Misc2 11 16 1

The Miscellany News

Volume CXLVIII | Issue 12

February 11, 2016

Since 1866 | miscellanynews.org

Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY

Political orgs conflict in ideology Phocas ’91 works to build smarter cities Y Julia Cunningham

Assistant Features Editor

Sarah Sandler Columnist

P

rofessor of History James Merrell let me in on a not-so-guilty pleasure this week: “One of the many joys of working with Vassar students is that you know they’re going to go on from your classroom into every field you can imagine, and some you can’t. Rob Phocas, class of ‘91, is a prime example of them.”

Phocas was a history major at Vassar and this past Tuesday, he returned to campus to give a presen-

tation called “Where do we go from here: Building Smart Cities.” The lecture was co-sponsored by the History and Environmental Studies (ENVS) Departments.

Phocas is the prime example of someone learning from history to create the future. As the Energy and Sustainability Manager for the City of Charlotte, North Carolina, Phocas is in charge of developing and implementing the City’s federal Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program (EECBG).

See PHOCAS on page 7

Rolison exposes city debt in new budget Shelia Hu

Guest Reporter

M courtesy of VCLU

ou may not need to wait until September to watch the liberals and conservatives go head to head over issues like gun control, immigration or energy policy. Thursday, Feb. 11, the Vassar College Libertarian Union (VCLU) and the Vassar Democrats will meet in Rocky to discuss those issues in an hour-long debate.

In any debate, equality is crucial. VCLU Treasurer Pieter Block ’18 who coordinated the event said “Especially in this election year, we think that it’s important that students have two fair perspectives, at least.” With the debate, the two orgs will have a chance to present their respective views. “Obviously our parties are more complex than ‘right and left,’ but hopefully we’ll get into some dialogue about important issues that people care about,” Block said.

Communications Director for the Vassar Dems, Conor Flanagan ’17, mentioned that the Vassar Dems were excited for some stimulating conversation. “We’re looking forward to the discussion and we think it’s going to be a good, substantive event,” he said.

The debate will follow a strict schedule with three topics, each taking about twenty minutes with two debators on either side. As the larger club, the Dems will have different representatives for each topic, See DEBATE on page 6

The members of the VCLU featured above will be debating with the Vassar Democrats on political topics like gun control, energy policy, and immigration.

ayor of Poughkeepsie Rob Rolison was unaware of what he would find when he began the process of determining his budget.

After several months of work, his administration announced that the City of Poughkeepsie is in serious financial trouble. The debt totals more than $7.8 million, not including the $11 million from the general-use fund deficit, a back-up fund for rainy days.

Since winning the mayoral race in early November, Rolison has worked

on determining how and where the government will allocate funds for the next year. “We need to fully understand the financial picture of the city, and I think right now we don’t know that and I’m concerned about that,” Rolison said. “We have not been given a very accurate financial picture, because we’re still trying to get the budget in a form that has detail to it” (Poughkeepsie Journal, “City of Poughkeepsie owes $7.8 million and counting,” 02.03.16). After conducting an investigation to deSee DEBT on page 3

Aument an asset to Empress Of dazzles in the Shiva Vassar Athletics W Sophia Steinert-Evoy Guest Reporter

Zach Rippe

Sports Editor

V

Inside this issue

6

New shop promises vaping isn’t just FEATURES blowing smoke

12 HUMOR

hen Empress Of released her first studio album in September 2015, president of No-ViCE Zack Wilks ’17 turned up his efforts to get her to Vassar. “I told ViCE, ‘She’s gonna blow up, we gotta book her,’” said Wilks. He had been following her career ever since she got signed to

She has worked with artists from Devonté Hynes of Blood Orange to Florence and the Machine. Empress Of is a solo project of singer-songwriter Lorely Rodriguez. The New York-based musician first gained popularity after posting a series of anonymous one-minute videos to YouTube in 2012. Rodriguez has since See NO-VICE on page 16

courtesy of Philip Cosores/Consequence of Sound

assar sports would not be what they are today without the behind-the-scenes work of the Athletic Communications Department.

Headed by Director Jamie Chagnon, the department works to tell the stories of over 500 varsity student athletes on Vassar’s campus and enhance their overall experience.

Chagnon explained, “The primary responsibility of Athletics Communications [is] to disseminate information to members of both the print and electronic media as well institutions that Vassar competes against. Among Athletics Communications’ many varied duties are press/media relations, editorial releases and feature stories, game and special event programs, newsletters, statistical maintenance and record keeping, web-content management and collaborative work with Vassar’s Office of Communications.”

Vassar Athletics covers a vast range of teams and conferences at the Division III level as a member of the Liberty League, United Volleyball Conference and Seven Sisters.

The department is always going through growth and development.

The latest being the hiring of Assistant Director of Athletic Communications Tiana Aument. Aument is a recent graduate of the University of

South Florida in Tampa, Fla. and has worked closely with various forms of sports media throughout her time in college.

She will replace Keith Sneddon, who left the department in November to pursue a Division I communications opportunity at the University of Maryland. Athletic Director Michelle Walsh commented on Sneddon’s time at Vassar, stating, “He made many valuable contributions to the department and we wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors.”

Although she only finished school this past December, Aument already has a wealth of experience. She served as a staff writer for the USF Oracle, covering basketball, baseball, football, soccer and volleyball.

Aument also contributed to the local Tampa Tribune and 24/7 sports publications. A mass communications major, she worked at Bulls Radio, training volunteers on technical aspects of the production process and would produce up to four sporting events a week.

She also helped broadcast and record studio shows and sport updates. She was also a student representative on the Diversity committee from Oct. 14 until her graduation.

Aument began her work this past January and looks to contribute to See AUMENT on page 18

Terrible Records, a Brooklyn-based record label also representing acts such as Le1f and Solange, both of whom have performed at Vassar in recent years. In the months since the release of “Me,” Empress Of has indeed “blown up.” Her single “How Do You Do It” has over 2.5 million listens on Spotify and she’s going on a European tour later this month.

Empress Of performed last Friday in the Shiva for ViCE’s Winter Concert. The show brings back a tradition that was put on a three-year hiatus. It drew large crowds and received overwhelmingly positive reviews from concertgoers.

With V-Day draw, ResLife promises everyone a date

18 SPORTS

Squash rickochets off of opposition, ends season proud

The Miscellany News

Page 2

February 11, 2016

Editors-in-Chief Palak Patel Noble Ingram

Headline for a four-column article Morgan Strunsky JYA Blogger

11

February

Thursday

Late Night at the Lehman Loeb

5:00pm| Frances Lehman loeb Art Center Atrium | Art

Art as Resistance from the US to Palestine Series 6:00pm | Taylor Hall 203 | SJP

Vassar Democrats vs. VCLU Debate

7:00pm| Rocky 200 | Vassar Democrats

SJP & WVKR Burger-Fi Party 8:00pm | Burger-Fi | SJP

Senior Editors

nity” mom-tears. I was off to conquer the airport solo.

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

courtesy of Morgan Strunsky

As I scrambled to finish packing my bags the night before I was scheduled to depart for Exeter, England (procrastination helps to settle my nerves), I had some time to reflect on my impending adventure. I was set to achieve two personal milestones: one immediate, the other more long-term. To begin, I had never traveled alone, and the next day’s journey promised to be the globetrotting equivalent of joining the Polar Bear Club as a means of learning how to swim. Secondly, I had never spent more than a couple of weeks outside of the States, and the prospect of over five months in a foreign land weighed heavily on my already-vulnerable sense of motivation. Deep down inside, however, there flickered within me the oh-so-faint spark of excitement that one feels before a performance, or on a first date, or after plugging in a USB cord the correct way on the first try. I contemplated that spark as I attempted to slip into an inevitably fitful rest before the harrowing voyage that lay ahead of me.

The normally two-hour-long journey from my house to JFK International Airport seemed to take six. The first hour and a half went by smoothly; the last half hour took longer than the final few percent of a particularly stubborn

download. As we pulled up to the curb near the terminal, my mother (who had, to her credit, held it together remarkably well up until this point) burst into the obligatory “five-months-is-an-eter-

Morgan Strunsky ’17 is spending the semester studying abroad in Exeter, England. He took this shot as his plane was about to land at London’s Heathrow Airport. Read more on Far and Away!

12

February

Friday

Modfest Film Screening: Original Shorts by Vassar Students

4:00pm | CDF 109 | Film Department

Dabke Workshop

13

February

Saturday

American Stories Lecture

5:00pm | Taylor Hall 203 | Loeb Art Center

Modfest Performance: VRDT 7:00pm| Kenyon Hall | Wordsmiths

Sunday

Tennis (M) vs. Clark University

Thomas Sauer, piano

VCPUNX: Romance got hit by a car

Paper Critique

1:00pm| Walker | VC Athletics

5:00pm| The Mug | VCPUNX

4:00pm | UpC | SJP

14

February

3:00pm | Skinner Hall | Music Department

9:00pm | Rose Parlor | The Misc

Come tell us all about our typos!

ASA Lunar New Year 6:00pm| The Aula |ASA

Indecent Exposure Valentine’s Day Show

9:00pm | Sanders Classroom 212 | Indecent Exposure

Other Tragic People

9:00pm | Blodgett Aud. | VCTV

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Anika Lanser Rhys Johnson

News Humor & Satire Arts Sports Photography Design Online Copy

Jeremy Middleman Zander Bashaw Connor McIlwain Zach Rippe Sam Pianello Sarah Dolan Kelsey Quinn Jackson Ingram

Crossword Editors Alycia Beattie York Chen Collin KnoppSchwyn Assistant News Eilis Donohue Assistant Features Julia Cunningham Alan Hagins Assistant Design Talya Phelps Charlotte VarcoeWolfson Assistant Copy Claire Baker Assistant Social Media Hannah Nice Web Master Andy Carrera Reporters Amreen Bhasin Ashley Hoyle Sieu Nguyen Sabrina Oh Derek Sonntag Matt Stein Winnie Yeates Columnists Nick Barone Jimmy Christon Jillian Elkin Emma Jones Steven Park Penina Remler Sarah Sandler Josh Sherman Patrick Tanella Jesse Horrowitz Photography Alec Ferretti Design Christa Haryanto Klara Kaufman Scarlett Neuberger Samana Shrestha Copy Laura Wigginton Noah Purdy Steven Park Rebecca Weir Sophie Slater Sophie Deixel Laila Volpe Gabriela Calderon Elena Schultz

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

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

accept misrepan arprinted.

February 11, 2016

NEWS

Page 3

Hackathon fosters creativity in computer technology Eilis Donohue

Assistant News Editor

T

he word “hacking” tends to connote digital theft or crime, but it can also be about creation. Over 24 hours, students coded and programmed at the recent Community Hack to put together programming projects that would benefit the community. Laura Barreto ’17 and Kelly Yu ’17 organized the Community Hack event on Feb. 5 and 6.

Barreto’s vision for the hackathon was to inspire students to share knowledge of and passion for computer science. She wanted to be sure that anyone with an interest would attend and embrace the chance to learn code, adding that templates and teachers were available to help those with less prior knowledge. “Code is something that is in our life, all around us,” she asserted. “[For example] the Paint tool is something that al-

most every one of us as a child played with. We’ve all touched that, and years ago someone wanted to make that and made it with code.”

The 24-hour event, which included a group competition to create community-oriented projects, was open to anyone in the Poughkeepsie area in high school or beyond. In addition to the competition, the hackathon featured a variety of speakers, including industry professionals, students and professors, and demonstrations of the sundry applications of computer science skills. “[We have] people from all parts of their life: someone just starting out in a company, someone still in school and wanting to teach others, people who have been in industry for 60 years and want to talk about their technology,” said Barreto.

“It’s just really awesome to see enthusiasm for the subject matter across all different age levels and different glimpses of career paths as well.”

Eilis Donahue/ The Misceallany News

Members of the Poughkeepsie community joined Vassar students in a 24-hour hackathon where attendees were invited to explore new technologies like virtual reality headsets.

Two Vassar alumni offered advice and inspiration to current students. Allyson Pemberton ’15, now a software engineer for Google, answered students’ questions about working in the tech industry. She assured students that finding a job with only a bachelor’s degree in CS is possible and common. “The jump from school to industry is going to be hard at any level, but they understand that when you’re coming in as a new grad and they really help you,” Pemberton assured. “I would say I was just as prepared as any other new grad.” However, she also advocated for practicing interviews, taking internships and honing additional skills outside of the classroom.

Pemberton also discussed being a woman in the tech industry, being outnumbered by men on her team. Women make up just a fraction of tech professionals, and Barreto estimated that only about a third of Vassar CS students are female.

She especially lamented the lack of an organization for women in computer science at Vassar, which she said was denied because a Women in Science pre-org already exists. “It’s always really disappointing because Grace Hopper was a Vassar alum, and the fact that the CS department isn’t just this grand thing that comes up [among the] best CS departments in the United States, that’s shocking to me, because Grace Hopper was one of the pioneers of computer science,” she noted.

Other speakers focused on different career paths that CS majors might pursue. Casey Hancock ’15 presented his work in cinematic virtual reality. He noted that while people think of virtual reality as an entertainment commodity, it has potential to have other societal benefits–for example, simulating and thus furthering understanding of the plight of victims of human trafficking. Hancock said, “[VR] is an interesting industry, and we’re not sure how society will react to it.”

Student presenters demonstrated the abilities they have developed, both through the CS department and on their own time. Thomas Lum ’17 shared his game development abilities and described his passion for coding in his talk titled “Make Games Quick,” a reprisal of his presentation at last year’s hackathon. His audience had the

opportunity to make modifications to a computer game through simple coding. He also explained some theories behind game development, and reminded students of how present and valuable coding is in their lives. Lum said, “I like doing CS because I did English and Theater before. I really like to create. I happened upon the medium of coding, and it clicked with how my brain works.”

This year, Community Hack was sponsored by several companies, including Google, Yik Yak, EEVO and Dyalog, the world’s leading implementer of the coding language APL. Dyalog representatives were present as judges for the competition, speakers and teachers for students who wanted to learn the APL language, a resource of which several students took advantage.

Students who took part in the competition said that they appreciated the chance to learn about coding and test their skills. Hao Wu ’18 mused, “It forces you to learn a lot of things...” Her project teammate Junyan Qi ’19 agreed, but expressed disappointment that they were not able to listen to many of the presentations, since they had devoted their time to working on their project.

The final projects were judged at the end of the 24-hour period, and prizes were distributed. “Most Entertaining Hack” went to the high schoolers for their video game, while “Most Complete Hack” went to a group of Vassar students, comprised of Kathryn Hodge ’17, Angela Assante ’18, Jayce Rudig-Leathers ’16 and George Witteman ’18, for their app designed to help Vassar students locate events with free food on campus.

“Most Learned for a Hack Hacker” went to the middle school student, for creating a prototype of a device similar to an Apple Watch.

Barreto hopes that events like these will help spread the word about the diversity of CS applications, and that Vassar will encourage further exploration of CS in a multidisciplinary setting. She said, “[C]omputer science isn’t just for engineering, it’s also for a lot of other things. It could be applied to music, art, chemistry, biology, anything you really want. [Community Hack] is a way of having people see that it’s really cool, and that it’s not the stereotype that people make it out to be.”

Poughkeepsie resolves to tackle large outstanding deficit DEBT continued from page 1

with the gross metropolitan product dropping one percent between 2012 and 2013 (Poughkeepsie Journal, “Report: Poughkeepsie-Newburgh region had worst economic growth in 2013,” 06.25.14). In a 2012 City of Poughkeepsie City Hall press release, the City of Poughkeepsie reported that it was experiencing the worst economic conditions it had seen since the Great Depression, citing the situation as the consequence of a lag in property tax collection, in addition to water and sewer bill payments (City of Poughkeepsie Archives, “City projects $3.6 million shortfall”, 08.29.12).

A lack of financial support for current expenditures, diminishing subsidies and structural imbalances are just parts of the problem. As a result of these conditions, residents face declining of home values, increasing unemployment rates and rising costs of basic living necessities. According to the US Census, almost 25 percent of Poughkeepsie residents live below the poverty line, a figure 10 percent higher than the national average (United States Census Bureau, “Poughkeepsie City Census,” 12.02.15). Some of the biggest contributors to the annual budget shortfall included rising health insurance costs and pension payments, as well as a reduction in city-regulated sales tax (City of Poughkeepsie Archives, “City projects $3.6 million shortfall,” 08.29.12).

Former mayor John Tkazyik claimed in a budget message in 2012 that he would leave the city in a stable foundation for the next mayor, yet by the 2015 elections, the city was considered by economists as a city of financial burden to a county of relative overall stability (Poughkeepsie Journal, “City set for leadership change,” 11.02.15).

During a lecture about local economic development at Vassar College, Executive of Dutchess County Dutchess County Marc Molinaro said that Poughkeepsie’s financial problems can be blamed on the previous mayor’s initiatives intended to increase urban development in the city. Molinaro explained the contradiction of how a main pedestrian plaza was closed, yet a nearby mall was reestablished. “[The Main Mall] was once Main Street, but during urban renewal they closed it to create a pedestrian pla-

courtesy of The Poughkeepsie Journal

termine the capital for the city, Rolison found a series of unpaid debts including to the New York State Pensions Fund, the Poughkeepsie City School District, and vendors for services rendered to Poughkeepsie (Poughkeepsie Journal, “City of Poughkeepsie owes $7.8 million and counting,” 02.03.16).

Such financial troubles are not unheard of in the Hudson Valley. Dutchess County has had a history of financial issues, the most recent of which started in the early 1990s when the I.B.M. Corporation acted as the linchpin of the region’s economy. As the largest private Hudson Valley employer with over 20,000 employees, the multinational technology and consulting corporation largely shaped local economy until 1992 when it suffered a $5.46 billion loss, as sales decreased when people started to purchase newer computer models (The New York Times, “I.B.M. Posts $5.46 Billion Loss for 4th Quarter; 1992’s Deficit is Biggest in US Business”, 01.20.93).

The job cuts also took away crucial benefits for thousands of residents, as well as economic stability and security from the region. While county officials tried to remain positive at the time, arguing that the cuts would make the company stronger in the long run, the effects of the cuts were seen in multiple sectors, including real estate, education, retail and charity support (NY Times, “Hudson Valley Reels Under Impact of I.B.M. Cuts,” 12.18.91). Unemployment skyrocketed from three percent in 1990 to 10.8 percent in 1993 and a large portion of the population decided to move to New York City to look for new employment, leaving the few remaining businesses having to rely heavily on government support. The increasing pressure and financial strains led to a downward spiral of economic deterioration in the Hudson Valley.

20 years later, the City of Poughkeepsie still struggles from economic instability. Recent attempts to remedy the declining number of jobs and city resources have resulted in failure. In 2013, the Poughkeepsie-Newburgh region was ranked as having the worst economic growth out of 100 metropolitan areas in the country,

The City of Poughkeepsie, symbolized by its distinctive court-house, faces a number of overdue payments to local and state organizations. Mayor Rob Rolison promises to repay the debt. za, and then they took all the cars are put them on the arterial and you know how many pedestrians walk on a plaza that no cars can drive on?

Nobody. There was no one using the main mall and this was when the market began to close because you couldn’t park anywhere near there.”

Molinaro later explained that this was the type of ill-planned urban growth that forced the city further into depression.

This type of urban renewal, Molinaro postulated, was seen in many cities in the Hudson Valley and they all suffered economically. He later pointed out that many cities, such as Beacon, were able to quickly recover and redevelop.

Poughkeepsie was not as successful in restoring the economy because elected officials avoided addressing urgent economic issues. Molinaro stated, “For certain established budgets they overestimated revenue and underestimated expenditures. Over the course of time they deplet-

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

ed all our city’s savings...and from 2007 forward, they eroded the cash flow. They did not want to take a hard look at the fiscal condition.”

In response to the situation, Rolison has entered the city into a number of agreements and programs to allow for more time to pay off debts in order to ensure workers get paid on time.

This, Rolison claims, is the city’s number one priority. Despite mounting troubles on the issue, Rolison remains optimistic about completing the county and school district payments, as well as payment to the pension fund, in a timely manner. A Strategic Fiscal Improvement Plan is also being developed to help the city plan for longterm financial improvement, looking beyond the scope of the immediate debt to ensure that Poughkeepsie isn’t put into a similar situation in the future. “We will do our very best to make sure people get paid in a timely manner,” Rolison prompted. “It all depends on cash flow.”

NEWS

Page 4

February 11, 2016

Divestment resolution passes VSA, seeks referendum Derek Sonntag

O

Reporter

ment would not have major economic impacts on fossil fuel companies...Divestment over a reasonable time frame would not pose a significant risk of financial loss, especially considering the volatile nature of fossil fuel investments and inherent instability of the carbon bubble,” the resolution reads. Lastly, the author’s stated that such efforts would lead to societal awareness and encourage others to lessen the impact of their damages (“Vassar Student Association Resolution 30-3,” 02.07.16).

The new proposal that passed on Sunday is more streamlined, Ferguson explained. Instead of reallocating the funds the College had placed into hedge funds, which contribute to various fossil fuel organizations, the Divestment Campaign suggested only to adjust direct investments the College makes. “That’s a very simple process,” Ferguson assured.

Now that the proposal has been approved by the VSA Council, the Divestment Campaign’s goal is to garner enough attention to hold a referendum. According to Ferguson, a referendum had been the Divestment Campaign’s primary goal when writing this document. “Although a resolution has been done before, a referendum on divestment has not happened,” she remarked. A referendum would allow the entire student body to vote for and support the resolution. By doing so, the Divestment Campaign hopes that this effort would encourage the CIRC and TIRC to approve these new proposals and allow divestment to become a reality at Vassar. Ferguson commented, “It would be significant if we could make that work out. We want to get that done by the time the Board of Trustees comes so we can show that the campus and the student body really do want divestment from fossil fuels.”

courtesy of Divest Vassar

n Feb. 7, VSA Council approved a Vassar College Fossil Fuel Divestment Campaign’s resolution by consensus. The approved resolution urged three things: for the VSA Council to endorse the Divestment Campaign, for the VSA to encourage the Board of Trustees to commit to the cause of divesting and for the Council to encourage the College’s leadership to execute these commitments (“Vassar Student Association Resolution 30-3”).

This is the latest in a several-year long stream of efforts by the Divestment Campaign to encourage Vassar administration to endorse divestment efforts suggested by students. The Divestment Campaign, better known to many on campus as DivestVC, was originally founded in September 2012 by Noah Bogdonoff ’14 and Gabe Dunsmith ’15, and has since held several events to raise awareness for the movement including arts displays, signs scattered across the campus, and a mock wedding between Vassar and fossil fuel industries.

The target audience of the Divestment Campaign’s actions is the Board of Trustees. Generally, the Board of Trustees is in charge of where a great portion of the College’s funds are allocated for investment. A great amount of these funds are placed into hedge funds, where the money is circulated across many different corporations. Committees such as the Campus Investor Responsibility Committee (CIRC) and the Trustee Investor Responsibility Committee (TIRC) are subcommittees and joint committees that make proposal recommendations for the Board to consider.

