Wesleyan in the News

Wesleyan’s intellectually dynamic faculty, students, alumni, staff, and parents frequently serve as expert sources for national media. Others are noted for recent achievements and accolades. A sampling of recent media hits is below:

Variations on the Body, written by María Ospina, is reviewed in The New York Times. “Ospina’s debut collection opens not with a bang but a scratch: The protagonist of the first story faces the irritation of a shirt tag. The body troubles, you see. Welts appear. The heart becomes a defiant pump. Pregnancy happens, whether or not it is a vocational disqualification. Then, of course, there’s the dying thing.” (Oct. 15)

In a release made by the Associated Press, Mary Jane Rubenstein, professor of religion, comments on an article about actor William Shatner going to space. “American dominance in space, nobody cares about it. It’s Bezos who says, ‘We can’t go on living like this. We have to save the planet,'” Rubenstein says. What results, she says, is “a kinder, gentler colonialism” in which humans take to orbit under premises that seem justifiable but require closer scrutiny. (Oct. 12)

In Federal News Network, Mark Masselli Hon. ’09, P’15, ’16 interviews former FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb ’94 whose new book outlines America’s epic failure in our response to the pandemic, leading to more than 700,000 deaths. Uncontrolled Spread: Why COVID-19 Crushed Us and How We Can Defeat the Next Pandemic examines the inherent flaws at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other public agencies that left us vulnerable to the raging pandemic. (Oct. 11)

Wesleyan’s Scholar Rescue Fund is mentioned in The Hartford Courant. “After a years-long wait, Cameroonian scientist Henry Meriki arrived at Wesleyan University in Middletown this fall through a fellowship program that helps accomplished scholars facing life-threatening danger in their homelands to temporarily relocate to schools in safer countries.” (Oct. 11)

Ella Carr ’24 and Ethan Barrett ’24 share their thoughts regarding the Indian Hill Cemetery in Middletown being tagged with vulgar graffiti with WSFB Eyewitness News 3. “There is progress being made and maybe part of that process has to do with little acts of protest like this, even if they might come off as destructive a little bit. Some people that can’t get their voice heard so this is how they speak out,” Carr said. (Oct. 11)

As reported in The Middletown Press, Bob Cassidy, Colonel, U.S. Army (retired), and the Andersen Fellow in Defense and Foreign Policy at Wesleyan, will be the keynote speaker at the 20th annual Support the Troops and Honor the Veterans Chamber of Commerce member breakfast meeting which will be held virtually on Nov. 1. (Oct. 11)

Bill Belichick ’75, Hon. ’05, P’07, ’15, ’15 and Amanda Belichick ’07 are mentioned in LAX All-Stars. All three of the Belichick children played collegiate lacrosse, with Amanda playing at Wesleyan. Amanda has been the head women’s lacrosse coach at Holy Cross University since 2018. (Oct. 5)

Wesleyan’s Center for the Arts latest show, WesWorks, is featured in The Middletown Press. “[Wesleyan] will host a unique show that highlights often underappreciated staff who keep the college running.” (Oct. 15)

Wesleyans new minor in human rights advocacy is mentioned in Inside Higher Ed. (Oct. 12)