November 6, 2025 Student LIfe Newspaper, WashU in St. Louis
LOVE, SCENE
Six professors, three love stories, one campus. (Scene, pg 3)
LIBRARIANS
The importance of valuing subject librarians at WashU. (Forum, pg 5)
Administration asks around 150 Danforth faculty to consider retirement
Tenured faculty aged 60 or older with five or more years of experience at WashU received an email on Oct. 31 asking them to consider retiring. The email was sent from the respective deans of WashU’s seven schools on the Danforth Campus. Faculty who accept the offer would receive 1.5 times their annual salary plus $43,500, according to the email obtained by Student Life.
Julie Flory, Vice Chancellor for Marketing and Communications, wrote in an email to Student Life that “approximately 150 Danforth Campus faculty members” received the email. The practice of offering retirement incentives for older faculty is not new, but the number of offers at once is unprecedented in recent University history.
The email was dismissed by some professors but evoked extreme discontent among others. Some regarded the email as a common practice at universities, whereas others found the move disturbing given its breadth, and in light of recent widespread cuts to University programs.
“It was a gut punch … It was insulting,” said one professor, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of “retaliation for disputing and questioning the logic of the really extreme cuts that are being made,” and will be referred to as Professor A. Seth Graebner, president of WashU’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors and associate professor of French and of Global Studies, said that he was appalled by the email. He, however, is younger than 60 and did not receive it.
“Doing this by mass mailing to a whole demographic, the University’s most experienced teachers, fits this
administration’s general contempt for faculty,” Graebner wrote in an email to Student Life. “The administration has not consulted us about the effects this plan might have on our teaching and research.”
Other professors found the email par for the course, given that it is common for universities to make retirement offers to senior faculty members. One biology professor said that they were “not seriously considering the offer” and noted that it was an optional proposal.
Barbara Schaal, dean of the faculty of Arts & Sciences from 2013 to 2020, said that offers are generally made by the department chairs in concordance with the deans of their respective schools. Schaal said that as dean, she had once made retirement offers to faculty in five departments, all in the natural sciences. Schaal added that the previous Dean, Edward Macias, had made retirement offers to faculty only in the chemistry department. Both instances were considerably smallerscale offers than the recent email.
Schaal said she made the offers to create space to hire more faculty in a time when there was no surplus money. She said that a “reasonable amount” of faculty chose to accept the retirement incentive.
“We didn’t want them ever to retire … It didn’t feel as if we were kicking them out,” Schaal said. “We ended up being able to do a series of years of hiring and actually increased the number [of faculty] beyond who had retired.”
Schaal added that the offer she had made was for professors aged 65 and up, and was “a little bit sweeter” than the recent offer. One emeritus professor who had taken up Schaal’s offer said that it proposed “two years full salary plus the option to continue in health care programs (and paying the usual share of the cost) during those
“I asked myself, if I were to take [the offer], even though I’m several years shy of being able to afford full retirement, would I have to start driving an Uber in a few years to cover my expenses?”
two years.”
Some professors said that they found the recent proposal too low to consider, especially if they were at the younger end of the range.
“I asked myself, if I were to take [the offer], even though I’m several years shy of being able to afford full retirement, would I have to start driving an Uber in a few years to cover my expenses?” Professor A said.
Some professors also took issue with the letter itself, saying they wished the offer had left room for further discussion.
“The form letter seemed to have been written by muskrats using AI, and I mean no insult to muskrats,” Professor A said.
Schaal emphasized that when making her proposal, she made sure to consider how it would be received.
“One of the things that I think is really important in anything like this is to see what the optics are, how people are responding to it,” Schaal said. “So you want to be careful not to do something where people get their backs up.”
Graebner said that he had not spoken to anyone considering the proposal.
“All the recipients with whom I have spoken feel insulted,” Graebner wrote. “The offer is laughably low, far too low to tempt anyone not already planning to retire within a year or two.”
Professors who were left disheartened by the offers said that they feared a crippling of WashU programs should enough professors accept.
“Make it make sense,” Professor A said. “Especially in the wake of the many deep cuts to our resources in response to inadequate budgeting by the administration.”
Schaal said that the offers could have been financially motivated, as new hires tend to have lower salaries than those of retirees. Schaal also said that retirements can create flexibility within departments.
“You’re ultimately going to save money,” Schaal said. “Another reason to [make retirement offers] is to shuffle around the teaching duties a little bit in case you might want to hire lecturers.”
SEE RETIREMENT, PAGE 2
Student Union (SU) financial leadership plans to be stricter with giving additional funding in the current 2026 fiscal year’s (FY) quarter 2. The move comes after a 54% increase in appeals funding allocated to student organizations in FY2026 Q1 compared to FY2025 Q1, according to senior and Vice President of Finance, Meris Damjanović. Since then, SU has reduced its funding percentage from 90% in the first quarter to 68.4% for the beginning of the second quarter.
Damjanović attributes some of the increase in funding in the first quarter to a 29% rise in appeals, which could be the by-product of alterations to SU’s former budgeting system that created fiscal uncertainty last year.
“This year we allocated a lot less in the budgets to course-correct for what happened last year,” Damjanović said.
Before the fiscal year, clubs propose budgets for three events to determine which ones they receive funding for. Throughout the year, a select group of clubs known as Category I clubs can submit appeals for more money, which are reviewed and funded through SU Treasury.
This year, SU Treasury was more cautious with the amount of money they afforded clubs for their event budgets. This included minimizing budgeting for events or activities that have an uncertain cost, such as travel. SU finances appeals based on how important they are for clubs’ missions, and, according to Damjanović
THREE-PEAT
Women’s soccer wins UAA title for third straight season. (Sports, pg 8)
90% of funds requested in Q1 were allocated SEE TREASURY, PAGE 2
68% of funds requested in Q2 have been allocated
there happened to be a higher number of reasonable appeals requests in the first quarter.
“Groups are getting what they want because what they want is necessary, and it just so happens to be the case that what they want also increases year over year,” Damjanović said.
Senior and Treasury representative Aryan Pradhan said SU Treasury has generally stuck by the same guidelines to fund appeals as they have in past quarters.
