Concordiensis T H E S T U D E N T N E W S PA P E R O F U N I O N C O L L E G E S I N C E 1 8 7 7 Volume. CLI, Issue XXIII
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Thursday, May 5, 2022
What does SpringFest mean to U? was a tent from Union College Emergency Medical Services, in case of a medical incident. In the other section of the event was a stage complete with a massive screen, which displayed graphics throughout to accompany performances. Mr. Ding-A-Ling Ice Cream trucks served as refreshments for this area. Many attendees interviewed had not been to SpringFest before. Shivani
Daniel Greenman News Editor
On Sunday, May 1, SpringFest 2022 was held on Richmond Lawn and featured performances from Hot Chelle Rae, Sage the Gemini, and 24kGoldn. Hundreds of students attended, many in summer clothes out in the sun. This year marked the return of the event after it was canceled for 2020 and 2021. Catering for the event was provided by Union College Hospitality. Options included standard barbecue food such as burgers, hot dogs, potato chips, potato salad, and watermelon, as well as a pasta salad. Condiments for burgers and hot dogs were also provided, as well as lemonade and other refreshments. Also in this section of the event
Jing Chen | Concordiensis
years highlighted Sage the Gemini’s Gas Pedal as a favorite of the songs performed. When asked to describe the event in three short statements, Adenike Hickson ‘22 replied “Fun, hot, good food.” Sarah Murphy ‘25 replied “Fun, convenient, and destress.” See SPRING on page 2
Union hosts panel talks relating to sexual assault on sexaul assault. -
Staff Writer
Sexual assault incidents frequently happen on college campuses. Union College’s hosted an identity dialogue relating to this subject on April 26 for the Sexual Assault Awareness Month. The talk focused on a series of questions ranging from knowing someone who was sexually assaulted to the impact of Greek Life
Opinions. page 3 Thoughts on return to mandatory testing
terminologies, such as using “survivor” and not “victim,” and using “sexual assault” instead of “rape” for appropiate dialogue. The Identity Diologue Talk featured different identities in the panel and that the topic of sexual assault is important. Several students spoke at the panel about their feelings of sexual assualt measure and preventions on campus. Many panelists who iden-
World, page 4 Union gather for Denim
about not feeling comfortable from their freshman year of traveling alone and how height and size plays a huge role in confort. Many noted that while fraternities did not always contribute to the culture of sexual assault, there were interextricably tied to sexual assault as a whole. The talk also noted people who know someone who had experienced sexual assuault. But, several panelists later also highlighted how fraternity brothers would do
Sci/Tech. page 5 Steinmetz Spotlight:
everything in their power to protect women and offer rides home for those who needed them. Panelist speakers highlight that sexual assault modules were not very effective at curbing sexual assault because not everyone who is involved in Greek Life was present at once. Several students also not upheld to an excellent standard due to mixed feelings about its effectiveness on campus. Julia Webster ‘24 said the
Iris House organizes
topic is “something I feel really passionate about.” In addition to Webster, a straight, white male student named Jason D’Amico ‘24 remarked that “I do feel that my voice was heard. I was honored to have been tapped to be on this panel since I love the Identity Dialogues series so much.” This talk brought light to the increasing number of sexual assault cases on college campuses during this month of action.
