Author: Neil Schoenherr

Freshman students enjoy pizza and Ted Drewes frozen custard in Bowles Plaza following the Freshman Finale ceremony April 21. Sponsored by the Freshman Class Council and the First Year Center, the event, which is the first to gather freshmen from all schools together at the end of the year, included an awards ceremony, a raffle, a slideshow of memories from the year and several speakers.

Freshmen David Sufranski (left) and Hal Lewis pause to admire a camel in a petting zoo set up on the lawn near the Women’s Building April 27. Sponsored by the Campus Programming Council, the “Epic Animal Extravaganza,” as it was formally titled, was meant to provide some fun and relaxation for the student body as final exams approach.

Senior engineering student Katharine Brown (center) shows her research project involving the university’s Formula SAE race car April 17 outside Seigle Hall, where the spring undergraduate research symposium poster presentations took place. More than 150 students participated in the symposium, which provides a forum for undergraduate students to showcase their research projects.

Andrew Kastner has been named the Silk Foundation Campus Rabbi at St. Louis Hillell at Washington University in St. Louis. He will begin his duties in July.

Each One Teach One, the university’s signature tutoring initiative that connects WUSTL tutors with area elementary and high school students, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this month.

Honoree Joanna Perdomo (center), a junior philosophy-neuroscience-psychology major in Arts & Sciences, visits with proud father Jose Perdomo (right) and senior Emily Heins (left) during a reception for the winners of the 2010 Gerry and Bob Virgil Ethic of Service Award April 15 at the Knight Center.

Senior David Case, a chemistry major in Arts & Sciences, chats outside Holmes Lounge April 18 with Julie Jensen, his former chemistry teacher at Middleton High School in Middleton, Wis. Jensen was on campus to receive WUSTL’s Center for Advanced Learning 2010 Cornerstone Teacher Award.

Frank K. Flinn, Ph.D., adjunct professor of religious studies in Arts & Sciences and author of The Encyclopedia of Catholicism (2007) comments on the damage the pedophilia scandal has caused the church and claims the Vatican’s own laws are responsible.

The dark clouds of volcanic ash that have closed airports and stranded travelers for days on end may have a silver lining, suggests an expert on human creativity from Washington University in St. Louis. Like it or note, stranded travelers around the globe are suddenly finding themselves with a lot of unscheduled time on their hands, and idle time is a key ingredient to becoming more creative in your personal and professional lives.

More than 80,000 people are expected to attend the annual Thurtene Carnival Friday through Sunday, April 23-25. The event, which features carnival rides, games, food, theater, dance and music, is the oldest and largest student-run carnival in the United States.