BEACH READS Relaxing, nonacademic reads to enjoy over Spring Break (Scene, pg 4)
GATES SCHOLAR
Senior Elijah Darden awarded prestigious scholarship. (News, pg 2)
2025 Soulard Mardi Gras
On March 1, the 46th Mardi Gras Bud Light Grand Parade marched through the streets of Soulard. The extravaganza included a float with a fire-breathing dragon, a group of people clad in
Viking helmets and pelts, and a team of Clydesdale horses from Anheuser-Busch in golden bridles. The theme of this year’s parade was “Cooking up a Celebration,” with various food- and cookinginspired floats, costumes, and props.
‘Telling You Again’: students launch Coalition for Liberated Students
The Coalition for Liberated Students joined together to announce their launch on Feb. 28 in Umrath Lounge. The event also announced the beginning of the coalition’s “Telling You Again” campaign, which seeks to create a better campus environment for students of color.
The coalition, made up of around 20 students, advertised the launch via a large painted mural on the South 40 underpass.
At the event, the students emphasized that they were speaking on behalf of themselves, not on behalf of any on-campus affinity group they are a member of.
Speaking to a crowd of about 50 students, senior Paul Scott opened the event with a brief overview of activism history on campus. The overview led to a discussion about the overturning of affirmative action and its effects on diversity in admissions.
Junior Sonal Churiwal noted that these topics were a culmination of long-standing activism on campus, and the campaign name reflects that history.
“We spent many hours going back and forth about what we would want to call this campaign, and ultimately settled on ‘Telling You Again,’” Churiwal said. “We don’t want to give anyone here or anywhere the impression that the work in these issue areas is new, or that we’re starting it.”
Scott and Churiwal, as well as several other student speakers, outlined nine core missions the coalition will advocate for on campus and changes they want from the administration, as stated in their presentation. The core missions are as follows:
Terry Collection
In 2022, it was uncovered that the human remains studied by the Anthropology department were unethically obtained from marginalized communities. The coalition criticized the University for the delay in returning these remains, as well as the continued commemoration of Dr. Robert J. Terry, a known eugenicist, through his named lecture series. Student wellbeing and sexual violence prevention
The coalition noted the lack of
general resources the University had to offer regarding mental health and sexual violence prevention. Student speakers said that the University needs to provide accessible resources with a diverse staff to support students of color navigating mental health and sexual violence.
Ethnic and cultural studies
The coalition is also advocating for the creation of departments representative of the student body, including Native Americans Studies, Latin American Studies, and other ethnic groups that are underrepresented on campus.
Cut ties with Boeing
Although WashU is not financially invested in Boeing, the coalition called for the University to cut other ties with Boeing, such as scholarships and funding programs, due to Boeing’s affiliations with the Israel-Hamas war.
Support for first-generation, low-income students (FGLI)
Citing a Student Life article where a student on financial aid was evicted due to lack of information about the financial aid process, the coalition demands increased support for FGLI students. This would include more help with navigating the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and bolstering on-campus resources such as WashUCares.
Caste protections
Casteism refers to discrimination and prejudice commonly seen in South Asian culture based on lineage. The coalition asked for the University to add caste protections to their anti-discrimination policy, in order to protect and support students who experience casteism on campus.
Professor Dybvig
In 2022, Olin Business School
Professor Philip Dybvig faced several
accusations of sexual misconduct by international students. Today, he continues to be employed by the University. The coalition asks the University to respond to repeated student protests and terminate his employment.
Data disaggregation
With the transition from WebSTAC to Workday, the coalition asks for the University to collect disaggregated data, or data on current and prospective students regarding their race, gender, socioeconomic status. They called for the collection of disaggregated data in order to do a more comprehensive comparison of the effects of affirmative action on diversity. The coalition noted colleges in the University of California system as examples of institutions that successfully collected disaggregated data, and insisted that WashU has the same capabilities.
Washington University Police Department (WUPD) presence and violence
The coalition outlined dangers WUPD’s safety protocol poses to students, such as how a WUPD officer decides they have the means to draw arms on a student in a mental health crisis. They called for the development of public safety resources and a mental health crisis response team in replacement of the current policing system.
After outlining the core missions, they opened up a forum for questions. When asked if any events are planned to begin advocacy of these missions, the group responded that plans were in the works, and to stay up to date on their Instagram, @coalitionforliberatedstudents.
CHANCELLOR’S OP-ED Response is less than appropriate regarding threats against academia (Forum, pg 6)
Chancellor Martin talks protests, divestment at ADL Summit
[we] said ‘You have to go,’ and on that day, they chose to go,” Martin said.
Chancellor Andrew Martin was a featured speaker at the AntiDefamation League’s (ADL) “Never is Now” two-day summit in New York City, on March 3 and 4.
The ADL describes itself as an international organization whose primary mission is to combat antisemitism and other forms of bigotry. In October of 2023, the organization sent a letter to the presidents of nearly 200 U.S. colleges and universities, urging them to investigate their campus chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine.
The ADL describes “Never is Now” as “the world’s largest summit on antisemitism and hate” on their website.
When asked by Student Life why Martin chose to speak at the ADL summit, Julie Flory — Vice Chancellor for Marketing and Communications — said that Martin often receives invitations to speak on various topics from a range of local, national, and global organizations.
“His accepting an invitation doesn’t mean he agrees with an organization’s positions or agenda, only that he has agreed to speak,” Flory wrote in an email comment to Student Life. “Nondiscrimination is an essential component of empowering all members of our community.”
Martin spoke on the first day of the summit during the segment titled “New Ways to Fight Anti-Zionism and Antisemitism on College Campuses,” alongside University of Michigan President Santa Ono.
He discussed WashU’s protest and encampment policies, movements for boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS), and the op-ed he recently co-authored about on-campus polarization.
Dan Senor, a columnist, political commentator, and host of an Israelfocused podcast, moderated the discussion between Martin and Ono. Senor began the discussion by asking about a line in Martin’s op-ed which advocated for regulating civil discourse so as to not obstruct higher education’s purposes of teaching and research.
“We want opinions to be lifted up, but at the same time, we need to be able to focus on the mission. Teaching has to continue and that’s why we have those rules,” Martin said. “It is difficult to enforce rules, particularly when you have people screaming at you, questioning every decision that you make.”
Martin cited WashU’s encampment policy as an example of such a rule. He said that a 2019 encampment advocating for a $15 minimum wage led WashU to develop a formalized antiencampment policy.
“It was really difficult for us to provide safety and security to students who were sleeping in the middle of our campus 24 hours a day, so we established a no encampment policy in 2019,” Martin said, noting that the administration could have publicized the policy better. He then referenced the IsraelPalestine protests on campus last spring and the police response to the encampment on April 20 as a successful enforcement of the antiencampment policy.
“In April, when things got a little spicier on our campus, we had a protest. [The administration] made sure that it happened safely, and as soon as they brought out the tents,
Student Life reported that shortly after protestors set up tents on April 20 near Brookings Hall, WashU Police Sergeant Zohaib Khan declared it to be an unlawful assembly. Following Kahn’s announcement, several police transport units arrived and preparations were made for arrests; however, protestors vacated the premises before any arrests were made.
Martin then told the ADL audience that a week later, on April 27, around 400 individuals protested on campus and attempted to set up another encampment during the reading period before final exams.
