Misc 10 1 15

The Miscellany News

Volume CXLVIII | Issue 4

October 1, 2015

Since 1866 | miscellanynews.org

Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY

Robberies Philosophy unites Hudson Valley minds plague A THs, TAs Amanda Su

Guest Reporter

Rhys Johnson News Editor

“E

courtesy of Spencer Davis

With additional reporting by Senior Editor Noble Ingram. very one of us was home at the time,” said Natalie DiCenzo ’16. It was a typical Thursday evening in her Terrace Apartment (TA) with its inhabitants spending the night in and people coming and going periodically.

Around 1 a.m., DiCenzo and one of her housemates were talking in her room when they heard a strange shuffling noise coming from the door of one of the rooms across the hall. As she noted, however, “Why would you expect it to be anyone other than your housemate walking around or going to the bathroom?”

Seconds later, DiCenzo’s own door unexpectedly cracked open, and a strange pair of eyes peered in, followed by the beam of a flashlight. Upon seeing that the room was not empty though, the TA’s uninvited visitor bolted off out the door, into the night. After inspecting the state of the house once their unwanted guest ran away, DiCenzo discovered that her housemate’s room had been entered, and his backpack, including valuable personal items like his laptop, had been stolen.

DiCenzo’s story is not an isolated incident, however. It is one of several burglaries committed in Vassar’s senior housing See BURGLARY on page 4

lthough they are in such close proximity, the schools in the Hudson Valley area don’t often come together to share their ideas.

“I think it’s really sweet watching all these schools come together to talk about philosophy and engaging in philosophical discussions,” Erin Leahy ’16, a member of the Philosophy department’s majors committee said of the second annual Mid-Hudson Philosophy Society meeting. She added, “Having a central event or location to come do philosophy together is really special; and to have a whole day with events that are interrelated to give a broader context of a certain philosophical issue is also really valuable.”

You didn’t have to be the next See PHILOSOPHY on page 6

Hudson Valley students gather in Thompson Memorial Library as part of the Mid-Hudson Philospohy Society’s annual meeting. This year, the discussion focussed on Guantanom Bay and international human rights.

Chefs think outside the box with local foods Julia Cunningham Features Editor

K

en Oldehoff stuck his head in the door.

“Sorry, I was just on the phone with somebody from the Local Economy Project, the Hudson Valley Farm food hub, or farm hub, asking me what Vassar would buy next fall because they’re planning what to plant.”

As the Director of Marketing and

Sustainability, Oldehoff finds and brings more local food to campus.

The Deece that “popped-up” under the tent outside the College Center a few weeks ago, and has also been under the tent on the big side of the Deece occasionally, is a showcase not just of the local foods that Oldehoff has found, but also a tribute to the talented chefs on Vassar’s campus.

Senior Director of Campus Din-

ing Maureen King explained, “I think we’ve been talking about it for awhile. I mean, we’ve been doing the pop-ups in the Deece.”

The move to push the pop-up tent outside was Oldehoff’s idea.

King said, gesturing from inside her office behind the Kiosk, “Ken had had this idea last year to do a popup somewhere in this area, where students could use a meal.”

She went on, “We’ve done bigger

events in the dining rooms, and that was just an idea to create some variety for students, just to do something different. Eating in the same place every day can get monotonous for students.”

The pop-up Deece provided a way for students and chefs alike to take a break from their usual proceedings. King said, “It’s a way to showcase some of the talent we See DEECE on page 7

Glass plates capture Vassar’s past Tennis downsizing proves contentious I Yifan Wang

Assistant Arts Editor

n an image from nearly a century ago, taken in May 1930, the class of 1932 gathers on the lawn near Main Building for their tree ceremony.

Dressed in white robes, hoods and some with fake white beards on, the large group of students are holding a flag emblazoned with their class

year. Some students stand around the small sapling they just planted as their class tree.

Although class trees and the events around them don’t have much presence on campus now, it was a big deal 85 years ago, involving dove-releasing, secret rites and digging the hole using Matthew Vassar’s silver spade. The tree ceremo-

nies were documented by a series of images dating from 1904 to 1935.

This series of visual materials can be found in the “Glass Plates Negatives” collection at Vassar’s digital library. With 870 images in total, the collection was recently conserved and digitized at an off-campus conservation center. The images were See VASSARIANA on page 16

courtesy of Vassar College Libraries

Students from the class of 1925 were celebrating Founder’s Day. This image is from a new collection at Vassar libraries.

The visual materials were created from glass plate negatives, which were recently conserved and processed off campus.

Inside this issue

8

Alum opens eatery in FEATURES New York City

14 ARTS

Audio preservation topic for upcoming lecture

Zach Rippe

T

Sports Editor

he women’s tennis team at Vassar College has sustained a long running tradition of winning.

Head coach Kathy Campbell has been with the team since the late 1970s and boasts an impressive resume that has seen the Brewers ranked among the top-15 teams in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Northeast region since 1988. Her teams have also been nationally ranked for 18 years. Vassar won the Liberty League title every year from 2002 to 2010 and has also won the Seven Sisters Championship 11 times since 1987, including victories in 2013 and 2015.

Still, this fall, the team faces a difficult situation. Last year, the roster consisted of 13 players, a good surplus, considering the travel party consists of 10 girls. This season, however, the roster consists of seven athletes. A team needs six athletes to compete in match, making a roster of seven risky when it comes to competing over the course of an entire season. There are several factors for the drop in numbers, including the graduation of seniors, a lack of freshman recruits and JYA departures. These all have been consistent issues throughout the years.

One additional cause of this

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year’s low numbers has been the departure of sophomore Lauren DiFazio from the team. DiFazio was notified via a handwritten letter on July 23 this past summer. The letter read: “After much consideration over the summer, I have decided to reduce the size of the team for this coming year. In making the team smaller, I am also making an effort to insure that the team members’ skills throughout the roster are closer in ability to push each other more and to raise the overall level of play.

Therefore, I am not able to offer you a spot on the team this year.” It went on to explain, “At our May meeting after the season, I did remind you that each year I decide who returns to the team the following year.”

DiFazio acknowledged the gap in skill, yet described her determined mindset going into the summer via interview: “I just wasn’t getting better… It was kind of like a wash. [I said to myself] I’m going to go home over the summer and work my ass off because I want to play. I don’t want to be on this team if I’m just gonna be benched the whole time.

So I go home and I literally played tennis for 6 hours every single day.

It was ridiculous. I was running, I was training, I was weightlifting.”

DiFazio suggested that had she known about the cut earlier, she See TENNIS on page 18

New coach dives into swimming SPORTS season with gusto

The Miscellany News

Page 2

October 1, 2015

Come to the Misc’s General Body meeting!

Editor-in-Chief Palak Patel

Senior Editor Noble Ingram

Tuesday, October 6 at 7 p.m. in Rocky 304.

News Features Opinions Humor & Satire Sports Photography Design Online Copy

There will be pizza!

Rhys Johnson Julia Cunningham Emily Sayer Zander Bashaw Zach Rippe Sam Pianello Sarah Dolan Elizabeth Dean Anika Lanser

Crossword Editors Alycia Beattie York Chen Collin KnoppSchwyn Assistant Arts Connor McIlwain Yifan Wang Assistant Social Media Hannah Nice

Burgeoning foodie Sucato enjoys Italy Chloe Sucato JYA Blogger

I

courtesy of Chloe Sucat0

arrived in Italy about a month and a half ago, ready to embark on my first journey abroad.

I came with few expectations because I wanted each new experience to be as untainted as possible from the stories I heard from previous participants of the E.C.C.O. program in Bologna, Italy. Although my final destination was Bologna, I spent three weeks experiencing southern Italian culture in Lecce.

My time in the south taught me that Italy is a richly nuanced country. Each of the twenty provinces of Italy, but often each region or city within each province, has its own distinct culture, traditions and food that its people widely embrace. The Vassar Italian department definitely warned us about the regional differences that exist in Italy, but I was still surprised to see how greatly southern cities varied from those of the north in terms of industrial and economic development and societal progress.

Northern cities, especially tourist-prone or university cities like Rome, Bologna and Milan, have more active business sectors and noticeably less rigid patriarchal structures in comparison to those of the south. Although the south was different from what I am accustomed to as a New Yorker, for three weeks I enjoyed the slower pace of life and the cucina povera, traditional southern cuisine, in Lecce.

I learned how to function with an extremely limited wardrobe and without amenities like drying machines, air-conditioning, and ever-present hot water.

I began learning Italian my first semester at Vassar after having taken Spanish in high school for seven years. One of the things that has surprised me the most is how confident I feel in my ability to communicate in a foreign language in a foreign country. While I was visiting Rome on my way up north to Bologna, I encountered a banking issue and had to explain my situation to a very kind Italian banker. While the situation was not serious

and was resolved quickly, my ability to explain what had happened saved me a great deal of stress.

Although it has only been a little over a month, my sense of independence has increased tremendously. I am proud of myself for figuring out the Roman public transportation system in just three days and for discovering cool cafes in each city I visit where I can sip on a cappuccino and take advantage of the free Wi-Fi. I have adapted quickly to each city that I have visited, both in terms of understanding the different dialects and figuring out my way around.

If you are a foodie, make sure you take a trip to Italy. The first time I went to a frutteria in Lecce, I bought some of the best peaches, plums and apples that I have ever had. Ice

cream does not compare to gelato. Homemade pasta beats boxed pasta every time. Get my drift? The relationship Italians have with food, both in the north and in the south, is completely different, however, from what you encounter in America. You will never be rushed out of a restaurant and meals are complex ordeals here, consisting of several courses, made almost exclusively from locally-sourced products that follow a particular order. This goes mainly for lunch and dinner because breakfast is usually light and consists of an espresso and a croissant. Although Italians eat generously, they balance their diet with an active lifestyle.

To read more about Chloe’s travels, visit farandaway.miscellanynews.org!

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

Reporters Amreen Bhasin Eilis Donohue Ashley Hoyle Sieu Nguyen Matt Stein Winnie Yeates Columnists Penina Remler Sarah Sandler Josh Sherman Design Samana Shrestha Copy Laura Wigginton Noah Purdy Claire Baker Jackson Ingram Tayla Phelps Steven Park Rebecca Weir Sophie Slater Sophie Deixel Juliet Weis Jessica Roden

CORRECTION POLICY The Miscellany News will only corrections for any misquotes, resentations or factual errors for ticle within the semester it is

accept misrepan arprinted.

October 1, 2015

NEWS

Page 3

New Aramark dietician promotes healthy college living Shelia Hu

Guest Reporter

I

awareness of the problem or what the proper recourse may be (ANAD, “The hidden health crisis on campus: Eating disorders”).

While having a full-time nutritionist on campus is an important development for many students, most agree that there is still much more room for improvement. One student, who wished to remain anonymous, expressed their dissatisfaction with their consultation with a visiting nutritionist last year. They explained, “I went because I was concerned about my eating habits and I thought I probably had an eating disorder and I wanted a nutritionist to confirm that for me and give me advice. However, she really didn’t recognize the ultimate underlying problem that I did have a developing eating disorder. The advice she gave was vague and impersonalized.”

The student continued, “While she did give me a meal plan to follow, she didn’t problematize my current eating habits, which were the real issue. And even the meal plan she gave was slightly confusing, with her claiming that I needed to load up on carbs and one of the recommended meals

being waffles and ice cream...However, it was only $10 so I shouldn’t be expecting an in-depth, therapeutic session. It was worth $10 and nothing more.”

Murphy, however, acknowledged that there was undoubtedly room for greater support by the College. She commented, “I would like to support a culture of self care, body positivity and mental health on campus. I will collaborate in this regard with resources and people already at work on these campus issues, such as counseling services, health services, health education, AEO and RSL. I use mindfulness with students to address various health concerns, such as weight management, disordered eating, nutrition-related conditions and food sensitivities.”

Although it is apparent that unhealthy eating will be a difficult issue to resolve at Vassar and many other campuses, Murphy and the rest of Dining Services have begun the year with the hope that, with the help of the community, health and dining conditions will start to improve over time.

courtesy of LinkedIn

t is unclear whether or not Aramark will stay on as the College’s primary food supplier next year. More clear are Campus Dining’s intentions to improve campus dining conditions this year with the recent the addition of a new campus dietitian to the Aramark staff, Marie Murphy.

Murphy, who received her Master’s degree in nutrition at Hunter College, is no newcomer to Vassar. She has been a yoga instructor for the College for seven years, in addition to serving as House Fellow in Cushing for the past three years.

Two years ago, she worked in a local dietetic internship with health and wellness program developer Wellness Workdays and has, as a result, worked extensively with the Aramark and the campus dining team.

According to Senior Director of Campus Dining Maureen King, this new position was introduced because of a growing interest in wellness, healthy eating and overall nutrition among students. She explained that Campus Dining has been wanting to hire a full-time nutritionist to accommodate this trend for several years now, and is proud to announce that this has finally happened.

She wrote in an emailed statement, “We hired a full time nutritionist because there was a demonstrated need. Over the course of the past several years more and more students have had questions about nutrition in general and allergies in particular. Students were arriving on campus with severe allergies to tree nuts, peanuts, gluten, soy, shellfish and other common ingredients.

Athletes had more questions about how nutrition could help their performance. We found that we were consulting a nutritionist quite frequently. So frequently that it became apparent that we could best serve the community with a full time nutritionist.”

The College has previously experimented with hiring an outside nutritionist to address specific community concerns. Originally brought to campus by Campus Dining, then hired by Vassar Health Services, they have come periodically to consult with students for a fee of $10. Director of Health Services Irena Balawajder explained, “Diets discussed included weight loss, weight gain, vegan, vegetarian, well-balanced diet, anemia diet and others.”

Although the College will now have a full-time nutritionist, Balawajder maintained that they will continue to bring a nutritionist to campus about

once a month for student consultations because it has been a popular service that catered to what the students wanted. She also suggested that the College will continue bringing outside nutritionists because it is not expected that Murphy, despite being a full-time employee, will be able to meet with all the students interested in pursuing one-on-one dietary consultations.

Murphy herself described in more detail what her job entails and what she will discuss with students who do manage to set up appointments with her. She explained, “Nutrition consultations are free. I provide a limited amount of individual counseling for students with eating disorders, food allergies/sensitivities, dietary restrictions, weight management issues, etc. I also provide group sessions for athletics teams, and other groups with similar needs and interests.”

Despite being a relative newcomer, Murphy noted that she has a number of projects for the coming year in mind, many of which she has already begun. She remarked, “I am working with the dining staff on a number of issues, which include but are not limited to: signs and labels in [the All Campus Dining Center], training staff with regard to food allergies, dietary restrictions and food safety, and collaborating with other offices on campus. As this is a new position, the details are still developing, and I look forward to new challenges.”

Although she has a clear set of goals and a student body that has often expressed interest in promoting healthier eating, Murphy comes at a time of great national concern regarding unhealthy eating on college campuses across the country.

In a 2012 study published by the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, researchers found that many college students do not have even one serving of fruits and vegetables per day (USA Today, “Food for thought: The challenge of healthy eating on campus,” 07.13.12). Lack of healthy choices in dining halls, lack of knowledge on healthy eating, no time to eat, financial issues on buying healthy food and stress are all contributing factors to an unhealthy diet at college.

Unassisted by healthy dining choices and lacking the proper time and resources to pursue a wholesome lifestyle, college students nationwide have faced a recent increase in body image issues and eating disorders. A survey put out by the Eating Disorders Recovery Center found that a large portion undergraduate students do not seek out treatment for various reasons, including a lack of

In light of prevalent concern among students regarding the quality of health and wellness resources in Campus Dining services, Aramark has taken on Marie Murphy as a full-time nutritionist.

Campus Security reassesses standards of personal safety crimes. Sabo, however, maintained that such concerns have no practical basis. She wrote, in an emailed statement, “It seems likely to me that an individual or two have discovered vulnerabilities and have taken advantage of them. It is very easy to wait for an officer to drive or walk by and then go into an unsecured apartment under the cover of darkness.”

Sabo also noted that Safety and Security are currently in the process of examining possible reallocation of resources and personnel on both temporary and permanent bases. The department is also reportedly discussing ideas for potential installation of surveillance cameras and tightening of access restrictions to certain areas on campus.

To many students, however, the prospect of upping security around campus is not as obvious as it may seem. In past years, students of color have often felt targeted by campus security personnel, and as such many feel uncomfortable with increasing their presence on campus as a practical solution to the problem. “I’m hesitant,” McAlarney noted. “I know that increased security presence on Vassar’s campus, also in the world, tends to come along with racist or classist [consequences].”

Drawing on feedback from members of her constituency, THs President Maya Horowitz instead suggested that students help themselves be safe. “Given the timely nature of these crimes I doubt how effective increasing security patrols would be in actually reducing trespassing,” she explained. “If any sort of surveillance is to be increased it should come in the form of student campus patrollers or a neighborhood watch.”

Many agree that the effort to make campus more safe will have to come from students themselves, and that students must take a more active role in protecting themselves and their belong-

Sam Pianello/The Miscellany News

BURGLARY continued from page 1 during the beginning weeks of this semester.

Drury McAlarney ’16 came back to his own TA one night to discover that his home too had been burglarized, and his phone and wallet gone.

He reported the robbery to Safety and Security, who promptly put Poughkeepsie police on the case. Much to McAlarney’s frustration, however, after the police came to his TA the next day to photograph the crime scene and provide him and his housemates with a number to call with any further information, little more could be done, and the culprit remained, and still does remain, at large.

According to Director of Safety and Security Arlene Sabo, suspects have only been found in the College’s investigations for one of the incidents, and the rest of the cases remain unsolved despite being part of an ongoing investigation by the Town of Poughkeepsie Police Department.

As can be expected though, this series of burglaries has created a pervasive feeling of discomfort and unease among upperclassmen living in the TAs and Town Houses (THs).

According to Sabo’s all-campus advisory emails, one student that was attacked in the kitchen while attempting to stop an unlawful intruder, and many students fear being confronted with similar situations. “I’ve become so paranoid. I used to just lock my front door, but now I lock my bedroom door, I lock the windows,” McAlarney remarked. “I was at the Villard Room on Saturday night, and I had a bag with me that just had my VCard and my keys, but I didn’t want to put it down or out of my sight.”

Perhaps the most obvious potential solution is to enhance security presence in the THs and the TAs, as some students have claimed that a diminishing presence of campus security in such areas, particularly in the TAs, has facilitated these

Over the past few weeks, many students have fallen victim to a series of burglaries in Vassar’s senior housing, and agree that active student concern will be necessary to prevent such crimes in the future. ings. “I don’t know that a lot of people lock their dorm room doors...I feel like that sticks with you and you forget that there is just one door between you and the rest of the world,” DiCenzo admitted.

“We feel dumb but we know it is not just us.”

Sabo echoed, “It may seem very basic but the first line of defense is locking doors and windows.

Criminals often commit crimes of opportunity.

When they have to take action that would make noise or involve obvious unlawful action they are likely to move on.”

Although the community has yet to decide exactly how it will move forward in keeping stu-

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

dents and their belongings safe, Sabo remains unphased by the recent burglaries, and wished to reassure students that these incidents are valuable opportunities for positive change in community safety.

She remarked, “I understand how unsettling this feeling can be. I think it is important to keep in mind that no one and no location can ever be invulnerable. So, in an odd way, having this feeling is the first step toward improved personal safety. It can be used as a catalyst to analyzing what steps a person (and the institution) can and is willing to take for safety’s sake…”

NEWS

Page 4

October 1, 2015

Sustainability scholar encourages movement inclusivity Eilis Donohue Reporter

O

guson commented, “If Vassar were to do [something like the Oberlin Project], we would have to work very carefully with the community in a way that empowers them and involves them. There has to be a background structure of laws and regulations that deters gentrification, because the environmental movement is increasingly trendy.” She and Vassar Greens President Gabrielle Pollack ’17 concurred that gentrification, loss of resources and displacement can too easily occur when a city is made more environmentally conscious.

When asked about the connection between social and environmental justice issues, Pollack put it in plain terms. She explained, “[W]e can’t have social justice if we’re not having the environment. If you don’t have a place to live, there’s going to be no platform to have any social justice.”

courtesy of Parsons School of Design

n Sept. 22 in the Villard Room, renowned environmentalist, author and Paul Sears Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies and Politics at Oberlin College David Orr gave a lecture entitled “Higher Education in a Hotter Time: rambling thoughts about how we got in this mess and what we can do about it.”

After brief introductions by faculty members and President Catharine Hill, Orr began the lecture on a sobering note. He stated, “There’s not a person in this room who doesn’t have a carbon footprint, we’re all implicated in this. So there are no real good guys and bad guys…we’re all part of this. Now we have to think our way out of it.

Evolution hasn’t wired us necessarily to do this.”

Orr soon after delved into the connection between environmental issues and social justice issues, linking the two by critiquing American culture and government. Using stark visual aids, Orr stressed the wildly disproportionate effect that the United States has in particular. “The American dream is a carbon-intensive dream,” he lamented. “This is a problem for which there is no known solution.”

Referencing his experience and success with integrating sustainability, Orr went on to describe the Oberlin Project, a cooperative sustainability initiative between Oberlin College and the surrounding community that he spearheaded in the Ohio college town. The project’s goals included constructing ecologically conscious buildings like a sustainable hotel that will replace the old Oberlin Inn, as well as the Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Studies on the college’s campus. “In our case what was important was a renewable facility,” Orr remarked. “[The hotel] will be, as far as I know, the first entirely renewably-powered hotel in the world.”

The Lewis Center, already well established since its completion in 2001, is not only energy efficient but also a net energy exporter, sharing its excess with the larger community.

Drawing on the similarities between Vassar and Oberlin, Orr urged students to think of sus-

tainability in a more inclusive way. He and Vassar students alike want a sustainable future to be possible for all. DivestVC Coordinator Elise Ferguson ’17 posited, “Sustainable communities are for everyone, not just the privileged.” When speaking about the Oberlin Project, Orr made sure to emphasize the importance of accessibility. One project in the community sector has been construction of entirely solar-powered houses.

“The question for us,” he said, “was could we do this at a rate of cost affordable to somebody below the poverty line?” As it turned out, the answer was yes, as high performance and solar powered homes are being built in Oberlin and made available to people of all financial means.

