Author: Leslie Gibson McCarthy

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s move to strip or significantly narrow his state’s public-sector workers’ collective bargaining rights has significant implications for all unionized workers, both in the public and private sector, says Marion Crain, JD, the Wiley B. Rutledge Professor of Law at Washington University in St. Louis and director of the Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Work & Social Capital.

The Supreme Court should affirm the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, contends Washington University in St. Louis law professor Greg Magarian, JD, because the Act fits comfortably within a proper understanding of the federal-state balance of power. Magarian, a constitutional law expert, says the basic argument against the constitutionality of the health care bill is that some parts of the bill, most notably the requirement that people purchase health insurance, exceeds Congress’ power to regulate interstate commerce.

Sports updates for the week of Feb. 21, 2011.

Eden Brukman (left), vice president of the International Living Building Institute, presents Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton with an award recognizing Washington University in St. Louis’ Living Learning Center as a Living Building. The Living Learning Center, located at the Tyson Research Center in west St. Louis County, was one of only two buildings to meet the institute’s Living Building Challenge in 2010.

Former first lady Rosalynn Carter (above and below, seated left on panel) spoke about her vision for ending the mental health crisis before a packed crowd in Graham Chapel on Feb. 14. A panel discussion featuring local and state representatives of the mental health community followed Carter’s remarks.

Historian Sean Wilentz, PhD, will be on campus for three days next week delivering this year’s “President’s Week” lectures for the Assembly Series. The lectures will provide an overview of the role these presidents — Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant — played in advancing democratic nationalism, which in turn led to the abolition of slavery.

“Faces of Hope,” a campus-wide celebration of civic engagement and community service sponsored by The Gephardt Institute for Public Service at Washington University in St. Louis, will take place again this year at 4 p.m. April 7 in Whitaker Hall. All students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to participate. Applications must be completed by Monday, Feb. 22.

Seven finalists were selected Feb. 10 from a field of 45 to compete for $100,000 in grants in April at the 2011 YouthBridge Social Enterprise and Innovation Competition (SEIC) offered by the Skandalaris Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at Washington University in St. Louis.

Sports updates for week of Feb. 14, 2011.

Students perform a dance Feb. 5 in Edison Theatre at the Lunar New Year Festival, the annual event sponsored by Asian student groups on campus. 2011 is the Year of the Rabbit, and people born under this Chinese symbol are said to be articulate, talented and ambitious.