Olivia Drake – Page 10

A film featuring the works of eight Wesleyan alumni was presented at the Sundance Film Festival in January. Titled Bruiser, the film focuses on a boy named Darious who begins to investigate the limitations of his own manhood after his father gets into a fight at a bowling alley. Bruiser was presented in Sundance's Short Films category. The film was directed by Miles Warren '19; assistant directed by Eliza McKenna '20; written by Warren and Ben Medina '19; produced by Gustavo René '19, Albert Tholen '15, and Lauren Goetzman '19; and designed by Emma Cantor '19. Costumes were designed by…

A four-part documentary film series directed by Tony Zosherafatain '10 will stream on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, and Topic starting Feb. 25. Titled Trans in Trumpland, the series investigates the impact of anti-trans policies on the lives of four transgender Americans during the Trump administration era. The series was featured in Variety, NBC News, Deadline, and The Daily Beast. "We're at a crucial moment in our country, and Trans in Trumpland encapsulates the past four years, not just for trans people, but for a wide variety of groups," Zosherafatain said. "There is a lot of intersectionality in the series, including race, immigration, income inequality,…

Three titles affiliated with Wesleyan were nominated for the 2021 NAACP Images Awards in the Outstanding Literary Work — Poetry category. According to the NAACP, Image Awards celebrate "the outstanding achievements and performances of people of color in the arts and those who promote social justice through their creative work." Among the five nominees is Kontemporary Amerikan Poetry (Four Way Books, 2020) written by John Murillo, assistant professor of English; The Age of Phillis (Wesleyan University Press, 2020) by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers; and Un-American (Wesleyan University Press, 2020) by Hafizah Geter. The collections by Murillo, Jeffers, and Geter also are longlisted for…

Olin Library's newest resident is looking for a good book to sink his tusk into. The skull of a one-toothed walrus, which was installed in the Campbell Reading Room on Jan. 20, is the University's latest exhibit on display from the former Museum of Wesleyan University (1871–1957). The piece was donated to Wesleyan 145 years ago by the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History but has spent about half of its university life in storage. The 26-pound skull, which is missing its right tusk, belonged to a Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) living along the Ugashik River in Alaska in…

Between Feb. 5–8, Wesleyan will welcome the majority of students back to Middletown for the spring semester. Students must follow a series of steps to prepare for a safe return to campus, which includes testing and quarantine before and upon arrival, and wearing masks at all times in shared spaces. Faculty and staff are expected to follow the guidance of the Community Agreement and act in a manner that demonstrates respect and consideration for the health and safety of others. "After a successful reactivation of campus last fall, we are confident that we'll be able to offer a vital Wesleyan experience to students…

Light snow dusted campus Jan. 26–27, while students were away on winter recess. (Photos by Olivia Drake) (more…)

A paper co-written by Elizabeth (Beth) Hepford, assistant professor of the practice in TESOL (teaching English as a second language), is the recipient of the 2021 Research Article Award presented by the American Association For Applied Linguistics (AAAL). According to the AAAL, "the award is bestowed annually upon the author of a published refereed journal article which is recognized by leaders in the field to be of outstanding quality and to hold the broadest potential impact on the advancement of applied linguistic knowledge." Titled "An illusion of understanding: How native and non-native speakers of English understand (and misunderstand) their Miranda…

A new play written by John Long MALS '96 is available for online viewing through the Phoenix Stage Company's YouTube Channel. Titled Learning Experience, the play explores individual experiences of living in quarantine during the pandemic in the first half of 2020. Eight people, ranging in age from 18 to 70s, tell their stories in the form of monologues to be posted online. The stories reveal what their lives were like before the pandemic and how they've changed during isolation. "Some characters work from home, some go into work, some don't work at all, but all are motivated to share…

This winter, the Gordon Career Center is hosting four "fireside chat" style Winter Alumni Career Conversation events between prominent alumni and current students. Guests include Kimberley Martin '03, NFL reporter for ESPN; Jon Turteltaub '85, film/TV director and producer; Jesse Greenspan '06, director of supply chain and logistics, Partners in Health; and Dana Peterson '98, chief economist, The Conference Board. (more…)

Several Wesleyan faculty and alumni have been featured in national media outlets recently. They include: The New York Times—Christina Crosby, 67, Dies; Feminist Scholar Wrote of Becoming Disabled NBC News—Biden Picks Jessica Rosenworcel [’93] as Acting FCC Chief NBC Think—Trump’s ‘1776 Commission’ Tried to Rewrite U.S. History. Biden Had Other Ideas.; by Robyn Autry Inside Higher Ed—Everything Won’t Be Different; by Michael Roth ’78 NPR’s Short Wave—Let’s Go Back to Venus!; features Martha Gilmore MyRecordJournal.com—WRESTLING: Paint It, Black! Wesleyan Coach Drew Black of Cheshire Tabbed for National Hall of Fame The New York Times Magazine—Poem: Variation on a Theme by Elizabeth Bishop; poem by John…

Each year, three faculty members are presented the Binswanger Prize for Excellence in Teaching during the Commencement Ceremony. The Binswanger Prize recognizes outstanding faculty members as exemplified by a commitment to the classroom, student accomplishment, intellectual demands placed on students, lucidity, and passion. Juniors, seniors, graduate students, and GOLD alumni (Graduates Of The Last Decade) are eligible to nominate up to three professors who had the most enduring impact on students’ Wesleyan experience. An invitation to nominate will be sent on Jan. 30 by Vanessa Guida ’04, chair of the Binswanger Committee. For questions, contact Gina Driscoll (gdriscoll@wesleyan.edu), associate director,…

A poetry collection authored by John Murillo, assistant professor of English, is longlisted for both the 2021 PEN/Voelcker Award for Poetry Collection and the Believer Book Awards. Kontemporary Amerikan Poetry (Four Way Books, 2020) explores the legacy of institutional, accepted violence against Blacks and Latinos and the personal and societal wreckage wrought by long histories of subjugation. The collection includes a sonnet triggered by the shooting deaths of three Brooklyn men that becomes an extended reflection on the history of racial injustice. The PEN/Voelcker Award, which comes with a $5,000 prize, is awarded to a poet whose distinguished collection of…

Films Created by 9 Alumni Screened at 2021 Sundance Film Festival

Trans in Trumpland by Zosherafatain ’10 to Stream Feb. 25 on Major Networks

3 Works of Poetry Nominated for NAACP Images Awards

Single-Tusked Walrus Skull Settles into Olin Library

Wesleyan Prepares for Students’ Return to Campus This Spring

Snow Dusts Campus during Winter Recess

Hepford Honored with 2021 Applied Linguistics Research Article Award

Play by Long MALS ’96 Focuses on Coping with the Pandemic

Students Connect with Alumni Leaders through Career Conversation Events

Wesleyan in the News

Nominate Faculty for 2021 Binswanger Prize for Excellence in Teaching

Murillo’s Poetry Longlisted for PEN/Voelcker, Believer Book Awards