STUDENT LIFE
THE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER OF WASHINGTON UNIVERSIT Y IN ST. LOUIS SINCE 1878 Forum hosts a fiery debate over the rights of the fetus, with readers and staff columnists both speaking up on the subject. Page 4.
Bears baseball improves their record to 29-5 while men’s tennis serves up an all-star match, beating UMSL’s Division II team. Page 6.
VOLUME 127, NO. 75
A drag queen inspired line of shoes, Robert Ebert, and a 46-song CD/DVD combo? Cadenza squeezes it all into one page. Page 5.
Cadenza is smoking hot when they interview the original writer of the new film, “Thank You for Smoking.” Page 10.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19, 2006
WWW.STUDLIFE.COM
SWA celebrates one year McCaskill shares platform with anniversary of sit-in WU students
v SWA looks back on the 19-day occupation of the Admissions Office one year ago and looks forward to achieving a living wage for all Washington University workers
By Josh Hantz
DAVID BRODY | STUDENT LIFE
Junior Meredith Davis, communications chair of the Student Worker Alliance, speaks at a press conference Monday about the progress of workers at the University one year after SWA’s 19-day sit-in in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. By Kristin McGrath Contributing Reporter “What do we want?” shouted Reverend Michael Vosler to the small crowd gathered at Grace United Methodist Church on Monday morning. His audi-
ence knew the answer too well. Wearing the orange armbands that became a symbol of civil disobedience on campus one year ago, seven sit-in veterans boomed back with, “A living wage!”—a response they had chanted countless times at the
Washington University administration. And when did they want it? “Now.” With a cake bearing a single candle and statements to the local press from community leaders, University workers and sit-in participants marked the one-year anniversary of the 19-day occupation of the Admissions Office and the Brookings Quadrangle by the Student Workers Alliance (SWA). The sit-in, which included a five-day hunger strike, ended on April 22, 2005, with a written agreement from the University that addressed students’ demands for a living wage and increased benefits for all University employees. “We teach economics in the classroom, and, by virtue of its community, [the University is] saying to students that it’s all right for these workers to be earning these low wages,” said Vosler, co-chair of the St. Louis Workers’ Rights Board. “But the students are saying it’s not all right, and the community is saying it’s not all right. Washington University is capable of better and greater things.” Monday’s gathering also marked the release of a re-
port from a panel of community leaders who have been researching the University’s actions towards fulfi lling their agreement. “We were pleased to fi nd that Washington University appears to be in compliance with the agreement that ended the sitin,” said Missouri State Representative Maria Chappelle-Nadal, who serves on the panel. Among the University’s accomplishments, according to the panel’s fi ndings, are its yearly commitments of $500,000 toward increased wages and benefits for workers. So far, this commitment has raised the wage floor for all campus workers from as low as $6.50 per hour to $8.25 per hour. In addition, the University has provided health care services at La Clinica, a free bilingual clinic in south St. Louis, for workers without health insurance and formed two committees with SWA representation to continually discuss the issues raised by the sit-in. Chappelle-Nadal also cited the University’s issuance of MetroLink passes to all of its employ-
See SWA, page 2
Staff Reporter Missouri Democratic senatorial candidate Claire McCaskill spoke at Washington University Monday night, sharing her views on issues ranging from gay marriage to healthcare to the defense budget. McCaskill, currently serving her second term as Missouri state auditor, is running against Republican incumbent Jim Talent. While she admitted the election would be close, she did not hold back her feelings of opposition. She specifically criticized his deciding vote in favor of a 2005 bill reducing student loan programs by $12.7 billion. “It was the biggest gut punch,” said McCaskill. “It has had a dramatic impact on the economy. We can’t continue to absorb the debt we’re foisting on students.” McCaskill also supported increased federal funding for private universities nationwide. “I’m happy to go toe-to-toe on this issue,” she said. “Wash. U. is a jewel in this state. I’d like to throw a net over this place to keep all the students here.” Furthermore, she added
that the University could best improve its relations with the state, and St. Louis in particular, by providing more internships and focusing on stem-cell research. Despite its reputation as a premier research institution, the local biotech industry has recently criticized the University for its inefficacy at fostering the growth of the community. McCaskill was brought to the University by the College Democrats, who fi rmly support her campaign and policies. “It shows a lot when a candidate comes to talk to college students,” said College Democrats President Aaron Keyak, a junior. “What’s most important is to get Senator Talent out of office and out of Missouri. McCaskill is an excellent alternative.” Others who attended the discussion acknowledged her unique way of communication and taking action. “It was a good opportunity for students to hear her opinions,” said sophomore Jeremy Kazzaz, an intern for McCaskill. “Part of the new breed of Democrats is to understand that bi-
See McCASKILL, page 2
