The Miscellany News, Volume CXLVII, Issue 8 (Nov. 14, 2013)

The Miscellany News

Volume CXLVII | Issue 8

November 14, 2013

Since 1866 | miscellanynews.com

Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY

SOCT to address student concerns GOP candidates win control of local gov.

M Aja Saalfeld

FEaturEs EditOr

ost colleges have some form of behavioral monitoring systems in place that discuss and respond to students the school deems concerning, and Vassar is no different with its Student of Concern Team (SOCT), soon to be called the Student Support Network (SSN).

According to an all-campus email Dean of Students D.B. Brown sent out

at the beginning of the school year, the SOCT is comprised of various faculty and administrators, including the Dean of Studies Joanne Long, the Director of Residential Life Luis Inoa, the Interim Director of Counseling Services Doctor Wendy Freedman, and is chaired by Brown.

Brown wrote, “When appropriate for a specific student, we are sometimes joined by Susan Zlotnick, Dean of Freshmen, John Craig from the Health Service,

Renee Pabst, Director of Health Education, or MaryJo Cavanaugh from the Office of Accessibility and Educational Opportunity.”

The email articulated some of the specifics of the program, and emphasized its focus on students’ wellbeing and confidentiality.

“If you are worried about the well-being, or behavior, of another student, you can let someone know,” Brown wrote.

See CONCERN on page 8

Eid-Diwali an interfaith celebration Eloy Bleifuss Prados

assistant FEaturEs EditOr

L

Cassady Bergevin/The Miscellany News

ighting candles, enjoying food and making laughter, Vassar students celebrated Diwali and Eid al-Adha, two of the most popular holidays in Hindu and Islamic cultures and faiths, respectively.

The event took place Friday Nov. 8 in the Aula, and formed out of a collaboration among the South Asian Student Alliance (SASA), the Vassar Islamic Society and the South East Asian Students Alliance, along with the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life. The organizers said the dinner this year placed a stronger emphasis on the holidays themselves.

SASA member Divya Pathak ’15 told how past years had been less successful in broadening guests’ knowledge of the holidays or their importance in the cultures. Previously the dinner had consisted of exactly that—just a dinner. Pathak understands that while food is an im- Several organizations came together on Friday, Nov. 8 in celebration of Eid See EID on page 8 al-Adha and Diwali, holidays within Islamic and Hindu faiths respectively.

Newly elected officials will work on jail and casino expansions in the coming months

Emily Hoffman & Debbie Altman rEpOrtEr & GuEst rEpOrtEr

R

epublicans will continue to govern Dutchess County. On Tuesday, Nov. 5, elections determined that Republicans have won 16 out of the 25 seats, while Democrats have secured six seats. Results in three of the districts were too close to call and will come down to the votes cast on paper ballots. (The Poughkeepsie Journal, “Election 2013: Republicans keep Control of Dutchess Legislature,” 11.6.13) Republicans have held the majority since 2009 in this district.

Among those running was Vassar student Seth Warner ’14. “People here deserve better leadership: one that makes investments in our future, as opposed to looking backward with responses to problems that past responses made,” Warner wrote in an emailed statement. “When no one else stepped up, I decided that it was up to me and the people who would join me to represent that vision.” Warner

ran against incumbent Republican Legislator Angela Flesland, who won the seat 1,177 to 978.

There are a number of issues that the Legislature will have to think about going into the year.

There is ongoing debate surrounding a proposed sales tax on residential fuel oil and natural gas. Others would like to see more services provided for low-income residents as well as advocates for the city bus drivers. Another major priority will be managing the high costs of jail overcrowding.

Currently it takes around $8 million to support Dutchess’ inmates outside the county. (The Poughkeepsie Journal, “Tough Issues on the Horizon for Dutchess County Legislature,” 11.8.13) Speaking to these debates, Warner added, “The proposed county jail expansion is the biggest issue.

The Republican legislature wants a bigger jail after cutting items that keep people out. In recent years, the legislature privatized See ELECTIONS on page 4

RunVassar navigates Weild restores 1700s court society trails around campus C Jack Owen arts EditOr

orsets, swords, musicality and betrayal will transform the Martel Theater into a decadent Elizabethan stage for the Drama Department’s fall production, The Way of the World. The show will premiere on Nov. 14 at 8:00 p.m., with additional performances on Saturday, Nov. 15 at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday Nov. 16 at 8:00 p.m.

The Way of the World, penned

in 1700 by playwright William Congreve, explores the complicated domain of the upper-class English courtship. Considered one of the finest examples of Restoration Comedy, a genre typified by comedies written during the Restoration Period in England from 1660–1710, it is seen as an unusual and ambitious choice for the Drama Department.

“This play is now considered one of the masterpieces of the Restoration Comedy genre, yet it is rarely

produced, in part because of its size and in part because of its complexity of plot. The language is exquisite, it is elevated, musical, witty, some would say operatic, it is neither a farce nor entirely a satire,” wrote Guest Director Kim Weild in an emailed statement. “I think there is great merit in working on plays that upon first reading completely terrify you, plays that you know will challenge and stretch you and See WORLD on page 15

Spencer Davis/The Miscellany News

Members of the organization RunVassar take on one of their regular routes around Vassar’s campus. RunVassar on average will have group runs four times a week. rEpOrtEr

T

he RunVassar student organization prides itself on promoting a healthy lifestyle and as the premiere recreational running group on the Vassar College campus. This student-run organization welcomes all to join. For the inexperienced, they offer simple, day-to-day training programs,

Inside this issue

5

Vassar history as told through FEATURES paint chips

optional group runs to encourage running buddies and a guide to local running routes in and around Vassar’s campus. For the experienced, RunVassar offer optional group runs to explore new trails and find motivation during tough workouts, day-to-day training programs for longer distances and harder training and a comprehenSee RUNVASSAR on page 18

10

courtesy of Keith Farris

Jonathan Safir

The Drama Department’s much anticipated production, The Way of the World, will include all the conventions of a traditional Restoration Comedy. The show is directed by prominent New York director Kim Weild.

President Hill responds to SLD OPINIONS assertions

16 ARTS

Netflix exclusive Ansari special marks milestone

The Miscellany News

Page 2

November 14, 2013

Attention Students!

The following Executive Staff positions of The Miscellany News are now open for the Spring 2014 semester. Applications are due November 15, 2013.

Editor-in-Chief

The Editor-in-Chief is ultimately responsible for the paper’s content... including editorial content, production, business management and layout.

The EIC represents The Miscellany News to the VSA Council, the Senior Officers of the College, the Vassar community and other organizations.

Senior Editor

The Senior Editor aids the EIC in all aspects of weekly production. The Senior Editor will be responsible for proofreading all sections for grammar, clarity and design aspects.

If another editor is absent, the Senior Editor will assume the responsibilities of that position until it is filled.

Contributing Editor

The Contributing Editor shall actively contribute to a specified aspect of the newspaper, and will help to train new reporters and editors, along with an individual project. The responsibilities of this position will vary according to the needs of the paper and the individuals filling the position.

Executive Staff positions are open to students who have served on the Editorial Board of The Miscellany News.

Chapman explores remote Brazilian island Kiran Chapman

Far and aWaY BlOGGEr

courtesy of Kiran Chapman

During my program’s last week in Brazil, we had the week off of classes. It was wonderful to have the executive power to choose where to go; I settled on spending five days on an island named Ilhabela off the eastern coast of the country. I and twelve other students booked rooms at a hostel on the island right on the beach. With the moon still bright in the sky, my friend Alex and I left our house at 4:00 a.m. to catch the 6:00 bus to São Sebastio. We took the train from our local stop, Vila Madalena, to the bus depot.

Partygoers from Friday night were still up and about, some waiting to take the earliest train of the morning (the stations all open at 4:30) back home.

We arrived at the station at 5:30 along with our ten fellow groggy-eyed companions, and boarded the bus fifteen minutes later. In a semi-conscious state, I glanced out the window to see the landscape transform. One moment we were traveling through the cement sprawl of São Paulo, and moments later, it seemed, we found ourselves high up in the mountains as we descended upon the coast. Every now and again, I would catch a glimpse of the beach and the sparkling bright blue water between the trees. The man sitting next to me was wrapped in a brightly patterned shawl and smelled strongly of marijuana. He spoke some English and I later saw him editing a video on his computer. Classic stoner/ documentary filmmaker. Upon arriving in São Sebastio, we hopped on the first ferry we saw.

Read about the rest of the Kiran’s JYA experience Ilhabela is a remote island off the coast of Brazil. Chapman and other and other blogs, on the Far and Away blog at students spent some relaxing days there before moving on to South Africa. miscellanynews.com

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

Editor-in-Chief Bethan Johnson

Senior Editors Chris Gonzalez Steven Williams

Contributing Editors Ruth Bolster Adam Buchsbaum Jessica Tarantine

News Noble Ingram Features Aja Saalfeld Opinions Angela Della Croce Joshua Sherman Humor & Satire Lily Doyle Arts Jack Owen Sports Christopher Brown Tina Caso Photography Cassady Bergevin Spencer Davis Design Palak Patel Social Media Alessandra Seiter Crossword Editor Assistant Features Assistant Arts Assistant Sports Assistant Photo

Jack Mullan Eloy Bleifuss Prados Margaret Yap Luka Laden Jacob Heydorn Gorski Jiajing Sun Assistant Social Media Youngeun “Ellis” Kim Victoria Bachurska Business Manager David Rosenkranz Reporters Emma Daniels Emily Hoffman Anna Iovine Maggie Jeffers Jonathan Safir Columnists Natasha Bertrand Delaney Fischer Zach Rippe Max Rook Lily Sloss Eli J. Vargas I Design Bethany Terry Kelly Yu Online Rachel Dorn Copy Alex Bue Elizabeth Dean Sophie Kosmacher Christian Lewis Tori Madway Macall McQueen Ashley Pecorelli Marya Pasciuto Camilla Pfeiffer Emma Roellke Rebecca Weir LETTERS POLICY The Miscellany News is Vassar College’s weekly open forum for discussion of campus, local and national issues, and welcomes letters and opinions submissions from all readers.

Letters to the Editor should not exceed 450 words, and they usually respond to a particular item or debate from the previous week’s issue. Opinions articles are longer pieces, up to 800 words, and take the form of a longer column. No letter or opinions article may be printed anonymously. If you are interested in contributing, e-mail misc@vassar.edu.

The Miscellany News does not expressly endorse any of the opinions of the columnists featured within the pages of the paper, except for the staff editorial.

November 14, 2013

NEWS

Page 3

GAAP, VARC host speaker to explain ‘humane’ farming Anna Iovine & Shelia Hu rEpOrtEr & GuEst rEpOrtEr

O

the last year and a half, Food Day two weeks ago being a big one, as they work to bring this important perspective to light.”

Marisa Tomaino ’17 was among the audience of the lecture and spoke to the reasons she had for attending the event. “I went to the lecture because I went to a joint Feminist Alliance and VARC meeting, and since then I’ve wanted to learn more about veganism and food issues,” she said.

Darer was also intrigued with the question the lecture provoked. “Speaking with attendees immediately following the lecture while feasting on delicious vegan pizza prepared by VARC, it was evident that the event was a huge success in that many Vassar students were asking the critical question ‘If we wouldn’t eat our dog or cat, why eat chickens, pigs, or cows?’

The truth is, there is no meaningful difference between animals we call pets and those we consider food in that all animals can suffer from pain and experience pleasure in many of

the same ways,” he said.

He continued, “The lecture prompted Vassar students to be critical of the cruel meat, dairy, and egg production in the U.S. and taught us that simply by adopting a meat-free diet we can spare 35 animals every single year a lifetime’s worth of suffering. After all, the best way to help animals is to simply leave them off of our plates by adopting a compassionate vegetarian and vegan diet.”

Mcguire and Seiter echoed this idea, arguing for a more compassionate approach to the food people eat. “We believe that when choices are available—in terms of food, clothing, toiletries, or entertainment options—individuals can conscientiously make a choice that minimizes the violence and exploitation inflicted upon other individuals,” they said.

Mcguire and Seiter continued, “We would love to see greater attendance at VARC events so as to foster a greater consciousness surrounding the exploitation of animals.”

Cassady Bergevin/The Miscellany News

n Thursday, Nov. 7, author James McWilliams gave a lecture at Vassar entitled “Veganism for Omnivores” hosted by the Vassar Animal Rights Coalition (VARC). If interested in what else McWilliams has to say about compassionate eating, one can visit his blog “The Pitchfork” or read his book Just Food: Where Locavores Get It Wrong and How We Can Truly Eat Responsibly.

Co-Presidents of VARC, Katie Mcguire ’16 amd Alessandra Seiter ’16 [Full Disclosure, Seiter is the Social Media Editor of The Miscellany News] wrote in an emailed statement, “We brought James McWilliams because the Exec Board of VARC is vegan, and we often entertain questions from our peers who consume animal products about the acceptability of eating socalled humanely raised, local, organic, freerange, etc. animals. McWilliams’ talk effectively addressed why these alternatives to factory farmed animal products are not viable options, both in terms of their ethical and environmental implications.”.

Sustainability at Vassar served as a co-sponsor for the lecture. Assistant to Sustainability Activities Alistair Hall commented in an emailed statement, “We were interested in McWilliams’ talk because he’s a well known lecturer on the topic and brings a thoughtfulness to the issue that we believed, like the title of his lecture, would appeal to a broad array of people on campus.”

The event was also supported by the Grassroot Alliance for Alternative Politics (GAAP).

“GAAP was proud to co-sponsor the lecture by James McWilliams because our food choices have implications and are inherently political,” said Vassar Student Association liaison for GAAP Alan Darer ’14 in an emailed statement.

McWilliams began by discussing small-scale farms and how they became an alternate method to industrial meat factories. There are now various types of nonindustrial farming options that are supposed to be better for the animals and the environment. McWilliams conjectured that small-scale farming seems like a great sub-

stitution to the iron cages and concrete walls of industrial farms.

“Many people know that the image of ‘Old McDonald’s Farm’ is no longer a reality for farmed animals in America and during their miserable lives on factory farms, pigs, chickens and cows are intensively confined, mutilated without painkillers, and violently slaughtered.

Factory farming also contributes greatly to environmental degradation and many health problems,” Darer commented.

McWilliams then revealed that while smallscale farming may seem better in theory, it is under much less scrutiny and in actuality contain many critical flaws in their systems. The farmers claim that animals on non-industrial farms are humanely raised, but McWilliams keenly asked about for what they were humanely raised.

Ultimately, McWilliams affirmed, they are still going to be slaughtered for food. He wondered how, if farmers granted these animals moral consideration, they could so easily slaughter them.

McWilliams answered this question by bringing up his “evasion equation,” which was made up of unthinking simplicity and impassioned idealism.

McWilliams also examined the claim that eating meat is humane and healthy—as long as from non-industrial farms. He brought up five methods of small-scale farming that supposedly made them superior to industrial farms: mobile slaughterhouses, grass-fed beef, “DIY/ backyard” slaughter, pastured chickens and eggs and local pig farmers.

In reality, however, these methods exhibit not only ethical but also economic issues.

McWilliams said he eventually wants veganism to spread across the United States.

According to Hall, “There is a wealth of often overlooked evidence that industrial agriculture and a diet that includes meat is a large driver of carbon emissions, consumption of scarce water resources, unjust labor practices and climate change.”

He continued, “For this reason we have collaborated with VARC on a number of events in

Grassroots Alliance for Alternative Politics, Vassar Animal Rights Coalition and Sustainability at Vassar co-hosted lecture by James McWilliams that discussed the myths regarding ‘humane’ farming.

Lecture grounds copyright infringment in pop culture Noble Ingram nEWs EditOr

O

n Monday, Nov. 11, intellectual property lawyer Kim Landsman ’74 visited campus to sit in on classes and give a lecture titled, “Intellectual Property’s Blurred Lines.” Landsman’s lecture offered case studies of intellectual property law and emphasized the increase of these cases over the past decade.

Landsman started the lecture by claiming, “According to Steven Colbert, the two hit songs of the summer were ‘Blurred Lines’ and ‘Get Lucky.’” Landsman then spoke specifically to the songs styles and the influences earlier songs had on these summer hits. He then addressed the song “Blurred Lines” by singer Robin Thicke in particular. Landsman compared this song to another song titled “Gotta Get it Up” by singer Marvin Gaye that was listed by Thicke

as an inspiration for his own song. Landsman played the opening 10 seconds of both songs, making the point that these two songs have strikingly similar opening beats. This pulled the speaker into a discussion of intellectual property Law and the real case brought up

by Gaye’s representatives. As Landsman said, “What I want to do for you is to go through a thought experiment. We’re Marvin Gaye’s lawyers. How would we analyze this?”

Landsman continued, further explaining the argument made by Marvin Gaye’s lawyers.

“The basis of the Gaye’s defendants’ claim is that ‘Blurred Lines’ and ‘Got to Give it Up’ ‘sound’ and ‘feel’ the same,” he explained.

Landsman continued in the lecture, illuminating different cases of intellectual property disputes and their evolution over the years.

The cases all focused on disputes of art in var-

Alec Feretti/The Miscellany News

Intellectual properties lawyer Kim Landsman ’74 spoke to students about the challenge of defining copyright infringement. Landsman cited popular songs and images to make his points.

ious mediums and styles.

As Assistant Professor of Economics Ben Ho explained in an emailed statement, “ [Intellectual Property] issues have definitely become more prevalent. More and more of the economy is based on information (from iTunes to Twitter to Facebook to Google to academic research) and the complexity of those industries have multiplied with the speed of technology.

Patent filings have increased at similar pace.

Any software you use touches upon thousands of different patents.”

One of Landsman’s central points was that the US court system has tried to deal with the problem of intellectual property law in the past by creating what he called “bright-line rules” that attempt to resolve disputes in clear and simple ways. The problem, as he demonstrated, is that these intellectual property law disputes do not always fit with the clear solutions that the courts try to provide. As Landsman said, “In many cases, indeed what constitutes an infringement is sufficiently clear and obvious, but in other cases, the lines approach very near to each other…There is an ever-present tension between bright-line rules and blurred lines.”

Elena Horvit ’16 was in the audience and shared her own feelings about the form and content of the event. “I loved his talk. Intellectual property is a topic that I think could be pretty inaccessible, but he made an effort to connect the legal technicalities with things we could easily relate to,” she said. “The lecture was really fun and engaging. He worked really hard to make it relevant to a college audience.

He made all of the legal terms and distinctions clear, and his examples made the material very accessible.”

She continued, referencing one case Landsman spoke about which featured an artist who spent years photographing Rastafarians in Jamaica. “I thought his use of actual images from the Rasta case made the issues at hand incredibly concrete—it was amazing to get such a clear image of how far intellectual property

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

protection actually goes, and how arbitrarily decisions about intellectual property seem to be made.”

One central point that came up in the questions after the lecture focused on the damages that artists claim when their copyrighted work is used without their permission. Ho explained the complexity of the issue while also describing the cost breaking copyright can have on a content-producer.

“In a very real sense, as the advocates say, ‘information DOES want to be free.’ The marginal cost of copying information is close to zero, so the socially optimal price of information should also be zero. However, where the social cost of copying arises is that if the creators of content can’t reap the proceeds of their invention, then we get no new content,” Ho explained.

Landsman also pushed back against the idea that artists aren’t or shouldn’t be concerned with the breaking of their copyright. “What you create is you,” he argued.

Landsman then briefly brought up a key distinction relating to intellectual property and copyright law when he discussed the legal terms parody and satire, and their implications.

The idea he conveyed was that people who use copyrighted material for parody are more legally justified, and therefore less likely to lose an intellectual property case in court, than people who use this material for satirical purposes.

As he said, “Parody comments on the work that you’re using. Satire uses the prior work to criticize something else. Oversimplifying it, Parody is OK, Satire is not.”

Ultimately, the lecture was well-received by the audience and several people stayed afterwards to continue the conversation with Landsman. Many confirmed that Landsman was able to take a topic commonly considered extremely complex and presented to the audience in a clarified way. As Landsman said, “When you quote, you cite. When you paraphrase, you’re supposed to cite.”

NEWS

Page 4

Outside the Bubble

Volunteers reflect on tutoring programs

Hurricane slams Southeast Asia

—Kryzel Bonifacio, Guest Reporter First Lady Speaks on Education

On Nov. 12, First Lady Michelle Obama launched a new initiative designed to increase the number of low-income students who pursue higher education. The program’s goals are inspired by her own life, and will allow her to be more directly involved in President Obama’s policies. She and her husband aim to change the United States’ position from 12th to first in the world in the percentage of college graduates, and plan to do so by the year 2020.

The First Lady made an appearance at Bell Multicultural High School in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday to speak about the importance of education.

“I’m here today because I want you to know that my story can be your story…The details might be a little different, but so many of the challenges and triumphs will be just the same,” she said. (The New York Times, “Michelle Obama edges into a policy role on higher education,” 11.11.13). Mrs. Obama told the crowd that she faced adversity before attending Princeton University. She was told by teachers that her dream of going to Princeton was unrealistic, but she applied anyway. She said, “I used that negativity to fuel me, to keep me going, and in the end, I got into Princeton, and that was one of the proudest days of my life.” Of course, the struggles didn’t end once she got to the Ivy League university; obtaining the degree was challenging, too, but she considered it important (MSNBC, “First lady gets personal in education push,” 11.12.13).

