Contrast Volume 11, Issue 2

CONTRAST Vol 11. Issue 2

VASSAR COLLEGE SPRING 2018 volume 11 issue 2

LOVE EDITION

INSTAGRAM: VASSARCONTRAST WWW.CONTRASTMAGAZINE.ORG

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CONTENTS

Letter from the Editor

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Projected Relations

You Are What You Eat: A Fresh Take on Fashion

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Greenhouse Affection

Confessions of a Sugar Baby

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Let’s Play a Love Game

42 Verses of Love

28 Swipe Right

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Strumming (Heart) Strings: An Interview with Justin Patch

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Executive Board & Contributions

INSIDE THE SPRING 2018 ISSUE If many of Contrast’s issues have struck out with the goal of showcasing how the campus dresses, this one has challenged us to showcase how it feels. In this issue’s articles we’re challenged to find love in new places and understand it through new lenses. In these pages, Vassar’s local grocer is as much a fashion authority as Gabbana. As we chronicle the changes to dating life on campus, a dash of traditional love poetry reminds us that even with the advent of digital romance, the feelings involved remain largely the same. All of this examination is healthy; ever-thoughtful faculty remind us that love means analysis as much as appreciation.

We hope that you will enjoy this content in tandem with the fresh work we put on our blog throughout this publication season. The Contrast blog is a true companion with its own bold voice, featuring interviews with local artists talking about their passions and how those pursuits have shaped their lives.

Befitting of the theme, this mag is a work of love by singularly talented people from across the campus, and I hope it’s half as fun to read as it has been to make.

Ellie Winter

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YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT: A Fresh Take on Fashion Olivia Guarnieri

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Photo Credit: Jake Brody

I love looking around at the grocery store. Where other shoppers may visit the pages of Vogue or racks of Neiman Marcus for outfit inspiration, all I need to stimulate my sense of style is a casual trip to my local supermarket. Grocery stores are magnificent collections of everyday objects; I recognize the elements of form and color I see there and try to find the same elements in my wardrobe. This way, the qualities present in the garments I wear are ultimately qualities that I find enjoyable in life, not just in the world of fashion. When I leave the store with an inspiring bounty I feel completely equipped—not to put together my next meal, but to plan my wardrobe for the upcoming week.

The pyramid stacks of fruit are often my first destination. I pick up a few apples, admiring their subtle shine and the tiny sticker, a small island surrounded by a sea of crimson peel. I often feel like an item of produce in the outfits that I wear; the tags on my clothing just like the stickers on oranges and pears. My pair of white patent leather boots reminds me of apples, polished to a high, mirrored shine. Next, I might stop to admire large bunches of carrots belted by wide yellow rubber bands, or tomatoes topped with lime green fascinators, maybe a small army of bell peppers in their summery colorways. As you’d imagine, the palette of the produce aisle inspires the color schemes of my outfits. Working these bold, natural colors into my wardrobe allow my ensembles to feature pigment from all points of the spectrum.

Often, I will put together outfits that combine a bunch

of these colors—a cherry red skirt with a canary pair of tights accented by large, 80’s teardrop style earrings of a shiny orange. Other times, I’ll delve into the variations of one specific color—looking to bananas as I wear a pale yellow turtleneck with a buttercream cardigan and a rust-hued pair of paperbag shorts.

I find more than just color inspiration in the markets; the organized, geometric layout informs my ensembles with structure. Like the straight lines of aisles and shelves, my outfits are are comprised of many crisp, geometric elements that create distinguishable edges between each piece. Everything in its proper place, my style leans towards items with emphasis on qualities of high contrast and clear separation. The aisles inspire me to place a shirt with chunky black and white stripes over a fitted polka dot turtleneck inspired by repetitive rows of circular fruits. I might add a pair of plaid pants and matching plaid belt, nodding towards the criss-crossing paths taken by shoppers. Another day I might borrow a silhouette from stacks of boxes waiting to be unloaded, a boxy brown blazer paired with a pencil skirt. Sometimes, it’s the chaos in the order that I find interesting, blotchy patterns evoked by the occasional spill or speckled prints inspired by motif tile floors.

