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S TUDENT L IFE THE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER OF WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS SINCE 1878 S TUDENT L IFE One Brookings Drive #1039 #42 Women’s Building St. Louis, MO 63130 Newsroom: (314) 935-5995 Advertising: (314) 935-6713 Fax: (314) 935-5938 Editor: [email protected] News: [email protected] Calendar: [email protected] Please Recycle Back from a one-year hiatus, the Mr. Wash U competition is returning with many behind-the-scenes changes. Twelve can- didates for the title were announced Monday, with four repre- sentatives from each class bidding for the crown. The event gives undergraduate males the chance to compete for the Mr. Wash U title, with proceeds benefiting City Faces, a service organization run by architecture professor Bob Hans- man. During the pageant-style competition, judges will consider personality and character traits, as well as the candidates’ on- stage performances on Feb. 25 in Edison Theater. At the end of the event, one of the 12 candidates will be awarded with the coveted title of “Mr. Wash U.” “I think of Mr. Wash U as a celebration of Washington Uni- versity culture,” said junior Sagar Ravi, president of the Mr. Wash U Executive Committee (MRWU), an executive committee within Student Union, and the cofounder of MRWU. “Everyone who is even nominated deserves to be recognized for their achievements on campus.” The Junior Class Council of 2003 dreamed up Mr. Wash U two years ago. Due to the huge responsibility necessary to produce a show, the Junior Class Council enlisted the help of the Joint Class Council (JCC) and had all undergraduate classes involved with the production. Mr. Wash U was still a large-scale production for the JCC. Despite some struggles, the show was pronounced a success, with over $10,000 donated to City Faces. The event was postponed for a year in order to reorganize and to create the MRWU. “The way it was produced two years ago is somewhat similar to the way it’s being done now, except completely different,” said Ravi. “We decided we wanted it to happen again, so we made it an executive committee of SU, completely dedicated to putting on the show.” MRWU chose four candidates from each class to represent the student body. Freshman Matt Adler said he filled out the application after someone nominated him because it was “an honor.” “It seemed like a cool thing to do,” said Adler. “It raises money for charity.” After receiving an acceptance email, Adler got his first taste of being in the spotlight. The MRWU group stopped by his dorm room later that night to cheer for him. Adler says he’s not worried about stage fright—or a dance number. “I’m sure I’ll dance,” said Adler. “I’m in the Israeli dance troop and I’m doing Diwali, so I figure by then I’ll be more ac- customed to performing in front of lots of people. Hopefully it won’t be too nerve-wracking.” “We want to see candidates involved on and off campus,” said Katie Gerber, vice president of MRWU and chair of the Candidate Committee. “We want them to reach out beyond the By Liz Kramer Contributing Reporter Mr. Wash U: Back in style See MRWU, page 3 The Mr. Wash U competition, which raises money for City Faces, was last held two years ago. The idea of the competition was created by the Junior Class Council of 2003. Christopher Reeve, best known for his starring role in the “Superman” movies, died Sunday night of heart failure related to a bloodstream infec- tion. He was 52 years old. Dr. John McDonald, as- sistant professor of Neurol- ogy and Neurological Surgery at Washington University’s School of Medicine, treated the disabled actor. Reeve was paralyzed from the neck down in 1995 after a riding accident. McDonald worked with a team of scientists that helped him recover some sensation and mobility in his body. “He was an amazingly unique individual… He could be at one moment incredibly intense about work and then switch that off and be light- hearted,” said McDonald. “The passion that he exuded was just phenomenal. He touched you as an individual even though he couldn’t touch or feel.” McDonald first met Reeve in 1996 as a post-doctoral fellow. Later, in 1999, the two started to discuss treatment in earnest. McDonald was a faculty mem- ber at the University and had begun to build a Spinal Cord Injury Program at Barnes-Jew- ish Hospital. “I though there were several things we could offer Chris,” said McDonald of Reeve’s treat- ment in St. Louis. “He was hav- ing lots of physical complica- tions I believed we could offset. We began a rigorous activity- based program [to] optimize activity in the spinal cord so he could optimize his ability to regenerate.” After five years of intensive