HWS Herald: March 2, 2018

the

Herald A Voice for the Students

VOLUME CXXXIIX ISSUE V

FRIDAY, MARCH 2, 2018

GENEVA, NY

Accessibility & Inclusivity at HWS

By Phoebe MacCurrach ‘18 Herald Staff Access is not a privilege or a convenience but a fundamental human right.

Without equal access, there is no equality.

Our understanding of disability has grown, we know now that it is a spectrum, you meet a person with a disability and you have only met one person with a disability.

From physical disabilities to learning disabilities to psychological disabilities, an individual’s needs vary vastly. Access is a right, a right that we as a community are responsible for ensuring.

Fortunately, HWS students have seen a major change in the services provided at HWS over the last year. Many seniors’ experiences with the Center for Teaching and Learning are much different than the experience of first years.

A large part of this is the change in staff as Christen Davis has joined the HWS CTL as Coordinator for Disability Services. Senior, Livvy Milne, commented, “CTL is good now that [the staff has changed], I used to go into the office and they would print a letter out and we wouldn’t even have a discussion. It felt like once that plan was set in motion freshman year, there was no room for change over time or between classes.” The experience is much different now.

Christen Davis helped explain this, “One thing that I’m not sure all of the students, faculty, or parents understand, and I didn’t understand until working here is that the setup is so different from high school to college. It’s governed by different laws. A lot of students came from where they were forced to [use the accommodations on their Individualized Education Program (IEP)]. What I love about here is that they’re the driver. So, we sit down, we draft letters together for faculty. We can differentiate that letter from class to class [and semester to semester]. Here they can choose what they disclose to who and they can choose [whether or not] to use it. I have students who have double time on their accommodation

Dan Bristol for the Herald

The Office of the President on the 2nd floor of Coxe Hall is one of many offices and spaces on campus that is completely inaccessible to community members with limited mobility.

letter, but they might not have used it at all this year, or they used it every single time. I think that’s such a big difference that when I talk to a lot of perspective students and their families these are the points that I drive. A lot of times they are hesitant to come in because they think it’s going to be the same as high school ‘I’m going to be this kid that gets special education services and everybody is going to know.’

Our goal here is really to make it a private individualized, they’re the driver, type thing.”

First year students with learning disabilities, such as Isabelle Jeppsen, have been very happy with the services they have access to on campus.

Jeppsen stated some of the things that drew her to HWS were, “The relationships that you build with Christen and Sam who are both specifically related to disability services within the CTL. They really will do anything and go at bat for you, that’s something that’s really nice and supportive, and I knew that I wanted when I was looking at colleges.” She added, “The fact that Hobart and William Smith Colleges were open about the CTL on their website, to me, signaled that this was something that they cared about, and something that was really apparent and valued in this school, in comparison to other liberal arts colleges where that distinction was never made.”

She also touched on the importance of having an Eye 2 Eye chapter on campus. Senior chapter leaders, Sasha Carey and Allie Nixon, describe Eye 2 Eye as “a nationwide nonprofit mentoring program that pairs college students with learning disabilities and ADHD with local middle school students with similar diagnoses.

We meet once a week and use an art-based curriculum to work on self-advocacy skills and their metacognition.

“Eye 2 Eye is a great program that helps both the college students and middle school students better understand their learning disability through the projects we do,” Nixon continued. “We focus on things like accommodations, perseverance, self-advocacy and many other aspects of being able to succeed to the best of your ability despite having a learning disability. As a mentor, I have learned so much about my learning disability, and I am glad I can pass along these messages to middle school children, as I did not have that luxury growing up.”

Accessibility continued on page 9...

Food Pantry Opens for Students

By Wren Andrews ‘21 Herald Staff Following the recent addition of Au Bon Pain, renovations to SAGA, and revised meal plan options including docked hours of food availability, elimination of meal swipes outside of SAGA, and a mandate for all first years to purchase the most expensive meal plan, food and nutrition on campus have been contemptuous topics of discussion. These changes have been even more hotly contested after the creation of a food pantry on campus – many students have expressed unsettling concern regarding the reality that a food pantry even need exist on this campus. Considering 87% of students receive some sort of financial aid, one would presume that would cover any and all costs students are unable to pay.

Food insecurity is defined by “Hunger on Campus,” a report by the College and University Food Bank Alliance as “the lack of reliable access to sufficient quantities of affordable, nutritious food.” When this definition is taken in to consideration, the problem becomes more of an applicable and relatable phenomenon, especially as it pertains to college students.

In fact, according to the College and University Food Bank Alliance, food scarcity at colleges and universities is not an uncommon problem. As of February 23rd, 2018, there were 596 college and university campuses nationwide that provided food pantry services to their students.

The statistics regarding

food insecure students found in “Hunger on Campus” were actually the stimulus that prompted HWS faculty and staff to recognize the potential need for and value of a food pantry on our campus.

Concerns were raised by campus members including Tremaine Robertson and Chaplain Maurice, who then passed the job on to Jennifer Tufano.

Tufano currently serves as the Office and Event Support Person in the Office of Spiritual Engagement, and after learning of her experience in creating food opportunities for students at her children’s schools in the past, was asked to play a part in the creation of the pantry – though the pantry itself has no religious affiliation.

In terms of the number of students facing food insecurity on campus, Jenn Tufano says, “that is the big unknown. All the information we have is anecdotal.

It comes from our network of staff and faculty members who work with students [...] We’ve not done any sort of formal sampling, study – yet! It’s coming.” This being said, it is known that certain groups of students tend to experience food insecurity more than others.

According to “Hunger on Campus,” food insecure students tend to live off-campus, attend school as first-generation college students, and belong to underrepresented and/or oppressed groups – sometimes international students. Statistics found that these students usually have jobs at school, receive financial aid, and may come from circumstances which restrict the

News Trustee Elections p. 4 Meet the Candidates p. 4 Illness Strikes Campus p. 6 Grotzinger ’79 Interview p. 10

amount of income they actually use for purchases like food and personal items.

While college students are notorious for being “broke,” these college students may be paying for school and/or rent and/or school supplies with money that should be going towards their nutrition. Some students may even be supporting their families by sending fractions of their paychecks home.

In other words, these students face food insecurity because sacrificing food may be the only way they can afford their education. Thus, in the words of Jenn Tufano, our food pantry aims to “make sure that issues of food insecurity are addressed

and alleviated on campus for any and every member of [the HWS] community,” ensuring that enough good quality food is available whenever someone needs it.

The HWS food pantry, “Pass the Plate,” officially opened on January 26th in Demarest 012, and is excited and ready to accommodate the hunger needs of this campus. While “some students may be wondering whether or not they’re hungry enough,” Tufano stresses that the food pantry is open to “anybody, any student, at any time, for any reason, no questions asked…”

Pantry continued on page 6…

Wren Andrews

The HWS Food Pantry in Demarest is open for students.

A&E Pho t o / Pla y s p. 5 D a vi s G a llery p. 5

Opinions WSC& HSG Elections p. 3 Student Activities & BAC p. 3 The Library Dings p. 7 HWS Ju st Facts p. 7

2

FRIDAY, MARCH 2, 2018

The Herald Established 1879

By and for the Students of Hobart and William Smith Colleges www.hwstheherald.com Alex Kerai, Editor-in-Chief Dan Bristol, Managing Editor Mary Warner, Arts & Entertainment Editor Quinn Cullum, News Editor Alex Kerai, Opinions Editor Dan Bristol, Photography Editor

Contributors Joshua Andrews

Abbey Frederick

Wren Andrews

Gianna Gonzalez

Dan Bristol

Alex Kerai

Quinn Cullum

Bartholomew Lahiff

Dominique DeRubeis

Phoebe MacCurrach

Grant Emerson

Grace Ruble

Gavin Flood

Ryan Skinner

Kathleen Fowkes

Mary Warner

Layout Alex Kerai Dan Bristol

Copy Editing Alex Kerai Dan Bristol Quinn Cullum

Distribution Alex Kerai Dan Bristol Quinn Cullum

Submission Guidelines The Herald is currently accepting submissions for our upcoming issue. The deadline is Monday at 5 p.m.

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.

Dear Readers of the Herald, The Herald as an institution exists to be by and for the students of Hobart & William Smith Colleges. Our topics cover those relating to campus events or activities, and all of our writers and staff are students on campus. Our goal is to reveal the truth of HWS and contribute to a better form of journalism that leads to a safer and more productive campus culture for all students. I feel it necessary to repeat this mission statement as we continue our refocusing of the Herald. I think it is also important to note that we are a separate entity from the institution of the Colleges; we do receive funding to publish from the Budget Allocation Committee, but we do not commit to any oversight or regulation over what we cover or what we print. Instead, we adhere to journalistic and free press standards that allow us to dig deeper into the campus and not just cover surface level issues. We are purposefully not monitored or governed by the Colleges; we are a free press.

