Class of 2016 – Page 4

“Bubbletrapper” is the goddess of bubblegum and is always nice — except to bad guys. “Bubblegum is her weapon,” said Marrisaana, a fifth grader at MacDonough Elementary School in Middletown. “When she’s mad, she traps bad guys in a bubble.” On Feb. 19, Marrisaana and four other classmates participated in Wesleyan’s WesMyth program, which provides fifth graders at McDonough with an introduction to Greek mythology. The program, taught by Wesleyan student volunteers, is held for one hour every week throughout the academic year. On this particular day, the WesMyth participants created their own Greek gods and goddesses based on mythical creatures they’ve studied in…

B.J. Davis ’16, a guard on the men’s basketball team, scored his 1,000th career point as the 25th-ranked Wesleyan Cardinals used a second half rally to defeat the Connecticut College Camels in NESCAC play Jan. 30, 87-79. Wesleyan trailed the entire first half but outscored the Camels, 53-37 in the final 20 minutes of regulation to earn its fourth-consecutive win. With 13 points, four fouls and just :43 remaining on the clock, Davis went to the foul line. He missed his first shot but hit the second to etch his name in the Wesleyan record books as he finished with…

Students from Associate Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences Timothy Ku’s Environmental Geochemistry class presented their findings regarding the geochemical makeup of Lake Hayward in East Haddam, Conn., to almost two dozen members of the Lake Hayward and Wesleyan communities on Dec. 2 in a presentation at the Russell House. The class is part of Wesleyan’s Service Learning Program spearheaded by Rob Rosenthal, director of Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life, the John E. Andrus Professor of Sociology. “Working in science, it's always fulfilling when you have people who care about the information you’re looking at,” said Zachary Kaufman ‘16.…

Fifteen seniors were inducted to the university's Gamma Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa during a ceremony on Dec. 2. (more…)

Arpita Vora ’16 clicks through a website that seeks to raise awareness about the hardships faced by low-income families in North Carolina. Middlesex United Way, the organization at which Vora was placed through the Center for Community Partnerships’ yearlong pilot Nonprofit Board Residency Program, is hoping to create a similar site using data from Connecticut. (more…)

More than 100 members of the class of 2016 attended an evening of craft brews and music in Beckham Hall on Thursday, Nov. 12. The event was sponsored by the Alumni Association and the Senior Class Gift Committee. For more photos, click here. (more…)

Wesleyan Earth and Environmental Sciences students and faculty attended and contributed to this year’s Geological Society of America (GSA) Annual Meeting, held Nov. 1–4 in Baltimore, Md. (more…)

The world is currently facing the largest refugee crisis since World War II. Concerned Wesleyan students are volunteering with community organizations, coordinating various speaker panels, fundraising for international NGOs and agencies, and engaging in advocacy efforts. This fall, Casey Smith ’17 and Cole Phillips ’16 founded the Wesleyan Refugee Project (WRP). Smith, a College of Social Studies major who is pursuing certificates in Middle Eastern studies and international relations, has worked with refugees since high school, advocated for refugees’ rights in Washington, D.C., and volunteered for refugee resettlement organizations. She is currently studying abroad in Jordan, where she helps refugees access…

The basement of the University Organizing Center at 190 High Street is now home to Red Feather Studios, Wesleyan’s first and only student-run recording studio. Red Feather officially opened in spring 2015 after being a work in progress for a few years. “The music culture at Wesleyan is unlike any I’ve seen at other universities,” added Oscar Parajon '16, a founding member and head studio manager at Red Feather, who is majoring in American Studies. “Before Red Feather Studios, what was happening was a plethora of ‘bedroom producers’ throughout campus that did not have a platform to make their art.” According…

Two members of the Wesleyan community participated in a discussion on WNPR's Where We Live focused on "Confronting Social Injustice." Bashaun Brown, a former student at Wesleyan's Center for Prison Education who spent more than six years incarcerated at Cheshire Correctional Institution, is now pursuing an entrepreneurial venture called TRAP House. "All prison experience is pretty bad, but thanks to Wesleyan, I was able to transform my prison space. My prison experience was one of educating myself, and trying to get better and make sure I never make the types of mistakes that I made to get into that situation in the first place.…

On Nov. 6, four Wesleyan seniors spoke to members of the Wesleyan community about their thesis topics and research. The event, “Celebrating Seniors: Research Excellence at Wesleyan and Abroad" took place in Judd Hall, and was moderated by the Class of 2016 Dean David Phillips. The student presenters were Tahreem Khalied ’16, Claire Wright ’16, Simon Chen ’16 and Kate Cullen ’16, and their projects varied widely. (Story by Margaret Curtis '16, photos by Rebecca Goldfarb Terry '19) (more…)

Psyche Loui, assistant professor of psychology, assistant professor of neuroscience and behavior, assistant professor of integrated sciences, is the co-author of a new study, "Rhythmic Effects of Syntax Processing in Music and Language" published in Frontiers in Psychology in November. The article's lead author is Harim Jung '16, and it is also co-authored by Samuel Sontag '14 and YeBin "Shiny" Park '15. According to Loui, the paper grew out of her Advanced Research Methods in Auditory Cognitive Neuroscience course, and is the precursor to Jung's senior and master's theses. The study uses a behavioral test to look into how music…

Children Learn about Greek Mythology through Student-Led WesMyth Program

Men’s Basketball Davis ’16 Reaches 1,000-Point Milestone

Environmental Geochemistry Students Present Research

15 Seniors Inducted into Phi Beta Kappa

Pilot Program Gives Students Insight into Local Nonprofits

Class of 2016 Celebrates Senior Night

E&ES Faculty, Students Contribute to GSA Annual Meeting

Wesleyan Refugee Project Aids Refugees from around the World

Student Artists, Bands Record Music at Red Feather Studios

‘Where We Live’ Features Wesleyan CPE, Doula Project

Senior Thesis Writers Discuss Research with Wesleyan Community

Loui, Jung ’16, Alumni Authors of Article in Frontiers in Psychology