SAY WHAT? | A GUIDE TO WASH. U.’S UNIQUE CAMPUS LINGO | SCENE, PAGE 5
STUDENT LIFE
THE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER OF WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS SINCE 1878 VOLUME 128, NO. 47
WWW.STUDLIFE.COM
MONDAY, JANUARY 29, 2007
Fraternities, SU Med school wins $15 million struggle to let beer grant for new research center and safety coexist BY SCOTT FABRICANT STAFF REPORTER Washington University’s School of Medicine has received a $15 million grant to create a research center to study Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, the fourth leading cause of death nationally. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a combination of chronic bronchitis, inflammation of the small airways of the lungs and overproduction of mucus and emphysema, the destruction of air sacs and loss of lung elasticity. “The most common cause for the disease people point to is cigarette smoke,” said Michael Holtzman, the University’s director of pulmonary and crucial care medicine. “70-80 percent of patients with COPD have [a] history of smoking. However, that’s not the whole answer, because a number of patients have had no significant exposure to smoke
that we can determine. We also know if you stop smoking, there can still be progression of the disease, and there’s a possible genetic susceptibility to COPD.” The grant, awarded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, is considered a “score grant.” It will be used to establish a specialized clinical center at the School of Medicine, with four different projects investigating possible causes and mechanisms of the disease. Holtzman hopes to be able to use this information to develop new ways to diagnose and treat COPD. “The idea behind score grants is to make basic discoveries about what causes the disease using experimental models, and to translate it into studies of patients of the disease,” explained Holtzman. “It’s often called a bench-to-bedside approach.” Britney Moss, a graduate student in biology at the University with experience in grant writ-
ing, was very impressed with the winning of the grant funding. “Typically a grant of this size is many hundreds of pages long and is the collaborative effort of many faculty members at a research institution. It is quite an honor for Washington University to have received one of these grants, but it doesn’t surprise me because Wash. U. has exceptional faculty who excel in the field of biomedical research,” said Moss. Holtzman, while pleased with the grant, remains realistic. “This grant and other grants like it are under a lot of pressure from downsizing because of constraints of the federal budget these days. It’s a huge problem,” said Holtzman. “We’ve got a lot of money, but not nearly enough to solve the problem. It is a good start, and you can’t complain when someone gives you $15 million, but it’s not enough to solve chronic lung disease.”
To students wishing to avoid developing COPD, Holtzman advises avoiding smoking. While pollutants, genetic susceptibility and other unavoidable factors exist, exposure to cigarette smoke remains the leading controllable factor. Holtzman hopes the research center will raise awareness and understanding of the disease in addition to seeking potential cures. “It’s important to stress how common this condition is and what a huge public health and medical problem it presents, so anything we can do to impact this would be a big deal,” said Holtzman. “One fourth of Americans over 45 have COPD. It’s one of the leading causes of disability and death. It really is a major health problem. There are only 3 COPD research centers in the whole nation, and we’re one of them. We should be proud.”
the Energy and Environment Committee and part of the subcommittee on health care access. “I just got out of a hearing of a bill that would set a standard for all fuel to come from renewable, biologically dependent resources such as biodiesel and ethanol,” he said. “These would benefit the rural communities in Oregon and reduce pollution. “Another renewable energy standard would require providers of energy to make sure that 25 percent of energy came from renewable sources by 2025. It simply requires us to look to solar market, the wind market, tidal energy—there’s huge potential there.” Cannon, an Oregon native, started his political journey as a history major at the University. Cannon credited his involvement in journalism and experience as editor in chief of Student Life for his interests in politics and policy. “The meetings that we had around
sity from becoming liable for alcohol related injuries. The fraternities are covered under national insurance plans, and they could lose coverage if an injury were to arise inside the house. “The problem is safety,” said Locke. “We are discussing ways to make it safe to prevent the frats from becoming liable from kids who come to parties already drunk from pre-gaming.” Fraternities become less liable for any incidents which may occur by hiring a third party to check IDs and distribute alcohol. Locke also said that the current BYOB (Bring Your Own Beer) policy is not working because it is unrealistic to expect students to provide their own drinks. Furthermore, the fraternities do not have enough B&D personnel to enforce the policy. “There is not enough manpower,” said Locke. Senior Alex Kotkin, president of Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE), expressed his disapproval with B&D security, stating that they are “obtrusive.” According to Kotkin, the fraternity’s fi rst party of the year had three B&D guards, all of whom were ineffectual. He contends that a guard