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Steve ScarpaMay 24, 20238min
Paul Quach ’26 felt that immersing himself in the work of the Wesleyan Student Assembly was a great way to make an impact and to find his place at Wesleyan. Eliana Bloomfield ’25 found echoes of her family in her contribution to the Middletown community. Jackson Rane ’26 used his family’s background in mental health and their sense of humor to inspire his art. By following her passions, Olivia Adams ’23 set an example for the entire University. These students are just a few examples of the dozens of deserving prize and award recipients announced by Wesleyan University over the…

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Mike MavredakisMay 17, 20236min
A patient sits on a cold, hard table under fluorescent lights while a doctor prepares to do their work. Acknowledging that there are limits to what medical practitioners can do, Isabel Koral ’23 said the experience of an in-clinic abortion often seems impersonal. Intentional or not, there’s always a barrier between the medical professional and patient, she said. Koral, a Science in Society and Hispanic Literatures and Cultures double-major, has held a longstanding interest in Reproductive Justice, and during a study abroad experience in Mérida, México, Koral learned a new approach. There is a thriving culture of collectives and caretaker…

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Mike MavredakisMay 17, 20233min
Hands touching the sky. Hearts vibrating to the beat of an amplifier with the bass maxed out. Cowboy boots scattered among the grass. Sunglasses of every shape and shade imaginable. Through all the variance of outfits and personalities, there was one constant among the crowd—smiles so wide and bright a dentist could only smirk. From atop the pop-up Ferris wheel, all one could see was a swarm of students migrating to the stage and back into line for a dose of cotton candy—the energy burst needed to keep their hands up and feet moving. “Wes is about the community and…

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Steve ScarpaMay 10, 20237min
With access to knowledge under assault across the country, the Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies department and the Shapiro Center for Creative Writing and Criticism struck a blow for the freedom to read whatever you like. Last week, the departments hosted two banned book giveaways as part of the Freedom to Learn National Day of Action. On May 3, 2023, FGSS and Shapiro Center gave away almost 100 banned books to students, staff, and faculty.  “These actions by FGSS and the Shapiro Center engage the university in a nationwide day of resistance against the banning of books that tell truths about gender,…

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Mike MavredakisMay 10, 20236min
After working on a controlled environment aquaponics farming project at The Pomfret School, Brinton Thomas ’23 was a full-on believer in the concept. He thought it was the next phase in sustainable farming and he had planned to write his senior thesis on its benefits. Then something changed. After a few days of research on the rapidly-growing farming practice while preparing an investment memo for an asset management company he interned at last summer, Thomas realized that these systems are not developed enough to be impactful on a large scale. He thought it was the future of farming, and it…

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Steve ScarpaMay 9, 20234min
A new scholarship program will offer a group of exceptional students from Africa the opportunity to join the Wesleyan University community. Beginning fall 2023, the newly announced Wesleyan African Scholars Program will welcome a select group of students from Africa each year, providing each with a four-year 100 percent cost of attendance scholarship. “As part of the University’s ongoing efforts at internationalization, we will be bringing more talented students from Africa into the stimulating and supportive world of Wesleyan,” said President Michael S. Roth ’78. Students in the African Scholars Program will find support at the Fries Center for Global…

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Editorial StaffMay 4, 20235min
By Maia Bronfman '24 Talia Zitner ’23 organized the Garden Festival under the mentorship of Professor of Physics Brian Stewart as a “non-traditional thesis,” about sustainability and community in recognition of Earth Day, she said. Student performers and bands, including Maganda, High Standards, Noise Baby, Loose Geese, and Lily Gitlitz, played throughout the afternoon and into the evening on Friday, April 21. Zzzahara and Billy Woods, visiting musicians, closed the event in the backyard of Russell House. Zitner—an English and environmental studies double-major—started working on the festival a year ago, but it was inspired by her earlier experience transferring to…

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Mike MavredakisMay 3, 202313min
President Michael S. Roth ’78 spoke about “Safe Enough Spaces” and their place in the debate around free speech at a symposium on Speech and Expression on College Campuses at Skidmore College on April 15. President Roth wrote a book review of “The Age of Guilt: The Super Ego in the Online World” by Mark Edmundson for The Washington Post. The book examines online judgementalism through a Freudian lens, Roth writes. He called Edmundson’s writing “engaging” with a “friendly yet incisive” tone. The Chronicle of Higher Education’s The Review newsletter quoted a tweet from Roth in a piece about scholars…

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Andrew ChatfieldMay 3, 202310min
Students from the “Dance as Activism” course this spring will perform a new movement piece based on excerpts from Shapiro-Silverberg Distinguished Writer in Residence Mahogany L. Browne‘s poetry collection “Chrome Valley” at Lincoln Center in New York on September 9. Their performance, called “Movement Through The Valley,” received its first showing in the Bessie Schönberg Dance Studio April 14. The “Dance as Activism” course is taught by Assistant Professor of the Practice in Dance and African American Studies Joya Powell. On May 8, the class will share individual projects—solos and duets, and a workshop­—in conversation with social issues of their…

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Mike MavredakisMay 2, 20236min
Art, like many areas of creative expression, does not always get the full attention it deserves. On average, visitors only spend 15 to 30 seconds looking at an artwork before moving on, according to studies done by several notable art museums. Peter Ketels Fulweiler ’23 said hearing this statistic fascinated him and made him want to create art that kept people’s attention. He exhibited his senior thesis piece “Terms and Conditions,” an interactive sculpture, at the Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery on March 28 to April 2. And yet, 15 to 30 seconds would seem long for many to view…

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Editorial StaffApril 26, 202310min
By Maia Bronfman '24 Seven students at different stages in their startups delivered pitches to potential partners and funders on Friday, April 14, at Beckham Hall during the Patricelli Center’s New Venture Awards Finalist Showcase hosted by Interim Director Ahmed Badr. “The public showcase of the New Venture Awards is a key priority of the Patricelli Center, as it presents an opportunity for students to introduce their work to the larger campus community, as well as alumni working across sectors. The gathering kicks off a series of engagements between students and alumni, and is always followed by new friendships, mentorships,…

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Mike MavredakisApril 26, 20236min
By amplifying the personal experience of women in Jamaica who are living with HIV/AIDS, Nilukshi Chen ’23 hopes to explore the rampant fear and stigma surround the disease in the island nation. Chen interviewed four women for her senior thesis on the stigma surrounding HIV and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in Jamaica. Her thesis, titled “Sounding Subaltern Voices: Conversations with Jamaican Women Living with HIV/AIDS,” considers Spivak’s “Can the Subaltern Speak” to grapple with what it means give a voice to individuals who have been historically voiceless. The term “subaltern” refers to an individual or group who is excluded from…