Editorial Staff – Page 10

By Maia Dawson '24 A philosophy student writes an essay, pen to paper. He then hands it through the bars of his cell to a passing Corrections Officer. That CO gives it to a liaison, who gives it to a staff person, who gives it to Lori Gruen, William Griffin Professor of Philosophy at Wesleyan. It’s Spring 2020 and there is no Zoom in Cheshire Correctional Institution. After pandemic hiatuses, Wesleyan's Center for Prison Education (CPE) is planning to return to in-person teaching this summer. The program currently operates in Cheshire and York correctional facilities, both in Connecticut. Gruen has taught…

Wesleyan University will recognize three outstanding faculty members across the fields of biology, Spanish, and history at the 190th Commencement ceremony with the awarding of the Binswanger Prizes for Excellence in Teaching. Frederick M. Cohan, professor of biology; María Ospina, associate professor of Spanish; and Victoria Smolkin, associate professor of history, were selected by their peers after receiving strong recommendations from alumni of the last 10 graduating classes, as well as current juniors, seniors, and graduate students. Underscoring Wesleyan’s commitment to its scholar-teachers, these annual prizes are made possible by gifts from the family of the late Frank G. Binswanger…

By Maia Dawson '24 TEDxWesleyanU returned to campus April 23 with authors, entrepreneurs, and other accomplished professionals sharing stories of revivification and curiosity. Organized by students and held in Beckham Hall, the TEDxWesleyanU gathering was the first live event since 2019. The brochure pictured a martini glass overflowing with a string of pearls, in line with the theme "Re-roaring Twenties." Ritu Chhawal ’88 and Raquel Graham ’90 spoke to the audience about resilience emerging from illness. Chhawal introduced her vegan startup as an effort to spur a food revolution, and Graham described her success on Shark Tank and finding her…

Several student groups shared their interests with Class of 2026 admitted students during WesFest activities on April 8.

Earl Bloodworth, the Jewett Center for Community Partnerships’ 2022 Mentor in Residence for the Re-Imagining Justice Initiative, is committed to giving incarcerated people a second chance. The stark truth of his work is that for many individuals who have experienced the criminal legal system, they’ve never had a first chance. In an effort to correct what he sees as a real need in Connecticut, Bloodworth serves as the director of the Mayor’s Initiative for Reentry Affairs in Bridgeport. “You gain the trust and build up rapport with people who have been let down by a lot of folks in their…

At its meeting on Feb. 25, the Wesleyan Board of Trustees voted to increase tuition by 3.7% for the upcoming 2022-23 academic year. Tuition and fees will be $64,022 (plus a $300 matriculation fee for first-time students). The Residential Comprehensive Fee (RCF) for first-year students and sophomores will be $18,180 and for juniors and seniors will be $18,906. The higher RCF for juniors and seniors reflects the higher cost of student life options. The total direct expense for first-year students and sophomores will be $82,202. The total direct expense for juniors and seniors will be $82,928. Wesleyan continues to recognize…

By Maia Dawson '24 On March 31, International Transgender Day of Visibility, the Resource Center hosted Kat Blaque, a transgender rights activist, for an open dialogue with students. Demetrius Colvin, the Director of the Resource Center, described the event as “dedicated to raising awareness of discrimination faced by transgender people worldwide as well as celebrating their contributions to society.” It’s important, too, to “make sure that we’re not just highlighting the challenges and the struggles and the violence which is very real, but also… people are thriving, people are pushing things changing things, allowing more people to be free,” Colvin…

By Maia Dawson '24 Study Abroad offices are basically logistics hubs. There are the regular nightmares, like visa acquisitions. Then there are the less regular nightmares, like earthquakes or tsunamis. There are even the unique nightmares; lore has it that two Georgetown students were imprisoned in Cairo during the Arab Spring and then repatriated by their study abroad officers. Wesleyan's Office of Study Abroad has had its hands full during the global pandemic. When the first wave of the coronavirus hit Italy in March 2020, there were twenty-eight Wesleyan students in Bologna. Emily Gorlewski, director of the Study Abroad program at…

Eight faculty members were conferred tenure by the Board of Trustees at its most recent meeting. Their promotions will be effective July 1, 2022. These faculty include Claire Grace, associate professor of art history; Han Li, associate professor of mathematics; John Murillo, associate professor of English; Paula Park, associate professor of Spanish; Ying Jia Tan, associate professor of history; Jesse Torgerson, associate professor of letters; Danielle Vogel, associate professor of English, creative writing' and Joseph Weiss, associate professor of anthropology. Brief descriptions of their areas of research and teaching appear below: Claire Grace is a scholar of American and contemporary art with…

Men’s Basketball defeated Williams 78-75, in overtime, winning its second NESCAC Championship in program history. In a matchup that had all the makings of an instant classic heading in, the thousand-plus on-hand were gifted a game for the ages as these two storied rivals battled for 45 minutes in a back-and-forth contest that featured 20 lead changes and 16 ties, all of which culminated on center court with the Wesleyan men's basketball team celebrating as NESCAC Champions. The top-seeded Cardinals (24-3), playing in front of packed Silloway Gymnasium for the second straight day, locked horns with the Williams College Ephs…

President Michael Roth '78 announces that Wesleyan University will recognize three extraordinary individuals during the 190th Commencement on Sunday, May 22, 2022. The honorary degree recipients will be Freeman A. Hrabowski III, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, who will also deliver the Commencement address; Joseph J. Fins ’82, physician and professor of medical ethics and professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College; and Gloria Steinem, a trailblazing leader of the American feminist movement in the late 1960s, award-winning journalist, and political activist. Unfortunately, Rita Moreno, who was previously announced as a recipient of an honorary degree,…

By Maia Dawson '24 Ivanie Cedeño '22, a lauded entrepreneur, remembers a metal container her grandmother, Eurania, used to have. Cedeño recalls how she would watch her sew. “When she would put clothes away they were all pressed and everything had its spot, everything fit perfectly,” Cedeño said. She is cautious about the precision of the memory, though. Perhaps her love for her grandmother has idealized her recollection. Cedeño’s startup, Sol Blossom Crochet, honors these memories. The company won first place at a presentation to Middletown’s Board of Commissioners, the final stage for a Startup Incubator class she took this…

Center for Prison Education Returns to In-Person Classes This Summer

Wesleyan Announces 2022 Binswanger Prizes for Excellence in Teaching

TEDxWesleyanU Breaks its Covid Hiatus with Stories of Innovation and Creativity

Involvement Fair for Admitted Students

Meet Earl Bloodworth, New Mentor in the JCCP’s Re-Imagining Justice Initiative

Tuition to Increase 3.7% in 2022-23

Resource Center Hosts Talk on International Transgender Day of Visibility

Wesleyan’s Study Abroad Program Going Strong

Board of Trustees Confers Tenure on 8 Faculty

Men’s Basketball Wins NESCAC Championship in Overtime

Wesleyan Announces Commencement Speaker, Honorary Degree Recipients

Solarpunk, Operation Bootstrap, and Cedeño’s ’22 Sol Blossom Crochet