I think that it is important to recognize those facets of the Herald and to understand that we are not just a student newspaper looking to have fun and write a couple of cool stories. We are here to look deeper into the Colleges and to highlight the student voice. That it is paramount to what we do and bears repeating: the Herald exists to highlight the student voice.

Since the publication of our last issue, I have heard a lot of conversations revolving around the Herald and what we published, as well as had conversations with numerous people about our content and what we do.

Recently, I have been thinking a lot about the purpose of our paper in this day and age, and the importance of a separate and free press that is allowed to pursue stories without fear of retribution. (Granted, those stories have to be related to students, but it is important to me and to the Herald as a whole that we operate with the respect of the Colleges and are free to do our own work.) But we are not just concerned with writing stories that challenge the administration. There are a lot of great things going on around campus that we also want to highlight! Our Arts & Entertainment section has been a great showcase of incredible artistic achievements on campus. We aim to provide a full view of the campus, covering aspects of life at HWS that are not always highlighted.

The Herald, much like other institutions at the Colleges, is at a fork in the road – a turning point – where we have the power to change the perception of the campus and further change. To do that, we aim to start to start conversations within the student body – and I want to thank everyone who has talked to someone about the Herald because that means that our message and our work is getting out there. Our focus, as a newspaper, is on pieces that will be informative to the campus community. We publish Opinion pieces by students, we highlight student work and achievement, and we do a lot of pieces that dig into topics with the school. One thing that I am particularly proud of – and I would like to encourage all students reading the Herald to consider – are the writers who have contributed pieces to us recently. In this issue too, we have seven special pieces by guest writers contributing an Op-Ed on the library, a reflection of time spent on Budget Allocation Committee, and five pieces from Student Trustee candidates. Along with our staff’s fantastic contributions with each issue, these writers allow us to showcase the diverse array of voices on campus.

I had a conversation recently with Dan Bristol, the Managing Editor of the Herald where, as we were discussing the stories for this issue, it became apparent that we were moving away from the typical definition of what a newspaper does. Although we do have “news” pieces, a lot of our work tends to focus on the experience of being a student at Hobart & William Smith. To that end, Dan noted that we are a newspaper, but more important “we are also the voice of the students.” In this issue alone we have an amazing group of fifteen contributors who are writing about topics such as Finger Lakes Photo/Plays at the Smith Opera House, HWS Just Facts, and the role of Student Trustees on campus among other things – they are adding to the voice of the students. All of these topics relate to students, and all are written from a student prospective.

Most importantly, they cover a wide variety of student life on campus.

The point is that we are positioning the Herald to function as a voice of the students and a way to promote conversation among students about a variety of topics. I hope that we have, with each issue, provoked discussions across all areas of the Hobart & William Smith Colleges community, and instilled within students an inherent to talk about the issues they may have with the school. I believe that it is possible that we can fix things that we, the students, to believe issues on the campus. We are in a unique position. There is a new President who is installing a new administration while actively preparing for a capital campaign. We, the students, are in a position to make change. All we need to start the conversation.

Thank you all for reading this issue and thank you to everyone who has talked about our last issue. We are glad to be reaching an audience within the student body and various communities on campus. Our role is to be a voice for the student body – the Herald is an institution by and for the students of Hobart & William Smith Colleges. I look forward to the discussions and conversations that we will have on campus in the near future.

I look forward to hearing from our readers about the stories we publish.

Please feel free to contact us at herald@hws.edu with questions or comments – or if you would like to help contribute and write for the Herald this semester.

Our next issue will be published April 7.

Sincerely, The Herald wishes to issue a correction from our last issue (February 2): Alex Kerai We incorrectly credited the photographs taken in the article “Seneca Falls Editor-in-Chief of the Herald Women’s March.” The photographs were taken by Ren Workman. We apologize for the mistake.

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FRIDAY, MARCH 2, 2018

3

Opinions

Lack of Engagement with WSC & HSG Elections

By Dan Bristol ‘18 Managing Editor Another William Smith Congress and Hobart Student Government election passed at the end of January with a worryingly small amount of fanfare. Not only did students pass through the two-day period in which the polls were open unaware of the election, but most positions were also uncontested.

Of the eight positions up for election across the two governments only one seat featured more than one candidate, and no one ran for William Smith Congress Treasurer.

The election for President of Hobart Student Government was alone in featuring multiple candidates, where three students ran for the office won by John Camara ’19. Ryan Skinner ’19, Jesse Maltese ’20, and Albright Dwarka ’21 were elected unopposed to HSG Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary respectively.

The lack of candidates continued into William Smith Congress where Sophie Ritter ‘20, Eva Catanzariti ‘20, and Allie Seminer ‘20 won unopposed elections for President, Vice

President, and Secretary respectively.

Following the election there was a push to hold a special election to fill the vacant seat, but after none of the three interested candidates returned their petitions the election was called off and incumbent Treasurer Dominique DeRubeis ’18 was asked to stay in the position.

In an interview DeRubeis noted that she was asked through a WhatsApp message whether she would continue on as the William Smith student responsible for overseeing all funding and requests for reimbursement for student organizations. “Given that I assumed my term in September, the constitution states that I was eligible to stay on for [Treasurer] until 2018,” said DeRubeis, who was elected through a special election in May 2017, as WSC’s justification to keep her in office beyond what would be her normal term. DeRubeis initially offered to stay in the position until a replacement was found to ensure the Budget Allocation Committee and club funding continued uninterrupted, but when the special election failed, her extended term became permanent.

Uncontested elections have been common in recent years for seats in both bodies, however this level of participation marks a low in the past four years where an entire administration of WSC was selected without challenge. In similar situations in recent elections writein campaigns flourished, even successfully electing a write-in President, Mary Kubinski ’17, in the spring of 2016.

This year, however, there was no push for such a candidate to make these elections a true celebration of democracy and the student voice. While all the candidates are qualified and poised to be excellent servants of the student voice, the limited number of candidates weakens the ability for students to choose their representatives in a meaningful and democratic way.

There is a stark contrast between the emphasis placed on the Student Trustee elections and the Executive Boards of the student governing bodies. While similarly representatives of the student voice Elections continued on page 6…

Two current and former Treasurers of Hobart Student Government and William Smith Congress, who oversaw the Budget Allocation Committee, reached out to the Herald to express their viewpoint on the infleunce Student Activities has on their preceedings. They collaborated on the Opinion piece below.

A Plea for Renewed Student Autonomy

By Dominique DeRubeis ‘18 and Ryan Skinner ‘19 Herald Contributors

What is it like to be a member of the Budget Allocations Committee? In one word: frustrating. In many more words: a unique opportunity to maximize opportunities and events on campus for other students. Too often, BAC is seen as an impediment — another perimeter of red tape— to student clubs and organizations.

At its very core, however, the BAC first and foremost strives to be an ally and a resource for the over 100 student organizations it serves. The committee is made up entirely of students who are dedicated to campus programming and serving their peers.

There comes a time when grievances must be aired publicly to achieve meaningful change. For too long, student governments have acquiesced to unnecessary intervention

by Student Activities without publicly resisting this assault on student autonomy. That ends with this piece.

In order to make a lasting difference, we must record the truth in this timeless newspaper with neither malice nor omissions.

During our tenure as Treasurers, we experienced interventions in which Student Activities altered the budget guidelines unilaterally, attempted to veto funding decisions made by the Budget Allocation Committee, and caused concerns from other students that are worth noting.

Before the Fall 2017 Reallocations, Student Activities sent us the funding guidelines in an email. Much to our dismay we discovered that Student Activities had altered these guidelines without consulting us or anyone on our committee. The three new provisions they inserted were not unreasonable. After all, there had been some murmurings from the committee about potentially imposing some sort of a cap on speaker fees and formally prohibiting the use of funds for investment purposes. However, no decision was reached and no vote was cast.

Student Activities took it upon themselves to edit the funding guidelines without asking for permission or even doing the courtesy of informing us. While the ordinary student may not concern themselves with the budget guidelines, each rule acts as a constraint on the capabilities of every club, which is

why this power has traditionally been maintained by students who feel the impact of these decisions more keenly. Needless to say, we deliberately avoided circulating these new guidelines until after the Fall 2017 Reallocations when the members of the BAC had the chance to weigh in on these changes.