Mrs. Obama hoped that her story would inspire others to pursue higher education. “The person with the biggest impact on your education is you,” she said. She told attendees that by 2020, nearly two-thirds of all jobs in the United States would require some form of education or training beyond high school. (MSNBC) Others feel that she has avoided controversial areas. Author of a book on first ladies, Catherine Allgor, said, “She could not have done this four years ago…If she came out of the gate with something much more tied to policy, she would have been shot down. Just look at the reaction to her suggestions that people eat salad.” (The New York Times) Obama said, “It is not your circumstance that defines your future…It’s your attitude. You decide how you’re going to respond when something doesn’t go your way.” (The New York Times, “First lady gets personal in education push,” 11.12.13) —Maggie Jeffers, Guest Reporter

Elizabeth Dean GuEst rEpOrtEr

O

n Monday, Nov. 11, the Vassar College Urban Education Initiative (VCUEI) hosted a reflection session for its student tutors who volunteer in the Poughkeepsie community.

The session was titled “Race and Privilege in Education Training” and was led by Director of Campus Life for the ALANA Center Luz Burgos-López.

The reflection session was organized in an attempt to look back at some of the issues that have been discussed and can separate groups on campus. According to what Faculty Director and Visiting Assistant Professor of Education Tracey Holland wrote in an emailed statement, “This reflection session was something a little new for us. The purpose of Monday’s programming was to find productive ways to discuss the attitudes and realities that sometimes divide Vassar from the community where we reside. We asked [Burgos-López] to attend the reflection to help guide discussion and push the mentors to critically analyze their participation in educational outreach.”

The VCUEI programs at Vassar include Exploring College (EC), a four-year College Readiness program for low-income High School Students, Vassar After School Tutoring, which provides homework help and enrichment activities at Poughkeepsie Middle School, Exploring Science at the Vassar Farm, which is a hands on Science Field trip program for Elementary Age Students, and Vassar English Language Learner Outreach Program (VELLOP) which provides academic assistance, educational technology programs and enrichment activities to ELL students in Poughkeepsie Schools.

Tracy Holland spoke to the breadth of the community the programs serve, writing, “Our programs are funded, for the most part through the generous support of the Dyson foundation and are united in their mission of connecting students in the Poughkeepsie Community with students from Vassar College. We serve approximately 180 students in the community with one-on-one mentoring, and many more through community events, and a drop-in tutoring center.”

Holland also illustrated the involvement of the larger Vassar community in the support of Poughkeepsie’s lower, middle, and high school students, especially those disadvantaged educationally by their backgrounds.

As she wrote, “Our programming is also designed to involve faculty. [Professor of Africana Studies and English] Eve Dunbar taught a civil rights history course during our Exploring College Summer Program. We believe

Nathan Tauger/The Miscellany News

The Associated Press reported that up to 10,000 people are dead in the Philippines in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan’s landfall on Friday, Nov. 8. The massive storm sustained winds of 170 mph and a storm surge of 15-19 feet, slamming into six central islands with a force equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane (ABC, “Typhoon Haiyan aid efforts complicated by storm’s destruction,” 11.10.13).

Tacloban, a city of 220,000 in the eastern region of Leyte, was one of those hit hardest by the typhoon. Haiyan leveled much of the city, which is now carpeted with destroyed buildings, debris-ridden roads and potentially hundreds of unrecovered bodies. (National Post, “Philippines typhoon scale, delivery challenges mean few in corpse-strewn Tacloban have gotten aid,” 11.12.13) The extent of destruction also severely hindered relief efforts. Supplies, including food, clean water, and medical supplies from the International Committee of the Red Cross arrived late or did not arrive at all, leading to widespread looting (ABC).

The storm affected more than 9 million people, with at least 800,000 displaced and 2 million requiring food aid. (CNN, “General asks for US warships in typhoon relief,” 11.12.13) Haiyan also made landfall in Vietnam and southern China. Though significantly weakened, the storm caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to farming and fishing industries. 13 people were reported dead in northern Vietnam (National Post).

Following Philippine President Benigno Aquino’s declaration of a state of national calamity, countries pledged millions of dollars in aid. The United Nations, following up the $25 million already released for the immediate needs of the survivors, launched an appeal for $301 million for relief efforts on Nov. 12. Despite the relief efforts, thousands still await aid. In many areas, there is no food, water, or electricity. Authorities are urging for quick mobilization to provide basic supplies for those affected (CNN).

November 14, 2013

Mentors who are involved with educational outreach in the Poughkeepsie area meet with Director of Campus Life for the ALANA Center Luz Burgos-López as part of reflection on pertinent issues that our programs touch the lives of a lot of people on campus.”

According to Holland, the session achieved its goals. She said, “The purpose of the reflection was to strengthen our program network and to spark discussions within our community of mentors.”

She continued, “We wanted to provide a forum where Vassar students could discuss their experiences in a critical and intentional way, and we feel that the discussions were productive, positive, and important. In the schools where they work, our mentors engage in the work of building caring relationships with students. We hope that they left the session feeling supported by the VCUEI office and by their fellow mentors.”

Among the facilitators of the discussion were three Post-Baccalaureate Fellows in the Education Department who organize many activities and programs for the tutors: Jazmin Pichardo ’11, who works with Exploring College; Rachel Gorman ’12 who works with the Vassar After School Tutoring (VAST) program; and Hannah Webster ’12 who works with VELLOP. Each spoke about their undergraduate experiences with VCUEI and in the Poughkeepsie community.

Pichardo said, “As an Undergraduate I served as an intern in the VCUEI. I also feel that my own personal experience, as a first-generation college student, informs and bolsters my work with VCUEI.”

Gorman had a similar experience, writing in an emailed statement, “I participated in both VELLOP and Exploring College, but never VAST (the program I run now). It was difficult to adjust to working with middle school students, but I have learned so much about adolescent development and what it takes to run an afterschool program.”

She continued, “I have realized that middle schoolers are a very fun age group to work with because they often bring more energy than high school students.”

Webster had a slightly different experience with VCUEI as an undergraduate, and urges students to get involved no matter their class year. She wrote in an emailed statement, “I never participated in VCUEI programs as an undergraduate (I am proof it’s never too late to get involved!) I was however very involved with the Poughkeepsie Community as an undergrad, serving as a community fellow, working for an off campus community organization, and forming lasting relationships with community members.”

The Education Department urges interested students to get involved with VCUEI, as they are always looking for new people to help with the programs the offer and to maintain the success of VCUEI in general. As Holland stated, “We are always looking for more tutors! Please stop by the Education Department in the Old Observatory if you are interested in applying.”

Despite efforts, little change in voting rates ELECTION continued from page 1

mental-health services and slashed funds from daycare programs, special education, and early intervention for at-risk youth. If there’s overcrowding at the jail, a 600-bed facility isn’t the answer, foresight is. We need the foresight to see how an investment in our people is the smartest one we can make, both socially and financially.”

Other voices have also expressed doubt toward the newly appointed Legislature. Vice President of Vassar College Democrats Marty Ascher ’16 wrote in an emailed statement, “With such a large Republican majority in the county legislature, it seems very unlikely that many of our priorities will be accomplished, but we will keep trying to make our voices heard on issues such as environmental policy for example.”

Poughkeepsie voter turnout was normal and consistent, according to Election Commissioners. (The Poughkeepsie Journal, “Election 2013: Republicans keep Control of Dutchess Legislature,” 11.6.13) While it was a significant decrease from last year, this is not unexpected since turnout is typically higher for presidential races. Vassar maintained a small presence at elections, with over 110 registered to vote in the sixth district alone.

President of Vassar organization Democracy Matters, Adam Eichen ’15, commented on his disappointment with the lack of Vassar

involvement. “I am extremely disappointed with Vassar students’ involvement, awareness, and mobilization during this election,” he wrote in an emailed statement. “I think we got about 5-10 [percent] of Dutchess County registered Vassar students out to vote.”

He continued, “Although this is around average for college students in an off election year, for a school that has so many opinions about all things political, it seems rather hypocritical that so many people were unaware that an election was taking place, especially considering what was at stake was environmental policies, jail expansions, and the fate of domestic violence victims.”

Of the six statewide amendments, Proposition 1 has been the most contested; 57 percent of voters backed the amendment and it passed.

The proposed amendment will allow up to seven non-Indian casinos across the state.

The casinos will be allowed in the Capital Region, the Southern Tier and the Catskills. The national Teamsters union, Las Vegas-based Bally Gaming and EPR Properties, a Kansas City-based real estate trust, donated a total of $100,000 to New York Jobs Now, a coalition of labor and business groups pushing for the amendment. (The Poughkeepsie Journal, “NY Casino Amendment Passes,” 11.5.13) New York governor Andrew Cuomo spoke to voters in Mt. Kisco, Westchester County, after voting Tuesday. “This will answer the

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

question once and for all. I also think it will help the state create jobs. We are losing over a billion dollars to the neighboring casinos— New Jersey has casinos, Pennsylvania has casinos, Connecticut has casinos.” Meanwhile, opponents of the amendment were questioning its economic impact because they believed it would amount to a regressive tax on the less fortunate and gambling addicts. (The Poughkeepsie Journal, “NY Casino Amendment Passes,” 11.5.13) Another successfully passed amendment was Proposition 5, which will allow the state to transfer 200 acres of land in Essex County to NYCO Minerals, which mines a mineral used in car brakes and bumpers. NYCO will now be able to mine the land in exchange for at least $1 million worth of land to the forest preserve. After mining, NYCO will restore and return the 200 acres of land.

Tuesday also determined that Democrats are going to continue to hold the majority in the City of Poughkeepsie Common Council, having won seven of the eight seats. This is an increase from the six seats they held in 2012.

Starting in January, for the next two years, the council hopes to continue watching city finances, maintaining reliable bus service and seeking ways to reduce the crime rate. (The Poughkeepsie Journal, “City of Poughkeepsie: Democrats keep control of Common Council,” 11.7.13)

November 14, 2013

FEATURES

Page 5

Paint analysis resurrects campus’ original color scheme Eloy Bleifuss Prados

assistant FEaturEs EditOr

D

courtesy of Vassar College

uring the renovations of Davison House back in 2008 and 2009, the architectural team contracted for the job and the Office of Buildings and Grounds made a startling discovery. Analysis of a chip of wood dating back to 1902, when the structure was completed, revealed that the building’s windows and cupolas had originally been painted a dark green.

At some point in the house’s hundred-year history, the windows were painted over with white paint, matching those of Raymond, Strong and Lathrop today. The college, seeking to right past architectural wrongs, repainted the windows and cupolas with the dark green seen today.

This discovery was made through a modern scientific technique in renovation and conservation called historical paint analysis, which can uncover buried layers of paint no longer visible to the naked eye.

In the past several years, Buildings and Grounds has begun to routinely use paint analysis during renovation projects. The goal is return the appearance of historical buildings at Vassar back to how they looked like the very day they were completed.

According to Buildings and Grounds Project Manager Jeff Horst, renovations to a campus building will typically receive a high level of scrutiny from both his office and the contractors the college works with. Horst explained, “We’re pretty careful about that these days.

Almost every project we’ll do, we’ll do a paint analysis on that to determine what the original colors were.” He continued, saying, “It just seems historically the correct thing to do.”

Of the renovations Project Manager Brian Corrigan has been involved with in the past seven years, which include work to the President’s House, the lecture room in Taylor Hall, the Old Observatory façade and the All-Campus Dining Center’s frontal columns, all have used a paint analysis.

When Buildings and Grounds decides to do a paint analysis for a project, they collect

a small sample using a razor knife and mail it into a conservation firm. There, specialists, called architectural conservators, prepare these samples in a cross-section so that they can every single coat of paint and primer that was ever used on that surface is laid out in one blown-up image.

“It’s like a layer cake,” remarked Horst on the colored and striped paint cross-sections his office encounters. In a testament to the age of certain buildings on campus, a single sample will typically show 12-14 separate layers of paint or primer accumulated over the years.

Architectural conservators have color down to a science. Upon receiving a sample, they use a high-powered microscope to determine a color’s value on the Munsell Scale based on its chemical composition. Any single color that was ever or will ever be mixed by any artist can be quantified to an exact coordinate on the Munsell Scale.

Finally, a line of paint sharing the exact same three values is found on the commercial market and suggested to the college. In the case of the Davison windows, the paint that was ultimately matched to the original color was called “Dark as Night.”

Paint, however, is only one part of the picture that requires alteration. Buildings and Grounds will also replicate the original color of building’s bricks and mortar. When they renovated Davison, for instance, they also cleaned the exterior of the building, which had lost some of its former luster.

“One hundred years of airborne grime and dirt and pollution that will stick to these masonry structures changes them. Building get pretty dim and grungy,” said Corrigan. Additionally, during certain renovations, like the one of Swift Hall the past year, contractors will go into the space between the bricks, called the joints, and replace the old mortar with a new mix that better matches the look and texture of the original stonework.

Sometimes paint analysis alone cannot tell the whole story of a building. In circumstances such are these, contractors or architects will

With the help of a chemical analysis process, the College has repainted the front columns and capitals of the All-Campus Dining Center to match the pigment of the structure’s original coat. sometimes turn to Head of Archives and Special Collections Ron Patkus. He said his office will typically receive 20 or so requests every week from departments and individuals asking for some piece of documentation on the college’s 150-year-plus history.

Occasionally, a request comes in from architects hired by the college to work on the renovation of a building who are interested in history of that particular building. Patkus explained, “If they want to know what a building was originally like, it’s possible we have some information that can assist them. That could be a photograph or that could be a letter of some kind that in its text refers to the building in some way.”

Patkus said that there was some overlap in what he does daily managing the college’s archives and the work of architectural preservation. He explained, “I think that Vassar’s histo-

ry is very important and we see it all around us and I do think there has been an attempt to preserve that as it is reflected in the buildings on campus.”

Whenever they approach an architectural project, Buildings and Grounds described how they try to strike a balance between remaining faithful to the building’s original plans and adapting a building to modern facilities. It is a difference, said Corrigan, between restoration and renovation.

Corrigan said, “A restoration really is quite different from a renovation. A restoration doesn’t give you the functionality that you need today. It doesn’t always match up to the use and abuse that a structure sees today.”

He explained how even the architect behind the Davison renovation expressed some initial skepticism to the new paint at first. Added Corrigan, “There’s always that struggle,”

Peer Advising provides forum for students to discuss future Erik Halberg

GuEst rEpOrtEr

R

ight as the extremely busy and stressful period of pre-registration begins, the Vassar Student Association’s swooped in to try to make the tough choices a little easier by holding their annual Peer Advising event. Peer Advising is an event that features members of the junior and senior classes who are interested in giving back to help freshmen and sophomores who are struggling with pre-registering for classes and planning out their futures at Vassar. Hailing from almost every major offered at Vassar, the Peer Advisors are a very diverse group who have experienced almost everything Vassar has to offer.

Students who have spent part or all of their junior years abroad are there to offer their advice on programs and to help newer students

plan for their own abroad experiences by scheduling the “right” classes. Students with double-majors, or those who created their own majors, help students who are thinking of doing similar schedules with their time and pick their classes properly. Meanwhile, students who are also athletes, dancers and musicians are able to pair up with students of similar interests who offer counseling and advice on balancing the rigors of academics with the physical and mental strains of athletics and performing arts.

According to Peer Advisor and computer science major Aaron Hill ’16, a main responsibility is to pass on their wisdom. When approached by students who expressed interest in their major, Advisors try to discuss the major and what it involves. “We talk about what attracted us to the major,” said Hill. “We tell them what we’re planning on doing with the major once we get

Nathan Tauger/The Miscellany News

VP for Academics Shruti Manian ’14 and Main President Reuben Moncada ’15, both involved in Peer Advising, discuss the event. The gathering aimed to inform underclassmen of academic opportunities.

out of school and how we’re working towards that goal here at Vassar. We try to help them figure out the best plan of classes for them to work towards their own goals and if they don’t have a clear idea of where they’re headed we do our best to give them some advice and support while they figure that out.” Peer Advisors help out where they can. They try to provide a slightly more approachable and—for some people—easier to talk to alternative for counseling than professors. The hope is that students will reach out more willingly to people around their own age and be more open with them.

Held in the Aula this year, according to the Vassar Student Association (VSA) website, over 120 students from both the sophomore and freshmen class attended the event, a statistic the VSA found extremely encouraging.

As part of a plan to get students to the event, the VSA provided free snacks and drinks to all attendees as an incentive. There was also a reward of Brewer House Cup points for the house that had the most attendees at the event.

The food and potential to help their house, along with the counseling, proved too some students. Hailey Steichen ’17 explained, “I got there a little bit late, but there were still quite a lot of people in the Aula talking with Advisors.”

The Aula also provided a comfortable and easy-to-access location. With the way the room was set up students could easily spot where the Advisors with majors they were interested in were sitting and could approach them to sit down and talk.

Though there were a variety of Peer Advisors at the event, not everyone was able to find what they needed. One student, who preferred not to be named, was unable to find an advisor for a major that they were particularly interested in. “I know it’s tough because all the Advisors who were there were volunteers, but it would have been really nice if there could have been representatives from more majors there,” said the student. This same student, who was admittedly a sophomore and not in as great of

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

a need of advising, also felt that much of what the Advisors were saying they had heard before from professors and major advisors. “I feel like [the Peer Advising] would have been a lot more helpful for freshmen who haven’t been through the pre-registration process before.

For me at least, I already knew a lot of what I was being told because I’ve done it all before. It was still a great event; I think it really helped a lot of freshmen with choosing their majors and their classes.”

Though some people did not have the best experience with the event, others found it very helpful. Steichen said, “I thought the event was really good. It gave me a lot of insight on what courses I should take and when and who I should take them with.” She continued, “I think it made the whole process [of pre-registration] a lot easier. I was able to find the Peer Advisors I wanted to talk to without trouble and they were super helpful and nice about advising me on which courses to take and the best ways to manage my time.”

When asked how the event turned out, Vice President for Academics, and organizer of the event, Shruti Manian ’14, said, “Our main goal with peer advising is to provide underclassmen another avenue to find answers to their many academic questions. It helps to get some perspective from peers who have been through the same or at least similar processes themselves.”

She continued, “Our main challenge for the year was to get peer advising more visibility on campus and have more underclassmen utilize the system. I think with this event we’ve managed to do that really well. Our goal for the rest of the year is to just keep the same momentum going.”

For students who were unable to make this event, the Majors’ Fair in the spring semester offers a very similar opportunity for getting friendly advice on picking and choosing classes. Also, according to Manian, the VSA is open to the possibility of hosting another Peer Advising event in the spring if students respond positively to this idea.

FEATURES

Page 6

November 14, 2013

Café worthy addition to off-campus dining repertoire Jessica Tarantine

COntriButinG EditOr

T

able alternative to on campus dining options.

Saigon Café is open Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. to 10 p.m., Saturdays noon to 10 pm and Sundays from 5:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

To get there from Vassar College, walk on

Raymond Avenue toward Main Street and turn right on Lagrange Avenue. Walk for about two minutes and the restaurant will be on your right. The restaurant also offers a take-out option for those who prefer to enjoy their food on campus.

Cassady Bergevin/The Miscellany News

ucked away on Lagrange Avenue, Saigon Café sits at number 6A, right next to Tokyo Express. Although a small restaurant seating only around nineteen people, it presents an attractive alternative for those looking to venture outside Vassar’s off-campus dining mainstays options such as Twisted Soul, Thai Spice and Babycakes.

On a weeknight night, at around 7 p.m., my friend and I arrived with a craving for some delicious Vietnamese cuisine. For those unfamiliar with the cuisine, Vietnamese dishes are somewhat similar to those of other Southeast Asian cuisines like Thai and Cambodian and feature fresh, flavorful ingredients. With little oil used, they are generally regarded as a very healthy option.

Upon arrival we noticed that we were the only customers present and were seated right away. Despite stunning photographs of Vietnamese vistas and urban settings and markets, the restaurant itself does not offer great ambiance. Yet, the service was prompt and attentive to our needs.

The menu was fairly large with quite a few vegetarian dishes. Options ranged from coffees and desserts to sandwiches and entrees.

In terms of cost, main dishes started from $6.90 for a hoagie and ended at around $9.95 for a seafood dish. Overall, the dishes were reasonably priced compared to other dining options in the area.

It took a while decide on what we were going to order, we eventually decided on the Hanoi Soup and the Lime Chicken. We also added the fried spring rolls to share to begin our meal and decided to skip dessert, although the Caramel Flan did look promising. I also elected to add an iced coffee, or Café Sua Da. Although the portion was small, the traditional drink prepared with strong coffee and condensed milk was the perfect pick-me-up after a long day of classes, but was not the best choice when considering the weather.

After ordering our meal, the spring rolls arrived promptly. With a crispy outer shell and a satisfying mix of vegetables, chicken and noodles, they were a great beginning to the meal. A sauce was also provided for dipping, although I preferred the rolls without it.

Finally, our main dishes arrived. The Hanoi Soup was a beef broth based soup with slices of beef and Vermicelli noodles. Like most Pho, the broth had an extremely pleasant light flavor with hints of mint, lime and basil. It was a good choice to throw off the beginning of winter chills. The portion was also quite large and I had a hard time finishing the bowl. I was told by my friend that the Lime Chicken was also quite good.

Indeed, in hindsight, after eyeing my friend’s choice, I regret not being more adventurous in my dish selection.

Overall, it was nice change of pace from the types of food that normally dominate Vassar students’ meals off campus and was an afford-

The Saigon Café located on Lagrange Avenue, right next to Tokyo Express, offers a variety of Vietnemese options. Notable dishes include their Hanoi Soup and Lime Chicken.

Metcalf provides students various counseling options Julia Cunningham GuEst rEpOrtEr

F

ifty percent of students use Metcalf House’s counseling services at Vassar during their time here. The counseling services’ website explains Metcalf’s role as one of providing students support amidst the challenging realities of academia and friendships. The site said, “Counselors help students resolve concerns about their personal, academic, and social development.” Metcalf also houses a variety of administrative offices. Interim Director of Counseling Services Dr. Wendy Freedman, said in emailed statement. “[Metcalf] houses many offices including the Counseling Service, Office

of Health Education, Office of Accessibility and Educational Opportunity, and the Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Office.”