therapy, Reeve’s improvement amazed other spinal cord spe- cialists. While many considered recovery from this sort of pa- ralysis hopeless, the quadriple- gic had succeeded in moving a finger and also distinguishing between different stimuli: he could feel the difference be- tween a pinprick and a cotton ball rubbed against his skin. Originally, McDonald too had been skeptical that quad- riplegics could recover these kinds of sensations. He initially resisted the idea of the Spinal Cord Injury Program. “When I was first offered this idea…I was sure I didn’t want to do it. I feared there was nothing we could do [for people with these injuries],” said Mc- Donald. “As it turns out, it’s just the opposite—I haven’t seen a single person in my life that we can’t help.” McDonald said his work with Reeve “dramatically influenced” his now-positive outlook on pa- tients with spinal cord injuries. “He could motivate you so LAURA VILINES | STUDENT LIFE Reeve dies at age 52 By Liz Neukirch and Rachel Streitfeld Senior News Editor and Contributing Editor See REEVE, page 3 Washington University’s new- est service group, Silver Wings, is ready for takeoff. An offshoot of Arnold Air So- ciety—an Air Force-based service organization—Silver Wings is community service with a focus on aerospace and national de- fense. Junior Rebecca Chernoff, a student in the University’s School of Engineering, brought the organization to campus this year hoping to offer students new community service options and increased leadership opportuni- ties. “We want to help out in the community,” said Chernoff. After getting involved last year with several service activi- ties through her suitemates, who are members of ROTC, Chernoff became interested in discovering what opportunities civilians have to get involved with military com- munity service projects. In addition to traditional com- munity service outings, Silver Wings plans to offer leadership seminars. The group’s objective is to “build civilian leaders” as a counterpart to the military lead- ership fostered by the Arnold Air Society. Arnold Air Society is charac- terized on its official website as a “society to help train future Air Force leaders.” Its members take part in community service New service group takes flight n Silver Wings focuses on aerospace and national causes By Angela Markle Contributing Reporter See WINGS, page 5 WUPD looks for assault suspect n Suspect allegedly injured two security guards at Frat Row Washington University police are currently investi- gating an unnamed suspect who allegedly assaulted two security guards in an alter- cation on Fraternity Row on Saturday night. Two guards from B & D Security were injured when a fight broke out in front of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon house around midnight. One WUPD officer also suf- fered a minor injury. “We have a suspect who has been interviewed and we are continuing the in- vestigation,” said WUPD Chief Don Strom. “Once we complete all interviews we’ll make a determination on presenting the evidence to the judicial administrator and possibly the prosecut- ing attorney for St. Louis County.” One guard hit his head on the cement after being pushed from behind, and another ended up with a bloody nose. While both guards were treated at the scene, a representative of B & D told Student Life that they did not require further medical attention. WUPD would not release the suspected student’s name yesterday, and Strom said he was not certain as to whether the suspect is af- filiated with any fraternity. WUPD is also in the process of investigating what initi- ated the fights. The Greek Life Office is currently looking into which fraternities if any be- came involved in the alterca- By Kelly Donahue News Editor DAVID BRODY | STUDENT LIFE A fight broke out in front of the SAE house on Saturday night. Two B&D officers were injured after being struck by students. A U.S. Air Force F-16 fires a flare as it flies a combat mission in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. SSGT. LEE O. TUCKER | KRT CAMPUS See ASSAULT, page 4 PAGES 10 So close – a last minute goal by the Emory soccer team hands the WU squad a tough loss. There are no satanic rituals happening in the basement of the campus’ fraternities, says Matt Shapiro. PAGE 7 He’s a Libertarian, and he’s proud of it: read Gregg Keithley’s latest in Forum. PAGES 7 News Forum Classifieds Sports INDEX 1 6 8 10 WEDNESDAY OCT. 13, 2004 Vol. 126, No. 19 Rain 64° / 44° www.studlife.com INSIDE INSIDE 20 99 DAYS UNTIL ELECTION DAY DAYS UNTIL THE INAUGURATION ELECTION COUNTDOWN PRESIDENTIAL POLLS: WHO HAS THE EDGE? 50% 46% BUSH- CHENEY KERRY- EDWARDS Source: ABC News daily tracking pol of likely voters, taken Oct. 9-11; see abcnews.com for more

