VOL. 134 ISSUE 15
The Vermont Cynic DECEMBER 12, 2017
Sex
the
Edition
Senior gives sugar, makes dough Libby Camp Life Staff Writer Emily, a UVM senior, padded her bank account by meeting with sugar daddies. This summer, she used her earnings on rent and utilities. Sometimes, she splurged. Emily, a pseudonym for her safety, became a sugar baby to fix her college finance problems, she said. A sugar baby is a younger woman who agrees to date and sexually satisfy a wealthy man. In her time in this role, Emily met two men, but didn’t get far into the lifestyle, she said. “One was cool, pretty good looking, in his early 30s and was just too busy with work to get some when he wanted,” she said. “We met up for a drink to make sure neither one of us were psychos. “Afterwards we decided to go back to his house and do the dirty.” Strangely, it wasn’t that weird, Emily said. “It wasn’t anything remarkable,” she said. “More like a business transaction. “Like, ‘Pay me to look at my body and tell me how hot I am.’” Emily’s other sugar daddy was “a little weirder,” she said. “Most of them are socially
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: AUTUMN LEE
inept losers who think they can buy love, or intimacy or women for money,” she said. Emily described her one sexual encounter with this sugar daddy as being “meh.” However, “he brought beer, so that was cool,” she said. Sex therapist Claire Diamond said there are power dynamics at play in sugar baby relationships. But, she said, “these dynamics are at play in all or most relationships anyway.” The money Emily made in
these interactions was a bit disappointing, Emily said. “My prices were lame because it was my first time,” Emily said. “I made $300 per meetup with the first guy and $400 for the meet-up with the second guy.” Nearly 70 percent of all college students work while enrolled, with 25 percent working full time, according to an October 2015 study done by Georgetown University. Before she entered college, Emily was first introduced to
the sugar baby lifestyle her senior year of high school when a co-worker told her and a friend about it. Her co-worker explained “how she got to do it on her terms,” Emily said. When Emily’s friend decided to try it out first, she made $8,000 to sleep with one man about four times a month, she said. After hearing about her friend’s positive experience, Emily decided to try it. “[My] coworker told us
about the website SeekingArrangement, and we got involved through there,” she said. SeekingArrangement is an anonymous dating site that connects “successful men and pretty women,” from around the world in sugar daddy and baby relationships, according to the website. Men on SeekingArrangement select an annual income from $25,000, to $200,000, to “heir to a large fortune.” Emily said she grew from her experience as a sugar baby, but the transactional relationship became exhausting. “For some people it’s easy to just jump in and go, and for others it ends up being a lot of energy,” she said. “People think having sex is easy, and it can be, but anything pleasurable that is turned into work becomes work.” Emily said she sees a difference between her work and prostitution. “The difference is based on the relationship, which is supposed to reflect dating,” she said. “Like the classic thought that men spend money on women and women in return give them sex. “Besides, when you really break it down, it’s all prostitution.”
Condoms may contain milk and chemicals Caroline Slack Feature Columnist
Condoms: they’re an important part of safe sex. But, when using these contraceptives, students said they’re generally unaware of what exactly they’re exposing their bodies to – latex condoms are made with the milk protein casein, so they’re not vegan friendly, according to a Feb. 15 Huffington Post article. And some students, like vegetarian sophomore Alison Forman-Katz, don’t know that condoms contain milk. “In the future I would prefer to use vegan condoms,” she said, “but really, I’ll just use whatever I can get for free.” Sophomore Lauren Chelel, a vegetarian and consumer of vegan products, said consumers are lazy, and that’s why they
Cynic sex playlist
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Condom manufacturers often don’t indicate if condoms contain milk. According to the FDA website’s labeling classifications, companies are only required to print an expiration date and label condoms that contain latex. “I don’t think it’s too hard to make condoms out of safe materials,” junior Wyatt Garratt said. In fact, there are several organic, fair-trade and vegan condom brands that are available. One brand in particular, Sustain Naturals, was recently profiled in a Feb. 17 New York Times article. The brand’s condoms are certified vegan and non-GMO and their factories are solar-powered, the article states. Sustain’s distribution center is located in Burlington on
oot
Battery Street. “We’re committed to always putting your health first,” the company’s mission statement states. But, most organic brands charge far higher prices. A pack of 10 Sustain condoms costs $13.99, while a 100-pack of Beyond Seven costs around
Feti
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: CAROLINE SLACK
$12 on Amazon. But, a cheap condom is better than having unprotected sex. A 2010 study by the American Journal of College Health reported that 26.4 percent of sexually active college students report using condoms every time they have sex.
