The independent newspaper of Washington University in St. Louis since 1878 THURSDAY, SEPT 16, 2021
VOLUME 143, NO. 3
NEW CHURCH
One student’s experience at the church on the corner (Scene, pg. 4)
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STAR JUNIOR
JAZZ AT LAST
Our interview with men’s soccer’s leading scorer (Sports, pg. 6)
Holmes Lounge no longer serves food, but at least there is music (Cadenza, pg. 8)
STUDENTS STRIKE AFTER HATE FOLLOWING 9/11 FLAG REMOVAL National attention focuses on WU
Citing safety concerns and Martin’s solidarity, many stay home approach to or attend class on Zoom free speech under fire TED MOSKAL MANAGING EDITOR
Many students went on an academic strike Wednesday, skipping class or attending remotely if given the option, as Chancellor Andrew Martin continued to remain silent on the Islamophobia and other racism that spread on social media following senior Fadel Alkilani’s removal of 9/11 commemorative flags from Mudd Field Saturday. The Students for Black and Palestinian Liberation group organized the strike, circulating resources including a form to help Muslim students and students of color find rides or walking partners to campus and a hotline for students to receive security updates. Dean of the Faculty of Arts & Sciences Feng Sheng Hu wrote in an email to faculty and staff Tuesday night that the administration expected faculty to teach Wednesday and that there was no need to excuse absences for students who participated in the strike. Some professors canceled class or moved in-person classes to Zoom, while others still required students to attend. Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Anna Gonzalez said the Washington University Police Department worked with “outside partners” to assess that none of the online threats, several of which involved plans to travel to campus, posed a credible threat to students. “We know there have been numerous posts in the past several days that have caused concern in our community,” a Tuesday night email from Washington University Law Enforcement to the community read. “We are actively investigating these posts and at this time there is no reason to believe that there is a credible threat to the university.” Gonzalez cited the lack of a credible threat and a desire to avoid causing more fear as the main factor why professors were not mandated to excuse absences. “Knowing that there was no credible threat, we didn’t want to amplify the rumors or say things that would add to the areas of anxiety of our community,” Gonzalez said. “If I were to say ‘yes, you can miss class,’ that would mean that there are credible threats, and that we should stay home out of fear.” For senior Max CampOberhauser, fear was less of a concern in his decision to strike than his desire to show solidarity with affected
students. Camp-Oberhauser also expressed disapproval of Chancellor Martin’s official statement regarding the flag removal, which stated that “[Alkilani] has access to campus resources that are regularly available to students as he navigates the consequences of his actions, both on campus and beyond.” “It just felt really cold, considering that the consequences of those actions, on and off campus, have been really undeserved,” Camp-Oberhauser said. “I feel like nobody deserves to receive death threats and be doxxed and harassed by hundreds of people on the internet and to have to go into hiding and not come to classes. Then the Chancellor sort of implied that those consequences were deserved in some way.” The Center for Diversity and Inclusion (CDI) released on Wednesday afternoon the first public Universitywide statement addressing the recent dramatic increase of Islamophobia directed at students, three days after the removal of the flags went viral. “[We] want to acknowledge the fear of harm experienced by many of our students,” the statement read. “These experiences threaten the mental and emotional health and safety of our community as it is informed and supported by a history of harm targeting minoritized identities in our country.” The CDI provided a “decompression space” at its office in the Danforth University Center Wednesday midday and a “walk and talk” event in partnership with the Gephardt Institute for Civic and Community Engagement late Wednesday afternoon. The “walk and talk” session encouraged students to discuss prompts such as “What role does power play in the interpretation of symbols in the context of the United States?” and “If you protest, how do your various identities impact your ability to engage in protest?” “Today, we actually didn’t have a ton of students, and I think it was really because they were protesting,” Student Engagement Coordinator at the Gephardt Center Colleen Smith said. “So we’re thinking of reusing the same questions next week, when there might be more foot traffic. Camp-Oberhauser agreed that the CDI’s statement and programming were steps in the right direction, but added that “I think what’s clear is that it was students
MATTHEW FRIEDMAN AND EM MCPHIE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF AND MANAGING EDITOR Chancellor Andrew Martin faced criticism Wednesday from one of the University’s most prominent first amendment law professors, Gregory Magarian, who argued that the administration’s silence on Islamophobia and racism caused “far greater harm” than senior Fadel Alkilani’s initial removal of 9/11 memorial flags and ultimately undermined the University’s support for free speech. Magarian’s critique comes as students and student groups continue to call on the University to address online hate and threats and as some students went on an academic strike Wednesday, skipping class or attending remotely out of fear for their safety or in solidarity with students who have expressed fears for their safety. “Putting up these flags as a way of commemorating 9/11 and making a political statement about 9/11 — there’s no question that that is an act of speech, that that is expressive, that it carries a message,” Magarian, Washington University’s Thomas and Karole Green Professor of Law, said in an interview with Student Life Monday evening. “And I think there’s no also no question that as a category, as a phenomenon, taking down the flags in opposition to the display is also expressive.” Magarian noted that the widespread hate speech following Alkilani’s counterprotest, and the way in which it was allowed to proliferate for days without rebuke from administrators, was likely to have a chilling effect on the future atmo-
GRACE BRUTON | STUDENT LIFE
Chancellor Andrew Martin speaks at the Day of Dialogue in 2019.
sphere of free speech on campus. “If I had an identity that subjected me to frequent or likely instances of abuse based on my identity, I would feel less free and less comfortable expressing myself in any kind of controversial way, knowing the sort of blowback that this incident got,” he said.
SEE STRIKE, page 2
SEE FREE SPEECH, page 2
EMMETT CAMPBELL | STUDENT LIFE
A student holds a candle at the vigil for survivors held on Friday night.