“The goal was to get the Board of Trustees to remove all of the financial holding in fossil fuel companies. That remains the intent of the group,” Dunsmith explained, “Divestment is looking at the externalities of Vassar’s financial investment.

It’s trying to encourage the college to move that money out of fossil fuel corporations for the purpose of making a moral statement against the extraction of coal, oil and natural gas.”

The Divestment Campaign drafted its first pro-

posal throughout 2012 and 2013, requesting a full and prompt divestment of College funds from the fossil fuel industry and suggested for the CIRC to instead invest in completely renewable sources of energy. The proposal passed the VSA Council, but was met with staunch criticism from the CIRC and TIRC. “I don’t think that [those committees] liked the idea of students trying to tell Vassar where to put its money,” Dunsmith mused.

One of the current co-coordinators of the Divestment Campaign, Elise Ferguson ’17, also commented on the disagreements between the students and the College’s fund managers. “Our proposal passed the VSA because it was supported by the student body, but there is a schism between the desires of the student body—and even the faculty and alumni—and the people who are governing Vassar. It didn’t pass those committees because it was either too broad or complicated,” she explained.

American author and President of the Center for Industrial Progress Alex Epstein is one opponent of the divestment campaigns appearing in college campuses nationwide. “The leaders of the divestment movement say it is not debatable that the fossil fuel industry is ‘Public Enemy Number One’ — that it deserves to be publicly humiliated by having America’s leading educational institutions single it out for divestment. But the divestment movement refuses to grapple with, let alone educate students about, the staggering, and arguably irreplaceable, benefits we derive from that industry,” Epstein wrote.

Epstein himself had visited Vassar before, and organized a talk on the subject. He wrote, “Many Vassar students...were inspired to extensively study and debate the issues. Universities around the country should follow their example by providing more education and promoting more debate, so that the best ideas can win out” (Forbes, “Universities Must Reject Environmentalist Calls To Divest From The Fossil Fuel Industry,” 08.28.13).

The authors of the Divestment Campaign resolution are convinced of their research’s results. As the document itself outlines, however, “Divest-

Students protested inside Taylor Hall to persuade trustees to divest from energy companies that capitalize on the burning of fossil fuels while also seeking a referendum on the issue.

Outside the Bubble New York Times Releases Spanish Edition The New York Times announced on Feb. 9 that its Spanish language online edition is fully operational.

The translated version, located in Mexico City, will attract readership in Argentina, Spain, Mexico and Colombia.

Although newspaper content continues to move from the printing press to electronic screens, the Spanish-language print edition Bolétin accompanies the online edition. The Bolétin and its online sibling have the potential to refocus media coverage on new people and projects with a goal of increasing dialogue about the impact of American policies and society on the international community (Politico, “New York Times launches Spanish-language digital edition,” 02.08.16).

New York Times Deputy International Editor Lydia Polgreen reflects, “We’re trying to understand the audience. We’re trying to understand the value.” The project will combine language translation of 10 to 15 Times articles with original material written by journalists posted throughout the Hispanic world, including Brazil and Venezuela (Nieman Journalism Lab, “En Espanol: The New York Times launches a Spanish-language news site aiming south of the border,” 08.02.16).

With a potential audience of 470 million mother-tongue Spanish speakers, the Times now speaks to a community that is very different from the American demographic. The top article on the first day of the Spanish-language online edition reports the plight of migrants from Central and South America seeking to enter the United States through Mexico (The New York Times, “En terreno hostil: dos días en el peligroso trayecto hacia ‘el norte’,” 07.02.16).

In the same edition, the Times reported in Spanish on the Iowa caucuses. Hispanic readers learned that several front-running candidates for the U.S. presidency promise to close or restrict migration into the United States from foreign countries (The New York Times, “¿Por qué Iowa? Guía para entender la primera parada hacia la Casa Blanca,” 01.29.16).

The project is part of the Times’ larger initiative designed to increase subscription and advertising income

port the extension of Times media coverage, and the Chinese-language online edition was censored by the Chinese government as part of its censorship policy.

The Times has plans for future initiatives, but is not prepared to disclose details.

by $400 million between 2014 and 2020. The Times launched similar alternative language editions in the past, but has not yet achieved success with any of them.

The Indian-language and Portuguese-language online editions failed to gain the readership needed to sup-

leen Kostaris reflected, “I just couldn’t believe it. It’s horrible.” Kostaris had planned a local funeral for her grandmother, who lived in the DC Metropolitan Area for decades and finally donated her body there. Kostaris and her grandfather do not have access to the

George Washington Medical School Denies Cadaver Donations An internal investigation of George Washington University, School of Medicine revealed last Friday that 50 cadavers did not have proper identification. As a result, the medical school stopped the body donor program.

Every year, GW School of Medicine processes approximately 35 cadavers for use in the Department of Anatomy. Educators believe that hands-on experience with cadavers is crucial to the learning process of medical students, thus human dissection has become a mainstay of many medical programs. The program guidelines require employees to cremate each cadaver and attach identification tags to the remaining ashes.

GW Medical Representative Anne Banner reported that a tip-off from an employee about mismanagement in the program attracted scrutiny from the highest echelons of the university’s administration. Dean of the Medical School Jeffrey Akman announced on Feb. 5, “We have been unable to make a positive identification of certain donor bodies and as a result are unable to return ashes to some families”.

The body collection program was housed in the Department of Anatomy and Regenerative Biology.

The program accepted cadavers of individuals who wished to donate their bodies to train medical students. The remains of body donors are cremated and families have the option to request the ashes of the individual (The GW Hatchet, “Medical school body donor program shut down,” 02.06.16).

During Akman’s announcement, GW Medical released the program manager and placed the program under the direct oversight of the dean’s office.

The announcement sent shockwaves through the families of the 50 body donors. A family member Ei-

cremated ashes, and they suspended funeral plans until GW Medical publishes the results of DNA identification testing on the ashes (The Washington Post, “At George Washington U. medical school, a tomb of unknown cadavers,” 02.06.16).

The website for GW Medical states, “The Department of Anatomy and Regenerative Biology is no longer accepting individual body donations directly.” It notes that Georgetown University and Howard University are still accepting donations from Maryland locals who are interested in supporting the anatomical sciences (George Washington University, “Body Donor Program,” 02.07.16).

Drawing on existing supply and loans from other medical institutions, officials at GW Medical anticipate that the shutdown of the body donor program will not create a shortage for students in anatomy classes this year. GW Medical has yet to make any definite pronouncements on the future of its anatomy programs.

The entire incident threatens to revive concerns over GW Medical’s troubled history. The Liaison Committee on Medical Education placed GW Medical on probation in 2009, and threatened to revoke the Medical School’s accreditation status in 2011. With the help of extensive educational reforms to GW Medical, the LCME removed probation status and allowed GW Medical to retain its accreditation (U.S. News & World Report, “What Medical School Probation Means for Students,” 11.21.11).

Akman concluded his announcement, “As a former medical student whose education benefited greatly from the altruism of a body donor, I extend my deepest and most sincere apologies to all of the affected families.”

French Railway Evicts Migrant Community Parisian law enforcement forced 274 men, women and children to relocate from their encampment at an abandoned railway junction, La Petite Ceinture, in the early morning of Feb. 3. Two days later, a dozen police officers performed a second eviction on 90 stragglers who had relocated nearby to Épinay-Sur-Seine in a suburb to the north of Paris.

The government-owned transportation service SNCF filed the legal complaint that justified the two police operations. The report claimed that a large

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

group of trespassers, mostly composed of the ethnic minority called Roma, had set up an illegal encampment on government property that had remained there since June of last year. The failure of the community to move elsewhere incited SNCF (Le Monde, “Un campement de Roms évacué à Paris,” 03.02.16).

Activists for the Roma dispute the impact and efficacy of the evictions. They estimate that over 400 people lived at the encampment in La Petite Ceinture and reported that many fled the scene in fear of police reprisals that had frequented the area.

Even with reduced numbers of Roma, Parisian law enforcement faced the potential for a humanitarian crisis. An activist Saskia Cousin declared, “The police dispersed people who had tuberculosis. From the perspective of public health, it is a catastrophe.” The community at La Petite Ceinture included working adults and families living in unsanitary conditions.

Eight schoolchildren lived at the encampment. (La Croix, “Evacuation à Epinay d’un campement de Roms expulsés mercredi de Paris,” 02.05.16).

A representative of the humanitarian non-profit organization Doctors of the World concurred, “There is no peace for the shantytown refugees, as there have been two evictions in three days.”

The government is at a loss for long-term solutions to the Roma vagrancy problem, and authorities consider the encampment left behind by the Roma as both a health and fire hazard. French media sources recently circulated a report that law enforcement evicted more than 11,000 Roma in 2015 alone. The day before the evictions, architect Olivier Leclerq predicted, “The police action is radical and brutal. [...] They will simply relocate and rebuild”. Leclerq supports the distribution of prefabricated, portable housing accompanied by a land rent of 24 to 36 months. His solution would cost about 2.5 million euros (Libération, “Le contre-projet d’un architecte pour éviter l’expulsion d’un bidonville,” 03.02.16).

The Ile-de-France prefecture reported that only 80 of 274 Roma accepted the government’s offer for short-term hotel lodgings. As police loaded Roma onto buses destined for the hotels, one Roma argued, “We are all Europeans. What, then, has happened to our rights?”

—Clark Xu, Guest Reporter

February 11, 2016

FEATURES

Page 5

Vape-ology finds firm foothold in Arlington community Julia Cunningham

Assistant Features Editor

T

Alec Ferretti/The Miscellany News

The owners and creators of Vapeology smoke and lounge in their aromatic retail space on Raymond Avenue. A large piece of artwork is hung on the back wall, and a chalkboard displays flavors.

Alec Ferretti/The Miscellany News

he first thing you notice is the scent, always vanilla or cinnamon. It’s strong.

Bottles with labels like “Five Pawns,” “Smax,” and “Cosmic Fog” line the walls from top to bottom. But this is no candle shop. Vapeology has been on Raymond Ave selling e-juices for vapes since August 2014.

“It started with this German scientist whose father was sick and couldn’t take medicine orally or intravenously,” creator of Vapeology Matthew Nathan explained. “He was dying, and the only way he could do it was inhale it. So he created a way so he could vape his medicine.” In a way, vaping hasn’t strayed far from its roots. Now, it has become an alternative to smoking, and it is held up as a possible path to quitting.

“Stop smoking. Start vaping,” is Vapeology’s mission statement. “With traditional cigarettes, you have carcinogens, carbon monoxide, combustion. You have seven thousand chemicals, you have tar, you have all this stuff, and they 100 percent are going to kill you,” Nathan said. “Everyone knows that: if you smoke you’re going to die. It’s just kind of a matter of when.”

Director of Health Services Irena Balawajder, however, contended that the same can be said for vaping. “Recently, inhaled vapors have been linked to problems with pregnancy and with future health. One of the things about e-cigarettes is we don’t know what the consequences are going to be,” she said.

Nathan pushed back on this idea, noting the safer elements of vaping. He said, “With vaping, you have none of that. You have a couple different elements. You have vegetable glyceride, you have propylene glycol, and some juices, and then you have nicotine.”

The delivery system of the nicotine is where the main difference lies between cigarettes and vaping. “Nicotine by itself isn’t necessarily bad for you,” Nathan said. “It’s very similar to caffeine.” With cigarettes, however, the nicotine comes with the detrimental chemicals. “Why it’s not bad for you in this delivery system is because you’re not getting all of those other by-products. All you’re doing is creating a vapor,” Nathan said.

In his hands he holds a vape that he preheats to let out a white vapor. “For instance, here you have an organic form of Japanese cotton, and then you have different types of metals, you can have steel, nickel, kanthal, and you’re not burning anything,” he said.

He went through the reaction, “So nothing’s ever on fire. You’re just heating up the metal, which is heating up the cotton, which is heating up the juice, which is creating the vapor.”

The cleaner delivery system is what accounts for its use as a mechanism to help people quit smoking. Nathan explained that it is a gradual process. “The way it’s beneficial is, people come in, they’re smoking a pack a day, that’s 21 milligrams of nicotine, so they’re on a very high dose of nicotine.

They’re smoking, burning, inhaling all that crap, and then, when they switch to vaping

you can cut your nicotine down to six percent because you’re not fighting through all that crap to get your nicotine. You’re just having a pure delivery system.”

Nathan added, “The idea is to start off at a six and then go down to a three and then go down to a zero. So then you’re just doing it for the flavor and the hobby aspect.”

The importance of quitting smoking is something that has very much been on Vassar’s administration’s radar as well. With the implementation of the smoke-free campus policy starting July of 2015, Vassar is prohibiting smoking on campus. Balawajder along with Assistant Director of Human Resources and Employee Wellness Sarah Bakke were the main forces behind this policy.

Balawajder noted that the tobacco industry has been targeting a younger demographic. “Particularly now, what has become so insidious is that e-cigarettes are being aimed more at slightly younger high school kids,” she said. “That’s one of the main thrusts of a smoke-free, tobacco-free campus is most young people, most students, they’ll use cigarettes socially. They don’t truly become addicted probably until college age. Which is why the benefit of smoke-free tobacco-free campuses is preventing that social habituation to become full-term addiction.”

According to the policy, “‘Smoking’ is consumption, inhaling, exhaling, or burning any type of matter or substance that contains tobacco or plant product intended for inhalation.”

Dean of the College Christopher Roellke explained that Vassar is not the first campus to go smoke and tobacco free. “Vassar is now among well over 1,500 colleges nationwide who have moved to a smoke-free campus.

The college worked very closely with the Dutchess County Department of Health to move this policy forward as it is clearly a health and wellness initiative,” he said.

Director of Health Education Renee Pabst explained that this policy has been years in the making. “This started through the Drug Education Committee in 2010 with a proposal on a phase in to go smoke free,” she said. “I think it was a number of factors–the final decision to move towards the smokefree campus came from Chris Roellke and Cappy though CCL had to have the vote on this. I know they did meet with Dr. Michael Cadwell, who was the Commissioner for the Department of Health in Dutchess County.”

Additionally, Pabst mentioned that it is a step that many campuses in the area are moving towards. “Also, all SUNY schools are moving to smoke free and it seems that it is just a matter of time that colleges will be required to do this,” she said.

“When Vassar was first thinking of going smoke free, it’s been up in the air for a couple of years now, I reached out to them and spoke to the guy in charge of students services,” Nathan said. “I was trying to set up almost a smoking sensation program through Vassar where I was going to have a really affordable start-up kit for students, 15 bucks, and I was going to go there and give some in-

These are the stores of e-cigarette fluid at Vapeology on Raymond Avenue. The new store has over 70 different flavors for e-cigarettes including “Five Pawns,” “Smax” and “Cosmic Fog.” formation about what vaping is because you hear a lot of bad stuff about vaping.”

He reheats the vape, inhales and blows out more vapor. “You go in a room with somebody and you see that, you’re conditioned to think that they’re smoking. You’re conditioned to think that that’s going to be bad for you.” He explained, “There’s more parts per million of nicotine in the air in Manhattan than what I just exhaled.”

The way the legislation at Vassar is worded, where you can’t smoke, you can’t vape.

Nathan said, “There’s no such thing as second-hand vape. But that’s just what happened at Vassar is they wouldn’t be able to vape.”

While vaping may not be an option to help students quit smoking, Vassar offers their own programs for faculty and students to utilize. Bakke said, “In the past we had offered smoking sensation classes as well as we had a hypnotist come on site and we had some people participate in that. And in the spring, we will be doing the same thing again.”

For Nathan, maybe the association of smoking and vaping isn’t so bad, however.

“I don’t think that Vassar’s having a policy of being smoke free is having students not smoke there,” he said. “I really don’t think that would affect my business. If anything, I think it would enhance it.”

He went on, “You can’t smoke these smelly cigarettes that everyone knows you’re smoking. With vaping, it goes away. If students had to stop smoking, they could vape there without it being as noticeable.” Were students to smoke in their dorms, Nathan said, vapor won’t set off a fire alarm. He added, “And if it did, when they got there, they would say hey! It smells like strawberries.”

Amanda Ma ’17, an infrequent smoker, mentioned that she felt the new policy hadn’t changed much on campus since its implementation. “I think because security has gotten more strict on smoking, people are more worried about smoking, so some do it off campus,” she explained.

She went on, “I’m pretty sure that people will smoke in their rooms. But I don’t think the campus has really changed. If people really want to smoke it’s easy enough to do so, I think it just becomes more of an issue of ‘do I want to sit next to a window and blow smoke out a fan, or just chill and smoke outside albeit walk a little further to do so?’”

Pabst mentioned that from an administrative level, Vassar wouldn’t be seeing many changes either. “We have not seen any shift in who is applying and we doubt that will occur due to the number of students who smoke and other campuses who have gone smoke free have not seen any long-term changes in who applies,” she explained.

Smoking is not a huge part of Vassar’s culture as a campus. Pabst said that the numbers reflect this. “The stats suggest that a small minority of students smoke prior to Vassar (about three percent on a daily basis) though that number increases slightly after their time at Vassar to about five to seven percent,” she said. “Also, we have students who

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

are ‘social’ smokers (around 20 percent)–and we know through research that about 50 percent of social smokers will become daily smokers and addicted to nicotine.”

The policy, Pabst explained, is to help protect students’ health not just during but after Vassar as well. She said, “The hope is that we are able to mitigate the number of social smokers and lower the number of students who start smoking at Vassar, so they never struggle with the addiction to nicotine.”

Throughout the country, with the numbers of smokers decreasing and tobacco sales falling, Nathan mentioned that the statistics tend to be focused on vaping. “Now what vaping is, is a billion dollar industry,” Nathan said. “Before that, tobacco just had a stronghold on everything.”

The solution seems to be in the research.

Nathan explained, “They’re putting out fake studies, and independent companies are doing studies and finding the complete opposite. An article comes out from Time Magazine that says it’s 60 percent healthier and 40 percent cheaper than smoking, but then another article will come out saying well, it’s actually only 10 percent better and its more expensive and then some scientists in the UK came out with studies that said, ‘well it’s 95 percent better,’ so it’s kind of up in the air if it really is better,” Nathan said.

There is no denying the statistics that Nathan has witnessed himself since Vapeology opened. “There’s probably been close to maybe six or seven thousand people who have maybe stopped smoking successfully,” he explained. “Out of that, a lot of them are still vaping, but they’re at zero nicotine because it becomes a hobby.”

Nathan went on to explain how the product has the potential to sell itself. “People who come in here, they all have their favorite devices and setups and juices and companies. And it’s a younger crowd, and it’s kind of like a camaraderie aspect, since everyone used to smoke, nobody smokes anymore.”

Nathan continued, “If I have a bunch of my regular customers in here and someone comes in like, ‘I’m thinking of trying to stop smoking,’ those people will be like ‘Oh, I’ve stopped smoking,’ and they’ll support them.”

Nathan mentioned that some current customers’ experience quitting smoking through vaping encourages others to participate. “They might say, ‘look, it’s possible, you can actually do this,’ and sometimes they’ll essentially sell it for me since they’re talking about life experience and what’s happened for them,” Nathan said.

He added, “Personally me, I smoked a pack of Newports every day until I started vaping. Being an ex-smoker and a current vaper, I feel substantially better. You can breathe better, there’s a lot of benefits.”

Smoking won’t be ended by a smoke-free campus or a new delivery system for your nicotine. As vaping becomes more understood, maybe the students and the administration can work with the community, where Nathan could better inform everyone of more steps to take towards quitting smoking.

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February 11, 2016

Tonight VCLU and Vassar Democrats go head to head DEBATE continued from page 1

tion and Gun Control. He informed us that the Vassar Dems are preparing for the debate by generating arguments and counterarguments about the issues of energy polic, immigration, and gun-control.

The Vassar Dems aren’t limiting their preparations to speculation however. In two meetings before the Debate, the Dems plan to use stage mock debates.“Some of our members will pose as the VCLU debaters and go up against the members that are planning to actually debate next week,” Flanagan explained.

“There’s obviously a pretty broad range of things to discuss in each of those realms, so the moderators will be trying to narrow the discussion down,” Flanagan went on. “Until then, we’re preparing for the topics to go in any possible direction.”

While the majority of the school does not necessarily follow along with the members of VCLU’s ideology, the debaters hope both sides will have an opportunity to be heard. Block said, “Hopefully in the debate I’ll be able to put my best foot forward about why I’m republican and hopefully convert a couple of the people maybe on the fence. Because there’s an impression about the Republican party that a lot of young people have. And it’s not a good one.”

The audience’s reaction seems to be an obvious concern for the group, who hopes to have a fair and equitable debate.

Through anecdote, Block brought up some of the underlying similarities between these divisive parties. “I had a chance to meet these twenty year olds and thirty year olds and forty year olds who were married, had kids, normal looking people, and they’re Republicans, too.

And it was sort of a wakeup like, okay, we’re really not all that different.”

Block went on, “I do believe that the values I hold very close to me, that make me in large part a Republican, are values that I wish more people would take seriously. And I’m going to attempt to explain that with those three issues.”

VCLU and the Vassar Dems are no strangers to each other. In the past, they staged multiple

debates each year.

These debates were sponsored by the Debate Society. Geraci went on to say that it was through the efforts of Block that the debate is once again happening this year. “For whatever reason, these debates stopped happening. This year VCLU members really wanted to have a debate, so Pieter stepped up and coordinated one with the College Democrats. Hopefully we can once again make this an annual event,” Geraci said.

Flanagan added, “The 2015 local elections caused some delays on our end, but our groups have been planning the event since November of last year and we’re all excited to see it finally happen.”

VCLU even has members of both political parties. Block explained, “VCLU has a lot of democrats and progressives, and they really

like it there because they feel like it really stimulates them.”

Stimulating is something both the Vassar Dems and VCLU hope will be the main takeaway from the debate. Geraci said, “I am very excited about this debate. This is a chance for Vassar students to hear ideas they usually don’t encounter on campus, which will allow them to engage in true critical thinking when formulating their opinions about the issues.”

Speaking towards his own experiences and what he hopes are the experiences of the audience, Block concluded, “People are looking to interact with people who represent the other half of this country. And there are two halves, and they do exist, and a lot of times people refuse to acknowledge that. You don’t have to agree with them, but you should at least hear them out.”

courtesy of the Vassar Democrats

while the team of Block and Spencer Virtue ’16 of VCLU will take on all three topics.

President of VCLU Pietro Geraci ’18 spoke for this potential disadvantage for his club.

“This means that they will have to put in more work, but I’m confident they will do a great job regardless and present many right-of-center ideas for the Vassar community to consider,” he said.

Flanagan added that every topic will have its own moderator and there is a professor for every two students.

