Student Home— Wesleyan University

UPDATE: Regarding Fountain Ave.

5/16/2008

WSA Takes the Lead on Fountain Ave. Incident

"PLEASE SEND ALL FIRSTHAND ACCOUNTS, PHOTOS, AND VIDEOS FROM LAST NIGHT TO WSA@WESLEYAN.EDU ASAP!!!"

Last night, an incident occurred on Fountain Ave. involving an unusually large police presence Over a dozen state and local police vehicles arrived to address the congregation of Wesleyan students on Fountain Ave.  Student witnesses cited the use of excessive force, including a canine unit, pepper spray pellets, and tasers.  Five students were arrested and two were hospitalized.

The WSA leadership has been meeting with various administrators throughout the day today in order to address this issue, and will continue to do so.  Earlier this afternoon, the WSA hosted an open forum discussion in Usdan where students came together and talked about their personal accounts of what happened and discussed broader concerns regarding this situation.

Many questions were raised, and although they weren't all answered today, they will be.  The WSA will continue to respond to this situation.  As more details are confirmed, we will work with the administration to reform our policies to ensure that this never happens again.  The WSA is committed to fighting for the student body, and serving as loud advocates as we move forward.

 

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Goodbye spring semester, hello new WSA

As exams approach, the Wesleyan Student Assembly wishes everyone a successful end of the year.  We wrapped up this year's Assembly last Sunday, when we elected the 2008-2009 WSA leadership and welcomed our new members:

President........................................Mike Pernick '10
Vice-President..................................Saul Carlin '09
Coordinator................................Bradley Spahn '11
Treasurer..........................................Chris Goy '09
Community Outreach Chair......Elise Rosenthal '11
Education Policy Chair.........Benedict Bernstein '09
Finance and Facilities Chair......Jen Liebschutz '11
Student Affairs Chair..................Becky Weiss '10

New members: Chris Choi '09, Justin LaSelva '09, Patrick Lee '09, Vickie Cheng '10, Michelle Garcia '10, Morgan-Marie McCray '10, Jeff Stein '10, Jaynice Del Rosario '11
 

 

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   Check out the WSA's proposal for Investor Responsibility at Wesleyan

The Endowment Advisory Committee of the WSA has put together a proposal for a Committee of Investor Responsibility to help students and student groups that want to change the way Wesleyan invests its money.

You can download the following documents below

• The final proposal for a Committee of Investor Responsibility - click here
• A summary of comments from the community at the most recent forum - click here

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WSA Delivers Mid-Year Report

The WSA Mid-Year Report is out!  It reviews the accomplishments of the past semester and previews what we are working on next semester.  You can access it here.

 

Want $$ for Your Student Group?

1.  To submit a proposal, you must part of a WSA-registered group.  Click here to register your group.

2.  Once registered, make a budget request through the SBC website.  Click here to make a request.** 

    ** You must make your request at least 14 days before the event or activity you are requesting funding for.

3.  Once you've made a request, go to an SBC meeting.  The SBC meets every Monday starting at 4:15pm in Usdan Rm. 104:

• February: 18th, 25th
• March: 3rd, 24th, 31st
• April: 7th, 14th, 21st

We see groups on a first-come, first-serve basis.  You can sign up for an appointment in the WSA Office (Rm. 104, first floor of Usdan).  If you have any questions, email the WSA Treasurer Gianna Palmer at gpalmer@wesleyan.edu.

 

2nd Annual Cardinal Crest Awards: Details and Nomination Categories

Please read the description of the awards attached and complete a separate nomination form (click here to download) for each respective award. Please email your completed nomination forms as well as a current resume of the nominee (if an individual student) no later than Monday, April 21, 2008 by midnight to COCo.WSA@gmail.com. All students will be notified on Tuesday, April 29, 2008 by noon of their nomination.

The winners for each award will be announced at the Cardinal Community Awards Ceremony to take place on Thursday, May 1, 2008 in the Daniel Family Commons, time TBD. All nominees as well as community members are invited to this ceremony. Please take a few minutes to recognize those students who have devoted so much of their time and energy to ensure that Wesleyan remains such an incredible institution.