Students involved in social justice and environmental groups on campus, however, will testify to the difficulty of making spaces green in a way that is inclusive and accessible to all. Fer-

Famed environmental author and professor David Orr recently spoke to students about issues within the sustainability movement, encouraging a more realistic and inclusive set of goals and methods.

Orr stressed not only accessibility for environmental movements, but also a change in the politics surrounding them. He argued, “It doesn’t really matter if you’re a Republican or a Democrat, I want to argue that this is something that is genuinely bipartisan.” Positing that many misunderstand what a sustainable economy could and should be, he remarked at his support for the integration of sustainable practices into existing economic and social structures rather than advocating for mass political reform.

True to the title of his talk, Orr made sure to discuss the importance of greater integration of environmental issues across the board in higher education. He insisted, “We can do it in higher education: it’s your brainpower, it’s your money, it’s your investment. But it means we need to rethink how we operate schools.” The sentiment is echoed by many students, who hope that professors and students will not shy away from talking about environmental issues when and wherever they are relevant, and who hope that they will begin to hear new voices at such discussions. Ferguson said, “The lecture was pretty well attended, but I feel like most people were people who I recognized from environmental classes…We need to talk about [the environment] in classrooms.”

Despite feeling discouraged by a general lack of drive at Vassar to replicate the success of sustainability movements at peer institutions like Oberlin, many students reported having been reassured by Orr’s words. Pollack said, “Sometimes you feel like, ‘I’m in my own world with these environmental issues and the only people that care are also people that are my age, so what can we do to make a change?’ Then when someone who’s a very known environmentalist [says], ‘Yeah, you’re right,’ that’s a very affirming kind of point.”

Despite the gravity of the issues at hand, Orr urged his audience to remain active in the movement and hopeful for a brighter future. He advised, “If you’re pessimistic you won’t do anything, if you’re optimistic you won’t do anything, but if you’re hopeful you have to do something.”

Outside the Bubble Pope Francis’ American Tour Sparks Dialogue of Change Within Catholic Church Sept. 28 marked the last day of Pope Francis’ first trip to the United States since his election in 2013.

As the head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis is the international spiritual leader of a faith that boasts over one billion followers worldwide, including more than 76 million in the United States alone (Pew Research Center, “The Number of U.S. Catholics Has Grown So Why Are There Fewer Parishes?”

11.06.14).

During his visit, Pope Francis visited New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., addressing the United States Congress and the United Nations (UN) General Assembly and giving speeches at educational and Catholic institutions along the way.

His time in America also included a private meeting with survivors of sexual abuse perpetrated by clergy members, after which he spoke to assembled Catholic leadership about the legacy of that abuse and how the Church should move forward (Washington Post, “Pope Francis, in Congress, Pleads for Unity on World’s Woes,” 09.24.15).

While addressing the UN General Assembly in New York, Pope Francis addressed climate change and economic opportunity as major concerns on the world stage. Emphasizing the role of humanity as stewards of the earth in his speech, he also equated the health of the planet to the health of the human condition.

He remarked, “[Man] possesses a body shaped by physical, chemical and biological elements, and can only survive and develop if the ecological environment is favorable. Any harm done to the environment, therefore, is harm done to humanity” (Washington Post, “Highlights of Pope Francis’ Remarks in the U.S.,” 09.27.15).

Pope Francis hit similar notes in his Sept. 24 address to Congress, in which he also advocated for greater understanding of the plight of immigrants, specifically citing continued immigration to the United States from Central and South America. “On this continent, too, thousands of persons are led to travel north in search of a better life for themselves and for their loved ones, in search of greater opportunities,” he remarked. “Is this not what we want for our own children? We must not be taken aback by their numbers, but rather view them as persons, seeing their

faces and listening to their stories, trying to respond as best we can to their situation. To respond in a way which is always humane, just and fraternal” (Washington Post).

Although The New York Times noted that liberal-sounding statements such as these prompted more standing ovations throughout the speech from Congressional Democrats than from their Republican counterparts, Pope Francis also bolstered popular conservative viewpoints in other addresses, including emphasizing the essential centrality of the family and the importance of defending religious freedom around the world.

Speaking to a reporter on his flight back to Vatican City, he answered that he was not familiar with the Kim Davis case, in which a local county clerk from Kentucky has been embroiled in court proceedings over her refusal to issue same-sex marriage licenses, which she claims contradict her personal religious beliefs.

As he stated, however, “Conscientious objection must enter into every juridical structure because it is a right.” He continued to affirm that refusal to follow or uphold the law should be a right even for government officials (Reuters, “Govt. workers have right to refuse gay marriage licenses: pope” 09.28.15).

Towards the end of his tour through the United States, Pope Francis met privately with survivors of sexual abuse, some of whom were victims of members of the Catholic clergy. In a later address to the Catholic Church’s leadership, he expressed sadness at their stories. “I regret this profoundly. God weeps,” he lamented.

He continued to express the intent to prevent further abuse and to hold accountable both perpetrators as well as those who have covered up abuse. “I commit to a careful oversight that youth are protected and that all responsible will be held accountable,” he remarked.

“When a priest abuses, it is very grave because the vocation of the priest is to make that boy, that girl grow toward the love of God,” he continued. “For this reason, the church is strong on this and one must not cover these things up. Those who covered this up are guilty. Even some bishops who covered this up” (Washington Post, “Pope Francis finally met with sex abuse survivors but more action is critical, activists say” 09.27.15).

However, activists and survivors like Pennsylvania State Representative Mark Rozzi emphasized that, while Pope Francis’ words were meaningful, concrete action towards achieving justice for survivors and protection for future children is still needed, like extending the American statute of limitations in the case of abuse survivors.

Survivors and activist leaders also expressed doubt that the Church would follow through with these intentions, as it has often failed to do in the past. President of The Foundation to Abolish Child Sex Abuse John Salveson, who is a survivor himself, told The Washington Post, “As with all things related to the Catholic Church, you have to listen to the words and then you have to watch what they do” (Washington Post).

As the Pope returns to the Vatican after an extensive tour of South America, Cuba and the United States, lawmakers and citizens alike are reacting to Francis’ far-reaching statements and advisements.

Just as much as the Pope came to address people the United States to affect global change for the better, many citizens and activists hope that his experiences with survivors in the United States will prompt change in the Church.

—Elizabeth Dean, Online Editor NASA Discovers Evidence of Liquid Water on Mars Astronomers rejoiced on Sept. 28, 2015 when evidence of water was found on Mars. The recent discovery ended the long debate about whether or not there was liquid water still flowing on Mars. “The existence of liquid water, even if it is super salty briny water, gives the possibility that if there’s life on Mars, that we have a way to describe how it might survive,” remarked Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA John Grunsfeld (CNN, “Liquid water exists on Mars, boosting hopes for life there, NASA says,” 09.28.15).

The discovered presence of perchlorates on Martian mountains indicates that water must have been there within the past several days. “That’s a direct detection of water in the form of hydration of salts,” said University of Arizona Professor of Planetary Geology Alfred S. McEwen, who is a senior author on the study. The perchlorates were traced to recurring

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

slope lineae, vertical dark streaks that descend from the peak of the mountain part-way down. Perchlorates lower the freezing point of water enough that water does not freeze and remains in the soil in moist patches (New York Times, “NASA Confirms Signs of Water Flowing on Mars, Possible Niches for Life,” 09.28.15).

The origin of the waters, however, remains unclear. There are icecaps at the poles, but the source of running water on Mars is still a mystery to experts.

Scientists hypothesize that presence of perchlorates in these streaks may draw water out of the air or that the water emerges from aquifers and travels up the mountain. Porous rocks under the planet’s surface could also be the source, holding water that freezes and melts with the seasons (The Guardian, “Nasa scientists find evidence of flowing water on Mars,” 09.28.15).

The question remains, however: “Is there life?”

“The short answer for habitability is it means nothing,” commented Christopher P. McKay, an astrobiologist at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California. He used Antarctica’s Don Juan Pond as an example of the incompatibility of life with high salt concentrations. “You fly over it, and it looks like a beautiful swimming pool,” Dr. McKay said, “but the water has got nothing” (New York Times).

Yet, the answer may not be so bleak. Scientist at the Southwest Research Institute David E. Stillman proposed that there may be geographical differences in the waters’ salt concentration. “If it was too salty, they would be flowing year round,” Stillman said. He posited that microbes might be able to live in areas where the water is less salty such as in particularly warm times (New York Times).

This is not the first time that Mars showed signs of life. In December of 2014, the Mars Curiosity rover discovered methane deposits on the surface of Mars on top of additional chemical signatures that may indicate life at one point or another (CNN).

In 2020, NASA will send another rover to Mars to investigate the water. While contamination of Mars’ water with Earth microbes is a high concern, scientists hope to use a laser from several meters back to determine the chemical material within the rocks (New York Times).

—Jeremy Middleman, Guest Reporter

October 1, 2015

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VAST’s educational efforts venture into community Alan Hagins

Guest Reporter

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courtesy of Phoebe Magee

VAST is a notably popular program. It currently sends around 45 mentors into schools. Head Coordinator, Phoebe Magee, spoke of the importance in creating a lasting bond between students.

courtesy of Phoebe Magee

hat they’re trying to do, I told Phoebe that, in Louisiana, that’s how I became the person that graduated from high school,” VAST student-worker Cody Harmon ’19 said. Head Coordinator of the Vassar Afterschool Tutoring Program (VAST) Phoebe Magee ’09 only recently took the role as the head of the Vassar Afterschool Tutoring (VAST) program. For many volunteers, working as tutors and mentors for the under-privledged Poughkeepsie Middle and High School students means getting the students excited enough about learning that they, like Harmon, continue striving for a higher education.

Standing outside the Old Observatory, Magee said, “In middle school, you spend a lot of time figuring out what is normal and what you should be doing. Then you rebel against it by listening to really weird pop punk, or asking people out on dates for no reason, or experimenting with weird Capri pants like I did.”

She was describing the ins and outs of VAST, a mentorship program with the Poughkeepsie Middle School. The program successfully jumped back on its feet last Monday for the semester. Each year a mix of about 45 Vassar volunteers, work-study and fieldwork participants head over to the school every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for an hour and a half.

Once Vassar student volunteers step off the bus, the second step is to pair up with one or two middle school students and begin helping with their daily schoolwork. Magee explains, “As Vassar mentors get to know their students better they can provide some academic mentorship. As a young college educated adult, who works with them afterschool, you can find what their strengths are, do some cheerleading, and encourage them to be excited about school.”

Kayla Fisher ’17, is one of those mentors: “At VAST I serve as an eighth grade head mentor, so in addition to having two students I work with, I also facilitate between Phoebe and the other Vassar mentors. As someone who has been in VAST for three years, I feel comfortable helping the other sixth and seventh grade mentors too.”

When Magee came in as the new coordinator in the Summer of 2013, Fisher said, “She just hit the ground running. From day one she was really well organized, and kind of just had an idea that she wanted to reach out the mentors who had been in the program recently, and get their advice on how to run things. There has been a lot of communication between the mentors and phoebe. The kids really love Phoebe, she is really involved in getting to know them in and outside of VAST.” The kids are no strangers to Fisher either.

Spotted at the mall, she has a tough time making an escape. “Whenever I go to the mall, I swear to goodness, there is like a flock of middle schoolers, like ‘Kayla!’” But, Fisher doesn’t mind her celebrity. The frequent sight of middle schoolers off of their desk-chairs and out and about in the city of Poughkeepsie continues to ignite excitement and warm feelings.

“Education is something you can embody in whatever line of work you go into, and in some ways VAST has helped me see that. You don’t have to be a teacher in a classroom to understand the importance of education.” Fisher might not sit her devotees down at the mall for a session on algebra, but her philosophy on education certainly extends past the classroom.

Both Fisher and Magee have been highly praised for their effort to create an exemplary program inside and out of the Vassar community. As Interim Head of Field Work Nicholaus de Leeuw said, “I can tell you that when I have interactions with the principle at the middle school, Crystal Waterman, and the Super Intendant of the Poughkeepsie schools: they both have made a point of saying what a great thing that program and others are.” Perhaps part of the recent enthusiasm generated by Crystal Waterman and the Super Intendant comes from an easing of tension between Poughkeepsie Middle School administrators and VAST coordinators.

Over the last three years, Fischer has noted an upswing in communication efforts between the two. She notes, “Working with the middle school administrators is actually a lot easier than it used to be. Communication between VAST and the middle school has gotten better over the years. We actually have our own classrooms this year at the middle school. Which means we are able to decorate those spaces.

We are beginning to make that space our own, as opposed to something we can just visit.” An improvement in communication has allowed for newfound access to resources previously allocated to different areas. Permanent classrooms improve the program’s roots and provide a space for students to decorate and feel at home.

As Fisher noted, Magee came into her own as coordinator of the program quickly. But for Magee, her efforts were strongly supported by the coordinators, mentors, parents and students before her. “The people before me really just built something really incredible and strong relationships with the school. By the time I got here, people really wanted to be in the program.” Though there is significant interest in the program, Magee still has an active role in recruitment.

VAST focuses on sixth, seventh and eighth graders, but when Magee recruits she focuses on the newest of the batch. “I travel to the Poughkeepsie Middle School over the summer to deliver applications and talk to parents, and meet people who are just coming into this school as sixth graders.” Magee is fortunate enough to boast of the programs free tuition and close mentorship to incoming parents and students.

The next step for Magee is preparing her tutors to go to the Poughkeepsie Middle School.

As a former English major here at Vassar, Magee has Vassar students journal about their Middle School experiences: “I like to have people write their thoughts down before they have to share them in a group, especially in the beginning. So, this year people had a chance to jot down their most vivid memory of Middle School and then

Vassar Afterschool Tutoring (VAST) is a program that allows Vassar community members to work as tutors and mentors for students from local Poughkeepsie Middle and High Schools. talk to the person next to them about any commonalities, to come up with ideas that might be developmentally true around that age.” The method is designed to help trigger memories and preface Vassar student’s initial meeting with the middle schoolers.

One major hurtle for Magee every year is the excess of qualified Vassar work-study applicants. “There are definitely more students interested in doing VAST for work-study than I can accept. In total, 43 people applied, and there were 11 spots. If I had a wish list for VAST, more work study spots would be on there.” After the work-study positions are taken, Magee seeks about 30 volunteers for the semester.

“I think what really works for the program is getting really talented, really educated, really hard working Vassar students over there, and asking them to listen to the student they are working with, and see what the student is working with, and see what the student needs, and they figure that out.” Magee stresses building a deep personal relationship with middle schoolers, and fitting the style a scope of education around them.

Fisher, one of these talented students, is excited to begin a new year with the Poughkeepsie Middle School. “I’m really excited to continue to work with the two girls I had worked with last year because they have grown so much intellectually and personally, not so much height, but they are extremely intelligent, extremely driven, and it has been an honor to work with them.” Fisher’s relationship with her mentees has extended over two years.

Magee said of Fisher, “Kayla has a cool role, she is a head mentor in the classroom, and she kind of leads students there in an academic portion.” All students involved in the program work to build and strengthen their relationships with middle schoolers. However, each Vassar mentor will approach their role differently depending on their strengths.

Magee told me that Fisher’s role is academic, but that other students have roles which focus on extracurricular interests. “There are other students who come up with extracurricular activities, like art and music. There were people who led Ukulele lessons and stuff last year.

Which is so important. Poughkeepsie Middle School definitely has things like chorus teachers, orchestra and sports, but they don’t have as many afterschool recreations where kids can do stuff in groups. There’s no YMCA anymore here, there’s no open gym space, or park space.” de Leeuw noted one of the reasons for this limitation in resources is the district’s public status. “They are in receivership, in other words, the state has determined they are a problem district, which allows the state to come in and say, ‘we are putting this person in charge,’” de Leeuw explained.

“Poughkeepsie Middle School and High School, I don’t know about the elementaries, but I know those two schools are the bottom state-wide,” Harmon said. He added, when students only travel there a few times a week, it is hard to actually make a difference. He asked, “Are we doing enough to help them?”

Fischer noted, “I try not to look at Poughkeepsie Middle School as a case study, because

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

that’s not my place at all to go in and look for sociological patterns. But I can’t say I don’t notice certain things. Some of the things I notice come from the students themselves. They are very aware of how their school has been effected by standard testing and the common core.”

Fisher tries to confront this issue directly with the students she mentors. “It’s easy to just answer A, B, C or D on those packets, but I think it is really important for VAST mentors to ask questions that go beyond that because you can’t live like that. They are at a very impressionable age where they need to know that it’s okay to question things, and it’s okay to demand more out of your learning environment and the things that you’re being provided.” Vassar students like Fischer and others who work with VAST continue to encourage the merits and approaches to learning Vassar helps to cultivate.

Fischer added, “The kids are so creative when it comes to deciding what to do for fun.

They love Apples to Apples, and they are so in touch with technology. It is incredible to hear middle school students be so in touch with their own ideas, and visions for their futures.”

Fischer, and other mentors part of VAST actively encourage students to look at their education from alternative angles, and continue to be a lively and active part of their school environment.

In the end, for Fisher, it’s up to the student to defy expectation and seize their own opportunities. “A lot of the times students can voice their concerns, like, ‘if I go to Poughkeepsie and my school is on advisory does that mean that I’m a bad student? ‘Does that mean that I can’t do well?’ But at the same time, I feel like they are defying all that, especially in the program.

I don’t feel like they are letting those labels as being a problem school stifle them, I don’t feel like that’s something they have internalized, and that’s something that I’m grateful for.”

VAST will continue to flesh out its relationship with the Poughkeepsie Middle School and its students over the following years. In the meantime there needs to be a continued group of dedicated students and administrators to maintain relations.

Fisher is now in her junior year and close to graduating. Magee, here for two years already, may leave her post-baccalaureate position shortly. For current students interested in the work VAST does, Magee asks they come find her. “There is always going to be a need from Vassar for students who can do this kind of work. So if there are students who want to help this, and would like to commit to this, I would encourage them to come in and talk to me.”

The most important aspect of the VAST program is the connections the students from both sides of the community form. Magee said, “I think, in some ways it might be creating, maintaining, and sustaining some kind of meaningful connection between the Poughkeepsie community and Vassar.” She went on, “These students coming to campus for things, for resources and for activities, and Vassar students leaving campus to spend time in Poughkeepsie and these schools. So it’s imperfect, but it seems worth continuing to work on.”

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October 1, 2015

Celebrators of High Holidays find mixed spiritual support Matt Stein Reporter

F

courtesy of Vassar Jewish Union via Facebook

or many students, adding on extracurriculars to their academic schedules can be very difficult to manage. For some, their spiritual life is another element to balance. And sometimes all of these elements conflict.

Each year, the Dean of Studies Christopher Roellke sends out an email explaining how to anticipate observing a religious holiday, and yet there still might be some pressure in missing classes. With the recent Jewish holidays that have occurred, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot, many Jewish students and teachers must find a way to both stay academically on­top of things all the while practicing their religion. It is especially hard when, as they did this year, the holidays tend to fall near each other. While famous athletes have been known to cancel games in order to celebrate certain holidays, it is harder for Vassar students and faculty to pause their lives to properly devote themselves to their religious practices.

This year, Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, began Sunday evening on Sept. 13, and ended the following Tuesday. Traditionally, practitioners attend services to celebrate the new year.

Yom Kippur fell on the following weekdays of Tuesday, Sept. 22 and Wednesday, Sept. 23.

On the first night of Yom Kippur, those who practice Judaism fast, and treat the following day as a Sabbath. Not everyone can afford to take the additional time off, however, when Rosh Hashanah just ended.

For Sukkot, which happened this weekend, they created a sukkah, or a booth, on the library lawn to celebrate agriculture, among other things, and to eat under it.

The usual process to prepare for missing classes involves emailing professors ahead of time, where they will almost always provide extensions and extra office hours to accommodate the students and allow them to participate in their religious duties.

Former Chabad President and Vassar Jewish Union (VJU) Executive Board member, Ian Snyder ’17, said on the justness of this policy, “I think they say that if you need to miss class because of religious duties, then you can. And I think that’s as fair as you can get.”

However, even with such options provided, there is still a hassle when it comes to missing classes. The difficulty of being out of the academic loop for even a minuscule amount of time can have side effects, even when given extensions. In addition, attending services and other practices takes up time from when a student could be working on homework or preparing for an exam.

President of VJU, Abby Johnson ’17, talked about some of the hardships in missing classes for religious holidays. She said, “Even now, days after Yom Kippur has ended, I’m still feeling the effects of taking time from my daily life to go to services instead of doing my normal workload. Vassar can be a very difficult place to remove yourself from to focus on observing a holiday and I think we as a community could work harder at improving that.”

Celebrating these holidays can be more than just attending services. Yom Kippur is considered the holiest day of the year and a day of atonement and repentance, reflecting on the sins or guilt one has felt, something that may not be possible for those who attend classes.

In an academic schedule where days off are for the time between semesters or government holidays, it sometimes is not enough to receive religious exemption from class. Johnson elaborated on ways that the administration could support those who wish to practice. She said, “If professors could avoid scheduling big essays or exams around those holidays, or realize that bringing food into class on Yom Kippur can be uncomfortable, I think it would make a world of difference. Even marking those dates as holidays on the syllabus might make students more comfortable.”

What is the proper way to acknowledge those students who choose to go to class while still participating in religious duties? The issue lies in trying to respectfully proceed in teaching classes. This is not an argument of political correctness, but rather an attempt to facilitate every persons’ needs.

Students are not the only people who have to maintain this balance of religious duty and academic duty. Chemistry Professor Leah Bendavid, who identifies as Orthodox Jewish, said that in anticipation of Yom Kippur, she rescheduled her classes.

She explained, “The Sabbath is a day of rest

The Vassar Jewish Union is a resource for practicing Jewish students. Fall can present challenges for those who wish to observe high holidays because of conflicts with academic scheduling. during which I refrain from doing things that are considered in Jewish law as ‘work,’ which has been defined to include actions involving electricity, writing and driving a car, among other prohibitions.”

“There are certain Jewish holidays during the year that are Sabbath­-like in which, in accordance with Jewish law, observant Jews also refrain from doing these actions considered as ‘work.’” She continued, “Basically my goal is try my best to make it as low­-impact on the students as possible.”

