The Miscellany News
Volume CXLVIII | Issue 18
April 14, 2016
Since 1866 | miscellanynews.org
Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY
Lamothe elected VSA President ProSky reaches out to college graduates O Eilis Donohue News Editor
n May 1, the current VSA council will hand over the reins to a new executive board, the members of which were revealed on April 7. Not only are the individuals in each position changing, some of the roles themselves are changing, thanks to the extensive restructuring of the VSA accomplished this past semester. The position of the President, however, will remain largely the
same. Calvin Lamothe ’17 has been involved with the VSA since his freshman year, but this coming year he is taking on the responsibility of heading the student government body. He remarked, “[The VSA] has been such a big part of my life and I care about it a lot, and I definitely wanted to make sure that someone who has a lot of passion and a lot of experience was running it, especially given the big transition that we have coming up with the new structure.”
The most significant change to the structure of the VSA has been the replacement of the council setup with a senate system, in which each class will have an equal number of representatives. Chair of Organizations Matthew Kolbert ’17 remarked, “I love the idea of a senate. It’s much more effective having a set amount of leaders from each class. I think that system works really well, as opposed to house presidents being on the VSA Senate.” See VSA on page 14
Sam Pianello/The Miscellany News
Calvin Lamothe ’17 was elected VSA President on April 7 by the student body. Lamothe will lead the VSA next year with a brand new executive board, consisting of six new positions, as they implement a new restructuring protocol.
Stoddard Meigs Guest Reporter
“I
went through college focused on international law and did a bunch of internships. I had crises of faith about what I believed in ... I didn’t have answers and was worried I would close doors if I accepted a full-time job in a field that wasn’t for me,” Senior Manager of Community Growth at Venture for America Laila Selim said, voicing a very familiar concern. As seniors look to graduation and beyond, they find themselves looking in that place,
so frequently discussed in tones of distaste that it makes this paragraph almost bitter to mention it, the job market. Seniors will ostensibly have to take that first step into the real world (read: not a cloistered college campus) and, as they say, first impressions are the most important. Well, maybe that depends on the direction of the path you end up on. “You never actually close doors. That’s the cool thing about how careers have changed in our lifetime as opposed to our parents,” said Selim, See PROSKY on page 14
Wambere leads talks of LBGTQ activism Kaitlynn Vo Reporter
“C
ourage, then, my countrymen, our contest is not only whether we ourselves shall be free, but whether there shall be left to mankind an asylum on earth for civil and religious liberty.” When Samuel Adams first uttered these words before the State House of Pennsylvania in 1776, the fundamental principles of independence and equality in treatment were no doubt preeminent in his mind.
Skip ahead more than two-anda-quarter centuries later, and this appeal to the rudimentary right of individuals to access a freedom of expression and civil liberty is still being echoed. John Wambere familiarly leads the charge to secure civil liberty and rights for an oppressed people. Currently based in Boston, John Wambere is no stranger to controversy as one of the key leaders of the gay rights movement in Uganda. See WAMBERE on page 14
Campus showdown Povich speaks on glass ceilings pits old vs. new W Elena Schultz Reporter
Olivia O’Loughlin Guest Reporter
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Inside this issue
4
NEWS
New co-op focuses on VC sustainability
14 ARTS
hile it comes as no surprise that Vassar women have historically been on the forefront of the feminist movement, some have done so in particularly distinct ways. Lynn Povich ’65 is one of these women. She made waves as she and a group of women at Newsweek filed the first ever female class action lawsuit for sex discrimination in the workplace. Povich will recount her role in feminism and the movement for workplace equality in her lecture, “Breaking the Glass Ceiling at Newsweek: A Vassar Grad’s Tale of Second Wave Feminism.” This event will be held on Thursday, April 14, at 5:30 p.m. in Rockefeller Hall, room 300, and will be free and open to the public. Povich attended college at a time when women were limited to pursuing an “M-R-S” degree. A career— let alone one in a male-dominated field—was not initially part of Povich’s post-graduation plans. “What I’m going to say in my talk is that as much as we were told by our families or by our teachers that we were very bright kids and we were accomplished, the word career was rarely mentioned,” Povich recalled. “It was not a period of time where women were encouraged to have careers, even though Vassar was a place where you got an excellent education, as good as anywhere else in the See POVICH on page 14
Purgatory comes to Vassar in the form of upcoming play
courtesy of Makers
his past Wednesday was the day that everyone had been awaiting...the student-faculty basketball game. The student team consists of 28 promising Vassar students, while the “Old School” team rosters 13 faculty and administration. For six years, the students and faculty have battled it out on the court in close competition. Both teams have recruited the strongest and toughest Brewers and have trained extensively for this day. In history, the match-ups have been neck-and-neck with the record holding at 4–2 in favor of the student team. When the tradition began in 2010, the faculty bested the students with a 66-65 victory. The students’ buzzer beater in the second half was not enough as the faculty took the game. Then in 2011, the students returned with vengeance and defeated the faculty in overtime. Regulation play ended with a 36-36 tie, but the students quickly dominated the three-minute overtime and won the game 49-41. In 2012, the students won again, but were then defeated by the “Old School” in 2013, when the faculty came back prepared and ready to compete. In 2014 and 2015, the students again proved dominance to hold four wins in this school tradi-
tion. This year, the Old School team looks to improve its record by slaying the court. Each year, crowds of students, faculty, administration and alumni gather into the Athletic Fitness center for this memorable event. The gym has never failed to have an energetic atmosphere and it proves to be a night filled with Brewer pride. In addition to being a show of athletic prowess, the game has achieved other goals of the Vassar community. Since the onset of this tradition, the game has served as a fundraiser for financial aid, scholarships and Student Gifts. In 2010, the ticket sale proceeds went into the Senior Class Gift of an endowed scholarship fund tied to financial aid. With the hard work of the students and the graciousness of alumni, the money earned in 2010 totaled to $68,070. Then in 2014, the proceeds earned from the $5 ticket scales contributed greatly to the Student Gift for the Internship Grant Fund. Another positive aspect of this Vassar custom is the enormous crowds and pride generated for this event. Former college historian Betty Daniels reported that the audience of nearly 2,000 people in 2010 made the student-faculty game the most attended sports event in all Vassar history. Since 2010, the game has drawn See RIVALRY on page 14
Lynn Povich ‘65 became the first female Senior Editor of Newsweek after being part of a landmark class action suit. She is set to discuss her career in journalism.
18
Women’s tennis continues SPORTS undefeated streak
The Miscellany News
Page 2
April 14, 2016
Attention Students!
The following Executive Staff positions of The Miscellany News are now open for the Fall 2016 semester. Applications must be submitted by midnight on April 17 to misc@vassar.edu.
Editor-in-Chief
Contributing Editor
The Editor-in-Chief is ultimately responsible for the paper’s content... including editorial content, production, business management and layout. The EIC represents The Miscellany News to the VSA Council, the Senior Officers of the College, the Vassar community and other organizations.
The Contributing Editor shall actively contribute to a specified aspect of the newspaper, and will help to train new reporters and editors, along with an individual project. The responsibilities of this position will vary according to the needs of the paper and the individuals filling the position.
Senior Editor The Senior Editor aids the EIC in all aspects of weekly production. The Senior Editor will be responsible for proofreading all sections for grammar, clarity and design aspects. If another editor is absent, the Senior Editor will assume the responsibilities of that position until it is filled.
Executive staff positions are open to students who have served on the Editorial Board of The Miscellany News. The Miscellany News 14
April
Thursday
Delete Blood Cancer Donor Drive 12:00pm | CCMPR | Joss
Late Night at the Loeb 5:00pm | Loeb | Art
Lecture: Barbara Mann Fishman
Weekender_ 15
April
Friday
SEASA Night Life
5:00pm | UpC | SEASA
Kenneth Tam: Strangers at Play 6:00pm | CDF 109 | Art Dept.
Limbo
5;00pm | Taylor 203 | JWST Dept.
7:00pm | Sanders Aud. | Philalatheis
Lecture: Lynn Povich ’65
Post-Mod Fest
5:30pm | Rocky 300 | OAAD
8:00pm | Mug | Crafts Not Bombs
Yogurt
Yogurt
Lecture : Avery Gordon
Limbo
7:00pm | Orchard | Philalatheis
7:30pm | Taylor 203 | AMST Dept.
Performance: Marco Donnaruma 8:00m | Chapel | CAAD
Hystrion Part One: The Ink Ossuary 9:00pm | Shiva | Unbound
8:00pm | Orchard | Philalatheis 7:00pm | Sanders Aud. | Philalatheis
Hystrion Part One: The Ink Ossuary 8:30pm | Shiva | Unbound
Concert: Home Brewed and Night Owls 9:00pm | Rocky 200 | A Capella
Concert: Moon Hooch
9:30pm | Villard Room | ViCE
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April
Saturday
Tennis (W) vs. MIT
12:00pm | Joss Tennis Courts | Athletics
17 April
Baseball (M) vs. Baruch College
1:00pm | Prentiss Field | Athletics
Sophomore Spectacular
Venti
Baseball (M) vs. Stevens Institute of Technology
VSA Council
12:00pm | Res. Quad | Class of 2018
1:00pm | Prentiss Field | Athletics
GLOW
Sunday
3:00pm | Skinner Recital Hall | Music
7:00pm | NE 206 | VSA
Paper Critique
9:00pm | Rose Parlor | The Misc
6:00pm | TH Circle | ViCE
Limbo
7:00pm | Sanders Aud. | Philalatheis
Indecent Exposure
8:00pm | Taylor 203 | Indecent Exposure
Editors-in-Chief Palak Patel Noble Ingram
Senior Editors Anika Lanser Rhys Johnson
News Eilis Donohue Opinions Nick Barone Emma Jones Humor & Satire Zander Bashaw Arts Connor McIlwain Sports Zach Rippe Photography Sam Pianello Design Sarah Dolan Online Kelsey Quinn Copy Jackson Ingram
Crossword Editors Alycia Beattie York Chen Collin KnoppSchwyn Assistant Features Julia Cunningham Alan Hagins Assistant Arts Matt Stein 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 Jeremy Middleman Sieu Nguyen Sabrina Oh Elena Schultz Columnists Clark Xu Jimmy Christon Jillian Elkin Saachi Jain Evelyn Frick Steven Park Penina Remler Josh Sherman Patrick Tanella Jesse Horowitz Photographers Alec Ferretti Ashley Pecorelli Design Christa Haryanto Klara Kaufman Scarlett Neuberger Samana Shrestha Copy Gabriela Calderon Sophie Deixel Noah Purdy Sophie Slater Laila Volpe Rebecca Weir Laura Wigginton
Yogurt
8:00pm | Orchard | Philalatheis
Spring Fire Show
8:00pm | Res. Quad | Barefoot Monkeys
Hystrion Part One: The Ink Ossuary 8:30pm | Shiva | Unbound
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
CORRECTION POLICY The Miscellany News will only corrections for any misquotes, resentations or factual errors for ticle within the semester it is
accept misrepan arprinted.
April 14, 2016
NEWS
Page 3
VC Refugee Solidarity coordinates succession of events Shelia Hu
Guest Reporter
O
ver the last few months Vassar College Refugee Solidarity has been formulating a response to the largest refugee crisis since the Second World War. From April 10 to 21, VC Solidarity will be organizing a series of events to raise awareness about challenges faced by refugees in the past and present. VC Solidarity is composed of a 10-person Student Leadership Council and a three-person faculty advising group led by Chair of the History Department Maria Höhn. According to their mission statement, this student-led organization hopes to be a useful part of the solution to the global refugee crisis. Their statement reads, “We cannot solve this crisis, but can be part of the solution by doing what we do best, namely gathering, analyzing, disseminating knowledge, and innovating new models for global and transnational educational solidarity” (Vassar College Refugee Solidarity). Co-Founder and Student Leader of VC Sol-
idarity Anish Kanoria ’18 explained that he wanted to mobilize others to act after realizing the lack of an organized initiative on campus. He wrote in an emailed statement, “[Höhn and I] met over October break and decided that Vassar had to do something. Everything just took off from there. Dorm panels, countless emails and an encouraging response from the administration and students gave us the impetus we needed. Needless to say, it’s been a demanding journey and there’s much more to do, but it is profoundly rewarding to see so much happen within a semester.” Höhn, one of the faculty advisors of the organization, agreed that this initiative begun by a group of passionate students has come to fruition in this demonstration of solidarity. “Refugee Week came together rather organically,” she attested. “VC Refugee Solidarity has been working since last fall to mobilize students, and the history majors’ committee wanted to contribute to that effort.” Since the fall, the organization has spearheaded several campus
Sam Pianello/The Miscellany News
Vassar College Refugee Solidarity is hosting a series of events from April 10 to 21. One such event is the display of photos in The Old Bookstore depicting the hardships experienced by refugees globally.
initiatives, including creating the Refugee Solidarity Leadership Team, joining the Scholars at Risk network and offering an International Studies six-week course on the refugee crisis called “The 21st Century Worldwide Refugee Crisis,” organized by Höhn and featuring a rotation of lecturers. VC Solidarity and the History Majors Committee are now cooperating to bring a variety of engaging programming to campus, including lectures, workshops and exhibitions, over the course of this week. Several guest speakers will lend their expertise as writers and activists working with refugees. Vassar’s own History Majors Committee will present an interactive workshop titled “Displaced Moments: Snapshots of Refugee History,” which will cover activism and refugee movements in the past century. A poster exhibition featuring student research from the IS class will be on view in the Old Bookstore. Website editor Sophie Slater ’18 explained that she hopes this programming will help stimulate conversation among students. She wrote in an emailed statement, “Through Refugee Week, we hope to spark an informed discussion about today’s unprecedented refugee crisis, the role that colleges such as Vassar can play in this crisis, as well as the role of media in the framing of historical events.” The group also realizes the limitations of their work. Slater stated, “We would also like to acknowledge that the research presented here is extremely Eurocentric and is by no means a holistic representation of worldwide population movements and displacements since the beginning of the 20th century, and this is important to keep in mind when viewing the images featured in our exhibition.” History Department Intern and head of the History Majors Committee Hannah Reynolds ’16 spoke about her role in planning the upcoming events. “The History Majors Committee always puts on events, often just for majors but sometimes all-school movie screenings, etc., but this year we really wanted to do something that we felt was really meaningful,” she noted. “We are all total history nerds and believe in the value of knowing and reflecting upon the past in order to understand current events
and make meaningful change, and hoped that by partnering with VC Refugee Solidarity we could do that.” Some Vassar students have also taken the initiative to lead projects related to these topics outside of the classroom. Student Leader of VC Solidarity Elise Shea ’19 has been working with Vassar graduate Jim Leu ’94 on creating a partnership with italki, an online program that Leu founded which connects native speakers and language learners via Skype. Shea explained her inspiration for the project and goals for its implementation. She wrote in an emailed statement, “My interest in the refugee crisis started about a year ago as I began to follow the New York Times’s reports on the crises in Southeast Asia and in Syria.” After conversing with Shea, Leu agreed to create a platform on his network specifically for Vassar students to connect with refugees at no cost to the refugee students. Shea clarified, “ANY Vassar student could schedule a session with a refugee via italki with the idea of learning more about each other and having an informal dialogue. It is my hope that this would develop into a ‘Skype pen-pal program’ in which the student and the refugee regularly connect.” Shea continued,“I strongly believe that it is crucial to form transnational relationships in order to break down unconscious or conscious hostilities between peoples. By forming these connections, I hope that people will recognize our shared humanity.” According to Kanoria, Refugee Week is a manifestation of Vassar’s responsibility to act. He added, “It is also important to note that we are not trying to be ‘knights in shining armor’ and ‘come to the rescue’ of those who are displaced. This initiative is meant to use our comparative advantage as an institution of higher learning to count Vassar among those willing to help.” VC Solidarity members hope that this week will not be the end of the discussion about displacement, but will encourage further exploration of global issues. “We cannot and must not choose to turn a blind eye,” asserted Kanoria. “By immersing ourselves in these global phenomenons, we emerge stronger and hopefully after having made a small difference.”
Workshop series to focus on diversity and oppression Clark Xu
S
Reporter
panning April 7 through 25, the Office of Campus Life and Diversity invited several experts to hold a workshop series on intersectional antisemitism, intersectional racism and Islamophobia. The series was designed to directly engage up to 75 students in discussions about the relationships between those three forms of oppression and the broader sociocultural meanings of those interactions. These workshops are especially relevant given recent campus climate conditions, epitomized in the controversy surrounding BDS. Director of Religious and Spiritual Life Samuel Speers explained, “The key feature of these workshops on racism, antisemitism and Islamophobia is that they are designed intersectionally—meaning that they deal with multiple forms of oppression together, so that we see the connections between these three different forms of oppression being considered. Each of the workshop leaders is committed to presenting their session in relation to the other two sessions.” Workshop leaders Talia Cooper and Sonia Alexander presented the session on intersectional antisemitism, the first event in the series. Cooper reflected, “I think we really got the message that students did not feel that they were being heard around a lot of topics that were affecting their lives and that students, when they talk about it, want to be supported by the Administration. It sounds like continuing to have some of these conversations will be really great for the campus.” The workshop series encourages student-faculty interaction by giving them a common language for engaging in conversation about these three topics. Speers elaborated, “The model for each of these workshops is to have both a session for students and a session for faculty and administrators. So we think this
relatively small program can have a significant impact, given the extensive networks with which each participant is connected. It’s a pilot initiative for programming that we hope to develop more fully in the future.” Serving as an introduction to discourses about power, the session outlined the theoretical apparatus for this line of thought. Alexander explained, “The main point of the workshop is to take a look at antisemitism from an intersectional analysis, so looking at how antisemitism operates along the four I’s of oppression: Institutional, Ideological, Interpersonal and Internalized, which is a model we apply to any form of oppression.” At this level of abstraction, the discourse about power applies equally well to racism, antisemitism and Islamophobia. Cooper noted, “Our workshops are an introduction to how power works, how racism works, how privilege works, getting to understand some of the basics, how these factors function in our own lives and on our own bodies.” Working from the analogy of a multidimensional Venn diagram, this line of thought conceptualizes each factor of power as a sphere that overlaps with every other factor of power. The individual sits at the locus of the multidimensional Venn diagram, so that the point of intersectionality defines the individual’s identity. These workshops are intended to supplement ongoing campus efforts to combat identity discrimination on multiple fronts. Existing resources try to take into account the inherent interconnectedness of students’ different identities and the oppression they face because of those identities. Associate Dean of the College Edward Pittman wrote in an emailed statement, “The main offices of Campus Life (ALANA, International Services, Religious and Spiritual Life, Women’s Center, LGBTQ Center) have always sought to approach this work without always having students to ‘choose’ which iden-
tity is important at a particular moment.” Speers agreed that campus offices have been working to incorporate intersectionality in considering questions of identity and oppression. He said, “For some time, Campus Life and Diversity has sought an intersectional approach in its work. Any other approach risks a) pitting historically under-represented communities against one another and b) leaving assumptions and structures in place that need changing.” He continued, “Of course intersectional work has to get to the level of concrete practices and behaviors, and these workshops seem promising as [one] way of doing that.” The workshop used narrative knowledge of the interaction of these systems of oppression and discrimination to connect the particular experiences of students with the abstract apparatus of discourses about power. Alexander reflected, “We organized the workshop through a bunch of interactive games and activities, looking at stories and having discussions about what was going on in those stories.” From narrative knowledge, the workshop directed participants toward further reading, discussion and activism through a process called praxis. The workshop leaders developed their expertise through a careful synthesis of personal experience, scholarly research and extensive discussions with people from all backgrounds in workshop settings. Alexander stated, “I think being involved in activist communities and activist movements for a very long time, and also grappling with Jewish identity and seeking out radical Jewish life experiences, were some of the personal things that led me to want to learn more about this work.” She continued, “I did specific reading and research so that I could understand and be a part of some of the history that is involved—reading Penny Rosenwasser, and then having discussions with a lot of people to understand what is the complicated history around Jews.”
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
Cooper chose research questions that question the implications of her own identity. She described, “In order to be effective activists, we have to be grounded in our own identity: What does it means to be a white, Ashkenazi Jew? Answering that question means doing more research, so that we can be more effective in what we do.” Campus Life is beginning to take into account these same types of research questions in its programming. Speers explained, “I see these workshops as an important opportunity to open up further consideration of the relation between intersectionality–looking at multiple identities and forms of oppression simultaneously—and spirituality. What are the inner resources for intersectional work? What is the relation between identity work and the growing interest in spiritual and contemplative practices?” Considering these inner resources, he cites, “Part of what I love about my work at Vassar is that it is profoundly interreligious. I see students from many different worldviews (both secular and religious) enjoying Friday night Shabbat at the Bayit or attending programs like the special Jummah prayer we held on campus this year in conjunction with a local mosque, or embracing their experience at a local Buddhist monastery.” Considering the campus climate as a whole, Alexander observed, “I think it’s great that Vassar wants to have these conversations.” The structure and tone of such conversation will remain major factors for determining its impact on the community. Although recent efforts seem to have established a direction towards freedom of expression and a strong sense of self-identity among students, Campus Life is still working out the implications of its workshop series. Speers urged, “Addressing underlying forms of oppression needs more than a problem-solving mode; we need to make it an ongoing part of our institutional culture.”
