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NEWS
April 26 , 2012
Founder’s Day to feature sustainability
News Briefs Vassar pilots Veteran-Student Program
Res Life considers new furniture
Residential Life is in the process of placing bids for new furniture as a part of their implementation of new fire safety policies, in which the college will provide furniture for the Town Houses (THs), Terrace Apartments (TAs), South Commons (SoCos) and suite spaces in Main and Jewett Houses. The policy changes are the result of updated 2013 New York Fire Safety regulations, which state that any newly intro-
Joey Rearick
Juliana Halpert/The Miscellany News
Vassar College recently announced its plans to pilot the Veterans Posse Program through the Posse Foundation. The Posse Foundation, according to its website, “identifies public high school students with extraordinary academic and leadership potential who may be overlooked by traditional college selection processes. Posse extends to these students the opportunity to pursue personal and academic excellence by placing them in supportive, multicultural teams—Posses—of 10 students.” Since its foundation in 1989, the Posse Foundation has sent 4,223 scholars to top-tier colleges and universities. Building from this success, Vassar President Catharine Bond Hill initiated the Veterans Posse Program, which will work in a similar way but bring veterans to campus. The first groups of students will matriculate as members of the freshman class in the fall of 2013. President Hill proposed the idea of veteran posses to the Posse Foundation. After working with Posse to assess the viability of the program, the two institutions agreed on a proposed structure. According to a Posse Foundation Press Release, “Posse will each year identify, recruit and train multicultural teams—Posses—of ten veterans and send them to selective four-year institutions of higher education.” Veterans will receive their education tuition-free, thanks to scholarship money and funding from the GI Bill. Vassar is the first College to adopt the Veterans Posse Program thus far. “Posse is tremendously grateful to Vassar and President Hill for making this incredibly important investment in our nation’s future leaders by signing on as the first college partner,” observed Posse Founder and President Deborah Bial in a Posse Press Release. The program is now searching for ten “innovators,” willing to pay $100,000, to financially sponsor the program. However, with over forty university partners, the Posse Foundation foresees many of its partners implementing the program in the future. President Hill’s decision to found this program arose from a desire to fulfill Vassar’s commitment to welcoming veterans to campus. “We, and other private, non-profit colleges and universities, had committed to the Yellow Ribbon program several years ago, but have not had much luck recruiting veterans to apply and matriculate,” Hill explains. The Yellow Ribbon Program allows approved institutions of higher learning to partially or fully fund tuition and fee expenses that exceed the established thresholds under the Post-9/11 GI Bill. “The Posse approach seemed perfect for addressing the lack of success we were having.” Hill also saw the need to continue Vassar’s commitment to creating a diverse campus. She noted that veterans will provide students will another set of experiences to consider and appreciate. “[The Program] will increase the diversity of experiences of our Vassar students,” she stated. “We believe this contributes to everyone’s learning.” The incorporation of this program will be yet another way Vassar has supported our military servicemen and women throughout history. While still a single-sex institution, Vassar welcomed roughly 170 World War II veterans to campus between 1946 and 1953 due to increased interest in the higher education provided by the GI Bill. The Veterans Posse Program represents a recommitment of the College to such principles. —Bethan Johnson, Reporter
Starting Monday, April 23, Dining Services halted its distribution of bottled water as a means of piloting the TapThat resolution that the Vassar Student Association passed on March 24. duced furniture must meet the following two standards. First, it must resist ignition by cigarettes as determined by tests conducted in accordance with National Fire Protection Association code 260 (NFPA 260), which stipulates that fabric must resist flame for thirty minutes of contact with a lighted cigarette. Second, the fabric must have a heat release rate that complies with California Technical Bulletin 133, a controversial measure among environmental activists who claim that the requirement of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs), a flame retardant commonly used in foam furniture, could cause health issues. The NY code provides an exception for buildings with appropriate sprinkler systems. However, according to Director of Residential Life Luis Inoa, “All of our spaces are sprinklered, but not all of our spaces have our newly updated sprinklers [which meet the code].” Come this fall, Residential Life will supply each apartment with two loveseats and two upholstered chairs. Inoa explained that the new furniture must be “durable, easily cleaned, look nice and comfortable.” The administration is seriously considering a fabric called Silica, a registered trademark of a company called Momentum Textiles that meets the new requirements. Momentum Textiles certifies its products’ safety through a private firm called Greenguard Environmental Institute, which “certifies products and materials for low chemical emissions and provides a resource for choosing healthier products and materials for indoor environments,” according to the company’s website. Momentum Textile’s Silica product meets Greenguard’s Children and Schools Indoor Air Quality® certification, which mainly limits the amounts of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which are gasses emitted from certain solid compounds. According to a Greenguard representative, this means that the company only tests for air emissions, not what is contained in the product. When asked if the fabric Silica contains the flame retardant PBDE, the representative had no comment. Inoa addressed environmental and saftey concerns from some students, “Obviously we want to meet [New York state’s] standard, but I think we can also provide something that is not hazardous. And that is something that the furniture companies will have to address with us.” Residential Life expects to place bids with several companies in the coming weeks. —Hannah Blume and Gabe Dunsmith, Senior Editor and Assistant Opinions Editor Dining Services launches bottle water ban
On Monday, April 23, Express Lunch halted its distribution of bottled water as a means of piloting the TapThat resolution that the Vassar Student Association (VSA) passed on March 24. Described by outgoing VSA Vice
