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The Miscellany News

Volume CXLIX | Issue 1

September 15, 2016

Since 1866 | miscellanynews.org

Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY

Noyes House Team Hill addresses final Convocation says, “We Got You” P Clark Xu Reporter

Kayla Gonzalez Reporter

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Courtesy of Vassar College/Karl Rab

an I say ‘what the hell?’” President of Noyes House Takunda Maisva ’19 looks concerned and points to the phone placed in the middle of the table, recording the conversation.

Considering the topic of discussion, it’s an appropriate response.

“People find comfort in people who look like them,” he continues, “so when you get here and no one looks like you, you’re like, What the hell, who do I talk to?”

Maisva looks around the table at his fellow house team members, who are all nodding in agreement. It’s a hot and humid Saturday afternoon in Jetson Lounge, the heart of Noyes House, and two weeks ago, Jetson was packed with people of all colors, sharing, supporting and seeking comfort in each other and their stories.

On Aug. 28, the Sunday before classes began, Noyes hosted their first event of the year: “We Got You: a Melanin-Blessed Gathering.” Noyes Four-Central Student Fellow Tamar Ballard ’19 and Four-East Student Fellow Robin Corleto ’19 spearheaded the talk about identity, intersectionality and experiences as people of color on Vassar’s campus.

“We felt that in the house environment, there was a really big lack of support for people of color,” Ballard explained. “Our house team is 60 percent POC,” this brings smiles to

the house team members at the table, “and we all agreed that we didn’t want this cycle to continue.”

However, this cycle is rooted in spaces far beyond the dorms. It starts as soon as orientation begins. Programming Director of Noyes Devon Wilson ’19 brings this up when he speaks about the first years who spoke of incidents of racism they had faced just within their first few days here.

One of those first years who is Ifeacho Awachie ’20. He said, “Me and my roommate, who is also from Georgia and identifies as African American, were walking with someone else, and they made a comment about me giving my roommate a piece of fried chicken. I wasn’t really in the conversation, but afterward I was like, what just happened?”

Awachie knew what that person had said wasn’t right, but in the moment there were no words to describe what had happened. “I didn’t say anything until three days later when I asked my roommate if he felt weird about that too.”

As it is now, first year orientation does not educate the incoming class about what people of color will face on campus. Instead, house team members are trained to address these issues only after the fact.

“During house team training,” Corleto explains, “we had a workshop See NOYES on page 5

resident Emerita Catharine Hill gave her final Fall Convocation address on Sept. 7, speaking alongside Interim President Jonathan Chenette and VSA President Calvin Lamothe ’17. The speeches focused on financial aid, veteran’s programs, the worldwide refugee crisis and cutting-edge academic research.

Hill’s speech, entitled “Athena, Economics, and Feathers,” considered the promises and possibilities that higher education reform could bring to the nation’s next generation of scholars and thinkers. Represented in both the Vassar College seal and the West Point coat of arms, the wisdom of Athena unites people from all walks of life in the pursuit of a just and happy society.

Hill’s vision of a progressive and just future includes equitable access to See CONVOCATION on page 4

In her address at the 151st Fall Convocation, President Emerita Catharine Hill emphasized the tantamount importance of access to higher education.

VSA reimagines Serenading ritual Andrea Yang

Guest Reporter

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omp womp womp womp / This hit / That ice cold / Meryl Streep / That white gold / Vassar, pump you up, Vassar, pump you up.” The Class of 2020’s serenading song, an original cover of “Uptown Funk,” ended in reverberating beats and loud, warm cheers from the upperclass students. On the sunny Saturday afternoon of Sept. 10,

Serenading took place at Residential Quad, honoring a century-long tradition at Vassar.

Over the past few years, Serenading has transformed from what reminded many of hazing into today’s peaceful gathering. Previous classes of first years and seniors have criticized Serenading for causing waste, environmental damage and, most importantly, personal attacks and antagonistic feelings. This year, the

Traditions Committee revamped Serenading to make it more eco- and human-friendly: it now consists of flowers, a live band of professors and free Italian ice in lieu of water balloons and a food fight.

Last year, then-Noyes House President Ashley Hoyle ’18, then-President of Josselyn House Cecilia Hoang ’18 and then-President of Davison House Nathaniel Lindley See SERENADING on page 5

Curatorial debut by Vassar alum Men’s soccer kicks off season with 5-0 streak Noah Purdy Arts Editor

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Alexander Showell Guest Reporter

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Courtesy of Robert Otto Epstein

n 2014, art critic Jerry Saltz published a Vulture.com article entitled “Zombies on the Walls: Why Does So Much New Abstraction Look the Same?” in which he laments a recent trend he noticed in the art world: painters producing and buyers purchasing a slew of derivative and uninspired abstract pieces.

“Much of this product,” Saltz writes, “is just painters playing scales, doing finger exercises, without the wit or the rapport that makes music. Instead, it’s visual Muzak, blending in.”

Saltz worries that sales of this socalled “zombie abstraction” reward artists for their lack of originality.

The trend may be there, but focusing on it paints a depressing picture of the modern art world, one of over-commercialization and a loss of creative vitality.

“If Color Could Kill: New Painting from New York City,” closing Thursday, Sept. 15, in the James W. Palmer Gallery, presents quite a different image. The exhibit, which showcases recent abstract work by six Manhattan-based artists, marks the curatorial debut of Vassar alumnus Jeff Frederick ’91, a painter, professor of art and art reviewer.

Frederick devised “If Color Could Kill” as essentially a show of work by artists he admired. “A lot of people whose work I liked were working See COLOR on page 17

“If Color Could Kill: New Painting from New York City” is the first show by painter and Vassar alumnus Jeff Frederick ’91. This piece, “Untitled Zigzag” by Robert Otto Epstein, exemplifies one of many styles of abstraction.

Inside this issue

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NEWS

Vassar to strive for energy efficiency

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TRAVEL

Students explore Europe and Central America

assar College men’s soccer takes the field this fall looking to built on its 8-6-2 record from the 2015 season. Veteran Head Coach Andy Jennings leads the team for his 26th season.

The Brewers won both games in the Vassar College Classic this past weekend, improving the team’s record to 5-0.

On Saturday Sept. 10, the men defeated William Paterson University 2-0. Sophomore Mitch Davis opened the scoring with a 16th minute goal off of an assist from freshman standout Mattie Mrlik.

Mrlik doubled Vassar’s lead late in the second half with his 79th minute strike, set up perfectly by junior Hayden Van Brewer’s free kick.

Junior goalkeeper Matt Marcelino made four saves in order to secure his fourth win and second shutout of the season. Freshman keeper Will Marment made his first appearance of his Vassar career, playing the final 10 minutes.

Vassar secured its first rout of the season besting Elm’s College 7-0 the following Sunday.

Seven different players scored as Vassar outshot Elms 29-9. Marcelino made two saves to notch his fifth win

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and third shutout of the year.

Elms resisted the Brewers’ intense pressure early but the Brewers broke the deadlock in the 25th minute when junior Reid Smith scored off of an assist from junior Tanner Sands.

Vassar held a narrow 1-0 lead at half time but the floodgates opened in the second.

Junior Jose Novas scored off an assist from Mrlik in the 55th minute.

With Vassar dominating, Coach Jennings subbed in Marment for Marcelino in the 60th minute. Shortly after, senior captain Noah Bloch’s wonder strike from 30 yards out put the men up 3-0.

Just three minutes later, junior Alex Gonzales made the most of a free kick when he headed the ball to Tanner Sands for a simple finish.

The always-dangerous Mrlik added another goal in the 71st. Mrlik’s impressive dribbling helped him elude two defenders, where he then proceeded to slot home from a tight angle.

Freshman forward Kevin Baliat scored his first collegiate goal off an assist from senior Matt Fields in the 85th minute. Sophomore Desmond Curran then claimed his first career goal in the 89th minute to finish off the game.

Jennings has high expectations for See SOCCER on page 18

Tennis shapes former player’s SPORTS outlook

The Miscellany News

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September 15, 2016

Editor-in-Chief Rhys Johnson

Senior Editors Zander Bashaw Emma Jones

Contributing Editors Elizabeth Dean Yifan Wang

News Eilis Donohue Opinions Nick Barone Arts Noah Purdy Elena Schultz Sports Hanna McGuire Design Talya Phelps Charlotte VarcoeWolfson Online Kelsey Quinn Copy Jackson Ingram Humor and Satire Evelyn Frick Assistant Arts Assistant Copy Assistant Social Media Web Master

Courtesy of John Ammondson Courtesy of Nicole Howell

As part of his abroad program, which compares climate change issues in multiple countries of the world, John Ammondson visited Mount Tamalpais in San Francisco. His next stop will be Vietnam. To read more about John’s JYA experience, visit farandaway.miscellanynews.org!

The Miscellany News 15

September

Thursday

Yavilah McCoy Lecture

5:30pm | Villard Room | Office of Religious and Spiritual Life

Chuchiak Lecture

6:30pm | Taylor 203 |Anthropology Department

Student Theater Auditions All evening | Rocky | Student Theater

Weekender_ 16

September

Friday

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September

Saturday

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September

Tennis (W) Scramble

Tennis (W) Scramble

Couchella

Soccer (W) vs. SUNY Oneonta

Lacrosse (W) Clinic

7pm | The Shiva | Student Theater

8pm | Ferry House

Student Theater Auditions All evening | Rocky | Student Theater

12pm | Prentiss Field | Athletics

Field Hockey (W) vs. Ramapo College of New Jersey 1pm | Prentiss Field | Athletics

Reporters Sieu Nguyen Sabrina Oh Clark Xu Columnists Jimmy Christon Jillian Elkin Saachi Jain Steven Park Penina Remler Jesser Horowitz Photographer Alec Ferretti Design Christa Haryanto Scarlett Neuberger Samana Shrestha Copy Laila Volpe Jessica Roden Laura Wigginton Gabriela Calderon Katerina Pavlidis James Bonanno Leah Cates Sumiko Neary Diana Henry

Sunday

Lady Windermere’s Fan Cold Reading

9am | Walker/Joss Tennis Courts | Athletics

Patrick Tanella Claire Baker Hannah Nice Andy Carrera

9am | Walker/Joss Tennis Courts | Athletics

10:30am | Prentiss Field | Athletics

Who Wants Love? Cabaret and Film Songs by Franz Waxman

3pm | Skinner Recital Hall | Music Deptartment

Welcome Back Mug Night 10pm | The Mug | Vice Special Events

Student Theater Auditions

All day | Rocky | Student Theater

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.

September 15, 2016

NEWS

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Climate Action Plan aims for carbon neutrality by 2030 Eilis Donohue News Editor

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Courtesy of Vassar College/Karl Rab

lthough classes have only just begun, the 2016-2017 year is already proving to be eventful, as the Office of Sustainability recently announced its Climate Action Plan (CAP) was approved by President Catharine Bond Hill. While Hill has since left the College, the plan will be presented to Vassar’s next president as part of their responsibility to uphold. Her approval was contingent on endorsement by the Sustainability Committee, the Master Planning Committee and the Priorities and Planning Committee.

The CAP’s primary authors are Sustainability Coordinator Alistair Hall ’11, Associate Professor of Geography and Chair of Geography and Faculty Sustainability Coordinator Mary Ann Cunningham and Associate Dean of Strategic Planning Thomas Porcello, with the help of student sustainability interns. The plan is the result of a joint effort between the Office of Sustainability, officially established in 2015, and the College Committee on Sustainability, created in 2001 as a senior thesis project.

While Vassar has been conscious of its carbon footprint for some time, the consensus among the Office and Committee was that the 2011 Greenhouse Gas Reduction Plan that was in place needed revision. They worked throughout the 20152016 academic year to develop a comprehensive set of guidelines and goals for making Vassar a more environmentally progressive campus. The ultimate objective is to reach carbon neutrality by 2030. Sustainability Coordinator Alistair Hall asserted, “We believe [it] is an ambitious but ultimately feasible goal.”

The CAP, which is available for the public to read online, consists of five main proposals: the establishment of administrative objectives; socially and fiscally appropriate allocation of resources; consideration of master planning; effective energy management and engagement with the Vassar community.

The greenhouse gas policy outlined in the plan follows the parameters set by the World Resources Institute Greenhouse Gas Protocol, which differentiates between three categories of emissions.

The first is direct, on-campus burning of fossil fuels, such as in the central heating plant. The second is comprised of off-site but directly attributable emissions, which includes energy purchased for the campus. The third consists of all other emissions, such as from waste and transportation.

Hall elaborated, “[T]here are different philosophies on what you include there. Some colleges do not include travel. We have.” This travel allocation includes expenses associated with students and faculty traveling to and from the College on breaks, admissions officers visiting high schools and even Junior Year Abroad.

Being cautious about long-distance travel is one way students can reduce emissions. Sustainability intern Sophie Bedecarré-Ernst ’17 re-

marked, “I really would like to emphasize the carbon impact that air travel has. Especially in terms of JYA, there is a huge carbon footprint that we rarely think about. Pursuing other means of travel can be a really positive experience, too, particularly for travel to and from school over winter and summer breaks.” However, Hall assured, “This doesn’t mean that we’re going to stop people going abroad, but I think there’s an educational opportunity to be had around the costs, hidden and real, associated with our day to day practices.”

As the CAP was developed at the same time as the Campus Master Plan underwent revisions, building renovations and new constructions factor heavily into the CAP. The plan discourages undergoing construction unless the existing infrastructure cannot accommodate academic needs that arise, but also provides guidelines should additions be necessary.

New buildings on campus, such as the Bridge for Laboratory Sciences, will be designed to be innovative and as close to carbon neutrality as possible. Certain architectural codes such Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) could be employed as well. The CAP also strives to meet the 2030 Challenge established by the non-profit Architecture 2030, a coalition of architects and engineers committed to creating usable, reliable guidelines for designing carbon-neutral buildings. Sustainability interns also drafted further green building guidelines over the summer and those amendments are in deliberation.

Retroactive energy efficiency is just as important as constructing new green buildings for reducing carbon emissions. The central heating plant is the entity with the highest emissions, at 39 percent of all 2015 campus emissions. “It’s a large natural gas system; it heats about 80 percent of campus, all of the dorms, all of our academic buildings and it’s been around since the early 1900s,” Hall explained. “It’s a really big embedded part of campus infrastructure, so coming up with a plan for what is the future of that facility, that doesn’t include fossil fuels, [is important].” Other renovations include modifying electricity use.

The CAP reads, “Recent and forthcoming LED lighting retrofits for the Parking Lots, AFC, the Pool, Buildings & Grounds, and Rocky Hall represent a five percent reduction in our total electricity usage.”

There are several projects to look forward to in the coming months. Last fall, the Office of Sustainability announced that they intend to replace 20 percent of campus energy use with renewable energy sources, including a solar initiative and hydropower contract with a facility in Beacon.

The College began using the hydropower plant in August, and is awaiting the first report in September to determine its effectiveness. Another prospective project is the installation of a metering system in the winter in all of the residential and senior housing to track energy usage, which will allow both administration and students to moni-

The restored Groveville hydropower plant in Beacon, combined with a solar power initiative, will replace 20 percent of Vassar’s fossil fuel consumption with renewable alternatives. tor differences in consumption.

The CAP is not only a document for the use of the Office of Sustainability or associated offices and persons, but is intended to be a tool for interdepartmental collaboration to achieve mutual goals. Sustainability intern James Falino ’17 noted, “[I]t was a huge relief to our office that the work we put in for the past few years has been approved and that we got to crowdsource ideas from other orgs, professors and even a past student’s thesis. Collaboration is key.” The CAP can inform other offices and organizations on campus in their decision-making, to ensure that every aspect of life at Vassar can be the least taxing on the environment as possible.

Student support for the CAP will also be necessary to ensure it is successful, as will taking initiative to reduce personal impact on the environment. Falino opined, “I think sustainability is a great way for students to get involved with a social justice issues on campus and have an impact on how Vassar and its administration sets goals and marks progress. It allowed me to interact in meetings with administrators and realize that students are necessary to advocate for these initiatives to succeed.” The Office of Sustainability campaigns assure students that while they can definitely make small changes in their own lives to help conserve energy and resources, the CAP reminds them that they are part of a larger community for which every member should take some responsibility. Vassar itself is one individual institution among many in the nation working towards carbon neutrality. Hall asserted, “[W]e’re not working on this alone. New York City wants to reduce their emissions by 80 percent by 2050.

There’s a goal to have half of New York state’s power come from renewable sources by 2030. We can now say we’re one of 600-plus other colleges that have made goals like this.”

The need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is increasingly in the national and global conversation, but the concept that these actions are imperative is not globally or even nationally ubiquitous. The hope that many organizations and institutions in the movement have is that their vocal and public advocacy will help convince governments to take actions. “I think we’re at a stage in the country and globally where leadership matters,” Hall affirmed. “[M]yself and a few of my colleagues at a few other colleges, Swarthmore, Yale and elsewhere, have been having regular conversations about how we advocate nationally for carbon pricing and larger-scale policy initiatives that would potentially be some ways to curb carbon emissions on a larger scale. I think that’s something colleges are well-suited to do. Why does NYC care, why does any major city care? In the absence of national leadership, this is one way we can be role models and inspire larger change.”

Falino agreed, “Colleges and universities come in to show that [institutional change] is possible, to collaborate with one another, and to contribute best practices to the greater, governmental dialogue on how we need to change to live more sustainably.”

In the end, the success of the CAP and of larger-scale progressive environmental policies, from the college campus to the national scale, will depend on intersectional collaboration and creative thought about how to make effective and rapid changes to protect the environment.

CARES and TLC seek to continue supporting students Jorge Gruber

Guest Reporter

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s students return for a new semester, an electrifying sense of excitement fills the air. Exciting as it might be though, a new semester can also be fraught with troubles, some unforeseen and some of a more chronic nature.

When life becomes so distressing for students that it exceeds their ability to cope, many turn to a variety of mental health resources essential to preserving the wellbeing of the Vassar community. Among these resources were CARES and The Listening Center, also known as TLC. Since 1989, CARES served as an alternative to professional channels of mental health support for students who sought a greater degree of anonymity, privacy and solidarity. Along with companion organization TLC, CARES broke ground in the realm of on-campus counseling services by functioning as an entirely peer-run, 24/7 on-call listening service aimed at providing a more readily accessible outlet for students struggling with any and all personal difficulties. Specifically, CARES focused on issues related to interpersonal violence like sexual assault, while TLC was geared toward helping students manage mental and emotional strain by familiarizing them with self-help strategies.

