ROCKIN’ CANADIANS | ONE-ON-ONE INTERVIEW WITH ARCADE FIRE | CADENZA, PAGE 10
STUDENT LIFE
THE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER OF WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS SINCE 1878 VOLUME 128, NO. 62
WWW.STUDLIFE.COM
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 2007
Gunfire exchanged near north end of campus BY LAURA GEGGEL NEWS EDITOR Four young men leaving a St. Louis nightclub were shot at early last week near campus, according to a press release from the University City Department of Police. The men, who were attacked by unknown assailants, attempted to escape in their vehicle, but were chased west down Forest Park Parkway and shot at as they neared the intersection of Forest Park Pkwy. and Big Bend Blvd. University City Police would not say if any arrests were made. The shots were fi red at 2:07 a.m. on March 12. “I saw a white, four-door Sudan driving past my window and make a U-turn,” said junior Erin Beck, who saw the incident fi rsthand. “As it went into the intersection someone came out of the sunroof, pulled a gun, and fi red six or seven shots at where I imagine there must have been another car off towards the Hi/ Tec Copy Center.” Beck immediately called 911, heard three more shots while she was still on the phone, and saw the white car turn around
and drive southbound down Big Bend. Two of the victims fled on foot, and University City Police apprehended the other two near the scene of the shooting, said Beck. “There were two or three shots that had hit the car door and others hit the window on that salon,” said Beck, who went down to speak with police once they arrived. “Other than that we didn’t really see where things had hit.” The nightclub, located on Olive Street and North Compton Avenue, is approximately 6.5 miles away from the intersection where the shooting occurred. No injuries have been reported from this incident. University City Police said that the suspects were driving a white Monte Carlo occupied by several males. Beck said police told her that they had apprehended the Monte Carlo soon after the shooting, but she did not know if there were people in it at the time. University City Police Captain Michael Ransom would not comment further on the investigation or say if police knew
whether the guns used were legally registered. He called the incident “unusual” and said that “students should not have to worry” about a repeat episode. Director of Campus Police, Don Strom, also emphasized the arbitrary location of the shooting in regards to the University. “It was a coincidence that the episode happened there as much as anywhere else,” he said. “The cars slowed down there for whatever reason. The shots had started somewhere else. It’s a very isolated episode.” Junior Brendan McCarthy was awake and doing homework when he heard the squeal of car tires early Monday morning and saw a volley of shots fi red from the Monte Carlo. “Initially I was just shocked,” said McCarthy. “It’s not something you expect to happen outside your dorm window.” Within seconds, several police cars and three ambulances rushed to the scene and began collecting the discarded bullet casing and examining the
JENNY SHAO | STUDENT LIFE
See SHOOTING, page 3 Students cross the Big Bend and Forest Park Parkway intersection as they exit the Metrolink station on Tuesday, March 20. This was the site of a drive by shooting last week on Monday, March 12.
African film festival hits LGBT lobbyist hits campus advocating campus for second time new statewide rights legislation BY BEN SALES
SENIOR STAFF REPORTER Pride Alliance will be hosting Julie Brueggemann, Executive Director of an LGBT lobby group, tonight. The speaker, who comes from an organization called PROMO, comes a week before Missouri’s statewide LGBT lobby day. Pride Alliance, Washington University’s student LGBT advocacy group, is calling the event “Fight for Your Rights: Out in Missouri.” Brueggemann will be speaking about two pieces of legislation that PROMO will be trying to push through the Missouri houses of congress next week in Jefferson City. Maryse Pearce, Pride Alliance’s community outreach director, said that Brueggemann’s appearance provides the group with an opportunity to widen their activity outside of the University. “PROMO is the largest LGBT COURTESY OF WILMETTA TOLIVER-DIALLO
Entering its second year on campus, the African Film Festival will feature eight films from African filmmakers. The films’ subjects range from the identity of African women to the construction of African identity. BY DAVID SONG STAFF REPORTER The Washington University African Film Festival will be screening eight films—four short films and four feature films—from African filmmakers this weekend. The festival, taking place for the second time, is sponsored by the African Students Association, the African and African American Studies program and the Film and Media Studies program. Wilmetta Toliver-Diallo, Assistant Dean and Academic Coordinator in the College of Arts & Sciences, organized the first film festival last year to initiate discussion about Africa among university students and the St. Louis community. “The first time [for the festival] was last year, when I was teaching a cinema class,” said Diallo. “I wanted to find something to expose people in St. Louis to a different kind of film
history, and to bring a serious conversation about Africa without the contexts of charity or romanticization. It was also a way for African filmmakers to showcase their work.” This year, the African Film Festival will cover a variety of themes, including the role and identity of the African woman. Female filmmaker Fanta Régina Nacro’s “The Night of Truth,” for instance, will be among the featured films, as will films by Mehdi Charef and Shelley Barry address issues of women and sexuality. “A lot of our films are womanfocused. “The Night of Truth” is the first feature film by a woman, and there will be conversations about women and global standards of women, questioning standards of beauty and the assumption of what authority is in Africa along the lines of gender.” Despite the popularity of last year’s festival, Diallo suggested
