October 3, 2024 Student Life Newspaper, Wash U in St. Louis
Students and faculty voice frustrations with parking experience
cost of the pass was not worth it. Hernandez also said that some of his friends found alternative strategies to paying for parking last year.
Gaining access to parking spots has been difficult for many WashU students and faculty in recent years, given costs and limited availability of passes and spots. For an undergraduate student hoping to park in most areas on campus, they likely have to pay $918 per year.
The University has five different parking zones, and permits are required for all of them. There are two different types of permits: red and yellow. Red permits cost $2,288 per year, while yellow permits cost $918.
Yellow permits are primarily for students and allow parking for the full year in Zones 1-4. Students must choose only one zone to gain access to. Red permits are exclusively for employees and allow parking in Zones 1-5, with Zone 5 including WashU’s West and North Campuses. Faculty also have the option of purchasing a yellow faculty pass, which is valid in Zones 1-4.
Students without permits are allowed to park anywhere except spots labeled “red permit parking” on campus between 5 p.m. and 7 a.m. on weekdays and all day on weekends. Students living in off-campus housing are also provided free parking spots at all times.
Senior Hanin Ghanam said that she feels frustrated about the price of parking passes, having purchased the yellow Zone 2 permit for two consecutive years.
“I think we all know that the parking pass is way too expensive,” Ghanam said. “I see the need for it, so that’s why I continue to buy it, but I don’t think it’s actually worth the amount you pay for it.”
Ghanam said the limited availability of parking spots and the lack of flexibility in garage parking options are the main reasons she believes the pass is not appropriately priced. She said that her Zone 2 yellow permit allows her to park in only the specifically-marked yellow zone spots in the DUC garage, lot in front of Simon, and the lot in front of Alumni House as well as a few other smaller lots nearby.
“I think that for how much the parking passes cost, there should be more options for parking,” Ghanam said.
Senior Matthew Hernandez said that he purchased a parking pass last year, but this year he felt like the
“I’ve known people who just keep their cars on campus in the parking lot and let the parking tickets just pile up, because if you add all the cumulative tickets, it turns out to be less than buying the pass itself,” Hernandez said. “I think by the end of the year for one person it ended up being like $500, which is less than what I had to pay for the year.”
Hernandez, who usually parks in Zone 4 (which covers the South 40), noted that he had not had the same difficulty as Ghanam in finding available spaces to park. He said, though, that the price of the parking passes means that the University underutilizes its available space.
“For me there were many open spaces at the parking garage,” Hernandez said. “It would just be cool if it was more available to people, because then more people would probably use it, so then you [would] probably have to pay less per person.”
Junior Leah Colin said that food allergies required her to purchase a
ILLUSTRATION
BY
parking passes and other campus transportation options.
“Given the limited availability of parking assets, WashU offers alternative, sustainable commuting options that align with university goals,” they wrote over email. “In addition to parking passes, students have access to several shuttle options and the Active Commuter Hub and are provided with cost-effective alternatives for getting to and from campus with our complimentary Metro U-Pass.”
WashU’s parking prices, overall, appear to be more costly than many other schools in the St. Louis area.
WashU’s cost is more expensive than St. Louis University’s, which charges $560 for an annual parking permit for a resident. Some colleges, such as Maryville University, University of Missouri–St. Louis, St. Louis Community College, and Lindenwood University offer parking permits at no cost or included with tuition.
Schools with similar endowments to WashU in the Midwest vary in parking permit costs. The University of Chicago charges between $135 to $235 per month, depending on
maintenance and for university-run transportation. WashU has initiatives that aim to help community members get to campus in other ways besides just driving.
The Active Commuter Hub, according to its website, “aims to support the WashU community commuting by bike, foot, public transit, or other active transportation by providing a place to shower, change, and get ready before the workday.” It is located on the lower level of Schnuck Pavilion.
The Office also referenced the Smart Commute page on their website, which details some alternatives to parking passes that people can use to travel to and from campus, including taking the MetroLink or biking to campus.
Tab Birt, the Technical Director of the Edison Theater, said that for his role, these alternatives are “impractical at best.”
“For me specifically, those [alternatives] don’t work because I don’t work a traditional 9-5 schedule,” Birt said.
Birt said he works until past 9 p.m. about 50 nights, which means that many public transit options are
“It’s a little tacky of WashU as an employer to charge their employees for the privilege of parking on campus.”
parking permit when she lived on campus last year.
“It was worth it to me to have a car,” Colin said. “The food situation here is difficult for me, and I basically needed to have a kitchen. For that, I needed a car to get to the grocery store.”
She added that some of her friends decided not to purchase a permit this year due to the cost, and instead have asked Colin if they could use the spots given to her as part of her University Drive housing.
“Since we have the spots assigned to our building, there were a bunch of people asking us, ‘Oh, can we use your spots? We can’t get parking passes, they’re too expensive, they sold out,’” Colin said.
The WashU Parking & Transportation Office said that they are continually making efforts to increase the accessibility of both
the location undergraduates choose. Northwestern University parking permits cost $540 per year.
Prices vary nationwide as well. Boston College, for example, charges $749 per semester for student resident parking permits and allows only upperclassmen to purchase permits. The University of Southern California (USC), in Los Angeles, only charges $558 per year for students in comparison.
USC Transportation said that their parking prices were set in order to fund their parking systems.
“Permit prices on our campus are mainly based on the cost of maintenance and upkeep for the garages and lots,” their office wrote over email.
At Vanderbilt University, parking permits run at $864 per year. Vanderbilt’s Parking and Transportation Office similarly said that their parking prices pay for
Student Union shifts focus from resolutions to reports
TANVI GORRE NEWS EDITOR
After a semester of contentious resolutions and the veto of Senate’s most recent resolution, Student Union (SU) Senate has shifted their attention to data-driven reports highlighting prominent issues affecting students in hopes of further capturing the University’s ears.
Co-sponsors of Senate’s recent resolution calling to drop suspensions and for Chancellor Andrew Martin’s resignation amongst other acts could have presented the resolution to Senate again within two meetings as per Article VI Section 2 of Student Union’s Constitution. Instead, the senators opted to pursue the resolution’s goals through reports.
This shift doesn’t necessarily mean that the Senate will pass fewer resolutions, as a report can still lead to a resolution. What it can do, according to senator and senior Braeden Rose, is push the Senate to further research not only systemic issues at WashU, but also see how those issues and their potential solutions have impacted campuses across the nation.
According to Rose, a wellresearched report can negate the need for a resolution.
“It’s not often, but on occasion, [if] it’s a pretty simple request, or if SU is putting up the funding for it, administrators won’t even need a resolution,” Rose said.
