The Miscellany News | Feb 24, 2011

The Miscellany News Since 1866 | miscellanynews.com

February 24, 2011

Volume CXLIV | Issue 16

Hill to hold spring panel discussions

Kitzinger to resign from post as dean Molly Turpin

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Aashim Usgaonkar News Editor

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Juliana Halpert/The Miscellany News

his spring, President of the College Catharine Bond Hill will host a series of panel discussions entitled “Vassar Today” in place of the town hall meetings that were hosted in the fall. Various aspects of the College—including finances, the curriculum and dining—will be discussed at length by relevant administrators and faculty at regular intervals throughout the semester.

There are five panels in all: Financial Aid and Access; Academics and the Curriculum; Campus Planning and Renovations; Campus Dining, Health and Wellness; and Vassar and the Current Economy. The dates of the panels have not yet been decided, and are contingent on the panelists’ schedules.

“Because we structure town halls by dorm, the discussions are a bit scattered—every student has a different question. So conversations go from classes to dining to the economy, and there’s never really a synthesized exploration of one central topic,” said Vassar Student Association Vice President for Operations Ruby Cramer ’12 while explaining the need for such panels. “Panels are great because you can host them in a central location, [they are] accessible to everyone and the discussion is focused on one issue, which you can really delve into,” she added.

Both Cramer and Hill agreed that the fall’s Town Hall meetings were successful, but that panels would be See PANELS on page 4

Students will be performing in a production of “Playground: the Hallie Flanagan Project” next week from March 1-3. The play was commissioned for the sesquicentennial.

Guest Reporter

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Emma Daniels

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Reporter

assar’s Drama Department is renowned far and wide for its emphasis on experimental theater, innovative directing, top-flight acting and whole lot of risk taking. Hallie Flanagan, a noted professor of drama during

findings of the study are largely consistent with Vassar.

Dean of Freshmen Benjamin Lotto explained the challenges faced by first year students: “The most difficult issues facing first year students fall under the general category of ‘transition to college.’ Students arriving here are joining a new community in multiple dimensions—academic, social and other—and leave behind the support systems of family, friends and teachers that they have been a part of up to that moment.”

But he remained optimistic about the ability of the majority of students to overcome these obstacles successfully.

He noted, “A small number of students struggle in one way or another, and many offices on campus—the Dean of Freshmen office, the Learning, Teaching and Research Center, the house teams, Counseling Services, Health Services and so on—seek to provide support to these students so that they can overcome their struggles and realize their full academic potential at Vassar.”

It was these services that are in See STRESS on page 8

Inside this issue

6

FEATURES

rofessor of Greek and Roman Studies and Dean of Planning and Academic Affairs Rachel Kitzinger will resign from her post as dean at the end of the academic year. Kitzinger is the first to hold the Dean of Planning and Academic Affairs position since the office’s creation in 2007, so her resignation marks its first moment of turnover.

“It was sort of a sequence of decisions,” said Kitzinger of what led her to her final decision. “When I accepted the position in 2007, I told [President Catharine Bond Hill] that I wanted to the possibility of reevaluating it after three years because at that point I was going to be eligible for phased retirement through my faculty position. And I thought that that would be good for her in case she felt that she needed a change and good for me because this was such an unknown posi-

tion.”

Kitzinger explained that the College created the office in recognition of two main concerns: an overwhelmingly large portfolio of responsibilities for the Office of the Dean of the Faculty and the lack of a position dedicated to long-term planning. With these in mind, the office came to be defined by a diverse set of responsibilities, including oversight of Vassar’s libraries, the athletics department, the Wimpfheimer Nursery School and Infant Toddler Center, the Francis Lehman Loeb Art Center, the Offices of Admissions and Financial Aid, the grants office, and the Office of Institutional Research.

In concert with the Vice President for Finance and Administration, the Dean of Planning and Academic Affairs considers the long-term goals of the College, such as deferred maintenance projects and capital improvements, and, since the See KITZINGER on page 4

Vassar fashion still makes a statement

9

OPINIONS

the 1920s, is largely responsible for this reputation. She is the legendary professor credited with conceptualizing and coining the term experimental theater.

In addition to her influences on Vassar’s campus, Flanagan has also been recognized for “Living Newspaper” productions done through the WPA Federal Theater Project. The performances used theater as a medium to present factual information on current events to audiences.

In honor of the sesquicentennial, the Drama Department’s first show this year will focus on Flanagan through its production of the experimental show “Playground: the Hallie Flanagan Proj See PLAYGROUND on page 16

Jillian Scharr

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Features Editor

ast Friday’s fatal shooting at the Poughkeepsie Train Station is just the latest in a trend of gun violence that has plagued Poughkeepsie in recent years.

On Feb. 18, Catskill residents Lee Welch, 27, and Jessica Welch, 28, were in Poughkeepsie to exchange a vehicle, according to The Poughkeepsie Journal. At 1:07 p.m. gunfire near the train station on lower Main Street was reported to the police. According to police reports, an argument arose between the husband and wife,

and he shot her as they sat in their car.

Poughkeepsie Police Officer John Falcone was one of several officers who responded to the call. They arrived on the scene to discover Welch holding a gun and his three-year-old daughter. Police demanded that Welch drop his weapon, but a confrontation erupted, in which Welch shot Falcone in the head and then shot himself. The daughter was unharmed. Officer Falcone later died in surgery at Vassar Brothers Medical Center, reported the Journal See VIOLENCE on page 8

Courtesy of timesunion.com

merica’s college freshmen have never felt so stressed, according to a recent article in The New York Times (“Record Level of Stress Found in College Freshmen,” Jan. 26 2011). According to the Times, the results of the “The American Freshman: National Norms Fall 2010” survey administered by the Higher Education Research Institute indicate that the number of freshman who reported themselves as “below average in emotional health” has hit its highest point since 1985, the first year the survey was given.

The article listed several suggestions as to the causes of this decline in mental health, namely the additional pressure added by the financial crisis and the self-generated pressure students place on themselves to succeed.

In light of Vassar College’s recent Committee on Inclusion and Excellence’s report that students feel a “tension between the pursuit of balance and wellbeing, and formal markers of success,” it would appear that

Editor in Chief

Ode to experimental Latest gun violence theater takes the stage part of local pattern

Stress levels on the rise for college freshmen Jessica Tarantine

Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY

Last Friday’s shooting at the Poughkeepsie Train Station, which left three dead, incuding Poughkeepsie Police Officer John Falcone, is part of a local pattern of rising gun violence in recent years. City officials say the violence is largely drug-related.

Time to address domestic violence in Poughkeepsie

14 ARTS

Screenwriter Dustin Lance Black to lecture

The Miscellany News

Page 2

February 24, 2011

Editor in Chief Molly Turpin Senior Editor Angela Aiuto

Contributing Editors Matthew Brock Lila Teeters

News Caitlin Clevenger Aashim Usgaonkar Features Mitchell Gilburne Jillian Scharr Opinions Joshua Rosen Humor & Satire Alanna Okun Arts Rachael Borné Sports Corey Cohn Andy Marmer Copy Katharine Austin Design Eric Estes Photography Juliana Halpert Online Erik Lorenzsonn Social Media Marie Dugo

Being careful to distinguish her own views from the official stance of the College, President Sarah Gibson Blanding released a statement against Congressional investigations of subversive influences in education on Feb. 27, 1953. She wrote such investigations might result in, “wedge for Federal control of our educational system.”

This Week in Vassar History Feb. 26, 1861

The first meeting of the Board of Trustees of Vassar Female College was held at the Hotel Gregory in Poughkeepsie. Milo P. Jewett was elected president.

At this meeting, Matthew Vassar presented to the newly organized board of trustees a small tin box containing the funds appropriated for the founding of the college, in the form of securities amounting to $408,000, and a deed of conveyance for two hundred acres for the college site and farm. “It occurred to me, that woman, having received from her Creator the same intellectual constitution as man, has the same right as man to intellectual culture and development.” Matthew Vassar, Communications to the Trustees of Vassar College by its Founder, February 26,1861 March 3. 1913

A woman suffrage parade in Washington was organized by Inez Milholland ‘09. The New York Times of the following day under the headline “1000 Women March, Beset by Crowds,” noted “Miss Milholland was an imposing figure in a white broadcloth Cossack suit and long white-kid boots. From her shoulders hung a pale-blue cloak, adorned with a golden maltese cross. She was mounted on Gray Dawn, a white horse...”

By Dean Emeritus Colton Johnson

ketball 75 feet, breaking the former record by 15 feet, and Anne Perkins Swann ’17 set a new standing broad jump record, jumping 9 feet 1/2 inch.

March 2, 1917

The faculty voted that the ability to swim would be a requirement for graduation, starting with the Class of 1920.

Feb. 28, 1920

“A trolley car loaded with Vassar College girls ran away down Main Street hill here today. It was stopped at the wharf at the Hudson River by a concrete bumper. The occupants were badly shaken up and frightened. Slippery rails caused the motorman to lose control of the car.

“Many of the girls tried to jump, but were prevented by the conductor, who would not allow the doors to be opened.” —The New York Times

March 1948

Professor Edith A. Roberts and Mildred D. Southwick ’26 of the plant science department reported to the Electron Microscope Society of America that they had determined that Vitamin A, heretofore thought of as being formed primarily in fish livers, was in fact formed in young plants and vegetables, in the form of carotene.

March 4, 1936

Along with the presidents of Yale, Mount Holyoke and Radcliffe, President MacCracken was among the 450 signatories to a letter sent to President Roosevelt from the National Peace Conference, deploring what they saw as an unprecedented growth in military and naval expenditures and the failure of the administration to explain whether this was preparation for war or for national defense.

Feb. 28, 1914

Two new college records were set at the indoor track meet. Elizabeth Hardin ’16 threw the bas-

lis Safarik ’45, Mariajane Clarke ’45 and Audrey Talmage ’45 founded the Vassar Chronicle. Politically opposite, the two campus newspapers coexisted—frequently publishing joint issues— and gradually their editorial opposition lessened.

In 1959, the student-faculty Coordinating Committee on Educational Policy recommended a reorganized, consolidated paper. The Miscellany resisted the idea, and on May 16, the Chronicle’s editors announced that it would cease publication at the end of the academic year.

March 1, 1944

As a counterpoint to The Miscellany News, Phyl-

Assistant Features Matthew Bock Danielle Bukowski Mary Huber Assistant Copy Katie Cornish Stephen Loder Gretchen Maslin Assistant Photo Madeline Zappala Crossword Editor Jonathan Garfinkel Reporters Vee Benard Ruth Bolster Adam Buchsbaum Emma Daniels Shruti Manian Kristine Olson Connor O’Neill Chelsea Peterson- Salahuddin Joseph Rearick Dave Rosenkranz Nathan Tauger Columnists Hannah Blume Brittany Hunt Michael Mestitz Tom Renjilian Andy Sussman Nik Trkulja Photographers Christie Chea Katie de Heras Carlos Hernandez Jared Saunders Eric Schuman

LETTERS POLICY

The Miscellany News is Vassar College’s weekly open forum for discussion of campus, local and national issues, and welcomes letters and opinions submissions from all readers. Letters to the Editor should not exceed 450 words, and they usually respond to a particular item or debate from the previous week’s issue.

Opinions articles are longer pieces, up to 800 words, and take the form of a longer column. No letter or opinions article may be printed anonymously. If you are interested in contributing, e-mail misc@vassar.edu.

March 1955

The first television set on campus was installed in Students’ Building.

March 1, 1959

A survey of alumnae giving for the previous year by the American Alumni Council was reported in the “News in Education” column of The New York Times. Listed in order of amount given, the top nine institutions were Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Cornell, Vassar, Colgate, Chicago, Notre Dame and Pennsylvania.

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

The Editorial Board holds weekly meetings every Sunday at 9 p.m. in the Rose Parlor. All members of the Vassar community interested in joining the newspaper’s staff or in a critique of the current issue are welcome. The Miscellany News is not responsible for the views presented in the Opinions pages.

The weekly staff editorial is the only article which reflects the opinion of the Editorial Board. The Miscellany News is published weekly by the students of Vassar College. The Miscellany News office is located in College Center Room 303, Vassar College.

NEWS

February 24, 2011

Page 3

Rapp emphasizes importance of justice Breanna Amorde Guest Reporter

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Chelsea Petersen-Salahuddin Reporter

O Courtesy of democracyinaction.org

.S. Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues Stephen J. Rapp will speak about his experiences on bringing war criminals to justice on Tuesday, March 1 at 5:30 p.m. in Sanders Classroom room 212.

In 2009, Rapp was appointed

by President Obama to his current position, Ambassador-atLarge for War Crimes Issues.

The position was established during the second term of the Clinton administration. The Office for War Crimes Issues was originally focused on coordinating the international criminal tribunals emerging in the ’90s, such as the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

As Ambassador-at-Large, Rapp advises the United States Secretary of State on responses to atrocities committed in areas of conflict and elsewhere throughout the world. He travels as the President’s envoy, meeting with heads of state and international organizations to build international support for these policies. In an interview published in TIME Magazine on Sep. 14, 2009, Rapp discussed some of the issues he wanted to face, and the role he now plays. In describing his role, he stated, “Like the canary in the coal mine, we give the signal that something very serious is occurring.” He went on to state, “The office, together with the Secretary for Global Affairs and the Secretary of State, has the responsibility to collect information on ongo-

ing atrocities, and it is then the responsibility of the President to determine what steps might be taken towards justice.” He also made a point to make a distinction between human rights law, which addresses human rights in everyday contexts, and international humanitarian law, which concerns itself with the laws of war and is the focus of Rapp’s work. “My job deals with atrocities, genocide and war crimes ... I’ll be working not just with new developments and existing courts but also unhealed wounds created by past atrocities,” said Rapp.

Ambassador Rapp brought about several important war crime convictions prior to his appointment. When he served as senior trial attorney and chief of prosecutions at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, Rapp headed the trial team that convicted the nation’s Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines radio station and Kangura newspaper for incitement to commit genocide, which was the first ever of such convictions for leaders of the mass media. In 2007 he began serving as prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, leading the prosecutions of former Liberian President Charles Taylor and other persons alleged to bear the greatest responsibility for the atrocities committed during the civil war in Sierra Leone. He helped to secure the first ever convictions for the recruitment of child soldiers, and the first convictions for sexual slavery and forced marriages as crimes against humanity. Rapp’s bigggest issue in

Eight nominees will participate in Mr. Vassar

U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues Stephen J. Rapp will deliver the annual C. Mildred Thompson Lecture on Tuesday, March 1.

Sierra Leone was the building of a domestic system of justice.

“The concern all of us had was that we were conducting justice in a comfortable courtroom with long trials and well-paid attorneys… A mile away in the local prison there were simply no resources. Cases can’t go forward, witnesses are lost and people stay in detention for many years at a stretch. [If I was] to do it over, I would try to develop a court within the national system,” said Rapp in the interview.

Rapp argued in the interview that although some may believe that trials can get in the way of restoring peace to a wartorn area, justice in fact helps to bring peace about: “I think

we’ve learned that contrary to fears, holding people accountable for atrocities does not make the problem worse—it makes it better ... Justice is a necessary ingredient to the establishment of peace. There’s always an argument that justifies doing nothing, but you can’t defer it forever.” Rapp now has two years of experience in his current position, and may have new experiences to share.

Rapp’s presentation is the History Department’s annual C. Mildred Thompson Lecture, which is open to the public, The C. Mildred Thompson Lecture honors a Vassar alumna from the class of 1903 who went on be a professor of history and a dean at Vassar.

Panel explores social media and academics Marie Dugo

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Social Media Editor

tudents dining on the east side of the All Campus Dining Center (ACDC) on Wednesday, Feb. 16 at 5:30 p.m. were greeted by a Social Media and Academia Panel. The panelists, Sarah Leon ‘11, Nick Inzucchi ‘11, Associate Professor of Sociology Leonard Nevarez and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Women’s Studies Kristin Carter sought to discuss the ways in which social media is interacting with academia thus far, and to explore how the two should synergize moving forward.

Holding the panel during prime dinnertime in ACDC allowed both students who meant to attend and those who were taken by surprise to engage with the discussion.

Leon works as a blogger and tweeter for The New York Times style section in addition to being a media studies major. Leon spoke about how, while abroad for the Fall 2009 semester with the Vassar Media Studies in London Program, one of her teachers utilized Twitter. Hashtags were created for course topics, and students were encouraged to share links. Her biggest question was if the class was just using social media for social media’s sake or if there was a real purpose. “It was a confusing experience because we would be having an in-person discussion, but there was also one happening online,” Leon said. “But it was cool because there was an archive of our discussions and the course as a whole.”

Leon also brought up Moodle and her experience using it during last semester’s Media Studies Senior Seminar. While the discussion forum, blog and hyperlinked syllabus features were all useful, the technology still had its kinks and drawbacks, and lacked the draw other social media outlets have for students. The students also turned to other platforms, like Google Chat, for features Moodle does not offer. “Classmate chat

formed a great community, which definitely added to the comfort in the classroom and facilitated discussion,” Leon said. The other main problem with Moodle pages for classes is that they disappear at the end of the semester. This prompted Adjunct Associate Professor of English M. Mark to copy all of the discussion forum and blog content into a Microsoft Word document that she sent to the seminarians over Winter Break as a keepsake.

Nevarez, who sits on the Committee on Academic Technologies, was next. He began, “I haven’t used Facebook in the classroom yet, and I’m not sure if I want to.” He does have a personal page, but refrains from “friending” any students until they graduate.

However, he is involved in an academic use of Facebook: The Urban Studies Program has a Facebook page that is used for current students and alumnae/i to connect with each other and share links, news items and graduate program experiences, as well as to “create an on-going urban studies dialogue outside of the classroom.”

Nevarez said social media’s best benefit is how “its temporality and size is larger than 20 students in a classroom a few times a week.” He later added, “Teachers always hope their students will continue to think and discuss outside of class. Social media encourages this, and documents it.”

On the same platform, Inzucchi spoke next about his experiences working on game application development for Facebook. He explained, “One of the reasons games are so successful on Facebook is because there is no barrier of entry. People are already there, and they will use free applications given to them.” For this same reason, academic discourse could arguably develop in social media because they are already being so thoroughly used in individuals’ daily lives,

according to Inzucchi. Nonetheless, Inzucchi cautioned, “If you’re going to bring education to Facebook, it’s going to take a lot of work. Its structure and reputation isn’t intended for educational uses, so it will be a conceptual project to figure out how to get people to use it in an educational fashion.”

Carter spoke on what she called “the new stuff club.” For Carter, “Tools can always open up space for unplanned and unpredicted innovation, so I can see what the point of new stuff is in that sense.” She continued, “It’s exciting in theory, but in practice we get so wowed by the newness of stuff that the content is shared just for the sake of sharing it.

The content and form may be remediated in ways we’re not conscious of.” For this reason, Carter believes we should critically analyze “why we like what we like, why we adopt what we adopt, and why we reject what we reject” when it comes to social media.

The responses to the chat idea varied.

Carter replied, “I like the idea of a separate space for conversation. The question is how it is moderated and who is doing the moderation. It is vital to go into something knowing what you want to get out of it.” Alternatively, Director of Media Studies Eva Woods responded, “The idea of having to go through 20 pages of chat conversation looking for the substantive is horrifying. Chat-like conversation is spontaneous and impulsive by nature; academic conversation needs to be more substantive.”

Despite the differences in opinions and experiences shared at the event, the panelists concluded that before we can decide the relationship between social media and academia, we need to decide what we want from each. The classroom experience is a sacred one, and deciding which components of it would be useful in virtual form—or which virtual forms would enhance it—is the first decision to be made.

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

n Friday, Feb. 25 at 8 p.m., the Daisy Chain will be sponsoring the annual Mr. Vassar fundraiser on the second floor of the Students’ Building (UpC). Mr. Vassar is a spoof on the typical beauty pageant in which two men from each class compete in a variety of challenges to decide who will be crowned “Mr. Vassar.”

Each of the eight contestants takes on a persona to coincide with the theme for that year; this year, the theme for Mr. Vassar will be Hot Mess, a term expressing a state of disarray first made popular following its usage by Christian Siriano in the fourth season of Project Runway.

The winner of the event will be decided by a panel of faculty judges including Senior Lecturer in Physical Education and rugby Head Coach Tony Brown, Associate Professor of Psychology Abigail Baird, All Campus Dining Center Chef’s Helper Darrin “TC” Weaver, and Lecturer in Athletics and women’s soccer Head Coach Richard Moller.

In honor of Vassar’s sesquicentennial, the Daisy Chain hopes to make this year’s Mr. Vassar its largest and most memorable fundraiser yet. Sarah Wadlinger ’11, another Daisy Chain coordinator, wrote in an e-mailed statement, “This year’s Mr. Vassar is already shaping up to be an amazing event and we hope it’s going to blow previous contests out of the water. The theme, Hot Mess, will make sure this contest is hilariously fun for all involved. All the nominations have been sorted, and potential candidates have been contacted…we can definitely say we’ve got some fierce competitors this year. Everyone should be looking forward to seeing their classmates as the hottest messes their imaginations can create!”

This year’s Mr. Vassar pageant is shaping up to be nothing less than spectacular, featuring a wide variety of personalities from all over campus. This year’s Mr. Vassar contestants include David Iselin ’11, Candido Diaz ’11, Erik Lorenzsonn ’12 [Disclosure: Lorenzsonn is Online Editor of The Miscellany News], Michael “Mookie” Thottam ’12, Dan Flynn ’13, Matt Horton ’13, Aidan Kahn ’14 and Nick Braun ’14. In an e-mailed statement, Flynn wrote, “You could say I’m pretty excited and flattered to be chosen as a contestant for Mr. Vassar. I mean, I know I’m a big deal, but it’s nice for other people to recognize that.”

