The Purchase Independent - 02/09/2012

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February 9, 2012 | Issue #256

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

y o u r. i n d y @ g m a i l . c o m editor-in-chief: Róisín McCarty layout editor: Tom Dauer writers: Brittany Bollenbach Alexa Dillenbeck Dylan Green David Grimaldi Rachel Margolin Laura Meltzer Noelle Moore Josh Myer s Alyce Pelleg rino Ste phanie Spencer Mark Vasey print manager: Tony Pontius cover photo by: Tyler Dawson copy editor: Rachel Margolin artwork by: Madeleine Bergman Nicolas Sienty web design by: Danielle Lempp The Purchase Independent is a nonprofit news magazine, paid for by the Mandatory Student Activity fee.

We welcome and encourage submissions from readers. The Indy is a forum for campus issues and events, to give students the voice they deserve. Letters, articles, comics, ads, event photography and event listings are welcomed.

The deadline for submissions is every Friday before midnight, and accepted pieces will be published the following Thursday. Publication of submissions is not guaranteed, but subject to the discretion of the editors. No anonymous submissions will be considered, but we will accept use of pseudonyms on a caseby-case basis.

Send all submissions and inquiries to your.indy@gmail.com. Send questions to Madame Query at formspring. me/madamequery. Back page quotes can be submitted to formspring.me/ indybackpage or put in the Back Page Box that hangs on the office door.

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Our office is located on the first floor of Campus Center North, room 1011. Staff meetings are held in the office every Monday night at 9:30; anyone is welcome.

I hope the first two weeks of classes went smoothly, and that everyone is enjoying the weather. I know they’ve made my cigarettes breaks much more pleasant than expected.

I skipped the Super Bowl in favor of watching the Puppy Bowl, but I still heard the screaming, both negative and positive, that echoed throughout The Olde.

Tom and I have been discussing a lot of fun things that are in the works, with the help of our pineapple, Ted. If you want to be in the loop, stop by one of our meetings, and if not, you’ll be (hopefully pleasantly) surprised by the ideas we’re planning on implementing.

Thank you to everyone who offered feedback and support, and for those of you who wanted more content, I’m sure you won’t find a lack in this issue.

As always, everyone is welcome to email us at your.indy@gmail.com, or stop by a meeting at 9:30 on Monday nights in CCN1011 with any suggestions, questions, or feedback.

Stay classy Purchase College!

your.indy@gm ai l.com

LOVING YOURSELF

BY ALEXA DILLENBECK

Dear Readers,

You might be really bad at checking your calendar, or might be too busy to know that Valentine’s Day is next Tuesday. Instead of being sad about being alone (or being disappointed in your significant other for not getting you a good gift), have a great Valentine’s Day with someone you love, a friend, or a casual hookup. You can love yourself too!

I am pretty confident, but I wasn’t always.

I used to hate everything about myself. You can be confident too. I know it is cliché but it is really important. It is also cliché to say someone won’t love you if you don’t love yourself, and while that may not be true, it does help to think this way. If you’re with someone who just wants to fix you, it might not be a healthy relationship.

You can choose to not celebrate Valentine’s Day with anyone, and that is fine because you have someone who will always love you: yourself.

One particularly good way to help build confidence is to stop thinking that “fat”, “different”, or “weird” are synonyms for “ugly.” You can be fat and proud! Your knobby knees could be your cutest attribute! Your patchy beard could be very endearing! By telling yourself that these adjectives are just descriptive, then you can see people and yourself differently.

You also don’t have to love every part of yourself. Your complexion might not be where you want it to be, or maybe you want to shed a size, or even gain a size! Being comfortable with yourself and knowing that you have control over your body is the most important part. Be proud

of the things you can’t change!

When you have bad days, look in the mirror, and instead of focusing on something negative, think of all of the good things about your body. It may sound hard, because you have been trained to be hard on yourself. I guarantee most of the things you dislike when you look in the mirror aren’t as bad as you think. Try writing a list of all of the good things about yourself.

In order to help with your confidence, you should get in tune with your body. Know your curves and birthmarks, feel your body, look at places that are hard to see without a mirror. Go to the doctor if something seems off. Get to know your body better than anyone, so you’ll know if something is wrong. A really easy way to feel good about your body is just to know it’s working properly.

