http://www.wesleyanargus.com Headlines from the Argus en-us Copyright 2004-2007, the Wesleyan Argus. All Rights Reserved.Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 Fri, 09 May 2008 16:34:36 -0400 Newspapers http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6471 Yesterday at lunch, about 40 students wearing black blocked the main staircase of the Usdan University Center in a protest that connected police brutality off campus with issues of racism and racial profiling on campus. News Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6471 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6472 Foss Cross, the annual cross-dressing dance party held during New Student Orientation, may become a thing of the past. News Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6472 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6473 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. News Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6473 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6474 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. News Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6474 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6475 From 1974 until 1984 Wesleyan students could enjoy beer on tap at The Cardinal Pub located in Downey House, the former student center. Now, 24 years later, Mike Pernick ’10, the Wesleyan Student Assembly (WSA) President-elect, would like to see a pub return to campus. News Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6475 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6476 Among the many posters visible on campus, some of the most noticeable have been the bright red, white and blue fliers calling for a democratic takeover of the White House. The posters were created by Grassroots Campaigns, Inc., a not-for-profit organization that is recruiting graduating seniors for canvassing jobs in support of organizations such as the Democratic National Convention and Moveon.org. What these posters do not tell passersby is that Grassroots Campaigns was the defendant in two lawsuits filed by their college-age employees. News Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6476 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6477 In the “Making Democracy Work” keynote address on Saturday, New York Times Assistant Managing Editor Richard Berke deflected questions on the newspaper’s handling of the wiretapping issue and talked about his personal experiences interviewing politicians. News Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6477 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6478 In a recent Wespeak (“Psafe lurking,” May 2, 2008, Volume CXLIII, Number 45) John Chisholm ’09 expressed concern over PSafe’s possible use of unmarked vehicles to apprehend students. While this comes shortly after rumors of photographs taken on 4/20 being used against students, Director of Public Safety David Meyer asserts that these actions are within normal procedural parameters. News Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6478 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6479 Next semester, students will fill out course evaluations online through their electronic portfolios instead of on paper forms in class. This change follows a year of pilot studies prompted by the implementation of similar systems at several of the University’s peer institutions. The new evaluations should streamline the evaluation process, reduce waste and increase student participation. News Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6479 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6480 Pakistani rock star Salman Ahmad performed Friday, April 25, in the Memorial Chapel, along with percussionist Sameeer Chatterjee. Ahmad is the lead singer of internationally acclaimed band Junoon, known pioneers of sufi-rock, and cites both Led Zeppelin and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (a Pakistani Sufi music maestro) as major influences. News Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6480 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6504 While students will likely spend the upcoming week thinking of little else besides tests and textbooks, Kira Akerman ’10 will be putting the final touches on her grass-covered sculpture, to be displayed in Saturday’s first-ever Feet to the Fire Festival. The Festival intends to bring together students, local scientists and artists to address the consequences of global climate change through interdisciplinary artwork. Arts Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6504 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6505 It’s nice to see an artist put his money where his mouth his. In 2007, shortly after the release of his album “Year Zero,” Nine Inch Nails’ mastermind Trent Reznor declared that he was done and disgusted with record labelsâ€"apparently, the inflated price of his albums in Australia was the tipping point. One year and an acrimonious split from Interscope later, Reznor has lived up to his ideals: with very little fanfare, the new Nine Inch Nails album, “The Slip,” was made available for free download from the NIN website on May 5, released by Reznor’s own Null Corporation label. Arts Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6505 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6506 5. Pepper Potts’s character is too multifaceted for just two hours and 20 minutes. 4. The electromagnet in RDJ’s chest appears to have sucked away all traces of plot connectivity. Arts Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6506 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6513 The baseball team finished the season with a 12-6 victory at Hamilton on Sunday, a make-up of a game that got rained out on April 13. Sports Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6513 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6514 This weekend the Wesleyan softball team hosted the NESCAC playoffs. After winning three games on Saturday, including an exciting sixth-inning comeback against Tufts University, Wesleyan’s record-making season ended in the championship game on Sunday as Tufts took its second consecutive title 10-3. Sports Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6514 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6515 The turn of winter to spring brought with it another successful season for the Old Methodist Rugby Football Club. With a short schedule, including matches against Eastern and Central Connecticut and the annual Beast of the East Tournament, the club quickly came together to once again proudly represent University. Battling through injuries, poor conditions and hangovers, the club finished the season at a strong 3-1. Sports Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6515 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6516 The men’s lacrosse team’s season came to an end on Saturday with an 11-9 loss to Bowdoin in the NESCAC tournament at Middlebury. The lower-seeded team won all six games in the men’s and women’s tournaments over the