Near the end of the Spring 2016 semester,

Vassar announced that CARES and TLC would no longer be on call as of Fall 2016. Administrators informed CARES that the rationale behind this decision was an issue of liability: “[A}s soon as a student on call picks up the phone, the leaders of the organization, their licensed advisors, and the school itself are all in part responsible if harm comes to the caller” (Boilerplate, “TLC Off Call,” 06.01.2016).

TLC argued that Vassar’s solutions to the liability concerns, which included outsourcing of counselors and eliminating peer-led on call services, perpetuated a disconnect between student needs and provided mental health services. TLC wrote, “[The administration] have no well-formed plans on what resources they will be replacing us with...[or] what ‘non-professional’ support will look like going forward.”

Despite the announcements that TLC and CARES would be undergoing changes, in the last couple of weeks both organizations confirmed on their Facebook pages that, though unable to be on call, they would continue to function as peer-support groups, and have been diligently working out redevelopment plans in the interim. “The members of CARES and TLC are passionate and talented students who we know will continue to play a vital role in the campus community,” said SAVP Director and CARES advisor Charlotte Strauss Swanson

in a written statement. “We have been collaborating with them throughout the summer and beginning of the school year to redefine the services and programming they will provide and are excited to support them in this work.”

Recently, TLC held a series of information sessions to publicly introduce its new changes and had announced that it would be accepting applications for peer-listener positions until Sept. 11. Meanwhile, CARES disclosed its plan for the coming semester over Facebook by outlining several proposed initiatives that it was still in the process of negotiating with administrators. These ideas include establishing survivor self-care off-campus trips, increasing the presence of Residential Life advocates in residence halls and creating a website and series of blogs which will be focused on providing resources such as information about fostering healthy relationships.

Although CARES and TLC will not be on call, Vassar does provide other mental health resources for students. According to Strauss Swanson, “Mental health and survivor support resources have been expanding...with additional hires in both the Counseling Center and the Sexual Assault and Violence Prevention (SAVP) program, in addition to 24/7 on call support.” Nine therapists are available for students to talk to, including two new full-time

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

staff members. Besides one-on-one appointments, the Counseling Service offers Therapy and Support groups, which allow students with similar concerns to share their experiences and offer support to one another. The continued presence of CARES and TLC complements this renewed effort on the part of the administration to address the demand for mental health resources as the semester unfolds.

Although their plans are currently tentative, one thing remains certain: CARES and TLC are resolutely committed to maintaining peer-led, non-judgmental and survivor-centered spaces despite the termination of its on-call service. “[T]he Administration stands by its decision that peer-to-peer support cannot occur at Vassar and has not indicated to CARES otherwise,” said CARES member Julian Dishart ’17 in an emailed statement. “Because of this, CARES is moving in a new direction to serve the campus through programming, education, and fostering community for survivors.”

Can the possibility for future on-call services be ruled out entirely though? “Peer-listening services exist at larger institutions and are usually supervised in person by a licensed counselor,” Dishart added. “If the administration was interested in attempting this model, I am confident students would be eager and qualified to fill this role.”

NEWS

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September 15, 2016

Convocation speakers emphasize education accessibility CONVOCATION continued from page 1

higher education. She reflected, “America needs to increase higher education attainment, and also make it more equitably available to all demographic groups. Vassar has made great progress in the last decade and I hope that it sustains and continues this progress. This means both matriculating and graduating students from all different backgrounds, but also making Vassar an inclusive community where everyone can learn, especially from each other.”

Vassar College continues to capture popular acclaim for its comprehensive financial aid initiatives, and has entered into the fourth year of its partnership with the Posse Veterans Program dedicated to providing returning soldiers with a strong education. Looking back to her presidency, Hill noted, “The main thing that makes up an institution is the people who are associated with it. That means the students, faculty, staff and alums.” She elaborated, “I will miss attending all kinds of things at the College that counted as ‘working,’ but that were so much fun, from VRDT, to concerts, to athletic events. And, I’ll miss walking around the beautiful campus, especially Sunset Lake.”

However, Hill’s departure is not the only significant institutional change happening this year.

The VSA has overhauled many of its positions, committees and offices, with revised procedures and responsibilities going into effect for the first time. Lamothe commented, “I’m really looking forward to the upcoming school year. From a VSA perspective, the fact that we have a new structure is both a challenge and an opportunity.

We’ve designed a new system that should make our student government more efficient and accessible, but it’s going to take a lot of work to implement the system effectively.” With these changes to college administration and student government, the campus has prepared for new achievements this year.

Vassar prides itself on its commitment to bring positive change to the national and international spheres. Chenette’s speech introduced this topic by citing the 21st Century Worldwide Refugee Crisis seminar led in Spring 2016 by the Chair

of History Maria Höhn. The worldwide refugee crisis encompasses a large portion of the world, engulfing Syria and the Middle East, Myanmar and Southeast Asia, as well as Ukraine and Central Europe. Höhn emphasized, “It is an unprecedented crisis of forced displacement, caused by war, political unrest and instability, environmental degradation and severe economic hardship in large parts of the world. More than 65 million people are external or internal refugees, and twothirds of them are women and children.”

The seminar engaged over 100 students, faculty and local community members in critical reflection about the worldwide refugee crisis.

Höhn explained, “I think one of the main accomplishments of our six-week class was that VC faculty—Professors Samson Opondo, Giovanna Borradori, Sukanya Basu, Joseph Nevins, Stuart Belli, Maria Hantzopoulos—as well as outside advocates for refugees helped educate us. We all learned together, and in learning together, we discovered ways in which VC students can become involved.” She asserted that the students in the seminar took their passion for the topic outside of the classroom. She explained, “The class mobilized the campus, and also brought about an extensive cooperation between Vassar students and local faith-based and civic groups, as well as other colleges, who are also concerned about the millions of forcibly displaced individuals. Our students really stepped up to the plate, and the VC Refugee Solidarity team led by Anish Kanoria ’18 proved a tremendous force to get the ball rolling.” This cooperation has allowed Vassar College to welcome Salam Al Kuntar and other speakers from the Scholars at Risk program, as well as channel aid and volunteer hours to aid organizations at home and abroad.

Most importantly, the seminar set a precedent for how institutions of higher education should be involved in the geopolitical and socioeconomic conflicts of the world. Höhn concluded, “In my 20 years of teaching at Vassar, I have never been more proud of our students. They are awesome. I hope that many of our new first-year students on campus will want to be involved, and that together we can think of innovative and creative ways in

this challenging time.”

Besides serving as a force for positive social change, Vassar also enjoys renown for its rigorous academics. The cutting-edge research that takes place here was celebrated by announcing the election of several faculty members to endowed chairs. Assistant Professor of Biology Kelli Duncan was appointed to the Class of 1951 Chair for her extensive scholarship and dedication to students. Duncan explained, “My work examines how the brain naturally repairs itself following injury. Specifically, I am interested in the role of steroid hormones following injury and how they can help to repair and protect the brain from damage. This year, I will continue to study the natural repair pathways, but I also plan to expand my research on how injury changes behavior, specifically social behaviors.”

Other professors appointed to endowed chairs also demonstrated excellence in the natural sciences. Professor of Chemistry Joseph Tanski was appointed to the Matthew Vassar, Jr. Chair for his extensive laboratory work. According to Tanski, “My research is in the fields of asymmetric catalysis and molecular structure determination by X-ray diffraction, or X-ray crystallography. X-ray crystallography is an instrumental method by which we may determine the actual three-dimensional structure of molecules; literally how the atoms are arranged in molecules—what the molecules ‘look like’ and how they pack together in the solid state. We use the technique to look at the structures of any materials produced in our catalysis work.” This sort of research is made more possible in the new Bridge for Laboratory Sciences building with modern and spacious facilities.

As a liberal arts college, Vassar is strong in both the sciences and humanities. Professor of Film and Junior Class Dean Mia Mask was appointed to the Mary Riepma Ross ’32 Chair for her ongoing research in association with Illinois University Press on African-American cinema. Mask has also written critiques of “Human Rights Watch” documentaries and other nonfiction media. Considering her work in the context of the academic community at Vassar, Mask noted, “I am thankful my scholarship has been recognized with this

(New York Times).

Two hours away in Poughkeepsie, Vassar’s Office of Religious and Spiritual Life invited students to gather for a moment of silence in the Peace Garden as an act of remembrance for those who perished in the 2001 attacks, two of whom were Vassar alumnae.

Despite the time that has passed, one thing remains the same: uncertainty. In a poll by CNN and Opinion Research Corporation, Inc., half of people asked said that they fear another terrorist attack is inevitable. In the same poll, more Americans reported feeling angry over the attacks than in past years. Meanwhile, the annual number of hate crimes against Muslims in the United States have consistently fallen in the 100-150 range since 2001, around five times higher than the pre-9/11 rate, according to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report program (The Washington Post, “Anti-Muslim hate crimes are still five times more common today than before 9/11,” 02.15.2016).

In a speech at the Pentagon, President Barack Obama reminded Americans of the value of solidarity and community during times of fear and doubt. Praising the diversity of the United States in a ceremony for the 182 people who died after American Airways Flight 77 careened into the government building, the Commander-in-Chief stated, “We know that our diversity, our patchwork heritage is not a weakness, it still and always will be one of our greatest strengths. This is the America that was attacked that September morning. This is the America that we must remain true to” (USA Today, “Obama praises diversity at Pentagon 9/11 tribute,” 09.11.2016).

would run from North Dakota, through South Dakota and then east into Iowa and Illinois.

The 1,172-mile project will purportedly bring between 8,000-12,000 construction jobs and be a safe alternative to driving the oil across state lines.

On Friday afternoon, U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg rejected a request by the Standing Rock Sioux to halt construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. The Standing Rock Sioux filed a complaint insisting that not enough attention had been given to the tribe’s concerns that the pipeline would disrupt water supply, burial grounds, and sacred lands. “Tribal officials fear that in addition to water contamination, the underground passage would break federal laws under the National Historic Preservation Act that protect sacred prayer and burial sites,” reported Al Jazeera on Sept. 9.

Those claims notwithstanding, the judge gave his approval for construction to continue. His decision read, “[T]he Tribe has not demonstrated that an injunction is warranted” (CNN, “Green light, red light for Dakota Access Pipeline”, 09.09.2016).

The judge also cited various attempts made by the construction company to work with the tribe to reach a compromise on the pipeline issue. “[T]he [Army Corps of Engineers] has documented dozens of attempts it made to consult with the Standing Rock Sioux from the fall of 2014 through the spring of 2016,” wrote the judge. “[But] the Tribe largely refused to engage in consultations,” he noted (New York Times, U.S. Suspends Construction on Part of North Dakota Pipeline, 09.09.2016).

Mere minutes later, a joint announcement from the Army, the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of the Interior requested that Energy Transfer Partners, the company building the $3.7 billion pipeline, comply with a voluntary pause of construction within a 20-mile radius of Lake Oahe, a dammed section of the Missouri River. “Construction of the pipeline on Army Corps land bordering or under lake Oahe will not go forward at this time,” read the statement (The Atlantic, “The

honor. There are many scholars at Vassar doing excellent, innovative work [...] Most of the scholarship faculty produce at Vassar and elsewhere in the academy directly feeds into our teaching.

Faculty research is essential to the classroom because it nourishes our pedagogy.”

These academic luminaries also offered advice that spoke to incoming students, outgoing students and recent graduates alike. Mask recalled, “Years ago I was an advising a student’s thesis.

She worked really hard, as many Vassar students do. Several years after graduation, she came back to visit me. She had a great job and was living in Manhattan. She told me that while writing it she didn’t understand why I was making her work so hard. I asked her what she learned from the process. She said the thesis taught her there wasn’t anything she couldn’t achieve. Everything after that, i.e., getting a job, living in NYC and graduate school, felt doable.”

Tanski expounded on his knowledge of scientific procedure and rhetoric to encourage students to stay curious in their studies. He advised, “One learns to conduct scientific investigations by actually doing them. In chemistry in particular, working in a lab and learning to use chemical instrumentation, in particular, and interpret and communicate the results, are the most important things to do to prepare for and get accepted graduate school.” While developing skills for experimental observation and abstract theory, students should also stay open to serendipity. Duncan reflected, “Don’t be afraid to try new things and step outside of your comfort zone. I got into research after a chance meeting at a bus stop and it ended up changing the entire direction of my life.”

Höhn corroborated, “One of our main goals as a liberal arts college is to educate young leaders who can go out and make the world a better place. One need not have to wait to be president or head of an NGO to make a difference.” While Fall Convocation showcased the ways in which Vassar College has been at the forefront of higher education reform, crisis response and ongoing research, the campus community is once more at the moment of new beginnings.

News Briefs

15 years later, nation still mourns The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks sent the nation reeling in 2001, and to this day the echo of the tragedy remains. The attacks led to the loss of almost 3,000 lives and left untold numbers of first-responders with lasting, often deadly illnesses caused by debris (The Guardian, “9/11 Health Crisis: Death Toll from Illness Nears Number Killed on Day of Attacks,” 09.11.2016).

People across the country held their breath as members of the radical Islamic group Al-Qaeda crashed four commercial airliners into both of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and an open field in the Stonycreek Township of Pennsylvania that had previously been known only for its proximity to a coal strip mine.

In New York City, bridges and tunnels leading to Manhattan were closed off to non-emergency vehicles while train services to the island were suspended indefinitely. Concern spread rapidly around the state and nation. Further upstate at Vassar, televisions and phone banks were set up for a pre-smartphone campus so students could see the events unfold and contact loved ones (Vassar Quarterly, “September 11: Vassar Reacts,” 2001).

One-and-a-half decades since that day, on a balmy Sunday morning, thousands streamed into Lower Manhattan to pay their respects to the fallen. Crowds also gathered at other attack sites around the nation to remember. A record number of people flooded the area surrounding the September 11 Remembrance Memorial and Museum, bowing their heads as mourners read aloud the names of their departed lovedones (The New York Times, “On 9/11 Anniversary, Somber Reflections on Lives, and a World, Changed,” 09.11.2016).

Among those in attendance were presidential hopefuls Donald J. Trump and Hillary Clinton.

Both agreed to neither campaign for the day nor make any public statements. Their arrival was greeted with applause as people snapped candid photographs of the two being escorted through the throng by teams of security guards

—Megan Howell, Guest Reporter Construction halts on Dakota pipeline Friday, Sept. 9 brought a surprising series of events for both proponents and opponents of the Dakota Access pipeline after two announcements were made regarding the continuation of construction. The proposed pipeline

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

Obama Administration Temporarily Blocks the Dakota Access Pipeline,” 09.09.2016). After the decision reversal David Archambault II, the chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux commented, “I’m just so thankful that agencies are starting to listen” (New York Times, U.S. Suspends Construction on Part of North Dakota Pipeline, 09.09.2016).

Protests against the pipeline had become violent over Labor Day weekend. Protesters chained themselves to construction equipment and clashed with private security of Energy Transfer Partners. “When there’s a wrong that keeps continuing to happen, it’s O.K. to stand up against that wrong. That’s all we did,” commented Archambault II (New York Times).

Earthjustice, the nonprofit environmental law organization representing the Standing Rock Sioux, has said that the statement of support from the Obama administration is “vindication” for the hard work of Native American groups who have long complained that the legal system needs refining (New York Times).

Along with Earthjustice, over 200 indigenous groups have come to support the Standing Rock Sioux, along with 30 environmental groups, including the Sierra Club, who oppose the construction of the pipeline (CNN). Dallas Goldtooth, a spokesperson for the Indigenous Environmental Network notes it is “not a question of if the pipe will rupture, but when” (Al Jazeera,US: Key ruling due on Dakota Access oil pipeline, 09.09.2016).

Despite Friday’s relative victory, many environmental groups and tribes remain unsatisfied. The halt on construction is only temporary, and the pipeline project will continue unless canceled. The protesters are prepared to stay camped out along the proposed pipeline site as long as they need to in order to prove their dedication to the land (New York Times). As put by Archambault II, “We are going to take it as far as we can. We are going to look at all our legal options. This is not over” (Al Jazeera).

—Maya Sterling, Guest Reporter

September 15, 2016

FEATURES

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Traditions Committee replaces water fight with flowers SERENADING continued from page 1

awkward and had a really bad dynamic. I think the rearrangement is cute, first years could have a chance to meet seniors. It’s a lot more organic and voluntary.”

Schindelman acknowledged the close bonding that Serenading achieved this year. He explained, “I do feel like it’s definitely been more mingling of seniors and freshman as part of the event, whereas last year we just threw water balloons and [sang] at each other but we didn’t really talk.”

Further, Hoyle said, “There’s a conflict of interest to be asked to encourage first years to attend when we knew for some folks it is a highly anxiety-ridden experience, which we navigated by making the event more optional and less centralized by house as to alleviate house teams from any coercive responsibilities.”

According to Traditions Committee, this year’s Serenading brings more unity: “Freshmen are no longer singing by house. Instead, they’ll sing as a whole class, and it’s completely volunteer-based.” Students of all class years, faculty members and administrators are invited to hang out on the quad.

Shuang Qiao ’20 confirmed that not separating the houses was more unifying. “I feel like the focus is on community rather than class year and house pride,” she said. “I love how it provides us the chance to meet new people and brings us together with music and flowers.”

Also, adjustments in time and location were made with the goal of accommodating more students’ needs and schedules, and this effort received good feedback from the students. “I like that it was during the year now. The freshman now have more of a chance to be acclimated to school so that they could decide if they want to be a part of Serenading,” said Thomas.

As for relocation, Aller explained that because the quad is “more central (not as far of a walk) and convivial...it attracts people to a location where students can mingle with their peers in a laid-back atmosphere.”

Both chairs reflected that their biggest strug-

gle was balancing tradition and finding solutions for issues that were previously brought up. Aller wrote, “Successfully reinventing a tradition isn’t easy, it’s a years-long process. A tradition lives on through students, transmitting their excitement about the tradition to their peers from year to year.”

Hoyle also agreed on the importance of renovating traditions. “I think it’s important to recognize when traditions need adaptation to our changing times. In many ways, as is important, all our traditions are antiquated, but that does not mean we have to take them at face value or shouldn’t constantly be reevaluating their efficacy in our present context ... By thinking critically about the structure in past years and doing our very best to really listen to folks with objections, I think we created a much more in-

clusive, comfortable, enjoyable event this year,” wrote Hoyle in an emailed statement.

