The Miscellany News
Volume CXLVII | Issue 3
September 26, 2013
Since 1866 | miscellanynews.com
Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY
Food and festivities help connect Mazagwu voted in as campus with outside community Class of 2017 President Anna Iovine RepoRteR
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hops, student organizations and restaurants crowded Raymond Avenue last Saturday, September 21 as part of the 14th annual Arlington Street Fair. The fair also coincided with Vassar’s Freshmen Families weekend, giving parents and new students a glimpse at the neighbor-
announcement noted the food and entertainment that would populate Raymond Avenue, as well as what children’s activities the fair would offer. Meade also serves as Special Events Chair for the Arlington Business Improvement District, which represents the suburban zones of See FAIR on page 4
hood of Arlington, which surrounds Vassar. “The main purpose for this annual fair is to welcome new and current residents, merchants, students, and families to the Arlington neighborhood,” said Director of International Services Andrew Meade in the announcement of the fair on the college’s website several weeks ago. His
Sam Pianello/The Miscellany News
Sophomore Cheikth Athj ’16 performs for a crowd of Vassar students and Arlington residents at this year’s Arlington Street Fair which took place on Saturday, September 21. The event showcased performances by several student groups.
Elections allow freshman candidates to engage Vassar community through campaign creativity, enthusiasm Maggie Jeffers & Debbie Altman
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Guest RepoRteRs
his year, voting for freshman elections began on Monday, September 23 at noon and ran until Wednesday September 25. After a week of door-to-door campaigning, designing posters and updating Facebook pages, Nnennia Mazagwu ’17 has been elected the new president for the freshmen class. “I believe one of the most important concerns many students have include communication and representation. I will be a voice for this class, and will strive every day to put the needs of the collective first,” Mazagwu wrote in her candidate statement. Other newely elected council members include Vice President Jonathan Nichols ’17, Secretary Matthew McCardwell ’17 and Treasurer Esteban Uribe Pinto ’17. The campaign process forced candidates to meet new peers and interact with a diverse group of contenders while vying for a position on the Vassar Student Association (VSA).
Serving on the VSA is a chance for students to act as the representative voice of their class amongst the college and administration. That said, being a part of the VSA means different things to different candidates; in emailed interviews, some of class of 2017 presidential candidates enumerated their reasons for running. Stephanie Jump ’17 and Drew Leventhal ’17 both expressed a desire to “make a difference,” Laura Wood and Cecil Carey separately announced their common goal of making the freshman class noticed, or in Wood’s words demonstrat[ing] to the school what she can do. Dan Fu Ruan explained, “I’ve felt so welcome and comfortable in the past three weeks at Vassar that representing my fellow Vassar students seems natural.” While the campaign experiences have been varied, there seem to be a few common denominators among the crowd’s campaign tales. The hanging of slogan-bearing posters had been a long-time classic, and many of this year’s candiSee ELECTIONS on page 4
ALANA welcomes Palmer Gallery to display Freed change, new leader exhibit on historic D.C. march Eloy Bleifuss Prados & Shannon Liao assistant FeatuRes editoR and Guest RepoRteR
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hen she was in third-grader, African American/Black, Latina/o, Asian/Asian American, and Native American (ALANA) Center Director Luz Burgos-López decided she no longer wanted to be part of the English-as-a-secondlanguage program at her school. So she and a friend, despite failing a test to transfer out, showed up one day to the English-speaking classroom. “The teacher said “‘You’re not
on my list,’ and we said, ‘We know, but we go to school here,’” Burgos-López explained. She didn’t budge, though, and kept showing up each day to the class. “We were told that we couldn’t move forward in English,” said Burgos-López, “but I was a rebel from day one. I learned very early on that I had to advocate and make space for myself.” Today, Burgos-López oversees Vassar’s ALANA Center as its new director. See ALANA on page 8
Frisbee tournament storms VC campus Chris Brown spoRts editoR
his past weekend, Vassar College’s Ultimate team held their annual tournament for other colleges and universities in the region, cleverly titled Huck for Red October. This year marks the sixth year that Vassar Ultimate has held this tournament. With a total of eight schools in attendance other than Vassar, this tournament is the culmination of a season of work by the Vassar Ultimate teams. As well as being the biggest Ul-
Inside this issue
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Health fair strives for awareness, safe FEATURES choices
aRts editoR
Fifty years ago, nearly 250,000 people from across the United States traveled to Washington, D.C. to march for civil rights. Students, clergymen, women, children, the young and the old all convened on the National Mall in stifling heat and humidity, holding up signs demanding equality for African-Americans. To celebrate the historic march’s anniversary, the President’s Office, American Studies Department, Africana Studies Department, History Department, Art Department and the Mellon Foundation have brought the renowned traveling photo exhibition “This is the Day: Leonard Freed’s Photographs of the 1963 March on Washington” to Vassar’s Palmer Gallery. The exhibit will run from Thursday, September 26 through Saturday, October 12. The photo series was previously shown at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC and the New York Public Library. The 1963 march is most famous for Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, but visitors at the Palmer Gallery will gain a different perspective of the event. Rather than focus on the icons of the Civil Rights Movement, the late photographer (1929-2006) chose to snap shots of the marchers themselves—capturing their courage, solidarity and exhaustion under the beating sun. See FREED on page 15
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Tips on coming up with the perfect paper topic
courtesy of Leonard Freed
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timate tournament put on by Vassar College, Huck for Red October is also a wonderful place for Ultimate teams from other schools to meet and make connections, according to women’s Ultimate co-captain and senior Anna Been. “HFRO has been going on for a while,” wrote Been. “It’s definitely a tradition and is accompanied by a BBQ as well as festivities with the other teams, so it’s a really fun event. Having alumni teams come back is also great, because these See HUCK on page 19
Jack Owen
The Palmer Gallery will feature an exhibition of the late photographer Leonard Freed’s famous images of the 1963 March on Washington through October 12.
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Wheeler breaks school record for game-winners
The Miscellany News
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Gatsby a potrait of 1920s fashion, style
Editor-in-Chief Bethan Johnson
Senior Editors Chris Gonzalez Steven Williams
Victoria Bachurska FasHion BloGGeR
Contributing Editors
“My life, old sport, my life@my life has got to be like this@. It’s got to keep going up.” — @ Jay Gatsby I don’t know about you all, but I literally had to watch The Great Gatsby twice, mainly because the first time I watched it, my eyes were glued only to the costume designs. The 1920’s were a revolutionary decade for fashion. After the war, women weren’t afraid to indulge in riskier and more provocative (at the time) clothing to symbolize their path towards freedom. Shorter skirts, pleats, and slits became consistent clothing characteristics. Sportswear was also one of the greatest changes in fashion since the war. Women donned sportswear as a representation for their newly active lives, while men engaged in athletic clothing by ditching suits for the slacks. Hats and folded handkerchiefs in jacket pockets were musts, symbolizing class and confidence. Jordan Baker: Argued to be the modern depiction of the 1920’s, Baker prefers a sporty style to complement her golfing hobby. She symbolizes the emergence of the independent women, whose interest in more masculine clothing represents an increase in the equality of men and women. Baker dresses in neutral hues that emphasize her silhouette, often opting for loose linen pants and long sleeveless shirts both in a pale skin color. Lined with heavy black, her eyes are the focus of attention. To read more of the critical analysis of fashion in the latest adaptation of The Great Gatsby, as well as view other student blogs, visit the Main Circle blog at themiscellanynews.com.
September 26, 2013
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 Online Alessandra Seiter
Women’s fashion in the 1920s was tailored to reflect a newfound freedom in the lives of women. Shorter skirts is one example of this.
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Crossword Editor Assistant Features Assistant Sports Assistant Photo
Jack Mullan Eloy Bleifuss-Prados Luka Laden Jacob Heydorn Gorski Jiajing Sun Assistant Online Youngeun “Ellis” Kim Victoria Bachurska Business Manager David Rosenkranz Reporters Natasha Bertrand Emma Daniels Emily Hoffman Anna Iovine Maggie Jeffers Margaret Yap Columnists Zach Rippe Max Rook Lily Sloss Eli J. Vargas I Design Bethany Terry Online Rachel Dorn Copy Alex Blue Elizabeth Dean Christian Lewis Maxélle Neufville 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.
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
September 26, 2013
NEWS
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New team serves to investigate bias incidents on campus Emily Hoffman RepoRteR
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of supporting members of that community and educating others about the members of that community.” Last year, after a bias incident occurred regarding the LGBTQ Center, the Center sponsored an open house in their location so that more community members could become aware and support their community. LGBTQ interns also hosted a teach-in and according to Pittman, “It was a very positive event and drew about 60 people.” BIRT member and Interim Director of Psychological Services Wendy Freedman spoke about the positive impacts of BIRT on the Vassar community. According to Freedman, “Bias incidents negatively impact the entire Vassar community and I believe it is critical for the College to respond in a thoughtful, coordinated and comprehensive manner. After attending the first few meetings this semester, I am impressed by the thoughtfulness and knowledge
base of the members, as well as the preventative and educational goals of the team.” Vassar strongly encourages the reporting of all hate crimes and bias incidents that occur on campus or at college-sponsored events or activities occurring off campus. Taveras shared her own feelings about the utility of BIRT. She argued, “If these incidents are going to happen, Vassar needs to respond in such a way that demonstrates that the community at large will not accept such ignorance or hatred. In that way, if those are indeed the goals of BIRT, the group certainly has a role to play when it comes to campus life, social consciousness, and the safety and inclusion of all types of identities at VC.” She continued, “But, again, what needs to happen in concurrence with this type of group is proactive and preemptive action to counteract the culture that allows for any kind of bigotry in the first place.”
Spencer Davis/The Miscellany News
he Bias Incident Response Team (BIRT) is a the most recent iteration of last year’s Campus Life Response team. It is a team of administrators, faculty and students who work to ensure that students affected by bias incidents have access to appropriate resources, to assist the Dean of the College division with its response to the incident and to facilitate a coordinated campus response to crisis incidents. The college characterizes a bias incident as a behavior or act- verbal, written or physicalwhich is personally directed against or targets an individual or group based on perceived or actual characteristics such as race, color, religious belief, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, marital status, gender identity or expression, national or ethnic origin, disability, veteran status, or age. Behavior reflecting bias constitutes a violation of Vassar College Regulations. There are several ways BIRT can respond to a bias incident, including identification of and referral to appropriate support services and resources on or off campus and adjudication for violations of College Regulations. Co-President of QCVC, Lillian Kalish ‘16 was somewhat skeptical of the new developments to BIRT. “I think the shift from Campus Life Response Team (CLRT) to Bias Incident Response Team (BIRT) is an interesting switch. While I appreciate that this organization focuses directly on the incidents of hate speech, racism, homophobia, and all physical manifestations of kyriarchy, I don’t however like that they are called ‘bias-incidents’,” she said. Kalish continued, “As co-president Julli Taveras and I discussed, when the college calls these incidents that of “bias”, this completely overlooks the systematic climate that produces these incidents in the first place.” Co-President Julli Taveras ‘16 agreed, saying, “I do think (as Lillian said) that the language used contributes to a certain extent to the erasure of the broader issues on campus that culminate in these incidents.” In the case of a potential violation of College
regulations, BIRT does not play a role in the investigation of alleged incidents or render any decision concerning guilt or innocence in the parties involved. BIRT is solely responsible for supporting the affected person or persons. Associate Dean of the College for Campus Life and Diversity, Dean Pittman acts as the team coordinator and convenes BIRT within 24 hours to determine the initial steps of action and to identify additional offices or members of the community who can assist with the response to the incident. According to Pittman, the Campus Life Response Team decided to make a few changes to the team for the upcoming year. Firstly, the name changed in order to highlight the team’s focus on bias incidents. “When talking to students and other members of the community, we realized that they didn’t have a sense of what the team really did and I think the name provides more transparency,” said Pittman, “We saw ourselves responding predominantly to bias incidents and needed to start calling ourselves what we are.” Furthermore he stressed, “Last year we did a survey on bias incidents and how those incidents were affecting the Vassar community and what we learned was that students and others were in fact being affected by the incidents and that people wanted to know the details of those incidents.” Pittman clarified, saying, “BIRT aims to be more transparent about past and immediate incidents. We are currently working to develop new ways of spreading accurate news to the campus community and to track patterns of incidents in order determine the best educational resources to use.” Pittman gave an example of a recent bias incident that occurred on Say Anything, saying,“There were comments made about the new community of veteran students on campus that were not affirming of that community. BIRT met with the Posse Foundation mentor, who works directly with that community, in order to identify any concerns or feelings of threat that they might have. BIRT then aimed to reduce the threat and look at long term ways
Associate Dean for the College of Campus Life and Diversity, and Team Coordinator for the Bias Incident Response Team, Edward Pittman was the leading voice behind the formulation of BIRT.
VSA considers methods for finding new house president Noble Ingram neWs editoR
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n Sunday, September 22, Vassar Student Association (VSA) Council announced that the position of 2013-2014 Davison House President is open. The announcement came from VSA President Deb Steinberg ’14 and was confirmed by Davison House Student Advisor, Nicole Wong ’14, who attended the Sunday night Council meeting. The main question facing both Davison House and the VSA now is what method to use in finding a president to serve on both VSA Council and Davison House Team. In the interim period before the new president is chosen, Davison’s Vice President Khasi Jamieson ’16 has become the acting president. This is confirmed by President of the Class of 2016 Max Moran, who suggested that the VSA could conceivably appoint the Vice President to the position. Moran said, “The VSA Constitution stipulates that if the President of a House, for whatever reason, is unable to carry out his position the Vice-President of the House will step in. This has been interpreted, historically, as strictly for an interim basis until an official election/appointment could be held.” According to VP for Operations Ali Ehrlich ’15, this isn’t the first time a VSA position has become open during the school year. “Over the past few years a few VSA council members have resigned,” she said in an emailed statement. “Last year the VP for Student Life, VP for Academics, and the Town Students Representative all resigned and the Noyes House President resigned towards the end of the year in 2009. So, this situation is definitely not unheard of but is somewhat unusual.” At the meeting, council members discussed the various options they could take moving forward. One possibility would be to declare the position as available and allow anyone interested in serving to apply. After that process, the VSA Committee for Operations would in-
terview the candidates, deliberate and then present their recommendation to the larger VSA Council. This is the process that the VSA usually takes for open VSA positions. According to council members, two things make this situation different. Firstly, the position involved sitting on VSA Council and plays a larger role in student government than is typical. Secondly, the position was filled up until this week, and the fact that it became open now that the school year is under way makes finding someone to fill the position more complex. Another option available to the VSA would be to hold special elections in Davison House. In this scenario, Davison would hold a weeklong joint filing and campaigning period after which the House would vote on a candidate. This plan is also complicated due to the fact, noted by President for the Class of 2015 Casey Hancock in the council meeting, the VSA bylaws don’t give a clear answer to the question of whether or not freshmen would be allowed to vote in this election, given that House Presidents are usually elected in the spring before the freshmen class gets to campus. Contributing to the number of routes to take in deciding the next Davison House President is the fact that the VSA Governing Documents don’t outline a clear method for handling situations like this. As Ehrlich stated, “The VSA Governing Documents allow for a fair degree of flexibility in how we address this situation. Some of the options include filling the position through application and appointment or holding a special election. Some have also proposed that the Vice President should assume the responsibilities of the President and a new VP should be appointed.” One argument some members of the VSA Council had for passing the responsibilities and title of House President onto the Vice President dealt with the fact that current members of House Team have already gone through House Team training. This is a considerable
factor in the decision-making process knowing that House Team training involves an intensive week full of workshops and discussions. It is a clear advantage to anyone who has gone through this process because non-House Team candidates would most likely have to undergo an abbreviated training process. The possibility still also remains that the VSA could simply appoint the current acting Davison House President to the permanent position. As Moran said, “Personally, having spoken to the current Davison House Vice-President and Acting President, Khasi-Marc Jamieson, I support his appointment to the position. This responsibility, taking over for the President when the position can no longer be carried out by the elected holder, is integral to the concept of a Vice-President.” What became clear to Council was that the VSA needs a better method for dealing with emergency replacement situations. Many expressed frustration and confusion in the meeting, wondering why there wasn’t more written in the VSA’s policies and by-laws that would give them some direction in trying to find a new House President. Despite the state of confusion that came out of the announcement, many expressed a strong desire to find a replacement House President quickly. “Obviously it’s important that we move ahead with deciding on a new president for the House soon,” said Davison House Fellow, Professor of Psychology, Allan Clifton in an emailed statement. He continued, “That said, I feel like Davison is in good hands until this is all figured out. I’ve been so impressed with the professionalism and maturity of this year’s House Team, and I have every confidence in their leadership during this time.” Ehrlich echoed the emphasis on the need for a timely resolution to this situation. “The main concern I have heard echoed from a number of council members is really just that the VSA
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
aims to do what is best for Davison House. This means ensuring that Davison has a leader for their house team and voice on VSA council as soon as possible,” she said. She continued, “It also means ensuring that the individual who will assume the president’s role is both able to integrate into an already formed house team and fairly represent the views of their constituency.” Moran expressed his opinion about where the VSA is leaning. “My feeling is that the council is leaning toward an open appointment process. This is not to say that the VSA will unilaterally appoint a new Davison President— there has and always will be consideration taken from relevant demographics (i.e. in this instance the Davison House Team),” he said. Regardless of the process involved in choosing a new president, the general consensus among VSA members is that the process needs to be fair to both those interested in the position, and in Davison House residents in general. Allan Clifton echoed this idea. He said, “I’m not really involved in the process of finding a new president, so I can’t provide any information about the specifics. But decisions about house leadership are under the auspices of Residential Life. I’m sure that they’re going to work with the House Team to find a fair way, which represents the interests of the entire house, to decide on the new president.” Looking forward, Ehrlich explained what students can look to in the future in regards to the Davison House President. “The decision about how this position will be filed will be made at VSA Council this Sunday. I strongly encourage anyone who has opinions on how this situation should be handled to attend the VSA Council meeting at 7PM in the CCMPR,” she said. She continued, “However, anyone who has questions or suggestions should feel free to email vsaoperations@vassar.edu. Input from Davison residents is one of the most important factors that will influence the Council’s decision on Sunday.”
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Outside the Bubble Terrorist Attacks in Kenya
Saturday September 21, several masked gunmen attacked a mall in Nairobi, Kenya. Kenya Red Cross recently confirmed 68 people dead and an estimated 175 wounded. The attackers took control of the mall and 50 to 200 hostages were forced into hiding. (Fox News, Kenya’s Military says ‘most’ hostages freed…, 9.22.13) The Somali militant group called Harakat alShabaab has openly claimed responsibility for the attacks via Twitter. The al-Queda-linked group claimed that the attack was retaliation for Kenya sending military forces into Somalia in 2011 and forcing al-Shabaab members off their territorial land. This militant group is known for violently imposing their version of Islam in Somalia, including beheading civilians and burying teenage girls in sand and stoning them to death. (NY Times, Kenyans Move to End Siege of Mall in Nairobi, 9.22.13) Security forces in Kenya are not strong due to prior attacks, including an attack by al-Qaeda on the US Embassy in 1998, poverty and social inequality. The militant group attacked in a two-pronged manner. Their attack was targeted specifically at non-Muslims; many witnesses claimed that the attackers asked all the Muslims to leave before they started to shoot. US forces had warned Westgate before that it was a target for terrorist attacks because of the Israeli café on the ground floor of the mall. Special military forces were sent into the mall Saturday night, opening fire against the estimated 10 attackers. (CBS News, Kenya mall attack leaves at least 39 dead, 9.21.13) Kenyan forces claimed they have regained control over the mall, having isolated the attackers in one area, while additional forces rescued over 1,000 hostages inside the mall, many of whom were suffering from dehydration. Kenya president Uhuru Kenyatta said that Kenya will survive this attack and will remain “as brave and invincible as the lions on our coat of arms.” (NY Times, Kenyans Move to End Siege of Mall in Nairobi, 9.22.13) Former Director of African Terrorism Rudy Atallah commented that this attack is probably just the beginning of many, as al-Shabaab just proved their capabilities as well as resources to plan an attack this size. Pope Francis Comments on Abortion, Gay Rights and Contraception
—Shelia Hu, Guest Reporter
September 26, 2013
Arlington Street Fair showcases college organizations to students, local residents FAIR continued from page 1
Poughkeepsie and strives to beautify and revitalize the area. “Each year we seek to expand the fair and celebrate the continuing revitalization efforts for the Arlington area of the Town of Poughkeepsie,” he commented. On his aspirations for this year’s fair, Meade said, “During past fairs, we’ve seen thousands of people—families, students, and area residents—attend the fair and we hope that 5000 or more people may attend this year as well.” Vassar was one of the sponsors of the annual fair, and the Vassar Student Association (VSA) took a role in planning the event. “The VSA, specifically Activities, reached out to student organizations and student performers to fill entertainment for the day,” affirmed Vice President of Activities Stephanie Goldberg ’14. According to Goldberg, the VSA has been involved with past street fairs. She continued, “The Activities Committee, including myself, were present throughout the day to be sure entertainment was running smoothly. As well, other VSA Executive members stopped by the Street Fair to check-in and assist.” She emphasized the music and food which drew people from all around the Arlington area and noted the general happy, upbeat spirit of the day. Several tables at the street fair were staffed by organizations from Vassar. One of them was WVKR, Vassar’s independent radio station. WVKR member Kathleen Konno ’15 tabled at the fair. “It wasn’t my first time
there,” she said, “I’ve attended for the last two years and had a great time, but this was my first time tabling.” She then spoke to her own experience tabling as part of a student organization. “I was tabling because my new campus job is working in the WVKR office, which has been an enjoyable and rewarding experience so far, and I’ve learned a lot about how independent radio works,” she said. She continued, “I think the fair went really well. I always enjoy talking to people in the community and a lot of people seemed interested in learning more about different Vassar organizations.” While some groups raised awareness by tabling, others interacted with fairgoers in a different way. Members of Vassar Animal Rights Coalition (VARC) handed out leaflets entitled “25 Reasons Why You Should Try Vegetarianism” to those at the fair. “As a co-president of VARC, I’m always looking out for outreach opportunities that will help educate the Vassar campus about the treatment of farmed animals,” said Alessandra Seiter ’16 (Full disclosure: Seiter serves as the Online Editor for The Miscellany News). This was Seiter’s second year handing out flyerss for the group. She continued, “The Arlington Street Fair serves as a perfect venue for outreach, since it attracts a large crowd of friendly, young folk.” On her experience at this year’s fair, Seiter commented, “It went super well! We handed out 1,200 leaflets in just two and a half hours.” In addition to tabling and handing out
leaflets, some Vassar organizations provided entertainment. Vassar’s circus troupe Barefoot Monkeys gave a performance at the fair. “It was amazing,” said member Michael Goldman ’16, “I felt so connected with the Poughkeepsie community.” This was the first fair for even some upperclassmen at Vassar. “I didn’t go to the fair last year because my parents were visiting and it wasn’t really on our radar,” admitted Samantha Smith ’16. “I decided to check it out this year, and I’m glad I did. I was under the assumption it was just going to be just the food we have on Tasty Tuesday that are on Raymond Avenue anyway, but it wasn’t.” She remarked, “There were a ton of food vendors, but I also saw crafts and shops I’ve never seen before. The Vassar organization tables were cool to stop by, too.” Meade said of the fair, “It is about revitalization, and it is also about having lots of fun.” Smith agreed with Meade. Smith said, “It’s a really great opportunity for Vassar students to see what Arlington has to offer. It’s really easy to fall into the ‘Vassar bubble’ mindset, and the street fair lets us escape it, at least a little bit for one afternoon.” She went on, “We didn’t even have to go beyond Raymond Avenue to see what was out there in Poughkeepsie.” Konno concurred, “This event is really great because it increases awareness of the campus to the community and vice versa. It was also awesome seeing both local families and families of Vassar students enjoying the event.”
