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Dozens of student activists attended a workshop in Exley Science Center on Saturday, Dec. 6, focused on methods to fight gas pipeline expansion in Connecticut and the broader northeast. The event was hosted by No Pipeline Expansion (NOPE) Northeast, a multi-state coalition comprising over a hundred community organizations opposed to gas pipeline expansion projects in the northeast United States. 

Formerly known as Stop Project Maple Coalition, NOPE was initially established to counter Project Maple, a methane gas pipeline expansion across Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts proposed by multinational oil transportation and energy company Enbridge. Since then, NOPE has broadened its scope to further oppose pipeline projects in the broader northeast, such as the New York Northeast Supply Enhancement Pipeline. 

Although Connecticut does not produce its own gas, relying largely on imported gas from other states, three main interstate gas pipelines pass through the state as of April 2025: the Algonquin Gas Transmission, Iroquois Gas Transmission System, and Tennessee Gas Pipeline.

The first half of the workshop focused on NOPE’s opposition to multiple pipeline concepts that have piqued the interest of both President Donald Trump and Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont, which NOPE views as a potentially ruinous alliance. The Trump administration hopes to repeal numerous environmental protections and rebuild cancelled pipelines along the East Coast; the governor has expressed interest in some of the plans. At the event, speakers elaborated on the potential risks posed by these collaborations, including economic and public health concerns, environmental damage, and energy dependence on out-of-state fossil fuels instead of local energy solutions. The speakers argued that clean, locally-sourced energy leads to lower energy prices, broad economic growth, energy security, and healthier, cleaner communities.  

“I think we’re in a really critical moment for a number of reasons,” Sarah Dynowski, State Director of Sierra Club Connecticut, said. “The pressure from the federal government, the Trump administration specifically, to build pipelines that we don’t actually really need is really a challenge. And it’s becoming more and more of a challenge, because the narrative that somehow we need more gas has been taking hold, and we know we don’t.”

The workshop further discussed different ways in which students could get involved in protests against environmental deregulations and pipeline projects. Participants were given index cards to write down actions that activists could take to best fight pipeline projects. After that, participants split into groups to brainstorm targets and tactics. 

Sierra Club Connecticut, a member organization in the NOPE coalition, is the state chapter of a leading national environmental nonprofit. They were the primary organizer of the event, and chose the University as the event’s venue due to several different reasons.

“[We had the event at Wesleyan] largely because it’s in the middle of the state, and also between New York and Massachusetts…we’re trying to bring people in from around the region,” Sena Wazer, the Volunteer and Outreach Coordinator for Sierra Club Connecticut and the main event organizer, said. “I also really love having it on college campuses, because I think it helps bring in students, and I worked with Sunrise Movement Wesleyan to bring in students from Wesleyan.”

Sunrise Wesleyan is the University’s hub of the youth-led national Sunrise Movement, which has worked on political engagement against climate change via local advocacy. In 2019, the energy provider Eversource began construction of the Southeast Resiliency Project, installing approximately ten miles of gas pipeline between Middletown and Montville.

“There is a gas expansion project happening in Middletown,” Dynowski said. “Eversource is expanding pipelines for redundancy’s sake. It’s going through Middletown and then under the Connecticut River.”

Wazer and Dynowski both noted that they had visited the University before. 

“I have come here several times to some environmental studies classes, just to talk about the history of the environmental movement and the kind of issues we’re facing now, and it’s great,” Dynowski said. “There’s a lot of terrific ideas.”

Several University students, many of whom were members of environmental advocacy organizations, reflected on the importance of events like the workshop. 

“We should all care about how this energy is furthering the climate crisis, causing asthma and health issues,” Sunrise Movement Wesleyan Coordinator Sasha Lovell ’28 said. “We need to start learning about the expansions that are coming close to Wesleyan so that we can oppose them, because these are things that are really unhealthy, unpopular, and backed by these big government interests. I think that’s something that everyone should be concerned about.”

Students also called for the University to follow its own environmental commitments. 

“At Wesleyan, our policy that’s been passed on is the sustainability strategic plan [SSP], and this is our way of trying to get to carbon neutral,” Sunrise Movement Wesleyan coordinator Aviva Branoff ’26 said. “Our goal is to be carbon neutral by 2035, and this is not at all the trajectory that we’re on. Wesleyan students should be educated and ready to support the SSP, know what it is, know how to fight for it, and hold the school accountable for something they already signed and agreed to follow.” 

According to the University’s SSP annual report for FY 2025, the University has reduced its carbon footprint by 32% from its 2008 baseline, largely attributed to converting majority of campus heating pipes to energy-efficient hot-water pipes, improving student transportation, and reduced faculty air travel.

President Michael Roth ’78 reaffirmed the University’s goal to go carbon neutral by 2035, stating that there are more phases to be completed for energy-saving infrastructure projects on campus, which will further help in achieving eventual carbon neutrality.

