COVID-19 – Page 4

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…

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…

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…

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…

When President Michael Roth announced in mid-March that Wesleyan would suspend in-person classes for the remainder of the spring semester because of the increasing threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, faculty had less than two weeks to prepare their courses for distance learning before classes resumed after spring break. Trying to recreate the immersive Wesleyan classroom experience in a digital format presented a variety of challenges, particularly for faculty who had never taught online previously. It’s become clear over the last month that faculty have been able to rise to those challenges, and the Wesleyan Student Assembly (WSA) formally recognized their…

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that United States residents not only practice social distancing, but wear masks in public. In this piece, we highlight Wesleyan faculty, staff, students, and alumni donning their masks and explain a bit about them. (more…)

Assistant Professor of Government Lindsay Dolan specializes in international political economy and comparative politics in developing countries. Her research and teaching interests include international organizations, foreign aid, and development. Together with her co-author Quynh Nguyen of Australian National University, she has been studying how COVID-19 is affecting public attitudes toward globalization. President Trump recently announced that he is suspending U.S. funding for the World Health Organization (WHO). Can you briefly explain the role of the WHO, particularly during a global health crisis, and what will be the implications of the U.S. cutting funding? Which countries or populations will be most…

In an April 16 campus email, Wesleyan President Michael Roth '78 outlined the cost of the current COVID-19 pandemic to the University to be between $11-12 million for the current fiscal year. On April 21, Roth and Senior Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer, and Treasurer Andy Tanaka '00 held a virtual All-Staff Community Forum to further discuss the pandemic’s impact on Wesleyan’s finances and take questions from the community. In his initial message, Roth wrote that the estimated loss is driven by "the cost of important measures like reimbursing students for prorated portions of their residential and comprehensive fees, emergency…

Scores of commencement ceremonies around the United States have been canceled or postponed this spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That means scores of graduation gowns could sit unused in closets. Instead, Taran Catania ’13, an MBA student at the University of Vermont, wants students past and present to put those gowns to a different use. Together with her classmate Nathaniel “Than” Moore, who works as an emergency medicine physician assistant in the UVM Medical Center, Catania earlier this month launched Gowns4Good, which coordinates the donation of gowns to health care providers on the front lines of the pandemic. The…

Steve Stemler, associate professor of psychology and co-coordinator of education studies, has spent two decades systematically studying the purposes of school. He is the co-author, together with Dr. Damian Bebell, of The School Mission Statement and maintains the web resource purposeofschool.com. He is the author of an op-ed recently published in The Hartford Courant that provides advice for parents who are now educating their children at home due to coronavirus-related school closures. You’ve done a good deal of research on the purpose of school, a topic on the minds of many parents these days as they’re getting an up-close look at…

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

Varekamp Plots Pandemic, Measures Growth Curves in US, Italy

Theater Department Produces, Livestreams The Method Gun

SC&A Launches New Collection of Pandemic-Related Reflections

Students Form Connections with Senior Citizens Isolated by Pandemic

Wesleyan Student Assembly Commends Faculty on Distance Learning Efforts

Campus Community Captures Themselves Wearing COVID-19 Protective Masks

Dolan Studies Impact of COVID-19 on Public Attitudes Toward Globalization

Roth ’78, Tanaka ’00 Outline Pandemic’s Financial Impact on Wesleyan

Gowns4Good, Co-Founded by Catania ’13, Connects Health Care Workers with Alternative PPE

Stemler: Schools’ Mission Statements Can Guide Educators, Homeschooling Parents Amid Social Distancing