MeToo WashU hosts vigil for survivors and demands Greek abolition TED MOSKAL MANAGING EDITOR This article contains discussion of sexual violence. We have listed resources for those impacted by this issue at the end of the story. Around 50 students attended @metoo_washu’s two-part vigil for survivors at the overpass and protest for Greek Life abolition on Fraternity Row, Sept. 10. Volunteers at the vigil read stories of sexual violence that had been shared anonymously on the @metoo_washu Instagram page. During the second half of the night, students marched to Fraternity Row and stood outside each house chanting “F*** rapists” among other calls for the abolition of Greek Life. Organizers titled the protest “Occupy the Red Zone,” referring to the period between the start of the fall semester and the beginning of Thanksgiving break, when more than half of all sexual assaults on college campuses tend to occur according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network. The twopart structure of the night was intended to give survivors a place to process trauma while also enabling community members to call for change. Junior Marin Powers, who attended both the vigil and the protest, said that hearing the stories of survivors before protesting had a powerful effect. “I did like having the vigil beforehand,” Powers said. “I think it really makes you think and reflect before and it really gets you fired up for protesting, and I would definitely attend again.” Junior Lexy Courneya, a volunteer at the event, began the protest on Fraternity Row by framing it as a tour of campus. “We'll go from house to house and we're going to take you on a tour that you did not receive as a prospective student,” Courneya told protestors. “And on this tour, you're going to visit sites of sexual violence and rape culture. So although sexual
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violence occurs throughout the Washington University campus and adjacent neighborhoods, a significant number of sexual assaults and rapes occur right here on Frat Row.” A 2018 survey by the Women’s Panhellenic Association found that sorority members reported experiencing unwanted sexual contact from members of every fraternity on campus. A 2019 campus climate survey conducted by the Association of American Universities found that 42.5% of undergraduate women could expect to experience nonconsensual sexual contact by their fourth year at Washington University. Outside of each house, volunteers supplemented these statistics with individual accounts of sexual violence or general misconduct that had occured at each location, such as a survivor’s story of being raped by a member of Alpha Epsilon Pi, Sigma Nu brothers “mock kidnapping” a sophomore girl and Kappa Sigma knowingly offering bids to two pledges who had been accused of sexual misconduct. Near the end of the night as protestors were standing outside the Tau Kappa Epsilon house, three brothers walked through the crowd to enter their house. Some protestors followed them up to the door, shouting “Shame on you,” “Come out you cowards” and “Matt Jones come defend your frat,” referring to the president of Tau Kappa Epsilon. The protestors initially held the door open, but soon allowed the brothers to shut it after organizers called for de-escalation. Matt Jones did not respond to an email request for comment. Courneya called out the University’s inadequate response to the broader issue of sexual assault on campus. “The rate at which fraternity members rape freshmen concerns administrators to the extent that they banned freshmen from visiting fraternities
SEE SURVIVORS, page 3
2 STUDENT LIFE
GRACE KENNARD & ORLI SHEFFEY | SENIOR NEWS EDITORS | NEWS@STUDLIFE.COM
theFLIPSIDE FLIPSIDE THU 16
FRI 17
SUNNY 84/57
SAT 18
SUNNY 88/63
MON 20
SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS 82/68
SUNNY 88/66
TUES 21
SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS 82/68
SUN 19 SUNNY 88/66
WED 22
PARTLY CLOUDY 77/63
EVENT CALENDAR THURSDAY 16 University Strategic Plan Town Hall Session #3 Virtual Event, 12:00 p.m. We understand that everyone might not be able to attend these town halls. To ensure that all members of the community have an opportunity to share their perspective, those unable to attend these events are invited to submit feedback on the strategic planning website. As noted in The Record, submissions to the feedback form have continued to shape the structure and scope of planning throughout the process. Additionally, recaps of the town halls will be posted on the website along with some video of these events. This virtual town hall will feature updates from the following working groups: Campus Wellness; Personal and Professional Growth; and Public Health.
FRIDAY 17 Sports & Society Reading Group with Susan Brownell Virtual Event, 3 p.m. The Sports & Society reading group will meet on September 17th and feature group member Susan Brownell. Susan will share with us her expertise on China and the Olympic Games. If you’re interested in joining us, e-mail co-organizer Noah Cohan for Zoom link and copies of the reading. MFA in Visual Art Jumpstart Exhibition: ‘Hit the Ground Running’ [Opening] Kuehner Court, Weil Hall, 4 p.m. Join us for the opening reception of Hit the Ground Running, an exhibition of work by students in the Sam Fox School’s MFA in Visual Art program. Work will be on view September 16-18 in Weil Hall.
SATURDAY 18
‘We are here and we want to listen’: Uncle Joe’s reopens its office after pandemic shift to virtual services, reports uptick in student usage AMANDA YOUNG CONTRIBUTING REPORTER After pausing in-person services last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Uncle Joe’s Peer Counseling and Resource Center has reopened its office on the South 40 and reported that more students have been using their services. Uncle Joe’s provides confidential peer counseling services and resources for students, who can reach counselors by phone 24/7 or by visiting them in person from 10:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. every night in the basement of Gregg Hall on the South 40. Last year, while the office closed in-person services, counseling was still available on the phone 24/7 and during the modified virtual nightly hours on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. “We’ve been seeing more people coming in person than we expected to
because people really want to connect with someone. We found it makes people feel more comfortable,” Uncle Joe’s co-direct senior Emily Angstreich said. “We’ve found it helps them open up more, feel more relaxed; especially for people living on the [South] 40, it’s a lot easier for them to get here.” Another benefit of the reopening of in-person services has been the ability for counselors and students to connect faceto-face. Angstreich added that virtual services were not as popular among students. “Students were hesitant to use it because they didn’t feel like they had privacy,” she said. “Luckily, now that we’re back in person, people feel like they have that privacy, that they’re not just in their room where anyone could walk in.” “We’ve definitely been in contact with Habif [Health and Wellness Center], just because we have advisors there and I
think everyone’s noticed an uptick in people coming in for mental health services,” Uncle Joe’s co-director Lily Swenson said. “On one hand, we’re really happy that people are reaching out and getting the help they need, but also, we’re concerned about students’ mental wellbeing. Regarding the increase in engagement from last year, Angstreich noted that people may be seeking mental health services for different reasons. “Have all these people always needed mental health assistance and they’re coming out because the stigma is lessened, or is it also just because it’s so much worse, like everyone’s mental health is suffering a lot more?” Angstreich said. “The answer is probably a combination of the two.” The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the mental
SEE UNCLE JOE’S, page 3
FREE SPEECH, from page 1
Henry L. and Natalie E. Freund Teaching Fellow Lecture: Jess T. Dugan Virtual Event, 11 a.m. St. Louis-based artist Jess T. Dugan, the 2020-21 Henry L. and Natalie E. Freund Teaching Fellow, will deliver an online public lecture in conjunction with the opening of their Currents 120 exhibition at the Saint Louis Art Museum. The exhibition will be on view September 17, 2021 through February 20, 2022. Dugan is known for their color photographs that explore the power of identity, desire, and connection. Currents 120 presents a selection of 20 recent works—portraits, selfportraits, and still lifes—many of which were created specifically for this exhibition. Within a framework of queer and nonbinary experience and from an actively constructed sense of masculinity, Dugan’s portraits examine intersections between individual identity and the search for intimate connection with others.
MONDAY 20 Understanding Afghanistan: Insights from the New York Times’ Carlotta Gall Virtual Event, 9 a.m. Carlotta Gall covered Afghanistan and Pakistan for the New York Times from 2001 to 2011. She has since continued covering Middle East events as the New York Times correspondent in Tunisia and currently is based in Turkey. Carlotta has recently contributed to coverage of the end of the U.S. and international coalition’s presence in Afghanistan, writing a series of insightful articles. Join this conversation, moderated by Brown School Associate Research Professor Kim Thuy Seelinger, as Carlotta shares a unique perspective on the 20 years of war. Register online to receive Zoom information on the morning of the event. You can also join us during the live stream.
TUESDAY 21 Towards Reducing the Duration of Untreated Psychosis: The Case of US Latinos Virtual Event, 12:30 p.m. In this webinar, Steven López will critically examine initiatives to support early psychosis treatment, including his team’s research on bringing early treatment for psychosis to Latinos on both sides of the US-Mexico border. Finally, he will discuss the implications of the research for reaching out to under-served communities. This program is presented in partnership with the Brown School’s Center for Mental Health Services Research and CRE²: The Latinx | Latin American Race & Ethnicity Research Unit. The event is also presented in recognition of Natitonal Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month. Register online to receive Zoom information on the morning of the event. You can also join us during the live stream.
STRIKE, from page 1
HOLDEN HINDES | STUDENT LIFE
Students walk between classes in Simon Hall on Monday. Many stayed home on Wednesday.
who first took action and not the University.” Gonzalez maintained that engaging in dialogue is more effective than striking and not attending classes, detailing how many professors chose to facilitate discussions about
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2021
free speech, Islamophobia and the meaning of the American flag during their classes. “I believe that that kind of increased dialogue and understanding is what is needed,” she said. “The
reality is that that’s a lot to ask for students. So I am asking students to do that… I understand that’s hard, and I will also understand if they’re not ready for it on all sides, but that’s my value. I believe we should listen and we should learn.”
