Students from LA County grapple with wildfire devastation back home
have scorched parts of the city they call home.
As students settle into the spring semester, many WashU community members are thinking about their families 2,000 miles away, in and around Los Angeles, where a series of devastating wildfires
“It was apocalyptic” University community remains skeptical about recent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas
In an address last week, former President Joe Biden announced a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, which includes an exchange of hostages held by Hamas for Palestinians currently imprisoned in Israel, and an increase in humanitarian aid in Gaza. The deal went into effect on Sunday Jan. 19, and at the time of publication the first few hostages have been exchanged.
Jewish student club leaders, some Palestinian students, and other club leaders celebrated the ceasefire because it guarantees that Gazans will receive increased aid and that the Israeli hostages will be returned. Despite the landmark deal, students acknowledge the irreversible grief and harm already caused to many in the region.
The deal comes 15 months after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing around 1,200 people and taking 250 hostage. Since then, Israel has carried out a ground and air assault on the Gaza strip, killing more than 45,000 Palestinians.
The deal came at the end of former President Biden’s administration, only days before President Trump was sworn in.
Sophomore Huda Abdesumad, who is Palestinian, felt both angry and hopeful about the ceasefire. She said that while it presents a moment of relief for Palestinians, it does not thoroughly address the systemic injustices faced by Palestinians on a daily basis.
“Every ceasefire feels like a brief pause in a cycle of oppression, where the world turns its attention away, and the voices of those on the ground are again silenced,” Abdesumade wrote in an email to Student Life.
In a written statement to Student Life, senior Basma Daham, President of the Middle Eastern and North African Student Association (MENAA), described the ceasefire as “a critical yet
Eight wildfires have affected LA in the past couple of weeks, with the two largest wildfires, Palisades and Eaton, remaining active today. The fires have caused catastrophic destruction in the city: more than 40,000 acres burned, over 15,000 structures destroyed, almost 200,000 people under evacuation orders at one point, and at
least 27 lives lost. According to Ryan Croft, the Associate University Registrar, 2.4% of WashU’s undergraduate and graduate student body is “associated with the LA area.”
Senior Sara Goldstein, who is from West Hills, remembers walking through Topanga with a friend who had come to visit and looking at her favorite shops and cafes the day before the fires started.
fragile step” toward peace.
“A ceasefire is a temporary pause on a deeper, ongoing crisis — merely a bandaid on a gaping wound,” the group wrote.
The Muslim Student Association (MSA) executive board wrote that they hope the ceasefire is implemented quickly. Their statement also highlighted the number of Palestinian deaths since the deal’s announcement.
“As of Friday morning, Israeli attacks have led to the deaths of 115 Palestinians and the injury of 265 in the Gaza Strip despite the announcement of the ceasefire,”
return of all hostages is a powerful step forward,” Porth wrote. “I am waiting with bated breath for the moment when every hostage is finally home, the fighting ceases, and we can begin to work towards lasting peace for all.”
Hillel Rabbi Jordan Gerson said that Hillel is “cautiously optimistic” about the deal because it could lead to the end of the violent conflict between Israel and Hamas, and perhaps lasting peace.
Junior and JSA president Noam Karger expressed a similar sentiment to Gerson, and said that among the Jewish students he is close with,
“I feel like it’s smoke and mirrors.”
their statement read. “We pray that the ceasefire is implemented swiftly and that room is made for muchneeded humanitarian aid to get to Gazans. We will never stop advocating for a liberated Palestine.”
In a written statement to Student Life, senior Rayna Auerbach, President of the WashU Israel Public Affairs Committee (WIPAC), wrote that she views the deal as a “glimmer of hope” that all of the hostages will be returned to Israel, while acknowledging how tenuous aspects of the deal, including the hostage for prisoner exchanges, are.
For sophomore Jonah Porth, who serves as the Outreach Chair for the Jewish Student Association (JSA), the deal is a potential indication that the families of hostages will be reunited.
“The possibility of peace and the
they are feeling hopeful and hesitant about the deal — in part because past ceasefire deals have fallen apart.
“We have become trained to not really get confident about it until it’s really happening, because we’ve been disappointed before, and we thought [that there were going to be] hostage deals, and then there weren’t,” Karger said in an interview before the first hostages were released.
Karger said that the delicate nature of the deal has left the Jewish community on campus in a state of emotional limbo that will last until the final hostage is returned.
“I think that the next few weeks are going to be tense for Jewish students who are following this, because it’s so important to so many of them, and it’s so delicate,” Karger said.
“We walked around and saw the different community events, and just had the loveliest day together,” Goldstein said.
“Nothing has been confirmed, but I’m pretty sure it’s all gone now.
So that was tough to be saying goodbye, but not even knowing I was saying goodbye.”
WashU has been working on plans to develop athletic facilities on nearby Concordia Seminary land for the past year. The University recently withdrew their request for zoning permits and will now evaluate other potential options which could include submitting a new proposal for an overlay district and developing the land under current zoning guidelines.
The proposed overlay district, which met resistance from some Clayton residents due to concerns over increased traffic and noise, would have allowed construction to occur outside of the existing zoning laws that currently govern the Concordia land.
On Jan. 8, WashU sent a letter to the Clayton Board of Alderman asking for a withdrawal of their current request, and the next day, Concordia Seminary followed suit. On Jan. 14, the Board of Alderman unanimously agreed to withdraw WashU and Concordia’s current zoning request.
The two institutions’ previous proposal would have led to the construction of a fieldhouse, softball and baseball fields, a soccer field, a gym building, and tennis courts. The facility also would have been home to WashU’s varsity baseball and softball teams, and would have seen use from intramural and club sports.
He described waking up every day, donning his kippah and hostage tag, and saying three additional prayers: one for the state of Israel, one for IDF soldiers, and one for any remaining Israeli hostages.
Karger said that he did not want to speculate if the deal would last, but that because of Hamas’ past actions, he believes that a ceasefire deal is unlikely to last indefinitely.
Multiple people declined to provide comment for this article, including Student Union (SU) president Hussein Amuri, Chancellor Andrew Martin, and Dean of Students Rob Wild.
Professor Nancy Reynolds, who studies the history of the Middle East, and Professor Ayala Hendin, who is currently working on a research project about Oct. 7, also declined to comment.
Junior Samira Saleh, who is Palestinian, said that the ceasefire has not changed her views on Trump or Biden, both of whom she believes have taken pro-Israel stances on the Israel-Hamas War.
“I can’t confidently say that the Biden administration’s efforts amidst this conflict have rectified any conflict, and [they] have caused a lot of what I would consider permanent damage to [the Palestinian community],” Saleh said.
She was initially surprised by the deal announcing that military action would pause in the region. While she believes the ceasefire is a step in the right direction, she remains doubtful that all the deal’s promises will be fulfilled and is not sure how it will impact Palestinians who have had their homes destroyed.
“I would say I feel like it’s smoke and mirrors,” she said.
Despite the ambiguity surrounding aspects of the deal Abdesumad views this ceasefire as a stepping stone. Noting that peace means more than just the absence of war.
“Ceasefires should not mark the end of the conversation, but the beginning of a global reckoning with the need for justice,” she wrote.
In a statement to Student Life on behalf of WashU, Erika Ebsworth-Goold, Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives, wrote that the University listened to many different stakeholders in the project — including Concorida Seminary, Clayton residents, and city officials — when making their decision.