“There have been a few appeals where I think we could have made some more cuts, in hindsight,” Pradhan said. “But in general, I think we’ve stuck more to our principles.” Limited funding from the treasury for the next three quarters will affect three aspects of student organizations: travel, allowed attendance, and high-cost-per-attendee events.
Junior and Speaker of the Treasury Romen Der Manuelian said that SU Treasury wants clubs to consider driving to tournaments within a 500-mile radius of campus instead of flying. He also suggests that clubs limit the number of students traveling to off-campus events to be equitable to other clubs that travel. He illustrated an example below.
“If you have a tournament where you need 11 people on the field and you want to send 25, we might ask you to send 18,” Der Manuelian said.
From Clayton to Congress: Students join WashU’s lobbying efforts
of Government & Community Relations.
In recent years, WashU’s commitment to lobbying has grown in order to navigate federal and state policy changes. The University employs professional lobbyists at the federal, state, and local levels, and since last spring, has included student volunteers in the effort through Bears Caucus, a student lobbying group created by WashU’s Office of Government & Community Relations.
Thirty WashU undergraduate and graduate students are lobbying in coordination with full-time staff through the Bears Caucus program.
“I’ve always found in my career in higher education that students are some of the best advocates,” said J.D. Burton, vice chancellor
In the first three quarters of 2025, WashU has spent an estimated $720,000 on lobbying efforts at the federal level — an increase from fiscal year (FY) 2024, in which the University reported spending $720,000 across all four quarters and a 288% increase from the amount spent during all of 2023. The number of federal lobbyists on the University’s payroll has increased from eight to 17 over the same two-year period. And while there are no public numbers for WashU’s state or local lobbying expenditures, 15 state-level lobbyists were registered with the Missouri Ethics Commission as currently active.
Burton spoke to Student Life about his role leading lobbying efforts at all levels for WashU.
“We feel it’s really important for us as an institution that is a
recipient of taxpayer dollars to be forward and be engaged and be visible to demonstrate value. … It certainly is something that has led to our success and drives what we do every day,” Burton said.
The Office of Government & Community Relations chooses which issues to prioritize by consulting with deans, administrators, and Chancellor Andrew D. Martin.
Burton said that, at the city and state levels, WashU’s lobbyists are involved with issues such as public health, land use and zoning, public safety, and financial aid, specifically Bright Flight and the Access Missouri Financial Assistance Program.
Burton explained that the University’s return on investment from lobbying efforts is difficult to calculate, but he said that the federal endowment tax rate that was initially proposed was
three to four times greater than the final number. Burton cited the abandonment of a proposed state-level university endowment tax as another example of lobbying efforts that paid off.
“On the state side, we’ve been able to make the case for legislators why increases in endowment taxes, or other taxation at the state level, are not good for the state, and that has successfully saved us tens, if not hundreds of millions of dollars over the last couple of years,” Burton said.
As an extension of its mission, in January of 2025, the office launched WashU Advocates, a program that encourages students, faculty, alumni, and community members to get involved with the University’s government initiatives. The organization’s website offers information for contacting state and federal officials, as well as a general “advocacy toolkit.”
Tonya Rice, assistant vice chancellor for advocacy and engagement, said that through her role, she focuses on engaging the WashU community to “champion” University priorities. Rice established the Bears Caucus to promote direct interaction between lawmakers and students. Rice said student-forward lobbying is more common at public institutions like the University of Minnesota, where Burton was formerly the chief government relations officer.
“We were … at the very beginning, championing this kind of model in a way that wasn’t seen before [at] private universities,” Rice said.
One student advocate is junior Chantal Ogbeifun, who joined the group as a result of her experiences as a rural student.
“I think the initial pull that got me in was [that] Tonya [Rice] had asked, ‘Why?’ Like, if there was one thing that I could advocate for on the University side, what would that be? And my initial response was just access to higher education for rural students, because I’m from Republic, Missouri, super rural, not a lot of resources and access to education,”
Ogbeifun said.
Ogbeifun clarified that, at this stage, Bears Caucus students are not promoting a specific agenda but rather building relationships with policymakers.
Referring to meetings with representatives, she said, “It was really humanizing on both sides.”
Along with other members of Bears Caucus, Ogbeifun traveled to Jefferson City, Missouri, and around St. Louis to meet with state lawmakers and the St. Louis Board of Aldermen, respectively. Bears Caucus has also met with Congressman Wesley Bell over Zoom.
Rice added that she is
SU wants to cut down on extensive funding for events that fail to bring in large numbers of students. Der Manuelian emphasized the importance of SU spending funds effectively.
planning a Bears Caucus research showcase in Washington, D.C. for next year.
Ph.D. student Isaac Eastmond joined Bears Caucus because he was concerned about the impact of federal budget cuts on research at the medical school.
Eastmond stressed that Bears Caucus is a nonpartisan program, which he said was important for counteracting misinformation amidst a highly polarized information environment.
“Universities are supposed to be this place where highquality debate takes place, where you can exchange ideas freely, and where we can evaluate ideas based on truth. And so I think having programs like this, creating environments where productive conversations can take place, is really important. And I think the inperson aspect of Bears Caucus has been kind of critical to that,” Eastmond said.
Ogbeifun agreed that inperson interactions were impactful. Ogbeifun said discussions during the Jefferson
City Advocacy Day helped dispel some lawmakers’ perceptions that WashU “tries to put itself in a separate category” from other Missouri schools.
“The most interesting thing that I learned from it was there [were] a few representatives that kind of had a bad taste of WashU in their mouths, like
Damjanović anticipates some frustration from clubs over new funding limitations. “I understand that it’s a little upsetting to maybe not get [everything] you’ve requested, but what would be more
upsetting is [if] in the spring semester, we have no money [and clubs] can’t do anything,” he said. “This is the kind of balance that you have to strike, and it’s what Treasury is working on right now.”
they thought that WashU was some distant school,” she said.
“Feedback that I heard was that it was nice for them to put faces to students at WashU and know that we are interested in Missouri as well and not just coming to St. Louis to get an education and then leaving.”
Outside of face-to-face
Some organizations, such as WashU Run Club, have already expressed frustration with the impact that Treasury’s new approach to funding could have on their events. Since this policy change, Run Club has stated that they will implement a policy of first-come, first-served for race sign-ups.
