The Miscellany News
Volume CXLVIII | Issue 14
February 25, 2016
Since 1866 | miscellanynews.org
Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY
Equestrian club takes stereotypes by the reins Secret vote to decide A fate of BDS Maria Bell Reporter
Jeremy Middleman News Editor
courtesy of Robin Piatt Stegman
lready you might be thinking, “Vassar has an equestrian team? Since when?” You wouldn’t be alone. The equestrian team has a quiet presence on campus, often slipping under the radar, perhaps because it predominantly takes place in Millbrook, a scenic 30-minute drive down winding tree-lined roads to where MLC farm is located. Each week, groups of four or five students pile into a Vassar van to go to their hour-long lesson with Coach Michelle Clopp. This semester, 12 students are taking weekly riding lessons, and five regularly compete in the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA). The Vassar equestrian team was around long before Vassar became co-ed. In its earliest stages, the staSee EQUESTRIAN on page 6
A member of the little-known equestrian team rides in competition gear. The equestrian team has had difficulties in the past gaining funding, but with consistent demand from Vassar hopefuls, it looks to maintain its foothold..
Photos capture truth of refugee experience Emily Chancey Guest Reporter
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pproximately 60 million refugees survive around the world today in the largest international refugee crisis since World War II. Yet, prominent American voices have recently begun to rouse fears and to problematize United States acceptance of refugees at a time when they most need safety and despite
an American tradition of welcoming persecuted people. In an effort to act as global citizens, Vassar students with Professor of History and Chair of the department Maria Höhn, introduced the Vassar College: Solidarity with Refugees initiative and a six-week course on the 21st Century Worldwide Refugee Crisis. To explore the ways in which Vassar students can help to alleviate the
Records shattered at UNYSCSAs Olivia O’Loughlin Guest Reporter
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Inside this issue
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BurgerFi open mic draws out FEATURES community
14 ARTS
and comes from wanting to learn, to grow and to change the world; a goal of activism she insists is necessary for all of us. As she drew from her understanding of Martin Luther King Jr.’s idea of beloved community in conceptualizing her project, Rehder said in an emailed statement, “I found the notion of a beloved community that See REHDER on page 7
he upcoming VSA vote on the highly-controversial Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Resolution will soon shape how Israel’s occupation of Gaza and the West Bank will be observed by Vassar’s student body. On Feb. 22, the VSA voted on how the ballots would be cast for the March 6 vote determining the adoption of Students for Justice in Palestine’s (SJP) BDS proposal. They decided by a vote of 16 to three with three abstentions to have an anonymous vote. To pass, the anonymous vote required 2/3 of the council’s vote, as it required the suspension of a current VSA bylaw. “It’s been expressed by members of council and members of the student community and members of the United States that there’s a perception that voting for either side on the BDS resolution could have implications on one’s life outside of the context of Vassar College and the BDS resolution,” said VP for Student Life Chris Brown ’16. Other VSA Council members made similar comments during meetings on Feb. 14 and Feb. 21, including VP for Finance Kaden Maguire and the Presidents of Class of 2018 and 2019 Presidents Rebecca Pober ‘18 and Miranda Amey ’19. VSA members See VSA on page 4
CAAD hosts soundscape artist Noah Purdy
Guest Reporter
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he Greeks built monuments and sculpted figures that displayed the divine order of the universe. Persian carpets aim to bring nature indoors, capturing spiritual paradise for earthly consumption. And Monet depicted the ephemeral in a new, quick style, enforcing a novel way of looking at both art and nature. In many ways, art and nature have always been intertwined. Composer, sound artist and former Professor of Music at Vassar Annea Lockwood carries on this long tradition of eliciting emotion through art. Over her long career, Lockwood has experimented with many instruments, such as the piano, drums, didgeridoo and conch shells. She composed music to accompany readings of poems written by Guantánamo detainees and gained notoriety for setting out-of-use pianos on fire. Lockwood has always tried to challenge established notions of what constitutes art and music. As Vassar Professor of Music Richard Wilson puts it, “[Lockwood’s works] stand at the very edge of what would traditionally be called music.” Lockwood will present “environmental sound,” in the form of an installation at the Aula. The event was organized by Creative Arts Across Disciplines (CAAD) as part of its 20152016 theme of “Sound and Silence.” Lockwood’s installation is intended See LOCKWOOD on page 16
ViCE Jazz bringing talented modern artist to Mug
courtesy of NewMusicBox
oth the women’s and men’s swimming and diving teams finished strong seasons this Saturday at the Upper New York State Collegiate Swimming Association, or UNYSCSA, Championships in Ithaca, N.Y. At the championships, Vassar competed against 16 teams, including nine from the Liberty League. After four days of competition, the men’s team finished in eighth place out of 15 teams overall, while the women’s team placed sixth out of 16 teams. The Vassar women’s sixth place ranking is the Brewers’ best finish to date in the UNYSCSA Championships. In fact, the men’s team had at least one man score in the top 24 in each of the individual events for all four days of competition. While the same cannot be said for the women’s team, the team had women place in the top 24 for many events, and even had more than one woman score within the top 24 in particular events. Sophomore Luke Morrison stated, “We had an awesome meet as both a men and women’s team with a ton of new school records and lifetime bests.” Individually, the swimmers excelled, with a majority of the team members achieving new personal bests and surpassing Vassar’s previous school records. In just four days, the men’s swimming and diving team
achieved 34 lifetime bests, 44 season bests, and broke eight of Vassar’s records. Freshman Alex May finished his first season as a Brewer very strong, breaking two school records. May beat two records in the 1000yard Free and the 1650-yard Free, both of which had been previously held by graduate Ben Chung since 1999. Junior Anthony Walker broke his own 2015 record for the 100 Fly, finishing in 51.45 seconds. Sophomore Jonah Strand also swam incredibly, breaking three different school records. Strand first beat Jack Smart’s 2010 record for 200-yard IM when he finished in just 1:56.67 minutes. Not showing any fatigue on day three, Strand then shattered both the 50yard and 100-yard Breast records by at least one second in each race. Junior Chris Cerutti also bested the six-year-old 200-yard Back record that was held by Nick Veazie, when Cerutti finished the race in 1:58.45 minutes. Together, senior Isaiah Hale, junior Anthony Walker, freshmen Ian LaBash and Alex May beat the 800yard Free relay by an astonishing four seconds when they finished in 7:12.94 minutes. The women’s team also performed phenomenally, achieving 33 lifetime bests, 47 season bests, and setting See SWIM on page 18
crisis, Professor Höhn asked documentary photographer and activist Kristin Rehder to Vassar as a model of an individual making a difference, in particular through the arts. Rehder presented her most recent project examining the concepts of community and acceptance of resettled refugees in Lancaster, Pa. to the class and its guests. Rehder’s photographic-activist work is personal
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Annea Lockwood will present her latest work on campus in a CAAD-sponsored lecture. Her installation uses sound to explore the Housatonic River and more.
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NHL, media support abusers SPORTS over victims
The Miscellany News
Page 2
February 25, 2016
Editors-in-Chief Palak Patel Noble Ingram
Senior Editors Anika Lanser Rhys Johnson
Katie de Heras/The Miscellany News
While studying abroad in Copenhagen, Jessica Roden ’17 visited Kronborg Castle in Helsingøor, Denmark. It was the model for Hamlet’s castle Elsinore. Within it are underground tunnels that once housed soldiers and prisoners. To read more about Jessica’s JYA experience, visit farandaway.miscellanynews.org!
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February
Thursday
Late Night at the Lehman Loeb
5:00pm | Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center Atrium | Art
Brian Obach Lecture
5:30pm | Rocky 200 | Environmental Studies Program
Richard Grayson Lecture
5:30pm | Taylor 203 | Int’l Studies Program
Najla Said Lecture and Q&A 6:00pm | Rocky 300 | SJP
AAAVC Game Night 7:00pm | Aula | AAAVC
ViCE Jazz Presents: Takuya Kuroda 9:30pm | Mug | ViCE
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February
Friday
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February
Saturday
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February
Sunday
Spoken Word: Andrea Gibson
Lacrosse (W) Scrimmage
The Polonsky/Weiss Duo
Vassar College and Community Wind Ensemble
Diaspora Dinner
Reproductive Health and Primary Care Panel
6:00pm | Villard Room | Noyes House
8:00pm | Skinner Recital Hall | Music Dept.
Barefoot Monkeys Show
8:00pm | Shiva | Barefoot Monkeys
9:00am | Prentiss Turfs | VC Athletics
6:00pm | Aula | SASA
Alash Tuvan Throat Singers 8:00pm | Skinner Recital Hall | Music Dept.
“Variations on a Theme”
Improv!
9:00pm | Taylor 203 | Improv
8:00pm | Blodgett Audit. | No Offense
Student Music Electronic Showcase
Barefoot Monkeys Show
9:30pm | Mug | ViCE
3:00pm | Skinner Recital Hall | Music Dept.
5:00pm | Rocky 300 | Primary Care Progress
VSA Council
7:00pm | New England 106 | VSA
Paper Critique
9:00pm | Rose Parlor | The Misc
8:00pm | Shiva | Barefoot Monkeys
Seven Deadly Sins
10:00pm | Jewett | Jewett House
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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 Opinions Nick Barone Emma Jones Assistant Sports Winnie Yeates 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 Matt Stein Columnists Jimmy Christon Jillian Elkin Evelyn Frick Steven Park Penina Remler Sarah Sandler Josh Sherman Patrick Tanella Jesse Horrowitz Photographers Alec Ferretti Ashley Pecorelli Design Christa Haryanto Klara Kaufman Scarlett Neuberger Samana Shrestha Copy Gabriela Calderon Sophie Deixel Steven Park Noah Purdy Elena Schultz Sophie Slater Laila Volpe Rebecca Weir Laura Wigginton
CORRECTION POLICY The Miscellany News will only corrections for any misquotes, resentations or factual errors for ticle within the semester it is
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accept misrepan arprinted.
February 25, 2016
NEWS
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Human rights activist outlines goals of Israel divestment Hannah Mittman Guest Reporter
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courtesy of YouTube
he swirling storm of controversy over the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement has been further fueled by Founder and Director of the Jerusalem-based Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group Bassam Eid’s lecture on Feb. 17. The Mar. 6 VSA Council meeting will determine the VSA’s position on a BDS resolution submitted by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). The BDS movement is meant to urge and force the Israeli government to dismantle the wall, end its control over Arab lands and institutionalize the rights of Palestinians (BDSmovement, ”Introducing the BDS Movement”). As the campus struggles with this momentus decision, there have been numerous events designed to promote awareness of and support for the BDS movement, including 11 events this month alone. Eid offered a different perspective, stating in his lecture that organizations like SJP and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) are more detrimental to the conflict than people realize. “I am a person that believes that BDS is a prelude of a genocide to the Palestinians. I don’t believe that the BDS is going to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I don’t believe that the Students for Justice for Palestine will bring any kind of justice for the Palestinians because the only one who can bring justice for the Palestinians is the Palestinians themselves,” Eid remarked. He added that more than 90 percent of Palestinians do not know what BDS is, let alone believe in the cause. He suggested that the solution to the conflict should be solved by the Israelis and the Palestinians with the intervention of the outside forces. “I think that we the Palestinians also should have to take responsibility towards our own future. I think that we the Palestinians are still holding the key for a better economic future for our moment.” He went on to assert that instead, through economic growth, the state will be able to solve its conflicts. Storch said that responses to the lecture have been largely positive. “I’ve received a number of ‘thank you’s’ and ‘we needed this new perspective
on campus’ from students and faculty.” However, not all students were satisfied with the choice of speaker. “I am disappointed that Vassar would bring a speaker who presents a complex issue like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict so simplistically as to blame the Palestinian Authority exclusively for the Israeli occupation without even mentioning the astronomical number of human rights violations committed by Israel towards the Palestinians or the clearly unequal power dynamic in the Israel/Palestine relationship,” asserted Paul Kennedy ’19, who attended the lecture. “Such a gross misrepresentation of the conflict disgraces the ideal of dialogue that Vassar seems to value so highly”. Eid’s presence on campus threatened some students’ emotional security. An anonymous member of SJP and the Middle Eastern Students’ Collective opined, “I thought that the bringing of [a] Palestinian activist that advocated against BDS was tokenization of his identity to validate certain specific groups on campus and their politics, in a very racist way that capitalized on his identity as a Palestinian. They mentioned that while they did not actually attend the lecture, multiple friends identified the lecture as a targeting of certain identities on campus. The student said, “As a Middle Eastern student at Vassar and as an Arab student at Vassar, that made me really uncomfortable. Also the fact that the President funded that also showed where the administration supports some students and calls out certain kinds of racism and ignores other kinds of racism on campus and, in fact, actively supports it.” The proposal to bring Eid to campus was met with resistance by some student orgs. With the help of Associate Dean of the College for Campus Life and Diversity Ed Pittman, Storch found the Dialogue and Engagement Across Differences fund to sponsor his event. As part of an initiative to strengthen Vassar, the President’s office created this fund to support programs that examine controversial issues facing Vassar and society at large (Office of President, “Letter from President Hill on grant program available for innovative programming”). President of the College Catha-
On Feb. 17, Director of the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group Bassam Eid lectured on why he thought the BDS movement is going to hurt Palestinians more than it will help. rine Hill wrote, “Bassem Eid brought important perspectives that widened how Vassar is examining the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I also appreciated the very substantive exchange of questions and answers between the audience and Eid.” On March 3, the fund is presenting Jewish journalist Peter Beinart as a counter to Eid, but some students feel that this is not supportive of the goal of the fund as the two speakers share the same political ideology. SJP and JVP member Henry Rosen ’17 clarified, “Identity and politics are intertwined. What I am trying to suggest is that the fund thinks that they’re inviting difference when they’re inviting two different identities, regardless of political differences.” “What I want people to take away from this event,” remarked Storch, “is that BDS, Israel, Palestine and a lot in between are much more complicated than I believe some of the speakers we’ve
had have indicated. It’s very easy to say ‘this side bad, this side good, we hate the bad side,’ but I think Vassar students are smart enough to know that easy answers aren’t always the best answers to such tough questions as what to do with [Israel and Palestine]. The idea that a Palestinian man would condemn the Palestinian Authority as well as BDS shows just how diverse opinions are on this issue from all sides.” Administrators recognize a need for dialogue between groups. Dean of the College Chris Roellke wrote in an emailed statement, “Several more campus events in the coming weeks and months will seek to tackle these and other important issues around the globe. My hope is that divergent and even controversial perspectives can be shared and debated in the vibrant and respectful intellectual environment Vassar seeks to afford its students and faculty.”
Student-sponsored screening investigates mass violence Eilis Donohue
Assistant News Editor
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midst global violence and conflict, our campus is struggling with how to talk about its impacts. Vassar is looking for ways to open up spaces for discussion. One of the student organizations that is doing this work on campus is Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) which, in collaboration with ViCE Film and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), recently screened “Concerning Violence,” a documentary based on revolutionary anti-colonialist writer Franz Fanon’s incendiary book “The Wretched of the Earth.” The purpose of this screening was to place the Israel-Palestine conflict into a larger context of colonialism. The film treats violence in contexts around the world and through history, from the process of decolonization in Angola in 1974 to the Guinea-Bissau War of Independence. The documentary opens with Columbia University Professor
Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak explaining the concept of violence, and its broad applications that are not always considered. “Colonialism is not a thinking machine,” she says. “It is not a body endowed with thinking faculties. It is violence in its natural state.” The film is subtitled “Nine Scenes from the Anti-Imperialistic Self-Defense,” and it explores specific and diverse examples of violence resulting from colonialism and decolonization movements. Grassroots Alliance for Alternative Politics treasurer Michael Zajakowski Uhll ’17 commented, “The film...leaves an open definition for violence. I think a lot of people tend to think of violence as war, physical violence or hurting someone else, and that, I think, is a very limiting way to look at violence. I think violence is pervasive in our everyday life and present in all our interpersonal interactions, present in power dynamics, present in our conversations–
Eilis Donohue/The Miscellany News
Students for Justice in Palestine hosted a screening of “Concerning Violence,” a film about the consequences of colonialization. The movie was proceeded by a faculty-facilitated dialogue.
words can be especially violent–and I like how the film kind of opens up that dialogue.” Professors of Political Science Samson Opondo and Mark Hoffman led a conversation about broad issues of violence and liberation. They spoke about the concept of violence in colonies, clarifying that the European model of settler colonialism eliminates self-determination of the colonized people, and that violence in colonies is the result of those people seeking liberation. “Fanon is trying to contest the idea that violence in the colonies is somehow primordial, that it’s somehow a primordial feature of the colonized population’s culture,” explained Hoffman. “It’s misleading to think of violence as the primary mode of resistance...Violence is a mode of getting to the point where, as we see at the end of the film, people can engage in the creative practices of cultural self determination and produce new forms of national consciousness that don’t conform to European nation-state standards.” The discussion encompassed issues of gender, equality and politics. Students and professors deliberated on the role of women in anti-colonial militaristic movements and the power politics of civil society. They also spoke about the Israel-Palestine movement briefly, framed in the context of historical precedence, acknowledging that both Israeli and Palestinian identities were formed under colonialism by the British and Ottoman Empires. Opondo posed the question, “How do we relate to histories of oppressed people when they become oppressors?” Students for Justice in Palestine is a national organization across college campuses. A primary goal of Vassar’s chapter is–with the support of the VSA–to persuade the College to divest from companies in the U.S. and abroad that economically or materially support Israel’s occupation and human rights violations against Palestinians. Jewish Voice for Peace is also supportive of BDS. Rosen explained, “The organization and its members, and myself included, feel that particular Jewish involvement in the [Israel-Palestine conflict] is necessary because the state of Israel describes itself, in all discernible sources, as the Jewish state, and seeks to preserve a par-
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
ticular Jewish quality. This is something that is not, and has never been, a consensus of Jewish people around the world. [SJP] is at once a mode of accountability and of action for Jewish people of conscience around the world and in the U.S.” The organization is not solely focused on current events in Israel-Palestine, but also in demilitarization, liberation and decolonization efforts around the world. “Jews and Jewish people should be equal partners in these struggles...no less than any other people should be,” affirmed Rosen. For students not informed about these issues, such conversations can be daunting. Jake Pardee ’17, who attended the screening, agreed, “As useful as all of the theory and philosophy is in these issues, it’s inaccessible to so many people. In a college setting like this, and in all the U.S. actually, people are so intimidated.” The BDS coalition at Vassar plans to have several more events to keep these issues fresh in the minds of the Vassar community, including a workshop titled “The Case for BDS” on Feb. 23 and a performance and lecture by Arab-American actress, playwright and activist Najla Said on Feb. 25. “Concerning Violence” is based on Fanon’s text was intentionally chosen to demonstrate the interconnectedness of violent colonization movements around the world. The film reiterates the idea that all forms of violence are connected and must be viewed as such. The BDS coalition at Vassar has received criticism online and in the media from various angles for their goals and actions, but the aim of this event was to clarify that colonization and militarization, no matter where in the world they take place, are violent actions that BDS opposes. Rosen responded, “These things can exist and in fact must exist at the same time. You have to be resisting, and supporting resistance to, forms of state violence, forms of colonization, forms of things that we identify as being the ills of the world writ large; you have to resist them at one and the same time, on a multitude of fronts. That is something that the BDS as a movement ... aims to do, to address these issues as inherently linked.”
NEWS
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February 25, 2016
New report airs sharp concern for local homeless shelter Clark Xu
Guest Reporter
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ratings on these audits, which are reviewed closely by all county directors, and which are posted publicly for comment”. DiNapoli’s audit was the first to conclude that communication between the shelters and local administrations, as well as local administrations and OTDA, lacked evidence of appropriate and substantial documentation. Referring to the broken chain of communication, Celaya noted, “Hudson River Housing is in the process of becoming certified. The requirement to be certified or licensed had never been brought to our attention before last week”. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo concurred that a gap has opened up between the state’s regulatory agencies and its community-based initiatives. He commented, “The state has to do a better job, a more aggressive job of
courtesy of Time Warner Cable News
n a city struggling with large-scale economic issues, officials may have more to worry about than just the economy. New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli revealed on Feb. 16 that the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) overlooked the certification of Hudson River Housing’s Webster House in Poughkeepsie and five other homeless shelters, allowed the certification of 27 operating shelters to expire and did not perform any of 152 inspections on-time. In response to the poor oversight, DiNapoli’s government accountability audit urged the OTDA to improve its certification and inspection of temporary shelters for the homeless. Director of Organizational and Community Development of Hudson River Housing Elizabeth Celaya clarified, “Even without a state license, on any given night and regardless of temperature, Webster House safely and compassionately houses anywhere from 50 to 70 homeless guests.” According to state regulations, any facility that provides overnight shelter for 20 or more adults requires state certification and inspections. Webster House, with its operational capacity of 60 adults, should have state certification. DiNapoli categorizes Webster House with five other shelters that he found to be in the same situation. The smallest operates in Newburgh, with an average capacity of 21 adults, while the largest operates in Manhattan with a capacity of 851 adults. The size and range of its constituency is a major factor for the significant decline in the quality of oversight by the OTDA. DiNapoli explained, “The [OTDA] seeks to meet critical transitional housing needs of the State’s homeless population—estimated at more than 80,000” (New York State Office of the State Comptroller, “Oversight of Homeless Shelters,” 02.16.16). He continued, “The [OTDA] has delegated the direct oversight of uncertified shelters to Local Districts.” When it introduced local administration into the chain of oversight, the OTDA also transferred the crucial responsibility of annual
inspections, which include financial analysis of shelters, enforcement of residential regulations, employee qualification checks and examinations of transition programs to permanent housing. At Webster House, for example, case-managers identify guests who frequently visit the shelter and recommend to them a transitional program that provides permanent housing. A typical annual inspection by the OTDA would evaluate the efficacy of this program (Hudson River Housing, “Programs and Services,” 02.16.16). Celaya explained that local administration performs regular inspections of Webster House. According to Celaya, “The site is regularly inspected by the Health Department and Fire Department, and we are audited semi-annually by the County Comptroller’s Office, which also includes on-site inspections. We have consistently earned good
Poughkeepsie homeless shelter Webster House was one of many overlooked by the state’s Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. As a result, many of the shelters failed insepections.
enforcing its oversight” (New York State, “Rush Transcript: Governor Cuomo Appears on NY1 to Discuss Initiative to Strengthen State’s Anti-Discrimination Efforts,” 02.16.16). The governor’s stance raises concerns for advocates among Vassar students. Habitat for Humanity Volunteer Daniel Gutowski ’16 commented, “I know that Cuomo has been very aggressive on homelessness in trying to make these programs more efficient and in-line with rules and regulations. My concern would be that, in doing so, are we able to meet demand in times of extreme cold? Are we able to improve upon health and safety standards while also increasing permanent capacity? Are we considering longer term solutions to mental health issues, poverty and homelessness?” The organization draws much of its support from a combination of property income, grants and private donations. The 2014 annual financial report indicates that property income accounted for 31.3 percent of its budget and that private donation accounted for 6.3 percent of its budget. Hudson River Housing’s website acknowledges, “Hudson River Housing relies on the generosity of individuals in our community, like you, who believe in our mission and in the power to make a difference in the lives of others” (Hudson River Housing, “How You Can Help,” 02.16.16). VSA Vice President for Activities Calvin Lamothe ’17 reflected on Jewett House’s donation to Hudson River Housing through CommunityWorks. He wrote in an emailed statement, “While it is not part of the Houses’ duties to raise money for charity, I do believe that it is important for Vassar students and student orgs to support the local community in some way, as Vassar is such a large (and sometimes imposing) part of the Poughkeepsie community.” Hudson River Housing remains confident in the face of institutional barriers raised by the poor oversight of OTDA. Celaya reflected, “Many players—from government to foundations to churches and other voluntary organizations to Hudson River Housing staff—have come together to ensure a thoughtful response to homelessness.”
