Dear David Knappenberger, to the benefit of the collective Wesleyan consciousness, I would like to defend John Chisholm against your petty, personal criticism of his generous (if at times zealously so) nature, because the man himself is much too humble...
It was nice to see people on campus standing up for their beliefs on Friday by demanding that Wesleyan divest from two companies involved in the arms trade. It was a lot less nice to see them use chalk to write pro-divestment slogans, and then try to hide the chalk when public safety got near, whispering, "Hide the chalk, P-Safe's coming!"
While placing my vote in this year's Board of Trustees election, I was dismayed to discover that the profile of Dr. Andrea Barthwell, one of six nominees for a position on the board, misrepresents her professional experience. The biography notes that Dr. Barthwell served "in the Executive Office of the President of the United States from 2002-2004."
The Student Life Committee (SLC) approved changes to the Social Event Registration Policy on April 26 that will restrict parties in wood-frame houses. Director of Student Activities and Leadership Development (SALD) Tim Shiner, with the support of Dean of Campus Programs Richard Culliton, proposed the changes.
By the end of the 2006-2007 academic year, half of the University chaplaincy positions will be vacant. Protestant Chaplain Dr. Gary Comstock's recently announced retirement after 17 years of service, along with the absence of a Catholic chaplain since the departure of Father Louis Manzo last year, have left two of the four University chaplain posts empty.
After scrambling to provide on-campus housing for over 100 students who were left without rooms last fall, this year the Office of Residential Life (ResLife) tried to avoid a housing crunch by increasing options for off-campus housing for a limited number of students and also instituting a bonus point system for General Room Selection (GRS).
What substances technically fall into the category of study drugs? Does coffee count? What are the pros and cons of using artificial, medical stimulants to study more effectively? These are just some of the questions discussed in Wednesday's forum on "Study Drugs in Academia," which addressed the proliferation of study drugs on campus and nationwide.
This summer, five University students will take to the road for the annual Habitat Bicycle Challenge (HBC), looking to help generate nearly $430,000 in proceeds for Habitat for Humanity. According to the organization's website, habitatbike.org, the money will finance the construction of eight Habitat homes.
The Cardinal Community Awards, a new initiative sponsored by the Community Outreach Committee (COCo) of the Wesleyan Student Assembly (WSA), will honor students in ten categories, in an effort to showcase student leadership in co-curricular activities and projects.
Although new dining services provider Bon Appétit has yet to make an appearance on campus, at least one current dining service employee is already angry with the company. He criticizes Bon Appétit for leaving workers unsure about where on campus they will be located, if they will have their normal health insurance, and whether they will even have a job at the University next year.
There were chalking, chants, and a chase last Friday in front of North College, as approximately 50 students turned out to demand that the University divest from weapons producers General Dynamics and Raytheon. Students For Ending the War in Iraq (SEWI) sponsored the protest.
If one day a week at WesWings has not been enough to fulfill your O'Rourke cravings, fear not: O'Rourke's diner will likely reopen next year. After his diner burned down this past August, Brian O'Rourke has been working tirelessly with the campus and the Middletown community to raise enough money to be open by fall.
Student workers can be found all over campus, whether they are ringing up snacks at Weshop, checking out books at Olin, or whipping up lattes in Pi Café. Many of them are part of the University's work-study program, in which students obtain jobs at various campus venues as a form of financial aid—in this case, half of their salary is paid for by federal funds.
When entering SciLi, Jonathan Sigworth '10 has to maneuver his wheelchair at the perfect angle, then swing around as he opens the door. It's a move that he has perfected over the course of the year as the only student on campus in a wheelchair.
Summer is just around the corner and the gym is full of idiots. While the football and futbol players count the days till the start of next season, girls sit on the stationary bikes and pedal at Lance Armstrong's pace sans steroids and pre-cancer (before he got motivated), or, alternatively, about as slow and frustrating as ResLife housing selection.
Last Thursday afternoon, crowds of jostling students gathered outside the Campus Center as the scent of roasting tofu and shrimp wafted through the air. This was all part of the farmers' market that was organized by five students as the final project for the 15-person student-run forum in Earth & Environmental Sciences, "From Local to Global: Land and Water Use In Agriculture."
