Thursday night, 232 students marched across a dark, frigid campus in observance of "Take Back the Night," a 20-year-old-tradition at Wesleyan. As they huddled together, sharing stories and support, taking back the night is exactly what they did. "The march is intended to acknowledge the presence of and represent the fight against sexual assault," said Meg Swan '05, the central coordinator of the event. "[It provides] an opportunity for survivors of sexual assault to share their experience and for participants to show their support."
University students decorated their houses and dormitories with ghouls, spider webs and pumpkins in anticipation of the Middletown youth who went trick or treating across campus Tuesday night. Approximately 20 children showed up in an assortment of costumes with empty pillowcases and plastic-pumpkins to collect their favorite candies and treats as part of an annual program called Halloween Halls.
An increase in Middletown's voter registration is expected to be an indication of an unprecedented voter turnout for the 2004 presidential election on Tuesday. According to Sandra Hutton, the Clerk for the City of Middletown, Middletown voter registration jumped from 64 percent in 2000 to 69 percent this year. Hutton predicts that registration might increase as high as 85 percent this year, since Middletown residents can register to vote in the presidential election up until 8 p.m. on Election Day.
In the largest turnout ever for a Wesleyan Student Assembly (WSA) poll, 1,170 students (42 percent of the student body) voted in the WSA sponsored elections last week in overwhelming support of gender neutral housing. Ninety two percent of voters supported the gender neutral agenda as it was approved by the Office of Residential Life and the Undergraduate Residential Life Committee last spring. Six percent voted against the implementation of such housing and two percent abstained.
The English Tea Garden on Broad Street may close its kitchen doors next spring with the current manager, Sharon Sheedy, making plans to retire. The Tea Garden, a café-style restaurant and gift shop, is part of an outreach project overseen by the Church of the Holy Trinity. Sheedy, who has been running the Tea Garden for the last 15 years, has worked hard over her tenure there. Her duties include purchasing the food each morning and then cooking all the meals by herself.
In the last 15 years, the South has tried to redeem itself by reopening the civil rights crime cases of the 1950s and 1960s, according to Renee Romano, Assistant Professor of African American studies, American studies and history. The media's portrayal of passive black victims and active white heroes in these cases has contributed to the historical falsification of these incidents, she argued during a lecture on Oct. 25 at Russell House.
The Student Budget Committee (SBC) has made its initial budget allocations for the fall, and while this is not the final step in the budget process, student groups have been given an idea of what sort of funding they will receive. Various changes were made to the process this year in an effort to make it more efficient and to improve relationships between the SBC and the various student groups.
A newly proposed policy that attempts to further define hazing received less than favorable reviews at a student forum on Tuesday. The WSA-sponsored event, which was intended to elicit reactions from the Wesleyan community, ended with just the promise of another forum along with serious questions about policy. The new guidelines include a blanket statement about hazing, a list of activities that may be considered hazing and a list of acceptable activities that are encouraged as ways to "foster camaraderie and team-building."
Despite Wesleyan's reputation as a politically conscious community, the level of activism evident this year has been disappointing at best. As our nation prepares for what could be the most important election of our lifetimes, as a whole students on campus have remained disproportionately ambivalent. Although the lack of organized conservative student groups on campus hinders meaningful debate, it does not excuse the absence of activism.
In last Friday's Argus, Aaron Sussman lamented that the people dying over in Iraq make it rather unfunny to ridicule politics these days, the facts turning the "theatre of the absurd" into the "theatre of the tragic." He concluded in truly rousing fashion: "Soon, we will be hit by reality and woken up. Soon, a demand for change will emanate from the people at a volume that can never be matched by a ballot. Take a shot." That this stirring peroration brings his article back squarely into the theatre of the absurd we will put aside for now, because his point was otherwise well taken.
Well, I'm not sure exactly where to begin with you. You managed to say so many problematic things in the course of your attacks on the queer community on Oct. 22 that I couldn't possibly respond to all of it. However, even though it's hard for us queers to think about anything besides sex, chalking, sex while chalking and sex with chalk, I thought I'd try your suggestion to "educate and teach tolerance to those who act ignorantly" and respond to some of your more egregious comments.