For the debate, Professor of Political Science Richard Born will moderate immigration, Wesley Sheffield ’19, a member of both the Vassar Dems and VCLU, will moderate the debate on guns, and Joshua Sherman ’16 will moderate energy policy. Flannagan began the preparation process by making sure each moderator could be in charge of creating questions for their topic. He stressed the importance of moving the discussion along during the debate.

Block is a participant in this debate, and has his own code of ethics when it comes to verbal competition. “I’m going from the perspective of the candidate that I’m best versed with, I know the most, I trust the most,” he said.

Block first represents his own values as a Republican not necessarily the collective values of the VCLU. “I don’t want to go up there and talk about stuff that I don’t agree with. I want to go up there and give an accurate representation of why I’m a republican and why I believe the our values are better,” he said.

Geraci explained that despite it’s small size, VCLU may have some advantages over the Vassar Dems. “I have largely left our debaters to their own devices. I’m not really sure how they’re preparing, but they’ve certainly been given a boost by constantly debating the Democrats who show up to VCLU meetings,” he said.

He added, “This is a great advantage to them, an asset I’m not sure exists for the College Democrats.”

Flannigan will be debating both Immigra-

These members of the Vassar Democrats will go toe-to-toe with the Vassar Conservative and Libertarian Union on topics like gun control, energy policy and immigration tonight in Rocky 200.

#Foodspiration, New Potato blog innovates from afar Penina Remler Columnist

A

ers of SoulCycle or ramen remedies from Elijah Wood, don’t be surprised by how fast time will fly while exploring this site and the many delicious distractions that it has to offer.

Beyond Robert De Niro’s favorite cocktails, the cast of Modern Family’s most prioritized meals and Kris Jenner’s go-to recipes, The New Potato also features both famous and up-and-coming restaurants and

The New Potato

The New Potato

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

The New Potato

The New Potato

s we find ourselves trekking back to Poughkeepsie and settling into second semester, there are many things to miss about home.

Sure, your dorm room is probably very cozy, but it definitely doesn’t stand a chance next to your wildly long winter break, or better yet, the gifts we often take for granted—home-cooked meals and breakfast in bed.

As we compress our lives back to two main drags, it is not likely to stumble upon any major changes or additions along Main Street or Raymond Avenue.

To avoid hitting a plateau throughout these next few months, know that you can at least relieve your imagination with a virtual vacation. This is where The New Potato comes into play.

The year was 2013 when sisters Laura and Danielle Kosann launched their live site, The New Potato, which blends all things food-, fashion- and culture-related. Their inspiration stemmed from an urge to fill an internet void that offered an exclusive

opportunity to get a taste for food and fun without having to fly cross-country to do so.

Rather than sifting through a site strictly dedicated to recipes, The New Potato reinvents what it means to be a modern day foodie, all while appreciating all varieties of cultures and different types of people. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that these featured guests happen to be some of our favorite celebrities.

The New Potato provides an innovative cure for even our most unpredictable cravings. If you wake up dreaming about avocados, hop on the site only to find a surplus of fun ways to incorporate everyone’s favorite shade of green—breakfast wraps, smoothies, salads, sweets and even luxurious spa treatments.

And if you can’t seem to put a name to your craving of the day, week or month, maybe searching through some of your favorite celebrities’ kitchens will help assist you in your search. Whether it be a tip or two about peanut butter from Katie Couric, obligatory sushi orders from Abigail Breslin, the best sweet snacks from the found-

chefs from a wide range of cities across the east coast, west coast and even Europe.

Be sure to scope out original “TNP” recipes (beyond the rich and famous), which range from any and all breakfasts, drinks, mains, sides, starters and garnish inspirations.

Good food should make you feel good too, which is why The New Potato also covers fashion and lifestyle secrets ranging from diets, beauty, health, style, tech and traveling. In fact, co-founder Danielle Kosann proclaims that “most people in fashion will say that this [The New Potato] is the place they go when they don’t want to go to a ‘fashion’ site.”

Plus, when these tips come from figures like Hilary Rhoda and Jessica Alba, they are indeed hard to pass up. Be sure to scope out the Kosann sisters’ evolving site as co-founder Laura Kosann announces plans for the future, “We would like [The New Potato] to be a full-scale media company.

The brand is there, and we’ve created silos that can grow into different things—books, product lines and TV.” Safe to say we should all stay hungry.

February 11, 2016

FEATURES

Page 7

Parlor Talk Author Kerman discusses her book and prison reform P

iper Kerman is the author of “Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison,” a memoir about her life and experiences. The memoir investigates women entering the prison system, intent upon exposing the inhumanity and injustice that evades the public eye.

violent crime, when we put people in places like that if we really expect that is going to do anything to change them or rehabilitate them, that’s a questionable assumption. It is certainly punitive, you can check that box. I would say that the last 30 to 40 years have been a policy of really immobilization and punishment.

Like that is what American incarceration accomplishes. We immobilize them, we banish them and we punish them, but there is precious little rehabilitation happening.

Q: What were the reasons for writing your book?

Q: Would you say that those harsh penalties are unequally distributed to some over others?

Such as across race or class divides?

There’s no question that race and class are the biggest determinants of someone’s involvement in the criminal justice system and

Sam Pianello/The Miscellany News

I came home from prison in 2005 after serving a little more than a year in the federal system, and what I found is that for me, as a person from an upper-class family and going to a school like Vassar, very few people that I knew had much personal experience with the criminal justice system, and very few people had any experience with incarceration. People had a lot of questions. Like a lot of questions. It seemed to me that if I talked about my experience and the things that I witnessed that people might come away with a different sense of who is incarcerated and why they’re there and what it’s really like because what I found is that my own experience was very different from what I had feared and from what is typically portrayed, particularly in the news media. I thought that that’s important because there are many people who are in prison or have been in prison in this country and it’s a demonized and marginalized group of people, and returning to the recognition of the people who are in the criminal justice system is very important if you want to change the way that we approach these questions of crime, violence, victimization, accountability and punishment.

not necessarily whether or not they committed the crime. I always say that the most unusual thing about my story is not that I committed a crime; we know that middle-class people commit crimes, but they are just much less likely to be policed, prosecuted and punished in the same way that poor people and disproportionately poor people of color are treated in this country. You can go find two young men right now committing the exact same crime, and if one of them lives in a fraternity house or a dorm and one of them lives in public housing, I can guarantee they will be treated differently by the criminal justice system.

Q: Your book provides a heavy critique of the criminal justice system. It exposes systems of oppression and sexual abuse against the prisons and prison guards. Is the idea of a pris-

on where people guilty of crimes are removed, is that an unjust idea or is it the way that it is administered by the U.S. that is a problem?

I think that is a central question. The idea of a prison is something that we have in most societies around the world and it has a long history, though no society in human history has ever relied so much on prisons and jails as America has done in recent years to theoretically to solve its problems. The question of whether the exile of a prison sentence–sending somebody who has done something transgressive away from the community–is even effective is a really important question for all Americans to struggle with. Lots of people would argue that American prisons especially, but possibly all prisons are these incredibly hierarchical authoritative structures founded upon the principle of dominance and the threat of violence. If that is our response to

Q: Why do you think that your book and your message are so popular? Do you think that a lot of people associate or sympathize with your ideas?

I think that the world of prisons and jails is very intentionally hidden from the public view and I think anything that is hidden from us is interesting. Mass incarceration has been a public policy for a full generation now, for about 30 to 40 years, and I think more and more Americans are struggling to understand it. One of the values of personal narratives is that they help us understand these big complicated things in ways that data and academic approaches don’t always do. It would be a mistake though to think that any individual story can explain anything as vast and complicated as this sort of maze of prisons and jails that we’ve created in the United States. And I think that particularly a story from an upper middle-class white woman can not possibly convey the whole story of American mass incarceration when race and class are such an important part of these bad public policy choices that we’ve made. I think the fish-outof-water story that is a factor in my memoir, that is again a direct result of these confluences of race and class, is part of the hook, but my hope is that as people learn more about mass incarceration and about prison and jail, they become more and more interested in this incredible variety of stories...

Phocas ’91 returns to discuss building smarter cities PHOCAS continued from page 1

ested in sharing with our students what they can do with a History major.”

For Vassar students, and all college students who may worry if they can find work with a history major, they can be comforted by Merrell’s words regarding Phocas: “He personifies the virtues of a Vassar education and the liberal arts more broadly, that it helps people acquire a habit of mind and a set of tools. Research and writing, sure, but also curiousity and a skeptical, critical eye that will stand them in good stead regardless of what paths they ultimately follow after graduation.”

Specifically, Phocas’s involvement with EECBG is critical to promoting an economic stimulus for Charlotte. The Facebook event page for the lecture explained in greater detail, “The City’s U.S. Department of Energy-required energy efficiency and conservation strategy. The strategy includes 17 projects designed to reduce fossil fuel emissions, reduce energy consumption, create new green jobs, and increase the use of renewable technologies.”

In addition to Phocas’s role as Energy and Sustainability Manager, he also serves as a lead staff resource and advocate for environmental initiatives and policies within the Environment Focus Area Plan, one of City Council’s five focus areas.

As Offutt added, “The History department tries to showcase what its alums are doing in their careers, drawing out from those choices some sense of how their history major prepared them for the interesting and varied professions they’ve pursued.” Phocas has proven that a history major can be applied to various occupations.

Regarding what Phocas discussed specifically, Beeman said, “I did agree with him that cities need to work towards a ‘smart’ system, and with that comes urban sustainability. I like how he emphasized the importance of a public/private partnership between the technology companies, businesses, and government that will help the business save more money, but

also help the environment.”

For those of us who do not know as much about sustainability as Beeman, she provided some background, “He discussed building smart metering infrastructure in buildings to track energy usage and work towards reducing energy consumption. Therefore, to businesses this technology is seen as a money saver.”

She concluded, “It’s a win-win scenario. Selling it as “smart” instead of “sustainable” could turn the tide in businesses investing in more environmentally friendly technologies while also putting their business at advantage.”

Beeman did find one shortcoming of Phocas’ presentation. He suggested an iPhone app where everyone would be able to tap into the larger data grid and accustom their daily lives to it. She said, “The app would tell you that there was an accident on X street, or Y bus is late. However, not everyone has access to these types of technologies and it seemed that he was

targeting a very specific audience.”

She continued, “Sustainability only comes with everyone’s participation, and if smaller businesses are unable to spend money on these types of technologies they begin to fall behind.

I would like to hear more about these types of issues, especially since most cities have a sizable low-income class.”

Although Phocas’ work comes out of an education focused on history, the work he is doing today is centered on a topic that many people are less familiar with. Merrell went on to say, “Rob’s field is something I knew little about.

My biggest takeaway from the lecture was that, amid all of the justifiable alarm about such matters as global climate change and American politics, there is reason for cautious optimism.

A lot of very smart and talented people around the world are coming together and working hard to combat the perils facing the country and the planet.”

courtesy of Vassar History Department

This grant, according to CharlotteNC.gov, is used for projects that focus on reducing fossil fuel emissions created as a result of activities within the community, reducing total energy use or improving energy efficiency in the transportation, construction and other sectors.

Merrell, who was Phocas’s thesis advisor when he was a student at Vassar, explained that Phocas’s lecture focused as much on the past as it did on the future. “His talk showed many of the traits that the History Department aspires to teach students,” Merrell said.

He went on to add, “It made clear how important it is to understand the history of any topic, even one that might seem as contemporary as sustainable cities. The talk was very well organized, carefully structured, bristling with ideas and evidence. He presented it in a very engaging, even entertaining fashion, connecting with his audience as every good historian must.”

Anna Beeman ’18, an attendee of the presentation and an Environmental Studies major explained her interest in the lecture. “It was interesting to see that many of these technologies are ready and available for cities and businesses to begin investing in them, the challenge now is to convince businesses that these types of investments are to their advantage,” she said.

“Even Vassar has a lot of work to do with efficiency and sustainability.”

Associate Professor of History Leslie Offutt added prospective from the administrative side, saying, “The History department’s involvement in bringing Rob stemmed in part from the fact that the department had invited his wife Jane Mangan, also an ‘91 History major, to give an endowed lecture in the department.”

Mangan gave a lecture called “Family, Love, and the Law in Sixteenth Century Peru” on Monday evening. Offutt continued, “Given the fascinating work that Rob is doing with the City of Charlotte as its Energy and Sustainability Manager, and the fact that we’re always inter-

Jane Mangan ’91, left, and Robert Phocas ’91, right, stand with Professor of History James Merrell.

Phocas gave a lecture last week on building sustainable cities sponsored by the department.

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

FEATURES

Page 8

February 11, 2016

Refugee crisis sparks strong student action on campus Alan Hagins

Assistant Features Editor

“C

courtesy of Jon Betz/National Geographic

Post-Doctoral Fellow at University of Pennsylvania Salam al Kuntar examines artifacts at a lab.

On Tuesday, Feb. 16, al Kuntar will lecture on the destruction of cultural heritage sites in Syria. will do is educate students about the implications of the crisis abroad and at home. “We really want to see how much we can learn in this encounter, to hear their stories, perhaps because we are so privileged here we can give them access to resources they don’t have,” Höhn said.

The international studies course serves as the educational hub of Höhn’s plans for engaging the community. She has also worked with students and faculty to develop an online portal called the Refugee Solidarity Network and formed a student leadership council which is actively looking into opportunities for Vassar students to engage themselves.

In a packed room of over 150 students in the class last Monday, Professor of Environmental Science Stuart Belli and Professor of Geography Joseph Nevins gave presentations on the impact of climate change on displacement, power and inequity.

Next week, one day before al Kuntar gives her presentation, photographer Kristen Lander will discuss her current project to document resettled refugees. Also, Lander will comment on how photography can be used as a tool for activism.

The series of lectures serve as short introductions into the many routes students can be involved and educate them as to the best method of doing so. Höhn first began recruiting students at an interest meeting before October Break of last semester where about 80 students showed up.

“There were a couple students there like Anish Kanoria who were very outspoken,” Professor Höhn remembers. Anish Kanoria ’18 became a co-founder and student leader of the Refugee Solidarity Network.

“After the interest meeting, Professor Höhn and I had a meeting over October Break to brainstorm ideas,” Kanoria explains how he first got involved. “We then conducted panels in dorms throughout the week after October Break to spread awareness and garner volunteers,” he said.

After students started signing up in numbers, Höhn created a leadership council and Kanoria became a central member. Kanoria says that his interest was first piqued at the panel organized by Professor Höhn. “The fact that really stuck with me was that this is the largest displacement of people since World War II. The older generation did something then, we must do something now.”

Kanoria might have been referencing a Vassar program in the 1930’s called “Displaced Scholars.” The program brought scholars from Nazi Germany to Vassar. The program was introduced by the College’s president at the time, Henry Noble MacCracken, and served to provide scholars with a place of refuge while students and professors at Vassar alike gained from their novel approaches and insights.

A modern version of this program, called the Scholars at Risk Network, is much more expansive and is what Höhn used to get in touch with al Kuntar. Al Kuntar is Syrian and initially brought herself to the U.S. on an eight-month fellowship to NYU granted by the Institute of International Education (IIE). She

received continued support from the Scholars at Risk Network, which connected her with institutions and helped with applications.

Beyond the scholarly world, the student leadership council put together an effort with a company in Shanghai called iTalki which is a language learning social network. An alumnus at iTalki served as the original lead. The company developed an application that connects language learners and instructors on the internet. However, the application requires a fee. Höhn and the council wrote to the alumni asking if he might help develop a free application to connect refugees and students. His team sent over the proposal and is currently working to develop the application.

Kanoria explains the idea in more detail, “iTalki would enable refugees at refugee camps with hot-spots (most of the camps have these) to teach Vassar students various languages and Vassar students could reciprocate by honing the refugee’s English or other language skills.” Additionally, the student leadership council has found opportunities for two students applying for a scholarship to work in a refugee camp. Höhn said that the student leadership council is working diligently to provide as many internship and fellowship opportunities as possible. “We are trying to raise interest among alumni who might produce fellowships for students who want to go abroad, or alumni on the southern border here to help with the asylum seekers on our own borders,” said Höhn. She highlighted the benefits these fellowships or internships might have for students studying education. People on the council have founded organizations like the Ford, the Red Cross and others for students to apply to. Notably, one organization they found allows students to read American story books to children.

So much of these efforts are about helping. However Höhn stresses, “The key for us, is that this isn’t really humanitarian work.”

courtesy of National Geographic

urrently, around 60 million people across the globe are displaced by war, violence, and environmental destruction; half of them are children.” This is the first sentence on the syllabus of a course in international studies that aims to bring the global migration crisis to Vassar’s doorstep.

When Professor of History Maria Höhn returned from Germany last summer, she couldn’t stop thinking about the refugees she’d encountered. Before long, she had made a resolution. She thought to herself, “We can’t just let this happen, we need teach-ins, we need to educate our students.”

Over the past six months, Höhn has worked to educate Vassar audiences to make a difference in the lives of displaced migrants. This upcoming week, Höhn will bring archaeologist and post-doctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania Salam al Kuntar to speak about the destruction of cultural heritage sites in Syria and their effects on migration. The lecture will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 16 from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. in Rockefeller Hall, 200.

Salam al Kuntar has worked to preserve artifacts from bomb blasts in Syria by packing them down with sandbags and will speak on her research and work as an archaeologist.

Höhn said she was excited for al Kuntar’s presentation especially because of the close links between migration patterns and the destruction of cultural artifacts.

Though we are often presented with the image of far-away barbarians dealing untold destruction on treasured artifacts, Höhn reminds us that much of the destruction is our fault. “It’s not all ISIS blowing things up in Syria. It’s also Russian bombs, NATO bombs, American bombs.” She went further to say that while environmental destruction and drought was a large part of what led to radicalization, for years our war in Iraq produced an exodus of migrants to Syria that put strains on the country’s infrastructure.

The destruction of cultural heritage sites will be the central feature of al Kuntar’s upcoming lecture, however she is not exactly interested in pointing fingers.

From a personal standpoint, al Kuntar believes that global public outrage actually provokes more destruction and serves as a way for ISIS to gain attention. To me she said, “People in the west cry over statues and they don’t even know about the shattered bodies.”

Höhn agrees that the media often overlooks the destruction of human life. Yet as an historian and German, Höhn is not at all blind to the impact that the destruction of cultural artifacts can have. “I know from my own country what it means when the Nazis destroyed a whole generation of scholarship by burning the books, and destroying the artwork of alleged degenerate artists,” she said.

Part of the story Höhn believes needs more attention is the survival of refugees after they have successfully immigrated. Or as Höhn puts it, “You can get fished out of the water, but that doesn’t mean you’re safe.”

Professor of Philosophy Sam Opondo puts it differently, “How do you survive the survival?” This question served as a central part of his lecture at the international studies course on Feb. 2.

“My question on whether those whose survival and arrival in Europe marks part of the ‘refugee crisis’ today will ‘survive their survival’ is an attempt to raise ethical and political questions about cohabitation with, rather than mere reception of refugees and other foreigners,” Opondo outlined. In many ways, it’s a question of the narratives we choose.

Opondo mentioned that refugees arriving to European countries like Turkey and Germany have to survive an almost insurmountable difference. “I was asking whether a salvific discourse that focuses on the dynamics of survival (at sea) and celebrates the reception of survivors but that does not ensure the thriving of those who survive/arrive reproduces habitual political categories and limited sympathies in the long run.”

This is not a problem limited to Syria or Europe. The production of political categories for migrants is a central issue at our southern border in the United States.

Part of what Höhn hopes her movement

Much like the scholars brought to Vassar in the 1930’s, Höhn wants to highlight the rich educational opportunities for Vassar students willing to play an active role in the movement.

“We really want to see how much we can learn in this encounter, to hear their stories,” said Höhn. Sophie Slater ’18 is the current web developer for the Refugee Solidarity Network’s site. She helps clarify what Höhn means when she says this is not humanitarian work. “As for Professor Höhn’s statement: I think people often imagine humanitarian aid as being a monetary issue, or that of physical intervention, but those are not the only ways to help in a situation, especially since we are so far away,” Slater said.

“It was important to take a look at our situation, and think about how we could be most effective in our capacity as students at Vassar.

We are really trying to use our platform to focus on educational efforts, and supporting refugee scholars in the spirit of exchange of information and knowledge,” Slater said.

This isn’t Slater’s first rodeo. Slater has interned at three separate NGO’s. In the summer of 2014, she worked with Refugees International Japan (RIJ) in Tokyo.

There, she developed skills in WordPress that would help her to build the current Refugee Solidarity site. RIJ is a non-profit organization that helps displaced people around the world regain their health, education and financial support, but their mission is a bit unconventional. RIJ funds community-led projects supported by experienced organizations on the ground.

While her skills in WordPress were what got her the position as the site’s administrator, Slater’s vision about novel approaches to humanitarian work seals the deal. She outlined her approach saying, “We are really trying to use our platform to focus on educational efforts and supporting refugee scholars in the spirit of exchange of information and knowledge.” These new approaches are what the international studies course will focus on as the semester proceeds. The photographer, Rehder, will come to class next Monday to help students think about how they might use the arts to help improve the situation.

Photography is one pathway to activate people, and Höhn has hopes that Vassar students might travel to Jordan or Lebannon to do a photography project with refugees. Using Vassar cameras, both the refugees and students could take photos. This is a movement not limited to Vassar. People at Carlton College and American University have heard what is going on here and have started their own projects. As Höhn said, “We have such an emphasis on global citizens and global justice, but this woman at Carlton said that no one had done anything. What can we do? We have to build a coalition on these lines, even with all the problems in the United States.”

Kanoria echoed Höhn’s sentiments. “It is incumbent on our generation to act. It is something that, along with climate change, will define our generation. We can, should and must remind members of the Vassar community that there are some things that can unite us.”

Displaced Syrian refugees living in recently bombed-out archaelogical ruins. A woman in black strings her laundry between pieces of rubble. This is currently the largest refugee crisis since WWII.

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

February 11, 2016

OPINIONS

Page 9

The Miscellany News Staff Editorial

Flint demands our critical attention, now and long after F

or a brief period of time, the media was seriously focused on the Flint, Mich. water crisis. Americans seemed to respond largely with shock and outrage and took to social media to get involved in the effort to help Flint residents. Although this issue has received some sporadic coverage over the past two years, it has only recently come to the attention of the general public. However, only a week or two after the initial major news reports, mainstream news outlets seem to have stopped covering it completely.

New information about the people and places affected by this incredible environmental crime is not readily available unless you choose to seek it out for yourself.

The Flint water crisis is hugely important for the US, spanning issues of race, class and environmental justice. An entire city has been drinking contaminated water for years.

The state government was well aware of it and yet, little action has been taken to both give Flint residents clean water and punish the government officials who knowingly allowed this to happen.

This sudden disappearance of media attention raises the question: would this still be major news in a predominantly white, middle-class community? Would this crisis even be allowed to happen in the first place if Flint were not a town populated mostly by low-income black people?

