Olivia DrakeApril 20, 20102min
On April 20, 2010, Wesleyan President Michael Roth '78 wrote a blog, declaring that the university will not be able to maintain McConaughy Hall. The building, constructed 1962 as "The Freshman Dining Hall" closed in 2007 following the opening of Usdan University Center. When I began my tenure as President of Wesleyan in the summer of 2007, I strolled over to my old Foss Hill room just across from the entrance to McConaughy Dining Hall. Standing in the circular driveway between my frosh dorm and the dining hall, I could almost hear the music that my roommate Richie and I blasted…

David PesciApril 6, 20104min
A student-created health care clinic in Kibera, Kenya, named for Johanna Justin-Jinich, receives grant from Newman’s Own Foundation Last year, two students from Wesleyan founded the first tuition-free school for girls in Kibera, Africa’s largest slum, located in Nairobi, Kenya. This year, they’ve teamed with three more Wesleyan students and medical experts to create a health care clinic on the same site. The Johanna Justin-Jinich Memorial Clinic of Kibera will be the first community-driven clinic in Kibera that specializes in women's health. The student-created Shining Hope for Communities non-profit organization will preside over the clinic’s construction and daily operation. Johanna Justin-Jinich…

Cynthia RockwellApril 6, 20102min
Jeongdo (Alfred) Hong ’04 was selected as one of this year’s Young Global Leaders by the World Economic Forum (WEF), a Geneva-based nonprofit that brings together business and political leaders, intellectuals and journalists to discuss the most pressing international issues, including health and the environment. This year the forum selected 197 Young Global Leaders (YGLs) from 72 countries for their professional accomplishments, commitment to society and potential to contribute to shaping the future of the world. Hong, of South Korea, is head of strategy for the JoongAngIlbo, one of the country’s three big newspapers. The 2010 Young Global Leaders will…

Corrina KerrApril 6, 20106min
Binge eating can cause depression, lead to excessive weight gain and potentially cause long-term damage in binge eaters. But a new study shows that a simple, self-guided 12-week program can decrease binge eating for up to an entire year – while reducing costs of treatment. Conducted by Ruth Striegel-Moore, the Walter A. Crowell University Professor of the Social Sciences, professor of psychology, and researchers at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research and Rutgers University, the study was aimed at finding a way to effectively treat sufferers from this disorder that affects about 3 percent of people in the United…

Olivia DrakeApril 6, 20104min
As an archaeologist investigating 19th century sites in Zanzibar and Tanzania, it was impossible for Sarah Croucher to ignore the thousands of shreds of locally-produced and imported ceramics unearthed every day of excavations. For archaeologists, these materials are vital to interpreting the social history of 19th century Islamic colonialism in East Africa. "Many key questions remain uninvestigated, particularly in regard to how newly shared Zanzibar identities emerged during the 19th Century, which intersected with gender, religion, class and sexuality," Croucher explains. Croucher, assistant professor of anthropology, assistant professor of archaeology, assistant professor of feminist, gender and sexuality studies, has been…