Early Friday morning, five students were arrested by the Middletown Police Department after the University’s Public Safety officers were unable to break up an outdoor party on Fountain Avenue. About 200 students fled the area as police used pepper spray, dogs and taser guns.
After nearly ten months of working without a contract, Physical Plant employees continue to protest the negotiating delay. On Wednesday, President Michael Roth, the University’s negotiating committee and representatives of Physical Plant’s union, the Office and Professional Employees’ International Union (OPEIU), will meet to discuss numbers.
In his first year as the University’s sixteenth president, Michael Roth invigorated the Wesleyan community with a series of new initiatives, while simultaneously becoming reacquainted with his alma mater that he left 30 years ago.
As the third installment of the Argus Speaker Series, Eric Gershon ’98 talked about his experience in business reporting and the journalism field in “8 Weeks, 12 Dwarves, 3 Camels and All 72 Rockettes: You Call This Work?”
On April 1, Steph O’Brien ’08 and Lucia Pier ’08 returned home to find a $1,300 Fire Safety violation bill on their kitchen table. While they had a few candles in their house, they couldn’t understand the reason for the seemingly extra $1,000.
Avi Salzman ’00 returned to the University on Wednesday night to deliver the second talk in the Argus Speaker Series. He discussed the future of journalism in his speech entitled “Fire the Paperboy: Is there any way to save the newspaper industry?”
On Wednesday night, student journalists packed Usdan 108 to hear ABC News Senior Vice President Paul Mason ’77 discuss press coverage of the 2008 election in his speech “The 2008 Political Campaign: News Coverage in the Digital Age—Blogs, debates, and why your vote might not count.” Mason talked about the shift in the conveyance of information, contrasting this campaign season to the 1994 general election in South Africa at the end of Apartheid.
As part of a reorganization of the University’s Public Affairs Office, Vice President for Public Affairs Justin Harmon will leave the University on June 30, 2008. Harmon has worked at the University since 2000 and previously held the title of Director of University Communications.
Several University alumni returned to work on Wednesday, Feb. 13 as the three-month long Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike ended. The WGA walked the picket lines since Nov. 5, 2007 in protest of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers’ (AMPTP) policies on writers’ residuals for Internet content and DVD sales.
President Michael Roth named Michael Whaley as Vice President of Student Affairs on Thursday afternoon. Whaley, better known as “Dean Mike,” has served as the Interim Dean of the College since July 1, 2007. He will be the first to hold the newly created title at the University, which is replacing the Dean of the College position.
The senior class officers have decided to not offer the usual open bar at the March 1 Senior Cocktails event after disorderly conduct at October’s event caused the bus company to cancel its contract with the University. “We changed the drinking situation and it will vary from event to event,” said Senior Class President Rashida Richardson ’08.
In a victory that The Hartford Courant declared to be “fueled by a record turnout and lopsided margins among urban poor, wealthy suburbanites and the young,” it was clear that the campus community contributed to Senator Barack Obama’s (D-IL) victory on Super Tuesday. University students swarmed the polls in precinct 14, helping log the largest number of votes for Obama than any of Middletown’s other precincts.
One University student has contracted Chicken Pox (Varicella) according to an all-campus e-mail sent by the Davison Health Center on Thursday. Medical Director Dr. Davis Smith stressed that there are very few people on campus who are at risk for catching it.
The class of 2008 still awaits information on future senior class events after disorderly conduct at October’s Senior Cocktails event caused the bus company to cancel its contract with the University.
The future of Senior Cocktails remains unclear after the cancellation of the December Cocktails. Senior Class officers are deciding what events to hold next semester and plan to notify the Class of 2008 before winter break.
Marching in picket lines has replaced life as a writer for a group of University alumni who are members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA). Since Nov. 5, the WGA has been on strike in protest of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers’ (AMPTP) policies on writers’ residuals.
