The Miscellany News
Since 1866 | miscellanynews.com
Volume CXLII | Issue 23
MAY 24, 2009
Graduating class has witnessed changes, challenges Prestigious fellowships W awarded Ruby Cramer
Editor in Chief
Jillian Scharr
F Kathleen Mehocic/The Miscellany News
hen members of the current graduating class drove through the gates of Taylor Hall for the first time on Aug. 25, 2005, they entered the College community at a unique and critical point in its history. Just as these 652 first-year students were unpacking their things, meeting their rommates and waving goodbye to proud parents, faculty and administrators were concluding their search for the tenth President of the College. That February, President Frances Daly Furgusson had announced that she would be retiring after a tenure of nearly 20 years as leader of the school. Shortly after, the College began an extensive national search for her successor that yielded more than 200 candidates. Of those contenders, the Board of Trustees unanimously elected Catharine Bond Hill that summer—a decision which was announced to Vassar students on Jan. 10, 2006. The Class of 2009, then, first saw the College as it was beginning a new era—one which would ultimately be the beginning of President Hill’s tenure at Vassar. Since then, the graduating seniors and Hill have shared the ups and downs of the past few years as the College has celebrated some of its greatest achievements and faced some of its most difficult challenges. During their time at Vassar, the Class of 2009 has seen the multi-million-dollar renovations of buildings on campus—including the Art Library, the
Bronwen Pardes ’95 presents the class banner to President of the Class of 2009 Luis Hoyos during Spring Convocation. The class has witnessed many significant changes to the College and will graduate on Sunday, May 24. Town Houses, the Terrace Apartments, Kenyon Hall and the Maria Mitchell Observatory, our oldest building on campus and a National Historic Landmark. They have seen esteemed art exhibits from Rembrandt and Steinberg pass in and and out of the halls of the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center. They have seen the completion of the Raymond Avenue reconstruction and the dedication of the clock tower to the
Arlington community. They have seen the African Violets march for the first time at Commencement in 2006 and continue to participate in the processional each year since. And they have seen celebrated thinkers—like historians Howard Zinn and David McCullough and authors Salman Rushdie and David Sedaris—come to our campus and speak in our lecture halls. Perhaps most notable among the
highlights and successes of the tenure of the Class of 2009 was the return to need-blind admissions after 10 years of a need-sensitive policy. When she first became President of the College, Hill made clear that of her priorities for Vassar’s future, a strong financial aid program was paramount. “Needblind is a very important message to be able to tell students,” said Hill in a Continued on page 4
Convocation invokes feelings of community spirit Molly Turpin
he Class of 2009 was welcomed into the real world with all of the usual pomp and circumstance at Spring Convocation April 29, but with the added acknowledgment of the economic challenges facing the College and their futures. In her opening address, President Catharine Bond Hill noted that this year marks an “‘interesting’ moment in the College’s history.” Hill spoke about the coincidence that Vassar has undergone the reaccreditation process in the same year as it has begun to make significant changes in light of the financial crisis. She joked about backup plans that she might have pursued should the Middle States Commission on Higher Education decided not to reaccredit Vassar, such as selling the Vassar campus to a “multi hundred million dollar corporation.”
Hill did address the very difficult choices that Vassar, like other institutions, will have to make in the next few years. According to Hill, “Temporary measures of savings and sacrifice will not be sufficient or sustainable. The financial world has been fundamentally re-set and we have no choice but to correspondingly re-set the operations of the College.” She named specific challenges that Vassar’s budget faces and explained that while transparent decision-making is ideal, it is not always possible. “Moreover, of necessity, the decisions will profoundly affect the lives of individuals and so while we will make every effort to proceed in a consultative and transparent process about the principles for making decisions, that process cannot be done completely in a public forum.” Despite the challenges that the College faces, Hill looked towards the
Kathleen Mehocic/The Miscellany News
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Senior Editor
Seniors gather in their caps and gowns outside the Chapel before Spring Convocation on April 29, waiting for their cue to begin their procession. unity that she sees in the Vassar com- “Our points of contention more often munity. “I believe that we are as a com- focus on choosing ways we can better munity fundamentally and profoundly achieve our educational goals.” unified in our purpose and in how that Outgoing Vassar Student Association purpose is being realized,” she said. Continued on page 3
News Editor
ellowships and other awards— from Fullbrights to Comptons— propel past, present and graduating students to foreign lands—from France to Cape Town. The administration will honor graduating fellowship recipients at a private ceremony. Fulbright Fellowships: Five graduating seniors will be working abroad under the Fulbright Program, an “international exchange program offering opportunities for students, scholars, and professionals to undertake international graduate study, advanced research, university teaching, and [nonuniversity] teaching,” according to the official Web site. Two of the seniors received English Teaching Assistantships, part of a special program under the Fulbright banner, and the other three developed independent research projects. Allison Bloom received one of the English Teaching Assistantships. She will work in Uruguay, teaching English in both the provinces and Montevideo. As a side project, the women’s studies major will also research violence against women, a subject that Bloom previously studied. Another recipient of an English Teaching Assistantship, Michael Frenkel will work at a high school in northern Spain. “The grant will enable me to devote a lot of time to activities outside the classroom,” he wrote in an e-mailed statement. Some of these include beginning a debate team at the high school, as well as taking courses at the local university. “[I] am planning to look at the social and political effects of the country’s particularly difficult economic situation,” Frenkel wrote. Laura Fletcher created her own project for her research grant. In addition to attending classes at Beijing Normal University, she will study Chinese school counselors’ techniques and psychological theories by comparing counseling in Beijing and Qingdao. “Since the field of psychology is relatively new to China, I feel that it is important to see how it is developing and being used and understood by the next generation,” Fletcher wrote in an e-mailed statement. Jonathan Kaiman will study the Continued on page 3
Inside this issue
Vassar students compete in nationally televised contests
Powerhouse Theatre Program celebrates its 25th anniversary
Senior retrospectives: graduates remember their Vassar careers
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Page 5
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The Miscellany News
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The Year in Photos
5.24.09 Editor in Chief Ruby Cramer Senior Editors Caitlin Halasz Molly Turpin
Contributing Editors Chloe McConnell Elizabeth Pacheco
April: Students, administration and faculty gather in the Chapel on April 29 for Convocation to hear Professor Cardonne-Arlyck’s address, as well as remarks from President Hill and outgoing and incoming VSA Presidents, Jimmy Kelly ’09 and Caitlin Ly ’10.
News Matthew Brock Jillian Scharr Opinions Angela Aiuto Kelly Shortridge Features Emma Carmichael Arts Erik Lorenzsonn Sports Lillian Reuman Copy Lila Teeters Design Eric Estes Photography Kathleen Mehocic Managing Eliza Hartley Assistant Arts Assistant Copy Assistant Online Columnists Reporters
April: Caitlin Ly ’10 elected as first female VSA President in five years.
March: Men’s rugby starts season strong with 37-7 win over Colgate. They finished their season 10-6.
February: National bestselling author Augusten Burroughs lectures.
Carrie Hojnicki Katherine Cornish, Sarah Marco Elizabeth Jordan Martin Bergman, Michael Mestitz, Nikola Trkulja Jason Adler, Esther Clowney, Wally Fisher, Andy Marmer, Chelsea Mitamura, Eric Schuman, Kara Voght
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Miscellany News would like to congratulate the Class of 2009 on their accomplishments and contributions to Vassar’s academic and extracurricular excellence. LETTERS POLICY
February: President Hill and senior officers hold a series of forums on the economic crisis, academics and student well-being.
January: Vassar students traveled to Washington D.C. on Jan. 20 to witness the inauguration of the nation’s 44th President.
The Miscellany News is Vassar College’s weekly open forum for discussion of campus, local and national issues, and welcomes letters and opinions submissions from all readers. Letters to the Editor should not exceed 450 words, and they usually respond to a particular item or debate from the previous week’s issue. Opinions articles are longer pieces, up to 800 words, and take the form of a longer column. No letter or opinions article may be printed anonymously. If you are interested in contributing, please e-mail misc@vassar.edu or submit it online at miscellanynews.com. The Editorial Board holds weekly meetings every Sunday at 9 p.m. in the Rose Parlor. All members of the Vassar community interested in joining the newspaper’s staff or joining in a critique of the current issue are welcome. The Miscellany News is not responsible for the views presented within its Opinions pages. The weekly staff editorial is the only article which reflects the opinion of the Editorial Board.
November: Vassar Dems record U.S. election results in UpCDC on Nov 4.
November: Local vendors sell food in College Center on Nov. 4 at the VSA’s very first Tasty Tuesday.
September: Students commemorate start of 2008-09 year with Serenading.
The Miscellany News (USPS-657-120) is published weekly by the students of Vassar College. The Miscellany News office is located in College Center Room 303, Vassar College.
Graduation
5.24.09 3 Speakers welcome Class of 2009 into the alumnae/i community
Kathleen Mehocic/The Miscellany News
Continued from page 1 (VSA) President Jimmy Kelly ’09 similarly discussed the challenges that the College faces along with his fond memories of the place. He shared nostalgic tales of fun times with friends and inspiring hours in classes, but he also reflected on previous challenges that the College faced during his time here. “We challenged the old way of doing things when Cappy arrived by introducing a new need-blind admissions policy,” he said. “We challenged nooses and we challenged other hateful language. Each time we came together and imagined a better way forward.” Kelly hoped that the community solidarity that came with difficult times would carry the College through an uncertain financial climate. Before passing the gavel on to new VSA President Caitlin Ly ’10, Kelly still had a few tricks up his voluminous gown sleeves. As he began to speak the lyrics of the Turtles’ “So Happy Together,” the piano and the Commencement Choir began on cue. Kelly led Hill in a dance, and as the audience gradually succumbed to the desire to sing along, the Chapel organ joined in and instrumentalists, including an accordion, popped up one by one in the front of the Chapel. Following the spectacle, new VSA President Caitlin Ly ’10 acknowledged the challenges that next year will bring, but also looked toward the improvements that the solutions would bring. “Next year’s student leaders will have the opportunity to rethink Vassar’s structure in creative and dynamic ways,” she said. “It won’t be easy and it won’t be simple, but I wholeheartedly believe that the College we love will emerge from the crisis stronger, leaner and bolder than ever before.”
President Catharine Bond Hill addressed the Class of 2009, the faculty and the student body. She spoke about the challenges that the College faces in the economic crisis, but remained hopeful about the College’s continued successes in the coming years and the strength of its community. While Ly looked forward to the future of the College, Bronwen Pardes ’95 looked forward to the future lives of the Class of 2009 as she welcomed them to the alumnae/i community by giving her personal phone numbers, home and cell, as well as e-mail address to the entire class. She explained that the class is extremely lucky simply because they are now Vassar alumnae/i. Pardes also gave a brief explanation of the terms alumna, alumnus, alumni and alumnae. According to Pardes, “In a group such people are usually alumni, but because we went to a former women’s college that never forgets its history, we are alumnae-slash-i.”
After Pardes let the seniors know that they had a home with all alumnae/i, Pittsburgh Endowment Professor of French Elisabeth Cardonne-Arlyck spoke to the trouble with going home in her address, “Far from Algeria.” Her speech danced between her own history and the works of French authors, poets and filmmakers and ended with a philosophical discussion of grammar, particularly pertaining to the future perfect tense. Cardonne-Arlyck also spoke of Jacques Roubaud’s poem, “The Great Fire of London.” She said, “I find this idea of turning failure into a process of discovery, which is characteristic
of modernity, infinitely encouraging, not only for writers or artists, but for the rest of us.” She also discussed her own past, growing up in both France and Algeria, and her difficulty going back to Algeria. “Algeria is not at the right distance,” Cardonne-Arlyck said. “It is at the same time too remote and too distant.” She ended, however, in a more hopeful tense, the aforementioned future perfect: “It is deeply satisfying to me to realize today that, because of President Hill’s invitation and your kind attention, for the duration of this talk, I will not have been so far from Algeria, after all.”
Seniors granted fellowships exemplary academic achievement Continued from page 1 musical traditions of the Yi, a cultural and ethnic group in Southwest China. He will analyze modern influences on Yi music, particularly with respect to the differences between rural village areas and more modern urban centers. To that end, his research will involve collecting folk songs in the countryside, attending performances, and holding songwriting workshops at local high schools. “[This is] something I’ve been dreaming about for a long time,” Kaiman wrote in an e-mailed statement. Sasha Steinberg will work on a self-developed project, entitled “Arts in Public, Publics in Art: Representing Moscow.” The project is a study of Russian art in contemporary society, which should augment Steinberg’s independent major in modern literatures. As part of his research, he will take classes at Russian State University for the Humanities. “I believe that the arts,” Steinberg wrote in an e-mailed statement, “should be used to critique and examine contemporary social reality.” French Government Teaching Assistantships The French Ministry of Education gave French Government Teaching Assistantships to five graduating seniors—Samuel Anderson, Kate Fussner, Dana Levin, Brian Mawyer and Elizabeth Wachtel. This award, Mawyer explained in an e-mailed statement, “is offered by the French government to bring native speakers of different languages to schools all over France for students learning that language.” Anderson will be based in the region of AixMarseille. “I’m very happy to be placed in the Aix-Marseille region because it’s home to a lot of West and North African immigrant populations,” Anderson wrote in an e-mailed statement, “and
I hope that I’ll be able to learn more about their communities.” Anderson expressed a desire to return fluent in French and with a working knowledge of Arabic, as well. Fussner will head to Paris, where she will work with English teachers and English-language clubs, as well as working individually and in groups with students. Fussner is a double major in French and English, and she spent her Junior Year Abroad in Paris. “[I] fell in love with the city,” Fussner wrote in an e-mailed statement. “I can’t wait to go back!” Levin also studied in Paris during her Vassar career, but her Teaching Assistantship is in the Strasbourg province. A current French Department Intern, Levin is considering a career in education, and she explained that the experience should be able to help her to decide upon a career. Mawyer will work with students at the Académie of Besançon to “expose them to the English language and American culture,” he wrote in an emailed statement. A film major with a correlate in French, Mawyer also intended to “be inspired to work on a screenplay” during his time in France. Compton Fellowship Jacqueline Law’09 and Juliana Valente’09 are two of this year’s Compton Fellows. As part of a program sponsored by Vassar and nine other colleges, the Compton Mentor Fellowship sponsors students’ initiatives to “envision a world in which humans live in harmony with each other and in sustainable balance with the earth.” Law, the founder of the Vassar Uganda Project, is overjoyed to be able to return to the Iganga province through her fellowship, entitled “Safe Mothers, Safe Babies.” Her goal is “to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity through sustainable, demand-driven and collab-
orative means,” she wrote in an e-mailed statement to The Miscellany News. To that end, she will work with local hospitals to institute, among other things, a motorcycle ambulance program, as well as assist in the construction of several wells and distribute mosquito nets and “Safe Baby OB Kits.” Most of all, Law wrote, she is eager to live with the Ugandan people. “It teaches me about the conditions I’m trying to affect, and helps me create the relationships of trust and respect that I need in order to make the program more successful,” she wrote. The Ann Cornelisen Fellowship Four seniors also received the Ann Cornelisen Fellowship for Language Study Abroad, just announced recently. This award, unique to Vassar, was sponsored by an alumna’s gift. The College Committee on Fellowships chooses the winners. Amanda Jameson, an English and anthropology double major, will participate in a program run by the American Institute of Indian Studies. Studying in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India, she hopes to become fluent in Hindi so that she can later pursue a career with the State Department’s Foreign or Civil Service. Another anthropology major, Hannah Roth will spend next year enrolled in an intensive Arabic-language program at the American University of Cairo.“By the end of next year I hope to be proficient in Arabic and have had an incredible immersion experience in Egypt!” she wrote in an e-mailed statement. Emily Thompson will study Quechua in Peru through her fellowship. “I hope that the ability to speak Quechua as well as Spanish will enable me to work with more people—specifically speakers of indigenous languages—to maneuver our convoluted legal system to obtain visas, asylum and
refugee status,” she wrote in an email. The Vassar Maguire Fellowship
The Maguire fellowship sponsors pursuing degrees abroad in a broad range of humanities and is also distributed by the Committee on Fellowships. Three seniors—Luis Hoyos, Katherine Jensen and Tendai Musakwa—have been awarded this fellowship to continue their studies. Hoyos will do graduate work at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. As part of an Honours Programme in Gender Studies and Development, he wrote in an e-mailed statement, “I will be studying LGBTQI human rights legislation in post-apartheid South Africa, focusing on the political debates that led to the adoption of the 1996 Bill of Rights that banned discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.” Jensen will conduct her research in Argentina, studying the region’s human rights organizations. A Latin American and Latino/a studies major with a comparative politics correlate, she will pursue university study as well as field research in Buenos Aires, Córdoba and Rosario. “I hope to gain insight into how relationships between non-profit organizations can affect their prevalence in the public sphere and learn more about social justice organizations,” Jensen wrote in an email.Musakwa, a Chinese and political science double major, will study Chinese politics at the Oxford University. Interested in China since a young age, Musakwa has traveled to China several times during his Vassar years, and he is eager to continue his research. Musakwa plans to write a doctoral thesis on Chinese studies or comparative politics. As the recipients of the above fellowships and awards indicate, a Vassar education can take students all over the world.
