12.10.10 by The Herald

the

Herald By and for the students of Hobart and William Smith Colleges

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2010

VOLUME CXXXI ISSUE 7

GENEVA, NY

Is It Worth It?

HWS Degree Costs $200,000+ By Whitman Littlefield ‘11 Opinions Editor

Photo courtesy of HWS Communications

Karen Russell reads an excerpt from her novel, “St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves.”

A Trip to Swamplandia By Jessica Lynn ‘14 Herald Contributor

Attached to Professor Dunn’s email (see page 2) was an excel document that detailed the Colleges’ plan for the union workers juxtaposed against the current faculty plan. Hobart and William Smith Colleges are the 49th most expensive educational institutions in the nation with a total price tag of $52,168, according to the Nov. 12 issue of “The Chronicle of Higher Education.” In a still uncertain economy and troubled job market, this tremendous tab leaves everyone wondering, is the education worth

the cost? Spread out over four years, that’s more than $200,000 without calculating the inevitable rise in costs. More than that, students must continue to educate themselves on where and how this institution sees fit to spend more than $100 million dollars a year. What about the faculty wage freeze and the omnipresent

At twenty-nine years old, Karen Russell boasts a long list of credentials that’s enough to give anyone twice her age a massive inferiority complex. In 2005, at the ripe old age of twenty-four, Russell received the prestigious Transatlantic Review/Henfield Foundation award. A graduate of Columbia’s MFA program, Russell has also been published in The New Yorker debut fiction issue and was listed

DEGREE COST continued on Page 2

in New York Magazine’s list of twenty-five to watch under twenty-six. All of these honors are in response to Russell’s collection of fabulous short stories, “St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves,” and now Russell has just completed her first full length novel, “Swamplandia!” On Nov. 17, Hobart and William Smith Colleges were given the extreme privilege of hearing the very first reading from this novel.

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Professors Compete in Third Annual Faculty Jeopardy Contest By Erin Meehan ‘11 A&E Editor year and hosted for students and faculty by the HWS Media Club. Each year new professors are chosen and invited to compete in the contest. The winner is then asked to return and compete the following year as well. On Dec. 2, the Library’s Geneva Room auditorium was packed as the Photo courtesy of HWS Communications professors were divided into three Set up in the Geneva Room for the 6:30 p.m. contest, faculty jeopardy separate rounds. The participants prepare to answer a question. This is the third year HWS’ winner of each would Media Club has facilitated the event. then go onto the Final Jeopardy round. This Our generation at Hobart and However, Faculty Jeopardy at the year’s professors included Assistant William Smith Colleges may not be Colleges never ceases to draw a Professor of English Rob Carson, as familiar with the famous game large crowd and lots of laughs. The Assistant Professor of Mathematics show Jeopardy as our parents. annual production is in its third

and Computer Science Marc Corliss, Professor of Economics Scott McKinney, Associate Professor of Economics Jo Beth Mertens, Associate Professor of Chemistry Justin Miller, Professor of Media and Society Linda Robertson and Associate Professor of Dance Cadence Whittier. The two faculty hosts and real jeopardy contestants included Professor of Media and Society Lester Friedman and Assistant Professor of Russian Kristen Welsh. Professor Friedman took his role seriously by adopting the bow tie and mustache made famous by real life Jeopardy host Alex Trebek. The 2009 previous winner Professor Ristow, in addition to veteran contestants Professors Corliss and Miller, participated for their second year in a row. The Media Club members who facilitated the event included Emily JEOPARDY continued on Page 2

Campus Happenings

A&E

Opinions

Sports

C ou rs e R ec o m mendations

New Mr. H oba r t Cr owne d

T h e H e ra l d’ s M i s s i on

Ve r y S u p e r s t i t i o u s

A n Em a il F r o m Pr of. Dunn

RECESS E xhi bi t

“F a c e book” Book F l ops

H o ck e y H e l p s D an y O r g an

LiN K o n Campus Qu ebec T r ip Canceled

Five Stars f or H a r r y P ot t e r Sc a v e ngi ng f or Sa ga Se a t s Advice Fr om D r. Bl a c kwe l l

C u r r e n t Te am R e co r d s

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2010

The Herald

Established 1879 By and for the Students of Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Carrie Stevens, Editor-in-Chief Karissa Seeberger, Campus Happenings Editor Whitman Littlefield, Opinions Editor Erin Meehan, A&E Editor Carrie Stevens, Sports Editor Amy Nimon, Photography Editor Contributors Laura Alexander Emily Anatole Nick Batson Maddison Case Katie Levenstein Whitman Littlefield David Luna Jessica Lynn

Annie Mandart Erin Meehan Amy Nimon Karissa Seeberger Hannah Semaya Carrie Stevens Emma Stratigos Melissa Warner

Distribution Erin Meehan Karissa Seeberger Carrie Stevens

Copy Editing Carrie Stevens Layout Carrie Stevens

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Must include the: 1. Name and Class Year 2. Individual phone number or e-mail E-mail submissions must be made via file attachment. If criteria are not met , The Herald may not be able to print the submission.

Karen Russell continued from Page 1 In a clear, steady voice, Russell told the story of Ava and Ossie, two young sisters living in the fictional Swamplandia, a land deep in the heart of the Floridian evergreens. The sisters, along with their father, run an alligator wrestling attraction that has seen better days. The reading was only a teaser for the rest of the novel, and it’s clear from the short excerpt that Russell’s unique style of contrasting serious subject matter with utter ridiculousness and fantasy is extremely prevalent in her first ever full-length novel. Russell weaves deep cognitive ideals such as “a mood can age you one-hundred years in a finger snap,” into her fantastic fictional backdrops, thus creating multifaceted and wonderful stories fit for any age. Given her recent notoriety as an up-and-coming famous author, is was an honor to host Karen Russell at the Colleges, and telling from the reading, her new charming novel will not disappoint her growing group of avid fans. Normally, only pasty English majors attend author

readings, but the Karen Russell reading boasted a full house, which attests to her notoriety among the average person. “The reading wasn’t what I expected, it was better. Russell’s imagination in her new novel surpassed even that of her short stories, which was hard to do,” said Morgan Caudill ‘14. Even after a long day of lectures, the narration of Russell’s new novel was enough to entice the audience’s attention for the entire length of the reading. Forty-five minutes felt like five as Russell’s vibrant world of Swamplandia took shape. Although a few attendees read some of Russell’s work prior to attending the reading, all were excited to hear what her brand new novel had in store; this event would turn anyone new to Russell’s narrative finesse into a devout fan. As the first consumers to hear an excerpt from “Swamplandia!,” the HWS community is immensely privileged, and it was the highest honor to host such an esteemed author in the premier of her latest work.

Degree Cost continued from Page 1 unions on campus? Why does it seem like none of this money makes its way down to them? Peter Polinak, the vice president of finance at HWS, said the school is very aware of the rising cost of tuition. “Schools we want to be compared to are on that list and we certainly aren’t alone.” That includes schools like Sarah Lawrence College, which tops the list at $57,384, and Skidmore, which is only $2 more expensive than HWS. Furthermore, says Polinak, HWS gives out tremendous amounts of financial aid, noting that only 20 percent of students pay full price. “We have to have a certain amount of full-pay students to subsidize the rest. People don’t like to hear that, but it’s the truth that makes financial aid possible.” At the beginning of the 20092010 fiscal year, HWS was facing a $2 million deficit because of the economic downturn and lower-thanexpected enrollment from the 2012 and 2013 classes. However, by the end of that year, Polinak says, “we had a break-even budget.” So this past summer, the school played its cards close. “We budgeted rather conservatively; we delayed raises to see what the enrollment in this September’s freshman class would be.” Pat Cool, the assistant provost for faculty said, “The salaries were frozen July 11, 2010 till October 1,” when retroactive raises went into effect. Still

it wasn’t all sunshine and roses for HWS faculty, says Cool, “we changed the dollars on the scale” that governs faculty raises. The faculty voted on and accepted this change, says Cool. “They should be happy. They voted on it and nobody suffered.” The SEIU union members were the only group to get raises on time in the last three years. “This year we offered them a 2 percent retroactive raise to July, which is similar to what staff and faculty got.” Polinak is quick to point out the real and often overlooked expenses of Hobart and William Smith, “Our costs come from the faculty to student ratio and that’s what you pay for.” HWS, just like everywhere else, also faces massive expenses from the health care policy, which grew by more than 14.2 percent this year alone and remains the biggest growing expense the school faces. The HWS financial team has been working to minimize the increasing expense for students and as a result has raised the tuition for the last three years by 3.5 percent or less – the lowest raise in almost 40 years. “All the same, the full payers are paying the brunt and that’s the sad and good news of it,” says Polinak. “In spite of all this we have the largest freshman in class in recent memory this year. So we must be doing something right. People are seeing the value of our education.”

