VOTE FOR PEDRO | NEW FILM FESTIVAL AT THE TIVOLI | CADENZA, PAGE 10
STUDENT LIFE
THE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER OF WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS SINCE 1878 VOLUME 128, NO. 7
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2006
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Facebook to open to the public BY MANDY SILVER AND DAVID TABOR STUDENT LIFE STAFF Just as the cyber dust settles on the Facebook “news feed” controversy, a new change to the online networking Web site could lead to further user backlash. Facebook planned to open its site to all individuals with a valid email address on Monday, but postponed the announcement, according to a USAToday article published on Monday, Sept. 11. Facebook does not currently have a date for the expanded registration. Facebook’s communication to its user-base about the change has been cryptic, with a single post stating, “In the future, people will be able to register for regions. But not
yet.” Mark Zuckerberg launched the Web site in 2004 as an exclusive social networking site for college students. Since last September, Facebook has extended membership to include high school students and selected company networks. According to some students, Facebook risks losing its unique identity from MySpace with its future plans to transition from an exclusive to public network. Sophomore Hannah Cowan said she has felt comfortable posting information on Facebook she has not posted on MySpace. “For MySpace, it’s keeping in touch with people from work who aren’t in school,” said Cowan. “Most of my pri-
vate stuff is on Facebook like my contact e-mail, screen name, and dorm. I would have to change my profile if the change happened.” Facebook’s new features continue to generate discussions of privacy among users, particularly following last week’s additions of a “news feed” and “mini feed.” The change prompted widespread user protest. The decision to open Facebook to a wider audience only compounds users’ privacy concerns, said Professor Charles Ess of Drury University. In addition to his position as professor, Ess is vice president of the Association of Internet Researchers, an interdisciplinary academic collaboration. Ess explained that stu-
dents have been using Facebook under the false assumption that their profiles are private. On the contrary, parents, teachers, and employers have all found ways to access information on Facebook. “People need to realize that there is almost no such thing as privacy on the Internet,” said Ess. “In my mind, the positive side of this is that [current users] will realize this is not a private domain.” Given these concerns, said Ess, he expects current users to react negatively. “My hunch is that they’re going to feel betrayed.” Because Facebook has been the domain of students for so long, they are likely to see new changes such as “an invasion of what
See FACEBOOK, page 3 RACHEL HARRIS | STUDENT LIFE
Barnes leases Forest Park property BY ELIZABETH LEWIS STAFF REPORTER The extended lease on part of Forest Park requested by Barnes-Jewish Hospital has led to a public outcry from residents throughout St. Louis. The land leased by BarnesJewish Hospital, known as Hudlin Park, currently encompasses 9.4 acres of Forest Park and houses an underground parking complex for the University. With the extension of the lease, the hospital would be able to build more on this land. BJC healthcare, which is affiliated with the hospital, and St. Louis officials have tentatively agreed to this extension. This proposal, however, has been met with vast opposition. Dr. William Landau, professor of neurology at the Washington University School of Medicine, thinks that there are plenty of older buildings that the hos-
9/11’s impact on college students BY DAVID SONG STAFF REPORTER
pital already owns that can be knocked down and rebuilt. Landau said, “There is ample room for redesign and restructuring without having to steal land from the park. Park land can not be disposed of or prostituted.” June Fowler, vice president of corporate and public communications for BJC Healthcare, thinks the construction is absolutely necessary. “We need more hospital beds to meet the needs of the aging baby boom population,” said Fowler. “Unlike other large metropolitan areas, the city of St. Louis does not have a public hospital. We are the only hospital in the city limits that still delivers babies…hospitals are not like other [buildings]. [You] cannot tear down a hospital to build another hospital. Beds are already being used, so you have to build the new ones first.”
LIONEL SOBEHART | STUDENT LIFE
Barnes-Jewish Hospital wants to lease a section of Forest Park to build a new wing for the hospital. The land is currently home to tennis courts and See FOREST PARK, page 4 other recreational facilities.
