F R I D A Y FEB. 4, 2005 Vol. 126, No. 47
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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
INSIDE
Boot the Bell? Survey will help decide eatery’s fate n Upcoming survey’s hopes to “to determine whether . . .
Taco Bell should be removed from Mallinckrodt” By David Tabor Contributing Editor
Fine arts in the springtime: Laura Vilines takes you on a guided tour through St. Louis’ best springtime artistic events in today’s Cadenza.
EMILY TOBIAS | STUDENT LIFE
Joann Watson (left) takes an order at the Taco Bell in Mallinckrodt. SU plans to survey students and ask if they want to see the Bell stay in the Food Court.
Ninety-nine cent tacos may go down south if students continue their complaints against Taco Bell’s business practices. The Student Union Food Committee will conduct an e-mail survey of some Washington University students within the next two weeks to determine dining preferences. A strong response against Taco Bell could prompt the chain’s removal from Mallinckrodt’s Food Court. “The goal of the food survey is twofold: to determine whether or not there is a legitimate and overwhelming feeling on campus that Taco Bell should be removed from Mallinckrodt, and to determine what food preferences people have in general,” said sophomore Jeff Zove, Food Committee chair. The Food Committee is jointly sponsored by Student Union and the Congress of the South 40 and works with administrators from Bon Appétit and Dining Services to assess revisions to eating fa-
For whom does “Used” save? Not Brian Schroeder, according to his column in Forum.
By Laura Geggel Staff Reporter
PAGE 4 LAURENT ZABULON | KRT CAMPUS
Pope John Paul II meets with French President Jacques Chirac in France late last year. Recently the Vatican announced that the Pope is expected to make a full recovery.
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See TACO BELL, page 3
A cappella groups head for nationals
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Less sex = better sex? You won’t find this in any math class, but Roman Goldstein says it’s an equation that adds up.
cilities on campus. Bon Appétit, the catering company that manages campus dining, has pledged to strongly consider the Food Committee survey results in deciding whether Taco Bell should be retained. “If the survey determines that a substantial percentage of students are dissatisfied with Taco Bell, Bon Appétit would then seek alternatives according to student preferences,” said Zove, who has been working with Bon Appétit to organize the survey. Kathy Carmody, general manager of Bon Appé tit, reported that Taco Bell is currently the second most popular location in the Food Court, accounting for 19.6 percent of “product moved.” Only the “Pasta and Pizza” section is more successful. The survey will be sent by e-mail to 1000 randomly selected students, made up of 250 from each class. Zove said that the committee had determined that 200 responses would provide an accurate sam
Pope recovering after flu scare By Liz Neukirch Senior News Editor Though Pope John Paul II may have to spend up to a week in the hospital to recover from a respiratory infection, the Vatican has reported he is in stable condition. The infection led him to cancel appointments early this week, the fi rst time he has had to do so since an intestinal ailment in September 2003. In general, the Pope’s health has been steady in recent months. Father Gary Braun, director of Washington University’s Catholic Student Center, said that while the Vatican generally tries not to alarm the public, they seem to be speaking frankly on the Pope’s recent bout of illness. “He’s such an international figure… that affects millions and millions of people, both Catholic and non-Catholic. My feeling is that they’re not holding back any information, especially if they said he was stabilized. When
you’re than old, people can get alarmed quickly,” Braun said. He also noted that this Pope is of particular importance to this generation of college students. “He’s the only Pope they’ve ever known,” he said, referring to Pope John Paul the II’s 27 years as head of the Catholic Church. “It is pretty momentous when a large percent of the population has only known one Pope.” He has also been the fi rst world figure to publicly apologize for the “historic sins of the Church,” Braun noted. Students at the Catholic Student Center will pray for the Pope this weekend as they do at every mass. The 84-year old Pope is expected to deliver his regular Sunday address this weekend from the window of Rome’s Gemelli Polyclinic hospital.
Two University a cappella groups, After Dark and Mosaic Whispers, will be heading to the first round of the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella competition this Saturday. The groups will contend with a cappella groups from universities around the Midwest for the divisional title. “It’s exciting to be going,” said sophomore Aaron Lewis of the Mosaic Whispers, “We’ve worked pretty hard to get our songs to a point where we’re happy with them.” For the Whispers, a trip to the international competition is quickly becoming a tradition. They have qualified for the first round for three consecutive years and in 2001 became the first Washington University singing group to make it to the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) Regional Competition by placing first in the division. After Dark has also qualified and will join the Whispers this Saturday at the division competition, hosted at the University of Illinois. After Dark will be competing in their first ICCA contest since the a cappella group started in 2001. “We’ve never actually done this before,” said the group’s coordinator, senior Bryan Loyal. “We’re really feeling it out and seeing how the process works… the ICCA is the big one. It’s like the NCAA basketball tournament for a cappella.” Loyal explained that After Dark has been working toward the competition since the beginning of the school year. “We had auditions finished by the middle of September,” said Loyal. “As soon as we had our new people in, we started going through our new material.” Ryan Lahey, a sophomore in After Dark, said that his group’s song selections may have contrib
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See A CAPPELLA, page 3
Endowment return totals 18.2 percent last year By Lissy Reiman and Doug Main Student Life Staff
Euripides and Nelly make for strange Greek bedfellows, says Robbie Gross in Cadenza.
PAGE 7 INDEX News Forum Sports Cadenza
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Last year Washington University’s endowment saw an increase of approximately $500 million. It earned a net total return of 18.2 percent during the fiscal year, bringing the endowment’s total market value to over $4 billion. This places it 13th among endowments across the country. “Nothing bad can come from having a large endowment,” said Barbara Feiner, vice chancellor of finance. “Not only does it increase the prestige of the school, but it also affects what the school can do for its students.” The positive return is welcome after three years during which the endowments of most collegiate institutions, including the University, lost money. Endowment money comes from individual and business donors, who typically designate the money for a specific purpose, be it
STUDENT LIFE
a professorship, a scholarship or a special program. Endowment profit can then be spent by the University in accordance with donor specifications. Recent gains have helped the University add 165 new endowed professorships as well as many scholarships. Endowment money is re-invested by around 80 managers that the University hires, ranging from employees in Bank of America to much smaller investment firms. “We’ve been relatively happy with our managers,” said Feiner. As she explains, the endowment covers 11 percent of the University’s total operating budget. At the same time, tuition revenues cover around 60 percent of the budget of undergraduate schools on the Hilltop Campus, meaning increases in endowment do very little to offset tuition increases.
See ENDOWMENT, page 3
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BRIAN SOTAK | STUDENT LIFE
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