Our most significant dispute with Student Activities emerged after the Fall 2017 Reallocations when the BAC decided to grant a sum of funding to four clubs that were especially harmed by the budget cuts enacted in the Fall 2017 Allocations. Student Activities had a representative in the room at the time when the BAC made this decision, but they only raised their objection

the BAC. They never responded to him either.

Faced with a Student Activities that refused to communicate with us about this issue, we emailed Robb Flowers who got us a meeting with Brandon Barile. During our meeting with Barile, he offered to allocate the same sum of funding in SOAR grants to the four clubs if we would agree to allow the BAC funds that we had been arguing about to roll over to Spring 2018 Allocations. As long as every club received the amount of funding the BAC allocated them, we were not particularly concerned about where the funding came from, so we accepted this offer.

However, having never received any acknowledgement of

“For too long, student governments have acquiesced to unnecessary intervention by Student Activities without publicly resisting this assault on student autonomy. That ends with this piece. ” to this conclusion the week after it was made. Student Activities did not think it was fair to grant relief from the budget cuts to only those clubs that attended reallocations. They wanted us to email the members of the BAC and insist that they change their decision.

At first we ignored this directive, hoping that Student Activities would drop their demands and begin updating clubs about their budgets. After another week passed, we began a lengthy argument with them over email in which we insisted that the unanimous decision of the BAC should be honored. Eventually, Student Activities informed us that the funding in dispute would not be allocated to the four clubs in question and they stopped responding to our emails. At that point, we informed the members of the BAC and the Presidents of HSG and WSC about these events. Jesse Maltese, who was then a voting member of the BAC, wrote a lengthy email to Student Activities arguing why they should honor the decision of

wrongdoing, we are concerned that Student Activities may repeat this behavior and obstruct future decisions of the BAC. More concerning is that we have facts suggesting that the history of student leaders feeling frustration with Student Activities began long before our tenure. In the draft folder of the Budget Allocation Committee email account, we found a poignant rebuke of the officious behavior of Student Activities written by HSG Treasurer Joshua Kreeger and the WSC Treasurer Bridget Logan in 2014. In their complaint, which seemingly was never sent, they accused Student Activities of acting “as more of a parent… than as an advisor.” They contended, as we do now, that the administration continuously undermines the authority of our governments and the BAC. Some of the problems they listed we did not experience ourselves, such as Student Activities signing bills without acknowledgement from the Treasurers or allocating funds without the approval of student

governments. Yet others, such as constraining how the Budget Allocation Committee allocates funding, appear all too familiar and demonstrate that we still function as “a pawn of the Administration.”

They appreciated, as we do, the advising role that Student Activities plays and the resources they make available to us, but this support should never have developed into such suffocating control. Other students have also felt the impact of this domineering attitude. A voting member of the Budget Allocations Committee noticed the change in procedure between Spring 2018 Allocations (in November 2017) and Re-Allocations (in February 2017). While wishing to remain anonymous, they expressed, “During my first appointment on the committee, the conversation about funding was driven more by the students in the room and the second time, it was about what funding was right and wrong in the eyes of Student Activities.”

In the past two sessions of allocations, we managed to stay within the budget of the Student Activities fees, as well as revised the funding guidelines to hopefully avoid this in the future and to represent the concerns of the BAC during Fall 2017 in the absence of seeing our decision honored. This has in turn, increased the cash flow into the Excess Funds of each student government. In the event budget cuts are made in the future, all clubs will be asked to complete a Post-Allocations Document to highlight how their plans for the semester have changed in light of the budget cuts. As a rule, clubs who received budget cuts will not be eligible to return to Re-Allocations to prevent the BAC being conflicted as they were in the Fall. As the number of clubs on campus increase and the guidelines change over time, know that we are doing this to be flexible to the changing needs of campus.

There are many steps that can be taken to fortify our student governments. Intrusion from the administration, however, is not one of them and given our recent election as Vice President and Treasurer, we are committed to bolstering the power of the student governments to be flexible to changing needs of clubs and organizations on campus.

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FRIDAY, MARCH 2, 2018

News

Role of the Student Trustee

By Abbey Frederick ‘18 Herald Staff Three times every year, the Hobart and William Smith Board of Trustees assembles to discuss issues on campus, meet with faculty, clubs, and sports teams, and make crucial decisions about the future of the Colleges. The Board includes alumnae and alumni from the class of 1961 to the class of 1996 and from a wide range of professions. It also includes two especially important members: the Student Trustees, one from Hobart and one from William Smith. Tyler Fuller ’18 and Brianna Moore ’18 serve as intermediaries between the Trustees and the student body, aiming to connect the administration with the opinions and interests of HWS students.

Though the Student Trustees speak on behalf of the student populous, many HWS students may not fully understand the role.

Tyler Fuller, the Hobart senior Student Trustee, asserts that it is important to him that students know he represents them, and that the Trustees are eager to understand how HWS students feel.

Tyler, a Biochemistry and Spanish double major, is in a unique position to facilitate compromise. He recognizes that, as with the governance of any large institution, opinions and goals for the future of the colleges range widely. It’s important to Tyler to

cultivate a collaborative attitude.

“It isn’t always easy to bridge the gap, since the opinions of students often aren’t popular with Board members.” He emphasizes that despite these conflicts, the attitude is always respectful, and discussion is almost always constructive. “The Trustees are usually very receptive, because they care about the colleges very much,” Tyler says, adding, “They have all donated a lot of time, talent, and treasure to this school.”

Student Trustees are elected during their sophomore year. They serve as Junior Trustees during their junior year and become voting members as seniors. As they gain experience with the processes of the Board, they also gain more responsibility. As seniors, they run the elections of new Student Trustees and play a large role in the planning of graduation and commencement ceremonies.

One of their most notable responsibilities in planning commencement is the organization of a vote for the seating arrangement at graduation: the senior class votes to decide whether William Smith and Hobart students will sit separately or mixed together.

This may seem like a simple decision, but it is representative of a long-term debate about the coordinate system which exemplifies how challenging it

can be to bridge the gap between students and the Board. The question as to whether the coordinate system should be perpetuated or the Colleges should be combined has been contested for decades. Tyler says that there are very few coordinate colleges in existence today, and the system forces some people to align with a gender dichotomy that doesn’t represent them.

Tyler emphasizes the importance of recognizing the rich history of the Colleges while making efforts to contemporize the coordinate system in order to make it inclusive of all students.

Trustee members make long-term intuitional decisions regarding issues which are often as complex as that of the coordinate system. Tyler notes that because the student body itself is often so divided on many issues, it can be difficult to speak on behalf of everyone. “We attend student government meetings, where many students go to express their frustrations. We also meet with various clubs throughout the semester to ask them for their feedback and opinions.” Then, Tyler and Brianna compile a report which they hope conveys an accurate picture of the biggest, most relevant issues students are talking about. According to Tyler, they try to focus on large-scale issues like protests or frustrations expressed by a majority of students, though he didn’t specify

what kinds of frustrations they’ve chosen to report in the past.

They present their reports at the triannual Board meetings.

In the recent past, the Student Trustees played a large role in advising the Board on President Vincent’s transition, particularly regarding “how students would respond to various events.” Tyler says this transition has gone very smoothly.

“The student body has been relatively quiet recently,” he later added.

At the Board meetings, Brianna and Tyler also sit on committees like the Student Affairs committee and the Buildings and Grounds committee. These committees then reconvene for discussions among the entire Board. The most recent Trustee Weekend took place Friday, February 9th through Sunday the 11th .

The current Junior Trustees are Caitlin Lasher ’19 and Gavin Gross ’19, and the next elections for sophomore Student Trustees will be held Friday, March 2nd.

The candidates are: Gavin Flood ‘20, Joshua Andrews ‘20, Grant Emerson ‘20, Bartholomew Lahiff ‘20, Edens Fleurizard ‘20, Tanner Arnold ‘20, and Gabriel Pietrorazio ‘20 for Hobart; Gianna Gonzalez ‘20, Amelia McGowan ‘20, and Celidad Colon ‘20 for William Smith. Students from all classes can vote and are strongly encouraged to do so.

The Herald reached out to current Student Trustee candidates with the opportunity to write a short piece about their candidacy. We received responses from five candidates. Their pieces are below and reflect their views.

Meet the Student Trustee Candidates

Gianna Gonzalez ‘20: Hello, William Smith students. I am running

for Student Trustee because I believe the experiences I have had on campus have prepared me to embrace every William Smith voice and bring them to the Board of Trustees to facilitate the change William Smith students need.

On campus I am an RA in Hirshson and participated in Orientation this Fall.

