Tag Archives: alcohol

EVENT
Drugs, Harm, and the Campus

How should we – as a university and as a society – address the use of illicit drugs? In light of recent events, the Allbritton Center is bringing together experts from a variety of fields and perspectives for panel discussions on drug use and policies at Wesleyan and beyond. The hope is to have an open and informative dialogue, and to provide a space for sharing your questions and concerns. All students, faculty, staff, and community members are welcome. Questions for panelists may be submitted at each event or in advance to scapron[at]wesleyan[dot]edu or @wes_engage.

Drug Use @Wes
What are we doing about drugs at Wesleyan and why? Join use for a panel discussion on education, support, and policies.
Panelists: Tanya Purdy (Director of Health Education, WesWELL), Beth Dericco (Higher Education Outreach, Caron Treatment Centers), and Ashley Fine ‘15
Moderator: Mike Shaley, Vice President of Student Affairs
Date: Tuesday, April 7
Time: 4:30 PM
Place: PAC 002

The Physiology of Drugs
What is actually happening inside your body?
Panelists: Mike Robinson (Assistant Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience & Behavior), Stefanie Jones (Drug Policy Alliance), Mark Neavyn, MD (Director, Medical Toxicology, Department of Emergency Medicine, Hartford Hospital)
Moderator: Ishita Mukerji, Dean of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
Date: Wednesday, April 15
Time: 8:00 PM
Place: Memorial Chapel

Drug Policy, Regional and National
The policy debate: what is to be done?
Panelists: Ethan Nadelmann (Founder and Executive Director, Drug Policy Alliance), Susan O’Connor (Program Director, Phoenix House), Mike Lawlor (Under Secretary for Criminal Justice Policy and Planning in the State Office of Policy and Management)
Moderator: Rob Rosenthal, Director, Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life
Date: Wednesday, April 28
Time: 8:00 PM
Place: Shanklin 107

FEATURED
“What the Fuck Is The Administration Doing About Tour de Franzia?”: An FAQ

Military-style checkpoints, email campaigns, and Jezebel features, oh my.

Obviously a stock photo, considering it was taken in broad daylight.

Maybe you thought the administration would reign in its attempts to stop Tour de Franzia after being publicly skewered everywhere from MSN to Gawker-owned feminist snarkfest Jezebel to something calling itself “BroBible.” You were wrong. If anything, after begging your parents to stop the mayhem, the powers that be have only stepped up their game, going so far as to email all faculty, have RAs set up military-style checkpoints outside student dorms on the night of the Tour, and threaten to slap students with six judicial points for, uh, “wearing costumes.” Don’t be mad! They’re just trying to keep you safe! Tour de Franzia is dangerous!

Anyway, here’s your definitive guide to everything you’ve been wondering about What the Fuck is the Administration Doing About Tour de Franzia This Year.

Q: When’s Tour de Franzia? How will I find out about it? Is it even happening this year?
A: Who knows, but probably. There’s no fixed date, but in recent years it has occurred during one of the last weekends of the semester. It’s typically announced by an anonymous Facebook profile, “WesParty Guy” (which is deactivated when not in use), as well as via word of mouth and mass texts. There won’t be a Facebook event or whatever, especially after the Great Facebook Event Crackdown of 2010.

Continue reading →

FEATURED
Dean Whaley: Administration to Ramp Up Tour de Franzia Charges, Whether or Not You’re Actually Drinking

It’s the most wonderful time of year…

Thought you’d get through April without an ominous email from the administration about Tour de Franzia? Think again. By this point last year Dean Mike Whaley had already emailed your parents about the annual wine-fueled shit-show of a scavenger hunt, and the rest of the administration had quietly set in motion a personalized listserv-by-listserv email campaign imploring you not to participate. It didn’t really work, since Tour de Franzia popped off right on schedule, but on the other hand it sort of did, because participation and hospitalizations were each down by about 50%.

