Campus & Community

In the age of reality TV, what does it mean to be “authentic”? So asks senior Grace Haselhorst in “The Realness.” Thyrsus, Washington University’s student-run experimental theater group, will debut the play Nov. 9-11.

Washington University in St. Louis Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton and Dean Aaron Bobick of the School of Engineering & Applied Science joined faculty, staff and friends for a groundbreaking ceremony kicking off construction of James M. McKelvey, Sr. Hall. 

David L. Kirk, former professor of biology in Arts & Sciences, died Nov. 1, 2018, in St. Louis after a long illness. He was 84. Kirk spent a lifetime teaching and researching developmental biology and, in retirement, worked to improve the way evolution is taught in K-12 schools.

The Commencement Office is seeking volunteers for the December Degree Candidate Recognition Ceremony. The ceremony will be at 10 a.m. Dec. 8 in the Athletic Complex Field House.

Images from in and around the Washington University campuses.

Last month, Penina Acayo Laker asked students in her “Design for Social Impact” class to interview their friends about the Nov. 6 midterm elections. The results were alarming. So the class created posters to educate fellow students about the voting process and inspire them to go to the polls.

Headlining this year’s celebration of the 1853 founding of Washington University in St. Louis is Peggy Noonan, one of the country’s most eminent political analysts. The event also honors the university’s distinguished faculty, alumni and supporters.

The research shows that most college students won’t vote in Tuesday’s midterm elections. But, for the students in this class, elections are more than an opportunity to vote — they are a career path.

A delegation from Washington University in St. Louis, led by Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton, recently took part in a day of celebration, collaboration and partnership at Xi’an Jiaotong University in Xi’an, China.

Ashoka, the South Asian student association, will produce the annual celebration of South Asian cultures Nov. 2 and 3 at Edison Theatre. “When people think South Asia, they immediately think India,” student Rithvik Kondai said. “Our goal this year was to lend voice to some of those other cultures that celebrate Diwali.”