Metcalf House is open Monday through Friday for students to utilize their services by appointment. “It is a critical role of a counseling service to not only meet the needs of students seeking services, but to actively recognize underserved students and to make the counseling service a safe and accessible resource for these students” indicates the website.

Vassar’s Counseling Services are open and available free of charge to student who require assistance. Dr. Freedman noted “The counselors are dedicated to working with traditional-

Steven Williams/The Miscellany News

Metcalf House, pictured above, provides free counseling services to Vassar students and links them with outside resources as neccesary. The building also houses the Office of Health education.

ly underrepresented and marginalized groups, from ethnic and racial minorities, first generation students and students from working class backgrounds, LGBTQIA students, students of different religious backgrounds, and students with disabilities.”

Metcalf House hopes to cater to each student’s needs through personalizing the appointment process. Before meeting with a counselor, Metcalf asks that a general information form be filled out in order to properly assess the needs of the student. Dr. Freedman explained, “We believe that it is critical for the counseling service to be proactive in partnering with students and serving as allies and advocates as appropriate.”

Counseling Services provides specific kinds of care for students. Metcalf has different forms individualized services that are defined on their website. “Short-term counseling allows the student to work on immediate concerns and, typically, come to a resolution,” it reads. “If you require services beyond the scope of what we can provide, we will refer you to other resources within the community.”

Also, according to the website, “[Metcalf offers] short-term individual and group counseling, referrals, outreach programming, campus trainings and workshops, consultation, crisis intervention, and short-term psychiatric medication services.”

Metcalf does not need to be the only resource for students who need help on campus, however. If one knows someone who may need help, Freedman offered some information about how to help them.

Freedman advised, “Involve yourself only as much as you are willing or comfortable. At times, in an attempt to reach or help a troubled friend, you may become more involved than time or skill permits. It is important to know your boundaries and limitations and to know when to reach out for help.”

Counseling Services encourages students to speak with friends about concerning behavior.

Dr. Freedman wrote, “Be honest and specific, describe your observations, express your feelings, offer your recommendations.” Starting this dialogue means the concerned student should be willing to commit time to help; however, if you begin to feel uncomfortable in any way, Dr. Freedman advised students speak to someone at Metcalf. She said, “If you are not comfortable talking with your friend directly or your friend is unwilling to follow your recommendations, it is important that you reach out for help yourself. You can call the Counseling Service for a consult or write to the Student of Concern team so that others can offer support to your friend.”

For immediate crisis intervention, Metcalf has a Counselor-on-call 24/7. In addition the staff at VCCS is available to all members of the Vassar community for consultation about issues concerning student life.

Group counseling is offered as well. The Counseling Services website notes, “Support groups provide a forum where students who share a common identity or concern can meet to discuss experiences and support one another. Therapy groups provide an opportunity for small groups of students to meet under the guidance of one or two counselors.”

Metcalf hopes to support to the Vassar community as well as keep it informed. The mission includes, “Workshops and presentations on a wide range of topics related to mental health, wellness, and student life are available throughout the year based on staff availability.”

Dr. Freedman concluded, “We are committed to maintaining a counseling service that continually challenges itself to face its own biases and blind spots, to wrestle with the many complexities of identity, to consider how to better serve students in need, and to work towards inclusion and respect.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Do you enjoy writing? Taking photographs?

Have journalistic aspirations?

Work for us!

Email us at misc@vassar.edu

November 14, 2013

FEATURES

Page 7

Local shows lucid dreaming awakens new perspectives Kelsey Quinn

GuEst rEpOrtEr

O

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

Recipe

n Wednesday, November 6th, Vassar’s organization Mind the Music presented a lucid dreaming workshop in the Jade Parlor.

The workshop was given by Tom Meli, who travels the Hudson Valley area to give workshops on the practice of lucid dreaming along with other topics, such as nonviolent communication and overcoming sugar addiction.

The event was organized by Jordann Funk ’16 of Mind the Music and sponsored by the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life, the Office of Integrated Health, and the Dean of Students Office. Funk also noted that she received substantial assistance from Sylvia Balderrama from Integrated Health and the founder of Mind the Music, Toby Sola.

According to Harvard Medical School Professor Allan Hobson, “Lucid dreaming is the rare but robust awareness that we are dreaming and that we are not really awake.” (Neurobiology of Consciousness, Sept. 2009) Hobson also asserted that lucid dreaming is a phenomenon that individuals experience to different degrees, as some people can lucid dream without training, while others require practice to hone the skill.

Among the most famous lucid-dream advocates was German psychologist Paul Tholey. Tholey, who also wrote on the subject, famously used lucid dreaming with athletes in order to train them to do things in everyday life. In an article entitled, “Applications of Lucid Dreaming in Sports”, Tholey discussed theses that he endeavored to investigate. Tholey wrote, “Just as a flight simulator can be used to learn how to fly a real airplane, dreaming (especially lucid dreaming) can lead to the learning of movements by the physical organism in the real (waking) world.”

Meli vocally emphasized his passion for the potential benefits of lucid dreaming. He noted, “new things become possible.” Lucid dreaming allows one to become more aware of life while awake. When it is practiced correctly,

one’s sense of reality is strengthened and one notices new things in familiar places.

One way this can happen is by doing a reality check while awake, a skill that lucid dreaming encourages. Even though the intention of this reality check is to figure out if a person is dreaming, doing it while awake causes the individual to become hyper-aware of their surroundings and puts the person fully in the present moment.

In addition, proponents of the practice believe that lucid dreaming can help one mentally and physically perform better in everyday life. Through hypermnesia in a lucid dream Meli said, “We can synthesize information we may have forgotten.”

Those who participate in lucid dreaming can bring things to the conscious level that they might not have thought about in a long time, including factual information the brain has taken in.

Meli’s passionate and enthusiastic attitude about the topic was evident from the beginning of the event. His excited energy immediately engaged the audience as he began giving tips on how to become lucid while dreaming.

Throughout the workshop, described in detail six steps one can take to make lucid dreaming possible.

The first step, which Meli insisted cannot be avoided, is the consistent use of a dream journal. According to Meli, the journal builds a bridge between the conscious and unconscious mind and allows the writer to better get to know the dream world.

Meli described how, in his experience, individuals tend to dream about similar things over and over again. The better a person knows their own personal dream world, he said, the easier it will be to then identify when they are dreaming.

Since humans are biologically predisposed to forget their dreams, Meli also suggested using a recording device to verbally retell a dream and then writing it down later from the recording since the act of speaking allows indi-

viduals to relay information more quickly.

Meli’s second step was to start identifying what are called “dream signs.” Dream signs are either recurrent dream events or strange things that don’t happen in a person’s everyday experiences. Meli explained that keeping a dream journal assists individuals. Once the person recognize these signs, it is easier to become lucid.

Once an individual recognizes a dream sign, the next step takes place, which is called a “reality check.” This is where the asks themself: “How do I know I’m not dreaming right now?”

According to Meli, when one becomes lucid, the vividness of the experience is similar to if not greater than waking reality.

By successfully completing a reality check, the individual can either confirm that they are in a dream or it makes them realize that they are actually awake. Common reality checks used by lucid dreamers are trying to read text or doing quick hand motions.

Often, lucid dreamers have the problem of waking up immediately after realizing that they are in a dream. The step Meli recommended to fix this was to establish meditation practices in real life that will stabilize your attention. A participant can stabilize the dream by engaging with the dream-environment, either by looking at things closely, touching objects or surroundings in the dream, or interacting with dream figures.

Meditation practice increases a person’s capacity to focus. This sort of practice helps to stabilize the dream environment.

Meli also noted that another problem lucid dreaming enthusiasts have is forgetting to do what they set out to do in the dream. To fix this, the lecturer suggested strengthening prospective memory by mentally telling yourself to do something random in the future and then doing it.

The last step Meli stressed was the strength of setting intention. Before going to bed, if an individual consistently and strongly thinks to themself that they are going to have a lucid

dream can make a lucid dream more possible.

Even with all of these steps, lucid dreaming is not easy. Meli admitted that it took him a month and a half of trying diligently to have his first lucid dream.

Meli instructed listeners that, even after years of training, they can always learn and practice more. The lecturer also advised that hopeful lucid dreamers talk with other lucid dreaming enthusiasts.

This event’s co-sponsor Mind the Music is a student-group that explores different mindfulness techniques that are similar to lucid dreaming and presents students with one way of adhering to Meli’s advice of communal practice. Each week the group meets at 6:00 pm in the Jade Parlor to practice new techniques.

Even though the group’s activities vary weekly, the group maintains a general goal.

Funk explained in an emailed statement “[Mind the Music seeks] to exercise our core attentional skills in ways that help us to incorporate mindfulness into our daily routines.”

Lucid dreaming is relevant to the aim of Mind the Music in that learning to do it is becoming mindful in your dreams. Funk explained, “When we begin to focus our attention and open up our awareness through mindfulness, it changes the way we see and experience the world. It’s like we wake up to a new place we never really paid attention to before, and the same process happens when we become lucid in our dreams. A whole new realm of possibilities begins to unfold.”

Funk continued, “It really opens us up to the idea that we can change our point of view in a way that can heal us, empower us, and lead us to realize we don’t have to be limited by our perception.”

Anyone who would like to learn more about lucid dreaming, get additional resources, or learn about upcoming workshops can friend ask to join the Hudson Valley Lucid Dreaming Facebook group. Interested individuals may also email Meli at tpmeli@interdependentsoul. com with the subject line: ‘Lucid Dreaming.’

Destination dumplings: devouring delicious delicacies Aja Saalfeld

FEaturEs EditOr

I

courtesy of firstlookthencook

try to get off campus as often as possible, mostly to avoid Deece meals, as evidenced by the fact that I have more than fifty extra meals but not a single dining buck to my name.

My ever-present quest for off-campus food has resulted in mining my closest friends’ gasoline and stuffing my face with copious amounts of bad-for-me food in the form of dozens upon dozens of potstickers from Palace Dumplings, a little dumpling place right next to a Smokes 4 Less and a tiny pizza joint.

My feelings about dumplings are almost absurd. In fact, I could easily be quoted as saying, “I love dumplings!” and it would not be in the least bit hyperbolic.

I had the good fortune to discover this wonderful restaurant during my first year here, when someone suggested we get off campus for a bit to eat something at least pretending to be edible, and found something that was more than just pretending to be food. I found the best dumplings I have ever had in my life.

After spending over eight dollars for a measly helping of six dumplings at Twisted Soul—though not to knock Twisted Soul, by any means—I did not expect to find any better deals in the Poughkeepsie area.

Thankfully, I was wrong. I can get three dozen dumplings for under thirty dollars. Unfortunately, Palace Dumplings is a fifteen minute drive from campus, so the gas probably makes up for the price, but I like to keep myself deluded about my food choices if at all possible.

Every single time I get into a car with a friend, I am pretty much guaranteed to beg to stop at Dumplings, regardless of whether it’s on the way or not.

Going to the mall? Gotta stop at Palace Dumplings on the way back.

Heading to Wappinger’s Falls for a new piercing or tattoo? Dumplings are a perfect way to treat oneself afterwards!

Sometimes all my pathetic plying actually works—I’ve gotten my friends so hooked on the place that they are much more likely to

bring me, their parents, friends, loved ones, pets, what have you to the restaurant.

I’d like to think that we’re almost regulars, but I’m sure that non-Vassar people make up the bulk of their clientele, which is reasonable.

Not many students have the ability or even want to make the trek all the way out to a random dumplings joint they have probably never heard of, and I consider myself incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to stuff dumplings in my face as often as I do. Which is not often enough, but we all have to make sacrifices—if I had dumplings as often as I wanted, I would never be on campus and would never do my homework or come close to being a productive human being.

I always tell myself that I’m going to make my own dumplings, in hopes that I can have dumplings of my own all the time, whenever I want. I even have fantasies about making hundreds of dumplings and scooping them into my mouth with my bare hands, but as I have neither the facilities nor the heat-proof hands to handle this, I will have to settle with using utensils, like a person who isn’t completely infatuated with doughy pockets of meat and vegetables and all things delicious within this world and in this life.

If I were to make dumplings, however, I already know exactly what sort I would make, at least for me. Chicken with onion potstickers, steamed, with sriracha and whatever “dumpling sauce,” as Palace Dumplings calls it, is made out of, because I certainly have no clue what it is, other than delicious. And obviously some vegetarian options for my lovely meat-eschewing friends.

Hopefully this weekend I will have the opportunity to make some of my own dumplings, since my pocketbook cannot possibly handle the amount of money I spend eating off campus. While they will undoubtedly never be as good as the ones that Palace Dumplings can make, but the cost should make up for it. I hope. But, hey, if it doesn’t work, I can be found at Dumplings shoveling dozens of potstickers into my mouth.

The Recipe Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds ground chicken 1/2 cup shredded green cabbage 1/3 cup chopped green onion 2 teaspoons chopped gingerroot 1 teaspoon sesame oil 1/4 teaspoon white pepper 1 small red bell pepper, finely chopped (1/2 cup) 1 egg white 1 package (10 ounces) round wonton skins 2 cups Progresso® chicken broth (from 32-ounce carton) 4 teaspoons soy sauce

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients except wonton skins, broth and soy sauce.

2. Brush each wonton skin with water.

Place slightly less than 1 tablespoon chicken mixture on center of skin. Pinch along edge of half of circle. Fold half over chicken mixture, pressing pleated edge to unpleated edge. Repeat.

3. Spray 12-inch skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium heat. Cook 12 pot stickers at a time in skillet about 3 minutes or until light brown; turn. Add 1/2 cup of the broth and 1 teaspoon of the soy sauce. Cover and cook 5 minutes. Uncover and cook about 1 minute longer or until liquid had evaporated. Repeat with remaining pot stickers, broth and soy sauce.

Page 8

FEATURES

November 14, 2013

Ableism a major concern for Festivities redraw focus to students of different abilities Hindu, Islamic traditions

CONCERN continued from page 1 “[…]Let me get rid of some worries and dispel some myths. The SOC does not ‘throw people out of school.’ This is not a disciplinary process, the Counseling Service, the Health Service, and the Office of Health Education do not inform the SOC about your confidential visits, and there is not some sort of SOC list that gets circulated around campus.”

However, the assertion that the SOCT does not force students to leave the College has been called into question by some students.

Zoe Gross ’14, who has made statements addressing concerns about ableism in the past, wrote, “To begin with, students do get thrown out of school, permanently or temporarily, because of mental health issues.”

One of the chief concerns is that the SSN appears to target students affected by mental illness.

Gross addressed concerns of ableism,, “As you know, depression, anxiety, and other mental and physical health conditions are disabilities. What they are asking here is for students to tell the SOC team if they find out that a fellow student is disabled, because that student will then be ‘of concern’ and need to be monitored in some way by the administration.”

Inoa also expressed sentiments that the primary focus for the SSN is the wellbeing of students.

He wrote in an emailed statement, “As hokey as it sounds the network starts with having a caring community and thankfully we have that here at Vassar.”

But some students do not agree with even the intentions behind the program. Gross commented on potentially discrimination against students based on stringent guidelines that do not represent all students with different abilities than what is often shown as able-bodied and able-minded.

“There are some people who have intrusive suicidal thoughts every day, as part of a mental health

disability; they still have to get through school just like everyone else,” she wrote. “I understand that Vassar wants to err on the side of caution in terms of getting suicidal students off-campus in order to avoid lawsuits, but the result is that people who are not at risk of suicide still get sent home, just because they are experiencing symptoms of their disability.”

According to Brown, the SSN agreed that the name needed to be changed after students raised concerns that the team was focusing on targeting so-called students of concern rather than supporting students most in need of help.

“Almost all colleges have some form of this group, and originally we felt that “SOC” with it’s emphasis on “Concern” was more in line with what Vassar was trying to do, namely provide a way of getting help to students whom other students, or other members of the community, were worried about,” wrote Brown. “Some students have expressed the concern, however, that the name may be problematic since it could be interpreted as focusing on who is being labelled a ‘student of concern,’ rather than on the support being offered.”

Some student suggestions for how to improve the SSN do not include a name change, however.

Rather, there is a push for greater transparency in the actual purpose that the team serves and how it acts to allow students to be as educated as possible regarding decisions that the College can potentially make regarding their futures at Vassar.

Gross wrote, “The SOC could put students at ease if they told us more about what it is they do, rather than insisting that they don’t do certain things. All they say in the email is that they will ‘act’ in an emergency and that they ‘usually follow up with’ the students who are reported on. It is not unreasonable for Vassar students, especially disabled students, to be suspicious of the SOC if its procedures are unknown.”

EID continued from page 1 portant in South Asia, it is not the sole bedrock of the culture.

Said Pathak, “Since it is celebrating Eid and Diwali we wanted to do more to incorporate and engage people who came to the dinner [so that they] learn more and take more away from it than just a full stomach.”

Pathak and SASA Co-president Saumya Bhutani ’14 shared the story of Diwali right before the eating started. The holiday holds different significances in different parts of the Indian subcontinent, but in the explanation Pathak and Bhutani gave, Diwali celebrates the return and coronation of Rama, avatar of Vishnu. The lighting of candles or lanterns, Pathak continued, is to guide the victorious Rama back home after having rescued his wife Sita and defeated the demon Ravana.

Meanwhile, Eid al-Adha, otherwise known as the Feast of the Sacrifice, marks the celebration of Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son in accordance with a command of Allah; Allah intervened then intervened and required the sacrifice of an animal instead. People celebrate with feasts and acts of goodwill.

This was also the first year that the Eid-Diwali dinner was provided by Tanjore, an Indian restaurant in nearby Fishkill, NY. The restaurant that catered last year’s dinner, according to SASA Co-president Maya Khatri ’15, arrived an hour and a half late, just as students began trickling into the Aula.

The new restaurant was originally too expensive, and Khatri told how she and Bhutani had to haggle down from the restaurant’s original asking price. “It took some doing, as we were reluctant to spend more and they were reluctant to negotiate the price down, but in the end they gave us our price and included salad and yogurt for free!” wrote Khatri in an emailed

ADVERTISEMENT

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

statement. Dinner included dishes like chicken tikka masala, naan, gobi aloo and Mango Lassi.

The servers, members of the sponsoring cultural student organizations, had on traditional South Asian clothing.

Wrote Khatri, “It wasn’t planned we just wore traditional Indian/Bangladeshi/Muslim clothing from our backgrounds. Whatever we had in our closets that we might wear at home for this particular holiday.”

Right before the start of the dinner, Pathak invited students to light the candles at each of their tables. One by one, students lit their small circular candles and transported them gently to a central table upon which lay a rongoli design.

Rongoli, a first for a Vassar Diwali dinner, is an art form from India where elaborate geometric motifs are meticulously created using grains of brightly colored powder. Students set down their candles in a circle on the table, enclosing the rongoli creation.

After the event, Pathak described how each year for Diwali her family would make lamps out of aluminum, and place ghee, an enriched butter from India, in them. The act of lighting the lamps symbolized the spreading of light and the welcoming of prosperity. She said she was reminded of times she had celebrated Diwali back home as she watched the similar candle-lighting ritual at Vassar.

“I think I really just love seeing people together at the tables enjoying, happy and sharing the space and experience together. Obviously its not going to be the same as an intimate family relationship, but it’s pretty close,” she said.

The candles also had a powerful effect for dinner attendee John Ellis ’15. Said Ellis, “There was something beautiful about celebrating light at a time just when the nights are getting longer.” He added, “Watching the ceremony filled me with a sense of warmth.”

November 14, 2013

OPINIONS

Page 9

THE MISCELLANY NEWS STAFF EDITORIAL

Pamphlet requires more open discussions, action from VC

T

he Vassar Student/Labor Dialogue (SLD) recently published a pamphlet, entitled “What Vassar Doesn’t Want You to Know: A Guide to Labor on Campus,” to help discuss the Vassar Administration’s relationship with its campus workers. The pamphlet encourages students to work in solidarity with unions and the workers they represent against administrative measures such as layoffs, wage freezes and violations in union contracts that allegedly mistreat employees. We at The Miscellany News would like to first commend the SLD and their publication for sparking a wave of discussions on campus over the past week regarding labor relations and reflecting an effort among our student population to engage and cooperate with campus workers.

However, as of this writing, the pamphlet currently serves as the only widely available source of information for students on Vassar’s labor policies and practices, as there has yet to be an official response or campus-wide statement regarding the topic by the Administration. This lack of a statement since the pamphlets were distributed on the morning of November 4 is representative of a lack of clear, collective and mutual dialogue taking place between administrators, those with a vested interest in this endeavor and the Vassar Community at large.

We at The Miscellany News therefore believe there must be an attempt at public discourse regarding the issues brought up by the pamphlet, allowing for information to be presented by both sides, as well as questions to be asked by both parties and those members of the Vassar Community who

choose to attend. This forum is not meant to promote a polarizing stance of the Administration against members of the SLD, but rather stands as an opportunity to dispel any misinformation that had taken place since dialogues began this year, as well as to help motivate the potential for resolution between the wishes of Administration, workers and the SLD. This forum would also give students the opportunity to be exposed to a number of perspectives surrounding the discussion and give them a chance to draw conclusions from the additional facts and information provided.

It is important for us and the Vassar Community as a whole to acknowledge the complexity of this issue. The Administration’s lack of transparency about its labor policies leaves students with little information to develop a concrete understanding of this topic as it continues to grow more relevant in dayto-day discussions. Many of the arguments made by the SLD come from individual cases or personal experiences selected from employees at Vassar who were comfortable enough to share. Although it is admirable to see workers from Vassar’s two unions, CWA Local 1120 and SEIU Local 200, share their feelings and experiences through the pamphlet, students must remember that every account—whether from a worker, member of administration, or students—will come with its own biases and preconceptions.