Elections connect first-year students ELECTIONS continued from page 1 dates partook in the practice. Jump said in an emailed statement, “Campaigning has been pretty fun! I made posters with some cheesy slogans with the help of my friends. I’m lucky that ‘Jump’ is an easy name to work with.” Uribe Pinto shared similar sentiments in an emailed statement. “I had a lot of fun coming up with catchy slogans to promote my message. I have received mostly positive feedback from my posters and my campaign overall,” he wrote. One part of campaigning that many of the freshman candidates remarked upon in their interviews was the experience of approaching their fellow freshmen in person. Jump noted, “Today, I’m going to hand out flyers and try to talk to as many people as possible. I really want to connect with my class on a personal level as opposed to just online.” Many candidates took to the streets and dorm halls in or-
der to reach out to the fellow students. Some candidates expressed excitement, and even gratitude for this chance to branch out. Wood wrote enthusiastically, “The most enjoyable tactic, however, was meeting people face-toface. I got to get to know so many people from all over campus.” Ruan similarly explained, “My experience campaigning has been an adventure. I’ve been canvassing at the residential houses and it’s been quite fun seeing the range of dorms on campus.” Leventhal revealed that he felt some apprehension about approaching strangers. “Campaigning has been kind of strange,” he noted. “I am not somebody who can really jump into a conversation uninvited so it has been tricky sometimes.” However, Leventhal also saw his attitude change. He also explained, “The door-todoors have been great! People seemed really
Spencer Davis/The Miscellany News
Pope Francis recently remarked in a lengthy interview for La Civilta Cattolica, an Italian Jesuit journal, that the Church was too obsessed with abortion laws, gay rights and contraception. He commented that he wants a more inclusive Church, where people are able to feel welcomed and at home. He criticized the Church for focusing too much on small matters of doctrine and disregarding the bigger picture of life, including love and inclusion. (America Magazine, “A Big Heart Open to God,” 9/30/13). When asked why he became a Jesuit, Francis answered that he was looking for a community to be a member of, which is part of the reason why he is residing in Casa Santa Marta. This is the type of mindset he is trying to instill into the Church, emphasizing that nearness and proximity with the people is needed. When asked about the Christians who are in situations that contradict Church doctrine, Francis said that if a homosexual has good will and is searching for God, he is not the one to judge. The Pope said, “[Church] must always consider the person.” (The New York Times, Pope Says Church Is “Obsessed” with Gays, Abortion and Birth Control, 9/19/13) This type of a more liberal approach is different than the view of Pope Francis’ predecesors, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope John Paul II. Both popes strove for a Church with tight holds on doctrine. Although Pope Francis did not indicate any type of change in doctrine, his words have altered the tone of the Church. Many liberal Catholics responded to his words with gratitude, as they have felt excluded for the past two papacies of Benedict and John Paul. (The New York Times, Pope Says Church Is “Obsessed” with Gays, Abortion and Birth Control, 9/19/13) Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Head of US Conference of Catholic Bishops, said that the Pope’s words were to steer the Church into modern times and to more effectively pass on the timeless teachings. (MSN News, Catholics react to Pope’s remarks on gays, abortion, 9/23/13)
NEWS
Campaign posters make prominent statements as part of this year’s freshmen elections. Freshmen running for office use creative methods to get their name out to the Class of 2017.
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
interested.” Jacob Devasagayam ’17, who also ran for president, shared in the excitement, but pointed out one challenge that he faced. Devasagayam noted, “The best thing about campaigning is that it gives me an opportunity, and oftentimes an excuse, to meet new people. Vassar has so many great individuals and campaigning has allowed me to get to know so many individuals on a personal level.” He continued, “It has been difficult to gauge methods that would best allow me to meet the most people. It is hard to find organized ways to meet people and hear their opinions and thoughts on what can be done to better our school.” The election process has been fairly consistent. Many of last year’s frustrations were expressed again this year, the largest of which being the difficulty of voter outreach within such a short-time span. Wood explained, “I have been trying to get my name out to 665 people, which has been incredibly stressful. I think that is probably the hardest part.” Facebook had expedited the process and allowed wider audiences to get a glimpse of voter campaigns without needing to attend the debate or meet the candidates in person. Pages promoting candidates have become critical forums to encourage familiarity with names of those running. Additionally, some candidates felt somewhat of a struggle countering student apathy toward the process. Often it is not enough to rely on turnout for the Candidates Debate since only a small percentage of classmates attend. The perceived nonchalance with elections is undoubtedly a barrier future runners will have to face. Despite the long hours put into campaigns, Sophomore Class President and last year’s Freshman Class President Max Moran ’16 recognizes that not everything is under the candidates’ control. He noted, “A lot of it comes down to luck.” Often, successful outreach and student interest is beyond those candidates’ control who have limited resources. Moran offered advice to newly elected students. “Fight for the things that are important, and let the insignificant things go. We spend too much time debating rules and regulations and too little time on things that are important to the students,” he said.
September 26, 2013
FEATURES
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LGBTQ Center supports gender, sexual minorities at VC Nikki Lohr
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Cassady Bergevin/The Miscellany News
ith many student identifying as part of the LGBTQIA community, issues regarding the queer community are often hot topics on Vassar campus. But this school year, Director for the Campus Life LGBTQ Center and Women’s Center at Vassar College Judy Jarvis is hoping to promote more discussion about sexual identity, the role of allies and the diversity within the LGBTQ community, which is something that can easily be overlooked in a place that is often presented as accepting of many types of differences and diversity. “These conversations sometimes get dismissed since we’re at Vassar,” said Jarvis. “But there’s a lot of education that needs to happen on how to be an ally.” In an effort to boost these discussions, Jarvis is collaborating with the new African American/Black, Latina/o, Asian/Asian American, and Native American Center (ALANA) director Luz Burgos-López to create more overlap between the two groups. “The centers [of the Campus Life and Diversity Office] name certain populations, which is really important,” said Jarvis.“But we also have to make sure we’re always asking, how do these identities intersect? The Campus Life & Diversity Offices wants all five of our areas to be sites of inquiry about all kinds of identities.” One way the center directors plan to do this is through hosting new events and lectures throughout the year. Last Friday, Sept. 20, the LGBTQ Center held an “LGBTQ 101 Training” session—part of a series that will include two additional “Trans Ally 101 Training” workshops in early November. Friday’s session was a presentation on how to be an effective ally for the LGBTQIA community. The training kicked off with discussing the language one should use to describe gender identities, sex and sexual orientation. Then the presentation leaders suggested tools for being
Director for the Campus Life LGBTQ Center and Women’s Center at Vassar College Judy Jarvis interacts with a group of students in the College’s LGBTQ Center. Jarvis is also a Vassar alumna. an active ally. “Just knowing about these issues isn’t enough,” said LGBTQ Center Intern Willow Carter ’15. “I think Vassar students could learn more about how to be more active.” Though planned as a lecture, the training became a discussion, partially due to the unusually low student turnout. “At first I was disappointed,” said LGBTQ Center Intern Gabe Kawugule ’17. “But actually I think the small group made for a better conversation, since everyone got to participate.” Carter agreed and said. “I think the smaller size allowed people to feel more comfortable bringing up questions,” she said. The questions that came up were similar to those that Jarvis and Burgos-López are working to incorporate into campus conversation this year and addressed exploring the complexities
of identity. LGBTQ Center intern Samhar Khalfani ’17 was interested by how quickly this topic of identity intersections came up. “It’s important to remember that each person in the LGBTQ community comes from different communities; it isn’t a monolithic experience,” said Khalfani. Jarvis and Burgos-López recognize that subjects dealing with identity can be uncomfortable to discuss, even among a group of peers. They say, however, that some initial awkwardness should never be allowed to kill an important conversation. But they embrace this awkwardness as a way to promote change. “There are a lot of theoretical discussions on issues of identity at Vassar, especially since questions about identity come up in many classes,” said Burgos-López. “It’s a lot less comfortable talking about these issues in a social,
practical setting.” They stressed that students should go to events and have conversations that make them uncomfortable. “Race, class, culture conversations are everyone’s responsibility,” said Burgos-López. “If you’re not part of the conversation, you can’t be part of the solution.” To appeal to a wider student audience, Jarvis and Burgos-López have reached out to other Vassar organizations including the Campus Life Resource Group, Bias Incident Response Team and Social Justice Dialogue to co-sponsor events this school year. The first of these events is a collaboration with Social Justice Dialogue called “Communities.” A three-part conversation about identity issues, the first “Communities” discussion will take place in Jewett on Wednesday, Oct. 9 at 8:30 p.m. Though Jarvis wants to push the boundaries with challenging conversations, she also wants to make the LGBTQ Center a comfortable space to hang out. “We want to demystify these spaces,” said Jarvis. “You don’t need to walk into the LGBTQ Center and immediately be talking about Judith Butler. Just come in and have lunch.” So the center had no hesitation in planning events this year. Upcoming LGBTQ Center events from this upcoming weekend include a Queer Ladies Social on Friday, Sept. 27 from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Faculty Parlor and a Class Action Workshop, Saturday, Sept. 28 at 1 p.m. in the College Center MPR. ALANA is also taking steps to appeal to a wider audience. This spring, the center will revive the five-part workshop “White Allies,” which existed at Vassar in the early ’90s. “The workshops are designed to foster an environment where people feel like they can ask difficult, uncomfortable questions that aren’t necessarily P.C.,” said Burgos-López, “We want our centers to be spaces where we can challenge the norms of the Vassar culture.”
Harvest Health Fair advocates for healthy lifestyle choices Kelsey Quinn
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or Vassar’s annual Harvest Health Fair, tables lined the edges of the College Center, with an organization or two stationed at each to promote their aspect of health, and fall flag featuring a pumpkin and an acorn on the glass doors of the College Center invited those passing through to check out what was inside. Vassar’s annual Harvest Health Fair, an event dedicated to promoting various aspects of student health, was held in the College Center on Wednesday, September 18. The event is sponsored by the Office of Health Education and features organizations within Vassar as well as outside groups. With the flu season approaching, one thing several of the organizations present were pushing was the importance of getting a flu shot early. Two wellness ambassadors from Rite Aid, representing both locations close to Vassar,— one on Main Street, and one on Hooker Avenue stressed the necessity of a flu shot for those taking part in dorm-style living. Flu shots are available to patrons at Rite Aid with no appointment necessary, and most types of insurance is accepted. For a more conveniently located option, Vassar Health Services advertised their dates for administering flu shots on September 26 and October 10, as well as other services offered at Baldwin. Many counseling organizations and groups committed to listening to victims violence were present to promote mental and emotional health, offering information about how someone in need could get help through their services. The Listening Center, Vassar Counseling Service, CARES, Domestic Violence Services, Sexual Assault Response Team and Sexual Assault Violence Prevention were all represented at the fair. CARES is Vassar’s confidential peer hotline for personal violation issues, which covers a broad spectrum of things from concern for a friend or those who have experienced abuse.
CARES member Maddie Taterka ’14 said, “Having relationships is an important part of emotional and social health, whether those relationships are romantic or not.” A goal of CARES is to help people have healthy relationships, and being at the Harvest Health Fair allowed them the opportunity to inform students about how they do that. The Sexual Assault and Violence Prevention Program is under the Office of Health Education, the sponsor of the Harvest Health Fair. SAVP Coordinator Elizabeth Shrock said regarding the program, “Prevention is key when we’re talking about how to lower things like sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking.” Being present at events like the Harvest Health Fair helps the SAVP to give information to students about how to intervene before a situation turns to sexual assault. “There are faculty and staff who are able to provide 24 hour a day, seven day a week support,” said Shrock. The SAVP, along with the counseling groups that were present at the fair, all have the goal of making sure that students feel supported in times of crisis. The two most prevalent infections in Duchess County are chlamydia and Lyme’s disease—which explains why Duchess County Department of Health at the fair offering information on both safe sex and ticks, as well as how to act in an emergency. Other types of sexual health were also represented, and many groups provided pamphlets on STDs, STIs and safer sex in general. Planned Parenthood, Hudson River Healthcare Community Health Center, DC Department of Health and CHOICE offered such information. Several tables provided condoms to promote safer sex as well as ways to get tested. The DC Department of Health promoted their free STD/STI screenings. Planned Parenthood stressed that they are willing to help anyone get information on how to get coverage after the changes to healthcare on October 1.
There were also places that catered to the under- and uninsured. The Hudson River Community Health Center, which provides care primarily to the uninsured on a sliding scale, also acknowledged that things would be changing for them after October 1. Though many of the groups present focused on a general area of health, some organizations were focused on something specific. For example, Mended Hearts, an outside group that is Chapter 5 of the American Heart Association, was at the fair promoting heart health. The representative stressed that although heart health may not seem important to college students, any bad habits formed now can build up and later result in other health issues later in life. ENT Allergy and Sleep educated about controlling allergies and healthy sleep. Instead of the pens and magnets that many other groups gave out as freebies, they provided allergy combatants such as hand sanitizer and tissues. Run Vassar was there to get fair-goers to sign up for the Fun Run. Though they are a group focused on running, they had quizzes about sex, mental health and alcohol that earned quiz-takers a handmade mug. For those not registered in the state of New York as an organ donor who were interested, the group NY Organ Donors was available to help them sign up in order to make their organs available to those who may need them in the future. Some of the statistics the group provided were surprising. Only 21 percent of New York residents are registered organ donors; New York is one of the worst states in the country when it comes to the number of people who are registered as a ratio to how many are eligible to register. Their mission as an organization is to improve those numbers in the area. Vassar EMS, which consists of over 50 student volunteers on call 123 hours per week, was there to let students know that they are available in case of such an emergency. Students who work for the EMS service are required to take an EMT class for credit that prepares
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
them for to take care of many of the emergency health problems that students may face, be it the need for alcohol related care, or for a late night stumble. Identity based organizations also had a part in the Harvest Health Fair, offering information to students who embody different identities on campus. The Women’s Center and LGBTQ Center offer support and events for members of their specific groups, as well as safer sex supplies, and they were both represented at the health fair collecting members for their mailing lists and advertising upcoming events. The Women’s Center in particular is looking to increase the number of events and event-goers having just been moved from Strong House to a larger location in Main, adjacent to the LGBTQ Center, and in the former location of the Vassar Greens’ Free Market. Just as these two groups have services geared toward specific identities on campus, with the LGBTQ center offering support for members of the LGBTQ community and the Women’s Center for the women of Vassar, ACCESS is concerned with the well-being of students with disabilities. This group, which focuses specifically on issues that affect people with differing levels of ability, is comprised of those with disabilities as well as able-bodied allies who are committed to promoting awareness of the various issues related to disabilities at Vassar. The Harvest Health Fair served as a place to centralize different health resources for students and help educate them about what is available to them. Along with being a health fair, the event served as a welcome message to fall; leaf garlands decorated the room and in the center tables offered to guests common autumn refreshments such as apple cider, apples and trail mix. More important than the snacks, though, the Harvest Health Fair provided students with information that can help them stay healthy now, and may also help them become healthier in the future.
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September 26, 2013
Summer internship in capital grants political insight Bethan Johnson editoR-in-CHieF
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hanks to Netflix and 8th grade field trips, when most people think of Washington D.C., they conjure up images of The West Wing or 24. I’ll admit I too thought that when I accepted an internship with a lobby group in the District I would turn into my television idol Josh Lyman, stomping around the Capitol building with a clear purpose; in reality, I spent a lot more time asking people how to get to the various Senate offices than I did asking politicians how they proposed improving the nation. Over spring semester I spent a lot of hours considering what field I wanted to intern in— journalism, teaching, politics or whichever field would pay me a decent wage. I knew I needed to live on my own and in a city, but beyond that I was open to suggestions. It actually got remarkably close to summer-time before I finally found a position that piqued my interest: political activism in Washington, D.C. Out of respect for a high school teacher of mine I’d submitted an application to NETWORK: A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby, a well-known lobby group in the city. The lobby group boasted an impressive 30-year resume fighting against the Paul Ryan budget, reduction of welfare provisions, as well as in support for comprehensive immigration reform, the Affordable Care Act and economic justice. Most impressively, the Executive Director of NETWORK, Sister Simone Campbell, had delivered an address at the 2012 Democratic National Convention. The job promised that interns would meet with legislators, lobbyists and journalists invested in federal politics; basically, I thought I had no chance of getting the job. When I eventually was accepted I went through two layers of shock: one at actually getting an internship, meaning I wouldn’t be making a human-sized dent in my parents’ couch; and two, when I realized that I would need to get a second job just to afford my internship. As most students know, while earning a spot
in an internship program feels amazing, the realization that the word “unpaid” comes before it makes summer plans much more difficult. Luckily for me, I found housing in a fairly unsafe part of the city and a minor amount of funding— enough to pay for basic food—from a fellowship program. My “house,” an abandoned convent next to a hospital, promised me a revolving door of international nuns, a computer-tech slash reverend’s son for a landlord and two roommates from other universities. With such a daunting set of conditions both domestically and professionally, I had no idea what I kind of summer experience I would have. I had also never lived in or commuted to a city before, and the prospect of traipsing around the southern city in the summer felt extremely beyond my savvy. So upon arrival in Washington I was surprised at how quickly and easily I transformed into a Washingtonian. Within a week my roommates and I were laughing at tourists who didn’t follow the “step back from the opening doors” command on the Metro and the barista at the Starbucks by Union Station knew my name. I joined NETWORK directly on the heels of their cross-country bus tour advocating for comprehensive immigration reform. The hilariously named program, “Nuns on the Bus,” featured dozens of nuns traversing 6,500 miles through 15 states over the course of one month. The colorful bus stopped in 40 cities, at churches, regional congressional offices and town centers to inform citizens of the importance of passing comprehensive immigration reform. At these rallies, as well as through their newsletter, the lobby group passed out thousands of postcards, written to Congress, advocating for an immigration bill. I mention these postcards because they became my main task. Over the course of my two month internship I received, documented and sorted over 10,000 postcards by zip code; I also spent many spare moments shipping out thousands more.
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While this job may seem like clichéd and unimportant intern-work, I found that somehow these tasks prove highly influential in both the internal politics of a firm and on Congressional offices. On my second day I was asked to stand at a copy machine, photocopying duplicates of 5,000 postcards; I stood beside that machine hitting “START” again and again for almost 10 hours before job was done. (It is also interesting to note that made my break-free stand the same day as the infamous Texas filibuster by Wendy Davis) Although my feet were sore and my patience was low, I learned the work mattered. The next day I was allowed to accompany my bosses on a trip to dozens of Senator’s office delivering these photocopied postcards and discuss our position with legislative liaisons and chiefs of staff. Thus, within my first week I had somehow managed to make my way into Congress and introduce myself to Senators. As I continued on my battle with the postcards I also had two other profound moments in the halls of Congress. The first came when Sister Simone was called to testify before Members of Congress, including Congressman Paul Ryan. My boss invited me because she knew I had adopted a McDonald’s budget (an unealistic proposal made to McDonald’s employees) and had been writing brief, daily blog posts on working two minimum wage jobs to make ends meet in Washington. Congress asked her to speak on behalf of welfare programming, and the event informed me of the diversity of opinions in Congress on issues of poverty and welfare. And, in the last week of my internship, as a reward for my continued labor on postcards I got the honor to meet Senate Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and several other Senators. NETWORK hosted a Congressional briefing to motivate Congress to pass the immigration bill, and all Congressional offices were invited. As I looked out the office, watching a slide show I designed repeat behind the speakers, I was profoundly moved by the words of wisdom and encouragement these Senators offered. To
great joy in my office, before I left Washington, the comprehensive immigration reform passed the Senate. Although I learned a great deal from my experience with NETWORK, my summer featured many other, equally important, moments. I had the pleasure of celebrating on the steps of Congress when I heard the Supreme Court decision on same-sex marriage, mark the Fourth of July with fireworks and dancing on the National Mall and plan events commemorating the 50th anniversary of the March of Washington. Moreover, for me, working in Washington DC also meant living in the city. Over my two months I learned the struggles and joys of living in such an urban space. Even on my limited budget I was able to enjoy the numerous offerings of the metropolis. Unlike New York City, most museums and film screenings are free. Each weekend my roommates and I could see the White House and the Washington Monument and then, within half an hour, be viewing paintings. The most expensive outing we ever took was viewing a Nationals game and eating dinner in the stadium, a typical Friday-night date for interns, and that only cost us $12. For all of its influence and its political celebrities, I made myself at home in Washington. Now, back in Poughkeepsie, it’s hard to remain hopeful with the actions of Congress. In the last few weeks I’ve watched some of the issues I devoted my summer to, immigration reform and economic justice, suffer blow after blow; the House of Representatives voted to cut $40 billion from the food stamps program and the bill promoting comprehensive immigration reform seems to be perpetually stuck on the back-burner. However, one thing is reaffirming: the passion I found for change in that city, and with people across America. While some Congressmen may appear out of touch or so partisan that they will gridlock Congress for personal gain, I will always remember that there are hundreds more people fighting to enact change.
