The Office of Community Service sponsored a blood drive held Wednesday at the Inn of Middletown and attracted 68 participants. "It’s one of the only things you do that’s almost guaranteed to help people," said Nathan Baumgart ’06, among the first in line to donate. Students were driven from campus to the Inn on Main Street, where the drive was held. Students who couldn’t donate blood still found an opportunity to help by volunteering as staff for the drive, either in the reception table or by providing post-donation refreshments.
A senior thesis film brought one Wesleyan graduate more than academic credit last week when it won a top prize at the Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Benh Zeitlin ’04 took home a bronze statue of a dog and the Grand Jury Sparky Award for Best Animated Short for his film "Egg." Judges at the prestigious Slamdance competition called "Egg" "a fully realized animation, filled with conflict and tension that makes perfect narrative sense while defying all common sense."
The first WSA meeting of the semester centered around examining the group’s role in representing student needs and increasing transparency. President Emily Polak ’05 and committee heads also presented their mid-year reports and plans for the spring semester. "It’s not enough for us to simply be content with the status quo and so I am calling for a reaffirmed commitment to the WSA for the sake of fulfilling our duties as elected representatives, with the continued and increased emphasis on student voice," Polak said.
President Bennet addressed the Wesleyan Student Assembly (WSA) Sunday night to discuss the Wesleyan Strategic Plan, which outlines the Administration’s central focus for the next five years. Bennet began the meeting by emphasizing the importance of a liberal arts education in light of changes in society. He lauded student involvement in activities on campus as an important element of a liberal arts education.
Zbigniew Grabowski ’08 suffered a severe spinal injury Wednesday night after he fell from a third story Butterfield B window. Although Grabowski spent time in the hospital after the fall, he is expected to return to campus this weekend. Grabowski, who goes by Polik, was locked out of his dorm room in Butt B around midnight when he tried to enter his room from the outside window. He climbed the side of the building via small ledges at the bottom of the windowsills, making it to the third story before losing his grip and falling to the ground. He landed on his feet on a grassy patch but was unable to remain standing. The impact of his fall caused a compound fracture in the lower portion of Grabowski’s spine.
The morning of Saturday, Sept. 11 found a groggy line for coffee winding through Exeley Science Center as people filed in for “Where on Earth are We Going?” a symposium on the environment.