VSA contends with implications of high-profile decision VSA continued from page 1
questioned why VSA Council representatives should be accountable for their votes on an issue that is perceived as unrelated to their livelihoods. Brown continued, “Despite us being elected as student representatives—which I acknowledge is our job—I don’t think that it’s fair for those implications or perceived implications to be having any true effect on the lived experiences of members of VSA Council. Because despite what people believe, we’re human beings first, we’re students second, and we’re VSA representatives third.” The March 6 vote will determine whether or not the VSA will adopt a resolution that restricts the use of VSA funds from purchasing products of both Israeli and American companies that either are located in Israeli settlements in Palestine or financially support the Israeli military or its occupation of Gaza and the West Bank. The resolution also supports Vassar College’s divestment from products from Israeli companies including Sabra, Tribe, Ben & Jerry’s, Hewlett-Packard Company, Ahava, General Electric, Eden Springs, Motorola, Caterpillar, G4S and Elbit Systems. The resolution is part of a consumer boycott campaign launched by the Palestinian BDS National Committee. The BDS Movement targets Israel-affiliated companies under the notion that reinforcement of the economy supports Israel’s international law violations. The BDS Movement website notes that a boycott generates awareness of issues and support as well as applies economic pressure to those companies to end their support of occupation (BDS Movement, “Consumer Boycott”). Many VSA Council members ultimately decided on the anonymous vote because they were worried about potential consequences of a public vote. Pober remarked, “Some of the seniors on VSA, as well as just other members who will graduate one day, will be looking for job opportunities one day and unfortunately there are companies that do have specific views. Maybe it’s not like a personal view, but the company itself has views. [A VSA Council member] may not get a job because of how they voted here because Vassar does get a ton of media and this vote is going
to get a ton of media. Having our name next to a vote...would definitely affect [the possibility of getting a job].” VSA members also leaned towards an anonymous vote due to safety concerns. Pober mentioned that members of SJP have shown her threats that SJP members have received for supporting the BDS movement, and multiple VSA Council members did not want to feel physically threatened as a result of their vote. One at-large member mentioned that others on the Council were worried–albeit less seriously than for their physical well being–about the possibility of losing friendships as a result of the vote. Multiple members spoke up at the VSA, denouncing the VSA’s decision. Among them was Pietro Geraci ’18, who said in an interview, “It’s irresponsible not to let the constituents know how they’re voting. I’d rather not vote for someone who voted in favor of the resolution [to be reelected to VSA Council].” Geraci articulated that his decision for the election of future VSA Council members hinged on the availability of results of the vote, commenting on how the lack of transparency of the Council’s decisions may come back to find them. On how he will vote for future VSA members, Geraci iterated, “My decision for who I’m going to vote for is going to be determinant on who voted for the secret ballot and who didn’t...When it comes down to the people who did vote for it to be a secret ballot, I’m not voting for them...I think that it is reprehensible and a failure on the part of the VSA [to institute an anonymous vote]...I think we deserve better from the council, and I think that we deserve the transparency that is warranted—especially with an issue so controversial as this. There shouldn’t be any blankets or veils to hide behind.” Students and VSA Council members have inquired into whether or not the VSA should even be voting on this issue. “On campus and off campus, we [VSA Council members] don’t know enough to make an informed decision,” Brown posited. “There are a small minority of students on either side of the issue that are able to make their own informed decision, but I’ll never be able to because it’s not something that’s affected my lived experiences as a human being up until this point.”
Other VSA Council members expressed that they felt capable of making an informed decision. Pober explained, “We were voted to represent our constituents, no matter what came to our floor.” She continued “No one knew that BDS was going to come to our door, but it did, so we’re supposed to represent our constituents so I feel like we do have an obligation to show them how VSA feels about that.” For Pober and others on the Council, the vote has become personal, amplifying the importance of deliberating and voting upon it. Pober said, “We’ve been talking about this since last semester and we had an eight-hour training on how to talk about BDS and we’ve all been helping each other with research.” She continued, “I think it’s causing a lot of emotional trauma and anxiety among VSA members because we all just want to do the right thing. [Among] my constituents, both for and against BDS, there are groups on this campus that are both marginalized and I don’t want to oppress any group. But I think by voting by this, either way you’re going to do that. That’s why VSA members are having such trouble with this: because no matter what...you’re going to end up hurting some group of students on this campus.” As has been the case with other colleges, the results of this vote will attract significant media attention and will become of a short–but quickly growing–list of colleges that support the BDS movement. “This is going to be in the media as ‘Vassar College votes on this,’ whether it’s the student body or just the VSA, and I feel like it would be much more representative if the student body votes on it too,” Pober asserted. Other colleges that have recently endorsed similar resolutions include Wesleyan University, Earlham College, Northwestern University, Stanford University and multiple UC schools, notably UCLA. News of the vote and events at Vassar have already spread internationally. In direct response to hearing of the VSA’s vote and of learning that Vassar students are divided on the support of Israel, Former International Media Adviser to the Prime Minister of Israel Miri Eisin wrote in an emailed statement, “By turning Israel into a partisan issue you erase half of Israeli society, who support the end of occupation and the establishment of a free
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
Palestine alongside the state of Israel.” She asserted that Israel is a multi-faceted changing society challenged by the same issues of diversity, racism and discrimination that other Western societies face. “We are not perfect–neither is any western society,” she said. A boycott of Israel, Eisin opined, brands all Israelis with the same iron. She wrote, “Engage in discourse with us–rather than define we should be segregated from discourse...I want a Palestinian state. Most Israelis support the establishment of a Palestinian state. By turning Israel into a US party divide issue–you are erasing the very ground of democratic values we share. Diversity of opinion is the basis of discourse, not imposing an opinion on the other side.” In the end, the vote for anonymity may mean nothing. According to VSA President Ramy Abbady ’16, the original BDS Resolution brought forth by SJP and JVP has been broken up into a resolution and an amendment. As defined by the VSA Bylaws and the VSA Executive Board, the amendment and resolution must be presented at least one week before they are voted on. He wrote in an emailed statement, “If the VSA Council passes either or both documents, five percent of the student body must sign a petition to send them to a referendum vote. On the contrary, if the VSA Council does not pass either or both documents, 15 percent of the student body must sign such a petition. The VSA Council can suspend these bylaws by a 2/3rds majority vote and send either or both documents straight to referendum. In a vote of the VSA Council, a simple majority is needed to adopt the resolution and a 2/3rds majority is needed to adopt the amendment. In a referendum, a simple majority of those voting is required to adopt either document.” Brown and many others on VSA note that a referendum may be inevitable. He suggested, “Either way, I believe it’s going to be going to [a] referendum despite what we do as a VSA council...I hope that if the Vassar community is tasked with voting on a referendum, that they’ll make an effort to educate themselves, and certainly there have been various different programs put on by organizations that are both for and against BDS over the past month, if not before that.”
February 25, 2016
FEATURES
Page 5
Senior class begins semester of celebrated good-byes Kaitlynn Vo Reporter
U
shered in with a haze of camaraderie and a mountain of chocolate, the Class of 2016 started their freshman year off in 2012 in the Alumnae House with a classic Vassar tradition, the Vassar Devil. Only four years later, they prepared to coalesce in the Alumnae House once again, this time in aniticipation of their celebratory goodbye: Commencement. Like the storied past of that delicious chocolate treat, 100 Nights is steeped in Vassar’s history and the event is a major tradition for every class. With that said, the event is still a marker for the last 100 days of school for seniors. More than one student reported that the complementary drink they received had
a bittersweet twinge. As part of year-long programming for seniors, 100 Nights plays an important role in the lives of the College’s oldest current students. Unlike other events like 50 Nights, which is mostly billed as a last opportunity for nightime debauchery, 100 Nights offers space for a more reflective experience. Free wine in hand, guests are invited to mingle with old friends, remember their best times in dorms or with orgs and deeply consider what this school has meant for each and every one of them. The Alumnae House plays a critical part in helping students acknowledge and accept the fact that they will soon be entering an entirely different formal, vocational environment. It dually serves to ease the transition from
Sam Pianello/The Miscellany News
The Class of 2016 gathered in the Alumnae House last Saturday to celebrate their remaining time left at Vassar. Dress at the event was formal and drinks were served while students mingled.
apprehension and anxiety of the unknown into a more independent environment. Senior class president Lauren Garcia ’16 understood the importance of keeping an event such as 100 Nights in the Alumnae House. Though in the past, the senior class has descended on the Aula for the formal evening, Garcia felt drawn to the projected ambiance of the Alumnae House, one she describes in contrast to the general environment she’s encountered: “Vassar connotes a lot of emotions for me, but there exists the pervading sense of a sort of unsophisticated air about the campus. For me, this completely vanishes with the Alumnae House; not only is it a nicer setting, but its classier, more adult-like and just all-around connoted with more refinement than any I’m used to here.” Even so, Garcia does admit that there exist many commonalities between last year’s 100 Nights that was held in the Aula and this year’s. Similar food and drink were served, common dessert themes like chocolate, fudge and marshmallow were also upheld. And of course, the same electric air of excitement and wonder pervaded the space. To a certain extent, the exciting potential for 100 Nights is strong enough to take hold in an space. Class of 2016 treasurer, Chelsea Carter, elaborated on this year’s logistical process and its tangible results for students: “This year’s 100 Nights, like last, will be a catered event, but the main difference we’re excited to bring for students is transportation. Usually, students have to walk from the Terrace Apartments or other senior housing to the Alumnae House, an endeavor that can be kind of a pain considering the dress code for the event.” She continued, “So, in order to address this issue, this year we’ve reserved vans and had students become van-certified so that people don’t have to risk ruining their fancy attire if the weather is not cooperating. 100
Nights is supposed to be an event to remember, but we just want to make sure that that doesn’t occur for the wrong reasons.” On the topic of reminiscing, 2016 Class Vice President Maya Toler ’16, and 2016 Class Secretary Samantha Smith ’16, expressed a similar split sentiment for the event as Garcia and Carter. In Smith’s words, “The whole idea of the night is bittersweet; I mean, I’m excited I got to this point and I’m glad for all the friends I’ve made and the experiences I’ve undergone, but the fact that it’s ending is also very upsetting.” It appears that 100 Nights, while ostensibly a night for looking to the future, is one also centered on remembering the past. Smith posited, “It’s good to see people you might not have had a chance to talk to for a couple years, people from your old fellow groups, past circles you’ve kind of unlinked yourself from all in a space where time isn’t as of great a concern as much as your relationship to them.” Aligning with Smith’s vein of thought, Garcia agreed, “It’s so strange to remember how scared I was to come here, but now I think of Vassar as my home. I think it’s the change that’s overwhelming, because it seems scary to me now that we’re leaving, scary that we’re going to start making steps into larger environments and scary to imagine all the situations that will impact our lives so profoundly in the future.” As the event winded down and seniors trailed out in their formal clothing, the Almunae House was enveloped in quiet calmness. In suit coats, dresses, slick pants and buttoned shirts, the Class of 2016 ventured forth into the night. Where we they headed? Home, for sure, but also deep into a world of new possibilities. Though questions of the future may have filled their minds, these unsure seniors can rest assure that there will always be space for them in the Alumnae House.
Contemplative workshop encourages internal reflection Matthew Stein Reporter
T
Alec Ferretti/The Miscellany News
he world can be overwhelming sometimes. Deadlines and homework and papers surround us and that can make us lose track of our own self-care. The answer to all of these external forces lies with internal exploration through contemplative practices. This doesn’t just mean meditation and yoga. The broader sense of this method can be dance and journalism, to name a few. And the goal is not simply stress relief but also creating an introspective identity that allows a greater foundation to live with. As part of All College Days 2016, the workshop “Using Contemplative Practices to Navigate Life at Vassar” was conducted on Tuesday, Feb. 23 from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in the Jade Parlor. Covering ways students could strive for a more balanced and connected life, Assistant Director of Vassar’s Counseling Service Wayne Assing and Senior Analyst of Prospect Development and Research Sharon Parkinson taught participants about walking meditation and other selfcare methods. Contemplative practices are exercises and methods that focus on concentration and the development of one’s identity internally. By being mindful and introspective, someone who follows these practices can strive for a wholesome life with a strong foundation. To help show this, Parkinson and Assing used some of the techniques they’ve encountered in their exploration of contemplative practices in aiding students, staff, administrators and faculty find their inner self. Elaborating on how the internal strength that contemplative practices builds can benefit oneself, Parkinson said, “Allowing external circumstances to take precedence may mean that you’ll rarely get around to taking care of yourself. Potential stressors and difficulties continue to show up in our daily experiences in the form of interpersonal interactions and personal or social issues, which is why ongoing contemplative practice is so necessary for helping us handle whatever arises.” Within the workshop, Parkinson and Assing briefly explained what contemplative practices
are and gave some examples like walking meditation and journaling. Parkinson has experience with various styles of hatha yoga and Tibetan Buddhist meditation, while Assing has studied mind-body visualization and qigong and tai chi yoga, explored ways people could gain natural balance in their lives, such as connecting to nature. One of the highlights of the lecture was an elucidation of the Tree of Contemplative Practices, which shows different ways that people can learn to find their personal questions of the ways of the world. Contemplative practices aren’t just meditation and silent prayer but can be singing or participating in marches. As long as the basis is about communion and connection with a goal of awareness, it can be considered one of these practices. Simply standing outside in nature can be considered a contemplative practice. Explaining how contemplative practices’ heightened sense of awareness can strengthen interpersonal relationships, Parkinson said, “I recently read there was a study that concluded that adults are not fully aware of what they are doing 47 percent of the time. This percentage could be more or less, but unconscious behavior is sure to have an affect on physical states and on the qualities of relationships. By becoming more conscious we can transform ourselves and enhance the quality of our relationships.” This campus-wide festival, which occurred from Feb. 22 to the 24 and allows the Vassar community an opportunity to come together and reflect. In addition to this lecture, there were also events covering diversity and building safer classrooms and a stronger community, to name a few. All College Days started out in 2001 after a racial incident the year before brought the necessity for community-wide discussions. Associate Dean of Campus Life and Diversity and Chair of the Campus Life Research Group Ed Pittman ’82 explained this communal reflection’s purpose: “All College Days is only as good as the campus makes it. We believe our goal is that of creating and helping others to build inclusive spaces that invite people into them
Assistant Director of Vassar’s Counseling Service Wayne Assing teaches participants about walking meditation and other self-care methods at the workshop in Main. The exercises goals are awareness. for dialogue. Everyone should take ownership of how our campus is experienced—and there are plenty of people already doing hard and incredible work on a daily basis. All College Days hopefully adds to that process and bring more voices into the work.” “The top two reasons that most people give for not taking better care of themselves are ‘time’ and ‘knowledge’—that there’s not enough time to devote to self-care or not knowing how to go about it,” Parkinson said about the harm ignoring self-care can be. “However, most of us do intuitively know what to do if we’re paying attention to what’s going on internally and externally. We can begin with simple changes like resting more often and paying attention to our breathing. Notice when your breathing feels constricted and do some inhalations and exhalations until you feel more comfortable.” By using the methods that this workshop covered as well as the resources students can
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
find from the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life, students can find that large stressors that seem so imminent can begin to ease up. While the actual work might not disappear, a change in thinking can help everyone approach these situations in a better and more harmonious way. “I think that contemplative practices, short term and long term, offer the possibility for students to be intentional about developing selfcare skills, promoting a calmer mind and more stable mental states. This will then support students’ capacity to manage their own stress and to find outlets so they can relax their minds. Relaxation and sleep are often sacrificed in a college student’s daily routine, which can be the start of a slippery slope to more entrenched and dysfunctional sleep cycles,” Assing said about the solutions to the outer strains of the community. “A personal commitment to one’s choice of contemplative practices is an essential factor to future progress.”
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FEATURES
February 25, 2016
BurgerFi opens doors, ears to ViCE open mic night Julia Cunningham and Aditi Chandna Assistant Features Editor and Reporter
“B
ring yer friends + appetite for music + appetite for food” was the initial announcement for ViCE’s first-ever open mic night at BurgerFi on Facebook. While places in the community such as Billy Bob’s have karaoke nights every Saturday, Friday offered a chance for students to exhibit their skills in a more personal environment. Vice student music show coordinator Niccolo Porcello ’16 explained, “Having an open mic is a great way to have people who don’t normally play shows at Vassar get heard–it’s super tough here to get booked, especially if you don’t know ‘the right people’ or whatever.” The “openness” of the mic created a more friendly atmosphere. Porcello went on, “All you have to do is show up, and you’ll get to play–it’s a way of democratizing music at Vassar, and it’s not the solution but it is perhaps,
a good start.” Porcello further explained that the idea for the open mic stemmed from the realization that the same few bands tended to play at every event. “It’s tough to have enough of a reach to find ‘all’ of the student musicians on campus, and it really relates to how hard it is to practice and play shows at Vassar unless you’re really in the know,” he said. He added, “As part of this year, I’m really trying to promote the idea that it’s possible to play and get experience without being one of the same eight bands that always play.” The open mic was not exclusively for students. BurgerFi General Manager Gary Plum said, “It’s open to all musicians around town and at Vassar. Anyone can come in.” In addition, Porcello said, hosting an open mic night is a mutually beneficial exchange for Vassar and BurgerFi alike. “BurgerFi gets a boost of business from people bringing their friends
Sam Pianello/The Miscellany News
Alex Masters ’16 participates in the newly introduced BurgerFi open mic night. Masters was joined by a number of local and Vassar musicians interested in participating in the new event.
out to see them play, and the Vassar community gets free entertainment,” Porcello said. BurgerFi was not just a conveniently close venue, but a conveniently friendly one as well. Plum explained, “Basically BurgerFi’s supplying the venue and we’re giving them special discounts on a few things.” Students were able to order whatever they wanted at a discounted rate. Plum went on, “We’re not charging them for using the space so there are not many costs incurred.” Porcello agreed, “The BurgerFi staff and management is incredible, they totally hooked it up and provided a great environment for hanging out and having a show. When we do shows they set up $1 beers and $3 shakes, which is like...10/10.” Not to mention, as Porcello pointed out, that Vassar students have a tendency to avoid leaving campus at all costs. “I am permanently frustrated by people refusing to get off campus and even across the street,” Porcello mentioned. The hope was that the draw of cheap food and drink and good entertainment would attract more people. This was not the first Vassar-BurgerFi coordinated event. Plum said, ”We’ve had a Vassar trivia night here, which went very well. We’ve had battle of the bands among student bands and they all got a chance to play.” Because of this existing relationship with Vassar, the open mic night didn’t require much advertising, and was mainly spread around through word of mouth. Plum went on to say, “We want to get the first one under our belt and see how it goes and we can expand from there.” He believed the collaboration could become a regular event. “I think the event tonight will go very well and Vassar is very organized about planning such events. We’re going to try and make it a regular event, maybe once a month,” Plum said. Porcello agreed that there will hopefully be another event within the semester, but maybe not as frequently as once a month. “It won’t be regular, but there will probably be a few more this semester,” he said. BurgerFi isn’t the only restaurant exper-
imenting with innovative ideas. With its new renovations, Crafted Kup owner Tanner Townsend hopes to start bringing in talent from the community, as well. Townsend said, “The Crafted Kup has always been a spot for Vassar Students to escape from campus for a change of scenery but as we grew in popularity it became more and more obvious that we desperately needed a larger space.” He went on, “We have multiple events planned including a weekly Open Mic Night, a Poetry Slam Evening and booking local singer/ songwriters to perform.” Having a close relationship with the community is important for business. Plum explained, “We are very keen on expanding our Vassar consumer base and we’ve reached out to Vassar and had student groups come in.” He went on to say, “Last week we had a DJ night fundraiser, some DJ’s from New York City come up and the money collected went to charity.” Townsend explained that the Crafted Kup has its own hopes to expand its relationship with Vassar and the community. “I think the more events and options the Arlington area can offer to the local and Vassar communities the better! We love the fact that we are so close to Vassar and can offer great coffee to its students and faculty,” Townsend said. He went on, “We are always looking for ways we can bring more to Vassar and incorporate ourselves into the day-to-day lives of its community. We try to participate in as many local events as we can and are happy to offer both catering services as well as donations whenever possible.” Townsend even outlined a rough plan to move onto campus. “I would love the chance to work with more events on campus and to be able to offer the new space to student groups for meetings and events, and who knows, maybe one day even a small Crafted Kup on campus!” With the growing amount of exposure between Vassar and the surrounding community, who knows? Maybe Vassar students will stop getting noise complaints.