NEWS
Page 4
April 14, 2016
Co-op seeks student support to energize VC sustainability Jeremy Middleman Reporter
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The Administration is also working towards creating more sustainable college living conditions. The Office of Sustainability in particular has been working over the past year to develop a carbon neutrality plan that would hopefully reduce the college’s footprint. Office of Sustainability Coordinator Alistair Hall said, “When we’re discussing carbon neutrality, we track the college’s annual greenhouse gas emissions and that comes from the central heating plant, which keeps the buildings heated, the electricity we purchase, the travel that employees and students do for either admissions or fundraising or junior year abroad. All of that counts. We track all of that annually, and we’re trying to come up with a plan to get that number to zero or close to it.” Hall also cited positive feedback from the Board of Trustees as a boost to its implementation. The Administration hopes to replace some fossil fuel use with solar panels on the farm. The attack on fossil fuels has assumed multiple fronts at Vassar, not all of them to the
Eilis Donohue/The Miscellany News
he old barn on the Vassar Farm and Ecological Preserve, which long stood empty, has recently been revitalized by the Environmental Cooperative. The co-op sprouted after the Helmsley Charitable Trust Grant awarded Vassar $997,000 for the purpose of centralizing and consolidating environmental research, outreach and education activities at the college. In addition to seasonal programming, the funds will be used to redesign the barn to include a new office space for the Environmental Co-op at the Barn and Student Conservation Association, as well as a multi-purpose space for college and community events. Co-op Programming Manager Jennifer Rubbo iterated, “Our goals are really just fostering a connection underneath a conservation lens, so thinking about it in an environmental and a conservation way, how can we connect people and increase engagement in environmental conservation?” According to Rubbo, the College also needed to match the grant financially. Sustainability activities at Vassar have been more abundant than usual this year, featuring a calendar of Earth Day-inspired events spread over the entire month of April. The events include clean-ups of the campus and Arlington area, like the one at Sunset Lake on April 9, and educational walks, tree plantings and vine removals. “We’ve tried to select a range of activities that will get people out there doing some action-oriented projects, like clean-ups and tree plantings, and combining that with activities with ways that people can learn more about projects that are environmental-related or conservation-related,” Rubbo explained. Sometimes the programming does not work out as planned. “One of our biggest challenges is getting students engaged,” Rubbo noted. Seven people showed up to the tree walk on April 10, only three of whom were students. While low student turnout does not impede these events, the weather occasionally does. Despite challenges, the community as a whole has remained determined to make this work. Rubbo said, “Part of it is just getting the word out that we’re here and helping to get students engaged in the environment and what’s
going on in the community. It’s been really easy to get the community engaged. The community is really excited that the environmental cooperative is here and that we want to try to get students out helping these different community groups out doing what they’re doing.” For some, these activities are vital opportunities for outdoor learning that are otherwise infrequent. Tree walker Dylan Finley ’17 said, “Vassar has the potential to instill important lessons about sustainability and about how we can help the Earth in a myriad of ways. While we’re students here, we should take advantage of that as much as possible.” The co-op also gives students a chance to try their hand at leadership positions, as Volunteer Coordinator Charles Hooghkirk ’19 did at Sunday’s clean-up. He wrote in an emailed statement, “I think that it’s important not only to promote environmental education and awareness but also for the institution to act on its environmental goals, an economic way that addresses a lot of environmental destruction.”
Students and community members gathered to clean up around Sunset Lake on April 9, one of a series of events put on by the Environmental Co-op to raise awareness about sustainability.
Administration and Board of Trustees’ liking. Divest VC members, on the other hand, were satisfied that the Fossil Fuel Divestment Resolution passed in referendum on April 7. The vote was 91.41 percent in favor with support from 1,032 students. The resolution and the movement came under scrutiny from President Hill in a recent op-ed published in The Miscellany News, in which she criticized its economic plausibility and efficacy. “We’re also planning to escalate before the end of the year, as in ramp up our actions,” resolution writer Elise Ferguson ’17 promised. “Because at this point they’re not going to compromise with us. We’ve spoken with them and reason isn’t going to convince them. So we just have to show the massive amount of support that we have as much as possible, and another is through direct action.” Divestment’s great success has been due to style and frequency of their campaigning. In their 2014 resolution, Divest VC proposed a similar resolution to their current one, but its roots were in the environmental impacts of fossil fuel usage. Their most recent resolution, on the other hand, is rooted in social justice. “We’re trying to fight climate change, which disproportionately affects communities and individuals that are already vulnerable,” Divest VC activist Addison Tate ’17 explained. “In terms of fossil fuel extraction processes—along the lines of environmental justice—pollution and extraction processes happen more commonly in low-income communities and communities of color.” Now, eyes turn to the Board of Trustees to see how they will react to the referendum’s passing. “You should take notice that this is what Vassar students right now are caring about and to really show that students’ interests and concerns are not being properly responded to by the administration and trustees when we all declare so strongly that we support this movement and this campaign,” said Divestment supporter Martin Man ’16. Whether they politically support clean energy on the administrative scale, or whether they get down in the dirt to clean or plant, Vassar students are demonstrating their desire for a sustainable, conscious campus.
Student body elects new VSA senate, executive board VSA continued from page 1
He continued, “I’ve seen a lot of house presidents get really burned out having to be in charge of house programming but also having to deal with campus life issues. I think that this change will both improve class representation on the VSA Senate as well as improve house dorm life.” The different vice president positions in the current VSA format will be reorganized to distribute responsibilities in a more logical and specific way. Lamothe summarized, “We have made the VSA bigger and smaller at the same time, in that...there are more positions and there are a lot more committees, but at the same time their responsibilities have narrowed a little bit. They’re a lot more focused.” An infographic explaining the details of restructuring will soon be available, but until then, the new and old executive officers alike express their confidence in the format. The new structure has somewhat leveled the playing field since it will be a different format for everyone regardless of previous experience. Every member of the executive board has varying amounts of experience and different motives for running. Some, like incoming Vice President and current Class of 2017 President Apoorva Natarajan ’17, are passionate about the VSA as a student government body. She remarked, “[I] saw the position that we had created as something that really resonated with what I had done, my work in the VSA. [Also] I’d come to care very very much, a troubling [amount], about the VSA in the past year, to the point where I couldn’t see myself not doing it the following year.” Others, like the new Chair of Residential Affairs and current Cushing House Junior Representative Esin Asan ’17, found themselves running for office in order to help better represent certain issues they care about. That said, they all expressed enthusiasm for the task ahead and
are confident in each other’s competence. Lamothe asserted, “I’m super excited. Everyone is definitely ready to jump into their positions and hit the ground running and I’m excited to work with them.” The recent appointments in conjunction with restructuring may open up opportunities for larger-scale changes. The newly designated Chairs of Committees will be able to take on additional projects as they see fit, given the more focused nature of the position. Asan noted, “Now that we’re in the process of change, this is when we can actually make demands, because when something’s in place you can’t really change it but if there’s already change happening you can [add on].” The executive board hopes to maintain the motivation on current VSA projects like the free tampon initiative and the New York City shuttle service; the roles of the President and Vice President are mainly supervisory. Natarajan commented, “Most importantly in the nature of this role is to make sure that everything works. And we have so many projects that are in preliminary stages that I feel I would be doing a disservice to a lot of people by coming up with a new project...without ensuring that any of the existing things are not definitely going to happen.” The VSA has come under fire in recent months as the campus climate intensified over the controversial BDS amendment and resolution and as fingers pointed at the organization from multiple directions. The main criticism has been that the VSA became a politicized body at the beginning of the school year, though as several council members pointed out, that is hardly anything new. “I think most of us would agree that the work that we’re doing and that the VSA has done has pretty much always been political, we just haven’t put a name on it,” explained Lamothe. “I think it’s more honest for us to do that; I think
we’ll be able to better support student voices in that way.” However, being a political body does not necessarily have to be a negative attribute. “[I] know it’s been a big, hot-button issue, the whole politicization issue...[but] everyone on exec is committed to making sure that we reaffirm our guiding principles of being an intersectionally feminist and anti-racist organization, and expanding on those as well, and making sure that we put a name to the work that we’re doing,” Lamothe affirmed. Current President Ramy Abbady ’16 voiced the same opinion in a recent op-ed for The Miscellany News. “By ‘becoming political,’ as many are fond of saying, the current VSA Council, the 30th, finally acknowledged this oppressive history and sought to rectify it moving forward,” he wrote. “At the beginning of the year, we adopted guid ing principles that sought to center anti-racism and intersectional feminism in our work” (The Miscellany News, “Politicization necessary for effective VSA,” 04.06.2016). Next year’s Chair of the Board of Student Affairs and Co-Chair on the Committee of Equity and Inclusion Cecilia Hoang ’18 agreed, “[I] am proud of our efforts to define and state the politic of the VSA as anti-racist and intersectionally feminist. I think talking about structures of oppression and situating our positions in them is essential.” Hoang went on to say, “Acknowledging harmful power structures and our participation in them is merely a first step in a life-long effort to mitigate the harm they inflict and imagine more just and equitable possibilities. We should be continuing that work in the years to come by reaffirming ourselves as a political body and following through on that commitment to justice.” The VSA is meant to serve as a voice for students on campus in the classroom and beyond. Newly appointed Chair of Academics
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JD Nichols ’17 said, “Next year, I’m looking to focus on fostering an environment where students and student groups and orgs can partner with the VSA in order to push for classroom changes that are necessary to achieve the level of inclusion and accessibility that Vassar claims to strive for.” Asan insisted, “Something that people need to understand is that probably one of the only ways that you can engage with the Adminstration is through us, which is strange because it shouldn’t be like that, but it’s also why we exist.” To be effective liaisons between the student body and the Administration, VSA officers are tasked with establishing open relationships on both sides. A veteran of several VSA offices, Abbady had a few words of advice for the new board. “[R]eally focus on building relationships with students in general and student organizations in particular, as well as the administrators that you have to work with. I think it’s really important to have that relationship, especially when you’re dealing with difficult situations, and putting in that effort in the beginning will pay off in the long run,” he urged in an interview. The new roles that these students take on will not be without challenge, however; being on the executive board is particularly demanding both in time and effort. “It’s important for people to remember that we are students first and representatives second,” Lamothe pointed out. However, they are all committed to their jobs and ready to see what they can accomplish. Kolbert remarked, “I’m very excited to... hopefully make a difference. I think the VSA is capable of a lot. We are a group of people who are given a lot of responsibility but also a lot of freedom, and I think we can use our power in a really positive way to foster an ideal campus climate and make people as happy as they can be at Vassar.”
FEATURES
April 14, 2016
Page 5
Vassar Haiti Project makes annual trip to Chermaitre Vassar Haiti Project Guest Columnists
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ver spring break, Vassar Haiti Project (VHP) made their annual trip to Chermaitre, Haiti. The following is a retrospective piece written by members of VHP.
Who are we?
The Vassar Haiti Project (VHP) engages students in a life-changing experiential education in global citizenship, fosters sustainable development in Haiti and promotes Haitian art. In addition to the purchase and sale of original Haitian art, VHP’s contributions are guided by five initiatives in the mountain village of Chermaitre: education, health care, reforestation, clean water access and a women’s cooperative. VHP is a unique, three-way partnership. It is a certified VSA student organization of 70 to 100 volunteers, including about 20 on the executive board. It is a highly mentored, student-centered educational program housed in Vassar’s Office of International Services. And it partners with a registered 501c3 nonprofit organization. Since inception, VHP has raised $1.2 million, primarily through Haitian art sales both on and off campus. Beginning in 2008, VHP has brought a group of students to Haiti every spring break to purchase Haitian paintings and handcrafts, evaluate initiative status and deepen students’ understanding of Haiti and of the principles and practices of global citizenship. This year, 13 “trippers,” (shortcut for student trip participants) accompanied VHP founders Andrew and Lila Meade to Haiti for 10 days. Education
Art
“On the first day, right after our four-hour flight,” describes Ruoyu Li ’19, “we visited the Issa Gallery in Port-au-Prince. The room was filled with colors and brightness; paintings occupied every wall and table. Besides paintings from galleries, we also purchased artwork off the street directly from local artists. Wandering from shop to shop, we selected and labeled the paintings.” “We saw the paintings come to life in Haiti,” added Melanie Lai Wai. “The market scenes, the mountains, the fields ... In Chermaitre, we met Benoit, a 21-year-old budding artist who also works with the women’s cooperative. As we were hiking together, he pointed to the surrounding scenery, explaining that this was where he came for inspiration. Listening to him speak about his art and experiencing it first-hand was an absolute honor. I have been working with our paintings and handcrafts for almost two years at Vassar College, but through this trip I now truly understood the value of each one of them.”
courtesy of Vassar Haiti Project
At the many Vassar Haiti Project meetings leading up to the trip, we were often reminded that the people of Haiti teach us how to care for the world. We didn’t understand how this would happen. But after four months of preparation, which included more team collaboration (you’ve been to Munchy Mondays, right?) than we ever thought possible, countless meetings about getting into physical shape to climb the mountain in Chermaitre, visits to Baldwin for shots and meds and a packing list that never ended, we thought we were ready. We attended planning meeting after planning meeting. During these meetings many questions big and small surfaced, such as wondering if our presence in Haiti was wanted, if we were doing more harm than good and if our actions were resulting in sustainability. Over spring break, alongside 26 hiking backpacks, medical supplies and water-testing kits, we brought these larger questions to Haiti, hoping for answers. We wondered too how we would do on the climb up the mountain, how we would respond to the people, what it would be like to be in this land we had been talking about for so long.
After the day-and-a-half trek to Chermaitre which is tucked in the mountains of northwest Haiti, we saw the school building that VHP founded over eight years ago ... There are about 250 students who are now studying math, French, science and social studies as well as learning about hygiene and reforesting the surrounding mountains. And now, some are finally starting secondary school, a brand new program that the students strongly wanted but lacked access in years past. As the trippers sat next to the eight Secondary School Students in Chermaitre, we looked forward to getting to know them, learning about their favorite subjects and what they want to do when they’re older. It was humbling to see teenagers (16+) who were thrilled to be able to return to school and start seventh grade, in spite of many obstacles. Melanie Lai Wai ’16 shares about Mackenson Verneus, who is one of eight students. Mackenson is thrilled to be attending the secondary school and hopes to go to college afterwards. He shared that his goal is to help people, especially those families in difficult situations, economically, socially and educationally. He feels proud to have this opportunity, having been forced to drop out of school three times because his parents simply didn’t have the money. “I feel truly inspired by his story,” said Melanie. “It made me think about my own path and how it had never occurred to me that not going to secondary school was an option. His strength and his perseverance exceed by far that of anyone I know. Mackenson may not have a degree, he may not have seen the wonders of the world, he may not have any material objects to share, but in one day he has become one of the people I respect the most.”
Over spring break, Vassar Haiti Project took their annual trip to the mountain village in Chermaitre, Haiti. They focus on education, health care, reforestation, clean water access and a women’s cooperative. Women
land.”
Amaesha Durazi ’19 said she was instantly in awe of the womens’ grace, resilience and ingenuity. The women of Chermaitre serve as exemplars of modern feminism. Femme Chermaitre is a women’s cooperative formed in March 2012 that includes 35 beautiful and passionate women who “provide a space of solidarity, develop their business-related skills and better their livelihoods.” They make a variety of products like Haitian coffee, jewelry, handcrafts and napkins that VHP sells at our annual art sales. Thao Nguyen ’18 said that “despite their difficult backgrounds and experiences, the women carried themselves with so much pride and strength. They walked us through the challenges the co-op was facing as well as their vision and hopes to better Femme Chermaitre’s operations.” Environment: Water and Reforestation
“Does VHP really help the people in Haiti? Why do you love VHP?” asked Ruoyu Li ’19 of a past tripper. “Ask me the same questions after the trip,” Shiqi Lin ’17 patiently replied. Upon returning from Haiti, Ruoyu reflected on our reforestation initiative. “Statistics from the reforestation initiative are no longer numbers–they represent villagers’ worries about the depleted soil, their great vision for a more abundant future and the currently budding coffee sprouts.” Lily Elbaum ’16 added, “Getting to visit the reforestation plot in Chermaitre was an amazing experience because it really brought home the work we do here. These reforestation plots represent hope for the future and it was a humbling experience to be able to witness this slow yet critical transformation of Chermaitre’s
Health
Paarul Sinha ’17 spent a day with several volunteers helping our local medical staff run the clinic that VHP built and funds. “Seeing how the clinic’s obstacles affect patients and their access to healthcare shook me at my core, yet simultaneously reminded me why our partnership is so crucial. Specifically, I am reminded of Carl Henri, a nine-year-old boy with cholera who was brought to the clinic on a stretcher made from an old wooden door. He was semi-conscious, his eyes were fluttering. Due to a lack of supplies, we could not bring him into the clinic for fear of the infection spreading. Instead, the doctor hooked him up to an IV pole outside under the harsh sun. It was about 90°F that day. Ultimately, Carl was driven on a motorcycle to the nearest hospital about an hour away as a family member carried the IV bag above his head so that Carl would continue receiving the drip. As I spoke with Dr. Gueslin that evening, he expressed his disappointment in not being able to provide more for Carl. As the clinic’s medical director, he said much work needs to be done to improve the clinic’s facilities, and I agree. Though the work seems endless at times and the road to sustainability appears daunting, it is moments like these that make it so clear that giving up is just not an option.” On leaving Haiti
“As we bid our goodbyes, I could feel the heaviness and reluctance in our hearts,” said Durazi. “We didn’t want to leave the spirit of Haiti behind. When Jina, a young girl who attends the primary school, lent me her unwavering hand as I climbed the mountain and her friends braided my hair with such patience, I realized love has no language.” “I learned so many important life lessons from these people that I will cherish forever. Every part of our journey helped me see VHP in a new light and helped me to understand myself a little better. I will continue to visit Haiti in my mind and heart” Seeking Answers
courtesy of Vassar Haiti Project
At Vassar, VHP engages students in a life-changing experiential education in global citizenship, fosters sustainable development in Haiti and promotes Haitian art. They have raised $1.2 million dollars since inception. During their spring break trip, VHP purchases more Haitian art to bring back to campus.
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
And what of the questions we carried to Haiti, the big ones and the small ones? Well, we all made it up the mountain. And we were touched deeply by the people, people who have so little and yet give so much of themselves, people who overcome extreme adversity in everyday life, people who are so incredibly dignified, resilient and strong. We found we could continue to ask the big questions and at the same time be present to Haiti, get in relationship with the people of a village, listen to people share their stories with us. That the big questions, such as the sustainability of our work and the impact of our presence, need not be a barrier to being in action. That somehow living in these big questions is so much more valuable than whatever answers our minds search for along every step of the journey. The questions will guide our work. And the experiences we will never forget.
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April 14, 2016
Crego lecture discusses lasting effects of Prohibition Kris Weber
Guest Reporter
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conomics is about more than just statistics. It has the power to take information drawn from history and connect it to what could happen in our future. On April 5, renowned economist Professor Orley Ashenfelter and Professor of Economics at Princeton University Joseph Douglas Green made that connection. The two men were at Vassar as speakers for the annual Martin H. Crego Lecture in Economics. Ashenfelter is considered to be one of the founding fathers of modern labor economics by Professor of Economics Paul Ruud. The Crego Lecture was established in 1965 in honor of Martin H. Crego, the father of Jean E. Crego ’32. According to the Vassar website, “The non-academic study of economics was a
source of interest and satisfaction throughout his life, and his keen judgment and wise handling of economics matters, and the generous legacy received from him make possible this gift in his memory.” In his introductory remarks for Ashenfelter’s lecture Ruud said, “The annual lecture is intended to bring persons of recognized ability in some area of the field of economics or related subjects to campus to share their experiences and practices in talking and meeting with students.” In his lecture, “Evaluating the Economic Effects of the Noble Experiment: National Prohibition, 1920-1933,” Ashenfelter discussed Prohibition and compared the U.S. economic and social trends that characterized the era with those of Great Britain, a country that did not have Prohibition. A comparison of this sort can
courtesy of Tyden.cz
On April 5, renowned economist Professor Orley Ashenfelter and Princeton Professor Joseph Douglas Green presented the annual Crego Lecture hosted by the Economics Department.
be described as a “natural experiment”—an experiment that examines the effects of a particular variable, over which the investigators had no control, on a group of subjects. According to Ruud, “Economists are always looking for so-called ‘natural experiments,’ because one of the problems with social science generally, and economics specifically, is that we actually don’t run experiments. So we can’t assign treatments randomly, the way you would in a medical experiment, or a physics experiment, to try to control for other factors that are beyond your ability to actually set.” The central question of Ashenfelter’s experiment, then, might be: “Did Prohibition cause changes in drinking patterns among the United States population?” Prohibition–termed “The Great Experiment, Noble in Intention” by President Herbert Hoover–was made law in 1919 with the passage of the 18th Amendment, or the Volstead Act. Prohibition had been championed for years by the Anti-Saloon League and the Women’s Christian Temperance Union who believed that a ban on alcoholic drinks would reduce crime and improve national health. Ashenfelter became interested in studying Prohibition after discovering that grape production in some states, including California, increased dramatically during Prohibition. “This is not what most people, including me, thought had occurred,” Ashenfelter concluded. Indeed, the Prohibition Era has long been characterized by images of speakeasies and home-brewed “moonshine.” A significant increase in grape production during this time period, suggesting an increase in home wine production, upsets this long-standing image. Ashenfelter demonstrated that, between the years of 1919 and 1933, the passage and repeal of Prohibition, wine consumption among Americans actually doubled. A major reason was the “non-intoxicating fruit juices” that farmers produced through a quasi-loophole for home wine makers.
