Unlocked is blowing up in the local media. Last night both Fox 61 and NBC 30 interviewed the editors of the Wesleyan sex magazine, Yannick Bindert '10, David Wolovsky '10, Karla Suarez '11, and Shannon Sun-Higginson '10, for the 11 o'clock news.
NBC's spot (not embeddable) shows a group of happy-go-lucky college kids on a sex magazine publishing adventure, while Fox's is all "is it art or is it PORN???" and tries to muster shock at Wesleyan's financial support of the apparent ravishing of America's youth.
Ride the wave, guys.
NBC 30: One Sizzling College MagFox 61: Wesleyan Sex Magazine
And now that you're interested, Unlocked is holding interest meetings this week. Anyone who wants to model or photograph for the upcoming issue should show up at Usdan by the couches on Thursday (3/26) at 5, and for those interested in writing an article a meeting is at the same time and place on Friday (3/27) .
Unlocked Interest Meetings
Date: Thursday 3/26 and Friday 3/27
Time: 5 pm
Place: Couches in Usdan lobby
President Roth apparently lifted the Eclectic social event hosting ban last night.
The Eclectic society is on probation for the rest of the year and Reslife penalties will remain, but as far as we can tell the previously canceled shows once again have a venue and the Sound Co-op is back in action.
Good decision! More details as they come.
[EDIT: 11:14 pm]
President Roth posted a concise, characteristically level-headed explanation of the entire fiasco, as well as the terms of Eclectic's probation, on the Roth blog:
If you follow news of Wesleyan, you already know that there has recently been disciplinary action taken by the Student Judicial Board against Eclectic because of an incident at the house in December. The student board that heard the case found that the society had been guilty of violations of the party and noise policies and a failure to comply with requests from Public Safety. They thought a proper penalty for this would be to forbid Eclectic from hosting social/musical events at night through the end of April.
Many students have been very upset about this ruling because it doesn’t only affect Eclectic but the whole musical culture of Wesleyan. I understand the basis for this concern: the society does provide a vital function for the presentation of music in a distinctive setting. Much of the great musical culture we prize at Wesleyan passes through Eclectic. However, if the society can not present music in a way that is safe and that recognizes the rights of the neighborhood, then Eclectic won’t be able to play that role in the future.
I am confident that the SJB and Dean Backer acted in accordance with our procedures, and that their findings in regard to the events of December 8, 2008 were correct. However, based on communication with Eclectic since that time, and my belief that the society is committed to acting as responsible hosts for events, I have reconsidered and modified the sanction in this case.
I take seriously (and appreciate) Eclectic’s desire to host events in a way that works for the artists, is safe for those who attend, and respects the rights of neighbors. This is also my intention and the intention of Student Affairs. So, rather than ban events for the remainder of the semester, I have asked Marshall Ball, Eclectic’s President, and Dean Rick Culliton to work together on a written agreement that delineates Eclectic’s responsibilities for events going forward. If they can reach the agreement quickly, events can resume under the specific guidelines. As long as the events continue according to those guidelines, the ban will remain lifted.
At the end of the semester representatives of Eclectic and Student Affairs can discuss what went well, and where we need to pay more attention to run the kinds of events we all want. If we are unable to run events this term in accord with the principles with which we all agree, then we will not plan any social or musical events at 200 High Street going forward. Thus, this is a probationary period that should allow us to move to a better platform for events in the future.
I very much appreciate the difficult work that the Student Judicial Board did in sorting out the facts in this case. I also am grateful for the thoughtful responses from many in the Eclectic Society, and others who cherish the vibrant music scene on campus. I hope that by developing a framework for hosting events at 200 High Street we will continue to have interesting artists perform in a context that is exciting and safe for those who attend, and that is respectful of the community in which we live.
So Eclectic is on probation for the rest of the semester, and has to work on a detailed list of responsibilities for events with the Dean which they have to uphold. If all goes well at the end of the semester they should be good to go; if more things go wrong, no more Eclectic events next year.
Ed Thorndike '89 and Karen Kaffen-Polascik, the entrepreneurs behind Weswings and Red & Black, have launched their latest venture: esleyanway.com, the "unofficial marketplace for everything Wesleyan":
In esleyanway, you will find all kinds of products created by people associated with Wesleyan. In addition to books, apparel and DVDs, there are downloads and links of mp3s and videos. Many of them free. You can search the site by class year as well as by catagory.So this is Amazon for Wesproducts, taking the branding of Wesleyan a pretty significant step up.
We created esleyanway to help members of the Wesleyan community promote what they have created. While current licensing agreements limit the number of "Wesgear" items, we will be offering plenty of alternative items from local businesses, student groups and alumni.