Run Club president Julia Prata and treasurer Phoenix Jarosz have expressed frustration at this idea of sharing SU funding among clubs despite events having different participation percentages.
discussions, Bears Caucus continues to contact their representatives, and the group planned a “Digital Advocacy Day,” which included an opinion submission in Student Life about cuts to research funding.
Burton said the University’s commitment to lobbying, especially at the state level, is unusual for a private university.
“We have taken a very heavily engaged approach to lobbying for a private institution. We have been much more present at the state level. Even though we don’t receive a lot of state resources, we’ve been much more engaged on the advocacy side,” Burton said.
“[I]t is frustrating to know that there are clubs that spend about the same amount of money as us on events only to [have] 10 times less [sic] people participate in them,” they wrote in a statement to Student Life.
In the face of new conservative funding policies from SU Treasury, Pradhan said it’s vital for clubs to research options and come prepared for their appeals.
“If you come to the floor, and we see you’ve looked at four different hotel options or four different conferences …
and you’ve picked the one that best represents your group’s mission or is the cheapest, that’s something that really reflects well,” he said. Der Manuelian said that Treasury’s new approach to appeals does not change its mission to allocate funding where it is most needed.
“We have to fund equitably, and we have to make sure we are treating our money as something that student groups want, and they should have access to equitably,” he said.
240,808
Members of Bears Caucus meet with government officials in the Missouri state capitol.
PHOTO COURTESY OF WHITNEY CURTIS
SCENE
It’s August 1981. It is orientation for new bies, and a flustered latecomer takes the only empty seat left in the room. He whispers, “What did I miss?” to the pretty girl sitting next to him, com pletely unaware that this woman is his future wife.
While this may sound like a classic meetcute between two college first-years, this is actually the story of WashU Professors Lynne Tatlock and Joe Loewenstein. And they are far from the only example among WashU’s faculty. There are several couples that students might not know of.
Although working at the same institution has its perks, navigating life as a couple in academia can be difficult. But, as the cliche goes, love always finds a way.
Lynne Tatlock and Joe Loewenstein Tatlock and Loewenstein met as new faculty members at the University. The couple married in 1988, and they have been navigating life as married academics ever since.
“In some ways, I’m only fit to be married to a fellow academic because our pace of life is different [from nonacademics], and you don’t have to explain everything,” Tatlock said. “We’re not nine-to-five in any sense … [we’re] more 24/7.”
Loewenstein, a professor of English, and Tatlock, a professor in the humanities, have had the opportunity to collaborate on several articles, allowing them to spend time together as colleagues and as husband and wife.
While it’s not every day that you get to work with your spouse, it is even less common to have your husband as your student. Unless, of course, you’re Tatlock, who has experienced both.
“Joe, except that he doesn’t do his homework, [is] a good student,” Tatlock said. “What was really gratifying [was when] I’d come home and [I would say], ‘Oh,
two have co-authored three articles in total.
“It was difficult at times, because if there’s a dead line, I finish two weeks in advance, and if there’s a deadline, Joe finishes a week late,” Tatlock said.
While both Loewenstein and Tatlock appreciate the opportunity to work at the same institution as their spouse, they recognize that this unique experience comes with its own set of challenges.
“The disadvantages are that one doesn’t fully escape from the other per son’s world, and I would imagine that normal people escape from each other’s world more than we do,” Loewenstein said.
well because he lives with somebody who’s doing it.”
William J. Maxwell and Julia Walker
Like the Van Engens,
Professors William J. Maxwell and Julia Walker worked at different universities for 10 years before ending up at WashU. Maxwell worked for several years in Switzerland at the University of Geneva, while Maxwell studied at Duke University in the United
“[Switzerland] began a pattern in which we would be together for a year, through hook or by crook,
together constantly during those years,” Maxwell said. Unfortunately, this pattern of long-distance marriage is not unique to this particular pair of academics.
“This pattern of longdistance commuting is very familiar to many academic couples because it’s a great job, but you really don’t get to choose where you’re going to be,” Maxwell said.
Now, Walker and Maxwell enjoy seeing each other every day and even set aside time consistently to have a 5 p.m. happy hour and discuss non-school-related topics. Walker is a professor of English and African and African American Studies, and Maxwell is a professor of English and Performing
Kristin and Abram Van Engen
Professors Kristin and Abram Van Engen’s story is more common for couples in academia, as the two did not meet at WashU. Rather, they were previously married and both took jobs at the University after a position was offered to Abram.
Before coming to WashU, the Van Engens worked at two separate universities in
For many tenured profes sors, part of the job includes participating in some sort of leadership role in the University. Abram is no exception, serving as both the chair of the Department of English and the director of the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics.
For Abram, having a spouse in a different academic field (Kristin is a professor of Psychological & Brain Sciences and Linguistics) has helped him be a more under standing and knowledgeable
According to Maxwell, while the two are very good at establishing boundaries to separate their work life from their home life, he appreciates being able to turn to Walker when necessary.
“Julia is my last and favorite reader,” Maxwell
Tatlock & Loewenstein
Walker & Maxwell
Van Engens
All Time Low keeps the energy at an all-time high
The Factory buzzed with energy as a crowd of millennials in their skinny jeans and Old Skool Vans eagerly anticipated All Time Low’s performance last week. For almost two hours, the 2000s pop-punk boy band made me forget that I was in the end unit of a Chesterfield, Missouri, strip mall on a random Tuesday.
All Time Low is best known for its certified quadruple platinum single “Dear Maria, Count Me In,” which entered the Billboard Pop 100 at No. 86 in 2008, and its 2020 hit “Monsters,” the band’s first track to ever earn a Billboard radio chart No. 1. Now on tour promoting its newest album, “Everyone’s Talking!,” the band’s performance is tight: Frontman Alex Gaskarth’s vocals are just as dynamic live as they are recorded, and the rest of the band is reliable. The pop-punk show featured the band’s catchy hooks and melodies, and that classic pop-punk vocal quality (heavy on the California Vowel Shift) took center stage.
