Misc.03.08.24

The Miscellany

160th Commencement Speaker talks acting, humanity

Maryam Bacchus, Charlotte Robertson Editor-in-Chief, Managing Editor

Over the course of her career, British actress and filmmaker Emily Mortimer has starred in numerous film and television productions, including “The Bookshop,” “Relic” and HBO’s “The Newsroom,” also appearing in childhood favorites such as “The Pink Panther,” “Mary Poppins Returns” and the English-dubbed “Howl’s Moving Castle.” In 2003, she won an Independent Spirit Award for her performance as Elizabeth Marks in “Lovely and Amazing.” In 2022, she was nominated for a BAFTA award for her work as a supporting actress in “The Pursuit of Love,” a miniseries she also wrote and directed. She will portray Mrs. Brown in the upcoming “Paddington in Peru” movie. Yet, she describes herself as a work in progress.

“I’m suddenly sort of beginning to see how to…work out how to be alive in the world,” Mortimer said in a Zoom interview with The Miscellany News on March 21. She noted the difficulty of being a woman of her generation. “I spent a lot of my life trying to be acceptable and pleasing to other people and making that the main thrust of my existence. Now, I’m just working out that it’s altogether better for everybody involved if you…focus on the things that actually really interest you.”

The 160th Commencement speaker joined the call from a restaurant in West London. At 11 p.m. GMT, she was wrapping up a day of filming for a new, top-secret project she co-wrote with director and Vassar alum Noah Baumbach ’91. Apologizing for the noise, she took the rest of the interview outside on her walk home, amid the bustling Thursday-night nightlife.

As she answered questions about her career and early life, Mortimer returned to the same point: She is a storyteller. “Through all of it, I’ve been…a storyteller of some kind,” she said. “There’s so many other ways of talking about myself, but that’s the beginning, I suppose.”

Mortimer was first introduced to storytelling when she recited a speech about blind pelicans and anarchy for an academic competition. An introverted child, she found nothing more daunting than standing at a lectern in front of her classmates. “I thought I was going to have a heart attack,” she remembered. “And then it was almost like a hand or something reached out and took mine and it was okay.” Performing became a means for her to navigate her shyness. “I had to force myself to do the scariest thing, otherwise I wouldn’t do anything,” she said in the interview.

She continued: “I’ve learned that I can put myself in almost any situation and survive because basically what I do is a form of

New VSA exec staff revealed

Sarah

The results of the Vassar Student Association’s (VSA) spring election were released prior to Spring Break, naming the legislative, judicial and executive members of next year’s administration. The election results were announced at 5 p.m. in the Old College Bookstore on Feb. 29 and covered a total of 26 VSA positions, notably including the roles of VSA president and vice president. Emily Doucet ’25 will serve as the VSA President for the 2024/25 school year alongside Vice President Miles Harris ’25.

Voting opened on Feb. 27 and closed on Feb. 29, with the election taking place on an online platform run by the Board of Elections and Appointments. A committee to oversee the election was erected due to absences in the Board of Elections and Appointments. The committee included members of the Division of Communications and the Senior Senators, with oversight from current VSA President Olivia Gross ’24. Five executive officers will additionally be nominated by the president-elect with support from the cabinet-elect. These positions are Director of Services, Director of Finance,

See VSA on page 3

Spotlighting new VAG studio

Yaksha

Assistant Features Editor

VAG has a new studio. VAG has new members. VAG has a new exhibit covering the familiar walls of Gordon Commons. So what is VAG and what does all this newness mean? I got lunch with Molly Ardren ’25 and Octavia Cordes ’26 at a tiny table in Vassar Artist Group’s (VAG) deliberately chosen exhibition space to ask them about their novel roles as executive members of VAG. Much like most of the student body, VAG’s first show introduced Ardren and Cordes to the organization. In fact, Ardren was one of the artists whose work was displayed, which led to her forming friendships with the three founders, Gracie Chang ’26, Leo Valenti ’26 and Phineas Cashman ’26. As someone who has spent hours coloring and writing in VAG’s new studio, Room 19 in the Blodgett Hall basement, I wanted to ask what the vision for the space was. “The goal of the new studio space is just to make art more accessible at Vassar. To really, like, have access to art supplies here, you have to be like a major or correlate. To even take any art classes you have to take a full year Drawing I class, which understandably kind of turns a lot of people away,” Ardren explained. This accessibility issue is something VAG resolves

by offering any studio visitors free materials and a space to make art that does not have to be “academic” or “perfect.”

Another use for the space is to house and nurture the organization’s many collaborations. Cordes shared that she and Ardren are running a project in April which the new studio helps facilitate. “We’re working with the Poughkeepsie High School and we’re having 12 or so students come to the studio every Friday to work with us for a few hours. It’s nice that we have that space instead of needing to book a room and the uncertainty that there’s going to be some -

See VAG on page 7

McNeil Guest Reporter

See Mortimer on page 3

Image courtesy of Peter Ash Lee.

Karen Mogami/The Miscellany News.

Gummadapu

Image courtesy of Molly Ardren ’25.

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Emily Mortimer shares anecdotes and advice

Continued from Mortimer on page 1

bungee jumping where you are constantly throwing yourself off a cliff and hoping you don’t sort of die.” She walked away from the competition in first place.

When asked if she always wanted to be an actress, Mortimer responded with an immediate and enthusiastic “Yes!” Initially, she thought she might be an ice dancer: “When I was little, I just wanted to wear lots of sequins and feathers.” She quickly pivoted to a career in acting after discovering she could not skate. Growing up, she held many home performances, often imitating advertisements for washing powder or pretending to be Delia Smith, a British television chef. “I would sort of act out, you know, how to make a Victoria sponge cake in front of my parents.”

“I’ve learned that I can put myself in almost any situation and survive because basically what I do is a form of bungee jumping where you are constantly throwing yourself off a cliff and hoping you don’t sort of die.”

Her father in particular has had a great impact on Mortimer’s career and life. John Clifford Mortimer was a barrister, playwright and chairman of the Howard League for Penal Reform, the oldest criminal reform charity in England. Describing his work as a defense lawyer, Mortimer spoke with great care and respect. “He would say that you could be a good person and kill someone and a terrible person and never get a parking ticket your whole life.” His work found its way into hers. She explained, “I think that a good performance or a good piece of writing is all about finding the contradictions in people.”

Mortimer herself, though, seems to contain no contradictions at present. Throughout the interview, she is nothing but downto-earth and charmingly self-deprecating. When describing her directorial debut in 2021 for “The Pursuit of Love,” she joked about her lack of authoritative command: “My children just basically sort of laugh at me if I tr[y] to be super tough.” She graciously credited Lily James, who portrayed the protagonist of the film, for encouraging her. “It was an amazing feeling…this much younger woman who I really admire as an actor, who was producing the thing, endowing me with this trust.”

Directing “The Pursuit of Love” is Mortimer’s proudest achievement—at least, so far. The film, which she adapted from a 1945 novel by Nancy Mitford, is drastically different from Mortimer’s own life, which is why she liked the project so much. “[Directing] just felt like it was about a love for the story,” she said.

Her direction was evidently successful. In a 2021 review, Time Magazine stated: “Without sacrificing humor or social commentary, Mortimer thrillingly modernizes “The Pursuit of Love” by ratcheting up the romance in unexpected ways.” The New Yorker said, “Mortimer’s adaptation injects new life into Nancy Mitford’s sharpest observations.”

From behind the curtain as both a director and writer, Mortimer has found a new appreciation for acting. She frowned at the infantilization of actors, arguing that directing, writing and acting are more alike than people perceive: “It’s storytelling, all of it.” Actors are not given nearly enough credit, she said. “You are given your pocket money in a little brown envelope and you are told what time you have to wake up and you’re put in a car and you’re driven to set and somebody follows you to the loo to make sure you don’t run away.”

Mortimer’s time at Oxford University studying English and Russian solidified her love for performance. Though she does not consider herself an academic, school taught her what she truly enjoyed. “I started to realize the only thing I was getting up in the morning to do was to rehearse in the college play.” She regards academia and creativity as complements of each other. Acting, she explained, is studying both sides of an argument.

In two months, Mortimer will speak to Vassar’s class of 2024 at the 160th Commencement. As a precursor to her address, Mortimer’s biggest piece of advice to the general Vassar community is to reject

Mortimer’s biggest piece of advice to the general Vassar community is to reject shame. Most of her life, she said, Mortimer focused on pleasing other people, but she has since learned that peoplepleasing is a disservice to everyone.

shame. Most of her life, she said, Mortimer focused on pleasing other people, but she has since learned that people-pleasing is a disservice to everyone. “It is actually a more generous act to find joy for yourself in the world because then you’ll be a more joyful person to be around.”

She added that it is important to share one’s faults along with one’s virtues. “The culture we live in now is so judgmental, it’s so sanctimonious…the tendency is towards not seeing the nuance.” She returned to her father’s philosophy regarding criminal defense: “He really firmly believed that it was a measure of our civilization, how well we treat the people who are deemed the lowest people.” She said, “To me, [it] is really important that we forgive ourselves and we forgive others.”

VSA general election names next student body president

Continued from VSA on page 1

Director of Student Organizations, Director of Student Events and Director of Communications.

This year, a new rule mandates the president and vice president must run on a joint ticket. For Doucet and Harris, this proved to be a collaborative experience. “We [pored] over our statements together [and] debated poster colors, but overall, it was a very positive collective experience,” Doucet said in a written correspondence with The Miscellany News

Both Doucet and Harris have extensive experience with the VSA. Doucet began her tenure on the association in her first year as the Chief of Staff and was then elected Chair of Academic Affairs during her sophomore year. Currently, she is serving as the student body vice president. “Being vice president this year has made me incredibly attuned to all of the pieces that allow the VSA to function on an internal level,” Doucet commented. “With that knowledge, I know I will be much better equipped to have a proper handle over the reach of what we are able to do. This year in VSA was one that followed a major restructure of the entire organization, and now that I have a better handle of this new structure, I can put a lot of thought into what initiatives and issues we can address with thoughtfulness and genuine care.”

Harris is currently serving as the chief of staff, a role that has prepared them for their upcoming position of vice president. “From the moment I was hired, I was thrust into learning all of the VSA’s and College’s systems, as well as building strong relationships with other officials,” they said.

It was through their work on the VSA that Harris and Doucet met and forged a connection. “Emily and I built up a particularly robust relationship and noticed we liked work-

ing together,” Harris added. They continued, “When Emily became vice president, I was delighted to work by her side as chief of staff again. Having worked so closely with two vice presidents, it felt like a natural fit to run on a ticket with Emily, and I am so grateful to have been elected.”