I take pleasure in finding outfit inspiration in places not typically associated with clothing. This freedom allows me to come up with specific ensembles that challenge the norm and are always uniquely me.

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PROJECTED RELATIONS photography by Jake Brody

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CONFESSIONS OF A SUGAR BABY

Photo Credit: Hannah Benton

Contrast’s Editorial Assistant, Katie Spear, sat down with Ariana to talk about how having a sugar daddy compares to the internet hype and isn’t as easy as it sounds.

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CONFESSIONS OF A SUGAR BABY: Q&A WITH ARIANA

How did you decide to start looking for a sugar daddy?

I saw a lot of Twitter threads that talked about people having sugar daddies from Seeking Arrangements and I was like, I’m gonna make one. I feel like it was part of some trend that I wanted to try.

Were you nervous?

No, because it’s not a high commitment thing just to make a profile. I had a profile for months and months and I never used it. I was in a relationship when I first made it actually.

So it’s not a big thing to make a profile. It’s nothing to be nervous about.

So how did you decide - like what was your criteria for picking the two people that you met up with?

Basically, some people message you on there and they’re obviously very weird. They seem either very dominating, which I wasn’t into, or like, I don’t know, some people are just too old. So I picked two people - one was 54 and one was 45, so they weren’t like super old. And 54 seems old but he didn’t look that old. And they seemed very normal and I actually talked to both of them on the phone before I met with them, which wasn’t my choice. They called me and I was like, they’re gonna think I’m a catfish if I don’t pick up, so I picked up and I talked to them. And they seemed pretty normal on the phone.

What did they call you about?

Was there a point when you decided that you wanted to take it more seriously?

Yeah, over break I was like, alright, new year, new me. I’m really gonna get a sugar daddy this time. So I did. I got two.

I met up with two different people. Then I started taking it seriously, but then I kinda stopped because it got weird.

I started to realize that the sugar daddies were looking for physical and emotional relationships when I was looking for more of a platonic and monetarily beneficial relationship.

Literally they were like, “Oh, I’m on my lunch break and I wanted to say hi.” And they’re old, so you know, like, old people, they’re not used to texting that much. They’re like, “Wanna talk on the phone?” That’s what they’re used to.

Even the guy that was 54, he would be like, “Oh yeah, I emailed you about that.” He means text. He never emailed me, but that’s how they are.

That’s so funny. Can you tell me about the dates you went on?

Yeah, so the first one was with the 54 year old and that one was pretty good actually. We just talked and got BC Kitchen. And it was pretty chill. I was like really, really nervous.

I really wanted a sugar daddy obviously because I wanted money, so I wasn’t sure if he’d like me, if he’d wanna give me money or if he was a total creep. But he was very normal.

He was very conscious of boundaries and made sure I was comfortable the whole time.

The other guy I went on a date with was very different.

He was the 45 year old. We met at The Crafted Kup, and immediately when he came in he gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek, which I thought was weird. But I guess some people do that. But I thought it was weird to start with physical contact. And then in our conversation I brought up that I was a sophomore and he was like, “Wait what? I thought you were a freshman.” And I’m like, “No, I’m about to turn 20.” And he was like, “Oh I thought you were a first year. I thought you were nineteen.” And he whispered it,

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which made me realize that he knew it was weird that he was on a date with a teenager if he was whispering about it.

It was really creepy, and then after the date was over he was leaving and he was like, “Listen if you wanna go on another date, just message me. I find you very attractive.” It was really weird because he’s like my dad’s age.

I was gonna go on a second date with the first guy because he was very normal, but then the day before we were supposed to go on date he brought up being physical and I was like, “No, I don’t want that.” He kept bringing it up.

He was like, “Oh, I think this would be a good part of our arrangement.” Then I told him I wasn’t really comfortable with that. I just blocked him because I didn’t want to deal with it. If people want to be on Seeking Arrangements, that’s something you have to really outline on your profile that you don’t want a physical relationship.

Do you have any more advice for people who are considering Seeking Arrangements?

I would say be very upfront and honest on your profile, because when I made the profile I didn’t want to be honest because I didn’t think my honesty would get a sugar daddy.

