Olivia DrakeLydia Tomkiw ’11 began studying la langue française in kindergarten, and as a College of Letters major, she was required to study abroad for one semester. Little did she know that that her first week in Paris would result in a discussion on the American political landscape in French. "During my first week, when I was still adjusting to everything, my camera battery broke. I had never been taught the vocabulary for battery and charger. I looked those words up and found a store. I walked in and felt a little nervous. But I was able to tell the shop…
Nineteen students are enrolled in a new grant-funded pilot program that provides classes taught by faculty volunteers and is administered by two graduate students. What makes this program different from any other outreach initiative by Wesleyan is that the students are incarcerated. "The mission of Wesleyan's Center for Prison Education" program is to practice Wesleyan's civic engagement by offering college courses to incarcerated individuals, in order both to enrich the lives of those who are systematically denied access to educational opportunities and to enhance Wesleyan’s academic community," explains program manager Cathy Crimmins Lechowicz, director of community service and volunteerism. The…
This summer, students will have the opportunity to complete semester-long courses in a period of five weeks. Twenty-five courses, taught by Wesleyan faculty, will be offered during the 2010 Summer Session. Classes begin June. 7. "These courses include some highly popular courses that always have more interested students than space during the regular academic year, as well as some new and advanced courses, and some new thematic institutes," explains Joe Bruno, vice president for Academic Affairs and provost. Highlights include three two-course institutes on different themes: neuroscience and psychology, computer programming and computer music, and visualizing (more…)
Three times a week, a group of Wesleyan sailors travel 21 miles to Essex, Conn. for a three-hour practice on the Connecticut River. On the weekends, the students tackle the waters in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Vermont or Maine. The Wesleyan Sailing Team, which recently completed its second year participating in the competitive New England Intercollegiate Sailing Association (NEISA), finished its season in 26th place. Forty-two collegiate teams are registered with NEISA. This fall, the student-run group competed in nine regattas and 10 last spring. They finished three ranks under Amherst College, one rank under Middlebury College and four ranks above Williams College. "We started at…
Daniela Ivanova ’10, a CSS senior, has published an article on "Velvet cinema" in the web-based publication Transitions Online, for their 20 years after the Berlin wall special.
The Wesleyan Theater Department presented Caryl Churchill's The Skriker Nov. 19, 20, 21 and 22 in the Center for the Arts Theater. The play was directed by Bob Bresnick, visiting assistant professor in theater with costume designs and puppet designs by Leslie Weinberg, artist in residence in theater. Churchill describes the title character in The Skriker as a "polluted, not-believed-in nature spirit who comes up to the world to get love, attention and revenge." The Skriker tries to enlist the help of two friends: one pregnant and one who has killed her child. With tragic poetry and stunning linguistic pyrotechnics, the play…
More than 5,000 parents, alumni and friends came to campus Nov. 6-8 to celebrate Homecoming/Family Weekend. This year's theme was "Come Home!" Event photos are posted on the HCFW website. "Every year, I hear from alumni, parents and students that Homecoming/Family Weekend gets better and better," says Gemma Fontanella Ebstein, associate vice president for external relations. "We had a terrific turnout this year and the energy was palpable across campus – in the WESeminars, athletic contests, department anniversary celebrations and other special gatherings throughout the weekend. This has become one of the highlights of the year for the Wesleyan community.” The…
For 12 weeks last summer, Lauren Valentino ’10 taught underprivileged rising 9th graders how to speak French and read Hamlet – all while most of her students were still learning English as a second language. Valentino was in Denver, Colo., working with residents who had recently moved to the U.S. from Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Eritrea, Kenya, Mexico and Columbia, to name a few. "One student was a refugee from the Ivory Coast and had no formal schooling until three years ago," says Valentino, a sociology and French major. "He was one of my brightest kids." As a student-teacher working at the…
WesWars, an inter-class, campus-wide competition, was held Oct. 30 on Andrus Field. Modeled after older class competitions and “cannon scraps,” which were popular in the mid 1800’s, WesWars is composed of field games and trivia questions. The students participated in games such as tug-o-war, the human pyramid, disc toss, the loudest scream, three-legged-race and a roll down Foss Hill. The Class of 2012 won WesWars. WesWars is supported by the Cardinal Council, University Relations, the Alumni Association and the Office of Student Affairs. (Photos by Olivia Bartlett Drake)
(Photos by Cora Lautze '11)
For more information on Zipcar, visit http://www.zipcar.com/wesleyan. (Photos by Lauren Valentino '10)