Women of the Week:
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Thursday, May 5, 2022 | Concordiensis
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What Does SPRINGFEST Mean to U? Continued from page 1
“Springfest is about being a college student and making the best of your college experience. COVID-19 has taken a lot from us. It’s about coming together.” Yalena Terrero Martinez ‘22
Emmanuel Green ‘25 “It’s about time. It’s great to be able to meet students outside and greet them.” Sujay Vundavalli ‘25
with Union students and I hope we can do this more.” Lydia Singer ‘24
Caitlin Boice ‘23, Amber Birt ‘22, and Victoria Avon ‘24
and it’s the best.” Lillian Kurker ‘22, Kaleigh Conte ‘22, and Andrew Woolston ‘22
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Opinions Thursday, May 5, 2022 | Concordiensis
Bianca Ring
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ringb@union.edu
Union needs an alternative to conduct mandatory tests Dante Sasso Jr. Emeritus Editor-in-Chief
Though Union’s preventative policies for preventing the spread of COVID-19 have seemingly been effective, the most frustrating part of the college’s policy as of late has been the weekly mandatory testing for the entire campus. Even though over 1,500 individuals are being tested weekly, the testing center is still operating under reduced hours, making it incredibly difter every week. I understand why we need to get tested weekly, don’t get me wrong. It is important for us to know if we need to go into lockdown or change policies, and we can’t know it’s unreasonable to have the testing center be open for 4 hours on two days, with the mon lunch. It’s unreasonable to expect the entire Union
community to always be able to appear during this period over the weeks ahead. In addition, we aren’t required to wear masks at the moment, which means that even though students are testing, we aren’t really preventing the spread of COVID-19 in students I see around campus do not wear masks anymore, even if they are coughing obnoxiously throughout class. So, even with testing, there aren’t any real preventative measures outside of that. If one individual gets sick but decides to come to class anyway and cough all over the place, many people may get sick and there’s nothing preventing it. I don’t know what I’d propose to make the hours more accessible; as it stands, a quarter of the time devoted to testing each week is when everyone is “free” due to common lunch, but often common lunch is dedicated to club activities and extracurricular endeavors. The other three
quarters of the time is during classes, and if you have a Tuesday/Thursday class, it eats into a good portion of the time on that day. My schedule thankfully lines up well enough with the testing hours, but I also know that it generally isn’t good to try to squeeze over 1,500 individuals into a space in the span of 4 hours over two days. Union is between a rock and a hard place with this, and I get it. No one wants to volunteer because there isn’t really something for them to get out of it, and therefore the because the hours are so limited, we see huge lines coming out of the testing center because it takes a while for each label to be created (and sometimes, there are technoter solution for weekly testing, whether it be having students pick up tests on their own or simply having people schedule appointments. Right now,
Courtesy of Nuo Chen datory COVID-19 testing.
the testing hours are just too limited for students, staff and faculty to comfortably be able
to test weekly.
In the kindest way possible, please, get a hobby already! Self care, while it can have wonderful effects on your work productivity, isn’t just a means to ensure that you are a productive worker. It helps
Bianca Ring Opinions Editor
Everyone needs to get a hobby! With the constant weight of school, it’s easy to get swallowed up in the thought that your schedule should include exclusively academics. Most college students have been informed that self care is important, with emphasis on personal hygiene. The self care movement is amazing, but only emphasizing rest can result in guilt over being productive in a non-academic setting. I often get stuck in the trap of thinking, “If I’m going to put effort into something, it may as well be schoolwork!” Many of my friends and I often fall into the
Bianca Ring | Concordiensis and joy.
mindset that the only valid excuse to take a break from schoolwork is to rest, which can lead to oversleeping, burnout, and a lot of staring at a wall for hours because I can’t justify being productive in non-academic ways. In reality, a healthy lifestyle doesn’t consist solely of workit’s important to have hobbies.
a hobby where you can put effort into something entirely of your own choosing is just as important as working. It can serve to remind you that your sole purpose in life isn’t to participate in capitalism. ment, it usually feels like I’ve defeated a monster. I’m proud of my accomplishment. When I draw, I actually enjoy the process of creating art. I have friends who bake and play instruments. I myself am learning to crochet and play the guitar, and I’m terrible at both, but I’m having a fun time! Even if you love your job, I highly suggest that everyone
should have a hobby outside of their career, for the sake freeing yourself from the idea that your worth is based on how you can contribute to the
economy. Taking up new hobbies during my time here at Union has made me a happier person, and I am certain that it can make you happier too!
