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The Office of New Student Orientation is hiring 4 NSO Summer Interns and 35 Orientation Leaders to assist in the planning and implementation of New Student Orientation for the incoming class of 2020. Students in the classes of 2019, 2018 and 2017 are eligible for these positions.
Job descriptions and Applications are available using the links below:
NSO Summer Internship Application due January 29, 2016.
http://wesleyan.edu/orientation/internapplication.html

Orientation Leader Application due February 5, 2016
http://wesleyan.edu/orientation/olapplication.html

If you have any questions please e-mail orientation@wesleyan.edu.

An Invitation from the Students and Tutors in the College of Social Studies

Join current College of Social Studies students and tutors for an Information Session to be held on Thursday, January 28, 2016 from 12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m., in the PAC 4th Floor Lounge. Here’s your opportunity to ask questions to a panel of current students and tutors, and to learn what we might have to offer you as a major. Refreshments will be served. To learn more about the College of Social Studies visit http://www.wesleyan.edu/css/.

The College of Social Studies will be accepting applications from February 4th until 2:00 p.m. on February 8th at which time the application link will be deactivated. Applications submitted after the day and time indicated cannot be considered. To access the application use the link provided beginning February 4th: http://www.wesleyan.edu/css/applying/application.html.

Wes Out-Loud
Stories of Place: A Site-Specific Auditory Journey
Theater Department Faculty Production for Spring 2016

Wes Out-Loud: Stories of Place is a site-specific auditory performance piece that is conceived and created for the Wesleyan campus through collaboration between theater students and Professor Marcela Oteíza. Wes Out-Loud invites you to experience Wesleyan as a scenographic space by inserting new narratives into everyday sites. Through the juxtaposition of place and stories, we hope to bring forward the richness and diversity of the students of our campus, to promote inclusiveness, and to give space to voices that are usually not heard.

This production is an invitation to re-think and re-engage with our campus: Considering the institution and its physical context; location and architecture; its history; institutional and individual narratives; and how they affect our daily lives and our social interactions.

We will be creating a journey through specific places of our campus, into which we will intervene new narratives (students stories). Through which, we will be able to bring to light the richness of the students of this campus and, thereby, promote inclusiveness and provide space to voices that are not usually heard.

The process for this piece will be through collaboration between a group of nine to twelve students (who will register for a full credit of THEA: Performance Practice) and the project director (Prof. Marcela Oteíza). The students participating in the course will decide upon specific places and modes of interventions through group discussions, rehearsals, and aesthetic approach. The students will perform and/or create each intervention.

If you would like to participate in Wes Out-Loud: Stories of Place, as a collaborator, please submit your story as the mode of audition. If selected, you will add THEA Performance Practice under Prof. Oteíza during Drop/add in the spring.

There are also other ways to participate, such as Production Assistant, running crew, ASM, and so forth. If you are interested please contact Rebecca Foster, Theater Department technical director at rfoster01@wesleyan.edu.

If you have further questions, please email Professor Oteíza at moteiza@wesleyan.edu, Ali Jamali (Assistant Director) at ajamali@wesleyan.edu or Eva Lou (Stage Manager) ylou@wesleyan.edu.

Dear Students Interested in Psychology:

Wesmaps descriptions of the following two 200-level Research Methods courses in the Psychology Department have recently changed. Please review the updates and, if you are interested in one of the courses, please write and let the instructor know as soon as possible so that you can be added to the course list.

PSYC203 Quantitative Research Methods
PSYC210 Research Methods in Cognition

PSYC203 is a perfect course for students who have taken QAC201 or PSYC200 and would like to be able to analyze the data they will collect in this methods course. PSYC 210 is ideal for students who have not yet taken statistics but still wish a hands-on approach to research methods.

Please note that, starting with the Class of 2019, a 200-level Research Methods course must be taken by the end of the sophomore year in order for one to become a Psychology major. So do take advantage of one of these opportunities if you are a potential major! We created extra seats this year make sure everyone can get one.

Thanks and best wishes for the finals period!

Andrea Patalano
Department Chair, Psychology

Dear ’19,

I write with some end-of-term tips in the hopes that they make this next couple of weeks a bit easier. As the term comes to a close, please remember to take care of yourselves, be considerate (you might not have anything due until Thursday, but the person who lives next door might have something due in three hours, etc.), and try to plan out your time in a semi-structured way so as to avoid doing too little or too much.