Student Life reported that around 250 individuals participated in this protest and that over 100 of them were arrested after refusing to leave the campus and remove their tents after numerous warnings. Among those arrested were 23 WashU students and four faculty members.
“75% [of the individuals protesting] were unaffiliated with Washington University, and some of them weren’t even from St. Louis,” Martin said. “They had flown in from around the country to carry out their agenda on our campus at the time that our students were studying.”
Martin alleged that social media contributed to the protest and attempted encampment.
“We did have students and some faculty members and staff involved, but this [was] not just spontaneously happening on our campuses,” Martin said. “It’s certainly the case that this social media environment [was] being leveraged by other actors to sort of spin things up on campuses as well.”
He explained that his administration used the police force on April 27 to ensure that “stakes did not go in the ground,” in alignment with WashU’s non-encampment policy.
“We did that because the presence of that encampment would interfere with our mission of education,” Martin said. “It was making it more difficult to provide safety and security for all of our students.”
Ono had a very different experience as a university leader dealing with turmoil on his campus last year. In a leaked audio recording from last year, he said that “powerful groups” in the federal government care about how universities combat antisemitism but not Islamophobia.
“In terms of powerful groups I was referring to a number of committees in Congress,” Ono said to the ADL audience. “My question was ‘Why isn’t there a focus on Islamophobia and why so much focus on antisemitism?’... But for me it was no desire at all to dilute the focus of fighting antisemitism, that has been a predominant focus of ours because that is the real issue on campus.”
Martin added that WashU will continue to collaborate with Israeli scholars and institutions amid calls for BDS.
“Our collaborations with Israeli scholars and Israeli institutions bring great value to our University,” Martin said. “We want our students and faculty to have the academic freedom to participate in those programs.”
Crowds came out in full force on Saturday, including a woman handing out a handmade necklace.
ELLA GIERE | PHOTO EDITOR
ELIZABETH STUMP ALIZA LUBITZ NEWS EDITORS
SYDNEY TRAN HEAD OF DESIGN
Underpass mural highlights Coalition for Liberated students campaign launch.
RACHEL BENITEZ-BORREGO | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
ELLA GIERE | PHOTO EDITOR
GIERE | JUNIOR COPY EDITOR
ADL from page 1
When asked how WashU has been deepening ties with Israel and Israeli institutions amid growing momentum for institutional boycott and divestment, Martin brought up an interview with Student Life last spring. In the interview he was asked if the University would ever divest or unaffiliate from Boeing, a defense contractor for the US that has sent weaponry to Israel that have been used in Gaza.
COALITION from page 1
Although it was not mentioned during the event, junior Subratha Araselvan noted that space equity, regarding housing for Greek Life and affinity groups, is another one of their core missions. She said that affinity groups were granted far less space than sororities and fraternities on campus, and the coalition wants to advocate for increased space for affinity groups.
When asked about why
“I just looked at the reporter and said ‘No.’ I didn’t explain why. I [had] explained why for seven years,” Martin said. “We’ve been on the
these specific topics were chosen, Churiwal said that while the coalition felt these topics were the most relevant on campus, the points outlined in their launch were not exhaustive.
“We felt that these points captured what students need in this political moment, and built upon the legacies of activism here to formulate this campaign,” Churiwal said. “We encourage students to always be doing their own
record institutionally for a very long time that BDS [Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions] is antithetical to academic freedom as an institution.”
In an interview with Student Life this fall, WashU’s Chief Investment Officer Scott Wilson said that, to his knowledge,
advocacy in the coalition, outside of the coalition on any issues [or] any issues that may not be adequately covered.”
Junior Jerry Liao emphasized that part of a coalition’s role is to continue discourse on campus regarding the issues they presented. Liao pointed out that to start this discussion, the University needs to be aware of the student demands, and the coalition is meant to amplify that.
WashU is not financially invested in Boeing. However, WashU and Boeing do have connections through programs like Boeing’s Accelerated Leadership Program, recruitment events on campus, and Olin Business School’s Boeing Center for Supply Chain Innovation.
“If we can get [the admin’s] attention, then we can set up meetings and we can have something productive,” Liao said. “But that is also on the administration.”
Senior Taryn Dixon, co-president of Washington University Native-American Student Alliance, said joining the coalition has helped her figure out the process of petitioning for a Native American Studies department.
Martin also said that WashU practices institutional neutrality in regards to its investment practices, as the school’s primary investment objective is to maximize returns in support of its mission.
When asked by Student Life to clarify the scope of institutional neutrality at WashU, Flory explained that the university maintains neutrality on political and social issues that are not directly connected to its core mission.
“The coalition has offered to help guide us through that process of setting up meetings, and asking how we should interact with [admin],” Dixon said. “How do we show [that our aims are] valuable, feasible and something that should be instituted?”
Churiwal pointed out that many activist movements and coalitions on campus fizzle out after four years when members graduate. One of the goals of this coalition is
“It doesn’t mean we never take a position on anything,” Flory wrote.
to encourage underclassmen to engage and continue the ongoing legacy of activism on campus. “Part of this coalition is really building a more sustainable culture of political education and activism so that any conversations we have outlive any one of our times at WashU.”
Elijah Darden selected as a Gates Cambridge Scholar
Macias said.
As EST President, Darden has worked to make training programs more affordable for the WashU community.
Senior Elijah Darden was recently selected for the highly competitive Gates Cambridge Scholarship, allowing him to pursue a fully funded postgraduate course of study at the University of Cambridge next year.
Darden is majoring in Psychological and Brain Sciences and minoring in Music at WashU’s College of Arts & Sciences. He is a member of the Annika Rodriguez Scholars Program at WashU and the president of the Emergency Support Team (EST). Post graduation, Darden hopes to pursue a master’s degree in Population Health Sciences, complete a research thesis that focuses on health inequalities, and then return to the U.S. to attend medical school.
Dr. Julia Macias, Director of Student Leadership at the George and Carol Bauer Leaders Academy, wrote one of Darden’s recommendation letters. She mentioned that Darden has served as a mentor for other Rodriguez Scholars, leading a variety of presentations for them on health and safety.
“He’s always that person who’s like, ‘Okay, I have this knowledge, or I have this resource or opportunity. How do I share it more broadly?’”
American Heart Association Basic Life Support and CPR training is now $10, as opposed to the $80 fee that private companies often charge according to The Source. Darden was also able to secure Student Union funding to make training for undergraduate students free. He introduced “Stop the Bleed” classes in collaboration with WashU Emergency Management, which expanded bystander medical training to the larger WashU community.
Darden has helped implement the use of female mannequins for CPR training in EST as a result of his studies in collaboration with the LifeSaveHer Program.
Darden studied the comfort levels of trainees practicing CPR on female mannequins, which is relevant because many bystanders do not recognize the signs of cardiac arrest as well in women, nor do they feel they can perform CPR without physically harming women. This is especially important because women have lower cardiac arrest survival rates than men.
Partly due to these changes, EST has now successfully certified approximately 800 WashU community members.
Senior Elijah Darden was recently awarded the prestigious Gates Cambridge Scholarship, which will fund a postgraduate education at the University of Cambridge next year.
Darden explained that his involvement in public health at WashU through his premed classes and EST engagement is what inspired him to pursue postgraduate work exploring health inequalities.
