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STUDENT LIFE

THE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER OF WASHINGTON UNIVERSIT Y IN ST. LOUIS SINCE 1878 Washington University students are continually distracted by electronic devices—and that may not be a bad thing. More in Forum. Page 4.

Baseball continues its phenomenal season, moving to 17-4, while softball suffers three losses to the College of St. Scholastica. Page 6.

VOLUME 127, NO. 66

It’s not just at Wash. U. that politicians are using the Facebook to campaign—now state race candidates are doing so, too. Page 4.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29, 2006

Over 150 pounds of food wasted during Sunday brunch

WWW.STUDLIFE.COM

SU televises candidates’ debate

By Ben Sales Staff Reporter

GEORGE GENNIS | STUDENT LIFE

v Hybrid Living Group challenges students to cut down on wasteful eating habits

By Josh Hantz Associate Reporter Students who went to Center Court’s brunch Sunday may have noticed something out of the ordinary when they put their trays on the conveyor belt. Hybrid Living Committee members were scraping all the leftovers into trash cans to weigh the amount of food wasted per person.

This endeavor is part of the Hybrid Living Committee’s (HLC’s) “challenge” to the South 40 to reduce waste. On Sunday, the waste totaled 158 pounds, or more than a quarter ounce per person.

“We are calling it a challenge,” said HLC Co-Chair Alex Lowenstein, a sophomore. “We’re asking people to take a look in an upfront, conscious way about how they eat.”

The program is also an experiment.

“It’s more so a question than anything else,” said sophomore HLC CoChair Debra Stern. “We’re thinking about mass amounts. There are so many people. We want to see what’s going on.”

Throughout Sunday’s brunch, HLC’s staff monitored the conveyor belt, scraping leftover food into garbage cans and weighing it on a scale. They then divided the total weight by the 629 customers served during that time to get the amount of food wasted per person.

Certain items were not counted toward the total weight, including liquids, napkins and other paper products, and mostly-eaten fruit.

But that didn’t stop the numbers from piling up.

“Think about how much you waste, just the amount,” said Stern.

“Maybe [the wasted food of] an individual isn’t that big, but together it is.”

See LEFTOVERS, page 3

Above: The PerSUnal slate candidates, from left: sophomore Neil Patel (president), junior Bobby Jones (vice president), sophomore Aaron Robinson (treasurer) and freshman Jessica Wasserman (secretary).

Right: The Perspective slate candidates, from left: sophomore Paul Moinester (president), junior Jason Lewis (treasurer) and sophomore Susan Land (secretary).

GEORGE GENNIS | STUDENT LIFE

‘Black Lights White Tees’ party organizers seek to create interracial remix on campus v Sigma Chi joins ABS and Kappa Alpha Psi to promote interracial interaction

By Marla Friedman Associate Reporter Sigma Chi will regain their house this fall after a two-year hiatus, and they are already involved in pioneering a new group on campus. The brothers have worked with Kappa Alpha Psi, a black fraternity, and the Association of Black Students to create an organization called

“The Solution.”

The groups started the organization last semester with the following mission statement: “The Solution exists to provide an outlet to cross racial boundaries by creating different constructive environments—such as parties, community service and forums—to foster these relationships.”

Sophomore Joseph Brown, a member of Sigma Chi, came up with the idea to start the organization. He attended a diverse high school and is upset at the absence of interaction among races at Washington University. After being one of the only white students at many Association of Black Students (ABS) parties, Brown was inspired to

create settings that will foster intermingling between races on campus.

“We want to help people extend themselves and get outside their comfort zone,” said Brown. “We will start social settings so that people feel more comfortable with other races and will continue that trend throughout other social settings so that more people will go to events like ABS parties.”

Raumesh Akbari, president of ABS, agrees that students need to embrace events with people outside of their usual crowd.

“This is an issue that we feel has always been a prob-

See BLACK LIGHTS, page 3

Mosaic Whispers set to celebrate its 15th birthday with 40 alumni

By Shweta Murthi Staff Reporter With five-hour rehearsals every night and a brand new song set, the Mosaic Whispers, Washington University’s oldest co-ed a cappella group, is preparing for its biggest gig yet this weekend.

This year, the group’s annual Splash of Color concert will feature a special alumni reunion of over 40 people in celebration of its 15th anniversary. Mosaic Whispers was cofounded by Josh Einsohn and Dan Newman in 1991 to break free from traditional a cappella music and has since increased its repertoire to over seven albums of pop, country, oldies and classic rock songs.

“This year we have 40-something alumni coming back and performing,” said junior Aaron Lewis, group coordinator

Will electronic books supplant good ol’ print media? Cadenza has the answers. See Page 10.

for the Mosaic Whispers. “We have people coming back all the way from China.”

Lewis was excited about the new song set, which includes a variety of songs from Coldplay to the Eagles to the theme song from the Sopranos.

This year, the group used the theme “Whispers Gone Wild” in their advertisements for Splash of Color.

“We were trying to pick something that referred to a little bit of party atmosphere, since it’s our 15th birthday party, while at the same time something that’s a lot of fun and that can have little video clips to move the concert along,” said Lewis.

Einsohn, who graduated from Washington University in 1994, is using this concert to coordinate all the alumni who are visiting and arrange them into groups to sing for the Sat-

urday night performance.

“The alumni were especially flattered and excited to get to come back,” said Einsohn.

“It’s like a big family.”

Einsohn fondly remembers his three years with the Whispers.

“My favorite memory was the first time that we were asked to perform at Green Eggs and Jam—the annual Greenleafs concert,” said Einsohn. “It was the first time we had performed for a large audience. Nobody was really expecting a lot from us, but we did a really good job which was exciting.”

Like its founders, the Whispers’ new recruits are also looking forward to the concert.

“I am looking forward to performing for my mom because she’s never heard us sing before,” said freshman

Jennifer Gross. “I’m also excited to hear one of my favorite songs, ‘Only in Dreams,’ being performed.”

An alumni brunch is held each year following the concert weekend, where past and present members can recall Mosaic Whispers memories.

“Everyone gets up and tells stories,” said Lewis. “That’s the moment that you really feel that you’re part of something that’s a lot larger than your four years at Wash. U.” The Splash of Color 2006 will be held on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in Graham Chapel. Tickets for the concerts can be purchased all week at Mallinckrodt and Wohl Center as well as at the door.

Other groups participating include the Amateurs, the Pikers, After Dark, the Greenleafs and the improv group Mama’s Pot Roast.

In an effort to bring their upcoming elections to a greater part of the student body, Student Union televised Monday’s executive officer debates on WUTV. “It is part of our effort to do more outreach,” said Student Union (SU) President David Ader. “We get the information out there so students can make decisions on their own. People can attach a face to a name.”

The debate began with a five-minute introduction by SU Election Commissioner Jordan Katz, who moderated the event. The proceedings then moved to the presidential debate, where Neil Patel of the “PerSUnal” slate squared off with “Perspective” slate candidate Paul Moinester.

Patel, a Treasury representative from the College of Arts and Sciences, advocated PerSUnal’s slogan of “Communicate on Campus through Clarity” in his responses, stressing the need for improvement in SU’s dealings with the student body.

“I think SU is clicking on a lot of the right cylinders internally,” said Patel. “Our focus is on SU externally.

The relationship between the student government and the individual students is of significant importance to us.”

Patel said that this included more social programming for the entire student body, as well as increased personal contact between SU’s executives and their constituents.

“This really involves getting out of the building and talking to students,” said Patel. “Right now the Student Union offices are... kind of far off from anywhere students would go.

In order to get the opinions of students, what we need to do is get out there and be very active.”

Moinester, who now serves as Speaker of the South 40, focused on different issues, specifically mentioning the need for greater sustainability in campus facilities.

“I really want to work on putting our school on the path to sustainability,” said Moinester, an environmental studies major. “I really want to try to use innovative ways to do so.”

Moinester said that this initiative entailed a more comprehensive relationship with the administration in order to examine sustainability on a long-term level.

“As president, I would have the opportunity to work with the administration on a closer basis, to make sure that the larger issues are discussed,” said Moinester. “Sustainability is the next technology on campus, and I really hope that the school doesn’t miss the boat.”

Following the presidential debate, the candidates for vice president, treasurer and secretary were given chances to discuss their ideas, as well as time to answer questions from a student audience. While each of the candidates focused on their respective positions in their statements, most followed slate lines.

“This is somewhat of an apathetic school,” said unopposed PerSUnal vice

presidential candidate and Filmboard member Bobby Jones, continuing Patel’s focus on the student body.

“We do not have the school spirit that would be ideal.

You just do not see the togetherness. We would like to approach [that] as something we want.”

PerSUnal’s candidate for treasurer, current Treasury representative Aaron Robinson, continued in the same vein, advocating what he called a “PerSUnal fund,” or a Treasury fund for individual students to create campus-wide programming.

“I want to take the student budget and make it readable and understandable to anyone who cares about it,” said Robinson.

“The Student Activities Fee should be focused on students.”

Jessica Wasserman, who rounded out the PerSUnal slate as its candidate for secretary, stressed reaching out to students and student groups through more effective and widespread communication.

“People do not know the reason why Student Union does a lot of things,” said Wasserman, who currently serves as the external vice president for the freshman class. “We need to be proactive in telling people certain things. That way we increase the trust between people and keep communication open.”

Perspective’s candidates, on the other hand, spoke more of internal review of SU, as evident in the remarks of Jason Lewis, the slate’s candidate for treasurer.

“It seems that the SU executive board has held their spending standards to a different standard than the student groups,” said Lewis, who currently serves as the junior class treasurer. “I want to make the standards equal across the board, to hold us to the same standards that we hold you.”

Susan Land, a senator from the School of Art who is running as Perspective’s candidate for secretary, highlighted internal improvement with her emphasis on innovation in design as a way to improve SU’s relationship with the rest of campus.

“Through my experience with graphic design and advertising I can best serve this position,” she said. “The secretary should not only communicate through advertising but also through relationships.

In being able to bring the two together you can best serve as secretary.”

Although both slates presented very different visions, SU’s current executives were pleased with the debates. “[Televising the debates] is something that should be done every year,” said SU Speaker of the Treasury Harsh Agarwal. “The candidates all touched on the key issues, and it was good to hear that up front.”

