November 17 2022 Student Life newspaper at Washington University in St. Louis

WEED-OUT CLASSES

How the pre-med curriculum reinforces shortages in the medi cal profession. (Forum, pg 2)

PICKUP

BASKETBALL Hoop stories from Sumers Rec. (Scene, pg 4)

Dybvig, professor and Nobel Prize winner, accused of inappropriate conduct

JULIA ROBBINS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Two Chinese women have come forward with allegations that Olin Professor Philip Dybvig, the 2022 Economic Sciences Nobel Prize recipient, made them uncomfort able during their time as students at Washington University.

These allegations have gained international attention online after a former Olin graduate student posted an allegation of misconduct on WeChat, a social media platform used by many Chinese international students, on Oct. 12.

The alum, who requested to be anonymous, wrote a detailed allega tion of misconduct against Dybvig in Chinese on WeChat in a post that has since been liked thousands of times and reposted on Twitter.

In this post, the student, who will be referred to as Z, wrote of various interactions with Dybvig in which she said he pulled her onto his lap for a photo, gave her a box of chocolates, touched her hand while sitting on a couch together, and messaged her on Facebook telling her he missed her smile.

Student Life spoke to this alum about the allegation she posted online.

Z was born and raised in China where she earned her bachelor's degree, before coming to the United States in 2011 to pursue her master's degree at Olin.

Within the first week or so of her graduate program, Z said that the business school organized a welcome party at a bar on Delmar Boulevard which is where she first met Dybvig.

During this interaction at the bar, Z said Dybvig spoke in Chinese with her which she found pleasantly surprising.

Dybvig has spent significant time in China, where he was the Director of the Institute of Financial Studies at Southwest University of Finance and Economics in Sichuan, China from 2010-2021.

“Back then, as a brand new inter national student in the Business School, all we wanted to do was net work and get to know as many people as possible, including students and professors,” Z said.

Z said that after they started chat ting, someone at the bar said “let’s take a picture together” and while the photo was being taken, “Dybvig actually grabbed me and forced me to sit on his lap.”

“In that moment, I felt a little bit weird, but I thought he was just being very nice or friendly so I didn’t think too much of it,” she said. “I was thinking, ‘oh maybe that’s just how American people are.’”

Z said she has since deleted the photo because it made her uncom fortable to keep.

Some time after that initial inter action, Z said Dybvig emailed her that he had brought a gift back for her from a business trip and she should come to his office. She said she went to his office and he proceeded to close the door, asked her to sit down, and “he sat right next to me” and offered her a box of chocolates.

“I was still feeling that he was friendly, so I was happy and I accepted it, but then he started touch ing my hand and getting really close and started saying ‘oh, I think you’re really pretty, I really like you,’ that kind of stuff,” Z said.

She said she could also see an email draft open on his computer of him calling someone “tianmeizi” which is a Mandarin term she trans lated to ‘sweet girl’ and that he had used this term to address her as well.

She added she did not think this email was directed to his wife because the term also means ‘little girl.’

While they were sitting on the couch together, Z said Dybvig touched her hand in a way that made her uncomfortable. “I really wanted

to leave, but I didn’t know how so I gave an excuse — I asked him to start explaining some economic formula to me I had just learned in class so at least I could keep some distance with him,” she said.

Z said that he stood up and wrote a formula on the whiteboard and then came back to sit next to her on the couch. Around this time, she said an Olin Professor walked in and “his face looked awkward and a little bit shocked.”

“He saw that I was sitting next to Philip Dybvig with the door closed in his office,” she said. The profes sor left, and Z soon left the office because she felt uncomfortable stay ing, she said.

Later that day, Z said that she bumped into three of her classmates and told them of her interaction with Dybvig. Z did not respond to requests for the names or contact information of any of the three classmates she said she spoke with that day.

Z said that following the encoun ter in his office, “he kept emailing me and wanting to meet more, but I felt so uncomfortable, and by then I knew it’s not just a friendly gesture. No professor would be touching a student’s hand and telling her he really likes her.”

After receiving these emails, Z said she wrote him an email saying something like, “I don’t feel com fortable at all, and if you keep doing

things like that I’m going to take measurements.”

She said she deleted all of these emails because she “got really grossed out,” but she thinks he replied saying that “it’s just a misunderstanding, we don’t have to make things serious,” and then he stopped messaging her.

A few years after she graduated, Z said Dybvig “randomly messaged me on Facebook again, saying that he misses my smile and he still really likes me and wants to meet up if possible. I thought it was super dis gusting so I deleted his message and then blocked him on Facebook.”

Z sent a screenshot to Student Life of her list of blocked Facebook accounts, and Dybvig’s name is on the list.

She said she never reported Dyb vig to the University while she was a student because she was worried about retaliation from the school.

As Chinese international stu dents, “[we] try to not make any trouble, because if we do, there’s a chance we might be kicked out of school,” Z said. “And then we have to go back to China which defeats the purpose of studying really hard and working towards the goal of study ing abroad.”

The allegations that Z brought forth prompted other students to speak with Student Life regarding alleged misconduct from Dybvig.

A Brown School alum spoke to Student Life about an experience a few years ago where she heard about misconduct from an economics pro fessor at the University.

This former student asked to remain anonymous for legal reasons and to not take away space from sur vivors. She will be refered to as X.

X said that her husband, an Olin Business School alum, heard at a business school event several years ago that “an economics professor at Olin who had the greatest chance of getting a Nobel Prize [had been] constantly harassing Chinese inter national students.”

She said that the woman who spoke to her husband “said that a lot of people knew about [the harass ment], but no one reported it.”

X reported what she heard from her husband to the Title IX office, three years ago. “Back then I didn’t know the name of the professor, I just knew that he had the greatest chance of getting a Nobel Prize and that’s what I told the Title IX office.”

WOMEN’S SOCCER Women’s soccer headed to the sweet sixteen. (Sports, pg 8)

University launches mental health training program to combat suicide

ARIANA MEJIA AND JAMES ELLINGHAUS CONTRIBUTING WRITER AND SENIOR NEWS EDITOR

The Habif Health and Wellness Center will promote conversations about suicide and mental health with a newly available training pro gram, QPR.

QPR is a nationwide training course that emphasizes three key steps in “recognizing and respond ing to signs of suicidal thinking or behavior,” according to The Source, which are “question, per suade, and refer.” The program takes 45 minutes to complete and can be accessed online or in person.

Dr. Gonzalez, Vice Chancel lor for Student Affairs, and Dr. Dougher, Associate Vice Chan cellor for Student Support and Well-being, were aware of the growing prevalence of suicide and suicidal ideations on college cam puses before implementing QPR at WashU.

“[Suicide] is the second highest [cause of] death for college-aged students,” Gonzalez said. “It’s not just WashU…it is a national epidemic.”

“[Suicidal thoughts] are very common in ways that folks are generally less comfortable talking about,” Dougher said.

The COVID-19 pandemic exac erbated the mental health crisis for college students. Even as COVID cases slowed down and restrictions rolled back, students continued to suffer from depression and other mental illnesses at high rates.

“The impact of COVID has not returned to normal and we have seen an increase in student [mental health] struggles,” Dougher said.

Past research highlights that QPR training can have a positive effect on participants and their communities. Dr. Gonzalez cited a study by researchers Clay Litteken and Elizabeth Sale for the state of Missouri that revealed the efficacy of QPR and other programs like it.

The study’s results show that “QPR [continues] to be recommended in state suicide prevention plans as an effective gatekeeper program with long-term effects,” in states like Alaska, Washington, and Missouri.

SEE DYBVIG, PAGE 3 SEE HEALTH, PAGE 3

Washington University ‘21 alum elected mayor of Bogalusa, LA

NINA GIRALDO SENIOR NEWS EDITOR

during his time as the University’s Student Body President after wit nessing people from home complain about the standard of living.

that I was running for mayor.”

follow through on projects or inter act with others.”

Washington University ‘21 alum Tyrin Truong was elected mayor of Bogalusa, Louisiana, Nov. 8. At 23 years old, Truong is Bogalusa’s youngest mayor-elect in history, as well as the second youngest state wide. Truong defeated two other candidates, including eight-year incumbent, Mayor Wendy Perrette.

