Olivia DrakeSeptember 23, 20081min
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. (more…)

Olivia DrakeSeptember 23, 20081min
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." (more…)

Olivia DrakeSeptember 23, 20081min
Associate Provost Paula Lawson died suddenly Sept. 21. 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…)

John SetzerSeptember 4, 20082min
In the United States, Deaf people have had the ability to communicate by using sign language since the early 1800s. But in Central America’s largest nation of Nicaragua, the Deaf community had no formalized language until 30 years ago. This emerging language, known as Nicaraguan Sign Language, is the topic of a recent study by Anna Shusterman, assistant professor of psychology, and psychology major Lisa Drennan ’09. The language was first created by local children to communicate with their friends and family and is rapidly changing. “Nicaraguan Sign Language is certainly not a hodge-podge of different sign languages – it…

Olivia DrakeSeptember 4, 20083min
Yonatan Malin, assistant professor of music, will speak Oct. 20 on "Music Theory and Humanistic Study: A Brief History and Some Reflections" during the Center for Humanities Fall Lecture Series. Posted 09/04/08 Wesleyan's Center for the Humanities Fall Lecture Series: Figuring "The Human" begins Sept. 8. with a presentation by Nancy Armstrong, professor of English at Duke University, titled: "Darwin’s Paradox." The event will be at 8 p.m. at Russell House. The fall lecture series is part of the Center for the Humanities’ 50th anniversary celebration. The lectures are free and the public is welcome to attend. Additional presentations in…

Olivia DrakeSeptember 4, 20087min
Posted 09/04/08 When a 7.9-magnitude earthquake shook China in May, more than 10,000 people died, and thousands remained trapped under rubble and debris. On the other side of the world, Wesleyan computer science students helped write the software used to coordinate volunteers for relief efforts. The software is part of Sahana, an open-source information technology system that was built to aid in the recovery effort following the 2004 Asian tsunami. The students contributed as part of the Humanitarian Free and Open Source Software (HFOSS) project, a joint venture between the computer science departments of Wesleyan, Trinity College and Connecticut College,…

Olivia DrakeSeptember 4, 20087min
Andrea Domanick ’10 participated in a National Public Radio internship this summer working on the program All Things Considered. Posted 09/04/08 She’s already produced a story about Muslim voters’ role in the upcoming election and reported on gender identity at some of Baltimore’s most colorful ballroom events. But this is only the beginning for Wesleyan student Andrea Domanick ’10, who plans to pursue a career in broadcast journalism post Wesleyan. As a summer intern for National Public Radio, Domanick worked for All Things Considered, NPR’s signature afternoon newscast that reaches 11.5 million listeners weekly. She was one of 55 college…

Olivia DrakeSeptember 4, 20088min
Anna Shusterman, left, and Lisa Drennan '09 speak to a Deaf man by using Nicaraguan Sign Language. The language is only 30 years old. Posted 09/04/08 In the United States, Deaf people have had the ability to communicate by using sign language since the early 1800s. But in Central America’s largest nation of Nicaragua, the Deaf community had no formalized language until 30 years ago. This emerging language, known as Nicaraguan Sign Language, is the topic of a recent study by Anna Shusterman, assistant professor of psychology, and psychology major Lisa Drennan ’09. The language was first created by local…

Olivia DrakeAugust 6, 20088min
Conor Veeneman '09 and Joel LaBella, facilities manager for the Earth and Environmental Sciences Department, prepare to take a core sample of Block Island's Great Salt Pond. Sediment samples may reveal that Block Island was not formed by the conjunction of two smaller islands more than 6,000 years ago, which is the current belief. Posted 08/06/08 More than 2,500 years ago, Native Americans settled on an area of land located about 13 miles off the coast of Rhode Island. They named the area “little island” or “little god place.” Much later, in 1614, it was charted by Dutch navigator Adrian…

Olivia DrakeAugust 6, 20086min
Creating educational science projects, such as building a wood windmill (top) and using mirrors to teach math (right) were part of the Summer Energy Education Workshops, sponsored by Wesleyan’s Project to Increase Mastery of Mathematics and Science program. Connecticut teachers learned hands-on activities to use in their own classrooms. Posted 08/06/08 At 8:30 a.m., Rusty Gray wrapped an ice cube in thermal insulated foam, packaging together peanuts, bubble wrap, newspaper and aluminum foil, and placed the ice in a cooler. Six and a half hours later, Gray removed the insulating layers and learned her method was not an adequate way…