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5.24.09
25th Powerhouse anniversary brings professionals to campus Erik Lorenzsonn
Walter Garshagen/Powerhouse Theatre
Dixie Sheridan/Powerhouse Theatre
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Arts Editor
he maiden voyage of the Powerhouse Theater summer drama program in 1984 was a portentous one for its fledgling projects. The season highlight was Savage in Limbo, a play by the aspiring writer John Patrck Shanley about lonely barflies in a Bronx tavern. Shanley has since snagged a Tony Award, a Pulitzer Prize and an Oscar to tuck under his belt, but his relationship with Powerhouse has far from waned. Six of his plays have premiered through the program, including the 2005 runaway hit “Doubt: A Parable.” “It’s evolved to the point where it’s a different program,” said Powerhouse Theater Producing Director Ed Cheetham. “The fundamentals are the same, but it’s different in that it’s larger and has a greater professional network. Shanley has been a consistent presence, and that is the same with other actors, directors and writers who have been coming back here for years.” Relationships with theater moguls like Shanley, Frances McDormand, Tom Donaghy, David Straithairn and others have cemented the Powerhouse Theater’s status as a definitive summer experience for aspiring theater students. Vassar College and The New York Stage and Film collaborate for the summer drama program, which trains young writers, actors and directors with an intense regimen to break them into the world of professional theater. The program is for established artists as well, providing them with the opportunity to mold new projects or premier a new play or musical. The program’s 25th anniversary season will run from June 26 to Aug. 2 on the Vassar Campus and will feature a gala concert celebrating the quarter-century mark on Saturday, June 27. “The Powerhouse season is a huge complement to Vassar’s Drama Department,” said Jeye Moliere ’12, an acting apprentice with the 2007 Powerhouse program. “It’s just fantastic that we have professionals working here every summer
Award-winning playwrite John Patrick Shanley has been a freqent contributer to the Powerhouse summer program since its founding. On the left is a performance at the Powerhouse of Shanley’s 1985 “Savage in Limbo” and on the right, from nearly 25 years later, is Shanley’s “Defiance.” on completely new works.” The season features everything from experimental theater to Shakespeare, but the most prominent of the lineup is the Broadway musical “The Burnt Part Boys,” set to be performed from July 17 to 26. The play is slated to make its New York City premiere in 2010, making the Powerhouse premiere a year in advance. The highly-anticipated play by Mariana Elder tells the story of Virginian teenagers who try to prevent the reopening of a coal mine where their fathers died ten years before. It will feature the award-winning music-and-lyrics team of Chris Miller and Nathan Tyson, whose previous works include the musical “Fugitive Songs.” “Producing a fully-staged musical doesn’t happen very often,” said Cheetham. “We worked ‘Romantic Poetry’ last year, John Patrick Shanley’s foray into musical theater, making this our second musical.” The season will also feature the newest project of composer Duncan Sheik, a musical called “Whisper House” to be performed from July 10 to 11. Sheik was responsible for the 2006 Tony Award- and Grammy Award-winning hit “Spring Awakening,” which featured Vassar’s own Lillian
Cooper ’12. His new project is a collaboration with the Kyle Jarrow, the lauded Off-Broadway playwright and lyricist. “Whisper House” is a ghost story involving a boy living in a haunted lighthouse with an eccentric aunt. The play will be directed by Keith Powell. Powell is best known as the self-aggrandizing Twofer on the popular Emmy Award-winning television show 30 Rock. A variety of other events add color to the hefty season. Shanley maintains his storied presence with Powerhouse with a reading of his play “Pirate” as part of the program’s two reading festivals. Other Powerhouse attractions include “The Inside Look” series, which workshops plays with “partial production value”—plays that are somewhere in between a reading and a full-fledged production—as well as the Powerhouse Apprentice Company’s outdoor productions of Shakespeare and Euripides and two visual art productions with the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center. The staging of “Vera Laughed” should prove to be a local highlight, as it was written by Poughkeepsie native and local celebrity Keith Bunin. “Summer Under the Stars: A Silver Anniver-
sary Celebration,” is an outdoor June 27 gala that will commemorate a quarter-century of Powerhouse Theater. The event is still in its planning stages, but it will likely feature selections from popular plays of Powerhouse veterans such as Shanley, Theresa Rebeck and Richard Greenberg. Songs from the musicals Powerhouse has staged over the years will also be performed. Dinner and drinks will be served afterwards as actors and directors mingle with patrons. For all of the celebrity and high-end production that is associated with Powerhouse theater, it is easy to forget about the educative element of the program. “It’s a good way for Vassar students to stick around during the summer and get an idea of what theater looks like as a career,” said Cheetham. “You can see with your own eyes how it all works.” “All in all, I had 9 a.m. to 1 a.m. days, filled with theater,” said Moliere about her experience last summer, “and I haven’t regretted it once. Everything I learned has been truly invaluable. And, come on, who wouldn’t want to be in the same three mile radius as John Patrick Shanley for eight weeks?”
Class of 2009 worked to ensure that student voices are heard Continued from page 1 September 2007 Miscellany News article. “It is right direction to go in as a way of increasing socioeconomic diversity at Vassar.” The Vassar Student Association (VSA) first debated a resolution to urge the College to pursue need-blind at a Council meeting on Dec. 3, 2006. Nearly five months later, Hill announced the decision to go need-blind in her remarks during 2007 Commencement, almost exactly two years ago. The Class of 2012 was the first class admitted under the need-blind policy. Since then, the Class of 2009—and the 2008-09 VSA Executive Board in particular—has worked tirelessly with the adminsitration to ensure that need-blind remain among the College’s foremost priorties even in the midst of a tumultuous financial climate. Other major initiatives from the Class of 2009 include the success of the Sophomore Class Gift’s Shared Bike Program and increased efforts towards a Student’s Bill of Rights, as well as the finalization of the gender-neutral housing policy, which began with efforts from former VSA Vice President (VP) for Student Life Morgan Warners ’08. This year’s VSA President Jimmy Kelly ’09—who saw efforts towards gender-neutral housing from beginning to end—was quoted this fall in The Miscellany News as saying that the policy was a matter of essential civil rights. “It’s the biggest accomplishment of the VSA,” said Kelly. The other three seniors on the VSA Executive Board were VP for Activities Alexandria Dempsey ’09, VP for Academics Camille Friason ’09 and VP for Finance Marcelo Buitron. Throughout the year, the team made especially great strides
in cultivating a stronger connection between the Poughkeepsie and Vassar communities. After the Meet Me in Poughkeepsie event this October— which featured 31 different local activities in which Vassar students could participate—the
If any one event shaped the four-year experience of the Class of 2009, it was one of their last—the 2008 financial decline. VSA introduced Tasty Tuesdays, the hugely successful weekly program in which local vendors sell food and drink to students in the College Center every Tuesday morning and afternoon. The Class of 2009, however, did not go four years without witnessing its share of setbacks and struggles. When members of the graduating class first arrived at Vassar in 2005, they were confronted with the reality of Hurricane Katrina, which struck the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29. Students responded almost immediately, hosting a candlelight vigil on Sept. 2 and raising thousands of dollars within one year of the tragedy which effected the lives of so many Vassar students. Later in September 2005, controversy broke
out over an article entitled “Race and Freedom” in the Moderate, Independent and Conservative Alliance (MICA)’s publication The Imperialist. Students argued that the article exhibited racist and sexist material. In a Miscellany News Staff Editorial from that month, the editorial board wrote that publication was filled with “irreverent and inflamatory material that belied any interest in engaging students on an intellectual level.” Vassar continued to deal with issues of race and ethnicity when over the next two years, swastikas were found drawn on walls in Raymond House and in Main Building. Students responded immediately by drawing over the symbols with black markers and covering them with signs that read “Make Love, Not Hate.” And, in October 2007, a Residential Operations Center attendant found the drawstring cord of a window shade on the sixth floor of Jewett House fashioned as a noose. Soon after, Hill called a campus-wide forum to address the issue. The Class of 2009 also witnessed its share of political controversies on campus. In the fall of 2008, the Kick Coke campaign—which worked to ban Coca-Cola products from campus—sparked heated debate amongst students across campus. And debate about the Bookstore of the Future continued this fall and winter after beginning with an all-campus e-mail sent on Dec. 18, 2007 in which Hill announced that the College would be moving the Bookstore from the College Center to an offcampus location. The decision to move became a contentious one, as many students complained that the new store would damage the Arlington Business District. Others expressed concern that
they had not been aware of a move off-campus until after Hill had sent her email, which implied that the decision was already a final one. Since the Bookstore decision was made, however, the project has been put on hold due to the effect of the economic crisis on Vassar. Indeed, if any one event shaped the four-year experience of the Class of 2009, it was one of their last— the 2008 financial decline, which was officially declared a recession by The National Bureau of Economic Research on Dec. 1, 2008. Following the global recession, 30 percent of Vassar’s endowment will be lost by the end of June. Overall employment will need to be reduced by 10 to 15 percent, and the operating budget for the next academic year must be trimmed by $600,000. As seniors, the Class of 2009 has had to lead the student body through what will be, without a doubt, one of the most difficult years in this College’s history. They have maintained solid efforts throughout the year to work with administrators to preserve a rich and diverse curriculum, to find creative solutions to cutting costs and to help ensure that student voice is heard in the process of difficult decision-making. Perhaps most notably, the VSA Executive Board attained a seat on the Advisory Group on the Allocation of Faculty Resources, which makes decisions on the future of Vassar’s faculty and curriculum. As the College moves into one of its most challenging years yet, the efforts and projects of the Class of 2009—which have worked to ensure that student voice is present in crucial debates and decisions—will for long continue to be guiding examples for the student leaders of years to come.
graduation
5.24.09
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Students share talents on national network television shows Carrie Hojnicki
Assistant Arts Editor
Television’s grainy glow has illuminated the talents of many members of the Vassar community this year, bestowing the College with a heightened sense of celebrity. From the Vassar Orkestar playing with indie rock band Beirut on the Late Show with David Letterman to Greg Lichtenstein ’12 competing on Jeopardy! participation, there is no doubt that the Vassar community has enjoyed the incresed fame of its students this year. After successfully accompanying indie rock band Beirut in their January performance at Vassar, the ad hoc group of Vassar musicians that came together to accompany Beirut, called the Vassar Orkestar, joined the band for two sold-out shows at the Brookyln Academy of Music and for their appearance on the Late Show With David Letterman. Orkestar members remarked that their television experience was, as a whole, surreal. “It was very surreal to perform on Letterman,” bass player Paul Buffa ’09 told Vassar’s “On Campus” newsletter. “We went in through the ‘secret entrance’ and were in several green rooms, hanging out with Beirut and watching them tape the show, which only took an hour. We were too nervous to remember much. But being on stage with a full audience and Dave Letterman 10 feet away was definitely the most memorable part.”
Cake designer Jess Leng ’11 found her recognition on the Food Network. Although Leng did not actually appear on television, she was a finalist in the network’s Ace of Cakes Valentine’s cake competition. Her entry, a YouTube video of her creating a cake, received over 150,000 views as a result of the competition. Ace of Cakes, one of the Food Network’s top shows, documents the everyday happenings at Baltimore bakery Charm City Cakes. The show sponsored a Valentine’s Day competition in which they requested their fans to send in videos of their cake making process. “I sent my video in and just happened to make it in the top 12,” explained Leng. Leng’s video depicts her in the Raymond House kitchen, baking and decorating a phenomenally beautiful “I love you” cake. It is certainly difficult connecting such a beautiful cake with a dorm kitchen, as many of the comments on her YouTube video echo. Her other cakes include a model of the house from Leng’s favorite television show, Full House, and cupcakes with almost impeccable models of character’s from the Disney classic Peter Pan. “And the best part about her cakes is that they also taste great! And she likes to share,” remarked Elizabeth Shand ’12, who is on the women’s swim team with Leng. Although she received no material rewards
from the network, the 150,000 YouTube hits gave Leng an unprecedented amount of publicity. “I got a huge number of hits on my Web site and I feel like this experience really helped me on my résumé—I got a job at a bakery for this summer,” said Leng. Vassar’s own AirCappella also made it into the limelight with their audition for America’s Got Talent. Air Cappella was contacted by one the show’s casting agents, who requested that they audition for the popular talent show. Nine members of AirCappella, both current students and alumnae/i, auditioned with the song “Ob-ladi, Ob-la-da” by The Beatles. A successful preliminary audition allowed the group to perform in front of celebrity judges Sharon Osbourne, David Hasselhoff and Piers Morgan. “I was nervous” commented Sadie Burzan ’11. “It was really surreal. The other talents were super weird, people were wearing capes and weird suits—definitely not your everyday talents.” “They recommended that we sing ‘Toxic’ by Britney Spears in front of the celebrity judges. They wanted to see something contemporary, top 40,” explained Ben Creed ’09. The show will air on June 23rd, and AirCappella may or may not have made the cut. Freshman Greg Lichtenstein achieved semifinalist status on Jeopardy!’s annual College
Championship. Lichtenstein, an avid trivia night attendee, was the competition’s only freshman. Lichtenstein and his friends sponsored showings of his two appearances in UpCDC as they aired earlier this month. Lichtenstein admitted it was “weird” seeing himself on TV. “Even though I didn’t like seeing myself and knowing exactly what was going to happen, it was still really fun!” he said. Lichtenstein participated in the tournament as representative of Vassar—sweatshirt and all—and subsequently felt pressure to represent his college well. “I had two goals going into the first round: One, to, of course, win the round, and two, to at least have positive money. There is definitely some pressure to look decent.” Lichtenstein says that most of the questions he has received have involved inquiries as to what Alex Trebek is “actually” like. “I’ve heard a lot of whispers of things like ‘That’s the Jeopardy! kid!’ and was recognized by a waiter at Bacio’s. It’s been a lot of fun,” said Lichtenstein. As for what he will do with his $10,000 prize, Lichtenstein said, “I really want to go on a safari.” The talents of these individuals are impossible to group into a single category, and it is precisely this diversity that them great representation of Vassar’s intensely multifaceted community.