The Washington Parish Registrar of Voters Office had 6,658 registered voters in Bogalusa, 3,111 of whom voted. Truong won 56% of the votes.

Hermes described Truong as “forthcoming about his aspirations” during his years in SU.

The mayor-elect does not believe his age will interfere with his ability to lead the Bogalusa community.

“I just wanted to come home and make a difference, use my skillset to bring more to the table,” Truong said in a statement to WWL-TV.

As a previous member of the University’s Student Union (SU), Truong served as both Speaker of the Senate and as Student Body Presi dent. With a double major in African American Studies and Political Sci ence, Truong currently works as Policy Director at the Urban League Of Louisiana, and is set to transition to Bogalusa City Hall in January of next year.

Truong decided to run for office

Truong’s campaign goals include reducing poverty and crime rates, redeveloping city properties, empow ering youth, and increasing the accessibility of Bogalusa City Hall to the public.

According to WWL-TV, Truong was unsure of election results after a “tough” campaign often countered with skepticism.

“You always have to meet with community leaders. That’s the first thing that you do with somebody who is running for office,” Truong said to WWL-TV. “More than one laughed at me in my face when I said

Associate Director for Campus Life, Peggy Hermes, worked with Truong in SU as the Staff Advisor to the Senate. Having worked at the University for about ten years, Hermes has seen a number of SU members go on to work in political careers as the leadership experience provides students with numerous skills “transferable” to a variety of careers.

“[SU] is getting [students] leader ship experience; they’re facilitating conversations with their peers or their colleagues, sometimes there’s conflicts that are being resolved and they’re learning skills around that,” Hermes said. “They’re learning about professionalism and how to

CONTACT BY EMAIL EDITOR@STUDLIFE.COM NEWS@STUDLIFE.COM CALENDAR@STUDLIFE.COM

“I think he was very interested in change, and bringing the com munity together in a way to amplify voices and make sure that students’ constituents are being heard and moving their goals and wants for ward,” Hermes said.

Perrette, the incumbent, expressed skepticism in Truong’s ability to carry the city forward.

“I wish the mayor-elect well, but young Tyrin has demonstrated repeatedly during this campaign that he lacks the skills necessary to lead and unite our city,” Perrette said in a statement to WDSU News. “I pray I am wrong. During the transition period, I will help in any way that I can.”

"I am young, but I can get it done. Young people have fresh ideas and the ability to get it done,” Truong said to WDSU News. “We just need a chance. I look forward to taking that chance and positively impact ing my generation.” CONTACT BY

CONTACT BY PHONE NEWSROOM 314.935.5995 ADVERTISING 314.935.4240 FAX 314.935.5938

The independent newspaper of Washington University in St. Louis since 1878

Philip Dybvig has worked at Washington University since the 1980s.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA

Truong is a former Student Union President at WashU.

PHOTO COURTESY OF FOX8LIVE

FORUM

Rethinking pre-med

On Oct. 3, the New York Times published an article about the firing of Dr. Maitland Jones Jr., former professor of organic chemistry at NYU. Following a brutal spring semester in which the midterm average reportedly “hovered around 30 percent,” growing student disaffection resulted in the creation of a petition demanding a change in teaching strategy. The article goes on to describe how, despite Jones’ disagreements, the university abruptly terminated the professor’s contract before the oncoming fall semester.

Simple, right? Not if the commentariat had anything to do with it.

The article immediately spawned several responses in the pages of the Times itself,

not to mention excoriation by the Editorial Board of Washington Square News, NYU’s student newspaper. Publications from the Baltimore Sun to Forbes chimed in with their own perspectives. Even Jones defended himself in the pages of the Boston Globe.

Every commentator pounced on the chance to read the tea leaves. What could have explained the inexplicable drop in standards? Was it the slackening of discipline during remote learning? Perhaps it was Jones’ inflexible teaching style. Maybe the course disproportionately impacted the underprivileged. Every suggestion came with another contradictory policy prescription, whether it was to give students more power or less power or raise the

grade requirements or lower the requirements or even just do nothing at all.

However, reading through all the different perspectives, I can’t help but feel that all of these commentators have missed something. Why do they keep talking like these students are lacking something? It betrays a disheartening dearth of imagination — as if this were merely an issue of falling grades, and our only solution is either giving students something they don’t have (support, time, resources) or finding students who already have what they need to succeed (skill, talent, intelligence).

These “solutions” miss something fundamental about how the premedical curriculum works, and thus fail to address the root of the problem. To understand how college actually works, we need to review how college is supposed to work.

The organic chemistry class is required as part of NYU’s pre-medical track. As a weed-out class, it is made intentionally difficult to winnow the large pool of prospective clinicians to a select few. Ideally, the remaining pool of candidates, having proven their competency in the crucible of organic chemistry, represent worthy applicants to medical school. The implication, of course, is that those who don’t make it are not cut out

weed-out classes

for medical school. But as deceptively simple as this logic appears, its flaws are incredibly obvious.

Firstly, why do schools (and, yes, WashU is included in this) find it necessary to cut down the number of medical school applicants?

After all, research already shows that the United States healthcare system suffers from a devastating shortage of doctors. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, we will be short by more than a hundred thousand family doctors, surgeons, and medical specialists by 2034. We aren’t producing enough doctors — so why are we so keen on constraining supply?

It all comes down to a quota set by the federal government in 1981 out of fears of physician surplus. Spurred on by a report by the Health Resources and Services Administration, federal funding to medical training programs dried up in the hopes of preventing a glut of overtrained and underemployed medical professionals. Medical schools complied, implementing restrictions on the creation of new medical schools and the expansion of existing class sizes that wouldn’t end until 2005. Yet we know now that low supply is the issue. Weed-out classes no longer need to be a bellwether for getting into medical school. If anything,

they are counterproductive to the goal of graduating more doctors every year.

But maybe we should avoid reaching premature conclusions. Isn’t organic chemistry crucial to a doctor’s education? Isn’t it important that we maintain the highest possible standards for the people who will hold our lives in their hands, and aren’t weed-out classes simply the harsh gatekeepers of these standards?

The facts say otherwise. Research has already well established that weed-out classes disproportionately exclude underrepresented populations, which can only mean that these classes are filtering for prior preparation, not the skills to become a doctor. And what happens to those who are forced to switch out? In a study by a group of STEM education reformers, the prognosis was grim: switchers report losing interest in science altogether, suffering severe blows to confidence, or abandoning lifelong pursuits.

The practice could be defended if this was the price we must pay for high-quality doctors. Maybe we really do have to devastate entire cohorts of prospective STEM students just to find the ones worthy of medical school.

And yet, research has found that personality, not GPA, can be a better predictor of medical school success. A study conducted

on Belgian medical students published in 2010 discovered that “if someone is at the 15th percentile of [cognition] but at the 95th percentile of conscientiousness, chances are that the student is going to make it.”

NYU’s pre-health track does not require a course on conscientiousness. It doesn’t even require a course on ethics. Neither does WashU’s, for that matter.

But maybe you still object to what I’m saying. Even if organic chemistry is not an ideal part of the premed curriculum, shouldn’t we at least expect our future doctors to manage to pass the course? Doesn’t the fact that so many students failed this year prove they just aren’t smart enough to be doctors?

You’d be wrong yet again.

According to an NYU promotional news release, the class of 2026 represents the university’s most selective class yet, with a mere 12% of applicants qualifying (the College of Arts and Sciences, which hosts the biology major, had an even lower acceptance rate at 7%). Its median SAT

Read the rest online:

DYBVIG

from page 1

“They said because I didn’t know [the professor’s] name and because [I was] not a vic tim myself, there’s nothing they could do.”

After she read Z’s com ment online, X reported what she had heard years ago to the Relationship and Sexual Violence Prevention Center (RSVP) at the University and once again emailed Title IX. She said she has since spoken with people at both offices, but they have not yet followed up with her.

X added that Chinese international students may be hesitant to come forward with allegations of miscon duct because they are taught in China that Western people are very open and passionate.