Concordiensis Vol. CLI, Issue XXII, May 5, 2022 Jing Chen & Michael Rosenbaum Editor-in-Chief Daniel Greenman, News Editor Bianca Ring, Opinions Editor Avanti Khare, Sci/Tech Editor Zahra Khan, World/Business Michael Rosenbaum, 807 Editor Editor Trey Everett, Photo Editor concordiensis.com Email: concordy@gmail.com Office: 406 Reamer Campus Center
Mail: Concordiensis Box 2577 807 Union Street
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Zahra Khan
World / Business Thursday, May 5, 2022 | Concordiensis
khanz4@union.edu
Women’s Union advocates for global Denim Day movement Daniel Greenman News Editor
On Wednesday, April 27, Women’s Union held a march from Library Plaza in honor of Denim Day, in which over a hundred attendees went from the plaza around the Nott Memorial and back. The event started with speeches, from Women’s U leaders Jackson Giammattei ‘23 and Emily Olenik ‘23 on Denim Day’s history, and Amanda Tommell-Sandy, the Wicker Wellness Center Assistant Director for Health Promotion. Both speeches emphasized the need for those in the Union community to prevent sexual assault on campus, as well as to support those who have experienced it. Attendees wore jeans, held handmade signs, and wore
teal ribbons pins passed out by the Women’s Union. Denim Day, which takes of Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) in April, is held to educate people on sexual assault, with a historical focus on victim-blaming. The day 1992 case in Italy, in which an 18-year-old girl came forward after being raped by her driving instructor. The Italian Supreme Court ruled on the case seven years later, stating that “it is a fact of common experience that it is nearly impossible to slip off tight jeans even partly without the active collaboration of the person who is wearing them.” The day after the decision, women members of the Italian Parliament wore jeans in protest. The Court overturned the ruling in 2008 and such a defense no longer applies to
Trey Everett | Concordiensis 2022 Denim Day Movement. Women’s Union leaders Jackson Giammattei ‘23 and Emily around Nott Memorial. im Day was organized in Los Angeles by Patricia Giggans and now involves millions of people in events worldwide. Women’s Union leadership spoke about sexual assault prevention and awareness on campus when interviewed. Ayah Osman ’24 believes in having more than one emwell as for more funds to be
Trey Everett | Concordiensis People of all gender identities made signs to support and advocate for sexual assault victims.
cases get looked at quicker.” Giamattei praised the support of Union administrators, and said “when we do events like this, they’re very willing to support us in any way that they can.” Olenik praised student attendance at the event, stating that it showed “these are issues that people are willing to talk about.” The event also brought
out many who in interviews cited solidarity and safety on campus as reasons for attending. Haley Gatley ‘25 felt “very passionate about spreading awareness of issues, especially sexual assault, on campuses.” Dionis Polcano ‘24 said, “I don’t want people like my mother to feel targeted for what they wear.” Attendees interviewed also highlighted the role of men in preventing sexual assault. Trevor Adams ‘24 thought men could actively “seek out” and play “a role to make sure that their friends are okay at all times. If they see a situation where other people are not comfortable, maybe step in or [...] tell someone in charge.” Harper Lyon ‘22 thought it was “really important for
men to be visibly supportive of awareness of all these issues, especially sexual assault victims support.” Josh Hauge, Union Head Men’s Hockey Coach, attended with other athletic coaches and staff “to raise awareness with me and my men to be advocates on campus.” Madryn Evans-Moran ‘23, Kappa Alpha president, stated that “KA stands for the messages behind Denim Day.”
