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STUDENT LIFE
THE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER OF WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS SINCE 1878 VOLUME 128, NO. 23
WWW.STUDLIFE.COM
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2006
New dean startles engineers Sigma Chi with swift program changes rededicates BY TROY RUMANS NEWS EDITOR Judy Sawyer worked in the dual degree engineering program for 16 years, processing applications and acting as an advisor and liaison for dual degree engineering students. Early last week, she was asked to clean out her belongings and leave the school. “The administration did not tell the dual degrees, but they found out for themselves and broadcast the info to the rest of the program,” said dual degree engineer (DDE) Elaine Chang. Chang is pursuing her dual degree at Washington University and Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. Sawyer’s abrupt dismissal comes amidst a slew of ma-
jor changes to sweep the Engineering School since Dean Mary Sansalone’s tenure began last semester. Regarding these changes, students have voiced concerns about the streamlining of the dual degree program and the possible merging of civil engineering with mechanical engineering at the graduate and doctoral levels. These changes ultimately come as part of larger plans by Sansalone to cut the current engineering school budget. Sansalone looked to address many of these concerns at a Dean’s Forum last Friday; dual degree students, however, left the meeting early after Sansalone refused to take any further questions on the state of the program. “A student asked why Judy
Sawyer was not transferred instead of dismissed outright, and she said it was a personality problem that led to her dismissal. At that point she stopped taking questions from dual degree [students],” said Chang. “Most of the dual degrees left after that comment.” Sansalone noted in an e-mail to Student Life that they are working to improve the dual degree admissions process by running applications through the main University admissions office. They also intend to recruit from fewer schools, narrowing their focus on select universities. Sawyer reports that she was left out of the decision-making process even though previous deans worked with her in developing the goals of the dual degree program.
According to Sawyer, she was informed “that they were going to cut back on the dual degree program, and that they wouldn’t need two people to coordinate it.” In Chang’s opinion, the plan to cut back on the dual degree program flies in the face of many of Sansalone’s main goals: A better retention rate and a broader liberal arts education. “It’s very strange that the dean would attempt to cut a program that does so many things that she wants to accomplish for the school,” said Chang. “I think one of the things that causes such a high retention rate [95 percent] is its very insular nature. If she attempts to generalize or integrate the dual degree program into the
house
See ENGINEERING, page 3
Internet connectivity issues persist BY SAM GUZIK CONTRIBUTING REPORTER
LIONEL SOBEHART | STUDENT LIFE
Wires twist and tangle in a ResTech switchroom in Eliot House. ResTech is continuing to investigate and address the internet slowdown problems.
Residents remain acutely aware of Internet connectivity issues over seven weeks after Residential Technology Services received initial complaints. Specifically, in the past two weeks many students have reported slow connections and “limited connectivity” messages on their desktops. “We’ll be trying to check Facebook or watch some streaming video online and it will just stop,” said freshman Sonia Sequeira. According to Matt Arthur, the director of enterprise networks for Network Technology Systems (NTS), the most recent issues were caused by students using sophisticated peer-to-peer software, capable of deceiving the network’s package management software. Package management software is responsible for prioritizing the use of bandwidth on the network. By managing and prioritizing the types of traffic that are allowed through the network, the fixed bandwidth allocated to the South 40 is used most effectively. The University uses the program PacketShaper, developed by the company Packeteer. Although problems were eased using a software update, Internet connectivity issues remain, as Residential Technology Services (ResTech) is currently unable to identify all disguised peer-to-peer traffic.
The newest types of peer-topeer traffic appear as normal http traffic and tie up bandwidth, causing Internet outages like those experienced in the past month. Many students explained that although the recent Internet difficulties slowed the load-times of many pages, AIM remained mostly functional. Arthur explained, “[Instant Messaging] is important for students and our actions in prioritizing traffic reflect that.” NTS has moved to grant instant messaging without attachments a higher priority in the package management system. Some students also expressed concern over the speed of the wireless network, accessible in the libraries and on the Swamp, which often run slowly. This is caused by the growing number of active wireless cards on campus being recognized by the Wi-Fi hotspots. The new WiFi system, which requires a user name and password for access, attempts to cut down on that issue. In order to minimize the affects of the bandwidth usage, ResTech recommends keeping up-to-date security patches on computers and not opening unknown links and attachments. “The Internet is a shared resource and we try to keep it open and available to everyone,” Arthur said. “We try to make sure that no group of students can crowd the bandwidth.”
