The Miscellany News
Volume CXLVII | Issue 11
January 23, 2014
Since 1866 | miscellanynews.com
Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY
Office of the President Vassar accepts new Posse students opposes Israel boycott O Elizabeth Dean Guest RepoRteR
Eloy Bleifuss Prados FeAtuRes editoR
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uring Winter Break on the second day of the New Year, the College released a statement announcing its opposition to an academic boycott of Israeli educational institutions. This decision comes weeks into an intense debate in academia that has drawn fault lines through colleges and universities across the country. Posted online on the Office of the President’s website and signed by President Catharine Hill and Dean of the Faculty Jonathan Chenette, the statement reads, “We are opposed to boycotts of scholars and academic institutions anywhere in the world, and we strongly reject the call for a boycott of Israeli academic institutions.” Last December, the American Studies Association (ASA), an organization of academics, ignited the conflict when its members voted in favor of a resolution to boycott Israeli universities. The ASA wrote in an emailed statement, “[The boycott] represents a principle of solidarity with scholars and students deprived of their academic freedom and an aspiration to enlarge that freedom for
all, including Palestinians.” The boycott would prohibit formal collaboration between Israeli Universities and the ASA. Scholars holding administrative positions at Israeli universities such as dean or president would not be invited to ASA conferences or lectures. The boycott, however, is not a mandate for zero contact. Individual ASA members are still free to engage with Israeli universities, if they so choose. The association also clarified that “The resolution does not apply to individual Israeli scholars engaged in ordinary forms of academic exchange, including conference presentations, public lectures at campuses, or collaboration on research and publication.” The ASA’s actions, despite being a rather small coalition, sent waves across the academic world, and Vassar College found itself needing to articulate where it stood on the boycott to the rest of the world. As Chenette wrote in an emailed statement, “After the members of the American Studies Association voted in December to endorse a resolution calling for a boycott of Israeli academic institutions, the President’s See ISRAEL on page 7
Guest RepoRteR
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rom its inception in 2009, ComedyNormative has held a special place in Vassar’s comedy scene. In addition to being the only co-ed stand-up troupe, its lack of auditions speaks to its loose, open atmosphere. The Vassar Student Association (VSA) recently certified the troupe after five years of unofficial
meetings huddled in the cramped Davision basement. “Its mission has been to provide an open environment for student comedians looking to workshop and perform stand-up comedy, wrote President Jean-Luc Bouchard ’14 in an emailed statement. ComedyNormative meetings maintain an inclusive, easy-going vibe. All attendees are free to offer criticism and workshop jokes. “We
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enjamin Lotto was recently selected to be the new Dean of Studies and will be officially starting in July 2014. Lotto is a professor in the Mathematics Department and acted as the Dean of Freshmen for the Class of 2016. The Dean of Studies is responsible for overlooking a number of different areas of college life and operations, including “fellowships and pre-health advising, international programs, career development and the Learning, Teaching and Research Center” (deanof-
pride ourselves on our open atmosphere, because we like to think that the best comedy possible comes not from an early selective process of auditions, but from continuous workshopping and a multitude of opinions,” Bouchard wrote. Bouchard has been involved with ComedyNormative since his first semester at Vassar. “I never performed stand-up See COMEDY on page 16
courtesy of Matt Cabrera
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NEWS
NY minimum wage increase phased in for student workers
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studies.vassar.edu). The dean works with students concerning a variety of issues including academic difficulties, leaves of absence, and personal issues. Vassar’s Dean of Studies for the past five years has been Professor of English Joanne Long and the current Acting Dean is professor of English and Africana Studies, Eve Dunbar. The search for the new dean started in the beginning of the school year with the help of a search committee and members of the administration. Dunbar wrote in an emailed statement, “The Dean of Studies search
Shelia Hu
Guest RepoRteR
After five years of being an uncertified Vassar organization, the audition-free comedy troupe, ComedyNormative, has established its identity as a stand-up group. Pictured above President Bouchard ’14 plays the keyboard.
Inside this issue
The Class of 2018 will include the second group of students from the Vassar Posse program, which invites veterans to partake in the college experience.
Lotto selected as Dean of Studies
VSA certifies ComedyNormative Matthew McCardwell
courtesy of Vassar College Media Relations
Campus divided over concerns of stifled academic freedom amid recurring Israel-Palestine conflicts
n Friday, Jan. 17, the College announced on their Facebook page the acceptance of 10 veterans to Vassar’s Class of 2018 through the Posse program. This will be Vassar’s second Posse class, with the Class of 2017 featuring 11 veterans through the same program. On its website, the Posse Foundation website explains its purpose and goals. The website reads, “The Veterans Posse initiative identifies and supports veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces who are interested in pursuing bachelor’s degrees at top colleges and universities across the country.” It continues, “By creating cohorts of veterans, preparing them for See POSSE on page 4
VARC to host talk with vegan bloggers FEATURES and podcasters.
was conducted by a committee consisting of the following people: Barbara Olsen, Associate Professor of Greek and Roman Studies; Michael Pisani, Professor of Music; Elliott Schreiber, Associate Professor of German Studies; Christopher Smart, Associate Professor of Chemistry; Danny Dones, VSA VP for Student Life; Raph Korine, Noyes House President/ BHP Co-Chair; Shruti Manian, VSA VP for Academics.” She continued, “The members of the search committee worked throughout the fall semester and See LOTTO on page 3
Men’s basketball holds winning record Tina Caso
spoRts editoR
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fter enjoying a strong winning streak to start off the season and a shortened winter break, the men’s basketball team was back in action on December 30. Over break, the team lengthened its winning streak to nine games, only losing two matches vs. Union College and Hobart College. The men have already won more games so far this year than last year in total. According to Head Coach Brian Dunne, practicing on an empty campus was beneficial to the team. “I think it is a huge advantage. There are no distractions so all we are focused on is basketball. [I’m] not worried about the players being stressed with academics or running from class to practice,” he wrote in an emailed statement. “[They] can practice in the middle of the day and a lot is accomplished: film, team lifts, team activities, extra workouts. The only downfall is having home games and no students on campus to fill the stands.” Junior co-captain Alex Snyder agreed, but does not necessarily enjoy the lack of winter break: “Its always tough in the beginning to come back to Vassar so quick,” he wrote. “We don’t have much time to be with our families and be home, but being back and having nothing to worry about besides basketball is not too bad either.”
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The team quickly moved back into play at the Trinity College Tournament, held in Hartford CT. In its first match vs. Wentworth Institute of Technology, the team won 60-54 with early points by junior forward Luka Ladan [full disclaimer], sophomore guard Johnny Mrlik and junior guard Curtis Smith. Mrlik had 23 points overall for the Brewers. “Wentworth was very well-coached and it was our first game in 20 days,” wrote Head Coach Dunne. “We played well enough to win, and defended very well. It was an ugly game, a lot of fouls, and both teams struggled to execute, but we buckled down the stretch and got the job done. It was great for us to get back on the court and compete after being off for so many days.” The next day, the team faced the Trinity College hosts, and took the tournament title by only one point. Mrlik had 16 points, Snyder had 14 and sophomore guard Erikson Wasyl had 11. Both Mrlik and Snyder were named to the All-Tournament team. “The two wins at the Trinity Tournament were big for us,” explained Synder. “The first proved that we could win games even when we did not play our best. The second one showed us that we could beat teams that are considered better.” Coach Dunne was also content with See BASKETBALL on page 19
Professor explores anthropological aspects of music