February 9, 2023 Student Life newspaper, Washington University in St. Louis

STAFF EDITORIAL

We

(Forum, pg 6)

SUPERBOWL 57

A

(Sports, pg 3)

Basketball unbeatable for second-straight weekend

LNYF

A photo essay for the Lunar New Year Festival show.

(Scene, pg 4)

Weekly SU Treasury meeting includes joint session with SU Senate

On Feb. 7, for their second meeting in a row, Student Union (SU) Treasury approved every appeal from student groups. They heard from Armour, returning after Treasurers tabled their first appeal on Jan. 24; the Asian Christian Fellowship; Women’s Club Lacrosse; the Equestrian Club; and Men’s Ultimate Frisbee. Treasury funded a total of $15,543.20 for these groups.

Washington University basketball was untouchable against some of their top conference opponents. Both teams are now ranked in the top 25 national polls, at number 16 and 22 respectively.

Men’s Basketball

With five minutes left in the second half, the Bears were up by double digits against Emory University. The two teams were head-to-head for the top conference spot, with both teams holding a 6-2 record. Only one team could leave Francis Fieldhouse in possession of the UAA lead.

But with the seconds ticking down, Emory narrowed the score. A jumper put the score at 60-54. Another layup gave them another two. With thirty seconds left, the team held a one-point lead. But the last-ditch effort from Emory would be wasted; in the last halfminute, strong defense in the paint by the Bears protected WashU’s advantage. Crucial plays on a jumper and a layup allowed them to stick it out for a victory.

With the two wins against Rochester and Emory, the men’s basketball team remains hot on the season as they continue their four-game win streak, capped off

by two home victories this past weekend.

On Friday, the Bears played the Rochester Yellowjackets and dominated both halves. The Bear’s top scorers, Hayden Doyle (18 points) and Drake Kindsvater (16 points) led the Bears, Doyle shooting 8-15 from the field. After going down 1-0 in the first minute of play, the Bears would only trail for part of the game and continued to play a high-level defense that generated a lot of steals and fastbreak opportunities. The second half saw them extend their lead further as the Yellowjackets had no answer for their fast-paced offense. The highlight was also the 33 defensive boards, almost double Rochester’s, which allowed the time of possession to favor WashU. After outsourcing them 38 to 29 in the first half, the second half also saw the Bears outscore them by 9, 32-41, and take an 18-point victory, 61-79. The Emory game is one that would become an instant classic. A massive team effort was needed for this victory that saw the Bears edge out the Eagles 60-59. 10 players would end up contributing to the point total in this game, led once more by Hayden Doyle and Drake Kindsvater. Again, rebounds helped WashU on the way to victory; with 34 to Emory’s 27, many of these coming

from second-chance points from offensive boards. The game stayed relatively close until the end of the second half, when the Bears would go on a 10-point run to go up 55-44. However, with four minutes left, Emory would have a streak of their own and bring the game within 2 points with one minute left to play.

The Bears will play Brandeis University on Friday and New York University on Sunday in two away games.

Women’s Basketball

Before Friday, senior Naomi Jackson had only scored in the double digits twice this year, with eleven and twelve points against the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and Brandeis University. She had only started one game this season in the team’s first matchup against Emory.

But as the team faced off against Rochester University in New York, Jackson had a career-day, with twenty points on the board. She exceeded season highs in many offensive categories — in minutes, in 3-pointers made, in field goals. In a close game, where the Bears trailed by double-digits in the second half, Jackson fueled the fourth quarter come-from-behind win, with two back-to-back three pointers to switch the lead. Despite trailing Rochester in points in

the paint and shooting 32% from outside the arc, the final score of 64-59 reflected the Bears’ ability to close out close games under pressure. Two of Rochester’s six losses, including the team’s only home loss of the season so far, come from WashU.

During Sunday’s game, the Bears pulled out a sixteen point victory led by senior Maya Arnott, who had a season-high 26 points against the Eagles. Arnott, who has averaged 15.9 points per game, went 6-6 in free throws and snagged 12 rebounds on Sunday. They once again had a dominant fourth quarter, where they outscored Emory 22-11.

This weekend, the Bears have a challenge ahead of them, as they travel to Brandeis University and New York University in their weekend slate of games. NYU is right behind them in conference rankings, with a 7-2 record, and holds a higher national ranking. If the Bears beat the number six-ranked Violets, they will silence any doubt about their spot in the top-25 and make a strong argument to host a regional game. The Bears have lost just one conference game, a ten point spread against Case Western Reserve University in mid-January. They’ll have to wait one more week to confront Case, who they will play on Friday, Feb. 17 at 5:30 p.m.

The entirety of SU was present for a special joint meeting, including Treasury, Senate, the Constitutional Council, and the Executive Council, to elect a new Election Commissioner after Otto Brown, the former commissioner, resigned to take on a new job outside of SU.

Miriam Silberman began the session by introducing Election Commissioner nominee Constantin Carrigan and opening the floor up to questions.

Junior Jason Zhang asked Carrigan about his thoughts on the low candidate turnout for the debates held by SU during the fall semester. Carrigan explained that he is thinking about either making the debates mandatory or abolishing the event entirely, the latter of which would require a change to the SU statutes.

Once the discussion ended, Carrigan left the room while both Treasury and Senate held a vote and unanimously approved Carrigan as the new election commissioner, replacing Otto Brown.

SEE TREASURY, PAGE 2

Datamatch returns to WashU for Valentine’s Day matchmaking

This February, love is in the air — or in the case of online matchmaking service Datamatch, it’s in the algorithm.

Datamatch is a national matchmaking service for college students, providing users with roughly ten matches based on their answers to a short survey. Since 2019, Datamatch has been available to students at Washington University during Valentine’s Day season; this year’s survey opened on Feb. 7 and will close on Feb. 13 at 11:01 p.m. Students are allowed to decide if they would like to receive romantic, platonic, or both types of matches, as well as specify any preferences based on sexual orientation.

Datamatch President, sophomore Olivia Pierre-Louis, explained that the service is a fun way to connect students on campus who have similar opinions or senses

of humor. After receiving their matches, students are presented with the option to ‘match’ with them. If both students express interest in one another, they will be notified that they have mutually matched.

One selling point for Datamatch in past years was its ability to help students meet new people during pandemic times, which PierreLouis believes is still relevant to social interactions on campus today.