President for Student Life Charlie Dobb as a “beta-test,” this pilot was implemented with the hopes of providing Dining Services with enough student feedback to execute the ban successfully on a larger scale next fall. The resolution, which is scheduled to fully go into effect during the fall 2012 semester, will effectively ban all bottled water from all campus eateries under the jurisdiction of Dining Services, including, the Retreat, UpC, and the Kiosk in addition to Express Lunch. To advertise the the implemation of this pilot program, Dining Services has posted signs in the College Center outside of the Villard Room. A giant replica of a water bottle, made out of wire netting, has also been placed in front of Express Lunch to raise awareness for the pilot program. “Really all [the pilot is doing] is accelerating the timetable for the ban,” wrote Dobb in an emailed statement. “Dining services, along with [Assistant Dean for Campus Activities] Terry Quinn and [Dean of the College] Chris Roellke have been working hard to figure out the best way to implement the ban. They’ve decided that a small-scale pilot would be helpful in seeing what concerns, if any, might arise from implementing the ban and hope it provides the opportunity to anticipate and handle them proactively, rather than after the ban is put into place next year.” Dining Services will be garnering feedback about the bottled water ban from now until the end of the semester. Students will be able to express their concerns to a Dining Services representative who will be stationed outside of Express Lunch each day. After this data is collected, it will be transferred to Dean Roellke, who is scheduled to provide the VSA with Dining Services’ findings by Tuesday, May 1. The implementation of this pilot test came after members of the College’s administration decided to refrain from allowing the Committee on College Life (CCL) to vote on the TapThat resolution. As Roellke wrote in an emailed statement, “CCL’s spring was quite packed with already scheduled deliberations on college regulations, alcohol and dining task forces, etc., so it would have been difficult to have CCL tackle the bottled water topic in short order.” He continued, “This, coupled with the resolution being directed explicitly toward campus dining, is the reason we did not feel CCL was the right place for this deliberation this spring.” However, as Dobb explained, “The fact that the resolution wasn’t heard before CCL isn’t a particularly consequential one … CCL was made aware of it, but decided implementation could move forward without consideration before that body.” Roellke did note that if the VSA is dissatisfied with the student responses collected by Dining Services, the resolution would be presented before the CCL next fall. —Ruth Bolster, Senior Editor
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
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News Editor
n Saturday, the College will once again celebrate Founder’s Day, and this year promises some exciting additions to the annual festivities. As well as a wide range of food vendors, rides, merchandise and musical performances, this year’s event boasts a stronger focus on its theme, Dr. Seuss, and an unprecedented push for sustainability. “This year, we have a new zero-waste initiative happening,” said Eli Schutze ’12, one of three Founder’s Day Committee co-chairs responsible for orchestrating the day’s events. Virtually all of the disposable items used during the event, including dishware and utensils, will be compostable. In addition, recycling bins will be available for bottles and cans sold by vendors, and students will be directed to dispose of their trash in the appropriate receptacles at four specially designated “Resource Recovery Stations.” “Basically [the Stations] will be just like the Retreat, so we’re confident that everyone will know exactly how to dispose of things,” noted Danielle Falzon ’12, another committee co-chair, in an emailed statement. “There will also be a zero-waste team on the field that will be monitoring the waste stations just in case anyone is unsure as to where to put things,” she added. The Committee sought to address the problem of providing water at Ballantine Field, where the day’s activities will take place. In the past, the Alumnae and Alumni Association of Vassar College (AAVC) has provided water bottles for students and other visitors, but the resulting plastic waste has been significant. “We’ve been working with AAVC, who usually provides us with the water bottles, and instead we have a water truck,” said Schutze. Students may use either Founder’s Day beer steins, which have been on sale in the College Center this week and will be sold on the field, or provided compostable cups. Another of the Committee’s initiatives is a renewed dedication to establishing a cohesive theme for the day. In recent years, students have largely ignored Founder’s Day themes, which have influenced only some aspects of the day’s celebrations. “We wanted to make sure the theme is represented by as many aspects of the day as possible, and is not just relegated to decorations and merchandise,” stated Jacob Levitt ’12, the third Founders Day Committee chair, in an email. In addition to humorous merchandise bearing Dr. Seuss characters, the Committee has developed a Founder’s Day website, vcfoundersday.wordpress.com, with a Seussian layout and tailored all decorations and publicity to match the day’s theme. “The decorations will make you feel like you’ve landed in a Dr. Seuss book,” wrote Falzon in her email. “We’ve really gone all out with the Dr. Seuss theme this year so it will be a prominent aspect of the day rather than fading into the background like it has in other years.” Five local vendors will be serving food at Ballantine Field. Rossi’s Deli and Twisted Soul, longtime student favorites, will be on hand, in addition to Marco’s Pizza and Pete’s Famous Café Grill, which will serve a variety of classic diner food. For a sweeter option, students can visit the Benny and Caesar’s Ice Cream stand, present at Founder’s Day for the first time this year. For those who buy a Founder’s Day stein and are of legal drinking age, there will be four craft beers from local breweries available free of charge at a beer truck at the field. Entertainment options will include a giant “Fun Slide” ride and a “Bounce House.” The day’s musical performances will begin with local and student bands, and culminate in sets from “dream pop” band Asobi Seksu and headliner Twin Sister, an indie-pop quintet. Though the weather is predicted to be cool and cloudy with a chance of rain, the day’s event will proceed regardless of inclement weather, and the event’s organizers remain optimistic. “Right now I’m not worried at all and, worst comes to worst, I doubt a little rain will stop everyone from having a great day,” wrote Levitt.