Misc 09.03.2020

The Miscellany News miscellanynews.org

September 3, 2020

Vassar College’s student newspaper of record since 1866 Volume 154 | Issue 1

Students question ‘island’ model Tiana Headley

A

Tiana Headley/The Miscellany News.

Off-campus students denied work-study Lucille Brewster Guest Reporter

A

s September approaches and Vassar students begin to navigate the new normal, Student Employment is also adjusting to a number of changes and challenges.

After classes went remote last semester, Vassar still paid students an average of their weekly salary even though the vast majority of students were not on campus to complete their jobs.

But for Fall 2020, out-of-state stu See Jobs on page 4

Sara Lawler, Annabelle Wang

HUMOR

Reporter, Guest Reporter

What if Frog and Toad were...not friends?

A new comic strip explores the concept.

12

OPINIONS

Blue no matter who?

A columnist’s take on the limits of the ballot box.

4

NEWS

Catch up on five Poughkeepsie rallies and protests from last summer.

bram Gregory ’21 thought he did everything right.

When Vassar extended its open invitation to students for an in-person fall semester, the senior moved into a nearby apartment to limit his time on campus. He said the only moments he had been within six feet of anyone were with Fiona Walsh ’21, with whom he lives, and four golfers who had cornered him in the Terrace Apartments (TA) parking lot on August 19. Six days later, he tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

The prospect of an in-person semester left those starved for an on-campus social life and an in-person education with cautious enthusiasm. When the College transitioned to distance learning on March 12, the United

States had logged at least 1,663 novel coronavirus cases. By August 8, the first move-in day, the United States approached 5 million cases and mourned over 160,000 deaths. Prior to students’ return, President Elizabeth Bradley announced that campus would assume the “island model” between Aug. 8 and Sept. 7. Students cannot leave, and the public cannot enter. But as Vassar inches closer to the first day of classes on August 31, many question the College’s enforcement of the purported “island.”

Some students have witnessed their peers strolling back to campus with My Market bags and Crafted Kup coffee in hand, or walking about on nearby streets. “I commute from campus in a route that takes me down Raymond Avenue, and I’ve seen a few See ISLAND on page 4

First-year traditions take to Zoom Monika Sweeney

A

Guest Columnist

bout two years ago, back when the Vassar Class of 2024 still worried about PSAT scores, Wendy Maragh Taylor, Vassar’s Associate Dean of the College for Student Growth and Engagement, began to develop the First Year Experience (FYE) program. This program, de-

signed to ease first years into college life while fostering a sense of community, support and care, was forced to significantly remodel this year due to COVID-19 guidelines and a number of students studying remotely at home.

Regardless of the unexampled circumstances this year, those in the Office of Student Growth

and Engagement remain committed to the mission of the FYE program. Their goal is to create a safe, supportive space that will provide first-year and transfer students with the resources necessary for a successful first year and beyond. A wide range of virtual activities have been planned to introduce new stuSee FYE on page 8

Self-quarantine concerns abound

Inside this issue

11

News Editor

I

n an attempt to reduce the spread of COVID-19 at Vassar, the College is placing students who either test positive on campus, do not have negative test results when they arrive on campus, or have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive on campus in isolation. Some students have complained about food delivery, the logistics of moving into iso-

lation and communication with Health Service. As of August 28, 11 students have been placed in isolation, and 33 have been placed in self-quarantine.

In accordance with New York State Department of Health guidelines, the College has defined the following terms as follows: Mandatory Isolation: Student has tested positive for COVID-19 or is displaying COVID-19 symptoms (e.g. fever of 100°F or highSee Quarantine on page 5

South Commons, a self-quarantine location. Annabelle Wang..

Athletes examine departmental practices, privilege [CW: mentions of sexual misconduct, sexual violence, racism, transphobia and discrimination.]

Introduction

This article was co-written by five current and former Vassar student-athletes: Claire Basler-Chang (volleyball), Lena Stevens (formerly volleyball), Reis Kissel (soccer), Liam Condon (squash) and Kai Mawougbe (track and field).

We feel the need to address the prevalence of sexual assault and bigoted beliefs within Vassar’s athletic community by taking a hard look at how Vassar athletics functions at both the student and administrative level.

We have combined our personal experiences as BIPOC athletes, research into Vassar’s Title IX policy as well as that of other

similar institutions, and data about the demographic makeups of student-athletes, athletic faculty and Vassar as a whole in this piece.

It is important to acknowledge the factors that motivated us to write this piece. In early July, a few members of the Vassar baseball team sent an email alleging a cyberbullying incident to President Bradley and members of the student body. This email used racially charged language and stereotypes in a way many students viewed as harmful. The Vassar Insider published an article on the topic shortly after, which downplayed the vulgarity of the language used in the email. The article has since been removed from the Insider website. While the email and subsequent article

catalyzed intense debate within the Vassar community, it is clear to us that they are only symptoms of issues that have existed for decades—namely, Vassar’s perpetuation of white privilege and athletic privilege, especially as perpetrators of sexual violence. We seek to highlight the systemic nature of the aforementioned problems and call upon both the administration and all student-athletes to think deeply about what they can do to be part of the solution.

As present and former athletes, we recognize how easy it is to homogenize the wide range of athletes’ identities and beliefs.

It is our belief that the majority of athletes at Vassar do not hold explicitly bigoted beliefs, even if they do hold unconscious bias-

es as a result of instutionalized racism, but we feel it is time for every one of us to accept responsibility for our past complacencies and actively work towards change. Approximately 20 percent of Vassar students are involved with athletics. If one in five Vassar students is an athlete, it is unreasonable to assume that athletes on swim, crew or golf have any direct control over the actions of athletes on baseball, basketball or lacrosse and vice versa. They can, however, directly influence their own team culture, and in doing so indirectly influence the cultures of other sports. Passivity is privilege. We all have a responsibility to speak out against injustices we see in our community and to foster a See Athletics on page 14

Page 2

September 3, 2020

COVID19 AT VASSAR 3773

Total Tests Administered

20

Total Student Cases

SEPTEMBER 3RD DATA VIA VASSAR TOGETHER

02

Total Employee Cases

13

Total Active Cases

For daily updates on Vassar's testing and cases, visit https://www.vassar.ed u/together/dashboard

THE MISCELLANY NEWS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF MANAGING EDITOR SENIOR EDITORS

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Lucy Leonard

Aena Khan Ted Chmyz Taylor Stewart Abby Tarwater Duncan Aronson Jessica Moss Holly Schulman

Tiana Headley Olivia Watson Janet Song FEATURES EDITOR ASSISTANT FEATURES EDITOR Gillian Redstone Jonas Trostle OPINIONS EDITOR Meghan Hayfield ARTS EDITOR Isabella Migani HUMOR EDITOR Alex Eisert SPORTS EDITORS Dean Kopitsky Natalie Bober SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR Alison Carranza ASSISTANT SOCIAL MEDIA Grace Rousell ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR Jacqueline Gill COPY EDITORS Caitlin Patterson Phoebe Jacoby ASSISTANT COPY EDITOR Julián Aguilar GRAPHICS EDITORS Juliette Pope VIDEO PRODUCTION MANAGER Alexis Cerritos Alex Barnard AUDIO EDITOR Ben Scharf LIVE EVENTS CHAIRPERSON Emma Tanner BUSINESS MANAGER NEWS EDITORS

REPORTERS

COLUMNISTS

PHOTOGRAPHER COPY STAFF

CROSSWORD BUSINESS AND SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGIST

Delila Ames Alysa Chen Carissa Clough Olivia Diallo Rayan El Amine Sara Lawler Leila Raines Francisco Andrade Sawyer Bush Madison Caress Doug Cobb Rohan Dutta Xin Rui Ong Sherry Liao Nina Ajemian Taylor Gee Jason Han Jake Johnson Emma Kahn Tiffany Trumble Frank Cameron Skudin

CORRECTION POLICY The Miscellany News will only accept corrections for any misquotes, misrepresentations or factual errors for an article within the semester it is printed.

In the second episode of her podcast “Soundbox,” News Editor Tiana Headley talks to Joshua Simons, the Senior Research Associate for the SUNY New Paltz Benjamin Center, to discuss recent efforts in Poughkeepsie to develop a new comprehensive plan for the city, and how that might affect both current and prospective residents. Listen to the full Spotify episode here.

Courtesy of Julián Aguilar.

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

The Miscellany News is not responsible for the views presented within its Opinions pages. Staff editorials are the only articles that reflect the opinion of a two-thirds majority of the Editorial Board.

September 3, 2020

NEWS

Page 3

Isolation, self-quarantine plan poses wellness quandaries Continued from Quarantine on page 1 er, cough, loss of taste or smell, etc.) and does not have a positive or negative test result Self-Quarantine (SQ): Student has been in close contact (within six feet, for over 15 minutes) with someone who is positive, whether or not they display symptoms of COVID-19 Temporary Resident: Student has arrived on campus without a negative COVID-19 test result Temporary housing is provided for any student who falls into one of the three aforementioned categories. As of August 27, 75 beds on campus and approximately 60 beds in the Poughkeepsie Hampton Inn have been set aside for isolation and SQ. For students who are required to isolate, there are designated spaces in the Alumnae House and Dean of Faculty House, both of which are located along the perimeter of campus. Each student receives their own room and bathroom.

Those who are required to SQ can be placed in any of the following locations: Residential Quad annex spaces, Terrace Apartments, Brewers Lane Townhouses, South Commons units or the Hampton Inn. Each of these spaces has a ratio of bedrooms to bathrooms of between 3:1 and 6:1. While the NYS Department of Health requires SQ shelters to have separate bathrooms for each quarantined individual, the Dutchess County Behavioral and Community Health approved the use of spaces with shared bathrooms with the acknowledgement that if a student shows symptoms or tests positive for the novel coronavirus, they are required to extend their quarantine for at least another 14 days.

All temporary residents are placed in a reserved room at the Hampton Inn. All of the isolation, SQ and temporary resident rooms are demarcated by restricted access signs as per NYS Department of Health guidelines.

Once students are placed in the appropriate housing, they should receive an email from the Administrator on Call (AOC) or their House Advisor (HA) with information regarding the procedures they must follow as an individual who is isolated, self-quarantined or classified as a temporary resident.

Some students have experienced issues with the transition between normal and isolation housing. Lucy Kuhn ’22 arrived on campus on August 15 and received a positive test result on August 16. She noted that the transition from her TH to isolation in the Alumnae House was not smooth, citing a delay between receiving her positive test results and being moved to the Alumnae House. Westchester Medical Center (WMC) called her at around 12:30 in the afternoon on August 16 and informed her that she had tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Student services would contact her about entering isolation. An hour later she still had not received a call.

Kuhn’s roommates then contacted the AOC. She moved into her isolation room at the Alumnae House at around 5:30 p.m.

Before this time she was unable to leave her room in her TH, and therefore did not receive any food. Similarly, Sammy Solomon ’23, who is in SQ due to close contact with someone who tested positive, said that the process of moving into isolation was “disjointed,” citing the large timelapse between when he was told he would be moving into isolation and when he was told where to isolate.

The college has instituted many provisions to fulfill health care needs. On a daily basis, Vassar Health Service officials monitor all students’ temperature and symptoms and provide medical guidance if necessary. Health Service also has medications available, most of which are paid for under the required Student Health Fee. The Rite Aid on 238 Hooker Avenue delivers the medications to campus. Students are also put in contact with Residential Life officials if they require further assistance. Both Health Service and the Office of Residential Life assistance is delivered either via Zoom or in person. Additionally, the Dutchess County Department of Behavioral and Community Health checks in daily via text with people who have tested positive.

Isolated and SQ students are tested by Health Service and can access their results through the Medicat Patient Portal.

Temporary resident students receive a test through WMC and can view their results on the Healow app or the WMC webportal.

Despite these plans, communication between students in isolation and Vassar’s Health Service has been inconsistent.

Kuhn described Health Service as helpful, stating that they checked in every day to ensure that she was healthy and had not developed additional symptoms. Howev-

difficult while being in isolation.”

Tarridas faced similar difficulties on the date that he was put into isolation. He was informed that he would be required to quarantine before eating breakfast, and then had no way of getting food until the college gave him a voucher for local restaurant Bacio’s at 7 p.m. Thankfully, the problem was mostly solved afterwards: “For a few days after that I was lacking a bit of food, but that was due to a miscommunication and misunderstanding on my behalf where I thought there was a certain limit to what we could order,” he shared.

Food delivery is contingent on filling out a form by a certain time of day. However, Solomon noted that the cut-off time fluctuates. As a result, when he did not fill out the form on time, he did not receive breakfast the following day. He expressed his frustration : “I feel as though I should be getting at least a basic breakfast everyday regardless.”

In response to concerns about the meal plan, the College has worked closely with Bon Appétit to revise the system to better accommodate isolated and quarantined students. The new plan went into effect August 21. On the food form, students can now indicate any dietary restrictions and request specific portions of food. Moreover, students now have the capacity to or-

Students may Self Quarantine in the Terrace Apartments, among other locations.

Annabelle Wang /The Miscellany News. er, she does not know when and if she will need to get tested again moving forward, as she did not receive an additional test while in isolation or before leaving isolation. Massimo Tarridas ’22 complained that communication with Health Service was slightly difficult at times. Solomon has struggled to gain clarity about if or when he will be able to receive a COVID-19 test while in isolation, and he struggled to get the results of his antibody test.

During isolation and quarantine, students also fill out daily food forms that are sent to Vassar Dining Services. They are required to fill out a form the day before for the food they want for the next day.

Their food is then delivered to a drop box near their room.

Students have complained about the quality of these food deliveries. Kuhn shared that when she first began her 10day isolation period, she received insufficient food: On her first full day in isolation she only received a single delivery in the morning with only a sunbutter sandwich, turkey sandwich, some fruit, cookies, and water. However, once she and her parents contacted Dean Luis Inoa, adjustments were made to the food plan. On day four, she began receiving multiple drop-offs a day, as well as hot and re-heatable food.

Kuhn said “it was definitely a process, I had to talk to a lot of people, which was

der dinner from either Gordon Commons, GrubHub, Twisted Soul or Bacio’s. The College has created a new Vassar account to which these orders are charged, and those who paid with their own money will be reimbursed if they send receipts to Inoa.

Beyond health care and nutritional needs, the College is also working to promote psychological wellness among isolated and quarantined students. Students who have been in isolation for at least 10 days or whose symptoms have dissipated are eligible to go to the Vassar Farm or track for fresh air and exercise. Self-quarantined students have to wait 14 days to do so. They can reach out to the AOC to arrange transportation to these outdoor locations.

President Elizabeth Bradley noted, “Being isolated is not easy, which is why we created this opportunity for these students to at least go outside near their rooms for fresh air and some exercise.”

To further promote the mental wellness of students, the Vassar Counseling Service is offering two weekly conversation hours for the next few weeks to assist individuals navigating quarantine and isolation.