Although the national news conversation featuring Flint seems to have come to a halt, we at the Miscellany News think that the discussion is worth continuing, especially here at Vassar, where we have a long history of social justice work. The news cycle isn’t concerned with the longer-term effects of the crisis, but that doesn’t mean we too

should ignore the effects of this massively important story.

To most mainstream media outlets, Flint is no different from any site of a natural disaster. Though the initial story claims national attention, the fallout fades away quickly. It is important for us to critically examine why and how people have begun to forget about Flint. And understanding the phenomenon of the media’s selective memory, what we can do to provide assistance that will really be effective.

Thousands of Americans rallied around the initiative to bring bottled water to Flint.

Water is certainly useful in the short-term.

It can save lives. But shipping cases of water to the town does not address the profound structural issues that led to years of contamination, nor does it directly ask the people of Flint what help they feel their communities need.

The larger issue now lies in the systematic steps that should have been present years ago for the Flint community. The state owes conomic reparations for the families and educational support for the children who will now suffer from lead poisoning for years to come.

Other than the residents of Flint whose demands address more systemic issues, America does not seem to be paying attention to necessary changes to the political and social structures that allowed for this event to tak place. Governor of Michigan Rick Snyder is still in office, despite knowledge of the crisis long before families were notified.

Donating water is a small act that is certainly better than doing nothing. However, it does not seem that anyone is taking into account what the people of Flint need be-

yond immediate disaster care. Most of the media attention that Flint does get focuses primarily on the severity of the water crisis and not on what the residents require in the long term.

Many recent humanitarian disasters in the US have happened in communities that are comprised of low-income people of color, and this particular crisis was only brought to light recently even though this contamination had been taking a toll on Flint for years.

In order to fully understand the depth of the crisis and how to remedy it, we first need to start recognizing how privileged communities take hold of dominant national attention at the expense of oppressed peoples.

Communities like Flint have been silenced long before the water contamination became news to the public. It is distressing although not completely surprising that Flint could only seem to garner mainstream support and sympathy went it experienced a climate disaster. The state of Michigan has declared a financial emergency in Flint every year since 2011. But of course, this never seems to make headlines.

When considering major structural disasters and our responses to them, it is also important to consider the systemic issues that have made them possible. The lead poisoning of people in Flint is more than just a crisis, it is environmental racism.

An evaluation of the racial demographics of Flint indicates that the makeup of the town is more than 50 percent African-American and about 40 percent of the general population live beneath the poverty line.

Communities of color are often forgotten about in ways that white communities are not. Environmental issues disproportion-

BDS resolution downplays Israel-Palestine complexity The JStreet U Vassar Exec Board Guest Columnists

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Street U Vassar would like to formally announce their opposition to the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) resolution pending at Vassar and reiterate its opposition to the wider BDS movement. We want to highlight that J Street U Vassar’s primary purpose isn’t to fight BDS, but to play a role in the larger fight to end the occupation of the West Bank and develop a two-state solution. Fighting BDS does neither of these things, but as the sole pro-Israel organization on campus, we intend to be an active participant in the dialogue surrounding the resolution. At the same time, this won’t be our sole focus for the semester, and we will continue to engage in projects to meet our goals as a pro-Israel, pro-Palestine, pro-two states organization.

We believe that BDS is pat-on-the-back activism. It does more to make individuals feel better about themselves than it does to tangibly support the rights of the Palestinian people. By not specifically targeting the movements and parties that directly perpetuate the occupation, BDS is passive and doesn’t take courageous action on behalf of Palestinians. BDS is also dismissive of Israelis who are pro-Palestine, anti-racism and pro-human rights. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is extremely complex and the reductive nature of BDS doesn’t account for this complexity. Therefore it isn’t an appropriate or effective strategy to end the occupation and the oppression of Palestinian people.

Additionally, BDS is not the end-all solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and is certainly not the only way to stand in solidarity with Palestinians.

We do not subscribe to the false dichotomy that to be against BDS is to be against Palestine or the Palestinian people. As an organization that is explicitly pro-Palestinian, we know that that is simply untrue. Since our founding in 2013, J Street U Vassar has demonstrated a commitment to human rights and to amplifying Palestinian narratives and perspectives. From hosting representatives from the American Task Force on Palestine, to frequently condemning Israeli settlement building in the West Bank, to fundraising for Palestinian

NGOs, J Street U Vassar has provided the campus community with opportunities to engage in dialogue across differences and actively fight against the continued occupation of Palestinian lives and lands. We believe in the Palestinian right to self-determination and intend to continue to work towards empowering the Palestinian people.

Just as we stand with the Palestinian national cause, so too do we believe that Israel has a right to exist as a Jewish state. For us, being pro-Israel means advocating for policies that promote the rights of Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and security. While we don’t support every action or policy put forth by the Israeli government, we do support the country’s right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state alongside a Palestinian state.

This is the very reason we exist—to fulfill our obligation to fight for a two-state solution. As a national organization with over 100 chapters in campuses across the country, we are working within their own communities to dismantle the settlement enterprise. J Street knows that the American Jewish establishment holds power in dictating Israeli governmental policy, and has been working to direct that power towards ending occupation and oppression. Right now, many of these establishments financially support settlements, and J Street actively tries to change that. In order to succeed, we need your support in lifting up student voices that are pro-Israel, pro-Palestinian and pro-peace.

Finally, we want to clarify that J Street U Vassar does not exist in opposition to Students for Justice in Palestine and/or Jewish Voice for Peace.

Throughout our time at Vassar, we have consistently tried to collaborate and engage with these organizations based on our shared anti-occupation values, but it has been to no avail. Not only is this disheartening, but it is also an impediment to ending the occupation of the West Bank. If our pro-Palestinian organizations worked together, we would be much closer to achieving Palestinian statehood. As Vassar students, we should be taking active, meaningful steps towards achieving peace.

BDS inhibits activism rather than fostering positive discourse and effective action towards ending the occupation of the West Bank.

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

ately affect people of color, women, and the socioeconomically disadvantaged.

Due to the diminishing national outcry over the lead poisoning in Flint, we at the Miscellany News feel that Vassar students have a responsibility to continue the conversation and think about the ways that we can help Flint residents in a more meaningful way. Powerful changes to our discourse are possible through the introduction of more serious study, like a course that uses recent instances of social injustice and environmental racism to think more broadly about effective methods to resist the forces that lead to Flint’s water contamination.

Vassar’s response to refugee crises have led to a functioning organization that has helped create a class this semester that will seek to unpack the vast complexities of this global event. The College’s response to instances like the Flint water crisis need to be just as long-term and wide-sweeping, in order to address the growing medical and educational needs of Flint residents.

While taking reactionary measures to support Flint residents is incredibly crucial at this time, it is also important to use instances like Flint seriously consider how these events can be prevented. More substantial steps toward confronting environmental racism and social justice issues will enable Vassar students to think more deliberately about these crises and the media coverage they receive. The point is to understand the structural problems that set the stage for the Flint crisis and to work to keep these social injustices in the headlines longer.

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

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OPINIONS

Page 10

February 11, 2016

Sexism permeates popular criticism of Clinton campaign Nick Barone Columnist

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n Feb. 3, famed Watergate-era investigative journalist Bob Woodward criticized former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s “shrill” manner of speaking on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” He took particular issue with the way she presented herself publicly, claiming that she is not “comfortable with herself” and that she focuses too much on “this screaming stuff.”

Other guests on the show attempted to come to Clinton’s defense, including former Vermont Governor Howard Dean, but Woodward continued to assail her tone and encouraged her to “lower the temperature.”

In an election marked by the fiery and impassioned rhetoric of candidates like Senator Bernie Sanders, it is difficult to separate Woodward’s comments from the treatment Clinton receives from the media relating to her gender (The Huffington Post, “People Won’t Stop Criticizing Hillary Clinton For Raising Her Voice,” 02.05.2015). While benign to the casual viewer, Woodward’s critiques follow a dangerously problematic trend of sexism in regards to Clinton’s presidential campaign from both sides of the aisle.

Geraldo Rivera, Sean Hannity, Joe Scarborough and Editor-in-Chief of The Hill Bob Cusack have all made remarks lambasting Clinton’s “shouting,” asserting that this style of speaking comes off as too embittered and angry. Cusack acknowledged Sanders’s tendencies to shout while the other three men made no reference to him when analyzing Clinton.

It is exactly this corrosive double standard that permeates recent criticism of Clinton, ranging from the likes of Rivera and Scarborough to the propagation of anti-Clinton sentiment in the form of angry comments sections on Facebook and Internet memes to criticisms by her fellow presidential candidates. When Sanders yells, he’s called passionate. When Clinton yells, she’s called shrill.

GOP frontrunner Donald Trump often tweets attacks on his would-be oppo-

nent, writing that “SHE [Clinton] HAS NO STRENGTH OR STAMINA” (The New York Times, “Donald Trump’s Twitter Insults: The Complete List (So Far),” 02.05.2016).

Additionally, at a campaign event in Iowa, Trump asserted that Clinton had been “schlonged” by Barack Obama in the 2008 Democratic primary, another gendered slur attempting to undermine her legitimacy. Trump also has come under fire for sexism when he allegedly referenced Fox News’s Megyn Kelly menstruating during an interview after the first GOP debate, as well as a 2013 tweet blaming rampant sexual assault in the military on allowing women to serve.

Trump’s gendered, raving attacks on Clinton remain consistent with his belittling style of campaigning. It would be easy to denounce these sexist disparagements as typical Trump, especially since his brand of offensiveness is overt and easily rebuffed. However, in the context of comments made by various political pundits and presidential candidates, his rhetoric eerily evokes similar, yet subdued language being used by other “mainstream” political figures.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie recently (and reprehensibly) told supporters at a campaign event that he’ll “beat her rear end on that stage and afterward she’ll be relieved that I didn’t serve her with a subpoena” (ABC News, “Christie Promises to Beat Hillary Clinton’s ‘Rear End’ on Debate Stage,” 02.03.2016).

In January, former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina said of Clinton at the Fox Business Network debate, “Unlike another woman in this race, I actually love spending time with my husband” (The Hill, “Fiorina: Unlike Hillary, ‘I actually love spending time with my husband,’” 01.14.2016). Fiorina’s comments perpetuate the offensive image of Hillary as a robotic, detached woman who only remained with her husband for political purposes. Additionally, Fiorina’s attitude towards Clinton illuminates a strain of stereotyped narratives that have propagated in the media throughout

her career. Many of these narratives conflict with one another; all of them are rooted in sexism.

The images conjured of Hillary Clinton reflect a variety of negative motifs that are often attributed to women in power. The treatment of Clinton, over the last few weeks in particular, has been extraordinarily reminiscent of the “shrill woman” trope that is pervasive throughout film, literature and popular media. The trope operates on the basis of women (often portrayed as angry and hysterical) being less stable and rational than men. In a country where female suffrage isn’t even a century old and women still fight for basic reproductive and economic rights, the trope is, unfortunately, still invoked throughout public discourse, as evidenced by the underlying implications of certain pundits’ statements and Clinton’s treatment on the Internet.

When former presidential candidate Howard Dean suggested that the panel of “Morning Joe” might reflect internalized sexism, co-host Mika Brzezinski rejected the claim as other guests rushed to criticize Dean. However, he was not the only one to take issue with Clinton’s treatment on the episode.

“The images conjured of Hillary Clinton reflect a variety of negative motifs that are often attributed to women in power” Joe Scarborough’s, co-host of “Morning Joe,” defense of Woodward’s comments prove even more toxic. In response to a Vox article critical of Woodward and Scarborough’s remarks, Scarborough tweeted in response, “Your suggestion that Bob Woodward is sexist for analyzing a woman’s speaking ability is

sexist. Lower expectations?” What Scarborough fails to understand is the implicit biases that are revealed when a powerful woman such as Hillary Clinton is put in the spotlight.

Analyzing a woman’s speaking ability isn’t inherently sexist, but when such criticisms fit into a larger narrative of the expectation of female submissiveness and holding women to an unfair double standard, no one should “lower expectations.”

As Vox pointed out, “Research shows that people perceive women differently based on their gender. This is true for Clinton, and it’s true for women generally...Even though women are interrupted more often and talk less than men, people still think women talk more.

People get annoyed by verbal tics like ‘vocal fry’ and ‘upspeak’ when women use them, but often don’t even notice it when men do” (Vox, “This awful ‘Morning Joe’ clip shows how not to talk about Hillary Clinton,” 02.03.2015). The article cited numerous scholarly articles that explicated implicit gender biases in the workplace and popular perceptions of women in power. The illumination of underlying sexism within these comments should serve as a catalyst for shifting critical rhetoric surrounding Clinton’s campaign. At the very least, if you’re going to criticize Clinton for being loud, hold Senator Sanders to that same standard.

I am (currently) not a supporter of Hillary Clinton. I will likely vote for Bernie Sanders in my state’s primary. I believe Clinton is a flawed candidate for a variety of reasons and am certainly not implying or arguing that Clinton should be absolved of any and all criticism.

However, the pervasive yet subtle sexism surrounding popular discourse about her campaign necessitates condemnation. The recognition of potential biases—ones which Howard Dean attempted to instill in the conversation on Scarborough’s show—makes for more constructive, respectful and productive dialogue and critique that are devoid of toxicity.

New York census overlooks endemic youth homelessness Emma Jones Columnist

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n Monday, Feb. 8, approximately 3,000 volunteers dispersed throughout the five boroughs of New York City to canvass subways, parks and other public spaces and record the number of people found living on the streets.

The homeless count is conducted by the city’s Homeless Outreach Population Estimate (HOPE). The number determines the amount of funding that New York City receives from the federal government. Volunteers, sent out into the city in small groups, are instructed to approach anyone who they suspect is homeless and ask if they have a place to stay. If they say no, the volunteers offer them a bed in a drop-in or emergency shelter. Some groups encounter as many as 25 people sleeping on the streets, or as few as one or two.

The largest homeless population is ordinarily found in Manhattan.

Last year, the city determined that 75,323 people in New York, including both sheltered and unsheltered individuals, were homeless. An estimated 1,706 of them were between the ages of 18 and 24. These people, still on the brink of adulthood, are often in need of support, both financial and psychological, as they bridge the gap between adolescence and adulthood.

Many young homeless people, however, slip by unobserved. The census mainly reflects the number of youths who receive social services; the actual count is much higher. Under-counting means that fewer social services are available than are needed, forcing teens into prostitution and other situations that put their health at risk. In this way, the cycle of long-term homelessness continues, despite HOPE’s efforts.

The census-takers are prohibited from entering private businesses, which further skews the government’s statistics. Many homeless people use places that are open late at night as temporary shelters, posing as customers in order to have a roof over their heads. HOPE needs to find a way to include even those who manage to find a temporary shelter in their final count.

Under Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, the number of New Yorkers without a home grew even

more. In 2004, the Bloomberg administration adopted policies that were meant to force the homeless to become more self-reliant. Bloomberg hypothesized that those living on the streets would be empowered, and that homelessness would decrease.

Bloomberg’s actions, of course, had the opposite effect. Under his administration, the shelter population exceeded 40,000 for the first time in the city’s history.

Since 2014, Mayor Bill de Blasio has made a concerted effort to reduce homelessness throughout the city. He has focused particularly on veterans, along with families with children and people with mental illnesses. Six years ago, there were 3,689 homeless veterans in New York City; today, that number is down to 760. While this achievement indisputably marks a step in the right direction, the de Blasio administration needs to give homeless youth the same scrupulous attention that is has devoted to veterans.

“The task of sheltering youths is not as simple as putting a roof over their heads.”

It is hard to account for those who are not in shelters or sleeping out in the open. Most shelters for young people have waiting lists, meaning that the number of sheltered youths is drastically lower than the overall count of homeless youths in the city. Therefore, unless they resort to sleeping in the streets, these young adults are not acknowledged in the census.

The question of age is frequently up for debate surrounding the issue of homeless youth. Those between the ages of 18 and 20, who comprise a large number of homeless individuals, are not entitled to youth-specific shelters. At the same time, they cannot be expected to be entirely self-sufficient.

Young homeless people who are often invisible to the government—runaways, former foster children and victims of abuse—are routinely neglected in the census. Those who have aged out of the foster system are far more likely than other young adults to end up homeless or in jail, and far less likely to go to college or find employment.

Once they turn 18, however, the government ceases to provide care. About 26,000 people age out of the foster care system each year and 31 percent of them spend some time sleeping in the streets or on friends’ couches.

The task of sheltering youths is not as simple as putting a roof over their heads. The best strategies for utilizing social services for homeless young people is often debated. They must not only ensure housing for teens and young adults, but also permanently keep them off the streets, and create opportunities for employment and overall health and well-being.

Young people tend to move in and out of the streets frequently, making them hard to count and even harder to aid. They often stay with friends or relatives for short intervals of time before returning to the city’s streets or to a shelter.

Adult shelters are usually less than ideal for those aged 18 to 20. Many of these youths are escaping family problems, whether running away from an abusive household or facing rejection because of sexual identity. Adult shelters do not provide the services that these youths frequently require. Youth shelters commonly offer counseling and family intervention, and are better equipped to find young people employment or further education. Although the government is reluctant to acknowledge it, those over 18 are often still in desperate need of such services.

Women are far more likely to become pregnant at a young age if they do not have reliable housing or income. Young women over the age of 18, however, receive little support from the government, even in the case of early pregnancy. At the same time, it is nearly impossible for them to find employment or seek further education.

While many homeless New Yorkers are hidden in plain sight, some inhabit spaces below the city itself. They use abandoned, interconnected sec-

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

tions of the subway and utility passages, creating ramshackle shelters from scrap metal, wood and plastic.

The Transit Authority report to the City Council stated that approximately 5,000 people live in the subways alone. A transit official who wishes to remain anonymous estimated that about 25,000 people live in the city’s underground tunnels in total. These individuals are rarely included in HOPE, and therefore the federal government does not allot sufficient funds to aid all of the city’s homeless.

New York City is not alone in its struggle to decrease homelessness. New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu is working to end homelessness throughout the city, which has suffered high rates of homelessness in the past several years.

Unity, a New Orleans-based nonprofit, is comprised of 63 organizations providing housing and services to the homeless, and conducts homeless outreach on the city’s streets and develops nonprofit-owned apartments buildings for people with little or no income.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development states that an individual is chronically homeless when they have a disability and have been homeless for more than a year and without a home at least four times in the past three years While there were about 4,579 chronically homeless people in New Orleans in 2009, the number decreased to 677 by 2013.

The Landrieu administration’s rapid response system secured permanent housing for every homeless veteran in New Orleans in less than 30 days, and the overall homelessness percentage steadily decreased simultaneously. Although New York City’s population is intimidatingly larger than that of New Orleans, following in Landrieu’s footsteps would undoubtedly decrease homelessness throughout the city.

The current system of calculating its homeless population is clearly inaccurate, and disproportionately jeopardizes young adults. New York cannot begin to help its homeless population, which comprises so much of the city, until it can acknowledge and accurately record correct statistics.

February 11, 2016

OPINIONS

Antisemitism present in antizionist rhetoric Jesse Horowitz Columnist

L

ast Friday, Feb. 5, an email was sent out to the student body regarding antisemitic comments posted on Yik Yak. Most notably, one user commented “f*ck Jews” on a post defending Israel, which prompted swift condemnation from the Administration as well as student groups such as the Vassar Jewish Union (VJU) and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP).

But that wasn’t all. Later on in the same conversation, that individual clarified that they didn’t mean f*ck all Jews, just the ones who support Israel, and fully embraced that this somehow made their comment acceptable.

That same day, another commenter on Yik Yak used similar antisemitic language, engaging in statements such as “your just a retard and so are Zionists” and “Zionism is a plague of mankind.

These Jews stand around throwing this is antisemitic and that’s antisemitic” and “I’ve never met a Jew who didn’t think Israel is their home land.

Jews through terrorism have kept Palestinians locked like animals in their home.”

That same commenter insinuated that the Jews, and me personally for being a Jew, should evaluate what we “do wrong in Palestine and other places.” I have photographic evidence of this entire conversation.

It is impossible to discuss these statements while ignoring the growing anti-Zionist sentiment on campus. But how linked are these sentiments and what responsibility should pro-Palestinian organizations take incidents such as this?

Firstly, it is important to define antisemitism.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), an international civil rights organization whose primary purpose is to “stop the defamation of the Jewish people” defines antisemitism as “belief or behavior hostile toward Jews just because they are Jewish.”

Secondly, what is the definition of Zionism?

According to the Anti-Defamation League, it is a “Jewish national movement of rebirth and renewal in the land of Israel.” The organization goes on to write that “modern Zionism fused the ancient Jewish biblical and historical ties to the ancestral homeland with the modern concept of nationalism into a vision of establishing a modern Jewish state in the land of Israel.” Essentially, Zionism is the belief that Israel ought to exist as a home for the Jewish people.

So, this begs the question: is anti-Zionism inherently antisemitic? The state department’s official position seems to suggest so, and this has

also been endorsed by high profile figures such as President Obama and Pope Francis.

With that said, I don’t view it as particularly constructive to adopt this definition when discussing these issues as they affect Vassar. It is perfectly legitimate to question any movement or ideology, and Zionism is no exception.

So, let’s accept, for the time being, that anti-Zionism is not inherently antisemitic. After all, it goes without saying that Israel’s human rights record has not been perfect, and it’s unacceptable to completely dismiss all opposition to it as racist. However, just because criticizing Israel is not inherently antisemitic does not mean that the rhetoric of organizations such as Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), or even, for that matter, a Jewish Voice for Peace, cannot contribute to antisemitic viewpoints.

I truly believe that it is the responsibility of those who believe in a cause to stand up for it, as this is the basis for a healthy democracy. At the same time, those same individuals carry an equal responsibility to engage in said activism without demonizing those who disagree.

The activities and language of pro-Palestinian groups on campus goes above and beyond critiquing Israel into demonizing opposition.

For example, take SJP’s condemnation of the antisemitic statements made on Yik Yak. In it, they denied that Judaism is inextricably linked with Zionism. This is telling. While there are certainly Jews on campus who do not identify as Zionists, SJP seems to believe that they can make unfairly broad statements condemning Zionism, even liberal Zionism, as inherently racist, while ignoring that, for most people, Zionism and Judaism are linked. When organizations such as SJP make broad statements condemning all Zionists as racists, not only are they attempting to marginalize and demonize their opposition, but they are sending a message to the community that it is okay to think less of a Jew who defends Israel’s right to exist.

Furthermore, I take issue with SJP’s endorsement of bullying, vaguely antisemitic ideas such as pinkwashing. Pinkwashing Israel, a global LGBT, anti-Israel organization, defines pinkwashing as “the disingenuous invocation of LGBT rights by Israel and its supporters to divert attention away from its atrocities against the Palestinians.”