Unlike a standard rock show, which usually only features the band and not much else, All Time Low’s performance was silly and playful, engaging the audience throughout. Gaskarth spoke in between nearly every song, even pointing
out someone dressed as the Lorax (“Thank you for speaking for the trees!” he said). The band’s vibrant stage setup was reminiscent of those giant parachutes physical education teachers used to pull out on Fridays in elementary school: Bright hues of red, green, yellow, and blue were everywhere. While most of the audience knew the lyrics by heart, retro lyric videos played on stage anyway. The four-piece band’s bright clothing and colorful instruments starkly contrasted its darker emo-pop openers: The Paradox, The Cab, and Mayday Parade. Throughout the show, I felt nostalgic for a band that I rarely listened to growing up. Maybe it was my new millennial friends who were reminiscing about their high school days when All Time Low tracks were constantly on rotation and at the very front of their CD wallets. While I was playing the latest Kidz Bop on loop in my pink Hello Kitty CD player, these people had already been bitten by the pop-punk bug.
While All Time Low has almost consistently released an album every two years since its first in 2005, I still felt as though the band was before my time. This was especially clear to me by how few audience members below the age of 30 were in the crowd. I only started seeing people around my age (for reference, I’m 19) when the crowdsurfing
craze began –– which, honestly, can we do more of this at rock shows, please? A teenage girl and her little brother (probably around the ages of 16 and eight) crowdsurfed together at least seven times. His friends will never believe what he’ll tell them the next day by the monkey bars.
The band’s transitions between songs were oftentimes stalled by Gaskarth’s engagement with audience members, who twice threw separate wedding invitations onto the stage and a baby’s onesie and diaper to sign. There came a point, however, when these periods in between songs droned on for too long. Thankfully, the crowd’s energy returned as soon as the next song began. Gaskarth and lead guitarist Jack Barakat’s electric chemistry and stage presence had everyone up until the very last row of the balcony dancing.
At last, the credits (literally) rolled, and the night came to an energetic close nearly five hours after the first opener went on.
All Time Low’s North American leg of its world tour continues until the end of this month, with Australian and European dates continuing into next year. Fans of bands like The All-American Rejects, Panic! At The Disco, and Fall Out Boy, looking to be swept back in time to poppunk’s prime, are sure to enjoy the show.
Hiking St. Louis
Need to clear your head between classes or escape the buzz of campus for a few hours? You don’t have to wander far — St. Louis is surrounded by trails that offer everything from peaceful forest walks to breathtaking hilltop views of the Mississippi River.
Whether you’re looking for a quick afternoon stroll, a weekend adventure, a study-break picnic, or a serious workout, these hikes are perfect for anyone looking to touch grass. Lace up your sneakers, grab a friend (or your headphones), and hit one of these trails.
Bluff View Trail
Wildwood, Missouri — 23.3 miles from campus Trail length: 2.3 miles
Bluff View Park offers a scenic overlook of Meramec
Valley and Meramec River, just half a mile from the parking lot! Besides this short loop, the rest of the park’s trails, which total over 12 miles, wind down through the forest toward the river. The path mostly consists of a twisting natural surface popular with dirt bikers, while the lower part of the park is paved with gravel, making it more ideal for runners and dog-walkers. The park, which encompasses over 100 acres of land, is roughly a 30-minute drive from campus. Chubb Trail
Meramec Township, Missouri — 19.8 miles from campus Trail length: 13.6 miles
Chubb Trail is just one of the many routes that run through Castlewood State Park in Ballwin, a 30-minute drive west of St. Louis. Once a “popular retreat for partying St. Louisans” (according
All
to the Missouri State Parks website), the park now offers calmer pleasures in the form of winding trails that traverse the Meramec Valley. As the longest trail in Castlewood, Chubb Trail begins in Lone Elk County Park, runs alongside the length of Castlewood State Park, and ends in West Tyson County Park, near an endangered wolf facility and WashU’s own Tyson Research Center. The path runs through the forested hills on a natural surface that includes bumpy terrain and a rocky path with occasional shifting rocks. Both ends of the trail are relatively steep, while the middle of the trail passes through more level fields and rolling hills. For those looking for a shorter route, check out the
Castlewood Loop. White Bison Loop Valley Park, Missouri — 18.3 miles from campus Trail length: 3.1 miles
Forget your metropolitan misery and get up close and personal with elk and bison on this trail, only a 30-minute drive from the city! This lightly forested, natural surface trail loops around Lone Elk Reservoir. Although the trail itself isn’t too challenging, be prepared for occasional wildlife encounters and elk-related traffic detours, especially during mating season. Fort Belle Fontaine Loop
St. Louis, Missouri — 15 miles from campus Trail Length: 2.7 miles
Head north toward the former Fort Belle Fontaine,
situated right on the edge of Coldwater Creek and the Missouri River. Built in 1805, the fort once served as a trading post and the first American fort west of the Mississippi. The 305.6-acre park is more peaceful these days under the dominion of St. Louis County Parks, although the ruins of the fort and later limestone structures are still accessible around the trail. This includes the “grand staircase,” which leads down to the riverside. The trail itself wraps a neat, gravel-paved loop around Fort Belle Fontaine Park.
Cliff Cave Park
St. Louis, Missouri — 17.3 miles from campus Trail length: 3.4 miles
Cliff Cave once served as a tavern for French fur traders, a natural wine cellar, and storage for Anheuser-Busch beer.
Although the cave today has a slightly less boozy reputation, the surrounding trails, which border the Mississippi River, are sure to generate enough endorphins to make you feel just as buzzed. Portions of the trail are paved, while the rockier and steeper sections are less accessible. Considered the second-longest cave system in St. Louis County, the cave has been closed off since 2009, so you (hopefully) won’t find spelunkers around, although the cave is still home to a variety of bats, including the endangered Indiana Bat.
Laumeier Sculpture Park
St. Louis, Missouri — 10.5 miles from campus Trail length: 1.3 miles
Although perhaps not as strictly earthy as other trails, the Laumeier Sculpture Park offers a paved, easy walk around 70 works of outdoor art, including adventurous views of a giant blue eyeball (Tony Tasset, “Eye”) and towering red oil drums (Alexander Liberman, “The Way”). Step off the beaten path into a more forested jaunt through the woods behind the park, or simply sit on a bench and meditate on the artwork all around you.