There will be a Quarantine Conversation Hour, which a Vassar counselor will attend along with quarantined and isolated students, and a Student Conversation Hour, which will be hosted by counselling staff

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

members Lydia Kernan and Sophia Scholl and is open to any all Vassar students who are in need of support. More information can be found on the Counseling Service website.

Currently, Inoa and Student Living and Wellness are working to further expand these mental support efforts. They are working to arrange check-ins via Zoom with Bradley and other administration and faculty members or even other students.

Inoa emphasized the significance of these efforts: “There is something about a communal effort in making sure that the students in those spaces know that people are thinking about them.”

If isolated students have any additional concerns, they are put in contact with the Director of Case Management Erika Pappas. SQ students and temporary residents are directed to the AOC or their HA. Although no one is monitoring those who are in isolation or SQ, there are still consequences for those who display egregious behavior that pose a risk to themselves and others. The classification of “egregious behavior” is up to the discretion of the Threat Assessment Team, which consists of Inoa and Director of Safety and Security Arlene Sabo in consultation with others as needed.

Those who are deemed to be in violation of isolation or SQ guidelines will be asked to leave campus.

While both students and administrators continue to adjust to campus life during the pandemic, more questions and concerns will inevitably arise.

“It’s like we’re trying to iron our clothes while we are still wearing them…There will be wrinkles,” Inoa said.

Despite these unavoidable bumps in the road, the College is working to continuously readjust their policies to better support isolated and self-quarantined students. Administrators understand that this requires more transparency on their end.

“We [administration] have to be clear…

We have to do our own work to ensure students know their responsibilities,” said Inoa. “Thankfully, by and large, students have been very patient and graceful with us.”

However, Inoa also calls upon students to try and familiarize themselves with the isolation and SQ policies so that they are not overwhelmed if they find themselves in either situation. He stated, “Ideally, students would have taken the time to look at all of this stuff before it even happens.

Assume that it will and then read the information about what that process looks like and familiarize yourself as much as possible with it, because there is just a lot.”

Despite some complaints, many in isolation do have positive feedback about the administration’s handling of quarantined students. “I also saw a lot of complaining online coming from people who either were not in quarantine or have even already graduated, and honestly I think that the College has been very accommodating,” said Tarridas. “Of course the food should be of a high standard, given that we are students of the College, but I am responding this way because I saw talk of suing, which I hope was in jest.” Similarly, Kuhn stated, “I definitely don’t have any anger, I think the school handled it well, and when issues came up they took time to figure it out. Dean Luis called me and the administration helped to figure everything out.”

NEWS

Page 4

September 3, 2020

Black Lives Matter: a summer of rally and protest Tiana Headley News Editor

S

omething awoke in America the day news broke of George Floyd’s murder

by Minneaopolis police. The force of Derek Chauvin’s knee on Floyd’s neck ultimately silenced the father of five, but a chorus of millions rose up to protest his death, police brutality and institutional racism. With the killings of Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade and others, the chorus grew stronger. The uprisings spread far and wide, reaching the heart of the Hudson Valley.

Here are a few snapshots into Dutchess County’s summer of rally and protest.

“We Can’t Breathe” Hundreds of Mid-Hudson residents marched the streets of Poughkeepsie on June 2 to protest the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery. The protest began at Harriet Tubman park, with attendees planning to trek across the Mid-Hudson Bridge. What began as a peaceful and unified demonstration spiraled into a confused and splintered march, as only 100 attendees were allowed onto the bridge.

Police presence swelled as the remaining crowd marched back to Harriet Tubman park, reaching roughly 2,000 along the way. The city anticipated a “white-supremacist presence” based on social media posts, which prompted their use of an armored vehicle at the event. Despite the intimidating air of law enforcement bearing riot gear, a short altercation between counter-protesters and protesters and the occasional attendee expressing outrage at the police, many said it was a peaceful day. “They were there to remember the man who died and shed light on the fact that [police brutality] is still occurring,” said attendee Brian Robinson.

“I Am Maurice Gordon” As Poughkeepsie protested fatal police brutality elsewhere, the national phenomenon became all too personal with the murder of Maurice Gordon. New Jersey State Trooper Sgt. Randall Wetzel shot and killed the 28-year-old Black man and Dutchess Community College chemistry student

during a traffic stop on May 23: two days before Floyd’s murder. Dashcam audio and a friend of Gordon’s concerned May 22 911 call revealed a possible mental health crisis.

Roughly 200 people convened for a rally and candlelight vigil on June 22 to honor Gordon’s memory and demand accountability for his killing. Racquel Barrett and Yanique Gordon, Gordon’s mother and sister, attended the rally, which began at Mansion Square Park and ended at the steps of the Poughkeepsie post office. Barrett said in a speech that she will continue to grieve her son: “Grieving the loss of a child is a process.

It begins on the day your child passes and ends the day the parents join them.”

Rally for Black Trans Lives On the last day of Pride Month, eight transgender members of the community stood before a crowd of more than 100 people dressed in white to share their experiences at Mansion Square Park. Some recounted being kicked out of their homes at 18 years old. Others spoke of being attacked by other members of the Black community for being their true selves. While the eight thanked those in attendance for their solidarity, they expressed disappointment in a lack of Black presence at the majority white crowd. “(A majority) of the Black transgender women that have been killed, are killed by men that look like me, that look like my brother, that look like my sister, that has my skin complexion,” said Phoenix Gayle, a Black transgender woman at the rally.

“These are often men that we have sexual encounters with, men that we meet on dating apps, or in public, these are the men that are hurting us…I wish I could say that I’m proud to see all the white people here to protest, but guess what, they’re not killing me.”

Nonetheless, the message stood: end violence against the Black transgender community and Black lives as a whole.

No New Jails Dutchess residents have been protesting the planned construction of a new county jail—now called the Justice and Transition Center—since 2013. In the latest chapter of

Above, “We Can’t Breathe” protest.. Courtesy of Natasha Scully the facility’s lengthy, staggered and controversial path, Dutchess legislators voted on July 9 to not rescind the $132 million bonds issued to finance the project. Activists, legislators and constituents gathered outside the Dutchess Administrative Building before the vote to voice their outrage and frustration. “The new jail will not only add to the economic and racial disparities in Dutchess County and the city of Poughkeepsie that come with incarceration. It will also likely increase policing,” said Vassar student Elijah Appelson ’23.

While not physically present at the demonstration, Vassar students were among the many voices condemning the facility. Hundreds of students signed a statement calling for President Elizabeth Bradley to make a public stance against the project.

Bradley explained in a later statement that while she supports criminal justice reform and restorative justice approaches, she does not feel comfortable expressing opposition or support in a project of its complexity.

The July 9 vote was a disappointment among those unequivocally opposed to the project, but Dutchess legislator and Vassar professor Rebecca Edwards said all hope is not lost: “We are having a productive conversation, we are chipping away at the jail and putting more programs into recovery…Just because we authorized the bonds, doesn’t mean they need to be spent.”

Rally for Black Lives Dutchess County witnessed its arguably most violent demonstration on the afternoon of July 18. Organizers of the Rally for Black Lives expected resistance at the Pleasant Valley event as news spread that the Dutchess County Conservative Party had organized a counterprotest. Officers from the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office were to keep the march path clear and separate the two protests. They failed to do so. When the day of the rally arrived, Support the Blue protesters spat, shoved, punched and yelled slurs at the Black Lives Matter advocates. A 12-year-old girl was slapped and called the N-word, and a peacekeeper was punched in the face, according to Royal Parker, organizer of the Rally for Black Lives. Appelson, an ACLU protest monitor who was punched at the event, was at ground zero.

“What happened at this protest was upsetting but important. It unveiled the violent racism in our backyard: from counterprotesters screaming about Grand Wizards to punching young Black children in the face,” he said. “It showed us exactly who we were fighting against, so that next time we can come back ready and stronger.”

An early analysis of the event by the Sheriff’s Office claims that “a small group” of Rally for Black Lives and Support the Blue protesters were equally violent toward each other. The investigation is ongoing.

Students worry over work-study cash flow, seek answers Continued from Jobs on page 1 dents studying remotely will not be allowed remote jobs. In addition, students who live outside of New York State will not be paid for their on-campus jobs after they leave campus for Thanksgiving break. In this shortened semester, this means they may need to work more than 10 hours a week to earn their full work study grants—which for some jobs is impossible, as there simply is not enough work.

Legally, private colleges like Vassar cannot pay students who are working across state lines. The College continued to pay students during the spring because of the COVID-19 Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act relief bill passed by Congress in March, which included a provision allowing colleges to keep paying students for work study jobs they had before classes went remote. Director of Student Financial Services Jacqueline Perez said that for students on work study, Financial Aid has replaced the fall portion of the work study with a Vassar Scholarship for any student who chose to study remotely and lives out of state.

Despite the fact that student jobs are part of Vassar’s financial aid package and therefore a vital source of income, information about student employment is not easy to find. The VassarTogether website, while having detailed protocols for student ac-

tivities and clubs, provides no information about what student employment will look like this year. The Student Employment Office has not sent out information to all students outlining what jobs will be available on campus. The Student Employment Office, which used to be under Financial Services, is now under Human Resources.

JobX, a website where students can apply for Vassar jobs, is up and running, but it is unclear which jobs can be performed remotely. Associate Vice President of Human Resources Ruth Spencer explained that the office has not received all jobs for the fall yet, and that JobX is updated when faculty and administrators submit job descriptions.

President Elizabeth Bradley and several deans discussed these changes in student forums over the summer. However, some felt this was not a good means of sharing information pertinent to the entire student body.

Marisa Petticord ’21, who works as a student assistant for the Anthropology department, posted on a student-run Facebook group after learning students living out of state would not be paid after Thanksgiving Break. Petticord lives in Ohio, and was told by the Student Employment Office that she could make up the hours by working extra while on campus. To reach her $1,500 work study amount, she will work 11 hours a week while on campus. “Because I am a financial

aid student and heavily rely on the money I receive from work study, last week I spoke to Student Employment about their plan for work study with the shortened semester,” Petticord explained. “I know that this information was a surprise to my fellow students because it was not mentioned to any financial aid student at Vassar for the fall semester. This information could have been the make or break for someone debating being on campus or leaving this fall.”

Many on-campus jobs plan to hire fewer students than usual. The Athletic Communications department, which hires students to photograph and record Vassar’s athletic competitions, will only be hiring a few students to do office work in-person, as Vassar’s intercollegiate sports season has been canceled.

The Residential Operations Center (ROC) will also be hiring fewer students. Alexandria Ortiz ’22, who worked for the ROC the past two years, is looking for a remote job this semester. “I don’t feel like Vassar is doing enough to support their students. In the email I received from Student Employment they told me that ‘You can apply to those positions which indicate they can be done remotely.’ But none of the job listings in JobX indicate if they are done remotely or not,” said Ortiz.

When asked if all students who qualify

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

for work study will be able to secure a job, Spencer explained that this depends on whether a student lives in New York and how many jobs end up being available. “To maximize their chances of securing a job, we advise students to apply to as many jobs for which they are qualified,” she said.

Several on-campus jobs have successfully transitioned to being fully remote, as working remotely helps reduce density on campus and gives both supervisors and students the ability to socially distance from each other. Spencer explained that whether or not a job will be remote depends on the employee’s responsibilities and is at the discretion of the employer. Carolyn Patterson ’22, who works as a caller for Phonathon, will be calling alumnae/i from her own room instead of going to the call center. “I think working remotely will take some getting used to and will be weird in some ways, but I’m glad that we are doing it,”she said. “I think the most important thing is that students who aren’t on campus or aren’t comfortable working in-person have good and safe options available to them.”

Ruth Spencer encourages students who have questions about student employment this semester to reach out to her at ruspencer@vassar.edu or make an appointment at the CIS building with the office at bmartell@ vassar.edu.

September 3, 2020

NEWS

Page 5

Local post offices, officials prepare for presidential election Olivia Watson News Editor

O

n July 26, President Donald Trump tweeted, “The 2020 Election will be totally rigged if Mail-In Voting is allowed to take place, & everyone knows it.” Since then, he has made over 70 disparaging comments regarding mail-in voting.

Many voters in Dutchess County plan to vote by mail-in ballot. According to Commissioner of the Dutchess County Board of Elections (BoE) Elizabeth Soto, the BoE estimates that 75,000 of the currently 202,000 registered voters in Dutchess County intend to vote via mail-in ballot; she expects the number to grow as more people register.

This method of voting has come under fire due to Trump’s consistent accusations that mail-in voting is vulnerable to voter fraud. This rhetoric, paired with major changes made to the USPS system by newly appointed Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, have shaken the possibility of mail-in voting for the 2020 election.

National and local officials have criticized Trump’s disparaging views of mail-in voting. “I don’t understand how it could be rigged,” said Soto. She described how the extensive process of applying for a ballot, receiving the ballot and mailing the ballot back renders the voting process safe. She mentioned that even if someone mails a ballot and then votes in person, fraud does not happen. Their mail-in ballot would not

count.

Since DeJoy’s appointment, post offices nationwide have experienced the removal of postal boxes and sorting machines, and reduced overtime for employees. While Soto said she did not know of any alterations to the Poughkeepsie Post Office, she mentioned that USPS removed sorting machines in Monroe County.

Soto described several protocols local officials plan to implement to allow timely and effective mail-in voting. For the primary election in June, the local post office called the Dutchess County Board of Elections when they received ballots, and then members of the BoE collected the ballots so as to not burden the post office. For the upcoming election, the post office asked that the Dutchess County BoE inform them how many voters plan to mail their ballots so they can prepare an ample amount of stamps.

As for when voters return the ballots, Soto said: “I can’t give [the post office] an indication of when the ballots are coming back, but it will be fast and furious.” If voters do not want to mail their ballots back, Soto said there will be a drop box for ballots on election day during polling hours.

Additionally, Soto explained that there is a new law that allows the local government to mail back ballots incorrectly completed or packaged. Voters can then correct their ballots and return them. To better inform residents, the Dutchess County Board of

“‘We need to make noise and show that we have had enough of Trump’s actions and going after the Post Office is crossing a line we will not tolerate.’”

Elections is releasing educational flyers that detail how to vote via mail.

Several Dutchess County residents are outspoken about their support of the local post office. On Aug. 22, protestors convened outside the Poughkeepsie Post Office for a “Save the Post Office” rally. Democratic candidates for the 41st Senate district and Dutchess County Judge seats Karen Smythe and Jessica Segal, respectively, spoke in support of the post office along with several local advocacy groups. Protesters shared that they hoped this event would raise awareness

about the many injustices happening to the USPS. According to the Poughkeepsie Journal, the Hudson Valley Strong-Indivisible and the Dutchess County Progressive Action Alliance (DCPAA) organized the demonstration. DCPAA shared on their Facebook page that the protest serves to criticize Trump and defend the postal system. “We need to make noise and show that we have had enough of Trump’s actions and going after the Post Office is crossing a line we will not tolerate…

There is power in numbers,” they wrote.

They continued, “This should alarm every American who cares about a free and fair 2020 election…And it isn’t just about voter suppression. Americans are using the USPS even more so during this pandemic to stay in touch with loved ones, to receive life-saving medications and to keep up with the news.”