The idea that Jewish, Israeli or LGBT rights organizations are scheming to exploit LGBT rights for the purpose of distracting the public from human rights violations in Palestine is reminiscent of the old and tired antisemitic beliefs of a “world-

wide Jewish Zionist conspiracy.” Even if that is not pro-Palestinian activists mean to suggest, it should be obvious why such an idea could lead to an antisemitic incident. It begs the question: when an organization takes what has traditionally been said to marginalize Jews and replaces the word “Jew” with “Zionist” or even “Jewish Zionist,” does that make said statement any less problematic. My answer, and I suspect the answer of most individuals, would be of course not.

But even this I can tolerate to an extent, as long as there is a healthy opposition to these ideas.

Unfortunately, pro-Palestinian student groups on campus have gone out of their way to obstruct the activities of dissenters.

Perhaps the best example of this comes from the end of last semester, when SJP and Jewish Voice for Peace both tried to prevent J Street from attending a conference in New York because some of the speakers at the event identified as liberal Zionists. While the VSA unanimously agreed to let J Street attend the conference, this incident highlights a frustration that many individuals have with dialogue regarding Israel on this campus. The most baffling part of all of this is that J Street is not even a radical Zionist organization. They’re a moderate group that urges for a two-state solution and whose foremost concern is peace in the region.

That these groups cannot find a way to work together to pursue peace in Israel speaks poorly on the state of discourse at Vassar, and should shed a light as to how antisemitic incidents related to the Israeli-Palestinian crisis could arise.

So what’s the takeaway? Firstly, I urge Vassar’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine to formally acknowledge that their language has been has been irresponsible and apologize to the Jewish community. Secondly, I ask them to take a stand in favor of free speech at Vassar and to oppose the censorship and unfair treatment of any student organization, even those that disagree with them on a particular issue.

Finally, I ask the student body to engage in respectful dialogue that does not dismiss anyone’s opinion as either inherently antisemitic or racist.

We must realize that saying “f*ck Jews” is wrong the same way saying “f*ck Palestinians” would be wrong. If the state of discourse on Israel is allowed to continue, Vassar will be doomed to become an extremely hostile environment where those of certain beliefs are privileged over others.

It is on the basis of a free state that we can fight for our beliefs while respecting the dignity of our opponents.

Page 11

Word on the street Would you go on a date with me?

“No” — Caroline Rivers ’19

“Maybe” — Miranda Cornell ’19

“Oh yes!”

— Liv Martin ’18

Refugee crisis discourse debases Syrian state Pieter Block

Guest Columnist

W

ith much of the debate today raging around how Syrian refugees will be properly and equitably placed (in Europe), or whether they should even be allowed into the country at all (in the United States), few seem willing to ask the question, “What happens after the war?”

Currently, the physical safety and provision of basic public services to war refugees should be a chief priority of foreign and international aid budgets. I believe that the West’s kneejerk reaction to this crisis—in essence, you are fleeing a foe, come and become legal residents in our nations–carries long-term implications that are incredibly destabilizing to a region that gravely needs a middle class.

I make this claim not, as many might believe, to create a premise by which to deny refugees a place in this country. Nor do I hold that this nation will be better off by holding at bay those in dire need of assistance. In fact, if our interests are solely aligned with the long-term prosperity of the United States, we should unquestionably be taking in as many moderate and well-educated Syrians as we can get our hands on.

However, I for one believe that the role of this nation goes far beyond simply ensuring domestic prosperity. We are the wealthiest and most powerful country in the world, and with that power comes the ability to mold and shape the futures of countless billions of people. It saddens me that, for some reason, many of us have written off Syria as a failed state, one whose own citizens would be better served by permanently emigrating to the West

than by pursuing a more local solution to their and their countrymen’s problems.

I refuse to accept that. If we are to have peace and have, eventually, some sort of representative democracy emerge in Syria, we must protect and assist the moderates who are fleeing in the millions, not, as some suggest, in such a way as to assimilate them into our culture, but to ensure them an easy transition back to Syria. This is, for obvious reasons, not an easy task. The practical barriers are high and imposing; Jordan and Lebanon have accepted so many refugees that they now represent about a fifth of the total population, and they are crimping public services.

Turkey, whose refugees are primarily situated in the already-volatile eastern regions of the country, is engaged in a delicate balancing act between behaving humanely enough to gain entrance to the EU, while still engaging in an ever widening crack down on the HKK (an ethnic Kurdish terrorist group), opposition journalists, policemen and military officers.

Alternative options seem sparse. The UAE and Saudi Arabia have taken in, by some estimates, close to 3 million refugees. Hundreds of thousands have fled to Europe, and by some estimates, more than a million and a half Syrians will soon be in Europe, fundamentally changing the future of many locales.

The difficulty of the Western powers and Gulf States will primarily be in determining a way to provide for a safe and reasonably productive life for refugees whilst at the same time balancing domestic pressures regarding resource allocation, job competition and, more critically for the Western nations, values realignment and religious diversification. This

last topic is perhaps the most pressing. While sectarian strife between Sunni and Shia is limited in Turkey, Jordan and the Gulf States primarily due to strong centralized governments, it is easier for refugees to acclimate religiously in these heavily majority Muslim countries.

This is not the case in Western powers, where a strong, Christian value-set, particularly in the United States, Poland, Hungry, Romania, Slovakia, England and significant parts of the EU, informs not only regional culture and tradition, but has played a significant role in the creation of law and a common value system that respects women, racial diversity and secular thought. This is not to say that emigrants from Syria could not be successfully integrated culturally and religiously.

The United States has the best record of Muslim assimilation, with a recent Pew Opinion poll stating that approximately nine in 10 American Muslims are not remotely supportive of suicide bombings. Obviously, a radicalized 10 percent is a significant issue, but the domestic security apparatus of the United States is far better equipped than European powers, who are only as strong as their lowest common denominator due to Schengen open-border policy, at dealing with both homegrown radicalization and Islamic extremists trying to enter the country.

However, I digress. What is critical for this and other societies to decide is whether we will give up on Syria ever becoming a nation again. Are we relegating Syria to the Yemen or Somalia status of “failed-states”? Is the once-flourishing land of 27 million better off surrendered to radical Islamic Jihadism or totalitarian Alawite rule? Can we not do better?

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

“Yeah.”

— Dylan Manning ’16

“I’ll say yes.”

— Kyle Estrada ’18

“Yes. You’re Zander right?” ­­— Mat Thomas ’18

Zander Bashaw, Humor & Satire Editor Palak Patel, Editor-in-Chief Sam Pianello, Photo Editor

HUMOR & SATIRE

Page 12

February 11, 2016

Breaking News From the desk of Zander Bashaw, Humor & Satire Editor CBS confirms that Super Bowl 50 broadcast shattered previous record of viewers watching with the sound off ResLife to form “LoveLife” branch, assign Valentines Zander Bashaw

Wheelbarrow Waiter

W

ing for arranged marriages or anything. People should be able to choose how, or even if, they want to act on their assignment. However, judging from the Dantian rhetoric found in the deepest circles of the Vassar Missed Connections hell, we as a student body could stand to make a few connections.

So how will this matching service actually work? By using the trusted technology of a Google form. However, in order to encourage participation from the 89 percent of the student body that doesn’t submit to Vassar Missed, the survey would need to be short. It won’t be your typical facade of survey brevity hinted at in emails with a link to a 40-page survey about Napkins on campus. I’m thinking that it should be concise.

Samana Shrestha

e’ve now almost hit the two decade mark, and being single on Valentine’s day has been one of the few constants in my life. That and bad haircuts. But hey! Causation cannot be implied from correlation. I say that it has been 20 years not because I’ve actually hit the classic 2-0 (double digits) yet, but because my March birthday meant I was certainly vaguely cognizant in the womb during the Valentine’s day before my birth. Maybe I should excuse my single status on that one because dating opportunities were pretty thin on the ground; love just wasn’t in the amniotic fluid.

I think that we can also discount my first couple Valentine’s Days because I could not read and write, which are crucial parts of the valentine-giving process. When I finally did learn those fundamental skills, I used it to develop my own mini book series about my Bionicles and their adventures in the Lego bin. This calligraphy would only have wooed the most die hard fans of assembly-based toys.

However, everything changed in elementary school, where my school enforced valentines for all more strictly than actual education. Mandatory valentines really boosted my self esteem, and they also came equipped with powerful glucose laced products such as sweet tarts, and at that stage in my life, that was my drug of choice.

However, when I was in middle school, nobody gave valentines, so we were left alone, with no jolly ranchers or Toy Story-themed cards.

High school singing valentines offered a new hope to vexed romantics, but it is slightly problematic to reveal your syrupy feelings in front of all your classmates and teachers. Who would have done something so awkward and unoriginal to try to connect with a high school crush?

Certainly not me.

Now I am in college, where valentines seem

to be in the past and possibly in our future. As of now, we are caught in limbo; we’re not sure whether we believe that Valentine’s Day is dumb or whether we secretly wish someone would give us a box of chocolates (that would be devoured within the evening). Therefore I reveal the following plan: Starting next year, ResLife will use its bureaucratic power, coupled with its mastery of the illustrious technology of Google forms, to put together arranged valentines. This could also be called “Valentines Draw.” Regardless of the specifics, what is for certain is that ResLife will be creating a new branch that will be called “LoveLife.”

Now let’s make something clear: I’m not call-

Here are my proposed questions for the Valentine’s draw: 1. What is you 999 number?

2.Choose from the list below what your ideal Valentine’s Day event/gift would be: a. A wheelbarrow of chocolate delivered to your door by Valentine’s Day. No further interaction with your Valentine after that. b. Funny or cute card you find in your mailbox 14 weeks later when you finally check it. c. A candlelit Retreat meal, with both parties careful not to burn the toxic green utensils. d. A Facebook post that involves a Polaroid.

All words must be lowercase, even “I.” e. A set of tickets to see RiFF RAFF perform (speaking of lowercase I’s) f. A gross Mug Makeout while “Down” by Jay Sean ft. Lil Wayne plays in the background. g. You and your valentine can attempt to smile, but really grimace at each other when you meet in the Deece (follows temporally from option f and sometimes before option g). h. A coupon good for one free Netflix and chill request without them calling you out on using an Internet trend as your opening line. i. A romantic slog around festering Sunset Lake (E. Coli not included) The reactions to these might vary between tip toeing in your Jordans to avoid going to a RiFF RAFF concert with a stranger, or testing the waters by entering Sunset Lake in a haz-mat suit. If none or too many of these options entice you, just know you can always tell ResLife about it in the survey they send tomorrow.

The Office of LoveLife strives to provide an outlet for social subconscious through promoting a prodigiously awkward romantic community.

Despite questionable methods, stalker blogger finds excellent fashion advice Lily Horner, una paparazza As a successful and hip fashion blogger it is my solemn duty to keep updated on all the goings on in the fashion world. I do this not only by stalking my favorite fashion websites (the Amazon clothing section and eBay), but also by literally stalking my fashion icons!

This method is criticized by many of my fashion blogging colleagues and pals, but I think the only way to really get to know someone is by watching them sleep and/or brush their teeth from a treehouse across the street. Here is my definitive list of fashion icons and a little bit about how I’m not allowed to be within 500 feet of any of them.

Miss Piggy Ever since I saw The Great Muppet Caper when I was three, I knew Miss Piggy had great fashion sense. Her choice to wear high heels for her synchronized swimming routine was risky, yet it paid off handsomely. After that point in my life, it became my goal to look like Miss Piggy. Through many failed attempts to wear a blonde wig and a pig nose to elementary school, I realized that I needed to capture the Piggy essence. The essence stems from being utterly confident even though you are merely a stylish felt puppet and know you have no purpose in the universe. This essence has proven harder to capture than I thought, especially because I’m not made of felt (though I wish every day to have soft felty skin). I’ve written her countless letters, asking how she is able to pair pink and leopard print so well together, but she has yet to write

me back. To grab her attention I started adding pictures of her sleeping and/or brushing her pig teeth, but the only people whose attention I’ve gotten are her lawyers who have sent me seven cease and desist letters.

Susan Sarandon Sarandon really cemented her role as a fashion icon as “Janet” from Rocky Horror Picture Show. The cardigan sweater! The wide-brimmed sun hat that might have been used in Little House on the Prairie! How could she possibly follow up such a dynamite ensemble? Two words: Cowboy hat. That hat from Thelma and Louise threw cowboy culture back into the American mainstream.

Ever since then, Sarandon has been hounded by paparazzi following her every move and also me trying to be her bodyguard from said paparazzi. Though she has run me over with her car 3.4 times, I still appreciate that she does it with such joie de vivre and attitude.

Leslie Mann Leslie Mann should not only be known as “Judd Apatow’s Somewhat Successful Life Partner,” but also as “The Most Fashionable Woman in Hollywood in the History of Cinematography.” Whether she’s wearing an ill-fitting bright orange dress to the Golden Globes, or she’s just lounging about with her hubby in overalls with nothing underneath, Leslie Mann always brings the style. Unfortunately, ever since I was caught rifling through her trash, I have not been allowed back on Ms.

Mann’s property. This is unfortunate because she throws out Bed, Bath, & Beyond coupons all the time! You dummy! They never expire!

I was getting 20 percent off all over the place.

Maude Apatow The daughter of Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann has taken her mother’s successful style and put a younger, more hip, twist to it. Instead of an ill-fitting orange dress, Maude likes to go with the ill-fitting purple jumper.

Instead of overalls with nothing underneath Maude chooses to put clothing over her overalls instead of under. Though I have been ordered to not get within 500 feet of Maude Apatow, for reasons I’m not allowed to discuss (though I will say she looked like she needed a hug that day), I am still able to follow most of her movements through her Pinterest and her tumblr (the world according to me maude apatow dot tumblr dot com).

Elizabeth Warren Though many revere her for her economic smarts, I admire Ms. Warren (or as I affectionately refer to her in my vlog: Lizzy) for her choice in outfits. I first noticed Lizzy for her stylish and practical bob when I was in the third grade. When I received my first pair of glasses the next month, I wrote a letter to Lizzy to ask which pair I should pick. She kindly wrote me back and recommended the wire frame, a timeless classic. Since, Lizzy and I have been pals and confidants. I would even go so far as to call her a mother figure to

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

me, especially since she and my mother have the same penmanship and use the same nickname for me (“My daughter”). For years now, I have been trying to make plans to meet up with her, but my biological mother says that I should wait, because stranger danger is a real threat to women Lizzy’s age.

Matt Damon Let’s be honest, I just think Matt Damon is really hot, and I stalk him more for his handsomeness than his fashion sense (although it is nice to strut around in his suit and cologne and pretend I’m best friends with Ben Affleck). Matthew Paige Damon, born October 8th 1970, does not yet have a restraining order against me, but I assume it is only because he does not know about the guinea pig I have hidden under his bed with a listening device strapped to its back. If he were actually Jason Bourne, like I wish he were, he would have murdered that guinea pig by now and mailed it to me as a message. Unfortunately reality does not coincide exactly with the Bourne universe. Otherwise I’d be a super cool spy and be able to drop kick all my enemies.

Stalking celebrities is a tough gig, especially when you love so many of them it’s hard to keep track. However, I am blessed to have a job that I absolutely love that incorporates my two passions: fashion and creating effigies for my shrines. How many people in today’s economy can say the same? Certainly not the celebrities I stalk.

HUMOR & SATIRE

February 11, 2016

Memes elucidate candidates’ convictions Evelyn Frick

Issue #2: The Lower Lounge Space

Meme Dream Team

E

verybody loves a good meme. That fact is as scientifically proven as gravity or vaccinations not spreading autism. Seeing clever, and often ridiculous, online content that come in different variations is always pretty funny and I, for one, will be the first in line to audit when Vassar starts offering a “History of Memes” class. So, when it became clear that the Presidential candidates for the Democratic Party would be Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, I rubbed my small, Internet-trash fingers together and waited for the meme.

Option A is a short, Jewish, socialist old man that loves to scream and Option B is a serious, seasoned politician that is really into pantsuits and making sure to edit her convictions to maintain her role as your hippin’ happenin’ aunt. And let me tell you, I was not disappointed with the meme that came to life, and not only because it gave me an article to write this week! Therefore, I present to you my interpretation of the Bernie vs. Hillary meme, giving you insight on how the candidates feel about Vassar-related issues.

Issue #1: The New Green Utensils at the Retreat

Hillary: “Not a fan. I still just throw them out instead of recycling anyway. Plus, the color reminds me of a third party, which reminds me of some people, who for the life of me I cannot understand why they are relevant. Yeah, I know how to shade...cast shade...? Whatever.”

Bernie: “I think I support them? They are green so I would assume they are more eco-friendly, but no one has ever told me that so I do not know. We don’t literally have to be green to be eco friendly, people. I am just going to keep using them to maybe save the planet and definitely save my street cred.”

“Wonderland”

Hillary: “I would tell you what name choice I voted for is, but I have been advised against saying the word “Chill.” And also any other millennial lingo. And dancing.”

Bernie: “The space and its aesthetic are very minimalist. In that way, it is very similar to my campaign. Except for the horrendous orange carpets, they should have had those at the Super Bowl halftime show. Instead of those whiny guys from Coldplay.”

every resident on a House Team! Heck, why not make it a House Commune instead. Everyone working together and sharing dorm rooms, I mean the bathrooms in Raymond already look like the amenities at Woodstock, so why not take the plunge!?”

Bernie: “What is that? WiFi? How is it supposed to keep students secure if it is on a laptop? You know what students really need protecting from? FAFSA! They lampoon you with page after page of irrelevant paperwork.

If I were a student nowadays, where they ask for your tax information I would just write, ‘Knowledge is free’”

Zander Bashaw

Hillary: “Wait...that is the name that was given to your Student ID cards? Are you serious? It is comforting to know that at least there is someone out there that can possibly make more egregious social faux pas than I have.”

Bernie: “I have not had to talk about my VCard since Eisenhower was President.”

Issue #6: Founder’s Day

Hillary: “I heard that the theme this year is Flounder’s Day, like ‘The Little Mermaid.’ That is so fun and cute! I have such fond memories of watching that movie with Chelsea when she was a little girl. I would fight that bitch Ursula in a heartbeat though. As much as I support women in power, especially minorities such as half-octopi women, you cannot just take over the entire sea kingdom without Hildog having something to say about it. I have way better underwater policy than Bernie.”

Issue #4: House Team

Hillary: “The whole thing seems kind of unnecessary to me. Some are chosen as student fellows and some are elected by members of the house. Honestly I think there should only be one person in charge: a single, mighty House Emperor. Maybe we could start with me in that position. For every house.”

Bernie: “I like the idea, but I think we should expand it! Everyone living in a dorm together should be on the same team, so why not make

TV series to reveal Misc’s production

Issue #5: VCards

Issue #3: Student Secure

Hillary: “The connection on that thing is slower than the news outlets declaring my victory in the Iowa Caucus, am I right, ladies?

Please laugh. I am this close to being the Jeb Bush of the Democratic Party.”

Page 13

Bernie: “I am all about getting crunk! I usually bring out all the tequila and cut it up into little pieces, and distribute them to everyone.”

Issue #7: Poughkeepsie

Hillary: “I’m just clownin’ around in PoTown! BurgerFi is the best, and definitely not overpriced. Like my pant suits.”

Bernie: “It is one of the reasons why I moved to Vermont.”

Future Junior Senior Editor

T

oday, filming started for the newest TV series “The Means of Production,” which aims to expose the thrilling process behind the completion of the Miscellany News, Vassar’s longstanding weekly newspaper, from a gleam in the Editorial Board’s collective eye all the way to the illustrious printed pages. The Office of Communications is taking on this project the help remove the shroud of mystery surrounding how the Misc is completed every week, whether or not anyone wants to find out.

Many students have no idea what goes into producing the paper, and are merely relieved to find that on Thursdays, they have another pile of papers to not read. Once the “The Means of Production” goes viral, they will surely be telling their grandkids that they used the Misc as a coaster once.

Every Tuesday night, the editors of the paper get together in the office of the Miscellany News, conveniently located on the third floor of the College Center, a floor that most students have no idea even exists. At this time, the editors arrange every letter of the paper onto the Misc’s printing press and hope that the handful of readers and the immediate family of the section editors overlook the mistakes.

Commenting on the Misc’s audience and readers on campus, Sophomore Senior Editor Rhys Johnson said “The best way I can summarize it is that in terms of readers, it’s more than you would think, but less than you would hope.”

This newest reality TV special is all about bringing the Misc more into the forefront of the public eye, by placing the film on the extremely popular Admissions and Alumnae/i websites.

The Miscellany Crossword

by Alycia Beattie, York Chen, and Collin Knopp-Schwyn Email coknoppschwyn@vassar.edu to contribute!

ACROSS 1 Rubdown locale 4 It rules!

7 Deep fissure 9 Jessica Parker, for one 11 Because of which 13 Big Park 15 Electric water worm, sort of 16 Ditzy goober 18 Color 19 Mohs 1 reference 21 Non−electron leptons 22 Lincoln memorial?

23 Life line location 25 Plopped down 26 Cool, in the ’90s perhaps 27 Rustic and rural 30 This week’s puzzle, geometrically, almost 31 Haste without regard 33 Root common at dim sum 34 Decay 35 Bears’ living rooms 37 Meat paste 38 Moist type of burial (2 words)

Answers to last week’s puzzle Just Offal!

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40 Drunkards 42 Iron Man’s reactor 43 Resting place for butts 45 Assorted first person pronouns (2 words) 46 Last Monday of t his month (2 words) 48 Cock cheeses, less filthily 50 Rare bed activity 51 Erie waterway 52 Early ’90s party 53 “QWOP” challenge DOWN 1 Beat soundly, as in sports 2 Average for a hole 3 Adrift, psychologically 4 Touch down 5 “Wherefore ___ thou Romeo?”

6 It’s the bomb!

7 Trick band 8 Disarm?

9 Red and Black 10 Ghost job 11 Like 30−Across melted 12 Like a good right−hand man 13 Ten of them make a deciliter 14 Allow 17 Ice crystals on leaves and trees 20 Resolution 22 Pepperjacks 24 Author Alice of “Runaway” 26 Speared 28 Energy drink that masquerades as racing fuel 29 York vis−a−vis the Knicks 31 “Meow” 32 Flakey individual

33 Sets scale to 0 36 Burgle 37 Arthur’s dog on “Arthur” 38 rn 39 MCAT administrator

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

41 DW to Arthur on “Arthur” 43 Popular pirate gulf 44 Time between two birthdays 47 Pod dweller 49 Wildebeest

ARTS

Page 14

February 11, 2016

Comedy webshow fuses stand-up with personal lens Connor McIlwain and Rhys Johnson Arts Editor and Senior Editor

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courtesy of VCTV

aking people laugh is a time-honored tradition at Vassar, and one that never fails to capture the eyes and ears of the community. Whatever the form–stand-up, sketch or improv–the various comedy groups on campus have long since captured the eyes and ears of students. With the coming release of their latest webseries, “Other Tragic People,” VCTV will explore a new comedic medium incorporating both live performance and fictional narrative.

