From impromptu community meetings to the heart of Occupy Wall Street, Wesleyan is known as a hub for activism. To get a better sense of the broad range of issues that matter to students here, The Argus requested submissions from the presidents and coordinators of campus organizations. The result is the first ever comprehensive directory of active university activist groups. Get involved!

Active Minds at Wesleyan
Thursdays at 7 p.m. in Usdan 110
Contact: activemindswes@gmail.com
“Active Minds is a national organization with chapters on college campuses that aims to spread awareness about mental health issues in order to reduce stigmatization surrounding mental health disorders. As a Wesleyan chapter, we will sponsor events that increase mental health awareness, educate students about the resources that exist and more generally foster a more open dialogue about mental illness on campus.”

American Medical Student Association
Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. in Exley 121
Contact: skassgergi@wesleyan.edu
“We provide a support network for pre-medical students. Additionally, we do programs to promote health and healthcare and empower pre-med students to fulfill their potential by pushing the boundaries of the ‘pre’ in premed.”

ASHA (AIDS and Sexual Health Awareness)
Every other Sunday at 8 p.m. at the Office of Community Service
Contact: lena.solow@gmail.com
“ASHA’s goal is to provide young people (in college and high school) with the tools and knowledge they need to make good decisions about their sexual health. ASHA leads workshops at local high schools on safer sex, STI’s, consent, and communication. We’ve just started WeSex—a listserv for all things related to sex at Wes! If you sign up, you’ll get an email once a week (no more, we promise!) with info about events related to sex, sexuality, sexual health, sexual assault, etc. If you want to be added to the listserv email ccohen@wesleyan.edu.”

Brighter Dawns
Wednesdays at 9:15 p.m. at Woodhead Lounge in Exley
Contact: tkhan@wesleyan.edu (organization); mdonahue@weseyan.edu (chapter)
“Brighter Dawns is a non-profit organization based in Chicago, Illinois which was started last Fall at Wesleyan University. Our mission is to improve slum conditions in Bangladesh. We have recently completed our first project, which brought access to safe sanitation to a slum in Bangladesh via new wells, latrines, and sanitation kits for locals while empowering women at the same time through jobs and training. Along with our mission statement, it is extremely important to us that we not only make a difference but maintain good relations with the local area and help maintain our facilities for many years to come. Our next project is largely based on maternal health/childcare and women’s education.”

Democracy Matters
Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. in PAC 107
Contact: ohorton@wesleyan.edu
“We are a non-partisan group concerned with political accountability and preserving the role of citizens in government. Our goal is to push for public funding in elections so that politicians are beholden to everyone and not just to wealthy, private donors or corporate interests and people who can fund their campaigns. We are a chapter of a national organization pushing for campaign finance reform across the country.”

Elderly Services
Fridays at 3:00 p.m. at the Office of Community Service (167 High Street)
Contact: elderly@wesleyan.edu
“Age Diversity! Elderly Services believes in the mutual benefits of building cross-generational relationships. We reach the elderly community of Middletown through social hours, companionship programs, talent shows, dinners, fundraising, and so on.”

Environmental Organizers Network (EON)
Monthly meetings
Contact: weseon@gmail.com
“The Environmental Organizers Network (EON) is a coalition of student groups dedicated to solving today’s environmental issues through broad and multi-disciplinary activism and education on campus and within our extended local and global community.”

Enough (Chapter of The Enough Foundation)
Determined on a weekly basis
Contact: mansoor@enoughadvocacy.org
“Enough is a chapter of The Enough Foundation, a nonprofit student-led group that I founded back in 2009. We work on systematically reforming educational models in South Asia through implementing world connectivity and liberal arts into federally mandated curricula. Our current pilot project is underway with the construction of a school in rural Pakistan.”

Housing and Hunger Program
Meeting times vary by program
Contact: hbaron@wesleyan.edu
“The Housing and Hunger Program functions as an umbrella group that coordinates and organizes a multitude of service and activism opportunities for Wesleyan students to learn about the issues and engage with the Middletown community. Our goal is to provide as many options for students to get involved in our programs or related programs dealing with the issues of hunger, poverty, and homelessness. We hope to serve as a connection between campus and Middletown as well as between varied student groups.”

The Individual Tutoring Program
Various times throughout week, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Contact: tutor@wesleyan.edu
“The Individual Tutoring Program, a program affiliated with the Wesleyan Office of Community Service, provides one-on-one individualized tutoring to students of all ages in the Middletown community. Tutors meet with tutees on campus for at least one hour a week to tutor in subjects ranging from first grade reading to college-level math. The program aims to build strong academic and personal relationships between Wesleyan students and students in the Middletown community.”