Students cautioned as recruiters and police log on to Facebook By Josh Hantz Staff Reporter Employers are increasingly using Facebook as a hiring tool, prompting the University’s Career Center to warn students against putting racy images and salty language in their profi les. Mark Smith, director of career planning and placement, says that during hiring decisions employers are looking for someone who exhibits good judgment and would represent their company well. “You don’t want any barriers to prevent you from getting a job,” said Smith. “You don’t need something like that. You want your application clean.” In addition to pictures involving drugs, alcohol, nudity and related paraphernalia, Smith warns students to moni-
tor the groups they join and the messages posted on their walls. “Think of a boring 50-yearold person who doesn’t get out and doesn’t have a sense of humor,” he said. “It may not be fair, but it’s reality.” Smith said one University student recently lost a job opportunity because of an improper Facebook profi le. The interviewer found it and immediately declared him out of the running. “Just as you research employers, they’re going to do the same thing,” said Smith. “The safe thing is to go with a safe profi le.” Smith also said students don’t realize that separating their personal and professional lives can be difficult. “As you get older you realize you can’t keep them separate,”
Smith said. “Even after college and your fi rst job, you have to be careful.” Still, Smith suggests students should maintain separate e-mail and phone numbers for professional and personal purposes. Universities across the country are also beginning to educate their students about the issue. The University of Missouri at Columbia formed a panel to teach students about possible legal violations. Employers are not the only ones scanning profi les. Police are also getting into the act. At Northern Kentucky University, students were charged with code violations when a keg was seen in a photo of a dorm room. Don Strom, Washington University’s police chief, says he hasn’t used Facebook as an
STUDENTS HONOR SUICIDE BOMBING VICTIMS
investigation tool but wouldn’t hesitate to do so if necessary. “If we had an investigation and we were trying to determine who might know an individual, would we go to tools like Facebook? Sure. We probably would,” said Strom. But Strom added that the University police department doesn’t and wouldn’t use Facebook to actively search for students with potentially incriminating profi les. He said that such use would be “inconsistent with the University philosophy.” “People have to make a serious consideration about how much information they want to put out about themselves,” Strom said. “I think that there’s an overall level of caution that people should be using.”
Wash. U. climbs in RecycleMania rankings By Mandy Silver Senior News Editor
DAVID BRODY | STUDENT LIFE
Sophomore Mollie Spevack holds a candle during a vigil for the victims of a Tel Aviv suicide bombing held by the Students for Israel on the Swamp on Monday evening. Approximately a half dozen students came to pray, read descriptions of the victims and sing Hatikva, the Israeli national anthem.
CAROLYN GOLDSTEIN | STUDENT LIFE
Claire McCaskill, Missouri’s Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, speaks to the College Democrats on Monday night in Friedman Lounge.
Washington University has continued its steady climb up the college rankings—this time in the category of recycling. After a last-place finish for the previous three years in RecycleMania, a friendly 10-week competition among university recycling programs, this year the University showed a renewed commitment to preserving the environment and a higer score The University placed 50th out of 87 participating universities in the ‘Per Capital Classic’ category, a competition which weighs the amount of mixed paper and comingle recycled per student. Oregon State, the winner of the competition, recycled an impressive 91.35 pounds per student. Washington University weighed in at 19.3 pounds per student. “Considering we were averag-
ing about 3.8–4.6 lbs per student [in previous years], I would say that the competition exceeded expectations. We did about four to five times better than we had in the past, which is a significant difference,” said senior Natalie Zaczek, president of Green Action. This year, RecycleMania expanded considerably, introducing five new areas of competition and doubling its number of college and university participants. Zaczek attributed this year’s success to a new recycling contractor, increased campaigning and faculty support. “The faculty played the most significant role in the amount of waste recycled by getting a new recycling vendor that recycles more. The faculty also decided to count some from the medical school and Hilltop campus in addition to the residential areas. Only the residential areas were counted in the past,” said
Zaczek. Although the competition ended on April 8, sophomore Emily Dangremond, member of Green Action and organizer of the University’s RecycleMania, emphasized that environmental groups on campus remain dedicated to improving recycling on campus. Already, Green Action and the Committee on Environmental Quality are partnering to raise recycling awareness earlier on in a student’s career at the University. “Now that the competition is over, we are planning to teach all the incoming students what is recyclable by beginning with the freshman at orientation,” said Dangremond. “When a student comes to Wash. U., he will have to change his recycling habits anyway, so the goal is to teach people when they first arrive.”
See RECYCLING, page 2