Jeff HarderSeptember 13, 20227min
A little after 6 p.m. last Tuesday, the din of pre-game practice shots and tinny hip-hop quieted inside Silloway Gymnasium, and Wesleyan’s women’s volleyball team assembled for the season opener against the Coast Guard Bears. Within moments of the first serve, the scoreboard registered the Cardinals’ lead: 5-0, a fitting start to a game that the No. 21 nationally ranked team ultimately won three sets to none. But it was also an accidental symbol: On the 50th anniversary of the passage of Title IX of the Education Amendments—the landmark civil rights law perhaps best known for expanding women’s opportunities to…

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Steve ScarpaSeptember 2, 202211min
Emotions run high on Arrival Day at Wesleyan. Raw nerves live next to joy. Tears and laughs happen simultaneously. For the Class of 2026, the day is filled with hope, aspiration, and the promise a new year brings. “I’m feeling good. A little bit nervous. In the short term, I am excited to meet new people and make amazing new friends, but then I want to find my passion and explore different academic areas,” said William Liang ’26, whose sister Mia is a member of the Class of 2023. The 745 members of the Class of 2026, who arrived on…

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Steve ScarpaAugust 30, 202212min
From exploring the inner workings of the European Union to helping students in Zambia learn English along with a way to advocate for themselves, Wesleyan’s recipients of the Fulbright U.S. Student program will serve the Fulbright mission of citizen to citizen diplomacy and learn about themselves in the process. “I’ve spoken to other Fulbright (recipients) and they said when they left the program, they knew exactly what they wanted to do and they had a completely different perspective on their own situations … This program will be amazing because it will teach me all sides of the education perspective,” said…

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Steve ScarpaAugust 1, 20226min
Almost every scientist has an origin story, the moment they knew a life of scientific inquiry and research was something they wanted. “All of the faculty have that story,” said Seth Redfield, professor of astronomy, at the annual poster session held at Exley Science Center on July 28. “Almost all of them involve an experience like this one.” About 200 students representing all of the University’s scientific disciplines shared the fruits of a summer spent doing research. The summer research program is hosted by the College of Integrative Sciences. Students and faculty milled around the lobby of Exley, talking to…

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Olivia DrakeJune 29, 20227min
Following Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 which led to the forced relocation and internment of more than 120,000 Japanese Americans. Among these were thousands of college students who were also discharged from their respective universities. In response, several university officials, church leaders, and active citizens formed the National Japanese Student Relocation Council in an attempt to return these Japanese American students—most of whom were U.S. citizens—back to college campuses, nationwide. "Japanese American WWII incarceration is a huge part of Asian American history that is not taught enough in schools," said economics major…

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Steve ScarpaMay 22, 202218min
On a joyous day marked by ritual and ceremony, Wesleyan University bid a fond farewell to the accomplished Class of 2022 at its 190th Commencement on Sunday, May 22.  “I am extremely excited. I’ve been ready for this day,” said Ama Hagan ’22. “College is full of trials and tribulations, but there is a lot of success headed (our) way.” Wesleyan University conferred 793 Bachelor of Arts degrees, 12 Doctor of Philosophy degrees, 38 Master of Arts, two Masters of Philosophy in Liberal Arts, 31 Masters of Arts in Liberal Studies, and six Bachelors of Liberal Studies. (View all photos…

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Andrew ChatfieldMay 19, 20226min
Gabby Farina ’23, an Art History and English major, was interested in how artists’ work dealt with family, identity, body, grossness, and fleshiness. What she found from her classmates inspired her. “Everything was very much tied back to this idea of the human form,” Farina said. Farina is the first Wesleyan student to curate a Senior Thesis Showcase exhibition on her own. The exhibition, “It's Mutual,” was the first such exhibition in the Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery since COVID-19 led to the cancellation of a planned showcase in May 2020. As part of her tutorial, Farina visited the working…

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Olivia DrakeMay 16, 20226min
Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow Elena Brennan '24 is as equally passionate about her American studies major as she is of helping fellow underrepresented and first-generation low-income (FGLI) students succeed. As chair of the Wesleyan Student Assembly's Equity and Inclusion Committee (EIC), she coordinated First Cardinals, an FGLI mentorship program that fosters connections between 40 first-years with juniors, and seniors. As a member of the BIPOC Mental Health Collective, she spurred a collaboration with the EIC, Wesleyan Student Assembly and Resource Center to host an event that addresses systemic issues on campus for marginalized students. And, in reaction to a post…

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Steve ScarpaMay 9, 20226min
Political upheaval. A national reckoning on matters of race. A global pandemic. Any one of these major world happenings would leave an impact on a student’s college experience. But for the Wesleyan University Class of 2022, the totality of events has been, to dredge up an overused expression, unprecedented. As Reunion and Commencement Weekend 2022 approaches, Wesleyan reflects on and celebrates a class that has shown courage, creativity, and resiliency in the face of a complicated and fraught world. “There were difficulties aplenty, but also tremendous fortitude and endless examples of sacrifice for the greater good,” said Michael Whaley, vice…

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Steve ScarpaMay 2, 20224min
Every year, as Wesleyan students empty their rooms at the end of the Spring semester, they fill dumpsters with usable items – everything from clothing and room décor to small appliances. “There was still more waste generated than we like,” said Hayley Berliner, temporary sustainability director. “We want to divert as much as we can.” Debbra Goh ’24 and Annie Volker ’24, both eco-facilitators for Wesleyan Sustainability, have come up with an idea on how to lessen the waste. The duo will launch WesThrift at 284 High next fall, a free store for clothing and dorm essentials located in the…

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Steve ScarpaApril 13, 20225min
Maeve Hoffman ’23 looked for a single positive outcome from every race of 2021-22 women’s indoor track season. It could be something big – like a win, of which there were many – or a technical improvement that brought her closer to her ideal performance. No matter what, she sought to find one good thing. “Running is, for me, a lot about positive momentum. If you find that one good thing and channel it, you know the next (meet) will be better. If you don’t, the weeks are going to fly by and it’s not going to go your way,”…

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Olivia DrakeApril 11, 20228min
Every summer, Anna Fehr '23 would cherish family camping trips to the mountains in California. There, she could see something many people—especially city residents—rarely get to experience: a truly dark night sky. "I remember seeing the Milky Way and just being blown away by the sheer number of stars," she recalls. "I think I knew at the time that each star was like another sun, and it was just impossible to imagine the scope of what I could see with a naked eye. Also, my parents both have August birthdays, so we would go up to the mountains during the…