Jeopardy continued from Page 1 Anatole ‘11 and Ethan Guralnick ’11 – two of the original founders of Media Club in Fall 2007 – in addition to Joanna Corn ‘11, Kyleigh Holtz ‘11, Kim Shorb ’11, Hannah Semaya ’13 and Andrew Upton ’12, who all clearly had some fun developing the creative questions for the contest. Categories ranged from “Brands,” to “New York Buildings,” to “The Voice of God,” to “Oh K,” in which all answers started with the letter K. “Professors Friedman and Welsh have been the emcees every year the HWS Media Club Executive Board organizes and runs the event. We keep the structure the same: three rounds with three professors in each round, and then the winners of the previous rounds compete in a final jeopardy,” explained Anatole. This does not mean planning for the event is easy. “Between inviting professors, creating the questions and jeopardy board, advertising and organizing other logistics, it’s a long process but one that’s very worthwhile,” Anatole said. The professors performed extremely well, and very few questions were left for the audience to answer. There was also a “getting to know you” segment in which the contestants were asked to state an unknown interesting fact about themselves. The audience was delighted to learn that Professor Robertson had named her own type of non-migrating whale in Oregon, while Professor Mertens was an avid baton

twirler in junior high and high school. The Final Jeopardy round proceeded with Professor Carson, Silver and Ristow. Usually President Geran is present to read the final jeopardy questions, but he was unfortunately unable to make it this year says Anatole. Testing the contestants’ knowledge of pop culture, the question asked, “What Celebratory spawn created this neck breaking song, ‘Whip my Hair?’” The only contestant to answer correctly was Professor Carson with, “Who is Will Smith?” However, his wager did not allow him to beat Professor Ristow’s 9,400 points. Once again Ristow was deemed winner of Faculty Jeopardy. Unfortunately, the trophy was unable to be ready in time for the event, and thus the winner left with a certification of recognition and a promise of the trophy’s arrival shortly. “We couldn’t have pulled it off without Professor Friedman helping to plan and publicize, him and Professor Welsh for being the hosts and all the members of the HWS Media Club Executive Board who created the questions, set up the room and ran the event as judges and scorekeepers,” Anatole said. She was sad that as a senior it was her last year running the event. However, she’s hopeful the event will continue and bring even more laughs and new faculty members to compete against reigning champion Professor Ristow.

Professor Kevin Dunn sent the following e-mail to faculty and staff on December 7, which discusses the ongoing negotiations with HWS and SEIU Local 200United.

Dear colleagues: I’d like to take just a minute of your time to bring you up-to-date on the Colleges’ [lack of] negotiations with the Union clerical workers. In response to my inquiries on the floor of the faculty several months ago, Pres. Gearan stated that he was “optimistic” that a settlement was close at hand. But after seven months of contract negotiations with the Colleges, followed by three mediation sessions, the Colleges have not moved on the two most critical issues: health insurance and wages. The current offer remains the 80 - 20% split and 2% wage increase for the 3 years of the workers’ contract. Their concession to the Union was to offer them a seat on the committee that will be assessing health insurance options in 2011, but they gave no option to alter the above contract terms. Last week the Union membership overwhelmingly voted this down. You can clearly see how Union clerical workers will lose out. Though a 2% wage/salary increase was offered across campus, their low wage scale puts them at an extreme disadvantage. The Union has offered a number of proposals and adjustments which have been uniformly rejected by the Colleges. It appears that the Colleges have no intention of dealing with the Union in good faith nor does it recognize their value as employees on campus. The Union has asked me to request that all supportive faculty members make their support known and help push the Colleges towards resolving these negotiations in a fair and timely fashion. The Union would also appreciate any suggestions for what can be done to help them. On a personal note, I find the Colleges’ inability to do right by the support staff to be a horrific reflection on the institution and its values, signaling a disregard for important members of our community and their families. I hope you will join me in pressing the Colleges to show our colleagues in the Union that we respect and value them. Best, Kevin Dunn

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2010

Campus Happenings Course Recommendations Still looking for that fourth class? Don’t worry, The Herald has you covered. Read on to see which classes our staff members recommend.

WMST 101: Introduction to Women’s Studies Taught by Professors Lara Blanchard and Anna Creadick

PHIL 152: Philosophy and Contemporar y Issues: Philosophy and Feminism Taught by Professor Karen Frost-Arnold

Overview: As an intro.level class, this course was an overview of many themes. Topics like women’s roles in the global economy and reproductive rights came up during discussion. The readings for this class were as varied as the subject matter. The texts included “No Turning Back: The History of Feminism and the Future of Women” and “Global Women: Nannies Maids and Sex Workers in the New Economy,” as well as two novels: “The Pillow Book and A Room of One’s Own,” a graphic novel called “Persepolis” and a compilation of essays entitled

“Listen Up: Voices from the Next Feminist Generation.” Laura Alexander ‘14 says, “I really loved this class. Both Professors Blanchard and Creadick were extremely passionate about what they were teaching and made each class enjoyable and unique. I liked that it was an essaybased class as well. The tests we did have were comprised solely of essays, and were all based on the readings we had done. I would definitely recommend this class to anyone who has an interest in the roles women play today in society and throughout history.”

WRRH 221: He Says/She Says Taught by Assistant Professor Michele Polak Overview: This class is cross-listed with the Women Studies department. He Says/ She Says is a commonly used phrase, however it encompasses much more than is implied. The class covers topics pertaining to gender, language and discourse. The primary textbook for the class is “The Handbook of Language and Gender.” Various essays about theories, experiments, and observations about gender and language comprise this book. Additional readings are posted to the professor’s course website and are just as theoretical and interesting as the textbook readings. Katie Levenstein ’12 says, “Class meetings are always highly stimulating and entertaining. Polak leads discussion with visuals and encourages student feedback and cooperation. I have

truly loved my experience in this class! Polak, as always, has been amazing. One of her best qualities as a professor is her ability to encourage students to participate and get involved with the readings and topics. One of my favorite aspects of the class is the way in which we connect our readings to popular culture. Fellow classmate Sarah Canavan ‘12 says, ‘Michele does a really good job of linking the sometimes really dry theorists to pop culture and real-life example we can understand. When discussing how language affects culture, the media is the first place to look.’ I honestly cannot offer any negative feedback pertaining to the class. The only thing I would say is that I wish the class lasted longer than a semester—it really is that great!”

Taught by Professor Laurence Erussard Jessica Lynn ’14 says, “Although there was little group work or class discussion, Erussard’s lectures were never tedious, as she always made them fascinating. Before every quiz, Erussard would personally come to the dorm to review the material with the class, which made it impossible to fail. Despite the immense amount of material the class covered, the course work was never painful, and I acquired an adequate knowledge, without pulling my hair out. Even though this class isn’t offered every semester, I would highly recommend taking any class with Professor Erussard, as she is what made this class excellent.”