in the stairs did not do his job, the guard stationed outside arrived late and was rude to the guests, and a guard at the bar kept checking for IDs even though the guard at the door had already checked IDs and distributed wristbands. “The way they prevent things prevents us from having a good party,” said Kotkin. “Until the B&D guards can prove to us that they can maintain some level of professionalism and consistent protection or control over the parties, I don’t really see any reason to put in a fourth.” Kotkin said he registered three to four complaints on the guards to the GLO, but the office has not yet reported to him whether they have taken any actions. The IFC and administrators will also discuss the possibility of having kegs at parties in order to save on the cost of alcohol. The kegs would be controlled by a third party, unlike a few years ago when fraternity members served alcohol from the kegs on their own. According to Locke and Ron Laue, the director of GLO, IFC and administrators are discussing whether further restrictions should be placed on the distribution of alcohol, so that underage students or intoxicated students do not receive more alcohol. Kotkin said that while he felt the focus of TKE’s parties is not alcohol, he did observe that serving alcohol at fraternity parties creates a safer drinking environment for students who would otherwise drink in small, isolated groups. “If you go back to the probation which was in effect a couple of years ago, you would fi nd a lot more incidences of kids pre-gaming in their rooms because all of the fraternities were dry,” said Kotkin. “The fact of the matter is we’ve had less incidences where EST [Emergency Support Team] has been called, at least to my
See ALUMNI, page 2
See ALCOHOL, page 2
BY SARA RAJARAM STAFF REPORTER Fraternities are considering ways to prevent underage students from receiving alcohol at their parties. They are also discussing how to bar students who are already intoxicated from entering the house. To accomplish this, the Interfraternity Council (IFC) and the Greek Life Office (GLO) are discussing hiring more guards from a third party company, B&D, to distribute the alcohol and maintain security. B&D was originally hired in 2001 to work security. According to junior Andy Locke, president of the IFC, fraternities and administrators at the GLO have taken these steps to prevent the fraternities and the Univer-
BEARS TRAMPLE VIOLETS EN ROUTE TO 13-GAME WINNING STREAK
EITAN HOCHSTER | STUDENT LIFE
Sophomore Sean Wallis launches into two NYU defenders in a home game on Sunday, Jan. 28. Get the full story in Sports, Page 8.
Alum elected Oregon State representative BY SHWETA MURTHI NEWS EDITOR Consider being nice to the kid next to you in your political science class, because he or she might just become your next state representative. Just ask Ben Cannon, who graduated from Washington University in 1999 to become Oregon’s youngest state legisBen Cannon lator this month. Cannon (D-Portland) used a grassroots campaign to garner support for renewable energy, education aid and transparency in the political process. One of Cannon’s focal points was his refusal to accept gifts or monetary contributions from political action committees or corporations. Instead, Cannon went door-to-door asking for smaller donations from voters.
“I really believe that Oregon as a state needs to keep money out of politics,” said Cannon. “It leads to uninspired leadership and it is a corrosion of the democratic process. My pledge is a step that I took to reflect my commitment to campaign fi nance reform and restoring democracy to the voters. As far as I know, I am the only elected legislator to take that pledge.” Sharon Stahl, dean of Arts & Sciences and Cannon’s former academic advisor, was not surprised by Cannon’s political success. “It reassures me that, at least in the state of Oregon, politics are in good hands,” she said. Stahl praised Cannon’s use of his Web site and mailing list to keep his constituents informed of the issues and request their opinions. “I thought to myself, my state representative in Missouri doesn’t do this for me,” he said. “I think it’s a wonderful reflection on Washington University that these are the kind of young people that come to us.”
Women’s basketball scores The Lady Bears’ winning season in basketball continues, taking the lead in their conference with a victory over NYU. Sports, Page 5
Even though his peers in the state capitol are several decades older, Cannon remains unfazed about his relatively short experience in public service. “I think I bring a slightly different perspective, as I am especially concerned about the environment and youth issues which don’t have quite the same resonance for the older generation as it does for me,” he said. “I represent about 60,000 Oregonians, and I take that seriously.” Coming from a family of teachers, Cannon said he felt a particular obligation to give back to the state’s education system. “[Oregon], more than most states, is suffering from a woeful disinvestment in education,” he said. “There is the knowledge that we as a state and as a society will fail when we fail to educate our children. I’m working as hard as I can to restore some sense to the way that we fund education.” Aside from his interests in public education, Cannon is the vice chair of
Queens and kings debut at WU Wash. U. hosted it’s first drag show Friday nigh, complete with professionals and students strutting their stuff. Our photographers captured the event. News, Page 3
INSIDE: Forum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 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