“The project sought to plan for WashU and Concordia’s longterm futures, while supporting and protecting our surrounding community,” she wrote in her statement. “After careful consideration, we believe the current overlay version is not feasible to meet the primary objectives of this effort. We will continue to evaluate our future options.”
Concordia President Tom Egger spoke and responded to comments at a Jan. 14 meeting regarding the seminary’s plans to withdraw their current request.
“The situation has evolved … especially because WashU’s posture on this has evolved our sense of the path forward,” he said. “We now need time to regroup, think, and I can say, in all honesty, [that] there is no behind-the-scenes shared understanding of exactly what we’re angling for.”
In a written Request for Board Action at the Jan. 14 meeting, Clayton City Manager David Gipson and Anna Krane, Director of Planning and Development Services for the City of Clayton, wrote that given the specifics of the overlay, the Board should vote to approve WashU’s request because of “the lack of desire on the part of WashU to move forward at this point in time.”
At the Jan. 14 meeting, Mayor Michelle Harris said that WashU and Concordia’s decision to evaluate the project does not stop the institutions from pursuing future development.
View of the Palisades fire from the Sepulveda Pass in West LA on Jan. 8.
PHOTO COURTESY OF ASHER SCHWARTZ
LEWIS RAND MANAGING SPORTS EDITOR
WashU School of Law hosts discussion on controversies of the current conservative Supreme Court
Researcher Linda Greenhouse, Professor Greg Magarian, and Bill Freivogel — publisher of the Gateway Journalism Review — sat down for a discussion on Jan. 15 regarding the United States Supreme Court’s declining reputation among many Americans.
The Bryan Cave Moot Courtroom was packed full of students and St. Louis residents. The discussion tackled a wide array of topics, including the fallout from the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization and current Supreme Court cases.
Greenhouse, a Yale Law School Senior Research Scholar and former New York Times reporter, began her address to the attendees by highlighting a concern she felt about the potential consequences of
WILDFIRES
from page 1
When the Kenneth Fire broke out near the west side of the Topanga valley, close to Goldstein’s house, she was driving home and saw at least six fire trucks driving down her street.
“I got home and I immediately packed everything,” she said. “I helped my devastated 17-year-old sister pack her belongings, which was just really hard.”
Right as her family was leaving, with their belongings packed into their car, they got an evacuation notice. Goldstein and her family rushed to pick up her grandfather, who just had surgery, from the hospital. They were figuring out where to go when they received another notification saying that the original evacuation alert was a mistake.
“There were two sections of West Hills. Half of it was told to evacuate. Half of it, where I live, was told to stay,” she said. “We stayed in the house, but were very cautious, really kept our eyes on the maps.”
First-year Evan Guyer’s family chose to evacuate their Pasadena home due to its proximity to the Eaton Fire and the heavy smoke nearby, though they were not under a
the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs.
“In order to erase the constitutional right to an abortion, the Supreme Court not only had to overturn 50 years of precedent [in Roe v. Wade], but 30 years of precedent [in Planned Parenthood v. Casey],” Greenhouse said.
Despite this concern, Greenhouse said that the Court’s overruling of cases like Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey did not make past precedent entirely meaningless.
“If the Supreme Court can overturn a decision that had been affirmed some 20 times, does precedent still matter?” said Greenhouse. “My answer to that question is still yes.”
While Greenhouse did feel that precedent was still a factor in how the Supreme Court determined a case, citing numerous decisions that
are still relied on as precedent, she highlighted the recent change in the Supreme Court’s handling of precedent.
“I could list some Supreme Court decisions that have, sometimes for the better, overturned former precedent,” Greenhouse said.
“Normally, this is [only] once or twice per term.”
Greenhouse added that the recent Supreme Court trend is unique because it has been overturning previous rulings by the court, not rulings made by lower courts.
“What Dobbs challenges is horizontal stare decisis, that is, the Supreme Court’s own precedent,” Greenhouse said.
mandatory evacuation order.
He said watching the fires grow larger from afar was difficult.
“It’s kind of a terrible feeling waking up every morning to check the fire progress maps to see if my house had burned down, especially when there were houses burning less than two miles from my house,” he said.
Senior Katrina Sorochinsky whose parents are from Malibu and Pacific Palisades, said that she had to evacuate her home, along with many of her family members and friends, which caused them significant stress.
“It was apocalyptic in Malibu and around that area, and [my family and I] were bickering and picking fights with each other because we’re all in just these heightened states,” she said. “You turn inward or turn outward at the people you love, because they are your support system. They’re not going anywhere.” she said.
While the fires have been extremely stressful for Sorochinsky, she has also become somewhat numb to their presence in the LA area.
“Fires are not new to me,” she said. “I’ve had other childhood homes burned down
Magarian, a WashU Professor of Law, said that it would be hard to predict how the court may rule next because of disregard for recent precedent. Magarian said that interpretation of many sections of the Constitution could become more conservative.
from [them]. Two weeks prior to the Palisades Fire, my mom’s house almost burned down from another fire.”
Senior Asher Schwartz is from West LA, in a hilly and fire-prone area. While his immediate family did not have to evacuate, members of his extended family and many friends who live nearby lost their homes. Like Sorochinsky, Shwartz had previously been affected by wildfires, including in 2017 when two houses on his street burned down in the Skirball Fire.
“When we evacuated [in 2017], we thought that would be the last time we would see our home, and we were out of it for a while because of smoke and other damage,” he said.
Schwartz said that his family is often on high alert about the risk of wildfires in the area.
“Whenever the Santa Ana winds get particularly bad, I can visibly see how it affects my parents. Everyone gets extra ready,” he said. “For us to see the evacuation notices, and hear about it from people — it’s definitely a very familiar feeling I guess, but that doesn’t make it any less scary.”
Schwartz said that his family has spent a lot of time on the
“The court is now on record saying the way to read constitutionality is in text, history, and tradition. Is First Amendment law going to stay the same as it has for the past 100 years, or will it be reviewed
under text, history, and tradition?” Magarian said. “I don’t know the answer, but I do know the [conservative-leaning] court has the votes to do whatever they want.”
Magarian called this practice — changing interpretations of the
Watch Duty fire-tracking app and watching local news for evacuation updates.
“Especially in the thick of it, most nights we would stay up late all together, all in the same room, bags packed, just kind of watching the news and hoping [the fires] wouldn’t get worse or any closer to us,” he said.
One of the major issues Schwartz identified within his community was a lack of insurance coverage. According to a CBS article published this week, State Farm, Allstate, Farmers Insurance, and other private insurers dropped thousands of policies in LA neighborhoods in fire-prone areas in July.
Schwartz said that his family lost their fire insurance a couple years ago. They are now on a plan provided by the California state government, but many people in the state just don’t have access to the coverage they need.
Meanwhile, other LA residents and people across the country have found ways to help those who have lost everything. Guyer said he was grateful that he was able to help his younger sister distribute donations to individuals who had lost their homes in
the fires.
“Eventually, when we got all [these donations] from the community, we ended up putting them in this storefront so that people could come and take the donated clothes. It was really amazing,” he said.
Coming back to school, Schwartz felt supported by the WashU community. On Jan. 8, the administration sent an email to Southern California students, offering support and encouraging them to utilize WashU’s counseling and psychological services if they needed mental health support.
“For me, the most supportive thing that [WashU] can do is to be [here] and be the experience that I know and love,” Schwartz said. “I’m sure that everyone appreciated seeing some kind of communication making sure that students were all ok.”
