W E D N E S D AY SEPT. 24, 2003 Vol. 125, No. 13
Isolated T-Storms 86 / 50 www.studlife.com
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
INSIDE Bear Mart defends price gouging SAY AHH...
Purchasing power, not monopoly status, to blame By Derek Dohler q Contributing Reporter
Jess Minnen takes an in-depth look at oral piercings—why people get them, how others react to those people, and the health risks involved. Why has this once underground practice broken through the cartilage of the mainstream? Find out.
PAGE 12 20 Q’s WITH BEARS GOALIE
A well-stocked mini fridge is nearly essential in every dorm room. It can provide drinks for visiting friends or ice cream for those late-night attacks of the munchies. On the South 40, there is only one place to buy things to fill your fridge, and that is Bear Mart. Run by Bon Appetit Management Company, which runs all dining locations on campus, Bear Mart sells fruit, chips, soda and other edibles. However, some students feel that the prices at Bear Mart are too high. “I think they’re ridiculous,” said one student who did not want her name printed. “They have a monopoly, so they take advantage of it.” A comparison between the prices at Bear Mart for certain items and the prices at Schnucks for the same or similar items showed that Schnucks had lower prices in almost all cases, especially on cereal products. At Bear Mart, for instance, an 11-ounce box of Fruit Loops costs $4.89, while at Schnucks it costs $4.19—for a 15-ounce box. Price differences for other products are smaller. A 15-ounce can of Spaghetti-Os costs $1.19 at the Bear Mart versus $0.93 at Schnucks. In addition, students who use the points on their meal card are paying even more. When they buy points, students on the three main meal plans pay $1.36 per point. Given this surcharge on points, the box of Fruit Loops really costs $6.65, a markup of 59% compared to the price at Schnucks. Students without cars, such as freshman Lind-
say Anchors, may have trouble getting to Schnucks or other grocery stores to take advantage of the prices there. “I want to [shop off campus], but it’s hard to get around,” said Anchors. Although students are discontent with the Bear Mart prices, Greg Teator, general manager for Bon Appetit, said that he receives few complaints about the prices. He said that there is a black binder on the checkout counter of the Bear Mart for people to write suggestions and comments. The binder, although it contained plenty of suggestions for products that Bear Mart should carry, did not contain any complaints about the prices. Teator said that prices are not the most important factor in the role of the Bear Mart. “When you look at the economic structure [around campus], Bear Mart is not the best value, but it is convenient,” said Teator. “Convenience is a big word on this campus.” Teator said that Bear Mart is more comparable to a 7 Eleven. He also said that it is impossible for Bear Mart to compete with Schnucks on prices. “Schnucks might sell 10,000 cases of a product per month, while we might sell 10,” said Teator. “That doesn’t entitle us to discounts.” Some students agree with Teator that the prices are appropriate. “Considering how easy it is to get in there and get out, I think the prices are fair,” said freshman Alex Kotkin. Other students, such as sophomore Christine Reggiardo, said that they don’t consider prices when mak-
Junior Jeremy KaplanLyman, goalie for the men’s soccer team, talks about Jesse Jackson, Viagra and a certain alumnus’ relationship with the former first daughter. Read about the team’s efforts to spice up the assistant coach’s marriage and Kaplan-Lyman’s opinion as to which prestigious institution Washington University should be dating.
STUDENT SNAPSHOT would you vote for in Q: Who the California Recall? A. 57% B.9% C. 10 % D. 24%
Arnold. If he can handle A: A.aliens, robots, and terrorists, I’m sure he can take care of a budget crisis. B. Gary Coleman. It takes Diff’rent Strokes. C. Gallagher. Think of the issues you can resolve with a watermelon and a sledgehammer. D. Larry Flynt. A chicken in every pot and a copy of Hustler in every mailbox. Results are unscientific; based on 67 votes cast
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INDEX Cadenza Forum Calendar Sports
pages 6,12 pages 7-8 page 9 page 11
See PRICES, page 3
Campaign to curb drinking in the works By Robert McManmon q Staff Reporter
DANA KUHN
PAGE 11
ing purchases at Bear Mart. “I guess people don’t notice [the prices] because they use their cards,” said Reggiardo. For these students, the selection is more important than the prices. Reggiardo said that she shops off campus whenever possible, but not because of cost. “They are limited in selection here,” she said. Teator said that Bear Mart is not losing any business to larger grocery stores.
