STUDENT LIFE
THE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER OF WASHINGTON UNIVERSIT Y IN ST. LOUIS SINCE 1878 Today’s Forum is almost exclusively devoted to discussion and debate surrounding the Katz homophobia controversy. More inside. Page 6.
In Sports, columnist Jordan Katz explains what we can expect to see in the upcoming NHL season. Page 10.
VOLUME 127, NO. 15
Columnist Allie Wieczorek digs into the controversy surrounding Title IX legislation inside Sports. Page 8.
This week, Cadenza takes its turn on the stage for our Friday features section. Page 5.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2005
WWW.STUDLIFE.COM
University Center plans unveiled By Jonathan Kim
ect.
Contributing Reporter
“Those things that are very important priorities for us now, those things that students need to raise the level of the experience—one of them is food,” said McLeod. We think that the food court is insufficient even for our present day and by 2009 it will be even more insufficient.” McLeod emphasized the importance of providing both structured and unstructured space for students to meet. “We need more meeting space for student groups,” he said. “We need more hang-out space. We want to have to pathways and the outsides and insides as such that they are places for students to hang out. I think that one of the things we forget is that the majority of our students live off campus. So having a place where you can go other than Holmes Lounge will be important. “The third area is student organizations,” continued McLeod. “Leadership is a big deal for us, so we are preparing for Student Union and student organizations to have a place in the building where they can meet, some offices and workspace for all students, and enough meeting space so that we do not have to be squatters for rooms.” The University plans on building an underground parking lot below the University Center that
A wine bar, a Grand Hall, and a 3,000-space underground parking garage are among features discussed in the latest plans for the new University Center, which is slated to break ground in summer 2006. The center, located between Simon Hall and Mallinckrodt Center, will span approximately 90,000-95,000 gross square feet. A rough layout of the current University Center plans includes main areas revolving around expanded food and dining services, with one venue tentatively planning to serve alcohol, as well as meeting places for students to congregate, student organization offices and workplaces, and enough additional workspace to fulfi ll other student groups’ needs. Additionally, the University Center could become home to the Career Center and student media groups, including KWUR, WUTV, and Student Life. Dean of Students James McLeod, who presented the plans at a Student Union (SU) Senate meeting on Wednesday night, stressed that while the University continues to revise and refi ne its conceptual plans, he felt it was important to give students an update on the progress of the design and planning of the proj-
Greeks to parade on the Loop
will serve as the structure’s foundation. The parking lot will be situated beneath where Prince Hall currently stands and will extend below Mudd Field to accommodate 3,000 cars, at completion. “One of the problems we have is that we have to provide parking today for buildings and activities that will come later,” said McLeod. “If we don’t prepare this space now, we will never be able to prepare this.” The fi rst phase of the underground parking garage should be completed in 2007, after which Mudd Field will again be available for use. The construction should begin in the summer of 2006 and end in 2009, though that timetable is subject to change. Prince Hall will be torn down during the coming summer to accommodate the new structure. The concept of the University Center started around 1998, but experienced setbacks due to stock market drops after September 11, 2001. Since the original design phase, the University has changed architecture fi rms from Zimmer Gunsul Frasca to Tsoi/ Kobus & Associates in order to provide a different conceptual approach to the project. “We got to the point where we had a different concept and wanted a different way of doing
ILLUSTRATION COURTESY OF TSOI/KOBUS & ASSOCIATES
This illustration of a tentative plan for the new University Center shows the proposed building on the site of what is now Prince Hall, between Simon and Umrath Halls. An underground parking facility will be located beneath the University Center and Mudd Field. Prince Hall will be demolished next summer.