Wesleyan, I think we have a problem. My issue is this: Some people in the community, for whatever reason, feel that it is all right to alienate other members of the community. I say this because it is true—people this semester (and semesters past) have been deliberately made to feel uncomfortable by others around them. To clarify this issue, these actions are NOT acceptable! Regardless of the circumstances!
WESU FM is a valuable broadcasting asset. It has been managed over the years by a combination of students and local announcers and subsidized by Wesleyan and the WSA. Prospective student broadcasters have not had professional help in developing shows, and it has proven difficult for students to have full responsibility for the station during breaks, especially the long summer vacation. On occasion there have been security issues because of unauthorized entry into the station.
As senior director of campus dining for the past two years, I can say a lot of hard work has gone into improving our program. These changes have been brought about through the hard work of all of our staff, the students and the University. This has truly been a collaborative effort. We will continue to change to better serve the community. I would like to make sure everyone understands what has been accomplished over the past two years.
This upcoming election is certainly shaping up to be quite the hot topic; enraged sycophants on both sides of the political spectrum carry signs with such clever messages as "No Blood for Oil" and "Four More Years!," while the two candidates themselves travel from state to state, working on "clarifying their positions" to voters who haven't yet gotten a clue.
Less than half of Wesleyan students will vote in the 2004 presidential election. Highly suspect? Regime change begins at school. In a recent WSA gender neutral housing poll, the student body voted decisively, with the greatest voter turnout in traceable history. A whopping four-tenths of the student body voiced their opinion. Apathy is unacceptable. I hope W wins, chalking remains banned, Aramark takes over the school, and tuition is raised $5000.
It is a truism of political thought that people do not recognize the extent of bad governance until it affects their lives personally. Your administration's ineptitude has entered my life in the form of the screeching bulldozer right outside my window that jolts me awake every single morning, and will continue to do so for the entire interminable year.
Once upon a time, our school was known as a place where the students were engaged and active in politics. Although the culture of organizing is less prominent than it once was, student opinion has not vanished. A movement is building; it is time again for an anti-war presence on this campus. We know there is still a yearning to contribute that goes beyond casting a vote.
In response to Bonnie Loshbaugh's "Athletes can save lives, too," I would like to say that I am sorry that you were "annoyed" by my article, but you misunderstood my point. As an athlete you have the right to determine whether or not you would like to donate blood, and you may chose not to donate for one reason or another. This is perfectly acceptable and understandable, whether it's a fear of needles or an upcoming meet.
Oliver Utne '08 and Sean Watson '08 have organized an independent campaign to persuade the Administration to let students travel to swing states on Nov. 1 and 2. Watson and Utne developed a petition asking that not be penalized for missing classes or work around Election Day. They reported that 63 percent of people who signed their petition were interested in traveling over the weekend. Those who did not plan to travel expressed concern over missing classes and not having the resources to get to swing states.
Rachel Kiel '07 has attained stardom by tap dancing, acting, singing and showing up at the Argus office for this interview. She plays Laura Bush in Tony Kushner's "Only We Who Guard The Mystery Shall Be Unhappy," tonight in the MPR at 7, 9, 11 p.m. and midnight.
On April 7, 1990 at 4 a.m. a fist-sized rock was thrown through the Wesleyan President's window followed by two Molotov Cocktails. Shots were allegedly fired from an AK-47 in the bushes of Van Vleck Observatory towards South College. On July 6 of that year, in Hartford, Nicholas Haddad '92 was shot in the back of the head and killed by Kumar Visnawathan, his former friend and the son of Tanjore Viswanathan, an adjunct professor of music at Wesleyan. Strangely, the two events were connected. The state of Connecticut determined that Haddad was part of the conspiracy to bomb South College.
An awareness of music and the nature of language were intertwined with poetry as four students read their award winning prose on Wednesday night at Russell House. Chosen from 52 entries, this year's four Wesleyan Student Poets Competition winner were Michael Comstock '05, Daniela Gesundheit '05, Edith Zimmerman '05, and Owen O'Connor '07. The poets read a selection of their work, which will be published in a book in January. The reading was followed by a reception.
