I've been to the Usdan University Center to eat a couple of times now. I was fair, I gave it not only a second chance, but a third, fourth, and fifth chance. That being said, I can safely say that each of my dining experiences at Usdan has generally sucked. Here's my list of grievances coupled with some recommendations here and there.
Are you serious, Argus online website!?? I just spent 45 minutes writing a response to Dan Grassian's Wespeak that was well written and justified my claims!!! When I pressed submit it said I didn't give my phone number and told me to go back at which point it was all deleted. Now I will just have to blurt this out.
Despite the easy "hovering helicopter parent" jokes, we don't think that the Wesleyan parent listserv is an inherently bad thing. Like students using facebook, parents can use the listserv to connect with the community and exchange constructive information. And it's kind of cool that parents might get to be friends with each other. Still, the recent flurry of posts about Usdan's first week problems show how quickly rumors and tempers can escalate online.
Unzip your pants, because the Eclectic Sex Party is going to blow your mindcock. We’ll make you splooge way harder than the first time you ever watched porn on the internet. It will be like that, but real. It will be like that, but with fifteen different monitors displaying fifteen different people doing it with fifteen different animals, and you’re tied to a table with your eyes taped open, and we’re rubbing our hard nipples against your chest.
We are one week into the fall semester, and if this week sets any precedent, the student body should prepare itself to keep on hearing all the complaints centering around our new Usdan Center. "They" (the undefined group of administrators who sat in on countless meetings to plan, approve, and construct a vision for the new student center) have been labeled idiots, "How is the whole school going to fit inside during the cold months?" and as an equally insensitive group, "They took away First Harvest Café! Now there is NOTHING I can eat here!" I
(Note: For the safety of the author, portions of this article have been omitted.) I now share a first initial and last name with a visiting professor, which, due to a curious university bylaw, makes me an assistant professor. And I must say, the world of academia has a squalid underbelly, full of all sorts of questionable behavior. Basically, I’ve learned some shit, man. Some real weird and awful stuff, that I consider it my duty to share with you, the lay student/horrified bystander. So right here, right now, I break the professor’s code to bare the secrets of the Ivory Tower.
The Ampersand has always been inquisitive. Is there a God? What’s the key to happiness? Who shot J.R.? In this issue, we are going to focus on the toughest question to answer: WHAT THE FUCK?
I remember the first time I met Delmar Crim. I was walking quickly to the library. I noticed I was advancing on a man of short stature, with a light blue shirt and white hair. I don’t like to pass people on the street, so I tried to slow down, but in the same fateful moment, he too decreased his pace. He sensed my presence and glanced jerkily over his shoulder once, twice. Glance. Glance. Finally, he turned. He asked if I was a freshman. I asked if he was a professor. He said "No. I’m Delmar," and revealed his Bon Appetit post.
Let's face it, The UsDAN campus center, seemingly transported from a state school in the Deep South, pretty much sucks. But why does it suck so much? Why does it have to be so….lacking in panache? What the fuck?!
With an already overwhelming number of complaints regarding difficulties with the campus email system, which we all know as Squirrel Mail, the ITS department has recently handed in a petition to campus officials for a faster, airborn method of mail service entitled the WesPigeon.
Last Friday, blazers, khaki pants, and cocktail dresses overwhelmed a part of campus during the dedication of the Suzanne Lemberg Usdan University Center. Alumni and staff toured the center and were generally pleased with its appearance.
Marina Melendez’83 and Noel Garrett, the new deans for the classes of 2010 and 2011 respectively, say they approach their jobs with an open-mind and a strong belief in the diverse community they see themselves participating in.
Weshop’s $200,000 renovation has received a mixed reaction from the Wesleyan campus, as students and Weshop employees absorb the changes in the store’s layout and selection of goods. Some have praise store’s transformation, while others point to longer lines and poor product placement.
Despite dropping the season opener to Williams on Saturday 1-0, the Cardinals came out with a high level of energy and proved they could pose a threat to some of the top teams in the league this year. The loss continued the team’s current losing streak against Williams, which is now at 22 games. The last time Wesleyan beat the Ephs was in 1982 and is 0-24-1 since that game, but Saturday’s contest showed signs of a new and improved Cardinal squad.