She also expressed that planning Serenading was a very rewarding experience. She said, “I was very proud seeing the way the event unfolded this year, as I thought it was actually transformed into a place for first years and seniors to connect and that I never felt that folks were uncomfortable.”

Aller concluded, “I was convinced that Serenading was a dying tradition. But watching the event take place today, and the excitement of the people who participated made me really hopeful and confident in the potential of Vassar’s traditions to bring our community together ... In the future, I would love to see the senior class sing their own song in answer to the first years serenading them.”

Courtesy of Karen Crook

’18 collectively renounced their houses’ participation of Serenading. This year as Co-Chair of the Traditions Committee, Hoyle explained how she dealt with issues from last year. “The central element of the tradition, thus its name, is the singing, which is why it’s the only element that we maintained ... [The water balloon event] doesn’t seem like the right way to foster community and I am comfortable with the fact that that element of Serenading has been put in the past. I believe that this new version is much more in sync with the Vassar spirit.” Other Traditions Committee Co-Chair Audrey Aller ’17 commented in an emailed statement, “Also it seemed fitting to have flowers be central to another Vassar tradition (think the Daisies, the Daisy Chain, the Violets).”

Reactions from students showed that they appreciate the transformation, but also have nostalgic feelings about the past. “I had a lot of fun with last year’s water balloon fight, but I could also see the point of view that maybe it wasn’t the best.” said Thomas Schindelman ’19.

Joseph More ’17 observed that there’s a lack of excitement compared to the past: “There used to have so many more steps. This time it’s like a more simplistic event, but I like that it’s mellow.”

Hoyle wrote that this year’s activities do more to foster conversations among students of all class years. When the song is done, seniors were encouraged to talk with first years and share flowers with them. The blurb sent out to seniors read, “Try to find a freshman who is in the same dorm as you were your freshman year, and try to give your flower to someone who doesn’t have one yet!”

Wendy Liu ’17 recounted her first-year experience of Serenading and compared it to attending this year’s event as a senior: “My freshman year, each individual house of first-years will sing to the seniors who have lived in the house before. I think for me it was very weird, because there’s a distinct hierarchy. It just felt really

First-year students and seniors mingle on the residential quad after the Sept. 10 Serenading event.

This year, seniors gave the first-years flowers in Vassar colors to thank them for their songs.

Students of color speak about identity and experiences NOYES continued from page 1 about microaggressions, and they were giving us all this useful information but then leaving the first years to figure it out on their own.”

The only time Ballard, Corleto or Wilson felt like a program was catered to their needs was during Transitions. “But as soon as Transitions ended,” Ballard reflects, “the school was like, ‘new phone who dis?’”

Although the table laughs at this response, it’s clear this is no joke to them. This feeling of being dropped by the school set the tone for the year. The expression on Corleto’s face turns to frustration as he says, “I was fortunate enough to be in Transitions, but outside of those friendships, I felt like I had to change myself in order to make non-POCs comfortable. Suddenly, I couldn’t speak Spanish and talk about mi abuelita because that wasn’t acceptable.”

Maisva, equally frustrated, tells us that the class of 2019 is one of Vassar’s most diverse

classes; yet only 6.6 percent were Black students. “I was the only Black male freshman up in this house.” He shakes his head and says, “That’s just ridiculous.”

“As soon as you get here and you’re white, and especially if you’re well-off, you have a support system,” says Ballard. “A lot of the resources on campus are more easily accessible for white students because they’re white-run.”

“If you go to these resources as a person of color,” she continues, “it’s automatically more difficult because most of the people there don’t understand where you’re coming from.”

Her words ring true in the classroom as well.

Wilson brings this up when he shares, “In one of my classes last year, only myself and one other person, out of 27 people, identified as POC. During one class, there was a dialogue about a topic most people in the class couldn’t relate to, but of course they still gave their two cents.”

“It got to a point where my friend and I just

Kayla Gonzalez/The Miscellany News

Noyes House Programming Director, Student Fellows and President pose in Jetson Lounge, the location of the powerful and pertinent event “We Got You: a Melanin-Blessed Gathering.”

turned to each other and acknowledged that this wasn’t a conversation about us, but a conversation over us,” he said.

It can be dehumanizing and emotional when POC experiences are treated as abstract topics rather than actual lives, but Wilson took this class as an opportunity to find support in a classmate of color. “We grew stronger together,” he concludes.

“When you do find support,” Ballard adds, “it usually isn’t administrative support, but rather fellow students, and you’re expected to be Black together or brown together.”

“And when you can find administrative support, it’s always from admins of color,” Ballard adds. “I mean, we can’t forget about Luis Inoa and the work he’s done for us.”

Maisva hypes up when he adds, “And our Colette Cann! You see, Vassar has these great people like the faculty of color and ALANA orgs, but as an institution, they don’t utilize them and ask them to address our needs.”

The mood turns to one of frustration again and Maisva goes on, “I feel like I’ve talked about this several times already but what Vassar does is try to fix things after they happen rather than try to prevent things from happening.”

“We Got You” was born out of a need to be proactive rather than reactive. “We wanted to make sure we had this event as soon as possible,” Corleto explains. “From my personal experience, I didn’t even know what a microaggression was until, like, February of freshman year.

I’d been facing them my whole life without acknowledging it.”

For Awachie, the timing of the event was equally important. “It helped having it before classes because I felt like I was aware of stuff, but it opened my eyes even more. When I first came for FOCUS, it seemed super liberal and everyone was nice. I didn’t think I would have to deal with racist comments or microaggressions.”

He continues, “So it was good to have multiple people remind me that that’s what goes on here.

It was also really cool to see how many people came and see who I could talk to later on.”

Ballard was overcome with joy by the near-

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

ly 100 people in attendance. “I literally almost cried like five times, especially when people from other houses kept walking in.”

Inclusivity is another mission for Noyes and they could not stress it enough. “This was not an affinity space to talk bad about white people,” Wilson emphasizes. “I was really glad when a first year brought up their experience of being half white.”

Corleto joins in, “It was good to see white allies who wanted to listen and learn instead of trying to claim or change our struggles...”

“They understood that it wasn’t their conversation,” Ballard finishes.

“Honestly,” Ballard continues, shifting the focus of conversation, “the best part for me was just listening to what people had to say.”

Everyone agrees and Maisva adds, “It’s nice to be affirmed in what you’re going through and what you’re surviving.”

“Not only surviving but thriving,” Wilson finishes with a smile toward Maisva.

Awachie left the event with the same impression. “Knowing that other people are going through the same stuff as you helps,” he reflects.

“I took away a lot from what one of my friends shared.”

He explains further, “I don’t think of myself as someone who would do the things my friend described, but it’s good to be doubly sure that you’re not going to be prejudice against someone else’s culture, especially as a POC.” “All in all,” Maisva concludes, “I feel like I’ve seen change come about from this. We actually made a difference. I cried a little–it’s no big deal.”

“And we’re looking forward to ‘We Got You, Too’ in December,” Ballard adds with a smirk.

She just came up with the title, and her fellow house team members enthusiastically approve.

Corleto looks around the table, a contagious smile on his face. “Can we hug after this?”

“Is it a wrap?” Maisva looks expectantly at his fellow house team members.

It is a wrap, but the conversation never ends.

And Noyes House Team wants to remind you: “We got your back, your left, your right, your front. We Got You.”

TRAVEL

Page 6

September 15, 2016

Panama beyond the Canal Visiting the Woolf museum Anika Lanser

Elizabeth Dean

Reporter

Contributing Editor

W

V

Courtesy of Anika Lanser

henever I told people that I was going to Panama, they always asked if I was going to the canal. And while I did go to the Miraflores Locks and watched giant freighters pass through one of the greatest engineering feats in the world, I also did so much more during my three-day stay in Panama City.

One of the obviously touristic sites of Panama City is Casco Antiguo, a historical section of the city built high up on sea walls. Although there are tons of shops selling woven bracelets, wooden animals and old Panama license plates, the architecture of the city is also fascinating.

Once part of the Spanish colony, many of the churches in the area are classic Spanish architecture.

However, after the Panama region was a Spanish colony parts of the area became a French colony, meaning that a lot of the architecture in the city is French as well. Seeing the contrast between the Spanish and French architecture in one city is a testament to the

Elizabeth Dean/The Miscellany News

Courtesy of Anika Lanser

region’s complex colonial history.

There are also important political landmarks in Casco Antiguo, like the President’s Palace and the French Embassy. Right nearby the embassy, there was a huge outdoor display of pictures of French artworks nearby one of the highest seawalls overlooking the modern skyline of Panama City. From this same seawall it is possible to see the colorful roof of the Biomuseo, a large museum dedicated to the history of Panama and the biodiversity of the wildlife.

A walk through the museum taught me about the species visible in Panama and their various statuses as endangered and threatened species.

The views are beautiful and the walk-through timeline explains how the creation of Panama created such incredibly diverse forests and oceans. To those traveling to Panama, I recommend traveling beyond the city and the canal to areas like Casco Antiguo and the Biomuseo.

There is much more to Panama City than the canal zone.

irginia Woolf’s house, also known as Monk’s House, is nestled south of London in Lewes–close enough to the southern coast for beachy air to breeze through town and for sandy white cliffs to be visible from the Woolf’s bowling green. This house was the Woolfs’ countryside escape from London, where they came to spend time with their intellectual circle and where Virginia in particular came to write.

The house that is available for touring feels relatively small since only the ground floor is open to visitors. However, the rooms are beautiful and well-curated. Lovely shelves of books decorate the sitting room, displaying historical and contemporary books that tie into Virginia Woolf’s literary style. Artifacts from the Bloomsbury Group’s press and Leonard Woolf’s

critical career are displayed in the sitting room along with furniture and portraits that belonged to the Woolfs. A bust of Virginia Woolf sits in the living room window, casting a silhouette as if Virginia herself stood in the window.

The garden’s gorgeous stonework walls, lush beds and wildflower edges are a picturesque slice of south England cottage gardening. In one corner of the garden, a pair of plaques and busts mark where the Woolfs’ ashes are buried.

The best thing about the house is the way that visitors are allowed to enjoy it. Benches and lawn chairs in the garden and on the bowling green are open to visitors. Sitting in the lawn chairs on the bowling green, looking out toward the pale coastal cliffs in the warm spring sun, visitors can feel connected to the place that Virginia loved so much, to the beautiful natural world that inspired the literary revolutionary who lived and wrote there.

Virginia Woolf’s house from the perspective of the traditional English cottage garden. The garden itself was mostly Leonard Woolf’s passion project and was known to host writers like T. S. Eliot.

Digging out Roman pasts from historical ruins in Italy Tianqi Zhu

Guest Reporter

“T

azio, stai diventando un italiano,” said Gabriele, my Italian field director of the San Martino archaeological site after the farewell diner. I laughed, remembering.

For a year, I lived an Italian life. Wine was my blood; tomato was my flesh; and mozzarella was my brain. I was so used to having dinner at 8:30 p.m., drinking exclusively espresso coffee and saying “ciao” instead of “hello.” Most importantly, I ate one coneful of gelato a day.

I was in Italy to study, to dig, to travel. Lecce, Bologna and Rome saw me pulling all-nighters before finals; Torano heard me singing songs of rocks and dirt while pickaxing and shoveling;

Courtesy of Tianqi Zhu

thing would be stuccoed, painted or paved with marble because this archaeological park actually housed one of the most luxurious amusement parks in the ancient world. It occupied three terraces. The first terrace featured a bath sup-

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

plied by natural sulfur springs. The water from it would fill the fountain on the second terrace, which was a semi-circular dining area. On the third terrace was an olympic-sized rectangular swimming pool, heated rooms, temples, one of which has a giant dome, the largest one prior to the construction of Pantheon in 128 AD. From each terrace, the wealthy Romans could enjoy the view of the Tyrrhenian Sea, Mount Vesuvius and Capri.

Selinunte, Sicily. Left hand, right foot, right hand, left foot, I was crawling in a sea of debris. I had to be careful to not fall into the slits between the pieces. Bushes grew out of those slits, making you believe that ground was underneath. It was much deeper because the debris belonged to a temple which doubled the size of the Parthenon. This temple was so badly destroyed by the Carthaginians in the First Punic War that we don’t even know to what god it was dedicated. So we assigned it the letter G. Since then, the temple G’s debris has remained there in the wasteland. It is incredible but also disheartening to think that what had been the symbol of prosperity and spirituality for the citizens of Selinunte was still breathing under my feet. Sitting on a broken Doric column, I spotted a boat on the sea yellowed by the sunset. Am I becoming an Italian? I think so.

Courtesy of Tianqi Zhu

Courtesy of Tianqui Zhu

many other cities, prominent or obscure, bore my footprint over their skin. Among all the places I have been to in Italy, the most fascinating ones were always the most dilapidated.

Praeneste, Lazio. Sweaty, exhausted, dehydrated, woozy, I had lost all senses of direction after having climbed thousands of steps in a zigzag and elevating course. It was an ancient pilgrimage trail to the largest sacred complex in Italy, the Sanctuary of Fortuna. Finally I reached the gateway to the sanctuary, a narrow and long ramp which used to be a roofed windowless tunnel. Untouched by sunlight and accompanied only by the sound of their own steps, pilgrims ascended to the light at the end of the tunnel.

As soon as they exited, immediately their ears would be overwhelmed by people of different origins and languages chanting and consulting at the oracle, bargaining at the votive offering shops.

Meanwhile, pilgrims looking out would see the breath-taking panorama of the town proper of Praeneste, the Alban Hills and the plains leading to Campania and looking up the majestic four terraces etched into the mountain crowned by the temple of Fortuna. Since the wooden roof and wall of the tunnel had already collapsed, I could only imagine myself stumbling about in the dark as I dragged myself upwards. At the end of the ramp, I looked out to the unchanged scenery of the surrounding mountains and plains, and looked up to the ruins: wall stripped of stucco, ceiling of frieze and floor of mosaics.

Wild rabbits and weeds prevailed. No one talked besides the wind and the birds.

Baiae, Campania. Opus reticulatum, opus latericium, opus mixtum, opus vittatum, I managed to identify almost all kinds of Roman facing technique while running around the Archaeological Park of Bacoli. All these different operes (plural of opus in Latin) pertain to different periods in Roman architectural history, which suggests that whatever was in this park had been functioning at least from the first century BCE to the fourth century CE. However, the Romans wouldn’t have even noticed the masonry and the facing techniques that the Classics scholars are studying today. Back then, every-

September 15, 2016

FEATURES

Page 7

Vassar alumna goes from The Miscellany News to Mic Elizabeth Dean

Contributing Editor

T

his week we’re catching up with Marie Solis, a 2015 Vassar graduate and an alum of The Miscellany News! While at Vassar, Marie was an English major with a Hispanic studies correlate, served as Editor in Chief of the Miscellany and danced with FlyPeople and Vass Shakers.

Q: What’s going on with you now?

A: I’m living in Brooklyn and right now, I’m a staff writer at Mic for the news team.

It’s exciting! I’ve been working there since November and I’ve almost been there a year now. I cover trending news. So basically any big news story you see on a given day that everybody is talking about on Twitter or Facebook is something that I’m writing about or that someone on my team is writing about. I usually write a few trending stories a day and then every week or so we have a pitch meeting where I pitch longer originally-reported ideas. I work on those when I’m not working on quick trending stories.

and editors.

Also, I think Mic was a really great next step from Vassar. I was applying to all these writing jobs and really wanted to be able to not write only straight, “objective” news. Mic is definitely still objective in important ways, it definitely covers straight news. But it also really has a voice and a specific perspective.

It’s not just specific to our generation but also a certain niche of our generation that is socially conscious cares about bringing marginalized voices to the center and wants to offer an alternative narrative that the mainstream news isn’t telling. It’s really fun to work at Mic because, even though we all have different politics, when I’m writing a story about sexism I know that everyone in the office understands ... It’s good to have that as a starting point. The people who read Mic have that same starting point as well.

Q: How do you feel your time at Vassar has affected what you’re doing now?

A: I think that this is going to sound really corny and straight out of a brochure but it’s really true. I think that critical thinking is really valuable at my job. Say, for example, that everyone is really excited about this one topic in the mainstream media. I have the ability to read that story from, say, CNN or the New York Times. I can say, “Wait a minute. There’s something here that we’re not talking about.

There are voices here that aren’t being heard.

There are other ways of thinking about this issue that no one is talking about.”

I think that Vassar really challenged me to think about things critically. I think that’s really valuable at a place like Mic for example. At Mic we’re giving an alternative narrative, our own take and perspective. I feel like I have something specific I can bring to the table.

Q: What do you do for the longer articles?

A: I usually pitch articles that have to do with feminist issues and a lot of the articles that I’m most proud of are about issues like campus assault.

One article I wrote was about this woman who wanted to find a better mechanic because she was tired of being ripped off by men ... She actually went back to school and decided to become a mechanic herself. She’s opening her own autobody shop! That was a fun story and I got to go to Philly where her workshop is and I got to talk to her.

I like to write a lot about feminist issues, but I usually try to find the hope in the story ... I like to write about people who create art about feminism, or who take their experiences and turn it into something more positive.

One of the first big stories I wrote was the week I started working there. That was the week that the Secretary of Defense announced that all combat positions would be open to women. Obviously that seems like a major win for women, that women have the ability to do the same things that men do and fight for their country.

But it reminded me of my feminist theory class, and I remember having a discussion whether women should be drafted and be able to occupy all positions in the military. We had a conversation about why women might not always want to do the same things men do and that war is an inherently patriarchal institution. I ended up writing an article that talked about the feminists who don’t want women in the military. I interviewed a lot of activists who talked about the colonialist and materialist implications of having a larger military body.

I think because Mic is very socially conscious and politically minded as an organization, being able to take a lot of women’s studies classes and Hispanic studies classes, and being able to engage in a lot of conversations with my friends and my classmates who were so smart and politically minded that it just really helped me after graduation and in my job.

Q: Do you have any words of wisdom for current Vassar students?

Courtesy of Marie Solis

Q: How do you like Mic?