As their big debut approaches, these men are each slowly starting to prepare their Hot Mess performances. Diaz has begun developing his talent as well as working on developing a persona named Fernando, who will most definitely be a “hot mess.” Similarly, Kahn has begun preparing for his big day by doing “lots of push-ups and calisthenics, mostly creative calisthenics, also some drama exercising and… getting in my mindset. As well as growing a mustache.” Kahn describes his persona as “a little piece of himself, and a poignant piece,” which he hopes will “move people without bringing them fully to tears.” Flynn is also in the process of preparing his persona, writing, “I don’t know much about my ‘persona,’ per se, but, well, I think I will defer to the words of the poet Drake in saying, ‘I’m doing me / I’m living life right now, mayne / and that’s what Ima do til it’s over / til it’s over / but it’s far from over.’”

To add to the Hot Mess spectacular, the event will be hosted by Vassar Improv and will also include a special performance by members of FlyPeople. The Daisy Chain will also be hosting a promotional fundraiser for the event in which students can vote on what professor or college administrator and student leader they would like to pie in the face. Tickets for the event will cost $1 each and can be bought at the Daisy Chain table in the College Center throughout the week or at the doors of the event.

Aaron Gabaldon ’13, one of this year’s ushers—the male counterparts to Daisies—said of the event, “Working on Mr. Vassar has been a great experience. It has been a blast discussing the men who are nominated and finding the judges. Mr. Vassar is a great and hilarious tradition and everyone should definitely show up to watch the crazy, and check out some hot guys.”

NEWS

Page 4

February 24, 2011

Hill, senior NSO’s NonCon brought Ostby, Parikh officers value student input V Dave Rosenkranz Reporter

Madeline Zappala/The Miscellany News

PANELS continued from page 1 a welcome change. “The town halls last semester were a wonderful success, and I think a lot of students enjoyed them. When we were considering, though, whether or not to do another round of town halls this semester, I think we wanted to try something new for the spring,” said Cramer.

Hill said that sometimes she felt the need for other administrators to be at the town hall meetings, citing the example of certain curriculum-related questions that would best be answered by Dean of the Faculty Jon Chenette.

“I think there was at least one town hall when [Dean of the College Christopher Roellke] and I kept looking at each other and said, ‘We need [Chenette] in the room.’” At the panels, said Hill, such administrators will be present to handle topics that lie within their expertise.

While it was Hill and Roellke who experienced the need for other administrators, “the idea to host panels instead of Town Hall meetings came mostly from the student body,” said Hill.

“At the beginning of the semester, I sat down with [Hill] and her two Student Assistants Elizabeth Anderson [’11] and Desislava Simeonova [’11] and we mapped out some potential topics that we felt were very relevant to the Vassar experience of today,” said Vassar Student Association (VSA) Vice President for Operations Ruby Cramer ’12 in regard to the development of the idea. “With our sesquicentennial underway,” continued Cramer, “we’ve been doing a lot of thinking this year about our history, about aspects of our College worth commemorating. This will be a brief respite from that celebration to really discuss as a community the issues affecting Vassar right now.”

These panels are only organized for the spring, and whether or not the president decides to continue will depend on their success. “At the end of the semester, the senior officers and I will discuss how successful the project has been,” said Hill. She also indicated that student reaction would be gauged through conversations with members of the VSA Executive Board and the student assistants to Hill and Roellke.

“I think we’re still playing around with what format works. If these panels seem to be a format that works well, it may be something we stick with for a little while,” said Hill. “The idea to have these panels and the topics for them came mostly from the students, and if they are happy with the outcome of the panels, we’re happy to keep on holding them.”

There is a possibility that the format of a panel with several administrators may allow for less open-ended questions. Hill, however, argues that she thinks “it is important that students who have particular issues talk with the administrator who is responsible for that area. It is much more effective than their talking with me, and then my trying to repeat the discussion with them.”

The topics selected for the panel are designed to provide these interested students with relevant information. “[The selected topics] are obviously a lot of the main arenas of campus life at any college, but we felt they were topics about which Vassar students in particular still have a lot of unanswered questions. For each one, we have a terrific line-up of panelists who deal specifically with that area of campus life. We’re hoping that students come with great questions and leave feeling like they really explored an issue of Vassar life fully and thoroughly,” wrote Cramer in an e-mailed statement.

“Hopefully they’ll be really interesting,” said Hill in reference to the panels. “It will bring together students who have interests in the same topics. I think this is a great way for students who have particular interests to have contact with the concerned administration and faculty.”

The first panel on financial aid and access is scheduled for Monday, March 21 at 8 p.m. on the second floor of the Students’ Building.

assar students may have spotted a gigantic robot slowly marching through the halls of the College Center on Saturday. This and other out-of-the-ordinary happenings were a common sight as Vassar’s No Such Organization (NSO) held its 11th annual No Such Convention (NonCon). The College Center was filled to capacity with video games, board games, comic books and costumed characters of all shapes and sizes. Special guests like Pixar Animation Studios Vice President for Software Eben Ostby ’77 and actor and director Sandeep Parikh helped make this year’s NonCon one of Vassar’s best.

This year’s special guests were extremely popular. Pixar animator Ostby gave an extended question-and-answer-style presentation on Saturday. More than 50 people braved the cold walk to Rockefeller Hall to listen to Ostby talk about his experiences in the animated film industry.

He was interviewed by Associate Computer Science Professor Tom Ellman and discussed his role in establishing the Computer Science Department as an independent computer science major. After the main interview, Ostby took questions from some aspiring computer animators and designers, to whom he stressed the importance of a well-rounded education, explaining, “Animation is a funny blend of physics, math and art.” Hannah Groch-Begley ’12 thought that Ostby’s lecture was particularly enlightening because “he did a good job of showing how one could take a Vassar degree and then go on to have a real-world job.”

Ostby wasn’t the only Vassar graduate to make an appearance. Cartoonist and manga editor Shaenon Garrity ’00 also spoke on Saturday about her experience in the comic industry. Parikh, an actor, writer and director best known for his work on “The Guild” and “The Legend of Neil,” was very well recieved and agreed to play Settlers of Catan with some convention goers after his talk. Unfortunately, the musical performance put on by Tim Jacques, also known as Team Teamwork, was not as well attended as the NSO had hoped. Grabill thought that the problem was in the timing, saying, “It’s hard to get a Vassar musical party going before midnight, but the people who did come had a great time, and he played really good music.”

Vassar’s No Such Organization held its 11th annual No Such Convention last weekend. Students and local residents—some of them in costume, pictured above—played video games and attended lectures.

On the other hand, some of the smaller panels turned out to be bigger than expected. In the College Center multi-purpose room, lines formed several times per day as students waited to play board games. The “Learn how to make chainmail” panel was also surprisingly popular, and Fandom Deathmatch saw one of its all-time largest crowds.

NonCon’s appeal to people outside Vassar is one of its defining characteristics. While many attendees are Vassar students, many more come from the greater Hudson Valley.

Some were attracted to NonCon to show off their Super Smash Brothers ability or compare Magic: The Gathering strategies, and others were interested in some of the special guests.

The vendors, including Alterniverse Comics, Mugen Toys and Neko-jin Designs attracted all. One visitor, William Greenly, seemed particularly happy with NonCon’s vendors, and said, “This is my first time here, but I’m pretty impressed. It’s smaller than I thought it would be, so there’s a lot of room for people to just talk to the vendors, which is kind of nice. A lot of the vendors are local people, too, and that’s kind of cool.”

NonCon has achieved the status of a tradition both to Vassar-goers and attendees from outside Vassar. NSO President and First Minister of No Fixed Address Carolyn Grabill ’11 believes that the fellowship among NonCon attendees is really what makes it unique, saying, “There’s a very traditional sense of community [at NonCon].”

This sense of community was especially apparent in the Villard Room’s gaming zone, where casual and competitive players shared tips, tricks and a really fun time. Throughout the weekend, several hundred gamers passed through to play Super Smash Brothers, Marvel vs. Capcom, Halo: Reach and several other player-versus-player video games. Tournaments for these and more were held throughout the weekend and brought big crowds from both Vassar and the Hudson Valley.

Overall, both the NSO and NonCon’s attendees were pleased with how things turned out last weekend. On her way out of the Ostby presentation, Rachel Ritter ’12 said, “NonCon has been lovely this year. I’ve really enjoyed the panelists I’ve seen, too ... I’m just a big fan of NonCon in general.”

Kitzinger’s office has wide responsibilities KITZINGER continued from page 1 financial crisis, has assumed responsibility for the faculty housing program.

Prior to her appointment as Dean of Planning and Academic Affairs, Kitzinger had served as the chair of the Faculty Policy and Conference Committee, had been a member of the Faculty Compensation Committee and had served as both the Director of Academic Facilities Development and Director of Teaching Development. “I really viewed my taking on the position as a sort of preliminary way of getting the position defined,” said Kitzinger. “And that was partly because I had been involved in a lot of different areas, and so I didn’t have to learn huge amounts about some of these areas before I could start.”

After leading the office for four years, which included a significant financial crisis, Kitzinger feels that it is time for a new person to move the position forward.

According to Kitzinger, the onset of the financial crisis made it impossible for her to consider leaving after three years, but as the economic situation improves she is now considering the next step. “It felt to me that it was important for someone who…could start thinking in new ways for how this office could move forward to take over just because so much of my time and thinking had been focused on the issues that had come up because of the financial crisis,” she said.

A search committee has now formed to consider the next dean, and it will begin reviewing nominees at the end of March. In part because the responsibilities of the position and knowledge that it requires are so varied, the committee is conducting an internal search of the Vassar faculty. “We’re looking for someone

who knows the College and knows those kind of values,” said Professor of Political Science Peter Stillman, who is serving on the search committee. “Since you’ve got to learn a lot about a lot of different parts of the College… it probably helps at least to have a head start knowing how Vassar works.” The committee will consider past administrative experiences of candidates, including committee work and any positions a candidate has held that relate to the office’s responsibilities. However, Stillman acknowledged that each candidate will probably come with different combinations of experiences, so deciding on the ideal will be a challenge.

According to Stillman, the fact that the committee is conducting an internal search is reflective of how Vassar-specific the position is: “Since it’s not a usual kind of job, there’s going to be less interest in it from the outside because an outside person would know what the Dean of Faculty did, [but] that person wouldn’t necessarily know what a Dean of Planning and Academic Affairs is,” he said.

“That term doesn’t have an automatic meaning outside of Vassar.”

Kitzinger added that it has been valuable for a faculty member to hold the position for other reasons as well, especially in the context of the financial crisis: “I think the crisis really brought to the fore the wisdom that the College showed in trying to bridge the academic and financial sides of the College in this position.”

“Part of my interest right now is to document what happened in those three years so we don’t lose the memory of how the College responded to that situation,” said Kitzinger.

The knowledge gained through the experience of the financial crisis will be only a por-

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

tion of the information that will be passed to the new dean. Part of the challenge of the search process is finding a candidate with experience in so many areas of the College. According to Stillman, “We’re trying to figure out what the needed qualifications of the job are because this is not a standard job.”

Especially because this will be the first transition period for the office, there are some unknowns going into the process. While the definition of the position and its responsibilities are not expected to change, Associate Dean of Planning and Academic Affairs and Associate Professor of Anthropology Tom Porcello explained that the new dean might simply have a different style of leadership. “We haven’t gone through a transition yet; with [Kitzinger] being the first dean I don’t think that we kind of know what to expect,” said Porcello. “In my mind the single greatest challenge of this office is its breadth, what it is responsible for doing, and the different kinds of abilities that the dean has to have, which is everything from being able to develop and manage budgets on one hand to serving as a kind of a mediator among all of the different priorities of the College.”

After leaving the Office of the Dean of Planning and Academic Affairs, Kitzinger will take a phased retirement plan. She will teach next spring and then spend two years conducting research. “But I’m hoping that I’ll come back and teach. My department always needs people for one course or another, so I’m not viewing this as the end,” she said. “People keep asking what you do when you retire, and part of what you do is not to know what you’re going to do and allow new things to emerge. So I don’t really know what they might be.”

“I’m looking forward to that exploration.”

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February 24, 2011

Page 5

Egypt, Tunisia riots hit close to home Sabbatical Ruth Bolster

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Reporter

lthough thousands of miles lie between Poughkeepsie, New York and Cairo, Egypt, the two places are not without their connections. The speeding progress of technology along with a few opportune factors have driven recent developments in the Muslim world. While for most people at Vassar this struggle for popular economic and political power seems light years away from their relatively sleepy life in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., for others, these revolts have hit closer to home.

Language Fellow Amira Hegazy has been a resident of Alexandria, Egypt since she was a small child. “Last year,” she began, when asked about the public sentiment in Egypt that led to these revolts, “there was a young man who was put into jail for no apparent reason. It was like the policemen went on patrol and they just took that guy, put him into jail and beat him. And he eventually died; all of this occurred for no particular reason. In Egypt, the police slogan is ‘The Police Serve the People.’ By doing this, they abolished this slogan. It took away their credibility. When revolution in Tunisia occurred, everyone thought, ‘Oh, we can do this.’ And I believe that this made everything stir, and this made everyone optimistic.”

Although she was unable to personally participate in the protests, she noted that her brother did.

As described during the Feb. 11 Teach-In, events in Tunisia began with vendor Mohammed Bouazizi’s suicide last December. Frustrated with unemployment and the general lack of opportunity afforded to him, Bouazizi

lit himself ablaze after being questioned by police for running an illegal produce stand.

This sparked a wave of protests and popular revolts throughout Tunisia, which ultimately culminated in President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali’s resignation and consequential flight from the country on Jan. 14.

“Everyone thought Tunisia was where things were going right,” began Mellon Post Doctorate Fellow for Africana Studies Mouannes Hojairi. “On the surface, economic indicators were showing that things were good. As a country, Tunisia did not have stability issues and the president at the time had one of the most sophisticated and sturdiest regimes, so no one imagined it would be toppled like that. But the fact that they forced him through a popular uprising to actually run away—this is the first Arab dictator who was removed from office in this manner. It was sort of the example, or the precedent, that showed people that it could be done. That’s when we went from believing it could be done to knowing it could be done.” With the success of the popular revolts in Tunisia as an example, the protests then spread to Egypt by Jan. 25. On Feb. 5, the National Democratic Party (NDP) resigned from parliament en masse. Despite a number of initial clashes between the protestors and President Hosni Mubarak’s police force in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, Mubarak eventually yielded to the people’s demands and stepped down from office on Feb. 11. In terms of the emerging power of the people’s will, one of the defining events of the Egyptian revolts came when the decision was made for the army not to shoot the protestors.

As Associate Professor of History and Africana Studies Ismail Rashid noted, “It was

one of the crucial moments where the balance was tipped on the side of the protestors.

It took a long time for the consequences of that decision to be apparent, but it proved to be crucial. It meant that the protestors could keep the momentum of the protest.”

“This is just a symptom of the range of repressions of the government by not allowing Egyptians to participate really and properly in Egyptian political parties,” said Rashid. “For the past few decades, Egyptians, who were very active, were not allowed to write political policies and have political expression. But economically, Egypt has the second largest population in Africa, and there is unemployment. Just as in Tunisia, you have a generation that comes of age that wants more. Not only in political and social power, but economically as well.”

“I know it is giving everyone hope,” said Hegazy. “It is like it is inviting everyone to take a stand and start questioning the regime and challenging the constitution that they have. And although they may have a constitution that is very good, it needs to be updated.” While it is too soon to tell what the revolutions will bring to these countries, Hegazy hopes that in Egypt’s case, a democratic government will eventually be established.

“With the different means of media, like social media and the Internet, people are more expressive and more aware of other systems.

Now they can understand what is happening in other places, and I believe that it will be really difficult to shut the people up if there is no democracy.”

And with the successes of these popular protests demonstrating the strength of the people’s will, it remains a possibility.

Squirm seeks broader campus prestige Samantha Thompson Guest Reporter

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Madeline Zappala/The Miscellany News

or most of the Vassar campus, Squirm couldn’t have a more apt-fitting name—as it makes us do just that. We writhe in discomfort, or giggle in embarrassment, as we glance at a picture of our lab partner spread eagle in the Rose Parlor. Yet, after interviewing the magazine’s Treasurer Gretchen Heinel ’13 and sitting in on the group’s weekly meeting, it became clear that this is not the group’s intent at all. On the contrary, Squirm is headed in an entirely new direction, and hopes the Vassar community will take notice.

Founded in 1999, the raunchy mag emerged as an outlet for healthy sexuality in the wake of the “Homo Hop’s” demise. The “Homo Hop,” a campus-wide event that was eventually discontinued after dozens of students were hospitalized, was initially the creation of two gay men who were kicked out of a school dance in the ’70s. But when the dance became a venue for debauchery and alcohol poisoning, it was soon canceled, a decision which Squirm cites as its own genesis.

The magazine’s name may also be traced back to its inception, when a founding member proposed the idea to her dad, and he half-jokingly asked her if it would be called Squirm. Apparently her answer was yes.

But when I recently spoke to Heinel, she expressed concern over the magazine’s current reputation, hoping to improve not only the quality of the publication itself, but also the public’s perception of it. “Right now I think the general campus opinion of Squirm isn’t so hot,” she said, suggesting that critics brand the publication “juvenile” and “pointless.” Although Heinel does not make excuses for the

magazine’s waning popularity or caliber, she does admit that submissions are not always as bountiful as one would hope, at times requiring the editors to choose not what is exquisite, but what is available. Most of the art and literature are inevitably created by the editors and members of Squirm itself, who admittedly try to “lead by example.” However, the magazine avidly embraces outside submissions. Luckily for those of you itching to strip down to your skivvies, Squirm has decided to extend its submissions date, which passed last week, until next Monday, Feb. 28. And while the publication surely does push the boundaries, they are not permitted to publish any photos of spread labia, erect penises or obvious penetration, so censor your submissions accordingly.

Aside from photographic submissions, literary pieces are also highly encouraged, with Editor in Chief Rebecca Levin ’11 revealing that Squirm is interested in “informative things that push people to think instead of just sexy stories.”

So what exactly can we expect from this spring’s new and improved publication? Heinel hopes that this issue—which does not have a definitive publication date, but will come out in late April to early May—will be a departure from previous issues in that it will exude greater levels of sophistication and artistic creation. In essence, she hopes people will experience it as art, and not smut. The Squirm team aims to accomplish this not only by improving the artistic value of their own work, but also by collaborating with other groups on campus such as Focus. They are also planning to hold workshops for photography and writing in order to facilitate creative thinking and expression, as well as to

Concerned by the magazine’s reputation, Squirm recently held a Valentine’s Day Social with the Ballroom Dancing Club in order to widen its audience. challenge the Vassar community in an unique, artistic way. Look out for their student seminars, too, which may feature lessons on bondage and safe ways to engage in S&M. The magazine will still feature its infamous Sex Toy Auction, happening this Friday from 9:30 p.m. until midnight in the Jade and Faculty Parlors. A variety of erotic toys and sexual props will be up for grabs, including Squirm’s very own posters. The team also stresses that they allow sexy pseudonyms in lieu of one’s real name in order to bid comfortably on whatever sexual paraphernalia you desire. After all, one of the magazine’s main goals, Levin explained, is to foster a sense of normalcy and comfort, so people can feel comfortable and sexually liberated simultaneously.

Despite public perception of the magazine, Heinel ultimately

believes that Squirm performs an essential service for the Vassar campus. She explained, “I do think it should spark dialogue for sexuality. It’s important to have something that is an open forum for campus sexuality, not just gender identity or sexual orientation, but also recognizing that alternative sex practices aren’t deviant.”

Levin agreed that the upcoming issue will help foster openness and discourse about sex, but also stressed the importance of informing the community on how to stay safe while experimenting sexually. “I think [Squirm] gives people a place to talk about and celebrate what is meaningful to them … It creates different talking points for people to get comfortable with their own sexualities.

Hopefully our issue is also informative and keeps people safe— so that they can live and celebrate healthy, happy sexuality.”

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

enhances scholarship Matthew Bock

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Assistant Features Editor

assar’s distinguished professors are engaged with their interests not only inside the classroom but also outside of it. Sabbaticals, which both inform and are informed by their teaching, allow professors to devote a significant amount of time to the work that they are unable to pursue during frenzied semesters of academic responsibilities and other professorial duties at the College.

Professor of Classics John Bert Lott is spending the year on sabbatical making final edits to his book Death and Dynasty in Early Imperial Rome. The book explores attitudes towards the Roman Empire’s dynastic ideology through a close examination of the funeral monuments of Roman emperors’ sons. According to Lott, the public’s reaction to the death of these individuals, who were presumed to be heirs to the throne, reveals much about how Roman citizens felt about the ruling dynasty under which they lived. In addition to working on his book, he is also writing articles about street life in ancient Rome, a decidedly more public society than the one in which we currently live.

Death and Dynasty is an outgrowth of a course Lott had previously taught on Tacitus, senator and historian of the early Roman Empire. “Research and sabbatical are both deeply connected to teaching,” Lott remarked. Not only did teaching inspire him to explore a subject of interest to him, but also, “through my sabbatical I’m improving my teaching, and making an important contribution to the field,” he said. Lott also pointed out that Vassar uniquely allows professors to integrate their own personal interests into the classroom while still maintaining a separateness between the two worlds; at larger research universities, for example, the balance is not so well-constructed.