By seeing yourself in a positive way, you will see the world in a different way. It could ruin the way you see models or jokes, or it could cause you to get mad at others for putting someone down based on their looks. This will also stop you from judging people based on their appearance.

That person with the weird scar could actually have had a really cool story about it, or they could have experienced discrimination or domestic abuse.

Trust me: Confidence is the best attribute you can have. And there’s no such thing as loving yourself too much. You should love yourself more than anything or anyone else. Stay happy this Valentine’s Day.

Love,

Alexa

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MURDER AT THE CO-OP

BY ALYCE PELLEGRINO

And by murder, of course, I mean Murder

by Scooter’s opening set at the Co-Op’s kick-off event of the semester.

A ska meets pop punk band, Murder by Scooter was conceived and spawned right here at Purchase, like so many student bands before it.

Like all other bands, the week before a show is the most hectic, but seeing them practice made the wait all the more worth it.

Even before practice had officially begun, the members of Murder by Scooter, which is comprised of Dan Poorman on bass and vocal, Sean Conway on guitar and vocals, Andrew Frey on trombone, Tom Maher on drums, and Jess Carlisi on vocals and ukulele, had already gotten their rhythm going.

Instruments half set, the crooning began, which was only a taste of the way practice would sound, and a total tease until their concert at the Co-op Friday night.

What made you guys project together in the you always wanted to did things just fall into time?

want to get this first place? Had work together or place at the right

Sean: Me and Dan, last year, fucked around in the suit writing songs, and then Tom got in on it a little bit. Then this year Tom was like “let’s do the cover show” so we covered No Doubt. We got a lot of hype at the show which was nice.

Dan: We worked so good at the cover show that we decided to stay together and do original stuff.

We’re all best friends, and that’s why the band is so fun.

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Aandrew: We love making music together and that’s pretty much what it takes for a good band to succeed: good friends, a love of music, and a lot of hard work put into it.

Speaking of the Stood’s cover show last semester, you guys made your debut there. What was that experience like, being your first live show?

Jess: Un-fucking-real!

D: It was very rewarding.

A: I feel like we were all prepared for it but then it went by like that. We were just in the zone.

Tom: I totally forgot we were playing, it all went by really fast and I forgot that we had played all of our songs.

J: It was like being on drugs without being on drugs.

S: I think rewarding would be the best way to describe it.

A: It really effected our self-esteem as our fist show. It was feeling like we could express ourselves more.

What kind of sound can people expect from Murder by Scooter’s original work?

D: Zany fuck rock.

A: Some stuff is upbeat but then some isn’t. It’s a contrasting kind of sound.

S: I like to think if it as pop punk with ska infused.

Like Blink 182 and Less Than Jake J: That’s exactly what I was gonna say!

D: Each songwriter in the band has a different sound.

S: A lot of the songs we have are talking about

M USI C the relationships we’ve had and how to cope with them. But you can definitely tell that lyrics and content are different per person.

Can we expect to see more of you this semester and semesters to come?

D: No. *laughs* S: I really hope so.

A: We hope to do the next cover band show.

S: We’re hoping to get back into the studio. Do an EP and get that out to some studios and see where that goes. Hopefully get a tour on the east coast this summer.

D: But on campus shows are a priority. We have to get our name out here first and foremost!

You’ve been working hard in the studio as well as in the practice rooms then.

Should we be anticipating original releases soon?

Everyone: Yes. D: It is in the works!

Being that getting your name and music out there is so important, where exactly can people go to learn more about you guys, upcoming events, and upcoming releases?

A: We have a Facebook fan page.

D: It’s in the works still and once people start paying more attention to that it will become more active. Once we have three or four more songs we’ll begin to put them online. It’s always good for people to listen before they come to shows.

As much as shows are important people need to know who we are before thrown into the Stood or the Co-op.

To wrap this up then, what was the idea behind the name? Murder by Scooter, it’s a hard one to forget.

D, A, T: Sean!

D: Wasn’t someone hit with a scooter?

S: Someone might have been hit by a scooter.

I think if you have something comical people will remember your band name, it’ll last longer. I like it. I think it rolls off the tongue. continued on page 7

Photo by Tyler Dawson

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PTV RELOCATINGBY STEPHANIE SPENCER

The new PTV studio in Campus Center North, which is barely large enough to fit a small classroom, is currently cluttered with taped boxes, stacked chairs, and other pieces of equipment.