To cultivate an open exchange of ideas on campus — not just in theory, but in practice — Magarian said that administrators like Martin should be clear in their condemnation of Islamophobic threats. “If the University wants to do something right now to sort of maintain and nurture its commitment to the environment for free speech, it should be saying, ‘We will not tolerate any attacks on our students based on any aspect of their identities, and we completely stand against that kind of that kind of abuse,’” he said. Magarian wrote in an opinion essay Wednesday that the University’s decision to “embrace” the College Republicans’ perspective on 9/11 and “ignore” the attacks Alkilani had experienced would “cause far greater harm than Alkilani’s errant action to the culture of free speech and open debate on our campus.” The University did not need to endorse the politics of the College Republicans’ flag display in order to condemn Alkilani’s behavior, he added. “The University’s statements in the wake of Alkilani’s actions tacitly endorse the College Republicans’ political message, mainly by parroting the College Republicans’ line that the flag display was a politically neutral memorial,” he wrote. The College Republicans have claimed that the placement of the flags was apolitical, writing in a Monday statement that “the anniversary of 9/11 is not a time for political theater, but rather for unity.” “The 9/11 flag planting is not a partisan or a political event; it is a memorial for nearly 3,000 Americans who will never get to see, hold or hug their loved ones again,” College Republicans president sophomore Nick Rodriguez told Student Life in a statement Saturday night. However, Magarian disagreed, saying that even if Alkilani’s viewpoint was a minority one, it should not be erased. “The point of what Alkilani did, whether or not we agree with his methods, should not be lost: a lot of people feel differently about this,” Magarian said. “This is a very contentious, very contestable political message — the idea that 9/11 is all about national unity and the national interest, the idea
that we should focus only on the deaths that occurred on 9/11 and not in commemorating this event talk about things that happened subsequently, that Islamophobia need be no part of the discussion and for that matter, the symbolic rendering of each of these lost lives in the form of an American flag.” Magarian pointed out that more than 10% of the victims of the 9/11 attacks were citizens of countries other than America, representing more than 90 countries in total. “This display renders those non-U.S. people with American flags, commemorates them with American flags, and I think a great many of those families would probably find that pretty objectionable and pretty reductionist,” he said. “So there is powerful political content here.” Magarian emphasized in his article that the University should have acknowledged the political nature of the flag planting. “Making [Sunday night’s University] statement without acknowledging how the flag display itself might have impeded other individuals’ ability to commemorate their losses and process their trauma constitutes an endorsement of the College Republicans’ contestable political portrayal of 9-11,” Magarian wrote. “By endorsing one side in a political debate, the University deploys its power in a way that discredits the other side.” In spring 2019, Martin announced that he would be making fewer University-wide statements, focusing only on issues that “affect our core mission as an educational institution.” Martin’s choice to comment on Alkilani’s counterprotest — but not the violent threats then lobbied at him and other Muslim students — changed the balance of speech, Magarian argued. “Now we’re not just talking about a fair marketplace of ideas among a bunch of autonomous individuals and organizations, all of which have the same opportunity to present their messages,” he said. “Now, instead, we’re talking about one group acting with the support of the University to project one powerful patriotic message in a way that sort of flattens other messages. And that makes counter speech — which is ideally what we want people
like Alkilani to be engaging in — makes it more difficult.” By definitively taking a side, the chancellor’s statement “denied or elided any kind of specific contestable political content to the College Republicans’ display, cast the College Republicans as the victims, cast people who might be offended by the removal of the flags as the people whose feelings counted — as opposed to people who might be put out or offended or just emotionally affected in some negative way by the placement of the flags to begin with,” Magarian said. An email from the Center for Diversity and Inclusion Wednesday afternoon was the first student body-wide communication from the administration this week to discuss Islamophobia and other racism. “The Center for Diversity and Inclusion stands in solidarity with our students impacted by Islamophobia, xenophobia, Anti-Muslim, Anti-Arab, Anti-South Asian, Anti-Sikh, Anti-Hindu and Anti-BIPOC racism,” the CDI wrote. “There is no place for prejudice, bigotry and discrimination in our community. You — all of your identities — belong here and we will remain steadfast in our mission of supporting our Black, Brown, Indigenous and minoritized students.” Martin did not mention Islamophobia or other racism in his message to the community Sunday evening and has not addressed the community since. Deans of each individual college sent emails to their students Wednesday afternoon, all containing some similar language and the forwarded CDI email. There has not been any other student body-wide communication from the University discussing Islamophobia or other racism. In an email to Student Life responding to questions about the situation Tuesday morning, Vice Chancellor for Marketing and Communications Julie Flory wrote that “Chancellor Martin has spoken out many times to affirm that there is no place in our community for hate or bigotry and that as an institution, we stand firmly against hate, racism and discrimination in any form.” Through Flory, Martin declined to comment on Magarian’s critique.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2021
SURVIVORS, from page 1 during the Red Zone,” Courneya said. “Why would administrators ban freshmen from fraternities citing concerns about sexual violence, but not ban fraternities themselves?” In an interview with Student Life, Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Rob Wild clarified that the University had no formal rule against freshmen visiting fraternities during the first three weeks of school, but in previous years had restricted fraternities from hosting social events during the first few weeks of school to accommodate alcohol and safety
NEWS
GRACE KENNARD & ORLI SHEFFEY | SENIOR NEWS EDITORS | NEWS@STUDLIFE.COM
training. “At the time when we were having social events, we needed time to train the leaders who were hosting events about what University expectations would be around alcohol and other safety measures for social events,” Wild said. “I'm not familiar with a written policy that prevented first year students from being in fraternity houses.” Due to the pandemic, Greek organizations are currently not allowed to host registered social events, Executive Director of Campus Life Leslie Heusted told Student Life earlier this month.
Associate Director for Campus Life Beth Doores, who attended the event, came under fire as protestors shouted at her for not supporting the movement to fully abolish Greek Life. Last fall, Doores had developed a co-curricular advisory board to help the University determine the role of Greek Life on campus, but many students on the board were frustrated that abolition was not taken seriously and resigned in protest. When asked to comment on the accusations, Doores referred Student Life to Wild. Wild said that the Office of Student Affairs
is currently working on its public response to some of the recommendations made by the co-curricular advisory board, which include the elimination of dues, the dehousing of fraternities and stricter measures to eliminate hazing and interpersonal violence. However, he remained adamant that the University does not plan to abolish Greek Life. “What I heard from people who were at the protest on Friday night is that the main request is for the complete elimination of fraternities and sororities at Washington University,” Wild said. “And that is not something the University
STUDENT LIFE 3
is considering currently. So that may indeed continue to be a point of conflict for the University and the students involved.” ----Safe Connections is a St. Louis organization that provides individual therapy free of charge to adults and youth of all genders ages 12+ who have experienced rape, domestic or dating abuse (physical, sexual or emotional), sex trafficking and/or childhood sexual abuse. Their helpline can be reached 24/7 at 314-531-2003. The Sexual Assault and Rape Anonymous Helpline (S.A.R.A.H) provides confidential and anonymous support and can be reached
at 314-935-8080 24/7 during the academic year. The Relationship and Sexual Violence Prevention (RSVP) Center provides confidential support and can be reached at 314-935-3445 or rsvpcenter@wustl.edu. The National Sexual Assault Hotline can be reached at 1-800-656-4673 or via online chat at online.rainn.org. The National Domestic Violence Hotline can be reached at 1-800-799-7233. It can also be reached at thehotline.org or by texting LOVEIS to 22522. The organization provides 24/7 counseling and support for anyone experiencing domestic violence or abuse or knows someone who is.
