December 2014 – Page 2

#THISISWHY (by Christine Foster. Originally published in Wesleyan Magazine, Dec. 10, 2014) Professor of Art Tula Telfair’s epic and massive landscape paintings fill the walls of Wesleyan’s Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery. They call forth our memories of the most stunning scenic vistas—craggy mountains topped by threatening clouds; impossibly moist, green valleys; icebergs jutting hundreds of feet out of the freezing aqua waters below. From a distance, they appear to be photographs, but they aren’t. These views don’t even exist, except in Telfair’s mind and on her canvases. Still—even knowing they are imagined— the viewer is tempted to look for signs of…

Thirteen students enrolled in Professor of Art Tula Telfair's Painting I course (ARTS 439) displayed their artwork at a Painting Show Dec. 8 at Art Studio South. This introductory-level course in painting (oils) emphasized work from observation and stressed the fundamentals of formal structure: color, paint manipulation, composition and scale. Students addressed conceptual problems that helped them develop an understanding of the power of visual images to convey ideas and expressions. (Photos by Dat Vu '15) (more…)

Professor of Government James McGuire is the author of a book chapter titled "Democracy, Agency and the Classification of Political Regimes," published in Reflections on Uneven Democracies: The Legacy of Guillermo O'Donnell by Johns Hopkins University Press, 2014. Guillermo O'Donnell (1936-2011) was widely recognized as the world's leading scholar of Latin American politics. During his doctoral studies, McGuire worked closely with O'Donnell in both Argentina and the United States, translating from Spanish to English O'Donnell's Bureaucratic Authoritarianism: Argentina, 1966-1973, in Comparative Perspective (University of California Press, 1988). McGuire's chapter in this new volume commemorating O'Donnell's life and work argues that schemes for classifying…

On Dec. 8, approximately 1,000 students, faculty and staff participated in a Black Lives Matter March. The participants marched as a show of solidarity with national protests against discriminatory treatment of blacks in the criminal justice system and incidents of police brutality. The group started at Exley Science Center, marched across campus and proceeded down Washington Street to the intersection at Main Street in Middletown. They chanted "black lives matter," "hands up, don't shoot," and "we can't breathe." In The Hartford Courant, Abhi Janamanchi '17 said he he hoped the event would serve as a "dose of reality" about the racial issues…

Heavy precipitation and freezing overnight temperatures created an icy morning on campus Dec. 9. (more…)

On Dec. 5, the Quantitative Analysis Center (QAC) hosted its annual student research final exam evaluation event for its QAC 201 course. More than 100 students presented their projects at a poster session to fellow students, faculty, alumni and friends of Wesleyan. (more…)

In the summer of 2014, students from more than 200 countries enrolled in Professor of Psychology Scott Plous's Social Psychology "MOOC" (massive open online course). The class was offered by Wesleyan, hosted by Coursera.org, and drew more than 200,000 students. The final assignment of the course, "The Day of Compassion," asked students to live 24 hours as compassionately as possible and to analyze the experience using social psychology. (more…)

Fifteen Wesleyan students were elected to early decision membership in Phi Beta Kappa during an initiation ceremony Dec. 3. To be elected, a student must have demonstrated curricular breadth by having met the General Education Expectations, and must have achieved a grade-point average of 93 and above. For students elected in the fall, it is an especially exacting selection process because admittance is based on a student’s performance at Wesleyan only through their junior year. (more…)

#THISISWHY On Giving Tuesday, Dec. 2, the Wesleyan community joined together in an unprecedented show of support for students. More than 2,000 Cardinals made gifts totaling more than $500,000 — far exceeding the original goal of 1,000 gifts for the day — and setting a record for the largest number of gifts Wesleyan has ever received in one day. The university thanks all the members of our community who made gifts, the hundreds of volunteers who gave their time and passion, and Catherine Klema P'13 and David Resnick '81, P'13 who provided an inspirational challenge: when Wesleyan reached its goal…

Wesleyan’s non-commercial college and community radio station, 88.1FM WESU, is holding its 10th annual WESU Holiday Pledge Drive. WESU is a constant source of diverse music, provocative public affairs, and creative free-form programming that has engaged countless curious and discerning listeners for more than seven decades. The station is currently celebrating its 75th year of operation. Community support during this pledge drive supports locally produced free-form radio created by student and community volunteers. Currently, WESU operates 24 hours per day, seven days per week, and is supported by a volunteer staff of over 150 student and community volunteers, one part-time paid staffer, and…

For her six years of service to the nation, Afghanistan veteran Kyle Foley '18, a Posse Scholar at Wesleyan, received a quilt from the local Quilts of Valor Foundation during a ceremony Dec. 3 at the Emblem Club in Middletown. Since 2003, Quilts of Valor have become a national community service effort to bring the home front to wounded soldiers and to honor returning Veterans. Quilts of Valor members pay tribute to those who have been touched by war by giving them a symbol of comforting and healing. During her six years in the Navy, Foley was a Seabee, specifically a construction mechanic, and was…

Telfair’s Imaginary Landscapes Garner Attenton from Artists, Scientists Alike

Students Showcase Art at Painting Show

McGuire Authors Chapter on Democracy, Political Regimes

Student Athletes Collect Toys for Local Children at “Stuff the Net”

Students Lead Black Lives Matter March through Campus, Middletown

Icy December Morning at Wesleyan

QAC Hosts Final Exam Evaluation, Poster Session

Plous’s MOOC Student Honored by Jane Goodall for Compassionate Act

15 Elected Early Decision to Phi Beta Kappa

Record Support for Students on Giving Tuesday 2014

88.1 FM WESU Radio Hosting Holiday Pledge Drive

Posse Scholar Foley ’18 Recipient of Quilt of Valor