A parent sent me this article by a rising first-year student for more suggestions about what to bring with you. Check it out at “Top 10 Necessities for High School Graduates”.
Month: August 2009
The WSA
In addition to the great leadership opportunities noted previously by Elisa Del Valle from the Student Activities Office and Dean Rick Culliton, new students should consider getting involved in the Wesleyan Student Assembly (WSA).
Joining the WSA is a great way to get to know Wesleyan. Members of the WSA focus on important issues and projects 
to benefit the student body. They are your representatives, but also work closely with the administration and get to know the ins and outs of the University. The WSA is a diverse body always looking for new members who truly want to make a difference at Wes. To learn more, attend one of their orientation sessions, listed below. Elections occur during the second week of classes, so whether or not you run, make sure you vote for your class representatives!
The full election timeline is: Information sessions Sept. 3 at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.; Petitions due: Sept. 11; Elections open: Sept. 14 at 12 a.m.; Elections close: Sept. 18 at 11:59 p.m.; First WSA meeting: Sept. 20.
FYM’s Common Moment and Water Footprint
This year’s Common Moment promises to be a memorable experience! Produced by the amazing staff at Wesleyan’s Center for the Arts, it will include incredible drumming, rhythmic movement, Prometheus (Wesleyan’s fire spinners), a human histogram, and of course, ice cream.
As a class, you get to showcase drumming and dance movements from six different cultures—Korean, Cuban, West African, Japanese, Irish and South Indian—where water is an important component of their cultural traditions. Assigned to one of the six cultural groups, you will be taught a drumming and movement piece, choreographed by Nicole Stanton, chair of the dance department, and Bill Carbone, a graduate student in the music department. After spending about 20 minutes with a choreographer and student staff to learn the piece, each group will perform for the entire class.
The evening will culminate with the Class of 2013 forming a human histogram about its own water footprint. On Andrus Field, you will embody your responses to a survey that you completed in discussion groups the night before, which was developed from the information in the Water Footprint website in your Common Readings. It will be a night not soon forgotten!
Check out the Water Footprint website in Blackboard or at http://www.waterfootprint.org/?page=files/home . Complete the questions to find out how your water footprint measures up with the rest of the world’s!
Sarah Lazare: Assoc. Dean for Student Academic Resources
Sarah Lazare, the associate dean for student academic resources, works in several capacities to help students achieve academic success at Wesleyan. She administers Disabilities Services, oversees the Student Academic Resource Network (SARN) and SARN Peer Advisors, and works with the Class Deans to provide academic support to Wes students of all class years. There are so many academic resources available to students that when students find themselves stumbling, all they have to do is ask. The Deans’ Office or any other SARN program can help them find a solution.
Dean Sarah started working at Wesleyan in December 2006. She holds a bachelor’s degree in religion from Smith 
College; a master’s degree in higher education from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst; and a law degree from CUNY School of Law. She worked at Smith College until 2000, where she also provided academic support services to students among her other responsibilities. After graduating from CUNY School of Law, she served as their coordinator of Student Activities and Events for one year before practicing public interest law in Springfield, MA for two years. She found that she did not like courtroom trial work and missed working with students. After her two year appointment practicing law was up, she returned to higher education where she is again able to help students attain their dreams.
Come visit Dean Sarah on the garden level of North College (okay, the basement, really) in room 021. You can drop by or make an appointment by writing to slazare@wesleyan.edu or calling x2332.
CIRP Freshman Survey
You now have access through your e-portfolio to the very COOL CIRP Freshman Survey. Completed by thousands of incoming college students every year, it provides an important and interesting snaphot of the class of 2013 across the country. If you have not had a chance to complete the CIRP survey yet, PLEASE DO! It is administered to all first-year students at Wes and provides important information about your collective preferences, attitudes, accomplishments, political leanings, plans, goals, and so on. It’s fun to do. Hey, there’s nothing like clicking on bubbles on the ‘net.
Questions? Contact Rommel Guadalupe, rguadalupe@wesleyan.edu or 860-685-2530
Health Insurance Deadline — 8/15
The deadline of August 15 is fast 
approaching to comply with the student health insurance requirement. All students must annually show proof of insurance (waive) or purchase the university-sponsored plan ($786) by going to www.gallagherkoster.com.
You should have received the information below which was mailed directly to your home address in June. Please follow the instructions for accessing the web database by the August 15 deadline. Thank you, Joyce Walter, Director, Davison Health Center
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On-Line Enroll/Waiver Process: Go to www.gallagherkoster.com:
1) Select College and University Students 2) Select Wesleyan University from the dropdown box 3) First time users are required to create a unique User Account. To do this you will need to enter your first and last name, Wes student ID, date of birth and email address 4) Click on “Log In” to create or access an account on this website 5) Once logged in, click “Student Waive/Enroll Forms” on the left hand side of the page and select either the 2009-2010 Wesleyan University Undergraduate Annual Enrollment Form to enroll or Waiver Form to show proof of existing insurance 6) If waiving the student insurance, you will need your other health insurance information in order to submit the Online Waiver Form 7) Print your confirmation number page.