UNCLE JOE’S, from page 2
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Let CURRAN NEENAN | STUDENT LIFE
The refurbished Uncle Joe’s office in the basement of Gregg House.
health of many people. Approximately four in 10 adults in the United States reported symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorders in January of 2021, compared to one in 10 adults from January to June 2019. In order to ensure COVID-19 safety for students and counselors, the Uncle Joe’s offices were rearranged so that people are six feet apart, masks are required, students must complete their selfscreenings before entering and surfaces are wiped down after every session, Swenson said. Beyond the new safety protocols and reconfiguration of the office spaces, the resumption of in-person counseling services meant that the 52 “Joes” (counselors) had to participate in an additional training session. Because counselor training happens during the spring semester, it took place virtually on Zoom last year. “There wasn’t as much ability to practice in person interactions which have different body language, facial expressions, a whole different host of things,” Angstreich said, adding that they also had to train people on office
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rules and procedures. The increase in clients at Uncle Joe’s may also be a result of more advertising and outreach with students on campus for the 20212022 school year. “We’ve noticed that a lot of firstyears, more of them know about us compared to last year, so that’s been a real plus with everyone being back,” Swenson said. While sophomore Lisa Cheung recalled seeing some flyers about Uncle Joe’s last year, she said she did not think many of her peers were aware of the service. “I feel like because maybe it was remote… a lot of people didn’t know about it. I don’t think a lot of people used it last year just because not many sophomores knew about it,” Cheung said. “I feel like if I knew more about it, I would definitely utilize it. Mental health, especially here, because it’s so competitive, is really important.” Although there are many mental health resources available for students, Cheung noted the benefit of Uncle Joe’s unique peer-to-peer counseling services. “It might be easier because you feel your peers know what you’re
going through versus other services with adults,” she said. “They don’t actually relate to you, so I feel like this would be very helpful.” Freshman Joy Hu, who knew Uncle Joe’s was open, added that the confidentiality of the services may compel students to seek their help. “It’s nice that it’s confidential because I know that some people wouldn’t want to immediately have to report something,” Hu said. “It is cool that it’s peer counseling, so if people don’t want to go to an authority figure but maybe just someone who is more on [the same] level with them, they have that too.” Angstreich said Uncle Joe’s would continue to serve students as well as it could. “We’re not trained professionals but we are trained to listen, to give resources, to provide student counseling,” Angstreich said. “We are here, and we want to listen. I think we want people to know that we want to support them. We want to be here to, you know, hear whatever is going on in their lives and work with them to find resources to find relief.”
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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2021
An atheist student’s experience attending dinner and worship at the Lutheran Campus Ministry JAMILA DAWKINS SENIOR FORUM EDITOR “Rub-a-dub-dub; thanks for the grub.” “Amen,” the group says, accepting the prayer, and they begin to dole out food, directing me to my own plate. When I first approached the Lutheran Campus Ministry building (known as LuMin by attendees) to sit in on “Dinner and Jesus,” their weekly dinner and worship, I knew immediately that what I’d walked into wasn’t only a ministry, but a home. Or at least a “home away from home,” as Campus Pastor Tina put it while showing
me around the building. The ministry resides in a renovated two-bedroom home right beside the ministry’s partner organization, Bethel Lutheran Church. The space exists for St. Louis college students — particularly Washington University and Saint Louis University students — to worship, do homework or curl up on couches. “We all know the code, so it’s always open for naps, studying, getting something to eat, laundry...whatever, pretty much,” said WashU junior Cecelia Anderson, a member of LuMin since her freshman year. “[It’s]
really nice to have that space — especially this year, now that campus is so busy. If I need to study for an exam, that would be a great place during the day to kind of just escape from the stress of campus but still be close by.” Growing up within the Church of Christ, I had limited contact with denominations outside the one my family attended every week. I’ve since stopped attending weekly services, but I’ve never quite stopped being curious about religion, or religious people. Having spent so much of my childhood trying (and failing) to have faith, I wanted to
know more about those who do, and widen my perspective beyond the small picture of religious life I knew. So, not quite knowing what I was looking for, I decided to spend an evening with LuMin. I felt sure that talking, laughing and eating with people from a faith that was foreign to me could teach me a thing or two — or at least, give me a free meal. And talk, eat and laugh we do. Over a hearty plate of lasagna, Pastor Tina — as well as Tori Santiago Troutman, LuMin’s administrative assistant, and Jamison McCarty, a SLU student
JAMILA DAWKINS | STUDENT LIFE
Bethel Lutheran Church, which partners with the Lutheran Campus Ministry, frequently displays messages advocating for equality and inclusivity.
(and the deliverer of the rub-a-dub-dub prayer) — discuss everything from fond memories to difficult religious and political complexities. Their love for their work and learning more about their faith shines through in their discussion, with attendees being swiftly swept into the conversation throughout the night. Before going into “Dinner and Jesus,” I didn’t know LuMin by name, but I did have some idea of their political stance and allyship from the big electronic billboard that Bethel Lutheran Church displays next door to the ministry. During freshman move-in, I remember watching the display flash phrases in support of the LGBTQIA+ community, my mouth agape. I hadn’t known that there were churches that displayed messages like that so proudly. The LuMin ministry continued to break my preconceptions with how frankly they told me that the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is one of the whitest denominations in America. In talking about these issues, LuMin reflects a growing change within the ELCA toward acknowledging their lack of intersectionality and fighting for social justice. Two of their main topics of discussion are looking at ways to improve diversity within the Church and to serve the greater St. Louis community. They may not know the answers, but they ask the hard questions, and seem to do so determinedly and in good faith. Most surprising, though, was the warm, unconventional humor and fun of the ministry — and the way I, despite being non-religious,
was welcomed in as a guest. At worship, when they offered the bread and wine, I declined, and without pause Pastor Tina kindly blessed my love for writing, praying that I’d be able to continue to explore it. In conversation at dinner, someone mentioned a past experiment grilling s’mores. (Cecelia, the culprit, remembers the incident with a smile. “Yeah, we did do that. They turned out really good,” she said, laughing.) When I expressed how much I loved the idea (and s’mores), she turns to Jamison and (halfjokingly) asks, “Should we bring out the fire pit?” When I first stepped into the house, I was perched on the edge of my chair. By worship, I was tucked into the corner of a couch, singing along with the hymns. It wasn’t a conversion experience, and it didn’t need to be. I was content enough to learn about a religion and group I knew little about — to replace my own expectations of rigidity with real, complex and kind people of faith. The charm of LuMin is not only the environment, but the people. People who are eager to welcome and be welcoming. People who didn’t judge me when I passed over two sizzling pans of lasagna to fill my dinner plate with brownies and cookies; people who taught me something new, gave me a blessing and sent me home with a can of soda and tupperware packed with food. People who welcomed me as a guest and didn’t let me lift a finger. (Pastor Tina: “The first time, you’re a guest. The second time, we put you to work.”)
Mission Possible: The story behind Dr. Tae Seok Moon’s research into waste-eating bacteria ANNABEL SHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER Dr. Tae Seok Moon, an associate professor of energy, environmental and chemical engineering at Washington University, was recently awarded nearly $800,000 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for research focusing on labengineered microbes that will help upcycle plastic waste. Moon’s process involves designing synthetic DNA and engineered cells from microorganisms such as bacteria or yeast. These engineered cells could potentially be used for biofuel generation or various medical applications. Moon compared his current project with the popular movie series “Mission Impossible,” where a secret agent goes on wild assignments in order to save humanity. Each mission order is contained within a pair of glasses that the agent wears. When the mission is successfully completed at the end of each movie, the glasses break and the story remains a mystery to the rest of the world.