For some of his friends from LA who were more severely impacted by the fires, Schwartz said that he could see how returning to school would be challenging.
“They know that their parents would want them to go back to school and not have to worry about whatever’s going on at home, but I definitely
think for people who are in a more unfortunate situation … it’s for sure a very stressful experience to not be there with their parents,” Schwartz said. For Goldstein, the magnitude of the fires was difficult on both a personal and political level.
“I have a number of friends that have completely lost their homes,” she said. “I will say, on a much, much broader scale, I care really deeply about all of these huge climate change issues, and this is just another one of those natural disasters that we’re seeing as a result of climate change.”
Sorochinsky emphasized that because the fires are directly related to climate change and environmental destruction, more are likely to ignite in the LA area in the near future.
“Just because some of the fires are contained now doesn’t mean that more aren’t going to start,” she said. “Winds are going to pick up again this upcoming week, and they’re shutting off power again in Malibu. So this is not the end of fires. This is not the end of environmental devastation at the hands of humans.”
Linda Greenhouse addresses the audience at a discussion about changing American opinions on the Supreme Court.
ALAN KNIGHT | MULTIMEDIA EDITOR
JACE SLONE STAFF WRITER
TikTok on the clock: WashU reckons with TikTok ban
As the spring semester kicked off, WashU students found themselves juggling the usual stressors: starting new classes, joining clubs and organizations, and securing that elusive summer internship. However, this year brought an unexpected source of anxiety — the impending TikTok ban, which was set to take effect on Jan. 19, just one day before President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
The TikTok controversy began in August 2020 after Trump issued an executive order banning U.S. companies from doing business with TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance. Soon after, he ordered ByteDance to divest from TikTok’s U.S. operations. The demands were later dropped after former President Joe Biden’s election. In March 2024, a bill to ban TikTok or force its sale gained traction, passing through Congress and receiving Biden’s approval. On Dec. 27, 2024 Trump asked the Supreme Court to pause the ban for a “political resolution,” but they voted to move forward regardless.
For many, the first week back in classes became a race against the clock to prepare for the potential loss of the app that had become a cultural cornerstone. Top creators like lifestyle influencer Alix Earle and beauty guru James Charles took to livestreams in emotional farewells, while others, such as the once-popular entrepreneur Sienna Mae, used the moment to revisit and air out past TikTok controversies.
Students frantically downloaded their favorite videos, filled their camera rolls, and posted content with abandon — because, in their eyes, there was nothing left to lose. During this week of uncertainty, WashU students expressed mixed emotions about the looming ban.
Senior Sydney Henderson had conflicting views on the ban — she was disappointed to let the app go, as TikTok served as her “primary source of entertainment and news.” However, “it would probably be good for me to be on TikTok less,” she said. She noted the challenge of adapting, explaining, “I feel like I’ll have to go seek out news more on my own without the app.”
First-year Sam Fox student Lucia Thomas expressed frustration over TikTok’s removal, explaining its importance beyond entertainment. For Thomas, the app was integral to promoting her small business, which specializes in personalized pet portraits.
“TikTok is my main way of
advertising my artwork and getting people on my waitlist,” Thomas said. “It’s not the end of the world — losing TikTok — because, obviously, there are other platforms I can advertise on, but TikTok is where I started and where I have my largest following. This is how I make money in college, but I can’t imagine how hard this must be for people whose entire livelihood depends on the app.”
On Jan. 17, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the federal law banning TikTok, ruling that the national security risks posed by the app’s ties to China outweighed concerns about free speech. When it came to the topic of national security, students were candid, expressing largely unbothered opinions about data privacy and the ownership of TikTok.
“Ever since I’ve been on social media, I’ve never been under any delusions that my data is private,” Henderson said. “I do hear the security argument, but it seems more to me that the U.S. government doesn’t like the free speech and lack of censorship that occurs on the app. I know Meta has given entities in China and Russia our data, so I feel like China having access to data through my using the app doesn’t really make a difference. If anything, it’s undercutting Mark Zuckerberg.”
Others echoed Henderson’s indifferent attitude regarding the app’s controversy with surveillance and user privacy.
“I have never thought about who owns TikTok for a day in my life,” said senior Eli Perlin.
The evening of Jan. 18, a notification popped up on American TikTok screens that read: “A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now. We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office.”
In response to the ban, some users were considering joining a new platform similar to TikTok, even if it were under foreign ownership.
“If they put something out there that’s the same thing but a new version, honestly, why not?” Perlin said.
First-year Marshall Fisher shared his brief experience with Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote, a Chinese social media app that had its sudden claim to fame as the star replacement for TikTok.
“I read that a bunch of people were switching, so I downloaded it to check it out. But it definitely didn’t have the same vibe,” Fisher said. “Maybe I’d consider
downloading another TikTok alternative if it gained enough traction.
Associate Professor of Political Science Sunita Parikh teaches the class “The Politics of Privacy in the Digital Age.” She explained that the U.S. government holds foreign firms to different standards than American-owned companies.
“Foreign firms are just treated differently,” Parikh said. “In the case of TikTok, the fact that it is Chineseowned means that it is subject to scrutiny based on China’s status as a ‘foreign adversary.’ This is consistent with longstanding telecommunications law dating back to the early 1900s. When Rupert Murdoch wanted to buy regulated media, he became a U.S. citizen.”
To the surprise of many students, TikTok began restoring its service to users less than a day after its temporary shutdown on Saturday evening. The company announced on Sunday that it was in the process of reinstating access after Trump pledged to pause the ban through an executive order on his first day in office.
“We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive,” TikTok said in a statement posted to X. “It’s a strong stand for the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship. We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States.”
Following the return of the app just one day later, Perlin said the situation felt increasingly “political” and “gimmicky,” citing TikTok’s direct acknowledgment of Trump in its statement.
“I think the weirdest part is just the overtness of it,” Perlin said. “It’s bizarre to see them literally thank a politician in a direct notification when there has been no change in policy.”
Henderson also expressed unease at the swift reversal of the app’s ban. “Given how popular and widely-used TikTok is, I assumed the ban would be temporary, but I didn’t expect it to make a comeback this quickly,” she said. “I do think both that mes sage and the one that popped up last night about the ban were odd in how they seemed to be trying to flatter Trump. But appealing to his ego is probably a smart move on TikTok’s end.”
The rapid reinstatement of TikTok, coupled with the polit ical maneuvering surrounding
its ban, highlights the complex intersection of technology, free speech, and government regulation in the digital age. For WashU students, the brief uncertainty surrounding the app served as a reminder of how deeply platforms like TikTok are ingrained in daily life — not just as a source of entertainment but as a tool for connection, creativity, and commerce.
As the dust settles, questions about data privacy, censorship, and the role of social media in shaping culture remain. For now, though, the familiar scrolling resumes, leaving many to wonder: How long will the reprieve last, and what does the future hold for TikTok in America?
The Crisis of American Christianity
Journalist and Author
Tim
Alberta
FEB 5, 2025
7:00 – 8:30 PM Graham Chapel Washington University in St. Louis Register at rap.wustl.edu
JAIME HEBEL | HEAD OF ILLUSTRATION
BONNIE & GARY
At WashU in the world of 1963, Bonnie Holland was the “cute girl from Chicago” who Gary Arlen had met at a party the first week of college. She was smart, full of character, and had a dazzling smile. When they had class together their sophomore year, he approached her in what he described as “love at almost first sight.”
“How do you describe love to anybody? You just have a feeling,” Gary said. “Frankly, I thought she was too good for me.”