POL 110: Introduction to American Politics Taught by Professor Dylan Weller Overview: Ever wonder what it took to pass Obama’s Health Reform Bill or how a bill of becomes law? This course goes through the basics of our nation’s founding and builds off from there. The class primarily deals with the analysis of the dynamics and processes of the evolving American constitutional democracy, its origins, its structure and its problems. Areas of study include an in-depth discussion of the U.S. Constitution, federalism, civil liberties and political parties. In addition to the assigned readings, the film selections are on point, ranging from “Milk,” “Obama’s Deal,” “Ten Trillion and Counting.”

was at the very bottom of my list because I honestly thought the course would be about a bunch of crazy females who despise men. Now, having taken the course in its entirety, I can confidently say my assumptions couldn’t have been more incorrect. This class has taught me about important issues, most of which aren’t explicitly presented to us on a day-to-day basis. This course really taught me to think and question things we’ve been told are true. I learned that societal norms often fog our vision, and we should therefore learn to think for ourselves.”

ECON 135: Latin American Economies Taught by Professor Scott McKinney Overview: This is a lower level economics class that offers a window into the trials and tribulations of Latin American economies from past to present. It offers details on policies that failed over the centuries due to Latin America’s boom and bust tendencies, and essentially a handbook on what not to do economically. In addition to a very straight-forward text book on different economic eras of Latin America, we also read a novel called “The House of Spirits” by Isabel Allende, and other lighter, but perfectly pertinent books that capture the spirit of Latin America in a creative manner with an economic spin. Professor

McKinney brings great energy to the class and considering that he grew up in Peru, has first-hand experience in this subject. Karissa Seeberger ’12 says, “As a student hesitant to attempting an economics class, I was definitely pleased with the outcome. It was a great way to delve into the department without being overwhelmed, and learn about a region that has had a tumultuous history of corruption and repression, but has prevailed nonetheless. Latin American countries such as Brazil are to be contended with as they move forward and become key players in international economics.”

ENG 225: Shakespeare Comedies Taught by Professor Rob Carson

EUST 101: Foundations of European Studies

Overview: In this course, Professor Erussard chronicled the twists and turns of early European culture, beginning with the primitive, Mesopotamian Empire and ending with the dynamic and enlightened Renaissance. Instead of studying from a dry and boring textbook, Erussard assigned reading from novels and poems, such as “Gilgamesh” and “Dr. Faustus,” written during the time period, allowing her students to see early Europe through the eyes of those who actually lived through it, rather than a historian who simply studied the subject matter. The course was lecture based, with a few quizzes and short papers punctuating the stimulating discourse.

Overview: Philosophy and Feminism is a course that not only focuses on issues of gender inequality, but on all aspects of life in which women face unfair treatment. Some of the topics covered in this course are racism, sexuality, oppression, privilege, autonomy, porn and prostitution. Readings come from Blackboard and “The Feminist Philosophy Reader.” Course work includes discussions, fishbowls, journals and essay writing. Annie Mandart ’14 says, “As a first-year, I wasn’t in full control of creating my schedule for the fall semester. Originally, PHIL 152

David Luna ‘14 says, “What makes this class excel is Professor Dylan Weller. He’s a kind, passionate and dedicated individual. Through lectures and assignments, one can easily see he takes his work seriously, even while throwing a few comical jabs here and there during class. Weller’s class discussion assignments prove fruitful and lectures are always relevant, never straying way from the topic at hand. All in all, it’s a great class with a decent workload, and it’s an exceptional precursor to the vast array of other Political Science courses HWS has to offer.”

Overview: As a discussionbased course that examines six of Shakespeare’s comedies throughout the semester, two weeks are spent on each play; each day’s class focuses on a different aspect of the play (gender, class, film adaptations, etc.). Students also take a fairly informal quiz after reading each play. The coursework consists of three short essays, one longer analytical essay and a final paper. All of the assignments are fairly open-ended and allow students to be creative with the topics. Emma Stratigos ’12 says,

“Going to ENG 225 is like attending an educational comedy routine. Professor Carson’s lessons often seem to have a stream of consciousness structure. Sometimes they even appear to be improvisational, but are always packed with interesting and obscure facts about Shakespeare. The coursework is not too overwhelming, and most of the assignments are creative and fun to write. This course will be enjoyable whether you are an English major or not, as long as you have a sense of humor!”

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2010

Campus Happenings Where is She Now? Meg Stirling: Advice on Advertising By Emily Anatole ‘11 Herald Contributor

Photo courtesy of Meg Stirling

William Smith alum Meg Stirling ‘10 is proof that hard work and luck lead to success. The Media & Society major and Writing Colleagues Program and Dance minor knew she wanted a career in advertising, and just before graduation she landed an account management internship at Merkley+Partners, an Omnicom advertising agency in New York City. Fast-forward to August when her internship ended, and she was hired as an Assistant Media Planner. Stirling has been working there since the end of the summer on the Mercedes-Benz account and

couldn’t be more excited. I’m sure many of you are familiar with Mercedes-Benz logo, which is similar to a peace sign, but how does the company promote themselves through adveritisng? That’s where Stirling comes in. She helps plan the client’s advertising money in relation to their target audience. Stirling does this on both corporate and local levels and is responsible for the northeast region including the New York,

Boston, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. markets. M+P is a fast paced environment and no two days are alike. However, Stirling shares that her core responsibilies include drafting media plans for the northeast markets, creating presentations and ordering media approved by Mercedes-Benz. She then must oversee the plans and communicate with the client. Her department at M+P interacts with representatives from magazines, newspapers, TV and radio stations among contacts from many other advertising platforms. Stirling was an ambitious student at HWS and believes her academic prepared her for this career path. “As a Media and Society major, I took classes in many different disciplines, and received a very well-rounded education. My education has definitely helped me to get ahead, as my job depends on written and verbal communication, critical thinking, and quantitative reasoning skills.” So you see, goal three is still important even if you study a humanities subject. She also explains her internships have been invaluable. Working at M+P directly led her to a job, but she attributes the combination of her experiences as necessary preparation for the working world. “Around this time last year, I scheduled several informational ‘networking’ meetings in the city during winter break. I would advise HWS seniors to do the same thing.” This will only help you in the long run. “Once I had a strong network,” she explains, “it was easier for me to secure interviews in the spring.” And in turn, this led her towards a job.

Traveling to Tibet in Hopes of Educating Others By Carrie Stevens ‘12 Editor-in-Chief

Photo courtesy of Margaret Horner

Aly Feldman-Piltch ‘11, Yanli Guo ‘12, Margaret Horner ‘12, His Holiness Karmapa, Ven. Tenzin Yignyen, Rashid Perkins ‘12 and Andrew Upton ‘12 at the Gyuto Monastrey. Southeast Asia is known for its spicy food, Bollywood films and its world-renowned religions. When Hobart and William Smith students Aly Feldman-Piltch ’11, Yanli Guo ‘12, Margaret Horner ‘12, Rashid Perkins ’12 and Andrew Upton ’12 traveled to Tibet last summer to study its art, architecture and culture, they discovered another defining quality—the rain. During the excursion, in which the students resided in the city of Dharamsala from July 13-Aug. 1, the travelers experience the pinnacle of the monsoon season. “It rained at least three times a day, everyday, for three weeks,” said Horner. “The rain created a lot of problems at first, but after a while everyone just accepted that we would get soaked. We never really dried out for the entire three weeks.” Aside from the relentless precipitation, the students also soaked up Tibet’s culture. Each embarked on a research project

tailored to his or her personal interests: Both Feldman-Piltch and Upton’s projects highlighted the traditional clothing of Tibet; Guo looked at the Tibetan Thangka painting technique and studied its history and cultural importance; Horner examined Tibetan sculptures, specifically those integrated into Tibetan Buddhist practice; and, Perkins explored Tibetan architecture, like Buddhist temples, homes and buildings. “We dedicated an entire Reader’s College to the project last spring,” the group explained. Taught by faculty and staff, Reader’s College courses involve reading books and discussion ideas. “In this class we learned about Tibetan culture, language, religion, food, clothing, as well as history. It really gave us an all around grounding in the basic facts of Tibetan life and customs.” Last semester, the students also enrolled in Ven. Tenzin’s Tibetan Mandala Painting class. The group describes how it helped them to