She went on, “I never cancelled class; I’ve always rescheduled class. And I also try to reschedule office hours. For students who can’t make it to the rescheduled classes because it’s very hard to accommodate everyone’s schedules, I’ve prepared videos of lectures for them and have also offered to meet with them out of class to teach them the material one­-on­e-one, just because I don’t want it to be a burden on my students at all.”

Bendavid, like Snyder, noted that Vassar’s policies on religious exemption are more than fair. “I’d like to add that as a new faculty at

Vassar, I was really impressed by the consideration shown by the administration regarding the college’s policy on religious holiday observance and academic commitments,” She said.

“It’s great to be at a place that is so committed to embracing diversity, including religious diversity.”

Despite some minor changes that could occur, Vassar has a very accepting policy that allows for the religious freedom one needs to practice their faith.

The Administration of Religious and Spiritual Life works well with administration to accommodate upcoming Jewish holidays, while also maintaining a relationship with the Jewish student organizations, VJU and Chabad, to appeal to both sides and create a comfortable environment for students to practice their religion while being a student at Vassar.

To describe the importance of observing religious holidays, Snyder put it best, explaining, “There are some things more important than classwork. I feel that if you’re religious, your spiritual life would trump your academic life at times. I think you have to find a balance.”

Reflections on violence a primary topic for philosophers PHILOSOPHY continued from page 1

Aristotle or Socrates to attend and enjoy this event. All that was required was a curiosity about society and a willingness to learn. Leahy said, “Quite simply, I hoped to learn more about a certain philosophical subject. I really enjoy Philosophy and this is me just learning some philosophy that’s not in a class environment.”

The Mid-Hudson Philosophy Society’s second annual meeting that took place on Saturday, Sept. 26 in Rocky was filled with future majors, introspective, prospective and current Philosophy students, and students with an insatiable desire to gain a more profound understanding of contemporary issues. It provided students and faculty with a space to learn from and converse with like-minded thinkers about the morals of torture and its place in history and society.

The Mid-Hudson Philosophy Society is a philosophical alliance that consists of five schools that surround the nearby Hudson River. Students and faculty from Bard College, Marist College, the State University of New York at New Paltz, the United States Military Academy at West Point and Vassar College meet annually to combine their knowledge and different perspectives to discuss one philosophical topic. The previous one took place at West Point last year.

The conference attracted approximately 80 students and faculty from across the five colleges. It featured a lecture by distinguished professor of Philosophy at The New School for Social Research, Jay M. Bernstein.

Bernstein’s presentation was based off his last book, “Torture and Dignity: An Essay on Moral Injury”, and was titled “Torture and the Rule of Law.” Bernstein’s lecture focused on the initial

foundations for modern moral law against the use of cruelty and torture—a pressing issue in the contemporary world today. Professor of Philosophy and Chair of the Philosophy department, Giovanna Borradori, explained that Bernstein’s discussion of this topic comes at an appropriate time. “This issue is at the center of contemporary debates about the brutality of the industrial prison complex in the US. You can imagine how delicate a point this was for both the West Point cadet and Professor Bernstein, who at this conference had a unique chance to speak openly and deeply about a topic of urgent political concern for everyone.”

Philosophy professor, Travis Holloway, said that the lecture contained many aspects that related to current issues. He stated, “The talk itself was a response to the ongoing crisis of Guantanamo Bay. The fact that even though we have national human rights and international humans right, we still treat certain people as exceptions to these rights.”

He went on, “We have to return back to the basic principles of modern and moral law to understand that they were intended to apply to all people, based on the idea that we are all equal and born equal.”

Leahy agreed. She said that, while this country may believe that torture is in the past, it is still very-much present. “Torture, for that moment, was seen as a thing of the past. Now, a lot of people do still use torture, and our own country does still use torturem,” She shared.

She added, “I think his [Bernstein] thesis is basically that torture is logically unsound with our current government system, our current justice system. It logically does not make sense. And that was really interesting.”

The Mid-Hudson Philosophy Society’s conference allowed students to think critically

about a current controversy in a controlled environment of like-minded and curious thinkers from five schools. The students and faculty brought with them their own diverse perspectives and background knowledge, enhancing the existing ideas of those around them.

Borradori, cited one captivating instance during the lecture. Borradori said, “One key point was when a West Point cadet asked Professor Bernstein whether a line could be drawn between psychological and physical torture.”

Borradori went on, “Professor Bernstein said that a clear boundary between physical and psychological torture could not be drawn, and examined the case of solitary confinement. He defined it as one of the most traumatic examples of torture practiced every day in the United States, a country where torture is suppose to be illegal.”

The event consisted of formal meetings such as a keynote address by Bernstein and a student’s panel. It also comprised of more informal moments, such as lunch in the Aula and a campus tour.

The event was beneficial in helping students bridge the physical, intellectual and social gap between the five colleges. Borradori said, “In addition to the conference room, these informal moments of sharing encouraged an emerging sense of community between students and faculty coming from different campuses.”

In the Student Panel, Vassar Philosophy major Arshy Azizi ’16 presented a paper entitled “Tort Law and Corrective Justice.” The paper consisted of philosophical questions concerning the distinct responsibilities of law and the role of the jury as a stand in for civil society.

The respondents from the other four schools

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

provided a detailed analysis of Azizi’s paper and responded with thoughtful objections.

Borradori believed that the event clearly showcased the epitome of a liberal arts experience. She shared, “All in all, it was an illuminating session that shows the high degree of sophistication that smart undergraduates at all of these institutions have acquired through their liberal arts education.”

“The strength of the Philosophy Department at Vassar College is in the pluralism of approaches to philosophy and the breath of philosophical areas that we cover, both in terms of our scholarship and our teaching.”

Borradori said.

Borradori went on, “The pluralism that we stand for and practice, day in and day out, was on full display during the student panel segment of the conference. We are proud of the quality of mind that our students showed in the questions that followed the keynote address and during the Student’s Panel.”

For Leahy, the discussions happening gave her a new perspective on a topic she is very familiar with. She said, “It’s like reading a really cool article that you don’t have to read for class. And you’ll learn something new—something you would not have learned otherwise.”

Access to such events as the Mid-Hudson’s Society Philosophy conference enables students to broaden their horizons and further enhance their liberal arts education. It allows people to discover something on their own without the hassle, stress and pressure that often accompanies school lectures.

“I strongly believe that the collaboration between students and faculty outside of the classroom setting is an important component of the liberal art education.” Borradori said, “This conference was a unique opportunity for that.”

October 1, 2015

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Birth control workshop contextualizes reproductive health Aditi Chandna and Julia Cunningham Guest Reporter and Features Editor

T

come with a warning. You must take them at the same time every day for them to be effective. They also help with heavy blood flow, anemia, endometriosis, acne and can even reduce chances of ovarian and colon cancer.

Something that not many people had heard of, Depo-Provera, is a birth control shot. It is taken every 3 months, but it is less popular due to its extensive side effects: mood changes, thinner bones, weight gain and acne. It also stops the menstrual flow after a point.

The session concluded with some facts about condoms. “Just because someone is on birth control doesn’t mean condoms aren’t important. They are still the only form of protection against STD’s,” Dadarria said. “The female condom has a lower effectiveness but is made out of plastic, not latex and is a better option for people allergic to latex,” She added.

The session was informative and extremely helpful for students. One attendee, Robin Corloto ’19 said, “I liked how the session touched base with protection for people of all genders.”

Living with healthy sex habits is just another aspect of college. “Navigating a college environment, for most students, is difficult enough. Add to that the pressures of navigating a safe and healthy sex life and it can become rather... overwhelming,” Kopke said. “Through this event, the Office of Health Education and CHOICE hopes to give to the Vassar community the tools (and information) necessary to make positive sexual health choices.”

The event Tuesday created a safe atmosphere for students to learn more about what they wanted to know on the topic of safe sex. It created the bridge for those who feared speaking up about the topic.

Spencer Davis/The Miscellany News

he atmosphere in the Jade Parlor was less awkward and more expectant before the start of the Birth Control Q&A discussion on Tuesday. Students weren’t there to judge or poke fun, rather, they hoped to fill in the gaps in their knowledge of safe sex.

“One of the largest questions we try to address during this discussion is how students can go about accessing different forms of birth control (whether that be on or off-campus),” outreach chair for CHOICE and the wellness peer educator for the office of Health Education, Natalie Kopke said.

“The Office of Health Education has held multiple versions of this event throughout the years. It’s usually a small, discussion-based event (with an attendance of roughly 20 or so students) headed by birth control specialists,” She went on to say. “Through our discussion, we hope to help students figure what form of birth control is right for them. Ultimately, we hope that this will be starting point for further campus discussion as well as means of providing transparency as to how to go about accessing sexual health resources on and off-campus.”

The office of Health Education along with CHOICE collaborated and hosted this year’s discussion in the Jade Parlor on Tuesday, Sept.

29.

The session was led by Nurse Practitioner and Nursing Supervisor Anne Dadarria and health educator from Planned Parenthood in the Mid-Hudson Valley, Judy Di Matteo. “This session gives students an intimate setting to learn and ask questions about something that will affect them for most of their reproductive lives,” Dadarria explained.

There are many misconceptions about birth control that Dadarria hoped to dispel. “Many people think that because they have birth control they don’t need basic gynecological care anymore,” Dadarria said. “However, contrary to popular belief, these check ups must be

done at least once a year along with tests to check for STD’s.”

Di Matteo and Dadarria began the discussion with the different types of hormonal birth control. Both women kept the tone light, and made sure students knew they were free to interrupt with any doubts and queries. When the discussion moved on to birth control instruments, they even passed were passed each contraceptive around the room for students to observe.

While every woman should find the most effective birth-control option for herself, the current most effective device is the intrauterine device (IUD). “It’s important to remember that when we are talking about the “effectiveness” of birth control, we are strictly discussing its ability to prevent pregnancy (and not its ability to protect against a sexually transmitted infection),” Kopke said. “Even though the IUD is considered the most effective method of birth control, not every form of birth control is right for everyone.”

There are different forms of IUD, including a copper IUD that creates a hostile environment for sperm and Mirena, which can completely stop blood flow and can last up to five years.

“Many women with heavy flow opt for Mirena,” Di Matteo mentioned.

IUD’s do not require surgery, and there is no incision made,” Dadarria said. “It is a procedure that can be done by many clinicians at Planned Parenthood. Once it is put in, it does not get expelled easily.”

As for emergency contraception, the copper IUD and different types of pills can be used in case of emergencies. Pills such as ‘Plan B’ and ‘Next Choice’ are easily available but ‘Ella’ is a little harder to procure and more expensive. These are all good options in emergency situations, but have side effects if used for too long. “I don’t recommend taking these pills on a regular basis as they can cause nausea and irregular menstrual cycles,” Dadarria said.

Daily birth control pills are another pill that

The Women’s Health Center is located in Baldwin. It offers information on a wide variety of birth control options, which were featured in a workshop by the Office of Health Education on Tuesday.

Pop-up Deece showcases local foods in fresh new ways DEECE continued from page 1 have on campus. For example, There was the pop-up tent inside last night, next week we have our bakers, they’re going to be doing a special dessert, and we’ve showcased local produce from the Poughkeepsie Farm Project.”

While the idea for the pop-up Deece isn’t a new one, moving it outside was a novelty. “It’s a little more labor intensive, moving it outside, because when you do it in the Deece, everything is right there. We just put up a little tent right over the station,” King said. She added, “But to do it outside, you have to move everything outside. You have to get the tables outside. For that one, you needed grills, which we don’t actually have on site.”

Oldehoff added, “We happened to have the grills from the Labor Day BBQ , we said ‘okay, we can use those.’”

Figuring out what to serve was easier than

the manual labor. Oldehoff said, “The menu was me talking to the chefs saying, ‘I just want to try this, let’s come up with something simple since it’s the first time.’” The food, grilled chicken and vegetables, of course, were local. Oldehoff went on, “It was kind of very very simple. But Bruce Harms, the chef in the Retreat, saw a dressing in the New York Times and said ‘well, why don’t we do it with this?’ And it was like, ‘yeah, sure, why not?’”

In addition to the BBQ chicken, Oldehoff and King said that being able to provide the vegan option was important. “When we initially talked about the menu for this we made sure that we had a vegan option available,” King said. “I don’t know that that was initially on our plate, but we really needed to make sure that we had a vegan option.” That ended up being the eggplant stacks. Oldehoff wanted to make sure that they could show off their seasonal foods.

courtesy of Vassar College

For underclassmen, the All-Campus Dining Center (ACDC) is the focal point of on-campus food. This year, the ACDC is exploring new methods of bringing local foods to students’ plates.

“There’s just so many options,” He said.

Because the event fell the same day as Convocation, King wasn’t sure how the turnout would look. Jennifer Williams ’18, who works as a catering waitstaffer and also worked at the first outdoors pop-up Deece, wrote in an emailed statement, “The pop-up event outside of the Retreat was not as popular as I thought it might be. However, that may be because of advertising.”

For that reason, Oldehoff said, they limited the outside pop-up Deece to serve only about 200 portions. “We tried to make it clear to everybody, since we didn’t know how it would go,” He said. As for the experience of those working the event, Williams said, “It was definitely a different atmosphere working outside as compared to inside. It was actually more fun to work because while we were waiting for people to serve, my amazing coworker and I just danced and sang to music with the adult employees.”

Pop-ups inside the Deece are not much different. Showcasing local food is always the priority. “The pop-up events inside the deece are always very popular; we always run out of the food before the end,” Williams said.

Moving a bit of the Deece outside was simply something new that Campus Dining wanted to try. “This was just an idea we had,” King explained. “We just wanted to see if students liked it, there was nothing else to it.”

Oldehoff added, “It just seemed like a good idea. We’re lucky to have a number of people in the department who work really hard. It’s not easy to feed as many people as you are. But they’re willing to say ‘yeah, that sounds like fun. Let’s try it!’ And that’s what we do, we say ‘yeah! Let’s try it!’”

As for the outside pop-up Deece trying to draw attention away from the Deece not using enough local food, King said, “It’s hard to dispel the thoughts and rumors that we use all processed foods.”

At the recent food presentations from different vendors, Oldehoff said that what he’s heard from students has been discouraging. “Some

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

of the infrastructure in the Hudson Valley that grow local foods is a direct result of the support that Campus Dining at Vassar has done,” He said. “It’s a fact that we have supported people who, otherwise, their business would have starved. So sometimes it’s really discouraging, for me it’s really discouraging, to hear people say ‘we’re not doing anything with local foods,’” Oldehoff went on.

“That’s another misconception, that things that come from Aramark are packaged and frozen, and the guys just heat it up, and that’s just really not true,” King added. Oldehoff said, “I think a lot of public schools now prepare stuff in a local kitchen and then ship it out to all of the schools. So when people come to college their freshman year they think, ‘oh, they probably made it from the same way they made it in the public school that I went to.’”

Vassar’s food comes from many local providers, including Red barn, the Poughkeepsie Farm Project and other nearby orchards. Oldehoff said, “Vassar has been a leader when it comes to using local foods, on the east coast, I can’t say anything about the west coast.”

He went on, “It’s much easier to have local foods when half the country eats food from California.” In fact, King said, “We have 24% local foods.”

Vassar Campus Dining is very much about experimenting with food and the way that it can be served. “There’s a chef at ACDC who wants to do something that could be very interesting,” Oldehoff said. “It’s sort of like a beef brisket, or pulled-pork parfait. So you take a cup, then you take a little bit of BBQ meat, then a little bit of mash potatoes, and a little bit of BBQ , and a little bit of mash potatoes, and then as you finish this off, you top it off with a cooked cherry tomato.” He laughed, adding, “So it looks like a sundae.”

“We try to mix things up. We’ll probably have this BBQ parfait. We’ll have to have a vegetarian option, too. I’m not sure what we’ll have. A cup of mashed potatoes for a meal swipe might be a little tough,” Oldehoff said. “We’re here to try new things. I don’t know what else to tell you.”

FEATURES

Page 8

October 1, 2015

Alumni in aprons: Horowitz takes on unconventional foods Sarah Sandler Columnist

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courtesy of Ducks Eatery

ery rarely do we hear the account of a successful, apron-wearing entrepreneur. A few weeks ago, the New York Times published a food section, as they do every Wednesday, that included a feature about a brother and sister team who opened two New York City food spots in the past couple of years. As it turned out, one half of the duo, Julie Horowitz, was a member of the Vassar graduating class of ‘08.

She and her brother, Will Horowitz, only recently opened Ducks Eatery and Harry and Ida’s in NYC. Ducks Eatery, on East 12th Street between 1st and 2nd Ave, opened three and a half years ago. She said, “In its original state, Ducks was a grilled cheese and tomato soup concept. My brother was living in Colorado at the time and wanted to open little Duck huts along the ski mountains. When he moved back home, it changed to a late night grilled cheese concept intended for the bar scene in White Plains, NY where we grew up.”

Their journey took them to SPiN New York, a table tennis nightclub in NYC’s Flatiron district. Horowitz added, “It took us a few years at that location to really begin evolving Ducks into what it is now, which is still hard to categorize into a specific genre of food, but definitely reflects us and our backgrounds more than it ever did.”

While she was at Vassar, being in the food business wasn’t on Horowitz’s agenda. She said, “I started off as a Psychology major but switched to French while JYA in Paris”. Before she joined her brother to open Ducks, Horowitz was teaching English in Réunion, a French island near Madagascar.

If she hadn’t joined her brother in opening their food spots, Horowitz said, “I imagine it going in two very different directions. Either still living the expat beach life while teaching in Réunion or potentially working in the magazine/editing industry. I worked at House Beautiful for a summer in college and really loved the artistic direction of it. Whenever I get to use the skills that I learned there, during food photoshoots, branding, it still really hits home for me.”

In addition to Ducks Eatery, Julie and Will also run a delicatessen called Harry and Ida’s.

Horowitz commented, “While Ducks is defi-

Julie Horowitz ’08 and her brother Will run two restaraunts in New York City that feature foods from their childhood. Horowitz’s favorite dish is a jar of cockles conserved in thyme oil and chive salt. nitely our home base, it’s a very tiny space with limited room for expansion and research. We had been running our pastrami sandwich as a late night special at Ducks and at fairs and festivals, but it never really had a home and didn’t quite fit in with our menu.”

From this one pastrami sandwich, Harry and Ida’s was born. Horowitz explained, “We essentially built a concept around the pastrami sandwich but one that has allowed us to really experiment with homemade ingredients (oils, butters, conservas, sauces) and will eventually serve as a commissary kitchen to smaller outposts of Harry and Ida’s around the city.”

Harry and Ida’s is actually named after the Horowitz’s great-grandparents who owned a deli in Harlem.

Horowitz clarified, “Harry and Ida Zinn were my great-grandparents on my dad’s side.

They were immigrants to the U.S. from Hungary and opened their Kosher delicatessen in Harlem in the early 1900s.”

The Horowitz’s have taken a lot of inspiration from this business their great-grandparents ran. Horowitz went on to say, “According to our grandmother, who passed away at 99 last

year, their deli was really known for their pickled beef tongue and potato salad which she remembered making and eating a lot of as a child.

They also had this great pastrami recipe, which is the basis of the one we use today at the shop.

Oddly enough, I resemble Harry and my brother looks exactly like Ida.” While pickled beef tongue might sound a little eccentric, it might not be compared to some of the provisions sold at Harry and Ida’s.

Horowitz added, “The inspiration from the ingredients is constantly evolving. Initially, much of the inspiration came from mine and Will’s travels as well as our childhood.”

Horowitz went on, “We grew up going out to the North Fork of Long Island where our grandparents on my mom’s side still live. Our grandfather was a big fisherman and was bringing home fresh clams, mussels, and bluefish, which my grandmother, a classically trained chef, would cook up, always with a side of her fresh sourdough bread.”

Horowitz explained that many of their recipes are merely variations of traditional recipes.

She said, “A lot of the ingredients that we play around with at the store are ones that we grew

up with out there, especially all of the seafood, the cattails, different salts and seaweeds. Much of the store’s contents really come from that part of the state.”

The other ingredients that they use, Horowitz explained, came later. “Ingredients like eels, frog legs and crazy mushrooms came later, usually from big foraging adventures which my brother gets to do a lot of,” She said. “Our dynamic usually involves him thinking up some crazy concoction and me making it accessible enough for public consumption.”

The adventure for the Horowitz siblings doesn’t end with Ducks Eatery or Harry and Ida’s. Horowitz added, “Our immediate plan is to open more satellite locations of Harry and Ida’s around the city in the next year. We are also starting to package some of our menu items like our brisket jerky and ‘Deez Nuts’ (named pre-politician).”

Horowitz keeps her plate full. “When I’m not at either place, I also run a small cake business on the side (Shweetums),” She said. “It’s something I’ve always loved doing and in the past few years have really gotten the chance to experiment, learn new techniques, and build a customer base. Whenever I’m making cakes that involve fondant, I always think back to my days in the Vassar Costume shop with Holly Hummel and Arden Kirkland. It’s amazing how often I utilize what I learned from them in drafting and draping, but now with sugar dough instead of fabric.”

Running two storefront businesses and an online one on the side doesn’t keep Horowitz busy enough. She said, “My brother is also in the process of writing a cookbook called ‘Salt, Smoke, and Time’ with Harper Collins, for which I’m painting/drawing all of the illustrations.”

If you get the chance to visit Ducks Eatery or Harry and Ida’s, be sure to take Julie’s recommendations into mind. She concluded, “My all time favorite dish at Ducks is the smoked mussels. We serve it in a tin (Spanish conserva-style) with chili oil, cured meyer lemon, maple and house-cultured smoked butter on toast. I could eat it every meal, everyday… and sometimes do. As incredible as the pastrami is over at Harry and Ida’s, my favorite thing is actually the small jar of conserved cockles we make with homemade smoked thyme oil and sprinkled with a little chive salt.”

Overnight prep produces perfect on-the-go breakfast Penina Remler Columnist

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courtesy of the Feature Wall

ven though school started nearly a month ago, my Tuesday/Thursday 9 a.m. Spanish class continues to be my biggest struggle this academic year.

