Students – Page 19

On March 1, Wesleyan will host the Veritas Forum featuring a discussion between Michael Wear, previously Faith Outreach Director of the Obama Administration, and President Michael Roth. Professor of Government Mary Alice Haddad will moderate. The event, titled, "The Trouble with Freedom: A Dialogue on Freedom in 21st Century America from a Religious and Secular Perspective," will take place at 7–8:30 p.m. in Daniel Family Commons, Usdan University Center. It is free and open to the public. The forum will explore the political, social, cultural, and religious implications of religious liberty. The presenters will share their past experiences and worldviews on religious…

Alicia Strong '18, a government and religion double major, was invited to present her undergraduate research at the prestigious Human Development Conference at the University of Notre Dame, held February 23–24. The annual student-led conference, sponsored by Notre Dame's Kellogg Institute for International Studies, is an opportunity for students from many academic disciplines to share their development-focused research and to network with other student researchers from across the country and the world. Strong was one of about 50 students to present at the conference, and one of only 18 to receive a competitive grant from the School for International Training to…

Laila Samy '18 highlighted the day for the Wesleyan women's squash team as she was named the 2018 Betty Richey Award winner Feb. 18 at Harvard. The award is the most prestigious annual honor bestowed by the College Squash Association (CSA). With another win on Feb. 18, Samy concluded her dual-match season with a perfect 24-0 record; however, the 21st-ranked Cardinals lost to 18th-ranked Tufts, 7-2, to finish fourth in the Walker Cup "C" Division of the CSA National Team Championships. The Betty Richey Award is given to the women's college squash player who best exemplifies the ideals of squash…

Molly Bogin ’18 and Tekla Monson '18 represented Wesleyan in the university's inaugural program with the Johnny Mercer Writers Colony at Goodspeed Musicals in East Haddam, Connecticut, last month. The students joined 36 established and emerging composers and lyricists to participate in the two-week creative residency—the only one of its kind solely dedicated to the creation of new musicals. Kathleen Conlin, Theater Department chair, and Ellen Nerenberg, dean of the arts and humanities, initiated Wesleyan’s involvement with the program. (more…)

When President Michael Roth speaks about the purpose of college, he frequently boils it down to three key things: students should find what they love to do, get better at it, and learn to share what they love with others. This semester, Wesleyan is adding to its curriculum to help students develop this third critical skill. Wesleyan recently received a 3-1/2 year grant for over $600,000 to pilot on campus the Calderwood Seminars, which train students in translating complex arguments and professional jargon from their academic disciplines into writing that can be understood and appreciated by the general public. The seminars, developed by…

During Winter Session, 14 Wesleyan students studied live, site-based theater performances in Santiago, Chile. The course, THEA 357: Space and Materiality, was taught by Marcela Oteíza, assistant professor of theater, and took place during the Festival Internacional Santiago a Mil (FITAM), the most renowned theater festival in Santiago. This was the first abroad course offered by Winter Session. “It was a wonderful experience for students and myself; particularly, to be able to share in situ with them the social and cultural history of Santiago within the framework of the festival,” Oteíza said. “Students learned about performance and reception theories, while…

Four former students who enrolled in the service-learning course AMST 250: Decolonizing Indigenous Middletown: Native Histories of the Wangunk Indian People—taught in fall 2015—are now co-authors of articles published in the Bulletin of the Archaeological Society of Connecticut, No. 79, 2017. Iryelis Lopez ’17, Tiana Quinones '17, Abigail Cunniff ’17 and Yael Horowitz ’17 partnered with the Middlesex County Historical Society and spent their semester examining 17th- and 18th-century Middletown records that focused on the Algonquian peoples of the lower Connecticut River known as Wangunks. The Wangunks lived near the Connecticut River primarily in present-day Middletown and Portland, Conn. In February 2016, self-selected students…

Last fall, 19 students enrolled in the Earth and Environmental Sciences 280 course, Introduction to GIS, assisted a local organization while learning data analysis skills. At the start of the semester, the class teamed up with community partner Emma Kravet, education director at the Connecticut Forest & Park Association (CFPA). Kravet expressed a need for a mapping tool that shows the location of schools and other community resources near the CFPA's blue-blazed hiking trail system. If such a map existed, she could facilitate more meaningful connections to schools and organizations near the trails. The class broke into five thematic groups to…

This week, in preparation for final exams, hundreds of students are flooding Olin Library, Science Library, Exley Science Center, Usdan University Center and other quiet spots seeking an area to study in solitude, while others are collaborating with classmates in groups. Undergraduate and graduate classes ended on Dec. 8. Reading Period was held Dec. 9-12 and final exams end at 5 p.m. Dec. 16. University housing closes on Dec. 17 and re-opens on Jan. 23, 2018, and spring semester classes for Wesleyan undergraduates and graduates begins on Jan. 25. Graduate Liberal Studies courses begin on Jan. 29. (more…)

Earth and Environmental Sciences faculty and senior seminar students have identified a potentially fast and inexpensive method for collecting and measuring Saharan dust in the Caribbean. E&ES faculty members Dana Royer, Tim Ku, Suzanne O’Connell, and Phil Resor, and students Kylen Moynihan ’17, Carolyn Ariori ’09, Gavin Bodkin ’09, Gabriela Doria MA’09, Katherine Enright ’15, Rémy Hatfield-Gardner ’17, Emma Kravet ’09, C. Miller Nuttle ’09, and Lisa Shepard ’17 have coauthored an article published in the January 2018 issue of Atmospheric Environment. The paper, titled “Tank Bromeliads capture Saharan dust in El Yunque National Forest, Puerto Rico,” summarizes student research…

During an initiation ceremony on Dec. 6, 17 Wesleyan seniors were elected to the Connecticut Gamma Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa honor society. To be elected, a student must first have been nominated by the department of his or her major. He or she also must have demonstrated curricular breadth by having met the General Education Expectations and must have achieved a GPA of 93 and above. During the ceremony, Gamma Chapter PBK President Steven Horst, professor of philosophy, professor of science in society, said this class has a 94.4 GPA and above. "For students elected this fall, it is…

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Veritas Forum to Explore Religious Liberty Issues in American Society

Strong ’18 Presents Research at Notre Dame Human Development Conference

Samy ’18 Honored by College Squash Association

Bogin ’18, Monson ’18 Participate In Creative Residency at Goodspeed

Students Learn to Translate Academic Knowledge for Public in Calderwood Seminars

Students Study Theater in Chile over Winter Session (with Photo Gallery)

Research by Service-Learning Class Published in Archaeological Society Bulletin

Students Use Mapping Skills to Collaborate with Community Partner

Students Prepare for Final Exams, Winter Recess

E&ES Faculty, Alumni Author Article on New Method for Saharan Dust Collection in the Caribbean

17 Seniors Elected to Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society

Students Teach DNA, Self-Awareness Workshops to Local Children