Visiting Creative Writing Professor André Aciman will give a public reading this Wednesday as part of Wesleyan's Distinguished Writers Series.
André Aciman is the author of the novel Call Me By Your Name and the nonfiction works Out of Egypt: A Memoir and False Papers: Essays on Exile and Memory. He is co-author and editor of The Proust Project and Letters of Transit. He has received a Whiting Writer’s Award and fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and The New York Public Library’s Center for Scholars and Writers. He has written for The New York Times, The New Yorker, The New Republic, and The New York Review of Books, and his pieces appear in several annual collections of the Best American Essays.What: André Aciman Distinguished Writers Lecture
Angus McCullough '10 wants to sell you a bicycle:
Need a bike? Got a broken one? Want to be as cool as this guy? Well, LEGIT can help you out.
On Saturday from 11-3, we'll be set up outside of Usdan to sell, fix, tune and adjust bikes for little money and with lots of love. Our going rate for a sick, slick, campus bike? $50. You want a classic cruiser? $50. Rocket bike? well, prices vary...
Any repair is FREE, except the cost of parts, most of which are rebuilt and FREE. And you can always come by the LEGIT bike room on Friday afternoons (located right outside the HiRise door) Or, set up an appointment.
Contact Angus (amcullough(at)wesleyan(dot)edu), Rishabh, (rphukan(at)wesleyan(dot)edu), or Miles (mbukiet(at)wesleyan(dot)edu).Date: Saturday 4/28, or every Friday
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.
Even when Eclectic is once again hosting shows and the Sound Co-op is once again amplifying music, here's a suggestion that musicians on campus should keep in mind.
Bill Carbone posted on Aural Wes over break to encourage campus musicians to play more shows at bars and restaurants on Main Street:
The recent stunning loss of Eclectic (if you haven't already, sign the petition here) as a venue has inspired quite a bit of discussion about the lack of performance spaces at Wesleyan, and it is indeed lamentable. However, there are options that I haven't really seen floated.This would be great - an excuse to get off campus every once in awhile, add more variety to the social scene, and maybe integrate Wesleyan with Middletown a little better. Not to mention a financial incentive for the musically skilled in these economically challenging times.
For one, most of the bars and businesses on Main Street would love to be more deeply engaged with Wesleyan students (The Middletown Eye had a great discussion about this recently).
I attempted to launch a concert series at Public this semester to coincide with bar night, and though it was somewhat successful, I didn't manage to get a single band in which I do not play to do a gig there (several took the gig and then canceled for various reasons). The owner of the bar is very serious about establishing a night that will showcase Wesleyan music; he's offering a guarantee and free drinks to the bands, not charging a cover, and in general being a pretty cool guy (the offer of a gig still stands, if interested contact me).
There are several other places to play in town as well. For the traditional bar-type setting there's La Boca, Hair of the Dog and the brand new and quite cool Fishbone Cafe, while the Buttonwood Tree offers a more art-space style room and Javapalooza is that interesting combination of a coffee shop and a microbrew beer bar (and thus a place where one can have a show that isn't 21+).
Of course there's nothing as fun as a dark, sweaty dance party show at one of Wesleyan's venues (or more often living rooms), but in this age of everything local, why not bring your tunes down to Main Street and encourage your friends to put their PBR dollars into a different coffer for an evening? It's a proposition that benefits everyone involved: the band actually gets paid, the local venue gets a momentary influx of Wesleyan students, and most of all, a night of music goes down free of the looming threat of a P-Safe shutdown.
The "Overturn Eclectic Housing Restriction" online petition is now closed after having received 721 signatures. Here's a message from Eclectic:
We're taking the link down from the sidebar.Thank you so much for your support.
Unfortunately, due to spam, the petition is now closed. We strongly urge you to contact Assistant Director of Student Affairs Scott Backer (sbacker@wes) or President Michael Roth (mroth@wes) to vocalize your concerns.
Music finds a venue. This Wednesday will bring us Cassorla and Dear Lamp at Earth House.
Cassorla is from Philly, Harlem, and Bed-Stuy. They just sound really good. From their website: "Think indie rock for jazzheads, jazz for soul people, and soul for rockers." Check them out on Myspace:
Opening will be a Wes band that just about everyone's talking about these days, Dear Lamp. Here's what Aural Wes had to say about a past show:
After a recent thrift store perusal, what was I to find, but a dear lamp. The southwest twanging of Carlos Nugent ‘11 and rhythmic banging of John Myers ‘11 lent to my ears as the sweet violin of Katherine Scahill ‘11 intoxicated my heart. Lost in the sophisticated interplay of guitarists Hannah Overton ‘11 and Ian Coss ’11 with bassist Daniel Hymanson ‘11, I knew the notes that danced around the dust-ridden shelves should not be forgotten in the back of that thrift store.Date: Wednesday, March 25
Far from the shoegaze indie bands, Dear Lamp’s music is a letter to that lamp so dear.
