SUMMER J U LY 2 0 0 4 Vol. 126, No. 1
Hot and Humid w w w. s t u d l i f e . c o m
STUDENT LIFE T H E I N D E P E N D E N T N E W S PA P E R O F WA S H I N G T O N U N I V E R S I T Y I N S T. L O U I S S I N C E 1 8 7 8
INSIDE
New Yahoo! group lets freshmen meet early Students share
hopes, dreams, and screen names online By Rachel Streitfeld Contributing Editor
Is this man a world-famous glow-stick inventor? This and other rumors— debunked!
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STUDENT LIFE ARCHIVES
The Field House undergoes its transformation from athletic facility to debate hall in fall 2000. Such changes won’t happen to the Field House again until this October, but other planning for the debate has already begun.
Debate preparations already well underway Career Center asks
For more coverage of the upcoming election turn to page A3 and visit studlife.com
students to volunteer during debate weekend By Laura Geggel Contributing Reporter
The road to the Olympics passes through—Francis Field?
PAGE A11 Learn them now: names and faces of the most important people around campus.
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As Washington University once again prepares to serve as a host for a presidential debate, its Career Center and student groups are relentlessly involved in the behind-the-scenes work. Although student volunteers are not guaranteed tickets to the presidential debate on Oct. 8, a select few will have access to the venue that night. Available volunteer positions include administrative work, such as answering the phone, sending faxes, and making copies; ushers who will check the credentials of debate attendees; production assistants who will help set up administrative headquarters; tour guides who will orient outsiders; and errand runners who will help pick up supplies with their own vehicles. According to Vice Chancellor for Students Jill Carnaghi, the University supports student participation in the events. “Getting students involved in the whole election process [is very rewarding],” said Carnaghi. “Last time we had 200 volunteers, and 50 percent of the student population entered the lottery” to attend the debate. The media will also need a handful of volunteers to provide administrative support. Carnaghi noted that undergraduate and graduate students with an interest in the
media should apply specifically for these volunteer positions, adding that “in the past, students have gotten jobs in the media and gone to the inaugural [ceremony] in January.” Due to the heightened security surrounding the debate and the limited number of positions available, Carnaghi said that the volunteer selection procedure is a “pretty rigorous process.” All interested volunteers must fill out an application, send in a resume and write an essay in addition to undergoing a background check. All applications must be submitted before midnight on Tuesday, Sept. 7. Visit http: //debate.wustl.edu for more information. For students who are interested in viewing the presidential debate on Oct. 8 but are unable to obtain tickets, the University will set up remote viewing sites around campus. During the 2000 debate held at the University, students congregated at Ursa’s Café to watch the event on its large projection screen. In addition to helping students understand the election process, the Oct. 8 presidential debate may peak student interest in the November elections Project Democracy, a nonpartisan group of about 20 members, registered over 400 new voters last year by setting up tables in Wohl, Mallinckrodt, and at last spring’s WILD. Senior Teresa Sullivan, president of Project Democracy, is trying to capture the attention of her fellow peers and get them involved in
For those upperclassmen for whom preorientation means only one thing—new dating prospects—now there’s another resource, and this one offers more depth than Faces. Incoming students are sharing their hopes, dreams and screen names online with other freshmen on the Yahoo! group wustl2008. In a trend that started last year, students newly accepted to the University have formed an online group to get a head start on college life. Last year’s members say the concept really works. “I have been in contact with a lot of people from last year’s group,” said rising sophomore Kevin Li. “And some of the people I met from there are now my closest friends. I mean it’s really what you make of it.” Li is so enthusiastic that he’s helping this year’s freshmen with their group. This year, though, things are moving more slowly. As opposed to the 400 -odd students who joined up last year, this year’s group boasts about 140 freshmen.
Getting to know you On the site, freshmen can post and respond to messages, which are then sent to every member. Students compare notes on anything: pre-orientation programs, time spent on the computer or SAT scores. These postings give students a chance to be front-runners in University gossip. One rumor circulated that Howard Stern’s daughter will move in with the other new freshmen this August. (The University tells Student Life this appears to be untrue.) Group members can also vote in a variety of polls. Students compare potential majors, where else they were admitted and plans on going Greek. The polls also help students gauge their fellow classmates’ political sentiments. Students can weigh in on the reinstitution of the draft or the situation in Iraq. But participants are most likely to vote on issues more pressing to an apprehensive college freshman, such as: “Are you still a virgin?” (Nearly 69 percent say yes.) “What are you looking for in a guy?” (Looks, sense of humor, or his soft side.) And most pressingly: “Is it pop, soda, or simply coke?” (It’s soda, evidently.) Moving in Students say meeting other freshmen online has helped assuage their first-day-
See DEBATE, page A3 See FRESHMEN, page A3
Science building set to open New home for Earth How do you beat the heat? With ice cream, of course. But where do you get it in St. Louis?
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INDEX News Sports Forum Cadenza Scene
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& Planetary Sciences nearly complete By Helen Rhee Staff Reporter This fall, faculty and students in Washington University’s Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences (EPS) will have a newly constructed building to call home. Faculty and staff are already moving and settling in to the recently completed building, located to the northeast of Brookings next to Compton Hall. The three-story, 59,000 -square-foot structure will provide students and faculty with additional classrooms and state-of-the art instruments that will assist professors in their research. The building also houses multiple display rooms where the department can showcase its work to the public. “In addition to enhanced instructional capabilities and solid support of the department’s advanced instrumentation facilities,
STUDENT LIFE
the new building will include exhibits and displays connected with Earth and planetary sciences,” said Richard Heuermann, administrative officer for EPS. “This space should provide visitors with a better idea of the scope of these sciences and the active role that the University plays in the development of these sciences.” As well as providing the EPS department with an improved working space, the newest architectural addition to the Hilltop Campus will provide a bit of breathing room for other University departments. Previously, EPS was located in both Wilson and McDonnell Halls. The biology department, which had shared McDonnell Hall, will now be able to utilize the entire space. The Psychology-Neuroscience-Philosophy program will take over Wilson Hall. According to Ray Arvidson, chair of EPS, the department had simply outgrown its old locations. “We ran out of space and our work became hampered as a consequence,” said Arvidson. “Furthermore, the teaching facilities in Wilson were inadequate for the modern instruction required by a world-class department.
One Brookings Drive #1039 #42 Women’s Building St. Louis, MO 63130
See BUILDING, page A3 Newsroom: (314) 935-5995 Advertising: (314) 935-6713 Fax: (314) 935-5938
OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS
The new Earth & Planetary Sciences Building takes shape during the late spring. The process of moving into the new facility has already begun.
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