UPDATE: Happy April 1st!

Over the years, Wesleyan University and many other schools have been criticized for speech codes that can having a “chilling effect” on the exchange of ideas on a campus. Critics have emphasized that even saying you have “zero tolerance for hate” can backfire because hate, like love, may just be in the eye of the beholder. These critics are right. We need positive speech! I announce today that Wesleyan will go far beyond policies to prevent discrimination, harassment and hate; from now on we will promote positivity, nurturing and love.

Preventing hate speech is not enough! We need a positive program for promoting community through exuberant affection. The administration has decided to require students to be good to one another, to show compassion, and to build community through kindness. There will be monitors, and there will be a point system. Sure, it will seem to some artificial at first, but the latest research in neuroscience shows that after you act in a certain way, the feelings will catch up to the actions. In other words, if you smile a lot, you will begin to feel happier — even if the smiling was just a requirement!

So smile, Wesleyans! Over the next few weeks we will roll out policies (with points to incentivize friendly behavior!) to go beyond prohibitions on nastiness. We will nudge ourselves to niceness, and our community will be all the more welcoming for it!

Go Wes!

Although many students are returning today from spring break, there are scores of their fellow undergrads and graduate students who have been hunkered down working on student projects. Senior theses are due in April, and from African American studies to writing, folks are working hard on developing creative practices and original research. I’ve heard about theses that concern working-class issues and avant-garde film, dairy farmers in New England and practices of commemoration in Latin America. Many Wesleyan students work in teams, especially in the sciences, and I am frequently impressed by their combination of rigorous methodological attentiveness and leaps of imaginative possibility. Some are focused on historical issues, from French cuisine to the evolution of capitalist economic policies, while others are imagining futures less fraught by inequality and environmental danger than our own present.

Over the next month the campus will bloom with the spring’s creative projects. Music, dance, and theater performances have already been flowering, and you can see listings of more of them here. The visual art presentations kick into high gear with the thesis shows, which start this week.

Let’s show our support to all those Wesleyans who have worked through the break and are now coming to the finish line with these projects. May they all come to happy fruition!

We had the good fortune last night to attend an alumni event in London. There were a couple of dozen current students, parents and alumni gathered together to swap stories and to find out the many different things folks are doing with a Wesleyan education.

There were professors and writers, bankers, graduate students and theater people—a good range of Wes folks united in wanting to stay connected to one another and to the campus. It was a pleasure to hear their stories and to bring the news from Middletown. And don’t worry, there were current students there (on spring break) to keep me honest.

Coming home tomorrow!

Kari and I found ourselves in a London airport en route to France when we heard the news of the horrific attacks on Muslim worshippers in New Zealand. I know that Rabbi David and Dean Mike have already written to our students, but I want to add my expression of outrage and sorrow to their message. This was a brutal hate crime, targeting worshippers at mosques during Friday prayers, and early indications are that the murderer planned his attack in the name of what he called white nationalism. Our revulsion is great, but our resolve to stand against hate and bigotry is even greater.

At Wesleyan, the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life will facilitate a gathering on Monday, March 18 at 4:30pm at the ORSL multi-faith space, 169 High St. second floor.  If you are on campus next week, please come to express and find support.

May those who are grieving find comfort in community, and may they find strength and peace in the face of this tragedy.

Peter Solomon, head coach of our Wesleyan swimming and diving teams, was recently named Co-Coach-of-the-Year for women’s swimming by the our athletic conference. In giving Peter this honor, NESCAC recognizes his leadership and team building. Peter is a mentor to our students, and an inspiration to our swimmers.

Chris Potter was named Coach-of-the-Year for our men’s hockey team. Chris established a new conference record for longest unbeaten streak (13-0-2) during the regular season, and the guys continue their season in the NESCAC semi-finals next weekend. Speaking of men’s hockey, Tim Sestak ’20 was named Player-of-the-Year by the conference for his outstanding play throughout the winter. His uncanny ability to keep the puck out of the goal has been crucial for the Cardinals. In women’s hockey, Allegra Grant ’20 was named to the first NESCAC team this year, as was Walker Harris ’20 on the men’s side.

Spring sports will be here before you know it, but for now let’s give a cheer for these NESCAC honorees!!

