Wesleyan's Big Frosh Class Forces Dorms to Triple Up

Though the weather patterns may be unpredictable, September in Middletown brings forth one guarantee: a new school year at Wesleyan University. Eager students have returned this month and have already returned to active roles on campus.

New class of 2015 freshman students were greeted by an unsettling new reality at Wesleyan. This year’s incoming class has the most students in school history at 815, a staggering 100 more than this year’s graduating class of 2012. 

As a result of the influx, more than 250 freshmen were placed into forced triple rooms. Wesleyan residential life converted numerous rooms into triples, including 59 of the 80 rooms in the Fauver Dormitories, the newest and most modern dorm on campus. ResLife realized that they could accommodate an extra student in these rooms so long as they shared two closets.

Zach Larabee ’15 lives in a triple in Fauver and is “used to it. I think there is plenty of space and it seems like a normal room to me. We make the space our own and there isn’t much of a problem.” The Office of Admissions accepted applicants at a similar rate to previous years, aiming for 745 students, but enrollment increased dramatically.

Wesleyan students have already reignited their passion for activism through participating in numerous campaigns on and off campus. Last week, more than 20 Wes students joined Occupy Wall Street, a protest outside the financial capitol against the distribution of wealth and corruption within corporate America. 

The act, inspired by the occupation of Tahrir Square in Egypt where that country’s revolution began, saw 1,000 protestors assemble in its first day. 

Students who returned from the protest have continued the fight on campus. Many of these same students currently reside atop Wesleyan’s famous Foss Hill in a “Tent City.” These efforts to recreate the Wall Street protest serve to continue to support those still protesting on Wall Street. Several Wes students also plan on returning to the protest in the coming weekends.

Among the many clubs that students at Wes start each year, one that stands out is the “Cardinal Investors” group. Started by Andrew Perlmutter ‘13, Trevor Rhodes ’12 and Bern Firn ’14, the club provides an opportunity for students to get involved in financial news and knowledge through fantasy stock investment. 

As a liberal arts school, Wesleyan does not provide many avenues for students to attain financial literacy, something that the club leaders believe is key to success in today’s tough economy and job market.   Through a sponsorship, the club enables teams of students to have access to prestigious academic stock platform stocktrak.com, where they can invest a fake $500,000 in stocks, commodities and other financial interests. 

Jake Barack ’14 told the Patch, “I am excited to try different strategies of  investing stocks, even if it isn’t for real, because I see myself playing the stock market in the very near future.”

In sports news, Wesleyan had a very successful weekend. Although the women’s soccer team fell to arch-rival Williams 0-2, the men’s soccer match went into double overtime before the Cardinals emerged victorious over nationally ranked #11 Williams with a goal in the 109th minute by Rory O’Neill ’13, his squad-leading third goal of the season. 

The football and women’s field hockey team also achieved similar triumphs. Quarterback Matt Coyne ’12 lead his team down the field to victory, putting Wesleyan up 16-15 over Middlebury with a touchdown pass with 1:57 remaining. 

The team had been trailing 7-15 going into the fourth quarter. The field hockey team beat Hamilton 2-0 in the schools’ first ever meeting in the sport. The Lady Cardinals received contributions from Averill Roberto '13 and Jess Hanway '15, who each scored a goal.

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