Roger Sherman Debate Society

Rashad Evans, director of the Roger Sherman Debate Society, sends this update of the RSDS's latest successes:

"I would like to congratulate the sophomore team of Taylor Pasquence and Taylor Wolff for making it all the way to the final round of the CSU-Fullerton national debate tournament.  'Team Taylor' beat teams from UNLV, CSU-Chico, San Diego State University and CSU-Northridge before losing a hard fought final debate round to Cornell on a split decision .  In one semester, Team Taylor has successfully made the jump from novice to junior varsity debate, which has coined them the name 'super novices' around the country.  With a tournament win at James Madison University, a finals appearance at CSU-Fullerton and a semi-finals appearance at SUNY-Binghampton, Team Taylor has been successful from east to west and from north to south.  They are well on their way to being nationally competitive in the open division.  They will next compete at UT-Austin where they will face their strongest competition to date.  They are both already hard at work!

"Next month (February 25-26), RSDS will host the Hat City Debate Tournament, where for the first time in team history Western Connecticut State University will compete in the District 8 qualifying tournament in hopes of gaining one of the limited 78 spots at the prestigious National Debate Tournament (NDT) to be hosted by Emory University in Atlanta this March."

Way to go, Team Taylor and RSDS. 

Dr. Mel, 1945-2012

It is with great sadness that we mark the passing of Dr. Mel Goldstein, who founded the Meteorology Program (still offering the only bachelor's degree in Meteorology in Connecticut) and Weather Center at Western Connecticut State University.   Dr. Mel was an important and beloved member of the Arts and Sciences family, and his dedication to WestConn and our students continued long after his retirement as a faculty member.  During his career with WTNH, Dr. Mel mentored countless WestConn broadcast meteorology students who have gone on to have outstanding careers.  Many of us admired Dr. Mel for his energy, quick wit, and commitment to students and for the grace with which he faced his long battle with cancer.  His was a life well lived, as few can say that they have made as big a difference on an institution and a region as Dr. Mel did.  (See Robert Miller's "Meteorolgist 'Dr. Mel' Dies" in the News-Times and Maryellen Fillo's "Dr. Mel Loses His Battle with Cancer" in the Hartford Courant.) Our thoughts are with Dr. Mel's family, friends, and former students, as they mourn his passing and celebrate his incredible life.

Dalai Lama to visit in October 2012

The Dalai Lama will visit Western Connecticut State University on Oct. 18-99, 2012.  Details about the Dalai Lama's visit and plans for events leading up to his visit are available in Robert Miller's "Dalai Lama to Speak in Danbury" and "WestConn Delves into Tibetan Programs."  Dr.  John Briggs, CSU Professor of Writing, has been instrumental in bringing the Dalai Lama to campus and in organzing events leading up to his visit. 

Intersession in Italy

WCSU students in their palazzo classroom.

WCSU students taking an Italian cooking class with a professional chef.

Dr. Patrizia Farina and a group of WCSU students spent Intersession 2012 in Florence, Italy.  The program included intensive Italian language courses and several field trips, including an Italian cooking class.  Dr. Galina Bakhtiarova, chair of  the Department of World Languages and Literature, joined the group for part of the session.