As part of Homecoming/Family Weekend, the University community inaugurated Wesleyan’s 16th president Michael S. Roth ’78 last Friday in an elaborate and musical ceremony attended by students, parents, alumni, faculty, staff, representatives from 59 colleges, and three former University presidents—Doug Bennet ’59, William Chace, and Colin Campbell. Roth outlined the goals of his tenure with regards to teaching, scholarship, and institution building.
One man was injured in a shooting in the Traverse Square housing development last Friday around 11:15 p.m. The victim, Brian Lamont Hurst, 27, was shot outside of unit 23, where he lives.
Amid ongoing complaints about the Usdan University Center and Bon Appétit Dining Service, a group of students retaliated with a small-scale boycott on Wednesday. Their stated grievances included high food prices, unfair workers’ rights, and the inability of the new campus center to accommodate the campus community.
Now that the long lines at Usdan University Center have subsided somewhat, students are complaining about a new element of their lunchtime experience: Bon Appétit’s food is simply too expensive. “I think the prices are absurd,” said Rahel Haile ’10. “[Bon Appétit] thinks this is a New York City restaurant. I mean, the food is good, but this is our only option and the prices are too high.”
On Tuesday, the Suzanne Lemberg Usdan University Center encountered its first lunchtime rush, a chaotic few hours marked by students catching up, sifting through mail, but most notably, waiting in long lines to grab some lunch. "Usdan is to Wesleyan as the potato famine was to Ireland: we’re going hungry because the lines are too long," said Carter Smith ’09.
The southwest corner of Andrus field is again bustling with student life, thanks to a series of renovated and new buildings as part of the campus Master Plan. The long-awaited Suzanne Lemberg Usdan University Center opened its doors Aug. 24 and promises to be the nucleus of the campus community. The center is the hub of campus dining and also boasts University offices, a mailroom, retail space, meeting rooms and more.
The Suzanne Lemberg Usdan University Center came to life on Wednesday night as freshmen packed in for their first dinner in the new facility.
University Relations has organized a series of alumni receptions across the country to celebrate the tenure of President Doug Bennet and his wife Midge in their last year on campus.
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.
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."
The campus and community’s radio station, 88.1FM WESU, hopes to raise $25,000 through its Second Annual Holiday Pledge Drive that began Nov. 27 and will end Dec. 4. As of Thursday evening, the station raised $7,085.
To students, it sometimes seems like the Board of Trustees act as puppet masters pulling the strings of the University’s administrators. While the Board is trusted with making the majority of the University’s decisions, it is divided into specialized committees that address specific areas of the institution.
In light of recent events on campus, many students claim there are more police on campus, from driving down High St. in the afternoon to breaking up parties on Fountain Ave. on a Saturday night. The fact of the matter is the Middletown Police Department has the power of arrest and authority over any incident occurring on University grounds, which may pose a problem for those relying on Public Safety to have both the first and final say at the scene.
Looking to carve something more exciting than the usual lopsided jack-o-lantern smile into that pumpkin you carted back from Lyman Orchards? Tom Nardone, creator of ExtremePumpkins.com, is an expert at the staple Halloween activity. He creates innovative masterpieces using power tools, road flares, and a little elbow grease.
Concerns surrounding the Middletown Police Department (MPD) response to a Phi Beta Sigma-sponsored event on Sept. 16 have sparked student discussion about law enforcement on campus. Many at the event were students of color and their guests, and some have expressed concerns about racial profiling by MPD as well as raised questions of Public Safety’s reaction.
As a result of an unexpected increase in student enrollment, the Office of Residential Life has scrambled to deal with the high demand for on-campus housing. ResLife has reopened six program houses previously slated to be sold, formed temporary triples for freshmen in Butterfield C, and offered off-campus housing status to more students than usual.
Attendees at last Tuesday’s faculty meeting passed an Educational Policy Committee (EPC) resolution that will limit the amount of times a course can count toward graduation. "Resolved: that if a course may be repeated for credit then it may be taken at most twice for a letter grade (A-F) and it may be taken at most four times for graduation credit," reads the measure.