The Amelia Piano Trio appeared young and hip and brought an unexpected sound to Viennese chamber music Friday night in Crowell Concert Hall. Titled "A Night in Vienna," the performance featured pieces composed by Mozart, Schoenberg and Franz Schubert played with a fresh, inspired attitude. Anthea Kreston, violinist, gave a brief preface to the performance by introducing the trio members and quickly talking about the historical context of the pieces in the performance.
Family weekend provided the ideal situation for Assistant Professor of English Matthew Sharpe to read from his new novel about a father and his son entitled "The Sleeping Father." Friday's event was meant to give families a taste of the creative writing opportunities at Wesleyan, so Sharpe prefaced his reading with a few thoughts on the merits of studying fiction and writing in college.
Saturday was a night of men and their guitars in the Nicolson lounge. The acoustic night brought together performers from inside and outside of the Wesleyan community. Thirty or so audience members relaxed on the heated floor of the lounge, sipping hot chocolate and munching on cookies. The event was organized by Lee Pender '07, who since playing there during Foss Fest last spring thought the Nic lounge would be a great venue for an acoustic show.
Happy Halloween! I hope that you know what you will be for Halloween. I don't know what to be for Halloween. Maybe by the time this goes to press, I'll have an idea. But as of now I'm pretty much stuck. I would like it to be film-related, obvs. I would like it to be semi-obscure, obvs. I would like it to be… a third quality with a hyphen in it, most obvs. Perhaps super-choute. In the past, I've worn costumes based on movies. I was Batman in '89; I was Royal Tenenbaum in '02. But what now? Someone from "I Heart Huckabees?"
Art is politics. An extraordinary number of musicians and artists have used their prominent positions to influence people to make educated decisions in this year's election. They are loud and colorful. Artists, I have come to realize, are granted the unique right to examine today's America, select elements of significance and openly pick them apart. By incorporating political opinions into their work, they allow the audience to make inferences and inspire discussion.
While the NESCAC is considered by some to be the most competitive Division III conference in the country, athletics do not necessarily top the list of many Wesleyan students' priorities. This year, the University boasts some of the highest ranked teams in its history, but you certainly will not find a decline in the rankings of the science program or the film department. Only a handful of Cardinal Athletes can accurately refer to themselves as All-American, or even All-New England. Olin Library always appears more populated than the Freeman Athletic Center.
On Tuesday, the field hockey team traveled to Tufts University to face a strong Jumbo team. The game, which went to two overtimes, ended when a Tufts penalty shot slid past goalie Caitlin Kelly '07 to give the Jumbos a 2-1 win. The game began like many other games have this season, with the Cardinals exerting offensive pressure, dominating the midfield line and playing up-tempo hockey. Key support was provided by midfielders Courtney Tetrault '07, Liz Dee '06, and co-captain Megan Gauvey-Kern '05.
Men's soccer (6-5-1, 4-3-1 NESCAC) dropped a tough conference game 1-0 at Tufts on Tuesday. The Cardinals are now tied with Bates for fifth place coming into the final NESCAC game of the season. Despite solid play from goalie Dan Penrod '05 and several scoring chances for the Cardinal offense, the team was unable to get the better of the Jumbos. Next the men host the Polar Bears of Bowdoin (9-4, 6-2 NESCAC) on Saturday at 11 a.m. for the regular season home finale, at which the seniors will be honored prior to the start. The Cardinals have already clinched a playoff birth in the NESCAC tournament, which starts on Sunday.
Wes Fuhrman is captain of the men's cross-country team and a member of the Class of 2005. He earned All-New England honors in cross-country and All-NESCAC honors in track during his sophomore year. Last spring, Fuhrman became the ECAC champion at the outdoor 5K. This fall, he is leading the Cardinals' runners in what looks like one of their best seasons ever.
Last night, I had a conversation with my good friend Jesus. I asked him if hell froze over. He told me that hell is as hot as ever and the apocalypse is not yet upon us, at least not until after the election results come in. He also told me Johnny Damon should shave because he's confusing a lot of people from the simple-minded Red Sox Nation. I always thought he looked more like a caveman than our Lord and Savior though.