Musicians German and Klavdia Khatylaev performed a concert of indigenous Siberian folk music last Wednesday evening at the World Music Hall. The Khatylaevs, who hail from the Republic of Sakha in Russia’s Siberian region, specialize in a unique brand of deeply spiritual folk music that express a profound connection to nature.
Last Tuesday night, students turned out in droves to watch the results of the presidential election at Usdan. As the returns came in and it became clear that Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) would be our next president, students celebrated with cheers and tears. Students set off fireworks on the hill and blared music from the Usdan patio. Amidst the yelling, dancing on chairs and glass breaking, Public Safety didn’t interfere, but stood by and watched, grinning. Even President Michael Roth was there, joining in on the celebration.
Unfortunately, last weekend’s performance of “Wait Until Dark,” directed by Chris Ceccolini ’11 and Phil Singleton ’10, completely failed to capture any remnants of the horrifying originals. Instead, the production was uninspiring and amateurish, and resorted to cheap tricks designed primarily to startle, rather than frighten, the audience.
Dressed in varying shades of gray and sporting a shock of white hair, Booker Prize-winning author Michael Ondaatje immediately grabbed the attention of the audience gathered in the Memorial Chapel last Wednesday night with his quiet opening remark.
To conclude a week of elections, Wesleyan University has advanced to round two in the PETA2.com contest for the title of Most-Vegetarian Friendly College in the country. The contest, in its third year, judges universities and colleges on the consistency, quality, and availability of their meatless meals. Based on student responses and research, PETA.com chose 32 finalists for the competition, consisting of 18 schools from the United States and 16 from Canada. The winner will be announced on November 17th.
Event Picks: Trash American Style, Expresiones de Latinos
Over 600 University seniors converged on the Crowne Plaza in Cromwell last Saturday night to drink, dance and count the number of Sarah Palin costumes in the festively-dressed Halloween crowd. Following last year’s Senior Cocktail’s controversy—when some of the planned senior events were cancelled after students left alcohol bottles and drugs on the bus, and one student reportedly punched a bus driver—the Class of 2009 kicked off the year’s events with an incident-free evening.
After listening to more than an hour of her slam-poetry last Saturday, Nov. 1, in Crowell Concert Hall, I formed a more well-thought-out view: Andrea Gibson is really, really hot.
The latest addition to the University’s growing pantheon of Brooklyn it-bands is Red Wire Black Wire (RWBW), an electro-pop quintet comprising (mostly) recent grads: Doug P. Walters ’08 on lead vocals and synth; Zac Meyer ’08 on guitar, bass and vocals; Jon Sirlin ’08 on guitar and vocals; Jocelyn Bonadio ’07 on synth and tambo and Dave Snydacker ’09 on drums.
When Andrew Cary Dickson ’98 went into the Star and Crescent for dinner his sophomore year, he felt that the members of Alpha Delt were snubbing him because he looked like an athlete. According to his father, former Alpha Delt President Paul Dickson ‘61, that was not the way it used to be. Back in the day, he said, Alpha Delt housed bohemians and athletes alike.
Campus erupted on Tuesday night after Senator Barrack Obama (D-IL) was officially declared the 44th president of the United States—the country’s first African American president. Students celebrated this historic and long-awaited victory both on Foss Hill and outside of Usdan.
Let’s just take a moment and consider everything that makes this country and this school so f’ing awesome. I can think of a few: jazz, baseball, the Big Mac, Toby Keith, tons of fat people, fake celebrities (well, maybe not the last one), and of course…the wonderful Wesleyan Film Series!
How does it feel to attend The [unofficial] Hippest University in America? “What’s that?” you say. “Who says?” you ask. Well, dear reader, the New Musical Express (NME), the UK’s most influential music magazine, says.
In recent months and weeks, America has watched its economy take hit after hit. On campus, these events have caused us all to question the financial future and security of the University. President Michael Roth began his presidency by stating that he would work hard to double the endowment, yet events out of his control have caused the University’s funds to drastically shrink—without considering the market’s recent volatility, the University’s endowment for Fiscal Year 2008, which ended June 30, declined by 3.9 percent.
Hooray, it’s finally getting cold! I think we all know what this means — time to break out our bleakest music and curl up in a fetal position until May!