Ader seconded Agarwal’s comments, and spoke of the slates’ differences as a positive. “[The candidates] definitely bring something different to the table,” said Ader. “Which one is better, or which one Student Union needs more, is up to the students to decide.”

2 STUDENT LIFE | NEWS

STUDENT LIFE One Brookings Drive #1039 #42 Women’s Building Saint Louis, MO 63130-4899 News: (314) 935-5995 Advertising: (314) 935-6713 Fax: (314) 935-5938 e-mail: editor@studlife.com www.studlife.com Copyright 2006 Editor in Chief: Margaret Bauer Associate Editor: Liz Neukirch Managing Editor: David Tabor Senior News Editor: Kristin McGrath Senior Forum Editor: Molly Antos Senior Cadenza Editor: Laura Vilines Senior Scene Editor: Sarah Baicker Senior Sports Editor: Justin Davidson Senior Photo Editor: David Brody News Editors: Mandy Silver, Caroline Wekselbaum Forum Editors: Daniel Milstein, Jeff Stepp, Matt Shapiro, Joshua Trein Cadenza Editors: Adam Summerville, Jordan Deam, Robbie Gross Scene Editors: Sarah Klein, Erin Fults Sports Editor:Joe Ciolli Photo Editors: David Hartstein, Pam Buzzetta, Meghan Luecke Online Editor: Dan Daranciang Design Chief: Laura McLean Copy Editors: Allie McKay, Nina Perlman, Kelly Donahue, Erin Fults, Rebecca Emshwiller, hannah draper, Julian Beattie, Mallory Wilder, Paige Creo Designers: Ellen Lo, Anna Dinndorf, Jamie Reed, Elizabeth Kaufman, Kate Ehrlich General Manager: Andrew O’Dell Advertising Manager: Sara Judd Copyright 2006 Washington University Student Media, Inc. (WUSMI). Student Life is the financially and editorially independent, student-run newspaper serving the Washington University community. First copy of each publication is free; all additional copies are 50 cents. Subscriptions may be purchased for $80.00 by calling (314) 935-6713.

Student Life is a publication of WUSMI and does not necessarily represent, in whole or in part, the views of the Washington University administration, faculty or students. All Student Life articles, photos and graphics are the property of WUSMI and may not be reproduced or published without the express written consent of the General Manager. Pictures and graphics printed in Student Life are available for purchase; e-mail editor@ studlife.com for more information. Student Life reserves the right to edit all submissions for style, grammar, length and accuracy. The intent of submissions will not be altered. Student Life reserves the right not to publish all submissions.

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WEDNESDAY | MARCH 29, 2006

POLICE BEAT Wednesday, March 22 8:25 a.m. INVESTIGATION, INVESTIGATION ONLY—UNDESIGNATED AREA OFF CAMPUS—Investigation into possible fraudulent book purchase via Internet. Disposition: Pending.

5:25 p.m. LARCENY-THEFT, MAIL—ST. LOUIS CITY LOCATION—During an unrelated investigation at property off campus, investigators found opened mail hidden in a utility room in the building. Contact with owner determined that the mail never made it to its destination. Disposition: Postal inspector to be notified.

6:12 p.m. INFORMATION NONCRIMINAL—MILLBROOK GARAGE—Student reported damage to vehicle window

while parked in Millbrook Garage between 8:45 a.m. and 6:05 p.m. Investigation determined that the vehicle windshield had cracked due to a rock ding and the weather change. Disposition: No crime occurred.

10:29 p.m. LOST ARTICLE— SOUTH 40 RESIDENCE AREA— Complainant reported losing an iPod on March 20 between 2:30 and 11:59 p.m. Disposition: Pending.

Thursday, March 23 12:56 p.m. LARCENY-THEFT, STEALING OVER $500—HOLMES LOUNGE—Victim reported the theft of her purse when it was left unattended for a short period of time. Victim later found the purse and contents intact. Disposition: Unfounded.

Friday, March 24 9:32 a.m. PROPERTY DAMAGE, INSTITUTIONAL VANDALISM—UMRATH DORM— The RCD of Umrath dorm reported that someone unknown had discharged the fi re extinguisher in the fi rst floor kitchen. In addition, two pool cues were found broken. Disposition: Pending.

5:51 p.m. AUTO INCIDENT (ALL OTHERS)—SHEPLEY DRIVE—Two vehicles, no injuries. Disposition: Cleared.

place. Investigation found that the bank card was used to fraudulently purchase nearly $500.00 in merchandise from an area mall. Disposition: Under investigation.

3:42 p.m. LOST ARTICLE— SOUTH 40 RESIDENCE AREA— Complainant reported a lost cell phone. Incident occurred between 6 and 10 p.m. on March 23. Disposition: Pending.

Sunday, March 26 12:37 a.m. LOST ARTICLE—MALLINCKRODT CENTER—Visitor reported the loss of a digital camera at an unknown location while on campus. Loss occurred between 9 and 11 p.m. on March 25. Disposition: Pending.

7:50 p.m. LOST ARTICLE— OFF CAMPUS—Student reported a lost cell phone while on spring break in Florida. Incident occurred between March 14-15. Disposition: Pending.

Monday, March 27

10:30 p.m. LARCENY-THEFT, STEALING UNDER $50—UNKNOWN LOCATION—Victim advised the theft of a bank card and $26 from her purse.

Unknown where the theft took

1:47 p.m. INFORMATIONAL REPORT—SMALL GROUP NO. 3—Reporting party requested that this department check the well-being of a student. All was in order.

Disposition: Cleared.

4 p.m. LARCENY-THEFT, STEALING OVER $500—LEE DORM—Complainant reported the theft of a camera and purse from a dorm room during a social gathering. Incident occurred between 8 and 11:59 p.m. on March 25. Disposition: Pending.

rounded out the women’s scoring with a victory (6-2, 6-0) in No. 6 singles. As a doubles team, Cook and Tchergueiko won the Bears’ only doubles match against Carthage, which proved valuable in the end to edge them out for the win.

Against 18th-ranked Wheaton College, the women’s team was not as fortunate as they were swept in all six singles matches. The only points earned by the Bears in the match came, once again,

courtesy of the doubles tandem of Cook and Tchergueiko. Perhaps the Bears’ inability to put up a stronger effort against Wheaton was a result of freshman Carrie Preston’s illness, which kept her out of the weekend’s action. Preston, who is both the Bears’ No. 1 singles and doubles player, was missed as the Bears moved to 7-3 overall on the season.

For their performances this weekend, both the men’s and women’s teams moved up

in the National ITA Division III Poll. The men jumped to No. 8 in the nation while the women moved up two slots to the 13th ranking.

The men’s team will be back in action this coming Saturday as they play a pair of home matches at Clayton Shaw Park against Coe College and Maryville University.

The women’s team will host a pair of matches on Friday and Saturday at the Tao Tennis Center against Drury University and Coe College.

The team took the field once again on Sunday against Scholastica and Centre in a doubleheader. Once again, the Bears could not fi nd a way to get past Scholastica as the team fell 4-2 for their third loss of the season. The Bears lost only three games all of last year. Grey lost the decision for the second straight game as she gave up three earned runs off six hits and four walks. Once again, Roberts, Kressel and Vukovich were the only Bears to get a hit off the tough Scholastica pitching. All three hits were in the fi rst inning.

It was a sloppy game on both

sides of the field as seven total errors were recorded—five coming at the hands of the Bears, a season high. The Bears actually held the 2-1 lead going into the top of the seventh inning when the Scholastica bats exploded for three runs off three hits.

In the last game of the very disappointing homestand, Sagartz took it upon herself to bring the Bears up from the ashes against Centre in game two. She pitched a gem as she pitched a two-hit shutout while fanning 14 batters in the 2-0 victory. The shutout was Sagartz’s 20th of her career, which moved her into fi rst

place on the University’s alltime list.

Offensively, the Bears kept their momentum moving as two runs on six hits was all the team needed to secure the victory. Vukovich kept her batting streak alive with a 1-for-2 performance while D’Andrea went one-for-three, knocking in an RBI. Sagartz ended a zerofor-12 batting slump as she knocked in the other game’s run, a double to left field.

The Bears (14-3) return to action at home in a Thursday doubleheader against Westminster College. First pitch is set for 3:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 25

TENNIS v FROM PAGE 6 tage as the team cruised to a 5-2 overall victory. Rosenthal picked up points at No. 1 singles after defeating his opponent in a third-set tiebreaker, and Cutler came out on top once again with a straight-sets victory at the No. 2 spot. Although senior William McMahan and freshman Nirmal Choradia played well in the third and fourth positions, Hoeland and Bowman won their second match of the weekend to solidify the Bears’ victory.

For the women’s team, the match-up against No. 28 Carthage College proved to be difficult in the No. 1 singles and doubles positions, but the rest of the squad was able to pick up the slack en route to a 5-4 overall victory.

Junior Erin Fleming was victorious in the No. 2 singles spot (6-3, 6-3), while sophomore Ashley Cook and freshman Ania Tchergueiko also picked up wins in the No. 4 and No. 5 positions, respectively. Sophomore Amy Hsieh

SOFTBALL v FROM PAGE 6 mance at the plate, going twofor-two and driving in two and scoring two.

The real highlight came at the hands of sophomore Kaylyn Eash, who improved her season record to 5-0 as she allowed only one earned run on four hits and one walk. On the season, Eash has an ERA of 1.54 in eight appearances.

Following the 14-1 sholacking, the Bears were feeling confident that they could stop Scholastica and redeem themselves as ace Laurel Sagartz took the mound for the Bears.

In the end, however, the Bears dropped the decision 1-0 in an

extremely close pitcher’s duel.

Sagartz only allowed four hits and one walk while striking out nine in six innings of work, but Scholastica pitcher Heise once again shut down the Bears bats. She allowed only three hits in seven innings while also fanning nine batters and walking none. Only senior Amanda Roberts, senior Monica Hanono, and Vukovich recorded hits. The loss was the fi rst on the season for Sagartz (7-1) and the one run scored was the fi rst she let up this season. She is posting a 0.14 ERA and has recorded 83 strikeouts so far in 10 appearances.

