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The statistics on sexual abuse are staggering. According to the Centers for Disease Control, 1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men report experiencing rape or sexual abuse before they turn 18. “This means that a significant portion of young adults entering college have already been impacted by sexual violence,” said Amanda Carrington, Wesleyan’s Associate Director for Sexual Violence Prevention. The numbers are not much better while at college. About 1 in 5 female students, and 1 in 16 male students experience sexual violence through physical force, violence, or incapacitation while in college, according to the Rape, Abuse &…

President Michael S. Roth ’78 authored a review of “Unearthed: A Lost Actress, a Forbidden Book, and a Search for Life in the Shadow of the Holocaust” by Meryl Frank for The Wall Street Journal. The memoir details her research into her family’s history and a book inherited from her aunt, Mollie, which depicts the brutal murder of Jewish performers by Nazis—including one of her cousins. Roth told The New Yorker that reading storied texts with specific lens’ geared toward re-affirming your own beliefs is like “shooting fish in a barrel.” He spoke on the topic for a piece on Hillsdale College’s…

At the first Faculty and Staff Lunch Talk following the COVID-19 pandemic, held April 4, Professor of Psychology Scott Plous stood before the assembled group of faculty and staff to discuss the merits of action teaching. He began his presentation with a quote from the inaugural address of Wesleyan University’s first president, Willbur Fisk: “education should be directed with reference to two objects—the good of the individual educated, and the good of the world.” “Action teaching,” a term first coined by Plous in his 2000 publication for Teaching of Psychology, integrates real world problem solving, philanthropy, and advocacy with traditional…

Every time author and Assistant Professor of English Rachel Heng begins a new project, she asks herself, “what are the stakes?” Why is she writing this story? When writing her new novel, The Great Reclamation, she saw her mother reminiscing about former greenscapes converted to tall buildings in her native Singapore. She grew up hearing stories of life before the high-rise filled city she grew up in. “My mother would go to places and say, ‘oh, you know, we used to live here, but I don't really know where it is anymore because they changed all the roads,’” Heng said.…

Sharing music. Teaching and advocating for sexual health and justice. Protecting the environment. Tutoring children. Wesleyan students are known for incorporating their own personal passions into work benefitting the wider community. A group of deeply involved students shared their civic engagement experiences at the latest Virtual WESeminar held on March 29. The conversation was moderated by Abigail Maymi ’22, Jewett Center for Community Partnerships Civic Engagement Fellow. Speakers included Annika Shiffer-Delegard ’23, Wesleyan Reproductive Advocacy and Legislation (WRAL); Blythe Guecia ’23, Adolescent Sexual Health Awareness (ASHA); Sam Multer ’23, Traverse Square After School Program; Imogen Frazier ’25, Food Rescue; Sarah Bank ’23, WESU Radio; and Lily Krug ’24, Sunrise. They spoke of…

A group of artists and academics came together in the first of a series of climate change conversations to examine how art can impact policy. This event is part of the Ocean Filibuster: Art and Action series—a semester of art and activism, science and storytelling—building to the Connecticut premiere performances of PearlDamour’s "Ocean Filibuster" in the CFA Theater from Thursday, May 4 through Saturday, May 6, 2023. For more information and related events, please visit www.wesleyan.edu/cfa/ocean. The first panel discussion on March 28 considered the relationship between artmaking and policy—how artists, scientists, and policymakers can be more powerful, and more able to shape…

Does theater really change somebody? That is the question that director and Assistant Professor of Theater Katie Pearl always asks herself when she does a show about an issue she cares about. In her most recent work “Ocean Filibuster,” Pearl explores the intimate, critical relationship between humans and the ocean. “I make a play because I want to have a conversation with the topic,” Pearl said. “I like to think of the rehearsal room as a little radical ecosystem. As a director my job is to create a community that is in the conversation that the play is wanting to…

David Rabban ’71, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin School of Law, delivered a wide-ranging exploration of academic freedom and freedom of speech at the annual Hugo L. Black Lecture on Freedom of Expression. The lecture was presented by The Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life and took place March 30 in the Daniel Family Commons. “One of the things I loved about Wesleyan when I was here was the commitment of the faculty and administration to free speech and academic freedom,” Rabban said. His talk cited a wide array of case law to show…

Who collects your data? Which data? Why? Where does it go? Who is buying it? What are they doing with it? Can we protect our data or choose who gets to use and sell it? What laws are in place to protect your data? What’s the path forward for data privacy? These were all questions tackled by data privacy experts from Wesleyan, New York University, Google, Harvard, Boston University, Carnegie Mellon, and others who spoke at the annual Shasha Seminar for Human Concerns on March 31 and April 1. “The importance of freedom from unauthorized intrusion is on the top…

Taking one’s doctoral dissertation and transforming it into a graphic narrative was certainly not an ordinary choice, but it was exactly what author and independent scholar Rebecca Hall did. The resulting work, “Wake: The Hidden History of Women Led Slave Revolts,” won multiple awards and was a finalist for the N.A.A.C.P. Image Awards and the Pen America Open Book Award. Wake was listed as a Best Book of 2021 by NPR and The Washington Post, Forbes, and Ms. Magazine. “As far back as I can remember, I've been searching for women warriors,” Hall reflects in the opening pages of her book. “Pickings were slim.” She melds…

As political violence spreads throughout Haiti and gangs take over neighborhoods, local Vodou temples are vulnerable to destruction, losing an important part of the country’s religious and cultural patrimony. Professor of Religion Elizabeth McAlister is working alongside colleagues in Haiti to help preserve the precious art and sacred objects at one particular temple. To support her efforts, McAlister has recently been named a 2023 Crossroads Research Fellow by Princeton University. The Crossroads Project “responds to challenges that call for deeper public understanding of and scholarly engagement with Black religious histories and cultures,” according to its website. McAlister, Lewis A. Clorméus,…

Reinhold Blumel, Charlotte Augusta Ayres Professor of Physics, has recently published three papers in the journal Scientific Reports: "Effects of the coupling of dielectric spherical particles on signatures in infrared microspectroscopy;" "Space-resolved chemical information from infrared extinction spectra", and "Domes and Semi-Capsules as Model Systems for Infrared Microspectroscopy of Biological Cells." David Kuenzel, Associate Professor of Economics, published Non-tariff Measures: What's Tariffs Got to Do with It? in the February 2023 issue of the Canadian Journal of Economics. The paper systematically examines the empirical link between various tariff measures and the imposition of non-tariff barriers in WTO member countries. Matthew M. Kurtz, Professor of Psychology, published a piece…

Wesleyan Recognizes Survivor Solidarity Month

Wesleyan in the News: April 2023

The Impact of Action Teaching

Heng Publishes New Novel The Great Reclamation

Wes Students Share Civic Engagement Experiences

Artists and Academics Discuss Climate Change

Connecticut Premiere of “Ocean Filibuster” Takes Place May 4-6

Annual Hugo Black Lecture Explores Academic Freedom

Internet Privacy Roadmap Developed at Shasha Seminar

“Wake” Author Speaks at Launch of New Lecture Series

Religion Prof Receives Fellowship to Help Preserve Vodou Temple

Faculty Achievements: Spring 2023