Aug. 15, 2007—Dining Union Confronts Employer: Some seventy campus dining union workers walk to the temporary headquarters of Bon Appétit, Wesleyan’s new dining service provider, to confront Bon Appétit’s Resident District Manager Delmar Crim about a disputed health insurance clause in their contract negotiations. Confrontations continued until last Tuesday, when a contract satisfactory to both sides was ratified.
Sept. 21, 2007—Three Thousand Miles: Ashley Casale ’11 completes her cross-country peace march. Three days after arriving in Washington, D.C., she is arrested while protesting a speech at the White House.
Sept. 28, 2007—Fashion-savvy students: Several University freshmen model for the fashion section of the special New York Times Magazine college-focused issue.
Nov. 6, 2007—Classes get bad press: Gawker, the Manhattan-based gossip and media news blog, published a negative post making fun of the unorthodox interdisciplinary nature the course “Feet to the Fire: The Art and Science of Climate Change.” The site also called the University the “most annoying liberal arts college” several weeks earlier.
Nov. 9, 2007—For Some, Loans Eliminated: At his inauguration, Roth announces that starting with the class of 2012, first-year students whose total family income is less than $40,000 will receive grants instead of loans, as part of a plan to reduce student debt.
Nov. 13, 2007—Divestment campaign kicks into high gear: Student for Ending the War in Iraq (SEWI) meet with President Michael Roth to discuss their divestment proposal, which demands that the University divest from weapons contractors Raytheon and General Dynamics.
Nov. 30, 2007—Seniors Blow Cocktails: After a one senior punched a bus driver, and another driver injures himself by tripping over bottles left on a bus, the December Senior Cocktails event is canceled.
Jan. 29, 2008—Chase Parr: The University celebrates the life of Chase Parr ’10, who is killed in a car accident in Wyoming. The accident also took the lives of her parents, John Parr and Sandra Widener.
Feb. 5, 2008—“Ba-rocking” the vote: Students head to Hartford to attend a Barack Obama rally. Several days later, University students swarm the polls in precinct 14, helping log the largest number of votes for Obama than any of Middletown’s other precincts.
Feb. 19, 2008 —Army base: Students join Middletown residents in protesting the U.S. Army’s plans to build a training base in the rural Maromas section of Middletown, located five miles southeast of campus.
Feb. 29, 2008—Blunt refusal: The Office of Residential Life says no to funding Zonker Harris Day, an annual celebration that references a perpetually-stoned character in Gary Trudeau’s “Doonesbury” comic strip. ResLife expresses concern that the event would perpetuate WestCo’s “hippie-druggie stereotype.”
March 28, 2008—Wes Arrests Mark War Anniversary: A handful of University students spend Spring Break in Washington, D.C. to protest the War in Iraq. They organize and participate in several non-violent protests, and several students get arrested.
April 4, 2008—Campus crimes: Two students are mugged in 24 hours, one at about 1:15 a.m. on Williams Street and one at about 11:45 p.m.