Eclectic has posted an open letter to the Wesleyan community on their website.
Monday, March 23rd, 2009Open Letter from Eclectic:
First, we want to thank you for your support so far. There are almost 700 signatures on the petition to overturn the House Hosting Ban. Musicians, event organizers, WSA members, faculty, enthusiastic students, and alums have expressed unease with the SJB and the administration's actions in this case.
Unfortunately, President Michael Roth rejected our formal appeal. Before break, we were hesitant to release a factual public statement before we had gone through the provided channels of appeal, out of consideration for the pending status of our appeal, and the individual students implicated therein. Now that we've exhausted formal channels, President Roth is back from Asia, and we are all back from break, we turn to you.
Here are the facts as we see them: on December 8, the last day of classes, there was a party at our house. A neighbor called in three noise complaints in a row, with the intent of getting the event shut down. Some Eclectic alums had come to visit, and, disappointed that the event was stopped, moved upstairs to the Gote room with a smaller group of people. That gathering too was broken up, and the vast majority of guests left. An individual Eclectic resident started to play music in his room later, with no more than 10 friends. Public Safety stopped him. The SJB charged the Society as a whole for these infractions, despite alums and hosts' willingness to take individual responsibility for their actions.
Our objection to this punishment is manifold: We were given an abbreviated hearing rather than a full hearing, but given a punishment that can only be dispensed by the full SJB. We believe that Assistant Director of Student Affairs Scott Backer, rather than the SJB as a whole, decided upon this ban. In the flurry of meetings that ensued with Backer, Dean Mike Whaley, and President Roth, Backer was inconsistent. The SJB sanction dated 2/26 specifically banned "performances, gatherings, parties, or any events". After students expressed shock on Wesleying and other forums, Backer hastily sent us a new letter, back-dated to 2/26, with revised wording restricting "social events, parties, concerts, or other events that fit the requirements of the Social Event Policy". Furthermore, Backer first told us that he was punishing irresponsible event hosts rather than Eclectic; however, in his formal "Rationale" for the punishment, he cited untried individual infractions of both members and non-members all the way back to September. He particularly alluded to guests who showed up intoxicated to our ticketed, non-alcoholic events, and required medical assistance. We are surprised to be punished for assisting students, none of whom were Society members, in what we thought was compliance with University expectations.
The student body and our Society are being antagonized for unrelated incidents that took place over a long period of time, rather than any specific, punishable incident. We believe that this punishment undermines the legitimacy of Wesleyan's judicial system. Most importantly, we strongly believe that the punishment is overly broad, punishing not only Eclectic, but the Wesleyan student body: the dedicated hosts, musicians, organizers, and attendees that make Eclectic, and the Wesleyan campus, what they are. 70% of student-run events are scheduled to take place at Eclectic this semester. We hold Scott Backer accountable for his misled intent to squash student social life, just as he was misled when he suggested prohibition of alcohol on campus last year. We hold Michael Roth accountable for overlooking our appeal in favor of blind trust, despite the established appeals system.
We will continue to look to you for support in the coming week, and will keep you posted on our plans. Already, the Sound Co-op has expressed their solidarity with Eclectic and the student body, and disappointment with the administration's complacency. We welcome any suggestions you might have for additional ways of communicating to the administration that student social life is not dispensable.
Sincerely,
The Eclectic Society
This post is a call for information about anybody who is losing student group money due to contracting issues and the Eclectic House Hosting Restriction.
There has been a severe lack of balanced information regarding this whole controversy; the only public statements are being issued by members of the Eclectic society, while the SJB are most likely bound by confidentiality restrictions and are thus unable to respond to Eclectic's accusations. While I don't want to call Eclectic a bunch of liars, there is evidence that Eclectic may be misrepresenting their case.
This is mostly due to a comment by Anna W on Aural Wes post Free Eclectic (and one of the few actual pieces of information from the Administration):
Here is the notice Eclectic's house manager received in his mailbox yesterday, explaining what it would mean for Eclectic to be on "disciplinary probation":The wording of this letter strongly implies that the ban is being lifted on Wesfest is due to "previous contracting," as opposed to the idea that (as Eclectic has been asserting) "selling the school to prospective students is more of a priority than maintaining a thriving student culture."