“I think we’re coming off a time period where we were very isolated for a really long time and it was hard to meet people if it wasn’t online,” Pierre-Louis said. “This is still online but it’s a little bit different because these are people who are really nearby, they’re your classmates.”

She continued on to say that many students have set social circles that might prevent them from meeting someone outside of it.

“[Your match] could be

somebody who’s been in your class for the past three semesters and you’ve never met them,” she said. “I’m only in my second year, but I’ve already kind of figured out who my friends are and I don’t super make an effort to meet new people all the time. So this is a really good opportunity to widen your social circle, and meet somebody who you probably would not have met going to the events you usually go to.”

Out of WashU’s roughly 8,000 undergraduate students, PierreLouis said Datamatch received approximately 1,000 responses last Valentine’s Day.

For some, the service yielded little results as they already knew their matches or did not contact any of the people they were matched with.

“I knew most of my matches and the other ones I never talked to,” said sophomore Ella Brodey. Similarly, senior Izzy Yanover tried the service their freshman year but never used it again because the

experience was fairly unexciting.

“It went very neutral, I didn’t end up reaching out to a lot of people,” they said. “I guess I’m not particularly interested in reaching out to a bunch of people so I just didn’t want to do it. I’m not against it, I think it’s fun and it’s silly — I just didn’t want to do it.”

However, despite the lack of results last year, Brodey said that she will be participating again this Valentine’s day.

“Who knows, maybe I’ll find my soulmate,” she joked.

While some students had uneventful matches, others found potential sparks that led to first dates or, at the very least, a good story to tell.

On the national website, Datamatch offers testimonials from various participating schools, including WashU.

One testimony reads: “Two of my best friends matched on Datamatch and now they’re dating and I third wheel them on zoom!”

Looking at the other side of

dating outcomes, a sophomore who wished to remain anonymous described his first date with a match last spring that ended in a bit of a nosedive.

“We went on a little stroll. We were walking down Brookings and she just fell down the stairs,” he said. “I didn’t really know what to do, so I just asked her if she was okay and helped her up. She seemed pretty embarrassed, but then later we came to a fork in the road with stairs and a ramp. And I pointed to the ramp. She sort of laughed but I don’t think she found it as funny as I did.”

After a first date that involved a tumble down the Brookings stairs, the two did not go on a second date.

Other students have gone their entire college career without ever trying the service; some are considering changing that this Valentine’s Day while others plan to continue without it.

,

Drake Kindsvater charges up to dunk on the way to a win against Rochester University.

ELLE SU | STUDENT LIFE Karisa Grandison passes the ball to a teammate in the team’s Friday night game against Rochester University.

BRI NITSBERG | STUDENT LIFE

RISHI CHINIGA STAFF WRITER

ALIANA MEDIRATTA STAFF WRITER

need transparency from University after tuition increase.

guide for the casual fan on Superbowl Sunday.

ALIANA MEDIRATTA AVI HOLZMAN STAFF WRITER SENIOR NEWS EDITOR

New Election Commissioner

Recreational marijuana sales now legal in Missouri

AVI HOLZMAN SENIOR NEWS EDITOR

Last week, as a part of Amendment 3, which Missourians voted in favor of last November, the recreational sale of marijuana became legal in the state of Missouri.

The amendment expunges criminal records of individuals arrested for possession of marijuana, prohibits law enforcement from searching a vehicle purely on the suspicion that the substance is in a vehicle, and makes the sale of recreational marijuana via dispensaries legal. You must be 21 to legally purchase marijuana and cannot be in possession of more than three ounces of the substance at any one time.

As opposed to legalizing marajuana through a law, the Missouri state legislature let the decision fall upon the people of Missouri in the form of a constitutional amendment. Peter Joy, a Professor of Law and Director of the Criminal

Justice Clinic at Washington University Law, explained that constitutional amendments are much harder to overturn than laws. WashU students and faculty members reacted to the news in a variety of ways, ranging from highly positive to skeptical. Senior Sophie Conroy, Executive Director of the WashU Political Review (WUPR), expressed that the amendment is written in a way that is unfair to those trying to get permits in order to open dispensaries.

Marijuana became medically legal in Missouri in November of 2018, after Missourians voted in favor of Amendment 2. Amendment 3 uses Ammendment 2’s legal precedent of dispensary permit distribution as a guide for how to give out permits in 2023 for those interested.

Conroy called the process “unfair,” as she said the vast majority of permits were given to white-owned businesses.

Sophomore William VanDyke echoed Conroy’s

DATAMATCH from page 1

Senior Ethan Liss-Roy explained that while he has been unable to use Datamatch the past three Valentine’s Days, he is open to doing it this year.

“Freshman year, I guess I was just kind of intimidated,” he said. “I was also a little worried about data security. Sophomore spring, I took the semester off, and junior spring I was abroad, so I wasn’t here.”

While Liss-Roy said that he has not thought much about whether or not he will complete the survey this year, he stated that if he did use the service he would likely choose

to receive both romantic and platonic matches.

Public opinion on Datamatch has carefully toed the line between being a fun activity and a full-on joke.

“I think it’s been pretty common to do it just for fun,” Liss-Roy said.

For freshman Jaida Taveras, who was only recently made aware of the existence of Datamatch, it presents a fun opportunity to do an activity with peers. Taveras said that a lot of her friends in Lien, the dorm she lives in, are planning on taking the survey with one another.

sentiment by explaining that “the benefits of the legal [marijuana] business are generally not accessible to those people who were selling marijuana when it was illegal.”

Conroy ultimately voted in favor of Amendment 3 because it expunges the records of those incarcerated on simple marijuana possession charges. Joy also discussed how Amendment 3 will impact the way law enforcement can arrest people in relation to marijuana.

According to Joy, it is now illegal for an officer to pull over a vehicle just because they smell the odor of marijuana. Furthermore, police dogs formerly used to detect marijuana either have to be re-trained, or be transferred to the Transportation Security Administration so they can be used to detect marijuana at U.S. federal borders.

Joy hasn’t seen WashU, which follows federal regulations, release any statements about Missouri’s

“We’ll take it seriously in the sense that it could end up being cool,” Taveras said. “We have nothing to lose so why not take it a little seriously and also have fun with it.”

After Datamatch releases its results to participating students, matches will have the ability to message one another and even meet in person through an event called Datamatch Cafe, in the DUC Fun Room on Feb. 16, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. At the event, students can mingle and meet their matches to see if there is as much of a spark as the algorithm predicts.

