The Miscellany News
Since 1866 | miscellanynews.org
Volume CL | Issue 11
November 30, 2017
VC winter sports get a hot start
Lecturers talk union organizing
Kelly Pushie
Clark Xu
Courtesy of Idlewild Theatre Ensemble
GUEST REPORTER
W
omen’s Basketball: The women’s basketball team have gone nearly perfect on the early part of their season, winning four out of their first five games so far this season. The women picked up their first win on the road against William Patterson University, 60-56. The Brewers then hosted the Vassar Tip-Off Tournament, where they faced up against Simmons College and Oneonta College, securing the win against Simmons and suffering a setback against Oneonta. The VC squad next squared up against Mount Saint Mary College at home and won 52-43. In their most current game, the team defeated New Paltz on the road this Tuesday. The Brewers will host Ithaca and William Smith this upcoming weekend for their first Liberty League conference matchups. Women’s Fencing: The women’s fencing team has gotten off to a solid start, picking up 8 wins against 5 losses in their first matchups of the season. The Brewers hosted the Vassar Invitational to kick off their season, where they beat Queens College, Wagner College, City College of New York University and Farleigh DickinSee WINTER SPORTS on page 18
On Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. and Dec. 2 at 5 and 8 p.m., the Idlewild Theatre Ensemble, Vassar’s all femme and nonbinary student theatre group, will be presenting its new show “Maiden Voyage” in the Kenyon Club Room.
Idlewild devises sea shanty show Matt Stein
ASSISTANT ARTS EDITOR
C
reating a work from a simple concept can seem like a miracle. One word or idea suddenly sparks a curiosity that grows into an hour-long production filled with a rich story, developed characters and full technical elements. All from one simple idea. Many productions at least try to use a source text to refer back to, but an original concept both presents a greater challenge and gives a more fulfilling journey. Idlewild Theatre Ensemble’s devised
Courtesy of Vassar College
Art history has long been a cornerstone of the Vassar curriculum, and the strides made by Professor Emerita Linda Nochlin ’51, who passed away last month, exemplify the boundary-pushing spirit of the department.
Patrick Tanella
O
nly a select few people are capable of changing the world through their writing. Former Mary Conover Mellon Professor of Art History Linda Nochlin ’51 was one of them, with her masterpiece 1971 essay “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?” uplifting the art world, and feminist critique, forever. Nochlin passed away on Oct. 27 of this year, but her legacy lives on through her writing and the thousands of students and colleagues she profoundly impacted. Nochlin taught at Vassar from 1952 to 1980, but she frequently returned to receive a plethora of awards, remaining involved in the department and lecturing about her recent work to sev-
Inside this issue
4
NEWS
“Chronogram Conversation” explores local revitalization
eral generations of students. Professor and Chair of the Art Department Brian Lukacher remarked on this unique connection: “I believe that she viewed Vassar as having had a transformative influence on her, and she returned the favor by generously lending support and showing sustained interest in the welfare of the department.” A Vassar graduate, Nochlin quickly returned to the College after receiving her M.A. in English from Columbia University. She was inspired to pursue the study of art after hearing a public lecture on Chartres given by visiting lecturer Adolf Katzenellenbogen, which brought her to the field and back to Vassar as a professor of the subject. Vassar professors have always been See LINDA NOCHLIN on page 14
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production “Maiden Voyage” sets sail in the Kenyon Club Room on Friday, Dec. 1, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Dec 2., at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. Idlewild is a non-hierarchal student theatre group of femme and non-binary theatremakers. “Maiden Voyage” is a devised piece about a disaster at sea shown through the eyes of different characters in a nonlinear structure. The piece is based on an original concept revolving around the subject of sea shanties. Idlewild ensemble member Sarah Rubin ’20 has served as music direc-
tor and co-props designer and will be performing in the production. Rubin spoke about how the group generated the initial idea on which they based their process: “It started out as a vague concept. The six of us met twice at the beginning of the year to try to come up with something we wanted to do. We decided we were interested in sea shanties and we took it from there. We added more members and then started devising around that original concept. It stayed basically true to how we startSee IDLEWILD on page 14
Facebook page snaps secret life of bricks Laila Volpe
OUTGOING FEATURES EDITOR
V
assar has many mysteries: the elusive squirrel on campus without a tail, leading students to wonder at his origins; the mystical, luck-bearing womp womps; the haunted basements of the less reputable dorms; and the fascinating brickwork of the buildings on campus. The eccentric brickwork of the college is an often
overlooked aspect of the Vassar experience, however one student took it upon themselves to reveal the hidden wonder lurking right under our noses. If you had scarcely guessed at the existence of the Facebook page “Mysterious Brickwork at Vassar College,” then you are in for a treat. In the depths of one of Vassar’s many haunted basements, a brick enSee BRICKWORK on page 6
Courtesy of Mysterious Brickwork of Vassar College via Facebook
Shaping feminist art history at Vassar today OUTGOING ARTS EDITOR
Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY
“Mysterious Brickwork” posts photos of unique brick patterns around campus. Part one of two: The Old Laundry Building wall before its repairs.
CRISPR solutions are oversimplified OPINIONS resolutions
19 SPORTS
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
D
ebates about proper working conditions and compensation have put pressure on relationships between workers, management and consumers not only at Vassar College, but also in other parts of the country where persistent inequality has frayed community bonds. On Nov. 20, Student/Labor Dialogue (SLD), in collaboration with several other student organizations and academic departments, invited representatives Amina Rahman and Michelle Ceballos from the Burgerville Workers Union (BVWU) to share their experience working in a fast-food chain based in Portland, OR and organizing in response to unaddressed grievances. Burgerville currently operates about forty restaurants in the northwest region of the United States and markets food that is locally sourced, free of antibiotics and environmentally friendly. It primarily caters to a middle-class and affluent population who would pay a premium cost for better quality food and service. Rahman and Ceballos considered the perspective that management holds toward Burgerville workers and described, “As for how workers fit in this branding, they want us to serve with love and call people who patronize the restaurants our guests, not customers, as if they were guests in our house.” Due to this positive image, Burgerville workers were surprised to discover that the restaurant management would perpetrate unfair labor practices and employ forceful methods to discourage workers wanting to unionize. Burgerville workers collectively decided to form BVWU in April 2016 as a way to address the lack of maternity leave, denial of employee health insurance coverage, low wages, unsafe working conditions and inconsistent hours. Rahman and Ceballos suggested that management inflicted many of these grievances in a subtle fashion. For example, the service contract provides employee health insurance coverage to any worker who clocked at least thirty hours a week, but management would schedule part-time workers close to the thirty-hour threshold and switch in another set of part-time workers in order to avoid providing for health insurance. Similarly, Rahman and Ceballos reported that management could assign working hours that varied significantly between the morning, evening and night shifts. They said, “People have a completely different schedule every week and only find out what their schedule is going to be like Thursday, Friday beforehand. It basically makes it impossible to plan your life.” The demands that BVWU presented to Burgerville closely mirrored those presented by SLD and dining service workers to Bon Appetit and the Vassar College administration last month. An SLD member who wished to remain anonymous elaborated, “We find that low wage workers will face similar forms of maltreatment across the See SLD on page 3
Entry to Hall of Fame complicated by doping scandal shame