The way Chinese people are brought up learning about Western people can lead them to rationalize certain types of physical contact as being nor mal in the West, she said.

A law school student, who will go by Y for anonymity, also came forward saying an interaction with Dybvig made her uncomfortable. Y took a photo with Dybvig at her friend’s Olin graduation ceremony in 2019.

In the photo, which she sent to Student Life, Dybvig’s left-hand fingers are wrapped around Y’s waist while his same hand can’t be seen at all in similar photo with a male individual.

“I felt very uncomfort able because he held my waist

Understanding the history of Thanksgiving

in a very rude way and I felt uncomfortable and hurt,” Y said. “My body was stretched because he forced my waist close to him.”

Y said she avoided any sit uation in the future where she might have to interact with him.

Later that day when the photo was taken, she asked her father how American men usually comport them selves when taking photos with girls. During that con versation, she didn’t show her father the photo or tell him details of what made her uncomfortable.

In a follow up message to Student Life, Y wrote that after Dybvig won the Nobel Prize, she showed her father

the photo and he said “this was definitely not a nor mal way [for a man to stand with a girl]” which is when she “decided to disclose [her] story.”

“I was not sure if I was thinking too much of this, but now I feel like I wasn’t think ing too much [of this] because he was really rude,” she said.

The allegations against Dybvig, namely X’s allega tions, have been circulated heavily on Twitter.

Jennifer Doleac, an eco nomics professor at Texas A&M University tweeted about the allegations on Oct. 20.

“Recent allegations of sex ual harassment and worse against Armin Falk & Philip

Lecture on shared humanity and North Sentinel Island

JIMMY HU STAFF WRITER

Benjamin Hoffmann, associate professor of French from Ohio State University, discussed his recent novel, “L’Île de la Sentinelle,” that celebrates the utopian val ues of a shared humanity anchored to the destiny of the North Sentinel Island and its people, the Sentinelles, Nov. 10.

from India, and Markus, an inheritor of fortune involved in the art market. Despite their differences, the two have a united interest in the Island and the Sentinelles. Ultimately, the protagonists find the same humanity in the Sentinelles that were denied by hundreds of years of unjust discrimination and beastly portrayals of the indigenous group.

Dybvig are super troubling, not least because the econom ics profession & academia more broadly have demon strated *zero* ability to hold people accountable for such behavior,” she wrote.

These allegations have also been reported on an Instagram page called ‘metoo_washu.’ A post on their Instagram page says that “Multiple students have accused Professor Dyb vig of sexual harassment.”

Dybvig did not respond to multiple requests for comment on these allegations. Andrew T. Miltenberg, a lawyer who specializes in campus miscon duct, due process, and Title IX law wrote to Student Life that he is representing Dybvig.

The University has not

released any official statement on these allegations. When emailed for a comment from the University, Vice Chan cellor for Marketing and Communicatiions Julie Flory wrote that “we wouldn’t com ment or share information about any specific case or individual.”

“I can tell you that we take sexual misconduct very seriously and that we will investigate any allegations that are reported to the uni versity,” Flory added.

According to Flory, Dyb vig has been on an approved, year-long faculty leave since July 1, which will last through June 30, 2023.

GRACE TYAU STAFF WRITER

The Office for Inter national Students and Scholars and the Amer ican Indian Student Association (AISA) led a conversation titled “Decol onizing Thanksgiving,” informing attendees about the history of the holiday and inviting open discus sion and reflection about the indigenous peoples and land, Nov. 14.

Led primarily by Inter national Student & Scholar Advisor Evelyn Real, the event hosted about 15 stu dents and focused on the reexamination of the mean ing of Thanksgiving and how to be more racially conscious in its celebration. Panelists Jessica Frazier, Michelle Giannoulakis, and Ashlyn Newcomb also offered a more personal look at the indigenous experience.

Real showed two videos: an animated story of the first

Thanksgiving, including the history of colonization, early occupation, slavery, and pil grims, and “Real History about Thanksgiving” which demonstrated young Native American girls’ experience with the holiday.

Real began the discus sion by addressing the various myths that surround Thanksgiving, such as the ideas that indigenous and European interactions were friendly, that indigenous his tory began with the arrival of Europeans, or that the May flower was the first contact between these two entities.

Additionally, Real men tioned cultural appropriation seen in schools, sports, and

With about two dozen attendants, the event hosted many native French speak ers or students majoring or minoring in the language. The event took place in French, and was sponsored by Professors Lionel Cuillé, Director of the “French Con neXions” at the University aiming to “promote and inter pret Francophone culture in all its diversity,” and Tili Boon Cuillé of Washington University’s French Depart ment as a part of Tili Boon Cuillé’s seminar on Utopian Fiction.

“L’Île de la Sentinelle,” or the North Sentinel Island, is one of the Andaman Islands, an archipelago of India. The Sentinelles, an indigenous people who live on the Island, voluntarily isolate themselves and have actively defended their isolation from the rest of the world.

The novel features two protagonists, Krish, who is an anthropologist emigrated

Hoffmann began by plac ing the story in the larger historical context of British imperialism in India, and in turn, Indian exploration of the Island, shrouded in a mys tery difficult to comprehend by the rest of the world.

“No one knows from where [the Sentinelles] are from, what language they speak, what beliefs in which they profess,” he wrote for the introduction of the novel. Their lives seem to be “nomadic” and “aboriginal,” and they have taken advan tage of the remoteness of the archipelago to achieve an “insularity” from the outside world.

Hoffmann explained that

WashU already offers the Kognito program, an avatarbased training course that addresses mental health top ics like suicide, according to The Source.

In a study from 2019, the researchers found that after having a sample of “at risk” students complete Kognito training, the students were

twice as likely to seek help.

“Our interest in QPR and in Kognito is focused around increasing awareness of sui cide factors, resources, and conversational skill build ing,” Dougher said.

He added that QPR and Kognito help to build support between stu dents, faculty, and staff,

allowing “the community to recognize these connec tions, develop the skills, and know the resources that can support those with acute [mental health] struggles.”

To reach people with no personal stake in the strug gle with suicidal thoughts and behaviors, the Habif Health Promotion Team has

VOLUME 144, NO. 11

launched a campus-wide marketing campaign. The team’s director, Arie Baker, wants QPR to strengthen the WashU community for everyone.

“We see this training as a way for our community to come together and care for one another,” Baker said. At the moment, the

University does not plan on offering QPR training for academic credit, Dr. Gonza lez said.

As more members of the WashU community discover and use QPR, Dr. Gonzalez hopes that the training pro gram will “destigmatize” conversations about mental health at the University.

“In a lot of cases of sui cide or suicidal ideation, there is no one to intervene,” Gonzalez said. “[QPR] is not foolproof — nothing is — but I think that if [it can get] our community to talk more about [suicide] and how to help each other, that is a big step forward.”

Julia Robbins

Editor-in-Chief editor@studlife.com

Via Poolos Managing Senior Scene Editor scene@studlife.com

Jamila Dawkins Reilly Brady Managing Senior Forum Editors forum@studlife.com

Clara Richards Managing Senior Sports Editor sports@studlife.com

Ved Patel Managing Chief of Copy copy@studlife.com

Sarah Wang Managing Senior Design Editor design@studlife.com

Annabel Shen Senior Scene Editor

James Ellinghaus Nina Giraldo Avi Holzman Senior News Editors

Kellen Wang Emily Hu Head of Design

Gracie Hime Cathay Poulsen Chief of Copy

Holden Hindes Senior Photo Editor photo@studlife.com

Tuesday Hadden Head of Illustration

Kamala Madireddi

Jared Adelman Senior Multimedia Editors multimedia@studlife.com

Tony Tong Senior Web Editor

Paige Steuber Senior Web Designer

Sydney Tran Clara Richards Designers

Alice Gottesman

William Labrador Junior Scene Editors

Lily Taylor Zach Trabitz Bella DiGenova Junior News Editors

Emmett Campbell

Zoe Oppenheimer Junior Photo Editors

Jasmine Stone Junior Forum Editor

Andrew Kastelman Hussein Amuri Junior Sports Editors

Cynthia Chong Social Media Editor

Adrienne Levin Coleman General Manager a.coleman@studlife. com

Sarah Huff Advertising Sales Manager huffs@studlife.com

Copyright © 2022 Washington University Student Media, Inc. (WUSMI). Student Life is a financially and editorially independent, student-run newspaper serving the Washington University community. Our newspaper is a publication of WUSMI and does not necessarily represent the views of the Washington University administration.