This is not to overlook or ignore the legitimacy of the statements made. Instead, we at The Miscellany News simply call for more information about this very important as-

pect of Vassar life to be presented in a space that does not favor one particular body, and gives those lacking knowledge of the situation to ask their own questions.

An open forum is such a space that would permit a wide range of voices to enter the debate. Workers can speak for themselves; administrators can speak for themselves; students can listen and ask questions. The SLD does not fully represent the voice of every Vassar student, hence we encourage both SLD members and uninvolved students alike to attend and express themselves. Without a space for discussion, students can only rely upon a single source of information, along with rumors and hearsay, to draw their conclusions. At the same time, we feel the town hall meeting President Hill has planned for Monday may or may not adequately serve the needs of a mutual space for all parties, and therefore still feel an open forum should be pursued.

We at The Miscellany News also caution students to avoid speaking for the workers’ issues without also acting out their support for the workers on our campus. Students shouldn’t simply dip into the issue and take the side of workers’ rights when they are unaware of what the workers or administration are negotiating over. Students are here for only four years; many workers and administrators remain here far longer. While we encourage an open forum for students to communicate with workers and the Administration, it is also important that the spaces be also given where workers can share their voice with Administration both with and

without us, to allow a mutual opportunity of discourse for both students and the workers we support alike.

Labor relations between the College and its workers are important, but we must not forget the relationship between students and the workers. In bringing up this concern, we must acknowledge that we students have also contributed to this problem. Many of the tasks the workers take on are the result of student neglect and disrespect. The pamphlet mentions the long hours these workers are required to complete, but not how we, through a little common courtesy, can contribute to reducing these hours by being mindful of the messes we make. There are more ways to contribute to worker’s rights on campus beyond speaking in solidarity, and we at The Miscellany News encourage students to consider these methods too.

A culture of mutual respect is one of the many ways that we as students can contribute to doing our part for the workers that make up our campus, and something as simple as putting trash where it belongs, rather than on the floor, could certainly go a long way to expressing solidarity.

Thus, while we commend the students for giving this important issue the attention it deserves, we must also consider its complexity and take note of the ways beyond discourse that we can contribute to facilitating more good for the workers of Vassar College.

—The Staff Editorial represents the opinion of at least 2/3 of the Editorial Board.

Although unsettling, stress Obamacare drawing more indicates accomplishments heat than light thus far Lily Elbaum

A

COlumnist

h, stress. It’s a college student’s closest companion, right up there with tiredness and alcohol. Even when you feel good, like you have everything done and can just relax and chill out, it’s there—hovering on the fringes. It creeps up on you at 2:00 a.m., just as you’re falling asleep after a long night of work.

Stress is like Edward from the movie Twilight: a creepy stalker who likes to watch you when you are sleeping and sneak up on you at the worst possible moments. Stress makes you want to become an adrenaline junkie just like the vampire romantic too. Wait, maybe not that last one. But definitely the former.

Starting college, it can be difficult to adjust to the level of work required for each class, unless you went to a really hard high school that actually prepared you for higher education.

Mine didn’t.

So when I came to college, it felt like I was drowning under a pile of homework and reading taller than Mount Everest. I think a lot of freshmen feel that way, and that’s okay. Stress is normal. It is an inevitable part of college life.

What’s imperative, and this is one of the most important things I’ve learned so far at Vassar, is not to let stress rule your life. Life and class can be exhausting, but remember that you’re not alone.

Of course, at least half of my conversations revolve around how much work I have due the next day, on Monday, etc. I think that’s pretty normal too. It’s nice to talk about your problems with people who understand and who are facing the same problems. On the other hand, don’t let it go too far.

It’s not a competition to see who has the most work, even though it feels like it sometimes. We all have different burdens, and they’re all crushing. There’s no need to go debating how crushed you are; it doesn’t matter anyway. Isn’t the time you spend complaining better spent actually doing the work? Radical idea, I know.

To keep from making this sound too much like a lecture, let’s consider the other side of productivity: procrastination. Procrastination is a beautiful thing. It really is.

Procrastinate is a Latin word literally meaning to put off until tomorrow. See? Even the ancient Romans knew that some things are better accomplished later, or better yet, never.

Well, maybe not never. Deadlines are powerful motivation, after all. Deadlines are especially important in the real world, which is where we are all inevitably headed, however much we dig in our heels, cross our arms and shake our heads vehemently.

We are all going to have to get jobs someday, and deadlines will surely be a part of that.

Then again, fantasy/science fiction author Neil Gaiman gave some excellent advice on that subject. He said, “People get work, however they get work. They keep work…because their work is good, and because they’re easy to get along with, and because they deliver the work on time. And you don’t even need all three.

Two out of three is fine” (Vimeo, “Neil Gaiman Addresses the University of the Arts Class of 2012”, 11.10.13).

So, you see? Just be a nice person and display expertise in what you do, and who cares about that dreaded deadline? That works in the other two ways as well, of course, but it’s nice to know that even successful authors like Gaiman aren’t perfect.

So maybe it’s not all about your course load and your volunteer tutoring and your campus job and your varsity sport. It’s almost assured that someone else is facing the same amount of work, while still managing to get their stuff done. (Though that person is just awful, aren’t they? Or maybe their work is just really good.)

Either way, stress is a natural part of everyone’s life. It is a ghost that haunts us through all the hours of the day. The important thing is to transform that ghost into a Casper—like a good friend who you greet happily whenever you meet. It’s a marker of how much you are really accomplishing.

Stress is just that—a sign of all that you are doing, and successfully too. So treat it nicely and feed it a little caffeine now and then. As we look towards finals week, remember: you can do this, and you are not alone.

—Lily Elbaum ’16 is a prospective independent major.

Angela Della Croce

I

OpiniOns EditOr

n early October, most American households received a letter from their employer regarding their future choices of their insurance policy, or lack thereof. Most young students do not have to worry much about this, because under the Affordable Care Act, you can now be covered by your parent’s employer’s health care until you are 26, or you have government or college-provided health care. But some Americans received an additional letter at this time from their private insurance carrier stating that their current policy may be cancelled due to the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). While the latter has received more exposure, it only affected a little more than 4 million Americans. So if you are part of the 80% of Americans who currently have health insurance through their parents, school, government, or employer, there is not much to worry about (The Huffington Post, “The Biggest Myth About Obamacare,” 09.23.2013).

While most of the Republican pundits are griping about this policy turning the United States into the ‘Socialist States’ and forcing Americans to purchase something, the estimated number of uninsured Americans will decrease by approximately 14 million, and insurance carriers can no longer deny clients with pre-existing conditions. If one chooses not to enroll in health insurance, they are penalized only $95, or one percent of their income, and that’s only if they don’t qualify under one of the many exceptions, such as low or no income. But why is there so much misconception surrounding this act? Some polls show that over half of Americans are uninformed about this law.

Last October, the founder and CEO of Papa John’s Pizza made remarks about the potential rising costs per pizza sold to compensate for the new healthcare costs. But ‘Papa’ John Schnatter was severely criticized for previously giving away two million free pizzas that year, at the potential cost of $32 million, and stating later they would have to cover an additional $5 million in healthcare costs for his employees, which built him a 40,000 square-

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

foot estate with a 22-car garage in Kentucky. Is this what the ‘American Dream’ and the spirit of entrepreneurship has brought us (Huffington Post, “Papa John’s Obamacare Costs Are Far Less Than Price Of Free Pizza Giveaway”, 11.14.2012)?

While the Affordable Care Act is in no way perfect, I believe that healthcare is now a basic human right, such as air, water and food, and should be as accessible as possible. While I think the most ideal system would be something similar to Australia’s universal healthcare, it would be a huge step for Americans towards a government deemed Socialist. Australia’s model of universal healthcare seems to be the most successful, and while all countries utilizing a national system have their own modern folklore of patients scheduling doctors appointments months in advance and emergency rooms not seeing patients for tens of hours, there are more credited tales of the aptitude of this system than not. Australians use a publicly funded program, which covers doctors, hospital care, and prescription drugs.

Australians also have the ‘Cadillac’ option, which is the opportunity to use an additional private insurance, which is subsidized by the government, and can cover anything from dental work to elective surgeries. There are private hospitals and doctors, but most accept nationally sponsored patients, and are compensated equally for this. The Australian government is also constantly working to streamline care and service at public hospitals, and has wisely funded research to regional networks to strengthen the general care (Quora, “Difference Between Obamacare and Australian Health Care System,” 08.27.2012).

I think a system like this would not only provide exceptional service and create more jobs in health care, but could also build a sense of unity among Americans concerned over health. People could become more self-aware if they are using this service and only schedule a few check-ups a year, only visiting the emergency room with a true emergency instead of sitting in the waiting room with a severe cold.

—Angela Della Croce ’15 is an economics major.

OPINIONS

Page 10

November 14, 2013

Demands in education fuel our ‘study drug’ abuses Delaney Fischer COlumnist

L

ast year, I took my first education class at Vassar. One day, we had a guest speaker who was associated with the College Board, the organization that provides SAT and AP tests. The discussion was about level playing fields and the pros and cons of the SAT, and I decided to ask a question regarding students using “study drugs” to enhance their scores on the SAT, since I knew a friend of mine had used one to try and improve his score.

A “study drug” is a prescription drug that is used improperly to help someone concentrate better and notably increase stamina for the purpose of enhancing performance on academic work, such as writing a paper or boosting scores on a test. (University of Texas at Austin, “Study Drugs”, 2013). Using or selling drugs without a proper prescription is a felony (NPR, “More students turning Illegally to ‘smart’ drugs,” 02.05.2009).

As an anxious test taker, my friend found the perfect study drug to help him do well on the SATs. His parents made it clear that if he didn’t do well on the SAT, all hell was going to break lose, and he was not about to let that happen.

He ended up getting about a 2350 on the SAT. So I asked our gust speaker how kids using study drugs to boost their scores on the SAT affected the “level playing field” and essentially how the College Board was trying to control this type of cheating.

He looked puzzled and in turn told me that it sounded like my friend needed professional help, implying that numerous students taking “study drugs” really wasn’t an issue. What I got from that response was either that this man was very oblivious to the fact that kids use “study drugs” or he doesn’t care and it’s really not his problem.

Well, I am going to assume it was the former, but realistically study drugs, such as Adderall and Ritalin, are abused every day by students.

It is becoming easier and easier for students to

gain access to these drugs, typically by either going to a professional and faking symptoms to gain a prescription or buying them off of someone. A 2013 national poll by C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital at the University of Michigan found that 1 in 10 high school sophomores and more than 1 in 8 high school seniors have used a prescription drug to help them study. (Science News for Students, “‘Study drugs’ can be dangerous,” 10.25.13) However, as you may have guessed, it’s not just high school-aged students abusing these drugs. A professor at the University of Kentucky, Alan DeSantis, has tracked study drug use at U of K, and found that 30 percent of students have illegally used study drugs at least once.

Half of all juniors and seniors (at U of K) have used study drugs [at least once] and 80 percent of upperclassmen in fraternities and sororities there have taken them at some point in time (CNN Health, “College students take ADHD drugs for better grades,” 09.11.2011).

Why are so many students turning to study drugs? My guess is that it is due to high levels of stress that come with expectations—from family, friends, society, and even oneself.

To be successful one must always be performing their very best The SAT is a great example, as it’s a test that could make or break whether you get into the college of your choice.

In college, there are certain tests or papers that are worth a substantial part of a final grade, and if one doesn’t do well on that paper, they can kiss that GPA goodbye.

I have heard that in college you can choose to have a social life, good grades or sleep. In fact, you can have two of out the three, but to achieve all three, it takes very special skills.

Maybe these drugs allow the impossible. A male student, 17, from Cambridge, Massachusetts, reflects on his use with study drugs: “I take Adderall. Maybe I have A.D.D. Maybe I don’t. I don’t really know. I knew how to say the right things to the psychologist to get the diagnosis, and the pills that make my life much

easier.” (The New York Times, “In their own words: ‘study drugs,” 6.9.2012).

But is making one’s life easier worth it?

Study drugs can be addictive and can have severe side effects once someone stops taking the drugs (particularly if they are using them on a consistent basis). Severe mood swings might be seen as well as strange behavior, which may ultimately lead to some serious issues, including brain damage (ScienceNews for Students, “‘Study drugs’ can be dangerous,” 10.25.13). At this time, researchers aren’t quite sure what long term effects could occur. However, to me it seems that most students who use study drugs do not take them on a consistent basis, rather only when “necessary”, and do not appear to be severely affected, at least with short term effects. Even if there are some effects, they often always seem minimal.

It is interesting to hear from students who have never used study drugs, for opinions on the topic seem to vary drastically. Some students have expressed frustration and anger toward classmates who have been able to successfully cheat the system, such as a female student, 20, from Dallas, who said, “The thing that I found the most frustrating was that their use of study drugs actually worked and some were rewarded for it.

One, in particular, became salutatorian of my class while I, a hard-working and driven individual, was disadvantaged.” (The New York Times, “In their own words: ‘study drugs,’” 6.9.2012) The majority of Vassar students I spoke with, who claimed to have never taken study drugs, seemed to relate to this feeling of frustration when asked how they felt about their classmates gaining an unfair advantage.

We are told to worry about ourselves, particularly regarding our schoolwork. We are told to do the best we can, and that it’s not a competition, what grade you get will not affect someone else. If someone is taking a study drug, that is their business right? It is only going to affect them. Well, sometimes. I have recently become

aware that at least one professor at Vassar College is distributing only certain amounts of grades. For example, say there are 30 students in a class, only eight kids that in that class are allowed to get an A. In this situation, the unfair advantage of using study drugs would now not only be affecting the student taking them, but could now be affecting the students who don’t.

I have a feeling that this could be where a lot of frustration is coming from.

Quite frankly, taking a study drug to enhance your schoolwork is cheating. Using or selling these drugs improperly is a felony. I, personally have never taken a study drug, but have had many friends who have, and most seem to take them out of desperation. In my opinion, study drugs just fuel the self-doubt that stems from the pressures of (sometimes unrealistic) serious expectations.

They represent an aid, which to me says that one believes they cannot complete something on their own, most likely due to fear—perhaps the fear of failing. While I don’t endorse study drugs, I understand why one may turn to them, like my friend from home.

My friend is not a bad person. And I am betting that most who use study drugs aren’t either. I think the main focus of study drugs should not just be stating the fact that people use them, but finding out why. The use of study drugs is not isolated to one school or one area of the United States or one subject of study— the use of them is found in multiple places, spread out, by multiple people all with different backgrounds and different futures.

Our society has come to pushing every single person to exhaust the most out of one’s self—and sometimes even beyond. We’ve come to a point where one exam or one assignment means so much that it can essentially make or break someone’s future. People can sit around and say that’s not true so easily, but it’s so much more complicated than that.

—Delaney Fischer ’15 is a neuroscience major.

ADVERTISEMENT

Letter to the Editor To the Editors: I would like to respond to last week’s article about the Student-Labor Dialogue pamphlet distributed recently on campus. I respect that the students who produced the pamphlet did so from a sense of social responsibility and social justice, important values for the Vassar community. Some of the information from which conclusions are drawn is incorrect, however, and needs to be clarified, as does some information presented in the Misc. article.

The history and current status of the staff forum was addressed in both publications, but I wouldn’t characterize what happened in quite the same way. During the 2008 forum, when we were in the midst of a financial crisis that required difficult decisions in all sectors of the economy, including at Vassar, emotions ran high and civil discourse changed to some staff members shouting me down. It became impossible for me, any other administrator, or any other staff member to be heard. So I ended the forum, with great disappointment. This was a lost opportunity for staff and administrators to have direct dialogue at such a crucial time.

This September I spoke to several staff members who expressed a desire for the staff forum to resume and contribute to greater communication between the staff and the administration.

I agreed with them and began plans for the upcoming forum. It was scheduled for December because I felt it was important to allow for the arrival of our new Vice President for Finance and Administration, Bob Walton, who began his job in early October.

I let members of the Student-Labor Dialogue know about these plans when they recently visited my office, well before they issued their pamphlet. My goal for the upcoming forum is to share updates about important initiatives, such as the Integrated Science Center project, results of the recently completed fundraising campaign, and the financial outlook for the college, as well as to hear from staff members about what issues are on their minds.

In several ways the Student-Labor Dialogue pamphlet suggests not only that Vassar doesn’t

negotiate in good faith with the unions that represent college employees, but that it violates union contracts. The administration completely respects the staff’s decisions to be represented by unions in negotiations with the college on employment and compensation issues, as is their right. We have always bargained in good faith, and our actions are guided by our union contracts.

Especially in challenging economic times, there may be disagreements about how we balance our financial resources to accomplish our educational mission to educate qualified students from all walks of life. Tensions were especially heightened during the international financial crisis that began in 2008, as we had to make a wide range of unprecedented financial and personnel decisions that affected people across the college’s entire workforce. The college made the decision to protect financial aid during the recession, having just returned to need blind admissions, in part to increase the socioeconomic diversity of the student body. At the same time, financial aid needs suddenly and intensively grew for Vassar students already on campus because of the recession.

I know that every employee’s contributions at every level make and keep Vassar a great college. I am committed to Vassar remaining a healthy and supportive workplace that provides everyone fair wages and benefits.

I am also open to differing ideas, and I believe in the power of thoughtful, accurate, and respectful dialogue as the key to this process.

In fact, even sooner than the staff forum in December, we will be holding a forum for students next Monday evening (Villard Room, 7:00pm) for a discussion of a variety of issues on students’ minds. I look forward to these opportunities for us to demonstrate together the kind of civil discourse our nation’s leaders seem unable to practice. We may not always agree, but I know we can live up to being a mutually respectful and supportive community.

Take advantage of the free ad space for students in print and online.

The Miscellany News

Catharine Hill President

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

misc@vassar.edu miscellanynews.com

November 14, 2013

OPINIONS

U.S. cuts don’t address our actual issues Natasha Bertrand COlumnist

L

ast week, cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program came into effect, marking the expiration of a recession-era boost to the food stamps program. These cuts will reduce benefits by 5 percent over the next year.

While this may not seem like much, the 47.7 million Americans who rely on this federal aid to put food on the table will struggle to make ends meet as they face losses of anywhere between $40-$70 per month (“SNAP Benefits Will Be Cut for All Participants in November 2013,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 8.2.2013). Families will be forced to make choices some of us have never been confronted with, such as whether to forgo a carton of milk to buy eggs, or to sacrifice the snacks in kids’ lunch boxes for fresh vegetables at dinner.

It seems as though Americans are having to make more and more trade-offs these days, as Congress continues to trade our well-being for petty political gains. With public spending is at its lowest point since the 1950’s, the slashing of federal non-defense discretionary spending represents a dramatic expansion of the war against the poor into an all-out assault on the 99 percent. This is not just the money that pays for welfare programs—these are the funds allocated toward education, child care, national parks and basic infrastructure such as roads and bridges, and they are being reigned in at an unprecedented pace.

Many would argue that such dramatic austerity measures are not unique to the United States, and it is obviously true that Europe has had to tighten its belt in the wake of the global recession as well. But the difference between U.S. fiscal austerity and European fiscal auster-

ity is that the Europeans had much more to cut to begin with. It is one thing to reduce public spending when you already have expansive social welfare programs such as universal health care and free education as the Europeans do.

It is quite another, however, to make cuts in public investment when a legitimate American dilemma is whether to spend money on medical care for a life-threatening illness or pay for your child’s college tuition.

The United States’ obsession with fiscal responsibility is unrivaled in its masochism; only Greece, Ireland and Portugal have cut government spending more sharply than the United States, and only because these austerity measures were forced upon them by the European Union and creditors in Berlin. Members of Congress, however, have chosen to depress the economy entirely of their own accord, remaining wholly one-tracked in their determination to eliminate the national debt no matter how unnecessary and unrealistic an endeavor this may be. “None of us can be proud of the way we spend the money,” Oklahoma Republican Senator Tom Coburn said the other day from the Senate floor during a speech (“Cutting the Deficit by Cutting Programs is Risky,” The New York Times, 10.31.13).

In a way, Senator Coburn is right. None of us can be proud of a government that throws away money on a hapless drone program while it claims to be too broke to spend on job creation. None of us can be proud of the 25 state legislatures that would rather horde their money and withhold health benefits from seven million Americans (many of whom will die from treatable illnesses simply for being too poor to receive care) than accept federal funds to expand Medicaid. None of us can be proud

of a government that allocates 20 percent of its budget to defense and 2 percent to education, even though, as Nicholas Kristof points out, “The single thing that the US could do that would make the most difference in addressing poverty and reducing inequality of opportunity is broadening early education.” (“Oklahama!

Where the Kids Learn Early,” The New York Times, 11.9.13). And all of us should be downright ashamed of the Congressmen who lose more sleep over the possibility of increasing the national debt than they do over the 13 million children who will go to sleep hungry because of their “fiscally responsible” cuts to the food stamp program.

From the time we are born, Americans are inculcated with a profound reverence for the puritanical work ethic and rejection of entitlement this country was founded upon. We are told that to be a citizen of this great country, with all of its freedoms and opportunities, is privilege enough—the United States has done its part by endowing us with the status of free and equal human beings, and if we work hard enough, we have no excuse not to thrive. To ask for help is to admit defeat, and to ask for benefits is to admit a flawed character. President Kennedy’s voice rings in our ears as we begin to feel ourselves getting too greedy by expecting our government to do more for us: “Ask not what your country can do for you…”

But there is only so much you can do for your country when you are hungry, sick and unemployed. There is only so much faith you can have in a Congress that appears determined to have you stay that way.