In response to the delays in delivery, Postmaster General Dejoy stated that he will halt all changes to the postal system until after the 2020 election, though many argue this is not enough and demand he reverse some of the new protocols. Additionally, Democratic leaders have proposed the Delivering for America Act, which would prevent the USPS from implementing changes that decrease its effectiveness for one year, and provide $25 billion in financial support. The bill has passed the House and is awaiting confirmation in the Senate.

‘A logistical nightmare’: Vassar island proves ‘semipermeable’ Continued from ISLAND on page 1 dozen familiar Vassar faces on that street,” said Gregory. “While working out in the parking lot of the athletic fields, I saw four students walk onto campus from Hooker Avenue with what looked like takeout.”

Others have observed presumed outside visitors jogging, biking, skateboarding, walking their dogs and strolling arm-inarm. The individuals, ranging from older couples to unaccompanied children and teens, are sometimes maskless. “I have seen non-Vassar affiliated visitors on campus pretty much every day since I arrived almost 10 days ago,” said Karla Pennetta ’22.

Some students recognize the difficulty of identifying non-members of the campus community. “We’ve got incoming first-years and even returning students who may not be recognized by security,” said Gregory. “There are people who could easily be Poughkeepsie residents mistaken for Vassar faculty and staff, and vice versa.”

Others note the danger of profiling potential visitors based on perceived stereotypes of outside residents. “Short of asking someone to show me their VCard, I’m not sure how I could non-prejudicially determine that an individual is not a member of the campus community, whether they’re a student, staff member, faculty or a child living on campus,” said Knuckles. To that end, Knuckles proposed that VCard checks at entrances, while not entirely feasible, would eliminate possible discrimination.

Over 44 local and national news outlets covered the campus’ closure and the purported island model prior to students’ arrival, according to Dean of the College Carlos Alamo-Pastrana. Signs throughout campus and Main Gate security staff present from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. notify community members of the campus’ safety measures. Safety and Security Director Arlene

Sabo shared that security now patrols the Sunset Lake hill and Town Houses.

Students acknowledge that outside visitors who do make it onto campus often keep their distance. “Some of these individuals were masked, some not, but all kept their distance from me,” said Frankie Knuckles ’21.

Gregory and Walsh’s experience differs.

After the two had left their jobs at the Athletics and Fitness Center (AFC) on the evening of August 19, Gregory noticed two golfers standing behind the trunk of a parked vehicle beside his car in the TA parking lot. He asked the two to either don masks or social distance so he could enter his car. After they refused, insisting that they did not need masks because they were outside, two other individuals joined them.

An argument ensued as the four inched closer to Gregory, pinning him against his car. After Walsh attempted to confront the group and the exchange continued, the golfers soon entered their vehicles and sped off. Gregory later called Safety and Security, which dispatched personnel to the scene.

Students have called for the closure of the Vassar Golf Course in light of the Aug. 19 incident. However, that power lies with the private manager of the course, PGA professional Rhett Myers. Following the incident, security now patrols the TA parking lot and guides golfers away from the area and to the course’s own parking lot on Wednesdays from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., as several leagues use the course during these hours.

In an Aug. 20 student-wide email, Alamo-Pastrana acknowledged reports of off-campus travel and other reported transgressions of the Community Care Standards. These included walking in dorms without masks, sharing hookahs in small gatherings and allowing unautho-

rized guests in dorm rooms. “Thankfully so far we have not had to mete out any sanctions, as most students are observing proper protocols,” said Alamo-Pastrana.

Keira DiGaetano ’23 learned from House Advisor and Assistant Director of Residential Life Lizzie Jáuregui during a house team training that Vassar has no plans to further close the campus.

“This was a very concerning response, so the questions continued, but we did not get any clearer answers or an acknowledgement that this was a real issue we’re currently dealing with. A lot of their answers were ‘save this question for later,’” she said.

Students are encouraged to request the Community Care Team’s (CCT) intervention when Vassar employees, students and faculty flout community care standards. The group consists of students and employees and is chaired by Dean Wendy Maragh Taylor. Anyone can also use the form to alert the College of suspected outside visitors. Rather than a punitive approach to enforcement, the CCT applies bystander intervention tactics and restorative practices.

Securing Vassar’s borders is not an easy task. The open campus has many entrances. Some can be closed off, such as the North and South gates. Others, such as the entryways on Hooker Avenue and Manchester Road, would require obstructions or security posts.

“We’re facing not only a philosophical quandary about community policing, but a logistical nightmare,” Knuckles said.

“We could never be a bubble—we are at best a semipermeable membrane.”

Some students believe greater security presence would be most effective—though not entirely fool-proof—given the campus’s landscape, but they also worry if it is the most ethical.

“They might target [people of color] or

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

low-income students and ask them more often to provide proof of being Vassar-affiliated which is not something we want,” Pennetta said. “Campus should feel safe and everyone should feel like they belong.”

Other students feel that the conversation currently values the safety of the Vassar campus community over that of the greater Poughkeepsie area. The town and city reported 48 and 60 active cases, respectively, as of Aug. 26. Of the College’s 18 positive cases since Aug. 8, 11 students remain in isolation. Another 33 students are in self-quarantine after close contact with someone who tested positive.

“The way we enforce these rules is to protect Vassar students, not necessarily to protect the Poughkeepsie community,” said Camilla Meeker ’22. “In reality we pose a larger threat of infection to Poughkeepsie residents if we go off campus than they pose to us.”

National conversations around who is to blame for campus outbreaks are largely split between those critical of reckless college students and those who lay the onus on irresponsible college administrators.

“The logic of blaming administrators for college students who crave social lives does not stand up to scrutiny and, honestly, it’s insulting. College students are not children, though of course we are not always the most realistic and thoughtful adults,” Knuckles said. “The privilege of behaving like a child into your 20s is not a facet of college life that we should be protecting.”

Gregory, however, believes students are not fully culpable, even if they throw large gatherings and leave campus.

“I’d find the Vassar administration responsible for an outbreak and subsequent shutdown,” Gregory said. “If any student, faculty or staff contracted the virus on campus and died, that blood would be on the Vassar Administration’s hands. I hope it doesn’t get to that.”

ARTS

Page 6

September 3, 2020

BIPOC directors rethink suffrage history via avant-garde film Meghan Hayfield Arts Editor

I

n the midst of a global pandemic, daily life requires some imagination. Reimagining Black Feminist Past and Futures, an upcoming film festival developed by a Poughkeepsie artist group and five Vassar film students, required some imagination to create into a COVID-friendly configuration.

The festival, which will take place Sept.

6 at local Poughkeepsie space Queen City 15 Gallery and will stream through Zoom on Sept. 7, is a collaboration with Poughkeepsie organization WE RISE, established last year by local gallerists, artists and activists. WE RISE celebrates the centennial of women’s suffrage, as well as coordinates art events that bring attention to the efforts of suffragettes, particularly the differing experiences of Black suffragettes.

An intensive taught last semester by film professor Erica Stein forged the connection between WE RISE and film students Stella Royo ’21, Malka Fleischman ’22, Kathryn Antonatos ’22, Lena Stevens ’21 and Sydney Salk ’22, with the goal of combining Vassar’s resources with those of the Poughkeepsie arts community. The five students selected three avant garde films, “Water Ritual 1,” “Night Cries” and “Afronauts,” all of which are directed by Black or indigenous women.

To Paola Bari, co-owner of Queen City 15 Gallery, centering BIPOC voices is essential to WE RISE’s goal to explore the role of Black women played in the passage of the 19th Amendment. If your familiarity with the details of suffrage is muddled as mine was before I did a deep Google dive, you may struggle to remember that Black suffrage was set aside by white suffragettes despite white suffragettes’ reliance on Black women to bolster the fight for voting rights. As a result, many Black women were disenfranchised during the five decades succeeding the institution of “female” suffrage.

“The most prominent people in the early suffrage movement were actually Black

women. Together Black and white women fought for the right to vote, there were some divisions within the movement, some discrepancy between the North and the South,” Bali explained. “White women were able to vote much earlier than Black women. Black suffrage is something they had to fight for further to actually achieve equality.”

Addressing this oft glossed-over history is critical to any celebration of suffrage.

The films selected for the festival, Royo told me, span beyond our current moment into the past.

“These stories really make an effort to reimagine the past and future of Black art and Black experience,” Royo said. “I think it’s really relevant to what is going on right now, so I’m hoping that people will make that connection and show up and support these Black and aboriginal artists because visibility is something that is really important right now.”

While the idea was to hold a week-long film festival in conjunction with WE RISE, the plan fell apart. Plans changed.

Then it would be several film events in late summer. Plans changed again. Slating the festival for two events—one in-person and one online—highlights the flexibility that was essential in adapting the event to shifting circumstances.

“No one wanted to cancel twice but we did have to keep reimagining what this was going to look like,” Professor Stein said. “It helps you conceptualize, what is the actual value of this event? What is important? What has to remain in order for this to fulfill what people had envisioned?”

Unlike blockbuster films, which are available to stream for a few dollars online, avante-garde films are more expensive to access, Professor Stein explained.

Bringing avante-garde films to local arts events opens communities up to experimental filmmaking. Art events like this film festival can also confront national conversations using localized, perhaps more personalized perspectives.

“The other thing I learned was how

hungry people are for events, to bring them together even if it’s not necessarily in person. Just around an idea, or a cause, or a moment to consider and contemplate something that may not be at the forefront of what they’re doing,” Stein said.

While WE RISE was organized to celebrate the centennial anniversary of a woman’s right to vote, Bari was already thinking about how to use WE RISE’s platform to cultivate awareness of Juneteenth when I spoke with her. The current idea is to use the few weeks between Juneteenth and the Fourth of July to hold art exhibits informing people about the history behind both holidays in 2021. We all know plans change, but, as Bari said, Reimagining Feminist Past and Futures is a model for how events can adapt to engaging online formats.

The collaboration with WE RISE also sets a precedent for Vassar arts events to branch out into Poughkeepsie. Both Royo and Bari expressed that the partnership will benefit everyone involved, and will hopefully foster continued community engagement.

“I think it’s always important to be involved in the community you’re in, and Vassar has so many resources, especially when it comes to wealth and technolo-

gy, especially on the film and arts side of things, but Poughkeepsie also has a lot of resources in terms of spaces and people.

There are a lot of projects and a lot of artists,” Royo said. “It’s sad that Vassar is so isolated and insulated from that.”

This semester, the once metaphorical “Vassar Bubble” has been newly legitimized and defined. A closed campus sets barriers to engaging physically with the Poughkeepsie community, but Reimagining Black Feminist Past and Futures sets a precedent for virtual involvement.

“I do believe that more collaboration would be extremely beautiful and I think it would be interesting for both sides,” Paola Bari said. “Vassar students have something that we don’t have, and the community has something that Vassar students might want to see.”

Stein emphasized that while she taught the intensive and facilitated some of the event, it was the students’ contributions that realized the event.

“This was pretty much entirely a volunteer project over the summer undertaken by students on two different continents, four different time zones and in the middle of the summer being what it was,” Stein added emphatically before we ended our call.

An image from a WE RISE artist’s film. Courtesy of Kathryn Antonatos.

Riot! Riot! Riot!: Archive fashion proves more than a fad Massimo Tarridas Guest Columnist

T

he most recent thread of mainstream “archive fashion” started three or four years ago when popular fashion digested and moved onto its next 20-year cycle. We saw a re-appraisal of Y2K era styles of baggy jeans, rhinestone tank tops and Bapestas, birthing a parallel underbelly of interest in other designers’ work around the early 2000s (and earlier).

The term “archive fashion” as it is used right now means something different than what the words “archive” and “fashion” mean when put together—anything could potentially be worth archiving, but the names typically invoked by the term can be reduced to a basic anecdotal list of: Comme des Garçons’ menswear diffusion lines, Helmut Lang, Hedi Slimane’s tenure at Dior Homme, Raf Simons, Jean Paul-Gaultier, Rick Owens, Yohji Yamamoto, Undercover and Takahiro Miyashita’ years at Number (N)ine... This particular menswear grouping can be traced back to late 2000’s StyleZeitgeist forums and 4chan’s /fa/shion board. They’re not unified by a strict aesthetic code, but the style is generally composed of dark tones, anything with clear and uncomplicated logos, punk and bondage inspiration, and a lot

of direct references to music. To be clear, there are also other brands that are either a part of this circle but too niche for most, like Veronique Branquinho, or are usually included within it because they share large parts of their fanbases, like Carol Christian Poell.

For some labels, like Lang or Slimane, this focus on the early 2000s exists because their best shows are considered by popular opinion to have been around this time.

What’s usually archived is the work that is emblematic of an influential moment in the designer’s past—such as when the aforementioned Lang brought minimalism to the runway, and when Slimane revolutionized the ideal male figure by making it impossibly thin in a time of billowy tailoring.

Consumers look to these past collections to avoid the anxiety of having to buy “the right thing” in stores right now, when 20 years’ worth of collective critical eye can select the most timeless or contemporary pieces for you. . The appeal of this clothing is a mix of vintage and haute couture, the thrill of the hunt combined with a secret badge of honor for those who know. Lowered cost and environmental impact are also two of the most common reasons to participate in archival clothing, though of course there are specific iconic items that have become

much more expensive.

Instagram has played a massive role in popularizing archive fashion, since the format lends itself to self-described archive pages that upload rare scans tagged alongside blurbs of text describing the item’s year, influences, context, occasionally dual-operating as stores. As these pages have grown in popularity so have fashion meme accounts, themselves often instrumental

“Archive fashion, while trendy, isn’t necessarily decided by trends.” in disseminating which pieces are the most in demand. Many of these accounts have noted how archive seems to be the way for post-streetwear collectors to perform within the same cycles of hype as before, but with the appearance of matured taste—that is, archive fashion is still fashion and fashion is exclusivity. It’s why the community

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

groaned when peak exposure breached and Drake wore Raf Simon’s AW01 “Riot! Riot!

Riot!” MA-1 Bomber Jacket (record sale is $47,000; the cheapest I could find at time of writing is $16,200). Some would claim this article as proof that the movement has reached critical mass and has, in theory, begun its decline.

However, although certain items have become means of conspicuous consumption, the overall conversation around construction, material, concept, presentation and durability is infinitely more culturally valuable than whatever ex-streetwear enthusiasts used to talk about. Obviously these are not black-and-white distinctions: some would consider Chrome Hearts a part of the archive circle, but the brand also definitely exists within the realm of pure hype (this being Supreme, A Bathing Ape, etc.).

And even if archive fashion has become just another way to brag, for some like myself it has created a real passion where there was not one before. This is because archive fashion, while trendy, isn’t necessarily decided by trends. It’s a method of curation that prioritizes the past, entirely in line with the great conservationist slogan of “BUY VINTAGE,” one that asks us to not only think about how clothing can make meaning, but also if that meaning is meant to last.