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Senior News Editor / Kristin McGrath / news@studlife.com

WEDNESDAY | MARCH 29, 2006

LEFTOVERS v FROM PAGE 1 Jonathan Shelley. “It helps to be educated about eating habits.”

Cutting down on leftovers, however, is more than a case of raising awareness.

“A lot of it is about attitude and trying to bring out a certain mentality,” said Lowenstein. “It’s something you hear over and over again with sustainability.

We’re not asking students to eat less but to eat more efficiently.”

HLC was not the only group interested in finding the per-person waste, though. Bon Appétit aided HLC with the study, supplying a scale to weigh the food, among other items.

“It’s something they would like to know too,” said Shelley.

“It’s within their interest.”

HLC feels one of the main problems with waste is misinformation. Many students feel they can take as much food as they want since Center Court will throw it out at the end of the night anyway.

They are wrong, Stern emphasized.

Center Court prepares food in individual batches on an as-needed basis rather than preparing a set amount for the entire day. A downtown church collects the unprepared food and gives it to a homeless shelter.

“The only thing wasted is the

DAVID BRODY | STUDENT LIFE

Center Court patrons frequently leave mounds of uneaten food on their trays when they are finished dining. extra food students take,” said Stern.

Another problem involves a lack of understanding and perspective about how much food students actually waste on a daily basis, said Lowenstein.

“You can’t just approach it in one way,” said Lowenstein. “Even when measuring weight, the numbers are very obscure. Volume is a much bigger difference.

We have to figure out a way to

spread it around.”

HLC will publish the results of the study within two weeks and then return to Center Court on April 9 to weigh another day’s worth of waste. HLC’s members hope to see a noticeable decrease over Sunday’s waste and for students to come to a realization.

“You have to look at the bigger picture,” said Stern. “Everyone should realize they impact the world. We impact each other.”

BLACK LIGHTS v FROM PAGE 1 Wash. U.,” said Akbari. “When people get in their comfort zones, they create their own bubble within the Wash. U. bubble. We want to break this bubble, and the Solution is a great way for people to get out of their comfort zones and make a difference.”

The Solution will host its first big event this Friday in Center Court, a dance party with the theme of “Black Lights and White Tees.” Students will receive white shirts and a highlighter upon entering. Attendees can then write on each other’s shirts with the highlighters, and see their messages illuminated under the black lights.

“This party will create a setting where the races are a lot closer so people don’t feel out of their comfort zone,” said Brown.

“The highlighters will take that theme one step further by having something that is supposed to initiate conversation.”

A $5 admission fee will go toward a scholarship for a University City High School student’s college tuition. The goal is to raise $1,500 for a student who has incorporated diversity into his or her life. Donations will also be made to City Faces, an organization that teaches visual arts to teenagers and young adults living in public housing in hopes of offering them a brighter future.

The party on Friday is only the beginning of many more social events as well as community service endeavors that the Solution plans to host.

“The actual Solution group is not just about the party, it’s to foster relationships between the multicultural groups in general,” said junior Brandon Tadesse, a representative from Kappa Alpha Psi. “We want to have a big retreat maybe somewhere in the Ozarks for everybody in the three respective groups, as well as other

students, to come together for a weekend. We also want to have community service events to get Wash. U. people together. Maybe a huge Habitat for Humanity event or a Red Cross event, something where we can all get together for a good cause.”

Tadesse hopes that students of different races will also socialize outside of the Solution’s events.

“When we have parties, we hope for it not to be all black people just because we are a black organization,” said Tadesse. “We could have everybody at Wash.

U. coming out to a party, not just people from the race of the actual fraternity. We hope to spark interest for all of us to have better relationships.”

Center Court can hold a maximum of 1,000 people, and Brown says they are definitely hoping to fill it to capacity.

STUDENT LIFE | NEWS

3

4 STUDENT LIFE | FORUM

Senior Forum Editor / Molly Antos / forum@studlife.com

WEDNESDAY | MARCH 29, 2006

Our daily Forum editors:

FORUM

Monday: Jeff Stepp jsstepp@wustl.edu

Wednesday: Daniel Milstein daniel.milstein@wustl.edu

Friday: Joshua Trein jctrein@wustl.edu

To ensure that we have time to fully evaluate your submissions, guest columns should be e-mailed to the next issue’s editor or forwarded to forum@studlife.com by no later than 5 p.m. two days before publication.

Late pieces will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

We welcome your submissions, and thank you for your consideration.

Poking the politician

S

ean Patrick Maloney is an underdog in the race for New York State Attorney General.

One rival, Andrew Cuomo, was President Clinton’s HUD secretary; his father, Mario, was governor of New York for 12 years; and he was once married to a Kennedy. Another candidate, Mark Green, was New York City’s public advocate and would probably be mayor now if his campaign didn’t earn him the title “the most hated white man in the African American community” (given to him by Village Voice columnist Peter Noel).

The Republican candidate, Jeanine Pirro, was considered a viable challenger to

Hillary Clinton until it was discovered that she was the worst campaigner this side of John Kerry. Clearly, Maloney needs to do a lot of work to get his name out there. So he has done what all respectable, enterprising candidates for office do—they turn to the Facebook.

While candidates run grassroots campaigns, they love to use expressions like “taking it to the streets” and “going door to door.” Maloney, on the other hand, is going friend request to friend request. He, or someone working for him, started a Facebook account at the University of Virginia (his alma mater), and has taken to friending what seems like

races to compete random people at with), the winner every school in the for attorney general state of New York could end up being (or so it seems from the person with the his substantial list most favorable name of friends). While recognition. And I clearly was not most college stuincluded in this push, dents who vote could at least 620 (at the time of this writing) Daniel Milstein defi nitely lean toward their Facebook friend students were. This over the racist and move by Maloney is eithe guy whose name, while ther absolutely, totally, utterly famous to the parents, could brilliant, or a complete waste mean nothing to the stuof time. dents. If Maloney’s Facebook Now, college students campaign is more expansive across the state will at least than the 620 friends he has at know who Maloney is. Considthe time of this writing, this ering how little people tend to could make a substantial difcare about smaller races like ference. But at the same time, attorney general (especially this could be an annoyance with Senate and governor

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Bon Appétit’s services involve a tremendous amount of work—as well as concern for animal welfare (“Backstage with Bon Appétit,” March 27).

Bon Appétit is phasing out the use of caged eggs in all of its 190 cafés nationwide, including Washington University’s cafeterias, and with good reason. Barren, wire battery cages confine nearly 300 million laying hens in conditions so cramped that the birds can’t even spread their wings, let alone perform other normal behaviors, such as nesting, perching and walking. Without a doubt, their lives are filled with terrible suffering.

By enacting its cage-free egg policy, Bon Appétit is improving the lives of thousands of egg-laying hens. Washington University students should be proud of their dining services for making such a socially responsible decision.

-Erin Williams Outreach Coordinator, Factory Farming Campaign The Humane Society of the United States

It’s time to speak out and make yourselves heard Dear Editor: From the lack of coverage I can only assume that you (like the similarly silent student body) have no idea who Herbert Spencer is. Perhaps you also don’t know who Martin Niemöller is. Niemöller wrote the following: “First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for the Communists and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist. Then

they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me.” So who is Herbert Spencer? He’s the father of Social Darwinism.

In fact, Spencer had more to do with this “theory” than Darwin himself did. Spencer’s writings allowed for the legitimization of militarism, discrimination, elitism, racial superiority, imperialism, eugenics and ultimately genocide. Social Darwinists take “survival of the fittest” and apply the ugly contrapositive: destruction of the weakest. And Simon Dresden, the author of “In Defense of Herbert Spencer: It’s Time to Cull the Herd,” is coming to Washington University—because he has been given a forum for his views! The same campus that had a hullabaloo with a physics professor over homosexuality, that sparked sit-ins over the wages of its workers, and that evicted an eatery over payment for produce: this same campus quietly awaits Dr. Dresden’s doublespeak-laden dialogue.

What I have always liked about Wash. U. is how genuinely nice people are here. We lack the cutthroat competition that plagues other top schools. Here we are successful not because of the pursuit of inequity but because of our cooperative association. “Survival of the fittest” is anathema to Wash. U. life. So where is the outcry? Dresden is coming; he’s coming here this afternoon at 4:30 p.m. to Rebstock 215, as an honored guest of Students for Ethical Solutions, to try to spread his odious message.

This isn’t every man for himself. This isn’t survival of the fittest. Why has no one spoken out?

-Danny Bravman Class of 2008

stalking tool to being a way to spread your message. There have been reports that business recruiters are even using the Facebook now. The Facebook is becoming an outlet to get your voice heard by college students. And Sean Maloney is using it to promote his political campaign.

I hoped to get a comment from Maloney for this story to try to ascertain more information about this move, but unfortunately, he has not yet answered my Facebook message. Maybe I’ll poke him.

Daniel is a sophomore in Arts & Sciences and a Forum editor.

He can be reached via e-mail at forum@studlife.com.

JOSH STEIN | EDITORIAL CARTOON

Kudos to Bon Appétit for its egg choices Dear Editor:

to the Facebook elitists. And considering that as far as the Democratic primaries go, the candidates at the top of the ticket (Clinton and current attorney general and future Governor Eliot Spitzer) are close to shoo-ins, it might not end up being worth the time needed for college students to vote.

Either way, it may be a harbinger for the future of politics. How long will it be until the next politician courting the youth vote emulates Maloney and goes on to the Facebook? I can already see, at least, Facebook ads coming in 2008 for Mark Warner and George Allen. The Facebook is moving farther and farther away from being a simple

Distract me now

By Tess Croner Staff Columnist

F

or four years in high school we all fought, wide-eyed and ferocious, to scratch and claw our way into a top university. But now that we’re here, we’re still not satisfied. We can ride the bike, but now we want to do it with our eyes closed.

We want all everything that Washington University has to offer, as soon as we get around to it. Our mantra: distract me now. All over the University campus you can hear it. The rustle of newspapers in the chemistry lecture hall, simultaneously being folded to that Sudoku or crossword puzzle. The electronic beeps and redundant music of Super Smash Brothers blasting from an open door.