In Conversation with Michelle Alexander

February 28 7:00 - 8:30 PM

Graham Chapel Reception immediately following

Also featuring: Prof. Fannie Bialek

Please register at rap.wustl.edu

recent legalization of marijuana. In terms of it becoming legal at the federal level, he responded that “It’s a fool’s mission to try and predict what the U.S. Congress is going to do.” He believes that, given the filibuster rule in the Senate and other laws, it is unlikely that marijuana will become recreationally legal in the near future.

Six different students said that state-wide legalization would likely have no significant impact on who is currently smoking. Student Y, a senior, said that he “[sees the decision] being more impactful for the city at large.” He described how students are “incredibly privileged” and face “virtually zero consequences” when they smoke marijuana on campus. Four different students, however, said that the legalization of marijuana will make things more convenient and safer. “I feel like people will always find a way to get something if they

want it. So, by legalizing weed, it makes it way easier,”

Student G, a WashU senior, said. Student E, another senior, said that “making [marijuana] illegal makes it easier to get in a more dangerous way — and since people want to do it anyway, making it legal is a good move [because it would be safer].”

VanDyke said that legalizing weed will make him a lot less anxious when smoking in public.

Multiple students expressed that they are hopeful of the impacts that the decriminalization of marijuana will have

TREASURY from page 1

Constitutional Council

Before the joint session ended, the Constitutional Council explained what they do as the judicial branch of SU and how the other branches can use them as a resource.

Sophomores Andrew de las Salas and Ben Ewer explained in a presentation that the Council has jurisdiction in issues that violate the rules set by the SU constitution. This could include cases involving

on incarcerated people. Student E mentioned how “criminalizing [marijuana] just isn’t the answer, and produces harmful results in terms of incarceration.”

Student Y wants to see most substances decriminalized.

“Criminalization is not the answer. It directly harms so many people, and there are different ways to work with communities [while maintaining the] responsible management of substances,” he said.

Editor’s Note: Everyone interviewed for this article is at least 21 years old. Some students chose to remain anonymous.

without that expense, giving Armour $3,664.

Sophomore Sadie Karp preempted her question about the hotel costs with an acknowledgement of the changes that the group made before coming back to Treasury.

“Thank you for coming in again and being so detailed, it’s really amazing,” said Karp.

Men’s Ultimate Frisbee

The final appeal of the meeting was made by both WashU Men’s Ultimate Frisbee teams for hotels and rental cars to attend a tournament in early March. Men’s Ultimate Frisbee is made up of two teams, an A-team and B-team, that have co-treasurers and submit appeals to Treasury together.

much funding to provide. Junior Treasurer Jason Zheng said that since the club representatives were not present at the meeting he felt more comfortable funding for a lower amount than requested. Treasurers instead recommended funding for $3,012, which would include travel expenses and one night of lodging for each team. A motion to fund for the recommended amount was made and passed unanimously.

Other Appeals

Armour

Treasury meeting on Jan. 24, student-run publication Armour Magazine requested $8,500 for a social event and had their appeal tabled for a later date.

This week, Armour President Lena Bekhiet and Treasurer Gabriella Dorman reappeared to present a new budget request for $3,800.

“We have so many itemizations, details, and prices down to the cent for you guys,” said Dorman.

In order to lower their expenses, Dorman and Bekhiet explained that they chose a less expensive date at the same venue and decreased the amount of reserved time, halving the $6,000 rental fee.

“I will emphasize the places that we cut costs in order, we have significantly chopped the cost,” said Dorman.

Additionally, they lowered the money allocated for decor and cleanup from $1,000 to $300 and cut the $1,000 catering request entirely.

During discussion, multiple Treasurers pressed the group on their decision to have the alumni speaker spend two nights at a hotel, as opposed to one, and eventually decided to approve the request

In a previous treasury team meeting between members of Ultimate Frisbee and the specific treasurers in charge of the appeal, the A-team expressed that they would be comfortable staying in a hotel for just one night (instead of the usual two nights for most tournaments) because this specific tournament, Midwest Throwdown, taking place from March 3-5, will be in Columbia MO, only a two-hour drive away.

Despite the A-team’s willingness to drive up the first day of the tournament, the amount requested, $3,912, included one night in a hotel for the A-team but two nights for the B-team.

Treasurers questioned why the B-team was asking for two nights at the hotel while the A-team was asking for one.

There was no representative from either the A-team or B-team present at the meeting, so they could not answer questions. It is worth mentioning that clubs are not required to send representatives for SU Treasury appeals.

At last night’s meeting, Club Women’s Lacrosse and the Asian Christian Fellowship both sent club representatives who were able to answer questions from Treasurers, while the Equestrian Club and Men’s Ultimate did not.

The lack of club representation directly impacted the Treasurers’ decision-making process when determining how

In addition to hearing from Armour and Men’s Ultimate Frisbee, Treasurers heard presentations from the Asian Christian Fellowship to attend the Brosis Banquet, Women’s Club Lacrosse to secure transportation for an upcoming tournament, and the Equestrian Club who requested funding for the upcoming Black Hawk Western Competition. Treasurers voted unanimously to approve funding for all three of those appeals.

The meeting ended with Treasury’s open forum where for the first time this semester, everyone unaffiliated with SU was asked to leave. After the forum concluded, Speaker of the Treasury Mishka Narasimhan said that she had been experimenting with putting the forum at the beginning and ending of meetings, in addition to determining if that time should be open to the public.

Ultimately, Narasimhan decided the time should be private so that treasurers could reflect on decisions made during the meeting. According to the meeting minutes, when junior Treasurer Jason Zheng asked why Open Forum was private, Narasimhan responded that she “doesn’t want constructive criticism to be twisted by StudLife.”

Narasimhan also stated that in past years open forum has been closed. Vice President of Finance Max Roitblat agreed with Narasimhan, in the meeting minutes, adding that making the forum private “depends on speaker enforcement.”

The Swade Cannabis dispensary on Delmar Loop.

A CASUAL FAN’S GUIDE

TO THE SUPER BOWL

The Super Bowl has become an American cultural phenomenon, with around 100 million viewers tuning in every year to watch the NFL’s greatest show. Amidst the glitz and glamor of the festivities, it’s easy to forget there’s a football game played in between the commercials and Rihanna concert. Whether or not you believe the NFL is rigged, this year’s Super Bowl script is sure to be a fun one. The matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs, the NFL’s two best teams, will pit some of the league’s biggest superstars against each other (including a pair of brothers, but more on that later). Whether you’re just excited to watch Rihanna’s return to the stage or are a diehard football fanatic, here’s everything you need to know ahead of Super Bowl 57.

