Class of 2022 – Page 2

On March 30, more than 150 students gathered outside Usdan University Center for a community vigil to mourn the victims of the March 16 Atlanta spa shootings and to create a safe space for Asian and Asian-American students to discuss the rise of anti-Asian violence and be heard by the community. The vigil was organized by Emily Chen ’23, Kevin Le ’22, and graduate student Emily Moon, in conjunction with members of the Asian American Student Collective. Students read poems, played music, and shared their reflections during the event. Towards the end, the organizers gave anyone moved to speak the…

When Emily McEvoy '22 began her college career at Wesleyan in 2018, she felt a deep sense of detachment from the local environment. At a campus in the middle of her home state, how could this be? The insularity, she says, was jarring, and she decided to dedicate her time to combat this issue. McEvoy immediately became involved with several local organizations, including Middletown's North End Action Team, and the student cohort of volunteers who helped staff their office. Most recently, McEvoy has been an organizer with the Middletown Mutual Aid Collective, which has raised close to $70,000 to support…

During the 65th Biophysical Society Annual Meeting held virtually Feb. 22–26, Shawn H. Lin ’22 was honored with an Undergraduate Poster Award for his work on "Elucidation of Interactions Between Integration Host Factor and a DNA Four-Way Junction." Lin, a Wesleyan Freeman Scholar, is among only six undergraduate students internationally to receive the award. Lin's advisors are Ishita Mukerji, Fisk Professor of Natural Science, professor of molecular biology and biochemistry, and Candice Etson, assistant professor of physics. Lin's poster is below (click to enlarge):

Do political views and anxiety play a functional role in combating COVID-19? According to a recent study by Ori Cantwell '22, the answer is yes. Cantwell, a psychology major, presented his recent study "Yes We (Anxiously) Can: Liberal Ideology and Anxiety Predict Social Distancing during the COVID-19 Pandemic" during the virtual 22nd Annual Convention of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology Conference, held Feb. 9–13. "We found that in a sample of over 10,000 American adults, anxiety partially mediated the relationship between liberal ideology and social distancing," Cantwell explained. "Liberals were more anxious than conservatives, and people were most…

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the public has relied on dynamic visualizations in the form of maps and apps to keep up-to-date with the spread of the disease on both local and global scales. And with the use of geo-enabled apps, individuals can locate COVID-19 testing and vaccination sites, order groceries and other goods online, find uncrowded outdoor spaces, and track and even map the number of available medical resources in area hospitals. "All of these services are available due to geographic information systems (GIS)," said Kim Diver, associate professor of the practice in earth and environmental sciences. "By using spatiotemporal visualizations, we…

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…

When religion major Shayna Dollinger '22 imagined her college experience, it never involved mandatory quarantining, weekly virus testing, attending concerts—solo—in a 6-by-6-foot square space, and wearing masks at a socially distanced tashlich on Rosh Hashanah. But this was the true reality of her junior year at Wesleyan. "But weirdly enough, I don’t miss what could have been. I am proud and grateful every day for the lengths my university has gone to keep its students safe and engaged during these turbulent times," Dollinger wrote in an essay titled "My Pandemic Year in College Has Brought Pride and Purpose." The essay,…

By Annie Roach '22 and Olivia Drake MALS '08 After the whirlwind of 2020, Wesleyan students—many of them first-time voters—were particularly eager to exercise their right to vote in the presidential election. While several students cast absentee ballots in their home states weeks ahead of time, others voted in person on Nov. 3. Marangela James '24 decided to vote in person in Connecticut, here on campus at Beckham Hall. She registered at Wesleyan earlier this semester, when some students had set up a voter registration table in front of Usdan. “It was a little bit hard navigating how to vote…

Led by the Jewett Center for Community Partnerships (JCCP), the University launched its new Engage 2020 (E2020) Initiative last fall to deepen Wesleyan’s commitment to civic engagement. To date, 33 students have already received funding to support the development of their civic literacy and their preparedness to engage in political life through hands-on experiences such as working to register voters, issues advocacy, and volunteering on political campaigns. E2020 encourages participation regardless of political affiliation or stances on specific issues. Since the initiative's inauguration, Wesleyan has joined forces with colleges and universities across the U.S. to reaffirm the University's collective responsibility…

Philosophers in the ancient world, in both the East and the West, typically viewed the practice of philosophy as an activity aimed at changing one's orientation to the world and, thus, how one lives one's life. Some of these thinkers developed views that still appear to have contemporary relevance, but many of them also held beliefs that we recognize today as not only outdated but also deeply misguided. Given these blind spots in their thinking, should ancient philosophy be "canceled"? That was the question up for consideration in a midterm debate held on Oct. 22 as part of PHIL 210:…

Hannah Docter-Loeb '22, a features editor at The Wesleyan Argus, participated in a public discussion about the intersection of D.C. statehood and racial justice Sept. 18. The "Panel on D.C. Statehood and Racial Justice" was hosted by Georgetown Students for D.C. Statehood and featured Docter-Loeb; Anthony Cook, professor of law at Georgetown University; Jamil Scott, assistant professor of government at Georgetown University; and Cosby Hunt, adjunct professor at the University of the District of Columbia and senior manager of social studies education at the Center for Inspired Learning. Docter-Loeb, a D.C. native, was invited to be a panelist after writing…

Although many amendments have been ratified since the first election in this country more than 230 years ago, the simple fact remains: Voting is a right and a privilege. With just 46 days (upon the publishing of this article on Sept. 18), remaining until Election Day 2020, Audrey McMahon ’22 of the Wesleyan women’s ice hockey team has set an ambitious goal: to get 100% of eligible student-athletes registered and pledged to vote. McMahon has taken on the role of Wesleyan’s resident ambassador for Voice in Sport (VIS), a nonprofit advocacy group dedicated to supporting women student-athletes. In an initiative…

Students Gather to Honor Atlanta Victims, Combat Anti-Asian Violence

McEvoy ’22 Named 2021 Campus Compact Newman Civic Fellow

Lin ’22 Wins Biophysical Society Poster Award

Cantwell ’22: Liberals Are Anxious About COVID-19 And They Social Distance More

Students Use GIS-Based Maps, Apps to Study the Effects of the Pandemic

Students Launch Fun, Interactive Virtual Program for School-Aged Kids

Dollinger ’22: Pandemic Year in College Brings Pride, Purpose

Students Reflect on Presidential Election Voting Experience

E2020 Experiences Shape Students’ Views of the Election

Philosophical Debate Serves as Living a Good Life Course’s Midterm

Docter-Loeb ’22 Serves as Panelist on D.C. Statehood, Racial Justice Discussion

A Call to Action: McMahon ‘22 Pushes for Student-Athlete Voter Registration