STUDENT LIFE
THE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER OF WASHINGTON UNIVERSIT Y IN ST. LOUIS SINCE 1878 This weekend, 1,672 onlookers watched football fall to North Central. Meanwhile, women’s volleyball moved up to 12-0. Page 5.
In Forum, editor Jeff Stepp calls out his physics professor for airing homophobic views on University Web space. Page 6.
VOLUME 127, NO. 13
Inside Scene, columnist Rachel Brockway tells all regarding her late-night skinny dipping experience in Millbrook Pool. Page 8.
Is the University a good place for vegans to find a meal? Find out on Page 7.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2005
WWW.STUDLIFE.COM
Hurricane transfers pay WU tuition By Andrei Weiss-Berman Contributing Reporter Washington University has opted out of offering transfers from the Gulf Coast free tuition, a service offered by some peer institutions around the country. Instead, the University will treat visiting students affected by Hurricane Katrina no differently than current and degree-candidate WU students, according to William Witbrodt, director of Student Financial Services.
Witbrodt stressed that every visiting student will be “treated fairly” and will be subject to the same advantages that current students receive. While some schools, including top colleges such as Amherst and Williams, have offered free tuition to visiting students, Witbrodt maintains that he’s “convinced we’ve gone about this the right way.” Witbrodt noted that it has been difficult to square away the details with Tulane University – where most of the
MetroLink construction leaves students without sleep
visiting students come from – because Tulane’s financial aid director has just recently gotten “back in business.” Witbrodt is confident that the University will be able to square away any financial complications that Tulane students might have. Since only a few months remain in the fall semester, Witbrodt implied that the possibility of a student paying double tuition was highly unlikely. Concerning Tulane, he said, “I’m sure they’re going to do the right thing.”
Additionally, Witbrodt was pleased that the federal government “issued emergency legislation that allows us to [grant] five Federal loans,” further relieving the burden on some of the affected students. On Tulane’s website, President Scott Cowen said, “Let me be clear: No Tulane student will ultimately have to pay more than they would have if they were at Tulane for the fall semester. Therefore I have instructed university financial staff to make
sure this issue is resolved in a fair and equitable manner as soon as possible.” Freshman Jackie Singer, a St. Louis native, had planned to attend Tulane. After the hurricane, she transferred to Wash. U. and began paying tuition on a course-by-course basis. “[I] may get the difference back from what Tulane is saying right now,” she said, “but I don’t know if that’s going to happen.” “I definitely don’t think [the University’s policy] is
unfair, but compared to other [schools] they are being a lot less generous,” added Singer. “A lot of schools are waiving tuition or giving the money to Tulane. Wash. U. is doing neither.” Singer is not concerned about paying tuition twice, believing that what she had already paid at Tulane will “roll over to next semester.” Witbrodt said that the University “jumped right into action” after Katrina hit, enroll-
See TUITION, page 4
LIL’ JON ENTERTAINS THE UNIVERSITY’S “WILD” CROWD
v Continued building gets a green light
from St. Louis County Judge Wallace By Jeff Reul and Sarah Kliff News Staff MetroLink has been working late several nights over the last couple of weeks, but restless nights for students close to the construction site should now be over. Washington University students have become accustomed to MetroLink construction along Forest Park Parkway since late 2002. The construction, slated to finish in October of 2006, has commenced working nights to repave the road. “Forest Park Parkway is a county road and St. Louis County requires a real durable super pave that is produced only at night,” said Cathie Farroll, Project Communications Manager for MetroLink. Although the work is loud at the worst times, Farroll said there won’t be many more nights like this. “It is the classic example of just-in-time production and delivery,” Farroll said. “It is unpleasant, but it’s done. There may be a little more of the night work, but not much.” For students living in Lopata House and Millbrook Apartments, the construction has meant many sleepless nights. “I don’t think [night construction is] necessary, because I can’t sleep and I go to class every day and I’m really tired,” said junior Matt Kaufman, a Lopata House resident. “They work all night long and it’s really loud.” Kaufman reported Metro-
Link construction outside of his residence between 1-6 a.m. “It keeps up everyone in Lopata and Millbrook,” he continued. Junior Matt Rubin reported waking up at 3:30 a.m. to feel his entire Millbrook Apartment in the basement of Building 3 vibrating from construction. “Starting at 3:30 in the morning was pretty terrible,” said Rubin. “My window is right there and I see all the light from the nighttime construction come in. Whenever they drive the construction equipment around it makes my apartment vibrate.” Rubin’s roommate contacted the Washington University Police Department (WUPD) about the noise disturbance. He was told that the construction was outside of WUPD’s jurisdiction and his multiple messages with the St. Louis County Police went unreturned. Rubin noted that the timing of the construction and the fact that MetroLink funds are currently in jeopardy made him uncertain if the efforts were even worth it. “They’re unsure if they’re going to have enough money for the project,” said Rubin. “Why do they need to do construction? It seems especially unnecessary to me to have to do it at 3:30 in the morning.” MetroLink did receive good news last week concerning their funding situation. St. Louis County Judge Barbara W. Wallace sided
ALWYN LOH | STUDENT LIFE
Lil’ Jon roused the crowd at WILD on Friday with both his performance and commentary. For more photos from WILD, see Alwyn Loh’s photo essay on page 3.
with MetroLink in the court action they brought last week. In the ruling, Wallace declared that funds from Proposition M, which was approved by voters in 1994, were appropriately issued to MetroLink for the purposes of the light rail project. The Public Transit Accountability Project submitted signatures that would have called for a referendum on the ballot in 2006. The bond issue funds are to be used for MetroLink to fund the extension connecting Forest Park Parkway and Shrewsbury. “Judge Wallace ruled that the funds from Prop. M are not subject to a referendum,” Farroll said. “We can now continue to work without interruption.”
Small study groups excel, says University researcher
JASON HUBERT | STUDENT LIFE
Freshmen Amy Goldenberg, Hanna Heck, Charles Clark, Sam Giorgio, and Caitlin Park study together in the halls of Liggett on the morning of Sunday, Sept. 25. Research done by associate professor of education Keith Sawyer suggests that the optimal study group size is three to five people. By Marla Friedman Contributing Reporter
CAROLYN GOLDSTEIN | STUDENT LIFE
Continued MetroLink construction along Forest Park Parkway recently shifted to begin in the middle of the night, disrupting students living in Lopata House and Millbrook Apartments. Residents said that the equipment, pictured above, is loud and vibrates the buildings while they are trying to sleep.
Bigger may not be better when it comes to study groups, says recent research conducted by associate professor of education Keith Sawyer. His recent study uncovered key reasons, ranging from notebook use to group size, that determined the effectiveness of study groups. His findings revealed that “when everyone was looking down, the talk was more artificial, whereas when every-
one was looking up, the talk was more conversational, and it was this alternation that made it really effective learning.” When the students “looked up and started talking, they were rephrasing the material in their own words and making the material their own, which allows for a better retention rate,” Sawyer explained. A student in Sawyer’s conversational analysis class videotaped a psychology study group that met the weekend
before every exam to review their lecture notes. Sawyer and his student analyzed 12 minutes of the tape, using “special techniques of conversation analysis to identify how interaction patterns were different,” he said. Sawyer particularly noticed that, “the notebook played a really critical role in the learning effectiveness of the study group,” because the students “looked down to see what the professor had said, paraphrased the comments,
See STUDY, page 4