Forest Park: Kennedy Forest Boardwalk St. Louis, Missouri — 2.2 miles from campus Trail length: 3.5 miles
Getting outside and into nature doesn’t have to mean a long drive — we’re fortunate to have a campus that runs right along Forest Park. Encompassing a whopping 1,326 acres, Forest Park ranks among the largest urban parks in the U.S., and there are plenty of routes to explore. The Kennedy Forest borders Wydown-Skinker in the southwest corner of the park, but it’s easy to get lost in the leafy expanse of this 60-acre area, which offers prime birding opportunities. Even non-avian enthusiasts will find the paved and gravel trails along this wetland a welcome retreat within the city.
Johnson’s Shut-Ins Middle Brook, Missouri — 104 miles from campus Trail length: 2.4 miles
Although this state park requires a two-hour drive, the gorgeous natural waterways and woodlands of the Ozarks make this park a must-visit. Situated around the East Fork of the Black River, the Shut-Ins trail begins with an accessible, paved walk toward an overlook of the namesake formations before developing into a steep path through the forest and down to the river. Once you’ve braved the path, though, the Shut-Ins offer a “natural water park” perfect for wading, picnicking, and swimming. If you’re planning to swim, check water levels beforehand and invest in water shoes — the river bottom is covered in a layer of slippery moss. This location is extremely popular during the summer months and holidays, so plan to arrive early. The Ozarks make for a perfect weekend trip; while you’re in the area, be sure to check out Elephant Rocks State Park, Taum Sauk Mountain State Park, and the Mark Twain National Forest.
SARA GELRUD JUNIOR SCENE EDITOR
LAUREL WANG SENIOR SCENE EDITOR
outside and into nature doesn’t have to be difficult — St. Louis is surrounded by bountiful nature, from the rock formations of Johnson’s Shut-Ins to the winding trails of Castlewood State Park.
LAUREL WANG | SENIOR SCENE EDITOR
HANNAH DORVAL | DESIGNER
Time Low put its pop-punk chops on display in its new tour that features audience hijinks, a slate of darker emo-pop openers, and a healthy dose of nostalgia.
Our librarians matter, now more than
KAYLEE CREASON STAFF WRITER
After hearing the news about two of our research librarians being fired this summer, I was shocked. WashU’s choice to respond to budget cuts in this way signals that our university is not valuing our librarians and their support for students.
In a written statement to Student Life, Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences (EEPS) librarian Clara McLeod revealed that she was given the news of termination six days before her final day. In this short time, she was expected to say goodbye to the work she had known for 30 years. Not only her termination, but the way that it was executed, shows WashU’s disrespect for McLeod’s role as subject librarian.
WashU has pushed another responsibility onto two librarians who are already managing multiple areas in the library. McLeod’s position as EEPS librarian is being temporarily filled by Lauren Todd, head of Science, Technology & Engineering librarians. The other research librarian fired was Rudolph Clay, who guided students with African & African American Studies. His position is temporarily filled by Rina Vecchiola, who is the head of departmental libraries. This secondary response to the termination further illustrates WashU’s disrespect
and underappreciation of the roles of librarians. However, WashU must have some grounds for these actions. If students were using the research librarians to their full advantage, then WashU may not have viewed the librarians as expendable, even in the midst of budget cuts. I see no reason for students to underuse our research librarians.
Our research librarians are well-educated experts in their fields and know the relevant books in circulation. This means you can spend less time panicking and searching through unhelpful sources.
Last year, I was a frequent user of our library’s staff and online resources due to my crammed schedule. I spent a lot of time talking with general library staff on duty
through the chat option on the WashU Libraries page. The on-call librarian is another helpful resource. I once asked them for books about a broader topic I needed to study, and they gave me a direct link to them, which provides their location on the shelves.
They can also refer you to subject librarians. One time, I was cramming to get my
project done, and the people who usually helped me were a dead end. The staff member who helped me suggested that I talk with the Film & Media Studies subject librarian, Brad Short, to see if he could help me find the relevant material. Without much hope, I emailed Short to ask him the question I was aiming to answer in my research. Short played a crucial role
PUZZLE PUZZLE
Mania
in the success of my research. An hour later, I got an email back from him with six highquality, academic sources. Each source was linked to the book’s call number and location if it wasn’t online-only material. Beyond finding me sources to dissect for my project, Short also guided me on how to find more sources. When I needed access to a film that hadn’t been released in America, he found me an online site that allowed me to stream the foreign version with subtitles. Our research librarians are amazing. They go above and beyond to guide us in our academic needs whenever we seek guidance. Students are increasingly turning to AI for guidance when they feel the walls of time closing in on them. What we need to realize as academics seeking truth and higher education is that AI will not make us better researchers and students, or even more efficient, but librarians can. Now more than ever, we need to utilize and appreciate our research librarians, as their value is being questioned by WashU. Show your support by accepting theirs. Schedule a meeting to talk about an upcoming project, ask complicated questions, or even just ask for a book recommendation in your subject. Our research librarians’ presence matters. They deserve a valued place at this university, and our use of them as a resource shows that to WashU.
ELLIANA LILLING | STAFF ILLUSTRATOR
The humanities keep us conscious
In September, the College of Arts & Sciences launched a task force called “Social Transformation,” which considered how WashU could consolidate six of its humanities departments. This was a clear attack on the humanities that threatened to dilute the academic depth of each of these departments and weaken their power within the University. Thankfully, due to community concern over a lack of transparency surrounding the proposal, the dean of Arts & Sciences recently dissolved the task force.
In spite of the task force’s dissolution, the proposal was a slap in the face to the programs that fought hard for recognition at WashU, like African & African American Studies (AFAS) and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS). Whether or not you read this proposed change as a cost-cutting measure or a cowardly bending of the knee to our comically underqualified Secretary of Education, this ordeal must inspire conversation about the core mission of WashU as a university in the United States today. As such, I want to articulate the importance of the humanities to WashU, the university system as a whole,
and our society. The idea of consolidating humanities departments should never have occurred at a university of WashU’s stature. Yet sadly, the university experience has become more of a business instead of a site of meaningful self-exploration that the humanities encourages. Consequently, we must make sure that WashU graduates are leaving with an understanding of how their nearly two decades in the education system contributed toward their own personal development.
We have focused heavily on encouraging students to pursue a good career but not on what a humanities-informed education does to inform our career paths and enrich our lives.
