March 18 Issue

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The University News A Student Voice of Saint Louis University Since 1921 www.unewsonline.com

Vol. LXXXIX No. 21

Thursday, March 18, 2010

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Campus racial incidents spark student responses By SEAN WORLEY Associate News Editor

Noah Berman / Associate Photo Editor

Junior Christie Koets signs a pledge against injustice at SLU for the “We are All Billikens” Wristband Campaign.

Diversity. This nine-letter word has recently had a huge presence on campus. In light of reported bias incidents, the Saint Louis University community is seeing an increase in discussion-based series, special presentations by various student organizations and diversity-focused committees. Apart from all sponsored events, some students took action into their own hands on Feb. 28 and held a march against hate, which started in front of St. Francis Xavier College Church. The students gathered on the corner of Lindell and Grand Avenue in order to illustrate that they were there together, as a cohesive group, and would, from that point forward, say “No More” to hate. Those who marched signed their names

on Post-It notes, and by doing so, signed a pledge to actively attempt to prevent the spreading of hate. The notes can now be seen hanging in the windows of the Cross Cultural Center. In response to the overwhelming student participation in the march, a Facebook group entitled “SLU Students for Social Justice” has been created, and will serve as a place of information for all those interested in the advocating of social justice. The collection of various events, dialogues and activities based around the issue of diversity are all a part of SLU’s “Community Dialogue and Diversity Education Series,” and are all sponsored by those officially affiliated with SLU—unlike the grassroots-like march mentioned above. One event in the series that will be conSee “Diversity” on Page 3

Dining changes to spice up variety By KRISTIN MIANO Associate News Editor

Chartwells is rearranging with the intent to bring a new dining experience to Saint Louis University. “The program needed to be reinvigorated. It was stale,” Resident District Manger Paul Taylor said. “So we conducted a survey in February, and there were some things that we needed to make immediate changes to this academic year.” The cafeterias in both Griesedieck and Reinert Hall have been renovated and new dining options have been added, including a Trattoria, a Chef’s Table and new Hydrate options. Chartwells also added more self-serve options and created an extended sustainability program to demonstrate how the average diner can make a difference in the environment. “Reinert has seen some big improvements,” freshman Megan Reece said. “It looks great and the food seems better.” The dining hours in Griesedieck have also been extended. Monday through Thursday, the cafeteria will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. The operating hours of the cafeteria have long been a concern among students, and many are thrilled to see them change. “This is a great thing,” freshman Sarah Gordon said. “I can eat before work now.” There are a few new additions to Grand Market, as well. A new Ital-

ian eatery called Tomato Red Head is replacing Famous Famiglia. Tomato Red Head not only serves different kinds of pizza, like thin and stuffed crust, but also serves various kinds of pasta, including ravioli, fettuccini and spaghetti and meatballs. Grand Market now also features a deli counter called Wheat Street Deli, which provides a wide array of sandwich options. “And soon, sushi will be available,” Director of Marketing Eric Macharia said. Changes are also being made to the Outtakes options offered in places like the C-store, the Bean and Fusz food court. “We have expanded the menu, added gourmet breads on all sandwiches, added new sandwiches to the menu, new petite parfaits and fruit cups,” Macharia said. Chartwells is making more of an effort to reach out to the student body, as well. It is hosting the firstever Billiken Street Fest on Wednesday, March 31. With the promise of food, fun and prizes, Macharia says that Chartwells is hoping students and faculty alike will come out to enjoy the festivities. Chartwells has also redesigned its Billiken Dining Services website. It has been revamped with new features like improved menus, more nutrition information, photo albums and a dining blog. “The feedback [about the changes] has been positive so far,” Taylor said. “That’s what we were hoping for.”

Ryan Giacomino / Photo Editor

Chef Leonard Brown serves up a dish of corned beef to a hungry student in the revamped Griesedieck Cafeteria on March 17.

Atlas Week offers a world of culture, art and diversity By NIHARIKA GOPARAJU Staff Writer

“Cross-cultural understanding and appreciation of diversity is crucial for the improvement of an individual,” Michelle Lorenzini, coordinator of Atlas Week, said. Saint Louis University’s Atlas Week is a one-week program that was created in 2001. During the week, which is March 20 to 27 this year, organizations and departments are invited to coordinate events according to the theme. This year’s theme is Global and Local Justice: The UN Millennium Development Goal. The Atlas Committee organizes the week, and has considerably grown in the past 10 years. “I ask students who want

to be involved in the event, and I usually get individuals with strong interests in international social justice issues,” Lorenzini said. “This is perfect, since the point of the program is to raise awareness about global challenges among the SLU community, and also to inspire action about global challenges.” There are a total of 85 events scheduled in this year’s Atlas Week. The Signature Symposium is one of the week’s main events, and it is presented by internationally renowned speakers who have dedicated their lives to issues of political and social justice. This year, the Keynote Speaker is Huawa Ibrahim, but there is also a special guest speaker, the Haitian Ambassador Raymond Joseph. Ibrahim’s talk is titled

“Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women.” Ibrahim is a senior partner and the Pro-Bono Legal Aid Counsel in the General Law Practice of the Aries Law Firm located in Abuja, Nigeria. “She is one of the top defenders of women’s rights in Nigeria, and has successfully challenged convictions under strict Islamic Sharia law in her country,” Lorenzini said. “This event will be held in the Wool Ballrooms of the Busch Student Center Wednesday, March 24 at 5:30 p.m.” “I cannot wait to see Ibrahim, because she fought for social justice in the most extreme and volatile circumstances. Her successes in defending women against extreme, sexist Sharia laws, especially as a woman herself, stand as truly inspir-

ing achievements,” freshman Priya Sirohi said. “I am highly interested in hearing her story and learning about her ideologies. We should all seek people such as her as role models for social justice and equality, and therefore I am extremely excited that she is coming here to speak.” On Tuesday, March 23 at 7 p.m. in the Wool Ballrooms, Joseph will talk about conditions on the ground of Haiti, plans for moving forward and what the SLU community can do to help and get involved. Jesse Sullivan, special assistant to Haitian Ambassador for Relief and Construction and founder of One World at SLU will be accompanying the Haitian Ambassador. “I’ve done this program for nine years now, and at the end of the week students were

very depressed; they heard about all these problems but didn’t know what to do about them,” Lorenzini said. “That’s why, recently, we have been implementing ways that SLU students can help out in the global community. Jessie Sullivan is a good example of this.” Lily Berman, a freshman, said she is looking forward to Atlas Week. “I am a part of SLU Jews, and they are having an Israeli come teach an Israeli cultural dance to students next week. We will also have a soldier from the Israeli fighting force to share his experiences,” Berman said. “That’s why Atlas Week is such a great idea; it is informing students and teaching them that we, as a community, should be tolerant of other cultures.”

Sports »

Speaker policy, funding debated By KELLEY DUNN News Editor

More than five-and-a-half hours, seven bills and three items of special business later, this week’s Student Government Association meeting came to a close, after much debate and discussion. The first heavily contested bill regarded SLU’s current speaker policy. The proposed resolution was to express Senate’s dissatisfaction with the current draft of a proposed speaker policy proposed by the University administration. The proposed policy differed from the proposal submitted by the SGA committee, leaving out aspects including a timeline for submitted speakers to be approved or denied, an appeals process which includes student voting members and a clearer definition of what being a Jesuit University means for the speaker policy. “We want this to express that we don’t feel like we’re there yet,” Vice President for Internal Affairs and co-author Andrew Miller said. “We want to keep working on it before it becomes a policy.” Smith said that, despite the differences, he felt that there had been a lot of progress from the current speaker policy, which he referred to as being “about three lines.” “How many speakers have we turned down? How many student organizations have had a hard time getting information back? … Probably the same ones we turned down. … Not even a handful,” Smith said. “I know two student organizations that have struggled … even with the ugly policy that we’ve got.” In addition, Smith said that mention of a timeline was never part of the discussion, something that First Year Senator and co-author Chris Ackels disagreed with. “This group began working on the policy in October,” he said. “In October, a timeline came up.” Ackels said he felt this was indicative of larger issues. The original resolution included a clause mentioning that, if the University administration were to “disregard the resolution and adopt the current draft without significant revisions, it will be a breach of our shared governance agreement.” The resolution was amended and the clause was stricken, but the subject of shared governance brought about debate. “Shared governance is a verbal agreement between students and faculty, and they’re breaking it,” Ackels said. “It’s extremely disrespectful.” Smith said that he wanted to make sure the Senate understood what shared governance meant. “I would argue that if you think shared governance means everyone has an equal place in the decision making process, I don’t think you have a clear understanding,” Smith said. “It doesn’t mean that everybody gets an equal seat at the table.” Another of Smith’s concerns was that the proposal from See “SGA” on Page 2

Inside The University News »

News »

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This theology professor is well-known for using wordplay to make classes pun.

Opinion »

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This week, commentaries cover Teach for America, feminism and brainwashing.

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These sets of siblings are leading the way for the SLU tennis team.

Arts »

The Billiken Club rang in St. Patrick’s Day in style last night.

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March 18 Issue by Daniel Hunninghake - Issuu