Upon entering the studio, Zack Brady’s sense of disappointment was apparent.

Last semester, PTV enjoyed a threeroom-studio in Campus Center South, a space that Brady, the Business and Communications Manager of PTV, described as “beautiful.”

“Nice, huge studio space for shows, decent sized control room, big meeting space, and another good space for our computers and stuff,” Brady recalled.

The new studio was given to PTV in 2007 after students advocated moving from their dingy, tight space in the basement of Campus Center South. According to the PSGA, the new space was considered temporary, and therefore was never included on the record as the official studio.

When it was announced early last year that the Humanities building would be closing because of asbestos, the unofficial studio of PTV was the first to be replaced to make room for five to six professor offices.

“When they were discussing the new space in Campus Center North they said, ‘This is your permanent space, you don’t want to move any longer, this will be where you’re permanently at,’” said Brady. “I looked at them and said ‘That’s not happening, the space is not adequate for a television studio!’”

PTV’s sudden move to their new location has complicated many aspects of their upcoming seasons. Basic operations such as live-streaming

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have been halted because Wi-Fi hasn’t been set up and won’t be finished for another two months.

The most challenging part is the effect the smaller space will have on the appearance of their shows. The size and layout of the new studio only allows for considerably less audience members, whereas shows such as Purchase Late Night seated, on average, up to 30 audience members.

Mike Cronin, a sophomore Arts Management major, plans on utilizing the website to put out popular skits and interviews for people who miss the show, but is still confused by the move.

“The college is facing some issues with the money, it’s great that they’re doing these renovations, but they needed space, and it’s like why did you have to pick our space to take away,” said Cronin. “It’s the least cost-affective to dismantle our studio and reconstruct it in another room.”

Brady added, “I would like to say that it’s a funny joke, that it’s laughable, that it’s unexpected that this school is throwing us under the bus. The fact is that the students are very artistic minded people, we always have been.”

When asked to comment on the issue, however, Schwartz claimed to not be involved in the decision.

“I didn’t overlook it. It is not something that I get involved in,” Schwartz said in an email.

“I was aware of it. The PSGA and Student Affairs deals with spaces for student clubs.”

PURC HASE LIFE

COMPOST

BY BRITTANY BOLLENBACH

The Sustainability Interns, Green Team, and the Purchase Garden are looking to gain student interest in composting!

Composting is a process of organic matter breaking down over a short period of time, which returns essential plant nutrients back into the soil, once it’s completely decayed.

Did you know Purchase College has a garden? It’s right behind the dance building, inside the Rent-A-Fence. The compost pile is in the back left corner.

What can you put your compost in? Either a plastic bucket with a sealable lid, or a plastic bag as long as you twist the top so it’s airtight.

continued from page 5

Joined by Coyote Campus and Rotten Jazz Quartet, Murder by Scooter shook the walls and blew out the eardrums of all present. Opening the night with the cover “If I Have Words,” and closing with an original song by the band’s bassist, “Simply Machine,” this band has proven a force to be reckoned with. Adrenaline, sweat, and some killer dance moves adorned the floor while those onstage, lost in their art, interacted with the crowd between songs. And man, can these guys work a crowd!

For more information, check Murder By Scooter out on Facebook: facebook.com/murd3rbysc00t3r

things you CAN compost: • fruit scraps • veggie scraps • tea • egg shells • coffee grinds • leaves • grass clippings

things you CAN’T compost: • meat • fish • fats • oils • cooked food

Why should you compost? You’ll take the trash out less frequently, reduce indoor pest problems, and take part in the decomposing food process that our generation seems disconnected from.

If you have any question, or to find out how to obtain plastic bins, contact Brittany Bollenbach at brittany.bollenbach@purchase.edu, or you can also email purchase.garden@purchase.edu.

