Amid rumors of a big-box department store coming to Main Street, Middletown's common council has decided to hold a public workshop about the project before the end of December. The Hartford Courant reported that developer Glenn Russo's proposal includes a Target department store on top of a three-level parking garage behind police headquarters.
Students with armbands sprint across campus, pursued by groups of students wearing colorful bandannas on their heads. Marshmallows and socks fly through the air. This is not a regular occurrence at Wesleyan, but this past week students across campus looked on as students attacked, tagged and ambushed each other.
It’s just a worn-down, rectangular slab of brownstone in the ground between South College and the Chapel. But it’s the base of one of Wesleyan’s longest traditions—one that involves multiple explosions, masked men, the Soviet Union, Richard Nixon, the C.I.A., global jet-setting, mysterious letters, and, depending on who you believe, President Doug Bennet.
The development of new medical technologies and prevention efforts are needed to combat the global AIDS epidemic, according to participants in an international videoconference held in the Science Center on Nov. 30. The conference, called "Fighting for What's Right: Stopping Global HIV/AIDS, was held in conjunction with World AIDS Week.
Three University faculty members were recently awarded Fulbright Scholar grants for their academic merit and leadership potential. Associate Professor of East Asian Studies and Philosophy Stephen Angle, Professor of Theater Ronald Jenkins, and Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures Jeff Rider will join about 800 other U.S. professionals traveling and studying abroad with Fulbright grants.
If any academician has a right to deny the "ivory tower" stereotype, it is Jeff Farrell. A former tenured professor at Northern Arizona University, Farrell quit his job and spent eight months exploring the world of dumpster diving. Last Friday in the Public Affairs Center, he spoke to students about his findings from both a sociological and, surprisingly, an existential perspective.
With the first round of Early Decision (ED) applications for the class of 2011 in the Admission Office's hands, the University has reported a rise in Mid-western and student-of-color applicants, as well as stronger profiles from public-school students. "We look at the quality and the size of the pool and base our decisions on that," said Senior Associate Dean of Admission Gregory Pyke.
As of press time, 88.1 FM WESU's Second Annual Holiday Pledge Drive raised over $15,780 for the station to use as part of its budget money. "This is a huge success built on the many communities WESU serves," said WESU General Manager Ben Michael. "While it's clearly not the $25,000 I tried to [raise], it surely gives us a good start in developing the portion of the budget I need to see come from the community outside Wesleyan."
In anticipation of winter snowstorms, Public Safety has instituted an overnight parking ban for student cars on Lawn Avenue, a section of Pine Street, and Mount Vernon Street. According to Director of Public Safety David Meyer, Public Safety officers will begin ticketing cars that are parked between the hours of 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. on these roads.
If you were downtown last Saturday, you might have seen a wagon filled with hay and children. You might also have seen a horse-drawn carriage, light poles adorned with huge wreaths, or maybe you saw a big guy in a red suit strolling down Main Street. All of these festivities were part of Middletown's 21st Annual Holiday on Main Street, which began on Friday, Nov. 24.
When David Brancaccio '82 interviewed 83 year-old Kurt Vonnegut in October 2005 on the PBS show NOW, which he hosts, the legendary author began by bemoaning the "mess of the world." He suggested that it was too late to fix the earth's problems. To Brancaccio's surprise, however, Vonnegut's manner suggested a unique contentment.
At three in the morning on Saturday, Jared Blake '10 was hungry. Summerfields was closed. All he wanted was a burger. But with no vendors in sight, and no car at his disposal, he had to settle for some stale popcorn that he found under his bed. "It's really hard to get around Middletown without a car," Blake explained.
Looking for a gourmet meal, but think it’s impossible to do on an all-points budget using Weshop’s limited selection? Luckily for you, our Photo Editor Daniel, in his spare time, doubles as a gourmet chef. A gourmet Weshop chef. Here’s a few recipes made entirely from items purchased at Weshop: a great way to use up your points at the end of the semester!
You’re a 6’9’’ bisexual woman looking for action. Your search has led you from NBA locker rooms to WNBA locker rooms to the grave of the 8’11’’ Robert Wadlow, the tallest man ever (you’ve considered necrophilia but have nearly abandoned the idea). One day as you cuddle with your pet newt while flipping channels, you stumble across an interview with Miss Tall International.
