<p>Finally, an article about Wesleyan that sounds like the person actually spent more than ten minutes on campus rather than just rehashing the NY Times' coverage of "naked dorms".... Bravo.</p>
<p>The fire inspection stuff is really big right now, though. For an account of the situation, read <a href="http://wesleyanargus.com/article.php?article_id=4647%5B/url%5D">http://wesleyanargus.com/article.php?article_id=4647</a></p>
<p>For a student opinion that I think summarizes general sentiment, read <a href="http://wesleyanargus.com/article.php?article_id=4722%5B/url%5D">http://wesleyanargus.com/article.php?article_id=4722</a></p>
<p>The girl in the article... is her name seriously Holly Wood?</p>
<p>Yes, it is.</p>
<p>I'm really disappointed in my college-to-be. I really hope things change. If they seriously use that $40,000 to teach supposedly the best and the brightest that fire burns, I will... do something very irrational.</p>
<p>The tunnels, the chalking, the pets--these were all things I heard about in my college search that got me really excited about Wesleyan. There are reasons I applied here ED over Amherst, Williams, etc., and those reasons have nothing to do with US News rankings. Again, I really hope things change soon. If not, the class of 2011 better step up the weirdness. Although, it's not even "weird" that concerns me. "Weird" is such an ambiguous word. The great thing, to me, about Wesleyan was just that it stood apart. Am I using past tense about a place I've only visited once? Eek.</p>
<p>I do think that the student body is still very much a "Wesleyan" student body, and I don't think the administration or any other forces at work will change that quite anytime soon :D</p>
<p>As long as awesome, quirky people keep on choosing Wesleyan knowing it will be wonderfully awesome and quirky, it won't change. Yay!! :)</p>
<p>
[quote]
As long as awesome, quirky people keep on choosing Wesleyan knowing it will be wonderfully awesome and quirky, it won't change. Yay!!
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Thank you for the reassurance. I really hope I get in.</p>
<p>I'm quirky! I really hope I get in, so I can contribute to the overall quirkiness of Wesleyan.</p>
<p>Yeah, see, that's the whole beauty of Wesleyan students. People really care about what kind of community we create, and we have created one that IS markedly different from Williams and Amherst. We do stand out, and it's for a reason-- because students care. Students aren't going to stop being passionate about Wesleyan's culture, and the kind of student that is attracted to Wes won't be deterred by a little hubbub over fire safety fines.</p>
<p>Well then, hooray!</p>
<p>Man! Did you read the comments from the locals in response to the newspaper article? I can't believe the contempt they express for the Wesleyan community. Anyone have any comments on that relationship for someone who's daughter has applied (not heard)? Is this just blue-collar sour grapes/jealousy? Any worse than other similar schools?</p>
<p>I'm not sure there are any comparisons to the Middletown/Wesleyan relationship. Most college towns are so small and so homogenous that they are virtual creations of the colleges themselves. Middletown preceded Wesleyan in existence by some 200 years and has always had an independent identity; there's a long history of highlander/lowlander friction usually involving property tax rolls, city services and quite frankly -- the Culture Wars. Middletown is a fairly conservative place.</p>
<p>As Middletown enjoys the fruits of a rather sudden and unexpected economic updraft, and Wesleyan looks forward to picking a new president, both sides realize that it is in their best interests to keep up the momentum that has been building the last few years.</p>
<p>Actually, in New England, most "college towns" existed well before the colleges themselves. And there has always been the "town-gown" conflict. Reading the local papers one would assume that there is nothing but tension between Cambridge, Allston, Brighton and Harvard, or between Newton and Allston and Boston College. As in most situations, the reality is much more complex.</p>
<p>Chedva, you are making my point, actually; the only other examples I can think of involve either much bigger colleges (Harvard, Yale, Brown etc) or much bigger cities (Trinity and Hartford.) There is something unique about the scale and the symbiotic relationship between Wesleyan and Middletown that makes the stakes seem higher somehow.</p>