Issue 21, Vol. 138

THEVERMONTCYNIC THE ISSUE 21 - VOLUME 138 | MARCH 1, 2022 | VTCYNIC.COM

SGA lacks diversity, looks to find solutions

TANNER LOY/The Vermont Cynic

Members of SGA take notes during a public forum in the Livak Ballroom Feb. 22.

Assistant News Editor

SGA faces a significant lack of diversity due to UVM’s campus climate and additional entry barriers for students of color, said Lina Balcom, interim director of Student Life.

Students of color are unlikely to run for SGA because of the lack of diverse individuals represented in the Senate, which perpetuates the situation, said SGA Treasurer Zyakkiriah Rhoden, a senior who identifies as a Black woman.

“If you look just in the room of SGA, I’m one of one. I’m the only one that looks like me,” Rhoden said.

“It’s a really uncomfortable environment sitting in Senate meetings sometimes, because not everyone has the same background as me.”

Students of color are more disadvantaged by SGA’s structures and processes than their white counterparts, Balcom said. UVM’s status as a predominantly white institution within a predominantly white state exacerbates this issue.

“SGA is as representative of the general population of students as it possibly can be,” Balcom said. “Our population of students is so highly dominant white that I would love to see maybe over-representation of some of the identities that are a lower percentage of our population.”

The historical mistreatment and exploitation of students

of color by UVM also makes need space and tokenism,” recommended SGA remove many hesitant to get involved, Stephens said. “You wouldn’t this requirement particularly want anyone to feel like they’re because of its impacts on Rhoden said.

“UVM causes a lot of only there to be the sole students from students of color, trauma for students of color, representation of this entire Pasqualoni said.

These signatures were and to have to get up and fight group.”

Up until spring 2021, SGA difficult to get for students of to repair these wounds is not appealing to any person, much required senator candidates color because their community obtain signatures of is smaller, Stephens said. less a person of color,” Rhoden to endorsement, which served as Students of color do not often said. feel as comfortable Increasing as white students diversity within do with networking an elections-based and amassing group such as SGA, endorsement presents a challenge signatures, at such a because students predominantly white choose the senators, institution.

Balcom said. Still, “Running for SGA this intention felt like a huge barrier is reflected in because I didn’t know recruitment efforts in how I was going to encouraging students get those signatures to run for office and initially,” Rhoden be informed about – SGA Treasurer Zyakkiriah Rhoden, said.

“I [didn’t] know candidates. a senior who identifies as 50 people on campus In addition to a Black woman that would write on barriers students something testifying of color face, SGA has barriers for students of an additional barrier, said SGA that I would be good for SGA or verying socioeconomic status President Sam Pasqualoni, a that they trust me to run.”

Balcom is in a temporary as well, said SGA Vice President senior who identifies as a white interim position and has Olivija Stephens, a junior who man.

“Last year the staff fully not taken on any projects identifies as a white woman.

SGA requires significant time, realized that to become addressing the need to diversify both in campaigning and Senator, you really don’t need SGA because of her limited time in being a senator, which is any signatures,” Pasqualoni in the position.

The previous chair of the restricting for students who said. “[It] wasn’t really that are employed. Those of lower productive, and was a barrier of elections committee, who would typically execute recruitment socioeconomic statuses are also entry for others.”

Pasqualoni ran for and won efforts, recently stepped down, less represented because of this.

However, diversity within the position of SGA president as Balcom said. SGA Senator SGA is not just about physical a write-in candidate and did not Shirin Dravid, a senior, recently need to get signatures for that filled this position, according to representation, Stephens said. a Feb. 25 email from Stephens.

“There’s a fine line between reason, he said.

Much of addressing this Daphne Wells, the previous making sure voices are heard and uplifting the voices that director of Student Life, issue is making sure those in

“ If you look just in the room of SGA, I’m one of one. I’m the only one that looks like me.

“

Halsey McLaen

power fight for those who aren’t, said junior Maeve Forbes, chair of SGA’s Committee on Diversity, Inclusion and Equity, who identifies as a white woman.

“That’s what [SGA] needs to change to: the white people on Senate and at UVM need to be willing to use their privilege for the greater good,” Forbes said.

One of CODIE’s goals is building greater positive relationships with marginalized communities, Forbes said.

“There’s still a lot of regrowth [and] rebuilding to do, we’re missing a lot of this base core foundation that needs to happen first,” Forbes said.

“Attending meetings and events has been a really big thing because it’s really about having support there.”

CODIE focuses on providing small, everyday quality of life improvements for affinity groups, Forbes said.

They also provide financial support through the Diversity Enhancement Fund, money made available for any club dealing with issues of diversity, equity and inclusion.

Increasing diversity will not happen overnight, Rhoden said.

“I don’t know the answer to what can make SGA a more inclusive space, but it takes a lot of time,” Rhoden said. “SGA being more engaged with the community, reaching out and making sure students of color feel safe and welcomed on campus would help the issue of diversity in SGA.”

NEWS

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UVM research partner faces backlash Ella Ruehsen News Editor

Environmentalists stand in opposition to UVM’s research partner, GlobalFoundries, over perceived attempts to dodge state climate laws, according to an Oct. 27 VTDigger article.

