Community

Community Standards Board Positions

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Dear students,

Leadership positions will be available for The Community Standards Board for the Spring 2023 through the 2025 academic year.

CSB applications for a 1.5-year term (class of 2024) or a two-year appointment (class of 2025) are due by Friday, Dec 2 at 5 PM.

If you are interested in helping to uphold academic integrity & community standards at Wesleyan, access the application by using this link: 

All applicants must be in good academic and non-academic standing. One letter of recommendation from a faculty member, staff member, or administrator is required and should be forwarded to ksiciliano@wesleyan.edu  with your application.  For information about the standards of conduct, policies, procedures,  and membership, please visit here

For questions, please contact Assistant Dean/Director of Community Standards 

Kevin Butler at kbutler@wesleyan.edu

Teaching Fellow Opportunity – Spring 2023

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Wesleyan University + National Education Equity Teaching Fellow

Wesleyan University and the National Education Equity Lab are partnering to offer Wesleyan college courses to Title 1 or Title 1 eligible high schools across the country. During the spring 2023 semester, we will be offering PSYC105 (Introduction to Psychology) composed of digital projects that help students learn about the field of psychology. With your help, students from our nation’s most underserved communities can gain access to a rigorous college course and have the opportunity to earn pre-college credit and build college confidence. As a Wesleyan University and National Education Equity Teaching Fellow you will engage students in synchronous discussions, grade student work, drive student success, and be part of a national community working to advance education equity.

Essential Responsibilities (approximately 10 hours per week)

  • Host weekly 45-minute synchronous discussion sessions via Zoom to enhance students’ engagement with course content, expose them to college-level seminar-style discussions, and help improve their analytical skills.
  • Grade and provide feedback on student work.
  • Participate in weekly course team check-ins to share learnings, successes, and challenges.
  • Answer course content questions, as needed.

Please send a current CV and a statement of interest to Lisa Dierker (ldierker@wesleyan.edu)

Student Ombuds Program

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We are proud to launch the second year of the Student Ombuds program at Wesleyan, which is an initiative inspired and informed by student voices.

The Student Ombuds are available to talk with students about their concerns related to experiences in the classroom, with your athletic team, or within other parts of your academic and campus life at Wesleyan.  Each Ombud serves as a resource focused on empowering students to successfully navigate the institution and advocate for themselves in moments of conflict, particularly when there are power dynamic considerations. 

Here’s just a few of the ways Student Ombuds can offer support:

  • Serve as a thought partner for students considering their options for resolving an issue, especially when the other party is in a position of power in relation to the student
  • Hold a safe and supportive conversational space, simply listening and serving as an impartial sounding board
  • Provide insight and tools on how to manage challenging conversations
  • Share information about campus resources
  • Communicate any patterns of concern to university leadership

The Student Ombuds partner with and are supported by Dr. April Ruiz, Dean for Academic Equity, Inclusion, & Success.

Learn more about the Student Ombuds by:

Our Student Ombuds stand ready to support you!

Upcoming CAPS Workshops & Groups

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Lots of opportunities to connect with the supportive team at Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS)!

  • Making Connections: Thursdays (9/15, 9/22, 9/29); 12pm – 1:30pm; Resource Center
  • Attuned Eating: Tuesdays (starting 9/27 for 4 weeks); 4:15pm – 4:45pm; CAPS Solarium
  • Healing Connections: Wednesdays; 12-1pm; WesWell 2nd Floor
  • Rewrite Your Narrative: Mondays (10/3, 10/10, 10/17); 5:15pm – 6:30pm; Downey Room 100
  • Slow Stitch: Mondays (9/26 – 11/14); 12:15-pm; WesWell 2nd Floor
  • Sleep 101: Thursday 10/20; 4:15-5:00pm; Usdan 114
  • Understanding Self and Others for Gender Diverse Folx: Wednesdays at 5pm; CAPS Solarium
  • Understanding Self and Others for Women: Thursdays at 5:30pm; Downey House 100
  • Understanding Self and Others for Men: Thursdays at 4:30pm; Downey House 100

Xtra Mile Free Shuttle

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Dear Students,

Getting around a new city can be a daunting task—frequently incoming students opt to pay for an Uber instead of braving the bus system. The Wesleyan Sustainability Office has introduced WesPass to make travel affordable and easy. WesPass allows students to ride the Xtramile shuttle service and Middletown Area Transit (MAT) buses for free. Just show the driver your WesID when boarding and you’ll be good to go. 

