Olivia DrakeAugust 6, 20091min
An essay titled "Romance Crushed" by Marie Mencher ’12, a prospective Spanish major, was published in the July 20 edition of The New York Times. "He left, I ran up to my room and put the Indigo Girls’ 'Mystery' on repeat for the next half-hour, and sobbed. I made awful, croaking, animal noises and screamed into my pillow, but running through my mind were these beautiful simple thoughts like, 'We were so close.' An extended excerpt of the essay is online here.

Olivia DrakeAugust 6, 20091min
Cara Madden ’11, a Wesleyan swimmer, won four gold medals and set two records at the Bay State Summer Games, organized by the Massachusetts Amateur Sports Foundation. The Bay State Games provide quality Olympic-style athletic competitions and developmental programs for Massachusetts amateur athletes of all ages and abilities. Madden not only won each event she appeared in, but also broke two records in the Women’s 19-34 Division, representing the Northeast team. Both of the records Madden broke were two-year-old records. In the 100-meter backstroke, she cut four seconds off the previous mark, finishing at 1:12.41. Madden also broke the record…

Olivia DrakeAugust 6, 20092min
Q: Charles, your title is Director of Strategic Initiatives and you work in the President's Office. When did you begin? A: I retired from the Getty in Los Angeles last fall and began here on Dec. 1, 2008. Q: This is a new, temporary position. What is the objective of your role and with whom do you work? A: Where other members of Cabinet are responsible for particular parts of the university, I work mostly with President Roth and senior staff on issues and initiatives that involve the institution broadly. Q: Can you say a bit about these issues and…

Olivia DrakeAugust 6, 20091min
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter named Katherine Gajewski '02 as the new director of the Mayor's Office of Sustainability. According to a July 18 article in The Philadelphia Inquirer, Mayor Nutter interviewed several candidates as he searched for someone with political savvy and operational experience who was also a team player. Ultimately, the mayor said, "we found that person and she was just across the hall." Gajewski was a current staff member in the office. As an aide to the chief of staff, Gajewski oversaw two citywide "spring cleanups" and advised Nutter on appointments to city boards and commissions. Before joining…

Olivia DrakeAugust 6, 20092min
More than 1,700 incoming University of Dayton (UD) students are required to read Melody Moezzi's ’01 book, War on Error: Real Stories of American Muslims, before they arrive on campus Aug. 22 for first-year orientation, according to a July 26 Dayton Daily News article. The book is an award-winning collection of essays about young American Muslims, Moezzi is an American Muslim of Iranian descent. UD is a Marianist Catholic university. Moezzi’s book will serve as the basis for a series of student dialogues on the issue of diversity and differences. “I hope that they’ll be able to see a human side…

Olivia DrakeAugust 6, 20091min
According to Variety, Ray Tintori '06 is slated to direct Shane Jones' debut novel "Light Boxes." Spike Jonze has acquired feature rights. "Light Boxes," published earlier this year by Genius Press, is centered on a mysterious town that endures a deadly 1,000-day winter. Tintori's directed numerous music videos plus short films "Jettison Your Loved Ones" and "Death to the Tinman," the later of which was completed while he was a student at Wesleyan and later featured at the Sundance Film Festival.

Olivia DrakeAugust 6, 20093min
Brian Northrop has joined the Chemistry Department as the assistant professor of chemistry. His research focuses on the design, synthesis and analysis of new organic materials utilizing molecular recognition, self-assembly and dynamic covalent chemistry. "I wanted to work at a school that has a strong emphasis on teaching and the liberal arts, but I also really enjoy doing high-level research in chemistry and Wesleyan allows me to do both," Northrop says. "Wesleyan is unique in it’s size and strengths, and I’m very excited to be here." Northrop graduated from Middlebury College in 2001 with a bachelor's degree in chemistry and…