Interfaith Justice League
Sundays at 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. in Allbritton 304
Contact: nyip@wesleyan.edu
“We are committed to promoting understanding through dialogue and discussion about different religion/faiths/belief systems/(fill in the blank), celebrating religious diversity and encouraging respect and appreciation by creating a safe space on campus, and bringing together different religious groups to work together towards social justice. The IJL provides a welcoming and accepting environment for students to explore their own identities and learn about others. By connecting religious groups with social justice groups, the IJL encourages social justice work as well as religious education.”

Kids on the Block
One hour on Saturdays (very flexible)
Contact: skang@wesleyan.edu or rmcclellan@wesleyan.edu
“The Kids on the Block program dynamically engages fourth grade students in disability education through a presentation of three puppet skits about blindness, deafness, and cerebral palsy. Each skit contains a salient message about the need to include people who have disabilities by humanizing and personalizing each disability with a specific puppet. Students learn that these people are just as ‘normal’ as anybody else is and that disabilities are only truly ‘disabling’ when individuals and establishments are not inclusive.”

Long Lane Organic Farm
Mondays 7 p.m., 190 High Street; Saturdays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Long Lane Farm
Contact: aketchum@wesleyan.edu
“Long Lane Farm is everyone’s farm! Open to all, we grow organic vegetables which we distribute amongst the local community to make fresh, organic food more accessible to all despite different socioeconomic conditions. We seek to connect students and the Middletown community through a variety of events: open farming days, festivals such as Pumpkin Fest and May Day, and workshops with children. Join us anytime!”

Middletown Food Not Bombs
Sundays at 11:00 a.m. in the First Church of Middletown (190 Court) (cooking)
Contact: fnbmiddletown@lists.riseup.net
“Middletown Food Not Bombs is an anti-authoritarian collective dedicated to the principles of cooperation, mutual aid, and direct action against hunger, militarism, and social inequality. We collect food that would otherwise be thrown away from grocery stores, farms and restaurants and prepare a free vegetarian meal, shared each Sunday at 1:00 p.m. on the corner of Liberty Street and Main Street. Food is made available to everyone, rich or poor, drunk or sober.”

The MINDS Foundation
Saturdays at 5:00 p.m.
Contact: info@mindsfoundation.org
“The MINDS Foundation aims to eradicate stigma surrounding mental illness through educational, medical, financial, and moral support. Mental illness should be globally recognized as a biological disease, rather than a personal weakness. We want people with mental illness and their loved ones to seek help rather than hide. We emphasize education about mental health care in rural communities and provide access to resources for patients and families. We establish collaborative partnerships with local community-orientated institutions and provide educational and diagnostic support as part of a grassroots effort to improve the lives of the mentally ill in regions of need.”

Occupy Wesleyan
Contact: To sign up for listserv, send an email to occupywesleyan-subscribe@lists.riseup.net
“This is a Wesleyan group formed around the Occupy Wall Street movement, seeking to find ways to support the movement both on and off campus. We hope to figure out how to bring the energy of the movement to our community here at Wesleyan, as well as discover what we can offer in return. In addition, the goal of the group on campus is to explore practical ways of pursuing the ultimate aims of the movement: namely, giving a voice to marginalized groups and power to all people in attempts to build a real and fair democracy now.”

SAGES (Sustainability Advisory Group for Environmental Stewardship)
Contact: wesustainability@gmail.com
“SAGES is a group of administrators, staff, faculty and students that gets together once a month to discuss the environmental goings on at Wesleyan. SAGES has a number of subgroups, which include all aspects of campus activity, including energy consumption, procurement, transportation, construction and renovations, recycling and waste, grounds management, and dining. We basically work on a bunch of behind-the-scenes environmental initiatives, such as reducing water consumption by changing shower heads, urinals, and toilets to low-flow; putting solar panels on roofs of a number of campus buildings; and making sure that all paper on campus comes from recycled sources.”

Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO-Wesleyan)
Tuesdays at 9:00 p.m. in the 200 Church Lounge
Contact: shofcowesleyan@shininghopeforcommunities.org
“SHOFCO-Wesleyan is the Wesleyan chapter of the international organization Shining Hope for Communities started by Jessica Posner ’09 and Kennedy Odede ’12. SHOFCO-Wesleyan helps to strengthen the connection with SHOFCO-Kenya, located in the Kibera slum of Nairobi, Kenya. SHOFCO-Wesleyan supports the projects of SHOFCO, specifically the Kibera School for Girls and the Johanna Justin-Jinich Memorial Clinic, both of which have enduring connections with the Wesleyan community at large. On campus, SHOFCO-Wesleyan raises awareness about the issues that Kibera faces, fundraises to support SHOFCO projects, and continues to build the relationship between Kibera and the Wesleyan community.”

WesCFPA
Weekly outings on Saturdays and Sundays
Contact: WesCFPA@gmail.com
“WesCFPA works to maintain Connecticut’s hiking trails and to promote conservation and preservation. We are hoping to create an education program that will connect Wesleyan students to local elementary schools concentrating on outdoor activities and learning about the environment. We have trail maintenance outings almost every week and also have lectures, movie screenings and outdoor gear expos throughout the year.”

