GOING THE DISTANCE | AN ATHLETE’S JOURNEY INTO MARATHONS | SPORTS, PAGE 10
STUDENT LIFE
THE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER OF WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS SINCE 1878 VOLUME 128, NO. 15
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2006
WWW.STUDLIFE.COM
Architecture School welcomes new dean BY JOSH HANTZ STAFF REPORTER Washington University named nationally renowned architect and designer Bruce Lindsey as the new dean of the School of Architecture on Thursday. Formerly an architecture professor at Auburn University, Lindsey is known for his work with digital technology and environmental sustainability. “[He’s] done incredibly interesting work building homes for African Americans in rural parts of Alabama, so he’s really inter-
ested in the social context of architecture,” said Carmon Colangelo, dean of the Sam Fox School of Design & ViDean Bruce Lindsey sual Arts. Colangelo noted how Lindsey sees the bigger picture when working on various projects. “I think he’s really interested in how architecture serves the community,” he said. “I think
3-D Fossett lab to offer virtual trips to Mars BY ELIZABETH LEWIS STAFF REPORTER Washington University may not own a magic school bus or employ a professor as unique as Ms. Frizzle, but students will soon be able to explore anything from inside of the human body to Mars’ surface. Virtual reality will take a new form when the 3D Fossett Laboratory for Virtual Planetary Exploration opens in the Earth and Planetary Sciences building this coming spring. The laboratory, a five-year project, will be used primarily for teaching and research and will enable students to feel as though they are on the surface of Mars. Steve Fossett, a professional record setter and alumnus of Washington University, provided considerable funding for the million-dollar laboratory.
The idea for the project came from Ray Arvidson, chairman of Earth and Planetary Sciences (EPS), and from Fossett. Fossett is more widely known for traveling around the world in hot air balloons, gliders, sailboats and solo airplanes. At the request of Chancellor Mark Wrighton, Arvidson and a team of students supported several of Fossett’s world record setting balloon missions. The EPS team developed an infrastructure used to track Fossett’s balloon operations. Grateful for the support, Fossett developed Fossett Fellowships to provide research funds for undergraduate students. The virtual laboratory will allow students to feel as if they are part of a scene by putting on 3-D
See LABORATORY, page 2
that he has ideas about working with the local architects and community members in terms of looking at problems in the inner city and urban and rural issues.” He specifically elaborated on Lindsey’s work in Alabama as proof of his vision. “If you look at the rural program, it’s not just that they build housing, but build homes that are very contemporary, beautiful spaces that are responsive to the needs of the people there,” said Colangelo. “They’re not just building shelters, but making
the point that low-income housing doesn’t have to be poorly designed.” Lindsey succeeds former deans Cynthia Weese and Jerry Sincoff as a leader of the School of Architecture. The University hoped to have named a new dean by July of last year to replace Weese, but the process took longer than expected. Chancellor Mark Wrighton therefore named Sincoff as interim dean, though that was never his official title. “Jerry has done an outstanding job,” said Colangelo. “I think he’s happy that we now have a
new dean in place.” Lindsey’s education in design began at the University of Utah where he received a bachelor’s degree in art in 1976 and a master’s degree in sculpture and photography in 1979. In 1986 he received a master’s in architecture from Yale. A year later he began teaching at Carnegie Mellon and in 1994 became head of its architecture school. While there, he researched ways to use digital tools in the real world of construction. The “Engineering News Record” listed his work as
one of 1992’s 10 most important contributions to construction. He also won the New Faculty Teaching Award from the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture in the same year for his development of Carnegie Mellon’s first-year program. Lindsey hopes to bring the same success here. “Washington University has a great architecture school,” he said. “We hope to build on the momentum of the program by working on issues of environ-
See DEAN, page 3
A GRAVEYARD OF PROTEST
COURTNEY LEGATES | STUDENT LIFE
A woman examines the tombstone memorial Wednesday afternoon on campus. The memorial, created in association with the Washington University Peace Coalition, included the placement of over 2,000 mock tombstones to honor those that have died as a result of the war in Iraq. A similar memorial was erected last year for the same cause.
