Category Archives: Causes

Divest Now: Wesleyan University’s Institutional Obligation to Address Climate Injustice

Written by Ben Silverstone ‘22 and Ernest Braun ‘22 on behalf of WesDivest, Climate Action GroupWesDems, Sunrise, and a coalition of other sustainability groups, this guest post addresses climate injustice and what Wesleyan must do now to ensure our planet’s future:

“12 years from now, in 2031, Wesleyan will celebrate its bicentennial anniversary. In 2030, the UN’s IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) warns that we will reach environmental tipping points that will speed up the pace of the climate crisis. The catastrophic warming resulting from the extraction and burning of fossil fuels which has already begun to ravage our planet will be irreversible for millennia. As the students, faculty, and administration reflect upon Wesleyan’s accomplishments over the past 200 years, perhaps they will wonder what Wesleyan may look like in another 200 years, or even in 50. Unless we take drastic actions to reduce our emissions now, we already know the answer to that question.

We are WesDivest. We formed to urge the administration to divest our endowment from the fossil fuel industry, to commit to renewable energy and reduced consumption, and to lead by example in the fight for the futures of our generation. We formed because all of human civilization is implicated in the same challenge for the next decade: to stop greenhouse gas emissions before we make the planet uninhabitable. With this challenge in mind, any institution that ignores the reality of climate change is contributing to its own demise and doing a moral disservice to humanity. Therefore, all people who are invested in Wesleyan’s enduring success – and that of its students  – should seriously consider divestment from fossil fuels and begin building a more sustainable future.

Read the rest of this guest post after the jump:

Take Action for North End Youth: Meeting TONIGHT, Email, & Petition

Important event and action happening TONIGHT at 5:30 PM:

ATTENTION WESLEYAN STUDENTS AND GREATER PUBLIC: YOUR ACTIONS ARE NEEDED TO SUPPORT THE YOUTH OF THE NORTH END & MIDDLETOWN

*IF YOU CAN’T ATTEND THIS MEETING, THERE ARE OTHER IMPORTANT STEPS YOU CAN TAKE (see: Email Banking & Petition instructions in the Facebook Event)*

MEETING: On February 27th, there will be a community meeting during which the proposed resolution will be considered by Finance & Government Operations Commission about which organization that will be given access to the building formerly occupied by the Green Street Arts Center will be announced. Currently it is between the Middletown Green Community Center (MGCC) and St. Vincent de Paul. We are urging that the building go to MGCC for the reasons listed in the email banking script. This City decision is crucial for ensuring the well-being of the youth of the North End and Middletown!!! Attend this community meeting to show your support for MGCC.

Date: Wednesday, February 27
Time: 5:30 PM
Place: Middletown City Hall (245 Dekoven Dr, Middletown, Connecticut 06457)
PETITION
Facebook Event

Bernie Sanders Town Hall Watch Party

From Wesleyan Democratic Socialists:

Join Wesleyan Democratic Socialists to watch Bernie Sanders give his first town hall of his 2020 presidential campaign!

All are welcome, whether you knocked doors in 2016 or are just curious to hear more about his policies and democratic socialism!

Snacks will be provided!

Date: Monday, February 25
Time: 8 PM
Place: PAC 001
Facebook Event

We’re Selling Stickers! So That We May Perpetuate Our Existence!

check out these ~sexy~ new sticker designs from our very own sdz (and our classic logo ones are back too)

Hey campus, how’s it going? Grinding tension of the academic experience just starting to build up? Same. Well, we have stickers to solve your problems. You might wonder, what purpose does a blog without a brand (okay, let’s be real, we definitely have a brand, and it is silly tweets and bad jokes) have for merch?

Well, first of all: we think these stickers are really, really cool and we like them a lot. That should be reason enough. But, unfortunately, it’s not.

We need money.

I know what you’re thinking. “Wesleying, I thought you were on our side in the struggle against the pressures of capitalism?” We are, but existing on the internet isn’t free. Our servers cost $25/month (up from $5 a month) and we have domain name expenses.

Wesleying has existed for 13 years (l’chayim!) as the only student publication at Wesleyan that has not received a single dime from the SBC. We are not a registered student group and don’t intend to become one. We think it insulates us quite uniquely from a lot of institutional pressures, so we can say whatever the fuck we want, pretty much (without being assholes).

We’ve been a platform for student voices and #snarky #commentary and breaking news and party locations and orgasm stories and Seniors talking about their theses and frosh learning about Wes. More generally, we have been a vehicle for idea transmission. People, for some reason or another, have viewed the site over 6 million times and submitted thousands of events to the site in the past 13 years.

But, our bank account is running low. #Classic #College #Student

So, we’re selling stickers! They’re very cool stickers! You should buy them!

There’s 3 sticker designs (pictured above), and we’re selling them for $3-5 each, or $10 for all 3! What a deal! You get to show off your blog/school/debaucherous spirit, and we get to stay online and posting about all things Wes! Or, if you’re just feeling generous, you can venmo us a donation @wesleying! Or use campus mail to send quarters (or dollar bills, or checks) to WesBox #90183! We’ll take anything we can get!