President Doug Bennet announced his retirement yesterday afternoon to a crowd of 500 gathered outside of North College. After serving for 12 years, Bennet will leave the University at the end of the 2006-2007 academic year. "Wesleyan is positioned well to engage new leadership, and the time is right for us to move ahead with the new phase of our lives," Bennet said.
At lunchtime on Monday, students and staff members linked arms creating human chain around the Campus Center to represent the barriers that illegal immigrants face in their lives. The chain was formed at 12:16 p.m. to symbolize Dec. 16, 2005, the date when House of Representatives Bill 4437 (HR 4437) was passed by the House.
In honor of the Holocaust Memorial and Remembrance Day, Yom Hashoah, the Wesleyan Jewish Community, led students, faculty, and staff in remembering the atrocities that occurred over 60 years ago. The program included a memorial service, words offered by a survivor, and a day-long reading of names of those who perished during the Holocaust.
With an applicant pool of over 7240, the University has admitted 1950 students for the prospective class of 2010, with 720 expected to matriculate this fall. "We’re looking for a high level of academic ability, looking for a real curiosity and a broad-based interest in learning…students who are going to study across the curriculum," said Senior Associate Dean of Admission Gregory Pyke.
Middletown Police arrested Timothy Gionfriddo on Mar. 24 at the Wesley Inn and Suites on Washington St., charging him with criminal attempt to operate a drug factory, criminal attempt to possess methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia. The arrest came nearly six weeks after an individual named Timothy was found keeping suspicious belongings underneath the porch of 96 Lawn Ave.
Historian John Hope Franklin will be the principal speaker at commencement on May 28. "Franklin is an extraordinary African American historian," said Vice President and Secretary of the University Peter Patton. "He’s been an incredibly distinguished spokesperson for civil rights and he received not just one nomination, but several nominations. We try to put in front of the student body people who are inspirational, role models, and give them something to aspire to."
Girl, what happened to your bindi? Uh huh, this my shit.
In response to Evan Carp’s tactfully-worded Wespeak: We feel that if you send in any sort of asinine commentary to The Argus, you must immediately activate a Facebook account (if you have not done so already) so that we may passive-aggressively stare at you without you knowing. We’re all members!
Next year’s Housing Contract includes a measure that bans all pets and incurs a fee of 100 dollars per sighting. Only fish in tanks no larger than 10 gallons are exempt from the rule. All University students must agree to the contract in order to participate in General Room Selection.
According to Director of Financial Aid Jennifer Garratt Lawton, University students are paying off their Stafford Loans on time, with few students lagging in payments. Earlier this week, the Office of Financial Aid learned that the University has a 1.1 percent default rate on federal student loans, which translates to four students per year who do not pay on time.
According to Dr. Tricia Rose, black music has shifted from offering solutions to simply reiterating common sentiments, disintegrating the cultural art form that used to be community affirming. Rose explained her thoughts in a lecture entitled, "Black Music, Social Justice, and the Strength to Love," the keynote address for Black History Month.
Members of the University community gathered Tuesday night to launch Black History Month and provide an overview to this year’s theme, "Shades of Blackness: Political Expressions Through Art & Music." The convocation featured dinner and speeches that reflected the different perspectives held by three Wesleyan generations: freshmen, seniors, and alumni.
Last Saturday night a non-University person was warned for trespassing after his belongings were found under the porch of 96 Lawn Ave. According to Daniel Heller ’06 who lives in 96 Lawn, the man, only identified as "Timothy," knocked on the door of the house in the evening and inquired about the area.
Students and faculty gathered at 200 Church Tuesday to hear a variety of perspectives in a panel entitled “Diversity and Affirmative Action: What is the Difference?” “Wesleyan is called ’Diversity University,’” said Assistant Professor of Government Melanye Price.
Middletown residents elected a new mayor on Tuesday. Republican lawyer Seb Giuliano beat Democrat incumbent Domenique Thornton by a margin of nearly 1,000 votes. He received 53 percent of the 11,000 votes cast and will be sworn in Tuesday at noon.