So, I put on there that I was open to physical relationships even though I wasn’t. I kind of created a persona that was false. When you meet people in real life they think that’s what you want. I just wouldn’t lie on your profile. They have tags on Seeking Arrangements so you can say specifically, I’m looking for this, and in your bio [you can write] I’m not looking for this, and I guess it will attract people.

Who’s on the website, like the types of people?

There’s sugar daddies, sugar babies, and sugar mommas...I feel like a lot of sugar daddies are on the website because something in their romantic life failed somewhere along the way and they’re just really desperate for human communication and contact. Actually, the one sugar daddy that I liked first, he has a daughter that was older than me and I thought that was so weird, especially once he brought up the physical part of it. There are a lot of different characters on there.

Were you ever concerned about safety on the dates?

I know you went places you could walk to.

Definitely don’t have people pick you up. I just walked down the street to BC Kitchen and the Crafted Kup and areas that are crowded during the daytime where people are walking around Poughkeepsie. I told my friends where we were going and I messaged them when it was over, so I felt like that was pretty good.

Do you think you’re done trying this for a while? Or do you think you might try again?

I’m done for a while. I feel like the sugar daddy life is for certain kinds of people, maybe if people are willing to be in totally soulless relationships just for money. I really think to myself that I want to be that person just to make money and not care but it’s actually a lot of effort. I would say it’s like a third job to have to talk to these people everyday and go on dates with them and nurture the relationship with them to make them like you. It’s a lot of work so no, I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t do that again anytime soon.

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Photo Credit: Kelsie Milburn

Photo Credit: Jackson Hardin

greenhouse affection

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Photo Credit: Jackson Hardin

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Photo Credit: Jackson Hardin

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Aidan Zola

Dating apps are a unique concept. Users of Tinder, Bumble and other platforms are presented with hundreds of profiles at a time, and are somehow expected to find true love based on three pictures and a five-hundred-character biography.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to invalidate the folks whose relationships began with a swipe right. It’s just that when my phone alerts me to yet another wildly uncomfortable, very sexual pick-up line from some dude I’ve never met, I tend to be skeptical. Although I could easily go on for pages about my dating app woes, I’m more interested in these platforms as they pertain to Vassar in particular. We don’t exactly live in New York City or Los Angeles; remaining anonymous is not an option. Maybe a few Marist students will slip into the mix here and there, but for the most part Vassar remains a dating bubble. So, how have apps like these changed the landscape of love and sex here

on campus? Are we, as students, more connected than ever, or is this a false truth?

To find out what people really think, I asked five anonymous students five different questions about dating apps, intimacy and relationships. Their responses to my first question—In three words, describe Vassar’s dating and hookup scene—gave me a good sense of what was to come. Lisa* decided on “Barely-existent deception clout.” On the other hand, Sam* went with “Polygamous, casual, tiresome.”

Straightaway, I realized that I was in for some enlightening criticism. I invited the participants to elaborate. In a rather thoughtful manner, Stephen* responded, “I think some aspects of Vassar’s hookup culture are definitely a little much…I’ve encountered people who keep a hook-

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up count and aim to get with more people at a party than their friends, and I’ve seen people recounting glamorized versions of their hookups, painting it as a form of achievement.” He continued, “There are some positive features of Vassar’s hookup scene, though. I’ve noted that no one really seems to be that judgmental about who is hooking up with whom.”

Stephen is right. Compared to other campuses, Vassar is an overwhelmingly sex-positive school. Choice, an entirely student-run organization, is dedicated to supplying every student with free safer-sex supplies. The backs of our bathroom stall doors are covered in tips for avoiding getting murdered on Tinder dates and where to get tested for STIs on campus. My friends from larger universities tell me that they actually have to buy their condoms.

James*offered another perspective: “Vassar has a very sex-positive campus, but it affects those who first come on campus in different ways. Those in the LGBTQ+ community who have never been in such an open space might feel pushed to explore this newly free environment and end up making dangerous decision.” He continued, “Generally though, I think everyone feels a push to be involved in the dating/hookup culture by just being on campus—something that I think can really skew how people approach dating/ hookup situations in negative ways.”