"200 High Street as a venue for performances, gatherings, parties or any events is restricted through April 30, 2009. This restriction will be lifted to allow the previously contracted event to occur at 200 High Street during accepted candidates' weekend."
We're relaying the information as it is relayed to us. More as it comes in.
This is its letter to the student body in full:
In light of the decisions made by Scott Backer and the SJB, and the subsequent appeal that was denied by Michael Roth (read here: wesleying.blogspot.com/2009/03/sjb-shuts-down-all-eclectic-events-for.html), I have decided that the Wesleyan Sound Cooperative will cease functioning as of Sunday March 29th until the Eclectic event-hosting ban is repealed or a satisfactory settlement is made between the school and the Society allowing for access to the venue. This means that all events currently scheduled are considered canceled until further notice. Shows this week (23rd – 28th) will still be happening, as there is obviously not enough time for organizers to plan around the shutdown. If you currently have a show planned later than this week, you will or already have received an email from a WSC member. Please do not contact me or any other co-op members regarding this decision, as there will be no special exceptions made and no questions to be answered except, ‘has the school overturned the decision?’ As soon as the answer to this question is ‘yes,’ the cooperative will run again as usual. We are still taking event requests on our website (wesleyan.edu/wsa/wsc) in the hopes that this situation is resolved quickly. If you are disappointed or concerned by the turn of events, I ask that you politely email either Scott Backer (sbacker01@wes) or Michael Roth (mroth@wes) to explain how the shutdown affects you and ask that they reconsider their actions so that an amplified and vibrant campus culture may continue at Wesleyan.
Members of the Eclectic Society founded the sound cooperative almost 20 years ago in order to facilitate musical events that would otherwise be impossible to fund using professional audio companies. The co-op allows anyone who is interested the opportunity to learn life long skills in technical audio production and event planning. As a result of its creation, and in spite of the fact that to this day Wesleyan refuses to create a viable administration-organized free event space, the Sound Co-op saves Wesleyan students somewhere on the order of $30,000 - 60,000 a year in professional audio service fees. This allows for many more events to be funded, which in turn means that the co-op runs slightly over one hundred shows every year. By this count, I have organized sound for over 300 shows during my time here at Wesleyan and am fortunate to have many talented people transitioning into control as I will be graduating this semester. The co-op has expanded during my tenure to include many events not related to live music, which I see as a great development.
Unfortunately, the decision rendered by Scott Backer and the SJB aims to discriminate between where and what type of event is allowable on campus, thus dictating the realms of campus culture. I personally find this detestable and am of the opinion that the full ramifications of the punishment levied have not been thoroughly considered. The shutdown of the co-op aims to help rectify this oversight.
I am basing my decision around the argument that if the Wesleyan administration wants to define campus culture and what is or is not allowable based on how ‘problematic’ or how much of a ‘liability’ they perceive an event to be for them then it is folly to have a student-run and student-funded business continue to facilitate a culture we ourselves are not in control of. The ethos of the co-op is one of absolute indiscrimination, as long as we have the equipment and someone signs up to work, we will work an event. Despite the fact that the shutdown will result in lost wages for co-op workers including myself, I feel that this is the only acceptably principled response to an unprincipled and poorly considered punishment.
Historically, the administration has been happy to allow students to organize and pay for their own shows and events because student-run and student-funded events increase Wesleyan’s social capital at essentially no cost to the school. Utilizing the WSA, SBC, and SALD for assistance allows for an incredible number of student-run events to take place every week. However, with the Eclectic shutdown, the administration is asserting that they do indeed have a say in how student funds are to be distributed and thus what events may or may not take place on campus. Eclectic is the only free student-run venue on campus that has a seating capacity of over 100. Therefore, unless the SBC has the funds to pay for pro audio services at other venues, I will consider the school to be the party responsible for funding and organizing sound services for student events. I do not report to any school administrator, I help run a club funded by the SBC in order to make campus life more exciting and vibrant. The co-op works in direct service to the student body but will not be coerced into accepting fluxuating social ethics determined ad hoc by the administration.
I’m sure you can surmise that the school has neither the resources nor the desire to take up the slack left over by the co-op (except perhaps regarding WesFest), so I will preemptively make the assertion that it is now YOUR job to organize and fund sound services for events you would like to have or plan to have on campus. Again, please understand that I am not doing this to punish the student body, but instead to force those who utilize the co-op and those that directly benefit from it’s existence to make their displeasure known to the administration. I know this decision will be incredibly unpopular but I ask that you fully reflect on the historical and ongoing relationship the co-op has to events held at Eclectic and consider this a sign of solidarity and not a dismissal of individual student groups or events. Regardless of your personal opinions concerning the Eclectic Society or the events held there, I urge you to consider that the series of decisions made by the administration are of a discriminatory nature regarding what types of events the school implicitly condones. The fact that the administration is now trying to dictate how students should spend their own money is nothing short of insulting. The more you make your displeasure known to administrators, the faster we can move on from this terrible decision and get back to having great amplified events across campus.