What was each team’s path to the Super Bowl?

Both teams were dominant throughout the regular season, entering the playoffs with 14-3 records and the No. 1 seed in their conference. The Eagles had fans wondering if they could replicate the 1972 Miami Dolphins’ perfect season after a 8-0 start to their campaign. However, following a shock loss to the Washington Commanders, they rebounded to win five games in a row.

After the Eagles’ quarterback Jalen Hurts suffered a shoulder injury during week fifteen at Chicago, the Eagles dropped two contests to the Saints and the Cowboys. They ended the regular season with a victory, however, to lock up the NFC’s top spot. The Chiefs also jumped out to a hot start, winning four of their first five games. Despite some midseason hiccups, the Chiefs won their last five games to win a contested race for the AFC’s first seed.

While the Eagles have cruised through the NFC playoffs, the Chiefs have endured some drama along the way. Following a bye, the Eagles manhandled their divisional rival, the New York Giants, in a 38-7 beatdown. Against the San Francisco 49ers, the NFC’s second seed, the Eagles benefited from injuries to the visitors’ third and fourth-string quarterbacks and held them to just seven points. While critics say the win demonstrated nothing about the Eagles’ worth, their ability to score 31 points against one of the best defenses in the league was impressive. The Chiefs entered the divisional round ready to cruise through a matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars, but a high-ankle sprain suffered by their quarterback Patrick Mahomes in the second quarter complicated the contest. The star returned after the break, playing through the pain en route to a 27-20 victory. In a rematch of last year’s AFC Championship game, Mahomes went head-to-head with quarterback Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals once again. In a back-and-forth contest, the Chiefs avenged last year’s loss, eking out a 23-20 win with a field goal by kicker Harrison Butker as time expired.

How will the Eagles try to slow down Patrick Mahomes?

The headlines surrounding this game center mostly around one man: Patrick Mahomes. The Chiefs quarterback is arguably the best of the modern generation and looks likely to win MVP for the second time in his career. Though fans were worried that his performance would suffer following the departure of star wide receiver Tyreek Hill in free agency, he has been dominant as ever, leading the Chiefs back to the Super Bowl for the third time in four years. However, the ankle injury will likely still limit his mobility, a fact that the Eagles pass rush will look to exploit.

Philadelphia will look to put Mahomes under pressure, just as Tampa Bay did when they held the Chiefs to nine points in Kansas City’s last Super Bowl appearance two years ago.

The Eagles’ impressive crew in the trenches includes four players boasting doubledigit sacks, the most in NFL history. League leader Haason Reddick (19.5 sacks), Josh Sweat (12.5), Javon Hargrave (12), and Super Bowl 52 legend Brandon Graham (12) will look to raise those numbers Sunday.

The Chiefs also have injury issues in their receiver corps.

Wide receivers Juju Smith-Schuster and Kadarius Toney both appear on track to play Sunday, but fellow wide receiver Mecole Hardman is not expected to suit up. Luckily for Mahomes, he’ll be able to rely on his top weapon, Travis Kelce, who

has established himself as one of the greatest tight ends of all time and was unanimously selected as a first team AllPro again this year. Unfortunately for the Chiefs, the Eagles secondary is one of the most qualified in the league to stop the high-power passing game. Anchored by cornerbacks James Bradberry and Darius Slay, the defense allowed the fewest passing yards in the league this year. They are joined by free safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who is tied for the league lead in interceptions despite missing five games. After only allowing opponents to a combined 14 points in their two playoff matchups, the Eagles will face their toughest test yet. Philadelphia will hope that their staunch defense can hold firm once again on Sunday.

Can Jalen Hurts and the Eagles offense prove their worth against the Chiefs defense?

Hurts’ ascent to stardom has been one of the biggest stories in the NFL all year.

The quarterback, who made a huge leap in his third professional season, is a threat through the air and on the ground. The dual-threat QB is likely to lose the MVP race to his Super Bowl counterpart, but led an Eagles offense that averaged 28.1 points per game, third only behind Kansas City and Buffalo. One of the catalysts for Hurts’ boost in productivity was the offseason acquisition of A.J. Brown. The wide receiver, who came to Philadelphia after a trade with the Tennessee Titans, forms one of the best one-two punches in the league with secondyear wideout DeVonta Smith. Behind a strong

veteran offensive line led by center Jason Kelce and right tackle Lane Johnson, running back Miles Sanders had an impressive year, racking up career highs with 1,269 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns. The Eagles high-flying offense scored over 30 points in both of their playoff games, but will face a tough Kansas City defense.

Defensive Player of the Year candidate Chris Jones will look to build off a two-sack performance in the AFC Championship. The pass rush, led by Jones and defensive end Frank Clark, will need a strong performance to put Hurts under serious pressure and contain his scrambling attempts. Their secondary lacks Philadelphia’s experience, especially if cornerback L’Jarius Sneed is ruled out following a concussion suffered against Cincinnati.

What fun storylines make this year’s game special?

Travis and Jason Kelce are taking sibling rivalry to new heights (yes, that’s the name of the podcast that they host together). The brothers, two of the most entertaining players to follow on and off the field, will be the first siblings to play against each other in the Super Bowl. The brothers are also well known for their dramatic victory speeches, and fans will hope that whichever brother wins the bragging rights in the Kelce Bowl will repeat their past parade antics. If you haven’t already seen Travis or Jason’s past speeches, they’re well worth the five minutes.

Finally, two more men who have some history together are the two head coaches, Andy Reid and Nick Sirianni. Sirianni’s NFL debut came as the Chiefs’ offensive quality control coach in 2009. Sirianni, however, lost his job in Kansas City after Reid took over as the head coach in Kansas City in 2013 and did not retain the young coach on his staff. Reid, like Sirianni, has some familiarity with his Super Bowl opponents. The current Chiefs coach was the head coach in Philadelphia from 1999 to 2012. Though he was fired, Reid is still a fan favorite in the City of Brotherly Love. However, Eagles fans definitely won’t be disappointed if Sirianni’s first Super Bowl win comes at the expense of the franchise’s former coach.

ILLUSTRATION BY ELLE SU

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RILEY HERRON STAFF WRITER

SCENE A look at the Lunar New Year Festival

Lion: Immediately after the pre-shows, the lions jumped in as the first official act and stirred up the anticipating crowd. With their energetic dance moves and playful storylines, such as their tug-of-war scene, the four pairs of lion dancers started off LNYF with a bang.