The series features the lives of stand-up comedians both on and off the stage, blending humor with more subtle character study. Sarah Zimmerman ’16, one of the comedians who will be featured in the series, explained, “The show is in the same vein as ‘Louie’ and ‘Seinfeld,’ where it connects stand-ups and their acts to real ideas in their lives. So we will have a live stand-up show that’s hosted and filmed by the crew at VCTV, and then a few of us will write sketches based on our stand-up acts that will be packaged together with our performance to create an episode of the show.”

Creator of “Other Tragic People” Victoria Youngblood ’16 noted that the inspiration for the series stemmed from a personal desire to delve into the double-edged lives of standup comedians, whose thoughts are not often mentioned beyond what their routines reveal.

“Comedy has become a central force in my life, and a number of people in [my life] who are very important to me are people I got to know through comedy,” she remarked. “I have come to believe deeply in what you could broadly call ‘comic relief’–the use of comedy and laughter as a tool for processing and expressing personal experience, including (or especially) the parts that are not in themselves funny.”

She continued, “This is why I’m interested in the juxtaposition of a comedian’s stand-up persona and unaffected personality. These will inevitably be distinct from one another, but I think tend to be connected by a unique per-

spective on the world, which persists on-stage and off-stage.”

Similarly, producer Ashley Hoyle ’18 mused that the show hopes to offer viewers a telling account of the life of an entertainer. “‘Other Tragic People’ I think is going to be impactful for its dichotomy of portrayals,” she commented. “I think people are really going to be challenged to think about performance personas versus actual people and the intersections and departures of those two characters existing in singular individuals. I think it will be really a hilarious and quirky blend of comedy and tragedy that will get people laughing and thinking as well.”

A nuanced take on comedy is not the “Other Tragic People” production team’s only goal for the project, however. Each episode will follow a different comedian. It will open with their stand-up and then continue into their daily lives. The structure is based on “Louie,” Louis C.K.’s popular television show about a fictionalized version of himself. In the show, there is a lot of crossover between his life as a stand-up comedian and newly single father.

According to VCTV Vice President and executive producer on the show Michael Iselin ’16, many of the episodes will feature students who have never performed before. He explained, “We have a few comedy people in the show as well as some people new to stand up who are working together really well.”

According to Youngblood, “In the casting process, we were especially interested in those who had not done stand-up before. Of the 10 performers in the line-up, seven have never done stand-up at Vassar.” Youngblood wanted new performers to have as many opportunities as possible. She continued, “We wanted this event to involve performers other than those cast in the web series itself. While time and resources only allow for a limited number of episodes, it was important to maximize the number of opportunities for those were interested to perform stand up.”

VCTV is producing a new comedic webseries, Other Tragic People, that mixes standup comedy with personal stories. The show features students who have not previously performed standup comedy.

Zimmerman reiterated the significance of including new comics. “I think the show will showcase some people that aren’t necessarily within the official comedy scene here at Vassar, but are still comedians in their own right.”

For Hoyle, the show highlights some of the best comedic talent Vassar has. She explained, “This show and event are both a really phenomenal opportunity to see the best of Vassar comedy all in one place. Too often, our favorite campus comedians are divided by group or our funniest friends aren’t interested in actually performing comedy. ‘Other Tragic People’’s cast has some of the brightest, veteran stars of campus comedy (bridging many orgs) as well as some of the most genuinely funny individuals whom have never done stand up before.”

Beyond offering the chance to perform, the

show probes some serious questions. According to Iselin, the significance goes beyond getting a few laughs. He explained, “It’s almost like each set is a glimpse into their lives which is super exciting.”

This glimpse can be revealing. Iselin continued, “On a small scale, it says just because someone is funny or tells certain types of jokes does not mean that’s who they are. More broadly, the show wants to say just because people seem happy or funny or sad does not mean that’s how they actually are. Are people not performing in their everyday lives too?”

This kind of comedy, new to Vassar, fuses many popular methods of the craft. According to Zimmerman, “Everyone’s kind of trying a little bit of everything, and those types of dynamic performers are what this is showcasing.”

Quiltmaker, historian to share passion with students Jimmy Christon Columnist

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sums for elaborate designs and fine fabrics, many humble Americans clung to simple quilts as relics of their families and homes.

They took on a significance far greater than their practical value.

Hicks’ use of quilts as her medium of choice to tell a narrative is no coincidence. Using quilts to tell stories is unique in that it tells the stories in a completely unique way. Unlike traditional media like books and television, handmade quilts tell an exceptionally personal story.

The term narrative might seem slightly deceiving upon seeing one of Hick’ quilts. The quilts’ stories are not like comic books as one might imagine, but are instead quilts with only a single image on them. In regards to the way the quilts tell a story, Hicks said in an interview with AuthorsDen, “A story quilt illustrates a point visually. Think about a one-panel comic strip or the cover of a greeting card

created in fabric and you have a story quilt.”

Of course, not all of her quilts consist only of a single image; some of her quilts use many panels to tell a story.

Hicks has multiple quilts in permanent collections in New York City art museums. Her original story quilts are in permanent collections of the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City. She also has other quilts in permanent collections in the Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown, New York.

Art professor Lisa Collins is responsible for bringing Kyra Hicks to campus. Hicks’ lecture works in conjunction with a new hands-on seminar taught by Collins this semester. The seminar is called Exquisite Intimacy: Quilts, Quilters and Quiltmaking in the U.S. The class focuses on the practice of quiltmaking as well as its significance in American history. Hicks’ work seemed like a natural addition to the course.

courtesy of Vassar College

uilts are often taken for granted. They’re stuffed in couch cushions, scattered on floors and confused with blankets and Snuggies. But quilts have their own rich history dating back to the 12th Century. They were tools of economic empowerment and activism and of course, kept millions warm at night. Quilter Kyra E. Hicks is a part of this rich history and she is coming to Vassar to give a lecture and hold a quilting workshop as part of the Claflin Lecture Series. The event is sponsored by the Art Department and will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 16, at 5:30 pm in Taylor Hall, room 203.

Kyra Hicks is a renowned quilter and quilt historian. As art pieces, her quilts are unique in that they tell stories and explore what it means to be an African American in the United States. As a person, Kyra Hicks is not just an expert on quilts and their history in the United States, but she is a passionate activist.

Hicks was born in Los Angeles, California. Her mother taught her at an early age to crochet shawls, afghans and bed jackets, but Hicks’ real passion was in creating quilts.

Eva Unga Grudin’s 1990 traveling exhibition “Stitching Memories: African-American Story Quilts” solidified Hicks’ interest in quilting. “I found myself that afternoon in the museum,” wrote Hicks on her personal website. Grudin’s exhibit traveled the country between 1989 and 1991, exposing audiences to African-American story quilts. In an interview with AuthorsDen, Hicks said, “I was so excited to see these quilts. I knew in my heart that I also wanted to tell stories in fabric one day.”

Hicks would go on to create many quilts similar to those in Grudin’s famous exhibition.

In a later interview on the DuEwa Frazier internet radio show, Hicks explained how after seeing the exhibit, she taught herself the craft.

She explained, “[I] went to the library and got books on quilting and started teaching myself about the craft.”

Now, Hicks has been quilting for over half of her life. Some of her quilts have even gone on display in museums across the country. In

an interview with AuthorsDen, Hicks said, “[I] quilt for personal expression and joy.”

Her quilts are not like normal quilts used for warmth however; they are narrative quilts.

In these stories that Kyra Hicks tells through her quilts, she explores a plethora of themes.

These themes cover a wide array of topics like being a single black woman, politics, family and religion. They intertwine greatly with Hick’s personal life and the history of quilting.

Hicks is also an accomplished author. Her most famous book, “Black Threads: An African American Quilting Sourcebook,” serves as an in-depth and comprehensive guide to African American quilt history, and its contemporary practices. It serves as one of the first books to trace quiltmaking among African Americans in the United States from 200 years ago up to contemporary quiltmaking in the U.S. Her other book, “This I Accomplish” takes a more narrowed approach, tracing the history of two infamous quilts made by Harriet Powers.

Hicks’ books have illuminated qualities similar to those of quilts. “Martha Ann’s Quilt for Queen Victoria” is a children’s book that explores serious themes like slavery and education. According to Hicks, “In this book Martha Ann is prohibited from attending school while she is a slave. She does not have access to educational resources today’s children may take for granted. I have heard from a couple parents who have read Martha Ann’s story with their children that the story provides a way for the family to talk about slavery.”

If there were a list of under-appreciated art forms, quilting would have to be at or near the top; Hicks wants that to change. Quilting and quilts in general have been ubiquitous throughout the United States’ history, and yet there seems to be little mainstream acknowledgment of quilts as a bona fide art form. Hicks works to understand the history of quilting and also explore the contemporary practice.

Quilting really only requires cloth, needles, threads, some skill and an artistic vision. Thus, it has been somewhat popular for its ease of creation. While the upper classes paid huge

Celebrated quilter and historian Kyra Hicks will visit VC to deliver a lecture and workshop. Her work explores the craft of quiltmaking itself as well as its significance in African -American history.

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

February 11, 2016

ARTS

Page 15

BDS Coalition to reach broader audience through art Connor McIlwain Arts Editor

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courtesy of SJP

olitics and art are often intertwined. But still, few look to paintings and performances for political knowledge. With the newly formed BDS coalition, that might change.

Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Jewish Voice for Peace coauthored a BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) Resolution that is up for VSA approval on March 6.

“The movement started in 2005. It was a call from Palestinian Civil Society, which is about 170 different groups located within Palestine,” said SJP member Alexia Garcia ’18.

She continued, “We’re responding to that with the resolution. We made it public and the goal is to first pass it through the VSA and then call for endowment divestment from a number of companies.”

Since the resolution was written, a coalition of Vassar student organizations have come together to rally support. “It’s really blown up in terms of student involvement. There’s a true coalition working to get this passed. We’ve had about 10 orgs represented at meetings and have a lot more students interested,” explained Garcia.

The coalition is harnessing this interest to increase awareness on campus. Part of this initiative is the Art as Resistance series, which features performances and art centered around resistance and oppression. The series is meant to make conversations on the Israel-Palestine conflict more accessible to students.

In the past, increasing awareness has primarily meant hosting lectures and academic events on the Israel-Palestine conflict. SJP member Sophia Steinert-Evoy ’17 explained of the group’s new approach, “As an org, we’ve been trying to build connections and coalitions with other orgs this semester, primarily through the BDS resolution.”

Garcia elaborated, “We’re trying to involve as many students as possible since this is going to be an all-campus vote. This is something the

student government will vote on, on behalf of all the students so we want to involve people who might not come out to a VSA meeting or SJP event.”

The Art as Resistance series is the result of many of these collaborations. “We want to exhibit that BDS can and should be even deeper than the political and transcend to the cultural and artistic as well because occupation affects every part of life, so resistance should too,” explained Steinert-Evoy.

The series is composed of several events, performers and artists whose work centers on nonviolent cultural resistance. According to Garcia, “It’s all kind of educational but it will approach the subject in different ways. We were talking about doing plays and hip hop and bringing in poets. We ended up calling it the Art as Resistance series because it encompassed so much.”

The coalition looked to Vassar organizations for help finding talent. “We worked really closely with Hip-Hop 101 and WVKR to organize Art as Resistance and pull together a film screening and talkback with artists about solidarities and culture resistance,” explained Garcia.

“Music is inherently political,” said WVKR General Manager Kathryn Marshall ’16. “Musical/lyrical content, taste preferences, everything—it all reflects larger social issues–from race, to gender, to class. Any shift in the mainstream genre is not some sort of innocent process. So, when SJP came to us about this event, it seemed fitting with the mission of the station.”

The partnership was an opportunity to bridge the gap between entertainment and critical thinking. Marshall continued, “We invite a lot of artists to this campus for pure entertainment purposes, but there’s sort of this separation between entertainment and actually thinking critically about the media/art/music/ etc. we’re consuming. Why don’t we take the musicians we bring to campus as seriously as

SJP and Jewish Voice for Peace coauthored a BDS Resolution that has led to a series of campus events. They aim to increase its awareness with students before the VSA votes on the resolution. we take the academic lecturers?”

Garcia agreed that there is great potential to fuse entertainment and politics. “This campus has so much money and we should be using it in productive ways.”

For Marshall, engaging people in serious conversation through art is a step in the right direction. She explained, “It’s about time we talk about the way we use media/art/music as tools against forms of injustice, instead of being mirrors of various social ills.”

Many of the Vassar organizations in the coalition helped secure student performers for the series. The group also found many off-campus performers with the help of outside organizations. According to Garcia, “Organization is Resistance, whose whole thing is nonviolent cultural resistance from the U.S. to Palestine,

was really crucial in bringing people to campus. They’ve taken a number of trips bringing U.S. artists to Palestine to perform in refugee camps, teach breakdancing lessons and just draw out the solidarity using art as a form of resistance.”

The series is a concerted effort to include more voices in the conversation surrounding the Israel-Palestine conflict. According to Garcia, “I think it’s crucial to mix up the kinds of information you see. It needs to be relatable.

This is a fun way to get the entire campus involved instead of just having the VSA vote and that be it.”

Marshall agreed, “It’s time for reflection and critical thinking. I am, along with other collaborating orgs, supportive of conversations around dismantling oppression.”

VCPUNX rebels against Valentine’s Day with concert Matt Stein Reporter

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provisational genius meets the Picasso of the avant-garde.”

Despite coming from a similarly structured organization, the sounds each band has are quite different. They are different from each other and from other styles of music in a way that can provide a unique and memorable concert. Nevertheless, they are still excited to perform together, united in this disdain for Valentine’s Day through anarchic music. While VCPUNX does do an annual Valentine’s Day show, this opportunity for the two bands to play together makes this event quite unique.

“We’re really looking forward to the show and have very high hopes.” Bloomfeld said.

“We’re also immensely looking forward to Flaming Dragons of Middle Earth. Overall, we’re hoping and expecting that the show will be fun, extreme, thought-provoking, romantic, groundbreaking, cacophonous and heartbreaking. And we hope that everyone in the audience

finds a valentine because of our music.”

While there’s all the clichés that come with Valentine’s Day, this show offers an alternative option, both musically and mentally. Despite the positive reinforcement that constantly occurs to push Valentine’s Day as a traditional holiday of traditional values, it does not mean that someone has to accept it as so. Tradition is nothing if the history is not the best. This originally religious holiday was created with the intention of stopping similar pagan holidays and also commemorates the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. VCPUNX, hopes to disrupt the conservative nature of Valentine’s Day and its outdated purpose with a reminder of the counterculture it so brazenly embodies.

On the significance of the show being on Valentine’s Day, Bendich said, “Punx has been doing Valentines Day shows for a few years. It’s good to disrupt Valentine’s Day culture. Fuck Valentine’s Day!”

courtesy of VCPUNX

alentine’s Day is, simply put, a sham. It’s a holiday designed for commercial purposes with the intention of getting people to buy cards and candy as a ‘romantic gift’ for loved ones. When it’s a requirement to provide some sort of present, can you really call it ‘out of love’? And even for those of us who will spend it hopelessly single or re-brand it ‘Forever Alone Day,’ we’ll still comfort ourselves with sappy rom-coms and the discount candy that goes on sale the next day. Most people don’t even know much about the history of this holiday, with St. Valentine’s legacy of courtly love being fabricated to suppress pagan holidays instead.

This conflagration set upon genuine affection ignited by commercial fakery is why VCPUNX will be putting on their show ‘Romance got hit by a car’ for Valentine’s Day. This Valentine’s Day Eve , Saturday, Feb. 13, VCPUNX, Vassar’s music booking collective that specializes in punk, metal and other extreme genres, will be presenting “Romance got hit by a car,” starting at 5 p.m. in the Mug. The show will feature Fuck Party, a ‘jam band’ made up of Vassar students, and Flaming Dragons of Middle Earth (FDOME), a free rock/metal band from Western Massachusetts. Fuck Party is composed of Carly Bloomfeld ’16 on guitar and vocals, Aaron Bendich ’16 on drums, Nick Burka ’17 on trumpet and Brittani Skyers-White ’16 on clarinet.

Recounting the founding of the band, Bendich said, “It started out as something Carly did when she wasn’t enjoying a party, especially if it was at our house. She’d jump on a table in a crowded room and scream things like ‘fuck you’ ‘fuck this party’ etc. She also recorded a couple of songs and posted them online around this time.”

While originally starting with just Bloomfeld, who is also VCPUNX co-president, Fuck Party later expanded to add additional members in a continuous line-up. Their sound is loosely punk in its genre, though one shouldn’t be quick to label them with any singular genre.

Burka compared the sound to Radiohead,

known for their eclectic style.

The instruments with each performance are different, previous times including bass played

by Ben Chin ’15, but this specific show having the special opportunity of a clarinet and trumpet. Bloomfeld recorded a few songs originally on her own, including ‘i don’t want to go to your fucking party at all[sic]’ and ‘everyone is fucking delusional, [sic]’ which can be found on the group’s Bandcamp page. Fuck Party played their first show in the AULA Center last March.

Trumpet player Burka spoke about the band’s dynamic sound, saying, “I typically play jazz trumpet, so this is a very different musical setting for me than usual. With jazz, there are many days where, either by your own fault or someone in the group’s or because of the weather, the energy isn’t there. With Fuck Party, the energy is always there.”

The other band, FDOME, while also being a jam band, has a harder sound they’ve dubbed ‘Mudlightning Metal.’ The frontman of FDOME is Danny ‘Monster’ Cruz, a 23-year-old college student from Western Massachusetts. Cruz also happens to suffer from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, leaving him to sing and shout into the mic and play the guitar from his wheelchair while the rest of the band jams along.

Founded in 2008, the band has released many albums since and toured all around. Some of their musical inspirations include Black Sabbath, GG Allin and Sun Ra. Their music covers all sorts of topics, such as sex, Satan, demons and vampires.

Their concerts usually consist of an improvised set. Wearing unique costumes, makeup and wigs, FDOME gives a unique stage presence to accompany their already distinct sound. FDOME released their last album, “All Roads Lead to DOME” in 2014. More of their music and information can be found on both their Bandcamp and official website.

In an interview with CHORTLER, Cruz described their “Mudlightning Metal” in relation other forms of metal, commenting, “Mudlightning Metal is metal mixed with all kinds of music. It’s space rock and all kinds of im-

VCPUNX will be hosting a concert as an alternative Valentine’s Day Celebration. Two bands will perform, one of which was formed when a member protested a bad party.

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

ARTS

Page 16

February 11, 2016

ViCE shows CW spin-off retains Arrow’s momentum the Shiva’s potential Saachi Jain

Guest Columnist

Legends of Tomorrow Greg Berlanti Warner Bros. Television

NO-VICE continued from page 1

come into her own with a unique style that mixes elements of electronic, pop and rock.

This style was perfect for the revival of the winter concert, a tradition that only current seniors will remember. Bringing back the winter concert is part of a larger push by ViCE and its sub-organizations to provide more programming this year, after only having one big show for the 2014-2015 school year. NoViCE, ViCE Jazz and ViCE Music collaborated on bringing Empress Of and the opening band Gemma to Vassar for a larger show after the success of the Thundercat concert earlier this year.

Head of ViCE Music Ben Greenspan ’17 said that when they start talking about what acts they want to bring as a general body, they start with the general and get more specific.

He explained, “[We get a] general idea of what kind of music you want a concert to be, usually there’s a tradition that goes along with each big concert.” Fall concert is usually in the rock or alternative vein, and the spring concert is usually hip-hop, R&B or rap. Winter concert is not tied to a specific genre, so ViCE saw it as a great opportunity to bring a bigger act who does not necessarily fit into either of these categories. The concert took place last Friday night, Feb. 5 in the Susan Stein Shiva Theatre. Wilks referenced that the last big concert to be in the Shiva was Mykki Blanco, an artist who also does not fit neatly into any traditional musical genre, and has since gone on to sell thousands of records.

Although the Thundercat concert was deemed a success by many students, it caused hundreds of dollars in damage to the Chapel and jeopardized ViCE’s relationship with administrators. The winter concert needed a new venue on campus and ViCE decided on the Shiva. The Shiva works as an ideal space for the winter concert not only because it is indoors, but also because of its structure. The theatre is a big black box–perfect for adapting to many kinds of shows. It is much more suited for concerts than the Villard Room, and is much more spacious than the Mug. Luckily ViCE Music booked it early enough so as not to conflict with any student theatre groups who often occupy the space later in the semester. The show was by all counts a success, students filled the Shiva before Empress Of went on stage, and the large space remained full for the entirety of the concert, with everyone dancing and singing along. At the end of their hour-long set, the drummer for Empress Of even remarked that the audience was memorable. “[It was] one of the best crowds we’ve ever played for,” they said.

The greatly anticipated show lived up to its expectations. Concertgoer Jake Pardee’s ’17 brother even came up from New York City to see the show. An avid fan of Empress Of, Ben Pardee, Bates class of 2015, braved the Metro North and a weekend back in college to see the band live. “I was planning on visiting him to see Empress Of at the Bowery at the end of March, but when they announced she was playing here for free we were so excited,” said Jake of he and his older brother.

ViCE Music, No-ViCE and ViCE Jazz have started off 2016 on a strong note and hope to continue the success with events this coming weekend. This Thursday Feb. 11, ViCE films is co-hosting M1 of Dead Prez with Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace for a screening of the film “Hip Hop is Bigger Than the Occupation.” The film will be followed up by a panel discussion on hip-hop as resistance from the United States to Palestine and a DJ set at Burgerfi co-hosted by WVKR. On Saturday, No-ViCE, ViCE Student Music and ViCE Special Events will host “ViCE Electronik Muzic Showcase: PLUR(e)ality.”

According to the event’s Facebook page, “[It is] a curated collection of electronic sonic vibrations and holophonic sensations to cleanse your ears.” Stay tuned for a semester full of carefully picked artists and fun nights at different venues all around campus.

S

ince Sara Lance was one of my favorite characters on The CW’s “Arrow,” I was pretty devastated when she was killed off.

She was one of the main elements that kept me watching. When it was revealed that she would be resurrected and be a main character on a spin-off, I was ecstatic and decided that I would watch it if only for her. However, the spin-off series, “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow,” which premiered on Jan. 21, ended up having many more attractions than just one character.

Having previously watched both “Arrow” and “The Flash,” which exist in the same universe and often have crossovers with each other, I was wary of the new spin off. I had quit “Arrow” in season three. I became bored with the show’s overly serious and dark tone as well as its unappealing main character. I enjoyed “The Flash” immensely in its first season, but season two fell short. I hoped that “Legends of Tomorrow” would impress me more.

