Olivia Drake – Page 28

While the Wesleyan community can't celebrate our seniors' theses in person this year, several members of the Class of 2020 are sharing their accomplishments on Wesleyan's Instagram (wesleyan_u). Any senior who would like to see their thesis spotlighted can fill out this form. Examples of recent posts are below. Click on the image to open the original post in Instagram. (Project curated by Eitana Friedman-Nathan ’20)

Alford “Al” Young Jr. ’88 is the Arthur F. Thurnau Professor in the Department of Sociology and professor of Afroamerican and African studies at the University of Michigan. Young’s research focuses on low-income, urban-based African Americans, African American scholars and intellectuals, and the classroom-based experiences of higher-education faculty as they pertain to diversity and multiculturalism. In this Q&A, Young addresses the severity of the COVID-19 crisis for black Americans, particularly in Michigan. Michigan is ranked fourth in the country for having the most coronavirus-related deaths (4,915+). How has COVID-19 affected your research interests? Alford "Al" Young Jr.: I have spent…

A clothing brand that promotes education and discussion of mental health and wellness is the winner of the Wesleyan COLLISION Spring 2020 pitch competition sponsored by the Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship. Created by Blake Northrop '22, Be Better consists of the clothing brand itself—which highly values customer participation and artist collaboration—as well as an online community forum for followers and members to connect, discuss, and share their stories about mental health. On May 5, Northrop and more than dozen other aspiring student entrepreneurs pitched their social benefit business ideas. Watch a recording of the Pitch Night online here. (more…)

In preparation for National Vote By Mail Day on May 23, two Wesleyan alumni are pushing for a nonpartisan movement to make it possible for everyone in the United States to safely vote by mail in November. To date, only Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Utah, and Washington offer vote-by-mail systems, while another 29 states and Washington, D.C., provide mail-in ballots at a voter’s request. "Americans shouldn't have to risk their health to vote," said Avi Stopper '01, founder and lead organizer of the web-based project Vote 2020 By Mail. Through Vote 2020 By Mail, Stopper is building a movement to persuade…

In late March, as New York City's coronavirus infection rate skyrocketed to five times higher than the rest of the country, members of Wesleyan's Traveler's Lab explored a movement-focused approach to the rapid spread of the disease. Rather than focusing on political borders, lab members depicted major freeways, highways, and commuter rail lines out of New York City, and examined counties within a 2.5-hour drive from the City. "While New York City may be the center, it is the travel region immediately surrounding the city that provides the true context of how COVID-19 has spread and is spreading to, and…

Brooke Rich, a former employee of Wesleyan’s food service provider Bon Appétit Management Co., was honored posthumously with Wesleyan's 2020 Morgenstern-Clarren Social Justice Employee Prize. The award was created in 2009 in memory of Peter Morgenstern-Clarren ‘03, who pursued social justice while a student at Wesleyan. Morgenstern-Clarren’s activism included securing benefits for Wesleyan custodial staff, participating in the United Student and Labor Action Committee, and contributing his leadership to the campus chapter of Amnesty International. (more…)

Sumarsam, Winslow-Kaplan Professor of Music at Wesleyan and a Fellow at Yale Institute of Sacred Music, is an expert on the history, theory, and practice of Indonesian music and theater, and a performer of Javanese gamelan and puppetry. Sumarsam's presentation was part of ISM's "Reflections from Quarantine" series. He was interviewed live through the Zoom platform by ISM Fellows Program Director Eben Graves. Sumarsam explained that his current research focuses on how “people—commoners—use performing art, and life of passage rituals for practicing their religion in their everyday lives.” From that angle, he looks at the early existence of performing arts…

Last March, Johan (Joop) C. Varekamp, Harold T. Stearns Professor of Earth Science, intended to teach an ore deposit and formation class in Italy; however, the COVID-19 pandemic caused him to stay near campus. Nevertheless, Varekamp kept a keen watch on Italy. With a fascination with the pandemic's wildfire spread, Varekamp began plotting coronavirus data from both the United States and Italy to see how their growth curves compared. "Infectious diseases follow initially exponential growth patterns until measures are taken to limit transmission or a vaccine becomes available," Varekamp said. "I wanted to know how disease propagation compares to population…

David Kuenzel, assistant professor of economics, is the author of a paper titled "WTO Tariff Commitments and Temporary Protection: Complements or Substitutes?" The paper was published in the January issue of the European Economic Review. In the paper, Kuenzel investigates the link between traditional tariff instruments and temporary protection measures (antidumping, safeguard, and countervailing duties). There is a long-held notion in the trade policy community that most-favored-nation (MFN) tariffs and temporary protection measures are substitutes. Despite this prediction, there is only mixed empirical evidence for a link between MFN tariff reductions and the usage pattern of antidumping, safeguard, and countervailing…

The shows must go on. Rather than allowing the COVID-19 pandemic to force a final curtain call on theatrical productions, Wesleyan's Theater Department pivoted to an online format. On May 1, and again on May 2, the department offered livestreamed performances of The Method Gun, featuring 10 student-actors. A replay of the Saturday performance is available for viewing on The Method Gun @ Wes website. After countless hours of line rehearsals, overcoming technical frustrations, and learning how to act and teach theater in a virtual world, show director and Assistant Professor of Theater Katie Pearl breathed a sigh of relief…

This spring, Graduate Liberal Studies student Kristen Cardona enrolled in her first-ever photography course, ARTS 613: Studies in Portraiture and Self-Portraiture. While learning how to better use a camera, she practiced taking images of herself, family, friends, and neighbors. Heading into early March, the assignment was to photograph strangers. And then the coronavirus pandemic struck the nation. All Wesleyan courses moved to an online format. "This threw a huge curve ball! Obviously we couldn’t finish photographing strangers," said Cardona, who is the program coordinator for continuing studies at Wesleyan. "People are scared. Simple requests to take a photo seem to…

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that United States residents not only practice social distancing, but wear masks in public. In this piece, we highlight Wesleyan faculty, staff, students, and alumni donning their masks and explain a bit about them. (more…)

Seniors Share Thesis Projects on Wesleyan Instagram

Young ’88 Addresses the Severity of the COVID-19 Crisis for Black Americans

Students Pitch Social Benefit Business Ideas

Alumni Encourage States to Offer Vote-by-Mail Options

Traveler’s Lab Creates Map of COVID-19 Cases in the NYC Commuting Region

Rich Honored Posthumously with the 2020 Morgenstern-Clarren Social Justice Employee Prize

Sumarsam Participates in “Reflections from Quarantine” Conversation

Varekamp Plots Pandemic, Measures Growth Curves in US, Italy

Kuenzel’s Paper on WTO Tariff Commitments Published in European Economic Review

Theater Department Produces, Livestreams The Method Gun

Portraiture Photography Class Shifts Focus During COVID-19 Pandemic

Campus Community Captures Themselves Wearing COVID-19 Protective Masks