Assistant Professor of English and Native American Studies Molly S. McGlennen is on sabbatical to publicize her first book of poetry Fried Fish and Flour Biscuits, which is influenced by her Native-American heritage. She will be traveling to conferences and readings to publicize her work. McGlennen, an Ojibwe woman herself, is also working on a scholarly piece about the Ojibwe writer Gerald Vizenor, whose work is also concerned with the NativeAmerican experience.

Regarding the ways in which her work on sabbatical relates to her teaching, she remarked, “I teach creative writing courses [including Verse Writing] as well as Native American studies classes, so my research and creativity directly relate to what I bring to the classroom; and I hope that my continued practice of the craft of writing poetry can only inform and better aid in my teaching, and that the love I have for writing can translate to my students.”

Assistant Professor of Film Sophia Harvey— whose main area of academic interest is the cinema of Singapore, and who teaches courses such as Contemporary Southeast Asian Cinema—is spending her sabbatical working on her manuscript, “Screening Singapore: City-Cinema and the Urban Imagination.” “The book examines how filmmakers image and imagine life within the postcolonial city-state of Singapore during the 1990s,” said Harvey, who has been passionate about the cinema of southern Asia since she was 18.

In addition to her work overseas, Harvey will also travel to New Orleans in March to serve as a panel chair for the annual Society for Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS) conference. According to the organization’s website, SCMS is “a scholarly organization dedicated to promoting a broad understanding of film through research and teaching grounded in the contemporary humanities tradition.”

Of course, professors’ sabbaticals are not purely for business purposes. Harvey noted: “I also take my cue from Jack Torrance, who so aptly commented in The Shining (Stanley Kubrick, 1980), that ‘all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.’ So, for this sabbatical, my fun includes hosting an Oscar-themed potluck party, replete with dishes like ‘The King’s Spaghetti’ and ‘True Grits.’”

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February 24, 2011

Is social class obscured by Vassar fashion choices?

Mary Huber

Assistant Features Editor

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Courtesy of One Two Six Oh Four

ashion Week’s recent conclusion has brought fashion at Vassar—how we use style to communicate our interests and the groups to which we belong—into the spotlight.

At a Contrast meeting in Josselyn House’s parlor, the Style Committee was styling and dressing about half a dozen models while a disapproving, bonnet-wearing Puritan glared from the portrait over the fireplace. “Mid’60s prep is what we’re going for,” explained Alycia Anderson ’13, rifling through piles of corduroy pants, suit jackets and polos, “but more of a laid-back style.” Dan Small ’13 described the period as “the very end of the classic collegiate look, before the hippies and more liberalized clothing showed up on the scene,” before claiming, “People used to look good in college.” The piece is meant as part of a sesquicentennial Contrast issue examining different looks throughout Vassar history.

Small and Anderson expressed a marked nostalgia for the period, but though Contrast is aiming to capture only the aesthetic qualities of mid-60s style, former students dressed that way for another reason: to denote class.

“Vassar, at least as far as I know, hasn’t had the tradition since the late ’60s of marking [class] differences in an obvious way,” said Assistant Professor of English Dorothy Kim in response to the social implications of Contrast’s concept for their sesquicentennial issue.

Kim brings to light one of the academic curiosities surrounding fashion at Vassar: Do Vassar students, whether consciously or not, dress to present themselves as members of certain social groups. or even to distance themselves from others?

Certainly, the use and agenda of ornamentation is time sensitive. Similar to the current manner of dress on campus, social class has not always been the primary motivating factor behind the style choices of Vassar students.

As Vassar’s reputation as an academically viable force continued to rise, the notion that women were receiving an education on par with that which was offered to men at comporable institutions, Vassar students became more aware of the implications of their style.

Capitalizing on their agency to outfit their own bodies, these fashion pioneers crafted the “Vassar Girl” look which presented a fo-

Typical fashion at Vassar is often defined by the “hipster” style, as parodied by the popular blog One Two Six Oh Four. However, this is only one facet of Vassar’s fashion sensibilities. cused, collegiate image. These women were not concerned with the socioeconomic implications of their outfits—there were still plenty of fur coats and pearl necklaces to be had—but rather with their intellectual impact. The “Vassar Girl” was looking to dress the part, earn her identity as an academic, and highlight a facet of her persona.

When contemplating the contemporary student, Kim muses, “I think students are very cognizant of how they want to present themselves, and what groups they belong to, but when it comes to class, can you tell the difference?” She continues, “I think the majority of students tend to dress toward the middle class hoard ... And [middle class dress] is practical as well.” Class issues, therefore, are generally sublimated to create the impression of egalitarianism.

Small and Anderson notice the obfuscation of past class markers in the modern world of fashion. Small explains that what was once the marking of the working class has now

been reimagined by current designers. “For the past five or six years, traditional American workwear has been revived by contemporary menswear designers,” said Small, “It’s kind of ironic, since people are paying premium prices to look working class. It’s all about stealth wealth, man,” he laughed. However, the appropriation of working class garments of another era uses, as Small said, “a certain aesthetic to imply class.”

While this notion may be uncomfortable for those who are more keenly keyed into issues of class inequality, it has become prominent in the discussion of so called “hipster” fashion. Though some find the concept of “dressing down” to be dishonest, or at the very least, patronizing, Anderson and Small both view Vassar’s reticence about dressing to class as positive. “I like it. I think it’s charming that [Vassar’s] not a [brand] namedropping type of campus,” enthused Anderson.

Hipster style is often described as being

two parts creativity, one part ambivalence, and a pinch of grunge. When addressing the perceived mass of those who adhere to a “hipster” aesthetic, Anderson counters, “But there are also the really glam girls who wear heels all the time, even in snow.” Small asserts that the term “hipster” may ultimately be an “inadequate moniker” to cover Vassar’s broad range of style choices, challenging, “Really, I’d say the whole idea that there is a hipster fashion is totally false.” However, both recognize the ability that the ensembles of Vassar’s most daring and careful dressers have the ability to obfuscate one’s social class.

Equally able to disrupt class barriers through costume are those who take the notion literally. Aaron Fagan ‘11 dresses to evoke the literary and the fantastical. “I’ve been experimenting in steam punk,” he said. “[Steam punk] started as a genre of science fiction inspired by Jules Verne and H.G Welles,” he explains. “It’s like science fiction set in the Victorian age; sort of like what could have been instead of what was.” Fagan, who frequently wears vests and cravats, and can be spotted sporting a cloak as often as a coat explains the rationale behind his truly unique fashion choices. “I like to dress up,” he said, “I’ve always been interested in history and in theater. I’ve just always enjoyed being in costume.” Fagan sees clothing as more of an artistic expression, and as a way to build comaraderie among those with similar interests rather than similar tax brackets.

Kim ponders the degree to which class is tied to dress, concluding that not all college campuses or even societies avoid classconscious dress to the same degree. “I have a cousin who goes to Georgetown [University],” explained Kim, “and she was a little disturbed when she first visited that practically every female student [at Georgetown] was wearing a twin set and pearls—even in shorts.” From her personal experience Kim offers, “I see a difference when I go to England, where [class distinctions as exemplified by dress] are much more pronounced,” she said.

Despite all the serious talk of class and fashion, Small and Anderson similarly preferred to emphasize the creative aspect of fashion. “College is a good place to experiment with style,” said Anderson. “You definitely feel less judged here. Really, who cares if you’re having fun with it?”

Darkside Records a ray of light for local music enthusiasts Danielle Bukowski

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Assistant Features Editor

Katie De Heras/The Miscellany News

n Jan. 15, 2011, the Darkside Records and Gallery had its grand opening. Located at 782 Main Street in Poughkeepsie, the store has an interesting concept: It is both a record store—selling CDs, vinyl records and turntables—and an art gallery.

Owner Justin Johnson said Darkside “is an idea I’ve had for a long time.” The name is a reference to Pink Floyd’s 1973 album Dark Side of the Moon. Johnson met the art gallery curator, Vanessa Tellez, through a friend, and they put together Darkside Records and Gallery.

The shop is fairly large, with a long row of records down the middle and two rows of CDs from a wide variety of genres lining both walls.

There are places to sit, art as far as the eye can see, and turntable equipment for the next big Matthew’s Mug headliner to ogle over. On the green walls are hanging art pieces—paintings, sculptures and so on—for the current exhibition. As Johnson declared, “It’s a record store and a cool place to look at stuff.”

In terms of music, the store has a wide selection. There are new and used vinyl records and CDs from Vampire Weekend and Neil Young to Fiona Apple and the Ramones, all at reasonable prices. (I was able to pick up a used record of Presence in good condition for my Led Zeppelin-obsessed younger brother for only $6.99.)

And if they don’t have what you’re looking for, Johnson can order it for you, no matter how obscure. He said he already has music on order for students at Vassar, and when new music comes out it can be pre-ordered through Darkside. They also boast “a selection of turntables

and LP care products,” and also “buy and sell used CD’s and vinyl all day, every day (during store hours at least!),” according to their website, www.darksiderecordsandgallery.com.

So far, Johnson reports that more people have come in the store to buy vinyl than CDs. However, he said, “It’s been close… I think the people that are most interested in a local indie record shop are the ones who truly love music and care about the quality of what they’re buying.” Johnson believes vinyl to be of better quality, although he is still glad to see people come in for CDs, as it’s “something other than digital.”

On Saturday, Feb. 19, Darkside also hosted the “Old and Creepy Art Show,” which celebrated the gallery’s opening with music and free food. This month the exhibition includes pieces by Tony Alves, Tanya Kukucka, Andy Sorkin and That Kid Rich. The art in the gallery will change every month, with an opening on the third Saturday for each new exhibition.

“As far as the gallery goes, I think the reaction has really been one of surprise,” said Johnson.

“Most people aren’t expecting to find anything other than music and so far they’ve been very responsive to the art. It’s all local work, which piques their interest, and they’ve actually been taking time to go around and check it all out.”

According to the store’s website the art includes, but is not limited to: “kustom kulture, lowbrow, fantasy, comic book art […] graffiti, horror, vintage kink and spiritual, just to name a few.”

Another enticing feature of the store is the disk repair service: For a small fee, Johnson runs battered disks through a machine and has them come out working like new. CDs, DVDs

Darkside Record and Gallery, located at 782 Main Street in Poughkeepsie, opened its doors in January. The shop buys and sells used CDs and vinyl, repairs damaged disks, and will feature a new exhibit each month. and CD-ROMs can be repaired for $2 each, or $1.50 each if you have 10 or more, and videogames and Blu-ray disks can be repaired for $3 each, or $2.50 each with 10 or more. Darkside is the area’s only disk repair service.

Johnson is always looking for local bands, and encourages any local Vassar bands that have an album out to bring it to the store for him to check out.

In the past month, Johnson has been working on getting the word out about the shop, as well as letting people know about the repair service,

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

the gallery and how the art shown changes every month. Johnson was helpful in explaining the store and locating music, and excited about upcoming plans for Darkside. He was sorting through records with his dog Radley—named after Boo Radley from To Kill a Mockingbird— when I stopped in.

Darkside Records and Gallery is only 0.8 miles from Main Circle. It’s a great local place to find all the music you want, both legally and at much higher quality than anything you can download from your laptop.

FEATURES

February 24, 2011

Page 7

Student chefs bring French elegance to CIA’s Escoffier Mitchell Gilburne Features Editor

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paired gingerbread toast and pear relish along with a sampling of equally well-matched sauces. Though there was more to experiment with than the modest serving could accommodate, the dish was not only a treat for the tongue but also an enjoyably interactive opportunity to experiment with a wide array of flavor combinations.

Content but still recognizably hungry, we awaited our entrees eagerly. The sea bass was meaty and had a mild flavor, but was somewhat bogged down by an inexpertly crafted orange beurre blanc. The attached skin was crisp and offered a welcome pop of texture, but was not to the taste of our pescetarian companion. Served with a flaky brioche, braised endive and tomato cancasse—uniform cubes of a tomato that has had its skin, seeds and membrane removed—the sea bass was serviceable if not memorable, and is probably not the best way to enjoy Escoffier. Seafood enthusiasts may be better served by the butterpoached lobster ($34).

The duck, while far superior to that which was offered at Crave, was also not entirely up to snuff. Medallions of duck breast were fanned out over a hidden cache of leg meat and laid atop a dull brown yet surprisingly tasty chestnut purée. Topped with a gooseberry sauce and surrounded

by Brussels sprouts and gnocchi, the dish’s many elements were cohesive, though the portion left a mite to be desired. The overall effect was drab, but we remained hopeful that the dish would redeem itself in terms of taste. The duck breast was tasty, but

Juliana Halpert/The Miscellany News

n celebration of my birthday, and as a continuation of my search for the most fulfilling fine dining the Hudson Valley has to offer, my suitemates and I agreed to see what the CIA’s French restaurant, Escoffier, had to offer a few Vassar students in search of something scrumptious.

Though we chose to dine in the early evening and during the restaurant’s off-season, reservations were still a must. And flaking is not an option. A reservation at Escoffier requires a $10 deposit per party member that is credited against the final bill.

Attentive and personable service characterized the night. Once inside, we were courteously greeted by an immaculately dressed staff who took our coats and saw us to our table.

Chairs were pulled out, napkins were placed on laps and reading glasses were offered for the myopic among us. Dishes were displayed and placed by three servers working in perfect unison, the bread basket circulated with delightful regularity and questions about the menu, printed in both French and English, were answered without condescension.

Of course, our highest and most eager expectations were focused on the food. Be warned, Escoffier’s offerings are far from vegetarianfriendly and are significantly limiting for those who abstain from red meat, offal and snails.

Before ordering, we were presented with an amuse bouche of lobster croquettes over roasted corn. The croquette was crisp without and rich

with lobster within while the simply prepared corn balanced the heaviness of this palatable start to an enjoyable meal.

To start, my roommates enjoyed mixed green salads ($8) while I opted for the more decadent Foie Gras au Torchon ($14). This was followed up by two orders of duck ($28) as well as sea bass ($29) for the pescetarian in our midst, while our of-age party member indulged in a tart pomegranate martini ($8.50) that, though small, was nicely balanced.

The salads were crisp and delicate. Each leaf of lettuce was perfectly dressed in a bright champagne vinaigrette. The generous portion of dainty greens mingled with crumbs of Roquefort bleu cheese that added a pungent, savory undertone to the light but satisfying dish. The salad was counterbalanced by the agreeable crunch offered by a piece of toast with cheese and candied pistachios—a pleasant surprise unadvertised by the menu. Though simple, my roommates fondly remember the salad as a standout among its peers and a delightful companion to the heavier main courses.

The foie gras was thick and luxurious. Torchon, meaning towel in French, is a cooking method by which the duck liver, in this case, is wrapped in some sort of cloth and then poached. This method ensures that the foie gras’s fat, the source of its flavor, does not leech out during the poaching process. The result is a light pink medallion of liver firmer than paté, and thoroughly delicious.

The restrained portion of foie gras was accompanied by an expertly

Through expensive, the Culinary Institute of America’s French restaurant, Escoffier, pictured above, is perfect for special occasions with its elegant setting and satisfying fare. did not evoke the closed-eyed, audible reaction of culinary bliss that I had hoped for, with the dark leg meat having only a slightly greater depth of flavor. The gnocchi and Brussels sprouts were perfectly nice, but it was the chestnut purée that was the true standout of the dish.

Unique and disarming, the purée had a thick, slightly gritty texture but an earthy, nutty flavor that gave the dish an original and much-needed boost in the flavor department. All components accounted for, the duck at Escoffier is more than the sum of its acceptable yet uninspiring parts and made for a satisfying main course.

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Dessert involved a bright, tart and flavor-loaded passion fruit sorbet ($5) for the girls and a rich, thick, decadent and addictive flourless chocolate cake accompanied by hazelnut ice cream ($8) for me. Both made for excellent finales to good meals and were accented by a small platter of pistachio themed petit fours that boasted depth of flavor beyond their stature.

While the Culinary Institute’s French restaurant is undoubtedly expensive, the touches of elegance, exquisite service and uniformly satisfying food make Escoffier a suitable choice for special occasions.

Page 8

FEATURES

February 24, 2011

Modern pressures increase Drugs, domestic violence need for counseling services sources of police concern STRESS continued from page 1 tertwined in student life that Director of Psychological Counseling and Associate Dean of Students Sylvia Balderrama praised, citing student fellows as cornerstones that allowed an almost invaluable connection between first year students and the necessary support services provided by the College.

She gave insight into the types of issues that students often deal with: “Among the top three reasons why students say they come to the Counseling Center is because of depressed mood, relationship concerns and academics concerns. More recently, which is to say in the last eight to nine years, we have seen anxiety come into those top concerns as well.”

“More students are arriving on campus with problems, needing support, and today’s economic factors are putting a lot of extra stress on college students, as they look at their loans and wonder if there will be a career waiting for them on the other side,” wrote The New York Times.

Balderrama points to Sept. 11, 2001 as a major source of this increased anxiety. “Our numbers indicate that soon after 9/11 we started seeing more students reporting anxiety...

We don’t exist in a bubble so that anything that happens in the country, in the world will affect our students and their families. Students just bring those feelings with them to college,” she said. “It’s probably been higher as well because of the economy,” she noted in agreement with the findings of the Times.

In contrast to the Times article was the finding that, while freshmen certainly must manage a great deal of stress, it was not freshmen that frequented Counseling Services most often at Vassar. She said, “Over the last few years, I would say the sophomore class comes in at a higher rate than the other years,” explaining, “it may have something to do with the transition from being a first year student here and having all of those various supports

in place and then moving on to being a second year student, where you are a little more independent and have to figure out what path to go on, on your own.”

Regardless of the prevalence of issues found within classes, it seemed that many of the issues were rooted in stress. Balderrama said that according to The American College Health Association National College Health Assessment’s 2008 survey, “Students report that stress is the number one impediment to academic success.” She stated that while some stress was necessary, it was the “overwhelming, debilitating stress” that was damaging.

She recommended that a mindful approach would not only lead to a more healthy level of stress but also an improvement in overall mental health. Eating well, sleeping well and exercise should be the first defenses against debilitating stress. “Right away I think you can tell its a difficult thing for college students to do, to sleep well and sometimes eat well... Its always a balancing act. I think all of us know the kinds of things we’re supposed to do to keep ourselves healthy. Making time, carving out time to actually do those things is a different matter.”

Balderrama also said that the College was also trying to promote wellness through programs: “We’re emphasizing wellness skills and programs, so everyone learns ways in which to take better care of themselves.”

She stressed that “when we’re not feeling helped by our friends,” it’s time to seek help.

Balderrama acknowledged that despite the widespread availability of mental health services, both student and professional in nature, a stigma still exists that some individuals find difficult to overcome. She stated, “When you get a group of people like Vassar students who are admitted because they are talented, they’re bright, creative, independent individuals, sometimes it’s hard for those of us who value that role to admit that we may need help.”

VIOLENCE continued from page 1 (“City mourns officer John Falcone, ‘an outstanding member’ of police department” 02.19.11).

This was not the only gun-related incident that occured this past weekend. In addition, two Poughkeepsie residents were arrested Friday morning when, while investigating a drug sale, police found a handgun as well as marijuana and crack, as reported in the Poughkeepsie Journal (“2 city men due in court on drug, gun charges,” 02.22.11).

A Poughkeepsie resident was also arrested Sunday night on gun and drug charges and reckless endangerment. The man had allegedly been firing a Remington 12-gauge shotgun into the air from his window. Marijuana was found at his residence as well (Journal, “Shotgun blast nets town man charges,” 02.22.11).

Gun violence in Poughkeepsie has spiked in recent years; 2007 saw eight shootings, while the total number of people injured in shootings was 23 in both 2008 and 2009, an increase which the Journal attributed to drug trafficking.

City of Poughkeepsie officials agree with this assessment. “The commuter train ends in Poughkeepsie, so because of that we are the distribution center for the drug business,” said Sixth Ward Representative Mary Solomon.

Because Poughkeepsie is a hub on the state’s train networks, “we do have a thriving drug business in Poughkeepsie. The police do their best, but drugs are very hard to stamp out, and with drugs generally come illegal handguns.

That is why we have such a large police force for such a small town and why we have these crime statistics which make you think you’re not safe... But actually, if you’re not in the drug business you’re fine.”

First Ward Representative Thomas E. Parise concurred. “I think the cause of [gun violence in Poughkeepsie] is these gangs that have sprung up coming from out of town.”

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Parise pointed out that the Welch family was not from Poughkeepsie, but rather resided in Catskill, NY. In 2010 the number of reported shootings in Poughkeepsie was 16, less than the previous years. That year saw a decrease in drug-related violence but an increase in other causes, particularly domestic violence, with which the Welch family had a reported history (Journal, “Poughkeepsie Plagued by Gun Violence in Recent Years,” 02.20.11).

Domestic violence is another issue facing Poughkeepsie. Parise estimated that 150 to 200 of the calls that the Dutchess County Sheriff’s office received in 2010 pertained to domestic violence. “That’s a lot of domestic violence call-ins,” he said. “It’s a growing problem.”

Vassar Professor of Religion and Africana Studies Lawrence Mamiya, who teaches classes at Greenhaven Prison, singled out insufficient gun regulations as a factor in Poughkeepsie’s troubles with gun regulations, drug trafficking and domestic violence. “While one cannot completely ignore economic [factors], I think the easy accessibility of guns in our society is one of the major problems,” he said. “We see this gun problem not only locally but also nationally in the shootings at Tucson, Virginia Tech, [et cetera]. There are not enough stringent checks on background, mental health, [et cetera] for legal gun sales.”

