Stephen P. Morgan, the suspect accused of fatally shooting Johanna Justin-Jinich ’10, pled not guilty to three charges in a court appearance on June 9th.
The campus community was saddened to hear of Wednesday’s fatal shooting of a Wesleyan student in Red and Black Café, located in Broad Street Books, the University’s campus bookstore.
After two months of meetings, proposals, and finalizations, the Wesleyan Student Assembly (WSA) announced on Wednesday that it has completed a list of specific recommendations in response to last spring’s incident on Fountain Avenue. The compilation of proposals incorporated concerns about multiple issues, ranging from student awareness of their rights to University camera policy to Public Safety (PSafe) and Middletown Police Department (MPD) protocol.
A master key to the Nicolson resident halls was stolen last week, leaving University officials scrambling to increase security measures, notify residents and get locks replaced in a timely manner.
The University community was inundated with campus-wide alerts and circling helicopters Wednesday evening when a man was shot outside a barbershop just blocks away from campus.
Yesterday afternoon, President Michael Roth released the final report of the Fountain Avenue Working Group to the campus community. The five-page report — which was researched and written by the working group over this past summer — details the events of last May’s incident between University students and Public Safety and Middletown Police, and points to issues of ongoing concern that fueled the evening’s events.
A small-scale party was cut short Sunday morning when a gunshot was allegedly fired into the air following a physical altercation between students and area residents trying to enter the party.
A working group gathered Thursday afternoon to discuss the final revisions of a report on the Fountain Avenue incident that occurred last May. While some finishing touches still remain, the final report will be sent to President Michael Roth soon, and released in either full or condensed form to the University community in the next seven days.
Continuing a decade-long pattern of increased competition in the admissions process, 2008 marked a record-high in applicants to the University.
For those students just joining us, and for those who simply need a refresher, here’s a look back at some of the news highlights from last year:
When Lloyd Komesar ’74 learned that Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) would be this year’s commencement speaker, the California-native knew what he had to do. “This is one of those historical moments at Wesleyan, so I jumped on a plane,” Komesar said.
Question:
Recently, Senator Barack Obama officially denounced his pastor Reverend Wright. How do you think Reverend Wright’s public comments, as well as Obama’s reactions to them, have affected and will affect his campaign?
Question: Should race-based Affirmative Action continue into the 21st Century?
Answer: There has been a dramatic decline in the gap in educational attainment between Blacks and Whites since the middle of the twentieth century, from 2.9 years in the 1920s birth cohort to 0.9 years for the 1970s birth cohort, due in part to Affirmative Action.
When asked if he is still administratively involved with the university, a relaxed and convivial former President Doug Bennet could not help but chuckle. "No, ma’am," he said. Since stepping down as president, Bennet and his wife, Midge, have moved to a small farmhouse in Lyme, CT along the Connecticut River, where they are enjoying all the perks of retired life.
Question: Do you think that there is evidence in the “Harry Potter” series that suggests that Albus Dumbledore is gay? Do you think that J.K. Rowling’s divulgence of this information will affect how readers view the series and Dumbledore as a character?
Two years ago, Brad Karsh ’87, president and founder of JobBound, was waiting for a candidate to arrive for a job interview when he decided to check the potential new hire’s Facebook profile. After looking at the site, Karsh knew the interview was a moot point.
Question: What are the advantages of fair trade coffee?
Answer: Coffee is one of the world’s most commonly consumed beverages—roughly 400 billions of cups a day. By one estimate, coffee is the second most important commodity traded on the (legal) global marketplace. But what is fair trade coffee?
Question: It has been rumored that one can get a heart attack from drinking both Red Bull and vodka. Is this true?
Answer: Is a wide-awake drunk more appealing than a sleeping drunk? Red Bull is a high fructose jolt of caffeine whose consumption with vodka is based on the assumption that the answer to this question is yes. Is the wide-awake drunk at a higher risk of a heart attack? I don’t know.
Kari Weil jokes that when she first met Michael Roth she had her doubts. “Sheesh,” she remembers thinking. “Two kids, two books already…” Clearly, however, the man had something going for him. Almost two decades later, the twosome now clinches the title of cutest couple at Wesleyan: President Michael Roth and Visiting Professor of Letters Kari Weil.
Question: How do you think the writers’ strike will resolve itself? How do you think it will ultimately affect the TV and Film Industries?
After tackling the long lines at Broad Street Books this past week, students may have noticed a subtle addition to the bookstore — posted on each register was a sign reading, “Please let us know if we can skip the sack. Every bit helps for the environment.”
Question: What can we personally do to help alleviate global warming and other environmental problems?
Answer: In the United States, automobiles, power plants and industry each contribute about a third of the total human-caused emissions of carbon dioxide. These are the areas that we as individuals should focus on to reduce our collective carbon footprint.
For many students, this week consists of digesting leftover Thanksgiving turkey, preparing for upcoming finals, and stressing over next semester’s schedule. But Nov. 26 through 30 also marks a more important global event—World AIDS Week.
For Paul Boulat ’09, choosing where to study abroad was simple. “I chose [the Paris program] mostly because it’s a program recommended for College of Letters (COL) for French speakers,” said Boulat. “I was actually born in France, so I have a lot of family that I could see there.”
Earlier this week, Dan Lachman ’09 shipped off boxes of t-shirts to Lord and Taylor to be sold in their stores. And while the department store may be Lachman’s largest client yet, it is certainly not his first.
When Matt and Mikaela Kingsley ’98 decided to get married two years ago, they knew that Wesleyan’s campus would be the perfect location to tie the knot.
When Anand Venkatachalam ’08 first came to Wesleyan from Indonesia, there was no doubt in his mind that he would continue attending Hindu temple every Saturday. "Before I came here, Hindu traditions were a part of my life that I just did, and everyone else did too," Venkatachalam said.
For many Wesleyan students, it is easy to go through four years only knowing Middletown as home to Brooks Pharmacy and Typhoon—but for the students who work in town, it is much more than the place you must trek to when you run out of toothpaste.
Although Ashley Casale ’10 completed her cross-country "March for Peace" on Sept. 10, her adventures were not yet over. Three days later, she and four fellow peace marchers were arrested at a protest in Washington, DC.
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.
Upon arriving back to school each year, there is one question that you are undoubtedly asked more than once: "So, what did you do this summer?" While we all recognize the potentially irksome quality of this question, we are still somehow compelled to ask it—after all, it seems that every student has a fascinating summer story to share.
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.
This past Sunday, the Night Festival, a recreated Asian market, set up outside the Campus Center, providing students with an engaging and oftentimes delicious late night diversion.
This weekend brought about three days of gorgeous, sunny weather—and prefrosh, who came from all corners of the world to learn about the University. Throughout the weekend, prefrosh chatted with fellow prospective students, played Frisbee with current students and attended lectures by professors.
When Eiko Otake, a visiting dance instructor, found out that her Wednesday night Delicious Movement Workshop was not only full but also had a lengthy waiting list, she decided to offer more. In an effort to give additional students the chance to get involved in her dance workshops, Otake and her Wednesday night class intern, Lydia Bell ’07, started "Mondays at 7," a series of dance workshops open to the entire campus community.
This spring break, while many college kids bask in the warm Cancun sun, six University students will be volunteering at Nicaraguan schools. They are part of the Nagarote-Wesleyan Partnership, a University community service group that raises money to help the people of Nagarote, Nicaragua.
When Kudakwashe Ngogodo ’08 first arrived on campus, memories of his home in Mberengwa, a small village in Zimbabwe, were still fresh in his mind. He could not forget the long, scorching days spent trudging through rough terrain in search of clean water for himself and his family.