What can students expect from next year’s administration? Doucet and Harris say there will be an emphasis on boosting student life. Harris shared, “On the VP side of things, I want to collaborate with the VSA finance team and org treasurers to provide support for the process of org leadership. I also want to work with VSA’s division of services to expand our previous existing re-

sources, like VCycle, and work to create new amenities for students.” They added, “I also want to ensure the VSA’s governing documents are more accessible to students and help expand campus awareness of the way VSA works.”

Doucet echoed similar sentiments, saying, “As much as I love my internal work, a lot of our college experience won’t be enhanced by internal reformations but instead by the fun events and services that create meaningful memories.” She continued, “We aren’t in college for more than a few years, and I want to ensure that the VSA does everything that it can to make those years feel positive and exciting by putting more focus

into bolstering student activities, advocacy efforts and expanding our services.”

Although almost all of the candidates up for election this year were running unopposed, for students on campus, casting their vote remained of the utmost importance. Rhys Sequeira ’25 is currently studying abroad but still participated in the most recent election. “I voted in the last Vassar election because I think that making my voice known in voting is important,” Sequeira said. Becca Spence ’25 echoed similar sentiments, adding in a written correspondence, “I voted in the past election because I feel like when I’m given a chance to vote, I should take it.”

Image courtesy of Emily Doucet ’25 and Miles Harris ‘25.

College faces obstacles in decarbonization effort

Sashinka Poor, Sufana Noorwez Senior Editors

Professor Alex Barron from Smith College will give a talk on U.S. college efforts to reduce carbon emissions on Monday, April 1. Vassar College has made a commitment to be carbon neutral by 2030, meaning it will not produce more carbon dioxide than it removes from the atmosphere. The College is currently creating a Climate Action Plan for 2025, building on previous ones from 2020. A number of initiatives have been established since then to reach this goal, but obstacles in the legitimacy and cost of these plans have prevented expected progress.

The Climate Action Plan is revised every five years, the last time being in 2020. This plan allotted $13 million for a number of small and large upgrades to campus, according to the College’s website. Marianne Begemann, Dean of Strategic Planning and Academic Resources, said in a written correspondence to The Miscellany News, “The 2020 Climate Action Plan (CAP) called for a series of energy saving and decarbonization measures, ranging from LED lighting to heat recovery systems. That work has been completed and reduced our carbon footprint by approximately 2400mT [metric tons].” This work included improving insulation around the pipes that transport water from the central heating plant on Vassar’s campus to radiators in various buildings around the school, Izzy Rico ’23, Coordinator for Data and Programs, added. Begemann noted that the 2020 CAP included a plan to greatly decrease the campus’s emissions by purchasing renewable electricity. This action has helped to decrease the carbon footprint by another 2400 mT.

However, some of the initiatives laid out in this plan were not able to be achieved. Rico said, “A large part of that goal in 2020 was to

convert our central boiler to renewable fuel oil [RFO], which ended up not being feasible and not making sense for our campus. So that was a big reduction that we had planned that we didn’t get.” This central boiler originally ran on fuel oil and now uses natural gas, the 2020 Climate Action Plan explains. Begemann clarified that making the switch to RFO would not reduce emissions as much as originally anticipated, so the conversion did not occur, a decision that was made in consultation with the Climate Action and Sustainability Committee (CASC). The Committee consists of five members of the administration, three faculty members and four students.

Both Rico and President Elizabeth Bradley noted that one of the biggest challenges towards reaching carbon neutrality is the fact that the central heating plant on campus currently uses fossil fuels. In 2018, 61 percent of the College’s total emissions (10,380 mT) were from heating and cooling, with the rest being attributed to purchased electricity, travel, study abroad, commuting and the College’s fleet of vehicles, according to the 2020 Climate Action Plan. Multiple options to change this system have been identified, Rico said, including switching to an electric boiler, which would use the same plant but heat the water using electricity rather than burning fuel, or a ground-source geothermal heating system. However, Rico explained that these systems are not feasible for the College now because the technology for electric boilers is not efficient enough for the scale and a transition to a geothermal system would be prohibitively expensive, costing upward of $100 million.

However, some schools are already undertaking plans to move to a more sustainable method of heating campus. For example, Smith College, the institution where guest lecturer Alex Barron is from, has developed a plan to create a district geothermal network

which would provide a much more sustainable method of heating campus. This effort is particularly notable because Smith is a similar sized school with a similar climate to Vassar. However, the cost of this transition, upward of $100 million according to Rico, as well as the disruption that it would cause, make it impractical for Vassar to implement now. “You would have to go through every building and rip out all of the steam infrastructure…and new pipes would have to be put in,” Rico explained. They added that the cost of this change, when compared to the decrease in emissions it would provide, is much higher than the costs of other measures that the College has implemented until now.

Additionally, some of the upgrades that the campus has made are not actually the bestcase scenario when it comes to being a sustainable campus. Rico noted: “Right now, our electricity is considered fully renewable, because we buy reusable energy credits, which means we’re funding projects, but we’re not necessarily using renewable energy.” Rico was referring to the concept of carbon offsets. According to MIT Climate Portal, “Carbon offsets are tradable ‘rights’ or certificates linked to activities that lower the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. By buying these certificates, a person or group can fund projects that fight climate change, instead of taking actions to lower their own carbon emissions.”

Part of Vassar’s plan to be net zero by 2030 included purchasing carbon offsets. In a written correspondence to The Miscellany News, President Elizabeth Bradley noted: “Vassar’s plan was to increase investments in high-quality allowances [offsets] to meet the net zero carbon goal by 2030. We can still do that; however, it is becoming clear that allowances [offsets] may not accomplish the global reductions in carbon that were anticipated.

As the science of offsets has changed, we are considering changing our strategy as well. Currently the CASC is debating the best way forward, with faculty and student input.”

Vassar is now paying $100,000 per year for these offsets, but Rico said this money might be better used if it were invested directly in local projects that promote sustainability in surrounding areas, rather than far-away theoretical offsets. “We’re moving toward either local investing or just focusing our funds on things we can do on campus,” they explained. In recent years, some schools, such as the University of California system, have effectively dropped all carbon offsets due to their lack of meaningful impact, according to an article in Technology Review.

The CASC is considering a variety of approaches for the 2025 Climate Action Plan, including whether to continue purchasing offsets, plans for more small changes around campus and establishing how the central heating plant will fit into Vassar’s decarbonization. President Bradley emphasized that “If allowances are not effective, and reducing carbon use on campus to zero was needed, we would have to replace all steam heat and cooling with electrical sources; this is prohibitively expensive.” However, Rico mentioned incremental steps that the College can take. One option is converting buildings that are not currently connected to the central heating plant—TownHouses, New Hackensack and Walker Field House—to HVAC systems. “The other goal for the 2025 plan will be setting up a goal for our full decarbonization, because we need to figure out what will be feasible for converting the central heating plant,” Rico stated.

Given the prevalence of heating and cooling in Vassar’s carbon footprint, Professor Barron’s talk will be especially pertinent to the College’s efforts to reach net zero emissions.

Guest speaker Beverly Gage uncovers the real G-man

of people he was embedded in.”

Pulitzer Prize-winning author and Yale University professor Beverly Gage spoke about the creation and content of her recent book, “G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century,” to students and faculty on March 20.

The biography of the former director of the FBI was lauded with the Pulitzer Prize for biographies in 2023, in addition to landing a spot on The Atlantic, The New York Times and The Washington Post’s “Best Books of 2022” lists.

“G-Man,” the culmination of 12 years of dedicated research and writing, covers J. Edgar Hoover’s life and career, including a detailed account of his rise to power and ideological influences. “G-Man,” the culmination of 12 years of dedicated research and writing, covers J. Edgar Hoover’s life and career, including a detailed account of his rise to power and ideological influences. According to The Atlantic, the 800-page book makes use of new information that was released under the Freedom of Information Act.

“I thought there was an opportunity to rethink him a little bit as a person,” said Gage in her lecture. “He is often seen as this great villain when he shows up in film, television or popular discourse. I thought there was a more important story to tell about him. I had no interest in J. Edgar Hoover, that wasn’t my project, but I didn’t think we could understand how he came to power without understanding the larger networks

Gage began her lecture with an overview of the first part of her book, which covers Hoover’s early life and college career. This section gives insight into how his membership in George Washington University’s Kappa Alpha fraternity, which Gage explained was formed in hopes of honoring the lost cause of the confederacy, influenced his conservative ideology.

The lecture also touched on his first positions within the government, where he worked in German registration and internment during World War I before becoming the head of a justice department division, the Radical Division, which sought to keep tabs on left-wing activity.

“For the first time in American history, during peacetime, the federal government says, ‘It’s going to be our job to keep tabs and figure out what people’s political opinions are,’ and Hoover is there on the ground floor as just a 24-year-old,” said Gage.

These early professional experiences later informed his vision for the organizational structure of the FBI, as well as his life-long disdain for communism.

Gage’s biography organizes Hoover’s 48year reign as the director of the FBI into three categories: the building of FBI infrastructure, his role in the Red Scare and his opposition to student activist and civil rights movements during the 1960s and 1970s.

Hoover began his tenure as FBI director as a reformer who sought to expand the agency’s function by centralizing crime statistics, creating a forensic lab and establishing the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia.

However, Hoover’s vision for the FBI shifted from an agency of lawyers and accountants to a police agency in the 1930s, a change that Gage attributes to President Franklin Roosevelt’s time in office.

“Roosevelt turns to the FBI [during World War II] and says, ‘You’re going to get support in charge of intelligence, sabotage, counter surveillance and counter espionage,’” noted Gage. “All of these duties require the FBI to become an intelligence service and an espionage service.”

In “G-Man,” Gage argues that Hoover played a more significant role in the anti-communist movement during the 1940s and 1950s than Joseph McCarthy due to the institutional infrastructure that he created within the FBI. Although the bureau led espionage investigations during this time, Gage claims that Hoover’s main contribution to the anti-communist movement was through his relationships with cultural and public institutions and the childrens’ books he wrote, all of which enabled him to disseminate his opinions across the country.

“I hadn’t realized how much of a contradictory figure J. Edgar Hoover was,” said Jane Hurley ’27. “But his contradictions help us to understand how American politics got so complicated.”

