student life | december 5, 2007
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THE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER OF WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS SINCE 1878 Think you’re paying a pretty penny for tuition? Check out the results of the Chan- cellor’s tuition forum in @ Press on Thursday at www. studlife.com Big 12 sports never came so close to home. Check out the fate of the Tigers post- Oklahoma. Sports, Page 3TRANSCRIPT
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INSIDE:
Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Forum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Cadenza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Classifi eds . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Sudoku . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Verdict for Mizzou football Where does the buck stop?
Big 12 sports never came so close to home. Check out the fate of the Tigers post-Oklahoma. Sports, Page 3
Think you’re paying a pretty penny for tuition? Check out the results of the Chan-cellor’s tuition forum in @Press on Thursday at www.studlife.com
THE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER OF WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS SINCE 1878VOLUME 129, NO. 40 WWW.STUDLIFE.COMWEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2007
STAFF EDITORIAL | HELP GIVE US A LIFT | FORUM, PAGE 4
STUDENT LIFE
BY JOHN SCOTT CONTRIBUTING REPORTER
As students prepare to spend hours in the library writing fi nal papers, many have found that a new version of Microsoft Word is no longer compatible with the older, more common format causing fi le-sharing issues.
Microsoft released the Micro-soft Offi ce 2007 package earlier this year as an upgrade from the previous Offi ce 2003. Docu-ments from Microsoft Word 2007 are now saved in the “.docx” for-mat, but older versions, which save in the “.doc” format, cannot read the new format.
Some students like freshman Philip Bierman, who uses Word 2007, have encountered prob-lems because some students and professors still use both ver-sions of the software.
“Occasionally, I send papers to my writing teacher and she
can’t open them because she has the old version,” said Bierman.
Although the software was available about a year ago, the li-brary did not make the upgrade until August according to Bill Fryman, manager of systems operations and support at Wash-ington University.
Fryman said that these types of upgrades are usually done during the summer in order to prevent negatively affecting stu-dents during the academic year.
Dean for Technology Jeff Huestis said that the University waited to make sure that any ini-tial problems with the software were addressed.
“We do try to leave a decent interval for bugs to shake out,” said Huestis. “Of course in the case of something like Offi ce 2007, you do have this fi le for-mat issue.”
BY BRITTANY FARBSTAFF REPORTER
Even as undergraduate programs at Washington University continued to be ranked 12th in the nation by U.S. News and World Report, the fall semester has seen several prominent and im-proved rankings go to gradu-ate programs.
One of the world’s lead-ing business newspapers, The Financial Times, ranked the Washington University-
Fudan University Executive MBA (EMBA) Program as the seventh best international MBA program in the world.
The EMBA program is a joint educational endeavor between the Olin Business School at Washington Univer-sity and the School of Man-agement at Fudan University in Shanghai. The program was the first U.S.-Sino com-bined program in China when it was founded in 2002.
Originally designed to pre-pare Chinese managers for
executive positions around the world, the program at-tracts about 75 percent of its students from China.
“China has a shortage of trained managerial profes-sionals,” said James Little, the program’s academic di-rector. “The economy has grown so fast.”
For EMBA students in the Olin Business School, the pro-gram requires them to spend 10 days in Shanghai complet-ing joint course work.
“Our mission worldwide is
to create knowledge, inspire individuals, and transform business,” said Mahendra Gupta, dean of the Olin Busi-ness School, in a recent in-terview with the Record. “To achieve our mission, we need to be consistently excellent so that we attract the best faculty and students and provide the best learning ex-perience.”
The Financial Times’ rank-ings are based on surveys
BY MIRANDA MORIARTYCONTRIBUTING REPORTER
While the academic semes-ter—and the coursework that goes along with it—is draw-ing to a close, the multitude of students who participate in re-search will see their work con-tinue into next semester.
Within Robert Kranz’s labo-ratory, which recently received a $1.2 million grant from the Na-tional Institutes of Health (NIH), fi ve undergraduates and one graduate student work with the professor of biology.
Fifth-year graduate student Elaine Frawley became involved with Kranz’s project through the Biology and Biomedical Science graduate program, a program that allows students to rotate between different labs before joining one full-time.
Frawley described working with a professor like Kranz as “a chance to learn great tech-niques.”
“I couldn’t have asked for a better lab project,” she added.
The grant is a renewal award for Kranz’s research in bioenergy
BY DAVID SONGNEWS EDITOR
Thanks to a recent donation, Washington University’s Skan-dalaris Center for Entrepreneur-ial Studies will be sponsoring a summer internship program for University students.
“The compensation package is $2,500 dollars over 10 weeks,
but we include room and board here on campus,” said Lawrence Luscri, the student services co-ordinator for the Skandalaris Center.
The 20 interns, who will stay on campus over the summer, will either work with established businesses or pursue projects involving their own business or social venture.
A student who wishes to pursue the internship with his own entrepreneurial project experiences limits, as the busi-ness must qualify as a “start-up” business, and therefore is constrained in terms of revenue, employees and funding. Other-wise, the student would simply work with an existing large com-pany.
Luscri stated that although the individual who made the do-nation did not do so anonymous-ly, his name will not be released until the end of the week.
Luscri also explained the Skandalaris internship in detail, noting that it originated from the Entrepreneurship Council, on which University Chancellor Mark Wrighton holds a chair.
Students selected as interns will work both with each other and individuals outside the Uni-versity.
“Part of the program includes a collaborative component where the students get together with other interns—we bring some-one from the companies or an entrepreneur and do a presenta-tion to have a networking event, once a week,” said Luscri. “The business will be a part of that event; we choose representatives from those businesses and bring them together.”
Library software upgrade creates confl icts, frustrates students
Graduate programs enjoy several high rankings
BY GREGG RECONTRIBUTING REPORTER
Earlier this semester, the Greek Life Offi ce implemented changes to increase the num-ber of women participants in sorority recruitment. After an extension of the registration deadline, the number of wom-en that have registered now matches last year’s total.
Approximately 250 women signed up during women’s for-mal recruitment in 2006. This year, less than 200 had regis-tered by the fi nal week of No-vember.
Lucy Morlan, coordinator for chapter development, said that there have been many more registrants towards the end of the recruitment process than there were last year.
“Things started out slow,” said Morlan. “Now, we’re at 250 [recruits] again so far, which is exactly what we had last year.”
Recruitment was scheduled to end on Dec. 1 but was post-poned to Dec. 8 because of a technical problem with the
Greek Life Web site.Morlan said that the glitch
might have prevented women from registering.