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September 26, 2013
FEATURES
Holocaust memory honored on campus Erik Halberg
Guest Reporter
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o write poetry after Auschwitz is barbaric,” wrote Theodor Adormo, a German philosopher who wrote extensively about society and Germany’s responsibility for the Holocaust in 1949. The question he raises is clear—after such a horrible deed as the Holocaust has been committed, how can those involved simply go back to living a normal life? How can life regain some sense of order and peace and yet still pay justice and homage to those who suffered and died? Can it simply be forgotten and left in the past, as a terrifying skeleton in the closet of the human race? The answer, as Associate Professor of German Studies Silke von der Emde, of the German Studies Department , put it, is that one cannot simply forget what happened in the German concentration camps—it must be remembered and memorialized. She said, “There is the need to remember the Holocaust and its consequences in order that we can prevent it from ever happening again.” And, to that end, Vassar has maintained a strong tradition of creating programming memorializing the Holocaust. Vassar has been heavily involved with Jewish communities in and around Poughkeepsie, sponsoring Yom Hashoah, or Day of Holocaust Remembrance, in past years. There is also much support for the Vassar Jewish community to bring in speakers and to screen films on the Holocaust if and when they so chose. Professor von der Emde, who is heavily involved in Holocaust memorial studies, believes there is reason beyond mere remembrance that keeps the Holocaust relevant and worth keeping within the public sphere. Von der Emde said, “It [the Holocaust] also vastly changed the discourse pertaining
to many different subjects, such as the need during the Nuremberg War Trials for the creation of the category of offenses called ‘Crimes against humanity’ and the application of law towards those who have committed genocide. It also opened wide the field of memory studies, which is fascinating because it is so interdisciplinary. For these reasons and many others it is imperative to study the Holocaust.” Living her words, von der Emde gives many speeches and attends many Holocaust memorial events every year. Coming up soon, she will be speaking at a project facilitated by a local library in conjunction with Vassar that will involve the reading and discussion of Holocaust-inspired literature. Over Freshman Parents’ Weekend, she gave a speech and screened a film for her class “Holocaust Memory In Germany and the US”, which is a joint project between the Media Studies and German Studies Departments. There are many classes that students can take if they are interested in learning more about Holocaust memory and the effects it has had on Jewish, German and global culture. Every year there is a Holocaust Memory seminar, in which students study the way in which the Holocaust is remembered in the United States and in Europe. The Media Studies Department offers a class, the “Holocaust Memory In Germany and the US” that von der Emde teaches, which focuses on the Nazi regime’s use of propaganda to turn the general population against the Jewish population and coerce them into turning a blind eye to the atrocities being committed within the concentration camps. Another course examines the way that Jews have been represented and portrayed in major films over the years. Several years ago, von der Emde from German Studies, Professor Hoehn from History,
Ron Patkus from the Vassar Library’s Special Collections and Professor Moore from the Religion and Jewish Studies Departments came together in an effort to begin a greater dialogue on Vassar’s campus regarding the legacies of the Holocaust and its effects on the modern day. One result of this was an interdisciplinary class that examined every aspect of the way the Holocaust is presently thought of, from the way it is taught in schools to the way it is memorialized on a nation-wide level. This class was run jointly with a similar class being taught at the Moses Mendelssohn Institute just outside of Potsdam, Germany. Students from both schools used video-conferencing and other technology to hold debates and work on projects together from across the Atlantic Ocean. Over October Break, the students exchanged with one another, Vassar students going to Germany and vice versa, to visit Holocaust memorial sites and events in their counterparts’ nation. Because of the expenses involved in offering such a huge class involving so many professors, not to mention the plane trips across the Atlantic, the class has not been offered to students again. But the faculty who were involved in the class hold out hope as they are planning on bringing together funding and interest to offer the class once again. Vassar, over the years, has provided many opportunities for both students and people unaffiliated with the school to familiarize themselves with the events of the Holocaust and how it affects the world today. As Professor von der Emde said, the Holocaust is remembered because it is essential that something of equal horror never happen again, but also because of the continuing discourse it has opened on such a broad range of subjects that we must study it and its effects.
Lecture encourages female-identified students to make their voices heard Nicole Javorsky Guest Reporter
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eminism compels people to speak up about gender inequity. The fact that “feminism” is often considered almost a dirty word is telling about how women are expected to behave, both in the world of Vassar and outside of it. Vassar graduate and co-founder of the Girls Leadership Institute Rachel Simmons ’96, suggests that apprehension toward feminism is rooted in the qualities that constitute a “good girl” in American culture. On Wednesday September 18, Simmons led a workshop called “Interrupting the ‘Good Girl’” to share strategies for developing leadership skills with female-identified students. During the workshop, Simmons introduced three aspects of leadership: authenticity, assertiveness and self-awareness. The Women’s Center worked with co-sponsors to bring the workshop to Vassar and to help female-identified students improve upon their leadership abilities. Women’s Center Director, and Assistant Director for Campus Life/LGBTQ and Gender Resources, Judy Jarvis said, “I was drawn to [Simmons’s] work because she asks students to work on taking small risks and break out of the ‘be a good girl’ mode that many women are programmed into from early ages.” Simmons asked the students in the workshop to answer the question, “How does society expect a ‘good girl’ to look and act?” Responses included modest, docile, polite, charming and non-confrontational. Girls often end up paying a steep price for modesty and submission as they mature, according to Simmons. For example, one must be able to identify their strengths and skills in a job interview. Yet, many girls are trained to fear being perceived as overly confident. Feminist Alliance member Rachel Tankersley ’17 described how this trend impacts female students on campus. “From discussion, it seems that many females at Vassar fear speaking too much in class and speaking confidently,” she said.
Simmons said that she believes that confidence also plays a role in the disparity between the salaries of men and women. With confidence, one can negotiate salaries and be a better leader. However, societal messages train girls to be modest early on in their lives. Outreach and Communications Coordinator for the Feminist Alliance Kayla Neumeyer ’15 commented on the relationship between self-advocacy and success. “I think there is a direct relationship between self-advocacy, activism and empowerment,” Neumeyer said. “When a group that has faced discrimination and oppression has a voice, they gain collective power. Outsiders who do not have the same lived experience can certainly provide allyship, but empowerment comes from within a movement.” Feminist Alliance member Elizabeth Snyderman ’17 elaborated on the role of males in the sphere of women’s issues. “I think it is very important for men to listen to conversations about gender equity [and] women’s issues. However, when it comes to men participating in conversations . . . I have noticed that often times, men will end up dominating the discussion,” she said. Syderman continued, “If men are given the same consideration in feminist discourse, male privilege will make it impossible for women’s voices to be heard.” In addition to societal pressures, micro-aggressions such as casual insults and name-calling impact women’s ability to present themselves in various spheres—from the academic to the social to the “There are a lot of micro-aggressions on the Vassar campus and everywhere [else] such as rape jokes, casual misogyny and slut shaming,” Tankersley said. Casual insults also impair the ability of female-identified students to fit in. “Put-downs chip away at female-identified people’s self-esteem and sense of belonging in their classrooms, dorms, and extracurricular [activities],” Jarvis said. Another problem, sexual violence and assault, can deeply impact the lives of college students. Despite numerous prevention ef-
forts, sexual assault and dating violence continue to occur in colleges across the country. Jarvis said, “[Being] progressive” does not warrant a pat on the back.’ She said she believes that treating others equally should be expected rather than preferred. Students at Vassar are not immune to domestic violence merely because the school has adopted a progressive position on issues of equality. However, Jarvis asserts that promoting equality is a process, and that prejudice can fade, but does not vanish overnight. Jarvis said, “Many of the oppressions that women face in our country are replicated on this campus.” And once again, one of these oppressions involves the concern of feeling uncomfortable speaking one’s mind, one of the fundamental aspects of Simmons’s lecture. Tankersley explained, “There seems to be a lot of misconceptions about what it means to be a feminist. Women are not able to passionately speak up for fear of being labeled a ‘man-hater.’” The capacity to speak up is vital to succeeding in many academic pursuits. Class participation not only plays a role in grades, but also in learning. Being encouraged to speak up in can also prepare one for exercising one’s voice in job interviews, the workplace, and the rest of the real world. The workshop also incorporated interactive activities and practice to encourage women to be able to speak confidently. Jarvis articulated her goals for what she hopes students gained from the workshop. “I hope students who attend the workshop will leave with a spring in their step, feeling affirmed that they do have the self-knowledge and confidence to be a leader, whatever that means for them,” she said. Jarvis continued, “For some students it may be wanting to be the president of a student organization, or landing a summer internship they’re really passionate about. For others, it might just be working on speaking up more in groups of their friends.”
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Prison class works with inmates Julia Cunningham Guest Reporter
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his 2013-14 school year marks the sixth year that Vassar students, along with Professor of Political Science Mary Shanley and Professor of Sociology Eileen Leonard, make the trip once a week to the Taconic Women’s Correctional Facility in Bedford Hills. There, Leonard and Shanley, teach “Gender, Social Problems and Social Change,” an introductory level sociology course which covers topics from racism and the Civil Rights Movement to homophobia and the Gay Rights Movement. Last year, Associate Dean of the Faculty and Associate Professor of English Eve Dunbar teamed with Professor Shanley to teach “Families, Law and Social Policy”. “The course is made possible by a collaboration between Vassar and Hudson Link, a private organization that administers college programs in a number of correctional facilities in the Mid-Hudson Valley, providing essential organizational and material support,” Shanley said in an emailed statement, The idea for this course was inspired in part by a similar course taught by Professor of Religion and Africana Studies Lawrence Mamiya for the past thirty years at Green Haven and later the Ottisville Men’s Correctional Facility. “It was just clear that, not only that he was doing good work, but I kept hearing repeatedly from students that this course changed their lives,” Leonard said. From there, Leonard and Shanley heard about and became involved with a program called Inside-Out that works for social change. The start of their work at Taconic marked the first Inside-Out program in New York State. Leonard explained, “It’s not just the Vassar students getting credit: the women at Taconic are taking a Vassar course and they are getting credit for it, which is really terrific on Vassar’s part, that Vassar opens up its courses to them.” “The real message that we want to get across as social scientists talking about social problems,” Leonard said, “is that social problems are not just individual issues, but they’re caused to a large extent by social conditions.” “So with every social problem we deal with we pair it with a social movement to show people pushing back and organizing it and trying to deal with these very severe problems,” she said. Despite the setting, the classroom is set up like any other Vassar course. There are a total of 23 students: 13 women from the facility and ten Vassar students. The class is discussion based, so the students sit in a circle and, Leonard said, “We have them sit every other: a Vassar student, a Taconic student, a Vassar student, a Taconic student so we’re mixing it up all the time.” Just as in any Vassar class, along with the reading there are presentations, written responses, and class discussions. They even break down into smaller groups of four—two Vassar students and two Taconic students, to make sure everyone gets to have a say. The class consists of a variety of Vassar students as well as a wide mix of levels of education from the Taconic women. “For some of them its their first college class they’ve ever taken, and some of them even just got a GED not a regular high school diploma,” Leonard said. Leonard continued, “Others times we’ve had women at Taconic who have graduated from college and then wound up at Taconic.” According to Leonard, the Taconic women do not just appreciate the course, they like taking the course alongside Vassar students, just as the professors enjoy teaching it. “And part of that was finding the prison, and then the second thing was going through getting it approved by the state and then having Vassar approve it.” Vassar was very supportive throughout the process, as Leonard pointed out that “[Vassar] really thought it was a good idea and could see very clearly how everyone would benefit from it.” “It’s something I’d be happy to do for the rest of my life,” said Leonard. “Both Molly and I are hoping that other faculty will also pick it up.”
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September 26, 2013
Burgos-López a source of support for students of color ALANA continued from page 1
Spencer Davis/The Miscellany News
The ALANA Center is a space specifically for Vassar students who self-identify as a person-of-color. Built in 1993 next to the Powerhouse Theater, it is used as a meeting space for a dozen student racial and cultural affinity groups and is the launching pad for programs on campus dealing with issues of diversity and inclusivity. Burgos-López is no third-grader now, but since she began last June she said she is still driven by the lessons she learned as a classroom outsider. A seat at the table can be yours, if you are willing to fight for it, according to Burgos-López. “She’s an extraordinarily empowered woman. Very strong-headed, very loud,” said Jeremy Garza ’14 who worked with Burgos-López on Transitions, a program which aims to help freshmen from low-income backgrounds adjust to Vassar. Indeed, this is how she described her position. Her job, along with being a mix of administrator, organizer and counselor, is to be a liaison between the student body and the College administration. “I’m really here as an advocate of all students,” she said. Burgos-López, who was born in Puerto Rico and is a first-generation college student, knows firsthand the challenges of being a minority student at a small liberal arts college with a majority white and a majority higher-income student population. As an undergraduate, she attended Wesleyan University and she described her time there as mixed. She noted, “It was a love-hate relationship.” Wesleyan was not like her home of Hartford, Connecticut, and Burgos-López quickly discovered that many of the other students came from far more privileged backgrounds than she. “As a low-income student it was very difficult to be in a space where people were like, ‘What private school did you go to?’” she said. The director added that before arriving to college, she hadn’t known that private schools existed. By the time others began to learn a bit about where she came from, Burgos-López started
Luz Burgos-López is the new Director of Campus Life for the ALANA Center. Before arriving at Vassar, Burgos-López worked with social justice programs, intercultural centers and women’s centers in Connecticut. receiving some unwelcome attention. Students made a point of asking her for her SAT scores or the grades she got in class. Others were more direct. As Burgos-López said, “[Some] people would make comments like ‘I can’t believe you survived, how did you even make it here?’” Without ever going away entirely, the frequency of these comments gradually lessened. “But it baffled people, even professors, that I was there,” she said. It was up to Burgos-López to carve out a space for herself there. Wesleyan did not have a building for underrepresented students like Vassar’s ALANA Center. What conversation there was about issues of race, class and culture had to be generated by the students. A co-chair for Wesleyan’s Latino social group since her freshman year, she found the task of engendering conversations about race and cul-
ture daunting without the support of faculty. Her campus advocacy sometimes took priority over schoolwork. By the time she graduated in 2009, she had already decided what her next step would be. “I always knew I wanted to do work with multiculturalism, self-advocacy, and social equity,” she said. Before coming to Vassar, Burgos-López worked at Eastern Connecticut University with their intercultural and their women’s centers and University of Connecticut designing teaching leadership and social justice programs. “Simply saying you are a diverse campus is not enough for me anymore,” she said. Rather what she said she liked seeing when she visited Vassar was a history of social justice. That and an outspoken student body. She said, “I wanted to be challenged and I
wanted to be in a space where students held me accountable, but I also wanted to hold students accountable and teach them as well.” Having a building specifically devoted to multiculturalism clinched her decision to become the new Director. “That there’s an ALANA Center at Vassar, I think, is a statement in and of itself, in terms of creating a space,” she said. Besides hosting more than twenty student meetings a week, the ALANA Center also serves as a safe space for students of color. It has a kitchen, along with a TV and living room set-up. Here students can hang out or even nap on one of the coaches. “This year we’re trying to make this space more welcoming to students and to have a homey feel,” said ALANA Program Intern Susie Martinez ’15. “A lot of events involve us cooking.” Garza shared how in his Vassar career the ALANA Center has given him and his peers an opportunity to be themselves. “Me and my friends would hang out there a certain level of solidarity and safety as well. We can say whatever we want to say, outside the gaze of everyone else. There’s strength and there’s comfort in affinity groups,” he said. Burgos-López, however, thought a safe space shouldn’t just begin and end at the doors of one single building. “It’s beyond the ALANA Center, it’s the whole campus’ responsibility,” she said. A broader role for the Center may now be possible, according to Garza. Burgos-López’s arrival to Vassar signals the start of some big changes to the college climate. “I think she’s putting us in a position to advocate for larger budgets, to advocate for a larger presence on campus,” Said Garza “She knows how to play politics,” he also noted. Back in her office, Burgos-López said she is keeping her door open. Whether it be for students in need of counseling or a quick check-in, she is always willing to chat. And she added once more, “If I’m here, interrupt me. That’s kind of how I see it.”
‘Ugly’ cheesecake beautiful down to the very last bite Aja Saalfeld
FeatuRes editoR
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courtesy of Freshfromtheoven
make ugly cheesecakes. It has been something of a life-long problem. Every cheesecake I have ever made is tinged yellow, has cracks down the middle that would rival the Grand Canyon and a bumpy, uneven graham cracker crust. I have tried many different methods to get my cheesecakes to look better; water baths, changing the fat content, different temperatures, different ingredients, crying—I’ve tried them all. And none of them have worked. But that is not to say that they aren’t delicious, because they are. Nothing made almost entirely out of dairy and other animal products could possibly be anything but at least passably edible, if not amazing. Cheesecake, while seemingly simple, has a huge variety of variations available to discerning cooks. Apparently I’m not a discerning cook, though—I’m boring about what I want in my cheesecakes. I just want heaps of Neufchâtel cheese, some eggs, some sugar and a graham cracker crust that is mostly butter. Basically, I want heinous amounts of fat, hoping that the artery-clogging powers of my confections will make up for how hideously unattractive they are. The cheesecake I most recently made is no exception to being a fatty and delicious, but also dense and ultimately grotesque future heart attack. At first we were a little concerned, because the cake was frighteningly heavy and had cracked in the shape of an almost-pentagram. Other than its potential possession by otherworldly spirits, however, the cake itself turned out surprisingly well, considering the various oddities that contributed to the ultimate finished product. I should have realized right off the bat that this was going to be yet another ugly cheesecake. First, we got off to a violent start by punching stacks of graham crackers in their packaging, rather than going through the more
normal steps of mashing them with a meat grinder or a rolling pin. Because we used fists instead of proper graham cracker destroying implements, we ended up with plenty of large chunks of graham crackers in the crumb mixture. I did my best at squishing the chunks with my fingers while I was mixing the crumbs with melted butter. So, our crust was not exactly perfect—whatever. It’s hardly out of the ordinary for my typically hideous cheesecakes. Besides, the liberal application of cinnamon and vanilla extract— something the author rather absurdly chose to omit from the recipe proper—more than made up for any problems associated with gigantic chunks of graham cracker in the crust. Probably. Making the filling, however, followed a much more standard procedure. Other than one egg that put up a valiant fight against the mixer, everything went almost too smoothly. This is always the part that gets my hopes up that the cake will be just as creamy and beautiful as the batter, but it never is. And, since I am perpetually optimistic about how my cheesecakes will turn out, I was just as hopefully watching this particular iteration of cheesecake come into being. And, as usual, my hopes were cruelly dashed by a fatal combination of the Jewett oven, my own bad luck and the aforementioned possible possession by otherworldly beings. But, despite what I may think, looks are not the most important part of a cheesecake, or any other confection. Taste is, and this is, at least taste-wise, the best cheesecake I have ever had any part in creating. I judge a cheesecake on its ability to stand alone, plain, unadorned by fruit or curls of chocolate, and this one lets its cheesy flavor stand alone perfectly. Dense, moist, and with a well-seasoned and well crisped crust, I am so incredibly proud of this ugly little cheesecake, that it almost makes up for being cracked and horrifying. But only almost.
The Recipe Crust
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar 1/3 cup (5 2/3 tablespoons) melted butter 1/8 teaspoon salt
3) Press the crumbs into the bottom and up the sides of the pie pan. 4) Separately, mix filling ingredients until smooth. Then pour into crust.
Filling
2 cups (2 large packages) cream cheese 2 large eggs 2/3 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1) Preheat the oven to 350°F. 2) Make the crust by mixing together all of the crust ingredients until combined.
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
5) Bake for 20 minutes, then add a crust shield; or shield the crust with strips of aluminum foil. Bake for an additional 10 minutes. 7) Remove the cheesecake from the oven, and set it on a rack to cool while you make the topping. Once the cake is cool, cover and refridgerate until read to serve to guests.
September 26, 2013
OPINIONS
Page 9
THE MISCELLANY NEWS STAFF EDITORIAL
Campus lighting requires notice, short-term solutions exist
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lthough Vassar College continuously works to establish safe spaces for the entire College community, there are certainly ways in which their efforts can be improved. We at The Miscellany News acknowledge that Vassar strives to prioritize the emotional and physical well-being of students, faculty and staff. Despite these efforts, the lack of adequate lighting along the South Commons, Town Houses, Terrace Apartments and Sunset Lake paths pose a significant threat to the Vassar community’s emotional and physical well-being, and must be addressed. With the recent construction of the new Science Center the lack of adequate lighting on the Academic Quad is especially concerning. Since the beginning of the academic year, lights have intermittently been going out along the path from Main Building to the South Parking Lot. At the time of publication, there is a total of three non-working lights between Main and the South Commons path. This is particularly problematic for students who walk along this path at night, such as those returning to the South Commons or going to Skinner Hall to practice. Ultimately, this lack of lighting poses a safety threat by compromising pedestrians’ ability to see other people who may be in the area, as well as objects on the ground that may cause them to trip or fall. As winter quickly approaches, those walking along poorly lit paths are at more of a risk of slipping and falling on unseen wet leaves, or patches of ice.