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“understand the process, traditions, rituals and meanings that go into creating the Mandela and any piece of Tibetan ritual art.” Finally, each student also conducted outside research on his or her respective topic. It was the completion of the Reader’s College course that permitted the group to travel to Tibet. The plan began in 2008, when Upton was a first-year student at the Colleges. He expressed interest in traveling to Tibet and attempted to obtain a self-instructional language program (SILP). However, the request was denied. The following year, Tenzin approached Upton and Guo with the possibility of a trip that summer. The two immediately confirmed and began to explore their options. “We had been working on the basics of the project for a while and finally found the Freeman Foundation’s ASIANetwork grant for summer research,” Horner stated. A consortium of more than 170 North American colleges, ASIANetwork strives to strengthen the role of Asian Studies within the framework of liberal arts education. With the grant institution selected, more students needed to join the research team. Tenzin discussed the trip in his Mandala class that Feldman-Piltch, Horner and Perkins and were currently taking. The three applied to join the research project. After deciding to focus their

research on the evolution of Tibetan art, the group took three months to complete the preliminary application process. In February 2010, the group’s grant proposal was accepted. While stationed in Dharamsala, the group conducted the bulk of its research. Each student traveled to relevant venues and interviewed knowledgeable individuals in their research field. Through conducting this Tibet-based research, the students accumulated information, quotations and examples straight from primary sources. The majority of their research is complete, and now the students are working on putting together reports and presentations. “We have to hand in a final report in April, and then the last step will be to attend the ASIANetwork conference,” the group said. Chicago will host this year’s conference. “I think it’s very important for people to become interested in the study of Tibet and Tibetan culture,” Upton said. “This is part of the reason we decided to do this project: to be able to educate people from firsthand experience. It opened my eyes to the individual humanity of the Tibetans living in India. I would like people to become more educated about Tibet, its culture, its history, its language and especially its people. This way Tibet will not just become the ‘poster-child’ for human rights, but it will regain its own humanity.”

and HWS_TheHerald

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2010

Campus Happenings Raising Awareness and Funds for Liberty in North Korea By Carrie Stevens ‘12 Editor-in-Chief When William Smith junior Emma Pierceschell discovered Liberty in North Korea (LiNK,) a North American-based organization that focuses on fighting the North Korean humanitarian crisis, she felt compelled to help. “I was living in South Korea on the U.S. State Department’s Critical Language Scholarship Program (CLS). Some of my friends, whom I met through the program, were involved with LiNK at their campuses and taught me about it.” LiNK aims to educate people in the U.S. about the North Korean humanitarian crisis; it also helps rescue refugees who’ve escaped

more than one million North Koreans died of starvation and imprisonment in concentration camps. In addition, the country’s centralized communist government prohibits fundamental freedoms— speech, press, assembly and association all have heavy restrictions. Freedom of religion, physical movement and workers’ rights are also severely restricted. The media is centrally controlled, and there’s little access to outside information. The combination of these conditions sparked the migration of tens of thousands to cross the border from North Korea and enter China. “There are 300,00

Carrie Stevens/Photographer

Juniors Emma Pierceschell, Shelby Pierce and Andrew Upton share information with fellow students about LiNK. from North Korea, and who are hiding on the underground in China. During the mid-1990’s,

refugees in hiding in China that have escaped North Korea,” Pierceschell stated. “China will send them back

to North Korea if they get caught, so they’re illegal immigrants.” North Korean refugees in China, particularly women and children, face the threat of serious exploitation and sex trafficking. After trekking across the Yalu River and exiting North Korea, the refugees are met by sexual slavery traffickers on the border. Unaware of their ill intentions, some refugees follow them willingly, and others are kidnapped: Over 80 percent of North Korean refugees fall victim to human trafficking in China. Pierceschell said LiNK wanted to rescue 100 people during the 2009 calendar year. It costs $2,500 to rescue one refugee. “I realized that if every person at our school gave one dollar, we would have enough money to save a human life,” Pierceschell calculated. Taking action into her own hands, Pierceschell aspired raise $2,500 this semester. However, she recently reassessed her goal. “We’ve raised about $966.47 so far and by the end of this week we should meet our goal of $1,000 this semester.” Because she’s the president of the Asian Student Union (ASU), Pierceschell had $500 in the club’s fundraising account. She decided to allocate it toward her goal. “We’ve been fundraising through a ‘notbake sale,’” she continued.

Carrie Stevens/Photographer

Set up in Scandling before Thanksgiving Break, HWS LiNK student ambassadors organized a not-bake-sale. Stationed in Scandling before Thanksgiving Break, Pierceschell and her colleagues set up an informational table. If bypassers stopped, learned about LiNK and donated one dollar, they received a cookie. “We made about $200 from that.” Last Saturday, Dec. 4, ASU sponsored an event titled the Night Market. It featured Asian cuisine, like Vietnamese coffee, Bubble tea as well as Korean and Chinese food. Attendees could walk around the lantern lit market and play different cultural games with the chance of winning great prizes. ASU accepted monetary donations at the door in exchange for tickets that let attendees sample food and participate in the activities. A total of $60 was fundraised. Over Thanksgiving Break, Brooke Nasypany ’12, who’s a member of Women’s Collective, asked her church to help the cause. “We have a call to service part after the sermon, and people can make announcements during this time,” Nasypany

said. Ironically, refugees were the subjects of that day’s homily. Nasypany and her father collected $200 from parishioners. “Every little bit helps.” This past Thursday, HWS’ Peace Class facilitated an event titled “Peace at the Pub.” In addition to baked goods, tea and an open mic, attendees could donate one dollar to decorate a pillowcase. Proceeds from the event went toward LiNK. Up until the semester’s end, Pierceschell and ASU will focus on helping Women’s Collective with its tea fundraiser. During reading days and finals, the two student groups will collaborate and sell tea in the Library Atrium. All proceeds will be given to the LiNK fund. In the spring, ASU hopes to host a Vandervort party and an Asian Food Night at Saga. “The LiNK team will be coming to show their Documentary on May 6,” Pierceschell continued. “I would love to make a [LiNK] charter on campus if there were enough people to sustain it long-term.”

A Conversation With Professor Etin Anwar

Globe Trotting: From Russia, With Love

By Carrie Stevens ‘12 Editor-in-Chief

By Melissa Warner ‘12 Herald Contributor

Assistant Professor of religious studies Etin Anwar attended the Fourth International Conference on Islamic Feminism, which was held in Madrid, Spain. More than 1,300 individuals attended the October conference, and Anwar delivered a presentation on Islamic feminism and spirituality. EA: Indonesia, for example, provides a relevant context in which Islamic feminism originated, developed and reached its maturity. Muslim feminists in Indonesia worked within its Indonesian context. CS: Do you see different approaches to women’s issues Photo courtesy of HWS Communications in different countries CS: How do you define EA: The treatment of “Islamic feminism?” women is situated within its EA: The term “Islamic cultural, social and political feminism” sounds paradoxical. contexts. For example, Islam in Secular feminists, anti feminists, Indonesia is moderate. Some and faith-based feminists paint countries are more restrictive to the relationship between Islam women than others due to the and feminism differently. cultural formulation of rules, Secular feminists argue the term roles and rights of women. Islamic feminism is less feminist Western media often blames because ‘shari‘ah’ is hostile to Islam for the restrictive roles or women. Faith-based feminists lack of women’s rights in Muslim propose that the terms ‘Islam’ societies. Islam in its ideal form and ‘feminism’ are compatible is not culture. The assimilation because both seek to promote of the existing cultures to Islam justice and the elimination of the makes cultural Islam. This is oppression. why Islam is diverse. Islam in CS: Where could we see Indonesia is different than Islam examples of this? in the Middle East.

