The Wesleyan Connection

Wesleyan students built a bird-viewing platform for the Helen Carlson Wildlife Sanctuary in Portland, Conn. The architecture project, named SplitFrame, will be celebrated by a reception for the project at 2 p.m. Oct. 19 at the sanctuary.

Imagine this architectural challenge: create a site-appropriate structure for a former cranberry bog covered with 3 feet of water; use durable and sustainable materials and construction technologies as extensively as possible; work within a budget and; make it optimal for observing Redwing Blackbirds, Scarlet Tanagers, Hooded Mergansers, and the occasional Great Blue Heron. (more…)

During a restless winter day in northeast Vermont, Katherine Bascom ‘10 had an indoor wrestling match with her overly energetic dog, Ori. Midway through the contest, Bascom grabbed a camera off her nightstand and began snapping some shots.

One of these photographs, a close-up action-shot of Ori, is the page 36 feature photo of Wesleyan’s new, student-run magazine called Exposure.

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The Middletown Registar of Voters helps students fill out voter registration papers in Beckham Hall.

Wesleyan students and administrators are committed to getting everyone registered to vote and to the polls for this November’s election. According to Chris Goy ‘09, founding member of WesVotes, the university is assisting with the voting registration effort more than it has in the past.

Although Goy says that only 13 percent of the Wesleyan campus was registered to vote in Connecticut during last year’s presidential primary, he believes that a partnership between WesVotes and the university will lead to a significant increase of that number.

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Wesleyan’s second annual Interfaith Fast-a-Thon will be held on Thursday, Sept. 25, and culminate with a Ramadan Banquet. Participants will fast for one day and donate the cost of meals to local charities. The day’s events will conclude at 5:45 p.m. with a ‘Break-fast Banquet’ at Beckham Hall catered by the Middletown’s Haveli India restaurant. (more…)

Students living in Wesleyan’s program house, ”Earth House,” want to promote the values of eating fresh, healthy foods in Middletown. They had ideas to create a bulk food education program, an easy nutritional cooking class and help 20 local residents obtain fresh foods in their homes.
 
During a workshop held Sept. 6, the students turned their ideas into a plan of action. Titled “Global Citizenship: Engaging in Local Social Issues with Global Implications,” the day-long event helped Earth House and fellow program houses design realistic programs that could be accomplished during the academic year.

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Lily Mandlin ’10 browses through several herb- and honey-based soaps, creams and oils, smiling with every sniff. But one fragrance stands out among the others.

“Oooh, I like this one,” she says spritzing a lavender linen spray.  “Lavender. It’s a natural way to de-stress.”

The spray, created and sold by Nature’s Edge Farm of Canterbury, Conn., was just one item Mandlin purchased during the Wesleyan Farmers Market Sept. 10 on campus. She also purchased freshly-picked corn, zucchini, goat cheese and “beautiful French bread shaped like a chain of leaves.”

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Associate Provost Paula Lawson died suddenly Sept. 21.

Paula Lawson.

Lawson graduated from Carleton College with a degree in psychology and held a M. Ed. degree from Harvard University. She served as a coordinator of Academic Student Services in the College of Arts and Sciences at Northeastern University and as a research associate in the Office of Academic Affairs, the Institute for Social Research, and the Center for the Education of Women at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. (more…)

A memorial service for Katharina “Kay” Butterfield, wife of Wesleyan’s 11th President Victor L. Butterfield and the first lady of Wesleyan for 24 years, will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2008.  The service will begin at 11 a.m. am at the First Church Congregational, 190 Court Street, Middletown, with a reception immediately following in the church’s Memorial Room.

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Marwa Saied Aly joined the Wesleyan community as Muslim Chaplain. She will be spending part of her time at Wesleyan and part of her time as a Trinity College chaplain.

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Karen Warren is the new director of user and technical services.

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