In the area surrounding New England Building, this lack of adequate lighting is compounded by the additional safety threat of banner-adorned fences, which are intended to hide the construction. However, this creates an enclosed space that potential predators can occupy without being readily detected by pedestrians walking along these paths. In this sense, the academic quad has become a potentially unsafe space for frequent nighttime walkers. In addition to people feeling unsafe walking along the academic quad, this lack of adequate lighting can also be found in other areas on campus. Lights frequently going dark along the path leading back to the Town Houses pose a definite safety risk for those walking back to their houses after dark. Furthermore, the complete lack of lights around Sunset Lake makes that area of campus a definite hazard for nighttime walkers, especially those who use that path to walk from the Terrace Apartments to the South Parking Lot, and for those walking from the South Commons to the Terrace Apartments or Walker Field House. Furthermore, the outage of Blue Lights, particularly the one nearest Sunset Lake and Shipping and Receiving, poses an additional threat to the safety of the campus community. Blue Lights immediately connect students located in remote areas of campus such as Sunset Lake, Shipping and Receiving, and the Tennis Courts to the Campus Response Center, and thus give
many students walking at night an added sense of security. For many students, if a Blue Light is out, this not only makes them uneasy, but also poses a substantial threat to their safety should an emergency arise. We acknowledge that the College provides students with various resources that facilitate nighttime transportation around campus. The Campus Shuttle, as well as Safety and Security’s promise to drive students back to their residences when they are feeling unsafe, provide students with excellent alternatives to walking in the dark. However, for some students this dependence on Safety and Security effectively eliminates their ability to travel between places on campus at will. Additionally, waiting for a ride between campus buildings often takes time, and as a result many students find that walking is a faster solution. Despite concerns expressed by students regarding this lack of lighting, few feel that their complaints have been acknowledged. Many students have raised the issue to their representatives in the Vassar Student Association (VSA) as well as Resident Operations Center (ROC) employees, yet have not received any indication that their problems were being addressed. We hope that parties both within the VSA and the ROC publicly acknowledge that they are aware of these complaints and that they are actively working on fixing the problems, thus reassuring students that their voices are being heard. In addition to this, we call for an easier, more
transparent process by which students can file a direct complaint regarding the lack of lighting on campus paths. For many students, it is not abundantly clear which parties they should contact within the VSA, ROC or Buildings and Grounds in order to bring up an issue such as this. By providing a comprehensive directory of who to contact if one has a particular problem on both the Buildings and Grounds and VSA websites, we hope to make the complaint process more accessible to all students, thereby widening the channels of discourse. We realize that large-scale changes on Vassar’s campus take time and thorough planning before they can be executed. Yet in the meantime, there are many temporary solutions that Vassar could implement to make the process of walking at night a safer experience for all. Additional security patrol in poorly lit areas such as the Academic Quad and around Sunset Lake may make students feel considerably safer when walking at night. Ultimately, we at The Miscellany News feel that by implementing these simple changes, the College would not only put worried students at ease, but would also further its goal of providing safe spaces for the entire campus community.
—The Staff Editorial represents the opinion of at least 2/3 of the Editorial Board.
The Miscellany News does not expressly endorse the opinions of the columnists in this section.
Mental health awareness Programming Board bad vital to prevent violence for campus event diversity Natasha Bertrand
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Guest Columnist
t has been more than a week since Aaron Alexis sauntered into the Washington, D.C. Navy Yard and promptly turned it into a graveyard. Armed with a tactical shotgun and security clearance, Alexis calmly entered Building 137, intent on mass murder as Navy Yard workers ate their breakfast and greeted their fellow workers that morning. In the days following the attack, many began to question why signs of Alexis’ mental instability in the weeks leading up to the rampage – paranoia, irregular sleep patterns, schizophrenic delusions – had gone ignored by Navy officials. As the shock of the attack wore off, the focus shifted from the tragedy itself to an ongoing public debate about the quality of mental health care in the United States and the need for increased regulation that would keep guns away from the mentally ill. In the wake of the Navy Yard, Sandy Hook, and Aurora massacres, mental illness has become the go-to scapegoat for politicians and powerful lobbyists eager to avoid a deeper conversation not only about the accessibility of the weapons that enable these massacres, but also about our obsession with guns in the first place. This is an obsession that stems from a culture of aggression that has sadly begun to define us as a nation. Recurring instances have made it impossible to ignore just how haunted we are by the predominant themes and values of the culture in which we live. Aaron Alexis heard voices; this much we know. But what if these voices were not merely the paranoid delusions of a violent schizophrenic, but manifestations of the calls to war and feelings of fear that have come to torment the American psyche? “An unsettling question is whether the violent commands from these voices reflect our culture as much as they result from the disease process of the illness,” sociologist T.M. Luhrmann wrote in an op-ed for the New York Times last week (“The Violence in Our Heads”, 9.19.13). In a study done alongside the Schizophrenia Research Foundation in Chennai, India, Luhr-
mann found that the voices heard by people with schizophrenia in India were considerably less violent than those heard in the United States. Often these voices border on the mundane and ordinary, with commands to bathe and complete domestic chores, like cleaning. On the more extreme end, vulgar male voices will insist on sexual submission. Contrast these unthreatening voices with many American’s perception of them, as written by Lhurmann: “usually it’s like torturing people to take their eyes out with a fork, or cut off someone’s head and drink the blood… or they want to take me to war with them.” Based on this stark comparison of what we perceive and what actually happens, it’s apparent that culture plays a part in the manifestations of mental illness. According to the Treatment Advocacy Center, violence is not a symptom of schizophrenia, and the vast majority of people with schizophrenia never become violent. But we live in a desensitized culture where killing is glorified as a solution to most of the country’s problems—whether it be through foreign invasions, drone strikes, or the death penalty—and the population lives in a manipulated state of constant alertness (the handily color-coded “terrorism threat level” has not dipped below yellow or elevated, since Sept. 11). It is thus easy to see why the voices Americans hear encourage them to kill on a mass scale with the assault rifles and semi-automatics made readily available to them for online purchase. It is difficult to find a solution to a problem that has become so embedded within our country’s ethos, and the push for greater gun control should remain the most urgent priority. But the cultural influences that have awakened these violent tendencies within the mentally unstable must be addressed much sooner rather than later, for the voices heard in the minds of the mentally ill are ultimately nothing more than echoes of the voices that surround them. —Natasha Bertrand ’14 is a political science & philosophy double major.
Ramy Abbady & Ruby Pierce
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Guest Columnists
iversity is an issue in society, and it is an issue at Vassar. Vassar has made incredible progress over the years in working toward a more inclusive environment, but we aren’t done.. Diversity is more than varying skin colors; it means having a daily social and institutional celebration of difference. This celebration is not something that students should have to fight for, but we live in an environment where diversity is not the norm. Vassar is an elite college in the Northeast , built originally for the education of middle and upper-class, cisgender, white females. That is the norm we were given, and that is the norm we are continually working to expand—or ideally, to shatter. The creation of the Programming Board though genuine in intent - has only increased the student of color’s struggle for equal footing. It was first made “to create more diverse programming.” A full year later, we must ask ourselves: what does diversity mean? What does it mean to those who created, run and oversee the Programming Board? Currently, the board is comprised solely of white females. This is not to say that there is any inherent intolerance among them—only to say that their perspectives and understanding of diversity cannot and will not be representative of the entire student population. During its first year of operation, the Programming Board did not use enough of its funds on collaborations—only one quarter of it’s budget. This left roughly $10,000, which was employed in throwing events deemed acceptable by the Board, composed only of three members. Initially, the Board approved a collaboration with the ALANA Center, but rescinded their offer later when they realized collaborations must be approved by the administration first—a process which would take a minimum of three weeks. This level of bureaucracy hindered many groups from gaining the support they needed, especially after many centers were still feeling the effects of budget cuts from the recession. To be equivalent of the Executive Board for the Programming Board, students had
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
to fill out an application that would then be reviewed by the VSA Activities Committee. This is problematic and reflects the need for some changes on the VSA end of things as well. Although the VSA can and should form ad-hoc committees, it should not be choosing executive members of a group like the Programming Board. If the Board were representative of the student body, its members should be elected by the student body. Another issue comes from the fact that the Programming Board has the authority to allocate funds to organizations as they see fit. No organization should be allocating funds to VSA organizations other than VSA Finance Committee as this committee exists exclusively for that purpose. Additionally, since $5,000 of the Programming Board’s budget comes from the VSA, it can’t actually be given away for any reason other than a collaboration. The other $15,000 is sourced from administration as a whole, and as a result, it can take a very long time to allocate. This creates a non-uniform system for fund allocations, as administrators can ascribe whatever standards they want, whereas the VSA Finance Committee has specific, readily available procedural guidelines that must be met. The Programming Board also steps on toes by throwing events that any other organization can already put on. For example, the recent screening of “Monsters University” could have been put on by ViCE Film League, whose sole mission is to hold such events. The Programming Board is simply a poor attempt at increasing “alternative programming.” By consistently denying funding to organizations based on size/relevance to the campus, students of color will be at a continuous disadvantage, simply based on the fact that he/she/ze is not the majority at Vassar. This is an embarrassment and an injustice. As members of the Student Life Committee and the VSA Council, we beg the administration and student body to re-examine where programming power is being distributed. —Ramy Abbady ’16 and Ruby Pierce ’16 are members of the VSA Student Life Committee
OPINIONS
Page 10
Letter to the Editor Just because there is no Presidential election in 2013 does not mean that important issues are not at stake. Currently, the Dutchess County Legislature is proposing a $184 million jail expansion, which would add to our system’s over-dependence on incarceration. In recent years, the Legislature put money toward a new toxic waste site while slashing funds from programs that support domestic violence survivors and at-risk youth. These issues are important, and the Vassar community has a role to play with them. We are more than neighbors to Poughkeepsie; we are part of it. As residents, the Vassar community has a responsibility to contribute to the debates held and decisions made in the Poughkeepsie aea. Vassar students can make a real difference by registering here in Poughkeepsie and voting this November. Students can register to vote through the Dutchess County Board of Elections or at turbovote.org. —Angela Mentel ’16 Editors Note: We would like to remind readers that The Miscellany News is always accepting Letters to the Editor for consideration of being published in upcoming editions. A Letter to the Editor is a short piece of no more than 450 words that incorporates a reader’s personal beliefs, ideas, experience, or knowledge and attempts to offer a response or new insight to our readers. A letter often responds to either an article written recently for The Miscellany News or upcoming events relevant to the Vassar community and greater Poughkeepsie area. Letters may not be published anonymously. Letters are always welcome via e-mail at misc@@vassar.edu and we welcome readers to contact us with questions regarding the letters process.
September 26, 2013
Respecting rights of artists, writers contrasts with copyright infringement Lily Elbaum
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Guest Columnist
ecently, I was reading an article that talked a little bit about some early of the early legal battles regarding early copyright law and the right of the author. The cases discussed took place in the 18th century, but they laid the framework for the copyright laws that are still in place today. What was interesting was how the idea of intellectual property has changed. Initially, copyrights were things to be purchased and owned. They were parts of estates that were to be passed onto heirs. Now we live in the age of free media and opensource documents. What would those early booksellers and authors think of this new, technological world? What about YouTube and Google Books? Has technology irrevocably changed media? It is probably too early to know. We talk a lot about plagiarism at Vassar, and it’s important because what makes something yours, and not someone else’s, is what defines the individual. It’s analogous to taking credit for someone else’s personality and creativity. Why are these traits different from the imagination and intelligence that give rise to individual ideas? Ideas are unique because every person is unique. No other person is thinking the exact same thoughts that you are thinking, humming the melodic tune you are humming or forming the ideas you are forming. How could someone possibly take credit for something they could have never possibly have created, simply because each person creates unique, special ideas and thought? With the recent explosion in technological advancement, a lot of the battle over intellectual property comes from illegal downloading and piracy. One of the prominent arguments for it is that “big record/movie/ publishing companies don’t need the money.” Well, perhaps that could be true in that the
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actual studio or distributor doesn’t necessarily need the money, nor do the principal, millionaire actors of a movie. But what about all the smaller artists that studios support? Or the lower-budget films that studios produce? But maybe these less-fortuitous groups are not worth the benefit of downloading your favorite movie for free. Plus, it’s hard or even painful to say that an actor needs to earn $50 million dollars for shooting a movie. I mean, do they really need three houses and a condo in Switzerland? Probably not.
“How could someone possibly take credit for something they could have never possibly created...”
So where do we draw the line? Is it okay to pirate big-budget movies like, say, “The Avengers”, and music from artists like Justin Timberlake? A lot of the time, it seems to come down to whether you like the artist or whether you want to support the artist. As for an artist who’s already made it, they don’t need the money. But the indie artist who’s releasing their first EP, or the group of local filmmakers who just put out an art film? You’ll buy that for twice what it’s worth. The question really comes down to how much worth you put on the individual or group’s intellectual property. Does the volume of production decrease the overall value? Does distinctiveness merit a higher value? It has become one of many
pressing questions in today’s technological world. So what is worth paying for? That is the question. As far as music, movies, games and software goes, people have proven that pirating is here to stay, at least for the time being. BitTorrent sites such as The Pirate Bay have allowed illegal downloading and pirating to flourish. The legal complaints from high-profile corporations such as the Motion Picture Association of America and Electronic Arts keep these sites in the limelight and popular among those who want to flaunt their disdain of traditional media outlets. What is really interesting is that those same people downloading illegally will give lots of money to support endeavors they deem worthy. Kickstarter, a crowdsourcing website, offers the chance for independent artists and entrepreneurs to find funding for projects which otherwise might have stayed waiting in the wings. Even if you argue and decide who deserves their money, or whether or not rich actors really need more money, there is still one very important question that remains: What if it was your creative content? What if it was your book, your movie, your music or your art? What if someone wanted to pirate your idea and not give you your credit where due or compensation you felt fair for creating it? Whether by claiming that your idea was theirs, or simply refusing to pay for your hard work by pirating the result, the end result is that your intellectual property has been violated. It’s difficult to decide where this line is though. So is downloading okay, or just streaming? What can be downloaded or streamed? In the end, only one person can make that decision, and it’s not a big artist or a CEO: It’s up to you. —Lily Elbaum ’16 is a prospective independent major.
Athletics not the way to address campus diversity Aja Saafeld
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Features Editor
’m brown, I’m queer, I’m Jewish—all this means I am used to being targeted explicitly for the sake of improving so-called diversity in groups that are targeted at white, straight, gentiles, or, let’s be honest, virtually everywhere. When I was applying for colleges, colleges bombarded my mailbox with pamphlets touting the diversity of their campuses—as if having a student of color population of less than 40 percent is something to be proud of. So, as someone whose identity is often used for the purposes of furthering diversity, the idea of athletes bringing diversity to Vassar is disgusting, inappropriate and grossly inaccurate. I took offense with the premise of the sports column from last week’s The Miscellany News that athletes are a form of diversity on campus, since my existence on this majority white campus is ultimately used to benefit my white peers and to further their education (“Athletes add to the Vassar community through unique campus perspectives” 09.19.13). Athletes are never used to educate their non-athlete peers; their educational institutions never boil their existences down to being athletes. Groups targeted for improving the diversity of extremely homogeneous groups are so often essentialized and targeted to simply be a statistic that can be propagated to prospective members of the majority group. Athletes do not further diversity on this campus simply by being athletes. Athletics, unlike the inclusion of people of color, religious minorities, women and other marginalized groups, has been a part of college life for centuries. Athletes are expected and encouraged to exist at elite institutions, whereas other groups do not necessarily get that same treatment. I do not deny that athletes have busy schedules, or have to juggle classes and practices in a
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
way that some other students do not—but, then again, so do choir students, and people in club sports, and basically any student on campus who participates in extracurricular activities. And, believe me, I would never say that those students add diversity to this campus simply because of their participation in fairly normalized and accepted extracurricular activities, just as I would never say that athletic presence adds to diversity in any way. While athletes are working out, or going to practice, or any of the other activities that keep athletes so busy during the week, people who were targeted to improve the diversity of this campus are busy receiving hate speech and experiencing microaggressions, all while still participating in classes, extracurricular activities and, yes, even sports. According to last week’s sports column, some of the concerns of athletes are keeping up their GPAs and whether they can beat the other team—some of the concerns of marginalized groups include not being harassed or murdered, as well as the more mundane concerns that plague us all. The experience of athletes on campus is so wildly different from those of groups that are utilized to promote supposed diversity that it is almost laughable to try to compare the two. I cannot possibly accept that losing varsity athletes would make the school too homogeneous—this postulation borders on the absurd in its ignorance of the experiences of a diverse body of students. Varsity athletes are not the diversity this school is looking for. So, forgive me if I am highly skeptical of a male athlete touting athletics as a form of diversity on this campus. I, for my part, will continue to be a member of highly marginalized groups and remain a part of groups that actually further diversity. —Aja Saafeld ’15 is a German major.
September 26, 2013
OPINIONS
Impacting environment goes beyond merely divesting from fossil fuels Macrae Marran
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Guest Columnist
s most upperclassmen and probably fewer freshmen are aware, last year’s fossil fuel divestment campaign was long, brutal, and, more often than not, absurd. The peak of hilarity was when Alex Epstein of the Center for Industrial Progress, a speaker who maintains that fossil fuels are in fact good for the environment, was paid to speak at Vassar. He was met by an audience of Dick Cheney-masked Vassar Greens members who had come to the lecture exclusively to interrupt and leave mid-lecture. That said, if you were to argue that the height of absurdity was actually the Moderate Independent Conservative Alliance (MICA)’s NO-GO and Vassar Loves Fossil Fuel campaigns, I might have to concede. Those who have criticized divestment in the past have argued that it is not financially viable for the college, especially in the wake of the financial crisis that did not leave Vassar’s endowment untouched. The common critique is that Vassar cannot afford to abandon its stake in the fossil fuel industry, considering its past profitability. While a complete divestment from fossil fuels might dent our endowment’s short-term income, assuming the capital was invested competently, there is no reason to think that it would have a long-term effect upon the college’s operations. Though the Vassar Greens and other advocates of divestment have successfully argued that the risks are small, they have failed to recognize the biggest problem with divestment: the rewards are nonexistent. Upon first thought, divestment seems like a good idea: why should Vassar be involved in the extraction, processing and sale of fossil fuel? Shouldn’t we make sure that we are not assisting an industry that is responsible for so much pollution and climate change? Anyone who considers further the advantages of divestment will quickly realize that fossil fuel usage, extraction and sale is controlled not by the fortune 500 companies that provide this service, but by the consumers that
demand cheap energy. Let’s examine the results of divestment, of selling shares of these Fortune 500 companies: imagine, for a moment, that Vassar’s endowment owns a 33% stake in BP, Chevron and Exxon Mobile. Of course, I have no idea what Vassar’s share in any particular corporations are, as that information is not made public. We can be sure that the college’s share in fossil fuels is infinitely smaller. I use these vastly exaggerated numbers to make it easier to imagine the effect of our divestment. If we were to sell our shares of these companies (divest), the result would be visible because of our large imagined shares: the price of these three companies would plummet. The front page of every newspaper would run the story. Although the stock prices would be hit hard, there would be no effect upon the operation of these companies. They would continue their practices of drawing oil from under the ocean, of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) for natural gas, of shipping oil across the ocean, and of lobbying representatives and government officials in the US and internationally. There would be no great blackouts or WWII-esque gas lines. Slowly, savvy investors would buy Vassar’s shares in these corporations, returning prices to their current levels. If every single college and university divested from fossil fuel companies instantly, the effect would be less drastic than what I just described. When an institution owns stock in a corporation, they have the capacity not only to vote for board members who have a history of favoring renewable energy, but also to vote on certain aspects of that corporation. Shareholders can make proposals at a company’s annual meeting, allowing other shareholders to bypass the board and directly control that corporation’s actions. When we sell that stock, or divest, we put that power in the hands of another investor, perhaps an individual who votes in the interest of profit alone. Our shares could be bought by Alex Epstein himself. The new shareholders might vote for a board member known for his or her support of fracking,
or off-sea drilling. They could vote for Tony Hayward (BP’s ex-CEO) for chairman of the board. Is it really worth giving this small, but undeniable power to a new shareholder for the sake of “a stand?” Is it really a stand if it works against the principle that we are ostensibly taking a stand for? Perhaps the most shocking thing is that the Vassar Greens know that divestment will be ineffective. In Gabe Dunsmith and Erin Boss’ article from last winter, they admit, “Divestment is, by nature, a symbolic gesture.” (“Vassar must divest to take a stand against oppression” The Miscellany News 02.27.13”. The trouble with symbolism when it stands in the place of action is that it must impede action. Our campus has been so distracted by the divestment movement that we have not focused on movements that actually have the capacity to slow climate change or to limit our college’s enormous use of fossil fuel. We could do simple things like riding a bike instead of taking a car and ensuring that new equipment is energy efficient. We can also be drastic and install wind turbines on the Vassar farm. Many of the corporations that the divestment campaign would like us to divest from are heavily involved in the research and creation of renewable sources of energy. If the world’s energy consumers stopped buying cheap energy (as Vassar does) and started buying clean energy, these corporations would be more than happy to sell us solar panels and wind turbines instead of oil, coal and natural gas. Their goal is to make money, not to cause global warming. If we are to minimize our impact on the environment, we must shift consumer habits, not the actions of corporations that try to meet their (and our) demands. As we experience a moment of such pivotal importance in climate change and environmental preservation, let’s take action, not “a stand.” —Macrae Marran ’15 is a political science major.