September 3, 2020

ARTS

Page 7

Instagram graphics ignite Black Lives Matter movement Nina Ajemian Copy Staffer

L

arge, abstract, paint-smeared canvases. Aching arms holding up cardboard signs with bold type, ink melting under the sticky sun. Street art, spray paint, cracked statues on sidewalks. Protest art.

Art lends itself to movements, with artists revolting against everything from politics and war to the very definition of art itself. Pablo Picasso’s “Guernica,” Francisco Goya’s “The Third of May 1808,” The Guerilla Girls’ “Do women have to be naked to get into the Met. Museum?” While these works differ in medium, they all prove that art is protest; the artist, a revolutionary.

Now there is a new ground for protest art: Instagram. If you have spent any time on the rabbit-hole, time-vortex, highlight-reel of an app in the past few months, you have likely noticed the prominent role it has played in the surge of Black Lives Matter protests across the country.

In my many quarantine-induced-boredom scrolls through Instagram during the slow beginning of a hot summer, I began noticing that many of the people I follow— real friends, Instagram friends and celebrities alike—were sharing informative graphics on their stories about everything from identifying white privilege to that day’s local resistance activities. Some were grounded in image, while others were solely composed of text. Regardless, all were eye-catching, and many stuck with me long after the seven seconds that they flashed across my screen.

Combing through accounts I follow, story highlights and my own “saved” collection (an otherwise mind-numbingly cluttered mess of things that make me laugh, posts to show my brother and recipes I’ll never make), I found a handful of protest artists to reach out to, hoping to learn more about each person and inspiration behind the visuals.

Before speaking with these artists, I believed that sharing a graphic on your Instagram story was a fairly low-risk, low-commitment way to declare yourself an “ally.” I appreciated their aesthetics, but didn’t necessarily see them as works of art; they were everywhere and they were temporary.

This is where I was wrong. These works are current. Their power lies in their instantaneous, multiplicitous nature. While the medium (our screens; the “Share” button) is new, the implicit idea behind them is not: Art is powerful and art is protest.

Hearing the stories behind the work, the raw, real, human side to a graphic on a phone screen altered my perspective.

Tiff Reed’s (@iamtiffreed) art is bold, with rich colors and striking typography.

Art has always been at the center of Reed’s life (“I’ve been drawing since I could hold a crayon,” she quipped.) Since earning her Master of Arts in media design, she has worked as a graphic designer for 12 years.

“Art is important to me because it allows me to speak volumes with just an image,” she remarked.

After witnessing the recent events of police brutality in the United States, Reed was moved to rethink the focus of her work. She explained, “After George Floyd was murdered, I reached my boiling point and was profoundly hurt. I felt the need to speak up and express how I felt, and the best way for me to do that was to create. I no longer wanted to hold back and post things that didn’t ruffle feathers. I still draw fun/quirky things, but my views on BLM are and will continue to be more important to me.”

Reed’s “Enough is Enough” image channels the electricity of a protest, present when a group of people unite and demand change. Her graphics, with their large, forceful lettering and bold colors, stare you down and demand your attention.

While Reed appreciates the recent outpour of support, she wants to make sure her audience knows that Black Lives Matter is not a temporary bandwagon, but rather a long-term revolution. “My work has…garnered much more attention than I’ve ever experienced before,” she mused. “I understand that this is mainly because people want to promote and support Black creatives during this difficult time. I just want to make sure that BLM isn’t a trend for people. That it continues to be a movement.”

The next two artists with whom I corresponded shared Reed’s intention of driving long-term change. First was Johanna Warberg (@sosialantenne), a designer current-

they stated. “I wanted to further spread awareness to more victims, instead of focusing solely on George Floyd. My goal was to make visible how this is not just a onetime thing, but something that happens all the time.”

Warberg credits Instagram with helping her achieve this visibility. “If I never joined Instagram, probably no one would know about my art or me as an artist,” she said.

Now that she has more of a platform, Warberg hopes to continue the conversation.

She added, “The fight is not over and my job is not done just because I made one BLM post. I work hard on being anti-racist every day, and I want to use my art as a form of activism.”

Similarly, artist Kim Saira (@kimsaira) intends to fight for long-term change, not the short-term rush of social media activism that quickly fizzles out. “I want my art to inspire others to go out there and ad-

Clockwise: art from Johanna Warberg, Bridget Moore, Kim Saira, Tiff Reed . ly pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in graphic design and illustration from Oslo National Academy of the Arts. Warberg explained, “I’ve always liked to draw and be creative.

After high school ended, I started an Instagram account where I wanted to share my art with my friends...Suddenly, I went from a totally unknown artist to selling over a thousand prints a year.”

The graphic of Warberg’s that initially caught my attention depicted 88 drawn victims of police brutality. I saw it shared in countless stories, and each time I found it hard to take my eyes away from the grid of faces. It’s harder to ignore the humanity lost when the lost lives are smiling right at you. These are real people, not just names to skim over.

Warberg elucidated the intent behind the piece. “Like many others, I felt frustrated and saddened by what happened and what is continually happening to BIPOC.,”

vocate in real life,” said Saira.“Instagram posts are just Instagram posts, similar to performative activism. My art doesn’t mean much at all if the work isn’t being done in real life. And I hope my art enrages, inspires or even makes people uncomfortable enough to go take action in their daily lives.”

Saira began creating and sharing her art in May as a way to process George Floyd’s death. But she had been practicing and studying art for years prior, beginning as a student at LaGuardia High School, a specialized public school for art in New York City. “I…grew up as an immigrant in NYC up until college, which plays heavily into my art themes” Saira shared. “When I was growing up, English was a second language for me and I was super quiet because of it.

I remember drawing to truly express all of my feelings. This followed me as I grew older, where I use art to relay messages and

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

feelings to my audience.”

Saira’s style is a kaleidoscopic explosion of pastels, stars, rainbows and lightning bolts. It’s sparkly, it’s fun, it’s more vibrant than any other graphics I have ever seen.

It also demands, in rainbow-gradient text with a pictoric loudspeaker, that we “speak up when someone is being racist.” Saira proves that aesthetics and real meaning can coexist; in fact, the two play off each other. “I like to grab the eye’s attention with the very playful aesthetic [of] my art, which does entice [viewers] to read the more serious messages at a closer glance.”

While Saira has received mostly positive support from her community, she notes the challenges of making political art: “I do get hate as well, mostly from people who usually believe in ‘White/All Lives Matter,’ so it’s about finding that mental health balance for me.”

Bridget Moore (@handsomegirldesigns) grew up in an artistic family, but didn’t become a dedicated artist until recently.

Moore explains, “[W]hen I decided to get serious about my recovery for an eating disorder, I started to draw more as a form of therapy, like a wordless journal.” Then, in the past four years, she began teaching herself design programs, eventually deciding to abandon her retail career for the medium.

Moore’s style is raw and anchored to the human figure, using pale colors and thin lines to create realistic depictions of bodies. In an email interview, she noted: “[M] y real passion is using my art to empower and celebrate womxn through inclusion and representation…I want everyone that finds themselves in my little slice of the internet to feel welcome, accepted and most of all SEEN.” Moore is also aware of her positionality.

She said, “I won’t hide the fact [that] I’m an extremely privileged person…[We’re] in this space of some white folx feeling a bit shameful of their privilege or feel[ing] uncomfortable talking about it. While I get that and definitely am not here to pass judgement on anyone who may feel that way, I wanted to take this as an opportunity to use mine to make change.”

This ethos is evident in Moore’s captivating piece inscribed “Stop turning your back on things because you’re uncomfortable.” The graphic is clever, with the words stretching across a figure’s back, and its message is clear; the “ignorance is bliss” mindset that many privileged individuals enjoy is actively harmful to BIPOC. On balancing aesthetics with communicating meaning, Moore’s philosophy is simple: “[I]f you’re being authentic, the balance comes easy—[when] building art around a message it’s crucial to create from your heart and really resonate with the message you’re illustrating; the beauty follows from there.”

On the surface, these graphics may appear quite simple, maybe even frivolous.

Yet the magic of these images lies in their misinterpretation. Their bright colors, minimalistic design or pretty fonts grab your eye, but it’s their poignant messages that stick with viewers, shared across thousands of screens.

All four of these artists create art because they need to. It’s their way of doing something, anything, in a world that feels pretty hopeless and lost. When shared on Instagram, though, these graphics become more than strokes on Procreate and bigger than the artists themselves. These graphics are coping mechanisms. And while you may only see the image for seven seconds, they may just prove to be timeless.

Page 8

FYE

adapts

Continued from FYE on page 1 dents to school traditions, expectations, departments and other classmates. In short, this program, along with other affinity resources such as the ALANA Center and Posse Veterans Scholars Program, attempts to engage students in ways which will guide them to intellectual and personal growth at Vassar.

The plethora of FYE events allowed students and faculty to become much more familiar with the Zoom application.

Taylor, along with Stacy Bingham, Associate Dean of the College for Career Development, and Sarah Garijo-Garde ’20, First Year Experience and Community Care Program Associate, organized these events early to provide some much needed support and clarity to anxious incoming first-year students, whether Transfer, Visiting, or Exchange, as early as possible.

When explaining the inspiration for these events, Garijo-Garde recalled her own experience as a first year student: “For me, my first year was defined by my sense of security. I tend to be very nervous in new places—I like to know my lay of the land before I dive in and start exploring.”

But she was able to go beyond her comfort level and continued to reflect, saying, “I think about this a lot when it comes to defining FYE programming. Our goal is to welcome you into a space that feels familiar and safe, while at the same time challenging you to expand your circle and grow.”

According to Garijo-Garde, the reason for scheduling events throughout the entirety of the 2020-2021 school year is to provide first-years with an opportunity to place down roots in the community.

“Many of us come to college to learn and grow academically, but what you soon come to realize is that college is much more than that: Your next four years are a time to grow personally, to explore your identity and to begin to find your place in the world,” she added.

While having a virtual orientation is definitely not what the Class of ’24 predicted, it can be beneficial in at least two ways: it allows for compliance of CDC social distancing guidelines, and it ensures there will be less of a gap in opportunities between on-campus and off-campus students. To elaborate on this point with a degree of positivity, Garijo-Garde commented, “In many ways, this shift to online is a defining characteristic of this year’s FYE: ‘What does it mean to make friends when everyone is virtual, or when you’re not even on campus?’”

The Vassar Class of 2024’s Virtual Orientation was broken up into three phases: Community and Identities; Academic Advising and Registration; and Expectations and Resources. In the Community

Above: Pretzel, whom First Year Experience and Community Care Program Associate Sarah Farijo-Garde showed off to incoming first-years. .Courtesy of Sarah Garijo-Garde..

to

FEATURES

pandemic,

and Identities portion of Orientation, Zooms appeared in a variety of forms, from live conferences to pre-recorded sessions with a live Q&A to follow. Questions covered a range of topics, from how to stay connected to one’s religious identity while at Vassar to what a stufel is. To kick things off in mid-July, Taylor, Dean Luis Inoa, and Dean Jennifer Herrera hosted two Zoom meetings to connect students from across the globe with one another. A number of offices followed suit, including The Office of Religious and Spiritual Life and Contemplative Practice, the Office of Residential Life, the Career Development Office, the Office of International Services and the Vassar Student Association. As if meeting future professors, deans, and students over Zoom wasn’t awkward enough, participants had to deal with lagging audio and unstable internet connections as well.

Phase two, Academic Advising and Registration, was a busy time, filled with pre-major advisor meetings and pre-registration for classes. This phase was topped off with a series of departmental Zoom meetings and powerpoints to introduce students to specific areas of study. They answered a myriad of questions like “What is the St. Petersburg Program?” and “What kind of prerequisites are required for NEURO 105?”

Expectations and Resources, phase three of this year’s virtual orientation, took only three days. It began with a Zoom meeting titled “Community Care: An Overview,” which focused on exploring and explaining the VassarTogether pact, Vassar’s guidelines on how to safely live on campus in the midst of a pandemic.

Sandwiched in the middle was another Community Care-focused meeting about dorm living and dining options. Finally, to wrap up this phase and this year’s Virtual Orientation, a number of health- and advocacy-oriented offices explained how their services have adapted to these stressful times and remain accessible to all.

In addition to the Zoom meetings and webinars, Garijo-Garde’s weekly emails helped connect students to the existing Vassar community. This light-hearted newsletter was something to look forward to at the end of every week, with each chock full of information on upcoming events. One email even included a photo of Garijo-Garde’s adorable dog, Pretzel. Others spotlighted were student leaders, a number of offices and a handful of on-campus organizations, including Beauty and the Beats (a Disney-infused acapella group), VCEMS (Vassar’s student-run EMS organization) and the Vassar Jewish Union. To wrap up each email, students were invited to try their luck at some Vassar trivia for a chance to win Vassar merch, including a mug, baseball cap and t-shirt.

The Transitions Program, as highlighted by Garijo-Garde’s weekly newsletter, hosts Foundations Week to kick off the academic year. Foundations Week, a pre-orientation program, provides first generation college, low income, and/or undocumented students at Vassar with resources and opportunities to help them thrive throughout the next four years.

“This year we have six amazing faculty from across the College who will join us, which is more than we’ve had in my time at Vassar for a single Foundations Week,” Berry commented. When asked which aspects of the program typically stand out to students, Berry replied, “The welcome by the President and various Deans in our opening session with parents and other

September 3, 2020

helps

first-years

thrive

Above, the writer’s fellow group. Courtesy of Monika Sweeney ..

supporters always brings a certain seriousness and adds something special to the atmosphere.” They concluded by saying, “Our new students will have their Foundations Week experience be special in a number of ways that have nothing to do with being in the same physical space.”

After completing months of virtual preparation, students finally began arriving on campus starting Aug. 21, with the exception of international students who had come earlier to self quarantine. Complete with an on-campus COVID-19 test and a chart assigning fellow groups times to head over to the Deece, in-person interactions (six feet apart) were underway.

A series of core events with a handful of optional meetings officially started on Aug. 23. Through Zoom, students were able to meet their House Fellows, House Advisors, Student Fellow Group and House Team. After a dense few hours of introductions and icebreakers, students were able to engage once again with their House Teams, but this time to learn more about its history, mascot, colors and house pride. To conclude this first day of virtual (physically on-campus for most) orientation, students were given a challenge that encouraged them to research their house in order to earn points to kick off this year’s Brewer House Cup. After fellow groups came together, over Zoom, to choose the best fact about their house, those facts were submitted to a panel of judges, who awarded points for both participation and to the overall winner. As both electronics and students needed some time to recharge, events wrapped up around 10 p.m.

The following days included virtual family and friend meet and greets with the Deans, house staff, and other various offices while students on campus were able to participate in a labyrinth walk, trivia games and more Brewer House Cup challenges. Among the challenges, some student favorites were making Tik Toks to represent their house and a tie-dyeing competition on the lawn of the library.

The tie-dyeing competition was broken up into three categories: house pride, technique and wild card. House highlights include Davison’s cow printed socks and Jewett’s intricate tie-dyed owl design.