One year later, Emory rivalry unnoticed Science Café serves more than coffee BY BRITTANY FARB STAFF REPORTER
An engineered rivalry between Washington University and Emory University has burned out soon after it ignited. Just a year after students from Emory University in Atlanta, Ga. vandalized the Washington University campus in attempt to begin a rivalry, little remains except a few memories of the incident. “I think people got over it really quickly; better things to focus on,” said Emory sophomore Diana Zelkovich. The rivalry began when the War Department, an Emory student government entity, sprayed graffiti on the University overpass with provoking slogans including: “Wash. U. girls are ugly” and “George Washington is dead. Emory owns you.” The department also planted fliers throughout their own campus with phrases such as “Die Emory Die! Go Wash. U.,” to galvanize their own student body. These days, the War Department now works under the name “The Department,” after a war veteran complained to the Emory student council about the use of the term war. The name change has made the organization less visible on campus, and as a result, the
manufactued rivalry has been a failure in the opinions of many Emory students. “I haven’t received any emails this year about it,” said Zelkovich. Erica Breese, co-leader of the Department along with Jeff Ader, disagrees. While most of the groups’ leaders graduated last year, Breese said the group still shows promise. “We definitely feel that we have the same amount of students involved,” said Breese. “We are getting a lot of the freshmen involved.” Looking again to last year, many Emory students were unaware of the War Department’s existence on their campus and were just as surprised as their rivals to discover their campus had been vandalized the morning of Sept. 17, 2005. “My first reaction was to think to myself, must have been a crazy night on frat row,” said sophomore Peddy Brown, who attended meetings for the War Department. “Then when I realized what happened, I thought it was kind of funny.” According to Brown, it was difficult not to feel embarrassed when he learned the Department of War was responsible for the vandalization of both college campuses.
BY MARGY LEVINSON STAFF REPORTER
COURTESY OF JEFF ADER
The Emory Eagle fights with the Washington University Bear to attempt to boost school spirit for the Emory - Wash. U. rivalry. This rivalry was manufactured last September when the Emory Department of War vanSee EMORY, page 3 dalized both campuses.
Volleyball dominates in defense Can the ball make it past the Lady Bears’ defense? Not this week - volleyball’s defense shut down our cross-Wydown rivals. Sports, Page 10
Monsters under the bed? Creatures creeping at night may be frightening but a new life at college. New Forum columnist Sara Remedios investigates things that go bump in the night. Forum, Page 7
Students can now drain their coffee cups while engaging in conversation topics from outer space to biology at the Saint Louis Science Center’s Science Café. Held every Thursday, the new program will provide an environment that promotes the discussion of intriguing and controversial subjects led by scientific experts. Raymond Arvidson, chairman of Earth and Planetary Sciences and deputy principal investigator for the Mars Rover Mission, was the Café’s fi rst expert to lead discussion. According to Al Wiman, vice president for public understanding of science at the St. Louis Science Center, the idea for a science café is not unique to St. Louis. “It originated in England, and I think there are maybe 15 or so of these around the United States,” said Wiman. The program’s coordinators expect the series to be well received by the commu-
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nity. St. Louis is known for its large populace of technically oriented residents due to the presence of Boeing, Monsanto, Emerson electric and other high tech companies. Arvidson noted that places such as Washington University, St. Louis University (SLU) and University of Missouri St. Louis (UMSL) have “a large community of people who appreciate science and are hungry for information.” “[The café is] an opportunity to engage the public in the topics of science and to give people an up-close and personal encounter with the scientists,” said Arvidson. The speaker for each Science Café gives a short presentation and then bounce from table to table to answer questions and spur dialogue. “It will give people speed dating with scientists and provide an opportunity to talk to the scientists one on one to learn more about the topic. [The audience] will hopefully have a greater appreciation of
See CAFE, page 2
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