The Miscellany News
Since 1866 | miscellanynews.org
Volume CL | Issue 2
September 14, 2017
Soccer snags two home wins
Pizzarelli moves jazz forward Courtesy of Vassar College
Mack Liederman Sports Editor
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young and promising Brewer women’s soccer team found its stride and rewrote the record books this past weekend, as they picked up two impressive home wins in the Vassar Invitational. After suffering two early season losses to NYU and Western Connecticut State and a tie against Montclair State, the Brewers rebounded with a 3-0 shutout of Mount Saint Mary College (MSMC) in the opening match of the Invitational on Saturday. Early in the game, the Brewers proved that they had overcome their previous struggles with finishing plays. Vassar was aggressive right out of the gate, stringing together ambitious lead passes to their forwards and getting many great looks on goal in the first 10 minutes. The scoring opened in just the ninth minute, when junior midfielder Sara Seper took a very deceiving lead pass that snuck through several MSMC Knight defenders and found fellow junior Audrey Pillsbury near the box. Pillsbury, noticing the MSMC goalkeeper Mary Riley was out of position, raced to the ball for a slide kick. See SOCCER on page 18
On Sept. 6, President Elizabeth Bradley (center) gave her first address at Vassar’s Fall Convocation. Associate Professor of Film Mia Mask (right) delivered the keynote speech, and VSA President Anish Kanoria ’18 also spoke.
Convocation ushers in a new year Dylan Smith Reporter
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n Wednesday, Sept. 6, Vassar students, faculty and community members gathered in the Chapel to witness the academic circle of life. The annual Convocation ceremony recognizes the Vassar community in all stages of its academic careers: first-years, graduating seniors and alumnae/i. The theme of the evening was transition and reflection, resonating with students and alumnae/i as they take their next academic steps. Associate Professor of Film Mia Mask delivered the Convocation address. Titled “Transformation and Renewal: Moving Beyond Existential Crisis,” Mask remarked on periods of life
transitions and existentialism. Vassar College President Elizabeth Bradley and Vassar Student Association (VSA) President Anish Kanoria ’18, who gave remarks Wednesday afternoon as well, also touched on these themes. Vassar’s senior class—the Class of 2018—marked the event as the beginning of their final days at Vassar. They began the evening by processing through the Chapel and taking the stage to stand before the audience. The Convocation Choir, composed of Vassar students, performed Anton Bruckner’s “Os justi meditabitur.” Accompanied by the mighty Chapel organ, the students’ melody struck a solemn mood, reflecting the bittersweet atmosphere of the ceremony.
Next, President Bradley took to the lectern to welcome everyone to this year’s Fall Convocation ceremony, Bradley’s first at Vassar. She took the opportunity to reflect on a personal anecdote. Setting the tone for the two subsequent speakers, Bradley directly addressed the theme of the afternoon. “You’re likely undergoing transformation,” Bradley said. “I’m going to talk about letting go of things that have been important to me.” Bradley’s remarks harkened back to 1986, when she began a career in hospital administration. Back then, Bradley was working in the government programs office at Massachusetts General Hospital. She told of a time when she See CONVOCATION on page 3
Meet new Meat Haus: Silent film preserves post-bacs rebrand TH Jewish anthropology Laila Volpe
Assistant Features Editor
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cording to post-bac Joseph Szymanski ’17, some of the post-bacs started as first-generation low-income students who went through Transitions. Now he organizes the Senior Gift Campaign, a scholarship fund that seniors can give to; this year, all the funds will be given to a member of the Class of 2022 who has significant financial need. Szymanski stated in an email, “It’s a gift from students, for students and will have a real impact on a student’s life next year.” The campaign helps make Vassar more accessible, and any senior can pitch in by emailing joszymanski[a]vassar.edu. Before this semester, the Vassar post-bacs lived dispersed throughout the dorms. Post-bac and Vassar After See MEAT HAUS on page 6
Courtesy of Max Cordeiro
The post-bacs gather in the living room of their new Town House, enjoying the communal space where they can relax after work.
