Celebrating Community at Homecoming and Family Weekend 2024

From across the country, thousands of Wesleyan alumni and family members came together for a weekend of community, connection, and conversation during Homecoming and Family Weekend (HCFW) from Nov. 1 to Nov. 3.

HCFW activities kicked off on Friday with numerous opportunities for alumni, families, and students to attend classes, open houses, exhibits, and WESeminars—presentations that allow Cardinals to revisit the classroom and experience the pragmatic liberal arts that is the essence of Wesleyan.

For many, it was first and foremost an opportunity to reconnect. Sueann M. Papertsian P’28, from New York, was looking forward to reuniting with her son, first-year Landon Hunter Papertsian ’28. Papertsian, who is thinking about majoring in government with a concentration in political theory, was planning to vote for the first time with issues such as immigration and policies for the working class on his mind.

On that balmy afternoon, parents and families filled a packed Memorial Chapel to hear remarks from President Michael Roth ’78, who spoke about university efforts that encourage students to engage in politics and the public sphere. At a time when such engagement can often lead to disagreement, Roth also described new initiatives at Wesleyan designed to teach and foster civil dialogue. “We have these really interesting programs now to create conversations across difference that are civil, even friendly,” he said.

After the parent assembly and reception, HCFW attendees filled seats in The Forum at the Frank Center for Public Affairs for a WESeminar featuring distinguished artist and alum Glenn Ligon ’82, Hon ’12. Ligon engaged in a conversation with Claire Grace, associate professor of art history, to explore how Ligon’s work dialogues with an earlier generation of artists, including Jasper Johns. The exhibit, “Reading Signs: Jasper Johns & Glenn Ligon in Print,” is on display at Pruzan Art Center through mid-December.

Festivities continued on Saturday with a wide array of sporting events, including basketball, ice hockey, lacrosse, and softball. Students and families gathered for tailgating in anticipation of the football game between Wesleyan and Williams.

The Wesleyan faithful lined the fence surrounding Andrus Field for the 1 p.m. HCFW matchup. Sara Tyszko P’28 of Chesapeake, Virginia was at the game to cheer on the Cardinals and her son Cooper Tsyzko ’28. She said she saw a glimpse of the community off campus the night before, befriending a Wesleyan family from Montana. “With Wes, I feel like you’re immediately connected with somebody,” she said.

“The community of parents is very welcoming,” said Steve McVay P’26, who was on campus to support his son Owen McVay ’28 and the football team. “…they want it to be like a close-knit family.”

The game, a back-and-forth thriller, did not disappoint. After five different lead changes, the Cardinals secured a third consecutive Little Three title over Williams with a last-second diving touchdown reception from Luke LaSarcina ’25 in the middle of the end zone.

Another key focus of the weekend was the Latine Alumni Celebration, which featured programs highlighting the distinctive and diverse cultures of Latine alumni. Much of the goal of the celebration was to build bridges between alumni and students, said Charlotte Castillo ’94, co-chair of our Latine Alumni Network. “Wesleyan was such an important part of my life and I always want to try to help and contribute in any way I can to continue to make the community as rich and nurturing as it was for me,” she said.

An example of Latine-themed programming was the 32nd Annual Dwight L. Greene Symposium, which honors the life and work of professor of law Dwight L. Greene ’70. The event focused on the, “Latine Voters and Their Role in Shaping the 2024 Presidential Election.” An all-star alumni panel included Castillo, managing director of Poderistas; Maria Santana Guadalupe ’98, a New York-based anchor and correspondent for CNN En Español; Diego Ibarguen ’97, senior counsel in The Hearst Corporation Office of General Counsel; Jose Enrique Calvo Elhuage ’14, an independent political consultant; and Lucria Ortiz ’97, president and chief executive officer of The Opportunity Network.

To set the stage for the conversation, Ortiz described the growth of the Latine electorate. “Since 2020, it’s grown by about 4 million,” she said. “It’s estimated by the Pew Research Center that the entire Latine electorate is 36.2 million. That’s nearly 15% [of the electorate], so it is very large.”

From there, the panelists covered a wide range of issues, from diversity within the Latine community, to the recent experiences of Puerto Ricans on and off the mainland, to the challenges of outreach and turnout among Latine voters. They agreed on the need for more civic education and engagement beyond an election year.

On Saturday afternoon, several alumni of color gathered in Usdan University Center to enjoy a football watch party as well as community with each other. Evans Jacobs, Jr. ’73 was attending with his wife and fellow alum Lillian Cruz ’76, who he met at Wes.

A semi-retired attorney, Jacobs runs Humanidad, Inc., a disabilities services agency in Rocky Hill, CT, that serves Hispanic and other adults who have developmental disabilities. Jacobs, who married his wife in Memorial Chapel, credits the “whole diversity culture that we were familiar with by going to Wesleyan” with influencing his work of the past two decades.

Like Jacobs, Robyn Guzman ’00 had also attended HCFW in 2023 and looked forward to returning this year. A life coach based in New York, Guzman was motivated to come to HCFW by her memories of Wesleyan and the chance to support and connect with current students.

“I love the feeling at Wesleyan. I love how at home it’s felt since the first day that I came to tour and I really want to create that more and more as much as possible, especially for students of color or students who are underrepresented at our school,” she said. “I want to be a support to making their experience great.”

The weekend wound down on Sunday with a closing brunch for Latine alumni and a student Stone A Cappella Concert in Memorial Chapel.