UPDATE:

Coach Solomon reports:

Wesleyan has 6 women (see below) competing in the Div. III NCAA Championships March 20th – 23rd in Greensboro, NC.  Caroline Murphy is seeded 2nd in the 100-yard Backstroke.  Here is a video of one of the races (400-yard Medley Relay) from our recent NESCAC Championships that Michael may enjoy.  Caroline Murphy is swimming the 1st leg of the relay (backstroke), Mengmeng Gibbs (breaststroke), Grace Middleton (butterfly), & Hannah O’Halloran (freestyle). Hannah is also swimming the 200 backstroke at the NCAAs.

Wesleyan’s relay is in Lane 2 (closest to the camera). The time (3:48.07) was a Varsity Record by 1.4 seconds, 2nd at the Conference Championships, and presently ranked 10th in the country for Div. III.

And this reminds me that Zach Murillo ’19 is off to the NCAA wrestling championship in 125 pound weight class. You can read more about him here.

UPDATE 2 Don’t forget about basketball

Congratulations to Jordan Bonner ’19, Austin Hutcherson ’21 and Caleigh Ryan ’22 for earning NESCAC honors today.  Bonner was named NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year, Hutcherson was named first team all-conference and Caleigh Ryan was recognized as the NESCAC Women’s Basketball Rookie of the Year.

http://athletics.wesleyan.edu/sports/wbkb/2018-19/releases/20190227gfjpj7

http://athletics.wesleyan.edu/sports/mbkb/2018-19/releases/20190227ga2h2t

This week, the sad message went out to the Wesleyan community announcing the death of Joseph Reed, for many years professor of English and American Studies and one of the founders of the university’s work in film studies. His courses were inspirational, and his generosity and support for students were legendary. Here is the Provost’s announcement.

Joe arrived at Wesleyan in 1960 after receiving his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. from Yale University, and having served on active duty in the Navy. During his time here, Joe served as the chair of the English department and of the Sesquicentennial Committee, and was one of the founding architects of both American Studies and Film Studies at Wesleyan. He played an important role in cultivating numerous interdisciplinary initiatives on campus and was involved in a long-term collaboration with Jon Barlow, Professor of Music, focused on William Faulkner’s fiction, John Ford’s films, and Charles Ives’s music. He retired in 2004 after 44 years at Wesleyan.

Joe is fondly remembered for his legendary teaching of up to 200-400 students a year, his wide-ranging scholarship, and his kind and generous colleagueship. Richard Slotkin, Olin Professor of English, Emeritus said: “Joe Reed was my good friend and colleague for more than forty years. His intelligence was adventurous, and his scholarly and teaching interests ranged from 18^th Century British literature, to Faulkner and the American novel, to movies and television.” Henry Abelove, Wilbur Fisk Osborne Professor of English, Emeritus said: “Joe was the most generous man I’ve ever known.”

Joe and his wife, Kit, author and former Resident Writer, were Wesleyan fixtures. They lived very close to campus on Lawn Avenue and were often seen walking their Scottish terriers. President Michael Roth remembers: “When Kari and I moved to Middletown in 2007, Joe and Kit were the first to welcome us with a meal, with animal stories, with art and friendship. We will cherish his memory.” In 2009, a labyrinth was built on campus near the Davison Art Center in their honor from funds gathered by their beloved students.

Joe is survived by his children, Mack, John, and Kate, and their families, including four grandchildren. The family is planning a private memorial in the fall. In lieu of gifts, the family asks that you consider making a memorial contribution in Joe’s memory to Alzheimer’s Los Angeles:

http://weblink.donorperfect.com/JoeReed19.

I was saddened today to hear the news that Thomas J. Serra, a long-term Middletown public servant and friend of Wesleyan’s, had passed away. A former mayor, high school principal and city councilman (among many other roles), Tom was for decades at the center of our city’s political life. “In everything he did, he put Middletown and the people of the city first,” said Robert Blanchard, a colleague on the City Council. Mayor Dan Drew pointed out that “Tom Serra was first and foremost a family man — a loving husband, father, and grandfather,” and that he was devoted to providing opportunities for youth as a teacher, principal and city leader. State Senator Matt Lesser, recalled how Tom was a mentor to him, and that he was always available to provide advice to those who wanted to enter public service. I met Tom and his brother, State Representative Joe Serra, shortly after I began my tenure as president, and I learned quickly of their devotion to the greater good of the city of Middletown.

On behalf of the Wesleyan community, I extend our sympathies to the Serra family, and to his many friends and colleagues. He will be missed.