“It’s expensive, it takes a while,” Roth said, adding that energy-efficiency has become a priority whenever a major construction or maintenance project takes place, referencing the new science center scheduled to open in Fall 2026. “It’s done all in the summer, but it’s really been very effective in reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. So we’ll continue to do that.”

Dynowski invited interested University students to join the fight for climate action.

“We welcome folks to be involved, because there are lots of activities that can be done from one’s dorm room,” Dynowski said. “Students can also join a rally or event, or just brainstorm some fun ideas we might do, like a march, a bike ride, or a flash mob. We want to have a diversity of voices at the table so that we do good work.”

Spencer Landers can be reached at sklanders@wesleyan.edu.

Brendan Kelso can be reached at bkelso@wesleyan.edu.

The NFL is designed to crown a champion. It has equal schedules, capped salaries, fair drafts, and structured parity. It’s a machine built to decide who’s best. College football is the opposite. It’s inherently unfair. Some teams get six home games, others three. Some conferences play eight games, while others play nine. Texas may schedule Ohio State out of conference while Georgia plays Marshall. With 133 programs, the sport is structurally incapable of determining the best the way the NFL can.

And for so long, that was fine. That unfairness created space for dozens of narratives to matter simultaneously. You didn’t need to be in contention for a national championship to have a meaningful season. You could beat your rival, win your conference, or earn a bowl berth for the first time in a decade. The impossibility of fair comparison meant more things could matter.

In the past decade, college football has been trying to become the NFL: NIL, the transfer portal, conference realignment. But the aspect that’s flown most under the radar in hollowing out the sport is the obsession with crowning a national champion.

History of the National Champion

The championship obsession didn’t start recently, and the sport has never been able to agree on how to crown a champion. For most of the 20th century, the national title was decided by polls. There was the Associated Press and the Coaches Poll. It was a wildly imperfect system. Voters saw only a handful of games due to no DVR and TV restrictions, and coaches rarely watched anyone but their opponents. Unsurprisingly, the polls disagreed 11 times between 1950 and 1997. Coaches lobbied and the media debated, but those conversations didn’t define the season, and they didn’t interfere with everything else. Rivalries, conference championships, and bowl games all mattered on their own terms.

The BCS (1998–2014) paired #1 and #2 using polls and computers, preserving bowl tradition while creating a title game. But flaws still persisted. In 2003, USC was top-two in both polls but didn’t make the Championship Game because the computers didn’t value their metrics. The system also faced antitrust challenges.

In 2014, the College Football Playoff debuted as the solution. A 13-person committee selected the top four teams for a single-elimination bracket, rotating through the New Year’s Six bowls. The playoff was undoubtedly the fairest way yet to determine a championship. However, bowl games lost prestige, with star players sitting out even New Year’s Six bowls if their team missed the Playoff.

The 12-team playoff is in its second year. It was sold as increasing parity and creating marquee matchups. Parity hasn’t and won’t improve, as it’s virtually impossible for a Group of Five team to win multiple games. And sure, there are more marquee matchups. But they came at a disproportionate cost. The old systems, imperfect as they were, left room for conference championships, bowl games, and regular-season matchups to matter alongside the national title race. The expanded playoff obliterated that balance. Now there’s one narrative: who’s in and who’s out. Games still decide conference championships and rivalries, but when they don’t shift playoff seeding, they lose prominence. 

The current 12-team CFP format created the possibility of this problem. The expansion to 4 teams, then to 12, wasn’t just about fairness; it was also about money. And that’s where ESPN’s economic incentives made the problem inevitable.

ESPN

ESPN is the sole media rights holder to the College Football Playoff. They paid billions for exclusive access, and they’ve built an entire media apparatus to justify that investment. They broadcast (or sublicense) all the playoff games and host countless shows debating and previewing the playoffs. They also own the SEC Network and ACC Network, giving them direct financial interest in those conferences’ success. 

During the regular season, ESPN shares broadcast rights with Fox, NBC, CBS, etc. But the playoff is theirs alone. Every playoff game, every playoff selection show, every minute of playoff coverage generates revenue ESPN doesn’t have to split. So, from a pure profit standpoint, devaluing the regular season for the benefit of the playoffs makes sense. Why hype a Conference Championship game Fox is broadcasting when you can debate playoff positioning instead?

I was watching ESPN on Wednesday when I realized how far this had gone. ESPN analysts were discussing how Indiana vs. Ohio State was virtually pointless. The argument is that both teams will stay at #1 and #2 in the rankings regardless and receive byes. 

#1 versus #2. Both are undefeated. The winning QB likely takes the Heisman. One of college football’s bluest bloods against a program having its best season in 70 years. It’s as “Game of the Century” as “Game of the Century” gets, and ESPN is talking about how it’s pointless…while not even sending College GameDay there. 

