Ecologist reports dire devastation of snake species following floods

Sexton observes a flooded Marais Temps Clair.In science, it’s best to be good, but sometimes it’s better to be lucky. Ecologist Owen Sexton, professor emeritus of biology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, had just completed a census of snakes at a conservation preserve northwest of St. Louis, when the great flood of 1993 deluged the area, putting the preserve at least 15 feet under water. The flood provided Sexton with a rare opportunity: his collected data and the flood would combine to make “the perfect study” of how an area rebounds from natural disaster.

Art in the park

Photo by Whitney CurtisStudents from Umrath House gathered around Vito Acconci’s “Face of the Earth” (1988) at Laumeier Sculpture Park last Saturday afternoon. The 96-acre outdoor museum in Sunset Hills, Mo., contains more than 80 monumental works by internationally known contemporary artists.

Sloan explores links between religion, spirituality and health

Richard P. Sloan, professor of behavioral medicine in psychiatry at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital at the Columbia University Medical Center, will respond to the question, “Is Religion Good for Your Health?” at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 26, in Graham Chapel. Sloan’s talk is free and open to the public.

A.E. Hotchner Playwriting Festival hosted by Performing Arts Department

Joe Angeles/WUSTL Photo ServicesNoga Landau and Sathya SridharanThree aspiring playwrights will present staged readings of their works Sept. 25 and 26 as part of 2007 A.E. Hotchner Playwriting Festival, sponsored by the Performing Arts Department (PAD) in Arts & Sciences. Named in honor of alumnus A.E. Hotchner (AB and JD ’40), the festival consists of an intensive two-week workshop that culminates in the staged readings. Each of the participating plays — which are selected by jury — will also be eligible for a full production as part of the PAD’s 2008-09 season.

National reading event promotes literacy

Best-selling suspense author Ridley Pearson will read the children’s book “The Story of Ferdinand” — the official campaign book for Jumpstart’s “Read for the Record” — at 4 p.m. Sept. 20, in the University’s Campus Store on the Danforth Campus.
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