James* steered the conversation to how these platforms play out in Vassar’s vibrant queer community: “As a gay [student] who isn’t actively involved in the gay scene, it’s sometimes the only way to find another person you’re interested in without navigating that weird uncertainty that comes with the territory of being gay.” Sam agreed, “I do believe in dating apps! To a certain extent, I acknowledge that they essentially commodify love, but I think they can also be empowering…they’re especially useful for queer relationships or hookups. Flirting is hard enough in real life.”

The more I read their answers, the more I began to understand my own love/hate relationship with dating apps here at Vassar. Although getting occasional sleazy messages and running into dead end matches at the Deece seem like inevitabilities of having these accounts on a small, residential campus, I can’t deny their positive attributes. Hearing about other students’ successes and failures ultimately made me feel connected to the people on campus—we were all hurtling through the wreck of online dating together.

I closed out my conversation with these five students by asking some questions about a seemingly incompatible topic—love. First, did they believe in true love? And perhaps more importantly, did they believe in true love at Vassar College? Most responses began with either the word, “No” or some variation of “Ehhh…”

After the students helped me to better understand their three-word answers, it was time to get to the heart of what we were all thinking about. Question three went like this: If you currently use dating apps, which ones do you use and what has your experience been with them on campus?

Two participants said they did not use dating apps, but the remaining three had much to add.

Abby*, an active Tinder user, kicked off the conversation with a personal anecdote: “One time I matched with a friend’s friend on Tinder. On a bored weekend night, I decided to go to the person’s place. We made out for a while, and let’s just say she was not very gentle. When I left, my lips really hurt, so I ended up sitting in my bed and holding the apple that I had in my fridge against my lips to reduce any future swelling.”

Although Abby had a fair share of cringe worthy ordeals, they also later acknowledged that they had actually been able to form genuine friendships with other students through Tinder: “This other time I matched with a classmate…After chatting for a week, we arranged to hang out on a Saturday. The first thing he said when I got in his car was, ‘I actually have a girlfriend, but I love using Tinder to

find new friends.’ He was definitely on the wrong platform, but we actually ended up becoming good friends.”

Abby was honest, though: “I am not so sure what true love means, but I think loving something is very real at Vassar…I really love my friends here, and I don’t think I’ve ever felt so loved and loving in a friend group.” I paused on this particular response as I was reading. It was a remarkably sincere and forthright thought, and it made me think more broadly into how love works on this campus.

For those of us who use dating apps, the era of virtual flirting has made it complicated to find anything from a casual one-night stand to a serious romance. There have been more than a few instances where I’ve grown so disillusioned with these apps that I’ve deleted them with absolutely no intention of redownloading them later. Somehow, though, I always wind up swiping again after a couple days. Is it an addiction? I’ve yet to determine that, but at least I know I’m not alone.

Considering this, Sam was a bit more casual in their conclusion. “Hit me up.” Keep on swiping, Vassar.

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let’s play a love game

Photo Credit: Jake Brody

Contrast partners up with the new clothing company, Boast

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Photo Credit: Jake Brody

Photo Credit: Jake Brody

Photo Credit: Anna Fuchs

STRUMMING (HEART) STRINGS An Interview with Justin Patch

Photo Credit: Jake Brody

by Ellie Winter

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When Jake and I arrived at Professor Patch’s house near the TAs, we were greeted by his Texan rescue dog, Simon.

After a thorough check by such enthusiastic four-legged security, Professor Patch played for us and answered our questions.

Each one definitely has a history and a sound that they’re good for. My classical guitar is my baby. I don’t ever pick it up unless I’m serious about at least spending an hour with it. The music that I play with this is very serious. It’s a classical instrument with a different reputation.

When did you first realize that you loved music?

My parents put a radio in my room when I was about nine.

When I discovered that there was music on the radio, a whole new world [opened up to me]. I grew up without a TV, so sound was really important to me.

The first time I ever heard Run DMC’s “Walk This Way,” I was absolutely transfixed. It was something about that particular song. They had these rhymes that were funny and interesting and profound and playful, all at the same time.

When you’re a nine-year-old, you’re growing out of children’s stories and nursery rhymes, but they’re still in your mind. The way that Run DMC played with those and made something adult out of something that would seem very childish, that really caught me.

One of my favorite musicians, Matt Corby, says that each of his instruments is like a friend, with a unique personality. Can you say a little bit about the ones you have around you?

