St. Louis University News

Free your mind

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Ladies and Gentlemen of Saint Louis University's Class of 2012: Welcome to your blank slate.

That's right, a glorious "tabula rasa" awaits you, and your college life is beginning. High school is encased in yearbooks, scrapbooks and memory boxes. You and your families have dropped a metric ton of cash on room, board, parking, texts and tuition.

Diversity: more than a buzz word?

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT

As Saint Louis University students step back onto campus this week, they are bound to notice more than a few new faces.

Just as China has prepared to welcome thousands of international visitors for the 2008 Olympics, SLU has mobilized its recruitment forces in Asia to court more international students.

Class of 2012 arrives on campus

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Members of Oriflamme, an organization that help smooth the transition for new students into Saint Louis University, gathered behind Griesedieck Tower on Wednesday, Aug. 20, to help freshmen students settle into their new home. The arrival of new students on campus signals the beginning of Welcome Week, celebratory events that encourages students to embrace college life.

SLU welcomes record number of Chinese students

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT

While the closing ceremony for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing is just days away, Saint Louis University recently performed an opening ceremony of its own-the arrival of approximately 200 freshmen from China. The number of Chinese freshmen has doubled from last year, and they make up about 80 percent of the international students in the class of 2012.

Bookstore business soars despite competition, prices

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Every August, Saint Louis University Bookstore employees pull out "suits of armor" to deflect the rage of the students who filter through to shell out big bucks for books, according to bookstore General Manager Debbe Schneider.

When checkout costs run into the hundreds, some students make a habit of tracking down textbooks through online retailers that offer a cheaper product.

SGA sets goals for the academic year

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT

All summer, the members of the Saint Louis University Student Government Association have been dreaming, planning and building a foundation for the upcoming school year. SGA leaders have said that they want to exceed expectations and plan to have a successful and productive year.

Former SGA presidents: Where are they now?

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Every year the student body elects a new president to represent the students and to lead Saint Louis University's Student Government Association. They run the meetings of the SGA Senate every Wednesday and serve as liaisons between students and the university administrators.

Foreign Affairs: Revealing the adventurer within

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Have you ever sat on a beach and looked out into the sea? It makes you feel small, temporary. Almost as if, in the grand scheme of things, you are just passing by. It's like the one hundred years we get are nowhere near enough, and the sea can sense this. It can tell our fear of being temporary, of being only human, of having too little time.

SGA president offers advice for new Billikens

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT

To the Saint Louis University Community, From Your SGA President: Top 10 pieces of advice for your Billiken experience. 1. Be engaged citzens: Know what's going on and serve in both the SLU community and the St. Louis Community. Vote, attend Indecision 2008, an event this fall and utilize SGA's Billiken Readership Program newspapers.

SoulJoe Boy Tells It

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT

A bubble is something that happens when you accidentally squeeze the shampoo bottle at the wrong time. But a bubble can also be a term for a certain type of isolation, a separation from the world outside. Saint Louis University is often accused of being trapped in a bubble--a cultural one, not a soapy one.

The Beet

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Talent is a small Oregon town nestled at the base of the Cascades. Pastures and family farms usurp the strip mall wonderland classic of American development, and that was why I was there: to farm for a while, to see where the things I consumed actually came from and to find an antidote, or at least some hope, to the problem of America's vacant consumption.

Woody's European vacation

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT

In the immortal words of the J. Geils Band: "You love her, but she loves him and he loves somebody else. You just can't win." Never was this platitude truer than in Woody Allen's breezy and biting new comedy Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Rebecca Hall (The Prestige) and Scarlett Johansson (The Other Boleyn Girl) star as the titular women, two friends spending a summer in Barcelona with a friend.

Environmental photographer brings unique insight to St. Louis

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT

The St. Louis Zoo is hosting a question and answer session with noted nature photographer Steven Kazlowski next month as a part of a presentation of images from his new book The Last Polar Bear: Facing the Truth of a Warming World. "My most favorite type of photography is the foundation of this piece: photography in which I can spend a lot of time with animals," Kazlowski said.

Have your say on: Three Cups of Tea

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Three Cups of Tea is a New York Times bestseller published by Penguin Group in 2006. Alongside co-author David Oliver Relin, Greg Mortenson describes the events in his life that led him to devote himself to fighting for poverty relief and education in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Stiller's Thunder ends the summer movie season with a bang

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT

The summer movie season comes to an end in a big way with Tropic Thunder (DreamWorks), Ben Stiller's first directorial effort since 2001's hilarious Zoolander. In case you haven't heard, this is the movie that has been causing all of the controversy lately, some of it due to the fact that Robert Downey Jr.

A slow journey to the fast track

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT

It was slow going for Saint Louis University sophomore Rachel Dratnol as she rode an Amtrak train from Chicago to visit St. Louis during the Fourth of July.

It wasn't the first time.

Dratnol, who used Amtrak to travel either to or from SLU six times last year, is accustom to the experience, but she wishes the trains traveled faster.

Megabus finds a smooth ride in Midwest, East Coast

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT

With gas prices continuing to soar and more people looking to travel, companies such as Megabus are providing service for travelers who are searching for cheaper fares.

Megabus is a company based in the United Kingdom that offers intercity bus service from St.

For trains and buses, a union at new station

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Once upon a time, in a land not so far away, anyone desiring to take an Amtrak train out of St. Louis had to first brave the drive down a bumpy gravel driveway, followed by a wait in a somewhat remote, cramped warehouse-esque building located underneath Interstate 64/Highway 40.

Leadership from experience

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT

The six seniors on the men's soccer team this year have a combined 16 years of collegiate experience between them.

This extensive experience, according to head coach Dan Donigan, is what will help the Billikens to contest not only an Atlantic 10 title but also an NCAA Championship title.

2008 Fall Sports Preview

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Men's Soccer The Billikens return nine starters from last year's squad that grabbed the league's regular season title and finished 12-2-5 overall. The team fell in the NCAA Tournament in penalty kicks to Illinois-Chicago. Senior Calum Angus was named a second-team All-American by the National Soccer Coaches Association or America and was the 2007 Atlantic 10 Conference Defensive Player of the Year.

Baseball team boasts 21 for spring recruiting class

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Bringing in 21 new players is a definite way to give a team a whole new look.

And that is exactly what the Saint Louis University baseball team will have when they take the field this season.

"Twenty one new players is a high number," head baseball coach Darin Hendrickson said.