After missing our first train out of St. Petersburg, catching the next one heading to Moscow at about 3 a.m., getting little sleep thanks to the rowdy (read: drunken) Russian youths having a party in our compartment, finally arriving in the Yaroslavskii Station in Moscow and settling down for our three hour wait for the next four hour train heading back to Yaroslavl, I turned to my friend and said, “I feel like study abroad is an Photo courtesy of Melissa Warner adventure that just never Warner ‘12 enjoys the sights ends.” and scenery of Rostov, a I admit I was a bit small Russian town. nervous when I decided to study abroad in Russia. To and even quicker to burst out be honest, I decided to study laughing over their argument. abroad in Russia at first mainly I love Russian food, especially because I could finish up my Russian candy, which has so major. The reality of studying much sugar that it is probably in Russia for four months didn’t rotting my teeth out. I love really sink in until I found how Russians are so generous myself at the airport with one to their friends and family. I suitcase, one backpack and love how Russian babushkas one anxious looking family have a sixth sense and always waving goodbye. know when you’re lost and Russia has wormed its way need directions. into my heart. I love it here. Even on the tougher days I love my host family, an though, I’m grateful to be here. older Russian couple who is If I can adapt to Russia, of all quick to yell at each other places, what can’t I do?

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2010

Campus Happenings Quebec Trip Canceled; William Smith Congress Puts Safety First Too Few Applied By Annie Mandart ‘14 Herald Contributor

By Emma Stratigos ‘12 Herald Contributor Next summer’s three-week summer study abroad trip to Quebec has been canceled due to lack of interest. According to Tom D’Agostino, director of the Center for Global Education, the itinerary for the trip included stops

because Hobart and William Smith had never done a program in Canada before. “It is really disappointing to us and to the faculty members that were going to lead it,” he said. “We were excited to do something different.” Because so few

who proposed it would be willing to give it another try. “We’re not sure what we would do differently; we publicized it in every way we normally do.” D’Agostino regretted seeing a lack of interest in a summer program. “We try to target

in Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City. The trip was to be based at Laval Université. The program was available to a wide range of academic interests. But, when application time came around, very few were received for the Quebec program. “We wish we knew why,” said D’Agostino. He explained that CGE was getting excited about the trip

applications were received, CGE never went through the reviewing process for the Quebec program. The deadline for other trips was extended for those that did apply, in case they wanted a chance to join another program. Regarding a second attempt to organize the program, D’Agostino explained that it depends on whether the faculty

students who, for whatever reason, can’t go abroad for a whole semester,” he said. “We don’t want them to miss the opportunity altogether.” He also emphasized the value of summer programs because their threeweek span prevents them from interfering with summer job or internship schedules.

Prior to Thanksgiving Break, William Smith Congress distributed free safety whistles to all interested William Smith students. The distribution was run by the now former WSC executive board members, Caroline Spruill ‘12 (past President), Kate Coley ‘11 (past VicePresident), Sarah Cifaratta ‘13 (past Secretary) and Kara Ruskin ‘12 (past, and current, Treasurer). Whistle distribution occurred over the course of two days outside of the William Smith Dean’s Office in Smith. “The tradition of passing out safety whistles started with the 2009 WSC [executive]-board,” said Kate Coley. Over the course of two consecutive school years, WSC has distributed approximately 200 whistles. However, these whistles were not given to individuals who would

be flagrant with their whistle-usage. “There is an expectation that students who choose to pick up safety whistles use them properly,” Coley continued. “The whistles come with a little instructional guide that describes their purpose, and how they should be used. One of the things that is important to know is that there is a $500 fine for those who use the whistles incorrectly.” The whistles should be used in emergency situations only, when the WS woman feels as though her life may be in danger. When using the whistle in these life-threatening situations, she is able to draw attention. “Police officers, safety officers, and even regular pedestrians would be able to tell the difference between a safety and regular whistle because the safety whistles have a more distinct and

higher pitched tone to them,” Coley said. It’s the sincere hope of the WSC executive board that these whistles allow students to feel safer on campus. Coley mentioned that, “[t] here had been issues/ complaints in the past, for example, with the lighting system or lack there of in places such as up on the hill.” With this in mind, WSC thought that the women who chose to get safety whistles might have an extra sense of security when walking around campus. Hopefully the students of William Smith will never have to use their safety whistles. However, no location is perfect, and one never knows when crime may occur. And now, because of WSC, the women of William Smith are at an advantage if they ever find themselves in emergency situations.

The Greek Beat: IFC Elects New Board Members By Nick Batson ‘11 Herald Contributor Prior to leaving for Thanksgiving break, the InterFraternity Council (I.F.C.) held elections for its executive board. With the current members’ terms ending soon, brothers representing the fraternities selected six new Hobart students to assume the roles within the Council. Charlie Hale ‘12 of Theta Delta Chi was selected for the public relations position, taking over for Matt Holden ‘11 of Kappa Sigma. Looking to help his fraternity become more involved, Hale will work to promote the Greek community’s image. The

public relations position has to specifically promote Greek Week and recruitment events as well. Evan Donahue ‘12 of Phi Sigma Kappa was elected as the new rush chair to replace Will Greer ‘11 of Chi Phi. Donahue ran uncontested. His role mostly concerns overseeing Rush, and its various recruiting efforts for each semester. Colby Mauke ‘13 of Kappa Sigma is coming in for Ross Hicks ‘11 of Chi Phi for secretary. The position handles minutes for all of the Council’s meetings and general organization of its files. The secretary is also the

I.F.C. correspondent in matters concerning fraternity life. Jordan Cushman ‘12 of Phi Sigma Kappa will take over as treasurer for Jonathan Meyers ‘12 of Kappa Sigma. Cushman will oversee the I.F.C.’s finances, mainly the bills received and the annual budget proposal. Hunter LaCroix ‘12, also of Phi Sigma Kappa, will assume the role of vice president, replacing A.J. VanHeyst ‘11 of Kappa Sigma. He specifically acts as parliamentarian in I.F.C. meetings. Lastly, Greg Warmt ‘12 of Chi Phi will succeed out-going president Zach Zayac ‘12 of Phi

Sigma Kappa. Warmt will oversee the general operation of the Council. The president calls and presides over I.F.C. meetings, manages files and records, creates and is a member of all committees and assumes overall responsibility for the I.F.C. He also acts as a representative on campus committees, especially the Council on Fraternity Life (C.O.F.L.), which he and the vice president serve on. The new officers will attend a transition meeting at the next I.F.C. gathering and assume their roles the following meeting.

Hobart Alum Creates PCULPA, a Political Webpage By Carrie Stevens ‘12 Editor-in-Chief Designing a political website is no small task; just ask Hobart alum Taylor Barnette ’10. After graduating from the Colleges last May, Barnette envisioned an online forum that prompted thinkers from across the world to discuss political ideas. With help from HWS senior Ethan Guralnick, Barnette created PCULPA, an acronym that means political culpa. “In Latin, ‘culpa’ translates as fault, or blame; ‘P’ represents ‘political,’” says the website. “Since our authors doggedly seek to address the faults they find in the political world, we think this name suits the site well.” The website, which published its first article on Oct. 1, caters to voters between the ages of 1830. “Our goal is to allow the upcoming generation, including undergraduates, graduates and Ph.D. candidates to debate and write op-ed’s on the political faults they see in the world,” Barnette said. “We have a lot of other great ideas that we plan to be rolling out for the website over the next few months.” Completing a double major in classics and Asian studies, Barnette took courses on political history, ancient and modern cultures

and languages at the Colleges. He also studied abroad in Beijing, China. “This fostered a respect for the exchange of political ideas from multiple perspectives and helped to shape my desire to create an environment where political people could engage with like-minds from all over the world.” As the webpage’s Editor-in-Chief, Barnette’s goal is for PCULPA to deliver an equitable,

moderated political platform for international thinkers. “PCULPA delivers this globally diverse content on a daily basis, providing platforms for socialists, liberals, moderates, libertarians, conservatives and anarchists.” PCULPA’s current editorial team consists of authors from across the globe and includes HWS alums Chris Slaby ‘09, Josh Sargent ‘10, Jan