To become a welladjusted person inside and outside of the classroom, humanities skills like argumentation, critical thinking, information synthesization, bias identification, and more are foundational. Engaging with the humanities also (hopefully) fosters the development of a rich, layered, and empathetic conscience. Furthermore, oftentimes we assume that being a citizen and a productive member of society are concepts that don’t need to be taught. But just the opposite is true: Wellinformed citizens capable of understanding the historical
context of political moments don’t spontaneously generate; they are molded by robust humanities programs informed by tightly held principles. Healthy societal status quos like an engaged electorate are intentionally created and are never a given. Our hard-earned rights are effectively useless if we don’t have the education or moral awareness to wield them.
I fear that the true privilege of attending a top university today is access to an education that trains critical thinking and reading comprehension. I say fear, because really these skills should be widely present in the general population, but continue to decline. That doesn’t surprise me, given that every day, algorithms feed us an onslaught of highly addictive short-form content that neuters our ability to think critically.
Increasing our focus on the humanities and critical thinking can also act as a bulwark against the constant bombardment of content we’re subjected to. To make their profit, social media companies want people to be doomscrolling comatosely. Just recently, MIT released a study documenting how ChatGPT is also weakening our writing skills. In short, these companies want us asleep. Accordingly, the ability to filter our media, think skeptically about artificial
intelligence (AI), and write our own arguments has become paramount.
A frequent criticism humanities majors hear is that their skills are not in demand in the job market (I distinctly remember being told that I’d make a charming barista after college). I’d like to counter this sentiment by noting that, with AI automation on the rise and the amount of entry-level whitecollar jobs diminishing, the only response graduates can have is to make themselves so intensely human that an algorithm could never mimic their minds. Which is exactly what the market will be looking for in the coming years, according to the World Economic Forum. In their Future of Jobs report for 2023-2027, the WEF noted that analytical and critical thinking rank as the most common traits that companies are seeking out when hiring new talent.
Humanities classes also richly inform the academic experiences of non-humanities majors. It’s the WGSS class taken on a whim or the philosophy class that clarifies your values which make the college experience worth it. We need our doctors, engineers, businesspeople and especially those working in tech thinking critically about the effects of their decisions.
With all of this in mind, it’s time for WashU to start
Connections’
sending its graduates to places other than the corporate world, as entry-level white-collar jobs decline. As a country, we have a list of existential societal ills that could run the length of this article. Our smartest college graduates should be working on fixing the housing crisis and mitigating environmental disasters, not writing market summaries and making slide decks. Put another way, we desperately need our graduates to think beyond maximizing shareholder value, which is the fundamental value of the corporate world. It’s time that we stop expecting top students to claw their way toward a limited number of positions at companies that don’t have our best interests at heart. If our smartest graduates are dedicating themselves to increasing the amount of eyeballs on content and optimizing returns on widget production, who is going to take up the mantle of building a better world?
The classic response to this argument is that people who majored in the humanities and worked in the social sectors have historically made less money than their STEM counterparts, though this sentiment is perhaps inaccurate. And then the thinking goes, given the high cost of tuition at schools like WashU, it’s unreasonable to expect graduates to work for less
money when they hold large amounts of debt. Something worth noting however, is that there are many students at top universities like WashU who can afford to pay full tuition. This is not a critique of privilege; I don’t blame families for setting their children up for success. Yet, due to their cushion, these students have the greatest potential to comfortably major in the humanities and/or work for the social good. Of course, I cannot expect students who have already taken out hundreds of thousands of dollars to take lower salaries for the social good. Though again, not every job in the social sectors pays less than those in STEM fields. No matter the case, with the college-to-office pipeline in a precarious position, we will be forced to find new modes of employment. The first place to start should be our most pressing societal issues.
We should not be trying to cut educational opportunities that make this University a university. More than ever, WashU and other top universities need to cultivate students strongly grounded in the humanities in order to produce better communicators, thinkers, and citizens in our society and workplaces. For the sake of our collective humanity at this moment in history, we don’t have a choice.
The Instagram account
WashU Missed Connections currently boasts over 4,000 followers, roughly half the
size of WashU’s undergraduate population. It’s a cute way to get in touch with people who’ve caught your eye. The account posts entries it receives through direct messages. If someone recognizes
their description in a post, then the account’s admin puts them in touch with their secret admirer. Descriptions tend to fall into two categories: posts about someone whom the author already knows,
or creepy info-dumps about someone they’ve never met.
Though the account seems like a harmless way to show interest, it distances the poster from the person whom they supposedly want to connect with. Missed Connections’ posts rarely bridge the barrier of an inperson conversation with your crush. Rather, they stem from the idea that a digital rejection, or lack of acknowledgment, will hurt less than face-to-face dismissal. Under convenient anonymity, Missed Connections manifests our rejection anxiety and the lazy digitization of modern love.
WashU Missed Connections continues a centuries-old legacy of newspaper advertisements placed in hopes of reconnecting with someone you saw but could not formally meet. This practice dates back to at least the early 19th century. During the early ages of the internet, Craigslist’s Missed Connections section served the same purpose. As the internet has developed, it has become easier to track down people you barely missed.
WashU Missed Connections entries vary from “To the redhead guy in my lab who had the Wikipedia page for the year 2014 pulled up, you are actually so smart I wish I could spend more time with you :)” to “To the 6’6 skeletal slenderman built ass
man leaving Heemstra’s orgo — PLEASE take me out.”
Clearly, there is a range.
One Missed Connection entry reads: “To the Scottish girl with bright red hair and a green dress next to me in college writing… PLEASE BE LESBIAN PLEASE BE LESBIAN PLEASE BE LESBIAN…” Super funny, super cute. But did the author say that they sit next to them in College Writing? Meaning the author likely knows her name, could probably find her Instagram, and could easily message her.
Nothing about this connection is missed. If the poster can already contact the person they wrote about, then the account has stopped serving to reconnect people. Instead, Missed Connections outsources personal confessions to an impersonal, digitalized space.
The specificity of some of these posts feels off-putting, even bordering on predatory. If I found out that someone who has a prominent role in my life, or even worse, a stranger, fantasized about me — and rather than speaking to me, shared their feelings to 4,000 WashU students online — I’d feel unsettled.