Senate has several reports such as the results from the Improve WashU survey; however, reports from Senate committees are less common, according to Vice President of Engagement and junior Ashton Lee, and therefore have less precedent surrounding them. Results from these committee reports, although typically geared toward administrators, will likely be accessible to the student body.
“If Senate committees produce reports, as the head of our social media outreach efforts I am in total support of publishing their findings to the student body online or to [Student Life],” Lee said.
Co-sponsor of Senate’s recent resolution and junior Natalia León Díaz is working on a report demonstrating the precedent and need for a Native American and Indigenous Studies department at WashU. León Díaz also hopes to directly discuss lifting student suspensions with administrators.
“We’d like to leverage our direct communication channels with administrators before we can devise the most effective course of action to advocate for the impacted students and a revision of the Code that includes student feedback,” León Díaz said.
significantly less staffed by the time he needs to get home.
Birt also said that Smart Commute options are particularly disappointing for people who may have other family members’ schedules to worry about.
“I think I’m almost the ideal candidate for [Smart Commute options]. I’m a single adult male, I don’t have kids, my grocery shopping is pretty small,” Birt said. “But if you have kids you have to drop off at school, you can’t take the bus to work.”
Birt also said that parking has been a consistent topic of conversation among University faculty.
“[Parking is] such a point of consternation for people working on campus,” Birt said. “Everyone is constantly complaining about the parking.”
SEE PARKING, PAGE 2
While resolutions have allowed Senate to engage in conversations with WashU administrators regarding dining, according to SU Senate Speaker and junior Ella Scott, reports have a higher likelihood of catching administrator attention.
“[Senators] want to do reports,” Scott said. “There’s an understanding [amongst senators] that the University is more likely to listen to us if we can provide them data.” Reports have long been part of Senate, but were forgotten last semester due to a high influx of resolutions. These reports, unlike resolutions, do not need to be voted on by the Senate, which has been an outlet for what senators have called a toxic culture in Senate.
SEE SENATE, PAGE 2
JAIME HEBEL
WashU updates policy on camping and campus security needs
Washington University revised its Danforth Campus Facilities Access Policy and introduced two new subsections under the Safety and Security section of the policy. The new subsections explicitly prohibit sleeping or camping outdoors or in nonresidential areas without University approval and outline the factors considered when determining event security needs.
The updates to the
policy, which were implemented in August, come after a spring semester marked by pro-Palestine protests on campus and efforts to establish an encampment on the East End.
Julie Flory, Vice Chancellor for Marketing and Communications, wrote to Student Life in an email that the rules and protocols in the policy are largely unchanged, but the language used has been updated for clarity and concision.
“The previous policy did not allow unapproved tents, and Event Management
did not allow unapproved events between the hours of 11 p.m. and 6 a.m., but the Facilities Access Policy did not explicitly say that camping is not allowed,” she wrote. “It does now.”
The new policy also emphasizes that the University does not determine event or demonstration security needs based on the viewpoints or opinions of participants involved. Instead, the University considers factors like the event location and number of participants.
“The assessment of security needs at events has always been
viewpoint-neutral, but after hearing from community members, we wanted to make clear what factors go into that analysis,” Flory wrote.
Many events on campus had security present last year — including both pro-Palestine and proIsrael demonstrations.
Some students called on the University to provide greater transparency regarding their camping and security policies after over 100 arrests were made at the April 27 protest and encampment.
Earlier in the semester, Chancellor Andrew
“The assessment of security needs at events has always been viewpoint-neutral, but after hearing from community members, we wanted to make clear what factors go into that analysis,” Flory wrote.
Student Union releases its term goals for the 20242025 academic year
PARKING from page 1
For Birt, the main issue with the parking pass system is its pricing. For employees, choosing a yellow parking permit means a total of $918 is taken out of their paychecks over the course of a year, which Birt feels disproportionately impacts employees with shorter contracts and lower wages.
“When you’re working in a higher-up position and making six figures, then $900 every year is nothing,” Birt said. “But then you have employees that work 10-month contracts or 30 hours a week, even some at 20 hours a week, and so that $900 becomes a lot more impactful to your overall income.”
Birt added that he thought the way parking passes are charged to employees — taking monthly payments out of their paychecks — obscures
Martin attended a Student Union (SU) meeting where he fielded questions from student representatives, including one about security policies from sophomore and senator Emaan Sayied.
“What made you decide that you need to use law enforcement, specifically the seven police departments, especially since there was an encampment for a minimum wage back in 2019 and it wasn’t met with the same response?” Sayied asked Martin.
In his response, Martin did not directly address the April encampment, but stood firm on his previous stance that protesters had crossed a line by refusing to disperse after being instructed to do so by the police.
Flory emphasized that students can always submit feedback on University policies by emailing an ad hoc committee established
the actual impact of the expense.
“They take the $920 out of your paycheck just like healthcare or social security, where they’re taking $75 or whatever every month that you don’t really notice,” Birt said. “I think if you actually had to pay that cost up front, or if you had to write a check for $75 to WashU every month, it would start to bother people more.”
Dr. Anna “Dr. G” Gonzalez, Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, wrote in an email to Student Life that her experience parking on campus was the same as any other University community member’s.
“I pay for parking and yes, at times, I too have a hard time finding parking depending on days and times.” she wrote.
“I used to purchase a yellow pass, but for healthy excellence
by the WashU Board of Trustees, which was recently formed to assess University policies on protests.
At the recent SU meeting, Martin expressed a similar sentiment to Flory, saying that administrators are open to hearing feedback from the community about these policies.
According to Flory, the Board ad hoc committee is currently considering potential policy changes, though she did not disclose what those changes might be.
Martin said that it’s possible that administrators will have a conversation and consider permitting encampments as a form of advocacy.
“We’ll weigh the costs and benefits and ultimately make a determination,” he told SU members.
Lawrence Hapeman contributed reporting for this article.
reasons, I am now walking to campus with the option of purchasing a day pass if needed.”
The East End garage holds a row of reserved parking spots for some faculty: two spots for the Chancellor, one for the Provost, one for the Executive Vice Chancellor of Administration, one for the Board Secretary, and one for the Executive Vice Chancellor of University Advancement. There are also five other reserved spots for guests to the Chancellor’s Suite. Birt said that he doesn’t think WashU should require employees to pay for their parking at all.
“It’s a little tacky of WashU as an employer to charge their employees for the privilege of parking on campus.”
Student Union (SU) released its 10 term goals for the 2024-2025 academic year, which focused on improving the organization’s operations to better serve the WashU student body.