Gage also investigated Hoover’s relationship with FBI agent Clyde Tolson, whom Gage speculates to have been the former director’s romantic partner. By analyzing pictures of the two from Hoover’s private photo collection, the author sought to better understand the nature of their relationship.

“The book tries to get at the question of

what exactly that relationship entailed,” said Gage in her lecture. “Beyond this kind of public presentation of coupledom, which was not to be named as such at the time, it was clearly an intimate relationship. It was a relationship of deep caring and love. Of course, one of the big questions is, ‘Was it a sexual relationship?’ And there, we just don’t really have the evidence to say conclusively one way or another.”

Gage’s understanding of their relationship is also informed by FBI regulations during Hoover and Tolson’s tenure which forbade members of the LGBTQ+ community from being employed by the federal government.

“There are ways in which the hyper-masculine culture of the FBI can be read as a form of social camouflage, and Hoover was very performative in his masculinity, his guns and his law and order,” said Gage in an interview with The Miscellany News

Through her extensive research over the course of more than a decade and careful analysis of documents from Hoover’s time at the FBI, in addition to the former director’s notes, Gage was able to seamlessly narrate the story of Hoover’s life and legacy.

“Professor Gage’s presentation was incredible and insightful,” said Audrey Amblard ’27. “I didn’t know much about J. Edgar Hoover besides what I had learned in class. Professor Gage was very eloquent and it was really wonderful to hear her speak.”

Gage is currently working on her next book, “Where We Are: A Road Trip Through U.S. History,” which covers different eras in American history.

ARTS

New spoken word albums contemplate political pasts and futures

Jesse Koblin Arts Editor

There is an extensive tradition of vocalists who make innovative music with strong political content, going back to Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit,” recorded in 1939 to vocalize the trauma of racist lynchings and legally-sanctioned injustice against Black Americans. The tradition of political consciousness and unconventional song structure embodied by Holiday, Nina Simone, Gil Scott-Heron and others continues unabated with three new album releases: Moor Mother’s “The Great Bailout,” Amirtha Kidambi’s “New Monuments” and Annie Chen’s “Guardians.” These 2024 albums, otherwise radically divergent in their sonic influences, share a political awareness that demands immediate change, embody aesthetics drawn from a personal connection to folkloric forms and project an innovative spirit that shatters musical expectations. All three albums are worth your time and attention.

Camae Ayewa, who records as Moor Mother, has been well-known since her 2016 debut album “Fetish Bones.” Pitchfork lauded “Fetish Bones” as “a discombobulating journey from the 19th century to the end of the world—through government-sponsored racism, redlining, and the carceral state.” Since then, Ayewa has collaborated with American free jazz quintet Irreversible Entanglements to make arresting albums skewing jazz with hip-hop and spoken-word poetry. Her collaborative work synthesized with solo explorations as Moor Mother to produce

the 2022 album “Jazz Codes,” a dazzling artistic peak chronicling alternative jazz history.

Moor Mother’s new album, “The Great Bailout,” released March 8, 2024, on ANTI- Records, is her most robustly political release yet. “Bailout” is haunted by histories past and ongoing, with the album’s title referencing the English government’s £20 million 1835 loan “compensating’” enslavers for emancipation in the British colonies. Moor Mother ruminates on reparations, generational racial traumas, the pretense of English civility and the long shadow of colonialism across 43 intense minutes, injecting charged spoken-word poetry into a sonic landscape of hip-hop beats and chilling operatic vocals. The tracks build upon each other to trace the long arm of history to the present, criticizing the British government’s use of over 180 years of taxpayer funds to repay the debt on their 1835 loan. “The Great Bailout” tears open the cicatrix of England’s racial cognitive dissonance, which acts as though racial equity has been achieved despite the residues of monarchical conservatism still festering.

While Moor Mother traces the evils of the past to the present, an album embodying active decolonial praxis is Amirtha Kidambi’s “New Monuments,” released with her avant-garde jazz ensemble Elder Ones. In a recent interview with the online magazine 15 Questions, Kidambi said she needed the practice of improvisation to “decolonize herself,” leveraging improvisation’s frenetic artistic autonomy to diverge from traditionalist musical structure and resist forms of cultural and artistic hegemony. Kidambi’s singing throughout “New Monuments”

summons moody incantation, politically visionary poetry and cathartic vocalizations exploring tonality, often augmented by electronic vocal effects.

Kidambi’s subject matter on “Monuments” is deeply decolonial, following from her previous album “From Untruth,” which features songs such as “Dance of the Subaltern” or “Eat the Rich” railing against the political and economic elite. Among the most notable tracks on “Monuments” is “Farmer’s Song,” which creates an anthem for those marginalized by rampant wealth disparity. The album’s title track demands that “new monuments be built” to reshape power and oppression, metaphorically representing new social values predicated on material equity and social justice. On the stunning album closer “The Great Lie,” Kidambi rages, “The great lie/ they will die/for the great lie” over an intense synthesizer and burning soprano saxophone from Elder Ones member Matt Nelson. Overall, “New Monuments” suggests that we monumentalize systems, ideologies and individuals that despoil and deprive, and calls for the creation of monuments that champion the history of the oppressed.

Vocalist Annie Chen is just as inventive as Kidambi and Moor Mother, but “Guardians,” released on February 23, 2024, was born from a different inspiration. After visiting Maine’s Acadia National Park and experiencing its native flora and fauna, Chen created “Guardians” as a plea for environmental stewardship and the protection of biodiversity. Chen, born in Beijing but now based in New York City, assembled an international group of musicians from Malaysia, Brazil,

Japan and the United States, one of whom plays a rare Croatian bagpipe on the album. The music reflects this open and outreaching perspective. At one moment, it will hew to jazz harmony, then seamlessly transition into various European or Eastern folkloric traditions, with Chen’s own eclectic vocal stylings ranging from stop-and-start bebop time changes to acapella techniques from the Beijing Opera.

The opening track, for example, was written by Polish composer Zbigniew Namyslowski, with lyrics Chen adapted from the opera “Farewell My Concubine,” creating a connection between the original’s depiction of besiegement by an enemy and the modern day’s looming environmental catastrophe. The album’s liner notes address its intent, with Chen stating “I’m hoping this music will inspire some listeners to realize how beautiful our world is and that we have a duty to preserve it, for our generation and those to come.” “Guardians” is open-minded, forward-moving and pointedly esoteric in its musicality, continuing the forceful social messaging of three worthy albums containing deep musical and cultural content.

Whether turned to song, chant or speech, the power of one’s voice has a universal capacity that enacts both our most peaceful and destructive human tendencies. Rhetoric, especially in the form of politicized speech, can both enact beneficial change or create new discursive violences. These three albums are predicated on the power of the human voice, utilizing its awesome potential to remind us of oppression past and present, and enact future calls to action.

Poughkeepsie’s Bardavon hosts screening of ‘The Seventh Seal’

Allen Hale Arts Editor

Last Thursday, I attended a screening of “The Seventh Seal” for PHIL 294: “Film & Philosophy: Ingmar Bergman” at the historic Bardavon Opera House in downtown Poughkeepsie. The six-week intensive course is taught by Associate Professor of Philosophy Christopher Raymond and introduces the philosophy of film through an analysis of Bergman’s thought-provoking work as an auteur. Our class schedule happened to coincide with the Bardavon’s free screening of Bergman’s highly-acclaimed film, making for a serendipitous outing. I hopped in a car driven by Philosophy Department Intern Catherine Borthwick ’24 [Disclaimer: Borthwick is Live Events Chair of The Miscellany News]. We traversed through hilly neighborhoods unfamiliar to myself, containing a handful of vibrantly colored homes. Upon reaching a crosswalk, we stopped so my friend and classmate Jesse Koblin ’25 [Disclaimer: Koblin is Arts Editor of The Miscellany News] could pass; in true New Yorker fashion, they elected to walk to the Bardavon. We arrived downtown and circled the area a few times, discouraged from using the garage due to $20 event parking for a convention happening across the street. After finding a conspicuous lot, a man on the street assured us of its legality despite conflicting messages from nearby placards. The Bardavon’s old-timey sign and facade were lit up, glowing amid a quiet, post-industrial backdrop. We entered and took our seats, watching live organ music before the film began.

[SPOILERS AHEAD]

Why do I bother prefacing my interpretation of this film with a narration of these

events? Despite lacking any intensity, my brief journey to the theater mirrored the randomness of circumstance and tonal dissonance likewise contained within “The Seventh Seal.” In the film, medieval knight Antonious Block embarks on a journey through plague-ravaged Denmark after returning from the crusades disillusioned, accompanied by his bitter squire Jöns. The personification of Death—a hooded, pale figure—approaches Block on a beach, a menacing counterpoint to my earlier spotting of Koblin. Understanding his life to be at stake, Block challenges Death to a game of chess that progresses throughout the film. From this visually striking launching point, the viewer is presented a harrowing yet frequently comic account of life during the Black Death.

As Block and Jöns make their way into town, their chance encounters determine the film’s trajectory and the ensuing composition of a traveling party. They pass by a troupe of performers who will later join them: manager Jonas Skat, actor-couple Mia and Jof, and their infant son Mikael. Jöns rescues a mute woman and subsequently threatens her into becoming his servant; her assailant is Raval, a clergy member who originally convinced Block to join the Crusades. This event establishes the repeated structure of happenstance meetings throughout the film. The group watches as the actors perform a strange song and dance in the town center; Skat runs off backstage to make love with Lisa, wife of the village blacksmith Plog. Their flirtation felt remarkably modern, a seeming anachronism which suggests humanity’s eternal infidelity in the pursuit of pleasure. Suddenly the action is interrupted by a group of flagellants, whipping themselves to repent for sins seen as causing the plague. Horrifying imagery

of the crowd depicts exhaustion, crying out to a silent God in shots which focus on capturing the intricacy of facial expressions. After the procession leaves, Bergman turns our attention to a bar setting. Jof is forced to perform humiliating acts by Raval and Plog (the latter of whom knows his wife has run off with an actor), only saved from this torment by Jöns. The squire fulfills an earlier promise by attacking Raval, leading Jof and his family to join Block’s group. Drunkenly lamenting the woes of his relationship in a moment of fraternal bonding with Jöns, Plog begs to come along. I was taken aback by the comedic nature of their dialogue in this medieval setting, evoking timeless tropes about unbearable in-laws and petty couples’ arguments; referencing past partners, they mockingly exchange phrases like “why don’t you kiss me goodnight” and “you didn’t notice my new dress,” suggesting our tribulations are nothing new to the human experience. The scene elicited laughter from the audience, demonstrating how classic films can resonate with contemporary life.

