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One spring day in 2011, 15,000 people gathered in the streets of Tokyo, all of them singing a song that had been released online just three days prior. It was a self-cover of a love song, but re-configured and lyricized to protest the use of nuclear power in Japan following the Fukushima nuclear disaster. A tale of a teenage crush reignited at a high school reunion was turned into accusations of governmental lies about nuclear safety. Flickering love to unwavering anger. A sentiment that carried thousands to the streets. The song “Zutto Suki Datta” (“I Always Loved You”) by Kazuyoshi…

In this continuing series, we review alumni books and offer a selection for those in search of knowledge, insight, and inspiration. The volumes, sent to us by alumni, are forwarded to Olin Library as donations to the University’s collection and made available to the Wesleyan community. In honor of Women’s History Month, this edition of YJHTRT features stories that celebrate the lives and legacies of women in American history. Steve Golin ’60, Women Who Invented the Sixties: Ella Baker, Jane Jacobs, Rachel Carson, and Betty Friedan (University Press of Mississippi, 2022) While there were many protests in the 1950s—against racial…

By Maia Bronfman ’24 So many people were interested in Wesleyan’s Archaeology and Collections Open House earlier this month, Archaeology Collections Manager Wendi Field Murray didn’t stop talking for two-and-a-half hours. “I had so many great conversations with people of all ages. A young boy who brought a sketchbook to draw all the interesting things he was seeing; an individual who helped excavate the Beman Triangle site 10 years ago; a Wesleyan student who had never seen the collection; an older gentleman who collects historic glass insulators,” Murray said. There were over 150 attendees at the open house held in…

The U.S. Department of State announced that Wesleyan University is a Fulbright Program Top Producing Institution for the 2022-2023 academic year. This is the fourth consecutive year Wesleyan has appeared on the list. “Fulbright is interested in Wesleyan’s commitment to thinking about how what happens in an academic setting interacts with the real world and how that can be mobilized in a positive way,” Erica Kowsz, Assistant Director for Fellowships at the Fries Center for Global Studies, said in a previous interview. The list of Fulbright Top Producing Institutions for 2022-2023 was published in early February. “Thanks to the visionary leadership of these institutions, administrators, and…

The $14,635 the Softball team raised on Wesleyan Athletics Giving Day (WAGD) will help to cover its spring break trip to Florida where it will play over a third of its season schedule in just nine days. The money Softball raised, while a significant sum for the program, is just a portion of the near-record breaking total of $521,363 from 2,136 donors that Wesleyan’s 28 athletic teams combined to raise on WAGD on Feb. 15, the second highest total in the fundraiser’s history. Alongside funding the crucial spring break trip, Softball Head Coach Jennifer Lane said the money it raised…

Growing up in suburban Iowa, Andrea Weires ’19 said she could not recognize the people she lived next to for over a decade. Despite being there for less than two years, the community she serves in for the Peace Corps in northwestern Dominican Republic is vibrant and full of welcoming faces. “In my Peace Corps site, people know, care about, and take care of their families and neighbors—which is often the same people,” Weires said. “The solidarity and care for community here is really inspiring.” Weires said a fellow former Wesleyan student told her to always smile at everyone she…

For a trio of Wesleyan alumni working in film, news of their being nominated for an Oscar arrived like a triumphant Hollywood ending—a result of hard work, passion, and deep commitment to their craft. The Wesleyan community will be cheering them on as the 95th Academy Awards ceremony airs on March 12. Sara Dosa ’05 directed the Oscar-nominated documentary “Fire of Love,” the story of French volcanologists Katia and Maurice Kraft, who spent their lives chasing eruptions and documenting what they found. Ben Procter ’96 was one of the three people nominated for the production design of the blockbuster “Avatar:…

Every exhibition presented in the Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery establishes an idea–or an argument–of what art is, how art is made, who makes art, and what art does. “With every presentation, we attempt not to narrow the answers to any of those big questions,” said Associate Director of Visual Arts and Adjunct Instructor in Art Benjamin Chaffee ’00. “We think critically about the art that is shown and also how we’re framing it.” The most recent exhibition at Zilkha has created an interesting opportunity for juxtaposition. "Liquid Gold" includes a video installation and a sculpture by Assistant Professor of…

Assistant Professor of Computer Science Sebastian Zimmeck sees internet privacy as nothing less than a human right—everyone should have control over their data and how it is distributed in the world. “The concerns are twofold. Private companies have a lot of our data that we don’t know about, and the second point is that the government can request data from these companies that can be used in legal proceedings … the average internet user has no idea of the sheer amount of data collected from us,” Zimmeck said. A quick glance at the headlines in the New York Times over…

Professor of American Studies J. Kēhaulani Kauanui has been recognized with the American Indian History Lifetime Achievement Award, given by the Western History Association meeting, at the annual meeting held October 12-15, 2022, in San Antonio. For the last twenty years, the award has been given to the one individual every year who has served in the trenches on all fronts to advance Indigenous History. Past scholars who have been awarded include Philip J. Deloria, K. Tsianina Lomawaima, Frederick Hoxie, Jean M. O'Brien, Colin Calloway, Roger Nichols, Clifford Trafzer, and Jeffrey Ostler. Kauanui is one of the six cofounders of the…

In recognition of a year since the Russian attack on Ukraine, Wesleyan's Dance Department and WesWell co-hosted Ukrainian dance artist Mariia Bakalo, to teach a Contemporary Dance class and a workshop in Ukrainian Dance: Choreotherapy. The Choreotherapeutic approach focuses on the collective dynamic experience of moving together in rhythm and special configurations with other people. Bakalo taught a Bukhovynian dance from the southwestern region of Ukraine. Participants, including students, staff and faculty, children and Middletown community leaders from Community Health Center of Middletown and the Free Center, learned, laughed and sweat together. “The event was a testament to the resilience…

By Maia Bronfman ‘24 Diana Martinez, associate director of the Jewett Center for Community Partnerships, held around 100 one-on-one interviews to plan the Growing Power event on February 18 at Usdan University Center, a day devoted to community building and criminal justice reform. Residents from across Connecticut attended workshops on campus on gardening, Black herbalism, fishing, chicken-keeping, and leadership. “All it takes is one generation to disconnect, all it takes is one generation to get it back,” Martinez said about sustainable land-use and community practices. In a morning session, Kristianna Smith, Stacey Barka, and Erin Livensparger taught a Gardening 101…

Visiting Professor Talks Protest Music in Japan Following the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

“You Just Have to Read This…” Books by Wesleyan Authors Golin ’60 and Woodruff ’96

Local Artifacts on Display at Second Annual Archaeology Program Open House

Wesleyan Again Named Fulbright Program Top Producing Institution

Wesleyan Athletics Giving Day A Success

Alumni Share Peace Corps Experiences

Three Wesleyan Alumni Nominated for Academy Awards

Open-Ended Questions: New Exhibit at the Zilkha Gallery

Internet Privacy Focus of 2023 Shasha Seminar

Kauanui Given Lifetime Achievement Award

Dance Department Holds Ukrainian Dance Workshop

From Q-Tip Pollination to Strategy Caucuses: Jewett Center Hosts Workshops