FYM Seminars and Discussion Groups Today!

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Be a part of the solution and learn more about water issues at the FYM Feet to the Fire faculty seminars this afternoon from 4-5:30 p.m. 

f2fh20The Water Crisis in the American West – Prof. Peter Patton, E&ES, Shanklin 107

Oceans, Boats, and Human History – Prof. Vijay Pinch, HIST, PAC002

Water, Water Everywhere, Nor Not a Drop to Drink – Prof. Krishna Winston, GRST, and Prof. Brian Steward, PHYS,   Woodhead Lounge in Exley Science Center

On the Waterfront – Prof. Richard Adelstein, ECON, PAC001

FYM Common Reading discussion groups with faculty, staff and peer advisors follow after dinner from 7-8:30 p.m. to deal with the resource challenges.  Be a part of the solution!

Another FYI course

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The FYI course, ANTH165-01, All Our Relations? Kin, Kinship, and the Politics of Knowledge was mistakenly listed as carrying 0 credits. The error has been corrected (it’s a normal, 1-credit course), but you may have passed it over as a result.   If you are interested in Anthropology, check it out.  The course is taught by Professor Gillian Goslinga, Tu & Th 9-10:20 a.m., Fisk 116.

New Courses–an FYI and a Spanish

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As you think about your course schedule for today’s meeting with your faculty advisor, check out the blog posting on the side bar, “Creating Your Course Schedule,” and consider the new course described below.

COMP 134, Human and Machine Inference, is a freshman year initiative (FYI) course taught by Professor Eric thumbnailCA0H113DAaron on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2:40 – 4:00 p.m. in Exley Science Center 137.  Enrollment is limited to 20 first year students.

This course will explore how people and computers perform inference–the process of reaching conclusions based on premises–with investigation of computational, philosophical, and psychological perspectives. Discussions of puzzles and brainteasers will help expose and illuminate intricacies of inference.   Gen Ed Area Dept: NSM MATH

Spanish for Heritage Speakers SPAN 203 FALL 2009

thumbnailCA7SHKPIStudents who take this course must:   1) Speak Spanish as language of heritage, but have a limited ability (and/or confidence) in their language skills in Spanish; and 2) have placed into SPAN112 or above.

Emphasis is placed on the following: development of linguistic strategies that advance students’ written and oral expression beyond the colloquial level; grammatical and orthographic norms of Spanish; critical reading (reading for understanding and analyzing what is read); and expansion of vocabulary. The linguistic work will be conducted through course materials that explore, through a variety of literary and nonliterary texts, the use of Spanish in the United States.

This is a POI course not offered every year.  Professor Ana Pérez-Gironés, MWF 11:00-11:50 a.m. in FISK414.

H1N1 Flu Update

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swineflu-cp-RTXEI3DYou have probably been reading about the continued potential for novel H1N1 influenza (swine flu) outbreaks in the U.S., especially in the school setting. We are continuing to monitor the situation and advise that you do also. More detailed information about H1N1 is available at http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/, and http://www.ct.gov/ctfluwatch. Wesleyan has a plan which is in action and which we continue to refine in close consultation with local, state and national health officials and agencies.

Happily, H1N1 is mostly causing mild illness thus far. Our goals are to limit both the number of cases on campus and the severity of the cases we have. With that in mind, there are several important concepts we wish to communicate to students before their arrival on campus this year.

  1. If you are sick with a flu-like illness, please delay your return to campus until you have recovered. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends that individuals with influenza-like illness remain at home and away from other people until at least 24 hours after they are free of fever (100° F [37.8° C] or greater), or signs of a fever, without the use of fever-reducing medications. Influenza-like illness is defined as a fever plus cough and/or sore throat. Symptoms of the flu may include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people with influenza will not have fever. Absence of fever does not mean absence of infection. If in doubt, call your health care provider to discuss your symptoms. Students are encouraged to call the Davison Health Center (860) 685-2470.If you do need to delay your return, please contact your Class Dean and Davis Smith, Medical Director, Davison Health Center pdsmith@wesleyan.edu. Once you have recovered, we encourage you free to call the Davison Health Center (860) 685-2470 to speak with a Nurse and review that you are well enough to return to campus.
  2. Discuss with your family a plan of action in the event you contract H1N1. Because self-isolation is such a key component of infection control with a pandemic, we highly encourage those able to do so to leave campus for a few days if they become develop a flu-like illness as defined above. We have contingency plans for sick students not able to leave campus.
  3. Determine whether you are at high risk of complications from H1N1 infection. Pregnancy and other previously recognized high risk medical conditions from seasonal influenza appear to be associated with increased risk of complications from this novel H1N1. These underlying conditions include asthma, diabetes, suppressed immune systems, heart disease, kidney disease, and neurocognitive and neuromuscular disorders. Speak with your health care provider and determine whether or not you qualify as high risk of complications from H1N1 infection.
  4. Have on hand supplies to take care of yourself or others in the event of illness. See: http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/guidance_homecare.htm.
  5. Stay informed. We are preparing detailed information about H1N1 and Wesleyan’s response to this pandemic. These will be posted to [website] in the next few days and kept updated. We plan early distribution of seasonal influenza vaccine and hope to encourage wide uptake. Once an H1N1 vaccine becomes available, we will notify students of distribution plans. We stand ready to help Wesleyan students prepare for, prevent, manage and recover from H1N1 and any other health problem that may occur while they are on campus.

If you have additional questions, please contact:
Davis Smith, Medical Director, Davison Health Center
Joyce Walter, Director, Davison Health Center

Locked Out of Your Room?

