February 8, 2024 Student Life newspaper, Washington University in St. Louis

The independent newspaper of Washington University in St. Louis since 1878 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2024

VOLUME 145, NO. 16

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“IT WAS A MAGICAL MOMENT”

Athlete of the week talks long jump, social work, and her mango Instagram.

(Sports, pg 7)

Students reflect on no-loan adoption.

(Scene, pg 5)

University announces tuition increase for 2024-2025, largest in last decade VIA POOLOS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Washington University students and parents were notified of a tuition increase for the 2024-2025 academic year on Feb. 1. The cost is a 4.5% increase from the current year, making it the highest tuition increase in the past 10 years.

Amy Kweskin, executive vice chancellor for finance and chief financial officer, announced that undergraduate tuition will be raised by $2,750 to $64,500.

Other price increases include campus housing, which will increase by a range between $594 and $690 per year (depending on type of occupancy and location), as well as the student activity and health and wellness fees, which will increase by $28 and $30, respectively.

The College Board reported that the private four-year institutions increased tuition by an average of 4% for the 2023-2024 year.

In a letter to families, Provost Beverly Wendland wrote that the University uses the money it receives from students to better University programs and initiatives.

“Your tuition dollars fund vital resources such as the new Center for Career Engagement, infrastructure that supports student research and programs that prepare our graduates to meet the challenges of the workplace and society,” she wrote.

STAFF WRITERS

Successful sports teams all have one thing in common: they win the games that they need to win. While there is no such thing as a “gimme game,” the Washington University women’s basketball team was poised to capitalize on a break within their challenging conference schedule, playing two consecutive weekend series against two of the bottom three teams in the University Athletic Association (UAA) — Carnegie Mellon University and Case Western Reserve University.

Still, it never comes easy.

With just seconds to spare in a tie game during the fourth quarter against Carnegie Mellon, the Bears stood in a huddle, listening as coach Randi Henderson drew up the play for the Bears’ final possession. After the huddle, senior guard Jessica Brooks asked a simple – but crucial – question.

“Do you want to win this game?”

The team resoundingly answered yes. Brooks responded – again simply – “Let’s do it.”

The Bears did it. With just seven seconds remaining, first-year center Lexy Harris hit the crucial shot — a contested layup to give the Bears a 71-69 win.

Two days later, the Bears completed their sweep, taking down Case Western with a 84-74 victory on Feb. 4. With the wins, the Bears improve to 13–7, setting up a crucial end-of-season stretch against their toughest UAA rivals to decide the season’s fate.

WashU v. Carnegie Mellon

The Bears opened their weekend series at Carnegie Mellon. The

Enter in this week’s Caption Content!

(Forum, pg 6)

Political author Adjei-Brenyah shares his writing tips and experiences QUINN MOORE STAFF WRITER

Wendland also reported that the endowment, after returning 65% in 2021, has had two consecutive years of negative returns. “Despite the declines, we remain fully committed to the Gateway to Success financial aid and student support initiative,” Wendland wrote.

Students who qualify for needbased financial assistance will continue to receive consideration for cost increases. Wendland also highlighted the no-loan initiative, which the University will implement next fall, eliminating federal loans from financial aid packages.

VIA POOLOS | STUDENT LIFE

Women’s basketball sweeps conference weekend, extends win streak to five

ARYAN KUMAR MATT EISNER

CAPTION CONTEST

weekend prior, WashU defeated the Tartans 90–81, in a close game where first-year center Lexy Harris led the offensive charge with 32 points.

WashU got off to a slow start, getting out-scored by the Tartans in the first three quarters. The Bears particularly struggled in the second quarter, shooting less than 30% from the field and just 20% from beyond the arc. After allowing 11 points off of turnovers in the third quarter and entering the fourth with a 15-point deficit, it seemed like the Bears’ three-game win streak was in serious jeopardy.

Brooks took matters into her own hands. The guard went on a 13-point rampage in the fourth quarter, almost single-handedly erasing the WashU deficit. With 2:21 remaining, Brooks cashed in her

final bucket of the game, giving the Bears the lead. A Brooks turnover in the final minute, however, set up a game-tying three-pointer for Carnegie Mellon, knotting the game at 69 with just 37 seconds to go.

After the Bears successfully played the clock out to just seven seconds remaining, a dramatic Harris layup put WashU ahead. The Tartans’ attempt for a buzzer-beater failed and WashU escaped with a 71–69 victory.

“We all went in with the mindset that it’s not over until that final buzzer sounds,” Brooks said after the game.

Brooks and Harris provided most of the Bears’ offense. Over half of Brooks’ 23 points were scored in the fourth quarter, a number which rivaled her top point performances of the year. Harris led WashU in

scoring with 26 points.

WashU v. Case Western

Following a close victory against Carnegie Mellon on Friday, the Bears continued their mini road trip, playing Case Western on Feb. 4. Unlike Friday’s game, the Bears were dominant from the start.

Brooks led the way, erupting for 32 points in 29 minutes and shooting 11–17 from the field.

The game started quickly for the Bears, as they scored within the first six seconds and wouldn’t relinquish this lead for the rest of the game. A pair of threes and a 7–0 run allowed the Bears to add to their lead and possess a comfortable 17–5 advantage.

SEE WBB, PAGE 8

SAM POWERS | STUDENT LIFE Jessica Brooks, who matched her career-high 32 points last weekend, rolls up to the basket in the team’s game against Carnegie Mellon.

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Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, author of award-winning “Chain Gang All-Stars” and “Friday Black,” traveled to Washington University on Jan. 31 for a book reading and Q&A about his experience as a political author.

This event was a collaboration between the St. Louis County Library, the University, and the Novel Neighbor, an independent bookstore in St. Louis, as the first of many events in celebration of Black History Month.

After giving a brief synopsis of his book, “Chain Gang AllStars,” Adjei-Brenyah moved into the reading segment of the event.

However, what differentiated this book reading from so many others was the audience participation that Adjei-Brenyah employed.

“This book has led me to try and be more interactive,” AdjeiBrenyah said. “I think there’s just a bigness and a scale that I feel crowds happen to be able to sort of simulate. Also, I love readings, and I’ve been to a bunch, but some readings are super boring, and I don’t want to be super boring.”

Adjei-Brenyah had the audience chant the name “Bishop” to simulate the roaring crowds of a colosseum in his book, and taught the audience to hum a tune while he was reading.

In this way, the audience took the role of characters in the book.

Missy Rung-Blue, a St. Louis resident and fan of “Chain Gang All-Stars,” appreciated this method of reading the book.

“I did not read [the second chapter] with [the singing and humming] in mind, but that really added a lot to that section for me, and I kind of want to go back and re-read the book with that in mind,” Rung-Blue said.

Another audience member that enjoyed the audience participation was Marni Younger.

“Sometimes I go to other events and I’m excited for the readings to be over because they’re dull, but this one was phenomenal, like being able to hum and incorporate other types of vocal elements into the reading and hear [Adjei-Brenyah] read with so much enthusiasm made me really excited to read the book,” Younger said.

Next, Adjei-Brenyah sat in conversation with Danielle Dutton, fellow author and co-director of the Center for the Literary Arts, to answer some of her questions.