No matter how many alarms I set the night before, my eyes insist on blinking open around 8:45 a.m which leaves me just under 15 minutes to get up, get dressed, grab something to eat and still manage to arrive promptly to Chicago Hall. Trust me, this task is certainly easier said than done. Especially when you consider my mental state, having just woken up.

I’ve convinced myself that my distorted sleep schedule stems from my newly formed habit of falling asleep to anything food related. Whether it is Guy Fieri (in his one million shows on Food Network), Top Chef or an episode of Cutthroat Kitchen, I inevitably wake up starving each morning and am forced to simultaneously make sense of last night’s homework and my grumbling, distracting stomach.

My roommate and I have had several sitdown discussions in an effort to decipher a solution to this problem and while our wallets have certainly been affected by the amount of LUNA bars we’ve purchased and subsequently consumed, our appetites still remain the same.

In an ideal world, I’d solve this problem with the “pause” feature on my very own time machine, but unfortunately this solution is solely accessible in my dreams.

So, in an effort to feel both well-rested and well-fed, I’ve discovered a Sunday night solution that might delay some of your weekend rituals, but will promise to provide you

with a substantial and simple meal to start out your day.

Even though my Tuesdays and Thursdays consist of waking up in an absolute rush, my taste buds have yet to realize that I have no time for a sit down meal.

Consequently, I’ve discovered flax and blueberry overnight oats–a recipe not only capable of fooling my appetite with its savory goodness, but also able to get me to class both alert and on time.

Many people get turned away from this recipe when they see the word flax and associate the seed with its organic stigma. However, when conducted properly, this recipe (with the help of flax seeds), promises to exceed any experience you’ve encountered in a Whole Foods organic food isle. Trust me on this one.

All it takes is a little coffee, cream, vanilla, oats and a grapefruit to transform this recipe from a list of random ingredients and into a breakfast bowl of goodness.

Aside from this recipe’s simple instructions, this overnight oat breakfast seconds as a convenient, on-the-go meal which you will certainly find tasty, healthy and filling to boot!

Begin by collecting an extra food container to store the ingredients (in order) overnight. This will include rolled oats (or quick oats, depending on the preference), water, low-fat yogurt, flax meal and salt (save the toppings for the morning of ).

After assembling the main components, allow this mixture to remain refrigerated overnight before adding blueberries, pecans, brown sugar and any other fruit or nut snacks foods when you are ready to eat it the next morning.

The Recipe INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup rolled oats OR quick oats

• 1/2 cup water

• 1 cup lowfat vanilla yogurt

• 1 tablespoon flaxmeal

• 1 baby pinch of salt

• blueberries, pecans, brown sugar and other goodies for topping There is no strategy to the perfect breakfast bowl, but the flax and blueberry vanilla overnight oat recipe definitely comes close. Feel free to mix up the mixture, combine the thick layers and enjoy!

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

OPINIONS

October 1, 2015

Page 9

Campus in Students should push for more dining options need of new A mindset The Miscellany News Staff Editorial

s students gear up for midterms, they are more in need of study fuel than ever. But figuring out what to eat and where can prove to be a major challenge on this campus. There are limited options for food on campus, and the nature of the Vassar meal plan limits them further.

We at The Miscellany News advocate for more late-night food options for students. We feel that the administration’s dining decisions on campus reflect a fundamental misunderstanding of the needs of students: students need substantive meals late into the evening and, often a byproduct of their choices being limited by the meal plan, need more food options which accept meal swipes.

After 8 pm, students’ options are limited to UpC and Matthew’s Bean, only one of which offers substantive food. Further, only UpC and the ACDC offer anything in exchange for meal swipes, which constitute the majority of students’ meal plans. If students run out of their allotted dining bucks before the end of the semester, their dining options are limited during the day. Assuming that the average campus meal costs about $12.50 (according to the meal plan FAQs) then the standard meal plan accounts for about 33 meals to come from dining bucks and 151 to come from meal swipes.

Students have more than four times as many meals from swipes than dining bucks, yet after 8 pm, two-thirds of their options are dining bucks-only.

The number of dining location options and hours of those options don’t make sense in relation to the ability of students to purchase food from those locations with their meal plan—if they run out of dining bucks and need to eat at the Retreat, their only option is to purchase food out of pocket. Why is there no meal swipe conversion system? Similar colleges of-

fer more dynamic options: Bard College allows for the conversion of dining hall meal swipes to declining balance at other on-campus locations and Wesleyan University allows students to choose the proportion of meal swipes to declining balance in their meal plan for the same price.

Why does Vassar limit students’ food options both financially and in terms of hours?

Competitor’s for students dollars find that it makes business sense for them to remain open later—Bacio’s after-midnight hours apply only during Vassar’s academic year, showing their understanding of student’s differing schedules, and they reap the benefit of students’ dollars which otherwise could have been spent on campus.

Students were pleased to hear in a VSA forum with Marianne Begemann that the space under the College Center would be renovated to include additional food options, yet these renovations have been brought to a halt. The student-run system of Matthew’s Bean is popular, yet it is small and limited in its offerings.

Students have long advocated for a better meal plan system and more food options, but neither the VSA nor the administration have yet to implement a feasible solution—both “Late Night at the Deece” and “Late Night at the Retreat” seem to have been abandoned.

As it stands, the administration is not in a position to expand dining options for students.

In the same VSA forum, Begeman explained that to her, students are already spending as much as they are willing to spend on food. As a result, the College isn’t looking to expand food options, just to shift them. If students are looking for a wider variety of dining options and an expanded schedule of hours, we at The Miscellany News believe we should consider the possibilities of non-administrative alternatives.

One alternative, brought up at the VSA forum, would be to take the format of Matthew’s Bean and replicate it as a more substantial cafe.

The small coffee shop was funded through a student gift and it continues to be largely student-run. Why not create a cafe space with the same model? Every year, the VSA encounters difficulties in spending the enormous sum of money that it gets from students. Putting some of those funds toward a food space on campus would allow students to circumvent an administration that seems reluctant to address the heart of student dining concerns.

This proposal would solve another key issue many have with campus dining. Where people are willing to go to get food, and whether or not they are willing to stay, is intrinsically linked to the spaces in which food is being offered.

One of the reasons for the intended relocation of UpC is because the administration believes that the third floor of the Students’ Building is an undesirable location for hanging out and studying. Whether or not you agree with this idea, it is important to remember that the administration is not the biggest patron of UpC. With a student-driven food option, students could decide what location would be best for their own dining experiences.

Though we commend the efforts the College has made to cater their food services to the needs of students, we at the Miscellany News believe that the administration has the wrong understanding of how and why people purchase food on campus. The College should actively work to expand both dining options and dining hours but if it can’t, students should take up the charge and create a space that serves their needs.

Emma Jones

L

ately the growing presence of trigger warnings on college campuses has come under fire in the news. Many fear that these precautionary notices impede intellectual growth and restrict academic freedom, and a great deal of criticism of their use has made its way into mainstream media.

The trigger warning grew out of a practice developed to help people with PTSD avoid added anxiety and stress.

They are intended to prevent those who have suffered trauma from experiencing unwanted flashbacks, emotional breakdown or other unpleasant effects pertaining to the event or events.

They have long been implemented on selfhelp and feminist websites in order to help readers avoid or appropriately prepare themselves for content that may evoke painful emotional responses.

Trigger warnings have successfully made online forums into safer spaces. The adoption of the practice in college courses ensures that classrooms, too, are safe for people of all backgrounds and experiences.

Opponents of their use on college campuses argue that “real life” does not include trigger warnings, claiming that schools are doing students a disservice by failing to prepare them for the future. Professors who include trigger warnings on their syllabi are accused of “coddling” students. Those who fear that these added precautions are a sign of weakness, however, grossly overlook the underlying factors of mental and emotional trauma and its aftermath.

Criticism of trigger warnings is often based on the idea that college is a time for intellectual growth and emotional development, and that in order for this to happen, students must be challenged. The very same reasoning, however, can be employed to justify their use.

Advance notice allows students who have suffered trauma to move forward in a safe environment, instead of emotionally moving backward.

It is difficult for such students to productively engage in course material when they are in a state of emotional or mental distress that tem-

porarily overcomes rationality.

Trigger warnings do not enable students to skip readings and assignments–instead, warnings allow studentsto properly prepare for course material.

Students with high sensitivity to particular topics are not skimping on class preparation; on the contrary, they most likely expend more time and energy working through material that is singularly difficult for them than the average student.

When students are presented with appropriate warnings as professors see fit, they can actively manage their anxiety both before and during the potentially triggering experience. In contradiction to the argument that opponents often present, they allow for more, not less, engagement in the class. Of course, professors cannot foresee every instance of potentially triggering material. There will be times when even the most cautious professors encounter students who are triggered by course readings and assignments.

Critics often point to the inherent unpredictability of triggers as a reason not to issue a warning at all. The majority of instances that are likely to cause severe emotional distress, however, are easy to predict, and there is no reason to force students to enter into them blindly.

Some professors have reported using a slightly different approach. At the beginning of the course, they tell students to inform them of special issues that could infringe on their ability to learn while remaining mentally healthy. This method has more or less the same effect.

However, while it potentially facilitates a conversation between professors and students about specific issues, it is unlikely that all students who may be affected by material will be comfortable sharing their experiences, and therefore this strategy may not reach its target audience.

Despite the objections of skeptics, academic freedom is not in danger as a result of the recent growth in the use of trigger warnings.

They do not restrict the type of information that professors can share with their students, nor the ways in which they choose to convey it.

Guest Columnist

W

Trigger warnings can be employed without restricting the free exchange of ideas on college campuses. Most schools leave the circumstances and extent of their use to each professor’s discretion. The end goal is not to limit education, but to provide a safe atmosphere in which it can take place.

Such warnings are not intended to prevent people from being offended. Material that is merely offensive to certain political or religious outlooks does not justify a warning. Cautionary notices should be aimed at preventing a state of panic, not a state of anger.

Providing advance notice of sensitive material in no way encroaches on the learning of others. Most can ignore them without a second thought, while those at whom they are aimed to warn benefit immensely.

In fact, fellow students of trauma victims can also gain from them: the reminder that some classmates have suffered from the experiences that most only read about can sensitize the rest of the students to the emotions and needs of others.

Some critics have protested that there is a growing “hypersensitivity to harm,” particularly in colleges and universities, and that trigger warnings are simply the newest form of this development.

It is hard to understand how anyone could view a greater understanding and acceptance of human emotion as a negative change; perhaps an increase in sensitization would be accompanied by a decrease in the events that cause anxiety and mental health instability in the first place.

Regardless, trigger warnings would more accurately be characterized as indicators of our growing tolerance and understanding, not increased vulnerability.

Although trigger warnings have come up against significant criticism lately, their use does more good than harm. Ideally, they intend to facilitate a safe setting for mental and emotional development, without restricting intellectual freedom.

e are bigots. We may not be as homophobic, or racist, or transphobic, or sexist, or Islamophobic, or anti-Semitic as the majority of colleges in the United States, but nevertheless we are bigots. We may want to believe that we have overcome the great hurdles of prejudice to create a tolerant and accepting community, but we have not. That is because, unless you’re left-of-center, you’re not welcome at Vassar.

When discussing conservatism, we have created an “us” versus “them” mentality. We view student organizations such as the Vassar Conservative Libertarian Union with suspicion and, occasionally, open hostility. We turn even the most moderate Republican into a Ben Carson or a Ted Cruz. We fail to distinguish between conservatives and extremists. We fail to look beyond the ideological divide to find common ground.

We view the VCLU in particular as a threat to our safety, even though they are an uninfluential minority. They hold no clout with the VSA, were unable to avoid their own suspension, and even after they showed that they were not informed about said suspension until well after the deadline to appeal had expired, they were unable to garner enough votes to suspend the bylaws so that they could go before the judicial board, as is their right.

And yet, there are certain Vassar students who believe that the mere existence of conservatives on campus is a threat to their very well-being.

They associate today’s VCLU with the worst of the Republican Party. We make the conscious decision as a community to treat all Republicans as if they were birthers or national socialists.

This perception does not match the reality of this year’s leadership within the Vassar Conservative Libertarian Union. The VCLU does not openly condemn homosexuals. It does not bomb abortion clinics. It does not pray for death of Supreme Court justices. It doesn’t question President Obama’s birth certificate.

It merely exists, and its members just discuss conservative issues and spread their beliefs. We hate them not because they are evil or ignorant or bigoted, but because they challenge our perception of Vassar being a unanimously liberal space.

I would challenge the idea that we should seek universal liberalism on campus. A politically homogeneous environment to the point where conservatives fear the expression of their beliefs is not conducive to an education. We are here to expand our horizons, not to have it confirmed to us that everything we ever knew is true.

Firstly, Vassar must learn to respect conservatives as people. We don’t need to respect others’ ideals, but we need to acknowledge that everyone has a right to their own point of view. We don’t need to respect their opinions, but we need to respect them as people.

Secondly, Vassar must recognize the importance of dissent. At present, dissent is limited so that it still fits within our collective understanding of right and wrong.

Obviously, we do not need to tolerate outright bigotry. A person who says that homosexuals deserve the death penalty is a lunatic, and should be ostracized. Outside of a person directly calling for the harming of others, however, we ought to show a certain level of courtesy. We learn more by discussing differing points of view than by dismissing dissent as bigotry.

Thirdly, Vassar must acknowledge and respect that the VCLU has as much a right to exist as the Vassar Democrats. This means that we have to understand that it still has a right to express its points of view. We need to acknowledge that it is an important element of life here. and that not everyone is a progressive.

This is not just a Vassar problem. It is occurring at colleges throughout the United States. When progressives gain an overwhelming majority in any community, it is followed with an assumption that everyone starts with the same ideological and political philosophy. This leads to a society where progressivism is privileged. And, frankly, I think it’s time Vassar checked its privilege.

— Emma Jones ’19 is a student at Vassar College.

—Jesser Horowitz ’19 is a student at Vassar College.

—The Staff Editorial represents the opinions of at least 2/3 of our Editorial Board.

Trigger warnings beneficial to students Guest Columnist

Jesser Horowitz

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

OPINIONS

Page 10

October 1, 2015

Corporate criminal negligence dismissed in name of profit Joshua Sherman Columnist

“O

ur company was dishonest with the EPA...and in my German words we have totally screwed up,” remarked Michael Horn, President and CEO of Volkswagen’s American division in a statement to the public on Sept 22.

But now as the dust settles and the scope of Volkswagen’s deceit becomes apparent, I have but one question: Should we even be surprised? (New York Times, “The potential criminal consequences for Volkswagen”, 09.25.15 ) For reference, Volkswagen has been caught red handed fooling us into thinking their diesel vehicles are more energy efficient. These vehicles are regularly tested for emissions, which is part of any typical registration process to ensure a car meets the stringent requirements for the Clean Air Act of 1963.

What Volkswagen did was ingenious in a way: when the car is idling, or detects a state that’s akin to an emissions test (such as when it is running but not seated, or the engine is running a higher RPM but isn’t moving) it will intentionally turn its engine to a more emissions-friendly mode.

When the test is over, the car will kick its engine into full power and the driver will unknowingly continue to violate clean air standards.

One such chemical, Nitrogen Dioxide, is explicitly known to cause respiratory problems for those breathing it, and after this discovery Volkswagen vehicles were found to emit as much as 35 times safe Nitrogen Dioxide levels when running.

A computer system was designed into these diesel-powered vehicles in order to fool emissions testers to believe the vehicle, when in a laboratory setting, was within safe emissions levels. Are we even surprised that Volkswagen would install this technology into more than 11 million cars?

I mean it. We shouldn’t even be surprised that we’re discovering yet another car company has been criminally neglecting legal obligations for years.

There are a number of ongoing debates and discussions about whether Volkswagen will be issued criminal charges for intentionally lying to legal authorities about emissions standards, and frankly I’ll be surprised if this goes anywhere.

“...yet another car company has been criminally neglecting legal obligations...”

We shouldn’t be shocked if these discussions quickly dry up and fall under yet another petty civil penalty of a few billion for a company that nets 11 billion euros a year in profit.

We shouldn’t be surprised, because this is how we’ve handled car companies for decades, and yet again we will likely slap on the wrists a company that has harmed not only thousands of people living now, but also potentially millions more in the years to come.

Volkswagen’s actions are nothing short of criminal negligence, but when we look at our track record at punishing companies that perform criminal negligence, we’ve been criminally negligent ourselves.

Often we follow this petty cycle of watching a major CEO resign with a golden parachute, followed by some sort of Justice Department investigation, and ending with a civil suit or settlement in the hundreds of millions or even sometimes a few billion.

Meanwhile, the company’s stock tanks, at least until a probe clears and everyone returns

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to business as usual within five or ten years.

Take, for example, General Motors (GM), who intentionally hid a quite dangerous fact about their cars for more than a decade.

GM knew for “at least a decade” that ignition switches on more than 30 million of its cars could, during an accident, cause the airbag to not deploy. It is in essence the largest vehicular recall in history, as over the course of two years GM slowly added the number of cars to review for potential ignition switch issues.

It’s already been determined that at least 124 deaths are in some way connected to the issue, and that this has spanned years of criminal negligence.

Ultimately, GM is paying out at worst a couple billion dollars—a walk in the park compared to an annual profit of nearly $4 billion.

(The Detroit News “GM compensation fund completes review with 124 deaths” 08.24.15) Then there’s Toyota, which paid out after recalling almost 10 million cars for that accelerator issue between 2009 and 2011. The cars were known to, due to an issue with floor mats and other potential software and equipment issues, suddenly jam the accelerator to the floor and cause the vehicle to veer out of control and crash.

Again, Toyota pays out just a few billion after making the repairs and being connected to about 37 deaths. Toyota, by the way, netted almost 1 trillion yen in profit last year, which comes down to about $8 billion. Is anybody sensing a pattern here?

I can go on. Year after year, criminal investigation after criminal investigation, nobody is in jail for these recalls I’ve mentioned so far.

Of course there were criminal penalties, but never even close to the profit or earnings for a company of such size or scale. When an individual is issued criminal or civil penalties, they can spend decades with garnished wages to pay for the impact they make on someone’s

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

life. When GM and Toyota collectively kill more than 150 people, their penalties are paid out in a matter of months.

So while the press goes around and asks aloud whether Volkswagen will be criminally investigated or fined a record amount, I highly doubt either thing will come to pass.

“When GM and Toyota collectively kill more than 150 people, their penalties are paid out in a matter of months.”

Sure, there will be investigations, and large fines will be waved around like demerits, but after a few lawsuits the whole thing will be simplified to maybe a few billion dollars, plus some aggressive finger wagging to never do such a heinous thing again.

As we can see though, this is far from a rare occurrence. The only thing rare is any evidence that car companies are learning their lesson after killing people in the name of profit.

Cars are not harmless tools. They are dangerous machines that, when not enforced to the most rigorous safety standards, can endanger our lives.

Just as we punish someone in society who chooses to drive after being intoxicated, we ought to punish the car manufacturers who decide to put something on the road that doesn’t meet our standards for safety. Maybe this time we’ll finally learn our lesson once Volkswagen is handed out a final punishment. I highly doubt it, but who knows—maybe this time things will be different.

—Joshua Sherman ’16 is an English major.

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October 1, 2015

OPINIONS

Faculty call for aid in humanitarian crisis Faculty Members Guest Columnists

A

s educators, we have been watching with dismay the refugee crisis and mass migration of people across the Middle East, Asia and Africa. Hundreds of thousands of families and individuals are currently fleeing civil war in Syria, the brutality of ISIS in Afghanistan and Iraq and air strikes by European and Arab countries.

Thousands are also fleeing from conflict, political repression and economic impoverishment in Eritrea, Sudan, Somalia and Libya, trekking across inhospitable terrain and turbulent seas, to reach the shores of Europe.

Thousands of Rohingya have fled Myanmar and Bangladesh, crammed in rickety boats, searching for refuge in Malaysia, Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries.

According to UNHCR estimates, there are now well over 50 million refugees worldwide.

This refugee crisis, which gathered pace in the 1990s, is the largest movement of people since the displacement, deportation and forced resettlement of millions of people during and after the Second World War. Millions of new refugees are currently looking for safety by trying to make their way to Europe.

The refugees coming from the Middle East and Africa undertake perilous journeys in overcrowded boats and rubber floats across the Mediterranean, aiming to reach Italy’s southernmost island Lampedusa, or one of the islands of Greece.

Thousands have died at sea. Once they make it to European shores their journey often continues on foot. We all have seen in our own media the images of their struggles, and the horrific stories of so many lives lost.

The global response to the suffering and needs of this wave of refugees, especially those generated by the conflicts in the Middle East, has been mixed.

In the region closest to the intertwined conflicts in Syria and Iraq, they have been the recipients of the hospitality of neighboring countries, some of which are under direct threat from the belligerents in these conflicts.

“This... is the largest movement of people since the displacement... of millions of people during and after the Second World War.” Jordan, a country of just 6 million people, has taken in more than 800,000 refugees since 2011.

Turkey, which has 78 million people, hosts some two million, and Lebanon with a population of less than five million people, took in more than one million refugees.

European countries, which have been deeply involved in the conflicts in Iraq and Syria, have taken in less, though the numbers are increasing. Germany has been the most receptive European country, accepting some 500,000 refugees already and promising to take in up to 800,000 this year (and 500,000 each year over the next few years). Sweden, a tiny country of just nine million people, has taken more than 80,000.

Under the agreed-upon EU quota system, Great Britain (a country of some 64 million people) disappointingly pledged to take in a mere 20,000 refugees over the next five years.

France, with its 66 million people, accepted a quota of just 24,000 over the next two years.

In our part of the world, the United States has taken in a mere 1,500 refugees from Syria so far, promising to raise quotas for refugees worldwide from 70,000 to 100,000 by 2017.

More so than the number of refugees that have been given shelter in some European countries, what has been a cause for optimism is the popular response to the crisis.

Ordinary citizens, local communities, and non-government organizations, through personal contacts, social media and extraordinary acts of kindness, forced equivocating governments to ease travel restrictions and to open their doors to the refugees.

Chancellor Angela Merkel, responding to popular pressure, allowed the easing of Schengen rules, so that hundreds of thousands of ref-

ugees could make their way to Germany and other European countries.

