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Olivia DrakeSeptember 16, 20213min
From Alpha Delta Phi Society to the WeSanskriti—a South Asian classical dancing group—Wesleyan's 300-plus student groups offer opportunities for students with different backgrounds to meet peers with common interests. As part of Wesleyan's Week of Welcome (WesWOW), representatives from more than 100 student groups and clubs gathered on Andrus Field Sept. 10 for the Student Involvement Fair. Group members provided information, sign-up sheets, and various activities associated with their individual clubs. Wesleyan has more than 300 student-run groups, focusing on activism, identity, sports, publications, performance and visual arts, community service, religious affiliations, cultural interests, and more. Among them are the…

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Olivia DrakeSeptember 9, 20214min
Through a series of skits performed by new student orientation leaders, the Class of 2025 campus newcomers learned how they may experience power, privilege, and difference as they navigate different communities at Wesleyan. Titled "I, You, (We)s," the Sept. 2 performance, held during New Student Orientation, presented frequent challenges in community engagement and offered suggestions for engaging authentically, thoughtfully, and collaboratively. "The goal of this program was to introduce new students to the topics and conversations that would be relevant during their time at Wesleyan," explained Esme Maria Ng '22, who co-wrote the scripts with fellow student playwright and "I,…

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Editorial StaffSeptember 9, 20212min
The Class of 2025's New Student Orientation concluded on Friday, Sept. 3 with a celebratory return to an in-person "Common Moment" which was held on Andrus Field. The annual shared participatory arts event is one of the culminating experiences of students' first week on campus. The movement experience for incoming students, which has been held since 2008 starting with the Class of 2012, featured both faculty and alumni choreographers from Wesleyan’s Dance Department. The event had pivoted to an asynchronous event last summer. The Class of 2024 participated virtually (view performance) from their residence halls on Aug. 28, 2020 due…

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Olivia DrakeMay 17, 20211min
Students gathered on Andrus Field May 13 for Spring Thing, an end-of-the-semester celebration. Tickets to the event were $6 and 100 percent of the proceeds were donated to the Middletown Mutual Aid Collective. Ticketholders gained access to a dozen carnival games, music by student bands, and meal options by four food trucks. Students continue to wear masks in public spaces to Keep Wes Safe. Photos of Spring Thing are below: (Photos by Willow Saxon '24) (more…)

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Olivia DrakeMay 17, 20214min
In honor of revolutionary composer, experimental musician, and professor emeritus Alvin Lucier's 90th birthday, several Wesleyan faculty, staff, and alumni participated in a 27-hour-long performance of Lucier's paradigmatic work "I Am Sitting in a Room." Lucier, the John Spencer Camp Professor of Music, emeritus, retired from Wesleyan in 2010 and earned a Master of Arts ad eundem gradum from Wesleyan in 1979. Lucier personally chose 90 colleagues, friends, and former students to participate in the event, of which 15 are acquaintances from his time at Wesleyan. The concert spanned from 8 p.m. Thursday, May 13 to 11 p.m. Friday, May…

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Olivia DrakeApril 19, 20212min
On April 17, Wesleyan's Japanese community gathered outside the College of East Asian Studies to celebrate Ohanami, or “flower viewing." In early spring, three sakura—or cherry blossom trees—are blooming near the Japanese Garden. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the annual gathering was restricted to current students studying Japanese and CEAS faculty members. The cherry trees were donated in the mid-70s by Nobel Laureate Satoshi Omura, who received an honorary degree from Wesleyan in 1994. "The cherry blossoms’ timing was perfect," said event coordinator Naho Maruta, associate professor of the practice in East Asian Studies. "We had fallen cherry blossoms all…

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Olivia DrakeMarch 23, 20211min
Wesleyan students welcomed a two-day study hiatus during spring break, held March 23–24. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, students remained in Middletown during the recess. Students continue to wear masks while participating in any indoor or outdoor activity. For more information, visit Wesleyan's Keep Wes Safe website. (Photos by Willow Saxon '24) (more…)