Both Dutton and AdjeiBrenyah are professors, so Adjei-Brenyah spoke about the specific teacher and writing prompt which lead him to be the author he is today: “write a story to save the world.” However, despite being a political author, Adjei-Brenyah’s story in response to this seemingly political prompt was about a memory of his mother.

SEE AUTHOR, PAGE 3

2 STUDENT LIFE

NEWS AVI HOLZMAN | MANAGING NEWS EDITOR | NEWS@STUDLIFE.COM

THURSDAY, FEB 8, 2024

Author Heather McGhee gives lecture refuting the American ‘zero-sum’ mindset SIA BANSAL ABBIE SAPIRA STAFF WRITER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Heather McGhee, a New York Times bestselling author and policy advocate, gave a lecture titled “The Sum of Us: Moving Beyond the Myth of Equity as a ZeroSum Game” in Graham Chapel on Feb. 1.

The Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity, and Equity (CRE2) hosted McGhee as its 2024 Distinguished Visiting Scholar. According to its website, CRE2’s objective is to examine pressing social issues surrounding race through the lens of in-depth research in numerous fields.

McGhee spoke about reframing equality such that racial progress does not appear to occur at the expense of others, a phenomenon she refers to as the “zero-sum” mindset. She grounded her talk in her experiences from writing her book “The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together” and from recording the “The Sum of Us” podcast.

To begin her talk, McGhee introduced the zerosum mindset as a racialized concept.

According to McGhee, the zero-sum mindset states that one can only find success if another person fails.

“This zero-sum story says there will be no mutual progress. If one player scores a point, the other player loses it,” McGhee said. “It is racialized because the groups that are competing in this fixed pie of well-being are racial and ethnic.”

McGhee said that the zero-sum story continues to affect modern situations.

According to McGhee, perceptions of race and growing inaccurate ideas about racial division impact competition in areas like real estate and college admissions. “[The zero-sum story] has been a story of job competition. It’s been a story of competition around where to live and ‘If they are neighbors of color, your property values will fall,’” McGhee said. “It’s been a story that says there are only so many slots in this institution. It’s a lie.”

McGhee also said that the wealthiest 1% of the U.S. population profits from the zero-sum story at the expense of the rest by shifting everyday workers against one another instead of assigning blame for economic woes to those responsible. “[The one-percenters] want to create a world in which people struggling with very similar economic circumstances are pointing their figures at each other, and not at those who got

ALAN ZHOU | STUDENT LIFE Heather McGhee, a New York Times bestselling author and policy advocate, spoke about reframing the dicussion around racial equality. their hands in their pockets,” McGhee said.

McGhee later spoke on addressing the zerosum mindset, focusing on the concept of collective action and a unified effort across races, a concept she referred to as “the Solidarity Dividend.”

“There are real gains that you can unlock by coming together in crossracial solidarity,” McGhee said, adding a quote from a

Congolese immigrant she interviewed: “Alone, we are so weak, you can break each finger. Together, we are a fist.”

Washington University senior Caro Pedraza noted the importance of recognizing the history behind the zero-sum mindset and how it can be used towards anti-racism.

“It’s not enough to just equal the playing field,” Pedraza said. “We need

to realize that there is a history that is continuously disadvantaging people. Antiracism is understanding that history and working to make amends.”

Senior Katharine Niles said that she felt hopeful about people unifying against racism.

“Hearing those stories of how it has become possible, that people are actually learning to come together and work, makes me really

excited,” Niles said.

At the end of the lecture, McGhee expressed her own aspirations for society going forward.

“I believe that we will all be free when we repair the past and we unlock the future,” McGhee said. “I will have freedom when I know that I do not need to fear my neighbor because we have finally put to bed this pernicious lie of the zero-sum.”

A&S Office of Graduate Studies hosts inaugural Black History Month kick-off event ELIZABETH STUMP STAFF WRITER

ALAN KNIGHT | STUDENT LIFE Washington University has held an event recognizing the start of Black History Month for the first time, Feb 1.

The College of Arts & Sciences Office of Graduate Studies (OGS) hosted a kick-off event to celebrate the start of Black History Month from 7-9 p.m. in Tisch Commons, Feb. 1.

This is the first time that Washington University has held an event recognizing the start of Black History Month.

The event was a collaboration between the OGS with the Center for Diversity and Inclusion,

The Graduate Center, and the Black Graduate Student Association (BGSA).

It featured a performance from the Unending Praise gospel a capella group, food from local St. Louis restaurants, and exhibits prepared by undergraduate and graduate students that focused on aspects of Black culture.

Attendees were given a Green Book pamphlet that represented the travel guides compiled by postal worker Victor Green during the pre-civil rights era. The original Green Book guides were published from 1936 until 1966 and provided a list of businesses and hotels where Black travelers would be welcomed during the time of segregation.

Event attendees could then take their Green Book pamphlets to the four location-based exhibits to get their books stamped.

Each exhibit was focused on an aspect of Black culture and contributions in either the South, Midwest, West, and Eastern regions of the United States.

Tiana Johnson is on the Executive Board of the BGSA and explained the objective of holding the inaugural Black History Month kick-off event.

“We came together with all of the other partners to create something where everybody could engage with black history, culture, and heritage and just learn more about us and who we are,” Johnson said.

Nia Hodges, a graduate student in the McKelvey School of Engineering, was on the planning committee for the kick-off event and is a member of BGSA. She prepared the exhibit

centered on Black culture in the South, having grown up there and attended a historically black university for her undergraduate degree.

She said that she wanted to convey information about the diversity of the South that people aren’t aware of.

“I tailored the facts on my poster to reflect the fact that each state [in the South] is unique, and I was really hoping to convey that diversity,” Hodges said.

First-year Mary Kesete attended the event with friends after seeing an Instagram post from the CDI about it. She said she enjoyed visiting the exhibits prepared by fellow students.

“It’s really great to see African Americans being recognized and celebrated for their contributions to the U.S. I learned a lot from the timelines on the exhibits,” Kesete said.

Director of CrossCultural Connections (CCxN), Jordan Cooper, delivered the welcome address in which she emphasized the variety of organizations that collaborated to hold the event and how these organizations can serve as resources for Black students at Washington University.

“Get connected to the student organizations for undergraduate and graduate students because this campus can be lonely to navigate alone, “ Cooper said. “Y’all have a lot of wisdom from your campus experiences and various life experiences that can be very valuable when brought together.”

THURSDAY, FEB 8, 2024

STUDENT LIFE 3

AVI HOLZMAN | MANAGING NEWS EDITOR | NEWS@STUDLIFE.COM

Arts & Sciences announces summer online learning pilot JACOB FISHER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

On Feb. 29, Washington University College of Arts & Sciences announced the arrival of a f lexible learning program to take place over the summer of 2024. This program, named the A&S Summer Session, promises to better shepherd the in-person experience of traditional classes to a cutting-edge online learning environment for all Washington University students.

The A&S Summer Session will host a total of five courses from the 15-20 proposed by faculty, according to ArtSci Vice Dean of Undergraduate Affairs, Erin McGlothlin.

She said that the undergraduate advisory committee’s goal for the program was to select courses taught by faculty with previous experience in online education.