Senior Ryan Murpy showed his soap shoe tricks on the South 40 on Saturday as part of a demo organized by Sigma Nu fraternity in hopes of raising money for the Aids Federation of St. Louis.
Frat soaps up shoes for charity By Sarah Baicker q Contributing Reporter “What’s going on over there?” asked sophomore Alex Rechlin, motioning across the Swamp to where the music was coming from. Rails were set up on the grass, with speakers, banners and shoeboxes spread out across the ground. Multiple students on their way to brunch this past Saturday stopped to find out what was taking place. The Sigma Nu fraternity held a Soap Shoe demo to raise money for the Aids Federation of St. Louis. Members of the 2003 sponsored Soap Shoe team were present, showing off their talents and helping out the less experienced. But even with that information, many students were still confused as to what exactly soaping was. Soap Shoes, tagged “the shoes that grind,”
are sneakers equipped with concave plastic grind plates in the center of their soles. They enable the wearer to slide, or “grind,” along rails, benches, stairs – practically anything – at speeds of up to 30 mph. “It’s just like inline blading, but without the wheels, and easier to get into,” said junior Alexei Tajzler. Once grinding rails is mastered, “soapers” learn and invent tricks they can perform while sliding across rails. Trick names like “Fahrvergnuegen” and “Cheese grater” quickly become part of the soaper’s vocabulary. Saturday afternoon, sponsored Soap Team members and Sigma Nu invited members of the Washington University community to try the
With a new “Social Norming” campaign, the closing of the Rat, a kegless WILD, and more restrictions on serving alcohol at fraternity and student group events, Washington University is clearly curbing its once-lenient alcohol policy. “I think the school is working towards phasing alcohol out completely,” said senior David Patterson. “They are making these changes slowly so no one is really noticing, and a lot of the new students are not even aware how things were.” The University hopes to further manipulate student perceptions surrounding alcohol consumption. This spring the university will begin a “Social Norming” campaign, which will use commercial marketing techniques and advertising principles to change the perception that heavy drinking is the norm. This message, however, will be a hard one to push in an environment in which much evidence points to heavy drinking as a social norm. A 2001 Core Drug and Alcohol Survey conducted in Washington University classrooms found that 76 percent of students drink monthly, and 42 percent binge drink, consuming five or more drinks at a sitting during a given two-week period. Local alcohol sales support these findings. According to Janet Nicolette, Schnucks’ liquor
See DRINKING, page 3
See SOAPING, page 3
‘Cut the vein open and tell the truth’ Law and Order writer/producer shares his life story By Sarah Kliff q Contributing Reporter Lorenzo Carcaterra took a break from writing the next episode of NBC’s hit TV series, “Law and Order,” to read from his best-selling novels to listeners on Monday night. “To be a writer, you have to cut the vein open and tell the truth,” said Carcaterra. “If you’re not ready to do that, then you’re not ready to write.” Carcaterra, the current writer and producer of “Law and Order,” is also the author of the best-selling novel “Sleepers”, which was later made into a movie starring Brad Pitt and Dustin Hoffman. He started the 2003-2004 Center for the Humanities Writer’s Series by giving the audience a taste of his honest and open depiction of the working class. Carcaterra read from his autobiography, “A Safe Place,” which describes his upbringing in an Italian-American working-class family. His story centers around three characters: his fa-
STUDENT LIFE
ther, who’s a convicted murderer, his mother, who’s constantly in the hospital, and his grandmother in Italy. “People from my background don’t usually speak at Washington University,” said Carcaterra. “In my neighborhood, people either joined the Teamsters union or ended up dead. Out of my graduating 8th grade class of 32, 19 are now dead.” Carcaterra’s depiction of this rough life captivated many audience members, including Ida Early. “I thought it was great—his writing style is so accessible,” Early said, “The way he portrayed his characters was spellbinding.” Carcaterra also showed a lighter side, joking about his dramatic style. “If I say I want to write a love story about two people who fall in love in their 40’s, the publishers would say ‘no,’” said Carcaterra.
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See TRUTH, page 3
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Beer cans litter the sidewalk in front of Fraternity Row the morning after a weekend party. The University hopes to discourage binge drinking among students.
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