No more excuses
sh
Looking for music to set the mood with your lover? The Cynic staff compiled a playlist of favorite albums to listen to while hooking up.
are unaware. “I never even thought to look up what condoms are made of,” she said. And some condoms contain spermicides that may cause irritation to sensitive areas of the body, according to an Aug. 14 Livestrong article. Such an effect increases the likelihood of STI transmission if the condom does fail, the article states. Condom brands like Trojan advertise condoms with the spermicide nonoxynol-9, which reduces the risk of pregnancy, the website states. While this claim may make users feel like they are better preventing pregnancy, the amount of spermicide in these condoms is so small that its effect may be negligible, according to the World Health Organization website.
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Members of the Cynic editorial board were sexually harassed on a train. They spoke up and discuss the difficulty of standing up to assault.
CONT.ON PAGE 3
NEWS
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The Vermont Cynic
Dec. 12, 2017
Sex health educator joins LivingWell Lauren Schnepf Assistant News Editor The new LivingWell sexual health educator is willing to talk loudly about sex in the middle of the Davis Center. Jenna Emerson filled a role that LivingWell recently created to provide sex education to students. She joined the UVM community Nov. 6 and plans to emphasize educational topics that students are interested in, she said. She wants comprehensive sexuality education on a college level, she said. This includes events like contraception workshops and condom demos, as well as discussions about intimacy, relationships and breakups, Emerson said. “We should be able to talk about pleasure,” she said. “Where are the classes on that? I think we could create a really radical space.” Emerson also wants to bring visibility to issues that affect the LGBTQ+ community, she said. “People talk about transgender and nonbinary identities as if it’s a new thing or a trend,” Emerson said. “It’s not. Native Americans had more than two genders, but we erased those people and the knowledge that came with them. “There were certain powerful people who decided that for us and now we can reclaim it.” Emerson grew up in San Jose, California and attended
Photo credit: Facebook
Jenna Emerson, the new health educator at LivingWell, stands outside the Davis Center. She was hired Nov. 6 for the new position, which she says will be dictated by what students want.
the University of Seattle for her undergraduate education. She stayed in the Seattle area for three years after graduation working in AmeriCorps. Emerson later moved to Philadelphia, where she received her masters of education in human sexuality studies. “I spent an extra year [in the Philadelphia area] teaching gender and sexuality to fifth through 12th graders in an independent Quaker school,”
Emerson said. Emerson went on to write a curriculum for the school as her master’s project, titled “Practicing Consent Like a Quaker.” The school is still using it today, she said. “I think for a lot of people in this kind of job, especially for something so niche,” Emerson said, “there are a lot of academic and professional reasons and also personal reasons. “So on the personal side, when I was in middle school,
I actually had abstinence-only-until-marriage sex education.” When Emerson arrived atthe University of Seattle, she took a women’s studies and sexuality class and felt it was the first time people were really being honest with her, she said. “You’re skeptical at first, but then you realize that you were really being lied to, and that was at a public school in a very liberal area,” Emerson said. Emerson said she began to
approach the idea of sexuality in an academic way by taking more sociology classes and eventually wrote her senior thesis on the social construction of virginity. “I was able to interview a few sexuality educators, which was really my first view into the profession, and I was like ‘yup, that’s what I want to do,’” she said. Emerson originally went into college wanting to pursue math education, but in her time teaching through AmeriCorps she realized that students wanted to learn about gender and sexuality, she said. “It’s hard to learn math when you’re dealing with body image issues,” she said. Emerson said she’s excited to start working with a new population of students at the college level. Her job at UVM is going to be dictated by what students want, Emerson said. She hopes students will request workshops and other programs they want to see at UVM, she said. One of her goals is to shine a light on issues that she was sheltered from in her adolescence, she said. “It’s ridiculous that I had to go through graduate school in sex-ed to learn what the internal clitoris is,” she said. To request a workshop or discussion topic, students can fill out the program request form on the LivingWell website, she said.