Williams College proved too strong for the Cardinals on Saturday as the Cards lost 3-1 in Williamstown. The Ephs, ranked 12th in the preseason NFHCA Division III poll, scored 18 minutes into the first half and never relinquished their lead. Hailey Sarage '09 netted Wesleyan's lone goal off of a great penalty stroke late in the second half.
While many of Wesleyan’s fall teams opened their seasons this past weekend with intercollegiate competition, the men’s tennis team spent Saturday morning practicing on the Vine Street courts in preparation for a full slate of fall action. On Sunday, Sept. 16 the Cards will open their season with an invitational at Wheaton College followed by a dual match at Springfield on Wednesday the 19th.
Every day, behind the first floor Usdan Center Café, several Asian workers who recently arrived in America and barely speak English roll sushi for the students of Wesleyan University. These non-union workers, who are paid by Advanced Fresh Concepts (AFC), a California-based food contractor, work side by side with union-backed Wesleyan dining employees. The union workers are now alleging that these employees are not receiving health benefits, are being forced to lie about their conditions, and are receiving their salaries in the form of non-documented, under-the-table transactions.
For some new arrivals, the Public Safety session held during orientation week might have seemed unnecessary on a campus that is generally thought of as impervious to acts of violence. But for one junior who was assaulted on campus only a week and a half before new students arrived for orientation, safety tips like those given at the session reflect the harsh reality that aggressive acts can occur here on campus.
In an e-mail to the Wesleyan Parent Listserv, one mother complained about her son’s adjustment to college, and then added that his girlfriend back home was going to make the situation even harder. In true listserv fashion, another parent added her two cents.
While both Wesleyan University and Bon Appetit Management Co. claim "social responsibility" as an operative principle, the changes made by Bon Appetit amount to a severe breach of responsibility to the dining service workers on campus. Promises have been broken, and workers are suffering life-altering consequences. It is important that the efforts to repair this egregious state are undertaken in order to make Wesleyan a safe and just place to work.
For many people, Wesleyan is a wonderful place to be. Wesleyan prides itself on its open-mindedness and ability to cater to a wide and diverse group of people. For the most part, whatever your ethnicity, religion, skin color, or sexual preference, you can be certain that there is an outlet here to express your individuality. There is at least one group of people however that Wesleyan seems to neglect. This school can be a very sad and scary place for aspiring writers.
Being in the best nature to respond to Consulting Editor Eric Lach's recent review of the new Simian Mobile Disco album, Attack Decay Sustain Release: Mr. Lach, I am horrified to have read your libelous statement that "there are two kinds of electronic music." Good gentlemanly days, you bourgeois philistine.
When Austin Purnell '08 decided to study abroad in the Middle East—"[in Cairo,] a place where nobody really chooses to study abroad"—he did not expect to employ the Japanese that he had learned in high school. His campus, the American University in Cairo (AUC), was a hotspot for upper-class Egyptian and international students, so Purnell hardly spoke Arabic outside of classes.
In his two years working at the Red and Black Society, Josh Atwood '08 has spoken with hundreds of alumni, many of whom have interesting stories that they are eager to share.
Captain Dave Velardo '08 continued his impressive collegiate career with a first-place finish at the Trinity Invitational this weekend. Velardo found himself tied for medalist honors with Pasquale Pio of Nichols after finishing two rounds of play at one under par (71-72) on the par 72 Blackledge and Tallwood Golf Courses. Velardo, however, prevailed with a win in a playoff between the two top finishers.
The men's soccer team dropped a heartbreaking loss to the defending NESCAC champions and Little Three rival Williams College in its season opener this past Saturday by a score of 2-1. Wesleyan and Williams, ranked 25th and 8th respectively in the first NSCAA Division III poll, were tied 1-1 until the Ephs scored with three minutes left, shocking the Wesleyan faithful who packed Jackson Field.
The women's volleyball team split a pair of matches against two perennial regional powers to open its season on Saturday, defeating Wellesley College three games to one, but falling to Williams College by the identical score.
Last year's women's tennis team, with only one senior, six sophomores and three freshmen, struggled during the 2006-2007 season. While the team has lost Tori Santoro '08, it gained experience and emerging leadership - eight of last year's letterwinners have returned, including the team's top seven singles players and the starting three doubles tandems. The team will be led by Captain Elizabeth Collector '09 who, with number one singles player Ania Preneta '09, finished with a team best 9-4 doubles record. The Cardinals are also joined this year by Linda McDougal '11, the top-ranked player in Nepal.