The goals, themed “Rebuild,” include relaunching the SU Legislative Council, reviewing the SU constitution, promoting connections between students and administrators, and improving communication from SU to the WashU community.
SU President and senior Hussein Amuri said the Term Goals were composed with the intent to better include students and have their voices heard. Amuri felt that especially last year, students’ voices weren’t always heard on campus.
“Rebuilding was really the mindset,” he said. “Much of what happened last semester is still being felt by our campus community members to this day, and there was a belief that we can’t run our student government without really acknowledging that.”
SU noted that a big part of rebuilding the organization involves relaunching its Legislative Council. In its Term Goals Statement, SU
described this move as “a key initiative aimed at fostering a stronger culture and enhancing transparency between the Senate and the Treasury.”
The Legislative Council will include representatives from both the Senate and the Treasury. Amuri explained the Council’s leadership structure.
“There is the Senate committee chair and then Treasury leadership, that’s the two committee chairs, and then the speaker,” he said. “Those [leaders] meet on a bi-weekly basis to give updates in regard to their respective [entities] about what’s going on.”
In their Term Goals, SU also expressed an interest in re-examining its constitution. The organization wrote, “We want our Constitution to act as a living document, representing our ever changing needs as a community.”
Amuri said it is important to continue reviewing the constitution to find potential future issues before they arise. In order to do so, SU has created a Constitutional Task Force consisting of Treasury and Senate representatives, the chief justice, and the executive vice president.
SU also made a pledge to improve communication with the student body.
“Revamping our communication infrastructure is one
of our big goals,” Amuri said. “We have the newsletter, for example; we’re going to be introducing that this year.”
For some students, inclusion of their views cannot come soon enough. Sophomore Ian Scholes criticized the organization’s past performance.
“I think it’s a bloated organization that is largely ineffective,” Scholes said. “I think the point of the Student Union is that nobody knows what they do, but the members can put it on their resumes.”
Sophomore Michael Ostrower said he did not know much about SU in the first place. “I haven’t heard very much from them,” he said.
Sophomore Anita Buchanan expressed optimism about SU’s potential as an organization.
“I think the Student Union has a real power to do some good for campus. It’s just about what they do with it,” she said.
Amuri emphasized that SU’s primary mission is to serve WashU students.
“I want people to know that we’re listening,” he said. “We’re here to serve you. We want you to know that we are constantly working on your behalf and making sure that your needs and interests are being met.”
SENATE from page 1
Members of Student
have been focusing their energy on compiling reports about issues affecting students, rather than passing resolutions.
In the vote over Senate’s most recent resolution, also known as the Resolution to Drop the Suspensions and Ensure Student Safety, some senators felt pressured to sacrifice their stance on some issues due to the broad scope of the resolution. Several senators also felt that their perspectives were not heard during decision-making processes in Senate.
Senior and SU President Hussein Amuri vetoed the resolution on Sept. 12, and
in a letter explaining why, he cited the division the resolution would cause on campus.
“We have an obligation to affirm and validate the stories, identities, perspectives, and experiences of ALL WashU students in our decisionmaking process,” Amuri said. “Division to me, is the last thing that we need.”
According to Scott, reports can help foster collaboration in Senate, pointing to their report in progress on a potential Native American and
Indigenous Studies department, which is authored by both the Diversity and Inclusion and Academic Affairs committees.
Scott views Senate’s shift to reports as a positive indicator for the future.
“It’s a sign, a really significant sign, of productivity that we’re moving back to working on reports, [researching] specific areas within the University, and being able to do that across committees.”
Union Senate
Student Union’s term goals for the year focus on rebuilding.
BRI NITSBERG | STUDENT LIFE
MARCO ZHANG | STUDENT LIFE
FORUM
All students deserve housing —
policies disagree
My intention is not to take a stance on the protests that occurred last spring.
“Is there anything else you want to tell me?” I asked. After holding back tears throughout our interview, the student began to cry. She explained that she had endured housing and food insecurity multiple times in her life. When she was evicted from her WashU housing, however, it was different.
“In the past, I was with my family,” she said. “I was with people that I could share this struggle with and also get really intimate support from. And this time I was in St. Louis, 2,000 miles away from home, and I think that’s what made it so much worse.”
This student — who wishes to remain anonymous for privacy reasons — is lowincome and first-generation. In this article, she will be referred to as Sophia.
Sophia was one of 23 students who were arrested during the April 27 proPalestine encampment and temporarily suspended the following day. The administration notified protesters of the suspension in an email on April 28. The email stated, “Effective immediately, you are no longer permitted on campus,” which included all University-owned property. Six of the arrested students lived in WashU housing. All were kicked out of their homes that day and given until 8 p.m. to find a backup plan.
Regardless of what you believe about the IsraelPalestine conflict or civil disobedience, the temporary suspension policies at WashU are dangerous and disproportionately harm low-income students. I spoke to three of the six students who were removed from their housing on April 28. Two were first-generation and all three were low-income, relying on the University for their housing and meals.
These students’ experiences should matter to you regardless of what you think about their actions. We should all consider housing and food a human right, but currently, WashU’s policies do not.
University officials have the authority to evict students through the Student Conduct Code and the Office of Residential Life’s Terms and Conditions. According to the Conduct Code, the administration can temporarily suspend students on the grounds of a student conduct offense, criminal charge, or a “substantial threat to the ability of others to continue their normal University events and activities.”
Administrators may prohibit or restrict their access to University-owned property in “cases of substantially disruptive or dangerous behavior.”
Residential Life’s Terms and Conditions state that
the University can change the status of a student’s housing “for any reasons the University deems appropriate,” including “pending disciplinary action” and “noncompliance with University or Residential Life policies.”
These policies reach beyond the scope of the suspensions after April 27. WashU administrators have the authority to evict students from housing based on subjective criteria and without an investigation, conduct hearing, or confirmation that the student has somewhere to go. As long as this remains the case, they can forcibly remove students according to their own interpretation of what constitutes a “threat,” “disruption,” or “danger.”
Administrators need to assess how their biases impact the way they interpret certain acts as more dangerous or disruptive than others. For example, if we consider what is “substantially disruptive or dangerous,” we might ask how often the school takes such measures when students are accused of sexual assault or use a slur against someone in class. Why do we see such decisive action from the school in some situations and silence in others?
I do not mean to say we should revoke these policies altogether. In the case that someone is a serious threat, these policies are pivotal to the safety and well-being of the WashU community. However, the policies should
guarantee that all students get housing based on their individual circumstances, such as off-campus housing, a University-funded apartment, a hotel, or a plane ticket home.