“Learning about all these inequalities, all these barriers to health, really pushed me towards public health and knowing that I want to integrate that with my future medical studies,” Darden said.
Darden said that studying Psychological and Brain Sciences and Music have helped him to see the importance of
interdisciplinary solutions for societal issues.
“I think my studies of music are a microcosm into how I wish to integrate fields together,” he said.
Darden’s girlfriend, junior Chloe Carlish, mentioned that Darden was particularly excited about the Gates Cambridge Scholarship compared to other programs he applied to.
“He has applied to many different programs, but you could tell that this one mattered a little extra,” Carlish said. “He was a little nervous about it.”
Carlish talked about some
of the things she admires about Darden.
“I think he’s attentive, and I think he’s kind, and I think he’s brilliant also, but I’m a little biased,” Carlish said.
Macias expressed her excitement for Darden’s future, noting the sincerity of his community-driven aspirations.
“When I think of Elijah, I think of his dedication to community. I think it’s not just about résumés or rewards. I think he really feels driven by whatever he does to also have this community impact,” Macias said.
Carlish conveyed admiration for Darden’s thoughtfulness and intentionality.
“One of the things I appreciate about Elijah is the way he almost always pauses before he speaks. The level of thoughtfulness that he intrinsically navigates the world with shows he’s someone that is so deeply thoughtful and intentional about the way he acts,” Carlish said.
Carlish drew attention to how Darden carries himself beyond the realm of academia.
“There might be first years who look at a person like him and think, ‘How will I ever be that?’ I think he’s also someone with a deep appreciation for life and its levities and its pauses and its
silliness, so I don’t think he takes himself as seriously as other people would maybe hypothesize,” Carlish said.
Darden said he would encourage other WashU students to not sell themselves short and apply to similar programs and scholarships. He was recently a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship, and he talked about the importance of perseverance when things do not work out right away.
“I did not get the Rhodes Scholarship, but the Gates Cambridge was a much better fit for me and my goals and what I wanted to do,” Darden said. “The right opportunity, whether it’s one of these programs or something else in your life, will come your way.”
Macias echoed Darden’s advice, encouraging WashU students to dream big and put themselves out there.
“It’s great to have big plans. Sometimes, I think our students are really humble, but you can also be like, ‘Okay, this is where I want to go’” Macias said.
Darden said his acceptance to the Gates Cambridge program made him excited to see what his peers will go on to do after graduation.
“I’m excited to see what we all are going to do, and I’m just happy that I get to also be part of that greater narrative,” Darden said.
ODESSA BUELL STAFF WRITER
ISABELLA DIAZ-MIRA | PHOTO EDITOR
SCENE
The Soulard Mardi Gras Parade in pictures
‘Mickey 17’ is political but not particularly profound
as a salient antagonist.
As a Korean, the awardsseason sweep of “Parasite” in 2019 was a source of ironic national pride. But I also saw it as an embrace of brutally authentic storytelling, in which issues such as class division were explored from a provocative and distinctly personal vantage point.
I found it curious but captivating that director and writer Bong Joon Ho’s next project would be an English-language film, an adaptation of “Mickey7,” which is a 2022 science fiction novel about space travel and human cloning. Nevertheless, as the follow-up to a scathing satirical masterpiece, I had lofty expectations for “Mickey 17.”
The film centers on Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson), an “expendable” human guinea pig on a space colonization mission who repeatedly dies and gets “reprinted.” When a new Mickey is printed after the previous one is supposed to die, the legal existence of these multiples — Mickey
17 and Mickey 18 — is threatened by the colony’s Trump-analogue and demagogue Kenneth Marshall (Mark Ruffalo) and his wife Ylfa (Toni Collette).
“Mickey 17” appears primed to weave its futuristic premise with clever commentary on the present. Ultimately, it fails as a nuanced and profound critique of the contemporary political climate because its themes are bogged down by an unfocused narrative and a hollow message.
While Ruffalo’s on-screen presence and eccentric impressions might elicit some chuckles in the audience, the idea itself is painfully trite. In the saturated market of Trumpsatires, “Mickey 17” is just going through the motions, neglecting to establish Marshall as a threatening villain or as a politically relevant spoof: Marshall distorts the truth, rocks increasingly strange haircuts, and even exhibits a speech cadence evoking Alec Baldwin on SNL. As the film fixates on surface-level imagery — red hats and incoherent inflections — its bumbling dictator wannabe is portrayed more for laughs than
This depiction leaves the themes in “Mickey 17” shallow and fragmented. The film’s attempts to navigate concepts such as the very real, quasi-religious aspect of Marshall’s cult of personality are held back by a clichéd and cartoonishly evil-dictator archetype.
Any narrative payoff is derailed by this. An expletive-laced tirade against Marshall, played as an epic verbal takedown, falls flat because we, as an audience, do not connect with the despot on a visceral level. Scenes that are meant to harrowingly evoke the assassination attempt on President Trump at a political rally last year come off like empty Easter eggs in a comic-book movie.
Where “Parasite” was culturally relevant and astutely gritty with its humor, “Mickey 17” is less airtight and lacks wit and charm in its comedy. It’s more obsessed with pomp and the low-hanging slapstick joke.
It also suffers from issues that plague many a sci-fi flick: drawn-out exposition and poor pacing. The structure of the film relies heavily upon an extended flashback
and voiceover by Mickey in an accent that gets to be more grating than charming by the end of the film. This throws the narrative flow in flux and undermines character development and dynamics.
This framing device also renders Pattinson’s Mickey 17 as the only multidimensional character in a film with a stacked supporting cast. Award-winning performers like Steven Yeun and Anamaria Vartolomei play one-note characters who fade into the background, unbefitting their considerable acting talent.
Visually, “Mickey 17” doesn’t miss the mark. Phenomenal set design by Fiona Crombie and cinematography by Darius Khondji shape a cosmic dystopia. Unlike other recent blockbusters (ahem, Marvel), this stylistic coherence is not diminished by its extensive special effects or garish CGI mishaps.
Though clear precision and attention were paid in crafting the look of the film, the aesthetic is still unusually faceless. When stepping into the world of Niflheim, little is done to differentiate its imagery from the sea
of other space fantasies. Whether intentional or not, this merely contributes to the film’s lack of depth.
“Mickey 17” feels oddly impersonal and desensitized in its commentary. While attempting to juggle a bevy of socially relevant themes, it makes no particularly potent statement about any of them. As a result, the writing and character work suffer. No scenes nor lines linger after the credits roll.
“Mickey 17” is Bong Joon Ho’s least intimate film, and much to my dismay, it may be his worst.
“Parasite” serves as a perfect blend of comedy and commentary, but “Mickey 17” fails the tonal balancing act. It lacks the gut-wrenchingly real moments of the former (the flooding of the apartment or the out-oftouchness of the Parks) and opts for a sillier, disengaged political critique against the backdrop of an outlandish world. This more aloof narrative may be grander in scale, but the subpar script and absence of a poignant, honed political message make for a much less affecting and entertaining watch.
ELLA GIERE | PHOTO EDITOR
JAIME HEBEL | HEAD OF ILLUSTRATION
Spring Break beach reads
LEXI
Spring Break is nearly upon us, and with that comes the cherished few days when you can settle down with a good book. Whether you are hopping on a plane to a beach destination or enjoying the sunny weather that’s finally graced St. Louis, there’s nothing better than a non-academic read and I have a recommendation for just about everyone.