German people and communities came out in droves with welcoming signs, food, clothing and toys for the children. Young Hungarians also provided food and water for the refugees, diapers and strollers for babies, and most importantly, words of encouragement and support for the refugees as they made their way from Greece to Germany.

We are also aware the plight of refugees has been exploited by unscrupulous middlemen, who have extorted large amounts of money to cram them in unsafe vessels and vehicles, and have left them in desperate straits in transit countries.

The refugees have also faced hostility, cold-hearted treatment and the ugly jeers of the anti-immigration mobs. For now, the joyous welcome of the refugees by many host communities have drowned out their jeers.

Muslim refugees were stunned also to see that young Israelis, among them doctors and nurses, had made their way to Lesbos, Greece to assist them en route to Northern Europe.

Because large numbers of refugees are now arriving in Europe, the U.S. media has finally been paying more attention to the magnitude of the crisis.

Again and again during this summer, when reporting on the flood of refugees, U.S. commentators have evoked memories of Europe’s darkest hour, the Holocaust.

The images of exhausted and traumatized people herded behind barbed-wire fences in Hungary, clinging desperately to trains leaving for Germany, or having their “registration number” imprinted on their arms by the police in the Czech Republic have shocked us.

The haggling over refugee quotas among members of the EU evoke the debates after Hitlers’ Anschluss of Austria and the pogrom of Crystal Night (Kristallnacht) in 1938, and the unwillingness of the world’s democracies to aid Jews fleeing Nazi persecution.

In the U.S. at that time, even the minimalist Wagner-Rogers Refugee Aid Bill, which would have allowed the eventual admission of 20,000 German Jewish children under the age of 14, never made it out of committee. The consequences of that historic failure are painful to recall, even seventy years after the end of WWII. In a recent essay in the New Statesman, Laurie Penny called the refugee crisis a “battle for the soul of Europe,” stating, “In the 1930s, the question that preoccupied the democratic West was surely ‘how many should we let in?’ In hindsight, we ask the same question that will be asked of notionally democratic governments in another seventy years – ‘how many did you let die?’” (“The refugee crisis is a battle for the soul of Europe, New Statesman, 9.23.15).

Indeed, deep divisions emerged in the EU over the values that bind the union, and on how to handle this unprecedented influx of refugees.

But is this refugee crisis really only a “battle for the soul of Europe”? Or, is it not a clarion call for all of us to think seriously about how to end deadly conflicts in the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia and elsewhere?

Is it not a challenge to all of us to find concrete ways to alleviate the suffering of our fellow humans from conflicts in which the policies and actions of our government are also implicated?

Is it not a moment to rise above the limits of our own broken immigration system, recognizing, as Pope Francis reminded us last week that most of us in the U.S. “were once foreigners”?

After the Holocaust, we said never again.

After the 1975-79 genocide in Cambodia, we said never again. After the 1994 Rwandan genocide, we said never again. When we say “Never Again” we must mean it.

Given the deep political divisions on immigration, and immigration reform in the United States right now, we understand the difficulty of raising dramatically the currently proposed refugee quotas.

We must work tirelessly nonetheless to convince our government that the refugee crisis unfolding in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Europe is not merely a challenge to be handled

by European and Middle Eastern countries.

We live in a global world and the challenge of millions of people in refugee camps across Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, Congo, Mali, Sudan and Kenya as well as those who made their way

to Europe must also be our concern.

We urge our government to change course and begin to think of ways to admit some of these desperate refugees streaming into Europe now, or those trapped in refugee camps in the Middle East, Asia or Africa.

We believe that institutions of higher learning in the U.S., as well as American students at the grass roots level can play a crucial role.

We as a college community must also stand up for our liberal arts roots and values—as we have already done in our decision to give undocumented students the same consideration as any other student applicants.

Today’s refugees are our sisters and brothers; this is a humanitarian crisis that concerns us all.

We want to be cognizant of the fact that many members of the Vassar community are first- or second-generation arrivals themselves.

Many among us are also children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren of refugees of earlier periods; fleeing famine, war or political or religious persecution: 19th Century Pogroms in Russia; Nazi persecution of Jews, socialists and alleged “social outsiders” in the 1930s and 40s; refugees that arrived in the U.S. as a result of the Soviet crackdown after the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, and the 1956 Cuban Revolution; the 1970s arrival from Vietnam; the 1980s influx of Russian Jews from the former Soviet Union; the refugees arriving in the 1990s from Rwanda and then later Sudan; and the many who have come and are still coming to the U.S. to escape poverty and violence in Central America and Mexico.

So, what can we do, here at Vassar? We can offer immediate and practical support to the refugees, particularly in the area of education.

For example, some universities in Germany and Great Britain have made it possible for refugees to matriculate to complete their degrees even before they have completed the asylum process.

In Germany, university education is free, but in Great Britain, where university and college tuition is substantial, the University of Warwick has pledged 10 full scholarships for refugees for the next academic year, and 10 more for the year after.

Others, such as the University of Leipzig in Germany, are developing online platforms to connect refugee scholars with colleagues in their fields in Europe and the U.S. The University of Basel in Switzerland, together with the International Red Cross in Geneva, is developing an online educational platform to allow students trapped in camps in the Middle East or Africa to complete their education via the digital classroom.

Students at these universities are also joining forces; offering language classes, care for unaccompanied minors, assistance in the asylum process, and developing all sorts of grass roots networks of volunteer work.

We have reached out to President Cappy Hill and Jon Chenette, the Dean of the Faculty, to develop plans of how Vassar can be counted among those in higher education willing to help.

We are now reaching out to our students, and student groups to start a campus-wide conversation. We would like to hear from you how Vassar students and existing student organizations could be part of a larger international effort to alleviate this incredible suffering.

As a starting point for our conversation, we have organized a panel for Thursday, Oct. 8, 2015 in Rocky 300 at 5:30 PM on the refugee crisis and invited Mariya Nikolova, International Studies major of the Vassar class of 2007.

Mariya (Mimi) is the editor of the International Review of the Red Cross, working at the International Red Cross in Geneva. She has traveled widely to refugee camps and will be able to educate us about the scope of the crisis and explore with us what we as citizens of the world can do.

If you want to contribute to this conversation or get involved, please visit our Facebook page: Vassar College: Solidarity with Refugees (www. facebook.com/VCSolidarity).

Never Again! We cannot fail these migrants and refugees.

—Professor of History and American Studies Maria Höhn, Professor of History and International Studies Ismail Rashid, Professor of Sociology Diane Harriford and Director of Religious and Spiritual Life and Assistant Dean for Campus Life and Diversity Samuel Speers.

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

Page 11

Word on the street What was the last lie you told?

“It was my thesis and I told the teacher that I read the book.”

— Chelsea Carter ’16

“Someone was like ‘how are you’ and I said ‘good.’”

— Zoe Sweet ’18

“I was talking about my friend behind his back and I said I wasn’t.”

— Bob Roy ’19

“I’m not stressed.”

— John Wallner ’18

“Everything is going to be OK.” — Alex Lemonides ’18

“That I would low-key dance with Betty White.” ­­— James Boyd ’19

Zander Bashaw, Humor & Satire Editor Sam Pianello, Photo Editor

OPINIONS

Page 12

October 1, 2015

Introversion can enrich new intrapersonal experiences Joe Gusmano

Guest Columnist

W

e live in a society that holds extroversion in high regard. In a world where the speed at which we make social connections is constantly increasing, this obsession we have with being “outgoing” or “friendly” can have incredibly wide-ranging effects.

We are slowly creating an environment that forces people to be in constant interaction with one another. I believe that we are gradually losing sight of the benefits we can reap if we carve out time to be alone.

“We are slowly creating an environment that forces people to be in constant interaction with one another.”

This is not to suggest that expanding your social circle is an innately bad thing. I firmly believe that our ability to communicate ideas and experiences with one another is a central facet of what makes human beings interesting.

The Internet has greatly expanded our ability to exercise these faculties and has, I would argue, given us the opportunity to more complexly empathize with people outside our immediate geographic or social sphere.

However, I think we tend to get a bit caught up in this phenomenon, which can have adverse effects on our personal well being as well as our relationships with other people.

It is important to recognize that when we constantly privilege extroversion, we also denigrate

introversion. There is a lot of very interesting literature about the distinction between extroversion and introversions, and what follows from these distinctions.

I would contend that the essential difference between the two is this: an extrovert finds rejuvenation in social activities, whereas an introvert is rejuvenated by solitary activity. It seems to me that we often wrongly conflate introversion with being anti-social, aloof, or even arrogant.

In doing so, we alienate introverts or try to force them into being people that they are not (an act which, ironically, isn’t all that sociable or friendly in itself).

This problem seems to intensify on college campuses, and Vassar is no exception. With so many different people living in close proximity to each other, it is only natural that those people would get together and socialize.

Political meetings, lectures, concerts, comedy shows and drunken celebrations seem to be around every corner; every missed activity is seen as a wasted opportunity to meet new people or expand one’s horizon. And it is super important to experience these things, especially considering how cool and interesting our student body can be.

I would argue that even if you are not really comfortable with going to a concert with a bunch of people you just met or joining a political movement that is just taking shape, you should take a leap of faith and get involved somehow. That being said, stepping out of your comfort zone can also mean taking time to be alone.

And when I say take some time out for yourself, I don’t just mean for the sake of your own mental or physical health. While it is important to hit the brakes every once in a while and just take some necessary R&R, I don’t believe that solitude is just a tool that serves social engage-

ment.

Being alone can result in experiences that are as enriching and significant as going out with friends.

As an extrovert, I initially found it difficult to find meaning or enjoyment in solitary activity. I simply saw being alone as an intermediary stage between one social gathering and the next.

As you might imagine, the prospect of going off to college enchanted me, as I couldn’t wait to share my experiences with a whole new set of people, and then have those same people do the same to me.

around me and on myself.

During these walks (which varied greatly in their degrees of sobriety), I was completely free of any pressures that came with being around people. I noticed that I could still engage with myself, but without any of the performative constraints associated with interacting with others.

As I thought about my relationships with others, or my plans for the future, or even just about a really cool show I just saw, I found that I could reach new parts of my mind. I realized that I didn’t actually know as much about myself as I thought I did.

These walks became therapeutic in a way, as I dove into the complexities and the chaos that emerged in my life and that I believe emerges in all of our lives in some way.

I could be honest with myself, mostly because I wasn’t worried about whether my thoughts might rub someone the wrong way or color someone else’s opinion of me.

Even though this time alone was strange and even a little uncomfortable at first, it eventually became a very freeing and empowering experience.

I don’t claim to be an expert about the inner workings of the mind, and I definitely don’t believe that my experience is universal in any way, shape, or form.

I recognize the importance of finding and enjoying new communities at college, and I strongly support the notion that synthesis of different perspectives from different people leads to a more comprehensive and complex understanding of the world.

Nevertheless, I would like to challenge all of you to find a way to be alone with yourselves.

You might be surprised by the person you meet.

“Being alone can result in experiences that are as enriching and significant as going out with friends.”

The idea of always having someone to hang out with seemed to be the greatest thing ever.

Yet, when I finally got here, I found that some of my most interesting and eye opening experiences occurred when I was by myself.

Most people who know me also know that I am strangely drawn to walking around campus alone late at night. I can’t exactly pinpoint when I started doing this, but it came as the result of the over-stimulation I felt during my first few weeks at school.

I initially saw these excursions as just a way to take a breather after spending hours on work or with my new friends. But I soon found that these walks opened up an entirely new space for me, and gave me a new perspective on the world

—Joe Gusmano ’18 is a student at Vassar College.

The Miscellany Crossword

“In the Hole”

by Tyler Fultz

Email coknoppschwyn@vassar.edu to contribute!

To solve the meta, you are looking for a series that debuted in 2015.

ACROSS

1. Exhausted 6. Lahore language 10. That whale you always see in crosswords 14. Lahore Lord 15. [Astro- or cosmo- ending] 16. “We Went to the __ in 1969” by Ren Stevens 17. *Resistant* baseball player who won’t eat bacon?

19. Gia of “RuPaul’s DragRace” 20. Ram’s better half 21. Least ridiculous 23. Spy gp. a little too close to home, for a Terp 24. CPR pros 26. Cryptic crossword term that suggests ana gram, often 28. Sit __ 31. *Stout* internet mogul with a zany side?

37. Leaser 39. Ending to a noir 40. Jaywalking, e.g.

41. “Better Call Saul” host 42. Site of many college student study breaks 45. Derrière 46. Whine 48. John Donahoe or Vince McMahon 49. Statement hardly worth mentioning 51. Command a *tough* wrestling legend to

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bow before you?

54. Breathing problem 55. Back when 56. Rewards 58. Sounds from an effective yoga class 60. Former capital of Mozambique 64. Barbell abbr.

67. Go cold-turkey 69. *Enduring* and crucial boy band member?

72. Paul Bearer’s objects of choice 73. French 101 verb 74. Andrew Lloyd Webber creation 75. Kelp, e.g.

76. Turfs 77. Scatterbrained

35. Occupied, as a restroom 36. , 38. Virgina __ Hokies 43. One of Yugi’s pals 44. Dentist’s first step, often 47. Lite-Brite tool 50. Corp. that wonders, “What can brown do for you?”

52. “OMG you are too much!”

53. Wheel components 57. Common Vanna White revelation

DOWN

1. Osaka beverage 2. Truck attachment 3. Partner of “If” & “Then” 4. 2014 hit “Or __” 5. Not just “a” 6. Make conspicuous 7. “I feel it’s gonna __ like this for days” 8. Longstanding North Carolina rival 9. Indigenous peoples who fought Spanish col onists 10. “You must be joking!”

11. FIFA qualifying round scheduling, for one 12. Criminals on ABC’s “The Catch” 13. Bates’s “Downton Abbey” wife 18. 18-20 22. Bop-It, e.g.

24. Marie on “Total Divas” 25. Father of American public education 27. Lair 28. Heap 29. Skeletor combatant 30. Jacking up 32. Switch type 33. Vital vehicle additive 34. Unified

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

58. Member of Cheetah Girls 59. Blow chunks 61. Davis and Barinholtz, e.g.

62. Yugi’s longtime rival 63. Reds outfielder Marlon 64. Café-au-__ 65. Lunch orders 66. Conquer, as a mythical beast 68. JFK’s security 70. His school survival guide got declassified 71. 506

October 1, 2015

HUMOR & SATIRE

Page 13

Breaking News From the desk of Zander Bashaw, Humor & Satire Editor Vassar College aiming to reduce conversations about greenhouse gas emissions by 20% in coming decade Soothsayer Suzanna gives Parents struggling to decide your October horoscope on children’s genetic future Suzanna Varrichione Professor Trelawney

Aries: March 21 to April 19

Good fortune will come on the 27th when the full moon rises. But not too good, so don’t get excited. You might get Oreos in your express lunch or anonymously complimented on Vassar Missed, but you’re not winning the lottery.

Taurus: April 20 to May 20

Try to find your inner peace this month. Your mother will make an unexpected visit soon as Venus sets into the aura of overbearing and crazy.

Search for order in your life but expect your self worth to be shattered when she says you don’t wash your sheets often enough.

Gemini: May 21 to June 21

This is a great month for love. You and your crush will make non-accidental eye contact with as you cross paths. Start planning your wedding on the 18th when the constellation of delusion fully forms.

Cancer: June 22 to July 22

Stay on top of your work. Otherwise, you will slip into a polar Netflix vortex of procrastination when a new season of your favorite TV show is added. Embrace change and trust by sharing your account password with a friend.

America. Try to remember: it doesn’t matter how much your Catholic grandmother loves you, she loves the Pope more. Do not expect a call from her on your birthday for she will be glued to the TV to hear Pontifex Franny speak.

Scorpio: October 23 to November 21

On the 12th you will begin another unsuccessful diet. You will try going paleo, raw, gluten free, vegan, non-gmo, juice cleanse, no carb, no sugar, no flavor. After your weight loss attempts fail, blame your slow metabolism and cheer yourself up with comfort food, as Mercury dictates.

Sagittarius: November 22 to December 21

When Sagittarius crosses over Aries you will face a rough patch with a close friend. Try to understand the issue from her side and consult other friends about the argument. Make sure you only listen to the ones who say you are right, because of course YOU are.

Capricorn: December 22 to January 19

On the 15th Venus will be in the third house of Mars. The moons of Jupiter will rise into alignment and enter into the sun’s 11th house. Mars and Mercury will have simultaneous lunar and solar eclipses, signaling the changing of Earth’s tides. Pisces is in the Capricorn and Neptune departs until the next half-moon. Pluto is in the third trimester. Saturn goes deep into Uranus.

Leo: July 23 to August 22

This month you will continue to bask in the glory of being the coolest Zodiac sign. You are in good company among Simba, Cecil, Aslan and the MGM Lion. Thank your parents for conceiving you a few weeks too late to be a Cancer.

Virgo: August 23 to September 22

You might sense conflict in your world as the Earth rotates into the season of pumpkin spice.

Now that your birthday month is over, reality will set back in and you will realize you aren’t that special. Look for opportunities to feel great again by quickly spending all your birthday money on a lifetime supply of brown riding boots and cute mugs for fall drinks.

Libra: September 23 to October 22

Jupiter’s third moon is in line with Venus and Mars, signaling the Pope’s journey from Italy to

Aquarius: January 20 to February 18

You will have a big change in your personal finances this month. This will drastically affect your life and nothing will ever be the same (Drake). Will you have more or less money? Mars declines comment, but let’s just say the people at Bacio’s are planning a staff-wide cruise.

Pisces: February 19 to March 20

You will make a bad love choice on the night of the 11th, when Venus influences your mood (along with a few too many drinks). For the rest of the month you will find ways to gently reject your lover. Try not vomit when they text you, calling you their “lover”.

Womp Womp: March 2

Avoid seeing your shadow, avoid thinking about winter.

Steven Park

some gene-fixin’, I know they can make it big!”

Referencing just how eager their customers were to mess with their children’s DNA one head researcher said “It’s a bit unnerving, we had parents show us pictures of Einstein or Leonardo da Vinci and yell ‘Make him like that!’ to us.”

However, like all revolutionary ideas, Stein’s Institute’s practice of modifying the genetic makeup of these children raised some protest among doctors, parent support groups and, most notably, the bankrupt executives of the College Board.

“It’s just plain unethical!” claimed a disheveled David Coleman, the president of the perishing College Board corporation. “No organization should have that much power in determining a child’s future and make a profit out of it! As someone who has always had the best interests of our nation’s children in mind, I demand that the Stein Institute close its doors!”

Unfortunately for Coleman, colleges across the U.S. concurrently agreed that the need to have standardized testing is irrelevant when everyone is a genius, and promptly cut their ties with College Board. Coleman and his co-workers are currently seeking other ways to make money off the ambitions of children.

Meanwhile, Stein’s Institute has recently encountered several problems in trying to please the impractical demands of its customers. One parent reportedly brought her two year old daughter to Stein’s Institute and demanded that she walk on water. “Please, we’re dealing with hard science here,” stated an Engineer. “We’re scientists, not miracle-workers.”

Faced with the realization that they can’t turn their children into demigods, some parents have found it difficult choosing which talents to forcefully implant in their childrens’ DNA. “It’s too hard to decide how I want my son to grow up,” said one frustrated parent. “I want him to cure cancer, but I also want him to win an Olympic medal. Why can’t I have both?” Whether it’s fair or not, genetic modification may actually make the college admissions situation worse.

That’s right. Now, it’s not even enough that students become super-geniuses and cure cancer for them to be admitted in America’s top colleges. As Helen Lovejoy from The Simpsons once said: “Won’t somebody please think of the children!”

DNEasy

I

n the ultra-competitive world of secondary education, anxious parents are seeking new ways to shove their kids to the top of the academic food chain. However, it is often not enough that students learn three different instruments or become class president for them to be admitted to some of America’s most prestigious universities.

Thankfully, Stein’s Institute for Genetic Engineering and Pediatric Science may just have the perfect solution to the college admission crisis.

Researchers at Stein’s were successful in genetically molding the first prototye for a guaranteed child prodigy. Nicknamed Dolly in honor of the first ever cloned animal, the now three year old child has developed software for the FBI and can play Beethoven’s 9th with her eyes closed.

The 9th symphony might seem like a daunting task, but the hard part was already finished in 2003 when the Human Genome Project was completed. Since scientists have discovered that the human genome is conveniently compartmentalized in neat, little segments for every character trait, modifying the genome was a breeze.

“Everyone knows that your DNA is the genetic blueprint of your entire body and mind,” stated genetic engineer Toby Crawford. “All we did was erase Dolly’s blueprint and drew in all these cool improvements. It was like creating an online avatar for a MMORPG.” Now backed by federal grants, Stein’s Institute has opened their doors to weary wealthy parents scrounging for ways to ensure that their child will become rich and successful. Numbers indicate that hordes of desperate parents have rushed to Stein’s Institute by the thousands to fulfill their lifelong dream of having perfect children.

“It’s such a relief!” exclaimed Mary Hazel, an expectant mother from a wealthy suburb. “Usually it’s a random draw when it comes to children, but with Stein’s Institute of Genetic Engineering, I can hit the jackpot every time!”

Rather than modifying intelligence, other parents have voiced their wishes to transform their children into superstar athletes. “I just want my kids to grow up healthy and strong like Jerry Rice,” said Michael Farley, a father of two boys.

“Our family loves watching football every Sunday, and my dream is to send my sons to the NFL. They aren’t as good as the other kids, but with

Physicists expand knowledge of what we don’t know

by Zander Bashaw, Article Accelerator

R

esearchers at CERN working with the Large Hadron Collider have recently found evidence that the universe may not work at all like we thought it did. A team of physicists have discovered three new types of matter to add on to our list of normal matter, antimatter and dark matter. The new discoveries have been named shy matter, “double negative matter and hiding matter.

For many years scientists have only successfully misunderstood the first three types of matter. However, CERN’s latest discovery adds two novel areas of confusion to the already murky picture. “Through our research into particle and astrophysics, we hope to reveal more things about the universe that we will never be able to explain. This breakthrough was just what we are looking for,” explained CERN spokesperson Albert Price. antimatter and dark matter are relatively well understood, and only have merely a few enormous questions that have not been an-

swered. The premise behind antimatter is as follows: energy can be converted to matter and antimatter, and when these matter and antimatter particles collide, they destroy each other and release energy.

