Monday, October 6, 2008

MIDTERMS GOT YOU WINNING, FIVE DEBATE, REVISITED DOWN? TIMES OVER Listen to students reacting Looking to catch up on sleep with to Thursday’s vice presidential debate and watch a a mid-day nap? Scene has recom- The Bears are on a fi ve-game winning slideshow from the day. mendations for where to get the streak after several weekend victories. best rest. Sports has the scoop. PAGE 5 INSIDE PAGE 6 ONLINE STUDLIFE.COM Sthe independentTUDENT newspaper of Washington University in St. Louis LIFE since eighteen seventy-eight Vol. 130 No. 21 www.studlife.com Monday, October 6, 2008 Wrighton: debate Groups look for political ‘fl awless in terms momentum past VP debate News Staff ing on campus.” Charis Fischer, president of the College Republicans, was able to In the wake of last Thursday’s enter the media filing center—or of execution’ vice presidential debate, political- Spin Alley—where national media ly-oriented student groups have and political personalities gath- Chloe Rosenberg, According to Wrighton, the Uni- reported a positive response to ered during the debate. David Messenger and versity’s national recognition has in- debate-day political activities and Fischer said that that experi- ence complemented the oppor- Ilana Gatoff creased because of the debate and its a desire to harness the political en- record turnout in viewers. ergy on campus for the future. tunities afforded to her group Contributing Reporters “You know you can’t buy this type Two prominent campus politi- members, with news channels of coverage,” Wrighton said. “I think it cal groups, the College Democrats canvassing the campus with their contributes to the overall positive repu- and College Republicans, both cameras and microphones. Drawing in more viewers than any tation of Washington University. There utilized the extensive media and “For me personally, [the day’s other vice presidential debate in his- were very notable members of the me- interest group activity on campus highlight] was being inside the de- tory, Thursday’s vice presidential de- dia here.” by making sure that they involved bate and Spin Alley,” Fischer said. bate at Washington University went off Wrighton said that University stu- as much of the student body in the “For the group, it was being in the without a hitch, University Chancellor dents contributed by far the largest day’s events as possible. national spotlight.” MATT MITGANG | STUDENT LIFE Mark Wrighton said. number of viewers watching the debate “I don’t think any one mo- Neither the College Democrats SU members Olivia Hassan, Ciara Caprara and Trevor Mattea help sell The debate was the most highly live in the debate hall. ment was a highlight. The day nor the College Republicans have watched of any political debates since An unexpectedly large number of was a highlight for campus,” ju- any desire to rest on their laurels debate T-shirts last Wednesday. the 1992 presidential debate between students also saw the debate in person. nior Ben Guthorn, president of now that the debate has passed. Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and The 2000 and 2004 presidential de- College Democrats, said. “There According to Guthorn, the Demo- istration deadline for every student the Democrats will focus on in- Ross Perot. bates that were held at the University was so much going on on campus. crats intend to continue their po- on campus,” Guthorn said. “We forming voters and coordinating A total of 69.9 million Americans used a town-hall format, which offered [The College Democrats’] main litical efforts past Thursday and have registered probably most all with Illinois Sen. Barack Obama’s tuned in to view the vice presidential limited seating on the fl oor. As a result goal was to get people involved in up through Election Day on Nov. of the students on the South 40. campaign base in Missouri, which debate, according to a Nielsen press re- of not using the town-hall format this the things already happening. We 4, with an emphasis on activism We need to make a really strong Guthorn said is eager to work with lease. In comparison, only 52.4 million time, in conjunction with the fact that couldn’t provide anything more this week. push for the off-campus students Washington University students. viewers watched the fi rst presidential exciting than [MSNBC’s “Hard- “Our focus has always been and off-campus dorms.” debate on Sept. 26. See WRIGHTON, page 3 ball with Chris Matthews”] shoot- leading up to Oct. 8, the voter reg- Past the registration deadline, See DEBATE, page 2 DEBATE DAY RESONATES McCain, Obama plan to improve higher education funding parents, as well as supporting Pell Perry Stein Grants—the federal government’s lead- News Editor ing college aid program—Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama plans to create the American Opportunity Tax With students applying for federal Credit, which would pay for