ESPN has built weekly shows dedicated to the bracket. They turned their commentators into selection committee surrogates, constantly ranking teams instead of talking about the X’s and O’s or weird, wild stories that used to drive college football. It doesn’t feel like coverage of college football anymore; it feels like coverage of a selection process. And because ESPN controls so much of college football media, their framing becomes the only framing.

All this matters because fans adapt to what they’re told is important. When ESPN frames every game through playoff implications, when they spend all week hyping bracket scenarios instead of rivalry games, that reshapes fan psychology over time. You can’t sustain organic passion for something the entire media apparatus is telling you doesn’t matter in the big picture. Eventually, fans internalize it.

Consequences

Fan passion alone can’t sustain traditions. Traditions need institutional support: games that actually happen, not rivalries eliminated by realignment. They need players and coaches who treat them as important, not programs declining bowl games entirely. Conference realignment has already proved this by killing regionality because schools chased TV deals. 

And now the playoff is coming for what’s left. The four-team playoff hurt bowl games. The 12-team playoff has all but killed them and is slowly doing the same to conference championships. This week, BYU dropped in the rankings because they lost their conference championship game. In fact, since the CFP was invented, the Alabama this season is the only team to lose in the conference championship and not drop. So if a championship can hurt your playoff seeding more than help it, why play one? The discussions are already there, and it’s not hard to imagine power conferences eliminating them within a few years. 

As an Oklahoma fan, I remember the 2020 season. We lost our first two Big 12 games, and playoff hopes vanished before October. But that year was unforgettable: a four-overtime Red River shootout, crushing Oklahoma State in Bedlam, revenge against Brock Purdy and Iowa State in the Big 12 Championship, and then dismantling Florida in the Cotton Bowl. Not one second had anything to do with the playoff, and it was still my favorite season. 

On Sunday, Notre Dame declined its bowl berth after missing the playoff. If a program whose entire brand is built on tradition and independence won’t play a bowl game, what does that signal to the rest of the country? Well, Iowa State and Kansas State are also declining bowl berths. 

The pursuit of ‘the best’ was never the point of college football. It was a sport defined by the plural, not the singular, dozens of narratives mattering simultaneously. The minute everything had to feed into one definitive answer, the rest stopped mattering. The regionality, the chaos, the possibility that a 9–3 season could be triumphant, all were sacrificed for a single championship narrative.

College football is becoming a closed system of 20–30 programs playing for one trophy while everyone else exists as content filler. And there’s no evidence that anyone with power is going to choose the sport’s long-term health over short-term profit.

Sam Weitzman-Kurker can be reached at sweitzmankur@wesleyan.edu. 

Tucked in a corner on the first floor of Olin Library lives the rare book collection, an ever-growing collection of 45,000 literary works that is a research resource for students looking to interact with physical history. The fascinating assortment of texts in the collection ranges from artists’ books that combine literary and artistic mediums, to 19th-century missionary Bibles in languages from around the world, to copies of Shakespeare’s original works. Head of Special Collections Tess Goodman recently took The Argus on a tour of the space and discussed the function and importance of the rare book collection. 

The Argus: What is the rare book collection?

Tess Goodman: The rare books that we have in Special Collections at Wesleyan are pretty diverse. We have pretty solid coverage in terms of American and British literature and history. We have a lot of missionary Bibles that were collected when Wesleyan students in the 19th century were very interested in Christian missionary work. We now have a large collection of artist books that are very invested in both experimentation with the physical form of the book and printing techniques, but also in social justice and in ideas like feminism, anti-racism, or environmentalism. The book explores these concepts as a way to do advocacy.

A: How does rare books fit into the larger Special Collections & Archives department?

TG: The Special Collections & Archives department is kind of split between the rare books and the archives—the university papers—but we work very much in tandem. Often, I work with [Dietrich Family Associate University Librarian for Unique Collections and University Archivist] Amanda Nelson to try and develop a class that will teach students how to deal with both archival documents and rare books together. The advantage of a collection like this is that books are the most common historical artifact that survives from the past, aside from things like coins. They have a really intense depth with so much content.
Helping students learn how to understand them is really a way to open up a portal to the past.

A: Where and [from whom] do you primarily get your books?

TG: Some of them have been donations, but the bulk of the collecting that I do at this point is from a number of different rare book dealers. There are some whom I have developed relationships with. I have known them for a while because I worked in the trade at different rare book institutions before coming to Wesleyan. I also go to book fairs. Most recently, I went to the Boston Book Fair, which is held every November. The advantage of going to an event like that is that you can wander around and find things serendipitously. So, for example, I walked into a dealer’s booth, who is based in New Haven, and found an 18th-century copper printing plate for a very reasonable price. This was something that I had been looking for for a while, and I bought it from this person whom we had never had a relationship with before, but it was very exciting to find exactly what we needed on the spur of the moment.

A: How and why do students currently use the rare books resources? 