Lavender Grad Reception celebrates LGBTQI graduates Many lessons learned in London Molly Turpin
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Senior Editor
n addition to the traditional graduation related festivities, seniors could add the Lavender Grad Reception to their schedules this year. The reception, held on May 20, celebrated the achievements of LGTBQI seniors. The event was well attended by both LGBTQI and allied students as well as by several administrators. In her speech, Associate Director of Campus Life and LGBTQ Programs Julie Silverstein spoke about the variety of meanings that being an LGBTQI student has at Vassar. According to Silverstein, the impressive turnout at the reception was a sign of the impact that the LGBTQI community has had on the greater Vassar community. President of the Class of 2009 focused his remarks on his experiences as a gay man at Vassar—coming out to the community and gradually becoming more and more involved. “Vassar has a unique capacity to empower student leaders to not only be who they are, but also to use who they are,” he said. While Vassar is generally considered to be a very open and accepting place for the LGBTQI community, the organizers of the reception hoped that this event would call together all members of the Vassar community in a show of solidarity. Though many identity-specific events exist at Vassar, some frustration remained that acceptance of the LGBTQ presence on campus had become a given, so the reception was meant to bring the community together. According to President of the Queer Coalition of Vassar College Phillipe Kleefield ’09. “I think now it’s important because with the normalization of gay men and the greater acceptance of it, there is a tendency to not necessarily want to come together anymore.” Despite the existence of organizations devoted to queer and LGBTQI issues, the event was sponsored by the LGBTQ Center and the Campus Life Office. The senior class offered support by publicizing the event and adding it
to the official Senior Week schedule. “I was intentional about not co-sponsoring with any student organizations, because I wanted to make this event as inclusive as possible to the entire senior class,” wrote Julie Silverstein in an emailed statement. During the reception, Silverstein acknowledged all of the LGBTQI organizations—QCVC, Transextions, ACT OUT! and Transmissions—and their leaders “A lot of our orgs have certain target niches of people that come to the events, so we want it to be more of an umbrella,” said Kleefield. As a visible display of the common bond that LGBTQI and allied students share, seniors who attend the reception were given rainbow tassels to wear with their caps and gowns, though Silverstein stressed that it is entirely optional to wear it to commencement. Despite the emphasis on visibility, the event’s organizers planned with due sensitivity for LGBTQI students. Hoyos noted that reception was planned relatively early in senior week to protect any students who had not yet come out to their families. While the reception is meant to celebrate Vassar’s commitment to an open community, the goal was not to out anyone, and the point of the occasion is less about the queer and LGBTQI presence on campus than it is about furthering Vassar’s commitment to an accepting atmosphere. Although other identity-based graduation events, such as the Graduation Reception for Students of Color, have been traditions for several years, this is the first year that the LGBTQI community have had one to call their own. “I think it was an idea that needed the right energy to make happen, both from administrators and students,” wrote Associate Dean of the College Edward Pittman ’82 in an e-mailed statement. “I wish I had started earlier, but I think that there’s something about being a senior that you feel like you can do more and get things done,” said Kleefield. Hoyos is looking forward to wearing his tassel and making it particularly visible as he gives his commencement speech. “If there’s any day to make a statement,” he said, “it’s Commencement.”
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raduation. Wow. That’s big stuff. Dressing up in a gown; hanging out with your great uncle who can’t hear; pretending you’re not disappointed to have been rejected from Teach for America; suddenly becoming friends with people you didn’t talk to the whole time you were in college; all are hallmark end-of-an-era experiences—unless, of course, you go to one of the constituent colleges at the University of London. At University College London, where I have spent the past five months, there is actually a graduation ceremony. But if you want to go, it will cost you—as in, there is literally a participation fee for students. Between that, a mortarboard, and a hotel for grandma and grandpa, a fair number of students think it’s just not worth it and opt out. I’m not graduating, but I am nearly done with my Junior Year Abroad. Study abroad is all about becoming a “global citizen” and embracing cultural difference—UCL calls itself “London’s Global University.” So to test whether I’m truly deserving of a study abroad diploma, I’ve decided to enumerate the top five moments of gut-wrenching cultural reckoning I’ve experienced here. 5. Faking an English accent: For the past four months I have worked as a classroom assistant in an English class for young women who recently immigrated to the UK. I figured it would be the perfect job for me because, well, I speak English. However, I quickly determined that British English is an entirely different cup of linguistic tea from good ol’ American English. After a couple weeks of blank stares from students when I asked them to repeat words like “water” or “supermarket,” I realized that my hard pronunciation of the letter “r” and curtailed vowel sounds were throwing everyone off. So I faked it. Moral of the story: Turns out it’s not at all as hard as my purist English friends would have me believe. 4. Customer Service: My friend and I were given three McFlurries by a careless till attendant after we only asked for two. He made us pay for all three! A delicious outrage! Moral of the story: The customer is rarely right in England. 3. Date Britain: I agreed to grab a drink with
an English guy about two months ago. Oops. I spent one night I’ll never get back listening to him talk about how much he hated reading, his problems with his landlord, and his mum’s trip to West Virginia. (“In America, right?”) I knew he was the one when he asked me how much my salary was at my aforementioned job. To find out if I had just been out with a shmuck or if it was some kind of English thing to ask financially probative questions over casual drinks, I asked my flatmate, Will, (the authority on all things English). “What’s wrong with that?” he responded. Moral of the story: still single. 2. Birds of a Feather Wok Together: It’s a truth universally acknowledged that pigeons are cheekier in Britain than anywhere else. That would explain why I spend most of my breakfasts in the company of the three pigeons who have taken residence in my flat’s kitchen. Rather than battling them, my English friends have encouraged me to embrace the situation. Moral of the story: I’m glad I’ve had all my shots. 1. Imperialism: Hating on other cultures and then colonizing them and teaching them to play cricket is a treasured English pastime. The Commonwealth has shrunk significantly since the sun set on the British Empire, but the irrational hatred for pretty much everyone who doesn’t have an English passport is still very much alive. After listening to my English friends rag on the French (especially the French), the Germans, the Irish, the Canadians, the Spanish, the Chinese, the Brazilians, and of course, the Americans—they stay away from India and most of Africa, though, and it’s easy to imagine why—I’ve been imbued with a renewed sense of patriotism. Moral of the story: I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free. So there you have it: I have faked an English accent, paid for a superfluous McFlurry, gone on a bad blind date, dined with a flock of pigeons, and learned to hate on Continental Europe with gusto. If that’s all it takes to be “a citizen of the world,” then by George, I think I’ve earned myself a diploma!
graduation
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5.24.09
Four graduating athletes honored at Vassar’s Athletic Banquet Elizabeth Pacheco
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Contributing Editor
Scott Leserman: Frances Fergusson Coaches’ Award: The Coaches’ Award recipient embodies not only athletic ability, but also a contribution to a team that extends beyond pure performance. The recipient of the Coaches’ Award has commitment, strong leadership, is respected and admired by teammates, has a strong work ethic and a high level of sportsmanship. For the graduating seniors on the Vassar men’s volleyball team, the past four years cannot be viewed as anything other than unbelievable. During the seniors’ first two years, the team was less
vassarathletics.com
Christine Eaccarino: Athletics and Fitness Alumnae/i of Vassar College Athlete Award: The Alumnae/i Award is presented to a senior athlete based on his or her overall grade point average, athletic ability, team spirit and leadership. Watching a Vassar women’s lacrosse game, it is difficult to keep track of Christine Eaccarino. Although she primarily played an attack position, Eaccarino was always running all across the field—getting open for a pass, scooping up a ground ball or tracking down an opponent to cause a turnover. “I remember her first breakout game,” said Head Coach Judy Finerghty. “It was at the Seven Sisters Tournament her freshman year. She was running up and down the field, making great passes and making great connections.” Not much as changed since the Seven Sisters game. Perhaps considered the fastest on the team, she has been key both as a player and as a leader. For the past two years, Eaccarino has been the offensive organizer for the team. Known as an incredible passer—with what Finerghty describes as “great hands and incredible field vision”—Eaccarino is ranked second in career assists with 23 coming from this season, putting her at fifth in the Liberty League. Her 23 assists are complemented by 32 goals this season—six of which came in an overtime league win over St. Lawrence University. These stick skills weren’t natural for Eaccarino. As a freshman, she didn’t start games, and, while she was talented, she lacked experience. Realizing this, she spent “everyday before and after practice, catching, shooting, throwing,” said Finerghty. “Always with a stick in her hand and smile on her face. She sets the tone with her own hard work and sheer passion for the game,” continued Finerghty. And, often battling a series of injuries—including two shoulder surgeries— Eaccarino can certainly be recognized as a player who has truly dedicated herself to her sport. Eaccarino also devoted time to the Athletics Department, working as an athletic trainer and taking photographs for the Sports Information Office. “The whole department has become a family,” said Eaccarino. “I have support from [Head of Sports Information] Robin Deutsch, the trainers and of course Judy [Finerghty] and the girls on the team, who are my best friends.” After graduation, Eaccarino will begin at the Yale School of Nursing in its entry-level pre-specialty nursing program. She intends to graduate in three years as a pediatric nurse practitioner. While she has no plans to play competitive lacrosse, she hopes to coach in the New Haven area. “I think that playing lacrosse has given me a lot of pride in Vassar,” said Eaccarino, “and it’s something I can always connect in this place through.”
Images courtesy of Sports Information
t the annual Athletics Banquet on May 5, four graduating athletes were recognized by the Vassar Athletics Department for their exemplary contributions to the program. Coaches and teammates congratulated these four seniors—as well as the other 100 senior student athletes— for showing incredible work ethic and dedication throughout their careers as Vassar athletes.
Lacrosse player Christine Eaccarino and volleyball player Scott Leserman were two of the four senior athletes who received awards at the Athletics Banquet on May 5. All senior athletes were honored at the banquet for their contributions to their teams, the program and the College. than impressive: their freshman year, the team went 2-17, and their sophomore year wasn’t much better with a record of 8-15. The next two years, however, were very different. In 2008 the team won its league and was second in the nation with a record of 26-7. In 2009 they finished third in the league with a 19-8 record. This dramatic change was truly a testament to the talent and hard work of the players—and of the Coaches’ Award recipient, Scott Leserman. As Head Coach Jonathan Penn explained, “[Leserman’s] leadership was instrumental in the team improving from that 2-17 record his freshman year.” A four-year starter for the Brewers, Leserman came into Vassar after playing on a national championship club team and one of the top high school teams in the country. Stepping up to play the libero position this season, Leserman tallied a remarkable 361 digs, leading the nation in digs per game as well as holding the Vassar record for digs per game and is third for highest single season total. His talent didn’t go unnoticed and this spring he received SecondTeam All-American honors from the American Volleyball Coaches Association and in the league was a Second-Team All-Metro Division selection. He is in the top 10 in eight career-record categories and in seven single-season categories But Leserman is much more than one of the nation’s top volleyball players. “While Scotty is many things to many people,” said Penn, “what he is to this team is a leader.” “From the beginning I kind of viewed myself as a leader,” admits Leserman, who was named a captain his sophomore year and has held that title for the past three years. “His talent, knowledge and experience earned him the initial respect of his teammates, but his attitude, work ethic and dedication are what earned their admiration,” said Penn. This leadership was carried off the court as well where he was a two-year member of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee before becoming president this past year. “So many things here I’ve learned in these four years I will carry for the rest of my life,” said Leserman. “My love for athletics was really expanded even though being on an incredible team wasn’t an integral aspect.” On page 16 of this issue, Leserman speaks more to this in his senior retrospective piece. After graduation Leserman will be moving to Illinois where he’ll work toward his master’s in sports management at the University of Illinois while apprenticing with their women’s volleyball team in hopes of later working as a coach or athletic director.
ient has shown athletic excellence, leadership, an ability to motivate his teammates, sportsmanship and exemplary commitment. John Kessenich has been playing volleyball for just about his entire life. “My mom played volleyball when she was pregnant with me. Then, since I could walk, I was always with a volleyball,” he said. He competed in his first game at age nine and has been playing ever since. Today, Kessenich will graduate from Vassar with his name all over the men’s volleyball record books and the experience of being on the most successful team in the history of the program. Head Coach Jonathan Penn describes Kessenich as “nothing short of a freak.” Although he is the team’s recognized setter, he is incredibly skilled in all six basic skills of the game. “He not only led the team in hitting percentage by over 300 points, but had only one fewer kills than our nationally ranked kill leader,” explained Penn. A nationally ranked setter, he is only the second Vassar player to have over 3,000 assists and is the all-time career assist leader in the rally score era. Last season he was named a Second-Team AllAmerican by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (ACVA), an honor he received again this year along with the ACVA National Player of the Week honor on February 17 and a SecondTeam All-NECVA Metro selection. “Johnny will be the first to give credit to his teammates for this meteoric rise, and he is right to do so, but they in turn would come right back and say it wouldn’t have happened without him,” said Penn. Serving as a captain his senior season, Kessenich lead by letting “his work ethic, attitude, passion and integrity all set the standard for the team,” explained Penn. Unsurprisingly, Kessenich’s post-graduation plans include planning volleyball. “Since I was young, I always wanted to be a professional beach volleyball player and that will happen,” he said. “I hope to be training as much as possible, and we’ll just let the future speak for itself.”
nominate Love for this award, it is what’s behind the statistics that has truly made her an outstanding athlete. “[Love] doesn’t see herself as at the highest swim caliber. She didn’t when she came in either,” explained Head Coach Lisl Prater-Lee. “Mentally, she considers herself to be just a student athlete at Vassar.” This was certainly the case before Love came to Vassar, where most of her peers didn’t even knew she swam. “In high school everyone just thought I was the theater girl,” said Love. Attending a high school without a swim team, Love had to look elsewhere to compete, spending some time on a club team before eventually participating in a co-op with another local high school. Outside of swimming, Love has participated in a show just about every spring and has held a variety of other positions on campus including student fellow and Daisy Chain coordinator. Love has also worked with the Exploring Science program on the Vassar Farm. Spending two years as captain for the team, Love is seen as “someone who has done exceedingly well, who has balanced academics and swimming, had fun and a social life in an environment where she could thrive,” said Prater-Lee. While her series of records is impressive, what is probably most notable about Love is that she is a five-time All-American. In 2007 she qualified for the NCAA Division II National Championships in the 50-yard freestyle and 100- and 200yard backstroke races, qualifying for the same backstroke races again in 2008. Both years she earned All-America First Team in all her races. Within the Liberty League, Love was also named the Rookie of the Year in 2006-07, Swimmer of the Year in 2007-08 and 2008-09 as well as Swimmer of the Week 20 times and Rookie of the Week three times. A four-year swimmer and two-year captain for the team, Love has watched the program improve as a result of the achievements of herself and her classmates. Emily Love: Outstanding Senior Female Ath“We’ve become not just a team that swims, but lete: The Outstanding Athlete award recipient has a team of swimmers,” she explained. “I’m excited shown athletic excellence, leadership, an ability that there are so many strong recruits and to be at to motivate, sportsmanship and commitment. the center and know that our class had such an Looking at the Vassar women’s swimming impact. And I know [Prater-Lee] will be able to record books there is a common theme: Em- take these new swimmers and make them better ily Love. Swimming primarily the freestyle and than me.” backstroke, she holds six individual records in After graduating, Love will stay around Vassar the 50-, 100-, and 200-yard freestyle races and to receive her certificate in elementary education. the 50-, 100-, and 200-yard backstroke races. She And while she doesn’t plan on competitively was also a member of four record-breaking relay swimming, coaching may be in her future. teams: the 200- and 400-yard medley relays and Love speaks more about the swim team and her John Kessenich: Outstanding Senior Male the 200- and 400-yard freestyle relays. experience at Vassar in her senior retrospective on Athlete: The Outstanding Athlete award recipWhile these records alone could be enough to page 21 of this issue of The Miscellany News.