The outrage comes in response to a recently denied request for a status change to become a self-managed utility, which would exempt it from Vermont’s climate laws, according to Oct. 27 and Feb. 17 articles from VTDigger.

UVM signed an articulation agreement with GF in January 2020 and has interns at GF as well as several collaborative projects, said Kirk Dombrowski, UVM’s vice president for research.

Dombrowski organizes and directs UVM’s corporate partnerships.

“Do I get concerned when I hear environmental activists worried about things? I do,” Dombrowski said. “I think we all pay attention to those concerns.

I think our partnership with GlobalFoundries was pointing in just the opposite direction of those concerns.”

GF reached out to UVM specifically about green, renewable, zero-carbon energy research, Dombrowski said.

UVM currently partners with GF and Vermont Gas Systems to research the applications of green hydrogen, according to a Feb. 2 Cynic article.

GF’s attempt to become an energy-independent utility would provide them a loophole to skirt greenhouse gas emissions reductions mandated by Vermont’s 2020 Global Warming Solutions Act,

according to the Oct. 27 article.

The Vermont Public Utility Commission denied the request because they do not have the authority to exempt GF from the state’s renewable energy standard, according to the Feb. 17 article.

Jeff Cram, GF’s manager of electrical distribution, said GF aims to utilize the partnership to seek out implementation strategies to utilize green hydrogen in its own manufacturing and heating operations, according to the Cynic article.

“If anything, our partnership was sort of a way of saying that [GF] shared environmental concerns with their critics,” Dombrowski said. “There’s lots of corporate work, and there’s lots of complicated laws, and there’s lots of outrage in the environmental community about lots and lots of things.”

Despite the opportunity to dodge Vermont’s regulations, GF remains committed to comply with them, according to a Feb. 21 press release containing statements from Ken McAvey, Fab 9 vice president and general manager at GF. Fab 9 is GF’s Essex Junction campus, according to a Jan. 20 press release from UVM strategic communications.

GF’s petition aimed at meeting higher environmental standards and being cost competitive, according to the press release.

“GF appreciates the [Public Utility Commission’s] efforts in thoroughly reviewing our petition, and we are aligned with their recommendation to continue our petition under Vermont’s Renewable Energy Standard,” McAvey stated.

GF is committed to a 100% carbon-neutral energy portfolio

Screenshot from WCAX in the state and is committed to a 25% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions globally from 2020-30, according to the press release.

“I hear the criticisms and I look at every partnership that we do individually to make sure that they’re in line with our values,” Dombrowski said.

“This was this good project, green hydrogen is a really important piece of our future.”

GF has and will continue to meet and exceed Vermont’s environmental standards, the Feb. 21 press release stated. “​​ We believe that our proposal actually does more to protect Vermont’s environment, to increase use of renewable energy, to keep Vermont energy cost-competitive and to support good-paying jobs for the people of Vermont,” McAvey stated.

GF intends to move forward with its petition to

become a self-managed utility, which is about competitive manufacturing costs and does not affect the commitment to environmentally responsible operations, according to the press release.

Regardless of GF’s motives for becoming a self-managed utility, Dombrowski does not see a profit motive in the green hydrogen research partnership in the short term, he said.

“They’re a business,” Dombrowski said. “In the long run, if they thought that it would save the money, I think they would be quite happy about it. This is how businesses work. They’re trying to stay in business.”

Despite GF’s profit motive, Dombrowski believes they are responsive to community and environmental concerns, as is UVM. “We take the concerns of Vermont’s environmental activist community very seriously at the University,” Dombrowski said.

“We’re always trying to push that and our collaboration with GlobalFoundries was specifically on ways to take renewable resources, turn them into zero carbon producing fuels.”

Gina DeRossi, GF’s corporate communications manager, did not respond to the Cynic’s request to interview a company representative.

“I can’t speak to their motives on these things,” Dombrowski said.

“They reached out to us because of our work in clean energy and that was what they were looking for help with.”

AdvoCats halt tours on Admitted Students Visit Day Halsey McLaen Assistant News Editor

UVM’s student tour guides, known as AdvoCats, stood in support of survivors at Friday’s protest but denounced its methods, according to a Feb. 21 Instagram post on @ uvmadvocats.

AdvoCats stand with survivors and protestors from Feb. 18’s protest against UVM’s Instagram post, which angered survivors and students alike, but stated the proposed protest tactics of interrupting Admitted Students Visit Day tours caused significant harm to the AdvoCats involved.

“Following the posting of the insensitive graphic, we observed specific calls on social media for current students to protest the actions of the administration by following tours and loudly telling the prospective students not to attend the school,” the post stated.

AdvoCats are not trained to handle these situations nor

should they have to, the post stated. Some AdvoCats are also survivors of sexual assaut themselves.

“We are fellow UVM students who are just as impacted by the actions of the administration as everyone else,” the post stated. “Having accusatory words thrown at us, particularly language specific to the topic of sexual violence, is at best severely uncomfortable and at worst traumatic and triggering.”

AdvoCats refused to give tours on Friday because of these concerns, the post stated. Admissions supervisors canceled Saturday and Monday tours as well.

The AdvoCats request that future protesting measures do not involve interfering with tours, the post stated.

“We are your fellow students and should not be put in a potentially traumatizing position in the course of our job,” the post stated.