The dings and alert bells of instant messaging calling us away from our work. All

around us is the music of distraction. It is our fight song, calling us to battle the army of responsibility.

Stop and listen. You know you’re singing along.

Playing chicken with deadlines, letting procrastination trump efficiency, and choosing the nearest distraction over work. We all know smarter work habits would decrease stress and probably boost quality. But then I find myself curled up on the couch with my iPod and a book of Sudoku puzzles. And I’m not alone.

Every where I look, University students are spending too much time killing time.

One of my good friends sits for hours, guitar on his lap, talking online. His work lays abandoned on the f loor.

Down the hall from me is the Super Smash Brothers room. The day, the time, even finals week is irrelevant; I can always count on a small group of guys to be

circled around the television, their bodies twitching and dodging along with Mario or Kirby. And even in the classroom, otherwise diligent students will seize the opportunity to do anything but learn. If they manage to stay conscious, class time is often burned up frantically text messaging (little wonder my roommate needs the unlimited messaging plan) or playing hangman or doodling stars and dragons around a few messy lines of notes. My own notes are littered with one-eyed wretches swinging in the gallows.

College is stressful, the work is hard, and the distractions are everywhere. We are here because we know how to get work done and get it done well.

But who wants to be boring? We boldly embrace the joy of doing it the hard way. There’s nothing like a good challenge. I swear

by the rush of starting a five-page essay at 1 a.m., and I live for the pleasure of going to ice cream with friends when I should be going over notes. I always say that I work well under pressure, and I will keep saying that until it kills me.

I will fight for my right to my distractions, however ridiculously inefficient and time destroying they may be. Distractions are more than just a means of escape.

They help us test our limits and stretch ourselves. We are the multitasking generation. We will do more later because we are doing more now. And by the way, I wrote this article while listening to music, eating lunch, and trying to saw through my jeans with a plastic knife.

Tess is a freshman in Arts & Sciences. She can be reached via email at tacroner@wustl. edu.

YOUR VOICE: LETTERS AND GUEST COLUMNS

OUR VOICE: EDITORIAL BOARD

OUR WEB POLICY

Student Life welcomes letters to the editor and op-ed submissions from readers.

Editorials are written by the Forum editors and reflect the consensus of the editorial board. The editorial board operates independently of the newsroom.

Once an article has been published on www.studlife.com, our Web site, it will remain there permanently. We do not remove articles from the site, nor do we remove authors’ names from articles already published on the Web, unless an agreement was reached prior to July 1, 2005.

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All submissions must include the writer’s name, class, address and phone number for verification. Student Life reserves the right to edit all letters for style, length, libel considerations and grammar. Letters should be no longer than 350 words in length. Readers may also submit longer articles of up to 750 words as guest columns. Student Life reserves the right to print any submission as a letter or guest column.

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Why do we do this? Because Google and other search engines cache our Web site on a regular basis. Our thought is this: once an article has been published online, it’s too late to take back. It is irrevocably part of the public sphere. As such, removing an article from our site would serve no purpose.

Senior Forum Editor / Molly Antos / forum@studlife.com

WEDNESDAY | MARCH 29, 2006

Break the stereotypes

By Jill Strominger Staff Columnist

M

y younger sister’s college admissions process recently brought me once again to the world of college rankings and college guidebooks. While flipping through college guidelines, I always take a few minutes to stop and look at the pages discussing Washington University—not only do I secretly hope the University will be the school my sister chooses, but I also love reading all the feel-good statements that say what a wonderful institution the University has become.

While looking at most of the guidebooks, I found myself thoroughly able to entertain myself in the excitement of attending a “prestigious, fun-loving university” until I looked at a different type of guidebook where the authors had interviewed a few select students from each institution about their general experiences at the university. The write-ups given by the University students were utterly disappointing—not because the students didn’t pretend Wash. U. was a perfect university where the sun always shines and students walk to class holding hands,

but because the write-ups were so full of the predictable Wash. U. stereotypes that don’t really hold true.

As a student body we’ve picked several things and used them to define our school in a way that makes us feel different from every other school out there. Clearly, I’ve bought into most of the stereotypes and needed to feel special for going here (otherwise I wouldn’t be able to fool myself into feeling excited about the school I attend upon the basis of college guidebooks). After reading the dramatized reviews that tell prospective freshmen that Wash. U. is so full of money they won’t fit in if they aren’t rich, that students drink alcohol nonstop every day of the week, that the University is the most academically rigorous institution in the country (apparently someone has proven it’s harder to make an A at Wash. U. than at Harvard), that if you’re premed you will work harder than you’ve ever worked before without any social life, while if you major in the humanities, the University is still not a bad choice, (but clearly not a challenge), I sat down and really questioned the generalizations I hung onto about the University. I

realized I exaggerated the level of academia and the number of hours spent working on homework. I managed to inform my family members that the University was ranked the 11th-best undergraduate institution in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, and I clung to these distinctions to assure myself that I was indeed attending a “better” school than my high school friends who stayed in the state system and received 101 percent on their biology exams.

I realized I don’t need to exaggerate certain aspects of this school’s academic tradition or try to distinguish Wash. U. from other places in the country by creating differences that we really don’t notice that much on campus.

While some students do have more money than others, we all know that it’s not like you don’t fit in if you don’t have a lot of money, and we all know that while Wash U’s pre-med program is outstanding, there are pre-meds who party on the weekends and English majors who spend Friday nights writing papers. We don’t need to be so concerned with whether we beat Northwestern or Harvard or any other school by a magazine’s standards, because what’s special about

Staff Columnist

T

he news media has become so obsessed with finding crises that it neglects actual news, i.e. intelligent information that actually provides one with a greater comprehension of the modern world. Worse, this is not the problem of a few tabloids, cable pundits or pop magazines; it is pervasive, extending from Student Life to The New York Times, from any local news station to CNN, and from TIME to Harper’s. In the dash for sensationalism, news outlets assume their viewers enjoy only crass exploitism and are not intelligent enough to enjoy news made for its intrinsic validity.

Journalism has become sensationalism. The most soughtafter criteria for newsworthiness seem to be fire, explosions, violence, scandal, riots, disaster and celebrity exposés. What is not covered, however, are deeper, more complex and less simplifiable news stories that would require a greater amount of coverage and do not fit any clichés, e.g. the effect of AIDS on labor markets, the multifaceted reasons for increased energy prices, or the role of globalization in South American politics.

Two contrasting examples elucidate the state of news media in America. Almost everyone is familiar with the May 30, 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway in Aruba while on a graduation trip with her high school senior class. Without a doubt, this is an extremely tragic story, but consider the amount of news coverage given to it: in three weeks, major television channels had, on average, done 646 segments on the case, in contrast to only 56 on a leaked British memo about Iraq war plans, according to the BBC. While it is difficult to compare these two events, it is indefensible that the death of one girl merited more attention than evidence that the British governments deceived its citizens before its own invasion of Iraq, which has led to the deaths of hundreds of Britons.

The disappearance case, however, is too well prepackaged in digestible clichés to not run amok: a well-off white girl from an industrialized country going through a drunken American rite of passage disappears on a semi-poor Caribbean island with the primary suspects being black. The coverage smacks of racism and classism, but those subtleties are lost in the cacophony of talking heads and bold headlines.

Very few people, despite recent increases in media attention, are aware of the genocide in Sudan. The news media has, within the past month as the conflict has spilled over into Chad, paid more attention to the government-sponsored massacring of its Darfurian citizens.

The genocide has been going on for two years. Colin Powell, the former Secretary of State, declared the conflict to be genocide 18 months ago, after 50,000 people had died and another 1 million been displaced. Those numbers are now 200,000 and 2 million, respectively. It is only as the crisis has crossed national borders, as even more people have died, and as groundswell outrage has pressured politicians that the news media started consistently reporting on the one of the worst tragedies since the Holocaust. The conflict in Sudan is no longer new news, but the media would not want anyone to know that. Gruesome pictures make for great profits.

It is thorny to deduce how society has arrived at this point.

Cable news, media consolidation and consumer actions all play a part. But disentangle the problem further is complex. On one hand, consumers are complicit for continuing to consume to the media’s jibber-jabber. Yet there is nothing stopping execu-

5

Student Life Policy Announcement Beginning Wednesday, March 29, we will be referring to the Washington University administration as “Brookings” throughout the newspaper. An example of this usage would be, “A decision came down from Brookings today regarding the protesters.”

We’ve chosen to refer to the administration this way for several reasons. First, Brookings Hall is where the University’s main administrative offices, including the Office of the Chancellor, are located, and as such is the effective “center of power” on campus. Second, Brookings is a readily identifiable and iconic image associated with those who run our school and who make key policy decisions affecting students.

Further, by referring to the administration as Brookings (much like the U.S. president and his staff are widely referred to in the press as “the White House”) we hope to eliminate confusion that could arise from use of “the University” or “the administration” in a number of different contexts. Several administrative bodies on this campus could readily be termed “the administration—one could feasibly refer to the Student Union administration, the Residential Life hierarchy, and the overall University administration as “the administration,” depending upon the context.

Hopefully, applying the “Brookings” label to the administrators who run this University will allow you to know to whom we are referring—and knowing is half the battle.

Wash. U. really isn’t that it’s that different from any other school. Washington University is not the wettest campus in the nation, nor is it a million times more difficult than any other institution. What makes it special

News reporting’s ADD problem

By Zachary Steinert-Threlkeld

STUDENT LIFE | FORUM

tives from internally shifting the structure of their coverage; the transition of the L.A. Times from a partisan tabloid to a Pulitzer-quality newspaper took less than 10 years in the 1960s. Finally, media consolidation increases profit pressure, which increases the incentive to publicize that which will sell the most.

Whether this is an entirely new problem is debatable; sensationalist journalism has at least existed in America since Thomas Paine first published “Common Sense,” and it played a primary role in pushing America to war with Spain in 1898. Though this problem might be historic, inertia is not an excuse. As the world becomes more globalized and one must be more intellectual and aware just to survive, it is dangerous to de-intellectualize reporting. South America is not a land of cocaine runners and radical Socialists; Africa is not a wasteland of shanty towns and malnourished children; Islam does not create terrorists; and “WUggles” are not the real reason students here hook up with those they do not find attractive.

