

And of course, there is the ever classic e-mail and instant messenger.

These are quick and easy and the best part about e-mail is that you can

write them whenever you want. Your schedule has probably changed since you were in high school, so you can still write to your siblings long after they have gone to sleep.

Every now and then, I like to do a little extra. For example, this past Valentine’s Day, I sent my sister a package containing chocolates and a book to her college and I sent my brother a DVD. Enclosed in each was a little handwritten note. At times when money is tight, I just send a handmade card with drawings that look like they were done by a 5-yearold (not that I tried to make them look that way, but that is how they turn out and the recipients often get a kick out of them). We all know

how exciting it is to get a package or a piece of handwritten mail and they are just as rewarding to send. I love to get those excited phone calls thanking me for the goodies.

We have all heard the old adage, “out of sight, out of mind.” The reality of college is that many important people in our lives will be out of our sight and we will be out of theirs. Just as much as you want to know that people have not forgotten you, your siblings want to know that you are thinking of them. Make the effort to make time in your life for the people that you do not get to see everyday. It is important to preserve those relationships because like it or not, you’re stuck with your siblings for life.