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Vol. XCIV No. 5
PAGE 7
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Welcome home, Billikens
University draws students, alumni, family
Meet the chairman By JESSICA WINTER Managing Editor
Elizabeth Scofidio / Contributor
Homecoming: SLU students, alumni, and family participate in the golf-cart parade, one of the many activites held during the weekend. By ADNAN SYED Staff Writer
Homecoming and Family Weekend gave visitors to SLU a chance to see a variety of changes, from the new catering on campus to the selection of a new president and staff members. The three major departments involved in the planning of the weekend were Alumni Relations,
Billiken Parent Association, and the Student Activities Board (SAB). The weekend started on Thursday evening, Sept. 25 with the School of Dentistry Alumni Reunion Dinner in the lower level of St. Francis Xavier College Church. However, with multiple concurrent events on Friday, organization was of utmost importance. “Registration was a little
Fantastic Freshmen By VIVEK GORIJALA Associate News Editor
This year’s freshmen, the Class of 2018, stand out in SLU’s Fall 2014 census. The class boasts a mean GPA of 3.85 and an average ACT score of 27.6, both of which are all-time University records. In addition, nearly a third of the freshman class scored above a 30 on the ACT, placing them in the top 4 percent of students nationally that took the test. The freshman class is diverse as well. The third largest class in University history, its 1605 students come from 44 U.S. states and more than 20 foreign nations. In addition, nearly 75 percent of the class comes from outside the Saint Louis area. Of these freshmen, ap-
proximately 70 percent wish to study abroad sometime in their undergraduate career, and 96 percent are motivated to become a part of the various SLU volunteer and community outreach programs. Over 600 of the students previously attended Jesuit or Catholic high schools, and 850 earned high-level scholarships for their academic merit and leadership. The most popular majors among the Class of 2018 are biology, nursing, and physical therapy, although the numbers of students studying business, engineering, and public health continue their upward trend. The most common first names in the freshman class are Emily and Matthew.
different than previous years as you might have known it,” said Ivy Smith, a student success coach, and one of the first time organizers of the parents’ programming. Traditionally, two tents are set up, one for alumni and the other for parents. This year, however, the tents were combined. “By combining those and using iPads to enter information, it made the process that
much easier,” said Smith. Jordan Glaser, a new program coordinator in the Student Involvement Center and Student Activities Board (SAB) advisor, helped plan the student-focused events. “Right after Fall Welcome, we started towards planning for homecoming,” said Glaser. Glaser added that homecoming chair, senior Eddie Stephens, was a great help —
without whom the planning would have been impossible. For Glaser it was, “a lot to coordinate, but everything went well.” Friday’s events began with a SAB sponsored blood drive in the Busch Student Center, and concluded with the SAB’s classic outdoor movie showing. This year’s film See “Homecoming” on Page 3
Discussing the desegregation of SLU 70 years later, Heithaus homily has lasting impact
Friend of the Court – and Community Shreya Walia, stated, “This means that we help them learn what it means to give back to the community and Gathered in a tiny classtry to foster an intrinsic deroom, a handful of pre-law sire to care.” Amicus Curiae students decided to change wants justice within the St. the Saint Louis CommuLouis comnity for the munity and better. The beyond. group they This means helping Their comformed, Amthem learn what it mitment icus Curmeans to give back to care will iae, is SLU’s hopefully to the community and new pre-law create a society on fostering an intrinsic community campus. desire to care. where pasFounded on Shreya Walia, president sions are a mission shared and Amicus Curiae to educate conversaand prepare tions promembers duced. for a career of serving othA double major in English ers, Amicus Curiae hopes to teach members in a way that a classroom can’t. See “Pre-Law” on Page 3 Their first president, By JACKIE STACHIW Staff Writer
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This December, Saint Louis University will welcome a new chairman to its Board of Trustees, according to a news statement released on Saturday, Sept. 27. At that time, current chairman Joe Adorjan will step down from his position and become Chairman Emeritus, while Board member Joseph Conran will acquire the title of chairman. Conran is a SLU alumnus, having received an undergraduate and law degree from the University. He has been a member of the Board since 2012 and is enthusiastic about his future transition to the chairman position. “I am honored to be elected to this prestigious position ... and I look forward to working with [the Board] and everyone in the SLU community in the years ahead,” said Conran in the press release. After stepping down in December, Adorjan will have served three terms as chairman and will have led the effort in selecting Pestello as president. He will remain an active member of the Board and will oversee Pestello’s formal inauguration
Vivek Gorijala / Associate News Editor
Desegregation: Professor Jonathan Smith discusses the events that led to SLU’s integration in the 20th century. By VIVEK GORIJALA Associate News Editor
The year 2014 marks the 70th anniversary of the official desegregation of Saint Louis University; 1944 was the first year that blacks and other non-white students were allowed to study at SLU.. On Saturday, Sept. 27, Dr. Jonathan C. Smith,
Professor of African American Studies, discussed the deeper history and meaning behind this historic decision. Smith started off with an interesting anecdote about his origins from elsewhere in the country. He said that one aspect of St. Louis that intrigued him most when he came here was that others would appear to assign him a predefined set of characteristics whenever he stated that he wasn’t from St. Louis.
Smith was perplexed by this occurrence and eventually took it upon himself to learn more about both why he was made to feel this way, and the underlying issues in St. Louis that led to these characterizations. Reading the narrative of the slave William Wells Brown was one step on Smith’s way to understanding St. Louis. He learned that Brown was owned by an O’Fallon slave owner, and
that even though the owner lived a long ways outside the city, Brown lived and worked in the city. Eventually, Smith moved on to the story of Dred Scott, also a slave from St. Louis, 100 years before 1944. Scott spent so much time working in a free state that he eventually filed a suit in a St. Louis circuit court that he should be free because of where he worked. This case eventually made its way to the Supreme Court of the United States. However, Scott died before the case could fully be settled. Where he was buried is of particular interest: the intersection of Grand and Laclede, in what was once the old Wesleyan Cemetery. Now, that land is occupied by SLU buildings, including the Marchetti Towers and Busch Student Center. This ties SLU in to the historic events surrounding Dred Scott. According to Smith, these are unique St. Louis events, but are also microcosms of the nation as a whole. In return, citing recent events in Ferguson, the sentiments of the nation can boil over in St. Louis as well. He said, “Things that we think are local are really not local. That’s a false construct.” This lead Smith into a story about Father Claude Heithaus, who in 1944 was a priest, faculty member, and faculty advisor, as well as a
See “Desegregation” on Page 3