The Vermont Cynic
OPINION
Dec. 12, 2017
The Vermont
CYNIC
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Preventing sexual assault Staff Editorial
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EXECUTIVE Editor-in-Chief Erika B. Lewy editorinchief@vtcynic.com Managing Editor Greta Bjornson newsroom@vtcynic.com OPERATIONS Operations Manager Ryan P. Thornton operations@vtcynic.com Advertising Manager Cole Wangsness ads@vtcynic.com Distribution Manager Brittnay Heffermehl distribution@vtcynic.com EDITORIAL Arts Benjamin Elfland arts@vtcynic.com Copy Chief George Seibold copy@vtcynic.com Life Izzy Siedman life@vtcynic.com Multimedia William Dean Wertz media@vtcynic.com News Lauren Schnepf news@vtcynic.com Oddities Healy Fallon oddities@vtcynic.com Opinion Sydney Liss-Abraham opinion@vtcynic.com Sports Eribert Volaj sports@vtcynic.com Web Connor Allan web@vtcynic.com DESIGN Layout Eileen O’Connor layout@vtcynic.com Photo Phil Carruthers Max McCurdy photo@vtcynic.com Illustrations Genevieve Winn illustrations@vtcynic.com Assistant Editors Henry Mitchell (Opinion), Bridget Higdon (Arts), Locria Courtright (Sports), Tiana Crispino (Layout), Kyra Chevalier (Layout), Katie Brobst (Life) Page Designers Caroline McCune, Meg Stevens, Sasha Hull, Natasha Geffen, Lindsay Freed, Grace Ross, Chloe Schafer Copy Editors Brandon Arcari, Anna Colfer, Michelle Derse Lowry, Lindsay Freed, John-Luke Giroux, Rae Gould, Sabrina Hood, Sophia Knappertz, Claire MacQueen, Meline Thebarge ADVISING Faculty Adviser Chris Evans crevans@uvm.edu
e were on a Cynic-sponsored journalism trip to Dallas when a man started masturbating behind us. Four of the five of us – the editor in chief, news editor, and former and current managing editors – are women. We were exhausted after three flights from BTV to DFW. Dallas Area Rapid Transit is cheap, fast and clean, so we took the train to our hotel. A man got into the same car and, though we were the only ones on the train, sat directly behind us. We noticed immediately, but it was five minutes before one of us whipped around and told him to leave the car if he was going to keep touching himself and flashing us. He was shocked that one of us confronted him. We were shocked that one of us confronted him. He pulled up his pants and shuffled away from us. We almost didn’t say anything. Why? It was partially the fear for our physical safety. Fear that this man, who was over six feet tall and nearly 100 pounds heavier than us, would physically retaliate.
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GENEVIEVE WINN Punch one of us in the eye. Knock out our teeth. Break our noses. Make us bleed. It was the fear of creating a scene. We feared judgment from each other, that we were overreacting to a common occurrence. That someone would say we were being melodramatic. And, sadly, we feared making him uncomfortable. That it wasn’t our place to tell the man behind us to stop masturbating. That we should mind our own business: Grin and bear it. You do not have to grin and bear it. It is not normal. If you
see something, call it out. If you don’t feel comfortable, report it. We refuse to be told this is how the world works. Staff editorials officially reflect the views of the Vermont Cynic. Signed opinion pieces and columns do not necessarily do so. The Cynic accepts letters in response to anything you see printed as well as any issues of interest in the community. Please limit letters to 350 words. The Cynic reserves the right to edit letters for length and grammar. Please send letters to opinion@vtcynic.com.
On long distance relationships Mills Sparkman
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any college students know long-distance relationships don’t always last, but how many students know that sometimes they do? With terms like “Breakvember” – a nickname for November, because it’s known as the breakup month – and the seemingly dominant hookup culture on college campuses, it’s easy to assume long-distance is impossible. There are more stories of long-distance relationships going wrong than happy ones. It is true that LDRs are not for everyone. They require a high degree of trust, honesty and communication from both parties to succeed, and even then nothing is guaranteed. However, the stigma surrounding them is often blown out of proportion. First of all, long distance relationships in college are common. Seventy-five percent of undergraduates will be in a long distance relationship, according to a 2013 Queens University and University of Utah study. Second, hookup culture is not as prevalent as many believe it to be. Although it gets the most attention in the media, casual sex is far from the only option at most colleges and universities. A 2016 University of North Carolina Greensboro study found that while 62 percent of college students had recently hooked up with a casual partner, 61 percent had been on dates in the same timeframe.
So what messages do these statistics and the general reputation of LDRs send to college students? They are confusing; one says to stay, one says to go. Most people would go with the safer choice, which society says is breaking up. However, this might cause unnecessary pain. If a couple in a happy, healthy relationship decides to break up simply because of college, they could put themselves in a vulnerable position, rather than being able to count on each other’s support. Not the best choice at an already tender stage of their college careers. Many stories of long-distance end with cheating and miscommunication, which understandably deters people from pursuing them. However,
SHANNON O’CONNOR
Reclaiming your body & self-trust are the keys to a safe night out
a good LDR is not controlling or paranoid; it’s give and take. Technology today makes it much easier to stay close to your partner. Couples who are apart more often have more meaningful interactions than those who see each other daily. If given the choice, would you rather be with anyone you wanted to on your college campus with no guarantee of emotional attachment, or would you rather be with someone you love and trust, but can only see once or twice a month? I know which one I would pick.
Mills Sparkman is a firstyear political science major in a happy long-distance relationship. She has been writing for the Cynic since 2017.