Dollbaum ‘08 and Felipe Estefan ‘08. In addition, Professor Iva Deutchman of the political science department also wrote an article about the 2010 midterm elections. Because it’s run virtually, with no established headquarters anywhere in the world, Barnette believes this enables PCULPA to be a flexible web presence. “Five years from now, I expect to see the website hosting hundreds of authors of all ethnicities and nationalities, and of all political persuasions, debating with each other over the most critical issues of our time,” he stated. “This will not only stimulate political awareness, but global understanding and learning as well.” In order to make this goal a reality, Barnette recognizes the potential contribution college students. “As a Hobart alum … I’d like to first extend an offer to HWS juniors and seniors to begin writing articles for PCULPA. I know there are plenty of HWS students who would flourish on the site, and I would love to bring them onto our team.” Interested students should contact Taylor Barnette at eic@pculpa.com.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2010

Opinions The Herald’s Mission By Carrie Stevens ‘12 Editor-in-Chief Although the Herald is a studentrun newspaper, we operate under the same rules and regulations professional newspapers – like the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal – abide by. As a journalistic publication, it’s our responsibility to report the news that affects Hobart and William Smith students, faculty and staff. Our standards transcend simply covering a story—we must be accurate. The HWS and local community look to the Herald to learn about campus happenings and to see what issues make headlines. Before breaking the news, and beginning the writing process, our writers investigate. We conduct our legwork. We interview primary, appropriate sources who speak on the record; we quote them accurately. We employ an unbiased, objective tone. We fact check. Overall, we show our readers both the importance and the implications of a particular issue, event or story. The Herald will never print false, inaccurate articles. We will never slander or discredit an individual, a group or other publication. We follow the standards of professional journalism.

Just like The Times and The Journal, the Herald faces economic constraints. The economy is slowly recovering, but all facets of the newspaper industry have been affected. Similar to professional papers, the Herald’s costs of production have increased. Because of this, the Herald exercises its position as a reliable news source to run local business advertisements. Both the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal utilize advertisements as well. It’s simply a means of generating revenue and offsetting costs. The Internet and other technological advancements have indisputably changed the way people consume news, and the Herald is embracing this shift. We created a Facebook page (The Herald Newspaper), set up a Twitter account (HWS_TheHerald) and we’re in the process of designing a website. However, as a student newspaper, we will never discontinue producing a print publication. We are a newspaper. Rooted in column inches, nut graphs and orphans, our discourse defines and reflects our medium. We print on newsprint and will continue to do so.

Scavenging for Saga Seats By Katie Levenstein ‘12 Herald Contributor It’s clear to anyone who eats in Saga that it has been extremely crowded this semester. To all upper classmen, it’s significantly more crowded than in past semesters. Such a situation creates stress and tension among students. College life is hectic in itself; eating a meal should be the stress-free part of the day. Unfortunately this is not the case. Lunch, for example, has noticeable peaks at around 12:15 p.m. and again around 1:30 p.m. This is due to the fact that most classes are over at those times. The line into Saga extends all the way to the mailboxes. This is one indication of what is to be expected inside Saga- total chaos. Upon entering, it’s a mad dash to grab a free table. I often eat with my friend, Emma Stratigos ‘12, and even as a small group of two we experience significant trouble trying find a table. In fact, we’ve had to leave Saga on more than one occasion because there were no free seats. With another class following lunch we are not left with the option to wait around for Saga to empty up. “It’s really frustrating when I just want to grab a quick lunch between classes, but end up spending half my time circling around saga looking for a table,” Stratigos says. You may ask, what about the space in the rooms on the sides? Well, those are either full immediately or they aren’t even open for student use. Dinner is also just as busy as lunch. Meals are served at 5:30 p.m., but the smartest thing to do is go before to snag seats. If students arrive later they are forced to circle Saga until a table opens up. Another commonly observed solution is to hover like vultures over a table

in which the students appear close to finishing. This is the more efficient way to guarantee a table. I have experienced on numerous accounts this sort of situation. One eager student actually threw all her belongings on my seat the second after I stood up! Why has Saga been so crazy this semester? One possible reason is due to the larger first-year class. Kristen Tobey from Residential Education says this year’s class is around 60 students larger than that of last year. More seniors may also be eating in Saga than they have in the past. It seems unrealistic to request a construction project that would expand Saga, yet there is certainly free space in Scandling that should be used for eating purposes. For example, the upstairs in Scandling, recently renovated, has great seating areas. If students were able to bring their food out of Saga and upstairs, it would free up some space inside. I understand this may subsequently lead to problems of stealing Saga ware, however if some monitoring system were implemented this problem could potentially be averted. There is also the faculty dining room, conveniently located within the depths of Saga. I have rarely witnessed professors eating in that room, thus it would serve as a much better space for students to eat in. If professors were interested in eating meals from Saga, perhaps allowing them to move upstairs in Scandling for dining would be a great idea. For the sake of us hungry students, something must be done to alleivate the crowds and stress that is currently dominating the atmosphere in Saga.

‘The Founding of Facebook’ Flops By Jessica Lynn ‘14 Herald Contributor

Photo courtesy of: http://www.amazon.com

To be frank, Ben Mezrich’s “The Accidental Billionaires” is a bit of a mess. The writing is of fifth grade quality, the title is false given the content of the story and there’s a creepy picture of Mark Zuckerberg on the cover. The main character, Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, is not developed whatsoever. The seemingly innovative and witty Harvard sophomore is described with barely any personality. He’s less interesting than a cardboard box, and he functions merely as a robot, spewing HTML encoding for his master creation. To build an Internet empire such as Facebook, the founder must have some sort of intellect other than the simple ability to regurgitate numbers and figures. Mark was supposed to have originated the idea for Facebook, warranting some form of creativity in his repertoire, but judging by the narrative, Mark would hardly be able to draw a stick figure let alone conceive the idea for a monster business such as Facebook. Full of cliché’s,

Mezrich’s writing attempts to fill an utterly dry story with flowing metaphors and near poetic diction, adding an element of laughable ridiculousness to the story that in the hands of another writer, could have been at least slightly interesting. When describing the various synapses involved in creating a website, Mezrich gets deep and philosophical, trying to create an elegant narrative while just sounding absurd. While Zuckerberg is busy hacking into Harvard’s database, Mezrich rambles on about “hacker’s paradise,” and how the system is mere “child’s play” for Mark. Mezrich declares that cracking a computer system is akin to discerning “Nazi code,” pushing himself over the edge with the absurd commonplace expressions, and causing a hefty nausea to rumble in my stomach. While the obvious undercurrent of the adverse effects of vast power is somewhat insightful, the rest of the novel is in great need of a rewrite or it just needs to be thrown out completely. In two hundred and fifty five pages, Mezrich describes the relationship dynamics and politics involved in launching a successful website, when the story could be summarized in one sentence: Mark Zuckerberg creates Facebook, gains attention from the opposite sex, and loses his friends in the process. Save yourself the odious task of suffering through this steaming pile of garbage and watch the movie. It seems to fulfill what lacks in “The Accidental Billionaires.” Perhaps it’s theatricality.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2010

Arts and Entertainment A New Mr. Hobart Wows the Crowd By Maddison Case ‘14 Herald Contributor