Astrophysicist Jenna Quark explains that, “Antimatter has been observed and synthetically created, so the only fundamentally problematic question is why hasn’t all our matter been destroyed. This issue is pathetically small, so we decided we needed to find a theory that has more problems.” Dark matter, despite its George Lucas style name, could not fulfill this desire either. Even though we can’t see it, we notice its effect on galaxies and light.

Scientists were frustrated by this ability to observe and calculate gravitational effects so accurately.This new extra-matter theory adds much needed problems and unexplainable issues to particle theories.

Alex Mistifie, the leader of the team that helped find the three new kinds of matter

claimed to be “extremely excited for the future all-encompassing confusion our work is pointing to.” Mistifie and his colleagues observed some very telling squiggles and spikes a super-official supercomputer. They discovered the double negative matter first, because it appeared to behave the same way normal matter does, but then was inexplicably removed from the environment. Mistifie believes that spacetime itself acts as a proofreader that removes these particles, the same way that a good editor removes double negatives from a paper, but to be honest he “[doesn’t] really know what the fuck [he’s] talking about.”

After their discovery of the double negative matter, an intern spotted small crests of activity long after the colision was over. This level of activity was so low that many of the researchers deemed it merely a sensor error, but Mistifie trusted the intern, and labelled the result as “shy matter”. Since shy matter is so quiet, it is barely detectable with million dol-

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

lar sensors, and doesn’t even respond when patient researchers ask coaxingly how its day was, or how the universe started.

As for the existence of hidden matter, Mistifie explained that the theoretical particles were “probably out there somewhere.” He later confided that the problem is not that the hidden nature of the particles, but the ways we are looking for them, explaining that they need more time and more money to develop a more cohesive and confusing theory.

What better place to do this type of research than at the CERN Large Hadron Collider, a facility so important that the adjective large legally had to be included in its name.

The collider features a 27 kilometer long particle accelerator that consists of superconducting magnets, an ultrahigh vacuum and many other superlatives. Using this advanced and extremely expensive technology, scientists like Mistifie and colleagues can help us find how little we know about the universe.

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October 1, 2015

Bhaktifest set to host world-renowned healer, chanter Connor McIlwain

Assistant Arts Editor

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hakti” translates from many Indian languages to “devotion” but the term encompasses much more in these cultures than its English translation does. Associate Professor of Religion, E. H Rick Jarow, explained, “Bhakti is the tradition of singing songs of love to God. It’s been a major part of Indian spirituality and religion from the seventh century on.”

Indian Devotional Music has no fixed form but is usually lyrical and expresses a love for the Divine. According to Jarow, bhakti is about much more than music. “Bhakti is not always singing and listening in India. It is kind of like a carnival–there a lot of participation. A lot of active listening and engagement with the music,” he explained.

Jarow organized Vassar’s upcoming Bhaktifest, which takes place this Tuesday at 7:30 in the Villard Room. For the event, he organized for well-renowned chanter and vocalist Gina Salá to perform alongside Grammy-winning artist Steve Gorn. Gorn will play the Indian bansuri flute and clarinet. Rob Morrison will also be on tablas.

“Gina is very highly regarded,” explained Jarow. “She has sang in a number of languages and performed on many different instruments.” Born in Seattle, Salá has since performed at the Pentagon, the US Capital and the United Nations. She is the principal singer for Cirque du Soleil’s “O.” Her work emphasizes creativity, happiness and a strong sense of the self and Divine.

Jarow discovered that Salá would already

courtesy of Vassar Media Relations

Bhaktifest is set to two bring world-renowned artists to campus. The event, sponsored by the Asian Studies Dept., will expose students to Indian Devotional Music and promote spirituality and peace.

be in the area performing and quickly tried to bring her to Vassar. “Steve told me that Gina was going to be on the East Coast around this time so the event was kind of born around that,” he explained.

The Asian Studies Program sponsors the event, with support from the Office of the Dean of the Faculty and the Carolyn Grant ’36 Endowment Fund.

According to Jarow, “We have done a couple of events like this before. Every 3 or 4 years we try to bring someone special to campus. In the past, we’ve had a famous yoga instructor and a Classical Indian dancer come. The event usually corresponds with Gandhi’s birthday.”

The Western world has paid increasing attention to Bhakti in recent years. Jarow explained, “It has really been integrated into the Western world recently. Lots of Bhakti Yoga centers are opening. The Omega Institute is doing a program on it. There is a big yoga, music and dance festival on the West Coast every year.”

This increasing presence in the Western world fills a void. Jarow continued, “It’s kind of become a form that we didn’t already have here–a fusion of community, art, music, fun and spirituality.”

Jarow hopes the department’s events continue to expose people at Vassar and in the community to new cultures. “A lot of people from outside of Asian Studies come and a lot of people in the community too. I hope it exposes them to an authentic practice, how amazing these can be,” he explained.

Jarow’s experience with this culture started when he was a teenager. He dropped out of Harvard and moved to India, where he learned about many of these traditions. But he came back to the U.S. and eventually to Vassar to learn even more.

“I was interested in Paul Young’s advice: to integrate and learn your own culture before you learn others. So I went back to college and in my studies, I tried to combine Eastern and

Western thought as much as possible.”

Events like Bhaktifest help make some of these lessons Jarow has gathered in his travels more accessible. Art especially provides a nice medium for students to explore new cultures and ideas.

Vasundhara Mathur ’18 noted the importance of having these kinds of artistic-themed international events on campus. She explained, “I definitely believe in the importance of engaging in music and art from around the world because even though politics pervades art, the act of making music is universal and has the power to evoke emotions that transcend the complications of intercultural interactions. It can connect people on a very real level.“ Mathur continued, “It also has the ability to communicate the essence of a culture that is often lost in translation. As someone who thinks of music as an important part of her life, listening to artists from different places has opened my mind to new ways of approaching and feeling about music.”

Much of Salá’s work is dedicated to this kind of discovery–both of the self and of one’s greater culture and community. Her online biography reads, “She continues to grow and deepen and study in the field of sound and wellness and sacred sound, even as she leads retreats, chanting and workshops internationally. Singing is Gina Salá’s path to opening the heart, which brings freedom and ease and joy.

Her passion is empowering us to recognize our magnificence through our own voices, and singing us into remembrance of Who we are.”

Post-Baccalaureate Fellow for the Office of International Services, Robyn Cox ’15, noted the office’s focus on sharing students’ unique cultures. “As far as importance…a celebration of cultures, we invite students to share a talent, cook a dessert for the International Dessert Cook-off, and most importantly, in my opinion, to present the flag of and a fact about their country,” she explained.

Shepperd sounds off on importance of audio preservation Sabrina Oh

Guest Reporter

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Khourey ’16, noted the importance of having this material available for students and researchers.

“It can be [really frustrating] for researchers to look at sound archives and discover so many missing links. Especially when vinyl was more or less the only way of preserving something, loads of iconic radio programs are only able to be discussed by memory where the recordings have been lost or broken.”

Though Scepanski and Shepperd have not yet crossed paths, Scepanski finds his work with topics like audio preservation and radio history important. When asked about his personal thoughts regarding Shepperd’s lecture, Scepanski responded, “I think it’s really interesting. I mean it’s really great that we’ve been able to get the CAAD grant to be able to bring him.”

As specific as the subject matter may be, audio preservation and radio history seems to be a source of solidarity within the expanding field of media studies. Scepanski said, “We have an-

courtesy of The Catholic University of America

he digitization of sound sounds more like a futuristic process than it does a part of our country’s historical narrative. But recent movements in academia are trying to change that, to reexamine and strengthen the historical value of sound that is often dissipated in the culture of fast-paced, forward-thinking minds of the 21st century.

The Creative Arts Across Discipline’s (CAAD) Grant will bring Josh Shepperd to lecture about these often overlooked yet critical topics of sound preservation and digital humanities.

Shepperd wrote, “I’ll be visiting Vassar to talk about three research topics. The first is my book project on the origins of public broadcasting in the U.S. Surprisingly, to this point no one has ever written a history of where noncommercial media came from! It turns out that NPR and PBS are later products of political advocacy conducted by educational technologists in the 1930s and 1940s.”

Shepperd continued, “The second topic will be phenomenology of media, especially regarding the question what is media space? It’s an often cited but rarely interrogated conceptual question in the field of Film and Media Studies.

I argue that we need to return to the concept of spatiality as an epistemological category...to fully understand what we’re describing when we use common terms like blog space.”

Shepperd’s discussion, however, will mostly revolve around his last point–the current work he is doing in sound preservation. “Finally, I’ll be giving a public lecture on the digital humanities work I’ve been conducting as National Research Director of the Radio Preservation Task Force of the Library of Congress. We’re attempting to chronicle extant materials related to broadcasting history for the first time through a metadata interface. From there we hope to embark on a rigorous historical digitization initiative that will preserve tens of thousands of hours of interviews, public forums, news events, and sports broadcasts for historical study. If we approach radio not just as an early form of television, but

as the sound of U.S. cultural history, we find that many groups not accounted for by historical archives are given their due thanks to radio’s historical capacity to air local non-theatrical community events,” concluded Shepperd.

Professor of Film, Phillip Scepanski said, “So there’s this big effort right now in the academy, and the Library of Congress is part of this: to try to take note of and preserve the audio history of the United States in 20th century. So part of what I’m doing in the radio class is sort of tapping into these archives that are available online to explore them...Usually archives are either working towards archiving and preserving things, or they tend to focus more on accessibility and education. [Shepperd is] trying to make sure they do both. I think that’s part of the reason why [the Library of Congress] has an actual professor instead of, not to downplay anyone, someone who works in library sciences.”

One of Scepanski’s students in his class, Louis

Josh Shepperd is set to lecture on the importance of preserving and digitizing sound. He embarked on a project to chronicle a vast range of recordings, which can aid research, in the Library of Congress.

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

other guest coming in a week before Thanksgiving, who’s going to be talking about podcasting and digital audio business[,] [specifically] Earwolf Podcast. He also has a lot of history with independent and community radio, which is an interest of mine. It was sort of by accident that we discovered that we both worked at the same radio station, albeit at very different times. So we didn’t actually cross over, but I sort of discovered by knowing who he is and what he does that we were at the same radio station at one point.”

Another lecturer on the topic will come to campus before Thanksgiving. Scepanski said, “[The second guest] is a student of a professor that we had visited last year. Michelle Hilmes, who almost started the field of radio studies, was his advisor when he was at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. It’s kind of interesting that now we’re building up a series of guest who all come from the same world of audio preservation and radio history. It’s really exciting.”

Shepperd’s lecture will be on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2015 at 5 p.m. in the Vogelstein 109-Rosenwald Screen Room.

Regarding the significance of the topic and its potential for use by students, Shepperd said, “In terms of the national project, all of our participants (over 120 professors and 350 archives) hope that students of American history begin to take radio seriously as a major repository of 20th century experiences and events. Our national radio archive is an untapped treasure trove of music, ideas, and opinions, and thanks to new innovations in digital technology we’re just starting to be able to access and circulate this material. It’s also important to remember that historical preservation is not simply a question of accumulating material and transferring it into a digital format. There are multiple regulatory and copyright expediencies that precede the preservation and circulation of information, which I’ll address in the lecture. Developing conditions of historical recognition for otherwise marginalized groups is in itself a political advocacy, one that requires familiarity regarding appropriate gatekeeping institutions and policies.”

October 1, 2015

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Healy, Woodner hold their first collaborative exhibit Sieu Nguyen Reporter

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Joshua Sherman/The Miscellany News

or the next two weeks, the Palmer Gallery will be occupied with objects such as a miniature of wooden stairs bounded on both sides by a thick wall, a piece of sketch paper attached to a wooden block of the same color or some metal grid screens glued onto a rough piece of paper. These works belong to two artists, Sophia Healy, from White Creek, N.Y. and Andrea Woodner, based in Manhattan, in their first collaborative exhibition, “In Conversation”, at Vassar’s James W. Palmer Gallery.

The initiative was brought up by the Associate Director of the gallery, Monica Church, who used to work with Healy as a studio assistant.

She describes this collaborative exhibition as a discovery. It all started with Church’s visit to Healy’s studio in White Creek.

“I went in, and there were all these small pieces tacked up on the wall and I thought it was really beautiful. Then she said, ‘Do you want to see my friend Andrea’s storage space?’ When I saw Andrea’s sculptures, I said, ‘You guys need to show this work together,’” Church noted.

The opening reception for “In Conversation” took place on Sept. 24, 2015, with the presence of the two artists, guests and Vassar students.

Sharing her reasons for using wood as a medium, Woodner noted, “Wood is at hand and there’s a lot you can do with it. I love the forgiving nature of wood and the fact that it has real character and it can be practically anything you want it to be.”

Sharing about her working style, Woodner said, “I try to make a spatial presence, a physical presence that’s a new thing in the world. It’s more of an inquiry and an investigation than it is a recollection. I’m really looking at the material at hand to make something new in the world.”

Different from Woodner, Healy did not start with wood. “Originally, I came from paper. I make handmade paper for cotton and linen rags.

I started collecting pieces of wood for Andrea to make sculptures, and then I thought, ‘Why

Primarily in wood and metal, works by Healy and Woodner are on display at the Palmer Gallery until Oct. 9. Both based in New York, the two artists are holding a show together for the first time. don’t I make some too?’” Healy also credited her partner: “I would never have done all these wooden pieces if it hadn’t been that I saw hers.

She inspired me to do pieces of wood.”

Talking about the differences between her style and Woodner’s, Healy noted, “I work totally by chance. I throw some pieces of paper on and go, ‘Oh that could look good together,’ or pile up stuffs and go, ‘Wait a minute that would look good.’ I don’t really have any emotional attachment to the work in the beginning, but later I’ll think, ‘Oh this can be named such and such,’ and it brings up some memory.”

Although Healy and Woodner have been looking at and discussing art together, they have never put their works together on display. Commenting on this collaborative aspect of this exhibition, Woodner said, “They’re just

so at home with each other. We could be doing very different works, but the fact that it comes from both of our brains just makes it completely compatible in a very different way. So I’m very happy to see the work combined.”

A visitor at the opening reception and fulltime artist herself who has taught at the University of South Carolina and Rochester Institute of Technology, Judith Ellers commented on the exhibition, “The minimal quality of it begs a lot of questions. Certainly, I can see a Southwest influence in the work. I enjoy the works that are quite simple in nature. Her choices of color are subdued, and I also enjoy the dichotomy. I like squares, and to put the two squares together and have it talk to one another is an interesting idea to me.”

Church also noticed the subtlety of the

works’ colors. She noted, “I love her color palette. I love these greys. This is a show where you come in and it looks like there isn’t any color, but there’s this very narrow beautiful color range here that’s very rich. Especially looking at the show we had here before, the Eric Brown’s, which was a lot of bright color, very geometric patterning, this is like at the opposite end of the spectrum.”

When asked to give opinions on her partner’s work, Woodner said, “I think she’s an incredibly original artist. I don’t think at first blush you see, because I think she doesn’t work in the most ‘innovative’ materials, but her conception of art is highly original and almost progressive.

She doesn’t ever look back, she keeps moving forward and she keeps trying things that nobody else would try and makes statements that nobody else would make. I think of myself more as a sculptor and I think of Sophia more as an artist.”

A student visitor at the opening reception, Nnennia Mazagwu ’17 noted, “I enjoy this artwork, because it makes me feel like maybe I can have a gallery opening or create something like this. I just appreciate art I can access.” Mazagwu went on, “I wish there was some type of story that tied it all together, something to explain.

Even the exhibit, they just have numbers, nothing to explain.”

Responding to Mazagwu’s question, Church said, “If we had the labels up visually, they would compete with the artwork. We worked with a graphic designer who helped us get just the right grey. If you notice, the numbers are grey, they’re not black, because if they were black, they’d be popping off the wall. We were really aware of the fact that we wanted them to be present because when you walk into the show and look for the numbers, we want them to be subtle so that visitors will learn to start thinking visually.”

Healy also shared, “We want the sculptures to talk, and we don’t want too much thinking for the viewers. We want them to just look.”

Bettelheim to shed light on Latin-American Loeb art Matt Stein Reporter

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about,” she explained.

The role that diversity plays can alter perception one has about a community. Paravisini-Gebert found the works to be much different than what one would conceive as Latin American Art. Describing how vast the topics of the artworks for the exhibit are, she said, “They’re not stereotypically what we would expect from Latin American artists. Some of them are political, others are ecological, and hence the name of the exhibit as Fluid Ecologies. They are ecological in very creative ways. They reference the slave trade, they reference the need for balance, environmentally and politically. They represent the many ways of seeing reality that have been a part of Latin-American history.”

As mentioned earlier, Paravisini-Gebert is creating a website for the future exhibit and it should be up before the end of October Break that will enrich those who wish to learn

more about Latin American art and remain as a place for visitors to share their reactions to the art to further help understand these works and their impact. The website will include paintings from the exhibit with information and exist after it has closed to allow for people to still discover the importance that diversity has in art.

In talking about the long-term goal of this project, Paravisini-Gebert explained, “The idea is a little bit to test diversity and expand diversity in the gallery, try to provide a link through the work to the local community with a website that invites the community to come in and see the pieces and also to highlight the fact that Vassar does have in its collection a number of significant Latin American artists represented. It would be very nice to pull them out, dust them off a little bit, and let the world see them, because there are some really nice pieces.”

courtesy of Judith Bettelheim

urking in the basement of the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center are dozens upon dozens of artistic works that have not seen the light of day in years. Yes, there’s more to the Loeb than Picasso and cheese plates. In anticipation of an exhibit opening in January, Latin-American Art: Fluid Ecologies, former San Francisco University and UCLA Professor Judith Bettelheim will be giving a lecture on Oct. 1 in Taylor Hall at 5:30 p.m. In the lecture, she will discuss several pieces of artwork that will be some of the highlights in the exhibit.

Discussing two pieces by renowned Cuban surrealist José Bedia and one piece by Wifredo Lam, considered a grandfather figure to Latin American art, Bettelheim will shed light on how these works fit into their artists’ collected works and Latin American art as a whole.

Curator of the Fluid Ecologies exhibit, Lisa Paravisini-Gebert, who is also a Professor of Hispanic Studies and the organizer of this lecture, expressed her excitement in having Bettelheim give the lecture, saying, “We have these pieces at Vassar and we don’t know very much about them. Here is perhaps the best person in the world at this moment to actually help us understand something that we own, that is part of our collection. Because Latin-American art has not been a central aspect of the mission of the Gallery, although we want to make it one, it is not a piece that has been extensively studied. So what I see about her visit to Vassar is this opportunity to hear from the expert about something we own and know very little about so we collectively can learn about it.”

Several years ago, Bettelheim curated an exhibit at UCLA and the University of Miami on Bedia, and within the art world she is held with high esteem, considered almost a grande dame of Latin American, specifically Cuban, art. The foremost expert on Bedia’s catalogue, she will be able to elaborate on his work and explain the influence he has created, which hopefully should attract a great deal of students to become interested in the exhibit

and diversify the Gallery’s collection of art.

During a lecture at the Miami Art Museum, she explained how Bedia’s works caught her eye, “I was introduced to Bedia’s work during a lecture by Charles Merriweather...I was immediately enticed...[I] considered it stunning. especially the way the young artist skillfully merged references to his Cuban religion with a complex experimental installation.”

Bettelheim has also written numerous books on Afro-Cuban art. Several of her written works focus specifically on Bedia and Lam. She has also received many awards for her contributions to the academic world, including several grants and national endowments.

The three pieces that Bettelheim will focus on were purchased as part of a donation given by an alumnus in the 1990s, with a proviso that the money be used specifically to buy Latin-American art. Most of the other works bought with that donation will also be featured in the Spring exhibit. This exhibit will act as both a thank you to the alumnus who supplied the works and an opportunity for this art to gain the attention it deserves.

It will be Paravisini-Gebert’s first time curating an exhibit, but she feels that it is necessary to have an exhibit on Latin American art, because the art has so much cultural power.

Paravisini-Gebert also intends to use the exhibit as an opportunity to bring the community closer, inviting not just Vassar clubs and students, but the surrounding colleges, high schools and middle schools to have the impact of this exhibit be greater. She will also create a website for the exhibit so that guests can learn more background information before attending.

The LatinX clubs and classes on campus are encouraged to supplement their learning with a visit to the exhibit. Sarah Sandler ’18 [full disclosure: Sandler is a staff writer for the Misc] is currently taking LatinX Literature, which piqued her interest in the topic. “We’ve only talked a little bit about Latin-American Art so I’m excited to see how these works tie into the literature and culture we’re learning

Judith Bettelheim is one of the world’s leading scholars on Latin-American art. In her upcoming talk at Vassar, she will help explore several works of Latin art that have yet to be displayed on campus.

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

ARTS

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October 1, 2015

Black Mass satisfies as gangster movie Del Rey steps beyond conventions Reid Antin

Guest Columnist

Black Mass Scott Cooper Cross Creek Pictures

Jillian Elkin

Guest Columnist

Honeymoon Lana Del Rey Interscope

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ana Del Rey is a rare type of artist, finding mainstream success with a gloomy, hazy sound and lyrical poetry. Her latest album entitled “Honeymoon” was released on Sept. 18. It’s her fourth studio album and third album from a major label. This experience has granted her time to fully develop her sound and character. And although “Honeymoon” has no bestselling hits, it’s a thematically consistent, narrative album.

The titular track, “Honeymoon,” opens the album with images of love on a sleepy note. It takes a few songs to warm up to Del Rey’s style.

Throughout the album, the couple depicted in the songs has its ups and downs. Consistently, Del Rey is a dutiful lover, despite the emotional pain and sorrow her lover inflicts upon her. “God Knows I Tried” most effectively and beautifully captures Del Rey’s emotional state. Like on other songs, Del Rey bemoans her relationship with fame. The song epitomizes the album’s ability to romantically marry sadness and hope. It feels hopeful, both like a prayer and a confession, flashing a feeling Del Rey hardly ever shows: contentment.