Attendees at the event respond to reflective questions during an activity.

HOLDEN HINDES | STUDENT LIFE

First place: “Sorry, I was looking at the forecast for 30 seconds ago.” Caleb Martonfi | Current WashU student

Second Place: “I’ll have the weather she’s having.” Amelia Letson | Current WashU student

Third Place: “A Canada Goose in the wild.” Zane Hankin | Current WashU student

SCENE

Communal Cookies at Trolley Stop Bakery

Goat, Delectable Dough, and Swirly Girly Bakes.

EMILY TALKOW CONTRIBUTING WRITER

A year ago, what was once The Baker’s Hub in Chesterfield, MO became Trolley Stop Bakery, a co-op bakery. This means that Trol ley Stop Bakery provides a

commercial kitchen and a place for bakers who do not have their own storefront — either by choice or inac cessibility — to sell their goods. Some of the other eateries housed in Trolley Stop include Trolley Track Cookie Company, The Tipsy

The owner, Diane Wood, didn’t set out to own a bakery. She stumbled into it along side her daughter, a WashU Law school graduate. Wood explains that her daughter “couldn’t get a job. It was right in the crash of ‘11…She was getting married so she asked if I could make cookies for her wedding.” It was only after baking 600 cookies for her daughter’s wedding and hearing resoundingly posi tive feedback from guests that Wood “knew [they] were on to something.” But after her daughter decided to pursue her passions at WashU’s med school, Wood returned to her career in IT. When the time came, Wood retired.

“It was really nice to retire for a few years. But not having that something to do every day when you get up and look

forward to what you’ve got… people to manage and things to do. I really missed that,” Wood said. A mere three years after retirement, Wood decided to start Trolley Track Cookie Company again.

The name Trolley Track comes from Wood’s chil dren’s friends. Wood always wanted her house to be the place where all of her child rens’ friends come to gather. The way to make this hap pen: always have a supply of freshly baked cookies. “One day the kids were looking at the bottom of the cookies,” said Wood, and she asked what they were doing. “They said, ‘Well, the ones with the deepest tracks are the ones that are the gooiest.’ I noticed that I wasn’t letting them cool long enough before I was tak ing them off and putting them on the rack and they were sinking in.” Thus, the name

was born.

At first, Trolley Track Cookie Company just oper ated out of Wood’s house. Based on insurance and other restrictions, Wood was very limited with what she could do at this point in time. As more and more requests flooded in, Wood realized she needed to open up a commer cial bakery.

Enter: Trolley Stop Bakery.

When starting a bak ery, similar to when Wood started her IT company, she “set herself up not to fail.” In other words, she wrote a plan and gave lots of thought to all aspects of the business: the customer experience, packag ing, and any other detail that might otherwise get brushed to the side.

“I followed that business plan exactly how I wrote it. And I knew that it was hard

work and I knew that if it didn’t work out, it was only [because] I didn’t imple ment something that I wrote down,” Wood said.

In the future, Wood hopes to open up another Trolley Stop storefront to provide more opportunities for other bakers and those currently working from their home.

“There are people who have great ideas where they don’t have the money or they don’t wanna go out and get a bakery,” Wood said. “You know, I’m not able to provide a bakery with these prod ucts…But then you get eight people, they have great reci pes, and they have the time they can come in and make their speciality.”

Trolley Stop Bakery is located at 67 Forum Shop ping Center in Chesterfield, Missouri — about an 18-min ute drive from campus.

A Portrait of WashU Sumers Rec: A Home Created

VIA POOLOS MANAGING SCENE EDITOR

The rules are unspoken, but any regular can proba bly list them aloud if asked: games played to 16 — two points for a three, one for a jump shot. Tell everyone you’re in line to play fives. Don’t cut that line. Slap hands after the game. Shit talk is permitted. Welcome to Washington University Gary M. Sumers Recreation Center basketball.

Josh Bryant, a 23-yearold from University City, has been coming to “the Rec” for a couple of years. He doesn’t remember anyone telling him how the games work. He isn’t a student at WashU, but he’s at the gym just as much as any freshmen college kid hoping to gain 20 pounds of muscle in a year. However, Bryant doesn’t touch the weight racks, only the polished wood floors of the basketball court. He’ll make the ten-min ute-by-car commute about three times a week, and stay for four or five hours each time. Though players cycle through, the game has stayed

Instagram (a spin-off of the Barstool Sports account, which is dedicated to sports, pop culture, and crude jokes) posted about the Rec pickup culture on Sept. 5. “The NBA” was written in black block letters next to a photo of little kids with baggy uni forms. Below it “Sumers Rec Pickup Basketball” was writ ten next to a photo of Lebron James and Dwyane Wade in Miami Heat uniforms. The comments are full of “you right,” “facts” and tagged usernames, presumably Rec pickup big-shots.

***

The Rec will celebrate its sixth birthday this October. In 2012, Gary M. Sumers donated 12 million dollars for an athletic complex in his name. After four years, the 36,000-square-foot inte rior rejuvenation of the previously-known-as-Francis Gymnasium was complete.

In the WashU Source’s cov erage of the project, phrases include “state of the art,” “revitalized corner of cam pus,” and “exceeding the quality of those of our peer

person that looks the most into the game that’s going on right then — someone who’s standing up with a ball or who’s shooting at the basket,” she recites over the phone. Though I can’t see her, I’m picturing her eyes rolled up towards the ceiling, the way people do when they’re remembering what they had for dinner the night before.

“I ask them, ‘Who has next?” If they don’t want you on their team, okay, I’ll take next. I’d also recommend saying that to everyone else on the sideline.” Without this process, Walker knows that she may never get into the game. “Communication is really important. Especially as a woman,” she said. “If you don’t say anything or are passive, you will probably get looked over.” Walker quickly added that everyone has to be assertive to get on the court — men, women nonbinary people. On a typical weekend afternoon, however, Walker is often the only woman in the gym. She’s aware of it, and feels a little more pressure not to miss shots or fumble the ball.

“I know I’m always per ceived a certain way before I even do anything with the ball…just because I’m a woman,” she said. Walker grew up playing on an allboys team in a suburb of Atlanta. Once she aged out of the team, she started going to her local gym and jump ing into pickup games there. The Rec reminds her of home — maybe even “of simpler times.”

a typical crew of Rec players: a skinny guy wearing run ning shoes and a tie-dye shirt, a 6’9” center who played Divi sion II ball at Michigan Tech, a handful of WashU under grads, one middle-aged man who speaks very little Eng lish and has a perpetual grin on his face.

Two boys sat on the side line, knees bent up towards their chests. William Zheng is a grad student studying engineering management. He and his friend had been play ing 3v3, but once there were enough players for full-court, or “fives,” they stepped off.

front of another) that defend ers looked dizzy. Passes were often underhand, unlike the chest-high lobs common in full-court games. After they play, Zheng said, he and his friends will get milk tea — almost always at ShareSweet, on Olive Boulevard. For him, the Rec is a place for exercise, socializing, and somewhere that Zheng knows he can always find someone that speaks the language of home, over 6,000 miles away.

***

revealing his life, but always stops at the last second.

“Honestly, WashU is one of the best places right now in my life to go and play ball. Other than that, besides me working and doing my job right now…” Bryant trailed off. “It’s just the best place.”

On the court, Bryant doesn’t move around much. Instead, he mainly directs traffic with one hand, yells tips and encouragement, and slings up shots from a few steps back from the threepoint line.

the same.