“The system cut off for a couple of hours on the last day of registration,” said Morlan. “It came back later on in the after-noon.”
Though administrators sent an e-mail to students inform-ing them of the glitch, Morlan says she does not think there will be a signifi cant increase in recruits because of the short duration of the downtime.
The Greek Life Offi ce has im-plemented signifi cant changes to the recruitment process this year to make joining a sorority easier and more transparent for women.
Mimi Shaffner, vice presi-dent of recruitment on the Women’s Panhellenic Council, said that sororities have tried to communicate more with pro-spective students in an effort to increase enrollment.
“We greatly increased our public relations efforts, in-cluding sending out postcards
to the homes of all freshman women,” she said.
Earlier in the year, the Pan-hellenic Executive Board adopt-ed a new policy called Positive Panhellenic Contact. The policy allows sorority women to inter-act more freely with prospec-tive recruits.
Previously, affi liated and non-affi liated women were not allowed to communicate with each other during the recruit-ment process. Administrators were concerned that this policy alienated recruits who wanted to learn more about Greek life on campus.
Morlan said that change from this traditional method of recruiting, which has taken place at other colleges in recent years, would take effect gradu-ally over the next few years.
“We’re having less decora-tions and food, and we’re mov-ing to a recruitment process that is more conversation-based,” she said. “The plan is to eventually have a no-frills recruitment.”
“This new approach is work-
ing really well so far,” she add-ed.
Recruits will return to cam-pus on Jan. 7 for initiation ac-tivities that end on bid day on Jan. 13.
“The women can look for-
ward to an exciting week,” said Shaffner. “They will meet tons of new people and really get to see what each individual chapter stands for. It is a crazy week, but it will be a great and fun experience.”
Senior Elisabeth Rennell, junior Tiffany Bruckert and senior Katie Booth, members of Gamma Chi, help sorority recruitment efforts at Wohl Center. Recruitment was recently down but with the new extended deadline, it went back up to average numbers.
LUCY MOORE | STUDENT LIFE
Skandalaris Center offers internships for social ventures
After slow start, sorority registration picks up
(Left to right) Cindy Richard-Fogal, Ph.D., research scientist in biology, Elaine Frawley, graduate research as-sistant and Robert Kranz, Ph.D., professor of biology in Arts & Sciences, examine an E. coli culture. With his latest grant, Kranz has now received funding from the National Institutes of Health for 22 years.
Beyond classes, research provides academic opportunities
See RESEARCH, page 2
COURTESY OF WUSTL IMAGES
See GRADUATE PROGRAM, page 2
See SOFTWARE, page 2
See SKANDALARIS, page 2
of alumni conducted three years after graduating.
“[The rankings are based] 50 percent on students and 50 percent on the program itself,” said Little. “It looks at career progress and sal-ary increases.”
Students complete surveys regarding the program three years after graduating.
Bill Croghan, a current student in the program, has been satisfied with his expe-rience thus far.
“One thing is clear—the EMBA program provides an outstanding environment for each of the students en-rolled in the program,” said Croghan. “As an entrepre-neur and business owner of 25 years, my experience with the EMBA program has been exceptional.”
Croghan is the founder of Boa Construction Company, a St. Louis homebuilding and remodeling company. Croghan has been especially pleased with the practicality of the program’s classes on the job.
“The value offered con-sists of deliberate, escalat-ing effective experiences, challenging students in the program to broaden creative, effectual business thinking,” Croghan said.
Little says students like Croghan are part of why the program is ranked so high.
“The students are really good,” said Little. “It’s not a surprise they do well.”
While Little is also proud of the program’s ranking, he is most pleased with the overall recognition.
“I’m not a big believer in rankings as rankings,” said Little. “What seems to me to be most important is what kind of schools you are ranked with.”
Architecture rises in promi-nence
Architect Online recently ranked the Graduate School of Architecture & Urban De-sign and the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts fi fth.
“Recent grads, practicing architects and retired archi-tecture alums all appreciate the recognition and rise in the rankings, knowing that the quality, level and expec-tations of our program are high,” said Carmon Coangelo, dean of the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts. “Obvi-ously our students are well-trained and ambitious. Firms love our graduates.”
Coangelo also credits the new Dean of Architecture, Bruce Lindsey, as contribut-ing to the program’s success. Lindsey arrived at the Uni-versity last year from Auburn University.
“[Lindsey] is providing outstanding leadership,” said Coangelo. “[Lindsey], a well known leader in the fi eld, and nationally recognized for his work with rural studio, has generated excitement among students and alums.”
Lindsey credits the entire architecture community for
contributing to the impres-sive ranking.
“It is a testament to the great work of our students and faculty,” said Lindsey.
Coangelo looks forward to the architecture program continuing its rise to the top.
“With all the success of Washington University and [the] longstanding reputation of the architecture program, we are poised for even greater success,” said Coangelo. “We have great students, great fa-cilities and great faculty and staff, and lots of ambition to be a global leader.”
In a recent interview with Student Life, Chancellor Mark Wrighton said keeping the fo-cus on students will contrib-ute to the University’s growth and development.
“We’ve enjoyed great suc-cess, I believe, because we keep our focus on the student experience,” he said.
Wrighton believes that strong academic programs will contribute to the Univer-sity’s overall quality.
“If we have great faculty, great progress, great stu-dents and wonderful facili-ties, I think we’ll have a great university,” he said.
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Copyright 2007
Editor in Chief: Erin FultsExecutive Editor: David BrodyManaging Editors: Shweta Murthi, Mal-lory WilderSenior News Editor: Sam GuzikSenior Forum Editor: Nathan EverlySenior Cadenza Editor: Brian StittSenior Scene Editor: Felicia BaskinSenior Sports Editor: Trisha WolfSenior Photo Editor: David HartsteinSenior Graphics Editor: Rachel HarrisNews Editors: Josh Hantz, David Song, Andrea WinterForum Editors: Tess Croner, Jill Strominger, Christian Sherden, Dennis SweeneyCadenza Editors: Elizabeth Ochoa, David Kaminsky, Cecilia Razak, Michelle SteinScene Editors: Lana Goldsmith, Indu ChandrasekharSports Editors: Andrei Berman, Unaiz Kabani, Allie WieczorekPhoto Editors: Lucy Moore, Lionel Sobe-hart, Jenny ShaoOnline Editor: Scott BresslerDesign Chief: Anna DinndorfCopy Chiefs: Willie Mendelson, Indu ChandrasekharCopy Editors: Elyse Kallen, Jeff LesserDesigners: Jamie Reed, Kate Ehrlich, Kim Yeh, Dennis Sweeney, Susan Hall, Liz Klein, Zoe Scharf, Niki Dankner, Brittany Meyer, Alyssa Anzalone-Newman, Sophia Agapova, Evan Freedman, Jay Gross
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STUDENT LIFE
Senior News Editor / Sam Guzik / [email protected] WEDNESDAY | DECEMBER 5, 20072 STUDENT LIFE | NEWS
WU Graduate
Program Rankings
The Financial Times7th Best International Program in the WorldWashington University - Fudan University Executive MBA Program
Architect Online5th Best Graduate SchoolGraduate School of Architecture & Urban Design and the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts
GRADUATE PROGRAMS v FROM PAGE 1 SKANDALARIS v FROM PAGE 1Luscri stressed that in any
case, interns would work with ac-tual entrepreneurial companies, their own or otherwise.