These two experiences will help me in serving the diverse community that is William Smith College. I want to empower the voice of students and individuals to help facilitate a community in which the political climate is inclusive and constructive. Through the events and outreach I will do as Student Trustee to know the student voice, I will further the dialogue and bridge the gap between the students and the Board of Trustees. I believe that through conversation with differing opinions, we can also find similarities as students, and eventually common ground. I realize that the polarizing effect on our political climate and strong opinions often come from members of Hobart College, so I will work closely with the Hobart Trustee to find ways to encourage all students of HWS to participate in constructive and cordial discussion. I want to bring the differing opinions and the results of these tough conversations to the Board in order to show them the true demographic of students and how these impact the direction of the Colleges. Remember: Vote Gianna G for Student Trustee! A Vote for G is a Vote for Transparency!

Joshua Andrews ‘20:

My reasons for running for Hobart Student Trustee are simple: I want to be able to listen to students, to communicate their concerns to the administration and Board of Trustees, and lead the institution into a student-driven direction. Students must understand the role of the Student Trustee position and how it can benefit them. As a tuitionbased institution, HWS students are the “customers” and have the right to challenge the ideas and policies executed by the administration and the Board of Trustees. The success of this position lies in the ability of the Student Trustee to be a knowledgeable and well-known figure on campus, and I hope to build that rapport with the entire HWS community. I will be vigilant in my role and transform our campus by prioritizing engagement. By continuing to hold forums in common spaces around campus and initiating dialogue through proactive measures with all class years and groups, I will promote active involvement among the HWS student body.

Students need to feel safe and supported on campus, and the administration’s reactive method of addressing campus issues will be addressed. Is the coordinate system inclusive? Are there places and spaces on campus for all students to gather? Are there enough support systems in place that promote student success? Ultimately, students are underrepresented and ought to be a part of the conversations with the administration. In my conversations with current and former trustees at Reunion and Homecoming Weekends, it is clear they are interested in the students’ perspectives. In my role as Student Trustee, I will secure the bridge between the Board and the students, strengthening and advancing our campus community and improving the student experience.

Bartholomew Lahiff ‘20: My reason for running for Student Trustee is simple: I want to lead a life of consequence on this campus and in my life while empowering my fellow students at HWS to do the same. The best way to combat student apathy towards the practices and problems at HWS is first to change the structure of Hobart Student Government so that the subcommittee representatives, from Academic Affairs or the Committee on Standards, are in a better position to effectively advocate for the students in these particular cases rather than simply representing Hobart’s general interest. In order for students to feel as though their actions on this campus matter, we have to know how navigate the overwhelming bureaucracy at the Colleges. Once students begin to recognize that they have the tools to effect change within the Colleges, we are far more likely to feel invested in the community being built on the shores of Seneca Lake and engage with the school in more diverse and comprehensive ways. This greater engagement with the Colleges has very real impacts in the area of diversity and inclusion. As more students begin to take advantage of these resources, it is more likely that these same people take advantage of the amount of speakers that we have or go to a greater number of social and cultural clubs. This is what will build a campus community which feels more closely tied together, what will unify all of the different pictures that we all have of Hobart and William Smith Colleges.

Student apathy is not the result of a singular issue, it represents a bouquet of issues that must be pushed back against by all students. This is why I am standing for an advocacy based system of representation for students on this campus as the first step to dealing with the fundamental reasons why students disengage with the Colleges and their fellow students who are not similar to them.

Gavin Flood ‘20: Since arriving on campus, I have always had an interest

in being a student trustee. Through my involvement on campus, I feel that I can provide a unique but representative perspective on issues prevalent on campus.

As a physics-philosophy double major, I have been able to exploit the true benefits of a liberal arts education and would be able to understand concerns of students within almost all areas of study at HWS. I also have acted as a student leader in many different instances, such as being a captain of the Hobart Club Soccer Team and being a member of the Executive Board for the Sigma Chi Fraternity.

In both of these two positions I organized events for my peers and gained valuable leadership experience. Another experience I have had since enrolling in Hobart College was being a member of a tenure review committee. Through this process I was required to summarize both positive and negative opinions the student body had of a specific professor. A report was compiled with two other students, and that report eventually made its way to the board of trustees for their review of the professor. This process was a great experience and helped me develop skills that will be very useful if elected student trustee. HWS has had a great impact on my life as it has allowed me very diverse experiences that would not be possible at other institutions. If elected, I hope to accurately reflect the opinions and concerns of the student body, as well as cultivate the unique identity HWS has, while creating a greater understanding of the state of the board of trustees and the state of the colleges.

Grant Emerson ‘20: Running for Student Trustee has been a goal of mine ever since my time as the student

representative to the Board of Education was completed in high school. While serving as the student representative to the Board of Education in my junior and senior years of high school I had the opportunity to interact with the school’s administration to understand the functions of our school. When I was serving as the student representative, I oversaw a capital project that would add a 13-million-dollar sporting facility to our school district. This experience allowed me to understand the process of working with the school administration, outside contractors, and the state legislature for approval of permits. With this prior experience and the desire to make a positive lasting impact on my community, I believe that I am qualified to hold the position of Student Trustee. My integrity, honesty, devotion for others, and determination will allow me to voice the concerns of the student body and work towards making Hobart and William Smith Colleges a more inclusive school. If elected I hope to discuss the issue of the coordinate system on campus, because I feel that there is a level of segregation that exists between Hobart and William Smith Colleges. Recognizing the importance of tradition and understanding the need for change in our 2018 society, I want to work with the Board of Trustees to end this segregation. If a student from Hobart or William Smith Colleges decides to have Hobart and William Smith Colleges printed on their diploma, or if they wish to have a co-seated commencement ceremony, then it would be possible for them to decide rather than the administration. After all, this is our education, our experience, and our time to decide what we want our campus to look like, and how we want to remember the positive experiences that we shared when we return to campus for reunion.

Although the Herald reached out to all ten Student Trustee candidates, we didn’t receive responses from these candidates before our print deadline, but they are also running: Edens Fleurizard ‘20 Tanner Arnold ‘20 Gabriel Pietrorazio ‘20 Amelia McGowan ‘20 Celidad Colon ‘20

Student Trustee Elections are Today! Check your email for a link to vote.

5

FRIDAY, MARCH 2, 2018

Arts & Entertainment

Annual Finger Lakes Photo/Plays Showcase Creative Spirit

By Grace Ruble ‘21 Herald Contributor

On Friday, February 23, HWS students and faculty, as well as members of the Geneva community gathered at the Smith Opera House for the reveal of a photograph taken by HWS’s Chief Photographer Kevin Colton. This photo would serve as the inspiration for seven plays to be written that night, then rehearsed and performed for an audience the next day.

Finger Lakes Photo/Plays (the name given to this bit of theatrical mayhem) now serves as a yearly fundraiser for the Smith Opera House. However, four years ago, this event began at HWS as an impromptu gathering of theatre-loving family and friends, organized by Associate Professor of Theatre Chris Woodworth. The event was a success, so it moved to the Smith Opera House the next year and has taken place there ever since.

Photo/Plays presents a unique opportunity for people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities to come together and create theatre.

Randomly drawn teams of writers, actors, directors, and stage managers, are thrown together with seemingly nothing in common except a love of theatre and a determination to produce a play in twenty-four hours.

What draws participants to undertake this daunting challenge? For some newcomers to theatre, the twenty-four hour process allows them to dip their toes in the theatrical water, without making the multi-week commitment that is usually asked of those participating in full-length productions. For those who are experienced in a particular facet of theatre, Photos/Plays offers a low pressure opportunity to gain experience in a new area. Theatre majors Kathleen Fowkes ‘18 and Thomas Perry ‘19 are frequently seen as actors on the HWS stage, but both used this event as an opportunity to apply the skills they are developing in Associate Professor of Theatre Heather May’s directing class. Other

participants are drawn to the opportunity to described the energy of the room as full of be in a purely creative environment. Associate “curiosity and focus” and said the performance Professor of Mathematics & Computer Science inspired her to want to participate in all the Joseph Rusinko expressed his appreciation for many aspects of Photo/Plays in the future. the weekend of creativity, saying, “With all of Overall, this year’s Photo/Plays was the tension in society these days, it was amazing successful in creating art, establishing to escape, to be encouraged, and to create.” connections, and fostering a sense of Still others use Photo/Plays as an community. Many of the plays had the opportunity to become involved in the Geneva potential to expand into full-length pieces, community. Participant Flora Hao moved to which audience members were lucky enough to Geneva from Xiamen, China only a week before catch a first glimpse of at Geneva’s own Smith the event, and decided to take the opportunity Opera House. The event showed the strength of to try her hand at acting. She left expressing her Geneva’s artistic spirit which, coupled with the excitement for both the experience of making determination to produce a show in one day, is her Smith Opera House debut and all the people certainly a creative force to be reckoned with. she met throughout the event, saying, “It’s a really good thing that can bring people together.” This experience of getting out into the Geneva community can be especially beneficial for HWS students, who can easily get stuck in the college “bubble,” forgetting all that Geneva has to offer. One HWS student who participated expressed the value of learning to work with people other than his college peers. Another said she participated because “it’s a nice way to give back to the community with your time and your talent.”