Senior Retrospectives
5.24.09
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Jimmy Kelly
y dear fellow 2009ers: We leave Vassar today at a critical point in history. The relative safety of our campus will quickly be replaced by a tumultuous landscape of economic peril, social upheaval and global conflict. The challenges ahead will be quite different from the challenges of our classrooms. We must now move from theory to praxis, turning ideas into actions. What began in our studies as discussions about war, poverty and social injustice, must now become concrete interventions for change. As we move forward, though, we must continue to carry the traditions of Vassar, as they will help guide us through dark times with a foundation of justice and a principled belief that we can build a better world. When Matthew Vassar chose to build the first endowed women’s college in 1861, he confronted a history of inequality and established a tradition of breaking barriers in building a more perfect world. Over the course of the College’s history, we have not always fulfilled the proud legacy of our beginnings, but more often than not, our students and faculty have endeavored
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to challenge the status quo and have created a sense of urgency in envisioning a society that celebrates the place of all of its members. Great professors like Maria Mitchell urged students to set their sights among the stars and to imagine a new world. These inspired visions for the future are needed now more than ever before. As you go out beyond the gates, remember the rose and the gray. Go to the source, challenge everything, and be the innovators of the future. Together we can transcend the broken ways of the past and replace tired ideologies and misguided policies with dynamic understandings of difference and thoughtful discussions of alternatives. Bring with you your friendships and your passion for learning. Be unafraid to walk forward in the darkness; your friends will be at your sides, and your studies have taught you well. Class of 2009, our time is now. Let’s shine together. All my love. —Jimmy Kelly ’09 is the outgoing Vassar Student Association (VSA) President and the Founder and President of Operation Donation.
Alexandria Dempsey
efore coming to Vassar, I was a huge nerd. Some (okay, probably a lot) of those who know me would say that I am still a nerd. I enjoy things like student government and the way the Library smells, I love looking over new syllabi and seeing what exciting topics lie ahead, and I spend more time in meetings than with friends. That said, a lot has changed in these four years. Perhaps I still get a thrill listening to words of inspiration from Cappy, but I now know that I am not alone in my nerdiness. In fact, I have been surrounded by other nerds for the last four years, and I could not be more grateful for what they have given me—I am convinced that Vassar is the place for all nerds to come to together and be “normal” for four years. Thank God this place exists. Whether joining me for a Library party or spending hours upon hours in budgeting meetings, I have the most incredible group of people to call my fellow Vassar students. I would never have had the confidence to run for the positions I have without the support of those around me; there is no way in hell I would have won in high school. At my private high school in Los Angeles, I was the girl eating lunch by herself. At Vassar, I have 2400
eccentric, smart, engaging and fantastic (nerdy) people surrounding me who have been there for me throughout everything—from stressful meetings with senior officers to heartbreak to Founder’s Day recovery. Without them, I’d still be that girl sitting on the bleachers, poring over her Intro to Economics textbook with the L.A. smog wafting through the air. Friends, I have to thank you for everything. You’ve told me to go big or go home, without which I would never have met the organization presidents who remind me why I what I do makes me so happy. You’ve flipped pancakes with me after another night at the THs, you’ve danced with me in the Mug, and you’ve been covered in ketchup for four years in a row while serenading in the September sun. You’ve decorated Jewett for Seven Deadly Sins and highfived in the VSA Office. I would never have made it without you. When we all separate geographically, I know we will be connected by trashy pop songs, caffeine addictions and our fellow nerdiness. Thanks for the ride. —Alexandria Dempsey ’09 is the outgoing VSA VP for Activities. She will graduate with a degree in psychology.
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Marcelo Buitron
hen I came to Vassar for the first time, I was fascinated by the beauty of its campus. It was definitely the case that the high temperatures and the humidity were almost unbearable, but my eagerness to meet new people and learn new things made Poughkeepsie’s climate in late August something trivial. Now, nearly four years later I can say that I have met amazing people and have been challenged academically in ways that have made me grow as a person. There are so many things that are inherent to Vassar that make it unique and wonderful. As a matter of fact, the list of things that I will miss about Vassar is virtually endless. My favorite pastime, however, whenever I have been stressed, happy or bored, has been taking walks around campus. These walks have occurred at unconventional times: after midnight and right before sunset. What is most remarkable about these walks is that they symbolize what I will miss about Vassar the most: the people and the campus. Surprisingly, whenever I strolled around Vassar, I have not only seen deer roaming around academic buildings and squirrels rummaging trash cans but I have also been fortunate enough to encounter some of my best friends on their way back to the dormitories. These meetings, rarely planned, produced the best conversations of my life on all sorts of issues. The candidness, mutual respect, critical thinking and commitment to a better world that all these people possess are perhaps some things that will be difficult to find elsewhere. It is fascinating how 10 or 20-minute or even one hour-long conversations
under the moonlight can be so productive and inspiring. Aware that next year will be a difficult one, I hope that as the world and the College try to cope with the effects of the financial crisis, many of these critical thinking students I have conversed with will play an important role in making sure that Vassar preserves, above all, the nature of its liberal arts education. It is the world-class education that this college provides that makes it what it is and, hence, that is the first thing that must be protected. It is also true that learning at Vassar happens both inside and outside of the classroom. This is precisely why I have found my late night conversations with my peers so enriching both academically and personally. I have started to appreciate fully how important extracurricular activities are to the Vassar education. I can proudly say that much of the learning that I have acquired came from the different extracurricular commitments I had during the last four years. Thank you, Vassar! These last 48 months have been life changing and amazing. Even though I will no longer be able to walk at 3 a.m. with good company—friends and deer—and feeling at the same time so protected, I am convinced that what I have learned here is indelible. As I prepare to move on and start a new era in my life, my dear alma mater will always be in my mind and heart. —Marcelo Buitron ’09 is the outgoing VSA Vice President for Finance. He will graduate with a degree in political science.
senior retrospectives
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Emma Mitchell
’m writing this retrospective on the steps of the Chapel. A strange place to write anything, to be sure, much less an anecdotal piece that will somehow summarize my four years at Vassar. But this is my favorite view of campus—a frequent destination for midnight walks and benchsitting—and if this college has taught me anything, it’s to take what I have and run with it. So here I am. In eight full semesters of working for The Miscellany News, this is the first printed piece I have ever written. Great timing, I know. But I took a relatively unconventional approach to the newspaper; instead of writing articles, I edited and rewrote them to make them perfect. I devoted countless hours to the newspaper and made it the most important part of my fouryear Vassar routine. I edited every article four times for four years, traded countless hours of sleep for layout fidgeting and engaged in epic battles over the hyphenation of “Jell-O” (I lost) and the capitalization of “Frisbee” (I won). And I’m still not ready to leave. Four years ago, I considered being an English major. I soon discovered that I could complement my constant gravitation toward puzzles, problems, organization and masochism with something much different: physics. But perhaps my best discovery was that, at Vassar, I could major in physics while taking as many English courses as I wanted; I could hone my writing in French while introducing myself to the joys of deductive logic; I could spend my nights readying the newspaper for print while preparing for a graduate career in condensed matter physics. At Vassar, I posted to the Miscellany Web site when I should have been practicing for physics exams. I frantically finished essays when I should have been out with my friends. I threw champagne parties with my housemates when I should have been reading hundreds of pages for class. I typed urgent Miscellany e-mails when
I should have been participating in my French seminar. But looking back, these should-have-beens are not what constitute my four years here; maybe what I was doing instead was right all along. From my overall experiences in physics, I have learned that I am smarter than I think I am. With each test, I have learned that I am not as smart as I think I am. From my humanities classes, I have learned that I love to write. From the newspaper, I have learned that I can gain expertise outside of my areas of expertise. From my professors, I have learned how much more I can accomplish. From my best friends—Addie Barnwell, Jeanette Roach, Riane Harper and Sam Boyce—I have learned more about myself than I thought was possible, and I have been given friendships that have withstood unimaginable amounts of stress and transformations, but that have abounded with celebrations and creativity. From Brian Farkas, to whom I owe more than he knows, I have learned to aim for the impossible while keeping my comforts close to me. I could not have done this without him, nor would I have wanted to. As I close my four years at Vassar with my first Miscellany piece, I am reminded of how little, at times, I have appreciated my education here, and how much farther I have to go. While sitting here on the Chapel steps with my laptop—and this is not an exaggeration for the sake of sentimentality—President Catharine Bond Hill has walked by twice with her dog. I know it’s ridiculous to compare myself to Cappy, but we picked the same destination tonight, and I think it is fair to say that we’ve both gotten a lot out of this place. —Emma Mitchell ’09 is outgoing Senior Editor of The Miscellany News, Academic Intern for the Physics Department, and Chair of the Physics Majors Committee. She will graduate with a degree in physics and a correlate in French.
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5.24.09
Jackson Reeves
he first article that I ever wrote for The Miscellany News was a train wreck. I wrote about a local resident who gave tours of the Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery: I tried to use my words to paint a rich picture of Matthew Vassar’s final resting spot, but the entire thing came off as a prolonged narrative that only vaguely connected to the College, and apocryphal stories even say it involved an extended section solely about squirrels. My editor at the time called my attempt too compositionally creative for a newspaper, but in hindsight, I can think of a more appropriate “c” word for it. One of the members of the paper’s executive board for this past year who copy-edited my first draft of that article called it one of the worst pieces of journalistic writing that she had ever read. I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Jackson Reeves, and I’m a member of the abovementioned paper’s outgoing Editorial Board. It would seem that in the intervening three years since crafting that first article, I’ve managed to raise my bar. After shying away from any involvement with The Miscellany News my freshman year out of fear of failing at what I wanted to make my career, I started at the paper my sophomore year as a member of its Copy Staff who occasionally tried to pen a piece or two as a Guest Writer, mostly unsuccessfully (see above). In spite of writing a Facebook group-inspiring profile piece-cum-exposé about Betty Francis, the gatekeeper of Matthew’s Mug, the then-Editorial Board members voted down my application for a Staff Writer position. I did not deal with the rejection well. I went through all five stages of grief, according to Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’ 1969 model. I denied that it had happened to me. I got angry with the editorial board. I tried to bargain my way out of it with the then-co-Editors in Chief. I became depressed; I think I may have cried. But eventually I accepted it and tried to figure out what I needed to do to fix myself for the future.
For the first time, I needed to ask myself, “What am I doing wrong?” I had never overtly prescribed to Horatio Alger’s late-19th-century individualism about pulling yourself up by your bootstraps, but I started to grasp that philosophy’s merit. I read every major publication. I studied the styles of famous journalists. I turned a critical eye on everything that I had written. I wrote everyday. I solicited the help of every editor whose brain I could pick. Having people ruthlessly cut me apart surprisingly helped me far more than when they had coddled me into docile submission. They pushed me to see the larger picture and to understand how I could be a part of it and help to make it better. It was a long process of self-discovery. It worked. The next semester, the board acknowledged my development and voted me in as a staff writer. After gaining a better understanding of the paper, further strengthening my writing and reporting skills, and throwing myself into the paper’s Arts section, I became the section’s Assistant Editor. The semester after that: Arts Editor, a position that I have held for the past year. Although I enjoyed my classes as an undergraduate at this coeducational, Seven Sisters liberal arts college located in the scenic Hudson Valley, I learned the most important lesson from my experience on its paper: Keep looking for ways to improve yourself; never become complacent. I think that lesson is the most important one to take into the “real world” outside our “Vassar bubble.” To this day, I am so grateful that I fell flat on my face that fateful first time around. It taught me how to pick myself up, a skill I’m sure I’ll need in the coming year as I graduate into the worst economy in decades. —Jackson Reeves ’09 is the outgoing Arts Editor of The Miscellany News. He is graduating with a degree in media studies and correlates in English and philosophy.
senior retrospectives
5.24.09
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Maryrose Myrtetus
s a freshman, I remember being filled with questions. Could I really get away with using Experiencing Art to fill my quantitative requirement? Why are there guys wearing thongs at almost every all-campus event? Can Security actually open my fridge? Is there a secret underground tunnel between Main and Strong? How do I choose a major that will be interesting and help me get a job? Why, oh why, is Luis dancing on a tabletop again? Thankfully, some clarity has come with time. Therefore, instead of struggling in vain to capture my emotions upon graduation in this short reflection, I want to share some lessons I’ve learned over the past four years. Perhaps some of this will resonate with some of you: Though we complain about the Vassar Bubble and its undeniable existence, it is amazing how large our community really is. As Bronwen Pardes, the Alumnae/i Association of Vassar College speaker at Convocation, said, our Vassar connections can take us all over the world. It is exciting to move from Vassar’s campus community to its larger one. Wear sneakers when you go streaking. It never hurts to be friendly. No matter how different we may feel, we all have something in common. Bring a jacket to the Halloween parties because the fire alarm will probably go off. Always accept a dance-off challenge, especially on ’80s Night. By October of senior year, you know that some parts of the DC were a luxury, like the pre-cut veggies at the stir fry station, not having to do your own dishes, and the fact that Percy could turn anything into a scrumptious meal. The administration does not aim to frustrate students. We are here for four years. They are here for 30. They have a longer memory and a
longer future at Vassar than we do and the difference in desires of students and the actions of administrators often reflects this. Always check the trash cans and dumpsters for squirrels before you get too close. They will attack. Senior year is not really harder than the previous years because you hit your groove and learn to worry less. The hardest part is trying to find a job or get into grad school while still passing your classes. The best spot in the library is by the Civil War books because you can steal the swivel chairs from the Media Cloisters. Everything we do here is a learning experience. Our theses are not books (unless, perhaps, you are Brian Farkas). Rather, theses are long term exercises meant to take our skills and education to the next level. Likewise, leadership positions throughout campus are ultimately another component of the larger college learning experience. VSA Council, for example, can address some needs of student life, but more importantly, it teaches us how to think of big picture issues without losing sight of important details and how to balance the often conflicting desires of 2,400 students. It gives us perspective and appreciation for the difficulties of managing something larger. There is no such thing as gender. Respect the shared bikes. “Have a good.” Thank you all so much for being a part of my life—directly, incidentally, tangentially, or momentarily. I will truly miss the community we have here. I hope that we can all take these lessons, and many more, with us wherever we go. —Maryrose Myrtetus ’09 was co-chair of the Board of Elections and President of the Class of 2009 in 2007-2008.