Madeleine Cary
nyone who really knows me knows that I love dancing—I am terrible at it, but I think it is one of the best things our bodies are capable of. I am prone to break out in dance in my room, in the kitchen, the living room and even on the street. Anyone who really knows me also knows that before this year, I would not be caught dead in a nightclub, a place I associated with everything my self-defense classes taught me to be afraid of. I was sexually assaulted so many times in high school that I just found it easier to avoid clubs and bars and crowds and parties like the plague. But then I turned 21 and was finally granted access to Burlington nightlife. The newfound freedom, coupled with the feeling of regret when I was left out of plans by friends who assumed I wouldn’t want to go, made me rethink my ideas against going out. Strangely enough, dancing with complete strangers was empowering. I looked good. My best friend had counseled me for about an hour on my outfit choice, which was specifically designed to turn heads. I took a shot of tequila, and made my friends take shots with me. When I went to the dance floor, I danced to get attention. Yes, I was drunk, but I realized that even when I slurred my words, my gut would still tell me when a guy was getting too close. There was this one guy – I never got his name – who I walked away from, even after dancing with him for a while. I guess my biggest takeaway from that first night out on the town, besides the biggest hangover of my life, was that the whole “reclaiming your body” thing is about selftrust. When we go out to have fun we are always told to focus on the “what ifs.” What if you lose your friend group? What if someone put something in your drink? Yes, keep the safety precautions in mind, but don’t let fear keep you off the dance floor. “You looking for some ass tonight?” he slurred in my ear. “Ha ha ha, nope,” I smirked, and sauntered out with my best friend to get pizza.
Madeleine Cary is a junior English major and sexual assault survivor. She has been writing for the Cynic since 2017.
LIFE
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The Vermont Cynic
Dec. 12, 2017
Send nudes, but consider who receives them Autumn Lee Life Columnist
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he nude: an image that can sexually liberate you, but also lead to lots of trouble. My camera roll is full of them. A 2014 Pew Research Center study found 27 percent of smartphone users have received sexts and 12 percent have sent them. There’s something sexually freeing about posing nude for a photo. Not only that, I find it helps me with body acceptance and seeing the beauty of the human form. The human body is a piece of art — the smoothness of the skin, the curves and indents. I like to think of Botticelli’s “The Birth of Venus.” Seeing her red hair and pale skin, like my own ginger locks and fair complexion, makes me feel like a goddess, too. But taking nudes can also damage your social reputation. Posing naked for the camera can mark you as a “slut” or “easy.” Nudity is the opposite of modesty, and without modesty women are seen as impure. Even when girls post images on social media with innocent intentions, their photos can be sexualized and result in unwanted critical feedback. But getting called derogatory names is not the worst thing a girl has to fear as a result of snapping some nudes. Revenge porn is when exes
post nudes on social media of people from past relationships. People post these photos to shame women and their bodies. It breaks a barrier of safety, leaving people who had trust in their partner to feel bad about their body. When you’re considering sending or posting nudes, it’s important to think about trust with the recipient. For a trusted partner, receiving a naughty photo can really make their day and help keep things interesting in the relationship, especially if it is long-distance. Once received or sent, you should know how to safely store them on your phone. A Feb. 17 BuzzFeed article suggests putting a passcode on your phone, encouraging your sexting buddy to do the same, and using fully encrypted apps like WhatsApp, Privates or Bleep. Social media apps like Snapchat that make it easy to send quick, temporary shots of your body make it tempting, but the risk of screenshots saved for later can be scary. If you’re not worried about your nude photographs getting into the wrong hands, it can provide a body-positive experience. In a world full of photoshopped models and ugly photo uploads to Facebook, it feels good to be able to control presentation. It also feels good to send a partner something that will get
them going, but a mutual want is necessary for a good experience. Absolutely don’t send nudes when they are not wanted. If consent isn’t given, it’s wrong to force an image onto anyone. Your unwanted pics may end up in Whitney Bell’s art collection, “I didn’t ask for this: A Lifetime of Dick Pics.” Taking nudes is all about what feels comfortable; play around with angles and poses to see what inspires the most confidence. Taking nudes doesn’t always have to mean full nudity either. Don’t get me wrong, being fully naked is always good, but staying in a pair of cute underwear can be equally fun. Minimal clothing can show skin without baring it all and perhaps leaves a little up to the imagination. Using iPhones selfie-style works, as does setting up a tripod and putting on a self timer. If comfortable, a partner or friend can help. When taking nudes, do what feels the best. Share it. Finsta it. Delete it. Love it. The decision is up to you and what makes you feel like the powerful work of art you are.
Autumn Lee writes about feminism and women’s issue in her regular column Spare Rib. She is a sophomore and has been writing for the Cynic since fall 2017.