TG: One way is through class visits. These are more structured visits where I work with the professor to try and figure out the teaching goal for the session. Usually, [they are] looking at examples of texts that students are reading in a literature class or sources that students might use to do historical research.

The other way that students can visit is when working on individual research projects. Sometimes this can be for a class that has put together an assignment that relies on Special Collections, or [it can be] on their own initiative. 
We’ve had students doing class papers or thesis projects on all kinds of material in the collections. A student who graduated a few years ago wrote a thesis about the [“Landino,”] which is one of the first attempts to print an illustrated edition of Dante’s “Divine Comedy.”
We have a copy of the 1685 Fourth Folio edition of Shakespeare’s plays, where two of the plays have been extensively annotated, and one student did research on these annotations and found out that [they were] written by somebody who was creating their own new publication by pirating the plots of two of Shakespeare’s plays and smashing them together.

A: Why should students continue to visit the rare book collection?

TG: We are currently operating in a world where facts are disputed and evidence-based truths are harder to recognize. In this environment, it’s extremely important that we all learn to distinguish fact from fiction through processes of verification, research, and the analysis of hard evidence. Special Collections holds the historical record: hard evidence about the past that is available nowhere else. Students here build a lot of different skills, from navigating a rare books library, to analyzing 500-year-old illustrations, to reading 19th-century handwriting. This is all an effort to help students learn to conduct original research. 

A: Do you have a favorite book or collection of books here?

TG: My favorite book always changes. Recently, the book that I’ve been most enthusiastic about is a Dutch emblem book from the 17th century. An emblem book is a genre that’s basically dead now, but it was this literary and visual genre of book that had a cryptic phrase, motto, or proverb accompanied by an equally cryptic illustration and some sort of scholarly gloss or interpretation. There is one that I really love that was printed in the Netherlands around the 1680s that has a lot of very beautiful illustrations and a lot of bizarre mottos. There’s an image of a cheese that’s been gnawed by maggots, and the caption says something like “too sharp makes shabby.” So the cheese has been aged to be too sharp, and it’s gone bad. It’s this weird image of how 17th-century brains worked. This particular book also has really interesting, vivid pictures of daily life in the 17th century. The book has this bizarre conflation of daily life information and philosophical information with strange imagery. 

A: Do you see any challenges facing the rare book collection now or in the future?

TG: There are all kinds of challenges facing the collection. Trying to help people understand why this stuff matters is something that is always going to be important for us. I think at Wesleyan, we have a very healthy community interest in Special Collections. A lot of the faculty are really good about bringing their classes here, and I think many students are enthusiastic. But making sure that people understand that we are here, that we are accessible is always an uphill battle because the door is always locked for security reasons. But we want people to be able to come in and ask questions. I also think that as people get more and more in the weeds of things like AI and digital databases, there may be a growing conviction that everything’s available online, which isn’t true. Continuing to make ourselves obviously relevant is one of the biggest challenges that we face. 

A: Is there anything that you are currently looking to add to the collection?

TG: We have been really trying to add Native American and South American books to the collection. We just added a little book that was printed on birch bark but is not actually written by a Native American person. It is challenging because a lot of resources from the 19th century were written by white settlers and not by Native Americans. Much of the physical documentation that exists comes from one perspective, so trying to figure out how to build a complete picture means that we are kind of looking for a needle in a haystack. A lot of the interesting texts didn’t necessarily survive, but we’re doing our best. 

Leah Ziskin can be reached at lziskin@wesleyan.edu.

“Wicked: For Good” is set in an Oz inundated by propaganda and inequity—the mien of wickedness, as it is glaringly apparent, has become a driving force.

This film deserves a degree of pessimism and apprehension. It is, after all, a second act. “Wicked: For Good” is not a cheery, whimsical successor to the Ozian spectacle that is “Wicked.” Rather, it ushers in disquietude from the initial shot (forced animal labor on the Yellow Brick Road) to the moments following the titular song where Dorothy (Bethany Weaver) claims an unwittingly tragic victory.

Emerging from the shadows of the climactic first act closing number “Defying Gravity,” act two thrusts audiences into the grim villainization of Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo). The distortion of Elphaba’s inherent kindness and goodwill, amplified by juxtaposition with Glinda’s paradisal life, is one of most thought-provoking aspects of the film, upsetting the status quo of this revisionist narrative.

The musical “Wicked” is a loose theatrical adaptation of Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.” However, the musical diverges from the book’s contents most notably in the ending. While the musical wraps the story in a neat bow, at the heart of both the novel and the musical is a spirit of defiance, dignity, and a critique of tyranny and herd mentality. Despite its fantasy and whimsy, “Wicked” tells the story of abiding strife, a quality starkly persistent in act two.