A: I really like it there! It’s a young newsroom...so it’s a really fun atmosphere. All my co-workers are super supportive and we help each other and collaborate a lot. I have a really good relationship with all of my coworkers

A: I have some advice specifically for seniors. I stressed a lot about jobs senior year and it seems like everyone is getting a job and it seems like you need to start applying to jobs right away, almost as soon as you move onto campus senior year. But don’t freak out. Sadly, a lot of how you find a job is to have good luck, to meet the right person or be in the right place at the right time. It can be terrible but it will be okay. It will work out as long as you are ambitious and you really care about what you want to do ... People might ask you, “Why do you have an English degree, or a philosophy degree, or a history degree? What are you going to do with that?” Don’t listen to those people. You will do great things if you want to do great things.”

Fall into autumn with this cozy and easy tea-essenced icing Sarah Evans & Rafaela Vega del Castillo Guest Colunmists

W

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

Courtesy of Catherine Evans

ith the autumn equinox a few days away, Sept. 22 will mark our official transition into a period of nippy air, blushing autumn leaves, crispy apples and days demanding warm drinks and tasty treats.

While the mainstream food industry has jumped the gun on pumpkin spice everything, the season is not always defined by these iconic orange squash, or cinnamon and nutmeg in a cup. Autumn is my favorite season, embodied by bursting expressions of nature. Somehow, it sparks more inspiration in my life, my thoughts, and in the kitchen. So why not learn to make your own icings, bring as much essence and rich flavor the fall season seem to demand?

It’s always cozy when the crisp, chilling air is accompanied by hot drinks and belly-warming meals. These are best shared with others over equally warm conversation.

But we all know the best part of any gathering is the long-awaited dessert. Far too often, the rich, refined flavors of cake become overwhelmed by store-bought icings or the odious whipped topping that looks much better than it tastes.

Over the years, my family has thrown out the off-the-shelf icing brands in exchange for easy, tasty and pure ingredients that enhance delicious flavor and sweeten sugar highs. Now you can learn to make your own icing that those homemade cakes have so long been craving to be coated in!

To make the icing, place butter into a small sauce pan and bring to a medium simmer. Open the tea bags and place the loose tea directly into melting butter.

Allow the mixture to heat for five to seven minutes, but careful not to have too much heat.

Be sure to stir occasionally. Once prepared, the butter will give off a distinctive earl tea scent.

Strain the tea from the butter, and allow the butter to cool in a medium-size bowl for about ten minutes.

Add the sugar in parts (divided into thirds) to the rich earl grey butter, stirring until smooth.

Repeat until all sugar is added or desired consistency is reached. And for a smoother, creamier flavor, mix in small amount of milk.

If you feel like you want a bit larger and thicker batch or stronger tea flavor, don’t be afraid to toss in more sugar or to add some loose tea directly into the buttercream! Practice makes perfect.

Mix and match your desired pairings and flavor combinations. The time for tasty treats abounds, and if it hasn’t crossed your mind, I hope it has now. These icings go great on cakes and cookies as well as a shameless spoonful of deliciousness and sugar coma extremes. The best part is they can be used and adapted to meet all your dessert needs throughout the year. My recent cake conquests were a delicious Lovely Lavender Icing + Chocolate Cake and the Earl Grey Buttercream + Lemon Poppyseed Cake.

And of course, as the anticipation for fall weather arises and an escape from the heat is in sight, don’t forget to gather around the table and enjoy the bounty. Grab some friends. Get the coffee a-brewing. And set aside time to take in the enlivening fall foliage, appreciate people coming together, the gift of warming company and the opportunity to slice into a delicious piece of perfectly iced cake. Or two! Or maybe three?

This icing is a huge crowd pleaser, especially for family and friends with allergies or dietary restrictions. With minimal ingredients, this recipe cuts out harmful hydrogenated oils and corn syrup. You’d never fathom how easy it is to make! This icing really shines when paired with a rich, moist chocolate cake.

Ingredients Earl Grey Buttercream 1/2 cup butter 1 cup confectioners sugar 1/4 cup whole milk or cream 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 2 earl grey tea bags

OPINIONS

Page 8

September 15, 2016

The Miscellany News Staff Editorial

In silencing survivors, UKentucky threatens free speech Trigger warning: Please be advised that the following editorial covers sensitive topics including sexual assault and harassment.

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he University of Kentucky intends to sue its own student-run newspaper, the Kentucky Kernel, to avoid releasing the details of a sexual harassment and sexual assault investigation against Associate Professor of Entomology James Harwood. Though the case investigator recommended Harwood’s employment be terminated and tenure revoked, the University has since allowed him to resign and not only receive pay through the end of August, but also avoid the implications of a disciplinary hearing.

In total, five victims reported incidents of sexual assault or sexual harassment committed by Harwood over the past three years. Of the five, two came forward to formally charge the defendant. A representative for the two complainants approached the Kernel about publicizing the case. The Kernel filed a public records request and, after the University refused to disclose the full investigation or any records mentioning sexual assault allegations, the student newspaper then took the case to the desk of Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear. On Aug. 8, Beshear ordered the release of all of the documents, to which University President Eli Capilouto responded with a campus-wide email announcing the administration’s intention to block the ordered record release with a lawsuit.

President Capilouto’s email, which has since been published as a blog post, cites the free exchange of ideas as a foundational value with which the University responds to open records requests. “But in a handful of very specific cases,” Capilouto wrote, “we are faced with the decision of whether transparency is more important than the need to

protect the privacy and dignity of individual members of our community. It is not” (University of Kentucky News, “The Tension of Competing Values, 08.09.2016).

While Capilouto claims to have the interests of the survivors in mind, the representative reportedly told the Kernel that the complainants were not contacted by the University before Capilouto’s email was released and that they wanted the investigation into Harwood’s actions to be made public with the names redacted. Because this lawsuit goes directly against the wishes of the survivors, it is poignantly clear that the University’s claim to privacy is only intended to protect Harwood and its own reputation.

However, the University’s actions are not isolated, but rather fit into a larger pattern of institutions of higher learning failing to justly and adequately respond to incidents of sexual violence on their campuses. For many survivors, the lengthy, dehumanizing and often fruitless internal investigations are enough to discourage them from seeking the institutional support they deserve. The University of Kentucky case not only displays negligence surrounding collegiate responses to sexual violence, but also directly endangers their students. Without a formal disciplinary hearing, the sexual assault and harassment allegations will not appear when Harwood applies for subsequent positions, potentially putting his future students and community members at serious risk.

While this story has been regrettably absent from mainstream news coverage, the University of Chicago dramatically sparked a national debate over censorship in August when Dean of Students John Ellison wrote to the University’s incoming class of 2020 explaining that the institution does not support trigger warnings or safe spaces because

they are fundamentally at odds with academic freedom. Ellison said the University would not “censor” free expression, no matter how offensive or unwelcome.

Many media outlets have since written about Ellison’s letter, asserting that censorship is not a legitimate reason to deprive students of necessary tools to handle challenging subjects. This debate over censorship has received a significant amount of attention, while the University of Kentucky case has been minimally covered. Ellison’s letter does not support student’s needs, but Capilouto’s email sacrifices student safety to protect a perpetrator. However, because of recent media outcry over the specious claims of “censorship” in trigger warnings, the University Chicago email has dominated the news landscape while the Kernel’s fight against actual censorship has been largely ignored.

Why, then, is the media not covering this story and others like it? Student voices are not heard nearly enough in media coverage of collegiate life, especially not in situations of sexual assault. The University of Kentucky’s simultaneous attempt to censor its students and protect a perpetrator works against all progress towards ending such heinous violence on college campuses, and must be at the forefront of the news. This is far more important than trivial debates over “PC culture” and its alleged censorship.

Capilouto and the University of Kentucky’s actions strip the sexual assault victims and the Kernel staff of their right to free speech.

A student-run newspaper, like the Kernel, should operate free of University control; Students have every right to report the news, even if it sheds a negative light on the school.

Had the University of Kentucky released the documents to the Kernel, the victims would have been able to tell their story and

reclaim a sense of power that was lost because of the assault. Student-run publications cannot be censored because they too can work give a voice to those who have been historically silenced.

The media must cover these stories because survivors of any degree at a University should never have their voices compromised.

When a student is victimized, the agency should remain with them, not the University.

Yet, the University of Kentucky has silenced these two sexual assault victims instead of providing them a space of comfort, protection and empowerment.

The students assaulted already experienced a trauma at the hands of a professor, someone who is supposed to provide a positive learning environment to students. To then censor the Kernel further alienates these students by taking away yet another space safe for students and their voices.

We at The Miscellany News stand in solidarity with the Kernel. No newspaper should face these restrictions, especially when students and their stories are silenced. Survivors may need the Kernel to give them a voice when its University fails to do so. Consequently, the media needs to shed light on this story to not only hold the University of Kentucky accountable, but to also show support for its fellow journalists.

We also extend our support to the survivors seeking justice against Professor Harwood.

Readers can donate to help the Kernel during its lawsuit on the newspaper’s website, kykernel.com, and we encourage all those who care about genuine threats to freedom of speech on college campuses to do so.

— The Staff Editorial expresses the opinion of at least two-thirds of The Miscellany News Editorial Board

UChicago distorts purpose of safe spaces, trigger warnings Nick Barone

Opinions Editor

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s universities and colleges open their doors to first-year students across the country this fall, old, festering, familiar controversies are once again creeping up. Students, faculty and administration nationwide are embroiled in a debate exploring the relationship between demands for inclusivity, communal safe spaces for healing, trigger warnings and academic freedom. One dean, however, hoped to put that issue to bed before classes even began.

In a welcome letter to first-year students, the University of Chicago’s Dean of Students made clear that “we [the University] do not support socalled ‘trigger warnings,’ we do not cancel invited speakers because their topics might prove controversial, and we do not condone the creation of intellectual ‘safe spaces’ where individuals can retreat from ideas and perspectives at odds with their own” (The Chicago Tribune, “U. of C. tells incoming freshmen it does not support ‘trigger warnings’ or ‘safe spaces,’” 08.25.2016).

On the surface, the letter appears to be a firm response to and affirmation of the widely held belief that trigger warnings and safe spaces are stifling academic discourse and softening the mental resolves of American college students.

On the internet, those on the Left and the Right applauded the University of Chicago’s letter as a testament to what colleges should be doing: upholding academic freedom and encouraging open dialogue. Who could argue against academic freedom? At a glance, it seems hard to dismiss this defense of intellectual liberty. But is that the true impact–and intent–of the letter?

It is one thing for students and professors to collectively organize and discuss the various merits and weaknesses of trigger warnings, safe spaces and the like. For an academic dean, who holds large amounts of power over the students they serve, to legitimize the narrative that trigger warnings and safe spaces are antithetical to academic freedom is not only misguided, it’s dangerous.

For one, the letter relies on grand generalizations and implicit slippery slope arguments that

don’t carry much weight. For example, the letter reads, “Fostering the free exchange of ideas reinforces a related University priority–building a campus that welcomes people of all backgrounds.

Diversity of opinion and background is a fundamental strength of our community. The members of our community must have the freedom to espouse and explore a wide range of ideas.”

Implying that trigger warnings and safe spaces undermine any of these values is a grandiose misfire. Isn’t pointedly reducing these things as oppressive or coddling a replication of the exact lack of nuance you’re arguing against? Isn’t decrying trigger warnings and safe spaces as threats to academia without any caveats or explication preventing further dialogue on the issue? As Professor Kevin Gannon of Grand View University argues, “[A]s a statement of principle, the letter–as does much of the general argument against trigger warnings and safe spaces–relies on caricature and bogeymen rather than reason and nuance ... That’s the specter that arguments like this conjure up: the greatest threat to genuine academic freedom comes from within ... And if universities don’t make a stand against this foolishness, Western Civilization itself will collapse” (The Tattooed Professor, “Trigger Warning: Elitism, Gatekeeping, and Other Academic Crap,” 08.24.2016).

Associate Professor of English Hua Hsu offered similar arguments in the wake of Vassar’s James O’Keefe controversy in which the conservative commentator handed out pocket constitutions on campus (while also dressed up as the document) and had one of his affiliates ask an administrator to destroy one of the copies while posing as a student. This exchange was recorded surreptitiously and subsequently posted online.

Professor Hsu wrote, “The imaginary college student is a character born of someone else’s pessimism. It is an easy target, a perverse distillation of all the self-regard and self-absorption ascribed to what’s often called the millennial generation ... Today’s youth should be understood in terms of the choices available to them, not the world they’ve inherited. Let college kids be, many of us say, for they are no weirder than we were” (The New Yorker, “The Year of the Imaginary College

Student,” 12.31.2015).

College students are hyper-visible cannon fodder in the much larger and omnipresent culture wars, especially in the age of social media. When you get past the jargon, you find that these debates are barely, and have never been, about students. Or dialogue. Or intellectual liberties.

The UChicago Dean of Students office is not concerned about academic freedom; It is instead concerned with posturing the University as an elite authority on the state of the academy, while snobbishly dismissing modern college students as whiny and overindulged. Gannon writes, “Rather than seeing themselves as clinging to the last vestiges of the 1950s, they get to paint themselves as staunch advocates of all that is good and worthy ... I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the backlash against so-called ‘political correctness’ in higher education has intensified in direct variation with the diversification of the academy, areas of scholarship, and–most significantly–the student population.”

The letter almost cartoonishly evokes sentiments that are often attached to the modern college student: entitlement, stubbornness, self-righteousness. For example, one sentence reads, “At times this [diversity of opinion] may challenge you and even cause discomfort.” Yeah, we know. College students didn’t exist in a bubble of temporal ignorance before entering the pearly gates of your esteemed university.

The letter’s sentiments are not new arguments.

However, this is (as far as this Editor could find) the first documented piece of writing penned by an administrator specifically addressed to students as part of college policy regarding safe spaces and trigger warnings. Therein lies the real danger of the letter: It legitimizes the often vitriolic attacks on creating more inclusive academic spaces and empowering survivors of trauma and oppression. People who cry loudest about freedom of speech on campus can point to the letter as a seal of approval from the Ivory Tower itself.

Additionally, the narrative of students as coddled and overprotected by institutions necessitates rethinking and complication. It is no secret that colleges and universities across the nation have a serious issue with sexual assault, in partic-

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

ular the empowerment of survivors and properly sanctioning perpetrators. Giving credence to this narrative not only whitewashes the institutional mistreatment of students by college administrations across the country, but also tacitly erases student agency to address this mistreatment (which sometimes manifests itself in calling for safe spaces and trigger warnings).

As Gannon articulately summarized, “Our first reaction to expressions of student agency, even when they seem misguided or perhaps frivolous, should not be to shut it down. If we really value academic freedom, then we need to model that with and for our students. Ableism, misogyny, racism, elitism, and intellectual sloppiness deserve to be called out. That’s not a threat, that’s our students doing what they’re supposed to as engaged citizens of an academic community.”

This was a painful summer. Especially for Black students in the wake of the state-sanctioned killings of Alton Sterling and Philipe Castille and for queer people of color in the wake of the Orlando shooting. It would be a serious institutional transgression to not provide spaces for collective healing, introspection and community-building in the aftermath of such tragedies. We cease to be an academic community, or a community at all, when those who are most marginalized are not properly supported, respected and valued.

In a short series of tweets, sociologist and noted scholar Eve Ewing stated, “Positing ‘safe space’ and intellectual freedom as though they are at odds actually diminishes the intellectual freedom of marginalized people ... Actually, in issuing statements like this universities ARE creating safe spaces...for unchecked and flagrant oppressive structures” (Twitter, 08.24.2016).

The University of Chicago justifies the incisive and fallacious attacks on college students as coddled children who complain at the slightest discomfort. Administrators and faculty, at the University of Chicago and here at Vassar, must respect and listen to the demands of students, rather than dismiss and evade them, if universities are to be as truly committed to intellectual freedom as they say they are. This year, let empathy be a cornerstone of our definitions of intellectual freedom, not an indulgence.

OPINIONS

September 15, 2016

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OPINIONS

Page 10

September 15, 2016

Greater public support needed for CRISPR technology Steven Park Columnist

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magine traveling back in time to the early 1900s and trying to explain to a group of average Americans how much the personal computer and the Internet have changed the world.

You might have trouble quantifying just the sheer impact of this technological cornerstone of history. After all, the possibilities are endless when it comes to the potential of modern day computers.

Now, imagine a technological breakthrough of that same caliber happening right now in the 21st century. Except instead of computers, it’s gene editing. Thanks to the development of CRISPR-Cas9, we are currently at the cusp of a new DNA revolution.

For those who are unfamiliar with this exciting development, CRISPR-Cas9 is a unique gene editing tool that allows scientists to cut out segments of DNA from the genome of any organism and move them around or replace them entirely with frightening precision. The CRISPR-Cas9 system is actually an ancient bacterial defense mechanism. When researchers noticed that bacteria appeared to have random genetic information in the middle of their own DNA, they initially did not know what to make of these fragments. When DNA sequencing technology boomed, scientists realized that these previously unknown regions matched archived viral DNA sequences.

It turns out that bacteria chop up and absorb the DNA fragments of invading viruses into their own DNA so that they could respond efficiently if they encounter that same virus again. The bacteria makes a RNA template that matches the viral DNA, and arms Cas9–a DNA cutting enzyme–with that specific RNA molecule. The activated Cas9 enzyme then uses its RNA “mugshot” of the virus to locate the desired sequence of DNA to make an incision at that section (Nature, “CRISPR: gene editing is just the beginning,” 03.07.2016). As co-discoverer Jennifer Doudna describes it, CRISPR is

essentially “a molecular scalpel for genomes” (Tech Insider, “We’re on the cusp of a revolution that will change the world as much as computers did,” 08.28.2015). The real breakthrough was when researchers realized that they could co-opt this naturally occurring system to make their own gene edits and make biomedical use of this “molecular scalpel.”

Already, some people may feel underwhelmed by CRISPR-Cas9 and a little puzzled by its enormous fanfare. Sure, this technology seems groundbreaking, but why should anyone outside the world of the sciences care? Especially for someone who has no interest in the sciences, CRISPR may just sound like one of many scientific breakthroughs we hear about in the news and then forget entirely.

As understandable as that reaction is, CRISPR is absolutely nothing like a passing trend in the scientific community. Let me emphasize: CRISPR allows humans to modify and rearrange DNA–which ultimately determines how the bodies of all living things function– into whatever they desire. Not only that, these changes are permanent, meaning that any tweaking done in an animal or human can be passed down through generations (The Week, “The genetic breakthrough that could change humanity, explained,” 01.16.2016). Think of it as the cut-and-paste tool in Microsoft Word except with the basic building blocks of life instead of numbers and text. A tool of this magnitude, like the modern computer, has infinite possibilities and applications.