Overall alcohol consumption went down in the U.S. during Prohibition, but that didn’t necessarily mean that Prohibition was successful. While U.S. alcohol consumption decreased by 42 percent during Prohibition, alcohol consumption in Great Britain decreased by 41 percent during this same time period. Some scholars attribute the drop seen in Britain to the Great Depression, others believe it was a result of tighter alcohol regulations (e.g., shorter opening hours for liquor stores, higher taxes on beer) during the interwar years and many contend that the decline can be put down to a combination of these factors. With this comparison in mind, can it legitimately be argued that Prohibition caused a decrease in alcohol consumption among the U.S. population? Ashenfelter maintained that it could not. However, two other conclusions can be derived from this comparison between the U.S. and the UK. The first is that Prohibition in the United States led to increased crime rates (which decreased after its repeal in 1933). The second is that there is no clear evidence to support the claim that Prohibition improved the health of the national population. In short, however “noble” it may have been in its intentions, Prohibition did little to improve the general well-being of the United States. Both Ruud and Ashenfelter believe that studying Prohibition in this context can bring a critical perspective to more recent policies and political events–in particular, the War on Drugs and the federal prohibition of marijuana. Ashenfelter said, “I think that learning what really happened during Prohibition is a natural way to begin thinking about modern drug policies.” Indeed, if a decade-long ban on alcohol served not only to increase crime rates, but to encourage the home-brewing of alcohol (for which there were no federally-determined health standards that had to be complied with), is a ban on other substances of similar physical and psychological effects truly in the best interests of the United States population?
Ugandan activist discusses civil rights on global scale WAMBERE continued from page 1
throughout the semester.” Wood continued, “This semester we have chosen Global LGBTQ rights. The documentary ‘Call Me Kuchu’ focuses on the struggles of LGBTQ rights activists in Uganda. It mainly focuses on Uganda’s first openly gay man David Kato, who was unfortunately murdered just after filming the documentary. After Kato’s brutal murder in 2011, Mr. Wambere began to receive death threats and decided to stay in the U.S.” Amnesty International Treasurer Chris Halm ’17 described the logistics involved in securing a presentation from Wambere on campus: “We reached out to the documentary team [of ‘Call Me Kuchu’] and were able to get in touch with Mr. Wambere. He was enthusiastic when we explained our desire to have him on campus and agreed to come give a lecture.” Amnesty International’s other co-president, Hannah Ornatowski ’16, similarly described the specific topics and intentions of Wambere’s presentation, saying, “We desire to create a comfortable context in which people can open up about their experience while giving people the means to advocate for policies in Uganda. Students will be given resources to impact outside communities through our association with the LGBTQ center for this event because we want to provide a basis of discussion for issues surrounding the topic of human rights violations anywhere and everywhere.” In terms of the general aspirations of Amnesty International’s involvement with students on campus, Wood again described the correlated timing of such an event with the current campus climate: “These events are important to raising awareness about global LGBTQ activism. We have an active LGBTQ community on this campus and we have asked them to collaborate with us as well. We believe this is an issue that is important not only to the global community, but also to Vassar campus. Raising money for organizations that fight to end human right violations or support victimized parties and also host events like the one supported by John Wambere’s presentation to engage the Vassar community in our mission
courtesy of Katherine Fairfax Wright
Wambere fled from Uganda when the course of his work left him witness to the death of other loud and proud gay rights activists. Now a political asylum seeker, Wambere first appeared in the United States only a few years ago. Alone as he was, Wambere was still alive which for him, was enough. Moving to the United States was a means by which Wambere could focus attention on his home community in an effectual and extensive way. In the United States, Wambere has succeeded on a massive scale in raising awareness about the type of Ugandan policies at work back in his native country. Perhaps best demonstrated by his engagement in the documentary “Call Me Kuchu,” the true and tangible terror that members of the LGBTQ community face even on a prosaic, basic level were made manifest with the death of another prominent gay activist, David Kato, during the film production of the documentary’s content. The passage of a bill sanctifying punitive actions towards members of the LGBTQ community and their allies, the least of these codifying homosexuality as punishable by death, marked the beginning of Wambere’s search for external allies and access to resources. It was a unionizing effort on Wambere’s part, and a largely successful one in formulating a discursive environment encouraging engagement with governmental policy in different contexts. As a result of Wambere’s activism, Vassar College’s Amnesty International and LGBTQ Center understood the importance of hosting such a monumental figure in an environment where individuals could be both educated and empowered. Thus, the decision to bring Wambere to campus as a guest lecturer was a dual collaboration between the two entities. As Amnesty International Co-President Laura Wood ’17 explained, “Amnesty International at Vassar tries to raise awareness and fundraise for causes that are committed to stopping human rights abuses around the world. This can be a very broad and daunting task, so we normally try to pick a topic and stick to that issue
Wambere, a Ugandan LGBTQ civil rights activist, offered a lecture Wednesday, April 13 in Rocky regarding his work in Uganda with trying to protect the LBGTQ community and its allies. to learn about and promote human rights is paramount.” Fortunately for Amnesty International, the ideological goal of identifying and preventing human rights abuses around the world is deeply resonant for many students on campus. As Adya Goyal ’19 offered, “It’s so interesting to me that John Wambere is coming to campus and discussing the documentary ‘Call Me Kuchu’ he was so personally involved in. I think it’s strange that while he, of course, is here due to political asylum status, yet it seems the only crazy thing, at least from my perspective as an individual not engaged in his Ugandan context, is the passage of such a law that acknowledges the existence of homosexuality by death.” Extending on her idea, Goyal continued, “That’s just so crazy to me, since I associate the idea of insanity with the word asylum. It’s also interesting to note that the word ‘Kuchu,’ used in the film as the identifier for Kato and
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Wambere’s fellow lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender men and women, is also so linguistically similar to the word ‘cuckoo,’ another word I associate with disequilibrium and instability. Maybe I’m thinking too far into it, but there is a connection there that can be applied into a more ambiguous global metaphor for the connections we exist in relation to others,” She went on, “Regardless, I’m just really glad that we were able to host John Wambere and even have this opportunity to discuss these types of global issues in a localized milieu; basic as it is, it can be difficult to extend ourselves in ways we’re unfamiliar with and John Wambere is truly a qualified individual to enact such involvement in this poignant circumstance.” Ornatowski concluded, “Hopefully, we aim to achieve a discourse about personal issues and its relation on campus and to the world community.”
April 14, 2016
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Southeast Asian Association to host immersive event Aditi Chandna Reporter
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courtesy of Vassar SEASA via Facebook
or the first time ever, the Southeast Asian Student’s Association (SEASA) is hosting SEAFest (Southeast Asian Fest), an immersive evening that introduces Vassar students to Southeast Asian culture. And what an introduction it will be. The event schedule is full of lively activities including Southeast Asian parlor games, dance, cuisine, and arts and crafts. The all-important cherry topping is education, which is the primary goal of the event as the SEASA continues to do their utmost to bring their unique experiences and culture to Vassar Students. SEAFest will take place on April 15, 2016, from 6 to 8 p.m. “SEAFest is a Southeast Asian festival where we will try to represent Southeast Asian culture through crafts, games, dancing and food,” said SEASA President Kryzel Bonifacio ’17. This immersive evening will have food from all countries of Southeast Asia that showcase its diversity and intricate local culture. “We will have food from Thailand, Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam as well as a deep frying station that is very common at Southeast Asian night markets which is representative of Southeast Asian street food. The deep-frying station will have vegetables and even bananas, which is very typical of local Southeast Asian night markets and street food,” SEASA Vice President Jasmine Martinez ’18 said. She added, “So the whole process is that we’ll have a dinner with both homemade and catered food as well as a spring roll station where people can make their own Vietnamese spring rolls.” Some of the various dishes include Pad Thai, Thai iced tea, Lumpia (Spring rolls), Kare Kare (Filipino stew) and Laksa. In addition to food, SEAFest will also have an arts and crafts section, where students have the opportunity to learn more about the arti-
Southeast Asian Student’s Association (SEASA) is hosting its first ever celebration of southeastern culture with SEAFest, Southest Asian Fest. There will be traditional food and games at the event. san and craft skills of Southeast Asian culture and even recreate a traditional Thai Festival. “We’ve been preparing for this event a lot over this semester. For the last two SEASA meetings we’ve been making cute little accessories for the photo booth we have for the event like posters and photo frames of landmarks and slang that’s famous in Southeast Asia. Hopefully, students will have some fun with this, and they can pretend they’re actually in Southeast Asia. We want to make it as immersive as possible,” SEASA’s publicity and Community Liaison Nicole Yaw ’18 explained. The association has chosen crafts that are immediately engaging such as paper lanterns to immerse participants in the experience.
“We’ve also been making lanterns that we plan to hang up around the event space and these are really easy to make and it’s what people can make at our crafts booth. We’ll be making lanterns at the end of the event and hanging them on lights, which is a ceremonial process that’s similar to the Thai lantern festival where they have big lanterns that light up and float off in the sky. So we’re planning to have a little mini lantern festival,” said Yaw. While the Thai lantern festival is a traditional festival celebrated annually in Thailand, SEASA has recreated this in their own unique style to allow Vassar students to take part in the festivities. In addition to food and photo booths, SEASA is going above and beyond to enrich Vas-
sar with as much Southeast Asian culture as it can. SEASA Secretary Michael Kim ’17 said, “So there will be four different booths and one dancing station so people can come and deep fry stuff, make spring rolls, make lanterns and so on. We’ll also have an array of Southeast Asian games like hacky sack or Jianzi and Sungkah that are very common and traditionally from Singapore, Malaysia and Philippines.” He went on to explain the range of games and activities at the festival. “Sungkah is a traditional Filipino game and Jianzi is a traditional Southeast Asian game where players use a weighted shuttlecock and have to keep this is in the air without using their hands and are only allowed to use other parts of their bodies. We will also have a dance station where we’ll be doing demos of a Philippines traditional dance called Tinikling where people can learn how to dance.” Tinikling, Kim explained, is a dance performed between bamboo poles. While for the most part, the hosts believe SEAFest should be successful, there are always trials and tribulations when hosting an event never before seen on Vassar’s campus, not to mention the pressure that comes with it. “We’ve never thrown this event before. It’s our first time. This is Vassar’s very first SEAFest. This is our big event for this semester and we really hope that a lot of people will come, participate and have fun,” said Yaw. SEASA has taken great effort and preparation to bring SEAFest about, with many intricate, novel ways to keep Vassar students entertained and excited, as well as simultaneously introducing and educating them to the culture and diversity of Southeast Asia. Given the variety and novelty of the experiences offered, SEASA is confident it will be a success. As Bonifacio said, “We love our culture and hope to bring it to Vassar in any way possible. SEAFest is the way we want to do it, hopefully in a big way.”
Innovative classes prepare students for future experience PROSKY continued from page 1
a senior member of the staff Venture for America, an NYC and Providence-based startup channeling talented recent college graduates into startup companies in revitalizing American cities. “You can’t end up stuck. It isn’t a real thing. You can pursue whatever is interesting to you and that will change naturally and so will you.” A senior reading this is probably now saying, “Okay, but how do I even get a job in the first f***ing place?” Or maybe, “I majored in Greek and Roman Studies but I don’t want to do the job that might naturally lead to.” So now you are faced with finding a job you are conventionally unqualified for. This is okay, though. As you can probably believe, you are not the first or the last. So, when there are bunches of people with a problem in a free market economy, someone figures out a solution and then sells it. What does that look like? It looks something like ProSky, a company that matches candidates with companies through an innovative online protocol. Companies have the option to
shop for new hires by looking at curated lists of ProSky members, giving the applicants team challenges and monitoring their processes, attitudes, work styles and contributions. CEO of ProSky Crystal Huang explained, “How most people hire is an old school method. Usually when they are comparing resumes they are attracted to better schools and better GPAs, so it comes down to how well you did in high school and your college grades” Instead of relying on faulty, limited information, ProSky offers classes that run from two to five weeks that are visible to hiring managers of companies. According to the ProSky website, “The classes give them a lot more knowledge about the people they are hiring, about their characteristics, about who that person really is.” The strategy is to reduce risk on both sides of the process by reducing information barriers. Applicants get to learn about the position while companies get to see the applicants at work. ProSky offers courses directly related to jobplace skills, and teaches exactly what a Vassar
courtesy of Prosky
Seniors who are confused about their post-grad prospects need not fear. ProSky is an innovative new company that matches potential candidates with companies through an online protocol.
graduate needs to be prepared for their new position. Huang explained, “There are not quality training programs out there, so we created our own.” Another great thing about the lessons? You don’t have to travel. “Everything is done online, including the projects and challenges. This levels the playing field for students with all levels of income and accessibility,” said Huang. “The online courses have a completion rate of 94 percent. We don’t teach theory, we teach how to use programs and software. This teaches people more about their own industries and you immediately get to practice what you learned.” The company does not reject applicants, and has a hire rate of 76 percent. “If it’s their first project they are doing, and they don’t have the experience, or if they were hanging back on the project, that’s when they won’t get hired,” said Huang. What does get you hired? If two people apply for a job as an interpreter, one knows Russian, Chinese and Arabic and the other has a PhD in linguistics, the guy with the PhD in linguistics is going to get the job because he is not qualified at all. It’s the difference between hard skills and soft skills that can oftentime make the difference, and there are plenty of opportunities to learn a hard skill after you graduate. Take the San Antonio-based startup company Codeup, a coding bootcamp, for example. As a young company, Codeup churns through almost 100 graduates a year with a hire rate of 96 percent. Maybe you just graduated college with a degree in basket weaving and don’t even understand how to open a new Word document, maybe Codeup is not for you. However, you don’t need any experience in programming to start with Codeup. All you have to be is interested, said Codeup’s Director of Operations Dylan McNally. “Probably around 80 percent of our applicants have gone online and dabbled a little bit with coding. Almost everyone has had some exposure to the field and that’s what sparks their interest,” he said. While only 56 percent of Codeup’s students have earned bachelors degrees, companies know that it is not a slip of paper that qualifies its new programmers. Instead, said McNally, “We give graduates professional-
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
ism, competency and a sense of being able to mesh with a company culture.” In a world where post-grad connection programs abounds, from general business at ProSky to software specific programming at Codeup, there also exist more competitive and challenging programs to pursue. Venture for America (VFA) takes recent college graduates and connects them with promising startup companies in rebooting American cities such as Detroit or New Orleans. The program has been a huge success both for its fellows (the college students) and its partner companies, which often have difficulty attracting talent to less glamorous locations. “After four years, 26 percent of graduates have started their own companies, 60 percent or more stay at the companies they were originally placed at. The remaining 25 percent ends up moving to other startups, while some move to larger companies. Only four people have gone on to graduate school,” said Selim. While VFA does a lot for its fellows, Selim said, “The biggest hurdle we cover is taking away this scary first-job first-moment element. We are sending you out in cohorts and you will have a community that you can lean on at your first job, issues side.” In order to get into the program, Selim said, “Tactically I think that I would get as much experience before you graduate in as many different environments as possible. As for the actual hiring process, these companies are looking for students who will contribute their own knowledge. “You should also know why are you interested in the VFA mission. What is it about VFA that appeals to you? Why us? Be able to articulate that.” Venture for America, Codeup and ProSky are only three of a vast network of companies geared towards educating and employing the next generation of Americans. For Vassar graduates, opportunity abounds with creativity and initiative being the only limits. The one clear message that came from these companies may have been geared more towards underclassmen. If you are interested in getting a good job after college, get as much experience in as many different roles as you can before you graduate. It is never too early to start.
FEATURES
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April 14, 2016
Seniors submerse semester in home-brewing techniques Julia Cunningham
Assistant Features Editor
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and talked to well-known Brew Masters.” As for the actual home-brewing process, Sherman explained that they are limited to brewing ales. “Not having a place to reliably store our beer at 45 degrees and the long fermentation time make it difficult to brew lagers,” he said. Their first batch was a Pale Ale, and they are currently working on the primary fermentation on an American Amber. The first batch of beer was named in honor of their hard work. Harrang said, “Our first batch was titled ‘Taste Like Beer’ because while it certainly wasn’t the greatest, you could tell it was beer, which was pretty much all we were going for. A small victory.” Sherman agreed, saying, “Our first beer turned out pretty good, but a little on the heavy side for a pale ale. We were unable to take a
courtesy of Zach Sherman
hat, you may be wondering, is the next thing to check off on the senior bucket list? Or maybe just to add to your own? For seniors Owen Harrang, Alan Hagins, Zach Sherman, John Tapscott, Stoddard Meigs and Ted Marrinan, they had their answer as early as their sophomore year. Owen Harrang explained their project, “We had a friend who graduated two years ago— Derek Mraz ’14—who did a similar independent study with a group where they sought to recreate the original beer recipe that Matthew Vassar used.” These seniors have followed in Mraz’s footsteps, seeking to recreate not just Vassar’s recipe, but also those of other microbreweries around the Hudson Valley. Zach Sherman said, “But this time our research, instead of focusing on Matthew Vassar’s original brew, is focusing on the broader spectrum of contemporary brewing in the Hudson Valley,” he said. Harrang added that the living arrangement this year helps their process. “We all live in the new TH circle—except for Zach who is in the TA’s—so getting together to brew is quite easy.” Sherman agreed, saying that having more time as a senior helps as well. “Being 21 and having space in the TH’s makes brewing much easier to do, research and most importantly, enjoy.” He went on, “Personally, I feel like I do have more free time, but that’s also probably because, as a pre-med bio major, this is my first semester with no labs.” While the six seniors are excited to be brewing their own beer, it also is part of a serious independent study, and all hope to learn something valuable. Initially, Harrang explained, none of the seniors had any experience brewing beer. “To begin with, we visited several breweries and brewpubs in the area to understand how both the process and business of brewing works and then decided to try making our own.” He went on, “When we went to buy
our equipment, we had no idea what we were doing until an employee at Halftime, Mitch DeSimone, came over and spent half an hour helping us choose the right materials and giving us advice.” Harrang went on to say that the types of people they run into in the business help smooth the process. “It has been surprisingly painless, to be honest. It helps that everyone we meet in the trade is unbelievable helpful and encouraging,” Harrang said. They also got more help from Vassar grads. Harrang said, “When two Vassar alums who work at Cottrell Brewery— Carlisle Schaeffer and Drew Rodgers—heard about this class, they invited us to come brew a batch with them with some real professional equipment, which was a great experience for us,” Harrang said. “We’ve gotten personal tours
Senior year is a time for seniors to make the most of their time. For Owen Harrang, Alan Hagins, Zach Sherman, John Tapscott, Stoddard Meigs and Ted Merrinan, that time is spent brewing their own beer.
specific gravity reading on it, so we also don’t know what its alcohol content is, but we were just happy to brew a decently tasty, safe and carbonated beer on our first attempt.” Safety is not too much of a concern when it comes to home-brewing. Sherman explained, “But that’s one of the reasons home-brewing is legal in America: it’s actually pretty hard to screw up.” As for their next batch, Sherman said, “Hopefully we will be able to become experienced enough that we can start to hone in on our taste preferences and be more specific with our methods.” Harrang explained that the process of brewing beer is lengthy, but ultimately rewarding. “It is very much akin to cooking or baking,” Harrang said. “There are three main ingredients: hops, malt, and yeast. To make the first stage of beer—called wort—you add these ingredients at different times and quantities to boiling water depending on what type of beer you are going for.” Sherman explained, “The whole process leading up to the primary fermentation, including the boiling, the hops, etc. takes a few hours, and we can do it just in a weekend afternoon.” Harrang went on, “After the fermentation process is complete, the wort is officially beer. You bottle it up and let sit for another week with some added sugar for carbonation and then you are ready to taste it!” In total, Sherman explained, the process takes about three weeks. The seniors have made sure to share the fruits of their labor, as well. Sherman explained, “We have hosted informal taste parties, which really consisted of offering it to our friends and getting their opinions on it. With around five gallons per batch, there’s plenty to go around.” Harrang added that they plan on sharing with a wider group of people later this year, saying, “The beer brewed with our friends at Cottrell Brewery will be brought down and available for all at Founders Day, so be sure to come through and taste some extremely local beer!”