“Book Lovers” by Emily Henry
You can’t talk beach reads without mentioning an Emily Henry novel, and “Book Lovers” is one of my personal favorites. I have a soft spot for anything siblingrelated, so I immediately fell in love with the plot: two sisters, one of whom is a writer, embark on a trip to reconnect and end up rediscovering themselves along the way. The best part? The whole novel has a palatable mix of family dynamics, love, and personal growth. If subtle romance is more your thing,
this one might be for you. In fact, the plot has a fun habit of leaning into certain tropes while completely rejecting others. As with all Emily Henry books, the writing is charming without being too flashy, and the pace is quick without too much fluff. I also adore the small-town setting, which made me long for home-cooked meals and stargazing. At the end of the day, Book Lovers is far from revolutionary, but it is the perfect paperback to make a flight (or a cozy night in) fly by.
“The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Nothing says glamour quite like Old Hollywood, and “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” is a perfect escape into a world of
So close to… what, exactly?: Tate McRae’s identity crisis
JOSHUA MILLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
On my first listen of Tate McRae’s new album, “So Close To What,” a seemingly very important question formed in my mind: Why is Tate McRae famous?
On the surface, it’s easy enough to answer. She’s young and beautiful. She’s an excellent dancer and performer. She’s uncontroversial. She makes bops.
And yet, despite all the evidence in her favor, a piece of the puzzle is still missing — a piece that feels more essential than ever on her third full-length project. Let me exemplify what I mean through a quick quiz. Two of the lyrics below were generated by AI, while one is a lyric from “So Close To What.” Can you identify which is which?
“Yeah, I’ll be nice, up until I’m not.”
“Say you wanna know me / You don’t wanna know me / You just wanna know what I do.”
“I tried to be everything I thought he wanted / And truthfully, I’m so over but stuck on it.”
I’ll reveal the answer at the end, but you get the gist. McRae suffers from what chronically online groups have coined the “Curse of the Albanian Pop Star,” which states that almost all major pop girls from Albania or of Albanian descent lack a concrete identity in their music (Ava Max, Bebe Rexha, Rita Ora). While the curse can be broken — at least temporarily — if the artist makes particularly exceptional music (Dua Lipa circa 2020), the theory imposes a ceiling: No matter how many hits an Albanian
artist has, their lack of identity prevents the creation of a devoted fanbase or lasting impact. This also results in an AI-like quality in their music: Write me a generic pop hit that will chart for three weeks and then fall into obscurity.
Tate McRae bends the Curse of the Albanian Pop Star in a couple ways: For one, she’s not Albanian. Secondly, she does seem to have, at least on paper, a devoted fanbase — she’s embarking on a huge arena tour in 2025, with many shows already sold out. Other than that, though, she falls in line with the aforementioned singers, something that’s more apparent than ever on “So Close To What.”
Musically speaking, McRae is never offensive. Most of the songs have catchy but bland melodies or choruses, the production is tolerable but boring, and her singing isn’t bad (save for the aggravating Halsey-esque cursive inflection). The lyricism isn’t great, but nothing sticks out as being particularly awful. The issue, then, lies in this lack of anything noteworthy or provocative — in either a positive or negative way. It’s the sonic equivalent of a lukewarm bowl of sugar-free oatmeal.
McRae is obviously influenced by great pop acts of the 2000s, and the songs on which she embodies these acts end up being the best. “It’s ok I’m ok” harkens back to Britney Spears, with a somewhat-satisfying stompy chorus and a genuinely good music video that would have created a stir in 2002. “Sports car” reads as a sequel to The Pussycat Dolls’ “Buttons,” complete with a not-so-subtle analogy: “We found this really cool metaphor — how
the feeling of sex and love in a relationship can directly correlate to a sports car,” McRae said of her track. Thank you for clarifying that, Tate. It was unclear.
It’s a shame that a “really cool metaphor” can only go so far. The deeper cuts on “So Close To What” — “I know love,” “Like I do,” “bloodonmyhands” — flounder in a sea of generic pop acts, aided by the incredible homogeneity of the production and lyrical content across the album. Any one of these individual aspects could be overlooked (at least slightly) if it was alone in its mediocrity — say, if the lines “Yeah I know love / Yeah I know love when it hits, when it feels like this / It’s a little like drugs” were placed over harder-hitting production or sung with more precision and technical prowess. Yet McRae continues over and over to fire on no cylinders, highlighting the generic quality of each individual nut and bolt in her music.
What’s frustrating is that there are whispers of a more
interesting album and artist somewhere deep within this music. In the video for standout track “Revolving door” (despite the hammer-overhead metaphor “Say I keep coming back / Like a revolving door”), McRae dances among four others with the sort of exacting quality that should translate to her music. She is eventually left alone in the room, broken down on the floor after stating that she just needs “a minute.” It feels as though we’re closer than ever to seeing behind the curtain, seeing something interesting and emotionally resonant in her work. Alas, this depth only lasts for the video’s short runtime, and then we’re thrust back into generic machinemade pop about love and not love and maybe love. In this way, Tate McRae is so close to something. But per the bulk of evidence she’s given us, she regretfully remains far, far away.
Oh, and the quiz: All three lines were taken from “So Close To What.” But they could have been written by AI, right?
WashU invites graduate and professional students to participate in the inaugural survey of the graduate student experience in the research university (gradSERU). The gradSERU survey was developed by a consortium of leading research universities, of which WashU is now a member. Share your feedback in this confidential survey that covers health and well-being, financial support, career plans, and advising. WashU will use these data to inform decisionmaking around graduate and professional student services, program experiences, and more.
ANAELDA RAMOS | ILLUSTRATION EDITOR
LUCIA THOMAS | CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATOR
Think about the last time you went to visit your great aunt Mildred. Yeah, the one who lives three hours away up the interstate. Living in a mid-century modern, onestory with a carport lined with shelves, a den enclosed by rough oak paneling, and green shag carpets.
Now picture that this year, the holidays are being held at your Aunt Catherine’s in the city’s freshly-gentrified northern area. The walls are stripped bare — she’s a minimalist, she says — drawing your attention to the miles of new glass, spotless interiors, and the silence of neighbors who have yet to move in.
A distinct lack of culture, spirit, and the inexplicable feeling of history wherever you move. This is the dawn of a new era, marking the crucial distinction between WebSTAC, dearly beloved by WashU alums stretching as far back as the 80s, and the new Workday platform. It’s a distinction as vast as the difference between the fresh LEED Platinum Certified interiors of Hillman Hall and the storied ancient stones of Busch Hall (campus’s oldest building, dating back to the 1904 World’s Fair). Workday is a startling reality that students and faculty alike are grappling with, echoing complaints of why it takes
FORUM
Not (work)ing to(day)
five separate clicks to navigate from the main page to the course listings page.
With any bold vision comes certain costs.
Technical difficulties are to be expected; after all, the dry-run of a performance is never the Tony Award-winning spectacle worth being written over. It naturally takes time to settle into the future, and so the heart of the Workday issue is not one relating to server crashes, timeouts, or a combination of the two, resulting in a crashout.
The heart of the matter is Workday’s lack thereof. Workday is visually unappealing, aesthetically distressing, and emotionally offensive. All while being caught in a mixed-use platform many of us are familiar with only in the context of punching in or out of on-campus employment, now doused with a clean coat of Lowe’s finest acrylic into a software for educational use.