An aspiring journalist and a 19-year-old kid who had yet to take life seriously, Gary had handed her his business card (“I’m doing some investigative reporting about you,” he had said). Sure, it was a stupid line, he admitted, laughing. But somehow, it worked.
Their first date, they went sledding on the hill between the South 40 and Fontbonne University (“Happy sledding!” he would later carve into her engagement ring). They
ate in Bear’s Den together, hung out in their dorms (which have since been torn down), and bonded over the paintings that hung on the walls of Olin Library (now shown in Kemper).
“We fell in love at the same time we were falling in love with a lot of other things about our life,” Gary said.
Bonnie held an intense passion for art, and Gary for journalism. She put up with his crazy hours as Editor-in-Chief of Student Life, and opened him to the color of a world she saw through artist eyes.
The pair began dating as sophomores, started falling in love as juniors, and by the time they were seniors, Gary knew she was worth following after graduation.
By the time they got to Chicago — where Bonnie worked at the Art Institute of Chicago and Gary attended Northwestern University’s journalism school — he was sure they would get married. Both of them were curious, independent, and eager to put themselves in the “right place at the right
time.” Together as a married couple, they moved to Washington D.C., where they have lived ever since.
Bonnie and Gary were both eldest children — and they lived up to the stereotypes. They were each steadfast and stubborn, which in marriage meant some real “groundbusters,” Gary said, laughing.
“She was definitely a free spirit, and sometimes she was frustrated that I was a little too buttonedup,” Gary said.
Early in his career, Gary worked for many a “suit and tie place,” including the American Film Institute, where the couple met celebrities like Betty Davis and Lucille Ball. He opened Bonnie’s world to the fast-paced realm of media, and she helped slow him down by taking him to art galleries, many of which held her own exhibitions, even when he thought he was too busy. Together, they threw themselves into their passions — Bonnie would stay up until the early morning engrossed in her art, and Gary decided to kickstart
his own communications company.
“[Setting up my own company] meant we didn’t have as much money as some people did, but we had enough to live on, and we lived well enough. The nice part is, she put up with me,” Gary said. “That’s how we grew up together — just very motivated and admiring what each other did.”
Today Gary sits in a house in DC that is scattered with Bonnie’s paintings, silk screen prints, and sculptures. Their son, Benjamin, lives in California. Bonnie and Gary visited WashU a couple times together after graduation — the first for their 25th alumni reunion, and the second for their 50th. This October, Gary came on his own.
Bonnie died the day before their 50th wedding anniversary in 2018. Gary has visited her grave every year since, excluding 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It doesn’t get easy, but it gets easier over the years,” Gary said. “[In October], I noticed that I
“Perverts”
On her new EP, “Perverts,” artist Ethel Cain leaves behind the cannibalized character from her debut album and ventures into themes of eroticism and pleasure with a new, darker sound.
The one-hour and 15-minute sonic story of Cain’s debut studio album, “Preacher’s Daughter,” is renowned by critics and indie pop/rock fans alike, beloved for the album’s epic, lengthy ballads of escape, love, and longing. The album is conceptual, meaning the stories are mostly fictional, but they draw inspiration from the singer’s personal life. With the presumed death of her character in the album’s last song, “Strangers,” it was unclear what the artist behind the persona — Hayden Anhedönia — would do next.
The album’s successor, “Perverts,” was released on Jan. 8, 2025. In this EP, Cain experiments with a new musical direction through her use of drone music — a genre with sustained tones used to create ambient soundscapes. Although described by many social media users as “inaccessible” and “scary,” Cain explained on her Tumblr that the intention behind the nine-song EP was not to scare listeners, but to merely express feelings of eroticism.
I will admit that I went into my first listen of “Perverts” without ever hearing drone music before, and did not quite anticipate it to be my style. As a self-proclaimed enjoyer of music no matter the genre, I was still optimistic that the foreign sound would pleasantly surprise me.
was still emotional about being at her grave site, but I felt a little less awful than I felt last year and the year before that. It reminds me of all the times we had together.”
Walking around campus a few months ago, memories of what it used to be like came in waves.
“I’m so grateful I went to WashU, because I got a great education and I met Bonnie,” Gary said. “The whole experience was great, but meeting Bonnie just changed my life.”
Coming back to campus, he saw how much more diverse the student body is, and how different the technology and architecture are from when he was in college. A lot has changed — but not everything.
“I’ve lived in a world that was always changing, and I like that,” Gary said. “So the fact that students still can meet each other, fall in love, and spend a life together is sort of rewarding — to know some things are the same.”
successfully drones on
a Christian hymn, “Nearer, My God, to Thee.” The vocal effects on this hymn create a hauntingly beautiful sound, as if twin dolls were singing in the climax of a horror movie. While the first minute of the song is fascinating, the remaining 11 minutes are filled with drone sounds and faint lyrics that are too dull to be unique and too monotonous to be interesting.
A clear highlight of the EP is the second song, “Punish,” previously released on Nov. 1, 2024 as the project’s lead single. A more melodic and lyrical track, the song is a standout of the EP. With the repeated line, “I am punished by love,” and the emotive electric guitar chords after the second verse, the song makes me want to lie on the floor, stare at the ceiling, and let into my mind all the beautiful anguish that the song inflicts.
The drone sound comes back for track three, “Houseofpsychoticwomn,” in a repeated, swelling pattern of sirens, wind, and a sound akin to a dog barking. Although this song has minimal melodic and lyrical moments, the instrumentals are more varied and interesting compared to the title track. The next song, “Vacillator,” is a simple and pretty song guided mainly by its bare drums, with honest, impactful lyrics such as “If you love me, keep it to yourself” and “You won’t lose me to thunder or lightning, but you could to crowded rooms.”
For the last 10 minutes of the 15-minute long sixth track, “Pulldrone,” the boring drone sound recurs — this time like a razor or distant lawn-mower, buzzing on and on until the song finally concludes.
“Perverts,” both the title of the project and its opening track, directly announces to listeners the music’s main theme: perversion. The titular track opens with Cain’s slightly distorted voice singing part of
It is when listening to songs like “Pulldrone” that I understand other listeners’ aversion to the EP, although I don’t feel the same. Instead of horror or apprehension, I am more confused by the sonic choices. The
songs from “Perverts” rarely incorporate elements that follow traditional pop or rock norms, so each song surprises me and leaves me with many questions when listening. Will Cain start singing again? Is this annoying white noise ever going to end? What could the song possibly need 10 more minutes for?
“Amber Waves” is one of the few songs for which I do not have any complaints. The lyrics about addiction are selfcontained and heartbreaking, with heavy hitters such as “Is it not fun to feel many other ways?” After her beautiful melodies, Cain lets her drone sound rightfully stand alone for the last few minutes — this being one of the few times it adds something good to a song. I do think Cain is successful in what she set out to do — to make a drone project consisting of unrelated stories connected by their sound and themes. “I just really like drone music and wanted to make some,” she said on Tumblr. Ultimately, I appreciated the chance to be introduced to the genre of drone music, but I cannot say I liked “Perverts” very much. The project did not deliver the emotion and timid power that I knew and expected from “Preacher’s Daughter,” save the standouts “Punish” and “Amber Waves.” It’s hard not to be hyperaware of the length of each song, as much of the sound within them feels static, making listeners wait and wait to hear something engaging. However, I would still recommend giving the EP, and drone music, a chance — it is always worthwhile to listen to a new type of music. Although if, after the first four songs, you aren’t feeling the drone sound, like me, you can skip to “Amber Waves” and save yourself from the monotonous droning of the remaining 30 or so minutes.