According to McGlothlin, the committee then decided that classes must be relevant to the needs of students, especially to fulfill credit requirements.

“Sometimes students get almost to the point of graduation, but they don’t have that writing intensive course that they need,” McGlothlin said. “[The A&S Summer Session]

allows them to take that summer course and graduate at the end of the summer.”

Courses being offered for the program’s pilot include American Politics, Biological Psychology, Introduction to Archaeology, Medical Spanish, and Argumentation.

McGlothlin said that she hopes that ArtSci can expand the program further with the help of student feedback.

She also wants the summer program to be an evolution of online education that escapes its past shortcomings.

“We didn’t want to just have faculty who had been forced to teach over Zoom suddenly pitch a Zoom class,” McGlothlin said.

“We wanted this to [utilize] the best practices and online pedagogy and not to be just a continuation of pandemic teaching.”

Documents obtained

by Student Life have confirmed the new approach, with faculty members involved in the pilot required to complete over a dozen days of training about online education in tandem with their previous experience.

Further, courses will be evaluated on a nationally recognized scorecard that measures the strength of course technology, content,

YIWEN ZHA | STUDENT LIFE College of Arts & Sciences announced the arrival of a flexible learning program to take place over the summer of 2024. interaction, and more.

Dr. Rose Hores, an anthropology lecturer at Washington University, is experiencing this process first-hand in preparation for her Introduction to Archaeology course.

She hopes to build the online course through teamwork, feedback, and understanding students.

“I think it is also equally as important so that you know that sense of community and the presence of support,”

Hores said.

McGlothlin also hopes to see other schools adopt ArtSci’s online learning approach.

“I’ve spoken to [the associate dean of Olin], but also Sam Fox and McKelvey,” she said.

“They are excited about this because their students often need Arts & Sciences credits in the summer. So, I do think because we’re the biggest undergrad school, the other schools are looking to see what we

do and decide if it works for them.”

A&S Summer Session courses are now viewable on WebSTAC, with course registration opening on March 27. Running from June 10 to July 12, Session 2 will offer American Politics and Biological Psychology, while Session 3 will run from June 10 to Aug. 2, offering Introduction to Archaeology, Medical Spanish, and Argumentation. Financial aid is offered in limited

amounts.

“I think it makes sense to offer this opportunity with [Washington University students’] busy schedules,” Hores said, ref lecting on the purpose of the initiative.

“Trying to manage internships, fellowships, or other volunteering stuff — anything for more experience. But now the opportunity is ‘Oh my gosh, now I can do a class online too!’”

“For a long time, my core idea as a writer was to never break the fictive dream,” Adjei-Brenyah said. “Footnotes really announce the work as a text because of the mechanical way you have to move your eyes down.”

Despite this issue, Adjei-Brenyah opted for footnotes for a variety of reasons. He said that he alternated the footnotes between historical facts/ research and in-world history in order to maintain immersion. He also said that he wanted to ensure that the work’s political commentary could not be ignored by a popular audience, specifically naming Squid Game. He added that he also wanted to shed light on misleading euphemisms like rubber bullets.

Laurie Hegeman, a St. Louis resident who heard about the event from the library, was intrigued by these footnotes.

“I think it would definitely be an intriguing book,” Hegeman said.

“The author spoke about how he wanted people to go between the fiction to the footnotes to kind of explain the facts behind his story, and that would be interesting.”

Creative Writing major Bryn Muller said that

footnotes are something that every creative writing major has an opinion on.

“I love footnotes and I’m always looking for ways to implement them,” Muller said. “These talks do so much for my writing [that] I can’t even explain.”

During the talk, AdjeiBrenyah explained how footnotes can call attention to the “palette of violence” we’ve grown, referencing popular media like Attack on Titan and John Wick.

In fact, Adjei-Brenyah said that he was cautious to not make the book too enjoyable.

“That’s another reason why disruptions are sometimes necessary: to be like ‘look how much you’ve come to love this [violence],’” Adjei-Brenyah said.

Francisco Lucca, a second major in English Literature and a student of Danielle Dutton, was particularly interested in this idea of a story’s enjoyment levels and the line between fact and fiction.

“I think his authenticity really shone through,” Lucca said. “I think he was very insightful in terms of how books are political by nature, and one thing that I really took away was his sailing the line between making an enjoyable to

read book, and one that gets his message across, which I think is very relevant.”

Following this discussion, the floor was opened for audience questions. One piece of writing advice AdjeiBrenyah gave, in response to a question about chapter crafting, was to think about each chapter of a story as having its own arc of sorts, in order to build to a greater conclusion.

“I think it does come from working with short stories and thinking about every conversation; there’s always something at stake,” Adjei-Brenyah said.

After another audience member asked AdjeiBrenyah about the “human sacrifice” idea behind the death penalty. He spoke further about how the death penalty and the prison system are flawed. “[Prisons] don’t really do what they’re supposed to do, let alone the inherent statistical realities of discrimination against people of color, the LGTBQIA community, and how most women in prison are victims of sexual assault,” Adjei-Brenyah said. “They also have institutionally stopped us from dealing with very real

issues, like mental health crises, disease, and drug addiction.”

Adjei-Brenyah, who was inspired by the “write a story to save the world” prompt so long ago, made sure to speak about the importance of speculative fiction as a whole.

“To me, one of the benefits of working with speculative fiction is that if you can understand my book at all, it means you are exercising a certain type of imagination that I think is important to have the ability and capacity to imagine a better world at all,” Adjei-Brenyah said.

Ved Patel Managing Chief of Copy

Mia Burkholder Cathay Poulsen Chiefs of Copy

AUTHOR from page 1 “I know it’s weird because a lot of my other stories are more, quote on quote, overtly political, but when I had that prompt, that [memory] is what jumped out at me,” AdjeiBrenyah said. “If I think back, I think it has to do with that idea that love and having been loved and having someone care for you, and acknowledging [love] feels really important and powerful and radical and all those things that I think motivate some of these other potential [transformative] changes that people might think of [like with politics].”

However, Adjei-Brenyah said he doesn’t feel that he has the “gravitas” to give this prompt to his students yet, and opts for a more focused version of saving the world.

“If you care about the world and want to save it, it’s okay if you save one person, and it’s okay if that person is you,” AdjeiBrenyah said. “I’m just trying to get [my students] to feel comfortable being fully themselves on the page at all.”

Adjei-Brenyah said that he has always been a political writer. Even his speculative fiction book contains explicit research and facts in the form of footnotes.

ELLA GYRE | STUDENT LIFE Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah speaks about his career as a political author.

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THURSDAY, FEB 8, 2024

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“It was a magical moment:”

Students reflect on socio-economic diversity at WashU HUSSEIN AMURI STAFF WRITER

A decade ago, the Washington University campus was shocked when a New York Times article reported that it was the least socioeconomically diverse elite institution in the United States. Sitting at just 6% , WashU had the worst Pell-Eligible percentage of students who received federal Pell Grants, which typically go to students in the bottom 40% of the income distribution.

Fast-forwarding to the present, however, WashU has been able to turn things around and cement themselves as one of the leading institutions in the country when it comes to higher education accessibility and investment.