However, WashU Missed Connections does have the potential to bring students together, especially when it recognises small acts of kindness. For example: “To whoever slipped a ‘have a
good day’ note on the desk of me and my friend while we went on a sweet treat run … it brightened my otherwise sh*tty day and I hope that kindness is paid forward to you always.”
The admin of WashU Missed Connections genuinely wants the account to connect people. When I DMed to ask if the account ever got missed connections in touch with each other, they wrote that they have succeeded in playing matchmaker “plenty of times.” They also addressed the potential parasocial and/or predatory undertones of the account: “I think it depends on your outlook. If you send a message expecting a 100% chance of your crush contacting you, I think that’s more a reflection of an unhealthy outlook than a problem with the account … I run this account with the intent that people can have an alternative to [approaching people out of the blue] if they want and that every so often it’ll end up helping people move their connections to real life.” Missed Connections shows how seemingly harmless digital spheres, under the guise of bringing us closer together, can actually push us further apart. We shouldn’t get rid of Missed Connections, but we need to reassess how we use this platform. Digital spaces are not a stand-in for real-life connections.
SPORTS
Women’s basketball looks to take the next step with ‘we will’ attitude
Before the 2025-26 season began, members of the WashU women’s basketball phrase that is supposed to summarize our entire team and our entire culture,” junior center Lexy Harris said. “It’s one beginning of a phrase, which can really be transformed into anything.”
The Bears’ “we will” mentality is just one example of their commitment to develop-
Team All-American ahead of the season. In her sophomore campaign, Harris was nothing short of dominant — her scoring (16.4 points per game), rebounding (9.2 per game), shot blocking (1.1 per game), and efficiency (0.594 field goal percentage) each were among the top five in the
Harris, her transition to an upperclassman is an important opportunity to focus on being a team leader.
“I personally have been trying to be more of a mentor to the other post players … stepping into a leadership role, being vocal, and just making an environment where everyone feels comfortable to really give and receive feedback,”
The Bears will need the leadership to make up for the loss of Jessica Brooks, who graduated from NCAA eligibility last season. Brooks shone in her final season, giving the Bears 15.3 points per game on the court and invaluable mentorship to younger players off the
“You don’t replace Jessica Brooks,” Stone said. “She was a captain. She was a leader. She took care of things I didn’t have to take care of … What you do is you learn from the things that she did for the team.”
WashU certainly has the pieces to replace her production.
Juniors Sidney Rogers and Alyssa Hughes form a dangerous backcourt after showing range from behind the arc and ball-handling ability last season. Senior forwards Nailah McBeth and Jordan Rich took on increased roles as the season went on and look to be key contributors in the upcoming season. An impressive sophomore class, including guards Hope Drake and Ava Blagojevich, showed flashes of impressive play last year and will receive more playing time in the backcourt without Brooks.
Harris expects the team to utilize a more aggressive, defense-first playing style in the upcoming season.
“We’re playing at a much faster pace in transition, and [we] are just able to play defense for longer, be on the court for longer,” Harris said.
“And I think that aspect of being conditioned is really going to show in how we play.”
Three first-years — Molly Friesen, Maggie Helms, and Reid Seddelmeyer — join the team this season and will look to provide a spark to the rotation as the season progresses.
Stone emphasized that all roles are up for grabs in the season’s first few weeks as she looks to solidify her playbook.
“Every day in practice is a tryout,” Stone said. “Right now, we’re trying to work out
Following Final Four run, No. 5 men’s basketball enters season channeling
Last year, the WashU men’s basketball team made it painfully close to their first national championship appearance since their repeat title in the 2008-09 season, but fell short in the Final Four to New York University. As the Bears prepare to kick off the 2025-26 season, WashU is once again in prime shape for a deep playoff run and to contend for the University Athletic Association (UAA) title. Ranked No. 5 in Division III, WashU has the team to make it happen.
Entering the season, the Bears’ most pressing task is to make up for the departures of Hayden Doyle and Drake Kindsvater, the Bears’ two leading scorers in the 2024-25 season. After the two graduated, the Bears are without not only their two best offensive players but their two most prominent leaders on the team. While head coach Pat Juckem conceded that no one can replace Doyle and Kindsvater on the court, he is confident that the team will use its depth to make up for their absence.
“We have a balanced group,” Juckem said. “We have depth all the way through … without question, Hayden and Drake were four-year stalwarts, and it is a change, but you feel them in terms of the legacy that they left behind. We’re excited for guys to have to evolve into and emerge in new roles.”
This season, the Bears are led by a group of upperclassmen that includes sophomore
Connor May, a preseason Fourth Team All-American and the reigning UAA Rookie of the Year. In his first year with WashU, May came off the bench for most of the season. In 2025-26, the team will rely on May for greater offensive production in the starting lineup. Senior guard Will Grudzinski and centers senior Calvin Kapral and junior Jake Davis round out the Bears’ frontcourt, while guards senior Yogi Oliff and graduate student Kyle Beedon will make up the backcourt.
Beedon, who missed the entire 2024-25 season with an ACL injury, returns for a fifth year this season. After serving as an unofficial assistant coach last year, the 3-point specialist is eager to return to the court and strengthen the Bears’ bid to return to the NCAA tournament.
“Our culture this past season was just the best that I’ve ever seen,” Beedon said. “So I think going forward, we’re just trying to keep building on that, bringing positive energy. We don’t start playing basketball in March. … We just take practice one day at a time and really focus in on the moment and just try and try and build.”
Last year’s team culture prioritized a team-oriented, unselfish style of play that puts winning first. The Bears have a term for this: the Buddhist mantra “mudita.”
“We always emphasize this phrase of mudita, which is just happiness for one another … regardless of who’s playing,” May said. “I think we all are very happy for each other and our successes, and as long as it’s team success, I think we are really good with that.”
The unselfish style of play is key to the Bears’ strategy.
They get the ball in the hands of the right players, and it shows in the statsheet. Last year, WashU averaged over five full assists more than their opponents per game, leading to a heightened level of offensive efficiency. This season should be no different.
“Last year, after we won that first [tournament] game, … it was not a huge sigh of relief; we really wanted to get over that hump and into the Final Four,” Oliff said. “Obviously, the ultimate goal is still to win it, and we came up short, so that still stings.