There’s countless works of literature dedicated to the romance of pickup basketball. A quick Google search will lead to strangers-that-becomefriends narratives and musings about the unwritten rules. Diving deeper, one can even dredge up multiple scien tific theories on how pickup culture illustrates the social nature of humans, or what ever. One study concluded that participants played pickup basketball because it reminded them “of a time when life was simpler.”

At the Rec, pickup basket ball can feel like a secret club, a circus, or a high-stakes pros game, depending on the day, time, and cycle of the moon, probably. WashU Barstool

institutions.”

Inside the Rec, phrases tossed around include: “Yo, he can’t shoot!” “this game is ass,” and the most common, said alternately in frustra tion and admiration: “c’mon man.”

***

Junior Christina Walker is a point guard on the WashU varsity women’s team. She’s only been coming to the Rec since the spring of her soph omore year, but she’s already got the “Sumers Rec pickup handbook,” as she jokingly calls it, down pat. Unlike Bry ant, perhaps, Walker learned the rules recently enough to recall step-by-step the way you get on the court:

“I walk in. If there’s peo ple on the sideline, I’d find the

“It’s usually just guys in there, and honestly, it just [feels] like a familiar space,” Walker said. ***

On a recent Saturday, sweat, testosterone, and trash talk flew through the air. Sophomore Drake Kinds vater, a player on the WashU varsity basketball team, also flew through the air. He’s 6’6”, and dunks with the ease of a middle schooler on a nerfball hoop.

“Windmill!” a specta tor yelled from the sideline, half-joking. Without even a glance over to see who it is, Kindsvater complies. As he rises up towards the hoop, his lanky arms swing wildly, 360º degrees, before he slams the ball through the netting again.

Trailing behind him were

Upon prompting, Zheng explains that most Chinese international students like to play half court, not full. “Less running,” the boy sitting next to him said. Zheng also likes playing with other kids who speak Mandarin, like him. “No offense,” he added quickly. “Because it will be easier to communicate.”

When Zheng came to WashU last January — he did his undergrad at a Chinese university — he was added to a WeChat for international Chinese students who like to play basketball, or at the very least, are looking for friends. The chat is massive; Zheng is one of over a hundred peo ple in the group. Perhaps as a result, there’s almost always a few international students shooting around at one of the Rec’s four hoops at any given hour, sometimes play ing half-court pickup. Often, they speak in Mandarin. In one half-court game there were so many screens (one player intentionally getting in

When Bryant finally gets on the court, he has one of the odder-looking shots seen in the Rec. He brings the ball straight up over his head, bends his elbows, and sling shots the ball with his left hand. Most of the time, it goes in.

“I know it’s a weird release but I just feel confident. I’ve been doing it for years,” he said.

Bryant is confident about more than just his shot. He’s confident about his chance of winning on the court. He’s confident about his intelli gence, and he’s sure that he’s going to get out of St. Louis one day.

“I really like being around people at WashU because they got the same mind as me,” Bryant said.

Bryant said that St. Louis is “breaking him down.” He’s a manager at his job, at a retail store, but he’s looking ahead to bigger things — namely a move to Florida, to be by the beach and to be far away from the place he grew up. He speaks often in slightly cryp tic generalities, on the cusp of

Off the court, he’s a little quieter. But he says he likes talking to WashU people, and feels like he’s among peers.

“It’s just a hesitation fac tor, that I might be judged. But I can connect with peo ple [here]. It makes me feel warm,” Bryant said. Then he scoffed. “I mean, I don’t want to sound all cheesy.” ***

Five minutes before close — either 8:55 p.m. or 10:55 p.m., depending on the day — a Rec employee, looking like an exasperated babysitter in a gray polo and name tag, will come in to give a five-min ute warning. Falling into the role of the babysat kids, play ers grumble for a second, and then amend the game:

“One more point!”

Finally, the hoops are raised, accompanied by the mechanical hum of electrical pulleys. The game is over, and all-star players head home to face the world again: home work, jobs, expectations. Lights click off, and the day of pickup officially comes to an end.

The goods at Diane Wood’s Trolley Stop Bakery are created by multiple different bakers who don’t have their own store fronts to sell from.

COURTESY OF TROLLEY STOP BAKERY

One player shoots a three while a second flies toward him to block it. The courts at the AC rec are almost always full.

GINGER SCHULTE | STUDENT LIFE

Players matchup in half-court five-on-five

GINGER SCHULTE | STUDENT LIFE

The beautiful game: WashU students get ready to risk it all for the FIFA World Cup

HUSSEIN AMURI JUNIOR SPORTS EDITOR

“Give me a final exam which is 80% of my grade, and I’m watching a Brazil game,” sophomore Miguel Verani said. Then, he corrected him self: “No, I’m joking of course. But I’ll have to plan it out.”

During one of the most demanding and rigorous times of the academic year, Verani —an economics major with a father born in Brazil— is one of many Washington University students who, despite having midterm and final exams stacked up against him, is excited to watch and welcome the most iconic sporting event to the WashU campus: the FIFA World Cup tournament.

“I’m here for the cup,” he said. “The World Cup hap pens once every four years. I’m in college for four years, so I’m only going to see it once and I’m going to

countries participating in the tournament, for a lot of WashU students, the tourna ment games will be more than just games. For many, they are an opportunity to return home, both literally and figuratively. WashU students are excited to be watching their country compete, all while trying to catch up on all the Organic Chemistry and Calculus III lectures they’ve missed, in preparation for both midterm and finals exams.

“I grew up in Mexico, and football is like a whole culture there,” said sophomore student Ilan Tussieh. “Essentially, you can just assume that anyone in Mexico is watching soccer and supports the national team. When the World Cup comes around, it’s a very cool time because everyone is rooting for the same team.”

A prominent supporter of Mexico soccer, Tussief has spent much of his life watch ing his native country compete

the first few games, if they make it past the first round, but we’ll see.”

“I have very mixed feelings about where the US is going into this tournament,” said junior student Matt Singer. “They have not really played all that well in about a year. There were those two friend lies that they just played in September against Japan and Saudi Arabia, and they looked absolutely dreadful. The Saudi Arabia game was especially awful. Saudi Arabia is not a team advancing out of the World Cup. I’m nervous about the US.”

But unlike Velacis and Singer, there are those who are confident in their respective countries to be able to make a deep run in the tournament, and possibly, win the whole thing.

Amsatou Mbacke is a student in the College of Arts & Sciences studying Biochemistry and African and African American Studies, and potentially minoring in French. A native of St. Louis, Mbacke spent much of her childhood living in Senegal, where her parents are from and where her love for the Senegalese men’s soccer team began.

and bagels and every thing so we can eat as we watch the games. We drink cof fee and watch together with all our [Senegalese] jerseys.”

To Mbacke, it is this togeth erness about the country of Senegal that will see the team advance far in the tournament. But even more than that, it’s Senegal’s past history in this tournament that will make the reigning champions of the African Cup of Nations a for midable opponent for other countries to face.

“We’re a good team,” she said. “But I feel like with this World Cup, this is a very big thing for Senegal, especially because of what happened in 2002. In the 2002 World Cup, we got to the quarterfi nals where we played Turkey and lost one to zero. I wasn’t even born yet. But I know that it always gets brought up in conversations whenever we’re talking about soccer and the history of soccer. Yeah, so I really hope that we can relieve the feeling we had in 2002.”

and Brazil are pretty similar in a lot of ways and I would say like a lot of other Colombian people I know are also run ning for Brazil, just because of the similarities in our culture. But also like Brazil it’s a pretty good team. And I know there’s like an inch my dad is support ing them as well, because he has a Brazil jersey.”

While a lot of people are angry about the fact that Qatar won the rights to host the World Cup, thus having it in the winter time due to the country’s hot temperatures, there are some benefits. For many WashU students, while tournament games will be played during school time, the first few games will be played during Thanksgiving break, when most people will be back home with their families.

So for the first time ever, the Thanksgiving arguments will likely not be about the current state of politics in America, but about the US possibly choking a penalty and dropping out of the tournament.

“My family and I are really into [soccer] when the World Cup comes,” said Velacis. “But I feel like most people are also really into it once the World Cup comes. So I’d say we watch a lot of football back home and whatnot. So I’m excited to go back home [for Thanksgiving and watch games with them].”