Signing into the app, I’m confronted with a rush of information, and presented with more options than a choose-your-own-adventure book. Blinking away my surprise, I search up ‘Course Listings’ to regain my bearings. In two seconds, the floodgates burst and drown my screen in random fonts and bad graphic designs, coming in the form of 18 articles matching my search criteria.
“Okay,” I say. 18 articles
PUZZLE PUZZLE Mania
having at least some tenuous connection to the topic of interest. One of them has to work. Naturally, I pick the first.
I’m led to a 13-step process of completing my planned schedule for the next semester. Five steps later and I have finally found course listings. After another seven steps, I should have my schedule for the next semester. Now I’m no expert, but a process once taking max three steps now taking 13 is absurd.
Still with me? Let’s try an HGTV approach to this and look at the house before the renovations. On WebSTAC, scrawled in white letterings framed by a scarlet red banner at the top of the screen, I see ‘Courses’ written clearly. A second later, the future of my academic career at WashU unfurls itself with the ease and glide of a well-oiled door hinge. I see my major programs under ‘Global Studies’ displayed proudly on my screen. I breathe a sigh of sheer relief.
Tell me why there are four separate options for ‘Global Studies’ in Workday? And why none of them, when prompted, actually show me classes pertaining to that major?
The most egregious flaw might be the death of cross-listing. The beauty of brick-and-mortar is the simple pleasure of window shopping along the brightly illuminated
promenades of the neighborhood mall. Without it, I might never know that a class shelved under Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences (EEPS) might count for my major, giving me a whole new perspective and independence while deciding my education.
But these are not gripes with functional issues. The lights work, the plumbing is fine, and the taps run. But the layout makes no sense. The house’s only bathroom is in the basement, while the bedrooms are on the second floor. Workday is a visual nightmare. A dystopian interpretation of modernity and a paradox of efficiency, where a process easily understood under the guidance of WebSTAC is twisted beyond recognition under the heavy-handed rule of Workday.
I believe strongly in the phrase, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” We can all agree WebSTAC looked dated, and made many of us think of it as a relic from semesters past and present, certainly not future. It showed its age with a sense of pride, and that I can respect. But any Communication Design major will tell you, the critical importance of a user-friendly interface is paramount. And when I think of user-friendly, I think of something I consider visually inviting. Waiting at the door for me with a plate of
cookies and a kind word. Not a handbook and confusingly-drawn map.
This is not a hate letter to Workday. I may be accused of letting nostalgia pollute my memories of WebSTAC, and of holding onto the past with too-iron of a grip the way great aunt Mildred fought every single member of the family about moving the holiday celebration to aunt Catherine’s. The staggered registration times benefitting the lucky-few drawn for the earliest slots, the random errors, buggy glitches, and proverbial shag carpeting of its ancient layout should not leave too much to long for.
Instead, this is a letter of hope. I am all for minimalism, and art is a subjective experience I would not dare argue. However, when I am left with no alternative to log off Workday in defeat and hope that tomorrow brings some update, the interface is at the center of that journey. I am disincentivized from learning the ropes of Workday, and I quit the same way I do whenever I look at a homework problem I know is going to remain unsolved until the professor addresses it in class. Or until I watch a Khan Academy tutorial.
I’m sure holidays at aunt Catherine’s will feel like the new normal a few years down the line. But only once we spruce the place up a bit! Make a new stain on the couch, place some photos and art on the walls, color the empty space with the memories of a careerending family Monopoly night.
My point is, Workday facilitators must make the welcome screen easier to understand. Course listings should only be a click away. And by no means were all the changes bad. For example, I think the option of creating multiple schedules is a great improvement from the horrific scenes of the flood of yellow fonts signaling conflicting classes on WebStac.
I’m no software engineer, computer engineer, or engineer period, but we do have a wealth of those here. We also have a wealth of Sam Fox students who would love to get their hands dirty with the prospect of redesigning Workday for the benefit of students. How feasible this is, I’m not qualified to answer. But, it’s a thought worth considering. And maybe for old time’s sake, we can drive up the interstate again, and have New Year’s at aunt Mildred’s. Why not?
Workday is the future. This is a fact, and one we’ll all accept in time. I’m sure a few semesters down the line, we’ll laugh about how complicated it was at first. Once we cross the Himalayas, and undergo the first registration with WorkDay, we’ll have the luxury of time to figure out the future together.
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Academia has never been apolitical, and that’s ok
LAWRENCE HAPEMAN CLASS OF 2025
WashU Chancellor Andrew Martin recently penned an op-ed with Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier, in which the two laid out their vision for the ideal research university. Unbiased. Neutral. Apolitical. These traits, according to the chancellors, “are not new. They have defined America’s great research universities for decades.” I am not convinced this is true.
The chancellors’ op-ed begins with a bleak description of the current state of higher education. They describe the position universities find themselves in today as “a crisis” and “a crossroads,” stating that, “Universities are now in the crosshairs of government and activists alike.” Martin and Diermeier then go on to argue that universities have become mired in “ideological agendas” which have prevented them from producing quality education and research to their fullest capacity. They imply that WashU and Vanderbilt — conveniently for them — are not a part of the general trend of ideological corruption in academia. The two chancellors argue that WashU and Vanderbilt’s exonerated status is only possible because of their commitment to the “core principles” of academic institutions: “excellence,” “academic freedom and free expression,” and “accessibility.”
These three categories
of values seem fairly arbitrary. One could argue, for example, that accessibility is simply a sub-point in universities’ goal of excellence, in which case a third point like creativity or collaboration might be added. What matters most seems not to be the values themselves, but simply the fact that the chancellors can point to a vague sense of “excellence” that they can encourage other institutions to adopt.
Besides the positive visions of university greatness they offer, the actual criticisms Martin and Diermeier make of US universities are quite nebulous; besides their explicit insistence that universities ought not to “take official positions on political and social issues,” their other critiques amount to vague gestures towards institutions that have “allowed excellence to become compromised” or have “lost sight” of “their foundational purpose.”
But has this idealized foundation of academia ever existed at all? Regardless of the exact list of “core principles,” can we explain the ability of academic institutions to thrive in a brief collection of buzzwords? Is it ever possible, as Martin and Diermeier claim, to separate academic institutions and their work from “ideological agendas” of any kind?
University presidents and administrators have a rich and admirable history of political actions, one of the most impactful coming in 1936 from University of North Carolina president Frank Porter Graham. When a
UNC professor faced dismissal from the Board of Trustees for his decision to share a meal with leaders in the NAACP, Graham declared, “If Professor Erickson has to go on the charge of eating with another human being, then I’ll have to go first.” Martin and Diermeier likely imagine that they would have made the same decision if they had been university leaders in the 1930s, but it is difficult to imagine them squaring such a decision with their dogmatic commitment to political neutrality.
Is it ideological, then, when climate scientists at research institutions around the world come to a consensus on the dire threat of climate change?
Certainly in some ways, as it promotes the ideology that our current scientific research methods are fairly reliable and ought to be trusted. But that kind of ideology isn’t a bad thing; scientific paradigms naturally shift with time, but academic work requires a certain collection of assumptions about theory, experimentation, and knowledge creation in order for it to happen in the first place. WashU, Vanderbilt, Saint Louis University, The University of Chicago, and every other research university are so much more than giant buildings churning out numbers and graphs without any human value attached to them.
