WEDNESDAY MAR. 30, 2005 Vol. 126, No. 65
Rain late 70° / 48° w w w. s t u d l i f e . c o m
• R E W A R D •
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STUDENT LIFE T H E I N D E P E N D E N T N E W S PA P E R O F WA S H I N G T O N U N I V E R S I T Y I N S T. L O U I S S I N C E 1 8 7 8
Lee 3 punished, now sub-free n ResLife’s move comes just
a week after RA’s room was vandalized, defecated in By Rachel Streitfeld Contributing Editor Less than two weeks after a Lee 3 RA discovered human feces in her dorm room, Residential Life responded to “ongoing concerns regarding the alcohol and drug policy” by making the floor substancefree. During a floor meeting Monday night, students received a ResLife document informing them that the floor would now be sub-free as a “community consequence” for substance-related disciplinary problems. The floor will be substance free for the rest of the semester. Traditionally, students are not assigned to live on a substance-free floor unless they request one. While on these floors, students cannot use or possess tobacco, alcohol or other drugs.
Contributing Editor Due to a contract dispute, Washington University students will see a replacement for the Taco Bell in Mallinckrodt Center’s Food Court sooner than expected—possibly as soon as this fall. The results of a recent survey conducted by the Student Union Food Committee found general dissatisfaction with Taco Bell among students. Acting in accord with that finding, Bon Appétit, the dining services company used by the University, had sought to replace Taco Bell by the fall of 2007. Rather than sign Taco Bell to a full five-year contract extension, Bon Appétit had planned to offer a one-year contract, with plans to seek a replacement during that time. Negotiations over the terms of that one-year contract fell through, and Bon Appétit has announced that it will not renew Taco Bell’s contract for any length of time. “Taco Bell has refused to sign a one-year lease and insists on another five-year lease with costly renovations to their space in the Food Court. Dining Services and Bon Appétit are committed to their promise not to sign
another five-year lease with Taco Bell,” said Director of Dining Services Marilyn Pollack. Taco Bell’s current contract expires this November, explained Food Committee Chair sophomore Jeff Zove. Bon Appétit is left with two options: either buy out the end of Taco Bell’s contract and make the replacement in August, or make the replacement in January and let the location go unoccupied during December. In either case, a replacement franchise will have to be found sooner than expected. “One dilemma that the Food Committee is dealing with is balancing the need to get a franchise in there as soon as possible with the need to take student input into account,” said Zove. The Food Committee had intended to conduct a student survey following the selection of Taco Bell’s replacement in order to give students the opportunity to approve the choice. Zove explained that one drawback to replacing Taco Bell as soon as this fall would be that students would provide less input into the selection. Dining Services has indicated it will conduct a survey to assess student opinion if time allows. “If viable options are identified be
See BELL, page 5
DAVID HARTSTEIN | STUDENT LIFE
The Final Four is finally here
FINAL FOUR MEETS ST. LOUIS
How many of Chancellor Wrighton’s closest advisers are racial or ethnic minorities? Not enough, says the Editorial Board in today’s Forum.
St. Louis anticipates packed weekend of basketball, events and spectacles
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By Emily Tobias and Mary Bruce Student Life Staff
PAGE 6 WEATHER FORECAST Thursday High: 75º | Low: 53º Chance of rain
Friday High: 54º | Low: 40º Chance of rain
Saturday High: 60º | Low: 48º Partly cloudy
News Forum Classifieds Sports
DAVID BRODY | STUDENT LIFE
1-5 6-7 8 9-10
news@studlife.com
Freshman Tom Herpel chows down on Taco Bell in Mallinckrodt on Tuesday afternoon. Taco Bell’s contract with the University will not be renewed, and a new vendor will be taking its space.
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INDEX
Emergency Support Team (EST)—five in one semester—as well as the number of “pukes” (33) and “DRs” (disciplinary reports—numbering 19). The group’s description dubs Lee 3 “The Penthouse” and reminds residents to “Keep it Classy.” One Lee 3 resident said that ResLife was “reasonable” to punish the floor. But he did not agree with the decision to go sub-free, saying ResLife “could have gone about [punishing the floor] differently.” The student said none of the residents’ pranks had caused substantial harm—other than to the RA’s floor—and that the students are all “really chill” and get along well together. “No one on my floor is out to get anyone,” he said. When asked if students would follow the restrictions, this resident said he couldn’t speak for anyone else on the floor. “I know I will,” he said. Students with “documented violations” of the University Drug and Alcohol Policy will be subject to removal from Lee and referral to the Judicial Administrator.
Taco Bell gives itself the boot By David Tabor
It’s St. Louis’ time in the spotlight, and Sports has your guide to the Final Four.
Floor residents have come under fi re several times this year for unruly behavior. Most recently, on March 18, someone unlawfully entered the Lee 3 RAs’ rooms, vandalizing both rooms and defecating in one. WUPD is continuing to investigate these breakins and is still sifting through the evidence. “We have some leads, and we’re continuing to make progress,” said Police Chief Don Strom. Last November police also investigated the aftermath of a “large, unauthorized” party thrown by some residents of Lee 3 during Thanksgiving Break. Strom would not answer questions about past disciplinary problems on the floor, instead referring inquiries to ResLife. Associate Director of ResLife Rob Wild could not be interviewed by phone yesterday. In addition to their activities on the floor, some Lee 3 residents have taken the party online to thefacebook.com. Students started a group called AbsolutLee 3, and 42 residents are now members. In place of a group photo is a lewd chalk sketch of a bear performing a sex act on itself. On the site, residents keep a tally of their drinking exploits. They count all calls from their floor to the
The Final Four preparations at the Edward Jones Dome are almost complete. Crews have been working long hours getting everything prepared for the big games.
March Madness has officially arrived in St. Louis and the city is psyched for this weekend’s Final Four. But the tournament will not be your only chance to get in on the action. If you’ve missed out on the brackets or have bet away all of your savings, there are plenty of free events and activities in the St. Louis area that are sure to entertain. Even if you choose to experience the Madness from the comfort of your couch, the showdown is set. This Saturday Illinois will face Louisville and UNC will duel it out with Michigan State in downtown St. Louis. This year’s Final Four will be the fourth hosted by the city of St. Louis. The city has previously welcomed three men’s Final Fours and one women’s. However, this year’s tournament is the fi rst to be held in the Edward Jones Dome, which was completed in 1995. St. Louis, which has been called an ideal location for this kind of event because of its size and compact downtown area, was selected to host the tournament back in 1998 and has spend the past seven years preparing for this weekend. Although tickets may be nearly impossible to obtain and
all of the hotel rooms in the city are booked, there is really a lot more going on this weekend than just the tournament itself. In fact, there is so much going on in the next few days that the games seem like an afterthought… well, almost. “There are so many things for everyone,” said Frank Viverito, the president of the St. Louis Sports Commission and one of the forces behind bringing this weekend’s events to St. Louis. “Practices are all open and free to the public, so anyone can come down and watch the teams practice.” For Viverito and the rest of the St. Louis Sports Commission, this weekend has been a long time in the making and one that they are eager to see become reality. “Our bid [for the Final Four] was prepared in 1997. The event was awarded to St. Louis in June of 1998. It’s wonderful that this building [the Edward Jones Dome] can produce so well for the region,” said Viverito. Along with the honor of receiving the bid, St. Louis will profit from the immense economic benefits of the weekend. “The economic impact… ranges from $50–62 million in that one weekend and that almost pales in comparison to the visibility [and] the excitement [and]
See FINAL FOUR, page 10
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