The WashU administration must outline a more transparent decision process for how to handle temporary suspensions. Suspensions should not be purely punitive, but rather must take the necessary steps to protect community members and support suspended students. They must consider
what measures will pose the least disruption or danger to the suspended students themselves, with particular attention to students from vulnerable communities.
Temporary suspensions occur in the interim period prior to a student conduct hearing, meaning there should be an especially high threshold for determining which actions require extreme measures. For students who go through this decision process and still get moved off campus, the policies must outline a process
to
Temporary suspension should not give WashU the right to stop supporting students’ well-being and survival.
This November, Missourians have a chance to make significant change, and it isn’t in the presidential election.
Eligible WashU students who are U.S. citizens can register to vote in Missouri and, if they live within St. Louis County (which includes on-campus housing), can vote at the Athletic Complex. On election day, all you need is a federal photo ID (most commonly a passport) in place of a Missouri ID. The deadline to register is approaching (Oct. 9), but the process is easy, taking no longer than five minutes.
Everyone should register to vote, but whether you make the decision to switch your voter registration status to Missouri can depend on a number of factors. It is important to weigh what matters most to you. Where do you feel you’ll have the most impact, here or at home? What issues are of top priority to you?
This year, the election in St. Louis will have sixteen races as well as six ballot measures. Where individual votes may hold the most power is on the ballot measures, including ones regarding the state of reproductive rights and ranked choice voting in Missouri.
This initiative, protecting the right to reproductive freedom, appears to cross conservative and liberal divides. But more Democratic voters would likely help to strengthen the certainty of its success.
If you’re a Democrat, like I am, you might wonder, what’s the point of voting here, dropping a speck of blue into a sea of red? If this is a factor you find yourself considering, do not let a sense of powerlessness deter you from voting in Missouri, for there are key issues where your vote really can influence change.
Amendment 3 would adjust the constitution of Missouri to “not discriminate against persons providing or obtaining reproductive health care or assisting another person in doing so.” After months of campaigning (including within WashU), opposition from anti-abortion lawmakers, and finally, a favorable ruling from the Missouri Supreme Court, this measure has made its way to the ballot box.
According to Emerson College polling (with a margin of error of +/-3.3 percentage points), Republicans will have a sweeping victory in most races in Missouri. However, despite ideological leanings, the majority of voters also support Amendment 3, a measure to legally repeal Missouri’s abortion ban.
Clearly, I am steadfast in my beliefs. But perhaps my strongest belief is the importance of listening to people with whom you disagree.
My name is Tim Mellman. You may recognize my name from the bottom of the newsletter you received at 7 a.m. this morning. But outside of my role in sharing the news with you all, I’ve often been a witness of and participant in major campus events. Name a politically contentious issue on campus over the past two years, and I was probably involved with it in one way or another.
On Monday, Sept. 23, I attended a guest speaker event titled “The Palestine Taboo: Race, Islamophobia, and Free Speech,” held by expert law professor Sahar Aziz. Professor Aziz and I have some fundamental disagreements, and I knew that coming into the talk. But I went anyway, wrapping up my evening with a 35-minute, nuanced, one-onone conversation with her. I
(Another Amendment 3 won popular support two years ago, legalizing marijuana in the state of Missouri, proof that such measures can make tangible change.)
Amendment 7, the last measure on this upcoming ballot, is also worth noting. Republican politicians proposed this measure in the state congress. After an ironclad filibuster on the part of Democratic lawmakers, it was moved to be included on the voting ballot for citizens to decide on. The measure would restrict ranked choice voting, a system which has been on the rise in public support, created fairer elections where it exists, and prevented the election of candidates who are more extreme (which right-wing politicians have recently become).
Republicans in Congress added a clause to the beginning of Amendment 7, illegalizing non-U.S. citizen voting: a purely performative action, for non-U.S. citizen voting is already very much illegal. This addition is “ballot candy,” an obviously agreed-upon action distracting from the amendment’s darker voting restrictions hidden in the lines beneath. This is another case where the progressive vote is not hopeless or drowned out; it can be used to preserve a fairer electoral system.
wanted to hear what she had to say; I believe you can only be strong in your opinion when that opinion is as informed as possible.
A friend of mine asked how I managed to have such a conversation with someone who fundamentally disagrees with me on so many things. My answer is experience. I was raised in a liberal neighborhood with a conservative father. Listening to different perspectives is as normal to me as a Friday night family dinner (plus, weekly Shabbat debates over politics meant
This measure, moved to the ballot box, is now in your hands. The stakes are high, and Missouri, although a solid red state, will have (as they say every year) an unprecedented election.
It is easy to let history take its course, to tune out of politics and live with whatever outcomes other people decide on. Maybe you don’t care about Missouri politics because you aren’t from here. Maybe you plan on leaving. No matter what, the policies here affect the people and community around you. As a now-Missouri
the two often went hand in hand).
citizen, it is your right to participate in our state’s election process.
Fellow Democrats: here, the government may seem like an impossible machine programmed against you. To some extent, that’s true. Republican lawmakers will continue trying to restrict your rights, and Missourians will continue voting them into power.
Democratic lawmakers are not immune to deceitful politics, but in Missouri, many Republican politicians will gerrymander, try to rule your body, and hide voting restrictions in the fine print.
celebrated the “resistance” — so I could be as informed as possible about all perspectives of the conflict.
Now, with the upcoming ballot measures, their policies have reached your hands. In our state, Republicans will always be in action. This November, they feed off your inaction. Voting in your home state may still seem more important than voting in Missouri, especially if it is a swing state, and your eyes are (very rightfully) stuck on the top of the ballot. But consider the influence your vote may have here, and know that you have every right to participate. As a progressive in Missouri, voting is not a lost cause.
First Place
What too much thinking does to a motherf*cker Frankie Lynch, Caption Contest Enthusiast
Second Place too much piss tummyache Lauren Wang, Current WashU Student
Third Place
You’d want a break too if drunk kids peed on you every weekend Oscar Wildman, Current WashU Student
Scan the QR code to enter your submission by 11:59 p.m. on Monday.
The normalization of different perspectives has defined my time at WashU. In my first year, I attended both College Democrat and College Republican general member meetings. Toward the end of the year, when Student Union (SU) Treasury voted against funding a conservative economist to speak on campus, I appealed the decision to SU Constitutional Council despite my personal liberal leanings. They ruled in my favor, stating that the decision had been made with political bias and in violation of the SU Constitution’s Equality Clause.