Photo illustration: AUTUMN LEE
Men’s organization discusses campus sexual assault Alek Fleury Staff Writer 1in4 gathered in the Jacobs House to reflect on their accomplishments and set goals for the spring. 1in4 is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to the prevention of rape, according to the 1in4 website. “We want to reach out to people not only to raise awareness, but to provide help to others,” said senior Raphael Debaty, president of the UVM chapter of 1in4. 1in4 trains men to intervene in situations of sexual assault, as well as how to help someone who has been sexually assaulted in the past. The group said they are not surprised with the recent uptick of sexual assault allegations, but they are glad that people are able to come forward. Forty men have been forced to resign or been fired because of sexual assault allegations since October, according to a Dec. 8 New York Times article. “We try to not make [sexual assault] just a women’s problem, but everyone’s problem,” Debaty said. One of their main goals is to change the image of what men can do about sexual assault on
Phil Carruthers/THE VERMONT CYNIC
City Councilor Adam Roof speaks at the panel for Institutional Sexism and Sexual Assault on Campus Dec. 7 in the Jost Foundation Room.
campus. The club gives presentations to the public and various groups on campus, such as fraternities and sports teams. The group began on campus in 2012 following an incident with a member of the fraternity Sigma Phi Epsilon, said Keith Smith, men’s health outreach coordinator and founder of the UVM branch of 1in4.
The fraternity member created a questionnaire to send out to fraternity members that read, “If I could rape anyone, who would it be?” He then accidentally sent it to his teaching assistant, according to a December 2011 CNN article. Since then, 1in4 has been working to prevent sexual assault and to “make it easier for students to stand up and
act,” said 1in4’s marketing and outreach coordinator senior Matthew Segil. The members dedicate much of their daily lives to raise awareness about sexual assault, Segil said. He said he tries to seriously talk about sexual assault at least once a day. “Our work doesn’t stop when the meeting ends,” said senior Jeremy Nicholson, a
1in4 training committee member. The group meets at 6:30 p.m. Mondays in the Jacobs House on Main St. The next meeting will be Jan. 15. “Sexual assault is not an abstract concept,” Segil said. “No doubt every single male on this campus knows someone who has been sexually assaulted, whether that person has opened up to them or not.”
The Vermont Cynic
Dec. 12, 2017
FEETURE
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HOW I MADE MONEY OFF FEET Toe tales and foot photos, or, how to make money as a writer Brigitte Riordan Feature Columnist About a year ago I fell into a paid writing gig when I launched my online foot dominatrix domain. It was hardly planned. I stumbled into this profitable side hustle through Tinder. I had just left Prescott College, was dead broke and spending a lot of time on dating apps. I swiped right on a nerdy 23-year-old accounting major at a community college whose “true passion is literature.” He was pretty transparent about his foot fetish. His first message to me read something like: “How much could I pay you to step on my face and make fun of me?” I’d say I’m open to new things. I talked to him for a while before meeting up, and he shared the details of his experience having a taboo, albeit common, fetish, and I shared pictures of my feet. Foot domination is just a subcategory of the far greater umbrella category of foot fetish. Not all foot fetishes include humiliation and submission, but his did. Of all the different types of body part fetishes that exist today, feet, along with hands and hair, are the most common, according to a May 2015 Pscyhology Today article. Foot fetishes aren’t just common, they’re neurologically explainable. A 1999 study at the University of California, San Diego, found that in the part of the brain that recognizes body parts, feet and genitalia are adjacent. For this reason, foot fetishes can be attributed to cross-wiring in the brain, because these two sections are right next to each other. I soon became friends with the accounting major. He quick-
ly learned more about me and my life as a broke English major. He asked me to write short stories for him, and I told him I’d do it for $20 a page. Every week, he told me his fantasy, I wrote five or so pages and made $100. I wrote about kickboxing matches, athletic bullies with smelly feet and much more. I was proud of my newfound persona and knack for erotic story writing. After a while, I decided to conquer the internet. I made an Instagram account under a different name, posting feet and shoe photos. I followed several accounts dedicated to feet and found thousands who were involved in this online community. The term “foot model” will never be the same. My friend guided me through the best tags to use and places to post the links; I woke up the next morning with 800 followers. I had a core group of fans who commented on every photo and messaged me offers to pay for photos and videos of my feet doing specific things like stepping on bananas. I still had all these short stories on my computer, so I published all of them under my foot dominatrix alias on Amazon and shared the links with my followers. Self-publishing online is easy, and within a few days I had my ridiculous foot-fiction ready for purchase and download. Whats jobs are out there for English majors? Well, I still make royalties off my five-page stories. I had always dreamed of being a writer and making money doing it, but I never quite saw it happening this way.
