LESSONS IN FLIRTING | DON’T BE AFRAID TO TAKE THAT FIRST STEP | SCENE, PAGE 6
STUDENT LIFE
THE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER OF WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS SINCE 1878 VOLUME 128, NO. 72
WWW.STUDLIFE.COM
FRIDAY, APRIL 13, 2007
Student body to be reduced over five years BY SAM GUZIK SENIOR NEWS EDITOR Chancellor Wrighton announced at the Chancellor’s Forum on Tuesday night that the University would begin to gradually reduce the size of the student body from approximately 6,300 students to a target of 5,800 students. This decision comes one year after the University admitted its largest freshman class to date and during the current admissions season in which the Department of Admissions has announced its intention to
hold the incoming freshman class to no larger than 1,350 students. “The University was designed to be smaller than it is and the University has made the decision to bring the student body back to its target size,” said Nanette Tarbouni, director of the office of admissions. In order to gradually reduce the size of the incoming freshman classes, the department will closely adhere to the target size it sets for the freshman class by initially under admit-
ting and then relying on the waitlist to fi ll the class. This reduction will mean that more prospective freshmen will not receive defi nite admissions decisions initially, and that the fi nal class composition will be set later in the year. “We like admitting people, but we do understand that the University needs to be the size that it’s meant to be because that is what is best for students,” stated Tarbouni. According to Tarbouni, reducing the size of the student
body will alleviate many of the difficulties associated with having a surplus of students, such as long lines for food and problems with housing assignments. “I think in some ways it would be better to do this because having smaller classes makes the learning environment very much more interactive and discussion based,” said sophomore Tori Kortlandt. Many other institutions of higher education have begun to rely on the waitlist in similar ways as a means to control the
number of accepted students who choose to enroll or yield. As a result, waitlists across the country have grown, as reported recently by the Wall Street Journal. While the implementation is largely the same, the University’s decision was made for reasons different from those of other schools. “This has nothing to do with any other college or university,” said Tarbouni. “The intent of this is not to manipulate or improve yield, but rather to meet a freshman enrollment goal
consistent with what our University was supposed to be.” Many students expressed concern that there could be unintended consequences to becoming more selective. “We need to make sure we don’t get more elitist than we already are,” said junior Neil Wingkun. “We should become more selective while keeping in mind that when we become more selective, we may compromise diversity.” -With additional reporting by Sara Rajaram
Symposium explores achievements Energy conservation in WU Latino community
competition, environmental rally to be held BY DAVID SONG NEWS EDITOR
Beginning this Saturday, the Washington University student environmental organization Green Action will host “Do It in the Dark,” a two-week contest to see which residential college will be able to conserve the most energy. Additionally, University student groups and local organizations will host an Earth Day rally on the same day on the Women’s Building lawn and at Bowles Plaza. Sophomore Lee Cordova, the Green Action public relations chair, stated that the idea for the energy-saving contest began earlier in the year with student surveys. “It began when ResLife did a survey on students’ ideas on environmental issues and people mentioned a general apathy,” said Cordova. “One of the suggestions was competi-
tions. This energy competition will measure the energy use of all the dorms.” The energy measured by the contest, ending on the April 28, will include energy from lights and personal electronics, but not from hot water or air conditioning. Cordova noted, however, that although the contest might not effect drastic change, it will spread the word about environmental issues. “In terms of logistics, we could get the numbers back and nothing would change and that would be unfortunate,” he said. “But, no matter who wins, we’re defi nitely going to get the word out about energy use and its effect on the environment.” Green Action also hosted a recycling competition in March to measure which residential college could recycle
See ENERGY, page 2
DAVID BRODY | STUDENT LIFE
Mariachi Cuicacalli musicians Christina Garmendia, Alejandra Ponce De Leon, Daniel Ramirez and Stefan Santiago entertain the presenters and attendees of “Footsteps Across the Americas: A Symposium on Latino Affairs,” on Thursday, April 12.
BY JOSH HANTZ NEWS EDITOR Washington University students presented “Footsteps Across the Americas: A Symposium on Latino Affairs” last night, highlighting the work of the Latino community at and around Washington University. The event featured keynote speaker Mandalit del Barco, a National Public Radio (NPR) journalist from Los Angeles, and was sponsored by the Association of Latin American Students (ALAS) and the Annika Rodriguez Scholars Program (ARSP). “[Del Barco] was a good choice for covering things that are timely like social issues and world politics,” said senior Alejandra Ponce De Leon, a member of ALAS. “She’s very prominent in the Latino community.” In addition to presenting del Barco, the symposium
featured student works, including performances and exhibits ranging from Mariachi Cuicacalli to piano to comedy skits. But the symposium was about more than Latino culture. “We hoped to raise awareness about all the neat and interesting projects that Wash. U. students are working on,” said Julia MaciasGarcia, coordinator of ALAS and ARSP. “Maybe people will learn a little more about Latin American issues and history. We wanted to show the other faces of Latino culture—academics, politics, different forms of expression.” Senior Cristina Bejarano, also an ALAS member, said that while Carnaval is a good way to promote the cultural side of Latinos, the symposium is better for highlighting achievements in the community. The name of the sympo-
Step on a seal...
sium itself was also intended to spark discussion. “It’s really about the idea of not only people moving from one country to another, but the idea of our ideas moving around too,” said Ponce De Leon. “We’re trying to tie what we do to greater social events going on.” “The idea is to reflect the Americas as North and South America and the interconnectedness between all events and cultures…it’s sort of a seamless connection,” said Macias-Garcia. This is the third year that ALAS and ARSP have hosted such a program. Two years ago the groups brought in a Columbia University professor of Spanish and religious studies. Last year’s keynote speaker was a University professor who spoke about his experience coming from Cuba to New York. Del Barco related her own
personal story in addition to sound clips from her radio production and samples of her written material. She also presented a slideshow about her work with aspiring journalists in Latin America. Born in Lima, Peru, to a Peruvian father and Mexican-American mother, del Barco was raised in Kansas and California. She worked for the student newspaper at the University of California, Berkeley and received her master’s from Columbia University. Before coming to NPR, she worked for The Miami Herald and The Village Voice. Currently a general assignment reporter, del Barco has written a number of articles about immigration, race relations, police, Hollywood, street gangs and other issues. She has also made several documentaries on topics such as Frida Kahlo and gangs in Central America.
INSIDE:
Come sail away It’s Friday the 13th, but are you brave enough to step on the seal, despite the superstitions? Check out other Wash. U. myths and learn the truths behind them. Scene, Page 8
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ELLA BRANDON | STUDENT LIFE
Freshman Macy Moore empties her recycling in Umrath on Thursday, April 12. Green Action is holding a challenge to see which ResCollege can conserve the most energy.
Where are these folks going? To the regatta of course! Wash. U. is host to a sailing team and senior sports editor Trisha Wolf tells you all about her life on the water. Sports, Page 3
Forum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Sudoku . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
NEWSROOM PHONE 314-935-5995 ADVERTISING PHONE 314-935-6713 E-MAIL US editor@studlife.com ON THE WEB www.studlife.com