“All the companies will still be start-up entrepreneurial com-panies; it’s just a difference of whether the entrepreneurs start on their own or if we pair them up [with companies].”
Luscri added that students interested in projects beyond making money would also have an opportunity to practice en-trepreneurial ventures oriented toward social change.
“We’re open to social ventures and non-profi ts as well. You don’t have to be a business student to
be an entrepreneur.”Kenneth Harrington, direc-
tor of the Skandalaris Center, stated that the new Skandalaris internship program would serve as a valuable means for student entrepreneurs to spend time be-tween semesters to learn how to establish their entrepreneurial ventures and projects.
“The summer internship pro-gram will fi ll the continuum of learning and experience on cam-pus—connecting students work-ing in various entrepreneurial ventures through weekly semi-nars and networking opportuni-ties,” said Harrington.
RESEARCH v FROM PAGE 1conversion pathways—specifi -cally, the cytochrome pathway. Kranz has now been funded by the NIH for 22 years.
His fi rst grant was for re-search in gene regulation, and from this project he discov-ered the cytochrome pathway. The cytochrome pathway is the route that a cell takes to form cytochrome c, a protein essen-tial for the production of ATP (adenosine triphosphate), the unit of energy made and used by all organisms.
While graduate students become involved in research labs by virtue of their graduate program, undergraduates have to take more initiative to work with a professor.
Kranz accepted the seniors in his lab as freshmen—one through expressed interest and one through a work-study pro-gram.
Kranz noted that the work-study program has been help-ful in obtaining assistance in research.
“[It’s] a great foot in the door,” he said.
Many students are surprised to learn the amount of responsi-bility they are given in the lab.
Zameer Abedin, a sopho-more who plans to enter medi-cal school, works with Jianmin Cui, associate professor of Biomedical Engineering, with research into cardiac protein channels.
“I never expected to be given any really important projects, but [in reality I] gained a lot of important knowledge,” said Abedin.
An undergraduate entering a lab research project can expect to start off making the pre-liminary preparations for lab, but can eventually move on to greater accomplishments.
“[Those] that work hard on research projects for extended periods can eventually work their way up to co-authorship on papers, something Wash-ington University can be very proud of,” said Kranz.
Research often serves as an opportunity for students to ac-cumulate experience, knowl-edge and a list of contacts they can move forward with their education into the professional sphere.
“By the time they gradu-ate, they are as good as most advanced graduate students,”
said Kranz, referring to the un-dergraduates’ ability to present data and conduct and analyze experiments. “They also get a fl avor for what real research is.”
Since her freshman year, sophomore and biology major Libby Held has worked in the department of Molecular Biol-ogy, where she can see abstract principles of biology operating in the laboratory.
“One of the many benefi ts is that we read and learn about concepts in biology class, but in the research lab, I see these concepts in real life,” said Held. “[Experience] can help decide which path you want to follow.”
Junior and biochemistry major Jason Pan agreed, say-ing that experience working with professors gives a student “ideas about what the forefront of medical research is really like.”
Pan has worked in the de-partment of neurosurgery since freshman year.
Even if a student does not aspire to a future in research, the experiences and lessons a research student learns are still benefi cial.
“Doctors constantly read the latest research,” said Abedin. “So having fi rst-hand experi-ence helps doctors to better un-derstand when reading others’ research.”
Upon graduation, Frawley is unsure whether she wants to continue in the research fi eld or go into teaching, but says Dr. Kranz is supportive of his stu-dents’ interests—whatever they may be.
This relationship a student develops with his or her pri-mary investigator (PI)—the doctor or professor leading the research team—is also a great aspect of this experience.
“He is always available to talk with me—about anything,” said Pan of his PI.
Kranz combines his support of student work with his fl air for research in the class he cur-rently teaches, Laboratory on DNA Manipulation, a class in which Frawley works as TA.
This advanced biology course meets for eight lab hours and one lecture hour each week. Students participate in ground-breaking studies involving gene-cloning, mutant creation and micro-array studies of
plant reaction to nitrogen. Compared to basic freshman
biology, which Kranz has taught for the past four years, Labora-tory on DNA Manipulation is signifi cantly more challenging.
Kranz’s basic goals in his biogenesis pathway research are to understand how organ-isms make a cytochrome and to discover a possible antibiotic against certain harmful dis-eases. Given that the particular pathway under investigation is only present in bacteria, antibi-otic inhibitors could act as po-tential microbial agents.
The overall goal of any re-search project, said Kranz, es-pecially a project that makes for successful grant renewal, is to generate new research.
“[It’s] to produce results that no one in the world has—that’s what research is, after all, add-ing to our knowledge base,” he said.
Held affi rmed the personal investment and satisfaction that lies in research under a professor.
“It feels great to be a part of something bigger than me—to help with something that peo-ple put their lives into,” he said.
SOFTWARE v FROM PAGE 1Huestis also explained that it
is important to upgrade software in order to make sure that it is possible to get assistance from the makers of the software.
“We have had a lot of experi-ences in the past, not just in the library, but the University as a whole, where people allowed their systems to get too far out of date in terms of what the in-dustry was supporting,” he said. “That gets to be a pretty serious issue in terms of the level of sup-port you can get from vendors.”
According to Huestis, it is im-perative that the library keeps its hundreds of computers current. He said that this extends beyond offi ce software and applies to the computers’ operating system.
“We have a process where we run updates on all of our public computers on a weekly basis,” said Fryman.
Despite existing problems, there are things that students can do to avoid compatibility problems.
“While the default is to save in the new format, you do have the option of saving in an older format if you know that you’re going to be sharing it with some-body or if you are in a split en-vironment,” said Huestis. “You
might be working on a library machine with [Word] 2007 and have [Word 2003] at home, but it’s something that people get hit with that don’t realize it’s an is-sue.”