In one instance, CRISPR has been shown to be capable of removing the DNA of the virus responsible for causing HIV from the patient’s own genome (Popular Mechanics, “11 Crazy Gene-Hacking Things We Can Do with CRISPR,” 01.26.2016). Researchers are also planning on using CRISPR to treat and even cure blindness (Popular Mechanics). Following an experiment when scientists successfully cut out a genetic mutation responsible for blindness in mice, biotechnology companies such as Ed-

itas Medicine started devising a way to use a similar technique on humans. Refining these techniques could result in the end of genetic diseases in general from Huntington’s disease to sickle-cell anemia (The Week).

However, CRISPR-Cas9 is such a powerful biological tool that its applications far exceed the boundaries of the medical field. In fact, scientists have been experimenting with gene editing on a wide range of different areas in order to solve problems that have plagued humankind for centuries.

Just last year, scientists used CRISPR to genetically remove malaria from mosquitoes by modifying their DNA to be resistant to malaria-causing parasites (Popular Mechanics).

Those altered genes could then be passed down onto their offspring even after mating with normal mosquitoes, creating a lineage of malaria-free mosquitoes. Gene editing could effectively eradicate the menace of mosquito-transmitted diseases.

Not only that, the entire field of ecology is feeling the shockwaves of CRISPR experiments. Harvard scientist and CRISPR pioneer George Church believes he can use CRISPR to genetically modify endangered Indian elephants into “woolly mammoths” capable of surviving in the freezing wilderness of Siberia (Nature, “Welcome to the CRISPR zoo,” 03.09.2016). Similarly, other scientists have expressed their plans to resurrect extinct species such as the passenger pigeon (Jurassic Park, anyone?). These ideas may teeter on the border of science fiction, but CRISPR makes it possible.

“You’re only limited by your imagination,” stated Dustin Rubinstein, the head of a lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He envisions that CRISPR can transform practically any field or discipline from neuroscience to even energy production (Tech Insider).

This is why CRISPR-Cas9 demands everyone’s attention: Because not only is it powerful, but it’s also incredibly cheap and easy to use. In

the past, gene editing cost thousands of dollars.

Now, anyone can set up a CRISPR lab for less than $50 (Singularity HUB, “Gene Editing is Now Cheap and Easy--and No One is Prepared for the Consequences,” 09.08.2015). Absolutely anyone can use it for any purpose.

Already, people who have never even heard of gene editing are suddenly thrust into fear and panic thanks to sensationalist headlines and the media warning about the coming dystopian future akin to “Brave New World.” Stories of genetically modified human embryos and animal-human hybrids are causing many people to reject the notion of gene editing entirely without being fully aware of all that CRISPR has to offer. People must not buy into these sensationalist narratives when considering the overarching benefits of CRISPR. A case by case approach, with a strong research background will be far more useful to form future policies and solutions than panic about genetic tools like CRISPR. CRISPR-Cas9, just like the computer, is an incredible tool that can accomplish practically anything we want. It’s true that several frightening possibilities exist with such incredible technology, but many life-changing opportunities are given as well. Now, we have the chance to beat back cancer at a molecular level, fix the environmental damage we have caused on the planet, eliminate the spread of disease and disability and improve the quality of life for everyone. These are sentiments that, I think, we can all get behind.

However, it’s the responsibility of everyone to be informed of both the scientific and ethical discussions concerning it. The more people fully understand both the benefits and risks of gene editing, the better we can decide as a society to determine a brilliant future full of innovations without the negative influence of lies, ignorance and fear propaganda. Rather than suddenly wake up in a confusing, foreign world, let’s take the time to understand the future that awaits us.

Women’s colleges must accommodate, value trans women Emma Jones Senior Editor

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s Vassar students, I’m sure most are well acquainted with the question, “Isn’t that an all girls’ school?” And while many greet the question, understandably, with exasperation– Vassar College has been coed since 1969–I find the misconception flattering, if mildly irritating.

Although much of the United States believes all-female institutions to be outdated–haven’t women been “liberated” since the 1920s?–the reality of women’s colleges is drastically different. Women’s schools are associated with socioeconomic success across racial and class boundaries, an increased likelihood of women holding leadership roles after graduation and higher rates of pursuing postgraduate education.

Although Vassar is no longer an all-women’s school, I strongly believe that the need for women’s colleges still exists in the United States.

A recent study conducted by UCLA professor Linda Sax shows that women’s colleges have the highest percentages of low-income students, first-generation and African-American students (Higher Education Research Institute, “Completing College: Assessing Graduation Rates at Four-Year Institutions,” 2011). While in theory, all institutions have the capacity to enroll a diverse range of students, in practice, most graduating classes are heavily white and middle- to upper-class; Until this changes, it is important that all-women’s schools continue to lead by example.

While it is true–to an extent–that colleges and universities throughout the United States are focusing more and more on diversity, women’s schools tend to go a step further: instead of simply enrolling a diverse student body, all-women’s colleges are more likely to help these students succeed. While a large racial gap in completion persists at academic institutions nationwide, many women’s colleges are working to close this gap. Smith College, for example, holds events and financial aid information sessions specifically intended for first-genera-

tion students throughout their four years at the school. The Office of Diversity and Campus Engagement at Sarah Lawrence, meanwhile, provides mediation support for students dealing with issues related to prejudice and exclusion, and plans and funds programs and events throughout the year centering on social justice and diversity. The U.S. Department of Education asserts that in 2012, while the graduation rate in six years or less for white students was 68 percent, only 44 percent of African-American students received a diploma in the same amount of time (The Washington Post, “Women have already achieved educational equality.

But women’s colleges still matter,” 06.24.2015).

Reports from the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, meanwhile, confirm that women’s colleges boast higher rates: Smith College, for instance, had an 87 percent graduation rate for African-American students, with Mount Holyoke and Bryn Mawr close behind at 82 percent and 76 percent, respectively (The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, “Black Student College Graduation Rates Remain Low, But Modest Progress Begins to Show”).

While women’s colleges are intended to foster acceptance and welcome diversity, this is not always the case: In recent years, many women’s colleges have been under fire for refusing to admit students who are not “legally” female (The New York Times, “Who are Women’s Colleges For?” 05.25.2015). Mount Holyoke President Lynn Pasquerella asserts, “At a women’s college, we have to have some criterion for admission. In addition to academic excellence, it’s being a woman.”

The recent Title IX ruling protecting transgender students from discrimination has forced women’s schools to publicly confront their prejudices. Although Title IX has technically protected students from sex discrimination since 1972, it was not until 2014 that the U.S. Department of Education specified that the legislation’s prohibition against sex discrimination extends to bias based on gender identity. Some states have since added their own laws offering more specific protections, such as asserting the right of transgender students to participate in

sports teams based on gender identity, regardless of the gender on a birth certificate.

Most women’s colleges require that all documents submitted as part of a student’s application record the student’s gender as female.

Most states require documentation of sex-reassignment surgery in order to change gender on a birth certificate, which is complicated by the fact that most doctors will not perform this surgery on anyone under age 18. Changing gender on a U.S. passport requires proof of clinical treatment. In order to amend the gender listed on a driver’s license, some states only ask for a doctor’s note, while others require proof of surgery. These technicalities make it nearly impossible for transgender applicants to meet the stringent requirements of a significant portion of women’s schools.

“Women’s schools are associated with socioeconomic success across racial and class boundaries... and higher rates of pursuing postgraduate education.”

A handful of colleges, including Barnard and Wellesley, have changed their admissions policies to be accepting of a larger range of gender identities Mount Holyoke is to date, however, one of the only schools to allow anyone “except those who were born male and identify as male” to apply (The Wall Street Journal, “The Transgender Challenge for Women’s Colleges,” 07.17.2015).

Even colleges whose policies are typically considered liberal, both internally and externally, such as Vassar, could learn from Mount Holyoke’s approach to fostering acceptance of transgender students. President Lynn Pasquerella asserts, “Students can’t indicate in

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

advance their preferences regarding a roommate’s gender identity. That would be discriminatory” (The Wall Street Journal).

The school, instead, handles roommate conflicts on a case-by-case basis. For instance, one Muslim student objected to rooming with a trans man on the grounds of religious beliefs; the school eventually separated the roommates, satisfying both parties, Vassar would certainly benefit from reconsidering its housing policies, which currently allow students to decide beforehand whether or not they are comfortable rooming with a student whose gender identity differs from their own.

Dean Spade of Barnard College recognizes the cruciality of the full inclusion of transgender women at women’s colleges. He connects the exclusion of transgender students from women’s colleges to the systematic rejection of minorities, such as black women and lesbian women, from such schools throughout history, asserting, “This is just another one of those moments” (The New York Times).

Even once colleges change their admission policies to reflect the commitment to inclusion which most women’s schools claim to value, the struggle to end discrimination against trans individuals within women’s colleges still is not over. The Smith College website, for instance, specifies that they have no control over how outside organizations, such as the NCAA, define “woman.” Therefore, even once a trans woman is admitted to a school such as Smith, she most likely will not have full access to sports and other aspects of student life.

The number of women’s colleges in the United States has fallen from over 200 in 1960 to 46.

The extremely limited options for those who feel that the environment of an all-women’s school is necessary for them to thrive makes it all the more crucial for the few remaining institutions to pave the way for more general acceptance of transgender students and of educational equality overall. As a previously all-female college and a current Seven Sister, it is more crucial than ever for Vassar to show its solidarity with women’s colleges.

September 15, 2016

OPINIONS

Media erases autistic victims of violence Jesser Horowitz Columnist

TW: ableism/ableist violence ustin Anderson’s last days were spent in a Missouri field without food, without water, without the medication he required to stay alive. Among his last words were pleas to his mother, Kimberly Lightwine, to let him go home.

On Aug. 29, officers found Austin Anderson’s body. His brain was swollen, evidence of dehydration. Nearby, lying facedown in the grass was his mother. A few days earlier, after taking methamphetamines, Kimberly Lightwine drove Austin, who was both blind and autistic, to a field and stayed there to watch her son die (Washington Post, “‘Let God take you’: Woman said she left her blind, autistic son in field until he died, police say,” 09.07.2016).

To be autistic and aware of the world around you is to become desensitized to stories like this one, all too common accounts of parents murdering their autistic or disabled children. The murders of autistic children such as London McCabe, Daniel Corby, George Hodgins, Jude Mirra and Nicholas Richett, as well as the attempted murder of Issy Stapleton, have all received considerable news coverage, although most people are likely not familiar with those names. Regardless, cases like theirs have made one of the most awful acts imaginable, filicide, the murder of a child by their parent, seem commonplace.

However, reading the Washington Post’s account of Austin Anderson’s last days, I couldn’t help but be struck by the brutality of the crime.

Kimberly Lightwine not only killed her son; she stood in a field, high on methamphetamines, for days, watching her son suffer, and she did nothing. She was found only a few feet away from her car, she didn’t have to remain there. Every day, she made the decision to not save him. Every day, she made the decision to stay and watch her son slowly die.

KSDK, a local television station in Missouri affiliated with NBC, recently reported that Lightwine’s sister, Stephanie Saloga, claims that Austin and his mother were abducted by three people who drugged Lightwine, broke her leg and left them in a field to die (KSDK, “‘There’s more to the story’: Family of blind, autistic son dead in MO field,” 09.08.2016).

I am open to the possibility that this latest account is true. But the validity of the charges levied against Ms. Lightwine, while certainly far from inconsequential, is not my focus today. Instead, I wish to examine the problematic nature of the initial reactions to the story from people who had no reason to believe it was anything other than true, people who defended the mother’s actions believing wholeheartedly that she did in fact murder her child. Through that, I will expose a pattern in which the media frequently demonizes disabled, and especially autistic, victims and empathizes with their aggressors.

Here is just one of the comments I’ve seen on Facebook in direct response to the original article, “I’m not taking up for this lady at all. Clearly what she has done was wrong...however, I cannot imagine the pressure and how hard it would be to take care of a severely disabled child 24/7. Its hard enough sometimes taking care of perfectly healthy children. How much support did she receive? How much of a break did she ever get?

I’m just saying that these could’ve been factors.

Even though her decision was wrong” (Facebook, 09.08.16). That comment, as of the last time I checked, received 400 likes.

Another wrote, “Children are a big job. A special needs child is a huge job. I don’t justify her poor choices. Her deadly choices. Im just baffled as to why all the judgment? Its so easy to judge and just as easy to support. It seems this mom wasn’t equipped to deal w this. Someone else had to know of the struggles. These things dont happen in a bubble Shame on everyone who failed this family. Rip lil guy” (Facebook, 09.07.16). I want to point out that the reason for all the judgment is because she’s accused of brutally murdering her blind, autistic child through her own neglect There’s a rhetorical relationship established throughout these comments: focusing empathy on the aggressor rather than the victim, subtle suggestions that having a disabled child makes your life a living hell, assertions that it’s somehow not okay to judge the actions of murderers, shifting the blame on the “system” that failed the family. Comments like these erase the child from the narrative and falsely assert that violence is

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the inevitable result of a bad situation. That bad situation can be summed up through the disabled child’s very existence.

Note also the subtle downplaying of the mother’s actions. How do the comments refer to the murder? The first comment refers to the murder as a “decision” which was “wrong.” The second comment refers to the murder as the aggressor’s “poor choices.” That choice of words, intentionally or not, reflects the authors’ understanding of what occurred. In general, words that euphemistic are not used to describe crimes where the sympathies lie with the victim. While many may assert that the authors had sympathy for both the aggressor and their victim, their choice of language reveals bias in favor of the mother.

This attitude, in which the media dehumanizes the victim and empathizes with the aggressor, is unfortunately common when the victim is a disabled child.

The San Jose Mercury News began its article on the murder of George Hodges, in which parents of autistic children told the paper that they “understood what would drive a parent of an autistic child to commit such a senseless act” by writing, “Taking care of autistic children is hard enough, but caring for them when they grow up can test a parent’s resolve like nothing else” (San Jose Mercury News, “Parents of Autistic Children Speak Out on Sunnyvale Murder-Suicide,” 03.08.2012).

The media coverage of George Hodges’ murder, which was sympathetic towards the aggressor, inspired four-year-old Daniel Corby’s mother to drown him in a bathtub. The Autistic Self Advocacy network wrote the following on the subject: “Let me present to you a sequence of events.

If you wrote an article about George Hodgins’ murder, or if you gave a quote for one, or if you covered it on television, or if you blogged about, or if you commented on it, and if you said that no one should ‘judge’ the murder as wrong, if you said that Elizabeth Hodgins was ‘driven to murder’ by George’s autism or by ‘lack of services,’ if you called the murder ‘understandable,’ if you said ‘it wasn’t a murder, it was a mercy killing,’ if you said ‘all parents of special-needs children have felt this way,’ please take a minute to wonder if Patricia Corby heard you” (Autistic Self Advocacy Network, “Killing Words,” 04.10.2012) .

However, unlike the prior cases, the media took the position that Daniel did not deserve to die because he was not low-functioning. His aunt was reported as saying, “Daniel was probably looking down from heaven asking, ‘Mama, why did you kill me, when I was doing so well?’” (CBS News, “Woman sentenced in tub drowning of autistic son, 4,” 01.29.2013).

NBC New York, during their coverage of the murder of Jude Mirra by his mother, Gigi Jordan, wrote, “Gigi Jordan quit a high-powered job as a pharmaceutical company executive and abandoned her social life to devote all her time to her severely autistic son” and, “To those who knew her, she was a loving, overprotective single mother who snapped under incredible strain” and, “Her life became an obsession with her inability to help the child she loved. It literally drove her crazy” and, “Some people can’t stand a child who cries for an hour, can you imagine living with a child who’s been screaming for eight years?” (NBC New York, “Friend: NY Mom Who Allegedly Killed Son Obsessed Over His Autism,” 02.26.2010).

Note that, like the internet commentators on Facebook, the professional journalists focus their coverage on the aggressor, rather than the victim.

Unlike the internet commentators on Facebook, the professional journalists’ language is even more explicitly sympathetic to the aggressor.

Note that not one of the internet comments listed, nor any I have seen on that particular article, overtly stated that the murder was “understandable,” although perhaps that can be inferred, yet professional news publications used that exact word to describe the murder of George Hodges.

Moreover, note that the comments listed never explicitly attacked the victim, but rather the “system” as a whole or the burden raising a disabled child places on families. While that clearly implies a level of victim-blaming, they never call out the specific victim for criticism, instead dehumanizing disabled and autistic people in a more general sense.

The professional journalists–who are paid by their respective publications to remain fair and unbiased–did both. The news articles listed dehumanized autistic and disabled people in a more

general sense, as well as called out the specific victims as being “violent” or “low-functioning,” while coupled with descriptions of the aggressors as “loving” or “overprotective” as if their only crime was loving their child too much.

And that portrayal can have serious real-world ramifications. I previously mentioned how the Autistic Self Advocacy Network connected the media’s coverage surrounding the murder of George Hodges to the murder of Daniel Corby not long after.

However, the professional news media are not the only ones whose attitudes in this regard have caused such harm to the autistic community. Neurotypical activists supposedly working on behalf of autistic people have also made similar statements that have had significant real-world consequences for the very people they claim to fight for. Take Alison Singer, President of the Autism Science Foundation. In a documentary produced

by Autism Speak titled “Autism Every Day,” Alison Singer described how she considered driving off the George Washington Bridge with her autistic daughter. The only reason she didn’t do so, according to the documentary, was because of her other, neurotypical daughter.

Four days following the film’s debut, Karen McCarron suffocated her autistic daughter, Katherine McCarron, to death with a plastic bag. Like the previously listed cases, this also received similarly vile news coverage.

In all fairness to Alison Singer, she later spoke out saying that since the film’s release, she had spoken with neurodiversity activists and “changed my behavior and rhetoric in response to some of the very good points people have made” (Autism Science Foundation Blog, “Speaking Out About ‘Autism Every Day,’” 09.09.2009). While I appreciate that Alison Singer has grown since that time, it neither changes nor excuses the sentiments expressed. Furthermore, the attitudes put forth by the organization that produced that documentary, Autism Speaks, create a very real and very harmful stigma regarding autistic people that contribute to a culture that routinely justifies their murders.

So what is the solution to this problem? The answer is deceptively simple: We, as a society, need to fundamentally alter the way we approach discussions regarding disability, mental illness and autism.

