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Vol. XCV No. 22
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OPINION
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Ed Board sides with U.S. women’s soccer team
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Thursday, April 7, 2016
A student voice of Saint Louis University since 1921
Ford discusses being in the driver’s seat at SLU
A 60-plus-inch flat screen TV and conference room table, scattered with envelopes, are the lone pieces of furniture in a large rectangular office. Basketball court whiteboards line an entire wall length. The other offices in the basketball suite remain dark. Decorating and choosing office furniture have not been at the top of newlynamed SLU men’s basketball coach Travis Ford’s to-do list. “Everybody asks me,
‘What’s step one?’ There’s no way to define it; there’s a lot of step ones. But at the very top of step one is getting to know the players in the program right now, off the court and on the court, and that’s something that’s very important to me before even going out and recruiting and things,” Ford said. Ford has a decorated resume, as both a player and a coach. In his 19 years as a collegiate coach, he has coached at every level. He played in college for both Rick Pitino at Kentucky and Norm Stew-
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art at Mizzou, and still holds bringing someone with you, several reor not to cords at rush into Kentuck y. going out Ford brings and signing experiplayers just ence to an because you other wise have scholrelatively arships. I’ve young prodone that. gram. And a lot “ I ’ v e of times -Travis Ford, head learned it doesn’t basketball coach this the work. You hard way at have to be times, not patient and to rush into hiring coaches you’ve got to do your homeimmediately, unless you’re work on everything and
[I wanted] a place where I could see myself for a very long time.
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By CASEY WAUGHN Managing Editor
Kapila shares lessons from Darfur Atlas speaker talks on preventing genocide By ALEX HANEL Copy Editor
“What I want you to do is come with me on a journey … I want you to imagine that you are me … and you have just been appointed to be the head of the United Nations in a country called Sudan.” So began Dr. Mukesh Kapila, softly yet confidently commencing his address for the 2016 ATLAS Distinguished Guest Lecture, where he detailed his story of witnessing and working to stop a genocide. Born in India, but later moving to Britain, Kapila began his professional career in medicine and public health. From there, he ventured into the world of international politics and humanitarian aid, a world which would cross his path with that of mass murderers, victims and humanitarian heroes alike. Kapila now has experience in over 130 countries in senior positions with the British government, the United Nations (UN), World Health Organization and International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. It was his experiences running the UN mission in Sudan in 2003 and 2004, during the genocide in Darfur, that captivated his audience at the Sinquefield Stateroom the evening of April 6. In terms of guest speakers at SLU, Kapila’s speech was incredibly interactive, with the former UN chief frequently asking audience members “what would you do next?” Far from be-
Alanna Pachl / The University News
HUMANITARIAN: Dr. Mukesh Kapila gave testimony of his extensive international career in public service as part of Atlas Week. His experience covers over 130 nations. ing a childish or superficial “choose your own adventure” story, Kapila’s tale symbolically brought those attending with him back to his large office in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, where he personally learned of and reacted to the ethnic killings of Darfur’s non-Arabs. Upon beginning work in Sudan, Kapila tells the audience, “Roger (a Canadian mounted police officer serving as his UN chief of security) tells you about a place called Sudan … you say to Roger, keep me informed.” Frequent updates lead Kapila to learn about a coordinated and escalating pattern of violence being enacted upon larger and larger numbers of citizens.