See U. CENTER, page 4
WU alum ‘steels’ the show at City Museum
THE NEXT BIG DING
By Margy Levinson Contributing Reporter On Saturday, the 17th annual Loop in Motion parade will be held in University City. It will be the first parade to feature a float made by members of the Washington University Greek community. Greeks in Motion is a series of events that celebrate the Greek community. The festivities began on Wednesday with Grand Chapter, a motivational lecture for all Greeks, and continued yesterday with the Greek community sponsoring CPC happy hour at the Gargoyle. The week continues today with a Greek BBQ and a float construction on Frat row for tomorrow’s parade. The parade will be the culmination of Greeks in Motion, which was formerly known as Greek Week. In years past, Greek Week has included Olympic-type competitions. But this year, the competitions will be friendlier, featuring contests challenging people to raise or donate the most money. The Greek community will team up to build one float with a children’s theme. One representative from each chapter will ride on the float in the parade, each wearing his or her Greek letters. The float itself will be themed with children’s artwork to reflect the cause in which the money is going. “We are hoping to build a long term relationship with the [U City and Clayton] community” said Nicole Soussan, the president of the Pan-Hellenic Association. Following the parade in the morning, the Greeks will set up booths with games and activities geared towards children, working in teams of two fraternities and one sorority. The money raised during the parade will help to benefit University City East, an organization that runs a summer program for underprivileged kids, and has struggled recently to find funding. “Because we are so huge, we thought we could throw support and resources towards them,” said Eli Zimmerman, president of the Interfraternity Council. “[The Greeks] really do incred-
COURTESY OF DON BEHRENS
The steel duo pictured above is one of several sculptural works created by University alumnus Don Behrens that are currently on display at the City Museum in downtown St. Louis. By Ben Sales Contributing Reporter
RACHIT PATEL | STUDENT LIFE
The Olin School of Business recieved the gift of a “Big Ding” on Thursday, Sept. 29 from a group of alumni of the school’s MBA program in Shanghai to represent a commitment to further collaboration in the future. Dings are Chinese ceremonial bronze vessels, which in ancient times were given as symbols of authority from one aristocrat to another. Olin’s ding is a replica of the Da Ke Ding in the Shanghai Museum, and weighs 1,500 pounds. ible work.” Zimmerman is hoping that “the Greek community is very much a united one, united in our ties to each other and also united in our desire to improve the broader world in which we live in.” He encouraged non-Greeks to come out and enjoy the festivities. “Everyone is invited to the parade because it will be fun and a great way to have a positive impact on the lives of the children of U City,” he said. The events of Greek Week usually encompass about 1,500 members of the student body, and Greeks are hoping to draw a larger number this year. “This is the first year that it’s been done in this format, usually it’s just Greek Week. [We’re] trying it out this year, to not just isolate the Greek community” said Ana Bailey, a junior in Kappa Kappa Gamma. “We are having a parade to hopefully draw a lot of the community around U City and Clayton, as well as Wash. U. students.”
After 43 years of practicing medicine in the St. Louis area, Washington University alumnus Donald Behrens put down his scalpel and picked up sculpting. Twenty years later, he’s exhibiting his work at a current City Museum exhibit entitled “Parent and Child.” The exhibit mainly consists of stainless steel sculptures, which will be on display through November. “One of the main ingredients in my work is imag-
ination,” said Behrens. “I try to do something different instead of repeating things that have been done so often.” The City Museum, known for its hands-on galleries and avant-garde designs, describes “Parent and Child” as “[a depiction of] parenthood as a central element of life through the interactions of various birds and beasts…in City Museum style.” Like most of Behrens’ art, the pieces are wrought from “found objects,” or objects used in everyday life. Museum curator Bob
Rocca noted that Behrens has not completely strayed from his medical roots. Rather, he uses medical objects within his art to, as Rocca notes, the surprise of many female viewers. “A lot of the instruments he put together are instruments that an OBGYN would use,” he said. Rocca is pleased to give Behrens, who already has a few sculptures on display at the City Museum, his own exhibit. “He’s been coming to the museum for years, and we promised him a show,” said Rocca. Rocca described the exhibit as a display in “two or three different fashions” of sculpture. Most of the show consists of “whimsical” bird sculptures and the featured “Parent and Child series,” which also contains bird structures commingled with statues of other animals. Although “ninety percent of his work is representational,” said Rocca, the exhibit includes a small section of abstract art. “What I’m trying to do is [meld] things I myself like to look at. I like the subject of the parents and children,” said Behrens.
See ARTIST ALUM, page 4
Bike thefts afflict campus By Mandy Silver Contributing Editor Over the week of Sept. 18 and 24, an unusually high number of bike thefts occurred across the University campus. Of the five bikes stolen over the past week, most were parked on the north side of campus. So far, officers have not been able to establish a pattern for the day or time the thefts occurred. Although the thefts appear to be random, University Chief of Police Don Strom noted that the “most common targets were unlocked bikes
or bikes with lightweight cables.” While this rash of bike thefts is still under investigation, officers have intercepted two juveniles who tampered with several bicycles on campus. The suspects were referred to juvenile authorities. For now, Strom recommends that bike riders obtain a Kryptonite bicycle lock and make sure to secure their bikes properly. Kryptonite bike locks can be obtained from the University’s police department by contacting the Crime Prevention Officer at (314) 935-5084.
RACHIT PATEL | STUDENT LIFE
Due to the recent increase in bike thefts, University Chief of Police Don Strom has recommended that students use Kryptonite bike locks, rather than chain or cable locks like the one shown above.