The Miscellany News
Volume CXLVII | Issue 7
November 7, 2013
Since 1866 | miscellanynews.com
Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY
SLD fliers VC hosts Seven Sisters to drive to foster collaboration discussion F Anna Iovine and Maggie Jeffers RepoRteR And Guest RepoRteR
Palak Patel
desiGn editoR
n the past week, members of the Vassar community may have noticed an informational pamphlet, “What Vassar Doesn’t Want You To Know: A Guide to Labor on Campus,” cropping up in various locations. The Student-Labor Dialogue distributed 1,500 of these pamphlets early on Monday morning in an effort to inform students about workers’ issues on campus. “The Student-Labor Dialogue (SLD) began in the Spring of 2013 to open a conversation between workers and students in order to create transparency around workers’ issues at Vassar” (“What Vassar Doesn’t Want You To Know: A Guide to Labor on Campus”). The group serves as a compilation of students and workers on campus who are trying to create an open and safe space to meet and discuss issues surrounding better wages, benefits and working conditions on campus for Vassar workers. Even though SLD is fairly new, according to the group’s own estimations, their total participation ranges from 100150 campus workers with a similar See PAMPHLET on page 7
courtesy of Casey Hancock
I
rom Nov. 1 to 3, students from the nation’s prominent women’s colleges visited Vassar’s campus for the Seven Sisters Conference. “The Seven Sister’s Conference as a concept has happened several times throughout history,” explained Vassar Student Association (VSA) President Deb Steinberg ’14. “I was doing some research before putting on this conference and I think it was in the 1980’s that they went through and were doing conferences. Then it stopped for a while, just because when those students graduate it’s harder to keep it going if you don’t really motivate some of the under-
classmen,” Steinberg said. She continued, “I know they did it again at Vassar in the year 2000. I think in the year 2008 or 2009 it started up again, maybe in the year 2010, and Vassar wasn’t invited originally. Then two years ago we kind of pushed our way in and invited ourselves to Mt. Holyoke; we went to Mt. Holyoke, and they liked us. They invited us back to Smith, and they were like, ‘I guess we can do it at Vassar’, and we were like, ‘Cool.’” While the conference took place last weekend, Steinberg and other members of the VSA have been planning the event for months. The main day of the conference, See SEVEN SISTERS on page 4
Students from the Seven Sisters joined at Vassar to focus on ways to improve relationships between the colleges. As host, Vassar chose the conference goals.
Schrock explains nuances of SAVP reporting Elizabeth Schrock Guest RepoRteR
Y
ou’ve heard the numbers: Nationally, about 1 in 5 women will experience rape or attempted rape during her undergraduate years in college, 1 in addition to undoubtedly high numbers of male and transgender survivors. Yet, rape and sexual assault continue to be vastly underreported, with school administrators, counselors, health care professionals and advocates
receiving relatively few reports of sexual violence. As an advocate for student survivors, I find myself often wondering how I can better reach students and provide them with the services that they may want or need. One way that colleges have been attempting to improve their systems is by gaining a better understanding of what barriers students encounter when thinking about reporting, and addressing those barriers directly with policies and programs.
In a national study of sexual assault reporting on college campuses, researchers found that there were a number of barriers to seeking services: alcohol or other drug use, not believing that the incident was “serious” enough to report, fear of reprisal by the assailant or others, fear of other impacts and disbelief that the system will help them.1, 2 In addition, systems for reporting are often confusing processes, causing students to be unsure of what the outcome
might be or what the process might look like. These fears are valid considering the social climate that students live in, where media reports of the ramifications of reporting are in abundance. However, there are a number of ways that Vassar College addresses these barriers directly that students may not know about. First, Vassar has a Good Samaritan Policy stating that no charges related to any involvement of drugs or alcoSee SAVP on page 6
Greek tragedy humanizes warfare Women’s soccer beats Union for playoff spot O Victoria Youngblood and Chris Gonzalez Guest RepoRteR And senioR editoR
ne Sunday, Nov. 3, the Chapel breathed with the life of ancient Greek theatre. “Theater of War,” a group dedicated to drawing attention to issues surrounding soldiers returning from war through the art of performance, staged a dramatic reading of Sophocles’ 2,500 year old tragedy, Ajax. But unlike most theatrical pieces, for “Theater
of War,” the script only accounted for a small fraction of the dialogue. The dramatic reading facilitated a conversation about war, specifically the struggles of psychological injury, between a mix of veterans and civilians. Visiting Assistant Professor of Greek and Roman Studies Curtis Dozier organized the 233rd performance of “Theater of War” in collaboration with Creative Director
Bryan Doerries and his company, Outside the Wire. The cast performed two selected scenes from Ajax, which preceded a panel discussion and Q&A. The cast, which consisted of two actors from Outside the Wire, Louis Cancelmi and Heidi Schreck, and two Vassar students, Sean Keller ’16 and Michael Moore ’15, performed the dramatic reading. See THEATRE on page 14
Alec Ferretti/The Miscellany News
Alec Ferretti/The Miscellany News
Students Sean Keller ’16 and Michael Moore ’15 , along with actors Heidi Schreck and Louis Cancelmi, performed a dramatic reading of Sophocle’s Ajax in “Theater of War,” in order to highlight the struggles soldiers face in war.
Inside this issue
7
A trip to the Ben & Jerry’s capital of the FEATURES world
9
VSA funding controversy prompts OPINIONS needed reevaluation
Sophomore forward Kamaria Coley strikes ball in an attempt to score a goal. The women’s soccer team moves on to postseason for the first time since 2010. Chris Brown
I
spoRts editoR
n a match against Union College, the Vassar women’s soccer team pulled out a season-changing win, earning a spot in the Liberty League playoffs week. This win earned the team their first berth into post season play since 2010. The game took place on Vassar
16 ARTS
turf on November 2nd, and the two teams did not fail to deliver a game that kept the crowd on the edge of their seats. Freshman Kelsey Hamm scored the first goal for the Brewers, putting them in the lead. It looked as though the Brewers had the game won. However, with around ten minutes remaining on the clock, Union See SOCCER on page 20
Nebraska a forlorn father-son journey into the heartland