After this extensive setup, much of the film’s second half is developed through revisits from prior characters. Plog wins back Lisa, and Skat—fittingly, for an actor—fakes his suicide, only to be visited by Death. He makes increasingly humorous pleas based on his occupation before meeting an inescapable demise, with Death quipping that his “contract” on life has been “terminated.” A woman previously accused of being a witch is burned alive, and Raval dies from the plague while begging for help. Block’s chess match with Death continues, eventually leading to his loss; Death assures Block that the next encounter will be their last. In the final scene, he takes the party hand-inhand over a hill, a Danse Macabre which reminds viewers of life’s fleeting nature and

its inverted conclusion in death. Jof’s family survives by choosing to remain in their carriage overnight instead of entering the castle.

Although these dreary moments matched my expectations, the film was funnier than I thought it would be, noted by others after the screening. This plays into its tonal dissonance, a phrase borrowed from a negative review I read online. I believe that it is better to call the mood multifaceted and divergent. Tonality morphs from scene to scene in order to capture a broad depiction of our search for meaning against the lingering threat of Death. The film’s balancing of serious topics with moments of peasant folly, romantic slapstick or self-referential jokes aids in its thematic effectivity. By highlighting the confusing, drastic shifts in emotion which characterize our daily lives, Bergman’s narrative reinforced two concepts: the inevitability of Death and the consistently unknowable nature of God. The grounding of these existential anxieties is made possible by the recurrence of Death’s chess match and the aforementioned quantity of offhand encounters and reencounters, providing the narrative with solid foundation for its variously distinct conversations. As a fictional character, Death’s omnipresence is bolstered by the reality of the Black Death’s prevalence, enabling fantasy to become an effective means of retelling history; God’s silence ensures nothing is certain except our fated end in the mortal realm.

Leaving the theater, Koblin remarked how the film managed to capture an image of the human experience’s totality within a brief 96-minute runtime. Although I was still collecting my thoughts, this statement is indicative of how seamlessly the story weaves together camaraderie, suffering, farce and more. If you have the chance, I recommend attending The Bardavon’s free film series.

‘Dune: Part 2’ delivers a modern sci-fi epic

At the risk of over exaggerating, director Denis Villeneuve has set a new standard for the modern action blockbuster with his grand vision contained in “Dune: Part Two.” Once considered a nerdy franchise in light of Frank Herbert’s original drug-addled “Dune” novels and a few older attempts at adapting the space opera to the screen, “Dune” returned in 2021 to some fanfare. Now it is a roar whose echo will hopefully bring adequate expectations for the rest of Hollywood, demonstrating that grandiose, human stories are as valuable as the spice found in the dunes of Arrakis.

Following the conclusion of 2021’s “Dune: Part One,” “Dune: Part Two” is a pretty close adaptation of the second half of the original “Dune” novel. Paul Atreides, suffering the pain and dishonor inflicted upon his family House Atreides in the first film, is now living with the oppressed Fremen who live in the sietches found deep in the deserts of the valuable, Harkonnen-occupied planet of Arrakis. Working along-

side Fremen leader and religious fundamentalist Stilgar and his lover Chani, Paul is tasked with regaining power and avenging his family while facing the might of his enemies: the House Harkonnen and the galactic emperor himself.

Obviously, the stakes are higher in this film than the last one’s deluge of drama and explanations of this complicated scifi world. What “Dune: Part Two” does masterfully is meet these stakes with every possible film and pacing technique to truly suck the audience into the weight of the plot. The first two action scenes, pitted between Fremen and Harkonnen soldiers, are slow and heavy with suspense bolstered by the film’s score and long-camera shots. In this score, Hans Zimmer delivers a generationally grand soundtrack with booming instrumentation and crescendo vocals throughout, transforming “Dune Two” into a definitive go-to IMAX movie.

The pacing of the film, though just one of a few aspects, is an essential part in making “Dune Two” a thrilling watch. Compared to “Dune: Part One,” where the plot would often contort to get to cer-

Karen Mogami/The Miscellany News.

tain events and plot devices or characters, “Dune: Part Two” flows at a natural pace that lets the viewer indulge in the moment while also preparing them for new events. The fact that Paul and his mother Jessica start at such a low point means that their journey throughout the film is given time to breathe; by the end of the film, the audience can feel how radically different the status quo is. This is not a Marvel film or a prestige blockbuster franchise where the main hero is challenged yet inevitably returns to where he was knocked down from. This is a twisted, bloody and grand journey depicting how someone who has lost everything manipulates those around him and grows ever more powerful until he is staring a new, terrifying future right in the eyes.

What makes “Dune: Part Two” a new standard is how all of these elements—along with an incredible cast led by Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya and Rebecca Ferguson and impressive supporting roles provided by Florence Pugh, Christopher Walken and Austin Butler—come together. These elements create a movie that combines the grandiose scale of older blockbusters with the luxuries provided by modern filmmaking technology. The comparisons to the classic “Star Wars” film “The Empire Strikes Back” are not an exaggeration, as Villeneuve allows us to view this strange and alien future with the events of the plot rather than exposition. The modern visuals afforded through impressive computer-generated graphics and effects pushes this scale even further. This is not a complicated plot beyond the world-building cooked up by a coked-out Frank Herbert in 1965. What Villevenue presents has value both in its surface value and if you look into its depth. From the rivalry between Paul and Feyd-Rautha to Princess Irulan’s scheming, this is a long movie that is never dull and never talks down to the audience.

What I will dock just a tiny bit from

“Dune: Part Two” is, at the moment, the sci-fi blockbuster film of the 2020s.

“Dune Two” is Villeneuve’s continued lack of interest in adding a simple hint or declaration of the world-building that surrounds the origin of the Fremen. It is not completely ignored, but it is often just left in the background, which is especially noticeable when Fremen—who are direct descendants of Muslim Arabs from Earth in the book—mention real-world Islamic concepts like the Mahdi. It is a minor detail and probably left out mainly so the film can keep up with its general lack of exposition throughout, but is still a somewhat glaring omission when the reveal in the book is a central part in Paul’s thoughts about the Fremen and what they mean to him.

“Dune: Part Two” is, at the moment, the sci-fi blockbuster film of the 2020s. It is not just a visually and aurally pleasing action film, but a fully realized retelling of the story of Paul Atreides and his fight on Arrakis that Frank Herbert laid out so long ago. “Dune: Part Two” is a movie that can make the audience gasp, laugh and look onward with pure engagement, never shoving a recognizable franchise or explosion in their face. It is far too early to know the impact of one film, but it would not be surprising if “Dune: Part Two” reminds the large corporations behind these epic blockbusters that engaging, well-done stories are compatible and mesh well with the modern scale afforded by new-age filmmaking. “Madame Web,” “Rebel Moon” or even “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” will be largely forgotten in a few years. “Dune: Part Two,” and hopefully its sequel in “Dune: Messiah,” will be remembered for decades.

Yoko Ono’s artistic career is celebrated at the Tate Modern

her artistry and was emphasized throughout this multimedia exhibition.

Over this past Spring Break, I was enjoying spending time with family in London and had made plans to check out the Tate Modern, London’s premier modern art gallery. To my surprise, while researching what the Tate had to offer, I learned that the gallery was holding a special exhibition: “Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind.” This could not have come at a more opportune time; I had decided a few weeks prior that my final paper topic for ART 364: “Marcel Duchamp Underground” would be about Yoko Ono’s artistic practice in relation to the work of Marcel Duchamp.

After entering the Tate and ascending to the second floor, I was greeted at the entrance of the exhibition by a projected slow motion video of Ono’s eye blinking, titled “EYEBLINK.” However, the true starting point of the exhibition was “Lighting Piece,” which took the form of a small card with the words “Light a match and watch till it goes out” typed onto it. This piece—created while Ono attended Sarah Lawrence College in 1955—is largely considered to be one of Ono’s earliest artistic creations and the foundation for her instructional art pieces. The card was accompanied by another video projection of a match being lit in slow motion and photographs of Ono performing the “Lighting Piece.” Ono’s pieces being embodied by various forms such as text, performance and film is a recurring motif of

Ono’s work was mostly organized chronologically as I proceeded through the exhibition. Moving to the next room I was greeted by a tattered rag on the floor with an accompanying title card that read “A WORK TO BE STEPPED ON,” another instructional piece. Some museum attendees pressed their feet firmly onto the cloth while others quickly tapped the edge of their feet to the cloth, fearing the taboo of touching works in a museum. The remainder of this room was dedicated to more of her text-based instructional pieces. The walls were adorned with Ono’s “Instructions for Paintings,” a project from the early ’60s in which text gives an instruction for a painting to be realized by the viewer physically or in their mind. Instructions for a “PAINTING TO SHAKE HANDS” reads “Drill a hole in a canvas and put your hand out from behind. Receive your guests in that position. Shake hands and converse with hands.” Later in the exhibition I had the opportunity to see a realization of this piece, taking the form of a large white canvas with a single hole cut through it.

The following section of the exhibition focused on Ono’s early performance pieces featured at various events, such as “Works by Yoko Ono,” a 1961 concert at Carnegie Hall. I was particularly intrigued by a video projection of Ono performing “Cut Piece,” in which audience members were instructed to cut off

pieces of her clothing with scissors until she was naked, sitting still without any expression. Ono would perform this piece many times throughout her career and would later go on to say that she did this “against ageism, against racism, against sexism and against violence.”

The center of the exhibition included works made during Ono’s five-year stay in London beginning in 1966, where she would ultimately meet John Lennon. One of the most visually striking installations I had seen so far was “Half-A-Room,” a collection of halved household objects and furniture which Ono originally debuted at her Lisson Gallery exhibition in 1967.

The inclusion of video projections increased at this point; I was able to watch segments of Yoko Ono and John Lennon’s film “BED PEACE” (1969), Ono’s film “FLY” (1970) and Ono’s film “No. 4: Bottoms” (1966-67), which quite literally comprised various silent close-up shots of bottoms. These films, all politically charged in some sense, were accompanied by the iconic “WAR IS OVER (if you want it)” posters that Ono and Lennon circulated in 1969 in protest of the Vietnam War. At this point, I began to notice that Ono’s work had taken a more political shift in the mid1960s, and I continued to see that trend develop in a particularly political piece toward the end of the exhibition called “Helmets (Pieces of Sky)” in which Ono suspended German World War II helmets in the air.

