Humanities & Society

Frank FlinnDemocratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden is telling the Catholics in his audiences that St. Thomas Aquinas had a different teaching on abortion than the current pope and his immediate predecessors. He’s right, says Frank K. Flinn, Ph.D., adjunct professor of religious studies in Arts & Sciences. Flinn is author of the Encyclopedia of Catholicism (2007).

Magarian”No evidence exists of any serious threat of voter fraud, at present or in any recent election cycle,” says Greg Magarian, J.D., election law expert and professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis. The current cries of ‘fraud’ focus on the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), a public interest organization that advocates for low- and moderate- income and minority citizens. “Filing false registration forms does not constitute voter fraud,” he says. “Voter fraud requires voting by a person who is not legally entitled to vote. That is a difficult trick to pull off, and simply turning in a registration form for ‘Captain Crunch’ does almost nothing to enable it.”

Tampered treats is not what parents should worry about on Halloween, says a professor of pediatrics at Washington University in St. Louis. The combination of cars, kids and darkness presents the biggest danger of Halloween, says Bo Kennedy, M.D., who works in the emergency department at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. And that combination could be even more dangerous this year with Halloween falling on a Friday night. At this time of year it gets darker earlier, and on Halloween, excited, costumed children can be difficult to see, especially when excited adults and teenagers are off to their own Friday evening celebrations. Kennedy offers tips on keeping kids safe while trick-or-treating.

Courtesy PhotoThis fall, five teams of architecture students have worked to create redevelopment plans for an abandoned children’s theater located on the campus of a south St. Louis historic church.

Distinguished environmental law and policy scholars and scientists from around the country will gather at WUSTL Oct. 30 to discuss “International Climate Change: Post-Kyoto Challenges.”

Robert Boston(From left) Kelly Krahl, Lawrence Lewis, Regina Whittington and Brandii Mayes talk at the SPOTs open house Oct. 8.In the last 10 years, the St. Louis area has seen an alarming increase in new diagnoses of HIV and sexually transmitted infections among 13-24 year-olds. Nationwide, St. Louis has among the highest rates of sexually transmitted diseases in this age group. To head off this trend, Project ARK (AIDS/HIV Resources and Knowledge) and the Adolescent Center in the Department of Pediatrics in collaboration with community partners have launched the SPOT (Supporting Positive Opportunities with Teens) aimed specifically at the 13-24 year age group.

Eric CesalSt. Francis de Sales church, popularly known as “the Cathedral of South St. Louis,” has been a local landmark since the end of the Civil War, listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. This fall five teams of architecture students have worked to create redevelopment plans for an abandoned children’s theater, located on the church’s six-building campus, as part of the Sam Fox School’s Community Service Competition. Winners of the competition will be announced Oct. 17 at a reception in Givens Hall.

Best-selling author Peggy Orenstein will deliver the Olin Fellows Conference keynote address as part of the Assembly Series at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 21, in Graham Chapel. Orenstein’s talk is titled, “Where’s the Map? Navigating Women’s Lives in a Half-Changed World.” Orenstein knows firsthand the challenges inherent in balancing career and family. With rare candor, […]

One of the nation’s most celebrated journalists, Carl Bernstein, will deliver the Elliot Stein Lecture in Ethics at 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 23, in Graham Chapel.

Distinguished environmental law and policy scholars and scientists from around the country will gather at Washington University in St. Louis to discuss “International Climate Change: Post-Kyoto Challenges,” from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Oct. 30 in Anheuser-Busch and Seigle Halls. “The international community is aiming to complete negotiations by the end of 2009 on a new climate change agreement to take effect when the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012,” says Maxine Lipeles, J.D., director of the Interdisciplinary Environmental Clinic and senior lecturer in law. “This conference will address the critical question of what roles the world’s two largest emitters – the U.S. and China – will play under the new agreement.” The conference, hosted by Washington University School of Law’s Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute, is free and open to the public, but registration is required.