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Some handy information in case this happens to you during your first couple of days on campus….  See you soon!

The time and day that you are locked out determines whom you should call or visit. If you are locked out when the thumbnailCA0XTQ0GOffice of Residential Life is open (8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday), come down to the Lower Level of North College to borrow a key. There is no charge for this service as long as the key is returned by 5 p.m. on the day it is signed out. Between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m., please contact the RA on duty who will let you in. The cost is $10 per lock out. At all other times (between 5-8 p.m. and 8-8:30 a.m.), please contact the Office of Public Safety at x2345 and they will let you in, again at a cost of $10 per lock out. For more information about lock changes, refer to the ResLife website at http://www.wesleyan.edu/reslife/Policies/lock_change.html

Campus Safety

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thumbnailCAVKZXOYHere’s some information from our Public Safety Office about campus safety that I wanted to pass on to you.  It is common-sense advice that is offered just as a reminder as you prepare to transition to campus life.

College campuses across the country are generally safe places for the students attending them.  In many instances, though, this leads to a relaxed attitude toward personal safety and security measures and students tend to let their guard down.

A majority of the incidents that occur on our campus are “crimes of opportunity.”  These happen when students leave their room doors unlocked when they leave, do not use the window locks in their houses, leave unlocked bikes outside, or leave their  laptops unattended in a library or residence hall.   We usually see a rise in laptop thefts during exam periods when students are preoccupied with their studies and  leave their laptop “for a few minutes” while they run to grab a bite to eat.  It only takes a few seconds for a thief to unplug the laptop, put it in a backpack, and walk away.  You should always lock your room or residential area when leaving, even if it is only for a few minutes or you are going down the hall to shower.  College campuses are places where thefts occur because there is a  large number of laptops, small electronic items such as Ipods, and bikes  in  a small geographic area that are often left unsecured and unattended. 

As you would anywhere else, be aware of your surroundings when walking around campus day or night and always remember to secure your personal items or keep them in your sight.   There is no substitute for vigilance when it comes to campus safety.

Traffic Alert for Arrival Day

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thumbnailCALPQOBUPlease take note as you make your driving plans for arrival day.

The Connecticut Department of Transportation has notified Wesleyan University that road construction on Washington Street (Route 66) between Bernie O’Rourke Drive and Plaza Drive is expected to cause heavy traffic delays weekdays between 6:00 am and 2:30 pm. Work is expected to continue for the next 2 years, except during the winter.  Travelers from New Haven, New York and points south and from Waterbury and points west are encouraged to find alternate routes to Wesleyan via 91 Northbound to Route 9 Southbound. For the latest project updates, please check the DOT web site at http://www.ct.gov/dot/cwp/view.asp?A=2135&Q=445400.

International Students Arrive!

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thumbnailCAFSJQD1On Friday, August 28, we will be welcoming to campus the nearly 70 international members of the Class of 2013! They will have a full four-day schedule of events designed to help them acclimate to Wesleyan, get a full introduction to the American liberal arts college academic system, shop for the essentials they could not bring across the oceans, and sleep off jetlag. 

The international students, including Americans who live abroad, hail from 30 countries and 5 continents, from Argentina to Myanmar, Yemen to Zimbabawe.  Along with the 160 or so upper-class international students, this is Wesleyan’s international community.

New on the agenda this year: We plan to invite international students and their roommates to a few special events, so that they too will contribute to the cross-culturally “hyper-aware” community that we expect Wesleyan to be. 

We extend a warm welcome to these international classmates who will be making the same big adjustments now that the rest of the class will be making a few days later—plus more, as you all embark together  on this most exciting adventure.

Alice Hadler, Associate Dean of International Student Affairs

Creating a Course Schedule

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thumbnailCA7Z1T6RAs you think about developing your fall semester course schedule, there are a couple of things to keep in mind.  Overall, you want to think about how your courses relate (or not) to one another and to think about taking courses across divisions (H&A, SBS, NSM) and within a division rather than loading up on several courses in one department, so that you get both breadth and depth.  Your first year is a time to explore while keeping connected to areas of interest and possible majors.  Other suggestions are to: 

  • challenge yourself in a new subject area—maybe in a course unique to Wes—as well as in a subject you love;
  • choose courses with different kinds of work: analytic, creative, quantitative, experiential, written (not all thumbnailCAYAHNW0reading and writing);
  • enroll in courses with means of evaluation that differ from one another (papers, tests, labs,  performance, etc.) and that come at different points in the semester;
  • get courses that vary in size (seminar and an intro);
  • begin fulfilling General Education Expectations;
  • strengthen your Essential Capabilities;
  • distribute your courses throughout the week (not all Tues./Thurs.);
  • spread your courses throughout the day (three in a row is a killer!); and
  • make sure you schedule time for lunch!

For each of the four courses in your ideal schedule, you should identify a back-up course (in case you do not get in due to classes being full, schedule conflicts, etc.).  Then you should identify a back-up for each of your back-ups (for the same reasons), keeping in mind your overall educational goals.  This strategy will generate good course options to discuss with your faculty advisor in your individual meeting on Thurs., Sept. 3.  In this focused discussion, it is important to stay open to your advisor’s suggestions as well.  Your peer advisor will be available to work with you on Wednesday, if you would like help in your planning.   

This “back-up” strategy also will help you stay organized and on track during adjustment and drop/add.  While you may not get all four of your ideal courses, you will certainly get some of the twelve you have identified, and will continue to find new course possibilities through this process.   With the permission of your faculty advisor and the course instructor, you also may drop and add classes during the first two weeks of classes.