Author: Deb Parker

The Spring Undergraduate Research Symposium, set for Saturday, April 28, will feature 230 student presenters from a wide variety of disciplines. The full day of activities features a keynote address; presentation of the Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding Contributions to Undergraduate Research; talks by students; a poster session; colloquiums; and an international review conference on migration and identity. All events are being held in the Laboratory Sciences Building.

WUSTL is getting ready to reclaim the Guinness world record for longest massage chain Tuesday, April 24. Graduating seniors first set the record in 2010 before a group in Thailand broke it. Now, the WUSTL football team is hoping to gather 2,000 people on Francis Field — all in an effort to raise awareness about teen suicide.​

​Students at Washington University in St. Louis work on their facades in preparation for this weekend’s Thurtene Carnival on the Danforth Campus. In addition to amusement rides, games and fun food, the carnival features family-friendly theatrical productions presented by university students. Students design and build temporary structures and write their own scripts, competing for awards, such as “best production” and “best construction.” ​ ​

WUSTL is getting ready to reclaim the Guinness world record for longest massage chain Tuesday, April 24. Graduating seniors first set the record in 2010 before a group in Thailand broke it. Now, the WUSTL football team is hoping to gather 2,000 people on Francis Field — all in an effort to raise awareness about teen suicide.​

WUSTL will host Relay For Life, a signature fundraising event for the American Cancer Society, from 6 p.m. Saturday, April 14, to 6 a.m. Sunday, April 15, on Francis Field. This year’s event is dedicated to the memory of James E. McLeod, former vice chancellor for students and dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, who died in September 2011 after a two-year battle with cancer.

Hundreds of Washington University students are working together to host the oldest and largest student-run carnival in the United States. Thurtene Carnival will take place on the university’s Danforth Campus near the intersection of Skinker Boulevard and Forest Park Parkway April 20-22. The carnival features amusement rides, games, fun food and family-friendly plays, musical acts and comedy skits.

Four members of the WUSTL community are being honored with the Gerry & Bob Virgil Ethic of Service Award. The annual award is presented to WUSTL community members who exemplify a character of service and giving to the St. Louis region.

Nearly 850 area high school students and their teachers will be on campus Thursday, April 12, for the 36th annual German Day. Students will compete in a variety of activities, including a Declamation Contest (poetry recitation), spelling bees, skits, student videos, poster contests and a Schnitzeljagd (scavenger hunt) before enjoying lunch on campus.

Senior Daniel Rubin, a political science and history major in Arts & Sciences, is among 18 students nationwide to be selected as Luce Scholars. The competitive fellowship program aims to enhance understanding of Asia among potential leaders in American society. Rubin will receive a stipend, language training and professional placement in Asia.

Virginia Burrus, PhD, professor of early church history and chair of the graduate division of religion at Drew University in Madison, N.J., will give the Weltin Lecture in Religious Studies Monday, April 9. Her talk, “St. Helia Talks Back:
 Christianity and the Feminization of Rhetorical Voice,” will take place at 4:30 p.m. in the Women’s Building Formal Lounge.