Editorial Staff – Page 11

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…

By Maia Dawson '24 Benjamin Chaffee, associate director of visual arts, adjunct instructor in art, and curator for Wesleyan’s Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery, has to crouch slightly when he tries to envision an exhibition from the perspective of someone of average stature. He said that when Brandon Ndife, one of the artists featured in the gallery’s latest pair of exhibitions, came to set up his postapocalyptic yet homely sculptures, Ndife had to crouch too. The result of his careful curation is an uninterrupted view from the entrance of three consecutive sculptures, and the hint of one more hiding around…

Richard "Dick" T. Vann, professor emeritus of history and letters, died on Feb. 1 at the age of 90. Vann received bachelor's degrees from Southern Methodist University and Oxford University and an MA and PhD from Harvard University. He arrived at Wesleyan in 1964 and taught in the College of Letters and History Department until his retirement in 2000. “Dick was an intellectual force at Wesleyan for decades—a gentle and persistent force for creative, interdisciplinary work across the humanities and social sciences,” recalled President Michael Roth '78. “A gifted teacher, his History and Prophecy seminar was already legendary when I…

Michele Roberts '77 retired at the end of 2021 after seven and a half years as executive director of the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA). To honor her leadership and legacy, the NBPA Foundation has endowed a financial aid scholarship at her alma mater, Wesleyan University. Named for Roberts’ mother, the Clara Johnson Roberts Scholarship Fund is a fitting tribute to the woman who sparked her daughter’s law career by bringing her to observe trials at their local courthouse in the South Bronx. Like many of the players she worked with, Roberts came from very modest beginnings and rose to…

Gertrude Hughes, professor of English, emerita, died on Jan. 5 at the age of 85. Hughes received her BA from Mount Holyoke College, her MAT from Wesleyan University, and her Ph.D from Yale University. She returned to Wesleyan as an assistant professor of English in 1976 and remained until her retirement in 2006. “Gertrude was a remarkable woman, a valued colleague, and a treasured friend,” recalled Bill Stowe, Benjamin Waite Professor of the English Language, Emeritus. “She began her academic career later than most, completing her Yale PhD under the formidable Harold Bloom while raising four children. Her book on…

By Maia Dawson '23 In the Lunar lab on the third floor of the Exley Science Center, Thomas Davoren MA ’22, thumbed through scientist David Walker’s handwritten notes from 1970, and inspected samples retrieved from the moon in 1969. Found in Davoren’s work are clues to the origins of Earth’s glowing satellite. Davoren was among the students awarded a Fall 2021 NASA Connecticut Space Consortium Fellowship. In a paper written for a conference in 2020 in Houston, Davoren detailed his discovery of Chromite-Ulvöspinel-Pyroxene (CUSP) inclusions. These unique, microscopic crystalline structures appeared first to Davoren in basaltic rocks retrieved from the…

The incredible postseason run for the Wesleyan women's soccer team came to an unfortunate end in the national semifinals on Friday as the No. 14 nationally-ranked Cardinals were defeated by the No. 1 ranked TCNJ Lions, 1-0, from the UNC Greensboro Soccer Stadium. Wesleyan (18-2-2) concludes a historic season that featured program-firsts and records galore while the Lions (21-0-2) will vie for the fourth NCAA title in program history tomorrow against Christopher Newport. Facing a juggernaut of an opponent in the top-ranked Lions, the Cardinals were the ones on the front foot right from the opening whistle as Wesleyan generated…

Alvin Lucier, John Spencer Camp Professor of Music, Emeritus, died on Dec. 1 at the age of 90. Lucier received his BA from Yale University and his MFA from Brandeis University. He joined the Wesleyan faculty as a visiting professor in 1968 and as an associate professor in 1972. He taught here for 43 years before retiring in 2011. A pioneering composer, Lucier was at the forefront of American avant-garde music. He lectured and performed throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. In 1994 Wesleyan celebrated his career with a five-day multimedia festival, Alvin Lucier: Collaborations, which included new work…

"Benedetta," a film based on the book, Immodest Acts: The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy (Oxford University Press, 1986) will debut Dec. 5 in Middletown. Tickets are free of charge and available from the Usdan Box Office. Written by Judith Brown, professor emerita of history, Immodest Acts shares the documented story of Sister Benedetta Carlini, Abbess of the Convent of the Mother of God, who had a lesbian affair with another nun, Bartolomeo. Brown will discuss the film and her book at 5 p.m., Dec. 7 in Russell House. More information is below:

(By Madi Mehta '24) The crowd of students, nestled on the Exley patio, buzzed in anticipation to awaiting the start of the Dramathon, a performance of student-created 10-minute plays based on the prompt “the unknown persists.” The event, which took place on Nov. 7, is similar to MonoLogOn, which was performed last year on Zoom due to the pandemic. Dramathon began when the music faded and the audience watched intently as the first set was built: a couple of chairs, a spattering of empty food containers, and assorted plastic bags. As the actors entered and positioned themselves, Exley disappeared and…

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

Artists Brandon Ndife and Dana DeGiulio Headline New Zilkha Gallery Exhibition

Vann Remembered for Being a Bold Thinker and Demonstrating Respect

NBPA Foundation Honors Michele Roberts ’77 Retirement with Endowed Wesleyan Scholarship

Hughes Remembered for Teaching English, Women’s Studies Courses for 30 Years

Graduate Students Awarded NASA Connecticut Space Grants

Soccer’s NCAA Tournament Run Comes to an End in the National Semifinals

Lucier Remembered as a Groundbreaking Composer of Iconic Works

Film Inspired by Brown’s Immodest Acts Debuts Dec. 5

Students Perform a Series of 10-Minute Plays during Dramathon