The independent newspaper of Washington University in St. Louis since 1878 THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 2025
VOLUME 146, NO. 15
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“It was apocalyptic”
WashU and Concordia Students from LA County grapple with wildfire devastation back home withdraw zoning request for athletic facilities LEWIS RAND MANAGING SPORTS EDITOR
PHOTO COURTESY OF ASHER SCHWARTZ View of the Palisades fire from the Sepulveda Pass in West LA on Jan. 8. ALIZA LUBITZ NINA LASER ALIANA MEDIRATTA NEWS EDITORS MANAGING NEWS EDITOR
As students settle into the spring semester, many WashU community members are thinking about their families 2,000 miles away, in and around Los Angeles, where a series of devastating wildfires
have scorched parts of the city they call home. Eight wildfires have affected LA in the past couple of weeks, with the two largest wildfires, Palisades and Eaton, remaining active today. The fires have caused catastrophic destruction in the city: more than 40,000 acres burned, over 15,000 structures destroyed, almost 200,000 people under evacuation orders at one point, and at
least 27 lives lost. According to Ryan Croft, the Associate University Registrar, 2.4% of WashU’s undergraduate and graduate student body is “associated with the LA area.” Senior Sara Goldstein, who is from West Hills, remembers walking through Topanga with a friend who had come to visit and looking at her favorite shops and cafes the day before the fires started.
“We walked around and saw the different community events, and just had the loveliest day together,” Goldstein said. “Nothing has been confirmed, but I’m pretty sure it’s all gone now. So that was tough to be saying goodbye, but not even knowing I was saying goodbye.”
SEE WILDFIRES, PAGE 2
University community remains skeptical about recent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas AVI HOLZMAN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
In an address last week, former President Joe Biden announced a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, which includes an exchange of hostages held by Hamas for Palestinians currently imprisoned in Israel, and an increase in humanitarian aid in Gaza. The deal went into effect on Sunday Jan. 19, and at the time of publication the first few hostages have been exchanged. Jewish student club leaders, some Palestinian students, and other club leaders celebrated the ceasefire because it guarantees that Gazans will receive increased aid and that the Israeli hostages will be returned. Despite the landmark deal, students acknowledge the irreversible grief and harm already caused to many in the region. The deal comes 15 months after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing around 1,200 people and taking 250 hostage. Since then, Israel has carried out a ground and air assault on the Gaza strip, killing more than 45,000 Palestinians. The deal came at the end of former President Biden’s administration, only days before President Trump was sworn in. Sophomore Huda Abdesumad, who is Palestinian, felt both angry and hopeful about the ceasefire. She said that while it presents a moment of relief for Palestinians, it does not thoroughly address the systemic injustices faced by Palestinians on a daily basis. “Every ceasefire feels like a brief pause in a cycle of oppression, where the world turns its attention away, and the voices of those on the ground are again silenced,” Abdesumade wrote in an email to Student Life. In a written statement to Student Life, senior Basma Daham, President of the Middle Eastern and North African Student Association (MENAA), described the ceasefire as “a critical yet
fragile step” toward peace. “A ceasefire is a temporary pause on a deeper, ongoing crisis — merely a bandaid on a gaping wound,” the group wrote. The Muslim Student Association (MSA) executive board wrote that they hope the ceasefire is implemented quickly. Their statement also highlighted the number of Palestinian deaths since the deal’s announcement. “As of Friday morning, Israeli attacks have led to the deaths of 115 Palestinians and the injury of 265 in the Gaza Strip despite the announcement of the ceasefire,”
return of all hostages is a powerful step forward,” Porth wrote. “I am waiting with bated breath for the moment when every hostage is finally home, the fighting ceases, and we can begin to work towards lasting peace for all.” Hillel Rabbi Jordan Gerson said that Hillel is “cautiously optimistic” about the deal because it could lead to the end of the violent conflict between Israel and Hamas, and perhaps lasting peace. Junior and JSA president Noam Karger expressed a similar sentiment to Gerson, and said that among the Jewish students he is close with,
“I feel like it’s smoke and mirrors.” their statement read. “We pray that the ceasefire is implemented swiftly and that room is made for muchneeded humanitarian aid to get to Gazans. We will never stop advocating for a liberated Palestine.” In a written statement to Student Life, senior Rayna Auerbach, President of the WashU Israel Public Affairs Committee (WIPAC), wrote that she views the deal as a “glimmer of hope” that all of the hostages will be returned to Israel, while acknowledging how tenuous aspects of the deal, including the hostage for prisoner exchanges, are. For sophomore Jonah Porth, who serves as the Outreach Chair for the Jewish Student Association (JSA), the deal is a potential indication that the families of hostages will be reunited. “The possibility of peace and the
they are feeling hopeful and hesitant about the deal — in part because past ceasefire deals have fallen apart. “We have become trained to not really get confident about it until it’s really happening, because we’ve been disappointed before, and we thought [that there were going to be] hostage deals, and then there weren’t,” Karger said in an interview before the first hostages were released. Karger said that the delicate nature of the deal has left the Jewish community on campus in a state of emotional limbo that will last until the final hostage is returned. “I think that the next few weeks are going to be tense for Jewish students who are following this, because it’s so important to so many of them, and it’s so delicate,” Karger said.