Q&A: Bill Nye, the Science Guy BY ELLEN JONES CONTRIBUTING REPORTER With Bill Nye speaking at today’s Assembly Series, Student Life sat down and picked the brain of the famous science guy. What are some fun experiments I can do in my dorm room? I can’t say enough good things about vinegar and baking soda and making a balloon inflate. How many times have you burned, cut or otherwise injured yourself in the name of science? I’ve actually hurt myself very few times, just a few blisters or burns here and there. But that’s not to say that tomorrow, as a
homeowner, I might cut myself somehow. How much has your approach to teaching changed since switching from a program that caters to children to a program aimed more at adults? The approach is essentially the same: you want to show, then tell. The “Eyes of Nye” is more about the issues that are affected by the choices that society makes rather than scientifically accepted facts. Genetically modified food, for example, has some people’s support, while others are against it... It isn’t a clear answer show, whereas the kids’ show is straight. What’s your perspective on Global Warming?
Crazy cartoon double feature! What do Fidel Castro, Red Alert, and poaching have in common? A joint appearance in today’s editorial cartoons. Forum, Page 6
The situation with Global Warming is a very serious one and what people don’t u ndersta nd is that every- Bill Nye thing they do affects the situation. If I throw away this magazine, for example, it’ll affect someone in India. This is a large part of what I’m going to be talking about tomorrow in my lecture. You can change the world. Can you think of any things that need to be done to educate the world about Global Warming that hasn’t already been done?
What we need is leadership. And our nation, the supposed global superpower, is lacking that right now. Our government and politics are focused in a way that has been marginalizing science and the public’s understand of science. And to me that’s very important. I don’t know if that’s as important to everyone else, and therein lies the problem. How has university level science changed since you were an undergraduate? The great thing about education now is that information is so easy to get. The World Wide Web allows us to have access to information and that’s got
See NYE, page 4
Fierce football showdown Talk about a way to kick off the season - football shut out Westminster with 61-0 win at their first home game. Sports, Page 5
A Washington University study of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 may reveal insight into the minds of the “millennial” generation. The study, conducted by Patricia Somers at the University of Texas and by Rob Wild, the associate director of the Office of Residential Life and a University alumnus, revolved around interviews of 120 students, which were mostly conducted in 2004. Fifty of the interviewed students attended the University. Wild’s study primarily concerned the generational theories of writers William Strauss and Neil Howe, which posit a cycling of values throughout history. The generation whose college-age students experienced the 9/11 attacks, said Wild, could potentially direct their effort in more positive ways. “[The study] wasn’t so much looking at emotions as it was at generational theory,” he continued. “[The current] generation has... an outward focus… on improving the lives of other people.” In his study, Wild proposed that each generation would experience a societal event that would signal a shift in values. “I asked students their political views, level of patriotism, major and career plans. I came to the conclusion that there was a generation of more civic-minded college students.” Wild referred particularly to a number of students who had, after the attacks, changed their concentration from premedical studies to social work or education. Other students began getting involved in extracurricular groups such as the Social Justice Center and socially- and racially-oriented activities. Similarly, the attacks precipitated a shift towards a nuanced but patriotically political outlook. “Students showed what I called ‘skeptical patriotism’,” he explained. “They were… questioning the role of the United States in [places like] Iraq and Afghanistan.”
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“I liked to look at patriotism versus anti-patriotism,” continued Wild. “There was a lot of middle ground of people who really questioned the role of their own government and their own values.” Wild said that he was moved by student responses to the attacks, even as a University alumnus. “The night of 9/11…there was an impromptu candlelight vigil on [Brookings Quadrangle]. There was a sense of solidarity I’d never seen at Washington University; there was a feeling to give back to the community.” Both Muslim and Jewish students, as well as Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton, spoke about the attacks during the vigil. The responses of the Muslim students at the University differed from the general response to the attacks; ten percent of the students Wild interviewed were Muslim. “Muslim students felt a strong sense of disenfranchisement,” said Wild. “Muslims talked about feeling a greater sense of oppression. [However], they became more civically engaged than most other students.” Thomas Brounk, Associate Director and Chief of Mental Health Services, commented on the student psychological response to the 9/11 attacks. “We saw a 20 percent increase in students coming into the counseling service,” said Brounk. “They weren’t directly affected by the attacks, but rather by the climate of fear. There were a wide variety of concerns [such as] getting onto public transportation. There were students who did not know the status of their family members.” However, Brounk said that the negative impact of the attacks did not cut extremely deeply into the University. “We were very fortunate as a community—we were not touched directly,” said Brounk, referring to the fact that no University students had lost close relatives in the attacks at the time.
See 9/11 STUDY, page 4
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