Tracy Heather Strain ’82 Receives Emmy Nomination
Wellesley alum Tracy Heather Strain member of the purple class of ‘82, recently received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series for the film “Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart” (2017), which she both wrote and directed. Strain currently lives in Boston, where she runs the independent film company the Film Posse with her husband. She also serves as a Professor of the Practice at Northeastern University’s College of Arts, Media, and Design.
“Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart” is the first feature documentary about playwright Lorraine Hansberry, best known for writing “A Raisin in the Sun” and being the first African American woman to produce a Broadway play. In addition to earning an Emmy for outstanding documentary or nonfiction series, The feature has earned official selections for the Toronto International Film Festival, the Doc NYC Film Festival, and the Chicago International Film Festival.
Police Departments Responds to Incident in Campus Center
On Saturday, at around 10:00 p.m., members of the Wellesley College Campus Police and the Wellesley Police Department hurried to Lulu Chow Wang Campus Center to respond to reports of indecent exposure. The perpetrator was not found, and authorities believe he fled campus.
The next evening, Chief of Police Lisa Barbin sent an email to the Wellesley community, informing its members of the incident. Barbin indicated that Campus Police has increased its patrols, and urged students to be extra alert as the investigation continues.
According to the email, several students described the suspect as “an Asian male, early twenties, 5-foot-8, slightly chubby, short black hair, wearing navy blue shorts and a gray T-shirt.” Barbin urged those with any information to contact Campus Police.
Wellesley Celebrates 143rd Flower Sunday
On Sunday, the Wellesley Community celebrated its 143rd Flower Sunday. Flower Sunday is an annual event, in which first year students are matched with a “big” sibling to support them during their time at Wellesley. The event gets its name because it is tradition for “bigs” to give their “littles” flowers to celebrate. The “bigs” and “littles” then attend a multicultural and multi-faith program at the Houghton Chapel.
Rene Chen ’21 received her first “little” this Sunday. Chen indicated that she appreciates the tradition because it is a way to celebrate and unite the campus community; “It’s a special tradition because it mingles all of the school together in one beautiful event and it’s just so lovely and fun and overall very happy.”
Jennifer Doleac Comes to Wellesley
On Monday, Jennifer Doleac, an associate professor of economics at Texas A&M University, visited Wellesley and gave a lecture titled, “The Unintended Consequences of Ban the Box Policies.” The event, which was held in the Library Lecture Room, was co-sponsored by Wellesley’s Economics Department and the Freedom Project.
“Ban the box” policies prohibit employers from asking interviewees about their criminal records until late in the hiring process. Though these policies are intended to reduce racial discrimination in employment, Doleac’s research suggests that they do the opposite. In the lecture, Doleac presented her evidence and suggested alternatives to “ban the box” policies.