Horseback riding looks to heighten campus presence EQUESTRIAN continued from page 1
bles were still located on campus where the Martel theater now stands. The team is part of the IHSA in Region 3 Zone 3. They compete around New York and in surrounding states against nine other schools, including Marist, West Point, Sarah Lawrence and Bard. A sentiment that has challenged the equestrian club for years, and one that may contribute to its relative lack of publicity, is that riding is too expensive and that money should not be funneled into an activity dominated by the very wealthy. While it may be true that the most disadvantaged students are unlikely to have had the resources to pursue riding before coming to college, most of the students who compete in the IHSA are those without the resources to compete on the A circuit. The IHSA website states, “The Association was founded on the principle that any college student should be able to participate in horse shows, regardless of their financial status or riding level. The IHSA attempts to eliminate the expenses of students owning horses and allows more students to compete.” As a part of the IHSA, Vassar riders not only get to take part in intercollegiate competitions, they get to do so on a level financial playing field. Clopp says that in her years as coach she is constantly reminded of the stigma of wealth surrounding horseback riding. However, she noted that her riders come from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. Vassar’s team is open to anyone. It includes members who have ridden and competed for years, and others who have little or no equestrian experience but want to learn to ride. The team’s biggest struggle is gaining the resources to support a sport that takes a lot of money while trying not to place too large a burden on the students. Now in her fourth year on the team, Laura Recoder ’16 reflected on the challenge of funding and accessibility for Vassar’s equestrian club. “Luckily for us, Vassar makes riding
accessible and relatively affordable compared to what you would pay to ride anywhere else,” she mused. She went on to add that she wished that riding were treated more like other varsity sports on campus. “I do think Vassar needs to give more funding to the team, and treat it more seriously like it does for the other sport teams here,” she said. “Whether you have grown up riding or never gotten on a horse before, this is an opportunity to get healthy and active, just like any other sport. (Contrary to what most people think, riding can be quite a workout!)” The club is by no means all about competing either. The main feature of the club is the weekly group lessons, where students have fun riding, caring for the horses and improving their skills with one-on-one attention from Clopp. Several of the team’s members competed before coming to Vassar, but decided to only take lessons. The club’s treasurer, Cari Goldfine ’16, explained that riding at Vassar is much more about the love of the sport. “I competed before coming to Vassar, but I don’t here. Mostly because I never really liked competing–I ride for fun.” Michaela Coplen ’18 finds the relationship-building aspect of horseback riding crucial and missed that element in competition. “I competed freshman year, but I don’t anymore,” she explained. “I personally don’t like the style of IHSA competitions...It’s not as rewarding for me to get placed on a random horse for only one ride. I prefer to work with and get to know the horse.” Until two years ago, the equestrian team wasn’t the College’s only horse-related club, as it used to share the spotlight with the polo team. While unconfirmed, some say that Vassar holds a place in history for having the first all-female polo team in the United States. Polo is a team sport played on horseback. The objective is to score goals against an opposing team by driving a small ball into the opposing team’s goal using a long-handled mallet. Already the team is fading from memory as
most who remember or were a part of the team have now graduated. Peter Galer ’16 was the final student to ever join the Vassar Polo Team. The year before he arrived at Vassar the team had mismanaged their funds and gone over budget in their travels to competitions, and was never able to recover. The VSA withdrew funding for the team after Galer’s sophomore year and the team disbanded. Once again, dangerous stereotypes played a hand in the reputation of the club. Galer believes assumptions made about the sport most likely aided its decline, not only at Vassar but at other schools as well. “There is no doubt an elitist feeling associated with equestrian and polo,” Galer acknowledged. “It is extremely expensive. There is also a femininity attached to English riding that people do not directly talk about. When one mentions that they ‘ride,’ often times a picture pops up in their head of that elementary school kid that had horsethemed sheets, horse toys and posters. It never bothered me much—I was always told I was feminine. All of this of course is BS, but it still has a big impact on who chooses to give the sport a go.” As for the equestrian team, its members have no intention of letting it disappear in the same way the polo team did. They recognize, however, that to keep it going strong, the assumptions about riding cannot go unchallenged, and part of doing that is continuing to make the team more accessible for lower income students and increasing the team’s visibility. Many of the team’s current members didn’t know that Vassar had a team until they got on campus. Recoder recalled that she only stumbled upon the team through a casual conversation with a friend over their shared love of horses. Recoder said, “If I hadn’t been having that discussion with my friend, I am fairly certain I would not have found out about the team until much later, and would have missed out on riding my first semester here.” Clopp has also noticed the difficulty pro-
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
spective students have in learning about the team and pointed out that increased publicity of the team could also make a difference in whether a student chooses Vassar. “I have prospective students stopping in at the farm to look around,” Clopp said, “And they tell me they know Vassar has an equestrian team, but cannot find anything on the Vassar website. Last week, I had a family come and the father told me they were only looking at schools who had a riding program.” The team’s members laugh at how typical the incredulous response “Vassar has an equestrian team?” is whenever they bring up their involvement, but they’re hoping to change how frequent that reaction is. Goldfine spoke to this goal: “The equestrian team is a pretty small team, all things considered, and at the end of the day it is a pretty expensive sport.” Goldfine went on, “That said, over the past few years the VSA has been increasing our budget, which is really nice. It’d be lovely if more people were on the team, and we’re definitely exploring some options for how to raise our profile on campus. The exec board is in the early planning stages of organizing a clinic, and of some fundraisers. In the past we’ve volunteered at a local horse rescue, and we’re considering options regarding our activities there as well. Hopefully some of these things will help boost team membership.” Recoder reflected on the importance of the equestrian club to her Vassar experience: “I had never expected to have this opportunity to pursue my passion for horseback riding as a college student, and in doing so I have gained so much confidence in my riding ability.” Recoder concluded, “It has been such a great release for me, especially during really stressful times, just to be able to get some fresh air and spend time around the horses.” Yet, it remains to be seen whether future students will be able to appreciate these small pleasures too.
FEATURES
February 25, 2016
Page 7
Class grapples with activism through visual media REHDER continued from page 1 we work toward now to be quite compelling.” The question of Rehder’s work became: “How do you use photography to try to convey the concept of a beloved community?” Professor Höhn imagined a similar question and wondered in response to Rehder’s presentation, “How can our students, for example, use the photographer’s lens to introduce people in our own community perhaps into our larger community of cohabitation?” A series of the individual mug shots of the Freedom Riders provided a template of how individual photos or portraits, shown together, demonstrated a beloved community. Rehder chose Lancaster, Pa. and its refugee population as the subject of her community–and activist-based explorations. When asked why she chose photography as the medium for her activism, Rehder said, “If you want to affect what people think or how
they experience the world or how they might imagine change, a picture is a very powerful medium. We live in a highly visual age. Photos and images are a universal language. They move through social media rapidly and have tremendous impact.” In fact, over 10,000 people have viewed her video “Look in My Eyes”–a video compilation of her refugee portraits–online on YouTube and on social media platforms like Facebook. Rehder explained her methods for photography as an illustration of story: “For the refugee project I put less emphasis on me and my art and gave more attention to them—who they are and the story they had to tell me.” She uses the camera to see better and to learn rather than to take a picture. According to Rehder, “My goal is to create an experience for viewers in which they feel that they could have just met the person in the photograph. One way to do that is to keep it ‘natural’
courtesy of Kristin Rehder
Refugee photographer Kristin Rehder gave a lecture last week for History Professor Maria Höhn’s course on the global refugee crisis. Rehder focused on the impact photography as activism.
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but still interesting.” Her photographic method therefore includes natural lighting, the refugee’s familiar home settings and direct eye contact. Direct eye contact, though, seems the most significant of Rehder’s aesthetic criteria. She explains, “We dignify another person when we look at them face-to-face, eye-to-eye...it’s also about how they have given us permission to see them honestly and directly by looking right at us.” Eye contact requires relation, engagement, identification and to view the other as human and real. Rehder further describes engagement with her refugee subjects not only in the eye contact of the portraits themselves but also in the photography sessions. She said, “There is something that happens when I am looking at a person through the lens and that person is staring right at me—there’s a moment when it all comes together and I feel it deep inside. It’s as if the person has let me in.” Ashley LaMere ’18, a German and International Studies double major, said of the Rehder’s photographs, “Rehder’s work emphasizes that aestheticizing a crisis, such as that of refugees and displaced peoples, can prove to be an endeavor which is both polemical and profoundly personal.” Rehder does take her work personally, a quality she feels activism necessitates. A significant turning point challenged Rehder’s understanding of the sympathy she perceived refugees needed and her knowledge of the refugees’ roles in the Lancaster community and in communities around the world. In an interview with a Russian refugee family comprised of a mother, father, and three daughters of high-school and college ages, she learned from the girls of their involvement in the community – student councils, charity projects, community outreach programs, National Honor Society, sports. This marked moment reflected what Rehder said she learned similarly from all of her refugees: “They felt Lancaster was a welcoming home. They want and expect to work hard. They want to learn to speak English if they don’t already. Many speak several languages. Children and grandparents are to be nurtured and cared
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for within the family.” These refugees were and are active members in their community. Rehder told me a Russian refugee’s story. She said they had come from so little, been through struggles and now understand them more. The refugee realized she wanted to help others with similar problems and give them hope. When asked why she felt Rehder’s presentation important, Professor Höhn said, “We want the class to be, on the one hand, intellectually educating students by learning about the crisis, but also to be a sort of advocacy class...she inspired them to search for their own way to make a difference.” Jenna Doherty ’17, a drama major, attended Ms. Rehder’s presentation said, “As a student in the arts, I think it’s important to see how actual artist-activists are using their mediums to try to make a point, to change public perspectives, to affect change, and to bring good through their passion.” With increasing numbers of refugees worldwide and a surge in public debate surrounding these displaced persons, Rehder said of her project, which began two years ago, “World events inserted themselves into this project like lightning bolts, making our work on the project even more critical in terms of showing real people in a positive model of resettlement.” She works to introduce to those who may distrust the different or the other the refugees as “real people, already living with them, as Ahmad from Afghanistan said, ‘under one sky.’ We are already neighbors. We want many of the same things.” Rehder noted the importance of educators in response to these global events saying, “The way we counter prejudice and ignorance and fear-mongering is to educate, educate, educate, and being able to show this kind of work and invite people to debate every aspect of it is something I truly love about creating it.” Kristin Rehder’s work premieres on April 28 in its inaugural exhibit and will continue to teach viewers attending its further exhibitions about issues of migration, citizenship, human rights, globalism, social change, history, culture, entitlement, identity and art.
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FEATURES
Page 8
February 25, 2016
SAVP fosters campus community, supports student truths Alan Hagins
Assistant Features Editor
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to not be rapists.” In response to Riecke’s critique of the program, Swanson and Spayd acknowledged the complexities of reaching potential perpetrators. “We would like to see more mandated programming so that it would be more realistic to reach students at risk for committing interpersonal violence, and at that point it would become more feasible to discuss rape culture as it pertains to perpetrators,” they said. For now, SAVP is primarily focused on helping victims most recently through a new “I believe in you” photo campaign. Julian Dishart ’17 and Spayd have been staking out the college center photographing students holding signs declaring, “you have the right to be heard” or, “you have the right to non-judgmental support, to go out and have fun.” The highly visible project hopes to provide a network of support among friends and others. “We want people to
courtesy of Vassar SAVP
ew of us can boast to have the power of artistic genius in the palm of our hand. But on Thursday at SAVP’s finger-painting event, some of us might get the chance. The event is part of a series rolled out by SAVP this year that focuses on self-care. With five new student-employees and a brand new office, the organization has rapidly expanded this year to address issues of dating violence, sexual assault and rape on campus. SAVP intern Rachel Spayd ’16 said the idea for the event came to her when she remembered the feeling of paint drying on her fingertips. “That’s a great feeling, and it’s so simple,” she said. The event is for survivors of sexual violence and their friends to take a step back and have fun. Importantly, this self-care event is not about frivolity. “It’s not about treating yourself or watching Netflix for four hours. It’s about enriching your mind and your spirit in a pressure-free place,” she said. That’s why SAVP found finger painting to be such a great media for art-therapy. There are no pretenses about the finished product. The self-care series is only a small part of a campus-wide movement to help survivors. Over the last year, SAVP has made big strides to expand and increase campus visibility. Selfcare events like this one have been coupled with a brand new bystander intervention training for organization leaders, a series of panel discussions and awareness months for sexual assault and dating violence. This past October was Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and SAVP focused on programming on dating violence in collaboration with LGBTQ. A panel discussion was held, as well as an event titled “Yoga for Healing.” Upcoming, in April SAVP will focus on getting the word out about the realities of sexual assault. Bystander intervention training has become a primary focus for the group. Currently, the group uses a training program designed by Vassar ’15 alumni Shivani Dave, Emma Redden
and Sofie Cardinal. The “We Are Here” training program was originally a 12-hour program, but has been cut down to an hour or two. The training fits schedules better now, but it condenses and omits some of the most important information. The SAVP provides optional training, but attendance is rarely high. In addition, optional training is self-selecting. In the words of SAVP Coordinator Charlotte Swanson, “The students who need the programming—who need to learn the most—are not reached.” In her recent article, Elena Riecke ‘16 gave another critique of these trainings. She wrote, “Bystander intervention training covers gender inequality and the definition of consent (presence of a yes, not absence of a no), but it is all in the context of how to prevent violence from happening to others. Vassar does not offer any piece of training that teaches its students how
The “I Believe You” campaign is part of SAVP’s newest efforts to improve sexual violence awareness foster the support of survivors. SAVP gained five new student employees this year.
know how to be there for their friends, and to be that voice of support. Telling them, I do believe in you,” said Spayd of the new program. For friends to be most supportive in these situations it’s important to remember that they are already losing power. To give a friend back that power, Spayd remarked, “We need to let them self-determine and make their own choices.” Six of the student employees at SAVP are members of the 24-hour listening service CARES, which focuses on issues of interpersonal violation. For CARES counselor Brendan Kiernan ’16, the administration’s increased support has not all been positive. CARES has decided to distance itself in order to preserve the mission of the group: being a non-judgmental, confidential, listening center. To do that, it is necessary to let students make the call when reporting incidents of sexual violence. As Kiernan said, “The most important thing is to be victim centered when we go through these processes.” Both SAVP and CARES find the presence of sexual assault and personal violence as a systemic issue, and have worked to build coalitions with organizations like LGBTQ , the ALANA center and The Listening Center to address the underlying systems supporting the persistence of sexual violence in the community. As Riecke put it in her article, “I do not believe that all rape is intentionally rape, but it is an intentional use of power.” Intentionality is often the thin line found in cases of sexual assault, and what can be so difficult for administrators, supporters and students to determine. That’s why SAVP has initiated their campaign, “I believe you.” The photo project rolled out this week for All College Days is intended to help foster a supportive and safer community that does not sweep issues of sexual violence under the rug. Part of the central message is that we cannot support survivors if we deny the realities of sexual violence on campus. SAVP believes the message “I believe you” is the first step towards creating that space of support.
Add texture to your diet by giving this gadget a spin Penina Remler Columnist
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couresty of lifeandlinda.com
hether it’s a specific meat, vegetable, fruit or dessert, people frequently stick to using ingredients that they like to cook meals. For some, it’s just easier to stick with what they know. For others, it just slips into becomes routine. This might sound like common sense, but after a while one can’t deny that the same taste, same style and same recipe certainly gets boring, and the last thing someone wants to do is become sick of their personal favorite plate. This is where food can get really fun and, better yet, it doesn’t require that much change on your part. In fact, it only takes one purchase: the mysterious and magical spiralizer. Never heard of one? Don’t fret. Not only are you not alone, but you’re also likely to join the club of converts who can’t quite believe they ever lived their life without this crafty, culinary piece. The spiralizer is best described as an effortless, but efficient sous chef. In seconds, this device converts a surplus of vegetables into thin and tender noodles. Sounds odd, but after a bite of zucchini linguini or sweet potato spirals, it is hard to resist this tasty and healthy combination, especially when it can change up the ways of eating favorite ingredients. The spiralizer presented here is also known as the Paderno. Those in the know about spiralizers will recognize it as top of the industry. For 30 dollars, this popular product produces painless spiralized vegetables one turn at a time. The hardest part is knowing how exactly to use it. All you really have to do is twirl the handle and push the veggie through the blades to transform nearly any solid into its very own pasta-like form. Of course, once you get the hang of the Paderno, you won’t want to stop spiralizing your meals. There are endless ways to incorporate
spiralized dishes into your diet. For starters, zucchini makes a delicious and healthy linguini that, when properly seasoned and matched with the right sauce, literally tastes just like pasta—only better since it omits the carbs while forcing you to eat more vegetables! But the list goes on. Bell peppers also make a perfect substitute for pad Thai noodles all while absorbing the perfect flavor of the peanut-lime sauce and producing an undeniable taste that rivals Lemongrass and Thai Spice put together. And if Thai isn’t
your thing, consider your other options. You can use your handy new spiralizer on apples and create the perfect filling for a simple and delicious apple-rosemary tart. Or keep it simple with a nice apple slaw. Don’t forget you can make a regular cabbage slaw to work as a side on all types of meals. Spiralize all your raw veggies, including lettuce, cucumber, carrots and onions to make a simple and elegant salad to impress your housemates and neighbors with when you have a potluck dinner! However, I should probably warn you, af-
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
ter tasting a decadent dish like sweet potato noodles in cashew sauce, you may forget that the classic baked potato, or sweet potato fries, ever existed. Keep in mind that the spiralizer is not limited to pasta renditions. In fact, upgrade any salad by spiralizing standard cucumbers, squash and/or red onions. The possibilities are endless. You can make pastas, pies, tarts and everyting in between, while staying healthy. A spiralizer is a great way to trick yourself into eating more vegetables.
February 25, 2016
OPINIONS
Page 9
The Miscellany News Staff Editorial
Admin has responsibility to effectively counter hate speech I
n light of the campus climate surrounding the BDS resolution and the Israel-Palestine conflict, a string of antisemitic and Islamophobic hate speech has been circulating the anonymous online forum of Yik Yak. In the past two weeks, President Hill and Dean Roellke responded to these incidents via campus-wide emails that addressed this toxic and antagonistic social media behavior, as well as Vassar’s campus climate in general. Dean Roellke’s email, sent on Feb. 16, expressed his concern for the way that a small number of people within the Vassar community had been acting and urged these voices to stop treating their classmates and peers at Vassar with “contempt and intolerance.” The email continued by quoting a passage from the Vassar College Student Handbook regarding students’ obligation to be respectful and accepting of their community at large. While the emails sent out by President Hill and Dean Roellke do acknowledge the hate speech occurring throughout campus, we at The Miscellany News believe this initial response by the Administration was insufficient. The emails’ accusatory tone effectively condemned the behavior of the student body but did not offer any tangible, meaningful solutions moving forward. Dean Roellke’s email in particular read as condescending, a chastisement that offered no concrete help or plan. We at The Miscellany News believe that these campus climate problems cannot be solved on their own and require the whole-hearted support of the Administration Toxic exchanges featuring antisemitism and Islamophobia have also taken hold in spaces outside of campus. The discourse of
BDS can not be boxed in by the confines of Raymond Avenue. A host of articles, including a recent piece from The Observer written by a Vassar alumni, and a piece written a few days ago by the Daily News entitled “Hatred on the Hudson” have discussed the BDS resolution climate and labeled Vassar as an antisemitic institution whose administration is in support of said ideals. The College is experiencing a barrage of outside scrutiny from alumnae/i in the form of letter, emails and social media. The Administration calls for us to all “get along” on campus, yet we wonder what this means for those voices that continue to pour in from off campus. Where do the alumnae/i voices and opinions lie in this dialogue and who is regulating them to make sure discourse remains accessible and safe? We acknowledge that this outside pressure from alumnae/i and external publications puts the Administration in a difficult position both from a moral and a financial standpoint. It is likely that they may not know how to act and navigate through this complex and loaded dialogue that affects multiple moving parts within the campus and network psyche. Still, their initial confusion should not result in general inaction. Despite pressure from the alumnae/i, the Administration’s goals should be to protect the student body that populates the school right now, protecting those students who have been hurt and victimized by the spiteful discourse of BDS itself. Although it is impossible to eliminate online forums such as Yik Yak, students and administrators must make attempts to re-
spond to the damage that this anonymous discourse can cause. Much of the recent controversy has surrounded visiting speakers who deliver polarizing lectures on campus. Students can be unaware of these extreme opinions and feel shocked and insulted in the lecturer’s aftermath, leading to extreme reactions and a climate of anger on campus. To help placate this, we at The Miscellany News propose an administrative system in which orgs that feel strongly about a visiting lecturer would be able to put forth a short statement or opinion that would appear on the campus calendar next to the event listing. With research, it is not difficult to understand a speaker’s fundamental beliefs; however, this information needs to be more easily accessible to students so that they know who has been invited to speak before the lecture begins. Orgs that feel passionately in favor of or against a lecturer can then use their research to serve as mediators between the speaker and the general student body, thus creating a stronger dialogue surrounding the event and opening up spaces for students to respond safely. In addition to this written input about controversial lectures, it would be valuable for the orgs sponsoring these events to host pre- or post-lecture discussions. We believe that post-lecture discussions, as Students for Justice in Palestine recently offered, give students the opportunity to debrief and discuss what they have just heard in a constructive way. Though conversation is not comparable to anonymous hate speech, providing these outlets for discussion promotes an atmo-
sphere of constructive exchange that does not encourage the same hostility anonymous social media does. We believe that the responsibility of the Administration lies in taking immediate action to respond to incidents that have already occurred. Punishment is not an option for the anonymous perpetrators. What matters most now is focussing on the victims of charged attacks instead of sending emails that accomplish little beyond chastising the entire student body. We need an administration that isn’t afraid to take meaningful measures to protect its students. On Monday morning, the Bias Incident Response Team sent out an email that announced the creation of upcoming spaces for student sharing and healing. We at The Miscellany News believe that this type of restorative space is a step in the right direction. These spaces focus on the victims and on recovery, dealing with the hate speech incidents in a way that is constructive. Beyond this, it is important to remind students that are not necessarily comfortable with sharing in a public space of the resources that are available to them, such as CARES and The Listening Center. The anonymous hate of recent weeks has contributed to a toxic campus environment that all members of the Vassar community have a responsibility to respond to. As we work towards respectful discourse, we must analyze the problems that exist and do what is in our power to work towards a safer campus. —The Staff Editorial represents the opinions of at least 2/3 of our Editorial Board.