Daniel Greenman | Concordiensis
60-Second News
LinkedIn agrees to pay female workers 1.8 million wages to settle wage discrimination complaint
Leaked document from Supreme Court drafts to overturn Roe v. Wade
to serve as a federal Cabinet secretary, dies at age 90
Sci/Tech Avanti Khare
Thursday, May 5, 2022 | Concordiensis
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kharea@union.edu
Steinmetz Spotlight: Sydney Walters ‘22 Avanti Khare Sci/Tech Editor
This week’s Steinmetz Spotlight is Sydney Walters. She is a senior Geoscience major with a minor in Spanish Language and Culture from Avon, Connecticut. Her research focuses on the eruption of the La Soufriere volcano on the island of St. Vincent that occurred in April 2021. She writes about her project, “The eruption of the La Soufriere volcano is really interesting to study because volcanic activity began there in late December of 2020 when the volcano began erupting effusively, which means that there was a lava dome be-
ing built in the crater that was formed by extremely viscous lava that was being extruded. On April 9, 2021, the volcano began erupting explosively and there were more than 30 separate explosions that took place over about 2 weeks. Effusive to explosive eruption transitions are really interesting and tricky to understand so for my research, I am analyzing scoria clasts from the explosive eruption in order have triggered the eruption to go from effusive to explosive. By determining what caused this transition, we can better understand the dynamics of the volcanic system and subsequently improve our monitoring techniques so that we can know when to evacuate
people from active volcanic areas and keep everyone safe.” When asked what led her to this area of research, Walters cites her lifelong interest in volcanoes. She says, “I have always been extremely interested in volcanoes and my research advisor was asked to help spearhead this research prior to the volcano becoming explosive. My thesis, Prof. Holli Frey, originally was supposed to focus on water analysis, looking for geochemical signatures that would allow us to predict if the volcano would erupt. However, my entire research project changed when the volcano went explosive so now I am a part of an international team, working with people from the
Courtesy of Sydney Walters ‘22
(NEGSA) in Lancaster, PA.
Caribbean and the United Kingdom, trying to determine
why it went explosive.”
Ozone House hosts climate conspiracies roundtable Gabby Basil Contributing Writer
On Thursday, April 28, Mia Villeneuve ‘24 presented their project titled “Climate Change Denial and Conspiracy Theories” at Ozone House to an audience of around twelve people. Villeneuve worked with psychology Professor Joshua Hart for their sophomore research project on conspiracy theories, and focused on climate change denial for this project. The presentation at Ozone House was an expansion of that earlier work. The presentation concluded with a roundtable talk with other students on the issues that lead to distrust of climate science. Villeneuve began the pre-
sentation distinguishing the difference between misinformation and disinformation, and what it means in terms of the climate change movement. They then described the four categories of climate change denial: trend denial, attribution denial, impact denial, and consensus denial. Villeneuve discussed the demographics of people who were statistically most likely to deny climate change (conservative white men), and how the polarization among political parties nowadays impacts the spread misinformation. They then discussed why the ideas of climate change denial spread, citing biased risk assessment, motivated cognition, the presence of echo chambers, and the role of conspiracy theories
groups of climate change deniers. They concluded their presentation by discussing what we could do about climate change denial, stressing the importance of avoiding the backlash effect, and how to provide trustworthy sources. They stated that education before misinformation was crucial, and how it was necessary to teach people how to determine if a source is credible or not. After their talk, Villeneuve led a roundtable discussion with the attendees. discussed climate change denial as a group, focusing on how to edge to the public, and how to make it more accessible, and what we can do as individuals to slow down climate change
Courtesy of Ozone House -
as a whole. Part of the roundtable discussion was about the role of colleges in combating misinformation by educating people before they are taught misinformation, a task -
ucation, but a goal that Union College can achieve through programs like COCOA House. It also highlighted the need for publicly trusted, reliable and free sources of academic research.
