Olivia DrakeLaurel Appel, visiting associate professor of biology and director of the McNair program, teaches participants how to extract DNA from wheat germ during the Green Street Arts Center's Sunday Salon Series, hosted by David Beveridge, pictured in back. Posted 03/17/08 In the 18th century, educated people in the upper reaches of society would meet at a salon to discus their ideas and observations. Today, this tradition continues without the pretentious aristocratic trappings at the Green Street Art Centers Sunday Salon Series. During the two-hour sessions held on Sundays throughout the academic year, Wesleyan faculty and staff speak to a general…
Intisar Abioto 08, left, and her sisters, Amenta and Kalimah, traveled to Djibouti as part of their "People Could Fly Project." In Djibouti, they met men and camels returning from Lac Assal, the lowest point in Africa, with salt from the lakes shores. Posted 03/17/08 Intisar Abioto 08 had a recurring daydream where she traveled to all parts of the world, adventure-seeking, meeting new people and hearing their stories especially people her own age. Our positive stories arent always represented in books or movies or on TV, and what the repercussions of this are, is that young people dont…
Posted 03/17/08 Food: Power and Identity is the topic of the Wesleyans 2008 Shasha Seminar for Human Concerns. The event will take place April 4-6 on campus. Endowed by James Shasha 50, the annual Shasha Seminar supports lifelong learning and encourages participants to expand their knowledge and perspectives on significant issues. This year, seminar speakers will discuss how food shapes our identity, public and private discourse, politics and daily lives. Food: Power and Identity will tackle issues on food production, such as industrial agriculture, organic agriculture, genetic manipulation, local vs. global, sustainability; food and politics, for example unequal distribution of…
Posted 03/17/08 For the second year in a row, Wesleyan is participating in the nation-wide competition, RecycleMania, for college and university recycling programs. The 10-week program provides campus communities with a fun, proactive activity in waste reduction. More than 400 institutions are participating in different contests to see which institution can collect the largest amount of recyclables per capita, the largest amount of total recyclables, the least amount of trash per capita, or have the highest recycling rate. "This is a fun way for the Wesleyan community to get excited about recycling, and possibly end up with national recognition, awards…
Professor of Astronomy Bill Herbst observed sand-like grains in space through the reflection of light from stars. These grains are the building blocks of an Earth-like planet. Posted 03/17/08 For the first time, astronomers have observed the initial phase in the formation of an earth-like planet.The discovery, highlighted in the March 13 issue of Nature, was documented by a team of astronomers led by William Herbst, the John Monroe Van Vleck Professor of Astronomy, chair of the Astronomy Department and director of the Van Vleck Observatory (pictured at right) and Catrina Hamilton, Ph.D 03, assistant professor of physics and astronomy…
In January, Hannah Hastings '08 and Andrea Pain '08 collected seagrass from the ocean floor to study nutrient content in a dinoflagellate-rich ecosystem off the southwest coast of Puerto Rico. The seniors returned to Wesleyan and analyzed their samples for carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus levels. They discovered a high ratio of nitrogen to phosphorus compared to the normal ratio in the ocean. "We discovered that high dinoflagellate concentrations are directly associated with elevated nitrogen to phosphorus ratios," Pain said during Part I of the Earth and Environmental Science Departments Senior Seminar Research Project colloquium March 6. Part II of the…
CLIMATE CHANGES: Jon Dickinson, the New York City Office of Environmental Coordination deputy director, delivers the keynote address for Focus the Nation, a nation-wide day of education, discussion and activism to address climate change, in Memorial Chapel Jan. 31. Wesleyan was one of 1,550 universities, schools, businesses, and places of worship that took part in Focus the Nation. Dickinson focused on proposed climate change, air and water quality, transportation and clean energy initiatives in the New York City area. To a full chapel audience, Dickinson said New York City's goal is "to have the cleanest air quality of every city…
Dance major Brittany Delany '09 , far left, writes for Hot Stepz Magazine, based near Boston. She also helps advertise magazine-sponsored dance events. Posted 02/27/08 Brittany Delany 09 grew up improvising pop and hip hop movements in her family room. Now shes danced her way into Hot Stepz Magazine as a writer and publication promoter. Delany, a choreography/performance dance major and French studies major, voluntarily works for the urban dance publication, subtitled "the soul of dance." The magazine focuses on modern-day dance styles such as Krump, Caribbean, dance hall, stepping, hip-hop and B Boy B Girl while emphasizing…
Posted 02/27/08 Michael Whaley, formerly the interim dean of the college, was promoted to vice president for student affairs on Feb. 21. In addition to supervising a large and complex office, he has worked imaginatively with the vice president for academic affairs to develop programs that connect faculty and students outside the classroom in a variety of co-curricular activities. The change of title to vice president for student affairs reflects the duties of the position as it has evolved at Wesleyan, and positions the office as an integral part of the educational enterprise. Mike has a true gift for hearing…
Michaelle Biddle, head of Preservation Services at Olin Library, will conduct a survey of Islamic materials during a five-week sabbatical in Africa. Posted 02/27/08 Michaelle Biddle, head of Preservation Services at Olin Library, was invited by the U.S. Embassy in Abuja, Nigeria to travel to the country in March to conduct a survey of Islamic manuscripts and related materials. Wesleyan has granted her a five-week sabbatical so she can travel to locations such as Kaduna, Kano, Sokoto and Maiduguri to assess materials and help with preservation efforts. The work of Biddle and more than 20 other archivists and librarians will…
Dalit Katz, adjunct assistant professor of religion, meets with Avi Nesher, director of the Israeli film, The Secrets. Nesher's film is part of the ongoing Ring Family Wesleyan Israel Film Festival, coordinated by Katz. Posted 02/27/08 Last June, Dalit Katz fell in love with two contemporary Israeli films shown at international film festivals. I saw these movies and I told myself, I am going to bring these films to Wesleyan, says Katz, adjunct assistant professor of religion. Katz stayed true to her word. The films, titled Jellyfish (2006) and The Secrets (2007) are both part of the…
Posted 02/27/08 Along with returning to campus with suntans (or sunburns), new spring duds and a backpack full of work to complete by the end of March, Barbara Juhasz, assistant professor of psychology, would like students to bring back one more thing from break: a book for Middletown gradeschoolers. The Bring Back a Book Book Drive is the brainchild of students in Juhaszs Psychology of Reading Class. The drive will be going on throughout the week of March 24. The idea is for Wesleyan students come back from break with new or lightly used books that are appropriate for first…