The show’s premise is of a Time Master, Rip Hunter, traveling back in time and gathering eight heroes together to change the fate of the future world, which has been taken over by the villain, Savage. The first part of the pilot is rather campy and cringeworthy, but it soon becomes enjoyable and introduces a promising set of characters. Its light tone matches “The Flash” much more closely than “Arrow,” which is fortunate and the more popular choice with the audience.

“Legends of Tomorrow” balances all of its elements well, having the perfect amount of action and humor. It also has a set of well-rounded characters with entertaining dynamics,

which is probably the main appeal of the show.

The characters can also be overwhelming, however; the fact that it has nine main characters makes it difficult for the series to maintain a structure and give all the characters the development they deserve. The end result is that the show is a little too fast paced and chaotic. It definitely requires an attentive viewer who has an eye for action.

Though I was certainly biased from having seen her on “Arrow,” Sara Lance is definitely my favorite character, and “Legends of Tomorrow” maintains the strength and complexity that made her interesting in the former show. There is also an added darkness and melancholy to her personality due to her resurrection, and I’m excited to see that explored throughout the season. I was, however, upset that she uses the alias of White Canary, whitewashing the character, since in DC Comics the White Canary is Chinese.

Kendra Saunders, or Hawkgirl, is the also one of the strongest characters, who also has one of the most interesting backstories, as she finds out that she is the reincarnation of an Egyptian princess, and has been reincarnated multiple times over the centuries. Her reincarnated lover, Hawkman, didn’t leave as much of a strong impression and I hope future episodes flesh him out better.

I knew Ray Palmer, or the Atom, from “Arrow” as well, and though I liked him well enough, I didn’t necessarily think he was worthy of a lead role. He is definitely one of the more entertaining characters, but lacks the complexity and depth that is crucial to a lead.

Jefferson Jackson, who is one half of Firestorm along with Martin Stein, is another one of my favorites. His dynamic with Stein is comical, especially because of their radically different personalities. Their scenes are always humorous and enjoyable, and their developing friendship is endearing.

The remaining two characters, Leonard Snart and Mick Rory, were former criminals,

and their transformation from villains to heroes makes them multifaceted characters, with complicated and evolving relationships with the rest of the group.

“Legends of Tomorrow” has a talented cast, but it could definitely improve with regards to representation. Only two of the characters– Hawkgirl and Jax Jackson–are people of color.

Furthermore, there are only two main female characters, as opposed to seven male characters, and thus far the dynamic between the two female characters doesn’t seem to be a priority.

The plot is repetitive, and the three episodes that have aired have all been about fixing some mistake as they time travel or failed attempts at taking down the villain. The great writing and three-dimensionality of the villain, Harrison Wells, made “The Flash” so successful its first season. Savage, however, isn’t particularly interesting. A flat villain and stagnant plot drag the enjoyment down a little. The time travel aspect could be interesting, but can also lead to a lot of inconsistencies and confusion to an already convoluted plot.

The show’s strengths undoubtedly lie in its characters and how they interact with each other. The lighthearted and humorous tone of the show will draw many viewers and at the very least, make it fun to watch, even if it lacks in other areas like plot and consistency. The amount of main characters and even the premise itself seems ambitious and taunting, and I hope that the writers can handle it as the season progresses without the quality of the show suffering.

For fans of the comics or of “Arrow” and “The Flash,” “Legends of Tomorrow” has a lot of potential and is worth checking out. Even for viewers who are unfamiliar with the other shows and the content, it is promising, since it is easy to get into and is one of the more entertaining superhero shows on air currently.

Hopefully, unlike its predecessors, it will keep improving by building on its already noteworthy set of characters.

Rihanna delivers fresh vibe with ANTI Patrick Tanella Columnist

ANTI Rihanna Westbury Road

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or the past three years, Rihanna has been harassed with questions regarding the release of her eighth studio album. Rumors were rampant regarding delays, dropped collaborations and many questioned whether it would ever be finished. After a three-year lapse, Rihanna released “ANTI” exclusively on Tidal last week, which stirred discussions about digital downloads, writing your own music and the pressures affecting artists in the 21st century.

ANTI proves that her fans not only love her music but also the drama and conversation that follows any of her projects.

Through an agreement with Tidal, the album could be downloaded for free if you signed up for a 60-day free trial. This lead almost five million downloads in less than a week, making the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certify it platinum. Yet other prominent album trackers such as Nielsen refuse to recognize the accomplishment, saying that a free online download is not the same as a CD purchased. This has brought about questions of how an album is certified platinum in an increasingly digital world.

Rihanna follows many other artists like Taylor Swift who have taken a stand against piracy.

She differs from this pack, however, in her creativity. While Swift had teams scouring the internet and deleting any unauthorized content, Rihanna brokered a deal that could guide the recording industry into the future.

Since Billboard only counts the number of albums actually sold and not ones given away for free, “ANTI” debuted at No. 27 on the Billboard charts. However, it is anticipated that it will skyrocket to No. 1 in the coming days. In addition, her first single off the album, “Work,” debuted in the Billboard top ten. Rihanna has

nothing to worry about in terms of her profitability or popularity. Through her agreements with Samsung and Tidal, her upcoming World Tour and album sales in the coming weeks, “ANTI” will be a huge success.

As with many of Rihanna’s other projects, the discussion is about more than music. Fans and critics immediately commented on the number of people getting free copies of the album on Tidal. Many were also quick to question how much of the album Rihanna actually wrote herself. There was far less criticism of the actual music itself.

In the accreditation for “ANTI,” Rihanna is stated to have co-wrote most of the songs.

However, in co-writing, did she really do anything? Sia, a famous singer-songwriter, has claimed that singers like Rihanna and Kanye West do not actually write their music. They give her ideas about what they want and do not turn up to writing sessions for more than ten minutes. Does that deserve accreditation? No matter how much controversy Rihanna may obtain for album sales or writing her own music, she is still one of the most talented singers in the industry and the No. 2 bestselling female artist. It’s hard to deny the catchiness of her songs–a result of great lyrics and truly talented vocals.

The main thing that should be talked about is the actual music. Sixteen tracks comprise the deluxe version of “ANTI,” which left out singles including “Four Five Seconds,” “Bitch Better Have My Money” and “American Oxygen.” Unlike Rihanna’s other albums, “ANTI” is not packed with Top 40 singles but rather comprises several songs that speak more of a narrative. Rihanna had full control over the production, which one can tell because the songs are all very original and different from her past discography. The album is very moody and intimate, as though Rihanna is speaking directly to her fans about her experiences. Fans of Rihanna’s more radio-friendly songs may not like it but her true fans will appreciate its genuineness.

The first single off of the album, “Work” feat.

Drake, was released 48 hours before “ANTI”

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

was dropped on Tidal. It is not the deepest track on the album, but is a fun club collaboration that will be popular on the radio. The chorus consists of Rihanna chanting “work work work” over a heavy beat.

“Higher” is a hidden gem. The two-minute song explores Rihanna pleading with her lover to come over and keep her company. Her raspy voice as she belts the chorus is a wonderful change from the auto tune-packed songs on other albums. She sings, “I wanna go back to the old way / But I’m drunk and still with a full ash tray / With a little bit too much to say.”

My personal favorite song on “ANTI,” “Consideration” feat. SZA is a gritty, distorted opener with a catchy beat. It immediately attracted me to the album and when listening to other songs, I always wished I could just go back to “Consideration.” SZA, a neo-soul singer, has an enchanting voice that helps the song come together. The song describes Rihanna’s music career and how she wants to produce her own work. The haunting voice of SZA as she sings, “when I look outside my window I can’t get no piece of mind” is one of the best lyrics on the album.

Another popular song, “Same Ol’ Mistakes,” is a cover of the Tame Impala song, “New Person, Same Old Mistakes.” However, she put her own spin on it and it turned out to be one of the best songs on the album. The chorus details Rihanna’s inner debate over whether the person she loves is healthy for her. She broods, “Feel like a brand new person (but you make the same old mistakes). Well, I don’t care if I’m in love (stop before it’s too late.)”

However, not every song on the album is up to the same caliber. Songs such as “Woo” and “James Joint” are deep disappoints that drag the album down. They seem poorly put together and rushed so that the album could be released. Overall, the album has its mix of good and bad songs, but the powerful ballads surpass the weaker, sloppy failures.

After three years, “ANTI” is finally here, representing a different direction in Rihanna’s sound as she finally takes control of her music.

But was it worth the wait?

ARTS

February 11, 2016

Page 17

FIT exhibit explores fashion, fairytales Jillian Elkin Columnist

Fairy Tale Fashion Colleen Hill Museum at FIT

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idden in plain sight within the art haven that is New York City, there lies a fantastically underrated museum: the Museum at FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology). While there are often extravagant, amazing fashion exhibits at well-known museums like the Met and the Brooklyn Museum, FIT’s Museum always offers fun, cohesive exhibits that mix pieces from the 1700s and high-fashion contemporary items from across the globe. Located at W. 27th St. in Manhattan, the museum is small and free. It typically only showcases two exhibits at once. In addition to clothing and accessories, the museum displays fashion-related photography, drawings, video art and computer-animated models. I am in no position to decide whether or not the artwork itself is good or high quality. But, aside from the artwork itself, various curatorial styles largely impact one’s museum experience.

One of the museum’s current exhibitions is “Fairy Tale Fashion,” which runs until April 16. The other exhibit is “Denim: Fashion’s Frontier” and also is certainly worth going through. It’s a unique type of exhibit because it gives even more control and creative license to the curators than usual. Fashion exhibits often follow a more concrete theme like a designer, an article of clothing, a fabric, a country or a time period. In “Fairy Tale Fashion,” specific fairy tales served as inspirations for the designers of some of the pieces. However, for most of the wearable art, there’s no direct link that the designer intended between the look and its assigned piece. Analysis of clothing beyond the designer’s intent acknowledges fashion as an art form.

The exhibit has a strong structure, but no order. There’s no chronology, start place or end place. Rather, clusters of assembled looks

Campus Canvas

are organized by fairy tale. The stories include classics like “Cinderella” and “Alice in Wonderland” to lesser-known tales like “The Red Shoes” and “Furrypelts.” Some stories’ looks are clearly separated; others blend into each other. At the beginning, end or both of the exhibit (depending on how you choose to navigate the exhibit), there are beautiful illustrations from fairy tale books from the late 1800s and early 1900s. There, you can’t ignore the striking photography of Kristy Mitchell’s “Wonderland” series. The images colorfully and glamorously depict fantasy, literature, nature and femininity.

“The images colorfully and glamorously depict fantasy, literature, nature and femininity.”

Garments and accessories in this exhibit include 18th century pieces and works by 21st century fashion power players such as Thom Browne, Alexander McQueen, Mary Katrantzou and Walter Van Beirendonck. In fairy tales, clothing often plays a powerful role as a metaphorical symbol and/or a magical item.

In a less literal correlation between fashion and fairy tales, these stories tend to include vivid imagery, natural elements and parallel worlds—all of which stimulate visual art. Every item deserves its association to a certain story. A stunning 1954-5 Swan evening dress by Charles James lacks feathers or any overt bird references. But the shaping of the bodice and bustle obviously evoke the folds and haunches of a swan. Meanwhile, the swooping black drapery and sweetheart neckline capture the dangerous beauty of the Swan Maidens.

An example that more directly contemplates its literary counterpart is the spring 2012 Marchesa gown which could be the dress worn by Sleeping Beauty herself. The tale’s author, Charles Perrault, describes the opulence of the protagonist’s sleeping quarters, but

does not elaborate on her attire. The white, long sleeved could pass as a vintage luxurious nightgown. It also has a mystical, ghostly feel as though its been worn for countless years.

The beading at the neckline harkens back to Perrault’s descriptions of interior design and Beauty’s bed linens.

Meanwhile, shoe designer, Noritaka Tehana, opted to modernize his ancient, mythic inspiration of Cinderella’s glass slippers.

Though his shoes’ are 3D-printed from acrylic, they look like glass, delicate and pristine.

They are just as challenging for the wearer considering their immense height and heelless form. This avant-garde work emphasizes the importance of remembering and reimagining cultural iconography. The endurance of the ‘glass slipper’ reflects universal appreciation romanticism, escapism and beauty. For the same reasons, adults and children continuously adore fairy tales.

Although the exhibit doesn’t focus on a specific fairytale, it is interesting to consider the costuming in some of my own favorite fairy tales. The exhibit makes you realize how much this aspect (costuming) of these stories is taken for granted. We care so much more about the “fairytale ending” than the characters’ clothes.

Fairy tales as a theme for a fashion exhibition was a smart, daring choice. Audiences are used to fairy tales in movies, not on the runways of Fashion Week. The topic easily shares fashion’s associate: vanity. The distinction between vanity and confident beauty is subjective. Criticisms of fashion as art and the morality of fairy tales’ messages tend to be gendered and irritatingly grounded in realism. Whether or not you read the Grimm Brothers as a child, most people have a soft spot for fairy tales and link them, consciously or unconsciously, to childhood. Fairy Tale Fashion demonstrates a mature, sexy take on fairy tales, but a youthful fun energy courses throughout the show. The exhibit proves that a museum, not just fashion or art, can be playful. For curious minds, Fairy Tale Fashion offers an imaginative trip down a Prada-lined rabbit hole.

A weekly space highlighting the creative pursuits of student-artists

Excuse me, What song makes you cry?

“I don’t have tear ducts.”

— Joseph Szymanski ’17

“How To Save a Life by The Fray.”

— Andrew Auyeung ’18

“Mama Said Knock You Out by LL Cool J.” — Maximilian Cordeiro ’16

submit to misc@vassar.edu

“My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion.”

— Rahul Sinha ’18

I made this print last fall while taking a printmaking class. It was my first time working with the medium and it was quite unfamiliar and exciting for me. One thing I really love about printmaking is that it can be reproduced very easily. So I decided to make some plates of simple images like this strawberry, and use them to print postcards. I’ve sent many of such strawberry cards to my friends, and I like how it becomes a way for me to make use of my work outside the studio.

-Yifan Wang ’17

“Tears in Heaven by Eric Clapton.”

— Conor Chinitz ’18

“The SPCA song in the commercials.”

— Tori Salomani ’18

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

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

SPORTS

Page 18

February 11, 2016

Squash finishes third at Seven Sisters Championships Morgan Fitzgerald Guest Columnist

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end are crucial to our final regular season ranking, which determines which division we will compete in at the College Squash Association Team Championships. Currently Wellesley is No. 22, Mount Holyoke No. 27 and Vassar No. 29. Smith’s ranking is not yet available but it will be below No. 30.”

Saturday, the Brewers showed their sprit and fight as they played hard and ended the day in third place. After a decisive 9-0 win against Smith College, the team lost to Wellesley College in a tough 0-9 match and Mount Holyoke College in a 4-5 nail biter.

Zhu was optimistic of her team’s performance, saying: “The team performed spectacularly! Everyone played to [her] maximum potential, especially during our closest match with Mount Holyoke. This was a very self re-

flecting game, because we made a lot of goals before and after, so no matter what the result was, everyone made observations about their own games and learned what they do that is successful, as well as certain weaknesses that we will have to work on during practice.”

Zhu continued, “The team is looking forward to improving on these individual goals during our next match, which is unique for each person but ranges from being consistent with our lengths, and being ready back at the middle-T in order to tackle each shot. The team is looking to improve on these, but besides that, the team and our coach Jane Parker is very proud of the way we played and that we tried our best, and as long as we can take lessons from every game, no matter what the outcome is, every game can be considered a win!”

Alec Ferretti/The Miscellany News

hird is the one with the treasure chest... right? This Saturday, VC Women’s Squash hosted the annual Seven Sisters tournament. It was the last home match of the season, as well as senior day. The squash courts were bustling with energy and excitement as the tournament brought in some big competition for the Brewers. Wellesley College, Mount Holyoke College and Smith College were in attendance.

Vassar looked sharp as they rolled into the event on a two-game winning streak after besting Boston University and Georgetown University last weekend, winning all 18 of their matches and boosting their overall record to a solid 5-3. However, the defending champions, Wellesley College, also arrived on a winning streak, winning their last five consecutive matches. Mount Holyoke College, who brought their game faces and their No. 1 player, sophomore Brandy Williams, entered the tournament with a tough 7-8 record. The lady Brewers have decisively beat Smith College for the last two years.

One of the major match ups was between Wellesley’s No. 1, sophomore Sarah Zhang and Vassar’s No. 1, sophomore Hannah Nice. The two faced off last year in a grueling five-set match with Nice eventually dropping the last set 8-11. Nice, who at the No. 1 spot holds an impressive individual record of 7-1. She beat the No. 1 players for Smith College and Mount Holyoke College at last year’s tournament.

The Brewers entered this year’s event with confidence. Head Coach Jane Parker commented, “[The team is] a little stronger than before...as [junior] Isabelle Bertram has returned from a semester studying abroad. [With Bertram taking] the number four position on the nine-woman lineup, this means that other members of the team will move down a position, thus giving the Brewers more strength in depth.” Last year Bertram finished her sophomore season 8-9 overall and played at the two

spot for the final eight games of the season. Senior captain Stephanie Zhu also said that the level of the team was higher due to the return of Bertram and that she felt “pretty confident” about the level of the team going into the event.

The Brewers also gained depth with the addition of freshman Fiona Agger who plays at the No. 2 spot and holds an individual record of 5-3.

VC had been hard at work in preparation for this tournament. Coach Parker detailed, “The team came back to campus early for a one week training camp that saw them practice twice a day and attend speed and agility circuits with [Strength and Conditioning] Coach Cameron Williams and [Rugby] Coach Tony Brown.” Senior Parisa Halaji commented, “[The] running and agility helps with quick turns for returning serves and...switching directions on the court.”

Zhu explained that the team has also been focusing on practicing basic skills that players may take for granted. She reasoned, “Having a very solid and consistent drive are what end up getting the most points and that it’s once you get into the fancy things that that’s when mistakes happen and you’d rather be very solid and consistent.”

It isn’t a Seven Sister’s tournament without rivalries. Zhu commented, “We obviously have a lot of camaraderie because it is the Seven Sisters. They are all really highly skilled and I think it will be good practice. It is always really good to get good challenges in, regardless of whether or not you win or lose, because those are the games when you learn the most and what compels you to be a better player in the end.” Hilaji agreed, adding: “They are tough and we will go into it taking it seriously but also remembering that if we don’t win its not that bad as long as long as you give it your best.”

Coach Parker stated, “[The four teams] are all around a similar level. Wellesley, Mount Holyoke and Vassar seem to exchange positions and have four to five year stints of being the leading team. Wellesley is currently the reigning champion. The results of this week-

Junior Diana Howland winds up for a hit during the Seven Sisters Championships last weekend. The women’s squash team was edged out 4-5 versus Mount Holyoke College and finished third on the day.

Hiring vital to growing Communications Department AUMENT continued from page 1

the expanding communications department.

Walsh highlighted some of the department’s recent accomplishments, explaining, “In the short time I’ve been here, the Athletic Communications Office has spearheaded a website redesign, created new game day programs, and enhanced our game coverage through post game interviews. They continually seek new ways to promote the accomplishments of our talented student-athletes.”

The department has made a conscious effort to improve upon its existing resources, particularly social media. Chagnon has made this a primary goal of his since he started at Vassar in 2013, highlighting his involvement on Twitter and Instagram.

The Vassar Athletics Twitter (@VassarAthletics) has been extremely active as of late, posting links to articles on the Athletics website, coining hashtags like “#BrewUp” and giving

up to the minute updates on Vassar sporting events. Various other Twitter accounts have also been started to represent individual Vassar teams. Many times these are run by athletes on the teams themselves. The account currently has just under 1,400 followers.

The Vassar Athletics Instagram account has been equally as successful, but benefits from being able to post in-game highlights that reflect the school’s newly renovated digital brand.

Posts summarize each game or competition throughout the Vassar Athletics community.

They offer scores and key statistics, as well as the date and location of the event. The page also highlights Athletes of the Week and provides links to the newly renovated website.

All of Vassar Athletics’ digital content is streamlined to the site, which recently got a sleek makeover this past year that features a drop-down menu that separates sports by team and provides an updated list of statistics,

courtesy of Vassar Athletics

Assistant Director of Athletic Communications Tiana Aument came to Vassar after graduating from the University of South Florida. Aument also served as a staff writer for the USF Oracle newspaper.

schedules and game recaps.

Chagnon also believes that equal coverage is extremely important. “We’ve tried to improve our coverage of all 27 teams by showing equal coverage. The video part of what we do has improved I believe, in doing highlight videos and also webcasting a vast majority of our events,” he continued. These 27 teams include not only the 23 varsity squads, but also Vassar’s four varsity club sports–the rugby and rowing teams.

Aument’s prior experience both in and out of the classroom will vastly help the growing department. She served as a student leader for New Student Connections at USF, helping new students connect to the University through the Sports Network.

Her experience dealing with students will be beneficial to the growth of the department.

“An already strong writer, Tiana will look to also improve some of our video production and video highlight packages along with her other duties,” explained Chagnon.

Aument’s past writing experience is also marked by her time volunteering at Florida Focus. While there, she helped direct and produce shows while working with graphic and video design.

The department has had an assistant director for the past seven years. Aument’s arrival is much needed given the demands of the position. “The demand that 27 sports puts on the Athletic Communications Director, having an assistant to balance the work flow and assist in everyday duties is vital. In comparison, Vassar has the most sports in the Liberty League, but only two full-time workers in the office, one of just three schools with only two full time SID professionals,” Chagnon divulged.

Aument’s experience and enthusiasm make her the ideal candidate. “Tiana brings tremendous energy and enthusiasm to the position; her degree in mass communications has further prepared her with the necessary skill set to engage Brewer fans in a variety of media channels,” explained Walsh.

Chagnon has some major goals he wants to have accomplished in the near future at Vassar and Aument will be vital in helping them come

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

into fruition. “I’d love to see our webcasting operation take the next step into multiple camera productions, with the possibility of doing instant replay as well. I also would like at some point to be able to hire another person in charge of video production and highlights, and another goal of mine is getting to the point where we are considered the best Athletic Communications office in this conference, and among the best in the nation. I think we are close, professionally speaking.”

Chagnon also hopes to dip a bit more into the marketing aspect of the sporting events themselves to get more spectators to events on campus. “We have amazing student-athletes here on campus, and I really wish that we’d have a little bigger crowds to see our teams,” he added. Chagnon hopes to see Vassar move up the ladder in the Liberty League and become perennial championship contenders in all sports.

The department is also working on its branding of the athletics department, putting up banners in facilities so as to visually celebrate the accomplishments of Vassar’s student-athletes both past and present.

“The facilities will look very different next year with the projects we have currently going, and hopefully if they come to fruition, our student-athletes will love the new look that we have for them at venues, online, on social media and in print. It’s an exciting time to be at Vassar for sure,” he concluded.