Zachary is a sophomore in Arts & Sciences. He can be reached via email at zsteiner@artsci. wustl.edu.

DMITRI JACKSON | EDITORIAL CARTOON

is that it’s our school, and after spending time learning from each other we’ll all go out and contribute to the world in our own ways; we don’t need anything else. The extreme ways we stereotype this school make

it sound ridiculous; let’s let go of them.

Jill is a freshman in Arts & Sciences. She can be reached via e-mail at jlstromi@artsci. wustl.edu.

Katrina and religion

By David Song Staff Columnist

A

lthough I did go to New Orleans for Alternative Spring Break with Campus Crusade for Christ, I do not feel I did so of some irritating, compelling religious duty. If anything, it was because I wanted to see suffering. Of course, providing relief and aid was the main point of the trip, but at least in part, I did want to see a place that was ruined and houses that were destroyed. I do not say this out of some perverse, voyeuristic habit, but because I thought that doing so would serve as a challenge to my beliefs—theistic beliefs, to be certain. It’s not that I consider myself an overtly religious—or, worse, that fashionable term “spiritual”—person, but I’m still inclined towards believing in the existence of God. Here, I don’t mean necessarily God—as one of my more philosophical friends put it—as in a bearded man sitting on top of a cloud, or as in the Family Circus God, but in the sense that ultimately there is some meaning in even the most catastrophic and destructive events, that there is some meaning behind gloomy days and car accidents and hurricanes.

As one of my more cynical friends put it, the people who went to New Orleans—or at least some of them—went to scrape up deific brownie points, to find one more thing to put on the résumé one hands to St. Peter. Or, if not to St. Peter, then at least to the next person on the earthly plane who will be taking a look at it. Although I’m not sure if I agree with that friend’s view, that selfish attitude does help to repair one more house. But even then, seeing entire neighborhoods toppled by wind and f looding, or hearing that a single mother and her two daughters, ages 7 and 13, had to vacate New Orleans right after obtaining their house in court must challenge the religious aphorism taught in Sunday School—that God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-good. The smashed home of a pious Christian family or a rape in one of the Superdome’s toilets is a smack in the face of such a God’s existence. God loves you, God can do anything, and yet Katrina happens.

People might reply with one

theodicy or another, but for me, they all seem to fail somehow. God can’t create good without evil and can’t make mountains without valleys; but God can do anything, and no good without evil is a limit on His power.

Perhaps Katrina was, as C. S. Lewis might put it, “God’s megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” I find it hard to believe that death and destruction are the ways an omnibenevolent God speaks to the world. God allows free will, and so we are free to do good or evil; but human freedom does not cover cancer, malaria, car accidents, hurricanes, Huntington’s disease and tsunamis. At best, it seems that God will reply (as yet another one of my friends put it), “Who are you to talk shit to me?” How does doing the will of, or scraping up brownie points for, such a God sound now? It’s almost as if worshipping Poseidon would be more reasonable, because Poseidon can’t do everything, and because you might be able to placate Poseidon (whom I suppose is capricious and bad-tempered like a lot of Greek gods) by sacrificing horses.

But throughout the trip, this much was apparent—religion motivated believers in God (for lack of a better term) to travel to New Orleans, and whatever was in New Orleans did not break their beliefs. This is not to say in the least that atheists, agnostics and mere theists are somehow worse; the moral response to Katrina has been people—religious or otherwise—doing good. Events like Katrina should especially challenge and confuse those who believe in an ultimately meaningful God or universe, and those believers should be challenged and confused.

Some things, I believe, can’t be justified or compensated. What motivation is there to provide relief for a disaster if one takes it as “it was God’s plan” or “God will provide for everyone”?

But there is the hope, unfounded and stubborn as it is, of an eventual acceptance of an imperfect world alongside a good God and imperfect people. And if there is no God to celebrate and to turn to, then there is still meaning and good that people can make for themselves.

David is a freshman in Arts & Sciences. He can be reached via e-mail at dssong@artsci.wustl.edu.

6 STUDENT LIFE | SPORTS

Senior Sports Editor / Justin Davidson / sports@studlife.com

WEDNESDAY | MARCH 29, 2006

SPORTS

With a weekend split, baseball improves to 17-4

By Andrei Berman Sports Reporter The Washington University men’s baseball team went 2-2 in this past weekend’s four-game home stand. The Bears defeated both Coe College and Elmhurst College, but were also defeated twice by Elmhurst. With the wins, the University improves to 17-4 on the season.

In the weekend’s ďŹ rst game on Friday, junior Brent Buffa went the distance on the mound and the University bats did their part as well, as the hosts defeated Elmhurst 11-4.

The Bears broke open a close game in the fourth inning, scoring seven runs and never looking back. Aided by three costly Elmhurst errors and a

key two-RBI triple by senior inďŹ elder Sam Hahn, the University was able to give Buffa some breathing room and get into a comfortable ow. Buffa pitched a complete game despite the near-freezing temperatures and sporadic snowfall. With the win, he improved to 5-0 on the year. His ERA now stands at 2.49. RightďŹ elder Jim Haley led the squad’s 16-hit offensive display with ďŹ ve knocks. The senior also added two RBIs. On Saturday afternoon, the Bears took the same Elmhurst squad to the limit, but fell to the Blue Jays 7-4 in 13 innings.

The Bears scored four runs in the second and third innings to take an early 4-0 lead. The visitors responded, though, scoring four of their own in the

fourth and ďŹ fth innings to tie it up. The score remained that way for the next seven innings, as Ross Hempel pitched masterfully in relief. The senior went seven and two thirds innings, allowing just two runs and preserving the tie. Unfortunately for the University, Elmhurst rallied in the 13th, scoring three runs and walking off with a thrilling victory.

Shortstop senior Ryan Corning had two of the Bears’ ďŹ ve hits on the day.

Sunday’s doubleheader saw the University split a pair of games, getting routed, 12-1 by Elmhurst in the early half of the twin bill, but salvaging the second contest with a 5-3 win over Coe College.

In the Coe game, the Bears

led comfortably throughout and held off a late Kohawk rally to get the win. Junior Dan McPheeters picked up the win for the University, tossing eight and a third strong innings before giving the ball to freshman Dan Butler who struck out the ďŹ nal two Coe hitters and picked up his ďŹ rst career save in the process.

The University returned to action Tuesday for a doubleheader against nearby Maryville College. Scores were not available as of print time.

The Bears host another four games this weekend at Kelly Field. The team will play a doubleheader on both Saturday and Sunday, all of which are against Knox College. First pitch is set for noon both days.

Men’s and women’s tennis teams move up in National rankings

By Joe Ciolli Sports Editor The Washington University men’s and women’s tennis teams hosted their second round of home matches this weekend at the Tao Tennis Center. The two squads went a combined 3-1 on the weekend, as both teams defeated a ranked opponent.

The men’s team went headto-head against the University of Illinois-SpringďŹ eld, a

tough NAIA opponent, and No. 21 Graceland University.

The women’s team took on both No. 28 Carthage College and No. 18 Wheaton College during the weekend competition.

On the men’s side, the 17thranked Bears handled their opening match-up against the University of IllinoisSpringďŹ eld with considerable ease, dropping only one singles match overall. Senior Ari Rosenthal cruised to victory

(6-3, 6-0) in the No. 1 singles spot, while freshmen Charlie Cutler and Chris Hoeland came out victorious in two and three sets, respectively.

Sophomore Charlie Howard came up barely short in No. 4 singles following a third-set tiebreaker, but senior Zach Fayne came out on top (6-0, 62) in the ďŹ fth spot. Freshman Trevis Bowman rounded out the scoring with a convincing

victory in No. 6 singles.

The men’s team’s second opponent was No. 21 Graceland University, who was expected to put up a tougher ďŹ ght than Illinois-SpringďŹ eld.

Head coach Roger Fullmer changed the line-up slightly before facing Graceland, and his adjustments ended up working in the Bears’ advan-

See TENNIS, page 2

New Fitness Center in Spring of 2006

Scholastica hands softball three losses

By Justin Davidson Senior Sports Editor After winning the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship for the third straight season, the seventhranked Washington University softball team hit their ďŹ rst roadblock in nearly 40 regular season games. The 23rd-ranked College of St. Scholastica handed the Red and Green their ďŹ rst loss in 39 consecutive regular season games on Friday, March 24 as the team fell 4-2 in the ďŹ rst game of the Sixth Annual Midwest Regional Invitational.

In a very rare occurrence the University bats were shut down, as Scholastica pitcher Laura Heise held the Bears to only two hits through the ďŹ rst ďŹ ve innings of play. Starting pitcher freshman Susan Grey, on the other hand, let in four earned runs on ďŹ ve hits in ďŹ ve innings of work. She gave up four walks and struck out four before junior Laurel Sagartz came on in the sixth. Sagartz shut Scholastica down as she did not allow a hit in her two innings of relief while she struck out ďŹ ve of six batters seen.

Despite Sagartz’s heroics,

the Bears were not able to comeback from their 4-0 deďŹ cit they had going into the sixth. Junior slugger Jamie Kressel doubled off the right ďŹ eld wall as two Bears crossed the plate. Kressel’s two RBIs moved her into fourth place on the University’s all-time list with 64.

Following the loss, the Bears looked for redemption on Saturday as the squad faced off in a doubleheader against Centre College and Scholastica again.

Despite the 14-1 pounding of Centre in the ďŹ rst game of the home stand, however, the Bears were unable to topple the mighty Scholastica pitching in game two.

In the ďŹ rst game, the bats came alive as the Bears scored 14 runs on 16 hits as the squad improved their record to 12-1 on the season. Kressel went twofor-three at the plate, knocking in two and scoring two runs, while shortstop sophomore Laura D’Andrea, who it hitting .469 on the season, also went two-for-three with two RBIs and one run scored. Sophomore Amy Vukovich, batting .333 on the year, put in a perfect perfor-

See SOFTBALL, page 2

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STUDENT LIFE | CADENZA

7

THEATRE REVIEWS

Rep produces an immoderately good show with ‘Humble Boy’

Rep’s whodunit leaves its audience asking, ‘Who cares?’