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So close – a last minute goal by the Emory soccer team hands the WU squad a tough loss. He’s a Libertarian, and he’s proud of it: read Gregg Keithley’s latest in Forum. There are no satanic rituals happening in the basement of the campus’ fraternities, says Matt Shapiro. The Mr. Wash U competition, which raises money for City Faces, was last held two years ago. The idea of the competition was created by the Junior Class Council of 2003.

Transcript of News

Page 1: News

STUDENT LIFET H E I N D E P E N D E N T N E W S PA P E R O F WA S H I N G T O N U N I V E R S I T Y I N S T. L O U I S S I N C E 1 8 7 8

STUDENT LIFEOne Brookings Drive #1039#42 Women’s BuildingSt. Louis, MO 63130

Newsroom: (314) 935-5995Advertising: (314) 935-6713Fax: (314) 935-5938

Editor: [email protected]: [email protected]: [email protected]

Please Recycle

Back from a one-year hiatus, the Mr. Wash U competition is returning with many behind-the-scenes changes. Twelve can-didates for the title were announced Monday, with four repre-sentatives from each class bidding for the crown.

The event gives undergraduate males the chance to compete for the Mr. Wash U title, with proceeds benefi ting City Faces, a service organization run by architecture professor Bob Hans-man.

During the pageant-style competition, judges will consider personality and character traits, as well as the candidates’ on-stage performances on Feb. 25 in Edison Theater. At the end of the event, one of the 12 candidates will be awarded with the coveted title of “Mr. Wash U.”

“I think of Mr. Wash U as a celebration of Washington Uni-versity culture,” said junior Sagar Ravi, president of the Mr. Wash U Executive Committee (MRWU), an executive committee within Student Union, and the cofounder of MRWU. “Everyone who is even nominated deserves to be recognized for their achievements on campus.”

The Junior Class Council of 2003 dreamed up Mr. Wash U two years ago. Due to the huge responsibility necessary to produce a show, the Junior Class Council enlisted the help of the Joint Class Council (JCC) and had all undergraduate classes involved with the production. Mr. Wash U was still a large-scale production for the JCC. Despite some struggles, the show was

pronounced a success, with over $10,000 donated to City Faces. The event was postponed for a year in order to reorganize and to create the MRWU.

“The way it was produced two years ago is somewhat similar to the way it’s being done now, except completely different,” said Ravi. “We decided we wanted it to happen again, so we made it an executive committee of SU, completely dedicated to putting on the show.”

MRWU chose four candidates from each class to represent the student body.

Freshman Matt Adler said he fi lled out the application after someone nominated him because it was “an honor.”

“It seemed like a cool thing to do,” said Adler. “It raises money for charity.”

After receiving an acceptance email, Adler got his fi rst taste of being in the spotlight. The MRWU group stopped by his dorm room later that night to cheer for him.

Adler says he’s not worried about stage fright—or a dance number.

“I’m sure I’ll dance,” said Adler. “I’m in the Israeli dance troop and I’m doing Diwali, so I fi gure by then I’ll be more ac-customed to performing in front of lots of people. Hopefully it won’t be too nerve-wracking.”

“We want to see candidates involved on and off campus,” said Katie Gerber, vice president of MRWU and chair of the Candidate Committee. “We want them to reach out beyond the

By Liz KramerContributing Reporter

Mr. Wash U: Back in style

See MRWU, page 3

The Mr. Wash U competition, which raises money for City Faces, was last held two years ago. The idea of the competition was created by the Junior Class Council of 2003.

Christopher Reeve, best known for his starring role in the “Superman” movies, died Sunday night of heart failure related to a bloodstream infec-tion. He was 52 years old.

Dr. John McDonald, as-sistant professor of Neurol-ogy and Neurological Surgery at Washington University’s School of Medicine, treated the disabled actor. Reeve was paralyzed from the neck down in 1995 after a riding accident. McDonald worked with a team of scientists that helped him recover some sensation and mobility in his body.

“He was an amazingly unique individual… He could be at one moment incredibly intense about work and then switch that off and be light-hearted,” said McDonald. “The passion that he exuded was just phenomenal. He touched you as an individual even though he couldn’t touch or feel.”

McDonald fi rst met Reeve in 1996 as a post-doctoral fellow. Later, in 1999, the two started to discuss treatment in earnest. McDonald was a faculty mem-ber at the University and had begun to build a Spinal Cord Injury Program at Barnes-Jew-ish Hospital.

“I though there were several things we could offer Chris,” said McDonald of Reeve’s treat-ment in St. Louis. “He was hav-ing lots of physical complica-tions I believed we could offset. We began a rigorous activity-based program [to] optimize activity in the spinal cord so he could optimize his ability to regenerate.”