The world economy has lost 302.4 billion work hours to excessive heat in 2019
11% of all global greenhouse gas emissions caused by humans are due to deforestation
60-Second Sci/Tech
According to the recent IPCC report on the state of our climate, the past decade is likely to have been the hottest period in the last 125,000 years
A 2019 study found that the ocean had sucked up 90% of the heat gained by the planet between 1971 and 2010
If global net emissions were entirely ceased, the warming we’ve caused would gradually reverse but other climate changes such as sea level rise would continue for at least decades
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Jing Chen (M and L-R) and Trey Everett (L-L, L-R, and U-R) | Concordiensis
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Phi Beta Kappa
UNION COLLEGE
SCHENECTADY, NY 12308
Alpha of New York Established July 22, 1817 The Union College Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa is pleased to announce the election on May 14, 2022 of the following new members: From the Class of 2023 Matthew Beazoglou Jing Chen
Celia Lane Shizhe Li
From the Class of 2022 Serina Beebe Amanda Blakeman Alexis Candido Jonathan Carew Michael Connolly Kaleigh Conte Akriti Dhasmana Crystal Flax Marcy Forti Emma Gray Alyssa Harrynanan Margaret Hayes
Adenike Hickson Christos Kakogiannis Jessica Kirker Colin Langton Colin LeSage Molly McLeod Meghan McVaigh Sasha Milsky Phoenix Mulgrew Jolie Ngo Paxton Ouellette Unglid Paul
Emma Puhalski Garyfallia “Liana” Ralli Noa Raskin Samantha Rosenfeld McKinley Shea Dharshini Suresh Mia Villeneuve Laura Vinton Jillian Walenda Brianna Weissel Daniel Wilcox Qiyue “Mary” Zhang
They join the following members of the Class of 2022 elected last year: Lydia Hogan Michela Michielli Emma Houston Dereck Wang Kira Kascha
Jing Chen
Thursday, May 5, 2022 | Concordiensis
Arts
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chenj2@union.edu
Make visible Union’s LGBTQ+ community through drag Jing Chen Co-Editor-in-Chief
Union students, faculty, and visitors gathered in Memorial Chapel last Thursday night to enjoy a drag show brought to the crowd by the House of Precise. The Queens featured were Emily Precise, Gaga Precise, and Yessica Majestic. Audience cheered for the Queens, felt inspired by their mind-blowing movements and performance, and learned culture from Professor of History Elena McGrath. This show was put together by Iris House, the LGBTQ+ theme house on the Union campus, and funded by the Pride Club. Iris House embraces different identities on Jing Chen | Concordiensis campus and aims to provide Audience stood up to cheer for Gaga Precise, who performed Lady Gaga’s “Born This a safe space for differences. Way,” a song that empowered women, minorities, and the LBGTQ+ community. When asked about the motivation behind this event, Han“Express yourself and who you are to the fullest you possibly can nah Lane ‘23, the drag show organizer, says that “drag has because nowadays, in the world, it is all about being who you are.” always been a source of visYessica Majestic. ibility for the LGBTQ+ community. I think this would be a really great way for education and entertainment.”
“I bring my drag with me everywhere. I want to leave a little piece of me to everywhere I go to, because you never know who needs that experience and moment to feel comfortable around something they enjoy” Yessica Majestic
Lane then reached out to SafeHaven, an Albany-based LGBTQ+ shelter and community center founded by Legacy Casanova, a transgender man and Black Lives Matter and LGBTQ+ activist. Iris House and Casanova decided to make the drag show into a charity event to raise money for LGBTQ+ shelters like SafeHaven.
Lane says that through this show, she hopes people could learn more about what drag shows are because the media often portrays drag in a one-sided way. More importantly, she hopes the drag show could give more exposure to local drag queens and broaden people’s horizon with what drag is. Lane believes that the show could also “give more visibility to the pride organizations on campus” and encourage more people to get involved. She wants the audience to walk away knowing that “there is LGBTQ+ presence here at Union and there is support and that we are proud and excited to be here.” Concordiensis also interviewed Yessica Majestic, who will be celebrating their ten year anniversary of doing drag this October. Yessica Majestic is a member of the House nization for LGBTQ+ youth and the homeless. Yessica feels proud about their identity of being part of the Latino community. Yessica has performed all over the country, from New York to North Carolina to Puerto Rico. “I bring my drag with me everywhere. I want to leave a little piece of me everywhere I go, because you never know who needs that experience and moment to feel comfortable around something they enjoy,” they said. When asked about what shows is, Yessica said that “drag is an expression. It is an art,” to which Emily and Gaga Precise all agreed to during the interview that concluded the show. Queens from the House of Precise want to leave to students identity is to “be yourself.” “Express yourself who you are to the fullest you possibly can because nowadays, in the world, it is all about being who you are,” Yessica said.
Jing Chen | Concordiensis Yessica Majestic performed songs that tied Latinx and LGBTQ+ support messages.
