The Miscellany News
Since 1866 | miscellanynews.org
Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY
Volume CL | Issue 10
November 16, 2017
Vassar puts strain on Arlington Fire District budget Laurel Hennen Vigil News Editor
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(PILOTs) to their local fire departments or host communities, Vassar does not regularly contribute financially to either AFD or to the Town of Poughkeepsie. “Vassar does impact our budget,” said AFD Chief Tory Gallante. “It costs money every time we roll out the door, whether it be for personnel or wear and tear on the fire vehicles. As far as tax-exempt institutions go, Vassar is the largest user of services in the district.” Like most nonprofits, including colleges and universities, the vast majority of Vassar’s property is tax exempt. Vassar does own several off-campus premises, together worth about $6.5 million, that it pays taxes on. Of this, a little over $40,000 goes to AFD each year. But, according to Town of Poughkeepsie Assessor Kathleen Tabor, the College’s tax-exempt property is worth far more, at nearly $185 million. See FIRE on page 4
Laurel Hennen Vigil/The Miscellany News
ights flash. An alarm blares. Students stumble out of bed, hastily pulling on shoes and jackets before heading down the dorm stairs and out into the frigid night. Many mutter, “Not again…” Every few seconds, the building lights up against the dark sky, the alarm strobing and emitting a piercing caterwaul. At the Arlington Fire District (AFD) headquarters on Burnett Boulevard, the firefighters and paramedics on duty are awoken by their own alarm. The crackling radio transmission causes a stir in the bunkhouse, where they sleep six to a room in twin beds, ready to be up at a moment’s notice for the multiple calls that come in each night. In the kitchen below, a Vassar campus map hangs on the wall. “We know every dorm,” laughed Lieutenant Louis Cassinelli.
“We have to.” When a call comes in, they hustle to their engines and race the 1.3 miles to Vassar, weaving around the cars that hastily pull over at the sound of their sirens. It’s a trip they make almost every day—or, more often, almost every night. AFD responds to just under 350 calls at Vassar each year. In 2016, these calls—about half fire alarms and half requests for emergency medical services (EMS)—outnumbered those of 15 of our peer liberal arts schools and the two other colleges in Poughkeepsie—Marist and Dutchess Community College (DCC)—both in number and in volume of calls per student. Measured in dollars, Vassar’s use of fire district services also costs more than its peers’, taking an estimated $1 million bite out of the AFD budget last year. But unlike many of the other schools, who make annual donations or payments in lieu of taxes
Firefighers, paramedics at the main AFD station. Left to right: Capt. George Finn, Dan Sylvester, Lt. Louis Cassinelli, Don Robison, Jason Fisch, Jasen West.
Spring Concert poll Living with diabetes: daily routine gives students a voice I Abby Knuckles Guest Columnist
Kelly Vinett
Guest Reporter
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he Spring Concert Committee has been planning for what is arguably Vassar’s most well-attended event besides Founder’s Day. This year, the committee decided to become more transparent and inclusive. The preliminary stage has recently begun with sending out a poll to the student body consisting
of 23 artists ranging in genre from rap to indie rock. The committee consists of ViCE, VSA Programming and the Traditions Committee, all united to make Spring Concert 2018 the best in Vassar’s history. Reflecting on the joint collaboration effort, Traditions Committee Co-Chair Ashley Hoyle ’18 said, “Thus far it’s been a joy working with ViCE. See CONCERT on page 14
have this memory, though I believe it to be fabricated, of being seven years old and eating a chocolate bar. In my head, I eat the chocolate, savoring every moment of tasting it. Light filters into the mostly beige room through beige curtains, tinting everything golden. I sit on the old green carpet, looking out the sliding glass door. I see a bright backyard, and think about going out to the swingset. And, most importantly, I
don’t have an insulin pump making a bump in the sleeve of my t-shirt. I could probably write endless little stories about life with diabetes, but none of them can fully encapsulate how much I truly hate this disease. I hate that my body runs on two AAA batteries. I hate that I can never just eat a plateful of french fries when I feel like it without performing a million calculations about what my activities for the day will be, how stressed I am, whether something I ate earlier
might still be affecting my blood sugar, whether I will want another coffee after this one, whether this plate of fries could land me in the hospital if I get it wrong. And then after as many of these considerations as I can possibly do, sometimes my blood sugar still doesn’t do what it should. Sometimes I manage to forget this ritual anxiety for a few minutes or hours, but it always comes crashing back. My continuous glucose monitor See DIABETES on page 6
Dramedy confronts LGBTQ+ past Vassar basketball set to tip off new season W Matt Stein Arts Editor
Kelly Pushie
Guest Reporter
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Courtesy of Liv Rhodes
hen Diana Son’s play “Stop Kiss” first premiered at New York’s Public Theater in December 1998, the world was very different. Only two months prior, Matthew Shepard was beaten to death in Laramie, WY, for being gay. Vermont wouldn’t become the first state to allow civil unions for two more years. Stigma surrounding the LGBTQ+ community still lingered in the echoes of the AIDS pandemic’s zenith earlier in the decade. Despite the progress that has occurred in the last two decades, Son’s play exists now exists as a capsule for a bygone era. Presented by Unbound, “Stop Kiss” will be performed in The Mug on Nov. 16 at 9 p.m., and Nov. 17 and 18 at 8 p.m. Directed by Liv Rhodes ’18 and stage managed by Nina Zacharia ’20, Son’s dramedy centers on the main characters Sara and Callie’s relationship, starting from when they meet spontaneuosly and following them as it develops further, culminating in an angry bystander attacking them on a park bench after their first kiss. Told in a non-linear format, the play presents both the buildup to this action and the aftermath. Within the theatrical canon, female-centered plays are few and far between. Props designer Delaney Sears ’21 spoke about how “Stop Kiss” creates a spotlight for an underrepresented voice: “One thing that I always notice is with plays and musicals, having two See STOP KISS on page 14
Directed by Liv Rhodes ’18 and stage managed by Nina Zacharia ’20, Diana Son’s “Stop Kiss” will be performed in The Mug on Nov. `16, 17 and 18.
Inside this issue
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NEWS
VC prof offers reflection upon winning county election
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Seven Sisters peers offer insight into FEATURES journalism careers
he men’s and women’s basketball teams are getting ready for what should be yet another successful season. The men’s team has less than a week before they kick off the start of their games. The team will be traveling down to Memphis, TN, to face up against Rhodes College and Johns Hopkins University. Last season, the Brewers went 6-19 and 2-14 in conference. However, they are coming back with more firepower this season, having brought in four talented first-years as well as returning their top three scorers. Because of this, Vassar was picked to finish fifth in the preseason coaches poll, ahead of Ithaca, RIT, Union, Clarkson and Bard. This past Saturday, the Brewers got one last chance at real game exposure with a scrimmage against New York University before they officially start their season on Nov. 18. Junior center captain Steve Palecki commented on the overall performance of the team, saying “The teamed performed well yesterday against NYU. I thought our team ran the floor well, pushing the pace at the right moments, and also executed our offensive sets at a higher percentage than our first scrimmage,” he mentioned. However, heading into their open-
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ing weekend, Palecki said the team will be working on a few things. “One thing we could continue to focus on is our communication on defense, as communication is the backbone of any good team.” After about a month of preseason, Palecki is feeling good about the way the season is shaping up. “The team is looking great as we head into our last week before our first official game,” he said. “Guys have been competing hard in practice and developing at a fast pace. I am really excited for what this season holds for us as everyone is on the same page in the organization from top to bottom about our goals and how to achieve them.” Palecki explained that the main goal of the team this season is to make it to the Liberty League championship, and he plans on using his role as captain to help the team make that goal a reality. “I hope to help our team achieve this by continually bringing guys together, strengthening our bond, making us a better team and also by pushing my teammates to get better everyday,” he noted. The Brewers have a tough season ahead of them, but with all the work they have put in during the offseason and in preseason, they are bound to find success. Similar to the men’s team. the women’s team is feeling confident headSee BASKETBALL on page 18
In light of allegations, we must reckon with OPINIONS artist-artwork relation
The Miscellany News
Page 2
November 16, 2017
Editor-in-Chief
Charlotte Varcoe-Wolfson
Senior Editor Noah Purdy
Contributing Editors Sarah Dolan Eilís Donohue Rhys Johnson
Courtesy of John Ammondson
On his time in Amsterdam, Tyler Boyle ’19 writes, “I’ve made my friends, solidified a routine, and do about the same thing every week. Luckily, I recognized this trend fairly quickly and have been doing things that *spice* up my life in Amsterdam so that by the end of my time here, my life doesn’t all blend together.” To read more about Tyler’s JYA experience and other students’ travels, read farandaway.miscellanynews.org!
The Miscellany News 16
November
Weekender_ 17
Thursday
November
Music on the Bridge
Friday
Chronogram Conversations
11:30 a.m. | Bridge Indoor Cafe | Music Dept.
5:00 p.m. | The Environmental Cooperative Barn | The Environmental Cooperative
An Outrage - Film Screening 5:30 p.m. | TH 203 | History Dept.
Swimming (M/W) vs. SUNY New Paltz
International Trivia Night
6:00 p.m. | Walker Field House | Athletics
7:00 p.m. | CC 223 | VISA
Spitfire Grill
Basketball (W) Tip Off vs. Simmons College
8:00 p.m. | Black Box Theater | Drama Dept.
6:00 p.m. | AFC | Athletics
VRDT Final Showings
Spring Awakening
8:00 p.m. | Kenyon Hall Dance Theater | Dance Dept.
7:00 p.m. | Shiva Theater | FWA
Kit Yan: Queer Heartache
Stop Kiss
7:30 p.m. | RH 200 | ASA
9:00 p.m. | The Mug | Philaletheis
Basketball (W) Wellesley College vs. SUNY Oneonta 8:00 p.m. | AFC | Athletics
Barefoot Monkeys Fall Indoor Show
8:00 p.m. | SC 212 | Barefoot Monkeys
Spitfire Grill Courtesy of Vassar College
Come see the VRDT final showings this week in Kenyon Hall at 8 p.m.
VRDT Final Showings
8:00 p.m. | Kenyon Hall Dance Theater | Dance Dept.
November
Saturday
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November
Masterclasses with Felipe Galganni
Fencing Tournament
12:00 p.m. | AULA | Vassar on Tap
7:45 a.m. | Walker Field House Bays | Athletics
Basketball (W) Consolation Game
Vassar College Chamber Singers
Basketball (W) Championship Gamer
A Cappella Til You Puke
2:00 p.m. | AFC | Athletics
4:00 p.m. | AFC | Athletics
Spring Awakening
7:00 p.m. | Shiva Theater | FWA
Brentano String Quartet
8:00 p.m. | Skinner Recital Hall | Music Dept.
Barefoot Monkeys Fall Indoor Show
8:00 p.m. | SC 212 | Barefoot Monkeys
Spitfire Grill
8:00 p.m. | Black Box Theater | Drama Dept.
3:00 p.m. | Skinner Recital Hall | Music Dept.
4:30 p.m. | Rose Parlor | Home Brewed A Cappella
Strike: Building Power in your Workplace
5:00 p.m. | RH 200 | Crafts Not Bombs
Nothing Means Nothing
8:00 p.m. | SC 212 | Vassar Student Veterans
Paper Critique
9:00 p.m. | Rose Parlor | The Miscellany News
VRDT Final Showings
8:00 p.m. | Kenyon Hall Dance Theater | Dance Dept.
Stop Kiss
8:00 p.m. | The Mug | Philaletheis
Jeopardy Night
9:00 p.m. | CC 223 | Big Night In
Stop Kiss
8:00 p.m. | The Mug | Philaletheis
STEM Night
9:00 p.m. | CC 223 | Big Night In
Assistant News Dylan Smith Clark Xu Assistant Arts Sasha Gopalakrishnan Assistant Online Kayla Holliday Jackson Ingram Abby Lass Assistant Design Rose Parker Assistant Copy Claire Baker Assistant Social Media Hannah Nice Web Master & Technical Advisor George Witteman Reporters Talya Phelps Columnists Izzy Braham Jimmy Christon Jesser Horowitz Steven Park Sylvan Perlmutter Blair Webber Design Maya Sterling Copy Isabel Bielat Natalie Bober James Bonanno Teddy Chmyz Jillian Frechette Abigail Knuckles Jessica Moss Anna Wiley Andrea Yang
Sunday
Courtesy of Hill Air Force Base
8:00 p.m. | Black Box Theater | Drama Dept.
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News Laurel Hennen Vigil Features Laila Volpe Humor and Satire Leah Cates Yesenia Garcia Arts Matt Stein Patrick Tanella Sports Mack Liederman Robert Pinataro Design Yoav Yaron Copy Tanya Kotru Gode Sumiko Neary
On Sunday in Sanders Classroom, watch “Nothing Means Nothing,” written by a local Vietnam veteran.
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
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. The Miscellany News is not responsible for the views presented within its Opinions pages. The weekly staff editorial is the only article which reflects the opinion of the Editorial Board.
November 16, 2017
NEWS
Page 3
Environmental co-op hosts Leave No Trace crash course Dylan Smith
Assistant News Editor
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Courtesy of Ryn Davison
hose passionate about the environment will embrace any opportunity to learn about ways to reduce their environmental impact while enjoying the outdoors. For these excited individuals, cold weather is only a minor setback. Such commitment was exemplified Friday evening at the Vassar Farm and Ecological Preserve, where outdoorists and environmentalists attended the Leave No Trace Awareness Crash Course hosted by the Environmental Cooperative at the Vassar Barns. Four people, all local outdoorists, attended the Crash Course on Friday. Three of the four attendees had backpacked on several-day excursions in the Adirondack or Catskill Mountains and were generally familiar with the Leave No Trace principles. Leave No Trace is an independent initiative led by the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics. According to their website, “The Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics is a national organization that protects the outdoors by teaching and inspiring people to enjoy it responsibly. The Center accomplishes this mission by delivering cutting-edge education and research to millions of people across the country every year” (Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics, “About,” 2012). Friday’s course was led by Ryn Davison, a member of the Student Conservation Association (SCA), a nationwide conservation organization founded by Elizabeth Titus Putnam ’55. The SCA matches dedicated conservationists with open positions at parks and preserves like the Vassar Farm and Ecological Preserve, which serve as headquarters for the SCA’s Hudson Valley Regional Corps. Through the SCA, Davison was hired as the Vassar Ecological Preserve’s Environmental Steward. Davison explained the value of community outreach via email, “Community outreach allows the preserve to share its aesthetic and educational values so that others develop future interest in the sciences, conservation, and land management.”
Teaching courses like Friday’s Crash Course is one of Davison’s many responsibilities at the Preserve. In addition to educational outreach, the Environmental Steward is also responsible for long-term data collection, trail building and maintenance and general restoration, such as tree planting or vine clipping. Friday’s crash course was divided into three parts: an initial discussion, a short excursion into the Preserve and then a final reflective discussion. The attendees began by filling out a short survey intended to assess their prior knowledge of Leave No Trace. After completing their surveys, the attendees discussed their answers with the group. Davison led the discussion, reflecting that it was probably a review of what most of the attendees already knew. She highlighted the importance of preparation before any outdoor activity, providing strategies for safety and eco-friendliness on the trail. “Plan Ahead” is the first principle of Leave No Trace. The grouped discussed options like hiking with a friend or letting someone know where you are when hiking alone, as well as bringing dry food along with you, taking a first aid kit and using a topographical map or GPS to familiarize yourself with your surroundings and remain aware of your distance from a water source at all times. After the discussion, Davison, followed by the attendees, ventured out into the cold of the preserve. Following the Preserve’s North Trail, Davison instructed the attendees on the principles of Leave No Trace, using situations encountered on the field as demonstrative examples. She started by talking about animals, explaining how to behave when encountering wildlife. This lesson reflected the sixth principle of Leave No Trace, “Respect Wildlife,” which instructs you not to disturb creatures or their habitat in the wild. Similar to this is the fourth Leave No Trace principle, “Leave.” Adventurers are to leave nature in its natural state, not removing anything or leaving anything of their own behind. Related to this are principles three and six, “Dispose Your Waste” and “Manage Your Impact,” respectively.
Students plant trees at the Vassar Farm and Ecological Preserve. On Friday, Nov. 10, Ryn Davison held a Leave No Trace crash course at the Farm, which included a trail hike. Outdoorists are encouraged to consider alternatives to fires, such as gas stoves, and to use pre-existing shelters and campsites. Davison stopped the group beside a rocky outcropping to demonstrate the second principle of Leave No Trace, “Use Durable Surfaces.” When outdoors, backpackers, hikers and campers are encouraged to stay on established trails and build their shelters and fires on durable surfaces such as rocks, gravel or sand. Following the trek, Davison led the attendees back into the Barn to discuss what they learned on the trail. Here, she reflected on some personal anecdotes regarding the seventh principle of Leave No Trace, “Be Considerate on the Trail.” Outdoorists should think of other trail-goers, by preserving campsites, shelters and other resources for the next people to use them. Addison Tate ’17, a post-baccalaureate fellow
working at the Environmental Cooperative at the Vassar Barns, was one of the four in attendance Friday. An environmentalist himself, Tate reflected on the Leave No Trace principles. He explained that knowing conservation principles such as Leave No Trace is essential in having a healthy relationship with nature. Via email, Tate said, “Such preservation and restoration ethics easily extend from direct impacts in the natural environment to practices such as consumption habits and community engagement, which shape our place within broader social and ecological systems.” Davison reflected on Friday’s program, explaining, “Leave No Trace is important because it shapes how we interact with the world around us It outlines ways in which we can preserve the spaces we seek out for solitude or adventure, and ensure that those spaces exist in the future.”
History professor elected to Dutchess County Legislature Clark Xu & Kelly Vinett
Assistant News Editor & Guest Reporter
[Full Disclosure: Kelly Vinett interned with the Dutchess County Democratic Committee, but did not work directly with Rebecca Edwards.]
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n Tuesday, Nov. 7, over 60,000 Dutchess County residents exercised their constitutional right to vote in the County and New York State elections. An increase in Democratic turnout this year heavily influenced the election results for Dutchess County. Democratic victories include Vassar College Professor of History Rebecca Edwards for Dutchess County Legislature District 6, Robin Lois for Dutchess County Comptroller and Judge Christi Acker for New York Supreme Court. Edwards has high hopes that this year’s local election results will help sway future political decisions. Her grassroots campaign, along with countless other liberal reactions to the current conservative national climate, has the potential to start a Democratic domino effect that political analysts now refer to as “The New Blue.” While only time will tell whether this Democratic comeback will last, Edwards firmly believes, “What we did this year will lay a good groundwork for next year.” Intense competition characterized the race for Dutchess County Legislature. Among the 25 county voting districts, 14 Republicans and 11 Democrats won seats in the Legislature. Although law makers in Dutchess County are still predominantly Republican, the election results appear to be a major victory for Dutchess County Democrats. Last year, 16 Republican and two Independent seats in the Legislature left only seven seats for the Democrats (Poughkeepsie Journal, “Dutchess County Election Results”, 2017). Edwards won the sixth district by a margin of 150 out of 2,654 district votes in total. Democracy Matters Campus Coordinator Samuel Beckenhauer ’18 reflected, “There is a tendency for people to vote in the presidential or midterm elections, but these are usually the races where your vote matters least. There were several local races in Poughkeepsie that were decided by single-digit votes and this happens every single year.” Republican campaigns supported plans to expand the local jail. Edwards’ opponent William E. Biskup was a
64-year-old retired banker whose campaign also advocated more governmental funding for seniors and veterans (Poughkeepsie Journal, “Voter Guide: Dutchess County Legislature”, 11.06.2017). Democratic legislators Edwards, Giancarlo Llaverias for District 1 and Craig Brendli for District 8 presented a policy platform focused on social issues. Cecilia Bobbitt ’19 of the Vassar Democrats explained, “The most pressing issues are the opioid crisis, immigration, the prison, the sales tax being incredibly high and economic stagnation. Giancarlo Llaverias ran on his personal experiences losing friends to drug and gun violence. All of these candidates ran on abolishing the sales tax for certain necessities, such as clothes and shoes under $100, and eliminating pay-to-play in Dutchess County.” The Vassar Democrats are optimistic that the election results will help Democrats in local government play a more important role in developing policy responses to these issues. When asked about the foreseeable challenges that lay ahead, Edwards talked about tackling electoral corruption. She noted, “What’s going to be really tough on the agenda is ending what people call pay-to-play legislation ... Political contributions and county contracts don’t mix. No one who’s doing business with the county should be making political contributions. It’s just not appropriate.” Edwards considered ending pay-to-play legislation in areas like Rockland County and indicated, however, “This is going to take some really hard pushing.” Student organizations such as Democracy Matters share this vision of political reform that shifts the focus from large political contributors to everyday citizens at the city, county and state level. Beckenhauer elaborated, “This year all three county legislators who won offices ran on removing the pay-to-play system, which refers to banning contractors who donate to campaigns from receiving any public contracts. This is a huge victory for us as it demonstrates that removing corruption is something we all agree on, and it attracts a lot of members to our cause.” Beckenhauer also noted that Democracy Matters supported grassroots political participation by answering questions about absentee ballots and voter identification requirements, assisting students with voter registration and providing a nonpartisan pamphlet on policy
platforms of candidates in the local election. The campus administration also contributed to voter participation by arranging transport to voting sites and reminding students to vote in the days leading up to the local election. Dean of Students Adriana di Bartolo indicated, “I am grateful to provide students with non-biased candidate information, information about voting location and transportation. This was a resource and service that was offered to students long before I got to Vassar and I think it is imperative we continue to do this on voting day. Our students’ voices matter in both local and national elections!” Edwards also has a vision of changing the county’s economic development using a plan she calls community wealth building. Edwards expanded, “Part of community wealth building is something called anchor-based procurement. The idea is to get local hospitals, colleges and other anchor institutions to commit to buying locally, and that’s something I think Vassar could play a really big role in. We’re facing issues like the collapse of retail and people buying more online.” To Edwards, buying local is an important practice for building up the local community and its economy. Reducing local government expenses remains a priority. Edwards recalled that the county legislature makes 470,000 paper copies of bureaucratic documents each year and admitted, “It just seems incredible to me that something like that is possible. I certainly think we should try to go paperless.” Edwards believes that party lines come second to making substantial legislative change. Willing to collaborate with Republican leadership, she said, “I truly think there are opportunities to work across the aisle.” Speaking about Vassar, Edwards noted the different levels of political commitment across different members of the campus community, including union employees, faculty and administrators. Edwards elaborated, “Employees have a different relationship to the community than students do, by the very nature that students are always coming in and coming out.” Edwards further considered the relationship that students have with local politics, suggesting, “I think it’s a challenge to make sure that people get the information they need and stay tied into politics. Our social media and press are
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
very much at the national level.” Edwards has experimented with ways to combat this lack of local representation in the press. She found that getting her message across through radio and podcasts during her campaign was an effective strategy. The elections also led to a change to several other positions in local government. Lois, the newly elected Comptroller, is tasked with managing Dutchess County’s current budget surplus of 430 million dollars. With over 30 years of accounting experience, Lois plans to improve county procedures in finance that Dutchess County residents have been fervently passionate about fixing for years. Her message included a non-partisan, independent auditing system that would reveal how taxes are spent and whether they are spent wisely. Her system contrasts to Dutchess County’s previous system, noted for its potentially fraudulent tax practices and limited governmental transparency under former Comptroller Jim Coughlan. Compared to 32 audits and published reports by nearby Ulster County, Dutchess performed only nine audits and published reports in 2016. Lois’ approach to auditing identifies areas of economic waste and inefficiency, as well as possible governmental corruption (Poughkeepsie Journal, “Lois would bring fresh perspective to comptroller’s position”, 10.13.2017). Edwards concluded, “I think we all have Trump trauma, and so doing something concrete and positive has been really important for me this year. Putting the newspapers aside and working on the campaign has been great.” She also thanks her Vassar team of supporters who encouraged her along the campaign trail that ultimately led to her victory. Bobbitt observed, “We are really happy that Professor Edwards won. She ran a great campaign that uplifted other candidates too. Local Democrats helped each other in a way that was very unifying and effective.” She concluded, “Although students are only on campus for four years, they are parts of the Poughkeepsie and Dutchess County communities and develop relationships with faculty and staff who live here permanently and are impacted by local issues. Getting involved in local politics while in college prepares students for future political involvement especially because Dutchess County is an incredibly diverse community.”
