Tag Archives: reunion and commencement

Trollin’ the Twittersphere with the Class of ’05, or: “Roses Are Red, Westco Is Dirty”

This just in: even without the ACB in their day, alumni know how to troll in style. Jesse Sommer ’05 sends word of a pretty hilarious Reunion prank perpetrated by an unidentified member of the Class of 2005:

Over Reunion weekend, the Class of 2000 had set up a Twitter account and provided the access information to the public, where “public” was intended to express “members of the class of 2000” but unsurprisingly included “a member of the Class of 2005 who took the opportunity to exploit the open account access.”

And, perhaps aware of where suspicion might inevitably fall, Jesse adds:

I became aware of this because of a very inconsequential exchange of heated words between members of the Classes of 2000 and 2005.

With no further ado, I present some highlights from the Class of 2000’s hopelessly hijacked, NC-17 Twitter stream:

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View WEScasts of Weekend Events

If you’re like me, you’re stuck at home and potentially wanted to experience at least some of the Reunion and Commencement events.  So, instead of sitting at home and sulking with boredom if you have nothing to do, here’s an idea: sit at home and watch the events online.

The university is allowing us to virtually attend the events by viewing certain events, including Commencement, online as ‘WEScasts‘.  Each WEScast begins 5-10 minutes before the event is scheduled to begin and streams video footage live.  After the event is over, the video is archived so you can view it later on. In addition to Sunday’s 178th Commencement Ceremony, the following Saturday events will be WEScasted:

  • WESeminar: Lenin’s Brother: A Tale of Two Families
  • WESeminar: Fiscal Deficits and Financial Angst in the 21st Century: Legacy of the Great Recession
  • Wesleyan Assembly and Alumni Association Annual Meeting Featuring a Conversation with Marta Kaufman P’10, co-creator/executive producer, Friends and President Michael Roth
  • WESeminar: An Hour with Film Industry Insider Toby Emmerich

Events from Friday have already been archived.  View the WEScast page here for links to the webcasts.

EVENT
Prof. Philip Pomper lecture at Crowell

WesSeminar – Lenin’s Brother: A Tale of Two Families

Philip Pomper, professor of history (emeritus as of this year), is lecturing Saturday morning about the life of Vladimir Lenin’s older brother, based on his new book Lenin’s Brother: The Origins of the October Revolution:

The hanging of Alexander Ulyanov, Lenin’s older brother, pushed Vladimir onto the path of revolution. The eldest son in a relatively privileged family, Alexander appeared to be following in his father’s footsteps. The family had no inkling that he had joined a terrorist conspiracy at the end of 1886, only months after he’d won a gold medal for his junior thesis. The regime hanged Alexander and four other members of the plot in May 1887. The arrest, trial, and hanging dramatically changed the family’s situation and produced a crisis in Alexander’s younger brother, Vladimir.

Join professor Pomper for a discussion of his new book, which probes the psychodynamics of the terrorist group, Alexander Ulyanov’s choice of terrorism, Lenin’s reaction to the shock of his brother’s secret, and how it affected the October Revolution.

Introduction: William “Vijay” Pinch, professor of history

Worth waking up for, for your Cold-War-nostalgic visiting relatives.

See all the other WesSeminars this weekend here.

Date: Saturday, May 22
Time: 9 am
Place: Crowell Concert Hall

The hanging of Alexander Ulyanov, Lenin’s older brother, pushed Vladimir onto the path of revolution. The eldest son in a relatively privileged family, Alexander appeared to be following in his father’s footsteps. The family had no inkling that he had joined a terrorist conspiracy at the end of 1886, only months after he’d won a gold medal for his junior thesis. The regime hanged Alexander and four other members of the plot in May 1887. The arrest, trial, and hanging dramatically changed the family’s situation and produced a crisis in Alexander’s younger brother, Vladimir. Join professor Pomper for a discussion of his new book, which probes the psychodynamics of the terrorist group, Alexander Ulyanov’s choice of terrorism, Lenin’s reaction to the shock of his brother’s secret, and how it affected the October Revolution.

Introduction: William “Vijay” Pinch, professor of history

2010 Commencement student speaker apps open to seniors

For the first tiravid commencementme ever, the senior student speaker at the Graduation and Commencement ceremony won’t just be the Class President – applications are open to all seniors who think they can deliver an excellent speech.

If this moment in the spotlight sounds like something you might be interested in, or you know someone who could drop some amazing oratory on our class on this climactic day, get it together over break and submit an application by the end of January. The guidelines:

Greetings Class of 2010,

As we approach the end of our first semester of senior year we are reminded of how swiftly our Wesleyan careers are coming to an end. Without a doubt our last four years at Wesleyan have left an indelible mark on the university and our accomplishments have been remarkable. Do you think your Wesleyan experience is worth sharing? Then share it!

This year the procedure to select a senior speaker for Commencement has changed. For the first time the opportunity to speak at Commencement has been opened up to the senior class at large. If you would like to share your Wesleyan experience at graduation as commencement speaker here is your chance.

Simply submit a 200-250 word essay answering the following: What has your Wesleyan experience meant to you?

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MUSIC
Dar Williams performs at Wes, sings for Johanna

Dar Williams ’89 performed at Wesleyan last week in the Memorial Chapel during Reunion & Commencement Weekend, and dedicated a special version of her song, “My Friends”, to Johanna Justin-Jinich.

