Page 51

In a new study linked to her 2021 high honors thesis, Sanya Bery '21 discovered that cities that house universities have a significant likelihood of adopting ambitious climate action plans. "It is clear that as plans become more ambitious, there is a higher concentration of university cities, and as plans become less ambitious there is a lower concentration of university cities," she said. "[These cities] efforts will be critical to the world’s effort to combat climate change." Bery, who majored in government and environmental studies, is currently collaborating with Mary Alice Haddad, John E. Andrus Professor of Government, on a…

The Office of Admission welcomed prospective students and guests to an October Open House on Oct. 11. The vibrant day offered two, identical half-day programs that featured a talk from Amin Abdul-Malik Gonzalez '96, vice president and dean of admission and financial aid; a student-to-student panel; an information session on the admission process and financial aid; an address to parents by President Michael Roth '78; a resource panel discussion; and student-led campus tours. Photos of the event are below: (Photos by Olivia Drake) (more…)

Malik Booker '25 isn't the average first-year student. At age 26, the potential computer science and College of East Asian Studies major has already served four years with the U.S. Navy as a petty officer third class officer in San Diego, Calif. and the island of Guam. As a former hull technician, he's a trained welder, pipefitter, and carpenter, and has experience firefighting, repairing boats, maintaining marine plumbing, operating ballast control systems, and inspecting nuclear-level materials. But honing these skills wasn't enough for an ideal post-military career. "I didn't want to be trapped into [working in the] trades forever," Booker…

The grand finale of Jeanine Basinger’s storied career at Wesleyan took place in late September with the naming ceremony in her honor of the new Center for Film Studies. The event, held Sept. 25, celebrated the completion of the third and final phase of the center. The 16,000 square-foot addition includes a state-of-the-art production studio, a cyclorama and green screen, a 50-seat screening room, additional indoor and outdoor classroom spaces, a three-story house dedicated to on-site film shooting, and increased archival research space. Basinger, Corwin-Fuller Emerita Professor of Film Studies and founder of The Ogden and Mary Louise Reid Cinema…

Since 2012, Associate Professor of Spanish Maria Ospina has worked with the Wesleyan Film Board to organize an annual film series titled Contemporary Cinema from the Hispanic World and celebrate Hispanic cultures following Hispanic Heritage Month. The series has run every year since then, except for in 2020 (during the pandemic). This year, the series will occur in the Goldsmith Family Cinema on Thursdays at 8 p.m. from Oct. 7 to Nov. 4, with five recent award-winning films from Latin America and Spain featured in the span of a month. “This film series aims to showcase cultural, social and political…

Assistant Professor of History Ying Jia Tan authored a new book titled Recharging China in War and Revolution, 1882-1955, already available as an e-book and soon to be available in hardcover, beginning Oct. 15. The work, published by Cornell University Press, explores Chinese power consumption and electrical development throughout seventy-three years of war and revolution. According to the book's abstract: Tan traces this history from the textile-factory power shortages of the late Qing, through the struggle over China's electrical industries during its civil war, to the 1937 Japanese invasion that robbed China of 97 percent of its generative capacity. Along…

Since 1995, the Mansfield Freeman Center for East Asian Studies Japanese Garden—or Shôyôan Teien—has provided a serene space for meditation, tea ceremonies, and art classes. Designed, built, and continuously cared for by Stephen Morrell, a landscape architect specializing in Japanese-style gardens, Wesleyan's Shôyôan Teien is being celebrated through a new exhibit that contemplates the garden’s rich history. "One's experience of the garden is meant to be personal," Morrell said. "By design, it encourages a peaceful intimate relationship where subjective and objective experience merges into present moment being. When that happens you become part of the garden." The exhibit, titled 25th Anniversary…

Wesleyan’s intellectually dynamic faculty, students, alumni, staff, and parents frequently serve as expert sources for national media. Others are noted for recent achievements and accolades. A sampling of recent media hits is below: Forbes ranks Netflix CMO Bozoma Saint John '99 as the world's most influential CMO. Saint John, who also is a member of Wesleyan's Board of Trustees, took the helm of Netflix’s marketing department last year following her leadership roles at powerhouse brands including Endeavor, Apple and Uber. More than half of the honorees on this year’s list are women and around 20 percent of the list are…

One day, back in 2019, three armed men came to Henry Dilonga Meriki’s house. He knew why they were there—they needed money to keep the fight against the Cameroon government going, or, they'd resort to kidnapping him. Anticipating the worst, Meriki put on warm clothes and shoes that would allow him to walk miles into the bush to their camps. They were separatists, a group of English-speaking fighters who have been battling with the government of Cameroon for over five years. He gave them about $180—down from $1,100 they asked for—to let him go. “We had to negotiate, and it’s better…

A team of researchers at Wesleyan has discovered new strains of bacteria—located on the University's campus—that may have the ability to break down microplastics and aid in the world's ongoing plastic waste crisis. Microplastics, which measure less than .20 of an inch, enter the ecosystem— and our bodies— largely through the abrasion of larger plastic pieces dumped into the environment. According to a study published in the Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, the average person consumes at least 50,000 particles of microplastic a year and inhales a similar quantity. "Plastic is typically classified as a non-biodegradable substance. However, some…

At the age of 16, Reginald Dwayne Betts was arrested for armed carjacking. He was sentenced to prison—where an unknown person slid a copy of Dudley Randall's The Black Poets under his cell door. It was this book that sparked a love for poetry and led to his lifelong interest in literature. "I spent nine years, writing every day, reading every day, imagining that words would give me the freedom to sort of understand what got me in prison," Betts said. "And when you're trapped in the cell—literally— words are your only lifeline. And I committed myself to using them…

Like every other part of the campus community, Wesleyan’s student activity organizations are learning to adapt to the realities of the pandemic. The biggest change for many of those groups is a simple one—having the ability to get back together again. Hundreds of students attended the university’s annual Student Involvement Fair (view photos) in early September, and the excitement was, understandably, quite high. Wesleyan’s wide array of activities are always an opportunity for students to expand their intellectual and cultural horizons. For many, stuck in a pandemic stasis for almost two years, the Involvement Fair is a chance to interact…

Bery ’21, Haddad Share Climate Action Plan Study with United Nations

Prospective Students, Parents Attend Vibrant Admission Open House

Posse Veteran Scholars Program Bring Diverse Backgrounds to Campus

Basinger Celebrated at Center for Film Studies (with Photos)

Hispanic Heritage Month Celebrated with Contemporary Cinema Series

Tan Authors Book on Chinese Power Development During Revolution and War

Wesleyan’s Japanese Garden Celebrates 25th Anniversary with Exhibit

Wesleyan in the News

Wesleyan Participates in Efforts to Protect Visiting Scholars

Student Researchers Discover Potential “Plastic-Eating” Bacteria on Campus

Betts Hon. ’21 Named a 2021 MacArthur “Genius” Fellow

Student Activity Groups Excited to Get Back to Normal