NEWS
Page 4
November 16, 2017
VC costs fire district an estimated $1 million each year “If the College was taxed on all property that is exempt, they would pay about $1,071,870 [in fire taxes alone],” explained Tabor. As a result, she added, the fire levy for Town of Poughkeepsie residents living in the Arlington Fire District would decrease from $6.21 to $5.80 per $1,000 of property—or by $103 a year for a home worth $250,000. AFD covers a 22-square mile area with a population of about 33,000. Though it’s unlikely that Vassar’s property tax exemption will ever change, some local residents have expressed concern about the extent of the College’s drain on AFD. “At a good number of our Board [of Fire Commissioners] meetings, Vassar is brought up in public comment,” said Gallante. “Questions are asked about what Vassar is doing to help support the fire district and what their impact is on our budget and on the community.” Because AFD is a fire district, rather than a municipal fire department, tax exemptions are particularly tough on its budget. In New York state, most towns and villages have fire districts, which are affiliated with the local government but are ultimately separate entities and which are funded entirely by property taxes, donations and PILOTs. For AFD, property taxes make up 97 percent of its annual budget. In cities, fire departments are still mainly funded by property taxes, but most also collect a portion of local sales taxes, which nonprofits like Vassar are not exempt from. “As a taxpayer, I am fed up with the number of calls [to Vassar]. These put district residents at risk when staff and equipment must respond to nuisance calls,” local resident Doreen Tignanelli commented via email. Tignanelli is married to Chairman of the Board of the Arlington Fire Commissioners Jim Beretta and publishes a newsletter about the fire district, AFD-Reporter. Though both Vassar and AFD maintain that they have a good working relationship, it’s undeniable that serving the College takes a toll on AFD. Its firefighters and paramedics are on campus nearly every day when school is in session, according to logs of over 1,000 incident reports that The Miscellany News obtained through a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request. (FOIL is New York state’s version of the federal Freedom of Information Act.) During the 2016-17 school year, for example, there were only 59 days, excluding school breaks, when AFD didn’t get a call from Vassar. In 2017-18, from the first day of New Student Orientation to Nov. 7, AFD had just 16 Vassar-free days. Where There’s Smoke...?
Students here are all too familiar with the fire alarms that frequently empty entire dorms. On average, there’s one every few days, but most are not set off by actual fires. Of the 2016-17 school year’s 126 campus fire calls, 41 percent were the result of an alarm system or smoke detector being triggered by something other than flames. Another 10 percent were considered alarm malfunctions, though Vassar Director of Environmental Health and Safety Jim Kelly explained that there’s not much difference between the two labels. “The [alarm systems] located throughout campus are very sensitive, as required, and most ‘false alarms’ are really alarm activations caused by something,” Kelly said. He added that substances such as steam, hairspray, dust or smoke from cigarettes or marijuana can set off the alarms. After three students died in a dorm fire at Seton Hall University in South Orange, NJ, in 2000, neighboring New York state tightened campus fire safety regulations, mandating more sensitive alarms and sprinkler installation in all dorms. “Fire is one of the ways that people are most vulnerable,” said Vassar Director of Safety and Security Arlene Sabo. “I’ve experienced a fire death at another campus in off-campus housing, where they didn’t provide [the same fire safety measures] the campus is mandated to.” Though these strict regulations are responsible for many of Vassar’s frequent fire calls, more than a dozen current students said that they had no recollection of the College informing dorm residents about how sensitive the alarm systems are, or that using hairspray or perfume near a smoke detector could trip the alarm for their whole building. One of the most common culprits is students cooking, which accounted for 18 percent of 201617’s fire calls. Some of these alarms are set off by food that actually catches fire, but many are triggered by the mere presence of steam or smoke. Last school year, six of the 23 cooking-related incidents were the result of burning popcorn.
Laurel Hennen Vigil/Miscellany News
FIRE continued from page 1
Of 18 peer and local colleges, Vassar had the highest number of calls (347) to its fire department in 2016. “It’s being theorized that with the new meal plan, the calls might go down because [students] will be doing less cooking,” Sabo commented. Dean of the College Chris Roellke, however, maintains that this wasn’t a consideration when the meal plan was made mandatory for most students. In any case, though, between the start of the semester and Nov. 7, there have actually been more cooking fires than there were during the same periods in 2015 and 2016. In fact, the total number of fire calls between Orientation and Nov. 7 has gone up to 59, compared to just 38 last year—an increase of 55 percent. Last school year, the average number of alarms for each dorm was 5.33. This school year, with more than a semester to go, we’ve already hit an average of 3.55 alarms per dorm. Due mostly to its size, Main usually leads the pack with an average of 14 fire calls during the past three school years, while Strong often has just one or two. Medics on Call
Fortunately, though Vassar fire calls to AFD are up, EMS calls are down. Paramedics have been dispatched to campus 39 times so far this school year, a 59 percent drop from the 62 paramedic visits during the same period last year. The largest category of EMS calls—nearly one in five—is for student intoxication, though an additional nine percent is for students who are vomiting or unconscious, whether from alcohol or drugs or from other factors. These percentages are largely consistent from year to year. The rest of the calls are for illness or injury. AFD would likely get dozens more medical calls each year if it weren’t for the Vassar Emergency Medical Services program (VCEMS). The program, created in 1975, is made up of students, many of whom are state-certified emergency medical technicians. It operates when Vassar’s Health Services building, Baldwin Hall, is closed on weekday nights and weekends. Medical calls to Safety and Security’s Campus Response Center (CRC) during those times are routed to VCEMS. If the call is serious, the CRC will call AFD. Once they reach the patient, VCEMS members assess how dire the situation is. In some cases, they can take care of it on their own. In others, they radio back to the CRC and ask to have AFD paramedics sent in. “Every time we’re able to solve a problem on our own, even if it’s just telling someone that they’re going to be fine, it’s potentially a call that AFD won’t have to answer,” explained VCEMS Co-Captain Eric Lee ’18. VCEMS New Recruit Training Officer Naveed Nikpour ’19 added, “During big events, like Founder’s Day or Halloween, we usually get about 15 calls, and it really lightens the load on AFD for that day.” Last school year, VCEMS responded to 214 calls, though there’s some overlap with AFD calls. AFD also transports students to the hospital when needed. AFD operated its own ambulances through the end of 2016, but Gallante said the Board of Fire Commissioners decided it would be a more cost-effective solution to contract with a commercial ambulance company, and awarded that role to Mobile Life Support Services. Now, when AFD is dispatched on a medical call, so is Mobile Life. This change, unfortunately, has financially impacted students. “Mobile Life is a commercial company that is normally reimbursed through a patient’s health insurance,” explained Vassar Health Services physician’s assistant Doug Kugel, who works with VCEMS. “Prior to 2017, AFD would be responsible for the ambulance transportation. The service was funded through local government allocations and there was no cost incurred to the patient.” Now, when a Vassar student is transported to the hospital, their insurance is charged anywhere from $990 to $1,250, according to Mobile Life, depending on the level of care needed—a percentage of which the student may
need to fork over themselves. Pay for Play
In addition to responding to fire and medical calls, AFD works with the Office of Campus Activities to advise on fire safety for large gatherings. AFD also provides standby coverage at a few Vassar events each year, most often Commencement, the Halloween party and Founder’s Day. This year, AFD worked at President Bradley’s Inauguration in September as well. These events are some of the few times that AFD is directly paid for its services at Vassar, though Gallante said that the fees just cover their costs and are not a source of revenue for the fire district. Director of Student Activities Michelle Ransom commented that there’s no flat rate for this coverage and that it varies depending on the event—though Vice President for Finance and Administration Stephen Dahnert said he believes last year’s total layout for standby fire and emergency coverage was around $8,000 to $9,000. The only other instance in which Vassar pays AFD is when a fire alarm is set off by outside contractors such as construction workers. Dahnert estimated that this fee is in the ballpark of $500 and added, “This is intended as motivation for contractors to be responsible. We want to do everything we can do to curb false alarms, whether it’s through student behavior, through contractor behavior, through anyone’s behavior.” Gallante noted that while this money is appreciated, it doesn’t even begin to cover the cost of these calls, of which there have been 12 so far in 2017, according to the AFD incident reports. Peer College Comparisons
The Miscellany News contacted each of the fire departments and fire districts that serve 15 of Vassar’s peer colleges: Amherst, Bowdoin, Bryn Mawr, Colby, Colgate, Connecticut, Franklin and Marshall (F&M), Middlebury, Mount Holyoke, Oberlin, Smith, Swarthmore, Wellesley, Wesleyan and Williams. The Miscellany News also spoke to Christopher Maeder, Chief of the Fairview Fire District, another Town of Poughkeepsie fire district that serves Marist College and DCC. In 2016, Vassar had the highest number of calls of all 18 schools. That year, AFD responded to 347 calls here, while the other colleges averaged just 139 calls apiece. The only other schools with calls approaching the volume of Vassar’s were Marist and Wesleyan, both of which have hundreds—or, in Marist’s case, thousands—more students. Even compared to smaller schools, Vassar had the highest rate of calls, at 0.14 for each student. That’s nearly three times the average of 0.05 calls per student the other schools logged. Vassar also has the highest call cost. Estimating how much each call takes out of a fire department’s budget is more guesswork than science, because of the varying time required to attend to different calls. But though it’s nowhere near a precise assessment, one of the most common call cost calculations is to divide the department’s total annual budget by its total number of calls for the year. Therefore, each call to AFD in 2016 is estimated to have cost about $2,871, which—when multiplied by Vassar’s 347 calls that year—yields an approximate total call cost of $996,211, or nearly 6 percent of AFD’s entire annual budget. Using the same calculation, the other colleges’ total call costs averaged just $214,742. For some of the other colleges served by smaller fire departments, this may comprise a slightly higher percentage of the total budget, but Vassar’s call costs are by far the highest in terms of sheer expense. Some of the schools with the lowest number of calls and subsequent call costs are Bryn Mawr, Colgate, Middlebury and Williams, whose 2016 call totals ranged from just two to 52. Why so low? At each, someone from the college’s security or facilities office responds first to fire alarms, and only calls the fire department when there is an ac-
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
tual fire, rather than a false alarm. Williamstown Fire Chief Craig Pedercini, whose district serves Williams College, said, “[This arrangement] has saved probably an additional hundred calls a year.” Colgate University also supports its local fire department with a robust volunteer program. Colgate students make up about 30 percent of the all-volunteer Hamilton Fire Department. A few Vassar students, including VCEMS’s Lee and Nikpour, currently volunteer with AFD or have in the recent past, but the College has no official program to facilitate this. Those who join usually hear about it from a friend who volunteers with AFD. Hamilton Student Coordinator and Colgate senior Jon Delman commented, “I would definitely recommend a program like this to other schools. It usually takes just one or two people who are really interested in firefighting or being an EMT [to kickstart a strong program].” Some fire departments, such as the Lancaster Fire Bureau, which serves F&M, levy a charge for false alarms. According to F&M Fire Coordinator Alex Grumbrecht, who used to work with the Fire Bureau, the first false alarm is free and the second at the same address costs $110. This increases until four false alarms, after which each costs $530. “This allows the [Bureau] to recoup some fees and ensures that the facility is keeping up the required [alarm] maintenance,” he said. What’s more, 13 of the 17 other colleges, including Marist, DCC, Amherst, Bowdoin, Bryn Mawr, Colby, Franklin and Marshall, Middlebury, Mount Holyoke, Oberlin, Northampton, Swarthmore and Williams, currently make annual donations or PILOTs to their fire department or to the city or town government. In some cases, portions of the contribution given to the municipality will end up in the fire department budget. These contributions generally range from $20,000 to $100,000 each year, though Marist donates $250,000 a year to the Fairview Fire District. Vassar, Wesleyan and Wellesley don’t make annual PILOTs or donations to their fire districts or host towns, but have occasionally gifted fire equipment or the funds to purchase it in the past. According to AFD, between 1995 and 2005, Vassar purchased six $10,000 Scott Air-Paks—a type of breathing apparatus—and, in 1999, bought a $19,000 thermal imaging camera for AFD. Vassar also made a $5,000 donation for storm clean-up on campus in 2000 and a contribution of $31,800 in 2008 after it received eminent domain compensation from the state for College-owned land on which the Raymond Avenue roundabouts were built. For the past nine years, however, Vassar has reportedly made no donations of any kind to AFD. And, according to the Town of Poughkeepsie Office of the Comptroller, the College currently makes no donation or PILOT to the Town. When asked about this, Vassar President Elizabeth Bradley said that no one has mentioned the possibility of donating to AFD to her in her four and a half months here. However, she did state, “I would love to learn more about our relationship with the fire district and with the Town.” Yale University, where Bradley worked prior to coming to Vassar, makes an annual $8.2 million PILOT to the City of New Haven, though Bradley noted that she hadn’t been very involved with the official aspects of Yale-New Haven relations. “[AFD] isn’t going anywhere and the College isn’t going anywhere,” said Gallante of the Vassar-AFD relationship. “[Vassar] does a lot of good for the community. They employ a large number of people and they support local businesses. But at the same time, there is a direct impact on community services such as fire, police and EMS.” Answering the Call
For most AFD firefighters, the politics of the situation don’t matter when they’re out in the field. “When people call for help, we’re going to go and help them, no matter what,” said AFD Captain George Finn. Still, he acknowledged, “That can be hard with limited funding, so we’re always looking for alternative sources of funds, whether it’s a grant or a donation or a PILOT. It would help us and would lessen the burden on the taxpayers.” No matter how the individual firefighters and paramedics feel about Vassar, whenever they answer a call on campus—be it to put out a flaming bag of popcorn, to make sure an acutely intoxicated first-year lives to see another party, to bandage up a professor who takes a tumble down a set of icy steps or simply to respond to yet another late-night fire alarm—they know when they climb back into their fire engines and drive out Vassar’s gates, they’ll undoubtedly be back. And soon.
NEWS
November 16, 2017
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Updates from the VSA Senate 11.12.2017 Consensus Agenda: Passed. Finance Allocations —1632/1632 from Speakers to GAAP for “‘Wilmington on Fire’: Screening with Q&A.” “Wilmington on Fire” is a documentary about the Wilmington Massacre of 1898. The event will feature a talkback with the filmmaker, Christopher Everett. —1550/2250 from Collaboration to Lathrop House for Lathrop LUV event. Blacklight music showcase with brought-in DJs and neon decorations that will be in the Villard Room. —1350/2850 to Vassar Finance Club (Annual Budget Application) for occasional pizza at meetings, financial modeling software and coursework, interview prep coursework and financial literacy programming in each dorm. —900/3086.82 from Capital to VC Bikes for various items for the bike shop for storage and organization deemed necessary by the Finance Committee. VC Bikes may ask for more later depending on what alternative options they find that we suggested. —1300/1300 from Discretionary to Vassar College Majors for choral recording fees (two times a year; consistent price). —70/70 from Community to VC++ for the IgniteCS lecture series on coding. There is outreach to Poughkeepsie high school students working with Vassar students. —70/70 from Collaboration to Generations for Turkey Day Arts and Crafts. Students will be doing “Thanksgiving-themed arts and crafts with residents of Vassar-Warner Home.”
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Committee Updates Committee on Admissions and Financial Aid:
Talya Phelps In this week’s headlines...
Following a meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Nov. 11, President Trump stated that Putin had again denied Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, adding that speculation on meddling was taking away from U.S. cooperation with Russia on issues such as North Korea, the Syrian Civil War and hostility in Ukraine (The New York Times, “Trump Says Putin ‘Means It’ About Not Meddling,” 11.11.2017). Trump again took to Twitter on Nov. 12 to unload his frustrations after a week of travels in Asia, disparaging Hillary Clinton’s work on Russian relations and congratulating himself for his restraint in not calling North Korean leader Kim Jong-un “short and fat.” White House Chief of Staff John Kelly responded to the barrage, stating, “The tweets don’t run my life; good staff work runs it.” Following Trump’s speech in Seoul, in which he spoke of the brutality of Kim’s regime, North Korean officials described Trump as a “lunatic old man” (The New York Times, “After a Disciplined Week in Asia, Trump Unloads on Critics,” 11.12.2017). In China on Nov. 9, Trump praised President Xi Jinping’s accomplishments and claimed he was confident that Xi could allay the threat from North Korea. While American officials stated that Trump pressed the Chinese leader on trade imbalances and putt pressure on North Korea, no tangible achievements were made apart from $250 billion of bilateral business agreements (The New York Times, “Trump, Aiming to Coax Xi Jinping, Bets on Flattery,” 11.09.2017). Republican lawmakers face an uphill battle to rectify the differences between the tax
—How can the applications be changed to be broader and to help students list other accomplishments on the application, specifically things related to achievements that international students have? —At the meeting, they were asked to describe the typical Vassar student. —VSA hopes to have someone from the Office of Admissions do a Senate forum. Planning Committee: —They are figuring out the Student Discourse Forum and will be extending the VSA’s free trial another two weeks, after which they will have some identity orgs help test it out. —If students are interested in helping test the Student Discourse Forum, reach out to the VSA! —There might be potential for a work-study position to be created for a moderator of the Student Discourse Forum. —There will be a core student team on the forum, not just VSA Senate members. —If someone wants to post anonymously on the forum, a senator could post the comment for them. So far they cannot find another option for anonymity. Health and Wellness Committee: —For the Mental Health Fair, they applied to the Social Consciousness Fund, and flyers will be out next week. —They solidified different jobs for houses and orgs at the fair. —There will be various activities at different dorms, as well as socialization events for people who are extraverted and whose self-care centers around others. —They restocked Project Period supplies. Project Period is getting a work-study position, and the application is live on JobX.
plans proposed by the House and Senate. The plans diverge on key issues, including the number of income tax brackets, state and local tax deductions, mortgage deductions, cuts to the corporate tax rate, tax breaks for pass-through businesses, raising taxes on foreign revenue, slashing the estate tax and providing deductions for adoption, education and health (The New York Times, “House and Senate Have Big Differences to Bridge on Tax Plans,” 11.09.2017). Democrats enjoyed sweeping victories in the Nov. 7 elections, including many races that were expected to result in Republican wins. Representative Charlie Dent (R-PA) commented, “Voters are taking their anger out at the president, and the only way they can do that is by going after Republicans on the ballot.” Among the candidates elected were the first transgender legislator in the country, the first Vietnamese-American legislator in Virginia, the first female African-American mayor of Charlotte, NC and the first Black statewide officer in Virginia in more than 25 years (The New York Times, “Suburbs Rebel Against Trump, Threatening Republicans in Congress,” 11.08.2017). On Nov. 7, Trump opined that tighter gun restrictions could have increased the death toll in the Texas mass shooting on Nov. 5. The gunman, Devin Kelley, entered a church during a Sunday service and killed 26 people; upon exiting, he was shot by an armed bystander. Trump did not address the fact that Kelley should have been barred from purchasing his gun due to domestic violence charges, which the Air Force evidently failed to enter into a federal database (The New York Times, “Trump Says Tougher Gun Laws Could’ve Worsened Texas Death Toll,” 11.07.2017). In our backyard...