Democratic Party must embrace voters’ leftward shift Nick Barone
Assistant Opinions Editor
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hether Senator Bernie Sanders wins the presidential nomination or not, the Democratic Party may end up going through a political revolution on its own come this November. On Feb. 20, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton clinched the Democratic Party nomination in Nevada with 52.6 percent of the popular vote. Widely seen as a significant halt to Senator Bernie Sanders’s momentum following his victory in New Hampshire, publications were quick to point out that Sanders may be facing an uphill battle from here on out. The New York Times elaborated, asserting, “Nevada was the third straight state where, because of demographics, one would have expected Mr. Sanders to fare better than the national average” (The New York Times, “Trump Now Faces True Test; Clinton’s Win Suggests National Edge,” 02.20.2016). However, it’s imperative to note that Sanders closed a significant gap in support, having been lagging far behind (into the double digits) in Nevada just a few weeks ago. Although I identify as a Sanders supporter, I can’t help but feel a bit pessimistic about the future of his campaign, especially when Clinton has already gained the support of 451 super-delegates (compared to Sanders’s 19). However, in terms of current trends in America’s sociopolitical landscape, the success Sanders has seen indicates shifting ideologies among the Democratic voter base. Despite the slowing of his momentum as a candidate, Sanders has proven to the Democratic establishment that these ideological changes are real and will have significant impact on the election in November. As Hillary’s nomination becomes seemingly (though, not quite yet) inevitable, the overarching influence of Sanders’s campaign may be the spur for a grander shift in the political leanings of the American Left. These shifts have already been felt in the primary elections and caucuses held so far. In Nevada, 70 percent of Democratic voters identified as liberal, as opposed to 50 percent
in 2008. In Iowa, around 68 percent of Democratic voters identified as liberal, as opposed to around 54 percent in 2008 (Quinnipiac University, 02.2016). Just 20 years ago, “liberal” was a bad word used by Republicans to undermine Democratic politicians. To contextualize historically, the word “liberal” began to be used as a pejorative term during the late 1970’s and 1980’s, especially during the Reagan administration. Reagan and his political advisors sought to distance liberalism from love of country. A famous example of this was Reagan’s then-Secretary of the Interior, James G. Watt quipping, “I never use the words Republicans and Democrats. It’s liberals and Americans.” Such rhetoric manifested itself in much of the Democratic establishment abandoning or skating around the label. However, the stigmatization of the “L” word among Democrats seems to have lost its fervor over the past eight years. The popularity of Sanders fits into the larger narrative of a leftward shifting Democratic base while also moving away from the highly popular brand of conservatism crafted by Ronald Reagan (“Reagan Democrats”) and the prosperity-associated “Third Way” centricism of Bill Clinton.
“The stigmatization of the ‘L’ word among Democrats seems to have lost its fervor over the past eight years.” The veracity of this simplified narrative is contentious, but a more nuanced view into the ideological movements of the American electorate (in particular, the rise of progressivism among moderates) reveals the intricacy of how American politics are changing. The success Bernie Sanders has seen is a
testament to such notions. And it’s exactly this success which could propagate significant reform within the Democratic establishment, the 2016 Congressional elections and the vision of Hillary Clinton should she be elected President. While polarization continues to plague the national political scene, a unified, solidly liberal voting block could lead to significant changes in the ideological makeup of Washington come this November (a common criticism of the modern GOP is lack of solidarity among major Party members). While Sanders’s recent successes indicate a potential fracturing within the Democratic Party, it is exactly this fracturing that could force Democrats to reevaluate and make proper reforms internally to better reflect the changing political identities of their electorate as well as forge alliances with left-leaning moderates by increasing visibility. Last summer, Politico ran an article detailing the shedding of negative connotations associated with identifying as liberal prior to the Democratic primaries, long before the unexpected (and unprecedented) rise of Bernie Sanders as a formidable opponent to the more moderate Clinton. The article cited Gallup poll findings that 47 percent of Democrats and Democrat-leaning independents called themselves liberal, which is up 17 percent from 2001 and 8 percent from 2008. This is a stark difference from the “Americans vs. liberal” dichotomy propagated throughout political discourse throughout the late 20th century. However, the article acknowledged the nuances of the divide between liberal vs. conservative vs. moderate labels, saying, “The ultimate question is: are moderates increasingly overlapping with liberals, and moving the country left?” (Politico, “‘Liberal’ Isn’t a Bad Word Anymore,” 06.21.2015). Appealing to moderates remains a crucial component of election seasons for both parties, as a majority of the country has traditionally fallen towards the center of the political spectrum. A CBS/New York Times poll in 2015 found that the country favored government inter-
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
vention in the issue of income inequality (57 percent) and a Pew poll found that 54 percent favored raising taxes on the wealthy. Bill Scher, the article’s author, asserts that, “It may seem counterintuitive, but the rise in liberal pride is crucial to liberals building a long-lasting relationship with moderates and cementing a postObama leftward trajectory.” The rise in liberal identification among Democratic voters this election cycle rings true with Scher’s arguments, as evidenced by relatively strong support for a candidate who identifies as a democratic socialist. It is clear that the Democratic Party has been steadily moving leftward for over a decade. Publications such as The Washington Post have credited Sanders with pushing Clinton leftward and encouraging her to more enthusiastically adopting a “progressive” label since October, a further reflection of the impact of these ideological shifts and Sanders’s campaign itself (The Washington Post, “Bernie Sanders’ success may be pushing Hillary Clinton to the left,” 10.08.2015). Additionally, moderates who lean Democrat have been exponentially supporting typically progressive viewpoints over the last decade. Acknowledging this movement could very well catalyze massive changes in Washington this November. Predicting the outcome of future elections is a futile effort, especially when the presidential and Congressional elections are still many months away. However, recent voter turnout and demographic studies have hinted strongly that the Democratic Party’s future lies in the hands of a unified, visible, diverse and proud liberal force that has not existed in decades. If the Democrats are to retake Congress and maintain the presidency, the party must focus its attention on the ever-evolving identities of its electoral base. A tentative, wavering flirtation with liberalism (the same type that the party has been invoking since the Reagan administration) will, in the long run, do nothing to unite voters, especially moderates. The Democratic Party must instead fully embrace its leftward shifting voter base to unify and win this November.
OPINIONS
Page 10
February 25, 2016
Clean Power Plan delay stunts environmental progress Emma Jones
Assistant Opinions Editor
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n Tuesday, Feb. 09, the Supreme Court halted Obama’s Clean Power Plan, his most significant effort to fight climate change, from going into effect. The court was divided 5-4 on the issue. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized the plan in August, which called for each state to submit plans by 2018 for the removal of 870 million tons of carbon dioxide in total from the emissions of power stations by the year 2030, and to show progress by 2022. The proposal calls for less coal and more wind energy. These goals are an essential part of the United States’ promised emissions cuts, which were proposed at the Paris climate conference. 29 states, however, have filed a lawsuit arguing that the EPA regulations set forth in the legislation are unconstitutionally restrictive. The suit will set the plan back at least several months, if it is not discarded entirely. The government cannot implement the plan until an appeals court “confirms...the legal justification for the Clean Power Plan” (Melissa McHenry, spokeswoman for American Electric Power Company). The EPA originally planned to enforce a September 6 deadline for states to submit emission reduction plans. In the current situation, this will be impossible. The deal must be signed by 2017. In the meantime, widespread domestic skepticism surrounding the agreement may cause other nations to falter in their support of the international attempt to address climate change. As one of the global leaders in the movement toward cleaner energy, the United States cannot afford to show signs of doubt and indecision. As the court stalls the EPA rules, climate change continues to affect not just the U.S., but the entire globe. Obama Press Secretary Josh Earnest confidently declares that “the Clean Power Plan is
based on a strong legal and technical foundation.” Whether this is the case or not, the case for clean power does not yet have a strong foundation. It is our responsibility, as the world’s second largest polluter, not only to create this base, but to build on it. The final ruling will not occur until 2017, meaning that the future of environmental protection lies in the hands of the nation’s next president. Based on the range of candidates, the United States could lead the future of climate change prevention in any number of directions: on one extreme, Bernie Sanders could come into office and, in his words, “create a national environmental and climate justice plan that recognizes the heightened public health risks faced by low-income and minority communities.” The other option is far more grim. Donald Trump once tweeted, “The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.” Left in Trump’s hands, the nation’s carbon dioxide emissions are liable to multiply instead of decline. Now that the plan is out of Obama’s hands, it has the potential to collapse before it even gets started, bringing the international movement toward clean power down with it. Although the lawsuit will undoubtedly do more harm than good, its timing is ideal. In the midst of heated presidential debates, a legal battle over an environmental policy will bring climate change issues into the spotlight during a time when all eyes are on U.S. national policies. Although the suit has already delayed any action toward energy conservation, it is bound to, at the very least, raise public consciousness. What is to come out of this greater understanding, however, depends heavily on the media’s approach to the issue. It is not the plan’s goals—to shift the country away from coal as its main source of power and toward natural gas, wind and solar power—that
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draw the majority of the right’s objections, but its structure. The EPA calls for the states to meet specific targets, while opponents want more leeway. In the short term, the EPA says that the plan will prevent “thousands of premature deaths and many thousands...[of] asthma attacks and hospitalizations.” In the long term, the benefits are innumerable. If we do not take action, however, it is highly likely that the ocean will eventually swallow countless cities along the coast, resulting in a worldwide refugee crisis. The Clean Power Plan is aimed at the electricity sector of the power industry, which generates 31 percent of the United States’ greenhouse gas emissions. Prior to the lawsuit, the United States was scheduled to cut emissions by 28 percent before 2025. The reduction of fuel usage, by the year 2030, would be equivalent to taking 80 million cars off the road. It is impossible to predict, at this point, which course of action the Supreme Court will take. In 2013 and 2014, the court upheld the EPA’s greenhouse gas and pollution regulations, which bodes well for the Clean Power Plan. Last year however, the court rejected the agency’s rule on mercury emissions, after concluding that the EPA did not consider the costs of mercury regulation. The Clean Air Act of 1963 further complicates the court’s ruling on the Clean Power Plan. The three provisions of the Clean Air Act require the EPA to set standards for six pollutants, known as “criteria pollutants”; to govern 200 pollutants that have been labelled “hazardous air pollutants”; and to regulate any air pollutant not covered under the first two provisions. In 1990, however, Congress passed two amendments to the act. The House of Representatives version can be interpreted to prevent catch-all regulations from being applied to power plants that are already regulated under the first two provisions. The Senate version,
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on the other hand, does not mention this at all, implying that the EPA can apply further regulations to power plants that already produce criteria pollutants or hazardous air pollutants. Congress included both versions in the final bill, which was signed by George H.W. Bush. Congress must choose, over the next several months, which version of the amendment to accept. The recent death of Justice Antonin Scalia changes the overall dynamic of the Supreme Court. Scalia sculpted the Court’s fundamental outlook on environmental cases, typically limiting the potential actions of environmental groups. Unlike many of his predecessors, he tended to separate legality from environmental impact, leading him to side with the right wing on such issues. Todd Aagaard, vice dean and professor at Villanova University School of Law, declares that Scalia was often “following his nose, and often his nose did not like the environmental outcome” (Environment and Energy Publishing, “How Scalia Reshaped Environmental Law,” 02.15.2016). Scalia’s rulings affected not only the Supreme Court, but lower courts as well. His clear-cut decisions on environmental issues shaped the country’s fundamental stance on environmental law. From November 30 until December 11 of last year, the United Nations held the Climate Change Conference in Paris, which finally turned the world’s attention toward the global warming crisis. The U.S. must continue to push forward, both in order to upholds its end of the bargain, and to sustain the momentum that the movement has gathered over the past few months. If the United States falters, other nations will too. In the meantime, the Clean Power Plan is on hold until the Supreme Court comes to a conclusion this summer on the legality of the act. A negative ruling could set us back, both as a nation and as a planet, indefinitely.
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February 25, 2016
OPINIONS
BDS proposal ignores economic side effects Jesser Horowitz Columnist
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n December of 2013, Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian Authority, came out against boycotting Israel. Specifically, Abbas stated that “we do not ask anyone to boycott Israel itself...We have relations with Israel, we have mutual recognition of Israel” (The Times of Israel, “Abbas: Don’t boycott Israel,” 12.13.2013). The BDS movement, which stands for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, has gained considerable ground on college campuses, being passed by student governments at universities such as Bowdoin, Loyola, Princeton, Stanford and the University of Michigan. At Vassar, this movement is gaining considerable traction, with the Vassar Student Association voting on it in the next few weeks. At Vassar, the BDS movement has been centered on the boycott of specific companies: Sabra, Tribe, Hewlett-Packard, Ahava, General Electric, Eden Springs, Motorola, Caterpillar, G4S, Elbit Systems and, interestingly enough, Ben & Jerry’s. Ben & Jerry’s is a particularly bizarre company to boycott considering that they don’t profit from the occupation. In fact, according to the company’s website, “the company remains committed to contributing 100% of the net licensing fee to foster multicultural programs and values-led ingredient sourcing initiatives in the region.” In short, Ben & Jerry’s donates all of the money it receives from Israel towards multicultural efforts in order to be a voice for moderation in the region. Their withdrawal as a result of BDS could potentially have unforeseen consequences on the region as a whole. But even this is not what is most puzzling about BDS. No, even more puzzling than its punishment of companies that do no more than disagree with them is their apparent lack
of concern for the economic well-being of the Palestinian people. As previously mentioned, President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas has been an outspoken critic of the BDS movement. Considering that the Palestinian leader has previously linked Zionism to Nazism and has accused Jews of inflating the number of individuals killed in the Holocaust for political purposes it is unlikely he is doing this out of any fondness for Israel (Tablet Magazine, “Mahmoud Abbas: Still A Holocaust Denier, 04.27.2014).
“...even more puzzling than its punishment of companies... is their apparent lack of concern for the economic well-being of the Palestinian people.” No, there are practical reasons why the President of the Palestinian Authority would oppose BDS that has nothing to do with being a Zionist, which he most certainly is not. Rather, the Palestinian president opposes BDS because it impacts Palestine more than Israel, at least economically. In fact, not only does BDS have the potential to negatively impact Palestine, but it already has. Take the example of SodaStream, an Israeli company that, due to boycotts from supporters of BDS, lost enough revenue that they had to shut down a factory in the West Bank and move it to Southern Israel, thus resulting in “the loss of hundreds of jobs for Palestinians that reportedly paid between three and five times
the local prevailing wage,” according to Forbes (Forbes, “Boycott Israel Movement Stunts The Palestinian Economy,” 02.22.2015). That same article from Forbes goes on to state that Palestine is economically dependent on Israel. According to Shraga Brosh, the President of the Manufacturers Association of Israel, in an interview with Al-Monitor, tens of thousands of Palestinians works in Israel. The boycott can and, as seen with SodaStream, has resulted in an increase in unemployment among Palestinians as Israeli companies feel the need to close factories as a result of lost revenue. And while groups like Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) are committed to anti-normalization, according to Brosh, Palestinian businesspeople are committed to just the opposite. Brosh claims that he himself has maintained good relations with businesses in Palestine, and that they believe that through economics relations they can develop a much better atmosphere that is conducive to peace. When BDS advocates for the boycott of Israeli goods, they are obstructing both efforts for peace and the stability of the Palestinian economy. It’s not without reason that of all the people SJP has invited to speak on a campus, none were born in Palestine. What is more prejudiced, opposing a plan that ignores economic principles because it isn’t conducive to peace, or an organization populated by white students that ignores the viewpoints of those living in Palestine because it fails to match the solution they’ve prescribed? The founder of BDS, Omar Barghouti, is not Palestinian, and in fact is studying at Tel Aviv University. Yet somehow he and a group of American college students believe that they have more of right to determine the conditions for Israeli withdrawal than the Palestinian people. So, perhaps it’s time to ask, who are truly the racists here?
Renovation plans neglect real student needs Steven Park Columnist
W
ith the latest developments on campus renovations, many students may be unaware of what Vassar has in store for remodeling the College in the future. Over winter break, the Campus Master Planning Committee, a joint committee of administrators, faculty and students in charge of advising the President on campus design, sent out the Campus Master Planning Studies to the entire student and faculty body. The study, which was developed by an outside firm called Dober Lidsky Mathey, provides a detailed overview on the lackluster aspects of the college and provides recommendations on how to fix them. To summarize their 40-page report, the biggest issue with the current campus is not the tattered conditions of any dorm or academic building but the severe lack of staging space. To those unfamiliar with the term, the Campus Planning Studies defines staging space as “[a] space where a number of departments and programs might be temporarily located while their space or building is being renovated.” In other words, if the College decides to close off a building for renovations, there is no other building that can act as a substitute during that renovation period. It doesn’t matter if the building in question is an administrative building, an academic building or a student dorm; without staging space, renovations can’t happen. This brings up huge question: why is the college focusing so much of its time and effort on a complete, largescale renovation of the campus when it lacks the necessary space to actually implement those enormous changes? According to the 2011 Landscape Master Plan, the administration has plans on exactly how the campus will look in the future, from huge changes in the campus circulation system to details on landscape refurbishing. Most of these changes have to do with increasing convenience as well as improving aesthetic design and eco-friendliness. For example, the Master Plan calls for increasing the number of parking spaces and replacing most of the roads snaking throughout the campus with pedestrian pathways. While ideas to improve circulation, implementing a new water system and combining Metcalf and Baldwin together are not
bad, it seems like the administration is placing its own priorities over those of the student body. It’s true that buildings like Chicago Hall, Blodgett and the Old Laundry Building need renovations to better serve the students, but improving the conditions of the dorms like Raymond would be the surefire way to truly improve the standard of living for students. After all, students may have classes in those academic buildings, but the student dorms are where they live. With this mix-up of priorities, it really seems like Vassar only cares about improving its image instead of doing what it can to most effectively make the students living on campus happy to call Vassar their home. It really seems like Vassar only cares about improving its image by renovating Main Building or by renovating relatively obscure buildings, like the Old Laundry Building and the Kendrick House, instead of places of actual significance like the student dorms (especially Raymond). The primary conflict that I noticed while reading the 39-page Vassar Campus Planning Studies 2015/2016 packet was that, due to the lack of staging space, it’s tough to imagine the College going through with these renovations without making at least a large handful of people unhappy. The Campus Planning Studies contains a plethora of prospective plans for the current campus, like plans of combining Metcalf and Baldwin into one health facility, but the most concerning issue I read is that Vassar has a severe lack of staging space. It’s evident that many students are unhappy with the quality of Raymond and of other student dorms, but the lack of staging space makes this situation very complicated. If Raymond were to finally undergo renovations, where would its current residents stay in the meantime? Would they be squished into other people’s dorms? Would they have to stay in hastily made living quarters in non-residential buildings? Either way, I bet a large number of Raymond students would view those changes in a less-than-positive light. That’s what makes this renovation issue such a perplexing dilemma. Renovations aren’t designed to be quick fixes; they require entire buildings or at least segments of buildings to be shut down for a long period of time. It’s pretty understandable why the admin-
istration is hesitating to fix up the shabby state of the dorm in the most need of repair despite student outcry and frustration. Upgrading Raymond would lead to hundreds of students without a place to stay for at least two years, something that will probably cause even more outrage than any maintenance problems Raymond is facing. If there is no staging space on campus, then the obvious solution seems to be to make one. That’s easier said than done, since creating a staging space basically means the construction of a completely new building. Thus, it’s unfair to label the administration as some detached, cold-hearted entity that only cares about your money, at least in regards to this issue. In addition, the Campus Planning Studies shows that there really are valid reasons behind prioritizing Main Building. I admit that, initially, I felt less than supportive of the administration’s priority to fix up Main Building when other buildings seem like they deserve a bigger focus. It felt like the administration cared more about improving its image than services to students. After all, Main Building is pretty much the face of Vassar due to its historical significance and its placement on campus. However, it’s clear now that the College has our best intentions in mind. For example, the Campus Planning Studies notes how “Campus Centers of today are light, airy, active and inviting social space. Vassar’s College Center is not,” citing how it’s too small and often too crowded. It points out the inefficiency behind placing the Post Office in the center of the College Center and remarks how the Retreat “is a retreat in name only...[and] certainly is not a haven.” The message is clear that Main Building should undergo renovations at one point or another. Despite all that, renovating Main, not to mention any of the other buildings on campus, cannot happen without staging space. This situation with campus renovations is a complicated issue and there is no easy solution that can solve every single problem. But in the midst of this complex decision-making, all we students ask is for the College to think a little bit more about the wellbeing of its students and finally address the problems we have been complaining about for years .