Promoting awareness of gun violence has been a focus of Poughkeepsie City Mayor John Tkazyik. For the third year, the Poughkeepsie School District will host its “Students for War Against Guns” event, which consists of a half-day of classes followed by, in Parise’s words, “fun, education and awareness about gun violence.” And in 2009, celebrity rapper Akon came to Poughkeepsie to speak to youth groups about gun violence. (Mid-Hudson News, “Jail was a turning point in his life, Akon tells Poughkeepsie kids,” 05.29.09).

OPINIONS

February 24, 2011

Miscellany News Staff Editorial

VSA Council should renew focus on priorities T

he Constitution of the Vassar Student Association (VSA) states that its purpose is “to provide means for responsible and effective student participation in the appropriate decision-making processes of the College and to further student welfare and interests.” Acting in line with this statement, the 25th VSA Council set a number of explicit goals in September to further define what they hoped to accomplish this year. Though The Miscellany News has great respect for the students who choose to represent the student body on VSA Council, we believe that in recent meetings they have strayed from their goals and their overall mission.

The VSA administration has five major branches: Activities, Student Life, Operations, Academics and Finance. While each of these should be equally important, discussions of finance have dominated Council meetings this year. At the most recent meeting on Feb. 20, discussion lasted for two hours, and the prior week’s meeting lasted for three. Unusually long portions of these meetings have been devoted to discussion of fund applications during which Council members have asked repetitive questions and recurring concerns about requests for allocations.

The careful distribution of the student activities budget is an important function of the VSA Council, but time spent deliberating on fund applications in Council meetings have had no effect on how funds are allocated. The VSA’s published minutes recount 30 fund applications that were voted on in Council meetings so far this year. All 30 organizations that applied received funding, most with unanimous or near-unanimous votes.

The VSA Finance Committee vets all fund applications, so that, in theory, the organization has already been deemed responsible and prepared to receive funding. If the VSA

Council continues to spend the majority of its limited meeting time debating a question that should already have been considered, it wastes both its own time and the time of the student body it represents. VSA Council members should be mindful that their peers have already put these applications through a vigorous line of questioning.

The Miscellany News would like to stress that we are not objecting to discussion of fund applications; instead, we are raising concerns about how those funds are discussed, in concern to both quality and length. The Council has shown selfawareness in this regard, and recent meetings have closed with discussions of amendments to bylaws, of changes to the physical setup of meetings and of transforming the atmosphere within Council.

The Miscellany News Editorial Board commends the Council for having thorough conversations of finance, but we believe they can make more immediate changes by taking more responsibility for their conduct when planning and attending meetings. Since the beginning of the Spring 2011 semester, the Council has had two meetings that have been extremely brief and accomplished little. Additionally, one of these meetings was moved to a different time without providing adequate notice to the student body. VSA Council meetings are for all students, but it is no wonder that they may be uninterested given overlong discussions of finance followed by introspective speculation of the process.

While the VSA Council has dedicated meeting time to solving these problems, their inward focus has led them to neglect their mission to consider the issues of the student body as a whole. After long meetings discussing finance and the nature of the VSA, Council members are too exhausted and anxious to leave to spend appropriate

amounts of time considering what other issues deserve their attention.

As a result of the inflated importance of financial issues, some of the VSA’s most promising projects seem to have fallen by the wayside. In November, President of the VSA Mathew Leonard ’11proclaimed that VSA Today, the VSA’s blog, would be updated daily so that Council would better communicate with students. Daily posting ceased after about a week, and the blog has yet to be updated by a member of Council in the month of February. The VSA Advisory Council, one of the VSA’s goals for the year, was never fully defined and has not been mentioned in a Council meeting since October. The project of replacing the Poughkeepsie Shuttle with a City of Poughkeepsie bus line has made progress, but updates on the involvement of the Council as a whole and on the project’s status have been limited.

Whatever advances are made in committees toward these goals, the VSA Council meetings are the public face of the VSA: These issues deserve at least as much attention there as do the costs of lighting at concerts or of hotel rooms at conferences. Without hearing about them in Council, there is now way to know if any progress is being made at all.

With elections for a new Council in April, the current Council members are most likely looking towards the future and considering what the 26th Vassar Student Association will do. But now is also the time to look to the present and consider what legacy the 25th VSA plans to leave. We urge VSA Council to reconsider its priorities and return to its greater mission of furthering all aspects of student welfare, not just the financial ones.

—The Staff Editorial represents the opinion of at least two thirds of the 15-member Miscellany News Editorial Board.

Domestic violence deserves our attention Hannah Blume

“T

Columnist

oday is the worst day our city has seen in perhaps our history,” City of Poughkeepsie Mayor Mike Tkazyik said about the shootings that occurred last Friday, Feb. 18 in Poughkeepsie.

Most Vassar students heard the news from Director of Safety and Security Don Marsala’s Campus Advisory e-mail. It read, “There was a shooting in downtown Poughkeepsie earlier today. There is still a very strong police presence in the area of lower Main Street. There is limited access to the Poughkeepsie Train Station.” Some students may have stumbled across the bulletin posted on the Mads Vassar blog or on the radio.

The shootings—which left three dead, including a police officer—got national press, with The Wall Street Journal, CNN and CBS all covering the incident.

I heard the news only a few minutes after it happened, when the co-director of Dutchess County Battered Women’s Services trudged into the organization’s office, where I do field work, and announced: “There’s been another murder.”

She had an obvious look of grief, but showed no sign of surprise. The task of delivering this news—that a woman is dead because of domestic violence—was not new to her. For the staff of Battered Women’s Services, this is not unfamiliar news, but it is not the kind to which you become accustomed.

It comes with anxiety, frustration and worst of all, defeat.

They ransacked mounds of manila folders, without a definite name, all desperately praying, “I hope it wasn’t her.” One counselor stuck firmly to her desk, head down, doggedly filling out paperwork, as if she would not rest until this would never happen again.

Another burst into song along with the radio.

Most looked completely numb. And one, with the most profound but humble earnestness I have ever witnessed, stated, “If they don’t

want this to happen again, they have got to start taking domestic violence seriously.”

As I watched the headlines roll in, her wish echoed in my mind. “City mourns officer John Falcone, ‘an outstanding member’ of police department”—“Business owners, workers shaken by tragedy”—“City fielding letters of condolence from across the country for slain city officer”—“Elected officials offer condolences to hurting community”—“More than 1,000 attend candlelight vigil for slain Poughkeepsie Officer John Falcone.”

Among dozens of headlines, only two mentioned “domestic violence” or “abuse.”

“The only article I’ve read that even mentions domestic violence is one entitled ‘Police: Domestic-violence cases are among riskiest,’ ” observed Katie Atkins ’11, a veteran intern at Battered Women’s Services and Sexual Assault and Violence Prevention Intern for Vassar’s Office of Health Education.

Atkins continued, “Though the article mentions domestic violence, it is written in a way that seems to focus more on the way [it] affects the police, and the fact that police officers ‘put their lives on the line’ when dealing with these ‘volatile’ situations. Where’s the article about the victims of domestic violence whose lives are on the line every single day?”

The articles tell a standard story: At 1:07 p.m., police received a report that a man has shot his wife, 28-year-old Jessica Welch, in a car located in a parking lot near the Poughkeepsie train station. She died instantly. An officer confronted the suspect and removed the suspect’s 3-year-old daughter from the scene. The suspect ran away and was confronted by Officer John Falcone minutes later.

Falcone suffers a gunshot wound to his head.

He died hours later at the Vassar Brothers Medical Center. By 2:10 p.m., the suspect is dead. Officials later confirm he took his own life.

What these narratives fail to capture is the back-story—the reason why two innocent lives were lost last Friday. Atkins called what

happened in a single hour last Friday “the culmination of what we can only assume was years of domestic violence.”

Just weeks before the shootings, on Jan. 28, Welch was jailed for third-degree assault after attacking his wife. After posting a measly $1,000 bail, he confronted his wife, violating a stay-away order. Police promptly filed criminal contempt charges. Welch was jailed again on $20,000 bond.

One neighbor recalled a conversation he had with Jessica Welch after a fight with her husband just two weeks before her death.

He recalled, “She said she was leaving and planning on getting a divorce … She said, ‘If I don’t, he’s going to kill me.’”

Welch was free on bail last Friday, when he killed his wife and Falcone.

For Atkins, “The most painful part about this is that this is the third murder to happen since I’ve worked at Battered Women’s Services, and so far, nothing has changed.

Not the media response, the criminal justice response, or the police response.” The situation may be even worse than Atkins thought, for, according to The Poughkeepsie Journal, Welch’s murder was the fourth in less than a year to be due to domestic violence.

And so, if we are to take domestic violence seriously, we need to ask the serious questions.

Why was the bail set so low for such a dangerous case? Why was Jessica Welch not able to seek help? How can we pass new laws that take into account the recurring nature of domestic violence? Where is the candlelight vigil for Jessica Welch?

Why is domestic violence being made invisible when it is in fact the root cause of the entire event?

These questions are the way we must honor Jessica Welch.

—Hannah Blume ’13 will be writing on the relationship between Vassar College and Poughkeepsie. She is a sociology major.

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

Page 9

Food choices must be left to individuals Graham Mayshark Guest Columnist

W

e here at Vassar feel the impact of mass food and agricultural production every day. Or rather, we taste it.

As a former employee of Vassar’s Dining Services, I can tell you that the food we eat is supplied for the most part by Sysco, the largest food supplier in North America.

I’ve seen the boxes of vegetables and fruit marked “Sysco” in big blue letters. Trust me, we may buy yogurt and some juices from local producers—of course, even though Dannon is located in White Plains, NY, it’s not all that “local”—but the vegetables, meat, oils, bread and those odd, vegan confections like vegan jambalaya? All from Sysco or another mass-food producer.

Don’t fret. This is not an anti-Vassar Dining Services tirade. The men and women who prepare our food work hard to do so. I’ve gotten to know many of them, and they do a wonderful job.

Nor is my issue with the administration. In our society, which treats food like any other manufacturing good—the cheaper, the better— an institution like Vassar needs its food supplied by corporations like Sysco. It’s the only way for Vassar to produce enough food for our 2000plus students. It’s why a student on a standard meal pays around $13 for each All Campus Dining Center (ACDC) meal they swipe, and it’s why charging such a fee is justified.

The problem here is with the very concept of mass food and agricultural production.

Where does this idea come from? Well, it comes from supply and demand, for sure. We eat this food, so we demand it. And they supply it.

But the issue here is that free-market economics cannot be applied to the agricultural industry in the same way it can to the manufacturing industry. Agricultural production is not the same as the production of clothes or household goods.

Sure, economic theory would have you believe that we, as consumers, consume these manufactured items. But we don’t consume them the way we do our food. We wear them.

We live with them and we use them. But we don’t eat them.

We do, quite literally, consume this food. Our body digests it. It is inside of us. It is, in a way, a part of our body and how our body functions.

And because of this, it should not be subject to the same regulation and production as industrial manufacturing.

When agricultural goods are produced at maximum efficiency, their quality—like most goods—is diminished. The problem here is that a bum piece of pork can kill you, whereas you know what you’re getting when you flip-flops break after wearing them three times. It can be argued that we all know what we’re doing when we eat in the ACDC or at Arby’s. But it’s still our food, and we must take responsibility for it.

I cannot advocate a worldwide boycott of mass-produced food and agricultural products for all members of our society. With developing societies facing food shortages, and with the population ever growing, it just isn’t possible.

We cannot simply change the means of production. But we can demand something better.

We, the men and women of the Vassar community, have the means to support local agricultural products. If you do not like the quality of the meat, vegetables or fruit at the Retreat or the ACDC, then don’t eat them. Vassar will take notice.

If you want higher quality food, go across the street to MyMarket. Buy from the farmer’s market, buy from Adam’s. We have the power to reform our food in our community by not accepting the low standards of Sysco supplied, mass-produced food.

Do you demand more from the food you eat than from the shoes you wear? If so, then demand better quality food the only way you can.

Stop eating it.

—Graham Mayshark ’13 is an international studies major.

Page 10

Room for faith: Idealism in Milan Emil Ostrovski Columnist

I

recently had cause to think back on a joke my uncle once told me. It went: “When you’re 18, if you’re not liberal, you have no heart. When you’re 50, if you’re not conservative, you have no brain.” Though I’m not a big fan of the punch line myself, there is a grain of truth here. It is very easy to be idealistic, to come to all sorts of grand and lofty conclusions, when the world is a distant thing, little more than images on the computer, videos on the TV, words in a book and pictures of far-off places on the living room wall. A more accurate statement might be: When you’re young, if you’re jaded, you have no heart. When you’re old, if you’re not at least a little jaded, then you’re young in the head.

And I have to admit that the day I recently spent touring Milan, frowning at the jumble of vias and calles and piazzas stretched out between my hands, left me a little jaded. The monuments were grand, of course; the Milan Cathedral was particularly impressive. I was less impressed with how many people on the streets of this ancient city, in the shadow of great monuments like the Cathedral, besieged me with requests for money.

I met a man who, allegedly, has an apartment in Helsinki, a house in Milan, two kids in Helsinki and needed 100 euros for a 50-euro airplane ticket to Helsinki and some change. Also, I learned from him that the Fins speak Spanish.

Yet amidst his lies, I got a sense of what might have been the truth. That he’d been sleeping in a local park. That he couldn’t read. (He didn’t tell me this explicitly, but it became clear enough when I asked him to help me find where we were on my map.)

I met another man, allegedly from Nigeria, with two kids to support. He had photos on hand.

I met a whole troupe of men beneath the gates of the Sforza Castle, who tied a little, multi-colored piece of string around my wrist and then asked me for a 10-euro donation for Senegal.

I met two women, both in uniform, asking for donations for a children’s charity. They had IDs, See MILAN on page 12

OPINIONS February 24, 2011 Has Mubarak truly left Egyptian government?

Major officials put in place by former leader Juan Bautista Dominguez Guest Columnist

O

nly a week ago unprecedented uprisings in Egypt successfully ousted a stubborn and autocratic Hosni Mubarak from his rusted throne. However, now you have to click on the “Search All NYTimes.com” to find anything mentioning Tahrir Square.

This is because the exit of the “Pharaoh”—as Mubarak has been nicknamed by the Egyptian people—has inspired and ignited a larger wave of revolutions across the Arab world.

But let’s not allow our short attention span to get the best of us; the light at the end of the Egyptian tunnel of corruption could just be another train.

The thousands of protestors being violently repressed by their unyielding governments have stolen the headlines. After all, the governments and militaries of Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Iran, Libya, Oman, Morocco and Yemen have not responded as peacefully and humanely to the protesters as those of Tunis and Cairo did.

In Libya alone, after less than a week, the forces of Colonel Muammar al-Qaddafi, the Libyan dictator, have caused the deaths of over 400 and left over a thousand wounded, according to the Associated Press. Despite the uncertain veracity of these reports—due to the Libyan government’s efforts to squelch the release of information about the events— they would not surprise many, as al-Qaddafi is sometimes considered to be a ruthless dictator.

Sadly, though, the situation in an historically less “oppressive” country like Yemen has also seen its fair share of bloodshed.

According to The Washington Post, at least two people were shot by government forces during protests in the south of Yemen. And United Press International reported that a bomb attack on an anti-government protest killed 87 people.

Some have used the threat of civil war as a way to possibly quell the unrest.

In what The New York Times described as “a rambling, disjointed address,” al-Qaddafi’s son—Seif al-Islam—made the argument that the North African country would just contin-

ue to deteriorate into further turmoil if his father’s 40-year-long rule were to end. His main point was that “the prospect of civil war” was imminent and that it would be fought “over [Libya’s] oil resources.” During his speech he also repeated many times that “Libya is not Tunisia or Egypt,” to allude to the fact that his father would not relinquish power as easily as Mubarak and Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the ousted president of Tunisia.

In the land of the pyramids, where the second leader in the Middle East appears to have been toppled, the question is whether Mubarak has really lost power. And if so, will he ever be held accountable for the countless criminal deeds committed while leading his circus of a government?

Much of the political and managerial restructuring hasn’t had a huge impact yet, but two of the top figures of power in Egypt— Omar Suleiman, the longtime head of Mubarak’s domestic and foreign intelligence agency, the General Intelligence Directorate, and General Mohamed Hussien Tantawi—have generally been considered loyalists to the former autocratic leader. Both attracted their fair share of criticism when entering their new roles.

Suleiman was seen as too moderate during the protests: He called them “intolerable” in public addresses but took little action otherwise. Furthermore, his hasty appointment as vice-president has been recognized as a last-ditch, desperate attempt by the Egyptian administration to calm the masses, according to The Christian Science Monitor. That didn’t quite go as planned, but like his military counterpart, Suleiman has been able to make the political transitions move like molasses.

While there have been positions filled by figures of the traditional opposition groups, the posts awarded aren’t the best to start establishing reforms. Those include that of the newly headed Tourism Minister Mounir Abdel Nour and the Culture Minister Mohamed El-Sawy. The offices carrying more weight have managed to remain unscathed by the revolution. As the Times commented, “The leaders of the major ministries—interior, justice and foreign affairs—as well as the prime

minister himself, were put in place by Mr. Mubarak before his fall.” Thus, it is possible that these “reformations” have been little more than a good show of faith.

On the other hand, on Feb. 13, the Egyptian military made public a “blacklist” of many ex-officials and ministers. Clarín, an Argentinean leftist publication, was one of few newspapers to make known the existence of such an enumeration, and María Laura Avignolo reported that it “impeded exit from the country for many officials and ministers of the former regime.”

The index has already taken one of its first victims: The former Minister of Information—a capacity the interim government has left vacant—Anas-El-Fiqqui was caught en route to the airport and is presently under house arrest.

However, Mubarak has been largely left alone after scurrying away to his fortified and police-protected residence in Sharm-el-Sheik, which is reported to have a breathtaking view of the Red Sea. As some of his former loyalists take the flak, little has been done to bring the former autocratic leader to justice for his numerous counts of corruption and injustice.

Besides the freezing of tens of millions of dollars in Switzerland and some local assets, Mubarak has—incredibly—stayed immune from punitive action.

Is it too farfetched to believe the Egyptian tyrant made deals with the military and opposition leaders so as to make sure he wasn’t bothered with charges and indictments of human rights violations, illicit enrichment and corruption? Have things really changed? Suleiman and Tantawi, men who were commonly seen as loyalists to Mubarak, could simply be his puppets as Mubarak still runs his mafia state. This mirrors what commonly happens with drug lords and their gangs in American prisons, who often run their gangs from inside prison walls. But Mubarak is in his resort home with full Internet access, so he can do a lot more than push a few deals.

—Juan Bautista Dominguez ’13 is a political science major.

Voting the best hope for democracy, not mass protests Joseph Hoffheimer

M

Guest Columnist

uch of our recent political focus rightfully rests with the recent events in the Middle East, but a significant new wave of protest has rocked America in the past week as well. As House Republicans decided to defund Planned Parenthood and the Wisconsin State House tried to force a vote against state workers’ right to collectively bargain, protests and demonstrations have become the only option in defeating legislation proposed by an unwavering Republican majority. However, this recent legislative action should not come as a surprise and further demonstrates the direct importance of electoral politics.

Throughout our country, those who voted in the past election made a fairly resounding statement of putting the Republicans back into office. At the national level, Republicans and their Tea Party-backed candidates mostly won on a platform of “jobs” and “limited government.” Abortion, for which Planned Parenthood receives no federal funding, did not count among the major issues; however, when The New York Times shows almost every Republican voting to eliminate funding for Planned Parenthood due to what Congressman Mike Pence fairly clearly articulates as his desire to regulate people’s private lives, that should not come as a surprise, either.

Despite the fact that many newly elected Republicans followed Governor of Indiana Mitch Daniels’s advice and removed any contentious issues from their campaigns, they all had a clear enough record that voters should know about without too much research. Take our district’s new Congresswoman Nan Hayworth, for example. She calls herself a “centrist,” but

recently voted to ban funding for both Planned Parenthood and Amtrak, two programs of importance to her area. While many Vassar students concerned about Planned Parenthood likely have no idea who she even is, her opponent, John Hall, had a strong record of supporting such programs and could have used more support in 2010.

Although many Republicans would not specify a single program they would cut in the name of “fiscal responsibility” during the last election, the choice of Planned Parenthood, despite the organization’s support from some moderates, appears fairly predictable when Congressional opposition to the organization started with the same “pimp” video prank used in the Republican elimination of ACORN. Watch out, National Public Radio, you’re probably next.

As much as I have previously criticized the Democratic Party’s inability to control their own message and prevent such atrocities from happening, even in some cases where the Democrats did make clear distinctions, people still voted overwhelmingly Republican.

Take Wisconsin, for example, where nearly a week of protest has brought thousands to the capital in support of state workers, including teachers, nurses and firefighters. In a state once known for labor and progressivism, voters decided to defeat incumbent former-Senator Russ Feingold—a strong supporter of labor issues and, unlike most Republicans, a true fiscal conservative—in favor of now-Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI), who refused to talk about anything specific. They turned two U. S. House seats over to the Republicans, elected Republican majorities to both state houses, and elected Governor Scott Walker, who has a long history of stubborn opposition to labor issues. In a

state once supportive of the most progressive senator and President Obama’s election, the recent results sound like a fairly clear Republican mandate to me.

Furthermore, the recent protests in Wisconsin bring back memories of the Republican reaction to Obama’s election and obstructionism used to destroy the Democratic agenda.