By Robbie Gross

By Adam Summerville

Theatre Editor “You never talk to me properly,” Flora Humble tells her 35-year-old son, Felix.

“You never listen,” he responds.

“Oh stop it! Stop it! Just stop it!” she exclaims.

Such dialogue—precise, caustic and dramatic—characterizes much of the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis’ production of Charlotte Jones’ “Humble Boy.” Jones, a British playwright, won the London Critics’ Circle Theatre Award for Best New Play when “Humble Boy” debuted in 2001. Whether this unmistakably British play would translate successfully to the American stage is the question. The Rep’s production answers in the affi rmative. Director Steven Woolf, scenic designer John Ezell and the cast of six actors have put together a powerhouse of a performance fi lled with humor and tragedy, love and heartbreak.

“Humble Boy” is a play’s play. It reminds us why we go to the theatre. Set in the small Emerson Studio Theatre, the audience sits in close proximity to Ezell’s gorgeous stage, a wonderful bouquet (literally) of lilies and apple groves. Amidst this beautiful garden, however, walks a cast of rather unsavory characters. The play begins with Felix (Chris Hietikko), a theoretical astrophysicist who

has returned home for his father’s funeral. Fat, stuttering and incapable of relating to others given his physicist’s worldview, he is the stage’s response to Russell Crowe’s John Nash in “A Beautiful Mind.”

Dysfunction, already a staple of the Humble family, soon ensues. His mother Flora (Patricia Hodges) is particularly troublesome—England’s 21st-century version of Madame Bovary. She is restless, bored of country life and searching for quick fi xes through a nose job and a new man. With her husband dead, she turns to George Pye (Anderson Matthews) for her sexual healing. The only problem is that George is the father of Felix’s ex-girlfriend Rosie (Rachel Fowler). The two men despise each other for their roles in their loved one’s lives, and as the play progresses, this story of mothers and sons and fathers and daughters unravels in unexpected and compelling ways.

The story, however, is almost inconsequential. This is a play that relies on its crisp, smart dialogue and its moments of short but intense comedy and tragedy. And the acting truly stands out. Matthews, who two years ago approached perfection in The Rep’s production of Edward Albee’s “The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?” is again absolutely terrific in his portrayal of the ferocious libertine George Pye. Hietikko and Hodges,

meanwhile, are equally convincing as the Humbles—and heaven knows how he could gain so much weight to play Felix and she lose so much to play Flora. Lastly, Carolyn Swift nearly steals the show as the clueless though sincere caretaker Mercy. Her furious monologue in the second act is one of the most hilarious and awe-inspiring things that the St. Louis theatre has offered in a long time.

The performance has a few important shortcomings as well. The ending is especially disappointing. Already too long and steeped in cliché, the production does little to make sense of the conclusion. In addition to being rather predictable, the play’s metaphysical denouement comes across as muddled, overly dramatic and boring. There must be some other way to spice up an ending that requires a character’s listing the Latin names of a dozen flowers.

Fortunately, the letdown of the ending does little to take away from the success of the production as a whole. The Rep has provided yet another spectacular performance. It has found just the right play for a small theatre experience and delivers the goods with gusto.

“Humble Boy” runs through Apr. 9 at the Emerson Studio Theatre of the Loretto-Hilton Center at Webster University.

Movie Editor To say a play is an Agatha Christie murder-mystery seems to be redundant. I’m sure that there are some Agatha Christie fiends who can point out something that she wrote that is not a murder-mystery, but such examples would certainly be few and far between. Unfortunately, audiences of “Witness for the Prosecution” are not treated to Christie’s fi nest work.

The play is of course a whodunit, and most of the usual players make their show. We have the innocent and naïve suspect, who seems too sweet to even be considered as a murderer.

We have the scheming, shifty wife of the suspect, who seems to be playing multiple sides of the game.

We have the seemingly caring but very jealous servant of the victim, who certainly has a vendetta against the accused, and we have the lawyer of the defendant, who is our guide through this seamy world of right and wrong.

All of the standard characters are there, and individually, all do their jobs well. All the roles are

capably acted, with the lovable lawyer, Sir Wilfrid Robarts (Joneal Joplin), and the underhanded wife, Romaine Vole (Deanne Lorette), turning in particularly notable performances.

Robarts is cunning and witty and is the only interesting character whose motives are known, making him easily the most likable character. Romaine, on the other hand, is wonderfully insidious and is easily as cunning as Robarts, making her a good foil. The weakest acting is easily in the character of Leonard Vole (Christopher Kelly), the hapless defendant, who does a fi ne job for most of the play. In the few but critical moments when he cries out in distress and anguish, however, it seems very strained and forced, evoking no emotion in the audience. That being said, “Witness for the Prosecution” is a well-staged performance overall, and the actors do an admirable job with what they have to work with. Sadly, what they have to work with is very weak.

The play is at its best in the moments of comedy. The feud between the defending and prosecuting lawyers, the quips of

the judge, the antics of the secretary, the bumbling confession of Leonard: all of these are humorous. At fi rst, these all seem to be very intentional, and most certainly are. However, at the end of the play when twist after contrived twist is thrown on top of the pile and line after cheesy line is delivered, we get the feeling that Ms. Christie took herself entirely too seriously. This is unfortunate, since to the undiscerning eye it would have appeared that we were watching a British farce, not a British crime procedural.

The pacing is also an issue. The sum of the fi rst act could have easily been fit into 15 minutes, the second act contains another 25 minutes of fluff before the good stuff and the third act is a mad dash to cram in every single bit of plot. The director and actors seem to have made the best of this play, but it just seems that the source material is too fl imsy.

Why it was ever chosen to be produced remains the greatest mystery of all.

“Witness for the Prosecution” runs from March 15–Apr. 14 at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis.

Take Care of Your Body!

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pregnancy is high for those who drink heavily, or don’t use birth control methods on a regular basis.

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alcohol while pregnant may cause your child to have brain damage.

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If you’re a woman between 18 & 44, educate yourself about effective contraception and decreasing your chances of having a child affected by alcohol.

Join our study and if eligible, you will receive a $50.00 gift card.

1-800-515-8630

Call or visit our website SafeDrinking.org

School of Medicine

For more information please call the Army ROTC Department at 314-935-5521, 5537 or 5546.

You may also visit our web-site at rotc.wustl.edu

8 STUDENT LIFE | CADENZA

Senior Cadenza Editor / Laura Vilines / cadenza@studlife.com

WEDNESDAY | MARCH 29, 2006

Music clinic gives Pros and cons to â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Inside Manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Wash. U. The Slip

By Adam Summerville Movie Editor

By Ivanna Yang Cadenza Reporter Combine three Berkleetrained musicians, a decade of evolving sounds and a penchant for social causes, and you get The Slip, a Boston-based rock band that will be giving a hands-on clinic at Washington Universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s School of Music. On Wednesday night, The Slip will stop by for an hour session at Tietjens Hall, an intimate setting where students and community members are invited to get a behind-the scenes-look at the creative process of a band.

Having toured in the United States, Japan and Mexico for almost a decade, The Slip incorporates world rhythms, jazz and electronic inďŹ&#x201A;uences into a style that is as comfortable with hard-hitting rock music as it is with graceful folk tunes. Their single â&#x20AC;&#x153;Even Ratsâ&#x20AC;? is featured in the popular Playstation 2 game â&#x20AC;&#x153;Guitar Hero.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Slip are a true contemporary rock band, in that they explore and stretch their limits musically,â&#x20AC;? said band promoter and University alumnus Adam Weinberg. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They have a loose and easy format that lets their songwriting shine through.â&#x20AC;?

The clinic will begin with the band playing a few of their songs before transitioning into an open forum where the audience can ask questions about technique or about the band in general. Instruments will be set up around

the hall, with band members engaging in demonstrations.

The session will be geared more towards music appreciation, not just for musicians with advanced skills, and people of all abilities are encouraged to attend. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The clinic will be a window into the world of musicians you look up to,â&#x20AC;? said Weinberg. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Seeing a band in this setting will be different from a concert because youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll get a more human experience andâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;especially for students who want a career in musicâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;see that this could be a life pursuit.â&#x20AC;?

More than providing an hour of entertainment and instruction, the clinic is also a part of the Music Maker Series, sponsored by The Urban Studio.

Co-founded by Wash. U. alumnus Phil Valko, The Urban Studio is dedicated to serving the St. Louis area by using the creative process to develop individualsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; skills, promote self-conďŹ dence and strengthen a sense of community. Ticket sales and donations from the clinic will be used to fund youth programs in St. Louis.

For those who want to hear more from The Slip, following the clinic the band will be performing at Ciceroâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s at 8:30 p.m. The clinic at Washington University will begin promptly at 5:30 p.m. and end at 6:30 p.m.

Tickets are $10 for the general public and free to students with a University ID. (A $5 donation is suggested.)

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Inside Manâ&#x20AC;? is not a typical heist movie. Like most, it is a how-done-it, since early on we learn the who, the what and the why. The more important thing is how the criminals will get away with it, because it is essentially guaranteed that they will.

Denzel Washington plays

Detective Keith Frazier with the kind of casual coolness that very few, even amongst the coolest of the cool in Hollywood, ever achieve. Paul Newman had it, Jack Nicholson had it and Denzel has it. Frazier is an honest cop trying to get promoted, and heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s doing it legitimately while actually helping people. Along with his partner, Detective Bill Mitchell (Chiwetel Ejiofor), he

EDITORâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S PICK

Young Choreographers Showcase

By Laura Vilines Senior Cadenza Editor This weekend, the Performing Arts Department will present its biennial Young Choreographers Showcase (YCS), which will feature nine original works by student choreographers.

The pieces featured in the showcase cover a wide variety of styles and themes, ranging from a musical theatre satire to a modern piece featuring blindfolded dancers. As a result, YCS

not only provides Washington University students with an excellent opportunity to showcase their work, but the concert also allows the audience to view fresh, original choreography by talented young dancers.

Performances will be held Thursday, March 30, Friday, March 31 and Saturday, April 1 at 8 p.m.

