Lauren RubensteinWesleyan was strongly represented by faculty, undergraduates and alumni at the Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, the major conference in the field. The meeting was held in Philadelphia, Pa. March 19-21. Members of the Cognitive Development Labs, co-directed by Associate Professor of Psychology Anna Shusterman and Associate Professor of Psychology Hilary Barth, presented research at the conference. Former lab coordinator Jessica Taggart presented work done with Jillian Roberts '15, current lab coordinator Lonnie Bass, and Barth titled, "Minimal group membership and children's ideas of equality." This is Roberts' senior thesis project. Andrew Ribner '14 presented his senior thesis, "Preschool…
Olivia DrakeWith more than 20 vendors from throughout New England and the tri-state area selling new and used music in all formats, the 88.1 FM WESU community record fair has become a cherished tradition, attracting a diverse crowd of new and old record collectors. The WESU Spring 2015 Record Fair will take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 28 in Beckham Hall. Browse new and used CDs, records, music-related apparel, books, WESU merchandise and more. WESU DJs will be spinning records live throughout the day to inspire your crate digging. "Each vendor will be offering their own unique mix…
The Natural Sciences and Mathematics Division is sponsoring its annual Celebration of Science Theses from 12:30 to 2 p.m. April 17 in Exley Science Center. Poster presentations will be made by NSM honors and MA students. Refreshments will be provided. The entire Wesleyan community is invited. "Come join us in appreciation of our students’ achievements," said Manju Hingorani, professor of molecular biology and biochemistry. The event is co-organized by Hingorani; Barbara Juhasz, associate professor of psychology, associate professor of neuroscience and behavior, director of the Service Learning Center; and Seth Redfield, assistant professor of astronomy.
Restorative justice practices, such as victim-offender mediation, family group conferencing, programs for juvenile offenders, and community policing, emerged to give victims and their surrounding communities greater agency than traditional criminal procedure provides to resolve conflict and address its consequences. As a 2015-16 Watson Fellow, Isabella Banks '15 will travel to countries where restorative justice has had success, acting as a participant-observer in these practices. Banks will interview individuals involved and evaluate the capacity of restorative alternatives to heal those affected by crime and reduce recidivism within each cultural context. "In doing so, I hope to come closer to envisioning a…
Brian KattenWhen the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) announced the names this month of 939 athletes among its conference member schools who earned the distinction of academic all-NESCAC during the winter 2014-15 season, Wesleyan celebrated its largest pool ever in winter with 89 student-athletes. These student-athletes, sophomores and above, meet the criteria of being significant contributors to their teams while achieving a cumulative GPA of 3.35 or higher. The student-athletes play in the following winter sports: men's and women's basketball, men's and women's ice hockey, men's and women's swimming and diving, men's and women's squash, men's and women's indoor track and wrestling. Some highlights from this season's group…
The NESCAC has announced the 2014-15 winter recipients of the All-Sportsmanship awards for each of the 11 member colleges. In total, eight Wesleyan athletes have been recognized with one in each of the eight winter sports (men's and women's basketball, men's and women's ice hockey, men's and women's swimming and diving, and men's and women's squash). They are James Albrecht '15 (men's ice hockey), Liz Baumgartner '15 (women's swimming and diving), Mike DeLalio '15 (men's squash), Bridget Doherty '16 (women's squash), Bryan Galvin '15 (men's basketball), Cara Jankowsi '15 (women's ice hockey), Cherkira Lashley '15 (women's basketball), Travis Williams '15…
Bryan Stascavage '18Wesleyan's vegan fare continues to impress voters and critics: collegemagazine.org has named the school the ninth best vegan campus nationwide, and Wesleyan is looking to reach the final round in the People's Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) "March Madness"-style voting contest. According to collegemagazine.org: Wesleyan not only boasts its history of social justice activism, but also a wide range of mouth-watering vegan foods. Veggie chicken red curry is just one of these fine meals. Let your senses run wild with Bon Appétit, the campus’ food supplier. Their navy bean soup, garden burger and steamed parsnips will have you running back for more. Even…
Stephen Devoto, professor of neuroscience and behavior; Rosemary Doris, visiting assistant professor of biology; Ph.D. candidate Steffie Windner; and neuroscience and behavior major Chantal Ferguson ’13 are the co-authors of a paper that is the culmination of three years of research. The paper, titled "Tbx6, Mesp-b and Ripply1 Regulate the Onset of Skeletal Myogenesis in Zebrafish" is published in the March 2015 edition of Development, Vol. 142, No. 6, pages 1,159-1,168. The paper is a collaboration between Wesleyan, Kings College London and the National Institute for Medical Research (MRC). Devoto highlights the importance of the paper: The paper identifies three new regulators of muscle development,…
#THISISWHY In this News @ Wesleyan story, we speak with Brent Packer from the Class of 2015. Q: Brent, where are you from and what are you majoring in? A: I was born and raised in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Growing up nearby Amish farms and having tortoises, dogs and a semi-domesticated duck scampering around my house piqued my environmental interests. At Wesleyan, I’m a member of the College of the Environment with a double major in economics and environmental studies. Q: You are the founder of Potlux, an online community where collegiate sustainability initiatives are aggregated and shared. What is the…
The Exley Science Center’s first level, which underwent renovations earlier this year, has been outfitted with all new furniture, offering a variety of seating options. According to Brandi Hood, senior project coordinator with Construction Services, the lobby boasts 34 new lounge seats with end tables (each with USB and power outlets); four tables with 15 low-top study seats; six tables with 24 high-top café seats; and nine standing countertop kiosks for those looking to charge a cell phone or take a quick break. “This seating was chosen to provide a variety of comfortable, single and group seats, (more…)
On Feb. 27, representatives from seven Wesleyan athletic teams visited Woodrow Wilson Middle School in Middletown to promote the anti-bullying message "if it's mean, then intervene" with about 300 seventh and eighth graders. The student-athletes worked with the school's RAM Pride Patrol program, which is run by seventh grade teacher and Wesleyan alumnus Anthony Albrech '08. Albrecht organized the participation by Wesleyan athletes with Jeff McDonald, assistant football coach. McDonald drafted 16 student athletes from the men's and women's lacrosse teams, men's hockey team, football, men’s tennis team, women’s basketball and men’s track to come to the school for two separate presentations.…
Mateusz “Matt” Burgunder ’15 recently competed in the 2015 Ski Mountaineering World Championships in Verbier, Switzerland where the U.S. National Ski Mountaineering Team finished in 10th place overall. This was Burgunder's fourth time competing for the U.S., participating in three events. Competitors race by climbing up and skiing down mountains at a rate of approximately 3,000 feet per hour. The 2015 Ski Mountaineering World Championships, hosted by the International Ski Mountaineering Federation, were held Feb. 6–12. More information about the U.S. Ski Mountaineering Association and the 2015 World Championships can be found online. See photos of Burgunder's events below: (more…)