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Thursday, February 9th

CCS Lobby Heath Services 10am-3pm

FREE HIV/STD TESTING

Thursday, February 9th Commuter Lounge at 7pm

DICK IN A BOX (practicing safe sex)

Thursday, February 9th Red Room at 7pm

Activist Toolkit for the 21st century

BLACK HISTORY MONTH Climbing Poe Tree Presents: Hurricane Season Thursday, February 9th CCS Southside at 9pm

Friday, February 10th The Passage Gallery at 4pm

Works on Paper (BFA Photo show)

Fri.-Sat., February 10th-18th Performing Arts Center at 8-11pm

FIRST 2 SPEAKER Sadia Blaume

Thursday, February 9th Red Room at 7pm

We welcome Saida, a 3rd year Pace Law Student, to speak at SUNY Purchase.

Love’s Fire (Come watch the Junior Acting Company perform seven passionate love stories.)

BFA SENIOR PROJECT: DANCE CONCERT

Fri.-Sat., February 10th-11th Dance Theater Lab at 8pm

JONATHAN MARC SHERMAN SHORT PLAY FESTIVAL Thurs.-Sat., February 9th-11th Humanities at 8pm

HOLDING AN EVENT? Email us the information at YOUR.INDY@GMAIL.COM

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PURCH

PARTY

Saturday, February 11th Whitsons at 8pm

• • • • • •

THE ROTARIES MORRISON BROOK SUNS THE PAPER PLANETS THE HIYA DUNES SIRS

EVENTS

PTV PARTY

BY DAVID GRIMALDI

Thursdays Gamers United: G-Street Lounge at 6pm AMG: Witsons at 6:30pm RPGA: Hub Basement at 8pm Green Team: Co-Op at 7pm PEMS: Southside at 8pm Trans*Action: LGBTQU at 10pm

Mondays FORTH meeting: Southside at 8pm The Indy: CCN 1011 at 9:30pm Brick Meeting: Red Room at 10pm

Tuesdays Anthropology: SPARC room at 8:00pm PUSH: Hub basement at 9pm Complexuality: Hub basement at 10pm

Wednesdays Hillel: Hub basement at noon Purchase Comics United: Commuter Lounge at 2 Senate: Southside at 12:30pm Gamers United: G-Street Lounge at 7pm Chess Club: Commuters Lounge at 8pm Anime: Commuter lounge at 8pm WPSR: WPSR Office at 10pm PTV: Hub Basement at10pm LGBTQU: Red Room at 10pm

“I’m not someone who only likes T.V.”, says Zack Brady, business and communications manager at PTV.

This is the attitude he feels many students have at Purchase. Students here have many interests, each one more diverse than the next. This is why, on Saturday the 11th, there will be a PTV Block Party, attempting to get students more involved with clubs and organizations on campus.

“If you have a passion, this is your chance to meet like-minded people,” Brady says.

Although there was a club fair already this semester, this event is going to operate slightly differently. It will take place in the Campus Center North basement.

“All club heads want new members,’’ says Brady, hoping to destroy existing barriers that scare people from joining clubs. If you miss one meeting, you shouldn’t feel intimidated to join later in the semester. Campus clubs are always open to new members, and we need new members to keep them growing.

One of the goals of this event is to come off as less formal than general interest meetings, and give students a chance to see what clubs are like. You’re not only meeting club heads and being pestered for your e-mail address, you are getting a chance to meet members of clubs and see how they operate.

All clubs and organizations on campus are welcome to come to this event, set up a table, and join this great opportunity to mingle with your fellow students. At the very least, it’s worth stopping by for free Indian food.

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ADDRESSING PREVENTION

BY Alexa dillenbeck

Words can be powerful. Depending on the order in which they go, they can make or break someone. They can cause laughter or tears.

Things that can seem like they are coming from a good place can outrage people.

Most of us check our Purchase email accounts at least once a day. On February 2, we got an email from Student Affairs titled, “Minimizing the Risk of a Sexual Assault,” that told students how to avoid sexual assault.

While taking action against sexual assault is brilliant and noble, the email could have been worded a lot better. Not only did it need desperately to be proofread, the way things were presented was problematic. The tips were not wrong to be given, but they certainly were not right. This is especially true under, “Avoid drunk sex.”

Protecting your drink and avoiding drunken sex and important things that most students have been taught again and again, but underneath “Avoid drunk sex”, it says “Limit your alcohol consumption so you can protect yourself or help a friend who may need you.”

Many college students like to drink and since this is not a dry campus, they may. By telling someone that they can’t do something that is perfectly legal*, then that means that anything that happens to them if they are drunk is their fault.