The ongoing debacle over Poughkeepsie’s failure to transfer its bus assets to Dutchess County may escalate as the end of the month approaches. On Nov. 3, the Federal Transportation Administration (FTA) gave the city 30 days to come to a Common Council resolution and complete the transfer before the FTA “takes further action.” The warning letter also notes that the federal government has already frozen $595,000 in funds that Poughkeepsie would have received for running the bus system in 2015
Programming Committee: —The venue for VSA event on Dec. 2 will be The Chance. —They will collaborate with WVKR, and the event will count as a Traditions “Meet Me in Poughkeepsie” event, so they will pay for buses. —NYC shuttle tickets are fully booked. Orientation Committee: —The committee is headed by Dean of Students Adriana di Bartolo and has five student representatives. —They went through the surveys filled out by first-year students, considered the potential consolidation of events and how they can advertise certain events as not mandatory, just suggested. —Students reps feel that the way the school addresses identity is insufficient. In July, new students did online info sessions on consent and alcohol, so there could be another one about identity and how you interact with the community at large. —They want to do more to bridge the disconnect between international and domestic students. —They discussed a microaggression workshop for students. Executive Board Updates Chair of Equity and Inclusion Tamar Ballard ’19: —The idea of a student BIRT team was somewhat shot down, as people were concerned about who would be selected and about confidentiality among faculty, but the conversation is not over. —Maybe three to four students could be added to BIRT instead of creating a separate committee. These members would get called in like other BIRT core team members.
and 2016 (The Poughkeepsie Journal, “FTA gives Poughkeepsie 30 days to transfer assets or pay penalty,”11.04.2017). The Nov. 7 elections were deeply divided in Dutchess County, with the Democratic challenger for comptroller leading the incumbent Republican by slightly more than half a percentage point. However, Republicans won most town supervisor positions and held onto the majority in the county legislature. In national as well as local politics, backlash against Trump is expected to influence 2018 elections; one politician affected could be Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro, a Republican who is reportedly considering challenging Democratic Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo (The Poughkeepsie Journal, “Could this year’s election fallout shape 2018 races?,” 11.10.2017). On Nov. 10, the Poughkeepsie Fire Department fêted firefighters at the annual awards ceremony held at the department’s headquarters on Main Street. Poughkeepsie Mayor Rob Rolison presented the awards along with Fire Chief Mark Johnson and Deputy Chief Joe Franco (Hudson Valley Post, “City of Poughkeepsie firefighters honored,” 11.10.17). The awards presented included a Medal of Honor and three Life-Saving awards, presented for heroic actions at the site of two major fires earlier this year. Rolison showered praise on the firefighters, saying, “We could have all brand-new equipment or we could have all aging equipment. It is you that get on those rigs and go out and do that job. That’s the most important thing” (The Poughkeepsie Journal, “City of Poughkeepsie firefighters awarded for life-saving actions,” 11.09.2017). Keeping up with 2020 hopefuls...
State Democratic victories on Nov. 7 improved 2020 presidential prospects for Governor of Virginia Terry McAuliffe, who previously served as chairman of the Democratic National Committee and was a top fundraiser for the Clintons. The biggest win went to Ralph Northam, who will succeed McAuliffe as governor. Democratic Pollster John Zogby noted the “huge turnout, a record victory for the Democratic candidate, an electorate motivated
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
Chair of Residential Life Takunda Maisva ’19: —Rich Horwitz said that ResLife had put first aid kits in the dorms and that he’s checking to see if they’re still there. Now they’re asking Baldwin for funding. —The “What To Do If...” list is still in progress. —They wrote a letter to President Bradley about ResLife changes and what the committee will support. Vice President Cody Harmon ’19: —The Food and Dining Committee wants to be restructured back within the VSA and is looking to structure under the umbrella of ResLife. —Senate bonding is happening this Sunday. It will be a space to heal and discuss action and VSA goals moving forward. —Senate this week is canceled. President Anish Kanoria ’18 and Chair of Finance Robyn Lin ’18 —They attended a Seven Sisters conference this past week, heard about how other schools do certain things related to finance and community and will be working on thinking through implementing some of these ideas. Constituent Concerns —Q: Can you file a BIRT report again a faculty member? —Ballard: Yes, you can, there is a procedure. Title IX might be involved as well. —Q: There is no avenue for having constructive conversations with professors. There needs to be a path and clarity on what the path is. What is the accountability for professors? —Sarah Jane Muder ’18, General VSA Intern
by more than anything else a distaste for President Donald Trump,” but added that progressive voters on the left will not appreciate McAuliffe’s ties to the party establishment, namely the Clintons (Washington Examiner, “Terry McAuliffe’s 2020 bid looks stronger after Virginia election sweep,” 11.12.2017). On Nov. 13, Former Vice President Joe Biden began touring for his new book, “Promise Me, Dad,” with a spot on NBC’s “Today” followed by an appearance on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” The apparently non-political book is about Biden’s relationship with his son Beau, whose death in 2015 inspired Biden to consider running for president and also to ultimately decide not to go through with the bid. “I regret that I am not president because I think there is so much opportunity,” Biden reflected in an interview with Oprah Winfrey last week, but he added, “I don’t regret the decision I made because it was the right decision for my family.” Trump’s former chief strategist Stephen Bannon told TMZ this week that he supports a 2020 presidential bid by Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, as long as he runs as a Democrat and not a Republican. Cuban has stated to CNN that he’s “not committing to anything” as far as 2020. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio was reelected on Nov. 7, making him the first Democratic mayor to be reelected since Ed Koch in 1985 and raising speculation about a possible 2020 presidential run. De Blasio’s achievements includes establishing universal pre-K schooling, instituting a rent freeze and ending stop-and-frisk. On Nov. 17, the New Hampshire Democratic Party holds its annual Kennedy-Clinton dinner, with Representatives Tim Ryan (ROH), John Delaney (D-MD) and Grace Meng (D-NY) as headliners. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg shared on his social network that he met with DREAMers, undocumented immigrants who entered the country as children, while in Oklahoma on Nov. 8. “A good reminder that we need to pass the Dream Act before the end of this year,” he wrote in the post (CNN, “#2020Vision: Biden prepares his media blitz; Macker’s moment; the Bannon-Cuban connection,” 11.10.2017).
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Diabetes Awareness Month sparks student reflection DIABETES continued from page 1 makes a loud beep to let me know that my blood sugar is high in the middle of a professor’s sentence, and everyone stops while I explain that there’s nothing to worry about and a well-intentioned classmate asks if I need water or anything. One of my friends good-naturedly says I must be so brave to handle injecting myself all the time, and I point out for the eight millionth time that if you needed injections to stay alive, you’d figure out a way to overcome your needle phobia, too. Someone makes a comment about candy giving a kid diabetes, not realizing that I, an actual person in the room, have diabetes, and I spend the next 15 minutes calming down and remembering that people don’t understand, that not everyone knows that type one diabetes is an autoimmune disease that occurs when antibodies attack the beta cells of the pancreas, ceasing production of the hormone insulin, which allows the body to break down glucose. When you have a chronic disease that people think is caused by eating too much sugar, it’s pretty demoralizing to be reminded that people think you did this to yourself. I, and the millions of other people who live with diabetes, spend every day doing all we can to keep ourselves alive. For me, that means using an insulin pump and a continuous glucose monitor (CGM). The pump looks like a stick-on patch; it has a small cannula inserted subcutaneously, which allows it to administer a programmed background level of insulin all the time, called a basal rate. When I eat, I calculate a dose, called a bolus, which should, in a perfect world, offset the carbohydrates I’m about to eat. The CGM looks similar, but instead of a cannula, it has a small platinum wire that reads the interstitial fluid under my skin and transmits a blood glucose reading to an app on my iPhone every five minutes. It can also predict trends, which helps me be proactive instead of reactive when changes start to happen. Throughout one day, this is what staying healthy takes: I wake up as late as I reasonably can, especially since last night my CGM woke me up twice to treat a low blood sugar, despite having decreased
my basal insulin for the nighttime since I knew I’d eaten a lighter dinner than usual. Luckily my roommate knows what sound means she needs to make sure I’m okay; after many years of nighttime lows, I can sometimes sleep through them. When I get up, I take my thyroid medication, because autoimmune diseases tend to come in groups and I have a couple. Then I check my blood sugar the old school way: I put a test strip into my meter, press a button on my lancing device (as a kid I started calling it my “pokey thingy,” so that technical term seems foreign) and apply the blood sample to the test strip. I then put that number into my CGM to calibrate it for the next 12 hours. After calibration, I input my blood sugar and the carbs I will eat for breakfast into my pump, double-check its math and make any adjustments and then press deliver. I put a muffin from the fridge into the microwave for a few seconds while I go to the bathroom and get ready for the day. Since it’s a Wednesday, I have a class first thing. On this particular day, I also have a meeting with my pre-major advisor and then a flute lesson. Since I know it will be a while before I get a real lunch, I stop at Express to supplement my breakfast. Accordingly, I put an estimate of the carbs into my pump and take a reasonable dose for what I’m eating. Then, I’m off to class. 40 minutes later, my phone makes the specific vibration pattern that means my blood sugar is dropping at a concerning rate. I’ve already finished my breakfast, so I spend the rest of class hoping the carbs will take effect before I drop too low. I dismiss the push notification and try to focus on the class discussion. By the time class ends, the dropping alert has become a low glucose notification. I only have 10 minutes before my meeting, so I go straight there, having a few glucose tablets on the way. They’re essentially like really big sweet tarts, but more powdery. I should take four, but I only have two left since I forgot to restock this morning. I’m not that low, so this should work out. I do feel a little bit spacey, but the carbs should act quickly. The meeting passes without me passing out,
but when it’s over my blood sugar has dropped significantly. Apparently I took too much insulin for breakfast, or else I’m extra stressed about pre-registration (aren’t we all?). I’ve got a couple of minutes before my flute lesson, so I decide to backtrack to the Bridge for a snack. This works better than the glucose tabs, and before long I’m up in an acceptable range. After my lesson, I get another fall rate alert, but luckily it’s lunchtime. I go to the Deece and get a typical meal: some form of potatoes, possibly a legume, a serving of honeydew and another coffee. A decent carbohydrate estimate and the number from my CGM allows my pump to come up with a good dose, which I double-check in my head. Sometimes I suspect my pump of trying to kill me with shoddy math, so I like to be certain. Satisfied with its accuracy, I deliver my bolus, wait a few minutes for the incremental delivery, then dig in. Because insulin takes awhile to kick in, I try to take my bolus before I start eating. This obviously becomes problematic when something looks super delicious but then I decide after two bites that I don’t want to eat it. If that happens, I have to try to find something else to eat with equivalent carbs, which can be a pain. For this reason, I usually stick with foods I know, but today I decided to branch out slightly and try some chickpea stew. All its constituent ingredients seemed tasty, so I thought it’d be safe. After a few bites, I realize that the stew has a lot more kick than I’d imagined, and since I’m weak when it comes to spice, I realize finishing it won’t work out. I go in search of a replacement and settle on a glass of milk and a small portion of french fries. After I eat, I have another cup of coffee, to which I am irrevocably and unabashedly addicted. It happens to have nominal carbs, so I can drink it more or less without thinking. Then I get ready for my second and last class of the day. All seems well as we break off into groups to go over some discussion questions, but then I feel the familiar vibration. Low again. Only this time, I have absolutely no food, no glucose tablets, to fall back on. For whatever reason, I decide to try and
wait it out, hoping maybe my liver’s natural glucagon will kick in and save me the hassle of figuring out a more elegant solution. After 10 minutes, that hope dissolves. I just keep dropping. So I ask my tablemates if any of them happen to have a snack, and one kind soul produces a tiny apple and some citrus-flavored candies. These should do the trick. I remind myself to get more glucose tablets with a note on the back of my hand, because this isn’t just a careless error from grogginess; it is dangerous. After that class, I make my way back to my room to do some homework before dinner. I end up knitting while watching Netflix, but at least I get the illusion of productivity. Soon enough, my roommate returns from her last class and we head to the Deece for dinner, and I repeat the same protocol as for lunch, minus the coffee and minus the attempt to eat spicy food. I look at my 24-hour glucose chart from my CGM and find the unexplained continuous lows more amusing in hindsight. I try to focus on the fact that at least I didn’t spend all day trying to get my blood sugar to come down. Before too long, I’m back in my room and doing homework, and not long after that I’m getting ready for bed. Since I’m still hovering at not-quitelow, I have a couple of chocolate chip cookies and some peanut butter. The combination of complex carbs and protein should keep my blood sugar up overnight, allowing me to get a full night’s rest. Hopefully, this walkthrough of a day with type one diabetes allows those who don’t know this disease to understand just a little bit about living with it. November is National Diabetes Awareness Month, and too few people know more than stereotypes or misinformation about diabetes. No, I didn’t eat too much sugar as a kid. Yes, I can eat this sugary food on my plate without adverse effects. No, I’m not immune to the pain of needles. Putting on my pump or my CGM sometimes leaves me in tears, but it’s not as if I have a choice. Above all, my disease may be a part of my identity, but I am not someone to pity or someone to hold up as the pinnacle of bravery. I am just a person who happens to live with a chronic disease.
Editors-in-chief spill Seven Sisters journalism secrets Talya Phelps Reporter
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ach of the Seven Sisters schools boasts its own unique personality, culture and history, and the same holds true for each institution’s newspaper. Having almost finished my fifth semester with The Miscellany News, I decided to explore how my experience in college journalism could have differed had I chosen one of Vassar’s siblings. I was able to chat via email with Emilia Otte, Lindsey McGinnis and Katie Hazen, editors-in-chief of their newspapers at The Bi-College News (Bryn Mawr and Haverford Colleges), The Mount Holyoke News (Mount Holyoke College) and The Sophian (Smith College), respectively. They discussed how their individual papers function, ranging from weekly time commitment to the paper’s relationship with the students, as well as reflecting on how they originally got involved. Transcribed below are excerpts of the three Seven Sisters’ editors-in-chiefs’ responses. The Miscellany News: What is your history at your newspaper? When did you first get involved, and what other positions have you held? Emilia Otte: I started out as a reporter and a copy editor, and I had the opportunity to work with an amazing editor, Lily [Lopate]. My beat became whatever Lily needed covered at the last minute ... I went online and read through the NY Times Arts Section in order to teach myself how to write about dance performances and concerts. I loved the versatility of it. When I had the opportunity to choose, I gravitated toward writing about students’ efforts to raise money for refugees or organize drives for different causes. Lindsey McGinnis: I began my newspaper career as a staff writer for Arts & Entertainment and then moved up to section editor my sophomore year. I had the opportunity to work with three different, wonderful co-editors over the following three semesters[.] Katie Hazen: Before coming to Smith I knew I wanted to be involved with The Sophian, so I started writing for the News section early
in my career. I went on to serve as News Editor and Associate Editor before taking on the role of Editor-in-Chief. The Misc: What is your favorite part about working at [your newspaper]? What is your least favorite part? Otte: I’ve always loved editing articles. There’s something about taking someone else’s piece and reconstructing it to make it better— it’s like a word puzzle for me. [My least favorite part is when] I organize a meeting, or try to organize layout for the print paper, and no one shows up ... You find yourself thinking: if I were a better organizer, a better advocate, a better person—then they might have come. McGinnis: As an A&E editor, my favorite thing was mentoring writers and seeing them evolve over time ... I didn’t so much care for the teaching, but I loved seeing writers grow and adapting the section to suit their skills. As Editor-in-Chief, my favorite thing is watching staff members from different backgrounds and social circles bond with one another. There’s something really special about working in a newsroom, and knowing that most of our staff will not be pursuing journalism as a career, I want them to enjoy the experience while it lasts. Hazen: My favorite part of working at The Sophian is seeing the reaction and engagement each week from students and faculty...My least favorite part is finding inevitable typos each week. The Misc: What is a typical time commitment for an editorial position at [your newspaper]? How long do you spend per week? Otte: An hour to hour and a half for meetings, another two/three hours doing final edits, posting articles on the website, and sending out e-mails. When we print the paper edition, however, it’s way more. We’re in the library media lab for at least 4 hours each day the Saturday and Sunday before the paper is published, and that’s not including time editing the articles. McGinnis: I spend about 20 hours a week in the newsroom, and then an additional 5 to
10 hours a week working on newspaper related projects. It’s definitely my biggest commitment at school, even over academics. Hazen: The average time commitment for an editorial position is probably about six hours each week. I don’t even want to think about how much time I spend on The Sophian, but it’s certainly more than six hours per week! The Misc: How would you describe the relationship between [your newspaper] and the student body at [your school]? Otte: Honestly, I wish more people would read it ... Every once in a while, we’ll print an article that will get a lot of attention, but I don’t know how much we are on people’s radar. McGinnis: I think that the relationship between students and Mount Holyoke News reflects the relationship between young people and newspapers in general. For example, I love reading the Boston Globe, but I don’t read the paper edition front to back every day. I think our greatest strength is our independence. Readers can trust that our reports are by and for students, and every so often we’ll tap into a story that people really respond to. A couple weeks ago we wrote about alums using #MeToo to recount their own experiences of sexual assault on campus, and how the College did or did not respond at the time. If we had a closer relationship to the administration, we might not be able to do these stories. Hazen: ...I’ve seen Smith students far more engaged now with the paper than at any point during my time at Smith. Still, there’s room for improvement. The Misc: How has the online presence of [your newspaper] evolved since you got involved? Do you think more students engage with [your newspaper] online than in print? Otte: Ah, interesting story! Last year, our website was actually hacked by (you can’t make this up) Ukrainian hackers. The editors last year had to create an entirely new site, but, unfortunately, we lost all of our archives. We basically had to start from scratch ... I think Bryn Mawr students like print newspapers—we get the NY Times for free at the dining halls on weekdays and I see a lot of people
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
reading it. I’m a big believer in printed newspapers. McGinnis: We used to have a terrible website. It crashed so often, I can’t even remember what the homepage looked like. Last year, our Editor-in-Chief switched services, and we’re very happy with our current site. We’re currently trying to establish a solid web team, which is still new territory, but I think it’s going well so far ... It’s great to see recent graduates following the Facebook page and commenting online. Hazen: We have a much more extensive and “branded” social media presence, especially on Instagram! ... I think students tend to engage more with print and alumnae more with online. The Misc: Are you interested in pursuing journalism or working with newspaper in the future? How has your work with [your newspaper] affected your future goals? Otte: I’m applying to graduate schools right now for a Master’s in Journalism. I want to cover human rights and global development through literary reportage. The Bi-Co News helped me decide what type of journalism I really enjoy covering, and it helped reinforce some of the lessons my journalism professors tried to teach me. Sometimes you just have to make the mistake yourself, and a college newsroom is a really good place to make those mistakes. McGinnis: I hope to pursue journalism after I graduate. I knew I liked writing before I joined the News, but working with the paper has helped me realize how much I love to collaborate with other journalists and be part of a team. Hazen: It’s been a dream of mine to pursue journalism, which is partly why I became so involved with The Sophian ... I still hope to pursue journalism, but I’m feeling increasingly pulled toward political communications after last year’s election. The Misc: Is there anything else you would like to share about your work with [your newspaper]? Hazen: If you’re curious, you can read The Sophian at thesophian.com! Also, you should all get involved with The Miscellany News!
November 16, 2017
FEATURES
Page 7
CARES advocates for breaking silence on abuse, violence CARES
Guest Columnist
[Content warning: This article discusses sexual violence/assault.]
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Courtesy of CARES
any people are still unclear about the nature of assault in regards to interpersonal violation. We want to raise awareness and educate the student body about these kinds of topics and what factors contribute to physical or nonphysical violence. Abusive behaviors are often perpetrated by one individual against another in a relationship in order to fulfill a need for power and control. Oblivious to the complex nature of relationship violence and the power struggles prevalent in sexual assault, people frequently ask the question “Why don’t they just leave?” or claim the victim is at fault for staying. Physical acts of assault or threats to commit violence are the most apparent forms of interpersonal violation and are usually the actions that allow bystanders to become aware of the problem and intervene. However, the regular use of other abusive behaviors, such as intimidation, coercion, economic/emotional abuse and isolation (just to name a few), create a larger system of abuse hardly visible for prevention. The perpetrator feels legitimated in their right to control the victim because of this sense of entitlement to having access over the victim’s body, thoughts, time, money, etc. Gradually, the victim’s independence becomes increasingly compromised by the abuser’s need to completely dominate and control them, thus limiting the victim’s ability to leave and to access resources. Often these forms of abuse follow a certain pattern. There is no particular order in which certain types of abuse happen, but they all amount to the victim’s loss of control. The Power and Control diagram shown below is particularly helpful in understanding the overall pattern of abusive/violent behaviors, which
are used by the perpetrator to establish the upper-hand. One of the many factors that contribute to the power struggle in interpersonal violation is economic abuse. In light of recent events in Hollywood, regarding Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey, the victim’s fear for losing their job and the hierarchal powers in this industry fed into the silence. Katherine Kendall, an actress in “Swingers” and “A Gun for Jennifer,” said to The New York Times, “She had been worried about telling others because ‘I’ll never work again and no one is going to care or believe me’” (The New York Times, “The Women Who Have Accused Harvey Weinstein,” 10.10.2017). Although Weinstein claims he has not participated in nonconsensual behaviors, his demeanor and his privilege as a top male film producer played a role in the actors’ silence and their loss of power. Difference in age can also add to the power struggle in sexual violence, in which an individual younger than the perpetrator feels intimidated to speak up and challenge those older than them. False stereotypes of individual identity regarding race, sexuality, gender, ethnicity and more are also forms of abuse that contribute to rape culture and the victim’s loss of control. The misinformation/myth and stereotypes associated with race, sexuality, gender ethnicity, etc., like sexual violence are grounded in language with a common purpose—to dehumanize, to degrade and to make violence more acceptable. Perpetrators often employ this language, which sends demeaning messages to the victim making it easier to hurt and gain dominance in all aspects. CARES, as a nonjudgmental and empathetic student led organization, aims to develop a deeper understanding of these complex layers of interpersonal violation and the different abusive behaviors that are so often responsible for robbing the victim of power and control in their
lives. Especially in light of recent events of sexual assault and horrific events of violence in our country, it may seem that individual control is far from reach. But we also live in an important time. We live in a time where we can have healthy dialogues regarding important issues, such as interpersonal violation. We live in a
time when Harvey Weinstein receives the consequences of his actions. As members of CARES and members of the Vassar community, we aim to educate our campus and start a conversation on heavy topics such as sexual violence, strive to advocate for student rights and most importantly help break the silence.