But WHERE CAN I GET THESE STICKERS?!?!?!?!? We’ll be posting on Twitter and Instagram when/where we are selling stickers! We’re a very personable blog, and we want to meet you, our dear readers/supporters! If you can’t seem to catch us around campus, you can DM us on any of our social media accounts, or shoot us an email at staff[at]wesleying[dot]org!

Thanks for supporting independent blogging here at Wesleying! #SBCFreeSince2006

If You Want Your Event Posted to Wesleying, Read This!

A lot of this is recycled text (thx wilk) from recycled text from two years ago (thx Maya) from recycled text from three years ago (thx Samira), but here are some tips and guidelines for submitting your events!

HEY WESLEYAN COMMUNITY!

Did you know that we post events? Wondering if you should submit your event? Well, you should! Wesleying gets anywhere from 500 to 1,200 views per day as of late. Submitting your event to be posted here is good for ~exposure~ and also a way to reach different audiences than those reached by Facebook’s weird algorithm.

We love posting your events, but we get a lot of them. If you want your meeting/audition/application deadline/concert/thing posted to Wesleying on time, please use this form here. This time of the year is especially busy which makes our inbox quickly burst at the seams, so it helps if you submit your event at least 4 or 5 days in advance.

Much of this is elaborated from our event submissions policy, but here are some things you can do to make life easier:

Wesleyan Refugee Project Presents: Sunday Scaries Snacks

Caroline Kravitz ’19 writes in:

Wesleyan Refugee Project is a hosting a late night bakesale in Exley to benefit the Multifaith Alliance for Syrian Refugees fund a container program!

Wesleyan Refugee Project believes that one of the best ways to support refugees is by fundraising with organizations that have strong connections to local NGOs in conflict areas that directly send aid to those in need.

That’s why we decided to ship a container of life-saving humanitarian aid to Syria through the Fund A Container program.

The donations raised will help send a whole shipping container of relief supplies (i.e. food, clothing, and medical supplies) to Syria.

Please come out and support this project or donate online at https://www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/fund-a-container-11461/wesleyanrefugeeproject.

Date: Sunday, December 9
Time: 9 PM-12 AM
Place: Exley Science Center Lobby

HAPPENING NOW: Protect Title IX and Tell DeVos: #HandsOffIX

The Title IX Student Advisory Committee is currently putting on a training and comment-writing event to address proposed changes to Title IX that would harm survivors:

Betsy DeVos’s most recent changes to Title IX propose to protect those who are accused of sexual violence, and the institutions to which they belong, rather than students.

The Trump administrations’s proposed changes include only requiring schools to investigate the most extreme forms of harassment and assault, allow schools to ignore violence that occurs outside of school programs, increase barriers to reporting, and allow schools to delay investigations for months.
Read more here:
https://actionnetwork.org/user_files/user_files/000/028/107/original/Two_pager_on_proposed_rule.pdf

The good news? We have 60 days to comment. Writing a comment is basically the Education Department version of calling your senators, and it’s the best way to make our voices heard for Title IX.

To write a comment, join the Title IX Student Advisory Committee this Thursday, Dec. 6th in the Downey House Lounge. Drop in any time from 4-7 PM. There will be pizza, information on the proposed changes, and guides for how to write a successful comment. It won’t take long, and it’s the best way to tell DeVos #HandsOffIX.

Date: TODAY, Thursday, December 6
Time: 4-7 PM
Place: Downey Lounge
Facebook Event

Public Charge: A New Threat to Immigrant Families

Caroline Kravitz ’19 shared this information from Protecting Immigrant Families regarding proposed changes to America’s immigration policy and what you can do to support immigrant families. You can submit public comment at the link above before December 10 to support the effort to prevent this catastrophic rule change.

For more information, check out the flyer below:

Veg Out Film Screening- Get Paid to Watch a Movie!

From Sophie Hamilton ’21:

Veg Out will be showing Earthlings, a powerful documentary about the ways humans use animals for food, clothing, research, and entertainment. The film will be followed by a brief discussion. And every attendee will be paid $5 at the end of the screening! Come get educated… and get PAID!

Date: Friday, November 30
Time: 6-8 PM
Place: Usdan 110

An Evening with Dr. A. Breeze Harper

From Sophie Hamilton ’21:

Author, black feminist scholar, and founder of the Sistah Vegan project Dr. A. Breeze Harper will be giving her talk, “Mindful or Deluded?: Engaged Buddhism, Ethical Consumption, and Anti-Racism in a White Settler Nation”, at Russell House. Her lecture will be preceded by a workshop at Malcolm X House.

Date: Thursday, November 29
Time: 4:30 PM (Workshop), 6:30 PM (Talk)
Place: Malcolm X House Lounge (Workshop), Russell House (Talk)
Facebook Event