Students who wish to still

communicate with prospective students about this issue should do so during other parts of their visit, the post stated.

UVM informed admitted students and visitors of the student activism occurring on campus, and the AdvoCat’s participation in it as they decided not to lead tours, according to a Feb. 20 email from Director of Admissions Moses Murphy.

“We acknowledge and respect our students’ and AdvoCats’ views including whether they feel it’s in their best interest and safety to lead tours during a protest,” Murphy stated.

The AdvoCats are still in conversation with admissions supervisors and administration over this issue and their concerns, according to the post.

It is unclear when tours will resume.

AdvoCats are required to balance marketing the University while attending it, the post stated. The University’s

ALLISON OUELLETTE/The Vermont Cynic The UVM admissions building is found on South Prospect Street Sunday April 10, 2021. recent actions have made many survivors of sexual violence and AdvoCats uncomfortable, and hold them and the safety of our leaders of the program are fellow tour guides in mind as we working to ensure those who continue to work through the do not wish to represent UVM ramifications of UVM’s post on right now are not required to our program,” the post stated. give tours.

“We stand in solidarity with

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NEWS

UVM works towards updated curriculum Audrie Caruso Cynic News Reporter

UVM’s committee on general education requirements plans to update degree requirements for fall 2023 in response to accreditation demands, said Jennifer Dickinson, vice provost for academic affairs and student success.

In 2019 the accreditor’s report required 42 credits under general education rather than the current 15, Dickinson said. The Catamount Core Curriculum Committee’s job is to fulfill this requirement so the general education standards meet the accreditor’s demands.

The New England Commission is UVM’s accreditor, which means they periodically determine whether they meet or exceed a set criteria for the assessment of institutional quality through a peer group review process, according to UVM’s website.

The accreditor re-assesses the curriculum every 10 years, Dickinson said.

The committee officially began its work in the fall of 2021, said Priyantha Wijesinghe, senior lecturer and coordinator of curricular enrichment in the College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences.

Under the new accreditation standards, social sciences, humanities, fine arts and natural sciences will become a requirement for every student at the University, according to a Nov. 7, 2019 Cynic article.

This will allow UVM to meet the standards for accreditation.

The requirement is 21 liberal arts credits, nine core skills credits and 12 credits of common ground values, said Joan Rosebush, senior lecturer

Members of SGA take notes during a public forum in the Livak Ballroom Feb. 22. and director of Student Success.

The new additions to the Catamount Core curriculum will increase opportunities to take classes outside of a student’s major’s department, junior Ginny DeFrances said.

Classes are being slated for approval for the new curriculum so there are enough up and running by next academic year in order to allow new students to meet their requirements for the Catamount Core, Dickinson said.

By the Committee’s Feb. 1 meeting, 76 professors had applied for their classes to be a part of the requirements,

Dickinson said.

When professors initially apply for their classes to be a part of the Catamount Core Curriculum, the subcommittees for each college have to approve them and then the leadership of the entire Committee approves the classes, Rosebush said.

“We’ll be working really hard to get enough courses approved, so that the incoming class in the fall of 2023 can complete their curriculum and have a lot of course choices,” Dickinson said.

The Committee aims to consolidate the subcommittees previously in place, such as

JAMIE KAPLAN/The Vermont Cynic

the D1, D2 and sustainability committees, into one larger committee, junior Eli Smith said.

The CCCC still has committees that answer to the one overarching committee.

They can work together in order to encourage more collaboration and fix the larger issues across colleges, DeFrances said.

“We really believe that this will be wonderful for students,” Rosebush said. “All the students who start with this Catamount Core are going to leave UVM ready for the world.”

Categorizing the courses under the new requirements

and fitting them into everyone’s degree audits has been the main reason why it has taken as long as it has for the requirements to be fulfilled, Rosebush said.

Discussion on the curriculum changes started during fall 2019 and by spring 2020 the subcommittees for the colleges started working within their programs in order to become a part of the CCCC and update the general education requirements, Wijesinghe said.

Both the committees for the colleges and the CCCC will review the syllabi in detail before approval, Wijesinghe said.

UVM apologizes for sexual violence Instagram post Ella Ruehsen News Editor

Patricia Prelock, provost and senior vice president, apologized to the UVM community for the University’s Feb. 17 Instagram post about sexual violence, according to a Feb. 23 email. “[The Instagram post] should not have occurred and I want to acknowledge the harm that it caused survivors and the UVM community as a whole,” the email stated. “I will not always get this right, but please know I hear all of you and will work hard with my leadership team to do better.”

Over the past several days Prelock communicated with Advocat leaders, SGA leaders, student activists, the men’s basketball team, the coaches, Chief Communications Officer Joel Seligman and others, according to the email.

“These meetings raised complex emotions for me and I am working to process them.

The Waterman building sits on S Prospect Street.

I am sure this is true for each of the groups with whom I met and who are reading this message” Prelock stated.

All students Prelock spoke with over the weekend are committed to sexual violence

prevention and want candid dialogue about the current narrative, according to the email. Additionally, Prelock acknowledged a need for improvement in UVM’s communications strategy.

ERIC SCHARF/ The Vermont Cynic

“I make these promises to you,” her email stated. “I will work with students to find a space to share your experiences and to recognize differences in perspectives, and I will ensure that any communication

regarding students and sexual violence will undergo thorough review and will require my final approval.”

