Students, Community Gather to Mourn Yongsang
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the independent newspaper of Washington University in St. Louis since 1878 VOLUME 135, NO. 21 MONDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2013 WWW.STUDLIFE.COM POKEMON MOVIE PREVIEW New games What to expect on attract old and the marquees come new players November FOOTBALL WINS AGAIN (Scene, pg 3) (Cadenza, pg 5) (Sports, pg 7) Students, community gather Student Union elections to mourn Yongsang Soh kick off to little fanfare DYLAN BASSETT CONTRIBUTING REPORTER SU FALL ELECTIONS A new seat added to each Student NOV. 5-6 Union Senate and Treasury this year ARCHITECTURE means that at least two write-in can- didates will be offered office after this week’s election, assuming their peers ART write them in. ? The elections this Tuesday and Wednesday are meant to offer more ARTS & SCIENCES students opportunities for involve- ment—one seat will be added to both the Treasury and the Senate in response to rising enrollment. However, neither of these seats is BUSINESS contested, so the elections remain gen- erally uncompetitive. While nine candidates are run- ENGINEERING ning for six Arts & Sciences Senate seats and two are running for the lone Architecture Senate seat, the remain- TREASURY ZOE KLINE | STUDENT LIFE ing elections have as many candidates The Washington University school flag over Brookings Hall flies at half-mast on Saturday afternoon in honor of Yong- sang Soh. The flag flew at half-mast all weekend following Soh’s death last Saturday. as or fewer candidates than available seats, and no candidates submitted an EMILY SCHIENVAR over by the Rev. Gary Braun. The cappella rendition of “The Sound election packet for a recently vacated CONTRIBUTING REPORTER Washington University flag on of Silence” in Soh’s memory. Senior Art Senate seat. LEAH KUCERA | STUDENT LIFE Brookings Hall was flown at half- Tae Jin “TJ” Yoon, one of Soh’s According to Election conversation led Student Union to Students, professors and adminis- mast over the weekend as well. friends, performed the solo. Commissioner Jodi Small, a junior, add one seat to Treasury and one Olin trators lined the walls and spilled into Vice Chancellor Sharon Stahl One of Soh’s triplet siblings, a having open seats is beneficial for gain- Business School Senate seat this year. the lobby of the Women’s Building opened the memorial service former professor, some friends and ing new members for Student Union, The new seats make room for each Formal Lounge on Saturday to and introduced Chancellor Mark former Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity but more students are involved—not of the 11 Treasury candidates to win honor the memory of Yongsang Wrighton, who offered a few words brothers shared a few memories of only as candidates, but also as voters— seats and put two business school seats “Young” Soh, who passed away last about Soh’s passing. Soh’s life. Many remarked on his if more run. up for grabs in an election with just weekend. “It is hard for me to put myself “half-smile” and his desire to live life “It’s always good to have competi- one official candidate. Soh, a senior and Philosophy- in [the Soh family’s] place. But this to the fullest. tion because that brings out the best Treasury used to have 19 seats, 10 Neuroscience-Psychology major, great, large group signals Young’s “Yongsang Soh is going to be ideas,” Small said. of which opened every fall and nine died on Saturday, Oct. 26 after falling incredibly important engagement deeply missed. He is a person who Before every fall election, the speak- every spring. But because the body from a 23rd-floor apartment of The in this community, academically as made a difference in the lives of ers of the Treasury and the Senate just increased its total number of seats Dorchester at Forest Park, according well as in relationships with others,” others,” Wrighton said. “He will meet with the vice president of admin- from 19 to 20, there will be 11 seats up to a police incident report. Wrighton said. be long remembered as one of the istration to look at enrollment by for a vote this week—one of which The memorial followed a funeral In addition to Wrighton’s speech, great members of the Washington school and decide whether any seats service held earlier that day, presided The Stereotypes performed an a University community.” need to be added or subtracted. That SEE ELECTIONS, PAGE 2 Government sequester limits University research opportunities ZACH KRAM institute has had its budget slashed by payroll, which can mean fewer staff,” lot of money,” she added. “And if you agencies. STAFF REPORTER 5.5 percent due to the sequester. she told Student Life. “Sometimes want to hire people to work in your According to an NIH report, the Combined with cuts to other agen- schools or departments within schools lab, you do it off of your grants you get agency’s budget cut meant