Martin and Diermeier’s hubris becomes even clearer when applied to other university departments. Is the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies department
expected to be neutral on the topic of feminism?
The Latin American Studies department on human rights abuses by the U.S. government? WashU’s own WashU & Slavery Project is certainly not neutral on its subject matter, nor should it be! Academic work is often quite political, and that’s OK.
Perhaps Martin and Diermeier meant to distinguish between university administrators and faculty more strongly, as they champion “academic and free expression” as one of the “foundational principles” of great research universities. However, even if we assume Martin and Diermeier only wish to advocate against “ideological agendas” for university administrators, academic faculty across the country have a very different opinion about the promotion of “neutrality” as a core value at U.S. universities. Earlier this year, the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) released their statement “On Institutional Neutrality,” in which they argued against the increasing prevalence of universities taking stances they are commonly labeling as “institutional neutrality.” The authors of the statement explain that institutional neutrality, in the many forms it takes among universities, is not “necessary or sufficient for academic freedom to flourish.” More specifically, academic freedom actually requires a more substantive stance to be taken, as the AAUP writes, “The defense of
academic freedom has never been a neutral act.”
Given both Martin’s and Diermeier’s backgrounds in Political Science — particularly Martin’s work on the allegedly neutral, yet anything but, US Supreme Court — I am surprised the chancellors still think the neutrality they describe is even possible.
In addition to this dubious endorsement of neutrality above all, a very pointed ideological commitment emerges despite its authors’ ostensible opposition to ideology of any kind: nationalism. Twice, Martin and Diermeier argue that “national security” is threatened when universities stray from their allegedly-neutral pasts, and they even highlight “the nation’s competitiveness and strength abroad” as another important bastion to be cultivated by academic institutions.
Besides these explicit instances, the op-ed is laden with vivid language that frames its authors as champions for the great rise of universities as a sort of nation themselves, following nationalist rhetorical patterns with acrobatic flexibility: pointing to an imagined past ideal, describing the tragic fall from that ideal, and providing an invigorating opportunity for the triumphant rebirth of an ideal that never existed in the first place.
I fully recognize the difficult place all university administrators currently find themselves in, as the Trump administration’s funding cuts are horribly threatening to the existence of many
institutions. But nowhere in their op-ed do Martin and Diermeier advocate against cuts to education funding, a pathetic omission considering the obvious awareness they have of the Trump administration’s eyes on any and all university communication at this time. Instead, Martin and Diermeier acknowledge budget cuts as threatening to their universities’ functions before rolling over and blaming the rise of “politicization” at universities for the cuts instead of rampant anti-intellectualism.
Martin and Diermeier seem to have seen Jeff Bezos’ reorientation of The Washington Post towards “personal liberties and free markets,” Mark Zuckerberg’s removal of fact-checking features on Facebook, and Elon Musk’s general vibe as perfect models for the kind of faux-neutrality they would love to emulate. We deserve it! It’s our fault academic resources are being slashed! We’re sorry! At best, it’s a completely spineless waste of 1,000 words. At worst, it’s a full validation of the Trump administration’s demonization of normal, valuable, and vital academic work. It isn’t particularly often that Martin makes public statements that amount to more than rushed PR moves. The growing movement to defund educational institutions across the U.S. is an excellent time to speak out. I just wish Martin took the opportunity more seriously.
In 2014, Student Union (SU) banned co-campaigning, or what is colloquially known as slating, because they affirmed them as a “popularity contest” that favored members who formed groups. In 2023, slating was reintroduced for candidates in SU elections to make campaigns more easily digestible for students.
Since then, several slates have formed during election cycles, usually uniting under a shared platform. Last election, there was a slate of 13 people for Senate and Treasury — and there were only 24 seats up for election. Everyone who ran as part
of the 13 person slate got a seat.
This election cycle, there are three slates consisting of two candidates and three slates with more than two candidates. While groups as small as two are considered slates, we at StudLife are more concerned about larger groups — about four or more people.
In 2023, then junior and SU Election Commissioner Constantin Carrigan reported a 6% increase in voter turnout for the spring election after reintroducing slates. With the continued allowance of slates, however, the editorial board of Student Life
is concerned about the possibility of a growing partisanship in the Student Union.
Large swaths of SU candidates being voted in on the same platform gives students a sense of ease while filling out the ballot. Nevertheless, it instills homogeneity into the very group of people meant to represent the diverse opinions and motivations of students at WashU. A system set up to accommodate slates will further ingrain them into the growing culture of partisanship in SU; this issue is exacerbated by the seemingly unlimited number of candidates that can be on
First Place
Two peas in a pod? I’m good I’ll leave some room for god Isabella Casas, Current WashU Student
Second Place
F*ck this, I’m quitting the podcast Oscar Waldman, Current WashU Student
Third Place
You better not pea in the pod while I’m out Frankie Lynch, Caption Contest Enthusiast
a slate, and the number of slates themselves. Should we accept that our student government is becoming more like realworld partisan politics? Will slates exist as a sort of popularity contest, or evolve into domineering political parties? What are the ramifications of slates on our student body? Discourse and disagreement in a student government are essential for productive and informed resolutions. While each candidate on a slate might not exactly have the same opinions on a variety of matters, the shared platform they run on certainly encourages a
sort of groupthink. Here that we question: To what extent do slates remain committed not only to the platforms they run on but also to their fellow running mates?
If anything, slates should be limited to a group of three people in order to allow for the diversity of thought needed to represent the student body. We encourage students who plan to vote to consider each candidate separately in order to make an informed and truly representative choice.
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.
Kate Theerman Rodriguez, Junior Forum Editor
Dion Hines, Senior Forum Editor Nina Giraldo, Editor-in-Chief
AnaElda Ramos, Illustration Editor Sydney Tran, Head of Design Jordan Spector, Managing Forum Editor River Alsalihi, Junior Forum Editor
William Fieni-Thies, Junior Forum Editor Elizabeth Grieve, Senior Scene Editor
by 11:59 p.m. on Monday.
No. 17 men’s basketball falls to UChicago in final UAA matchup
LEWIS RAND MANAGING SPORTS EDITOR
The No. 13 WashU men’s basketball team lost their last University Athletic Association (UAA) game of the regular season to the University of Chicago 76-68 on March 1. With the loss, the Bears move to third in the UAA with a record of 9-5, and they will host Central College in the first round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament on March 7 at 6:40 p.m. in St. Louis.
“It feels good, I think, the body of work, the season we put together, you know, I think there’s a lot to be proud of,” senior Hayden Doyle said. “Obviously, [we] came up short in terms of the conference race, but like you said, it’s one of the best leagues. I think it prepared us really well for March, and so it’s going to be exciting to see what happens tomorrow at the selection show.”
Saturday’s game started off evenly with WashU and UChicago trading leads throughout the first half. With around two minutes left in the first half, the Bears and the Maroons sat tied at 35-35. Three free throws and a layup from UChicago left WashU behind Chicago 40-35 at halftime.
The Bears trailed throughout the entire second half as UChicago’s lead grew and
waned. Seven minutes into the half, WashU was down nine points but was able to claw their way back to within just one point of the Maroons with 7:11 left on the clock at 63-62.
