Humanities House goes to Hartford

On 3rd February, our UConn Humanities House Learning Community left the bucolic confines of the Storrs campus to travel to the state capital of Connecticut, the city of Hartford for one of our community-wide events.

Last semester, before the New England winter had fully kicked off, we had taken a trip to New York City to visit the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and then took the infamous New York subway to 14th Street and 8th Avenue to explore the Chelsea Historic District of Manhattan and perambulated the pedestrianized “High Line” walk heading north and finishing just before the Hudson Yards subway on 34th Street (fun fact: Hudson Yards subway was part of the city’s unsuccessful bid for the 2012 Olympics and was going to be integral to the West Side Stadium that was never built).

This semester, we did not have to leave the Nutmeg State and were able to discover artistic and cultural opportunities that lay within our own state borders. Similar to our previous trip, we managed to combine two exciting activities in one day – a morning of “high culture” at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art and an afternoon of sporting excitement to watch the UConn Men’s basketball game in the XL Center, Harford.

I was keenly looking forward to this event because, as an international student, I have mostly only ever visited Hartford when taking a bus to travel on elsewhere. Although Hartford had become more of a “transportation node” in my psycho-geographical imaginary, every time I passed by I would always look at the golden dome of the State Capitol Building and think that I really should spend more time here. I had also been told that UConn has been developing its downtown campus in Hartford and it was good to know that I was broadening my experiences to include other campuses beyond Storrs.

Although I was looking forward to this trip, it was still a challenge to wake up on a Sunday morning as we met as a group at the Humanities House classroom at 9.15am. We boarded the school bus that was waiting outside and made the relatively short journey to Hartford, disembarking right outside the Wadsworth Atheneum. I was surprised at how big the building was and did not realise what a large art collection it housed. The Wadsworth was named after Daniel Wadsworth and was founded in 1842 and the collection has over 50,000 works of art spanning over 5,000 years of history. (Fun fact: “Atheneum was a term popular in the 19th century “to describe a cultural institution with a library, works of art and artifacts, devoted to learning history, literature, art, and science” according to the Wadsworth’s website!). There is not enough space to go into detail about the fascinating history of the Wadsworth here but those who are interested can read all about it here: https://www.thewadsworth.org/about/history/ For now, it suffices to say this is a major national and international museum of art that is of equal stature to others found in major metropolitan cities like New York. Even before I heard about this history I was impressed by the building both the inside and outside.

We gathered in the lobby and were met by two expert docent guides and were given the opportunity to put our coats and bags away in the cloakroom, and then we split into two groups to go on guided tours of the collection. Our volunteer guide explained that rather than attempt to see the entire collection we shall view three particular art works and discuss different ways of viewing and interpreting them.

We first saw a collection of early photographs of African American women posing as part of the Black History month. I was surprised at how old the photos were as they were over 100 years old, I just assume that taking selfies and posing is a new thing we do now. The guide asked us to offer suggestions of what we thought from the photographs and really got us actively involved in the understanding the art. We then went to see some European Art by impressionists and saw a work of art by Claude Monet called The Beach at Trouville from 1870 and discussed all the different things we could see in the painting. To me it just looked like a picture of some people at the beach but a lot of other students suggested some interesting ideas about the sea and waves and the different people in the painting.

We then saw a painting by William Holman Hunt, who was a pre-Raphaelite painter, called The Lady of Shallot. Our guide explained how it was based on a poem about one of the legends of King Arthur and how the lady in the painting could only look at the world through a mirror but she turned around to see a handsome knight and all her tapestry became unwoven. The group discussed how this seemed a bit unfair on the woman but we agreed it was a very interesting painting. When I first saw the painting I thought the mirror was a window and you have to look closely to realise this, so I was grateful our guide helped point these things out to us.

We then saw a large painting about the French Revolution and discussed its unrealistic portrayal of events but the significance of the symbolism. We then went to the final gallery and saw some more modern art from current day artists, and joined up with the other group. I really enjoyed seeing the art at the Wadsworth but the collection was so large and each piece of art was so detailed that it was quite overwhelming.

We then broke for lunch and some students went back to look around the atheneum, however, I went to get lunch nearby. I also stopped by the nearby Hartford Times Building which is part of the new UConn Hartford Downtown Campus and was an old looking building on the outside but with a really nice new modern interior. If this building was at Storrs it would be one of my favorite university buildings.

After lunch we all gathered outside the entrance to the Wadsworth and then headed to the XL Center which is only a couple of blocks away to watch the basketball. As we started getting closer more people were gathering on the sidewalks and it started to feel much more busy as the human traffic slowed down to pass through the security checkpoints as you enter the arena.

UConn is different than most schools as its men’s basketball team has two home courts - Harry A. Gampel Pavilion and XL Center. Gampel Pavilion is the home arena for both the UConn Men’s and Women’s basketball teams. The stadium is located in the center of the UConn Storrs campus, and it was opened in January 1990, and has been home to UConn’s successes over 25 years. Our afternoon’s venue, the XL Center has been the “second home” for the UConn men’s basketball program since January of 1976. The XL Center was formerly called the Hartford Civic Center, located in the heart of the downtown Hartford, and it is not only the home court for UConn basketball program but also serves as the home arena for the Hartford Wolfpack. Additional to the ACC regular season UConn basketball, the XL center will continue to be the home arena for the postseason. The first two rounds of the NCAA tournament will be hosted at the XL Center in the beginning of the year 2019. It was my first time watching UConn play here and the stadium was professionally organized and there was a good atmosphere despite the arena being far from full.