Through ambitious fundraising projects, student activism committed to socioeconomic diversity, and more, WashU has raised the percentage of Pell-eligible students from 6% in 2015 to 20% in 2023, according to Chancellor Andrew Martin’s most recent State of the University Address.

The University has joined over 100 institutions and adopted a need-blind admission program, adopted a no-loan policy that will go into effect in fall 2024, and redoubled its “efforts to engage, support, and build pathways for students from small-town and rural America” through its Heartland Initiative.

Furthermore, the University implemented several programs, such as the Kessler Scholars program and the Chancellor Career Fellows program, that aim to support first-generation,

low-income students through academic success, career development, and other milestones.

These changes are a big deal, especially when the university hopes to improve its current #24 placement in the US News ranking in light of the recent change in methodology that favors socio-economic diversity and social mobility. They are an even bigger deal to the students who have come to benefit from them.

Sophomore Da’Juantay Wynter is majoring in American Culture Studies & Education and a member of the Ervin Scholar Program. Wynter is also a member of the class of 2026, the first-ever class in WashU history to be admitted through need-blind admission.

“It is great to know that my socioeconomic status, something I had no control over, isn’t going to affect the life that I can build for myself,” he said. “Knowing that I was considered just for my abilities and skills that I built throughout my life, instead of something that I couldn’t control, has allowed me to fulfill my dream of attending college.”

Junior Zaira Rodriguez hails from a small town in Colorado and studies Political Science and Latin American Studies. She’s a member of the Annika Rodriguez Scholars Program. Coming from a Mexican immigrant family, Rodriguez chose WashU for many reasons: one of which was the University’s strong financial support for students like her.

“When I was applying to school, my parents were like, ‘we will literally pay for everything, pick any college that you want,’” she said.

TYLER HANSON MATHUR | STUDENT LIFE Strong financial support and scholarships have propelled WashU to become a leader in education accessibility.

“But coming from an immigrant family, I didn’t want my parents, who were working hard enough already [to do that]. Thankfully I got accepted into the Rodriguez Scholars program, which was the leading factor [in me attending WashU].”

Due to the program’s enrollment of individuals from similar socioeconomic backgrounds and the fact that WashU had historically recruited from the top of the socio-economic ladder, Rodriguez has found a community and family in the Rodriguez Scholar community.

“When I applied to WashU, I was overwhelmed,” she said. “Being a private university, WashU sounded very intimidating,

especially being a firstgeneration, low-income student. I didn’t feel like I belonged in a private school. It just seemed very high-class. And yet, I ended up being fine. I ended up finding a great community, and I thank the Rodriguez [program].”

Rodriguez is not the only one feeling grateful. Junior and Biomedical Engineering major Cristian Gomez thought WashU was out of reach as he “was honestly thinking, I would go to community college in Miami, and that was, like, the best thing I could possibly manage.”

Gomez is a first-generation student, which meant his parents’ inexperience in the college application

process was an obstacle to overcome. Furthermore, having been in the U.S. for only a few years, Gomez faced the hurdle of familiarizing himself with American higher education culture.

“My parents didn’t go to university,” he said. “Eight years before [applying], I was living in Bolivia, so I had the faintest hope to go into a school in the States.

I didn’t know how to apply because my parents couldn’t help me. They never applied. The best thing I could do was ask around high school teachers.”

Despite the hurdles he encountered, Gomez decided to apply to WashU largely due to the University’s strong financial

support and rigorous STEM programs.

“I remember when the decision came out, I was in Bolivia, at my parents’ house,” said Gomez. “My parents and sister were so happy for me. It was a magical moment. They were really proud. Their child going off to college, it had a nice feel to it.”

Read the rest online:

The Workday Series:

Student ambassadors transforming research

DANNY GRAZINO STAFF WRITER

When asked to name one thing about the Washington University Research Ambassador Program (WRAP) that he’s proud of, senior Nash Overfield only has to go back 10 minutes.

He talks about working with a student on an application essay for STEM research funding: combing through, telling the student what worked and what did not, formulating it into something a potential decision-maker might like to read. His experience writing these essays has taught him how to navigate the research process, and his role as a WRAPer has allowed him to impart these things to help people find and seize opportunities for research.

WRAP (WashU Research Ambassador Program) hasn’t been around long, but it has been making a difference already. It launched in the Fall 2023 Semester as a studentoperated companion to the Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR), with the goal of improving student access to research as well as general awareness.

It functions as an interface

through which students can talk to other students, bringing the concept of research out of nebulous, highly academic territory and into something more visible and easily understood. In addition, it provides feedback to the OUR based on student experiences and opinions.

The program is operated by WRAPers: research ambassadors who are themselves undergraduate students with substantial experience in research.

There are currently seven WRAPers, selected from an initial pool of 55 applicants, spanning a wide range of disciplines. Some work in the humanities, some in STEM, and some in social sciences. They meet with students in weekly office hours to orient any research questions or concerns they might have, whether it’s finding an opportunity for research, searching for grants or programs, or directing them toward a faculty member in a given field who might be interested in advising.

But what truly makes the program run is the passion the WRAPers have for research and their enthusiasm for broadening the horizons of what people believe it can be.

Angela Fink, the OUR’s Program Manager, cites their drive and energy as the biggest factors to WRAP’s ability to reach and help people, mentioning not just the newfound availability of researchoriented office hours but full-blown events — such as the recent summer research fair — as outgrowths of a genuine desire to increase the profile of research at WashU. That notion of expanding awareness is integral to what the program aims to

do. In WRAP’s view, not enough undergraduates understand how research functions, how available it is to them, or even, in many cases, what it is. For Overfield, there is an especially diminished level of awareness for humanities research; in his view, many people tend to view research as something that is inherently STEM-oriented, but humanities research provides its own avenues with their own individuallydriven benefits. According to Overfield, it’s a more

open type of research that marks just one of many ways in which misconceptions drive approaches to the discipline: in this instance, people might not even consider research a possibility because they don’t think it can be done within their field. That’s why everyone involved with WRAP takes so much pride in their events and in the increased number of fellowship applications that they’ve seen.

“It’s trial and error,” Overfield said. “And most

of it seems to be working.”

For the WRAPers, the broader rise in awareness is an amazing development that indicates rapid success for the program. But they remain personally fulfilled to an immense degree by the simple opportunity to work with people. Overfield has found his greatest joy in “[being] able to sit down with people, and really help make a visible, tangible difference…to be able to help people and make research more attainable for people at WashU.”

COURTESY OF ANGELA FINK A student research ambassador chats with students about opportunities for undergraduate research

THURSDAY, FEB 8, 2024

STUDENT LIFE 5

ANNABEL SHEN | MANAGING SCENE EDITOR | SCENE@STUDLIFE.COM

Black Anthology: The good, the bad, and the unfortunate BOW BAJELA CONTRIBUTING WRITER I sat in the theater feeling like the odd one out in the packed house of 2024 Black Anthology-goers there to see “Pressed.” In all honesty, I wasn’t there because Black Anthology held some special place in my heart, I was there because I loved theater and all the facets of artistic expression that it allows.