When asked what made this year’s Photo/Plays special, event organizer Chris Woodworth said, “This year boasted the largest number of HWS participants-students, faculty, and staff members.

This collaboration enriches the relationship between the Colleges and Geneva.”

From an audience perspective, Photo/Plays offers the rare opportunity to see pieces performed that did not exist twenty-four hours Chris Woodworth/HWS Theatre HWS Theatre members before. One audience member participate in Photo/Plays on Saturday, Februaray 24.

Davis Gallery: 10 Years of “Choices”

By Mary Warner ‘21 Arts & Entertainment Editor

A new exhibition is on display at the Davis Gallery at the Houghton House, called “Choices from The Collections.” Architects, Art Historians, and Studio Artists from the Colleges have chosen their favorite pieces from The Collections to be showcased. The exhibit also includes explanations of why the specific pieces were chosen to be shown in this context.

The works highlight the interests and specialties of the department, as well as showing the individual viewpoints of those that chose the works to display.

The Collections, some of which can also be explored online, include works from international artistic traditions such as Korean, Russian, and Indian art. There is also a Historical Collection which is comprised of works that are with historical importance to Hobart and William Smith Colleges.

The Davis Gallery is an art gallery at Houghton House that has six art exhibitions each year available for view by students and community members.

It begins each year with a faculty exhibition and ends with a student exhibit. The “Choices from The Collections” exhibition is dedicated to celebrating the Davis Gallery and all it does to contribute to the artistic culture on campus, especially its importance as an exhibit space for the Department of Art and Architecture.

Since HWS is a liberal arts college, we are nothing without our arts departments. This exhibition allows students who are not involved with fine arts on campus to learn more about the culture of the departments and the art that is housed in the Collections. It also shows visitors of the gallery more about the intellectual, personal, and professional perspectives of the members of the Department of Art and Architecture. Each member who chose a piece also wrote an essay explaining why and

how they chose the art. Visitors should look at the art as multiple mini-exhibitions within an umbrella of the art collection.

The Colleges’ art collection helps to promote education and research for arts students or non-arts majors who want to incorporate art into their interdisciplinary studies.

Art galleries on campus are vital because they fuel creativity and provide inspiration to art historians, artists, designers, and art lovers. Art can and should be incorporated into every student’s life in college and after graduation

because it broadens the mind and helps to inspire new thought patterns. Every visit to the Davis Gallery can help to stir creativity and expand perspectives, especially when visiting such a one of a kind, varied exhibition as “Choices from The Collections.”

The exhibition will run from March 2 through April 6, although it will be closed from March 17 to 25 for spring break. There will be a reception for the exhibit on Friday, March 2 from 6 to 8pm.

The reception on March 2 will also include a 10 year celebration of the Davis Gallery at Houghton House with special hostess Kim Wilson Vincent! The event is to “honor the people who have supported and appreciated the visual arts on campus.” Join for the food, drink, and good company – stay for the amazing pieces of art and great stories. Art for Art(‘s Sake) on March 2 from 6:00pm-7:30pm at the Davis Gallery in Houghton House.

A selection of pieces featured at the Davis Gallery exhibit, on display until April 6.

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FRIDAY, MARCH 2, 2018

Food Pantry Continued from page 1… “…there are no background checks, there are no financial aid checks,” and no appointments necessary she contined.

Students, faculty and staff need simply stop

by Jenn Tufano’s office in Demarest 22, ask to go to the food pantry, and go with Jenn to “grocery shop” for any and all items necessary or wanted to fulfill food insecurity – Jenn says, “we’re not going to hand someone a prepackaged bag of food. So, they can look at the shelves, and decide what they need, take what they need – period – and leave.” Interactions are completely anonymous aside from a brief intake form designed to collect data on the amount and profile of students and staff being catered to, which ultimately stays with Jenn in the pantry.

To anyone looking to help out with the food pantry, volunteers are needed and welcome.

Tasks would include greeting visitors and

News showing them around the pantry, as well as answering questions, organizing food items, and cleaning the space. Eventually, Tufano says, “as we get more sophisticated and get more food in and out, we also are going to connect with Food Link, based out of Rochester. They do a lot of food safety handling trainings. It’s learning about […] looking at expiration dates, looking at dented items, and how to handle those things so that we make sure that the food that’s being given out is safe.”

In terms of donations, the pantry is currently welcoming shelf-stable non-perishable food items such as pasta, peanut butter, canned soups, and canned vegetables. Other ways to get involved include attending Mrs. Vincent’s open house dinners, where different types of kits are assembled to cater to specific needs, such as winter weather, shower supplies, and snacks.

While “Pass the Plate” is a step in the right direction to bridge the gap of food scarcity on campus, the important thing to note is that the food pantry is not a be-all-end-all solution to the

problem. Efforts to communicate with Sodexo and food service administration to produce desired change have historically proven to be largely fruitless, and without collective, drastic action, the issue may not produce a solution in terms of a longstanding eradication of the systemic enterprise that institutes the insufficient nourishment of this campus.

“Pass the Plate” and its affiliates are incredibly thankful for the overwhelming support and encouragement that has been shown to them since their opening and are excited to expand the food pantry in the future, looking to eventually start providing fresh produce and frozen foods to those facing food insecurity once use of the pantry picks up. From opportunities to collaborate with Fribolin Farm, to potentially creating a food pantry student board, allowing it to function on student participation alone, Tufano stresses that “really, as far as I’m concerned, the sky is the limit in terms of what we can offer. I would love for this to be even more student driven than it is.”

Illness Strikes HWS

By Ryan Skinner ‘19 Herald Contributor ​As the United States endures a national flu pandemic, concern has risen among many students at HWS about health standards at the colleges. This concern was exacerbated by a small outbreak of influenza and influenza-like illnesses on our campus. Rumors began to swirl about quarantines being imposed on certain residences. Students may have noticed their professors liberalizing their policies on class attendance or the increasing availability of hand sanitizer in public places such as the entrance to Saga Dining Hall. This was all part of an effort by the colleges to prevent a more serious problem on campus, but a lack of transparency about the issue raised more worries than it prevented.

The Herald investigated these rumors by conferring with students and faculty about these issues. One student, Jamie Njpanda Kaewwanna, explained that many of her peers on the fourth floor of Reese Hall had become sick or even been hospitalized. She also wrote that the JPR First Year Neighborhood had been bleached in an effort to prevent more people from becoming sick. Many of her peers voluntarily remained in their dorms for the duration of their illness, but Kaewwanna dispelled rumors that there was any kind of quarantine. The college provided food and health kits for those who remained isolated during this time, although residents complained about the quality of the food, saying “the bread was stale.” Students can stay healthy by adopting healthy habits like washing their hands frequently, eating nutritious meals, and adequate sleep. The

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students affirmed the importance of good hygiene towards preventing the flu, saying, “We believe that its from not washing our hands after using the bathroom and people touching doors.”

The Herald contacted a number of administration officials about this story, but only Vice President for Campus Life Robb Flowers accepted our invitation to comment. Flowers confirmed that the colleges have been offering food and medication to students in their residence halls on request and that “we have instituted additional cleaning of residence halls and other areas on-campus.” He denied reports that the JPR First Year Neighborhood or any specific area of campus was more impacted than others by the outbreak, except for, “a slight increase in illness on one floor of a residence hall but for only a few days.” Flowers declined to disclose how many students have visited Hubbs or Geneva General Hospital this flu season, but it is important to note that, “The numbers of reported illnesses on campus has remained relatively low and is comparable to most other years.” There appears to be no cause for alarm about the flu at this time, but this outbreak should emphasize the importance of living a healthy lifestyle and taking precautions with our health.

Elections

Continued from page 3… and members of the student governing bodies, Student Trustees enjoy a separate and more celebrated election than those of the members of the executive boards of governments of which they are a part.

The Student Trustee elections feature an intense campaign with candidates tabling in the week leading up to the election, and a candidates’ forum in the Café days in advance of the election.