Just like the Mission Impossible glasses, Moon’s microbes will be destroyed once they finish their job. “The bacteria completes the mission — that could be bioremediation or plastic conversion — and then a computer program would ‘kill-switch’ the bacteria to no longer exist in the environment,” he said. A project of this magnitude would be difficult to tackle alone, and so teamwork is essential to Moon’s approach. He and his lab are working alongside Kimberly Parker, assistant professor of energy, environmental and chemical engineering. “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together,” Moon said. “And so I decided to go together.” The main goal of Moon’s research is to harness bacteria to “eat” plastic and waste, synthetically developing microorganisms that can clean pollutants and pathogens. This would reduce carbon emission levels by eliminating the need for incinerators and other carbon-emitting disposals. Not only is Moon achieving awe-inspiring success, he is doing it
while overcoming challenges in his personal life. A misdiagnosis and prescription for the wrong medication several years ago left Moon with severe side effects and chronic pain. “I faced a lot of health issues — I literally was dying,” he said. Days of visiting one doctor after another to no avail and too many nights of restless sleep strained Moon’s work and family relationships, he said. But he was unwilling to let this hinder his pathway to success. “Once quarantine hit, and to take my mind off the pain, I decided to get ahead and apply to several grants — one of which is the EPA grant I recently was awarded,” Moon said. Including the EPA grant, Moon has received almost $3 million in funding so far. While Moon is certainly dedicated to his research and lab, he enjoys a variety of other hobbies. The 1980s video game PacMan, for instance, is a favorite pastime. Moon savors days where he can secretly spend hours in front of the computer
COURTESY OF TAE SEOK MOON
Tae Seok Moon (third from left) and others pose with a check from the EPA to fund Moon’s work with plastic-consuming bacteria.
playing the childhood nostalgic game. “One day [I played] from 9 a.m. in the morning to 7 p.m. in the evening with only one lunch break in between,” he said, laughing. Moon also likes to wind down from long days at work by watching the popular TV show “America’s Got Talent,” finding the unexpected breadth of talent extraordinary. “It is so inspiring,
and basically everyone is a dreamer,” he said. “I believe young people should dream.” This belief holds true in the biology world, where Moon advocates for the younger generation to speak out about their innovative ideas and projects through his new seminar series, Synthetic Biology Young Speaker Series. The format reverses the traditional structure of a
seminar by giving young professionals 40 minutes to speak and Nobel Prize winners only 5 minutes. Moon firmly believes that the rising generation’s understanding of energy and the environment is vital for the future advancement of society. “[This is my] mission for the next decade: helping young people,” he said.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2021
SPORTS
STUDENT LIFE 5
GRADY NANCE & CLARA RICHARDS | SENIOR SPORTS EDITORS | SPORTS@STUDLIFE.COM
Men’s and women’s soccer have big weekends HUSSEIN AMURI AND DANIEL COHEN CONTRIBUTING REPORTERS This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Men’s soccer off to best start in years The Washington University men’s soccer team beat No. 12 North Park University on Saturday afternoon in a key matchup early in the season. A tenacious 3-2 win against the Vikings keeps the Bears undefeated as they improve to 4-0, their best record to start a season since 2016. Two early first half goals, one a thunderous far left shot from senior John Daniels in the 10th minute assisted by Sergio Rivas and the other a delicious free kick by senior Owen Culver in the 18th minute, gave the Bears the lead they would hold until the final whistle sounded. The Vikings responded to WashU’s early fireworks, however, and in the 24th minute, a free kick cross from North Park’s Gustav Ericsson found the head of his teammate Oskar Safstrom, who put it into the right side of the net to tighten the score to 2-1. Going into the second half, the game was fairly equal between the two sides. It was not until the 78th minute when the Bears managed to increase their lead to 3-1 courtesy of a rebounded goal by senior Armando Sanchez-Conde. The game remained 3-1 for the Bears until, in the 89th minute,
Jesse Anamoo of North Park managed to pull one back for the visitors to bring the score to 3-2. Despite the late drama, WashU held on to clinch the victory. The victory for the Bears was not without its outstanding performances; Daniels stood out among them, registering two shots. SanchezConde cemented himself in the midfield throughout the game and managed to score the Bears’ third goal of the game. After the game, head coach Joe Clarke had all the praise for him, saying “He worked his tail off and worked really hard [for the win].” At the end of the whistle, Clarke acknowledged the “big, big, big win for the program” over their toughest opponent yet this season. “North Park mov[ed] the ball very well,” Clarke said. “They had more of it than we did.” But as much as North Park dominated possession, Clarke was very pleased with how “tight” the team defense was in nullifying the Vikings’ large possession. “They did a good job in creating counter attacks,” Clarke said of his backfield. “I think the three center backs did a really good job.” Clarke was particularly impressed by the performance of senior goalkeeper Matt Martin, who has acted as the sole goalkeeper in all four matches this season. The coach also lauded the performance of the midfielders, believing that they “all worked really hard” to ensure the team the win. He was also
particularly proud of the performance of freshman Eugene Heger. “[He] did a good job in the front of the backs, distributing the ball and being in positions to challenge,” Clarke said. The Bears looked to extend their undefeated streak this Wednesday with a midweek matchup at Hope College before they take on Wheaton College at home on Saturday. Women’s soccer draws against Loras before routing Carthage The same strategy wrought two vastly different results this weekend for the Washington University women’s soccer team as they took on Loras College and Carthage College at Francis Field. In Saturday’s match against Loras, after 90 minutes of grueling regulation, two 10-minute overtimes and several near misses for the Bears, the game remained scoreless, and the match ended in a 0-0 draw. The next day, however, the shots that could not find the back of the net against Loras fell in spades as the Bears trounced their way to a 7-1 victory over Carthage. With the draw and the win, the Bears moved to 2-0-1 on the season. Throughout the Saturday game, Loras utilized a strategy similar to what WashU saw from Fontbonne last weekend. “We have had two games, and both teams that we have played against have played back and just tried to counter us,” head coach Stephanie Gabbert said after the game. “I
EMMETT CAMPBELL | STUDENT LIFE
Senior defender Alistair Shaw embraces a teammate after the Bears upset No. 12 North Park University 3-2.
think [Loras] had a good strategy. They were trying to slow the game down, which they did at every opportunity. And they did that because we were the better opponent, so I can’t fault them for that.” “They did a very good job with that and it’s very frustrating to play against and it’s very frustrating to coach against, but we still have to be better than that and break them down,” Gabbert said. Although neither team found a way to reach the back of the net, both teams found ways to generate quality scoring opportunities throughout the game. The Bears had one of their best scoring chances early in the second overtime period when senior midfielder Erin Flynn’s shot rang off the right goal post for the nearest miss of the afternoon. Flynn led the Bears on Saturday with five shots, and junior midfielders
Jolie Carl and Sydney Essler both recorded three shots. The Bears outshot the Duhawks 19-4, with Loras failing to earn a shot during the overtime. “We did a lot of stuff that we wanted to do, but we didn’t finish when we needed to,” Gabbert said. “That’s a really important part of the game, and one that we have to get a lot better at.” Gabbert was not shy about sharing her philosophy after her first game against Fontbonne. “If you don’t take your shots, it’s not going to go in,” she said. And if the Loras match showed the pitfalls of that strategy, Sunday’s blowout against Carthage showed the other side of the coin — an utter onslaught of offensive output. The offensive display was particularly impressive when looking at the balance the Bears demonstrated to generate it; six players scored
their seven goals, and five players recorded assists. No one WashU player could be hounded to stifle the movement of the ball, and the midfielders pushed down the field and created open shots with remarkable consistency. For a team with realistic goals of a national championship, such performances justify the lofty goals. WashU outshot Carthage 26-2 on the day, and aside from a breakaway goal in the 19th minute, the defense held solid and facilitated strong counter-attacks for the offense. Junior goalkeeper Katie Stender-Moore recorded her second win of the season. The early draw was not exactly what they had hoped for, but they will keep taking their shots; if Sunday is any indication, it is worth the risk. WashU also beat Millikin University this Wednesday on Francis Field at 7:30 p.m.