Last year, following Oct. 7, I made an effort to subscribe to as varied of news sources as possible — from a right-wing Israeli WhatsApp channel that is translated from Hebrew into English, to the Jerusalem Post, to Al Jazeera, to a Hamas-aligned Telegram channel that
On campus, I attended as many pro-Palestine protests (and anti-Israel protests — I believe there is a distinct difference in rhetoric between the two) as I could. If I hadn’t made this decision early on, I would have missed the Muslim Student Association’s December memorial event for Palestinian civilians killed in Gaza. Organizers discouraged participants from saying chants that are harmful to many in the Jewish community, and the event centered around powerful personal stories from Palestinians.
When the StudLife article on the event was published, I wrote about my appreciation for the event on social media. It was the first time I felt comfortable standing on the same side of the sidewalk as the organizers at one of these events, and
I have always maintained that it was an incredibly powerful show of mourning and desire for peace. And I would have missed it if I hadn’t made the conscious decision to always attend and listen.
And on Monday, Sept. 23, I attended Professor Aziz’s event. She had a lot to say that I disagreed with — for example, she sees the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement as an admirable tool in pursuit of peace. On the other hand, I strongly oppose institutionalized BDS because it threatens the safety of even non-Zionist Jewish institutions, and is therefore dangerously antisemitic. Should
ILLUSTRATION
JORDAN SPECTOR
Elizabeth Grieve | Junior Scene Editor
I feel your pain. Right before the fall semester of my sophomore year, I was anxiously awaiting my return to WashU. I loved my new roommates, and I couldn’t wait to get closer with them. I was excited for my classes and to see all my friends. Most of all, I was thrilled to spend the semester with my boyfriend. Everything seemed perfect. This is my year, I thought. That’s when it happened. I was dumped without warning about three weeks before move-in. For the sake of letting the past go, I won’t share how it happened, but let’s just say that it was borderline cruel, and he did it in front of my entire family. It was humiliating. I felt numb. The perfect semester I was visualizing had slipped through my fingers.
When I got to school, all I wanted to do was to avoid my ex. But he was everywhere! The first night
back, he stopped me and my roommate and tried to make conversation in BD. I felt like I was going to throw up. He’d come up to me in the library. I’d see him walking to class. I couldn’t escape. Worst of all, about a week into the semester, my new roommate invited me and a friend to a game night with her friend group at their dorm. When I walked into their common room ready to meet new people, my heart dropped. He was there too. I didn’t know what to do. How was I supposed to act normal?
Post-breakup, it feels like everyone who says WashU is a “mid-size school” is lying. Every time you want to avoid someone, they just keep popping up. What are the chances? You’re probably thinking, of course it had to be a small class. The good news is you’re not alone. I guarantee you, everyone here runs into their foes way more often than they ever anticipated. Whether you are over the relationship or not — and regardless of how
PUZZLE PUZZLE Mania
it ended — you’ve got a couple of options here. If you still want your ex in your life, you’re the one who has to make the first move. Maybe try reaching out to reconcile, use your shared class as small-talk material as you file out of the room. Perhaps they’ll meet you halfway, and you can salvage a friendship.
But, make sure to respect your ex’s needs too. If they have set boundaries, you should respect them. Even if you don’t end up being friends, the awkwardness tends to dissolve if you are both on the same page.
If you don’t want to be friends but are concerned about the class dynamics, that’s okay too! Although it’s easier said than done, ignoring your ex and pretending that the awkwardness doesn’t bother you can ultimately help. You could try to change where you sit in class. Don’t talk to them unless they talk to you. Pretending you don’t care can work wonders. Another thing you can do is try to branch out in
your class. Even though it feels like you two are the only people in the room, that’s not the case. Strike up a conversation with someone new, or throw yourself headfirst into the class material. Making acquaintances or friends with your classmates will both take your mind off your ex and make you feel a lot more comfortable in class. Ultimately, that’s what helped me the most. In fact, I stayed for that whole
night awkward game night, despite the unexpected ex encounter. I’m happy to report that everyone else at game night is now a friend of mine. And, well…I may or may not be dating someone I met there.
I know the awkwardness is suffocating, but there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. Hang in there!
SCENE
Dorm-to-dorm canvassing: WashU Votes conducts voter drive across student housing
ZARA SHARIFF SENIOR SCENE EDITOR
On Sept. 26, a group of over 35 undergraduate volunteers and members of WashU Votes gathered in the Gephardt Institute’s Stix International House in a frenzy of chatter and excitement. In just a few moments, the group was about to advance to the South 40 for WashU Votes’ annual Canvass the Campus.
Entering the Stix House, volunteers chatted over slices of pizza and discussed the intricacies of voter registration. As a prerequisite to volunteer at the event, students completed Turbo training, where they were taught how to use the TurboVote software to help register students to vote.
By 6 p.m., volunteers were all set to run through their mock scripts, preparing to engage with people at the doors of their dorms just 30 minutes later.
Marcellus Thorsen, a sophomore who serves as Programming Chair of WashU Votes, was in charge of organizing this year’s annual Canvass the Campus.
Aside from making sure all volunteers were equipped
with a script, a tracking sheet, food, and an assigned group, Thorsen also helped in expanding the canvass initiative this year to cover Village House and Lopata Hall in the village.
“The hardest part is organizing all the people as moving parts,” Thorsen said. “With this election season, there was a lot of interest in WashU Votes and what we do, so we had — at least in my experience of canvassing — one of the largest canvases we have ever had. That definitely was a challenge to manage.”
As WashU Votes finished up training and marched to the South 40, small groups quickly dispersed into their assigned residential colleges, where they would embark on door-to-door canvassing. For first-year students who answered their doors, they would be asked a series of questions related to the status of their voter registration, whether they needed any help with the process, and if they knew of election resources available on campus. Flyers pertaining to all informational resources
were left on unanswered doors.
Importantly, even though they encourage students to be empowered in the voter process, WashU Votes reinforces and adheres to non-partisan standards.
“Part of the work we’re
doing is informing people of their laws and practices,” said Amelia Letson, senior and co-president. “We don’t tell people how to vote. We tell them information to empower them to find that information on their own.”
Emma Feldmeier, a
The downfall of the Gargoyle and WashU’s social scene
NIKOL KROL
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Upon entering Mallinckrodt, the scent of bread and cheese from Subway is inescapable.
The sandwich smells immediately ruin the ambiance as you descend the Mallinckrodt stairs to your Writing Center appointment. Talk to any alum, however, and this never would’ve been their experience with this building. Instead, they might recall the Gargoyle: a space filled with buzzing conversation by day and the bright lights of a club-like scene by night. For avid fans of live music and indie concerts, as well as enjoyers of monthly Thursday night Happy Hours, the Gargoyle was the place to be. For years, it was a hub for on-campus events and student socializing. But, in the months leading up to 2019, a different idea for the space emerged.