I therefore offer some words of advice:

Part One: Exams and Final Papers as Life Experiences

1. Keep perspective: The term will soon be over. Have confidence. Repeat to
yourself often: “I can do it.” “I will destroy that test.” “I will write a paper that will blind my instructor with its dazzling brilliance.” “This course will soon be behind me and I will be sleeping late/seeing the new Star Wars movie/on my way to Europe, San Francisco, New Jersey, etc.”

2. Find the way and place you study best and the way that works for you. If that means blaring music (preferably with earbuds/beats) while you read over your notes, so be it. If that means you must find a sensory deprivation tank to write the paper, that’s okay, too. Do not compare yourself to others.

3. Take a break every day, and know when and what it will be. Get a venti half-caf soy iced caramel macchiato with whipped cream and truffle shavings. Call home.

4. Get some sleep. The number one reason for poor exam performance is
lack of sleep (which is not to say that you should sleep for the 22 hours prior to the exam).

5. Don’t instagram, facebook, snapchat, pinterest, etc. These are great ways to waste huge amounts of time, as we all know all too well.

Part Two: How to Study Well

1. Study with a purpose, particularly when reviewing a particular book or lecture notes. Study in digestible amounts. Schedule your time accordingly.

2. Be an active, engaged learner. Try to predict what the instructor will ask on the exam and spend time with your classmates discussing the material; research indicates that you can absorb (and apply) material in a deeper way by actively discussing it.

3. Eat fruits and vegetables, avoid scurvy.

4. Keep in mind the big picture of the course, its major themes. Exams
are the occasion for you to pull together in a coherent way what you have
learned.

5. Look again at the syllabus to get a sense of the larger goals of the course. Be sure you did not miss any assigned reading or small print.

6. Sometimes changing study places can help. Avoid studying in your room—this is where you sleep, hang out, etc. It can a time management disaster waiting to happen if you study there as well.

7. Find someone to study with you who will not distract you the entire time but will keep you motivated.

Part Three: At the Exam

1. Read the exam all the way through before you start it. Read the
directions carefully. You don’t want to forget to do “Section Three,” for
instance.

2. When I was in college (in the prehistoric era), I would try to predict what I’d need to know, study the concepts/formulas and then scribble them all on the test paper before actually starting the exam so that I’d have a roadmap, as it were, to refer back to throughout the test.

3. Try to follow the time suggestions for each question or part. Pass over
questions that are too difficult or stump you; first answer the ones you
can readily answer; return to the others later with restored confidence.

4. Make an outline for long essay questions and give them a title so that you can remember to focus. Write legibly–it matters! If a professor can’t read it all that well, they can’t grade it all that well either.

5. Try to remember that this process can be hard. This does not
mean that you are doing it wrong. Tests are meant to be challenging. If you feel
you are being punished, take a deep breath. You are at Wesleyan. You are very
smart. You cannot know everything. Just try hard.

Part Four: You’re in this together

1. Be thoughtful of the stress of others and their study needs (i.e., don’t play death metal at 4 a.m. on a Tuesday).

2. Know if your roommate should be awake. Help each other remember when exams are and use multiple alarms. I also recommend the clocky, the alarm clock with wheels (http://www.nandahome.com) that will literally run away from you and hide.
Get up an hour or more before the exam starts to wake up sufficiently, eat breakfast (or lunch/dinner) and gather your thoughts.

Part Five: Papers

1. Make an outline.

2. Say what you’re going to say, say it, then say what you said. Start
with an argument, argue it with evidence, and then wrap it up. Don’t cobble together secondary quotes. Stake your own claim using your own voice.

3. If you’re going to hand the paper in after you’ve left campus, be sure
that you a) be sure to ask the professor if he or she has received it if you’ve emailed it, or b) send it certified mail to a designated place to a designated person. You don’t want your paper to be sitting in an unused mailbox or worse, lost forever, so be sure to work out these details with your instructor in advance.

4. Seek out our amazing writing tutors.

5. Give yourself a false deadline, usually a few days before the actual deadline, so that you’re have time to proofread (which makes a real difference in the quality of the paper), edit, read it aloud (this will help you catch awkward phrasing or grammar), have someone else read it, etc.

Part Six: Last thoughts

1. When you are running on little sleep, make no big decisions and draw no
big conclusions (especially about your abilities and character). Your judgment
and studying efficiency are impaired when you have too little sleep. Exams
are a test of your knowledge, not of your identity and personal worth.

