Newsroom Stories

Joe Angeles/WUSTL PhotoThe National Football League season has kicked off with a bang and once again, ticket prices are higher than ever. Fans who pay anywhere from $50 to $250 for a single ticket may grouse about the price, but Dan Elfenbein, a professor in the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis, said football teams routinely under-price their tickets and online ticket scalpers are reaping the benefits.

Spurred by concerns over China’s booming economy, the Bush administation plans to crank-up pressure on Chinese authorities to curtail the rampant theft of intellectual property — the black market in pirated films, software and equipment that costs American companies billions in lost sales. While anti-piracy rhetoric plays well in Washington, a new book on the “Politics of Piracy” in China suggests that external diplomatic pressure will have little effect on China’s ability to enforce international norms on copyrights, trademarks and patents. “The key to gaining enforcement of those laws lies at the local level,” says the book’s author, WUSTL China specialist Andrew Mertha.

U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson visits St. Louis one day after accompanying President Bush on a tour of the hurricane-stricken Gulf Coast.

Stewart Goldstein”Crossin’ Over”The St. Louis Black Repertory Company will open its 29th season with Crossin’ Over, an all-new musical production chronicling the history of Africans in America, at Edison Theatre Sept. 14-25.

La RussaThe Washington University Assembly Series will start its fall schedule with a talk by Cardinals’ manager, Tony La Russa, at 11 a.m. Sept. 7 in Graham Chapel. Assembly Series lectures are free and open to the public; due to the expected popularity of the La Russa talk, seating for the general public will be limited. Please check the Assembly Series Web site for the most current information: http://assemblyseries.wustl.edu/ or call (314) 935-5285.

Fresh off a summer of pool parties and video games, the Washington University Class of 2009 will get to work as soon as they step onto campus. More than 1,000 University students, mainly newly arrived freshmen, will volunteer their time from 1-4 p.m. Sept. 3 to paint, landscape, clean and beautify 11 St. Louis public schools to make the new school year more enjoyable for students and their teachers. It’s all part of the seventh annual Service First, an initiative that introduces first-year University students to community service in the St. Louis area.

The Washington University community is continuing to show concern for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The University is pursuing several ways to provide relief and support to those who are suffering from the consequences of the disaster. Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton has sent the following email to the entire University community, informing them of the steps being taken.

Joe Angeles/WUSTL Photo Services”Private Jokes, Public Places”The Sam Fox School of Design & Visual arts will present a staged reading of Oren Safdie’s Private Jokes, Public Places — a biting academic satire set amidst an architectural design review — at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 12, in the foyer of Givens Hall.

The Washington University Chamber Orchestra will launch the Department of Music in Arts & Sciences’ 2005-06 season with an homage to the great Swedish singer Jenny Lind Sept. 12.

Richard WunschPatrick DoughertyEnvironmental artist Patrick Dougherty will launch the fall Visiting Artist Lecture Series, sponsored by the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, with a talk at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 14, in Steinberg Auditorium.