We were blessed with the NESCAC Snapchat story earlier this semester, but as you’ve probably noticed, 85% of the story is:
Did you submit a snap to the story that was utter brilliance but not selected for the elusive and exclusive NESCAC Snapchat story? Email us your rejected Snapchats at staff(at)wesleying(dot)org to be featured in an upcoming post.
Some of you frosh probably don’t know that WesTech competes in the prestigious NESCAC—the most competitive D3 conference in the country. Despite the throngs of news outlets that flock to many of our sports games, you will never have to enter a lottery system or wait in a line overnight to obtain tickets. We also aren’t like these fans, and we never will be.
That’s okay. Do not believe the naysayers who claim that Wesleyan students do not support or appreciate athletics. Not only do we have the most watched baseball games in the NESCAC; last fall we hosted the ‘CAC’s first night football game and had over 5,000 students, alumni, and Middletown residents attend, shattering all previous attendance records.
Whether you’re attempting to relive your high school glory days, looking to get or stay fit, or trying out a new sport, Wesleyan has what you are looking for!
It’s been a month since this semester started, but it’s felt like ‘forever’ since we’ve been at school. However, it wasn’t too long ago that I was hearing the same about winter break’s length. Why are our breaks so long? I’ve wondered about this since freshman year when I realized that, by the last two weeks of winter break, I didn’t have many ‘home’ friends left to hang out with because they’d gone back to school.
So I did some research to figure out why we have so much vacation time and found that the creation of our academic calendar is more complicated than I had anticipated. It’s created through a years-long process that involves a wide variety of stakeholders, including administrators, faculty, and students. Vacation days aren’t the only thing that must be taken into account; we need to have enough time for class meetings and exam prep, with a balance that makes everyone content. The reality is that there are many complex interests involved in the process and striking the right balance is difficult.
Making the Calendar
Academic Affairs and the Education Policy Committee (EPC) (a committee comprised of six faculty members, two WSA members, and one graduate student) update the academic calendar every five years—most recently last year. This process usually begins a couple years before the year it is updated.
This begins a weekly[ish] piece presenting recent articles on college and higher education news and issues.
Just in time for the return of ridiculously expensive trips to Broad Street, U.S. PIRG has put out a study revealing the adverse effects of high text book costs on students’ (especially low-income students’) course decisions, and subsequently, their grades. There’s no other way to say it – this is a f****ed up system.
While you were wasting your time buying books at Broad Street, the Men’s Basketball team beat Connecticut College during their Saturday game. Their first NESCAC win, Cardinal fans hope this marks a change in the season. Although the game started rough and Wesleyan spent most of it trailing Conn. College, in the last 6 minutes they had a brilliant comeback and won the game with an 11-point margin of 77-68.
BJ Davis ’16 made immense contributions, scoring 21 points and making 14 of 14 free throws. He deftly controlled the ball and plays during the last few minutes; he made five assists and five rebounds throughout the course of the game. After the graduation of some serious talent last year, it was heartening to see the younger Cardinals step it up on Saturday. Joe Edmonds ’16 added 19 points and Harry Rafferty ’17 bagged 15 points. The win bodes well for Wesleyan’s next NESCAC game against Bates, this coming Friday January, 31st. If Freeman seems too far away in the cold, you can always watch the live webcast of the game.
Classless prefrosh dad of the year: “I’m going to get security if you don’t shut the hell up.”
As the debate over fossil fuel investments continues raging in the NESCAC blogosphere, members of a Tufts student group calling itself Tufts Divest For Our Future infiltrated an admissions information session last week to ask about the University’s investments. Not quite as epic as sending a fake press release to over 150 national and local media outlets claiming the University is formally divesting from the war and fossil fuels industries, but whatever—it’ll do.
In The ‘Cac managed to obtain video footage of the incident, which appears below. Curiously, the most hostile party caught on tape is not the questioner, who politely but insistently inquires, nor the admissions officer (or student?) leading the session, who suggests that they discuss the subject after the session. It’s the disgruntled prefrosh dad who swings into action with some seriously misguided hero fantasies, growling, “We came here to learn about the University. Stop wasting our time! I’m going to get security if you don’t shut the hell up.” Can’t imagine how mortified his kid must’ve been, sinking into hir chair like Harry Potter wearing the Sorting Hat. “Daaaaad. You’re embarrassing me in front of the other prefrosh!”
Brent Packer ’15 sez:
Come indulge your ear for an evening with us – the best dressed group
on campus – and Route 9, an all male a cappella group fresh-faced from
their journey from Amherst.We will be performing some of our old classics for the last time, and
unveiling a crazy new piece that’s awesome. And Route 9 always has
something up their sleeves,
so COME ONE COME ALL
put down those books
slip into your groovin’ shoes
and kick off your weekend right – 7pm SHARP (get it?????)
Date: April 5
Time: 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Place: Olin Lobby
Cost: Smiles
Ladies, gentlemen, others, the time you’ve all been waiting for: college rankings. In the America’s Top Colleges 2012, as seen by Forbes, Wesleyan ranks…
That brings us back to our 2008 ranking (the first by Forbes), but down from ranking at #15 in 2010. That is, however, much higher than #37 in 2009 and #35 in 2o11. We ranked fourth in the ‘Cac this year, with Williams at #2, Amherst at #13, and Bowdoin at #14. What’s so great about our ranking? As the #20 private college, we get to round out that slideshow with a photograph of our beloved, exquisite Usdan Centre.
Of course, Forbes paints a spot-on portrait of what Wesleyan is like in its Profile:
[…] This university has one of oldest secret societies in the country, Skull and Serpent; the society is active today, but entry and participation are extremely secretive. Wesleyan University competes in NCAA Division III athletics and the school mascot is the Cardinal. The current president of the university is Michael S. Roth. New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick graduated from Wesleyan in 1975; Michael Bay, the producer-director behind Transformers, The Rock, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor and The Island, graduated from Wesleyan University in 1986.
Get ready for that next batch of prefrosh.
Wesleyan seems to have become intimately acquainted with the Gastro virus over the past few weeks, but we’re not the only ones: this virus is seriously getting around on northeastern campuses, spreading puke, diarrhea, and cramps like holiday cheer wherever it goes. It all feels a bit like Invasion of the Body Snatchers, but [spoiler alert] even Donald Sutherland succumbs in the end. So it goes.
Down at GW University in DC, health officials have identified approximately 85 cases of gastrointestinal fun, with many more likely unreported. “Hand sanitizer also continues to be supplied at stands located in high-traffic areas,” offers up the health advisory, apparently unaware that hand sanitizer is totally not sufficient to stop the spread.
What’s more, GW Norovirus has taken to Twitter to let prospective targets know what’s up:
For the first time since 2003–and the first time ever in the Silloway Gym era–Wes men’s basketball will host a NESCAC first-round playoff game. Wes, which set a program record for wins this season (19)–in the process becoming the first NESCAC team ever to go from ninth to third place, and just the second ever to host a playoff game a year after missing the tournament–will take on Bowdoin at 3:00 Saturday. Wes defeated Bowdoin 74-61 in Maine last Friday, but Bowdoin has never lost in Silloway Gym, including a one-point win on the last day of the 2010-11 regular season.
Admission will be free with a Wes student ID. As they said in high school…”BE LOUD. BE PROUD.”
Date: Saturday, Feb. 18
Time: 3:00 PM
Place: Silloway Gym
Cost: FREE with Wes student ID ($3 for adults, $1 for visiting students)