What season are you based on your favorite fall things? 1. Favorite fall leaf color? a. Red b. Orange c. Purple d. Yellow 2. Pick a fall dessert to make. a. Pumpkin pie b. Apple pie c. All the pies d. Apple cider donuts 3. If you could drink one fall drink for the rest of your life what would it be? a. PSL b. Hot Chocolate c. Apple Cider d. Water 4. Favorite fall activity? a. Jumping in leaves b. Wearing scarves c. Apple Picking d. Eating fall food Mostly A’s: You have won this quiz! Mostly A’s Congratulations you’re fall (or autumn as the more pretentious say)! You love all the most fall, fall things! Your warm and inviting persona reminds people of fall nights spent cuddled up with some warm beverage and a good book! Keep on being amazing! Mostly B’s: Your time is fast approaching! You’re winter! Strong and a force to be reckoned with, you’re often the most memorable of all the seasons! Fall may be in the spotlight right now, but don’t worry winter is coming! Your time to shine is almost here! Enjoy the cooling temperatures and crazy weather, the unpredictable nature of winter is what makes it so lovable!
5. Pick a fun fall URL. a. PumpkinFace b. Summer_is_not_as_cool_as_fall_literally2 c. Crisp_Apple_4_Ever d. Leaf_42_o 6. Least favorite part of fall? a. When it ends b. Once the leaves fall it’ll be ugly c. Dark too soon d. Too cold 7. Would you rather? a. Make 100 pumpkin pies b. Cover your bed in leaves and sleep on them until they decay c. Only post pictures of leaves on social media forever d. Adopt a pumpkin as your son Created by Victorien Jacobsen & Cassidy Nealon
Mostly C’s: Hello little flower child! You’re spring! Amazing! A time of rebirth and growth, Springs are some of the most tenacious and forgiving people. Your cheery disposition often causes people to underestimate your strength. You never quit and always pull through despite harsh conditions! Flowers and rain galore! Have a blast spring! Mostly D’s: Sunshine and beach days are your motto! You’re the season that thinks it’s the best-summer! Hello summer! You love adventure and making the most out of any experience! For you it’s all about the journey! Have a blast living life! Make sure your other season friends remember to let loose! Charismatic and fiercely loyal, summers are truly magnificent!
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
FEATURES
Page 8
November 16, 2017
Org of the Week: Britomartis performs as tight-knit group Andrea Yang
ideas coming together and the process of seeing how those ideas blend together is fascinatmagine I give you the 100 percent undi- ing. Also there’s no fixed role in the group. You luted apple juice. What happens now? You are given the chance to try out everything and have already suffered.” to explore all aspects of theater and better unLast Saturday, the student theater troupe derstand different perspectives.” Britomartis presented “Shitty Little Umbrella,” She continued, “We are the rule breaker for a show created and devised by the collabora- traditional theater. We are the proof that a clear tive effort of all 12 members. The organization hierarchical division of roles is not a necessity writes, organizes and performs a production for the theater making process.” every semester. Its theme and style vary each The whimsical nature of the group is shown time, depending on the group composition and through its members. Studio art major Lildynamics. ly Yichan Wang ’18 defined Britomartis in Britomartis consists of a diverse ensemble of her unique way via email, “We’re actually an artists and welcomes all modes of creative tal- oreo-centric cult that worships the moon godents: actors, writers, directors and musicians. dess who is the guardian of chaotic nights and Biology major Megan de Koning ’18 has last-minute-all-improvised-theatre production. Britomartis, a student theater troupe, performed “Shitty Little Umbrella” last Saturday. The been part of Britomartis since her very first My personal experience in performing this non-heirarchical group has diverse and unique voices, and the quirky members bond quickly. semester at Vassar. She described the group piece is that all of mankind should kiss the as a non-hierarchical society, commenting in ground I walk on and plant flowers there, beBell disclosed that preparing for the show sometimes they are handed a balloon to toss an emailed statement, “I think we change our cause why not, we need more vegetation.” has been a magical ongoing process. During the around; sometimes they are invited into the process every semester to suit the needs and In addition to the creativity Brito affords start of the semester, members met to brain- crowd dancing and carousing. strengths of the group so I really can’t say that members, it also allows them to gain a wide storm and gradually assembled a script. He After her first Brito show, Surgil noted, “Perwe divide up the labour at all.” range of experiences. highlighted that the production went through forming this show was so different than anyMusic major Ari Bell ’18 has been involved Sabrina Surgil ’21 acknowledged that she many changes before the show: “Performing thing I had ever done. It was a very unorthodox with the organization for a year. He spoke of joined during her first year because of her in- this particular piece was in many ways a hectic but rewarding experience, and I’m excited for Show Excitement! And Emotion! Ben Costa and Anna Roberts what led him to join Britomartis through email: terests in acting and writing and Britomartis process. Our original concept for the show was the future.” “I’d seen a couple of their prior shows and provides a platform for both. ‘Lost and found,’ and each of us brought a very As a tight-knit group, Britomartis holds really fell in love with how quirky and poetic She expressed her love for the group, espe- different perspective to that theme, making the a lasting impact on its members even after High-pitched bark’17 returned to 3. Signal their shows were. I was also looking for aACROSS way cially their unique perspectives and energy. She synthesis part of the semester particularly dif- 34. they graduate. Sarah Noschese to synthesize my interests in writing and the- remarked in an emailed statement, “My favorite ficult.” campus and shared her reaction watching the 37. Bay of Mexico or Persia 4. Address straightforwardly 1. "[Pain]!" atrical performance, and Brito seemed like the memory, though, is probably the time we had He elaborated, “I think what allowed our performance from the perspective of a former perfect outlet to explore alternative ways tried to plan a group camping trip (grampshow to come to life was freeing ourselves from 39. member. Camp bed 5. Viewed 5.ofA dunce or dummy expression.” ing) but ended up stargazing at the farm. We very specific and personal concepts of what She commented in written statement, “The ____ 6. Rotate 11. Wrath, anger Britomartis attracts students from across watched aor meteor shower together, and it was our show might be about, and instead embrac- 41. thoughts and and feelingswilling I have from last night’s all majors and class years. Their different14. per- Fever so beautiful.” ing the absurdity of our world and exploring performance can’t all be put into words, but 42. Accomplishes 7. Desire or encourage sonalities interact and result in innovative and Britomartis brings much laughter during re- our texts and ideas through that lens of a world their show was a work of beauty they brought 43. Lays down 8. "Will it playcan inhappen.” ____?" 15. "[Discovery]!" unique projects. hearsals and unexpected moments often spring where anything into the world. It was turf refreshing and genuine The opportunity for creativity drew many from meetings. De Koning shared, “I have so The show on Saturday emphasized audience and stirring and fun and relatable and ridicu45. What Elsa needs to do 9. Eisenhower, for short 16. Isle between Britain and members to the group. Elinor Qiao ’20 ex- many beautiful memories of Britomartis! I re- participation. Spectators were free to move lous because it came from people who are such. pressed her appreciation for the diversified member hammering the rice, and playing mintwo lit rooms and a hallway, choosing the 48. It wasSister a celebration of theatre and whimsy and Superior 10.across Dimly Ireland voices and inclusiveness of Britomartis, stat- iature tanks, and fur coats and crystal flutes, scenes they want to see at will. Sometimes life, and I’m so glad I’ve got to be in the audiAexperience bully it.” 11.they Skewer 17. Musical fan ing, “We are all different people with different and howling to lady moon.” are asked to draw an umbrella on the wall; 49. ence to Guest Columnist
“I
Courtesy of Eilif Rønning
50. Former currency of Spain 12. Denouncer of fate 19. Instagram post (abbr.) 51. Assume or adopt 13. Fully surround 20. More greyish-brown 53. A line on a budget 18. Chicken of the sea 21. Eucalyptus eater “Interjections!” 54. Seasonal creek 22. Eight musicians 23. Tearful vegetable by Benjamin Costa & Anna Roberts 59. "Give it back or ____" 23. Smallest bills 26. Frozen spikes 60.to Not never59. “Give it back or ____” 24. 30.Fantastic Beasts 28. A47.newborn ACROSS A ghost’s shout infant Flat panel display (abbr.) protagonist 45. What Elsa needs do 1. “[Pain]!” 48. Most plentiful High-pitched bark Not never 61. Monster's60.loch 25. 34.The Hawkeye State 48. Mother superior 31. Penny-pinching 5. A dunce or dummy 52. Tested 37. Bay of Mexico or Persia 49. A bully 61. Monster’s loch 64. "[Amazement]!" 27. Knife, scissors, or shears 32. "[Disgust]!" 11. Wrath, or anger 55. Bovine broth 39. Camp bed 50. Former currency of Spain 64. “[Amazement]!” 65. Matrix protagonist 29. 41.Sleeping sickness carrying 33. Sneaky 14. Fever 56. Lock of hair ____ and willing 51. Assume or adopt 65. Matrix protagonist 15. “[Discovery]!” 57. Many low voices 42. Accomplishes 53. A line on a budget 66. Extract sap 66. Extract sap flies 35. Definite article 16. Isle between Britain and Ireland 58. Sharper Lays down turf 54. Seasonal creek 67. Time worked (abbr.) 67. Time worked (abbr.) 30. 43.Flat panel display (abbr.) 36. Without a date 17. Musical fan 62. 1/16 North of East 38. Proclamation 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 19. Instagram post (abbr.) 63. 525,600 minutes 20. More greyish-brown 68. Common 40. Little bitsdog command 14 15 16 21. Eucalyptus eater 69. Geese, incorrectly 44. Ultimate (abbr.) 23. Tearful vegetable 70. 63 Across, for short 46. 'The Raven' author 17 18 19 26. Frozen spikes 71. Aegean or Arctic 28. A newborn infant Sports team management 47. A72.ghost's shout 20 21 22 31. Penny-pinching 73. “[Mistake]!” 48. Most plentiful 32. “[Disgust]!” 52. Tested 23 24 25 26 27 33. Sneaky DOWN 55. Bovine broth 35. Definite article 1. Quaker product 28 29 30 31 36. Without a date 2. “[Disappointment],” 56. Lock of hair 38. Proclamation 3. Signal 57. Many low voices 32 33 34 35 40. Little bits 4. Address straightforwardly 58. Sharper 44. Ultimate (abbr.) 5. Viewed 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 46. ‘The Raven’ author 6. Rotate 62. 1/16 North of East 7. Desire or encourage Answers to last week’s puzzle63. 525,600 minutes 44 45 46 47 8. “Will it play in ____?” Something Fishy 68. Common dog 9. Eisenhower, for shortcommand T O R C A L A C H O P 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 U R A L L A T E V I A L 10. Dimly lit incorrectly 69. Geese, O R I G I N A T E S O L V E 11. Skewer 70. 63 Across, for short T O M A H A W K S B E T T A 55 56 12. Denouncer of fate O W N O D E Z E R O I N 71. Aegean or Arctic 13. Fully surround R E S C O N S U L C R U X 57 58 59 60 61 18. Chicken of the seamanagement K O T O S E R I N G Y R E 72. Sports team N E O D Y M I U M 22. Eight musicians 73. "[Mistake]!" 62 63 64 65 66 67 W I P E N A T A L T A N G 23. Smallest bills
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2017
November 16, 2017
OPINIONS
Page 9
The Miscellany News Staff Editorial
Industry realities demand that academia contextualize art
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ast month, over 50 allegations of sexual misconduct against Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein created a media storm and, in its wake, scores of individuals across the country have gone public with their own experiences of sexual violence. Since then, further reports of violence by entertainment figures have surfaced. Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey, comedian Louis C.K. and filmmaker Brett Ratner have all come under fire in recent weeks for sexual misconduct, and with some of America’s most celebrated artists’ true nature laid bare, an important examination of ourselves as patrons of their work has begun to take shape. Can we separate creator from creation, and if not, how do we go about trying to remove the stains of their misdeeds from our culture? There is, of course, no easy answer to this question, and the fall of figures beloved by and inspiring to a countless number of us has understandably given people pause. On one side, many have argued that the personal flaws of an artist need not necessarily proscribe positive appraisals of their works. Some have rejected the notion that any connection should be drawn between the actions or beliefs of artists and their oeuvre, unless the artist intended for such a connection to be made. Others, however, insist that this understanding denies the essential nature of artistic expression—that people bring all of themselves and their experiences to what they create, not just their redeeming qualities. This is particularly true in the case of Louis C.K., for example, the charm of whose comedy seemed to be the stark honesty with which he approached even the darkest of subjects, including his own perverted sexual thoughts. It is hard not to see Louis C.K.’s comedy in an entirely new way in light of his recently discovered past, for just as our own pasts inform
what we do today, so his actions must have informed how and what he created. It is precisely this type of holistic engagement that many believe is necessary in assessing artists and their work, however difficult it may be for us. Just as scholars and audiences judge works of art in the context of their respective genres, drawing parallels, say, between a painter’s brushwork and that of a predecessor the artist had studied, equally so should created works be viewed in light of the social and historical factors that led to their creation. The argument in support of divorcing a creator from their creation masks a critical aspect of any film, book, design, sculpture or play. All artists and creators internalize their experiences and social environments and incarnate—consciously or not—these learned behaviors, attitudes and perceptions in the works they produce. As recent testimonials make vividly clear, the contemporary film industry has a history of male domination stemming from its earliest inception in Hollywood and even before. Many male creators within this framework today perpetuate the dismissive attitudes and outright violence and exploitation that have largely kept women from the artistic and personal freedoms, public prominence and basic safety that men have been allowed to enjoy, often at their expense. Awareness of these revealing social contexts and their consequences, then, aids in a fuller understanding of works of art created under these circumstances. As a recent New York Times article expressed, what can be viewed as subversive or artistically novel in works made by many of the men accused of sexual violence is in fact quite the opposite. The aesthetic qualities that some prioritize in their appreciation of these works, such as Bernardo Bertolucci’s defense of honest per-
formances in “Last Tango in Paris” and Louis C.K.’s role reversals in explorations of feminism, in actuality represent fantasies of their male creators. Films and shows afford these men even more freedom than they already have to act out transgressive behavior and cross lines that exist, however tenuously, in day-to-day life, all under the veil of art (The New York Times, “How the Myth of the Artistic Genius Excuses the Abuse of Women,” 11.10.2017). One arena in which these aesthetic qualities are evaluated and in which seemingly definitive interpretation of art are decided is academia. The general public may give an initial thumbs up or down, but scholars, whose opinions we generally regard highly, hold great power over whether a work is enshrined and can even revivify works largely forgotten or overlooked by the public. In this way, and especially in light of the current revelations and debate, we as members of an academic community must take a critical eye toward how we learn about and evaluate created works. While it is true that decontextualization can serve a didactic purpose in analyzing style or the progression of ideas, no creator exists in a vacuum, and thus no work should be presented solely in a sanitized way. Classroom discussions of individual books, paintings or films, whatever the intentions of these projects are, should include information about their creators and in what context they came about. More than merely rooting out incriminating information to denounce famous works, this spirit of holistic learning fosters a greater understanding of both the creations we study and of the fields of study handed down to us. That’s not to say that Vassar as a whole isn’t already challenging preconceived notions. Certain professors and courses in the Music, English, Drama, Art History and Film De-
partments make an active effort to call their respective canons into question, present a fuller picture of the works they examine and, in doing so, expand the breadth of their fields of study. We applaud these efforts and call on these and other academic departments to actively encourage more holistic considerations of the curricula they teach. Academia, moreover, is itself rife with structural barriers that limit access to knowledge and higher-education jobs and stifle the expansion of many fields. These barriers, in turn, reflect and bolster the harsh realities of most of the fields whose products academics study, notably the inequalities and violence that women face. Students and faculty at Vassar, the milieu that gave rise to professor emerita of art history Linda Nochlin’s pioneering 1971 essay “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?,” must continue to think critically about the materials we study and the ways in which we study them. Not doing so maintains the status quo—inequality, violence, cultural norms and all. Turning a critical eye toward our academics, and toward the study of art specifically, is not a question of erasing the history we study in order to start anew. Rather, this approach would serve to augment and deepen our comprehension of that history. If Vassar as an educational environment overlooks historical and artistic context, we not only perpetuate the exclusionary nature starkly exemplified in the abuse and predation of the film industry, we also do a disservice to students in depriving them of valuable information that opens the door to a fuller understanding of the humanities—a study, after all, supposedly rooted in uplifting humans. —The Staff Editorial expresses the opinion of at least 2/3 of The Miscellany News Editorial Board.
Full eradication of Hollywood predation improbable Jesser Horowitz Columnist
[Content warning: This column discusses sexual harassment and assault.]
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n Dec. 12, Roy Moore will be elected to the United States Senate. This will be despite an accusation that he molested a 14-year-old girl in 1979. This is despite a second accusation that he sexually assaulted a 16-year-old girl when he was District Attorney of Etowah County, AL. This is despite repeated accusations that Moore sought out sexual encounters with teenagers, which included “preying on young girls at high school gatherings” (New York Daily News, “Former Roy Moore colleague: ‘Common knowledge’ he dated teenagers,” 11.12.2017). This is even despite Moore having been removed from his position of Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court for refusing to comply with a federal court order. But despite being a poor candidate and an even worse person, he more likely than not will win in December. Yes, one poll conducted by JMC Analytics and Polling did show Doug Jones, the Democratic candidate, leading Moore by 4 percent. Another poll by Emerson College Polling shows Moore leading by 10 percent. That isn’t the point. The race will be close; Republicans will probably do far worse than they should considering that it’s a Senate race in Alabama. It’s certainly possible that Moore will lose, but I don’t believe he will. Even as establishment Republicans have tried to distance themselves from him, the hard right, from Sean Hannity to Steve Bannon, have rallied in his defense. Alabama’s evangelical, religious right has stood up in his defense, with JMC Analytics claiming that 37 percent of evangelicals are more likely to vote for Moore following the allegations. But this shouldn’t be a surprise for anyone paying close attention to either politics or the society we live in. Just a year ago, Donald Trump, a man with a long history of sexual assault allegations, was elected president of the United States
over Hillary Clinton, possibly the most qualified candidate ever to run for the office. That Donald Trump could survive a myriad of sexual assault allegations while Hillary Clinton couldn’t survive a stupid email scandal speaks volumes about what Americans value. Trump survived because, despite it being clear that he was both a predator and unfit for the office of the presidency, he held extraordinary power. By tapping into the immense frustration of white, blue-collar Americans, he gained extraordinary influence. That influence, in the end, proved enough of a buffer between him and his scandals to allow him to win the presidency. It is a similar power that will allow Roy Moore to win in December. Moore, sexual assaulter or not, is a white, male, conservative Christian in Alabama. That inherently comes with a large degree of power. Now consider that Moore is the former Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court and the Republican Party’s nominee for the United States Senate. The level of institutional power held by Moore protects him from responsibility. Roy Moore has been subject to repeated scandals throughout his career, yet never has he been held accountable for his actions. Therefore, at a time in which men in positions of power seem increasingly at risk of being exposed, it is important to view these events at least a tad cynically. I assert that this newest round of increased awareness of sexual assault committed by those at the top will be unsuccessful. Those who have been brought down thus far may seem influential, but in truth, that power wasn’t enough to withstand scrutiny. Thus, we can consider the scandals in Hollywood to be less of a changing of the social order and more of a culling of predatory members who are not powerful enough to thrive. Harvey Weinstein, for many years, was one of the most powerful men in Hollywood. At the same time, he was repeatedly sexually harassing and assaulting people over whom he wielded tremendous power. He was also untouchable. In
2004, when Weinstein was at his most influential, The New York Times was set to publish a similar exposé on his history of sexual violence. According to one former reporter, the story was killed with the help of Matt Damon and Russell Crowe. If Weinstein was that powerful today, that story would likely never have been published. Or, if it had, its impact on his career would have been significantly lessened. Thankfully, however, Weinstein was not that powerful. Since 2009, The Weinstein Company had been going through financial difficulties, and its era of consistently producing powerhouse prestige cinema had long ended. As a result, Harvey Weinstein was in a more vulnerable position. While he still held considerable power over young actresses—whom he continued to exploit—his influence in Hollywood was obviously waning. Thus, he was exposed and removed from that position that allowed him to commit these acts of violence. But Weinstein was vulnerable, and not only because of his financial difficulties. Weinstein embodies the stereotype of a sleazy Jewish Hollywood producer; he even looks the part. I’m not the only one to notice it either. Mark Oppenheimer, a writer for Tablet, wrote a shockingly anti-Semitic article soon after the affairs came out, entitled “The Specifically Jewy Perviness of Harvey Weinstein.” On Saturday Night Live, Larry David joked about Weinstein’s Jewishness and how that made him—also a Jew—nervous, and David faced enormous criticism for it. But were Weinstein not Jewish, I question whether this story would have come out. Since Weinstein is so visibly Jewish for a Hollywood producer, there exists a certain societal expectation that he would behave like a predator. This makes it a lot easier to believe a story like this. It’s much safer to write about an unattractive, Jewish sexual predator than a handsome movie-star poster child for the Aryan race. Enter Ben Affleck, an increasingly powerful
figure in Hollywood. He’s a writer, director, actor and producer. He also knew about and played an active role in covering up sexual harassment allegations against not only Harvey Weinstein, but against his brother Casey Affleck. That’s not to mention his own accusations of sexual misconduct; not long after the Weinstein story broke, two women accused Affleck of molestation as recently as 2014. One incident, involving actress Hilarie Burton, was caught on tape. Yet, Affleck has yet to suffer any consequences for actions. Even the news coverage has fizzled out. He hasn’t been widely criticized, his reputation hasn’t sunk and he hasn’t been edited out of Justice League. Of course, what he did doesn’t quite approach the depths of Weinstein’s or Kevin Spacey’s depravity. But is it not deserving of some kind of widespread condemnation, at least to send a message that this kind of behavior is not acceptable? Still, it hasn’t received that level of condemnation, and it probably won’t. Google Affleck’s name now, and the first articles you see will have nothing to do with these allegations. He still holds tremendous power and influence within Hollywood, and he likely will for a very long time. Maybe one day we will discover something that will end his career, but it won’t be anytime soon. This time of increased awareness will likely do very little to change the underlying culture of Hollywood or society as a whole. Those smart, influential and powerful enough to avoid getting caught will lay low for a while and then carry on as usual. In the meantime, we can at least curtail some of Hollywood’s absolute worst. Weinstein being gone is still something to celebrate, even with the understanding of the complex power dynamics that led to it. The disappearance of Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey and Louis C.K. from public life will at least prevent them from continuing to use their power to abuse people, even as people similar to them remain.