Prelock plans to meet with Elliot Ruggles, UVM’s new sexual violence prevention and education coordinator, Feb. 24 to discuss more effective methods of sexual assault prevention and education, and enhancement of UVM’s communication, engagement and support, according to the email.

Prelock will communicate about the next steps in UVM’s improvement of its communications strategy and its provision of space for students to share their experiences.

“You give me hope that we can find our way forward,” Prelock’s email stated. “I know it will not be easy. But we all share these common goals — the eradication of sexual violence on campus and providing support for all those who are impacted.”

OPINION RM

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Survivors at UVM deserve respect

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Assistant Opinion Editor

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EXECUTIVE Editor-in-Chief Kate Vanni editorinchief@vtcynic.com Managing Editor Greta Rohrer newsroom@vtcynic.com

OPERATIONS Operations Manager Emma Chute operations@vtcynic.com

EDITORS Copy Chief Dalton Doyle copy@vtcynic.com Culture Cameron Provorny cynicculture@gmail.com Features Liz Roote cynicfeatures@gmail.com News Ella Ruehsen news@vtcynic.com Sports Matthew Rosenberg sports@vtcynic.com Opinion Emily Johnston opinion@vtcynic.com Podcasts Paige Fisher vtcynicpodcasts@gmail.com Layout Ellie Scott layout.cynic@gmail.com Illustrations Izzy Pipa cynicillustrations@gmail.com Photo Eric Scharf photo@vtcynic.com Assistant Editors Grace Visco (Opinion), Ella Farrell (Layout), Halsey McLaen (News), Catie Segaloff (Copy), Tanner Loy (Photo) Pages Designers Nicole Bidol Copy Editors Lauren Bentley, Kate Betz, Jacqueline Kelly, Maya Pound

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e shouldn’t be surprised by the UVM administration’s poor response to sexual assault.

UVM’s Instagram page released a statement congratulating the men’s basketball team after they won their sixth straight America East Regular Season Title, according to a Feb. 21 Cynic article.

“UVM does not tolerate sexual misconduct and takes such accusations seriously,” stated the now-deleted Feb. 17 post by UVM’s Instagram. “Anonymous accusations on social media are not helpful to victims or to anyone impacted by sexual violence.”

The University’s gross statement blames survivors and encourages them to stay silent.

However, this issue runs much deeper than one offensive Instagram post and email.

Graduate student Kendall Ware came forward saying a men’s basketball player raped her and UVM mishandled her Title IX process, according to a Sept. 24 2020 Burlington Free Press article.

Ware chose to proceed with an informal investigation, which she was originally told could result in game suspension of the basketball player, according to an Oct. 13 2020 Cynic article.

Later, Krista Balogh, associate athletic director for External Relations & Communications told Ware’s mother the informal investigation would not permit game suspensions, as it wouldn’t be fair to teammates or to the community, according to the article.

Not only did UVM mishandle Ware’s case, the University valued money over the health and well-being of their students.

The Instagram post appears

MOLLY PARKER to jab at survivors who do not report their sexual assaults through UVM’s Title IX office.

The Instagram post received 280 comments shortly after it was posted, prompting UVM to delete the post in 30 minutes, according to a Feb. 21 Cynic article.

Their cowardice proves the University can’t handle student backlash and protest.

“Following a University post yesterday about the Men’s Basketball team, there were numerous harmful comments accusing the entire team of sexual misconduct,” stated a Feb. 18 email from Patricia Prelock, provost and senior vice president, and Vice Provost Erica Caloiero.

It is disgusting to suggest that there is no merit to these survivors’ stories.

Coming forward with a story of sexual assault takes strength, bravery and courage.

UVM contributes to the victim-blaming culture deeply rooted in colleges across the country.

UVM is still tone-deaf when it comes to the needs of survivors.

In April 2021, senior Athena Hendrick posted on Instagram about UVM mishandling their

sexual assault case.

Their post started a flood of other survivors coming forward with their stories, many of which criticized UVM’s Title IX process and handling of their cases.

In response, a group of UVM students and survivors created an Instagram account called @shareyourstoryuvm where survivors can anonymously submit their stories regarding sexual violence. The account was created to empower survivors.

UVM’s recent Instagram post appears to directly target this account.

The school wants all survivors to report their assaults through the Title IX office rather than retaliate online, but the Title IX office repeatedly mishandles survivors’ cases.

When nothing changed after survivors came forward, thousands of students participated in a walk out, begging for UVM to address their mishandling of sexual violence, according to a May 4 2021 Cynic article.

After the recent Instagram post, hundreds of students protested on an Admitted Student Visit Day, according to a Feb. 21 Cynic article.

Prelock apologized for the In-

stagram post along with UVM’s general disregard for survivors, according to a Feb. 23 email to students.

“I will work with students to find a space to share your experiences and to recognize differences in perspectives, and I will ensure that any communication regarding students and sexual violence will undergo thorough review and will require my final approval,” the email stated.

Her words are encouraging, but we’ve seen this before.

When we consider UVM’s historical treatment of survivors, we shouldn’t be surprised by the Instagram post.