Eventually, Kapila realized he would have to go witness these developments for himself. “You’ve easily figured out in one trip that what you’re getting is ethnic violence against one group, because of their identities.” A simple plane ride over a scatter plot of burning villages – with buildings, farms, everything on fire – told him enough to know that he was dealing with more than random acts of violence. As the sun faded over St. Louis in the windows behind him, Kapila’s story took darker and darker turns. Kapila gave the crowd their first lesson on recognizing coordinated and planned violence. “Normal traditional violence is self
limiting…If you want to conquer land, you leave it in such a state that you can utilize it after your victory. This (was) clearly a war of destruction.” As the government continued to feed him lines of dismissal – “the current drought is causing violence” – Kapila turned to his bosses with the United Nations, particularly the then-Secretary General Kofi Annan. He waited for a response. And waited. And waited. Lightening the mood, Kapila brought the story down to a simple family analogy. “When you write letters to your Uncle Kofi See “Kapila” on Page 3
that’s one big thing that I’m doing right now is just taking my time and being patient,” Ford said. Ford’s easy-going, playerfirst mentality has shown through so far; the team got together at a local Italian restaurant on April 4, to watch the NCAA National Championship game as a group with their new coach. “Some people might say I’m a players coach. I don’t want to hold my players back in any way. I want to develop them individually and then put them in a team concept
that showcases their skills individually. I think that’s why I’ve had seven players of the year in the league in the last 11 years, whether they be a freshman of the year or freshman of the year nationally or a player of the year in the league,” Ford said. But it’s not the accolades and awards his players win that keep Ford coaching and looking forward to work each day. “I find it very rewarding See “Faith” on Page 7
Relay for Life on the verge of two million raised By LEXIE VASOS Sports Editor
Two thousand participants. Two thousand stories. Two million dollars. The running theme for Relay For Life 2016 is “2,000 strong, 2,000 stories,” and there is a lot more on the line for this year’s Relay For Life event than just a participant goal. If Relay For Life 2016 successfully raises its monetary goal of $175,000, Saint Louis University Relay For Life will have successfully raised a total of two million dollars since the annual event began in 2004. Team Development Executor Nick Eisenberg summed up the significance of this large and meaningful goal, stating “I think that it would be a huge step forward for Relay … To be a part of something like that, to raise two million dollars for cancer research and for those things, we always talk about how we want to make it mission focused, but that is such a cool thing to be a part of … Two million dollars is a lot of money and it is not over a very long period of time, so to have done it that quickly and to be someone who is in it for the long run, I think it would be pretty cool.” All of the proceeds raised by Relay For Life are given to the American Cancer Society in order to fund a nationwide fight to put an end to cancer, but the proceeds also have a direct impact in the St. Louis community. Lauren Schweiss, SLU’s American Cancer Society Advisor, described how this money is utilized closer to campus. “Two million dollars, if you
can imagine, does a lot for our local community. Right here in the community we have a Hope Lodge Facility, which is a place where cancer patients can stay for free for as long as they need, there is no time limit on that, while they are in cancer treatment. They can stay there with a caregiver or a friend or family member that is over 18. They are able to get shuttles to and from the hospitals where they are getting their treatments at and again that is absolutely free, so that is one of our things that we really take pride in that the money goes to in order to keep that place running 365 days a year.” Not only is this an event to raise money for cancer research, but it is also a way to build community on campus. Eisenberg commented on what Relay offers first year students, “… I showed up and it was one of the coolest nights of my life. You are surrounded by sixteen hundred people, hopefully two thousand people that are all sharing in the same kind of thing … I think it is definitely the spirit of SLU.” Eisenberg also mentioned how, while at events like Make a Difference Day, students are spread out across several different sites, at Relay for Life, the entire student body is all in the same place, making it “a great way to get involved and find a niche as a first year student.” Relay for Life will take place at Hermann Stadium on April 16 and 17 from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Participants can sign up at SLU Relay’s website.
South Compton bridge slated for two-week closure By TIM WILHELM News Editor
The South Compton Avenue bridge, which links Chouteau Avenue and the Market Street-Highway 40 intersection, will close for two weeks for surface repairs, beginning April 11. According to Dick Stockmann, who works for the Division of Bridge Design within the Board of Public Service of the City of St. Louis, there are “two or three places where there are holes in the deck.” He said that, were the city to not close the whole bridge, the project would take five or six weeks. While the city “made the determination that it needs to be done,” he admitted that the scope of needed repairs is much larger: “the whole deck needs to be taken off
and redone,” he said. The bridge, which opened to traffic in August 2006, has a history of worrying motorists. KMOV reported in December 2014 that there were “gaps in the pavement and exposed rebar where the sidewalk curb should be.” The same report referenced a $2 million project that focused on the bridge’s sub structure in 2011, however “officials said it will require another $6 million to replace the bridge deck.” Nevertheless, the bridged has passed inspections for the past two years. Echoing that situation, in which a bond issue was cited as a determining factor in infrastructure financing, Stockmann mentioned another bond issue that, if passed, might allow more work to be done.
Steve Runde, Director of Streets for the City of St. Louis, explained, “There is a section of the deck that is going to be replaced because of a few holes that are currently plated but getting larger. The entire bridge needs to be replaced, and now that the bond issue passed yesterday, we will proceed to request federal funds now that we have match funds. However, that process takes 2 or 3 years before construction begins. The repairs will not significantly upgrade the surface and future repairs may be needed.” SLU administration clarified that the city alone will undertake this endeavor, not the University. “The city is closing it down, but the Uni See “Bridge” on Page 3
Google Maps
CONSTRUCTION: The South Compton bridge, which connects the easternmost edge of campus with the fringes of SLU’s medical campus, will close for two weeks beginning on April 11. Road conditions have raised concerns for years.