Other opportunities to earn points for one’s respective house included making up a house chant and recording it, writing a mission statement, and flooding the Zoom chat function with house pride at each judging ceremony. As of now, Jewett is in the lead, closely followed by Davison and Main.

No Vassar Orientation would be complete without first years signing the Matriculation book, and pandemic or not,

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

this year was no exception. Signing the book, a tradition which has been upheld for over 150 years, signifies a student’s official commitment to a Vassar degree and to the community. Placed on a table right outside President Bradley’s house between Vassar pens and stickers, the Matriculation book was outside for students to sign all throughout the day. Some excitedly snapped a picture, six feet apart, with President Bradley after signing, while others immediately snagged a sticker for their reusable water bottles.

Some final events included a virtual Org fair and the College’s upperclassmen, per tradition, serenading first years. First years were then given an opportunity to showcase their own talents, over Zoom, and wow their peers with both singing and instrumental skills. The Fall Convocation wrapped up the New Student Orientation Program, marking the formal beginning of the coming academic year.

Last year’s FYE program included Hudson Valley Adventures off-campus and Conversation Dinners with faculty, events which are now impossible. However, that has not stopped Taylor from working to provide first-years with something comparable. Instead of eliminating these events all together, they are instead reimagined and brought to life in ways we can all enjoy. For example, while students may not be able to physically leave campus, Taylor is determined to set up virtual meetings with off-campus artists and other members of the Poughkeepsie community.

Acknowledging that in-person interactions, such as sharing a meal at the same booth and hugging, are very different from what can be done over a Zoom call, Taylor reminded those on campus that we can and will be connected, despite physical distance. Whether the distance between two students is six feet apart on Noyes Circle or the thousands of miles from a triple in Main to someone remote learning in Florida, Taylor states, “ We will have multiple opportunities for new students to bond with one another, to bridge to peers they might not typically connect with initially, and to link with their more experienced classmates, administrators, alumni and faculty who might serve as incredible resources.”

The primary goal of the FYE program is the goal of the Student Growth and Engagement Office as a whole: to help students thrive. Undeterred by the challenges that coronavirus has placed in our way, doing everything with a personal touch and determined attitude is how Vassar has and will continue to thrive. In the words of Taylor, “A pandemic will not change that.”

September 3, 2020

FEATURES

Page 9

Vassar Facebook world resembles three-headed beast Janet Song

Features Editor

O

ne might call the Vassar Facebook scene a Cerberus of sorts. Outsiders may turn to the supposed three heads of the beast—Vassar: The Virtual Version, Vassar: The Virtual Version But We Won’t Delete Discourse (stylized as vassar: the virtual version but we won’t delete discourse) and subgroups likes VC Lost and Found or Vassar Online. Since its birth at the onset of the pandemic, Vassar students have coddled this creature in hopes for connection, sharing and discussing their experiences in a virtual space that compensates for the missing social life of campus. But venture deep into the heart of the beast and you may find that the charm of Vassar Facebook groups lies not in fond memories of Deece food or sunny days on the quad—it’s all about the discourse, drama and most recently, the callouts.

But how do we navigate inside this beast?

There seems to be no easy start—the distinction between the two Vassar: The Virtual Versions seems blurred now, as discourse within them has evened out over the months of their activity. And diving into the friendliest head of the beast—the subgroups—gives you only niche snippets of Vassar’s community. VC Lost and Found may tell you what prized possessions students leave behind on school grounds, but they are not enough to give the full, virtual campus experience.

As of now, Vassar: The Virtual Version remains the most active head of Facebook Cerebus. With a total of 1,800 members, the page is mostly filled with grievances about the school—often centered on frustrations with the administration. From the Healow app to confusions about how to get meals from the Deece, Vassar students communicate and coalesce their qualms about the college experience as Vassar carries out its COVID-19 response plan.

However, many of these discussions have metamorphosed into callout posts. Users have been sharing anonymized accounts of students who have broken social distancing protocol in order to discourage such behavior with their fellow group members. While one could scroll through Facebook in search of the first of these posts, one post seems to be the fruition of these callout posts.

A post from Ethan Ross ’22 addressed the issue of accountability to Vassar students. At 143 likes, Ross’ post does not condone ostracizing students outright, but asks students to not idle around either. “If we see a group of people not distancing, maybe an athletics team partying or whatever,” he wrote, “I feel like we need to publicly hold those people accountable, maybe a post in this group saying, ‘Hey there’s video of 10 people in a TA sharing drinks and since they refuse to follow Vassar College’s guidelines we need to

Janet Song/The Miscellany News hold them accountable ourselves.’ This is something that affects our whole community and I feel like we should do more than just sit by and hope everyone follows the guidelines.”

When explaining how he wrote his post, Ross recounted how he heard about a sports team partying in the THs and received a video of such. “I called my friend and we vented for a few minutes about how stupid and selfish it is to be partying and sharing drinks and not following guidelines, and I suggested I make a post about it, which my friend supported,” he recalled. “I didn’t want to directly mention the sports team that had been partying but I did hint at it while trying to make a larger point about how students need to be holding each other accountable.”

According to Ross, most students supported his sentiment. One comment on his post even referred to an anonymous form that students could send out to the community care team. As for the backlash, Ross received a comment that addressed some unintentional stereotypes in his post. “Someone commented saying they agreed with the post in general but that they were annoyed I had used an example of an athletics team partying, that it was spreading a negative stereotype of athletes, and that comment received a few likes,” he said. “I was later contacted directly by an athlete who said the same thing, but they seemed to understand once I made it clear that it had not been some abstract example but that I had literally made the post in response to an athletics team partying.”

Since Ross’ post, more callout posts have appeared. While not frequent, the posts showcase some ineffectiveness in Vassar’s “We Precedes Me” among Vassar students.

Janet Song/The Miscellany News.

One post even features photographs of two groups of students in the dark—seemingly 10 or more in each, huddled around each other.

The post explained that these students were standing outside Joss without masks or a six feet distance, complaining that being outside the dorms didn’t make them invisible.

While no names were taken and the author noted that security and a house advisor handled the situation, they lamented that students had to do better.

Such a post like this begs the question: are these publicized violations the fault of the students or administration? One post from a student revealed that there is more to these callout posts than just pent-up frustration. The post said, “I do not think this school is doing enough when it comes to the disciplinary action of students [...] A mere slap on the wrist or ‘caretervention’ is not enough to deter these students from dangerous behaviors that put the rest of the student body, campus workers, professors, faculty, and surrounding Poughkeepsie community at risk. [...] More decisive action needs to be taken against students who are literally putting people’s lives at risk just so they can have a fun night out.”

Sam Patz ’23, an active member of several Vassar Facebook groups, believes that toxicity seems inevitable on any social media platform. He said, “I think the discourse is just as toxic as anything you see on social media.

People aren’t afraid to voice their opinions and in some ways feel less censored.” Yet he does not condemn the resentment students have within the Facebook group. “I respect that mantra [of not being afraid to speak out]. People are angry and clearly [Vassar Facebook groups] were made for people to voice their anger.”

But to counter the supposed toxicity in the Facebook groups, active user Mohtad Allawala ’23 offers the idea that these callout posts are opportunities to educate. [Disclaimer: Allawala is an Assistant Design Editor at The Miscellany News.] “People are more ready to call people out, and not in an attacking way, but in terms of an educational way,” he explained. “I don’t think it’s counterproductive because when students call each other out … that creates an atmosphere of fear for people who would have otherwise broken the rules. To some extent, the ability to call out [others] is also a very important right,” he affirmed. “You should have the right to tell people, ‘You’re harming my life being at college directly.’”

Perhaps this calls for us to turn to the other head of the Vassar beast—Vassar: The Virtual Version But We Won’t Delete Discourse. In response to the removal of posts

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

deemed controversial on the original Vassar Facebook group, this space offers students to share their own opinions without them being deleted. But members of both groups find that not much distinction exists anymore, as most discourse shifts to the main community. “It seems like fewer people are using the ‘don’t delete discourse group’ and are moving back to the main group,” Ross believed. “Over the long term I think [Vassar: The Virtual Version But We Won’t Delete Discourse] has become a little more critical of administration, which may be justified given the issues some students have experienced.” Yet he appreciates the existence of the discourse group as a way to hear opinions he hasn’t been exposed to. “As a student who has had very few negative experiences I think it’s important for me and others like me to hear these stories and understand that there are some big variations in how students feel on campus,” he said.

Even the quietest head—the subgroups— still bares its fangs. When Vassar first announced their first stages of shutdown back in March, international students in Facebook groups for different class years managed to voice their concerns about their stay on campus. Just as no Vassar group is completely discourse, no Vassar group is ever devoid of voices rising to address the issues that affect them.

So how to tame the beast of Vassar Facebook groups? Unlike Cerberus, there is no lyre that can lull this beast asleep. Among students, the community can work to continue posting with the intent to educate each other. What is important is where their frustration comes from. As one anonymous student explained, “Students feel intimidated to approach administration because they’ve constantly been shut down and denied. [The] administration needs to work on actually making compromises with the students based on the college’s needs and the students’ needs because the students think that administration is not looking out for them.”

What this all reveals is that Vassar Facebook groups are not merely a cesspool of toxicity. When put to the light, the communities serve as networks of information and discussion, true to the spirit of the Vassar bubble. To dismiss the online debates as mere petty discourse ignores the bigger issue of the Vassar administration’s unresponsiveness. However, the spectacle of callout posts may distract students from actually facilitating change. Until then, ideas remain lost in the beast’s stomach. Discussions continue to be swallowed up by its three mouths, never to be seen in the eyes of the administration.

HUMOR

Page 10

September 3, 2020

Breaking News

From the desk of Izzy Migani, Humor Editor

Learning how to skateboard apparently does not make people like you more.

Growing up Mormon: a how-to (or a how-not-to) W

Shannon Tilley Ex-Mormon

hen I tell people I first meet that I grew up Mormon, they’re always so surprised. It’s almost as if my blue hair, bushels for armpits, hairy legs and asymmetrical nose piercings distance me from the Church. I now identify as Agnostic, with fluctuations between “God is dead” and “if I don’t do this one menial act of kindness right now, I’ll have bad karma for the rest of my life and be doomed for all eternity.”

When I broke the news that I didn’t believe in God to my parents, who are both still religious in their own ways, my mom became visibly upset, saddened by the fact that I had no place for her idea of a Christian God in my life. The night before freshman orientation at Vassar, she and I got into a fight about religion. I don’t remember exactly how it started, but the way it played out is forever ingrained in my memory. However it was that we got onto the subject of religion, I remember her explicitly pleading, “I know there is still a place in your heart for God. I know that you still have faith.”

Being the gay little shit that I am and

ARIES

knowing that I, in fact, do not have room in my heart for the Mormon God, I countered her with, “I’m sorry, but I personally just cannot reasonably believe there is a tiny singular man in the sky watching over everything that everyone does, judging them accordingly.”

My words lingered in the air of our Poughkeepsie hotel room for a moment as my mother pondered what I had just said.

She was quiet. Then she looked up at me, and in the most endearing, sincere tone said to me: “He’s not tiny…”

Growing up Mormon greatly affected the way I view things. For example, I always thought people who drank alcohol were doing something wrong with their lives—tarnishing their bodies, sinning, what have you. When my dad started distancing himself from the Church when I was in middle school, he began drinking some alcohol—not abusing it or anything like that,just having some in the house.

My viewpoints hadn’t changed, so I began to have a war of thoughts about my dad being a good dad while also sinning and drinking alcohol. This culminated in an episode involving everyone’s favorite virgin two-drink concoction. One day, after

HOROSCOPES

March 21 | April 19

TAURUS

April 20 | May 20

DO get organized. DON’T fall in love, at least not right now. DO take some time for yourself. DON’T push down your problems just because you’ve seemingly got other things going on. DO wear a mask.

DO relax. DON’T skimp on breakfast; take care of your body! DO drink tea, and often.

DON’T hold grudges, now or ever. DO wear a mask.

DO order your books early. DON’T be afraid to speak up in class. DO take advantage of the beautiful outdoors. DON’T let your imagination run wild; wait until the moon leaves Pisces. DO wear a mask.

CANCER

DO ground yourself. DON’T wallow, even if you’re bored. DO talk to your professors. DON’T flirt with classmates over Zoom, not even if they’re really, really, really, really cute. DO wear a mask.

LEO

June 21 | July 22

July 23 | August 22

VIRGO

August 23 | September 22

in none other than a skirt so short you can almost tell I’m wearing crotchless underwear, accompanied by an oversized sweater that spells out “Libtards Rule,” except the R is backwards for emphasis. I make my way to the Bishop’s office as mothers cover their children’s eyes when I walk by.

Everybody here hates me, but at least this time I’m in control of it! Once I make it to the office, I barge in and dramatically flop into a chair, fanning myself with the Playboy magazine I brought with me.

“Mr. Bishop,” I say, “I’ve got somethin’ awful to confess!” He looks at me with a horrified expression. I confess to my sins. I say I’m a noninary bisexual. I say I’ve tasted pussy and I’ve never been more content with myself, both in my life and in that moment. I say I hate the Church and what it stands for. I watch over him as he excommunicates me, however it’s done. I thank him for his time and walk out of his office and the church, middle fingers in the air.

Anyways, now I’m trying to start practicing Pagan witchcraft. It seems more in line with my values and interests. To all those that have crossed me, watch out.

Just kidding! Maybe.

Madi Donat Astral Projector LIBRA

DO lotion your hands; sanitizer is drying! DON’T

September 23 | feel bad if you’re sad and don’t know why. DO make friends with people you wouldn’t normally. DON’T October 22 forget to say thank you. DO wear a mask.

SCORPIO

October 23 | November 21

SAGITTARIUS

GEMINI

May 21 | June 20

golfing with my dad,, we went inside to the golf club’s bar. My dad asked me if I wanted an Arnold Palmer. Here I am, age 13, having no knowledge of drink names, and knowing that my dad now drank alcohol and was ordering from a bar, no less. I responded in disgust, “Of course not!”

It’s been a longtime goal of mine to be officially excommunicated from the Mormon Church. It will then make me the second member of my family to be excommunicated, but at least my excommunication won’t be initiated by hiring sex workers after a divorce. You see, I’ve never been divorced! (I’ve never hired a sex worker either, but let’s be real: Divorce is the real thing to be ashamed about here.) This is the way I’ve always pictured my own excommunication: I walk into the old church building where I spent my elementary school Sundays. I recognize old faces belonging to white blonde heads who never really liked me in our younger days (they probably sensed the gay in me before I could). I fake a smile to these familiar faces but their jaws drop once they catch sight of my garb. Yes, I decided to show up to church

November 22 | December 21

DO something that calms you down. DON’T forget the hobbies that make you excited to be alive. DO wear your hair a little differently for fun. DON’T light candles in your room (sorry, I know). DO wear a mask.

DO take deep breaths. DON’T feel bad about sleeping in. DO make your room as bright as possible. DON’T pretend that things are what they aren’t, or aren’t what they are. DO wear a mask.