UVM cannot claim to hear survivors while only promoting discussion of sexual assault claims through the Title IX office.

Administration needs to understand the deep pain their actions and shaming has caused survivors and needs to stop valuing money over their students’ wellbeing.

Grace Visco is a sophomore Spanish and secondary education major. She has been writing for the Cynic since spring 2021.

Growing up does not happen linearly Harry van Dyke Opinion Columnist

ADVISING

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traveled home a few weeks ago to help take care of my mom while she was in the hospital.

For the first time in my life, I was the caregiver and my mom was dependent on me.

One of the prevailing narratives about growing up is that it happens little bits at a time; that everyday the task of becoming an adult gets a little easier. I do not think this is true.

I confronted many challenging issues over just a few days.

My parents’ mortality, work responsibilities and balancing familial obligations with school

SOFIA GRATTON

Andy Elrick Inquaries email cynic@uvm.edu

felt like growing up.

In just one week, I felt like I matured more than in the previous two years. I needed to step up into a role that I had no prior experience in and be successful.

And you know what? I did it.

In the weeks that followed I felt like I had a whole new perspective on life and the person I wanted to be.

I was not able to gain this perspective through months of classes and dorm life, but through one challenging event.

I have never been prepared for large life events until they happened, but those are the times when I matured and grew the most.

When important events happen in a person’s life, they are forced to grow up or get left behind.

I have spent a lot of time stressing about the unknown.

Existential questions about the trajectory of my life or things happening in the world weigh heavy on me.

Reframing these experiences as a chance to mature allows a person to approach difficult circumstances with ease.

Instead of being stressed about the next big life event, look at it as a chance for personal growth.

Harry van Dyke is a sophomore political science major. He has been writing for the Cynic since fall 2021.

OPINION

Professors, grade in a timely manner Spencer Hurlburt Opinion Columnist

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e need to turn assignments in on time and attend class on time. The same rules don’t apply to professors when it comes to putting in grades.

In every other profession, making deadlines is important for the entire team. In a

classroom setting, the students are part of that team and rely on quick grading to improve their work and to predict their grade.

University policies need to keep professors accountable for being time-conscious.

Without this accountability, students have little time to improve their work before other assignments are due.

Many college students come across professors who don’t put in any grades throughout the

semester. These are the same professors who constantly talk about how we as students need to get our work done on time.

I’ve had professors who didn’t report our final grades on time, leaving the whole class wondering what our grade ended up being for days after the end of the semester.

The same reporting extends to grading projects, homework and exams. After finishing an assignment, it can take weeks for the grades to come out.

Granted, some classes are big and not everyone could have taken the test on the same day. There is a point, however, where professors drop the ball on getting grades out in a timely manner.

UVM policy stated grades must be entered into the system no later than 72 hours after the final exam, according to the 2021-22 Undergraduate Catalogue. From what I could find, there is no policy surrounding posting grades

ANGELIKA HILLIOS

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throughout the semester.

This lack of responsibility leaves hardworking students stressed out about what their final grade may be throughout the semester.

Without knowing grades until late in the semester or until well after turning in an assignment, students cannot know whether or not they need to do extra-credit or communicate with professors about ways to improve.

A grading policy that gives students the same leeway as professors would level the playing field and reduce student stress.

For many students on academic scholarships, not knowing their grades until well after the assignment was turned in leads to even more stress. Academic scholarships force students to worry about keeping the grades in their classes up.

Students with scholarships must be enrolled in a minimum of 12 credits and maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0, according to UVM’s scholarship policies.

Not knowing the grade until later in the semester adds to the stress of possibly losing their scholarship.

Timely submissions should go both ways. If the students are expected to be on time, the professors should be as well.

Spencer Hurlburt is a sophomore public communication major. He has been writing for the Cynic since fall 2021.

Students need to stop spreading fake news on Yik Yak Christophe Meunier Opinion Columnist

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he misinformation students spread on Yik Yak is dangerous.

Yik Yak is a social media app where users can anonymously interact with anyone on the app within a five mile radius, according to the app website.

Every once in a while, people post obviously false experiences or stories for comedic effect, saying they caught Rally Cat making out with UVM President Suresh Garimella, or saw a deer eating at the Grundle.

However, occasionally, there will be a more serious and sinister lie.

“What happened to the girl that died at pike????,” stated a Feb. 20 Yik Yak post.

This single post caused rumors to spread all night, with users posting condolences and looking for more information on the incident.

Some even claimed to have received a CatAlert or email from the school about the

situation.

After frantically searching for any CatAlerts or emails from the school, I realized it was fake.

The insensitivity of starting fake rumors such as this cannot be understated, and the emotional and psychological damage it can cause to those who come across them is painfully real.

Fake news is not limited to Yik Yak, it is also prevalent in other forms of social media.

“At its core, we are defining ‘fake news’ as those news stories that are false: the story itself is fabricated, with no verifiable facts, sources or quotes,” the University of Michigan library research guide on fake news stated.

To test out how easy fake news can spread, I decided to take matters into my own hands.

At 4:20 p.m. on Feb. 23, I posted on Yik Yak that actor and worshiped idol among UVM students, Jeff Goldblum, was on Church Street.

This post, while being completely false, garnered comments of people claiming they had seen him too, and

MOLLY MCDERMOTT

asking for information about exactly where he was.

