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STUDENT LIFET H E I N D E P E N D E N T N E W S PA P E R O F WA S H I N G T O N U N I V E R S I T Y I N S T. L O U I S S I N C E 1 8 7 8

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INDEX

Jess Minnen shares her take on hot news topics like Britney Spears and John Cusack and the death of St. Louis musician Oliver Sain. Also, see Matt Simonton’s review of Pieces of April, Travis Peterson’s preview of the Headbanger’s Ball and a new Foodnatic column.

HOT TOPICS

PAGE 3

The volleyball team adds to its winning streak at its own Wash-ington University Classic. Find out what milestones the Bears reached and how they handled opponents Webster University and Westminster College.

VOLLEYBALL SETS RECORDS

PAGE 7

TRICK ORTREAT?

Drug arrest made at SAM

An ongoing police investigation involving an alleged armed robbery at the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity house Thursday night has resulted in a student’s suspension. The incident may be drug-related.

Washington University Police arrested a male suspect who was in possession of a felony amount of drugs, which were packaged in a man-ner to be distributed. Don Strom, University chief of police, declined to identity the suspect except to say he is not affiliated with the University.

Police also searched the room of the student room who claimed to have been the victim of the robbery. When asked if any drugs were found in the student’s room, Strom declined to comment on what, if anything, was found in the student’s room.

Since the investigation is on-going, Strom was able to give few specifics on the case at this time. What he was able to say was that a University student claims to have been robbed at gun-point in his room at the SAM house Thursday night around 9:30 p.m. As the suspect attempted to leave, a scuffle broke out between the student and the suspect that spilled into the SAM com-mon area. Others in the house subdued the sus-

pect and called University police.Strom said that the suspect was charged Fri-

day afternoon by the County Prosecutor for pos-session of a controlled substance with the intent to distribute. Another individual, who accompa-nied the suspect to the house, was also arrested, but was later released without charges.

The student claimed not to know the suspect,

nor why the suspect was at the house. Strom said, however, that in the course of the investigation, police identified discrepancies in the student’s story. Strom said that because of those discrep-ancies, robbery charges have not been filed against the suspect. He declined to comment on whether any charges may be filed against the stu-dent, whom Strom also declined to identity.

Karen Davis, the University director of judi-cial programs, could not be reached for comment as to whether the University would take any dis-ciplinary action against the student involved in this incident outside of the police investigation.

Junior Joshua Cohen, the president of SAM, did say that the student has been suspended by both the University and the fraternity pending the outcomes of the investigation. The student, whom Cohen declined to identify, is no longer living in the SAM house.

When asked if he knew whether the incident was drug-related, Cohen declined further com-ment. University officials have asked members of the fraternity not to discuss the incident.

Karin Johnes, director of Greek Life, would not elaborate any further on the specifics of the case beyond the information provided by police. She said that based on the short period of time she has had to gather information since Thursday night, she is still trying to sort through rumors herself.

She did say, however, that the Greek Life office

See DRUGS, page 2

Charges already fi led against one suspect, student suspended

The Sigma Alpha Mu house. WUPD responded to an armed robbery call here Thursday, making two arrests.

EMILY TOBIAS

With the end of the grocery work-ers’ strike Saturday, students will no longer have to decide whether or not to cross the picket lines. The ques-tion remains, though, whether they and other area residents will return to Schnucks, Shop ‘n Save and Dierbergs after 24 days.

Sophomore Maggie Gierse said that she will defi nitely return to Schnucks now that the strike is over.

“I think since most people who weren’t going to Schnucks during the strike were boycotting it because they supported the union, they will go back there now to support the union,” said Gierse.

Junior Anthony Hollins said that convenience will play a role in his deci-sion to return to shopping at Schnucks. While Hollins said that he would not go to Schnucks during the strike, junior Yinka Ogunsunlade said that he con-tinued to shop at Dierbergs during the past month. Ogunsunlade anticipated that most students will return to shop-ping at Schnucks now that the workers have returned.

Student Union responded to the strike by passing a resolution on Oct. 13 that allowed the red line shuttle to continue to pass Schnucks while adding a stop on the gold line to the Straubs grocery store in Clayton.

Sophomore Pamela Bookbinder, the

Students return to Schnucks

See STRIKE, page 2

By Stacie Driebuschq News Editor

With fi lms ranging from topics of HIV/AIDS in Africa to military dictatorships in Latin America and even to questionable institutions in St. Louis, Wash-ington University’s 1st Annual International Human Rights Film Festival has arrived. Running from Oct. 29 until Nov. 23, the festival features six different fi lms in hopes of raising awareness and conscious-ness about human rights violations occurring around the world.

The fi rst of its kind on campus, the festival is the brainchild of the newly-formed Social Justice Insti-tute (SJI), an organization under St. Louis Hillel.