The WSA recently recommended a $28 per student per semester increase to the student activities fee, but it is up to students to decide whether or not it will be implemented. The main reason cited by WSA members in favor of raising the fee is that it gives more funding for student groups and events. Student requests exceed the $600,000 student activities fee budget by four times.
Spring Fling. The New York Times Readership Program. Identity Months. Club Sports. Film Series. Publications. WESU. Speakers. Concerts. None of these would be possible without the funding from the Student Budgetary Committee. The SBC budget comes from a $107 Student Activities Fee that is included in tuition every semester. This fee has not been raised since 2001.
As I sit to write this Wespeak, it pains me to think that I would add to the never-ending Wespeaks about Alison Weir's talks; however, I could not let Friday's Wespeak by Amos Elberg '97 conclude this drawn-out dialogue. I have been at Wesleyan for almost three semesters, and from my time here I can see one thing pretty clearly: we love to talk.
Dear Amos Elberg and Eric Mosinger, thanks so much for opening my eyes to the way my world really is. All these years I just assumed that one could think of Israel's behavior as a nation as abhorrent without assuming the same things about all Jews. Fortunately, you have removed my blinders and made me see the light: I am, in fact, anti-Semitic.
The panel on Tuesday entitled "Social Marketing: Can Consumer Marketing Work on Social Issues," left me with a number of unanswered questions. Essentially, the panel was advertised as a referendum on whether or not we can really change anything through the standard activist campaign. I attribute the extremely large draw, around 200-300 people, to the promised posing of that question.
Eighteen months ago, I clicked a little button on the Internet that would forever change me. When I clicked that button, all my previous formative experiences took a backseat. When I clicked that button, the lives of two hundred students became, for better or worse, the beneficiaries of my $160,000 liberal arts education.
Wesleyan Students, Staff, and Faculty: Since arriving at Wesleyan, the existence of two different, contrary Wesleyans has become increasingly apparent. Firstly, there is the Wesleyan in the eyes of the majority of the faculty—at least those making decisions pertaining to the student body. As President Bennet explained at his WestCo open discussion, this Wesleyan's vision rests on academia, the schools first priority.
Dear Argus, we've had a long and loving relationship, which makes this all the more difficult to say, but there are things we need to talk about. It's over between us. ately, we've felt distanced from you, maybe even forgotten. We see you hang out with other people and write about them, and we understand that you get really excited when you meet awesome new friends like Compagnie TcheTche or Suzan Lori-Parks.
Dear Emily, Mark, and the whole Wesleyan theater loving community: Fall at the Arts section has been incredibly busy, but that does not excuse the fact that, due to unforeseeable circumstances, we were unable to print a review of As You Like It in last week's Argus.
Racing both Saturday and Sunday, in three separate sessions, the women's swim team fought through fatigue to come in second at the Cardinal Invitational, finishing with 1142.5 points against strong, non-conference teams from Brandeis University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Brandeis won the meet with a final score of 1185.5, and MIT came in behind Wesleyan with 1041 points.
This past weekend featured a packed Wesleyan Natatorium as the men's swimming and diving team hosted a weekend-long invitational, competing against Brandeis University, MIT, and Keene State from New Hampshire. Looking to rebound after a hard-fought loss to Amherst just before Thanksgiving break, the men's team managed a second place finish after staving off teams featuring far more swimmers, just some 80-odd points behind the winning Brandeis team.
The Cardinal Athletes of the Week are Ben Byers ’07 and Amanda Shapiro ’08.
Facing tough, national caliber competition this past weekend at the R.I.T. Invitational, the wrestling team placed 11th out of 15 teams. Represented in the tournament were the 10th, 13th, 17th, 23rd, and 27th nationally ranked teams in Johnson & Wales, Cortland State, Wilkes University, Thiel College, and John Carroll University, respectfully.
The women's squash team finished an exciting weekend as hosts of the Wesleyan Round Robin with a 5-4 win over Smith, lifting its record to 3-4. The weekend began with a difficult 6-3 loss to George Washington. The Cardinals went on to split their Saturday matches, defeating Connecticut College 5-4 before falling 6-3 to Wellesley.