Page 11
Word
on the street
What is your dream Mug night?
“All Beethoven.” —Spencer Virtue ’16
“One with lights and unicorns.” —Julia Wieczorek ’17
“RuPaul Mug Night.” —David Piwarski ’14
Daily life of Poughkeepsie important, deserves attention of Vassar community Laura Song
Guest Columnist
P
ough what? Poughkeepsie? How do you even pronounce that? This was the first reaction I had when I got into Vassar. I admit I knew nothing about Vassar when I was accepted, and I especially didn’t know how to pronounce the name of the city our school is located in. However, this year I had a moment of enlightenment that helped understand more about the place I once couldn’t even pronounce properly. You have probably heard the term “Vassar Bubble” many times. For those who don’t recognize this term, it means that students become so immersed into the Vassar community that they forget about the community just outside of Vassar’s gates. I myself am guilty of this. However, to change things up this year, I decided to work as a Rape Crisis/Crime Victim Advocate for Family Services, located off-campus, instead of taking on a job as a barista for UpC once again. On my way to the job interview, I noticed an abandoned building in front of Family Services. Although now under construction, I soon learned that it was referred to as the “crack house,” where two ex-convicts lived in its basement. During the interview, my supervisor and I were enjoying a nice conversation when the phone rang, and all of a sudden her face turned very serious and stern. She answered, “Was it gang violence? When was he killed…?” You can only imagine my facial expression when I heard this. After a slight pause, she proceeded to tell the other person on the line to call her back later. She faced me and told me a boy had been killed and his mother was asking if there were any reparations she could receive
to pay for the funeral. She also mentioned that a 99 year-old lady had been murdered in her own house a week ago. I knew I should’ve expected these kinds of situations to arise here in Poughkeepsie because of its high crime rate, but I couldn’t help but think: what have I gotten myself into? A few days after my interview, I attended the Community Service Work Study (CSWS) information session in the Aula and got into a conversation with Toni Llanos, the Dance Director for M*Power—a program that is dedicated to empowering kids through the arts. The last words she said to me still resonate through my mind: “The people in Poughkeepsie need hope.”
“I couldn’t help but think: what have I gotten myself into?”
At that moment, I was struck by how oblivious I was to the issues that were occurring in the very city I will be spending the next three years of my life in. I remember back in high school, when I visited Columbia and Harvard, that the neighborhoods their college campuses were in were not well off. At that time, I thought, when I get into college, I’m going to make sure I get involved with the community off-campus. Yet here I was at Vassar, not really concerned with the issues outside of campus. I felt a bit ashamed of myself for not being able
to keep my word, after already having spent a year at Vassar. Sure, I’ve heard plenty about the horrors happening in Syria or the ratchetness of Miley Cyrus from students, but how many times had I heard about the events unfolding right here in Poughkeepsie? I’m not saying that national or international issues aren’t important and we shouldn’t pay attention to them, but I want to stress that there are also problems right here in our community immediately outside Vassar. Perhap’s it’s just that my job offers me more knowledge that even a typical Poughkeepsie resident would know, and it makes me more conscious about the problems arising in this city. But even if we don’t pop the Vassar Bubble entirely, I think it’s important that we at least are aware of some of the incidents that are going around here in Poughkeepsie. It may be hard for students to come out of the bubble because of their busy schedules, but there are things we can do to help make a difference. Perhaps a good place to start is by attending some of the events that are being held here in Poughkeepsie, such as Walk a Mile in Her Shoes, which is a walk organized by Family Services in October to help stop rape, sexual assault and gender violence while raising awareness of these issues. In either case, it’s important we begin to become aware of what goes on outside of our campus. However, even if some students chose not to become familiar with the incidents that take place in Poughkeepsie, as Lieutenant Mel Claussen from the Poughkeepsie Police Department said, “Something is always happening here.” —Laura Song ’16 is a prospective political science & media studies double major.
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
“It already exists: Middle School Mug Night.” —Megan Andersen ’14
“Everyone stands in silence for 2 hours.” —Jocelyn Hassel ’16
“Michael Jackson.” —Isaiah Hale ’16
Lily Doyle Humor & Satire Editor Spencer Davis, Photo Editor
OPINIONS
Page 12
September 26, 2013
Media coverage in recent events proves unprofessional Emilia Petrarca Guest Columnist
W
hen tragedy strikes, like it did on Monday, September 16 in the Washington Naval Yard when a gunman shot and killed at least 12 people, it is human instinct to immediately seek an explanation. The media satisfy this need by unearthing facts and creating journalistic cohesion in a state of chaos. It’s a natural and understandable process, but it can also be a dangerous one. Guns kill, but words can beget fear. If used thoughtlessly—like they were by the media following the event—words like “suspect” and “Thai culture” can be construed as synonymous. With media playing the eyes and ears of the public for traumatic events like this one, and some newspapers including the New York Post and Reuters posting headlines like “Navy Yard Shooter Was Dumped by Thai Crush” and “Navy Yard Shooter Was Dumped by Thai Crush”, the conclusions drawn from this controversial and traumatic occurrence can have unintended and harmful consequences. When I heard about the Navy Yard shooting on Twitter, I did what most people first think to do: visit The New York Times website. In doing this, I knew, or at least hoped, that I would get all the facts in a clear and relatively unbiased manner. Upon reading just the first sentence in an article on the homepage titled “Suspect in Shooting Had Interest in Thai Culture and Problems With the Law,” I learned three things: the shooter had previously worked for the Navy, the shooter had previous problems with the law and the shooter had an interest in Thai culture. The first two facts I could have guessed, but the third fact made me want to keep reading. I skimmed to the bottom of the article: “In recent years, Mr. Alexis dated a Thai woman and began showing up regularly at Wat Busayadhammavanara, a Buddhist Tem-
“On A Slant” ACROSS 1. Pepper’s partner 19. High boots for fishermen 5. Third-party account 20. “___ I’ve said many times…” 11. Paris airport 21. R&B Singer Hayes 12. Leaving time? 23. Leo or Libra 13. Org. for parttime soldiers 24. General on Chinese menus 14. Go on a voyage 25. Beauty parlor 15. Gold rush town of 1899 26. Fontana di ___ 16. Donkey in “Win-
ple in White Settlement, Tex., a Fort Worth suburb. He had Thai friends, adored Thai food and said he always felt drawn to the culture, said Pat Pundisto, a member of the temple answering the phone there on Monday.” (New York Times “Suspect in Shooting Had Interest in Thai Culture and Problems With the Law” 09.16.13) In the 976-word article, approximately 200 words are dedicated to the shooter’s interest in Thai culture. That’s almost 1/4 of the article. Since it was published, the Times has removed the “Interest in Thai Culture” bit from the headline—a decision, to use their own words, which seems suspect— but the URL remains the same and the first sentence still mentions Alexis’ Thai interests before mentioning either his current status in the military or his previous history with violence. In the grand scheme of things, Alexis’ interest in Thai culture is simply another fact about his character, like the fact that he “played computer games at the nighttime and all day.” But it is still information that feels unsettlingly irrelevant. Why is the media more concerned in knowing whether he liked chicken pad thai more than pad see ew, rather than say, whether he liked to play Assassin’s Creed more than Madden football video games? Although none of these reports draw any explicit connection between Alexis’s foreign interests and his actions at the Navy Yard, their decision to highlight them implies xenophobic intentions and ultimately leads readers to draw their own biased conclusions. After the bombings at the Boston Marathon in April, we saw the dangers of letting the public and news outlets attempt to draw their own conclusions about criminal suspects. Everyone from vigilante Reddit users to New York Post reporters wrongly accused individuals based solely on their foreign, and
Davidson, when the media outlets start speculating evidence, they often sacrifice logic in the process, which results in slander, gossip or worse: untruths. For Ruslan Tsarni, there was neither truth nor logic in seeing the Tsarnaev brothers’ religion as a motive because it wasn’t their religion that rejected them; it was America. It was Americans. With Alexis, it wasn’t his rejection by his Thai girlfriend that set him off; it was instead perhaps his rejection by the United States Navy. Whether their religion was a motive or not, these men were “other-ed” by their own country in the same way that the media jumped to other them after they committed their crimes. Almost exactly 12 years since the events of Sept. 11, media outlets have yet to shake the Bush administration rhetoric, which emphasizes “otherness” and instills a fear in the American public of foreigners and foreign religions, specifically Islam. It’s always frightening to read about gun violence, but at this point it’s almost equally as frightening to see supposedly reputable news sources like the New York Times sacrificing logic and straight reporting for a catchy headline or a unique angle. If we’re really going to speak logically, Alexis’ love of Thai food, what he was wearing on the Thai New Year and whether he chose to meditate before or after “chanting” at temple on Sundays has absolutely nothing to do with his actions at the Navy Yard. What he did was inexcusable, but construing his interest in cultures outside of America as a possible reason for his actions is also inexcusable. We should focus more on asking the right questions rather than creating convenient answers because, in the end, there is no logic when it comes to evil. —Emilia Petrarca ‘14 is an English major.
The Miscellany Crossword
nie-the-Pooh” 29. Tattoos, slangily 17. Genetic stuff 30. “Or ___ …” ; ultimatum 18. Louisiana lingo 32. Company in a 2011 merger with the Huffington Post 19. Dieter’s concern 35. Of atoms’ spatial relationships 25. Grand Cntrl., for one 36. Old Islamic quarter 27. Scripps Stock: Abbr. 37. Skincare brand 28. Birthplace of the Saint Francis 40. Cut off 30. Rake in 41. Spanish 101 verb 31. Harry Potter
Answers to last week’s puzzle
therefore suspicious, appearances. In describing Abdulrahman Ali Alharbi, a student and runner who was misidentified by the Internet that day, Amy Davidson wrote in a piece for the New Yorker, “And he was from Saudi Arabia, which is around where the logic stops. Was it just the way he looked, or did he, in the chaos, maybe call for God with a name that someone found strange?” (“The Saudi Marathon Man” 04.17.13) Once the real criminals, Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, were found, conclusions were also immediately drawn about their religious motives. When Ruslan Tsarni, the uncle of the Tsarnaev brothers, was asked what he thought provoked their actions, he fervently denied any religious ties. The explanation he gave for their behavior was simple: “Being losers,” he said. “Hatred to those who were able to settle themselves. These are the only reasons I can imagine of. Anything else, anything else having to do with religion, with Islam, it’s a fraud, it’s a fake.” (NBC News “What motivated bombing suspects? ‘Being losers,’ uncle says” 04.19.13) On May 16, 2013, CBS News senior correspondent John Miller said he had been told that Dzhokhar wrote a note following the attack that said “When you attack one Muslim, you attack all Muslims.” (“Boston bombings suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev left note in boat he hid in, sources say”) This note would be used against him as evidence in court following his not-guilty plea to all 30 counts against him. Evidence is what our entire judicial system revolves around. Evidence cannot be created though—it cannot be prepared and served like a bowl of pad thai at the Happy Bowl Thai restaurant. Evidence simply exists or it doesn’t, and it’s up to the courts, not the media, to decide how to use it. To echo Amy
by Jack Mullan, Crossword Editor market place…or a hint to 42. One part of LGBTQ the direction for all the “Down?” clues 43. First capital of Alaska 33. Carrell film “___ Almighty” 44. Ending to a tennis point? 34. Balkan war site 45. Transportation Solutions of America: Abbr. 35. Reggae alternative 46. Celebratory shout in soccer 38. DVR button 39. Biography subtitled “A Revolutionary Life” 40. Averts (off) 42. Org. doing patdowns 45. Sources of ail for many seniors 46. Clown feature 47. Frozen dessert 48. Cereal staple 49. Author/journalist Fallaci 50. Huber of women’s tennis 51. Member of a news crew or a relay race 52. Exam for future attys.
DOWN 1. Audio 2. Crime started with a match 3. Andes animal 4. Ancient city whose name means
“rock” 5. Word often preceded by poly6. Tears 7. Kid’s coloring implement 8. Paris’s Rue de ___
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
9. Burden, in Bologna 10. Gay rights group: Abbr. 18. Echo producer
September 26, 2013
HUMOR & SATIRE
Page 13
OPINIONS
Breaking News From the desk of Lily Doyle, Humor & Satire Editor Students compelled to drive over thirty minutes and pay toll in order to consume mass amounts of Chipotle How to make an infectious Paper ideas for the student disease vaguely enjoyable who has nothing left to lose Sophie Dewil
Guest Columnist
I
spent this past weekend suffering from the horrible malady of pink eye—the highly contagious and widely feared disease that infects those who are constantly surrounded by various unwashed surfaces and bodies. In other words, college students. It’s not a huge surprise when you get sick at college, because everyone is constantly touching each other. I think I got licked the other day while I was in line at the Kiosk. At home, being sick is easy, because you can just hide out in your house until you’ve recovered and then emerge back into the world when you’re ready. College is a bit different. When hiding out in your house in college, you just happen to be surrounded by a few hundred other people that for some reason don’t take kindly to being asked to leave so you can roam the halls without an eyepatch. Lucky for my fellow students, during my time of illness, I believe that I have discovered the secret to having the most enjoyable sickness possible (is that possible?) and I have emerged from my hibernation to share a few tidbits of knowledge. First, be willing to grovel. People will pity you no matter what, but pity doesn’t always manifest in the form of aid; when you have pink-eye, it often manifests in people running away from you at high speeds trying not to vomit. That’s OK; sometimes people just need a little extra help to be good. For me, this was very easy, because the nature of my illness made it so that I already appeared to have been crying for hours on end, which really tends to spur kindness in others. However, if you don’t happen to be as lucky as I was, a few well-placed fake tears can always do the trick. And really, how hard is it to cry when you’re sick? You haven’t slept in days and yet are still expected to read 200 pages of Socrates, who is purposefully being obtuse. You also should have called Mom last weekend, but you didn’t, and why does your roommate smell like cheese and insist on wearing those cowboy boots? That would bring anyone to tears. Yes, I understand that you don’t want your reputation to be tarnished, but suck it up for a day or two. You can punch someone once you’re better just to counteract your supposed wimpiness. If you don’t want to cry, then a faked scratchy voice will do the trick. The beautiful part of this symptom is that it goes along with almost every illness out there. Have a cold? Scratchy voice
from the coughing. Stomach bug? Throat is irritated from all of that stomach acid flowing its way up your throat in the form of puke (I hope you aren’t reading this while eating). Broke your leg? You can’t sleep and therefore your immune system is compromised and therefore you got a cold and therefore you have a scratchy voice. It is truly a versatile aid. Next, if your illness manifests itself as an obvious physical abnormality, point it out to people as much as possible. Speaking to people when you have pink eye is a difficult task, because not only do you have a red and swollen eye, but that eye also happens to continually produce a disgusting and almost-but-not-quite-clear fluid at the most inopportune moments that makes it look like you are crying. Consequently, people will think you are extremely sad that the Deece ran out of Cinnamon Toast Crunch (the taste you can see! Well, I can’t, thanks to my pink-eye, but some people probably can). Through this tactic, if you’re smart, you can put a positive spin on your sickly looks. “No, I have a black eye, not pink eye, you’re just color blind so you can’t tell. You should see the other guy”. You will be golden if you are willing to sit in your room with minimal stimulation for hours on end, because that is likely what your life will be for a few days. Now, this is a difficult art form, so don’t expect to get it perfectly on the first try. Blankets are key. Make a bit of a straight jacket with your blankets, tucking them tightly into the sides and slipping in at the top like a sleeping bag. Also, it’s best to stockpile a bunch of television shows and/or movies (but no books), because the less you use your brain, the better. Over the past few days I have worked my way through season 9 of Friends (I have also started an org dedicated to Chandler Bing’s sweater vests) and had beautiful dreams about that kiss Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake share at the end of Friends with Benefits. Overall, being sick in college sucks, but there are ways to make it better and much more manageable. You just have to commit to a lifestyle change for a few days. It’s not like you’re giving up gluten, or something nightmarish like that. By the time you emerge from your cave of sickness back into the real world, you will be so tired of being in your room that you will stay away from your old habits of sitting on your bed and watching Miley Cyrus’s music videos instead of doing your work. Don’t worry though, that motivation won’t last.
Lily Doyle
Humor & Satire Editor
I
have spent my entire academic career trying to think of captivating titles for my papers. I have failed. I turned one in literally today (literally in the real sense not literally in the OMG I just literally took like 1,000 shots in a row literally) and the paper sported the title “Mean Girls - Exclusivity in the International Community”. Not a joke. Very serious. It seems pretty clear that I have a problem when it comes to handing in papers that don’t make my professors roll their eyes at me in a sassy manner. The solution, for once, is not more cowbell. The solution is having more interesting paper topics. Not saying that my paper topics aren’t interesting, because they are, at least if you are weird like me and the EU keeps you up at night because what if it collapses and then all of Europe is thrown into the Dark Ages and who is going to bail them out!? I couldn’t tell you, but I can tell you what I would title my dream papers of the week, proposal included because I am responsible. About important stuff like humor articles. Water to Wine: A Dangerous Dependency on Alcohol or Pragmatic Peacekeeping?
In this paper I would address the eternal question: “What Would Jesus Do?”. Generally, the answer is to give his constituents a lot of wine. The dude would sacrifice his own blood for wine, you know? That’s a commitment. I would sacrifice my blood for a nice microbrew, but I wouldn’t share, or anything. So, the next time you are wondering if you should walk all the way to the gym or if you should just stay in bed, think about Jesus, and pour yourself a nice glass of Pinot Noir. It should be known that not even Jesus wants to drink any f**king Merlot. It’s Stupid To Clarify the Difference Between Sunday and Monday Night Football
I am making a bold move with this paper by just sticking the thesis in the title and hoping no one notices. So, just to be sure I get this straight, Sunday, Monday, and sometimes Thursday nights are all filled with football. This is awesome for everyone who calls themselves American, because there is beer involved and also men hitting each other and that means freedom. But, let’s be real. You do not need to tweet: “Sunday Night Football!!!! Go Pats!!!!!”. You know why? Because
we all know it’s Sunday night. You could have just said football. Everyone has way too much homework that they should have done on Friday or Saturday, so there is the “Sunday” part, and it’s dark out, so that pretty much precludes the “night” part. I know it’s not Monday because I didn’t have class today and I spilled some really good General Tso’s chicken on my shirt that I know I didn’t get from the Deece. This generally isn’t annoying until the next night, when the same person tweets “MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL!!!”. What I’m saying is, I get it. I Am Too Poor to Eat Well: The Lily Doyle Story
I don’t know if everyone else saw the Chipotle scarecrow advertisement, but it made me want to curl up into a ball and cry over my new vegan food. Basically there is this cute animated scarecrow and he goes into town and sees all of these cute animated creatures GETTING SLAUGHTERED and it will make you feel like if you ever order another Buffalo Chicken Wrap from the Retreat you are effectively wrenching a cheerful, well-meaning chicken baby away from her loving family and then supplying her with a lifetime of suffering. The only possible reaction to this video is sobbing under your covers while talking on the phone to your Mom who will do her best to convince you you aren’t a bloodthirsty murderer. Which you are. This all leads me to the point that I can’t afford NOT to be a bloodthirsty murderer. I am too poor to afford any dietary restrictions. Thanks Chipotle, for not even having a location in Poughkeepsie where I can assuage my grief with a nice burrito bowl of suffering baby chicken and rice. The Importance of Puns in Everyday Life
This one is a relatively simple concept. I’d start with a tail about a dog. This is no ugly dog—in fact, he is so fetching that he wins Best in Show. However, this sets many of his competitor’s tongues a-wagging. The owner of the second place dog has a bone to pick with him! Luckily, eventually the wound heels, and everyone sits, stays, and ends up having a ball. What Does the Fox Say?
I don’t have a thesis for this one yet. Nor does Yvlis.
Bad television is a relative term, OK? by Connor Martini, Guest Columnist
T
here are many things I do that are just utterly unnecessary. For example, I buy all my music. I always match my outfit with my underwear. And, I still watch Grey’s Anatomy. With the premiere of the tenth season of this televisual icon looming on the horizon, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about why I actually watch this show. I mean, it isn’t good. Seasons four through infinity were lackluster at best. Just because you put pretty people against a rainy Seattle backdrop and have Coldplay in the background doesn’t make it television. But week after week my housemate (Hi Emmy!) and I end up crying in front of my computer screen. I’m not entirely sure why, but here are some guesses. 1. It’s been nine years. Grey’s Anatomy is older than one of my siblings. Stopping now
would be like Leonardo da Vinci painting the Mona Lisa without a mouth. Like the architects of the Eiffel Tower deciding to paint it puke green. Or like training for a marathon and napping through it. I guess I might actually do that last one, it’s not that unreasonable. 2. Just because I don’t know most of the character’s names doesn’t mean I don’t care. I am thoroughly invested in these people. When one of them does or doesn’t get laid, it matters to me. When they stare into each other’s eyes, I can feel them staring into my soul. The lowest point in my life was when Derek threw his engagement ring into the forest. And that’s saying something. I once had to go to the Social Security Office. I’ve gone to the DMV by accident. I’ve been called “Megan”
during sex. 3. Their struggles informed so much about who I am. Everything I know about relationships I learned from Grey’s. Both romantic and professional. Which I think might be why I am the over-sharing, competitive, jealous, emotional nut job that I am today. Who would I be without Grey’s? Functional? Rational? No thanks. 4. Successfully completing Grey’s Anatomy entitles me to an M.D. It has to be true. In the time span of the show I could get at least THREE medical degrees. I’ve seen more open-heart surgeries than most med students. And I’m pretty sure I could MacGyver an operating room out of a broom cupboard. People say all the time that the medicine on
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
Grey’s is inaccurate. Well, screw you, don’t come crying to me when you need an emergency tracheotomy. 5. What else am I going to watch? Good television? The West Wing? Six Feet Under? The Sopranos? No. I am a student. My brain is stuck in the “on” position all day long. If you think I’m going to come back from class and try and parse out political intrigue and snappy writing you’re in need of McDreamy’s neurosurgical skills. There was an episode once with a guy with an ice pick stuck in his head. That’s you. Grey’s is simple. Now that I’ve thought about it, I guess it’s not that bad that I still watch Grey’s. I’ve grown a lot with this show. And hey, at least it’s not the US version of Skins.
