The Miscellany News Volume CXLVI, Issue 11

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The Miscellany News

Volume CXLVI | Issue 11

December 13, 2012

Since 1866 | miscellanynews.com

Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY

CWA, VASSAR REACH AGREEMENT Wages to grow 2% annually for three years; 3% in fourth Hannah Blume and Bethan Johnson senior editor and assistant neWs editor

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Katie de Heras/The Miscellany News

Posters published by the CWA are being removed across campus after the union’s seven month long negotiations with the College have finally come to an end. Both parties are satisfied with the new contract which will last for four years.

fter seven months of negotiations, The Communication Workers of America (CWA) and the College reached a deal last Sunday, Dec. 9, when the CWA members voted to ratify the latest proposal. The most notable features of the four-year contract include a 2% increase in wages for the first three years, and a 3% increase in the fourth year. Employees would also be required to pay a 7.5% contribution for single-payer health insurance. To offset this new cost, employees will be granted a $200 signing bonus and a $1100 bonus in the fourth year. Other items agreed upon in the negotiations include a mandatory 90day notice for layoffs, improved severance pay for layoffs and an agreement that the College cannot contract out work that will result in layoffs. “Management is very satisfied with the contract,” wrote Ruth Spencer, Associate Vice President of Human

Outing club travels beyond beaten path Meaghan Hughes sports editor

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2012-2013 student gift announced

sponder and is extremely passionate about the Outing Club. “We are mainly concerned with giving students the opportunity to explore the big, beautiful world outside of the Vassar campus,“ she wrote in an emailed statement. The group plans trips throughout the region, and some of their favorite spots are Slabsides, Beacon Mountain and Bonticou Crag. Additionally, the club has traveled as far as the Adirondack Mountains and South Carolina during extended breaks in the school year. Trips typically involve some hiking, climbing, biking, kayaking or a combination of several of these activities. Most take See OUTDOORS on page 20

Fund to support financial aid and need blind policy courtesy of Katie Ewen

hen students want to get away from Vassar for a bit, they might limit their options to a ten minute drive to the Poughkeepsie Galleria or a daylong trip to New York City. But for those looking for a change of scenery, there is another, more refreshing alternative. The Vassar Outing Club (VOC) brings students to a wide variety of locations in the nearby area, and they actually tend to burn some calories while doing it. One of the leaders of the VOC is Co-president Katie Ewen ’15. She has been involved since her freshman year, recently became a certified Wilderness First Re-

Student hikers navigate their way over rocky terrain on a trip with the Outing Club. Beacon Mountain and Bonticou Crag are among the group’s favorite locations.

Music class introduces Students, RCF propose new frontiers of sound sustainability initiatives Adam Buchsbaum arts editor

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djunct Instructor in Music Peter McCulloch wants to change your mind about electronic music—it’s not just dance music. “If you’re gonna use a painting analogy, dance music is to the Mona Lisa as what we do is to Picasso,” McCulloch explained. “We’re interested in a much more raw form, and a much more almost sculptural approach to sound, rather than, ‘What’s the melody?’ or ‘What’s the rhythm? So, it’s really sound for sound’s sake.” McCulloch teaches a year-long class on composing electronic

music. Now, his students are preparing their final compositions for a concert on Dec. 13 at 6 p.m. in the Chapel. The class’ style of electronic music is known as experimental, electroacoustic music. The course first begins with the history of electronic music, before getting to the composition. “What most people don’t know about electronic music is it has substantially older history,” McCulloch explained. Most think synthesizers began in the 1970s, but the first synth, the Teleharmonium, was played publicly in the See MUSIC on page 15

Inside this issue

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FEATURES

Once again, VSA to begin collecting opinions on ban

Resources, in an emailed statement. “We had to give on some issues, yet we were able to address other issues that were necessary for the College. There are always concessions by both sides in contract negotiations.” “The bargaining team and the membership are pleased with this deal,” wrote Carl Bertsche, a business agent for the CWA and Science Support Technician at the College. In an article published two weeks ago in The Miscellany News (“Wages and healthcare holding up CWA deal” 11.28.12), Bertsche cited economic issues—such as wages and healthcare—as the primary factors for holding up the deal. In recent weeks, wages have been at the center of the debate. The red posters published by the CWA claimed that full time CWA employees could earn as little as $10.58 an hour, or $20,631 per year, with an average salary of $34,469. In her all-campus email, sent Nov. 19, President Catharine Bond Hill refuted this figure, claiming See UNION on page 4

Dallas Robinson Guest reporter

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hen thinking about advocating for environmental consciousness, terms like “Reduce, Reuse and Recycle” are far more common than “Lambscaping” or “The Plight of Wasted Light at Night.” Nonetheless, students, staff and administrators submitted propositions with both of these titles, along with many others, in hopes that the College Committee on Sustainability (CCS) will implement them using the finances of the Resource Conservation Fund (RCF), with the aim of moving towards a greener campus. CCS revamped its strategy for pro-

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OPINIONS

Staff Editorial: Our endorsement of the low-income center

moting submissions for the Resource Conservation Fund (RCF) and displayed ten of fifteen applications, the largest amount received in the fund’s three-year history, at the Idea Expo this past Wednesday, Dec. 5. The committee wanted a way to publicize the RFC to the campus while also implementing an educational component about environmental issues at home. The Fund is open to the new cost and energy-saving projects proposed by a wide range of members of the Vassar community to be taken on by the committee in collaboration with Buildings and Grounds. See CONSERVATION on page 7

13 HUMOR

Jessica Tarantine Features editor

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his past Saturday at the Class of 2013 99 Nights celebration, the Student Gift Committee announced that this year’s Student Gift fund will be used to finance student aid. After fielding suggestions from the Senior Class, the Committee made recommendations to the Office of Alumnae/i Affairs and Development (OAAD), which ultimately decided that the gift would go towards the Class of 2013 Scholarship fund. At the discretion of the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid, the Scholarship fund will go towards financial aid. “Financial aid was chosen as this year’s gift in order to show our support for the school’s dedication to ‘need-blind’ policy,” wrote Student Gift Co-chair Xiao Chen ’13 in an emailed statement. “This year Wesleyan moved away from their need-blind policy and opted for one that will factor in a student’s family income and ability to pay once it runs out of aid. The co-chairs and I felt like Vassar has shown a big commitment to stay with its policy and it was our responsibility to try and help.” Assistant Director of the Annual Fund Lindsay Roth said, “62% of students currently receive some sort of financial aid. As recently See FINANCIAL AID on page 4

How to prepare for THE END OF THE WORLD!


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