Tag Archives: hartford courant

EVENT
Investigative Journalism: From Print to Digital

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From the unquestionably cool Lily Baggott ’15:

The Argus Speaker Series is back! This Tuesday, Oct. 29, Lisa Chedekel ’82 is coming to campus to talk about her experiences as a journalist in a rapidly changing industry. A Q&A session will follow. Refreshments will be served.

Chedekel is a senior writer for the Connecticut Health Investigative Team (C-HIT), which produces in-depth, online journalism concerning issues of health and safety, and she serves as Writer and Media Relations Manager at the Boston University School of Public Health. Chedekel is also a former Hartford Courant reporter, and winner of numerous journalism awards, including a 1999 Pulitzer Prize awarded to a Courant team of reporters and a 2007 George Polk Award.

The event is held at the Romance Languages and Literatures (RLAL) Lounge at 300 High St. (between Downey House and Russell House, across from the Davison Art Center).

Date: Tuesday, October 29th, 2013
Time: 7 PM
Place: 300 High St.: Romance Languages and Literatures (RLAL) Lounge
Cost: Free!

FEATURED
Dueling Zone Change Proposals Control Washington Street Development

Remember that proposed commercial development on Washington Street that everyone got all worked up about last semester? Thought it was doomed when Wesleyan pulled out of the project, opting not to relocate its bookstore?

Think again. According to the Courant, dueling zone change requests have been filed for the neighborhoods surrounding Wesleyan, including that strip on Washington Street where the development would be located. Both seek to change portions of the “mixed-use” and “institutional” development zoning regulations. One of the requests comes from Centerplan developer Robert Landino, who presented the development at an open forum in November and was met with fierce community resistance. The other comes from Pearl Street resident Ed McKeon, an avowed opponent of what he calls a “cookie-cutter strip mall with carbon-copy National Chains.”

As the Courant explains it, Landino’s zone request seeks to permit a building with retail or restaurant space on the first floor, below office or residential spaces:

Attorney Ralph Wilson has filed a request on behalf of Landino, the president of Centerplan Companies who announced preliminary plans in November for a retail development on Washington Street between Pearl and High streets.

Continue reading →

FEATURED
No One Really Sure What 26 Sheep, Goat Carcasses Doing in Middletown

“I don’t understand where they got it,” said Kyle Wright of Middletown. “I don’t know there’s any sheep in Middletown.”

A few weeks ago, a crew of Wesleyan students set about filming a horror movie in a foul-smelling abandoned house on River Road. Unbeknownst to them—or their director, Ethan Young ’13—the real horror lay in the black bags in the house containing entrails, fleece, and heads of 26 sheep and goats. Just another day in Middletown.

According to reports in the Courant, WSFB, and NBC Connecticut, it’s unclear how long the carcasses have been sitting at the abandoned property, but Connecticut’s Animal Control Division as well as the Department of Agriculture have been called in to investigate. The state’s veterinarian office has concluded that the bags were likely the renderings from a slaughter, which could bring about illegal dumping charges. In a video report on WFSB, a reporter nearly gags on scene while describing the putrid smell at the site:

WFSB 3 Connecticut

The news reports claim that Wesleyan students called the police to report the awful stench. NBC Connecticut suggests that the Wes kids actually discovered the carcasses. But when I contacted Ethan Young for details, that was the first he was hearing of the dead sheep.

Continue reading →

Police Investigating Reported Shooting on Flower St

According to the Hartford Courant, Middletown police are investigating a reported shooting about an hour ago on Flower Street, which lies a little less than a mile from High Rise, near Middlesex Hospital. Here’s all the info that’s being reported so far:

Police are investigating a shooting on Flower Street.

Officers responded shortly before 9 p.m. for a report of a person shot in the leg. The victim was taken to the hospital in a private car.

Police have crime scene tape blocking access to Flower Street.

The above map shows the location of the shooting in relation to campus (though there’s no indication that the incident was Wesleyan-related). We’ll update this post if more details roll in.