“OMG BRO I SEE HIM WTFFFF,” stated one comment on my Yik Yak. Similar comments began to appear almost instantaneously after the post was made public.

When it was all said and done, the posts and their comments amassed dozens of likes, and proved how easy it

truly is to get people to believe something completely made up.

I want to love Yik Yak. Its sense of community is like no other and it truly makes me feel like I am a part of something bigger here on this campus, but the direction it’s heading in is simply not a path that I can follow.

Students need to stop believing in fake news and bring

Yik Yak back to the community building social media app it was meant to be.

Christophe Meunier is a ju-

nior political science major.

She has been writing for the Cynic since fall 2021.

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CULTURE

Nursing enrollment sees slight increase Paige Fisher Podcasts Editor

The College of Nursing and Health Sciences experienced a 1.5% increase in applications for the class of 2026, said Jay Jacobs, vice provost for Enrollment Management.

CNHS received a total of 2,184 applicants for fall 2021, compared to 1,824 in fall 2019. Of those applicants 1,138 applicants applied for the nursing program for fall 2021, and 922 applied in fall 2019, according to the Catamount Data Center.

Because the administration has limited ability to increase enrollment, the school will become more competitive, said Noma Anderson, dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences.

“This academic year, we were able to increase our enrollment by a few students,” Anderson said. “We aren’t sure if we’ll be able to increase it this upcoming year, even though admissions seem to be quite robust.”

The fall 2021 acceptance rate for the Nursing program was 49%, which is 1% more competitive than fall 2020, according to the Catamount Data Center.

Expanding enrollment for the nursing program requires adding more clinical seats for students in their upperclassmen years, which the administration is not currently doing, Jacobs said.

“There’s talks of [expanding the number of clinical seats]

in the state,” Jacobs said. “But we’re not there quite yet, it takes time and effort for full time health professionals to train and educate the clinical students.”

CNHS enrolled 458 students in 2019, 456 students in 2020 and 488 students in fall 2021, according to the Catamount Data Center.

COVID-19 has increased the job competition between UVM faculty and outside hiring hospitals. Other hospitals offer higher salaries to professionals and they have a greater need for staff right now, Anderson said.

As a trade off, nursing students have more options for their post graduation careers, Anderson said.

“We’ve always had 98-100% success [in students finding jobs] in the first six months [of graduation],” Anderson said. “That number is the same except the students have more choices.”

Success rate is defined as students who work full-time, or part-time, participate in a volunteer or service program, serve in the U.S. military, or continue education divided by the total number of responses to the survey, according to the Catamount Data Center.

Before the 2021 Nursing school commencement, 95 graduates out of 104 went right into the hospital due to the demand, Anderson said.

The success rate for Nursing students in 2020 was 98.6% and the success rate in 2019 was 97.3%, according to the Catamount Data Center.

SOPHIA BALUNEK/ The Vermont Cynic Nursing students on their way home after a lab in the Given medical building Feb. 25.

Finding a job has been relatively easy, senior Addy Rood said. She secured a position working in a COVID-19 ward in the UVM medical center after she graduates.

“Since every unit is overflowing with patients, turnover is really high because the nurses are getting burnt out wearing the protective equipment all day,” Rood said. “So [hospitals] are really desperate for nurses.”

More floors opened up within hospitals due to COVID-19, which makes nurses

more employable, Rood said.

Universities across the U.S. saw a 5.6% increase in Nursing school enrollment in 2020, stated the American Association of Colleges of Nursing in an April 1, 2021 press release.

UVM’s Nursing school is not receiving the same attention as comparable institutions, Jacobs said.

“I don’t think we’re seeing the level of interest that other nursing programs across the country are getting at all,” Jacobs said “I think other nursing programs are growing

in their applicant pool at faster rates.”

Additionally, applications to other colleges within the University are growing at faster rates.

The Rubinstein school for Environment and Natural Resources is seeing the most amount of growth, Jacobs said.

“The College of Nursing and Health Sciences is sitting on a record applicant pool, but it is not proportional to the rest of the to the rest of the applications,” he said.

Light Weight Media takes over men’s lax Instagram Alicia Wolfram Culture Staff Writer

@uvmmlax’s following grew from 7,500 followers to 10,500 followers in five months due to the work of senior Nick Corsini, junior Casey Pope and first-year Emmett Macgregor.

These three students run the men’s lacrosse Instagram page, creating high-quality video content as interns for a company called Light Weight Media, according to Pete Estes, director of CatamounTV and media relations contact for the men’s lacrosse and field hockey teams.

Light Weight Media provides organizations and events with promotional video content in an efficient, affordable and professional manner, Corsini said.

Nicho Ader ‘19 started Light Weight Media in 2019, and the company is starting to take off exponentially, Pope said.

While Pope and Macgregor handle the filming and editing, Corsini said he takes on more of a managerial role, acting as the middleman between Light Weight and the client.

“A lot of capturing good, candid video content is about your relationship with the client,” Corsini said.

It is really important to be active on social media in this day and age and many of the videos Light Weight makes are made for social media, Pope said.

“Social media is a language that we were born into,” Corsini said. “We’ve been that demographic that we’re trying to market towards.”