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Luis Gabriel Hoyos
assar is known throughout the world for being one of the most progressive institutions of higher education. The College aims for students from diverse racial, sexual and socioeconomic backgrounds. Racial, sexual and gender minorities are considered integral parts of our campus. Our curriculum aims to cover issues of social justice and the administration and faculty aim to be sympathetic to the different histories of a diverse student body. Every year, however, something happens that reminds us that Vassar is far from being the promised colorblind, gender-neutral utopia we sometimes claim it to be. Every year at Vassar I have found myself at the center of controversies that constantly remind me of the latent racism, sexism and homophobia that quietly permeate this school. It all began the Spring of my freshmen year when I joined the Publications Task Force created by the VSA Council to address the issues raised by an anonymous article that was published in a student publication calling the ALANA Center a “zoological preserve” and suggesting that LGBTQI students were “voluntarily confining themselves to ghettoes” for using Blegen House as a community space. Sophomore year I was part of the House Team that had the unsavory experience of finding a huge swastika drawn on the fifth floor of Main Building. The next year I was asked to meet with the Jewett House Team when a deliberately crafted noose was found in one of the many floors of the dorm. Not surprisingly, a couple weeks ago I went to a meeting being held because the word “whites” had been scratched onto the sign of the ALANA Center. All of this happened at Vassar, go figure. As frustrating and disheartening as these experiences have been, I have found that Vassar
also allowed me to become a leader who can contribute to improving our community. Freshmen year I helped draft a set of guidelines for a stricter overview of campus publications with the hopes that editors would avoid publishing offensive content. As part of the House Team my sophomore year I helped conduct a “Not In My House” campaign that sought to reclaim the space where the swastika had previously stood. Similarly, as a student of color and as President of the Class of 2009, I made sure the Senior Class Council collaborated as much as possible with the Council of Black Seniors, making changes that substantially improved the previously strained relationship between the two groups. Drawing from this bittersweet experience at Vassar, my “senior reflection” is aimed at empowering other minority students to also take matters into their own hands. If something is wrong, you have the duty and the joy to fix it. No grand solution is going to completely solve the reality that we go to a primarily white, primarily straight, primarily wealthy and primarily able school, where the issues and concerns of minority students lie, by default, on the periphery. Instead of waiting for the administration to “take a stronger stance”; the solution is to entitle yourself to a voice and a central place, to become a student leader in the many forms that this campus allows you to do so, and to make sure that when you graduate there is no doubt in your mind that Vassar is a slightly better place because you were here for four years. —Luis Gabriel Hoyos ’09 is the Class of 2009 President. He will graduate with a degree in political science and economics.
senior retrospectives
10 A
Natania Gazek
s a high school student, I had big dreams about my fabulous college life. I don’t know if I would have admitted it to myself then, but I had decided that I was going to become the President of a large Hillel whose Shabbat services and dinners were the place to be on Friday nights and whose other events regularly attracted hundreds of students. This Hillel was going to be the center of not only my social life, but the social lives of all of my friends. If you know anything about the Vassar Jewish Union (VJU), you’re probably wondering why I decided to come here. The simple answer: after visiting the campus, I felt like this was the kind of community where I would be challenged and nurtured to grow both intellectually and personally…and I didn’t take the time to visit the Bayit. I had scanned the VJU’s website, and figured that since they hosted weekly Shabbat services and dinners, had their own a cappella group, and had a full-time Rabbi adviser, they were probably just like any other Hillel. I was pretty disappointed after my first few VJU events. The VJU didn’t seem to have a strong presence on campus, the Shabbat services were nothing like the ones I loved at my Synagogue at home, and I wasn’t making very close friends through my involvement. But I kept showing up. When I became VJU Freshman Representative, I was tempted to impose my vision on the board. I desperately wanted the other board members to see things my way. After a semester or two, though, I started to realize that I wasn’t alone in my vision for the VJU, and that maybe it was okay, or even a good thing, that the VJU wasn’t exactly what I wanted it to be. In fact, I realized that I might even learn a few things if I stopped and tried to appreciate other points of view. Four years later, because of the relationships I’ve made and the breadth and depth of
my experiences, both positive and negative, I consider the Bayit a home and the VJU a family. I like the fact that while I’ve met some of my closest friends though the VJU, I also have a good number of close friends at Vassar who, for a variety of reasons, aren’t involved in Jewish life at all. I enjoy approaching prayers in different ways depending upon who is leading Shabbat services and how they choose to structure the service. I also think my friends and I have expanded the VJU’s presence on campus. And I like to think that all of this makes my life much more interesting than it would be if the VJU was the Hillel I’d thought I wanted. While I may have been wrong about what kind of Hillel I’d find at Vassar, I’m happy to report that I was right on about the kind of campus community I’d be part of here. I credit a good portion of my personal growth over the past four years to my experiences with the VJU—I know I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to grow nearly as much as I have if Vassar had had the Hillel of my dreams. I’ve learned so much during my time with the VJU, primarily and perhaps most importantly that, with an open mind and the support of my community, I can make my life deeply satisfying. Vassar has empowered me to ask what I can do to make my community what I want it to be instead of complaining that it isn’t living up to my expectations. I can’t imagine how much more daunting the next stage of my life would be if I hadn’t learned this lesson here. No matter the circumstances in which I find myself in the next stages of my life, I will try to keep an open mind and seek out supportive communities through which I will be empowered to create change. —Natania Gazek ’09 is the President of the Vassar Jewish Union.
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5.24.09
Emily Vail
raveling to southern Louisiana over October break my sophomore year was hectic. As part of our Environmental Science in the Field course, we traveled from place to place (through Baton Rouge more times than anyone ever should), hearing lectures from experts and experiencing new things, always taking notes in our Rite-inthe-Rain notebooks. We learned about stream processes, the Old River Control Structure, oil refineries, estuarine functioning and Hurricane Katrina. After a busy first half-semester, it was a far from a restful October break. But there were a few blissful moments of release and reflection that allowed me to step back and consider exactly where I was, and why. As soon as we had arrived at the coastal research station where we were staying, I was eyeing the canoes piled up on the dock. Finally we had a free afternoon, and got our chance. Paddling through the bayou in the afternoon sun is a moment I often return to. The air was warm, the water calm in the estuary. Suddenly I had a very different perspective on the landscape we had been studying. We steered the canoe between the patches of Spartina alterniflora (reedy grass
whose root-shoot ratio we had measured)—it was a beautiful way to spend the afternoon, and finally gave me some time to think. A lot of classes take field trips and drive around in 11-person vans. This experience, for me, was different. The sense of community I found on that trip, traveling with a close-knit set of different individuals with similar interests and motivations, helped me make some important decisions during my time at Vassar. I was a little sophomore, learning much from older and wiser juniors, seniors, and two really incredible professors. After conversations and reflections, I decided to become an environmental studies major, and I decided to apply to live in Ferry House. I found new communities at Vassar that challenged me to learn and grow in different ways. My time in Louisiana, so far from Poughkeepsie really shaped my experience at Vassar College in ways I never could have imagined. —Emily Vail ’09 served her senior year as Recycling and Composting Intern for the Sustainability Committee. She will graduate with a degree in environmental studies. major.
senior retrospectives
5.24.09
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Kate Fussner
t’s a normal Tuesday afternoon. Inside of Main building, the College Center is bustling with activity. It’s Tasty Tuesday courtesy of the VSA and local vendors; the aromas of this week’s food choices fill the air. I’m seated at my job at the Information Desk, where I politely tell prospective parents that the bathroom is located just behind The Kiosk and that, “No, this is not the Admissions building.” I kindly point them in the direction as best as I can, arching my body over the wooden divide distinguishing my window from the College Center and curving my arm around the brick wall. “Make a left, follow the flow of traffic out the Retreat, head down the steps, make another left…and you’ll…run into it.” I sound less confident than I am, but it occurs to me halfway through my sentence that I’m pointing another student in the direction of where I’ve come from myself. It seems simple enough, sitting at a desk and answering the same three questions again and again. I don’t think Campus Activities knew exactly what they were getting into when they hired me; I don’t think that they knew just how thrilling it would be for me to watch the community pass by me for ten hours a week. Here comes my women’s studies professor from my first year at Vassar who still, four years later, remembers my name and waves to me on her way to class. After her, there are three CARES counselors who pass by on their way to class and drop off some flyers that I forgot to take at the previous week’s meeting. I’ve spent three years working for CARES, (the student-run, nonjudgmental, confidential 24/7 listening service for any students affected by issues of abuse or personal violation) and seeing my fellow counselors walk past me and wave reminds me of the good
work that is done on this campus every day to keep students healthy and safe. These students have been both my friends and my inspirations; they’ve taught me how resilient students can be and have shown me the power of empowering other students. I don’t quite finish my thought though, because here is a classmate of mine from Senior Composition, who has dropped by to tell me that she’s nervous for her workshop. It’ll be fine, I tell her and give her a preview of how much I admired her characterization of her narrator. “I’ll see you in class,” I say, and encourage her to take a deep breath. Now I can return to my own reading. I have 60 pages of Marcel Proust to read before the next day for my five person independent study with an English professor who is gracious and brilliant enough to help us read the entirety of In Search of Lost Time in a semester. My friends—who, at the desk, I consider my regulars—have already passed by and I’m ready to lose myself for another hour in Proust’s winding and beautiful prose. I’m interrupted almost immediately (another lost prospective family) but this time when I am finished explaining where Admissions is, I stop and smile. It may have taken me four years to realize it, but the way that this family looked at me, with students and professors hurrying past to get to class, reminds me of this: I am a member of this thoughtful, engaging, exciting community. How lucky I am to have been here and how grateful I am to those who have made it feel like home. —Kate Fussner ’09 is an outgoing CARES Counselor and the Co-Chair of the English Majors Committee. She is also a recipient of the French Government Teaching Assistantship from the French Ministry of Education.
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Amory Meltzer
applied to seven colleges in high school, and Vassar was not my first choice. Hell, it wasn’t even my third choice. No, Vassar was my sixth choice, behind three of the Ivies, Amherst and Williams. Only one school said yes, so here I came. Now, four years later, I’m trying to pen a reflection, and like any good college student, I have no idea what to write. It’s late, I’m very tired, and I have actual work for actual classes to do. I’ve been racking my brain for some time now, desperately trying to come up with an idea, some event or discussion or something that can encapsulate my experience at Vassar. Sixty-two words in, at 2:47 a.m., I’ve finally decided that I don’t have one, or at least none I can think of. And I like it that way. I’ve managed to do well here because I haven’t had that single, defining moment—rather, I’ve had many, undefined moments. I wasn’t on a sports team, but I’ve played a lot of intramurals and have been close with various jocks all four years; I haven’t sat on the Vassar Student Association Council, but I’ve actively participated through a number of elected committees and appointed positions; I didn’t join The Miscellany News, but I’ve written numerous guest columns throughout the years. Nearly one-half of my 38 credits have rested outside my major division, comprising courses in 15 departments. Some people would call that indecisive or noncommittal, but I did exactly what I wanted,
despite never really knowing what that was at any step of the way. I realized pretty early on that college was going to be the first, last and only place where I could, on a whim, say “I want to learn about that topic, I think I’ll take a course in it!” I’m a biology major because I love biology, but I also intend to spend the rest of my life studying it. I took the bare minimum required to complete the major (and premed) and then took as little science as possible. I’ve been able to get pretty good at lots of things instead of very good at a few things, and that’s far more valuable. Freshmen year, a lot of my fellowees would regularly poke fun at me for always inserting extra pieces of information into the conversation we were having. I am proud to say that, try as they did to make me, I haven’t stopped doing it and I don’t intend to. As far as I’m concerned, that’s why I came to Vassar—to prepare myself for life’s long cocktail party. Sure, I would have gone to Princeton or Yale, had they accepted me, but I’m glad I didn’t. I don’t think I would’ve have been nearly as happy. Vassar has made me love doing the other things, not pursuing the easy or the obvious, and taking the one less traveled by. —Amory Meltzer ’09 served his senior year as student representative for the Committee on Curricular Policy. He was the head campus patroller and will graduate with a degree in biology.
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senior retrospectives
5.24.09
Senior Retrospectives
5.24.09
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Isabella Demougeot
itting in the Chapel during Convocation, a feeling of sadness and completion overwhelms me. I remember being a newly arrived freshman sitting in these very pews wondering what four years of Vassar would be like. I also remember my first encounter with a senior, who happened to be the Student Assistant to the President of the College, shortly after. I remember thinking how accomplished she was. Ever since that first encounter freshman year, I have hoped to hold this position. This once in a lifetime Vassar experience started in May 2008, when I received an email from President Hill’s two assistants regarding my availability for an interview. The date was set, and the pressure mounted with every passing day. “What kind of questions would they ask? What outfit should I wear?” The morning of my interview, I awoke to the sound of rain falling on the window of my beloved Noyes House room. I wondered if this weather foreshadowed good or bad events to come. Once escorted into the president’s office, I sat in the hot seat thinking to myself, “Smile and be approachable but remember not to laugh too much.” As my friends can attest, I laugh a lot. Imagine, a few days after arriving home for the summer, my surprise when I saw an e-mail from Catharine Hill in my email inbox. I thought to myself, “I wonder how much trouble I am in or whether there was a problem with my academic record?” After catching my breath, I looked at the subject line that read, “Student Assistant Job.” This email was either going to announce an amazing senior year adventure or not. Luckily, it was the first. I immediately ran down the hall to my parents’ room to share the news with them,
texted quite a few of my friends, and then paused to wonder what I was getting myself into. Currently, distracted by the beauty on the other side of the window in the Library, I am flooded with delightful memories of my journey this year. The adventure began with a dinner hosted in honor of Professor of History Robert Brigham after his convocation address and ended with a dinner in honor of the admissions tour guides and the women’s varsity soccer team. Now, I sit in the Office of the President and feel completely comfortable, while interviewing my replacement for next year and passing on what wisdom I have acquired. The key thing to being successful in this position, and anything in life for that matter, is to enjoy the ride and make the best of every opportunity that arises. Over the course of the year, I have had the privilege of meeting and discussing with faculty, administrators and students in a variety of forums that have been amazing and informative. With every student appointment that walked through the office door I realized how engaged and eclectic the student body is, and how the community fosters the development of multifaceted individuals. I have great hopes for what the classes of ’10, ’11, ’12, and ’13 will accomplish in their four years here. I wish I could be around for a little longer to witness these transformations, but then again there are always reunions. As my friends and I often joke, Vassar is one big family/secret society, once you are in you are in for life! —Isabella Demougeot ’09 is the outgoing Student Assistant to the President of the College.
