The Miscellany News
Volume CXLVI | Issue 8
November 15, 2012
Since 1866 | miscellanynews.com
Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY
Family Partnership to host prison conference
Chenette seeks new senior req
Rachael Borné
CoNtriButiNG editor
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Rachael Borné/The The Miscellany News
Wants all seniors to complete a capstone project Danielle Bukowski News editor
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t the Sunday Nov. 11 VSA Council meeting, Dean of the Faculty Jonathan Chenette presented an “Academic Update” from his office, which included more discussion on the proposed requirement of a senior project. Chenette is proposing the idea that a culminative senior project be a requirement for all Vassar students prior to graduation. This project would not necessarily be tied to a student’s major. “All Vassar students deserve our commitment to prepare them to accomplish something extraordinary as seniors,” Chenette wrote in his PowerPoint presentation, “The curricular proposal under consideration would extend the benefits of such transformative senior work to every Vassar student.” Chenette began his presentation on the senior project requirement by showing graphs illustrating the increase in majors awarded at Vassar since 1970. That year there were 29 departments with majors awarded, and the number has increased steadily since. In 2006 the number of majors peaked at 51, and with the consolidaSee ACADEMICS on page 3
End the New Jim Crow Action Network meets at the Family Partnership center to plan Saturday’s conference “Mass Incarceration: The Shame of Our Nation.”
n her 2010 book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, author Michelle Alexander offers a hard-hitting critique of crime and punishment in America. She explains, “The fate of millions of people—indeed the future of the black community itself—may depend on the willingness of those who care about racial justice to re-examine their basic assumptions about the role of the criminal justice system in our society.” This idea serves as the underlying premise of End the New Jim Crow Action Network (E.N.J.A.N.), a local community activist group organized against mass incarceration, racism and inequality in the criminal justice system. While the group started as a “Community Read” held at the Sadie Peterson Delaney African Roots Library at the Family
Partnership Center. E.N.J.A.N. has grown to do local actions and offer educational literature to the community through public tabling . E.N.J.A.N. will be hosting a conference this Saturday, Nov. 17 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Family Partnership Center called “Mass Incarceration: The Shame of Our Nation.” The conference will take place in conjunction with an earlier film screening by Existence is Resistance and Nana Dankwa entitled Hip Hop Is Bigger Than The Occupation that will be happening tonight at 7 p.m. in the Spitzer Auditorium in Sanders Classroom and then again this Friday at 6 p.m. in the Family Partnership Center Auditorium. Both the screenings and the conference are intended to build solidarity for the E.N.J.A.N. movement and provide education for community members about injustices related to the Prison-Industrial Complex. See E.N.J.A.N. on page 6
Public library referendum splits Poughkeepsie Bethan Johnson and Carrie Plover
$6.5 mil. proposal would fund library move and expansion
assistaNt News editor aNd Guest reporter
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hile the vast majority of the attention from last week’s election centered on the presidential and congressional races, Poughkeepsie residents have tentatively voted to approve a controversial referendum to a build a new library. The referendum, which will not be officially approved until all of the absentee ballots come in around Thanksgiving, proposed spending $6.55 million to move and expand its local library branch to Boardman
Street. The Poughkeepsie Public Library District, a special legislative district created to provide public library service to the residents of the City and Town of Poughkeepsie, believes the referendum will be approved. According to reports from the election commissions for the 68 voting districts, 9,682 resi-
dents cast assenting ballots while 9,292 voters said ‘no’; the vote is split 51% to 49% in favor of the referendum, pending absentee ballots. The Library District, advocates of the referendum, views its passage as the final phase of its improvement campaign. The Arlington Branch Library, located
on Haight Street, is complimented by the Adriance Memorial Library, which is across town on Market Street. In accordance with the District’s three-step plan, the Memorial Library has been under construction for several years. The move is described in the fall edition of the Library District’s newsletter, The Rotunda. It states, “The final phase of the overall plan, is the renovation and redevelopment of branch library services in the Town of Poughkeepsie.” This See TAXES on page 4
Four Pillars celebrates Men’s soccer season ends with all aspects of hip-hop loss to Brandeis at NCAA finals Queens rapper Action Bronson to headline HipHop 101 event Burcu Noyan
assistaNt arts editor
ip-hop is having its birthday this month once more—what better way to celebrate than a big, celebratory bash? And Hip Hop 101 is the host once more. The group is again throwing its annual Four Pillars showcase to mark November— Hip-Hop History Month—and the organization’s 10th anniversary. A performance by New York rapper Action Bronson, numerous Northeastern hip hop artists and locals will feature in the event, which will take place on Friday, Nov. 16 from 8 p.m. to midnight in the Villard Room. “Hip-hop is more than just the music. It’s a lifestyle, it’s art, it’s dance, it’s fashion, and it’s a culture,” explained Hip Hop 101 campus liaison and executive board member Tiarra Dickens
Inside this issue
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FEATURES
Vassar Haiti Project extends reach to Poughkeepsie
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courtesy of Alonso Nichols
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’14, in an emailed statement. In turn, the event takes up this wide range that makes up the culture. “Four Pillars” refers to the four key elements of hip-hop: MCing, DJing, break dancing, and graffiti. The headline act, Action Bronson, hails from Flushing, Queens. The artist used to cook in New York City, and his raps are known to be about food. “We’re really excited to get Action Bronson, who is actually a really big deal,” explained Reilly. “Luckily, the general body of Hip Hop 101 really wanted him and we went after him very aggressively, and ended up getting him.” Six emcees will trade off hosting the event. Chef TC Weaver, the familiar face behind the Grill station in ACDC, and MCs Grizz (Charles Hoffman ’14), Sik Nik (Nikolai Romanov ’15) and ATS (Aaron Steinberg ’13) are each Vassar community members in the emcee lineup. Weaver was one of the founding members of Hip Hop 101 in November 2002, and has since continued to be a key member of the organization. Local Poughkeepsie rappers D. Weathers and Fly Why make up the remaining two emcees. See HIP-HOP on page 16
The Men’s soccer team played in Waltham, Massachusetts last Saturday, where they ended their otherwise strong season. After last year’s win at the Liberty League Championships, they ended this season with a final record of 13-5-3. Meaghan Hughes reporter
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fter three months of practices and games, the Vassar men’s soccer season has come to a close. Though the team lost the Liberty League Championships last week, their terrific record qualified them
OPINIONS
Staff Editorial: Our thoughts on the social awareness requirement
for the NCAA Division III finals. They then advanced past the first round of the tournament for the first time in thirteen years. It may have taken more practices and a few extra workouts, but the players would certainly agree that it was worth it. The Brewers had a busy weekend
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in Waltham, Mass., where the NCAA finals were held. Their first game was on Saturday, Nov. 10 against Tufts University. Despite having to fight the initial intensity of Tufts, who had a strong game in the first half, Vassar came away with a shutout win in overtime. See NCAA FINALS on page 20
Students to perform play on CA’s Prop. 8