Most students are unable to live their lives on campus without noticing the presence of the race for Student Trustee. The current race for Student Trustee features 10 candidates across Hobart and William Smith, while the members of the Executive Board of the government they are running to join ran almost fully unopposed. The same cannot be said for campaigns for the WSC and HSG executive boards. Part of that difference is due simple to the fact that one does not need to campaign if there is no opposition.

A larger contributor to the difference between Student Trustee elections is the differing value placed on the positions by the student body at large.

William Smith Congress and Hobart Student Government are the best representatives of the student voice to all other parts of the institution. While the Student Trustees represent our voice to the Board of Trustees, it is the Class Presidents, Senators (for Hobart), and Executive Board who carry our voices and desires everywhere on campus.

This level of support and engagement would benefit William Smith Congress and Hobart Student Government, but the elections fly by with little information and advertisement.

“Student government representatives are elected by a small minority and on platforms that are, if anything, hardly substantive,” notes DeRubeis.

“You’re given 250 words to introduce yourself and describe your involvement on campus.

There’s not a lot of space for a ‘platform’ to be formed and that limits the number of students that

feel passionate about one candidate over another.” A more active campaign process, similar to ones Student Trustee candidates run, would force greater engagement with the highest offices in our student governments.

However, students are content to direct our voices through whoever bothered to run. This is not to say that the recently elected officers are inadequate in any way, but the student voice is far too diverse to possibly be represented by the one person who ran for a position.

Not only did students fail to run for office, but they also failed to vote. Only 10% of the student body across both schools voted in the January election, according to Student Activities. 115 William Smith Students and 112 Hobart Students voted. While HWS students are admittedly poor voters in off-campus elections, showing a 13% lower voting rate than the average for other colleges and universities in 2016 according to the 2017 National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement, the voting rate in oncampus election is still shockingly low compared to the 37% of eligible HWS students who voted in 2016.

Where most student politicians struggle to get elected in the first place, the new executive boards face a far greater challenge: engaging a student body unwilling to connect with William Smith Congress and Hobart Student Government. To their credit almost every candidate did something no other student did: they had the determination and drive to run for their respective office.

Now, they must fight to increase the perceived value of these organizations, change executive board election procedures so they engage with a greater percent of the student body, and continue to be effective representatives of the student body. Students owe a debt to these students for running for office, and serving us as elected representatives to make sure we continue to have spaces to connect and empower students from both colleges, advocates for student voices, and oversee the funding of all student organizations.

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FRIDAY, MARCH 2, 2018

Opinions

“Ding Dong!” The Library is Dead As full-time college students, I can, with almost absolute certainty, guarantee that each and every single one of us has a moment in our day where we hate everything about existing on this campus. A moment where all we really want is some peace and quiet. To not have to listen to that *one, specific* Hobart student talk about his views or make a point about how harmful sexual assault is—although you can vividly and painfully remember when he groped you at that party three weeks ago. To not have to sit through another lecture, particularly when you and I both know you’re only there because of the class’s attendance policy. Don’t even get me started on Sodexo. Or this new system where student workers put their own hours into PeopleSoft for some weird reason, even though our payment system remains completely the same? Moral of the story—as privileged as we are to be here, there are countless things about this institution, and about college in general, that are difficult to navigate. Undergrad is hard, friends. And the pressures and expectations of being here hang over our heads every second of the day.

I know I think about these things pretty much all the time. As negative as this sounds, I am constantly in a state of “how is this day going to be perpetually ruined for me?” or “who’s going to find a way to irritate me the most today?” or “which identity of mine am I going to feel the most insecure about this week?” and to be honest, one place I have managed to find some form of distance from those negative feelings is in the library. That sounds a bit surprising, I know. The library, of all places. No one goes to the library to have a good time, and no one goes to the library to relax, but there’s something about that everpresent sense of unified suffering—trapped within the walls of the Warren Hunting Smith— that really makes me feel included, appreciated, and part of a community on campus.

Some of my personal favorite perks of the library: you can choose to not talk to people without coming off as a total jerk, because, “Oh god this needs to be submitted on canvas within the hour,” or “I really just have so much reading to do,” or headphones. Headphones, friends. The library is an incredible public space to get some alone time. It has served as a place of peace and solidarity for me and my classmates throughout our four years here. But now, in my senior spring, it has been ruined.

Destroyed. And I fear that this change may be completely irreversible.

If you have spent over three hours in the library this semester, you know exactly what change I’m talking about. The ding dong.

THE LIBRARY DING DONG. Calling it, “The

By Kathleen Fowkes ‘18 Herald Contributor Library Ding Dong” does not truly encapsulate a profanity in reaction to the noise, I figured just what this demon noise truly is, nor does it that it was maybe a new way of letting people express the anger I feel every time it rings, but know that the library was in its last hour of I am at a loss for what else we could possibly operation. Now, I still didn’t enjoy it, but at call it. I don’t know when this change was least I understood. At least I thought it served a implemented, I don’t know whose idea it was, purpose. However, when I was in the library the and I don’t know why it’s still happening (even very next afternoon, and the clock struck 3:00 after the constant backlash from literally every pm, it happened again. My question is: why? student within yelling distance of the circulation For the love of God and all that is holy: WHY? desk), but every 3 hours, on the hour, the entire There is no discernable reason for us to library erupts in the most abrasive sound that need to know that it is 3:00pm. Nor do we need can only be described as one of the worst and to know that, three hours later, it is 6:00 pm. most pointless things to ever happen to this Or 9:00 PM. Or midnight. “The Library Ding campus.

Dong” ringing every three hours removes the Now, as someone with some severe mental only possible explanation I could think of. If it health issues, any form of disruption to a high rings throughout the day, it does not ring to let level of focus can throw me off course for us know the library is closing soon. This means, upwards of an hour. I cannot tell you how many that the only real reason this is happening is to times the loud and upsetting sound of “The let us know what time it is. To that I say, with Library Ding Dong” has induced a legitimate all due respect: we do not need you to tell us panic attack, bringing my work to a complete what time it is. We have ample access to various halt. I can’t explain to you why the noise itself time-tellers in the library. Not only do we have feels so abrasive, or why it manages to set me all the actual clocks that hang on the walls, we off so consistently, but I swear to you I can feel have access to the time on every single desktop it in my bones. It is deafening, unsettling, and computer on the first floor and in the twentyalways manages to completely derail whatever four-hour room. If you have a personal laptop, kind of motivation I’ve managed to accumulate. you have access to the time on said personal And it’s not just me, y’all. I haven’t spoken laptop. If you have a watch, or a phone, or…do I to a single person on this campus who even really need to keep listing things? takes a neutral stance on “The Library Ding We do not need to be reminded that Dong” …everyone I’ve spoken to hates it just as we’ve lost another three hours of our lives much as I do. So one night, after a particularly in the library, attempting to fulfill society’s bad reaction to “The Library Ding Dong”, the expectations that have managed to convince all group of friends I was sitting with and I decided of us that we need a piece of paper from this to have a conversation with the workers at the institution, a piece of paper that cost hundreds circulation desk about the noise. We asked of thousands of dollars, in order to be somewhat them why this new system has been put in successful in life. place. What is its purpose? Is there any way To be frank, the whole thing really just for them to make it quieter, or to just shut it seems dumb to me. But I am trying to keep an off completely? And to each question, we open mind. So please, if you know why, or if received the same answer. “It is what it is, and you have any explanation, any idea, please let it most likely will not change.” This is not a me know. Please. I am desperate. Save me from direct quote, and truthfully, I do not remember myself. Save me from “The Library Ding Dong.” exactly what was said, but this was their sentiment. I understand that the workers at the circulation desk are not responsible for this change, and that it likely disrupts them and their work as much as it upsets and disrupts the students, but it would have been nice to get a bit more information from that conversation.

I just want to know why it was added, or why anyone thought it was a good idea. It seems to me that this is a completely pointless Dan Bristol for the Herald utilization of technology. The first time I’d heard it, it was at midnight, Kathleen suppressing her anger at and, while I quite literally screamed the “library ding dong” every three hours

HWS Social Norms and Just Facts

By Phoebe MacCurrach ‘18 Herald Staff

The intent behind the HWS Just Facts campaign is in the right place, but the fact is that there’s more to the number we are presented with than what they are showing. For every time, we see that “80% of students never engage in unintended sexual activity as a result of drinking during the academic year” we also know that 20% of students do engage in it. That is one-fifth of the student body! Why is that not what we are focusing on? The 27% of student who are NOT offended by sexist comments, or the 21% of students who do not use a

designated driver when they have been drinking? Not to mention the options that these surveys provide as possible answers.