So I sat there skeptical, quietly wondering how a two-hour performance would manage to provide a nuanced representation of the issues that matter most to WashU’s Black community. Even more pressing to me, however, was whether or not they would do so while providing a quality theater-going experience.

The energy in the room varied as some met up with friends to enjoy the yearly treat, while others f litted through the pages of their program absentmindedly. It seemed that excited anticipation was the prevailing sentiment.

Together, we would soon be enthralled in a tale that pondered what it meant to trade the youthful exuberance of the promising ingénue for the stress, upsets, and nuisance of a hostile work environment.

In short, we would learn what it meant to be “pressed.”

The narrative follows Nadia Baptiste, our wideeyed protagonist, as she begins her dream job of working for a prominent magazine “Haute Mirage.”

As the story goes, Nadia’s experience at work is complicated from the very beginning as she experiences microaggressions from her white boss Alison and the veil of “inclusivity in media” gets thinner and thinner the more time she spends there.

She quickly makes an ally of her coworker Elijah, and this relationship grows in significance through their mutual understanding of what it is like to be Black while working for the faux woke magazine.

At home, Nadia feels

further alienated by her mother, a prototypical example of the immigrant gone native, proud of the work that she has done to assimilate into her chosen work environment.

This trope involves the foreigner eliminating anything that may signify that they are different, including speech, clothing, and oftentimes their own core beliefs.

Nadia meanders her way through these minefields with a kicked-puppy mentality that leaves her stuck for much of the story as she struggles to come to terms with the reality of living out her dreams. We watch as she fights against this reality by taking back her identity through expressive and stylish clothing and hairstyles.

This is met to the surprise of some viewers, but the symptoms of antiBlack racism are then exacerbated by the antagonism of her boss’s superior, Jeanine, who just so happens to be Black herself.

Nadia finds even more

SAM POWERS | STUDENT LIFE The show interwove dance acts between scenes of a play.

SAM POWERS | STUDENT LIFE Dancers from the 2024 Black Anthology Production used lighting as an element in their performance. conf lict in standing up for herself and exposing her mistreatment at “Haute Mirage” to the public.

In the end, she finds that standing up for herself is worth the trouble of making herself subject to public ridicule, and we are left with a wiser protagonist who no longer suits the title of ingénue.

The realities of a twohour presentation being as limiting as they are, it’s no wonder that elements of nuance and diverse Black perspectives were omitted. It would have been nice to get a peek inside of Jeanine’s head to discover exactly how her gears aligned. Instead, without any opportunity for understanding, we are left with the image of a traitor within our midst.

Nonetheless, the daunting challenge of encapsulating the breadth of the Black experience in a single showing is one this performance aims to overcome.

This task is aided

through song choices that ranged anywhere from the rhythm and blues sounds of Erykah Badu’s “Bag Lady” all the way to the rap stylings of Cardi B’s “Press,” showcasing the expanse of Black talent that many of us enjoy in the media. Student talent was showcased in everything from the dances to the stage handling by the backstage crew.

The more I watched, the more it became clear that the whole experience was an exercise in how members of the Black community can make and claim space to show what the Black experience means to them.

However, this attempt was not without some weaknesses.

Audience members were subject to audio design that bordered on criminally loud at times and costuming that was occasionally ill-fitting for the stage. Not to mention acting that had its rough patches: from line delivery

by way of yelling, to emotional soliloquies that were delivered with statuesque rigidity.

While watching set pieces obstruct our protagonist’s ability to sit in a chair can be seen as simply an unfortunate accident, the very real probability that it is symptomatic of a lack of attention to detail seems troubling. It seems to bring to mind a question of what expectations viewers should have. Are we there to see a performance that emphasizes quality as well as substance?

Although there was a lot of good to dig into while watching — jokes that landed into receptive pools of laughter and acting performances that were memorable in all of the right ways — the technical details of stage performance seem to be the biggest stumbling block, leading me to wonder if Black Anthology was more about supporting the artists than the art itself.

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2/8/24 Good Reads ACROSS 1 Where most of "Moby-Dick" takes place 6 Titular Proust character 7 Hägar the Horrible's wife, in comics 8 Shouts 9 Last word of Joyce's "Ulysses"

Solution to last week’s puzzle:

2/8/24

2024

DOWN 1 Like a used fireplace 2 Excessively quaint or cute 3 "Normal People" author Rooney 4 "A Wrinkle in Time" author Madeleine L'_____ 5 "Why, what __ ___ am I!" (Hamlet soliloquy line)

Last week’s solution

Crossword by Alex Nickel

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FORUM

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THURSDAY, FEB 8, 2024

REILLY BRADY | MANAGING FORUM EDITOR | FORUM@STUDLIFE.COM

The shapeshifting face of American superheroes: from Marvel to The Boys JORDAN SPECTOR JUNIOR FORUM EDITOR

Marvel’s brilliant experiment — creating a series of movies that all take place in the same world — is reaching its breaking point.

There are great shows and movies being released — in my opinion, “Loki” and “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” are among them — but the sheer volume of films and TV shows and spin-offs no longer feels unified. Amid this convoluted expansion, Marvel generally continues to hail superheroes as arbiters of peace, a symbol of proper criminal enforcement.

Marvel may have a strong hold on the industry, and that reign likely isn’t ending anytime soon, but a new generation of American superheroes is assembling.

Shows like “Invincible” and “The Boys” (and its spin-off series, “Gen V”) portray superheroes as nuanced, oftentimes highly problematic characters. These characters show a facade of crime-fighting

heroism to the public, while behind the scenes they’re evil, power-thirsty narcissists.

Superheroes have always been a reflection of political and cultural attitudes. The Superman, Batman, and Captain America comics were created in the 1930s and 40s as American war propaganda. Black Panther was born out of the 1960s civil rights movement.

Northstar was introduced

by Marvel during the 1970s queer activist movement.

And Gen V’s very recent Jordan Li adds nonbinary representation to the industry.

However, the recent shift in portrayals not only adds representation to the superhero world but also challenges the notion of superheroes altogether.

This change seems reflective of a larger social phenomenon: a widespread distrust of people in power.

In “The Boys,” Homelander — leader of The Seven — is corrupted by glory. If Donald Trump thinks he can walk onto 5th Avenue, shoot someone, and still have supporters,

Homelander knows that he can do worse. Homelander can crash an airplane, kill innocent people, overpower civilians, and still rally a crowd of fans waving flags, sporting Homelander t-shirts, and crying chants of “American Safety First.”

In the same vein (and I am keeping this as vague as possible to avoid spoilers), “Invincible” has a Homelander-equivalent. It becomes clear after the first episode that heroes aren’t all they claim to be. Okay, spoiler: They’re a whole lot worse.

Unfortunately, these shows are also a whole lot more accurate to what people with superpowers would probably do to each other — how they’d use that power to stomp out political rivals, cover up their tracks, and distract the public.

“The Boys” has seen record growth in viewership. According to the official X account of the show, “Invincible” has also experienced a continued uptick in watchers and fans. This is happening while the Marvel universe

has been finding it harder than ever to cover production costs at the box office (not to mention the DC universe’s financial returns, which — perhaps to little surprise — have been on a steep downward slope, as well).