This means avoiding any approach that implies that autistic people are burdens or that their condition makes them fundamentally broken. When we compare autism to cancer or AIDs, or speak publicly about how much of a burden autistic people are, or make it sound like autism is the worst thing that can possibly happen to a child, we send a message that being autistic is a fate worse than death and therefore implying that their murders may be considered an act of mercy. There are many autistic people in the world, many of whom achieve great success in life. Being autistic is not a death sentence, nor should it be treated as one.

Additionally, our response towards the murder of autistic children needs to demonstrate respect for the life of the victim. This does not mean that we must remain uncritically vindictive when confronted with these cases. It would be irresponsible to blindly trust authorities whenever a person is accused of crime we as a society find especially heinous. However, it is unacceptable to engage in a conversation on murder that condones the crime or dehumanizes the victim.

Thirdly and finally, we need to refocus the state of activism away from parents and to the children.

Too much activism in this field is focused on the difficulties associated with raising an autistic child while ignoring the issues that the autistic community cares about most. We need to do better. A society that preaches tolerance while simultaneously condoning systematic violence against a group of people can be called neither free nor truly tolerant. A person that preaches equality who defends the rights of ableists and murderers over the rights of the disabled can be called neither a maverick nor a progressive.

And if you have read this and you still believe that autism is a burden, that the blame for these murders lie not with the murders but with “society” or “the government”; if your first response to a parent murdering their autistic child is sympathy for the former instead of the latter; if you see such a story and immediately assume that there is something “wrong with the child” or that the parent just didn’t have enough support–then you are part of the problem.

Then there is blood on your hands.

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

Page 11

Word on the street Who would you appoint to the Supreme Court?

“Harambe.”

— Juan Laso ’17

“Emma Watson.”

— Sarah Baer ’19

“Can I pass?”

—Lisa Iwagami ’19

“Barack Obama.”

— Joseph Beaty ’19

“Anish Kanoria.”

— Fiona Brodie ’18

“The Monopoly Guy, he looks intellectual.” ­­—Jonah Parker ’18

Evelyn Frick, Humor & Satire Editor

HUMOR & SATIRE

Page 12

September 15, 2016

Breaking News From the desk of Evelyn Frick, Humor & Satire Editor Satan patiently awaiting American election or preceding natural disaster to get BINGO on his 2016 BINGO card When men aren’t sketchy as Bad club music has effect hell, Tinder makes sparks fly on panda hook-up culture Kayla Lightner Super Liked

H

ow Women Approach A First Tinder Date

1) Get his last name.

I need to make sure beforehand that he’s not like, my third cousin or something...and that he doesn’t have any outstanding warrants for his arrest in any of the 50 states.

2) Look him up online Time to put my liberal-arts college research skills to work and look him up. I’m talking Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, MySpace, Ask Jeeves! That way I can learn a couple of things about him and have some talking points before the date. Plus, an active social life and friends are usually good indicators that he’s not a serial killer—most of the time.

3) Pick a place to meet up Hmm, since it’s the first date I really should err more on the casual side. You know, someplace that’s not going to break the bank. Like a nice coffee shop or small café. Yeah, a coffee shop sounds good! It’s nice and cozy...and public...with a lot of potential witnesses...

4) Do some recon You know what? I should just go scope this place out really quick. That way I can see what’s good on the menu, know which meals to suggest and nail down the quickest escape routes.

not every day that yours truly gets to brag about being wined and dined. You know what? I’m going to send his picture to my mom, my neighbor and that nice old man who delivers my mail.

While I’m at it, I’ll send a nice picture of myself too. That way I can make sure that the selfie with the best lighting ends up on my wanted posters!

7) Bring some protection I should have one of my friends hover nearby just in case things start to get a little sketchy.

There’s just something so comforting about knowing she’s just a couple of booths over, sipping on a chai latte, switchblade at the ready.

8) Stay on social media during the date.

During the date I need to remember to post some cute photos on Insta and live tweet the whole thing so that people know how much fun we’re having...and that I’m still alive.

9) Bring your own flask.

Drinks are so expensive nowadays. It’s smarter if I just keep a little flask in my purse. Besides, I’m so picky about how I like my cocktails. I like my martinis stirred. Hold the ice and rohypnol.

How Men Approach A First Tinder Date 1) Look her up online Can’t be too careful, right? Gotta make sure she’s within a 10-pound margin of her current profile picture.

5) Put together an outfit Okay, so wearing the perfect outfit is the foundation of a successful first date. I need to embody an effortless combination of comfortable, casual and sexy. I need an outfit that says, “I’m chill, I can have fun and I can totally outrun you if necessary, so don’t even try anything.” Maybe I should just wear some Nike shorts and some sneakers?

2) Pick a place to meet up Nothing too pricey. I’m not spending girlfriend money on a one-night stand.

6) Show his picture to friends and family While my taste in men is usually impeccable, it’s always nice to get a second opinion! And it’s

5) Stay on social media during the date Is it rude to be on Tinder while I’m on a date with a girl from Tinder?

3) Do some recon It would probably help if I checked this place out first. Gotta see which bathroom stalls are the cleanest ... You know, just in case an impromptu hookup opportunity should present itself.

Amanda Su

Panda Sexpert

R

ecently, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has updated the panda population’s status from endangered to vulnerable. Panda populations have been at risk for decades now because pandas are notoriously lax creatures. The main cause of their endangerment was their disinterest in mating.

You would think that this pent up sexual frustration would give pandas the angst of an adolescent teenage boy, but you are mistaken. Pandas relish in the lack of “action” they receive, a fact that perplexes me to this day.

Thanks to conservation efforts, the population of pandas has risen at a slow but steady pace.

However, at times these efforts produced little results. For example, the release of the movie franchise “Kung Fu Panda” evoked a widespread interest among audiences for the panda population’s welfare.

However, the interest quickly died down after the movie harbored even more disappointment among fans and panda enthusiasts alike. Cute panda videos being shared on social media, too, have evoked a sense of overwhelming cuteness.

However this reaction is very temporary and usually ends by the time another kitten video pops up on the newsfeed. Social media analysts observe that these transient reactions often do not result in much action from the viewer.

Other efforts, such as the conservation of panda habitats and bamboo forests, have been tremendously successful too. However, the expansion of the panda habitats has produced very slow results, and it does not remedy the fact that the pandas still refuse to mate—we’ve tried everything from introducing several creative positions to supplying them with natural props (getting kinky with bamboo sticks). Scientists and analysts in the recent year, however, have noted that the number of pandas has expanded rapidly.

Zoos, preserves and forests that hold endangered pandas have experienced a dramatic surge in the number of offspring being born. Conservationists and animal experts have claimed much of the credit for the panda population’s upward trend;

however, the true hero in this story is American rapper, Desiigner.

In December 2015, the artist released a track with the name of “Panda.” In collaboration with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Desiigner released the renowned song in hopes of increasing the pandas’ libido. Undoubtedly, the efforts seemed to have paid off. “Panda” by Desiigner is now blasting in every panda pen, and speakers are being installed in Bamboo forests around China. Researchers and panda experts who have been monitoring the panda’s behavior since the release of the song have stated that the song, “Panda” has done wonders for the panda community and their sex lives. It increases their horniness by tenfold and, for some unexplainable reason, it seems to ignite a desire for them to mate.

Doctors caution that the song be played no more than five times a day, for listening to the song for too long may cause the species to act out of the ordinary. A doctor who preferred to stay anonymous stated that the song originally intended for the panda species have made its way to the top of the human music charts. He observed that when humans listened to the song “Panda” for too long (or too frequently) they began behaving worriedly, performing odd and out-of-place actions such as “dabbing” in public and mumbling along the incomprehensible lyrics of the song (although, to be fair, the lyrics are difficult to understand because they were not meant for human ears).

Doctors and scientists believe that this is due to the fact that the song was specifically made for pandas only, and the sound waves produced in the song do not adhere well to the human ear.

No concrete evidence has been collected because every human test subject began dabbing uncontrollably after only the second listen of the song.

With the rise of the panda population, conservation efforts have turned to focus on the decline of the gorilla population. Gorillas have undergone a steep decline in motivation and morale ever since the death of Harambe (Rest In Peace, Harambe). However, conservationists are optimistic that with the same efforts used to increase the panda population we can save the gorillas too.

College junior tries to be a well-adjusted student, gives up immediately Lily Horner, Fortune Teller

T

his is the third first week of college I’ve had so far and, though I still haven’t learned anything about being a successful student, I have learned about my own limits.

Turns out that I have a plethora of limits and a dearth of motivation. Since I am an expert at procrastination and apathy at this point, I have successfully predicted how long each semester goal will last. This task is infinitely more difficult than performing basic tasks, so I’m one step ahead of the game.

Prediction: I will try to make new friends in my classes UNTIL the very first day.

Reality: Monday, Aug. 29, 4:50 p.m. – I went into each of my classes, didn’t say one word and left without bothering to make eye contact with anyone. This is not my fault; I do know most of the people in my classes already. They are all just super annoying.

Prediction: I will do my homework early and enjoy the weekend without worrying UNTIL the first Friday.

Reality: Friday, Sept. 2, 2:03 p.m. – I sat down at my desk with my philosophy book, ready to

speed read that sucker until receiving a “deece?” text. While waiting for said text, I kept going on my phone and I eventually watched those videos where people apply 100 layers of something to somewhere. Naturally I decided to make a video myself and subsequently ended up spending the whole day in bed applying 57 layers of nail polish on my toes. And let me tell you, once I did get that “deece?” text, it was hard putting on my shoes and walking over there with all that nail polish on my toes. Look up my vid on YouTube (“Girl Applies Less Than 100 Layers of Nail Polish on her Toes”), rate and subscribe!

Prediction: I will do all of the readings for every class and not skim them UNTIL the second Tuesday.

Reality: Wednesday, Sept. 7, 1:25 a.m. – After spending an inordinate amount of time figuring out my first anthro reading, I decided to give myself a break before starting the next one.

This break lasted for an hour and a half longer than I had anticipated, and I looked up from my solitaire game to find that it was past 12 a.m.

Scrambling to finish the reading before 1:30 a.m., I didn’t absorb a damn word. I was like an old

ShamWow that lost its ability to hold 20 times its weight in liquid. This goal technically made it past Tuesday into Wednesday, but I hadn’t gone to sleep yet, making it still Tuesday in my brain, so there.

Prediction: I will go to a party and not leave instantaneously UNTIL the second Saturday.

Reality: Saturday, Sept. 10, 10:40 p.m. – Ready to go out and “have fun” and “be happy” at some random TH party, I arrived in a forgettable fashion. However, nature called and I thanked her for letting me hide in the bathroom. When I left the bathroom, I looked around me at all the sweating bodies pressed up against one another.

Without a second thought I walked out of that party, went back to my room and fell asleep while watching “Frasier.” I stayed at the party a total of four minutes.

Prediction: I will under no circumstances do homework in bed UNTIL the second Sunday.

Reality: Sunday, September 11, 8:43 p.m. – I spent all fracking day in the library, sitting in an uncomfortable chair with subpar posture, yet I still did not finish all my fracking homework.

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

After spending an additional 45 minutes also sitting up in the deece, I was ready to collapse. I started crying of relief when I finally laid (lied?

Who will ever know the truth) down on my bed, but I still had to do my econ. When I hand in my homework tomorrow, sure there will be tear stains, but I never gave up! And I will deserve the B- I get!

I have some goals left over that I haven’t given up on yet, but I know they will be gone soon.

I will only have one plate of deece fries a week until I decide to get them on Monday, Sept. 12 and Wednesday, Sept. 14, though in defense of my future-self, I earned both those plates. On Thursday, Sept. 15, I will give up on my goal of only watching one episode of “Dance Moms” between readings because you can never really just watch one episode of “Dance Moms” at a time. Why bother making goals if you know that you’re just going to give them all up within the first two weeks, Lily? “Seems pathetic,” you say.

Well I will counter your question with another question: “Why bother reading this whole article at all? Who is the real pathetic one? I’m not the one reading a Misc Humor article!”

September 15, 2016

HUMOR & SATIRE

Page 13

You can’t catch ‘em all: Pokemon Cappy extinct from Vassar Evelyn Frick

P

Cappymon Trainer

smoothies from Twisted Soul.

Further, much like Hillary Clinton, Cappy was completely vulnerable to any kind of classic working woman pantsuit. Cappy tended to get along with other Pokemon that were more likely to follow the Vassar College rules and regulations. Students also noted that Cappy did not get along with other Pokemon that camped outside her office for a week as a part of VC Divest. And Clefairy, she did not get along with that guy at all.

Currently the cause of Cappy’s sudden extinction from Vassar’s campus is not fully known or understood. There were some scientific reports that Cappy would be migrating out of the area within the 2016-2017 school

Samana Shrestha/The Miscellany News

OUGHKEESTOP, NY-- As students returned from summer break this year, many came back with the great anticipation that comes with preparing one’s body to endure high levels of stress, have sex again and play the year’s hottest app, Pokemon Go. However, as soon as students started walking around campus (for the first time without some sort of complaint), ready to catch the dank Pokemon native to upstate New York, they noticed something or more specifically, someone, was amiss.

Students searched and searched. They wandered under the sex tree, explored the periodical section of the library and even walked inside Raymond. But to no avail. One of the most notable Pokemon indigenous to this area, the Cappy, was nowhere to be found. After consulting with some of the highest ranked Pokemon experts, economists, nerds and political scientists in the country, it is with heavy hearts that we at The Miscellany News report that Cappy is very likely extinct from Vassar.

Ever since the first report of Cappy inhabiting Vassar, which dates back about 10 years, this rare Pokemon has always been an enigma to the student body. At first, no one could get close to her, let alone figure out where she was on campus. It was obvious that she was here because she had made her nest in the middle of campus, right near the chapel. After a few years on campus, however, most students figured out that Cappy could be sighted in the College Center on Tasty Tuesdays, the Rose Parlor bathroom or standing awkwardly at the periphery of a student protest.

For even though she was hard to find, once spotted, no one could mistake her idiosyncratic features. Every Pokemon has them. For Pikachu, it’s the thunderbolt tail. For Bulbasaur, it’s the leafy shell. For Gengar, it’s the intensely creepy smile which makes you super uncomfortable. For Cappy, it’s the plume of gray hair,

toothy grin, glasses and her vast collection of neck scarves.

During this time, through careful documentation of her behavior, students were also able to put together a comprehensive Pokemon profile for Cappy. There are many different types of Pokemon: normal, fighting, water, ghost, flying, psychic and poison, to name a few.

What they discovered is that she is the rarest Pokemon type: an administrative Pokemon.

As such, Cappy’s strengths included hiding from students, wooing alumnae/i, and sending campus-wide emails. Conversely, her weaknesses included getting distracted when anyone started talking about need-blind financial aid policies, catching on to millennial slang and

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

year, but this extinction from Vassar’s campus is far more abrupt than first anticipated. Some speculate that Cappy’s more abrupt exit may be in part because she felt underappreciated and criticized as an administrative Pokemon.

Others think that she left campus because the ultimate battle between herself and some proBDS students wore her out greatly. There is even a conspiracy theory that Cappy may have skedaddled off campus because Meowth retired and she wanted to take his place on Team Rocket.

What is known is that wherever Cappy moved to (rumors also abound that she may have been sighted building her nest at the Ithaka S+R building in Manhattan), she is amenable to visiting campus. The Miscellany News received multiple reports this past Sunday stating that Cappy may have attended Fall Convocation in the chapel. This makes sense as Cappy frequented the rafters of the chapel because that view, distant and weird, was her favorite way to observe students. But considering no one actually goes to Convocation besides a bunch of black-out drunk seniors and really confused freshmen, the sneaky Cappy remained uncaught.

Even before Cappy’s legacy has been determined on campus, students now begin to wonder what kind of new Pokemon will be chosen to repopulate Vassar. A search committee (different from the myriad students meandering around instead of doing problem sets) has commenced and I for one hope they choose a Pokemon that is not of the white, male variety.

And honestly, how could they? To be fair, I have no idea how the search process works. I don’t know anything about Pokemon, but I’m sure there are so many qualified, intelligent, diverse and non-white male candidates for...Pokemon that the search committee could choose. But God, I also hope that it’s not another Pidgey. I have way too many of those useless fucks and they’re goddamn everywhere.

ARTS

Page 14

September 15, 2016

A Cappella Preview Concert showcases campus voices Sasha Gopalakrishnan Guest Reporter

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practically dancing in their seats, followed by a poignant recital of “My Heart with You” by The Rescues. An air of true companionship could be seen between the Devils during this song, as some of them spontaneously decided to hold hands while performing it.

The following group, Home Brewed, originally called Matthew’s Minstrels, is Vassar’s oldest co-educational a cappella group. They have a wide variety of styles, ranging from soul to jazz to show tunes. They started with a sprightly routine of “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” then moved on to an even livelier piece, “You Go Down Smooth.”

Last but not least, we got to see Measure 4 Measure, a non-binary a cappella group, all sporting black blazers. They first sang “Island”

by Sara Bareilles, followed by a melodious per-

formance of “Deeper” by Ella Eyre. The concert ended on buoyant blues note, with The Axies making a reappearance on stage and performing their second song, “Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In).”

After the concert, I’m sure a great deal of freshmen were intimidated by how talented their upperclassmen were. But I would advise you not to worry too much about that. “All the freshmen think they have to impress us but we actually want to impress them so they join our group,” said Goldstein in an interview. It’s a great space for freshmen to try their luck on whichever group struck their fancy the most.

The end of show saw a massive throng of people surrounding the sign-up sheets, eager to be up there soon with the groups that completely charmed us for their duration on stage that day.

Courtesy of Chiara Mannarino

n Thursday, Sept. 8, all nine of Vassar’s exceptionally talented a cappella groups congregated in UpC to kick off the musical year with the much-awaited A Cappella Preview Concert. During this event, each of the on-campus groups performed two songs and briefly introduced themselves to the audience– which consisted largely of eager freshmen–so that they could gauge the general vibe, style and genre of each group before signing up for auditions. Joseph Szymanski ’17, President of the Vassar Devils, commented, “It’s my favorite event of the year.” Music Director of the Vassar Devils Matt Goldstein ’17 shared a similar view.

“It’s the most fun concert of the year because it’s one of the few times when all the a cappella groups are actually together, and we all get to see each other perform, which is so exciting.”

Their words were not an exaggeration. At 8 p.m., when the concert was scheduled to start, UpC was filled to the brim, buzzing with the anticipation of new opportunities and good music. The first group to take the stage was The Axies, the one and only all-male a cappella group on campus, and also the group that took the liberty of organizing the show. They got the concert off to an energetic start with their performance of “Love, Potion, No. 9,” leaving everyone craving more.