The “compatibility mode” in Word 2007 saves fi les in the same format that has been used in previous version, allowing older computers to read the fi les.
Additionally, users of Offi ce 2003 can download a patch that will allow their computers to read the new fi le format. Users are prompted to download the patch when attempting to open a “.docx” fi le when running Word 2003.
Huestis said that it is impor-tant to fi nd a balance between upgrading software in a timely fashion and giving the software companies a chance to remedy initial problems. Overall, Hues-tis said that they made a good decision of when to make the upgrade.
“You don’t want to be the fi rst to do something, but you don’t want to be the last either,” he said. “It really is just a question of where you want to position yourself in that envelope and at either edge you’re going to have those compatibility problems.”
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Senior Sports Editor / Trisha Wolf / [email protected] | DECEMBER 5, 2007 STUDENT LIFE | SPORTS 3
SPORTSSPORTS
In a college football season that defi ed expectations, the Missouri Tigers found them-selves ranked at the top of the polls for the fi rst time since 1960.
After beating previously second-ranked Kansas in their fi nal regular season game, they were slated to play Okla-homa in the Big 12 conference championship game, a team they had played before and who had represented their only loss of the season.
Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel had looked fl awless in recent games. But as soon as they came into the light, all of this Cinderella team’s as-pirations were dashed way by their devastating second loss of 38-17. Worst of all, the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) voters were more than willing to be an accomplice. The speed of Missouri’s descent from po-tential National Championship contender to yesterday’s news was so fast that it feels almost as if everyone has conspired against them.
These were the thoughts aired by Ph.D. student and Mizzou alumnus Kevin Butter-fi eld. “Losing twice to Oklaho-
ma was acceptable compared to what happened on Sunday [in BCS voting]. Missouri loses to the Big 12 champion twice and ends up in the Cotton Bowl while Kansas, a team Missouri beat the week before, gets to go to the BCS bowl game. The Bowl committee’s decision was the real tragedy.”
This spirit is not unwar-ranted given that if Missouri had played in a conference with no championship game at all, they would have been play-ing Ohio State in January. In the end, it just does not seem that there is any way to con-sole Missouri fans with their current situation.
This biggest concern among many fans is that 13th-ranked Illinois, who lost to Missouri in the opening week of the season, still gets to play in the Rose Bowl despite their two losses to unranked teams.
“With the BCS rules cur-rently in place, Missouri would have been better off just losing to Kansas and not going to the Big 12 championship game at all,” said senior Bill Fargo.
This worry is very much created by the fact that the BCS sets an arbitrary limit of only allowing two teams from any given conference to play in their bowls. What peeves me
the most is that the BCS is set up to put more or less of the top teams into a set number of bowls,” said Douglas Peterson, a law student from St. Charles. “[That rule] causes top teams to get screwed out of games. I would much rather see four Big 12 teams play if they de-serve it.”
The depressing fact is that the current college football post-season is horribly fl awed. Unfortunately for Missouri, the team happens to be its lat-est victim. Perhaps the only good that could come out of this season is that college foot-ball may be one step closer to a play-off system that fans so desperately desire. This does nothing for the Missouri Ti-gers who will be watching the fi ve BCS games from their homes in January.
The Tigers do still, however, have a shot at remaining in the national spotlight next season. If Daniel, a Heisman trophy contender, decides to forgo a trip to the NFL for one more shot at glory, this will be the team beat in 2008. Missouri fans are sure to be keeping these thought in their hearts already, regardless of the outcome of their fi nal game against Arkansas in Cotton Bowl.
Missouri football ends its promising season with disappointment
BY DAN BUTSCHEKSPORTS REPORTER
Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel (10) goes in for a touchdown against Oklahoma in the second quarter of the Big 12 Championship at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, on Dec. 1.
MCT
v Loss affects many in Wash. U. community
For an inside look at Wash. U.’s men’s basketball team, go to http://www.d3hoops.com/dailydose/category/insider/ and check out junior point guard Sean Wallis’ blog. Also wish him well as he recovers from a season-ending injury.
Senior Forum Editor / Nathan Everly / [email protected] WEDNESDAY | DECEMBER 5, 20074 STUDENT LIFE | FORUM
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STAFF EDITORIAL
Every year around this time, hundreds—dare we say thousands?—of students begin dream-
ing about and planning for the long or short trip home for Washington University’s winter break. “Hey, does anybody know anyone from outside of Chicago?” some ask. “Can anyone give me a ride to Athens, Ohio?” ask oth-ers. “Where did I put my plane ticket?” still others ask. Whatever the destination, the last stum-bling block to a long, school-less respite at home for most students is transportation.
We are surprised that Wash-ington University does not have the necessary program in place to help students in their search for a means to travel home. The benefi ts for students would be immeasurable if there were to be one small, reasonable facilitator to this process: a Washington University ride board, on the Internet, where students from different areas could post where
they are driving, when they are setting out and how many people they can fi t in their vehicle. Those without cars who need rides home can search the website for those same offers, already post-ed. This is a service that could be provided by either Student Union or the Offi ce of Student Activities.
Would those with cars be will-ing to participate in the service? Certainly. It is an excellent way for these students to offset the cost of gasoline for the long trip, to have some company on the drive home and to just meet some other Wash. U. students from their hometowns.
And students without cars will be more than willing to come to an agreement with students who drive home to cover the gas money. A roundtrip air ticket to Chicago right now is about $98. Not terrible, but if you fi gure tak-ing a car to Chicago takes about 16 gallons at about three dollars a gallon, a roundtrip car ride with your new friend from Washing-
ton University split even just two ways would cost only $48 per person. Split that three ways, and it is only $32; four ways, and it is only $24; fi ve ways and it is $19.20. Making transportation home more fi nancially feasible—and sparing students’ parents a trip to the school to pick them up—is very valuable to Wash. U. students.
The service would be especial-ly useful for fi rst-year students. Before one has established a network on campus, it is diffi cult for a freshman to fi nd someone who lives in his or her home town, especially when going home as early as Thanksgiving Break. Without a ride board and without the ability to bring cars on campus, many of these students may choose to fl y home or rely on their parents to come get them—a solution that is both harder on the wallet and harder on the parent.
A ride board would also be another way for the University to
advocate environmental con-cerns as they repeatedly claim they desire to do. With the cre-ation of a simple Web site, hun-dreds of students could travel in far fewer cars driving around the country and emit far fewer harm-ful gases. Also, the temptation to fl y home, an extremely unenvi-ronmentally friendly choice, for students who live within driving distance would be far less with the presence of a ride board—when it takes as little effort as going to a Web site does, it is hard to turn down the cheaper and more convenient option.