While “The Boys” and “Invincible” have their fair share of shock-value violence (where it’s pretty easy to tell that the makers had a bit of fun ripping people in half ), the intensity of it serves a purpose. Rather than shuddering at the sight of blood, most viewers seem to appreciate the brutal, raw reality being shown.

No more turning a blind eye to the colossal damage made in the wake of every superhero fight. We see it.

We see that city you ravaged all just to catch one guy.

Viewers are supporting this unmasking of superheroes, this blurring of hero and villain.

It is no coincidence that this shift is happening during a record-low plunge in government trust. According to the Pew Research

ILLUSTRATION BY JAIME HEBEL Center, fifteen percent of Americans say they trust the government “most of the time.” One percent says “just about always.” In the early 2000s, the average of these figures was closer to fifty percent.

In a time of still-rampant police brutality, resentment toward American global affairs, embarrassing political officials, and an onslaught of other issues, it doesn’t require X-ray vision to see right through

the ludicrousness of the American political system and to understand why this decline in trust is happening.

While the falling off of Marvel may seem like the end of superheroes, I can assure you that the genre is not going anywhere. The superhero industry is simply casting aside its Clark Kent glasses, revealing a new, culturally relevant identity.

STAFF EDITORIAL

If you’re raising tuition, tell us where it’s going Last Thursday, every student received an email notifying them that our tuition has been increased — an email current students and recent graduates have received every year of our college careers (including those during the pandemic).

The tuition will now be $64,500, an increase of $2,750 (4.5%) from last year.

This is alongside increases in housing prices, meal plans, and student activity fees.

Depending on student’s accommodations, this comes to a total that ranges from $84,352 to $87,644.

Last year, in a similar staff editorial, we called

on the administration for full transparency regarding the need for a tuition raise and where the new funds will go. Following the article, the administration did not answer our calls. Vague terms like “student services” do not help parents, guardians, and students justify paying this exorbitant cost.

This year’s tuition raise is the highest since 2014 with little to no information on how the money will be spent.

Will the University increase wages for its workers?

Improve housing? Adopt better financial aid policies?

The letter mentioned many important programs

that they have implemented to support students, such as new scholarships and fellowships and the Make Way: Our Student Initiative. Washington University also implemented a new “no loan” financial aid policy effective fall 2024. However, these programs are not enough to justify a raise in tuition if it isn’t clear that this raise in tuition will go to said policies. This policy is a great step in eliminating the barriers to attending WashU, but a raise in tuition creates another one. As we said in last year’s staff editorial, “raising tuition once again in the midst of a national

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Enter this week’s contest

conversation on student loan debt and the affordability of college would signal that WashU is not fully committed to improving access to college education, countering the mission of its recent programs.”

We appreciate Chancellor Martin’s effort to explain WashU’s $11.5 billion endowment and how it is spent in his “Endowment 101” series. We ask for similar explanations and breakdowns of tuition.

If we are able to learn how other people’s money is being spent, we would like to know the same for our own increasing investments

in this University.

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.

Reilly Brady, Managing Forum Editor Jordan Spector, Junior Forum Editor Cathay Poulsen, Chief of Copy Ian Heft, Senior Sports Editor

Amelia Raden, Junior Forum Editor

Lewis Rand, Junior Sports Editor

Sylvie Richards, Senior Forum Editor

Via Poolos, Editor-in-Chief

02/07 WINNERS First place Six more semesters of college!

Laurie Block, WashU Parent

Scan the QR code to enter your submission by 11:59 pm on Monday.

Second place Moments before dropping premed.

Kira Jones, Current WashU Student Third place Yep, failed again, 6 more weeks of winter Darren Jacobs, WashU Parent

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OUR VOICE: EDITORIAL BOARD Staff editorials reflect the opinion of a majority of editorial board members. The editorial board operates independently of our newsroom and includes members of the junior and senior staff.

Managing Forum Editor: Reilly Brady Senior Forum Editor: Sylvie Richards Senior Forum Editor: Jasmine Stone Junior Forum Editor: Amelia Raden Junior Forum Editor: Jordan Spector Senior Sports Editor: Ian Heft Junior Sports Editor: Lewis Rand Chief of Copy: Cathay Poulsen Editor-in-Chief: Clara Richards

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YOUR VOICE: We welcome letters to the editor and opinion submissions (or op-eds) from our readers. Submissions may be sent to forum@studlife.com and must include the writer’s name and email for verification. We reserve the right to print

any submission as a letter or opinion submission. Any submission chosen for publication does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Student Life, nor does publication mean Student Life supports said submission.

SPORTS

STUDENT LIFE 7

RILEY HERRON | MANAGING SPORTS EDITOR | SPORTS@STUDLIFE.COM

THURSDAY, FEB 8, 2024

Athlete of the Week: Ebun Opata discusses her growth into a national track and field star LEWIS RAND JUNIOR SPORTS EDITOR

Following a second-place finish in the triple jump at last year’s indoor and outdoor National Championships, Washington University senior Ebun Opata is on a roll, posting the third furthest jump of 12.12m in Division III on Feb. 3. The repeat national runner-up also currently holds the 25th furthest mark in the long jump this season, and was named the University Athletic Association’s (UAA) Athlete of the Week on Jan. 26.

Opata sat down with Student Life to discuss her passion for social work, finding success coming back from injury, and her mango Instagram page.

Student Life: How did you get into the sport of track and field?

Ebun Opata: Growing up, I played a lot of sports. I grew up in England and there were a variety of sports there that I enjoyed playing, but I found the most enjoyment in track.

I’ve always found that there’s a huge team culture aspect, which is kind of surprising since it can seem like an individual sport. But I’ve always found I had the closest bonds on the track team and I’ve found [that] my most uplifting and most encouraging coaches have been my track coaches.

SL: When did you decide you wanted to compete at the

collegiate level?

EO: For a while, it didn’t cross my mind. But I had this one track coach who had a lot more confidence in me than I did. Throughout my high school track experience, he was so motivating and uplifting, and I think he brought the idea to me. I remember the first time I got an offer letter was the moment I realized I actually have [the] ability to be able to compete at the collegiate level, whatever level or division that may be.

SL: So fast forward to last year, you placed second in COURTESY OF DAN HUNTER indoor nationals in the triple Ebun Opata competes during last year’s national championship meet. jump. What did that first podium finish mean to you? in the stands just watching wanted to compete. So, we come out the boot the final EO: I was genuinely so and cheering me on, and my went again to [get] medical time, my ankle hasn’t really surprised, especially going family could fly in and see help, and they were saying been causing me issues. from indoor season. I was that, so that was a really great that it seemed it was betSL: Changing gears, your still recovering from an injury moment. ter and that it was okay for result in the triple jump last from the previous season SL: You mentioned you [me] to compete. So, for the week was only 0.34 meters that never healed correctly, had an injury that never meet of nationals, sopho- off of your personal best and so I wasn’t able to train in healed properly. Can you more year, we taped it up was one of the top marks in the summer. I missed part of describe what the injury was a bunch, and I was able to Division III. What does that training in the fall semester. and how that impacted your compete and I did well — I performance mean to you?

