Author Archives: Samira

EVENT
1863/1963 Revisited: Open House in Special Collections & Archives

“Welcome Santa Claus.” Harper’s Weekly, January 5, 1863.

From Library Assistant Jennifer Hadley:

Take a break from the frenzy of finals!

As 2013 draws to a close, drop in at the Special Collections & Archives “1863/1963 Revisited” Open House. Documents, books, photographs, and memorabilia from 150 and 50 years ago will be on display in the Davison Rare Book Room. Highlights include momentous national events such as the Gettysburg Address (1863) and the publication of Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique (1963), as well as the contemporary Wesleyan scene. The exhibition, “Retracing President Kennedy’s Final Journey: Selections from William Manchester’s Research Files,” is also on view.

Date: Tuesday, Dec 10
Time: 2-4 p.m.
Place: Davison Rare Book Room, Olin Library

EVENT
BANGON: Typhoon Haiyan Benefit Show

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From the organizers of the Typhoon Haiyan Benefit Show:

PINOY’s WITH|Care Initiative is putting on a benefit show that will bring together bands, a cappella, dance, cultural groups and the entire community for one cause.

Head down to Beckham Hall for a hot cocoa break from Reading Period/the cold weather and join everyone in support of Typhoon Haiyan relief.

FREE Entry & Hot Cocoa!

The event will be accepting CASH/CREDIT donations & selling Walang Iwanan wristbands. See you all there!

WITH|Care Initiative:
Facebook
Crowdrise Fundraising

Date: TODAY
Time: 6-9 p.m.
Place: Beckham Hall

FEATURED
Kennedy Odede’s Tribute to Nelson Mandela

Image via NY Times

Kennedy Odede ’12, President of Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO) and accomplished rapper, wrote a powerful tribute to South African anti-apartheid revolutionary Nelson Mandela, who passed away on December 5. In the piece, Odede writes about how Mandela inspired him during his childhood in Nairobi’s Kibera slum:

I had many conversations with Nelson Mandela, although I had not met him.

In my family’s tiny shack in Nairobi’s Kibera slum, my one-way exchanges with the great man kept me going. Mandela survived 27 years of prison; maybe I would make it out, too.

Mandela became South Africa’s first black president in 1994, when I was 10 years old. In Kibera, people celebrated and talk circulated the streets about this man, but I didn’t see how his story connected to mine until much later. I was struggling too hard simply to survive.

One of the great works that would hugely influence Odede’s thinking was Mandela’s “Long Walk to Freedom”:

A visiting American gave me two books. I had never gone to formal schools, but I had learned to read and write with the help of a kind priest. The American gave me a collection of speeches by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Mandela’s “Long Walk to Freedom.” It was Mandela’s book that spoke to me. I couldn’t put it down. Here was someone whose life I could somehow picture.

For the first time in my life I saw I had a choice. I could either submit to the degradations of poverty, to the prevailing hopelessness, or I could start my own long walk.
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EVENT
Sean Nicholas Savage @ Eclectic Tonight

Screen Shot 2013-12-06 at 9.49.06 PM

From Nick Selden ’16:

Fun-Dancey Canadian RetronSynth pop artist comes to Wesleyan on Friday. Eclectic? There will be the music… and Canada.

Come check it out!
Or not.

There will also be late night at Usdan.

Like good times with friends? Come on down. Have a blast!

Also Five Guys will be opening. They’re the best band at Wesleyan.

Date: TONIGHT
Time: 10 p.m.
Place: Eclectic

EVENT
Holiday on Main Film Screening

From Emily Brown ’13: twasnightbeforechristmas

On Saturday, December 7th, we will be hosting an event for Holiday on Main. This film screening is for kids and kids at heart. We will be showing FROSTY’S WINTER WONDERLAND and ‘TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS. If you want to spend your Saturday afternoon watching cartoons, this is the place to be.

Date: Saturday, December 7
Time: 2 p.m.
Place: Center for Film Studies

FEATURED
[Liveblog]: Reddit’s Alexis Ohanian in Beckham

If you haven’t heard already, the “mayor of the Internet,” a.k.a reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian is at Wesleyan today.

His itinerary:

11:15 a.m. Arrive at Wesleyan and join Professor Greg Goldberg’s “Media and Society” class already in progress

12 p.m. “Without Their Permission” talk and booksigning with Peter Frank ’12 of Texts.com (details here)

2 p.m. Meeting with student programmer group and student entrepreneurs Exley 139

3 p.m. Depart Wesleyan

There are a bunch of questions for Ohanian on the Wesleyen subreddit, some selected ones here:

shameless selfie

From the Argus: Some people would say the internet is the most powerful means of doing good the world has ever seen, and that it can bring people together to solve seemingly intractable problems. It does, however, have its downside–one notable example would be the Boston Marathon bombing manhunt, during which a group of Redditors identified the wrong suspect, causing widespread panic and hindering the investigation. What are the limitations and risks of harnessing the power of the internet for problem-solving, and how can they be best addressed?