Inside this issue
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NEWS
News column addresses national, local politics
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Matt Stein Arts Editor
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ith the flicker of a film and the strike of a piano key, the audience became engrossed in the celluloid imprint of actors many years passed. No words came out of the characters’ mouths, and yet the audience was able to empathize with the hopes and dreams, the love and loss translated through the music that filled the room. Last Sunday night, the Villard Room travelled to 1910s Warsaw in a film screening of the 1918 silent film “The Yellow Ticket.” Presented by the Jewish Studies Program, the film was accompanied by a live score performed by Alicia Svigals on violin and vocals and Marilyn Lerner on piano. “The Yellow Ticket” is especially notable for being filmed in the Jewish ghetto of Warsaw, Poland,, remaining one of the few cinematic documentations of pre-World War II Jewish ghettos. “The Yellow Ticket” follows Lea, a young Jewish woman who lives in the Warsaw Ghetto. Hoping to study medicine at a university in St. Petersburg, Lea is forced to register as a sex worker, receiving a “yellow ticket” as proof of her status as a prostitute, or else she will go to prison for being Jewish. Posing as the deceased Christian sister of her former tutor, Lea reluctantly lives these dual lives until a classmate discovers her at the brothel and she tries
Alums, juniors offer words of wisdom to firstFEATURES years
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
uaranteed four-year housing...or maybe five? According to Vassar’s website, recently graduated students can apply for a position as a post-baccalaureate (post-bac) in order to augment their academic record. The post-baccalaureate program, whose members just recently relocated to the Town House (TH) known as Meat Haus, plays an important part in Vassar’s culture, even if most students are unaware of its role. The post-bac program gives these graduates an opportunity to work on campus by letting them take on different positions designed to improve life at Vassar. These jobs range anywhere from working with campus activities to organizing outreach programs. Ac-
Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY
The 1918 German silent film “The Yellow Ticket,” released in the U.S. as “The Devil’s Pawn,” was shown in the Villard Room on Sept. 10 with a live score. to commit suicide. Associate Professor of English and previous Director of Jewish Studies Peter Anteyles discussed the discourse created from this screening of a film with Jewish characters featuring a score inspired by traditional Jewish music: “It allows us to talk about Jewish film but also Jewish music, and also finally to expand our understanding of conditions Jews lived in and the diversity of positions they held. There’s not a lot talked about, for instance, that there was a Jewish brothel See ANTHROPOLOGY on page 14
13 HUMOR
Sasha Gopalakrishnan Assistant Arts Editor
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ate in the evening on Sept. 9, the buzz of light chatter drifted through an absolutely packed Skinner Hall, as audiences from all over the neighboring Hudson Valley awaited Vassar’s annual jazz concert, this year featuring the John Pizzarelli Trio. The small talk ceased as the trio swept onto the stage and, without further ado, began their set. Strumming to lighthearted lyrics, Pizzarelli’s face filled with mirth as he crooned out, “Pens come from Pennsylvania, vests from West Virginia and tents from Tent-essee,” drawing laughs from an audience that was already tapping its feet to the upbeat performance that had commenced out of nowhere. Only after playing three songs back to back did Pizzarelli get around to introductions. The trio comprised Pizzarelli on guitar and vocals, Mike Karn on the upright bass and Ted Rosenthal on the piano. The singer then regaled us with anecdotes related to the artists whose songs he had just performed, interspersing his spiels with witty jokes. He looked the part, too, sporting his guitar and salt-and-pepper hair, as a string of dad jokes came out of his mouth. His delightful stage presence during the outstanding sets, featuring lively beats and slow jazz, immediately indicated why Vassar’s Music Department selected this world-renowned jazz guitarist and vocalist for their Fall 2017 Concert Series. This concert series brings carefully selected artists to the prestigious Skinner Hall stage. Within this deeply held tradition, the Music Department organizes a yearly jazz concert, an event eagerly anticipated by students and faculty alike. Director of Choral Activities Christine Howlett delved into the notion behind the Concert Series: “As we strive to do each year, we have a rich variety of performances by guest artists, faculty and students. Our guest artists [this year] include John Pizzarelli, The Brentano Quaret and Latin tango aficionado Pablo Aslan.” Last year’s Fall Concert Series included modern jazz, rare classical music, Gaelic harp pieces and senior recitals from Vassar students. The next performance in the Fall Concert Series will be from Vassar’s very own organist, Gail Archer. Archer will be performing selections of Max Reger’s compositions in the Chapel. Pizzarelli, the latest feature in the series, is a contemporary interpreter of the Great American Songbook, which contains the most influential American popular songs and jazz standards from the early 20th century. Hailed by the Boston Globe for “reinvigorating the Great American Songbook and re-popularizing jazz,” Pizzarelli has concentrated on doing covers of songs by Paul McCartney, See JAZZ on page 14
Students form cult in rebellion against WiFi ills