So, I was already lacking a sophomore year into your think I maybe got third or EO: Yeah, I was very bit of confidence going into junior year? fourth at Nationals’ outdoor surprised about that perforindoor season. But as indoor EO: So in [my] sophomore season. But then afterward, mance. I have a new jumps season went by, and the regu- year, in March, it was a few throughout the summer, I coach and we’re working lar meets went by, I noticed days before [the] conference noticed the pain was still on doing something differI was still able to compete [meet] and I was having the there, and it didn’t seem it ent with my approach to the well and I was competing best season I’ve ever had. I was completely healed. Right board. In the past, I’ve just consistently. But national think I was doing better each before junior year started, I used my speed to jump far, meets have always been the meet consistently, and then went to another doctor and but now we’re trying to have one meet where my anxiety is one practice, I landed on a we got an MRI done. They more of a controlled speed super high. It’s the one meet wicket and my ankle folded said there was a cuboid stress so that I can jump with more that kind of matters the most. in and swelled up a lot. I was fracture, and it was still badly control over phases. I was So, I remember that I was just out for basically the rest of the sprained. I went back in the kind of nervous going into feeling all the emotions when season. The trainers believed boot for a few more months. [the] meet not knowing how I jumped my second-place it was just an ankle sprain, I was doing a lot of PT, two far I would be able to jump jump. I PR’d, which is a per- but we realized it wasn’t heal- [to] three times a week until and if I would still be able sonal record, and I remember ing the way it should be. The I was back to being able to to jump as well [since I was] seeing all of my teammates week of nationals I really compete. But ever since I’ve not running as fast. So getting

such a high mark early into the season, [and] just doing a new technique [with] my jumping, was really encouraging. I’m not sure if I’ve jumped that far that early in a meet in my previous seasons, so it was really encouraging to get that high.

SL: Coming off of last year’s success, what are your goals for your senior season?

EO: My goal is mainly to gain confidence. Even though I’ve done well and I’ve succeeded in my previous seasons, I still lack confidence, and my coaches have been trying to encourage me. They have more confidence in me than I do.

Even though I’ve still jumped on stuff, they still see so much more potential in me, and that I’m capable of becoming a national champion. But before I even have a goal of wanting to become a national champion, I first need to have more confidence in myself and my ability, since I still kind of get anxious, and I overthink smaller things.

Once I gain the confidence, I feel like everything else will fall into place.

Read the rest online:

No. 11 men’s and No. 14 women’s swimming fall to Division I IUPUI LEWIS RAND JUNIOR SPORTS EDITOR The Washington University No. 11 Men’s and No. 14 Women’s swimming and diving teams were defeated

by Division I Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) 127–95 and 143–93, respectively, in the teams’ final dual meet, on Feb. 2, before the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship.

Despite the IUPUI Jaguars competing in Division I, the Bears prepared for the meet similar to how they prepare for meets against UAA competitors.

“I mean, we go against pretty tough teams in Division III.” said sophomore Matthew Walker. “We’re in the most well-regarded conference for swimming [in Division III], the UAA. A meet like this isn’t something too crazy. I just think we put our best foot forward…you can expect a good race and sometimes [the result is] even better.”

The meet was highlighted by four individual victories: Walker in the 200-yard butterfly, junior Jeffrey Forbes in the 500-yard freestyle, and sophomore Avery Dixon and junior Devin Bunner in the 200-yard breaststroke.

A medical complication eight days out from the meet forced Walker to take his training a bit easier going into the competition in Indianapolis. However, Walker delivered, swimming a time of 1:50.68 in the 200yard butterfly, less than half

a second off of the NCAA B-Cut of 1:50.26, a crucial step toward making it to the NCAA Championships in March. At the Denison Invitational in December, he achieved a B-Cut in the event, swimming a time of 1:49.40.

Hosted at the IUPUI Natatorium — the site of the upcoming 2024 NCAA Division I Championships and ranked first on SwimSwam’s 10-must-visit sites for a swim meet in the U.S. — the meet proved to be the perfect opportunity for the Bears to compete on the highest level in full suits.

“Something that was different about this dual meet was that people suited up,” said first-year Kiera Johnson, who finished first in the 200yard backstroke for the Bears, placing fourth en route to a season-best time of 2:08.14. “[At] most dual meets we are wearing practice suits, but [for] this one we suited up and most of us were wearing tech suits. That gave me a different mentality, so I just kind of went after it.”

Dixon, who set two season bests placing first in the 200yard breaststroke and third in the 200-yard IM, talked about the unique atmosphere at the IUPUI Natatorium.

“There’s so much history at this pool,” she said. “You look at the wall and [see] lists of Olympians after Olympian.

So that was really exciting.

The atmosphere right away was just electric.”

The first-year women’s team continued their dominant streak, posting seven podium finishes throughout

ISABELLA MIRA DIAZ | STUDENT LIFE

BRI NITSBERG | STUDENT LIFE Shanze Karimi prepares for an upcoming meet at one of the team’s practices in January. the competitive meet. Rachel Bello and Lili Sandor placed second in the 200-yard Individual Medley and 500yard freestyle, respectively.

Meanwhile, Anya Rao placed third in the 200-yard freestyle and Peyton Watson nabbed third in both the 50 and 500yard freestyle.

The first-years have brought not just points to the Bears, but a positive spirit in and out of the pool.

“Some days you just don’t want to swim, you can’t find it in yourself to find that positivity,” said Johnson. “I think that the freshmen class has helped me in a lot of ways to push myself.”

Head coach Brad Shively also noted the role upperclassmen have played in

developing the first-year class.

“I feel the freshmen women are great representatives of our team and team culture.

They bought into the work ethic and competitive spirit at the beginning, and I believe our team has just done a great job of supporting their efforts,” he said.

The Bears’ seniors also showed out in Indiana, with Mark Lipkin finishing second in the 200-yard freestyle, posting a time of 1:40.31, just shy of his season best of 1:40.01 set in early December. Eve Kearns finished second in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:06.77, a season best and just over a second shy of the NCAA B-Cut. Alex McCormick rounded out the night with a third-place finish

in the 200-yard backstroke.

Distance events also proved a strength for the Bears, with sophomores Rin Iimi and Ali Roche placing second and third, respectively, in the 1000yard freestyle. Junior Ryan Hillery took home second for the men. Alongside Forbes, junior Danny Sibley placed third in the 500-yard freestyle, swimming a time of 4:42.43.

On the diving board, firstyear Shanze Karimi added on to her record-breaking season, placing fourth on both the one-meter and three-meter boards, with respective scores of 220.28 and 227.03 points.

Going into the UAA Championships from Feb. 14 through Feb. 17, the Bears are looking to continue their solid performances. “I just

want to go into it with a positive mindset and really give it my all because we’ve been working so hard this whole season,” Johnson said.

Walker also noted the strength of the UAA, which includes Emory University, The University of Chicago, and New York University, all of which are ranked in the top ten for both men and women. The conference also includes swimmers such as NYU’s Derek Maas, a former Southeastern Conference Champion who transferred from The University of Alabama to the Violets.

“It’s just a special opportunity to go up and race guys like that,” Walker said.

