LESSER-KNOWN FLICKS | WHAT TO SEE THIS SUMMER | CADENZA, PAGE 5
STUDENT LIFE
THE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER OF WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS SINCE 1878 VOLUME 128, NO. 79
WWW.STUDLIFE.COM
MONDAY, APRIL 30, 2007
Student wins NYTimes Kristof contest BY JOSH HANTZ NEWS EDITOR This summer, while most fou r t h-yea r medical students prepare to start their residencies, Leana Wen will be making prepa rat ion s of a different sort. Leana Wen In June, she will be traveling to Africa with New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof to focus on health and education issues, food insecurity, AIDS and oth-
er development topics. Wen will be traveling to Rwanda, eastern Congo and Burundi as part of Kristof’s annual Win-a-Trip contest in which he travels with a student and teacher to spread awareness of issues in Africa. “I wanted a way to tell my patients’ stories,” said Wen. “I’ve been abroad, I’ve seen lots of suffering and injustices in the world and I thought that being on a trip with Nicholas Kristof would be the perfect way to communicate with the public about social justice issues.” Wen describes her impression of Kristof over the phone as “thoughtful” and “deliber-
ate.” She also praised his style of visiting leaders, cities, villages and people in the places he visits. “He seems to be an eternal optimist,” she said. Kristof selected Wen from more than 2,000 applicants who were narrowed to less than 30 fi nalists. With input from his assistant Winter Miller and several others at the New York Times Web site, he ended up with Wen. “I thought it would be interesting to have someone along who knew medicine and could comment intelligently on health conditions that we encounter,” wrote Kristof on his
blog. Wen, too, said her medical prowess made her a more attractive candidate. “I know that I was chosen specifically for my health background and I’m sure that we’ll be visiting hospitals because health is such a big part of life,” she said. Born in Shanghai, Wen enrolled in California State University, Los Angeles when she was only 13-years-old. She graduated summa cum laude with a degree in biochemistry in 2001 at the age of 18. Wen left medical school temporarily when serving a one-year term as the national president
BY SAM GUZIK SENIOR NEWS EDITOR Student Life sat down with WILD headliner Reel Big Fish on Friday afternoon in the green room. Front man Aaron Barret and trumpeter John Christianson took most of the questions, but the rest of the musicians chimed in occasionally. The Reel Big Fish became popular in the early 90s, but has continued touring and releasing albums.
BY BEN SALES SENIOR STAFF REPORTER
Student Life: Thanks for taking the time to talk with us. Aaron Barrett: Why don’t you sit down. It’ll make us feel more comfortable and you’ll probably get closer to real answers. SL: How often do you guys play for college campuses like this? AB: Recently always. We believe that the children are the future, if you teach them well. You need to show them all the beauty they possess inside.
See INTERVIEW, page 3
SCOTT BRESSLER | STUDENT LIFE
Lead singer and guitarist Aaron Barrett of Reel Big Fish, a ska-punk band that first became popular in the 90s, performed at WILD on Friday, April 27.
Ashoka broadens horizons, promotes diversity BY SHWETA MURTHI MANAGING EDITOR After weeks of debate, the executive members of Ashoka, the undergraduate Indian Students Association, decided to change to a South Asian Students’ Association (SASA). Ashoka decided to change its name after complaints from South Asian minorities, who felt alienated by the idea that Ashoka catered exclusively to Indian students. “Culture is shared throughout the seven countries that encompass South Asia. We’re not talking about specific nationalities,” said Ashoka copresident, junior Mansi Shah. “So we wanted to open the doors to more people and be more inviting.“ Ashoka executives recount-
ed the story of a Pakistani student who wanted to have a fundraiser for earthquake relief in Pakistan. Although she felt that Ashoka was the closest group to approach culturally, she felt unable to turn to Ashoka due to its status as an ISA. “We’re also going to listen to the minority’s voice. If a person wants to address an issue, we’re going to be there to help them get resources and bring the general body’s attention to it,” said sophomore Kushal Patel, treasurer for Ashoka. Executives felt that the trend of Ashoka’s programming was already heading towards a South Asian organization, because of events like South Asian Awareness Week and a Diwali skit about Parti-
Spidey swings into action Spider-Man, starring Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst, is back. Weave your way to the theater for this exciting and epic third installment. Cadenza, Page 4
tion between India and Pakistan. “The interest is there and I think that by changing the name, they will be more approachable,” said senior Samira Sihabdeen, a Sri Lankan student. “For other South Asian students, the numbers aren’t there, so for us to start a group on our own isn’t feasible.” “I think that, coming in as a freshman, having the term ISA [Indian Student Association], as opposed to SASA, defi nitely wasn’t as welcoming. Especially as a freshman, when the groups are based on titles, it might be somewhat of an offset,” said Sihabdeen. While the debate of ISA versus SASA had come up in years past, Ashoka made new efforts to get input from gen-
she said. “I’m looking for ideas for how to communicate more effectively with younger generations–college students, graduate students, high school students.” After returning from her trip, Wen plans on studying at Oxford for two years as part of a Rhodes scholarship and then doing her residency in emergency medicine. Kristof also chose alternative high school teacher Will Okun to join Wen and him. Okun teaches in a low-income neighborhood in Chicago and has a special interest in writing and photography, according to Kristof.