After years of dedicated service to the University and the Middletown community, it was announced Friday that Maryann Wiggin resigned from her position as Director of Public Safety. Wiggin was an employee of the University for nearly 25 years, and Director of Public Safety since 1998.
The Nov. 8 Middletown mayoral election has two candidates battling for residents’ votes. Democratic incumbent candidate Domenique Thornton is seeking a fifth term as the town’s mayor, while the Republican candidate, lawyer Sebastian Giuliano, has been hailed by the Hartford Courant as having a flawless record. In 2003 Thornton beat Giuliano by only 232 votes.
A small group of students, faculty members, and community members gathered on Monday to eat lunch and discuss same-sex marriage as part of the Pizza and Policy series. This new series, sponsored by the African American Studies Department, brings together the University community to consider public policy and current events.
On Thursday morning, staff members gathered at President Doug Bennet’s house to kick-off the University’s annual United Way campaign. The goal is to raise $140,000 for the Middlesex United Way, $5000 more than the goal set last year.
After appearing in Middletown Superior Court on Wednesday, all charges were dropped against Middletown Mayor Domenique Thornton. Thornton was taken into police custody on Sept. 14 under the suspicion of driving while intoxicated. Middletown Police Officer Glenn Morron claimed that the mayor was driving erratically, at one point driving in the oncoming traffic lane, and failed to stop at a stop sign.
Last Wednesday night, Middletown Mayor Domenique Thornton was taken into police custody under the suspicion of driving while intoxicated. She was pulled over at 9:45 p.m. on Timber Ridge Road in the northwest part of Middlesex County on the basis of erratic driving.
After several months of contentious debate, Governor M. Jodi Rell announced in August that the Connecticut Juvenile Training School (CJTS) will close by 2008. This institution, located on the Connecticut Valley Hospital campus in Middletown, is a $57 million high-security center for troubled boys with a staff of 365 workers.
Wesleyan has joined nationwide relief efforts to help those affected by the disaster that occurred nearly two weeks ago by offering fall classes to Connecticut students displaced by Hurricane Katrina. According to The Chronicle of Higher Education, approximately 70,000 students attend a university or college in the hurricane-impacted area.
Of the 713 students in the class of 2009, about 650 moved into their dorms on Monday. The first minivans and station wagons pulled onto Church Street before 9 a.m. packed with bedding, clothes, and computers. After registering in the Science Center, students took their belongings to their new homes.
On Monday the Class of 2009 officially became a part of the Wesleyan community as the new freshman class arrived for orientation week. According to the official profile produced by the Office of Admissions, 1,893 of the 6,879 applicants were admitted, and 715 enrolled this fall. "I think the most striking thing is the dramatic success in returning to the kind of representation of students of color that we aim for at Wesleyan," said Senior Associate Dean of Admission Greg Pyke.
Michael Newdow, best known for opposing the use of the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance and for bringing the case to the Supreme Court in 2004, spoke Tuesday night in a lecture entitled "Seeking Liberty and Justice for All: The Story of the Pledge of Allegiance Case." "People sometimes portray this as atheist versus theist," Newdow said. "I’m not an atheist activist. I’m an establishment clause activist. I’m against treating people unequally."
Middletown Mayor Domenique Thornton visited state officials on Monday, Apr. 18 to reiterate her opposition to the creation of an adult jail on the Connecticut Valley Hospital campus, located off of route nine’s exit 12. The proposed site for the jail is the Connecticut Juvenile Training School, a high-security center for boys, which may close imminently.
The number of Americans under criminal justice supervision totaled 7 million people in 2003, according to Mark Brenner in his lecture, "The Real Cost of Prisons: A Talk about the Economics of the Prison Industrial Complex," sponsored by the Wesleyan Prisoner Resource and Education Project (WesPREP).
Exactly how well do you know Wesleyan? I’m not referring to the year the University was founded or the average class size. This compendium of factoids was extensively researched and is even relatively factual. It’s all that you’ll need to start conversations during WesFest, so read up.