It also blames the victim’s friends for being drunk and not being able to help.

Underneath the bullet point, I would have instead written, “Set barriers with your partner or discuss drinking and sex before it happens.

Consent is not valid if you or your partner(s) have been drinking. A sober mind is a much more rea-

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sonable mind, so talk about it before there could be any miscommunication.”

Another problem that is not addressed at all is sexual assault while in a relationship. People who the victim already knows commit most sexual assaults and rapes. Under “Trust your instincts…” it only says to avoid going home with someone you just met and while that can happen, they do not mention anything more than that in any detail.

Finally, “Understand and believe in another person’s right to say ‘NO,’” was at the very end, where most people probably won’t even bother reading. Understanding that someone means no when they say it is the easiest way to avoid sexual assault and rape.

Again, I, and many advocates for a safe campus here at Purchase, don’t disagree with most of what is written because it was clearly coming from a good place; I just think everything could have been written in a better way. *legal as in over 21, but most people under 21 drink anyway, so let’s for the sake of the argument consider everyone legal.

LIFE

THE SUPER BOWL

If you somehow missed the Super Bowl matchup between the Giants and the Patriots, you might have missed one of the most important sporting spectacles in recent memory. Of course there are those of you who don’t care about football, or any other sport for that matter.

But what attracts people to football? Some people are drawn to the game by sports betting, chicken wings and beer, or the social aspect of the abundance of parties.

All that aside, there are those of us who watched the Super Bowl for no other reason than the love for football. We were treated by the National Football League to a game so competitive it came down to the fourth quarter to clearly determine a winning team.

So what made the game so compelling?

What are the selling points? A 2007 Super Bowl rematch between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants with the latter being victorious in both games.

Eli Manning, the quarterback for the New York Giants, has now won more Super Bowls than his brother Peyton, who has been viewed by many for most of his career as vastly superior in all aspects of the game when compared to Eli.

The final score of this year’s Super Bowl was also 21-17 Giants, which I do not believe I heard anyone predict in the overhyped buildup to the Super Bowl that lasts about two weeks. During these two weeks you get to know everything from the player’s stats, to their favorite foods.

Of course there is also the buildup for

BY MARK VASEY

the halftime show that either bores, shocks, or does some combination of the two aspects at the same time.

This year we got a blast from the past with Madonna accompanied by an ensemble of modern stars including LMFAO, Cee Lo Green, Nicki Minaj, and M.I.A.. I had no idea that M.I.A. was still around until she provided the shock value that the NFL and NBC are desperately trying to avoid yearly, ever since the infamous wardrobe malfunction of Janet Jackson. For those of you who missed this year’s moment of atrocity, it involved an expletive and a finger that Eminem has made famous.

The Super Bowl could be talked about for days and days, and will be. It will be analyzed repeatedly, players entire careers will be judged on one game, but in the end does any of it really matter? I’m not sure, and someone please tell the National Football League to put the fun back in the game, or at least the halftime show.

Now it’s over and we have to wait a year for the Super Bowl to come back with the highest level of sports performance and the lowest levels of halftime performance quality. Let’s start loading up on wings and beer!

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MERRY BREADMAS

BY Rachel margolin

On December 1st, in the early morning, a group of WPSR people noticed the door to the community kitchen was unlocked. Motivated by boredom, they entered uneasily, explaining, “We knew we were stepping outside of the rules, but how do you know when you’re going to be hungry in advance to do paperwork?”

They walked to the counter, and there, like a sign from Santa Claus, appeared the best idea. They would make whole wheat bread! The back of the flour package had ingredients and instructions, so they toiled tirelessly into the night.

Facing many obstacles along the way, they managed to overcome misreading the recipe (making one loaf instead of two), and the bread sticking to the pan.

1:15 AM. The timer goes off. They gathered around the oven, equipped with oven mitts to bring their bread baby into the world.

It’s steamy, crusty, and frankly sexy edges begged for butter, so they grabbed a big ol’ faux tub of it and a fork. They ran back to the studio with their creation, giddy. They sat it upon the chair, and with plates in hand, began to saw off hot chunks with the buttery fork and shovel it into their mouths. Soon enough, mastication became a problem. But the secret bread they had “illegally” made filled then not with food, but with pure untainted happy.