EditOr-in-CHiEF

I

n the first edition of The Miscellany News this fall, I wrote an article implicating the Senate in passing a critical piece of workplace equity legislation, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2013 (ENDA), that had floundered in Congress for almost as long as I have been alive. Then, last Thursday, it appeared as though I witnessed the realization of my goal: ENDA passed the Senate with a vote of 64-32. (The Huffington Post, “ENDA Vote: Senate Votes To Outlaw LGBT Workplace Discrimination,” 11.07.2013). However, as quickly as the story broke, I saw this bill fall victim to one of the greatest and most insidious courses of action taken by this Congress.

For those who do not know, ENDA mandates that all non-religiously affiliated businesses with over 15 employees cannot discriminate against an applicant or employee based upon the perceived or actual sexual orientation or gender identity. Based on current state regulations, 34 states fail to provide transgender employees any form of recourse against termination, while 29 states do not protect workers from being fired for their sexual orientation.

The great tragedy of this latest permutation of ENDA will not be that it fails to reach President Obama’s desk to be signed into law, but that the bill will most likely fail to be voted on in the House of Representatives at all; thus, this revolutionary and bipartisan bill will go out with a whimper and not a bang.

Just hours after ENDA passed the Senate, something that has only been done on one previous occasion, Speaker John Boehner’s office told reporters that the bill would, most likely, never even reach the House floor. Speaker Boehner’s spokesman Michael Steel wrote in an email, “The Speaker believes this legislation will increase frivolous litigation and cost American jobs, especially small business jobs.” (“Spokesman: John Boehner against the Employment Non-Discrimination Act,” 11.04.2013).

According to senior aides to Republicans in the House, this version of ENDA will most likely never even be voted on.

The reality is this: ENDA is not a perfect bill in the eyes of people on both sides of the aisle.

Conservatives battle against the bill on the

grounds that it violates an individual’s right to free speech and represents an unjust encroachment of government into business. Meanwhile, some LGBTQ advocates argue that this bill does not go far enough, as it allows small businesses, the military and religiously-affiliated groups to continue using sexual orientation and gender identity as grounds for termination.

However, in spite of these criticisms, ENDA’s failure should concern all Americans, not just for what this specific bill could do to improve the lives of millions of Americans, but also because of how Congress will kill this bill.

In order to see the tragedy of ENDA’s anticipated defeat, it is necessary to understand just how popular the principles espoused in the bill are. According to a 2011 poll commissioned by the Center for American Progress and completed by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, “nearly three-fourths of voters (73 percent) support protecting gay and transgender people from workplace discrimination.” (Center for American Progress, “Polls Show Huge Public Support for Gay and Transgender Workplace Protections,” 06.02.2011). The poll also shows that this support comes from Democrats and Republicans alike. Also, of the surveyed individuals, 9 out of 10 believed that the federal government already mandated such workplace protections. The statistics show that Americans, regardless of political affiliation, want the federal government to protect LGBTQ employees from discrimination in the workplace.

In all likelihood, this version of ENDA will join its predecessors in the category of fizzled-out legislation, not because it failed to garner enough support from legislators or because the vast majority of Americans oppose the bill’s principles. Instead, ENDA will fail because politicians are too afraid to vote on pieces of legislation they disagree with, on the off-chance that the bills pass. This trend of avoiding seemingly unfavorable votes is not new to either house of Congress, or even unexpected by anyone who has worked in the Capitol; rather, ENDA’s fate illuminates a pattern that has long plagued Washington without much criticism.

The fact is that ENDA does not serve as “frivolous legislation,” as more than half of states do not uphold the standards of ENDA,

Word

on the street

If you could sit in a bathtub full of any one substance, what would it be?

“Macaroni and cheese.”

—Julia Cunningham ’17

“Two grandmas.”

—Daniel Gutowski ’16

—Natasha Bertrand ’14 political science & philosophy double major.

Risk of another ENDA failure indicates imperfections in US political system Bethan Johnson

Page 11

but that does not make a difference. Moreover, the cries from numerous members of Congress like Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) who said “If it came up for a vote in the House, it would pass,” (The Huffington Post, “Harry Reid Predicts House Passage of ENDA If John Boehner Stops Blocking It,” 11.05.2013) will do little to alter the narrative ENDA seems to be living out. Once Speaker Boehner and other influential Republican Congressmen decided to block a vote on the bill, no amount of fact-checking will save it.

Such behavior from politicians threatens the entire fabric of our representative government.

We are watching governing transform from the means through which people are listened to and protected to one that preserves the status quo and keeps the powerful in control.

Think about the furor that engulfed Congress when it failed to pass the almost universally supported gun legislation that required background checks and limited the sales of semi-automatic weapons in spite of the fact that polls showed roughly 90 percent of Americans supported the policy. The public watched in horror as Senators voted against a bill their constituents wanted.

Now consider ENDA; this bill, with its popular support, will not even be voted on. Congress has not learned its lesson and has shown that its members will simply ignore the opinions of their constituents.

If we believe that our government is one truly designed to represent the American people, then if the majority of Congressmen, and especially if the majority of Americans, support a piece of legislation, a small minority should not feel free to ignore this trend. The probable failure of ENDA will not mark the end of this fear-based immobility in Congress, not unless we as voters and constituents demand truly the bare minimum of our elected officials—that they listen to the people.

ENDA’s story is merely an anecdote in a much larger, and much more tragic, story of American politics, and the moral of the story is that politics based in fear is dangerous for everyone involved.

—Bethan Johnson ’15 is an English and history major.

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

“Melted chocolate and a hot man.”

—Lindsay Lucido ’16

“Sriracha.”

—Manning Wu ’14

“Tim Brown.”

—Nick Vargish ’16

“Nick Vargish.”

—Tim Brown ’16

Lily Doyle Humor & Satire Editor Spencer Davis, Photo Editor

OPINIONS

Page 12

November 14, 2013

Though people ignore Election Day, changes are possible Joshua Sherman Opinions Editor

E

lection Day came and went this past week without much of a peep by students. While the Dean of the College and a few select individuals made statements encouraging students to vote and take advantage the shuttles we’re offering this year, frankly few seem to have cared about this past Election Day nor have I seen much discussion among students regarding elections in general over the past few weeks. This is to be expected though; this is an “off” year in the election season and, at best, only a few local elections or votes are taking place. The question here though is if we should be happy that our election system has turned into this cyclical system and whether we feel it best to make amends to our electoral ways.

The importance of Election Day is of course subjective. If a big referendum is taking place in your hometown, or perhaps an election care a lot about is taking place, you’ll certainly care about this election year more than if the most important thing that’s happening is an election for the same old local Board of Education.

This isn’t to say that I’m defining certain positions in government as more important than others—rather I am noting that what we’re seeing is a cyclical downturn in interest for this year’s election, especially when we look among Vassar’s population of college students and see such an apathy for voting in general, and even more so when we have “off” years. This downturn is apparent and doesn’t need justification, but the question to ask here is, “are we happy with this downturn existing?”

At a fundamental level, the idea of popular elections is something that is taken for granted by most Vassar students because of how commonplace it is on our campus and in America.

This, however, is not true in every political

sphere, and it is this fact that we often forget when we ignore our absentee ballots or choose not to go to the polls like many have this past 5th of November. After all, Election Day is supposed to be the ultimate form of political expression, aside from civil demonstrations.

When power shifted from the Federalists to the Democratic-Republicans in 1800, it was believed by some a revolt would ensue to seize power of the White House. Today, we simply see Election Day as, at best, a small amount of expression and, for many, simply an inconvenience in our day to get to the polls. Our philosophies behind the importance of elections seem to have drifted away, even if the institution has become much more accurate and reliable in the last century.

So what can we do? Should we, like Australia, opt for compulsory voting? If you choose not to vote on Election Day in Australia, you must either pay a $20 fine in advance, have a really good excuse, or risk fines up to $200 and beyond (Australian Election Commission).

It may seem extreme, and perhaps motivate people to not have interest in the candidates they’re voting for and, instead, vote for the sake of voting, but at the same time we, as a country, have a very low voter turnout as it is.

Another less extreme but still significant change could be making Election Day a national holiday, encouraging businesses to close and increase the accessibility of voting in order to actually allow those who want to vote be able to and simultaneously enjoy a day of rest. My parents, both full-time workers, often would have to find time to vote between bringing my sister and me to high school, while at work, or after dinner in the evening. Ironically, while in middle school I would get the day off to keep the building clear for voters while my parents would head to work.

It seems in either of these cases we could see opportunities for improvement.

On the other hand, even though we have our cyclical faults in America, there are other nations in the world whose methods of voting and elections are not as cyclical and based on the parliamentary system. Depending on the nation, the prime minister may at their discretion dissolve parliament and call for a vote in the government’s popularly elected branch, often the lower house.

While some nations, such as the United Kingdom and Canada, set stricter rules in recent years regarding the term limits and how often elections must take place, it remains a system that is significantly more chaotic than in America, where every term is a strict number of years. It’s curious to ask if America’s system, the presidential one, would have something to gain from a system like the one within the United Kingdom, Canada, or elsewhere.

“So what can we do?

Should we, like Australia, opt for compulsory voting?”

However we don’t have to look to other nations around the world to draw conclusions on better methods of elections. Compulsory voting is a form of negative reinforcement, encouraging action by implying negative consequences for those who are disobedient.

One way around this could perhaps be to incentivize voting, rather than to punish those who choose not to vote. For example, if I were to vote in a general election, perhaps I’d receive

some sort of tax credit or other literal, tangible item for participation. This is looked down upon for a number of ethical reasons though, in a hypothetical sense, it doesn’t hurt to ask what benefits could come from it.

Another, perhaps even simpler, means of encouraging a greater voter turnout could come from a manner of convenience. Getting to the polls, quite frankly, is an issue of economic status to say the very least, and as I spoke of earlier making a holiday out of the event would at least try to encourage greater voter turnout for elections years both important and unimportant alike..

However, there are other less drastic steps that could be taken to offer similar results. Efforts to offer online or alternative voting options—such as those offered in the wake of Hurricane Sandy last year—are one such example. Another would be offering free stamps to those who choose to absentee ballot, as opposed to forcing the inconvenience and the cost on those who actually care enough to vote.

These are a but a few ways we could perhaps break down barriers that restrict or discourage voting across the United States every year.

In the end there are matters at hand supporting and opposing the nature of our election process. It certainly isn’t the same as Australia, and it certainly isn’t a parliamentary system, and it certainly can use improvement. Perhaps what is so interesting about all of this though is how no one seems to care very much for these issues unless it is an election year. It’s a sort of vicious cycle that we, as a nation, continue to feed into. Like Election Day though, we will continue to see the talking points bubble up year after year, probably for as long as we exist as a nation.

—Joshua Sherman ’16 is an English major.

The Miscellany Crossword

by Jack Mullan, Crossword Editor

ACROSS

1 Drinking game with a 60−song playlist 10 Maj. discipline with courses on Albert Einstein and Infrastructure 13 Unmoving 15 Bath temperature tester 16 Moustachioed Looney Tunes cowboy 18 Barack Obama’s mother 19 Vassar Org. hosting the Eid Diwali Dinner 20 Avuncular “Harry Potter” figure 22 Math ratios 25 Vibrating effect 28 Dream grade 31 UK trade org: Abbr.

32 June 6, 1944 36 Popular ethnic enclave 37 One step ___ time 38 Exchanged notes?

39 Catalog clothing

retailer since 1983 41 Tokyo airport acronym 42 2010 Natalie Portman drama 45 “Sexy Love” R&B singer 47 When doubled, Road Runner’s cry 48 $10 to $12 an hour, e.g.

49 Colorful brand name?

52 Friendly “Simpsons” neighbor 53 Polar bear’s domain 56 Fencing blade 59 Nutritional fig.

60 Indulgent dessert choice 66 Kick the bucket 67 “...baby don’t hurt me, don’t hurt me, no more” song

Answers to last week’s puzzle

68 Vassar dept. for post−graduate help 69 Packaging peanuts

DOWN

1 “Gangnam Style” rapper 2 Chiwere−speaking tribe 3 Is past?

4 Summers in la cité 5 Terza ___ (Italian verse form) 6 Lift up 7 Smallest of the HOMES 8 OPEC member, briefly 9 Four Monopoly properties: Abbr.

10 Movie critic’s unit 11 “Beloved” author Morrison 12 E−mail command 14 Marissa Mayer’s company 17 Prefix with ware or practice 21 One−time Morgan Freeman role 22 Dot−chomping arcade character 23 Apple debut of 2007 24 Spring toy 26 “Gross!”

27 Kilimanjaro, e.g.: Abbr.

29 Québec article 30 “You don’t ___!”

33 “On the Origin of Species” author 34 Relaxed (2 words) 35 Showed boredom 39 Inits. of the creator of

20−across 40 Gen. Lee’s cause 42 Old Turkish title 43 Soccer phenom Messi 44 Galore 46 Columbus Day mo.

47 South American parrot

50 Lung protector 51 Weak poker hand 53 Dining locale on campus: Abbr.

54 Drug bust, e.g.

55 Nile queen, informally 57 Petrol brand 58 Eritrean People’s

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

Liberation Front: Abbr.

61 British medicine org.

62 Assn. of Accounting Technicians: Abbr.

63 London stall 64 Archer’s wife in “The

Maltese Falcon” 65 Pro ___ (for now

November 14, 2013

HUMOR & SATIRE

Page 13

Breaking News

From the desk of Lily Doyle, Humor & Satire Editor

App that creates Facebook statuses takes Vassar by storm, students forget how to speak in full sentences because why

College removes once cherished Stealing is almost as addicting desire to actually fold laundry as eating Oreos but don’t do it Chris Gonzalez Senior Editor

W

hen I was in third or fourth grade and still believed the world was a happy place, I begged my mother to teach me what every young lad wants to know: how does one do laundry? Alright, so I was a pretty weird kid—I knew how to use lemon Pledge and I was always the first one in my house to volunteer to scrub down the shower (some spent their childhood going on adventures with friends while I chose to spend mine examining the mushroom growing out from under the bathroom tile, it’s not a big deal).

Looking back I realized my mother was preparing me to be a self-sufficient adult who doesn’t need any help to get by...or a fifties housewife. Regardless, laundry was the last skill I needed in order to live out my dream of being Mr. Clean (mostly I wanted a creepy theme song that played whenever I surprise-tackled my Jack Russell Terrier, causing him to urinate on our kitchen floor, providing me something to mop up in true Mr. Clean fashion).

I separated my dirty clothes into three piles— whites, dark colors and light colors—and carefully placed each individual load into the washer.

When they came out of the dryer, I tightly held them in my arms and embraced them until I had absorbed all of their warmth (I was always looking for a father figure as a child, and clothes hugs are better than no hugs).

Once I had stuffed all of the clean laundry back into the basket, I ran up to my mother with a huge smile on my face. I was a new man. I was victorious. “Hey, mom,” I declared, standing with my shoulders back and chest out, “I don’t need you anymore.” “Yeah, sure, whatever,” she said, “don’t forget to fold.”

At some point over the years being able to see the carpeting on my bedroom floor wasn’t my highest priority in life (trying to get that cute girl in my 9th grade world history class to notice me was; sadly she blew me off, but not before she stole my copy of The Freedom Writers), so I would simply ignore any growing pile of dirty clothes until it inched its way out from the corner and surrounded itself around my bed.

I’m not sure when the change occurred, but it started off small: I would casually leave my jacket or a shirt or the crust from a sandwich on the floor, but not too long after that I started finding chip bags underneath my pillows, loose socks wedged in between the books on my bookshelf

and cups growing colorful, sometimes odorous moldy forms.

I, like the honey badger, simply did not care.

My mother would barge into my room wearing a knock-off hazmat suit fashioned from her nursing scrubs and plastic wrap (or maybe she was trying to make dinner, I could be wrong).

“What happened to you?” she asked, tears streaming down her face. “What happened to my son?”

Even now as a 21-year-old bachelor, I sometimes have to remind myself what “cleaning” means by looking it up in the dictionary every now and again. But I’m the worst when it comes to laundry. Let’s forget the fact that I usually wait until I’m out of underwear to even think about washing clothes; the problem is once those clothes are washed, what am I supposed to do with them? I’ve tried throwing the laundry bag on my bed and cuddling with it like one would a body pillow, but a cold sack of clothes is oddly uncomfortable and no one wants to be friends with someone who has nap time with their freshly laundered socks. So I decided to just dump the clothes on my bed and spread them out, treat them like another layer of bedding I can sweat and drool on in the middle of the night when I’m staring catatonic at my computer screen wondering just how I managed to end up this pathetic.

Then, feeling a little frisky, I even tried making a human nest and curled up within the layers of jeans and hoodies like a cat (don’t judge me, the Bible tells you not to). For now the only feasible answer, it seems, is to toss the laundry bag in the corner of my room and hope for the best. Sure, I’ll pick out a clean shirt every day (and maybe a clean pair of socks if the mood is just right) but, as time passes, the clothes that once smelled fresh and clean turn stale and gross as they start piling up around my dorm room floor.

But why should I bother putting those clean clothes away to use the laundry bag for dirty clothes when there is homework to be done, a desk cluttered with books I took out of the Library for research about a month ago and still haven’t read, empty liquor bottles blocking the pathway from my bed to the door (there’s no way this is a fire hazard, right?), numerous condoms in my desk that haven’t been used (and probably never will be, ‘cause lesbehonst) and an entire Miley Cyrus album that needs to be listened to and re-listened to?

How can I put away my clean clothes when I can’t even get my life together?

Aja Saalfeld

Features Editor

I

love stealing. It’s probably my favorite thing, ever. Except for maybe caramel apples and rousing matches of Scrabble.

I’m here to make sure you don’t go down the same path of debauched thievery I did. When I stole my first banana from the Deece, I never expected it to turn into a full-scale campus dining crime ring. But that’s how it always is; it starts off small—taking an apple from the Deece here, stealing every toothbrush on campus there–y’know, little things.

Then suddenly I’m walking off with signed copies of Neil Gaiman’s most recent book from a small family-owned bookstore even though I was only in there because I thought it was Babycakes. I have woken up countless times covered in scarves that inexplicably all have the Vassar Crest and the initials “CH” on them.

Sometimes I black out and find myself stuffing hot Retreat sandwiches into my pants. And I don’t even like hot sandwiches.

It’s as if I can’t stop.

For example, did I need that parakeet? No. Did I enjoy stealing it from its squawking brethren? Most definitely. Well, until it was flying around my room and I had to explain to my rabbit that I still loved her just as much as her new “sibling.” I missed like three classes while arranging it to get re-released into the wild. So, that SayAnything post about the parrot in the THs? Well, that wasn’t me, obviously, because mine was a parakeet. Or people are just really bad at identifying species of small parrots. Or it was a regular parrot. It honestly wasn’t all that clear.

Either way—don’t steal. It’s bad. Unless you run out of dining bucks because you inexplicably need seven Kiosk cappuccinos a day. Then you should maybe start stealing. Wait, no, it’s a slippery slope. That was my thesis.

So, how does one go about not stealing everything one sets one’s eyes on? My biggest suggestion is don’t start stealing dozens of eggs from the Deece to make meringue, or taking entire bushels of apples because you wanted to make a pie. Definitely don’t just take the entire pie, because you are too lazy to bake one yourself, mostly because Deece pies are GROSS. I know that Deece jokes are super bland and overdone... just like their pies.

Anyways, thievery is a slippery slope to something unfortunate. I’m not entirely sure

what it is, since I don’t think I’ve gotten there.

I think it’s something along the lines of intravenous drugs and endless Teletubby marathons.

Right now I’m just reaping the benefits of all my borderline-wait-no-not-borderline-just-actually criminal activities, but surely this behavior will turn on me at some point. But until then I’ll be rolling around in my piles of stolen apples and giving out advice on how to not turn into me, because no one wants that, least of all me. That would mean more competition for the choicest Deece fruit.

I feel differently about stealing from Vassar than I do from stealing in the real world, possibly because the results are so different. When I almost accidentally walked out of Adam’s with 15 wedges of brie and a small evergreen tree, I could have landed myself in the slammer. Thank goodness my kind friends reminded me that paying for things is something that mature adults do, and I valiantly proffered up monies for goods and services. In doing this, I both fulfilled “social norms” but also can now eat my exotic cheese openly without fear of a Vassar security guard tackling me down to the ground.

I do realize that getting caught by Security might be similar to getting caught by the police, but somehow I doubt that the average police officer would succumb to bribery of the “I’ll give you some of the baked goods I’ll be making with this bushel of stolen apples” sort.

I’ve been caught stealing food by security more times than I can count, and every time it’s happened I’ve managed to wriggle out of it with my keen wit and even keener baking ability. At this point, I think they are just impressed by how many apples I can use in a semester.

But after all of these unfortunate encounters, as well as the constant threat of a new thief moving onto my turf, I’ve made it my life’s goal to educate others on how to avoid the dangerous life of a thief. The best thing to do is to never start. Mostly to avoid competing with me, because my stealing game would trounce all y’all any day, and also because every episode of Arthur I ever watched told me that isn’t what good neighbors do. We are college students—hungry, sad, with dead eyes and permanent blisters from typing away at papers around 2:00 a.m.—the very least we can do is be nice to each other.

But seriously. If you try to compete with me, I will end you.

Sometimes I forget to shower, and other confessions

by Lily Doyle, Humor & Satire Editor Monday, 3:00 a.m.: I realize that watching

Carrie today was probably a bad idea, because I can’t close my eyes without thinking about crazy, crazy Julianne Moore and the headmaster who can’t talk about a girl on her period without breaking into a cold sweat but somehow handles the entire destruction of his school by a girl drenched in pigs blood like it ain’t no thang. (Oh, sorry, did you not want to know the plot of Carrie? Stop reading the Humor section, I’m only going to ruin things for you. Like your ability to interact normally in social situations).