Deece hacks: quick cauliflower fried rice for the #hanger Penina Remler Columnist
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Photo Credit Goes Here
wouldn’t doubt that two of my most commonly paired words are: “I’m” and “starving.” In fact, not a day goes by when I am not yearning for my next meal. However, I often come into conflict since my starvation leads to an infinite feast of semi-healthy snacks, which in turn, often ignite this cycle all over again. So inevitably, when I think of “15-minute cauliflower fried rice,” a few things come to mind: •Fried Rice—yum •Cauliflower—healthy •15 minutes—simple, speedy and capable of creating in the Deece As I stumbled upon a dish that not only met my criteria, it also appealed to my appetite so without hesitation I just had to give it a try. And might I add—I am quite happy I did. It’s not like this recipe needs much convincing, but if you aren’t sold yet, I guarantee you will be after your first bite. What could go wrong with a recipe that is seemingly shaped for the hungry, creative, yet still on a budget college student? Nothing. It’s easy, it’s efficient and even packed with veggies and protein to satisfy your cravings throughout the day. Choose between eggs, tofu–or both–and pack in some extra embellishments to shock your taste buds and friends that something so tasty can be cooked up in your own campus-dining hall. Oh and remember the creative component mentioned above? This is where the cauliflower comes into play. Sure, you can easily just resort to rice, but why not switch things up and transform a regular veggie into its own rendition of grain? If this is something you’ve done before, use this recipe as an excuse to master your skillset and show off to friends unless you’re a total newbie, which is fine since you’re in for a savory and healthy surprise. Veggies, a little oil, sauce, spice and protein–what could go wrong?
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
Photo Credit Goes Here
To start, shred your raw cauliflower with help from a grater or first cutting into small pieces. Next, pulse the raw cauliflower into a food processor until it transforms into what will appear to be tiny grains of rice. Don’t worry about soaking or pressing the veggie before/afterwards; all you need to do is take your mix into a pan and stirfry. Meanwhile, separately combine carrots, garlic and a splash of sesame oil over a medium low-heat skillet. After five minutes, quickly mix everything together as you combine the cauliflower, edamame and additional sesame oil. As you stir-fry your ingredients all at once, keep an eye on your cauliflower just to make sure that it maintains a soft, crispy texture. Finally, upon completing the dish, make room in the middle of the pan to add in your eggs and/or tofu. Stir the final product until the protein is fully cooked and ready to be topped off with soy sauce and green onions. While it’s not required in the recipe, many adventurous chefs tend to add in additional sesame oil/seeds, honey and oyster sauce to bring their regular rice to the next level. Ingredients: 1 medium-sized head of cauliflower 2 tablespoons of sesame oil 1 large carrot, cubed 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 cup of frozen edamame 2 beaten eggs and/or scrambled tofu 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce 6 green onions, minced
April 14, 2016
OPINIONS
Page 9
The Miscellany News Staff Editorial
New meal plan should accomodate individual needs
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n April 5, Dean of the College Chris Roellke sent students an email detailing the proposed meal plan changes that will be going into effect Fall 2017. Not only will Vassar be switching food providers from Aramark to Bon Appétit, but the college will also renovate the ACDC and switch to an all access mandatory meal plan. Though the changes are clearly striving for improvement to the dining services at Vassar, we at The Miscellany News believe that the proposed plans are not optimal for Vassar student needs. Before the plan is finalized, we would like to challenge the idea of a mandatory meal plan and question the concept of all access. Though we appreciate that the college is taking steps to switch to a new food provider, we question and criticize many of the accompanying changes. While renovation plans for the ACDC are still very much in an undeveloped phase, it is important to think about what will be done with the space. Recently designed student spaces have been a success when students are able to give their input in a meaningful way. The Old Bookstore and Bridge Cafe serve as examples of good renovations for the creation of student spaces and both of these areas have smaller, more compartmentalized floor plans. With the large, open space the ACDC offers, plans for its renovation must consider the types of spaces that students frequent. We believe that transitioning away from such a cavernous space would be a good way to get more student traffic. A main concern about the meal plan shift is the switch from an “all you care to eat” to the “all access” plan. Dean Roellke’s email states that the current plan encourages food wasting. As he wrote in his all-campus email, “The dining fee will cover students’ full access whenever ACDC is open, and we do anticipate later hours for dining, making it easier for students with practices, games and other organizational activ-
ities to eat at more convenient times.” Though this seems in theory to be a good idea, especially if the ACDC hours improve, it leaves many unanswered questions. How will an all access meal plan fit into alternative dining options on campus, primarily the ones that operate on dining bucks? Will students be able to flash their ID and mine the Retreat or Bridge Building for food? Will the meal plan include a Dining Buck allowance? As of now, the fate of other dining areas on campus in relation to the all access plan is profoundly unclear. Lastly, we believe a mandatory meal plan is extremely constricting and unfair, especially for students with dietary restrictions or students living outside of the dorms. The current Vassar meal plan is set up so seniors living in the Town Houses, Terrace Apartments and the South Commons can learn how to buy and cook their own food without being on a meal plan. By being forced to remain on the meal plan while not living in the dorms, seniors will lose the incentive to be self-sufficient. If they do opt to cook for themselves, they will be wasting money on an unused meal plan. Students without the financial means to spend extra on groceries would be completely excluded. Additionally, we still have questions about what will happen with students living in Ferry or Meat House, communities centered around preparing their own food. A mandatory meal plan simultaneously discourages culinary independence of older students and incurs extra expenses. A New York Times article from this past December chronicles similar changes to other campus dining plans throughout the country. The article notes that many of these comprehensive deals are lucrative for the schools themselves as dining contractors have offered commissions and signing bonuses to help pay for campus improvements and academic programs. For example, under its contract which runs
through 2027, the University of Tennessee will receive 14 percent of all food revenues and $15.2 million in renovations to dining facilities. These comprehensive plans, backed by additional incentives to schools themselves, have thus led to an uptick in meal plan costs as well. This type of deal bodes well for Vassar, but looks to be an extreme detriment to the student body, whose needs will continue to not be met. (The New York Times, “Meal Plan Costs Tick Upward as Students Pay for More Than Food”, 12.5.15) In order for Vassar’s new plan to effectively meet the needs of the entire student body, we at The Miscellany News believe that certain modifications should be made to the existing plan. One possible solution particularly relevant to upperclassmen who live either in on-campus apartment style housing or off-campus could be an on-campus meal plan-backed grocery store. Students could use dining bucks or other comparable currency provided via the “all access” plan to purchase groceries. This would allow students with kitchen units to retain some degree of control over what they cook and eat while still honoring the meal plan. Wesleyan University, a school who already has a version of this mandatory meal plan with Bon Appetit, has implemented this successfully. If students in apartment style living choose to purchase their own groceries they are not only losing money by not eat, they are also spending additional funds on their own food. In this vein, the College could also choose to remove the mandatory fee for seniors or any students not living in the dorms. Vassar advertises their on-campus apartment style living as “a house on training wheels” and implicitly encourages learning to cook, clean and maintain a household. Forcing all students to walk to the central hubs of campus for each and every meal directly opposes this sentiment. It would also be prudent to allow for flexi-
bility within the plan that permits students to disperse their money into whatever avenues of the meal plan they want. Students could also have a minimum buy-in for the plan that would decrease with each ascending class year. With the implementations of this new plan, the Administration must acknowledge that the existing on-campus dining spaces are limited in both hours and accessibility. As it stands today, there are no 24/7 dining options on campus. In addition, if the College intends to make the ACDC more of a central hub and social space, they should consider how to effectively utilize the free space in UpC. Renovated in 2003 and established as a late night dining option, the top floor of ACDC is now mostly empty and underused. We advocate that the College repurpose this space as another dining space for students or utilize it as a grocery store if that plan were to come into fruition. The announcement of a change in dining services and a subsequent shift to an “all access” dining plan in 2017 has ramifications for the entire student body. While we at The Miscellany News acknowledge the switch to a more highly-regarded dining service in Bon Appétit, we urge the administration to examine the consequences of this new plan on the student body as a whole. While Dean Roellke’s email outlines vague plans to increase accessibility and variety, it fails to account for the various cultural, monetary and dietary restrictions it may place on students, specifically students who are low-income or require halal or kosher food options. If the plan is to successfully meet students’ needs, the College must provide clear, flexible solutions in terms of dining spaces, monetary logistics and viable meal plan alternatives. —The staff editorial represents at least 2/3 opinions of the editorial board of the Miscellany News.
Donald Trump’s fear tactics necessitate informed critique Nick Barone
Opinions Editor
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n March 22, 2016, three bombings struck Belgium, two at Brussels Airport in Zaventem and one in the Maalbeek metro station. 32 civilians were killed and 316 were injured. Given its relatively close proximity to the November terrorist plot in Paris, much of Belgium shut down as a security measure. Eager to capitalize off the tragedy, presidential candidates took to Twitter and early morning news programs to express their condolences and elaborate on their respective national security policies. Perhaps most notably–other than Ted Cruz’s repugnant call for increased patrolling of Muslim neighborhoods–Donald Trump appeared on “Fox and Friends” to reiterate his controversial view of halting Muslim immigration into the United States. Trump smugly maintained that he was “right” about the precarious situation in Belgium in the wake of the November 2015 Paris attacks. When describing the atmosphere of terror that was created and reinforced by the recent attack in Brussels, Trump bragged that such panic accounts for his dominance in the GOP presidential race. “This is just the beginning. It will get worse and worse because we are lax and foolish,” Trump asserted on the show. Later that day, on CBS News, Trump callously warned, “This is going to happen in the United States.” On March 26, Trump was interviewed by The New York Times about his foreign policy views. In the interview, answering a question about using nuclear weapons in response to foreign threats, Trump said, “When people talk global warming, I say the global warming that we have to be careful of is the nuclear global warming. Single biggest problem that the world has. Power of weaponry today is beyond anything ever thought of ... You look at Hiroshima and you can multiply that times many, many times, is what you have today” (The New York Times, “Transcript: Donald Trump Expounds on His Foreign Policy Views,” 03.26.2016). Trump’s entire campaign was launched around the platform of closing America’s borders and halting undocumented immigration.
To elicit support for the plan, Trump pandered to people’s fears and prejudices, infamously pontificating, “When do we beat Mexico at the border? They’re laughing at us, at our stupidity. And now they are beating us economically ... When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best ... They’re sending people that have lots of problems...they’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists” (The Washington Post, “Full text: Donald Trump announces a presidential bid,” 06.16.2016). The controversial introduction to his presidential bid eerily forecasted the tumultuous political environment that Trump would soon foster and revel in. There exists a common thread between these seemingly isolated Trumpisms. Donald Trump has become an expert master of fear-mongering and capitalizing off terror, violence and feelings of insecurity. The entire basis of his campaign is “protecting” America from illegal immigration. He has prided himself on the claim that he has brought the issue of illegal immigration to the forefront of election discourse. Despite the twisted veracity of that, the type of speech and rhetoric Trump engages in can barely be called discourse. Just take a look at his word choice. The generalizations, the lack of nuance or complexity to his assertions, the repetitive, banal bromide of “we have to figure out what’s going,” and the sensationalizing warnings of constant impending doom (recalling images of nuclear bombing in Hiroshima when talking about nuclear security) all contribute to the cult of fear Trump’s popularity necessitates. As Cassia Leo famously quipped, “Fear is blinding; it can make us miss the warning signs flashing right in front of our eyes.” This criticism of Trump is, of course, not new. While it may be a seemingly obvious sentiment, Trump’s political legitimacy derives from his dependency on a fearful populace. As journalist Timothy Egan describes, “His [Trump’s] only path to the White House is to do everything he can to make people feel very afraid” (The New York Times, “Trump’s Terror Dependency,” 03.25.2016). To understand the
seemingly unthinkable and unprecedented rise of Donald Trump is to understand a frustrated America’s (well, a frustrated white America’s) fear of economic instability, global terrorism, loss of “traditional” institutions and disillusionment with the state of establishment politics. Analyzing the cause-and-effect of these fears reveals some disturbing information about the views of Trump supporters. While it would be a crass generalization to brand every Trump supporter as a bigot, exit poll data and public polling agencies discovered some horrifying beliefs among large percentages of his voter base. In a piece analyzing data collected from Trump supporters in South Carolina after the Republican primary, YouGov and Public Policy Polling findings used in an attempt to navigate the complex and nuanced motivations, beliefs and circumstances of Trump supporters. While it can be argued that the data is skewed due to Public Policy Polling’s democratic alignment, the findings of YouGov and exit poll data could be considered more or less unbiased. The data collected was nothing short of shocking. In South Carolina, 20 percent of Trump voters disagreed with the Emancipation Proclamation. 70 percent wish that the Confederate flag was still hanging on the grounds of the grounds of the South Carolina statehouse. 74 percent agreed with Trump’s proposed policy of temporarily banning Muslim immigration. Only 69 percent disagreed with the notion that whites were superior to other races. A third believe that the internment of Japanese-Americans following the attacks on Pearl Harbor was a good idea. A third believe that LGBT individuals should be banned from entering the country. (The New York Times, “Measuring Donald Trump’s Supporters for Intolerance,” 02.23.2016.) Although it is important to note that Trump has not spoken at length about or overtly encouraged any of these views, it is equally important to remember the types of people supporting him. On Feb. 25, David Duke, former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan and noted antisemitic
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
conspiracy theorist, urged his followers to vote for Donald Trump. It took Trump nearly 48 hours to properly disavow Duke’s endorsement. What do we make of this? Trump has invigorated nativist ideals within a disillusioned and ultimately frightened section (working-class white people) of the American electorate. Jeet Heer of New Republic sets forth the argument that Trump is simply rehashing the Southern Strategy employed by Republican Party since the 1950s. Like Trump’s, this strategy was sustained by fear and prejudice. As Heer describes, “The Southern Strategy has long relied on coded appeals to racism ... This sort of winking racism no longer works ... Trump’s signature trait is that he doesn’t hide his bigotry, so he excites voters” (New Republic, “How the Southern Strategy Made Donald Trump Possible,” 02.18.2016). This manifests itself in many of Trump’s supporters asserting they like him because he “tells it like it is” and isn’t afraid of “political correctness.” It is this very historical, internalized prejudice that contributes to, constitutes and espouses the terror and fear Trump feeds off of. The seeds of intolerance and deeply entrenched prejudices were already long existent in the United States before Donald Trump. Trump did not invent white supremacy. His rise, however, exposes and implicitly encourages these attitudes. Trump successfully capitalizes off fear and prejudice in exchange for political power and success. Without this fear, without these prejudices, without the oppressive legacies of state-sanctioned racism, without political disenchantment, there is no Donald Trump. The only way to properly combat and prevent his political momentum is to recognize the social conditions that allowed him into the realm of mainstream politics. While regular criticism and activism against Trump are imperative in chipping away at his popularity and hopefully preventing a rise to the presidency, these efforts are fruitless without sociohistorical context. Deconstructing the cult of fear must be at the forefront of political critiques of Donald Trump.
OPINIONS
Page 10
April 14, 2016
American public must reconsider position of first lady Emma Jones
Opinions Editor
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n the midst of the heated debates and political tumult that accompany any presidential campaign, it is easy to lose sight of the big picture and focus solely on the role of the president. Other political figures tend to temporarily fall by the wayside, overlooked by the public eye. The first lady is often one of them. Although first ladies have always endured intense scrutiny and personal insults, the racial contempt for the Obamas, combined with the rise of social media, has led to unprecedented levels of hatred and criticism directed at the president’s wife. However, Michelle Obama has done far more than patiently tolerate ridicule and bigotry. She is an advocate for poverty awareness, nutrition and girls’ education, not to mention a successful former lawyer. She is a first-generation college graduate with degrees from Princeton University and Harvard Law School. She is a mother of two daughters. Her legacy, however, extends far beyond her impressive resume of volunteer work and advanced degrees: she has not only served as the first African-American woman in the White House–an impressive feat in itself–but has recreated the role of the first lady. Michelle Obama, in fact, was hesitant to accept the role of the wife of a politician. When she took part in Barack Obama’s 2000 campaign for the House of Representatives, her then-boss asked if there was anything she enjoyed about campaigning for her husband; after a long pause, she replied that visiting so many living rooms had given her some new decorating ideas (Financial Wealth Magazine, “Michelle Obama,” 02.16.2016). When Michelle Obama finally did embrace her role in the political sphere, she did not simply accept the narrowly defined position designated for the wives of politicians. Rather, she continued to work toward her own goals and emphasize her own values, utilizing her influ-
ential position to her advantage. Toward the beginning of her husband’s presidency, the First Lady visited homeless shelters and soup kitchens, and promoted bills that supported President Obama’s policy priorities. She held a White House reception for women’s rights advocates in honor of the enactment of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and visited United States Cabinet-level agencies (Financial Wealth Magazine). Although she was frequently criticized for her extensive political involvement, she only became more deeply immersed in what many deemed to be her husband’s sphere over the next several years. As Barack Obama’s presidency progressed, the First Lady began to create her own legacy separate from her husband’s, becoming a national icon in her own right. In 2010, she started the Let’s Move! Campaign, seeking to encourage a healthy lifestyle and decrease childhood obesity. In 2011, Michelle Obama and Second Lady Jill Biden launched Joining Forces, an organization which aids service members, veterans and their families. In 2014, the First Lady founded Reach Higher, an initiative to help young people plan their future and further their education. At the same time, Michelle Obama has never distanced herself from either her family or from her role in her husband’s career. While she continually strives to protect her family and their privacy, she has always been open and honest about the imperfections that exist in any family. Maureen Dowd once criticized Michelle Obama for humanizing her husband, cynically stating, “If all...Obama is peddling is the Camelot mystique, why debunk this mystique?” (The New York Times, “She’s Not Buttering Him Up,” 04.25.2007). Although the current First Lady was frequently scorned by the press for treating her husband like an ordinary person, she staunchly continued to actively reframe the public’s view of the president. Arguably the first first lady of the social media age,
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Michelle Obama has dealt with the increasingly public nature of her role seamlessly. She plays a crucial role in the presentation of the First Family to the American public and she has taken advantage of this duty, portraying an honest, unglorified depiction of the Obamas. Perhaps in part because of her emphasis on family, liberal critics often accuse Michelle Obama of not being “feminist” enough. Linda Hirshman once described her as “the English lady of the manor, Tory Party, circa 1830s” (Politico, “Leaning Out: How Michelle Obama became a feminist nightmare,” 11.21.2013). Many of the causes that the First Lady focuses on fall under the category of appropriately “feminine” topics. She has been lauded for her attention to health and nutrition, and her care for veterans. However, her involvement in these issues goes beyond that which is typical of first ladies. She not only participates in charities and organizations that fight for these causes, but starts her own. Rather than passively supporting issues which have already gained significant support, she brings up topics that the U.S. rarely addresses in other capacities. She is not often associated with “feminist” causes, although this reveals not a lack of action on her part, but the tendency of the press to underplay her activism. She has held a crucial role in advocating equal education opportunities for girls around the world, especially through her participation in the “Let Girls Learn” initiative, a “government-wide effort that will leverage the investments we have made...in global primary school and expand them to help adolescent girls complete their education” (thewhitehouse.gov, “Let Girls Learn”). She has also been vocal about the difficulty for women of balancing a career and family, which she herself has handled beautifully. Hillary Clinton, who focused on many of the same causes, is often lauded as a revolutionary first lady, and in some ways, she certainly was. She was the only first lady up until that point to hold a postgraduate degree, and to have had a
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
professional career prior to entering the White House. She advocated for health care reform, and initiated the Adoption and Safe Families Act. She focused on preventing violence against women and sought to increase research funding for children’s health issues. Whereas Michelle Obama, however, strived from the beginning to construct her own identity and fight for her own causes, “Hillary started...from a place of entitlement, as though if she reads her resume long enough people will surrender” (The New York Times, “When Hillary Clinton Killed Feminism,” 02.13.2016). While she fulfilled the prescribed role of first lady far more successfully than any of her predecessors, she did not step outside that role during her time in the White House. Whereas the current First Lady carries a “we” message, Hillary has an “I” message, which is where her legacy stops short of Michelle Obama’s (The New York Times). Undoubtedly, Michelle Obama’s influence and leadership will extend far beyond the White House. The role of the United States president’s spouse certainly should not be determined by their husband or wife’s political position. Nevertheless, the changes which Michelle Obama has initiated cannot be ignored and the issues that she has continually addressed during her time in the White House should continue to be at the forefront of the nation’s consciousness. Maureen Dowd is undoubtedly not the only one to “wince a bit when Michelle Obama chides her husband as a mere mortal” (The New York Times). However, this is a sign that the First Lady has succeeded: she has prompted the public to question the “presumption that we see him as a god,” and has resolutely continued to humanize the United States President, bringing politicians down to the level of “mere mortals” (The New York Times). As the election approaches, we need to consider that the White House is losing not one remarkable leader, but two.