XtraMile Shuttle

The new FREE XtraMile on-demand shuttle service works to get you around Middletown on your schedule.  Just log into the app and click where you want to go. The shuttle will pick you up where you are, take you to your destination, and bring you back to campus.  It’s that easy!  Xtramile currently has 17 stops within central Middletown, including: Big Lots/Chipotle, Price Chopper, CVS/Aldi, Goodwill, and several places on/around campus and on Main Street, including the bookstore. A current map of stops is available at estuarytransit.org/xtramile.  XtraMile runs Monday through Wednesday 12 – 8 PM, and Thursday through Saturday 12 – 10 PM.  Download the TransLoc app in the Apple or Google Play stores to get started.  Don’t have a smartphone? Call the dispatch center at 860-346-0212.  This pilot program will run through the fall semester. 

Middletown Area Transit (MAT) and 9-Town Transit Buses

Want to get out of the XtraMile service area?  You’ll notice MAT buses passing through campus several times a day. Wesleyan is serviced by routes 583, 584, and 590; and the downtown terminal just three blocks away is serviced by all of the MAT and 9-Town Transit routes. Popular destinations on these routes include Stop & Shop, Walmart, the Meriden Mall, Hammonasset State Park, and more. The MAT bus can also take Wesleyan students to the Meriden Train Station, where you can connect to New Haven, Hartford, Springfield, Bradley Airport, and beyond. 

To locate the bus stops on Wesleyan campus, you can view the campus map on Wesleyan’s website or this poster of nearby destinations. To view the MAT schedules, go to middletownareatransit.org and click on “bus schedules” or scroll down (below the map) and enter your starting and end destinations and the website will generate the best route for you.

Even with all of the information, if you’ve never used public transportation before, braving the bus for the first time can be scary. The Sustainability Office has created this helpful video that walks you through the process of riding the bus. WesPass allows you to navigate Middletown and beyond at no charge. This is a brilliant opportunity to both save money and to travel sustainably; we highly recommend taking advantage of it.  Please direct any questions to sustainability@wesleyan.edu. 

Sincerely,

Jen Kleindienst (Sustainability Director)

Scott Rohde (Director of Public Safety)

August Reflection

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Happy First Day of August, members of the Class of 2025!

My hope is that you are enjoying summer and getting excited to return to campus this fall. I’ve conversed recently with some of your peers about major declaration and career trajectory. If you are a student who knows exactly what you want to major in and what you want to do for a career when you graduate, that’s great! If you are a student who has no idea what you want to major in or what you want to do for a career, that’s great too! Wesleyan’s open-curriculum encourages you to explore courses in many disciplines; this course exploration can often lead students to their passion.

Reflection is an important part of any journey, so I share some questions below you may want to consider now before the hustle and bustle of the fall semester. These questions are intended to evoke personal reflection as you progress through Wesleyan. There are no right or wrong answers; however, take stock of your feelings as you navigate these questions.

Sophomore year can be both exciting and overwhelming as you approach major declaration. I encourage you to share your thoughts with those in available support networks – this may include me, your pre-major liberal arts advisor, a faculty mentor, one of our Academic Peer Advisors, your friends and/or your family.

  1. In what ways have you grown intellectually over the last 12 months?
  2. What are your academic strengths?
  3. Which classes have been most challenging, and how did you handle those challenges?
  4. Are you comfortable sharing your thoughts and ideas with peers in class?
  5. Have you taken advantage of opportunities to learn outside the classroom? What are some examples of this?
  6. Is there a topic on which you might like to do research? How did you become interested in this topic?
  7. What campus resources can you use to navigate the topics addressed in these reflection questions?