Photo courtesy of HWS’ Habitat for Humanity chapter

Larry Gregorek ‘11 successfully claimed the title of Mr. Hobart. Albright Auditorium was filled with students and teachers last Friday as they eagerly anticipated the acts of the contestants for Mr. Hobart. The contestants did not fail to impress. With 14 contestants and their various performances, speeches or movie premieres, a group opening number, a sportswear section and a Q&A section, Mr. Hobart was the place to be. Thanks to the contestants and their supporters, HWS’ Habitat for Humanity chapter successfully raised nearly $3,000 for the Ontario County affiliate of Habitat for Humanity. Needless to say, Hobart College has a plethora of talented, bright and hard-working

young men. On that Friday, however, one of these men shone brighter than the rest. As last year’s reigning champion, Joseph Kwesiga ‘12, stepped down from the throne, the crown and title of Mr. Hobart was taken by none other than Lawrence “Larry” Gregorek, Class of 2011. Gregorek had the entire crowd standing in applause and general excitement as he shocked the onlookers with a surprising entrance at the end of his video. His talent? Finding creative ways to make people laugh. With the aid of fellow senior and friend Greg Cavalieri, he was able to pull together both a film and performance that had the crowd nearly crying from laughter. “I’m glad the event worked out as well as it did for the charity for Habitat for Humanity,” Gregorek said after the pageant. “And the fact that everyone stood up together at one point and joined in the fun that I was trying to capture. People have to start relaxing more in life and just let loose, even if it’s standing up during a Mr. Hobart competition to cheer for a bit. It’s having fun even if it’s for just a while.” Furthermore, this Mr. Hobart pageant also granted the title of “Mr. Congeniality” to the contestant who received the most votes during intermission. This year’s victor was Soeren Wacker ‘14. His award-winning talent involved playing for the audience a violin piece titled “Thais – Meditation,” composed by Massenet. As Wikepedia describes it, this piece is reserved for only the most gifted performers. Seeing as how he has been playing since the early age of two-and-a-half, he fit the talented category. Responding to his crowning as Mr.

Congeniality, Soeren had the following to say: “For me it was not all about the winning – it was more about having fun with everyone else. I like it when people are happy and can laugh about things.” The rest of the contestants had talents ranging from speaking poetry, lip syncing and dancing to musical interludes, storytelling and skateboarding. Fun was had by all thanks to each and every contestant. They all added to the success of the event. Amelia Martinez, a William Smith junior and co-president of the campus Habitat for Humanity, described the event as “a tremendous success. We truly enjoyed working with all the contestants and our club members worked incredibly hard to make it such an exciting event.” Proving the success even further, the campus Habitat for Humanity received an e-mail from Roger Chapin, the Ontario County affiliate’s vice president, which expressed both his gratitude and praise for the event. The e-mail read: “The fundraiser was fun, well-attended and supported to the tune of $3,000, benefiting our building efforts in the county, specifically Geneva. I only wish we could claim as much success in our own efforts of fundraising programs. The enthusiasm was electric.” The HWS chapter’s hard work in making this year’s Mr. Hobart Pageant a memorable one most certainly paid off. If you missed the pageant, Gregorek’s winning talent can be viewed via the link: http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=OX7sgEirKhs And be sure to catch this phenomenal event next year!

Arts Students Sur vive the End of the World By Amy Nimon ‘11 Photography Editor Most people have grills in their back yards. They have swimming pools or lawn chairs or clotheslines. But Chad Person has an underground bunker. And he built it himself. Person, a conceptual artist from New Mexico, created the bunker as part of a larger project titled RECESS—resource, exhaustion, crisis, evacuation, safety, and shelter. The project, begun two years ago, can be most accurately described as “survivor art.” In a statement about the work, Person explains, “A resource shortage, serious pandemic, EMP attack or natural disaster would initiate pandemonium and suffering of an epic scale. Crisis preparedness is vital, and RECESS is my answer.” He continues, “This project is everything I have learned, and continue to learn as I engage my fears. This archive, and supporting work, will teach you how to prepare yourself and your family to survive the end of your world.” What appears to be Person’s neatly landscaped backyard and patio area actually hides the bunker – complete with ventilation, waste removal, solar power, cellular service, Internet, grid power, and a water supply. Person constructed the 5-foot-5 space in what was once his underground swimming pool. His body of RECESS work also includes an improvised shotgun based on designs from the U.S. Department of the Army’s Improvised Munitions Handbook, as well as a bow and arrow, paracord survival bracelets (created with enough Nylon cord to use in escaping from a second-story window), a solar oven, an animal trap, and even his very own chicken coop. Students in Professor Christine Chin’s New Media imaging class, Time in Art II, jumped on the RECESS bandwagon—or tank, rather—and began the six-week-long process of creating their own survival tools and weapons under Person’s guidance. “I thought it would be ideal to give students the experience of working with a contemporary artist that works in this changing field [of New

Media],” says Chin. In embarking on the project, students would be immersed in art that considers Amy Nimon/Photographer resources, skills, and cooperation. “It makes perfect sense to educate Students at the “RECESS” exhibit look at a live a class of young artists in his ideas, webcam that teaches visitors how to prepare for and see where their creativity takes the end of the world. them,” says Chin. Person and Chin attended the documenting her survival with a video camera. same graduate program at the University of New Attendees at the opening trudged through the Mexico. “He has a knack for taking something pouring rain along a muddy trail of glow sticks that you wouldn’t have thought would be a good behind Houghton House to crawl inside her leandirection for an art work, and having you totally to made of sticks, twine, and tarps. A screening of convinced by the time he is in full swing with the her video and a bowl of trail mix waited inside. idea.” Imani Schectman ‘12, and Kyleigh Holtz The course for the Time in Art II students ‘11, took a more social-documentary type of was outlined by Person himself. He assigned approach to survival. The two created a mass readings and activities that exercised his ideas interview video in which they encouraged people of survival and self-reliance. He composed a to consider their own reactions to the concepts process of three steps for the students to follow: of disaster and crises, their morals, and their first, “Access the Situation” (What crises or survival methods in a time of catastrophe. threats could possibly occur?) Second, collect “We feel it is important to bring awareness everything needed in the event of a crisis into to questions that are simple but life-altering. what is called a “BOB” or “Bug Out Bag.” Last, What if you had to leave the ones you love? What “Improvise and Survive,” which required the would you hold onto? What would you take with students to build two survival objects and create you?” Schectman and Holtz ask. “We wanted to two videos. inspire, inform, and challenge the occurrence of The final creations ranged from weapons a major disaster or catastrophe and survey the to shelters. What began as a few small pencil belongings that were near and dear to people.” slingshots for Emily Desmery ‘12, turned A live feed of Chad Person in his bunker was out to be a massive trebuchet that towered streaming on a desktop computer throughout over everything else in the Davis Gallery. The the opening. The event ended with a crisis we are trebuchet, constructed from PVC pipe, was all too familiar with – a fire drill. Campus Safety accessible at the opening, along with a collection and the volunteer EMS team arrived at the scene of the smaller slingshots at her Slingshot of the make-believe disaster in full uniform to Gallery. evacuate the building. “I wanted to make something huge, and “I think all of the students did a great job. something that I’ve never made before,” says The transformation from the beginning of the Desmery. “I had never in my life used saws or project to the exhibit only six weeks later is truly power drills, so I was amazed that once I learned remarkable,” says Chin. how to use them, I could build something like “The works look really professional and the trebuchet in only a few hours.” engage the material in creative and unique Reina Apraez ‘11, took it upon herself to ways.” actually build a shelter and live in it for two nights,

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2010

Arts and Entertainment Lots Happening in Ask Doctor Blackwell Harr yâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Latest Have a question that you need answered? Canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t ask anyone else? Write me at Herald@hws.edu