He described waking up every day, donning his kippah and hostage tag, and saying three additional prayers: one for the state of Israel, one for IDF soldiers, and one for any remaining Israeli hostages. Karger said that he did not want to speculate if the deal would last, but that because of Hamas’ past actions, he believes that a ceasefire deal is unlikely to last indefinitely. Multiple people declined to provide comment for this article, including Student Union (SU) president Hussein Amuri, Chancellor Andrew Martin, and Dean of Students Rob Wild. Professor Nancy Reynolds, who studies the history of the Middle East, and Professor Ayala Hendin, who is currently working on a research project about Oct. 7, also declined to comment. Junior Samira Saleh, who is Palestinian, said that the ceasefire has not changed her views on Trump or Biden, both of whom she believes have taken pro-Israel stances on the Israel-Hamas War. “I can’t confidently say that the Biden administration’s efforts amidst this conflict have rectified any conflict, and [they] have caused a lot of what I would consider permanent damage to [the Palestinian community],” Saleh said. She was initially surprised by the deal announcing that military action would pause in the region. While she believes the ceasefire is a step in the right direction, she remains doubtful that all the deal’s promises will be fulfilled and is not sure how it will impact Palestinians who have had their homes destroyed. “I would say I feel like it’s smoke and mirrors,” she said. Despite the ambiguity surrounding aspects of the deal Abdesumad views this ceasefire as a stepping stone. Noting that peace means more than just the absence of war. “Ceasefires should not mark the end of the conversation, but the beginning of a global reckoning with the need for justice,” she wrote.
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WashU has been working on plans to develop athletic facilities on nearby Concordia Seminary land for the past year. The University recently withdrew their request for zoning permits and will now evaluate other potential options which could include submitting a new proposal for an overlay district and developing the land under current zoning guidelines. The proposed overlay district, which met resistance from some Clayton residents due to concerns over increased traffic and noise, would have allowed construction to occur outside of the existing zoning laws that currently govern the Concordia land. On Jan. 8, WashU sent a letter to the Clayton Board of Alderman asking for a withdrawal of their current request, and the next day, Concordia Seminary followed suit. On Jan. 14, the Board of Alderman unanimously agreed to withdraw WashU and Concordia’s current zoning request. The two institutions’ previous proposal would have led to the construction of a fieldhouse, softball and baseball fields, a soccer field, a gym building, and tennis courts. The facility also would have been home to WashU’s varsity baseball and softball teams, and would have seen use from intramural and club sports. In a statement to Student Life on behalf of WashU, Erika Ebsworth-Goold, Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives, wrote that the University listened to many different stakeholders in the project — including Concorida Seminary, Clayton residents, and city officials — when making their decision. “The project sought to plan for WashU and Concordia’s longterm futures, while supporting and protecting our surrounding community,” she wrote in her statement. “After careful consideration, we believe the current overlay version is not feasible to meet the primary objectives of this effort. We will continue to evaluate our future options.” Concordia President Tom Egger spoke and responded to comments at a Jan. 14 meeting regarding the seminary’s plans to withdraw their current request. “The situation has evolved … especially because WashU’s posture on this has evolved our sense of the path forward,” he said. “We now need time to regroup, think, and I can say, in all honesty, [that] there is no behind-the-scenes shared understanding of exactly what we’re angling for.” In a written Request for Board Action at the Jan. 14 meeting, Clayton City Manager David Gipson and Anna Krane, Director of Planning and Development Services for the City of Clayton, wrote that given the specifics of the overlay, the Board should vote to approve WashU’s request because of “the lack of desire on the part of WashU to move forward at this point in time.” At the Jan. 14 meeting, Mayor Michelle Harris said that WashU and Concordia’s decision to evaluate the project does not stop the institutions from pursuing future development.
SEE CONCORDIA, PAGE 7