Junior Naomi Remis, one of the co-founders of the SJI, said the organization developed the idea for the fi lm festival due to an increased need for awareness of international human rights confl icts, especially among college students.

“College students are often blamed for being misinformed and apathetic about the world around them,” said Remis. “The point of this fi lm festival is to highlight different regions of the world and learn about certain confl icts, revolutions, and genocides that happen there every day.”

Along with a free screening of each of the six fi lms, visitors have the opportunity to hear an expert speaker, receive pamphlets of infor-mation, and, when applicable, learn about ways to get involved with the cause. Remis said that the goal of this educational com-ponent is to help contextualize each fi lm and provide a brief background for each confl ict.

Student organi-zations like Am-nesty International are also available after each piece to motivate students to get involved with effecting posi-tive change in the world.

“The fi lms are meant to help peo-ple learn about their roles as Americans, and how these fi lms can empower us to go beyond being informed and move us to get involved,” said Remis.

The festival’s lineup features a showcase of six di-verse fi lms from different countries, including Paul Devlin’s “Power Trip,” Paula Rodriguez’s “Pinochet’s Children,” “The Last Just Man” by Stephen Silver, “War Takes” by Patricia Castano, “Adelaida Trujillo, A State of Denial” by Elaine Epstein, and “A Deadly Force” by a former Washington University student.

The fi rst of the fi lms, “Power Trip,” was screened this past Wednesday night in Lab Sciences 300. A fi lm about a U.S. power company in Post-Soviet Georgia (the country, not the state), “Power Trip” documents the American power company, AES, as it tries to supply power to the people of Tbilisi, Georgia. Ac-customed to paying little or nothing for power under the old communist regime, AES’s new customers are shocked and violently opposed to the suggestion that they will lose their power if they cannot pay for it.

Film festival highlights human rightsBy Jaina Waldq Contributing Reporter

A recent panel discussion hosted by the Social Justice Center (SJC) focused on the closure of 16 public schools in the St. Louis area.

The panel, entitled “Break the Wash. U. Bubble: St. Louis Public Schools,” held Tuesday night, brought Beaumont High School math instructor Jamar Scott, University professor Garrett Duncan and radio talk show host Lizz Brown before a

group of students, faculty and community mem-bers.

The SJC hosts monthly programs related to is-sues of social justice, but this panel was special, as it was held in conjunction with this month’s theme of education in the St. Louis community.

Though St. Louis schools were considered to be some of the best in the nation in 1970, the number of students attending dropped from over 100,000 in 1967 to under 41,000 this year. In response to this decrease in enrollment, as well as the large defi cit expected to amass in years to come, the School Board hired Alverez and Marsal Inc.—an outside management fi rm based in New York—to

assess the situation and deal with budget issues.

Currently, Alverez and Mar-sal Inc. is overseeing the St. Louis Public Schools. The deci-sion to close 16 of the schools was based on available space, required maintenance and stu-dents’ test scores, among other criteria.

Brown emphasized that as 14 of the schools that were closed are in communities in North St. Louis with African-American aldermen, the black community in St. Louis has been greatly affected by these changes.

“More people didn’t send

By Liz Neukirchq Contributing Reporter

See FILM, page 2

Panel urges students to take interest in community

WU Social Justice Center addresses school closures

Senior Marisa Gettleman loads bags into her car at the Richmond Heights Schnucks. The lockout at Schnucks and other local stores ended Friday after the union approved the new contract.

EMILY TOBIAS

Beaumont High School math instructor Jamar Scott, University professor Garrett Duncan and radio talk show host Lizz Brown addressed students last Tuesday. The panel discussed the problems facing the St. Louis public schools.

AMY SAPAN

See STUDENTS, page 2

By Brendan Watsonq Editor in Chief

Thursday, Nov. 6thFilm: “The Last Just Man” (A fi lm about UN involvement—or lack thereof—in Rwandan genocide)Speaker: TBA7:30 p.m.Wednesday, Nov. 12thFilm: “War Takes” (A fi lm about the guerilla and paramilitary violent civil war in Colombia)Speaker: Professor Bret Gustafson, Anthro-pology Professor7:30 p.m.Thursday, Nov. 20thFilm: “A State of Denial” (A fi lm about the HIV/AIDS epidemic in South Africa)Speaker: Professor Shanti Parikh, African studies and anthropology professor7:30 p.m.Sunday, Nov. 23rdFilm: “A Deadly Force” (A documentary on police brutality in St. Louis)Speaker: TBA7:30 p.m.

All showings in Lab Sciences 300

The Moviesv

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Freshman Jessica Black shows off her costume before attending Bauhaus. Hundreds of students attended the annual Halloween party hosted by the Architecture School.