Tickets are $9 for students or $5 for floor seating, and can be purchased at the Edison Theatre box office.

is called in to the crime scene of a bank robbery. The robbery is masterminded by Dalton Russell (Clive Owen), who, along with a group of masked, cloaked, sunglassed people who all go by variants of Steve (i.e. Steve, Stevie, Steve-O) takes a bank hostage, knocks out the cameras and locks it shut. He is smart and cunning and from the get-go has full control of the situation. Along the way, we have the ballbusting Madeline White (Jodie Foster) who is protecting the interests of her client, Arthur Case (Christopher Plummer), but mostly seems to be in the ďŹ lm to act as a deus ex machina of sorts and a tool to pick at the corruption of corporate America.

The bank robbery/heist plot seems to be the shock and awe that director Spike Lee uses to draw in the audiences enamored by thieves who steal from the rich and give to, well, themselves.

Given that this is a Spike Lee â&#x20AC;&#x153;Joint,â&#x20AC;? however, it is handled very differently than one is accustomed to and seems to be an excuse for another jaunt around Spikeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s beloved NYC. The pace is slow and deliberate without reaching the depths of being slow or boringâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;so much so that the audience gets the very real feeling that both robbing a bank and negotiating with someone robbing a bank are more a game of waiting than anything else. The pace gives Denzel a chance to strut

around and Owen a chance to skulk in the shadows, both of which are delightful to watch. It gives Spike a chance to tease us with glimpses of the thievesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; tactics, constantly making the audience guess what their motives are and how they are going to get away with it.

It also gives Spike a chance to make his often heavyhanded point. Owen talks to a child playing a very â&#x20AC;&#x153;Grand Theft Autoâ&#x20AC;?-esque game and is disgusted by its violence.

Denzel talks to a fellow cop who had a gun pointed at him by a 12-year-old. We also get tales of racism, which are nearly as ham-ďŹ sted. The plot also dips into corruption in high society, which feels very contrived. Any one of these would have been an acceptable addition to the movie, allowing Spike a chance to insert his message into the innocuous, candy-coated shell of the heist ďŹ lm. As it is, the messages seem to be mixed, with each distracting from the others. That seems to be the problem at the heart of the ďŹ lm. The â&#x20AC;&#x153;whatâ&#x20AC;? takes a deďŹ nite backseat to the â&#x20AC;&#x153;how,â&#x20AC;? and all of Spikeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s messages take away from that. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Inside Manâ&#x20AC;?

Rating: â&#x2DC;&#x2026;â&#x2DC;&#x2026;â&#x2DC;&#x2026;â&#x153;Šâ&#x153;Š Starring: Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, Jodie Foster

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Elder Scrolls IVâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;: the only â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Oblivionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; is the one your social life will be cast into

By Adam Summerville Movie Editor These are the final days of Uriel Septim, Emperor of Tamriel, in the year of Akatosh 433â&#x20AC;Śand if you are still reading, then â&#x20AC;&#x153;Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivionâ&#x20AC;? might be a game for you. Yeah, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dorky. Unabashedly so.

But it is one of the most fun and absorbing games to come out in years. If while watching â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Lord of the Rings,â&#x20AC;? you ever thought to yourself, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d be cool to be Gandalf or Aragorn or Legolas or anyone and just go around and live that life,â&#x20AC;? then you finally have your chance. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Oblivionâ&#x20AC;? lets you create a character of your choosing with options galore. There are nine dif-

ferent races (including three varieties of elves, a race of cat people and a race of lizard people), a dozen different signs one can be born under (which add secondary powers and traits) and dozens of premade and an ungodly number of possible custom-made classes, such as thief, rogue, knight, barbarian, acrobat, sorcerer, mage, healer, etc. From there, the options only become more staggering.

Following an initial training dungeon that teaches you how to play and gives Patrick Stewart a chance to earn his paycheck by starting the story, you are thrust into the world and it is your oyster. You can go about advancing the main story, go join one of the guilds

(the fightersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and magesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; guilds are quite standard, but to get invited into the thievesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; or assassinsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, one has to gain their attention in less than legal ways), or just generally muck about.

You can go to taverns and impress people with your witty banter, you can travel from town to town selling your wares and making a profit, craft potions or armor or spells or whatever.

It is entirely the playerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s choice as to how to play the game.

Amazingly, the actual process of playing the game is very intuitive. There is a button that uses whatever physical weapon one currently has equipped and another for the currently equipped magic spell. The

direction pad can be assigned to change weapons, spells, potions, etc., and they are certainly useful, although the diagonals can be a bit tricky, limiting a person to four-key actions. Of course, you can always stop the action to go to the menu to select whatever weapon or spell you want, but it is a bit disruptive in the middle of battle. Other than that, there is a single button that controls the talk, open, use, take and steal actions and another for jumping.

Most of the action takes place in behind-the-scenes number crunching, leaving the pretty exterior to be seen. And my, what a pretty exterior it is. The game is truly breathtaking at times, and it is the most gorgeous

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Summer School Stay. Learn. Grow.

Go online to register.

Click: ucollege.wustl.edu Call: 935-6720 Come by: January Hall Summer Housing: summer.wustl.edu

game to grace a console yet. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not to say it isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t without faults. Loading times and stutters pepper the journey across the land, but it is nice and smooth in towns and in dungeons, which is good since they matter the most. The graphics also have a very close draw range, causing rocks and grass to appear 20 feet before oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eyes, but only when descending hills is this really noticeable.

Ignoring these glitches is easy enough, and the game more than makes up for them. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Oblivionâ&#x20AC;? is â&#x20AC;&#x153;Dungeons and Dragons,â&#x20AC;? only itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pretty to watch, doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t require other dorks to play and there is no chance of losing your precious 20sided die.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivionâ&#x20AC;?

For: Xbox 360, PC Rating: â&#x2DC;&#x2026;â&#x2DC;&#x2026;â&#x2DC;&#x2026;â&#x2DC;&#x2026;â&#x153;Š Should be played by: RPG fanatics and gamers who donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mind losing their friends and family The main drawback is: some questionable technology on the Xbox 360 and the sheer ability to lose oneself in the game Final word: No other game has created such a living, breathing world, let alone one ďŹ lled it with fun quests, a good battle system and luscious graphics

WEDNESDAY | MARCH 29, 2006

STUDENT LIFE | CLASSIFIEDS

CLASSIFIEDS FREE Classifieds

Classified ads are free to students, faculty and staff in most instances.

To place your FREE 25-word ad, simply email us from your WU email account.

Classifications Help Wanted For Rent Roommates Sublet Real Estate For Sale Automotive

Wanted Services Tickets Travel Spring Break Lost & Found Personals

HELP WANTED CHILDCARE: CLAYTON FAMILY seeks wonderful part time babysitter for 3 children (13, 6, 6). Flexible hours, including summer hours. $10/hour.

Call 314-602-4025 or fax 314-862-6575.

MATHEMATICIAN WANTED: ASSISTANCE needed in expanding tensor operators (curl, divergence) in multiple dimensions.

Fluid dynamics knowledge a plus. Must be willing to sign contractor agreement.

Send consulting rate and contact info to: Bill LaMar, 2834 Ancell Lane, St. Louis, MO 63125 or billlamar@sbcglobal.net.

NURSE PRACTITIONER POSITION available. Rural health clinic seeks FNP. Competitive wage, excellent benefits. Call 417-469-5124 or fax resume to 417-469-5304.

EEO. PART TIME. STUDENT to convert simple pencil drawn house floorplans into CAD documents.

Experience helpful but not necessary. 314-662-0451 PART-TIME WORK $12 BASE/APPT. Flexible sched., customer sales/ service, may continue in spring or secure summer work, all ages 18+, 314997-7873.

PLAY SPORTS! HAVE fun! Save money! Maine camp needs fun loving counselors to teach all land, adventure & water sports. Great summer!

Call 888-844-8080, apply: campcedar.com

FOR RENT 1 BEDROOM 2 MILES FROM main campus.

Hardwood floors, Central air, Washer/Dryer, Dishwasher, All new appliances, No pets, Non Smokers Only. $575/mo.

369-1016.

3 BEDROOM 1.5 BATH APARTMENT. Half block from RED line shuttle.

Many amenities! For more info www.homeandapartmentrentals.com Tom 314.409.2733 3 BEDROOM, 2 BATH CONDO. Totally rehabbed upscale condo for rent 2 miles from WU. All new appliances, fireplace, jacuzzi bath, walk in shower, large closets.

Total dream $1150 per month. Call 314-382-7534, BOTANICAL GARDEN NEIGHBORHOOD: Beautiful two bedroom, fireplace, spacious kitchen, cable-ready, security system $950. 314-954-7374.

CLAYTON, U. CITY LOOP, CWE and Dogtown.

Beautiful studios, 1, 2 bedrooms. Quiet buildings. $365-$750. Call 725-5757.

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FOR RENT GREAT 2 BEDROOM+ in the U. City Loop. 7xx Heman. Elegant, spacious and updated. $695. call 725.5757.

SINGLE FAMILY HOME. Completely updated in 2003. 4 bed/2 bath, 1,400 sq. ft. Hardwood floors. Washer and dryer in basement.

Blocks from WashU, Loop and Schnucks. On Green Line shuttle route. $1,300/mo.

6833 Bartmer. available June 1st. Call Chris at 314-322-4936 if interested or for more information.

TWO BEDROOM APARTMENT with dishwasher, A/C, garage. Walk to downtown Clayton, 1/2 block. $895/month, lease required. One month free for graduate students.

Please contact 314-7251400.

URBAN LIVING in the CWE and on the WU line. Beginning June 1st 2006, 1 & 2 bedroom loft apartments with washer/dryer, modern kitchens, internet, cable & satelite, access control garage parking and more!

Rents starting at $990 per month. See us on the web at www.metrolofts-stl.com or call 314-367-2400 WALK TO DOWNTOWN Clayton, 1/2 block. Awesome location. Two bdrm apt. D/W, A/C, garage. $895, lease required. One month free for grad. students. Please call 314-7251400.

WEST END TERRACE makes it happen.

“Great” 1 & 2 bedroom apartments for rent in the “Heart of The Central West End”. We offer Wash U. students 5% student discount or 1 MONTH FREE RENT, and reduced deposits.