[Hartford Courant]

Here’s an image of the crime scene, via Fox CT:

Continue reading →

FEATURED
Former Student Files Suit Against University

I’ve been trying to figure out how to start off this post and I’m not sure I’ll do better than the Hartford Courant: “A former Wesleyan University student who was assaulted two years ago during a Halloween fraternity party filed a federal lawsuit Friday accusing the school of failing to protect her from dangers at [Beta Theta Pi] fraternity, which she claims was known on campus as the ‘Rape Factory.’ ” In an extremely brief article, the Courant notes that one ‘Jane Doe’ of Maryland has filed a 27-page lawsuit in the US District Court of Connecticut, alleging that the University violated Title IX by failing to “warn or otherwise take corrective action” against the fraternity that could have prevented the assault.

As many of you may know, Beta was the primary subject of some controversy very recently, as the University, in the midst of a smoldering disagreement with Beta, changed its housing policy to specifically declare that “Wesleyan students will be prohibited from residing in—or using for social activities—houses or property owned, leased or operated by private societies that are not recognized by the University,” which essentially meant that the University could punish you for eating dinner at a ‘unrecognized’ church, or secret society, or a cupcake shop, or a strip club, or pretty much anything else. Needless to say, some people were pretty confused and pretty pissed.

Continue reading →

Courant: Wes Student Airlifted With Severe Burns

Image from Middletown Eye

For those wondering about the cops, tape, and media film crew by the track field, the Hartford Courant reports:

A Wesleyan University student was found in a field near Cross Street this morning suffering from burns to 100 percent of her body, authorities said.

The burns were self-inflicted, a Life Star dispatcher said. The student was airlifted to Hartford Hospital and is now being transferred to a hospital in Bridgeport, a Life Star dispatcher said.

Local authorities are investigating the incident. The student’s family has been notified.

Update from the Middletown Press:

A Wesleyan University student is now in critical condition at Bridgeport Hospital after she was found severely burned in an athletic field. [. . .] It is believed that the burns were self-inflicted, as there is no indication otherwise. However, this has not been confirmed as a suicide attempt.

UPDATE from CT Now [updated by Syed]: They’re saying that the parents have been notified that she most likely will not make it.

EVENT
The Person You Think You Know: Signs and Solutions of Campus Violence

This should be interesting. FOX News comes to Wesleyan in the form of a corporate-sponsored forum on relationship violence.

Brought to you by the Hartford Courant, FOX News CT, and Wesleyan University:

“The Person You Think You Know: Signs and Solutions of Campus Violence”

Almost half of college students have experienced abuse in a relationship, according to a 2008 study. Abuse can range from cyber-stalking to beatings and rape. Four experts will look at relationship violence on campuses, how to recognize danger signs and get help.

The four panelists will be:

  • Jaclyn Friedman ’93, a performer and co-editor of Yes Means Yes! Visions of Female Sexual Power and a World Without Rape (check out her recent article on the topic and the Yes Means Yes blog)
  • Connie J. Kirkland, director of sexual assault services at George Mason University in Virginia and a national expert on campus stalking
  • Janet Peckinpaugh, a broadcast journalist who has been a victim of stalking and domestic violence
  • Claire Potter, professor of American studies here at Wesleyan University, whose research includes the study of violence against women

The panel will be moderated by Laurie Perez, of FOX News CT.

Don’t let the scare tactics in the title throw you off. I think this is going to be a really interesting opportunity to hear different perspectives on violence on college campuses, of which there are, unfortunately, far too many examples. The effectiveness of our university’s sexual assault prevention and response policies have been called into question by students and alumni as of late, and it’s worth it as members of this community to weigh in. Changes in administrative policy would affect huge numbers of our campus’ population. That’s just my two cents.

Date: TOMORROW, Tuesday April 27
Time: 6 – 7:15 pm
Place: Beckham Hall