COURTESY OF DAVID SCHLICHTER
Sigma Chi brothers Matt Bliss (left) and David Schlichter pose under the fraternity house’s newly unveiled letters at a rededication ceremony on Saturday, Oct. 14. BY JOSH HANTZ STAFF REPORTER The Tau Tau chapter of Sigma Chi at Washington University officially has its house back after a two-year suspension. A rededication ceremony marked the event last Saturday, Oct. 14. The University forced the fraternity off campus in December 2004 for violating the judicial code during initiation activities earlier that year. “We’ve undergone an amazing transformation,” said David Schlichter, chapter president. “Getting kicked off campus was maybe one of the best things that happened to us. It really has brought us back to our core values.” Approximately 100 alumni, active brothers, chapter presidents and University adminis-
trators attended the event. The keynote speakers, including Dean James McLeod and alum Paul Fauft, discussed the chapter’s recent success and paid tribute to its past. “One very moving thing was when David held up an old book that had handwritten chapter notes from the 1920s and 30s,” said Ron Laue, interim director of Greek Life. “You could just see everyone showing their dedication. It was a great way to connect the present to the past.” The unveiling of the house letters served as a symbol of the chapter’s progress since the fraternity lost its house. “We wanted to express our gratitude and appreciation to everybody that helped us get where we are today,” said Schli-
See SIGMA CHI, page 3
Famous dancer brings her talent to Assembly Series BY LAURA GEGGEL NEWS EDITOR Bonnie Oda Homsey remembers her first time dancing under the direction of modern dance legend Martha Graham at Julliard in 1970. “She was very harsh and berated all of us for not understanding where the motivation came from and for not giving ourselves more fully to the work,” said Homsey. “None of us would she consider working for her company, and ironically four of us from that cast were later in her company.” Homsey enjoyed dancing in Graham’s “Diversion of Angels,”
a ballet portraying the different types of love, and she dropped out of Julliard one year before graduation to pursue professional dance. After dancing with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet Company for six months, she flew back home to Hawaii to finish her degree at the university there and get married. But Hawaii, with few dance opportunities, prompted Homsey to fly back to New York and look for work. “I felt as though my work was unfinished as an artist,” she said. Homsey will be speaking on Thursday in the Woman’s Building at 4 p.m. to present “Re-Im-
End of life on the ‘Runway’ Who will reign victorious (and fashionable) when “Project Runway” finishes its season tonight? Cadenza has a few predictions; see if you agree. Cadenza, Page 5
aging Motion: Martha Graham and Barbara Morgan,” before unveiling her private photography collection of booklets and photos taken by photographer Barbara Morgan of Graham and other dancers. Her relationship with Graham is an extensive one. Homsey enrolled in classes at the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance and soon received a personal phone call from Graham to join the company. “I never auditioned for her,” remembered Homsey, who continued to dance at the company from 1973-1978 and then for three months in 1980. By the time Homsey joined
Graham’s company, Graham no longer joined the group on the stage. “She demonstrated and she directed. She was quite active in the company in the 1970s,” Homsey said. “She perceived of working from the inside out. Not moving a muscle to get expression to form its function until there was a specificity of intent of meaning.” Homsey later founded her own ballet company, the American Repertory Company, and helped choreograph and perform modern dance for 10 years. Primitive Mysteries, one of the most challenging Graham ballets that Homsey worked on,
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involved the three connected dances called Hymn to the Virgin, Crucifi xus, and Hosannah. Homsey related Primitive Mysteries to “Steps in the Street,” a Graham ballet that she is directing with the Washington University dance program. “There was a commonality between the two with the abstract, stark and raw movement that was played in a very percussive, extraordinarily fierce yet also vulnerable manner,” she said. “Steps in the Street” is the first of five dances choreographed by Graham in 1936 that transposed her outrage against the Spanish Civil War to the stage.
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Homsey explained how the dancers embodied individuals in a group responding to catastrophe. “When ‘Steps in the Street’ opens, there are figures walking in silence. They’re walking backwards and their bodies are twisted and contorted with their heads almost trying to listen for someone who’s perhaps still alive: a cry for help. It’s a deafening silence that overwhelms. And then the dance begins.” Sophomore Ingrid Larson is working under Homsey’s direction for the December “Steps in the Street” performance for the
See HOMSEY, page 3
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