On Saturday, ten Wesleyan students from Student Global AIDS Campaign (SGAC) converged with thousands of other college students from across the country in Washington, D.C. to demand greater US support in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The Student March Against AIDS, which drew over 4,000 people, was hailed as the largest march against global AIDS in a decade. "It was really exciting," said Mark Purser '08. "I looked back and saw the entire length of the block behind me full of students. Cars were honking in support."
The second Dean of the College candidate, Maria Cruz-Saco, met with a small group of students Monday for the second of two student-candidate forums. The meeting was part of a busy day for Cruz-Saco, the current Interim Dean of Connecticut College, who underwent a series of administrative interviews that morning in addition to various meetings with Wesleyan faculty and the WSA.
On Sunday Tuscany Grill hosted its Fourth Annual Ice Sculpture Festival and Ice Carving Competition, attracting many contestants from the Middletown community and beyond. "We were very pleased with the response, turnout, quality of carvers, and the genuine participation of the crowd," said Lynne Reilly, one of the owners of the Tuscany Grill. "I really enjoyed the day."
Since the 2003 resignation of former Dean of the College Freddye Hill, the dean’s office has been significantly reorganized to be more efficient. A new Dean of the College is expected to be chosen by the beginning of April. The Administration has focused the responsibilities of a new dean to three main areas: academic support services for students, student affairs and student activities.
This weekend students from the Tsunami Relief Group collected items from donation boxes across campus that will be used for a tag sale in front of the Campus Center on April 3. All profits will be donated to grassroots organizations of affected countries. "We thought it would be a new thing, a chance to raise a lot of money, and have some fun," said Sarah Reed '08, one of the organizers.
Women's rights advocates Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards came to Shanklin 107 on Thursday night to discuss their efforts to revamp the feminist movement and promote their new book, "Grassroots: A Field Guide to Feminist Activism." Although the duo has spoken out on a wide variety of issues pertinent to American women, they focused Thursday's discussion on abortion rights.
The phones in Ben Michael’s office won’t stop ringing. He turns the sound off on one phone only to be greeted by the shrill ring of the other. As WESU’s new general manager, Michael’s task will be to correct some of the station’s organizational problems, some of which precipitated the addition of NPR programming. "We were under-funded, we didn’t have the technology we needed, and we didn’t have the structure we needed," said Michael of the station in recent years.
A new format and a new location for the Punchline Stand-up Comedy show proved to be a successful experiment. Psi U, a bigger venue than the traditional WestCo Café, was filled to capacity on Friday night with an estimated 230 people watching short comedy sets performed by ten Wesleyan students. Co-organizers Aaron Sussman '07 and Adam Stone '05 wanted to include more comedy acts than in previous Punchline shows, with each set lasting a shorter period of time.
After getting over the weirdness that comes with a journalist's prying into personal details, this week's Wesceleb Chris Santiago '05 divulged the diversity of activities, music groups, and costumes that interest him. From an experimental music collective to attending the local Baptist Church on a weekly basis, Chris's passions are far from conventional. You may have heard him on his weekly WESU radio show, or perhaps seen him traversing campus wearing a homemade horse costume. In the end, Chris taught me some valuable lessons in our short interview, like that band members don't have to be musicians and Baptists don't have to be Baptized.
Carrie is rifling through tie-dyed headbands, looking for a green one like the kind her favorite Mexican reality TV star wears. We've been watching a lot of Mexican reality TV recently. Today, though, we're at the market because Carrie wants to look like Galilea, the beautiful meteorologist. In Mexico, meteorologists are a lot younger and better looking.
We had initially intended to endorse a Dean of the College candidate in this space. But while our writers have attended the open interviews, talked to students and faculty, and covered related recent events, we realized that beneath the cacophony of issues, there are important underlying nuances that we aren’t prepared to address. Seeing how the candidates respond to student concerns at the open interview is an important aspect of the hiring process, and student opinion is important, but how big of a role can we, a disparate group of 3000, be expected to play?
Defense spending is seen as a matter of national security. It is undeniably important to spend money on the military, but when does it become too much? If spending isn’t restrained, the country will end up selling out national security to the highest bidder. Like many others before it, the Bush administration has declared itself to be for a stronger, safer America and believes that spending on military issues must take precedence over spending on social issues.
What's better than people getting together and having a good time? People getting together and having a good time…for a good cause! And what's better than that? Hmm—ya got me there! If you are blue, I have some advice for you: turn that frown upside down! Into a smile! And if you're sad, it's not that bad: make that smile go on for a mile! It would be true even if it didn't rhyme, but the fact that it does is an example of you having a good time.