NINA GIRALDO EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
ELIJAH LECKERMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
JAIME HEBEL | HEAD OF ILLUSTRATION
(left) Bonnie and Gary on Francis Field during their senior year, 1967. (below) Bonnie and Gary at a wedding reception in 2013. Bonnie is wearing an outfit decorated with one of her hand-painted silks.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF GARY ARLEN
LETTER
A new campus political culture requires trust, and trust must be earned
Few political topics in the U.S. have received more paragraphs, more op-eds, and more Substack articles than the need for people to just listen to each other more. As Donald Trump has just taken office, the need for more thoughtful political discussion between those who disagree feels less like a “need” and more like a painful hunger for something whose taste we might still hold in half-remembered scraps, but is on the verge of being forgotten entirely.
Sophomore Eliza Stulman explored the idea in her Student Life op-ed last week, “It’s time for a change in campus political culture,” where she talked about a school trip to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in 2023. She describes how, “While it was one of the most frightening moments of my life, I relished the opportunity to finally hear people share ideologies that could not be further from my own.” That opening to her article was deeply relatable to me. Based on the recent influx of Student Life pieces on listening to those with different opinions — in September, November,
December, and another article besides Stulman’s last week — I am not alone.
I consume a lot of conservative media. Sometimes, I feel like I might have a problem when the first YouTube channel I go to after a significant news event is The Daily Wire, where I scavenge for whatever sick morsels Ben Shapiro has left for me to inhale without even chewing. I love the megachurch satellite TV channels I get in my apartment, the ones where you sometimes can’t be sure if you’re watching a sermon or a political rally or an infomercial; sometimes, it’s all three.
I grew up in a fairly conservative Christian household, which meant my entire political world was narrow for much of my early childhood. My parents would often turn on conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh’s show during car rides when I was younger, so I quickly became familiar with how Obamacare was on track to destroy the economy and also probably the universe as we knew it within a year or two. I guess that’s part of why my media diet still includes so many ultra-conservative commentators and influencers: Despite my own rejection of nearly every argument
PUZZLE PUZZLE Mania
they make, something about it feels familiar. Not quite pleasant, but navigable in a way that the rest of the world sometimes feels too confusing for.
I reached roughly the halfway point in Stulman’s article on WashU’s political culture, where she begins talking about a trend where fewer people want to date or marry someone from a different political party — a trend that exists both at WashU and across the U.S. Stulman calls this a “frightening precedent” that sorts the world into “good” and “bad” categories, preemptively shutting down the possibility for even a minor conversation.
I’m skipping over quite a few paragraphs here in talking about Stulman’s article, which is worth reading in full to appreciate her perspective. I share her interest in promoting healthy and inclusive dialogue on campus, and she closes her article with a charge for us to “become comfortable in the uncomfortable,” which would be as impactful even without the fullness of her other arguments behind it. But I am struggling to agree with Stulman’s claim that when two people are discussing their political disagreements, “The issue
only emerges the second someone becomes defensive and puts their guard up.” Defensiveness can certainly create some issues, but there is a big difference between defensiveness against basic discomfort and defensiveness against fundamentally exclusionary politics whose victory comes by simply being given conversational legitimacy.
What I was consistently reminded of was the idea that creating an inclusive, multi-opinionated community might require us to be actively unwelcome to those who don’t welcome others.
The all-too-familiar “paradox of intolerance,” which has itself been the subject of plenty of op-eds in the last decade: Philosopher Karl Popper’s suggestion that “We must therefore claim, in the name of tolerance, the right not to tolerate intolerance.” Intolerance toward various social groups has been a major theme of Donald Trump’s politics since he starting talking about the wall on the U.S.Mexico border in his 2015 campaign announcement speech, and many in the Republican party have been happy to double down on rhetoric that works to alienate and scapegoat whoever seems like an easy target.
If someone happens to have radically different ideas from me on, for example, nuclear energy, I feel confident that engaging in conversation with them would bring only better mutual understanding.
If our difference in opinion instead hinges on, for example, explicit racism or some other proud bigotry that is the lifeblood of Trump’s nationalist tirades, I anticipate no such mutual understanding as being imminent. Racism as a political position is not one designed to be rational or even particularly convincing. It is designed to perpetuate conversation, to tire people out, and to eventually insist on its legitimacy so indignantly that it is accepted as a ‘simply inevitable’ part of political life.
The Democratic party is certainly deserving of criticism, including in their complicity in many of the oppressive systems that have enabled Trump’s political rise. But I reject the idea that conservative voices are the ones being silenced and ignored in any meaningful way in U.S. politics today. Conservatism’s marginal presence on college campuses is a national exception, not the rule. Meanwhile, the Conservative Political
Action Conference that Stulman attended featured Michael Knowles from The Daily Wire saying that “transgenderism must be eradicated from public life entirely.” It’s one thing to refuse to associate with someone out of a difference of opinion, but I can’t blame anyone for refusing to associate with someone who doesn’t acknowledge their right to existence. In February 2022, a study was published in the academic journal Nature Human Behavior that examined changes in prejudice across various demographics in the U.S. during the political rise of Donald Trump and the entirety of his first presidential term. The researchers found that “explicit racial and religious prejudice significantly increased amongst Trump’s supporters, whereas individuals opposed to Trump exhibited decreases in prejudice.”
LAWRENCE HAPEMAN
Crossword by Rena Cohen, Edited by Alex Nickel
Free speech events on campus are just a stepping stone for action
Over 10,000 instances of book bans were recorded last school year. Campus protests related to war in the Middle East were disrupted by law enforcement throughout the country. Diversity, equity, and inclusion departments have been cut across several universities as state legislatures crack down on so-called “indoctrination.”
The freedom to learn, free expression, and free speech have been consistently undermined, both quietly in sparsely-attended school board meetings and in front of the nation as protests were televised for all to see. WashU was not immune to conflict. At the beginning of last semester, the University seemingly tried to compensate with numerous free speech events.
As part of a PEN America program, I embarked on a journey, hoping to bolster students’ opinions and perspectives. On Nov. 15, I hosted the event
“Friendsgiving Dinner: Free expression student panel” in Holmes Lounge, featuring a Thanksgiving-inspired dinner and panel discussion with six outspoken student leaders: Senior Amaya Daniels, senior Andrew de las Alas, junior Ashton Lee, senior Abby McGowan, junior Ella Scott, and
junior Penelope Thaman. After dinner, the panel was tasked with answering three questions in just under an hour for an audience of about 40 people. They discussed topics ranging from political polarization to students’ satisfaction with the University’s handling of free speech. As Amaya Daniels highlighted, not
student arrested for protesting the ongoing Palestinian genocide, I was initially apprehensive to discuss the fundamental issues with this university’s free speech policies. Too often, discussions of free speech on campuses focus on the ‘marketplace of ideas’ and fail to engage the material realities of surveillance, suppression,
panelists to explore solutions to foster an inclusive community on campus that upholds free speech during turbulent times. Panelists spotlighted the programs on campus that contributed to free expression and community building, including Dialogue Across Difference and the Gephardt Institute. The importance of events
attitudes. Lisa Gilbert — Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Educational Studies program — stated after attending the event, “As a faculty member who teaches discussion-based courses, I’m always looking for ways to help my students feel empowered to express their views. In this light, I’m grateful to the students who
As students, we are here to learn not only from professors but from each other as well. Still, there must come a point where learning turns to action and we justify the energy and resources we consumed to get us here.
everyone has the same capacity to participate in demonstrations. For lowincome students or those living in WashU housing, demonstrations could jeopardize their ability to pay their tuition or even their shelter.
