LIFE IN THE LIMELIGHT| A SNEAK PEAK AT WU’S YEAR IN THEATER | CADENZA, PAGE 12
STUDENT LIFE
THE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER OF WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS SINCE 1878 VOLUME 128, NO. 4
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2006
WWW.STUDLIFE.COM
Plans to renovate Chabad WU ID card equipped with Center in near future new functions BY JACOB GREENBERG
CONTRIBUTING REPORTER
BY PUNEET KOLLIPARA CONTRIBUTING REPORTER The Washington University student ID received a facelift this summer. From laundry to vending machines, familar services are now a quick swipe away. The highly anticipated new campus card program is a feature borne initially out of student interest. In Feb. 2005, the Student Union passed a resolution requesting the University to add new features to the student ID card. In the fall of 2005, a survey created by the Campus Card Steering Committee (CCSC) and administered by the Student Union listed several potential services that student ID cards might begin to offer. More than 2,300 undergraduate students took the survey. Features that the CCSC included in the campus card this year are laundry, copying and printing services and vending machines. Results showed that 87 percent of respondents rated laundry as a high priority, 82 percent for copying and printing, and 77 percent for vending machines. With the new system in place, students can pay for these services and their meals with their ID card. The services are part of a new account that is separate from the students’ mean plans and are also fully optional. Students can activate their campus card accounts by clicking on “Campus Card” in WebSTAC’s menu, or in person at the ResLife offices. Paul Schimmele, assistant to director of operations and a cochair of the committee, said that finishing the new laundry service was of high priority “because of one thing: quarters.”
The new laundry service on the campus card eliminates the need for students to use quarters in the machines, making laundry significantly more convenient. Freshman Hunter Banks, who lives on the South 40 and who plans on using the campus card program, said simply, “It’s so easy.” According to Schimmele, out of the 62 laundry rooms in ResLife-operated housing, all but five or six are functioning on the new campus card system, with the remaining rooms to be added to the system in the near future. However, as the new laundry system is still not complete, students have encountered some problems. Anna McGrew, a sophomore living on the South 40, said the system in her dorm’s laundry room was not functioning properly and that some of the machines were offline. Schimmele added that the laundry aspect of the campus card program will not be finished for another two or three weeks as minor glitches are resolved and the remaining laundry rooms are properly equipped. Once the system is fully operational, students can expect a failure rate on machines of around two percent. Students may use the new card to pay for copying and printing in the Olin Library, which will start charging for these services Oct. 20. Additionally, the campus card is also compatible with new vending machines in the School of Business, the School of Law, and the athletic center. “It’s definitely convenient for vending, and I like how the money just goes on there immediately,” said McGrew.
This summer, Washington University’s Chabad on Campus found a new residence adjacent to the South 40, at 7018 Forsyth Blvd., with renovation plans to commence in the near future. For almost four years, Chabad was located approximately one and a half blocks away from campus on the 7200 block of Forsyth. The initiative to move sites came from “a clear recognition that there was a demand among the student population for what Chabad was offering,” said director Rabbi Hershey Novak. The previous facilities were far too small and geographically inconvenient, according to Novak. “The new space will be large, close, and permanent.” COURTESY OF CHABAD Although Chabad moved A diagram of the proposed renovations to the Chabad building on Forsyth Blvd. into the new center in July 2006, renovations are not scheduled cost $270,000 in total. Already, Wash“We are finishing the leadership to begin until November. Construc- ington University parents have raised See CHABAD, page 5 tion and renovations are estimated to $100,000.
Greeks “Rock the Row” v Greek Life revamps image with a year-opening barbeque BY JOSH GOEBEL CONTRIBUTING REPORTER
See ID CHANGES, page 3
BIKES ON THE LOOP MEGHAN LUECKE | STUDENT LIFE
Sigma Chi brothers lounge in the pool outside their house on Fraternity Row during Sunday’s Rock the Row event.
The Women’s Panhellenic Council and the Inter-Fraternity Council took a new approach this year in welcoming students to Greek Life, opting for a casual afternoon barbeque rather than the late night party that has kicked off past years. “Rock the Row” offered attendees burgers and hot dogs straight off the grill as The Rich McDonough Band, a local music act, played St. Louis blues in the background. “We loved and appreciated the opportunity to be back at our house playing games like washers and cornhole…cooling off in our kiddie pool, and celebrating being a part of a great Greek community,” said junior David Schlichter, president of Sigma Chi Fraternity.
