democracy in action

New research from Assistant Professor of Government Alyx Mark and Tiger Bjornlund ’24 shows that courts with publicly financed elections are viewed as more legitimate and less susceptible to donor influence than those that are selected through privately financed campaigns. The paper, titled “Public Campaign Financing’s Effects on Judicial Legitimacy : Evidence From a Survey Experiment,” was published May 30 in the journal Research and Politics. “There is so much focus on the U.S. Supreme Court, but there are entire other levels of courts that receive less attention that have an impact on our day to day lives,” Mark said. In Spring…

With access to knowledge under assault across the country, the Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies department and the Shapiro Center for Creative Writing and Criticism struck a blow for the freedom to read whatever you like. Last week, the departments hosted two banned book giveaways as part of the Freedom to Learn National Day of Action. On May 3, 2023, FGSS and Shapiro Center gave away almost 100 banned books to students, staff, and faculty. “These actions by FGSS and the Shapiro Center engage the university in a nationwide day of resistance against the banning of books that tell truths about gender,…

Wesleyan’s Jewett Center for Community Partnerships convened a group of scholars, public policy specialists, funders, and activists to explore what community safety is, what it can look like, and the systemic barriers in place preventing an ideal version of that goal. The recent conference, “Re-imagining Community Safety,” showed the challenges in creating a more just world. The daylong conversation took place Thursday, April 13. The Center for Justice Innovation was a co-sponsor of the event. “We have a long and deep tradition of activism and community engagement, so consider yourself at home” said Clifton Watson, director of the Jewett Center.…

Sharing music. Teaching and advocating for sexual health and justice. Protecting the environment. Tutoring children. Wesleyan students are known for incorporating their own personal passions into work benefitting the wider community. A group of deeply involved students shared their civic engagement experiences at the latest Virtual WESeminar held on March 29. The conversation was moderated by Abigail Maymi ’22, Jewett Center for Community Partnerships Civic Engagement Fellow. Speakers included Annika Shiffer-Delegard ’23, Wesleyan Reproductive Advocacy and Legislation (WRAL); Blythe Guecia ’23, Adolescent Sexual Health Awareness (ASHA); Sam Multer ’23, Traverse Square After School Program; Imogen Frazier ’25, Food Rescue; Sarah Bank ’23, WESU Radio; and Lily Krug ’24, Sunrise. They spoke of…

David Rabban ’71, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin School of Law, delivered a wide-ranging exploration of academic freedom and freedom of speech at the annual Hugo L. Black Lecture on Freedom of Expression. The lecture was presented by The Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life and took place March 30 in the Daniel Family Commons. “One of the things I loved about Wesleyan when I was here was the commitment of the faculty and administration to free speech and academic freedom,” Rabban said. His talk cited a wide array of case law to show…

Get involved locally. Find a specific problem and commit to solving it. And network every way you can. That’s how to begin a career in public service, a group of accomplished alumni said at the 30th Annual Dwight L. Greene Symposium, held November 15. The one-hour panel discussion, held on Zoom, explored the topics of authentic civic engagement, how Wesleyan encourages a life of service, the power of connecting with community, and strategies to build and sustain a career in the public sphere. For the first time in the history of the symposium, the entire panel was comprised of Latinx…

The guardians of reproductive rights in America won an important victory in Connecticut in 1972. The case of Women v Connecticut, where women from all walks of life sued to overturn the state’s onerous abortion laws, paved the way for the Supreme Court’s landmark Roe v Wade decision legalizing abortion nationally. When the Supreme Court struck down Roe this year, revoking what was considered settled law, Professor of Government Sonali Chakravarti felt a need to examine the history of this important Connecticut ruling. On November 17, Chakravarti convened a panel comprised of participants in the suit and other experts to…

Election day 2022 on Wesleyan’s campus means students voting, many for the first time. Although turnout appeared light, with many local non-students walking in to cast their ballots, it didn’t mean students hadn’t voted, as many voted either early, absentee, and online, students said in interviews on Election Day. Marlen Popkin ’26 voted absentee for her first time voting this year. She wanted to make sure she voted in her local elections in Brooklyn and knew she wouldn’t be able to make it home to vote. “I wanted to vote in a local election that was relevant. I have…

Outside group advertising on television in federal races is breaking records, according to a new analysis released by the Wesleyan Media Project on October 20. Since the 2010 election cycle, the Wesleyan Media Project has provided real-time information on the extent of corporate and union spending in federal election campaigns across the country, who specifically is doing that spending, and which candidates are benefiting. The project releases a detailed report addressing the current political advertising landscape every two weeks during election season. In just the last two weeks alone, the Republican super PAC, Congressional Leadership Fund, has targeted ads in 42 different…

In the United States, firearms elicit clashing perceptions. They can be sources of leisure and recreation, of livelihood and profit, of grief and fear. “Guns mean different things to different people,” said Jennifer Tucker, director of the new Center for the Study of Guns and Society at Wesleyan, “and sometimes different things to the same people.” Held over October 14 and 15, the Center’s inaugural conference brought about 150 historians, museum curators, Wesleyan students, and others to campus to explore the historical contexts around one of the most polarizing subjects in modern America. The conference, “Current Perspectives on the History…

One-hundred-and-eighteen days after the Supreme Court repealed Roe vs. Wade, a group of Wesleyan faculty and students assembled in Judd Hall for a teach-in focusing on protecting reproductive freedom across the country. The October 20 event, co-sponsored by Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, and Wesleyan Reproductive Advocacy and Legislation (WRAL), gave students the opportunity to learn more about abortion access, coalition work around reproductive freedom, and other related issues. Historically speaking, Connecticut has played an important role in the abortion debate. A 1965 Supreme Court decision, Griswold v. Connecticut, set the legal groundwork for the Roe v. Wade decision. And…

Publicly Financed Judicial Elections Viewed as More Legitimate, New Paper Says

Banned Books Distributed on Freedom to Learn Day

Jewett Center Hosts Community Safety Conference

Wes Students Share Civic Engagement Experiences

Annual Hugo Black Lecture Explores Academic Freedom

Involvement in Public Service Focus of 30th Dwight L. Greene Symposium

Connecticut’s Role in Quest for Reproductive Rights Explored

Wesleyan Students Vote—Absentee, Early, Online, and In Person

Wesleyan Media Project Political Advertising Update: October 20

Center for the Study of Guns and Society Explores the Histories of Firearms at Inaugural Conference

Teaching Reproductive Rights