ARTS
Page 14
September 26, 2013
Merely Players modifies classic play Prometheus Bound Zoe Kurtz
Guest RepoRteR
P
rometheus Bound, directed by Steven Wooley ’14 and starring Zachary Boylan ’16, premieres September 27 after a rather unconventional rehearsal schedule. Normally, a show’s process follows the schedule of the audition, callbacks and then a first read-through as a cast. However, Prometheus Bound was cast last semester so the cast had to memorize the script over the summer alone, without the read-through. Boylan, who plays Prometheus, said, “Memorizing is easier when I have an idea of what the whole show is going to be like.” Knowing how actors will read characters – their tones and other factors–helps other actors realize how to creatively respond, which creates more of a dialogue to help memorize.
Therefore, having the script over the summer allowed for less cast collaboration, but the actors already had their lines well memorized once they began rehearsals. “It’s hard to do a play so early in the semester. It’s a struggle to get everyone together at the same time, but they had the script over the summer so everyone was off-book when they came,” said Wooley. The cast rehearses four days a week for two hours, which is a shorter amount of time than many other productions. Because the cast had the material before, they feel confident going into the final week of rehearsal that they will be ready in time. Prometheus Bound is a play, originally written by Aeschylus, chronicling Prometheus’ story. Prometheus was the titan who took fire from the gods and gave it to man. Zeus pun-
Alec Ferretti/The Miscellany News
Members of Merely Players rehearse their production of Prometheus Bound. The group followed an unusual preparation schedule, casting the show last semester and preparing lines over the summer.
ished Prometheus for this action by bounding Prometheus to a rock and having an eagle eat his liver every day. Of course, Prometheus never died because titans are immortal. This might be a well-known Greek myth, but Wooley’s adaptation of the play will show another side to the story. “There are also things that we don’t think of as the core of the story. It’s a story you know, but you don’t know the whole story,” said Wooley. As director, Wooley also had the ability to choose which show to produce. He chose to do Prometheus Bound with Merely Players, a student theater group, because the group wanted to do something early in the year, and Wooley wanted to work in classical theater. He chose Prometheus Bound specifically because it is sight-specific. “It could be a fun play either to interpret or just to stage,” said Wooley. Wooley’s script is different from Prometheus Bound’s original script because he looked at the script as flexible. He broke the chorus into three different sections and shifted Kratos’ and Bia’s lines, which changed their character profiles. In the original script, Kratos—a male— speaks the lines, while Bia—the female—simply stands on stage. In Wooley’s adaptation, Kratos and Bia split the lines originally intended for just Kratos. The cast is very supportive of Wooley’s creative changes in the script. “Splitting up the chorus was good because when people all speak at the same time, it can be creepy. So, we’ve split it up into a way where more people can speak and it is less cultish,” said Boylan. Creating new characters was specific for this play, but when Wooley directs a play, he frequently changes parts of the script. “I will cut or shift scenes to tell the story I am looking to tell,” he explained. Wooley has experience in both acting and directing. He acted throughout high school, but
quit acting when he felt that he was not good enough to pursue it as a career. He again became involved with theater, now as a director, because of encouragement from his friends at Vassar. Last year, Wooley decided to throw himself into directing. “When directing, I can look at the whole world of the play instead of the specific look an actor has to take,” he said. This holistic view of the play is an aspect that Boylan does not find as pleasurable. Boylan co-directed Antigony last semester, and saw directing as very stressful. Boylan found delivering helpful criticism along with encouragement—a routine the co-directors employed, to be difficult. Boylan has been acting for as long as he had the opportunity. He is an undeclared drama major and would like to break into voice acting upon graduation. Last year, he acted in Henry IV part I and II; he is also a member of Merely Players. He auditioned for the play with only a basic understanding of Prometheus Bound because he loves acting and Merely Players. Because of the play’s staging necessities, it will be outside regardless of weather. Boylan expressed worries about the temperature, especially because his character, Prometheus, is bound on a rock the entire time. Other characters enter the stage to speak to him and then leave the stage and can warm themselves, a luxury Boylan does not have. “It will be difficult, but I think it will be a rewarding experience,” said Boylan. Wooley’s only worry about the sight being outdoors is that a rowdy crowd of people passing by could disrupt the performance. But Wooley countered his worries when he said, “I believe in my actors, they’ve done great work so far.” The production is set to premiere September 27 at 8 p.m. The other show times will be September 28 at 12 p.m. and again September 28 at 8 p.m. The show runs roughly one hour long and will be performed on the lawn in front of Cushing House.
Concertmaster reflects on personal music career at VC Samantha Kohl Guest RepoRteR
members of the quartet did their junior years abroad—, the group has reunited for their final year as Vassar students. Lee has also written chamber music for Vassar’s orchestra, and is now in his third consecutive year as concertmaster. Although he especially enjoys playing the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Felix Mendelssohn and Jean Sibelius, Lee has no absolute favorite piece or composer. “I enjoy music because I can imagine what story a piece or composer is trying to tell,” explained Lee. He enjoys playing pieces of many difficulties and styles, and can appreciate a
piece of music for what it is—art. On Saturday, October 5 at 8:00 p.m., the orchestra will play Brahms’s Symphony #2 which Lee feels is a very significant step. “The caliber of the orchestra has really elevated this year, and to do a big piece is rare,” Lee remarked. After Vassar, Lee plans on taking at least a year off to find a job, and then to apply to graduate schools. “I would eventually like to go to graduate school and do a program in oncology, but music is my outlet; it’s something I’ll always have,” he noted.
Nathan Tauger/The Miscellany News
For Kevin Lee ’14, choosing to play the violin was not a thought out decision. “I just randomly chose the violin,” remarked Lee, a Biology major, research assistant and chair of the major’s commitee for the Biology Department. And while Lee may be busy studying the gender patterns of plants under Professor of Biology Mark Schlessman, or serving as the treasurer of the Senior Class Council, he currently holds the prestigious role of concertmaster for the Vassar College Orchestra. An orchestra concertmaster is second only to the conductor, acting as the leader of the first violin section. Generally, any violin solo in an orchestra is performed by the concertmaster, and the concertmaster is required to be a highly skilled musician, closely watching the conductor to ensure that the rest of the section works in tandem with the conductor. Furthermore, the concertmaster makes decisions concering technicalities for the violin section, such as bowing, and the orchestra as a whole. The concertmaster also leads tuning before rehearsals and concerts. Trumpeter Rebecca Miller ’14, also a member of the College’s orchestra, spoke to Lee’s leadership abilities as the concermaster. “[Lee] has been the concertmaster of the Vassar Orchestra for the past three years,” explained Miller. “In this role he displays his genuine passion for classical music. Members of the audience and the orchestra alike feel his expressive energy from their seats.” Despite his high level of skill, Lee did not start his musical career as a violinist. Initially, Lee began studying the piano at the age of three. But when, in the fourth grade, Lee’s school offered a music program that allowed him to learn a new instrument, he began to play the violin. And while in high school, when Lee decided to halt his piano lessons, he continued to play the violin. “It’s a mobile instrument, you can carry it around, you can play it with other
people,” he said. After having almost arbitrarily chosen to play the violin, Lee developed a passion for the instrument that has remained strong through his college years. Lee is a native of San Francisco, C.A., a city that he has found to be an interesting convergence point for musicians. “There’s a lot of great music that happens in San Francisco,” Lee said. Although music was a constant presence in Lee’s childhood, he did not originally think he would play it in college. “Applying to colleges, I didn’t think I would even do some sort of orchestra—I guess I was sort of a naïve high schooler,” Lee noted. As a senior in high school, he believed that playing music in a college-level orchestra would be too competitive for him. Yet, after watching the Vassar music channel and seeing students perform on YouTube, Lee was inspired to audition. “Why not?” he thought to himself. Although playing the violin has been a constant activity throughout his years in college, Lee has been able to pursue many of his passions while at Vassar. “Definitely do something because you love it, and when your interests change, embrace it,” he said. He was a member of Vassar’s swim team as a freshman and sophomore, and even went back to his piano-playing roots as a junior. “Last year I decided to take a year of piano lessons just because I missed it,” noted Lee. Although he is especially appreciative of his ability to explore a multitude of passions at Vassar, he knows his violin playing will remain a constant. Lee has been a member of Vassar’s orchestra and has done chamber music for the past three years and plans to continue it during his senior year. As a freshman, Lee was placed in a quartet with three other freshmen with the intent that they would stick together for all four years of their schooling at Vassar. And while, unfortunately, the group had to disband during Lee’s junior year—two
Kevin Lee ’14 has served as concertmaster of the College’s Orchestra for the past three years, and will retain the role during his senior year. He is a biology major and treasurer for Senior Class Council.
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
September 26, 2013
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HEL show to launch Vassar comedy season Freed exhibit shines light on H marchers Victoria Youngblood Guest RepoRteR
FREED continued from page 1
Cassady Bergevin/The Miscellany News
appily Ever Laughter (HEL), one of Vassar’s many comedy groups, will kick off a semester of laughs this weekend with a night of sketch comedy. The show will be performed this Friday and Saturday, September 27 and 28 in the Susan Stein Shiva Theater at 9 p.m. HEL’s veteran members Nick Pearle ’14, junior Al-Donn Riddick ’15, and sophomore Kyle Whelan ’16 assured that both performers and viewers have a lot to look forward to. This will be the debut performance of HEL’s newest members, who joined the group by audition early this month. “We have three new members, they’ve all written really funny things already,” Kyle Whelan ‘16 said. “We’re very excited about them. They each bring different strengths to the group, they each come from different comedic backgrounds,” Nick Pearle ‘14 added. The three new members consist of Becca Janou ’16, Sophie Hessekiel ’16, and James Pedersen ’17. For Pedersen, who is not only new to the group but new to Vassar, HEL is turning out to be an especially good environment for developing new relationships and integrating himself as a community member. “I am the only freshman in HEL, and so I am really grateful that the rest of the team has adopted me,” he wrote in an emailed statement. “What starts off as a meeting quickly becomes several really funny people just kind of hanging out,” he wrote. Janou joined HEL this year already familiar with the group from an audience member’s perspective. “I saw most of their shows last year, and thought each one was funnier than the last,” Janou said. She, too, is enthusiastic about the group energy. “I’m really excited to be a part of HEL…I hope I can keep up with the creative powers at work in the group,” she said. The Shiva show this weekend will be an opportunity for the rest of the Vassar community to join HEL members, veterans and rookies alike, in one of these humor-filled hangouts. The show will take the form of a combination
New members of Happily Ever Laughter join comedy veterens as they prepare for their first show. They will perform a variety of comedic styles, and leave open the opportunity for the unexpected to arise. of videos and live sketches, all of which are original material written by group members. As for subject matter, HEL makes an effort to incorporate a range of styles into their shows, from absurdity and silliness to more reality-based humor, such as political commentary—without ever getting too heavy. Sketches are all written and rehearsed in advance, but members agreed that no one is ever sure what kind of pleasant—or hilarious—surprises will arise. Pearle said, “We’re going to be just as surprised as the audience is.” Whelan assured, “Expect the unexpected.” HEL is especially excited about their venue, as the Shiva is a space that they feel lends itself to enhanced production value and technical flexibility. They are eager to take advantage of the many theatrical elements they have to work with. “There’s dynamic lighting, sound and there’s a lot of construction involved,” said Riddick. Although the most important part of a sketch is the humor infused in the writing and brought
to life with performance, having access to a set of relatively sophisticated theatrical components can only help a comedy show. Tools like sound effects and the Shiva’s PA system, for example, open up the doors to additional jokes and sketch premises. The members do the technical set-up in the Shiva themselves, using the many offerings of the space to frame their sketches in the best possible way. Whelan added, “It’s a lot of fun, but a lot of work too.” Besides the comedy preview show, a showcase of Vassar’s comedy groups that went up the first weekend of the school year, this HEL show will be the first comedy group performance of the semester. The group’s members will get to see their new combination of comedic strengths take life on stage, while the rest of the student body will get their first dose of Vassar comedy for the year. “I can’t wait to share what has amazed me all this week and I can’t wait to get out in front of an audience!” wrote Pedersen in an emailed statement.
Cinematography can’t save mess of a thriller Max Rook Columnist
Prisoners Denis Villeneuve Warner Bros.
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ne of the strangest parts of the fall “prestige” movie season, i.e. the time of year when all of the movies that are trying very hard to win Oscars are released, is seeing where films will attempt to position themselves on the spectrum ranging from the populism of blockbuster entertainment to the more intellectual pleasures of “quality” drama. Prisoners, the new film from director Denis Villeneuve, attempts to fit somewhere in between those two poles. Specifically, the film tries to follow in the footsteps of movies like Seven and Zodiac, crime thrillers that bring a more sophisticated touch to the typically sordid genre. Unlike those films, however, Prisoners is largely unsuccessful, because it fails to blend its two halves, resulting in a film that shifts rapidly between fascinating sequences that explore the violence on screen in depth, and other scenes where violence becomes meaningless noise. Villenueve, who is best known for directing the Oscar-nominated Incendies, seems to have been unable to decide which version of this movie to make, so he simply crammed both into a single feature. As a result, the film is a lengthy, bleak experience, albeit one with occasional flashes of brilliance. The basic premise of the film is simple: Two children are kidnapped, and the plot follows the two interweaving paths of the men trying to find them. Hugh Jackman plays Keller Dover, the father of one of the girls, who resorts to vigilante methods to try to save his daughter, and Detective Loki, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, who works within the legal system. Besides having
some very strange names, these two men basically move through the movie in parallel. Loki’s side of the investigation does an excellent job of portraying the frustration police must struggle with when faced with such a tragedy. Gyllenhaal plays the man as someone constantly fighting to keep his emotions inside, and gives one of his best performances in the role. Dover, on the other hand, is a man who sees no reason to keep his rage bottled up. He is an exposed nerve, constantly snapping at everyone and everything around him. Once it becomes clear that the police investigation will not immediately be successful, Dover’s rage manifests in a horrifying manner: He kidnaps the prime suspect in the case and, convinced that this man knows more than he is saying, tortures him. There is quite a lot of torture, in fact. This seems like it should be the central focus of the film. A man, driven by tragic circumstances, does something just as unforgivable as what was done to him. Unfortunately, Dover’s characterization never delves deep enough into his psyche to explain why he was so ready to commit such a monstrous act, or how it impacts him. Jackman gives a tremendous performance, certainly, but the script is never interested in exploring his motivations. He is given a standard backstory as a man who is “prepared for anything,” and apparently that means both stockpiling canned goods for a hurricane and also torturing someone on a hunch. Some of the film’s best scenes come when we see the parents of the other kidnapped girl, played by Terrence Howard and Viola Davis, interact with Dover and attempt to figure out how far they’re willing to go to get back their daughter. Unfortunately, the film basically abandons this thread halfway through its running time. It’s hard to imagine there wasn’t room for that plot thread, considering the movie runs for almost two and a half hours. The last hour in particular is a slog to get through. In this
type of thriller, you expect the plot to be full of twists and turns. Here, the plot just slowly trudges forward to its inevitable conclusion. At times, this is effective. The second act of the film, which focuses largely on Loki’s investigation, is marvelously tense, particularly in a sequence involving some locked boxes. But, by the end of the movie, I was less interested in seeing the reveal of the kidnapper’s identity, and more interested in getting out of the theater and escaping the film’s bleak world. It doesn’t help that the final resolution of the story is disappointingly standard. The villain’s identity isn’t difficult to guess, but more importantly, it’s just a boring conclusion. The final 20 minutes feel like something out of CSI. In those last moments, the film focuses entirely on wrapping up Loki’s side of the story, the police procedural half, and basically abandons the more complex moral ambiguity of Dover’s part of the story. In fact, you could easily cut out most of Dover’s scenes from the film and everything would still make sense. It’s hard to say whether that would improve the movie, but it would make for a standard crime film. Prisoners feels like it could be so much more. It is beautifully shot, and the two lead performances are excellent, but it is completely lacking in subtlety. This is a movie in which one of the kidnapped girls is named Joy. So yes, joy is literally taken from these parents’ lives. The portions of the story that attempt to do something more than a basic cop story never come together into anything more. Dover is a man who reacts to a monstrous event by becoming a monster himself, but that is presented as a sidestory to the main event—the all-important, and entirely standard, investigation storyline. Even if this was a much stronger movie, it would be difficult to watch at times. With its brutal scenes of physical torture and emotional distress, but without anything interesting at its core, it is difficult to recommend anyone subject themselves to this film.
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
“Our students are very much interested in making the world a better place, and when you see these images of the march you realize that these people all took time away from their studies, their work, on this incredibly hot day—I think it was 95 degrees—and marched,” said Professor of History Maria Hoehn. “We always think about Martin Luther King—the icons of the movement, but all these little people made a huge difference too. It couldn’t have happened without them, and it’s important to remember that.” Hoehn was instrumental in bringing the exhibition to the College. A specialist in German history, Hoehn developed an interest in Freed after seeing his photographs of African-American G.I.s in Germany. She met Freed nine years ago at an exhibition in Beacon, N.Y. and has developed a friendship with his wife, Brigitte, who lives in Garrison, N.Y. Brigitte Freed organized the traveling exhibition to commemorate the anniversary, and helped Hoehn organize its showing at Vassar. Freed, a Jewish American from Brooklyn, N.Y., lived in Europe from 1952 to 1970 before settling down in the Hudson River Valley. According to Hoehn, while Freed was abroad, he first felt removed from the American Civil Rights Movement. However, in 1961, after taking his famous photograph of an African-American G.I. guarding the Berlin Wall, all of that changed. “Here stood a black soldier guarding the Cold War frontier—guarding German democracy, and he wasn’t even allowed to vote at home,” said Hoehn. “It really made [Freed] realize what’s wrong with America, so he decided to go back to the states regularly and photograph the civil rights movement.” “For me it was this really interesting example of someone having to be outside of their own country in order to understand the real dilemmas of American democracy,” explained Hoehn. “So he kept coming back to America, obviously for the march, but also to travel through the south to go to all the different events where King spoke, to keep a record, because he felt that if he didn’t show Americans what’s wrong, then he was just as guilty as everyone else.” Hoehn included Freed’s photo of the African-American G.I. in Berlin because it represents the start of his involvement in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. She also incorporated another photo that is not from the march, an image of Martin Luther King in Baltimore after he received the Nobel Peace Prize. The two images will be facing each other in the gallery. “I thought that it created a nice conversation,” said Hoehn. “Because for [Freed] it started with the G.I. and then culminated in King being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.” The exhibition also commemorates the 65th anniversary of President Truman’s executive order to integrate the military. The inclusion of the photograph of the G.I. is a nod to the Vassar-West Point Initiative. “We’re going to use that also for the cadets and for our students to talk about racism in the military,” said Hoehn. Paul Farber, an American Studies and Urban Studies professor at Haverford College who is also a co-curator of the exhibition, will give a brief introduction about the show on September 26 at 5 p.m. in the Villard Room. A discussion panel led by area residents who attended the march—including Brigitte Freed—will follow. Poughkeepsie-based poet Bettina Gold Wilkerson will conclude the program with a spoken-word poem she wrote for the event. “50 years seems like a long time ago, but when you look at these images you realize— wow, they’re people like you and me, they look like we do, and to think that 50 years ago people couldn’t vote in this country is stunning,” remarked Hoehn. She continued, “I think giving a larger historical context makes students aware that they are working in a longer tradition to make this country a better society, and it’s important to honor the people who marched because they changed history.”
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September 26, 2013
New Girl premieres on shaky ground, but entertaining Taylor Thewes
Guest Columnist
New Girl Elizabeth Meriwether 20th Century Fox
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all television has arrived, and the new season of New Girl has finally graced our screens with its presence. Delivering on its purpose, the show heralded much laughter from my end, but looking forward, the show’s overall quality has come into question. Picking up directly where season two leaves off, season three of New Girl begins with the conclusion to the finale’s wedding from the last episode. Nick, played by the always lovable Jake Johnson, and Jess, played by the whimsical Zooey Deschanel, have finally decided that their relationship is going to be official. Viewers have been teased by an on-again-off-again, budding romance, and the writers are now giving everyone what they wished for: an actual attempt at making it work. “I’m all in,” said by both of them. A relationship proves to be much more difficult than either of them had expected. After mere minutes of becoming a couple, Nick and Jess arrive to their home (they were roommates before becoming significant others), and they are hit with their first dilemma. Their other two roommates, Winston and Schmidt, pose to be too much to handle if their relationship is to operate smoothly. Realizing this, the couple decides to get away from the absurdity that is their roommates and go to a less hectic place where peace and tranquility can be had: Mexico. To be frank, Nick and Jess become quite the bums in Mexico. They tailor their clothes
Hudson Valley
Arts Mad Dooley Gallery
Through October 20 197 Main St., Beacon, N.Y. Make the trip to Beacon to see “On and On,” an exhibit of installation and video works by artist Peter O’Kennedy. Contact for hours: 845-702-7045
Roos Arts Gallery
Through October 19 449 Main St., Rosendale, N.Y. See works by artist Keiko Sono in “Saunter and Repose.” Contact for hours: 718-755-4726
Performance at Arlington Bar & Grill
Friday, September 27 770 Main St., Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Becky Brindle and the Hot Heads will jam at nearby Arlington Bar & Grill. Starts at 7 p.m. Saturday, September 28 6 Crannell St., Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Are you a self-identified Deadhead? Come to the Chance to see Gratefully Yours, a band of Grateful Dead inspired musicians. Starts at 8 p.m.