The exhibition finished with two major participatory installations: “Add Colour (Refugee Boat)” and “My Mummy is Beautiful.” The former took on the form of an initially white sailboat in the center of a white room where viewers were invited to write or draw on the walls, floor and boat with blue and white ink. The latter asked attendees to write a message about their mother and attach it to the wall. The walls were completely covered with layers of these small notes; the timing was very appropriate as Mother’s Day in the UK was to be celebrated the following day.

I thoroughly appreciated this exhibition for how much I was able to learn about Ono’s work and artistic prowess. Too often, Ono has been characterized by the general public as “the lady who broke up the Beatles” or as a singer who simply screams into the microphone. It was so refreshing to see far beyond those reductive labels and to deeply explore Ono’s groundbreaking work that largely set the precedent for the conceptual art movement.

I thoroughly appreciated this exhibition for how much I was able to learn about Ono’s work and artistic prowess.

New at VAG: A conversation with VAG executive members

Continued from VAG on page 1

thing unavailable. I think it makes us so much more flexible in working with other organizations and other people.”

VAG and its members have worked with House Teams and Students for Justice in Palestine, and are even working with the College on mural projects. Collaborations are at the core of the organization’s spirit and VAG relies on Vassar’s tight-knit student body to bring them to life. Cordes mentioned that they can bring up people they want to work with and the organization plans for it. Ardren agreed saying, “I feel like that’s like one of the really cool parts about going to a school like Vassar in general. Like a small school where everyone knows each other. Sometimes that sucks but sometimes it’s the best in that you kind of meet people who have, like, niche interests and get to work on collabs that are crazy.”

When I asked both artists what drew them to VAG in the first place, Cordes mentioned this atmosphere of open-mindedness and respect. VAG emphasizes that they are open to anyone and all art. “I saw it as the most nonspecific art group. It’s nice to have that openness so anybody can come and do anything and get any supplies, it doesn’t feel like you’re separating people by interest,” she said. VAG allows everyone’s

art—an art major or not—to be recognized by the Brewer community by showing off the unique pieces at the heart of Vassar College, the fluorescently lit Gordon Commons. Being the campus’s only dining hall, you are bound to enter Gordon Commons at some point, and VAG has brilliantly taken advantage of all that hungry foot-traffic. Like Ardren, if you have your piece

VAG and its members have worked with House Teams and Students for Justice in Palestine, and are even working with the College on mural projects. Collaborations are at the core of the organization’s spirit and VAG relies on Vassar’s tight-knit student body to bring them to life.

in a VAG show, you can count on most of the Vassar community having seen your work. “I’ve never had people approach me the same way and be like, ‘I didn’t know that you were the fish girl.’ ‘I didn’t know that you made that fish.’ ‘I love that piece.’” She even had a Brewer abroad reach out and ask if they could quote her poem that accompanied her piece in the show for an assignment.

The VAG executive board is a reflection of its diverse approaches to and interests in art, and so their independently held hours in the VAG studio represent that individuality. Cordes shared that she prefers an unstructured approach to her hours. “I don’t usually go with a plan. I’m there basically to just help them find things and sort of give them access to supplies… I put them [the art pieces] on the wall because we like to add to the space to beautify the space and make it like a community space. That’s the beauty of studio hours, you go and do whatever you want.” Ardren unveiled an upcoming transformation of her studio hours thanks to the printing press she built herself. “I’m going to bring it in so that people have the opportunity to make prints because that is typically a super inaccessible, expensive form of making art. Bringing that in and giving people like that opportunity would be really exciting,” she

The VAG executive board is a reflection of its diverse approaches to and interests in art, and so their independently held hours in the VAG studio represent that individuality.

explained. In just these responses you can see that VAG’s members and contributors share a consensus: Art is many things and artists are all people.

VAG’s new show, titled “Come-Together,” centers love and relationality, allowing Brewers to experience these concepts through the works of their peers. And they will not have to go out of their way to do so, they can do it over waffle fries and cookies. This is a semester of firsts for VAG, but with the organization’s popularity on campus and dedicated members, I am excited to see newness become the norm. After all, it is a community of art-loving, creativity driven, community building innovators.

Image courtesy of Leo Valenti ‘26.

Yaksha Gummadapu/The Miscellany News.

Public library reinvigorates love for reading

Naidu Assistant Opinions Editor

Many of us first explored reading through the library. Between storytimes, summer reading competitions and the thrill of finally getting your own library card, reading became an adventure rather than a school-regulated chore. But now, as a humanities undergraduate with only three days of classes per week, the majority of my days are reluctantly spent reading in the on-campus Frederick Ferris Thompson Memorial Library. While I love the Thompson Library, I needed to branch out. In order to continue finding joy in reading, I ventured to local libraries. I hoped to discover if the library’s physical nature would hold its emotional resonance years later, and also find a new study spot.

There are three libraries in the Poughkeepsie Public Library District (PPLD) all accessible by Dutchess County Public Transit: Adriance Memorial Library, Boardman Road Branch Library and Sadie Peterson Delaney African Roots Branch Library. There is also the Roaming Rover Van that is stationed at the Thursday Farmers’ Markets on Vassar’s North Lot during the fall semester. This is where I got a library card and checked out my first library book in a quick ten-minute process. You can visit the bookmobile at Adams Fairacre Farms this Thursday, March 28.

Upon deboarding the bus, Adriance Library appeared as a grand cathedral with white pillars and a rounded dome on its roof, a striking interruption in the downtown cityscape. After walking up the ivory steps, I was greeted by a gallery of paintings displayed on easels throughout the hallway. The regal aesthetic extended to the interior as well, with historical artifacts in glass cases and vintage green lamps. There was also ample study space with a number of tables with USB ports and computers available for public use where I set up my workstation. At first, I thought that it was because I visited on a school night that there were not any kids who could interrupt my workflow. I later discovered that the four stories of the library allow for the children’s books to be

kept on a separate level.

Beyond free books and DVDs, there are an abundance of services and events the library hosts in the community that just one article would be insufficient in covering. I particularly appreciated a community fridge started by local students. Upcoming events include an all ages chess club and a panel, titled “Women in Sports Tell Their Stories,” in partnership with the Sports Museum of Dutchess County.

The libraries also hold a great deal of local history in their physical archives and on their website. Adriance Memorial Library is even the oldest library in New York State and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Boardman Road Branch Library opened in 2020 to replace Arlington Branch Library, now with more resources. It is a roughly 15-minute bike ride from campus. The Sadie Peterson Delaney

African Roots Branch Library is located in the Family Partnership Center alongside a number of nonprofits and is built on the grounds of the first Poughkeepsie High School library.

Ultimately, I think I found the childhood joy of libraries that I was looking for. Going to the library to read a book was more enjoyable than reading in Gordon Commons, and I even checked out a fiction book to read in my spare time. I also think there is a key difference between a school library and our local public libraries: There, I could just be a person, rather than a student. I was forced to be present in the moment in the library, aware of my surroundings and not scrolling on social media. Especially as part of the Vassar Bubble, I feel in this small way I can break out.

While I will continue to return to my patronage study spots such as The Crafted Kup

and our very own Thompson Memorial Library, I now happily add the public libraries to my rotation. I sit in the same few spots in the school library, so going to a public library forced me to try something new and accept the discomfort. The library is one of the few places left where I do not have to pay for a coffee to sit, and where I am forced to not just study, but discover new books and events. I think the travel component of either biking or bussing adds the essential adventure factor I am searching for in my reading days. Traveling to the library adds another layer of fun and physicality to my otherwise redundant, sedentary schedule.

In two weeks, in honor of National Library Week, the PPLD is collecting feedback on visitors’ favorite aspects of the library. Hopefully more people will continue to visit and enjoy the library to discover their own unique favorite feature.

Jyotsna

Image courtesy of Picryl. Karen

20 years on: Remembering Franklin House

It may seem hard to believe, but this week marks 20 years since the tragic destruction of Franklin House, the dormitory building which stood on Vassar’s campus across from Noyes for nearly half a century. The building—a mirror image of Noyes, and similarly designed by the Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen— burned down in the evening of Sunday, March 21, 2004. Thankfully, no lives were lost, but the estimated property damage costs ran into the tens of millions, and dozens of students were rehoused in the basement of Josselyn House for the remainder of the school year.

Speaking on the anniversary of the event, President of the College Elizabeth Bradley reflected on the long-term ramifications of the fire.

“Although the fire occurred before my time here, I know the loss of Franklin House was felt all through the Vassar community,” she said. “I am immensely grateful that nobody was seriously harmed in the fire, and that it has led to long-overdue changes in policy, including our bans on candles, flamethrowers, industrial-grade welding equipment and tapestries.”

Several alumnae/i who lived in Franklin during their time at Vassar spoke to The Miscellany News about their recollections of the building.

“Back in my day, Franklin was the place to be,” one member of the Class of 2005 said. “I lived there my sophomore year, and there was a feeling of community which I never experienced in any of the other dorms at Vassar.”

Although Franklin resembled Noyes on the outside, the interiors of the two buildings could not have been more different. Whereas Noyes hallways and common spaces sport a futuristic, space-age look, Franklin was designed to give the impression of the inside of a cave. Its multi-purpose room—furnished with rocks, sticks and bones—was affectionately known as

the Flintstones’ Lounge, a foil for Noyes’ well-known Jetsons’ Lounge.

“I loved living in Franklin, but yeah, actually, that was pretty weird,” a 1999 Vassar graduate said. “The only light and heating inside of the building was from open fires. People were constantly rubbing two sticks together to create sparks. You had to keep your fire going through the night if you wanted to keep warm and frighten away the beasts.”

The tragedy of the fire was compounded by just how unexpected it was. As a common saying among Vassar students at the time went, “Franklin House: It looks like it’s been here for 10,000 years, and it looks like it’ll be here for 10,000 more!”

Alas, this confidence was disastrously misplaced. On the night that Franklin burned down, bonfires were roaring throughout the dorm in celebration.

“My friend had just invented the wheel, and everyone was going nuts,” a member of the Class of 2007 recalled. “It was a total rager. Someone brought a keg, we were planning to roast a mammoth—and then tragedy struck.”

At around 11:42 p.m., the revelers decided to leave the dorm and check out what else was happening that night, leaving the bonfires alight. The cause of the fire that burned down Franklin is unknown to this day, but by the time the merrymakers returned to the building approximately an

hour later, the situation was unsalvageable. Although the fire department was called soon after, there was little they could do but prevent the spread of the fire to the surrounding buildings.