Strangely, a famous Tea Party sign titled “Tea Bag Liberal Dems Before They Tea Bag You” has a degree of irony to it now. While voters should expect repercussions after electing Republicans, however, I would argue that both the Wisconsin and Planned Parenthood reactions differ from those on the right, and come at a necessary time.

In Wisconsin, the protests differ from Tea Parties and Republican legislative obstructionism in that the protesters have directly reacted to concrete components in a destructive piece of legislation rather than, say, some false perception of the governor’s nationality or religion. Additionally, the protesters want to protect the rights of working—as opposed to super-rich—Americans and gain a victory that stops other states, such as Indiana, from repeating similar measures. While unions remain imperfect, in Wisconsin they have already even agreed to cuts and simply want to keep their basic rights.

On the legislative front, unlike Senate Republicans who have become accustomed to filibustering simply because they see the Democratic agenda as dangerous to their electoral chances, every Wisconsin Democratic legislator to leave the state has departed for a clear reason and thereby agreed to have their name associated with their action.

At the national level, massive support for

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

Planned Parenthood remains necessary, as well; if Planned Parenthood does not receive support, we will dangerously continue to allow Republicans to repeat prominent lies and falsehoods. They would then go forward with a number of options, ranging from the recurring practices of fabricated videos to unfair discrimination spun from misinformation.

Moreover, Planned Parenthood supporters can still influence the Senate, which has yet to vote on the issue and stands a chance at defeating the House cuts. As Republicans continue to vote as a block and Democrats run scared, strong support remains imperative. In the past few months, several Democratic senators in key seats have announced their retirement and may well see Republicans replace them.

With Democratic weaknesses in both houses, it becomes the people’s responsibility to take a strong stand against disastrous Republican policies. In certain countries, masses will take to the streets for literally anything and, if it takes the events surrounding Wisconsin or Planned Parenthood to remind people of the failed party of Bush’s reemergence, now is the time to rise up.

At this point, mass protest may appear as the last, best option for our democracy. However, even in a democracy where the rights of families and workers have become secondary to those of corporations and the super-wealthy, we should always think about whom we vote for and whether or not we simply vote. The recent situations prove exactly why your vote does matter.

—Joseph Hoffheimer ’11 is treasurer of the Vassar College Democrats. He is an urban studies major.

February 24, 2011

OPINIONS

Page 11

Distribution of student activities fee must change Josh Rosen

Opinions Editor

E

ach academic year, every student at Vassar College is required to pay a student activity fee of $285. As a portion of the $53,270 in annual tuition—officially known as the Comprehensive Fee in Vassar’s 2010/11 College Catalogue—that we pay, the fee is minuscule, amounting to just over one half of one percent of the total cost of attending Vassar. However, there is a strong case to be made for modifying the student activity fee’s distribution and mandatory nature.

The $285 annual fee is transferred to the Vassar Student Association (VSA), according to the 2010/11 College Catalogue, and the funds are used to pay for student groups ranging from Vassar College Entertainment (ViCE) to the Vassar College Democrats. The funding is allocated by the VSA on an annual basis. Specifically, at the beginning of each school year, the approximately $700,000 raised from the fee, according to The Miscellany News’ July 10, 2010 online article “Know your Bylaws from your Constitution,” is distributed between the VSA’s various activities. This budget is used to distribute funds—based upon applications made in the spring of the preceding year—subsequent to recommendations made by the Finance and Activities Committees. The Finance and Activities Committees’ recommendations are then reviewed by the VSA’s Executive Board, and, if approved by the Executive Board, move to the VSA Council for a vote.

The annual budgeting is highly contentious, much as a budgeting process is at any level of government. The problem with this process is that, intentionally or not, individual political actors and organizations can collude and otherwise subvert the good of the whole—that of the student body—in the way in which they allocate funds. For example, it may not necessarily be the wish of the bulk of students that niche organizations such as Squirm receive

substantial amounts of funds, yet the organization is funded not necessarily with an eye to what the majority of students would prefer. However, the budgeting process today does not allow for the interests of the student body to be known directly—it is largely organizations that lobby for funds and elected representatives who are involved in the budgeting process.

I question whether the method of budgeting as it is today is an efficient way to allocate resources. Since individuals do have the knowledge and ability to make allocations of their own money to organizations based upon their personal preferences, they should be permitted to do so, instead of paying a flat fee. Rather, it would not be problematic to allow students to choose from a “menu” of sorts using as much or as little money as they choose to distribute to whatever organizations they choose to support. Some small percentage of the allocation could certainly be reserved for the VSA to satisfy as-yet unseen needs, but certainly shouldn’t be allocated as it is today, where the VSA distributes the bulk of funds via a budgeting process.

This method of fund allocation allows for more popular organizations as well as those valued higher in terms of their importance by students to receive the efficient amount of money: If students like an organization, then it should be well funded, and if not, it should either go unfunded or require its members to ante up and back their organization or activity of choice with their own money, and only their own—or perhaps that of those who do not participate but are generous enough to give.

Of course, leaving the student activity fee to be allocated as students see fit, too, allows the individual student to not pay at all—short of, perhaps, a token fee to fund the VSA’s discretionary budget. Not only does this allow students to rationally compare prices they pay in the real world for goods and services to the value they place on their organizations and activities, but it allows them to substi-

tute based on their own preferences: If, for example, I prefer seeing a play to funding the underwater basketweaving club—which does not exist, naturally—then I should have every right to choose the performance over woven baskets.

A potential problem with the allocation of the fee as I propose it is the issue of “free riding,” where individuals who do not pay for a service cannot be excluded from using it. However, in many ways, this problem is actually a strength, for its solutions require students to pay for what they use. Rather, free riding could be alleviated by charging admission for parties, concerts or other events—an à la carte menu rather than a prix fixe—as well as by enabling the VSA to utilize the percentage of each student’s allocations that remains for the VSA to fund organizations or events that it deems valuable. This compromise gives the VSA some flexibility for contingencies and for budgeting its various funds—such as the popular Collaboration Fund—but reduces their role, in place of direct, student-driven budgeting.

In a similar sense, allowing students to allocate their money as they choose gives students a financial incentive to participate in the organizations they chose to fund. After all, taking an equity stake in any enterprise means that an individual will take actions to improve its profitability; so too will students who “invest” in organizations. If, for example, I give $50 to the Polo Team, I have a $50 stake in the organization’s success, and I will work to get my $50 worth from it.

Much as charging admission allows for more choice for students and allows individual determination of value of a given event, revising the student activities fee upon the principles of individual choice makes students choose between limited resources. This is a matter of adult responsibility: choosing between different options under conditions of scarcity.

T

Guest Columnist

exas is an invaluable member of the American family. The Lone Star State has given us Scott Joplin, Willie Nelson, Amber Rose, delicious Tex-Mex cuisine and George W. Bush. Actually, we shouldn’t thank Texas for George W. Bush, but for everything else on that list I do thank Texas.

However, beyond the cultural contributions hides a darker side of Texas. A state that has, by far, the highest number of annual executions and a state that is on the brink of passing a bill that would allow university students and professors to carry concealed guns on Texas’ 38 public university campuses.

Texas has some of the loosest gun laws in the nation, including a conceal-carry statute.

Yet this is not good enough for the Republicans who control the state government because they have been pushing even more deregulation. This latest attempt to make guns easily accessible began in 2009, when the Texas State Senate passed a bill that would make it legal to carry guns on campus. Over half of the State House has signed on as cosponsors of the Senate bill and Governor Rick Perry has promised to sign it. Rick Perry is a ridiculous Yosemite Sam type character. Like Yosemite he struts around the State House with a gun while bragging about shooting coyotes. He even carries a gun while jogging.

But what’s good for Yosemite Sam is not good for Texas or the nation as a whole.

Republican Texas State Senator Jeff Went-

worth, along with Perry, argued that the latest gun debate is about self-defense. Wentworth claims that he does not want a repeat of the Virginia Tech shooting. What Wentworth and those who agree with him fail to explain, however, is just how more people with guns would have stopped the 2007 shooting in Virginia. Had the Virginia Tech students been armed, one can only assume there would have been more bloodshed, not less. The problem was not a lack of guns.

The shooter, Seung-Hui Cho, was mentally ill and yet was still able to buy a gun because of Virginia’s casual gun laws, which resemble those on the books in Texas. Thus if the Commonwealth had been more strident with its gun laws, Cho would not have been allowed to purchase a firearm in the first place. The same scenario was repeated in Arizona where Jared Loughner shot over a dozen people, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, and killed six, including a nine-year-old girl. The mentally disturbed Loughner was rejected for military service, and yet Arizona law allowed him to purchase the arms that he later used in the shooting. Only in America is a man denied a military commission but allowed a gun permit.

The insanity is not widespread. It is telling that the President of the University of Texas at Austin, the state’s flagship university, has come out against the measure, as have universities in other states where similar measures have been introduced. There is no situ-

“*points to crotch* *points to brain* *points to heart*”

Candido Diaz ’11 candidate

“1/3 whiskey, 1/3 Dan Flynn, 1/3 glitter, 1/3 hip gyrations”

Daniel Flynn ’13 candidate

“sass, popularity, and more sass”

—Joshua Rosen ’13 is opinions editor of The Miscellany News. He is an economics major.

Texas campus carry meausre dangerous Juan Thompson

What makes a Mr. Vassar?

ation in which dozens of students carrying concealed guns is a good idea. Consider a university campus, particularly a large public university—which is where the Texas statute would apply—that has a raucous nightlife filled with drunken students partying. Who amongst the Texas Republicans pushing for this idiotic bill will explain to the family of the inevitable shooting victim that their son or daughter died because some drunken yahoo decided to discharge his legally concealed Seapon? Conservative gun lovers in this country are blinded by ideology and fear. They believe that some hidden liberal force is out to take their guns, so they go to these ridiculous and dangerous lengths to ensure that guns are a part of the nation’s social fabric, hoping that this will make it more difficult to revoke their Second Amendment rights. This columnist is not one of those people. Law abiding citizens should be allowed to carry guns. Nevertheless, we give up certain rights to the state with the expectation that the state will pass and enforce reasonable measures that will keep the citizenry safe. This is the great trade-off in democratic governance. The Texas State legislature has jettisoned that responsibility.

They, if this measure becomes law, will be directly responsible for making the students of Texas less safe while simultaneously setting a dreadfully dangerous example for the nation.

Matt Horton ’13 candidate

“Less than impressive facial hair.”

Aidan Kahn ’14 candidate

“Outrageous clothing.

Feather boas.

Magic.”

Liz Doyle ’14

“Emotional vulnerability.”

—Juan Thompson ’13 is a political science major.

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Calvin Pickett ’12

—Marie Dugo, Social Media Editor Juliana Halpert, Photography Editor Alanna Okun, Humor & Satire Editor

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

Page 12

OPINIONS

February 24, 2011

Moderate thought necessary for confidence, trust in others Extreme thinking will distort truth, breed suspicion MILAN continued from page 10 but of course, I didn’t scrutinize, and at any rate, they were in Italian. These last two I thought were probably legitimate, until I gave them five euros, and they told me that people usually give 20.

Now, I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’m an idealist. The more practical, the more pragmatic a discussion gets, the more my mind tends to drift. Ideas excite me, not logistics.

One of these ideas, which I’m still very much committed to, is that the punishment of many guilty people in no way justifies the punishment of even a single innocent person. So, for example, the reason I oppose the death penalty is not because I think serial killers don’t deserve to die, but rather because of the inevitability that sooner or later, an innocent person will be sentenced to death. That is a sacrifice I am not willing to make.

I had always viewed giving money in these types of circumstances in a somewhat similar way. Sure, the people might be lying. But they could also be telling the truth. And in the end, if I’ve managed to give money to at least one deserving person, just one, then that’s what matters. And even if all the people I give money to throughout my life lie, I can still have faith in their basic decency. These are, of course, things I cannot ever really know one way or the other.

But I can have faith, can’t I? Some people have faith in God; I choose to have faith in littler things—my single streak of pragmatism, you might say.

Yet, sometimes—as any priest, rabbi, imam or other clergyman will tell you—faith is tested; mine was tested. It is not a pleasant thing, being 95 percent sure that you are being lied to, several times in one day, no less. It is not a pleasant thing to have doubts about what you believe in.

I had been planning on going out that evening, treating myself a bit. After all, I wasn’t sure when, if ever, I’d be returning to this city. But considering the money I gave away—five euros here, five euros there adds up—I opted for a more fiscally conservative course of action: I went to McDonalds. While eating a Big Mac, I had the thought, “A few more days of this and I really

might go hard-core conservative. Either that or turn into a full-blown communist.” It is almost as hard to be a moderate as it is an idealist.

When you’re tired and kind of frustrated and eating a Happy Meal in Milan, you want to take some kind of decisive stance. And this applies on a grander scale, as well; most drastic actions are taken, most drastic decisions are made, in response to a state of weakness or crisis. However, to take an extreme stance—whether it be “workers of the world unite” or “get a job and lay off the booze, you lazy bum”—is to lose sight of the existence of many grains of truth in all sorts of different places, in many seemingly irreconcilable perspectives. It would be easier to take the

path of least resistance, to string together the truths we like and forget about the truths we don’t. Easier, but ultimately self-deceiving, and, like the joke my uncle told me, only true from a very specific perspective, as opposed to true fundamentally, through and through. For fundamental truth, we need moderation, we need to take measured and careful steps; and as for idealism, there’s always room for faith.

And that’s when I remember the storeowner who took me outside his grocery and literally pointed me in the direction I needed to go, in addition to telling me where to buy a better map. That’s when I remember the two Aussie sisters I met at the hostel who, contrary to hostel stereotypes, had no interest in seducing me

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MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

and making off with (what little) money I had.

That’s when I remember one of the dogs I made friends with; the owner smiled at me and said something in Italian. I said, “Sorry, I don’t speak Italian, but you have a very nice dog,” and she said, “Thank you.” And then, of course, there was the old Milanese couple who, I think, asked me for directions in Italian when I asked them for directions in English. After several minutes of miscommunication neither of us had what we wanted, but all three of us parted with our lips upturned. So yes, at the end of the day, there’s always room for faith, too.

—Emil Ostrovski ’12 is a philosophy major. He is abroad in Prague, Czech Republic this semester.

HUMOR & SATIRE

February 24, 2011

Page 13

OPINIONS

A hot Deece dinner date with me, myself, and I Tom Renjilian

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Columnist

hat is hell? Many have theories.

Some people think love is hell. Other’s think life is hell. Jean-Paul Sartre said, “Hell is other people.” My mother, after a long day at work and a few boxes of wine has been known to stand from the dinner table and exclaim, unprovoked, “Hell? Do you know what hell is? Hell is being right here with all of you.” All of this is wrong.

Clearly, I’ve done my research—Google search: “What do people say is hell?”—so I’m qualified to tell all of you wretched heathens what exactly hell is.

Hell is eating alone at the All Campus Dining Center. There’s nothing quite as torturous as sitting alone while hundreds of your peers in their respective “cliques” stare at you knowing that you either don’t have friends or are such a repulsively messy eater that none of the friends you do have will be seen with you.

I’m in hell right now. I’m at a table intended for approximately 100 people directly in the center of the room because there were no smaller, more discreet tables available.

People keep shuffling over to ask if they can “borrow one of these chairs if NO ONE is using ANY of them” before scurrying away quickly without getting too close. The pretentious boy in my English seminar just walked by and smiled sympathetically as if to say, “I would offer to sit with you but.…”

I can see people pointing and staring at me, and not just because I’m dressed really well.

I can hear them laughing, probably all at me.

I’m freaking out. I don’t have my laptop or a book—the only way my situation is acceptable—and it probably doesn’t help that I’m manically scribbling this on napkins like some kind of second-rate suicide note.

My intense anxieties about eating alone are rooted in my friendless past and originate as far back as my lonely lunch periods in the elementary school cafeteria. The lunch table was, of course, the main way of discerning who was in the “in crowd,” and so sitting with the right people, or just people who weren’t “Bettina the lunch lady who recently arrived from Germany,” was an anxiety-filled process.

The thing is, at the beginning of first

grade I did have a friend to sit with, but he had to go to what our teacher called the “Catholic school in the sky” after he caught salmonella and died from licking the white circles under the class bird house, inconsiderately leaving me all alone at lunch. In second grade, I made a friend named Georgie, but he was invisible so everyone still thought I was eating alone. (Ugh, idiots.)

And by third grade my favorite show was Sailor Moon, and I was spending most of my time figuring out how best to recreate Scary Spice’s wardrobe with my Old Navy Tech Vests and light up Sketchers. So needless to say, there was no hope for me. I’d be eating alone forever.

Most days it was bearable. Sure, people would throw tater tots shaped like dinosaurs at the back of my head, or yell, “Hey gay kid, why don’t you have any friends?”

But whatever, at least they were talking to me! The worst days were when Casper Oldenburger, who pretended to be a Rottweiler at recess, would come over and sympathetically invite me to come sit with him and his “girlfriend” Marybeth at the peanut-allergy table. “I don’t need your fucking sympathy!” I would shout.

By fifth grade, I gave up on the cafeteria altogether and started bringing my ham sandwich and Juicy-Juice-filled Sabrina the Teenage Witch thermos to the library, where I spent the 45-minute lunch period listening to Harry Potter books on tape.

I’d turn the volume up really loud, but no matter what, I could still hear the librarians making fun of me.

So that’s how I got here: sitting alone, hyperventilating, irrationally terrified that the quidditch team is going to levitate a spitball at my face. (Please note: There are people at this school who play QUIDDITCH, and I’m eating alone.) Maybe I could pretend to make a phone call? Or look really pensive, like I just needed some alone time?

Or draw pictures of people on napkins and tape them to the chairs? Or maybe I’m overreacting? Maybe no one cares? Maybe everyone thinks I’m confident and independent! You know, maybe eating alone isn’t embarrassing at all! Yeah! Actually, no, never mind— it totally is. Anyone want to get dinner tomorrow at six?

February 28, 1865 // 1

Anonymous February 28, 1865 at 3:05 am

Oh ho, agreeable gentlemen do indeed abound, and by the dozen! The trouble is that they only enjoy the company of other gentlemen.

February 27, 1865 // 0

Upon whom must I perform unspeakable acts in order to obtain cutlery? At supper there was but a single spoon, and it was rusted and bent in a most disagreeable manner.

February 27, 1865 // 2

Let others dwell on thoughts of sinful, wanton lovemaking; I have only eyes for you, girl with the chestnut ringlets and ample hoopskirt who sits at the front of my chemistry class. Would that you might turn around and return my loving gaze!

‘67 February 27, 1865 at 10:05 pm

Remove your hindquarters from whence you sit and tell her that which you have here professed!

Anonymous February 27, 1865 at 11:42 pm

Yes, kindly do not be such an insufferable pussy.

February 26, 1865 // 0

February 24, 1865 // 3

Lost my V-Card at the Calisthenium & Riding Academy! If any kindly soul were to happen upon it and return it to the Main Building, I would be most eternally grateful.

What is the general opinion on Professor Maria Mitchell? I am greatly torn as to whether to take her Astronomy for Ladies class.

Anon February 24, 1865 at 12:51 pm

Prig.

‘66 February 24, 1865 at 1:02 pm

Dolt.

DarC4lyfe February 24, 1865 at 3:05 pm

Harpy.

February 24, 1865 // 0

Weekly Calendar: 2/24 - 3/2 Thursday, 2/24

Do you not find that there are hardly any agreeable gentlemen of which to speak? I was not raised to be accomplished in music, dancing, needlework, the modern languages and polite intercourse in order to be tucked away in a veritable convent!

In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. Sayeth Anything has completely taken control of my senses; I can do little else but constantly refresh, awaiting new posts, praying for the day when one appears that might bring a ray of light and joy into my plodding, meaningless existence.

by Alanna Okun, Humor & Satire Editor

you contemplate your own pale, fleshy, rhythmically disinclined rolls. Off-Campus: Bardavon Theater.

you why you don’t have a serious, well-paid summer internship yet like your cousin Charlie? Faculty Commons.

10 p.m. Seven Deadly Sins. I prospied during this event way

Tuesday, 3/1

5 p.m. Hunger Banquet. Sorry, can’t make it, I’ll be at the Thirst and Sobriety Kegger. Aula.

back in oh-eight, ergo when I came to Vassar as a freshman I was more than a little disappointed at the comparative lack of glitter, inexplicable costumes and overall levels of sin. I’ve since gotten over it. Kind of. Jewett.

Friday, 2/25

Sunday, 2/27

3 p.m. Tea. Sending out more than one Facebook message about your org’s event. We all love a flooded inbox, but only when it’s full of personal professions of love and rumors about people we know. “JK sorry we don’t have a V-cash machine and it’s actually in Rocky 200!!!!1” is somewhat less than juicy. Rose Parlor.

3 p.m. Tea. Shampoo-stealing. No amount of shiny, volu-

7 p.m. ViCE Oscar Gala. My dearest, deepest wish—and, I hazard, the wish of every American with a heart and a dream— is that Mark Weingarten FINALLY wins the Oscar for Best Sound Mixing. Homeboy keeps getting robbed. UpC.

8 p.m. “Playground: The Hallie Flanagan Davis Project.” If there isn’t a tube slide, tire swing and tetherball pole, count me the fuck out. Martel.

Monday, 2/28

Wednesday, 3/2

3 p.m. Tea. Stopping abruptly in that really narrow artery

3 p.m. Tea. Engaging in loud, obnoxious, reverberatingthrough-the-thin-dorm-walls sex at 2 a.m., which is bedtime.