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
Page 11
Word on the street What did you do while the WiFi was down? “I screamed ‘the world was ending.’ “ — Savanna Smith ’19
“We cried ourselves to sleep. Together. She was the big spoon.” — Borgne Raasch ’18 and Chris Cerutti ’17
“I played the little dinosaur game.” —Ashley Kim ’19
“I stopped masturbating.” — Jake Sully ’19
“I actually talked to my roommate.” — Taryn Baker ’19
“I overheard someone say ‘how am I supposed to be a good liberal arts student if I can’t look at Dank memes?’” —Megan Jackson ’18 Zander Bashaw, Humor & Satire Editor Evelyn Frick, Columnist Ashley Pecorelli, Photographer
HUMOR & SATIRE
Page 12
February 25, 2016
Breaking News From the desk of Zander Bashaw, Humor & Satire Editor National Rifle Association encourages general populace to carry guns in their vehicles to threaten texting drivers Naive student gets REKT by Sexual frustration reaches realistic academic standards climax through social media Kayla Lightner No Drop Zone
D
ear Professor Normal,
Do you remember when we first met? I do. It was the first day of second semester. I was five minutes late because I’d snoozed my alarm six times and had gotten lost in the hellish labyrinth that is Blodgett. As I shuffled in, still wearing my chili-stained SpongeBob tee-shirt and pajama pants with a hole in the crotch, I didn’t know what to expect. Perhaps some angry side-eye. Maybe a passive aggressive comment about punctuality. But instead, you simply shrugged your shoulders and said, “No biggie, it’s the first day.” That’s when I knew you were different. I remember the whole class period felt like walking on air. We didn’t do any work. We just introduced ourselves and our pet peeves and went over the syllabus. You asked if anybody in the class had bought the required reading yet, and when nobody raised their hands, it didn’t seem to bother you in the slightest. You cracked a couple of jokes, which in retrospect really weren’t that funny, but I laughed anyway. And as a cherry on top of the whole damn sundae, you let us leave 25 minutes early! Honestly, I was suspicious at first. I had heard horror stories about how students pushed to the brink of insanity just to get a B- in your class (one of the stories involved some Adderall, a peanut butter Nilda’s and the Matthew Vassar statue—the details elude me at the moment). But over the next two weeks, the class was like a dream. And not one of my usual super trippy nightmares that has to do with my repressed fear of womps-womps (or so my therapist says), but an actual, beautiful dream. You only assigned a couple of pages of reading a night—maybe asked us to write a paragraph or two. Even with homework, I still had time to take a nap, watch a little Netflix, maybe streak across campus—whatever felt right, you know? I thought that I had found the class that every college student dreams of; one taught by a totally chill professor who understood my overwhelming aversion to productivity. But at the beginning of the third week, I started to feel that something was different. When class started, there was no joking, no inquiry about the latest celebrity twitter beef. Nothing. You just
came in and started teaching. Then, you started to mention all these strange phrases like “quiz,” “group project” and “midterm.” For homework you assigned a 400-page novel to be read by next class—all words and not a single picture! At first, I thought you were just having an off day. Maybe your cat was sick, or someone keyed your car in the Stop & Shop parking lot. I was wrong. Next thing you know, there was another novel to read, then a 7-page minimum paper. Night after night, my eyelids fluttered as I labored to read chapter after chapter. I kept trying to tell myself that it wasn’t true. The others were wrong, you were different! But when you started assigning the daily Moodle Post, I knew I’d lost you forever. Last weekend I trudged to the library on a Saturday night in 0 degree weather with a -5 degree wind-chill to finish the paper you so deviously assigned to be due at midnight. I marched across the icy quad, tears frozen on my cheeks, and I wondered where it all went wrong. Was it me? Were my SpongeBob tee-shirts too much? Did you think that I didn’t respect you enough because my pants had a hole in the crotch? As I wandered the shelves looking for that third primary source you insisted we needed, the truth slammed into me like the front doors of the Deece. This was your plan from the beginning. Pretend to be easy, gain my trust, wait until the drop and NRO period were over so there’d be nowhere to run and then BAM! Drown me in work. The deception! The betrayal! My eyes are watering just thinking about it—though that might just be because this campus reeks of weed. Regardless, I don’t know if we’ll ever bounce back from this. You’ve hurt me so much. I need to take some time off and clear my mind, figure out who I am (and how the hell I can get out of this class and still keep the required number of credits). But despite your cruel decision to actually do your job, I want you to know I forgive you, especially if I get an A. Yours Truly, Kayla L.
Talya Phelps TP ’19
1. The sexuality investigator
This post is definitely questionable for its potential to out someone to their entire Facebook friend list. What happened to the days of subtly turning conversations around to sexual preference, using well-placed queries like “Which emoji do you like better, the eggplant or the taco?” Example: “LW ’17, do you like girls? Please say you like girls. Catch me at the quegger*, hot stuff.” *Queer kegger. Yes, apparently it’s a real thing. 2. Complainers
Maybe they’re just mad because their initials are super generic, but these people enjoy bashing the page as much as they enjoy refreshing it. Example: “The days when this page posted actual missed connections, not derivative trash. If I wanted to bombard my eyes with a circle-jerk of mediocre prose, I’d read ‘On the Road.’” 3. The self-promoter
These are rife with details only the poster could know, and a tone of desperation that naturally accompanies public masturbation. Example: “I always see you walking between Blodgett and Kenyon on your way to your noon ballet class. Let’s grab coffee sometime before your 3 o’clock shift for Misc design. We’ll go to the Retreat and you can mix vanilla coffee with medium-roast and a splash of whole milk, just how you like it. Your body is perfect—I couldn’t even tell you quit gymnastics when you were 7.” 4. You tried to be nice but... Unfortunately, you’re an asshole.
Example: “KQ ’19, you’re vastly underrated. I for one think you’re pulling off those high-waisted shorts really well considering your body type, and your brunette roots are hardly even noticeable. I’d ask you out for dinner, but you always look kind of frazzled, so I figure you’re too busy— probably with something really cool.” 5. Unnecessarily sexual
P.S. I know you said in class that the paper was due by midnight, but is there REALLY that big of a difference between 12 a.m. and 12 p.m.? I mean it’s just one letter—after all, time is a social construct anyway.
After I was accepted to Vassar, my mom called admissions and talked to a nice lady who somehow spun off into explaining that Vassar students are sexually active to a remarkable degree. On the rare days that I forget the paralyzingly awk-
ward car ride when my mom first brought this up, posts like these are there to remind me. Example: “I would do devious things to you, BJ ’17. Watching you play tennis is better than porn... With every swing you take, your majestic delts ripple, and I imagine you smacking my ass with that racket. The sweat may be dripping down your sculpted body by the end of the match, but you’re still not as moist as I am. HMU if you want to smash me harder than that tennis ball.” 6. Surprise reveal
We all remember the one about the wompwomp. These posts are tricksters; they start out as one trope (e.g., unnecessarily sexual) and then turn out to be about something silly. A breath of fresh air in a quagmire of self-pity and horniness. Example: “You are the definition of an enigma. You’re beautiful on the outside, but inside, you’re decrepit. Just when I think I understand your twists and turns, you throw a closed door in my face. When I think of all the times you’ve made me late for class, I want to give you up...but I love being inside you. Screw you, Blodgett.” 7. The frustrated scholar
Since your major probably won’t get you a job anyway, why not cash in on that $64,000 tuition by smearing your intellect all over an anonymous platform, much like ketchup on the Retreat burger you won’t be able to afford in five years? Example: “I’ve never met an Econ major sexier than BZ ’18. Your body reminds me of expansionary monetary policy, because you make my parts expand. I’d like to lower your interest rates and increase your output, if you know what I mean ;)” 8. An actual missed connection
Finally, the rarest post of them all. Those of you who have been friends with Missed since its inception may recall the days when people actually submitted missed connections. You are probably the current generation of complainers. Example: “I was at the stir-fry station when I glimpsed your expertly crafted zucchini omelette. Your eggs and vegetables were sizzling in the pan, but they weren’t as hot as you. We made brief eye contact, but then my stir-fry started smoking and when I looked up, you were gone. My Crafted Kup punch card is two clicks away from a free drink, so hit me up.”
Millennials turn to internet for answers on how to interact with other humans by Ask Banner, feat. Evelyn Dear Ask Banner, Help! My ex-boyfriend from home is visiting Vassar, as he might apply here, and I just ran into him in the College Center! I saw him first and tried to walk by without him noticing (I assumed that my post-break up nose piercing would be a fool-proof disguise), but alas he recognized me. What should I do? Sincerely, Retreating in the Retreat Dear Vassar Missed ConnEXtions, I suggest doing the courteous, albeit slightly awkward thing, and ask to join him for some lunch. Besides, the ultimate vengeance is making him buy the absurdly overpriced fruit from the Retreat. Chat, pretend that you care about his life, and cherish it because what are the chances he would be accepted anyway? Banner would know that a lot of people on campus have a type (mediocre white boys), so that demographic is already fairly well covered and
hopefully Vassar isn’t looking to accept many more. Dear Ask Banner, My roommate just walked in on me whilst I was naked. How can our relationship rebound from this? Yours, Meat House Dear Chicken Legs, Honestly, there are probably more demoralizing situations than that. Like, remember that time your roommate walked in on you jamming out to Nickleback? Nice air guitar, champ. Need I say more? I promise you, that thing was worse than this thing, but anyway, you two live together so I’m sure you figured it was bound to happen eventually. Granted, full frontal is quite an escalation from the casual side-boob you had been anticipating. Sure, you won’t be able to look her in the eyes for a few
days, but I’m certain it’ll become a good anecdote during finals week when you walk in on one another crying, surrounded by notebooks and Nilda’s wrappers. Stay body positive, Banner knows you’ve been to the gym at least once this semester. Dearest Banny, I am a party animal. A normal weekend for me starts on Thursday evening and ends at the time on Sunday afternoon when I can finally stop taking Advil. So far I haven’t run into any major trouble with this lifestyle, but I do have one problem. There’s this one kid I keep running into every weekend. But absolutely nowhere else and I don’t even know their name! As one would, I assumed it was the ghost of Matthew Vassar until we drunkenly exchanged numbers. Anyway, I feel like the head nods, incoherent shouts and smiles we shared when the music was too loud to hear were super meaningful, but I don’t know any-
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
thing about them. Should I try to get to know them better? Yours truly, Say My Name Dear Destiny’s Child, Ask Banner could lead you to the student directory and give you your TH bestie’s name, home phone, zodiac sign and blood type. However, you need your pin number to access that information and Banner knows you don’t remember your pin number. Have you ever considered why you only ever run into this person at parties? Maybe it’s because the extent to which you share interests is the exact volume of a shot glass. While all the drunken Snaps you’ve shared with the person you’ve so tenderly assigned the contact name “beer emoji, question marks, party hat emoji” seem genuine, your relationship is probably best left shrouded in as much mystery as the recipe to punch at TH parties.
February 25, 2016
HUMOR & SATIRE
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Astrophysicists discover that Einstein was really smart Zander Bashaw
Baby Frankenstein
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“A Little Late...” ACROSS 1 Spiders eggs holder 4 Messy place for pigs 7 Talk a lot 10 They have the X-files 13 Bitey fish 15 Regret 16 Return this on time or pay the fine (2 words) 18 Paper is to papers as am is to ______ 19 Otherwise 20 Fuzzy foot 21 A long ways away 22 Earth, water, fire, or air 25 50% 27 They’re loud and come out of vaginas (2 words) 32 Comes after Nov. 33 Many dictionaries (abbr.) 34 Also 35 Catch sight of 38 16-, 27-, 45-, and 59-Across may be over this 39 Constrict 40 Big-eyed small deer 41 Change or revise 43 Mysteriously disappeared (abbr.) 45 Word games you like doing right? Right??? (2 words) 49 Is there life on this planet?
Answers to last week’s puzzle
munity to be aroused by. String theorist Brian Greene admitted that he understands that it might be hard to shake our previous notions of Einstein as a dunce, however, “If the thought of two black holes colliding doesn’t turn you on a little bit, you could stand think about cosmology a little more.” Representatives at Baby Einstein were also relieved to hear that the name associated with their company belonged to someone so smart. “I’m really glad that our company is named after a now universally accepted genius. I still remember when we had to switch from our Baby Palin company name, and I had always hoped that it would never have to happen again,” said Barbara Walters, the head of advertising for the baby toy firm. Ever since Mary Shelley exposed the downfall of Dr. Frankenstein, the scientific community has been searching for another person to serve as an iconic image of intelligence. Now that society has confirmed Einstein’s brilliance,
Samana Shrestha/The Miscellany News
ecently, readers of the internationally acclaimed Science Journal “I fucking love science” were shocked to see that yet another thing they hadn’t heard about had been discovered. Researches at LIGO, a secret sub-organization of the LEGO company dedicated to physics, have detected the presence of gravitational waves that resulted from the merging of two distant black holes. These scientists first observed the gravitational wave’s effects during an unrelated experiment about the pain of stepping on LEGOs. They noticed a random spike in the already tremendous pain signals in a test subject’s brain, and then later found that this spike perfectly matched the timing of the cataclysmic black hole merge. The researchers then simply implied causation from correlation, gave the discovery a cool name and sent it in to “I fucking love science.” The term “gravitational wave” joins other terms for physical phenomena that seem fictitious, such as “quantum tunneling,” “space-time” and “science news.” The editors at “I fucking love science” were pleased to find that the article was both vague and devoid of scholarly references, both integral part of their posts. However, beneath the oversimplified headlines and misleading diagrams, the piece contained a nugget of revolutionary truth for readers. “It seems like Einstein somehow knew about all of this shit,” noted Carl Nothinksky, a regular commenter on I fucking love science’s posts. Albert Einstein, a relatively unknown physicist from the early 20th century, had posited the existence of space as an entity that can be warped by mass. The recent identification of this gravitational ripple is consistent with his
theory of relativity, a relatively solid theory that Einstein posited decades before “I fucking love science,” or other human achievements, such as LEGOs, were even invented. Real scientists around the world were practically orgasming about the news. Neil deGrasse Tyson, the Tom Cruise of Astrophysics (minus the Scientology), explained the true momentum of the discovery. “Of course the knowledge we gained about the way space can be shaken from the tremendous disturbance of black holes merging is important, but another thing that we gleaned from the experiments conducted at LIGO was the fact that Einstein was really fucking smart. Like, apparently he knew a lot of stuff about how the universe works, and that’s what made him so intelligent. We just find how smart he is so exciting.” Though it might be hard to initially accept the resultant paradigm shift that comes from the idea of Einstein being smart, there are many aspects behind the theory for the scientific com-
people will surely be using his name and likeness to promote all things vaguely related to brainpower. “It really is a momentous step for science to have a genius who did not create a creature who destroyed his family and entire community. Einstein even fits the wizened greyhaired male archetype that was so successful in ‘Lord of the Rings and ‘Harry Potter,’ I wouldn’t be surprised if he got his own synthetic element on the periodic table soon,” said acclaimed science writer Carl Zimmer. Baby Einstein is excited to begin turning achievement in astrophysics into capitalistic gains with their newest sets of baby mobiles that claim to boost infant intelligence. However, an unnamed employee admitted that Einstein himself could most likely disprove their entire company concept. “Now that we know he was smart, we can only infer that Einstein himself would have known that we have absolutely no idea how to make babies smarter. I mean they drool and put their fingers in sockets and stuff. It’s a noble cause, but Einstein would probably say that only time can help babies.” He went on to say that Baby Einstein to an educated customer looks to be as much of an oxymoron as “jumbo shrimp,” and that even Einstein himself “was probably a total dumbass as a baby.” Regardless of when his great intelligence manifested itself, the world has to accept that these latest scientific discoveries mean that Einstein was really smart, and might even become a household name in reference to intelligence. Obama himself stressed the importance of further research into exactly how smart Einstein was. He also noted that, though it shouldn’t be the primary goal of the research, “If this investigation yields any knowledge about how the universe works, that could potentially be an interesting side topic.”
The Miscellany Crossword
by York Chen, Collin Knopp−-Schwyn, Kim Carlson, and Mackenzie Little 50 World’s worst feline 53 A romantic place for a date, if you live in Santa Monica 55 A UN labor union (abbr.) 57 Metrical foot 58 “God Bless the ___” (Lee Greenwood song) 59 I have too many of these to turn in on the same day (thanks, profs) 63 Classic sandwich 64 Able to fly (2 words) 65 ACROSS Not a tbsp but a ___ Spiders 661What eyes have do eggs in one of these 67 Boomer? 10 A messy place for pigs 68 4Golf ball platform
Overdue... Whoops
37 Spread throughout 38 Talk smack 39 Badly spelled badly 41 To do this, according to Alexander Pope, is human 42 Not don’ts 43 “Simpsons” bar owner 44 What u r offline 46 Tracy Chapman thinks you have a fast one 47 “___ ___ it? I got it.”
48 Barely enough 51 65-Across or 52-Down 52 Not a tsp, but a ___ 53 Places to eat, drink, and/or be merry 54 Fancy name for island 55 Ain’t 56 Fleur-de-___ 59 SAT alternate 60 Diego or Francisco 61 Scottish not 62 Military nosh (abbr.)
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February 25, 2016
HEL show uses collective approach to create sketches Matt Stein Reporter
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mine the order of the sketches. Accepted into the group as a new member in the fall, Dakota Lee ’19 described the environment as welcoming from the onset. “HEL has been a wonderful experience. Right from the get-go, I’m talking like, right from the audition they were inviting and open, they being the existing members. It didn’t take long at all to feel like part of the group, especially since right when we got picked we basically had to start prepping for our first show. So it was really cool to just be put in like that. It is a very democratic environment, I feel.” These sketches cover a broad spectrum of comedic styles, making HEL’s style both multifarious and overall enjoyable. With parodies, blackouts, slapstick and various experimental sketches, HEL gives a well-rounded experience of the many subgenres of comedy. “I have been in the org for four years and it
courtesy of HEL via Facebook
veryone needs a laugh sometimes. For all those stuck inside on the weekends writing papers, studying for tests and working on homework, few phrases can ring as true. Adding the weather changing and the plague going around, a prescription of comedy could help. In other words, while there might not be a happily ever after with midterms around the corner, there can still be a Happily Ever Laughter (HEL) show. On Saturday, Feb. 27 at both 8 and 10 p.m., HEL, one of Vassar’s sketch comedy groups, will be performing their first show of the semester, “Rated E for Everyone,” in Sanders Classroom. Running for less than an hour, the show will include a variety of comedic sketches and provide an opportunity for students to take a break from homework and essays to enjoy some good comedy. HEL’s two show times are at the same times as No Offense’s show, “Supernatural,” which is in Blodgett Auditorium, so everyone can see them back-to-back. Co-President of HEL Kyle Whelan ’16 said about the group’s style of comedy, “We are Vassar’s only sketch group with a three letter name! But I think that HEL is special for how we make comedy on both a personal and collective level. Each member usually writes sketches on their own and brings them to reading meetings. When we get together to read, the group offers editing tips, advice and group input. Our humor style is a bit harder to pin down. Each member of our group finds comedic inspiration from different things. HEL has had lots of hard hitting shorter sketches in the past, but this show’s sketches are longer.” HEL performs two full-scale shows each semester. Founded 22 years ago, the group is led by Whelan and co-president Sophie Hessekiel ’16 with all 12 members writing, directing and acting in sketches and two or three videos of their own creation. Despite having two presidents, the group conducts itself in an open, democratic manner, with everyone helping each other out with sketch ideas, read-throughs
and helpful edits. Hessekiel, who has been a member for three years, remarked on how the group has changed her: “HEL has completely changed my life at Vassar. I joined as a sophomore, and it ignited a love for comedy I didn’t even know I had! The group is always changing as people graduate and new people join, but what’s constant is that we can always make each other lose our minds laughing. It’s so great to be part of an ensemble of people who are both your creative partners and your friends!” In preparation for their shows, HEL has, besides their weekly meetings, a picking meeting where they democratically select 12 to 15 sketches that will feature in their upcoming show. The writers of these sketches will then act as directors and cast the other members in it before rehearsing. Once the sketches are on their feet, the group will collaborate to deter-
Happily Ever Laughter (HEL) adds to a stellar campus comedy scene with an upcoming show. They hope to cheer up students during midterms and encourage others to tryout for comedy troupes.
has been a huge part of my college experience. Past members of HEL, current too, have taught me pretty much everything I know about comedy,” Whelan reflected on his time in HEL. “There are some tricks that you learn over the years to make a good joke better or even turn a flop into a success. I feel like HEL caught me at a great time and I’ve grown a lot by being a part of it. The best part in my opinion has been being surrounded by consistently funny people for my college experience and making great things with them.” Along with the other sketch comedy groups, No Offense, Indecent Exposure and The Limit, and the improv groups, VC Vassar Improv and Committed, HEL creates a comedy community with a variety of styles and forms that provide entertainment for everybody. Just as the student theatre environment provides great drama for Vassar, these comedy groups give everyone the opportunity to laugh and enjoy themselves in the talent that Vassar so has to offer. Auditions for these groups happen every fall, and they’re always looking for people to join. Additionally, comedy shows often fill up fast and some students even have to be turned away due to the lack of room, so it’s always good to arrive roughly 15 minutes early before the show starts. As this weekend’s “Donner Party Kidz!” very successful reception proved, Vassar students love the comedy scene. HEL is on deck with a show the cast is excited to perform and a campus in need of some serious laughter. The group joins Casual Improv and Comedy Normative, which are open for anyone to join. Believing Vassar’s comedy groups to be essential to a healthy and fun campus life, Lee concluded: “The comedy scene at Vassar is an important one. It is entertainment, but it’s also just comfort. In the midst of essays, theses, extracurricular activities, etc. sometimes you just need to sit back, relax and laugh your ass off. That’s something we are glad to do, and we have fun doing it. We love to make people laugh. It’s an art-form that’s rewarding unlike anything else.”