This year’s strategy seems to fall in line with the recent trend: having realized they can’t stop Tour de Franzia altogether (barring use of unreasonably draconian measures), administrators are leveling threats and ramping up judicial consequences in the hopes that participation continues to drop and eventually falls off altogether. The latest “D.A.R.E to Resist Franzia and Dinosaur Costumes” public service announcement comes from Dean Mike Whaley, who knocked off the traditional all-campus Tour de Franzia email on April 11. The gist of Whaley’s note is that judicial charges will be stricter than usual this year, whether or not you’re actually drinking or causing damage or doing anything particularly reckless:

Continue reading →

FEATURED
Senior Events To Make Sober Comeback During Senior Week

After more than a month to reflect on February’s Senior Cocktails fallout, the Senior Class Officers have formally announced what some have already suspected: reports of the death of Senior Cocks have been greatly exaggerated. In fact, the events planned for Senior Week—an Outing Day and a Semi-Formal—are still on. From my inbox:

After working with the administration over the past weeks, we are pleased to announce that the events originally scheduled for Senior Week—Outing Day and Semi-Formal—will continue to be held on Tuesday, May 21 and Thursday, May 23 respectively. We are excited that our class will still have these opportunities to bond as a whole in an off-campus setting, and we look forward to planning them so that they are successful and enjoyable for all.

But there’s a twist. Come on, you can figure it out: 

Continue reading →

FEATURED
What’s Up With the News 8 Van?

Reported quote from the incident report: “Wesleyan student removed from the 6th floor for riding the dinosaur.”

If you’ve recently braved the chilly wintry air to get a snack from Weshop before commencing your diligent studies, you may have noticed a conspicuous white News 8 van perched on the corner of Church and Pine. It’s not every day that our little campus generates local news attention, so the media presence may cause some people to worry. But the answer shouldn’t be much of a surprise:

On Friday, the third Senior Cocks event came to an abrupt halt when the senior class was kicked out of the Connecticut Science Center in Hartford. (Haven’t heard the story? Catch up here and here.) Apparently the scandal has generated so much attention that News 8, based in New Haven, has stopped by to talk to seniors and grab some video shots of our frigid lovely campus. The news van’s been busy, having already visited the museum to talk to employees and gather their side of the story before coming to Wes. The reporter whom I spoke to wasn’t entirely forthcoming with her goals, but I gathered that even she was uncertain whether or not the science center would be pressing charges against Wesleyan.

Continue reading →

FEATURED
Here’s Why Senior Cocks Got Shut Down in Two Hours Last Night

Spoiler: It involves sex, drugs, and rock & roll projectile vomiting.

Last night, around 7:30 p.m., a few hundred well-oiled members of the Class of 2013 piled into buses outside of Usdan, headed—unbeknownst to passengers—to the Connecticut Science Center in Hartford. Two hours later, a drunker, louder, and scientifically inspired Class of 2013 was herded onto the same buses and driven right back to Middletown. The “Freaks and Geeks, Valentine’s Day style”-themed evening—which cost $40 and made for the third senior event of the year—wasn’t supposed to end abruptly in less than two hours, but according to one student who overheard an exchange between museum staffers and Wesleyan coordinators, the ejection may have been well earned.

“I overheard that staffers at the Connecticut Science Center observed students ‘doing drugs and having sex in the bathrooms,’ and that things were getting broken,” explained the student, who asked not to be named. “I am not sure whether or to what extent that is exaggerated or not; it was said rather offhandedly and by someone who appeared to be under a lot of duress at the time.”

If you noticed copious amounts of baking soda lining the stairs of the museum, that, too, had something to do with the staff’s unhappy reaction.

Continue reading →

FEATURED
Shock and Awe

I saw some horrifying data yesterday.

 

AlcoholEdu. Ever heard of it? Unless you’re a senior, you did it. Here are some of the results:

In August of 2010, a full 8.65% of the incoming freshman Class of 2014 reported having been taken advantage of sexually, in one form or another, during the preceding two weeks while drinking. Fast forward two months into their first semester, that figure jumped to 13.48%, again during only the preceding two weeks. A similar jump occurred for the incoming freshman Class of 2015 a year later (going from 8.80% to 14.16%) and then again this year for the incoming freshman Class of 2016 (going from 4.49% to 10.49%). Even more chilling were the accompanying figures: 8.46% of the incoming Class of 2014 self-reported having taken advantage of someone sexually in the preceding two weeks, and this figure only dropped by 1.06% two months into school. For the freshman Class of 2015, the starting figure was only 4.28%, but then this number increased to 9.09% after two months, a similar trend reflected this year in the Class of 2016 (starting at 4.20% and increasing to 6.23%).