Or at 2 p.m., which is naptime. Or really at any time where your sad, single hallmates are reminded that they are doing something way more boring than getting some. Rose Parlor.

3 p.m. Tea. In honor of Seven Deadly Sins: Vassar’s Four

Deadly Sins. There would be more—we pretty much suck as a collective whole—but there are only four tea listings.

Such is life. Rose Parlor.

minous, Garnier-commercial-y hair can cancel out the unhealthy karma you rack up when you filch someone else’s toiletries. Rose Parlor.

6 p.m. Mr. Vassar. The question on everyone’s mind: For the swimsuit portion of the event, will Dan Flynn ’13 opt for a tasteful two-piece or a daring monokini? UpC. 9:30 p.m. Squirm Silent Auction. It won’t be so silent after the auction, ifyaknawmsayin… …Ew. Faculty Parlor.

Saturday, 2/26

in the All Campus Dining Center to talk to your friend who you probably saw 10 minutes earlier. Unless the message you want to convey is, “I am choking on a crepe-adilla and you are the only person in this building who knows the Heimlich maneuver,” keep it moving. Rose Parlor.

7:30 p.m. Dustin Lance Black Lecture. So I know this guy wrote

8 p.m. VRDT Performance. Come stare at the impossibly

10 p.m. Trivia Night. Question #62: On average, how many

lithe, agile, muscled members of the Vassar community as

times over the course of Spring Break will your mom ask

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

Milk, which was super important and inspiring and all that, but let’s be real: His name totally sounds like a porn alias. UpC.

ARTS

Page 14

February 24, 2011

Writer Dustin Lance Black to lecture on LGBTQ issues Jack Owen

Guest Reporter

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Claflin talk melds art, experience Rachael Borné

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Arts Editor

Dustin Lance Black, center, will deliver a lecture next Wednesday, March 2 on the second floor of the Students’ Building. Black won the 2009 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the biopic Milk. screenplay for the critically acclaimed film Pedro, which explores the life of Pedro Zamora, a famous openly-gay and HIV-positive cast member of MTV’s The Real World. Black recently finished production on his feature directorial debut, What’s Wrong With Virginia, which stars Academy-Award-winner Jennifer Connelly and Academy-Award-nominee Ed Harris.

Aside from his film work, Black is an avid civil rights activist. He is currently a board member of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, a group which is a leading opponent against Proposition 8, the California amendment banning gay

marriage. In addition, he is involved in the Trevor Project, an LGBTQ teen suicide hotline. Black increased his activism after his 2009 Oscar win, touring across the United States to promote equal rights. He topped the list of OUT Magazine’s “Forty Under 40” in 2009, and was on its list of the 50 most powerful LGBT people in America.

“Black is a huge face of the marriage equality movement,” and his “activeness shows he is a true leader,” said Shoemaker. This lecture will be a fantastic opportunity for Vassar students to hear the story of a man who has overcome great obstacles and achieved great things. “I

VRDT showcase to bring new repertoire Ellen Xie

I

Guest Reporter

n 21st century America, where good posture is nearing extinction, grace and poise are rare characteristics, and self-discipline is less than common, a dancer stands out. The talented individuals that make up the Vassar Reparatory Dance Theatre (VRDT) will shine this week for more than these reasons alone, though. On Feb. 26 and 27, VRDT will present its 29th-annual gala performances at Poughkeepsie’s Bardavon Opera House.

Of the piece she choreographed entitled “Full Circle,” dancer Amanda Sugino ’11 explained, “VRDT has been a pretty big part of our Vassar experience, and I really wanted to create the piece as a dedication to those experiences.” Sugino’s dance gains meaning from its title, as it represents a tribute to all the seniors who have danced with the company for years and have really come full circle. The piece will give some seniors an opportunity to dance with each other for the very first time. “The piece is eight-minutes long, to music by Pat Metheny, and because it is a tribute to VRDT, I chose to include fleeting quotes from repertoire that we’ve done in VRDT over the last four years,” said Sugino. The especially attentive audience members of previous VRDT shows may even recognize certain movements and snippets from repertoires in the past. If not, the references will exist as a playful inside joke for all the VRDT veterans.

Sugino cites a dance by popular New York choreographer Larry Keigwin entitled “Caffeinated” as one she’s looking forward to most.

She said, “The piece is about coffee, which is very near and dear to my heart. It’s an incredibly high-energy piece, and it’s the perfect piece to do at Vassar, where so many students are hooked on caffeine.”

Professor of Dance Stephen Rooks will also present a piece at the Bardavon entitled “Hidden Folk Dance.” It tells the story of Oskar Schindler during the Holocaust. However, Rooks rejects it being labeled as a “Holocaust piece.” While most artists choose to focus on the racial and political aspects of this time period, Rooks said, “I didn’t want to do a piece that was going to be a downer, or make a statement for or against a group. I just wanted to make an

Courtesy of Jim Mills, Vassar College

larissa Sligh was introduced to the themes that now govern her work at the young age of 15 when she was the lead plaintiff in the 1955 Virginia school desegregation case Clarissa Thompson et. al. vs. Arlington Country School Board. Since then Sligh has mingled visual art with written word to place intimate experiences of social justice in direct dialogue with ideas of change, performance and perception.

Her work exists as a testament to the transformative qualities of creative expression, as she chronicles forthright an artist’s personal journey through time and space.

On Thursday, Feb. 24 Sligh will give the annual Agnes Claflin Lecture with her talk entitled “When and Where I Enter” at 5 p.m. in Taylor Hall 203.

In addition to speaking with the student body, Sligh will also join the new interdisciplinary Art History/American Culture/ Women’s Studies seminar, Books from the Women’s Studio Workshop, for their Thursday afternoon class meeting.

Sligh’s participation in the seminar is especially meaningful, simply because many of her most notable works are in the artists’ book format, a medium central to the course’s content. “I was inspired to design a new interdisciplinary seminar to enable students an opportunity to dwell in these vital handmade books,” explained Associate Professor of Art Lisa Collins. The artists’ book is created when works of art are realized in the form of a book. They are often produced in small editions or even as unique, one-of-a-kind objects.

This new seminar explores the artists’ book in the context of the Woman’s Studio Workshop (WSW) located in Rosendale, New York. Founded in 1974, the workshop remains one of the longest standing See SLIGH on page 16

Courtesy of news.xinhuanet.com

hen gaining awareness of his sexuality at an early age, Dustin Lance Black revealed in an interview with The Bay Area Reporter his first thoughts, “If I ever admit it, I’ll be hurt, and I’ll be brought down.” But through perseverance and drive, Black has now asserted himself as not only a confident gay man, but as an iconic activist in the modern LGBTQ Civil Rights movement as well.

Most notably, Black is a screenwriter and producer as well as the winner of the 2009 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the biopic Milk, which stars Sean Penn as the late gay rights activist Harvey Milk.

On Wednesday, March 2, Black will give a lecture at Vassar on the second floor of the Students’ Building.

“Black will basically detail his life in the lecture, and his experiences growing up in a Mormon community in central Texas,” said Sean Shoemaker ’12 of Vassar College Entertainment (ViCE) Special Events. ViCE felt that Black would be “especially relevant because of Vassar’s strong emphasis on creative writing and arts,” said Shoemaker. In addition, Tyler Clementi’s suicide last September and subsequent media coverage of LGBTQ teens makes the lecture especially topical.

Having experienced a Mormon upbringing in San Antonio, Texas, Black struggled with his sexuality as a child and teenager, so much so that he did not come out until his senior year at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Film School. He graduated from UCLA with honors in 1996, launching his career first as an art director, and later expanding it to direct documentaries, music videos, TV series and commercials. He also worked as a writer and co-producer on the HBO polygamist drama Big Love between 2004 and 2008. Black wrote the

believe it is important for college students to see the face of a strong leader that’s truly getting things done,” said Shoemaker.

Black’s lecture will certainly provide inspiration for Vassar’s vibrant LGBT community. “It will be great to show someone that’s been successful,” said Shoemaker, and Black is a prime example of a member of the LGBT community who has battled prejudice head on and managed to overcome it in many ways.

However, Black’s lecture will not only be applicable to LGBT students. His creativity and powerful insight is inspiring to anyone who has faced exclusion, no matter their sexual orientation.

In addition, students who are involved in filmmaking and drama may be particularly interested in attending the lecture. When asked if Black would discuss his experiences during the production of Milk, Sean Shoemaker assured that he would “definitely provide insight into the film.” Black first took an interest in Milk’s life during college, exclaiming in an interview tih the UCLA Daily Bruin, “I just want to do something with this, why hasn’t someone done something with this?” Black later said that telling the story of Milk’s life was his way to “maybe inspire the younger generation to start becoming activists in a grassroots way.” For Black, Milkwas his “compass,” and his “reason for being here.” Therefore, for those interested in filmmaking, writing and drama, this is a wonderful opportunity to garner knowledge from an extremely successful professional.

Vassar has long been an environment that celebrates diversity, and its nurturing and open qualities provide a comfortable setting for students to find themselves. Black’s lecture will no doubt parallel such values of the College, and will present students with an example of how one can further said values beyond the classroom and into the working world.

Above, members of the Vassar Reperatory Dance Theatre perform Larry Keigwin’s “Caffeinated.”

This dance will be performed alongside others on Feb. 26 and 27 at the Bardavon Opera House. observation.”

It’s a piece that tries to illuminate the possibility of normalcy in a dark period. Rooks mused: “Maybe there’s a moment where the workers just let go…where they just take an evening to celebrate life. Maybe. So let’s take a look at it.” Though normally a charged, political, and radically embedded piece, it will be interesting to see how this quieter side of the story may come through in, what Rooks called, “just a dance.”

Senior Lecturer in Dance Kathy Wildberger has choreographed a piece called “Red Hawk” for the Bardvon performance. Sugino described Wildberger’s dance as “less boom, crash” than Rooks’. “It’s a bit softer and less dramatic,” she added. Wildberger explained her openness and flexibility towards dancers and the personalities they bring to her pieces: “Different people can do a step and bring something of themselves into it. Some choreographers don’t like that, but I do.” Her piece will incorporate all the seniors in one cast and all the freshmen

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

in another, testing their abilities to bring their own element into the “birds [that] never move the same way twice.”

Though the Bardavon performances highlight similar repertoires as those performed in the Frances Daly Fergusson Dance Theater on campus, Sugino explains the event’s exciting qualities, nonetheless: “What I think makes the Bardavon more special than any of our other shows is the fact that it is in the beautiful 1869 Bardavon Opera House.” The location allows for a larger audience, the stage is considerably grander and the turnout is always high.

Wildberger said of the dance studio at this time, “It’s a cacophony,” describing the dancers running amuck, choreographers trying to squeeze in that last minute of rehearsal and seniors attempting to figure out logistics. Still, she said, “It’s a good feeling.” This year, VRDT “feels especially tight-knit and close,” Sugino said, and perhaps this camaraderie will transfer onto the stage. With such a blend of characters and talents, success seems an inevitable result.

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February 24, 2011

Page 15

Upright Citizens Brigade makes up laughs on the spot Adam Buchsbaum Reporter

A

Courtesy of tlbadventures.com

stranger is pulled from the audience by a group of comedians and asked to tell a personal story. The performers have no planned response, yet somehow comment hilariously on the story and set the crowd ablaze with laughter. This is an exercise in improvisational comedy. Its form is loose, interactive, fun and spontaneous. Soon, thanks to hosts The Limit, No Offense and Indecent Exposure, students will have a chance to experience this craft from some of the best. Professional improv group Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) will perform for Vassar on Saturday, Feb. 26 at 7:30 p.m. in the Villard Room.

The group emerged from Chicago’s ImprovOlympic in 1990, but then relocated to New York in 1996 to perform shows and offer improv training at Solo Arts Group. Between 1998 and 2000, UCB had a TV series dedicated to their comedy on Comedy Central. Many UCB alumnae/i have appeared in well-known TV comedies, and their theaters have played host to several prominent comedians such as Demetri Martin and Sarah Silverman. For this particular night of comedy, the UCBTourCo will perform roughly 90 minutes of comedy for the student body.

Leader of the student-run comedy group The Limit Daniel Files ’11 is the organizer behind the event. He decided to bring the company to Vassar around November, but the idea actually originated from UCB itself. Files explained, “They always look for places to perform and a place they can send their comedy group, and they thought this would be a viable place to send them, and they were right.”

The touring company is not entirely new to Vassar, having performed in 2005 at the annual Matt Carey Comedy Night with Vassar Improv

Above, founding members of the Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) Matt Besser, Ian Roberts and Matt Walsh, pictured from left to right, perform on stage. The UCBTourCo will perform on campus on Feb. 26. and then recent Vassar graduates. Files is been a big fan of the UCB and even interned with them over the summer, so he’s been eager to bring the comedians to Vassar for some time.

Of their New York City location, Files said, “It’s this sort of beat-up, funky, black-box theater underneath the grocery store in the Chelsea area.”

Before the UCB show begins here at Vassar, both No Offense and The Limit introduce the group with quick sketches. After that, improv’s the name of the game. “They’re improv. Part of what’s so interesting about what they do is that

they’re able to create such interesting theater and live drama without any preparation,” Files said. “It’s just themselves.” Students should also, of course, expect audience interaction with the performers.

“At the beginning they usually ask for suggestions,” Files said. Then, the performers will jump loosely off from the suggestions, without sticking precisely to what they were told.

“They like to keep things fresh that way, and unexpected,” Files noted. He particularly likes the audience interviews type of skit UCB does, in which the performers pluck an audience

member, bring them onstage and have an interview that leads the lucky (or, unlucky) student to talk about his or her life. “There’s not a lot of opportunities where you just really listen to somebody else tell a real story,” Files said. “I really like that part—just hearing a stranger tell their stories on stage in front of everybody. You feel weirdly intimate even though you’re in that big stage environment.”

But despite all their professionalism, the performers are not infallible. Sometimes, things may go awry, with a joke flopping or an awkward situation arising. But the Brigade works with it. “Whenever somebody does something weird they call attention to that. If they do something awkward, that will then become the joke. They don’t try to force the joke,” Files said. UCB also employs techniques to help the improv process. One such method is to organize the show using a form called the Harold.

This technique was pioneered by Del Close, an improv teacher and mentor to the UCB. It’s a longform of improv that weaves together and interrelates the sketches. It bounces sketches off each other so there is a link among the sketches somehow: “You revisit things. You make a long, mini-play out of it. You develop scenes throughout,” explained Files.

The performers head onstage with strategies in mind. Files compared this preparation through technique to an athlete, who enters the game prepared for everything and with muscles at the ready. “Their comedic muscles are primed for what they’re gonna do,” he said.

But despite all the preparation, improvisation is inherently and definitively an unscripted and reactive form of comedy. “In improv you learn to give yourself up to the elements. To let yourself be struck by lightning if it happens— or not,” Files said. “I always know I’m gonna enjoy them.”

Vassar abroad programs highlighted in Palmer Gallery Shruti Manian Reporter

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Christie Chea/The Miscellany News

ost of us have often dreamt of globe-trotting to exotic locales, exploring other societies, and gaining a fresh, new perspective on ourselves through the lens of a different culture.

The Vassar Abroad exhibition at the Palmer Gallery celebrates this yen for the adventure and glamour that traveling offers. The exhibition is remarkable because, for the first time, all of Vassar’s various language departments are showcasing their Study Abroad Programs together.

“Every year, all the language departments have their own exhibitions.

But this year, because Vassar is celebrating its sesquicentennial, all the departments have come together as a tribute to the College,” said Associate Professor in the Italian Department Roberta Antognini. The exhibition is designed as a journey across the world. Every language department endeavors to present its foreign programs by painting a vivid picture of the country from which each language hails. Beginning with China and Japan, the exhibits take viewers on a visual voyage across Russia, Italy, France and Spain and finally to Mexico.

Each wall of the Palmer Gallery is decked with photographs, paintings and posters that depict the rich and vibrant culture of these countries and the experiences that Vassar students have had there. Glass boxes filled with scrapbooks, documents archiving Vassar’s presence in countries around the world and historical artifacts from Vassar’s Special Collections flank the entrance of the gallery. The exhibition gives an extraordinary insight into the students’ perspective on Vassar’s varied and fascinating Junior Year Abroad and Summer programs.

For instance, the Italian Department offers two study abroad pro-

While Vassar’s language departments typically hold their own Study Abroad exhibits, in honor of the sesquicentennial they have decided to showcase a joint exhibit in the Palmer Gallery. The Vassar Abroad Exhibition will be on view until March 3. grams, both of which are highlighted with vivid photographs in the exhibition. One is a summer program in Sienna, while the other is a Vassar approved year stay program in Bologna. Each program give students the chance to experience life in Italy by exploring the landscape and taking language and culture courses. “Sienna is a jewel; the University that Vassar has a tie-up with is an old and renowned university. Located on a hill, it is a gorgeous campus which is close to a number of Italian cities like Florence,” said Antognini. Antognini’s husband, Paulo Antognini, is responsible for the paintings that constitute the Italian Department’s exhibit. “We asked Paulo to chronicle his experiences in Italy and his works are ab-

solutely delightful,” said Associate Director of the James Palmer Gallery Monica Church, who was in charge of putting together the exhibition.

The sheer variety of each department’s exhibit is a testament to the fact that Vassar’s abroad programs introduce students to a wide array of experiences—from intimate photos of individuals to depictions of landscapes to photos of architecture to physical artifacts, the exhibition is a visual documentation of life abroad.

The wall adorned with pictures, posters and photographs from the Russian Department is one of the most colorful and graphic displays in the Palmer. The first group of Vassar students to go to Russia were part of Vassar’s Experimental The-

ater group in 1930. Vassar has since had numerous trips to Russia, taken under various departments such as the International Studies and History Departments. The unique feature of the JYA program in St. Petersburg is it’s strong art history component.

Students get an opportunity to have unlimited access to the eminent Hermitage museum, and the Russian Museum.

“Russia is a growing and dynamic nation, that is often misrepresented in the media. This program is indispensable because you can read as many books as you want, watch numerous films, but nothing replicates live interaction and actually being there,” said Professor of Russian Studies Dan Ungurianu. Photos from the exhibi-

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

tion serve as a testament to the rich experiences made possible through an abroad experience in St. Petersburg.

Another striking exhibit is the set of photographs of France. It is hard to miss these incredible pictures of Paris and other famous sights of France.

Complemented by write-ups describing the experiences that France offers visitors, the photos give an inside look into the nuances of the culture and the beauty of the country.

The French Department offers a unique program wherein students take intensive language classes and also pursue an internship in a field of their choice. Thus they not only improve their language skills, but also get the opportunity to explore their other areas of interest. “When students spend time in France, they get the kind of immersion and exposure that we simply cannot give them here. The improvement they see in their language is exponential,” said Assistant Professor of French and Francophone Studies Vinay Swami.

The exhibition illustrates the emphasis that the Study Abroad Program holds within the Vassar curriculum.

Studying abroad is an experience that widens perspectives and gives Vassar students a chance to gain deeper insight into another culture. “I believe the Study Abroad Program is indispensable. It broadens horizons, helps to imagine the world. In fact for language majors, it is essential practical application,” said Ungurianu.

This ethos is shared by all the departments and Antognini agreed, “I am a foreigner living in this country and I know what it means to travel.

You are never the same, all that you learn stays with you forever. You come back a changed person.”

The Vassar Abroad Exhibition is on view at the Palmer Gallery until March 3.

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Sligh uses artists’ books for activism

Lee a prepared, focused performer Ellen Xie

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Guest Reporter

ohn Lee ’13 plays the viola, and a whole lot of it. He first learned piano and violin at age nine, before adopting viola as his main instrument. Years after, and several esteemed orchestras later, Lee continues to play regularly. Music is an integral part of his life and, at Vassar, he has been a part of multiple on-campus groups including Orchestra, Chambers and Mahagonny.

This upcoming weekend, Lee will be performing Stamitz Concerto in D in the Orchestra concert. Chosen by a panel of three music faculty members, John is the second violist to perform with the Orchestra. Eduardo Navega, the orchestra conductor said, “It’s not very often you get such a good viola player performing a concerto of this magnitude … It is quite extraordinary.” The solo piece is technically very difficult, and the arrangement of the orchestra falls neatly around the soloist voice.

Light, sprightly and bursting with energy, the music has potential for greatness. Lee’s dexterous fingers, resonant sound and dramatic bow flips transform the static notes into something dynamic and worthy of attention.

Lee is a neuroscience major who might want to become a radiologist. Music is just something he loves. “It makes me happy,” he said. However, Lee has a talent and dedication to the art that distinguishes him from others. Lately, he has been practicing two hours a day to prepare for the upcoming performance. The results are evident, not only in the quality of his music—memorized and polished—but physically also. All dedicated violinists and violists are marked by the chinrest-induced bruise on the neck. Lee’s has been steadily growing. “My viola hickey is so massive recently,” he shiaid, jokingly.

Before Vassar College, Lee seemed to have an even stronger investment in the viola. In fact, his high school years were defined largely by his music, and his participation in the Portland Youth Philharmonic Orchestra. Practicing three or more hours every day, Lee honed his skills then. Although he played viola through middle school, he began to really appreciate

Juliana Halpert/The Miscellany News

SLIGH continued from page 14 women’s workplaces in the country. Today, Vassar’s Thompson Library Special Collections serves as the official repository for artists’ books made through the workshop. The class meets in the Library’s Special Collections to closely investigate the hand-printed books. Materials include handmade paper, letter presses, silkscreen prints, photographs, intaglio prints and ceramics.

