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DEF is a non-partisan, independent political blog based in the
City of St. Louis, Missouri. Our goal is to cast a critical eye
on lawmakers, their policies, and those that have influence upon
them, and to educate our readers about legislation and the political
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The Association of Black Students at Washington University is holding a closed meeting today to discuss the recent racial incident on campus. When reached for comment, ABS President Sarah Johnson said, "I will not make statements until after our general body meeting."
According to the official report from Washington University's police force, filed on October 1 at 7:30 PM:
Student reported that an unknown individual had written the word "nigger" in approximately 4 inch letters in dust on the complainants rear window. The student had wiped the wording away prior to making this report.
Friday is the start of parents' weekend at Washington University. It's also the day thousands of tombstones will adorn the lawn north of the school's library.
The tombstones are part of a joint effort between student peace groups at Wash U, SLU, UMSL and Fontbonne. The stones represent American soldiers and Iraqi civilians who have died in the Iraq War.
The display was at UMSL on Monday, and next Monday it moves to SLU where it will focus on the effects of war on women. Although the display is sponsored by anti-war groups, it is not meant to forward any particular political message.
Washington University announced yesterday that it is investing over $55 million in a new renewable energy initiative that centers around the establishment of a new International Center for Advanced Renewable Energy and Sustainability (I-CARES).
I-CARES is to "encourage and coordinate university-wide and external collaborative research in the areas of renewable energy and sustainability — including biofuels, CO2 mitigation and coal-related issues," according to the statement released by the university.
Chancellor Mark Wrighton described the project as interdisciplinary, noting that it pulls together experts in genomics, microbiology, plant science, materials, environmental engineering, systems science, computer science, economics, political science, architecture and social work.
According to the press release, the $55 million is to be split to fund:
$40 million for a new building for the Washington University Department of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering.
$12.5 million for five new endowed professorships over the long term in related fields.
$2.5 million over five years to promote regional collaboration on the issues.
$500,000 for collaborative projects with international partners.
Support a sustainability officer and provide the capital needed to apply green technology to improve efficiency of energy systems and other university operations.
Just this past spring, the University spent $16,186 to install seven solar panels on the roof of the Olin Library on its Danforth Campus to provide renewable power to the building.
Missouri Governor Matt Blunt was on the campus of the University of Missouri in St. Louis this morning to sign into law Senate Bill 389, which includes his controversial plan to take $350 million from the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority (MoHELA), which makes loans for college tuition, to pay for new construction projects on campuses around the state.
In addition to the funding of construction projects, SB 389 also included several other provisions, including State Sen. Jeff Smith's "Teach for Missouri Act".
Modeled after the national Teach for America program, Smith's plan (renamed "Missouri Teaching Fellows Program Fund") would allow certain graduates of Missouri colleges who are hired to teach in unaccredited or partially accredited school districts can have some of their student loans forgiven for each of their first five years teaching.
Gov. Matt Blunt will sign into law this morning his controversial plan to take $350 million from the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority, which makes loans for college tuition, to pay for new construction projects on campuses around the state.
Blunt will sign the bill at a ceremony at 11:00 a.m. on the campus of UMSL.
St. Louis University Administrators have reached a compromise agreement with student staff and editors of the University News concerning the newspaper's charter.
Earlier this month, PubDef reported on efforts by the SLU administration to replace the paper's existing charter with a new version.
Students objected to the first proposed revision of the charter because it would have given university officials the power to appoint the paper's editor. Students argued that this power of appointment would prevent the paper from maintaining an independent editorial position.
In the compromise agreement, the student staff of the paper retain the ability to elect the paper's editor. However, this candidate will now be subject to ratification by the school's Office of Student Development, giving the administration a degree of oversight.
The St. Louis University Board of Trustees voted last night to grant school administrators the go-ahead to replace theexisting University News charter. This vote comes as a defeat for newspaper staff and editors who had hoped that the vote would be tabled until the board's next meeting in September.
According to News Editor-in-Chief Diana Benanti, the vote also had a caveat that "[newspaper staff] are to collaborate with the administration to make changes that are suitable for both sides." Administrators and students have 9 more days to discuss the situation before the charter becomes active on May 15.
When asked what actions she and her staff were planning to pursue following this resolution, Benanti said that they would "wait and see how [the administrators] respond to what we want, and from there we will decide either individually or as a group... what we want to pursue."
The following letter comes from the President of the St. Louis Chapter of Society of Professional Journalists:
Dear fellow journalists,
The Saint Louis University board of trustees will vote Saturday morning on whether to eliminate the existing charter for the University News, the student news at SLU. If approved, the university will then rewrite a new charter. After much public uproar, the administration now says it will solicit input from the newspaper staff, but it will only give them a week to provide opinions, according to Editor in Chief Diana L.Benanti. And the students still have no clear idea what the charter will actually look like once the administration acts. Basically, the university is giving these students an ultimatum. Thus the students continue to defend their editorial independence and remain opposed to changing the charter for this 86-year-old publication.
Though not allowed to present their ideas to the board of trustees, the students are still hoping the board might be convinced to take no action on the charter. To sway the board, the students will pass out flyers and demonstrate at SLU's DuBourg Hall, 221 N. Grand Avenue, starting at 8:30 a.m. Saturday (May 5).
They're asking all other journalists worried about campus free speech to attend and participate.
Greg Cancelada President, St. Louis Chapter of SPJ
SLU's Student Government Association voted unanimously last night to urge the Board of Trustees to postpone any decision on the University News charter. The vote came after an extensive question and answer session, at which several University News staff were present, including Diana Benanti, the student paper's current editor.
The resolution passed by the SGA does not directly address either the old University News charter or the proposed new charter.
When PubDef reached Benanti for comment following the meeting, she seemed optimistic. When asked what effect she expected the resolution to have, Ms. Benanti said, "If this does get to the Board of Trustees tomorrow, I suspect their vote will be tabled until the board meeting in September."
A move by St. Louis University to exert a greater degree of control over its student-run newspaper has many current and past SLU journalists worried.
University officials met with the student staff of the University News on April 30 to present a new version of the newspaper's charter. The new charter would give an administration-appointed board control over candidates for editorial positions, including the power to both hire and fire editors.
Student staff and editors feel that the proposed changes would give the administration too much control over the publication's content, but school officials maintain that the proposed changes are about improving the quality of the paper's content and providing oversight in cases of student misconduct.
A vote on revoking the existing charter is expected within the week.
St. Louis University's Student Government Association will meet tonight at 5:00 in the Pere Marquette Gallery to pass a resolution on the situation of the University News.
Check back later for PubDef's video report.
UPDATE:Here is our interview with Diana Benanti, the paper's editor.
Word is that Father Lawrence Biondi, president of St. Louis University, is in Lebanon tonight, holed up in a hotel room while Israel bombs the country.
UPDATE: The AP now has the story... "University spokesman Clayton Berry said Biondi has been in frequent contact with the school and is talking with the U.S. Embassy to find out when and how to best get out of the country and return home."