After them, Vassar’s Broadway a cappella group, Broadway and More, or BAM, came up to the stage. All the members sang a slow and soulful ensemble rendition of “Run to You” by Pentatonix, building it to a moving climax. In contrast, their next song, “My Strongest Suit” from the musical “Aida” was delightfully uplifting.

A unique member of Vassar’s a cappella scene took the stage next: the decidedly original AirCappella, the College’s only all-whistling group. Their first performance, “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” from “The Lion King,” brought back some wistful childhood memories, while

their next piece, the theme song from the HBO series “Game of Thrones” made all of us GoT fans very happy inside.

Clad in denim and black, the next group introduced themselves as the Vastards. Specializing in songs from the early 2000’s, or nostalgia pop, this group started off with a heartfelt rendition of “Alone” by Heart, with one member singing solo and the rest providing the beat and singing back-up. The solo singer managed to hit notes that gave the entire audience chills. Their next song, a mashup of Britney Spears’ classics was a lively affair that truly made me appreciate the term “nostalgia pop.”

Also invoking a nod to the audience’s younger days was Beauty and the Beats, Vassar’s all-Disney a cappella group. A member, Becca Slotkin ’18, gave some insight into how their music ranges from classics including songs from “The Lion King,” to more modern Disney songs, for example, from “Toy Story.” Interestingly, they also often do mashups of Disney songs with contemporary pop. We witnessed one such mashup as they combined “Stay” by Rihanna with a song from “Hercules,” performed by two members as a duet, with the rest singing back up. They also sang “Everybody Wants to Be a Cat” (a most relatable song) from the “Aristocats.”

The Night Owls, an all-female jazz group, looked very suave as they entered the stage all in black (appropriate, given their name). Their first song was an uproarious, sassy and playful performance about men, with members taking turns singing solo, while their next song was a haunting and incredibly powerful rendition of “You Don’t Own Me” by Lesley Gore that took the entire audience’s breath away. The Night Owls’ theme in their performances, of embracing one’s womanhood, was truly inspiring.

On the other hand, the Vassar Devils is unlike other groups in that they don’t have a particular theme they follow, but rather perform any and all genres of music. They began with an invigorating, upbeat performance that had everyone

The Night Owls, Vassar’s historically all-woman a cappella group, was one of many campus ensembles that performed in UpC for the annual preview concert for the first-years.

Exhibit to celebrate history of Shakespeare on campus Elena Schultz Arts Editor

I

Courtesy of Vassar College Drama Department

n commemoration of the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death, a number of Vassar faculty have joined forces to create a semester-long exhibit at the Thompson Memorial Library, “Shakespeare at Vassar,” that showcases Vassar’s longstanding and multifaceted relationship with the Bard.

To kick off the event, a reception featuring short student performances of Shakespeare, as well as talks by each of the faculty curators, will be held Tuesday, Sept. 20 at 5:30 p.m. in the Class of ’51 Reading Room.

“It’s not that we’re sort of looking inward at Vassar—although we are—but it also shows how Vassar really connects to some important developments in Shakespeare,” explained Associate Director of the Libraries for Special Collections Ron Patkus.

Patkus, one of the five faculty curators involved with this project, contributed items from the Special Collections Library relating to Shakespeare, including everything from 17th-century folios of his works to fine press editions from the early 20th century.

Of course, Vassar’s own Shakespeare Garden is the most visible reminder of the campus’s historical reverence for the playwright and Associate Professor of English Leslie Dunn dedicated her portion of the exhibit to its history at the College.

“I’ve always loved the Shakespeare Garden,” Dunn explained in an emailed statement. “I’ve taught classes there (in one memorable Shakespeare class, one of my students staged the duel from Hamlet with two friends who were on the fencing team!), and have often found refuge there, either by myself or with my dog, for quiet walks and contemplation. But when we started planning the exhibit and I volunteered to research the history of the Shakespeare Garden, I became deeply committed to preserving its future as well as its past.”

She continued, “I am hoping that the College will mark its centenary by once again raising awareness and funds for its renovation. Ideally it should have its own endowment, as some

A new exhibit at the Thompson Memorial Library draws from the wide-ranging expertise of faculty curators to commemorate the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death. other gardens on the campus already do. And I would be happy to organize a group of students to plant flowers and herbs this fall, just as the students did 100 years ago.”

Likewise, Associate Professor of English Zoltan Markus dedicated a portion of the exhibit to the history of Shakespeare classes over the years. The section will include curricula from previously taught Shakespeare classes, as well as photographs of past Vassar professors of Shakespeare classes and the syllabi from these courses.

A fourth section will be dedicated to a performance history of Shakespeare’s plays at Vassar, compiled by Professor of Drama Denise Walen, including photos of past performances, posters for the events and directors’ playbooks.

The final component, compiled by Elizabeth Nogrady, the Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Academic Programs, will be housed in the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center. This exhibition

is entitled “For Through the Painter Must You See His Skill: Shakespeare in Art from the Permanent Collection,” and will be housed in the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center from Sept. 21 to Dec. 23.

Nogrady explained that the dozen or so works selected for the art exhibition feature subjects taken from Shakespeare.

In an emailed statement, Nogrady wrote, “Leslie [Dunn] and I worked together to find objects that were not only fine works of art, but also particularly compelling examples of artists’ interpretations of Shakespeare’s texts ... We chose only the best of the best, as there are many more examples of Shakespeare-related art in the collection. As the Mellon Curator of Academic Programs, I seek to build connections between the Art Center and other departments across campus. This exhibition fits this mission beautifully, as it joins the interdisciplinary events happening across campus

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

this year in conjunction with the Shakespeare 400th anniversary year.”

Nogrady continued, “The paintings, drawings, and prints in the exhibition date from the late eighteenth and nineteenth century, and several of them are from the gift of art presented by Matthew Vassar at the founding of the college. We aim to show that in addition to literature and drama, the work of Shakespeare was also integrated on campus, from the college’s earliest days, through fine art.”

In an effort to compile the vast history of Shakespeare at Vassar, a catalogue of photos and essays by each of the faculty curators will be available at the exhibit itself. Written in the area of expertise of each faculty member, the essays feature especially memorable moments in Vassar’s Shakespearian history, such as photographs of an all-female 1906 production of “Romeo and Juliet,” an account of anonymous Vassar students holding library books for ransom in exchange for the restoration of the Shakespeare Garden and a special nod to Emily Jordan Folger, graduate of the Class of 1879 and co-founder of the esteemed Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. “They’re substantial essays,” Patkus explained. “Very accessible though, very interesting ... It’s going to be a great publication.”

In the catalogue’s preface, Director of Libraries Andrew Ashton reflected, “The impact of William Shakespeare’s work can be seen across life at Vassar—from the boundless exploration of Shakespeare in the curriculum, to the many vibrant performances staged at Vassar over the years, to the spaces on campus...

[Shakespeare’s] endurance testifies both to the depth of Shakespeare’s work and to its unique suitability to the ever-evolving traditions of liberal education.”

While customs of education and performance continue to evolve, the Bard’s work remains unshakably constant. Who knows?

Perhaps in another hundred years, a new generation of professors and students will be celebrating another centennial in Shakespeare’s life and paying homage to performances and classes of Shakespeare yet to happen.

ARTS

September 15, 2016

Page 15

Vocalist to perform Jewish émigré’s film compositions Adam Westerman Guest Reporter

O

n Sunday, Sept. 18, at 3 p.m. in Skinner Hall, Richard Gordon and Robert Osborne will recount the tale of the man who “swept in a new golden age of American film music.” Franz Waxman is best known for writing films scores for “Rebecca,” “The Bride of Frankenstein,” and “The Rear Window.” Waxman was born in Silesia (now Poland), and studied music composition at the Dresden Music Academy. Up until 1932, when he fled to Paris with his wife, Waxman wrote scores for movies in Berlin which are virtually unknown to non-German audiences. Waxman composed in Paris for a few years then left for California, where he continued his cinematic/musical career in Hollywood.

As a composer for MGM, Waxman first gained critical acclaim scoring Richard Wallace’s The Young in Heart in 1938, which garnered him an Oscar nomination for Best Original Score.

During the next three decades, Waxman would go on to write scores for 144 movies and receive nine Oscar nods, winning twice. Apart from his extensive works, Waxman left his legacy by founding the Los Angeles Music Festival in 1947, giving opportunities for fellow composers to share their voices. I got to interview Robert Osborne and learn about Jewish composers, Café Sabarsky, and why he can’t choose a favorite performing venue.

knew John Waxman [Franz’s son], who lives in Connecticut. Ultimately, John provided me with copies of all the songs his father had written, the majority of which are unpublished.

Q: What drew you to his style?

A: Waxman was a Jewish Berliner who fled the Nazi powers. There are examples of many, many others in similar situations ... We have a huge influx of great composers who fled the Nazis and ended up in either New York or Hollywood. Kurt Weill, Arnold Schoenberg, Erich Korngold–whose grandson recently a Vassar student actually–and Max Steiner. These immigrants, these German-Jewish immigrants mostly, brought beautiful music. They definitely influenced future generations of film composers, from Danny Elfman to John Williams.

Q: Why do you believe his story deserves to be

told?

A: I wanted to share his songs and the Vassar research committee very kindly helped fund the project. What I wanted to do was a portrait of his exile status from Berlin to Paris to Hollywood and also sing in the languages he wrote in.

to America, where the requirements for songs were different by the filmmakers, so he didn’t write as many songs as he had when in Berlin and Paris. I chose these to show the three stages of his life. I picked these songs to show contrast with one another.

Q: Waxman has written a beautiful mountain of work, but a mountain nonetheless. How did you choose the works you’ll be performing?

Q: You’ve performed all over the world. Is there a performance venue dearest to your heart?

A: The thing that really drew me to him at first was his German cabaret songs. They were so extremely clever and well-written, equal to anything that I had found by other composers writing during the Weimar period, in the late ’20s and early ’30s in Berlin and other German cities. Then I found out he lived in Paris and composed there for six months; he wrote a lot of songs while he was in Paris. Then he came

A: Skinner Hall. (laughs) No, really. It’s hard to come up with a response to that; I am deeply grateful for any performing venue that sponsors performances of song or opera or musicals, I consider it a great honor to have performed at any of these venues, knowing I get to share the same stage as great performers before me, and great performers still to come. It’s easy to say, “Oh, what a thrill to sing at Carnegie, or in Southern France, or in a Greco-Roman amphitheater,” but I hold them all dear, because they are places where art can happen.

Q: When did you first meet Richard Gordon?

A: Richard and I met before to do my first performance at the Café Sabarsky, which was probably 10 years ago or so. I was looking for a pianist who would be specifically comfortable with doing cabaret, improvisatori and some transposition, and he came highly recommended by a number of friends whose opinions I very much value. We began working and we’ve become best friends. We perform predominantly in this repertoire.

Q: When did you first hear a Franz Waxman piece?

Courtesy of Graham Haber

A: I first heard Waxman by seeing some of the classic films that he scored in theatres and on television. “Philadelphia Story,” “Bride of Frankenstein,” “Sunset Boulevard,” “Rear Window.”

I was doing a performance at the Neue Galerie and I heard a Waxman song Marlene Dietrich had sung. It was terrifically well-written. I wanted to know more songs that he had written, but I had trouble finding any published. I finally found a copy of the song by reaching out to the people who own Waxman collections. So I asked Michael Pisani about it and he actually

Adjunct Artist in Music Robert Osborne will present a selection of works by composer Franz Waxman, who wrote many Hollywood film scores in the early 20th century.

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A: As a seasoned veteran in both the operatic and orchestral concert scene, what is a piece of advice you’d give those hoping to follow in your footsteps?

Q: I would say be sure before you embark on pursuing a career as a performing artist that you must have an unquenchable passion for doing it. As a teacher for a number of years, I am so grateful to see generation after generation coming up who wants to do this, who wants to be a performing classical musician, an opera singer or musical theatre performer. The flame seems to be alive as ever, which makes me very happy.

Punxsutawney Phil says six more weeks of the Misc!

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ARTS

Page 16

September 15, 2016

Concert restores faith in Halsey’s artistry Frank Ocean’s new album worth the wait Patrick Tanella

Assistant Arts Editor

Badlands Tour

Halsey

Current Halsey fans are easy to pick out from a crowd. They appear similar to any other fans of young, rising stars: 13 to 15-year-old teenage girls, with a couple of apathetic fathers thrown in the mix. My friends and I felt out of place, as we were all approaching 20. What happened to the Halsey I knew that had played venues with less than 400 people with much older audiences just two years before? The one that I presumed would never sell herself out?

As a fan of pop music, I know all too well the typical rise to stardom. After being noticed by a record label, the artist is quickly signed, thrown music from ghostwriters and then releases scores of singles until that first Top 40 hit is caught. I would not have expected this from an artist like Halsey. After releasing her EP “Room 93” in 2014, Halsey was met with acclaim from many lovers of alternative pop. I will never forget hearing “Trouble,” a stripped-down pop ballad in March 2015 and having to abandon my cart of books at the library I was working at to cry in the bathroom.

Halsey went on to open for The Kooks, a popular indie band, before going on to lead her first headlining tour that consisted of small venues throughout the country. A year later, after her announced of her debut album, “Badlands,” Halsey opened for Imagine Dragons in her largest stadiums yet. Following that, the “Badlands” tour consisted of several segments of small venues, music festivals and finally ending with her show at Madison Square Garden.

How did Halsey suddenly rise up in such a short period of time to be able to not only play but sell out Madison Square Garden? It appears

to be a combination of her fiery personality that is all too apparent on Twitter, her features with well-known artists such as Justin Bieber and The Chainsmokers and that she isn’t afraid to speak out against issues in the music industry. Her personality was one of the many things that first drew me to her, which included constantly changing her hair color and being an outspoken member of the LGBTQ+ community.

However, being outspoken on other subjects did not always prove beneficial. Every time I checked Halsey’s Twitter, I found her amidst another ridiculous argument. I also wasn’t a fan of the much younger fans her features brought with her, such as the hoards of Bieber fans that came to her side after rumors of Halsey and the notorious popstar being in a relationship surfaced. Halsey had changed from that girl I found on Spotify with 30,000 followers to the problematic Top 40 singer with “that one song about marijuana” my mother always complained about. I had eagerly purchased tickets to her largest show almost 10 months in advance to secure my spot. Yet by the time I walked into that arena, I was not even sure if I was a fan anymore.

My friends and I went to our seats and watched as the opener Oh Wonder sang their charming British love ballads. A tense 30 minutes later, the lights went out and the crowd screamed as the opening notes to the song “Gasoline” started playing. Halsey then emerged on her constructed stage in a black hoodie tucked over her head and screamed, “What the fuck is up, New York?” I was slowly becoming more into it. After “Gasoline,” she went on to perform more “Badlands” songs before saying “stop the fucking track” during halfway through her third song. She apologized for minor technical difficulties and wanted the show to be absolutely perfect because this is Madison Square Garden.

Instead of just restarting the song, Halsey decided to redo her entire concert. She left the stage and had the introductory music start once again.

I understand that she wanted everything to be

perfect, but I found this completely excessive and over-the-top.

The concert continued without any other issues and Halsey grew more confident with each song performed. Halfway through the concert, she had everyone in the audience turn on their flashlights for a moving rendition of her song “Drive” and then brought back the high energy vibes with “Control.” By this time, I was thoroughly enjoying the show and Halsey’s stage performance. Her songs are not meant to fill arenas, but her charisma and passion make the show worth it. An inclusive moment of her show is when she goes into the audience for “Is There Somewhere,” as she has been doing this since the release of the song on her EP. It was a truly enchanting moment as the beat dropped and Halsey dove into the eager crowd of screaming fans.

As it was the last show of tour and Madison Square Garden, I knew that something big would happen. Towards the end of her set, Halsey announced that she had a surprise for us and brought out The Chainsmokers to perform their single together, “Closer.” This got everyone, including my friend who didn’t particularly love Halsey, hyped and the atmosphere in the arena was insane.

After performing “New Americana,” Halsey left the stage, but nobody moved because there is always an encore. She came back to sing her popular song “Colors” and then left the stage again to my great disappointment. My favorite song of hers is “Young God” and I was thoroughly looking forward to seeing it live. Luckily, she came back to perform it as a second encore, and balloons flew down across the arena as I screamed every word back to her.

Once she had permanently left the stage, the words “You can find me in the kingdom” appeared on the two screens. This is presumably foreshadowing the theme of her next album. I don’t know what the future of Halsey brings, but I know that after this performance I will continue to support the music she produces and whatever drama comes with it.

Art 105/106 changes, for better or worse Corutesy of The Alumae/i Quarterly

Kirk Patrick Testa Guest Columnist

L

ast year, I took the famed two-semester Introduction to the History of Art and Architecture course, warmly known as Art 105/ Art 106 which provides the foundation for understanding how to interpret art and the world.

Until this year, Art 105/Art 106 was a two-semester commitment, but this year, students are allowed to take just one semester of the course.

That said, the course has been reworked to allow students to avoid a year-long commitment.

Two weeks ago, I visited the class to listen to the three new lectures. Despite enjoying the new lectures, I left considering the changing academic interests of current Vassar students.

“Vassar is known for having one of the best Art History departments at the undergraduate level in the world,” claimed Professor of Art Molly Nesbit. Unfortunately, the department still finds itself challenged by contemporary shifts in academia, which favors STEM-based education, seeing it as a beacon to success. “With STEM,” Nesbit said, “you’ll be prepared for the economy of the 21st century.” This promise is one that directly affects the interests of students that go to colleges like Vassar. Our Art History department has observed a decline in art history majors as students are more inclined to major in the natural sciences.

This tension between the arts and STEM is further highlighted by the restructuring undertaken by the department to accommodate students who do not want to commit to a year-long course.

I spent this summer as a Vassar tour guide and experienced first-hand our institution’s shifting focus to STEM. We highlight the new Bridge Building, peek into Olmsted’s laboratories and spend almost a quarter of the tour speaking to the College’s commitment to STEM. In contrast, no time is spent in Taylor Hall, any of the art studio spaces or the Loeb. Because of the institution’s deviation from the arts, the Art History department had to restructure ust to acquire the same level of interest they have in the past. This is seen in the format changes in Art 105/106, ushered in by the first three lectures of the course.