Franklin House was never rebuilt. Frances Daly Fergusson, then President of the College, called it “a dark day in the illustrious history of this fine institution,” and vowed to preserve the memory of Franklin for the generations to come.

Reached for comment on the 20th anniversary of the fire, Fergusson offered only a brief reflection on the significance of the event and the importance of remembrance:

“What?”

Oliver Stewart

Nicholas Tillinghast/The Miscellany News.

Students remain unconvinced Blodgett Hall not a maze

On Tuesday, Vassar’s Dean of Strategic Maze Operations, Riddle Mee Kohnfusing, announced that despite ongoing rumors, Blodgett Hall was never intended to be a maze. This prompted swift replies from hundreds of students searching for answers as to what exactly the intended purpose of Blodgett Hall was.

Once students enter Blodgett, they will soon realize that the laws of time and space become subtly distorted. On the third floor of the building, each section of the hallway is at a different elevation, meaning students need to climb several flights of stairs if they want to stay on the same floor. “I don’t know what Kohnfusing is talking about. No building I’ve ever been in has had three floors on the same floor,” student Adam Veir E. Lohost ’25 stated.

Blodgett’s second floor contains many of these same time dilations. Toward the north side of the building, there is a bathroom that, according to my former anthropology professor, does not exist until you try to enter it. “Walk into the nearby trash cans, and the entrance will appear,” Professor Beisaw told our class. Her words were accurate—the entrance to the restroom is so hard to see that you have to almost trip over the trash bins before it is visible.

The first floor, with its eerily creaking doors and occasional skeleton, contains its share of adventures too, but the real labyrinthine challenge for students is the

basement. This basement, which is simultaneously below ground-level from the west and above ground level from the east, housed several students during the early 1900s, but today, it consists of rooms that range from state-of-the-art laboratories with virtual reality headsets and 3D printers to abandoned storage spaces that look like they have not been used in a century. The basement is also rumored to have been used in the hall’s early days to conduct mysterious, foul-smelling experiments. College administrators unanimously agreed that this was the best building to place near the nursery school and playground several feet away.

Vassar’s first Dean of Strategic Maze Operations, Henry Ma’Jician, also managed to pack a large, grassy courtyard and fullsized auditorium into one of the smallest buildings on campus simply by bending the laws of time and space as he had done on other floors. Though he passed away in 1953, his grandson Nahow Youseemi said that the auditorium’s current use during orientation week, in which it simply livestreams a Zoom feed from another auditorium on the other side of campus, would make him proud.

Though the building is confusing, students still enjoy their experiences in Blodgett. “I’ve had the most aMAZEing time of my life here,” Jean H. Labyrinthine ’27 stated. After our interview, Labyrinthine proceeded to open the trapdoor that had materialized above her head, jumping out and making a quick exit.

Hold that thought: Reasons for having a bed cup holder

Cassandra Brook Water Thrower

This weekend, as I was doing totally normal activities for an 18-year-old on a Saturday night (fake shopping for mattresses in a Raymour and Flanigan), I noticed something I’d never seen before: a cup holder in a bed frame. When I saw the indentations of those gloomy gray discshaped holes, I went into a complete state of shock. I just couldn’t possibly comprehend why anyone would put a cup holder in a bed. I mean, I’ve seen the usual cup holder locations—cars, movie theaters, that one floatie that’s two seconds away from tipping over and ruining an aspiring micro-influencer’s TikTok—but a bed, never. So, naturally, I began pondering reasons why someone would need a cup holder in their bed. And, well, I’m no genius, but, not to toot my own horn, I’m pretty sure the reasons I came up with are near perfect. So, here they are.

1) For going totally “Real Housewives” on someone

When you’re in a fight with your significant other or, more accurately for me, your dog, you need a prop to express just how irate you are. Because flipping your hair and walking away just isn’t enough anymore. Maybe in Congress in the 1700s, when everyone wore chic wigs, tossing your pale, puffy white hair would suffice, but now, in the days when people have to watch a video of Subway Surfers in order to simultaneously watch any other video, flipping your hair will simply not do. And you can’t even excommunicate people anymore, so having a prop is the next best thing. You could go with a classic prop like a burning picture of you together, but just in case you don’t want to set your house on

fire, there’s something even better: a cup of water. With a cup holder in your bed, you can have your water cup at the ready for any potential argument. If your partner says, “Your chicken pot pie was slightly subpar today”: boom, water in their face. Splash it right at them just like the popular kids slushied the glee club in “Glee.” Imagine they’re your favorite Justin Timberlake knockoff, Will Schuester, teaching a Spanish class in a culturally inappropriate sombrero, and you’ll have no trouble drowning your partner in water. When they say to you, “Do you think you could please turn down the heat just a bit? It’s 90 degrees in here,” forget about being Tim, the accountant who loves his job and looks forward to logging information into his Rolodex every night, and think about becoming Stephashgraceleigh, the 35-year-old multi-millionaire who already has 20 botox injections and whose favorite activities include sunburning in hopes that it will turn into a tan, asking people what an economy seat on an airplane is and mispronouncing the

I mean, I’ve seen the usual cup holder locations—cars, movie theaters, that one floatie that’s two seconds away from tipping over and ruining an aspiring micro-influencer’s TikTok— but a bed, never.

word tortilla at Mexican restaurants. The world is your oyster when it comes to drip, drip, dropping water on someone’s face. And just like the amusement park in New Hampshire, when someone is disturbing your Funtown, make sure to bring Splashtown to them.

2) For performing the Cups Song, of course

We all know “Pitch Perfect.” But did you know that bed cup holders were actually created in conjunction with the famed Barden Bellas? The cup song is so popular, why not have it ready for you in bed too? Just like in pickleball, you have to keep yourself out of the kitchen, so you have to have a cup in bed. Because the pitch isn’t just perfect, the whole sitch is perfect when you get to serenade your bed with a classic 2010s hit. Like every Ken in the “Barbie” movie knows from their days of guitaring, nothing beats an unsolicited performance complete with props. Wow, you’ve even got me singing: “Cup holder, cup holder, cup holder, you’re gonna need a cup holder.” Just like North sang “what are those” and Kim’s eyes flowed like hoses, your song brings beauty to our lives.

3) As a makeshift dunce cap

I get it—no one really uses dunce caps anymore. And I think there’s something fundamentally wrong with that. Whatever happened to good ol’ embarrassment of innocent and unsuspecting kids. This whole gentle parenting situation has gotten out of hand. Because if you’re going to act like a clown, you might as well look like one too. So welcome whoever enters your room to Ronald McDonald’s funhouse because you sure are going to have some fun. Someone’s having a nightmare? Make sure to securely fasten their new helmet. Dog peed in the

I get it—no one really uses dunce caps anymore. And I think there’s something fundamentally wrong with that...this whole gentle parenting situation has gotten out of hand.

house again? Looks like Snuffles is going as a bad elf for Halloween. Maybe Santa Paws will redeem him, maybe not. And, in case of emergency, make sure to put on your own dunce cap before helping others because there’s no emergency exit from your own stupidity.

Well, you see now how truly important it is to have a cup holder in your very own bed. How could you possibly live without one? And before you mention that I missed the obvious reason for having a bed cup holder—hydration—don’t worry, I already thought about it and it’s just not realistic. You’d more likely accidentally spill it in the middle of the night than you’d obtain hydration when you’re truly parched. Midnight water is for your bedside table, which is also commonly used as a podium for your best thoughts. In fact, I’m actually standing on my bedside table and I think I’m getting one now: For the perfect chicken pot pie, add some time—preferably 20 years in which you can marry rich, become best friends with Stephashgraceleigh, and have her recommend a good private chef to you.

Benjamin Savel Missing Person

Image courtesy of Benjamin Savel ’26.

HUMOR

What the tour guides won’t tell you about Vassar

Nicholas Tillinghast Disreputor

Tour season is in full swing right now, which means hordes of high schoolers are flocking to campus to try to understand whether Vassar is hot or not. I never actually toured Vassar when I applied, so my understanding of how Vassar tours work is limited. But I’ve picked up quite a bit about this school from eavesdropping, and it’s not great.

Last week, I overheard one tour guide call the Retreat an “eight or a nine out of ten” dining spot on campus, which is patently false. The tour guide could have easily followed up “It’s an eight or nine out of ten” with, “They just started serving hot food for the first time in eight months.” Calling the Retreat a nine feels like the most disingenuous statement anyone has ever said about anything on this campus. Selling Vassar is one thing; straight-up lying about it is another.

Also, is this on a scale of like any restaurant ever or just college dining anywhere? The Retreat is lacking in both cases, but far more with the former. The Retreat will never be Popeyes. I will say that the Retreat has good food on some occasions, but that frequency is such that I reminisce about the Philly cheesesteak I had four weeks ago far more often than I should.

I probably wouldn’t have been so upset if the tour guide didn’t follow up their Retreat critique by saying that the Deece is a five. IN WHAT WORLD IS THE DISCREPANCY THAT BIG? [Joe Biden whisper-yelling] They serve the same food! And the Deece is better!

I didn’t intend for this to be a piece where I knock Vassar Dining; it just comes out sometimes. There are some parts of this campus that I unequivocally appreciate, and they’re things tour guides will never bring up. For instance, I really like the water at the Deece. It’s incredibly crisp and very quenching. It’s legitimately an eight or nine out of ten. It will be a core Vassar memory.

I also really like the new handicap but-

tons on the Bridge Building. I go through the Bridge Building a lot, and I now activate them every time I go in and out without fail. It’s really great because the Bridge Building had the worst doors on campus, being somehow both very narrow and very heavy. But now, they have maybe the best on campus. I recognize that this door change is cool from an accessibility standpoint, but it’s also just cool from a me standpoint, as someone who’s pretty good with doors but would prefer not to have to use them.

I wish all the doors on campus got spiced up. Let’s put automatic sliding doors on the Deece. Put a revolving door on the front of Main and large terracotta horses around Main Circle, like a P.F. Chang’s.

If you’re a prospective student stalking Vassar’s student newspaper right now, you might think that I, someone who is not paid to try to get people to go here, could give you a better sense of whether or not Vassar is the place to be. You’d be wrong. There’s no way that I could give an actual assessment of Vassar as a college amongst other colleges. This is the only college I know. Vassar could be the worst college in America and no one’s ever told me. Or maybe the best and no one’s told me? Who’s to say? Some websites that rank every college in America might want a word with me over those claims, but I want a word with them. Really? You went to every college in America? No, you didn’t. I can make unsubstantiated claims about colleges too.