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Rachel Glicksman
little over 10 hours away from finishing my thesis, I left the library, got on my bike, and with one of my closest friends (also a thesis-near-finisher) started pedaling home to the South Commons to do some final editing. As we zoomed down the hill behind the chapel into the parking lot of Olmstead, we screamed at the top of our lungs. It wasn’t really coordinated— it just seemed like the only thing we could do at that moment. It was our version of the primal scream, and at about 1:35 in the morning on April 13, we were exactly a month early. That night I watched the hours tick by til the sun rose and pulled my first (and last) all-nighter of my Vassar career. I was high on adrenaline for the next day, and was disappointed by the anti-clamacticness of turning in my thesis. I brought my binders to the department office and ate stale French fries at the Retreat to celebrate. It felt amazing to finally feel the weight of this year long project come off of me, but for some reason, a month later that scream is what stays with me. The rest of the day seems all fuzzy (perhaps because I hadn’t slept the night before), but I distinctly want to hold on to that feeling of the raw emotion as I let out that scream into the chill night air. The thing that is weird about this moment being so important to me is that I’m not a screamer. I’m not the loud one who walks into a room and instantly starts talking to everyone. I’m the one who holes herself up in the library and gets annoyed if anyone is talking. I don’t like to be the leader of an organization, but I like to be involved. So I tend to hold positions close to power, but without holding the daunting titles: I’ve
been co-Chair of Hunger Action, Vice President of the Vassar Jewish Union, co-Coordinator of Challah for Hunger. In my four years at Vassar I have loved being the behind-the-scenes person. I love sitting alone in the library for hours and working in silence (indeed, that is how I spent my day today). I love planning events, organizing all the pieces and managing all the details, but when it comes to the actual event I stress out and then let someone else get on stage. I love being the one who quietly manages all of my commitments and still gets it all done. I love being called, as I was last year “Superwoman,” for my ability to do it all in some mysterious way. But once in a while I have found, to get it all done, to finish that last little bit of my thesis or figure out how to get everything on my to do list done and still get sleep and take some time for myself, I need to let it all out. Once in a while I need to not be the quiet one, but the one who complains loudly to anyone who will listen, the one who cries on the phone to her friends, and yes, when times get really rough, the one who screams loudly into the quiet night air. That moment, more than any I can think of, succinctly embodies these past years: it was a scream of release and of celebration of nearcompletion; it was a moment of incredible frustration and unbelievable joy. It was, just like these times at Vassar have been, an exhilarating and unforgettable experience. —Rachel Glicksman ’09 was co-Chair of Hunger Action and Vice President of the Vassar Jewish Union during her senior year at Vassar.
senior retrospectives
14 W
Phillipe Kleefield
hen asked to submit a senior retrospective my stream of consciousness that has become my second semester of senior year momentarily paused. This is too much. A self-reflection reifies the abstract procession to graduation, the countdown that goes something like 50, 49, 48, 47 that ticks as I read an abstract academic journal article on the queer uses of public space. I decided I would address my own process of selfgrowth by reflecting on what has slowly become my plight toward queer self-actualization. I arrived here on campus fresh from a private school in New York City. Oh my god, the City; I love the city. But private school doesn’t do my upbringing justice. As a slightly sheltered young’un growing up in a predominantly Peruvian family, I had love, community, access to privileges such as education, my favorite video games, a summer share on Fire Island, and two summers spent at an eye-opening, delightful fat camp called Camp Shane. I had a bubbled microcosm of a school experience at the United Nations International School; I grew up in an international community devoid of race-based prejudice, a space sheltered from the many realities outside my 10-block home that characterizes urban New York. I didn’t lack much growing up as a sheltered, rapidly growing city kid. I had alcohol in eighth grade, I bought a homeless man cigarettes in seventh, and I lived in a semi-project. You couldn’t touch my cultured worldliness. For all my entitlement, what I lacked was a gay space where I truly felt myself. I hope they’re not making fun of me. That’s too feminine. Ay, I think he called me a fag. I wanted to feel like I could act unmasked. The self-awareness and intelligence that got me far in class was back-firing with the slow self-realization that gayness and its stereotypic conceptions were a) not openly spoken about at home or in school, b) had left me with a sense of its deviance and c) left me with a layer of an I-don’t-give-a-fuck-and-I-don’tneed-anyone attitude as I discovered that I in fact embodied the stereotype. And Vassar became my home away from home, a space of exploration and maturation. I channeled my constant queer self-monitoring into a bold, unashamed queer defiance. I queered the hell out of my life as if Vassar were my decadent gay stage. Lamé? A glittered commodore? And most recently, a look that I could only describe as a grandpa who has most recently discovered his profound love for all things jazz and dance. I made my first two years at Vassar about me, my pride in my hyper-effeminate, in-yourface, I-could-really-care less about you way that is so typical of vulnerable, self-conscious gay men that are not willing to shed some light on the
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fact that like many others, they’re just on the path of self-acceptance and don’t have very much figured out yet. An avalanche of Bs, a bunch of talks set up with concerned and well-meaning professors about how my complacency occluded my promising potential, and an awareness of the psychological burdens facing many gay men on campus awakened my commitments. For all my “glamour”, I had continued to remain glaringly insecure. In my sartorial faux-pas I had noticed much resistance from peers on campus in that awkward way that only Vassar students know how to perform: prolonged stares, snide remarks, whispers, some jeers, and many uncomfortable gazes not just from male athletes, but from other gay male students. My clown-like choices were jarring, that I acknowledge. But what my reckless engagement with style allowed me to bring to the surface was the shocking post-identity syndrome that I already knew had infected much of the gay male community outside of Vassar, but had apparently stricken Vassar’s gays as well. Without essentializing the gay male experience, multiple times I have heard people say both to my face and in my absence: “Why do you dress like that? Why do you have to be so loud? You look crazy.” I dress crazy, I am loud and I’ve done so with the constant motivation that with all the commodification, co-optation, consumption and reification, at least how I dress I can call my own. For gay men that haven’t yet graduated and for those that will continue to sashay, speedwalk, gait, stomp, light-jog and prance through the quad, take a few things from my own experience. Don’t be afraid to transcend your endless thoughts and insecurities and connect with other gay males; they are likely going through the same things. Take a chance and act a fool outside your room by tuning out what others may be saying about you; I promise that it will feel liberating. Be willing to realize that you don’t have everything about yourself or others figured out. Step outside your own positionality and envision the world through someone else’s perspective. And for God’s sake, stop reproducing a very Queer as Folk-derived attitude of how gay men should and do act; as intelligent, liberal arts-educated gay males, there is one thing that we should be able to do well and that is to smile, be nice and remember that our anxiety-ridden narratives often overlap. —Phillipe Kleefield ’09 is outgoing President of the Queer Coalition of Vassar College (QCVC). He will graduate with a degree in sociology and neuroscience.
Brian Paccione
double majored in film and biology. I thought I could look at the world in two different ways, making nature documentaries and exploring the world of science through film. I was wrong. Biological truth failed to capture what made me truly passionate about nature. Science didn’t honor the wonder I experienced as a child turning over stones looking for worms and salamanders. Biology demystified these things; all of a sudden, there was a logical explanation for their presence—their magic was gone. But once I picked up a camera, the natural world that always amazed me became pure again. A single shot could place the weight of the entire universe on a blade of grass. Through film, I could give these details the time they deserved. I considered dropping my biology major; I just wasn’t passionate about cells and I wanted to devote more time to film. I spoke with my parents and my advisor Professor of Drama and Film James Steerman (a man I will never forget for
his support, generosity and sensitivity), who both recommended that I double major. I took their advice and discovered something about myself. At first I felt the need to unite film and biology, but slowly began to realize that these disciplines were much more valuable if they remained independent of each other. Biology showed me another side of life, providing a different kind of lens to view the world through. None of my films have had a scientific or environmental focus, but biology has informed them and made them stronger. The freedom and support I needed to appreciate this could only be found at Vassar. My decision to study biology with no intention of pursuing it in the future wasn’t met with confusion or disdain, but praise. —Brian Paccione ’09 served his senior year as President of the Vassar Filmmakers. In 2007, he was the winner of the Insomnia Film Festival. He will graduate with a degree in film and biology.
5.24.09
Senior Retrospectives
5.24.09
Erica Seigneur
In 1951 Vassar alumna Mary McCarthy wrote an article called “The Vassar Girl” for a popular magazine about her beloved alma mater. McCarthy starts off well enough, but the kind words were short-lived, as the majority of the article focuses on what McCarthy believes to be the deteriorating state of the once great college. McCarthy had a love/hate relationship with Vassar, and having experienced 4 years of Vassar, I can definitely relate. Vassar continues to attract intelligent, interesting students, such as McCarthy, but today’s student appears to be trapped within the confines of the politically correct. During the first semester of my freshman year, the Moderate, Independent and Conservative Alliance (MICA) published what many believed to be an article exhibiting racist views in their journal, The Imperialist. When The Imperialist controversy unfolded, I realized that Vassar’s definition of “liberal” was in opposition to my own. I define a liberal as someone who is dedicated to the first amendment; someone who realizes that being offended is as important of a right as is being able to offend. Vassar is more concerned with comfort and making sure no one’s feelings are hurt than they are with ensuring that every voice is heard. As a result, MICA was required to hold a forum to discuss the issues raised by the article. On the one hand, I knew that a large number of those in attendance would be offended by the article, but I was not expecting the degree of animosity towards the conservative students on campus, and
the desire to silence dissenting voices. At the forum, I stood and spoke about the importance of maintaining an atmosphere of open discussion and expression—I was met with boos. After The Imperialist, my roommate and I formed a Vassar chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, which was met with a shocking degree of ambivalence. My experience has shown me that only a very small number of students and faculty are interested in preserving freedom of speech. During my four years at Vassar, I have been constantly disappointed by the ferocity of partisan thought. The student body has shown a distinct unwillingness to hear and a fear of dissenting views. Perhaps more disappointing than the lack of openness displayed by my fellow students, has been the complacency of the faculty in this behavior. The outrage over The Imperialist article happened during the first semester of my freshman year. I was surprised and disappointed by the response of the majority of the campus, and have been all the more disappointed to find this attitude reinforced time and again in the years that followed. I have one message to my fellow Vassar students: Relax and re-read the Constitution. —Erica Seigneur ’09 was the captain of the women’s fencing team, President of the Atheist League and Editor of its publication, The Godlessness Quarterly. She was also Editor in Chief of MICA’s publication, The Regressive.
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Allison Koenker
he idea that anyone could sum up, or even offer a glimpse of the four years they have spent at Vassar seems impossible. I tried to think of a specific memory, a funny story, or some words of wisdom I could leave behind for the underclassmen, maybe a lesson or at very least, a what not to do. But then I started thinking about the people that have come to embody my Vassar experience. When I look back at the past four years, it’s not so much this place, the campus, the classes, or even the snow (which I will truly miss when I’m back in California!), that stands out in my mind, but the people who have woven their way into my life, those who have left lasting impressions and whose friendship, leadership, or even casual exchanges I will long for when I’m sitting on the plane Tuesday morning, flying 3,000 miles away from here. From the very beginning, these people who have become my entire life here at Vassar arrived in unexpected moments. As a freshman at the athletic information meeting, I never could have imagined that the other nervous freshmen swimmers standing around me would become not just my teammates, but my best friends. Over the past four years we have spent more laps, laughs, tears and rounds of tequila shots together than I’ll probably every experience again (especially the laps and tequila). Then there’s the following summer when I received a very unexpected phone call from my freshman and soon-to-be sophomore year roommate, informing me, “Surprise! I’m transferring to Emory!” The next two weeks before I had to head back to New York, I spent hours thinking of excuses for why I should have that spacious double in Jewett House as a single, hoping I could some-
how convince Res Life to let me keep it. But then came the second surprise, in the form of an e-mail from some girl I had Intro to Microeconomics with spring semester, the girl that never smiled at me. I thought the Res Life gods were out to get me, asking the two of us to consider rooming together…but without a doubt that unexpected email turned into a friendship that, three years later, I don’t know how I’m going to live without. We’re still living together, by the way, and we’re both seriously concerned with the hit our wardrobes are about to take when we no longer can make use of our opendoor clothes-sharing policy! And I can’t leave out the very special West Virginian Mountain Mama who came into my life sophomore year. It’s hard to believe now we’re all graduating. I love our cozy TA 12, but I still miss curling up on an air mattress for fondue parties on the floor of Jewett 211! This Sunday when it comes time to graduate and leave Vassar behind, I know I will be sad, but I’m going to try to remind myself that what has made Vassar home to me for the past four years will be changing too. The friends who have made my experience at Vassar so special will now be the friendships that will make my future just as incredible, exciting, and happy as the past four years. Just remember I’ll be in California missing you guys terribly, so make sure when you’re in need of some sun and the beach you come out West to visit. —Allison Koenker ’09 was women’s swim team co-Captain as well as a member of the Senior Class Council and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
senior retrospectives
16 I
Diana Lu
’d say that my best memories at Vassar often involve the phrase “You’ll laugh about it later.” This generally entails my friends or myself getting hurt or upset and other people finding it funny. I guess there’s just something about it that brings people together, kind of like how people always gather to watch small children get hit with big balls. Only, it’s even better when it’s someone you know. Remember the time that Lucien had his scented candle on a heater and that silly little bonsai tree in his room? And how a bunch of kids dipped their fingers in the wax and left creepy little wax fingers in his tree? Who was that?! Remember that time we went to see Obama, guys? And we got interviewed by ABC? And how we drove through the night, waited in line at 5 a.m., and waited for the presidential driveby for like 10 hours? That soup was really good, Andrea. I couldn’t feel my feet for a long time. Those foot warmers were a gyp! And remember when they closed the New Jersey Turnpike on the ride back? I’m still not laughing about that. Hey No Offense, remember the time that the custodial staff threw away all of our props and costumes the night before our show? That was hundreds of dollars worth of stuff! And how we spent the good part of an hour, knee deep in rainy garbage water, digging through trash to get our stuff back? And how we couldn’t even find it all? We’ll laugh about it later, I promise. On the plus side, Indecent Exposure did give us that Elmo pi-
ñata. That was good. Thanks, Indecent! I walk away from Vassar with an understanding that great things happen by accident. Without bothering to plan my life, I’ve become a double major in French and Urban Studies, and look at me now! Grad school-bound in city and regional planning. Fancy, fancy. And probably the most rewarding class I ever took at Vassar was Cartography (the Mapping of Uncharted Territories). I took it for fun, and it actually turned out to apply to my major and my future studies. And who would’ve thought that my passion would be solid waste management? It just happened. Sometimes I feel like I haven’t had enough time here. I never walked across frozen Sunset Lake or put a foot in every building. But without even trying, I managed to accomplish much more than I ever thought I would. A lot of these lessons are unspoken for now, but even in the last four years, past adventures at Vassar keep popping up that seem to apply perfectly to what I’m facing. It is because of these experiences, inside and beyond the classroom, that I feel confident and prepared to face the real world. After all, what could be worse than that time on the way to the GREs when the subway swerved and I tripped and fell on a baby? Not my best moment, but I’ll probably laugh about it later. —Diana Lu ’09 was President of the sketch comedy group No Offense. She will graduate with a degree in French and Urban Studies.