BRIGITTE RIORDAN
Brigitte Riordan runs an online foot dominatrix site. She is a transfer and has been writing for the Cynic since fall 2017.
Everyone is doing it: walking in when you shouldn’t Bernadette Higgs Staff Writer Between cramped rooms, thin walls and overall lack of privacy, living in a college dorm makes it difficult to find a private space for couples to get it on. This leads to inevitable awkward situations like walkins, desperate attempts to find privacy or accidental eavesdropping on intimate moments. First-year Ailinn Santos recalled an awkward situation involving her two friends and Hannibal Lecter. “My friends—one is a
guy and one is a girl—and I were watching ‘Silence of the Lambs,’” Santos said. “When the girl was scared, they proceeded to start making out before taking it into his room.” Santos was thrown off by the juxtaposition of cannibalism and her friends getting it on, she said. Other people have taken their pants-off dance-off to a public place and not been so discreet. “I saw two people getting it on in Living/Learning right in front of their open window,” sophomore Gracie Powers said. “It was right along the stretch with the Marché and Skinny Pancake.”
Eyes aren’t always needed to constitute a walk-in, sometimes hearing the dirty deed is awkward enough. Powers and sophomore Maggie Delaney, both residents in the Wellness Environment, recall hearing their neighbors going at it at all hours of the day. “We’ll wake up to the sound of their bed squeaking,” Powers said. According to Delaney, they weren’t the only ones experiencing a disappointment. “The guy doesn’t even last that long,” she said. Likewise, sophomore Ellen Marchetti recalled a time when she was cramming for an exam
and the couple in the dorm above her were loudly having sex. “In a fit of rage, I threw a
SAM GRAHAM book at the ceiling and yelled ‘Please stop!’” Marchetti said. “Surprisingly it worked and they stopped.”
SPORTS
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The Vermont Cynic
Dec. 12, 2017
Club hockey president fights for logo rights Sabrina Hood Staff Writer UVM is known as Catamount country. At varsity games, athletes sport the fighting catamount on their apparel. Sophomore club hockey president Andrew Ehler is angry that club sports cannot do the same because of logo use rules, he said. The split V logo, the V with the catamount in the center, can only be used by the athletic department and retail, including the UVM bookstore, Walmart, etc., according to the UVM Trademark Licensing Guide. Club sports and other entities that are not varsity sports or retail can use the UVM logo and circle logo with “Vermont Catamounts” around it. The catamount can’t be on these logos. In 2013, Learfield Licensing recommended that UVM should use different logos for varsity athletics, club sports, campus recreation and other clubs. This was done in order to be as clean and consistent as possible for brand recognition, said Krista Balogh, associate athletic director and university licensing director. “Looking around campus and seeing all of our varsity athletes, club athletes and club participants in all of the same gear does not differentiate,” Balogh said. Learfield said to protect the V-cat logo, she said. Club sports, including men’s club hockey, used to
The club hockey logo was redesigned in order to comply with UVM licensing. Sophomore club hockey president Andrew Ehler wants to change from the current logo (right) back to the old logo, which is now only used for varsity sports only (left.) have permission to wear the catamount. “Prior to 2013, we had white jerseys with the V-cat logo that said ‘club’ at the bottom,” Ehler said. The team used their budget to pay for new uniforms, he said. After this change, club sports had the logos designed for all club teams so they wouldn’t have to pay for it themselves, Ehler said. “[The club hockey logo] in comparison to the V-cat logo is uncomparable.” There was no pushback to this decision at the time, Balogh said. “We thought this was going to be the best for all, not just
for varsity but looking at the University’s brand in general and to specify a specific logo for club sports,” she said. Many University leaders were involved in these conversations at the time, including UVM athletics, the club sports coordinator, the club licensing staff, the athletics director and SGA, Balogh said. Other club sports are also dissatisfied with the new logo, Ehler said. “They all wish we could wear the V-cat logo because it’s the logo of the school that we pay to attend. It’s definitely unfair,” he said. “When we went to play Boston College and Northeastern, they were able to wear jerseys with their offi-
Women’s hockey falls at home
cial school logos.” Some of the other schools in the America East conference, including Stony Brook and UMass Lowell also use Learfield licensing and do allow the use of one of varsity’s primary marks but are very specific about use. It must say club underneath, Balogh said. “There’s a certain pride that comes with being able to wear your school’s logo,” Ehler said. Even though club sports can’t use the catamount, they can still use the University of Vermont logo as long as they specify that it’s for club sports, as other Learfield Licensing clients do, Balogh said. In 2003 the primary mark
for varsity athletics changed from the V-cat logo to the UVM logo because the licensing department wanted to showcase Vermont on the national platform when we went to the NCAA basketball tournament in Salt Lake City, Balogh said. There are other clubs that do not use the circle club sports logo. For example, rugby has a different logo that they have used for years, Balogh said. “I don’t want students to feel that they’re viewed in a different light because of licensing issues,” she said. “This is a healthy conversation to have.”