Monday, 9:30 a.m.: I turn off my alarm that is entitled “LILY YOU REALLY HAVE TO SHOWER TODAY. SERIOUSLY. GET UP”.

Sorry, past Lily, I don’t have time for your socially constructed ideas about “personal hygiene” or how people need to shower “at least once a week” or the reminder that “my housemates complained.”

Monday, 10:00 a.m.: I literally roll out of bed,

onto the ground. I immediately regret my decision not to shower. Turns out, my natural body oder does NOT snell like the flower after which I was named.

Monday, 10:45 a.m.: I consider what seems to be the scientific impossibility that I have only been sitting in this class for 15 minutes. There is no way that’s true. Is it daylight savings time again? Did I sleep through Christmas and the rest of winter season because I was in a fear-induced coma after watching Carrie?

LILY, you know you need at least 6 years to recover from watching horror movies. You were barely over The Ring.

Monday, 10:46 a.m.: Nope. It’s not a fear-induced coma.

Monday, 10:47 a.m.: Professors do NOT react well when you whisper “seven days” as a response to their question, even if it is a totally reasonable way to test out if you are in a weird, semi-waking, semi-comatose dream state.

Monday, 2:35 p.m.: It’s my third class in a row and my stomach is growling so loudly that I have begun eyeing the girl sitting next to me in what could be described as a menacing “I am going to eat your arm” type of way. It could also be described as complimentary.

Monday, 3:00 p.m.: I literally stand on the path in front of the Library for 10 minutes before deciding that if it was Hogwarts itself and Ron Weasley was standing there shirtless with a rose between his teeth gesturing at me seductively I would still rather go home and eat a snack then go inside and actually do my homework. (I realize that I just inadvertently told the entire school that I both have a thing for Ron Weasley and choose food over men regularly. Over it).

Monday, 5:00 p.m.: Despite the fact that only senior citizens go to dinner at this hour of the day, my housemate and I go to Mole Mole.

There is, shockingly, no one in there, except a buser who tells me it’s “good to see me again.”

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

This is my first time in there this year. Not sure if this means that I look like every other white girl in Poughkeepsie, New York, or if I am sleep eating at Mole Mole. Honestly, it’s a toss up..

Monday, 6:00 p.m.: I come home and drink two cups of coffee within 5 minutes, which gives me not only a stomach ache but also causes my left leg to twitch uncontrollably. I am still not positive that this was not a seizure.

Monday, 9:00 p.m.: I successfully perform the bare necessities of my work study job at UpC by turning on the lights. I am inordinately proud of myself, and celebrate by telling everyone that I know through at least 12 different kinds of social media.

Monday, 9:02 p.m.: I realize that I don’t know how to raise or lower the desk chair. I spend the next hour weeping quietly to myself and doubting my ability to graduate. In other words, your typical Monday night.

ARTS

Page 14

November 14, 2013

Capella Festiva unites Vassar, East Coast choirs in song Charlacia Dent rEpOrtEr

T

courtesy of London A Capella Festival

he first ever Capella Festiva Treble Choir festival, a musical afternoon initiated by a local organization in Poughkeepsie that sponsors an adult and treble choir, will take place in The Skinner Hall of Music on Nov. 17 at 2:00 p.m. The event features music by members of the Capella Festiva Treble Choir, The Pennsylvania Girl’s choir and the Troy Children’s Choir together for performances. It also presents renowned English conductor and composer Bill Chilcott.

For Capella Festiva Treble Choir Director Susan Bialek ‘86 and Capella Festiva Artistic Director and Director of Choral Activities at Vassar Christine Howlett, this is a long worked for and awaited event.

Capella Festiva was founded in 1974 by Jameson Marvin, who was then the Director of Choral Music at the College and Robert Harvey, and instrumentalist for the Hudson Valley Philharmonic. Membership in Capella Festiva is by audition, and the group pulls from throughout the greater Hudson Valley region.

After Howlett and Bialek took over the group in 2006, they expanded its activities by founding the “Summer Choral Festival,” an auditioned summer choral festival at Vassar for children in the Hudson Valley, and the Capella Festiva Treble Choir. This was done in an effort to bring high quality choral music to the region, and then the two began discussing a larger festival for the future.

“Ever since 2006, [Bialek] and I talked about doing something like this where we bring in real notable artists like Ben Chilcott. We put together some funds over the years from our summer festival and decided to bring him to Vassar,” Howlett explained.

The Children’s Capella Festiva choir is made up of children from Poughkeepsie aged 10-18, and during the summer the choir auditions children as young as 8.

“You compete with so many other activities

Director of Choral Activities Christine Howlett and Capella Festiva Treble Choir Director Susan Bialek worked on a choir festival, to be conducted by Bill Chilcott, that unites numerous East Coast choirs. like soccer and theater and so I pushed to get the children singing earlier so that they fall in love with singing and want to continue,” explained Howlett.

Howlett also reached out to the Pennsylvania Girls’ Choir and the Troy’s Children Choir to participate in this event, and select members from both choirs traveled back and forth to Vassar in preparation for the upcoming concert.

“It didn’t start as something for Vassar students but now it’s promoting the school for kids who might want to attend, and I hope that all the girls from the Pennsylvania Girls’ Choir apply. It’s a way of inviting people here and showing them that we’re not just our own little bubble and that the music we’re presenting is for all ages. Vassar hasn’t had a chance to do this before now,” Howlett noted.

The Pennsylvania Girls’ Choir has been around for nearly decade. According to its website, the choir was founded in 2004 and has grown to more than 160 girls from five different counties in southeastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.

Within the past two years they have performed a number of world premieres, including Thomas Pastatieri’s “A Charm of Moonlight,” and Jonathan Leshnoff ’s “Hope: An Oratorio.”

The Troy Children’s Choir is an ensemble of children from 2nd through 1oth grade.

The choir sings in a variety of languages and genres.

In total, more than 50 young girls and boys will participate in the event.

Bill Chilcott, who manages a schedule of commissions world-wide as a master of chil-

dren’s choir compositions, will come to campus and conduct original songs from his extensive selection of work.

Some of these commissions include the first performance of The Angry Planet at the Royal Albert Hall in England as well as Five Days that Changed the World, a twenty minute work that will premiere at the Worcester Cathedral.

James M. Fitzwilliam, a notable organist, pianist and composer of the Hudson Valley, will accompany Chilcott on the piano. Chilcott has over 125 pieces published by the Oxford University Press, two acclaimed recordings on Signum, Making Waves (The Sirens) and Man I Sing (BBC Singers), and he wrote the title tracks for the King’s Singer albums, Swimming over London and High Flight.

His song “Irish Blessing” appeared on the multi platinum debut album of “The Priests” in 2008.

In addition his Requiem was released on Hyperion and the Wells Cathedral Choir and Nash Ensemble conducted by Matthew Owens performed it in March 2012.

Since 1997, Chilcott has conducted in 23 countries in various continents, and received invitations to conduct in Poland, Denmark, Spain, Germany, China, Japan, the United States and Canada.

The Vassar College Music Department is sponsoring the event, providing both administrative support with programs and advertising. Members of the Vassar College Choir will have a chance to work with Chilcott on Friday Nov. 15 in a master class on one of his works, “Beach,” for chorus and viola.

“Beach is a beautiful piece that is deeply about nature. It was commissioned for a hospital in London and each piece reflects memory and the architecture of the building,” explained Howlett.

This song will be performed at the Vassar College Choir concert on Sunday November 24 at 3:00 p.m., with Maria Ichizawa ’14 on the Viola.

How to Make Money Selling Drugs captures dealers’ truths Samantha Kohl GuEst COlumnist

How to Make Money Selling Drugs Matthew Cooke Tribeca Film

S

o long as one is ready to pack a gun, outsmart DEA agents, and potentially swallow a condom filled with heroin in order to smuggle drugs through airport security, anyone can become a successful drug dealer.

Along with a short film titled The Path to Prison, in which a young convict explains how he became imprisoned by age seventeen, How to Make Money Selling Drugs was presented by React to Film, Vassar’s chapter of a larger organization that has representation at high schools and colleges nationwide. The non-profit, as its website explains, seeks to “leverage the best documentary filmmaking to promote social responsibility and spark civic engagement.”

How to Make Money Selling Drugs presents a tongue in cheek crash-course into the inner workings of the trade.

But while the film, at its surface, seems to simplify the drug industry and presents it as something glamorous and exciting, it also brings deeper and underlying issues associated with the trade to light, such as the U.S. government’s failed war on drugs initiated by President Reagan, and the danger that drug wars perpetuate.

The film starts off with its hook as the voice of a narrator, or perhaps the voice of God or another celestial being, speaks directly to the viewer.

“Are you unemployed or stuck in a deadend job? Are you homeless or living in a bad neighborhood? If the American dream broke its promise to you don’t worry: we have an answer.”

The viewer is then hooked. But selling drugs—could it be that easy? The highly-styl-

ized, step-by-step manual for achieving success as a drug dealer is presented in the glib format of a video game walk-through.

Rising from “level to level”—from the ranks of a street-corner pawn to the ultimate cartel drug lord—is then laid out by “the pros.”

“The pros” included 50 Cent, who began dealing crack at the ripe age of twelve, “Freeway” Rick Ross, the well-known “drug king” of the greater Los Angeles area (who claims to make $1-3 million a day!) and many other drug dealers who are just as compelling as they are successful.

“How to Make Money Selling Drugs presents a tongue in cheek crashcourse into the inner working of the trade. ” But to rise in the drug industry is no easy task, and although the film frames the game as something alluring and perhaps even glamorous, there are many perils and downfalls to working in the industry.

A major facet the dealers had to face was violence. “Pack a gun,” and “shoot to kill,” the dealers instructed.

Many of the dealers then presented the viewers with their many scars, acquired in a plethora of ways, ranging from stab wounds by addicts to bullet shots from the goons of rival dealers.

Another aspect of the industry one must be prepared for is the threat of serving jail time—an experience which the majority, if not all, of the featured “pros” face. That being said, jail time did not seem to be the worst consequence of the trade, and many of the dealers spoke about their time in a manner displaying acceptance.

In fact, having to serve time in prison was the norm and expected, as one dealer

instructed the viewer to “hide your money now” so that it is there, untouched, when one is released from prison.

Aside from a tutorial for selling drugs, the film also discusses the government’s response to the drug trade. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is the governmental agency responsible for taking action against drugs in the United States. DEA agents are interviewed as well, and the film sheds light on “the other side” of the industry. That being said, one of “the pros” does hire an ex-DEA agent who becomes one of the main instructors of the film.

Furthermore, in its discussion of the governmental and legislative side to the war on drugs, the film turns the industry on its head.

While the drug industry has its problems, the U.S. government’s response to the issue seems to be even more problematic.

The film also presents a history of the United States’ commitment to combatting drugs in America by means of flawed legislation and evil lobbyists; the film constantly refers to the “Drug Czar,” or head of anti-drug propaganda in the United States, as inciting a hatred of drugs through racist and anti-Semitic language.

While the film brings up issues, such as corruption within the drug trade and the government’s problematic response to the issue, How to Make Money Selling Drugs fails to correctly address another huge problem that stems from the drug wars: the innocent victims of the drug trade.

The film features a mother who, while utterly uninvolved with drugs or the industry, received a 30-year sentence for being at the scene of a drug bust.

That being said, the voices of the innocent victims of drug-related crimes are otherwise left unheard throughout the movie, such as those whose loved ones were murdered in Mexican cartel violence.

“In this 90 minute program, the masters of the trade will reveal to you their secrets on how to get paid in this $400 billion industry,”

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

the film initially promised, and while “the pros” surely did give enormous insight into the drug industry, I did not walk away from the film ready to begin a lucrative career as a drug dealer.

The film is incredibly thought-provoking and leads one to question America’s reaction to the drug wars and wonder where drugs are really coming from.

“While the drug industry has its problems, the U.S. government’s response to the issue seems to be even more problematic.”

After the film, students stayed for a talkback with Associate Professor of English Kiese Laymon. The conversation included both praise and critique of How to Make Money Selling Drugs.

Laymon then pushed the conversation even further and turned the lens onto the Vassar community, asking where our role in the drug wars lies.

“Who here does drugs?” Laymon asked, and many students raised their hands. He then asked those students who choose not to partake in drugs why they abstain.

His question was then met with pensivity, as the students present thought about their own drug use, or lack thereof, and the implications of their decisions. Laymon then suggested that perhaps abstaining from drug use “confronts a fear of being human with a commitment to health.”

In retrospect, it seems that “the pros” from How to Make Money Selling Drugs used their “business” to escape their own struggles and avoid confronting their humanity.

ARTS

November 14, 2013

Page 15

Strivers Row poets speak to minority student experiences Isabella DeLeo GuEst rEpOrtEr

S

ADVERTISEMENT

courtesy of University of NEbraska, Lincoln

ome poetry has teeth, and is meant to rouse an audience with raw emotion. The poetry of Strivers Row Spoken Word troupe certainly strives for this effect on its audiences. Strivers Row is a talent relations and artistic management agency that promotes many spoken word, as well as other, artists.

According to Secretary of the Council of Black Seniors (CBS) Niya Nicholson ’14, the group is also very socially conscious. “I regard the Strivers Row’s poetry as also a social movement with a gestalt that has a felt change of social consciousness on the part of their listeners; there is so much power in words, in spoken word poetry, and CBS optimistically hopes that the students at Vassar College, especially the students of color, will be motivated and rejuvenated by this special event!” Nicholson said in an emailed statement.

Two poets of the troupe, Joshua Bennett and Carvens Lissaint, will perform at the poetry slam with the Wordsmiths Saturday, Nov. 16 at 8:00 p.m. in Rockefeller Hall. The event centers on the triumphs and tribulations of students of color through spoken word.

Spoken word, as an artistic medium, places its roots in the Beat poetry tradition of the 1960s, performance art, the blues and the Harlem Renaissance. This style of poetry, as it is now known, with its tendency towards informal syntax, emotional resonance and synergy with the audience, emerged at some point during in the 1990s.

“I believe that the spoken word poetry of the Strivers Row is so germane to the issues [we], as students of color, perpetually engage with not only at Vassar College but also in our respective communities,” explained Nicholson.

“These issues, which the poets of the Strivers Row so passionately and eloquently deliver in their work, revolve around but are not limited to the reflecting on and the reckoning with

race and gender identity; the effects of politics, privilege and gentrification; and also the undeniable strength that families and communities of color have in the love and growth we share with one another—whether it’s through frustration or celebration.”

Nicholson continued, The traditional stagnant reading of a poem was no match for the level of audience engagement possible when poetry was presented as a physical/full sensory experience.”

Lissaint reflected on the nature of his craft: “Spoken Word has been created to understand how to be yourself, how to be scholarly…it was created to be a lover of language, to protect it and to start shaking things up” (YouTube, “The Interview-The Strivers Row on Influences”). It is meant to be a catalyst for change, be it personal, political or social.

The members of Strivers Row have embraced the fertility of their artistic medium.

They understand the legacy of Spoken Word and its significance in African-American history. In fact, they not only understand the legacy, but they also hope to be a part of Spoken Word’s future.

The spoken word poets of Strivers Row hope that it can change the course of education and make students, especially students of color, excited about school. These poets want to make students eager to read out loud, encouraging them to really feel the intonations and textures of a novel or a history book.

Bennett discussed his personal mission as an artist. He explained, “My larger creative project as an artist and scholar centers around a desire to cultivate new vocabularies for living, thinking, writing, performing blackness, destabilize hegemonic conceptions of beauty and strength and, as much as is possible within the constraints of linear time, have mad fun writing poems and teaching workshops and telling jokes with my friends.”

He continued, “I am committed to the love

The Strivers Row poets will perform spoken word poetry at Vassar with a focus on race and social consciousness. Their performance will take place at 8:00 p.m. on Nov 16 in Rockefeller Hall. and care of friends. I am committed to expansive notions of kin that transcend species. Put just a little bit differently, I am committed to the flourishing of life, to the joy of the plant and animal world, and the collective empowerment of marginalized persons everywhere.

Word is bond.” (YouTube, “The Interview-The Strivers Row on Influences”) In his poetry, Bennett aims to give people reasons to choose vitality over violence, two words that share the same etymological stem.

Below is an excerpt from Carvens Lissaint’s and Miles Hodges’ poem, “Strive”: There will be days when heaven doesn’t seem so close. When there seems to be no hope. Your back is hugging the ropes, and that stomach could use some bread. When the air in your lungs

feels like lead, and all the fight in your breath has disappeared and left, Strive. During the tough weeks, the ones where everyday feels like Monday morning, The train ran local and you keep spilling your coffee at the desk of a job that looks nothing like the misspelled poster, pinned to that dreamy first grade call when they asked you, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’

Anything but a coward. During the long walks to work, your wallet is filled with the lint of last month’s bills. Knees weak from dusting your life’s problem under the rug of success. There will be times when you’re at your lowest point.

You are the ash of a Phoenix with clipped wings that will never rise. You are a broken levy, unable to control the drowning of your household, Strive.

Way of the World to wow with grand stage designs

WORLD continued from page 1

demand everything you have to give.”

Weild is a director based in New York City and has worked in prestigious theaters, such as the Lincoln Center Theater, Carnegie Hall, New York Theater Workshop and the Wolf Trap Performing Arts Center. She is on the faculty of the National Theater Institute. At the institute, she worked with several Vassar students before beginning this production.

Weild is renowned for her innovative stagings and bold theatrical investigations. Thus, she chose to convey The Way of the World in a style that challenges the cast and audience.

“We made the choice to do ‘full on Restoration Comedy’ knowing that this would be the more challenging, more radical choice,” she wrote. “Doing a modern concept/adaptation would have been easier for all of us and probably easier for the audience—they wouldn’t necessarily have to engage their minds in the same way to make the connections today. I thought let’s give the students the terrific challenge of having to have to understand what it means to investigate this period, to go as deeply as possible into it, to perform in corsets, wearing swords, learning the language of the fan, men negotiating heels, powdered faces, wigs and all engaged in the verbal violence of articulation.”

Nora Kaye ’16, who plays Lady Wishfort, a wealthy widow desperately seeking a husband, spoke to the trials the cast has faced to put up an Elizabethan Restoration play.

“I have found this process very challenging and extremely exciting. Although the language is wonderfully musical it doesn’t roll off my tongue. More than half of the cast had to learn to act in corsets—not easy let me tell you!” she wrote in an emailed statement.

“And we had to submerge ourselves in a society where status and decorum dictate. However, all of these challenges really pushed the cast to commit to the ways of this world.”

The play represents two classes: the aristocracy and the servitude. The show includes

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

a surprise guest artist, three dancers and a violinist, making the cast a full 20 people.

In addition, Weild worked to ensure that the stage itself has an Elizabethan flair.

“Additionally, the architecture of the theater of the 1700s was a big factor in how this play was originally staged,” Weild wrote.

“We began there, to see if we could alter the Martel space and as such, that gesture has informed our staging.”

Sarah Traisman ’15, who plays Millamant, one of the two central lovers in the play, asserted that The Way of the World is unlike anything Vassar students have seen. “I think by seeing this show the Vassar community will be seeing something they’ve never seen before and might never have the opportunity to see again. This show completely transports you into a different time with the costumes, the music, the language—it truly is a piece of art,” she said. “She is also pretty radical for the time she lives in, for she values her independence greatly and visibly struggles between being with the man she loves and upholding her independence,” said Traisman. “Congreve wrote Millamant as an advocate for women’s rights and those values are very evident in her character.”

Like Kaye, Traisman is excited to put on a production in full Restoration, without any contemporary elements. “I think directors tend to shy away from doing period pieces in ‘full’ and often attempt to put a modern twist on them—which has its merit—but I think by doing Way of the World in ‘full Restoration’ we are giving the audience something delicious,” Traisman added.

Weild stated that she has enjoyed this challenging work and collaborating with Vassar students to bring the decorous Elizabethan courtship to life. “I have been told that this very well may be the most ambitious production Vassar College has ever endeavored to make, and it is an honor and a privilege that they have entrusted me to be at the helm,” said Weild.

ARTS

Page 16

November 14, 2013

Carrie haunts audiences with portrayal of realistic bullying Lily Sloss COlumnist

Carrie Kimberly Peirce Misher Films

D

o you remember bullying? Whether experienced during high school, middle school or at a younger age, bullying seems ever-present in the American social life, a way in which children (and adolescents) assert their power over the vulnerable. The eponymous protagonist of the newly released remake of Carrie (Chloe Moretz) is introduced as just such a fearful recipient of perpetual bullying.

Cowering in the shower, hidden from the sight of the girls in gym class, Carrie is rinsing herself off when she realizes she is covered in blood. Terrified, she screams for the other girls’ help.

“You have your period, plug it up,” Chris taunts her. Ashamed and confused, Carrie begs for aid but the other girls shower pads and tampons on her writhing, bloody body. Eventually the gym teacher rescues her from her tormentors, but she also slaps Carrie to stop her hysterics. Abuse, it seems, runs rampant in Carrie’s life.

Beyond the bullying she endures at school, Carrie’s biblically-motivated, psychotic Mama (Julianne Moore) relentlessly disciplines her.

Just beyond the stark white door of her innocuous blue home, Carrie is frequently beaten and locked in a closet to repent her “sins.”

The image of Carrie—screaming and pounding on the closet door while Mama sings hymns in the next room—reiterates the disturbing idea that you never know what’s going on behind closed doors.

Carrie, it seems, will have to come to her own rescue. After discovering her telekinetic

Hudson Valley

Arts

ability, she studies the phenomenon and learns to control her power.