Grand Canyon University? Terrible location. Purdue? More like Purdon’t go. Harvard? It’s for clowns. Seriously, their Clown Studies program is one of the best in the country. What are you gonna do, refute that by describing your in-depth experience with Harvard’s Clown Studies Department? Oh, sure, you had an awful four years. Well, the people I talked to said it was excellent and a stepping stone for their career!

I hope if we’ve learned anything here, it’s that tour guides are far from objective and that I’m no better. Except when it comes to water. Deece water is truly the best in Poughkeepsie.

Nicholas Tillinghast/Miscellany News.

Senior reflects on community and Vassar and trees

Karun Krishnamurthy Guest Columnist

Alittle precursor for you, dear reader— this is not an opinion piece as much as it is an existential senior-trying-to-grapplewith-the-reality-of-being-a-Vassar-student rambling piece. Let us begin with trees (so many things do anyway (like peaches!)).

My friends and I live just off campus. Below is ours and our neighbors’ houses on the morning of Dec. 8, 2023. On the right is the very same scene that evening.

Pretty wack, huh? For those of you who have never been too good at those “spot the differences” games, I will help you out with this one—all of the trees have been cut down. This was one of my most tumultuous days at Vassar. It was not just that a place I had grown to feel homey feelings toward was being irreparably damaged; but with the pine and the oaks, my perception of Vassar and myself in its context was crashing down around me as well.

Here is why: Just weeks ago, we heard that a group of investors known as ACI (Arlington Capital Investors) was buying the large house next to ours, which comprised a bunch of apartment units being rented out to non-students who call this place home. Their stories are not mine to share with you, but it is worth mentioning that many of them had been living there longer than most of us will ever remainlive in the area. Later, we learned the same company was buying our house. Our landlord assured us that it would remain student housing, passed down by the previous tenants as it always has been. We also felt secure thanks to our year-long lease. Our neighbors were not as fortunate—they were all given three months notice to move out, just days before the grizzly, beautiful (Credit where credit is due) Woodcutters came in and took the “risky, fall hazard” trees in our backyard away to the land of dead trees, to make thneeds or what have you.

So this is not a woeful article about the memories we made in that yard, and the

generational love and wisdom that was destroyed that day (all of which are very real). That is the story we are encouraged to write about here—our own personal important experience as Vassar students—and definitely something I often value hearing in my classes. But what about the stories of people we feel okay not talking or thinking about? The very real stories of those outside our bubble, or in the case of our neighbors, those ousted by our bubble expanding? And one might wonder, why would I say our neighbors were ousted by Vassar? Only because indirectly, both these properties were actually bought by the College, which is one of the investors in ACI, as explained to me by the head of management for ACI.

So this is what had my moral compass going haywire all day before spontaneously combusting on Dec. 8. How could the very place educating us to lead “purposeful lives” of “engaged citizenship” (lifted from our wonderful mission statement) be, on such short notice, evicting people who have called this place home and relied on it in so many ways for up to 10 years? And I wonder how we, as students cultivating a complex social conscience that inspires us to fight for what we believe in, are able to stand by unbothered as Poughkeepsie’s community is disrupted and uprooted by the very institution that instills these values in us? Personally, how do I navigate my relationship with one of my good friends, who now has to find yet another place to live after only moving next to us six months before this fiasco, knowing that I am so complicit in his distress?

Part of it, I believe (here is where the opinion part of the opinion piece comes in), is that Vassar is a unique, enchanted space of beauty and intellectual curiosity—- we a’re so busy finding ourselves here, there is no time to leave and engage with the community. But why must we separate these two actions that are in actuality so related? In other words, why does understanding oneself have to occur in such a removed fashion, and how is it even possible to un-

derstand oneself without understanding our relationship to the people around us, understanding ourselves as a part of something so much bigger than us? When I first came here, I was so enamored, and “‘busy”’ with academics and student orgs and all Vassar has to offer its students, I never wondered, why did we stay open during the pandemic? How did we maintain our Covid “bubble”? Maybe, if I had, I might have realized that the bubble was there long before, and will be around long after the pandemic.

One might argue against this—our grounds and some buildings are open to the public! We have Community Engaged Learning (CEL) programs in place that help students engage in community, and for academic credit too! There is a large difference, however, between being open to the public, and welcoming to the public—especially when the public we are “open” to seems to always fit into the same demographic. Why is it that many of the City of Poughkeepsie’s residents struggle with homelessness, but none seek refuge under the shade of our beautiful arboretum of trees with our students in spring and summer? CELs can be special in fostering connections within the community, or helping get a sense of what life is like in the area outside campus. I wonder, however, if there is something social relationships cultivate that a removed academic interest could never do?

Poughkeepsie has so many spaces of communal togetherness that have helped me create meaningful relationships and experiences. There is the weekly live Jazz Jam at Mahoney’s Pub, or Hudson River Housing’s pop-up community chess events, or the swimming holes, or the endless list of events at the Boardman and Adriance Libraries, or the language classes for local refugees at the Christ Episcopal Church—the list goes on and on. One thing in common with these events open to the public is that none of them take place at Vassar.

My intention here is not to point fingers at authorities or instill guilt in students

having a good time at college. I just wanted to share my sadness in realizing that Vassar does not exist as a place that nurtures a strong relationship between local residents and students—this is not the goal of the institution, regardless of what the mission statement or engaged pluralism initiatives might claim. Instead, the reason we are here is intellectual satiation; the goal is “education”—to see past what is immediately around us. We learn to unpack complex texts and speak a language that lands us great jobs and helps us feel smarter at the end of four years. In learning to see “the bigger picture,” in a removed fashion, are we learning to shut our eyes to the beauty and suffering of the community around us? If this is part of our education, who is going to teach us to open them?

This is not the first we are hearing of Vassar—or, for that matter, any college—expanding into the land around it, and it will not be the last. So I would encourage you to venture out into the complex city that we live in, even to get a bite to eat, attend a local event or protest, or swim! If that feels too much, there is still so much you can do within the “open grounds” of our campus— get to know your neighbors, chat with the custodian you see every day, or the smiling soul that serves you food in the Deece or the groundsmen riding around on their dope little ATV things tirelessly. Who knows, maybe you will meet someone you will care about, or a tree you will feel attached to. And if they suddenly disappear maybe you will notice, maybe you will even write an angsty Misc article about it.

Community is knocking on your neighbor’s door for eggs and staying for a beer, it is shared jokes, it is running your hand through the phantom bark of a tree and feeling her cool shade again. There are ways to cultivate it systematically that can be worked on here, but at the end of the day, its roots have always lain within each and every one of us.

Your friendly neighbor, Karun Krishnamurthy ’24

Images courtesy of Karun Krishnamurthy ’24.

There is a division between ideology and party-based voting

Soren Fischer Columnist

Atwo-party system defines United States politics. While third parties do exist in direct opposition to the Republican and Democratic parties’ general platform, they are mostly relevant during presidential elections. However, not even then are they remotely viable options because of the two major parties’ duopoly and the historical precedent of voting. The two-party system presents a significant barrier to a diverse ideological representation in government and a meaningful choice for voters.

Due to the dominance of the two-party system, voting for ideological representation becomes constrained, compelling voters to prioritize party control over issues. Tackling these challenges requires electoral reform that ensures the United States not only reflects the diverse views of its citizens, but also cultivates a more transparent and responsive political landscape that addresses issues based on ideology.

Consider Germany as an example of a multi-party system that significantly differs from our two-party system. The diversity of thought that exists on the left–right political spectrum is much more represented than in the United States, where people can only choose between two vastly conflicting parties. In the 2021 federal election, there were six notable parties or coalitions that garnered support and won multiple seats in the Bundestag, the German federal parliament. Though the share of the vote ranged from 25.7 percent for the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) to 4.9 percent for The Left, according to Politico, each party held a considerable portion of influence.

Speaking of part allegiances, a study from Yale found that people tend to prioritize their political party’s stance on a particular issue over both facts and their personal set of beliefs, despite them usually relying

on facts and their ideology. The electorate conforms to the position of the party, as opposed to the party conforming to the electorate. Yet this issue could be resolved with more third-party candidates representing the facets

With that being said, third-party candidates never pose a significant threat to candidates of the major parties, and exist more so to send a message to the major parties and to take votes away from the top candidates. In the 2016 presidential election between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, the third party vote amounted 5.73 percent, according to the Federal Election Committee (FEC). Though Clinton was able to win the popular vote, Trump won the electoral college, which some have argued was caused by the 7,830,934 votes cast for third-party candidates; most notably Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party (3.28 percent) and Jill Stein of the Green Party (1.07 percent).

The 2020 presidential election told another story, with a greater dominance of the two-party system. That edition of the FEC’s report says that President Joe Biden and former President Trump received 98.16 percent of the total votes, with the only notable third-party presence being Jo Jorgenson of the Libertarian Party (1.18 percent). These numbers are much more consistent with results of previous elections.

This coming election will be a rematch of Biden and Trump, and following the Republican and Democratic National Conventions when the parties officially nominate their candidate for president this July and August, respectively, the final push to November will be established.

Just like in 2016, two incredibly unpopular candidates are facing off. According to a poll from Emerson College, Trump’s lead over Biden increased by two points when third-party candidates Robert Kennedy Jr., Cornel West and Jill Stein were added to the ballot. Five percent would support Kenne -

dy Jr. with one percent to Stein and West, respectively. Obviously these projections show that these candidates have no chance of winning the election, but rather suggest who they might take votes away from. As suggested by Sara Dorn from Forbes, Recent polling suggests that RFK Jr. may pose a greater threat to Biden than Trump.

The two-party system hurts both minor parties and major parties because it prevents fair and meaningful representation of the populace.

These numbers are drastically different from the results of a Quinnipiac University survey that were released last November, showing RFK Jr. receiving 22 percent of the vote in a hypothetical three-way race with Trump and Biden. The issue with polling that needs to be understood, though, is that the numbers never line up come election day, so all we can do is wait and see who people actually decide to vote for.

The two-party system hurts both minor and major parties because it prevents fair and meaningful representation of the populace. It is unfortunate that an individual like Senator Bernie Sanders, who is the longest-serving Independent in congressional history, had to run on a Democratic ticket during his 2016 and 2020 campaigns due to people’s unwillingness to vote outside of the two-party system. Senator Sanders has maintained a close connection with the Democratic Party and caucused for most of his career. Yet his independent platform that represents nation-wide progressive,

socialist and left-wing interests has to conform to the two-party system for a serious chance at higher office. This is simply because people are unwilling to vote outside of party lines, as suggested by a different study from Yale.