In response to a growing demand for centralized academic support, a decision was made to close the Gargoyle and replace it with academic offices. Despite strong student protests and a popular petition signed by over 1,000 students, this plan moved forward. This marked the loss of the venue, and as former student and Social Programming Board President, Adin Ehrlich, explained, a “significant part of the student experience on campus.”
Despite the very vocal and public outrage at the time, hindsight tells a different story of the Gargoyle as meek and, quite frankly, unexceptional. Katy Przybylski, class of 2017, explained the Gargoyle as “not something that was forgettable,” but also not something that strongly stood out from her time at WashU.
“I don’t think there was
anything special about it,” she said. “I think it was less about the space and more about the programming that people would do around it.”
The memories and experiences that students associated with the venue were brought to fruition not by the Gargoyle specifically, but by the onus of using the space that fell on student groups.
“A lot of it was dependent on SPB, or the Social Programming Board. Whoever was on that committee at the time really had to take the initiative to plan those types of events, whether it was a Happy Hour, or a meet and greet sort of thing, [or] a concert. It was more of a resource for other people to use,” Przybylski said.
Her account of the Gargoyle mirrored the perspective of Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Dean of Students, Rob Wild.
A WashU alum himself, Wild remembers the Gargoyle flourishing during his time as a student in the ‘90s.
“The problem was, after we opened the Danforth University Center,
Mallinckrodt became less and less interesting to students,” he said.
During an evaluation of campus spaces, administrators found the Gargoyle’s decline in popularity.
“We ran a list over the last four or five years of spaces at the time and how they were used, and the Gargoyle was just used so lightly during the course of the year. Maybe it was reserved one or two times per week, and that’s a big space to have only a few hours of events in a week,” Wild said.
Towards the end of its life, the Gargoyle was used primarily as a rehearsal space. After it closed, many options were made available to accommodate student needs. Locations such as the Mudd Multipurpose Room, the then-new Sumers Recreation Center, and dance studios in the Women’s Building were provided for students’ rehearsals.
“The problem isn’t that we don’t have enough space necessarily,” Wild said. “It’s that all groups want the same time slots. If groups at the time would have been more willing to spread out when their rehearsals are, we definitely could’ve met demand.”
Despite the relatively limited influence the Gargoyle had on students during the time of its closure, some current students feel a need for a more active social scene on campus.
After learning about the Gargoyle, freshman Rachel Kravtsov expressed interest in the idea of having a similar space on campus.
“I think it would be super fun. I think it would centralize something going on on campus, and it would open up the opportunity to meet more people, because not everyone does something on a Wednesday night, for example, and not everyone has the time to join a club,” she said
For those who share this sentiment, the lack of a campus social scene is something the administration is aware of and is currently working on changing.
“I don’t want to share the details yet,” Wild said, “But we’re hoping to be able to announce something very soon where we’re going to try a kind of ‘popup’ social space concept on the Danforth Campus using some of our existing spaces.”
sophomore majoring in Political Science and a volunteer at WashU Votes, agreed. Despite her political affiliations toward certain charged issues, “it’s not the time and place to convince people to vote one way or the other,” she said.
Evolution Festival: Recap and Review
ETHAN PENN STAFF WRITER
WashU’s backyard, Forest Park, continued to bring both nature and culture to the St. Louis community as Evolution Festival set up shop at Langenberg Field for the second consecutive year. 25,000 festival-goers flocked to the festival, braving the muddy fields for an unforgettable weekend.
Throughout the day, crowds were treated to lesserknown, yet strong supporting artists like Pearl Charles, Pete Yorn, Robert Finley, S.G. Goodman, and Son Volt.
More recognizable names, like Nile Rodgers & CHIC, Killer Mike, Elle King, Billy Idol, and Tom Morello played to enthusiastic audiences from the afternoon into the evening, and headliners Beck and The Killers wrapped up each day with a bang.
Like other St. Louis and surrounding area festivals, the undercard — acts earlier in the day — complimented the sound of the headliners. Central themes of the festival included punk rock and country rock.
Flanked on all sides by the tennis center, rivers, and trees, Evolution nestled itself into the scenery of Forest Park. Mud did not dampen the fun for attendees. Many jumped and danced in the elements — anything to get closer to the stage. Evolution proved that the mid-sized music festival is the ideal model to bring high quality music to St. Louis without sacrificing the audience’s ability to be close to the action.
The festival celebrated more than just live performances. Tucked in the corner of the festival was an exhibit on St. Louis rock ‘n’ roll legend and pioneer Chuck Berry, to kick off the year-long celebration of the late rock star’s 100th birthday. Festival-goers saw his cadillac, outfits, and various other memorabilia.
This small exhibit was a nice start to what will hopefully be an exciting year of learning about his life and legacy.
The Chuck Berry exhibit was just the start; festival organizers ensured the rest of the event was equally well-executed with accessible stages and good seating. The festival had three stages: one main stage, a mid-sized stage, and a small stage that, segmented by a tent, created an intimate feeling. With just a five-minute walk from the front of the main stage to the second stage, attendees were able to easily travel across the grounds of the festival to not miss acts. Organizers did a good job segmenting the seated lawn chair area from the standing pit, giving both sections good views.
The standout artist at Evolution was Nile Rodgers & CHIC. As a writer and producer, Nile Rodgers has worked on some of the biggest pop songs since the 1970s. The band played ‘70s funk and disco hits like “Le Freak” and “Everybody Dance.” With his band of a guitar, bass, drums, two keyboards, trumpet, saxophone, and bac up singers with powerful, encompassing voices, Rodgers reinterpreted the hits he has helped create over the years, from Diana Ross’s “I’m Coming Out,” to Sister Sledge’s “We Are Family,” to Madonna’s “Material Girl,” and more. The set was full of chart-toppers, balanced by good musicianship, and was overall enjoyable for everyone involved. After the set was over, he came back out to applaud the cheering audience.
WashU Votes volunteers make their way to the South 40 to encourage students to vote.
AUTUMN DENNIS | GEPHARDT INSTITUTE
ILLUSTRATION BY NIYATI NAVEEN
SPORTS
No. 8 volleyball goes 1-2 against elite UAA opposition
The No. 8 Washington University volleyball team entered conference play on a high. After losing two of their first three matches of the season, the Bears had rattled off 12 wins in a row, including victories against some of Division III’s top teams. Over the weekend of Sept. 28, the Bears looked to carry the momentum into University Athletic Association (UAA) play, taking on No. 7 Emory University, No. 21 Case Western Reserve University, and the University of Rochester in New York. The Bears, however, couldn’t keep their win streak alive, falling by tight margins to Emory and Case Western before bouncing back to defeat Rochester 3-0.