Sincerely,
Yale Yng-Wong ’09, President of the Wesleyan Sound Cooperative,
Amanda Contrada ‘10, Co-President of the Wesleyan Sound Cooperative, and Max Krafft '09, Ben Bernstein ‘10, Tom Brewer ‘12, Adam Gunther ‘11, Bill Kirstein ‘10, Sam Long ‘12, Mary Longley ‘10, Sam Lyons ‘12, Dana Matthiessen ‘09, Howe Pearson ‘12, Jeff Rovinelli ‘10, Fareed Sajan ‘09, and Harrison Schaaf ‘11
It's West Indian Week at Wesleyan! WISA (West Indian Student Association) has events planned all week, from Monday, March 23rd, to the 29th:
Events:
Monday, 3/23
Roots and Culture of Carnival Display
Olin Lobby
Tuesday, 3/24
T-Shirt Painting in Nic Lounge
2-6pm
Wednesday, 3/25
Keynote Speaker: Adrian Augier (St Lucia)
"The Rituals of Carnival"
Pac 001 4:30-5:30pm
Thursday, 3/26
Caribbean Lounge
Snacks, Games, Poetry, X-tempo,...and more!!
200 Church
8:30-10pm
Friday, 3/27
Contradance with Quadrille (Caribbean Contradance)
Beckham 8-11pm
Saturday, 3/28
West Indian Cultural Show: Bajari
Crowell 8-10pm Tickets on sale now !!!
Sunday, 3/29
Caribbean Brunch $2
Woodhead lounge 12:30-2:30 pm
Two Wesleyan bands, The Shade and Precision Libido, are playing at Public this Wednesday.
The Shade consists of Adam Tinkle '08, Josh Koenig '09 and Matt Paterson '09, and Jake Nussbaum '10 and Will Brant '10.
Precision Libido consists of Aliza Simons '09, and Rayna Edwards '10, Elissa Martel '10, and Emily Meyer '10.
Rayna says:
First, rock out with the steamy stylings of Precision Libido, Wesleyan's only all-female post-punk band. P Lib's original raunchy riot grrrl tunes and slightly pornographic stage antics are bound to make you hot and bothered. Next, cool down to the jazzy garage-rock jams of The Shade, whose stylistically sleek sounds will chill you out to the point where you forget spring break ended days before.So come party with some Wes bands on the first bar night of spring and kick off the awesomefest that is post-spring-break Wesleyan.
Welcome back, all you returning students! Wesleying hopes that your break was great!
If you're looking for a bite to eat, Red and Black and Weshop are back on normal hours, Usdan opens at 5pm, and the little cafe on the ground floor of Usdan is open from 12 - 5. Facilities will return to normal hours tomorrow.
Also, with all of the Wesleying writers back on campus, we will return to posting articles that are (slightly) more relevant to Wesleyan. In the mean time, here is one last goody to distract you.
This distinctive electric purple stencil was noticed on a wall in Middletown by Illicit Exhibitions, a blog about street art, two weekends ago:
A giraffe skeleton? A horse? At any rate it's probably no longer up, since the city's police chief is pretty scrupulous about painting over graffiti.
What does it mean, and who's the street artist behind it? Speculate here, or email illicitexhibitions@gmail if you've got information.
Break's over. Ahh! Here are more fake Boy Crisis videos by Bob Weisz '07.
Boy Crisis and the possibilities of movement:
Boy Crisis in Japan:
Bollywood, nature, various sex acts. Some parts kind of NSFW:
Lin-Manuel Miranda '02 is keeping busy adapting a fresh Broadway revival of "West Side Story", translating much of the musical's original dialogue and song lyrics into Spanish:
In his own musical Mr. Miranda struggled to balance English and Spanish; he said that, surprisingly, the amount of Spanish doubled between the Off Broadway and Broadway productions. In the song “Breathe,” he noted, when one of the characters returns home confused after dropping out of college, her friends sing about how she has always been the star of the neighborhood.New York Times: A Changed 'West Side Story' Returns to a Changed New York
“It’s much more visceral to hear them sing in Spanish,” said Mr. Miranda, dressed in a hooded blue sweatshirt from Wesleyan, where he first started writing “In the Heights.”