In summary, Wash. U. should take the relatively small amount of time it would require to make a ride board Web site that students can access with their student ID numbers and passwords. Not only would it be it an assurance of transportation for prospective students, but it would be an extremely helpful resource for students on campus now.
We need a Wash. U. ride boardAre Wash. U. students criminals?
Last week, I was out with a few of my rugby mates, fi tting in one last practice
before the holiday break. We were tossing the ball around under the lights on the unpopulated, scraggly grass adjacent to Francis fi eld, when a certain author-ity from the athletic depart-ment (whose reputation I will leave untar-nished by omit-ting his name) approached our small training session and said, “What are you guys doing?” A confus-ing question to be sure, to which we replied “Playing rugby, sir,” to which he said, “I can see that, but you can’t be here.” To which I asked “Isn’t this a student facility?” He paused before saying defi nitively “No. This is a football fi eld only, the grass needs time to regrow.” To which we replied, “Sir, it’s November.”
Last time I checked, I pay to go to this school, thereby supplying the money for fi elds so precious as Fran-cis’, yet I have to go two miles down the road to use a patch of grass at night, which for someone without a car is extremely diffi cult. I do not doubt that the school’s policy for Francis fi eld is that it is reserved for football (and track and soc-cer) and that this offi cial of the athletic department was doing his job as it is strictly prescribed. However, this was one of many instances that spoke to me about how the administration views its students. There are plenty of nicer ways to kick some-one off a playing fi eld; yet, he treated us like we were there for malicious purpos-es. There is also something to be said for bending the rules depending on an indi-vidual situation. The Wash. U. higher-ups have created this image of us as some sort of criminals unable to make sound or proper decisions for ourselves and as a result have imposed unreasonably rigid rules.
Such a view is evident all over campus. The printing policy is an old issue, but it is a good example of the disrespect Wash. U. shows its bright and promising student body. What do they think we are doing in these campus computer labs? Are we going in there to download every page we can fi nd on Google and clicking print? Are we printing sev-eral copies of a several hun-dred-page thesis? Oh wait, that is sometimes exactly what we are asked to do by our professors. And please don’t forget that if you print two copies for a class that requires it, the printing lab supervisors will throw one of them in the trash. As students, we are gener-ally not trying to scam our own school, but the reverse seems to ring true.
The infl exibility of the cluster system is even more proof. The clusters were originally designed to serve our education by providing a well-rounded understanding of a class in relation to two others on
a similar topic. Yet adding a new cluster to the ap-proved list is a ridiculous chore; it takes months to go through the entire process, which includes securing the approval of no fewer than three professors in addition to writing an essay backing up why the cluster
should be created. The difference between Ameri-can Film Genres and the History of American Cinema is apparently so great that I might not graduate. As students, we are smart people, but
the school seems to think us incapable of taking con-trol of our own education as evidenced by their severe adherence to strict and of-ten inappropriate rules.
On another note, let me just say that WUPD makes me feel the opposite of safe. When I am walking on campus, WUPD offi cers always roll by me as slowly as possible in order to give me a thorough viewing and a practiced scowl before moving on. Now I don’t think that I look so shady
(disfi gured? possibly) but even if I did, they do not even bother considering the context in which they have seen me. A college-aged man who is walking from the library while sporting a backpack? He must be up to no good. I know this has been discussed to the point of annoyance, but was tasing a student really the best choice at the Girl Talk concert? I have seen violent drunks arrested by police before, and they never used a taser. Indecent exposure and some belligerence does not justify that kind of force on a student in my mind, but if you go into a situation thinking that you are policing a rowdy crowd of out-of-control criminals who make terrible deci-sions, you might have an itchy trigger fi nger.
These are just some ex-amples of how the school’s administrators view us. When I search for examples of the school’s respect for its students, I’m not sure where to look; nothing real-ly stands out. I would think that getting into such a prestigious school would be evidence enough for me to be treated like a respectable member of a society, but apparently not. Someone please refute this, because I would love to be wrong.
Christian is a senior in Arts & Sciences and a Forum editor. He can be reached via e-mail at [email protected].
Christian Sherden
“What do they think we are doing in these
campus computer labs? Are we going
in there to download every page we can fi nd on Google and clicking print? ”
SAM WASHBURN | EDITORIAL CARTOON
Demystifying the armchair economistBY BILL HOFFMANSTAFF COLUMNIST
The evidence is all around us,” proclaims the re-spected economist, Bob Herbert of the New York
Times. “The disease is spreading, and has been spreading for some time.”
Herbert is referring to the recession of the United States economy, which he alone has somehow managed to dis-cover. However, Herbert is not a respected economist but rather a newspaper columnist with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. With his Nov. 10 op-ed, “Reces-sion? What Recession?” Herbert joins the legions of amateur economists who have no prob-lem pontifi cating about technical economic issues beyond their expertise. Herbert gets extra points for having the chutzpah to ridicule and insult the people who actually know what they are talking about in the process.
Throughout his data-free rant, Herbert makes the usual accusa-tions against Ben Bernanke, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve: Bernanke, a member of the “elite honchos in Washington,” is in “denial” and “would see the re-cession that so many others are feeling if he would only open his eyes.” Journalists, and laymen
with axes to grind, often attempt to portray economists as obscure academic theorists scribbling away in their ivory towers, blind to the practical realities of the world.
Yet the relevant distinction is not between theory and practice, but rather between good theories and bad theories. John Maynard Keynes, the oft-cited father of macroeconomics, made this point eloquently: “The ideas of economists… are more powerful than is commonly understood…. Practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual infl uence, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist.” Armchair economists like Herbert rely on theories no less than do actual economists like Bernanke. The difference is that Bernanke’s theories are backed by sophisti-cated reasoning and decades of economic research, while Her-bert’s are backed by sentimental anecdotes and speculation.
Herbert claims in his essay that the Consumer Price Index, one of the standard tools for measuring infl ation, does not take into account food or energy prices, and therefore understates increases in the cost of living for Americans. This is simply false. In fact, the CPI has been known to overstate infl ation, because
if fails to take into account the fact that consumers respond to rising prices by substituting cheaper goods for more expen-sive goods.