“Merry Breadmas!” they proclaimed excitedly before collapsing on the couches, bloated as walruses.

Here’s where I came in. Looking upon the crumbs dripping from their mouths, they realized they should share this merry holiday with

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others. I had been standing in the alcove under the dining hall contemplating life (as is common practice for midnight) when I heard a little voice calling out from the side door, “You want some homemade bread?”

I took the risk.

Venturing inside, I came upon what once were three energetic students, who were now full, bloated, and clutching their stomachs, moaning.

The first bite was luxury. The second was bliss.

The third was fulfilling. Everything after that was painful, but completely worth it.

What would we do with the leftovers, you ask? We had a few options actually. We could shoot it out of an air soft cannon, or stick a flag labeled “hemp” in it and wait for the hippies to congregate. And of course, there was “golf club, bread piece on tee, FORE!” Merry Belated Breadmas to all, And to all a good bite.

CAMPUS

OUTBACK PAINT JOB

BY NOELLE MOORE

There’s nothing like a fresh coat of paint to brighten up a room. The bright-eyed and bushy-tailed Outback residents returned to Purchase at the end of winter break to learn the dark side of this phrase, first-hand. Freshly painted ceilings.

There were no warnings, no e-mails, and no announcements that this was going to happen – just a teensy-weensy slip of paper on the doors that basically said “Hey, we decided to paint your ceilings for no reason without telling you. Some of your stuff might have gotten moved, or might now have paint on it. Peace.”

So why did Purchase choose winter break, of all times, to jump on the “beautification” process of the Outback ceilings? I answer this with the response I always give whenever someone asks why something unnecessary and nonsensical happens:

It’s Purchase.

Wouldn’t it have made more sense to bring in the paint crew during the summer, when there were no students on campus, and thus nothing to get in the way of the painting process?

Of course it would, just like it would have made sense to wait the four or so months until the next semester was over. The impromptu painting might not have been so disruptive if it didn’t result in many students’ possessions getting stained or, in the extreme case, destroyed.

One student, Connor Wilson, a sophomore Outback resident, returned to campus and discovered paint on his wall, his folders, and his printer. Alyce Pellegrino, also a sophomore learned that nothing is sacred in this world, when

she found paint on her shower curtain, mirror, toilet, and most horrifically, the comforter on her bed. The painters also left pieces of garbage strewn across her room.

It’s like people broke into your house, renovated your kitchen, and then took a shit in the oven before they left. You’d be pretty pissed if you came home to that, I imagine, therefore the Outback residents are furious.

Aside from the rather shoddy paint job itself, others were uncomfortable with the fact that strangers had not only come into their personal living space without warning, but that they had also touched and moved some of their more personal items.

I personally was surprised when my roommate sent me a message saying that all of our items in the bathroom had been moved around.

And by moved around I mean unceremoniously dumped into the shower along with garbage. This paint job is the gift that keeps on giving!

How did it come to this? What does it say about our society that the media shows you what color a building should be? Outback, who was putting these ideas in your head? Who told you that you’ve got to change, that you weren’t pretty enough with your beige ceiling? Because that’s bullshit! This is me telling you, Outback, you are beautiful in every single way, and shitty paint jobs can’t bring you down!

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MOVIE REVIEW: “THE GREY”

BY DYLAN GREEN

Being “out of your element” can be an incredibly hard thing to deal with, especially when your element doesn’t include sub-zero temperatures, separation from civilization, and a pack of hungry wolves. Only the strong can survive this test of the elements, and “The Grey” certainly proves it’s mettle against the unforgiving wintry tundra that is the January release schedule by being the first truly great film of 2012, warming the hearts of audiences and critics alike.

Liam Neeson is turning into quite the box office draw for thrillers, and he expertly handles the character of Ottway, wolf hunter extraordinaire for an oil rig company who, along with six other passengers, wind up in a plane crash somewhere in Alaska, the home to a pack of vicious wolves.

The men test their courage, strength of will, and sanity in order to survive. And boy, will you care about it. Director Joe Carnahan brings as much authenticity as he can to the production with on-location shooting, and automated and well trained wolves, for example. Cinematographer Masanobu Takayanagi wrings the grit and grey, out of every shot. You’re here with these men. And it’s tense from start to finish.