weekend (both at Middlebury), and the Cardinals were but one victim of the slew of upsets. The team finishes its season at 10-5â€"its sixth-straight 10-win season and ninth straight winning season overallâ€"but missed the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2004. Sports Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6516 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6517 Grover finished his four-year career with a NESCAC title in the long jump with a jump of 47-8 1/2. He collected 23 team points for Wesleyan in all, with a fourth-place finish in the high jump and two fifth-place finishes in the long jump and 110m hurdles. Sports Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6517 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6518 A three-year starter on defense and co-captain, Whitney earned a spot on the All-NESCAC second-team for her stifling defense in 2007, when she started all 15 games. Sports Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6518 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6519 For the third straight year the men’s crew team came away with high laurels from the annual New England Rowing Championships. The Cards returned with three medal-winning efforts, as the varsity eight and third varsity placed with bronze medals while the second varsity brought home the silver. Sports Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6519 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6520 The women’s basketball team experienced their eighth-straight winning season this year with a 17-9 record. Despite a loss to nationally ranked Tufts in the NESCAC semis, the Cards featured the conference’s leader in points and steals in Ali Fourney ’09, who achieved a spot on the All-NESCAC first-team. Lucy Sprung ’08 averaged in the top ten in both scoring and rebounding and was selected for the All-NESCAC second-team. Sports Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6520 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6493 In less than two weeks, finals will be over, on-campus housing closed, and the 2007-2008 academic year will come to an end. It’s been a year filled with complex and challenging issues: from contentious negotiations between union workers and the administration to controversial reflections on student life from our new president. To each, the students have largely responded with passion and persistence, making their voices heard through continuous effort and dedication. Surely, summer vacation exists to provide a break, a time to rest and recharge before plunging back into the academic and extracurricular whirlwind come fall. Opinion Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6493 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6481 In January 2002, in an effort to gauge student interest in Asian American Studies, the Freeman Foundation gave the University $1.9 million dollars over the course of four years to bring visiting professors specializing in Asian American Studies to campus. Part of the money also sponsored student research relating to Asia and the Asian Diaspora. Features Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6481 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6482 As the student body has settled into its chaotic embrace with the information age, the ever-popular blog Wesleying has tapped into college life in a way that would most certainly seem alien to past generations of college students. Features Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6482 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6483 Although Connecticut may not be thought of as a high-profile fishing destination, the region’s pristine and well-stocked rivers are full of fish begging to be caught. Features Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6483 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6484 Until last Thursday, I was under the impression that the defunct Davenport Campus Center would be transformed into a building known as the Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life, and I found this development to be entirely pleasing. For too long have the disciples of the social sciences been cloistered inside their single building, while more naturally scientific minds were given Hall-Atwater, Shanklin and Exley to serve their academic needs. Features Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6484 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6485 While many students might shudder at the concept of off-campus housing, some believe it is one of the University’s best-kept secrets. Features Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6485 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6486 By senior year of high school, Sam Grodman ’10 knew what he wanted to do with his life. “I had this feeling all of a sudden that I wanted to do something with medicine and surgery and so I decided to get my EMT certification,” he said. “I knew I wanted to do this, but it seemed a long way off.” Features Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6486 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6487 Spring has finally arrived here in Middletown, and I couldn’t be happier. All across campus the flowering trees are in riotous full bloom, daffodils and tulips are pushing their way up through the earth in front of the woodframe houses, and cheery yellow dandelions sprinkle the bright green expanses of all the manicured lawns: it’s like a Monet painting out there. Features Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6487 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6488 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? Features Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6488 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6489 “It can be difficult to want to take pictures,” said Niki Achitoff-Gray ’09. “You want to ask people before you photograph them but you also want to take a picture of what people are doing. The minute you ask for permission it changes things, they throw their arms around each other and give you a thumbs up, which is interesting, but not necessarily what you were hoping for.” Features Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6489 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6490 “Many Worlds” is the first exhibition put together by photography club Wes Shutterbugs. Features Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6490 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6491 Gitanjali “Gitsy” Prasad ’08 is so endearing that her residence hall dedicated a Facebook group to her, “Gitsy is the Shitzy!” A self-described “amorphous potato that talks,” Gitsy is also involved with WESTAND and the Tsunami Relief group, and wants to start a revolution to bring back the old campus center as the hub of student life. She loves to discuss her favorite places on campus and in Middletown, so I sat down with her in the Olin lobby, which happens to be at the top of her list. Features Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6491 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6492 Add another voice to the chorus of people dissatisfied with the Usdan University Center. Features Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6492 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6512 Most of you, surely, have heard by now of the case of the Austrian ‘house of horror.’ For those diligently engaged with final projects, or still in the throes of post-thesis regalia, however, I will explain in brief. Last week, after a critically ill 19-year-old from Amstetten (in southwest Lower Austria) was admitted to a local hospital, medical inquiries regarding her alarming oxygen deprivation led to the discovery of a woman who had been imprisoned by her father for the past 24 years. Features Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6512 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6494 On March 2, I attended the most recent WSA meeting, during which there was a discussion of Wesleyan’s camera surveillance policy, which is currently being written in the Public Safety Advisory Committee (PSAC). I believe it will go to the Student Life Committee (SLC) on Thursday and be voted on after Spring Break. Wespeaks Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6494 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6495 During GRS, MOST people got housing, including the last group with GRS number 589. However, those people at GRS who went in as singles, such as me, and who watched as the available singles trickled out of existence until none were left are now being penalized by not receiving a point adjustment because there were still doubles left available at the end of GRS. Wespeaks Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6495 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6496 As we move into some crazy days and all nighters, I have become appalled at the state the computer labs are left in by students (mainly ST lab, but I have observed this in other labs as well). Wespeaks Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6496 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6497 I am writing in response to the article entitled “Roth, faculty push for Middle Eastern studies in new initiatives,” which appeared in the March 28 issue of the Argus (Volume CXLIII, Number 35), in order to address President Roth’s interests in “[doubling] the number of international students on campus, as well as [developing] a Middle Eastern Studies Program.” Wespeaks Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6497 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6498 Last spring at the Wesleyan University graduation, across a lawn that sloped away from the chapel with its bells ringing, over 2,000 family members gathered to picnic and celebrate the graduates of 2007. For one delicious hour, there was an unspoken affirmation that there is good in the world. The scene was worthy of a Renoir painting. Wespeaks Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6498 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6499 In November, President Roth signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment, pledging the University to make a Climate Action Plan within two years’ time, a plan that will outline the University’s measures to decrease and eventually eliminate its greenhouse gas emissions. Wespeaks Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6499 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6500 Thank you for bringing into the light the “revolving door” pattern of employment regarding “visiting” (more accurately, contingent) faculty at Wesleyan (“Visiting professor turnover questioned after Bean’s dismissal,” April 11, Volume CXLIII, Number 39; “Closing the revolving door for profs.,” April 11, Volume CXLIII, Number 39). Wespeaks Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6500 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6501 Dear Roth, Well. One year down. Can you believe it was just over a year ago when you interviewed for this gig? There were 12 of us Wesleyan students in that room. You really impressed us: An articulate President! A visionary! A Wesleyan alum…from when it was co-ed (gasp!), and progressive and idealistic and unique! Yes, President Roth, we projected many things upon you, unfairly or not, hoping after you were named that you could transform this school into what we all knew it could be. Wespeaks Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6501 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6502 I do not usually respond to responses to my columns, but in this case, a few points are necessary to counteract the disinformation leaked by certain members of the Wesleyan community. Wespeaks Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6502 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6507 Boy howdy, seems like graduation is right around the corner, and aren’t I more excited than a necrobestialitist at the Kentucky Derby! While most of my cantankerous classmates in oh-eight are spending their last few weeks at Wesleyan worrying about their ambiguous futures and crying because it’s the last time they will ever watch “Top Chef” with their friends in the living room of 17 Fountain on May 7, 2008, at 9:00 Eastern Daylight Time, I’m living a carefree life. Ampersand Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6507 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6508 Well, folks, here we are. It’s been over three years since my byline first graced the print of this glorious page, as I regaled you with tales of my roomate and his abusive genitals. Ampersand Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6508 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6509 Dear Brian, I have diligently been reading your page over the past school year and I must say that you are the most offensive, untalented, and hackneyed writer I have had the misfortune of knowing. Your stories are deplorable, your grammar is disappointing, and your jokes, and I am humoring you when I call them that, are as funny as watching someone get anally pounded with a dildo for heroin. What are you trying to write? Are you trying to get a job as a staff writer for Zoey 101? Ampersand Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6509 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6510 Spring is here and finals are just upon us. Time to evaluate this past semester in all its glory, from the good, to the bad, to the acceptable. Ampersand Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6510 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6511 Celebrity has always had a place in powerful administrations. Allow me to remind you of President Ronald Reagan, Senator Bill Bradley, and County Dogcatcher Scott Baio. But why must celebrities be limited to politics when there is an entire world of higher education? Thus, I propose that Wesleyan University hires the Wu-tang Clan as deans of this fine institution. The benefits would be manifold: Ampersand Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/6511