Author: Deb Parker

The offices of Sustainability and Parking and Transportation challenge the WUSTL community to try alternative means of commuting to campus during Car-free Month, April 1-24. The teams with highest number of car-free trips and greatest number of car-free miles will win awards. April 12 is the last day to register for the Car-free Challenge.

The WUSTL men’s and women’s swimming teams are set to host their annual swim lessons on Tuesday and Thursday evenings beginning Tuesday, April 9, at the Millstone Pool. The deadline to sign up for lessons is Monday, April 8.

More than 175 WUSTL volunteers recently did prep work at Gateway STEM High School — priming and taping walls, organizing supplies and competing other tasks. They cleared the way for an even larger undertaking this weekend during the Clinton Global Initiative University meeting. Approximately 800 conference delegates will perform service projects at the school. ​

During a recent reception to mark the beginning of the Loop Student Living Initiative’s construction phase, Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton thanked University City and City of St. Louis government officials, business owners and residents for their role in the project’s progression. The celebration was held at the Three Kings Public House on Delmar Boulevard, which is in the same block as the construction.

President Bill Clinton announced the launch of the third annual Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) Commitments Challenge, a competition of ideas from college students in the form of a bracket. The KHE Project, a commitment to action by WUSTL Arts & Sciences students Emily Santos, Krupa Desai and Henry Osman, is part of the “Sweet 16” projects selected to compete.

Spring Preview, the campus visit program especially designed for recently admitted high school seniors and their families, kicked off this week and runs through April. Student guides begin tours in Danforth Plaza in front of Brookings Hall. In addition to taking tours, prospective students can sit in on classes, talk with faculty, attend meetings and social activities with student groups, and sample the area’s entertainment and cultural attractions.

WUSTL has made strides in becoming more sustainable, from keeping more waste out of landfills to adding staff to focus on energy conservation. The university’s overall institutional waste diversion rate improved to about 40 percent in fiscal 2012. The campus community also is participating in the Recyclemania competition this month.

As part of the 2013 Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) meeting at Washington University April 5-7, approximately 800 conference delegates will go to Gateway STEM High School to complete service projects. To prepare for this initiative, 175 WUSTL volunteers are needed from noon-5 p.m. March 30 to prime and tape walls, organize supplies and complete other tasks at Gateway High School. All volunteers will receive a  ticket to the CGI U Opening Plenary Session.

Spring break begins this weekend, and, as students and faculty take a mid-March break, so does the daily Record email. The Record will be published Wednesday, March 13, then resume regular publication Monday, March 18. In the meantime, have a safe and relaxing break, and don’t forget to move your clocks forward Sunday, March 10.

Work is under way on the 2013-14 Student Planner, and students, faculty and staff are encouraged to submit events and important dates. The spiral-bound student planner — given to all first-year students and available for purchase in the University Bookstore at the start of the academic year — contains a wealth of information about campus life, such as important dates (student events, holidays, breaks and deadlines), operational hours for campus facilities, contact numbers for key departments, and much more. Date submissions are open until April 20.