With wiffle ball, bean-bag tosses, and football, the atmosphere was certainly a contrast to Greek Life’s opening event in previous years. Greek Life has traditionally begun the year with the “Opening of the Row,” a event that began in the early evening with food and a deejay and carried on into the night. Leaders in Greek Life, including Panhellenic Council’s (Panhel) president Amelia Gariepy, felt that Opening of the Row was sending the wrong message. “[The previous event] was not only unsuccessful, but also a misnomer as the Row does not officially open until Sept. 8,” said Gariepy, a senior. The change in format worked well in converting the occasion to a
See “ROCK THE ROW,” page 3
Sy Hersh kicks off Assembly Series BY ELIZABETH LEWIS STAFF REPORTER
EITAN HOCHSTER | STUDENT LIFE
Cyclists in the Men’s Pro Race rocket through the Loop in Monday’s Gateway Cup.
Volleyball dominates WU Classic As students spent a long weekend relaxing, the Lady Bears were busy sweeping the Washington University Classic. What are their prospects in the national tourney? Sports, Page 8
Seymour Hersh, a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, will open the fall 2006 Assembly Series with a lecture entitled “Chain of Command: The Road from 9/11 to Abu Gharib and Beyond,” today. Hersh has had a strong and varied career. Born on April 8, 1937, he went on to graduate from the University of Chicago. In 1967, he reported on the Vietnam War and, in 1969, won the Pulitzer Prize for international reporting for exposing the My Lai Massacre. In 1972, Hersh began working for the New York Times and became a regular contributor for the New Yorker. Hersh has written several books, including “The Price of Power: Kissinger in the Nixon White House” in 1983 and “The Dark Side of Camelot” about the
scandals of John F. Kennedy. In addition to Hersh, there are several other unique individuals appearing throughout the Assembly Series. Bill Nye will be speaking Wednesday, Sept. 13. Nye was born in 1955 and later graduated from Cornell University. He is best known for his Emmy award winning educational show “Bill Nye the Science Guy,” which ran from 1992-1998. Many students are excited about Nye’s arrival. Robyn Haas, a junior, said, “I always loved watching Bill Nye as a kid, and so it will be fun to actually get to see him in person. It will make a good story to tell my brother.” Succeeding Nye will be David Robertson, the music director and conductor of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and the principal guest conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra. In addition to his work with
Welcome to the new WU castle Are the Wash. U. dorms nicer than your house? Rachel Tepper comments on the royal nature of our new campus housing. Forum, Page 6
these orchestras, Robertson was the first person to serve simultaneously as Music Director of the Orchestre National de Lyon and the Artistic Director of Lyon’s Auditorium. The Sept. 26 lecture will highlight one of Washington University’s resident experts, Mark R. Rank. Rank is the Herbert S. Hadley Professor of Social Welfare in the George Warren Brown School of Social Work. In his lecture, he will discuss ideas from his book, “One Nation Underprivileged: Why American Poverty Affects Us All.” Rank’s areas of research include poverty, social welfare, social policy, and economic inequality. The series will continue with speakers Temple Grandin, a world-renowned professional designer of humane livestock facilities, Bonnie Oda Homsey, an actress and choreographer,
TABLE OF CONTENTS Forum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Cadenza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Sudoku . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
and B.D. Wong, an actor for the hit show “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.” Wong is a noted actor with an exhaustive repertoire. He made his Broadway debut in “M. Butterfly,” and he is the only actor in history to be honored with the Tony Award, the Outer Critics Circle Award, the Drama Desk Award, the Clarence Derwent Award, and the Theater World Award for the same performance. Following Wong will be Marjane Satrapi, a graphic novelist and the author of “Persepolis” and “Embroideries,” Steven Strogatz, a professor in the Department of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics and the Center for Applied Mechanics at Cornell University, and Richard Epstein, the James Parker Hall Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago.
See ASSEMBLY SERIES, page 5
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