CAPRICORN

DO look up some brand new music (as in, not “different flavors of the same genre”). DON’T worry about how you are perceived. DO take a break from social media. DON’T deny yourself.

DO wear a mask.

DO find non-electronic ways to relax. DON’T freak out if things aren’t going your way. DO take advantage of the Deece cereal. DON’T take too much Deece cereal at once. DO wear a mask.

AQUARIUS

DO call your real mom, whatever that means to you. DON’T sit still. DO find some time to relax in the sunlight. DON’T give your friends advice when they really just want to vent. DO wear a mask.

DO celebrate your birthday, safely. DON’T think you need to be perfect right now. DO tell your friends you love them, even if they already know. DON’T get stuck in your ways. DO wear a mask.

PISCES

DO paint your nails sparkly colors. DON’T make therapists out of your friends. DO remember what it’s like to be friends with yourself. DON’T say anything you don’t absolutely mean. DO wear a mask.

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

December 22 | January 19

January 20 | February 18

February 19 | March 20

HUMOR

September 3, 2020

Page 11

Twisted Soul calls: Vassar bubble broken by bubble tea Blair Webber Tea Investigator

S

tudents have been returning to Vassar for two weeks now, and the college is gradually returning to its usual vibrancy is a sight for sore eyes. Of course, now that the pandemic is worse than ever, coming back is no easy feat.

Students are required to remain six feet apart at all times, wear masks in all public areas and, most importantly, remain on campus.

Staying on campus, however, provides unique challenges for us all. Students who previously saw therapists or picked medications up off campus must now scramble to find creative solutions. Yet no one suffers more than the students who frequented Twisted Soul for their bubble tea.

Some students have chosen to simply ignore the mandate to remain on campus. One junior commented, “Twisted is like right there, you know? It’s pretty much on campus. I can totally see it from my dorm room window. It’s like…right over…well, I can see it if I lean out my dorm room window and…just…crane— OK so like I could see it if that tree and that other tree weren’t there, but like I’m right that it’s not even really like leaving campus at all.”

Other students have found a clever way to acquire their bubble tea without breaking the VassarTogether pledge.

One student, who asked to be referred to as “ThaiTea-ana,” explained the system.

“Ok so I text my friend who lives off campus asking for my favorite (Thai tea with bubbles, of course) and then next time they come to campus they bring it with them. It’s pretty sophisticated stuff.”

But the organization goes far beyond these two students. The trade network is elaborate, connecting tea-addicted students who have no off campus friends with those who do.

The system works like this: one student contacts another, who contacts someone else, who knows another person, who knows someone who lives off campus.

That person gets the tea at their earliest convenience, comes back to campus, gives it to the person who contacted them, who gives it to the person who contacted them, who gives it to the second person the first student contacted, who gives it to that student’s contact, who finally gets it to the student.

A different student, also code named “ThaiTea-ana,” shared her experience figuring out how to use the system.

“It’s pretty easy to find like one or two people who are already part of the network. I got in touch with five different people over Signal while I was waiting for my email code for the Healow app. We all go by code names based on our orders. It gets a little confusing, there are like up-

wards of 50 ThaiTea-ana’s. But this way I don’t have to know who’s who and in that way I can get my tea without breaking the pledge. It’s pretty much the same as delivery, except you get it a few hours later and the ice is usually melted.”

Some entrepreneurs within the group have already branched into delivering other goods. For example, the codenamed “Roy Litchi-enstein” is the point person for art and office supplies, covering the territory including Michael’s and Staples. “Heidi-biscus Tea” and “Al-mond” alternate picking up groceries from Adam’s and Stop & Shop, while “Chai-ler” makes special stops at Poughkeepsie Wine and Liquor for students who can verifiably prove they are 21 or older.

Chai-ler explained how the students deliver the items, “It’s very safe and easy.

The point of this is to keep students from breaking rules while keeping them comfortable, right? So it’s all very distanced.

Off-campus students, such as myself, will leave the delivery at our designated tree, and then the student who contacted us picks the stuff up. So the on-campus student gets the stuff from the designated tree, and then if they know who ordered it first, they take it there. If someone got in touch with them asking for a friend, they take it to their own separate tree, and the person who got in touch with them picks it up there. Easy peasy.”

The first ThaiTea-ana added that the

system is not foolproof.

“We’ve had a lot of complaints about melted ice and wasps getting in the tea.

One person got sprayed by a skunk because their touchpoint didn’t dig a new hole to hide the tea in, they just kinda stuffed it in this skunk den. But we update our practices pretty consistently to reflect the feedback we get from students.”

Even with the glitches, this underground market is growing and thriving, providing the Vassar bubble with the bubbles it needs to keep running.

Courtesy of knd61 on Pixabay

Frog and Toad are Frenemies

by Julianna + Olivia

Vassar Bitch Chronicles

by Emily Leserogol

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

OPINIONS

Page 12

September 3, 2020

Newsflash: the North has been racist the whole time Angelie Hu

Guest Columnist

O

K Vassar, we need to talk.

Time and time again I have seen “liberal” individuals, especially those who have never stepped foot in a Southern state, subtly imply or explicitly vocalize that racism is an exclusively Southern issue. This line of thinking is not limited to our campus; it permeates towns and cities across the northern United States. Worse still, this belief only serves to harm the lives that progressivism aims to center. As a Mixed Race non-Black person of color (POC) who grew up in both the northern and southern United States, I can tell you about my experience as a POC (albeit, one who is not Black) in the American South and how it varies from the North.

In my interactions in states across the east coast, I’ve found that no one region is more or less racist than the other. It may be easy to say that the difference lies in the fact that the South more overtly expresses the same core racism found throughout the United States—the same racism that we are confronting nationwide, a reckoning that has in no way been confined to the South. Still, being the sociology major that I am, I know it’s not that simple. After all, I’ve had

friends tell me of confederate flags being boldly brandished as far above the Mason-Dixon line as Pennsylvania and New York.

The fact is that systemic and institutional racism knows no bounds. As depressing as it is, we must confront that truth. It is everywhere. Redlining happened in the North, and its effects can still be felt today. Gerrymandering, and the disenfranchisement that ensues, was invented and still happens in the North.

Gentrification happens in the North.

The same policies developed in the Jim Crow era South were also present in the North and continue to affect legislation throughout the U.S. today. Voter suppression, which disproportionately affects communities of color, happens in the North. The effects of segregation in the Northern public school systems are still prevalent today, and, in fact, the desegregation efforts of the Brown v. Board Supreme Court decision were more effective in the South than in the North. If you find the enormity of this legally endorsed oppression startling, exhausting or impossible to single-handedly combat (you are just one person, after all)—congratulations, you’re starting to get the point! The realization of the prevalence of racism in all aspects of our society is

the first step towards a solution.

None of this is to say that the South doesn’t have problems that need to be addressed. I’m not here to defend the South or claim that the racism I’ve experienced there is in any way acceptable. Still, nobody knows the flaws of the South more than the people who have to deal with them firsthand. By viewing the South as beyond hope and ignoring how these issues are prevalent in your own community, you’re only serving to make it even more difficult for organizers in the South already fighting for change. After all, if something is fucked up beyond all repair, why would anyone invest resources to fix it?

Using Southern states as a scapegoat for racism reifies your bubble of white comfort—you’ve become a participant in activism while not recognizing the issues in your own backyard.

You don’t get to only care about these issues of racism when it’s easy and you think they don’t directly impact you— they do. You, the person reading this, exist in the world. You interact with other human beings. Regardless of where you call home, you have the same work to do as the rest of us ; you are directly impacted by legislation in your hometown/state/country. You are complicit in

oppressive systems by making it easier for racism in your own community to go unchallenged. You’re simultaneously delegitimizing the experience of Black, Indigenous and people of color in your community and making it more difficult for them to call attention to the racism they deal with on a daily basis. This is hypocritical to say the least—you’re perpetuating the very racism you’re decrying in the South.

Black people, people of color, disabled people, queer people and all other folks with marginalized identities in the South do not need Northern liberals to save us. We’ve been defending and protecting ourselves for as long as we can remember, creating our own organizations to make up for what our conservative local governments refuse to do. Finding and strengthening our own communities. Building our own table to compensate for the spot those in power have denied us time and time again. In fact, we’ve gotten pretty good at it. We don’t need your passion for justice. We don’t need your pity. We don’t need your scorn. We need you to deal with the racism in your community before you step into ours, because it’s there. We promise. If you don’t see it, you’re not looking hard enough.

Breaking down the myths surrounding youth civic participation Rafaella Spielberg

I

Guest Columnist

f you’ve been paying any attention to the news over the past few months, you’ve seen the crowds of young faces taking to the streets to protest racism and systemic inequality with unmatched vigor. The resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement has pushed younger generations to the epicenter of political discourse. According to a recent poll by the Center for Information and Research Learning, more than 8 in 10 young Americans believe they have the power, as a group, to change the country, and three-quarters of youth say they are paying some or a lot of attention to the election. Young people have taken on leadership roles in protests, political campaigns, and activist organizations. We are poised to become the most politically engaged generation yet.

And yet youth don’t adhere to the gold standard of civic participation: voting. In the 2018 midterm election, according to CNN exit polls, 56 percent of voters were over 50. By comparison, voters under age 30 accounted for just 13 percent—and it was a good year for youth turnout.

So why don’t young people vote? In 2016, when I was 15, I watched the candidate who won the popular vote by several million lose the election. Then I sat back and watched as the president attempted to roll back civil rights reforms for three years. Witnessing a nationwide mismanagement of a pandemic was just the cherry on top. It’s no wonder that many young people feel that their voice is better heard at a protest rather than the ballot box. According to the American Psychological Association, Gen Z has higher stress levels on issues like gun control and climate change than voters in other age groups, but that hasn’t translated into the motivation to vote. The political disillusionment typically reserved for older generations has infiltrated the young.

But political cynicism only accounts for so much. The issue at the heart of low voter turnout among the young is far more

sinister. In recent years, the United States has witnessed a proliferation of voting restrictions and requirements. As of April 2020, 34 states have enforced voter ID laws.

Twenty-nine states require registration before election day, and nine states do not even offer early voting. The responsibility resides with the voter to know the voting rules of their county, which could differ widely from those one county over. Unsurprisingly, voting restrictions don’t affect everyone equally. A Brennan Center study found that 17 million Americans were purged from voter rolls between 2016 and 2018, with the highest purge rates coming from counties with a history of racial discrimination. More overtly, in Texas, the counties where the Black and Latinx population is growing by the largest numbers have experienced the vast majority of the state’s poll site closures. Voter suppression is far from a thing of the past.

Compounding the challenge of navigat-

ing logistical obstacles to voting is a lack of civic knowledge. Up until the 1960s, it was common for American high school students to have three separate courses in civics and government. Today, however, only nine states and the District of Columbia require one year of U.S. government or civics. These classes are often heavy on knowledge but light on building skills and agency for civic engagement, such as current politics, civil debate, critical thinking skills, and community service. If taught effectively, civics classes can encourage students to become informed and engaged citizens.

But even a more informed electorate will face a plethora of institutional barriers to voting that have only been exacerbated by COVID-19. Look to the disastrous primary in Georgia, where broken voter machines kept voters in line for hours at polling sites, or to New York, where thousands of mail-in ballots remained uncounted more

than three weeks after the June primary.

In Milwaukee, 180 polling locations were reduced to just five as poll workers canceled plans to work on election day for fear of getting sick. If the primaries are any indication of what voting will be like in November, thousands of voters may find themselves disenfranchised.

Young people continue to view voting in the context of a broken system that has yet to earn our trust. Rather than sit back and wait for the system to repair itself, we must use our vote to elect those who will reform our democracy. Voting is a privilege not everyone can enjoy, and it’s one that young people must take advantage of. In the 2020 election, one in ten eligible voters will be members of Gen Z. Younger voters are being presented with the invaluable opportunity to have our voices heard.

After all, it is our future that is being made at the ballot box, and we must take it into our own hands.

Juliette Pope/The Miscellany News The opinions expressed above do not represent those of The Miscellany News as a whole.

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

September 3, 2020

OPINIONS

Page 13

It’s possible to safely reopen colleges, but it’s far from easy Jonas Trostle Opinions Editor

A

new model of the potential spread of COVID-19 model was released recently, and I encourage anyone who’s back to college this fall to copy it to their own Google Drive and plug some numbers in and read the accompanying paper. This model was built with the college environment in mind, and President Elizabeth Bradley led the invited commentary on the work.

Under the model’s base assumptions, the authors recommend testing every two days in order to maintain a manageable number of COVID-19 cases. Vassar, as far as I am aware, only plans to test students once every two weeks, unless they have come in contact with someone who has tested positive. President Bradley, in her invited commentary, stressed that it would be possible to do this and still maintain a controllable number of infections if the original model’s original assumptions of virus spreadability and introduction were dampened by the safety measures put into place at Vassar.

The publicly available model has four main variables to experiment with regarding Vassar: the number of initial infections, the number of new infections introduced from outside the environment, the reproduction number—the rate at which the sick infect the non-sick—and the frequency of tests. The model also includes a variable for test sensitivity and test specificity (the level of false negatives and false positives, respectively), but President Bradley has confirmed test sensitivity of 80 percent and specificity of 99 percent, so that number is relatively solid.

President Bradley and her co-authors’ Vassar-specific inputs into the model were five initial infections—although it is unclear if that means undetected among the populace, or if it means successfully quarantined—on campus, one new infection from outside per week, a reproduction

The authors of a recent study argue that social distancing guidelines alone are not likely to prevent an outbreak. Courtesy of PrimaryHealth via Wikimedia Commons. number of 1.25, and tests every two weeks.

Model authors Paltiel, Zheng and Walensky’s best case scenario was 10 initial infections (although they said varying this number did not significantly change the results), five new infections from outside per week, a reproduction number of 1.5, and tests every two days. In other words, Bradley’s model calls for a better than bestcase scenario. This is possible if everyone follows health and safety guidelines and Vassar’s contact tracing proves effective, but even under this scenario 78 students are infected with COVID-19.

If we harshen some of the assumptions just a bit, we can see how narrow the path for success is: Assume 10 initial infections instead of five, two new exogenous infections per week instead of one, and a reproduction number of 1.5 (what would still be considered a successful country or state) and we instead have a scenario in which 351 students are expected to be infected.

Vassar stated that if more than five percent of on-campus students have COVID-19, the college will likely shut down for the se-

mester. That equates to about 125 students, a number that could be reached if the only change from Bradley’s estimates was one more outside infection being introduced per week. Even if we keep the number of exogenous infections to just one per week, if COVID-19 transmission is just a little higher than expected, 1.4 rather than 1.25, then we still get a total of 125 students infected.

