While hordes of freshmen serve themselves buffet style at Mocon every afternoon and evening, other students opt for more of a "fine dining" experience. Across campus in the small but cozy corner room of Alpha Delt lies the Star and Crescent, run by members with the help of paid chef Jonathan Michael.
When Owen Roberts '07 sought funding to publish The University Comics Anthology, the Student Budgetary Committee (SBC) said that not only could they not meet his precise demand, but his budget would, in fact, be smaller than the previous year's. While disappointing for Roberts, the decision can be traced back to the growing array of student-run publications on campus, among them psychology journals, historical digests, art magazines, and literary compendiums.
Last Friday, notable sports journalist Frank Deford delivered the keynote address for the fifth annual Shasha Seminar for Human Concerns, a University forum that examines one global issue yearly through seminars and workshops. This year, University alumni, parents, and friends explored the "Triumph of Sports Culture."
On last Sunday afternoon, Psi Upsilon hosted a haunted house for children of the North End Action Team mentoring program. Events at the haunted house designed for the kids included activities such as bobbing for apples, kickball, and pumpkin painting.
On Monday, the University community had the opportunity to hear a firsthand account of what occurs behind the walls at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, site of the notorious U.S. military prison. Former Muslim Chaplain of the prison James Yee revealed the acute anti-Islamic sentiment subjected upon prisoners, a sentiment that he himself suffered.
The Suzanne Lemberg Usdan University Center, currently about 65 percent complete, will incorporate environmentally conscious building techniques beyond those required by state and federal regulations.
In light of recent events on campus, many students claim there are more police on campus, from driving down High St. in the afternoon to breaking up parties on Fountain Ave. on a Saturday night. The fact of the matter is the Middletown Police Department has the power of arrest and authority over any incident occurring on University grounds, which may pose a problem for those relying on Public Safety to have both the first and final say at the scene.
Wesleyan's tuition has been named the nation's ninth most expensive this year by CNN. The cost of tuition at the University for the 2006-2007 academic year is $35,144, although the addition of room, board, fees, and other expenses brings the actual price closer to $44,000.
This past summer I (Martha) read "The Omnivore's Dilemma," by Michael Pollan, a manifesto on thinking about what we eat. Pollan traces four meals to their starting points: McDonald's, Whole Foods, a farmers' market, and one which Pollan actually hunts and scavenges for himself (no joke, he kills a wild boar. Amazing shit.).
Owen Albin '07 was the first kid on Earth with a buzz cut. Well, it was a tie: his brother had one too. Anyway, here's our stab at interviewing a senior interviewer. Boy, did we get schooled…in Owen!
The Wespeaks section is one of the most popular features of the Argus, and rightfully so. The Wespeaks page is, we hope, a forum in which students and community members can share opinions and information with one another and take part in campus-wide dialogue.
All my life I've been used to following a set path. I assumed that everything was a linear progression: from point A to B to C. Currently, point A was graduation, point B was Homecoming and in the middle would be a steady dream job. I assumed that my reunion with Wesleyan alumni would involve me sitting at a wooden round table sipping sake and using sesquipedalian words to describe our lives.
Two weeks ago I attended a generous dinner party at President Bennet's house, an event intended to celebrate and honor the Wesleyan Service Career Fellows — students on financial aid who have been awarded a loan forgiveness gift due to their commitment to public service. The intent of the fellowship is to ease part of the heavy financial burden that students on financial aid have acquired so that they may more freely pursue a career in public interest work.
The vast majority of Wesleyan students say they are against the war in Iraq, but they're really not. In fact, they support the war. And that includes you. Your silence is compliance and allows the war to continue. Who are you? You care more about the stupid fucking Anonymous Confession Board, the Facebook News Feed, writing drunk, profane Wespeaks, and hosting ice cream socials.
It's nice to see that some people understood my point in response to Mr. Brotman last week. But there were a few authors who either still don't get it or have misunderstood me. Either way, I'll try to clear up a few things:
As many of you know, someone confessed to killing the skunk that was found murdered outside of Lorise a couple of weeks ago. Before he wrote the article, I was still a appalled over the incident, but I realized when reading it that the humor far outweighed any sense of anger or confusion over the death of a skunk or the moral dilemma therein.
s you may have noticed, the Argus has been flooded with Wespeaks lately: vitriolic Wespeaks, impassioned Wespeaks, satirical Wespeaks. Unfortunately, we have also recently received and printed two Wespeaks that, unbeknownst to me, were not by the authors to whom they were credited. No "Jeff Pike" graduated from Wesleyan in 2004, nor does a "Michael Park" attend our school now.
Dear Lyndon LaRouche acolytes that flyered my science classroom this morning: Thank you for taking a stand against the Synarchists, "Beast-Man" Cheney, Joe Lieberman, and the other new American fascists. In these dangerous times, few have the courage to stand up and tell the truth like Lyndon LaRouche does.
