Page 85

A clothing brand that promotes education and discussion of mental health and wellness is the winner of the Wesleyan COLLISION Spring 2020 pitch competition sponsored by the Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship. Created by Blake Northrop '22, Be Better consists of the clothing brand itself—which highly values customer participation and artist collaboration—as well as an online community forum for followers and members to connect, discuss, and share their stories about mental health. On May 5, Northrop and more than dozen other aspiring student entrepreneurs pitched their social benefit business ideas. Watch a recording of the Pitch Night online here. (more…)

In preparation for National Vote By Mail Day on May 23, two Wesleyan alumni are pushing for a nonpartisan movement to make it possible for everyone in the United States to safely vote by mail in November. To date, only Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Utah, and Washington offer vote-by-mail systems, while another 29 states and Washington, D.C., provide mail-in ballots at a voter’s request. "Americans shouldn't have to risk their health to vote," said Avi Stopper '01, founder and lead organizer of the web-based project Vote 2020 By Mail. Through Vote 2020 By Mail, Stopper is building a movement to persuade…

Wesleyan's 188th Commencement Ceremony, honoring the graduating Class of 2020, will be held through a virtual setting at noon on May 24. (View the Commencement website here.) The commencement address, honorary degree recipients, and the senior class address will be pre-recorded and offered for viewing on Commencement Sunday. The conferral of degrees and remarks made by Wesleyan President Michael Roth '78 will be presented live. The Binswanger Awards for Teaching will be presented on a future occasion. The Class of 2020 will be invited back to campus next year for an in-person ceremony. "We will miss the marching, the music,…

The timing of the release of The Rumi Prescription: How an Ancient Mystic Poet Changed My Modern Manic Life (Penguin Random House, 2020) was far from ideal. Officially out March 3, the new book by Melody Moezzi ’01 was barely in readers’ hands before social distancing restrictions were imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Moezzi was able to participate in a handful of events near her home in Wilmington, N.C. . . . and then the remainder were canceled or rescheduled in virtual form. However, The Rumi Prescription is the sort of book that people with extra free time on…

In late March, as New York City's coronavirus infection rate skyrocketed to five times higher than the rest of the country, members of Wesleyan's Traveler's Lab explored a movement-focused approach to the rapid spread of the disease. Rather than focusing on political borders, lab members depicted major freeways, highways, and commuter rail lines out of New York City, and examined counties within a 2.5-hour drive from the City. "While New York City may be the center, it is the travel region immediately surrounding the city that provides the true context of how COVID-19 has spread and is spreading to, and…

At the University’s 188th Commencement on May 24, Wesleyan will present honorary degrees to three recipients whose work exemplifies inclusive engagement. Jacqueline Woodson, an award-winning and best-selling author, is this year’s speaker. Actor and political activist Bradley Whitford ’81 and William Joseph Barber II, a social justice advocate and pastor of Greenleaf Christian Church, will also be honored. The recipients were chosen on the basis of their significant contributions to civic life in the United States, including the example they set in bringing new voices into the public sphere and spurring others to productive dialogue and action. “I am honored…

Brooke Rich, a former employee of Wesleyan’s food service provider Bon Appétit Management Co., was honored posthumously with Wesleyan's 2020 Morgenstern-Clarren Social Justice Employee Prize. The award was created in 2009 in memory of Peter Morgenstern-Clarren ‘03, who pursued social justice while a student at Wesleyan. Morgenstern-Clarren’s activism included securing benefits for Wesleyan custodial staff, participating in the United Student and Labor Action Committee, and contributing his leadership to the campus chapter of Amnesty International. (more…)

Sumarsam, Winslow-Kaplan Professor of Music at Wesleyan and a Fellow at Yale Institute of Sacred Music, is an expert on the history, theory, and practice of Indonesian music and theater, and a performer of Javanese gamelan and puppetry. Sumarsam's presentation was part of ISM's "Reflections from Quarantine" series. He was interviewed live through the Zoom platform by ISM Fellows Program Director Eben Graves. Sumarsam explained that his current research focuses on how “people—commoners—use performing art, and life of passage rituals for practicing their religion in their everyday lives.” From that angle, he looks at the early existence of performing arts…

Last March, Johan (Joop) C. Varekamp, Harold T. Stearns Professor of Earth Science, intended to teach an ore deposit and formation class in Italy; however, the COVID-19 pandemic caused him to stay near campus. Nevertheless, Varekamp kept a keen watch on Italy. With a fascination with the pandemic's wildfire spread, Varekamp began plotting coronavirus data from both the United States and Italy to see how their growth curves compared. "Infectious diseases follow initially exponential growth patterns until measures are taken to limit transmission or a vaccine becomes available," Varekamp said. "I wanted to know how disease propagation compares to population…

David Kuenzel, assistant professor of economics, is the author of a paper titled "WTO Tariff Commitments and Temporary Protection: Complements or Substitutes?" The paper was published in the January issue of the European Economic Review. In the paper, Kuenzel investigates the link between traditional tariff instruments and temporary protection measures (antidumping, safeguard, and countervailing duties). There is a long-held notion in the trade policy community that most-favored-nation (MFN) tariffs and temporary protection measures are substitutes. Despite this prediction, there is only mixed empirical evidence for a link between MFN tariff reductions and the usage pattern of antidumping, safeguard, and countervailing…

The shows must go on. Rather than allowing the COVID-19 pandemic to force a final curtain call on theatrical productions, Wesleyan's Theater Department pivoted to an online format. On May 1, and again on May 2, the department offered livestreamed performances of The Method Gun, featuring 10 student-actors. A replay of the Saturday performance is available for viewing on The Method Gun @ Wes website. After countless hours of line rehearsals, overcoming technical frustrations, and learning how to act and teach theater in a virtual world, show director and Assistant Professor of Theater Katie Pearl breathed a sigh of relief…

On April 13, Wesleyan’s Special Collections & Archives launched a new project asking the Wesleyan community for personal reflections on the COVID-19 pandemic. University Archivist Amanda Nelson introduced the project by saying, “It’s clear that we are all living and making history right now. As an archivist, I am always interested in recording these efforts so that . . . later, with the benefit of hindsight, [they can] give us and future generations of Wesleyan the ability to reflect on and learn from them.” Here, Nelson provides more insight into how the project came about and how the Wesleyan community…

Students Pitch Social Benefit Business Ideas

Alumni Encourage States to Offer Vote-by-Mail Options

Wesleyan to Hold Virtual Commencement Ceremony on May 24

Moezzi ’01 Shares Reflections, Advice on Applying Rumi’s Wisdom to Modern Life

Traveler’s Lab Creates Map of COVID-19 Cases in the NYC Commuting Region

Wesleyan Announces 2020 Honorary Degree Recipients

Rich Honored Posthumously with the 2020 Morgenstern-Clarren Social Justice Employee Prize

Sumarsam Participates in “Reflections from Quarantine” Conversation

Varekamp Plots Pandemic, Measures Growth Curves in US, Italy

Kuenzel’s Paper on WTO Tariff Commitments Published in European Economic Review

Theater Department Produces, Livestreams The Method Gun

SC&A Launches New Collection of Pandemic-Related Reflections