At the WSA meeting held last night, President Bennet and students discussed how the new dean of the College would play a crucial role in deciding whether Wesleyan needs a multicultural dean. President Bennet made clear that he would be relying heavily on the new Dean to analyze and improve breakdowns in communication and transparency between the administration and students.
After four years of wrestling at Wesleyan, a lot stands out in my mind: the nail-biting victories; the miserable practices Coach Black put us through; and my loss against Johnson and Wales University, when I un-strapped my headgear for the last time. But most of all, I am left with awe, admiration and respect for my three senior teammates who completed this brutal four-year journey by my side. I'd like to use this space to tell you some of the more remarkable feats I have witnessed these "specimens" accomplish.
I recently attended the Otis Taylor show at the Crowell Concert Hall. The music was great. Towards the end, it felt so good, that I just had to stand up and move my body around a little bit. This is actually a natural reaction that many humans have when they are listening to music. To my dismay, I was instructed to return to my seat. How absurd! Otis Taylor plays the BLUES!! The blues is about letting loose! At a blues show you can stand, you can sit, you can do the hokey pokey, you can do whatever you want to do!
As a senior who lives in a University-owned house on Home Ave, I live the life of a king. I have my own bathroom. I have control of my own thermostat. My bedroom is a palace, a converted dining room with a royally high ceiling. As the resident of a senior house, I truly hold the holy grail of Wesleyan housing. So how did I do it? Let me tell you.
We set up our housing group today! We're living together with three of our best pals. We hope to get a big woodframe house on the Pine Street where we will host endless tea parties and dances and dishes will never get dirty and a rainbow will permanently shine over our domestic bliss. How about you? Oh. That sucks, dude.
The unbearable anxiety that inexorably befalls all Wesleyan freshmen during the period of room selection came to a bloody, brutal climax this past Sunday at Mocon dining hall. Many basking in the bounty of Hamburger Helper watched in horror as the circular dining hall devolved into a circle of death. Alicia Froehlich and Helena Cortez provided the spark that lit the fuse on the tinderbox of freshman housing selection.
Buoyed by the phenomenal performance of Ben Byers '07, Rob Mitchell '06, and Josh Tanz '06, the Cardinals finished sixth out of eleven teams in the weekend's NESCAC Finals. The team's final score of 825.5 was well behind Williams, the eventual winner, but Byers' performance in the 1000 and 1650-yard freestyle events gave Wesleyan their first swimming champions ever. Additionally, eight team records fell.
As a graduating senior, you will be required to agree to the terms of the apartment lottery before forming a group of 2-4 cynical yet idealistic liberal-arts-diploma-wielding tools. Preference for the Williamsburg Dorms will be given to Film Studies and Studio Art majors, trust-fund kids, and anyone with a band that incorporates a hooky pop aesthetic while staying true to its DIY roots.
A number of features of the new Fauver Dorms, intended to open in the fall of 2005, have earned the ire of Wesleyan students. Students can’t wait to complain about the still-unfinished buildings, citing small bedroom size and five-to-one student-to-bathroom ratio. What other features are they unhappy about?
The men's squash season ended in disappointment this last weekend as the Cardinals went 0-3 at Nationals. Without number one seed Andy Aylward '07 in the lineup, the men fell to Colby (8-1), Denison (7-2) and Connecticut College (8-1). While several individuals had standout performances, the team ended its season ranked 24th nationally and last in their C flight.
After thinking another outstanding season had come to a close with a loss in the NESCAC Tournament February 19, the Wesleyan women's basketball received a surprise invitation as one of 50 teams selected for the NCAA Division III Championship. Wesleyan, seeded third in its six-team bracket, will host Chestnut Hill College, seeded sixth, Wednesday, March 2, at 7:30 p.m. Chestnut Hill stands 19-9 on the season and received an automatic bid to the tournament as the winner of the Atlantic Women's Colleges Conference (AWCC) post-season tournament.
One women's indoor track record and one men's indoor track record fell at the New England Open Championships at Boston University over the weekend. Ellen Davis '07 completely shattered the team record in the 5,000-meter event, finishing third with a time of 17:12.09. The previous mark of 17:33.44 stood for twenty years until Davis rewrote the record book. Davis, whose time was third best in Division III this season, will represent the Cardinals in the NCAA Division III Championships in March.
The Argus sports staff chooses the best of 2004-2005.