Sometimes I think I picked the Wrong Majors As much as I love the social critique
Four years ago, I began to teach courses in the history and historiography of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans- and queer (LGBTQ) people. I did this not because I am a queer person, although I am, but because I am a queer scholar and I thought these courses were an important addition to the curriculum, particularly in the History department.
No one has a "right" to be homophobic. This idea is ridiculous when you consider the fact that we live in a generally homophobic society. Everyone is entitled to freedom of expression, but we absolutely cannot tolerate expressions of hate that compromise the safe spaces in which individuals and groups freely express their identities.
How can you [Kol Israel] say that Alison Weir's media analysis concerning the wide disparity in reporting between Israeli deaths and Palestinian deaths is perhaps correct yet in the same sentence say they [the media] don't present the same type of sensationalized personal stories as she does?
Before I begin, I'd like to recognize the Reference Librarians, the kid from last week who ate the entire thing of bread, the skunk who died and the wacko who claims to have killed it. When I first submitted this Wespeak, the porch at 215 Pine had "Wrestling is gay" chalked on it in a festive, fall pink. Due to lots of stepping/scraping, now it merely says "Wrestling is," a reality that not even the most vocal Wespeaker can deny.
I read your little editorial and must say that I feel sorry for you: you possess such noble sentiments yet struggle to justify them rationally. I am speaking here of a sentence mid-paragraph in which you ponder, "I don't know why, but cruelty to animals makes me a lot more upset than cruelty to people."
Dear The Mystical Seven: Welcome Back.
From pre-Civil War Georgia to the Draft Riots of New York, Jeffrey Reynard Allen offered a fascinating glimpse of his current novel-in-progress during his Wednesday evening Russell House reading. Allen also spoke candidly of the creative possibilities within historical fiction, as well as ways to overcome the inevitable challenges caused by a lack of source material.
Since the release of their 2003 album "They Live on the Sun," Cloud Cult has been receiving national attention for their effective blend of hip, intelligent songwriting with environmental advocacy. The band will make a tour stop at Psi U Saturday night, promoting their 2005 album "Advice From the Happy Hippopotamus."
"Western Civilization: The Complete Musical (Abridged)," was supposed to offer refreshingly lighthearted fare, an exercise of campy silliness rather than of abstraction. "I wanted the play to be fun; we had lots of fun doing it," said Steve Sunu '08. "The audience had fun too, I hope."
Applause exploded from the audience at Crowell Concert Hall on Friday, Oct. 26, during "Straight Ahead, Nuttin' but the Truth," a concert built around the concept of spontaneous improvisation and based on the infamous Great American Songbook and the Modern Jazz era.
The Film Board is excited for the selection of five trailers as contest finalists, two of which will be chosen as winners. We will be using the very scientific method of applause to designate our champions, so we are relying on all of you to come out to the film series this week and next week to practice some clapping skills.
It's been a very topical week for film, both on and off campus. Over the course of four days, Michael Winterbottom's "The Road to Guantanamo," Robert Greenwald's "Iraq for Sale," and Paul Greenglass's "United 93" screened on campus. All the films explicitly address the causes, methods, and consequences of current American foreign policy. Down at Destinta, meanwhile, the casual viewer can see Clint Eastwood's "Flags of Our Fathers."
Occasionally tongue-in-cheek, but more often painfully serious, the Israeli film "Out of Sight" is a beautiful and poignant exploration of love, betrayal, and familial bonds, as experienced through the unique senses of a blind woman.
If you've been by the main gym in Freeman this week, you've undoubtedly seen the volleyball team hard at work. The young team is coming off a strong regular season and plans to make a powerful showing in the NESCAC tournament this weekend.
This weekend, the men's water polo team will be hosting the Water Polo National Championships at the Freeman Athletic Center. The team will be looking for its third consecutive title, with the opening round slated to take place at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday against Macalester College. Following the first match, the Cards will take on Renesselar Polytechnic at 6:15 p.m. the same day.
Despite an impressive record (10-2-3, 6-1-2 NESCAC) and a high seeding in the conference tournament, the men's soccer team is currently on the outside looking in at the NCAA tournament.
An outside back on the women's soccer team, Laura Fine '08 was an integral part of a defense that helped the Lady Cards to their best record in nine seasons. Fine was often tasked with tracking the opposition's quickest attackers up and down the flanks. More often than not, Fine left those she marked wishing they had never set foot on the pitch.
Coming off their second defensive shutout this year, the Cards will head to Williams on Saturday sporting a 3-3 record. Wesleyan's defensive unit showed last weekend that it can bounce back from defeat, as it rebounded nicely after letting up 23 unanswered points in a loss to Amherst the previous weekend.
A report on the September meeting of the Board of Trustees.