2017–18 Winter Athletic Season Ends with Historical Victories

The 2017–18 winter season was a historic one for the Wesleyan athletic programs, highlighted by the men's basketball team winning its first-ever NCAA Tournament game, while Laila Samy '18 of women's squash, Caroline Murphy '20 of women's swimming and diving, and Isaiah Bellamy '18 and Devon Carrillo '17 of wrestling all earned All-American honors. Here is a team-by-team breakdown: Men's Basketball (22–7, 7–3 NESCAC) * NCAA Second Round / NESCAC Finals Set a program record in overall wins (22) and tied a program record with seven NESCAC victories. Hosted first- and second-round games in the NCAA Division III Tournament for the…

On April 19, 20, and 21, the Center for African American Studies and Second Shades student organization presented the play La Violecion of My PapiYon (Papiyon means butterfly in Haitian Creole) in the Patricelli '92 Theater. The play was written by Arline Pierre-Louis '19 and directed by Ruby Fludzinski '20 and Ray Achan '19. The production was put together by a cast and crew of over 50 people who all identify as people of color. Set in the beautiful town of Jacmel, Haiti, during the post-Duvalier era (1988), Gylda (played by Inayah Bashir '20 and pictured below in the purple and…

Senior Katherine Paterson's passion for theater and environmental studies has grown over the past two months while she constructed a greenhouse for an honors thesis that explores and links together urban farming, communal activity, and theater. On Earth Day, April 22, Paterson presented (at)tend, a durational performance of song, poetry, and spoken word, which unfolded over the course of the spring semester. The project involved the collective construction, seeding, and tending of a greenhouse by students and community members, and culminated with a spring harvest. "The goal of the project was to serve as an experiment in creative place-making—in creating a space that the larger…

Imagine you are advising a company that is a leading producer of a certain type of fruit product in the United States. The Chinese market has recently opened for export of this fruit product. How should the company best respond to this new market opportunity in China? What is the competition likely to do? This was the scenario facing 30 teams of students from across 16 schools in the Roland Berger Case for a Cause 2018 competition, which simulates the work of a strategy consultant. Wesleyan’s team of four students, sponsored by The Gordon Career Center, tied for first place…

According to the National Cancer Institute, approximately 1 in 8 American women will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of their lifetime, and every day new cases of invasive breast cancer are diagnosed. On April 15, more than 40 teams from Wesleyan and the Middletown community participated in the inaugural Cardinal Community Classic, a 3v3 basketball fundraising tournament. All proceeds, totaling nearly $3,400, were donated to Middlesex Hospital's Comprehensive Breast Center to support local individuals affected by breast cancer. The event was spearheaded by men's basketball team member Jordan Bonner '19, whose aunt is a breast cancer survivor. Bonner recruited Lina Marzouk…

In this recurring feature in The Wesleyan Connection, we highlight some of the latest news stories about Wesleyan and our alumni. Recent Wesleyan News Hartford Courant: "Connecticut Natives at Wesleyan Organize TEDx Conference" Wesleyan hosted its inaugural TEDx conference on April 7, featuring talks by many distinguished alumni, local officials, and others. Two of the student organizers, Eunes Harun '20 and Leo Marturi '20, are interviewed about the event. 2. The Hill: "Trump, Pelosi Appear Most in Early Ads—for the Other Side" A new analysis from the Wesleyan Media Project finds that Donald Trump has been the top target of political attack ads this…

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Seventy students from six universities participated in the annual DataFest April 6-8 at Wesleyan. Under the auspices of the American Statistical Association, the event is organized by Wesleyan's Quantitative Analysis Center. During the event, teams from Wesleyan, Trinity College, Connecticut College, the University of Connecticut, Yale University, and Bentley University were presented with a large, complex data set and worked over the weekend—and around the clock—to explore, analyze, and present their findings to a panel of judges. Judges included Agbon Edomwonyi '16, data scientist for the City of Newark, N.J.; Rich Anziano, global head of statistics for Pfizer; Melissa Mischell '17,…

On April 3, the Center for Jewish Studies honored Talia Cohen '19 with the Best Student Paper in Jewish Studies award. Cohen’s paper, which she wrote for her Romantic Poetry class during the fall semester, examines a work by Jewish composer Isaac Nathan as a powerful response to anti-Semitism. Specifically, she considers his decision to set Byron's “She Walks in Beauty” to a Sephardic Portuguese tune for Solomon ha-Levi Alkabez’s 16th-century mystical Sabbath poem, “Lecha Dodi.” According to the abstract, "While Hebrew Melodies (1815), the songbook to which the musicalized version of Lord Byron’s 'She Walks in Beauty' belongs, was widely…

Chemistry and environmental studies major Kate Sundberg ’20, one of 20 students nationwide who are part of the Friends Committee on National Legislation Advocacy Corps, attended the Spring Lobby Weekend on March 17–20 advocating for immigration policy with Congress. The Advocacy Corps is a yearlong program where young adults between the ages of 19–30 organize their local communities around federal legislation. As an organizer, Sundberg connects local activists and leaders with Congress to affect meaningful, bipartisan climate action. (more…)

On March 28, the Archaeology Program and the Department of Classical Studies invited Ian Roy of Brandeis University to Wesleyan to discuss ways new technologies are used to study the past. Roy is the founding head of Brandeis MakerLab and director for research technology and innovation at Brandeis University's library. Roy first visited the Archaeometry: How to Science the Heck out of Archaeology class taught by Andrew Koh, visiting assistant professor of archaeology. There, he demonstrated how to scan objects in 3-D using an Artec Space Spyder, a tool that uses structured light to capture incredibly high-resolution scans of objects. The class produced multiple models of artifacts, including a…

Brendan McGlone '18, who's on track to graduate in May with a triple major in classics, medieval studies and the College of Letters, will continue his post-Wesleyan education in Rome as a Paideia Institute for Humanistic Study Fellow. The Paideia Institute is a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to promoting the study and appreciation of the classical humanities, with a focus on Latin and Ancient Greek languages and literature. Paideia Fellows are selected on the basis of academic merit, personality, and potential as a future teacher of classics. Fellows teach American high school students Latin, and lead them on classics-themed tours around…

2017–18 Winter Athletic Season Ends with Historical Victories

CAAS, Second Shades Present Student-Written, Directed Play

Paterson’s Senior Thesis Explores Urban Farming, Communal Activity, Performance

Wesleyan Students Win Prestigious Consulting Competition

Cardinal Community Classic Raises Funds for Local Cancer Center

Wesleyan in the News

PhD Candidate Case Speaks on DNA Repair

Wesleyan Team Wins Prize for “Best User Insight” at DataFest

Paper by Cohen ’19 Honored by Center for Jewish Studies

Sundberg ’20 Lobbies for Immigration Policy as National Legislation Advocacy Corps Organizer

Students Learn about New Technologies Being Used to Study the Past

McGlone ’18 to Study, Teach Latin in Rome with Paideia Fellowship