Due to the recent economic recession, university endowments across the nation shrunk by an average of 3.09 percent this year, according to the Wilshire Trust Universe Comparison Service, which studies endowments worth nn1 billion or more.
The Wesleyan chapter of Best Buddies, an international organization that brings together University students and young adults with intellectual disabilities, has been chosen as one of three Connecticut schools to host its Midnight Madness Scavenger Hunt in 2009. Sacred Heart University and the University of Hartford were also selected.
Kevin Smith’s new film, “Zack and Miri Make a Porno,” centers around a conventional love story about two slackers, Zack and Miri, (Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks) who try to fuck in front of a camera for money, and instead wind up making love (and unusable footage).
The Calendar. Of Arts.
In the last year, according to comScore.com, The Huffington Post was the most-visited “Political Blog and News Site,” gathering as many “unique visitors” as the two runner-ups—Politico and the Drudge Report—combined. In early October, President Michael Roth joined Huffington’s swelling army of (mostly celebrity) bloggers, and has since logged four entries on the election.
Wesleyan volleyball took the second seed in the NESCAC tournament this weekend, closing out their regular season and proving themselves once again to be one of Wesleyan’s most successful fall teams.
“I always liked to bake,” Trang Tran said. “When I would bake cakes people would always say that they had a very harmonious quality about them.”
Liz Wheatley ’09 finished sixth out of 117 runners in the women’s race at the NESCAC Cross Country Championships on Saturday, earning first-team all-NESCAC honors.
We, the student organizers of the Wesleyan Farmers’ Market, would like to thank Bon Appétit for supporting local agriculture with their involvement in the Wesleyan Farmers’ Market. At the past two markets, Bon Appétit has purchased meat and vegetables from the market vendors and made them into delicious, locally sourced meals. These lunches are available at the Wesleyan Farmers’ Market and can be purchased with points or cash. Come enjoy them and show the food service that students want to see Bon Appétit’s continued involvement in the Wesleyan Farmers’ Market and an increasing commitment to local and sustainable buying practices.
With a final record of 7-6-1, the Cardinals earned their first-ever bid in the NESCAC postseason tournament as the number seven seed, as well as their first winning season since 1994. However, the team did not move past the first round, losing an intense match 1-0 to Amherst this past Sunday.
In keeping with your intrepid custom of preaching to the converted, you recently wrote a blog for The Huffington Post (“In Praise of Poise,” Oct. 20, 2009) in which you gave Barack Obama high praise for “poise.” The highest praise would have to go to JFK, the man who gave us the Bay of Pigs fiasco and the Cuban Missile Crisis, then led us into Vietnam. Michael, don’t look down; the hand of your trimly tailored black messiah, a flim-flam artist whose paper trail reads like a rap sheet, is halfway up your thigh.
The Wesleyan men’s soccer team closed out its season this weekend, exiting the NESCAC tournament and finishing the year with an overall record of 5-8-2 and with a division record of 3-5-2. Amherst defeated them with a score of 2-0.
I had no part in the creation or performance of Ben Bernstein’s ’10 opera, “Patterns of Inheritance.” I nevertheless was deeply offended by Claire Greenwood’s review of the production (“‘Patterns of Inheritance’ excels in style and score, falters on plot,” Oct. 31, 2008, Volume CXLIV, Number 16). Had Ms. Greenwood elected to provide a typical Argus theatrical review—an uninteresting but at least accurate summary of a performance’s events—or to take a critical look at the execution of Bernstein’s vision, I would likely only have a disagreement with her opinions. However, after watching what I believe was the boldest and most cohesive student work I’ve seen in my year and a half at Wesleyan (and certainly Second Stage’s best offering in that span), Ms. Greenwood decided to baselessly smear the artistic integrity of everyone involved in it. Because she did so eloquently, I feel her review demands a response.
The Wesleyan field hockey team ended a disappointing season last Saturday, losing in overtime to Connecticut College, 4-3, and barely missing a spot in the NESCAC playoffs.
I was greatly disappointed by Claire Greenwood’s article “‘Patterns of Inheritance’ excels in style and score, falters on plot” in last Friday’s edition of the Argus (Oct. 31, 2008, Volume CXLIV, Number 16). It was a shoddily written criticism and I am afraid it might mislead students who were unable to attend the opera into thinking that the opera was boring or preachy.