This electric bass went around Texas and California with me when I was touring. I bought it while I was in college.

That acoustic guitar, my ex-girlfriend’s father had given it to her. He was very into guitars but she was never really into it, so she let me have it. That was the one I play slide guitar on. When I play the blues, that’s [when I use it].

The Ricardo Nunez is my new crush. I love that thing. It’s fun; it does all sorts of things my other instruments don’t.

What’s your favorite way to listen to music?

It depends what kind of music. My favorite way to listen to good country music is in a car on an open road, in the middle of the summer when I’m driving somewhere. Favor-

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Photo Credit: Jake Brody

ite way to listen to opera is lying in bed with the libretto in front of me so I can follow along. Favorite way to listen to old ’80s rock is just loud. Favorite way for hip-hop is in videos. There’s something about listening to music with video [accompanying it]. I’ve been on this kick for the past three or four years where I’ve been really into the homemade videos that people make.

There’s also something to be said for social listening, for sitting around with your friends. When I’m visiting my brother in D.C., we’re always on the computer listening to different tracks, the things he’s been listening to that I haven’t [heard] yet.

We spend a lot less money on music. It’s hard for artists to make a living in the current landscape, versus twenty years ago. The expectation is that we’ll be able to listen to music for free. Obviously, I love music, so the more access people have to it, the better. But, there is a devaluation. It happens at the same time as it being easier than ever before to make music. You have people recording on a laptop and it sounds amazing.

Across all of those genres and times and ways to listen, what are the must have qualities of good music?

How do you balance listening to music to enjoy it and listening to it to analyze it?

Coherent vision is what makes music great. Even if you miss it the first time around, if [musicians] have a plan on the macro-level, sooner or later you’ll come around and recognize it. More than anything, I appreciate musicians that come to the table with a strategy. Even if it’s not obvious, sooner or later, it sinks in, and you’re like “oh!”—when you get it, a light goes on.

Analysis only makes things better. Right now, I’m teaching a class [in which we’re] looking at Janelle Monae’s The Chase Suite. The first time I listened to it, I liked it. She was doing a lot of fun things. But as I’ve dug into her philosophy and what she’s talking about, the music [has gotten] better and better. With her videos, she has a concept that’s bigger than the sound. It’s about the ideas the sound conveys that she then turns into images. Even when I’m in the car listening to it, I’m still thinking about those images.

That’s depth.

How is the advent of digital music and online collection services changed the concept of ownership, collection, and curation in your mind? Do you even use them?

No, none of it. I don’t use a digital service. I should. I have, on occasion, used Spotify. I have a student who releases his music on Spotify, so I have to stealthily use my brother’s account. I keep telling myself I just need to sign up, but I haven’t yet.

Digital music, in some ways, has not profoundly affected me. Obviously, I use YouTube to stream stuff all the time.

Justin’s Playlist

I think it’s changed the way we think about buying music. I used to buy CDs, having only heard one track. Or buy CDs because I knew the artist and wanted to check out their new album.

Britney Spears - Circus English Speed - I’ve Been Thinking About You G Love and Special Sauce - Garbage Man Aerosmith - Walk This Way Jay Hawks - Save it for a Rainy Day Trick Daddy, Big Boy - In The Wind Pantera - This Love Korn - Freak on a Leash Curtis Mayfield - Move on Up Al Green - Belle (Live in Tokyo) Funkadelics - Super Stupid

Is that why you teach music?

I teach music because I love music.

We all surround ourselves with music. A lot of my students say anywhere between three and five hours of their day is spent listening to music. Anything we do for three to five hours a day is really meaningful and really profound. It’s important that we take the time to understand what music does for us and what it could be, even if we’re not musicians. The way we listen matters.

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verses of love Evelyn Frick I. You told me my lips were so kissable Like the brushstrokes of whomever paints the honey-dew On clovers And when our lips met, You held my hand More gentle and warm than mellow beams of sunlight So it didn’t matter to me When you put your hand between my legs A little too high and a little too rough Because no one had ever asked to kiss down my thighs before, For my sake and not theirs.

II. Do you realize why My tears are so enthused That the droplets pool at my chin When you press love into my body And whisper words of pulchritude In my ears ?

