Misc.02.24.22

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The Miscellany News

miscellanynews.org

February 24, 2022

Vassar College’s student newspaper of record since 1866 Volume 157 | Issue 5

John Leguizamo selected as Student shines in original album 158th Commencement Speaker Ganesh Pillai Arts Editor

Janet Song

Editor-in-Chief

O Photo courtesy of Guido Venitucci.

n Feb. 23, 2022, Vassar College announced that actor, writer, producer and director John Leguizamo would be the speaker for the 158th Commencement ceremony on May 22, 2022. Leguizamo is the winner of several awards including the Primetime Emmy Award in 1999 for his performance

on “Freak” and Special Tony Award in 2018 for his show, “Latin History for Morons.” He recently voiced Bruno from the Disney movie “Encanto.” The star, whose wife, Justine Maurer, is a Vassar alum of 1990, and whose son, Lucas, is a member of the Class of 2023, will replace Jeh Charles Johnson, who withdrew as speaker last week. An interview with Leguizamo and The Miscellany News is soon to follow.

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inding the right balance between school and a social life is the crux of the college experience. How do we achieve the exact right mix of fun and work to get the most out of these four years? While most of us are busy having our hands full with this, there are others who have their own creative endeavors that could further complicate this issue. Meet Adam Benamram ’22, who, simultaneously on the pre-med track, wrote, sang and produced his very own album “In the Dead of Night.” An admirable feat in itself, the high quality of said work makes such an endeavor that much more impressive and worthy of recognition. After listening to the album, I decided to sit down with Benamram and talk through his project, his process and his connection to music as a whole. Benamram’s music is the embodiment of deeply personal production, manifesting itself as a bedroom-pop style sound. While he takes influence from genres like R&B and pop, he explained, “There’s definitely a lot of bedroom in there because I do it all in my bedroom.” Since beginning to perform in musicals at an early age, Benamram has been honing his singing ability, later teaching himself to play guitar. Putting these skills together allowed Adam the creative

freedom to explore many varying styles of production to see what he felt best captures his vision. Benamram said, “At the end of the day, being able to make the music I want to listen to, rather than making as much music as possible, is really beneficial to me. So what does this translate to regarding “In the Dead of Night”? Benamram stated that his central idea he wished to communicate with this project was nocturnalism. “The big theme that runs throughout the album is just thinking, lying awake at night. Trying to sleep, and not being able to.” Benamram accomplishes this through his euphoric, hysteria-esque production. The spaced-out, upbeat production on songs such as “Anything You Know” or “Part III” perfectly captures the restless, hopeful energy that can consume oneself during a long, sleepless night. However, Benamram contrasts this with the equally applicable sensation of melancholic overthinking that can also occur. On the relatively somber “Firefly,” Bemamram croons, “And I’m staying up until it’s light / And I don’t wanna be by myself tonight.” Perhaps no song captures the sanguine ponderings of listless nights better than the titular track “In the Dead of Night.” The song’s subdued, resigned production, coupled with Benamram’s repeated “I don’t See Benamram on page 4

Spring break housing fee lowered SGE talks Safety and Security Will Sorge News Editor

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he cost of staying on campus during spring break has been reduced to $0 for students on full financial aid, as Assistant Director of Residential Life Kris Van Nostrand announced via email on Feb. 10. The reduction followed a Feb. 9 email detailing a cost of $45 per day, which would have scaled down with students’ financial aid to a minimum of $6.60 per day or $75 for the entire break. Associate Dean of Residential Life and Wellness Luis Inoa accredited the prior cost increase mostly to the meal plan, which had historically not been included in spring break living expenses. “The significant jump in cost is due to the inclusion of a meal plan. Previous generations of students who have stayed over spring break experienced food insecurity. We wanted to eliminate that,” he noted. The intention to limit food insecurity was agreed to in conjunction with the Break Advisory Group (BAG). Dean of the College Carlos Alamo-Pastrana noted, “This is the context for the room and board plan that we have developed in consultation with the student organization BAG for all the breaks not part of the room and board plan (summer, winter, and spring breaks). This plan, based on student financial need, helps to

offset a percentage of labor, food and housing costs.” President Elizabeth Bradley said feedback from students is always encouraged on all fronts. She said, “As we worked to address the issues brought to our attention, we made the decision to waive [fees] for this spring break for students on full financial aid because the information on [fees] was delayed and did not give students as much time to plan ahead.” Despite the intentions, several low-income students had reacted negatively to the prior cost increases. “My first reaction to the spring housing email was panic, and I’m sure I’m not the only one. Being out of state and also on significant financial aid, I don’t have the means to go home over spring break,” said Kiran Rudra ’24, adding, “Low-income students were totally thrown under the bus.” “I think we’re speaking for the majority of the [Working Student Coalition] when we say we were really taken aback when we learned break housing would cost almost $80 [for students on full financial aid],” added Noon Elmostafa of the Working Student Coalition (WSC), an organization which advocates on behalf of working-class and low-income students on campus. After hearing of the cost increase, Rudra reached out to Van Nostrand and Bradley. See Spring on page 3

Jacques Abou-Rizk News Editor

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eeking to cultivate a culture of care between employees and students, the Office of Student Growth and Engagement (SGE) presented “Conversations with Campus Safety”, an event aimed at growing trust and humanizing professionals in their roles at the College, on Thursday, Feb. 17. Director of Safety and Security Arlene Sabo and Sergeant Dyrell Walker, in addition to students and faculty, broke into groups and discussed possible benefits to meaningful collaborations with campus safety, obstacles to making these connections and initial steps to take in order to make such connections, according to Sabo. “We see this conversation as a foundation to build upon in order to find more ways to engage with Vassar resources such as Campus Safety,” Sabo stated in a written correspondence, adding, “We plan on joining in some events/meetings with the goal of continuing to get to know each other and to learn more about how we can best address the safety concerns of our community.” Sabo added, “The event went very well from our perspective. It was fun getting to know each other a bit and very rewarding to engage in such important conversation.” Walker said he hopes that this talk would

encourage more understanding between Vassar community members. He said, “I think the main thing I want to share from this talk is that despite any titles or confusion that may occur in our day-to-day interactions, at the end of the day, we are all humans.” He continued, “Overall we have the same goals of having a safe and healthy experience here as part of the Vassar community.” Anabel Varghese ’24, a student who attended the event, said, “I was never sure of what role Safety and Security played on campus. I’ve always been apprehensive about finding out because I thought they were like the police. I think the event helped clarify the role of Safety and Security on campus as more of an information source.” Sabo said, “I am impressed by our students at Vassar and my Vassar colleagues. I think Vassar at its core is made up of caring people who are always striving to do better. Meetings like this are exemplary of our core values.” Last semester, a number of incidents occurred between students and Campus Safety and Security officers, including an officer being hit in the upper chest with a bottle while dispersing an overgrown party in the Terrace Apartment (TA) outdoor space on Oct. 8. See SGE on page 3

Inside this issue

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FEATURES

Hungry? Check out Guest Reporter Alex Yim and his interview with Chef David Cruz of Reconnect Foods.

Come learn the art of stink bug defense with Assistant Humor Editor Nicholas HUMOR Tillinghast.

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Read Assistant Opinions Editor Ben Goth’s response to the Comaroff letter written by OPINIONS 38 Harvard faculty members.

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