Keruda keeps jazz cool, sidesteps music industry influence Sabrina Oh Reporter
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azz is, in every sense of the word, cool. This upcoming Thursday Feb. 25,, ViCE Jazz will help the genre live up to this reputation. With a new millennium, however, it’s easier than ever for pop hits and one-hit-wonders to overshadow what some consider an older style. Enter innovative contemporary jazz musician Takuya Kuroda. For Kuroda, amalgamation is—surely—innovation. This is his proposition and how he keeps jazz exciting and relevant in a changing music industry. Native to Japan and currently based in Brooklyn, Kuroda is a trumpeter and composer who made his debut with his album “Rising Son.” He is best known for his involvement with José James’ band in the past few years.
Kuroda and James acquainted themselves at Manhattan’s New School of Music at a mutual friend’s performance. James and electric bassist Solomon Dorsey recognized Kuroda’s talent and, soon, invited Kuroda to collaborate with him on his musical prospects. However, Kuroda transcends his membership with the band through “Rising Son,” which features trombonist Corey King, keyboardist Kris Bowers and drummer Nate Smith, Kuroda’s vast involvements were part of his appeal to concert organizer Juliette Boberg ’16. She explained, “I saw Takuya Kuroda at a Jazz festival in Brooklyn that I worked at in October, and thought he would be a perfect fit. He is an incredible jazz musician but his music is still groovy and accessible to people who aren’t particularly into jazz.” Boberg was especially drawn to the idea of a
courtesy of All About Jazz
Musician Takuya Kuroda is set to perform a jazz concert in the Mug. ViCE Jazz hopes that his mix of classic and contemporary styles will draw big crowds and energize the campus jazz community.
concert that would be relevant to all students, while bringing back the excitement of jazz’s glory days. She continued, “This show is to bring ViCE Jazz back to the old days when the org actually put on real jazz music shows, but we also wanted to keep it within our generation’s music taste.” Part of this taste includes the afrobeat rhythms that influence his album “Rising Son” and his overall musical style. This is due in large part to his former membership with Akoya, a New York-based Afrobeat ensemble. Kuroda utilizes Afrobeat and blues, which is also due in large part by Kuroda’s influences, including Clifford Brown, Miles Davis and Lee Morgan. Another influential figure in Kuroda’s career is Afro-Cuban DJ Mala, who helped create a conduit into the realm of DJ culture. Kuroda also incorporates many elements of funk in his music. Born and raised in Kobe, Japan, Kuroda arrived in the United States in 2000. While in Japan, he followed the footsteps of his older brother, a trombonist, and joined his junior high school jazz band before continuing to play in college jazz bands. But for Kuroda, authentic involvement with jazz did not begin in school. Instead, the local jazz scene with the smaller combos is where it all happened. “I never had a jazz music teacher in Japan. I took my first music theory, ear training and jazz ensemble classes for the first time of my life in English, which made it even crazier,” he wrote on his personal website. He continued, “I sat in with a lot of the elders on the local scene. They showed me so much love.” For Boberg, Kuroda’s classical training and informal experience create a powerful story. “Takuya is a trumpeter from Kobe, Japan, who went to school at Berklee College of Music and has since gotten very involved in the vibrant NYC jazz scene,” she said. At Berklee, Kuroda was exposed to structured and technical training that would shape his future style. His foray into the New York City jazz scene
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was largely successful. Boberg continued, “He has worked closely with musicians such as Jose James, and was signed to Blue Note a couple years ago (Blue Note is a huge jazz music label so that is a pretty big deal). He is incredibly talented and should put on a really good show!” Kuroda still maintains some more classical elements of jazz, but he blends traditional jazz elements with the funk and groove of more modern groups. He, in turn, makes jazz more accessible and digestible to the audiences of the 21st century. His album “Rising Son” was a manifestation of this syncretic attempt. For many, Kuroda’s concert marks an exciting uptick in interest on campus in jazz music. According to Ilan Korman ’19, “It is really exciting to see ViCE bring a jazz performer. I think that the jazz community on campus is definitely growing and it seems very likely that our music department will expand to offer more jazz classes. I hope that there will be more concerts like this one, which open up a completely different universe of music on campus.” Samuel Chiou ’18 also appreciates the attempts to revive and sustain the past. He explained, “I’m impressed that vice is bringing Takuya. I’ve always listened to the jazz classics growing up, so it’s nice knowing that people still appreciate this genre.” The ViCE Jazz event will open with FAQ Section, one of Vassar’s own student jazz combos, including John Winton ’16, John Mason ’16, Pieter Block ’18, Lena Redford ’18 and Zack Wilks ’17.”They are a really, really great group of musicians. I’ve heard that it’s going to be a great show,” said Gusmano. The event will take place this Thursday, Feb. 25 at 9:30 p.m. in the Mug. According to Albie Pepe ’16, “Takuya Kuroda is one of my favorite contemporary jazz musicians. His jazz-funk screams style. I’ve actually used a few songs of him in film projects before. I’m happy Vice Jazz is finally supporting actual jazz musicians as opposed to ‘danceable music.’” Pepe’s indirect encounters will soon be realized on campus.
February 25, 2016
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Documentary compares immigrant history to present Elena Schultz
Guest Reporter
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courtesy of Crossing Waters via Facebook
rainy film reels of huddled masses yearning to be free stream past stills of steam engines and postcards reading “Greetings from the Queen City.” “Crossing Waters,” a recently-released social political documentary, explores parallels between the nationalistic convictions of today’s extremists and America’s reaction to the arrival of immigrants in the 1800s and early 1900s. The arrival of predominantly Irish immigrants to Poughkeepsie and the Hudson Valley triggered a violent backlash, both locally and nationally, and this film sets out to scrutinize the uncanny similarities between nationalistic attitudes both then and today. “Crossing Waters” will be previewed in a three-part event on Tuesday, March 1 at 5 p.m. in Taylor Hall, room 203. This event will include a film screening as well as a question and answer panel discussion between independent filmmaker of “Crossing Waters,” Jane Watson, and Emeritus Professor of Geography at Vassar Harvey Flad, with a reception to follow. Released in September 2015, “Crossing Waters” has since won an Award of Merit Special Mention at Women Filmmakers 2015 IndieFEST, a Silver Award at Spotlight Film Competition 2015 and is selected to show at the North Wales International Film Festival 2016, Chicago Irish Film Festival 2016 and Penn State Collegetown Film Festival 2016. Vassar Research Librarian Gretchen Lieb helped with the “Crossing Waters” project. She explained that the immigrant crisis in Poughkeepsie mirrored the situation in New York City at the time. “There was a lot of interplay between New York City and Poughkeepsie, so it’s kind of an interesting look at how the same things that were happening in New York City lived out in Poughkeepsie,” she said. In an online preview of “Crossing Waters,” author John Kelly explained, “There was this general sense of panic that gripped the country.” The origin of this panic was widespread,
but one facet of the nativist backlash sprung from a surprising source.” This source would go on to play an integral part in “Crossing Waters.” Intrigued by the inventor Samuel Morse, known best for his contributions to the single-wire telegraph system, though little known for his propagation of nativist ideology throughout the Hudson Valley, Watson found inspiration for her documentary. She said, “[Morse] is accredited as being a father of the nativist movement. It was Samuel Morse’s book and Samuel Morse’s actions that actually drove the country to violence. A lot of the stuff that he was saying sounds really similar to what the pundits are saying today. And that’s what got my interest—I thought, ‘Wow, this is almost word for word what you’re hearing everyday now.’” Watson continued, “Morse is remembered now as a very different person than who he was at the time. And unfortunately for the citizens up here, he moved up here, he brought his celebrity with him and his money, and he exerted his influence on politics, on the media in the area, and the Irish people that came up here.” This influence proved detrimental to Poughkeepsie immigrants. According to Watson, “The immigrants were the first people to really become the victims of all of his celebrity power. That’s what got me interested.” The “Crossing Waters” online site summarized Morse’s role in the documentary, “The Irish residents of Poughkeepsie’s First Ward suffered grave misfortune when the country’s first nativist leader and celebrity, Samuel Morse, moved in to the community. Morse, now remembered as the inventor of the telegraph, polarized America and drove it to violence, much as the extremists and pundits are inciting machine gun toting vigilantes to patrol the Arizona and Texas borders today.” However, the documentary’s focus has since expanded its focus. Watson explained, “The film evolved like many documentaries evolve, it’s not the film I started out to make.” Another aspect of the film, for example, expands upon the role that Vassar College played in the Hud-
Jane Watson’s new documentary, “Crossing Waters,” will be screened on campus. The documentary explores anti-immigrant sentiments in the Hudson Valley and Vassar students’ related activism. son Valley’s divided political climate of the 1800s and early 1900s. “Vassar’s really the progressive mind of the area. If not for Vassar, I don’t know what would have happened at the time,” said Watson. The beginning of “Crossing Waters” touches upon the role of the college’s suffragettes and their advocacy for recently-immigrated Irish women in the area. Watson added, “The Vassar women teach the immigrant women [in Poughkeepsie]—and the same thing happens in New York City—how to go door to door, how to canvass, how to get other women involved, how to debate, how to make arguments...how to stand up for themselves. This is really empowering to the immigrant women. And that’s what gets the suffrage movement going, that coalition of women of different classes.” Lieb explains that the role of Vassar suffrag-
Alash brings Tuvan style song to campus Connor McIlwain Arts Editor
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courtesy of Hildegard M. Grob
n a world of Autotune and Garageband, it’s hard to distinguish between the real sound of an artist and quality sound engineering. But make no mistake, the soothing, natural sound of throat singing is real—and has been around for decades. One of the most distinguished Tuvan throat singing groups in the world, Alash, is performing this Saturday in Skinner. Tuva is a region of Russia, northwest of Mongolia. In the region, throat singing is referred to as Khöömei. It is a form of circular breathing that allows the singer to hold multiple notes at a time. Singers are trained from a very young age on how to manipulate throat muscles and reverberations. “Imagine a subsonic growl, a bullfrog’s croak, some electric barber’s clippers and a high-frequency whistle—all reverberating out of a single larynx at once,” wrote Marshall Allen in a 2007 review for the Washington Post. Tuvan throat singing often imitates the sounds of Tuvan natural surroundings—animals, mountains, streams and the harsh winds of the steppe. Once a folk tradition, Khöömei is now an emblem of Tuvan culture and identity. Alash is composed of three musicians— Bady-Dorzhu Ondar, Ayan-ool Sam and Ayan Shirizhik. The group, along with their manager and translator Sean Quirk, are on their 16th U.S. tour. According to Allen, “The young quartet specializes in an ancient vocal style cultivated by the shepherds and horsemen of central Asia who discovered ways of singing three or four notes simultaneously.” The group’s visit to Vassar is funded primarily from the Dickinson-Kayden Fund. According to Associate Director of Alumni Relations May Lee, “The Dickinson-Kayden Fund was established in 1966 honor of Professor Emeritus of Music, George Sherman Dickinson, by Mildred and Bernard H. Kayden to enrich the cultural life of the College as a whole by bringing to it a series of events which relate music to the other humanities or sciences.”
Alash, an award-winning Tuvan throat singing group, is set to perform on campus. Throat singing involves using more than one pitch at a time. The practice is an important aspect of Tuvan culture. Khöömei does just that. In many ways, it represents Tuvan society and values. And Alash bridges those with the West. According to a Lancaster, Pa. concertgoer, “Sean Quirk was an unexpectedly brilliant surprise. He is superb at relating to an audience and explaining the culture of Tuva...Really, it was an unforgettable experience.” Alash first came to the U.S. for the Open World Leadership program of the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Arts. They have been back many times since to perform, teach and promote understanding between cultures at many conservatories, colleges and venues. Part of this understanding is fostered by some of the contemporary styles of music Alash has integrated into their performances. According to their website biography, “They paid close at-
tention to new trends coming out of the West. They have borrowed new ideas that mesh well with the sound and feel of traditional Tuvan music, but they have never sacrificed the integrity of their own heritage in an effort to make their music more hip.” The art of Tuvan throat singing may not be as niche of a genre as one would expect. According to Adjunct Assistant Professor in Music Justin Patch, “Throat singing has been brought up as a good addition to the concert series before– and we had [Grammy-winning vocal ensemble] Roomful of Teeth two years ago.” Euphonium player of the Vassar Wind Ensemble John Silk ’18 was already familiar with throat singing as well after a group of Tibetan monks performed at his high school. “[It’s] amazing. The singers use their throats to create two pitches at once: the main pitch and a pitch over that.”
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ettes in “Crossing Waters” serves as a frame of reference for the heated political climate of the time. She says, “One of the things [Watson] looks at is suffrage and social reformers at Vassar as the context for what was happening at that point in the city of Poughkeepsie, which was this influx of immigrants, mostly from Ireland, and this nativist backlash against immigrants.” Watson stressed, however, the importance of understanding these events within the context of today’s sentiments toward immigration in America–especially during this heated election cycle. “This persistent fear mongering has been going on forever,” she said. Watson continued, saying, “History repeats itself. My overarching message is that history is instructive—we tend to keep repeating the same arguments and complaints because we’re not aware of our history and what’s already gone on.”
Hudson Valley
Arts
Robert Ryman Symposium Dia: Beacon 3 Beekman Street Beacon, NY March 12, 2016 11:30 am–4 pm $13 with a student ID
The Met: Live in HD Puccini’s Manon Lescaut Ulster Performing Arts Center 601 Broadway Kingston, NY March 5, 2016 1pm $27 admission
Black History Through Poetry Arts Mid-Hudson 696 Dutchess Turnpike, Suite F Poughkeepsie, NY April 9, 2016 4:00 p.m. Free
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February 25, 2016
Lockwood Lion Babe neo-soul roars on new album maps rivers sonically Jillian Elkin Columnist
Begin Lion Babe Interscope
LOCKWOOD continued from page 1
to complement a course in the Environmental Studies Department, “Animal Metaphors,” taught by Associate Professor of French and Francophone Studies Kathleen Hart and Professor of Biology and Cognitive Science on the John Guy Vassar Chair John Long. The course, through readings of literature, biology, psychology and cognitive science, explores why humans often identify themselves in opposition to animals and nature, and how this dichotomy is reflected and challenged in our stories and traditions. At Vassar, Lockwood will be presenting a “sound map” of the Housatonic River, recordings taken from 18 sites along the waterway. This piece is the third in a series that includes two sound maps of the Hudson and Danube Rivers. Visitors experience the sound maps through Lockwood’s carefully curated selection of recordings. The installation includes a map of the river and the location of each recording, the time and date of each recording and the time of each recording within the hour and 17 minute run time. “I include all this information because very frequently visitors know the river and have a favorite stretch, but since any one site’s sound changes with weather and season, it’s not easy to identify by ear alone,” she explained. This precise identification is reminiscent of Impressionist painters, who often painted the same landscapes at different times of day and in different seasons to capture the changing effects of light. In Lockwood’s case, her auditory snapshots give the listener a sense of the changes in the river’s physicality and its subsequent sounds from site to site and from day to day. “It is an anti-solipsistic mode of composition,” asserted Wilson. Her art gives an animate and independent voice to nature itself. Unfortunately, as the “Animal Metaphors” course explores, humanity’s connection with this natural spirit has become increasingly distant. In art, Romanticism reacted to such concerns, portraying the relationship between man and animate natural forces. . Lockwood’s river sound-maps fit into the creative and environmentalist spirit surrounding the Northeastern rivers but she also exposes audiences to the landscape in a very different way. As she explained, “I decided to set up comfortable situations in which people could become immersed in the sound-fields of rivers, listening for long periods of time largely without visual input other than the maps themselves, so there could be real aural focus.” As Interdisciplinary Arts Coordinator for CAAD Tom Pacio states, “[Each project provides] additional opportunities for conversation between disciplines.” Not only is this true in the interdisciplinary nature of the “Animal Metaphors” course in which Lockwood is participating, but her art itself transcends genre. Her sound-mapping process combines cartography, sound engineering and the en plein air use of recorders and underwater hydrophones. Her inspiration—an old treatment that heals by bringing patients to waterfronts—is both medical and emotional. She hopes that this experience combines the corporeal and the spiritual for the viewer. According to Professor Kathleen Hart, sound can facilitate this relationship between the spiritual and material. She explained, “Through sound, a story can teach us to listen, to pay closer attention to our environment, from which we’re never truly separate...[it can help us] imagine a conversation in the chortling of a brook...without quite knowing what the ‘words’ are.” Lockwood’s work engages listeners more closely with their environment, creating personal and emotional connections to the Housatonic that demonstrate that it lives and breathes just like we do. From this understanding, we can better understand that nature can be destroyed and die just like we do. Ultimately, Lockwood described, “That’s what I’m looking for in the way I build these installations, encouraging a feeling of immersion which can lead to that of non-separation from the environment—essential ground if we are to act effectively, collaboratively, with an environment in crisis.”
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ion Babe’s debut album, “Begin,” wows with a neo-soul sound that toys with the line between retro and modernism. The voice, Jillian Hervey, and producer Lucas Goodman comprise this New York City-based duo. The name suits their image and energy well: bold, confident and a little sexy. Hervey’s voice lovingly imitates that of famous singer-songwriter Erykah Badu. Meanwhile, the R&B-meets-electronica sound is palatable and intriguing–it gets you hooked. “Begin” was released on Feb. 5 and features high profile collaborations with Pharrell and Childish Gambino. Both members of Lion Babe hail from famous parents—Hervey’s mother is “Ugly Betty’s” Vanessa Williams— though the pair’s career started with one song uploaded to Soundcloud. This beginning encapsulates the origins of musical careers in the digital age. Like other young, up-and-coming musicians, Lion Babe has many well-studied musical influences that reveal themselves in their work. Admiration of Lauryn Hill, Chaka Khan and Tina Turner manifest at different points on “Begin.” Meanwhile, Lion Babe also has the necessary savvy to craft singles with the potential to top charts. The time spent experimenting and gaining self-assurance paid off on their 2014 EP, “Lion Babe.” All of the songs from the EP appear on the album and they are among the best. Songs like “Jump Hi” and “Treat Me Like Fire” are catchy and relatively safe compared to “Begin”’s new material. In addition to their musical growth, Lion Babe has been playing around and gathering
buzz for a few years now. As one would expect from the child of celebrities, the duo has hit the red carpet for Fendi, Rayban and Art Basel. They’ve snagged some high-profile interviews too–no doubt a result of these appearances. Still, the group has talent. “Begin” somehow splits the difference between safe, radio readiness and daring, genre reclamation. Representative of the album overall, “Stressed OUT!” blends the R&B, pop and electronic genres in an infectious way. Occasionally, the song feels experimental in the way that it introduces some new beats in the middle of the song. This unexpectedly and enjoyably modernizes the song’s feel. Throughout “Begin,” Lion Babe isn’t afraid to experiment with genres. The duo plays with funk, disco and dubstep in different songs. Sometimes the start of a new song sounds shockingly different, particularly “Got Body.” Each song could be the example of a unique album. Though the genres of the songs are vastly inconsistent, Hervey’s voice has a memorable consistency that pulls that album together. Largely due to her voice, all of the songs transition well into each other. Experimentation– usually anchored in late-‘80s nostalgia–and Hervey’s voice define Lion Babe. Lyrics are Lion Babe’s weakness. They are fitting, predictable and adequate. If you make the mistake of focusing on the lyrics instead of allowing the auditory stimulation to sweep you away, “Begin” grows tiresome. But not all good songs, albums or musicians are about the words. Melody has as much potential to share an energy, emotion and/or story. In this case, emotional depth and personal narrative are absent. But the melodies are so interesting and experimental; it’s actually difficult to direct one’s focus to the lyrics for too long. Plus, the quality of the lyrics is a step above that of a typical DJ’s radio single. Generally, the words on “Begin” are coolly poised, effortlessly feminist and sultry. They match Lion Babe’s image, so they’re fine.
“Where Do We Go” is a standout number that worms its way into your brain and refuses to let go. The disco elements are fun and bouncy. The hook draws you into a happy space. “Jump Hi” has a similar effect with its catchy, pop-inspired beat. “Impossible” also has addictive qualities. The fast pace creates a high energy and Hervey’s vocals appropriately effuse a joyous sass. Were this song in the hands of Beyoncé, the power behind this anthem for female empowerment would easily lift it to number one on the charts. A few times Hervey sounds like Beyoncé with a little more soul, but a little less punch. It’s hard to choose favorites off the album. All of the songs are worth a listen and deserve a spot on this debut. What makes Lion Babe unique is hard to pin down. Are the songs individually unique or does the power come from the way they work together in an album? Are we at least slightly drawn in by their seemingly larger-than-life personas and jet-setting ways? Additionally, the range on the album means that there isn’t one cohesive effect. Sometimes it’s a chill album; at other times, it’s exciting and danceable. The album becomes increasingly experimental as it goes on. Just when one begins to form an opinion, there’s a new genre fusion to consider. “Begin” opens with “Whole” and lands in a very different place with “Little Dreamer.” It will be fascinating to see where Lion Babe takes their music and the neo-soul genre next. “Begin” sounds like Lion Babe finding its sound. The album neither cloys for mainstream success nor solidifies a pedestal in the underground scene. Given Hervey’s public image, inspirations and pedigree, I’d assume Lion Babe is angling for a major breakthrough. Only time will tell if “Begin” has enough appeal with its erratic sense of self to ensure big success. In the meantime, enjoy “Begin” as a series of excursions from the usual radio offerings.