If you’d like to chat about these questions with me, I welcome it! Please schedule a zoom meeting with me here to chat more.

Sending you good vibes as we close out the summer – take care! Dean Dunn

Questions borrowed from NACADA, the global community for academic advising.

Final Weekly Roundup Email for the 2021-2022 Academic Year

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Good morning, Class of 2025 –

I hope this weekly email finds you well. If you can believe it, there are only 6 more days until the last day of classes! For many of us, this year has been filled with lots of excitement and challenges. I am confident you will continue to experience this fluctuation as you progress through your Wesleyan career; however, my hope is that you are now more aware of resources that can help you during any part of your time here at Wesleyan.

Some upcoming dates and/or events that may be of interest to you:

  • Wellness Resources: End of the semester can cause stress as due dates quickly approach. Make yourself aware of both in and out-of-the-classroom resources to finish the semester strong. This includes but is not limited to meeting with your professors, talking with your course assistants, scheduling an appointment with an Academic Peer Advisor, reviewing resources offered through Student Academic Resources (SAR), meeting with me, visiting CAPS, WesWell and/or the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life. If you need assistance navigating resources, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.
  • Wes Day (5/5 from 12pm – 5pm): WesDay is a great opportunity to interact with the entire campus community. In addition to free carnival food, we’ll enjoy carnival rides, games, music, therapy dogs, wellness activities and novelties such as stuff-a-bear and pot your own succulent plant. Fried dough, popcorn, ice cream, and cotton candy provided at no charge to the first 1500 attendees. Food Trucks include Los Mariachi’s, Jackie’s Pizza the Pie, and Fryborg. Food truck tickets must be purchased at the Box Office in Usdan for $5 before the event and $10 on the day of the event. More info on Wes Day as well as other end of the year events can be found on WesNest on WesPortal.

You have what it takes to finish this semester strong. Pushing yourself to be successful academically does not have to happen alone. Take stock of the resources shared with you on this weekly email and think about what resources you used this year that worked to your advantage. If you didn’t use any resources, think about ways in which you can utilize resources in the future to get even more out of your courses.

You should be proud of how far you’ve come as you complete your first year of study at Wesleyan. I look forward to supporting you as you continue on this journey. If you’re up to it, feel free to send me an email sharing with me your favorite part about your first year at Wesleyan. I’d be delighted to celebrate with you all of your wins and successes this year.

Take care! Dean Dunn

Spring Waste Not

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Are you interested in collecting stuff? And sorting and storing said stuff? Want to be part of a great team and help carry on one of Wesleyan’s greatest traditions? Then apply to work for Waste Not! Waste Not is Wesleyan’s student-run spring “stuff” collection and fall tag sale.  Join the volunteer team to help reduce waste, avoid capitalistic consumption, and provide affordable goods to other students in the fall.

In the spring, you’ll be helping collect donations from students moving out, then sorting and storing it for the summer so that the sale can go on without a hitch in the fall. If you’re interested, fill out this form by Thursday, April 28 at 11:59 PM! Volunteers must work on Saturday, May 14 (8 hours) and Monday, May 23 (9 hours), as well as about 8 hours additional time between those dates. 

Perks include:

– free housing

– a $60 food stipend 

– free food on move-out days

– first dibs on free stuff from Waste Not

Survivor Solidarity Month – Calendar of Events

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[ID: A pink, light blue, and gray themed calendar, titled “April: Survivor Solidarity Month.”]

April is Survivor Solidarity month. Throughout this month, there will be opportunities to engage in conversations about sexual violence prevention, intervention, and response at Wesleyan and beyond. Check out the calendar to see what events are coming up. Sign up here for our newsletter to find out more.

Email Johanna DeBari with questions or follow on instagram for more updates: @wesshapeoffice