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6 STUDENT LIFE
SPORTS
GRADY NANCE & CLARA RICHARDS | SENIOR SPORTS EDITORS | SPORTS@STUDLIFE.COM
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2021
Sergio Rivas on changing positions, chess and Kanye CLARA RICHARDS SENIOR SPORTS EDITOR Men’s soccer player Sergio Rivas came to Washington University as an attacker, but during his first season on the team, he only played defense. Now though, the junior has moved up the field to play forward, and he’s been unstoppable. In three games so far this season, he has scored four goals and had one assist. Rivas may be a machine on the field, but off the soccer pitch, he is an economics major who will never turn down a game of chess. Student Life sat down with the junior to learn about his soccer background, his biggest supporter, and his thoughts on “Donda.” This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Student Life: Talk to me first about your first memory of you with the soccer ball. How long have you been playing? Sergio Rivas: Probably since I was four. I was actually born in Mexico, and my dad was a huge soccer guy. So we would play literally in the living room. We cleared out all the space and just played off the wall. We’d tape up the wall and make goals, and just played in the living room all day. I remember actually, the first time my parents were like, “Alright, you gotta stop playing in the house,” and I didn’t want to because maybe I was shy or something. But they made me sign up for it, and
I’ve enjoyed it ever since. SL: You said your dad is a big soccer fan — does he come to your games and watch you play now? SR: We’re from Minnesota, so he’s usually not able to come down to watch, but he watches the live feeds and texts me after the games. If I do well, he’ll say “Oh, good job,” or if I don’t do well, he’ll say, “Oh, why don’t you do this?” He’s super supportive, and I’m sure [if] he could, [he would] be at every game. SL: And do you listen to his advice? Or are you just like, ‘okay, dad, thanks for the support?’ SR: Definitely the latter. I tell him, ‘alright, if you know everything, why didn’t you play?’ No, but he’s definitely super supportive, and it’s definitely nice to have him. And actually, when he’s in the stands, like, he’ll be the loudest person, for better or worse. SL: Amazing. Let’s talk about the current season. You’ve scored two goals in two games, which is as many as your entire freshmen year. What’s changed? SR: Well, first, my coach put me in a new position this year. My freshman year, I played mostly as a defender as a right back. Yeah. But now I’m playing more as an attacking winger. So I’m transitioning to a more attacking role and being able to take more shots. Over the summer, I’ve been practicing a lot, especially on the attacking side,
so it’s definitely great to see it come to fruition in the game especially. SL: Are there any matchups that you’re particularly excited for, or is it just kind of getting back out there finally after last year? SR: Yeah, yeah. There’s definitely a few. So North Park we play this Saturday and they’re Final Four contenders for sure, so that’s gonna be a really good game. And then UChicago for us is always a big deal. I don’t think we’ve beat them in a while, so I think this year is gonna be a really good chance to do that, and it’s at home. SL: I’m excited for that game — it’ll be a chance to avenge football’s loss. SR: Yeah, exactly. Because we can’t let them win everything. SL: The team wasn’t ranked on the United Soccer Coaches Top 25. Do you think that’s a fair assessment, or do you think that the team deserved to be up there, especially given that you had a pretty good few games last spring and have had a solid record so far this season? SR: Good question. Well, I think, like you mentioned, we played 18 guys last game. So I think we have an insanely deep and talented team, like probably the best since I’ve been here. I’m not too worried about rankings right now. I’m more worried about building chemistry, and then building momentum when we get into
UAA play. I think that we’re one of the top teams and we can compete with anyone. But yeah, I think we definitely have the potential to be up there. And yeah, one of my goals is to make the tournament and win the conference. Our coach always talks about, you know, acting like the best program in the country, and I like to do what the best program in the country would do. So that’s what we’re building towards. SL: Good stuff. So I talked to one of your teammates the other day, and he said that you guys all pitched in for new speakers. If you’re on aux, what do you play? SG: You don’t want me on aux because I’m an alt rock guy, and I don’t know if alt
rock is best for pregame — it’s more for chill out sessions. But yeah, got to get the team more motivated, so maybe a little bit of Kanye. If it was up to me, I’d put on some rock, but I don’t think people would be too happy with that. SL: Then I gotta ask: what are your thoughts on Donda? SG: My feelings are mixed a little bit — I don’t know. It’s cliche, but it’s not the same as it used to be. SL: Outside of soccer, what do you get up to in your probably-limited free time? SG: I enjoy board games — I really got into that during quarantine. So, yeah, strategictype games. I also really like chess. SL: Are you an online chess player? Or do you have
WashU people that you can play with? SG: I try to play with WashU people. I feel like I get a little intimidated when I get online and it has timers. I know that’s kinda the whole point, but it’s just too much anxiety. I just want to relax, and pick things out. SL: Definitely understandable. Last question — what’s one fun fact that your teammates might not know about you? SG: Hm. I tell them too much about myself, so they know too much. But my icebreaker that I did during preseason was that I won my middle school’s geography competition and I think I peaked there.
GRACE BRUTON | STUDENT LIFE
Junior forward Sergio Rivas dribbles past a Greenville University defender in a 2019 game.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2021
FORUM
REILLY BRADY & JAMILA DAWKINS | SENIOR FORUM EDITORS | FORUM@STUDLIFE.COM
STAFF EDITORIAL
STAFF EDITORIAL
Students must prioritize listening to and protesting with survivors
T
HN HOFFMANN | STUDENT LIFE
O
n Sept. 10, @metoo_washu organized a two-part vigil and protest on Frat Row to provide a space to listen to survivors’ stories and a space for allies to call for change. After the vigil, during which students shared survivors’ experiences, community members called for the abolition of Greek Life and drew attention to the “Red Zone,” the time between the start of the semester and the beginning of Thanksgiving Break when the majority of all sexual assaults on college campuses occur. The issue of sexual violence that occurs in Greek Life — and how rape culture is often perpetuated and excused in these institutions — has received more attention through @metoo_washu and similar protests. Additionally, the Campus Climate Survey in 2019 revealed concerning statistics about sexual assault on our campus: According to that survey, 42.5% of undergraduate women and 20.1% of undergraduate men reported experiencing unwanted, nonconsensual sexual contact within their four years at WashU.