According to the Middletown Eye, the sold-out concert raised over $160,000, which will go towards a scholarship fund in Johanna’s name:

Williams, a Wesleyan grad who is celebrating her reunion year this weekend at the college, spoke about how Justin-Jinich will live on in the friends she has touched, and sang My Friends in her honor. Then she launched into, As Cool As I Am saying it was the song she though Justin-Jinich would want to hear.

Ed Thorndike, one of the owners of the Red and Black Cafe talked about “Yo” as he said Johanna Justin-Jinich was known to friends.

“I don’t want to say things that will make anyone cry,” he said from the stage. “We’ve been crying for the past two weeks.”

Thorndike thanked all those who had show support in the face of the tragedy.

Commencement Speaker: Anna Quindlen

It’s official! Anna Quindlen P’07 will be the commencement address speaker!

From an All-Student Email entitled “Wesleyan Honorary Degree Recipients”:

It is with great pleasure that I announce to the Wesleyan community that an award-winning best-selling author, a pioneering entrepreneur and philanthropist and two dedicated members of the Middletown community will be the honorary degree recipients at the 177th Wesleyan Commencement on May 24, 2009.

Anna Quindlen P’07, who will also give the Commencement Address, is a novelist, a journalist, and a champion of higher education. She currently writes the “Last Word” column on the back page of Newsweek and serves as chair of the board of Barnard College, where she received a degree in English literature.
(AP Photo)

Ms. Quindlen has published five novels, all of them bestsellers. Her most recent, Rise and Shine, debuted at number one on The New York Times bestseller list. She has also published many nonfiction books, including Thinking Out Loud, How Reading Changed My Life, and A Short Guide to a Happy Life, which has sold more than a million copies.

Ms. Quindlen spent most of her journalism career at The New York Times, where she wrote three columns, “About New York,” “Life in the 30s,” and “Public and Private.” She won the Pulitzer Prize for her work on the paper’s OpEd page. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and holds honorary degrees from more than a dozen colleges and universities.

Ms. Quindlen is the mother of three children. Her son Christopher Krovatin, also a novelist, graduated from Wesleyan in 2007.

[Via Michael Roth ’78]

Barack Obama, up close and personal

Annalisa Bolin ’08 writes:

I took a photo of Obama during graduation today that’s pretty decent. Since my words failed upon shaking his hand, I stuttered, “Can I take your picture?” and tried not to freak out.

Your source for Reunion & Commencement

2008 COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS
Barack Obama

Sunday, May 25
11:00 AM


We’re working on getting the ticker tape scrolling along the bottom of your screen 24 hours a day, but in the meantime we’ll be telling you everything you need to know about Reunion & Commencement, just like always… with blog posts like this one.

Here’s a preliminary roundup of the resources we’ve assembled so far. We’ve got much more planned throughout the day, so stay tuned!

IF YOU’LL BE ON CAMPUS

Get a seat on Andrus Field at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. Seating on Andrus is limited and will require a ticket. Seating opens at 8:00 AM; no one will be allowed on the field prior to that time. Access will be from the Usdan/Fayerweather area of Wyllys Avenue. More details and map.

The weather will be beautiful: sunny and 68º with a gentle breeze.

For those unable to procure a ticket, Foss Hill, parts of Andrus Field, and the surrounding areas will be open to the public. More details.

For those traveling to Middletown by car, Ed McKeon reports:

I just spoke to a downtown merchant who was advised that he should not count on getting into or out of his shop on Sunday, because Main Street would be closed for some time. This same merchant quoted police as saying they are projecting up to 100,000 visitors to Middletown for the Obama speech.

The University has warned that you should not expect to find parking anywhere in the vicinity of campus.

Can’t find a spot on Andrus Field or Foss Hill? The address will be simulcast in the Memorial Chapel, the ’92 Theater, Crowell Concert Hall, and in SCIE 150. Campus map [PDF].

IF YOU’RE AWAY FROM CAMPUS

Can’t make it to campus? The University has contracted with an outside company to broadcast the address live on the web via Windows Media (blech) streaming video. The stream will be available approximately 15 minutes before the ceremony begins. I’m assuming the 600 viewer limit is no longer an issue. More details.

WTNH will also be streaming the address live at their website. More details.

OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Reunion & Commencement: includes overview, schedule, environmental information, and info on class reunions, honorary degrees, etc.

FAQs: contains information on fees, meals, transportation, parking, housing, WESeminars, and special needs.

Commencement Information: details on prohibited items and restrictions on political/campaign materials. Please note that campaign-related activity, political signs and banners, glass bottles, fireworks, and “selected other items” are prohibited from the event. You will be subject to removal and possible arrest for bringing any of these items to campus. The Secret Service ain’t no fool, yo.

STAY TUNED TO WESLEYING

We’ll be giving you the latest updates from Reunion & Commencement, including live reporting, photos, and footage from the media corral. Since both Wesleyan and WTNH will be streaming the address online, we will not be streaming live, but we will have footage available after the event (more details to come).
We’ve also be pared down the blog to speed up load time and save some bandwidth, but shoutbox and everything else will be back soon so don’t worry.

FINALLY…

Congratulations, Class of 2008, and best of luck in wherever your post-graduation plans take you!