Former Wesleyan professor Robert C. Wood died of stomach cancer at his home in Boston on April 1. Wood was the Henry R. Luce Professor of Democratic Institutions and the Social Order from 1983-1991 and the John E. Andrus Professor of Government from 1991-1993. "My understanding is that he was a giant in terms of his influence on his colleagues and Wesleyan students," said Director of Communications Justin Harmon. "He affected a lot of people here and had a substantial career before he came here. He was a very committed teacher and member of the community."
University of Pennsylvania President Dr. Amy Gutmann will be the principal speaker at this year’s commencement on May 22. "I am honored and excited to deliver the commencement address at Wesleyan," Gutmann said. "In my remarks, I hope to make a convincing case that this class and this generation will rise to the challenges of creating a diverse democracy that promotes life, liberty, equality of opportunity, and mutual respect.”
After an extensive search for a new Dean of the College, Maria Cruz-Saco, Interim Dean of College and Professor of Economics at Connecticut College, has been hired for the position. "Wesleyan is a vibrant community with such an extraordinary campus," Cruz-Saco said. "It pulls and attracts students who are extremely smart and very engaged, and the faculty is very devoted. I feel fortunate to come to this position because I am an educator and I believe in education, and I believe in the work and energy students bring.
On Monday, the university revealed the details of a new fundraising effort, The Wesleyan Campaign Part Two: Back in Action. This component of the project aims to acquire donations from unexpected donors and institutions. "We are very excited to commence the next wave of university fundraising," said Director of Communications Justin Harmon. "The goal for the next few months is to tap into the places that have as of yet been left untouched.”
Ballots for the three alumni spots open on Wesleyan’s Board of Trustees were recently distributed to seniors, tenured faculty and the alumni community. "The Alumni Association Nominating Committee selects a slate of candidates each year," said Director of Alumni Education Linda Secord. "They choose from people who have been recommended by other alumni or they may self-nominate.”
On Sunday Tuscany Grill hosted its Fourth Annual Ice Sculpture Festival and Ice Carving Competition, attracting many contestants from the Middletown community and beyond. "We were very pleased with the response, turnout, quality of carvers, and the genuine participation of the crowd," said Lynne Reilly, one of the owners of the Tuscany Grill. "I really enjoyed the day."
Bringing a new dimension to Middletown’s entertainment scene, A New World Laser Tag opened on Main Street Feb. 10. “We’re finding that laser tag attracts all audiences because it’s fun,” said co-owner Kristie Grasis. “Laser tag attracts university students because there are built in rivalries, like dorm vs. dorm, or the wrestling team vs. the rowing team. People should come down and challenge each other.”
Assessing the United States’ involvement in Iraq, members of the Wesleyan community participated in this week’s WesPeace-sponsored Teach-In: The War Abroad, The War At Home. From Tuesday to Friday, speakers from inside and outside the University shared their different perspectives. Lectures included a session with Buthaina Hawas-Neveln, a former Iraqi National TV news anchor, a lecture by Assistant Professor of Government Melanye Price on racial profiling, the television show “24”, and a lecture by Connecticut’s leading expert on bioterrorism James Hadler.
Questioning marriage’s status as a civil right, Connecticut’s lawmakers and citizens came together in Hartford on Monday to discuss the passage of Bill 963: An Act Concerning Marriage Equality. The public hearing was held in front of the Connecticut General Assembly’s Joint Committee on Judiciary and several hundred people came out to hear citizens speak for or against gay marriage.
Combining dessert eating and community service, the Middletown Red Cross held its third annual "Chocolate to the Rescue!" fundraiser on Jan. 30. Over 300 people and 16 restaurants came together at Water’s Edge Spa & Resort in Westbrook to raise money for the local Red Cross Family Shelter. "As of right now, we have no estimate of how much money we’ve taken in," said Marketing Specialist Christine Bulgini. "Last year, we made over $10,000, and because we had more people this year, I would expect we’ve made more. We’re still tallying the results."
After having served as interim director for six months, Suzanna Tamminen ’94 has been named the new director of the Wesleyan University Press. "An excellent university press adds to the reputation of a strong university," said Judith Brown, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost. "University presses are important venues for scholarly publishing. I am very pleased with the appointment of Suzanna Tamminen as director of the Wesleyan University Press."