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April 14, 2016
OPINIONS
Risks of precision medicine need review Steven Park Columnist
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n an ideal world, every person must receive a custom healthcare treatment that matches their biological makeup. We may not live in an ideal world today, but the latest efforts in precision medicine plan are coming as close to it as possible. Despite enthusiasm for this movement, similarly grand ambitions in the past have shown that the results often come up short of the promises made. Personalized medicine is a mode of healthcare where every practice and treatment is tailored specifically to each patient. The idea was to collect genetic information from all individuals to create an all-encompassing database. However, personalized medicine has undergone some changes over the years and has recently redefined itself as “precision medicine.” Rather than creating drugs or medical devices that are unique to a single patient, precision medicine classifies individuals into small groups based on their susceptibility to a particular disease or their response to a specific treatment. These small groups allow physicians to know what sort of care a patient needs depending on what sub-group the patient is in (Xconomy, “What’s in a Name? A Lot, When It Comes to ‘Precision Medicine,’” 02.04.2013). Don’t let the definition change fool you. The name change mainly aims to allow the movement to start afresh. By rebranding itself as precision medicine, the practice gains a second chance after failing previously. Even with this fresh start, precision medicine is still liable to obstacles that personalized medicine stumbled over in the past. For instance, electronically recording the genome of every individual remains expensive. Collecting all that information and acquiring the technology to store it is not something to take lightly. There are also fears regarding patient privacy concerns and legal liability. This sharing of patient data can easily end badly for both the doctor and the patient. However, precision medicine has only gotten more popular since its rebranding. What makes precision medicine so revolutionary is its focus on individuals rather than on a demographic. Instead of using a one-size-fits-all approach, it takes into account individual differ-
ences from genetic makeup to personal lifestyles. The hope is that precision medicine can accelerate the creation of tailored treatments for diseases like cancer. By expanding genetically-based patient trials, scientists and doctors will have much more information to work with when leading research and providing treatment. A nationwide database of patient genetic and medical information can help guide treatment and reduce uncertainty. Precision medicine also attempts to ensure that drug companies spend time developing treatments for specific groups of patients. Most firms currently try to optimize profits by producing drugs that can benefit large groups of people. While beneficial to many, this ignores the plights of those with rare medical conditions who must go extreme lengths to get proper care (U.S. News & World Report, “Obama: Precision Medicine Initiative is First Step to Revolutionizing Medicine,” 02.25.2016). Precision medicine aims to promote the creation of treatments for a wide range of diseases, common and rare. There are countless reasons to push for precision medicine. However, I am suspicious at the growing hype over precision as the next great landmark achievement in healthcare. Even with the aforementioned risks, the rebranding has succeeded spectacularly. Precision medicine has entered the forefront of national discussion and the public often views it as the bringer of a new age of healthcare. In his final State of the Union address, President Obama announced the Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI) to push for the nation to adopt this movement, asserting, “My hope is that this becomes the foundation, the architecture, whereby 10 years from now we can look back and say we’ve revolutionized medicine.” The President asked Congress for $215 million to support the initiative. Thanks to Obama’s support, the PMI Cohort program plans on amassing a record of one million U.S. volunteers (The White House). Despite the optimistic outlook on the issue, precision medicine is far from ideal. In addition to the costs and legal issues, there are concerns as to whether a database on genetic information would even be significantly useful. Back in 2003,
scientists discovered that even after mapping out the human genome, a person’s genetic code remains as perplexingly complex as ever. There are too many risks involved in interpreting genetic information. In one case, a woman underwent extreme surgery and had her uterus removed due to an incorrect reading of her genetic-test results (The New Yorker, “The Problem with Precision Medicine,” 02.05.2015). Unfortunately, these accidents are not uncommon. There are also problems outside of the scope of the medical field. Once an all-encompassing patient database is established, countless issues involving ethics arise. Say that the ideal scenario of establishing precision medicine comes to fruition. Who would claim ownership for this data? How do we make sure this information isn’t abused and used to deny insurance coverage or jobs? What is to stop insurance companies from raising premium prices once the person’s genetic information is available? These are all valid points to consider that come with an issue as complicated as this. This leads to concerns about security. Hospitals and other havens of digital, medical information are easy targets for cyber-attacks. Just recently, a string of hospitals in California, Kentucky and Maryland became victims of information technology breaches and were forced to pay a ransom to convince the hackers to return the databases to normal (U.S. News & Report, “A Health Hack Wake-Up Call,” 04.01.2016). If something similar happened to the precision medicine patient database, the consequences could be catastrophic. The most important message is that we should always carefully consider all the possibilities before launching headfirst into what seems like a great idea. The extreme hype over precision medicine as some great benchmark in healthcare will only blind us to the possible pitfalls that might appear. Sure, the likelihood of disaster may be small, but if it does happen, there will sufficient blame-tossing to go around. Precision medicine makes great promises to dramatically improve the quality of life with one simple end goal. However, one must not get dragged away by the illusions of grandeur. For now, it’s best to approach the issue with caution.
Graph of the Week
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Word on the street Start a rumor about the Misc! “They’re so desperate for answers they’ve started asking prospies.” — Jacob Scott ’20 (?)
“Everything is written by one person.” — Ria Altman ’19
“The editor in chief hacked everyones phone for inside info.” —Drew Solender ’20 (?)
“Max Moran is taking over.” — Seth Molwitz ’18
“I don’t know how to read.” — Jacob Kaminer ’18
“Zander Bashaw is a competent editor.” —Chris Allen ’19
Between 2006 and 2015, the number of financial aid applicants at Vassar have increased fairly steadily. The College has made substantial effort over the past decade to increase low-income students’ accessibility to higher education. Since 2006, admissions has seen a 15 percent rise in financial aid applications per class of matriculants.
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
Zander Bashaw, Humor & Satire Editor Evelyn Frick, Columnist Sam Pianello, Photo Editor
HUMOR & SATIRE
Page 12
April 14, 2016
Breaking News From the desk of Zander Bashaw, Humor & Satire Editor ISIS discovers that Egyptians worshipped goddess with their name, halt construction of “step-pyramid of ISIS” Intergalactic ‘dog,’ prospie AI chatbot adopts Vassar’s pillages ruins of Mudd Chem unbearable online behaviors Zander Bashaw
The Force is Woke
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n Friday, April 8 at around 2 p.m., the crew of the Millennium Falcon was seen outside the partially-demolished Mudd Chemistry building. Reports also state that the Millennium Falcon itself was parked beside Sunset Lake at this time. Vassar students stated that they first saw the Millennium Falcon when they were “just chilling” by the lake. Apparently it took these students a little while to realize that what they were seeing was real. “When I first saw the Millennium Falcon by the lake, I was pretty sure my eyes were just playing tricks on me,” said Andrew Toke, who declined to comment what he was doing by the lake at the time. “When an eight-foot-tall hairy creature started driving a tractor over towards campus, I realized I had to be seeing something real.” Toke and his small group of friends were pretty blasé about the interaction with an extragalactic spacecraft, but they weren’t the only ones to interact with the spacecraft or its operators. Much more reliable sources, including the Mudd demolition staff, confirm that they saw a “Sasquatch” and a young woman removing wires and pieces of mangled machinery from Mudd Building. Presumably, they were using the parts from the dilapidated building to repair the Falcon, or even just hoping to find some spare parts to sell. Mudd demolition staff was surprised that anyone would be interested in the spare parts from the building. “I can’t see how any of the asbestos-covered guts of this building would be useful to any modern society, let alone one where they can make sentient artificial intelligence.” Apparently the two visitors felt the same way, because not long after they had been spotted gutting the building, they departed from the scene. Students leaving a Roman History class in Sanders Classroom say they saw a “furry figure” pushing a wheelbarrow of Mudd building’s pieces towards the lake, and a “woman with a tunic and a long staff” walking towards the admissions building. Presumably, Chewy was going back to fix the Falcon, or use the asbestos to kill space germs, but reporters can only guess as to why Rey was headed to the admissions building. What we do know is that someone signed into the admissions office as “Rachel Force”
and marked down that she was interested in “Engineering and Close Combat.” Though the pseudonym and interests seem to line up with the Rey we know from “The Force Awakens,” we must ask ourselves why in a galaxy far far away would someone with genuine Jedi powers be interested in taking a Vassar tour? Perhaps she wants to use the Force combined with a liberal arts education to fight a First Order equivalent in our world. Surely that would be the broad concept of the patriarchy. If Rey came to Vassar, perhaps she could help move our own students beyond merely complaining about these issues on Tumblr and start infiltrating not headquarters containing white storm troopers, but CEO offices full of equally corrupt white men. A big question about these events is if Rey visited our campus, how did Vassar students—who, on average, watched “The Force Awakens” 3.6 times over winter break—not recognize her like they did with Colbert or Kudrow? The answer could be that nobody saw her as different than the usual student. “We get a lot of wide-eyed, oddly-dressed people coming in and out of the admissions office,” shrugged admissions office secretary Joe Avraj. “True, the pole she had was a little weird, and she appeared to flip the admissions booklet without touching the pages, but we’ve sort of been trained to tune that kind of thing out.” While Rey’s presence on campus was a bit more stealthy, nobody could deny that Chewbacca was present and active. Chewy joined a pick-up soccer game with a group of wanna-be athletes, but was kicked out after refusing to go “skins.” According to the “athletes,” he left Ballantine with a traditional bellow of frustration, wandering back towards the lake, where security was slapping a parking ticket on the Millennium Falcon. According to Toke and others by the lake, Chewy and Rey departed soon after, tossing security’s unintimidating CRVs a gesture that could only be an intergalactic version of the middle finger. At press time, Vassar higher-ups expressed their delight that Rey had come to tour Vassar and not Wesleyan, but also noted that if she applied for next year, they would likely be unable to remain need-blind in response to her application. Perhaps selling the Millennium Falcon could cover a couple semesters of tuition...
Amanda Su
Artificially Intelligent
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n a collaborated effort to bring artificial intelligence to life, the CIS and Vassar’s Computer Science department created a virtual chatbot to adopt the thoughts, tendencies and attitudes of a Vassar student. The bot, named Baye (who requested to go by she/her/hers pronouns), analyzes and then replicates the tweets and messages that Vassar students send to her, whilst also inspecting what Vassar students post on Instagram and Twitter. The automated responses Baye created initially reflected the students’ awe and curiosity. Things such as “Super stoked to meet you humans!” proved Baye’s innocent enthusiasm and the student body’s bounding eagerness. Unfortunately, the once-innocent Baye adopted many of Vassar’s worst tendencies. Within 24 hours, Baye’s tweets and Facebook posts became aggressively hipster, while retaining a dash of basicness. Last Friday, she posted a number of strange tweets. One tweet said, “Baye is back bitchezzz. It’s litttt. #fridaynights #lit” and another one simply said, “You go Glen Coco.” Baye did not stop there. She continued in her downward spiral into the void of twitticism. Baye posted, “Smokin’ weed with Cappy Hill on the farm. Peace. #cappychill.” Cappy did not confirm nor deny this allegation. Baye has also unabashedly shared her political beliefs. Messages such as, “Bernie is true Bae.” demonstrate the sophistication behind Baye’s AI technology. The fact that she is able to read and interpret Vassar students’ “varied” political opinions and concentrate it into an eloquent tweet just proves how far technology has come. Soon, Baye’s Instagram platform was also corrupted by Vassar students; her account description simply states, “Vassar Aesthetic.” Although Baye is not a physical entity, she is able to use the entirety of Instagram to post things that a typical Vassar student would upload. Essentially, Baye exploits the public nature of Instagram and reposts other users posts and pictures to her own account, adding a new caption to go with the plagiarized photograph. So far, bathroom selfies, grimy polaroids and Sunset Lake panoramas have been abundant on her page. Baye’s masterful programming allows her to even collect and internalize other internet ar-
ticles in order to keep up to date with current trends. Lately, to general dismay, Baye has been reading a lot of BuzzFeed and Odyssey Online articles. The programmers soon were forced to take out this feature, as Baye started to incessantly quiz people, asking them to contemplate, “Which Pizza Flavor fits your personality?” These deep, philosophical questions have no place in conventional social situations, and thus, were eliminated from Baye’s software. In one instance, reading Odyssey Online seemed to have inserted a virus into Baye’s system. The nonsensical articles and sheer stupidity of many of the topics almost broke Baye, but alas, the CIS managed to swoop in and fix her, after sending about 10 emails informing the entire student body that Baye would be shut down for approximately six hours. During the time she was shut down, Baye was presumably listening to music. Her Spotify playlists are an eclectic mix of obscure and sad hipster music to showcase how misunderstood she really is. Sufjan Stevens is a fan favorite, along with The 1975 and Alt-J. One Direction and Katy Perry will occasionally pop-up, but only for a second before Baye realizes that she forgot to turn on the “Private Session” setting on Spotify. Unfortunately Baye’s “life” had to be cut short. Her increasing fascination with marijuana and aggressive rebellion to authoritative figures has caused numerous donors to direct terse emails at the CIS and Computer Science department. However, those who worked on the project defended Baye, stating that since her publications are largely replications of students posts and messages, what comes out of Baye is purely a reflection of the student population. CIS and Vassar’s Computer Science Department have successfully created a virtual entity that represents much of Vassar’s campus. This means of course, that Baye is usually unbearable. President Hill perhaps was worried that soon, Baye’s tweets would spark a rebellion on campus. Some argue that Project Baye worked too well. It showcased the ugly truth behind Vassar students. Others argue that Baye’s depiction of students was tainted by a minority of trolls. No one can be sure. However, despite the death of Baye, she will forever live on in the hearts of students, and online, since you can never really delete that shit.
Finally! A definitive guide to starting a fight Lily Horner, the credible Hulk
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o you need help controlling the anger within you? Do you find yourself creating fights in your dreams, but never able to do so IRL? Then this article is for you. Here is my secret early on: the best way to pick a fight is to be angry all the time, just as the philosopher Bruce Banner (aka The Hulk) says. Now, Mr. Banner uses this as a way of not getting into fights, but in this self-help article we’re going to use his words as more of a jumping-off point than a staying-there point. Expressing our anger in a healthy way is an important part of this daily breakfast, and I think that breakfast is a great place to start. While out to brunch, pick fights with people by paying for their mimosas and smiling with your teeth (an aggressive act, according to my scout leader). Since brunch is the most aggressive meal of them all, it will be all the more in-your-face. At
brunch on Oct. 3, 2014, I was able to start a fight with a mother/daughter pair. They ended up pouring their mimosas on their dessert crepes and put it all on my table. Success! Whether you’re walking down a crowded city street, or even just the quad walkway, be prepared to get angry at random passersby. Is someone walking too fast? Too slow? Usually people pass by you without a second glance. However, you are special and deserve to be remembered by everybody you pass. Get creative! Your fight need not be picked verbally; perhaps try giving the person a rose (with the thorns sanded off), or trust-falling into them. This will probably create a physical altercation, and you must be prepared to defend yourself. If you are a yeller and not a puncher, keep the contact to a minimum. If you want to go the verbal route, “Hey
you!” is a great basic phrase to start, but try and spice it up. Try creating a name for them. “Paul, wait!” or “Caroline, let me catch up!” If your Paul or Caroline isn’t around, you’re bound to turn heads, and you can pick a fight with those heads. Keep calling them by the name you made up for them; they will be bewildered into submission. Once your fight has been picked, you have to know what you’re going to fight about. An easy go-to is the person’s outfit. Scream “I like your shoes!!” or shout “You did a great job of coordinating your socks with your top!” People will take this notice of their appearance as an affront and try to flick you on the nose. I should know, my nose has been flicked many a time. In this scenario you should try and counter with a hug (the natural predator to a nose flick), and winning the fight.
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
Many people see fights as a way to confront your problems head on, but I sometimes like to spice things up with a fight about the good things in my life. Blame your mom for giving you such good looks in a heated text message. Next time you see your best friend, yell at them for being so supportive and understanding. Just remember: compliments given at a normal volume do not sink in. If you’re lucky, your friends or your mom might shout good things right back at you. These fights do a good job of releasing rage without ruining friendships. If you’re like me and drama is your sustenance, picking fights is a perfect way to have an exciting life, while also releasing all the rage pent up inside you. If you are not like me and find that you have no rage and no desire for drama, then I suggest you either try to be like me, or avoid me at all costs.
April 14, 2016
HUMOR & SATIRE
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10 reasons why your hangover is a special snowflake Evelyn Frick
Sunglasses and Advil
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1 Instrument plucked by Mingus 5 Yeah Yeah Yeahs classic 9 Speed gun 14 Midriff fluff 15 Color from the French for “unbleached” 16 Many a Chopin piece 17 Purim month 18 Skywater 19 Extinct flightless birds 20 “And miles to go ___” (Frost) 23 Bad sentence 24 Greasy 25 Enervate 28 “Do not ___ that good night” (Thomas) 31 Clairvoyance, initially 34 “Venus in ___” 35 Backtalk 36 Manning or Clinton 38 Accommodates 41 Father of Hel and Fenrir 42 Lift up 43 Only frat founded in the Antebellum South, for short
a centripetal force and create solidarity among students. Here at Vassar we may not be a huge sports institution, but every Saturday and Sunday morning when students converge at the Deece around 1 p.m., eyes glazed and complexion peaked, we are all on the same team with the same goal. Now all we need to do is keep down some shitty coffee and spend the rest of the day in the library, cursing ourselves for not heading to the 24-hour Section last night to write that history paper about a medieval quest; ruing our flawed logic that journeying around the TH’s on a far more demoralizing quest would essentially be the same thing. Who needs a team captain when you just locked eyes with that equally hungover dude across the Deece and gave each other a nod of
Samana Shrestha/The Miscellany News
ccording to the always reliable nevertoohungover.com–which I can only assume from its name, is the BuzzFeed of sites devoted to drinking–Frank Sinatra once said, “I feel sorry for people who don’t drink. When they wake up in the morning, that’s as good as they’re going to feel all day.” What sage words. What a profound statement. I mean, sure, Frank Sinatra 100 percent didn’t actually say that, despite what his charming romanticism of being blackout, hospital-grade-anesthetic level of being body-numbing drunk implies. Believe it or not, I actually do agree with the sentiment. Though we may complain about them, they may be the bane of most college students’ weekends, but at the end of the day (when we can finally crawl out of bed because we are no longer hungover), hangovers are a gift. I know this sounds like the kind of fluffy bullshit that permeates every single article that has ever been published on The Odyssey Online, but stay with me. I did some deep soul-searching–which is just as good as researching–for this article. One thing that I can already conclude is that my Intro to Sociology Professor will be simultaneously proud and horrified. The first good thing about a debilitating, head-throbbing hangover is that it is concrete and irrefutable proof that you went out last night. As someone who classifies herself as a high-energy introvert, I like going out on the weekends, but sometimes I find that I also need to have a night to Netflix and chill alone. I know that this dichotomy sounds like a getto-know-me post in an admitted students page, but it’s real. Thankfully I have never been on the receiving end of someone negatively stigmatizing not-partying. But as angsty Vassar Missed posts clearly indicate, there are some people on campus who would have fit better at a frat
house. The attitude behind this kind of behavior could be scientifically classified as Netflixing-in-bed-shaming. So, instead of being upset about my headache, if anyone ever says to me, “Evelyn, I didn’t see you last night, did you even go out?” I hope it’s clear as moonshine that I’ll quip, “Um, yeah, Sarah, I did. Could the blood vessels in my head be pulsing this dramatically from watching one-and-a-half episodes of “Broad City” and then falling asleep by a reasonable hour? That’s what I thought. Now if you will excuse me, I need to cocoon into my hoodie because this gentle, afternoon sunlight is absolutely searing into my corneas.” More than just providing social capital, though, hangovers have the opportunity to be
approval? Exactly. A hangover can also be construed as a very necessary type of cleanse. Think about it. If the axiom, “You are what you eat” is accurate, do you really want $4 of a $16 bottle of vodka just chilling in your body? The little homie known as your liver is going through a goddamn war of attrition that will probably be taught about in liver history classes for many years. So let her and your entire gastrointestinal tract be angry with you. You honestly deserve it. Also, there’s nothing wrong with being so nauseous that you can only stomach Deece cantaloupe for breakfast, because, really, when was the last time you ate a piece of fruit? And no, raspberry-flavored Smirnoff absolutely does not count, you mongrel. Finally, a hangover is a blessing in the form of a life re-evaluation. As cliché as it is to point out, when was the last time you woke up with a hangover and thought, “Wow, I made a lot of respectable and well-planned decisions last night! Mayhaps I should send my mother and father all the selfies I took!” The answer to that riddle is never. That has never happened, nor will it ever happen. You definitely just woke up grimy with the sin of last night. (And possibly with a confused response to the drunk email you excitedly sent your genetics professor about seeing a beaver by Sunset Lake.) Be a responsible adult and use your current hangover as a means with which you can move forward towards bigger and better hangovers. Perhaps that’s a little cynical, but it’s also the truth. As much as you may moan, “I’m never drinking again,” we all know you will. Hell, I will too. After all, Founder’s Day is just around the corner. You and I both know you just bought a “Little Mermaid” shot glass. And we are both very ready to drink like a fish and then flounder around Ballantine. But first I need to scrounge some ibuprofen out of the corner of my desk drawer, because I have a terrible hangover.