Aument is stepping into the world of Vassar Athletics at a time characterized by rapid change. With multiple sports on the rise and a breadth of quality athletes, facilities and programming, her experience will only help further build the Athletic Communications Department and Vassar Athletics in general.

Chagnon put it best, saying “I think her excitement and fervor for sports in general has me excited about her being with us. Though she hadn’t worked with an Athletic Communications office before, but she has come to Vassar committed to learning the business. She has a high learning curve, but I’m excited about her progress through just three weeks.”

February 11, 2016

SPORTS

Examining the Pep Guardiola paradox Desmond Curran Guest Columnist

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hile the Red side of Manchester may finally have a glimpse of hope following the Red Devil’s outstanding performance against Stoke this past week, their Sky Blue counterparts have even more reason for joy and high hopes.

It was confirmed this past Monday that Pep Guardiola will be leaving Bayern Munich at the end of the 2016-2017 season for a threeyear contract with Manchester City. Highly regarded as one of the best managers in the world, Pep Guardiola not only excels in taking his teams to extraordinary heights in Europe but also amazes with his marvelous “tiki-taka” style of soccer.

As if the news of Guardiola’s signing wasn’t news enough to cause an above-average Monday night rush hour for Manchester pubs, City also announced that an astounding £150 million, or $244 million, would be made available for Guardiola. With this mountain of moolah, Guardiola will be able to hand­pick players to add to the already star­-laden squad that Manchester City has, with players such as Sergio Aguero, Vincent Kompany and Raheem Sterling.

Despite the good news for Guardiola, the appointment will only add to the growing list of criticism for the Catalonian, saying that “he has never had a true challenge.” The argument boils down to the fact that Guardiola has always landed in cushy, “easy” situations. Here, the challenge of greatness is much more easily achieved than if Guardiola had managed a perennially mediocre team such as West Brom or, as any sane person in London would agree, Tottenham.

From the beginning of his managerial career, Guardiola has always been characterized as a spoiled child with a silver spoon in his mouth. He managed Lionel Messi during his outright ridiculous streak of four Ballon d’Or titles in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. He managed

an incredible Barcelona to glory with 14 total pieces of silverware, including two UEFA Champions league titles and three La Liga titles. And now with Bayern Munich, Guardiola now leads more incredible players such as Robert Lewandowski, Arjen Robben, Neuer, etc.

And with the case of City, it would be too tantalizing an opportunity for Guardiola to refuse, especially when his yearly salary is rumored to be an absurd £25 million. To put that price in perspective, if you combined all the salaries of each manager in the Italian Serie A, it would total to around £20.5 million. The potent combination of a fat paycheck and a very talented squad would have any manager salivating more than a love child of Luis Suarez and Hannibal Lecter would when faced with a

“When perfected and produced consistently, tikitaka is as imperious as it is beautiful and aesthetically pleasing...”

Chilean-flavored liver with fava beans.

As mentioned before, the style of play that Guardiola implements with his teams is known as “tiki-taka”. When perfected and produced consistently, tiki-taka is as imperious as it is beautiful and aesthetically pleasing for avid soccer fans and the casual viewer. Consisting of constant possession of the ball and frequent one-touch passing with a lot of offthe-ball movement from surrounding players, tiki-taka is also an incredibly challenging strategy to employ.

This is one of its major pitfalls. It is very dif-

ficult to maintain the performance of tiki-taka at the professional level. And when it fails, it fails miserably. Because of this, if Guardiola were to take over a team such as West Brom in the Premier League or Hamburger FC in the Bundesliga, it would be so much more of a challenge on both the behalves of the players and Guardiola himself. He would require much more time to successfully coach the players into his strategy and then applying it successfully in league play.

Unfortunately, in most managerial positions in the modern era of European soccer, the priority is placed on short-term results rather than long-term club development. Even if he were to join a club that would recognize him as a savior from above, Guardiola would still not be given nearly enough time to effectively complete the application of his managerial methods.

This dearth of time for Guardiola would also highlight the major pitfall of Guardiola.

This pitfall has been exploited before, most notably by the mercurial Jose Mourinho in the Champions League semifinal in 2010. Mourinho’s incredible defense effectively negated Guardiola’s potent attack and nicked a 3­2 aggregate victory over two games. Guardiola was perplexed, because his team simply had no secondary option of playing style to turn to. Guardiola has thus been labeled as a onetrick pony.

With Guardiola’s lack of ability, or desire, to coach any style of soccer different from tiki-taka, his path towards exit from a lower-tier club would only be even more accelerated. Because of this, it is impossible to ever believe that Guardiola would not manage any one of the largest clubs in Europe. Not only is it too easy for a manager of Guardiola’s status to find jobs with any of the best and wealthiest clubs in Europe, he probably doesn’t want to as well.

Who would turn down working with Aguero when you could work with the globally recognized talent such as José Salomón Rondón?

Phil Jackson and Knicks going Fishing Zach Rippe

Sports Editor

W

hy did Phil Jackson and the Knicks fire Derek Fisher? Perhaps the better question is, why now? Fisher was fired late Sunday night in a move that most people found to be at least a bit shocking. Former Laker player and coach Kurt Rambis will take over the coaching duties until the end of the season. I’m sure that Phil Jackson, former coach of Michael Jordan and Shaq and Kobe’s Lakers as well as current president of the New York Knicks, has a solid relationship and history with Rambis, but his relationship with Fisher is arguably as fruitful.

Fisher was the starting point guard on many a Phil Jackson squad, including those Laker teams that won the NBA Championship.

He has a reputation for being a consummate professional and having a good mind for the game. This is presumably why he got the job in the first place. Phil knew Fisher. He trusted him and had enough faith in his leadership capabilities and basketball mind to help develop this team from the ground up.

According to ESPN.com, the Knicks’ upper management was convinced that Fisher was not transitioning from the role of player to coach effectively or efficiently. They also noted a rift between the already established assistant coaching regime that included Rambis, and the camp of assistant coaches Fisher brought on at the beginning of his tenure.

Rambis has apparently already had a meeting with his players to talk about team expectations and make sure everyone is on the same page.

Strangely, Jackson had some good things to say about Fisher, calling him “prepared” and saying that he instilled a mental toughness into this young Knicks team. Jackson also blamed some of the athletes themselves, saying it’s easier to fire a coach than 15 players.

There is more, though. An article from the NY Daily News brought the following stats to light: The Knicks have been outscored by 27 of the NBA’s 29 other teams in the fourth quarter.

They’re last in fastbreak points, the antithesis of what Fisher claimed he’d do with New

York’s young offense. They’ve also been outscored by double-digits in the first quarters of their last three games and they’ve lost nine of their last ten games as of Monday. Jackson also criticized the team’s isolation-dominant offense, yearning for the ball movement that helped make his offenses so potent.

But back to my second question: why now? Sure, last season was terrible, but isn’t that growth in its own right? Granted I’m no NBA player, but wouldn’t you think that a full season of losing together as a group in NYC teaches young players a lot about not only what it takes to win, but also teamwork, responsibility, accountability and how to cope with those that are better than you? It’s important to learn how to lose, something that they shared with their young coach. It wasn’t like Fisher was completely imploding.

Maybe the bare bones of a competitive team are in place, but this Knicks team is far from a finished product on and off the court.

The drafting of Kristaps Porzingis, along with the signings of Aaron Aflalo and Robin Lopez have helped, but they are by no means enough. This is not an adaptable group of veterans whose feel for the game can overcome a transition between different defensive schemes, offenses and coaching mentalities to make things easier. Many of these players are young guys who still need to learn how the NBA works. They are still learning how to play the game, let alone how to win. Perhaps this means Fisher wasn’t the best choice in the first place?

Why not let Fisher ride the season out? It really is detrimental to the development of some of the young players to cause a stir at this point in the season. 23-31 is a far cry from last year’s 17-65. As a Nets fan, I speak from experience. I watched the Nets go through five coaches in the past six seasons. This is terrible for continuity. Not putting faith into an existing system or coach is common when you don’t know if you’ll be learning a new scheme next year or next week. It takes a while for players to “feel it” within a particular system.

Their confidence in the state of their team af-

fects how they view their role on said team, as well as the team’s winning culture. The stability of the front office is crucial to sustained success. This is a business. If things are dysfunctional at the top, they most likely will be troubled on the court.

Phil is a smart guy. Most fans (myself included) supposed that this was phase two of a rebuilding process that will catapult a lackluster franchise into one with the proper success to match their notoriety and popularity. The team shouldn’t necessarily be in “win now” mode with such a promising future. Did they do it to appease Carmelo Anthony? Perhaps Phil loves Porzingis so much, he wants to coach him himself. You know, make him the next Tim Duncan.

If Phil doesn’t want to coach (and I’m almost certain he doesn’t), there are definitely other credible options. Hey, Dennis Rodman just tweeted about the job! That would most definitely be a wild ride. In all seriousness, other offers could include Tom Thibodeau and David Blatt. An ideal candidate would be Luke Walton, who most recently led the Warriors to an astounding 39-4 while Steve Kerr was out earlier this season.

Walton has already confirmed that he is not entertaining offers until the end of the season.

This makes sense given the success of the Warriors and the essential part he played in contributing to it. He deserves that championship. This idea seems to make sense, given the fact that Phil coached Luke for a bit while he was playing for the Lakers. His basketball IQ is also supposedly through the roof.

Obviously the choice to fire Fisher was a business decision that probably included more than just Phil Jackson himself. Jackson also mentioned that the Knicks would soon seek a significant trade. I know that Phil Jackson knows way more about basketball and how to run an organization than myself or any of the reporters who are commenting on this story. Still, one has to wonder, will his next coaching choice be a success? Will this step backward actually take the Knicks two steps forward?

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

Page 19

Was this Peyton’s last rodeo?

Adam Joseph D’Agostino Sr. Guest Columnist

I

have to admit, I was thinking with my heart last week when I said that vintage Peyton Manning was going to win the Super Bowl. That was pretty much the most inaccurate prediction I’ve made during the season, and I’ve been wrong like 90 percent of the time. The fact that I still get to write this column is a wonder in and of itself. But I hear they got more writers so I’m probably done now.

Anyways, enough about me and back to the Super Bowl and how the Broncos pulled off a huge upset, making the Panthers look unrecognizable in the process. The old mantra, defense wins championships, rang true for the third year in a row now. Demarcus Ware and Von Miller combined for 4.5 sacks on Cam Newton, 1.5 more sacks than they recorded on Brady in the AFC Championship Game. Cam Newton’s ability as a mobile quarterback became a non-factor as the game progressed and by the end of the game he looked beat up and exhausted from the very real pounding he took.

Not to mention the two strip sacks that Miller got off of Newton, one for a touchdown and one that set up the only offensive touchdown Denver would record. The run game was nonexistent and with the “No-Fly Zone” firing on all cylinders in the backfield, the newly-crowned MVP was forced to beat the Broncos in the air. As good a thrower as he is, most defenses would say they address Newton as a running back with a great arm and not the other way around. Wade Phillips’ ability to recognize this and force the Panthers to go to the air and take away Cam’s ability to keep plays alive with his feet was absolutely critical in this win.

But time to address quarterback play more in depth, for as bad as Cam Newton was throughout the night, Peyton Manning was just as bad in terms of actual physical play. The Sherriff’s mind is undeniably still there and he’s still an amazing shot caller, however, at 39, almost 40, he just can’t make the plays anymore. Manning’s statistics for the night were 13 for 23 passing, 141 yards, no touchdowns, a pick, and a lost fumble. The only time he found the end zone was to seal the deal with a two-point conversion with a few minutes left. Manning finished the Super Bowl with a 9.9 QBR, by far the worst QBR by any quarterback to win the Super Bowl, beating out his previous mark around 44. In short, Manning literally did just enough to win the Super Bowl.

That’s in no way written to shame the legend that is Peyton Manning, just to acknowledge that he can’t put up the same numbers we were used to seeing him manage week in and week out of his illustrious career. At almost 40, we shouldn’t expect to be seeing that from him, and it seems John Elway and Gary Kubiak knew that going into this playoff run. Make no mistake, the coaching staff and upper management always knew this team was going to be built around the defense; it just took people like me until the Super Bowl victory to accept it. Even Manning himself has consistently been on record this post season saying that they are where they are because of the defense. His own admittance of this fact appears to be a very clear indication that even he knows his days as the best QB in the league are done.

Archie Manning, Peyton’s NFL Quarterback father, stopped just short of saying he wanted his son to retire by saying he would talk to him later this week about retiring. Peyton’s mom, Olivia, very clearly went on record stating she wanted him out of the game. Every analyst in the world is saying that the Sheriff needs to hang up the cleats right now and leave the game as Super Bowl champion like only so few legends of his caliber have. At win 200, passing Brett Favre for most wins of all time with his Super Bowl victory, would that be such a bad thing?

Here’s the thing though, Manning has earned the right to decide how much risk he is willing to put himself at and keep playing. No one has ever done it better than him and while he’s not playing great, there are still ways he can be a serviceable QB option (albeit not in Denver). While it is my humble opinion he should hang it up, we can’t expect Manning to do what we want him to do. If he does decide to hang it up though, here’s to Peyton Manning, it’s been one hell of a rodeo.

SPORTS

Page 20

February 11, 2016

Experienced VC fencers dance through NFC Meet Winnie Yeates Reporter

F

courtesy of Vassar Athletics

encing is a sport that often goes overlooked, and while many Vassar students may only think of fencers as the group of people that hang out prodding each other with swords in the Walker Bays while donning white body suits and face masks, there truly is a lot more to it than meets the eye. What many students are unaware of is that the Vassar men’s and women’s fencing teams are composed of fencers that are passionate about their sport and who all have different and very interesting backstories regarding how they were drawn to the sport in the first place.

Some of the Brewers have been fencing for as long as nine years, and one might consider them an expert or a veteran at their sport. The same might be said of head coach Bruce Gillman who began fencing in 1982 at University of Rochester shortly after discovering his interest at the school’s activities fair. Many of the Gillman’s players even chose fencing over a more traditional sport.

For some athletes, the fencing journey began long before Vassar. Senior captain Amreen Bhasin explained how she got into the sport, “I started fencing in middle school, but didn’t start taking it seriously until around 11th grade. I actually was a recruited Vassar field hockey athlete, but Bruce Gillman emailed me, and I was having a really great time on my high school team, so I figured why not? It was fun and engaging both physically and mentally so I chose to continue.

This year I ended up being one of Vassar’s women’s captain’s and actually didn’t play field hockey, which I’d never have expected!”

Some of the other Brewers had their interests peaked through various forms of inspiration such as sophomore Tom Racek. “I actually became involved in fencing for the first time when I was six years old. I saw the movie Zorro, and after watching that film, I told my Mom that I wanted to fence,” he said.

While people may not be as familiar with fencing as most other collegiate sports, freshman

The men and women’s fencing teams have had a competitive season thus far. Both teams competed in the NFC Championships this past weekend. The men finished in third while the women placed sixth.

Rose Hulsey-Vincent explained that what fencers love about fencing isn’t really all that different from what most athletes love about their own respective sports. Just like any other sport, one is able to form a uniquely intimate yet temporary relationship with your opponent as well as experience the tunnel-vision that comes with competition. “Whenever I start fencing I can only focus on the quality of my actions and my opponent’s responses, I can’t let myself think about homework or stress. I love the analytic nature of the sport, too, and it’s taught me a great deal about problem-solving and approaching challenges in a variety of ways,” explained Hulsey-Vincent.

Most people think of fencing as an individual sport, so the team must work even harder to function as a cohesive unit. Racek explained what is necessary to make the sport a more

team-oriented one, “We practice like a team.

We have group warm-ups, group footwork, and group lessons. The collective image of seeing everyone doing the same exercises and drills helps to break down the mentality of it being an individual sport. Outside of practice we are all very social. It seems like every weekend we are doing something with teammates. We are all very present in each others lives.”

Hulsey-Vincent, however, does not see fencing as an individual sport at all. Instead, she sees fencing as extremely interactive, “A coach once told me that fencing is a dance. There is a lot of exchange between opponents, for instance, there is usually an ongoing struggle between fencers to take control of the distance in which the bout is fenced or the tempo of the footwork actions. I think this leads to a great deal of learning about

the people you are fencing. When we fence, there’s always a teammate or two watching and cheering us on or giving us advice. Nothing builds friendships like facing challenges together!”

With such experienced teams, the men and women have had a successful season thus far.

The Brewers competed in the second and final round of the Northeast Fencing Conference Meet this past weekend. The women’s team placed sixth overall. Bhasin spoke more on the tournament, “The NFC is a great conference to be a part of because of its competitiveness. We fence some really talented teams and go toe to toe with tons of NCAA qualifiers and strong competitors. Both the men and women were hoping to go undefeated this weekend. The men pulled it off and finished third in the conference, which was amazing! For the women, we started off a bit slow and fell in our first round against Sacred Heart. After Sacred Heart (our first round) the women didn’t drop a single match so we ended up 5-1.”

The men, who came in third, are ready for more competition as they gear up to take on both NYU and Columbia University this Wednesday. According to freshman Michael Skolnick, “The team is looking really good right now.

We beat Sacred Heart and almost beat Brown and Brandeis.” Racek echoed these sentiments, “People are coming together and working well together, both during practice and outside of practice. It (NFCs) was the last conference meet of the season where we compete as a team. Our team goal was to go undefeated and clinch third place. When we did so we were pretty ecstatic, we all had been working incredibly hard and the final result was some nice assurance on our abilities.”

The women will also compete against NYU and Columbia this Wednesday and will continue their competition into the weekend on Saturday, where they will compete in the Eastern Women’s Fencing Championships (EWFC) in New York, N.Y. against six different teams.

Battled Brewers heat up during warm winter weather Annie Hsu

Guest Reporter Women’s Basketball

It was a busy week for the Women’s Basketball Team as they had three home games, two of which were conference play. They played a strong game Tuesday night against Mount Saint Mary College winning 64-49. Every team member on the floor brought intensity to the game. Sophomore Ariella Rosenthal led the night with 19 points while freshman Nicole Teta not only scored 13 points, but also had a career-high six assists. The Brewers were able to keep the Knights down through a strong defense. Mount Saint Mary was able to mount a late rally, but Vassar was able to close the game out. The Brewers led by as many as 16 in the third quarter, but the Knights closed the gap to three with an 11-0 run early in the fourth. Head coach Candice Brown called for more intensity and the Brewers responded, scoring the

last nine points of the game to seal the victory.

Friday night, Rosenthal again led the Brewers to a 55-50 victory with 21 points against William Smith College. The Brewers out-shot the Herons 37 percent to 34 percent. Vassar also beat them 9-4 at the foul line. Senior Rose Serafini was stellar on the defensive end with 12 rebounds and swatted away the Herons with a game-high six blocked shots. Vassar led 4333 after the third quarter, but William Smith came storming back with nine straight points to start the fourth quarter. Rosenthal hit two freethrows late in the game to give the Brewers a three-point lead and inevitably secure the victory. The game was exciting with multiple ties and lead changes but the Brewers gained five points within the last minute of the game to complete the night with their third straight win. That streak ended Saturday night when the Brewers lost to the strong opponents of Rochester Institute of Technology, who cur-

courtesy of Vassar Athletics

Senior Alex Moon defends an RIT guard in the Brewers’ tough matchup this past weekend. Women’s basketball had a strong week with wins over William Smith College and Mount Saint Mary College.

rently holds a 10-2 record in the Liberty League.

Rosenthal, Teta and senior Caitlin Drakeley all scored double figures to help the Brewers, but the Tigers outshot and out-rebounded for a 7358 win. Vassar was out-rebounded 45-30. The game was neck and neck in the first half until RIT gained momentum in the second half, in front of the Brewers by at least seven points at all times, including a third quarter where they outscored Vassar 23-8. Serafini was dominant on the defensive end once again with a gamehigh four blocks. The Brewers still have three games to look forward to in the next two weeks.

Men’s Basketball

The Men’s Basketball team had a stellar week with two straight wins Friday and Saturday night for the Brewers. The first game on Friday against Hobart College was led by sophomore guard Jesse Browne with a career-best 31 points including six triples, surpassing his previous career high of 28 points. Freshman guard Alex Seff also had a considerable game with ten points and nine rebounds. The Brewers out-rebounded the Statesmen 40-27. The team also played solid defense throughout. Vassar shot 47 percent from the floor and used an 8-0 start to catapult them into the lead early on. While the Statesmen would eventually take a one-point lead, the Brewers answered back quickly with a 7-0 run of their own. The game was intense, with four ties with Vassar ultimately winning 75-66 for their third win in four games. The Brewers made a clear statement when freshman forward Chris Gallivan pushed the lead to 7 with 16 seconds remaining on the clock.

Saturday, against Rochester Institute of Technology, the Brewers won again 72-65. This time around, they were led by junior Mickey Adams with his career best of 21 points. Seff also had a strong performance with 18 points and Browne contributed 15 of his own. Senior guard Erikson Wasyl also contributed 10 points to the game on his senior night. Adams hit back-to-back threes and Browne drilled one of his own to help the Brewers out to a 9-2 start. The game was close at the half with Vassar taking a 33-28 lead into the locker room. The Brewers opened

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

their lead up to 51-34 before the Tigers stormed back with a 10-0 run of their own. Vassar led the match the entire night, with the Tigers only getting as close as six points to the lead twice.

The two games of the week put the Brewers at 11-10 overall and 7-5 in conference play. They will have two away games next week before a final home game in two weeks.

Men’s Volleyball

Vassar Men’s Volleyball had an amazing week. Starting on Wednesday, the Brewers beat Purchase in three straight sets and continued the outstanding play into Saturday in which they defeated both Newbury College and Mount Ida College in three sets each. This contributes to their streak of winning four straight matches this season. The team posted 37 kills out of 60 attacks against Purchase and finished with 11 aces. They won the three sets by scores of 25-6, 25-10 and 25-18 respectively. Senior Reno Kriz finished with 10 kills out of 17 swings. Freshman George Diehl had six kills and hit a .714 for the night. Junior setter Quinn Rutledge had five digs, three aces and three kills. Vassar had 11 aces and held Purchase to -.015 hitting for the night. Coming off the Wednesday win, the Brewers kept on excelling. They trumped Newbury 25-19, 25-12, 2520, and Mount Ida 25-10, 25-15, 25-16. In the first set against Newbury, the Brewers posted a 7-0 run early on to open things up. During the third set, Vassar achieved 14 kills for a match-best as they scored 10 of the first 13 points to get the easy victory. Sophomore Matthew Knigge posted 10 kills during the match, while senior Erik Halberg had four kills out of five swings.

Sophomore setter Zechariah Lee had a gamebest 18 assists during the match. Great play extended into the match against Mount Ida with the Brewers hitting a .541 for the match.

The team posted 37 kills on 61 attempts as Halberg and Lee combined for 30 assists. Vassar cruised through all three matches of the week playing only three sets each per contest. The team will play next Wednesday against the defending national champion Stevens Institute of Technology.