Lady Bears take second in D-III While students spent the break snoozing, the women’s basketball team was busy dominating the court. Get the play-by-play of their championship game. Sports, Page 5
some skepticism over whether the University would be able to have the event every year. The frequency of the festival, which may change to once every two years, depends on local interest in Africa and African film. “Last year, we exceeded the expectations of [attendees]. There were a lot of Washington University students, but also a lot of St. Louis citizens there. We needed to see if there is a continuous interest, and I think every other year is best, but there is an interest.” Diallo added that the film festival could aid students enrolled in African studies courses. She noted, however, that discourse about Africa would have to extend beyond war and infighting and into reconciliation and the construction of African identity. “We could complement a lot of the classes here. When I was teaching African history, it
See FILM, page 5
rights group and we have been wanting to network with them for a while,” said Pearce, a freshman. “We wanted to get involved in more community based things.” The first proposed bill, called the Missouri Non-Discrimination Act, would generally prohibit discrimination in the state. The second, called the Comprehensive Safe Schools Bill, would expand the current school bullying policy in the state to provide added protection for students who are more likely to be bullied due to race, religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other characteristic. Brueggemann said the Safe Schools Bill gives students adequate protection, safeguarding them from any kind of negative social pressure. “We want the state to create a model policy,” she said. “It expands the definition of bullying to include harassment, discrimination and intimidation. It is a broad bill, so it would cover all
of Missouri students.” Although PROMO’s activity centers on the LGBT issues contained within the bills, their staff has been working with several other anti-discrimination coalitions around the state to push the legislation through. “Obviously our concern is LGBT issues, but we are concerned about other constituencies that are served by this legislation,” said Brueggemann. “We have always been an organization that strives to build strong relationships with allied organizations.” Brueggemann said that the allied groups have supported PROMO’s part in the legislation for a long time, and have had a general interest in the advancement of LGBT rights. “We have found that the majority of organizations are in favor of including gender identity in the list of protected clauses,” she said. “It has been many years
See LGBT, page 3
Controversy over finances continues as Thurtene prepares for carnival BY SAM GUZIK ASSIGNMENTS EDITOR As the Thurtene Honorary prepares for the Thurtene Carnival in just over a month, a WUTV documentary examining the fi nances of the Thurtene Honorary and the carnival bearing the same name has begun to generate discussion on YouTube. “I would like for the fi lm to generate discussion on campus,” said senior Evan Susser, the director and co-executive producer of the documentary. “People should talk about... how they feel about Thurtene and how its money is spent.” Although the fi lm’s original release was largely unnoticed by the campus community, the fi lmmakers hope that by making it available on YouTube there will be a greater response.
Too busy? Too many excuses Students are too busy to take advantage of the activities they enjoy. Columnist Dennis Sweeney says its not our demanding courses that are the problem—it’s us. Forum, Page 7
The fi lm contends that the Thurtene carnival does not effectively raise money for the selected charity because its finances are not accountable to the community. The documentary, produced in 2005 and entitled “Thurtene: The Carnival and the Controversy,” examines Thurtene’s claim that the Carnival’s proceeds go to charity and criticizes Thurtene for maintaining the secrecy of its fi nances- –a holdover from the honorary’s days as a secret society. “Officially, Thurtene would not give a response for our documentary; however at the same time some members of the honorary acknowledged privately that the donation was not very large,” said Susser. According to the documentary, despite the attendance of over 100,000 people from the
INSIDE: Forum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Cadenza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Sudoku . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
St. Louis Community, Thurtene’s donation to charity was as low as $8,500 one year. In an official statement, Thurtene responded by saying that by keeping fi nancial information private, it prevents the Carnival from being judged on solely monetary terms. Because Thurtene is not a Student Union recognized group, it is not bound by the same fi nancial disclosure as other groups. “This is the ultimate community event and that’s the most important thing,” said junior Sydney Schneider, Thurtene public relations cochair. “In the end, the charity is not the main purpose.” Schneider did acknowledge, however, that student groups participating in the Carnival are not required to donate
See THURTENE, page 2
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