first year matters

During Robin Wall Kimmerer’s first days as a university student, a professor asked why she wanted to study botany. She replied that she wanted to understand why goldenrod and asters — flowering plants cultivated by Native Americans — looked so beautiful together, a perspective influenced by her upbringing as a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. The professor ridiculed her, dismissing her comment as unscientific. “Your way of thinking is not welcome here,” she recalled him saying. Years later, Kimmerer’s way of thinking received a standing ovation from students during their first days at Wesleyan. In addition to being a…

Wesleyan's First Year Matters (FYM) program is designed to help first-year students establish on-campus community connections, engage in shared learning experiences, explore new opinions and ideas, and acquire the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in Wesleyan’s rigorous liberal arts environment. The FYM committee annually selects a "common experience" for the incoming class as an intellectual introduction to Wesleyan. This year, the Class of 2024 watched and discussed the documentary This Changes Everything, directed by Avi Lewis and based on the award-winning book of the same title by Naomi Klein. View screenshots below and watch the entire keynote address online…

As part of Wesleyan's First Year Matters (FYM) program, the FYM committee selects a "common experience" for the incoming class as an intellectual introduction to Wesleyan. Next fall, the Class of 2024 will watch and discuss the documentary This Changes Everything, directed by Avi Lewis and based on the award-winning book of the same title by environmental activist Naomi Klein. "The film is an unflinching look at the disparate impacts of climate change on various communities around the world and highlights some fundamental conflicts between global economic systems and efforts to combat climate change," said First Year Matters Committee Chair…

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At Common Read, Author Asks Class of 2028 to Reimagine Relationships with the Earth

Author, Environmental Activist Naomi Klein Delivers First Year Matters Keynote

This Changes Everything Documentary Selected as First Year Matters Common Experience

Frosh Discuss Diversity, Inclusion at First Year Matters Program; Conclude with Common Moment