While every performance is solid, even when the writing and exposition gets a bit hokey, Neeson gnaws at the scenery as fiercely as the wolves pushing him along. His Ottway is a man lost in his work. He works 5 week shifts, killing wolves for an oil company, slowly becoming a predator and slowly losing touch with his humanity. Neeson finds a way to show the inner pain of a man who is only himself when he is the alpha

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male, protecting his wife (who contributes to his societal degradation in the way one might think) or helping his fellow colleagues through the forests, shoving shotgun cartridges into wolves temples.

Even more proof that the arctic tundra is a breeding ground for psychological drama, high thrills action, and Irish machismo, “The Grey” not only manages to dazzle with its gritty but beautiful visuals and brisk pacing, but confound with philosophical quandaries and a stern yet vulnerable performance from Irish legend Liam Neeson, who just owns the damn picture.

Tense, exciting, and cold in every way, “The Grey” is grim in tone but thrilling in action, and sets a nice water mark for the cinematic year 2012. The hunt is on.

REVIEWS

FIGHT CLUB

Faking your own death takes patience, diligence and enthusiasm.

Students who are a part of the Purchase College Fight Club, otherwise known as the “stage combat club”, are learning to use sabers, swords and fists to create realistic fight scenes for movies, theatre, or television.

“We’re going to begin with a basic handto-hand combat, and eventually, we’re going to move up to things like long swords,” said Jen Brent, president of Purchase College Fight Club.

When students found out that fencing instructor, Jared Kirby, was also a professional fight director, they began to make their interests known in wanting to learn stage combat.

“The stage combat class here is in the Conservatory and we can’t take it, and Instructor Kirby is also stage combat instructor and fight director. The idea of the club grew from there,” said Tony Mita, treasurer of the Purchase College Fight Club.

“In stage combat you can never give away your magic. You have to be that magician,” says Kirby.

Students will be able to learn famous fight scenes such as the sword fight between Tybalt and Romeo in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, or the bloody knife fight under the bridge from Arthur Laurent’s West Side Story.

Choreographing a fight isn’t easy.

“You need to make sure that the scene has been built to the moment where the character can no longer express themselves in any other way,” says Kirby.

Creating a motive for your character will

BY Laura meltzer

make the stage violence seem realistic.

“Take something like Ophelia and Hamlet. Most people make it this scene of two people just talking back and fourth, in a lover’s spat. But there is so much small opportunity for violence: a push here, a slap there,” says Kirby.

There has been a positive reaction amongst Theatre and Performance majors, since the creation of Purchase College Fight Club

“We’re looking to apply the knowledge we gain in a theatrical setting, and have scenes to bring in and work on,” said sophomore Theatre and Performance major, Sara Mae Gobler.

Students outside of theatre have also been enthused about the organization.

“The fight club will aid to various film projects in the Cinema Studies and Film Conservatory,” said a cinema studies major.

The club will start Thursday, February 2nd and will take place from 6:30pm – 9:30pm on Mondays and Thursdays. The class is open to students of all majors. But, there’s one rule to follow in joining the Purchase College Fight club: “The number one rule of the Purchase College Fight Club is to make your violence seem real.”

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THE FOOD CO-OP

Have you ever walked into the dining hall and thought: “What the hell is that door on the right?” That my friends, is the Food Co-Op. The Food Co-Op is a student run organization that is, according to sophomore Dan Poorman, a “student hang-out space.”

The Co-Op is full of things to do that aren’t just sitting in your dorm room watching the full series of How I Met Your Mother on Netflix, or not doing the homework that you’ve been putting off all week. What? I’m not referring to myself, I really don’t know where you all got that idea from.

The Co-Op is full of couches and chairs, and there’s even a loft that you can climb up and do your homework somewhere other than the white cinder block walls of Big Haus.

Poorman’s job at the Co-Op is as the Media Manager. This basically means that he gets to spend his time organizing the record and CD collection, the library (yeah, they even have a library in the Co-Op), and the art gallery.

Spoiler alert: here’s a shameless plug: If you’re interested in getting involved in the triweekly art gallery, shoot Dan an email at

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BY JOSH MYERS

dan.poorman@purchase.edu.

If hanging out in the Co-Op sounds like something that you’d be interested in doing, fear not! Poorman says that there may still be hope.

