In an effort to provide information about opportunities geared toward working class undergrads and students of color, Raquel Maldonado ’05 has created a monthly on-line academic newsletter entitled “The Loop.” With funding provided by the Dean’s office, the first issue of the new publication came out in September at: www.wesleyan.edu/mosaic.
The idea for the newsletter came from Renee Johnson-Thornton, Assistant Dean of Student Academic Resources, who is involved in student of color activities.
“The idea of an academic resource newsletter written from a student perspective is something that I have had for some time,” Johnson-Thornton said. “I hope that the articles [in ”The Loop“] about students’ experiences accessing various services, programs and professionals on campus will encourage other students to do the same.”
Johnson-Thornton is also the Associate Coordinator of the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship (MMUF). The purpose of the MMUF, as described on its website is “to increase the number of minority students, and others with a demonstrated commitment to eradicating racial disparities, who will pursue Ph.Ds in core fields in the arts and sciences.”
Maldonado, a Mellon Mays fellow, was receptive to Johnson-Thornton’s idea to create the newsletter at the end of last year. She has since taken on the responsibility of organizing and writing the articles that appear on the website.
“I try and choose three or four things to highlight in each issue,” Maldonado said.
In an article from the November issue, Maldonado shares information about little-known opportunities for students in the Language Resource Center. In an interview with Emmanuel Paris-Bouvret, director of the Language Resource Center and the coordinator of the less commonly taught languages program, Maldonado discovered that a student could organize his or her own language course.
“Some of these opportunities, like in the Office of International Studies, I just discovered for the first time and thought, ‘Why didn’t I know about this before?’” Maldonado said.
Another article in “The Loop” deals with opportunities for students interested in the health-care profession. Maldonado advocates for and provides information about the Clinical Experience Program (CLEP), a six-week internship for college students at the Connecticut Valley Hospital in Middletown.
In this month’s issue, Gideon Unkeless ’06, also a Mellon Mays fellow, became the first contributing writer to “The Loop.”
Unkeless, who is spending the semester in New York City, wrote a piece about the inequalities in education between the city’s rich and poor, between those who attend private school and those at public school.
“I think [”The Loop“] can provide a bridge of communication between the different [cultural] groups on campus,” Unkeless said.
So far, the newsletter has been sent to the students of color list-serv and submissions for articles have been solicited in these e-mails.
“Student input is definitely encouraged,” Maldonado said.
Even with the requests for assistance, “The Loop” is still entirely run by Maldonado, who receives a stipend from the Dean’s office.
Maldonado said there are plans for “The Loop” to be physically publishing starting in December. This expense would also be paid for by the Dean’s office.
“I think everybody can benefit from knowing about these programs,” Maldonado said. “I definitely don’t want [”The Loop“] to die when I graduate.”
Johnson-Thornton echoed these sentiments.
“I think that there must be varied and continuous promotion of resources for students in order to be sure that we reach students during the moments when they are most receptive,” she said.
For those interested in learning more about “The Loop,” e-mail Raquel Maldonado at rmaldonado01@wesleyan.edu.
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