Her talent will come in handy at the end of the film, when Carrie is publicly humiliated at prom and her date dies. Anger and frustration presumably built up over years of psychological and physical abuse at the hands of her mother and classmates induce Carrie to commit mass homicide. Literally exploding with rage, Carrie burns and slaughters the prom-goers, the terminal result of cruelty inflicted by her surroundings.

Although Carrie was first released as a novel by Steven King, its film adaptation has long stood as the more famous version. The original version of Carrie was released in 1976 to the shock and horror of audiences around the country. The film, which stared Sissy Spacek, proved to be a breakout hit, earning $33.8 million at the box offices. The role garnered Spacek an Academy Award nomination, along with Piper Laurie who played her mother. The violence and turmoil of the first version, which so scared a previous generation survives into this remake.

“Carrie, it seems, will have to come to her own rescue.”

Unsurprisingly, I left Carrie disheartened.

My friend loved it.

“That was so good!”

“Was it?” I asked, despondent.

The film was so upsetting I had difficulty describing the experience.

Carrie, a “supernatural” film, is ultimately frightening not because of Carrie’s magical powers but because the trauma she experiences is very much a part of this world.

Bridge Music, Waryas Park

Through the year.

Main St., Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Music by Joseph Bertolozzi. Using just sounds from the Mid Hudson Bridge, Bertolozzi’s music can be heard at listening stations at each tower along the pedestrian walkway.Free.

Adriance Memorial Library

Through Nov. 93 Market St., Poughkeepsie, N.Y. “SkyFest: Astronomy & the Arts” exhibit featuers works by Renee Pasquale and over 30 artists.

Hours: 3-5 p.m.

Arts Society of Kingston

Through Nov. 97 Broadway, Kingston, N.Y. Solo show features works by sculptor Casey Schwarz. “Feast for the Eyes” members show as well.

Hours: Tues.-Sat., 1-6 p.m.

Everyone has a breaking point.

The film frequently dramatizes the high school environment, depicting an entire hallway as creepy enough to bring a good Catholic girl to tears. As a child of Sunday School and an Irish Catholic mother, I can attest that the iterations of bloody Jesus are familiar. To reference a truly frightening closet, check out the Chokey in Matilda.

“We all know or have known just such a vulnerable, bullied student.”

The two leads in the film are phenomenal.

Moretz as the frail, nervy and off-putting Carrie who inevitably goes insane is perfection.

Moore is even better, a self-mutilating, terrifying zealot.

The other actors are less remarkable, all appearing about 28 years old. Furthermore, Carrie’s date, Tommy (Ansel Elgort), although doggedly attractive, lacks the charisma that the title of “hottest guy in school” necessitates.

I should have known from the beginning that I would leave the film feeling dashed to pieces. In the opening scene, the camera tracks the stairs to the bedroom, following a set of bloody footprints which end at Mama’s shaking, bloody body.

She imagines she has cancer and is screaming for God’s help. She is giving birth, but has no idea, a scene paralleled when Carrie later does not know why she is bleeding. This scene depicting a violently unhappy mother delivering her baby was enough to destroy any delusions that there is anything fun or funny about childbirth.

Thanks, Carrie.

Ansari’s newest stand-up show illustrates risk-taking, maturation as a comedian

Emma Daniels

COlumnist

Buried Alive Aziz Ansari Netflix

Boscobel House and Gardens

Through Nov. 1601 Route 9D, Garrison, N.Y. “Robert W. Weir and the Poetry of Art” displays works loaned from West Point.

Hours: Wed.-Sun., 9:30 a.m.- 5 p.m. 9:30 a.m.- 4 p.m. through Nov.

A tortured individual, Carrie toes the line between school and home, frightened of both and unable to have a pleasant time. Even at prom, the supposed “greatest night” of her young life, she floats precariously as though intuiting the upcoming massacre.

Most disturbing about the film is that Carrie’s consequent freak out when she murders half the senior class, is both predictable and, morbidly, understandable.

In the film We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011), a deranged and inherently violent high school student commits a school shooting and then kills his family. It is nearly impossible to identify with the student. He is uncommunicative, loves torturing his sister and animals, and is quite obviously a sociopath. He stands as the archetype of the “disturbed individual” represented in media, the child we “just don’t understand.”

Undoubtedly, most mainstream moviegoers would prefer to imagine that sociopaths commit heinous crimes like school shootings.

However, watching Carrie and the abuse that she suffers throughout the film invokes an intense feeling that her murderous actions are in some way justified.

We all know or have known just such a vulnerable, bullied student.

Reflecting on high school, I remembered the girl whose sex tape emerged on MySpace, and she was consequently harassed for months. A boy in my year had a mental breakdown, left for three months, and upon his return to school was followed by whispers until he graduated.

Another student in my grade had the “audacity” to show up at a private party and was therefore “jumped” by a group of six guys who beat him until he needed to go to the hospital. He was forced to drive himself since everyone else was too frightened to approach him.

When people feel comfortable teasing, taunting, bullying, whispering, laughing, fucking with people who are the most vulnerable, is it truly surprising that school shootings occur?

M

ost widely known for his role as the snarky and snazzy Tom Haverford on NBC’s Parks and Recreation, Aziz Ansari is also a stand-up comedian in his own right. On Nov. 1, his most recent stand-up show, Buried Alive, debuted on Netflix, following up his 2012 special, Dangerously Delicious. It was filmed in front of a live audience in April 2013 at the Merriam Theater in Philadelphia, PA. I’m a big fan of Ansari. His personal interests on his Facebook page, such as “Eating delicious food and hoping it doesn’t make me chubby” is so relatable. He’s a great comedian. And after seeing some of his other standup specials, devouring Parks and Rec religiously and watching two previews of the set, I was so eager to see Buried Alive that I began watching at 3:00 a.m. on Nov. 1, still a little tipsy after spending my Halloween drinking dollar beers at Billy Bob’s BBQ. But I digress. Or not really, seeing as my escalating sobriety, in a way, paralleled Ansari’s special; in the set, the comedian wryly dissects the disillusionment that goes along with growing up.

He begins the special by talking about a recent personal milestone—his thirtieth birthday, and describes how being thirty, at least for most of his friends, correlates with “getting serious about their lives,” i.e., getting married and having babies.

Ansari personally rejects this correlation, questioning why anyone would not use birth control and reminding the audience that while everyone else is watching their babies,

he’s spending all of his time not feeling tied down by anything.

The rest of the special is spent flipping the widely-held assertion that marriage and parenthood is a serious pursuit, addressing the absurdity of being a so-called “grown-up” in the present day.

For example, he questions how someone could be taken seriously when they send out mass e-mails with video attachments of their kid walking around. He retorts that he can walk around better and hits “unsubscribe” to such correspondence, throwing his friends’ babies in the “trash.”

Ansari seamlessly and effectively inhabits multiple characters, ranging from the previously mentioned social-media obsessed parents, to the crooner Seal, to a sixteen-year-old on an MTV reality show, to President Barack Obama. In many cases, with these depictions come cultural critiques—for example, he effectively breaks down symbols of masculine power when inhabiting a straight white man wearing a backwards cap and a button down in a bar.

“Ansari seamlessly and effectively inhabits multiple characters...”

Yet one of these voices is not successful— he portrays a sex offender, addressing child molestation in a cavalier way that is, in my opinion, completely uncool. This depiction wasn’t funny, but uncomfortable, uncompassionate and inappropriate.

Although he’s perhaps trying to play to shock value, I don’t think in this case he considers his audience or the severity of cases of sexual abuse.

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

That being said, I did admire Ansari’s willingness to take risks in other subjects. For me, the most culturally salient part of the set was when he reframed the institution of marriage.

Ansari imagines what a conversation about marriage would be like from the perspective of someone completely unfamiliar with the concept.

The sketch goes: “Hey so, you know how we’ve been hanging out together all the time, spending a lot of time together?” he questions, and asserts “I wanna keep doing that ‘til you’re DEAD.” He continues, “I wanna keep hanging out with you til one of us dies. Put this ring on your finger so people know we have an arrangement.”

Ansari goes on to ask members of the audience how they proposed to their significant others, engaging with the crowd in a way unprecedented for many stand-up comedians.

He proves himself adept at improvisation, mocking one audience member for a proposal over a lunch that included breadsticks, spontaneously yet tactfully alluding to the idea that these serious, “adult” milestones are not exempt from the absurdity that is most often considered adolescent in nature.

Many comedians use some form of crowdwork, but few use it well. Luckily Ansari is one of the latter. Most members of the audience that he goes to are willing to share for the sake of the special, but inevitably, one woman does not. Ansari handles it well, despite his frustration, showing the maturity of dare I say, a thirty-year-old veteran of the comedy business. And he handles some serious topics like his relationship with his family and the poverty of relatives in India with his distinct sense of levity.

Through the progression of the set, Ansari continues to let the audience know that although he’s hit the thirty-year milestone, he has a sense of awareness that marks him as different from those other lame grown-ups.

At least for now.

ARTS

November 14, 2013

Page 17

Athj carries poetic passion with him to VC Martha Lino

C

GuEst rEpOrtEr

Campus Canvas

Which childhood television show would you like to come back?

Sam Pianello/The Miscellany News

heikh Athj ’16 finds it important to constantly have a piece of his culture with him. Through his many interests, from poetry, music, the African Diaspora to modern dance, Athj expresses all of himself to the world, and he does this with the hopes of fostering an artistic space where different voices are heard and valued.

An Africana studies and English double major, Athj is passionate about writing and performing. He serves as treasurer for Vassar’s Wordsmiths, sings in the Vassar Devils, participates in many campus organizations, such as Philaletheis, ViCE, Hip Hop 101, and has starred in Future Waitstaff of America’s musical Violet.

Athj finds it important to be in a space that fosters his artistic and intellectual pursuits, and if this space does not exist, he always finds a way to create it. Athj started a poetry club in high school after seeing that his voice and the voices of many other poets in his school were left ignored. In this same trailblazing spirit, Athj spearheaded the creation of the Congo Leadership Initiative chapter at Vassar. In club meetings, Athj lead discussions on how events in the Congo affect international politics, and members in the organization critique social-political issues in the Congo, and fundraise in order to empower young citizens in the Congo.

Athj’s inspiration for his art comes from his parents and his experiences growing up in Los Angeles, California. Growing up, Athj would often go to church with his mother, who was a singer, and he was a part of his church’s choir. His mother also wrote poetry, and after seeing his mother’s love for poetry, he decided to start writing poetry himself. After he experienced personal challenges, writing became a way for Athj to deal with what he was going through. “I went through a lot of personal things and I wrote about those experiences, and created narratives and poetry, and it acted as a way of finding a world outside of that home bubble, and those home

Excuse me,

Cheikh Athj ’16 has engaged in various forms of artistic expression at Vassar, with groups such as Philalethias and Wordsmith. Athj hopes to pursue his passion for writing in a graduate program. stresses, kind of like a getaway from those things, and part of coming to college was a getaway from those things,” he stated.

“I tend to think about my favorite writers like Kurt Vonnegut, James Baldwin, Langston Hughes, and I think about them and how they bared themselves naked to their work, and I just write, and allow myself to make images, and they don’t necessarily have to make sense in the moment, but they give meaning to those words,” Athj remarked.

Athj sees himself as an active artist at Vassar. He makes sure to balance his artistic endeavors and academics. Before writing any of his pieces and performing them, Athj always has people in mind and he often wonders how they will be affected by his performance. “I’m a little nervous and excited to share my stuff, but I wonder if my viewers will hear it and if it will be cathartic for them or enrage them, or make them think, or prompt them to feel

A weekly space highlighting the creative pursuits of student-artists

something human…I think that’s what I’m most concerned about,” he stated.

Athj hopes to continue his passion for writing and performance during his time at Vassar, and even after he graduates. He would like to write for a politically conscious magazine, while he pursues his other interests in music production, poetry and dance. Athj ultimately plans to pursue graduate studies in a writing program, with an African American studies focus, and he has Harvard University in mind for this future academic interest.

Athj views his art as a medium to evoke the complexities and beauty of life. “I feel like there is not enough truth out there. I think our bodies cry out for truth, and our bodies crave for something nutritious, and I’m trying to create that truth, and give people food that will feel good inside of them…I ultimately love art because I think through art is how we capture life,” he said. submit to misc@vassar.edu

“The Rugrats.”

—Maranda Barry ’16

“Judge Judy.”

—Katherine Giesa ’16

“Doug.”

—Doug Greer ’14

“Firefly.”

—Mackenzie Cole ’17

“The Rugrats.”

—Karina Mateo ’16

“The Big Comfy Couch.”

—Matthew Cabrera ’15

—Hannah Ryan ’14

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

Jack Owen, Arts Editor Spencer Davis, Photo Editor

SPORTS

Page 18

November 14, 2013

Monnier brings unique skill set to women’s soccer team Amreen Bhasin rEpOrtEr

T

Jacob Gorski/The Miscellany News

his year’s women’s soccer team finished their season with a record of 9-8-2 and made the Liberty League Tournament for the first time since 2010. This has been due to the hard work of the student-athletes, but there’s a new face on the Brew Crew this year that many on the team consider to be have been absolutely essential to the team’s success. Assistant Coach Pamela Monnier joined the Brewer women this August. Monnier comes to Vassar from SUNY Cortland. She received her Bachelor’s in Physical Education in 2011 and her Master’s in Health Education in 2013. She was a 4-year starting Goalkeeper at Cortland and served as an assistant coach for one year.

According to the coaches, one of the Brewer’s strengths this year has been their stellar defense and in particular their goalkeeping.

This happens to be Monnier’s area of expertise.

“One of my main focuses as an assistant is to be responsible for the coaching and training of the goalkeepers on the team. It has always been a passion of mine to coach keepers specifically. I am able to bring in a goalkeeper-specific perspective that is different from what the program has had in the past,” Monnier said.

Monnier’s coaching has not been limited to the goalkeepers. She also helped train and coach the field players just as much. She noted, “I have really tried to focus on my ability to coach the field players and help them improve their technical and tactical abilities.”

Monnier made her way to Vassar from Cortland, moving to Poughkeepsie over the summer. She said her adjustment to Vassar and Poughkeepsie have proven relatively snag-free.

“There’s always an adjustment period when moving to a brand new city but I think it has been as smooth as it could have been. Coach Williamson definitely took me under her wing right off the bat and made me feel right at home within the department and the team, which of course helped a lot,” Monnier explained.

She continued, “I think it’s safe to say that I can’t thank the young women I coach enough

Newly appointed Assistant Coach Pamela Monnier brings her goalkeeping experience to the women’s soccer team. Monnier joins the Vassar staff after attending and coaching at SUNY Cortland. for welcoming me with open arms into the VCWS family. Without their love and support I don’t think I would be as happy as I am here.”

For Monnier the team has been a highlight of her time at Vassar. She said, “I can’t say enough positive things about the women I am honored to coach. They welcomed me with open arms and made me feel at home right from the start.

I can honestly say that this group of women has taught me more about myself than I have taught them about soccer each day.”

This year has been a growing and changing year according to Monnier. The team is ready to keep moving forward and building on their success. The assistant coach explained, “Overall, I am definitely happy with the outcome of our season this year. We made strides every day both as a team and individually. By no means does this mean I am satisfied with what we accomplished and I think it’s safe to say that this

is the feeling across the board.”

She went on to note, “This season allowed us as a group to realize our potential and what we are truly capable of moving forward. This group of returners is ready and capable of making some amazing things happen next year and for years to come.”

This room for growth stands as one of the reasons Monnier loves Vassar so much. “I love the fact that our Athletics program is on the rise. The idea of being a part of the growth and development toward becoming a threat both in the Liberty League and nationally across the board is a great opportunity,” Monnier stated.

Monnier also expressed her love of Vassar’s diversity and the caliber of the students overall and especially the student-athletes; she asserted this standard has been an inspiring and valuable part of her experience here. “I am honored to be in a position where I am surrounded by

Vassar student-athletes on a regular basis. The women and men that are members of our teams are the most driven individuals I’ve ever been around,” Monnier explained.

She continued, “Between the intense academic load, clubs and other obligations these students are able to find the time to live up to the high expectations that we as coaches place on them by not only showing up to practice and games, but by dedicating themselves to getting better and stronger each and every day. These students are constantly striving to be the best they can be in every facet of their lives and that helps me to try to do the same. For that, I can’t thank these student-athletes enough.”

Vassar College Women’s Soccer and Vassar Athletics, according to Monnier are on the rise, and she feels ready to help the program and department meet its potential. “I truly feel as if the possibilities are endless for me here at Vassar.

I believe it’s safe to say the athletics program here is on the rise toward becoming a national powerhouse and I am honored to be a part of that growth and development as a department.”

Monnier also expressed her hopes for the future of the women’s soccer team. She said, “For the women’s soccer team, I would love to be a part of this team making it into the NCAA tournament and competing for a National Championship. This is something that we are more than capable of accomplishing and I am excited to see it all unfold throughout my time here.”

Looking towards the future, Monnier had nothing but optimism surrounding her team.

She explained, “The future of VCWS is as bright as ever. We are returning an extremely talented group who got their first taste of playoffs and are ready to do more and I think that’s the most important. As a team we are in no way satisfied with what we accomplished this year because we are fully aware that we are capable of much, much more and in a lot of ways that is half the battle.”

She added, “We are a motivated group of talented players who love each other and I think when you have that, there are no limits to what can be accomplished.”

Running club promotes inclusivity, healthy regimen just depends on how everybody is feeling that day.”

The concept of responding to the needs of the runners present on a given day also translates into the decisions about where and how long a run group will travel. Senior explained, “People have different goals when they join RunVassar…either to get back into shape, stay in shape, or train for a particular race or contest.

These goals really effect the amount of days people attend and the level of difficulty they make each run.”

Senior also stressed the relaxed atmosphere RunVassar seeks to offer. She said, “The people who come out regularly run the entire route, however you decide how far you want to go! If people want to run a shorter distance, they can always start off with the group and turn around whenever they feel necessary. We are confident that anyone who enjoys working out and wants to find fitness partners will be satisfied with RunVassar.”

Yu added, “We have run leaders that cover paces between 6:30/mile and 12:00/mile and RunVassar has a policy of leaving no one behind. A typical run is between three and five miles although this can be adjusted to the desires of each runner.”

The organization’s website lists a total of 11 different routes that the club runs. The most popular route is the Vassar College Farm. Senior explained, “We typically do the Vassar Farm loop, which is about four miles from the Main Building. We also do campus loops and other trail runs around campus.”

Yu agreed that the Farm is the most popular route. Yu noted, “Our most popular route is the farm loop which goes to the Vassar Farm and follows the main road past the Rugby fields, down to the Collins Field Station, back to the Rugby fields via a trail through the woods, before going back to the Main Building for a total of 3.9 miles.”

To find the running times, which have recently changed because of early-darkness, check out runvassar.wordpress.com or email runvassar@

gmail.com. As of now, at the time of publication, the group runs are Tuesdays and Thursdays at 4:45 p.m., as well as on Saturdays and Sundays at 3:00 p.m.

Senior made it very clear that four times a week is the target, but that this is not usually exceeded. “We do not actively promote running on your own outside of these four days, but we do have members who run on their own other day,” she explained.

She continued, “We feel four times a week, especially for the newer, less experienced runners is plenty (that’s assuming they can even make all four runs that particular week).”

Besides just being a relaxed running environment for any to join, RunVassar also takes the fundraising efforts very seriously and works diligently to achieve the fundraising goals that they set for themselves. Regarding fundraising,

Yu explained, “Our main fundraising effort this year is for our Relay for Life Team, which is trying to meet the goal of $1000 by the time of the annual Vassar Relay Event on April 15, 2014.”

Other initiatives include helping with the Halloween 5K Fun Run and the Founder’s Day 5K Fun Run. The Halloween Fun Run takes place on Vassar’s campus and participants are encouraged to dress up in a Halloween costume.

The club attempts to fundraise in any form possible, especially through tabling in the College Center in Main Building. Senior reiterated their primary, athletic goal. She noted, “I want to stress and make it clear that RunVassar is a club that is here to promote the physical well-being of individuals, without the commitment of being a full-time student-athlete,” she said. “It is a fun environment to work out and make new friends!”

Spencer Davis/The Miscellany News

RUNVASSAR continued from page 1 sive shoe guide with reviews from knowledgeable staff members and coaches.

The club has weekly group runs every Tuesday and Thursday at 4:45 p.m. and every Saturday and Sunday at 3:00 p.m. In an emailed statement, Communications Chair Madison Senior ’15 wrote, “Anyone can join! We encourage students, faculty, staff, as well as members of the community to join.” She continued, “Anyone who is looking for motivation to get out and jog or run.”

President Leighton Suen ’14 wrote in an emailed statement, “RunVassar allows people of all different running levels to meet each other and run together. We are an inclusive club; anyone can join and come to our group runs.”

Vice President Ronald Yu also wrote that, “Our goal is to provide a positive running experience for people of all levels and goals. There is no commitment other than bringing your shoes and a smile. It’s that simple.”

RunVassar adhering to its status as a no-commitment club, group leaders explained how no sign-up or other commitment is needed to join the group, either for one run or more. Suen wrote, “We know Vassar students are especially busy, so we offer the group runs as a service that people can come to whenever they have free time and want to run with other people.”

Suen also noted that these run groups also have members of the Poughkeepsie community running alongside Vassar students or members of the staff.

Suen, Senior and Yu all stressed how everyone runs at a different pace and that this would not be an issue for those looking to join the organization. Suen said, “Our group runs are for everyone. Our group run leaders run at all different levels, so no one is ever left behind by themselves.”

Senior added that the organization crafts its running pace based on the needs of the running group. Senior explained, “Our runs are typically relaxed. We push different paces (different people have different running abilities) and it really

RunVassar’s members stretch and mingle before going on a long run around Vassar’s campus. The group focuses on promoting a healthy running regimen in order to maintain an active lifestyle.