Penelope Thaman described firsthand what it was like for students to be evicted and the importance of community support for housing and moving. Andrew de las Alas also recounted the backlash he received from his involvement in the campus protests. Reflecting on the panel, he stated, “As a
and, in the case of Dr. Steve Tamari, Universitysanctioned police violence. I was pleased to see that these realities were treated with the empathy they deserved during the panel and that we collectively called on all University stakeholders to imagine a better future. I hope this event spurs institutional power brokers [members of the WashU administration] to reflect on their policies and how they impact those whom free speech was never intended to benefit.”
The last question for the panel shifted the conversation and asked the
and spaces where students could be open to sharing was not understated. Abby McGowan said, “I look forward to seeing how WashU and its administrators will continue to foster an environment where free speech and dialogue are upheld as tenets of higher education. I hope that professors will continue to present disparate views, question the axioms constructed in their classrooms, and safeguard the privilege to debate the critical issues of today.” These events can also prove valuable for professors building connections and offer a unique glimpse into student
STAFF EDITORIAL
Although our university has shifted away from the name Washington University in St. Louis, officially rebranding to WashU, we must continue to remember and value the city we all reside in and the locals we interact with every day.
Students at WashU are often striving to become world-changers: doctors, lawyers, politicians, engineers, artists, activists, etc. Global issues seem especially pertinent to a student body that hails from across the world. In a time fraught with political uncertainty, it can be easy to become paralyzed by complex, large-scale problems. The editorial board of Student Life urges students to consider mundane, daily interactions that they can change, whether that be asking a dining employee how their day was or taking a class on St. Louis history.
Our role as active learners and friendly community members can make a collective difference. For WashU students, that starts with remaining cognizant of our place in St. Louis. WashU is often viewed by St. Louis community members as an exclusive institution — in part because of its reputation, but also its 12 billion dollar endowment. It may be seen by locals as a university that takes more than it gives, despite initiatives the university cites to combat this notion. The behavioral conduct of its student population is a factor that may contribute to this reputation as well. Instances like the “BD egging incident” from the prior school year reflect a wider sentiment of apathy toward what it means to be a student attending college in the city of St. Louis. It’s crucial to become
well-acquainted with the places where we choose to settle. Awareness of our role in a new city means navigating spaces with respect for their history, culture, and constituents. In a city like St. Louis, which has a history marked by racial and economic segregation, it is important to be aware of how we conduct ourselves in a place largely unfamiliar to most of WashU’s students.
Doing our research allows us to become genuinely acquainted with our community. Learning about how the city’s crime statistics are misleading, how WashU is surrounded by some of the wealthiest municipalities in the region, how the divide between the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County emerged, and how the reality of racial and economic segregation in St. Louis persists, are all
ways we can situate ourselves within the history and context of this city. As we educate ourselves about St. Louis, this can help us to properly connect and communicate with the city’s locals.
Consider the people from St. Louis who work for a living at WashU to keep our spaces clean and stomachs full. It doesn’t take much to ask the person preparing your food how their day is, or to clear your countertops and tables for the custodians cleaning our spaces. Maybe we can write a small note expressing our gratitude. We should all think of little ways to show non-teaching university staff — not just dining workers and custodians — that they are not only appreciated, but that we are aware and grateful of the role they play in our lives. We should think similarly about contributing to
1st Place: Getting around Saint Louis has officially become an Olympic sport. Jason Merkel, Casual Student Life Reader
2nd Place: You can submit your own hilarious caption with a $5 late fee. Dion Hines, Senior Forum Editor
3rd Place: Triathlon for those who chew Zyns Oscar Waldman. Current WashU Student
participated in the panel for sharing their experiences and perspectives about meaningful campus discourse. I know their ideas will be in my mind as I plan future classes and engage my students in dialogue around significant and difficult topics in my field.”
It’s important to keep in sight the purpose of these events. As students, we are here to learn not only from professors but from each other as well. Still, there must come a point where learning turns to action and we justify the energy and resources we consumed to get us here. These events
lay the groundwork for further learning and eventual political action and should not end at mere academic postulating of problems and theoretical solutions, which has been a common criticism of higher education spaces for years. The panelists’ perspectives, informed by their activism, demonstrated that they are committed to putting their beliefs into action. After the panel, McGowan expressed enjoyment in taking part, saying, “It was an amazing opportunity, and the panelists were not only highly impressive students, but also excellent examples of the spirit the event aimed to foster. I was struck by how such different students were so composed, respectful, and curious whilst remaining committed to their own values and principles.”
Respectful dialogue will always have a place on college campuses. The conversations we have ignited through these events are only the beginning. As agents of social change, we must be wise about how we invest our time and energy, and hosting events like the one I put together has proven to be an effective way of cracking open questions that apply to our globe, our country, and our direct campus involvement in political controversy.
the community outside of the WashU bubble; when buying course books, think about shopping at a small business like Subterranean Books instead of taking the Amazon route.
Being polite won’t exactly “change the world” on a grand structural scale, but it has the potential to change our community, WashU. By focusing our attention locally, learning about St. Louis, and engaging respectfully with the city residents who are our neighbors, colleagues, and staff members, we can collectively make change. We can improve WashU’s reputation and improve the world, starting on our own campus.
Staff editorials reflect the opinion of the majority of our editorial board members. The editorial board operates independently of our newsroom and includes members of the senior staff.
Katelina Theerman Rodriguez, Junior Forum Editor
Jordan Spector, Managing Forum Editor Avi Holzman, Editor-In-Chief
Nina Giraldo, Editor-In-Chief
Elizabeth Grieve, Senior Scene Editor River Alsalihi, Junior Forum Editor Alice Gottesman, Managing Scene Editor
Elias Kokinos, Senior Sports Editor
Eliza Stulman, Junior Sports Editor
Dion Hines, Senior Forum Editor
William Fieni-Thies, Junior Forum Editor
Sydney Tran, Head of Design
Kate Westfall, Design Editor
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ERICA
In sports that are defined by endurance, the toughest section of a race or competition is often the last turn into the home stretch, with the finish just in sight — the infamous “turn three” in track and field, where races are won and lost. For the WashU men’s and women’s swim teams, their seasons are approaching this strenuous, demanding third turn. Across what was an emotional weekend with Senior Day celebrations, WashU competed in a dual meet against Division II University of Missouri–St. Louis (UMSL) and Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). On Jan. 17, the No. 10 men’s team defeated the UMSL Tritons 153-78 while setting three pool records, and the No. 14 women’s team won by a score of 155-82. The following day against Division I IUPUI, both teams were unable to win a second time, with the men’s team falling 174-125 and the women’s team falling 196-101.
WashU vs. UMSL
Friday evening at the Millstone Pool, the Bears rallied off strong performance after strong performance against the D-II Tritons.
In the men’s competitions, the Bears secured
and
eight first-place finishes.
Many of these victories came through the sprint events, where first-year
Thomas Bergin won the 50-yard freestyle, senior Danny Sibley won the 100yard freestyle, first-year Ben Scott won the 100-yard breaststroke, and fifth-year Kyle Wolford claimed the 100-yard backstroke.
Wolford credited the team’s gritty mentality, after weeks of tough training, for their success over the weekend.