But while WashU students are excited about this year’s World Cup, they are con cerned about the Qatar human rights issue.

pressure [needs to] stays on Qatar so that when it all comes down and everyone packs up and goes home, it doesn’t fall back into slavery. That would be a real, real travesty.”

But it’s just not just WashU students. Many of the teams competing in the tournament are protesting FIFA’s decision to give the Middle Eastern country the rights to host the World Cup. In late September this year, the Denmark national team released several World Cup kits, protesting the country’s human rights violations.

The black jersey prototype is “the colour of mourning,” said Hummel, the kit manufacturer.

“While we support the Danish national team all the way, this shouldn’t be confused with support for a tournament that has cost thousands of people their lives.”

Due to not having the infrastructure to host the tour nament, the 2022 World Cup in Qatar is the most expensive FIFA tournament in the his tory of the game. The country spent around $220 billion in preparation, but are expected to only make an astonishing $4.7 billion in revenue.

But it’s more than just the human rights violations. To others like Maier, the Germany fan, Qatar should not have been awarded hosting duties due to the fact that historically speaking, the World Cup has always been in the summer.

take advantage of it.”

It is not just Verani who is ready to go all out for the World Cup games; there are others, like Parker Maier. A native of Fort Lauderdale, Florida and a Political Science major, Maier’s father is from Hamburg, Germany. And as he has done all his life since the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Maier is ready to root for the Germany national team, with or without his father.

“If I have to watch [Germany] during class and have to pull up my computer, then so be it,” said Maier. “If I have to skip a class because Germany is playing, I’m going to make that sacrifice. The World Cup is once every four years for a month. I think I can miss a class and be fine.”

After a four-year hiatus, the FIFA World Cup returns again to the global stage. This year, Qatar, a country in the Middle East, won the rights to host the tournament despite controversy regarding work ing conditions, homophobic statements, and corruption in preparation for the tour nament. But after a year of qualification efforts from countries all around the globe, 32 teams travel to Doha with hopes of winning one of sports most cherished prizes: the FIFA World Cup gold trophy. Normally, the World Cup is played in the sum mer. However, due to Qatar’s extreme heat, the tournament was moved to this winter, during a period where many college students are still in school.

With family and cul tural ties to the many

at the highest level of soccer. Watching them play in Qatar won’t be his first time.

“My earliest memory of [Mexico] is in the 2010 World Cup,” he said. “The first game they played was vs South Africa. I had school that day, but they basically canceled classes and everyone still went to school to watch the game up on a huge screen, in a huge room. It was a lot of fun, but they tied one-one. But every one went nuts when Mexico scored.”

And what a game it was. Despite the tie, Mexico con ceded one of the most iconic World Cup goals of all time. Playing in his home turf, South Africa’s winger Siphiwe Tshabalala ignited a nation and a continent with a thunderbolt in the opening game of the 2010 World Cup to send South Africans in the City Soccer Stadium into chaos in a din of vuvuzelas. It was a goal for South Africa, but in the first FIFA tournament to be hosted on the soil of Africa, it was a goal for every kid in cities and villages all over the continent.

Despite Tussieh enthusiasm and anticipation of the Mexico national team, he’s not opti mistic that the team will do well. Currently, Mexico is in Group C of the World Cup, where they will be competing with the likes of Argentina (the favorites to win it all, according EA Sports simulation), Poland, and Saudi Arabia for a spot in the knockout stage of the tournament.

“They suck,” he said. “This is probably the worst team that they have ever sent to the World Cup.”

It is not just Tussieh: many

“I definitely feel like we have a lot of potential to get out of the group stage,” said Mbacke. “We have a lot of good players like Gana Gueye who plays for Everton. And we have Koulibaly who plays for Chelsea. We have other play ers who are in like a lot of great groups and clubs in Europe.”

A native of St. Louis, Mbacke is excited to watch the first half of the games in her home city. But later in the tour nament when students leave for winter break, she’s excited to be returning back home to Senegal, where she hopes the team will still be alive late in the tournament to watch it with family and friends.

“I was born in St. Louis, Missouri,” she said. “But at the age of like 10 or 11, I went to Senegal and I went to school there. I lived there for about five or six years, and I came back to the US, junior year of high school to finish my education and go to college.”

Living in Senegal, Mbacke fell in love with her parents’ home country, but more spe cifically, she fell in love with her home country’s football community. As a young girl in Africa, Mbacke recalls many community events that were sponsored for the sake of bring ing her entire neighborhood together to support Senegal.

“Whenever I’m in Senegal, and there’s like a game, peo ple in the neighborhood that I lived in would all gather,” said Mbacke. “We would get together at someone’s house and we would drink tea or eat something and then we would watch the game together. Actually here in St. Louis, we have a Young Senegalese asso ciation. So during the African Cup of Nations for example, we like to find the time to get

The 2002 Senegal World Cup team is considered to be one of the greatest African World Cup national teams. After advancing far into the tournament, not many other countries on the continent have been able to replicate their suc cess. The only country besides Africa to advance all the way to the quarter finals is the 2010 Ghana World Cup national team that shocked the world when they nearly defeated the South American giants Uruguay.

It’s not just Mbacke with Senegal. Verani believes Brazil is flying to Qatar to take the gold trophy.

“I think the Brazilian team in any World Cup is going to have the quality to win it,” he said. “I think it has to be up to the chemistry between the players, which they didn’t have last World Cup and then has to be up to the manager being flexible, which they also didn’t have last World Cup too.”

While many WashU stu dents are supporting countries that they have a clear family or cultural connection to, oth ers are supporting countries that they have no relation to. Out of the 195 countries in the world, only 32 countries will be competing.

Ana Mena is one of those students. She is double major ing in Computer Science and Economics in the College of Arts & Sciences. A native of Charlotte, North Carolina, Mena grew up in Colombia before she moved to the US, where soccer was a huge part of her identity. But due to the fact that Colombia didn’t qual ify for this year’s World Cup tournament in Qatar, Anna is choosing to root for Brazil instead.

“Well, having lived in Colombia the first few years of my life, soccer was always like a big thing,” she said. “Like everybody’s always wearing the Columbian jersey. Colombia

Qatar was awarded the rights to host the 2010 World Cup over the United States, a decision that many believed came out of FIFA corruption. But it’s not just the corruption that went into making the 2022 World Cup the first FIFA tournament to be hosted in the Middle East: it’s the human rights violations that went into building all the stadiums that games will be played in.

The push to host the World Cup for Qatar isn’t only out of

“I am not a fan of the [human right violations],” said Maier. “I think it was ter rible that FIFA awarded Qatar the rights to host in the first place. Qatar is one of the hot test places in the world, in my understanding, and the players themselves are in danger just by being there because it is so hot. But great, you’re having the games at night so it’s not so hot. But why are we there in the first place? They have to change the time of the World Cup because it’s too hot. That’s why it’s November instead of July, which is absolutely

the love of the beautiful game. After spending years preparing for the tournament, Qatar sees the World Cup as an opportu nity to elevate its position on the global stage and boost its tourism economy.

“This World Cup I think is morally and completely rep rehensible,” said Singer. “I’ve watched and I’ve read a lot of stuff about the human rights abuses in the lead up to this. I’ve watched a couple of docu mentaries and whatnot, and it’s worse than I thought. It’s slavery in all but name. But we know why they did it. They did this because they want to grow their image to the Qatari. They want to make their country more than just this oil king dom. They want to be like one of the centers, one of the great stations on the planet. I just hope that when people in this country and around the world engage with this webcast, I hope that there’s enough cov erage of all those abuses. The

ridiculous in my opinion. They changed the time and changed the dates so that there’s a terrible Dark Deal [could take place]. It’s absolutely ridiculous.”

From people’s pre-med dreams to countries crushing out of the World Cup, there’s a lot to play for. Regardless, WashU students are excited for this opportunity to watch one of the greatest— if not the greatest— sporting events of all time on the global screen. They are excited to root for their countries and spend quality time with fam ily and friends.