By understanding the algorithm and looking into analytics and Instagram insights, the interns know what time of day is best to post and what captions to use, Corsini said.

Assistant head coach Jake Bernhardt hired the company to film videos and run the team’s Instagram account, Estes said.

They film practices, games and behind-the-scenes footage to give people a glimpse into the hard work that goes into playing on a Division I sports team, Pope said.

“It’s an outlet that can show people how much effort we put in, and Nick, Casey and Emmett

ELAINA SEPEDE/ The Vermont Cynic

Junior Casey Pope, senior Nick Corsini and first-year Emmett MacGregor (left to right) review their work in Cohen Hall’s digital lab Feb. 25. being able to do that for us has been really cool,” graduate attacker Liam Limoges said.

Keeping alumni in the loop was another main reason for hiring Light Weight, head coach Chris Fiefs said.

“With our success on the field we really want to make sure the alumni feel like it’s their success as well because we wouldn’t be here without them,” he said.

The work for Light Weight has been incredibly meaningful, because UVM’s film program focuses heavily on theory rather than fieldwork, Corsini said.

“This has been monumental for my shooting and editing skills,” Pope said. “I’m getting real world practice and building a portfolio so when I graduate next spring, I have some tricks up my sleeve to present to employers.”

Corsini and Pope both said they look forward to continuing their careers in the film industry post-graduation.

“Knowing that we’ve had some sort of impact that alludes to our future career aspirations gives me a lot of pride,” Corsini said.

Pope and Corsini encourage interested students to reach out to them through their website.

7

CULTURE

Behind the scenes of BSU fashion show

ABBIE KOPELOWITZ / The Vermont Cynic

Models rehearse for the BSU fashion show Feb. 19

OLIVIA MILLER/The Vermont Cynic Models rehearse for the BSU fashion show Feb. 19

Paige Fisher Podcasts Editor

For the past six weeks the Black Student Union has been working to prepare for its annual fashion show, said senior and BSU Student Adviser Zyakkiriah Rhoden.

The preparations began just before winter break. In the following weeks, the e-board of BSU reached out to designers, held auditions and rehearsals, organized finances and set up the stage, Rhoden said. The show was held in the Grand Maple Ballroom on Feb. 26.

Walk coach and graduate student Tristen Thompson said she invested at least 10-12 hours each week leading up to the show.

“Part of the passion that we as an e-board and myself personally get out of it is just seeing people that we look like be highlighted during a month that’s all about us,” Rhoden said.

The first step in organizing the show is reaching out to the designers. The six designers

invited were a mix of Afrocentric designers and streetwear brands, mainly based in large east coast cities, Rhoden said.

After securing the designers, BSU held auditions for the show in early January. At these auditions, the e-board mostly looked for confidence and variety, Thompson said.

“You can have the best dancer, the best walker, the best speaker, the best writer, but you need confidence in order to get your message across to people,” she said.

Forty-six models walked in the show this year, roughly twice the number of models that walked last year, Thompson said.

The week after BSU selected the models, they measured them, took pictures of them and sent each of the designers a file of their models. Then, the models rehearsed three hours a day, three times a week, for about a month, Thompson said.

Thompson focused on teaching the models to walk on tempo at the beginning of rehearsals. In the later

PAIGE FISHER/ The Vermont Cynic A model poses at the end of the runway at the BSU fashion show Feb. 26.

practices, she focused on making sure the models knew the choreography. Confidence and quality developed over the entire process, she said.

The e-board and models collaborated in selecting the music, Rhoden said. The queue for the night was composed of an array of hip-hop and African artists such as Pop Smoke, Jacquees, Davido and Popcaan.

“We try to connect the vibe of the song and the vibe of the clothes that will be presented,” Thompson said. “Then we also see what songs the models really work well to, what songs really increase their confidence.”

The theme of the night was Black Print, meant to signify the blueprint Black creators have had historically on modern day art, senior and BSU President Miles McCallum said.

“Black people are the blueprint for a lot of creativity that happens in our society,” Rhoden said. “The show pays homage to Afrocentric prints and also streetwear prints, which is a combination of what Black people have created

and cultivated, not only in the United States but globally.”

At the show, models wearing New York based Obioma Fashion strutted in western silhouettes with Afro-print textiles. Mimi Designs brought warm-toned, geometric printed dresses and tunics to the stage.

Streetwear brand Fruition Clothing showed off a collection of relaxed, screen-printed sweatsuits.

BSU worked closely with SGA to achieve enough funding to compensate the designers for their art, reserve their hotel rooms and transport them to the show, Rhoden said.

“The influence of Black artists in American history and in the American public’s imaginations today really cannot be understated,” McCallum said.

Being in the show was exhilarating, first-year and model Lazaria Harris said.

“We put in all this hard work and we finally get to show off,” Harris said. “You think you’re going to be prepared for the energy, and then actually hear

the crowd you’re like ‘woah, I really am doing this.’”

Breaking up walk scenes were Ghanian musical duo G Tempoh who performed a series of rap songs, The Catamount Dance Crew and The Elites also performed high-energy dance numbers.

The groups had been working on those performances since mid-January, said senior Liam Kinney, captain of the Catamount Dance Crew. The dance was choreographed by students in the dance crew.