However, this would not be enough for a WashU victory. UChicago continued to extend their lead, scoring seven unanswered points in the final minutes of the game. Two free throws by Chicago’s Luke Smith put Chicago up 76-68, where the game would sit at the final buzzer 11 seconds later.
Doyle led WashU in scoring with 20 points and three assists. First-year Connor May, who has been a standout for the Bears during his first season, scored 11 points. Senior Drake Kindsvater led the Bears in rebounds with seven, and Doyle also recorded five rebounds.
“He’s our leader and has a lot on his shoulders,” Head Coach Pat Juckem said about Doyle’s performance. “He’s a two-way player … [You’ve] got to be able to do it on both ends, get a defense. So, you know, he’s playing like a senior … He’s a coach on the floor at this stage of his career.”
WashU ended the game 43.5% from the field, making 27 of 62 shots and 70% from the free throw line — consistent with WashU’s field goal and free throw percentages
this season of 47.6 and 69.9, respectively. The Bears struggled from behind the arc, making seven of 23 attempts, 9% less efficient than the Bears’ average three-point efficiency.
WashU dominated UChicago on second-chance points, tallying 13 to the Maroon’s eight. While early this season the Bears struggled with second-chance points, these points have become a strength for WashU during the second half of their UAA season, according to Doyle.
“It’s just been more of a commitment as a team,” Doyle said. “It’s too late in the season to be one-on-one, two-and-two rebounding, where you’re just kind of hitting each other, being super physical. Because when we were struggling in the middle of conference play, that was honestly the primary reason. And so it’s just like, you know, if we don’t rebound, we won’t win. And when you kind of put it like that, we have no choice. [We’ve] got to rebound. ”
Juckem credited the growth of both May and other younger players to the Bears’ success throughout the season. May has been able to transition well from high school basketball to collegiate play and is who Juckem described as both a versatile player and “an awesome
teammate.” WashU’s depth also shined, with the Bears leading UChicago in bench points with 24 compared to 14.
“I’d say all of our young players have progressed a ton this year, and we’ve seen that in our practices and our competitive segments, and [we’re] certainly excited for the future with our young players and their development,” Juckem said. “But
Connor was ready to go from the beginning.”
On March 3, WashU will play Central in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The winner of that matchup will face off against either Denison University or Franklin College on March 8 at 6:40 p.m.
Going into March Madness, the Bears are not looking for change but instead, to follow their
processes that have taken them to this point in the season, according to Doyle.
“[We want to continue] to just pour into our process,” Doyle said. “And I think a lot if it is just [that] the process takes away the pressure because you trust in your process. Especially in the tournament, it’s high-stress, emotional, intense games, so [we need to] just rely on our preparation.”
No. 3 women’s track and field claim sixth-straight UAA indoor title, No. 18 men take fourth
ELIAS KOKINOS SENIOR SPORTS EDITOR
The WashU track and field teams capped off a high-stakes weekend at the 2025 UAA Indoor Championships, with the No. 3 women’s team securing their sixth consecutive conference title and the No. 18 men’s team placing fourth in an intensely competitive field. Over two days of competition in Chicago, the Bears delivered standout performances, shattered records, and showcased their depth, reaffirming their position as a powerhouse in the UAA.
Women leave no doubt, extend conference dominance with big-time performances
The field events set the tone early, with senior Yasmin Ruff again proving why she’s the best in Division III. Her record-breaking 4.16meter clearance not only secured another UAA title, but also reset the conference and facility records, reaffirming her spot as the top-ranked vaulter in the nation.
Meanwhile, the long jump squad delivered in a big way, with graduate student Ebun Opata finishing third (5.64 meters) and sophomore Olivia Theisen taking fourth (5.60 meters, PR) — the fifth-best mark in program history. The high jump followed a similar script on the event’s second day, with Theisen winning the UAA title (1.63 meters) and Opata placing second after clearing the same height.
Junior Jasmine Wright delivered one of the biggest performances of the meet, blazing to a UAA title in the 60 meters with a time of
7.56 seconds — a new PR, conference record, and the fourth-fastest time in D-III this season. But for Wright, the focus wasn’t on records, but on helping the team win.
“I wasn’t expecting to run a PR or UAA record, I just went out to compete,” Wright said. “The conference meet is all about scoring points, so I just wanted to get the most I could, which meant winning and adding another 10 for the team. I think having that collective goal gave me extra motivation to run fast this week.”
She carried that momentum into the 200 meters, finishing second with 25.28 seconds to gain even more crucial points. Now, with nationals on the horizon, her focus shifts from time to staying ready for the biggest stage.
“Rest, recovery, and staying healthy over the next two weeks for me is most important,” Wright said. “I want to ensure that I’m at my best for nationals.”
The 800 meters was another statement event, with senior Izzy Gorton taking the UAA title in 2:12.15, marking the 16th-best time in D-III. First-year Kalena Riemer (3rd – 2:14.77) and sophomore Caroline Echols (4th – 2:15.63) turned it into a WashU clinic.
Not to be outdone, junior Jenae Bothe dominated the shot put, setting a new UAA record with a 14.80-meter throw, the second-best mark in D-III this season.
And to put an exclamation point on things, the 4x400 relay team of firstyear Quinn Bird, Echols, and sophomores Cate Christopher and Julia Coric, closed out the meet with a conference-winning 3:50.62, securing another UAA
trophy for a team that refuses to lose.
Men’s team battles for top finishes, claims fourth in highly competitive field
Unlike the women’s team, which controlled the title race initially, the WashU men fought for every point in a highly competitive championship meet. While Chicago, Emory, and Carnegie Mellon pulled away in the team standings, the Bears still managed to bring in some top finishes.
One of the biggest highlights of the weekend came in the Distance Medley Relay (DMR), a four-leg relay featuring 1200-meter, 400-meter, 800-meter, and 1600-meter segments, where junior James Corbett, sophomore William Frohling, first-year Caleb Brox, and senior Frankie Lynch ran a near-flawless race to win the UAA title in 10:06.82.
Pole vault became one of the Bears’ biggest scoring events, as sophomore Peter Lichtenberger soared to the UAA title, clearing 4.96 meters to break the conference record. His dominant performance capped off a strong showing for WashU’s vaulting squad.
Lichtenberger entered the competition with confidence, fueled by his teammates’ energy. “I felt really excited going in,” he said. “I had spent the previous day cheering on my teammates, and seeing one of our seniors have an incredible day especially had me raring to go.”
Even with the pressure of the moment, he believed he could make history. “I’ve been jumping pretty consistently this year and knew if I kept it together, I had a good chance of making that bar,”
he said. Now, his focus shifts to the national stage. “My next big goal is to repeat as an AllAmerican,” Lichtenberger said. “The competition is a little steeper this year, but if I keep a cool head and listen to my coach, I reckon I have a pretty good chance.” Junior Hayden Kunkel (2nd – 4.76 meters) and graduate student Tommaso Maiocco (4th –4.46 meters) rounded out a dominant team effort, giving WashU one of the best vaulting units in the conference.