With the two losses, the Bears have already matched last season’s UAA loss total, when they finished 5-2 and tied for the second-best regular season record in the highly competitive conference. However, in both of their losses, the Bears showed that they were capable of hanging around with two of the strongest teams in the conference. Though the slow start will make the Bears’ chase for a conference championship more difficult, they still have five more UAA games and the all-important conference tournament in
November to climb back up the leaderboard.
The match between WashU and Emory pitted two of Division III’s hottest teams against each other. While WashU entered with a 12-game win streak, the Eagles, who won the UAA both of the last two seasons, came in with an 11-1 record. Though the Bears were facing a difficult opponent, head coach Vanessa Walby said their mindset remains the same every game.
“We try to keep every match the same and really focus on respecting our opponents and working together on the game plan,” she wrote in a statement to Student Life.
In the first set, the Bears were unfazed by the matchup. WashU got off to a strong start, winning 25-17 to take an early lead. In the second set, however, the Eagles quickly leveled the match at one set apiece with a 25-14 win. With the teams tied, the third set was a battle. Until Emory took a 19-15 lead, neither team had a lead of more than two points. WashU tied the score up at 21 after a 6-2 run, and then the teams alternated points to tie it at 22 and 23. However, Emory pulled away in the clutch, winning the last two points to take the set 25-23 and go up two sets to one.
In the fourth set, the teams went back-and-forth until they were again tied at 23. However, just like the
previous set, Emory won when it mattered, taking another 25-23 set victory to clinch the match. Despite the loss, three Bears players led the match in the box score.
Sophomore Leah Oyewole had a match-high of 15 kills, graduate student Lily Steinbach led with seven blocks, and junior Sam Buckley logged a game-high of 40 assists. Against Case, the Bears started off with another tight set. The Bears had three straight set points after taking a 24-21 lead, but the Spartans fought back to gain a 25-24 advantage. After both teams failed to capitalize on a couple
of set points, the Spartans eventually finished off the set on back-to-back WashU errors to win 30-28.
WashU won the second set 25-16 but then lost by four points in the third set. After a 25-17 WashU victory in the fourth frame, the two teams headed to a fateful fifth and final set.
With the teams tied at seven, Case went on a five point run to take a 12-6 lead, but the Bears fought back to trail by a 14-13 margin. However, the comeback proved futile, as a Case kill gave the Spartans a decisive 15-13 win in the final set.
Once again, Buckley, who was named the American Volleyball
Coaches Association Player of the Week last week, was the player to watch for WashU with 63 assists. Throughout the season, Buckley has a Division III-best 761 assists, 89% of WashU’s total tally.
The next day, the Bears showed their resilience, taking care of business against an unranked Rochester side that went 0-7 in conference play last fall. Though the first two sets were close — the Bears won 25-21 and 25-22 — WashU put the game to bed with a dominant 25-10 third set.
As the Bears look to build off the Rochester win into the remainder of the UAA season, Walby said the
team will continue to stick to their process.
“To remember we have gotten this far together and trusting each other and the process will continue to be our compass,” she wrote. The Bears return from New York with two weeks to reset before their next conference matches. WashU will host Illinois College on Oct. 2 and Westminster College on Oct. 9. WashU has a combined record of 15-0 all-time against these two opponents, so both games should be opportunities for the Bears to get back in the win column.
In its final non-conference game of the season, the Washington University’s men’s soccer team mauled the No. 14 Ohio Northern University, melting the Polar Bears' ranking with a dominant 2-0 victory on a brisk Saturday afternoon.
The win was a statement of intent as the Bears, 6-2-1, head into University Athletic Association (UAA) play with momentum and confidence, proving they can compete with the nation’s best.
In the first half, the match had all the makings of a defensive battle. Both teams came in prepared for a physical contest, with Ohio Northern pushing hard to justify its national ranking.
The Polar Bears, known for their high-powered offense, tested WashU early, but the Bears defense, led by sophomore goalkeeper Owen Ross, held firm. Even when Ohio Northern had the wind at its back, WashU's defense stayed composed, with Ross making a few key saves to keep the score level heading into halftime.
“I thought we dealt with the first half really, really well…[with] the wind in our face, against a good team,” head coach Andrew Bordelon said after the game.
“They made it difficult, but still, we were very solid in the back, and we also created three good looks in that first half.”
The wind may have favored Ohio Northern in the first half, but the second half belonged to WashU. With the Polar Bears tiring and the wind at their backs, the Bears began to press forward more aggressively. The deadlock was broken in the 72nd minute when a corner kick from junior Zach Susee found the head of sophomore Quentin Gomez, who guided the ball past the outstretched hands of the Ohio Northern goalkeeper for a 1-0 lead. Though primarily a defender, Gomez’s height and aerial ability have turned him into a set-piece specialist, already netting five goals
this season.
“I just look for the guy with the long, shaggy hair in the box,” Susee said. “Put two guys on him, and he’ll still jump over them. It’s really all him.”
Less than three minutes later, WashU struck again. After receiving the ball just past the midfield line, Susee found space, dribbled past a defender, and fired a low shot into the corner of the net to double the lead, sealing the game. This was his fifth goal of the season, and it carried a little extra meaning after last week’s loss to Wheaton College. "I think it's just about
being sharp and focused," Susee said after the game.
“We weren’t that way 100% last weekend, but this week in practice, we made it the focus. Staying locked in. We believed in ourselves, and I think today we showed what we’re capable of.”
Ohio Northern tried to respond, but WashU’s defense didn’t give them an inch. Ross and the backline were impenetrable, calmly turning away any attempts the Polar Bears made to claw their way back into the game.
This marked the first time that Ohio Northern had been shut out all season, a testament to the Bears' defensive
organization and resilience. Ross finished the game with two saves, but the defense's collective effort truly made the difference.
This win was more than just another check in the victory column — it was a momentum-builder, the kind of result that can define a season. After some challenging non-conference games, this was the performance the Bears needed as they transition into UAA play, one of the toughest conferences in Division III.
WashU’s non-conference journey has been full of lessons, with some tough losses alongside dominant victories. Bordelon's most important takeaway from this stretch is his players' adaptability in implementing new ideas.
“What I’ve learned is that, even when results didn’t go our way, our performances were solid for most of the game,” Bordelon said. “But I’m really proud of how adaptable these guys are, willing to take on new ideas and philosophies. That’s a massive credit to their ability to comprehend what we’re looking for and execute it.”