Unlike the usual schedule for most basketball games, this game started at 2:30 pm, which was a little earlier on Sunday afternoon, and the UConn Men’s basketball team, the Huskies, faced the Pirates from East Carolina University. (I also learned a joke from another Humanities House student, “Why is East Carolina University called the Pirates?” “Because they Arrrrrrrrr!!!”). Even though the final score was 76 against 52, which looks like an easy win for UConn, the outcome was not as ideal as you have imagined from a simple glance at the scores.

Luckily enough, my friends and I found a perfect spot right in the middle of the student seating area to watch the game. Even though it was not my first time watching UConn play, the pregame routine still impressed me deeply. However, in contrast to the slick pre-game introduction (with dancing, chanting and music), both teams had a real rough start by committing multiple fouls and missing easy opportunities. Coach Dan Hurley was furious about the lack of energy and concentration from the team. In addition, the Coach surprisingly benched our senior star Jalen Adams early in the second half and the rest of the game.

Despite the lack of Jalen Adams, the sophomore power forward (PF) Josh Carlton stood up strong for the team, by scoring 20 points and grabbing 16 rebounds in this 76-52 win over the East Carolina University. At the same time, another star on the court was the junior Christian Vital who also got 18 points, 7 assists and 7 boards, which is closely enough to get a triple double. His fantastic performance was no doubt a significant contribution for UConn’s “W”.

Vital was not only the commander who can regulate the pace of the game, but he is also our best finisher on the court. I was impressed by the clear way that he could examine the court while he was playing. He also committed a dunk during the game, which really boosted my emotions during the game and lifted the crowd around me.

Carlton had his first double-double in his career by halftime with 12 points and 10 rebounds, helping UConn to establish a 32-26 lead at the break. His great contribution, I believe actually pulled the Huskies out of the lazy beginning and enabled them to start to play systematically.

On the other side, unfortunately, our star backcourt Jalen Adams, who averages just under 19 points a game, was held scoreless and missed all six of his shots from the floor. According to the post-game interview, he was pulled from the game early in the second half and seated for the rest of the game because he walked away from Coach Dan Hurley as he was talking to him. Our UConn basketball team led 37-31 when Adams took a seat, and the Huskies outscored the Pirates 39-21 for the rest of the way.

"You wouldn't think we’d get better with the best player benched in the second half, but that's what happened," Hurley told reporters after the game. I was also worried that our basketball team might lose the pace of the game, and also be short on the scoreboard. However, the result really shocked me. This win should not only be credited to the players, but the Coach Hurley really left a deep mark. I think he not only united the squad on the floor, but every member on the team.

As the coach for UConn’s Chinese basketball team, I may view the basketball game slightly different than others. In my point of view, I believe the pressured defense was the key that unlocked the gate toward success. On the defensive side, the Huskies held Pirate's leading scorer Jayden Gardner who was averaging 18 points per game in this season before entering this game to just nine points. According to the post-game recap, we outscored the Pirates ten more points in the paint and eight more in 2nd chance points. We did a great job on fighting for the rebounds and attacking the paint, which seems to be the key to open the door of Win.

After this game, our Huskies improved to 12-2 at their two home arenas-- the XL Center in Hartford and Gampel Pavilion on the campus. In addition, they have won their last four home games. Unfortunately, our Huskies opened a losing streak since the game with the Pirates and ended up losing five games in a road. We are currently No.11 in the ACC conference, and having 13-14 overall record.

Totally different than last year, a new era of UConn Men’s basketball team got underway in this school year with the new guy Dan Hurley in charge as the Huskies’ head coach, while coming with his brand-new playing style. Coach Hurley’s pressured “in your face” defense and his transition-based offense has already woken the competitor instincts of UConn Men’s basketball team. On the other side, this new playing style requires the use of multiple players with their maximum effects, which, in effect, means everyone on the roster should be ready to play the game. This idea of playing was completely exhibited by this game.

Without the biggest star Jalen Adams on the floor but having all the new players out on the floor was the focal point of the game, which we actually outscored the opponent 39-21 on the second half. As a rookie coach, I find this style of coaching to be extremely interesting and eye-opening. He stimulated the energies of the whole team and got every single person in the team involved, which is way easier to talk than do.

Personally speaking, I believe that if the UConn Men’s basketball team are going to achieve any special success in the 2018-2019 season, the backcourt will be most likely to put an astonishing number on the scoreboard, including the bench depth, experience, and talents, the backcourt is clearly UConn’s strongest fists. Jalen Adams who is in the conversation of AAC player of the Year is no doubt the biggest star in this Huskies team. He is the leading scorer and assister in each of the last two years, he also earns the honor of first-team all-conference honors in the sophomore year and second-team All-ACC accolades as a junior.

Humanities House also participated in the half-time entertainment when freshman student Alexis Charles was chosen to answer a multiple choice question about pop music. Everyone could see her on the big screen and I would have been very nervous but she was very cool and calm and she got the question right! I am not sure what she won but I think she got a prize, and we were all cheering for her.

When the game was over we all met outside the entrance and walked to the collection point where we all boarded the bus. After a quick headcount we headed home and got back to campus by 5.30pm, with plenty of time to prepare to watch the Superbowl that evening to top off a full day with another sporting success for our home team. It was one of those days where you cannot believe you had done all those activities in the same day, and I look forward to returning to both the Wadsworth and the basketball again and I would definitely recommend it to all UConn students as a fun and enriching experience.