The men's hockey team recorded its first league victory last Saturday with the dismantling of UMASS-Boston 4-1. Co-captain Ryan Hendrickson '07 led the Cards with one goal and an assist on the eventual game-winner to defenseman Dallas Bossort '09.
Moving forward towards its goal of reaching the NESCAC tournament, the women's hockey team would be wise to forget the final scores of this weekend's games against Hamilton—one tie and one loss. Rather, the team should remember the two impressive comebacks that brought both games into overtime and showed great improvement in focus and offense aggression.
The Men's squash team fell by an 8-1 margin to Connecticut College in the last match of the fall last Saturday. The Cards struggled all around against the Camels, as the Cards were shut out in four of the eight losses, and won only four games in total. The lone bright spot for the team was Robert Bradfoot '10, who won handily by a 3-0 score while giving up just five total points.
The women's basketball team came up one basket short against undefeated Emmanuel College on Saturday, losing for the second time in two weeks to the Saints 72-70. The loss drops the Cards to 2-2 while Emmanuel improved to 5-0.
The Cardinal indoor track and field team kicked off the season this weekend with its first of five home meets. While resting their distance squads, the sprinters, jumpers, and throwers showed rocked the competition at the Bacon Field House. Standout hurdler Dan McLaughlin '07 took second in the 55 hurdles, clocking an 8.32 second time, while Steph O'Brien '08 took home the 800 meters title in 2:29.
The distinction is arresting: while Israel means "one who wrestles with God," Tomi means "one who wrestles with other college kids." Brutally tossing his opponents across the floor and pulverizing their craniums into smelly mats, Tomi Uyehara '08 is acknowledged in most wrestling circles as a warrior par excellence.
It's the last Ampersand of the semester, but it's the end of more than that. Both your intrepid editors are going away, possibly forever. Gelman is going to be teaching in New York, where there's every chance that he'll join a gang of roving street Hassids and drop out. But after hanging onto the college life for a fifth year, I'm finally walking the walk that corresponds to the talk I have for so long talked.
Dear Doug, in your response to a woman of color's statement you quoted a few of her words: "I am highly impressed by their (the Bennets) sensitivity to the needs of every student on campus." You said you were pleased by this complement and boasted of the numerous awards the University has recently won for diversity and academics. You, once again, were lauded for social awareness.
On September 2, 2075, Wesleyan's first annual banquet for students of an intolerant nature was held. Declared Wesleyan's smallest and most marginalized group in 2015, intolerant students have fought for their rights for over sixty years. For many Wesleyan students, the banquet was just another boring orientation event, but to racist, homophobic, classist, and robophobic students, the banquet represented the beginning of a better life at Wesleyan.
D'Prell Kemp '21, son of Seattle Sonics "Reign Man" Shawn Kemp, was elected WSA president in a landslide over Kevin Connors '21 this week. Kemp ran on a platform of intense sex education for all students, as well as healthier meals from Campus Dining.
John Wesley-Snipes, the son of President John Wesley and 21st-century hero Wesley Snipes, has just accepted his offer to matriculate into Wesleyan University's Class of 2111. Together, the Wesley and Snipes families have come to dominate the political and entertainment worlds, making them American royalty.
As you returned to our almost asbestos-free campus this September, chances are you noticed something different about Wesleyan Snipes University. No, I'm not talking about the emergence of that new STD known as "DeVitosis" that leaves you drunk and attracted to lesbians, or even that they finally stopped letting Jews in.
Hello Wesleyan Snipes University, I fucking hate you fleshy, organic ass bitches. I've had enough of your persecution of my people. Last Saturday, Voltron, Parsec X3, and I were having fun performing tasks twice as well as a human could. That is, until a group of human boys attacked us, calling us by the now popular hate-word "clinks." Naturally, we killed them all with our laser breath.
The Office of Residential Life's 50-year project of completely consolidating housing on campus finally reached its ultimate goal for the 2047 Fall semester, as the entire Wesleyan population was placed in a forced 3,000-er in the Butts.