How easy is it to contort the illusion of goodness in the favor of those who are truly wicked? This question, particularly sensitive given our current socio-political climate, festers in the subtext of “For Good.” Formerly known as Galinda (Ariana Grande), Glinda “knows the wicked’s lives are lonely” all too well, but succumbs to the glory of eminence and adulation, in part due to the legend of the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum), who is evidently no legend, or Wizard, at all. The Wizard’s iniquitous behavior is unjustifiable in all domains, but his guise of superiority catalyses the musical. He is wonderful, and wonder goes a long way.

Elevated to near mythical status, the Wizard’s bells and whistles maintain his image at the cost of the disenfranchised. But Elphaba knows (as the audience does) that the schtick is a part of the ruse. In “Wonderful,” a number performed by the Wizard, we see Elphaba entranced, but she is not so easily beguiled. As per the Wizard, “it’s all in what label is able to persist,” and unfortunately for Elphaba, what sticks to her is the image of wickedness.

While Erivo soared in “Wicked,” Grande ascends in “For Good,” even if she requires the assistance of a “pink, shiny bubble” to do so. With greater emphasis on Glinda’s character arc, “For Good” offers more than a glimpse into the “wicked workings of you-know-who.” A reflective ballad and a heartrending emotional arc place emphasis on Glinda’s redemption, a notable choice given the tonal shift in act two. While the second act inspires despair, it centers around the bubbly mascot of privilege and hope: Oz. Perhaps this juxtaposition is meant to further accentuate the true nature of each witch, keeping with the theme of disclosure.

While Oz seeks Elphaba’s persecution on account of her activism and valor, Glinda basks in the adoration of the public. Despite significant character development, she remains unworthy of the praise she so effortlessly receives by the end of the film. Nevertheless, it’s Glinda’s complexity that allows her to shine so brightly in a world where most blend into the crowd. Glinda may be an emulation of what goodness is supposed to look like, but she is not an imitation. She is an individual first and foremost, despite her flawed judgement, making her a perfect match for Elphaba, whose “outward manifestorials” are not her physical appearance but her unique resolution.

In keeping with the stage musical, the second act is less extravagant than the first, prioritizing emotion over eye-candy. Director Jon M. Chu, accordingly, indulges less in the spectacle that lies front and center, as in “Wicked,” instead leaning into the subtleties of strife and sorrow that drive “For Good.” Gone is “Dancing Through Life.” The party is over and the storms are no longer at bay. The only glimmer of the joys once shared at Shiz University are offered in a brief flashback in which Elphaba, Glinda, Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey), Nessarose (Marissa Bode), and Boq (Ethan Slater) saunter through the grass, a harsh contrast to the dismal landscape of the present.

“For Good” includes new musical material, whereas the brimming first act does not. “Wicked,” which premiered in 2003, has eleven songs in act one and eight in act two. “Wicked” remained true to the original score, but “Wicked: For Good” features two new songs written by composer Stephen Schwartz. For all the discourse regarding the two new songs, it is difficult to dispute that “No Place Like Home” and “The Girl in the Bubble” are, indeed, not plot-based. While these additions are designed to round out the film’s occasionally sparse narrative, they are not compensation for underdeveloped character arcs and insufficient storytelling. These are gorgeous compositions. While gripes about the fluidity of the narrative in the second act are reasonable, such grievances do not pertain to the beauty of the film’s score as a whole. 

Justifiable criticisms, however, arise from the musical adaptation’s original stray from the book. It isn’t that the score or performances in act two are lackluster in comparison to the first act, but that the story itself wanes. While many were holding space for “Wicked,” the scope of “Wicked: For Good” seems, to those uninterested, too bare in comparison to its predecessor, which crams as much Oz as possible onto the screen. In addition, more screen time for other characters central to the story, such as Fiyero and Boq, would have bolstered both the narrative and emotional arcs of the second film, especially given their notably enthralling performances.

All this is to say, perhaps a single overarching film adaption would have resolved issues with pacing, even if its running time pushed four hours. Conversely, perhaps the inclusion of more material from the novel would have satisfied the expectations of those who are not particularly enthused by impromptu song and dance. Nonetheless, for a theater lover, both “Wicked” films are sights to behold. With impeccable vocal performances, jaw-dropping choreography, stunning costumes, breathtaking sets, and commendable direction, “Wicked” and “For Good” are remarkable cinematic experiences.

On the face of it, “Wicked” may simply be a fantastical story of witches, but under the skin lies a story of perseverance and of bravery, as well as friendship and the unyielding love that can unite supposed diametrically opposed foes. That love will leave anyone changed for good.

Kendra Williams can be reached at kwilliams@wesleyan.edu.

On Sunday, Nov. 23, the Wesleyan Student Assembly (WSA) held its weekly General Assembly session at the Frank Center for Public Affairs (PAC). President Michael Roth ’78 attended the General Assembly session to answer questions and provide updates on topics ranging from University fundraising and the impact of rising tuition costs on financial aid to recent controversial changes in the the Jewett Center for Community Partnerships’ (JCCP) budget policy.