Questions? Contact Gallagher Koster at 800-499-5062 or WesleyanStudent@GallagherKoster.com.
Religious and Spiritual Life on Campus
As the religious and spiritual advisors for students on campus, we would like to welcome you to Wesleyan.
Spiritual life at Wesleyan is shaped by the wide range and depth of students’ questions and interests. Each of us five 
Chaplains/Advisors sponsors a weekly service. All students are welcome and encouraged to attend any and all of these services, for which students assume many of the responsibilities of planning and leading. The Chaplains also work together to sponsor multi-faith programming through the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life (ORSL).
Students initiate and design many of the other religious and spiritual activities on campus through such organizations as the All-Campus Contemporary Gospel Worship, Wesleyan Jewish Community, Catholic Student Organization, Wesleyan Christian Fellowship, Muslim Student Association, Buddhist House, as well as many others.
In our role as Chaplains, we also serve as counselors, available to students to discuss personal, religious, social, academic, and vocational matters. Our offices are located at 169 High Street (near Church St.) on the second floor. A lounge is available for group meetings and quiet study. Feel free to stop by, and for more information, see http://www.wesleyan.edu/chaplains .
Blessings, Pastor Joan, Rabbi David, Sister Marwa, Father Hal, Advisor Jeff
Office of Behavioral Health for Students (OBHS)
OBHS is located at 327 High Street (Davison Health Center). Call 685-2910 to schedule an appointment. Any Wesleyan student is entitled to use our services and all students are WELCOME! You don’t need to be “falling apart” to make an appointment. If you have an issue you’d like to discuss with a therapist, one of our staff will be available and 
interested in working with you. OBHS practices a time-limited model of psychotherapy-this schedule seems to match the pace of student’s lives. Our experience shows that a significant number of students find that five sessions are adequate for resolution of their issues while others need more time. When optimal treatment frequency is greater than what OBHS can provide or if the student wishes to see someone off-campus, a private therapist should be considered and we encourage the student to discuss with OBHS what would be most helpful.
OBHS appointments are scheduled for mornings or afternoons and we make every effort to offer an appointment to fit the student’s schedule-usually within a week. If you have an urgent situation and indicate that it is urgent, an OBHS therapist will talk with you within a few hours at the most. If you need to reschedule, postpone or cancel your appointment, give us as much advance notice as you can. This helps other students (who may want an appointment) and allows OBHS to better serve you. In case of an emergency after hours or on weekends, an OBHS therapist is always on call when the University is in session and can be reached by calling 685-2910 (listen carefully to the phone prompts that access the on-call therapist).
If you have any questions or comments, please let us know. See the OBHS website for more information: http://www.wesleyan.edu/obhs .
Davison Health Center Welcomes You
The staff at the Davison Health Center wishes you a healthy and safe start to your academic career. The Health Center provides a full range of health care services by appointment. Check out our website to find out all we offer. Please call 860-685-2470 for appointments and information. The same phone number can be used after hours to reach the physician on-call.
The Health Center is staffed by physicians, nurse practitioners, a physician associate, and nursing personnel who provide comprehensive primary care services for illness or injury to students. The staff provides an array of clinical and health education services, including assessment and treatment of illnesses and injuries, health, wellness, disease prevention counseling, nutritional counseling, international travel counseling, immunizations, allergy injections, HIV testing and counseling, and referral to outside specialists. The Health Center provides basic laboratory testing and a dispensary for many prescription and over-the-counter medications for a small fee.
Please note that a $10 no-show fee for missed appointments is in effect. Be sure to cancel an appointment within 24 hours to assure you are not billed and to give other students an opportunity to have an appointment.
Cable TV–optional sign-up by 8/7
Through an agreement with Wesleyan University, students may subscribe with AT&T to provide cable television service to their residential unit. The U-Verse 100 package costs $49 per month, and additional set-top boxes (to be able to access the cable service in more than one room) cost $7 per month. Upgraded packages are also available. Interested students should call 860-685-4499, and leave your name and phone number, and best times to reach you. A representative from AT&T will call you to obtain the necessary additional information. If you plan to share the cable service with someone with whom you will be living, only one of you needs to contact AT&T. If you already gave your name and number to the AT&T representative during room selection, you do not need to call, unless you have not yet heard from them.
In order to have your cable hooked up prior to your arrival on campus, you must call the number above by August 7. Requests for service received after that date will be scheduled after students arrive, and you will need to be present for the technician to do the installation.
For more information, go to http://www.wesleyan.edu/its/resnet/cabletv.html. Additional questions may be sent to videoservices@wesleyan.edu.