Undergraduate Research Symposium doubles in size
Questions for Reel Big
SL: So what are you teaching? AB: How should I know!? That’s the school’s job. Our job is to teach them it’s the school’s job. John Christianson: Every year we do college season. It started out as just five or six, but now it’s a lot—it’s more than I have fi ngers.
of the American Medical Student Association (AMSA) in Reston, Va., the largest national organization for physiciansin-training. “I entered medicine because I wanted to make an impact at a larger level, not just for the individual patient, but also for my community and for society,” said Wen. “Treating a patient is part of a larger issue of public policy and public health.” Wen hopes to use her medical knowledge and apply it to a broader context. “Somebody who is doing public policy should have a medical perspective as well,”
eral body members through online forums, questionnaires and personal interactions with executives. Some of the members in the forums questioned whether the expansion of the organization would jeopardize the quality of the programming. “We shouldn’t add any events unless there’s an interest in them. I don’t think they have to have forced programming,” added Sihabdeen. Others were upset at the idea that Diwali, Ashoka’s big-ticket cultural show, would probably need to change its name, to have less religious connotation than the eponymous Hindu festival of lights. “It’s not the name that
Washington University hosted its Undergraduate Research Symposium this past Saturday in an effort to highlight the independent academic achievements of students. The symposium was the second of its kind and was the first that included students from all of the University’s schools. The symposium was held during the afternoon at the Athletic Complex (AC) during the afternoon and included 75 diverse participants, more than double last semester’s number. According to Dean Henry Biggs, director of undergraduate research, the diversity of the event was part of what made it so succesful. “In the past you’ve had these small symposiums, where one department has a symposium and all of the people from their own major go to that symposium, and it’s very lightly attended,” he said. “Here somebody in the romance languages can get views on their research from someone in archeology.” After a presentation by keynote speaker Aaron Mertz, a graduate of the undergraduate class of 2006 now studying at Yale, undergraduate students were given a chance to present their research while defending their claims and theses to spectators and specialists in the students’ respective fields. The symposium was also free and open to the public; additionally, more than 175 high schools were encouraged to send their students. The students presented their research through oral and visual presentations, using posters and charts to convey their proofs and hypotheses. Several students presented their research as a capstone to their work, but some found that their conclusions provided relevant material to local or global issues. Charlene Ng, a biology
See ASHOKA, page 3
INSIDE:
Softball sweep Wash. U.’s softball team swung and swept their way to sweet victory this weekend. Get the buzz on their latest game. Sports, Page 10
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major who did her research in the psychology ward, said that she thought her findings could benefit interested students. “I just thought my research about schizophrenia was pretty important,” said Ng, a junior. “I thought that undergraduates would benefit from the information and get involved in research.” Other students entered into their research to pursue career opportunities, such as biology major and junior Cassie Sadinski. “Undergraduate research actually set a position [for me] with the Infectious Disease Department at the [University] Medical School,” said Sadinski. “I presented clinical epidemiology studies at the ICUs in BarnesJewish Hospital.” Though several factors contributed to the growth of the symposium, one of the most influential developments was the hiring of Aline Holtz, who was recently hired by the administration as a grant specialist. Holtz took on the symposium as one of her central projects for this year. Sadinski agreed that Holtz’s work in Undergraduate Research was effective. “I think the Office of Undergraduate Research is letting students know who they are,” she said. “I didn’t know who they were until this year.” Ng added that the symposium’s success was due to the enthusiasm of the presenters and the organizational abilities of the administration. “Everyone is getting into it,” she said. “It was planned pretty well and people [were] free at the end of the year.” The symposium, which debuted this past January, was the first umbrella presentation of its kind at the University, but other symposia of its kind have taken place in the past in specialized fields. The novelty of this year’s exhibitions was that they
See RESEARCH, page 2
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