“Before the dance, we were all very nervous but we’re very confident in ourselves too because we have been practicing and we know our worth as dancers and as individuals,” he said.

The show was MC’d by Jay The Entertainer, who performed comedy skits and made the crowd vow to be “lit all night.”

“I can’t even put into words the amount of joy that I get out of seeing our community come together,” Rhoden said.

FEATURES UVM alum David Jamieson: activist and artist 8

Lucy Kelly Features Staff Writer

Those who venture up to the fourth floor of the Davis Center face a piece of art by the late David Bethuel Jamieson ‘91.

The piece, titled “Self Portrait at the University of BLACK Vermont,” encapsulates Jamieson’s time at UVM throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. It reflects both his work as an artist and an activist on UVM’s campus.

Recently, a private collector rediscovered one of Jamieson’s presumed lost works, “Mermaid,” his partner Peter Stebbins said.

Stebbins curates the Studio House at Walbridge – the artist’s last residence – in Washington D.C., which houses the private collection of Jamieson’s work.

He serves as director of the Lily and Earle M. Pilgrim Art Foundation, he said.

“The Lily and Earle M. Pilgrim Art Foundation promotes the visual art of the African diaspora, an appreciation of artists who lack public recognition,” the website stated.

A Provincetown, Massachussettes art show in August 1988 featured “Mermaid,” and, unbeknownst to Stebbins, a private collector had purchased the painting out of the gallery, he said.

The collector bought the painting, reached out to Bakker Gallery who then reached out to Stebbins.

“We took the painting out of the box and the image is something really special,” Stebbins said.

Jamieson studied history at UVM between 1983-88 before returning in 1991 to finish the remaining credits of his degree.

He was an artist and an activist on campus, and much of his work reflected that, Stebbins said.

When Jamieson first joined UVM as an undergraduate in 1983, UVM had investments in apartheid South Africa, according to a VTQuarterly article.

Jamieson used art as a way to further his involvement in the divestiture movement on campus by creating posters, Stebbins said.

“One was a bold woodblock print of an African diasporic character, and the phrase ‘Jabbo is clever,’” Stebbins said.

“These series of Xerox posters would show up overnight, throughout the campus and throughout Burlington and then sometimes also on Church Street.”

Following his involvement in the divestiture movement, Jamieson became the president of BSU. His involvement was instrumental in its reestablishment in 1987 following a dormant period, Stebbins said.

BSU wasn’t officially

recognized by SGA until 2004, but the club has had a presence on campus since the ‘60s or ‘70s, according to a Feb. 15 Cynic article.

In 1988, Jamieson participated in the first Waterman Takeover, which was sparked by the administration’s failure to address racism and lack of diversity enrichment at UVM, according to a March 2, 2016 Cynic article.

The Takeover led to the 1988 Waterman Agreement, which pledged to establish an ethnic studies program, hire between four and 11 faculty members of color and establish a mandatory first-year course on race relations, according to an April 24, 1991 Burlington Free Press article.

Along with structural issues at UVM, the agreement also argued for doubling the BIPOC student population, according to the Free Press article.

Jamieson described the experience of being a Black student at UVM in an April 19, 1988 Burlington Free Press article.

“You feel like a Black in a [display] window,” Jamieson said.

Jamieson influenced UVM through both his art and his activism, Stebbins said.

“Dave’s apartment and studio would really be a hub for students and organizers,” Stebbins said.

Jamieson also undertook the work of documenting the 1991 Waterman Takeover through his art, using it to show who was in the building, at what time, on which date.

One of these pieces, titled “Eric Takayama, April 29, 1991, 2:30 am Waterman Building” shows in the Fleming Museum and the online collection.

Students organized the 1991 Waterman Takeover because the demands of the 1988 Takeover had not been implemented, Stebbins said.

“Jamieson arrived at the Waterman Building at about 5 p.m. each day and stayed through the night, creating as many as 40 drawings at a nocturnal stretch,” according to a May 24, 1991 Burlington Free Press article about Jamieson’s artwork.

Jamieson said he could not find a space to exhibit the works he created throughout the Takeover, according to the article.

However, in 1993 at the Hans Hoffman studio in Provincetown, Massachusetts, Stebbins curated an exhibit of Jamieson’s work to display the paintings, he said.

“We created a white paper wall that hung from the balcony and then in front of that we hung the last paintings that Dave did in Burlington, and they were done related to the student Takeover,” Stebbins said.

Jamieson found out he was HIV positive in the summer of

Courtesy of Special Collections

Courtesy of Special Collections 1990, Stebbins said.

He died in New York City on July 30, 1992, according to an Aug. 5, 1992 Burlington Free Press article.

His paintings hang throughout campus, including between the third and fourth floors of the Davis Center, in the Fleming Museum and in a 2014 exhibit in the Living/Learning Center.

The piece featured in L/L is titled “Resurrections: Art by David Bethuel Jamieson (19631992),” according to a Nov. 15, 2014 Burlington Free Press article.

“That’s the thing about art,” Jamieson said in a May 24, 1991 interview with the Burlington Free Press. “It outlives the artist and speaks for itself if it is good.”

MAC MANSFIELD-PARISI/The Vermont Cynic Jamieson’s piece, “Self Portrait of the University of BLACK Vermont” on display in the Davis Center Feb. 26.