April 18, 2008
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STAFF EDITORIAL | PUBLIC ART ADDS NEW DIMENSION TO CAMPUS LIFE | SEE PAGE 4 TUDENT IFE THE SINDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER OF WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY L IN ST. LOUIS SINCE 1878 VOLUME 129, NO. 77 FRIDAY, APRIL 18, 2008 WWW.STUDLIFE.COM College admissions First students accept process sets records gender-neutral housing across the country BY PERRY STEIN that although she had antici- Weekend, and it was something as an option and 74 percent NEWS EDITOR pated that a few more students that we tried to make students said they would consider it. BY DAN WOZNICA tive in the school’s history. would choose this option, Re- and prospective students aware Stephens said that large stu- STAFF REPORTER Princeton University, which Five groups, or approximate- sLife had set no student mini- of,” she added. dent support compared to the received 21,369 applications, ly 20 students, opted to take mum when enacting this poli- SU President Brittany Perez small number who choose the The year saw another re- accepted just 9.3 percent of advantage of Residential Life’s cy, so she is not disappointed. said that since many of the up- living arrangement is a com- cord-breaking admissions its applicants, a decrease new gender-neutral housing “There are a few people who perclassmen who are viable mon trend among colleges that cycle in colleges and uni- from the 9.5 percent it ac- option in its inaugural year. took advantage of it because candidates for gender-neutral offer gender-neutral housing versities across the country, cepted last year. In February 2007, Student someone in their group identi- housing have chosen to live off- options. with unprecedented numbers One of the principal fac- Union (SU) passed a resolution fi es as a transgender,” Stephens campus, she believes that as “I think students like it as of students both applying for tors cited for the increase urging the Offi ce of Residential said. “We’re trying to meet current freshmen become up- an idea of gender-neutral hous- and being rejected from insti- in applications this year to Life (ResLife) to create gender- the needs of our students and perclassmen, more people will ing, and are supportive of it, tutions of higher education. universities like Harvard and neutral housing. ResLife will that’s why we felt like it was choose gender-neutral living. but don’t necessarily want it for “This year has been a very Princeton has been the dis- be offering this new housing important to offer it as an op- “I am not sure why there themselves,” Stephens said. interesting one around the continuation of these schools’ option in Lopata House in the tion.” was such a little demand for it,” Despite the low turnout this country, so it’s difficult to early admissions programs, Village and in Greenway Apart- Sophomore Maryse Pearce, Perez said. “Maybe as the years year, Perez said SU would con- predict what will happen with which has led many students ments for the 2008-2009 school co-president of Pride Alliance, go by and it becomes a more tinue to support gender-neutral all colleges and with Wash- to apply to more schools in- year as part of a pilot program. a major proponent of gender- institutionalized system more housing and hopes that ResLife ington University,” Nanette stead of committing early to Students who chose this op- neutral housing, said that the people will do it.” will expand this program to Tarbouni, director of admis- one. tion were put into the regular group would continue to pro- Gender-neutral housing has other living areas such as the sions, wrote in an e-mail. Applications to Washing- housing lottery system, though mote this option in the upcom- received signifi cant support Loop Lofts. Of more than 27,000 stu- ton University, which retained they needed to submit their ing years. from the student body. Accord- “As long as Residential Life dents who applied for admis- its early decision program, housing petition in person to “Once the word gets [out] ing to a 1,300-student poll con- is still open for [gender-neutral sion into Harvard University’s did not rise significantly. the Residential Life staff. about it I think we will have ducted by ResLife, 64 percent of housing] to be a policy, Student freshman class, only 7.1 per- Similar to last year, about Associate Residential Life higher turnout,” Pearce said. students said they were in sup- Union will defi nitely advocate it cent were accepted, making Director Cheryl Stephens said “Last week was Celebrations port of gender-neutral housing as a policy,” Perez said. this year the most competi- See ADMISSIONS, page 3 B-School grads face Africa Week showcases work tough job market of several renowned artists BY BEN SALES senior year. Very few people SENIOR NEWS EDITOR I talked to [received a job of] their first choice, and very In the midst of an unsta- few people wanted to stay in ble national economy, grad- that position long-term.” uates of the Olin Business To help combat these School are settling for sec- difficulties, the business ond choices or short-term school trains its students on solutions in their search for how to get a job beginning jobs. in their sophomore year. These economic issues This training includes for- are exacerbating problems mal classes and individual that have faced business work through the Weston school graduates for years. Career Center, which focus- Troy Rumans, who graduat- es on Olin students. ed from the business school Jim Bierne, an associate last year, said that a lack of dean and the director of the job availability has made it Weston Center, said that the harder for those without ad- training is multi-tiered and vanced degrees in business more complicated than it to find work. was in past years. “What’s been happening “Over the course of ev- with the job market is that ery year we run a couple because it’s more difficult of workshops addressing to find a job, people with issues around establishing master’s degrees are apply- and managing your career, ing to entry-level jobs, so how to manage all the data people just with undergrad- that’s out there,” Bierne uate degrees have much said. “It’s a process; it’s an more difficulty getting education.” those jobs,” Rumans said. Bierne said, however, “It’s not impossible; there’s that though the current eco- just not as many options.” nomic crisis dominates the Rumans’ own job search media, it only affects spe- was limited by location. cific sectors of the business Wanting to stay in St. Lou- job market. As a result, the is, he had to take an offer Weston Career Center has LUCY MOORE | STUDENT LIFE to work in a management maintained its high success Students warm up for a dance workshop in Mallinckrodt for Africa Week on April 16. training position with the rate of past years, placing Bernar Group, a company 98 percent of its advisees in that does direct marketing jobs following graduation. BY SCOTT FABRICANT the 1986 winner of the Nobel of his plays grow out of the violence of dictatorial regimes for AT&T. While the job was “At the national level my STAFF REPORTER Prize in Literature. Soyinka, colonial African experience. and its interconnectedness not his first choice, he now peers across the country a Nigerian native, was jailed People through the African with the social structures plans to stay there long- are still claiming that [the The African Students As- during the Nigerian Civil war diaspora who live in post-co- that he sees in Cameroon and term. economic situation] is not sociation held their annual in 1967 and has remained ac- lonial world, like post African other countries.” “The only job in St. Lou- affecting schools at all, ex- Africa Week this week, which tive in African politics ever slaves, relate highly to his Diadie Bathily, a local per- is that I could apply for is cept in financial services will be capped by the Per- since. work, but any American citi- former of West African dances where I’m working now,” he and some real estate devel- forming Arts Department’s “Growing up, Wole Soyinka zen benefi ts from seeing his for more than 30 years, made said. “In terms of finding opment areas,” Bierne said. performance of the play “The was a household name for my work, and any citizen of the two appearances at Africa work, a person looking for “If you read just headlines Lion and the Jewel” this week- family, so also personally I’m world would, too.” Week. On Wednesday, he held a job is going to have to be it’s a pretty sour economic end and next weekend. really excited to see his work On Monday, fi lmmaker a free dance lesson on a fu- open to more than one loca- situation, but there’s still The start of Africa Week performed by Wash. U. stu- Jean-Marie Teno came to show sion of dances from Mali and tion no matter where they a voracious appetite for corresponds to Washing- dents,” Hassan said. a fi lm about movie making in the Ivory Coast in Mallinck- are.” bright undergraduates and ton University’s celebrations John Baugh, director of the Africa. rodt Center. While Rumans is satis- graduates.” weekend, which was held last African and African Ameri- “On one hand, Jean-Marie “It was defi nitely a workout, fied with his job, he says he Another career path open weekend.