The Miscellany News, Volume CXLVII, Issue 20 (April 17, 2014)

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The Miscellany News

Volume CXLVII | Issue 20

April 17, 2014

Since 1866 | miscellanynews.com

Holi celebration explodes with flying colors

Bio prof has bird’s eye view

Shannon Liao reporter

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Eloy Bleifuss Prados Features editor

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courtesy of Debbie Altman

n the Quad, billowing pink clouds of smoke encased students. Friends and strangers alike grabbed handfuls of green and red powder, decorating each other’s faces and clothes with a spatter of vivid colors. Last Sunday, April 13 was Vassar’s first large-scale Holi festival. Organized by the South Asian Student Alliance (SASA) and the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life, the celebration was an opportunity to bring South Asian culture to the student body. Holi holds different meanings depending on where it is celebrated. However, according to SASA co-president Saumya Bhutani ‘14, the festival’s name comes from the demoness Holika who was slain by the Lord Vishnu in order to save her devout nephew Prahlad. The ancient Hindu festival usually begins with a bonfire the day before to celebrate this victory. Students burned away any items with negative associations, such as bad test papers. While Vassar’s take on Holi lacked the intensity of traditional celebrations that include throwing eggs and tar, the core meaning of See HOLI on page 8

Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY

Holi is a Hindu holiday celebrating the approach of the vernal equinox. In anticipation of the coming spring, participants throw colored powder at each other and engage in other festivities. SASA hosted this event on April 13 on the quad.

n only her first year at Vassar, Assistant Professor of Biology Megan Gall is researching local songbirds in the emerging field of sensory ecology, which studies how an organism senses and interprets its environment. It’s the same basic question philosophers from Plato to Descartes have posed, only now focused on animal and not human perception. Gall explained, “The way animals perceive the world, or more accurately their sensor information, is affected by the kinds of environment they live in.” Gall cited the following examples as ways in which one can think about the relationship between environment and sensation. Sound has a difficult time traveling far in heavily wooded areas, where hard surfaces bounce off noises and the thick foliage swallows up any high frequency tones. Due to this interference, organisms, like certain songbirds living in thick woods, See BIRDS on page 6

Golf team Fulbright awarded to five Vassar students plays at T Casperkill Justine Woods Guest reporter

Amreen Bhasin reporter

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Inside this issue

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Students quit jobs at UpC due to late FEATURES hours, low wages

This year’s Fulbright recipients have a myriad of goals that are for their journeys. Edwards, who says he has always been taught to value and respect languages, is a German and International Studies student and hopes to share his own culture in a country that he says has already taught him so much. “I’m also thrilled that three people from the German Department will be on a Fulbright,” Ian said in an emailed statement. “I’ve so enjoyed being the Department Intern this past year, and this is definitely a high note to leave on.”

Macrakis is excited to start up some after-school programs in Malaysia. She hopes to create science clubs for girls, where they could create simple and fun experiments. In an emailed statement, Eleni said, “We had a science club for girls at my elementary school which was free and was really my first exposure to science as a fun activity. I may want to work in science education in the future, so I think this would be a great way to see how community outreach can help get kids excited about science.” See FULBRIGHT on page 3

‘Seven Sisters Style’ revisits fashion history Samantha Kohl arts editor

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alking around Vassar’s campus, one might observe students wearing everything from the avant-garde to sportswear. But historically, Vassar students helped establish what today is referred to as classic prep. Fashion journalist Rebecca Tuite breathes life into the preppy tradition of the colleges known as the Seven Sister Schools in her new book, “Seven Sisters Style,” which was released on April 8. Tuite attended Vassar in 2006 as an exchange student from the University of Exeter. Before getting to the school, Tuite’s perception of Vassar was channled through a 20th century pop-culture perspective. “I knew about style-icons and writers—Sylvia Plath, Jackie Kennedy, and Meryl Streep—but I didn’t know too much about the college See FASHION on page 15

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courtesy of Seven Sisters Style

he Vassar College women’s golf team, the only varsity golf team on the Vassar campus, just began their spring season by playing host to the 2014 Vassar College Golf Invitational this past weekend on April 12 and 13. The Invitational took place at Casperkill Golf Club. The women’s golf team placed 9th out of 12 schools, being narrowly bested by four strokes by the St. Lawrence University Saints. The Brewers finished the first day with a team total of 355 in 8th place, sitting 13 strokes behind 7th place, the Mount Holyoke Lyons. Sophomore Aimee Dubois carded seven over 79 and was tied for 5th, just one stroke behind four players tied at six over. Fellow sophomore Angela Mentel totaled 84 on the day and was one of just eight players with two or more birdies and finished in 15th place. Senior Paloma Jimenez was tied for 41st with 91, freshman Diana Howland finished with a 101. Freshman Storm Vonhundley posted a 123. However, this was Storm Vonhundley’s first collegiate tournament. On the second day, Dubois was the top finisher for the Brewers. She carded an 81 with a total of 160 on the two days. She finished tied for 7th place overall. This was in fact Dubois second-lowest tournament score of the season, just two above her 158 from the Ann S. Batchhelder Invitational. Mentel tied for 31st overall with a 173 See GOLF on page 18

his past Monday, Vassar announced the five Fulbright Fellowship recipients for studying abroad during the 2015-2016 period. Ian Edwards ’14, Carrie Perkins ’14 and Victoria Qiu ’14 will be teaching English in Germany, and Eleni Macrakis ’14 will be teaching in Malaysia. Sophia Wasserman ’13 will be traveling to Iceland with a grant as well as studying the fisheries and development of the country. The Fulbright Scholarship pro-

gram provides grants sponsored by the US government to graduating seniors and recent bachelor’s-degree recipients for either an individualized study/research project, or for English Teaching Assistant Programs. According to the Fulbright website, “The program facilitates cultural exchange through direct interaction on an individual basis in the classroom, field, home, and in routine tasks, allowing the grantee to gain an appreciation of others’ viewpoints and beliefs, the way they do things, and the way they think.”

Rebecca Tuite’s newly released book, “Seven Sister Style,” traces the satorial tradition of the Seven Sister colleges throughout the early to twentieth-century. Tuite’s book examines vintage images of the stylish Seven Sister students.

Are you a #basic Vassar student? Quiz HUMOR reveals all

14 ARTS

Danny Brown and Lunice to play Spring Concert this weekend


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