The Miscellany News is not responsible for the views presented within its Opinions pages. The weekly staff editorial is the only article which reflects the opinion of the Editorial Board.
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
OPINIONS
Page 10
November 16, 2017
Trump’s flippancy toward climate change reprehensible Eilís Donohue
Contributing Editor
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rom Nov. 6 to 17, the United Nations Climate Change Conference is taking place in Bonn, Germany. Representatives of nearly 200 nations are present to discuss how to make progress on the ideals agreed upon during the 2015 Paris Climate Accord. The United States’ participation in this conference is cursory at best. It is disgraceful and unacceptable not to hold President Donald Trump accountable for steering this nation away from remediative action and further into practices that continue to wreak havoc on the planet’s climatic health. The Trump administration showed up to the largest global discussion about climate change mitigation and unabashedly extoled the virtues of burning coal. The only redeeming behavior on the part of the United States was the rogue delegation of lawyers and politicians who arrived to denounce Trump and his backwards views on climate change. Not only is the situation not getting any better, but it is also actively getting worse. After a three-year plateau, world greenhouse gas emissions are once again on the rise (The New York Times, “CO2 Emissions Were Flat For Three Years. Now They’re Rising Again,” 11.13.2017). This cannot be a coincidence. It simply is not enough anymore to reduce emissions. Humanity crossed that point of no return long ago, out of both willful ignorance and stubborn attachment to the fossil fuel industry. Emissions need to plateau and begin to decline as soon as possible, and we must ensure that they reach net zero by the end of the century if there is to be any chance of recovery from the damage already done. To review, the nations who signed the Paris Climate Accord in 2015 agreed that the acceptable threshold for climate change was a warming of two percent above pre-industrial levels. Trump elected to remove the United States from the Paris Accord. Given the serious nature of the agreement, as well as the gravity with
which the other participating nations agreed to it, the withdrawal process is not a simple or quick one. In fact, although the United States never officially ratified it, they must go through the official withdrawal process, which takes four years, meaning that it will be finalized on Nov. 4, 2020, the day after Trump’s successor—if he is not re-elected—will be announced. In a recorded speech following the announcement of the the nation’s withdrawal from the Paris Accord, Trump proclaimed, “I’m willing to immediately work with democratic leaders to either negotiate our way back into Paris under the terms that are fair to the United States and its workers, or to negotiate a new deal that protects our country and its taxpayers” (White House Office of the Press Secretary, “Statement by President Trump on the Paris Climate Accord,” 06.01.2017). Trump has a horrendous track record when it comes to caring about or even acknowledging climate change. Back in 2012, he completely denied the reality of climate change and chose to blame it on a supposed business strategy designed to quell American economic power: “The concept of global warming was created by the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive” (Twitter, 11.06.2012). Since then he has repeatedly dismissed the concept in tweets and speeches and has filled his cabinet with climate deniers. The current Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency is Scott Pruitt, a man who denies anthropogenic climate warming and a former Oklahoma Attorney General who filed 14 cases against the very agency he now heads. Burning fossil fuels literally poisons the air we breathe, the earth on which we build our houses and schools, the water we drink and with which we wash ourselves. Although the effects are not always visible to the naked eye, in most of our experiences, they are real, long lasting and often fatal. As former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg remarked, “Promoting coal at a
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climate summit is like promoting tobacco at a cancer summit” (The New York Times, “Protestors Jeer as Trump Team Promotes Coal at U.N. Climate Talks,” 11.13.2017). Bloomberg hit it right on the nose, whether he knows it or not. Reading that analogy made me jump, as I recalled watching a documentary a few years ago entitled, “Merchants of Doubt,” which spelled out exactly how the government uses precisely the same conniving marketing techniques to deny climate change and stall legislative action that it had used to obfuscate the detrimental effects of tobacco on human health; thus government regulation was delayed and profits were maximized, all at the expense of millions of people’s well-being. That film was produced in 2014, but nothing has improved since. One could fairly easily choose to ignore the long-term damaging effect of greenhouse gas emissions and other elements of climate change and environmental degradation on human health. What cannot be refuted or dismissed is the tangible, visible impact of natural disasters, such as Hurricane Harvey, on human lives. A warming climate means more unpredictable, more violent and more frequent catastrophic weather events are bound to occur. Not a single earthquake, flood, hurricane or tsunami could ripple the surface of this overpopulated Earth without leaving some destruction in its wake. The news reports the next day are always full of injury, property damage, lost family members and pets, power outages and death. Natural disasters on the scale of Harvey will only keep coming. A recent MIT study revealed that if no mitigatory measures are taken right now, there will be an 18 percent chance every year that Houston will experience the same devastating amount of rainfall and flooding as it did during Harvey (Science Daily, “Texas’ odds of Harvey-scale rainfall to increase by end of century,” 11.13.2017). This might sound like a small and dismissable percentage, but even a quick look at the meteorological records will show that the last time such an event occurred
in the Houston area was about 2,000 years ago. The odds are increasing, and rapidly so; to jump from a one-percent to an 18-percent chance in just 100 years is a massive, terrifying development. What kind of leader does not care for the lives of their own citizens? If any voters have been clinging to a shred of hope that Trump would follow through on his promise to care for people “much better than they’re taken care of now” (CBS News, “Trump Gets Down to Business on 60 Minutes,” 09.27.2015), his administration’s recent behavior should force them to let it go and come to grips with the reality that their president cares not for them but rather for the bottom line. He has always been and will always be a businessman, and he runs this country that way. As long as coal and oil remain profitable, he will keep investing U.S. money in the industry and continue to tank the country’s future in renewable energy as well as the world’s chance at climate change mitigation and redemption from a hellish future. The United States is such a major contributor to climate change that its lack of participation will surely inhibit or even halt the progress for which all of the other signed nations are striving. People are perishing in natural disasters and suffering from pollution-related disease. They are losing homes and livelihoods as the government continues to profit from a dirty energy sector. The United States is made up of its people, but it is also a physical piece of land, one which is rapidly going up in flames and being swallowed by rising sea levels on either coast. Will Trump continue to scoff at the reality of climate change when he’s wading through kneedeep seawater in the halls of Mar-a-Lago? Although this is a wonderful thing to imagine, it is an unfortunate reality that Trump doesn’t need to care about the environment for its own sake. If he and his administration care about this nation’s citizens and the very existence of this country as they claim to, they need to make a stand to combat climate change. It cannot wait.
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The Miscellany News is not responsible for the views presented within its Opinions pages. The weekly staff editorial is the only article which reflects the opinion of the Editorial Board.
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
November 16, 2017
OPINIONS
DivestVC responds to recent trustee vote Vassar College Fossil Fuel Divestment Campaign
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or anyone unfamiliar with the history of the fossil fuel divestment campaign at Vassar, our six-year history encompasses unprecedented activism (culminating in the largest environmental action at Vassar, the May 2016 week-long sit-in outside the President’s Office), in-depth bureaucratic work, such as repopulating the Campus Investor Responsibility Committee (CIRC) and discussing solutions and compiling informational documents for the president. We call for divestment of Vassar’s direct investments in the world’s top 200 fossil fuel companies, a larger demand directed toward universities, religious institutions, city and national governments and more around the globe. We intend not only to raise general awareness about environmental justice (the intersection of climate change’s effects with interlocking social inequalities; e.g. environmental racism, where adverse effects of anthropogenic environmental degradation are disproportionately felt by already-marginalized groups) and make a strong political statement as an institution of higher learning with capital, but also to add to a snowballing movement that can lead to a paradigm shift away from a fossil fuel energy economy. Although we have met with some trustees before, this particular meeting on Friday, Oct. 20, was unprecedented because CIRC was officially recommending our proposal to divest from fossil fuels to the Board. Our familiarity with the particular trustees’ positions on divestment—i.e. overwhelmingly negative—led us to expect their unanimous rejection at their vote after the meeting (see link to their rationale at the bottom of this article). Thus, our frustration stems not from this decision, although disappointing, but rather from the egregious lack of respect we feel was given to this topic of paramount importance. DivestVC has spent countless hours doing what we at Vassar are taught to do: scholarly research, with thorough examination of all sides
and possible counter-arguments, along with meticulous and honest citations. Our proposal for fossil fuel divestment, which included extensively researched counterarguments and their rebuttals, was reviewed and approved by CIRC in May. In preparation for the joint meeting of the Trustee Investor Responsibility Committee (TIRC) with CIRC on Oct. 20, President Bradley requested we produce a second document. Its aim was to respond to arguments against divestment, particularly to those presented by Christianna Wood ’81, chair of TIRC and the trustee most vocally opposed to divestment, in a 2014 speech to Columbia Law School. In this speech, Wood infrequently referenced evidence and cited none, and when we asked (through President Bradley, since students cannot have access to trustees’ emails), she declined to augment or update any sources. During the meeting, multiple CIRC members recounted how the trustees repeatedly brought up classic counterarguments against which we had convincingly argued in the documents, and they made little to no reference to the documents at all. There are three central arguments the trustees tend to fall back on. One holds that we should not divest from fossil fuel companies because that would eliminate the college’s ability to engage in shareholder activism, including shareholder voting and proposals of proxies in order to change the company’s practices or governance. In our proposal and the CIRC/TIRC document, we clearly argue that engagement activism is ineffective in the case of fossil fuel divestment because we don’t want to change these companies, we hope to eliminate them entirely and shift the paradigm away from the destructive monopoly they hold on our energy system. Additionally, we argue, Vassar has never in the past done any shareholder activism with fossil fuel companies and, as far as we know, does not have enough invested in them to make much of a difference. When one of the CIRC members—who re-
main unnamed in order to respect the anonymity of all people who were at the Oct. 20 meeting—brought up these points in the meeting, a trustee dismissed them, first saying, “You must be new here” and then going on to say that Vassar does not have the resources to put together a proxy vote or hire a lawyer to write one and that it is simply too difficult right now. We later learned that after the joint meeting, TIRC had a private discussion and vote. DivestVC had previously been told that CIRC/TIRC meeting would serve as a compromise and jumping-off platform. Many students enter Vassar with certain foundational beliefs and leave with different ones. We would argue this is a primary aim of pursuing a higher education. We learn to back up our beliefs with respected sources and use our power to change systems built on faulty logic and harmful practices. To move away from complacency with some of the trustees’ deeply rooted convictions that uphold the status quo, we must continue to demand practices that support the values Vassar as an institution claims to uphold. In calling out the frustrating experience of this vital decision-making process, we hope to further the overarching goals of the Vassar student body, faculty and community to increase transparency and open communication of the Board of Trustees. Moving forward, we hope to further the conversations about transparency and environmental justice. We are helping form a structure with the administration that privileges student and faculty power and research to influence sustainability decisions in the future. Please reach out to Clare McClellan (clmcclellan[at]vassar.edu) if you would be interested in getting involved with this. Please also feel free to request to view either of aforementioned DivestVC documents by emailing Sophie Cash at socash[at]vassar.edu. The TIRC decision and rationale can be accessed here: http://bit.ly/2ii5aHP.
Anti-hate speech legislation ineffective Sylvan Perlmutter Columnist
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ebate over the censorship of offensive and hateful speech has been an important feature of American political discourse since the foundation of our republic. The temptation to censor has been found all across the political spectrum. On the right, to offer a couple current examples, the current United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has banned the use of the term “climate change” in official reports, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) barred its scientists from presenting research on climate change at a conference. On the left, a certain segment of people openly advocate for government bans on hate speech regardless of whether or not it is considered incitement. The latter faction has been the focus of much discussion and has inspired a thousand mediocre takes on the First Amendment, the viability of identity politics and so on. In light of this, I will be adding the one-thousand-and-first mediocre take to the discussion, not because I consider right-wing and left-wing censorship to be morally equivalent—for I do not—but out of the desire for the left to adopt the most effective tactics in the pursuit of a more just world. Also, to clarify, when I write “censor” or “ban” hate speech, I am exclusively referring to government legislation and enforcement against hate speech. The measures private entities like Vassar College or Twitter, for example, take against hate speech is a matter outside of the scope of this piece. To understand how censorship of hate speech is ineffective in actually defeating hate itself and therefore not a goal worth giving substantial time and resources, it is important to leave behind arguments exclusively rooted in morality and human rights. Instead, we must engage with the track record of expansive anti-hate speech legislation in parts of the world where it has been implemented. Many European countries, despite passing and often enforcing such legislation, have been unable to halt the momentum of far-right fascistic movements and political parties. Alternative for
Germany (AfD), for example, became the first far-right party in the German Parliament since WWII by propagating racist, Islamophobic and anti-Semitic sentiments. In late October, Austria’s far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ), founded by former Nazis and prone to use imagery reminiscent of the Nazi period, was invited into coalition talks with the center-right Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) because of their shared beliefs on immigration.
“Fascism can be defeated in the street and at the ballot box, not just a session of Congress.” 60,000 people marched in a rally on Saturday celebrating Polish independence alongside ultra-nationalists and, ironically enough, neo-Nazis. Reporters saw signs with the slogans “clean blood,” “Islamic holocaust” and “white Europe.” According to the Washington Post, “Police had arrested 45 counterprotesters—but not one of the marchers seen carrying white supremacist symbols or heard chanting ‘Sieg Heil’ in a country where Nazis carried out some of the Holocaust’s worst atrocities” (The Washington Post, “Poland defends massive far-right protest that called for a ‘White Europe’,” 11.13.17). These international developments indicate that anti-hate speech legislation is of limited use in curbing hate itself. A savvy far-right political party can always shift from using banned phrases or imagery to new words and symbols that are then endowed with the same meaning. “Muslims are incapable of proper assimilation” replaces “Muslim men are rapists” and “George Soros is funding this liberal NGO” replaces “This is a global Jewish conspiracy.” In the case of contemporary Poland, banned symbols (e.g. the swastika) can be out in the open, seeing as how the central government
has no discernible will to enforce the legislation already on the books. Prosecution under anti-hate speech legislation has made popular martyrs out of some of the most vile politicians in Europe. The countercultural appeal of being against the social conventions of political correctness is nothing compared to the appeal of being against the law. Geert Wilders, leader the Party for Freedom (PVV), a Dutch party which has called for the end of immigration from Muslim countries and the banning of new mosques in the Netherlands, has been brought to court on hate speech charges numerous times. The public attention he garnered through these trials has elevated him from the obscure fringes of Dutch politics to a position of global fame and notoriety. In 2017, his party placed second in the Dutch general election. This begs the question, if anti-hate legislation is ineffective in Europe, what has actually restrained the far-right and fascists since the end of WWII until now? A partial answer is that the most effective resistance to the far-right and fascism has come from institutions like labor and student unions, left-populist movements and religious organizations that have historically been able to mobilize vast constituencies to protest or to vote. A sustained campaign by minority, labor and leftist organizations led to the decline of the fascist National Front party in the UK in the 1970s. One of the main reasons hate-fueled movements and parties have come to the forefront of global politics is that the institutions that previously acted as a bulwark against fascism have declined due to worldwide cultural and economic shifts. Instead of directing our limited energies towards advocating legislation against hate speech, American progressives should focus our efforts on rebuilding or replacing the institutions that have been the most consistent opponents of hate itself by organizing workers and students, restoring and building partnerships between religious groups and participating in a myriad of other forms of community organizing and activism. Fascism can be defeated in the street and at the ballot box, not in just a session of Congress.
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Word on the street When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?
“I wanted to be in a motorcycle gang” — Lily Carmichael ’20
“A paleontologist” — Maxwell Canty-Hilchey ’19
“I can’t remember what I wanted to be when I was little” — Morgan Flanagan ’19
“A male stripper” — Braison Liemisa ’18
“I’ve danced all my life, and I always wanted to be a professional ballerina” — Mahalia Iwugo ’21
“When I was really young, I was really set on being a spy princess” — Tessa Kirtzman ’21
Leah Cates, Humor & Satire Yesenia Garcia, Humor & Satire
The Miscellany News is not responsible for the views presented within its Opinions pages. The weekly staff editorial is the only article which reflects the opinion of the Editorial Board.
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
HUMOR & SATIRE
Page 12
November 16, 2017
Breaking News From the desk of Leah Cates and Yesenia Garcia, Humor & Satire Editors Vassar to begin offering undecided major for students plagued by multiple interests, indecision, apathy Mysterious waffle-making Intro Women’s Studies class Deece dancer inspires awe discovers solution to sexism Tanya Kotru Gode
Aspiring Deece Dancer
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his is a story about an inspiring person to end all stories about inspiring people. Forget about Mahatma Gandhi (I’m from India—I can say that), forget about anyone you look up to. After reading this, you, like me, will be devoted to finding the greatest soul to have ever lived on this campus—dancing waffle guy. Okay, well, I don’t know his name, so that’s what I call him (as suggested by a friend who is also incredibly inspired by this great man). This is a story from a year ago. It was that dreaded time of the semester called finals week. On a cold night, my friend and I were sitting in the Deece going through our mundane routines, involving a sad Deece dinner and not looking forward to going back to our dorms to study. We were monotonously chewing on our boring food, making boring finals week conversation (Her: How are you? Me: Almost dead, and you? Her: Saaammeee) and waiting to go back to writing some boring papers. And then we just happened to glance toward the waffle makers, and voilà! We saw our messiah, our savior, our inspiration: dancing waffle guy. Allow me to explain. There was a guy whose face we were unable to see, as he had his back to us. Maybe that’s what makes him even more savior-like—the fact that his great face was never seen by mere mortals like us. Anyway, this great person, clad in a cyan blue sweater and beige pants, was facing the waffle makers. Unlike us boring people eating boring food, this great man decided to take matters into his own hands and eat waffles for dinner. From him, we learned that life is too short to not eat waffles for dinner. You’d think that was what inspired us to make him our savior. Nope! There’s more! You must be wondering how much greater he could possibly get, this divine breaker of dinner norms. But that is just the beginning. He is our inspiration for another reason. He was dancing. That’s right. Dancing in the Deece. While waiting for his waffles to be
made, this great person was grooving to himself. He was dancing like you dance when no one’s watching. He was dancing like he was the happiest guy on Earth at that moment. He was dancing without any music—that’s how great he is! That’s right, no headphones! He was just too great to require music to dance like an amateur. He managed to do it without any accompaniment. And all of this put together is why we named him our savior. You see, here is a college student in the middle of finals week, surrounded by stressed out students, surrounded by the monotony of finishing papers and take-home finals. And yet in such a dull environment, he chose to stand out; he chose to shine. And man, he shone like a beacon of hope during those dark times. His easygoing attitude of just grooving to himself at a time when everyone wanted to crawl into a hole and weep softly was like a ray of hope. He showed us that you can create your own happiness. He showed us that you can take your well-being into your own hands. He showed us that while the world may be crying about papers, you can choose to enjoy life, to treat yourself by eating Belgian waffles for dinner and by grooving to yourself wherever and whenever you feel like it, without caring if anyone is watching. Like Dumbledore in “Harry Potter,” he reminded us to turn on the light during the darkest of times. Since then, my friend and I have named him our savior. The only problem was that we didn’t know who he was, so we’re still looking for him, hoping to get a glance of this great man and his carefree attitude. We tried posting on the “Vassar Goals” Facebook page at the time in an attempt to find this inspiring person, but we never did. Who knows? He might have already graduated. He could be anywhere in the world right now. Well, we are still looking for him, for our leader, dancing waffle guy. So wherever you are, and if you are reading this, we are constantly inspired by you, dude! Keep grooving and eating waffles and inspiring millions of stressed out college students like us. Hopefully the universe will reunite us again!