The recent completion of Downey House marks the creation of Wesleyan’s Humanities District. This building contains one-half of the English department, the entire Classical Studies department, several Romance Language offices, and the Writing Workshop. Aside from Downey House, the Humanities District includes the Department of Romance Languages at 300 High St., the Women’s Studies Program (287 High), and the English Department building at 285 Court St.
Despite the start of classes, nearly twenty Wesleyan students traveled to Washington, D.C. Thursday to protest the Presidential inauguration. “I actually got dropped from one of my classes for going,” said Brendan O’Connell ’08. O’Connell arrived at the protests at 11 a.m. and participated in a mock funeral march with Code Pink, an organization founded by women seeking peace and social justice.
On Monday night, Northwestern Professor of Political Science Linda Zerilli spoke about the impossibility of uniting people under the single category of their gender. As a result, feminism as a movement is rife with deep inner conflict. “Judging from the state of publications about feminism, it would seem that it’s over as a social and political movement,” she said. In her lecture, Zerilli also described the three waves of feminism. The first wave was the struggle for enfranchisement that led up to the 1920s and was represented by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. This period was guided by political motives.
Irene Taylor Brodsky kicked off this year’s Deaf Awareness Week on Monday night by discussing the differences between deaf culture in the Himalayas and the United States. Brodsky, a noted author and film producer in the field of hearing loss, has studied deaf culture in Nepal for many years. “I have a sort of esoteric knowledge about this one little thing in one part of the world,” she said. Nepal is a small but extremely diverse country, with 36 distinct spoken languages and three practiced religions: Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam.
Sunday night marked the beginning of Latino Awareness Month 2004, the focus of which will be Latinos and the Arts. Held at Russell House, the opening convocation united three speakers who discussed their experiences as Latinos studying at Wesleyan and how the arts have affected their lives. Sandra Manzanares ’08 shared her background as a first-generation American raised in a predominantly white suburb in Massachusetts. She said that Wesleyan has provided her with a rich heritage and students with whom she identifies.
In the last 15 years, the South has tried to redeem itself by reopening the civil rights crime cases of the 1950s and 1960s, according to Renee Romano, Assistant Professor of African American studies, American studies and history. The media’s portrayal of passive black victims and active white heroes in these cases has contributed to the historical falsification of these incidents, she argued during a lecture on Oct. 25 at Russell House.
On Tuesday Oct. 5, the Wesleyan Campaign reached its goal of raising $250 million in donations. The campaign began four years ago by focusing fundraising efforts towards four general areas: increasing available money for student financial aid, expansion and improvement of academic programs, campus renewal and support for all of these through increased giving to the Wesleyan Annual Fund. “At the time, it was considered incredibly ambitious,” said Director of Communications Justin Harmon. “Wesleyan did not have a strong history of fundraising.”
Assistant Professor of Government Douglas Foyle appeared on Connecticut Public Television’s program “By the People: Connecticut” last month to discuss one of the topics most significant to voters: the war in Iraq. “Kerry is trying to sell [the war in Iraq] as a distraction from the war on terrorism, which makes the cost seem not as worthwhile,” Foyle said. “Bush puts [the Iraqi war] into the context of the war on terrorism and makes those costs an acceptable price to pay.”
As of this summer, acceleration charges will no longer apply to students who plan on graduating in fewer than eight semesters. The charges, which only applied to students who had formally requested and been given permission to graduate in fewer than eight semesters, mandated that students graduating early were charged one-fifth of the semester’s tuition for each course taken beyond the expected load of four credits. At the current tuition rate of $15,718 per semester, that would add up to just under $4,000 for every credit.
Israeli peace activist Adam Keller visited campus Thursday to discuss current tensions in the Middle East and his opinions about the creation of a Palestinian state. Keller spoke to a small but captivated audience, sharing his past as a “refusnik,” someone who would not serve in the Israeli army due to his disagreement with the occupation of Palestine.