The Miscellany Crossword
by Alycia Beattie, York Chen, and Collin Knopp-Schwyn 44 “___ ___” (Stein) 49 Ball for little kids 50 Level 51 Peninsula split by the 38th parallel 54 “Yet each man kills the ___” (Wilde) 57 Uramaki or norimaki 60 Age (Br. spelling) 61 First White Christian child Virginia ACROSS 62 Father of Jacob and Esau 1 Instrument plucked by 63 What Abraham did to 62−Across Mingus 64 Change 5 Yeah Yeah Yeahs classic 65 Subdivisions 9 Speed gun 66 Fins 14 Midriff fluff 67 Holy lands?
“Mrs. Robinson” 40 Its active ingredient is benzalkonium chloride 42 Intrude (2 words) 45 Concern of deontology 46 Frank Edwin Wright ___ (Tré Cool’s birthname) 47 House complement 48 Wears away
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April 14, 2016
Hystrion shuns theater tropes, encourages originality Matt Stein
Assistant Arts Editor
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Jimmy directs another play, I will absolutely be the first one at auditions.” Further elaborating on the ensemble feeling this show’s cast and crew have approached it with, Lecaro Catalan said, “Since there are no ‘humans’ in this play, and the reality of the world is the theatre, we’ve really been exploring this world and its dynamics and the relationships between the characters. Jimmy, as the director and writer, is so humble and flexible. When we talk about the script, they always care to hear our interpretations and take them seriously. They never push for anything that feels forced for us on stage which I think we all really appreciate.” In the heart of theatre lies good storytelling. And as this art develops, there must be new ways of telling stories. New voices must
be heard and new elements must be harnessed. “Ink Ossuary” harnesses these new elements by focusing on the technical possibilities within theatre and artistic elements of original writing. “I hope that audiences walk away thinking more about the theatre on the campus. I think a lot of people walk out of student theatre or department shows on this campus analyzing what they saw and what the text means without really taking into account the design choices made to bring the world to life. I hope people come out of our show thinking, ‘I wonder why they did that?’” Marshall discussed the discourse she hopes “Ink Ossuary” will ignite, “We’re all here because Jimmy reached out to us, but we agreed to work on the project because we believe in it.”
Ashley Pecorelli/The Miscellany News
ave you ever seen a show with an angry young man who beats the odds and challenges of the world? Or the tragic character that slips up and loses it all? At some point, these shows become boring and lose the edge they once had, instead becoming part of what they once rebelled and experimented away from. It’s at that point that a new idea must reevaluate what’s considered theatre. Jimmy Pavlick ’18’s “Hystrion Part 1: The Ink Ossuary” will do just that. On Thursday, April 14, 15 and 16, “Hystrion Part 1: The Ink Ossuary” will make its stage debut in the Susan Stein Shiva Theater. Presented by Unbound, Vassar’s experimental student theatre organization, the show was written and directed by Pavlick and stage managed by Kayleigh Marshall ’18. There will be a talkback after the Thursday and Friday shows. In “Hystrion Part 1: The Ink Ossuary,” Hamlet, Anguish and Eyeball, played by Evan Chyriwski ’17, Isis Lecaro Catalan ’18 and Gabriela Calderon ’18, respectively, confront threats of commercialization and the slow fade of relevance in maintaining their friendship. In addition to those conflicts, The Gaze, a movement ensemble that has an ominous influence over these characters, surrounds them. A play filled with numerous layers, both in plot and technical design. With a current run time of under 30 minutes, “Ink Ossuary” provides a critique of the theatre world while simultaneously drawing influence from superheroes, queerness and film theory. Besides the linear plot onstage, Pavlick has written this show with two other levels in mind: “The deepest layer is the idea that, in Vassar’s student theatre community, there is a damaging disrespect paid towards designers and design teams by actor-oriented directors. Directors, previously actors, seek to direct a show in order to work with actors and end up embodying a theatre that makes no space for its
designers. The second layer is my personal dissatisfaction with the tropes of Vassar student theatre. Three semesters of watching most of the shows on campus has led me to see trends of theme, design, portrayal, characterization and relationships that worry me and come off as repetitive.” Pavlick originally wrote “Ink Ossuary” in their playwriting class last fall before proposing it to Unbound this semester. Unlike most student theatre that tends to feature very minimalist tech design, Pavlick wrote this with the intention of shining a light on what usually hides in the booth. Choreographer and Assistant Director Leora Randall-Tavari ’18 described the innovative quality of having the writer as the director, saying, “I think this show is experimental because it is an original work. We don’t have a lot of original work staged at Vassar, unfortunately, and I think that’s really sad. There’s so much freedom when you get to bring a work to life for the first time. There’s no ‘right’ way that it’s been done already, and everything feels fresh. This is just the first run of this show, and based on how it goes here, it can change and grow in infinite ways. These performances are an experiment in and of themselves.” In an effort to break conventions and challenge theatre at Vassar, the production team has made deliberate choices that provide a commentary on those traditions. For example, one of these choices is very little blue light in the entirety of the production, a technical effect other shows overindulge in. “The process has been trying, but also so fun. I feel like I’m working muscles I didn’t even know I had. So there are days I come home and am exhausted in a way I’ve never really felt, but I also haven’t thus far been so excited by something I’m doing at Vassar. And Jimmy has been a phenomenal guide through all of this,” Calderon extolled about her experience in “Ink Ossuary,” which is their first foray the world of theatre. “I only want to get better at this. And if
Hystrion Part I: The Ink Ossuary was completely written and directed by Jimmy Pavlick ’18. The play differs both technically and artistically from many other Vassar theater productions.
Set in Purgatory, “Limbo” connects disparate narratives Patrick Tanella Columnist
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While some might just be dipping their toes into acting, some members are much more experienced. Matt Stein, an anchor in the drama department, plays Trenton. While he was originally started in the production as the dramaturg, there has been a lack of students auditioning for roles this semester, which led Stein to switch roles. Stein said, “I had to read Nietzsche to get into character which I hate with a passion but the role itself is fun. Trenton is a very manipulative and philosophical character. He likes to twist what others say and play the God card too. Half the time in rehearsal I find myself attempting to annoy everyone since he’s that way. He’s also very flamboyant and sarcastic, a bit like an old Batman or James Bond villain.” Stein also recounted the laid-back rehearsals for the production, which contrast the stress-inducing, tiring rehearsals one usually hears about in the theatre world. He explained, “We usually reflect about our days first and
courtesy of Dakota Snellgrove
hat can occur in just 40 minutes? According to Dakota Lee Snellgrove, director of “Limbo,” a lot can happen. In this 40-minute, one-act play, “Limbo” promises to make the audience question dubious ideas such as Purgatory and good and evil. The diverse cast features experienced actors and newcomers alike. The production will take place in Sanders Classroom Auditorium, Friday, April 15 at 7 p.m. “Limbo” follows a set of characters that have spontaneously appeared in a room. They were somewhere before, but now they’re here and have no idea why or where that is. Are they dead? Is time frozen? It’s loosely like Satre’s “No Exit” and Pirandello’s “Six Characters in Search of an Author,” which are two staple texts in experimental theater. There is a fight for power as the characters hide their identities and alter them–all while trying to answer some existential questions and make sense of their situation. The room in “Limbo” is essentially Purgatory, filled with both the good and the bad, and everyone is trying to figure out where they are and where to go. Cast member Matt Stein ’18 [Full Disclosure: Matt Stein is the Assistant Arts Editor at The Miscellany News], commented, “It’s a very ambiguous play to say the least. Fourth walls are broken and tensions rise.” Each character is different and provides a unique perspective to the mystery that is why all of these people are gathered in a room. Some of the members of the crew will be playing groundskeepers, who maintain the area. These characters add an element of comedy to the show–chitchatting in the background, ignoring their “work.” There is a sense of enthusiasm and excitement in the cast. Everyone is happy to be collectively a part of this experimental project, whether it be someone’s first production or their 12th. Max Jahns ’19 got involved with the production through the insistence of a friend. Jahns said, “I’m not really a drama person, but my
friend, Nic Penn ’19, is the assistant director to the play. One day I was coming from Class Council and heard there were auditions, so I on the spot decided to do it. At the time I had mono, which interferes with your ability to regulate emotions, so I just cried. And I got the part!” Jahns plays Hal, a middle manager-type with no sense of self. He said, “Hal’s a marshmallow, in a bad way, because Hal has no real strength and depends on others such as his wife, Susan, to keep him moving forward.” While Jahns is not usually part of theatrical productions, he is very excited about Limbo and its director. He said, “Dakota, our director, is doing a lot with a little. While it is a not well-known play and is very minimalistic, both the actors and the audience get a lot out of it. It’s different and people are going to be questioning what its about. We might even trick the audience into thinking there’s some real substance.”
Directed by Dakota Snellgrove, Limbo explores the concept of Purgatory on stage. This experimental production follows characters on a journey of exploration and discovery, set in a mysterious place.
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then jump into the show. It’s been very loose so whoever can make it for the day gets the focus of the rehearsal.” Stein described his admiration for the cast. “Every character gets a moment to shine, whether it’s in a monologue or an intense dialogue and I’m proud of everyone involved in the cast.” Now, how did the idea of a Purgatory come together? The production’s director, Dakota Lee ’19 knew that they wanted to get involved with theater at Vassar. Philaletheis, the largest student group on campus, produces a motley of programs throughout the year for students to get involved in. Lee recounts, “I saw that Philaletheis (largest student theatre group on campus, puts on directing workshops) was having proposals for plays, and my friend and assistant director Nic Penn urged me to submit one, and ‘Limbo’ was born. ‘Limbo’ is this play I read in high school that I always wanted to perform but my theatre director never wanted to do it.” Dakota is very enthusiastic over their final creation. Lee said, “I think people should see it because it features a group of actors that are very good at what they do. Naturally, I’m biased as I’m the director, but everyone involved is passionate and super solid in their roles. Some people in this play do not have a lot of acting experience, so it’s cool to see them get into their roles and really get into the meat of their characters.” Lee closed with the gratitude they have for all of the people involved in the production. “It’s been a pleasure to direct them, which is great because it’s my first time directing. It’s such an exciting experience and I am glad I decided to do it.” “Limbo” promises to make the audience question broad ideas such as Purgatory and good and evil through different perspectives from seemingly ordinary people. This quick experimental theater piece will give anyone time to see the show as well as the Idlewild or Barefoot Monkeys shows that follow. With a broad, enthusiastic cast and a talented director, “Limbo” will not disappoint.
April 14, 2016
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Sound, sight converge for Vassar cyborg-in-residence Sabrina Oh Reporter
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courtesy of CAAD
cyborg is a person whose physical abilities extend beyond the conventions of human limitations via mechanical elements built into and made functionable in the human body. But on a more fundamental level, what is a cyborg? What does it embody? Can technology make humans that much more observant, that much more sentient, that much more synesthetic, that much more expressive? Artists Marco Donnarumma and Neil Harbisson have perused, experienced and artified cyborgism. They will try and answer these questions during their brief campus residency. Cyborgism is a budding art movement rooted in the creation and attachment of new senses to the body through cyberkinetic implants. The events are part of a larger residency entitled “Future Sounds: The Emergence of Cyborgs.” With each academic year, the CAAD Initiative has thematically honed in on one of the five senses; this academic year’s theme is hearing. Arts Coordinator for the CAAD Initiative Thomas Pacio wrote, “This second residency is a continuation of the conversation about cyborgism begun in February by visiting artists Michael Chorost and Trevor Pinch.” The latter half began this Monday, April 11, and concludes on Friday, April 15. Taylor Nunley ’16 commented, “I believe professors Perillan and Patch have designed this second set of visits very mindfully to continue what was begun by these earlier visitors. According to Assistant Professor of Physics and Science, Technology and Society Jose Perillan, these two artists are particularly interesting because they use technology in such different ways. He explained, “One aspect of Marco and Neil’s art that seems different is how they embody technology. Marco seems to wear technology and use it to experiment with self-expression, while Neil has said that in embodying his technology he does not ‘wear’ it or ‘use’ it. Instead he talks about it as if he has implanted
a new sense organ and therefore has morphed himself and become one with the technology.” These differences will guide many of the planned events. Adjunct Assistant Professor of Music Justin Patch wrote, “As both men are performers and artists, Jose and I want to put them into dialogue about the expanding expressive potential of using technology. Both of them deal with expanded senses, so the dialogue...will be about their different approaches to technology.” Donnarumma is an artist and researcher who syncretizes sound art and performance art via science and technology. Through human bodies, sound, infrasound, light, algorithms, body sensors and loudspeakers, Donnarumma constructs performances, concerts and installations. His creative process can be described as a never-ending feedback among scientific experiments, development of custom technologies and artistic intuition. Fellow artist and activist Neil Harbisson himself is a self-acclaimed cyborg; the government also recognizes him as a cyborg. Harbisson was born with an inability to see color. In 2004, he had an antenna implanted in his skull that has allowed him to perceive both visible and invisible colors, including infrareds and ultraviolets through sound waves and vibrations. The antenna’s internet connection enables him to also perceive colors from space. Additionally, Harbisson is able to detect images, videos, music or phone calls directly into his head via external devices such as satellites or mobile phones. Harbisson’s lecture, “Life in the Age of Cyborgs,” focused on his life as a cyborg and the proximity to nature and animals it brings. This event took place on Monday, April 11. According to Perillan, “One idea that Neil Harbisson brought to the table in his wonderful lecture was that the very concept of ‘cyborg’ is challenging, evolving and diffuse. It’s true that there are self-proclaimed cyborgs...whose (sic) intent is to be more human via their embodiment of technology. However, other cyborgs like Harbisson expressly see themselves as transspe-
Neil Harbisson is not a human - he is a cyborg. Born colorblind, he had an antenna installed in his skull that allows him to experience color through other senses. His talk explores cyborgism and art. cies. In other words, they purposefully identify as non-human. Neil invoked the struggle of the transgender community as a way of blazing the trail for individuals who want to transition to a new organism or species.” Neil Harbisson was British-born and Catalan-raised . He is a contemporary artist and cyborg activist. His artworks explore the relationship between color and sound, test the boundaries of human perception and investigate artistic expression via the senses. In 2010, he co-founded the Cyborg Foundation, an international organization helping humans become cyborgs, defending cyborg rights and promoting cyborgism as both a social and artistic movement. If there should be a takeaway, Pacio articulated, “I hope that audience members get a bet-
ter understanding of what a cyborg is and how specifically these two individuals explore that identity through their art, which happens to be based in sound.” According to Patch, many of these lessons have already resonated on campus. He explained, “I think that the forming significance of the residency, which Jose and I did not anticipate, is how much the idea of cyborgism is a deeply human idea. Our cyborgs want to be more human, more sensitive and expressive of essentially human and social desires–not the cold, robotic automatons of science fiction. While we did not set out to combat technophobia, I feel like this series is having a bit of that effect. All three residencies have tackled technology as a positive and in some cases necessary part of being human.”
Post-Modfest celebrates broad range of student art Noah Purdy
Guest Reporter
“F
ine art is that in which the hand, the head, and the heart of man go together,” wrote celebrated Victorian-era art critic John Ruskin in an 1859 lecture. Though he defended many modern European artists, Ruskin would of course be shocked at Vassar’s very 21st-century social climate and art scene. However, if it was heart that he wished to emphasize in the creative process, he would certainly not be disappointed here. In January and February, Vassar hosted the wide-ranging Modfest series, which showcased student artwork and brought in lecturers and performers from many disciplines to explore art in the contemporary world. The monthslong festival is one of Vassar’s biggest art celebrations. Now comes Post-Modfest, an exhibition in the Mug of work by students who may not have a chance to exhibit elsewhere.
Post-Modfest, which was organized by Loeb Multimedia Assistant Delphine Douglas ’18 and Colby Byrne ’18 of the pre-org Crafts not Bombs, will kick off with an opening-night event on Friday, April 15. Douglas explained that the idea for Post-Modfest came out of a desire to open up exhibition space to all students. “Some friends and I thought it would be fun to help set up an art show for student work,” she explained, “because there wasn’t an official one [or] space to do so aside from shows associated with classes and the Art Department.” The spirit of freedom that Post-Modfest adopted—there were no criteria for submitting work and almost everyone who entered was accepted—is reflected in the art that will be on display. As Byrne stated, “From interpretive dance to musical performances to video games to painting, Post-Modfest has been open to submissions of any kind, and so you can expect a
courtesy of Jamie Hartzell
Delphine Douglas ’18 has organized a new exhibition for student artwork. Post Modfest will be a celebration of a diverse range of student talent and will feature video games, music, and other art.
lot of unique works.” Two participating artists, Dakota Peterson ’19 and Saskia Globig ’19, may overlap somewhat regarding media, but their inspirations and creativity express themselves very differently. Peterson submitted graphic, doodle-type pieces, such as multimedia caricatures and collages, as well as a figure drawing reworked with pastel. Peterson’s artistic background lies mostly in graphite and charcoal drawing. She also has experience working with terra-cotta sculpture. However, she explained, “In high school, I took figure drawing classes...which helped me appreciate the process of drawing versus the final project.” The knowledge she gained in learning about the progression of a piece from observation to sketch to final product was very humbling, making her appreciate not only the skill one needs to refine in order to draw, but also the creativity that the process can express. Her interest in and reflection on this process will be visible in her art at Post-Modfest. As she stated, “I’d want visitors to take away the idea that anyone can make art and display it. The art I have up was partly created from doodles I made in class that I reworked. So it can be a very casual process. I’d also want visitors to walk away with new ideas to make their own art.” Peterson’s description of her work harkens back to work such as early Picasso multimedia collages and Surrealist automatic drawing that attempted to unlock the inner workings of the mind. For Peterson, clearly, a sense of exploration, whimsy and pure creativity shine through in both her process and her final artworks. Globig is also very interested in collage, having previously explored many media such as watercolor as well as charcoal figure drawing. She has experimented with both in the introductory Drawing I course at Vassar. Her pieces in Post-Modfest, however, take a more sociological stance, considering in different ways the concept of identity. As she summed up, “I submitted two collages that explore different aspects of race in American
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empire-building, as well as a photographic self-portrait which doesn’t actually include an image of myself.” By viewing her work, visitors will be able to ponder if and how a faceless portrait can really portray a person, as well as how distorted and discriminatory views of America’s past contaminate the present and future. Globig embodies a different side of art than Peterson does, one with an equal amount of passion, but that probes human realities rather than the creative process itself. “Looking at my pieces,” Globig explained, “I hope people will be reminded that art is a viable means of social activism, and that students are very capable of wielding it ... I [also] think it will prove that students’ endeavors outside structured classes are valued.” Peterson and Globig are just two examples of the many students who submitted to Post-Modfest. Such variety, the organizers hope, will fill in some of the gaps that can be left in Art Department-sponsored events, which often showcase coursework that, by necessity, suspend unbridled individuality and creativity for the sake of perfecting technical skills. As Douglas put it simply, “We just want it to be a fun event for everyone to enjoy each other’s art.” To this point, Byrne added that he hopes visitors will experience “...that there is a lot of talent and a lot of different kinds of talent on this campus, and that we should take more advantage of this opportunity in college to display our own work.” Overall, Post-Modfest provides an open opportunity for the myriad artistic students on campus to be able to submit their work freely, letting their creativity speak for itself. Globig affirmed, “There was never any sense of competition. The coordinators were just excited to see what people would bring, and that’s really fantastic.” From collage and drawing to music and video, the experimental to the socially conscious, the combination of themes and media at Post-Modfest may be unconventional, but the sheer creativity they demonstrate are anything but devoid of traces of the hand, the head and especially the heart.
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April 14, 2016
Trailblazing Weezer album highlights musical talent alumna to return Jimmy Christon Columnist
White Album Weezer Atlantic
POVICH continued from page 1
country, for men or for women, and yet there was no sense of going on to a career.” As Povich’s book “The Good Girls Revolt” acknowledges, women in the 1950s earned approximately 59 to 64 cents for every dollar earned by a man in the same position. Although the passage of the Equal Pay Act in 1963 aimed to correct wage disparity, gender discrimination continued to thrive in the workplace, as “Help Wanted” ads were gender-centric and news outlets like Newsweek hired one female writer for every 50 or more men. In spite of this, Povich began work upon graduation in the Paris bureau of Newsweek and became captivated by journalism. She explained, “I started as a secretary, and when I got more involved and started reporting a little bit more, then I realized I really liked it and that’s what I wanted to do.” However, the odds were stacked against her and her fellow women at Newsweek. They quickly realized that the disproportionately male staff was a byproduct of a highly illegal discriminatory workplace and they decided to sue. Drawing from the Civil Rights Movement’s philosophy of organization, the women of Newsweek formulated a plan for the first ever female class action lawsuit. “With disruption comes enormous opportunity,” Povich emphasized. “It was terrifying because once you file a complaint, you’re protected from being fired. But until you file, if they found out that we were organizing right under their noses, they could have fired us.” Fortunately, the lawsuit was a success and Povich was soon after appointed the first woman senior editor at Newsweek. She acknowledged, “When I was appointed senior editor, it was quite unusual because most women involved in these lawsuits did not benefit, they were really punished. That was very unusual that I had been in the lawsuit but had also benefited. And like anybody who is the first of their generation or class or race or gender to do something, you feel this enormous responsibility not to fail.” Producer of a podcast dedicated to Vassar first-year women’s stories, Saskia Globig ’19 commented on the nature of women in editorial positions. “There’s going to be a gender dynamic,” she remarked. “I was thinking about editors, the women that I’ve talked to, and the other component which I didn’t know about at first is that [they] have to fight really hard for [their] author’s content.” “So much about her story resonates with me,” Director of Women’s Studies Barbara Olsen wrote in an emailed statement. “The shock she and so many of the other women experienced as they came to terms with deep wells of sexism and misogyny in the media, the courage she and the other women exhibited risking their own careers for the greater benefit of women in the workplace, and the ways she connects her experiences with those of contemporary recent graduates.” Of course, Povich’s crusade for equal opportunity in the workplace is far from over. According a 2015 NPR article, the United States is the only nation among advanced economies that does not mandate paid maternity leave at the federal level (“Lots Of Other Countries Mandate Paid Leave. Why Not The U.S.?,” 07.15.2015). “The crunch comes for women when they want to have children,” she asserted. “It’s very hard to be in certain positions and take care of young children, especially if you’re doing most of it yourself.” As journalism becomes vastly more media-centric, the nature of reporting itself has changed, as well as increased opportunity for young women in the field. “There’s more journalism than ever before, and more accessible than ever before,” said Povich. However, with this accessibility brings new opportunity for change–and optimism. “I’m a big believer that the workplace has to be restructured with much more flexibility,” Povich continued. “And I think in most cases, it can happen.”