“Clarissa Sligh’s work is central to the WSW collection, and she has also served on the board of the workshop,” said Collins.

Books of Sligh’s covered in Vassar’s seminar include What’s Happening With Momma?, Wrongly Bodied Two, It Wasn’t Little Rock, A Tourist Map to Japan and Wrongly Bodied: Documenting Transition from Female to Male.

These works address issues of gender transformation and insecurity, the personal identities associated with race and class, and the politics of segregation and community, among other things.

Collins described the influence Sligh’s work has had on her life as well as her academic pursuits: “I have walked the world inspired by Clarissa Sligh’s honest art, actions and ideas since I discovered her work 20 years ago. I revel in her work, and share it across the disciplines. Everyone can learn from Clarissa Sligh’s head, hands and heart.”

According to Ana Orians ’11, a member of the WSW course at Vassar, what makes Sligh’s artists’ books so powerful is the sheer humanness of their multidimensional content. She explained, “Sligh’s take on social justice and transformation are absolutely unique because you can follow her thought process within her books as she works through her own questions,” adding, “There is the feeling of intimacy and risk that emerges and comes when you absorb the layered texts.”

One artists’ book Orians placed particular emphasis on was Wrongly Bodied Two, in which Sligh documents the journey of Jake, a transgendered man going through surgeries in order to become male in both body and mind.

His story is then interwoven with the life of a light-skinned black woman who tries to escape slavery with her husband by passing as a white man.

“Sligh uses her photography to explore a situation entirely, and eventually, over time, she creates connections between associations.” The effect of this work is compelling because Sligh places herself and the reader in the shoes of her characters. The work is honest and sincere. It uses a distinct visual language to inspire empathy and closeness between reader and narrative.

Beginning in the 1980s, Sligh’s work first garnered recognition for its uninhibited, unflinching representation of themes often challenged by traditional society. The goal of her books, then, is to highlight the importance of coming to terms with difference. She presents a convincing plea for compassion, one that sets the foundation for personal freedom.

In addition to her artists’ books, Sligh is also renowned for her highly charged installations. In 2007, she created a five-foot-tall hanging sculpture entitled Hope. The piece is composed entirely of origami cranes, all of which have been made from folded pages of The White Man’s Bible, a white supremacist text recently removed from circulation by the Montana Human Rights Network.

With all of her work, Sligh touches on the subjects many are afraid to breach. According to Orians, “I think her work is important because she doesn’t claim to be all knowing but is willing to take a risk and think about something that doesn’t come easily to her in order to explore a world she may not know.”

The issues that Sligh addresses have no comparable means of expression—art is the most effective medium. In her lecture “When and Where I Enter,” the intersections between Sligh’s entrance into the social justice struggle and the art she creates will no doubt shed light on her life of transformation and rich experience.

February 24, 2011

John Lee ’13, pictured above with his viola, is involved in several music groups at Vassar, including the Orchestra, Chambers and Mahagonny. In high school, he performed with the Portland Youth Philharmonic Orchestra. music in high school. “There is so much meaning and depth. I just fell in love with [music],” he said. Success often results from hard work and passion, and Lee epitomizes this truth.

Described as “prepared and focused” by his instructor, Lee has taken this along with his passion for music to do some amazing things.

He has performed in several Chinese cities and was also selected for the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington D.C. for two consecutive summers.

This summer, he is hoping to find a research opportunity. It will be the first summer in several years that science, not music, will dominate. Lee is excited. In reference to majoring

in music, he said, “I don’t regret it and I’m glad I’m not spending all my time in a practice room.” Nonetheless, music remains a part of his life. This week especially, the performance occupies his mind. Lee endearingly admitted, “I get so nervous in front of people when I’m playing. I had this trick of taking off my glasses so I wouldn’t have to see people.” Yet, to any audience members, this confession tarries on the unbelievable. On stage, Lee appears confident and self-assured. He has a strong stage presence, developed through years of performances, and the sound of his instrument resonates and echoes in the hall, sending chills up and down many spines.

Hallie Flanagan Davis honored in show PLAYGROUND continued from page 1 ect.” Students will perform under the direction of acclaimed director and Vassar alumna Jen Wineman ’00. Wineman’s dear friend Mattie Brickman has written the play, and Associate Professor of Drama Denise Walen is the faculty advisor for the production.

According to Wineman, “Last spring I started talking to [Adjunct Professor of Drama] Shona Tucker about the possibility of my coming to Vassar to direct the students in a play. I was a graduate of the glass of 2000, and I thought it would be really exciting come back.” Wineman brought up the possibility of directing a revival of a play that had premiered at the College in years past with Tucker; however, she was quickly captivated by Flanagan’s involvement with theater at Vassar over the years: “I looked at some of those old plays— by [Luigi] Pirandello, Thorton Wilder, and T.S. Eliot—and saw that what they all had in common was that the person who had first directed all of them at Vassar was Hallie Flanagan. So I thought it might be a lot more interesting to do a new play about her and her time at Vassar than to simply revive an old piece of theater,” said Wineman.

When Wineman proposed the idea of a new play, and the Sesquicentennial Planning Committee agreed to commission it, she also proposed Brickman as the playwright. “[Brickman] seemed like an obvious choice as a person to work with on this. She has written a couple of different plays that have incorporated historical figures into the plot, and she always does really creative things with real people set against fiction,” said Wineman.

Brickman sets “Playground” in 1927, the period right after Flanagan got back from a

14-month trip around the world that she received as the first female Guggenheim fellowship recipient. She had just been in Russia, where she saw theater that inspired her, and met a scientist who made his way into her work as well.

The play takes place during tech and dress rehearsals of Flanagan’s experimental production of Anton Chekhov’s “A Marriage Proposal” at Vassar. Flanagan’s adaptation of the play was unconventional, as she introduced the one act play in three separate and distinict ways. The first version is completely realistic, the second version is abstract impressionism and the third version—in which Vassar’s play is set—is constructivist. The production will also contain flashbacks of Flanagan’s time spent in Russia. According to the show’s press release, the play is about Flanagan “discovering how the things that shape us also come back to haunt us.”

Although the reason Flanagan is well known isn’t necessarily because of the time she spent at Vassar, as she served impressive leadership positions with the Federal Theatre Project through the Works Progress Administration, Brickman still thought that the best subject for the play would be Flanagan’s experience at the College.

“I’m interested in beginnings, exploring people before we know what they’re famous for. There was a great center of energy around the time Hallie began at Vassar. The fights she fought and the things she explored here make their way into the later work she is known for,” said Brickman, adding “Jen and I were both interested in spending time with Hallie as she embarked on her career.”

The location for “Playground” in the Vo-

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

gelstein Center for Drama and Film also makes the production meaningful. Brickman explained, “One thing that’s also exciting about the play is that it is being performed on the footprint of the old theater where Flanagan directed all her plays. It’s a site-specific piece; it’s as though I wrote a play that took place at the Washington Monument and we performed it there.”

The fact that the play is being performed at Vassar and the cast is made up of Vassar students is especially poignant. “In rehearsal, I’ll say, ‘Try to capture the enthusiasm of young drama students,’ which isn’t too hard for the students I’m working with,” said Wineman.

“Playground” also explores Flanagan’s true persona. “There’s a mythology on campus about Flanagan as a larger than life woman,”said Wineman. “The other day, Violeta [Picayo ’13] said she now understands why Flanagan has achieved the stature she has on campus, because we’re seeing her as a person versus the legend she’s become.”

When asked about how the Vassar community will receive the play, Wineman was enthusiastic. “I think people will enjoy seeing a piece about the history of the College, but one that is actually about the people. I think [Brickman] did a great job of making it an interesting, dramatic, touching and personal play that also teaches you a lot of history and is deeply rooted in the story of the Drama Department at Vassar,” she said.

Performances from March 1 to 3 in the Vogelstein Center for Drama and Film’s Martel Theater. To make reservations, call (845) 4375599 or visit the box office in person. For complete reservation information, visit the Drama Department website at http://drama.vassar. edu/productions/reservations.html.

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February 24, 2011

Page 17

Radiohead proves it’s always a mainstay The King of Limbs Radiohead [Self-released]

Graham Mayshark Guest Columnist

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adiohead has always gotten on best by consistently not sounding like Radiohead, yet somehow always sounding Radiohead. Every album has to have some new approach to doing things—has to combine new sounds, themes and textures to produce an original and always amazing product that rewards the listener with repeat plays.

But with their latest album, The King of Limbs, Radiohead manage to keep all the greatness of their past work without the major sonic leaps forward of 1997’s OK Computer or 2000’s Kid A. It seems like the band is finally comfortably with the odd, kinetic and beautiful sound that has defined them as a band at the top of their game for 20 years running.

And they’re not going anywhere.

Many of the songs even sound as if they’d fit well on some of the band’s other great albums.

With its steady, muted guitar part and soft Tom Yorke “oooohs” in the middle breakdown, “Morning Mr. Magpie” is a dead ringer for a Hail to the Thief track—provided the band added some unnecessary and weird parenthetical title like “Hunt the Dogs Slowly,” or something.

Opening track “Bloom” takes us back to the Kid A/Amnesiac era while finding common ground with key elements from Yorke’s solo work. A chaotic calypso of an electronic beat ties in nicely with some static electronic beeps, and Yorke’s hushed yet operatic vocals

Campus Canvas

set the tone for the rest of the album.

“Lotus Flower” is a perfect mid-way point for the album, relying on the mellow aspects of In Rainbows to transition us to the far-less propulsive, more-textured second half.

Beautiful and pastoral as any great, mid90s Brit-pop ballad, “Separator” could even be mistaken for a lost cut from The Bends, a major feat given the stylistic changes in the 16 years since that album’s release.

But not everything here is charting familiar territory.

The acoustic strum of “Give Up the Ghost” is as beguiling at this point in Radiohead’s development as the falsetto, almost Bon Hiver-like Yorke background vocal part it grooves along with. Don’t get me wrong; it’s truly a beautiful song. But it’s certainly not what I expected.

And that’s the great thing about this band.

They always give you something you’ll love— before you even know you love it.

I can’t say I’ve heard much Indian-inspired pieces from the band, but the guitar part on “Separator” is positively George Harrison for it’s ability to imitate the static and echoing breaths of a sitar. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say it was swiped from a lost Revolver track, and that’s a high compliment.

The dark, reverbed–to-the-max vocal runs and chugging bass compliments of underloved Colin Greenwood in “Feral” is precisely what the title suggests: a primal cannibal of a song, and you’ll love every moment of it.

Thematically, the album’s a bit cryptic. But what would a set of songs penned by Yorke be if you knew what the hell he’s getting at in the first few listens?

Most striking at first are a couple of references to sexuality—a bit unusual for Yorke, but definitely interesting. “You’re such a tease and I’m such a flirt,” he says on “Little by Little,” a line that’d be utterly forgettable if sung

by Mick Jagger, but coming from Yorke it’s completely rewarding. “My woman blows her cover/In the eyes of the beholder,” he croons on “Separator,” and you start to get the sense that Yorke is not necessarily going for the male-dominator role, but is simply just trying to stretch himself as a singer and a songwriter.

And it pays off big time.

A few things are missing for me, however. I could use at least a few of Yorke’s pygmy snarls, for one. (Check out OK Computer’s “Electioneering” or Thief’s “2+2=5” if you want a good example of this. It’s quite the experience.)

Most absent, however, is multi-instrumentalist Jonny Greenwood’s Hendrix-hookedon-acid (and Pro Tools) guitar playing. Greenwood does give us the big picture soundscape he’s known for, and to great effect. But when it comes to guitar playing, I can’t distinguish between his playing and that of mellower rhythm guitarist Ed O’Brien.

Not that these elements’ absence is bad thing. The album works, and works perfectly.

But as a longtime fan, these are just some familiar things I, personally, miss.

But this isn’t a band that looks kindly upon the nostalgic. They’re true visionaries, forward-thinking artists in the highest respect.

This album wasn’t even known to the public a little over a week ago, released in a quick, Kamikaze format that rivaled the innovation of In Rainbows’ pay-what-you-want scheme.

That they’re able to release something with no promotion whatsoever while still delivering a product that stands up effortlessly to their best work only shows the strength of this band.

Radiohead doesn’t rely upon familiar structures, sounds, themes or even instruments.

But when they release something new, you can rest assured that it will be just that: new.

And in this regard, The King of Limbs is everything you hoped it could be.

A weekly space highlighting the creative pursuits of student-artists

“Peace Like a River By Leif Enger.”

Eliza DeCroce-Movison ’14

“History of Love

by Nicole Krauss.”

Jared Saunders ’13

“The Book Thief.

My brother got it for me for my birthday!”

Melissa McClung ’12

submit to misc@vassar.edu

“One Nation Under Sex. It’s about sexual scandal in the American political landscape.”

This is the first painting I’ve made since preschool. It’s a fresco painting, which all you veteran ART 105-106 students will recognize as a copy of Michelangelo’s Libyan Sibyl from the Sistine Chapel ceiling. I’m currently studying abroad at art school in Italy, and I painted this piece for my fresco painting class’s first assignment. Although I prefer working in three-dimensional media, Italy is the fresco painting capital of the world, so I figured when in Rome… (except I’m actually in Florence).

This painting was done in the bonfresco technique, meaning pigment mixed with water was applied directly to a layer of wet plaster or lime. Pigment can only be applied for the time it takes the plaster to dry, which for me was roughly three hours. Before executing the painting, I made an under-painting in red pigment, called the sinopia, a technique that was practiced by many Renaissance masters.

The process is enjoyable but simultaneously nerve-racking because of the time pressure and the paint quasidisappearing as the plaster absorbs it.

Additionally, the colors change dramatically as they dry, so envisioning the final product is difficult. However, it’s incredible to live a piece of Italian Renaissance art history. Plus, professors Mario and Luigi (not kidding) run a laid back class complete with freshly brewed coffee.

Janusz Sulanowski ’12

“I’m reading my horoscope so I’ll know what the hell kind of day I’ll have.”

Kathy Defayette, Queen of the Kiosk “Surfacing

by Margaret Atwood. I’m not really a fan of it, but I do enjoy the picture she chose for the back cover.”

Mickey Mahar ’12 —Rachael Borné Arts Editor

­—Sierra Starr ’12

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

SPORTS

Page 18

February 24, 2011

Tennis poised to strive for strong national ranking Kristine Olson

A

Reporter

Dana Harris/The Miscellany News

fter weeks of self-motivated training between the fall and spring seasons, Vassar’s men’s and women’s tennis teams were itching to compete when they returned to the courts this past weekend. Although the Brewers are confident in their abilities to compete at a high level, they remain level headed about the short-term losses they may experience against top-ranked teams while seeking long-term success.

Despite losing four starters and facing “the toughest schedule ever,” men’s Head Coach John Cox is confident in his young team. And he’s not afraid of losing, either.

“I’m willing to sacrifice our winloss record by playing highly ranked teams,” said Cox. “My goal is for the men to compete with the final eight teams [in the nation].” It is this experience that Cox considers essential to developing into a consistently nationally ranked team. “This season will be a growth process,” he added. And although it is expected that this growth will include a few losses, Cox still has high expectations and confidence.

With his team presently ranked No. 29 in the nation, Cox has his sights set for the low 20s or high teens. To begin working toward this goal, the men faced Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the United States Coast Guard

Vassar’s men’s and women’s tennis teams are returning to the courts following a break between the fall and spring seasons.

The men’s team hopes to increase its national ranking, while the women are seeking another Liberty League championship.

Academy this past weekend, earning 9-0 victories against both foes. On Saturday, the team will face rival Skidmore College before heading to California for Spring Break to compete against highly ranked, non-league competition, including No. 12 Kenyon College and No. 13 Johns Hopkins University.

Throughout the season, Cox is con-

fident that each player will contribute to the team’s growth and success. With experience at the national level, brothers Andrew ’13 and Ben ’12 Guzick will be key players. Andrew Guzick, who is currently ranked seventh in the nation, won the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Northeast Regional in the fall. “That’s big,” assured Cox, also not-

ing that Ben Guzick, who transferred from Carleton College in the middle of his sophomore year, has potential as a consistent, national-level competitor. He was the ITA Midwest Regional runner-up against the reigning National Champion from Kenyon College his sophomore year, while at Carleton.

Seniors Max Willner and Josh Jasso

will also bring experience to the men’s team, Cox stated. “They’re competitive doubles players, and they’re embracing their senior year and really enjoying it.”

Sophomores Dan Freeman, Kartik Kapoor, Euma Matthews, Josh Kessler and Nick Jasso comprise the team’s young, hard-working potential, noted Cox. Thinking long-term, Cox is excited to develop freshman Wilson Platt’s big serve. Undoubtedly, Cox’s priority is building a strong foundation.

“This is a young, hard-working team, embracing the toughest competition they faced yet,” said Cox. The women’s team has a similar goal; but, unlike the men, the women have only graduated one senior from last year and will gain three key players who have returned from injury or a semester abroad.

“The look to our spring season is different [from the fall] in a good way,” said women’s Head Coach Kathy Campbell. The fall season was a challenge for Campbell and the Brewers, who in addition to having three players absent, graduated Nicole Pontee ’10, a three-time All-American who helped the women secure the No. 17 overall national ranking (out of 388 teams) last year. The women’s team has competed in nine out of the last 10 NCAA championship tournaments and won eight See TENNIS on page 20

Pitcher’s comments towards Examining pros, cons of Vick uncalled for, hypocritical possible NBA relocations Corey Cohn

C

Sports Editor

hicago White Sox starting pitcher Mark Buehrle has always managed to stay somewhat under the radar. He has compiled a noteworthy resume, highlighted by a World Series ring, a perfect game, a no-hitter and an MLB-record streak of 45 consecutive batters retired. After debuting in 2000, Buehrle was arguably one of the most consistent and productive starting pitchers of the previous decade, but he is hardly ever given the media attention received by some of his peers.

Perhaps the relative obscurity surrounding his career explains why his recent controversial comments aren’t sparking more of a reaction. Two weeks ago, Buehrle was reported as saying he hoped, at times, that Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick would get hurt during this past NFL season. Buehrle and his wife are animal rights activists, and both still do not forgive Vick for his involvement in conducting an illegal dog-fighting ring.

The animosity Buehrle expressed is fair.

Despite Vick’s 19 months of incarceration and his subsequent attempts at reconstructing his shredded image, there are always going to be those who refuse to exonerate him for his cruel, destructive actions.

But the way Buehrle went about showcasing his hard feelings was childish and ultimately unproductive. Wishing injury, illness or death on even your worst of enemies is going to get you nowhere. It would be one thing for Buehrle to have called for a harsher punishment brought down by the NFL or even by the court of law, but to resort to mental, voodoo-doll tactics is entirely another.

The timing of this statement also makes little sense. Buehrle revealed this sentiment to MLB.com on Feb. 9, one month after the Eagles were eliminated from the playoffs and Vick suited up for the final time of the season. A retrospective proclamation like Buehrle’s comes across as being nothing but cowardly and pointless.

Yet, that is hardly the most questionable element of Buehrle’s stance. In a follow-up interview last week, the White Sox ace not only reaffirmed his original comments, but he also made the case for distinguishing

dogfighting from hunting, the latter being an activity Buehrle openly enjoys.

There is no question that dog-fighting is more heinous and disgusting than hunting and, as Buehrle pointed out, the latter is legal and considered by many to be a sport.

But how does it make sense for a supposedly devoted animal rights activist to moonlight as an avid hunter?

Even considering the legitimate distinctions, dogfighting and hunting both involve killing, or attempting to kill, the same creatures that Buehrle and his wife try to protect.

Buehrle hoped Vick would get injured as retribution for the pain he caused those innocent dogs. Yet he sees nothing wrong with depositing bullets into the necks of animals he tracks down for leisure?

Buehrle went on to defend his hobby by touting it as both a family and American tradition. “If [hunting is] illegal, shame on my dad and my grandpa and his grandpa,” he said (courtesy of ESPN.com).

“It’s kind of been brought up throughout the history of America.” In that case, I suppose rifles are the new apple pie.

As far as his familial influence, it is difficult to see how Buehrle’s patriarchal line of hunters meshes with his wife’s beliefs. Jamie Buehrle helped rescue a dog last December after it was found roaming the streets of St. Louis with an arrow lodged in its abdomen.

Both she and her husband donated money to pay for the canine’s veterinary bills and later helped find a new home for the dog. The two also teamed up with the White Sox organization for its “Sox for Strays” program, which hosts animal rescue groups at regular-season games at Buehrle’s home ballpark U.S. Cellular Field.

As respectable as all that sounds, it still renders Buehrle the hunter as an indisputable hypocrite. While it does appear that the Buehrles’ strongest affinity is towards dogs, it would make little sense to call yourself an animal rights activist and then assign separate values to the life of every species. And although Vick is rightfully on top of every animal activist’s list of people to condemn, he shouldn’t be on Buehrle’s when Buehrle himself participates in an activity that directly contradicts his self-proclaimed principles.

Corey Cohn and Andy Marmer Sports Editors

T

he Sacramento Kings were recently rumored to have expressed interest in leaving the capital of the Golden State for more fertile ground. Although really, I don’t understand why anyone would want to leave a widely populated city with such a rich basketball history. Still, let’s take a look at the pros and cons of potential destinations.

Tampa Bay, Fla.

Pro: A team in Tampa would allow a Sunshine State rivalry to flourish with the Miami Heat and Orlando Magic, similar to what has developed in Texas between the Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs.

Con: It won’t be a rivalry when the Kings lose every game by 30 points.