“Delivering on its purpose, the show heralded much laughter from my end, but looking forward, the show’s overall quality has come into question.” Meanwhile, Winston and Schmidt have their bevy of issues. Schmidt, the poor guy, has the painful dilemma of having to choose between two really wonderful girls. Without Nick, his best friend, for support, Schmidt looks to Winston to confide in, resulting in the inevitable “best friends” label bestowed upon each other. In his self centeredness, Schmidt decides to forgo anything Winston says and feels that juggling the two women at the same time is the best decision to make. Alone and clearly struggling with solitude, Winston delves into the world of puzzles. He has quite the experience making the puzzle. He resembles Gollum from The Lord Rings fame as he sings to himself, gives creepy looks to nobody in particular, and even strips down to just his underwear. Why the puzzle brings these
traits out in him, nobody knows, but he definitely makes a drastic change from what was previously thought of Winston. When Jess finally arrives to the home, she rounds up the troops, and they all make it back down to Mexico. Discovering that Nick is simply being comfortably held in a hotel room by security, retrieving him does not prove to be a problem. The real problem ends up being convincing Nick to return. Scared of messing things up with Jess because of their living situation, Nick would rather turn his head away from reality and the fear of losing her. Eventually, Jess lets Nick know that they are not the couple they are without the presence of their roommates. Following a stereotypical, sitcom group hug, the show concludes with their return to their home. This episode is entertaining, but its content should not be an omnipresent component of the season. Everything amazing about New Girl comes from the characters, and the treatment they appear to be receiving is unfair. Upon a second viewing of the episode, it has become very apparent that Zooey Deschanel is competing with Lamorne Morris, the man who plays Winston, for the third spot on the bill behind Nick and Schmidt. While Jess is clearly a weaker character than Nick or Schmidt, it is her calm demeanor that acts as the centerpiece for the absurdity of the other characters to latch on to. Now that the majority of viewers are getting what they wanted in more Nick and Schmidt, the suppression of Jess is hindering the others. This obstacle is in the form of an over-exposure to the three roommates. With more screen time for them, it seems that there is pressure to give in to the perceptions of the characters and emphasize those perceptions even more. The perfect example of this idea is represented by Winston. Winston has always been the least
compelling character of the bunch. He never had a trademark quality besides being able to disappear behind the others. Everyone knows this, so it seems as if the writers want to make him more interesting. The change made just did not feel right. Everything Winston does in the episode feels out of character and forced. The same goes for Schmidt. Schmidt is so incredibly up and down with his emotions in this attitude that the audience never gets to rest when he is on screen.
“This episode is entertaining, but its content should not be an omnipresent component of the season.” Being highly emotional and basically shouting every line throughout the whole show or becoming a weird, horrific character can be tolerable for one episode. Those types of attitudes deliver some great lines and joyful laughs for twenty minutes. If extended beyond one episode, an entire season long-story arc can become weighed down by unnecessary and overwhelming characters. Hopefully, New Girl does not go down this dreadful path. For what it is, though, the start to season 3 definitely proved to be entertaining, and while this may not be how they envisioned it, the writers have now hooked viewers to see just how this season will exactly shape up.
Unravelling history through the art of dress Isabella DeLeo Guest RepoRteR
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o study clothing is to study the very fabric of history. To that end, Arden Kirkland ’93 weaves together the passing of time, the changing of trends in order to understand something about the human condition. As the current Digital Project Manager and Co-Curator of the annual “Trying on History” exhibit, Kirkland works to make clothing come alive, teasing out the thread of human narrative among the dust. Nearly twenty years ago she graduated from Vassar with a degree in costume design, a major she crafted for herself. She has since praised the College’s interdisciplinary approach to education. Kirkland believes that Vassar encourages students to question what lies beneath the surface and instills in them the desire to understand the world through multiple perspectives. She maintained that Vassar’s commitment to social justice in a largely indifferent world has allowed her to think about clothing and its day-to-day impact. Kirkland pointed to her black cotton t-shirt: “It was probably made in a factory in another country.” Her education has prompted her to question the ethics and economics of material production, such as how stores set prices for certain products. “I can look at a piece of clothing and understand the conditions and time period that it was made in,” she explained. To her, clothes are a true representation of time. “When actors assume a costume, they are transported into a different time,” she said. That time period can feel estranged from modernity. “A costume hopefully allows actors to channel a character’s motion and speech,” she said. Kirkland began working in the Drama Department at Vassar shortly after graduation, admitting that she has been at Vassar for much of her adult life, although she has worked for the Drama departments at other liberal arts colleges, including Barnard and Bard. “I had none of the romance that people usually associate with 20th college reunions because I had spent so much time here, I had changed with Vassar,” she laughed. Until recently, Kirkland has worked predominately in the Costume Design Depart-
ment. Although lately she has been concentrating on Vassar’s online costume collection and running fashion exhibits, she was one of the driving forces behind last year’s exhibit, “For Better Or For Worse: Sixteen Decades of Wedding Wear at Vassar,” which encouraged the viewer to question how the concepts of weddings and marriage have changed throughout Vassar’s history. Kirkland wondered, “Can we find a way to use these ‘pretty dresses’ to examine the changes in weddings and marriage over the last 159 years? Can we appreciate the beauty of these dresses, yet not let that blind us to the complications of the cultural ideals they represent?” Kirkland is currently preparing for Vassar’s third annual French fashion show, which will be held in the Francis Lehman Loeb Art Center on October 3. The show is a collaboration with Contrast magazine and the French Department and will combine historical French looks with current ones. Aside from the fashion show, Kirkland is also working
on strengthening online archives, a move to improve public access to Vassar’s historical clothing collection. When she’s not working on exhibits or Vassar’s online collections, Kirkland is either helping students create their own designs or working on obtaining her Masters in Library and Information Science, an interest that kindled during her college years. Kirkland believes that librarians must look at the world through a kaleidoscopic eye, seeking answers that people cannot find in mainstream media. To her, that is the beauty of a liberal arts education; it prompts not only intelligent and empathetic inquiry, but also the drive to continue making connections in an ever-complicated world. Above all, costume design remains her first love. Kirkland said, “We alter existing clothing that people put on their body. Clothing design is very kinetic, it’s not just reading history in a book, you put on a custom and you are sent back in time. It gives you a different perspective on history.”
Cassady Bergevin/The Miscellany News
The Chance Theater
to look ripped and rigid which ends up looking more Flintstones than Cast Away, all while their faces look perfectly pristine. Now living out of the trunk of their car, Nick and Jess share some intimate moments like threatening to kill a little boy and getting arrested. With Nick detained, Jess has to go back to her home to recruit her roommates for help.
Arden Kirkland ’93 serves as the current Digital Project Manager and Co-Curator of the annual “Trying on History” exhibit here at Vassar College. She created a costume design major as a student.
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
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Horror-comedy has flashes of brilliance Tyler Wilch
terror of the movie is off and running. Crispian and his young girlfriend Erin are the main characters of this movie. They arrive at Crispian’s parent’s house, where a family reunion of sorts is taking place for his parents’ thirty-fifth wedding anniversary. This sets the scene for the brutality oh-sosoon to come.
Guest Columnist
You’re Next Adam Wingard Lionsgate
W
hat you first need to know about You’re Next is that it is not an insanely amazing movie, nor will it be your favorite. However, there is just about no way you will not enjoy watching it. It has a good deal of dull, monotonous and clichéd moments that make up its middle section. These moments of pointless violence and boring character introduction do grow weary, but if you sit through it, it will be worth it. Some of the best films don’t define themselves by one genre, but instead meld together two or three totally different ones which are somehow perfectly matched. One of my favorite combinations of genres, and one that very often goes underappreciated, is horror-comedy. Horror-comedy is a beautiful combination of blood, terror and roaring laughter. If you are a person who isn’t that fond of this type of movie, then maybe You’re Next isn’t for you. But if you are an individual who finds films like Cabin in the Woods to be terribly entertaining and creative, then I strongly suggest you give You’re Next a look. You’re Next is the creation of director Adam Wingard, and while originally was released in 2011, it is just hitting theatres now. The film is the last in a long line of movies that were originally shown at Sundance and went on to grow in popularity. Many movies in the horror genre are just corny compilations of clichés and cheap scares, so you may be a tad wary of You’re Next. But, this movie is far from a carbon copy of old horror films regurgitated, so quit that worrying. The film begins like many horror movies before it: A couple is getting intimate, and shortly after a crazed killer is introduced and proceeds to brutally kill them both. What fun. We get our first glance at the creepy, yet eerily innocent, mask of our killer(s), and the
Campus Canvas
“Horror-comedy is a beautiful combination of blood, terror and roaring laughter.” All is normal for this boring portion of the movie. That is until a family dinner, filled with hilarious bickering, is interrupted by a cross bow shot through a dinner guest’s head. This is when the true action kicks in. Arrows start to rain in, a family member is killed with barbed wire, the mother is killed with an axe, and the true horror of the movie starts to take shape. The movie does drag on for a bit here, with too much monotonous killing and dying, and too little fright or intrigue. However, I urge you to stick through it, and (spoiler) you will be greatly rewarded. This is when what I like to call “twist time” kicks in, when the truly praisable portions of the movie unsurface. Spoiler: A brother named Felix is found out to be in on all of the murders. He and his girlfriend Zee hired a group of trained killers to take out his family so that he would receive millions of dollars in inheritance money. Erin, almost out of nowhere, is able to fight off and kill one of the hired attackers. It is revealed that she grew up on a survivalist colony, and she goes on to use these special skills to kill every attacker, along with Zee and Felix, single handedly. When all seems well and over—when Erin is safe and all seem to be dead—the greatest reveal and by far best part of the movie presents itself.
Erin discovers that her dear boyfriend Crispian, who left to find help after his mother’s death, was in on the plan all along. We are treated to a brilliant monologue where Crispian, through his utter insanity, pleads with Erin to not turn him in and actually marry him, run away with him and live a rich lifestyle with him thanks to his newly received millions. Erin in turn kills him (darn), only to be shot by a policeman who finally shows up. As she regains consciousness, she bears witness to the young cop’s death. Instead, the officer falls prey to a trap Erin had set for the killers, bringing a splendidly humourous end to this thrilling movie. A few select fantastic moments in this film are what make it a good movie. These moments include hilarious dialogue at the dinner scene, where a family member’s filmmaker boyfriend is berated by Drake (a brother), and told he should film commercials instead of documentaries, right before the boyfriend one of the arrows goes through the boyfriend’s head. In this same scene, a very comedic and petty fight between brothers is interrupted by arrow, making for an amazingly chaotic and overall enjoyable cinematic moment. We also are treated to the hilarity of Zee’s attempt to seduce Felix next to his dead mother, and the wonderfully grotesque death by blender Felix experiences at the hands of Erin. These few well-written, filmed and directed moments are what make this movie endearing. Those, and the ending. The ending ties this movie together as the enjoyable horror-comedy that I originally said it was. We see hope blossom, the bleakness clear, and then immediately see it torn away in the most cartoonish and ridiculous of fashions—the cop’s death facilitated by Erin’s trap. This movie is not perfect, and you will not leave it pleading your friends to go see it. It is, however, a solid film with a few brilliant moments that will make you happily overlook the rest. Overall, this makes for an enjoyable watch, and anyone who’s looking for a few obnoxious laughs, gross deaths and thrilling fights should for sure check it out.
A weekly space highlighting the creative pursuits of student-artists
Excuse me, Who do you want ViCE to get for the fall concert?
“Beyoncé.” —Sagine Corrielus ’17
“David Guetta.” —Najwa Dakir ’17
“Janelle Monáe.” —Caroline Locke ’14
submit to misc@vassar.edu
“Lorde.” —Nghiem Tran ’17
“Katharine McPhee, DUH.” —Doug Greer ’14
I’m interested in creating a record of the feeling of being somewhere or with someone. Photography, though relied on as an accurate depiction of time and events, has the ability to communicate fictional narratives. A photograph is about the single moment captured, but also about what comes before and after. I like to explore this aspect of photography by actively choosing to in-
clude and/or omit visual signifiers of context. This photograph was made this past summer. I remember feeling sleepy and a little strange, which are both common feelings for me. I was sitting on my friend’s couch, covered with soft white blankets, and my very tall friend had just stood up. The drama of the scene reminded me of a movie, though I still can’t remember which
one. Overall, the night was traditionally “uneventful.” Photography is a mental exercise that helps me reconsider what really counts as an event, how the event exists in my personal timeline, and how a visual record can alter my memories of that event. You can see more of my photographs on my website, palomajimenez.4ormat.com. —Paloma Jimenez ’14
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“Kendrick Lamar.” —Karina Mateo’ 16
Jack Owen, Arts Editor Cassady Bergevin, Photo Editor
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September 26, 2013
Wheeler, school record-breaker, pivotal to team’s success Tina Caso
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s of last Thursday, junior Chloe Wheeler of women’s Soccer has broken a record at Vassar College. The midfielder/offender scored her ninth career game-winning goal on September 15 in a game vs. State University of New York Plattsburgh, bringing her to the number one spot for women’s Soccer game-winners in the record books. Wheeler started playing soccer at age four, eventually getting serious about the sport in late middle school after participating in a club team. She was named Second Team All-League her junior year. Her senior year, as a captain, she was named MVP, First Team All-League and Third Team All-County. Her high school team rose to be league champions three times. Despite her accomplishments, Wheeler mostly enjoys the team aspect of soccer. “The fact that it’s a team sport made me love it even more,” she said. “You meet your best friends on the team, and you learn so much being on a team, about life in general. You just mature a lot and learn a lot of life lessons. That sounds cheesy, but it’s definitely true.” The soccer team was one reason that Wheeler chose Vassar. After being recruited her junior year of high school at a tournament in Texas, she did some research on the school. “I didn’t really know what Vassar was until the soccer coach emailed me. I came on a visit just to meet the coach and see the school, and I fell in love with the campus as most people do when they come here,” she said. She continued, “The second time, which was my official visit, I really loved the girls. I had such a great time and it just felt right. I saw other schools, but I didn’t really get that feeling until I came here to Vassar.” Wheeler’s freshman year, she started in 16 out of 17 matches and had two goals and one assist. Both goals won the games for the Brewers, and she led the team in game-winning goals. During her sophomore year, both she and the team had a lift. “Sophomore year was when I really hit my groove with the team,” she said. “We got a new coach that year, and I feel like that changed us so much for the better in terms
Junior Chloe Wheeler recently broke a record for most game-winning goals for women’s soccer. Wheeler has scored nine game-winning goals in her career, five of which were scored this season. of team chemistry and coaching style, and it was just very easy to get to know her quickly,” Wheeler explained. “She was the perfect balance of being a coach and being professional, but also being there for us and facilitating a team environment.” Wheeler started in all 17 games her sophomore year, putting in nine goals and one assist and therefore leading the team in points with 19. Five of her goals were game-winning goals, which set a single-season record for the Brewers. In October she was named Liberty League Performer of the Week, and by the end of the season, she had been named Honorable Mention for All-Liberty League, Liberty League All-Academic Team and second place for game-winning goals with a total of seven. So far this year, Wheeler has scored five goals in games vs. Mount Saint Mary College, Stevens Institute of Technology, Haverford College and SUNY Plattsburgh. Two of those
goals brought her to the number one spot for game-winners. Wheeler recalls the moment she broke the school record. “I heard the announcement on the loudspeaker and you can’t really describe that feeling,” she said. “It’s kind of crazy, but I can remember everything about it—my team just huddling and everyone jumping on me. It was just one of those moments that you want to remember forever, and that you will remember forever,” she said. “That’s also the other thing about Vassar: how small the campus is and basically knowing someone wherever you go. It’s awesome to have that community feel, and everyone is just kind of rooting for you.” As a lead scorer on the team, Wheeler acknowledges the fact that her ability comes from her mentality. “I have a routine before every game. I have to listen to the same song right before we start, and we have our team thing right before we do our games, and that really
gets me going. I kind of just remember how important soccer has been to me throughout my whole life, and how much I love it,” she said. “I am always anxious before games, but it’s a good thing. I feel it in a positive way, and I definitely really get into the zone before games.” She continued, “That moment before the whistle blows, I’m ready to go and I always feel that that routine helps me to be in a positive state, mentally and physically.” As for the accomplishments, senior forward and midfielder Gavriella Kaplan knows what to expect from Wheeler. “I’m not surprised that Chloe broke the school record for the most game-winning goals. Honestly, I expect her to break more records before she graduates. She is a fierce competitor. And even though she is often double and triple-teamed, she always comes out on top.” Kaplan added, “Wheeler can score in her sleep. I am just happy that I get to play with Chloe instead of against her.” Senior forward Sheeva Seyfi feels the same way. “Every team needs a player like Chloe,” she wrote in an emailed statement. “She knows the game insanely well, knows when to make which run and as a result is a defender’s worst nightmare. On top of that, she knows how to score. Even under high-pressure situations, she’s able to stay composed and get the job done.” Wheeler reciprocates confidence in her teammates as well and feels that this season has prepared them for Liberty League play. “We have so much talent on this team and so much potential, and we’re getting there. Our record right now is 4-3-1…so we’ve experienced the whole spectrum. I’d say it’s really good that we’re experiencing this now before Liberty Leagues,” she said. “This is one of the first years where everyone has been on the same page in terms of where we want to be with our season. This year everyone really wants it. I can definitely feel it.” Overall, Wheeler will surely remember her time here with women’s Soccer. “It’s something you’re never going to forget,” she said. “It’s something you’re going to keep with you forever.”
Sports-defining moments hard to come by for students Luka Ladan
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oooooney!” “It defies description! How about sensational? How about superb?” “Spectacular, beyond belief.” February 12, 2011. Manchester United. Manchester City. Old Trafford. The Theatre of Dreams—for Martin Tyler, one of the soccer world’s most iconic match commentators, Old Trafford truly was a “Theatre of Dreams” on that Saturday in the middle of winter, on that special, special day. For, on that Saturday, Tyler was more than just any match-caller privileged enough to be covering one of England’s most popular local derbies—he was a witness to one of the most beautiful goals ever scored, at the perfect moment, and by one of the world’s most explosive talents. I remember that wintertime match for everything that a derby showdown between two of the world’s most dominant clubs should bring: the buzz of anticipation beforehand, the heated back-and-forths between club supporters, the juicy sound bites provided by players and managers alike, the shaking of the stadium. There was the ecstasy after the first goal, followed by a stunned silence after the second, until it was canceled out by that raucous roar of disbelief at the very end. All of the little details lined up at just the right time to produce a pure spectacle, a display deserving of that stage. Very rarely can it be said that a sporting event lacks nothing. Most, unfortunately, do lack something (or a lot of things). Not every game is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity–we are sometimes witnesses to poor performances and one-sided affairs, shoddy coaching and meaningless exhibition games. But, this one lacked nothing. You had some of the sport’s most celebrated faces—Wayne Rooney, Sir Alex Ferguson, David Silva, Martin Tyler and his unparalleled eloquence, and countless others. You had the ideal setting—
there’s no better place for the majestic showdown of deep red and shiny blue than the Theatre of Dreams, where the talent is matched by the intensity of the crowd. And you had the sheer importance of this match in a contextual sense—England’s two best squads fighting for the top of the league table and a place in topnotch Champions League competition. Everything lined up for Wayne Rooney’s glorious game-winner. The circumstances, the fans, the individual talent, everything. But that bicycle kick was something else entirely, a touch of individual brilliance. It was the true prize in a match with a whole lot to offer. Powerful, yet precise. Unexpected, yet timely. Difficult, yet made to look easy. Rooney (or should I say “Roooooney”?) hung effortlessly in the air for what seemed like three long seconds before instinctively meeting the gliding ball with his sturdy foot, all with the utmost coordination. He quickly connected boot to ball and delivered not only a rocket of an overhead but a knockout punch to his club’s most dreaded local rival. The ball hit his foot, then rattled the back of the net. The crowd shook, and the goalscorer celebrated with his proud teammates in the midst of yells and cheers.
“The ball hit his foot, then rattled the back of the net.” Rooney said that it was the best goal he’s ever scored. His manager went even further, proclaiming it the best goal ever scored at Old Trafford. That’s some praise. It was the perfect way to decide the perfect fixture, and all of soccer’s best seemed to be on display that day in Greater Manchester. Feb-
ruary 12, 2011 mixed all of Sir Alex’s coaching genius with Wayne Rooney’s powerful grace, City’s pinpoint passing with a wild crowd’s show of provincial pride. And then it was capped off by the game’s most difficult, yet dazzling, show of goalscoring prowess—an overhead bicycle kick that left the goalie rooted in the ground and the United faithful jumping with joy. A bicycle for the ages. I find it difficult to put that moment in words; I still crack a tiny smile when a highlight show does a documentary about that match or I come across a YouTube link featuring Rooney’s goal—accompanied by millions of views and Martin Tyler, in all of his glory. Something like that just doesn’t happen often, and it’s difficult to understand the beauty of that moment without understanding the beauty of soccer. You have to watch “the beautiful game” growing up, understanding the importance of attacking formations and timely through balls and tactical substitutions. Only then can you begin to understand that bicycle kick in the heart of Manchester, at the center of a heated rivalry. Stuff like that just doesn’t happen too often, so you have to appreciate it when the stars do align. Martin Tyler, and all of the lovers of soccer that tuned in, were lucky indeed. “It defies description! How about sensational? How about superb?” Wayne Rooney’s goal, the Manchester derby, everything about the sport, makes me regret that I can’t watch more of the game these days. At Vassar College, in the middle of the Hudson River Valley, I’m disconnected from the broadcasts and analysis of English football, Spanish football, Italian football, German football. I’m not caught up on the goals and assists and daily recaps. All of the world’s best leagues seem to elude me, as I’m preoccupied with my academic schedule, varsity basketball and traditional American sports. It’s difficult to find the time to watch a good
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old Manchester derby when there are so many other things going on at college. In the midst of school, basketball, and other extracurricular activities, the beautiful game is forced to take a backseat. There’s nothing that I can do about that.