For example, when asked how often one drinks, the options are “once a week or not at all” or “3 or more times a week.” In my experience people tend to drink on Friday and Saturday nights, but two nights is not an option and I’d be more likely to say once a week than three times a week. Not giving enough options to provide realistic answers is just purposefully skewing answers into what you want them to be.

HWS Social Norms

One of the displayed “HWS Just Facts” that appears online, in print, and on television screens around campus

The focus on student athletes is also frustrating because of the contracts many teams sign agreeing not to consume alcohol while in season. This type of data would be so much more helpful if it were honest and direct about what exactly the numbers mean. When I see statistics about 21% of students being okay with drunk driving the number of students who are not okay with it disappears. When I see statistics only about student athletes it makes me curious as to what the difference is between those statistics and non-student athletes.

Prioritizing athletes over other students on campus is already a major problem at HWS that diminishes the hard work by people outside of the athletic department. Some of the hardest working students in the most difficult disciplines are not athletes, and constantly focusing on athletes gives off the sense that those other students are less important or less valued on campus. So seeing those stats as a prospective student, no doubt would take a toll on a non-athlete in their decision to come here.

How would people react if the stats were reversed and displayed with equal enthusiasm? Wouldn’t people be mad about the 27% of sexist students on campus? Especially when the statistics are presented as “Just Facts” not solutions to the problems that are clearly at hand.

I know our opinions on these things are probably off, and that what these statistics are trying to show, but until they are presented differently they will only make me frustrated.

FRIDAY, MARCH 2, 2018

8

9

FRIDAY, MARCH 2, 2018

News

Accessibility

Continued from page 1...

Carey added, “I started [an Eye 2 Eye chapter] my freshman year of high school, and part of the reason I was drawn to HWS was because they had an existing chapter. While I was never registered with the CTL, I was able to be a part of a group of students who were all navigating HWS with a learning disability or ADHD, who were excited and open to sharing their experiences with the mentors, mentees, and the HWS and Geneva communities. I couldn’t imagine my college career without this program.”

Allie also reflected on her experience with the CTL after experiencing a concussion her during first year, “When I had a concussion during the first few months of my freshman year, the CTL helped to make sure that I got the accommodations that I needed in order to keep up with my classes. They allowed me to have extra time and work in a quiet room in the CTL part of the library as the classroom setting was overwhelming for me at this time.

I was also offered a note taker and access to my computer for a couple weeks after the concussion. I did not feel the need for a note taker, but having a computer in class to take notes helped because I could not keep up with hand writing notes in class without getting a horrible headache.”

The problem with access issues is often that those requiring additional services are usually required to request those services before they are made available.

“I will say that definitely the campus could be improved upon, but I will tell you this story,” Christen Davis said as she recalled, “At the beginning of last semester I had somebody call from Albany, they were a caseworker and they were working with a student who was blind and they were trying to find a college for the student to attend. She was a junior and she was brilliant, but she was blind.

We had a phone conference and the lady is crying on the phone because I was the first school out of like thirteen schools to even be willing to talk to them. She said, ‘Is your campus set up for this?’ and I said, ‘No it’s not, but if your student chose to come here, we would do what we had to do’ So I think this office, anyways, is certainly wiling to, if we know, go the mile to make it so. That’s our business, our business is accessibility.”

While the office is willing and eager to provide what they can for students, having services already in place would surely make a big difference.

However, there is a first for everything and part of being the first is paving the way for future students. Cheyenne Eisenhut, a first year, is the first students at HWS to have a service dog on campus to help her with her disability.

She recalled her experience in asking to bring her service dog, Koda, when applying, “For me they seemed very supportive of it, they weren’t educated really in what service dogs were and how they work, because they had never had a service dog on campus, but to have a school that was actually supportive and was willing to work with me meant a lot,” Eisenhut said.

Like the students Christen Davis mentioned, Eisenhut had a much different experience with her high school. She noted, “My high school didn’t work with me at all, they pretty much denied me having Koda and so I wasn’t even able to bring Koda to high school, so it meant a lot when they were very supportive of Koda. It was a little bit difficult because I did have to educate them on everything, but it still just meant a lot that they were very supportive, that definitely did greatly affect my decision here and also the fact that they have so many options through CTL and accommodations and what not like that, I never knew I could do that because I wasn’t able to in high school.”

The expectations Eisenhut had for the school were not all met when she arrived on campus, and unlike high school, it was not the institution, but the community that made things difficult.

She explained, “I expected the whole school to stay supportive and I also kind of felt like I was

going to belong in a place and I was going to feel safe and welcome, but that’s kind of been the opposite, I sadly have to say. A lot of it is that some of the staff don’t take me seriously, they don’t take Koda and me seriously, I’ve had one staff member sort of harass Koda and me and harass me about my disability and about why I have Koda, they get in my face and are very rude.”

In an effort to make people on campus more informed about service animals she has met with staff members to help them become familiar with what they can and cannot say when someone tries to bring an animal into a public place such as Saga. The root of the struggles Eisenhut has had comes from a lack of understanding and education.

These experiences have taken a large toll on Eisenhut, “Sometimes it does get so bad that I feel like I can’t go out of my room without getting confronted about Koda or about myself because everywhere I go [people] on campus feel like they are entitled and they think that they can pet Koda, even though I’ve told them when she has her vest on please do not pet Koda and they get mad at me, so it’s kind of hard because I deal with that every day when I go out in public, but I don’t need to deal with that [on campus].” She added, “A lot of people also don’t realize the reason why I have her so people do say insensitive things, you would never look at someone in a wheelchair and be like ‘wow I wish I had a wheelchair, it would be so cool to roll around,’ but people do that to me with Koda, they are always like, ‘wow I should get a vest for my dog.’ And that’s

people look at me, I look like an able-bodied person, but I’m not, so people make judgements right away and they can say really harsh things and rude things, and it does break down your character after a little while, so it’s kind of hard to deal with that on a daily basis.”

This is not the experience that HWS wants students to have, but it is really up to the members of the community to change the social stigma around disability.

Susan Pliner, the Associate Dean for Teaching, Learning and Assessment, and Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning, noted, “While we could always be better, anybody can always be better. Our model is for our students to have access, for example, access to become a better writer. Disability services could always be better at providing support to students too. We’re always working at that and we’re always asking for feedback to be better. While that’s our model, and I think it’s an empowered and enriched model, you can’t get away from the socially constructed stigma of difference and disability.

So, people come, students come, faculty come, staff come with all sorts of ranges of understanding or knowledge or experience with disability, which certainly does play out on campus and so our responsibility and role is also to help to make sure that folks are educated in a way that students don’t have negative experiences.”

She went on to explain that we live in a world in which people with privilege often make remarks that they do not realize come from a place of privilege and that are discriminatory. “It’s about educating on one end and equipping on the other to engage in those conversations, so it’s always an ongoing iterative process of

Alex Kerai for the Herald

The Center for Teaching and Learning on the second floor of the Warren Hunting Smith Library.

something that I hear a lot, and it is very upsetting because I never had any independence until I had Koda and she made a huge impact in my life, so it is very heartbreaking when I hear people who want to misuse the label service dog. She’s also had two years of training, hundreds of hours, I spend a lot of time and energy in her, and for people to just say that, it’s very upsetting. It’s really made it hard for me to feel accepted here and taken seriously.”

Part of accessibility includes inclusivity, which is ultimately left up to members of the community not the administration.

Livvy Milne ’18 also recalled having been given a hard time from peers and faculty, “I feel very unwelcome,” she said about professors suggesting that she “should be able to do this, and [she] should be able to do it like everyone else.” Sasha Carey has had similar experiences in her classes when studying learning disabilities and professors choose to talk about learning disabilities in ways that minimize the experiences of students with invisible disabilities in the class.

“They’ve diluted disability into a very single experience or type of person. It sometimes deters me from speaking up because they can read literature about it. But until you’ve lived through it, you will never know what it’s like.”

Cheyenne also explained what it is like to have her disability questioned: “It’s hard because people can be very insensitive and I was hoping that it wasn’t going to be like that because, when

learning,” says Pliner.

Cheyenne Eisenhut spoke to this as well, “I don’t get mad at [individuals] because I know they are not educated, I mostly get mad at society, I wish that society was educated in what service dogs are and difference between service dogs, emotional support animals, and therapy dogs.”

Cheyenne went on to describe a presentation that she has put together on the subject, which she has presented at Beautiful Minds, a student organization focused on mental health education and advocacy, and plans to present again on campus.