STUDENT LIFE 7
Despite all of the organization and work that has been done to center survivors and fight against the perpetuation of rape culture, both in Greek Life and across WashU’s campus, some are still unaware that these protests are happening or remain disengaged from the issue. The fact that students continue to protest and survivors still have stories to share demonstrates that these issues are still very present on our campus. We cannot allow ourselves and the University to become desensitized to sexual violence and rape culture. Sexual assault is not unique to sororities and fraternities — the entire WashU campus community is responsible for perpetuating rape culture and sexual violence. A significant portion of sexual assault occurs within Greek Life, but that does not mean that the rest of the student body is somehow separated from the issue or immune to perpetuating rape culture on campus. As students, we can work to combat rape culture and support survivors in our dayto-day experiences on campus. Learn to recognize harmful language and actions; call out your friends who use language
that perpetuates rape culture. Most importantly, believe survivors and support them as they navigate the difficulties of school and life. For those who remain involved in Greek Life, consider what these systems perpetuate and reevaluate your own complacency. Listening to survivors doesn’t just mean expressing sympathy to individuals; it also means hearing the demands of protestors. When survivors in our community gather to make their voices heard, we need to listen. The stories of survivors — members of our campus community — should spur you to take action. Attend protests and vigils, but also be aware of your own participation in rape culture and take action in your day-to-day life to make necessary changes. Whether or not you are involved in Greek Life, you are not removed from this issue — our peers are perpetuating rape culture on our campus, either directly or complicitly. If we ignore protests, shirk individual responsibility and remain complacent, harmful systems of sexual violence and rape culture will continue to prey on this campus. We cannot become desensitized to this issue.
OUR VOICE: EDITORIAL BOARD
Managing Editor: Isabella Neubauer Senior Forum Editors: Jamila Dawkins,
Staff editorials reflect the consensus of our editorial board. The editorial board operates independently of our newsroom and includes members of the senior staff.
Jordan Coley
Reilly Brady
Senior Scene Editor: Olivia Poolos Senior Sports Editor: Grady Nance Senior Cadenza Editors: Gracie Hime, Senior Copy Editors: Grady Nance, Jordan Coley
Senior Multimedia Editors: HN Hoffmann, Jaden Satenstein
The University must support its students
ime moves fast on a college campus, but the past four days have exhausted even the sturdiest of the Washington University community. Mentally and emotionally, Saturday’s events and the chaos in the days following has taken a toll on all of us. Instead of supporting its community through this stressful period, however, the University has failed its student body by consistently choosing ignorance, silence and hypocrisy. At a time when students need proactive support from leadership more than ever, they have been left to fend for themselves. Starting with Chancellor Andrew Martin’s statement, emailed to the community on Sunday night, the University failed to uphold the values of its institution and support its students. Nearly 36 hours following the events, long after the campus conversation had moved past the right or wrong of Fadel Alkilani’s actions, Martin failed to even acknowledge –– much less denounce –– the blatant racism, bigotry and Islamophobia being directed at members of the community, particularly Black, brown and Muslim students. Thirty-six hours is more than enough time to recognize the issue (nearly everyone on campus already had); his silence indicates either a shocking ignorance about the state of his own university or an even more concerning willingness to allow this hateful rhetoric to continue. In place of a single line addressing this issue, he praised the value of free speech –– its importance within the community, its ability to empower. In the same breath, Martin denounced Alkilani’s protest, an act which is inherently an expression of speech. More importantly, we recognize that no act of speech on campus should be met with the appalling response
experienced by Alkilani and the Black, brown and Muslim members of our community. Yet, in his assertion that Alkilani will face “the consequences of his actions,” the Chancellor implied that hate speech, doxxing and death threats are justified responses to events of this nature. A member of the community received threats on his life, and the response was tacit acceptance. In what it contained and what it lacked, his statement signaled to the WashU community a confused application of our right to free speech as well as a strong disregard for our safety on campus. Four days after Martin’s statement, the University has not uniformly condemned –– and the Chancellor has yet to acknowledge –– the Islamophobia and hateful rhetoric existing on our own campus. Fears have justifiably grown out of this unchecked vitriol to the point that many students felt unsafe stepping onto their own campus on Wednesday. Countless students expressed their worries, anxieties and fears, and the University ignored their concerns. At a moment when a proactive response by the University could have allayed these fears, we were met with a stunning silence. The Washington University Police Department’s call for normalcy in a Tuesday night email, asserting that there is no “credible threat to the university,” ignores the larger issue surrounding the University’s response. Whether or not there was a genuine threat to campus security the following day, is a credible threat the benchmark for taking action to support students? Must we wait until we are in immediate danger for the University to do something? Furthermore, this narrative discounts the immense mental and emotional stress that the Islamophobia and hate speech
OUR VOICE: EDITORIAL BOARD
Managing Editors: Jayla Butler, Isabella Neubauer
Senior Forum Editors: Jamila Dawkins, Reilly Brady
Senior Sports Editor: Grady Nance Senior Cadenza Editors: Gracie Hime,
Staff editorials reflect the consensus of our editorial board. The editorial board operates independently of our newsroom and includes members of the senior staff.
Senior DEI Editor: Ani Kesanapally
put on students. Mental health is as important as physical health; to call for normalcy in a time when distress is painfully obvious is to devalue the voice and feeling of the student body. In an email to faculty and staff sent Tuesday night that has since circulated on social media, the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences expressed that, since there is, again, “no credible threat,” professors had no obligation to accommodate students who participated in Wednesday’s strike or simply felt unsafe coming to class. The University chose to meet the fears of its students with the possibility of unexcused absences. Furthermore, in their statement to students, they expressed how “it is inspiring to see so many students and faculty on campus, continuing the precious work of learning and discovery.” Their ascribal of courage to those who attended class on Wednesday makes an implicit and disparaging comment on those who, for one reason or another, choose not to. Whether or not a credible threat loomed on campus, the anxiety it caused should have been grounds for concern. Luckily, many professors were more considerate and listened to their students when they expressed their anxieties. As students, none of us should feel unsafe on the grounds of WashU. If campus is meant to be a space for expressing opinions and fostering a positive, safe environment, the University must be responsive and supportive when its students are in crisis. Ignoring issues and disparaging those who are affected goes against the values that WashU stands for. Multiple statements have expressed that the University is “here for you,” but actions speak louder than words. Simply put, the University must support its students.
Jordan Coley
Senior Copy Editors: Grady Nance, Jordan Coley
Senior Multimedia Editor: Jaden Satenstein
Senior Engagement Editor: Vivienne Chang
Love thy neighbor –– or treat them with decency DAKOTAH JENNIFER STAFF WRITER
“
No one picks up their trash!” said the freshman in her a cappella callback. This past week, as a member of an a cappella group, I endured numerous callbacks with my fellow singers. In one of them, when asked about a “hot take on campus so far,” this is what a freshman said, even after only two weeks of attending Washington University in Saint Louis. During my time at WashU, the disrespect that students show the service staff has been
nothing short of abhorrent. Leaving trash at any given location because “It’s someone’s job to clean it up” is a lazy and privileged thing to believe. It doesn’t take long to pick up the crumpled chip bag and place it in the trash after you miss a toss, or take your plastic cup with you and find a recycling bin on the way to class. You can smile in Miss Connie’s face, but if you leave your half-eaten blueberry muffin and watered-down coffee on the table at Whispers, what does that smile even mean? After all, we all laugh and joke with friends who take advantage of us, all the
while knowing they aren’t genuine, and in the end, it doesn’t feel good. All I ask is that we take the time to think of those who keep this campus running — who keep our stomachs full and our coffees iced — even when they aren’t swiping our meal cards. Though we are all moving fast, with classes to attend, clubs to run and papers to print, we must remember that respecting the campus, and especially the people who maintain it, is vital. Yes, we should keep this campus clean for ourselves, for the environment and for future generations, but really, we
should strive to clean up for each other. We should care about global warming, the islands of trash off the west coast, but also the people sitting right next to us, the man who has to disinfect the table where you were just sitting or the next people to occupy your booth. We should treat the space how we’d like to encounter it. We have all helped out a friend when they needed it — given them quick directions to January Hall, picked up an extra free T-shirt at a WashU event or thrown away their cup along with ours — and I wonder why we can’t also be considerate to those
who aren’t close friends. Why do we have to love someone to think of them — to show them human kindness? We all know the saying “love thy neighbor,” but I’d posit that we don’t even need to do that. Why do we need to love each other to treat each other like human beings? I don’t believe I have to love people to treat them with human decency: to clean up after myself, to leave the Whispers booth empty of bottles and napkins, to say “Excuse me,” to smile at the woman at the counter, to ask her how she is, maybe, and to actually listen to the response
— to give grace when she can’t hear me say my order or when there’s a back-up in the kitchen. I think, too often, WashU students treat campus like a video game in which our messes are magically clean when we turn back to look at them. The staff behind the counters, in the bathrooms and sweeping the floors, are not the background characters in the movies of our lives — they are people, and they should be treated as such. Being considerate is not about loving, liking or even knowing the person who will be cleaning up your trash — it’s about human decency.