“Honeymoon” has few bouncy songs; instead it offers a slow, mellow trip for its listeners. “Freak,” one of the few upbeat songs on the album, is a standout with a fun, memorable chorus. The song’s content is less original, but it’s nevertheless addicting. Her breathy vocals carry a sexy, simple chorus that speaks to anyone who wants to get away. “High By the Beach” is similarly upbeat and taps into the desire to escape life’s pressures and troubles. It’s the album’s best shot at spawning a radio hit, although too moody and sluggish to immediately grab a listener’s attention. Del Rey’s sassy attitude works fantastically over the soft synths and hip hop/pop beats. “High By the Beach” describes the joy of independence and subtly mourns a failing relationship.

The sad, yet romantic themes of “Honeymoon” are common in all forms of media. But “Honeymoon” feels new. Pop’s sound tends towards uniformity, but the sound on this album is a risk for its deviance from the norm. Additionally, Del Rey extends the typical themes beyond sex and the taboo. Unlike the lyrics of many other pop singers and some of Del Rey’s previous songs, the lyrics of “Honeymoon” are abstract poetry, rather than indulgences in explicitness or obvious storytelling. Del Rey dramatizes the pain of heartbreak to a point of melancholy that most mainstream artists wouldn’t dare sing about.

Del Rey’sidentity mixes together various images of tragic female beauty: femme fatale, Lolita and old Hollywood starlet. “Honeymoon” benefits from the fact that Del Rey consolidates her favorite imagery into one personality. “Honeymoon”’s character isn’t far off from any of Del Rey’s previous characters, however she is more mature. The protagonist sounds older and less captivated by the glitz and glamour of money, sex and love. Whether Del Rey is more successful because of her music or her image is difficult to say. She should be applauded for how seamlessly she weaves the two together. Fans fall in love with an image when the music is just as good. Unlike Beyoncé or Taylor Swift, Del Rey’s projected lifestyle is not one that fans would naturally want to take part in. Her image looks prettier from the outside. It’s beautiful and fascinating to watch her embody a lovelorn or a depressed Lolita. By choosing the character of a sad party girl, Del Rey hides most of her enthusiasm and vulnerabilities.

This isn’t a hindrance because a well-constructed persona is just as easy to appreciate, if not more so, than a persona made to seem like the singer’s real personality.

Del Rey takes her listeners on a honeymoon that represents an escapist’s paradise, not a buoyant celebration of new love. “Honeymoon” doesn’t pack an instant punch, but it grows on you with each listen.

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ull disclosure: I love gangster movies! It’s definitely my favorite genre, which means that I was always going to like Black Mass on some level (or conversely, be more disappointed than I would be with other films had it failed to reach expectations). Some of the greatest films of all time comprise the genre: “The Godfather”, “Goodfellas”, “The Untouchables”, “Once Upon A Time In America”, etc. But the difference is the aforementioned titles are gangster FILMS–prime examples of cinema as an art form that happen to fall within the gangster genre. That being said, “Black Mass” is about as good as it gets when it comes to gangster MOVIES–pieces of entertainment that, despite their flaws, one can watch again and again as one revels in the acts of power, violence and general badassery on display. They’re imperfect, but they’re fun. Those that belong to this category include “American Gangster”, ‘Blow” and the little-seen gem “At Close Range”. And that’s what “Black Mass” is – a gangster MOVIE, not a film. It by no means reinvents the wheel, but you’re gonna have a helluva fun time with it. You might even see it twice with a group of friends. It’s no classic, but it certainly exceeded my expectations of being a middle of the road soulless product (which is more than I can say for something like “American Gangster”, which from the advertising looked to be its most comparable competitor). You know you’re doing something right when the main flaw of the film is that at two hours, it’s too short.

Whitey Bulger is one of the ultimate gangster stories. He was the untouchable crime king of South Boston in the ‘70s and ‘80s, and a Massachusetts legend who turned out to be the one

thing he publicly despised–an informer. Caked under layers of makeup that had me concerned for its authenticity, Johnny Depp turns in his best performance since Sweeney Todd (then again, all we’ve had from him since are a string of flops and some Jack Sparrow appearances or ripoffs like Alice in Wonderland). He’s tough as nails, he’s intimidating–he’s Whitey. It’s not Oscar-worthy, but it’s impressive. Usually a make-up heavy performance sacrifices subtle emotions for a general glaze of familiarity with the real-life subject– but surprisingly, a real humanity shines through, and one is not distracted by the artifice on display (except for the few times his unnecessary blue eye contacts are slightly off-center). All the acting feels right, except for the baffling choice of Benedict Cumberbatch as Billy Bulger, who brings an out-of-place elegance to someone who at best tried to learn and fake such a demeanor beyond his South Boston roots. But on the whole, Scott Cooper, whom I would regard as an actor’s director first and foremost (and here has made his best film, though again, we’re comparing it to the insufferable Crazy Heart and the so-so Out of the Furnace), directs every performance toward wholly convincing ends.

The film’s relationship to Martin Scorsese, arguably the king of the genre, is paradoxical.

Taking place in the same city of Boston as Scorsese’s “The Departed” (Jack Nicholson’s character was even loosely based off Bulger), this film is easily more authentic to the Boston I know and love. Unlike “The Departed”, where you could almost feel the air-conditioning coming from every overly-quaffed movie star’s trailer in-between takes amidst phony Boston accents – here in “Black Mass”, you can feel the tacky wood paneling of a 1940s Boston bar, you can see the blood-blisters on the real Irish cop’s nose, and yes, you can hear actual credible Boston accents. It’s the real deal.

Of course, no one can dare approach Scorsese’s technical virtuosity or his infamous knack for music moments (though “Black Mass”’s brief use of the opening chords of Joe Walsh’s “Turn

To Stone” is the only time it comes close–and at least it doesn’t try to squeeze in a Rolling Stones cut for the umpteenth time).

One thing I must say is that “Black Mass” is hearty. Shot on real film, and composed in old school wide master shots with a lack of fast-cutting–it has a tangibility missing from most wimpy digital cinema these days. It’s like a thick lamb stew at an Irish pub with a Guinness. Simple, plebeian perhaps, but goddamn, it’s satisfying!

Speaking of food, the film also features an absolutely show-stopping scene (that unfortunately was already featured in the film’s first trailer, though don’t hold that against it just because the marketing department jumped the gun). At dinner, Bulger asks one of the FBI agents he’s informing about how he marinated the delicious steak he’s eating, to which the man says he won’t tell because it’s a family secret. Bulger slightly eggs the man on to tell him anyway. The man readily concedes that it’s simply “ground garlic and a little soy.” Just like that, in a flash, Bulger’s friendly demeanor sinks into that of an ice king as he quietly but sinisterly chastises the man for giving up his family secret so easily, because that could easily mean in another situation, that man could give up something far more important and delicate, like Whitey’s involvement with the FBI. The man insists he was “just saying.” Bulger counters that “just saying” is what gets people thrown in jail. “Just saying” is what gets snitches buried. The scene is nothing short of chilling, and perfectly exemplifies the thin line between friendly banter and deadly threats that is necessary to survive the world of the mafia.

On the whole, as far as entertainment is concerned, “Black Mass” is top of the line–better than any superhero extravaganza you could hope for (then again, Bulger himself is a real-life supervillain). Does it fall short? Yes. Could I really tell you why? Not completely–perhaps it has something to do with the stiff competition it faces in the genre, or some other intangibly missing ingredient? But you’ll have a guaranteed great time.

Oh Wonder makes unique, risky debut Patrick Tanella Guest Columnist

Oh Wonder Oh Wonder Independant

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o garner attention and traction, most bands will begin singing live shows and work from there. This tends to lead to a record deal and then the release of singles, and finally, an EP or an album.

However, in contrast to the norm, London duo Oh Wonder began releasing one track each month starting last September without ever playing a live show. This sparked attention from the media and somehow the band managed to attract thousands of fans without promotion or publicity.

Each of the 12 tracks released every month went straight to number one on Soundcloud and, in combination with Spotify, they have been streamed over 25 million times. These spectacular feats have astonished the singers themselves as they watched themselves grow from recording in their home each month to releasing an album in early September.

The writing duo, Josephine Vander Gucht and Anthony West, first called themselves Wonder Wonder, but decided they didn’t like the name. Josephine came up with Oh Wonder while in a taxi cab in London, and they have continuously dazzled the world with their emotional melodies and beats ever since.

The self-titled album contains fifteen unique-sounding songs that all have the Oh Wonder charm, which includes soft-spoken harmonies accompanied by a low-tempo electronic backdrop. The first song to be released that started Oh Wonder was “Body Gold,” which was actually written and produced on a laptop in Josephine’s living room in 2013, but they thought that releasing it would be too time-consuming and wanted to focus on other projects in the meantime.

It was finally released last September after the duo decided to just go for it. The lyrics, “A love with no doubt, and now I’m never going to slow down” depict the high that a new love brings, and the songs continues as the two voices guide each other through the harmonies. The song was a success and hit number one on the Soundcloud charts, and Josephine and Anthony decided to give it another go the next month.

The next release, “Shark,” continued the newfound group’s success, as it went to number one on the Soundcloud charts once again. The song caught the attention of the public and the mainstream media. It was recently featured on MTV’s television show, “Scream,” along with other singles such as “Technicolour Beat.”

The soothing melody asks, “My wave, my shark, my demon in the dark. The blue tide pulling me under. Or are you my soul, my heart, pull everything apart? Are you gonna, are you gonna be my love?” The song explores a partner’s destructive love and pulling them down into darkness.

Other highlights of the album include “Drive,” which is one of the writing duo’s most popular songs. It is about the long drive after ending a relationship and the attempt to justify why it ended. “Cause loving you, loving you is too hard. All I do, all I do is not enough. Loving you, loving you, I cannot be loving you, loving you.” The music video for the song has over a quarter of a million views and was featured on major outlets such as BBC Radio 1 when it was released.

“White Blood” describes the hardships of going through or being there for somebody with cancer. White blood cells serve to protect the body from harm, and the song is a metaphor for being a positive and shielding force for anyone going through hardships, especially physical or mental illness. “Said you’d always be my white blood, elevate my soul above. Giving me your white blood, I need you right here with me.”

“All We Do” depicts couples as living to their fullest potential, instead of hiding away

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

and playing it safe. The song was written on New Years’ Eve in about four minutes. Once inspired, the duo wanted to write about the possibilities that arrive with the start of a new year. “I’ve been upside down. I don’t wanna be the right be the right way round.

Can’t find paradise on the ground.”

“Livewire” is the most powerful love song on the album. It describes partners giving each other the strength and energy to grow and blossom in a relationship. “Oh won’t you be my livewire? Make me feel like I’m set on fire. Your love will take me higher and higher. Oh won’t you be my livewire, my livewire?”

Other tracks that were released in the twelve-month period include “Lose it,” “Technicolour Beat,” “Dazzle,” “Landslide,” “The Rain” and “Midnight Moon.” Three additional songs are also featured on the album, “Heart Hope,” “Without You” and “Plans.”

The album debuted at number 26 in England’s OCC charts. It was number 80 on Billboard’s charts. The duo was ecstatic by the success of the album and are very excited to start touring. Oh Wonder played their first live show in early September and will be continuing their tour throughout Europe and North America through November. Almost every show is sold out and the duo has announced that there will be more shows in the new year.

Oh Wonder took big risks with their debut into the mainstream–an unlikely feat for previously unheard of artists. Bold beats and convention-thwarting ways of reaching audiences proved to be effective for the group.

While they have created an album worthy of artistic praise, the group has also made a bold statement about the modern music industry. “Oh Wonder” has proven that unconventional albums can work just as well as the norm–even for less mainstream artists.

Surprise album drops aren’t just reserved for Beyoncé and other megastars. All that matters is having a beautiful song with a killer electro-pop beat.

ARTS

October 1, 2015

Page 17

Found images revive campus memories VASSARIANA continued from page 1 processed from corresponding glass plate negatives, which was a common way of preserving images in the last century.

The story behind these images can be as refreshing as the stories they depict.

Although the images just became available, the glass plate negatives they were made from have been in the stacks of the Archives and Special Collections Library for decades. A College Archivist working in the Special Collections, Laura Streett says that the plate negatives have been there for as long as she could remember. “I’ve been here for 11 years and my boss has been here for 16, so it’s possible that they were wrapped in bubble wraps and cardboards when this wing of the library was added.”

Special Collections has been making an ongoing effort to digitize Vassar-related documents. So earlier this year, the first 100 packages of the plate negatives were sent out to the Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC), a non-profit conservation center specializing in the preservation of library and archival materials in Massachusetts. There, the packages were opened; the plates were cleaned and re-housed; and images were made from them.

According to the Senior Photograph Conservator at NEDCC, Monique Fischer, the first step was to unwrap the packages. She wrote in an emailed statement: “The glass plate negatives arrived housed in acidic corrugated board and wrapped in bubble wrap.

Tape was used to hold the package together… the first part of the procedure was to unwrap the packages and inspect the glass plate negatives. Many were in stable condition.

However, a few were broken with missing pieces.”

Once removed from the original packages, he continued, the glass-side of the negatives were cleaned using a cotton pad with moisture and ethanol. Residual adhesive or paper tapes were also removed from the glass-side of the plate negatives using moisture. This prepared them for imaging.

The imaging procedure consisted of photographing the negatives and electronically reversing the negative color. Director

Campus Canvas

of Imaging Services at NEDCC, Terrance D’Ambrosio elaborated on how to photograph translucent materials such as a glass plate. According to him, they would employ a copy stand, which has an arm that holds the camera facing down and parallel to the table surface. For transparent materials, the copy stand’s table has a window cut out of the center with a piece of glass inset. And below it there’s a flashlight.

He wrote in an emailed statement, “So the idea is that we set up the glass plate over the window, and then when we release the shutter, it triggers the strobe, the strobe releases a burst of light, and we capture the glass plate in a single, quick shot, just as the light passes through the glass.”

With photo captures taken, D’Ambrosio and his colleagues then proceeded to invert the negative images into positive ones. Although traditionally carried out in a dark room, this process is done electronically.

“With the digital file, we do the same thing, essentially, but with the capture and editing software we use. So for each individual digital image, the photographer made manual adjustments to the levels–brightness, contrast, etc.–to make sure that they all looked their best,” explained D’Ambrosio.

After imaging and digitization, each individual plate negatives was re-housed in fourflap enclosures and placed in flip-top boxes.

Fischer explained the special criterion of these packing materials.

“All housing materials used have passed the Photograph Activity Test (PAT), which is an international standard test for evaluating photo-storage and display products. The tests evaluates possible chemical interactions between enclosures and photographic images after long-term storage,” she wrote.

Recounting their experiences working with these glass plate negatives, both D’Ambrosio and Fischer agreed that their handling was the hardest part. “In part it’s that they’re heavy and require very gentle handling, but there’s also the background knowledge that this is a totally unique but incredibly fragile object, and one misstep on your part could destroy it,” wrote D’Ambrosio.

At Vassar, Digital Initiatives Librarian,

Joanna DiPasquale was responsible for categorizing and posting them online. She wrote in an emailed statement, “Once the digital materials were sent to us, my department worked with our College Archivist to collect as much metadata as possible (description, what images belonged with others, etc.), and placed the materials into our digital repository…We had very basic information. Our college archivist did an amazing job fleshing out this information so that the items were better organized and searchable.”

One aspect of this information is the photographer’s name: Edward L. Wolven. A contract photographer of the college during the period, Wolven took most of the recovered images. Streett shared further information about this Poughkeepsie photographer. “We know he was active at Vassar from the turn of 20th century into the 1930s. He was contracted out, and hired as an official photographer to take athlete team photos, or to record dramatic events such as the Field Day. His name is all over our prints, and also in scrapbooks, since he would offer images for sale and students would buy them and add them to their scrapbooks.”

To improve the understanding of Vassar’s history and to better facilitate students and faculty members with their research, Special Collections started a consistent endeavor to conserve and digitize materials related to the College a few years ago. Untill today, many films and recordings have been digitized, as well as every issue of Miscellany News untill 2011, with more recent issues to follow. The Vassar Quarterly will be posted online soon, too.

Phase two of the plate negatives conservation project is now underway. Funded by a gift from the class of 1950, packages 101-198, dates ranging from 1900 to 1956, are now at NEDCC and are expected to yield an additional 700 images some time this fall. The third phase of the project will include about 1950 images from 1913 to 1961.

Streett conclude, “It requires a substantial amount of money to carry out this project, and we are always looking for interested parties to help with it. We rely on the help, kindness and generosity of people.”

A weekly space highlighting the creative pursuits of student-artists

Excuse me, What celebrity would you take to prom and low-key dance with?

“‘90s Kirk Cameron with a live audience making ‘woo’ noises.”

— Ashley Pecorelli ’16

“Ashlee Simpson in 2004 before the SNL incident.”

— Luke Dowker ’17

“Channing Tatum because he’s an amazing dancer.”

— Megan Caveny ’19

submit to misc@vassar.edu

“I would hardcore dance with Julia Butterfly Hill because she lived in a tree for two years.”

— Alicia MenardLivingston ’18

I was working on this piece at a point in my life where it felt like my body was defined more by outside pressures than my own opinion of myself. Every day I would encounter a new image or phrase that pushed a certain body type or beauty standard and I never felt like I fit those ideals.

The damage caused by these external pressures is not always visible and we all need to be more aware of the unrealistic expectations we have for women in our society.

-Madison Clague ‘18

“Zayn from One Direction because we need more South Asian representation in the media.”

— Diya Nag ’18

“Sandra Bullock.”

— Nick Ruggeri ’18

Zander Bashaw, Humor & Satire Editor Sam Pianello, Photo Editor

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

SPORTS

Page 18

October 1 2015

Butterbeer Brewers fly higher with freshmen muggles Ashley Hoyle Reporter

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cent years our membership has been diminishing. Even though we’ve had a great surge of new recruits this year, we have less returning players than ever. This means that most of our team is new to the game and has yet to play in a tournament. However I wouldn’t say that this is that big of a weakness; last practice we played a freshmen vs upperclassmen game and they managed to hold their ground and worked well as a team. I can’t wait to see how good they’ll be by the end of the year,” said Nichols-Fleming.

For those readers who may not know, the rules of collegiate Quidditch follow closely what the game resembles in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter novels. The official rulebook was written in March 2008 by Alex Benepe, the student who took over as Middlebury Commissioner and would end up founding the IQA in 2007. The book, entitled Intercollegiate Quidditch Rules and Guidebook. While many rules are similar in spirit, some muggle adjustments

include the replacement of the flying snitch with a cross country runner who is allowed to run or hide around the campus and must make an appearance on the field every ten minutes.

The snitch must also run with a golden painted sock holding a tennis ball attached to the back of their shorts. The seeker’s goal is to find and catch the snitch and retrieve the ball to end the game.

The teams each consist of seven players and all members must run with broomsticks between their legs at all times. The pitch is set up with goals–a post with a hula-hoop attached to the top. The three chasers on either team pass the quaffle (a muggle volleyball) and try to throw it through the opponent’s hoops, which are guarded by a keeper. Finally, two beaters throw dodgeballs for bludgers at their opponents.

But, according to Nichols-Fleming, the most commonly asked question of Quidditch players is still, “do you actually use brooms? Or fly?”

courtesy of Nathaniel Nichols-Fleming via Facebook

n many afternoons, Vassar students can expect a magical view behind Chicago Hall, as Vassar’s Quidditch team, the almost 30-player strong Butterbeer Brewers, mount their brooms on Joss beach and take to the pitch. With 15 other teams and an established Intercollegiate Quidditch Association (IQA) recently formalized, the Brewers can look forward to another productive season.

Interestingly enough, the Butterbeer Brewers have an unique relationship with the IQA. Senior team captain and real life Oliver Wood, Nathaniel Nichols-Fleming explains “We’re not actually part of the league. In recent years, the IQA has become more dedicated to violent competitiveness instead of the friendly competition that Quidditch was founded on.

Moreover, their more restrictive application of the gender rule has forced several teams out of the league including Smith College, one of our favorite teams. Instead, we host tournaments for our friend teams and they, in turn, invite us to their tournaments. Our biggest competition is probably Middlebury College. As the original Quidditch team, they used to dominate the World Cup every year until they left the IQA as well.”

By virtue of their close-knit team culture and their commitment to lightheartedness and sportsmanship, the Quidditch team has cultivated an excellent rapport with the community here at Vassar. The same reason that they object to the IQA is what Nichols-Fleming sees as something extremely valuable as well. He explained, “Our biggest strength is definitely our friendliness. Quidditch is all about having a good time and we want to have fun when we play in tournaments. We’re usually commended for our good sportsmanship. As a team, we’re basically one big friend group, which really helps us to work together in tournaments.”

The Butterbeer Brewers are truly all about friendliness as newcomers are always welcome.

The team practices three times a week and is extremely welcoming towards new, unexperi-

enced players. Luckily, entering their 2015 season, their recruiting efforts have been paying off. “Our prospects are looking good. We’ve nearly doubled the team with the number of freshmen that we’ve gotten, which had really rejuvenated our team,” said Nichols-Fleming.

Sophie Cash, a freshman member of the Butterbeer Brewers, has definitely felt the result of the team’s efforts saying, “The team is so supportive and wondering. One of my favorite moments was scoring my first point after a great pass a couple scrimmages ago, but even before that, the silly and collaborative feeling of the upperclasspeople, so willing to joke around with and give advice to us rooks, has made for a really positive first few weeks.”

It’s no wonder that Quidditch has seen such a positive turnout with first-years and upperclassmen alike–one of their greatest focuses is on their team chemistry. Many of their goals for this season are to cultivate an environment of cheerfulness and positive team culture. Nichols-Fleming recalls his most memorable moment of the season thus far, “My favorite memory is definitely the first practice that we had with the freshmen. We had almost 30 people that practice and the enthusiasm in that group was incredible. It was that practice where I realized how great it is to be captain, because I get to coach all these lovely, energetic people.”

Junior Miles Pucarelli also commented on the strength of Vassar’s squad. He explained, “Ouar team has always been very analytic. As chasers we work often on passing in formations to play to our strengths of precision and speed. We aren’t the biggest or most aggressive team, so we often score points with quick, calculated passes that put us in line with the hoop for an easy shot. As beaters and keepers, we have amazing communication and intuition about defensive strategy. We often keep teams far from snitch range (within 30 points) so that we can ensure an easy win... No matter how burly and big you are, a bludger hit stops you dead in your T-rex sized tracks.”