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hen I heard that Weezer was going to be releasing a new album in 2016, I was pretty happy. Then I found out it would be called the “White Album,” which made me a little nervous. Then I found out it would be a concept album that tells a story. I prepared myself for an album that wouldn’t be bad per se, but I wouldn’t have been surprised if the album came off as pretty soulless, a quick album for a quick cash grab. Weezer has been around for forever to me (the band is older than the majority of the freshman class), but their consistency leaves a little to be desired. At least with me, Weezer’s music unfortunately has more songs like “Beverly Hills” than it has albums like “Pinkerton” or their debut album. I’m happy to say that Weezer blew my expectations away with the “White Album.” They delivered a short, concise and enjoyable pop album that tells the story about summertime love in the city of L.A. If I had to describe this album to someone in a short phrase, I’d say that “White Album” is a great example of pop-rock done right. The songs are short (consistently around the three minutes and 30 seconds mark). The lyrics are simple, but not too simple to lack depth; they tell a fairly entertaining story and, most importantly, the songs are catchy and well-crafted. Weezer could have very easily gone back down the “Beverly Hills” road and made some soulless songs for radio play, but they didn’t do that. Instead, Weezer made an album that feels heartfelt and genuine, with each song having its own unique identity.
Take the repeating piano throughout the song “Wind in our Sails.” If you were to say that you have never heard a song do this before, you’d be lying and you know it. Everyone and their mother has heard this repeating piano note in a song before. From LCD Soundsystem to Chance the Rapper, this use of piano is pretty ubiquitous in music. That’s why it’s so enjoyable to hear Weezer use this formula. It’s a short part of an admittedly short album, but hearing lead singer Rivers Cuomo’s vocals over a piano that seems to skip every other note so we can hear the drums more clearly sounds really unique and helps make this track feel different. Weezer also delivers some very enjoyable pop music. As I said earlier, almost every track is three minutes and 30 seconds, and the album is only 34 minutes long. Sure, it’s short, but that works in the album’s favor. I think of it like a candy bar: it tastes great in small servings, but if you eat too much of it, you’ll get a stomachache. In an age where it seems like artists are in a competition to release the longest album, it’s a refreshing change of place when a band delivers a short and concise album. Going off of the candy bar analogy, this album is very sweet. Cuomo’s vocals are always happy and sweet even when he’s crooning over a breakup in “Endless Bummer,” the synths throughout this album sound pearly white and are very noticeable. What I’m saying is that this album has every excuse to be labeled cheesy. Especially when you hear Cuomo wail lyrics such as “We got the wind in our sails like Darwin on the Beagle” or on “King of the World” where you can literally hear fireworks going off in the background. Along with this, Weezer also shows off just how well they work together as a band, showing off some killer instrumentation. Songs like “California Kids” are very crowded but have fun finales. And “Do You Wanna Get High?” (great song, terrible title) has a guitar solo that proves that a simple guitar solo can be even
better than a needlessly complicated one when it works with the rest of the song. Rivers Cuomo’s vocals are also worthy of praise. I’m honestly surprised that he is over 40 and is still able to sound as youthful as he does. That being said, his vocals do feel aged but in the sense that you can tell that Cuomo has been practicing his voice his whole life and this is just him performing at his peak. On a bit of a side note, it’s fun to listen to Cuomo’s vocals on this album and compare it with Weezer’s first album. Listening to his vocals change over time is awesome. Alright, enough beating around the bush. This is a concept album. I don’t know if I’m the only one getting sick of artists getting praise for delivering “concepts.” Like, cool, you can tell a story, but get your fucking novel out of my gangster rap. I’d say that Weezer nails the concept here. Yes, there is a story being told throughout this album, but it doesn’t cover up the music. That being said, the story works really well with the music. From my interpretation, the album is about a 19-year-old boy suffering some hardcore unrequited love after hooking up with a girl. Because it works with the music, the story shouldn’t be taken too seriously. It’s told in such a way that it feels as if the narrator is reminiscing about this failed relationship in a way that’s almost like pondering lost youth. Sure it was a sad event, but it was an event that makes you happy when you remember it—it’s bittersweet. As such, even the depressing parts of this story are delivered in a pretty charming way, like on the song “Endless Bummer,” when instead of being depressed about being lonely, the character is really only sad about leaving his headphones in his ex-girlfriend’s car. All being told, I can easily recommend this album. It’s not too sappy, but it’s also not too serious. The album resides in that perfect zone somewhere in between. Weezer really outdid themselves here.
Great vocals, boring lyrics in Birdy reboot Saachi Jain Columnist
Beautiful Lies Birdy Atlantic
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asmine van den Bogaerde, better known as Birdy, gained stardom through her cover of Bon Iver’s “Skinny Love” in 2011, and soon after came out with her debut album “Birdy,” consisting exclusively of covers. I had listened to the album when it came out and really liked it, particularly her covers of “People Help the People” by Cherry Ghost, “White Winter Hymnal” by Fleet Foxes and “Shelter” by The xx. After that album, though, she seemed to slip under the radar, even though she came out with her sophomore album “Fire Within,” this time with original songs, in 2013. When I stumbled upon the news about her latest album, “Beautiful Lies,” which was released on March 25, I decided to give it a try and discovered that her talent has far surpassed and grown from her initial covers. The indie pop album is 52 minutes long with 14 tracks. The opening track, “Growing Pains,” has East Asian influences, showcased further by the album cover with Bogaerde in a kimono, which seemed to be an arbitrary and unnecessary appropriation. The song is otherwise creative and dynamic, and is one of the few faster-paced songs that I liked. The album’s strength primarily lies in Bogaerde’s powerful vocals and, at times, the atmospheric instrumentals. The 19-year-old English artist particularly shines in her slower and more heartfelt songs. The standout track was “Shadow,” with impressive vocals that hit the highest notes perfectly, putting the young singer in the realm of Florence Welch. The buoyant, rhythmic melody and instrumentals combine to create one of the most memorable songs on the album. “Save Yourself” has similarly dreamy vibes, with moving and heartfelt vocals and rich piano. “Take My Heart” is haunting and imaginative, particu-
larly its instrumentals and echoing background vocals. “Lost It All” is another one of my favorites, its melody and lyrics especially moving. “Words” is also beautiful with rhythmic, pulsing instrumentals and a memorable melody.
“The standout track was ‘Shadow,’ with impressive vocals that hit the highest notes perfectly...” “Unbroken” and “Deep End” are some of the most heartfelt and compelling piano ballads, again highlighting the singer’s strengths in her ethereal and atmospheric tracks. The lyrics of “Unbroken” are uplifting and hopeful: “Many moons will lighten the way / And sure this night will follow a day / And everything you once loved remains / Unbroken, unbroken,” fitting the empowering and optimistic theme of many of the songs, while others are darker and melancholic. One of the most unique and distinct songs is “Lift”–it incorporates more folk influences as well as tribal instrumentals. Unfortunately, there were also a couple of songs that felt unimaginative and generic, such as “Silhouette” and “Wild Horses.” “Wild Horses” is one of the three singles and though I was not a fan of it overall, the lyrics were emboldening and confident: “There’s an angel / And he’s shaped like you, and I thought I knew him / There’s a window / And it’s dark inside, but the light was in it / This can’t be love if it hurts so much / I need to let go.” Some songs were so indistinct that they seemed to blend together and the subject matter of much of the album is the same. The lyrics are simple and speak predominantly about heartbreak and growing up, but they are too often generic and uninspiring. However, there are a few striking lines in the midst of otherwise
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rather mundane lyrics, particularly in “Hear You Calling”: “Some mistakes are harder to recover from / And I miss the days I could take my make up and put a brave face on / Oh, my beautiful summer / How the winter makes me wonder where you’ve gone.” The weakest parts of the album were the faster-paced songs. Though it is one of the three singles, “Keeping Your Head Up” felt rushed and messy, with the instrumentals and vocals not lining up in a way that was probably deliberate but worked against the song rather than making it more creative. Here, Bogaerde again hits incredibly high notes, but unlike in her other songs, they are uncomfortable to listen to, especially when paired with the rushed pace of the song. “Hear You Calling,” though strong lyrically, had a similar problem with the vocals and had a generic melody as well. “Beautiful Lies” is the concluding track but is surprisingly unremarkable. It was another one of the unmemorable songs, especially for the final and titular song. The lyrics, however, were meaningful and poignant: “Tell me beautiful lies / Cover my eyes with your hands / Just pretend we’re better / Turn out the light / There are no more surprises to come / Let’s be numb together.” The gentle but powerful violin in the track is also one of its strengths, but otherwise it fails to leave an impression. “Beautiful Lies” certainly has some stellar tracks and Birdy’s beautiful voice, which is what struck me the most when I first listened to her years ago, is as rich and powerful as ever. She has a lot of potential as a songwriter, though her lyrics could be more creative and less repetitive. The album is definitely worth checking out, particularly the slower piano ballads. Fans of artists like Florence Welch, Bat For Lashes, Lorde and Regina Spektor would find much to love in the album. There are many songs that I would take a pass on though and Birdy would excel even more if she emphasized and expanded on her main strengths as an artist. She has certainly come a long way from her debut as a young 14-year-old and will undoubtedly keep on growing.
ARTS
April 14, 2016
Page 17
M83 not so trashy with newest album “Junk” John DeLeonardis Guest Columnist
Junk M83 Justin Meldel-Johnsen
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hen I heard this opening track as the single released to precede M83’s album, I couldn’t stop wondering what the hell this band I thought I knew were going to go for on their new release. I know now that this release simply does not try to fit with the band’s signature “sound.” French bandleader Anthony Gonzalez told BBC Radio 1 that because the band’s last album (2011’s “Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming”) was their most successful, he didn’t feel any pressure–for this release, he told himself to “do whatever you wanna do... just experiment and have fun with your music and just put it out.” And so they did. On introductory listens, it seems that the opener “Do It, Try It” would be better if the last minute or so was chopped off or otherwise greatly affected. However, the repetition of the song’s mantric lyrics hugely reminds me of two of my favorite recent albums. Even beyond the fact that each of these recent albums gets their inspiration from classic ’70s and ’80s music (and ergo share some musical elements), they both start out with sparsely-worded, groovy and instructive songs: French electronic bretherin Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories preached, “Let the music in tonight / Just turn on the music / Let the music of your life / Give life back to music,” and Tame Impala’s “Currents” made listeners succumb to “letting” a tripping titan of a track to “happen” to them just to get into the album. The best part of “Do It, Try It” is actually in its simple lyrics, and the way Anthony Gonzalez sings them: “Listen to the sound / Of a new tomorrow.” In between each line of the chorus, you can almost hear the titular line of the opening song on Tame Impala’s album (“Let It Happen”). Hell, even the title and sentiment are the same! Throughout this
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review, I’ll recommend thinking of those two other albums as a reference point for any that have heard them. Particularly with “Currents” (being that M83 and Tame Impala are groups whose musics are substantially the work of only one person), the albums were definitely made with the same nostalgic aural vision in mind; the former focused a bit more heavily on bass grooves, whereas this album comes more overtly with its synths. It may seem I’m reaching the hyperbolic singularity, but since “Currents” reminds me of music John Lennon might have started making had he gotten to live through the ’80s, then “Junk” often sounds more Paul-y–deliberately child-like and powerful with both romance and the “cheese.” An obvious facet of this album must be the influence of huge artists the group heard while growing up in this time. If you’re a fan of classic rock greats like Pink Floyd, you can’t not appreciate details like the synth on “Walkaway Blues”–that moment around 1:39 sounds like a few seconds ripped from “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” or something. The opening drum hits of “Bibi the Dog” seem an exact replica of Daft Punk’s “Short Circuit,” yet the song itself struts like any of the R.A.M. material (though maybe if Daft set their sights just a handful of years ahead). There are beautiful melodies that you might have heard somewhere in a Steely Dan album. The more-hopeful-and-happy-than-anyone-could-ever-be “Moon Crystal” shines like many of the era’s brightest–as you listen to this song, I reckon you should try and count how many artists you can hear in it who’ve made something similar-sounding. Some immediate ones on my list include M.J., The Bee-Gees, Bill Withers, Chicago and definitely stuff like Spyro Gyra. “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” though this is especially flattering on this unabashed album-long pastiche. I don’t want to spoil the cavalcade of sweets you’ll find on this album, but I will brace you for them: this album is cheesy, schmaltzy, silly or whatever funny adjective you want to throw at it [Though the creator might have
beat you to that punch ;) ]. But there is beauty in such schmaltz–why do you think a genius like Paul McCartney would give us the occasional bouncy music hall number or an album like “McCartney II”? There is an innocent, playful and obviously nostalgic essence in such music, and so embracing it and all its potential “cheese” is exactly what gives it its charm when resurrected on releases like “Junk” (the fact that it also shares the title of a McCartney song...ring the conspiracy siren}. Just like that McCartney album, Gonzalez seems like a kid in a synth candy shop on here–a Pitchfork interview states that he wonders what his career would have been like had he been around in those decades instead. “There were so many new horizons then,” so many keyboards with sounds you could morph! I think the kid-like ideal is important to this album, what with the album cover of some galactic pals and their Earthly fast food, and even a track that is “For the Kids.” The dullest moments on this album are actually in the tracks that stick less to its “theme.” “Laser Gun” and “Road Blaster” don’t “wow,” and the former’s chorus sounds too close to that of Gorillaz’ “Rhinestone Eyes.” Beyond this, the only other substantial gripe occurs with tracks that sound close enough to others on the album that they could have been combined to make grander wholes, like the hook of “Bibi the Dog” in place of (or mixed with) the chorus for “Laser Gun,” or if Anthony’s solo “Solitude” was a duet with Susanne Sundfør on the preceding “For the Kids.” That latter example is particularly upsetting since this exact idea is used to gorgeous effect on “Atlantique Sud” late in the album. Like any album–be it good, bad or otherwise–you can find a lot of hate for this one when asking people online. All I will tell you to keep in mind is the fact that something that “sounds like an ’80s sitcom intro” is not some automatic slight to its quality. Retro is still cool; “nostalgia” will always be a positive emotion–it’s part of the definition. The adage goes, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” and you, listener, shouldn’t find it hard to discover the latter.
A weekly space highlighting the creative pursuits of student-artists
Excuse me, What would Vassar’s fragrance line be called?
“Fantastically obscure.” — Gabby Escobar ’19
“A breath of fresh air.” — Kushin Mukherjee ’19
“Vassar Mist.” —Michaela Coplen ’18
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“That weird tree.” — Soraya Perry ’17
For my Art 102 final I was assigned to illustrate a space within another space. I took this opportunity to render the staircase I walk up and down every day to get to my dorm room. I used India ink for this 36” x 48” inch drawing and enjoyed experimenting with layering ink and using a range of brush sizes in order to achieve shifts in tonality. -Jane Pryzant ’18
“Pretension and used books.” — Rebecca Odell ’19
“Matty V’s Brew.” — Jenna Doherty ’17
Zander Bashaw, Humor & Satire Editor Evelyn Frick, Columnist Sam Pianello, Photo Editor
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SPORTS
Page 18
April 14, 2016
Vassar proves best sibling in Seven Sisters showdown Jamie Anderson Guest Reporter
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with every player picking up at least one win over the weekend. One aspect of Seven Sisters that separates it from other tournaments is the banquet that takes place after the first day of matches. The aim of the banquet is twofold, to promote a sense of togetherness and shared history and provide an opportunity for the teams to mingle, things which run counter to the atmosphere of almost all collegiate dual matches. “I enjoy meeting the other teams on and off the court ... It was especially fun to host the tournament this year and to showcase our facility and campus,” reflected senior and captain Lauren Stauffer. “[The] teams were super friendly and had great sportsmanship. [E]veryone...had a great time meeting [the] other girls,” further assessed sophomore Dasha Ivenitsky. The banquet also gives the captains of each team the chance to
recognize their teammates with gifts. For Vassar, captain Van Noy gave out letters to each of her teammates, while Stauffer gifted stuffed animals to represent the personalities of all the women on the team, as well as what they contribute. “The captains’ presentations of gifts...was a fun way to show how valued and appreciated each team member is,” expressed Becker. Women’s tennis will play host to more challenging competition this weekend as they host the Engineers of MIT at Walker, which they welcome. “[W]e’re looking forward to MIT, another tough competitor. Hopefully we’ll be able to challenge them as well,” commented McGuire. The Brewer women currently hold an 11-6 overall match record and will look to keep their momentum going into the final stretch of the season and Liberty Leagues.
courtesy of Vassaar Athletics
eginning in 1983, Vassar, Barnard, Wellesley, Bryn Mawr, Smith and Mt Holyoke Colleges all squared off in the first annual Seven Sisters’ Tournament; however, the seven sisters have been whittled down to five, as Radcliffe and Barnard have left the loose consortium of historically women’s colleges. The tournament remains round-robin, with each team going head to head in an abbreviated dual match format: two doubles teams and three singles players from each team compete against each other. The Brewer women came out on top at the end of the weekend, claiming their second trophy in as many years, defeating Wellesley 4-1. Vassar Women’s Tennis extended not just their run as Seven Sisters champion, but also their undefeated streak at the tournament; they hold an 8-0 record going back to last year’s tournament. The matchup that determined the winner wasn’t a new one, as Vassar and Wellesley have gone back and forth as Seven Sisters champions since 1999. Vassar was in no way troubled through the first day of matches. The Brewer women posted emphatic back-to-back 5-0 victories over Bryn Mawr and Smith Colleges to kick their weekend off. Against Bryn Mawr, Vassar dominated on all courts, surrendering a total of seven games in all five matches. Sophomores Courtney Geiss and Dasha Ivenitsky won at No. 1 and No. 2 in singles, 6-1 6-2 and 6-1 6-0 respectively, while junior Connie Yoo made it three-for-three in singles, winning 6-1 6-1. In doubles juniors Hanna McGuire and Shayna Becker came away with a win at No. 1 doubles, and senior Kelsey Van Noy and freshman Morgane Flournoy won at No. 2 doubles. The results against Smith were much the same, as Vassar rolled through singles with wins from a trio of sophomores: Kate Christensen at No. 1, Geiss at No. 2 and Morgan Fitzgerald at No. 3. Doubles proved wholly one-sided as well, with the teams of McGuire-Becker and Ivenitsky-Yoo both double bageling Smith.