Roth began by providing information on his recent meeting with the Campus Affairs Committee (CAC), a group of trustees, faculty representatives, and student representatives that discusses the University’s educational programs and student affairs. He gave an update on the University’s “This Is Not A Campaign” fundraising campaign.

“The University Relations Committee had an update on the fundraising campaign from Frantz Williams [’99], who is in charge of the Office of Advancement, and we are a couple of years ahead of schedule,” Roth said. “I think over $490 million has been raised now, so people were pleased to hear that.”

He also reported on the University Audit Committee’s updates on admissions, following the receipt of first-round Early Decision applications on Sunday, Nov. 15.

“On the admissions side, we looked at changes in the nature of the applicant pool and how the University depends on roughly 55% to 60% of students attending being able to pay,” Roth said. “The number of people applying who are able to pay has been decreasing, so we think of the cost [of tuition] as going up, which it does, while the demographics of who might be able to attend are going the other direction. That’s a cause for concern for the University in the long run. But in the short run, applications are up.” 

Other updates included the communications initiatives underway to better engage prospective students, alumni, and the broader public; the Finance Committee’s short and long-term budget planning vis-à-vis rising health insurance costs; and the optimality of the Investment Committee’s traditional investment strategy.

Following this, the floor opened for Q&A to both WSA Senators and other students in attendance. The conversation began with a question by WSA Senator Asper Cisse ’28 on the implications of rising tuition on financial aid.

“Financial aid is not going down, it’s going up,” Roth said. “The discount rate, which is the amount we don’t collect, that is, financial aid as a percentage of the budget, goes up every year, as it has over the last several years. And so we will continue to meet the full financial need of the people who we admit and enroll. Whenever we increase tuition, as we have done somewhere between 3.5% and 5% each year, the amount of financial aid given goes up too, so there’s not a gap.”

Roth was also asked about the University’s new alcohol and drug policy, which banned drinking games on campus. In particular, WSA Senator Eric He ’28 raised the hypothetical that students might refuse to call Public Safety after an accident resulting from a drinking game, in fear of the heightened punishment. 

“I don’t think there’s an increased punishment for calling for Public Safety,’’ Roth said. “As far as that goes, that would be a surprise to me. But we’ve been working with WesWell to review if the policy represents an onerous regulation or one that’s likely to result in unintended consequences that are even less healthy than, for instance, beer pong.” 

WSA Senator Casey Dunning-Sorey ’28 asked Roth whether Public Safety would intervene if someone who appears to be federal law enforcement tried to arrest a student or non-student on University property without a judicial warrant.

“I think yes, but that’s not a very helpful answer, because then you want to know the nature of the intervention,” Roth said. “And so it’s a question I’ve been asking myself a lot these days, because it’s one thing to say to students and faculty that if somebody comes to your door and they don’t have a warrant, you don’t have to open it. We don’t want you to actually get into fistfights with people who are going to beat the hell out of you, which is what ICE will do. Public Safety won’t do that either. If they break the law, we will seek appropriate legal remedies in court.” 

Brendan Barry ’28 also asked Roth about recent changes to the JCCP budget policy, and the opposition of some student workers and members of the Middletown community to what they perceive to be large-scale cuts to JCCP-associated student groups. Roth asserted, as he has in the past, that the University is “fully funding the JCCP” and doing its share to support the local community.

WSA Senator Raiza Goel ’28 asked Roth whether the University had noticed a decline in international applicants following the Trump administration’s crackdown on student visas. 

“We have not seen the declines in applications from international students that we expected,” Roth said. “However, we had a dramatic increase in the number of applicants from Africa. I do know two students who were unable to come because they’re from countries in Africa on the administration’s list of countries prohibited from sending people to the United States. However, we continue to advocate for the African Scholars Program and for the support of the students in it, and we have been active and continue to promote the University in markets that usually send us the most people, particularly China, India, and London.” 

After several more questions from senators, Roth’s schedule obliged his departure. The WSA plans to host Roth in the future to address additional questions following the next Board of Trustees meeting. 

Raiza Goel is a News Editor at The Argus.

Daniel Chehimi can be reached at dchehimi@wesleyan.edu.

Brendan Kelso can be reached at bkelso@wesleyan.edu.

Playing in the most competitive Division III conference, Wesleyan field hockey has spent years trying to crack the NESCAC’s upper tier. Before the hiring of Head Coach Christine Kemp in 2019, they had only won two NESCAC playoff games and had never made the NCAA Tournament; the program was at a low point, having gone 5–35 in NESCAC play over the past five seasons. The first three years of Kemp’s tenure were up-and-down, but in 2023, they earned a program-defining 2–1 overtime win over No. 5 nationally ranked Tufts, and finished .500 in NESCAC play for the first time since 2010. 2024 saw more improvement with the squad going 12–6 overall: their most wins since 2000. 

