Olivia DrakeZak Kirwood ’12, a volunteer with Planned Parenthood of Connecticut, was awarded the 2009 Planned Parenthood Federation of America Young Volunteer of the Year award. During his senior year at Amity Regional High School in Woodbridge, Conn., Kirwood volunteered for Planned Parenthood and was recruited for the organization's Students Teaching About Responsible Sexuality (S.T.A.R.S.) peer education program. S.T.A.R.S. educators speak to members of their communities about sexual health issues. "I would act as a resource in my high school - handing out condoms, and information about sexual health and rights," Kirwood said during his award acceptance speech in Houston, Texas.…
David PesciVersed, a new poetry collection by Rae Armantrout published by Wesleyan University Press, is a National Book Award Finalist. There will be a reading of the Finalists' work on Nov. 17 at The New School in New York City. On the following day, the winners will be announced at the annual awards ceremony.
(Photos by Stefan Weinberger '10) For more information on the Center for the Humanties go to: http://www.wesleyan.edu/chum/
WNPR News featured a story on Jessica Posner '09, Wesleyan Writing Fellow, and Kennedy Odede '11 and the school for girls they built over the summer in Kibera, Kenya. The school, which the two students built using a Projects for Peace Grant, is up and running.
From his home in Hawaii, Evan Weber '13 can walk a couple hundred yards and be standing in the Pacific Ocean. Or, he can walk a couple hundred yards and be on the Ka'iwa Ridge, climbing through forests. As a result of his fortunate placement, Weber grew up with a deep connection to the natural world and developed a sense of personal duty to preserve and uphold the "multifaceted wonder that is our home, Earth," he says. At Wesleyan, Weber plans to expand his appreciation and knowledge for the planet by double majoring in the new Environmental Studies (ENVS) Linked…
With a ribbon-cutting ceremony Oct. 2, Wesleyan unveiled a facility that enables Wesleyan to focus resources, encourage curricular innovation, original research and scholarship, and foster greater public understanding and responsibility. The Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life, which occupies the renovated Davenport Campus Center, will emphasize its academic engagement with the public sphere. The center continues Wesleyan’s commitment to preparing students for lives as active citizens and for leadership. It seeks to support Wesleyan’s tradition of the scholar-teacher by encouraging faculty research in a manner that directly benefits and enhances student learning. The Center reflects changes that have…
For 15 days, Nathaniel Draper ’12 mingled with top filmmakers at the Cannes Film Festival while participating in educational workshops, seminars, pitch sessions, roundtable discussions and screenings. He also happened to pick up an award for a film of his own while he was there. As a student intern at the 62nd annual Cannes Film Festival, held May 13-24 in southern France, Draper had a hands-on opportunity to explore the film industry through the prism of perhaps it most prestigious international event. "It was, to put it lightly, a surreal experience," Draper recalls. "I was able to meet iconic directors…
On Oct. 10, 1741, Mr. William Bartlit was laid to rest in the Vine/Washington Street Cemetery near Wesleyan University. According to his gravestone, Bartlit was "aged about 70 years" and was "the first interred in this yard." "Mr. Bartlit has the oldest marker in this cemetery," says Elizabeth Milroy, director of the Art History Program and professor of art history and American studies at Wesleyan University. "We would like to find out more about him." Milroy, who is teaching the Service Learning Course AMST 205 "The Study of Material Culture: Marking the Past in Middletown," is assigning each of her…
Corrina KerrThe following is the second installment of The Wesleyan Connection's new feature, "5 Questions." This issue, accomplished composer and Wesleyan Professor of Music Neely Bruce is our guest. Q: I see your piece Vistas will be performed at the "Hearts Pounding and Skins Taut" concert in late October at Wesleyan. For what instrument was this piece originally composed? NB: Vistas at Dawn is a short (approximately three minute) piece for organ and vibraphone. Q: For what musician did you compose this piece? NB: I wrote it for Ronald Ebrecht, Wesleyan University Organist, to play. Over the years I’ve written two…
“Every university should have a labyrinth, for it represents our desire to unravel the essential mysteries of human existence. It is a problem to be solved, a question to be answered, a paradox to be considered. Each labyrinth has a center and, as a diagram of learning, its tangled patterns lead us to that hidden core. Even as the pursuit of knowledge follows many diverging paths there is also a basic symmetry to these designs, a unified whole that pleases the eye and piques the mind.” - Stephen Alter '77 This month, the Wesleyan community can leave the stress behind…