“In this era of increasing division in this country, peo ple are more divided than we have been,” said Singer. “But for a month, for this period of time, it does feel really nice to just watch everyone kind of come together for something that doesn’t mat ter. But we make it matter better because we love it.”

HOLDEN HINDES | STUDENT LIFE

Amsatou Mbacke spent her childhood in Senegal and she will be supporting the Senegalese soccer team during the World Cup.

MADI HERMEYER | STUDENT LIFE

Miguel Verani will be supporting Brazil during the 2022 World Cup.

ILLUSTRATION BY TUESDAY HADDEN

Football wins last game of the regular season, snags invite to bowl game

CLARA RICHARDS MANAGING EDITOR

A new face won the first snap for WashU Football in the team’s final regular season win against Carroll University.

The tall sophomore, Clark Stephens, clapped his hands instead of usual starter Matt Rush, who was sidelined after an injury in the team’s game against Wheaton the week prior.

For the young quarterback, it was crunch time. While he had played during the last minutes of blowout games and closed out the team’s recent matchup against Wheaton, he had never started a game for the Bears. But the quarter back didn’t look intimidated against a seasoned Carroll team, throwing 295 yards for a 82.8% completion percentage.

Stephens, who has played QB2 all season, seems poised to take over the position of starting quarterback in the 2023 season.

He also carries a family legacy; his dad, Tim Stephens, played quarterback at WashU

under former head coach Larry Kindbom. His chance to get on the field on Saturday was the culmination of two seasons of waiting and learn ing from Rush’s tenacity and skill as he prepared to assume the role of the signal caller.

“It felt awesome,” he said about his first start for the Bears. “I came in sort of with the approach to lay it all out there, whether it was our last game or not, and I felt pretty good about my performance. I think I’ve always been able to play at the collegiate level and start; I just had to wait for my opportunity, and an opportu nity came.”

After winning the coin toss and deferring, WashU forced a fourth-down punt to give the Bears the chance to score. Even with movement on three consecutive first downs, the Bears were stymied by a third and three incomplete pass that bounced out of the hands of intended receiver Collin Hoyhtya on the back line of the endzone, forcing them to settle for a field goal.

WashU finally got on the

board three possessions later, when a deep slant pass found Collin Goldberg in the back of the endzone, completing a five-play, 49 yard drive. Carroll responded forty-five seconds later, but that would be the only mark they made on the board.

The Bears only built on their lead, as a fading pass to Goldberg along the sideline put the team up 16-7. One more touchdown came in with just seconds left in the first half. A faked handoff that landed in the arms of senior receiver Cole Okmin drew the linebackers downfield and allowed the team to lead 23-7 going into the half.

The second half continued the momentum for the Bears, and two more touchdowns in each quarter putting the Bears at a thirty-point advantage. It was a reassuring sign from the team’s young members, including Goldberg, Fred Ware, and Kenneth Hamilton, as they are the players who will carry this team into its next era. This weekend was Stephens’ first chance to get on

the field after practicing for a full week with the starters; his level-headedness and execu tion on Saturday gave insight into the next few steps for the team.

“I think there’s a lot more opportunity to grow and get better; get into a rhythm with the rest of the offense when you’re getting more reps,” Stephens said. “I honestly felt that this week, practic ing as the starter, whereas I’ve been practicing with the number twos for the whole season, really helped me prepare with the starters. Coming in with a game plan and that sort of thing really helped me.”

The year isn’t over yet for the Bears, who were granted a spot at the Culver’s Isthmus Bowl on Saturday, November 19. Wheaton, the second placed CCIW school, snagged an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, giving the Bears one more week of play. WashU will play the University of Wisconsin River Falls, a team that the Bears lost to 48-27.

Casey Cromwell’s holistic approach takes WashU softball into a new era

CHASE HURWITZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Varsity softball coach Casey Cromwell has been prepping for her role as a coach for her entire softball career.

“I knew I wanted to coach forever, so as a player, I ended up falling into lead ership roles...I just ended up coaching a little bit and loved giving lessons. The biggest part of that is I’m just a people person, and see ing the light bulb go off for student-athletes is contagious for me. I wanted more of it,” she said.

Casey Cromwell joined the WashU softball pro gram as the head coach this year after the departure of Michelle Venturella. She previously coached at neigh boring Fontbonne University for five years. During her time with the Griffins, Cromwell led Fontbonne to the 2022 SLIAC title and the program’s first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2015. Additionally, in 2022, the Griffins led all of Division III in double plays with .61 per game. Her role at Fontbonne was her first time as a collegiate head coach. “Fontbonne was very special and will be a very special place for giving me that trust and letting me spread my wings,” she said.

As someone who grew up with family living in St. Louis, Cromwell was always interested in WashU and its culture. “The excellence on and off the field was some thing I truly wanted to be a part of,” Cromwell said.

Cromwell’s love for soft ball was cultivated from an early age. Her father played semi professional baseball and the family had a baseball

field in their yard. Sports were included in the family dynamic from the beginning. She started with baseball but then quickly got involved in softball.

Cromwell began her collegiate playing career at Weatherford College, a junior college in Texas, where she played third base and was an all-conference and all-region selection with a .378 average, 13 doubles, 13 home runs, and 45 RBI. She played her remain ing three years at Lamar University in Texas. “When I got to college, I just wanted to make the team better in whatever way, so I started playing second base and third base.”

Even as a player, Cromwell knew she wanted to be a coach. “I’m a people person. I love seeing the small wins and the ‘aha’ moments`...Ever since I was a kid and my mom coached me in soccer, I remember learning how to speak to people to get the results I wanted. And I started seeing success with that and then [others] started seeing suc cess based on that too. I live off of that success.”

These ‘aha’ moments happen when something clicks for the student-athlete and they have a moment of sudden understanding. Cromwell emphasized that ‘aha’ moments are not just related to physical skills, but occur in all types of ways on the team. “I love the leader ship ‘aha’ moments; how to speak to one another or how to teach your teammates about team culture. Seeing those has been really cool as of late. Seeing the enjoyment and relief in those moments is a big thing.”

Coming into an already

successful program is not easy for a head coach. The team posted two wins in the postseason before a heartbreaking last game eliminated them from the NCAA tournament. Fueled by their loss in the postsea son, the team looks to go even further this year. As not to disrupt this winning culture, Cromwell made sure to get to know the girls as her first step in being the head coach.

“I wanted to make sure our student-athletes felt seen, heard, and understood.”

Senior softball player Alex Rubin discussed the enthusiasm Cromwell injects into the team. “Between her enthusiasm for getting to know us as players and people, and her passion for the game of softball, it is clear that she is more than ready to confidently lead this team into the spring season,” Rubin said.

The coach is committed to building off of the exist ing team culture that she has already enjoyed so much. “I had high expectations com ing here and WashU and the softball program has blown those out of the water. Almost every day, there is a conversation that is just more than I ever expected,” Cromwell said.

Junior Emily Talkow emphasized the mindfulness Cromwell brings.

“Her love of the sport and emphasis on a family-like culture is palpable, push ing each of us to be better every day. She encourages us to write goals for the week, where we evaluate them the following week to see what we have achieved. This intentional goal setting allows us to slow down and both see how far we’ve come

and where we want to go,” Talkow said.

Cromwell believes that open dialogue can con tinue to bond the program together. “Team culture is built within the program. We’re going to sit down and we’re going to talk about where our culture is and where we want it to go. We’re going to talk about the values and characteris tics that got us to WashU and WashU Softball. We all have to be on board together. We want the team to be a family.”

Men’s basketball loses a tight contest against Wabash, beats Webster

ARYAN KUMAR RISHI CHINIGA

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Down by three points with three seconds left on the clock, WashU had a chance to tie this game and begin the season 2-0. The ball was inbounded at the sideline to freshman Yogi Oliff. He took a dribble, stepped back, and the 3-pointer fell short as it glances off the rim.

The Washington University men’s basketball team lost the contest against Wabash College Friday eve ning. The Bears, composed largely of freshmen, fell short with a scoreline of 70-67.

The story of the game was the poor shooting displayed by both teams, as neither team was able to shoot above 30% from 3-point range, and the Bears were barely able to shoot above 60% from the free-throw line.