After fi ve years of intensive therapy, Reeve’s improvement amazed other spinal cord spe-cialists. While many considered recovery from this sort of pa-ralysis hopeless, the quadriple-gic had succeeded in moving a fi nger and also distinguishing between different stimuli: he could feel the difference be-tween a pinprick and a cotton ball rubbed against his skin.

Originally, McDonald too had been skeptical that quad-riplegics could recover these kinds of sensations. He initially resisted the idea of the Spinal Cord Injury Program.

“When I was fi rst offered this idea…I was sure I didn’t want to do it. I feared there was nothing we could do [for people with these injuries],” said Mc-Donald. “As it turns out, it’s just the opposite—I haven’t seen a single person in my life that we can’t help.”

McDonald said his work with Reeve “dramatically infl uenced” his now-positive outlook on pa-tients with spinal cord injuries.

“He could motivate you so

LAURA VILINES | STUDENT LIFE

Reeve dies at age 52

By Liz Neukirch and Rachel StreitfeldSenior News Editor and Contributing Editor

See REEVE, page 3

Washington University’s new-est service group, Silver Wings, is ready for takeoff.

An offshoot of Arnold Air So-ciety—an Air Force-based service organization—Silver Wings is community service with a focus on aerospace and national de-fense. Junior Rebecca Chernoff, a student in the University’s School of Engineering, brought the organization to campus this year hoping to offer students new community service options and increased leadership opportuni-ties.

“We want to help out in the community,” said Chernoff.

After getting involved last

year with several service activi-ties through her suitemates, who are members of ROTC, Chernoff became interested in discovering what opportunities civilians have to get involved with military com-munity service projects.

In addition to traditional com-munity service outings, Silver Wings plans to offer leadership seminars. The group’s objective is to “build civilian leaders” as a counterpart to the military lead-ership fostered by the Arnold Air Society.

Arnold Air Society is charac-terized on its official website as a “society to help train future Air Force leaders.” Its members take part in community service

New service group takes fl ightn Silver Wings focuses on aerospace and national causesBy Angela MarkleContributing Reporter

See WINGS, page 5

WUPD looks for assault suspectn Suspect allegedly injured two security guards at Frat Row

Washington University police are currently investi-gating an unnamed suspect who allegedly assaulted two security guards in an alter-cation on Fraternity Row on Saturday night.

Two guards from B & D Security were injured when a fight broke out in front of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon house around midnight. One WUPD officer also suf-fered a minor injury.

“We have a suspect who

has been interviewed and we are continuing the in-vestigation,” said WUPD Chief Don Strom. “Once we complete all interviews we’ll make a determination on presenting the evidence to the judicial administrator and possibly the prosecut-ing attorney for St. Louis County.”

One guard hit his head on the cement after being pushed from behind, and another ended up with a bloody nose. While both guards were treated at the scene, a representative of B

& D told Student Life that they did not require further medical attention.

WUPD would not release the suspected student’s name yesterday, and Strom said he was not certain as to whether the suspect is af-filiated with any fraternity. WUPD is also in the process of investigating what initi-ated the fights.

The Greek Life Office is currently looking into which fraternities if any be-came involved in the alterca-

By Kelly DonahueNews Editor

DAVID BRODY | STUDENT LIFE

A fi ght broke out in front of the SAE house on Saturday night. Two B&D offi cers were injured after being struck by students.

A U.S. Air Force F-16 fi res a fl are as it fl ies a combat mission in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

SSGT. LEE O. TUCKER | KRT CAMPUS

See ASSAULT, page 4

PAGES 10

So close – a last minute goal

by the Emory soccer team hands the WU squad a tough

loss.

There are no satanic rituals happening in the basement of the campus’

fraternities, says Matt Shapiro.

PAGE 7

He’s a Libertarian, and

he’s proud of it: read Gregg

Keithley’s latest in Forum.

PAGES 7

NewsForumClassifi edsSports

INDEX

168

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WEDNESDAYOCT. 13, 2004V o l . 1 2 6 , N o . 1 9

Rain64° / 44°

w w w. s t u d l i f e . c o m

INSIDEINSIDE

2099

DAYS UNTIL ELECTION DAY

DAYS UNTIL THE INAUGURATION

ELECTION COUNTDOWN

PRESIDENTIAL POLLS: WHO HAS THE EDGE?

50%46%

BUSH-CHENEY

KERRY-EDWARDS

Source: ABC News daily tracking poll of likely voters, taken Oct. 9-11; see abcnews.com for more