that it Eight months after the federal gov- cies such as the NSF—which has seen can ‘bridge’ funding for research from from specific proposals.” issued approximately 700 fewer com- ernment’s sequester went into effect, a 3.4 percent cut in funding—this other sources.” The sequester, which went into petitive grants for 2013 than it had in Washington University is still feeling decrease means the University’s over- Senior Katie Jacobs, who works in a effect March 1 after Congress was recent years. But administrators said the effects of budget cuts to research all research federal funding has fallen lab in the biology department, said her unable to come to a budget agreement, the way grants are allocated makes funding. about 11 percent, Vice Chancellor for boss’ funding issues in the past couple comprises a set of automatic spending it hard to gauge the exact impact of With allocations to national Research Evan Kharasch said. The months has led to a staff deficit. cuts for the years 2013-21 that predom- sequestration. research agencies slashed by signifi- University saw a 9 percent decrease “My boss in particular is having inantly affect discretionary spending. “It is obviously impossible to cant portions, the University has lost in its research allocations from all trouble right now because he is in- It was set up as a fallback so damag- know how many of the competi- millions of dollars in research capital, sources, he added. between grants,” Jacobs said. “One ing that it would strongly encourage tively awarded grants would come primarily from the National Institute While the University did not have of his grants stopped in September Congress to settle on a suitable budget. to Washington University if seques- of Health and the National Science a specific plan in place to soften the and another didn’t start again until But an agreement wasn’t reached, tration was not in place,” Jason Van Foundation—two agencies that spon- blow of the allocation losses, Vice November, so our post-doc just left the and the prescribed spending cuts went Wey, director of federal relations for sor many projects schoolwide. Chancellor of Finance Barbara Feiner lab, and [my boss] hasn’t been able to into effect. This measure has particu- the University, told Student Life. “A In previous years, Washington said the most basic recourse involves hire anyone new until his new grant lar significance for research universities tangible impact of less funding is a University has received in excess of lowering expenses. starts.” across the country, which derive a bulk $350 million from the NIH, but the “This usually includes reductions in “In order to do research, you need a of their budgets from federally funded SEE SEQUESTER, PAGE 2 Guilty verdict found in FEATURE PHOTO local man’s kidnapping of WU student from garage MICHAEL TABB around two hours, and Cobbins SENIOR NEWS EDITOR stole approximately $1,000. Cobbins, 23, confessed to the More than a year after crime on Oct. 25 of last year. he abducted a Washington The jury found him guilty this University law student and forced Nov. 1 after 30 minutes of delib- her to withdraw money from her eration, and he will be sentenced bank account, a jury has found on Dec. 5, according to the William Cobbins guilty of kid- Post-Dispatch. napping and other charges, the Washington University Police St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. Department Chief of Police Don On Aug. 28, 2012, a law stu- Strom said last fall that it was the dent getting into her car in first robbery of its kind he could the Snow Way garage, located recall during his 13 years at the between the Upper Row and University. the Village House, said she was The Post-Dispatch reports that approached by a man claiming the jury recommended Cobbins he had a knife, who ordered her go to prison for 34 years for kid- to drive him to nearby ATMs napping, first-degree robbery and OLIVER GALLOP | STUDENT LIFE and withdraw money from her two counts of armed criminal Freshmen Julia Keller, Meghan Gunn and Hillary Kroll pose for a picture over Halloween weekend. With Halloween fall- account. The student drove for action. ing on a Thursday this year, students found ample time to go out in costume. CONTACT BY POST CONTACT BY EMAIL CONTACT BY PHONE ONE BROOKINGS DRIVE #1039 [email protected] NEWSROOM 314.935.5995 #330 DANFORTH UNIVERSITY CENTER [email protected] ADVERTISING 314.935.6713 ST. LOUIS, MO 63130-4899 [email protected] FAX 314.935.5938 2 STUDENT LIFE DIVYA KUMAR & MICHAEL TABB | SENIOR NEWS EDITORS | [email protected] MONDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2013 MONDAY 4 TUESDAY 5 WEDNESDAY 6 PARTLY CLOUDY RAINY RAINY theflipside 61 / 48 59 / 52 59 / 37 EVENT NEWS Drug-gene database aims to CALENDAR IN BRIEF simplify research efforts MONDAY 4 CAMPUS Middle East – North Africa Film Head women’s volleyball coach Rich Series Leunemann, who is taking a leave of Seigle Hall, Room 104, 6 p.m.