Blair Webber
Free from the Patriarchy
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lthough they set out to examine the roots of systems of oppression through an intersectional lens with a focus on gender issues, students in one Intro to Women’s Studies class realized that, through their in-depth discussions facilitated by safe spaces and community norms, they’d done much more than simply “examine.” They’d solved sexism entirely. Judith Albrecht, the professor teaching the 100-level course, expressed her incredulity at finding such a profound solution. “It’s hard to believe. I’ve been teaching this class for 15 or 20 years, and I have never been able to put an end to systemic oppression of a minority group. I guess I’m not surprised that this class solved it though: We were ahead of our syllabus this whole time, almost all the students were on top of things and we’ve had only one absence. The semester doesn’t end for another three or four weeks, and they already have all of their final papers turned in, except one. I guess this would be the class whose group discussions are so insightful that they entirely dismantle patriarchy,” said Albrecht. Junior Micah Hansford-Townson, a student taking the class, led the groundbreaking discussion that changed the lives of women worldwide and pioneered efforts to correct gender-based discrimination: “I was the valedictorian at my high school, so this makes sense. I always knew I would do great things, but I didn’t expect to accomplish them so soon. I was supposed to prepare five open-ended questions to ask the class, and I forgot about it until I walked in, so I just asked how effective advertising products as ‘for men’ and ‘for women’ actually is, and it snowballed from there. I directed the conversation, so by the end, that was it. Boom. No more patriarchy,” said Hansford-Townson. A recently declared math major, Emma Auguste, actually felt frustrated by the breakthrough: “I’m NROing this class. I’m not a fan of essay-based classes so it’s been a real struggle, and now we just fixed sexism? And it won’t even count towards my GPA? On top of that, Micah gets all the credit. He hasn’t even done any of the reading! He hates the class! I can’t believe this,” said Auguste.
When pressed for commentary, Hansford-Townson confirmed that he indeed hated the class: “It’s pretty boring. I’m not going to study for the final. Do we have a final for that class? I can ask Emma, she’ll know,” said Hansford-Townson. Professor Albrecht seemed underwhelmed by Hansford-Townson’s participation in the revelation: “It was pretty clear he hadn’t prepared well for discussion that day. He got lucky. I don’t know why CNN and MSNBC chose to interview him for their coverage. Everyone elsein the class contributed more than Micah that day,” said Albrecht. Undeterred, Hansford-Townson has begun traveling all over the country discussing his miraculous dismantling of hundreds of years of patriarchal oppression: “Well, actually, people perceived gender differently in the past, so, I mean, you have to take it into account when thinking about the future,” said Hansford-Townson in an interview. Classmates other than Auguste have raised objections to Hansford-Townson’s representation. First-year Annika Jamison believes some of his talking points detract from the main issues: “I’m not even sure he knows what we uncovered as a collective through dialogue that led to the end of our patriarchal society. He just keeps saying he was the discussion leader that day, and he didn’t even come up with an original topic for discussion. We discussed marketing during the first week, we’d been there, done that,” said Jamison. When pressed for a response to these accusations from his classmates, Hansford-Townson stated, “They’re jealous that I’m the only man in the class, and I solved the patriarchy and not them. People need to know the whole story, because taken out of context, it sounds like it was the class that solved gender-based discrimination and not me.” In light of his incredible achievement, Hansford-Townson will be receiving a Presidential Medal of Freedom. Professor Albrecht will be recognized for her contribution as well with a small dessert reception in the Deece. Hansford-Townson has also been asked to consult with other Vassar programs and departments to apply any insights he had in ending sexism to ending classism, racism and ableism.
Which Disney Princess Are You? Created by Laila Volpe, Features Editor
1. What color is your hair? A. Firetruck red B. Black C. Also black D. Brown E. Black also
2. What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
3. What do people always tell you?
A. Swimming B. Saving China C. Sitting on carpets D. Being the only literate person in your town E. Eating apples
A. Cool tail! B. Thanks for saving China! C. Get that tiger away from me! D. Um, isn’t that beastiality? E. Eat this apple!
4. Who’s your ideal man?
A B C D E
= = = = =
Ariel Mulan Jasmine Belle Snow White
Answers:
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
A. That you can’t talk B. That he thinks you’re a guy C. That you’re pretty and that’s about it D. That you’re pretty and smart, but you also clean and are his servant E. That you’re pretty and can’t run away because you’re unconscious in a casket
Courtesy of Flickr
A. Someone who you’ve never even met but you saw him on a boat and thought “Damn” B. Someone who misgendered you C. Some rando who claims he’s a prince even though you saw him living in the streets, only now he has different clothes D. Someone of a different species E. Someone who kisses you while you’re passed out
5. What would a prince love most about you?
HUMOR & SATIRE
November 16, 2017
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Couple’s lackluster public display of affection disappoints Mackenzie Nielsen
Hallmark Film Director
A
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
s the holidays quickly approach, love is in the air. Joy, kindness, season’s greetings and feelings of overall cheer are present all around us. It is only natural to catch feels for a certain, special someone in your life! One of my all-time favorite holiday traditions is watching the cheesy Hallmark movies, which are already in full swing! Another one of my favorite holiday-related activities, or actually just one of my favorite activities in general, is people watching. I mean, who doesn’t get a kick out of examining other’s behavior and making subsequent judgments? In particular, my best friend and I have an absolute ball analyzing others’ behaviorand imagining what will happen later in their lives. This past weekend, my friend came to visit, and we spent the weekend in the city—quite possibly the best place in the world to people watch! The congestion of people makes it so difficult to choose who to focus on. There’s just so much happening all at once. We found a comfortable seat in Bryant Park and spent upwards of three hours watching people glide around the ice skating rink. We got to observe many distinct groups of people showing off their skills on the ice to their friends and respective partners. Our eyes darted back and forth from group to group when there was someone performing a multitude of stunts. During this time, we also decided to rate the ice skaters. Although we are by no means superior ice skaters, we experienced great joy in pointing out who was the best and who was the worst on the ice. There was an interlude in this activity when our eyes and hearts were stirred by a young couple. We got very excited because this exact scene could easily have come straight out of a
An ice skating couple in Bryant Park failed to live up to Hollywood’s cinematic expectations. She did not lean in for a dramatic first kiss, as is the norm in today’s romantic films. Hallmark movie. These people were going to fall in love by the end of the evening because that’s just how the story always goes. We visualized the plot for our perfect holiday movie and the journey began to unfold. It appeared that our starring couple was on their first date. How exciting! But also, how stressful, scary and awkward it must have been! I don’t know about you, but I think first dates are the worst. There is so much anticipation for
how the date should play out, the preparation for the date and if you’ll actually end up planning a second date. Stepping out of the realm of being just friends with someone and moving on to a dating relationship can alter the established friendship in drastic ways. I believe this is what was going through the minds of the protagonists of our imagined Hallmark film. Through their body language, it was clearly visible that these two liked each other. However, neither was tak-
HOROSCOPES
ing any initiative! The woman in the couple was wearing a purple coat, and the guy was dressed in blue, making it easy for us to spot them in the large crowd. Most of the times we saw them pass us on the rink, their hands were stuffed into their pockets, preventing that first awkward instance of hand-holding we were hoping for. As we continued to watch throughout the night, it was blatantly obvious that they wanted to enjoy each other’s touch. But they just kept moving further away from each other as they glided on the ice. The man in this relationship was attempting to show off by skating ahead of her and performing tricks, but this was clearly the wrong move. If he had slowed down, as any intelligent Hallmark movie character would have done, he’d have noticed that her hands were by her side and not in the confines of her pockets. A glimmer of hope finally emerged when the man at last slowed down and both of their hands were removed from their pockets. This was the finale we had been anticipating all night. They were finally going to hold hands and fall in love and live happily ever after because that’s what people tend to do in the movies. However, the most tragic aspect of this romantic saga was that the couple was not able to properly hold hands. When their hands embraced, they could only interlock two fingers in a strange and uncomfortable fashion. It was the most cringe-worthy hand holding I have ever witnessed; it was downright painful to watch. That must be why it only lasted one lap around the rink. To our dismay, our movie did not appear to have a happy ending in sight. I guess we should have been more thoughtful during the casting process as opposed to selecting the first random couple that caught our attention.
Theresa Law and Natasha Sanchez amateur astrologists
ARIES
March 21 | April 19
TAURUS
April 20 | May 20
GEMINI
May 21 | June 20
CANCER
June 21 | July 22
LEO
July 23 | August 22
VIRGO
August 23 | September 22
If you are looking to spice up things in your friend circle, start a coven with your pals. It is also a great tool for healing, as well as scaring men. Create a mood board that will mostly be screenshots from “The Craft,” and check out some books on witchcraft from the VC library.
LIBRA
Stop lying to yourself and be realistic about your ability to achieve your goals. You will not wake up early to go to the gym. You will kill your plants, and you will eat the full bag of Cheetos in one sitting. So set your alarm for later, save your money and enjoy the indulgence, guilt-free.
SCORPIO
Negative energy has entered your life in human form. This week, be rid of it. You have tolerated and made excuses for this unhealthy person for far too long. Not anymore. Never give up on yourself. Give up on other people though because they are the worst.
SAGITTARIUS
We’re just letting you know, you will fail at something this week. It may be something small, with little consequence, or it may be drastically life altering. Either way, it will be a great learning experience.
September 23 | October 22
October 23 | November 21
November 22 | December 21
CAPRICORN
December 22 | January 19
Do not propose to anybody. Your passionate personality has filled your creative and romantic brain with dangerous and foolish ideas. Engagements are not a solution to commitment issues. Stop your lovely plans and buy your significant other some food.
AQUARIUS
Clearly you are doing something right, Virgo. Your emission of strong, feminine energy is putting men on the defensive. Maybe it’s the coven. Continue on this unapologetic, self-loving, winged eyeliner streak of yours and delicious things will come.
PISCES
January 20 | February 18
February 19 | March 20
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
Just stay inside. It really is not worth it. It’s freezing, and that party will not be fun. It will be average at best. You are going to see people you hate and listen to throwback music that reminds you of some awkward phases. But if you do go out, wear mittens.
You need to calm the fuck down. We get it. It’s your season, and you have a reputation to uphold. However, that is not an excuse for douchebaggery. De-center yourself, reflect on your positionality and consider how your behavior is being perceived.
You’ve been contemplating throwing yourself a birthday bash for a while now. We’re here to tell you to just fucking do it ’cause you need to celebrate yourself, and we need to party. Invite literally everyone.
You may not be able to control the effects of the sun setting earlier on your mental health, but you can (sort of) control where you sit and stuff. Just get up and leave the room if you’re not feeling it and go back to the place you shine: Poughkeepsie Thirty 3 Nightclub & Ultra Lounge.
Now is not the time to be pretending for the sake of social equilibrium. If you’re at a pregame and music that you have no interest in is playing, put on your headphones and have yourself a silent disco. That being said, give Kat Deluna a chance. You might like it.
So there’s this thing called Blade of Grass. We’ve mentioned it before, and we’ll mention it again until someone pulls through. This is a challenge for all of you indecisive, flakey fishes. Dress up as individual blades of grass with your friends or foes, and fuck shit up.
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ARTS
November 16, 2017
‘Stop Kiss’ overthrows violence with strength of love STOP KISS continued from page 1
team felt it was important to put a greater emphasis on creating an open conversation to comfortably approach the play’s themes. Rhodes elaborated: “We spent the first half really focusing in on discussion. We talked a lot; we really tried to get a certain level of comfort and open dialogue, among the actors especially, because this show can be so heavy at times. We didn’t want to minimize it at all. We reached out to a lot of resources on campus. We talked to SAVP, the Women’s Center and the LGBTQ Center. We’ll have TLC representatives at every show. We’ve really tried to utilize what we have on campus and tried to be as mindful and aware of how important this show is. It’s not just a funny show that gets to deal with trauma.” While many productions of “Stop Kiss” choose to set the play in a contemporary setting, Unbound’s production deliberately embraces elements of the 1990s to emphasize the distance and progress Zacharia was referring to. ’90s culture seeps through especially in the props, such as the use of an answering machine, and through the costume design. In an effort not to reinforce lazy stereotypes around lesbians that other productions have played into, costume designer Sunny Gaughen ’18 found a more textual source: “The main characters are two women who haven’t explored their queerness before. ‘Gay’ is not a costume. You can’t costume someone as a queer character, so I tried to make them fit their characters’ personalities instead.” Discussing the depth this production goes in its costumes, Gaughen continued: “Most productions of ‘Stop Kiss,’ unless there’s a distinct list change, they’ll have characters wear the same thing throughout the entire show, whereas Liv and I honestly preferred it where there’s 23 scenes and Callie has 21 costumes. Maybe not completely distinct costumes, but definite temporal changes where we’re really trying to show different moments. The clothes have played a big role in that.” Another challenging production element other student shows know well is that The Mug can be a difficult space to work in. Not only does the cast
and crew have to work around the other members of the Vassar community that use the space, but the awkward layout of the space can make it difficult to design a set. After their discussions, the cast and crew made sure to hold rehearsals solely in The Mug to overcome the awkwardness of the space, rehearsing full runs even before tech week began to allow the actors to get comfortable and discover new choices. In the role of Callie, Samantha Leftt ’19 is in 22 of the 23 scenes of the play, a challenge for any actor. Leftt spoke about how Son’s play speaks to concerns that the audience can still observe today: “As much as the play hinges on this one act of violence, not every scene feels like it’s leading up to it. It does very much feel like a rom-com, but also a friendship that’s building, but also this dark look at violence and how it affects people. I think it’s just
an issue today also. How do we protect ourselves and other people when we exist in these bodies that are constantly targeted just for being what they are?” The play runs for just over an hour and a half and there will be no intermission. Tickets can be reserved at the info desk. “We’ve had such a great time and I’m so lucky to be doing this and working with these people. I sound like such a cheeseball, but honestly, they’re so wonderful and I’ve learned so much from them everyday,” Rhodes remarked, reflecting on the importance of the emotional bonding in creating a cohesive cast and crew, and as a result a cohesive show. “I can’t believe this is something I’ve been doing. I get to spend my time working with these incredibly talented actors doing these amazing things onstage. So I’m just really proud.”
Courtesy of Liv Rhodes
female leads is very rare. There are a lot of shows that just don’t have female leads. A show that focuses not only on female leads but also on a female love story is really special and really important. Obviously, the play has very important messages about sexuality and acceptance and love, but it’s also visibility of women, especially gay women.” Before the semester began, Rhodes was considering a final piece of theater that she’d want to direct in her senior year. Having first encountered “Stop Kiss” after a mentor and friend of hers recommended she read it, Rhodes decided to direct the play for its blalance of fun, brevity and meaningfulness. Despite the heavy subject matter of the play’s climax of the violent attack, the play balances that weight with moments of lightheartedness similar to a ’90s rom-com. Zacharia ’20 explained how the play’s balance of tone piqued her interest in the production: “I really liked the juxtaposition of the serious scenes with the lighter scenes and how it could tell such a compelling story. But it wasn’t only light; there was a seriousness about it.” Addressing how this production remains in conversation with the original play’s political and social climate, Zacharia continued: “I think it’s important especially to look back and see how things were. I agree with Liv’s choice to keep things set in the 1990s. It’s important to see how attitudes have changed, because I believe on the whole, we are improving, even if there is a long way to go. It reminds me of the struggles people had to face for us to get to this point where we can be in an environment that’s so much more accepting.” The Public’s original production featured Jessica Hecht and Sandra Oh as Callie and Sara, respectively, and opened to rave reviews, going on to be extended three times. Since that play, Son has written for various TV shows and seen her work produced by hundreds of theaters internationally. Most Vassar student theater productions only designate a few days of tablework to discuss themes and character before getting the play on its feet. However, Rhodes and the “Stop Kiss”
Diana Son’s play “Stop Kiss” first premiered in 1998. While the social and political climate has changed since then, Unbound’s production aims to create a dialogue with that past.
Spring Concert contenders offer exciting potential CONCERT continued from page 1
chorus and anthem-like feel, “Brujas” and “Bart Simpson” follow closely behind. Throughout the past few years, she has honed her rap skills, which she would bring to the Spring Concert stage. Overall, Princess Nokia is a solid contender, busting out the empowered femme artist persona adored by her loyal fans. Anderson .Paak: This R&B artist’s road to success was neither quick nor easy, but after 13 years, he landed himself a record deal. Anderson .Paak and his band, the Free Nationals, have found a funk-inspired sound coupled with elements of hip-hop and blues. His most popular song, “Come Down,” would be a great opener to start off the Spring Concert. Its shifty bass line has an undeniable funk beat that makes you want to get up and dance. He would embody the energetic essence that Vassar students traditionally associate with the Spring Concert. Aminé: This Portland-based rapper’s new single, “Squeeze,” would be a definite hit paired with the wildly popular “Caroline” that’s featured on his album “Good for You.” To see Aminé perform “Spice Girl,” a light-hearted pop-rap track, would be just as riveting. In one interview, Aminé sheepishly said, “To be honest with you the Spice Girls were the first concert I went to” (Genius, “Aminé ‘Spice Girl’ Official Lyrics & Meaning,” 11.01.2017). Seamlessly merging off-center melodies with finely-tuned rap segments, he is dedicated to making authentic and fun music for his fans. Vassar students would be both sonically surprised by his lesser-known stuff and comforted by the recognizable chorus to “Caroline.” BROCKHAMPTON: This Los Angeles collective’s 2017 album, “SATURATION,” reveals the group’s diversity in sound that ranges from acoustic to rap. The group’s use of capitalization evokes the exaggerated and amplified production inherent in every track. “GOLD” is the hit track that stands out from the rest of the record, with swift beats and an exuberant overall vibe. Famously known for performing in neon clothes and body paint, BROCKHAMPTON would be a sight to see at Vassar College. In addition to being visually appealing, their unconventional and dreamlike sound would be unique to experience. Cardi B: Most widely known for “Bodak Yel-
Courtesy of Karen Crook
They’re great at their jobs and we’re learning a lot from one another!” In response to increasing campus transparency in booking an artist for the event, Hoyle said, “At the end of the day, the most essential part of our process was to include as many student voices as we could gather and to open our space to folks who haven’t had the opportunity to contribute to large-scale campus programs in the past.” The poll results will hopefully show the committee which artists students want to see the most. However, prices and artist availability will also come into play, which may inhibit the committee from booking its top choice. So, there is a possibility that the committee ends up booking an artist that doesn’t appear in the student-wide poll, but, Hoyle said, “Likely we [the committee] will be selecting an artist or artists from the list.” In terms of compensation, $75,000 has been allocated to the committee for hosting the entire event. Besides booking an artist, there are decorations, sound equipment, staging, lighting and labor to consider financially. Hoyle spoke candidly about the increase in pressure that comes with transparency. “To be in the planning process in such a visible way really makes you vulnerable. It is part of the job to address the concerns, frustrations and often harsh complaints that people have about these large events. The pressure stems from doing that well and attempting to build community in a positive way even when there are so many competing interests and the stakes are so high when the budget and attendance are as well.” At last year’s concert, Kamaiyah’s set astounded the student body with her bumping “How Does it Feel” paired with the equally playful “Out the Bottle.” Her performance is going to be a tough act to follow, but this year’s most talked about prospects are anything but disappointing. Here is a review of what I deem to be seven of the most promising performers that appear on the poll. Princess Nokia: Princess Nokia has truly landed a name for herself, especially with the release of her album “1992 Deluxe.” She grounds her lyrics in an autobiographical style drawing from childhood and her New York City roots. Although her song “Tomboy” is best known for its repetitive
This year, the committee organizing the Spring Concert has increased transparency and inclusivity by providing a poll of possible artists. Here is a discussion of the seven most promising performers. low,” the formerly internet-famous Cardi B is an emerging mainstream rap artist whose beats and melodies just keep getting better. She is arguably the most popular artist on the Spring Concert list, and for good reason. While the worry of too much mainstream sound is completely valid, this power femme rapper has some other things up her sleeve. Recently featured with Nicki Minaj in Migos’ single “MotorSport,” she asserts her dominance in the music world. As she continues to emerge as a celebrity artist in the music industry, the question will be whether or not the committee can book her arises. The Internet: Emerging from Odd Future, the hip-hop R&B group the Internet has some extremely talented membership. Lead singer and songwriter Syd has both an impressive stage presence and vocal range. Although songs from their 2015 record Ego Death like “Special Affair” and “Girl” have received the most press, “Get Away” shows Syd’s capacity for singing soprano coupled
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
with beautiful jazz harmonies. One reservation would be that the group’s ambient and dreamy sound quality doesn’t exactly invite the type of thrill that the Spring Concert requires. Their sonic variety is what separates the Internet from the rest of the pack. Beach House: Although this American dream pop band has been around since 2004, its sound continues to show its members’ experimentation with sound and harmony. Their innovation is best highlighted by their minute-long introductions that consist solely of electronics and instrumentals. The group’s psychedelic sound is what attracts their fairly large audience. However, Beach House’s songs lack conventional melodies as a whole. Especially in their better-known songs like “Space Song” and “Myth,” Beach House offers listeners introspection and entrancement. Beach House is a brilliant group, but their off-center energy might not be entirely appropriate for the Spring Concert.
November 16, 2017
ARTS
Page 15
Musical adaption confronts poignant societal issues Sasha Gopalakrishnan Assistant Arts Editor
[Content warning: This piece discusses sexual assault, physical abuse and suicide.]
F
uture Waitstaff of America—commenly known as FWA—is Vassar’s only theater group dedicated solely to musical theater, and from Nov. 16 to 18, the group will be presenting the undisputed classic “Spring Awakening” in the Shiva Theater. Quoting on the event page, FWA describes their latest production as “An angsty rock musical adaptation of the seminal play about the trials and tribulations of growing up.” Directed by Henery Wyand ’20, “Spring Awakening” is originally a Broadway adaptation of Frank Wedekind’s 1891 German play of the same name, with music by Duncan Sheik and book and lyrics by Steven Slater.