The following are the categories for awards:
 

Leader in Residential Life

To recognize an outstanding Residential Life student staff member—Resident Advisor, House Manager, or Head Resident—for hir work this year 2006-2007 in planning effective community programs, building community in hir residence, serving as a positive role model for hir residents, and actively promoting the mission of hir program house or the Office of Residential Life.

 

Wesleyan Worker Award

To recognize a student who has exceeded the expectations of hir non-academic on-campus job. A non-academic on-campus job can include, but is not limited to, dining/catering services, library office workers, Freeman Athletic Center workers, technology and media support services, event ushers, etc.

 

Spiritual Commitment Award

To recognize a student or group of students who have demonstrated a commitment to actively engaging in spirituality services and/or activities at Wesleyan.

 

The Most Note-able Award

To recognize a student or group of students/band who have contributed to the musical entertainment and life in hir/their extracurricular time at Wesleyan. This includes, but is not limited to, individual performances at cultural shows, concerts, a cappella groups, etc.

 

The Dancing Cardinal Award

To recognize a student or group of students who have contributed to the extra-curricular dance culture at Wesleyan. This includes, but is not limited to, persons who perform choreographed pieces at registered parties, at cultural/dance shows, etc.

 

Wesleyan Wordsmith Award

To recognize a student or group of students who have contributed to extra-curricular oral performances/presentations at Wesleyan. This includes, but is not limited to, debate competitions, open mic/spoken word events, poetry readings, etc.

 

The Cardinal Connection Award

To recognize a student or group of students who have been involved with the work, activities, programs, and events of the Office of Admission and/or University Relations. Nominees should have contributed in some way in efforts to promote Wesleyan, which includes fundraising as well as acting as an ambassador beyond the campus community. This includes student workers (tour guides, Senior Interviewers, etc.) at the Office of Admission, persons involved with WesFest planning and events, Red and Black Callers, etc.

 

Wesleyan Sport-Support Award

To recognize a student who has demonstrated a genuine commitment and excitement for hir sport and who has served as a positive force in building team unity and morale. This includes, but is not limited to, intercollegiate, club, and intramural teams.

 

Wesleyan Greek Life Award

To recognize a student or Greek organization that has demonstrated a clear commitment to fulfilling the mission of the organization and has sponsored community-wide social and educational events, and has helped the Wesleyan/Middletown communities through service efforts/programs. Nominees do not have to own a house on campus to be eligible for this award, but the organization must be recognized as a Wesleyan chapter of the organization.

 

Dynamic Group Leader Award

To recognize a student or group of students who have served as effective, organized, and inspirational leaders of hir/their student group or organization. Nominees should have demonstrated an ability to motivate hir/their group and helped to create excitement among group members towards the group’s mission. Nominees must be part of a WSA-recognized group.

Please email COCo.WSA@gmail.com with any questions or concerns.

 

WSA Highlights:

From last semester:

• Support for President Roth to sign the President's Climate Commitment, while working on ways that the WSA can be more environmentally conscious.
• Addressing the challenges of the new dining services.  WSA representatives have helped bring lower prices, longer breakfast hours, and various food requests to the Usdan University Center. 
• Securing better and more affordable transportation for students, including oversight of the New Haven Shuttle, a service initiated by the WSA last year.
• Reforming the process for Fire Safety inspections and fines, including the creation of a majority-student Fire Safety Appeals Board.
• Opening and organizing the new student group space in 190 High St. 
• Figuring out a financially sound way to continue the on-campus circulation of The New York Times.
• and much more...see our monthly reports for month-by-month updates on what your representatives have been up to.  Or check out the new google-style calendar, where student groups can post events (see below for more info).

Be sure to check back here for news and updates.  And check out this beta calendar - it's still in the testing stage.  Comments can be directed to dmarkowitz@wesleyan.edu.

 

Any questions or concerns can be addressed to wsa@wesleyan.edu, where you should expect a quick reply.