2. When an exam is done, it is done. No need to dwell on it. Move on to the
next task.

And last: You belong here. It is difficult, but you will be fine. A demanding college demands hard work. You will discover resources within you that you did not know you had. Resilience is an invaluable ability to possess.
So, believe in yourself, and know that I believe in you, too.

You can do it. Onward, class of 2019!
Best wishes,
Dean Wood

 

Apply to be an eco facilitator! More information is below; the deadline is 11:59 pm on 12/8:

EF%20application%20flyer%20pdf

Best,

Dean Wood

 

Interested in the Psychology Major? Question and Answer Session with the Department Chair
Dec. 1st (Tues.), 12:00 -1:00 pm, Judd 116
Students from all class years are invited to bring questions big or small for the department chair about the major, opportunities in psychology, research, or anything else. The chair will be available before and after the meeting to sign forms (e.g., study abroad, transfer credits).
Psychology Majors Manuals & Guides: http://www.wesleyan.edu/psyc/about/major_guides.html

 

Winter on Wyllys 2016
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to come back to Wesleyan a week early over winter break to jumpstart your job/internship search or focus on your personal career development without the stress of classes and activities getting in the way.

The Career Center is offering the following two classes from January 11th – 15th:

Careers by Design
Do you know what you want to do when you graduate? Next summer? Even next semester? Careers by Design is a week-long program designed to help you identify what factors may be influencing your choice of major, internship, or career path, and help you to be mindful of your decisions and do what is right for you regardless of what messages you may be receiving from others. Careers by Design will run in the mornings only.

CareerLab
CareerLab is a week-long, boot camp style introduction to everything you need to know to start your internship or job search. You will come out of the week with an understanding of how to research fields and organizations, make full use of LinkedIn to engage with alumni and trade groups, interview effectively, and launch yourself as a professional in your field of interest. CareerLab will run in the mornings only.

These classes run concurrently and cannot be taken at the same time. There is a $100 materials fee to participate. Financial Aid is available and housing is included. Students must register on CareerDrive and fill out Res Life’s Housing Form by 12pm on December 2nd to participate.

The Career Center is also partnering with Wall Street Prep to offer an intensive 2-day training seminar to equip students with the financial skills they need to be successful in the recruiting process for positions in investment banking, corporate finance, private equity, business development, capital markets, and equity & credit research. Upon course completion, students receive high-quality materials and access to resources that enable them to revisit concepts as they prepare for interviews, internships, and full-time positions. The cost of the program Is $199. Financial aid is available and students should contact the Career Center at 860-685-2180 to request a fee waiver. Students interested in participating in the 2-day program must register here by December 1, 2015.

Students should feel free to reach out to Rachel Munafo in the Career Center with questions.

Talking about Race with Jelani Cobb
On Wednesday, December 2nd at 7:00, we are welcoming Jelani Cobb, PhD, Director of the Africana Studies Institute at UConn and Staff Writer of the New Yorker to speak in CFA Hall. His book, The Substance of Hope: Barack Obama and the Paradox of Progress, was published in 2010 through Bloomsbury Publishing.
His post recent published pieces include:

What Divides Us?: An Interview with Yale College Dean Jonathan Holloway 11/15/15

Race and the Free-Speech Diversion 11/05/15

Ben Carson’s Exonerating Racism 9/22/15

Allbritton Talks: Effective Solidarity Organizing on Campus
When student, frontline communities, and organizers call for solidarity actions, how can we respond most effectively? What tactics do students have at their disposal to raise awareness, change policies, communicate support, or raise funds? How can work done here at Wesleyan affect change elsewhere? How is solidarity organizing different? We welcome all viewpoints- no background knowledge required.
Thursday, December 3rd, 12-1pm.
Allbritton 311, lunch provided.

Civic Engagement Certificate Information Session
Students in the CEC program participate in a wide variety of formal and informal civic activities in Middletown and around the world. These include volunteer work, practica, activism, and service-learning courses. The certificate is designed for students interested in reflecting upon these activities and integrating their civic and academic efforts.
Friday, December 4th, 12-1pm

Interested in the Psychology Major? Question and Answer Session with the Department Chair
Dec. 1st (Tues.), 12:00 -1:00 pm, Judd 116

Students from all class years are invited to bring questions big or small for the department chair about the major, opportunities in psychology, research, or anything else. The chair will be available before and after the meeting to sign forms (e.g., study abroad, transfer credits).
Psychology Majors Manuals & Guides: http://www.wesleyan.edu/psyc/about/major_guides.html