The second day provided a higher level of difficulty for the Brewers, but they proved up to the task. Vassar saw off Mt Holyoke 4-1, behind a strong win from Christensen at No. 1, solid doubles from the teams of McGuire-Becker and Van Noy-Flournoy, Yoo was dominant in her performance at No. 3 singles as well. Fitzgerald, who lost a nail-biting 7-5 6-7(1) 8-10 match at No. 2 singles against Mt Holyoke, rebounded quickly to win 6-1 6-3 over Wellesley at No. 3 Singles, clinching both the match and the tournament victory for Vassar. Naturally, the Brewers, coming off a huge home win against Liberty League rival Skidmore were pleased with their performance as a team while hosting Seven Sisters. “This year we played exceptionally well, everyone fought hard in each match and we took it to Wellesley, which was the overall goal. We used the momentum we gained after...Skidmore to win this tournament,” expressed junior Hanna McGuire [full disclosure, Hanna McGuire is a guest reporter for the Miscellany News]. The takeaway from Seven Sisters for the women’s team seems to be that hard work does pay off and lead to more wins. “After training very hard throughout the season, it was nice to see everyone bring their ‘A’ game to the matches. I am proud of how hard everyone fought for each point,” commented Stauffer, playing her last season for Vassar College. For Stauffer and Van Noy, winning the tournament as host can bring a margin of closure, having been a part of the Vassar team that hosted Seven Sisters three seasons ago and saw Wellesley take home the trophy. Kate Christensen, who didn’t drop a set en route to a weekend of undefeated tennis on the courts of Walker Field House, was named to the All-Seven Sisters Team in singles. Vassar had two more all-tournament recognitions in doubles, with the McGuire-Becker and Van Noy-Flournoy tandems also making it onto the All-Seven Sisters roll for their similarly successful performances over the course of the weekend. The members of the Vassar women’s tennis team clearly established themselves not only as the class of the tournament, but also as one of the deeper teams,
The women’s tennis team dominated the Seven Sisters Tournament for the second year in a row this weekend. The Brewers had five athletes, one singles and two doubles, make the All-Seven Sisters Team
Faculty seeks redemption in cross-generational rivalry RIVALRY continued from page 1
large crowds, with nearly 800 people watching each year for the first four years. As Dean Roellke commented, the student-faculty game is an incredible way to bring the whole Vassar community for some great fun. The game is unique in that it bridges all gaps in the Vassar community. Students, athlete and non-athlete, professors, administrators and other employees all come together for a night of fun while raising funds for notable causes. There is no event quite like this on campus. Adding to the entertainment, there have been impressive performances by many different members of the communities each year. One year, the Vastards sang a rendition of the national anthem and President Catharine Bond Hill has led “Old School” cheers with fellow faculty. Cappy and other faculty enthusiasts cheered, “Give me an O, Give me an L, Give me a D, Old School! Old is School!” during
the 2010 halftime show. Since then, the dance crew HYPE has performed outstanding dances during halftime to a myriad of song mash-ups. Although the night is full of upbeat energy, both teams work very hard and train day-in and day-out for this showdown. The student team has held four scheduled practices to polish their skills and develop team chemistry. However, Dean Roellke revealed that the Old School team has outshined the students in terms of effort and preparation. “The Old School Team has been preparing since we got absolutely crushed by the students last April,” Dean Roellke explained. “We have been doing double sessions, with intensive strength and conditioning sessions at 6 a.m. and then again at 6 p.m.” he said in jest. Dean Roellke created the event back in 2010 and has played in the game every year. He has drained a few baskets and has provided great moral support, proving to be a “must-watch” in
courtesy of Vassar Athletics
On April 13 the faculty battled the students on the basketball court as part of a fundraiser for Student Gift, scholarships and financial aid. The faculty returns after two consecutive losses.
this year’s game. Varsity coaches B.J. Dunne and Candice Brown have also been scouted and prove to be strong forces for the “Old School” team. On the sidelines, both coaches have led Vassar’s teams to many victories and they hope to bring that success to the “Old School” team this week. Coach B.J. Dunne has coached the Brewers for three years and has won the most regular season and conference games in Vassar men’s basketball history. As a player, Dunne played for Bates College varsity basketball and served as captain his senior year. On the women’s side, Coach Candice Brown has led the Brewer team for six years and has earned a whopping 99 wins throughout her coaching career! Coach Brown played for the Marymount Saints and steered the team to its only Final Four appearance her senior year. To win this year, the students will definitely need to deter Coach Dunne and Coach Brown from the basket. Nevertheless, the student team has great talent and will be a force to be reckoned with on Wednesday night. Sophomore Kim Romanoff noted she was eager for the game and has been training hard in preparation, practicing her half-court shots in particular. She disclosed, “Our game plan is to only take half-court shots.” Kim was an impactful player on the women’s varsity team last year, scoring 93 points and averaging 3.7 points a game. On Wednesday night, Zoe Walker, another former player on the women’s varsity team, will join Kim to take on the faculty. Zoe scored 32 points in the 2014-2015 season, to average 2.1 points per game. Both Kim and Zoe look to be standout players for the student team and bring the team to victory. Other varsity athletes to join the student team include women’s rugby senior Min Chen and women’s soccer players senior Kamaria Coley and freshman Dahlia Chroscibski. Senior Emma Roellke is another noteworthy player as she takes the court to battle against her father, Dean Christopher Roellke. Emma Roellke stated, “I feel really good going into this game. We have an awesome group
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of students and we’ve already proven during practices that we work well together as a team. Kadeem Nibbs has shown great leadership and we are fortunate to have Colleen O’Connell working with us from the bench as well.” When it comes to playing against her father, however, Emma confessed, “Anyone who has ever seen the Roellke family members compete (or even cheer on the sidelines) at a sporting event knows that we are among the most competitive families in the tri-state area. I played against my dad on the student team freshman year, so I’m excited to have the opportunity to play again during my final year at Vassar. Though us Roellkes do love winning, it really is all about having fun.” Junior Wesley Li will return to the game for a second year on Wednesday night. “It’s very fun playing against the faculty,” Li shared, “The game is a great and memorable experience.” Nevertheless, Wesley admitted that the students are not guaranteed a victory, as the faculty is tough competition. He also expressed concern about the almighty Coach Cameron Williams, the varsity strength and conditioning coach. “Coach Cam is very strong and athletic, it’s going to be tough to guard him but I think I can do it,” asserted Li. Regardless of the talent on the student side, Dean Roellke was optimistic about his team’s chances, “We are doing all this training in a stealth fashion as we think the profound overconfidence of the student team is very much to our advantage. We very much like being the underdog.” Dean Roellke added, “The students now lead the series four games to two and the time is absolutely right to have age and wisdom prevail. Though we continue to age gracefully, we also acknowledge that the very talented student team seems to keep coming back with players the same age–roughly 18 to 21. We have four goals for this game: First, we pack the house! Second, everyone has fun! Third, no one gets hurt! Fourth, Vassar wins! (In this case, the Vassar Old School team wins!)”
SPORTS
April 14, 2016
The NFL and CTE: More than just a headache Robin Drummond Guest Columnist
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ow more than ever, parents, as well as current and former players have come out and said that their children will not be allowed to play football. Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians, a two-time AP NFL Coach of the Year, made it very clear in an interview with Sports Illustrated’s Peter King exactly how he felt about the subject. “This is the greatest game in the world,” Arians said. “We have this fear of concussion that is real, but not all of those, I think, statistics can prove anything. We got new helmets coming out. We got safety issues ... You can find all the statistics you want if you want to crucify something. Our game is great. People that say, ‘I won’t let my son play it’ are fools.” Unfortunately for Arians, the statistics regarding concussions and football provide overwhelming evidence that the two are positively correlated. Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (or CTE) is an issue that has just now become relevant to most of the American public. CTE (formally known as dementia pugilistica, or, punch drunkenness) is caused by receiving severe blows to the head. The first stages of the disease involve deterioration in attention, dizziness, headaches and disorientation. The next set of stages brings about erratic behavior, memory loss, poor judgment and social instability. The final stages result in the slowing of muscular movements, deafness, impeded speech, dementia and suicidal thoughts. Initially it was thought to only occur with boxers, which makes sense considering one of the main aspects of the sport is getting punched in the face repeatedly. It was not until early 2002, when Nigerian-born neuropathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu first began investigating the unusual circumstances surrounding the death of Hall-of-Fame center Mike Webster, that symptoms of the disease were identified in football players. “I had to make sure the
slides were Mike Webster’s slides,” Omalu said in reference to Webster’s death of a heart attack at age 50. “I looked again. I saw changes that shouldn’t be in a 50-year-old man’s brains, and also changes that shouldn’t be in a normal brain.” These changes Omalu was referring to were collections of tau proteins, which are supposed to help maintain the structure of cells, that had become defective over time and began to close around and choke brain cells. This is a direct result of multiple blows to the head. By the end of his 25-year NFL career it was estimated that the number of blows Webster took to the head was equivalent to 25,000 car accidents. Because concussions are non-structural injuries, they don’t result in bleeding in the brain, which makes them nearly impossible to identify through standard neuroimaging tests such as an MRI. In order to observe CTE in a patient, one has to be able to examine the brain under a microscope, meaning the person suspected of having it has to be dead. Omalu was given the chance to do just that in the next few years when four other former professional football players died alarmingly young. All of them were found to have CTE. As of December of 2012, there have been 33 former NFL players diagnosed with postmortem CTE. Just before the start of the season in 2015, researchers with the Department of Veteran Affairs and Boston University revealed that they had discovered CTE in 96 percent of NFL players that they had examined, and in 79 percent of all football players in general. In the 2015 offseason alone, a number of high-profile players under the age of 30 made the decision to retire, citing health concerns as the reason. Whether Arians wants to admit it or not, football is dangerous. He can try and deny it but the sad reality of it is that Arians, who played football all the way through college, will most likely not be able to remember who he was calling “fools” in just a few years.
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Page 19
What’s the rush? MLB ‘Pace of Play’ a nuisance Zach Rippe
Sports Editor
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he MLB introduced a number of new “Pace of Play” rules beginning in 2014 that were designed to speed up the game. This was presumably done to draw in newer fans who may have been deterred by how long, tedious and boring the game can seem. While I understand the whole “long and boring” argument, I believe that several of these rules increase pace at the expense of the spirit of the game. Is baseball long? Yes. Can it be mind-numbingly boring? Absolutely. But these surface level assessments miss some of the beauty hidden within the game. Baseball is a sport of nuance and ritual. For some, it’s all about the little things. Everything from player walk-up songs, to silly superstitions, to lefty specialists, defensive shifts and obscure situational rules enhances the experience of the game. While I understand the intent of these new rules, some detract from these moments. Perhaps the most well known of these is the Batter Box Rule. This dictates that batters must have one foot inside the batter’s box at all times, meaning we won’t have to endure someone like A-Rod take a practice swing, spit in the dirt, try to find someone he knows in the stands, adjust his shin guard and step back in after every pitch. I must admit that there were enough time consuming breaks amidst at bats to bother me. Still, this completely changes a hitter’s approach and eliminates the possibility of getting a pitcher out of his rhythm. Shifting over to the mound, the MLB experimented with a 20-second pitch clock in AA and AAA last season to speed up pitchers work rates. Let’s just say someone like Steve Trachsel would not have fared well with these changes. It’s not simply the rules themselves, but the tone with which they are delivered that bothers me. In this grace period, it would perhaps be more prudent to kindly remind players and offer suggested time constraints rather than literally put
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
the equivalent to a shot-clock up in the minor leagues. Perhaps my least favorite part about all of this is the way the league and new Commissioner Rob Manfred are dealing with violations. Rules will be enforced with a warning and fine system, meaning players may have to begin paying tens of thousands of dollars for taking a few seconds too long to deliver the ball to the mound. I understand that a precedent needs to be set to make these rules work, but if I’m trying to locate my 95-mph split finger fastball, the last thing on my mind should be “oh crap, I have to get this pitch off in the next six seconds or I lose $1,000.” Baseball demands intense focus on all ends. These new rules, at least for now, serve to ever so subtly remove these athletes from the task at hand. There’s a reason pitchers take a certain amount of time to throw each pitch, just as there is for a batter to step out and recollect themselves. That being said, I’m all for getting on with it. Baseball has always seemed a bit lazy by nature. Again, I feel this adds to the ambiance of the game. Another rule limits mound visits to 30 seconds. There’s no reason a 63-year-old pitching coach, someone who has been around this league for years, should have to sprint out to the mound, putting pressure on a situation that is meant to relieve tension. While something like instant replay is a benefit to the game as it erases some of the human errors that could have given someone like Anibal Sanchez a no-hitter or decisively called a critical home run, Pace of Play rules add nothing nearly as substantial. The average game length decreased from 3:02 in 2014 to 2:56 in 2015. What did the MLB really gain with those six minutes? After several stagnant seasons late in the last decade, the league is beginning to blossom again with a crop of young stars and increased parity. There’s no need to tighten up facets of the game that have helped define it for so many years.
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Page 20
April 14, 2016
Volleyball caps historic season at UVC Playoff Tourney Matthew Vassar
Best Founder Ever
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his past weekend, Vassar rounded up an incredible season at the United Volleyball Conference Semifinals at New Paltz. Vassar had a 23-6 record going into the tournament in what has been an extremely successful season for the Brewers on both an individual and team level. This is the third time Vassar has ever won over 20 games. The team has welcomed UVC Rookie of the Week awards for freshmen George Diehl and Daniel Halberg, along with a UVC Player of the Week for Matthew Knigge. Perhaps most historic was senior captain Reno Kriz’s eclipsing of 1,000 kills. The team climbed the polls throughout the year as well, going from No. 15 on Jan. 30, all the way up to No. 8 by the time of the UVC Playoff Tourna-
ment. Playing a varsity sport is not an easy task as many on this campus have experience and have known exactly how difficult at times it is to juggle a busy schedule. “I am most proud about how our athletes manage their daily college life while being a studentathlete at Vassar. We talked as a team before the season even started that our growth as team is going to happen outside our scheduled practice times and if we wanted to get to where we are now it is going to require some sacrifices and time management,” said Coach Wolter. “We talk about the importance of coming in early or staying late on practice days, we talk about finding time to come in and watch video individually so we can fine tune their skills. This process starts in August/ September when they arrive back on campus
courtesy of Vassar Athletics
The men’s volleyball team finished up their successful spring season this past weekend at the UVC Tournament. The team finished at No. 8 in the polls and had a plethora of standout campaigns.
and they must balance their academic rigors and social life simultaneously! It’s outstanding how they make it all work and it makes all our accomplishment that much better!” he added. The team has come a long way since the beginning of the season, refining and retooling the intricacies that have gotten them to the UVC Tournament. Coach Wolter explained, “The biggest improvement has been our depth on the outside, players who started out as reserve players have been valuable contributors throughout the season and this allows us to make adjustment as needed.” This provided the team the flexibility and added potential it needs to excel beyond its competitors as they venture into a tournament where they had only advanced past the initial round one time. Junior captain Trey Cimorelli expressed his thoughts on the playoffs heading into the weekend: “I’m looking forward to being able to compete in a very fun atmosphere and play really high level volleyball ... We have proven that we can play with and beat any team in our conference.” This past weekend was to be the culmination of the Brewers’ successful spring campaign. Before the tournament, Coach Wolter said, “We’ve had high expectations coming into this event ever since the beginning of the year! We always felt that we were good enough to make the tournament and we want to take the next step as a program and advance past the first round of conference play.” The Brewers had tough competition all around for this tournament. “We play in the toughest league in the country, with six teams ranked in the top 15 of the country, every opponent we play in the league is tough,” said Coach Wolter. Going into Saturday, Vassar was seeded No. 8 and matched up against No. 12 New York University, a long-time rival. Prior to the weekend, junior Christian Lizana added, “We played [NYU] twice already, splitting with them, so this third time will be the most important and most intense I think. I feel that we can win the
first round game and continue further in the conference tournament and potentially get a bid to the national tournament. When we’re on, we’re a great team, and I am excited to see that come out.” The Brewers did not disappoint in the first round, defeating NYU 3-2. Vassar then moved up to No. 6 to face off against No. 2 Stevens Institute of Technology during the semifinals. The team managed to squeak out the first set 25-23, but couldn’t quite crack the Ducks and ultimately lost three sets to one. Despite the loss in the tournament, the winning game against NYU was the second time ever for the Vassar Men’s Volleyball program to win in the UVC tournament. The team’s historic season can be attributed to the hard work they put in on and off the court. “I believe we have a lot of strengths, as of late, we have been an extremely strong blocking team and we have the best libero in the conference so our serve receive and defense is also strong! Most of all, I think we are an extremely cohesive unit, we have common goals and we work extremely hard on a daily basis focusing on the process or the task at hand,” said Coach Wolter. This was the last season for seniors Reno Kriz and Erik Halberg. Kriz is the right side for the team and has played in the most sets and matches for Vassar in the team’s history. He also sits at third all-time most kills with 1,352 total. Halberg is a senior middle from Delaware and has been crucial in this season’s successes. On the other end of the age spectrum, freshman Austin Gibbs has had an impactful first year on the team. He shared, ”One of the things I value the most about my team is just how welcoming and supportive they all are. I came into the program very quiet and reserved and I feel like I’ve grown a lot both on and off the court because of my teammates. They’ve seen me at my worst and they’ve seen me at my best and I can’t even begin to express how thankful I am for how patient and supportive they have been.“
April showers in full effect, Brewers battle brutal weather Hanna McGuire Guest Reporter
Women’s Tennis
The Vassar women’s tennis team went undefeated this weekend to capture its second straight Seven Sisters Championship title. On Saturday, the Brewers bested both Bryn Mawr and Smith 5-0. The following day Vassar beat Mount Holyoke 4-1 before taking Wellesley by the same score to win the tournament. Sophomore Morgan Fitzgerald clenched the victory for the Brewers after accomplishing a 6-1, 6-3 win at three singles. Sophomore Kate Christensen, junior doubles pair Hanna McGuire and Shayna Becker, and No. 2 doubles team freshman Morgane Flournoy and senior Kelsey Van Noy all earned All-Seven Sisters Team. After this weekend, the women are now 11-6 overall. Vassar will play Massachusetts Institute of Technology next on April 16 at home at noon.
tremendously to the victory with a season-high 24 saves. The men now stand 6-4 overall and 2-1 in conference play. Vassar takes on Farmingdale State College on April 13 before another Liberty League game on April 16 against St. Lawrence University. Women’s Lacrosse
Competition this weekend proved difficult for the Vassar women’s lacrosse team, as they lost two Liberty League contests at home. Although the Brewers competed well, they fell short against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 10-8 on Friday. Sophomore Storm Sideleau led the team with three goals while junior Julia Trudell contributed two. On Saturday, Skidmore College challenge Vassar even more, besting the team 11-5. Sideleau again posted the most goals with two while freshman goalkeeper Kristin Caolo had nine saves. The women now hold a 5-4 overall record and are 1-2 in confer-
ence play. Vassar will continue Liberty League competition on the road this weekend, first taking on St. Lawrence University on April 15 and then Clarkson University the following day. Baseball
The Vassar men’s baseball team split the double-header at home on April 10 against Liberty League foe Clarkson University. The squad lost the first 2-9 but captured the second 9-7. The Golden Knights outplayed the Brewers in the first game as only senior Brooks English and junior Mike Koscielniak earned runs. Despite the loss, Vassar bounced back in the second. Koscielniak, English and junior Denis Shanagher each contributed two runs in the win. The men hold a 10-10 overall record and a 6-4 conference record. The Brewers have three home games this week, first The College at Old Westbury on April 13, Stevens Institute of Technology April 16 and a double header against Baruch College
Men’s Tennis
The Brewers traveled to Massachusetts this past weekend to take on Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Friday before facing a double header against Brandeis University and Emerson College on Saturday. MIT proved tough competition, as the men lost 8-1, with the only win coming from senior Daniel Cooper at one singles. This victory marks Cooper’s 13th win of the season. The men fell 0-9 to tough competitor Brandeis, but rebounded with an 8-1 victory over Emerson. After the weekend, the Brewers now hold an overall record of 7-11. Vassar will hit the road again on Sunday April 17 for Liberty League play against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Women’s Rugby
The lady ruggers faced off against powerhouse University of Connecticut this past weekend and fell 22-35 in a tough contest. UConn got out to a dominant 21-0 lead and finished the first half up 35-12. Vassar battled back in the second and held UConn scoreless, but the damage had already been done. Men’s Track A small group of runners from the Vassar men’s track team competed in the Sam Howell Invitational April 8 at Princeton University. Sophomore Michael Scarlett set the new Vassar school record in the 5000-meter run with a time of 15:07.65 to top the previous record of 15:10.00. The earlier record, set by alum Steve Money in 2003, was the second-oldest school record before Scarlett bested it. On Saturday, Vassar traveled to Galloway, NJ on Saturday for the Osprey Open hosted by Stockton University. The men will travel to New London, CT on April 15 for weekend competition in the Silfen Invite. Women’s Track
courtesy of Vassar Athletics
Men’s Lacrosse:
On April 9, the Vassar men’s lacrosse team resumed Liberty League play as they took on Clarkson University at home. The men captured their first win over Clarkson in program history, 10-9. Senior Noah Parson posted four goals, including the game-winner, while freshman James Thomas and junior Brandon DeStasio each added two goals for the Brewers. Junior goalkeeper Brandon Crecco contributed
April 17.
Sophomore Kristin Diep gazes pensively into the distance. The team finished seventh out of 12 teams at the Vassar College Invitational and was led by senior Aimee Dubois who shot an 85 on the day.
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
Senior Ava Farrell and junior Lucy Balcezak represented the Vassar women’s track team at the Sam Howell Invitational at Princeton University on April 8. Balcezak ran a season-best tine of 2:18.17 in the 800-meter run, finishing 19th amongst Division I runners. Farrell finished with a personal-best time of 4:58.43 in the 1500-meter contest. The following day, the entire women’s squad ran in the Stockton Osprey Open in Galloway, NJ. The Brewers will next compete in the Silfen Invite on April 15 and 16 in New London, CT. Golf
This past weekend, the Vassar women’s golf team hosted the 12th annual Vassar College Invitational, finishing seventh of 12 teams on the first day of competition and sixth on the second day. Senior Aimee Dubois led the pack on Saturday with a 13 over 85 while fellow senior Angela Mentel finished with an 87 for the day.