Steve Scarpa – Page 12

A recent Wesleyan study showed that seeking out social media for emotional succor during COVID-19 did not improve emotional well-being among emerging adult college students. The study, conducted by Royette Dubar, assistant professor of psychology; Nicole Watkins, postdoctoral fellow in psychology; and psychology major Grant Hill '20, MA '21 asked more than 600 emerging adults in college (18-to-29-year-olds) across the U.S. to complete two online surveys over a five-month period at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. “COVID has had significant implications for how we interact with other people and how we think about our well-being. What we are trying to understand…

September Johnson, Wesleyan’s alcohol and other drug specialist, acknowledges that Wesleyan's move to becoming a tobacco and vape free campus will be a big change for the community. The policy went into effect on Jan. 1, 2022. And Johnson said that there will be plenty of support measures in place to help. “We, as a community, are here to support each other through this change,” Johnson said in a campus all-staff meeting on Nov. 29 where the policy change was announced. No tobacco products will be allowed anywhere on campus. “Tobacco use continues to be a leading cause of preventable…

(By Maia Dawson '23) From defining their core values to marketing a final product, Wesleyan’s Startup Incubator class unveiled their final projects to Middletown’s city commissioners this week. Throughout the evening of student presentations, a trend emerged – these students were not only ready to enter their respective markets, they had blended their values of ethics, sustainability, and creative growth with business models that aimed to challenge some of the core mechanisms of our economy. Rosemary Ostfeld, visiting assistant professor of environmental studies and instructor of the CSPL 239 course Startup Incubator: The Art and Science of Launching Your Idea…

There are moments in the careers of many great athletes where they take control of the game – victory is within their grasp and they will not be denied. Michael Jordan dunking in the NBA Finals, Derek Jeter diving into the stands to catch a fly ball at Yankee Stadium, Simone Biles defying gravity at the Olympics – just to name a few. Grace Devanny ’23, a forward on the women’s soccer team, had her moment against eighth-ranked MIT in the NCAA Division III Quarterfinals. She had opened the scoring early in the game with a goal. MIT tied and…

Anna Nguyen ’22 believes that if you want to have a local impact, your thinking and decision making can’t be divorced from considerations of the wider world. Time spent in the United States, England, and China – as well as her home country of Vietnam – taught her to be a true global citizen. “That is why I chose not to stay in my own country, as much as I love it. I need to be able to see it from a zoomed-out perspective before I know what the problems are. By being in so many countries, I see issues…

A couple of days before Thanksgiving, Diana Martinez and a few of her colleagues from the Jewett Center for Community Partnerships (JCCP) were up early at Usdan to fill their cars with 200 pies, destined for the Middletown Community Thanksgiving Project. The project, housed at Fellowship Baptist Church on Saybrook Road, distributes the trappings of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner to people across the community. “There is value in the communal aspects of coming together for a common cause. I think that is the feeling we are trying to imbue into all of our students,” Martinez said. While Martinez, the assistant…

Amby Burfoot ‘68 believes that every race he runs is a gift, perhaps even more so at the age of 75. Burfoot, a former Boston Marathon champion, Wesleyan cross country star, and editor-in-chief of “Runner’s World” magazine, finished his 59th straight Manchester Road Race on Thanksgiving, setting a new race record. “The race was great. I ran every step with an old friend and Manchester resident, Steve Gates, who was running his 52nd in a row. We finished hand in hand,” Burfoot said in an e-mail after the race. His time was good enough to win the 75 to 79…

(By Madi Mehta '24) A group of students came together for a unique picnic on the Alpha Delta Phi Lawn on Saturday Nov. 20. On the menu: bugs of all types. Welcome to Wesleyan’s first-ever Bugsgiving. Bugsgiving brought students together for tasty bug dishes prepared by Brooklyn Bugs Chef Joseph Yoon and a host of activities and presentations surrounding the benefits of entomophagy - the scientific term for eating insects. The event was led by Megan Levan ‘22 and sponsored by the Green Fund, the College of the Environment, and the Office of Sustainability. Levan, environmental studies and South Asia…

One of the archetypal images of the college experience is a student, toting bags of laundry, waiting for a train or a bus to get home for break. For many Wesleyan students, at the least the first leg of that journey can be free. Starting this semester, Wesleyan students are able to use their college ID cards to ride all local Middletown Area Transit (MAT) and 9-Town Transit buses for free via the WesPass program in a collaboration between the University and Middletown Area Transit taking place during the 2021-22 academic year. Funded through Wesleyan’s Finance Office, Allbritton Center for the Study…

Seventy-seven percent of Wesleyan students who were eligible voted in the 2020 presidential election, earning a Gold Seal from the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge, an increase of 10 percent from the previous presidential election. The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge is a national, nonpartisan initiative of Civic Nation, which strives for a more inclusive democracy. While civic participation is embedded in Wesleyan’s DNA, this level of turnout is due to a sustained voter registration effort, said Diana Martinez, Assistant Director, Jewett Center for Community Partnerships. “We are always looking for ways to bring the students together,” Martinez said. In…

As we approach Election Day 2021 and look toward the 2022 midterm elections, Wesleyan continues its push to get students more civically involved. Wesleyan saw much success with its original Wesleyan Engage 2020 Initiative Fund and hopes to build on that momentum for next year, with enrollment for the Student Political Engagement Fund now open. Through Wesleyan’s ongoing support of student learning through engaging the electoral process, students have found a variety of ways to get involved in the political process. Working on a sheriff’s campaign in Georgia. Supporting a New York City Council race. Canvassing in small-town Connecticut elections. Registering…

There was no shortage of ways to find community, enlightenment, and a deep sense of the Wesleyan experience this Homecoming/Family Weekend, which took place Oct. 29-30. Lectures were given on recent glacier-related flood events in high mountain environments and the uncertain future of the Senate filibuster. Graduates of Wesleyan’s Center for Prison Education told their personal stories. “What Happened to Baby Jane?” screened at the Jeanine Basinger Center for Film Studies. There were two sold-out dance performances in the ’92 Theater and exhibits at Olin Library. The campus was alive with activity, with parents, alumni, and students connecting over the…

Wesleyan Researchers Explore Social Media’s Effects on Emotional Well-Being during the Pandemic

Wesleyan Becomes Tobacco, Vape Free Campus

Student Entrepreneurs Share Startup Business Ventures with the Public

Soccer Forward Devanny ’23 Named NCAA D3 All-American

Nguyen ’22 Named Schwarzman Scholar

Students Seek Ways to Engage with the Middletown Community

Burfoot ’68 Runs 59th Consecutive Manchester Road Race

Wesleyan Hosts Its First Bugsgiving

Free Bus Passes Available for Wesleyan Students

Wesleyan Earns Top Honor in Campus Democracy Challenge

Students Seek to Make Electoral Impact Through Political Engagement Fund

Families, Alumni, Students Gather for Homecoming/Family Weekend 2021