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Daniel Greenman
807 Union St.
Thursday, May 5. 2022 | Concordiensis
greenmad@union.edu
Women of the Week (WoW): Women’s Union Jing Chen Co-Editor-in-Chief
Nominated By: Concordiensis Nomination: Women’s Union is dedicated to celebrating intersectional feminism and supporting the larger community. Women’s U has always been highlighting the presence of amazing women on campus through collaboration with Concordy’s Women of the Week (WoW) section. This week, Concordy wants to bring attention and give
recognition to the very organization that is making this happen. Women’s Union is Union’s student support and action group that encourages campus-wide discussion of issues of importance to women and to achieving gender equality. It organizes activities on campus, which in recent years, have included performances of The Vagina Monologues,
Courtesy of Women’s Union Concordy wants to give a shoutout to Women’s Union E-board members and all the women and supporters of Women’s Union on campus. (Left to Right) Women’s Union E-board members include Hannah Crodelle ‘23: PR Chair Emily Olenik ‘23: President Jackson Giammattei ‘23: President Tsewang Antsa ‘24: Secretary Ayah Osman ‘24: Vice President Libby Walton ‘24: Treasurer (not pictured)
fundraisers for local and inzations, and forms of entertainment that address these issues. Meetings are held regularly at the GSWS Suite (Reamer 301).
Re: Berlin and other cities Michael Rosenbaum Co-Editor-in-Chief
Midway through the Germanterm abroad is a week of travel, which is the most vacation-like part of the term and a much-needed reprieve from daily language classes. It also offers an opportunity to see other sites in Germany besides Berlin and to compare them. This week has offered travel to Munich and Regensburg, both in Bavaria, a southern German state. To begin with, both cities we’ve traveled to this week are smaller than Berlin, both in terms of population and landmass. In particular, the old town of Regensburg, which is famous for its almost intact medieval city, was a walled city and had to deal with the space constraints that came with that. As such, the old town, which contains many of the city’s heritage sites, is two kilometers wide, which means one can walk through it in half an hour. The streets in Regensburg are not centrally planned, and buildings and streets are pushed together in a maze of narrow alleys
and cobblestone paths. It’s not entirely clear where one is allowed to drive within the old town. Some roads are asphalt and have signage and road markings, but other places have cars where there really shouldn’t be any. On Ludwig street, one of the main throughways of the old town, there is a bus route on a street that is not wide enough for destrians. Outside the band of parks that follow where the old city walls used to be, the roads morph into a design that would be recognizable to any American driver. While Regensburg was spared from the bombing that Germany underwent at the end of World War Two, Munich and Berlin were not, which allowed both of those cities to undergo widespread urban renewal projects, clearing away much of the already bombed-out medieval cores. Munich falls between medieval Regensburg and Berlin. Munich has the advantage of being organized around a recreated medieval core, but the American-esque urban sprawl is well integrated into the city, which leads to ultra-modern glass and steel
buildings standing across narrow alleys from the neo-classical opera house. Munich is also quite small, and in three days of staying there, I was able to walk along much of the city’s North-South axis, including Munich’s own Museum Island (an imitation of Berlin’s) and the English Gardens (organized in the style of Hyde Park in London or Central Park in New York.) There is surely no place for a park so large in small Regensburg. The organization of Berlin is rather complex. It lacks a distinct city center, although East Berlin was designed to have one. Rather there are many smaller marketplaces connected by the S-Bahn, the “suburban” train. The development of the city was split in two by Germany’s split during the Cold War, a fate that neither Munich nor Regensburg had to go through. The center of Berlin is more diffuse than either other cities, despite the population being more densely populated. It has more wide boulevards as well and might be best compared to Chicago instead of Munich. The travel component of the terms abroad is not only the most relaxing but also the
Michael Rosenbaum | Concordiensis The cramped walls in the alleys of Regensburg are made even more cramped by their age, as they bow into the streets. most informative part of the trips. In this way, it is the absolute essence of what the study abroad programs are about, a way to enhance a person’s general experience and make them more knowledgeable in general instead of basing Without travel to other parts of
the country, the perspective of a student studying only in Berlin might be that the entire country is similar to the city, a fact obviously disproved by a week of travel.