These are all just best case scenarios too. David Paltiel, one of the authors of the original study, was clear about this in a statement to Inside Higher Ed: “My problem with [Vassar’s plan] is it should be sufficient if the planets align and if everything that could go wrong goes right. I’m a little bit distressed by how confident Vassar is to weed out infection by re-entry and to keep the students inside that walled garden and to regulate that behavior.” Even with a community care pledge, contract tracing and the experience of handling COVID in the spring, our level of safety is on a razor’s edge. Anything that could even slightly increase the reproduction

number of the virus could be what pushes the college over the edge. If you don’t believe me, by all means try the model for yourself. I suggest trying it with a reproduction number of 0.75 (contained), 2 (approximately a cruise ship, with shared dining and living spaces similar to a college), and 4 (pre-pandemic New York, the absolute worst-case scenario) to get a sense of scale, and then try various combinations of exogenous infections and a reproduction number between one and two.

The bare facts are that each student has to determine what level of safety they are comfortable with and take appropriate action, be it not taking in-person classes, committing to a voluntary self-isolation or not returning at all. This model is probably our best guess regarding the safety of a college campus, and its conclusion is that testing every two days is what is required for a safe return to campus for the students, employees and vulnerable members of the community. I hope President Bradley’s assumptions prove correct.

After all, it’s our lives she’s betting.

Real political resistance is more than just voting Karina Burnett Guest Columnist

R

ecently, liberal campaigns have used the simple word “vote”—often alone, maybe emphasized with an exclamation mark––to hastily plant in place of a more definite progressive political slogan or movement. It’s hard to evade, having become a sort of one-word identification symbol for Democrats, an almost obvious command watered down by ubiquity. It’s less of a rallying cry and more of a slightly condescending plea. The recurring lack of enthusiasm for Democratic presidential candidates is the cause for this reductive phrase’s popularity, as well as moderates’ fears that leftists won’t end up voting at all. However, the dispiriting choices in this year’s presidential race—an incompetent authoritarian versus an uninspiring centrist—calls the actual power of voting into question. Not to mention that the oversimplified and marketable “vote” slogan could easily create a misunderstanding of the populace’s political responsibilities, reducing the perception of citizens’ duties to voting once every four years. Can we really call voting for the lesser evil “political power?”

And what does this mainstream simplification of political obligation mean for us?

Understandably, these questions are heavily disputed—voting is a defining part of American democracy, and at this partic-

ular moment it’s not an action that should be trivialized. Many consider how privilege is tied to the ability to criticize the validity of electoral politics, and reasonably argue that voting blue will at least curb needless suffering. Especially in the midst of a national crisis that the Trump administration has only exacerbated, voting for Biden would at least be a vote for basic COVID-19 prevention and relief through more efficient testing and stable economic assistance.

However, I worry that the overwhelming emphasis on voting, while valid to a certain extent, sterilizes our understanding of political consciousness and duty as we simplify what it means to have political choice and power. Just look at the other popular Democratic slogan, “Vote blue no matter who,” a catchy phrase with dark undertones of blind loyalty to a political party over actual political analysis. The infinitely sadder “settle for Biden” exemplifies the rising apathy for politicians’ track records.

And this diminishing attitude—almost like politicized political apathy—is excruciatingly obvious in the Republican party as well, exemplified in its absurd denial of fact and refusal to deviate from the Trump administration. Recently at the Republican National Convention, the GOP reduced its platform to continued support of Donald Trump and subsequent condemnation of the Democratic Party. On the whole, the

prevalence of a wide scale guilt trip to vote instead of a charged political movement shows the dysfunctional nature of American democracy and further pushes the illusion of political choice for Americans, as if either party works to uphold anything else than the interests of the ruling class.

Criticism of defining the vote as the one political responsibility is not unique to this moment. Acclaimed radical activist and political philosopher Angela Davis has always described electoral politics as conflicting with her anti-capitalist views, explaining in 2016 that “the arena of electoral politics militates against the expression of radical militant perspective,” while still expressing the importance of voting to defeat Donald Trump. This year, she doubled down by asserting that radicals must temporarily “work within the electoral arena, recognizing that the electoral arena is not the best place for the expression of radical politics.”

While many liberals have taken her call to vote as an endorsement for the Democratic candidate—which Davis clearly refutes— Davis’ years of radical thought go conspicuously unmentioned in this narrative. This kind of liberal campaigning has effectively watered down Davis’ message for the public, using her voice to shame radicals rather than shed a light on the inherent violence of the erasure of marginal and minority perspectives within electoral politics.

The opinions expressed above do not represent those of The Miscellany News as a whole.

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

For some, being told to participate in a system that has never stopped feeding off of institutional oppression may seem contradictory. Voting has never been synonymous with resistance or revolution. Our energy must be directed towards tangible political action, and for leftists, that doesn’t always occur within the electoral system. However, the vote does symbolize a short term improvement—even if that improvement is unsatisfactory, it does have real effects on people. The endless barrage of “vote” rhetoric, rather than expressing this complicated rationale, weakens this message, ignores the inherent violence of current American politics and destructively simplifies what constitutes political action. Sure, vote. But that can’t be the end of our political responsibility––and it’s definitely not the end-all be-all of the state of the country. Besides voting, we can donate to organizations and individuals in immediate need—Vassar Political Education Wealth Redistribution, started by Vassar students, regularly shares ways to redistribute wealth. However frustrating it may be, finding alternatives to electoral politics is necessary in a system that works to strengthen a discriminatory hierarchy. Voting is a way to gain representation within that system, and while its significance should not be mitigated in that sense, resistance will always begin outside of electoral politics.

Page 14

SPORTS

September 3, 2020

VC athletes reflect on personal experiences, institutional issues Continued from ATHLETICS on page 1 safer, more welcoming community for our fellow students of color. Other students are right to be angry when inequities are exposed and athletics remains largely silent.

So today, we say that the email sent to President Bradley by members of the baseball team weaponized racist language and stereotypes to uphold a culture of white privilege at Vassar, and that the Vassar Insider was wrong to amplify and give credibility to the narrative promoted in the email.

The student-athlete community is not the only place from which we demand improvement: A pattern of non-transparency exists within the Athletics Department.

Throughout writing this article, we found obstruction in obtaining demographic information; resistance to communicating solutions and accountability with the larger student body; and inconsistencies in allegedly unchangeable policy. Our goal is to shed light on information actively withheld from student-athletes and to prompt greater departmental effort, attention and commitment in solving existing inequalities within Vassar Athletics. We understand that both athletic policy and student-athlete culture combine to create, promote and protect these systems of harm, and feel it is necessary to interrogate every level of Vassar Athletics if there is to be meaningful change.

Policy Strong college sexual misconduct policies are an important element in the prevention of sexual assault, dating violence and stalking. However, we recognize that activism centered around policy may not be a viable option for marginalized communities that have been discriminated against, treated with hostility or simply ignored by institutional systems. We need to focus on community-based prevention, support and restorative practices in addition to policy. Policy alone is inadequate to prevent violence, but does serve as a necessary deterrence and therefore merits deep attention and consideration by the college administration.

The Policies and Sanctions section of the Student Athlete Handbook covers multiple rules, regulations and expectations, ranging from facility use to hazing to missed class time. The Alcohol, Tobacco and Drug Policy has a very specific two-tier sanction process aligning the punishment administered by coaches and administrators with the severity of the consumption and infraction. There is also a Hazing Awareness and Prevention section that meticulously outlines the definitions of hazing, its harmful nature and ways in which teams can prevent hazing from occurring. However, when viewing the Policy against Discrimination and Harassment, and Sexual Misconduct and Gender-Based Violence Policy, you are redirected to the Vassar College policy and guidelines. Once directed, you will find volumes of regulations outlining different forms of assault, misconduct and discrimination and the College’s procedures for handling those incidents.

Herein lies the problem. If there is racial discrimination, harassment or sexual misconduct perpetrated by a student-athlete, the incident is handled only by Vassar College resources, rather than athletics also utlizing it’s own system of sanction and punishment. In some instances, coaches and staff are mandated to report to the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action (EOAA). Once an incident is formally handled by a College entity such as the EOAA, the Vassar Athletic Department and the coaches lose all autonomy and authority in

administering athletics-based punishment or even evaluation. The language of the Student Athlete Handbook prevents Athletics Department intervention or ruling once an individual’s case has been formally brought to Vassar College resources. Privacy policy also dictates that “Dissemination of information and/or written materials to persons not involved in the complaint procedure is not permitted…[and] may lead to disciplinary action by the College.” So if an ongoing case involves a player, their coach cannot directly discuss or address it with their team. Confidentiality surrounding student conduct records also ensures records are private unless with written consent from that student, so there is little to no demographic information available on how many students at Vassar, student-athletes or not, have been found guilty of sexual misconduct and assault. Additionally, Section 11 of “When the Accused Is a Student” in “Title IX Hearing,” states that “Retaliation, intimidation, or reprisal of any kind following a hearing, or during or after any phase of the Title IX investigative process, will not be tolerated.” Thus, once a punishment is administered by the Title IX office, the athletic administration is not allowed to take any further punitive action against that player since legally the player has completed their sanction administered by the College.

The reason privacy and anti-retaliation policies exist is to provide protection for all parties involved in Title IX cases. Specifically, anti-retaliation policies aim to protect anyone involved in a Title IX case from discrimination such as harrasment, bullying or unfair treatment by staff and students. These policies are vital to the protection, safety and rehabilitation of not only survivors but also of the accused.

The problem occurs when policies, or lack thereof, privilege athletes and members of orgs on campus, and become tools to maintain and promote complicity and secrecy.

The language of the Student Athlete Handbook dictates the power the department has in holding student athletes accountable for their actions on and off the field. Since Vassar receives federal funding, it is legally obligated to follow federal policies like Title IX. Thus, the administration has little control over the baseline standardized federal procedure. However, this does not necessarily mean the college and other departments within the college, such as athletics, cannot add on to the existing policies. While Vassar’s Student Athlete Handbook denotes primary authority for sanctions to the Vassar administration, new policies granting greater autonomy to the athletic department are not outside the bounds of possibility. Page 14 of the Amherst College Student-Athlete Handbook states that “Any athletics-based consequences are entirely separate from any discipline or disciplinary process that may be applicable under the Amherst College Code of Student Conduct. Athletics-based consequences are not contingent upon any outcome or process under the Amherst College Code of Conduct.” The key articulation in this statement is non-contingency.

This grants the Amherst College athletic department the capability to administer punishment regardless of whether the Amherst College administration has already given a sanction. Furthermore, even if a student-athlete has carried out their punishment dispensed by the college, they could still lose their privilege to play on an athletic team. The wording of the Williams Student Athlete Code of Conduct is similar.

They maintain a board within athletics

that makes their own rulings, in addition to the college administration decisions, on any violations of the code which includes sexual assault and misconduct. We believe Vassar Athletics should adopt a similar clause for the Student Athlete Handbook.

Athlete Privilege How then does the layout of Title IX in tandem with Vassar College’s policies create a dynamic in which athletes are privileged over non-athletes? As was ascertained by both the aforementioned Privacy Policy and Section 11 of “Title IX Hearing,” although coaches are mandated reporters like all Vassar employees, they have no autonomy in the administration of discipline to any of their athletes accused of sexual assault. This applies in the instances when an athlete is found guilty by a Title IX hearing, an athlete is not found guilty by the evidence provided and when a victim chooses not to proceed with a Title IX hearing. Unless the actions taken by the College itself involve suspension or expulsion as is stated in Section 7 of “Hearing Procedures” (this decision is made by the Dean of the College), any athlete that is found guilty of sexual assault resumes practice, play, travel and competition as normal. It is at the discretion of the Dean and not the coaches or athletic director to decide if such a punishment will include forfeiting athletic activity. As participation in athletics is a privilege afforded to some college students that includes travel, competiton, potential awards and interaction with other institutions, the truth of this dynamic is that athletes accused or even found guilty of sexual assault may retain these certain acquired privileges even when their actions could, or have been proven to pose a danger to others.

This puts into question the oft-used trope that athletes are held to a higher standard.

As an accused athlete’s punishment does not extend to the privilege of athletic participation, and as coaches risk serious legal and professional repercussions for following through with potential punishments for sexual assault accusations, it appears as though athletes are not held to a higher standard than other students but in fact their abilities placed at a greater value than the safety of other students.

Although it has been made clear by the student conduct policies of both Amherst College and Williams College that Vassar is not unable to implement something similar so that no student, athlete or non-athlete, found guilty of sexual assault or mis-

Letter to the Editor We, the Vassar Baseball team, have Letter to the Editorof our come to realize that aspects culture have perpetuated racism, homophobia, transphobia and other prejudices. We sincerely apologize to anyone who has felt uncomfortable or unsafe as a result of this environment.

We want every member of the Vassar community to feel safe and comfortable in their own identity on campus and beyond. After assessing ourselves, we recognize that we have fallen short of promoting that ideal when it comes to individuals who do not identify in the same ways as us, and we are committed to doing better in that respect. Below are some steps that we plan to take in order to educate ourselves and promote equity and inclusion within our team and the broader campus environment.

Our team plans to foster relationships with campus resources like the ALANA Center, the LGBTQ Center, and the

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

conduct retains unecessary liberties, it should be noted how deeply ingrained this kind of athlete privilege is within higher education. While Division III schools like Vassar are not required by the NCAA to have athletes be certified by the NCAA Eligibility Center, Division I and Division II schools are. There are different ways in which an athlete can lose their eligibility, including, but not limited to, failing to meet academic requirements, receiving payment for play from a team or using a recruiting agent.

What is not included in this list of risks to eligibility is being found guilty of sexual assault or sexual misconduct. This essentially means that athletes at Division I and Division II schools found guilty of sexual assault remain eligible for sport. Even in the event of expulsion, a guilty athlete can transfer to another school within the same division and continue to play. For schools such as these, neglecting to mention the impact of sexual violence on eligibility sends a message that the athlete’s ability to play is valued over the safety of other students at these schools. Division III schools like Vassar don’t require these same guidelines. According to the NCAA’s website describing the differences between Division I, II, and III schools, Division III schools provide an environment focused primarily on academic success while Division I and II schools focus on high level competition and manage the largest athletic budgets. This illustrates the way in which Division III schools like Vassar are meant to and tend to place greater value on a student’s academic and social experience over their athletic experience. Athletes at Division III schools are subject to their college or university’s own conduct rules that regulate the eligibility to participate in sport. This is why it is so vitally important that Vassar’s policies, like that of the Student Athlete Handbook and Title IX, be revised to allow for the Athletic Department to operate as a somewhat autonomous entity, especially when it comes to disciplinary matters involving sexual assault and misconduct. Athletic privilege in no way should be valued over the academic and social well-being of all students present at the College. Vassar has the opportunity, the power and most importantly the responsibility to ensure that it is not.

This article is the first of a four-part series on community and institutional failures in Vassar’s Athletics department. To read the full version of this piecel visit miscellanynews. org.

Women’s Center that focus on enhancing the experiences of and making our campus a safer and more inclusive place for marginalized groups. We are in the process of reaching out to these centers to coordinate workshops and educational opportunities for team members.