While the musical is set in late 19th-century Germany, FWA’s adaptation infuses the musical with influences from the 1990s. The show revolves around the lives of young adolescents as they discover their sexualities, depicting their journeys as they struggle with a slew of tumultuous events that accompany their sexual awakening. Loaded with heavy and potentially troubling subject matter, “Spring Awakening” examines issues ranging from sexual assault and teenage pregnancy to pedophilia, incest, physical abuse and suicide. Wyand illuminated on the ways in which he aimed to make FWA’s production an opportunity for inclusive community building for queer people of color: “As a team, we really wanted to bring queer students of color to the center. Time and time again, I’ve noticed that queer people of color are underrepresented in Vassar’s theater commu-
Courtesy of Henery Wyand
Originally an acclaimed broadway play, Vassar’s musical adaptation of “Spring Awakening” will leave audiences both heavy-hearted and emotionally enlightened through moving performances.
nity. I wanted to make the scene of this production a space that is inclusive for those who are repeatedly marginalized, particularly when we’re dealing with serious subject matter such as sexual assault, which disproportionately affects queer POCs.” The theme of sexual assault is one that Wyand elaborated on as particularly relevant to Vassar’s campus: “I think it’s really important for us to be putting on a show that deals with the issue of rape because we want audiences to think about how this issue isn’t far away, but rather exists right here on our own campus. We want students to be cognizant of this subject matter because it deeply impacts so many people around them, especially, as I’ve mentioned, their fellow students of color.” Alice Woo ’21, who plays the female lead Wendla, commented on the group’s behind-the-scenes process in dealing with these potentially triggering issues: “Because the play deals with such heavy subject matter, it was really fundamental in bringing us closer together as a cast. We shared a common bond over the difficult task we all had to take on in terms of how to best approach and enact these topics.” While the cast wanted to stay as loyal to the original musical adaptation as possible, they did make certain decisions regarding what to include in their show in order ensure that the audience did not misinterpret the sentiment they were trying to convey. “The actual screenplay blurs the lines on rape and consent, creating a situation that could perpetuate rape myths like ‘No actually means yes,’” explained Woo. “We took the decision to explicitly have Wendla resist the rape, even though this aspect is left ambiguous in the Broadway musical, because we don’t want to send mixed signals to the audience that could potentially romanticize rape fantasies which already run rampant. We wanted to demonstrate the complexity of young love while still taking a clear stance regarding the importance of consent.” Stage Manager Larissa Archondo ’20 described the impression that the cast hoped to leave on viewers: “For audiences who have been exposed to the issues of sexual violence, we want them to
know that they aren’t alone. For other audience members, we hope that this musical sends them a clear message about how it’s time to wake up and really think about these issues.” In the same vein, Woo comments, “It details navigating their lives from there on when faced with such a situation.” The play further explores how relationships between adults and adolescents can take on a stifling level of conservative stoicism where, in attempting to shelter teenagers from the world of sexuality and desire, adult authorities and parental figures may effectively abandon them to discover their bodies and cravings all on their own. With regards to this lack of support from adult figures, Woo elaborated on the impact the cast hopes to have on the audience: “As a coming-of-age story that explores the loss of innocence of 14- to 15-year-olds, we want audiences to leave with some insight into the troubled relationships adolescents can have with their families, and how the lack of openness exhibited by adult role models can really contribute to the uninformed decisions made by the youth about love and sex and sexuality— decisions that can really end up harming them and the people they associate with. It comments on how important honesty is in familial relationships.” The production also recognizes how the intersecting identities of queer people of color can provide cast members with a unique and authentic standpoint, given that their show directly deals with the discovery of non-heteronormative sexuality. As Archondo elaborated, “It’s so important to have queer cast members as a part of the team who can lend that validity to the production and tell the story of a struggle that they are actually acquainted with. It’s only fair to have these populations gain visibility in the realm of theater.” This much-awaited performance of a show that won eight Tony Awards, including best musical, is sure to be an incredibly moving performance that will leave audiences feeling both heavy hearted and emotionally enlightened, all the while accentuating the passion and poignancy with which the cast approached their show with an eccentric poprock soundtrack.
‘Master of None’ presents fresh perspective on life, love Izzy Braham Columnist
Master of None
Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang Netflix
W
a doorman who works for a resident who cheats on his spouse to a deaf couple with a flawed sex life and a taxi driver who is an immigrant. The show speaks to the diversity of New York City and shows the intricate ways race, class, gender and ability play out in people’s personal lives. What I like about “Master of None” and what took me a long time to truly understand about the show ishow it didn’t always have a happy ending. Ansari’s statements about social issues aren’t always simple. Many times the episodes end on a sad note in which everything falls apart. Other times, the topic changes, or there isn’t really any resolution to the issue presented. At first, I perceived this messiness as plot holes, but then I realized I was very wrong—Ansari’s open-ended conclusions were part of his message. These bigger themes about complicated love lives, career success, issues of sexuality and race aren’t easily resolved. Life is filled both with moments of clarity and moments of ambiguity
or despair over these issues. In other words, the show did an excellent job of conveying this upand-down nature of life, something that can make the show seem wishy-washy at first but actually made for a very beautiful, tragic and relatable season. One small criticism of the show has to do with the acting. I felt that Ansari definitely improved in Season Two, but his parents in the show. who are actually played by his real-life parents, were noticeably bad actors. However, I must say that despite their bad acting, the fact that Ansari incorporated his real parents was kind of endearing, as it made you see how personal the show is to him. Overall, I definitely would definitely recommend “Master of None.” It is relatable, dramatic yet cute, nicely composed and presents a refreshing perspective. If you check it out, make sure to stay tuned, because Season Two is even better than Season One.
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
e all know him as one of the funniest stand-up comidians, but Aziz Ansari also has an incredibly artistic and deep side. On May 12, Netflix released the second season of his acclaimed show “Master Of None.” Cinematically appealing and thoughtfully written, the series follows the romantic exploits of Aziz Ansari’s character, 30-year-old actor Dev Shah, and incorporates Ansari’s criticisms of love in contemporary society while interweaving his signature charisma. For those of you who are unfamiliar with “Master of None,” it is a comedy-drama that centers around modern love in New York City and all that this entails for a still-youthful Indian American man who is trying to make it as an actor. While it mainly focuses on Dev’s love life, the show features episodes about other people and themes too—such as family, race, gender, sexuality, religion and work. As a huge fan of Aziz Ansari’s comedy, I expected “Master of None” to be similar to one of his stand-up routines, but I soon realized that the show was constructed a little differently. While there are parts that are funny, I found the main qualities of the show to be thoughtful and cynical. It has profound messages about the themes it addresses, in addition to moments filled with sadness and drama. It seemed to me that with “Master of None,” Ansari is trying out a new way to uncover truth; rather than always using humor, he conveys his ideas through drama and acting. The first season of “Master of None” centered on Dev’s relationship with Rachel, a cute and peppy music publicist. Their story begins with an awkward sexual encounter but ends in a full-on relationship in which the two struggle to stay together through their differing lifestyles and conflicting work commitments. It is realistic
and poignant, which you cannot say about most popular shows. Along the way, the show features episodes on the topics of immigrant parents, being an actor of color, sexual harassment and objectification of women. The first season was entertaining and refreshing, as it played up the drama in Dev’s relationship while at the same time trying to broach important topics that are usually ignored in the media. While the first season was charming, the second season was even better. I felt that the episodes of the second season were composed even more carefully, and the little moments of intensity embedded in each show were particularly striking. The first episode, “The Thief,” makes a powerful statement about how dependent we are on technology these days when it comes to pursing romance. Dev and a stranger hit it off at a restaurant and make plans to hang out again after he gets her phone number. However, right after he scores her digits, Dev’s phone is stolen. Only knowing the stranger’s first name, he has no way to reconnect with her. This episode is filmed in black and white in Italy, where Dev decides to live for a few years. It is cinematically alluring and interestingly tragic, yet relevant—a good, unexpected way to start the show. It also provides a window into the difficulties of dating in a modern world. Would we actually be able to function without Tinder or our phones? Probably, but not easily. The main plot of Season Two, however, is about Dev’s budding romance with someone he meets on his Italian adventure, Francesca. However, the story is complicated as she is engaged to someone she has been dating for 10 years. Moreover, their relationship is an interesting commentary on modern love, conveying a relatable point about how relationships these days are often uncertain and hindered by complicated external circumstances. While this plot is loaded with drama, I thought that the best parts of the show were the episodes centering around other people or social issues. My favorite episode, entitled “New York, I Love You,” is a short vignette exploring social realities. It interweaves scenes from the lives of
Aziz Ansari is arguably one of the funiest comedians in the game. His Netflix series “Master of None” isn’t afraid to tackle tough issues facing millennials in the modern world.
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ARTS
Page 16
November 16, 2017
Series fills ‘blindspot’ within repetitive crime genre Eloudia Odamy Guest Columnist
Blindspot
Martin Gero NBC
T
between them is interesting to watch and makes the show digress from the main plot. They end up becoming romantically involved, but their relationship is tested a number of times, especially in Season Two and now in Season Three. We also get insight into Jane’s relationship with her brother, Roman, and her mom, Shepherd. This kinship is also notable because it is both twisted and fascinating and gives us more insight to Jane’s past. By focusing on these different relationships, the show explores the psychological state of all characters. Besides the compelling narrative, “Blindspot” has a lot of well-shot fight scenes that are great to watch, as they look realistic and show off the Jane Doe’s skills. One thing that has been said about the show is that the actors play the characters well. Jaimie Alexander, who plays Jane Doe, is one
Courtesy of zuko1312 via flickr
hese days, there seem to be many television shows about the government, the CIA, the FBI or various police forces around the country. It is hard to really find an authentic show that maybe is about these things but also adds something avant-garde. “Blindspot” fits what many, including me, have been searching for. It is about an amnesiac woman who is found naked in a bag in the middle of Times Square. Her body is completely covered in tattoos, and she is sent over to the FBI because a tattoo on her back is that of FBI Assistant Director Kurt Weller. Weller’s team, which includes Tasha Zapata, Edgar Reade and Patterson—whose first name has not been revealed— have to find out who this mysterious woman is and the significance of the tattoos. Some people say that the show has a slow start, but I disagree. From the first scene with the woman coming out of the bag, questions are sure to race through one’s mind. The audience wonders why she is in a bag, why she cannot remember anything and who exactly the horrible people are who put her in this situation. We also wonder why she has all these tattoos and what the connection to Kurt Weller is. Throughout the show, cleverly placed clues help the audience slowly arrive at the answer, but not without adding in crazy plot twists that will leave you absolutely shocked. Our amnesiac is given the name Jane Doe because of the state she is in when she is found, this question of identity constituting the mystery of the show . The suspense is extremely well crafted and leaves viewers coming back for more each week. “Blindspot’s” episodes are also unique. In each episode, Weller’s team has to solve a tattoo, which usually leads to them stopping a larger, na-
tional crime. Some might call this boring, as every episode is solving a new marking, but this is not the case for me. All the tattoos are connected to each other, which makes the show exciting and fast paced. Each episode also makes sure to simultaneously touch on all the individual problems of each character and the problems with the outside world. Another thing the show does really well is delve into the relationships the characters have with each other. The five main characters in “Blindspot” are all different but form a tight-knit team. It is a pleasure to watch them each week. My favorite relationship is definitely between Weller and Jane Doe. They have a rocky start with each other because Weller cannot trust Jane completely and hesitates to add her on his team, even though she has amazing skills. But the chemistry
There are certainly a large number of shows that centralize their plot on a particular crime. However, “Blindspot” defies the norms of this genre and provides an interesting, fast-paced ride.
prime example of this. Sheis an amazing actress and really brings Jane Doe to life. The same goes for Sullivan Stapleton, who plays Kurt Weller. Stapleton, an Australian actor, emulates a New York accent really well. Both actors contribute to how great the show is. Ashley Johnson, who plays Patterson, is a forensic scientist and is technologically savvy. She is perfect for the role of Patterson, and at times it feels as though she is not acting but rather revealing her normal persona. She is able to act out the emotional roller coasters Patterson goes through in Season Two. One last thing that makes “Blindspot” worthy of watching is its relevance to our world today. When the team solves a tattoo, it is connected to an issue we experience as a nation. This is important because it gives the audience a new perspective on modern society. The main antagonist is a terrorist organization, in which people are planning and/or carrying out terrorist attacks. It is subtly providing a commentary about our society and especially for a show that utilizes the FBI and CIA. Season Three has only recently begun, and it is already off to a great start. From the last episode of Season Two to the first episode of Season Three, there is a two-year leap in time. Jane has a new set of intricate, glowing tattoos for the team to decipher. All of the characters have their secrets that are slowly emerging, and it will be interesting to see what comes about. These developments also add to the suspenseful aspect that keeps me coming back to the show. Also, it is clear that each character has changed and shifted their dynamic within the two-year period. It will be interesting to see the show explore these new character relationships and hopefully learn more about Jane Doe. “Blindspot” is a fresh new take on shows that involve the FBI and CIA. The different concepts make it fascinating to watch. It is the first show to really come up with a new and unique idea that makes sense and captures viewers every week, and it serves as a great parallel to the tumultous events engrossing our daily lives.
K.R.I.T. claims crown as king of southern hip-hop Jimmy Christon Columnist
4eva Is a Mighty Long Time
Big K.R.I.T. BMG
I
n 2015, Kendrick Lamar released “To Pimp a Butterfly,” and nothing has come close to its level of excellence in hip-hop since. This album completely changed the way modern culture thinks about how an album can deliver its themes and present itself as an artistic work. “Lemonade,” “4:44” or “We Got It From Here... Thank You 4 Your Service” wouldn’t exist without “To Pimp a Butterfly.” Even in terms of the way we talk about music, the fated comparison to Lamar’s opus (even if he doesn’t see it as such) is the inevitable conversation ender, the
thing no one really wants to bring up for fear of sounding trite and thoughtless. So why am I bringing up Lamar’s crowning achievement in the start of a review for a Big K.R.I.T. album? Because I think the comparison is entirely apt. I think that Krit’s “4eva Is a Mighty Long Time” is a stellar rap album that balances sincere introspection with bombastic musical maximalism in much the same way that Lamar did with his 2015 epic. Even better, Krit doesn’t let the listener forget for a second who they’re listening to: this is a Big Krit album through and through. There are no interviews with 2Pac and there’s no G-funk, but there is a plethora of gospel choirs and organs. There’s also charisma in spades. The first thing I noticed about this album that I absolutely adored was Krit’s voice. In an age where so much of hip-hop is taken from Chief Keef’s mumbles and Lamar’s theatrical voice changing, it’s infinitely refreshing to hear a voice like Krit’s, that is, a voice that cuts across the noise of the production
Courtesy of Flickr
Although not as well known as other hip-hop artists, Big K.R.I.T. changes the rap game with his newest work “4eva Is a Mighty Long Time,” a follow-up to his 2014 album “Cadillactica.”
and shines like a diamond. I’m talking here of tracks like “Keep the Devil Off,” “Big Bank” and “Subenstein (My Sub IV),” where there is so much grandiloquence on display that it is astounding for Krit’s voice to come across as something that sticks out from the production and work so well with it. There’s also a healthy infusion of charisma here as well. The epic “Subenstein” includes electric-shock sound effects, Brian Eno-ish wind chime synths and record scratches on top of a bass that is turned up to 11, and Krit cuts through all of this noise and brings it all together. It would have been so easy for this track to turn into a gimmicky mixtape-level maximalist track, but somehow it stops from being that, and the song gloriously ends with a guitar solo. If I’m going to continue with ridiculous comparisons for this album, the last time I heard such varied production pulled off so successfully was on Kanye’s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.” There’s so much going on in this album musically. There are pianos, drums, guitars, sampling and choirs, which all blend perfectly. There’s also a fair bit of J. Cole on this album. The track “Everlasting” sounds like one of Cole’s cheesy love songs, only pulled off more successfully. But why am I only comparing Krit to other, more famous rappers? Because if I talked about Krit’s string of excellent mixtapes and other stellar works, no one would care. The only people that care about Krit’s mixtapes are Krit’s fans. He’s always been a frustratingly underground rapper despite his astounding prowess. That’s no hyperbole either. In a day and age where it seems like everyone is producing, singing and poetically musing on the side, Krit makes all of these different acts come off as second nature for him. Not only is Krit just multi-talented, he’s cohesive. All of his talents inform each other to create a unique whole. The track “Mixed Messages” is one of the few hip-hop songs out there where the entire basis of the song is the MC examining just how it is they live their lives. This song has Krit examining the ties between the large-scale implications of being labeled a “rapper” and still trying to be an individual, looking at aspects of his life such as being in a fair and equal relationship while also inhabiting
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
a figure that’s typically seen as being a patriarchal womanizer. I’m not saying this album is feministic or that Krit is showing off an inner Judith Butler on this album. He’s not even close to either of those things. I am saying that Krit comes off as an artist who feels genuinely aware of the things he’s saying and feels at least some sense of responsibility for the words in his songs. He’s aware that what he is saying has the capacity to be hurtful and damaging. There’s no clearer instance of this than in the structure of the work, as it’s a double album. The first album is the boisterous, loud Big K.R.I.T. side of the album. This half of the project also features an entirely male list of guest features. The second album on this project is the Justin Scott side, Krit’s legal name. This side of the album is more introspective and conscious. This is the side where we find Krit drinking alone and airing out his griefs and anxieties over being a modern-day MC on the track “Drinking Sessions.” The comparisons to Kendrick’s song “U” are not unfounded, and it is cool seeing the differences between how these two artists handle expressing a similar situation. This is also the side of the album where the majority of the featured artists are women. It’s not exactly groundbreaking, but it isn’t generic either. In fact, I really like how consistent it all feels. What Krit lacks in terms of the cutting edge is made up for in his excellence of cohesion. In terms of comparisons, there’s only one other artist that I can think of that has done something similar to what Krit has done here, and they did it over the course of their entire discography. I’m not talking about Kendrick, I’m not talking about The Roots, I’m not even talking about Kanye West. I’m talking about the holy grail of hip-hop: the bar, the golden standard. I’m talking about the two ATLiens who proclaimed that the South had something to say and then proceeded to define what hip-hop could be in the modern age. In terms of comparison, Krit has always been chasing after the legacy left by the Funk Crusader and Sir Lucious Left Foot, and with “4eva Is a Mighty Long Time,” he establishes himself as the clear successor to the crown of southern hip-hop.
November 16, 2017
Campus Canvas
ARTS A weekly space highlighting the creative pursuits of student-artists
Page 17 submit to misc@vassar.edu
Excuse me, What was a lie that your parents and/or teachers told you?
“If I eat too much candy, I’ll get worms in my stomach” — Jaineel Dosh ’20
“My mom would tell me that she picked me up out of a garbage can” — Manny Garcia ’20
“They would tell me they were going to bed just to make me feel like it was bedtime” — Taylor Lodise ’19
“My mom was so invested in making the tooth fairy seem real that we wrote letters back and forth for years” — Jacqui Anders ’19
“They never lied to me” — Shigeru Kaneki ’18
“That I was special” — Cullen Riley-Duffy ’19 On Nov. 2, Contrast Magazine held their seventh annual fashion show. Entitled “Embellished,” it involved a collaboration with the Loeb Art Center Student Advisory Committee, the Drama Department and the French Department. They showcased 16 unique, incredible looks focusing on accessories and embellishments throughout various eras of fashion. Additionally, it featured CFDA shoe designer Ruthie Davis as the headlining speaker. She gave a brilliant talk called “Women Who Run In Heels Should Be Feared.” Photographers included Alaina Toatley ’18 and Jake Brody ’18
You can find Contrast at vassarcontrast on Instagram and at their new blog, www.contrastmagazine.org!
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
Leah Cates, Humor & Satire Yesenia Garcia, Humor & Satire
SPORTS
Page 18
November 16, 2017
Talented and deep, VC basketball will make a statement BASKETBALL continued from page 1
Women’s Volleyball NCAA Tournament: Round 1
Sophomore Hunter Gettings squares up a three-pointer in a home game last season. Gettings is primed to be a strong contributor off the bench for a Brewer team picked fifth in the league.
Courtesy of Claire Mattox
that we were growing even over a week of practice.” Not only did the scrimmages show what the team needs to focus on prior to starting their season, it also highlighted the strengths that the team displays. “We moved the ball very well as a team and were looking for the extra pass. We executed our offense well and didn’t robotically go run them. We were able to read the defense and look for the different options that are created by the plays,” Rosenthal noted. Like the men’s team, the women’s squad is looking for a chance to compete for a Liberty League championship. As a second-year captain, Rosenthal is devoted to helping the team reach this goal. As she explained, “As a leader on the team my role is to keep everyone focused on achieving those goals and to ensure that we are enjoying ourselves in the process.” Rosenthal wants to ensure the team is not only focused and serious in the gym, but also wants the team to always remember why they play. “We place a high emphasis on getting things done when we are in the gym and taking advantage of the time we have, but I think one of the most important things to remember with that is to have fun while we do it,” she commented. “It’s really easy to start seeing practice or extra work as a chore when you’re dedicating so many hours and investing into something you love, but keeping the fun with it and enjoying the process is key to reach the goals we have, especially in a season as long as ours.” This mentality helps keep the team focused on more than just playing to win, but also playing for the love of the game. This mentality also helps foster a certain comradery among the team, which is something that can be hugely beneficial in practices and games. Teta explained how the team dynamic is a positive force for the women’s basketball team. “The team dynamic is that everyone must bring high energy, engage in healthy competition, push each other to our limits and beyond, stay positive and always be motivated to compete. When we are able to accomplish these things during practices, we end up having a lot of fun while getting the job done,” she noted. The women have their first game Wednesday, Nov. 15, at William Paterson University in Wayne, NJ, and then will compete in the Vassar Tip-Off Tournament this upcoming weekend, where the Brewers will face up against Simmons College in the first round.
