From Global Pandemic to Anti-Racism: Wesleyan’s Year in Review

The year 2020 will undoubtedly go down in history as one of the most memorable of the modern era. From the threat and real-life toll of a global pandemic to domestic clashes over social, racial, and political injustice, 2020 was full of challenges—and the Wesleyan community met each one head-on. We banded together to keep our students and staff safe and pushed each other to show our resilience, to step up and speak out, and to use our trademark creativity to adapt and lead the way in addressing our new socially distanced and politically charged reality. In this timeline, we…

When hometown friends Michayla Robertson-Pine and Tessa Levenstein found themselves frustrated with online learning at the college level, they suspected school-aged children were also suffering in the world of online education, and that young people were actively looking for fun creative ways to engage with each other socially. That's when Wesleyan junior Robertson-Pine '22 and Amherst College junior Tessa Levenstein '22 decided to create a remote, project-based, community-oriented program with the intent of spreading joyful learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Named Tin Can Learners, the program aims to take the load off of parents and offer engaging and energizing after-school…

As part of the BIO 173: Global Change and Infectious Disease course, Professor Fred Cohan assigns students to write an essay persuading others to prevent future and mitigate present infectious diseases. If students submit their essay to a news outlet—and it's published—Cohan awards them with extra credit. As a result of this assignment, more than 25 students have had their work published in newspapers across the United States. Many of these essays cite and applaud the University's Keep Wes Safe campaign and its COVID-19 testing protocols. Cohan, professor of biology and Huffington Foundation Professor in the College of the Environment…

When religion major Shayna Dollinger '22 imagined her college experience, it never involved mandatory quarantining, weekly virus testing, attending concerts—solo—in a 6-by-6-foot square space, and wearing masks at a socially distanced tashlich on Rosh Hashanah. But this was the true reality of her junior year at Wesleyan. "But weirdly enough, I don’t miss what could have been. I am proud and grateful every day for the lengths my university has gone to keep its students safe and engaged during these turbulent times," Dollinger wrote in an essay titled "My Pandemic Year in College Has Brought Pride and Purpose." The essay,…

With the holiday season approaching, Wesleyan's Pandemic Planning Committee (PPC) reminds students, faculty, and staff to remain vigilant and safe. "We have made it past the election and the Thanksgiving holiday is in sight," wrote Wesleyan's Medical Director and PCC member Dr. Tom McLarney in an email to the campus community on November 16. "As you are undoubtedly aware, the coronavirus pandemic has entered an alarming new phase, with cases rising sharply in most parts of the country and moderate increases in Connecticut. Despite the rigorous testing and safety protocols the University put in place, we are not immune from…

This fall, the introductory-level course PSYC 105: Foundations of Contemporary Psychology is being taught entirely online to 200 students due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After six weeks of remote lectures and interactive breakout sections via Zoom, Professors Steve Stemler and Sarah Carney who are team-teaching the course, hoped to break the "Zoom fatigue" routine and get their students physically interacting. So working together with the eight course TAs, they created a campus-wide psychological scavenger hunt. With the first wave of students participating on Oct 27, and other waves participating subsequently, more than 110 students participated in the activity in person,…

Angie Makomenaw, mental health education and prevention coordinator, joined Wesleyan's Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) in January 2020. She talks about her goals in this new position, the uniquely challenging circumstances affecting students' mental health, and how CAPS is reaching and supporting students during the pandemic. You are Wesleyan’s first mental health education and prevention coordinator. Please tell us about your role and what needs on campus you were hired to address. This position was created out of an understanding of the importance of prevention in mental health. I am accountable for organizing initiatives for the Wes community in the…

Wesleyan's careful planning, creative problem-solving, and exemplary adherence to safety protocols have resulted in the campus community staying together this semester. For the third week in a row, Wesleyan has 0 reported cases of COVID-19. "This is a proud and happy moment for us all," said Wesleyan President Michael Roth '78 in a recent Public Health Update. "At the same time, it is a precarious moment. We understand that the pandemic is still with us and that the public health context can change at any time." With these considerations in mind, Wesleyan will hold Thanksgiving Recess from Wednesday, Nov. 25…

The COVID-19 pandemic drastically affected the way faculty teach, students learn, and staff work to help the University. In this article, we spotlight Linda Hurteau, Science Library assistant, who has helped make the library a safe environment for patrons and staff alike. The once busy and bustling Science Library, which stays open until 2 a.m. to accommodate those who study late into the night, is open for service this fall semester. However, the pandemic has drastically changed the way students interact with and use the library. And no one knows this better than Science Library Assistant Linda Hurteau, a 16-year…

When the COVID-19 outbreak disrupted in-person classes last spring, several faculty found innovative and creative ways to adapt to online teaching and learning. In the third of a fall-semester series, we’ll be highlighting ways faculty from various departments are coping with teaching during a pandemic, and showcase individual ways courses are thriving in an in-person, online, or hybridized environment. In this issue, we spotlight Katja Kolcio, associate professor of dance and director of the Allbritton Center. Kolcio also is a core faculty member of the College of the Environment, Environmental Studies, and Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies Programs at…

Three weeks into the fall semester, Wesleyan students are adapting to the "new normal" during the COVID-19 pandemic. Face coverings or masks are required in all public spaces to help reduce the spread of the virus. Some students find the masks also can serve as a fashion accessory or statement piece. (Photos by Olivia Drake MALS '08) (more…)

This fall, Wesleyan is holding in-person classes on campus in both indoor and outdoor classroom settings. More than 180 classrooms have been revised in order to achieve a minimum six-foot distance between occupants. Updated floor plans and maximum room capacity are clearly posted in each classroom. Faculty and students are required to wear face coverings in classrooms at all times. In addition, break times have been expanded to 30 minutes or more to allow for custodians to disinfect all touchable surfaces in each classroom between classes. (Photos by Olivia Drake) (more…)

From Global Pandemic to Anti-Racism: Wesleyan’s Year in Review

Students Launch Fun, Interactive Virtual Program for School-Aged Kids

Students’ Essays on Infectious Disease Prevention, COVID-19 Published Nationwide

Dollinger ’22: Pandemic Year in College Brings Pride, Purpose

Campus Urged to Stay Vigilant; COVID-19 Testing Site Moved Indoors

Psychological Scavenger Hunt Helps Alleviate Zoom Fatigue

Makomenaw Focuses on Resilience Building, Prevention in Student Mental Health

Adherence to Safety Protocols Results in Safe and Successful Fall Semester

Working at Wes during a Pandemic: Hurteau Helps Science Library Adapt to New Social Distancing Guidelines

Students Explore New Reality through Dance

Face Coverings become a Form of Student Expression

Classes Held in Socially-Distanced Indoor and Outdoor Classrooms