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5.24.09
Scott Leserman
can still see the crowds, feel the excitement, taste the anticipation in the air. It’s gametime: we are playing Springfield, Santa Cruz, NYU, Naz, Stevens, Ramapo. All you want to do is get out there and start the match. You want to have a perfect set, a sick dig, a dirty kill. Most of all you want the win. You want to beat those other guys so they know we are better than they are. As much as it was about the wins and losses, it was about the people. It was about those who started as coaches and teammates, but are now brothers and life-long friends. My teammates, particularly the seniors, Bacchi, Johnny, Ben, Steve and Greg, have all been incredible. They are my brothers, people who I’ve been able to share so much with. For four years, we experienced the highs and the lows, the incredible wins and shameful defeats, the awards and the backbreaking practices, road trips and Friday night shenanigans. My experience at Vassar would have been nothing if it wasn’t for my teammates.The same goes for Coach Penn. Coach started as my coach, a man I greatly respected, but really nothing more. Our relationship has developed
into way more than this. Now, I view Coach (as I will always refer to him) not just as a master of the game, but as an incredible friend, a firstclass mentor, and, in the coming years, a colleague. As I go on to this next stage of my life, the world of sport management and coaching, I will use many of the things I learned from my coaches and teammates here at Vassar, to whom I feel eternally grateful. Vassar has been incredible because it gives students the opportunity to challenge themselves not only in the classroom, but on the stage, in the dorms and ACDC, and on the fields of play. In my time at Vassar, I have met so many incredible people and experienced many extraordinary things, but through it all, when I think of Vassar, the first thing that comes to mind is always volleyball. VCVB forever. —Scott Leserman ’09 was the President of Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and a threeyear captain for the men’s volleyball team. He received the Coaches Award at this spring’s Athletic Banquet. He will graduate with a degree in economics.
senior retrospectives
5.24.09
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Michael Sekor
f you told me on my first day at Vassar that I would end up being the Captain of the Equestrian Team and President of Vassar On Tap, Vassar’s new tap dancing group, I would have never believed you. When I came to Vassar, I had never been on a horse, besides the occasional pony ride, and hadn’t tap danced in five years. This is what makes Vassar such an amazing and nurturing place for students to try new things and become adults. Without a doubt I have had an amazing academic experience at Vassar, being able to do graduate-level research with a personal liberal arts focus on becoming a well-rounded member of society. The education and experiences that I attained in the biology and other departments at Vassar led me to summer research experiences and an Intern position in the Biology Department that I will remember and cherish forever. However, it is my experiences with the Equestrian Team and On Tap that really shaped by personality and led me to experiences that I thought I would never have. I attended the Equestrian Team informational meeting my freshman year because one of the student fellows in my dorm, Danielle Sporkin, told me I had to. While my mother and sister both had extensive riding experience, I was always more interested in acting and music. However, I wanted to try something new, something unexpected, something that I had never really considered. Horseback riding was that experience. I got onto the horse during my first riding lesson four years ago absolutely terrified. I was almost positive that I would never be able to control this animal, let alone be able to control it over jumps. However, the instructors at
the Southlands Foundation (where our team rides) helped me through every step of the way. Soon I was able to walk the horse around on my own, then trot, then canter. The next semester, I rode in my first intercollegiate horse show in the walk-trot division. I started freaking out at the beginning of the class because my horse kept on walking backwards. However, the wonderful people on the team helped me through it, and at the end of my showing experience I was in a jumping division controlling the horse over a carefully placed sequence of eight jumps in a duet between horse and rider. My tap dancing experiences at Vassar started with an “In the Pink” class I took the fall semester of my junior year. I saw it in one of Roman Czula’s many e-mails, and remembered the eight years of tap I had enjoyed throughout elementary and middle school. Somehow, my tap shoes from eighth grade still fit (kind of). The class eventually led to the inception of a new organization, called Vassar On Tap, due to the limited opportunities for tap dancing at Vassar. I have now participated in two final performances, highlighting both classical and original tap dances, and re-igniting my love for tapping the night away. In the end, Vassar gave me the opportunity to connect with a new passion in my life and reconnect with a forgotten one, both of which I will never forget. —Michael Sekor ’09 was Captain of the Vassar Equestrian Team and President of Vassar On Tap. He will graduate with a degree in biology and geology.
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Zach Miller
f the point of college is to prepare you for the world outside of Vassar, nothing did this better for me than four years of varsity baseball. I came to college unsure if I would play. I tried out and stuck with it for four years because of my teammates and because my love for the game grew and grew, but the experience had an unexpected side effect: Four years of college baseball allowed me to grow up. Like most student-athletes, I had heard the justifications for athletic participation on the grounds of being a well-rounded person. I had also heard the counter-argument—that dedicating so much time to any one thing, especially something you won’t be doing four years later or ever again, is a little silly. Until recently, I was always more sold on the counter-argument. Better to give a little time to the Film League, the Meat Club and Tree Huggers Anonymous (all real clubs at my high school) than to put all your eggs in one basket. Yet there I was, sacrificing my time and body, my social life and academic life, nine innings at a time. The day I started applying for jobs, I realized I had done myself a great service. At the very minimum, baseball gave me important professional skills. After balancing 35 hours a week of baseball, classes, a campus job and (on a good week) a social life, time management will be a breeze after this. Think you’ll ever have a coworker you don’t like? A co-worker who doesn’t like you? A boss who underestimates you? Been there, done that. Whether I had a great day at the office or a terrible one; whether it was 72 and sunny or 25 and snowing, you better believe I was showing up, and so was every last guy. “The
first thing you’ll learn about college,” a wise senior captain told me within my first 24 hours at Vassar, “is that everything is optional—except baseball.” The point being, people take days off from class because they’re not in the mood or just don’t feel like getting out of bed; you don’t pull that on baseball. “Oh, and if you’re planning on showing up to practice on time, instead of 15 minutes early,” he added, “you might as well bring your running shoes.” A nine-to-five might be a relief after this. As my job hunt coincided with the winding down of my baseball career, though, it finally hit me that the urban myth was true—I was a wellrounded grown-up. The four years gave me the full range of experiences. First I had to learn the ropes; by the end I was teaching them. First I learned how to take orders; this year, I was giving them. I used to need someone to put an arm around me when I made an error or struck out; this year, I offered that arm. And nothing makes you grow up quicker than having eight impressionable freshmen looking at you for what to do, just like I did when I was in their shoes. All along, I thought I played baseball at the expense of my education. It took me until my senior year to realize that baseball was an education. I won’t say it was the education, because classes were very important for me too, but a Vassar experience without baseball would have been missing the point of coming here in the first place. —Zach Miller ’09 was an outfielder for the men’s baseball team. He led his team in home runs during their 2009 season.
To live a successful life Does not require Money, fame, power, prestige Or status symbols... It’s more a matter of Being true to your own beliefs and principles, Doing your best, Even in the smallest of things, And never taking for granted The simple joys in life--
Congratulations
Such as laughter, a perfect day, Or a loyal friend. For all the money in the world
as you graduate,
Amanda Jameson.
Can’t buy self-esteem, character, Contentment, love or happiness-And these are the very things That make life
R e m e m b e r. . . “life is full of choices”
Worth living. However you define Happiness and success, May you find and enjoy them Every day of your life.
Love you most,
Mom
senior retrospectives
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Asia Suler
efore I even got to Vassar I’d overheard people talking about Noyes House as the reject dorm— a place for techies, foreign students and other general weirdos. My first week on campus I eyed the space-age curve of the dorm suspiciously. I met the people on my hall, was awkwardly introduced to the Eastern Europeans, whom Reslife decided to corral together in the far end of the hallway—and then I met Mary Beth. We met on the way home from our Back-toSchool Conference. We laughed the whole way home and from that point on we were inseparable—running back and forth to each other’s rooms instead of doing homework, yelling at people on Noyes Circle from our windows, listening to Sex and The City on one set of headphones, and trying perpetually to play pranks on our neighbor Jordan. By the end of the year MB and I were part of a family of weirdos in Noyes, but we were ready for something different, to expand our circle of friends. We decided to transfer to Josselyn House. We moved in sophomore year ready to explode onto the Vassar social scene, two Noyesian caterpillars bursting into full-on social butterflies. At the start of school we bought a futon from Ikea and a girly pink sheet to cover it. When we set up the futon in the room we saw visions of partying on its oasis of pillows—the massive influx of people who would all be dying to hang out with us. We spent a lot of time making our room cozy. We strung up a red printed lantern and covered the walls in posters. To make more space for the futon—and the raging parties that would inevitably occur—we put both our beds in the small side room. We left our door open, just waiting for our new hallmates to come by and see how awesome we were. We soon re-
alized, however, that just wasn’t going to happen. We had inadvertently transferred to the drug-free quiet study hall on Joss’s first floor. The hall was constantly, eerily silent. Our nextdoor neighbor was a senior and for a while we thought that he was constantly talking to himself, till we realized he had a headset and was barking orders to invisible internet underlings on Counterstrike. Sebastian, another ex-Noyesian, also transferred to our hall in Joss and slowly but surely, the three of us former Noyes kids became friends. By Christmas we never left the room. For as often as we heard our neighbor laughing to himself/his headset, he heard us arguing over who got to sit in the middle, why we absolutely could not watch Muppet Christmas Carol for a third time (MB), and laughing on the pink futon or, as Sebastian, who resisted the girly black hole that was our room, called it, the “pink monster”. Our senior year MB and I brought the pink futon into our SoCo, where it was unceremoniously turned into a purple futon, although we still refer to it as the pink futon. Now the three of us are destined for graduation and the pink futon, sadly, is destined for SWAPR. I will miss the pink futon dearly but, I also know that, like a spread-out-pink-cushiony version of traveling pants, the futon will live on, bringing people together and reminding them that all they needed all along was each other, and maybe a couple of pink frilly throw pillows, too. —Asia Suler ’09 is the Editor in Chief of Vassar’s literary magazine, Helicon.
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5.24.09
Kevin Goldberg
ver the course of my Vassar career I have had the opportunity to meet some interesting people, take some insightful courses and participate in a sport that I love. While all of these things have been amazing, there is one specific incident that stands out above the rest, and it didn’t even happen to me. At the beginning of my freshman year at Vassar, my roommate and I became very good friends with a boy living on the floor above us in Jewett House. For the sake of clarity and anonymity, I will refer to this friend as Craig. Shortly after Winter Break, Craig decided to put a mattress underneath my roommate’s lofted bed and sleep on the floor, creating a personal area for himself that we jokingly referred to as “his kennel.” On the night of Seven Deadly Sins, during the particularly cold month of February, my newest roommate returned to our room, crawled into his kennel and proceeded to vomit all over his mattress. My real roommate and I, having already gone to bed, decided to sleep down the hall to escape the terrible stench. Waking up at 9 a.m., my roommate and I went back to our room to find Craig’s coat, sweater and vomit, but no sign of him. A few hours later, I received a phone call from Craig. Apparently, minutes after my roommate and I had left the night before, Craig had suddenly woken up, peeled himself from his mattress, and decided that it would be a good idea to continue drinking at the Terrace Apartments. He stumbled all the way to the All-Campus Dining Center before deciding to rest underneath one of the picnic tables situated
outside. Waking up a few hours later, and finding himself covered in frost and coping with throat pains, Craig (using his brain for the first time in a while) decided to go to the hospital. This is when I finally heard from him. After two weeks of treatment for pneumonia, Craig was released and allowed to return to college. Ten minutes after his reunion with his friends, Craig had a beer in his hand. It should be said here that Craig is in good health and will be graduating on May 24 with the rest of the Class of 2009. Many people might, justifiably, view Craig’s tribulations as a cautionary tale for incoming freshmen, but there are hidden lessons embedded in his trial by fire. While Vassar has succeeded in teaching me many things that I will continue to heed throughout my life, Craig’s story has instilled values in me that transcend those learned through my academic education. The first of these is dedication. Craig committed himself to the cause of drunkenness. Persevering through exhaustion, sickness and freezing temperatures, Craig never let doubt creep into his mind in his search for another frosty beverage. Through this ordeal, Craig also taught me about self-sacrifice. Understanding that there are no rewards without risk, Craig sacrificed his health in order to achieve his ultimate goal. Without Craig, I would have little understanding of these important principles that will continue to influence my life for years to come. —Kevin Goldberg ’09 was co-Captain of the men’s soccer team.
senior retrospectives
5.24.09
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Summer’s-Grace Green
ince the first time I visited as a prospie, I’ve known that this was the college I was meant to attend. On this campus we have amazing and caring students, faculty, administrators and staff. These people are dedicated to making not only our campus but also our community a better place to live and work. I could write a soliloquy about the many ways in which Vassar and its community trump any other college in existence, in fact many of us have performed several to our friends at other schools, to our parents and to ourselves. I would agree that to a certain extent we are different because every place has its own eccentricities and attributes that give it a particular feel. But we must all stop making the assumption that Vassar is a bastion of knowledge and culture and that it is somehow exempt from the injustices of the larger world. I have spent my past four years trying to fight these injustices in an effort to make that feeling of exceptionality a reality that we can all see and feel. I became involved in College issues my freshman year and even through the early morning meetings, the late night debates and the endless policy proposals I’ve never regretted my decision. I’ve had an amazing education, but I believe that it was the time that I spent outside of the classroom, directly applying the knowledge that I gained, that I truly learned the most. After that effort, I’d love to say that I’m leaving Vassar a better place than it was when I found it. We all hope that we are able to make that type of positive impact in our environment, that somehow by being apart of this community we made it safer, more pleasant, more inviting and open, more exciting and fun. But that type of change is hard to measure when every year our community is rattled by a new incident of either racial, sexual or gender discrimination. The Class of 2009 moved onto campus and immediately faced the anonymously published Imperialist issue attacking the ALANA center and specific individuals of color on campus, our sophomore and junior years we as a community encountered nooses, a swastika and a Ku Klux Klan symbol. We end our time here with the defacement of the ALANA Center’s sign. Through it all, many members of our community have remained vigilant that we are
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still exceptional, that these events are outliers in what is overall an accepting and morally elevated community. After each incident, we come together as a community and we talk about the act of discrimination that has just occurred. We complain about the individuals that committed these acts and then we move on. We forget that each of these situations is an indicator of larger community problems that we have chosen to ignore, in an effort to continue to see our community as more socially conscious, to believe that our home is better than all others. I mention these incidents at one of the most reflective and transformative times of my life because of my love for Vassar. I want it to be better. I expect us to reach that level of exceptionality, hopefully progressing as the world around us becomes more accepting as well. But to do this, we need to make ourselves uncomfortable and admit that this community is not exempt from the hatreds that permeate the world outside this beauty-filled acreage. Its not enough to engage our social justice trigger words in class—patriarchy, hegemony and racism to name a few— without understanding the need to combat them in our life outside of academia as well. We can’t separate ourselves from these issues. Vassar has been a home to me. It has been a place where I developed and learned that we must never be complacent in our quest to become better versions of ourselves. I became involved in the Vassar community to give a voice to these issues because I felt strongly about them. I wanted to apply the same lessons to my surroundings that Vassar has tried to instill in me. I hope that we can all decide to work individually as well as communitywide to fight the injustices that continue to inflict pain upon our environment. I really do think that we must work as individuals who are committed to mutual respect, to try and make our community better, so that we can all have a Vassar experience to love and treasure. —Summer’s-Grace Green ’09 was the 2007-08 VSA VP for Operations, the Council of Black Seniors Representative on Senior Class Council, as well as the Dean of the College Intern and Africana Studies Intern.
Alan Neuhauser
f my memories of Vassar—and I have many great (and a few not-so great) ones—the experience that most contributed to and defined my college experience was my four years as a member of the men’s swim and dive team. The men’s team has come a long way since my freshman year. Then, there were 10 of us: seven swimmers and three divers. Our small numbers posed a number of challenges: because relay teams consist of four swimmers, to put more than one relay team into an event, we had to include a diver on our “B” team. Not surprisingly, that year, our victories were few and far between. But we did not let our small size discourage us. Our commitment to the team began with hours in the pool and weight room. What emerged was not just a stronger team, but a tight-knit, mutually supportive, and fun community. There was paintball, pick-up basketball and water polo. We built friendships, and along the way improved our performance and attracted valuable recruits. We lost three seniors after my first year, but the next fall, gained six swimmers and a diver. Not only could we now muster two relay teams—three, with help from the divers—we had the numbers to gather for pre-meet men’s team pasta parties and action movies. My junior year, led by captains John Alaimo ’09 and Tom Liu ’09, the men’s team achieved its best season record in six years, and its high-
est place in both the Liberty League Championships and Upper New York State Collegiate Swimming Association (UNYSCSA) Championships in five years. Just as important, the spirit and camaraderie of the team grew. This year brought seven swimmers and two divers to the men’s team, and we now numbered 17. I joined John and Tom as co-captain, and our team enjoyed one of the school’s most successful and memorable seasons. From our first practice through the final session at the UNYSCSA championships, our swimmers and divers achieved milestones, including seven new school records. Just as important, we had a truly incredible time both in the water and outside the pool. Cheering each other on, celebrating personal bests, pushing each other in practice, supporting each other through injury, downing pounds of spaghetti the night before meets, and letting loose at the Terrace Apartments and Town Houses the night after. All of this and more defined our team. Being a member, a leader and, this year, a coCaptain of the Vassar men’s swim and dive team has been a blast and a privilege. It gave me not only wonderful memories, but more importantly great friends. —Alan Neuhauser ’09 was co-captain of the men’s swim and dive team.