From the classic ‘wes anon’:

Can you talk about anonymity on the internet? Specifically, how does one foster a community that is anonymous and not have it overrun by things like bullying or racist language (this is one of the things I hate most about reddit, to be honest, even though I love certain parts of the site). Is there a solution?

If you didn’t get a ticket to the event, you can check out our liveblog below:

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EVENT
World AIDS Day Tribute

From Adin Vaewsorn ’15: World_AIDS_day

In recognition of World AIDS Day, come to the Community Health Center building at 675 Main St. at 5:30 pm, Monday December 2nd. The evening will pay tribute to World AIDS Day through a musical and visual commemoration, featuring personal narrative from patients afflicted with HIV/AIDS, a visual presentation of the AIDS epidemic in Africa, live musical entertainment including a performance by an African Drumming Troupe led by Wesleyan alumnus Abraham Adzenyah. The evening will conclude with a ceremonial reading of the names on the quilt.

According to aids.gov, today there more than 1.1 million people in the United States who are living with HIV infection, and almost 1 in 5 (18.1%) are unaware of their infection. Join us in solidarity with those who have been affected by this disease and in celebration of the fight against it.

Date: Monday, Dec 2
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Place: Community Health Center building, 675 Main St.

FEATURED
A Westhanksgiveleying Greeting

Read this, not this. And this, not this.

It’s Thanksgiving break (!), and wherever you are, I hope you have a relaxing, good time these next few days. Maybe it’ll be more peaceful where you are, unlike on campus where there are 24/7 sirens (unless you are on campus over break, in which case, hmph).

If you’re not in the Thanksgiving spirit already, I encourage you to get into it with this old, old classic, “Tryptophantasm,” starring Sam Korda ’13, Solomon Billinkoff ’14, Eliza Forman ’13, and Stephan Stansfield ’13. By the end of it, or at least in a couple days, you’ll feel like you’re suspended in a sea of cranberry sauce for eternity…

If you’re staying on campus, check out the Thanksgiving Break Dining Schedule. The major dining places on campus are closed from Wednesday 11/27 to Saturday 11/30 and open again for dinner on Sunday 12/1. WeShop opens again on 12/1 at 4 p.m., and Red & Black Cafe opens that day also.

If you’re planning on doing work over break for finals, theses, comfort, or whatever, the library schedule may be more up your alley:

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FEATURED
Reddit Co-Founder will Visit Wes; Get Your Tickets Now

reddit co-founder visits; get tickets here

Dubbed the “Mayor of the Internet” by Forbes, and one of the greatest believers of the Internet’s democratic potential, reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian will visit Wesleyan on Thursday, December 5 as part of a 77-college book tour to promote his new book, Without their Permission. With a 140 character limit, he describes himself as:

Startup guy making the world suck less: reddit, breadpig, hipmunk, Y Combinator. Investor, speaker, host of Small Empires, author of Without Their Permission.

Ohanian is now part of the NYC tech scene and extols the idea that “all links are created equal,” which means that this AMA (ask me anything) with Amanda Palmer ’98 and her husband is on the same level as the AMA with Heemz ’07. But mostly, this means that Ohanian believes people can do awesome things together when they use the right platform effectively.

In 2011, Ohanian was involved with the Internet activism against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Cyber Intelligence & Sharing Protection Act (CISPA). Ohanian was invited to speak in front of Congress and subsequently asked the reddit community what he should say in his testimony. When reddit blacked out its home page in protest on January 18, 2012, Wikipedia and Mozilla followed suit, and Google posted a link to a page protesting the piracy bills. Afterwards, legislators were barraged with 10 million petition signatures, 8 million calls, and 4 million e-mails.

Ohanian’s new book is a lot about “harnessing the power of the web for good,” and along the way, he shares his philosophy about entrepreneurship. In a teaser for the book, he had more to say about this (and to Stephen Colbert), in the eloquent, hyped up way I imagine a successful 30 year old tech start up philanthropist to sound like:

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EVENT
Magic Man || M E M E || Swordfish Doula

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From Brent Packer ’15:

Spring Fling came early.

We’re excited to bring a touch of melodic magic to Wesleyan this Thursday.

Magic Man is a synth-pop band that combines the complexities of Passion Pit with the cheerful hooks of Walk the Moon. The band has performed with Ms Mr, St. Lucia, Ra Ra Riot, Walk the Moon, and is currently touring with New Politics & Sir Sly.

Start the mental preparations for an amazing concert/ dance party.

feat. Wesleyan’s own Mikah Feldman-stein ’16 (M E M E) & Brent Packer ’15 and Jared Geilich ’15 (Swordfish Doula)

9:30 – 10:00 || SWORDFISH DOULA

10:00 – 10:30 || M E M E

10:30 – 11:30 || MAGIC MAN

Date: Thursday, Nov 21
Time: 9:30-11:30 p.m.
Place: Art House
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