With a 6-2-1 record and a defense that has allowed only nine goals in nine games, WashU is ready to take on UAA competition. Its first test comes against defending conference champions Emory University in Atlanta, a team that has yet to win at home this season. After the big win over Ohio Northern, WashU is ready. The Bears have found their rhythm at the right time and enter conference play confident that they can compete with anyone.
“We said we weren’t leaving the field without a win, and it’s a great way to enter UAA play,” Susee said. “We’re ready for what comes next.”
“I think we have full confidence and belief in ourselves,” Bordelon said. “Anytime you play a ranked opponent, there’s a little extra pressure. But the coolest thing about this group is that we always focus on ourselves and how we can improve each week.”
DANIA BACKAL | STUDENT LIFE
Sophomore Colin Link dribbles past an Ohio Northern defender in the Bears’ first victory over a ranked opponent this season.
Seniors Zoe Foster and Jasmine Sells go up for a ball in a recent game against Webster.
Building toward nationals: WashU hockey’s season of growth
KOKINOS
ELIAS
The 2024 WashU club Ice Hockey season is about chasing something bigger than wins and losses. With a team full of new energy, veteran leadership, and a fresh coaching staff, this year’s Bears are determined to make their mark for the program’s future. After six games, the team sits at 3-3, but the record only tells part of the story. Their sights are set on something far more significant: Division III Nationals.
This season represents the beginning of a new chapter for WashU, thanks in part to the arrival of head coach Chris Nikonovich’s new assistants, Jeff Dortch and Corey Bryant. After falling just short of qualifying for Nationals last season, WashU knew they needed something different. Nikonovich knew the team had the talent, but it was time to dial up the intensity. Enter Dortch and Bryant, who have made an immediate impact.
“They’ve really challenged us to compete harder and focus on the little things,” senior forward Sammy Greco said.
That approach has already changed the atmosphere around the team. But change—even good change—comes with growing pains. WashU’s early stretch of games has been challenging, beginning with a split series against the University of Mississippi: a 7-2 loss followed by a 5-4 win that showcased the Bears’ ability to adapt and fight back. It was a gritty victory that proved WashU could shake off early missteps.
The next series against Dordt University, last year’s No. 17 team, was another test, with WashU dropping both games (4-3 and 4-1). But despite the losses, Coach Nikonovich saw signs of progress.
“The drop against Dordt was tough to swallow. They’re a great team, but I don’t think the scores reflected how we played,” he said. “Both first periods hurt us. If you take those away, the games would’ve looked different. Still, it was a great weekend
of hockey, and we’ve built on that.”
Though the team won only one of their first four games, the emergence of firstyears became a prominent bright spot. These newcomers haven’t just filled spots — they’ve taken charge on the ice, bringing an energy that’s pushing the entire team forward. Sophomore defenseman Michael Greco emphasized the first-years’ impact on the team.
“Our first-years have been incredible,” he said. “They’re playing like they’ve been here before — confident with the puck, strong in the corners, and they’re already contributing in big ways.”
That energy was fully displayed in WashU’s sweep of Olivet Nazarene University, where the Bears took control, commanding 8-2 and 5-3 wins. The team’s offense clicked, and their power play looked sharp due to the discipline and structure the new coaching staff has instilled.
“We saw some really good puck movement and our guys taking to the systems we’ve been working hard on,” Nikonovich said. “That sweep gave us a lot of confidence moving forward.”
Confidence is exactly what this team needs as they look ahead to bigger challenges. For veterans, like senior forward Noah Raimi, this season is about one thing: Nationals. It’s been the goal for years, but WashU has yet to secure a spot in the prestigious tournament.
Qualifying for Nationals isn’t easy — the Top 16 seeded teams receive automatic bids based on their regular-season ranking, known as the
drink.
“auto-bid” teams. There’s still hope through the singleelimination regional playoffs for teams outside the Top 16, which WashU has often been. Strong regional performances can boost a team’s national ranking, helping to secure a coveted spot. Despite several strong seasons, WashU has always fallen just short of earning either an auto-bid or a regional playoff win to advance.
But this year feels different — more depth, accountability, and a clearer sense of direction. Raimi and the other upperclassmen are determined to push the team further than ever before, with Nationals as the ultimate destination.
“This is it for a lot of us,” Raimi said. “We’ve been close before, but this season feels different. We know what it takes now. This team is deeper, more unified, and more determined than ever.”
MATT EISNER
ARYAN KUMAR
JUNIOR SPORTS EDITOR STAFF WRITER
On Sept. 28, the Washington University Bears football team found themselves in a very familiar situation to the one they found themselves in during the 2023 season.
Last October, the Bears traveled to No. 1 North Central College to face the Cardinals. North Central, boasting an intimidating roster of Division I transfers and Division III’s best, dominated the Bears and put seven touchdowns on the board in their 49-3 victory.
On Sept. 28, the Bears once again allowed seven Cardinals touchdowns. This year, though, the Bears tripled their score, losing to North Central 49-9.
North Central flexed their muscles early, rushing for a touchdown in the first five minutes of the contest. While the Bears could not muster anything on
offense, the defense held the Cardinals to just one score in the first quarter. With six minutes left in the quarter, senior linebacker Riley Merrigan intercepted a Cardinal pass. The interception forced North Central quarterback Luke Lehnen — last year’s Gagliardi Trophy winner for being the top player in Division III — onto the bench.
“I dropped back in coverage, and [Lehnen] threw it right at me,” Merrigan said.
“And then once I caught it, I was like, ‘what?’ After getting up and coming back to the sideline, it was just awesome.”
Two drives later, a North Central punt attempt went awry. The Cardinals’ punter mishandled the ball, which rolled all the way to the end zone. Despite a North Central attempt to push the ball back in bounds, the Bears scored a safety, bringing the score to 7-2.
North Central found the end zone midway through the second quarter, on a 51-yard touchdown pass by
Cardinal backup quarterback Calvin Lavery. Despite only recording one first down throughout the quarter, it wasn’t all sour for the Bears. Junior defensive back Ryan Schmadtke picked off Lavery late in the quarter, but WashU couldn’t make anything out of the advanced field position. To make matters worse for WashU, senior quarterback Clark Stephens missed the game with an injury. This forced sophomore Levi Moore — who is typically used primarily in the red zone and other rushing situations — into the spotlight, making his first collegiate start against a team ranked to be as good as FBS programs like the University of Akron and Middle Tennessee State University.
WEEKLY BAR, RESTAURANT AND FUN GUIDE
COURTESY OF MARY TRAN WashU club hockey team celebrates a goal.
SYDNEY STROMINGER | STUDENT LIFE
Senior Kenneth Hamilton, who leads the Bears in rushing, gets tackled in last week’s win over Carroll.