However their biggest concern still lies with numbers. “Our biggest weakness is that in re-

The Butterbeer Brewers celebrate after winning a quidditch match. The team recently left the IQA due to differences in ideals surrounding sportsmanship on the quidditch pitch.

Late notice decision surprises hopeful returning athlete TENNIS continued from page 1

Julia Pollak/The Miscellany News

could have done something else with her summer. She explained, “I didn’t do anything, like I should have had a job. I should have been doing something with my life, but instead I was training, cause I really care about tennis. I want to play on this team.”

DiFazio sent Coach Campbell a follow up email on Aug. 3. According to her interview, she did not hear back and left messages on her work and home phones. DiFazio received an email from Coach Campbell on Aug. 10 explaining that the two could find a time to talk in the near future. After several other emails, DiFazio affirmed that she and Campbell did not speak until Aug. 21. “It was the Friday before I came back here she called me and I was like hey look I’ve been working really hard, I know you don’t know that. Can I just try and walk on? She lets anybody walk on who emails her. She was just like no… This is so ridiculous. I have nothing to do with my two or three extra hours a day except fight her on this.”

That same day, in an emailed statement to Michelle Walsh, the school’s Athletic Director, DiFazio expressed her frustration with Coach Campbell’s decision in the email and requested that she and Walsh meet. According to email transcripts between Walsh and DiFazio, the Athletic Director met with Campbell on Aug. 24. Walsh’s email read, “I had the opportunity to speak with Coach Campbell today and she confirmed that she would not be offering you a spot on the team this year based on two primary factors: Her intent to have a smaller roster in 2015-16 and her assessment of your tennis skills during the 2014-15 season. Each head coach at Vassar is responsible for determining the players who make the team and the decision of the coach is final.” The email continued that Walsh would be available to speak about the issue when DiFazio returned to campus. Still, Walsh stressed, “Please know that it will not change the outcome in regard to your status with the team.” DiFazio added, “No one is giving us a logical explanation.

It’s just like, well she wants to make the team smaller. The team is way too small.” The soph-

The women’s tennis team has less numbers than usual this fall. When sophomore Lauren DiFazio was cut over the summer, it spurred a discussion between her and members of the administration. omore also revealed that several of the current players were nursing minor injuries, that, while they could be played through, may become a cause for concern later in the season.

Although she worked hard over the summer to improve her skillset and be an asset to the team, DiFazio did admit to having broken the 48-hour rule last season. The rule, a component of the Alcohol, Tobacco and Drug Policy mandated by the College’s Department of Athletics and Physical Education, mandates that athletes may not use any of the three aforementioned substances 48 hours before athletic competition, while away for athletic contest or during practice. The form states, “The Vassar College Athletics and Physical Education Alcohol, Tobacco and Drug Policy was developed for the health and well-being of all Vassar Student-Athletes and intercollegiate athletics as a whole. A member of any team/pro-

gram will be held to a high standard of behavior, as it is a privilege, not a right to participate in intercollegiate athletics... However if your coach/ team has a more restrictive policy you must abide by that policy for the duration of your involvement.” The form requires a signature from all athletes before the beginning of each season.

DiFazio explained that she was suspended from practice, however the situation seemed to have worked itself out. Campbell did not cite this as having anything to do with DiFazio’s removal from the team.

DiFazio commented further about her decision to attend Vassar. While she mentioned that the timing of the letter did not provide her the opportunity to transfer to play somewhere else, this was not what she desired. “When I looked at schools I didn’t pick the school because I loved the tennis program. I picked it because I liked

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

the people and I liked the school. It’s Division III tennis… I’m not gonna transfer for tennis and I don’t want to. I would rather have both here because I think that’s something that’s completely reasonable.”

Discussions between Campbell, Walsh and DiFazio have been ongoing throughout the past several weeks and progress has been made. DiFazio commented on these meetings, “It’s taking up a lot of my time having to meet with all these people. Obviously I’m upset about it or I wouldn’t be doing all this.” She did contend, however, that things were improving. On Sept.

18 she stated, “This was the most sympathetic they’ve been. They were like oh we’ll try and find a solution. We’ll talk about it. They seem like maybe they’ll do something.” After reaching out to the Dean Begemann last Wednesday, DiFazio seemed confident via an emailed statement that the situation would resolve itself soon.

Coach Campbell also offered her thoughts on the situation and the impact that smaller numbers will have on the team going forward. Putting things in perspective, she explained, “Last year was the largest roster size our program has had in a few years. When putting together any team, I always make an effort to insure that the team members’ skills throughout the roster are close in ability to push each other and to raise the overall level of play. It’s not uncommon for our fall roster to be smaller as we typically may have players studying abroad in the fall and returning in the spring for our championship season.” Thus numbers are not as important in the fall. According to the Vassar Athletics website, after this weekend’s Intercollegiate Tennis Association Northeast Regional Championships this weekend, the team only has two more matches scheduled for the remainder of the semester.

Campbell’s final statement spoke more to the team’s performance in general. She explained, “We have a cohesive, supportive group with a positive team dynamic. The team members and I are very excited to finish this fall season on this high note, and we look forward to contending for a top spot in the league this spring.”

October 1, 2015

SPORTS

Page 19

Whitewashing of crimes tarnishes NHL’s reputation Amreen Bhasin Reporter

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he first thing I’d like to get out is that I’m angry. Less than a year ago today, Gary Bettman, as commissioner of the NHL, you told me that our players “who overwhelmingly conduct themselves magnificently off the ice” don’t actually need any rules or a code of conduct. Apparently hockey “players know what’s right and wrong” already so there’s really no need.

In October of 2014, the NFL was failing as it tried to handle its own domestic violence cases after a video of Ray Rice brutally assaulting his wife was made public. Bettman, should have used this moment to enter into meaningful conversations about crafting policies that can better address the rampant sexism, misogyny and gender-based violence perpetrated by the NHL, its players and affiliates every year. Instead, he praised supposed protocols already in place to handle issues of domestic violence and claimed that the NHL and he were attempting to continue being proactive.

Really, Bettman, really? Proactive? There was no way you put even an instant of thought into that statement before you made it. Less than a year before, the NHL screwed up its own handling of a case of despicable assault. In 2013, Colorado Avalanche’s goaltender, Semyon Varlamov was arrested and charged with assaulting his girlfriend. She called police in the middle of being terrorized emotionally, mentally and physically by Varlamov and when officers arrived, she was visibly bruised and it was clear that she had been attacked. I read the arrest affidavit and her statement was one of the most horrific and sickening things I’ve ever read. I cannot imagine anyone defending such despicable acts. The fact that as he assaulted her, Varlamov continued to laugh throughout the attack makes me physically ill.

Despite all this, the Avalanche not only gave Varlamov their full support, they actually had him start and play in the Avalanche’s very next game: a rivalry game against Dallas. Surely, if the team themselves were too profit driven and morally bankrupt to do something about it, the

League would, right? Wrong. The NHL chose to not “intervene in the process.”

Once again, the NHL chose to protect itself and its players at the expense of not only brutally re-traumatizing an incredibly strong survivor but also alienating every one of its female fans.

The NHL has a long history of only promoting the interests of its white, male fans yet they are also itching to expand its fan base. Female fans get ridiculous ‘girls nights’ promotions thrown at them or are marketed skimpy bikinis that often don’t even feature a team name or logo [full disclosure: I 100 percent own an NJ Devils bikini and I 100 percent love it].

The NHL and its media has not only been complicit in silencing female’s and survivor’s voices but also alienating any minority that doesn’t fit the ‘norm’ of who a hockey fan is. For a League attempting to expand its reach, this is ridiculous. As an Indian, I only ever saw Manny Malhotra in the League and far too many articles and news clips simply use the ‘model minority’ template and instead of studying math and science to become a doctor or engineer, Malhotra did hockey. P.K. Subban was treated horrendously by racist Bruins fans when the Habs topped Boston in 2014. Someone threw a banana onto the ice before Wayne Simmonds took a shot in a shootout.

Evander Kane’s “money phone” picture, taken in Las Vegas during the lockout created a media storm in which he was tarnishing the very image or idea of hockey. Yet, Patrick Kane brutally beats up a cab driver for about $2 and it’s just boyish exuberance. It’s laughed off. A drunken week in Madison during which Kane allegedly sexually harassed dozens of women was barely even reported upon. Mike Ribeiro, accused of sexually assaulting multiple women, multiple times–including forcibly raping his nanny while his children were present–is simply a struggle he has had to overcome and has somehow persevered through.

The whitewashing and protection by the League and the teams of its players when they continue to perpetrate such heinous acts, is unacceptable. Look at Kane for example. There

have been dozens of incidents that have suggested a larger pattern of perhaps substance abuse and violence towards women. Earlier this summer, a woman came forward and alleged that Kane had raped her. Kane, who had just won his third cup with Chicago, has been given every privilege under the sun. He faced no disciplinary action. People have not been calling him a liar. He has the full support of the League, his teammates and the press. He was able to call a press conference in which he referred to the allegations as a “distraction” and “media circus.” His accuser has been afforded none of the same privileges.

And, if you think that it’s just one guy on one team that’s causing these problems: just take a look at the LA Kings. The Kings are a perfect example of rape culture as it’s ingrained in the players and their behavior and compounded

by League and team ownership inaction. And, all of this is simply reinforced by the media.

In the last few years the Kings have had four players charged with a crime. There was a DUI and property damage charge, one rape charge, a domestic abuse charge and one player that attempted to cross into Canada with some OxyContin. You know the only player the Kings released for a ‘breach of conduct?” Mike Richards, who was carrying the drugs. Drew Doughty was accused of raping a woman and the League and Kings largely ignored it. Defenseman Slava Voynov, who assaulted his wife, did receive a League suspension that the Kings outright ignored as Voynov continued skating with them. He was deported back to Russia this summer though the Kings have refused to officially release him even now. Why do we have to accept the King’s choice to terminate Richards contract and publicly condone Voynov’s by maintaining his? Why do we accept the media’s reluctance to tarnish a ‘hero’ like Doughty’s reputation? Why was a ‘controversy’ about whether or not Phil Kessel bought a hot dog from a specific cart every day a bigger deal than Voynov and Ribiero’s gross misconduct and their team’s easy acceptance of that conduct?

There’s a large contingent of hockey writers

attempting to bemoan the ‘glory days’ of hockey and blame the tarnished image on the fact that players simply are being watched constantly what with social media and all! Well then, what do you have to say to Denis Potvin, one of the ‘greats’, a clear image of hockey’s ‘honorable past’. Potvin beat his wife for years. Instead of any League or fan support though, Rangers fans turned it into the infamous “Beat your wife, Potvin, beat your wife!” chant to add to their “Potvin sucks!” chant (though we all know Rangers suck, obviously). His wife testified that for years Potvin would hit her, especially when he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, which he frequently was.

And remember Varlamov? Well his coach is none another than famed Patrick Roy (a goaltender never as good as Martin Brodeur) who in 2000 was arrested for beating his wife. She refused to testify against him or cooperate with investigation so the charges were dropped but while Varlamov was going through the eerily similar situation, Roy defended his choice to play Varlamov. “Why wait? We’re all aware of what happened, but we just feel that he’s our guy. We have confidence in him and feel that it’s good for him to play.” Note the lack of denial that Varlamov is innocent. Even Ribeiro admitted to raping his nanny, but claimed it was because of drugs or alcohol so he wasn’t to blame.

Apparently the NHL agrees.

As for Varlamov? He’s still playing for the Avalanche. According to him though “It’s just American laws [that] are on the women’s side, that’s why they can go to the police for any little thing, complain and bring a lot of problems to men.”

So yeah, I’m mad, NHL. I’m really pissed. It’s not okay to completely disregard your female fans. It’s not okay to simply ignore the problem of gender based violence in the NHL as well as junior hockey feeder leagues across North America. Every day you allow Patrick Kane to play without any penalty or even a condemnation of his actions, you discount the experience of survivors everywhere. So, no. Things are not okay, NHL. 75004

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MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

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SPORTS

Page 20

October 1, 2015

New dive coach makes splash with larger pool of recruits Shira Idris

Guest Reporter

T

working on a new or particularly scary dive, he’s very understanding, but he also pushes me to try the dive without delaying.” Martin has a background in gymnastics and Green has a background in skiing, so the acrobatics of diving are not completely foreign to them. Pruitt added, “Jack is doing a really great job working with everyone’s varying experience. His coaching style is encouraging and he’ll make sure to change his explanations if someone doesn’t understand something.”

Ferriter added some additional training regimens he hopes to implement later on in the season as well. He explained, “[I plan] on incorporating more trampoline work, which will help tremendously in the execution of the dives.” Pruitt agrees that trampoline work really helps with diving as she explained, “[In the] off-season, I try to dive as much as possi-

ble to keep up my skills, rhythm and timing. I also use the trampoline a lot. It’s a great tool to practice moves on before putting them over water. Running, lifting, and general dry land are also important parts of my off-season training.”

Kyrkjebo agreed, “Ferriter has been very onthe-ball with getting us ready–making sure we stretch and go to lifting sessions. Also, he’s had us run through our dives, which helps us get comfortable on the boards again.”

Ferriter has a very positive attitude towards coaching. “I will also bring in more high fives because there’s always a reason to give them out,” he quipped. He continued, “I hope to have a diving program that is recognized for high quality diving and even higher quality divers in terms of personality and work ethic. Maybe win an award for my dancing too, that would be nice.”

courtesy of Vassar Athletics

he tides are changing as Vassar swimming and diving team has just hired a new diving coach. Jack Ferriter, hailing from Western Massachusetts, was previously the diving coach at Smith College, a fellow Seven Sisters School in Northampton, MA. Ferriter has been coaching at a collegiate level for four years. Prior to coaching, he dove competitively in high school and for two years at Keene State College. Along with his experience, Ferriter brings with him much enthusiasm, optimism and a few dance moves.

Ferriter was attracted to Vassar’s beautiful campus, as well as the excitement the swim and dive team has for progression. Moreover, Ferriter is ultimately keen to help the divers, who in the past, had to dive and practice with no coach.

The diving roster stands strong with nine divers. Among the returning divers are Maya Pruitt, the only senior and also the captain of the team, and sophomore Nora Kyrkjebo. The team does, however feature seven rookies. One of the rookies had been recruited prior to Ferriter’s arrival. Ferriter says they got the other six, five male divers and one female diver, by a few swimmers. Kyrkjebo was also a huge help as she put up flyers all over the athletic center.

The addition of a full time dive coach should be helpful for the Brewers going forward. Last year, the dive team consisted of three people.

Since scores at meets combine results from both the swim and dive teams, adding both numbers and a coach should benefit both teams and lead to improvement within the league. The women went 3-5 and the men went 4-5 last season, as they both finished sixth in the liberty league.

Pruitt is excited to be working with Ferriter.

She noted, “The diving team has faced a lot of instability when it comes to coaching, so I’m really looking forward to the consistency that Jack will bring. I know that he’s going to be here and dedicated to us all season.” Similarly,

Kyrkjebo added, “I’m so excited about having a new coach and a new start for the program.

I think Jack has a lot of experience and knowledge he can bring to the team.”

With all of these changes and the loss of more experienced, graduated divers, the team is a bit younger and has much less experience than in the past. Pruitt explained, “six of [our divers] have never dove before this season!

We just finished our first week of training, but already Jack’s got us on an awesome regimen.

We’re pushed to dive off both boards, step out of our comfort zones, and work on getting those washboard abs.”

Pruitt elaborated further on the structure of meets. She explained, “Dive competitions consist of six dives both on one meter and three meter for dual meets, and 11 dives each board for league meets and bigger competitions. This means we have to learn a lot of new things very quickly.” Still, Pruitt remains positive. Coach Ferriter shared this positivity and enthusiasm, stating, “[I’m] excited to watch the divers progress and succeed in accomplishing goals they have set for themselves.” Kyrkjebo also commented on his organization and inspiration.

She stated, “[Jack] is very organized and laid out a clear plan. He got us to write out our goals for the season, which made me take the time to really think about what I want to achieve this season.” One such individual goal for sophomore rookie diver Connor Martin involves self improvement. He explained, “[I hope] to have learned some cool dives that I can be proud of.

And there’s the team aspect, too. I’m here to have a good time doing something new with some really great people.”

Among those who have never dove before, junior Clancy Green and Martin have said Coach Ferriter has really made the transition to diving relatively easy. Green explained, “There’s a lot to work on before the season opener, but Jack’s been super patient and supportive as we crash and burn. He really takes the fear out of diving.” Martin echoed the sentiment, stating, “Jack is an incredibly encouraging coach. If I’m

Newly hired dive coach Jack Ferriter brings a wealth of experience to the Brewers as both a diver and a coach. His presence should help the team both in and out of the pool as they look to improve.

Journeying Brewers aim to make strides, travel far and wide Winnie Yeates Reporter

Men’s Tennis

This past weekend, the men’s tennis team hosted the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Division III Northeast Regional Men’s Championship, where 19 teams from across the region came to compete. The Brewers had a strong showing as senior Daniel Cooper and junior Nicholas Litsky won their first round of doubles before falling to The College of New Jersey pair 8-3. In doubles, senior Evan Udine and junior Alexander Luckmann fell in the second round to a Hamilton pair 8-2. In singles play, Udine fell in the first round to Michael Gardiner from Ithaca College 4-6, 6-0, 10-7 and junior Juan Felipe Laso was defeated in the second round by Danny Polk from Stevens University 6-2, 6-2. Cooper was also downed

by Stevens’ Charles Drake 7-6 (7-1), 6-2 in the

round of 16. Litsky advanced to the semifinals before losing a tight match to the number two seed from Skidmore College Kai Leung 6-3, 7-5.

Women’s Tennis

The women’s tennis team also competed in the ITA Division III Regional Championships this past weekend in Geneva, N.Y. In singles play, defending champion sophomore Kate Christensen fell in the second round to Alice McGinty of NYU 6-1, 6-2. Sophomore Courtney Geiss was also defeated in the second round by the number three seed Karmen Yai of NYU 6-0, 6-0. Senior Kelsey Van Noy advanced to the round of 16 before falling to the number seven seed, SUNY-Geneseo’s Mako Tanaka 6-2, 6-0.

Despite a tough loss in the first round, sophomore Morgan Fitzgerald rallied back into action to win the consolation bracket. In doubles play, Christensen and Fitzgerald advanced to

the second round of doubles before dropping to a SUNY-Geneseo team 8-0. The senior duo of Lauren Stauffer and Van Noy, after falling in the first round, came back strong, making it to the finals of the consolation bracket before falling to a Rochester team 8-4. The Brewers will be back in action this weekend at the Joss courts at 10 a.m. where they will take on Union College. They will then head to Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y. to play Bard College in their first duel matches of the season.

Women’s Golf

This past weekend, the women’s golf team traveled to South Hadley, Mass. to compete in the Mount Holyoke Invitational. At the Invitational, the course was a par-72 over 5,845 yards.

Despite the high winds on Saturday, senior Amiee Dubois carded her best career score of 76, just four over, and ended up finishing ninth out of 83 players. The team finished with a 677 for the weekend and earned sixth place out of 14 teams at the invitational. Vassar jumped over LIU-Post into the sixth position standings after finishing seventh on Saturday.

Men’s Cross-Country

courtesy of Vassar Athletics

The men’s cross-country team competed this past weekend at the Purple Valley Classic in Williamsburg, Mass., one of the best races on the national schedule. It was an 8k race and the Brewers faced eight regionally ranked squads throughout the event. Sophomore Michael Scarlett helped the team earn a score of 302 as he finished 55th overall out of 244 runners, placing first for Vassar. Scarlett ran a 27:09.5, beating his previous personal best of 27:23.94.

Sophomores Jack Yaworsky and Philip Brown also finished second and third respectively for Vassar with times of 27:17.8 and 27:39.8. Yaworsky bested his personal best time of 28:44.6 while Brown continued to be a top scorer for the Brewers.

Women’s Cross-Country

Freshman Megan Coughlan dribbles the ball towards the goal. The women’s team ended their three-game win streak this weekend as they fell to number 25 Montclair State University at home.

The women’s cross-country team also competed at the Purple Valley Classic this past

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

weekend in Williamstown, Mass. The team ran a 6k for the first time this season and competed against five nationally-ranked teams. Vassar put five runners in the top 50. Senior Ava Farrell led the way for the fourth consecutive race of the season finishing 37th overall with a time of 23:42.6, a personal best time eclipsing her previously set best of 23:43.9. Sophomore Katie Voegtlin finished second for Vassar with a time of 23:49.8, finishing 44th overall. Freshman Christina Prater-Lee tallied her fourth consecutive top-three finish for the Brewers, finishing 53rd overall with a time of 24:02.9.

Women’s Soccer

Women’s soccer’s three-game winning streak ended this past Saturday as they took a tough 5-0 defeat against number 25 Montclair State University (MSU) on Gordon Field. The Brewers just managed two shots at a goal while MSU landed five of their 16 attempts. This puts Vassar 5-3 overall for their season and MSU 7-1-1. Vassar’s goalkeeper senior Emma Nichols managed five stops in the game, but the Brewers were out-cornered 6-2. The women will travel to Canton, N.Y. next weekend to play St. Lawrence University.

Women’s Field Hockey

The women’s field hockey team began Liberty League play at Weinberg Field last Saturday against St. Lawrence University. Vassar, who is 7-2, 1-0 in League play, wasted no time getting on the board, scoring 2:16 into regulation with a goal by freshman Monica Feeley, assisted by senior Lauren Wiebe. A few minutes after the goal, sophomore Storm Sideleau got on the board to double Vassar’s lead with an assist from freshman Mikayla Young. Junior Emma Bracken came up with unassisted goal number three following a goal scored by St. Lawrence to regain their two-point lead. Weibe posted the fourth goal, her fourth goal of the year so far with an assist from Feeley. Freshman Paige Amico, sophomore Ashley LaMere, and junior Sophie Arnold together saved a total of six shots from the St. Lawrence squad.