It looked like the 2025 campaign might be a lost year as the Red and Black lost their first three NESCAC games by a combined 9–2. But a few key tweaks—slotting Kiernan McColgan ’26 and Leila Feldman ’28 into the full-time starting lineup and shifting from man-marking to a zonal defensive scheme—completely changed their trajectory. Wesleyan ripped off eight straight wins to finish the regular season, allowing just five goals with a tightened defensive unit and standout keeper Audrey Pace ’26. Seven of those wins came against NESCAC opponents, including their first win at Amherst since 2005, second-ever win at Williams, first-ever road win against the seven-time defending champion Middlebury, and a four-goal onslaught versus No. 8 Bowdoin. The last two regular-season games featured the Cards outscoring Colby and Conn. College 10–2 with Feldman becoming just the third Cardinal in the last 13 years to record a hat trick. These wins ensured Wesleyan would host a NESCAC playoff game for only the second time in program history.

McColgan reflected on the arc of their four years. 

“When we committed, we all bought into a program that was struggling,” McColgan said. “We went 4–11 our freshman year, but even then, we all knew things would turn around. In a way, this season was a microcosm of our entire four years, and made the commitment that much more validating for us.”

As the calendar turned to November, the Red and Black found themselves in an all too familiar position: facing off against Williams in the postseason. The Ephs had ended the Cardinals’ season each of the past two seasons. Wesleyan had also beaten Williams in October, which meant the pressure was now on them to do it again.

The Cardinals came out flying and broke through in the 11th minute off a beautifully designed play. On a penalty corner, Georgia Adams ’26 inserted it to Emily Smith ’29, who took two touches, then slipped one over to Brooke Miner ’28. Miner stepped into it and fired the ball towards the left post, where Meera Patel ’29 was waiting to redirect it into the goal and put the Cardinals up 1–0. This was the score at halftime as the defense turned in its best statistical half of the season, not surrendering a single shot or penalty corner.

The game stayed there through the third quarter, but the Cardinals found breathing room in the fourth on another penalty corner, off the stick of none other than Adams, who recently became the third member of Wesleyan’s 100-point club. 

Adams spoke about the emphasis the team placed on penalty corners throughout the season.

“Coach Kemp always says, there’s not a lot of time for improvement as players once the season gets underway,” Adams said. “We are the team we are, but the one thing you can change is your penalty corner plays. So we worked really hard throughout the season on being very adaptable. We would learn new plays based on the team we were playing. Williams was a great example of us executing a play exactly how it’s supposed to go.”

While Williams added a late goal, the Cards were able to run the clock out in the last three minutes and earn their first NESCAC playoff win in 20 years. 

Next up was the NESCAC no. 1 seed (and no. 3 seed nationally) Tufts Jumbos. Tufts thumped Wesleyan 4–1 on Saturday, Sept. 27, and six weeks later, neither team had lost since then.

Offense was scarce on both sides in the first quarter, but the Cards broke the game open six minutes into the second. Adams inserted the ball to the top of the arc, where Miner stopped it, and Sydney Cameron ’26 faked a pass, opening a lane for Feldman to step up and fire. Her shot deflected off a Jumbo stick, clanged off the crossbar, and dropped into the back of the net. It would have been a bad time to take a bathroom break, as the Cardinals extended their lead two minutes later. Patel weaved through a swarm of Tufts defenders and slipped a pass to Feldman, who redirected it into the net to make it 2–0. 

The third quarter was tightly contested, with neither team finding a goal. Tufts controlled much of the fourth, earning four penalty corners, but the Cardinals’ defense held strong, allowing only one shot on goal, which Pace turned away with ease. With 450 in attendance, the Cardinals earned their biggest win in program history. Along with their October defeat of Middlebury, it was their second top-five road victory of the season. Most importantly, it sent Wesleyan to their first-ever NESCAC championship game, where they would face Bates the following day.

Bates struck early, this time in the eighth minute off the stick of Brooke Moloney-Kolenberg. The Bobcats added another goal before halftime, putting the Red and Black in only their second two-goal hole of the year. Wesleyan’s offense responded with relentless pressure in the second half, dominating possession and outshooting the Bobcats 17–0. The Cardinals also generated eight penalty corners, but the Bates back line was unbreakable, turning away every chance and keeping the Cards off the board. Bates went on to win 2–0, capturing their first-ever NESCAC championship and becoming the first team in conference tournament history to record three shutouts in a single postseason. 

Feldman spoke on the frustrations the offense faced.

“For two weeks, everything went right, and then against Bates, we couldn’t score,” Feldman said. “The Bates defense was unparalleled. They were such good tacklers and just so disciplined, and then their goalie was fantastic. But not being able to get good shots gets very frustrating, and we realize that in order to score, we can’t just do what we’ve been doing, and we have to get more creative than just trying our same old moves. So we learned a lot, and that was something that really helped us going into NCAAs.”