Album fluctuates between skill, monotony Jimmy Christon Columnist
Dissonants Hands Like Houses Rise Records
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f you turn up your nose when someone says that their favorite band is Dance Gavin Dance, Three Days Grace or My Chemical Romance, you probably won’t like this album. That being said, if you are a fan of those bands, or you are just sick of listening to Kanye West’s new album, you’ll find some parts of Hands Like Houses’ “Dissonants” to be a nice change of pace. Who knows, you might even find some of the songs absolutely engrossing. Unfortunately, the same praise cannot be given to the album as a whole. Hands Like Houses is a post-hardcore band from Canberra, Australia. The band has two previous albums, “Ground Dwellers” from 2012 and “Unseen” from 2013. Over the course of those two albums, Hands have been refining their style on an album-per-album basis. “Dissonants” is their most refined album to date, everything feels as if it’s in its right place. And what is this right place? Well, I don’t know if it’s an actual place but I do know that it involves lots of synths and generic post-hardcore lyrics: “I’m sick, I’m tired / Of Hollow Hope” singer Trenton Woodley yells on the opener “I am,” This might sound redundant, but as I said earlier: if you aren’t a big fan of post-hardcore music, this album as a whole gets pretty boring pretty quickly. At only 46 minutes long, it felt grating to finish this album for those last couple of songs, and that is not a good thing. When an album this short but feels this long, that’s a sign of the album not having enough content, or at least focusing too much on a single idea. Radiohead’s “Kid A” is one minute longer than “Dissonants,” and it goes by like a bullet train compared to this frustrating jog of an album. Listening to “Dissonants” for the first cou-
ple of listens is like listening to one big song rather than an album. Each song is very similar to the last one, but there are differences that help distinguish songs from one another. Unfortunately, you have to listen to the album a couple times before you notice these distinctions. The album is like getting a salad for lunch every day: sure each day you might put some new dressings on your salad, but at the end of the week, you’ve just been eating salad for lunch seven days in a row. The album’s strengths don’t lie in it being a cohesive album, but it does have strengths. Instead of taking it as a whole, the album really would have been better as an EP with the filler tracks left out. Some songs sound very similar to the ones that come before and after it, such as the two songs “Glasshouse” and “Division Symbols,” I thought the two were the same song on my first listen. The more I listened to the album however, the more I noticed the more subtle differences between the two songs. “Division Symbols” has become one of my favorites because of the fantastic use of keyboards throughout the entire track.
“‘Dissonants’ is their most refined album to date, everything feels as if it is in its right place.” Unfortunately, not all songs on this album have these distinguishing features. The tracks “Stillwater” and “Momentary” are distinguished enough to me to tell when one song stops and the other begins, but other than that, nothing really stands out about these tracks to make them as memorable as “Division Symbols.”. This being said, the instrumentation, production and mixing on this album are all worthy of praise. Post-hardcore is a genre that is riddled with poor production more so than any other one I can think of. Bands like
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Dance Gavin Dance or some of the tracks on Paramore’s first album are prime examples of poor production hindering a band. But thankfully, Hands Like Houses is an example of the other side of the spectrum. For starters you can actually hear, and distinguish, all of the instruments that they used, and what’s more than that is that the instrumentation on tracks is actually good enough to be warranted to be heard. The drums on this album for example, are energetic when they need to be, and subdued when they need to be; such as on the opener “I Am,” during the chorus the snares and constant and rhythmic, but during the bridge, the drums back off. There’s also a pretty cool breakdown towards the end of the track. There’s also the keyboards, such as the ones on “Division Symbols,” but I digress. So where does that leave this album? I’m of the opinion that an album is only as good as its worst song. So yeah, on some level I think “Dissonants” is a bad album. But I also think this album is somewhat of an exception to my rule–in other words it has potential. The tracks that are boring are really boring and become grating fast. But for every bad track there’s a good track to make up for it. The good tracks are also good enough to warrant listening to this album. I know that I’ll be raving about the keyboards on “Division Symbols” to my friends back home over the summer. Tracks like the opener “I am” and the closer “Bloodlines” shows that Hands Like Houses can make great post-hardcore songs. These tracks are energetic, cohesive and are mixed well. The problem is that Hands Like Houses tries to do the same thing with every track, and even if they had succeeded in making every track fantastic post-hardcore tracks, it still would have been an album of same-sounding songs. Don’t write this album off if you are a fan of the genre. Give it a listen, because there are moments worth your time on “Dissonants.” It’s just a shame that you have to get through so many superficial tracks to get to these moments.
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February 25, 2016
Page 17
Poor execution of initial comedic premise Saachi Jain
Guest Reporter
Animals Phil Matarese and Mike Luciano HBO
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BO’s new animated comedy “Animals,” created and voiced by Phil Matarese and Mike Luciano, has one of the more unique and strange premises when it comes to adult animated series. It was initially shown at Sundance, and then premiered on HBO on Feb. 5. The first season is set to have nine episodes, with three having aired thus far. “Animals” is about the lives of various types of animals that reside in New York City. They resemble humans in everything but appearance, having the same kinds of struggles, emotions and relationships. Each episode is named after the animal it centers on–the first being “Rats,” the second being “Pigeons” and the latest one being “Cats.” Future episodes will include dogs, flies and squirrels. Each episode has two central characters that are best friends, always named Phil and Mike, after the creators. The concept of the series is incredibly interesting, and I was curious when I heard about it. Despite not generally being into animated comedies, I decided to give it a try. The premise of the show had a lot of potential, and could have brought about something compelling, intelligent and entertaining. Unfortunately, though, Animals fell flat in just about every aspect of it besides the initial concept. The pilot episode is about rats, and focuses particularly on the social ineptitude of a particular rat, Phil. At a rat party, Phil is made fun of by his peers because he’s never “made babies” before. His friends have made multiple babies with female rats, and his inexperience makes him insecure. We see him trying to court several female rats and failing miserably. The tragic end is perhaps the only part of the episode that was compelling in any way,
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with Phil consuming a pill that he was told would help him with his social skills, but ends up being rat poison. The second episode tells the tale of a pigeon, Mike, who challenges another pigeon to a race to the Statue of Liberty–or, in the pigeons’ words, “the big green lady with the ice cream cone.” His friend Phil–who mistakenly thinks he has become a mother, confusing a golf ball with an egg–dresses up as a female pigeon in an attempt to seduce and thwart Mike’s rival, but ends up falling in love with him instead. The third episode focuses on two sibling cats who are tricked by an alley cat to let him into their apartment, and the alley cat ends up stealing from them.
“‘Animals’ fell flat in just about every aspect of it besides the initial concept.” What seemed original and inventive ended up being the very opposite. The content is unfunny and crude, clearly aimed towards male viewers with its mostly male animals going through masculinity crises. The lack of significant female animals is apparent, and the resulting storylines revolving around unsympathetic dudes made me roll my eyes. The dialogue is uninspired, predictable and dull and I found it a mind-numbing chore to get through all the episodes. In most other successful animated comedies, there is always a female lead to keep the raucousness in tow. Like Francine on “American Dad” or Lois on “Family Guy.” The absence of this character in “Animals” was a huge missed opportunity from a comedy standpoint and a disgrace from a feminist one. None of the characters are likable, and I wasn’t invested in their storylines. The show attempts to interlace social commentary with its characters, but doesn’t do a very good job of it. Its style of comedy tries to mimic that
of shows like “Family Guy,” “South Park” and “the Simpsons,” but it does so only in taking their very worst qualities and none of their positive ones. There are perhaps some small moments that are actually funny–such as when the pigeons realize Phil’s “baby egg” is really just what they call a “white guy white ball”–but they are rare. Though humans are present periodically throughout the show, they don’t speak, and their struggles are pushed to the background, effectively switching their typical roles with the animals. This could be interesting but instead, the small snippets we do get of the humans, though, are unnecessary and are as unimaginative as the stories of the animals. The series includes many famous comedians that guest star to voice the minor characters, such as Aziz Ansari, Neil Casey and Adam Scott, but their talent could have been put to much better use elsewhere. In addition to its other setbacks, the animation itself is also mediocre. The unpolished cartoon style might have been endearing and could have added to the effect if the content itself was convincing, but with both the animation and the content being unexceptional, there is nothing about “Animals” that makes it worth watching. There are some very clever, entertaining and moving animated comedies on TV, and I found myself charmed by the few episodes of shows like “Gravity Falls,” “Adventure Time” and “Bob’s Burgers” that I was forced to watch with my younger cousins. The creativity that animation allows can bring about something truly original, whether it is for kids’ cartoons or more adult animated series. When it comes to animated adult comedies, I have higher expectations: there is so much room for controversy and almost an expectation to push boundaries. Why then fall into the same tropes as most other sitcoms? Why rely on those same stereotypes? “Animals” doesn’t make use of any of the benefits of the medium, and instead of the satirical and eccentric comedy it was trying to be, the show ends up as nothing but obnoxious in its crudeness and tiring to get through.
A weekly space highlighting the creative pursuits of student-artists
Excuse me, What are you going to do on your Leap Day?
“This is a leap year?” — Lorraine Jabouin ’19
“Wishing I didn’t have four classes.” — Esther Kim ’19
“Jump.” —Meredith Leder ’19
submit to misc@vassar.edu
“I’m sleeping. That’s my answer.” — Sundus Hassan ’19
“Find a leap day baby and wish them happy birthday.” — Karla Zabala ’19
“Maybe I will skip class to spend it with you.” — Kyle Estrada ’18
This piece was completed for a class assignment. It is a self portrait. This semester we studied the figure. We usually paint other people, so it is both cool and informative to have the opportunity to paint myself. I work a lot with abstraction which is fun for me and hopefully interesting for the viewer as well. -Paige Auerbach ‘18
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
Zander Bashaw, Humor & Satire Editor Evelyn Frick, Columnist Ashley Pecorelli, Staff Photographer
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Page 18
February 25, 2016
Vassar Squash waves goodbye to strong senior squad Jamie Anderson Guest Reporter
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courtesy of Vassar Athletics
his weekend, the Squash teams each travelled to New Haven, Conn. to compete in their respective postseason brackets at the Collegiate Squash Association Championships. Friday’s opening round action saw Vassar Women’s Squash set for a rematch with Wesleyan, a team to which they had conceded a 9-0 defeat in their last match of the regular season. The result was much the same as Vassar was downed by Wesleyan in the first round of D Flight competition. Men’s Squash was forced to reshuffle and adjust their lineup to cope with various illnesses as they began competition on Friday. Despite the fluctuation in lineup, the deciding margin between Penn State and Vassar was slim, as the Men’s contingent dropped their first-round matchup 5-4 to Penn State University. The following day’s matches proved more successful, as the Vassar Women rebounded in their first consolation match to best Boston College 5-4. The matchup was competitive all up and down the lineup, as seven of the nine matches went longer than three sets. The closest match was at No. 5 Singles, between sophomore Cherylann Mucciolo and BC’s Grace Tregidgo, a match that Mucciolo ultimately pulled out in the fifth by a score of 11-8. The men’s and women’s results mirrored each other again in the second day of CSA Championships as the Brewer Men doubled up University of Notre Dame 6-3. Vassar relied on a strong showing from junior Vincent Mencotti as he claimed an efficient victory at No. 1 Singles. The Brewers dropped the No. 2-4 Singles positions but got the job done at the bottom of the lineup, sweeping No. 5-9 to earn a consolation-round victory and keep their tournament performance alive. On the third day, both teams’ seasons came to a close with losses in their respective Consolation Bracket Finals. The men’s squad fell in competitive fashion to Davidson 6-3, while the women’s side experienced a similar result, coming up short against Mount Holyoke by a scoreline of 7-2. The
men certainly did not have the season they would have liked, finishing with an overall record of only 2-15, after taking the H Flight at last year’s CSA Championships. The women’s team just missed out on back-to-back .500 seasons, closing out proceedings this year with a 7-9 tally. Still, there was much to take from the day. The end of this squash season brought an end to the athletic careers of several Vassar student-athletes, as men’s seniors Tim Boycott, Juan Fernandez, Michael Iselin, Ben Kurchin and Timothy Veit suited up for the last time. The men’s squash seniors played an integral part for the Brewers at Nationals, as they all started, competed hard and picked up valuable wins for the men’s side. Veit spoke towards his team’s performance on the day, as well as his experience overall with the team: “Despite this resulting [in] a record that was not what we had hoped, everyone gave it their all in each match and we ended the season with heart. This effort has always been present on the team...I consider myself very lucky to have experienced collegiate squash alongside wonderful teammates.” Sunday was also the last time that women’s seniors Parisa Halaji and Steph Zhu would don Vassar’s burgundy and gray. The significance of the seniors’ last time either being on the court or cheering on their teammates from the stands wasn’t lost amidst the competition. “Nationals reminded us how much we’ll miss our seniors next year,” reflected Women’s No. 1 Singles player and sophomore Hannah Nice [Full Disclosure: Hannah Nice is the Assistant Social Media editor for the Miscellany News] who picked up a pair of hard-fought wins in New Haven. Though this weekend’s CSA Championships marked the last time several members of both contingents would step onto a collegiate squash court, it also provided signs of good things to come in the future. Nationals marked the first time that some Squash team members, namely freshman Isaac Stuart and sophomore rookie squash player Alex Riccio, occupied starting positions. Being inserted into the starting lineup in
Sophomore Kelly Rissman winds up to smack the ball. Both the men and women’s team had tough days on the courts this weekend, yet their heart and drive made the seniors’ finale a successful one. such a high-stakes context could naturally create some extra stress, or so one might think. “I felt the pressure a little at the end of sets, but in the end I felt I dealt with it well and played my best when it counted the most,” assessed Riccio, who got his first two starts at No. 9 the previous week and performed well, going 2-1 in tournament competition at the No. 8 spot. Though their seasons may not have ended with the results they would have liked, the men’s and women’s sides can walk away with definite pride in the way that they performed, competed and supported each other. “[The CSA Championships] showed we were pretty equally matched with most of our opponents [and] how supportive the men’s and women’s teams are of each other,” said Nice. The Brewers will return several strong per-
formers, in hopes that they replicate their performances from this past season. Women’s No. 1 Nice was thoroughly impressive, ending her sophomore season with a barely-blemished win-loss record of 12-4. Freshman and Women’s Singles No. 2 Fiona Agger was not too far off the pace, as she posted a 10-6 tally in her first season. Mencotti, who led the team in wins this season with 6 victories, will be back next year, looking to lead his squad to a more successful 2016-2017 campaign. The 2016 CSA Championships gave Coach Parker a small sample of the potential of some of her less-experienced players, and provided a stage for those already established as stalwart members of the starting lineup to showcase their talent and the fruits of their hard work and dedication throughout the season.
Teams quick off blocks, make splash at Championships SWIM continued from page 1 four new records for the Brewers. Last year’s All-American junior Julia Cunningham was the only one to break a record individually when she surpassed Blaire Fromm’s 2007 record in the 50-yard Fly. Cunningham swam hard for the Brewers, racing in 16 events total and helping Vassar dominate the events and earn their sixth place standing. In Ithaca, the women’s team dominated as cohesive units, with three women’s relay groups setting new Vassar records at the UNYSCSA championships. The relay group made up of seniors Milee Nelson, Anna Kuo and Lily Frye, and junior Julia Cunningham broke the 2005 record for the 200 Medley relay. Then Nelson, Cunningham and Frye surpassed another record with freshman Hayley Schultz when they finished the 400 Medley relay in 4:03.93 minutes. Cunningham and Nelson went on to break a third record together in the 800 free
relay with freshman Sammy Stone and senior Marie Schmidt. Each year, Vassar performs excellently at the UNYSCSA championships, and this year was no exception. Throughout the entire competition, the Brewers fought hard and achieved a lot of great accomplishments, both as individuals and as a team. “I’m so proud of everyone,” sophomore diver Nora Kyrkjebø shared, “We really came together as a team and kept the momentum going from day one by cheering each other on and keeping spirits up even if we were tired. It was definitely tiring having to be at the pool 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. for four days, but having my teammates there made it fun and worth it.” Although the Brewers had to compete for four grueling days, they did not lose any momentum, still breaking records on final days of the championships. Several of Vassar’s swimmers and divers also received recognition for academic achievement
courtesy of Vassar Athletics
The UNYSCSAs were very successful for the Brewers. The women’s 200 Medley relay, pictured above, broke the 2005 school record for their event. This was one of many records shattered on the day.
and overall high performance. For the men’s team, Isaiah Hale, Clancy Green, Connor Martin, Luke Morrison, Greg Cristina, Chris Cerutti, Anthony Walker and Jonah Strand were all named UNYSCSA All-Academic Team. On the women’s side, Lily Frye, Anna Kuo, Nora Kyrkjebø, Emily McDaniels, Milee Nelson, Maya Pruitt, Marie Schmidt, Kayla Schwab and Julia Wieczore were also named members of UNYSCSA’s All-Academic Team. Meanwhile, Sammy Stone’s great performance earned her “Rookie of the Week” accolades, while Julia Cunningham and Jonah Strand earned Honor Roll mentions. The UNYSCSA championships in Ithaca mark the end of the Brewer’s long and successful six-month season. Head coach Lisl Prater-Lee elaborated, “We had a very successful season. Dual meets, Liberty Leagues and Seven Sisters (for the women only) prepared us well for the UNYSCSA championships. We had six divers with a new diving coach Jack Ferriter who all made incredible improvements throughout the season and really helped us be more competitive as a bigger team and program.” Similar to their coach, Vassar’s swimmers and divers also smile back at a great 2015-2016 season. “The season went really well!” According to Morrison, “The program is growing a lot and that was evidenced by how we did this season.” This season, both teams overcame major feats and made a strong presence in Liberty League and non-conference competition. Highlights include the men’s team victory over both Skidmore College and Bard College and their first place finish out of five teams in the Vassar Sprint Invitational. Although the men’s team was small, consisting of only 15 members, “we were able to figure out how we could be as competitive as possible as a group and that paid off at the UNYSCSA champions meet,” explained Coach Prater-Lee. The women’s team also defeated both Skidmore and Bard and had victories over non-conference matches Trinity College and New Paltz. The women’s team also placed second out of five teams in Seven Sisters Championships, third out of 10 teams in the Liberty League
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
Championships, and first of five in the Vassar Sprint Invitational. Overall, both teams had strong performances and competed well throughout the season. Kyrkjebø stated, “Our season has been long, hard, intense but so rewarding. I improved tenfold as a diver and that’s because of my amazing coach, Jack, and having fantastic teammates who are getting in the pool or on the diving boards with me every single day from September to February.” With the end of the season, the Vassar swimming and diving teams now sadly bid farewell to their eight seniors Lily Frye, Anna Kuo, Milee Nelson, Maya Pruitt, Marie Schmidt, Greg Cristina and Isaiah Hale after a great four years. “They have come a long way and contributed considerably during their four years,” Coach Prater-Lee explained, “We have school record holders in that group. We have solid, consistent competitors in that group, athletes we have come to rely on over time. With that understood, we have some tough shoes to fill with their graduation.” Over the last four years, the seniors have set many new school records, including some in their last few days competing as a Vassar Brewer at the championships in Ithaca. Their talents and presence will certainly be missed. Kyrkjebø admitted, “It’s going to be impossible to say bye to the seniors and a lot of us were getting emotional on the pool deck on the final day of states. We are a very tight team, and we are all best friends so it is going to be hard but we are all excited to see where they go!” Nevertheless, both the coaches and the swimmers and divers have high hopes for next season. “We look forward to carrying this enthusiasm and energy and success through the spring and summer so that new team members have a chance experience so many of the great things happening with VCSD,” explained Coach Prater-Lee. “We are improving, certainly, but we are improving as one bigger group. It’s a big, successful family atmosphere of swimmers and divers who share the pool but also really value the time spent together working towards common goals.”
February 25, 2016
SPORTS
NHL culture protects abusers, blames victims Amreen Bhasin Reporter
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arly in January, Montreal Canadiens forward Alex Galchenyuk was involved in an alleged instance of domestic violence. Galchenyuk isn’t the first athlete or NHL player to recently be involved in some sort of gender-based violence, but his case is notable because his girlfriend is the alleged perpetrator and Galchenyuk is the victim. Before I dive into the horrific way that hockey media has handled this event, I’d like to bring up a few other instances of gender-based violence within the NHL. Evander Kane of the Buffalo Sabres was accused of assaulting a woman in a Buffalo area hotel. Sports Illustrated chose to report on the case. “Another black eye for the NHL. But if we learned anything this past summer from Patrick Kane and his months-long journey down the legal rabbit hole, it’s that none of us are in position to make assumptions of guilt or innocence from the comfort of our armchairs. So, let’s all take a deep breath, put our biases aside and recognize that facts, at this point, remain scarce.” As referenced above, Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks was more infamously accused of assaulting a woman this summer in Buffalo as well. Immediately, mainstream media outlets suggested that the accuser and victim was actually a predatory woman that had been all over Kane on the night in question. The initial narrative posited that Kane was not at fault. Fans and reporters shouted “innocent until proven guilty” every chance they got. In the meantime, female reporters condemning Kane were harassed and threatened with rape and death. Kane’s victim’s identity was found and revealed, launching a harassment campaign against her. Kane has been lauded for his ability to perform despite these “distractions.” He’s the “feel-good” story of the year. When Semyon Varlamov, of the Colorado Avalanche allegedly physically assaulted his girlfriend, media members openly suggested that the woman was lying. Female victims of male NHL players’ abuse and violence are criticized for “ruining” the lives of these men because of greed–which also makes no sense because these women were seeking safety and perhaps some measure of justice and instead were beyond thrown under the bus. So, we know how hockey media and culture likes to treat domestic violence. How then do they treat one of their own male players after his female partner is arrested for domestic violence after she instigated a physical altercation? Spoiler alert: it really sucks...again.