BEST OF SPORTS ‘17
Locria Courtright Assistant Sports Editor
Locria Courtright Assistant sports editor
Sports editor
The Vermont women’s hockey team fell in their last game this semester, extending their winless streak to eight. The Catamounts were defeated 4-1 by the Maine Black Bears Dec. 9 at Gutterson Fieldhouse. Maine opened the scoring late in the first period. Sophomore goaltender Sydney Scobee made a pad save on Brooke Stacey’s shot, but senior defender Amanda Drobot was unable to clear the puck quickly enough. Maine’s Catherine Tufts poked the goal home with just 1:20 to go in the opening period. Vermont thought they had the tying goal early in the first on a power play, as senior defender Taylor Willard took a shot that passed Maine goaltender Carly Jackson. The puck hit the goalpost, and UVM celebrated thinking they leveled the score. The referee ruled no goal, and a video review confirmed the call. UVM tied the game moments later on that power play. Willard’s shot from the point beat Jackson to tie the game at one. Maine went ahead again late in the period. Brooke Stacey’s initial shot was blocked by Willard, but Stacey quickly got the puck back and buried the rebound. Maine doubled their lead
My favorite sports moment this year has to be the America East title game between UVM and Albany. The drama of the game, the tension of being down, the thrill of victory, and the storming of the court are all things I’ll never forget.
My favorite moment in sports this year was the German soccer national team winning the Confederations Cup. Head coach Joachim Low sent a young, inexperienced team to the tournament, but the players proved themselves over some of the best teams in the world.
Madeleine Allen Staff writer
PAT LANGLOIS/The Vermont Cynic The women’s hockey team celebrates a goal against the University of New Hampshire Oct. 10. The Catamounts hold a 5-12-3 record. less than a minute later, as Maine’s Daria Tereshkina buried a rebound on a cross-ice feed from Stacey to extend the lead to 3-1. The Black Bears made it 4-1 early in the third period, with Lydia Murray converting on a backdoor pass from Tufts. Scobee made 27 saves in the defeat, while Jackson made 28 for the visitors. Vermont does not play another NCAA game until Jan. 6 against Providence College. Head coach Jim Plumer believes this break is coming at a good time. “We’re not finishing, and we didn’t execute on the pow-
er play,” Plumer said. “Missed passes, fumbling pucks. Plumer believes the recent shaky form is more of an issue of confidence than a physical one. “It’s more mental than physical at this point,” he said. “I think that feeds into ‘do I try too hard? Am I not trying hard enough?’ and it becomes a bit of a snowball.” The Catamounts record is now 5-12-3. Vermont’s next game will be at the Theresa Humes Invitational in Montreal over the weekend of Dec. 30.
My favorite sports moment this year was Georgia defeating Auburn in the SEC Championship game. That, combined with the fact that they are playing in the College Football Playoff, makes it a great year. It was Georgia’s first SEC Championship since 2005, and as a lifelong UGA football fan it was great to see them come back from their earlier season loss to the Tigers.
Curt Berry Staff writer
There is no doubt in my mind that the Super Bowl 51 comeback led by Tom Brady was this year’s top candidate. The Pats were down 28-3 with only a couple minutes left to play in the 3rd quarter. Brady led the team on a 31-0 run, and beat the Atlanta Falcons 34-28. Now he leads all active players in the NFL with five championship rings.
Eribert Volaj
Aryanna Ramsaran Staff writer In August, I was lucky enough to find myself in Barcelona the same weekend that FC Barcelona would be playing Real Madrid in El Clásico. Seeing a match between these two teams has always been a dream of mine, especially in Camp Nou. Real Madrid ended up winning, but just being there was enough for me. Seeing so many of my favorite players, from both teams, on the same pitch was my favorite moment this year.
Greg Mandozzi Staff writer My favorite sports moment in 2017 was seeing the Houston Astros win their first World Series championship in franchise history. After hurricane Harvey devastated the area, it gave Houston Astros fans something to cheer for. It brought people together.
The Vermont Cynic
ARTS
Jan. 17, 2018
7
Staff Editorial
What students are listening to in the sheets
Follow Cynic sex playlist on Spotify to get our staff ’s soundtrack for getting our freak on Healy Fallon Oddities editor
Izzy Siedman Life editor
Erika Lewy Editor in chief
Phil Carruthers Photo editor
With favorites like “Ivy,” “Nights,” and “ Pink + White,” it’s impossible not to enjoy the mellow mood that comes with Frank Ocean’s Photo credit: Wikipedia long-awaited release “Blonde.” The emotionality of the album’s lyricism is highly fitting for special moments of connection.