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Max Sturm
visited Vassar twice before I arrived for freshman orientation almost four years ago in August of 2005. The first time I came with a friend from high school. She was well acquainted with Vassar, having spent several summers here taking part in various academic enrichment programs. Her boyfriend, who also went to our high school, was a sophomore at Vassar and so she was coming mainly to see him. While they were doing I don’t know what I went on a tour of the campus and then an information session afterwards. It was one of my first college visits. After leaving the admissions house, I walked around campus by myself for a good hour, not wanting to disturb or interrupt my friend’s time with her boyfriend. It was then when I fell in love with Vassar, walking on that green lined path running from Main to the All-Campus Dining Center. I brought my parents along for my second visit, and introduced them to the school I wanted to apply to early decision. I think my mom fell in love with the tour guide. He was cool, and seemed smart. If I got in, I remember thinking that I’d want to be friends with him. And I did get in, and ended up being a tour guide myself for three years. And although I saw my tour guide around, we never became friends or even spoke. I heard he was kicked out of the admissions office. One of the stories we traditionally tell on tours is about Vassar alumna Jane Fonda. Every weekday between 2 and 3 p.m., tea and cookies are served in the Rose Parlor of Main. And when Vassar was an all-girls’ school, the rule was that girls had to wear their white gloves and pearls down to tea. It was absolutely necessary. So the story has it that when Jane Fonda was a Vassar student, she forgot to wear her white gloves and pearls down to tea. Naturally, she was reprimanded and told, “Young lady, you go back upstairs and put on your white gloves and pearls!” So again, rumor has it, Ms. Fonda went upstairs, and came back down to tea wearing absolutely nothing but white gloves and pearls. It’s a fun story, and I think most Vassar students know it since they either remember it from their tour or have heard tour guides tell that same story while walking on the path connecting Main and the Library, running under the extremely long branch of the London Plane tree. After telling that story for three years on my tours and getting many hearty laughs or at least chuckles out of it, I happened to run into Jane Fonda at a restaurant in New York a few weeks ago. I thought, this is it! This was my chance to find out if the story was true. I approached her at her table, and apologized for interrupting
her meal, and told her who I was. “My name is Max, and I am a drama and psychology major at Vassar,” putting a strong emphasis on “drama.” She held my hand from across the table the entire time we spoke. “Oh!” she said, “How’s the theater there now?” “It’s good...it’s good,” I awkwardly replied, and then continued: “I’m also a tour guide at Vassar, and there’s this story we tell about you, and for three years now, I’ve been dying to know if it’s actually true.” Before I could go any further, she interrupted me, and with great vigor, she said, “Complete urban legend, Max! That nude tea story and that motorcycle story too!” I hadn’t known what motorcycle story she was referring too, and still don’t, but regardless we made a pact that I would no longer tell “that nude tea story.” Growing up, I remember hearing countless adults say something to the effect of, “College: Best four years of my life.” Not exactly sure how they spent those four years, but I seemed to have had a relatively tame college or Vassar experience; no nude tea or motorcycle stories for me. Instead, I spent most of my time doing theater with Woodshed. Woodshed is a small collective theater ensemble that functions completely collaboratively (no one designer or director – we all do everything). In my seven semesters in the group, I have worked on and been a part of a variety of productions, as classical as Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” or Chekhov’s “The Seagull,” and as contemporary as Naomi Wallace’s “The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek” or Tracy Letts’ “Killer Joe.” I found my home in the theater at Vassar. As a freshman and sophomore, I had always heard juniors and seniors of Woodshed say: “Woodshed has defined my Vassar Experience.” From a very early point in my Woodshed career, I understood how this was possible. I chose to stay at Vassar and not go JYA because of Woodshed. It’s like a three-credit class I couldn’t possibly conceive of missing out on each semester, meeting six times a week for at least two hours each session, if not more. This group has helped me hone in on what exactly I am most passionate about, and has taught me how to communicate and collaborate. Woodshed has no doubt defined my Vassar experience. And while it’s been great, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything, I do think the years to come can be just as good as these four – just a little bit different. Maybe I’ll even run into Jane Fonda again. —Max Sturm ’09 was President of the Vassar Woodshed Theatre Ensemble.
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senior retrospectives
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5.24.09
Lorrette Fisher
eople often ask me the question: “Well, how did you hear about Vassar?” And why wouldn’t they? A black girl from the tiny island of Jamaica applying to a small liberal arts college whose foundations were built on proliferating white privilege, cozily tucked away in the northeastern United States, would seem a bit random; but there is nothing random about destiny, and seeing who I was and who I have become after these four short years has made it clear to me why Vassar was in fact a clear and logical choice. The best way to write my story at Vassar would be something like a love story, I guess—full of moments of extreme happiness, tempered with instances sadness and disappointment, but all the while justified as a worthwhile endeavor that I would subject myself to again and again if given the choice. I heard of Vassar for the first time from a list of colleges that was handed to all the students in my SAT/college preparatory course. I was always a happy person and had a pretty fun-filled and active high school life, but there was always an urge to experience something new and to surround myself with people who I knew possessed the viewpoints, thoughts and aspirations that there never seemed to be outlets for at home in Jamaica. As strange and unbelievable as it sounds I knew the first time I looked at the Vassar College name— and all the accompanying random bits of information—that I was going to get in and that it was somewhere that I needed to be. Then, after the arduous application process, I finally got to meet Vassar, my intuitions were confirmed and I fell in
love. The smiling faces that greeted me on that warm spring day in May made Vassar feel like home. Although, I must admit, Vassar did lie to me a little bit on our first date; embellishing the truth by leading me to think that FOCUS weekend was how Vassar was all the time: full of students of color and visitors to the campus, large outdoor events, nice weather and nonstop partying—things that were all hard to resist for a 17-year-old from the Caribbean. I quickly grew to learn that the FOCUS weekend diversity was just that, a one-off occurrence and that people here did go out and dance but seemed to prefer playing games with their alcohol and talking outside with background music playing and, perhaps most disappointingly, that the student came first; not the friend, or the musician, or the artist, or the activist, but the student. However, learning these things helped me to refocus and readjust, and the reality was more exciting and fulfilling than what I had imagined. Of course, the relationship was not always smooth and perfect; Vassar can be a lonely place. Even with all the friends I had made and things I had been involved with there was no way to avoid being with myself and wrestling with my thoughts. Sitting on committees, overloading on courses, serving on house teams and participating in varsity sports can only distract you for so long; eventually this place forces you to look at yourself and think about who you are and what things mean and this can be a difficult process. But this process will teach you things. I will take away these few thoughts, some of
which were new, but some of which were simply reinforced during my time here: 1. Never move through life so fast that you forget to take time to see and appreciate the things and people around you. Sometimes you get so caught up in work or extracurriculars that you become too busy for others and even yourself. Slow down and take the time out to not only enjoy life but to help to make others happy as well. 2. There are hardly any correct answers. There are perspectives and feelings, and the best we can do is analyze the facts, commit to one belief and hope for the best. However, never be too steadfast in your commitment because a closed mind can be just as, if not more dangerous than an uninformed one. 3. Empathize. Think with your heart and your head and always try to see the other person’s perspective—you’ll learn a lot about them and yourself. “You can always retake a class but you can never relive a party”: So read the wise words of a class banner I saw at reunion a few years ago. I believe that truer words have hardly ever been
spoken. In my limited experience, one never looks back at a place and thinks about the work one did, but one does remember the people they met and the experiences they had and so while the classroom was a place for great personal growth and intellectual development, that is not what I think I will miss most about Vassar. Instead, I believe that I will miss the excitement of sitting in the All-Campus Dining Center with friends for far too many hours freshman and sophomore years, musing about that weekend’s activities or engaging in heated debates on things as uncontroversial as how someone liked their eggs or as unanswerable as what life really means. I will miss the comfort and safety that made me feel that it was OK to walk along a dark, lonely path late at night after a fun dance party. I will miss the feeling that it was truly OK to just be myself; something that I will never take for granted again. —Lorrette Fisher ’09 served her senior year as Town House President.
senior retrospectives
5.24.09
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Emily Love
ear Alumnae/i Association of Vassar College: I am so honored and touched to be welcomed into your fantastically distinguished organization. I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart, but I don’t want to go, so I would like to R.S.V.P no, but graciously. You see, AAVC, this is for the first time in my life the only trip I have ever been on where I have not asked “are we there yet?” To me, in this moment, there is nothing terribly appealing outside the gates of 124 Raymond Avenue awaiting me. Sure, the real world, as you call it. But I would like to counter that statement, with, what could be more real than being in an environment that encourages breakfast at midnight followed by a brisk stroll through the Library…naked. I would also like to ask, if what is awaiting me in the real world is not like that environment I have been in, than how exciting can it actually be? It was at Vassar College that I have met an amateur trapeze artist, a female motocross rider, an Uzbek, artists, Founder’s Day, actors and actresses, singers, a future surgeon, an NBC page, a fourth and a fifth generation Vassar student, boyfriends, ex-boyfriends, pianists, people who use the terms heteronormative and gender-neutral regularly, athletes, all-Americans, back-up dancers for Kanye West, geniuses, friends, California girls, an Alaskan, someone whose initials are the same as the active chemical in marijuana, pilots, black belts, Ms. Betty, Colombian royalty, Toby Keith, parents, committees, grandparents, siblings, high-school sweethearts, best friends, presidents, a library nook, teammates, twins, shower shitters, teachers, Wyclef, coaches, backstrokers, dance partners, a chinchilla named Mort, record holders and breakers, vegans, comedians, musicians, love, heirs and heiresses, vegetarianism,
bacon burgers, hipsters, filmmakers, Poughkeepsians, daisies, Saya and Lena, the snapping turtle in Casperkill Creek, rugby players, jocks, nerds, models for Caribbean food brands, internationals, FBI agents, George Costanza, Carl, journalists, photographers, deans, transgenders, feminists, hippies, activists, someone that handed in their thesis the day before graduation, that guy I made out with in the Mug, that other guy I made out with in the Mug, Mr. Sarajane & Liz, psychologists, roommates, student fellows, hallmates, soulmates, authors, world changers, tequila shooters, beer snobs, boxed wine lovers, beer pong champions and Cappy. And I found that all within the four years at your alma mater, Vassar Alumnae/i Association. And although I can feel the impending doom of May 24 creeping steadily towards me, I ask for just one small favor: Please don’t make me go. I promise I will be really, really good. I will register all of my kegs, and I won’t park in the House Advisor’s spot, I’ll keep all parties in my room to 14 people, and I will swipe in almost every time I go to the All Campus Dining Center. Just don’t make me leave. Or at least lie to me, and promise me that all of the other people in the world are just as bizarre, fantastic, neurotic, hilarious, beautiful and wonderful as everyone around me. If you can’t promise that, do all of the alums meet up in a field on the first Saturday of May to finish 28 kegs of beer for free? If so, then I guess I am willing to leave. But if I change my mind I could always just refuse to return those two books on Native American women I have on my bed. —Emily Love ’09 is Daisy Chain coordinator, captain of the women’s swim team and the recipient of the Outstanding Female Athlete Award.
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senior retrospectives
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Felix Steiny
y original roommate at Vassar and I did not get along in the least. Many people told me before I went to college that your freshman year roommate can make or break your college experience. On my third day at Vassar I stumbled across the Barefoot Monkeys, the college circus club. The members of this club eagerly offered to teach me to all they knew of circus arts. Before the week was over, one of the most notable members of this group hugged me and told me, “You are welcome wherever I am.” This simple sentence gave me license to exist fully within this tumultuous and eccentric group of people. I immersed myself in the learning and teaching of circus arts. I felt like I had finally eared my place in the club when I taught a new trick to one of the most talented seniors. However, I soon realized that the circus arts were simply a front for a family, and I already had a place that I did not need to earn through any accomplishment of skill. When my roommate and I weren’t getting along, I spent the night on the common room floor of one the Monkeys’ suites. My first semester at college I spent more nights sleeping on the floor of his room than in my own room. By the end of my second week of college, Vassar was home. A welcoming place of safety, love and riotous adventures. The fact that I didn’t get along with my roommate was just one more way in which The Barefoot Monkeys could take me and be my family. I found it hard to talk to my
high school friends about my college experience because nobody I knew had the feather pillow landing in college that I did. At the end of my junior year I was called upon by a general election of The Barefoot Monkeys to lead the club in my senior year as the President, or as we call it, The Grand Monkey. This was for me the greatest opportunity to give back to the club and college that had taken me in with open arms. In my time as Grand Monkey, I had one goal: to make Vassar a welcoming home to anyone who wandered by The Barefoot Monkeys. I shared all my circus skills and any experience I could with all who would listen. The freshmen recruited by The Barefoot Monkeys this year tripled the size of the club. On some days there were freshmen who were teaching me new circus tricks. On some nights there were exiled freshmen sleeping on my floor. The Barefoot Monkeys did a favor for me when I was a freshman, and I in turn tried to return it to as many freshmen as I could. I hope that I have helped to make Vassar a home for many of its newest members. More selfishly, I leave here carrying with me a family that connects me deeply to members from every Vassar class from 2006 through 2012. —Felix Steiny ’09 was the Grand Monkey of the Barefoot Monkeys. He will graduate with a degree in drama and computer science.
5.24.09
Jillian Gonzalez When looking back at my years at Vassar, it seems sort of beside the point to attempt to describe which specific things and events have been the most important to me. My time at Vassar has meant a lot of things and I don’t want to write off my experiences here by boiling them down to just late nights on the quad or escapades in the Mug. Vassar has allowed me to grow as a person, and as a result my attitude towards this place has been constantly in flux and almost as varied as my wardrobe choices. My freshman year was one of the most accelerated times of my life: no sleep, no pause, just pure excitement at the prospect of meeting every person and doing everything I could. At some point during my first few months a friend asked if I was interested in joining her comedy group, The Limit. I wasn’t particularly interested in comedy and I think that I agreed to try out simply out of sheer eagerness to embrace all things Vassar. My first meeting came, and it was terrible: The group was disorganized, uncool and it looked like it would be a ton of work. I would begrudgingly invite people to our shows, and afterwards they would say things like “it had its moments.” I was annoyed that something so mediocre took up so much time, but I felt obligated to the group and stuck it out. By sophomore year the glamour of college had totally worn off and the year of all-nighters and slumping began. The one thing that didn’t slump, however, was The Limit, as I found that I loved the open judgment of the auditioning process and we started to produce some things that I was really proud of. I also spent a good deal of time that year moping at parties and wandering
into random senior houses in search of liquor. To the people who resided in D block in 2007, I owe you an apology. By my junior year, once I had gotten over my slump and ended my spree of beer-related criminal mischief, things started to come together. The Limit was better than ever, and I started to become more involved and produced more than I had in the past. That spring I went abroad to London, which was mostly soggy, though I now appreciate the value of a $4 sandwich in a way I never imagined possible. Returning for senior year was nerve-wracking, I felt like I had been away from school for so long that I wouldn’t be able to connect to it again. Its difficult to describe what happened fall of my senior year, but something about Vassar fell into place, and for the first time I felt like I got it. I was exceptionally proud of The Limit, and we put on some shows that I am honored to have been a part of. The thing that really changed was that I think I figured out the things that make me happy here and I finally focused doing on those things rather than getting muddled about trying to do what everybody else wanted. And while I know the world outside of college is going to be filled with changes and new things, my time at Vassar has taught me that you have to experience things for what they are, that that the things that define you aren’t always the ones you choose outright, they are the ones that sneak up from behind and surprise you. And, if you’re lucky, make you laugh. —Jillian Gonzalez ’09 was the President of sketch comedy group The Limit.
5.24.09
senior retrospectives
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