It is true that media outlets writing for a popular audience regularly distort and misrep-resent many fi elds of scientifi c inquiry. But in no other area of journalistic coverage can one fi nd such gross distortions and outright falsehoods so regu-larly and proudly proclaimed as in economics. The economist Steven Landsburg points out in his popular book “The Arm-chair Economist,” “The [New York Times] recognizes that assertions about chemistry or physics should be disciplined by some fundamental understand-ing of the subject, but it fails to recognize the same is true of economics.”
It is unlikely that Bob Herbert will challenge an eminent physicist or chemist about quantum mechanics, but he has no problem directly chal-lenging an eminent economist like Ben Bernanke. Why is this? One possible reason for this is what the economist Bryan Caplan calls the “pessimistic” and “anti-market” biases held by the public, in his recent book “The Myth of the Rational Voter.” According the Caplan, people
tend to “overestimate the sever-ity of economic problems” and “underestimate the benefi ts of the market mechanism.” People very quickly forget how strong the American economy has been in recent times by historical standards, and they cannot get enough of the stories which offer a convenient scapegoat for their fears, whether it is greedy oil companies or illegal Mexican im-migrants who steal their jobs. In journalism, demagoguery sells, whether the subject is terrorism, immigration or the economy.
Perhaps the most common reason for disbelief in econo-mists is the methodological assumption that people are per-fectly rational economic actors. How can economists believe such a thing in an irrational world? But this is a false dilemma. No one blames a physicist when they assume away air resistance in order to simplify reality for scientifi c analysis, and neither should we blame economists for assuming rationality.
When laymen and experts disagree, it may be possible that the experts are wrong. But I wouldn’t count on it.
Bill is a senior in Arts & Sci-ences. He can be reached via e-mail at [email protected].
Senior Cadenza Editor / Brian Stitt / [email protected] | DECEMBER 5, 2007 STUDENT LIFE | CADENZA 5
CADEN CADEN entertainment
n. a technically brilliant, sometimes improvised solo passage toward the close of a concerto,
an exceptionally brilliant part of an artistic work
arts &ZAAZZThe W.H.O. has put out an
advisory to be on the lookout for killer bees, which are once more swarming throughout the country. Or, to put it bet-ter, you best protect ya neck cause the Wu Tang Hip-hop Organization announces the return of the Killa Beez. The full original line up of the Wu Tang Clan is featured on the same studio album for the fi rst time in seven years. It’s a cause for celebration. This also marks, unfortunately but most probably, the last time all nine members will ever appear together on an album, due to tensions in the group and the death of Ol’ Dirty Bastard.
But the death of ODB doesn’t have to mean the death of Wu Tang. The group has survived his absences before and worked through U-God’s brief resignation in 2004. The group was never even meant to last this long. RZA signed the group to a unique contract which would allow these nine rappers to
make a name for themselves as a group and then sign with whichever record company they wanted to as solo artists. In the beginning, the candid, journalistic style they used to describe the slums of Shoalin was also marked with hunger and ambition. Each member brought their own unique vision and voice. No one was ever the brightest star; no one was ever meant to be. But ODB always did stand out. Despite his troubled past, the death of ODB was a devastating blow to music. But shouldn’t Wu Tang of all groups, with their extreme depths of talent, be able to survive the loss of a member?
Just to make this clear, no one could ever replace Dirty. His gravelly singsong deliv-ery and staccato fl ow were so uniquely vibrant, if he were still alive I would argue that his voice be declared a na-tional treasure. He is absent from most of “8 Diagrams,” Wu Tang Clan’s new album from Street Records, and his absence is palpably felt, just as it has been ever since his role
in Wu Tang has diminished since their debut, “Enter the Wu Tang (36 Chambers).” He has always been a funny face for the group, the troublemak-er, the clown. He was the one who halted the 1998 Grammy ceremony in protest and fa-mously cashed a welfare check on MTV while his album was still Top Ten on the charts.
But that role often over-shadowed his prodigious rapping skills, which he shows off one fi nal time on the last of the album’s sixteen tracks, “16th Chamber.” His voice comes in unceremoniously after a solid lead off verse from Method Man and im-mediately reminds us why we missed him. His beautiful or-chid-like vocal tones, delicate and severe, balance well with RZA’s beat, a jumpy sample reminiscent of Terminator X’s best work. “8 Diagrams” is, in some respects, a showcase for RZA’s skill as a producer. It features the widest array of beat styles ever on a Wu Tang album, ranging from the grimy grittiness of Wu Tang’s earliest tracks to the futuristic wonder
of RZA’s Bobby Digital side project.
And while the group may not be as hungry as they were in the beginning, they are seasoned and have gained a lot through experience. Raekwon and GZA both helped defi ne ’90s rap music with their work and Ghostface Killah has recently been touted by many critics as the best MC in the world after last year’s impres-sive solo album, “Fishscale.” The rhymes on “8 Diagrams” may not be best ever heard from the Clan but they are often impressive. On the oth-erwise standout track “Wolves” (one of two featuring P-Funk’s George Clinton) a breakdown of the whistling Moriconne-in-spired beat in the third verse is somewhat wasted by Masta Killa. The lyrics are fi ne but they are not delivered with the force they might have featured at one time. (To be completely fair, that particular part of the track would have been amaz-ing with some signature Dirt McGirt styles which are sadly unavailable.) The group evokes some classic Wu Tang memo-
ries while keeping it modern with throwback/pushforward tracks like the pounding “Rushing Elephants” and the more reserved “Sunlight.”
“8 Diagrams” is not the resounding return to great-ness some had hoped it might be. Some of the group’s at-tempts at growth bear little more than stretch marks. The album’s fi rst single, “While My Heart Gently Weeps,” is an innovative “cover” of George Harrison’s “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” with guitar by John Frusciante and vocals by Erykah Badu. But it never develops its concept fully and therefore, while it remains a
nice song, never delivers on its initial promise. “Weak Spot” also delivers all to well to its title’s expectations.
On “Unpredictable” the always underrated Inspectah Deck (who made the song “C.R.E.A.M.” great in my opin-ion) boasts in his Evian-clear delivery “Notice how we bang with the knuckles bare/Wu Tang keep it fresh like Tupper-ware.”
Fifteen years is a long time to stay fresh, whether you be hip-hop artists or lasagna. The sales of “8 Diagrams” will be the only indicator as to how relevant the Wu Tang Clan will be deep into the 21st century.
Hip-hop groups are a thing of the past. The death knell has tolled now that it appears 8 Diagrams will likely be the last album put out by the full Wu-Tang Clan.
During this period of hip-hop history we’ve seen that fans consistently show that they care much more about the solo artist than the group. They’ve cared about 50 Cent more than G-Unit, Eminem more than D12, and even Outkast couldn’t sell their last album, much less their movie. Even the up-coming white guys in rap are now solo artists like Atmo-sphere and Aesop Rock; the Beastie Boys are becoming more and more a thing of the past.