Paired with reflection, these partnerships will help us to better understand our privileges and dismantle our biases. We also intend to be active participants in a department-wide initiative to promote education and conversation regarding issues of racial justice. In addition, members of our team are in the process of drafting a social contract that will enumerate certain behaviors not permissible on our team and outline the courses of action to be pursued should a violation of that contract occur. We acknowledge that we have a lot of work to do, and we commit ourselves to doing our part to create a welcoming and inclusive community.

September 3, 2020

SPORTS

Page 15

Pro sports return, offer metaphor for nation’s struggles Doug Cobb Columnist

I

magine for a moment that you are a fit, healthy 20-something who gets paid millions of dollars a year to play a game while the rest of the country is seeing absurdly high unemployment rates, evictions, poor or nonexistent healthcare and next to no help from the government. So what’s the catch to returning to your job if you feel safe doing so? Only that you must take extra precautions not to contract the virus that is the root cause of all the upheaval in order to avoid jeopardizing the health of your fellow athletes, your coaches and the rest of your team’s staff.

That is the current situation of a major league baseball player. The MLB started up their season in late July, and the NBA and NHL soon followed suit. Despite the global pandemic, professional sports in the United States have returned, and tons of people are thrilled to tune in again. It is a beacon of hope in these dark times that provides a glimpse of pre-pandemic normalcy. “So this is gonna be an uplifting and cheery article then, right?”

I hear you asking. Sorry, no. Just like every other institution or business in this country that has tried to reopen, professional sports has hit some major speed bumps.

Let’s start with baseball, as they have seen the biggest failure so far. The return to baseball has not always been a complete mess; they have gotten a good number of games completed in the last month. But there was a week or two where things were starting to look real shaky, with league commissioner Rob Manfred saying that the league could be forced to shut down if infections continued to rise. By July 31, about a week after the start of the season, at least 18 players on the Miami Marlins had tested positive for COVID-19. As a result, the Marlin’s next seven games were postponed. It doesn’t end there. Multiple people within the Philadelphia Phillies organization also tested positive, causing their next seven games to be postponed, and around the same time, the St. Louis Cardinals had at least nine players test positive, leading to the postponement of their next 14 games. The season seemed on the brink of collapse within the first two weeks. Luckily, things settled down after all the postponements (or more accurately, because of the postponements).

So what gives? Why did these teams, specifically the Cardinals and Marlins, have so many positive cases? For starters, a virus will spread like wildfire in a locker room environment, so it is not surprising that once a couple players were infected, the cases continued to spiral out of control. As for how each outbreak began, we will never know for sure, but one prevailing rumor is that some Marlins players went out to a strip club while they were staying in Atlanta to play the Braves. The Cardinals outbreak was supposedly caused by players taking a trip to the casino, although the organization has denied this.

Outbreaks were inevitable, but this? This is just plain ridiculous. These players knew they were not allowed to go out and spend time at strip clubs or casinos where they had a high chance of catching the virus, jeopardizing the entire season as well as the health of hundreds of other people. Yet they did it anyway. As usual, sports are a microcosm of life, and the behavior of these players shows why the containment of the virus has been such a disaster in this country. These baseball players are getting millions of dollars a year to play a game while the rest of the country suffers, and yet they can’t take simple precautions because they would rather go out to strip clubs. This isn’t just a baseball

Los Angeles Clippers’ guard Lou Williams, who was forced to quarantine for ten days after flouting NBA rules on his journey back to the bubble from a funeral. The NBA’s bubble model has been the most successful of all American professional sports.

Via Mark J. Rebilas, USA Today Sports. player thing though; this is an American thing. Too many people in the United States are entitled, inconsiderate fools. They think the rules don’t apply to them, the rules are for “other people” to worry about and if the rules conflict with their immediate desires they don’t hesitate to ignore them. This is why people don’t wear masks, don’t social distance, but do hang out in big groups or go to parties (I am looking at you Vassar Students, you are no less of an embarrassment than the rest of the country), and it is why after almost six months of fighting this virus, we have made little progress in containing it and have often taken steps backward instead. If we can’t even agree to follow some simple, painless rules to protect the lives in

“Sports are a microcosm of life, and the behavior of these players shows why the containment of the virus has been such a disaster in this country.” our communities, then how can we ever make any progress as a society?

The story is a little different in the NBA, but that is mostly because the NBA has a competent commissioner (Adam Silver) and laid out a smart plan for starting up the season again. The NBA decided to employ a “bubble” strategy similar to the one we have here at Vassar, although theirs is much more luxurious, as they reside within the Walt Disney World Resort, and the NBA is much more strict about no one being allowed to leave the compound. However, as anyone could’ve guessed, some players felt like the rules didn’t apply to them. After briefly leav-

ing the NBA bubble to attend a funeral, Los Angeles Clippers player Lou Williams decided to stop at an Atlanta strip club on his way back to the bubble. Yet unlike the players in the MLB, Williams was swiftly “punished” by being forced to quarantine for 10 days, resulting in him missing two games. Personally, if I was in charge I wouldn’t have let him back in the bubble, but the 10 day quarantine was sufficient in stopping the virus from spreading throughout the bubble and probably shows us that if the enforcement of rules is strict enough, we can protect ourselves from this virus. The NBA has actually been quite a success overall, not having been hindered by the virus much at all, and is a shining example of the good that can come from real leadership and a well-thoughtout plan (something we unfortunately have been completely without in our federal government). Similar to the NBA, the NHL has seen lots of success with their bubble and have come across practically no hurdles so far.

The successes and failures of the NHL, NBA and MLB are solid evidence that a bubble may be the only way to have a successful sports season during this pandemic (in this country). Despite this, the NFL, which I would argue is the most oblivious league when it comes to anything other than maximizing profit at all costs (blatantly ignoring racial justice issues within the league and the outside world as well as ignoring safety concerns for many years), plans to hold their season as scheduled without a bubble. NFL players have already begun training camp, and unlike the MLB, there are plans for some NFL teams to have thousands of fans in the stands for their games. This just shows how out of touch with reality the NFL continues to be. Allowing thousands of fans in the stands, even if they are “socially distancing” (while still walking around the stadium together and sharing bathrooms) is a recipe for disaster. Some NFL owners just couldn’t stand the idea of losing a couple bucks from attendance revenue (which contributes to only a small percentage of an NFL team’s profit) even if it meant a safer season. If your goal was to contract the virus, the easiest way to do so would be to gather in a stadium with thousands of other people. I think this decision, paired with the incompetence of NFL officials and coaches, will blow up in their face. But only time will tell.

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

“If we can’t even agree to follow some simple, painless rules to protect the lives in our communities, then how can we ever make any progress as a society?”

Strong leadership, a smart plan and people willing to follow the rules are all critical pieces to having a successful reopening of any kind during this pandemic. We have seen some sports leagues pay close attention to these requirements and we have seen others disregard them entirely. I think the successes and failures of these leagues present invaluable data for the rest of us as we try to reopen the country and get back to our lives in some capacity. Unfortunately, success stories seem to be few and far between, especially with colleges across the country. Here at Vassar, we are in a strange limbo between the carefulness of the NBA and the laxness of the MLB. We are taking more precautions than baseball has, but less than basketball. It is up to us to decide which league we have the most similar outcome to. As of right now, we (the students of Vassar) are not doing a good enough job. Some people are going off campus and breaking the bubble to get food, some people are having parties and some people are not following social distancing guidelines. There is a very real possibility of getting shut down unless we step up here.

Earlier in this article, I said too many Americans are entitled, inconsiderate fools. Prove to me that Vassar students are better than that, that we can look out for each other and our community.

SPORTS

Page 16

with Alex Eisert nder the bright lights at Yankee Sta- having to stay in a hotel room after landing dium, the home team enjoys raucous often hits the hardest. applause for every hit and strikeout in their It’s still hard to say just how important favor. When the players first take the field, fans are, even as we see games played withspectators in center field chant their names out them for the first time. The league is one at a time, with the “bleacher creature” still assuming that home field advantage is fans only moving on to the next player significant enough to be the main edge held once they receive a wave of the glove or tip by top seeds in this year’s expanded playoffs. of the cap. The players seem to reluctantly Mike Petriello at MLB.com investigated this acknowledge these fans, but as they get into when home teams were barely above water; position in advance of the next pitch, you on August 17, their record this year stood can expect to see a wide grin on their faces. at 155-152, good (or bad) for just a 50.5 winThe atmosphere in Madison Square Gar- ning percentage. This would have marked den is also electric and empowering for the the lowest winning percentage for home Knicks. The lighting remains unchanged teams in the history of MLB. However, as of when their opponents take the court, their August 26, home teams had inched back up names being announced monotonously. to 53.3, improving their record to 236-207.

But just before the Knicks emerge from the This is more in line with the approximately locker room, the lights go dark. A spotlight 54 winning percentage of home teams hisshines on each player as they make their torically. Perhaps teams have become more way through a line of high fives, the crowd accustomed to the lack of fans in their home screaming as the announcer’s voice booms parks, or the fake crowd noise is beginning throughout the arena. to get into the heads of opposing teams, even Players revel in the cheers and traditions if it doesn’t include booing (luckily for the they experience as the fan favorites when Astros; their worse than usual record this they’re playing at home. But what does year must be more a reflection of their newit mean to be a fan favorite in the age of found inability to cheat).

COVID-19?

The NBA represents another interesting Without fans in the stands, some ques- case study. Playing in a bubble at the Walt tion whether home field advantage even Disney World Resort, with players not almatters anymore. But fans aren’t the only lowed off the compound, home court adfactors that make playing at home desir- vantage is entirely manufactured. Music, able. Since baseball teams this season and audio and graphics from the “home” team’s historically have played roughly 50 percent actual home arena serve to create this advanof their games at home, players usually have tage. So far it seems to have worked, as home a semi-permanent residence in their team’s squads have gone 19-15 in the playoffs as of home town. It’s much easier to play a game August 27, good for a 55.9 winning percentafter sleeping in your own bed, as opposed age. Although the sample is pretty represento a lonely hotel room. On the other hand, tative (14 of 16 teams have played two home even though MLB opted to not play all of games, while the other two have played their games in an enclosed compound, trav- only one more), it is very small, so it’s hard el is severely limited. There will be no red- to make any sweeping conclusions. If home eye flights after late night games, where teams had lost just two more games, their re-

U

1. examination 5. what the sun does to pale skin 9. Snooki’s big break; Jersey14. von Bismarck 15. milk’s favorite cookie 16. [archaic] a lover or sweetheart 17. Indiana Jones’ tool 18. Welsh equivalent of Jane 19. to revise or heal 20. relating to natural surroundings 23. fib 24. loneliest number 25. Virgil’s Trojan epic 28. skedaddle, bugger off, vamoose 30. simple past tense of chide 32. 2000 lbs 33. relating to the head of a city 36. Sicilian active stratovolcano 37. quality of being well-meaning or kind 39. to slowly remove and decrease dependence on 41. candelabra commonly associated with Hanukkah 42. decorative vine or poisonous plant 43. to contradict or refuse 44. map book 48. an apple fell on this man’s head and he invented physics and calculus thanks Isaac 50. screen, tan, shine 52. beer 53. CD precursor 57. to attach audio to 59. tic cousin 60. legally, to state as a fact

cord at 17-17 would have dropped their winning percentage all the way down to 50.

With the U.S. Open beginning on August 31, I wondered how results might differ in tennis based on the changes in home court advantagee. Specifically, I examined the differences in winning percentages for American men (the data for women are unfortunately not available on the most comprehensive site) who played at least 15 matches in the U.S. Open (sample one) versus those who played at least 50 total Grand Slams matches, including their U.S. Open matches (sample two). I chose the numbers 15 and 50 because they provided similar sample sizes. Since the “all Grand Slams” sample included the U.S. Open, I could use a paired-samples t-test, which essentially isolated the effects on winning percentage when adding the other Grand Slams (since adding the other Grand Slams was the only factor that changed between the two samples) by looking at the differences in the means from each sample. The difference between the means was very insignificant (p = .741) at .290 percent, with Americans actually performing slightly better on average in Grand Slams overall as opposed to just the U.S. Open. This left me scratching my head.

But eventually I put the pieces together.

I had initially looked into how Americans performed in the U.S. Open (minimum 15 matches) relative to all big tournaments (finals, masters, olympics, and Grand Slams; minimum 100 matches). 62 players met the minimum match criteria. This yielded a significant result (p < .05), with Americans performing better in the U.S. Open-only sample by 2.10 percent on average. I realized, however, that some of these other big tournaments, besides the U.S. Open, also took place within the U.S. So, I hypothesized that what really makes Americans play better is playing in a Grand Slam. Sure enough, when comparing Grand Slams to other big tournaments (63 players met both minimum matches criteria), Americans performed better in the Grand Slams only

Stat of the week: 17 The number of years since an American man last won the U.S. Open. sample by 2.53 percent (p < 1^-7) on average.

While it may not necessarily be home fans that energize Americans, they definitely seem to do best at the most crowded events—fans in general energize them. But this was not unique to Americans; in fact, the results were more robust when comparing the performance of non-Americans in Grand Slams to their performance in all big tournaments. 232 non-Americans met the minimum match criteria. They performed significantly (p < 1^-15) better in Grand Slams than in all big tournaments, outpacing themselves by 3.12 percent on average.

Tennis is unique in that to meet these minimum match criteria, you really need to win (winning means playing another match).

So maybe this conclusion only holds true for those who play well enough under pressure to advance; of course players who thrive in a high-stakes environment will prefer playing in front of more fans.

Regardless, since the effect of fans (for or against) is more positive for non-Americans, perhaps Americans will actually benefit from the emptiness of the stands at this year’s U.S. Open. It has been 17 years since the last time an American man won the biggest prize on his home turf. With no fans and a limited draw without the likes of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal but with the top two Americans, this year may represent the best shot in recent memory that the United States has at recapturing the Open’s men’s title.

The Miscellany Crossword

“Beach Trip” ACROSS

September 3, 2020

by Frank

61. host of an event or show 62. to mix 63. car wheels 64. phoenix ashes 65. Barbie’s boyfriend, plural 66. beach dirt

DOWN 1. beach mattresses 2. relating to national and cultural origins 3. one twentieth of a guilder 4. safari hat name 5. complement of the fermion 6. piss 7. unit of paper quantity 8. homonym of nun 9. scheduled 10. “and I say HEYYEYAAEYAAAEYAEYAA” main character 11. egg taco 12. The Seagulls’ preferred exercise, past tense 13. finis 21. Republic and Empire 22. someone who nails 26. atom with a net electrical charge 27. deoxyribonucleic acid 29. prayer sign-off 30. henchman 31. angel hat 34. from Yemen 35. where the buns are 36. authentic and typical 37. 80s beach show 38. bread commonly dipped in curry, plural 39. antonym of lose

40. Adam’s rib 43. famously extinct bird, plural 45. Baltic Sea country with capital of Riga 46. [archaic] acting by turns 47. idiom describing eyesight-impinging fury 49. tutor counterpart

50. similar to silk 51. people with accounts 54. Russia’s third largest city 55. to officially reference 56. consumes food 57. body of water associated with shells 58. emergency medical service