Waiting for you a 24 hour fitness center, business center and laundry center, FREE PARKING, sparkling swimming pool, BBQ in a park like setting, large apartments, all appliances included, all electric, and most pets are welcome. Please call 314533- 8444 or stop by, 4466 Greenwich Court, St. Louis, MO, 63108.

SUBLET 1 BDRM IN 4 BDRM apartment located on Southwood Ave. Summer sublet available now until mid-August. Female only. $225/month plus 1/4 utilities.

Contact: ceo1@cec.wustl.edu 1 BEDROOM IN A 2 bedroom apartment is available for sublease from April 25 to June 25. Located in Delmar loop, close to Hilltop campus. $290/month plus 1/2 utilities. E-mail ajaypsr@yahoo.com or call 314-495-4709.

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SUBLET SUMMER SUBLET 2 BR available in 4 br furnished apartment.

3 blocks from campus.

2 male roommates.

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SUMMER SUBLET: BEAUTIFUL, fully furnished (even TV and stereo) one bedroom at the CHASE PARK PLAZA which has a five screen movie theater, St. Louis Workout, bars, restaurants, pool, salon, garage, hotel and more!

All utilities, including AC, high speed internet access, cable, and even gym membership are included. Available midMay to Mid-August. Email jnvogel@wustl.edu.

SUMMER SUBLET: FURNISHED 2 BR, 1 bath on Kingsbury.

AC and dishwasher.

Available June-August.

Contact Jaime at jrbraver@artsci.wustl.edu

REAL ESTATE GREAT CONDO IN SOULARD! Outstanding value for the size, 2 bedrooms, 2 full baths, office area. Kitchen has custom cabinets and breakfast bar. Spacious living room.

Includes Washer & Dryer.

Please visit www.1523sou th10thstreet.com.

HOUSE FOR SALE. 6631 Winona Ave, 63109. All brick home, 1.5 stories, 4 bdrm, 2 full bath home in southwest St. Louis. Great location in Lindenwood Park, 10 min. from cam- pus. Large LR with stained glass windows, decorative fireplace, refinishedhardwood floors, zoned a/c. Separate DR, updatedkitchen w/ custom cabnets. Large deck in backyard w/ view of Arch. Call Kevin McDermott for appt. at 314-832-9100. $249,900.

FOR SALE DINING ROOM SET for sale: Beautiful white pine dining room set that includes at 43” x 72” table, extra leaf, 6 oversized chairs, and china cabinet (51” wide x 80” tall) with glass doors on top.

Great condition, less than 4 years old. Call 636233- 2903 or email aconover@gwbmail.wustl.edu for more info, a picture, or to set up a time to take a look.

AUTOS 2002 DODGE GRAND CARAVAN EX, 39k miles, leather, power seats, power windows, power sliding doors and liftgate, roof rack, new tires, alloy wheels, cd, $14,300. 314894-8978.

TICKETS TWO TICKETS TO THE Strokes Concert (sold out) at the Pageant on April 8, 2006.

Please contact ssj1012@aol.com if you are interested, and please include a number at wchich you can be reached. Thanks.

ANNOUNCING ATTENTION FIGURE SKATERS. Interested in Skating on a USFS Open Skating team August 2006- April 2007 please attend: Skate with Synchro- Monday, April 10, 2006 at 7pm- Webster Groves Ice Arena located near the intersection of Highway 44 and Elm Ave 63119.

For more information please call (314) 541-7166.

?

Sudoku

By Michael Mepham Level: Gentle Complete the grid so each row, column and 3-by3 box (in bold borders) contains every digit 1 to 9. For strategies on how to solve Sudoku, visit www.sudoku.org.uk.

Solution to Monday’s puzzle

LOST & FOUND

LOST BACK PACK- grey Eastpak.

Last seen in Brown Hall. Please call 314-518-9999 in any info.

© 2006 Michael Mepham. Distributed by Tribune Media Services. All rights reserved.

3/29/06

10 STUDENT LIFE | CADENZA

Senior Cadenza Editor / Laura Vilines / cadenza@studlife.com

CADEN Z A

WEDNESDAY | MARCH 29, 2006

n. a technically brilliant, sometimes improvised solo passage toward the close of a concerto, an exceptionally brilliant part of an artistic work

arts & entertainment

Downloading Shakespeare: the practice of reading in a digital age

By Robbie Gross, Theatre Editor In a chapter of his autobiography, titled “A Law of Acceleration,” Henry Adams described an early 20th century world where science would go on “doubling or quadrupling its complexities every 10 years.” Technology would not only progress, he argued, it would progress exponentially.

Nearly 100 years after “The Education of Henry Adams” was first published, writers are still stressing the boundlessness of change. Last year inventor Ray Kurzweil published “The Singularity is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology,” in which he argued that it was only a matter of time before human advances in genetics, nanotechnology and robotics would transform what it means to be human. In the future, Kurzweil argued, we will be able to create food from nothing, live to preposterous ages and combine our brains with computers that will enlarge our intelligence.

But what about the university? And what about next year, not next century?

One change will be that within the next year, students at universities will likely begin to interact with electronic paper and electronic ink. This spring, Sony will release a digital reader the size of a paperback in which owners can download electronic texts— books, PDFs, personal text files, blogs and newsfeeds—and read them on a screen in an experience that nearly mirrors paper and ink, with little to no eye strain.

The idea of the electronic book is nothing new.

The online e-text archive Project Gutenberg, which now boasts over 18,000 texts, was begun by Michael Hart in the pre-Internet days of the early 1970s. Since then, projects such as the Library of Congress’ “American Memory,” The Internet Archive’s “Million Book Project”, the Carnegie Melon–hosted “Universal Library” and the Yahoo!-initiated “Open Content Alliance” have added millions of books to the Internet, all freely downloadable due to copyright expiration.

For many in the Washington University community, the question is not the scope of these changes, but their meaning. How will the further digitization of books affect the student body and the institution as a whole?

In the age of the electronic book, of course, libraries need to be the vanguard of change. For Shirley Baker, the vice chancellor for information technology and dean of University libraries, the issues surrounding technological advances in the field of books and research have consumed much of her career. In

terms of current changes, the trajectory of library spending is one way to see how the Washington University libraries have been adapting to a world of increasing digital information. This past year, the University’s libraries spent $2.4 million (40 percent of their library collections budget) on electronic materials, including reference sources, journals, indices, abstracts and subscriptions to electronic book services, such as Safari, which specializes in technical books. As Dean Baker described, having access to electronic books allows the library to take several courses of action.

First, as administrators are able to compare their own library catalogues with a much larger electronic reference source—such as Google’s “Book Search”—they will get a better sense of what books their libraries lack. When Google has completed its goal of scanning the collections of the University of Michigan, Stanford University and the University of Oxford, the University will have access to “around 600,000 titles that we do not own,” said Baker.

“Additionally,” she continued, “we now know that we have 170,000 titles that they are digitizing, which we can now move out of prime library space.”

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The general trend of the future, Baker suggested, would be moving bound books out of the library (to West Campus, for example) and bringing in electronic ones. While library administrators will be responsible for the physical, material transition, it will be the task of the University community to consider the larger consequences of such changes.

“You can imagine that we need to think through what this [change] means for intellectual life,” said Baker.

On the one hand, she acknowledged, as libraries remove books from shelves and migrate forward data from the predigital age, “the preservation issues are a real concern.” Ultimately, however, the possibilities are endless. Baker described her own early educational experience, where the idea of having access to almost limitless amounts of information was nonexistent. The availability of online electronic books will open up sources to a number of people previously

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“The democratization of intellectual life is how I talk about [these changes],” said Baker. “You get weird situations where you have a field that maybe has 3,000 or so practitioners, such as philology, but when you put

those journals online, you find that 400,000 people have looked at them.”

She went on to describe an article she is reading by Tufts professor Gregory Kane, in which he argues, she explained, that this “industrial-scale digitization project is as big a change as not just the invention of printing, but the invention of writing.” While Baker was unwilling to make such sweeping statements herself, she held a similar degree of optimism.

“This is an exciting time,” she said. “This is a thing I think about, in addition to my daily job, all the time.”

Krister Knapp, a lecturer in the history department, is a bit more skeptical about the degree of change to come. As a scholar, he is worried about what moving information to digital sources will mean for doing research. In the 1980s and 1990s, when libraries moved from card catalogues to electronic ones, a lot of useful information that had

been written by librarians and other scholars over the years on the cards themselves was discarded.

“I was horrified when they threw those [cards] out,” he said.

Removing books could present similar problems for people doing research.

“People write in books,” he said. “It’s important that if there is valuable information, it does not get thrown away.”

Knapp, who also teaches a class on U.S. popular culture, noted that historically, innovation rarely means replacing one technology with another.

“There’s an argument that the latest form of technology will replace the old ones, but time and time again, it has not,” he said. “New technologies rarely displace old technologies. They just integrate them, mimicking the old ones, and adding new features.”

He cited the transitions from vinyl to compact disc, radio to television and television to computer as examples of innovations that have not fully done away with the old. With old records, people believe they get a “different listening experience, different from a CD,” and so keep listening to them, he said.

“Clearly, old records, just like [bound] books in the future, will still serve some useful function.”

As for how a world of digital reading devices and electronic books will effect students, it might be too early to say. If digital reading can approximate the experience of digital listening, then it may take only a few years before students have an iPod in their left hand and a Sony Reader in their right one.

Senior Austin Thompson has already placed his name on an e-mail list that will alert him when the Sony Reader becomes available for purchase. He thinks such devices should catch on quickly with students.

“Everyone who uses ERes [Electronic Reserve] or JSTOR, or a blog, is already using information in a digital form, and things like the Sony Reader will only make it easier to read. You download an article to it, take it to a coffee shop and just read it like you would anything else,” he said.

It may not only allow for easier reading but also a better quality of reading, continued Thompson. An age of electronic books, easier and cheaper to produce and distribute, will “continue the breaking down of barriers to market entry for people with good ideas and good writing,” he said. “I think it will change a lot of what we read, and definitely the way that we read.”

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New electronic books such as the upcoming Sony Reader may cause as little eye strain as reading a normal book would.