Immigration officials have detained students and others for protesting and for their speech. Our social media algorithms are flooded with disinformation and imagery created by artificial intelligence. The principles of the First Amendment are at risk. Is the answer more speech in opposition to threats to democracy? Or is it carefully crafted regulation like some European countries have created? These and other thorny topics were the subject of the 32nd annual Hugo L. Black Lecture, “The Fate of Free Speech in the Trump Era,” featuring Emily Bazelon, staff writer at New York Times Magazine, and President Michael S. Roth ’78…

By: Phuc Ngo ’27 President Michael S. Roth ’78 penned an article for TIME discussing the strategy of de-escalation versus appeasement that universities and other institutions have used in response to attacks on higher education. Roth argues in the piece that while de-escalation with Trump would be a desirable solution, it is currently difficult to achieve. The failure of de-escalation so far has led to appeasement, a far less effective and dangerous strategy. In conclusion, Roth stated, “many decision makers are afraid, and so they choose a path of appeasement with a White House bent on revenge and aggrandizing power,…

By: Jeff Harder and Mike Mavredakis It’s difficult to track every superlative that the Wesleyan’s men’s basketball team notched during the last six months. The team registered a 24-0 record in the regular season, setting a program record and becoming the first NESCAC team to complete an undefeated regular season since the league became a formal playing conference and championships began in the 2000-01 season. The only blemishes on its overall record came from eventual NCAA Division III champions Trinity College. Yet in advancing to the NCAA Division III Final Four for the first time, this incarnation of Wesleyan’s men’s…

When Bobby Sanabria was 12 years old, he saw an outdoor concert by bandleader and timbale player Tito Puente in his neighborhood at East 153rd Street that changed his life. “That’s when I knew,” he said. “This is what I want to do for the rest of my life.” More than 50 years later, the impacts of that life-changing moment continue to reverberate as Sanabria brings his signature talents as a drummer, percussionist, composer, arranger, and educator to campus for the 22nd annual Wesleyan Jazz Orchestra Weekend on April 26. The performance will be the Connecticut debut of his ensemble…

More than 100 high school students who took classes at Wesleyan in partnership with National Ed Equity Lab were inducted into the Lab’s National Honor Society on March 12 during a virtual ceremony. These students performed in the top 20 percent nationwide this fall. Wesleyan is a partner of Ed Equity Lab, a nonprofit dedicated to expanding higher education access to students at low-income Title I and Title I-eligible high schools. These high schools receive federal funding to support students from low-income families. The courses are co-led by Wesleyan faculty members, who provide instruction virtually, in partnership with teachers in…

When Gina Driscoll reunited with Simon Shen ’02 on a recent trip to Japan, she was delightfully surprised by his reaction to seeing her far from campus. Shen, a Freeman Scholar from Hong Kong, hadn’t seen Gina in nearly 20 years, and yet, his first words weren’t “Hello” or “How have you been?” Instead, he smiled and said, “I still remember the Thanksgiving dinner you and John hosted.” As Driscoll recounted this moment in her interview, she became teary eyed. “That’s when it really hits you—these small moments matter,” she said. She and her husband, John Driscoll ’62, had spent…

It is with great pleasure that we announce the promotions of seven faculty members. The following faculty were conferred tenure effective July 1, 2025, by the Board of Trustees at its most recent meeting: Royette T. Dubar, Associate Professor of Psychology Kyungmi Kim, Associate Professor of Psychology Valeria López Fadul, Associate Professor of History Alexis May, Associate Professor of Psychology Courtney J. Patterson-Faye, Associate Professor of Sociology Katie Pearl, Associate Professor of Theater Justin Craig Peck, Associate Professor of Government Please join us in congratulating all of them! Brief descriptions of their areas of research and teaching appear below: Royette…

The U.S. Supreme Court has the final say on any civil or criminal case that it hears, period. In the state systems, the high courts also make final determinations about law, but the way state supreme courts govern is not nearly as fixed as one might assume, said Associate Professor of Government Alyx Mark. In a new book, Mark set out to clarify the ways power is structured across state court systems. She undertook a significant investigation of each state’s civil court landscape and how they changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. She detailed her findings in Courts Unmasked: Civil Legal…

By Mahek Uttamchandani ‘26 On Saturday, Feb. 15, Wesleyan’s South Asian Student Association, Shakti, presented their annual Samsara performance. The showcase reached new heights with an impressive array of dances, musical performances, and even an emcee duo whose playful banter evolved into an unfolding stage romance. The night was a celebration of South Asian arts and culture in all their variety. From the Bollywood numbers performed by students in each class year to Nepali dances and fusion music acts, Samsara displayed a diverse range of performances, reflecting the vibrancy and tradition held by Wesleyan’s students. Kaustabh Vasudevan ’26, vice president…

When Martha Gilmore, dean of Natural Sciences and Mathematics and Joshua Boger University Professor of the Sciences and Mathematics, was in graduate school, she read a series of books detailing comprehensive knowledge of Venus. She recalled wondering how an individual gets to be the person writing that paper or that book chapter that serves as the scientific community’s foundational piece of knowledge on a particular topic. This year, she answered the question. The International Space Science Institute published Venus: Evolution Through Time, a collection of the preeminent papers on the current knowledge of how Venus formed, evolved, and reached its…

Architect and landscape architect Miho Mazereeuw ’96 has spent three decades researching how communities can proactively plan and prepare to rebuild vibrant cities after a disaster occurs, reducing their vulnerability and risk in a rapidly urbanizing world. In January 1995, when Mazereeuw was a junior at Wesleyan double majoring in Art Studio and Earth and Environmental Sciences, an earthquake struck Kobe, Japan, where her parents were living. “My father's workplace was destroyed,” said Mazereeuw, associate professor of Architecture and Urbanism and director of the Urban Risk Lab at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). “It started my exploration of trying to…

By: Mike Mavredakis and Phuc Ngo ’27 President Roth on Free Speech President Michael S. Roth ’78 has appeared in several media outlets in recent weeks calling for the defense of democracy, free speech, and academic freedom in the face of challenges from the federal government. Roth was quoted in The New York Times on March 14 for story on universities as a target following the detention of Mahmoud Khalil, a pro-Palestinian activist and former Columbia University graduate student. “We at universities have not done enough over the years to pay attention to those groups — conservative groups, religious groups…

Emily Bazelon on Fate of Free Speech During Hugo Black Lecture

Wesleyan in the News: April 2025

The Four Games That Defined Men’s Basketball’s Season

Latin Jazz Expert to Perform at Wesleyan Jazz Weekend

Wesleyan’s Ed Equity Lab Scholars Inducted into Honor Society

Gina Driscoll’s 40 Years of Community-Building: A Wesleyan Legacy

2025 Faculty Tenure and Promotion Announced

New Faculty Book on Civil Courts Post-COVID

Samsara 2025: South Asian Arts Showcase

Book on Venus Features Studies from Gilmore Lab

Alum Talk on Disaster Preparedness

Wesleyan in the News: March 2025