Fusion: The another act was Fusion, a dance performance that is a combination of both traditional art forms like Tai Chi, fans, martial arts, and more modern components like hip hop. The clash of modern and traditional dances is an innovative and eye-catching way of representing Asian culture.

Chinese-fan: Using their long fans and sleeves, the Chinese fan performers created a surreal and striking stage. The embedded story lines accompanied with both solo and group dance formations captured audiences’ attention throughout the whole performance.

Tinikling: The last performance was Tinikling, a traditional Filipino dance that involves movements with long bamboo poles. The dance included tapping and sliding the bamboo poles to create a powerful visual and aural experience.

For 24 consecutive hours, sophomores Ally Mediratta and Saish Satyal stayed in the dining hall, Bear’s Den (BD), without leaving for any reason. Beginning at 7:30 PM on Thursday, January 26th and concluding at 7:30 PM on Friday, January 27th, Mediratta and Satyal journaled their way through a self-described “perilous and hollowing journey that emotionally devastated the both of us.” These are their stories. DUN DUN

Ally - 7:30PM

Today has been a strange leadup to what is currently the longest event I’ve ever penciled into my Google Calendar. Going into this challenge, my biggest priorities are attending a mock trial party a mere two hours after leaving BD and not killing Saish in the middle of the night.

Saish - 7:30PM

I am terrified. I’m rawdogging BD. I haven’t brought a blanket, pillows, a change of clothes, or deodorant. My deodorant is supposed to last for 48 hours, so unless the Gillette marketers are lying to me, I should be fine. I’m deeply concerned for my hair though. Without my curls, I am nothing.

Ally - 2:50AM

All the normal people have left; I am sitting in a booth underneath a blanket quietly singing along to the Pitch Perfect soundtrack. I want nothing more right now than to go out and

24 Hours in Bear’s Den: The Challenge No One Asked For

dance somewhere. I think dancing in my pajamas in BD at 3am would indicate that I’ve officially lost a piece of myself–perhaps my pride. It’s time to figure out if the coffee robot can make tea.

Saish - 3:00AM

I think the past few hours have perfectly exemplified the long term effects of BD on the human soul. I have experienced every emotion: elation, enlightenment, existentialism, and the deep crushing despair of knowing I have to be in purgatory for 16 more hours.

Saish - 5:30AM

There is nothing more disheartening than receiving the Associated Press and NYT emails in your inbox having never gone to sleep. You just feel like a pathetic loser while the rest of the world gets their life together.

Ally - 6:06AM

It’s six in the morning and if I never saw this building again for the rest of my life, I would still need more time. I think that sleeping in a BD booth caused some type of long term joint damage in both my neck and my shoulders. Also, ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’ is playing overhead, and Billy Joel is singing “we’re halfway there.” Billy, we are not, in fact, halfway there.

Ally - 8:05AM

People are here now. I feel like I’m keeping a diary as I embark upon a perilous covered-wagon journey along the Oregon Trail. I hope I don’t die of dysentery. This BD breakfast is upsetting my stomach, so that might take me out eventually.

PUZZLE Mania

Saish - 12:38PM

People keep asking me how I’m feeling after having been in BD for so long. This question fundamentally misunderstands the effect of BD on a person. I am not separate from BD. It is an absurd notion to think my mother birthed me. ‘Twas BD that birthed, raised, and took care of me. Do I feel love for this place? No. Not in the slightest. Do I feel every ounce of loyalty towards it? Instinctively.

Ally - 3:00PM

Four and a half hours left.

I am suddenly extremely exhausted. EDITOR’S NOTE: Ally never updated the article again nor can she remember any events that occurred for the next four hours. She may be the first person to ever black out from dining hall-induced psychosis.

Ally’s closing thoughts

It’s been over a week since Saish and I sacrificed everything to do what no one thought was possible. Or not, because literally nobody told us to do this. Not one person. Surprisingly, a main takeaway was the positive aspect of spending time with each others’ friends. Even more shockingly, Saish and I remain friends to this day, which is likely a pseudo trauma bond. In fact yesterday I told Saish I was nostalgic of the BD days; Or, rather, day. He told me I was going insane, which, no comment. Maybe BD has some strange StockholmSyndrome-hold on me that will last until graduation.

Now, as the changed woman I am today, I’ve been

waxing poetic about the value of community. I think it can be easy to forget that we all have access to this community all of the time. No one is stopping you from hosting a BD game night and playing Rummikub for two hours. Literally—at no point did a single person try to kick us out of BD, which was slightly concerning. BD might be the wrong example to make this point upon, but put simply, spending all of my time there with others reminded me how special and fleeting it is to be a member of this campus community.

Saish’s closing thoughts

BD was a melon baller, and I was a hapless cantaloupe, unaware of the horrors that were about to befall me. Hour by hour, I was hollowed out until I was just a round, thick shell of a man. Ally and I did not talk for the entire weekend following the experience because it would’ve brought up too many bad memories. I do feel much closer to her though. Ally called it a pseudo-trauma bond, and I would simply take out the “pseudo”.

One week and a few sleep cycles later, I feel content. Freshman year I spent an average of four hours a day in BD, so I’ve pulled many all-nighters there before. I am a mountain climber. I had summited Kilimanjaro before, but this was my Everest. I’ve finally climbed Everest. I’ve finally conquered BD.

To read a complete account of Mediratta and Satyal’s experiences, visit the Student Life website.

SPONSORED BY:

Aliana Mediratta (right) and Saish Satyal (left) spent 24 hours in Bear’s Den. They were visited by friends throughout the day.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ALIANA MEDIRATTA

FORUM

STAFF EDITORIAL

Regarding tuition, we need less pomp, more circumstance

financial aid commitments, the Gateway to Success needblind policy, and, puzzlingly, a notice that WashU’s endowment had a return of negative 10.6% in 2022.

On Feb. 1, an email pinged into the inboxes of Washington University undergraduates: annual tuition increase! Students weren’t surprised; everyone and their families get this email every year. The message is short: we will now pay $61,750 for a year at WashU, 3.9% more than the current price of $59,420. Housing, dining plans, and the wellness fee will be notched up as well. The grand total for the full package is somewhere between $80K and $83K.