“...an overhead bicycle kick that left the goalie rooted in the ground and the United faithful jumping with joy. ” And I truly, truly regret it. February 12, 2011 makes me regret it—moments like that are unforgettable and sensational and iconic, all at the same time. Whenever the whistle blows for a kickoff, there’s a chance—however small—that the stars will align and that there will be another February 12th someday. As a matter of fact, the Manchester derby took place this past Sunday, as two of England’s best faced off in another pivotal league encounter (with Manchester City coming out on top this time). It surely won’t be the last time—they compete at least twice every season, depending on European play, and that will be the case even five years, ten years, thirty years from now. The best goal ever scored by Wayne Rooney, Old Trafford’s best ever goal, and hearing Martin Tyler call the action with ultimate ease–providing spontaneous reaction and unparalleled passion. Those are the possibilities. Those are the possibilities that only soccer can bring. “How about sensational? How about superb?” “Spectacular, beyond belief.” It is the beautiful game, and it is truly spectacular.
September 26, 2013
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Eight schools convene for competition HUCK continued from page 1
Zach Rippe Columnist
Spencer Davis/The Miscellany News
are the people we learned to play from. It’s our only home tournament, and a ton goes into organizing it.” Senior man’s co-captain Nick Creighton agreed with Been’s sentiments, emphasizing the planning that goes into an event like this for a non Varsity sport like Ultimate. “I think whats really cool about Huck is that its all student driven,” expressed Creighton. “Unlike other teams here at Vassar, we don’t have anyone in the athletics department helping us coordinate games, travel, etc. At other schools its the same; Ultimate teams are generally clubs, with the same kind of oversight that for example an a cappella group would get. A lot of people on our team pitched in, helping to run the BBQ , helping set up and clean up the fields, and putting up their houses so teams could sleep on their floors. And in the end it really came together, we brought 200 people to the school and it seems like they all had a pretty good time.” Creighton has been playing Ultimate for a total of eight years, and has nothing but love for the sport. “The game is a ton of fun and I really like the competitiveness of it, but the spirit of the game is really what distinguishes it from other sports,” Creighton described. “It’s self-refereed, which means that its really on the players to make it fair. Occasionally there are some arguments over calls, but it gets left on the field. I love going to tournaments and meeting new people.” Been had a different experience, coming to Vassar with little Ultimate playing time. “I wouldn’t have stayed on the team had the people not been as nice as they were, but I also have come to really love the sport,” Been explained. “It’s challenging and also incredibly sportsmanlike, as the whole game is self-refereed. I played on a summer league in Boston this summer, which is a great way to stay in shape/improve your playing skills. A lot of people play in summer leagues, which are usually co-ed.”
Ultimate players from eight different colleges came to Vassar this past weekend for the annual “Huck for Red October” tournament. This year was the sixth year that Vassar held this event. The tournament was played over the course of two days, with Saturday being the day where each team plays four matches. The performance of each team determined their placement in the finals bracket, which would be held on the following Sunday. Vassar men’s A team went 4-0 on Saturday 14-16, putting them at the top of their bracket. The team lost to Vassar’s alumni team in the semi finals on Sunday. The winner on the men’s side was the University of Maryland Baltimore, defeating the Alum team. Vassar men’s B team went 0-4 on Saturday. On the women’s side, Vassar’s team, known to many as The Boxing Nuns, went 1-3 on Saturday. However, they defeated Dickinson on Sunday 12-8, giving them a spot in the semi finals, where they lost to Connecticut College. The Vassar Alum team on the wom-
en’s side also lost in the semi finals to Bard College. Bard needed up taking the Ultimate title on the women’s side. Aside from Huck for Red October, Vassar Ultimate fosters a sense of unity, according to Been. “The teams here are incredibly inclusive and anyone can join,” Been stated. “We are definitely friends off the field as well and will often have team dinners and go to events or hang out as a group.” Men’s co-captain Noah Edelstein expressed the importance of the team’s unity to him personally. “To me, more than anything this team is a network that exists far beyond the Vassar campus. I am still very close with teammates who have graduated and have friends who played on the Vassar Ultimate team years before I was even here. It’s a brotherhood.”
Woods struggles with image despite domination during 2013 tour season Eli J. Vargas I
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Columnist
t is common knowledge that Tiger Woods seems to have fallen off of the radar lately. After being considered the “golden boy” of golf and the man who could do no wrong for the majority of his career, he suffered a tremendous fall in late 2009. As most people know , Woods’ personal troubles began when he crashed his car into a fire hydrant and some trees one cold November night. The problem only got worse when multiple women claimed to be having affairs with Tiger, and he later admitted to infidelity. Suddenly, it seemed as if all hell had broken loose. Tiger’s image was shattered and, as a result, the majority of his sponsors dropped him. Tiger Woods was no longer a hero and a prodigy but instead a sleazeball sex-addict. But that is old news. What’s going on with Tiger now? Many people never truly had an interest in the very thing that made Tiger Woods famous in the first place—golf. Much of the fandom seemed to stretch from the simple idea of Tiger Woods himself. He was, in essence, the “god of the golf world.” It was a marketer’s dream that someone so young, marketable and charismatic also just so happened to be so good. Thus his image seemed to redefine the game and usher in an entirely new generation of fans. But when Tiger’s image took a nosedive, many “fans” wrote him off altogether. Yet one fact still remains: the man is phenomenal at golf. As of today, Tiger Woods is the number one ranked golfer in the entire world. Not coincidentally, he also has five wins this season. Since 1980, only Vijay Singh and Nick Price have won at least five times during the course of a season and both men only did so once. Woods, on the other hand, began his professional career in 1996 and had already achieved this feat ten times. Tiger is also the
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favorite to win the Player of the Year Award, an honor he has already won ten times. Perhaps Woods’ biggest setback, however, is the fact that he has not won any major titles including The Masters Tournament since his return from scandal and injury in 2009. Yet, the fact remains that Woods is still consistently one of the best golfers in the world right now. Perhaps what once made Tiger Woods the most appealing figure in golf is now what works against him. During his golden era of publicity he was seen as a young, attractive wunderkind of sorts, juxtaposed against the older, more wrinkly men that usually populated the Professional Golfers’ Association. Now, however, he may be viewed as the younger, sly, selfish man trying hopelessly to regain his former glory and reputation at the top. The same goes for many athletes. What they do outside the game impacts how they are viewed while playing it. The tide can turn for or against an athlete based on what he or she does or says, whether it be respectful or demeaning. This year could, however, mark Woods’ symbolic return to greatness whether fans like him or not.
“Yet one fact still remains: the man is phenomenal at golf.” Tiger Woods has not won a Player of the Year award since 2009. Thus, he has not won a Player of the Year award since his divorce, since his scandals and injuries. Woods feels the pressure this year. He wants to be loved again, to reclaim the fame and likability that was once his. Yet perhaps his desperation has done more to hurt him than anything else. This year, Tiger Woods also has three rule violations.
The first came in Abu Dhabi where Tiger Woods decided to take a free drop in the sand…except a free drop was not allowed in the sand. Thus he was penalized two strokes and failed to make the next cut. Then, at the Masters, Tiger decided to take an improper drop on the 15th hole. The mistake was not discovered at first, yet in an interview afterward, Woods said that he purposely dropped the ball “a few paces” behind the original spot. THEN, at the BMW Championship, Tiger Woods decided to move a small branch that was blocking his golf ball. The ball then moved. Woods claimed the ball only “oscillated,” yet a PGA Tour videographer had captured the event and sent it in to the league. He or she stated that Tiger was in violation of a rule that prohibited moving the ball. Woods argued and discussed the matter with the league and wound up being penalized. In all honesty, this seems like an unlucky accident for Tiger Woods. Had this happened before his ugly divorce and fallout in 2009-2010, the public would undoubtedly have been on his side. Yet now, many probably see him as a sneaky cheat. Especially after what Woods did next. Instead of apologizing and sucking it up, Tiger went out to proclaim that golf should not be reviewed so tightly on television. The replay rule, according to Tiger, should not be followed so closely. Shouldn’t every golfer play with integrity no matter who or what is watching? Tiger Woods is digging his own grave here. Had golf not punished Tiger, he would have been seen as someone who was babied by the league and given special treatment. Woods, especially now, does not want to be seen as someone who gets special treatment. The fundamental principle of golf, a phrase that most people know, is “play the ball as it lies.” Tiger Woods is in no position, especially now, to even attempt to do anything else.
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
T
he Los Angeles Dodgers have been the talk of the MLB this year. Whether it’s having the National League’s highest payroll, being a first half disappointment, or experiencing the spark that is rookie Yasiel Puig, the Dodgers have created headlines on a daily basis. If you just started following the MLB this year, you might be led to believe that the Dodgers have always been on the headlines and that Dodgers fans are spoiled. But this has not always been the case. The Dodgers have come a long way from just two years ago, when game crowds dwindled, and the only Dodgers headlines were those concerning the bankruptcy of previous owner Frank McCourt. But now under new owner, and former Los Angeles Lakers great, Magic Johnson, the team has indeed fulfilled the expectations of sports fans across the nation. The Los Angeles Dodgers have clinched the National League West Division, over eleven games ahead of bitter rival Arizona Diamondbacks. However, this seems like what should be expected from one of the highest spending teams in baseball. This may be true, but what makes it even more memorable is the fact that the Dodgers were 9.5 games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks as recently as June 23. An injury riddled Dodgers team was underwhelming with most of the star-filled lineup battling all sorts of ailments . The Dodgers went 42-8 over a 50 game stretch, a feat which has not been accomplished in more than 60 years in either leagues. Many will attribute the success of the Dodgers in this span to exciting rookie Puig. With his .343 batting average, powerful swing and amazing athletic ability, the Dodgers received the catalyst that they sorely needed. Day in and day out, Puig played as hard as he can, albeit a bit recklessly. Yet I believe hat shortstop Hanley Ramirez, who battled injury after injury for the first half of the season, has been the main contributor to this recent success, not Yasiel Puig. When Ramirez did return to the starting lineup a day after Puig made his major league debut, he immediately produced at an MVP level. Ramirez has hit 20 home runs, as well as earning an exceptional batting average of .351. Albeit the recent success, the Dodgers have some lingering questions and injuries as the playoffs are drawing closer. Superstars Puig, Hanley Ramirez, and left fielder Carl Crawford have all been out of the lineup this week with hip (Puig) and back troubles (Ramirez and Crawford). With the playoffs just a few weeks away, injured players are definitely a cause for concern. After all of the successes and excitement this summer, it would be a shame for the Dodgers franchise and for the MLB if the Dodgers were knocked out of the first round due to so many injured players. Let’s hope that this will not be the case and that this season won’t be for naught. And this is where we come to 2011 MVP-Runner and Dodgers center-fielder, Matt Kemp. Kemp has been dragged down by various injuries for the past calendar year, including surgery over the winter. With 153 games played so far this season for the Dodgers, five-tool player Matt Kemp has only played in 66. With the majority of his time spent on the injury list, Matt Kemp has been unable to reach his comfort zone, and as a result, he has had a frustrating and disappointing season. But if he does begin to feel comfortable and returns to form sometime when the playoffs begin, then the Dodgers will be a force to be reckoned with. Since the Dodgers are the first team to clinch a playoff spot, they have nine game’s time to rest their players and then head into the playoffs with a fully healthy and elite lineup of all-stars and former batting title-winners. With great hitting from recuperating players such as Adrian Gonzalez, Puig, Ramirez, Crawford and Kemp, the Dodgers can strike fear into the hearts of opposing pitching rotations and give opposing managers plenty of difficult decisions to make. So if the Los Angeles Dodgers can regain their health as a collective unit, not only will they ensure that they won’t be a bust in the first round of the playoffs, but behind their batting and pitching they will also have a good shot of making it to the World Series. If I were the other playoff teams, I would definitely watch out for the Los Angeles Dodgers, because they are fierce.
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September 26, 2013
New coach Williams stresses conditioning fundamentals Amreen Bhasin RepoRteR
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he start of this year brought about many personnel changes throughout the Vassar Athletics community. However, there has been one new face that’s made an impact on every Brewer student-athlete this year. With the departure of former Vassar strength and conditioning Coach Andrew Sweets, this year student-athletes and coaches welcomed Coach Cameron Williams in his place. Williams made his way to Poughkeepsie after working at Georgetown primarily with women’s Soccer as well as the Track team and working part time at the Potomac School in McLean, VA. Williams was a successful Division III student-athlete himself. He was an NCAA DIII Indoor Track and Field All-American in the high jump. He earned All-University Athletic Association honors in both indoor and outdoor track at
Washington University, played as a member of the men’s Basketball team, and was named the Washington University Junior Class Male Athlete of the Year in 2007. Williams cited his experiences as a former DIII athlete as one of the more attractive aspects in his move to Vassar. In an emailed statement Wiliams explained, “It was a great opportunity for me to move forward in my career (I was an assistant at Georgetown and I am the Head Coach here), I wanted to be closer to home (I’m originally from Connecticut), and I was a Division III athlete myself, so I was excited to help [and] work with athletes who don’t always have access to a strength and conditioning program.” Coach Williams works with all 23 Vassar’s Varsity teams to help improve overall strength, conditioning, speed and running technique. The coach hopes to help enhance the abilities of all his student-athletes by developing these skills
Cassady Bergevins/The Miscellany News
After being hired this summer, lifting coach Cameron Williams seeks to better student-ahletes with fundamental lifting and conditioning techniques. He replaces previous lifting coach Andrew Sweets.
individually. “Quite simply, I want to make everyone stronger and more explosive. If I can do that then hopefully that improved athleticism will lead to improvements on the field, or court,” he noted. Strength and Conditioning usually takes place in the Kenyon Hall Varsity weight room. Athletes usually attend one to two open sessions each week while in season starting at 9:00 a.m., and out of season athletes usually attend three. There are sport- and individual-specific workouts created by Williams in order to help athletes reach their potential. Teams also usually have one early morning lift together each week. With so many athletes, teams and sessions to manage, Williams has a busy day starting before most of the student body is even awake, yet he has no complaints. He said, “I really like what I do, so I don’t mind putting in a little extra time to get work done.” Student-athletes at Vassar have responded positively to the addition of Cam’s workouts to their weekly schedule. Sophomore men’s Soccer player Ben Glasner had only positive words about the new Coach. “He has brought a great deal of energy into the workouts,” Glasner explained. “If it is a lift at 8:00 a.m. or p.m. he is jumping around correcting form, or telling stories of encouragement and making lifting an enjoyable and rewarding experience.” Lifting, according to Williams, is an often overlooked and under-utilized part of athletics and general health. “Success in athletics is made possible by developing two distinct qualities in an athlete; sport specific skills, and an overall level of athleticism. Sport specific skill is developed by going to practice, or practicing technique independently. Beginning a strength training program is an integral part of developing an individuals overall level of athleticism,” Williams explained. He continued, “Despite the variety of physical demands different sports place on the body, some combination of power, speed and the ability to quickly change direction are integral to almost every sport. Strength, or the ability
Men’s soccer redeems itself with recent win Luka Ladan
assistant spoRts editoR Men’s Cross Country
On September 20, the men’s Cross Country team finished sixth out of fifteen teams at Saratoga Spa State Park. Freshman Alfredo Mazzuca finished second place and had a personal record in the 8k with a time of 26:00. For the Brewers, sophomore Andres Orr finished third with a time of 27:33. On Monday, the Liberty League named Mazzuca Rookie of the Week. Men’s Cross Country will next meet at the State University of New York Geneseo Pre-Regional Run on October 5. Women’s Cross Country
At the RPI Invitational in Saratoga Springs, NY, the women’s Cross Country team fourth overall out of 13 teams. Senior captain Aubree Piepmeier finished first for the Brewers and eighth overall with a time of 18:10. Freshman Jemma Howlett finished second for the Brewers and fifteenth overall. On October 4, the women will travel to State University of New York at Geneseo for the Pre-Regional Run.
oke Invitational in South Hadley, MA. Senior Paloma Jiminez finished with 98 and freshman Deanna Howland had 117. The next day of the invitational, Mentel finished at a tie for 32nd with a total of 172. Women’s Golf will meet on September 28 in Middlebury, VT for the Middlebury College Invitational. Men’s Rugby
The Brewers took on the Stags of Fairfield University on September 22, getting out to a slow start and losing 37-16 in the end. Vassar will face William Patterson University on September 29th, looking to bounce back. Women’s Rugby
The women’s Rugby “A” team fell to rival Marist College on September 21, 53-0 while the “B” team lost 12-0. Senior center Natalie Ward, senior flanker Dallas Robinson and sophomore wing Cierra Thomas all had noteworthy plays for the Brewers. The women will next play on Sunday, October 6 vs. the New Paltz Eagles on the Vassar Farm. Men’s Soccer
Women’s Field Hockey
On September 21, the Brewers took on the Blazers of Elms College and recorded a 4-0 shutout win. Sophomore forward Lauren Wiebe tallied two goals, while senior forward/midfielder Tina Caso (Full disclosure: Tina Caso serves as the co-Sports Editor for The Miscellany News) and junior forward Dara Davis each chipped in one. Vassar hits the road this weekend for two game vs. the University of Rochester in Rochester, NY and William Smith in Geneva, NY. Women’s Golf
On September 21, sophomore Angela Mentel shot a 36 on the back nine at the Mt. Holy-
Vassar faced Maritime College on September 22nd, scoring all of its goals in the second half of the 4-0 rout. Senior midfielder Juliano Pereira scored two goals, and senior midfielder Adrien Demelier and junior forward Tom Wiechert added one each. The Brewers will next compete against Skidmore College in a home game at Prentiss field on Saturday, September 28 at 2 pm. Women’s Soccer
Vassar defeated Manhattanville College 2-1 in overtime on September 21st. Senior forward Sheeva Seyfi scored the Brewers’ first and sophomore midfielder Lucy Brainerd shot home the winner. Vassar will take on Skidmore College
on September 28th to start Liberty League play. Men’s Tennis
On September 20, freshman Nicholas Litsky of men’s Tennis won two of his single matches at Ithaca College for the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s Northeast Regionals tournament. In his first single vs. Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute, he went 6-0, 6-4, and in his second match vs. St. Lawrence University he went 6-0, 7-5. For doubles he paired up with sophomore captain Christian Phelps to beat out Elmira College 8-4. On September 21, Litsky faced Skidmore’s number one player in the second round of play, eventually falling 6-1, 6-0. The men will travel to compete against Bard College on October 5.
to generate force, is at the root of all three of these characteristics. If you can’t generate force you can’t push off the ground to run, jump, or change direction, and you can’t push on an object to throw or swing it. So, increasing strength, and performing exercises that improve the rate at which force can be applied is one of the first steps towards improving an athlete’s general level of athleticism.” Williams works to raise the level of athleticism of Vassar student-athletes in order to create stronger, healthier bodies that can work and play harder. Coach Williams feels strongly about the importance of lifting for the general public as well as for the athlete. “A properly designed strength training program has a number of health benefits. First, high intensity strength training is a great way to burn calories to aid in weight loss or maintenance. Plus muscle is a very metabolically expensive tissue, so building muscle means that an individual burns more calories just existing. Second, lifting weights has been shown to help maintain (possibly increase if the intensity is high enough) bone density,” he explained. He further stated, “Third, as people age they tend to lose muscle mass. This loss in muscle mass puts people at risk of gaining unwanted weight due to decreases in metabolism, and the loss of strength makes chores of daily life harder and puts people at greater risk of injury from falls. And finally being strong is just plain fun and enjoyable! Why would anyone want to make three trips to the car to carry in groceries when they could pick them all up at once? And there is something inherently satisfying about lifting something really heavy!” The move to Vassar has been an adjustment for Williams but he has found a place pretty quickly. “It’s actually been pretty easy. Everyone here has been incredibly friendly and helpful,” he noted. According to Williams, the people have been one of his favorite parts of the transition. He said, “The school brings in a very high caliber of student, which makes my job easier and more fun...overall [they’re] a good group. Intelligent and, most, importantly coachable.”
Weekend Scoreboard MEN’S SOCCER VASSAR
Women’s Volleyball
On September 21, Vassar College swept Sage Colleges and Kean University in the two matches played. Junior outside hitter Taylor Mosley recorded 43 kills on the weekend. Mosley was also named Liberty League Performer of the Week. The Brewers will head to Clarkson University on September 27 in a key Liberty League matchup.
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
MARITIME COLLEGE
4
0 MEN’S RUGBY
Women’s Tennis
On September 21, the first day of the Vassar College Scramble, the host Brewers earned eight singles wins against the likes of New York University and Connecticut College. Sophomore Kelsey Van Noy and freshmen Emily Hallewell and Shayna Becker all recorded wins in straight sets. On the second day of the tournament, Vassar dropped all three doubles matches against New York University, but swept all doubles teams from Connecticut College. Senior Lindsay Kantor, along with Van Noy, Hallewell, and Becker, earned 8-0 wins. Hallewell was named the Liberty League’s Rookie of the Week for her performances in the tournament.
VS
VASSAR
AT
16
FAIRFIELD UNIVERSITY
37
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL VASSAR
3
VS
SAGE COLLEGE
1
Published on Mar 21, 2014
Published on Mar 21, 2014