Nothing beats sexy rock music. The Black Keys know what they’re doing on “Brother.” The album has great rhythm, with some Photo credit: Wikipedia incredible guitar riffs for heightened passion and lyrics like “I want you to tighten up for me now.” Each song is one banger after another.
In a September 2007 Pitchfork review of “Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon,” Marc Masters said the album was too long and Photo credit: Wikipedia full of tiresome, kitschy genre exercises. I love it for the same reasons Masters hates it. It’s full of gentle, silly love songs. Best of all is “Shabop Shalom,” a punny doo-wop love song for a rabbi’s daughter.
Soulful bass lines, sensual vocals and chilled beats, what else could you ask for? Alina Baraz and Galimatias’s “Urban Flora” album is Photo credit: Wikipedia perfect for putting on in the background and devoting yourself entirely to the moment, while also allowing you a minute to tune into the perfect lyric.
Ben Elfland Arts editor
Eribert Volaj Sports editor
Lily Keats Layout editor
Kyra Chevalier Page designer
Future’s “Dirty Sprite 2” runs the spectrum of passion. It’s aggressive but hits you with more emotional moments from time to time. It has to Photo credit: Wikipedia be the version with the commentary. When things start to drag on, it’s nice to take a break and get some behind-the-scenes info.
The Weeknd’s debut mixtape “House of Balloons” is filled with sensual lyrics and showstopping beats. The lyrics in songs Photo credit: Wikipedia like “High for This” and “Wicked Games” allude to substance use, but you can just get high on the moment if drugs aren’t your thing.
Turnover’s album “Good Nature” is a lighthearted album but still quiet; you don’t need to focus on it and can devote your attention to Photo credit: Wikipedia the other things happening in your sex location. Plus it has a few romantic songs for more intimate connections if that’s what suits your fancy.
I don’t understand Korean and I don’t understand sex either. But if I weren’t asexual and I had a need for Photo credit: Wikipedia a killer sex album, EXO’s album “EXODUS” would be it. With pump-up jams such as “El Dorado,” EXODUS will keep you company through everything.
ARTS
8
The Vermont Cynic
Dec. 12, 2017
Women artists claim their space in the arts Bridget Higdon Assistant Arts Editor
I bought my hardcover copy of Virginia Woolf’s essay “A Room of One’s Own” in the basement of a New York City bookstore almost three years ago. It now sits on my desk in my dorm room. I have revisited her words on the need for women to build their own creative spaces often in the past few months. It seems as if every day another woman has shared her story of sexual harassment in the arts and entertainment industry. “It is fairly evident that even in the nineteenth century a woman was not encouraged to be an artist,” Woolf states. “On the contrary, she was snubbed, slapped, lectured and exhorted.” Although things have changed since the time she put pen to page, there is still much progress to be made. Seven women who had been sexually assaulted by movie executive Harvey Weinstein shared their stories in an Oct. 10 New Yorker
article. These women have since inspired others to come forward and share their stories of sexual misconduct. Comedian Louis C.K., Metropolitan Opera conductor James Levine, playwright Israel Horovitz and New York City Ballet director Peter Martins are among the many who have also recently been accused. Most of these high-profile men have either lost their jobs or been investigated. Although this upheaval is a triumph, the narrative is still skewed. “The history of men’s opposition to women’s emancipation is more interesting perhaps than the story of that emancipation itself,” Woolf states. The mainstream media has made the male perpetrators the main characters in the narrative of sexual misconduct. Many have forgotten that the outspoken women are the real heroines of this dark chapter in American history. But change is also already
Photo illustration: PHIL CARRUTHERS
happening. The number of women who have made strides and earned achievements in the arts and entertainment industry this year is extensive. “Wonder Woman,” which was directed by a woman, became the highest-grossing superhero origin film of all time, according to a Nov. 2 Forbes article. Emily Wilson, a renowned classics scholar, became the first woman to translate Homer’s historic epic poem,
“The Odyssey,” according to a Nov. 2 New York Times article. Photographer Mihaela Noroc traveled the world to compile 500 portraits of women for her book “The Atlas of Beauty.” Kenyan artist Kawira Mwirichia defied laws to create an art exhibit honoring LGBTQ love, according to their individual websites. This is just the beginning of the list. Women have turned 2017 around, despite it beginning
with a tape suggesting that the president of the United States had committed sexual assault. Women are seating themselves on stage, in director’s chairs, in art galleries and other creative spaces. Woolf would be proud. Bridget Higdon is a sophomore English major. She has 224 books on her bookshelf and is a devoted feminist. She has been writing for the Cynic since fall 2016.
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