Wesleyan College Greens (Green Party)
Contact: rlevin@wesleyan.edu
“College Greens is a new national organization of college and university chapters of the Green Party, a global political party that believes in ecology, social justice, grassroots democracy, and peace. In the US, there are currently about 140 Greens in office. The Green Party was founded on the idea of ‘having one foot in government and one in the streets.’ The Wesleyan College Greens will act as a resource to Greens and green-minded independents in or running for office, as well as organizing speaking events, protesting, and other forms of activism.”

Wesleyan College Republicans
Wednesdays at 9 p.m. in Allbritton 004
Contact: amlevin@wesleyan.edu
“The goals of the Wesleyan College Republicans include helping GOP candidates in Middletown and Connecticut achieve victory and educate the Wesleyan community on the conservative message. We meet weekly to discuss local, state and national politics as well as the politics of the Wesleyan administration. We leave campus to make phone calls and knock on doors to help re-elect the mayor of Middletown.”

Wesleyan Democratic Socialists (WesDS)
Thursdays at 4:30 p.m. in Usdan 110
Contact: mmigielschwa@wesleyan.edu or nmanettilax@wesleyan.edu
“Our mission is to educate and organize students, to play a helpful and principled role in the movement for social justice, and, within and throughout this struggle, to articulate and defend the idea that true human liberation is impossible under capitalism. We seek social change and reform that extends democracy into all aspects of life—social, political, and economic. This is the struggle for democratic socialism. Our vision of socialism is profoundly democratic, feminist, and anti-racist.”

Wesleyan Democrats
Wednesdays at 7:15 p.m. in PAC 107
Contact: bflorsheim@wesleyan.edu
“The goals of WesDems are to promote the progressive views of the Democratic Party and its candidates on Wesleyan’s campus and encourage political engagement in our student body. We register students to vote, bring speakers to campus, volunteer for local, statewide, and national candidates, and make an effort to inform the campus about the party and the importance of political participation and voting, particularly among college-age Americans.”

Wesleyan Diversity Education Facilitators (WesDEF)
Tuesdays from 4-6 p.m. and Sundays 7-9 p.m. at the 200 Church Library
Contact: thewesdefs@gmail.com
“The Wesleyan Diversity Education Facilitators (WesDEF) is a student group of community facilitators and educators that lead anti-oppression workshops. All workshops provide an opportunity for critical dialogue about the impact of oppression at Wesleyan and the larger world. The WesDEF program aims to act as a resource for the Wesleyan community, developing space for social justice work, dialogue and understanding. We work in freshman dorms, as well as act as a resource for student groups and the larger campus for anyone who wants to run a dialogue or workshop.”

WesFRESH (Wesleyan Students For Real, Ethical, Sustainable Habits)
Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. at Earth House
Contact: mlefevre@wesleyan.edu
“WesFRESH is a group of students dedicated to food justice and activism on the Wesleyan campus and beyond. We are local and global activists who refuse to accept the limitations and injustices of our current food system, working instead to bring awareness to others of current food issues we all face, empower communities to make change, and work here and now to build a world we can believe in.”

Wesleyan Socially Responsible Investment Coalition (SRIC)
Thursdays at 4:15 p.m. in the University Organizing Center (190 High Street)
Contact: etheodorou@wesleyan.edu
“We are working on encouraging the Wesleyan administration and trustees to maintain more transparency with regards to the investment of Wesleyan’s endowment. The WSA recently passed a resolution we drafted which encourages the trustees to, amongst other things, disclose the names of the companies in which Wesleyan’s endowment is directly invested. We are hoping to work with the WSA and the broader Wesleyan community to engage in dialogue about investment policy and socially responsible investment with the trustees and administration.”

Wesleyan Students for Disability Rights (WSDR)
Fridays at 12:00 p.m. in Usdan 136 or 114
Contact: astout@wesleyan.edu or aeschwartz@wesleyan.edu
“WSDR is committed to promoting acceptance and awareness about disability issues both at Wes and within the broader community. We work towards this goal through facilitating workshops, bringing speakers and performers to campus, conversations with University departments and offices, and the promotion of Disability Studies. Check out our website at https://sites.google.com/a/wesleyan.edu/wesleyan-students-for-disability-rights/”

WILD Wes
Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. at Earth House
Contact: mlefevre@wesleyan.edu
“WILD Wes (Working for Intelligent Landscape Design at Wesleyan) questions the limits we are given when creating landscape to re-define the way our world values beauty in the land. Our mission is to break away from our society’s obsession with carbon and resource-intensive lawn care, and to prove the viability of a more sustainable, beautiful, and unifying landscape that reflects the needs of both the people and the Earth, one that heals the broken connection of humankind with the natural world.”