RILEY HERRON | MANAGING SPORTS EDITOR | SPORTS@STUDLIFE.COM

STUDENT LIFE 8

Men’s basketball drops back-to-back games during UAA road trip

WILLIAM SAN JOSE JACOB RITHOLZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER STAFF WRITER

After ending the first half down 12, the Washington University men’s basketball team fought tooth and nail to claw their way back into a tough University Athletic Association (UAA) matchup against the Carnegie Mellon University Tartans. With 10 minutes remaining, their hard work paid off, as the Bears jumped ahead of their hosts 58–56.

However, five minutes later, the Tartans pulled back ahead with 4:38 on the clock after a three-pointer gave them a 70–68 lead. The Bears have become used to comebacks in their tight UAA season, but as the clock wound down, they were unable to pull out a win this time. Carnegie Mellon held on for a 79–73 victory.

Two days later, on Feb. 4, the Bears’ struggles were compounded by a 74–59 loss to No. 10 Case Western Reserve University. After entering the weekend 4–3 in conference play, the Bears fell to 4–5 and know that picking up more wins down the stretch will be a difficult task.

“The [UAA] is so balanced from top to bottom that there are no easy games,” said junior guard Hayden Doyle.

“Every team is capable of winning any given game.”

Lately, the Bears have increasingly counted on Doyle for production after an injury to the team’s leading scorer, junior Drake Kindsvater. Doyle, who averages 14.7 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, has been hot too, coming off of a 21-point performance against Case Western in an overtime win last weekend. This time, however, the Bears came up short.

Though Carnegie Mellon outscored the Bears 41–29 in the first half, an 18–3 run a couple of minutes into the second half put the Bears in control. Junior guard Kyle Beedon capped off the run, converting back-to-back threes to give the Bears the 61–56 advantage.

Beedon’s long-range shooting has become more and

more of a trend for the Bears, as the guard has taken at least six three-pointers per contest over the last seven games, with his volume increasing in each of the last four. Beedon, who joined the starting five in Kindsvater’s absence, is shooting at a high level, at 38.5% from beyond the arc and 41.1% in UAA play.

“I feel like I’ve gotten into a good rhythm recently which has led to me being more aggressive,” Beedon said. “My teammates are looking for me and it’s been so much fun out there.”

The game would remain close from that point in the second half, with each team trading baskets until a little under five minutes to go.

However, a three-pointer from Carnegie Mellon’s Justin Allen gave the Tartans a 70–68 lead that they would not relinquish. The Bears, who completed a doubledigit turnaround against Case Western last week, were unable to finish the job this time.

It was the second straight weekend where WashU played both Carnegie Mellon and Case Western, though Doyle does not think it affected the game much.

“It’s a tough turnaround playing the same teams [on] back-to-back weekends,” he said. “We make a couple [of] adjustments but it’s pretty similar as far as our preparation goes. We just need to compete super hard and execute.”

However, Beedon noted that the back-to-back weekends did add an extra layer to their preparation.

“It becomes a very technical game; we are even more focused on their offensive schemes than usual,” Beedon said about facing the same teams frequently. “It feels like we’ve seen the film clips of last week’s games a hundred times now.”

After losing the lead, the Bears could not make the necessary plays to pull out with a win. Fouls, multiple possessions prolonged by offensive rebounds, and missed free throws built up, resulting in a loss that could have easily gone the other way.

On Sunday, the Bears

JIALING SUN | STUDENT LIFE Calvin Kapral, the team’s starting center, lunges for the basket. looked to right the ship against Case Western.

However, they fell behind early in the game, with the Spartans opening play on a 14–0 run. The Bears trailed by as many as 16 points in the first half, which also occurred in their game against Case Western a week ago. In the game last Sunday, WashU eventually won in overtime.

After two three-pointers in the first-half for Beedon and Doyle, respectively, it looked as if Sunday’s game was leading to a similarly close finish. The Bears had responded with a 19–5 run to cut the deficit to just two points late in the first half.

“We knew that they would have a run and that we would have to respond,” Beedon said. “That didn’t really change in the second game.”

Entering halftime, WashU trailed by only four points, 34–30. This time, however, the Spartans pulled away in the second half. Case Western worked their lead back up to 15 points midway through the second half and never looked back.

“We knew we had to do a better job of rebounding and just getting stops overall,”

Beedon said. “I wouldn’t say we adjusted too much, we just had to scratch and crawl our way back.”

Ultimately, Doyle led the team with 15 points while Beedon added 14 points, 12 of which came from beyond the arc.

WashU was able to hold Case Western’s leading scorer, graduate student Anthony Mazzeo, to just nine points, down from his average of 19.6 per game this season. However, the Bears’ defense did not have the same success against the Spartans’ graduate student Colin Kahl, who scored 29 points to go along with 10 rebounds.

With two losses this weekend, the Bears fell to 4–5 in UAA play, tied for fourth place in the conference with Carnegie Mellon and Brandeis University, and three games back from No. 11 New York University in first.

WashU will face conference opponents on the road again next weekend, taking on No. 24 Emory University and the University of Rochester, both of whom the Bears beat at home earlier in the season.

THURSDAY, FEB 8, 2024

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL from page 1

The Spartans would not let this game get away so early, and they went on a mini run to trim the lead down to 19–13. WashU then had a run of their own to close the first quarter, culminating in a 24–13 lead after a quarter of play.

Similar to the first quarter, the second quarter saw the Spartans fight back as the Bears’ 11-point lead was trimmed down to three. But again, the Bears mustered a run, outscoring their hosts 16–3 to take a commanding 46–30 lead.

This massive run was a team effort, as Brooks contributed six points, first-year Amelia Rosin chipped in four points, and the duo of first-year Catherine Goodwin and sophomore Jordan Rich contributed three points each. This run allowed the Bears to enter halftime up 46–31.

“A lot of our rookies hit really big shots this weekend,” said Brooks, who saw the firstyears’ star especially shine in the game against Case Western. “It was really awesome to see our firstyears step up.”

Runs continued to be the theme in the third quarter, as the Spartans scored 11 points straight to cut the Bears’ lead down to 53–48. The Bears then rallied, going on a 6–0 run to close out the third quarter with a 58–48 lead.

The start of the final period saw a lot of backand-forth scoring from both teams before Case Western went on a 5–0 run, their final opportunity to come within striking distance of the Bears. The run closed the gap to seven points, but then it was time for the Brooks show, with the senior scoring nine straight points to put the game away for WashU. The Bears won 84–74.

Besides dominating the scoreboard, the Bears dominated in other major categories. The Bears won the battle in the paint, outrebounding the Spartans 40–27 and outscoring them 38–22 in the paint.

The Bears’ bench, led by 13 points from first-year Alyssa Hughes, outscored the Spartans’ bench 28–16.

The Bears, riding their five game win streak, will continue UAA play as they travel to play No. 12 Emory University on Feb. 9, with whom they are tied for third in the conference at 6–3, before playing the University of Rochester on Feb. 11. The second away weekend in a row will be a major litmus test for the team.

“To focus on this win streak is exciting, but it’s not our goal,” Brooks said. “We just want to win every game we can, get better every day as a team, and play for each other.”

YIWEN ZHA | STUDENT LIFE Nailah McBeth finds the paint behind a Bears’ screen against Case Western Reserve University.

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