“You gotta be able to get up and go against someone else and, you know, do what you can to win no matter what the circumstances are,” he said after the meet. “So that was one of the things that our coaches were really emphasizing for us — it’s not gonna be perfect, but you gotta get up there and just get going.”
In the distance and middistance events, senior Ryan Hillery had the Bears’ top finish in the 1,000-yard freestyle, finishing second with a time of 9:46.07. Junior Ethan Feng claimed first place in the 200-yard freestyle, an event where the five top spots were all taken by the Bears.
The women’s team also enjoyed many successes during the day and would go on to place first in seven events.
In the 200-yard medley relay, sophomores Elizabeth Chen, Hannah Lee, Peyton Watson, and junior Andrea
Leng took first with a time of 1:47.57. Leng also secured the 50-yard freestyle victory, and Lee won the 100-yard breaststroke.
Sophomore Rachel Bello claimed first in the 200-yard individual medley (IM).
Senior Isabella Barrientos won the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:56.82. She praised the team’s positive mindset throughout competing with UMSL.
“I think the main thing was cheering, and then also just gaining your confidence from each swim that we do — whether it’s your best event, or maybe it’s an off event, or maybe you just didn’t swim as well as you wanted to,” she said. “Just take one step at a time, and keep on learning from the mistakes, and adjust for later points.”
In a statement to Student Life head coach Brad Shively credited Wolford and Barrientos’ contributions to the team’s success over the weekend.
“They were both AllAmerican swimmers at the NCAA Championships last season, and their experience, tenacity, and focus really showed against IU-Indy, posting multiple wins for WashU,” he wrote. “They both have excellent training habits, and their willingness to be fully engaged in the meet and just race to the best of their abilities really showed on Saturday.”
CONCORDIA
from page 1
“I want to encourage them to continue their collaborative efforts, since the synergistic uses proposed with this plan do conform to our comprehensive plan just completed,” Harris said. However, WashU’s proposal was met with criticism and concerns from the Clayton community. During a Board of Alderman meeting on Nov. 12, residents voiced concerns about loud noises and increased traffic resulting from the facility’s construction.
Debate at the November meeting also centered around the type of zoning permit that the city would issue to WashU. An overlay zone, which the city believed was the appropriate zoning option for the project, would limit WashU to certain construction regulations. However, some residents, who feared that
an overlay zone would give WashU too much freedom, preferred a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) that would give the city increased control and oversight of the project, as CUPs must be amended anytime the scope of a construction project changes.
As Larry Mooney, a Clayton resident, said on Nov. 12, “The overlay process only exacerbates the worries and fears of the neighborhood residents.”
“I look at [Clayton’s] relationship with WashU like I look at my relationship with my kids,” Clayton resident Andrew Lieberman said at the November meeting. “I love my kids, and I love WashU, but in my household, me and my wife pay the bills. We, the taxpers of Clayton, also pay the bills. Like with my kids, sometimes you’ve got to say, ‘No.’”
WashU vs. IUPUI
On Saturday, the teams faced stiffer competition against the D-I Jaguars, though both meets still finished with close margins. Shively welcomed the further test of his teams’ grit.
“Having them travel to St. Louis was something we were really excited about, and I thought we embraced the opportunity to race. We knew that coming off the meet on Friday evening, we’d need to find another gear on Saturday, and [we] were excited to compete in front of a huge home crowd,” he wrote.
In the men’s meet, it was a day of pool records, as three were set. Wolford, Scott, fifth-year Austin Bick, and senior Justin Rockaway won the 400 medley relay with a time of 3:20.21. With his backstroke leg in this event, Wolford set the pool record of 48.94.
“That’s a record I’ve kind of had my sights on for five years now. I’ve been going for it, and to get it in my second-to-last meet at this pool is pretty special,” he said. “I think we have put a lot of emphasis on winning that relay at meets … winning that medley relay is a way to show that, you know, we’re not messing around.”
Two other pool records were set by the team against IUPUI: Wolford in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:48.22, and in the 200 freestyle relay where
Wolford, Bick, Rockaway, and Sibley finished in 1:24.15.
Sibley also won the 100-yard freestyle, and sophomore Marco Minai claimed the 200-yard butterfly to round out the Bears’ victories that day.
On the women’s side, the team took home three firstplace finishes. Freshman Peyton Watson won the 100-yard butterfly in 59.96, and Barrientos secured both the 200-yard butterfly and backstroke.
Barrientos reflected on the emotional significance of winning multiple races on her Senior Day.
“It was honestly so fun,” she said. “You know, coming to a close of this chapter that is swimming for me, which has been 15 years, I think winning was just an extra cherry on the top because my parents were there, and they don’t get to see me swim at WashU too often.”
Sophomore Rin Iimi finished second in the 200-yard IM, with a time of 2:13.29, as did the 200-yard freestyle relay team of Leng, sophomore Izzie Gattone, and first-years Iris Qi and Maddie Sammut.
Across both teams, 16 seniors were recognized: Devin Bunner, Pace Edwards, Jeffrey Forbes, Kai Garren, Ryan Hillery, Nathan Lin, Elliot Polikowski, Justin Rockaway, Danny Sibley, Isabella Barrientos,
and Kyle
and graduate-student Abbey Mink were also part of the graduating class.
“We had an amazing crowd for our senior weekend, and the energy and enthusiasm was palpable. We really enjoyed having so many families and friends in attendance,” Shively wrote. Looking ahead, the swim teams have one final meet against DePauw University on Feb. 1, their last before the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championships.
As for what Wolford and Barrientos think about the challenges to come, they are both remaining focused on finishing strong, both physically and mentally.
“I don’t necessarily think, you know, we’re a favored team going into [the UAA Championships], but I’m really looking forward to getting up there and showing everyone that we’re not really going anywhere,” Wolford said.
Barrientos echoed his sentiments on going forward and continuing to push on as a group and as a family.
“Leave nothing. Leave no regrets. Go in the pool, give it your all, swim as fast as you can, and if you do that, then what more could I ask of my teammate, or what could they ask of me?” Barrientos said.
Branko Marusic, a Clayton resident who graduated from WashU Law, said at the January meeting that the University’s plan seemed to evolve beyond its original scope throughout the process.
“This could have been done a lot differently,” Marusic said on Jan. 14.
Despite the Boards’ decision to agree to WashU’s request, Harris reiterated on Jan. 14 that “the use of an overlay for a project like this
remains the best way to regulate such a development.”
She also added that the last year of discussions with residents, the University, and other partners have generated valuable information for the city to use on future construction projects, which was a sentiment echoed by Gipson and Krane in their January request.
“This process has yielded significant information about resident concerns,
goals of our institutions, and potential future landuse scenarios,” Gipson and Krane wrote in their request for action at the Jan. 4 meeting.
With the two institutions’ plans now withdrawn, WashU and Concordia aim to revisit plans for future development on the site.
At the Jan. 14 meeting, Gipson said that he believes WashU will resubmit a proposal under current zoning guidelines, not an overlay district.
“Maybe the project is over, but I’d be willing to bet almost anything [that] it is not,” he said.
However, Gipson also said that WashU needs to clarify to the city and Concordia their future intentions.
“I think it’s time to put it politely that Washington University … [needs to let] us know what it’s going to be, instead of having us guess,” he said.
