CLASS OF 1987 | 2021–2022 | WINTER ISSUE

Hi friends! A pretty empty mailbox this time. I hope it means people are out, busy, and enjoying the return to some level of normal.

There were lots of spring 2021 graduations at various levels of education and various levels of interaction. My son Sam graduated from American University and we watched a taped broadcast from a Washington, D.C. hotel room. It was a very welcome celebration. Wesleyan’s commencement was in person and live streamed. If you watched, you may have seen Ira Skolnik’s son Jonah ’21 graduate with University Honors in both Medieval Studies and Government. This double honor is a first for Wesleyan. Jonah is going on for a higher degree at Trinity College Oxford.

I have a lot of books to report!

Rebecca Bratspies teaches environmental law at the City University of New York and lives in Queens with her husband and daughter. Her co-authored book, Environmental Justice: Law, Policy and Regulation was released in 2020. It is a textbook for undergraduate and law students but she hopes it will also be a resource for communities as well. Rebecca was appointed to the New York City Environmental Justice Advisory Board, and she blogs infrequently with the Center for Progressive Reform. Before the shutdown, she saw Trisha Lindemann and Lisa Ranghelli. In the 2020 Summer of COVID, she went on a socially distanced, graffiti-viewing walk with Janet Lieberman. She also hosted a Zoom reunion for about 30 members of the Karate Club from classes ’86–’89. Rebecca is interested in getting in touch with other Wesleyan people in the New York City area, especially those working in environmental fields.

Eric Lotke released his third book, Union Made, a romance about union organizing. This book joins his other titles, Making Manna, and 2044: The Problem Isn’t Big Brother, It’s Big Brother, Inc., and his work routinely gets good reviews.

Muzzy Rosenblatt’s new book, How Ten Global Cities Take on Homelessness, Innovations That Work was launched this June. Muzzy joins global experts to profile efforts to alleviate homelessness in 10 cities: Bogota, Mexico City, Los Angeles, Houston, Nashville, New York City, Baltimore, Edmonton, Paris, and Athens. The authors analyze how cities have used innovation and local political coordination to tackle homelessness. Muzzy is the CEO and president of BRC, the Bowery Residents’ Committee, an organization focused on people facing homelessness in New York City.

Here’s some publishing news directly from Pauline Frommer ’88: “On March 23, 2020 we stopped production on a book I’d been working on for months: a photo-rich, map-based guidebook centered around interest-based itineraries of all sorts. But I knew that the city, and world, would be changing drastically, so we put the book (Frommer’s New York City Day by Day) on ice. It’s now been several months of very hard work to replace all of the businesses that went out of business (shops, restaurants, hotels and even museums). But the city is coming back and so is this book, just released in November! Whew! Thrilled to get it out the door, and start editing many of the other Frommer’s guidebooks to places around the globe.”

Pauline reports that her older daughter is going into her last year at Tufts, and her younger daughter is starting Northwestern in the fall. She also says that the thing that kept her sane during COVID was playing trivia every Friday night with a rotating bunch of Wes friends from around the United States over Zoom. Lots of us were doing that.

C. S. “Cal” Coolidge ’91 reports that he is getting ready to send a child to college. His son, Will, is matriculating in the fall at University of California, Santa Cruz, Merrill College, or, as Cal likes to think of it, “Wesleyan West.”

If you haven’t already heard it, Wes Athletics does a podcast called Chris & Coach; Beyond the Box Score. Chris Grace, the voice of the Cardinals and Mike Whalen ’83, the athletic director, interview alums and discuss a wide range of topics including their experience with sports at Wes, their college experience in total, their thoughts on the value of a liberal arts education, and the paths they have taken since leaving Middletown. Chris Roellke and Chris Stiepock have both been guests and their interviews are entertaining and insightful. We’ve got a lot of other athletes who’d be great guests! I’m looking at you, Allegra Burton, Claire Conceison, Dave Robinson, Paul Amoruso, and Amy Mortimer!

No time like now to drop me a line and tell me what you’re up to. Hope it’s something good.