8 STUDENT LIFE
CADENZA JORDAN COLEY & GRACIE HIME | SENIOR CADENZA EDITORS | CADENZA@STUDLIFE.COM
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2021
The return of Jazz at Holmes brings a historical twist to jazz GRACIE HIME SENIOR CADENZA EDITOR St. Louis isn’t a hotspot “industry” city or jazz lodestone, but our small corner of campus is home to a community of jazz enthusiasts. Jazz at Holmes is a 21-year tradition started by William Lenihan, director of jazz studies, professor of music and jazz combo facilitator. Professor Lenihan returned to Holmes Lounge after a year-long interlude — due, of course, to COVID-19 — along with pianist Ptah Williams and Steve Davis. While Lenihan played the bass guitar at this event, he frequently finds himself on the piano and playing classical guitar. The trio’s first time back in the lounge unsurprisingly yielded a large and energetic crowd of students, faculty and community members.
Professor Lenihan acknowledges that the perception of jazz has evolved and changed over generations, and, unfortunately, in the St. Louis area, there is little access to this new type of jazz because it just isn’t popular anymore. If you were to stick your head in Holmes Lounge on Thursday, you may not get the swing band and dancing that you quickly associate with traditional jazz; you may not even be able to categorize what music you are hearing. Instead, you would hear a more exploratory type of jazz with familiar classical music undertones. “Jazz is diverse, and the experimental components don’t always fit with what people automatically think of jazz,” says Lenihan. Jazz has always been improvisational, and this era of music is no different. What is unique is what the
improvisation is based on. In the most recent performance, the musicians had sheet music of classical compositions. They used their knowledge of classical music to transform the jazz experience into something contemporary. Lenihan describes this project to be “unusual” for the program because of just how many historical outlets it reaches. The notion of jazz as an experience has always been true. Because it is so improvised, there has to be some kind of communication between the musicians that keeps them following each other. It is the hidden and unspoken language of music. “We [as a band] look at a chord and may pause or choose to hold it out, so it’s like this invisible conversation of how you will take the music and extrapolate from it. It’s as if we were to read the same
paragraph then say ‘Let’s just talk about it.’ You won’t say the exact same thing, but you will be using the same information.” There’s no right or wrong in jazz, so the experimental aspect comes naturally. Professor Lenihan comments on how modern concerts have such specific and divided demographics, but events like this bring in a diverse population. “We make an effort to really invite everyone. This is why we have so many activities; it is to engage students, faculty and the greater university community. Many people don’t know that [the University] is a Mecca for study and practice. It is kind of an outreach program to the St. Louis community at large.” The music department looks forward to showcasing many talented jazz musicians for their 75th anniversary. On Oct. 1,
JOACHIN VATURI | STUDENT LIFE
Musicians play in Holmes Lounge in 2015.
the department is hosting a festival on Brookings Quadrangle that will have two bands, including multiple famous names in the jazz industry. In addition, Lenihan is welcoming Paul DeMarinis to campus on Nov. 11. The return of Jazz in Holmes has reunited a community of jazz fanatics and has introduced a new generation of students to the creativity of
the music. Jazz in Holmes will continue throughout the semester and occur about two to three times a month. While we encourage community members to take part in this event, we hope that your personal safety and the safety of others is always the first priority. Please make sure to wear masks, social distance and take your daily screening.
John Mayer’s ‘Sob Rock’ is brilliant, yet somewhat superficial NOAH VERMES CONTRIBUTING WRITER One look at the cover of “Sob Rock” is enough to fully understand the imagery and nostalgia John Mayer instilled into the album: the stoic pose
against the window of a sunlit room; the stickers paying homage to early Columbia records; the pastel-hued guitar contrasting with dark denim. In a Wall Street Journal interview back in early June, Mayer describes how, in producing
his newest release, he channeled the “security-blanket aspect[s]” of the 1980s — comforting, smooth and soft. This tone shines throughout “Sob Rock,” yet a deeper listen shows that Mayer is more focused on style than lyrical prowess. The album opens with “Last Train Home,” a song that evokes the ‘80s aesthetic with a heavy hand. Mayer’s synth-infused production appears to take inspiration from American rock, such as Toto and Pat Benatar, and European pop, like Eurythmics and a-ha. The lyrics show the true flaws of the song, though. It feels a bit exhausting, if not disappointing, to hear such an accomplished artist like John Mayer fall back on clichés like “maybe you’re the last train home.” The lyrics continue to falter as the album progresses.
“Why You No Love Me” struggles to find its place despite its humble and silky melody. The repetitive whine, “Why you no love me? Why you no even care?” adds more weight to the title “Sob Rock,” as Mayer’s melancholy chorus sounds more annoying than anything else. “New Light” describes a man courting a close friend: “Pushing 40 in the friend zone / we talk and then you walk away every day.” Ironically enough, this “nice guy” material does paint Mayer in a new light, just maybe not a positive one. The true success in “Sob Rock,” however, lies in its later songs, where Mayer mixes genres and influences to embody a feeling that he describes as “reminding [him] of a safer time” (see that same interview quoted above). John Mayer’s
experience touring with the Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann rears its head in the guitar riffs of “I Guess I Just Feel Like.” The piano in “Carry Me Away” that accompanies its smooth verses are reminiscent of something close to Phil Collins. Bluegrass and folk converge in “Wild Blue,” a song that seems fresh off 1988’s “American Dream” (which, coincidentally, was also the eighth release by supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young). The ‘80s theme that pervades “Sob Rock” is a double-edged sword; Mayer assigns a cohesive “brand” to the 10-song collection, yet he potentially sets an expiration date on it. Fortunately, Mayer did cite his sources, as he has consistently stated his love for the time period and the artists that came
before him. Additionally, “Sob Rock” credits Toto’s Greg Phillinganes and Don Was as two (of many) contributing musicians and producers that provide some credibility to Mayer’s trip down memory lane. “Sob Rock” offers a unique introduction to the sounds of the 1980s, particularly for those who may be a bit averse to any music that was produced before the 2000s (here’s to us post-Y2K college students!). While its lyrics are mostly surface level, John Mayer does have some room to coast on his previous accolades as a songwriter, especially considering he had a different goal in mind this time. In accomplishing that goal, Mayer succeeds, proving himself to be not only a strong musician, but a true historian looking to preserve an iconic era of music.
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