Campus News & Events

In 1961, the Communist government of the German Democratic Republic began constructing a 96-mile-long dividing wall in attempt to prevent Western “fascists” from entering East Germany and undermining the socialist state. The Berlin Wall, made of concrete and barbed wire, prevented emigration and more than 170 people were killed trying to cross or get around the wall. On Nov. 9, 1989, the head of the East German Communist party opened the checkpoint, allowing thousands of East and West Berlin residents to pass through. Elated residents, later known as "wallpeckers" used hammers and picks to break apart the wall. In 1990, East and West Germany reunified…

Five notable Wesleyan athletes and one long-time coach will be enshrined in the seventh class of the university’s Athletics Hall of Fame. In total, the Hall, established in 2008, now includes 37 individuals and 11 teams. Joining the Hall of Fame Oct. 17 will be: Joe Barry Morningstar '39, a three-sport standout (football, basketball and baseball) for whom Wesleyan's annual men's basketball outstanding player award is named; Cochrane Chase '54, a tremendous football and wrestling talent during his undergraduate career; Marion J. Stoj, M.D. '74, a high-scoring forward in men's soccer who earned All-America honors; Thomas Vincent Reifenheiser III '94,…

It was called "the war to end all wars." Causing the downfall of three major empires, and eclipsing all previous wars in its destruction, World War I changed the course of global history. And decades before television and sophisticated print advertising, it changed the way conflict was marketed to the American people. A new exhibit, Call to Action: American Posters in World War I, at the Davison Art Center, displays dramatic posters that recruited soldiers, celebrated shipbuilding, called women for war work and even urged homemakers to prepare alternative foods in support of the war effort. "The best illustrators of the day were…

The following message was sent to members of the Wesleyan community on Wednesday, Sept. 10: To the Wesleyan Community: We write to announce that the Beta Theta Pi residence at 184 High Street will be off-limits to all Wesleyan students effective Monday, Sept. 15, 2014. The students currently living there will be provided with alternative university housing. The decision to prohibit students from using the Beta house is based on the long history of incidents there. Most recently, during a party at the house a student fell from a third floor window and was seriously injured. We have lost confidence…

Uncover the hidden stories of East Asia’s religion and folklore at a new exhibit, "Not of This World," at the College of East Asian Studies' gallery. To inaugurate the new College of East Asian Studies, students curated this exhibition of the most compelling artworks from the college's collection. "Not Out of This World" is on display Sept. 10-Dec. 5 and features aesthetically pleasing pieces that reveal spiritual worlds filled with love, betrayal and faith. A ghost woman who searches for her husband, an immortal trapped in a peasant’s body, and a wheel that spins prayers are examples of the East Asian artwork displayed that weave the supernatural with mystical elements.…

The summer of 1964 saw thousands of young people — many from colleges and universities in the North - mobilize to register voters, educate citizens, and support other civil rights work in the Jim Crow South. What came to be known as "Freedom Summer" is credited with ending the isolation of states where racial repression and discrimination was largely ignored by news media and politicians, despite the the landmark Civil Rights Act passed that July. Wesleyan students joined the struggle. "Five Wesmen to Fight Voter Discrimination in Mississippi," said a front-page headline in the Argus. That May, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. had given…

This semester, the Shapiro Creative Writing Center is hosting three master classes taught by award-winning author and poet C.D. Wright. Master classes are open to all poetry-writing upperclassmen free of charge. Each class will last 2.5 hours and include one dinner. The classes will meet Sept. 23, Oct. 14 and Nov. 11, and the deadline to apply is Sept. 12. Wright is currently the I.J. Kapstein Professor of Literary Arts at Brown University where she teaches advanced poetry. Wright was born and raised in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas. She has published over a dozen books, including Rising, Falling, Hovering, Like Something Flying Backwards: New and Selected…

Wesleyan nearly doubled its number of Teach for America participants this year over 2013, the national organization said. With 19 participants in the 2014 cohort, Wesleyan is tied for third among "small schools" (those with under 2,999 students) who send graduates into the corps. The Wesleyan alumni join the most diverse corps in Teach for America's 25-year-history, with one third of the members the first in their families to attend college, half identifying as people of color, and nearly half Pell Grant recipients as undergraduates. Teach For America works in partnership with communities to expand educational opportunity for children facing…

More than 20 student bands participated in THE MASH on Sept. 5. Inspired by Fete de la Musique, also known as World Music Day, the third-annual event highlighted the student music scene at Wesleyan and kicked off the year-long campus and community-wide Music & Public Life initiative. Bands performed concurrently on stages at Olin Library, the Butterfields, North College and at the base of Foss Hill. Bands and soloists included Jacob & The Masters, Quasimodal, David Stouck, Mixolydians, Andrew Hove, Slavei, all-caps LADD, Materiq, Trillion Dollar Boys Club (Butts Reunion Tour 2k14), jdv plus™, MFDP, Don Froot, Mazel Tones, Sam…

Scott Rohde will become Wesleyan's new director of Public Safety on Oct. 1. Since 1998, Rohde has served as director of Police Services at the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse where he managed safety and security operations for a campus population of 10,000 students, faculty and staff. Prior to working in higher education, he worked for 10 years in municipal policing in a small town in Wisconsin. Rohde holds an MBA from Cardinal Stritch University, and a BS from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, where he majored in criminal justice and minored in sociology. "After an extensive search, I’m confident…

Writing at Wesleyan announces the Spring 2015 Russell House Series on Prose and Poetry. Writer/authors in the Spring 2015 series include Ron Padgett on Feb. 25, Millett Fellow Caryl Phillips on March 4, Sadia Shepard on March 25, Rowan Ricardo Phillips on April 1 and Ruth Ozeki on April 8. All events are free and open to the public. For more information on these talks visit the Writing at Wesleyan website. Support for this series is provided by Writing at Wesleyan, the English Department, the Annie Sonnenblick Fund, the Joan Jakobson Fund, the Jacob Julien Fund, the Millett Writing Fellow Fund, the Center…

Wesleyan head women's volleyball coach Gale Lackey, the senior athletics department member with 37 years of service, will retire in June. In her 30th year coaching volleyball, Lackey is also the senior woman administrator in athletics and an associate athletics director. Lackey began coaching at Wesleyan in 1978, handling both field hockey and women’s lacrosse and leading the field hockey squad to its only undefeated campaign — and a subsequent berth in the Wes Athletics Hall of Fame — in 1980. She took over as volleyball coach in 1985. “The time is right,” Lackey said. "Coaching and teaching here has…

Faculty, NPR Reporter Speak at Berlin Wall Commemoration

5 Athletes, 1 Coach to be Enshrined in Wes Athletic Hall of Fame

WW I Posters Shine at Davison Art Center Exhibit

Beta Residence to Be Closed to All Students

East Asia’s Religion, Folkore Shared at New Student-Curated CEAS Exhibit

“Freedom Summer” Commemoration to Feature Concert, Speakers

Author, Poet C.D. Wright to Teach 3 Master Classes at Shapiro Center

Wesleyan Nearly Doubles Its Teach for America Cohort

Student Music Scene Celebrated at THE MASH (with Photo Gallery)

Rohde Hired as Wesleyan’s New Director of Public Safety

Writing at Wesleyan Announces Spring Russell House Series on Prose and Poetry

Volleyball Coach Lackey to Retire After 37 Years, Hundreds of Victories