The Miscellany News 01.30.2020

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The Miscellany News miscellanynews.org

Tiana Headley

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News Editor

risten Applegarth was desperate. The father of her children was cheating on her with her friend. One day, she told him not to come back home. Financially dependent on him at the time, she was left without an income to pay her rent. She had no one to babysit her children while she worked. Then someone offered her drugs she could sell. She did not

make much, but it paid for the roof over her head. But she said it was a mistake—one that landed her in jail back in 2014. She did not see her children for six months. Dutchess authorities arrested her for intent to sell heroin, a Schedule One substance. It was her first felony charge, but it was serious enough to land her in jail on $20,000 bail. On any given day in 2018, 72 percent of Dutchess County’s prison population awaited trial

for crimes they had not yet been convicted (New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, “Jail Population In New York State,” 01.01.2020). Statewide, people who had not paid bail composed 67 percent of New York’s prison population in 2017 (Vera Institute of Justice, “Empire State of Incarceration: Correcting the Overuse of Jail,” 12.2017). Criminal justice reform advocates have long fought for the See Cash Bail on page 4

Vassar contemplates Kobe’s legacy Jonah Frere-Holmes, Dean Kopitsky Sports Editors

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here’s no fitting way to begin or end thinking about the shock of Sunday, Jan. 26. The unreality of receiving texts from friends with screenshots taken from shoddy news outlets. The disgust that followed TMZ publishing his death before his family was notified (New York Times, “In Haste to Confirm Kobe Bryant News, News Media Stumbles,” 01.27.2020). The tumult that

Inside this issue

Not sponsored content: Columnist just really loves her Instant Pot.

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Volume 153 | Issue 1

January 30, 2020

2020 NY bail reforms take effect

consumed news desks across the country as they scrambled to verify the reports. Refreshing more trustworthy outlets with bated breath, until finally CNN, The New York Times and ESPN all confirmed—Kobe Bryant, one of his daughters, Gigi, and seven others, including two of Gigi’s 13-year-old teammates, died in a helicopter crash. The victims’ families are left to imagine the people they loved suffering through confusing and terrifying final moments. Arguments

about Kobe’s legacy on and off the court cannot ignore that real people are experiencing grief and loss. Routines like commuting to your daughter’s basketball game can turn to tragedy. Kobe Bryant couldn’t prevent that. A man whose greatest moments were aided by a bit of luck—a slowly rotating defender, a fortuitous bounce on the rim. But that’s sports—its legends convince us that they’re imSee Kobe Bryant on page 16

Developments to change local landscape

Frankie Knuckles, Jessica Moss Managing Editor, Editor-in-Chief

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n the summer of 2014, the historical Arthur S. May school, located on the fringes of a pedestrian-friendly stretch along Raymond Avenue that includes several restaurants and small businesses, shut down. But an upcoming project aims to revitalize the lot. The Arthur May Anchor Project, spearheaded by real estate developer PAZ Management, would demolish

See hotel on page 3

Gaea, Indigo, Ivy Sole perform at Aula Protests destabilize T Chile, JYA XinRui Ong Columnist

he colorful lights shot green, red and blue from the windows of the Aula, piercing the darkness of the cold night of Friday, Jan. 24. It was the perfect backdrop for ViCE weekly’s first student performance of the semester, during which three singer songwriters contemplated heartbreaks, butterflies and déjà vu in a variety of musical styles. A division of Vassar College Entertainment, ViCE staged a concert in a faux bedroom in Ely Hall. A microphone, a mixer, string lights, potted plants and a dismembered mannequin,

closely clustered in the center of the aged building, comprised the set. Audiences huddled closely around the stage, bouncing their knees and bopping their heads to catchy rhythms. Gaea ’21, a self-taught producer who works from her dorm room in the late hours of the night, kicked off the performance with original chill-pop tunes carried by her dreamy voice, retelling personal experiences that felt like a serious, heart-to-heart conversation in melody. Perhaps it is the honesty in her gentle, fluid tunes that guides and embraces audiences, leading them to her refreshingly

real personal world. “Writing music for me is like writing in a diary … Hearing from people how my music can really resonate with them is so awesome,” Gaea explained. She performed unreleased tracks from her upcoming album “Origins of a Moonchild”—live, at the very site of the artist’s song-making. Each song she performed suited a distinct mood. While “Carnival” had a deep, thudding bass that reflected the audiences’ own anticipating heartbeats, “Champagne” drew listeners into a buzzed state with a rich amalgamation of instruments

See Ivy Sole on page 6

HUMOR

Opinionated Opinions Editor shares his opinions on how to opine in the Opinions section.

OPINIONS

the Arthur S. May School—a structure which is eligible for both State and National Historic registration—and replace it with a five-story, 110-room hotel and apartment complex that would bring housing and commercial space to the community (Town of Poughkeepsie Planning Department, 11.21.2019). The development has yet to attain final site plan approval from the Town of Poughkeepsie,

The former Arthur S. May School, above, would be developed into a multi-story hotel and apartment complex. Yvette Hu/The Miscellany News.

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Vassar College’s student newspaper of record since 1866

Gaea performs songs from her upcoming album, “Origins of a Moon Child,” at the Aula. Courtesy of Grace Rousell.

Helen Johnson

Guest Columnist

[CW: This article contains descriptions of political violence.] id you know that tear gas hits your throat and nose before your eyes? You feel a burning sensation, the urge to cough and only then will your eyes start to water. I certainly didn’t expect to learn this during my semester abroad in Chile, where I spent five months attending a Chilean university and living with a host family. I lived in Valparaíso, a port city and center of art and culture on the west coast of South America. The steep cerros, or hills, are stacked with colorful houses sloping down to the coast. Valpo (as residents affectionately call it) is also filled—ground to roof, wall to wall—with intricate murals. Starting as part of President Salvador Allende’s campaign in the ’60s, they range from depictions of animals and people to representations of the Mapuche people (Chile’s largest indigenous group) to overtly political messages (BBC News, “The Chilean muralists who defied Pinochet,” 09.06.2013). Valparaíso is undoubtedly one of the most beau-

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See Chile on page 9


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