When Dean of Student Services Michael Whaley was asked, "Are matters of class discussed at Wesleyan?" he responded that students often ignore them. "Matters of socio-economic class impact each of us every day," Whaley said. "As is frequently the case, those who have some privilege in this area are able to navigate without stopping to consider the impact."
Before I run off for the summer, I just wanted to let everyone know how excited I was about my summer job. Earlier in the year, I was stuck trying to figure out what I wanted to do this summer. I wanted a job that was adventurous, required quick wit, and had very little oversight. Yet I couldn't think of a position that would be open to a college student during the summer.
Now that the Argus is [sort of] in color, Wespeaks will be color coded based on their inflammatory nature and the threat they pose to American security. This advisory system will use red for the most bigoted, hateful, "high risk" speech and green for "low risk" chalking diatribes.
Recently, New York City has been pushing for a ban on the you-know-what-I'm-talking-about-and-I'm-still-white-even-though-I'm-writing-and-not-actually-saying-it word that is in a sort of legal grey area. Because of free speech, an impossibility to police it, and it just generally being kind of silly, this ban has reached to be a sort of "gentleman's law," like an agreement featuring men of similar refinement, where essentially the city is saying, "please, don't drop the n-bomb" and people are obliged to comply.
Two students issued a vitriolic assessment of Saturday's "Steam room Smorgasbord: Snacking and Schmoozing in a Steamy Environment," a lecture and lunch hosted by Bill Cosby in the women's steam room at the Freeman Athletic Center.
Students of Wesleyan: do you have a Facebook? Yes, of course you do. Facebook is so fun. You can talk to your friends, post inside jokes on their walls, and show the whole world just how cool you are in tagged photos. But, Students of Wesleyan, I have sad news. You are being shielded from the truth. Blinded by the promise of Facebook glory.
Over the weekend, the softball team's historic season came to a close at the hands of Tufts and Trinity in the NESCAC Tournament. Despite a team record of 21 wins and nine conference victories, the Cards were unable to strike down the powerful offenses of the Jumbos and Bantams, as the two squads combined for 19 runs against the Cardinals in the double elimination tournament.
The final pitch was thrown, the final out was counted, and just like that the season was over. The Cards ended on a low note, dropping two straight blowouts to Trinity College, a 7-1 loss followed by a 15-6 loss, leaving them with a 12-23 overall record (3-9 NESCAC West).
Playing in the NESCAC semifinals and finals on consecutive days, the men’s lacrosse team had a grueling weekend in Medford, Mass. where Tufts University hosted the conference tournament. On Saturday, the team faced Williams College and shut out the Ephs 8-0, the first shutout in NESCAC Tournament history.
Over the weekend, the men's crew team finished in second place at the New England Championships. The Cardinals, seeded second in New England and second in the nation behind Trinity, were poised for a rematch with the Bantams after dropping a duel race to the them a week earlier.
The men's and women's track teams had solid finishes in the New England Division III Championships this weekend. The women's team came in 18th, a full seven places higher than last year's finish. The men's team also bested its showing from last year, jumping from 21st place in 2006 to 14th place.
The Student Life Committee (SLC) recently voted in favor of making already-strict University party policies even more stringent. The new rules, effective next year, make it mandatory for student party hosts to register any woodframe party of 25 or more people if alcohol will be served, and any parties serving alcohol must say that alcohol will be served upon registration.
We were deeply disturbed by the case of police brutality that occurred several weeks ago. We urge Wesleyan students to consider the role of policing on campus: In any situation when your instinct is to call Public Safety or police, consider what it is that they can do that you can't. Unless you specifically need services that only they can provide, try to find other solutions to the problem.
David, there are many, many investments Wesleyan could make that will help build the endowment AND a better world, and by "better world" I don't mean a world with more-advanced technologies of death. Why not invest in green energy, or hybrid cars? Or micro-loans? Or even something neutral, like Google?
I'm writing this Wespeak to honor Gary Comstock and encourage us all to critically question the administration's priorities concerning the role of spiritual chaplains on this campus. Gary Comstock was an incredible asset to the Wesleyan community. The Argus did a good job touching on all the things he's done on this campus—Protestant services, Vespers, organizing community service—but I'd like to emphasize how important a figure he was for me, as a spiritual person who doesn't identify with any specific faith.
The best of Spring 2007 sports.