These self-reported, population-wide figures indicate that approximately 100 incidents of sexual misconduct occur during any two week period at Wesleyan for members of the freshman class alone, and only including those occasions when alcohol was involved.

I’ve written about the monstrosity of sexual assault before. It’s (sadly) been a frequent (and pressing) topic of conversation in the college blogosphere of late. I don’t need to re-hash everything — it’s in the links — but clearly the subject merits continued conversation (as if that was ever unclear). Let’s review some basic facts:

  1. Sexual assault is bad.
  2. Sexual assault should not be permitted or perpetrated.
  3. Sexual assault is both permitted (culturally) and perpetrated (constantly).

A fourth crucial fact is that you (yes, you) are responsible, just like everyone else, for the prevention of sexual assault. And boy-oh-boy is it preventable.

Continue reading →

FEATURED
Acts of Heroism in a Snowpocalypse

The view from Senior Fauver, as photographed by Tuna yesterday afternoon.

The view from Senior Fauver, as photographed by Tuna yesterday afternoon.

This morning we received in our tipbox an account, from an anonymous reader, of a rather heroic rescue that took place late last night, during blizzard conditions:

Last night, a bunch of my friends and I saw a figure muddling through the blizzard. He collapsed in the snow, and did not get up. Julia Holewinski ’15, wearing just a sweater, immediately ran outside and hauled the man inside with some difficulty. He was clearly extremely intoxicated, and his eyelashes were frozen solid. We think his name is [removed] (class of ’14). If Julia hadn’t had the presence of mind and physical strength to drag him inside, he probably would have died in a snowdrift.

Besides applauding Holewinski for her courageous rescue, this seems like an opportune time to remind you that if you feel the need to get wasted during blizzard conditions (which is all fine and good), drink responsibly and don’t go wading through snow alone at night. If you spot an obviously smashed friend attempting to stumble home alone through snow drifts and heavy winds, walk with them or offer them your couch. Sorry to get all mom on you all of a sudden.

Speaking of snow rescues, pyrotechnics’ post this morning noted that some students (especially in Lo-Rise) are quite literally unable to open their front doors because of the Alaskan-style snow drifts.

Continue reading →

A Very Wesleyan Vermont Bike ’n Brewery Free Ride

Beer, biking, and the great state of Vermont. Most of my deepest fantasies involve at least two of those delights. Wesleyan alumni and all-around bodacious dudes Greg Brodsky ’99 and Scott Cavanaugh ’99 apparently dream in a similar language, which is why they’ve taken it upon themselves to plan and, later this month, lead a “Vermont Bike and Brewery Challenge,” also known as “Pretty Much The Greatest Thing Ever.” Eric Swack ’14, who’s also involved (intergenerational Wesleyan bonding, here we come!), writes in with some of the key details:

Wes alums Greg Brodsky ’99 and Scott Cavanaugh ’99 are organizing a bike tour of Vermont breweries this August, run through Scott’s Mount Major Adventures. Vermont is a premier destination for both cycling, with its tranquil county roads, as well as beer, as it boasts the most breweries per capita of any state. We will visit over half of the breweries in the state, including The Alchemist, makers of the renowned Heady Topper! The trip runs August 25 – 29, and participants are welcome to join for as much or as little of the ride as they please, so join them for a day, a weekend or the full experience. The trip is free, so you do have to buy your own beer. Lodging and other info can be found on the site here.

Continue reading →

Procrastination Destination Du Jour: Drinkify

Ah, gin and juice (though you could probably figure that one out yourself).

So you’ve finished your final and all you want to do is kick back and relax. You know there’s a perfect drink to go with that new Nicki Minaj album but you just can’t figure out what it is…

Enter Drinkify. Now you’ve got a highball glass full of 10 oz. Vodka, 10 oz. Fassionola, and 8 oz. Orange juice, aka “The Nicki Minaj”  (don’t forget to garnish with sugar). Life is good again.

Drinkify is Spotify for alcoholics. And it couldn’t be more wonderful.

Continue reading →