… We have a high standard, and we’re going to do everything we can to put ourselves in that position again to accomplish the ultimate goal, which is to win a national championship.”
As a sophomore, Oliff led the team in rebounds from the guard position. However, last year, he was in and out of play, battling injuries and illnesses. With poor health behind him, the guard’s continued presence is vital to building consistency for this season’s team.
“It’s really hard to have injuries in the middle of the season,” Oliff said. “You’re losing your conditioning, but you’re also losing practice reps and basketball reps. … I’m going to do everything in my power to stay healthy.”
The return of Beedon’s shooting will add to what is already a strength for WashU. The Bears were strong from behind the arc last year, shooting 38% as a team. Transition offense is another key point of emphasis — the Bears will once again look to play tough defense, cause turnovers, rebound hard, and run off the break in transition. Strong
rebounding from Oliff and other guards has historically allowed the Bears to get the ball in transition and push the pace — and this year appears to be no different.
“We’ve got a really talented, really competitive roster of guys,” Juckem said. “We’ve got pretty athletic, strong, high-IQ players. We play more of a fast-paced but conceptual [game], reacting not only to what the defense is doing, but to each other’s abilities, and that takes some pretty quick processing ability.”
Last year’s tournament run was a complete team effort; however, it might not have been possible without May. As a first-year forward, May was named an AllUAA Honorable Mention, played in all 30 games, and shot 47% from the field and 42% from behind the arc. While it’s clear that his tal ent and postseason experience are expected to propel the Bears’ perfor mance, May points to his squad’s culture of trust and support as an indicator of suc cess in the upcoming season.
“I haven’t been a part of a team where, across the board, everyone is this good, and everyone could have a poten tial chance of playing,” May said. “And I think one of the things on the court is [that] there’s only five guys that can play, right? And even though we’re all really good, we’re all happy for one another. We’re all rooting for that team success.”
The team has not only seen development across the roster, but has also brought in four first-years to the squad: guards Josh Kim, Colby Smith,
combinations and who works best with who … it all revolves around defense.”
The Bears will start the season with a challenging non-conference matchup, traveling to the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater on Nov. 8. A week later, the Bears will begin their home season in the McWilliams Classic, facing Benedictine University in the opening matchup. The Bears will close their non-conference schedule with a crucial game against No. 20 Christopher Newport University at the St. Petersburg Tournament in Florida. Conference play will feature two matchups against the back-to-back champion No. 1 New York University, along with other familiar UAA foes. To find success in these tough matchups, the Bears will need to continue to build chemistry and grind out games as a team. After several years of playoff disappointments and tournament absences, the winningest program in Division III women’s basketball history looks to find success in the future by emphasizing a team mentality. “It’s ‘we will’ and not ‘I will.’ So it’s ‘we’ will do things together,” Harris said. “It’s not like, ‘I’ll make the next shot,’ because it’s a team sport. It’s not about each player individually.”
and Theo Rocca, as well as 6’8” forward Jack Cubbage. According to May, these firstyears add to the team culture both on and off the court in terms of their poise, eagerness to improve, and dedication to team camaraderie.
“Our team dynamic this year is really special,” May begin the season. The Bears won’t face a ranked opponent until Dec. 18, when they host No. 16 Illinois Wesleyan University ahead of their always-challenging UAA schedule. To make it back to the tournament, WashU must defeat both ranked and UAA opponents — and exhibit
“We understand what it takes,” Juckem said. “We’re willing to put in the hard work necessary to give
No. 1 women’s soccer wins third consecutive UAA title
With an already incredible season performance, this weekend, women’s soccer added one more trophy to their stacked shelf: their third consec utive University Athletic Association (UAA) conference championship.
Clinching the championship this weekend was no easy feat. The Bears’ match against No. 22 New York University (NYU)
proved to be one of their most challenging games this season. After the first half, the undefeated Bears found themselves down 1-0. It was the first time the team has trailed since their tie to Trine University in September, so the tension on the Bears’ side was palpable. NYU’s defense proved to be the main source of challenge for the Bears.
“It was a physical game,” senior forward Grace Ehlert said. “We didn’t play our best in the first
RACHEL BENITEZ-BORREGO | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
11/4 WINNERS
FRITZ MURRAY | CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATOR
half, and credit to NYU, they are a great team.”
Physical the Violets were, finishing the game with a total of eight fouls and three yellow cards. The Bears’ aggressive opponents came into St. Louis with a wave of energy, and their assertive goal in the 40th minute seemed to set the stage for a potential upset.
The Bears were caught off guard. At halftime, WashU needed to regroup and change approaches if they were to turn the game around.
“I think we just needed to settle down, connect a few passes and play within ourselves,” head coach Jim Conlon said.
With a new strategy and mindset, the Bears entered the second half with a commanding presence. Within the first nine minutes of the period, sophomore midfielder Kate Martin evened up the score, depositing a cross from junior midfielder Sophie Viscovich past the NYU keeper’s short side. Six minutes later, Ehlert stomped out NYU’s bid for an upset win with her own go-ahead goal assisted by junior Keira Smyser. The game was back in the hands of the Bears, who took the familiar reins and steered the remainder of the game to a 3-1 victory, with sophomore forward
Olivia Clemons adding an insurance goal in the last four minutes. Just like that, the Bears were back on top.
“[Our] goals are to continue rising, trust our preparation, and focus on playing to our highest level individually and collectively,” Ehlert said.
“We are excited to get back on the practice field this week.”
The Bears will host their final conference game against the No. 7 University of Chicago this
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upcoming weekend. With this key game next weekend and the beginning of tournament action on the horizon, women’s soccer plans to take things one step at a time.
“We’ve got to finish the regular season and make sure we are doing our due diligence of finishing this part of the season before we really look forward to the playoffs, but [we are] obviously excited that we have already clinched a spot in the [round of] 64
and try and continue to get better,” Conlon said. Immediately following the game, the Bears stormed the field and celebrated their massive accomplishment. They celebrate today, but tomorrow it’s back to business. The job’s not done, and the Bears are ready to hunker down and take on their next opponents, one game at a time.
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WashU women’s soccer has won 10 of the last 12 UAA titles.
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Junior Keira Smyser fights for the ball in WashU’s win over NYU.