III. If you feed me your kisses I will eat them more eagerly Than I have consumed any other food Because I am a plant Regenerated from the ashes Of self-loathing and discontent Nurtured by your words And watered by your love

IV. He planted a kiss on my lips And I couldn’t speak But the kiss grew decadent and beautiful So he kept me anyway

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V. the first time she knew the first time she ~really~ knew they were sat on the sand crystals ,caressed by a filmy tide and if she hadn’t known any better (or about the nature of skin) , she would have thought that the grains clung to their body to feel the warmth of their soul and if she hadn’t known any better (or about the properties of the moon) , she would have thought that the waters kept pushing toward them (and retreating back) because such bashful, clumsy confidence is the essence of their magnetism and how could she not know? when even the hermit crabs pinched themselves in their presence

VII. tattoo your love for me into the night sky & i’ll let the warm raindrops, petals of ink, catch in my hair & absorb in my heart

VI. I’ve taken to tracing outlines of hearts in the steam on my shower curtain, because I enjoy watching them fade.

And I will admit: there’s a certain pride in regarding ephemerality When I possess affections of greater longevity.

But I would never proclaim such musings aloud.

Only in the dark, warm, bath (While washing my hair) Will I brag to the plastic curtain of my truest adoration.

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first entry for my memory journal Michaela Coplen West Virginia, mid-September, right before you left for good I told my man I’d be home late & met you in the gravel lot. The sun had set, crickets hummed, our eyes opened slowly to the dark. We went to find some quiet place. The air was thick with summer’s end. I pulled sunflowers from their stems, unpetalled them before us. We reached the empty building then, its wood stairs soft beneath our feet. We climbed the moon-blue balcony, the river silvering below.

(Here everything I see is you. The night collapses into you. The goosebump-blush of being close, the sinking color of your eyes.)

Already now I want to write: You kissed me in the branch-streaked blue and I was not ashamed.

But in my long sundowning days, I want to see it right: We laughed against the speckled sky & I knew, in that darkling hush: I could love you in any light. We never kissed. We barely touched.

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law of conservation Michaela Coplen They say that people think of distance in terms of space and time and that events as well as places can be felt as close or far I say you must be five hours from some or other place and mean it’s been a thousand miles since I’ve seen your face If the highway were paved with sandpaper then miles would burn like minutes do Love like all forms of energy is not created or destroyed it changes form

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EXECUTIVE Editor-in-Chief

Creative Director

Head Photographer Ellie Winter

Layout Editor Hannah Nice

Jack Brody

Head Stylist

Editorial Director Kristie-Anna Covaci

Blog Director Madison Clague

Sam Greenwald

Media Director

Treasurer Alaina Toatley

Hannah Cho

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Noah Jackson

BOARD & CONTRIBUTIONS You Are What You Eat: A Fresh Take on Fashion Creative Director: Hannah Nice Makeup: Madison Clague Model: Olivia Guarnieri Photographer: Jake Brody Title: Kelly Rissman Greenhouse Affection Creative Director: Hannah Nice Photographers: Emma Brodsky, Jackson Hardin, Kelsie Milburn Models: Aidan Heck, Joshua Horneff, Jenna Llorens-Blas, Nina Norton Style Team/Makeup: Emma Brodsky and Madison Clague Title: Kelly Rissman Projected Relation Models: Madison Clague, Laetitia Judicis Photographer: Jake Brody Confessions of a Sugar Baby Creative Director: Hannah Nice Makeup/Style: Emma Brodsky, Madison Clague Model: Ariana Berry Photographer: Hannah Benton Let’s Play a Love Game Photographers: Jake Brody, Anna Fuchs (assisted by Emma Brodsky, Kelsie Milburn, Hindley Wang) Creative Director: Hannah Nice Makeup: Madison Clague, Claire Murphy Models: Satchel Bell, Jackson Hardin, Iliana Jaime, Lauren Namkoong, Kate Spence Clothing: Boast Committee Assistants: Blog: Charlie Hobbs Editorial: Aidan Zola, Katie Spear Layout: Makeda Johnson, Sophie Kaplan-Bucciarelli, Morgan Swartz Photo: Jackson Hardin Style: Emma Brodsky

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