One current example of the need for a more inclusive system is the fate of supporters of Nikki Haley. Since Haley dropped out of the campaign for the Republican nomination, there has been much internal strife within the party. For Never Trumpers or Republicans who voted for him previously and have had enough, many seem to be conflicted. Where will her supporters go?

Polling from Quinnipiac University found that close to half of the Republicans and Republican-leaning voters who at the time had supported Haley’s campaign would vote for Trump this coming November, while 37 percent shared they would vote for Biden. However, 12 percent expressed an interest in abstaining, supporting another candidate or were still not yet certain. It is evident that people desire another option, and are eager to express themselves when presented with one. But when the actual election rolls around, they believe their alternate candidate, when pitted against the candidates of the dominant parties, will not stand a chance.

Because of the two-party system, ideological representation in voting is limited and voters are forced to vote for a candidate rather than the issues they care about. This limited third-party presence in elections forces voters to prioritize candidates over issues and perpetuates a cycle of limited political diversity. Addressing these issues requires electoral reform to promote greater inclusivity of alternative parties. Only through such reforms can the United States not only be more accurately representative of all Americans, but also a more honest and responsive political system that confronts issues based on ideology and not

Image courtesy of Tori Kim ’25.

Unpacking the first two rounds of March Madness

Every year in late March, the top 64 Division I men’s basketball teams compete in a three-week-long, single-elimination, bracket-style tournament, which crowns one team a national champion. The bracket is divided into four regions—East, West, South and Midwest—and a couple days before the first round of the tournament, the NCAA selection committee releases the selected teams for the tournament, along with their seeding. Last Thursday and Friday, the first round of the tournament took place, knocking out half of the squads hopeful to reach Saturday and Sunday, when the second round narrowed the field down to a Sweet 16—the informal title of the third round with 16 remaining teams. The Southeastern Conference (SEC) came into the tournament with high expectations, but the conference only has two of their eight qualifying teams still standing. On the other hand, the Athletic Coast Conference (ACC) and Big East will have a combined seven teams in the Sweet 16—a historically impressive number for the conferences, especially for the ACC whose teams are overall 8-1 with four teams in the Sweet 16.

First round action consisted of breakout stars, shocking upsets and exciting finishes. For the first time in five years, no No. 15 or No. 16 seed took down the respective No. two or No. one seed in their region and 13 teams favored to win were victorious in the

first two rounds. Three of the four No. 11 seeds defeated their sixth-seed opponents in the first round, with Oregon beating South Carolina, North Carolina State beating Texas Tech and Duquesne defeating Brigham Young University (BYU). Only NC State was able to keep their run going, taking down Jack Gohlke’s Oakland, who emerged as a fan favorite after he netted 10 3-pointers in a 80-72 win that knocked third seed Kentucky out of the tournament. Though he became a sensation overnight, Gohlke stayed humble, accepting that he might not make it to the NBA but affirming that he can compete in a collegiate game with those who will. He went on to score 22 points in Oakland’s 73-79 loss to NC State in the next round. Joining Oakland in upsetting their high-seeded first round opponent was 13-ranked Yale who took down four-ranked Auburn. Yale followed in the footsteps of its Ivy League counterpart, Princeton, which made it to the third round of the tournament last year after defeating second-seeded University of Arizona in the first round. Despite the array of upsets in the first two rounds, No. one seeds this year have been rolling. In this year’s tournament, the University of Connecticut (UConn), Houston, Purdue and University of North Carolina were ranked number one in their region, and, with one exception that we will look at later, they have been trouncing their opponents, cruising to the Sweet Sixteen and winning by an average score of 19.25 points in the second round. Keep in mind, all four No. one seeds surviving until the

Elite Eight is rarer than expected. Since the tournament began seeding teams in 1979, the four top-seeded teams have qualified for the Elite Eight just seven times.

Looking into the Sweet Sixteen, there are some key considerations to pay attention to. UConn comes into the third round as the favorite to win the championship after winning last year. On the other side of the bracket, Duke University has been steamrolling their competition, and is coming off a 38-point win over James Madison University. Jared McCain made eight 3-pointers in Duke’s beating up of James Madison to take Duke back to the Sweet 16. If Duke wins, the team will play the winner of Marquette-NC State. Marquette advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time in ten years but will face a difficult test as it takes on 11-ranked, redhot NC State, coming off their ACC tournament championship run and now two NCAA wins. Top-ranked Houston is coming off a too-close-for-comfort overtime victory over Texas A&M, and of the four top seeds, Houston is seeming like an imposter. Despite a strong first round victory over No. 16 seed Longwood, Houston faces a difficult path to the Final Four. The Houston Cougars will take on an electrifying Duke squad in the Sweet 16, and assuming they win, would take on the winner of NC State and Marquette—two teams that have been overperforming their expectations and have all the pieces necessary to make a deep run.

While the path forward looks clear, nothing is certain in March. Here are my

top three hot takes that have potential to shock viewers this year. First, do not be surprised if Clemson University makes a scrappy run. Despite its shaky inconsistency, this Clemson team can heat up from beyond the 3-point line and run up the score against its opponent. Clemson will face quite the test against Arizona this Thursday night. Number two: third-seeded Creighton University could show up strong in the Final Four. Creighton battled Oregon to a double overtime in the second round, eventually finding its mojo in a 13-point victory. Despite needing the two extra periods, this Creighton team showcased its strengths on Saturday night and will certainly be overlooked going into its matchup against Tennessee. Finally, Duke has got the electric March gene needed to make a surprise run. The fourth-seeded Blue Devils came into the tournament an underrated team that could not find their mojo all season. But with the freshman McCain heating up, this Duke squad has all the parts necessary to make it happen late in March.

As the tournament heats up and the field is narrowed down, fans can expect only to be surprised, as this tournament annually yields wild endings and improbable comebacks. Four coveted spots in the Final Four are just two victories away for the 16 remaining teams. I expect that we will see three teams that are a top-three seed, and one team that is ranked No. 5 to No. 11. The Sweet 16 goes down today and Friday, followed by the Elite Eight round on Saturday and Sunday.

Brewers Ballin’: McCusker garners Liberty League Honors

Our goal with Brewers Ballin’ is to feature Vassar athletes who starred for their team the week previous to publishing. If you would like to nominate an athlete, please email nvillamil@vassar.edu.

Brewers Ballin’

Name: Erin McCusker

Year: Sophomore

Team: Women’s Tennis

Stats: This week’s Singles Performer of the Week extended her singles’ winning streak to nine at the top flight with three wins last week

Statement: “A quote that I love is ‘no rain, no flowers.’ One of my favorite professional women’s tennis players, Marketa Vondrousova has that quote tattooed on her arm, which inspired me to get it tattooed as well. This quote is so simple, but its meaning is very powerful to me. Sometimes the good times cannot come without the bad times and we must persevere. Not only can I reside with this quote in my everyday life, but it especially means a lot to me in regards to my sport. Tennis is a sport with no clock, so even if you start poorly, you can still come back no matter what, and this season especially I have had to have that mentality.”

Box Score: Baseball defeats Rensselaer

VASSAR

The Miscellany Crossword

“Heroics”

By Sadie Keesbury

ACROSS

1. AM, FM, CB, or ham

6. Suffix with social or solo

9. _____man (hero who can breathe underwater)

13. Allergy

14. When repeated, eating sound

15. Tie (together)

16. _____man (hero whose uniform resembles this grid)

17. Apt rhyme for try

18. Belgian expressionist James

20. Month before Apr.

21. “Do it, or _____!!” (threat)

23. “_____ further!” (stop where you are)

24. Show on television

25. Donkey

27. Eisenhower nickname

29. Cooking spray brand

30. Minecraft explosive

31. Tatami _____

32. Gorgonacea (soft coral) nickname

34. British mother

35. _____man (hero who has arc reactor shrapnel near his heart)

37. “OMG, I did NOT need to know that.”

38. NYC baseball player or museum

40. Birds often confused with ravens

43. Period we entered when we sprang ahead, for short

45. _____ slip, wardrobe malfunction

47. Descartes of philosophy

49. Apt anagram for 56A

51. Grounds

55. _____man (hero who rides in a mobile)

56. See 49A

57. “There are so many _____ and downs in the rollercoaster of life.” —Sadie Keesbury

58. _____man (hero who can shrink and grow)

59. Organization for the welfare of kids

60. With 65A, a kick-line dance

61. Miller _____, low calorie beer

63. Duchamp’’s movement

65. See 60A

66. Decorate

68. Professor’’s helpers

69. ““L + _____”” (your post sucks)

71. Suffix with switch

72. Ambulance worker

73. ““My eyes _____ here””

74. Musical break

75. French article

76. Lakshmi of Top Chef DOWN

1. Hallway monitors, in college (but not at Vassar)

2. Foil material

3. Nordstrom or Macy’’s, for example

4. Bon ____ (Skinny Love singer)

5. ““_____ the ramparts we watched””

6. One who puts money into a business

7. Dirt

8. Literary technique that created ““un-freaking-believable,”” for example

9. Honest president

10. Last Chinese dynasty

11. Uncouth

12. God, in Hebrew

19. Frolick

22. _____ out a living (scrape by)

24. Withdrawal location, for short

25. Mon _____, French pet name

Answers to last week’s puzzles: “MINI 1”

By Clara Alger, Carina Cole, Luke Jenkins and Allison Lowe

“MINI 2”

By

Felix MundyMancino

26. Vassar’’s event planning office

28. Devour

33. Nuclear bomb, for example (abbr.)

36. Neither’’s partner

39. Aunt, Sp.

41. Livestreams

42. Noise to make with one’’s fingers

44. David Guetta and Sia song about resilience

46. Org. for school involvement

48. Aliens, for short

50. Nine digit identifier (abbr.)

51. Biss of The Balloonists

52. _____man (hero whose real name is Peter)

53. Opposite of beginning

54. 50 of these comprise their United version

62. Greek Cupid

64. Judi Dench or Maggie Smith

65. Delevingne of modeling

67. ““Am I _____ a man and a brother?”” (abolitionist slogan)

69. Nicki Minaj genre

70. Grandpa in German

Category Match answers:

Sources of light: LAMP, CANDLE, SUN, FLASHLIGHT

Things that orbit: MOON, ASTEROID, SATELLITE, ISS

Languages taught at Vassar: ASL, GERMAN, CHINESE, ENGLISH

Things that follow “thin”: ICE, K, AIR, SKINNED