Although hip-hop groups
are a thing of the past, solo artists are consistently top-ping the charts. Artists such as Kanye West, Jay-Z, Nas, Common, Lil’ Wayne and Tal-ib Kweli are all immensely popular examples and even those most famous for their groups have been doing it on their own successfully.
Members of the Wu-Tang Clan (such as GZA, Raekwon, and Ghostface Killah) have all had very successful solo careers and Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean since the break-up of the Fugees have as well.
A very strange, but in-teresting caveat to the fall of hip-hop groups is that hip-hop artists still want to collaborate as much as ever. Artists seem to find it more enjoyable to collaborate on a per-song basis rather than for entire albums. It’s now uncommon for a hip-hop
album released by a solo art-ist to not also be featuring some other artist in at least 85% of the tracks.
On my more crazy days this makes me think that hip-hop today is one giant lie and that each solo album released is actually written by somewhere between 15 and 22 artists who all are given “featuring” credits on their respective songs and that those running the record companies randomly decide whose name the next record will be released under.
But then again, those are my more crazy days.
Nonetheless, hip-hop groups are by and large a thing of the past and solo artists are serving as the soundtrack to today’s pop culture.
Thus, if you want to be rich and you were think-
RZA Birth Name — Robert F. Diggs
a.k.a. — Bobby Digital, Prince Rakeem, The Scientist
RZA is the mastermind behind the Wu Tang con-cept. His beats were revolutionary in the industry. He has made the successful move to Hollywood,
performing music directorial duties for many fi lms and acting in this year’s “American Gangster.”
GZABirth Name — Gary Grice
a.k.a. — Genius, Justice, Maximillion, the Head
Cousin of both RZA and ODB, GZA is considered to be one of the better rappers in the group. His
“Liquid Swords” solo album is often mentioned as one of the best of the Wu Tang solo projects.
Ol’ Dirty BastardBirth Name — Russell Jones
a.k.a. — Dirt McGirt, the Professor, Dirt Dog, Big Baby Jesus
The man, the myth, the legend. The world still mourns the loss of ODB. He was certainly had the longest rap sheet of anybody in the group but his unique style gave the Wu Tang Clan something no
other rap group had, or will ever have.
RaekwonBirth Name — Corey Woods
a.k.a. — Raekwon the Chef, Lex Diamonds, Shallah
Fresh with the slang and clothes, Raekwon almost single-handedly started the Mafi oso trend in hip-hop. His “Only Built for Cuban Linx” is one of the better Wu Tang solo albums. Known to fry a good
fi sh.
Method ManBirth Name — Clifford Smith
a.k.a. — The Panty Raider, Johnny Blaze, Iron Lung
The fi rst breakout star of the group (do mostly to his self titled track on “Enter the Wu Tang”) Method Man has translated his rap stardom to
mainstream success. Starred in “How High” with Redman.
Ghostface Killah Birth Name — Dennis Coles
a.k.a. — Iron Man, Tony Starks, Pretty Toney
Known for his sick free styling ability, Ghostface Killah has recently gained a lot of respect with the release of “Fishscale.” Somewhat angered the rest
of Wu Tang by releasing his newest album so close to “8 Diagrams.”
Inspectah DeckBirth Name — Jason Hunter
a.k.a. — Rebel INS, Rollie Fingers, Ayatollah
One of the unsung heroes of the Wu Tang Clan, Inspectah Deck has always been one of the most consistent rappers in the group. His solo albums
are less well known, but features some of the best fl ow of any Wu Tang solo works.
U-GodBirth Name — Lamont Hawkins
a.k.a. — Golden Arms, Baby Huey, Four-Bar Killer
The member of the group with the lowest voice, U-God barely made it onto their debut. He was
released from prison just in time to lay down vocal tracks on two songs. He has been an essential
member ever since.
Masta KillaBirth Name — Elgin Turner
a.k.a. — Noodles High Chef, Jamal Iref
In some ways the fi rst protégé of the group, Masta Killa joined the Wu Tang Clan before he had ever rapped. He learned and grew, eventually earning the moniker Masta Killa, Gordon Liu’s character
from the Wu tang favorite “The Thirty-sixth Chamber.”
Wu Tang Clan: ‘8 Diagrams’
Wu Tang Clan8 Diagrams
Rating: ★★★★✩Sounds like: The Wu Tang Clan, are you nuts?Recommended Tracks: “Wolves,” “Rushing,” “El-ephants,” “16th Chamber”
BY BRIAN STITT SENIOR CADENZA EDITOR
Meet the original members of the Wu Tang ClanBY BRIAN STITTSENIOR CADENZA EDITOR
Hip-hop groups are history
MCT
BY DAVID KAMINSKYMUSIC EDITOR
ing about starting a hip-hop group, now’s probably not the time. If you kick out a few members, you might be able to get away with a duo (the Ying Yang Twins and Bow Wow & Omarion are), but the group is over.
It’s all fun and games...
Finals Survival Guideon stands Dec. 12th
STUDENT LIFETHE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER OF WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS
STUDENT LIFETHE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER OF WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS
Senior Cadenza Editor / Brian Stitt / [email protected] WEDNESDAY | DECEMBER 5, 20076 STUDENT LIFE | CADENZA
Four Finger Five is a definite candidate for Best Band You’ve Never Heard Of. On their new self-titled album, the Muskegon, Mich. natives take Rhythm and Blues back to its roots. This means funky bass licks, fuzzy blues guitar riffs and smooth crooning. It also means that the band has brought along their trum-pet and saxophone-playing friends, and though some listeners might be turned off by the jazzy inserts, these instruments lend a necessary color to the songs and allow the band to expand their timbre beyond the banal, mass-pro-duced synth-pop that too frequently passes for R&B. The ensemble’s greatest asset might be its ability to express the sentiments of the vocals in the musicians’ solo work.
It must be noted early that 4F5, above all else, have a gorgeous sound. Frontman Joe Sturgill has a stunning voice which he uses to shape and propel the musical phrase just like the guitar or keyboard. He and bassist Mike Phillips vary their effects enough to make each song sounds fresh without abandoning a sense of unity among the tracks.
This cohesiveness is also present in Sturgill’s vocals. He manages to avoid the common blues pitfall of hackneyed lyrics. Rather than singing about personal loss and self-pity, many of
Sturgill’s vocals have appar-ent anti-war sentiments and employ combat metaphors throughout the album. “Bul-lets” is a fine example of this theme and also show-cases how a seamless inte-gration of a horn section can bolster the ensemble’s approach to modern R&B without weighing down strong guitar lines.