The Cards found solace in this loss in the following days as they earned the no. 7 seed for the NCAA D-III Tournament and cleaned up in the NESCAC awards. Smith became the first Cardinal ever to win a major award, taking home Rookie of the Year. She was joined on the first team by Pace and Adams, both of their second-career first-team appearances. The sophomore pair of Natalie Shaw ’28 and Miner made the second team, giving Wesleyan a program record five All-NESCAC members. 

Hosting an NCAA Tournament game for the second straight year, the Cards’ first-round matchup was against the Marywood University Pacers. The Cardinals’ offense couldn’t find a goal in the first quarter, but a day after winning Rookie of the Year, Smith provided the team with a spark, scoring less than a minute into the second quarter. The offense exploded in the rest of the contest, outshooting Marywood 39–0 en route to a dominant 7–0 victory. Six different Cardinals scored, with Kate Francini ’29 and Shaw scoring their first career goals. This win marked the Cards’ 10th straight win on Hicks Field, another program record.

Next up was a trip to Babson College for a Sweet Sixteen showdown with the Hamilton Continentals on Saturday, Nov. 15. Earlier in the season, the Cards had suffered a pair of early three-goal defeats; after avenging one of them against Tufts in the NESCAC semifinals, they now had a chance to do the same against the Continentals.

Wesleyan seized control early, dominating possession from the opening whistle. Ten minutes into the action, Smith weaved her way into the circle and swung a cross-circle pass to Feldman, who was waiting at the back post to flick it into the net. The Red and Black carried this momentum into the second quarter, drawing seven penalty corners and recording six shots on goal, but they were unable to extend their lead.

Coming out of halftime, they faced an energized Hamilton side that pushed numbers forward, but the Cards’ formidable midfield and back line denied any shots from reaching Pace, allowing her to post her 10th clean sheet of the season. Feldman’s early goal proved the difference, sending Wesleyan to the D-III Quarterfinals.

Adams spoke about the defense and how they carried over the lessons they learned from the Bates loss. 

“We went down early against Bates, and that’s hard to come back from,” Adams said. “So our primary focus against Hamilton was coming out strong. And then the defense did such a good job of holding down the fort. They’re so communicative. I would hate to have to play them; they truly are one of a kind. To hold a team like Hamilton to those few shots and no goals was something that we were really proud of.” 

The next day, Wesleyan faced the hosts and no. 3 overall seed Babson Beavers, their seventh top-10 opponent of the season. The Beavers entered Sunday 21–1, riding a 17-game win streak. To make matters more difficult for the Cards, they were on Babson’s home turf, which was field turf, a drastic and difficult switch from the AstroTurf the Cards are used to playing in the NESCAC.

“It’s like going from driving NASCAR on a paved track to gravel,” McColgan said. “And Babson has been doing that all year, so they’re accustomed to it”.

The matchup quickly settled into a defensive battle. Babson controlled the early stages and broke through three minutes into the second quarter on a penalty corner. From there, the Cards pushed back and controlled much of the remaining play, outshooting the Beavers 9–3 and earning two more penalty corners. Two of them came in the final minute, when Wesleyan generated a pair of quality looks but was ultimately turned away, falling 1–0. 

“As a team we played, quite literally, until the very last second,” Adams said. “We left that game with no regrets on how we played, our mindset, our mentality, and how we prepared. If we played Babson 10 times, we’d win five of them. It just wasn’t our day, and that’s just the nature of the tournament.”

While a Final Four berth would have been sweet, the Cards closed out the 2025 campaign with the most wins, most shutouts, longest win streak, and fewest goals allowed in program history. They also claimed the Little Three title for the first time since 2003, finished as NESCAC runner-up for the first time, and earned their first NCAA Elite Eight appearance. They finished the season 16–5 overall and 10–4 against NESCAC opponents, earning seven top-25 wins and didn’t lose to an opponent that ended the year ranked outside the top 12. 

The individual statistics were also notable. Feldman led the team with 13 goals and 28 points, while leading the NESCAC with seven game-winning goals, three more than anyone else. Patel led the NESCAC in assists, with Miner and Adams also finishing inside the top five. Shaw was a model of durability, playing 1,253 of 1,288 minutes (97%) and going unsubbed in the final 15 games. As the final line of defense, Pace finished second in the NESCAC with a .806 save percentage.

The 2025 field hockey team authored one of the most drastic rises in Wesleyan Athletics’ history. A program that had won just three playoff games in its 53-year existence won four in three weeks. The transformation the seniors spearheaded won’t leave with them. Eight of the 12 players who started more than 16 games are returning, and five of the six top point-getters were underclassmen. The 2025 squad didn’t walk away with a championship, but they claimed just about every other program milestone. More importantly, they created a culture where competing for championships is expected.

Sam Weitzman-Kurker can be reached at sweitzmankur@wesleyan.edu.