Below the numbers is a section titled “TuitionRelated Frequently Asked Questions.” The paragraphs address, unfortunately, neither topics that directly relate to tuition increases, nor questions that Student Life believes students are most likely to ask upon learning their tuition has increased. To be clear, the Q&A section does reference policies that are commendable: the highlighted initiatives cover the University’s new (as of the last couple of years)

One question that is not answered in the FAQ section is perhaps the most obvious: what, exactly, is the increased tuition income actually going towards? The information sheet seems to suggest that the money is going towards financial aid, and that maybe the loss of endowment money means that the University is extra-strapped for cash this year. Or possibly, the 6.5% inflation rate in 2022 means that WashU has to inflate tuition to match; if this is the case, we hope that maintenance workers, dining staff, and instructional assistants are also receiving increased wages.

Following last year’s

tuition increase, The Source published another FAQ, but this, too, fell short of sharing a tangible breakdown of where the hiked tuition will be spent. The article gestures at the “cost of operating an institution like ours” and mentions that tuition dollars allow WashU to “attract the best and brightest students and faculty, maintain and add to the quality of our academic programs and facilities, and continue our rich tradition of excellence.” These goals, while commendable, are abstract. In what ways will the increased tuition benefit students and faculty? What programs and facilities will be enhanced?

The issue is, students and families don’t know exactly where their money is going, or how it’s being used, nor are we privy to any information about how tuition increases are calculated each year. We

are asking for a detailed breakdown of University expenses, broken down by general category. How much tuition money actually goes towards the financial aid packages highlighted? If the endowment performs poorly, does tuition increase more? In 2021, the endowment returned a staggering 65%, allowing for the Gateway to Success needblind initiative. Yet tuition still increased by 2.9%, suggesting that the two factors are not necessarily correlated.

The same day as the tuition increase email, it was reported that WashU bought seven buildings — including Pin-Up Bowl — and two parking lots from Loop real estate giant Joe Edwards. Did student dollars help finance that deal? Without more transparency, we’ll never know.

Hearing that we have to spend more year after year is

painful, and without knowledge of exactly where our money is going, we end up speculating. Maybe our tuition is going towards the WashU Pledge, or maybe it’s going towards those thousand-dollar lawn chairs that dot Mudd Field.

We ask the WashU administration to cushion the blow of the annual tuition increase email by providing more clarity into the inner financial workings of the University. Transparency would be a sign of respect for students and families that continue to pay tuition or take out loans in order to educate themselves or their loved ones. We ask the administration to cut the vague flowery language about novel programs and exciting opportunities and simply reveal the circumstances that surround each year’s inevitable tuition increase.

No taxation without representation — unless you’re under 18?

JORDAN SPECTOR STAFF WRITER

At 17, I got my first job. I was paid to work remotely, phone banking voters across the country, praying that the next person I called didn’t immediately curse me out and hang up. At the time, I had close to zero idea how money worked. But what I understood was that by filling out my Form W-4, the income my employer would be giving me had the potential to be taxed. At first, I thought: “I shouldn’t have to pay taxes, I’m not even old enough to vote!” (No matter how liberal I am, I am still entertained, for a moment, by a lousy excuse to not have to be involved with taxes). But then it hit me that I had it backwards — I should be able

to vote because legally, in certain circumstances, I can be required to pay taxes.

With this realization, I went back to the internet to look up an organization I’d heard of, Vote16, reading through its essays and research in a completely new light.

Research has shown voting to be a habitual practice. And throughout history, the youth vote (ages 18-24) in America has had the lowest turnout, in part due to lack of habit formation. Lowering the voting age would develop voting practices sooner, helping increase the 18-24 year-old turnout — and, subsequently, the turnout rates in older age groups as well.

Beyond the public gain of increased voter turnout, there is also individual gain

for young people to be considered. Students have become major voices in large political campaigns such as March for Our Lives and Fridays for Future. This is in part because, like many other groups, youth have the ability to mobilize, strategize, and express their own opinions, but also because many of today’s policies will have the largest impact on young generations. Extending the right to vote would be an individual victory for young people, helping turn their serious movements into civic action.

Young people are smart, active members in our country. And yet, despite understanding the benefits of decreasing the voting age, there’s one big question I still had to ask myself, which you might be thinking too: won’t

most young adults just vote however their parents or mentors vote? However, as shown in an extensive literature review conducted by the organization Vote16, in partnership with the University of Maryland, “multiple studies found that household influence on politics is roughly the same for all members of the home, and while schools may play a role in encouraging civic and political engagement, they do not seem to bias young voters.” The influence of people close to you is equal in all directions — whether that be from a spouse, child, parent, sibling, workplace, classroom, or friend.

In truth, this main criticism of outside influence is so concerned with how people vote that it distracts from the real issue of not allowing

people the right to vote in the first place. 62.5% of Americans have not received a degree from a program beyond high school, and 8.9% have not received even a high school degree. Further, 10.9% of Americans have cognitive disabilities. These are groups who, like youth, are often presumed to be impressionable — however, rightfully so, we do not determine who can vote based on perceived cognitive abilities or educational level. The right to vote exists as representation for everyone in our democratic republic, no matter the party they choose to vote for or the personal factors that influence their decision.

At a local level, and in select countries around the world, this revelation has hit, and changes are being made.

Within the last two decades, several European countries have lowered the voting age for certain elections, and five Maryland cities have lowered the voting age to 16. National support has yet to emerge because something so simple — an extension of the long plight for equal representation in this country — is always viewed as radical in its early stages.

This country was built on the principle of “no taxation without representation.” And yet, contributing members of our society have continually been denied proper representation. Young people face subtle degradation in a world that paints them as not old enough, not ready yet, still learning — as if adults are not constantly learning, growing, and adapting to change too.

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.

As reported in Student Life, the University recently unveiled a state-of-the-art sports performance center (SPC). This is a much needed and well deserved addition to campus. Vice Chancellor Dr. Anna Gonzalez and Chancellor Dr. Andrew Martin have celebrated this new center of “healthy excellence” and I applaud their vision in creating such a facility. I have been fortunate to work with some of our Division III athletes as they study and work on projects in computer science. They are among our most dedicated and disciplined students, and this new facility will hopefully serve them well, training them not only to excel in their sports, but also to prevent injury.