the fi rst fi nancial aid assistance in record num- $4,000 of a college student’s tuition in bers this year, the fi nancial fate of col- exchange for 100 hours of community lege students may be impacted by who service. the next president of the United States The plan would also pay for rough- will be. ly two-thirds of a typical public uni- After the vice presidential debate versity’s tuition and make community on Thursday, representatives from both college free for most students. parties confi rmed that increased access New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, to higher education will be a top prior- who ran for the Democratic presidential ity for their presidential candidates. nomination this election cycle, said that In addition to making federal aid programs easier to comprehend for See EDUCATION, page 3 LANE GOODMAN | STUDENT LIFE In the midst of a fi lming of MSNBC’s “Hardball” and other debate-related activities, one of the University’s a cappella groups, the Stereotypes, performed for John McCain’s Higher Education Policy students gathered in the DUC courtyard. • Simplify Higher Education Tax Benefi ts McCain believes that the existing tax benefi ts are too complicated, and many eligible families don’t claim them. By simplifying the existing benefi ts, he hopes to ensure that a greater number of families have a lower tax burden when Writing program increases in popularity they are helping to send their children to college. • Simplify Federal Financial Aid McCain believes too many programs and a complicated They do the secondary reading as well are surmountable.” the need for a consistent, competent, application process deter many eligible students from as the primary reading. They have huge The University has hosted authors undergraduate teaching faculty. Faculty still seek seeking student aid. He hopes that consolidating programs appetites. They understand the full con- such as Mary Jo Bang and Carl Phillips, “When you recognize poets, there is will help simplify the administration of these programs, ventionality of the complexity of liter- notable for their work in poetry, as well going to be a lot of graduate teaching. to expand and help more students have a better understanding of their ary issues.” as Kathryn Davis, Hurst senior writer in The graduate program is very highly eligibility for aid. Eliza Adelson According to Sherry, the creative residence and acclaimed fi ction author. competitive,” Sherry said. writing program fosters students’ talents This semester, the University is also More than 430 applications were re- Staff Reporter • Fix the Student Lending Programs in genres including modernist poetry, hosting noted author Kathleen Finneran, ceived for the graduate writing program John McCain has proposed an expansion of the lender- the art of poetry and trans-historical and who is teaching Creative Non-Fiction in the past four years and only 215 were of-last resort capability of the federal student loan system modernist fi ction. Writing 1. selected. and will demand the highest standard of integrity for The writing program at Washington “There’s a smaller culture here for Marshall Klimasewiski, director “[It’s a] small program, and the best participating private lenders. Effective reforms and University thrives off student interest, poetry than for fi ction. I think it is a spe- of the writing program and a writer in faculty are occupied at teaching at that leveraging the private sector will ensure the necessary acclaimed faculty and the desire to keep cialty,” Sherry said. “They are small in residence, praised Finneran’s role at the level. The more time they need, the less funding of higher education aspirations, and create a expanding the program into the future. numbers but devoted in spirit.” University. available they are, so we must develop simpler and more effective program in the process. That desire has led to growth, with Sherry also spoke of the challenges “We were thrilled to have Katheen a faculty to teach at the undergraduate the number of students taking creative faced in developing a writing program Finneran. I think she is great and she’s level,” Sherry said. writing classes nearly doubling in two to sustain an undergraduate writing mi- always gotten stellar student evalua- Sherry agrees with Klimasewiski years. nor. tions, so we were really pleased to get that the newly added “creative non- Barack Obama’s Higher Education Policy Three years ago, approximately “What I have sensed is a limitless her, even for four classes per year,” fi ction” track arrived late to the Univer- • Create the American Opportunity Tax Credit 330 students were enrolled in writing appetite in our undergraduates for writ- Klimasewiski said. “I think it is one of sity compared to its peer institutions. Obama and Biden will make college affordable for all classes.

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