Immediately, we see that the impassioned defenders of accused rights only applies when a male NHL player is the accused. I don’t know what happened that night and I won’t delve into responsibility nor discuss the incident itself. What I do want to point out, is the problematic and downright hypocritical nature of how hockey media and culture treats gender-based violence. While the narrative in Patrick Kane’s case was a predatory, “loose,” gold-digger that was just trying to ruin a good man because she’s greedy, Galchenyuk’s girlfriend, who is the accused just as Kane was, Chanel Leszczynski is a jealous, violent, crazy party girl that attacked her boyfriend, a Habs player. It gets even worse. Many news sites simply posted a bunch of happy pictures of Galchenyuk and Leszcynski from her Instagram trying to show a stable, loving couple or just used as many bikini pictures as they could find of her– and it was a LOT. From there, it was suggested that another Habs player was present: Devante Smith-Pelly. Despite clear evidence that there were many other people there and that the altercation escalated enough that multiple people called emergency services, many media outlets made fun of Galchenyuk and suggested that he was cheating on his girlfriend with Smith-Pelly and that that was the cause of the fight. What followed were jokes and jabs at Galchenyuk’s masculinity. He was mocked as weak and the blame for the abuse was put on his shoulders: apparently he was somehow too weak and feminine and that made him responsible. In fact he apologized to his teammates, coaches, the media and the city of Montreal for the “distraction” he caused his already struggling team. His head coach, Michel Therrien, faulted Galchenyuk and then suggested Galchenyuk’s youth, immaturity and partying ways were the root cause of this “distraction” on ice. Never mind that this same head coach has now also tried to shift blame from his awful coaching to star goalie Carey Price’s injury and then apparently now it’s the “selfish” play of his team captain, star defender and leading scorer because that player made one mistake one game. To address the fact that Galchenyuk was a victim of abuse by his partner, Therrien said “it’s a mistake, he’ll learn.” So basically, in the NHL, as long as you score a bunch of goals or play well on ice and manage the distractions, you can be accused of rape, assault or abuse and everyone will immediately back you up. Perpetrators are cool and okay, we praise them and reward them in the NHL. But victims are forced to apologize and account for the crimes committed against them.
Page 19
More than the game: the 2009 Saints and hope Winnie Yeates
Assistant Sports Editor
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ope is inevitable in sports. What makes hope in sports unique is that it is often directly transferred from the fans to the athletes and then onto the team. This hope can blanket entire cities, or even countries. Consider the popularity of World Cup soccer or American football. Athletes can embody the hope of many and transform this hope into something much larger; they are able transcend their mere human status and become immortalized as heroes. It seems to me that people often live their hopes (and personal troubles) through athletes or sports teams. We humans tend to dream big through sports and see athletes as our warriors. We expect them to push the boundaries of their physical and mental strength, as well as the human spirit on our behalf, and we are uplifted when they do so. I was born and raised in New Orleans, La. Trust me when I say, there are few cities with more pride than New Orleans. I have experienced firsthand the role that sports can play in uplifting a group; for instance, when the New Orleans Saints won the Super Bowl in 2009. In my opinion, it’s a great example of the effect that sports can have on the human spirit and how much faith and hope sports can instill among people and, in the case of the Saints, how successfully sports can bring a city together. The Saint’s Super Bowl victory was only four short years after Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the city. Before 2009, the Saints were a terrible football team, not to trash my own team, but it’s the truth. The franchise began in 1969 and the team had disappointed fans for years. In 2006, the year following Katrina, the Saints, like the city of New Orleans, were a mess. A total mess. Yet, the fans kept coming to games and supporting a team that always came up short. The team was coming off the 3-13 debacle loss from the previous season which was unfortunately spent in San Antonio where they were relocated due to the storm. That year, the franchise fired head coach Jim Haslett and hired Sean Payton as head coach to take his place. The team also signed Drew Brees as quarterback. Brees was still recovering from major shoulder surgery and there was no assurance of his successful recovery from such surgery. Meanwhile, Commissioner Paul Tagliabue was working with the Saints’ owners to do everything imaginable to keep the franchise in New Orleans. If the Saints had left town and relocated to San Antonio during this difficult hurricane-recovery period, the city and all its sports’ fans would have suffered yet another blow. A lot was happening for a franchise that had never ac-
complished much. Despite all the team’s turmoil, the City of New Orleans still harbored hope of a one day–soon to come–victory. In 2009, the city of New Orleans remained on a very slow road to recovery. Yet for some inexplicable reason, just about every New Orleanian seemed to pin their hopes on the Saints that year. Psychologically, the Saints meant everything to the city. It was as if we believed that the Saints’ success was directly correlated to our recovery. At the very least, they served as a good distraction from reality. When they started having success early on in their season, the city’s “hope antennae” perked up to an all-time high. The Saints were the talked-about sensation in the city. When their success continued, it was as if a city meeting or poll had been held that unanimously voted the Saints as the gauge of the city’s ability to bounce back. It was in many ways the miracle that we needed to forge ahead with our rebuilding efforts. They became our mascot. My high school changed our class bell chime to the Saints anthem. Every New Orleanian was constantly decked out in black and gold. A Saints’ jersey was a “must” wardrobe item and hot commodity. On game days the city essentially shut down. And when the Saints secured the Super Bowl victory, the city went insane! People immediately poured into the streets that night and began to celebrate together. New Orleans threw its own separate Mardi Gras Parade for the Saints. It was quite fitting. People made a shrine outside of the Saints quarterback Drew Brees’s home. The iron fence in front of his house was completely covered with cards, children’s drawings, letters, stuffed animals, photographs and other things. It was truly something. My grandmother, an elderly woman in her 90’s, was overjoyed when she was able to try on a Saints Super Bowl ring and actually hold the trophy (with a great deal of assistance). To my knowledge, my grandmother had never been to a Saints game or the Dome, but she too was totally wrapped up and carried away in the Saints fever. The victory of the Saints at the 2009 Super Bowl was one that was bound to happen eventually– the fans “hoped” it into being. They were relentless and never gave up. The fans were as demanding of themselves in this belief of victory as the fans are demanding of the athletes to push their limits of physical achievement. The victory was wonderful too because it truly helped propel New Orleans into the full recovery mode after Hurricane Katrina. Once the impossible–a Super Bowl victory–was achieved by the Saints, all of the fans knew without a doubt that recovery was not only possible, but within our grasp.
Hushed allegations challenge Manning’s heroic legacy Robin Drummond Guest Columnist
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hen the Denver Broncos defeated the Carolina Panthers 24-10 in Super Bowl 50 on Feb. 7, Denver quarterback Peyton Manning completely solidified his place in history as one of the greatest to ever play the game. While he has not officially announced his retirement yet, one can assume that Manning, now 39, will finally decide to call it a career. When he does, the pages of the NFL record books will be littered with his name. Off the field, Manning has been the poster boy for the NFL since he was drafted number one overall in 1998. His reputation has been nothing short of exceptional. Carmen Tegano, associate athletic director at Tennessee (Manning’s alma mater) once described him as having “the brain of a lawyer, heart of a warrior and the soul of a champion.” Throughout his professional career he is renowned for being the ultimate professional. He is well spoken, polite, funny and charitable. He was even awarded the Walter Payton Man of the Year trophy for his efforts off the field in 2006. In a league where September of 2015 was the first month in six years an NFL player had not been arrested and other star quarterbacks are caught cheating, Manning was undeniably the golden boy. However, shortly after Denver’s Super Bowl victory, something emerged that could permanently dirty Manning’s spotless reputation. After the Super Bowl, outspoken African-American Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton received backlash from all over the
country after he walked out of his press conference. “Sore loser,” “disrespectful” and “arrogant” were only a few of many unfavorable terms used to describe Newton’s actions. New York Daily News writer Shaun King came to the aid of the quarterback, posting a picture to his Facebook of Newton embracing and congratulating Manning once the game had finished. One of the comments posted on the photo simply read, “Peyton sexually assaulted a girl in college.” The comment was outlandish enough to inspire King to Google “Peyton Manning sexual assault University of Tennessee.” Upon doing so, he discovered two USA Today articles published 13 years ago about an incident involving an athletic trainer at the school. Later that day, King published a piece discussing the racial double standards in the media between Newton and Manning, and briefly mentioned the sexual assault case, pointing out that the allegations against Manning had been completely forgotten. 24 hours after the article hit the stands, King was sent a 74-page legal document entitled “Facts of the Case” describing an incident that took place in 1996, in a training room at the University of Tennessee. The woman that Manning assaulted was Jamie Naughright, director of health and wellness for the men’s athletic program at the University of Tennessee. She earned her BA from the university in 1991, and stayed on to complete her doctorate there a few years later. She dedicated her life to athletics at the University, and was extremely well
respected by her colleagues, students and athletes for doing so. Or at least by most of them. On Feb. 29, 1996, Naughright was examining star sophomore quarterback Peyton Manning’s foot for a stress fracture on a training table. As she knelt down to inspect his foot, which was dangling off the table, Manning allegedly proceeded to expose himself indecently and sexually assault her. Naughright then says she pushed Manning away and went to report the incident. When Naughright’s boss, associate trainer Mike Rollo (who was accused of verbally assaulting Naughright when she interned for the department from 1989-1992) learned of the complaint, he made up a story claiming Manning was “mooning” a teammate, Malcolm Saxon, and Naughright happened to get in the way. Saxon testified that the story was completely fictitious, and lost his eligibility to play as a result. Naughright parted ways with the University of Tennessee as part of a settlement the two parties worked out, in addition to signing a confidentiality agreement stating that neither her nor Manning would discuss the incident publicly. However, the agreement was violated in 2001 when Manning, now a star NFL quarterback, decided to discuss Naughright in a book he cowrote with his father called “The Mannings.” Naughright, who became the head trainer for the USA men’s and women’s track and field teams before becoming the esteemed director of the Athletic Education Training Program at Florida Southern University, was blasted by Manning in
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
his account—enough to cause her to be fired by the University. This time Naughright didn’t sit quietly. She filed a defamation suit against the Mannings and their publisher. When Manning’s lawyer requested for the case to be dismissed, Judge Harvey Kornstein, who oversaw the case, was disgusted, and claimed there was sufficient evidence to prove that Manning lied about incidents with Naughright in his book. After a lengthy trial in which a number of Manning’s teammates and other members of the University of Tennessee’s athletic program were interviewed, it was concluded that everything Manning said in his book about Naughright had been completely fictitious. In 2003, the University of Tennessee settled with Naughright for a reported $300,000. So where does this leave Peyton Manning? His career is surely over and a shocking story about an incident that was killed and buried with fear and lies nearly two decades ago has been dug up and brought back to life; an incident that shines a new, grim light on one of the most respected figures in the history of American sports. How should he be remembered? As the model for what every professional athlete should strive to be both on and off the field, or as the teenager who assaulted an athletic trainer and did everything he could to cover it up? Individuals are going to have to decide for themselves, but something tells me throwing for 55 touchdowns in 2013 will outweigh anything some athletic trainer has to say about a “prank” he played in college.
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Page 20
February 25, 2016
Men’s fencing champions keep opponents ‘en garde’ Annie Hsu
Guest Reporter
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mance, although he did not make it to the final pool, he showed the grit and determination of a champion and only lost two bouts throughout the whole day.” Racek also added, “[I] seriously could not have hoped for a better season and experience with this team. I am euphoric to know that I am fortunate enough to have two more seasons with the team. It’s an adventure that I am never going to forget and something that I will carry with me for the rest of my days.” Although Vassar was wildly successful it did not mean that they didn’t have to fight for their wins. Racek said, “It varied from squad to squad but overall Brandeis and Boston College were probably the toughest matches for the team. Both of those teams are well rounded and are very balanced as far as skill and depth.” The
courtesy of Vassar Athletics
! 2! 3! BREW-TANG CLAN AIN’T NOTHING TO FENCE WITH! GO VC!” Sophomore Tom Racek said, “We always start off a meet with this chant.” And truly the Vassar fencing team is a very formidable opponent. This past Saturday, Feb. 20, the Vassar’s men’s and women’s fencing teams went to Wellesley, Massachusetts to compete in the NEIFC Championships. Vassar was very successful with the men’s team tying for the Vitaly Cup, in other words they won the Championships, and the women’s team placing fifth of 13th with several players earning individual honors. Like Coach Bruce Gillman said, “Very good day for VC Fencing.” Racek said, “There is no such thing as a selfmade team or individual, as a team we have had so much support since the beginning of the season which has helped to make this moment. The trophy, the victories and the title is for those who supported us along the way.” Coach Gillman has been the team’s head coach for the past 10 years. He has led the men’s fencing team to seven straight double-digit win seasons, along with five winning campaigns. He brings a lot of experience and dedication to the team, and the players notice and appreciate him for that. “During the awards ceremony we all stormed the area and gave our coach (who was presenting the awards) a hug. It’s without a doubt that we all put in copious amounts of time and energy behind our goal of winning the Championships, but is also crucial to recognize that we were only able to do so because of the equal–if not more–effort put in by our coaches, especially Coach Gillman,” says Racek. Many players agree that this has been a strong team for Vassar throughout the year. Senior Justin Riley said, “This has been a record breaking year as far as overall team wins are concerned. Standout performances for this
tournament include Tom Racek who placed second overall in men’s foil. Biggest standout would be the men’s epee team (George Whiteside, Jonathan Alperstein and Ry Farley) who took first, second and third respectively. My experience this year has been very fun. The team worked well together all season, and I’m very proud to have been a part of this team for the past four years.” Speaking on behalf of the men’s team, Racek laid out the day, “Most of the standout performances stemmed from the epee squad...who also captured the title for best squad as they went 27-3 on the day. Saber also had a strong performance as captain Elam Coalson finished seventh on the day. I personally finished second for foil in the overall tournament. Michael Skolnick for foil also had a very strong perfor-
The men’s fencing team enjoyed a successful day at the New England Intercollegiate Fencing Championships this past Saturday. The epee squad went 27-3, capturing the title for best squad.
Vitale Cup was a three-way tie between Vassar, Brandeis and MIT. As for the women, they finished fifth out of 13 teams in the three-weapon score. They were edged out by Boston University, MIT, Brandeis and Tufts, yet finished with a +115 touche differential. Junior Olivia Weiss said, “This season has been great: the freshmen this year are all good additions to the team and the upperclassmen are all still improving and working to make this our best season yet. The women’s team as a whole did well, and we ended the day with two sixth place finishes—Kirsten Denman (foil) and Rose Hulsey-Vincent (epee)—and two seventh place finishes–Annie Innes-Gold (sabre) and myself (epee).” Innes-Gold, a sophomore, competed against Katherine Mentzer in direct elimination and lost a tight 15-12 bout. She fought tough throughout the day and was extremely close to finishing higher. Weiss fell to second-seeded Mounica Paturu 15-11 in an equally close match. The same can be said for Hulsey-Vincent who was edged in an even closer match 15-14 by Anna Gooch. Denman, also a sophomore, had a dominant showing in the opening round. In the “A” pool, she went 9-2, yet hit a wall against MIT’s Jessica Li. Freshman Mirit Rutishauser also had a strong showing as she went 6-5 in the “B” pool. Overall, a very strong performance from both the male and female Brewers. “There has been a steady progression for the team since the beginning of the year till now. We are all so much more skilled, not only as athletes but also as individuals and people. For a team to win is impressive, but to also have its athletes bloom into leaders...that’s where the value is,” said Racek. Hoping to continue this momentum and expand on the great season, the Brewers will head to the US Collegiate Squad Championships next Sunday morning at 9 a.m. at Princeton University.
Men’s basketball reaches Liberty League semifinals Hanna McGuire Guest Reporter
Men’s Volleyball
Men’s Tennis
Despite putting up a strong fight, the Vassar men’s tennis team fell 6-3 against reigning Liberty League champions No. 24 Skidmore College on Saturday. Vassar’s number one doubles pair, senior Daniel Cooper and freshman Nick Zuczek fell 8-4, while number three doubles pair, junior Nick Litsky and sophomore Gray Thurstone lost 8-3. Second doubles team, senior Evan Udine and junior Alexander Luckmann had the closest contest, leading Skidmore’s Jonah Epstein and Kit Sanderson 5-4 until getting broken and ultimately falling 8-6. At number two singles, Cooper set the tone for the men with a quick win of 6-3, 6-2. Junior Juan Felipe Laso earned another win for Vassar at four, 4-6, 6-3 and 10-8 in the tiebreaker. Freshman Nick Lee won the last match of the day at position six, besting Ted Berkowitz 1-6, 7-6 (75) and 11-9 in the tiebreaker. Litsky had arguably
Women’s Tennis
The Vassar College women’s tennis team traveled to Allentown, Pennsylvania on Saturday to take on Muhlenberg College. The Brewers had an easy 9-0 victory against the Mules, moving to 3-1 overall. Senior captains Kelsey Van Noy and Lauren Stauffer set the tone for the Brewers winning 8-1 at number two doubles. Number three pair freshman Morgane Flournoy and sophomore Morgan Fitzgerald followed, winning 8-2. Juniors Shayna Becker and Hanna McGuire swept the doubles for Vassar at one, winning 8-1. The women’s strong play carried over in singles as Flournoy won 6-3, 6-1 at three. Becker clenched the match with a double bagel at four. Sophomore Kate Christensen had a 7-5, 6-4 win at one while sophomore Courtney Geiss finished with the same score at two. Junior Connie Yoo collected the team’s second double bagel at the sixth spot while sophomore Dasha Ivenitsky closed out the match against Levenson 6-2, 6-2 at five. The Brewers travel to face two Liberty League competitors this weekend, Rochester Institute of Technology on Feb. 27 and St. Lawrence University on Feb. 28. Women’s Basketball
In the final game of the season on Sunday, the Vassar women’s basketball team defeated Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 88-74. With this win, the team boasts the second-most scored points in program history and finishes the season 10-15 overall and 7-9 in Liberty League play. The Red Hawks started the game in control, leading the Brewers by seven at halftime. However, the tables turned in the third quarter when Vassar scored 15 of the final 19 points of the quarter. Sophomore Ariella Rosenthal’s jumper tied the score at 52 and she later gave the Brewers the lead after another two-point conversion. Vassar continued to dom-
courtesy of Vassar Athletics
The Vassar men’s volleyball team improved its record to 11-2 on Saturday after defeating two United Volleyball Conference teams, host Penn State-Behrend and Bard College. The squad, now ranked No. 10 in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association Poll, defeated the Lions 2513, 25-16, 25-27 and 25-23 before besting the Raptors 25-12, 25-12 and 25-16. Despite dropping the third set, Vassar generally held the upper hand throughout the first match. The Brewers sped through the first two sets, leading the Lions by as many as nine points and accomplishing a total of 27 digs, seven of which came from sophomore middle Matthew Knigge. Behrend came alive in the third, fighting off two match points and ultimately taking the set as Vassar put up its lowest side out rate of the match at 59 percent. Kriz finished of the close fourth to earn a team-best of 15 kills and push the Brewers to 1-1 in the UVC. In its second match, Vassar had a more comfortable victory against Bard College, only allowing 13 kills from the Raptors. The men travel to New York City on Feb. 23 to take on the always-challenging Violets of New York University at 7:30 p.m. for another conference matchup.
the most intense match of the day at one singles. The two battled hard in the first, with Litsky prevailing 7-5. However, he then fell in a third set super breaker 14-12. The loss puts the Brewers at 3-3 overall and 0-1 in conference play. Vassar travels to Rochester, New York to take on the University of Rochester on Feb. 27 and Rochester Institute of Technology on Feb. 28.
Despite their best efforts, the men’s basketball team fell to RPI 71-63 this past Sunday. Luckily the team had already secured its spot in the Liberty League Championships. inate in the fourth quarter, taking at eleven-point lead with roughly one and a half minutes remaining. Unable to answer, the Brewers captured the win. Rosenthal shot a career-high 30 points while senior Caitlin Drakeley contributed 16 points and eight rebounds. Senior Rose Serafini also played a large role in the victory with 13 points, eight rebounds, three blocks and two steals. The squad ended its season seventh in the Liberty League and therefore did not qualify for the Liberty League Championships. Men’s Basketball
The Brewers traveled to Troy, N.Y. this past Sunday to take on Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for their final game of the season. Although hard-fought, the men could not gain enough momentum to defeat the Red Hawks, falling 71-63. Vassar stayed in close proximity to RPI throughout the first half and finally took a three-point lead with four and a half minutes to go. The two
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teams continued to trade off the lead for the remainder of the half, with Vassar edging out one point ahead 35-34 at the buzzer. The Brewers and Red Hawks continued to evenly battle for the majority of the second half. At about the six-minute mark however, RPI started to dominate, increasing their lead to seven, then ten points. Vassar could not match RPI’s accelerated play, ultimately losing by an eight-point margin. Browne carried the Brewers with 22 points while senior captain Erikson Wasyl and junior Mickey Adams both contributed 11 points. The men, now 12-13 overall and 8-8 in conference play, were tied with Rochester Institute of Technology for the fourth and final spot in the Liberty League Championships. The Tigers lost to Union College in their final contest on Sunday as well, which actually pushed the Brewers ahead to earn the fourth spot for championship play. Vassar will face Skidmore College in the Liberty League semifinals on Feb. 24.