The game started with a jumper from freshman Will Grudzinski. This early jumper was quickly negated as Wabash would go on an 11-0 run highlighted by mul tiple turnovers by the Bears. It looked like Tuesday’s crushing defeat again, but the team would not lead the game to end this early. The Bears found themselves going on a 16-5 run, bounc ing back with a thunderous dunk by sophomore Drake Kindsvater. The run was also highlighted by field goals from freshman Yogi Oliff, senior Nate Bloedorn, and freshman Calvin Kapral.

It looked like WashU was getting into its stride on intransition points as it pushed the ball up the court fast. There was an edge of grit to this younger team. The contest remained close as the Little Giants and Bears

exchanged blows until the last five minutes, where Wabash pulled away on a 7-0 run. A first half defined by streaky runs by both teams ended with Wabash leading 37-30.

It was devastating to end the half like this, but the Bears started the second half energized, scoring the first four points and cutting the Wabash lead down to three. From there, Wabash took control as the Little Giants blossomed their lead to double digits following a pair of massive buckets from junior guard Edreece Redmond. This would be the most significant lead for Wabash, as the Bears roared back as the young under classmen tandem of Oliff and Kindsvater bringing the Bears to within one point.

Both teams traded buckets, with the Bears claiming the lead with 40 seconds left to play. Unfortunately, a layup and pair of free throws from Wabash closed the game in favor of the Little Giants.

On Tuesday, the team had a big game on the calendar in their matchup against local competitor Webster. Under head coach Pat Juckem’s leadership, the Bears had never won against the Gorlocks while playing in Webster’s home gymnasium.

But WashU overcame its curse in their 53-52 physi cal game. While the team trailed significantly in the first half, they improved their FG percentage by 8% in the second half. The gamewinning shot was a arcing three-pointer from fifth year Jacob.

The Bears have an off weekend before their fourth game of the season on Tuesday, November 22 against Millikin University.

COURTESY OF MARCIE HANISH

Cromwell warms up with her team during the team’s fall ball practice during her first WashU season.

After round 1 win, volleyball falls to Hope College, eliminated from playoffs

more scared.”

The Bears had been on the verge of loss before — those high-pressure situ ations were often when the team played their best volleyball.

It took all five sets, the final three each decided by two points, to edge out Millikin University last Thursday, securing the team’s 30th win of the season in the unde niable highlight of the women’s volleyball season. However, the No. 10 seeded Washington University squad was unable to pull off another comeback Friday, falling to No. 20 Hope College in four sets. The team was eliminated from the second round of the NCAA Division III tourna ment, a disappointing result to an otherwise successful season for the Bears.

In Thursday’s win over Millikin, the teams traded blows over five sets as nei ther team could pull ahead. The outside hitting tan dem of Michaela Bach and Jasmine Sells notched 17 and 18 kills respectively, the latter tying a career high for the sophomore. While Milikin finished with more points, assists and kills, WashU ultimately won 25-19, 19-25, 24-26, 25-23, 16-14.

Lane Bohrer recorded the final two kills on Thursday, to seal the decisive fifth set. Postgame, she spoke of the team’s improvement since last season. “Those kinds of situations are something that we have grown into a lot this year. I think that last year, [we] would have been

Friday’s match with Hope College, a liberal-arts school in Michigan, started off neck and neck. The Bears dropped a tight first set, 25-23, but came out strong to win the second 25-17.

The third set featured seven ties and three lead changes, but WashU was unable to pull out a win. The Bears could not establish a lead at any point in the fourth set, and fell 25-10.

Bohrer had another impressive game, with a sea son-high 19 kills, 9 digs, and a team-high 6 block assists.

Junior Lily Steinbach recorded 12, tying a career high, and Bach finished with 17 digs and 7 kills.

After Friday’s games, Bach was named the UAA Women’s Volleyball Most Valuable Player, the fifth-year earning a top con ference honor. When asked about Hope’s performance postgame, Bach was frank.

“I think [Hope is just a] really good team. They fought really hard in that match, and they had some really big kills that took the momentum away from us. I think we really tried to bat tle as hard as we could, but they just pushed harder.”

Bach spoke to the media after Friday’s match, along with Coach Walby, Gurbach and Bohrer. Bach, along with Abby Li, played their final games for the Bears on Friday, capping off impressive five-year tenures with the Bears. The team also has four graduating seniors: Bohrer, Gurbach, defensive specialist Amanda Gild and outside hitter Julie Keener.

When asked to reflect on

her experience coaching this season, Walby expressed how proud she was of the team’s turnaround, improv ing from an 18-9 record last year to finish this season at an impressive 30-6.

“Last year was a tough year for us.” Walby said in the post game press conference. “But there are a lot of young players that we have on our team [who have shown] a lot of growth mentality-wise and strength-wise. I think we’ve always been a really tight team…and I’m proud of our leadership, our upper classmen, our seniors and our fifth-years. [They] have really helped our under classmen learn…how to be mentally tough and how to rise to the occasion.”

While the Bears will need to find replacements for departing seniors, the team does have a number of impressive underclassmen. Sam Buckley was named AVCA National Freshman of the Year.

“Sam works so hard and diligently each day to put her teammates in a suc cessful position. She has worked to be a sponge all year and has adapted to our system and style and truly wants to learn and grow to be the best for her team,” Walby said in an athletic department press statement.

Middle Zoe Foster and Sells also are likely to con tribute for years to come. Friday’s loss may end the 2022 season, but with a strong young core and the continued guidance of Walby and Selle, the future of WashU volleyball looks poised for a confident return in 2023.

Women’s Soccer fly past first two rounds in NCAA championship, advance to sweet 16

KOKINOS STAFF WRITER

Last weekend, the WashU women’s soccer team won both matches in their first two rounds of the DIII NCAA Championship, prevailing past St. Catherine University in the first round and Wartburg College in the round of 32. In doing so, they now look ahead to a clash with UAA for Carnegie Mellon in the Sweet 16.

In the game against St. Catherine’s, WashU had a phenomenal start to the game and their postseason run, evident by a goal within the first 10 minutes. Right before the clock struck double dig its, seniors Riley Alvarez and Maggie Brett connected after Brett played a perfect pass into the feet of Alvarez, who fin ished confidently, putting the Bears in the lead. In the 26th minute, Sofia Campbell netted for St. Catherine to equalize the game thanks to Amanda Elton’s assistance. The game ended in a draw, 1-1, but due to

the playoff format, extra time followed. If nothing occurred, then penalties would deter mine a winner.

However, WashU made sure that penalties were not an option and won the game at the very end of the overtime.

First-year Grace Ehlert scored a header on a cross from a free kick taken by Jess Greven with under three minutes left in the second overtime to break the deadlock and give WashU a 2-1 lead they would hold onto until the final whistle blew.

Moving onto Wartburg in the round of 32, the women needed victory to sustain their playoff run when a loss would send them home early. But, again, the Bears ensured that winning was the only possible outcome, leaving Wartburg with a 3-1 victory.

Following her eleventh goal on the season, senior Maggie Brett gave the Bears the lead just under 20 min utes into the game. Despite this, Wartburg would claw themselves back into action with a strike from Gabby

Corday to equalize the game just under 15 minutes later. Despite these two first-half goals, sophomore Meryl McKenna scored the ulti mate winning goal just 5 minutes after Wartburg had equalized.

Going into the second half, the Bears led 2-1, hop ing for a third goal to push them further out in front. And the goal came by way of Brett, fully shutting down Wartburg’s hopes of a comeback.

Following the games, Head Coach Jim Conlon noted that the team battled all weekend. “They are play ing to each other,” he said.

“They play hard regardless of what we’re asking them to do on the field. They’re fueled by having another opportunity to play with each other.”

With a Sweet 16 matchup looming against Carnegie Mellon this weekend, the Bears will look to keep the momentum going as they vie for the DIII Championship.

ELIAS

CLARA RICHARDS | STUDENT LIFE Sid Conner drop kicks the ball in the team’s home game against Carnegie Mellon.