There are still a couple of shifts available, so if you want to get credits to sit in the Co-Op and do fun things like sell coffee (for just 25 cents!) or just hang out and meet lots of people, send an email to Steve Covitz at steven.covitz@purchase.edu or to purchasecoop@gmail.com.

I asked Dan why he likes working at the Co-Op, and he said, “I love that this isn’t such a strict internship. Overall, if you’re invested in the Co-Op, you’ll find you do clock in a bunch of hours there, but it’s doing things that are laidback, fun, and directly for the betterment of the facility as a student hang-out space. Not to mention you’ll probably meet a lot of new friends there, and Virgil’s cola is undoubtedly the best cola that will ever grace your tongue. Even when I’m sorting through records and books and shelving media at the Co-Op, appearing frazzled or stressed, the truth is I’m having a lot of fun - so it’s the work I do that makes me enjoy the Co-Op.”

Created by Nicolas Sienty

MADAME QUERY

HAS YOUR REMEDY

Dear Madame, last semester I was a bit of

Madame, I am in love with my RA. Slight

a wild card. I partied a lot and lost sight

obstacle, I am a freshman in Farside and

of my school work and my real friends.

they’re a junior. How do I prove age ain’t

How do I get back on track?

nothing but a number (babe)?

Don’t worry, falling off the rails happens to a lot of us, it’s even happened to Madame. It happened to Madame a lot. Eventually she got back on the train and she thinks you can too!

The first step to getting your shit together again is realizing that you fucked up. Congrats, we are past the first step! Now the next phase is cutting out the crap that makes you slack behind.

You’re in college, so it’s good for you to go to parties on the weekends, not on a Monday.

Prioritize, think things through. What is going to fuck you over the next day? You have a twelve page paper due the next day, but you’re friends invite you to throw down a beastly blunt. Well, buddy, in this situation a blunt is a cunt and you shouldn’t let it get in the way of you acing that paper! Remember opportunities like those come around all the time, that paper on the other hand is only going to be there once. Work before play is always choice, and you’ll have so much of a better time.

Use you’re noggin with a clear state of mind and I’m sure you’ll know what is best for you.

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The truth is, you are a freshman. They’re a junior. You two might not be on the same age length. Or you might be a super mature person.

Actually if we can just look at this as adults we can realize that once we hit our freshman year, any year is game. We shouldn’t tie ourselves down in age restraints. They should take you for you, not your birthday unless its after today’s date in 1994. So in regards to the age, fuck them if they think you’re immature.

Now as for you being their resident, I don’t know what the rules allow and don’t allow. So I’m not going to sit here and say “it’s oh so totally fine” when in fact that could be in violation.

All I have to say though is that RAs are people too. They have feelings they aren’t stone cold students looking to pick someone out of a hazy room. They fall in love, so maybe your RA can put business aside and realize what a truly great person you are as well as upstanding resident.

AD Q &VAI C E Dear Madame, I am second semester senior and I think I want to change my major now.

No, you really don’t want to do that. We all have doubts about our major, but the realistic doubts should have taken place around freshman or sophomore year, even junior year as well.

You really need to take a breath and think “do I really only want to change my major because I’m stuck doing an intense senior project?” Because I think that’s what you might be going through.

Yes, I know, how insensitive of the Madame to doubt your feelings, but is it really insensitive to call people out on their bullshit so they can feel better? No, I didn’t think so.

Believe me, every senior right now, does not want to do a senior project, but we’re stuck, we’ll power through and we’ll get it done. You will too. So hang in there. Work with a smile and Red Bull and I’m sure you’ll be so relieved when it’s all over.

SUBMIT YOUR QUESTIONS

TO MADAME QUERY

make the paper you want it to be Come to our weekly staff meetings, everyone is welcome!

Monday nights at 9:30pm Publications Office: CCN 1011 Bring yourself and your ideas!

We’re always interested in what you have to say!

http://www.formspring.me/madamequery

email us with submissions, letters, questions or comments:

your.indy@gmail.com

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SUBMIT BACK PAGE QUOTES VIA THE BOX OUTSIDE CCN 1011 OR ON THE WEB AT: HTTP://FORMSPRING.ME/INDYBACKPAGE

*some quotes have been rewritten for legibility or to preserve the anonymity of the submitter