Phillips’ keyboard fills also add jazzy influences to several pieces without weighing down the melody. 4F5 use the keyboard to establish tension, making the moments of release all the sweeter. The group proves that easily listenable music necessarily includes moments of friction, and in-stead of a series of smooth jazz tracks, the musicians really dig in and reflect the weight of the lyrics in bluesy licks.
However, the band passes around the solos, never focusing for too long on one instrument or idea. “Get it Together” features a fantas-tic interplay between the various musicians, while remaining centered enough on the main motif to stay relevant and listenable.
Some listeners might withdraw from the sax and trumpet solos, but they too deserve a fair listen. Saxophonist Karl Denson is a talented musician and helped write most of the songs on the album, and his presence is significant. R&B listeners should embrace his work on tracks such as “Soul Rhythm” as a wel-come new voice in a sea of talented instrumentalists.
And his work is less be-bop than carefully constructed fusion jamming. Remem-ber Pink Floyd sax? Denson plays like that. He works within the structure of a rock tune and sounds nei-ther inappropriately sim-plistically nor out-there.
That being said, 4F5 wear their jam-band status with pride. They realize that they at once write good form songs and still indulge their need to showcase their solo work. It is hard to pick out a best song, as the hard-hitting funk of “Solid Ground” and the slow jam of “Rewind” sound superfi-cially very unlike, yet both showcase a solid group of musicians who work well to-gether to accomplish more than any one member could produce on his own.
If the thought of often lyric-less jams turns you off, give 4F5 a spin, and see if they can’t change your mind. Though the simple R&B moments are excel-lent, the band realizes its full potential when they are letting their instruments speak for them, and they have a lot to say.
Juno is impulsive, intelligent and irreverent. She is vibrantly fascinated with hipster-friendly pop culture and speaks in an endlessly witty and unfl inch-ingly sarcastic monotone. When asked about her namesake, Juno effortlessly replies that she doesn’t know much about the wife of Jupiter, only that Juno was “very beautiful and very mean, like Diana Ross.” She is instantly likable, (despite her obvious pretensions) but in the cruel hallways of high school a 16-year-old as cute and interest-ing and vivacious as Juno only has two or three close friends. One is Leah, a cheerleader almost as sarcastic, although not as sharp, as our heroine. An-other is Paulie Bleeker, a skinny track runner and the father of Juno’s unborn baby.
That’s right, Juno is preg-nant and after only one night with her usually platonic friend Bleeker. She doesn’t let her pregnancy defi ne her; it’s just another speed bump for Juno. She does not seem to have any moral qualms with abortion but decides to give the baby up for adoption instead. It’s just one
more thing to make her stand out. No one can really believe that this has happened to her. When she fi nally tells her dad and step mom they fear her revelation will be an expulsion from school or addiction to hard drugs “but not this.” Even more surprising to them is the identity of the father. “Paulie Bleeker? I didn’t think he had it in him,” quips Dad. We can see where Juno gets her sense of humor.
Juno fi nds a suitable pair of adoptive yuppies in the Penny Saver and makes the trek from her working class neighborhood to upper-class suburbia in order to check them out. Jennifer Garner, Vanessa, seems nice enough, although she is in many ways Juno’s complete opposite with her sweaters and doilies. What a contrast her house is to Juno’s messy nest fi lled with posters and hamburger phones. Jason Batemen, as Mark, on the other hand, underneath the exterior his wife has crafted for him, is much more compatible with Juno. He plays the guitar and watches gory horror movies and has killer musical taste, just like Juno.
But while their conversa-tions about Iggy Pop and Dario
Argento, and the rest of the dialogue, might seem like vacu-ous banter, we learn a lot about our characters through it. The screenplay, by blogger turned screenwriter Diablo Cody, is in many ways as sharp and raw and powerful as the electronic squeals of the Stooges or the vis-cera of ‘70s horror. But Juno has a lot of sweetness to it as well. When Juno plays the Mott the Hoople classic “All the Young Dudes” for Mark she is earnestly surprised that he has heard of it, much less that he danced to it at his senior prom. “Juno” cap-tures the intensity of teenage enthusiasm while also showing the limitations of the tunnel vi-sion it often accompanies.
In Juno, Cody has done for hip unpopular teenagers searching for an identity what Kevin Smith did for slacker comic book nerds, in “Clerks.” She has given them a voice that is accurate and true although not entirely lacking in polish. Ellen Page is perfect as Juno. She makes Juno precious but with a hard edge. Her bravado in the face of the impending nine months is believable enough to convince the other characters but she allows the audience to see past it. In fact the entire supporting cast is stellar, but that can be expected from the incredible lineup of talent the producers have put together. Michael Cera as Paulie Bleeker takes timid to new heights while J.K. Simmons and Allsion Jan-ney as dad and stepmom per-form delicious deadpan against each other.
The direction by Jason Reit-man is somewhat of a pleasant surprise. He directed Aaron Eckhart to a wonderful perfor-mance in “Thank You for Smok-ing,” but the movie fl opped around, limp and fl accid. This movie is tighter, with smaller, better considered ideas. It lies, plot wise, somewhere between “Knocked Up” and “Super Bad” but with a tone reminiscent of, if not similar too, Wes Ander-son.
To paraphrase a line from Wes Anderson’s “The Royal Te-nenbaums”, why would I, as a re-viewer make the point of saying a movie is not genius. And yet that is how I tend to feel about “Juno.” It is a movie I enjoyed immensely and one I will cer-tainly see again. It is certainly a movie its star would love, and I think it is a testament to the quality of the fi lm that there are enough people out there who resemble this fi ctional character to make “Juno” a hit.
‘Juno’: Making pregnant teens funny again
MOVIE REVIEW
Rating: ★★★★✬For fans of: Marvin Gaye and Eric Clapton’s funk side projectTracks to download: “Solid Ground”, “Bullets”, “Get it Together”
Four Finger FiveFour Finger Five
Juno
Rating: ★★★★✩
Directed by: Jason ReitmanWritten by: Diablo CodyStarring: Ellen Page, Mi-chael Cera, Jason Bateman
BY BRIAN STITTSENIOR CADENZA EDITOR
ALBUM REVIEW
Four Finger Five: ‘Four Finger Five’
Indie Trio puts the “Blues” back into R&B
BY STEVE HARDYCADENZA REPORTER
COURTESY OF FOUR FINGER FIVE
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