The Elizabeth Blackwell section welcomes any and all questions concerning your life, your roommateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s smelly feet, your sex conundrums, the attractiveness of that guy in your Bio lab or the way that girl in your English class looks at you when you take your seat. Lizzy is here for you, at your service. If ever there was someone to whom you could ask your most burning questions, it would be the ever helpful Elizabeth Blackwell! Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m waiting with my always honest opinion, so start sending in those questions! Dear Dr. Blackwell, Break is quickly approaching, and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m sort of freaking out. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m freaking out about finals and all that crap, but that isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t my main problem. (Please donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t forget about me though, finals gods; I need to pass!) All right, so here is the situation: I cannot decide whether or not Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m ready. If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re assuming this is about sex, then youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re one hundred and fifty percent right, Dr. Blackwell. My best friend from back home always flirts with me, and I admit that I reciprocate to no end. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve talked about the possibility of it happening over break; is that weird? I know what your concerns are, I do. However â&#x20AC;&#x201C; heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s my best friend, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve known him for a while, we both want to, and we both love each other. Despite all that, we arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t datingâ&#x20AC;Ś thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s another whole mess. If the opportunity presents itself, should I go for it? Please help, To Do It, Or Not To Do It? Dear To Do It, Or Not To Do It?, This is a very personal situation, my love. I think you already know that becoming sexually involved with someone, best friend or not, is a very intimate decision that no one else should make for you except yourself. It is not my place to decide whether or not you are emotionally and mentally prepared for this, but I do urge you to contemplate it before going through with anything. If you feel that you are ready, then that is wonderful, my dear. Make sure you are with someone who cares for you just as much as you care for them, and be sure that you both take all necessary, precautionary measures. Hubbs is a great resource for more information on safe sex and avoiding the contraction of potentially life-threatening STIs/STDs. However, if you decide not to go through with it then that is completely fine as well. Be sure that your partner is not pressuring you or trying to persuade you to do something against your wishes. Sex should be special and important, and therefore you shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be forced into doing anything. Over break, whether you decide to go through with this or not, just make sure that you and your best friend are clear with each other so nothing gets misinterpreted. Be sure to do what feels right and be smart about it, my dear. Wishing you well, Dr. Blackwell

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Sports Ver y Superstitious By Carrie Stevens ‘12 Editor-in-Chief

Photo courtesy of HWS Athletic Communications

Junior goalie Amanda Davis throws the ball back into play. Davis, who closed the season with 81 saves, epitomizes susperstitions and pregame rituals. Extra repetitions in the weight room, offseason conditioning drills, and protein shakes may give athletes an edge over their competition. However, in a world defined by unlucky breaks and unexpected bounces, athletes enlist power of superstitions and good luck charms. Although seemingly silly to spectators, the belief in pregame rituals proves invaluable to athletes. For the William Smith soccer team, it’s the clothing, the music, and the team traditions that explain the inexplicable. Junior goalie Amanda Davis epitomizes superstitions. “Whatever pregame ritual you can think of, I’ve probably done it before,” she joked. Aside from wearing the same

socks, spandex, and shirt for every contest, Davis also wraps her shin guards with black electrical tape, eats the identical pregame meal (sesame bagel with cream cheese and jelly and a glass of water), and takes a voluntary vow of silence upon leaving the locker room. Davis – who’s notched 81 saves this season – said the majority of her traditions evolved from high school and club teams, but their importance increased once arriving at William Smith. Similar to Davis, senior forward Bre Nasypany developed her own superstitions as a Heron. “Anyone on the team could tell you I’m extremely superstitious about my socks. Game day comes, and I have

to search the locker room for the two socks that have the number nine on them.” Before the first home matchup of the season, Nasypany – who’s racked up a season-record 49 points – ripped her game socks and labeled them with the number nine so “no one else would have to wear them,” she explained. “It started off me just being nice, but gradually turned into a superstition.” Now, Nasypany must wear the ripped sock on her right foot for all home games. Head Coach Aliceann Wilber also has a clothing superstition: She wears the same pair of corduroy jeans for every big contest. “I think it started about two years ago. I always wear them for sure against Union.” Wilbur noted that Professor Kevin Dunn, the Heron’s FacultyAthletic Fellow, dons his William Smith soccer t-shirt for all home games. However, Dunn forgot about the tradition when the Herons played Wheaton (Ill.)—William Smith lost the contest. “Now he makes sure to wear it all the time.” Junior forward Brooke Nasypany, Bre’s sister, said the Herons’ uniforms aren’t complete without ring tape. “We put white medical tape around our ring finger to ‘save’ our finger for the championship ring we hope for, which is always one of our team goals.” After putting on the proper and superstitious game attire, the Herons psych themselves up and host a dance party in the locker

room. Singing and dancing to popular songs, like Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” and Huey’s “Pop, Lock & Drop It,” as well as nostalgic ballads, including the “Mulan” soundtrack, the team releases any pent-up nervous energy. “It gets everyone pumped up, and we all have a blast and laugh a lot,” said senior forward Colleen Richards. “It’s a lot of fun, and we certainly get ourselves ready to play.” Once the dancing ends, the Herons line up in pairs and exit the building. “When we leave Bristol Gym, we say, ‘Leave everything at the doors. From this point on, we’re one unit,’” said Brooke Nasypany. Before taking the field, the team assembles along the sideline and holds hands. “We always send pulses through each other by passing squeezes we receive,” she continued. “We take the first step onto the field together as a team.” The Herons went unbeaten in Liberty League play for the fourth straight season and captured the league tournament championship for the fourth year in a row. William Smith won its NCAA opener 3-0 over Keuka and swept past Scranton 3-1 in the second round. The team then retired #13 Oneonta St. 2-1 and #9 Williams 1-0. On Dec.3, the Herons played in San Antonio, Texas for the Final Four. The squad fell to #1 Messiah 0-4. William Smith finished its season with an overall record of 183-3.

Hockey Helps Organ Cross Continents By Carrie Stevens ‘12 Editor-in-Chief

Photo courtesy of HWS Athletic Communications

Senior captain Danny Organ takes a shot on goal during a match against Manhattanville. Prior to receiving the Charles H. Salisbury Summer International Internship Stipend, cultural immersion was a foreign concept for senior hockey player Danny Organ. However, he and the Statesmen traveled to France and Switzerland for ten days in January 2008, an excursion Organ highlighted during the application process.

“The committee wants to see that you have some sort of international experience; I got that by playing hockey.” Created by Charles Salisbury, a 1963 graduate of the Colleges and an Honorary Trustee, this fund provides financial support of up to $15,000 for three students. Organ’s interest in pursuing an international

internship experience prompted him to apply for the stipend as a sophomore. However, he was unsuccessful. “I think my first program was based in too many different regions. I was going to six different countries, so I wasn’t getting involved with the culture of each.” Determined and relentless, Organ submitted an application the following year. “With the new program, I would be based in just Brazil for eight weeks. I would see different places and cultures, and I would able to connect with the people a lot better.” Organ’s reformulated plan, combined with his cross-cultural ice hockey excursion, solidified his acceptance as a Charles H. Salisbury Endowed Internship recipient. Before heading to Brazil, Organ met the staff at Chicago’s Equity Group Investments (EQI),

a privately held investment company that focuses on real estate-related businesses. During the week, he talked with company executives and perfected his project’s outline. Organ then departed the Windy City for Rio de Janeiro. Interning for BR Malls, a Latin American shopping mall company, Organ aimed to confirm the corporation’s objective: The emerging middle class in Brazil is growing and will increase the demand for real estate opportunities. “BR Malls sent me across the country to study this claim. I’d go to Sao Paulo for a week, come back to Rio for three days and write up reports. Then, I’d go to another place.” Because Organ already completed two U.S.based internships – both with Centers Business Management, a real estate company located in Los Angeles – he was ready for the international stage.

“Brazil is a big immerging market, so there’s a lot of real estate opportunity. Also, the Olympics and the World Cup provided a big cultural boom that I wanted to be a part of.” In Brazil, Organ faced a corporate work environment and the challenge of assimilating. “You’re out of your comfort zone, and you learn how to interact with people. You learn about a different culture, and it makes you become more independent and more aware of what’s out there. With an internship in the States, I wouldn’t have had to worry about those things.” Currently, Organ is talking to Northwestern Mutual, as well as other financial firms, about job opportunities following graduation this May. The Statesmen will face powerhouse #1 Oswego this Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Cooler.

Current Team Records Hobart Basketball

William Smith Basketball

Overall: 5-2 Streak: W1 Next game: Away at Rochester on Dec. 11

Overall: 3-3 Streak: W1 Next game: Away at Rochester on Dec. 11

Hobart Squash Overall: 2-4 Streak: L2 Next match: Jan. 14

William Smith Squash Overall: 5-4 Streak: W2 Next match: Smith Round Robin on Jan. 22