Olivia DrakeOn April 9, Wesleyan hosted its 41st Annual Philip B. Brown ’44 Memorial Lecture. President Michael Roth ’78 led a conversation with featured speakers Colorado Senators Michael Bennet ’87 and John Hickenlooper ’74, MA ’80, Hon. ’10. Maria Santana-Guadalupe ’98, anchor and correspondent for CNN en Español, provided the introduction and moderated an audience Q&A. The speakers discussed leadership, civic engagement, immigration, gun safety, the COVID-19 pandemic, equity and anti-racism, coalition building, filibusters, and the paths both the senators have traveled from Wesleyan to Washington, D.C. (Watch the entire program online here.) (more…)
When hometown friends Michayla Robertson-Pine and Tessa Levenstein found themselves frustrated with online learning at the college level, they suspected school-aged children were also suffering in the world of online education, and that young people were actively looking for fun creative ways to engage with each other socially. That's when Wesleyan junior Robertson-Pine '22 and Amherst College junior Tessa Levenstein '22 decided to create a remote, project-based, community-oriented program with the intent of spreading joyful learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Named Tin Can Learners, the program aims to take the load off of parents and offer engaging and energizing after-school…
Lauren RubensteinTaking place in a divided nation amidst a global pandemic, the 2020 election was marked by extraordinarily high levels of voting, with record-breaking early and absentee voting in many states. As of press time on the morning of Nov. 4, major news organizations were reporting that several battleground states still hung in the balance and neither candidate had secured the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the election. On campus Nov. 3, approximately 600 students, faculty, staff, and local residents voted at Middletown's Voting District 14, located inside Beckham Hall in Fayerweather, according to Diana Martinez, assistant director of…
Last March, as the COVID-19 pandemic began to plague the United States, Dr. Amy Fogelman '97 became engrossed in the country's lack of understanding about the virus, and even more so in the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers. "At certain hospitals in Massachusetts masks were required, but in others, physicians were told that they were not allowed to wear masks, even if they personally supplied them, because administrators were afraid that the masks would 'scare' the patients," Fogelman recalls. "I watched as my colleagues on social media shared their fears for their lives, and their patients’ lives,…
This summer, 16 students will promote democracy and broaden their engagement with the public sphere through Wesleyan's Engage 2020 Initiative (E2020) Fund. The initiative is a comprehensive university effort to support student learning via civic engagement and liberal arts education. Wesleyan’s Civic Action Plan sets goals for building civic preparedness among students, faculty, and staff, and for enhancing the University’s role in public life. Summer E2020 Fund recipients receive grants to support costs associated with lodging, meals, computer software, project supplies, and phone and internet services. In addition, participants enroll in the quarter-credit course CSPL 494, Internship: Elections, which requires…
Editorial StaffWesleyan University will hold its 188th Commencement ceremony virtually at noon EDT on Sunday, May 24. The virtual proceedings will be led by President Michael Roth ’78 and will include remarks from award-winning author and Commencement speaker Jacqueline Woodson, pastor and social justice advocate Rev. Dr. William Joseph Barber II, and accomplished actor and political activist Bradley Whitford ’81, all of whom will receive honorary degrees from the University. The recipients were selected for their significant contributions to civic life in the United States, including the example they set in spurring others to productive dialogue and action and in keeping…
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…
Shortly after returning home to New York City this spring amid the coronavirus pandemic, Walker Brandt ’22 was out for a walk near the Hudson River when he caught a glimpse of yellow tape in front of Brookdale, the senior living facility that had previously been his grandmother’s home. A sign on the sliding doors read, “No in-person visits are allowed at this time.” Brandt immediately appreciated the precautions the facility was taking to keep its residents safe, but also wondered what the seniors’ social lives would look like without visitors. With the suspension of in-person visitors also came a…
Katie AberbachAssociate Professor of Government Logan Dancey foresees many important opportunities for students to get involved and make a difference with upcoming local elections this fall—and the Engage 2020 (E2020 initiative) will be a prime vehicle for that work. Dancey recently gave a presentation via Zoom video webinar to Wesleyan faculty and staff about his research on American electoral politics and his work with students on this topic. Featured as part of the regular staff luncheon series, Dancey’s talk was titled “Student-Centered Elections Research: From the Middletown Mayoral Race to E2020." (more…)
Katja Kolcio, chair and associate professor of dance, recently joined other scholars and Ukrainian officials to speak on topics concerning veterans issues and the democratization of civil society in Ukraine during the current war on the border between Ukraine and Russia. The event, titled “Heroes of Liberty: Enhancing Well-Being, Resilience, and Civic Engagement of Ukrainian Veterans,” took place at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center on March 11. (The center closed on March 12 due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Kolcio, who also is an associate professor of Russian, East European, and Eurasian studies, presented her research on “Recurrent Inter-Generational Trauma in…
Although Mitchell Motlagh '20 doesn't agree with every proposal pitched by former presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren, he respects her for expressing topics in a clear, intelligent manner and offering solutions to problems. "Between her ability to articulate thoughtful policy changes and my desire to learn more about rural communities and how they have been affected by contemporary policy changes, I decided that I had to volunteer for Warren in a rural area," Motlagh said. Motlagh, a College of Social Studies major, was one of 16 Wesleyan students who devoted their winter break to support voter registration, participate in political campaigns,…