Unfortunately for its faculty and staff, the University has not shown this level of generosity in providing a free exercise facility for its employees. As a faculty member of over 30 years, and an avid workout enthusiast, I began to use the Washington

Managing Scene Editor: Via Poolos

Managing Sports Editor: Clara Richards

Managing Forum Editors: Reilly Brady, Jamila Dawkins Chief of Copy: Ved Patel Senior Scene Editor: Alice Gottesman

University open workout facilities when I arrived. In 1991, that much smaller facility was actually shared by faculty, staff, students, and all sports teams. It was modestly equipped and very crowded compared to both the Sumers Recreation Center and the new SPC, but it was available at no cost to faculty and staff.

A community of early morning workout people developed in that facility. If one of us didn’t show up for a few days, an email might be received checking on that person’s health. When Sumers opened in Fall 2016, we gladly moved upstairs and into the beautiful, new space. The University is now charging faculty and staff $200 a year to use the new facility.

When I visited the then-director of the center, he told me the center was more like a health club, so the University felt justified in charging for membership. I pointed out that health clubs had free parking and did not close during semester breaks. The availability of the center improved, and I had to park on campus anyway, so I was happily a regular member there until

YOUR VOICE:

it closed due to COVID-19 in 2020.

Sumers did eventually reopen for our students, but not for our faculty or staff for over a year. I personally appealed to Provost Dr. Beverly Wendland and our School of Engineering drafted a resolution, asking her to make the facility available to faculty and staff for the good of our physical and mental health. The University was unmoved by those pleas, and so my colleagues and I found gyms elsewhere. By trading down from a red parking permit and joining the Center of Clayton, I save $1000 a year (and the University loses about $1600 from me a year), so there is no financial incentive for me to return, even now that employees are again able to pay to use the facility.

Here is my point: such a facility should not only be available and free to employees, there should be incentives in place to encourage its regular use. A healthy workforce is in the University’s best interest. Exercise boosts the immune system, regulates mood favorably, and helps prevent injury. This is surely known by a university with a top-11 medical school.

When I was working out at Sumers, I would regularly see Professor William Pickard, advanced in years even then, but still coming almost daily to the gym. He would greet me by saying, “A healthy mind in a healthy body,” translated from the Latin phrase. He was right. We should make Sumers freely available to all employees.

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.

ILLUSTRATION

ILLUSTRATION BY RYAN DAVIS

Chasing the dream: WashU’s men’s ice hockey fights for a spot at nationals

KOKINOS STAFF WRITER

The national championship tournament for non-NCAA collegiate ice hockey teams has been one of the primary goals for the WashU men’s ice hockey team since the start of last season.

Despite a 5-0 loss to thirdranked Arkansas in playoffs the previous year, the team has rebounded with a vengeance and commitment to return to the playoffs and compete for a spot at Nationals.

When the players arrived at preseason this year, they approached it with an attitude of making amends, as sophomore goalie Jake Friedman noted. He had an expectation that the team would be competing at Nationals this year. This expectation was shared throughout the locker room, as teammates committed to each other with promises to fight together every time they stepped onto the ice.

And they did.

The Bears hockey team is had a standout regular season. They clinched their regional division title, the MACHA south division, secured the Forest Park Cup in a head-tohead match against St. Louis University, and were ranked a historical high #3 in the nation by the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA). Much of this success is a testament to their cohesive play and trust in each other as teammates. As Head Coach Chris

Nikonovich bluntly put it, this group is “adaptive” to different scenarios, which he cites as one of the foremost reasons for the team’s success this year.

After winning the first six games of the season, with a memorable comeback against rivals SLU for their first piece of silverware, the Bears were ranked #3 in ACHA

rankings— their highest result ever. However, their ranking would tumble down to 26th with two consecutive shutout losses to Missouri State.

The 26th ranking wasn’t good enough for the goals of the team, mainly because that low ranking pragmatically put them out of national contention. For nationals, the top 16

High hopes for men’s tennis at the beginning of their spring season

seeded teams receive automatic bids to participate in the tournament—a national ranking that is heavily based on their regular season record. These teams are known as the “auto-bid” teams.

However, if a team is outside the top-16 but still ranked highly, they can compete in the single-elimination regional playoffs for a national spot. If they perform well within these regional playoffs, it will positively affect their national rankings.

So, with six regular season games left on the calendar and a series against Marian University, Maryville University, and Kansas University, the Bears realized that it was necessary to win

as many games as possible to boost their national hopes. Sophomore Noah Raimi stated that “when the team is down, they try to build each other back up:” a mindset the team has adopted to take each game one at a time.

Echoing these statements, Nikonovich remarked that the team had been “able to adapt to different strategies, roll with the punches of the regular season, and excel in positions they wouldn’t normally be in.” This approach ultimately led the Bears to persevere, winning 5 out of their last 6 games, ending the season with a 12-3 record, and rising as high as 12th in the rankings before settling at 19th after a very close win against Kansas.

With just 3 spots separating them from the coveted auto-bid, the Bears charge into their playoff season with an unbreakable spirit and momentum. Brimming with confidence and poise, the team is ready to unleash its full potential and skate its way to glory. On Friday, they will face the formidable 12th-ranked Mizzou in a single-elimination regional showdown. The team is determined to win this crucial game to secure their place among the top 16 contenders for Nationals. As Friedman puts it, the team feels extremely “confident and good” about overcoming this hurdle. With that confidence and poise, the team is determined to make their way to Nationals.

Coming off of a dominant fall season, the Washington University men’s tennis team is hoping to bring the same energy to their spring games. In an interview with Student Life, junior Gaurav Singh gave insight into what he is looking forward to this spring.

Background

The WashU Men’s Tennis team is competitive with its peers, whether that be other Division III teams or some local Division II teams. Singh specifically pointed out a unique characteristic of the WashU team: everyone is very close together in terms of level and skill. He added that other teams have a larger disparity between players and that the closeness of the WashU team was a strength of the group. Going into the spring season, the team picked up a few promising recruits in the freshman class, as well as two transfers, both of whom are coming from Division I schools. “I think we are definitely looking better than last year and to do some damage at Indoor Championships,” said Singh “And then more importantly, later in the year at conference and hopefully at NCAAs.”

Big Matchups

The most notable competition that the team is set to go to this year is the National Indoor Championships which will take place in Minnesota this year. Eight teams are invited and the Championship follows a compass draw model, allowing players to play at least three matches.

“Last year we got third place. We lost to Chicago and we kind of had a brutal moment with an injury or two,” said Singh “But, we’re looking to do really well there this year.”