Courtesy of Carlisle Stockton
ing into the start of games. Coming off a 12-13 season and going 9-7 in conference, the Brewers are gearing up for what should be an even better season than last year. Returning nearly everybody that was on the team last year, the Brewers were picked to finish fourth in the preseason poll, ahead of William Smith, Clarkson, St. Lawrence, Union, RPI and Bard. Senior guard captain Ariella Rosenthal thinks the team looks great and attributes their strong preseason to all the work the team puts in during the offseason. Additionally, bringing back so many players has been beneficial for them. “We have almost everyone returning from our roster from last year, which has really helped with our cohesiveness on the floor,” Rosenthal commented. “People put in a lot of work this offseason, and it was really evident when we started practice. I am really confident in the potential we have for this year and I am excited to end my college career with this team.” One major part of this offseason work is the team’s hard work and dedication in the weight room. Strength and Conditioning Coach David Young has geared lifts and workouts specifically to benefit each team. Junior Nicole Teta, who was one of the top three scorers last year, explained the benefits of the team going to lift every week. “At lifts, Coach Young has put a huge emphasis on explosiveness, speed and balance drills to prepare us for what we might expect during games,” she explained. Vassar’s women’s team has had two scrimmages so far, against Mitchell College and Manhattanville College, and Rosenthal is happy with the way the team matched up against two very talented teams. “Our two scrimmages were really great learning opportunities for us. We played two very athletic teams who applied a lot of ball pressure and were constantly up in your face, which was great for us in terms of having to execute our offense and take care of the ball,” she explained. The scrimmages exposed areas that the team needs to improve and focus on in practice. In the first scrimmage, turning the ball over was a big issue. However, with a full week of practice in between scrimmages, the team was able to address the issue, and turnovers were much less prevalent in the second scrimmage. Rosenthal commented on the quick improvement, noting, “It was great to see how malleable we are and
The 2017-2018 Vassar women’s basketball team poses at the AFC’s newly designed center court. The Brewers return all starters from last year while also adding three newcomers.
Men’s Basketball
Cleveland Cavaliers 104, New York Knicks 101
Vassar College 1, Babson College 3
November 13, 2017
November 10, 2017
Vassar College # Player
SP K
2 L. Ninkovich
4
E
12 7
TA
Babson College E TA
POS
Player
MIN REB AST STL PTS
New York Knicks MIN REB AST STL PTS
Pct
#
Player
36 .139
1
E. Schwegman 4
1
0
2
.500
PF
K. Love
23
6
2
0
6
PF
K. Porzingis
1
2
20
7 C. Witten
4
0
0
2
.000
PF
J. Crowder
22
1
0
0
13
SF
T. Hardaway Jr. 44 10 5
2
28
0
20
.143
SP K
Cleveland Cavaliers Pct
POS
Player
34 7
4 A. Macmillan 4
1
0
7
5 B. Corham
4
1
5
16 -.250
8 A. Puccio
4
12 7
40 .125
SF
L. James
36
9
12 0
23
C
E. Kanter
31
7 D. Gallagher
4
16 8
61 .131
9 G. Miller
4
10 3
26 .269
SG
J. Smith
33
5
3
3
8
PG
J. Jack
24 2
5
0
2
11 J. Kerbs
4
1
3
10 -.200
15 E. Cameron
4
2
2
14 .000
SG
I. Shumpert
20
4
0
0
0
SG
C. Lee
37
4
1
2
15
12 C. Cambey
4
7
0
16 .438
20 K. Carosotto
4
12 2
22 .455
PF
C. Frye
25
5
0
1
9
SF
D. McDermott
20 2
1
0
2
1
J. Schreeder
4
0
0
0
.000
4 A. Beecher
4
0
0
0
.000
SF
C. Osman
6
0
0
0
3
SF
L. Thomas
17
1
0
1
5
10 A. Zucchero
4
0
0
1
.000
6 S. Roseen
4
7
3
25 .160
SF
J. Green
18
4
0
0
6
C
K. O’Quinn
8
4
0
0
2
6 S. Tiajoloff
1
0
0
0
.000
11 C. Hunter
4
4
2
18 .111
SG
D. Wade
28
3
3
2
15
PG
F. Ntilikina
24 3
2
6
7
19 L. Hennigan
3
0
0
0
SG
K. Korver
29
5
1
1
21
SG
D. Dotson
1
0
0
0
Totals.......
39 48 19 149 .195
104
Totals.......
Totals.......
35 38 23 147 .102
.000
Totals.......
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
48 21 7
16 4
0
49 19
13 101
November 16, 2017
SPORTS
Page 19
Famed pitcher Roy Halladay Despite theft allegations, dies in unexpected crash Ball freed from detainment Robert Pinataro Sports Editor
L
ast week on Nov. 7, former MLB pitcher and two-time Cy Young Award winner Roy Halladay passed away when he crashed his plane in the Gulf of Mexico. Former teammates, opponents, coaches and fans alike are mourning the tragic loss of the legendary “Doc,” as he was fondly known. The deaths of famous athletes like Roberto Clemente, José Fernández and now Halladay have a way of sparking powerful discourse and debate about the underlying issue that caused their deaths. In the case of Halladay, this means starting the discussion about whether the aircraft that crashed is safe for recreational use and whether pilots wishing to fly at low altitudes need more experience and more challenging testing requirements. During his retirement, Halladay picked up a new hobby. He began flying recreational aircrafts and he had acquired one of his own. His plane, the ICON A5, is an incredible feat of engineering. It is an amphibious aircraft and can be folded such that it is small enough to be carried in a trailer. The technology present in this plane is so new that A5 has only been on the market for three years. Halladay’s is the third life claimed by the ICON A5 since April, the other two being the plane’s head designer and the company’s director of engineering. They died in the same crash in California in May. Similar to Halladay, they were flying at extraordinarily low altitude, as is standard procedure for this aircraft. Being that the A5 is so innovative, it is not unreasonable to say that the plane itself could be to blame for the crashes, rather than the pilots. The crash in May was investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), and it was determined that the crashes were the result of pilot error rather than fundamental flaws in the aircraft’s design. The two ICON employees were flying low to the ground when they crashed into a canyon. Halladay’s crash will undergo similar investigation and, in accordance
with the rather aggressive flight pattern apparent in the videos acquired by TMZ, it is expected that the investigation will once again concede that it is not the fault of the plane’s design but of the pilot. The question then becomes, why are pilots crashing these planes specifically? The explanation is indisputable. The plane is designed to be flown at astonishingly low altitudes, which makes it problematic for novice pilots to operate. Naturally, room for error is minimal in low-altitude aviation, which means that pilots must be a bit more skilled. Perhaps a new test could be developed, specific to low-altitude flying, that could only be taken a certain period of time after one has earned their initial sport or recreational pilot certification test. Another potential solution to this problem is changing the design of the plane into something designed for higher-altitude flying. Though much of the aircraft’s appeal stems from its ability to fly so close to the ground or water, its other qualities, such as its portability and amphibiousness, make it a unique plane even if it is not intended to fly at low altitudes. This would certainly resolve the problems that have been causing the ICON A5 to crash by forcing them to be flown at slightly safer altitudes. Halladay’s career with the Toronto Blue Jays and the Philadelphia Phillies was 16 years long and stellar throughout. He spent the majority of his time with the Jays, serving as the ace pitcher on their subpar team, but ended up joining the Phillies organization in 2010 as the ace of their legendary pitching staff composed of Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, and Roy Oswalt. Though they were unable to win another World Series over the three years that followed, Halladay decided to retire at the age of 36. His loss comes as a tragic one to the baseball world. He was one of the greats, only hardly removed from his professional career, and he died far too soon. Regardless of the causes or potential solutions to this ongoing problem, another life has been claimed by this aircraft. One of baseball’s greatest pitcher’s is gone much too soon, and he will be missed dearly.
Mack Liederman Sports Editor
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or three UCLA freshman basketball players, including the high-profile LiAngelo Ball, a nightmare situation of detainment in China has finally come to a close. Last week, Ball, alongside fellow touted recruits Cody Riley and Jalen Hill, were arrested in Hangzhou, China, on allegations of shoplifting. Surveillance footage showed the freshmen swiping designer sunglasses from a Louis Vuitton store as well as two others in the shopping mall near the team’s hotel. UCLA had traveled to China to play their season opener against Georgia Tech in a game organized by Alibaba, a Chinese web company that had recently purchased the rights to air Pac-12 basketball it China (“LiAngelo Ball, two other UCLA players released on bail after shoplifting arrest in China,” Washington Post, 11.07.2017). For Ball, Riley and Hill, the potential consequences levied against them were more than frightening. Even the most petty of crimes can lead to serious repercussions in China, due to limited defendant rights. For misdemeanor charges to the ilk of shoplifting, Chinese prosecutors move swiftly, with an over 99 percent conviction rate. Many Chinese legal scholars speculated that the “UCLA Three” could have faced up to three to 10 years in prison or, at the very least, an extended hotel house arrest that would cut into their basketball season (“UCLA’s LiAngelo Ball Reportedly Could Dace 3-10 Years in China Prison,” NESN, 11.08.2017). However, it was an unlikely supporter that has allowed the UCLA freshmen to avoid their charges and finally return to the United States on Tuesday. President Donald Trump successfully vouched for the player’s release in an appeal to China President Xi Jingping. “What they did was unfortunate,” said President Trump. “You know, you’re talking about very long prison sentences. [China does] not play games” (“U.C.L.A. Players Returning Home After Trump Asks Xi for Help,” New York Times, 10.14.2017). The successful pardoning of the UCLA players is good press in the mind of Trump. The Presi-
dent has been on a 12-day trip to Asia and now has something to hang his hat on when validating his personal rapport with President Xi. Throughout his administration, Trump has often tried to flaunt his cozy foreign relations with China, and the LiAngelo Ball case might very well be the high-profile case that he needed. The arrests gained a substantial amount of media attention, largely in part due to the weight of the Ball name. LiAngelo is the brother of Lonzo Ball, the number two overall pick by the Los Angeles Lakers in this year’s NBA draft. Arguably more notable, he is the son of the outlandish LaVar Ball, who has been widely scrutinized as being the perennial helicopter parent. LaVar has kept his basketball-playing sons constantly in the news, beginning with his rejection of big-business sports companies through the launch of his own Big Baller Brand, which includes rookie Lonzo’s own signature shoe retailing for over $500, according to the company website. LaVar has also loudly claimed that he can kill Michael Jordan in one-on-one, that his own son was the world’s best player and that his youngest son LaMelo was wasting his time in high school, electing to instead homeschool him in preparation for collegiate and pro basketball (“The LaVar Ball Ridiculousness Scale”, The Ringer, 03.13.2017). In an interesting parallel, LaVar has capitalized off of the same bold, defying style of rhetoric that led to Trump’s rise. As a result, the Ball family has elevated itself to the Kardashians of the sporting world. LaVar, Lonzo, LiAngelo, LaMelo and company have been most recently followed by a reality television crew for the Facebook Watch program “Ball in the Family.” Whenever LiAngelo likes it or not, the product the fame created for him by his father will mean that he will be closely examined by the public eye. Thus, the consequences of the shoplifting will go beyond just his upcoming team suspension, and will likely haunt and hinder him for the rest of his basketball career. Although his actions were wrong and foolish, it is important to keep in perspective that LiAngelo is still only 18. For athletes in the limelight, acting 18 is just not an option.
Kristaps Porzingis and the rise of ‘Big Man for Small Ball’ Jonathan Levi-Minzi Guest Columnist
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though. Players with the height profiles of big men are increasingly presenting themselves with highly variegated, guard-esque skillsets. Whereas a three-shooting big man like Dirk Nowitzki was a novelty just 10 or so years ago, today, virtually all offense-oriented frontcourt players work to develop their scoring game out towards the perimeter. Post stars such as Demarcus Cousins and Karl Anthony Towns now regularly shoot multiple threes. (Cousins is averaging nearly eight three-point shots a game this fall!) In this context, the rise of a seemingly complete outlier of a big man, Kristaps Porzingis, to elite-tier stardom (thus far this season) is not entirely surprising. It is not considered likely either, however. Despite his imposing height and frame (seven foot three), Porzingis cannot push his way into the post like many big men at a mere 240 pounds. A virtual skyscraper, the Latvian also is not very fast. So, how is it possible that Kristaps may very well average 25 or 30 points a game this season? The answer is that the standard role of an NBA big man has changed dramatically. Instead of camping in the post, big men now often work outside the paint. They start at the top of the key, helping to create advantageous circumstances using their bodies as obstructions. In this vein, they offer pick-and-rolls to ballhandlers, high screens to wings and lane traffic to both on- and off-ball players. This is all to help these offensive players escape the defenders the opposition wants to guard them with. Frontcourt players like Porzingis, who have all sorts of offensive skills, can especially thrive in basketball plays that develop circumstances like this. Defenses try to scheme by fighting picks or letting switches happen against bad shooters. As a big man with a great shot from anywhere, Porzingis makes the opposition’s job virtually impossible. He has a superiority against big men when behind the perimeter and against smaller
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Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
urability is the last issue Porzingis has to overcome before turning into the game’s next superstar.” This matter-of-fact yet zealous pronouncement from the New York Post’s Marc Berman is precisely representative of how New York Knicks fans are feeling these past few weeks. The team has won five out of their last six games, led by center Kristaps Porzingis, who earned Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors for his efforts in part of that stretch. “The Unicorn,” as Kevin Durant nicknamed the Latvian expat, is averaging over 30 points and over two blocks per game. Of course, and as is par for the course in a Knicks fan’s heart, the only surprise would be if the team’s early success did not precede a letdown. The franchise with Tim Hardaway Jr. as its secondary star will not be challenging the league’s best squads in team field goal percentage. But, Madison Square Garden hoops tragicomedy aside, Porzingis’s emergence as an apparently capable superstar is still very exciting. It is the latest example of changing times in the basketball world. Many analysts and pundits documented a “small ball” revolution gripping the NBA in the 2014-16 seasons. The Golden State Warriors put the league on its heels by playing Draymond Green as an undersized power forward. Bursting at the seams with shooting, agility of body and agility of mind, those Warriors terrorized opponents using “pace and space” (Sports Illustrated, “How the Warriors evolved small ball and, in the process, the NBA,” 10.12.2015). Coach Steve Kerr only became more merciless in the 2016 season, deploying Green as a six-foot-seven center, even further expediting matters. At first, the revolution seemed primed to discontinue traditional big men: hulking, physical players that can bully—and absorb opposing, bullying efforts—in the post. Power forward Da-
vid Lee had been a starter in the NBA for many years. Yes, Lee was coming off significant injuries, but in 2015, he was still a post-scorer and offensive rebounder that could produce in large quantities—one whom any observer would have expected to contribute once available again for the Warriors. The power forward, though, rode the bench during the team’s championship march. “I had some injuries early in the season and we’ve made some decisions since then,” Lee, with admirable equanimity, began explaining to a reporter, “and we’ve been playing a lot of small ball this season and coach Kerr’s come with somewhat of a new style for us” (NBA.com, “Lee focused on Finals now, uncertain future later,” 06.04.2015). Lee was experiencing first-hand the marginalization of his method of production, his way of providing value to the modern basketball team’s game-winning effort. When one door closes, another one opens. Big men did not, in fact, go extinct as a result of the small ball revolution. Instead, they changed shape and/or adapted. An aforementioned example of big men changing shape is Draymond Green. The forward had been playing mostly in the wing position before the Warriors’ dynasty took hold. Green isn’t the pinnacle of agility, but he is relatively quick off the mark, which pays dividends when he comes to the perimeter or even into the high screen area. There are plenty of traditional big men still in the league. Draymond moving away from the basket gives those big, sluggish players the lose-lose choice of guarding his shot and ceding the lane to other cutters and drivers—as well as to Draymond himself, given the quickness differential—or guarding the lane and ceding the perimeter shot. Other players redeployed as big men with some more pep in their step include generational talents like LeBron James and Kevin Durant. Adaptation has not been in one direction,
New York Knicks Center Porzingis has been averaging nearly 30 points per game this season. defenders when inside the perimeter. Put the smaller defender on him at the perimeter? The offensive guard can now face a defending big man in space. Keep the big man on Porzingis inside the perimeter? The offensive guard, if the pick is successful, escapes the defense and has a chance to shoot or create other high percentage offense. Kevin Durant had a point when he labeled Kristaps Porzingis a “unicorn” of a basketball player. Much like Durant himself, Porzingis represents a combination of skillset and physical profile that just shouldn’t be possible.
SPORTS
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Why
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Robin Corleto
Guest Columnist
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lementary and middle school was a lot. I was bullied for being the “fat kid,” having a “gay voice,” hanging out with only girls and speaking “weird” due to my speech impediment. During that time, I let those labels get to me and let them define who I was and what I could do. This is still something I struggle with. In hindsight, I see where some of my anxiety disorder came from. I tried to handle my anxiety through reading and working hard in class, but it was not enough. I still felt uneasy in my skin, in my physique, in my physical abilities. Suddenly, in seventh grade, I had major surgery on my intestines and lungs
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November 16, 2017
Robin Corleto, Diving
which (literally) saved me from dying, resulting in major weight loss from my two months in the hospital. When I went back to school, I was not the “fat kid” anymore, but I still did not feel comfortable with my body and I wanted to change this. So logically, I decided to join a sports team. My family did not have the money to let me join a club sport outside of my school, so I joined the one sports team in my middle school at the time: Students Run Los Angeles (SRLA), an organization that trains students to run the L.A. Marathon. It mainly consisted of people of color and was aimed at low-income students; it was calling my name. In March 2011, I ran my first marathon in 50 de-
Courtesy of Carlisle Stockton
This week, junior diver Robin Corleto speaks to his experience as an athlete of color. “Why We Play” is a space where Vassar players can write about what their chosen sport means to them.
gree weather with strong winds and downpour. It was worse than lung surgery, but I loved it. I felt great. I felt strong. I felt like I was more than what people said I was. I was a marathon runner; that was the first label I gave myself. I felt like I had some strength other people did not and could use it to empower and protect myself from other people’s thoughts of me. How many other people my age can say they ran a marathon? How many other people know that type of discipline, that focus, that pain? I also realized how much I loved being on a sports team; The community of people working towards the same goal and encouraging each other felt amazing. I decided to try other sports on top of marathon running: becoming a member of track and field for a hot second, the baseball team rocking a jockstrap, co-captain of my cheerleading team junior year and some boxing in my senior year, all while running a marathon each year of high school except my first year. I became a student coach/captain in SRLA in my junior year, and I loved it: guiding my teammates through stretches and runs and helping my teammates through their personal problems, all while racing myself and competing with my friends in most of our races. I felt great knowing that I was able to be a role model for other students and remind them that no matter what society limits them to, making them feel like a statistic, they are so much more than that. I am much more than just the child of two immigrants, I am more than my anxiety disorder and learning disabilities, I am much more than a bisexual man. I am a marathon runner with great discipline and physical and mental strength. When I got to Vassar, I initially was going to join the track & field team, but they were too quick and ran way shorter distances than what I liked and was used to. I was in Coach Lisl’s swim class when this random person who ended up being my next-door neighbor/future friend/role
model, Nora, came to talk to Lisl. I overheard that she was recruiting for the diving team and I decided I wanted to join so I could be part of a team again. Initially, it seemed easy and fun; I get to wear Speedos and justify my idolization of bisexual jock Tom Daley. As I started to learn the motions of diving, as well as attempted to dive, I was genuinely scared. I have a fear of large bodies of water (shout out to the Pacific Ocean for drowning me once) and a fear of heights (shout out to the Ferris wheel in California Adventure Park). The concept of literally jumping on a bouncy surface three meters in the air, turning my body into tight rigid forms, avoiding hitting my head and trying to land in the water safely without getting a concussion or severe bruising was a difficult lesson for me. I specifically remember crying on the three-meter board, scared to go off, but now I am so willing to fling myself off a diving board while knowing I may get injured. I dive pretty well for someone who has never done gymnastics, diving, swimming, and who just started in college two years ago! I feel a similar drive when I dive compared to when I run marathons and I love it. Initially, I felt weird going from a team that consisted of POCs and low-income students to being one of the only POCs and low-income students. I felt like a fish out of water (pun intended). Sometimes, I still do get this feeling of being different when people are talking about their summer vacations when I had to work a job most of my summers and stay in Los Angeles the majority of my life; I sometimes feel inferior. But I remind myself that I am doing the exact same sport that the rest of the team does; I am just as capable as they are. Now I have grown comfortable in my skin and on the team, I remind myself I am capable and I can do so much, regardless of what society says. So why do I play? To remind myself, and everyone else, that I am more than what others say I am.
Vassar falls in NCAA tournament; Gallagher gains record T
he first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2006 for the Vassar women’s volleyball team was short-lived, as they fell 3-1 to Babson College in the opening round last Friday at Clarkson’s Alumni Gymnasium. The shining star for the Brewers was junior hitter Devan Gallagher, who broke Vassar’s single season record for kills in the loss. For her historic season, Gallagher was named Liberty League Player of Year and earned Second Team All-American honors. Junior Annie MacMillan and sophomore Jane McLeod picked up All-American Honorable Mention selections. The 2017 season marked the team’s ninth 20-win season and sixth NCAA Tournament appearance under the direction of head coach Jonathan Penn.
All photos courtesy of Conrad Koehler
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