Eisenhut noted, “Some things may seem harmless to say, but they’re really not. One thing I get a lot is, ‘I wish I could have a service dog, I wish I could have my dog with me all the time,’ but to me that’s like wishing for a disability and that’s very upsetting. People don’t realize it’s difficult to have a disability that you have to wake up to everyday. The reason I have Koda is because I can’t do normal day-to-day tasks and she’s the one that helps me with it. It’s difficult to hear them say it because if they were in my shoes then they would know how it is, but they don’t. If I could have a day where I could just go out in public with no worry, just go out without Koda… to go to an amusement park by myself, or do the things that I love by myself… but I can’t do that, and it’s not just because it’s all in my head, it’s all because of chemical imbalance and everything else, and people don’t realize how hard it is to be independent. It’s hard because she

has given me my independence and they’re taking that away by saying that. It’s just really hard to have someone be insensitive to you for something that has changed your life so much.”

Cheyenne explained how she expected to have to deal with, “people’s comments, people’s looks, people pointing, people trying to whisper, trying to get attention. I’m used to that, it can be annoying, but I’m used to it and Koda’s trained not to go toward that. Where it upsets me is when people say things that are very rude and that’s where it’s hard, in a way when you first start out with getting a service dog you know ‘I’m going to get people that support me and people that don’t support me,’ but you never know how bad or how mean people can be until you actually are there and you see it and it’s sometimes hard to speak up about it. It’s new every day, you never know what you’re going to run into, you never know if it’s going to be a good day or if you’re going to run into someone who is going to completely shut you down and make you feel like you can’t do anything and make you feel bad. I’ve had those days where I couldn’t go to class because someone said a really, really, bad comment that I just couldn’t take.”

Despite the difficult situations that Cheyenne has had to put up with she stated, “I’m happy to pave the way for other people.” However, the responsibility of paving the way for future students does not belong to students with disabilities but to the entire HWS community.

It is also our responsibility to speak up and advocate for a more inclusive and accessible campus on an administrative and infrastructural level. Just this month I had a professor injure her ankle on the stairs in Williams Hall and, while she was on crutches, she was unable to attend class because she could not use stairs and the class was a theatre class that required studio space that could not be moved to a more accessible space.

There are many buildings on campus that are inaccessible. It is not uncommon to see wheelchair accessible showers on the third floor of a dorm with no elevator, or automatic door buttons that don’t work. In fact, when the Performing Arts Center first opened, there were 2-D signs printed in what was meant to be braille, which clearly could not benefit those who they were intended for.

These types of things are the things that we as a community need to start prioritizing. After all, how can we expect disabled individuals to choose to attend an institution at which they would struggle with inaccessibility?

Susan Pliner noted, “As a campus, we have some infrastructure issues that we could certainly be paying closer attention to. I think one of the questions we could be asking is, when building projects happen or when renovations happen is there a disability specialist on the committee? Because there is the letter of the law and then there’s the intent of the law, and if you’re following the letter of the law that doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re making an accessible space, and if you don’t know what the intent of the law is you can’t really interpret for the space that you are creating.”

Even Cheyenne Eisenhut who sometimes is in a wheelchair has had to deal with having classes in inaccessible spaces, “I had classes in Eaton all day and I literally had to carry my wheelchair up the steps because I couldn’t get in.”

If we work toward a campus where were not just meeting building codes or standards, but doing everything we possibly can to provide people with their right to equal accessibility we could help students who are already dealing with the hardships and stress of being a college student have one less thing to worry about.

Ignoring the inaccessibility of our campus is no different than saying we don’t prioritize people here who need additional services or accommodations. HWS strives to be inclusive and diverse, but how can we be either of those things without making our campus accessible to differently abled people? Inclusivity goes beyond physical access, inclusivity means taking the time to understand one another and treating everyone with respect.

10

FRIDAY, MARCH 2, 2018

News

Journey Beyond: An Interview with John Grotzinger ’79 The Herald Talks to the 2018 Commencement Speaker

By Quinn Cullum ‘18 News Editor

CalTech

As announced on February 9, John Grotzinger ’79 will be giving the Commencement address for the classes of 2018. He studied Geoscience, was a member of the Hobart Lacrosse team, and a brother in Theta Delta Chi while at Hobart. Now an accomplished geoscientist and an endowed chair at CalTech, he upholds the liberal arts philosophy and he reflected fondly upon his years at HWS during our conversation.

What led to your involvement in the exploration of Mars and the Curiosity Rover?

The reason that I was selected

by NASA comes down to my training as a field geologist. It all adds up to the fact that I spent a lot of time in the field. Probably 20 years of my life. At MIT, I taught the students to perform geographic mapping. I was one year into my time at CalTech when NASA called to say, ‘John we want you to lead this mission.’

England and study in the liberal arts and my wife did the same thing. I admire the breadth of the courses and I’m a big believer in exploration. You never know what’s going to be around the next corner that might change your perspective or what might change the way that you live your life. I didn’t know what I wanted to major in when I first started. I was taking biology classes, I took a poetry class, and courses in history. I didn’t realize how important all of that would be until later in life. It can be very consequential in your career. Public speaking is important, so English classes were especially valuable for me. For a while, I got interested in economics. At first, I thought geoscience was a joke. I thought: ‘Who wants to study rocks?’ Then I realized that you get to study biology, chemistry, and physics— all while outside! The exploration in the liberal arts is especially valuable. Think about geographic mapping: sometimes you have to walk fifteen miles or more to achieve what you need to.

How did your time at HWS shape you or change you? How did you grow here?

Professor Donald Woodrow’s course changed my life. He was a Professor of

just received a grant with which they they bought a large tug boat. I got involved in a project where we would go on the boat on Seneca and collect sediment. My summer research advisor was Professor William Ahrnsbrak P’86, who co-founded the geoscience department with Professor Woodrow P’83, GP’15.

There were two main projects. You know how the lake is a normal temperature for a while and then you go deep enough, and eventually, it gets really cold? One of the professors was interested in that phenomenon. We would collect sediment samples and then study the water chemistry.

Seneca had a high sodium content and that’s bad for people in Geneva, especially people with heart problems. I thought this was either because of the earlier presence of glaciers in the finger lakes or because the city was salting the roads so much that it was draining into the lake. It turned out to be mother nature and the glaciers.

The nice thing about the project was that it was summer research, so I could focus on my schoolwork during the year and my research during the summer.

Did you know you wanted to further your education after receiving your geoscience degree at Hobart?

I didn’t really know what the future would hold when I graduated. I knew that if I was going to be a geoscientist, I needed more education. I applied to the University of Montana because I wanted to go to the west coast and ski. It was a good choice.

“You never know what’s going to be around the next corner that might change your perspective or what might change the way that you live your life. ”

Do you have an idea about what the theme of your address - John Grotzinger ’79, Project Scientist of Commencement might be? Can you give me a the Mars Science Laboratory mission sneak peek?

When you get let out of an Can you speak more about the airplane in the middle of nowhere work you did on that mission?

Geoscience and, when I began to get and you’re a geologist and you look out It’s all predicated around one simple interested in geoscience, I accompanied onto the terrain, the question is: What are question: Is there life out there? Is there him on some field work. Earth history you going to do now? a planet that once had water? Because is just like a history class: there are a set water is necessary for life. Once you have of facts and from that you get a set of Professor Woodrow received the a sophisticated rover, you can find not plausible scenarios. What I love about Distinguished Faculty award in in only hydration, but you can actually find this is that, in doing geological work, one 2010 from the alumni and alumnae specific chemicals as well. NASA selected has to be appreciative of history. Being a associations following his retirement me to serve as the chief scientist. I thought: geoscience major in the late 70s was kind from HWS in 2001. Professor Ahrnsbrak the rover will land on mars and it will cost of a new thing and it was a tight knit group. was instrumental in bringing the William the taxpayers $2 billion, so it was the thrill My sophomore and junior years were Scandling research vessel to HWS in of a lifetime. You have to bring a team with really transformative because I began to 1975 and served as a faculty member you in this work, so I led a team of 538 do research in the geoscience department. in the geoscience department until his scientists from 13 different countries and retirement in 2004. Grotzinger will give 9 different time zones.

Can you describe your research the Commencement Address on Sunday, while studying at HWS? May 13.

What is it like to be a scientist When I was there, the Colleges had with a foundation of a liberal arts education?

I love the liberal arts. Both my daughters have chosen to go back to New

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Top Left: John Grotzinger ’79, endowed Chair of Geology at CalTech.

Above: The Mars Curiosity Rover takes a selfie on its birthday on Mars.

NASA