Caroline DeLuca, Rin Iimi, Alice Mao, Noa Miller, Riya Sahota, and Roslyn Tischke. Fifth-years Austin Bick
Wolford
CHRISTIAN KIM JUNIOR SPORTS EDITOR
Senior Danny Sibley cheers on the swim and dive team.
BRANDON JUAREZ-RAMOS | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
WashU set three pool records against Division I and Division II competition on January 17 and 18.
BRANDON JUAREZ-RAMOS | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Women’s basketball falls to Case Western and Carnegie Mellon
ASHLEY BUCKINGHAM
HANNAH MUCH
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Coming off a five-game winning streak, the WashU women’s basketball team fell to Case Western Reserve University and No. 24 Carnegie Mellon University on Jan. 17 and 19. Despite making late surges, the Bears lost to the Spartans 57-64 on Friday and the Tartans 67-86 on Sunday. The team is now 10-4 on the season and 1-2 in University Athletic Association (UAA) play.
Reflecting on the weekend’s losses, head coach Lisa Stone said that the team needs to focus on prioritizing defensive intensity during tough games.
“You can’t let your offense affect your defense,” she said. “We need to dig in and be grittier. You can control your defensive intensity, but you can’t always control when your shot goes in.”
Sophomore center Lexy Harris echoed Stone’s sentiment, emphasizing the importance of playing together defensively.
“We need to come out strong and confident with our defense and trust that our teammates are in the correct help positioning and are there for us,” Harris said. “The main component of having a strong defense is that we believe in ourselves and one another.”
prevent Case Western’s three point game, the half ended with the Bears trailing 33-21. “I think coming out of halftime, we really joined together as a team, realizing we needed to have more energy,” Alyssa Hughes, sophomore guard and the game’s high scorer. said. “Whether that was getting stops on defense to lead to better offense, more encouragement from the sidelines, or positive touches on the court, we knew we needed to increase our intensity to get back in the game.”
In the third quarter, the Bears’ momentum changed, as they outscored the Spartans 15-11. Toward the end of the quarter, the Bears were able to go on an impressive 12-0 run. The Bears cut the margin smaller with the third quarter, ending with 44-36 for the Spartans.
Early in the fourth quarter, WashU went on a run, cutting the Spartans’ lead down by only three points. Hughes, the Bears’ leading scorer with 19 points, drained five threepointers in the fourth quarter to help cut down the lead. Hughes attributed her success to her teammates’ abilities to set up shots and their confidence in her to make critical shots.
“It is always a great feeling to knock down a few shots at critical times in the game, but I wouldn’t be able to do it without the constant support from my teammates and coaches,”
have tremendous belief in me.”
On Sunday morning, the Bears came out ready to fight, taking an early 8-3 lead over the Tartans, which was led by two three-pointers from Hughes. However, the Tartans scored the next 27 points, putting WashU in a scoring drought for the final eight minutes of the first quarter.
Coming out of halftime down 45-26, WashU picked up their offense to chip away at the Tartans’ lead. The Bears outscored Carnegie Mellon 24-17 in the third quarter, cutting the lead to single digits with 1:30 remaining. However, WashU was unable to sustain this momentum in the fourth quarter, ultimately trailing by 19 at the final buzzer.
The Bears were led by Harris, who put up an impressive 23 points and eight rebounds. Hughes had another dominant performance, contributing 15 points, while graduate-student guard Jessica Brooks and freshman guard Ava Blagojevich both added 10. Brooks also recorded 10 rebounds and five assists, marking her seventh double-double of the season.
Stone highlighted the defensive effort of Blagojevich, who matched up against the Tartans’ talented guard Catherine Or.
“She played defense on, notably, one of the best players in the conference,” Stone said. “It was so good to watch
As the team prepares for more conference play ahead, Stone said defense will remain the primary focus in practice.
“Overall, we’re disappointed in the losses, but it’s an opportunity to grow and learn,” she said. “I want to see how we respond, and I’m excited to get back to practice on Tuesday.”
Looking ahead, the Bears will travel to the University of Rochester on Jan. 24 and Emory University on Jan. 26 for their first away contests of the new year.
IZZY MBATAI LEWIS RAND STAFF WRITER MANAGING SPORTS EDITOR
The No. 11 WashU men’s basketball team defeated Case Western Reserve University 104-66 and No. 18 Carnegie Mellon University 99-74 on Jan. 17 and 19, respectively. With these wins, the Bears are now 2-1 in University Athletic Association (UAA) play.
“I thought we played quality basketball,” head coach Pat Juckem said about the Bears’ performance.
“Regardless of the score we really want to be focused on our process and we saw growth and improvement.”
Coming off a loss to The University of Chicago to open conference play, WashUwas motivated to play with “an edge” according to senior guard Hayden Doyle.
“When you lose it, I mean, obviously it humbles you, and I think we just, we played with an edge this weekend … which is kind of what you have to do in conference play,” he said.
Throughout the weekend, the Bears played what Juckem described as efficient and conceptual basketball.
The WashU coaching staff rates the teams’ shots from gold (most efficient) to bronze (least efficient), and in Friday’s game against Case Western, the Bears tallied up the highest number of gold and silver shots in the last two years.
WashU v. Case Western Reserve
Against the Case Western team that stunned previously ranked Carnegie Mellon in their first UAA game, WashU showed off their depth in their second 100-point win of the season and their first in con ference or championship play since the Bears’ 2020 NCAA Tournament win against Bethany Lutheran.
The Bears’ victory was an entire-team effort — starters and bench alike. WashU’s starters only totaled 62 min utes on the court. Senior Drake Kindsvater, who led
the team in points (17) and assists (four), played for just 18 minutes. 15 of the Bears’ 18 players checked-in during the game, including all five first-years, who collectively scored 31 points.
“Sometimes the offense just really gets in a great flow,” Kindsvater said. “I love seeing the younger guys come in and just play their hearts out.”
WashU v. Carnegie Mellon
Two days after defeating Case Western, the Bears took to the Field House again to face off against Carnegie Mellon, which has one of the best players in Division III — first-year Justin Allen, who has averaged nearly 27 points per game this season. In their wire-to-wire victory, WashU held Allen to 18 points with only one 3-pointer.
Doyle led WashU’s dominant offensive effort with a season-high 26 points but it was more important, per Juckem, that Doyle had four rebounds and only one turnover.
“What I would look at outside of the scoring is four assists and only one turnover,” Juckem said. “He’s got the ability, because he draws so much attention from an opponent, [to] create offense for others, too, and he’s taken that to heart. I thought he was a really active defender off the ball, and played a complete game.”
Doyle credited his teammates for helping him reach a season-high shooting number against a conference opponent.
“A lot of credit goes to my teammates,” he said. “I just had a lot of good screens off the ball for me that freed me up and once you see a few shots or easy looks, go in early. It gives you confidence, and then you get rolling a little bit.”
Kindsvater, who played just 18 minutes on Friday due to a rolled ankle, was second on both the scoring and rebounding chart with 19 and 7, respectively. Connor May, a first-year who has played in every game this season, led WashU with 12 rebounds.
The Bears dominated in almost every statistical category in Sunday’s game, generating 19 points off turnovers to the Tartans’ 10, scoring 10 fast break points to their 8, and completing 16 more points in the paint. With the two wins, the Bears will face off against the University of Rochester and No. 2 Emory University on Jan. 24 and 26. The weekend will be a challenging road test in one of D-III’s most competitive conferences due to both teams’ strength and their nearly 1,000 mile distance from each other.
Going into the weekend the team is focused on controlling the controllables, including their effort on defense, according to Doyle.