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

November 14, 2013

SPORTS

NFL scandals highlight double-standard Clyff Young

Guest Columnist

T

here is something rotten in the kingdom of the NFL. For starters, there are no clear Super Bowl or MVP favorites, especially after the Denver Broncos lost to the Indianapolis Colts a few weeks ago. Play has been erratic and unpredictable. Championship hopefuls and playoff contenders from last year like the Houston Texans and Atlanta Falcons are near the bottom of their respective divisions with the losses piling up and their seasons ostensibly lost. These are what one could call “on-the-field problems.” But what about what’s happening off the field, as the pundits say? The two biggest stories of the NFL year thus far have nothing to do with actual game play. In the preseason, Philadelphia Eagles’ wide-out Riley Cooper was caught saying a racial slur on camera at a concert after an altercation with a bouncer. The video went viral, and Cooper got into considerable trouble with his teammates and the media.

He was not suspended, the season began, and, last week, Cooper had a career day.

Now we have Richie Incognito, an offensive lineman on the Miami Dolphins, who the team has suspended for what has been called conduct detrimental to the team. His conduct in question: bullying and harassing teammate Jonathan Martin with violent, racist, homophobic messages and a reported physical assault. It is for these two reasons that the 2013-2014 NFL season will be remembered: not for Calvin Johnson coming within a few yards of breaking the single-game receiving yards record, not for Peyton Manning and Nick Foles throwing seven touchdowns a piece in one game, but for the ignorance and racism of some of the League’s players. The waves of negative publicity crashing against the NFL are getting bigger and stronger with each passing year.

The incidents involving Cooper and Incognito are not entirely comparable. Both men

are white; both men made disparaging and racist remarks towards African Americans.

But the similarities end there. As inexcusable as it is and will remain to be, Cooper, as far as the public knows, made one sweeping statement. Incognito’s bullying of Martin has been ongoing, focused and malicious in ways that make Cooper look tame by comparison. The reactions that Cooper and Incognito’s actions have elicited within the community of football players have been different and nuanced, too. The media and teammates alike have ostracized Cooper. No one came to Cooper’s defense. It was speculated that he might not be able to return to the NFL because other players would be unwilling to accept him after what he did. Incognito seems to be the greater of two evils here. Just look at what he has said to Jonathan Martin over the phone and text. It’s bad. It’s really bad. Couple that with what a female Miami Dolphins employee said about Incognito harassing and molesting her at a charity golf tournament, and we have a genuine scumbag, the likes of which transcends football and professional athleticism. But there is a litany of players around the league, teammates and media members that have come out, not necessarily in support of Incognito, but in decisive opposition of the Martin, the victim. Martin has been called a coward by many; it has been said that Martin broke the locker room code by going public with this. As per a report on Grantland.com, one player said of the situation, “I think Jonathan Martin is a weak person. If Incognito did offend him racially, that’s something you have to handle as a man!” What?

The culture of the NFL, already monstrous, is getting worse. When Riley Cooper insults a nebulous group of people one time, with one word, it’s almost the end of his career. When Richie Incognito repeatedly employs racism, fear, and violence in a deliberate attempt to shake another football player’s mental stability and health, Jonathan Martin is the victim

twice over: firstly, a victim of what should be considered criminal harassment; secondly, a victim of American society at large that thinks all football players can’t have any capacity for weakness or vulnerability. One of these incidents is clearly worse than the other, but societal complicity with the poisonous pedagogy of football has turned athletes into emotionless machines and has made contextual harassment acceptable. Sports are supposed to build character, camaraderie and confidence. Football, in its current incarnation, destroys the foundation is should be building. The NFL bullying scandal is exactly why people think sports, especially football, are so slovenly and backwards. In this case, those people are not wrong. Any institution purporting Incognito is the example of manliness and Martin as an example of weakness has an institutional problem needing serious reconsideration. If a college student sent another student the material Incognito sent Martin, the sender would be criminally charged. The recipient, could, if so desired, receive counseling and help to deal with the inflicted trauma received during the incident.

That’s the way it should work. That’s the way it has to work, but doesn’t in the NFL, in society as a whole. Football on every level needs to be more aware of the emotional precedents it has the capacity to set—both in the nation and worldwide.

The NFL metaphor goes that the turf is a battlefield, players are soldiers, and games are wars fought with the opposing team. Professional football players are not drones— they are human men, even if we are conditioned to think of them otherwise. They are big, fast, strong men that are paid for exactly that. They are not real soldiers, staring down enemy fire overseas, although they do risk catastrophic physical injury every time they play football. Football players are deified; real soldiers are not. Both have emotional needs.

Time to change the metaphor.

Sundays provide a much needed rest, allow time for bonding over sports Luka Ladan

Assistant Sports Editor

I

t doesn’t get much more relaxing than a Sunday at Vassar College. The last day of the week is intended for rest, so that the student may take a break from the grind of daily classes and routine meetings with professors—it puts an end to the coming and going, the to and fro that has overwhelmed each and every one of us at some point or another. The rigors of coursework are put off­­—or, at least, ratcheted down a notch or two.

In my case, Sundays also serve as off days from basketball practice, which goes a long way in recovery and recuperation (both physical and mental). They are opportunities to sprawl out and relax for a short while, a not-so-busy conclusion to a nothing-but-busy previous six days. The weekly Sunday is the ideal down time.

Then you factor in professional football.

You factor in the precision of Peyton Manning, the explosiveness of Dez Bryant and the burst of Jamaal Charles. You factor in the power of DeMarcus Ware, the intimidation of Patrick Willis and the attitude of Richard Sherman. You factor in the wisdom of Bill Belichick, one of the most successful coaches in the history of sports. You factor in the dominance of the Denver Broncos, one of the most potent teams in recent memory. On any given Sunday, there’s a whole lot to factor in.

There’s a whole lot to love about football, and the games seem to come at just the right time. After a grueling week of essays and tests and group projects, the National Football League provides an opportunity to get away from the stress and the overbearing workloads. It is the perfect distraction. Instead of worrying about that political science essay, you can take in that Calvin Johnson fade route or that highlight reel run by Adrian Peterson, or even that vicious tackle by Terrell Suggs in the backfield. There are just so many options, and NFL games allow you to get away from

everything else for just a few hours because of the seemingly limitless viewing opportunities.

Away from grades and exams, professors and office hours, I appreciate every single moment of those Sundays, when I can just unwind on a comfortable chair with some tasty snacks and a football game in the background. A phenomenal touchdown catch here, a breathtaking touchdown run there.

There’s nothing like it—forgoing schoolwork for a few hours and replacing an essay with Larry Fitzgerald and LeSean McCoy. That’s the definition of relaxation, and everyone needs to experience that state of rest for at least a certain period of time. It’s a necessity that cannot be overlooked.

Those are the memories that I will cherish most a decade from now—the sleepy Sunday afternoon with the football game in the background, fresh with a comfy armchair, some delicious food, and the warmth of good company to boot. Luckily for me, my roommate and I have a whole lot in common in that regard; unwinding and watching some good football on Sunday afternoons is at the top of his list of priorities, as it is mine. So, we spend countless hours doing exactly that. He loves rooting for his Buffalo Bills and I love rooting for my New England Patriots, and we get away from everything else together.

Motivated by our fanhood, we get away from it all in unison. Our teams of interest may be different, and we may have different reasons for watching a certain game, but the important thing is that we watch together.

Sunday afternoons provide us with that opportunity, the chance to devote a few hours away from other entanglements and toward the National Football League. We’ll discuss, and we’ll argue, and we’ll cheer, and we’ll shout as football fans do.

I honestly don’t know what I would do without that time. It’s enjoyable, relaxing, thrilling, calming, and comforting all in one.

There are so many talented players and so many exciting games, and then there’s the chance to take it all in with someone close to you. When you think about it, is there anything better than that?

I don’t think so, and I’ll recall those Sunday afternoons ten, twenty, fifty years from now.

I’ll remember nothing but positive thoughts associated with the game of football, when I was able to get away from it all for just a little bit at a time. I’ll remember when my roommate was able to get away from it all, and we were brought closer together by our love for spectacular plays. Those touchdown catches and highlight reel runs from way back when probably won’t be as memorable, but that won’t matter one bit. What will matter is that Sunday state of relaxation, and that good company to make it that much better.

The players and the plays and the games will all recede from memory, one by one, but that pleasant togetherness will remain forever.

Sports are not trivial. It isn’t just a game.

There is much, much more to watching a football game—or a basketball game, or whatever else—than just watching to watch. It’s about all of the little things that come together at the perfect moment to create a memory for the ages, for years to come. Sports mean something deeper. I know that because of the countless Sunday afternoons spent at Vassar College, those joyous harbingers of rest and comfort and friendship.

Everyone needs to find that break in his or her lives at some point, and I’m grateful to have found it during my time here.

So, it’s no secret as to what I did this past Sunday, or what I’ll be doing next Sunday afternoon. There were football games for the watching, and there still will be three weeks from now.

A Sunday afternoon at Vassar means a comfy chair, tasty snacks and some good company to make it all worth something. In the end, there’s really nothing better.

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

Page 19

Howard fails to see faults, blames team Eli J. Vargas I Columnist

D

wight Howard, the current center for the Houston Rockets, loves the spotlight of the media, and he loves to joke around, but for some reason he seems to be hopping from franchise to franchise. How could someone who seems to smile so much and be such a comedian leave animosity in his wake? The answer is that he is not that talented of a comedian, in fact he is awful, and his antics get on his teammates’ and coaches’ nerves. What he should focus on is basketball because that is what he is being paid millions of dollars to do. Trust me, if he did not play basketball, he would probably have to pay people to listen and laugh at his jokes. There is a time and place for joking around, and there is a time and place to be serious, and Dwight Howard does not seem to have the ability to differentiate between the two.

For those who may not have heard, the Los Angeles Lakers have moved on from Dwight Howard after he left in free agency to the Houston Rockets, as has the city of Los Angeles. In a poll conducted by ESPNLA, 96 percent of people said that they did not miss Dwight Howard. This statistic is completely understandable. Wherever Dwight Howard went, there was a media circus, and he loved it. The reporters would always have something to ask him, and he would always have something to say, no matter if the situation would have been best handled with no comment. But that is the way Dwight Howard is. He loves the spotlight, but only when he can handle it. Apparently he did not like the spotlight in LA, because that was too much for him. Hopefully he can thrive in Houston, where he has teamed up with one of the best guards in the league, James Harden, because he was unable to succeed with the best shooting guard in the league, Kobe Bryant.

With Kobe out with a torn achilles tendon, the Lakers faced Dwight Howard’s new team, the Houston Rockets, on November 7. In this game Dwight Howard contributed more to a Lakers win than he ever did when he was actually on the team, by missing seven free throws in the fourth quarter, when he was continually fouled and sent to the free throw line. This inability to make his free throws allowed the Kobe-less Lakers to stay in the game, and eventually win it on a three-pointer by backup point guard, Steve Blake.

Dwight Howard’s failure to make his free throws in crucial moments of games is one of the things that infuriated Lakers fans. He wanted to be as good as Shaquille O’Neal, who was also a notoriously bad free throw shooter, but he has never been able to dominate a game on the offensive end like Shaq did.

When asked about his free throw shooting in the loss, he responded with “Our free throws were terrible. We just have to keep working.” The funny thing is that his team made 78 percent of their free throws, while he only made 31 percent.

Instead of taking responsibility for his terrible free throw shooting, he blamed it on the team as a whole, so he would not have to deal with the blame, even though his team was in no way responsible for bad free throw shooting. This is just an example of what he has been doing his whole career. When the cameras are on him, and he has everyone’s attention, he loves it, and seems to be addicted to it. However, as soon as he receives any negative attention, you begin to see him blame everyone from the coaching staff to his own teammates.

While his own teammates are taking responsibility for their actions, Dwight Howard is blaming them, and skirting any possible repercussions.

What will soon become apparent, when the Rockets do not go deep into the playoffs is that there is a reason why Dwight Howard has never won a championship, and probably never will. In 2010 when his Orlando Magic team made it to the NBA Finals, they were defeated handily by the Lakers.

Three years later, that same Lakers team surrounded him with three other future Hall of Famers, and they struggled to even make the playoffs and had a worse record than before he got there.

The Houston Rockets will sadly come to realize that Dwight Howard will not be mature enough to win a championship.

SPORTS

Page 20

November 14, 2013

Swimming and diving sweeps at recent Skidmore meet Chris Brown spOrts EditOr

V

courtesy of Vassar College Athletics

assar’s swimming and diving teams, both men’s and women’s, had a impressive winning weekend at the recent meet. Both of the teams pulled off tough wins against rivals Skidmore College in a Liberty League meet on Saturday, Nov. 9. This win marks an important victory for the men’s and women’s team, as it gives them one of their early Liberty League wins during a tough season ahead.

On the women’s side, freshman Julia Cunningham broke an eight-year-old school record in the 200 Yard Butterfly. She swam a 2:08.11 and then followed that with firsts in the 100 Yard Butterfly (1:00.39) and the 200 Yard Individual Medley (2:14.25). For the men’s team, the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay team of sophomores Greg Cristina and Isaiah Hale, junior Luc Amodio and freshman Vincent Palladino swam the race that would claim the victory for the Brewers when they touched finish ahead of the Skidmore A team by 0.88 seconds. Senior John Nguyen took two key third place finishes on both the 1-Meter and 3-Meter diving boards.

Junior swimmer Juliana Struve expressed her happiness with the Skidmore meet and the team’s overall performance this past Saturday. “I think the meet was a great start to our season,” Struve described. “Everyone really stepped up and you could see race after race that everyone was swimming to beat the person next to them. We won a couple of races by less than a second which was really exciting to watch. The men’s 400 yard freestyle relay was particularly exciting because the outcome of the meet all came down to that race. And they pulled it off!”

Sophomore diver Maya Pruitt echoed her teammates sentiments, declaring her excitement with how the team has started off this season. “This season has really just started, but the

Skidmore dual meet is definitely the highlight so far,” Pruitt explained. “Both the women and the men won. Watching the last 4x100 men’s freestyle relay was by far my favorite Vassar College Swimming & Diving moment thus far.

We were all on the edge of our seats. That race was make it or break it and they pulled it off.”

The two teams did not reach this point without a lot of hard work. Freshman swimmer Kayla Schwab described a typical practice for the swimmers on the two teams. “A typical swim practice consists of a warm-up set, a challenging ‘main’ set, and cool-down to prepare us for the next day of practice,” Schwab said. “We also try to stretch every day after swimming so that we don’t get too sore. Some days, we all focus on the same stroke, while other days, we focus on the stroke that we specialize in.”

On the diving side of things, Pruitt explained the training process and the major differences between swimming practice and diving practice. “Normal practices, at least on the dive side, consist of a lot of dry land drills and lead ups, meaning something that will prepare you for a dive on the board, like an easier version of a dive your attempting, or a jump or an entry,” Pruitt explained. “Diving takes a lot of technique, so we’re always building on top of the skills we’ve already established. There are a lot of smacks, occasional uncontrollable twitching, and even spontaneous fear of heights, but we always get back up, shake it off and try again. Ultimately, its just a lot of fun!”

A lot of what the team has done cannot be accomplished without the coaches, as a lot of the teammates expressed. The swimming and diving teams are coached by head coach Lisl Prater-Lee, assistant coach Daniel Koenig and diving coach Jesus Santos, who is new to the team. “The coaches are vital to the team’s success,” Pruitt declared. “Especially with a sport like diving, feedback and communication is so

The men’s and women’s swimmng and diving team’s pulled off individual wins at the Skidmore meet this past Saturday. This win marks an early Liberty League victory for the two teams. important to know how to improve. [Santos] has definitely learned our individual processes and quirks. He knows how to explain dives, motivate us to do better, and helps us see the potential within ourselves.”

Schwab expressed her gratification for having two wonderful coaches, as she described them. “[Prater-Lee] and [Koenig] are extremely important to our success,” explained Schwab. “They are so knowledgeable and passionate about swimming, and it really shows in practice and at meets. They have really helped me both with my stroke technique and by challenging me at practice.”

Although the coaches are responsible for a

lot of the teams’ improvement, the teammates’ interactions with each other, and their support for one another, is also important to the team’s success, as described by senior swimming captain Evan Einstein.

“Our coaches are vital to our team’s successes. They bring many different pieces of the puzzle together in terms of technique advice, training tips, and preparedness for current races and future races,” Einstein expressed.

“Our teammates, however, are also vital. And it makes us a better team when both the team and the coaches are working harmoniously and positively. This is the case at this very moment.”

Women’s fencing has standout wins at VC invitational Tina Caso and Chris Brown spOrts EditOrs

Women’s Cross Country

On Nov. 8, the women’s cross country team ran in the Vassar College Late Season Invite at the Vassar Farm. Junior Viviane Ford finished second overall with a time of 19:36 to beat 17 other runners, while junior Harper Cleves took fifth place with a time of 19:53. Sophomore Cara Bennet finished 13th and senior Chloe Williams was 15th. The Brewers’ next race will be the NCAA Atlantic Regionals at Geneseo, NY on Nov. 16.

Men’s Cross Country

The men’s cross country team ran in the Nov. 8 Vassar College Late Season Invite, its final meet of the year. Sophomore Andres Orr finished first for the Brewers and 11th overall while Senior Charles Wise was 18th overall with a time of 21:13. Senior co-captain Sean Majer ran the race with an injuring, pulling off a

time of 21:39. The team will participate in the NCAA Atlantic Regional meet on November 16 at State University of New York Geneseo, hoping to qualify for an NCAA championship spot.

Women’s Fencing

The women’s fencing team competed in the Vassar Invitational on Sunday, Nov. 10. Freshman foil Elsa Stoff and freshman epee Olivia Weiss had strong performances, earning three wins each. The team had wins over Queens College, Yeshiva University and Hunter College. Junior epee Megan Lewis had three of 11 wins against Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) along with Weiss. Stoff also had two wins during that match, but FDU took the win.

In all three of their matches, the Brewers had at least 20 bout wins. In foil, Stoff went 19-5 while freshman foil Claudia Carcamo had 11 wins and junior and sophomore sabres Kathleen Konno and Lily Elbaum each had 10 wins.

The women will host the Matt Lampell Hudson River Invitational on Saturday at 10 a.m. in

Walker Field House.

at the Vassar College Farm at noon.

Men’s Fencing

Men’s Rugby

On Sunday afternoon, Nov. 10, the men’s fencing team competed in the Vassar Invitational. Senior foil Matt Steinschneider and freshman epee Ry Farley each had 16 victories for the Brewers. The team went 3-4, beating Haverford College, Yeshiva University and Lafayette College. Freshman epee Jackson Dammann had three wins against Haverford, along with Farley. Senior sabre Kenny Lee won two matches over Haverford, while sophomore sabre Elam Coalson won all three of his matches.

Junior foil Tre Artis also had three wins against both Lafayette and Yeshiva. Men’s fencing will host the Matt Lampell Hudson River Invite against Marist College, Rennsalear Polytechnic Institute, Bard College, University of Albany, Cornell University and State University of New York New Paltz this Saturday at 10 a.m. in Walker Field House.

The men’s rugby team beat Marist College on Nov. 10 11-5, and the team will now advance to the Tri-State Conference Championship.

Field Hockey

On Monday, various members of the women’s field hockey team earned Liberty League accolades. Head Coach Michael Warari and Assistant Coach Abigail Seward were both named Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year. Senior goalkeeper and co-captain Maggie Brelis, senior forward Tina Caso and junior forward Lauren Wiebe were all named to All-Liberty League Second Team. Senior midfielder and co-captain Anna Schroeder, junior midfielder Enya Cunningham and senior co-captain and defender Catherine Fiore all received Honorable Mention. courtesy of Vassar Athletics

Pictured above: freshman outside hitter Gabby Miller. Volleyball competed in the Liberty League Semifinals this past weekend, but lost in a match against Clarkson University.

Women’s Rugby

On Nov. 9, senior Margaret Kwateng led the team with five tries out of nine tries overall.

The team also finished with three conversions, beating Colgate University. Sophomore wing Cierra Thomas had two ties, while sophomore Taylor Nunley and senior Dallas Robinson both had one. Women’s Rugby now advances to the Sweet 16 of the 2013 American Collegiate Rugby Championship Round on Nov. 16 and 17

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

Women’s Soccer

Four members of women’s soccer earned Liberty League accolades this week. Junior Chloe Wheeler was named to the All-Liberty League First Team, and junior midfielder Sarah Bournenane was named to the All-Liberty League Second Team. Junior Lily Lanier earned Honorable Mention.

Men’s Soccer

Four players from men’s soccer earned Liberty League accolades earlier this week on November 11. Junior forward Tom Wiechert and seniors Juliano Pereira, Ryan Grimme and Evan Seltzer all earned the accolades. Wiechert earned a place on the All-Liberty League First Team after leading the team with 24 points. Pereira and Grimme earned spots on the All-Liberty League Second Team, while Seltzer earned Honorable Mention.

Women’s Volleyball

On Nov. 8, the women’s volleyball team competed in the Liberty League Semifinals, falling to No. 24 Clarkson University in Potsdam, NY. The final outcome was 3-0, and Clarkson had scores of 25-22, 25-13 and 23-17. Junior hitter Clara Cardillo had seven kills and three assisted blocks, while sophomore Chloe Hallum had 16 digs. Junior hitter Taylor Mosley had six kills, six digs and three assisted blocks. Senior setter Rose Carman finished her senior season with 22 helpers and five digs. This season marks the fifth consecutive year that women’s volleyball has finished with at least 17 wins.

On Monday, the Liberty League released its All-Liberty League teams, naming junior Mosley and senior Carman to second team. Junior Cardillo and sophomore Hallum both made it to the Honorable Mention list.