In the sprints, junior George Bourdier (2nd –22.16 seconds, PR) and senior Elvin Binagi (4th –22.64 seconds) gave WashU another impressive showing in the 200, while first-year Benjamin Kruger (7th –51.70 seconds, PR) made his
UAA finals debut in the 400. The distance squad wrapped up the meet strong, with junior Oliver Witt (3rd –8:28.14) and senior Matthew Hornung (8th – 8:34.43) scoring in the 3,000 meters. With another conference title for the women and a hard-fought fourth-place finish for the men, WashU now turns its attention to nationals. With multiple athletes ranked in the Top 20 nationally, the Bears will look to add more hardware to their season at the NCAA Indoor Championships on Mar. 14-15.
Junior James Corbett competes in a meet in mid-February.
Senior Drake Kindsvater takes a contested lay-up against UChicago.
COURTESY OF WASHU ATHLETICS
SAM POWERS | MANAGING PHOTO EDITOR
For nearly 102 years, WashU and Fontbonne University have been separated by just a few blocks. The two institutions consistently played one another in sports — including soccer, basketball, baseball, softball, and volleyball — in a matchup that has been dubbed the annual “Wydown Showdown”. In 2024, Fontbonne announced that it would close, and that WashU would purchase its campus. Nearly a year later, on Feb. 26, 2025, the Fontbonne baseball team stepped up to the plate at WashU’s Kelly Field to take on WashU in their last-ever athletics contest.
When the final pitch was thrown in WashU’s 12-2 win, the Bears celebrated a relatively unremarkable mid-week early-season victory over a non-conference team.
However, the match-up was more significant than usual, as it was the last time WashU and Fontbonne will ever play in a NCAA-sponsored game.
matches outside of D-III
Coming off of two wins for their last home games of the season against the University of Rochester and Emory University, the WashU women’s basketball team fell 65-55 to the University of Chicago in their final game of the season. On Saturday, the beginning of the first quarter was very tight, with both teams trading points. Although WashU had a run of points, the Maroons answered with another run immediately after. The first quarter ended with the Maroons just barely up 11-10.
The Maroons increased
The relationship between the two schools has historically extended past the playing field, according to WashU’s Athletic Director Anthony Azama. When Fontbonne’s field flooded at the end of the softball season last spring, Azama and WashU offered the Griffins their field to finish their last game of the season.
“We were able to have them here and be able to finish out those two and a half innings,” Azama said. “I think that’s cool sometimes. That’s not talked about as how unique D-III is that we’re willing to support each other, especially in times of great need.”
Azama also pointed to how often administrators at both athletic departments called each other to share insight and discuss changes in the world of Division III, as a marker of how close they were.
“They are some of the nicest people in the industry, always willing to give you some insight,” he said. “Very rarely do you meet people in this business that don’t look at it as a transaction, where they’re really trying to do what’s in the best interest.”
According to WashU
Since Fontbonne joined the NCAA in 1989, WashU and Fontbonne have contested a friendly rivalry, affectionately known as the “Wydown Showdown” for the boulevard that divides the two campuses.
play by junior forward Nailah McBeth. A quick run by the Maroons, including a jumper and a three-pointer, caused the Maroons’ lead to go back to 10 as the first half ended.
The third quarter went back-and-forth, with each team trading points. Later in the quarter, the Bears went on a 9-0 run to cut the lead further. The run started with a layup from sophomore guard Sidney Rodgers and ended with a jumper from her. The third quarter ended with the Bears only down by two points, with a score of 43-41 going into the fourth quarter.
The Bears made the game very close in the fourth quarter. With five minutes left, a layup by fifth-year
basketball fan and former WashU employee Jason Marquart, who goes by the name of “Hilltopper” on X, WashU’s rivalry with fellow D-III St. Louis school Webster University has always been a higher quality of play. However, it is the proximity of the two schools that makes the relationship special.
“Even if you know it’s not going to be a good game, it’s just fun to be able to just leave work and walk over to the gym to watch them play,” Marquart said.
While this rivalry has existed for years, and has tended to be a one-sided affair dominated by WashU, it did not come without upsets. In 2001, Fontbonne snapped the dominant WashU women’s basketball team’s 81-game win streak — tied for the longest in collegiate basketball at the time and still the longest streak in D-III history. The Griffins’ men’s basketball team beat the WashU squad just once in 25 years of competition, but Fontbonne’s lone victory came in the 1996-97 season, where WashU won a national championship. The men’s basketball team also met Fontbonne in the first round of the 2006-07 NCAA Tournament hosted
attempt to win the game.
However, the Maroons made all six of their free throw attempts in the last minute of the game, causing them to win 65-55.
The Bears were led by Harris, who contributed 17 points and seven rebounds.
Aside from Harris, Rogers and McBeth added 15 and 10 points, respectively. Brooks contributed a game-high nine rebounds.
Despite WashU outsourc ing UChicago in the paint 34-20, their rebounding and
by WashU, which the Bears won.
According to former WashU men’s basketball head coach Mark Edwards, the dynamic between the two schools brought out a healthy competition — with Fontbonne often searching to upset the Bears.
Unlike WashU, where recruits come from all over the country and the world, Fontbonne recruits studentathletes primarily from the St. Louis area and competes in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC), a regional league consisting mostly of fellow D-III schools in the St. Louis area. Despite this, the Griffins proved constant competitors for WashU.
“They had to put their program together using all local kids and we had a nice healthy relationship with them when we played them for 24 years,” Edwards said. “We did play them one time in the NCAA tournament which was kind of strange because all they had to do was walk across the street to come to our gym and play.”
Unlike conference and postseason games, the “Wydown Showdown” has never held particular importance for the
free throw struggles ultimately cost them the win.
“Particularly in the first half, we were 3-10 from the free throw line and down 10 points,” Rogers said. “Just making those free throws and getting a few more offensive rebounds would have given us more opportunities to score and put us in a better position going into the second half.”
WashU ends the 2025-2026 season with a 16-9 record
Bears’ post-season campaigns. The low-stakes series has often been played on weeknights early in the season.
While the “Wydown Showdown” permeates throughout all WashU sports, it was most prominent during basketball season. Beginning in 1995, WashU and Fontbonne played each other for 25 years straight with one four year interruption, according to Edwards.
“I know the coaches respected the coaches at each institution,” Edwards said about the rivalry. “They had legitimate coaches, their program wasn’t a joke. They had nice teams and nice programs.”
Even in Fontbonne’s waning years, as the schools financial woes increased and the Griffins’ future was uncertain, the quality of competition on the court did not decrease.
“They played really hard and the kids that they had on their team really went after it,” Edwards said. “WashU was a big target for them so they didn’t have any trouble getting up for it.”
With this rivalry over, Marquart hopes that WashU can schedule more exhibition
— like the men’s basketball team’s 2022 match against Division I Mizzou. One upcoming opportunity for next year would be a 40th anniversary game honoring the last time WashU and St. Louis University faced off in a basketball game.
“[The rules] have been increasingly flexible, but it’ll be easier for a school like SLU or UMSL [University of Missouri–St. Louis] to schedule an exhibition with WashU,” Marquart said. Fontbonne played its final basketball game on Feb. 26, falling to Webster 78-73 in the SLIAC tournament. Now that Fonbtonne athletics has entered its final chapter, Edwards hopes that the legacy of Fontbonne athletics will be remembered.
“I hope that there is some place somewhere where the story of Fontbonne athletics will be maintained — the trophy cases, the banners, all the things they achieved, the kids that got to play there over the years, and the coaches who got to coach there,” Edwards said. “I hope that some way they’re going to be remembered and their legacy won’t be lost.”