In April, the team will travel down to Florida to compete in its UAA Conference Tournament. This tournament determines whether or not the team will qualify for the NCAA tournament, an important goal for the Bears this year.

Breaking the Curse

In Singh’s freshman year, the team lost in the national semifinals to Case Western Reserve University. Just last year, the team lost in the Elite Eight to Middlebury College. But this year, it is hoping for redemption in the postseason.

One example of the odd luck that has followed the team was when they faced their biggest rival, Emory

University. “Prior to my freshman year, I think we had lost to them five or six years in a row. Coming into sophomore year, we were scheduled to play Emory at the first round of national indoors,” he said “The last match was playing and it was our line six singles guy. He was playing a really close match and he just split sets. And he started to cramp up so all of us started freaking out. But then, our coach said, ‘Does anyone have like pickle juice or mustard?’”

At that point, Gaurav ran to the refrigerator to see if any ingredients were in the facility. Surprisingly, there was a small bottle of mustard tucked away behind two bottles of Gatorade. The coach proceeded to give it to the cramping player, and miraculously, the player ended up winning the third set six to two.

Gaurav finished the story with something that was on everyone’s mind after that last set, “I guess something magical was in that mustard.”

The team has one matchup under its belt, a 7-2 win against Division I Lindenwood University, a big team win where all the singles won their matches. They face South Baptist University on Feb. 11 before heading to ITA Indoor Nationals in St. Peter, Minnesota.

ELIAS

SCARLETT PATTON | STUDENT LIFE

WashU skaters face off against Kansas University. The Bears beat KU 8-7 and 8-1 during the fall semester.

CHANAH PARK STAFF WRITER

CLARA RICHARDS | STUDENT LIFE

The men’s tennis team fell in the elite eight last season of the NCAA tournament.

In 2022, Washington University baseball won twelve games, recording a .333 win percentage. They went 3-13 in conference play. Their last game of the season was a 2-12 loss to Fontbonne.

Returning players aren’t ignoring last year’s season. But they also aren’t dwelling on it. They open their first home series on a brand-new turf field. They have a squad of eight new freshman. They have a blank slate ahead of them, a clean record to work with as they head into the next thirty nine games.

Key position players

Before the 2022 season, three out of four spots in the infield were solidified from the first game of the season with the experienced upperclassmen trio of Bo Anderson, Andrew Huang, and Tim Van Kirk. But in the early days of this year’s preseason practice, there are no guaranteed spots. The past two years have gutted

Bears

the team of the majority of the group that propelled it to its 2021 World Series berth.

The exodus of talent and veterans, including the team’s top junior Caleb Durbin, is a major reason head coach Pat Bloom attributes to last year’s slide.

Still, this is a group that has shown productivity at the plate. They had eight wins last season where they scored in the double digits, including a 21-3 win against Illinois Wesleyan University. Senior outfielder Broghan O’Connor slugged .687 for 22 RBI last season, and junior two-way player Clayton Miller led the team in hits.

Likely returning infielder combinations will likely include sophomore Dax Braemer, senior Joe Georger, junior Harry Mauterer, Miller, and junior Zac Malis.

The only returning all-conference player, junior first baseman Jack Miller, is sidelined due to injury until April.

Miller hit .323 his sophomore year with one of the highest on-base percentages on the team. Bloom said he is looking to fill that gap by having

“open competition and creating competitive depth that can fill voids that are created during the year.”

Last year, the team experimented with a lot of different combinations in the outfield, which allowed for various players to step up and receive playing time. Bloom sees this as helping the team this year as it has created “competitive depth, which is an integral part of having team success.”

Pitching staff

The biggest uncertainty on the team is regarding the pitching staff, as last year, the group averaged a 5.84 ERA. But Bloom seemed confident in the group’s ability to bounce back. “The returning pitchers have taken ownership of some of the things that they did not do as well as they should have, and they have put a lot of work in,” he said.

Sophomore Will Henkel has the lowest ERA of the returners, averaging 4.64 earned runs in 21 innings pitched. Sophomore Sebastian Guzman, junior Clayton Miller, and senior

Kyle Coates all threw over forty innings last season and will likely spend substantial time on the mound for the Bears.

The most experienced arm out of the bullpen is Matt Lopes, a fifth year graduate student. Bloom said that Lopes’ experience is something that the team will rely on, especially with a group of younger arms on the mound. Lopes, who has been in the program since the days of former ace John Howard, has averaged a 3.89 earned run average and threw 2.2 clutch innings in the team’s World Series appearance in 2021. He “has seen the high highs of the program but has also seen the lows of the program,” Bloom said.

Much of the work the pitching staff has put in is based around a new velocity program. The pitchers have been in a consistent progressive throwing velocity-based program since last May that Bloom hopes will help with arm longevity and quality innings pitched. The

feedback, Bloom said, has been positive: “I am excited to see some of the gains our returners have made.”

Freshman Newcomers

Regardless of the uncertainty, there is a lot to be excited about for Coach Bloom and the baseball team. The team has brought in eight freshmen who Bloom described as “a group of committed young men, who love the game of baseball, who possess a diversity in terms of their skill sets both on the mound and positionally, and all in all they are strong competitors.” The group includes position players Chris Jacinto, Connor Lindsey, Max Myers, and Shane Pellegrino. Pitchers in the squad include Josh Holt, lefty Isaac Zhang, Miles QuemuelLabrador, and freshman Alex Ardemagni.

Scheduling

The team is experimenting

with a new schedule, ditching its previous trip to Florida for a weekend in Memphis instead. The decision was made with a myriad of factors in mind, including budget and the ability to pick opponents. The new field renovation also plays a part in that choice; Kelly Field’s resurfacing and renovation also includes new player development areas, cages, and bullpens. Bloom will hope to attract teams to WashU in years to come.

Bloom’s message to his team for this year is straightforward: “We want to trust our teammates and have our teammates’ backs, we want to be all about toughness and playing the game hard, and we also want to be a group that is resilient and highly, highly competitive.”

WashU begins its season on Saturday Feb. 18 against the University of Ozarks. Its home opener is on March 4 in a three-game series against Illinois Wesleyan University. Managing sports editor Clara Richards contributed reporting to this article.

ARYAN KUMAR STAFF WRITER

Junior Clayton Miller hurls a pitch against Illinois-Wesleyan in an early season game.

CLARA RICHARDS | STUDENT LIFE

Kelly Field is currently under construction, scheduled to be completed shortly before the first home series of the season.

MORGAN FOWLER | STUDENT LIFE