Kansas City, Mo.

Anaheim, Cali.

Pro: Anaheim provides a fun-filled, safe environment, complete with great weather and one of the world’s most frequented tourist destinations.

Con: Given the trend that has emerged with the city’s franchises, the NHL’s Anaheim Mighty Ducks and MLB’s Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, are we really ready for the Los Angeles Glory Roads of Anaheim?

Seattle, Wash.

Pro: After being viciously robbed of their former team, the Seattle SuperSonics, when owner Clay Bennett decided to relocate the team to Oklahoma City, Okla., the city of Seattle deserves a new team. And really, the city’s residents need an indoor hobby.

Con: Seattle could have watched small forward Kevin Durant blossom into a NBA great over the next 15 years after he was drafted by the Sonics in 2007.

Instead, you give them…Omri Cassipi?

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Pro: Canada finally gets the NBA team they’ve longed for. (Come on, you know the Toronto Raptors don’t count.)

Con: Vancouver residents will have to give up their memories of the six years the city hosted the Grizzlies. Memories that feature the immortal Bryant Reeves, a franchise-best 23-win season and relocation to grizzly-laden Memphis, Tenn.

Pro: The Kings would return to the city they once called home, rewarding long-time fans who have awaited their return.

Con: No one knows if guard Tyreke Evans paid enough attention during his one year at the University of Memphis to realize this Kansas City is in Missouri.

St. Louis, Mo.

Pro: A basketball team would breathe new life into a city that’s dealing with the impending loss of superstar Albert Pujols, a struggling NFL franchise and a team that plays hockey.

Con: No one knows if guard Tyreke Evans paid enough attention during his one year at the University of Memphis to realize St. Louis is in Missouri.

Cincinnati, Ohio

Pro: With LeBron James leaving Cleveland, the state of Ohio needs a new king—or 12 of them.

Con: Dennis Kucinich has already declared himself the King of Ohio.

San Francisco, Cali

Pro: Another team by the San Francisco Bay would allow the Golden State Warriors to embrace their Oakland identity.

Con: Look what happened when the Raiders embraced their Oakland identity.

Newark, N.J.

Las Vegas, Nev.

Pro: No major sports league currently calls Las Vegas home, giving any NBA franchise a virgin market.

Con: Players on the relocated franchise may forget they play for an actual NBA franchise. For a reference, see the 2007 NBA All-Star Game.

Pittsburgh, Pa.

Pro: An NBA franchise would make Pittsburgh the newest city to have a team in all four major sports leagues.

Con: For this to be true, the Kings would have to also double as the Pittsburgh Pirates.

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

Pro: With the Nets scheduled to move to Brooklyn in two years, how else will New Jersey get its fill of awful basketball?

Con: The Situation, Snooki, J-Woww…

Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

Pro: We all get to watch 41 NBA games a year.

Con: Attendance at Vassar games would plummet.

Sacramento, Cali.

Pro: With the way the Kings are playing, Sac-Town needs a quality basketball team.

Con: Oh, wait...

February 24, 2011

SPORTS

Page 19

Women’s basketball reaches playoffs Recapping

All-Star NBA game

Corey Cohn

Sports Editor

T

Nik Trkulja Columnist

L

Courtesy of Sports Information

he Vassar women’s basketball team is returning to the Liberty League playoffs, ending a 10-year absence after clinching a postseason berth with a 64-52 win over Hamilton College last Friday.

The Brewers will enter next weekend’s tournament as the fourth seed, behind St. Lawrence University, William Smith College and Union College. The seeding was finalized after last Saturday’s games, which included an 84-73 Vassar loss to William Smith.

The women’s squad finished the regular season at 14-11, their best record since 20002001, which marked not only their last playoff appearance but also their first year in the Liberty League. This year’s team compiled a much stronger conference record (8-6) compared to that of a decade ago (5-9).

But the Brewers are focused entirely on the here and now. After all, no one on the team— coaches included—has been a part of this program for more than four years. The lone senior on the roster, Captain Carolyn Crampton, recognizes the tremendous development taking place.

“I wanted to leave this program in a much different way than I came into it, and making [the] playoffs really seals the deal on that for me,” she wrote in an e-mailed statement.

Crampton added that the team never lost focus despite having to overcome obstacles, namely having an undersized roster that consists of only eight players.

“This has been our goal since the very beginning of the season all the way back in October,” she wrote. “To do it despite a great deal of adversity and with such a young team is amazing.”

Second-year Head Coach Candice Brown is quick to congratulate her players for their remarkable effort. “All season long they trusted the coaching staff and trusted each other,” she wrote in an e-mailed statement. “We have clinched a playoff spot because of their hard work and belief.”

Everyone on the roster has played a key role in achieving this long-awaited accomplishment.

Co-Captains Crampton and Brittany Parks ’12 have embraced their leadership positions this season as the two oldest members of the team.

Parks led the entire Liberty League with 20.3 points per game and an 86.7 free-throw shooting percentage, while placing second with 3.92 assists per game.

But the younger players contributed sig-

After a 10-year absence, the Vassar women’s basketball team has qualified for the Liberty League playoffs. Co-Captain Brittany Parks ’12, pictured right, led the Liberty League with 20.3 points per game. nificantly as well. Freshman point guard Cyndi Matsuoka truly made her presence felt, scoring 17.8 points per game (third in the Liberty League), dishing out four assists per game (first in the Liberty League) and shooting 47.1 percent from three-point territory (first in the Liberty League). Forward Hannah Senftleber ’14 added a team-high 7.4 rebounds per game.

Assistant Coach Melissa Kraft, who began her Vassar tenure alongside Brown, reflected on the team’s collaboration in an e-mailed statement. “It is so gratifying to see everyone work so hard as a group, sacrifice so much for a common goal, and then celebrate it together,” she wrote.

But no member of the Brewers is letting complacency set in. Despite the satisfaction that comes with ending a decade-long drought, this team knows it is not done playing. Crampton reported that the players entered “this week with a new mindset … We’re wiping the slate clean and there’s a new goal on the table now: NCAAs.” The women will face the top-seeded St. Lawrence Saints, the hosts of the tournament, in the semifinal round. They split the season

series with the Saints, pulling out a gritty 77-74 double-overtime home win on Jan. 15, but falling 93-87 in the second match-up on Feb. 4 at St. Lawrence. This group is confident not only in this impending rubber match, but also in the entire playoffs.

“There’s no reason we can’t win this thing, and we all fully believe that,” Crampton wrote. Kraft added: “We are heading up to St. Lawrence this weekend not to take it all in, but to take it all.”

Brown is equally certain of her team’s capabilities, but she is also looking at the bigger picture. She knows she entered a program that was largely unfamiliar with winning. While she believes her team is poised to capitalize on this rejuvenation, Brown is just as enthusiastic about the precedent this is setting.

“This season has been an incredible experience for all of us and this is just the beginning of what is to come for the women’s basketball program,” she wrote. “I am looking forward to helping this group reach heights they have never before.”

Vassar will take on St. Lawrence tomorrow night at 8 p.m.

Sports Briefs Vassar to explore conference move

ics program and every participating student-athlete.”

Matsuoka named ECAC Player of the Week

Cydni Matsuoka ’14 was selected as the women’s basketball Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Upstate Player of the Week for the week spanning Feb. 1420. The award marks the first of Matsuoka’s career.

The freshman guard averaged 23.5 points in two games this weekend, helping lead the Brewers to the postseason for the first time in 10 years. Matsuoka scored 21 points last Friday night (Feb. 18) against Hamilton College and 26 the next afternoon against William Smith College. For the weekend, she made 1731 shots (54.8 percent), while shooting 65 percent from three-point range. Matsuoka also averaged 4.5 assists and 4.5 rebounds over the two games.

Courser named North East Conference Fencer of the Year

This past weekend, epeeist Sophie Courser ’11 was named the North East Conference Fencer of the Year. Courser finished the season 63-10 and helped guide the women’s fencing team to the program’s first-ever conference championship.

Drew Bezek named Interim Men’s Lacrosse Head Coach

With men’s lacrosse Head Coach Joe Proud electing to take an absence from the field due to personal reasons, Drew Bezek has been

Courtesy of Sports Information

Although Vassar currently competes in the Liberty League in most sports, a change could be coming. Acting Director of Athletics Kim Culligan wrote in an e-mailed statement, “The NEWMAC [New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference] contacted Vassar to see if we might consider a possible change of league/conference in the future. Vassar did not initiate this contact nor expect this invitation.”

The NEWMAC, which was founded in 1985-86 as the New England Women’s 6 Conference (NEW 6), featured charter members Babson College, Brandeis University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Smith College, Wellesley College and Wheaton College.

In 1988, Mount Holyoke College and Worcester Polytechnic Institute joined, expanding the conference to eight teams, and prompting a name change to the NEW 8. Six years later, Brandeis withdrew and was replaced by Clark University.

In 1998, the NEWMAC was formed as the NEW 8 and voted to include men. That same year, Springfield College and the United States Coast Guard Academy were added to the fold.

Regarding a potential change, Culligan wrote in an e-mailed statement, “We are currently investigating the possible benefits as well as detriments that the NEWMAC may offer to Vassar [versus] our current membership with the Liberty League to ensure the best possible student-athlete experience is provided to our entire athlet-

Cydni Matsuoka ’14 was recently selected as the women’s basketball Eastern College Athletic Conference Division III Upst`ate Player of the Week. named as his temporary replacement. Bezek, a 2010 graduate of Le Moyne College, was one of 26 nominees for the 2010 Tewaaraton Award—given annually to the nation’s top collegiate lacrosse player. Bezek was the lone nominee from a Division II institution.

While Bezek will assume on-the-field responsibilities this season, Proud will still preside as the team’s head coach. He will handle all administrative responsibilities, as well as continuing to recruit. Proud will return to the field this fall.

The men’s lacrosse team will begin its season this Saturday, hosting Manhattanville College at 1 p.m.

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

ast Sunday reaffirmed that the NBA All-Star Game is nothing more than the greatest pick-up game of the year. Sure, there are musical acts, NBA Commissioner David Stern counting money in a corner and the odd NBA legend looking on, but really it’s nothing more than a playground battle. In that sense, this year’s game certainly didn’t disappoint.

Playground battles are a different breed of basketball. Whereas in “normal” basketball the game speaks for itself, in a playground game, ego enters the equation before everything else. Ego determines, who plays the most, who gets the ball and, maybe most importantly, who gets to shoot.

The guy who steps onto the court with the biggest ego usually tends to dictate the flow from the start. Last night there were two “alpha dogs:” Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James of the Miami Heat. However, as is always the case, there were challengers.

A playground challenge comes in two forms, from within and from without. The challenge from without is the battle between the alpha dogs. The challenge from within usually comes from at least two contenders on the same team--two guys who feel like they should be top-dogs and aren’t afraid to let you know. They’ll take shots to prove a point, and as they make them, they’ll turn around and pretty much tell you, “That’s how it’s done!” Last Sunday’s challengers for the Western Conference team were Kevin Durant and, to a lesser extent, Russell Westbrook, while for the Eastern Conference team they were Amar’e Stoudemire and Derrick Rose.

These guys huffed and they puffed, but to no avail. James and Bryant weren’t moved and they had performances to prove it, but the question still remained: Who was better?

Watching the game last Sunday, it was clear from the opening tip-off that Bryant was out to assert himself. He’s played injured for two years, he’s been called old and his team’s been described as washed up. Now James and the “Heatles” were in town, with fewer than four Celtics in tow, trying to beat him in his hometown AllStar Game. Add to that all the hype Blake Griffin was receiving all weekend, and you know Bryant was, well, let’s just say a little displeased.

Immediately, Bryant went off shooting. Less than five minutes in, he had a vicious reverse slam that seemed like vintage 2000 Bryant. But the battle of egos really began in the third quarter. On a fast break, Bryant was running in front of James and purposely turned his head to see where James was before slamming the ball through as James tried to block him. In the aftermath, the two got a little tangled up under the basket, but as Bryant started to run back on defense, he pulled a classic Michael Jordan move, slapping James on the butt. In that one little move, Bryant told James, “No way, I’m still better than you.” To make matters worse, James immediately turned the ball over and Bryant proceeded to sink a three, laughing all the way back down the court. In a few short seconds, Bryant humiliated James, let him know and then got the entire crowd on his side. His record fourth All-Star Game MVP Award was a lock.

James’ fury was palpable and he exploded in the second half, going on to record the second-ever triple double in an All-Star Game. But it was too little, too late; James’ Eastern Conference team lost 148-143, Bryant got the MVP trophy and James, despite all his effort, will still have to sit back and watch Bryant slap his butt again and again on SportsCenter’s highlight reels.

SPORTS

Page 20

February 24, 2011

Volleyball second in annual Vassar College Invitational Andy Marmer

A

Sports Reporter

Courtesy of Sports Information

lthough the Vassar College men’s volleyball team secured an opening-day victory over Johnson & Wales University and a win in their final match of the tournament over Lasell College, the Brewers were unable to overcome No. 1 nationally ranked Nazareth College in the Vassar College Invitational on Feb. 18 and 19. With a 2-1 record, Vassar finished in second place, the first time in the past four years the Brewers failed to capture the tournament’s championship.

On the first day of the two-day championship, the Brewers defeated Johnson & Wales 3-0 (25-12, 25-20, 25-14). In the opening set, Vassar jumped out to a big lead—one that they never relinquished—en route to the victory.

Evan Fredericksen ’11 spearheaded the Vassar offense with five of his match-high 10 kills in the set. Fredericksen’s five kills came on just eight attempts, with zero errors, resulting in a .625 hitting percentage. As a team, Vassar hit .375 in the first set.

In the second set, the two teams were even much of the way; however, with the set tied at 20, the Brewers earned the next five points, giving themselves a 2-0 lead in the match.

The third set played out similarly to the first, with Vassar notching a big lead early and cruising to the victory. Christian La Du ’13 led all players with 12 digs in the match.

With Nazareth also winning its only match of the day, the two squads both sat at 1-0 heading into the second day of the tournament. And with just one more match each afterwards, the

The Vassar men’s volleyball team placed second at the Vassar College Invitational last weekend with a 2-1 record. John Konow ’13, pictured above, led the Vassar attack against Nazareth College. contest between the two was likely going to determine the tournament championship, just as it had the previous two years.

In the first set, the two squads proved evenly matched, with neither able to secure a significant lead for the duration. But with the score tied at 24, Nazareth ran off two consecutive points, taking the set 26-24.

The Brewers attempted to even the match in the second set. After falling behind by as many as five points, they fought back to within one, three separate times, but could never even the score.

Nazareth ultimately took the second set 25-22.

In a big hole, down 2-0 in the match, Vassar once again fell behind at the start of the third set.

However, with Nazareth leading 20-13, the Brew-

ers won six of the next seven points to close the margin to 21-19. Nevertheless, the Golden Flyers once again emerged victorious, taking the set 2521 and the match 3-0 (26-24, 25-22, 25-21).

John Konow ’13 keyed the Vassar attack with a match-high 32 set assists, while classmate Charles Caldwell also had an effective game, notching nine kills on just 16 attempts, a .438 attack percentage.

Vassar rebounded in their final match, defeating Lasell 3-1 (25-22, 22-25, 25-15, 25-20) to earn second place in the tournament.

Like in the Nazareth match, both teams were evenly matched at the outset; however, this time around, it was the Brewers that got the late edge, as they won five of the final seven points for a 25-22 first set victory.

The second set played out similarly to the first, with Lasell building a 7-0 run to take an 11-9 lead early. Ultimately, the Lasers’ early lead catapulted them to a 25-22 victory in the second set to even the match at one.

Vassar easily took the third set 25-15, before an evenly fought fourth set was tied at 18. However, six straight Vassar points gave the Brewers a 24-18 lead, as they held on for a 25-20 victory in the set and a 3-1 match victory.

Fredericksen, who matched his career high with 26 kills, led the Brewers in the match.

Sophomore Matt Elgin placed second on the team with 12 kills. Konow recorded a matchhigh 51 assists.

Fredericksen represented Vassar on the AllTournament Team as junior Billy Gimello of Nazareth earned the tournament MVP award.

Expectations Frisbee relishes athletic independence high for new W tennis season Nathan Tauger Reporter

Dana Harris/The Miscellany News

TENNIS continued from page 18 consecutive Liberty League championships; with some continuity from the fall and the return of three players, Coach Campbell is confident of securing yet another championship this season.

With the team facing Division I Fordham University and Muhlenberg College early in the season, Campbell stated: “ We have a stronger schedule than last year,” which will include Amherst (No. 1 nationally), Bowdoin (No. 14), Skidmore (No. 19) and Pomona Colleges (No. 6). “During our Spring Break competitions last year, we played Pomona and only lost 5-4,” added Campbell. “That’s a concrete example that we are competitive.” This Spring Break, the Brewers will also play Trinity University, ranked No. 25 nationally.

Asked what makes the Brewers a competitive team, Campbell shared that the program is built on depth with added strength at the top. “I am confident that all of our players have a wealth of experience and will continue to develop. We also hold our own well,” she said.

Lindsay Kantor ’14 and Jennifer Ruther ’13 reiterated this point, sharing the team’s unofficial motto: “Keep your head in it. Never give up.”

Despite the absence of three players this fall, that is what the women did: “We stepped up our game, moved up two or three spots and played at higher levels,” said Ruther. “It was tough, but it gave me a lot of confidence. And it showed our coaches that we can adjust,” added Kantor.

Facing Fordham University in their first match of the season, a team that Campbell says is significantly stronger than last year with three new top players and four new players in the line-up, Vassar dropped its first match against the Rams in three years, 7-2. “It is a great gauge for our players and playing at this level can only help us,” said Campbell.

In the short run, both the men’s and women’s teams are still figuring out their line-ups and doubles partners. And concerning the overall tennis season, both Cox and Campbell are dedicated to exposing their teams to high-level competition inside and outside of the region, and maintaining and developing highly ranked teams capable of competing at the NCAA Championship Tournament.

ith upwards of 40 players, three teams, yet no coaches the Vassar Ultimate Frisbee club melds mainstream athletics with club sport convention. The club features three squads--the men’s A team, The Swinging Monks; the men’s B team; B-love; and the women’s team, The Boxing Nuns--that compete interscholastically.

In an e-mailed statement, Boxing Nuns Captain Michelle O’Brien ’11 described how leadership works on the club. “We’ve always been a team that focuses on learning and teaching as well as playing competitively,” she wrote. “The teams’ captains, who are elected by the team at the end of each school year, act sort of like coaches, in that we run practices, register the team for tournaments, deal with paperwork and schedule events and practices with the College’s administration.”

But Vassar Ultimate looks at this lack of official administration as a freedom rather than a curse. “Because the ultimate frisbee teams at Vassar are run by peer leaders rather than an authority figure, a wonderful thing happens, where everybody has a say in the development of the team and the choices we make on the field,” O’Brien wrote. “On the women’s team, there’s a lot of discussion, and every player gets an opportunity to share what they saw and what they think we can improve on, which I think bonds us as a team.”

While not an official NCAA sport, Vassar Ultimate does play in a nationwide league, USA Ultimate, a league with more than 40 years of history. Every year a College Series is sponsored at the conference, regional and national levels for both Division I and Division III teams. O’Brien commented on the success of Vassar Ultimate at these levels. “Our teams typically do very well in the College Series.

The men’s A team regularly makes it to Regionals, and the men’s B and women’s teams are very competitive at Conference. In 2008 and 2009, the Swinging Monks competed at Division III Nationals in Versailles, Ohio. In 2009 the Boxing Nuns also competed at Division III Nationals, coming in second.”

In addition to competing in the USA Ultimate series, Vassar Ultimate participates in a number of other events. “Each team typically goes to four or five tournaments each semester, at different colleges around the East Coast,” wrote O’Brien. And frisbee tournaments feature more than just sheer competition. She continued, “[Tournaments are]

Above, two members of The Boxing Nuns, Vassar’s women’s ultimate frisbee team, prepare for the upcoming High Tide tournament in Savannah, Ga., which will take place during the first week of Spring Break. a great chance to foster relationships with teams from other colleges. We go to weekendlong tournaments with anywhere from six to 14 other schools, and compete in both pool and bracket play—usually adding up to between six to nine hour-and-a-half-long games over the course of the weekend.” They will next play in the upcoming High Tide tournament in Savannah, Ga. during the first week of Spring Break.

In preparation for this tournament and the rest of the spring season, the teams have had morning practices at the Walker bays from 6 to 9 a.m. three times a week. O’Brien explained the reasoning behind the early time: “Morning practice originally came about from practical concerns; because we’re not a varsity sport, we have low priority for scheduled time in Walker.”

However, the team has made the most of its situation. She added, “It’s become a great way to ensure that all members of the team can come to practice. There are no other activities at that time! And while getting up at 6

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a.m. isn’t ideal, because we’re all there, it becomes a shared experience and a great time to pump each other up and condition for our spring season.”

“It’s rough to get out of bed. And when you get there, it’s still pretty rough. But once your blood starts running through your system you’re instantly energized,” Lily Meade ’14 reflected. “After practice we have breakfast together, which fosters the team dynamic.”

And the frisbee club is always open to more members. “We’re always looking for new [members] to get involved in and learn the sport! Most of the current members of the women’s team, myself included, had never played ultimate before college. I began playing my freshman year, was taught the game by my teammates and totally fell in love with it,” O’Brien wrote.

Meade echoed O’Brien’s claim: “Joining Frisbee was probably the best decision I made last semester. The people are awesome, you get to stay in shape and most important it’s a lot of fun.”