The first lecture, entitled “All about Art,” by Professor of Art Susan Kuretsky, served as a warm

The yearlong Intro to Art History course has been a staple in the Vassar curriculum, but recent changes to its format warrant a consideration of the ramifications of this restructuring. welcome to the students embarking on the journey that so many others before them have taken.

Kuretsky explains that the first lecture should set the pace for Art History’s ability to understand “the kinds of vocabularies and cultural practices to think of the world.” In the slideshow, she featured the image of a hammer, to which many students expressed confusion and discontent. At that point, Kuretsky brought up images of a hand-crafted gold hammer from ancient India and Yoko Ono’s “Painting to Hammer a Nail.” Once these connections were made, it sparked awe within the lecture hall. The hammer was not a silly example; it was a frame of reference to seemingly distant art objects. In speaking to the contemporary disconnect of students to art, Kuretsky made clear that the problem does not always lie in “not taking the time [to see art], rather it is because of not knowing how to see more.”

The second lecture, “The Digital World,” by Associate Professor of Art Andrew Tallon, discussed the negative repercussions of a “reality represented by digits.” In a world immersed in social media, people become disconnected from art and do not take the time to look. Kuretsky explains, “We can all be fast and accurate, but we all know...the thing we call wisdom is not split second.” Overall, Tallon’s lecture bridged the gap between technology, the ever-changing world and the art object. It was well-received by students: “The lecture was unlike any other lecture I’ve ever sat in. It was like Steve Jobs introducing the iMac to the world,” ex-

claimed student Dane Marshall ’20.

Finally, Nesbit’s lecture, “World Heritage,” asserted the idea that all objects of art are part of a world heritage and that our humanity lies within this heritage. “A museum could never hold all of humanity,” stated Nesbit. Time and space is expanded once it is realized that the objects of art that we study are a part of a larger social whole.

This is why art history is interdisciplinary and is endlessly connected to all forms of knowledge. “It is a capacious discipline. It is not just for snobs and connoisseurs,” explained Nesbit.

Collectively, the first three lectures of Art 105 are the cornerstone on which the new direction of the course is built. The lectures demonstrated how Art 105 is a tradition and a way in which to see the past and present of the entire world. Marshall exclaimed, “I’m starting to garner a deeper appreciation of ancient works of art and seeing the importance of having the foundational knowledge of what once seemed uninteresting to me.”

We find Vassar at a crossroads. The school has an important historical commitment to the arts and continues to provide top-rate programs in many of these areas. However, the growing commitment to our STEM departments seems to come at the expense of our arts programs. My goal for Vassar is not to dismiss STEM, but to highlight the ways in which our arts programs find themselves dwindling in interested students, financial support and ultimately their place in Vassar’s image and history.

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

Jimmy Christon Columnist

Blonde

Frank Ocean Boys Don’t Cry

Following the death of music group Odd Future, the constituent members of said group had their fates thrown to the wind. Frontman Tyler, the Creator dropped the lukewarm Cherry Bomb. Earl Sweatshirt went through some tough times and his music took a turn to the lo-fi with his album “I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside” and its accompanying EP “Solace.” Fans of the group impatiently awaited for Frank Ocean’s next move, which seemed entirely up in the air as he seemed to be in hiding for the past couple of years. After a long hiatus, Ocean has dropped his sophomore LP “Blonde.”

Simply put, “Blonde” is a fantastic, touching and heartfelt album that deals with living in the modern age and the bittersweetness of self-realization.

This review will only be dealing with the “Blonde” version of the album that is on iTunes, not the pop-up store version or the “visual album” titled “Endless” that came out shortly before.

Anyways, enough wading around in the surf; it’s time to dive into this album. I will start with what drew me into this album: the production.

The production on “Blonde” is Ocean’s take on the less-is-more sentiment. Whereas on “Channel Orange,” whose beats were pretty poppy and populated with various instruments and moving parts, the beats on “Blonde” are, for the most part, sparse, simplistic and bring the best out of Ocean’s vocals.

A great example of the production on this album is on the track “Solo,” simply made up of a smothering organ and a “whooping” siren. The production doesn’t shift much over the course of the track, either. Despite the static beat, Ocean’s unique lyrics make this one of my favorites off the album.

In terms of instrumentation, Ocean and his production team–with credits from people such as James Blake and Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood–mix electronic sounds with more natural ones in a way that brings out the best in their instrumentation. The song “Nights” seamlessly progresses through this organic to electronic instrumentation, while “Siegfried” sounds like what an orchestral symphony would sound like if you recorded one underwater.

Backtracking to “Nights,” this song is an absolute lyrical highlight. This heartbreaking track describes how reminiscing helps Frank deal with stress and depression. The vocals can be a little hard to make out with all the distortion layered on them, but when you’ve listened to the track enough to hear Ocean croon, “Still got some good nights memorized / and the look back’s gettin’ me right,” it’s hard to not think of your own nights that you hold close to your heart.

“Blonde” is filled with lyrics that are relatable without feeling pandering or generic, like some of the lyrics of “Channel Orange” or those of his contemporaries. Even the sappiest song on the album, “Ivy,” subverts its dreary love-song sap when Ocean almost begs the listener to “hate him.”

What’s even better than the production or the lyrics and vocals on their own is how the two come together and mix seamlessly. Each beat feels tailor-made to the lyrics that accompany it, and each song has a tone that is created with the beats and reinforced with the lyrics.

For example, the short but somber “Close to You” starts with a distorted vocal sample, later introducing some snares that almost sound like they come from a chopped-not-slopped hip-hop mix. These broken and distorted beats and accompanying vocals reinforce the song’s theme of separation.

If you aren’t a fan of tone-shifted vocals, this album isn’t for you. Ocean plays with the tone of his vocals like Laffy Taffy, stretching them out and warping them down on almost every single track. I like the tone-shifted vocals and I think they are a great way for Frank to add more variety, but they could easily come off as grating, like on the opener “Nikes.”

That being said, if you haven’t already listened to this album, I would recommend it in a heartbeat. It is a moving exploration of individuality in the modern age, and I wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest if I’m still coming back to this album five years down the road.

ARTS

September 15, 2016

Page 17

Palmer show explores breadth of genre COLOR continued from page 1

with super-saturated color, not toned down, not even really contrasted with unsaturated color. Unlike colors you see every day in nature,” he described. He drew up a wish list of artists for the show and surprisingly, all of them agreed to submit work.

The exhibit was first shown in April at LIU Brooklyn’s Salena Gallery with eight artists’ work, and then Frederick had the idea to propose the show to Vassar’s Palmer Gallery. He was excited to bring his first exhibit to his alma mater. In his words, “I had always wanted to do something to give current students exposure to things I learned about that I didn’t know about when I was at Vassar. I hope it gives students a taste of what they could go out and find around New York.”

As the title of the show suggests, the art Frederick chose to display presents a clear visual counterargument to Saltz’s criticism of endless, bland canvases: “It’s all done in haggard shades of pale,” he observed. Color and its diverse uses play the starring role in this

exhibit. It is clear that all of the featured artists—Paul Behnke, Patrick Berran, Robert Otto Epstein, Brooke Moyse, Gary Petersen and Craig Taylor—take their work seriously; there are no sellouts in the bunch, the kind Saltz was disparaging.

Patrick Berran works with printmaking techniques and Xerox toner transfers to create multi-layered works whose visual vocabulary viewers must uncover carefully. “I enjoy that my hand is evident in the final image but also removed,” he wrote in an emailed statement. “I’m mostly interested in how an artist paints, not necessarily what their paintings are about.”

Robert Otto Epstein’s painting investigates the possibilities within a given point of departure: a grid or pixelated pattern. His two pieces on display at Vassar feature swirling patterns, electrically vibrant colors and a visible texture. “The way I see it,” he explained, “grids are at once elementary and infinite in their potential for building new ways of seeing and conceiving ... There are no rules on how to

Courtesy of Brooke Moyse

“Fill” by Brooke Moyse, shown in the Palmer exhibit, demonstrates a more emotional and organic side of abstract painting, one that shows both the artist’s touch and a universal appeal.

Campus Canvas

see what you see.”

Brooke Moyse, influenced by Piet Mondrian’s and filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard’s use of color, enjoys creating evocative and powerful visual statements through striking combinations of form and color. “I try to create works that have a feeling of playfulness and immediacy through a concise use of color and gesture ... People have emotional connections to particular colors that could be either related to memory, or to something less definable and more biological.” Moyse’s more organic style brings abstraction down to a human level, leaving room for individual interpretation.

Gary Petersen favors the emotional level of art over a stricter narrative format and his works in the show utilize geometric constructions, overlapping and a juxtaposition of flatness and depth. Petersen’s paintings reveal themselves slowly to the viewer, unfolding layer by layer, piece by piece. As he described, “I like to think these forms, shifting and bumping, stacking and collapsing, reflect life. How we bounce around, make mistakes, contradict ourselves. Nothing fixed, nothing certain.”

Taken together, the work of all six artists in the Palmer show reveals the essential truth about this genre of art: Abstraction, by stripping away all recognizable forms, builds a setting that is at once intensely personal to the artist as well as universally understood.

“I think what really makes the difference for an abstract painting,” remarked Frederick, “is that you really feel like it is trying to communicate something and that it’s not just decorative or a pattern ... The best painting has a motivation behind it, it’s about something... besides putting color on a canvas.”

No wonder abstraction has been used to delve into higher planes of reality, from ornamenting the ceilings of religious buildings to embody the vault of an unknowable heaven to giving rise to the phenomenon of museum-goers crying in front of works by Mark Rothko.

Ultimately, the thoughtful exploration of this lively genre by “If Color Could Kill” comes down to, as Brooke Moyse stated, one thing: “That abstract painting is as varied as people themselves.”

A weekly space highlighting the creative pursuits of student-artists

Excuse me, Make a band name

“Cheese Grater.”

— Tali Shapiro ’19

“Papi’s Scrotum.”

— Emily Sayer ’18

“Slobber Kisses.”

—Kaitlin Prado ’19

submit to misc@vassar.edu

“Zero Waste System.”

— Jimmy Christon ’19

“Waiting for GoodDick.”

— Jimmy Pavlick ’18

“Butt Stuff.”

— Jaimeoson Bukacek Frazier ’19

This is a small watercolor illustration I did back in high school.

Honestly, the subject doesn’t really matter as much as who I was back then. I used to do a lot of illustrative drawings and it made me really happy for a while. I’d like to get back into that this year.

—Helen Shu ’19

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

Evelyn Frick, Humor & Satire Editor

SPORTS

Page 18

September 15, 2016

Field Hockey sets lofty goals amid third Betty Richey win Olivia O’Loughlin Reporter

A

Courtesy of Carlisle Stockton

fter a restful summer, the Vassar field hockey team is determined to dominate competition, surpass last year’s record of 12-6 and claim the Liberty League title. The women are already making headway into these goals as they clinched the 28th Annual Betty Richey Tournament for the third straight time.

On Sept. 2 and 3, Vassar hosted this year’s tournament, featuring Manhattanville College, SUNY Geneseo and Smith College.

In its first contest of the season, Vassar defeated Geneseo 1-0 on Friday as sophomore Mikayla Young reached the back of the net during a penalty corner.

“It felt so good to finally score against Geneseo. Throughout the game we had many opportunities, so when the ball hit the back of the net, I felt both relieved and happy,” Young said.

“It was rewarding to score off of a corner because we dedicate so much time in practice to improving them.”

The win moved Vassar into the championship game against Smith, who also advanced to a 1-0 record after beating Manhattanville on Friday.

Vassar’s sophomore class continued to dominate the field during Saturday’s championship.

In the 17th minute, Alyssa More fed the ball to Megan Caveny, who then blasted a shot past Smith’s goalkeeper. In the second half Gracie Tavakkol continued this momentum as she scored her first career goal to double the score and secure the tournament win for the Brewers.

Along with their championship title, multiple Brewers earned All-Tournament accolades for their outstanding performance. Senior captain Lauren Shumate, freshman Cristina Lopez and Caveny all received the honor. Meanwhile, sophomore Monica Feeley was named the tournament’s “Most Valuable Player” for her impressive offensive contribution. “I was so excited and completely surprised when they an-

Sophomore Monica Feeley exhibits her strong defensive skills against Smith College in the finals of the 28th Annual Betty Richey Tournament, which Vasssar won for the third straight time on Sept. 3. nounced it. Betty Richey is such an inspiration to women, so I feel really honored to receive this award,” Feeley said.

While each player on the team contributes in invaluable ways, the sophomore class is clearly one to watch for the Brewers. On behalf of this talented sophomore class, Young elaborated, “Our mentality is to show up everyday in games and practices and improve as a whole.

There are 10 of us so we try to bring lots of energy and help the upperclassmen establish a positive, intense tone.”

“Even though we lost some great seniors, their work ethic rubbed off on us, and we try to maintain the high level of field hockey. It feels good to return for the second year,” Young continued. “I have more confidence in our play and myself. I know what our team is capable of and

that we can compete with the best teams in the Liberty League.”

After a successful weekend, Vassar faced the Kean State Cougars on Wednesday, Sept. 7. The Brewers opened with dominant play as sophomore Haley Cubell scored in the first 55 seconds of the game. However, Kean fought back and the Cougar’s Krista LaMaina scored to send the game into overtime, where Vassar unfortunately fell 1-2. This was team’s first home field loss since Oct. 31, 2015.

Despite the loss, Vassar did not let up in the game against the College of Brockport on Sept. 10. Many girls contributed to the Brewers’ 9-0 annihilation of the Golden Eagles. Lopez, Young, More, Haley Cubell and sophomore Emily Poehlin all had one goal apiece, while Gracie Tavakkol and senior Hayley Beach each

had a pair of goals.

Now 3-1 on the season, the team is confident in its abilities going forward. “Our greatest strength is in our expectations of each other and ourselves. My teammates are very good at holding each other accountable and pushing each other to work as hard as possible,” senior captain Sophie Arnold explained. “When we hold each other to high standards, our goals seem that much more attainable.”

In the weeks to come, Vassar will face challenging competition, including Western Connecticut State, Ramapo College, William Patterson University and Montclair State University in non-conference play.

The Brewers kick off Liberty League play on Saturday, Sept. 24 against Saint Lawrence, who they bested 4-1 in the 2015 season. This year, the Brewers are ranked fourth in the preseason poll behind William Smith University, Skidmore College and the University of Rochester.

“We are most looking forward to playing Skidmore this year. They are a challenging team and always make us play to our full potential,” Feeley said. “Also, we are playing them at home this season which is making us even more excited about the game.” The Brewers will battle the Thoroughbreds on Vassar’s Senior Day Saturday, Oct. 15.

While the team looks for redemption against Skidmore, the Brewers’ motto is to focus on the present. “We are trying to take it one game at a time, one practice at a time, achieving small goals that will contribute to our larger goal of the Liberty League championship and NCAAs,” Arnold expressed.

Coach Michael Wawari reiterates the team’s mentality and adds, “How we approach every game is what is going to define how we are going to finish.” Coach Wawari looks forward to a successful season as the women continue to bring tons of energy and as “everybody continues to step up every single day.”

Vassar looks to continue improving as they take on Ramapo College on Saturday at home.

Men’s soccer hopeful for NCAA bid with new yet deep team SOCCER continued from page 1

his talented squad, especially after finishing the weekend 2-0.

“We lost 10 seniors but feel the core of the group is going to be strong and, as always, our goal is to host a Liberty League playoff game,” Jennings analyzed. “This means we will have finished first or second in the league and would put us in a great position to receive the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.”

“We have made a good start with five wins and no losses but the tough part of our schedule is league play which begins in a couple of weeks’ time,” continued Jennings. “We have good momentum right now and feel very positive about our start. The team has really come together around some core principles about the way we play, which has been exciting.”

Along with Coach Jennings, senior captains Stephen Jennings and Bloch will provide important leadership for this young side.

“Being a captain is a huge honor. I love the opportunity to lead the team during my senior year and I hope that we can make a long playoff push,” Bloch said. “Everyone on the team has bought into the program and our attitude, so my job is actually pretty easy. I hope to continue to lead the team on and off the field with Stephen and continue our winning streak.”

Stephen Jennings shared similar sentiments saying, “It feels great to be captain. I love this team; it’s a great group of guys. If we just keep up the attitude, this team is going to do great things.”

Stephen Jennings actually did not play last season because he traveled abroad to Australia in the fall. Despite this, he still remains an integral part of the team as captain. When Stephen recovers from his at the Thompson Memorial Library achilles tendonitis, he will undoubtedly be a force to be reckoned with on the field.

The squad is expected to be one of the top teams in the Liberty League, despite graduating

Courtesy of Gelsey White

Junior Hayden VanBrewer challenges a William Patterson player during the Vassar College Classic on Sept. 10. Vassar ended the weekend 2-0, placing them on a five-game win streak.

integral seniors, including Jordan Palmer, Tom Weichert and Cosmo Veneziale.

Senior forward Andreas Freund also did not return for the Brewers after spending the year abroad in Germany.

Helping to offset the loss of these players is a talented freshman class led by forward Mrlik and defender Henrik Olsson. Mrlik has gotten off to a hot start with three goals, three assists and nine points in his first five games. He follows in the footsteps of his All-American brother Zander (’13) who was a solid defender for the Brewers.

“It’s been great playing with Mattie. He’s brought a ton of energy to the team and he’s a real quality player,” VanBrewer noted. “Having Mattie and a big freshmen class that all work incredibly hard has really helped us to get off to a good start this year.”

Hailing from Tokyo, Japan, Olsson is an important member of the team as a defender, and also poses as a threat on offense.

Anchoring the Brewers is Marcelino, who is replacing graduate Sebastien Lasseur. The alum started 12 games and notched 54 saves last season. We will also likely see senior keeper Adam Warner in goal once his elbow sprain improves.

Bloch and junior Tanner Sands are a solid force on the backline, along with center back duo Tyler Gilmore and Tim Collins. In the game against Manhattanville, Gilmore headed the ball into the back of the net twice to secure a 2-1 victory for the Brewers.

Sands, also a versatile player, already has three goals on the season. He proved his exceptional abilities last year with 13 of 15 starts and five goals.

Vassar’s defense is particularly strong because of its depth. Davis has started four games, playing an important role on the right wing. Curran, senior John Lopes and freshmen Loizos Karaiskos will further contribute to this resilient back line.

“The team’s defensive success is derived from our attitude. We came into the season knowing that is was going to be our central focus. Everyone has committed to our defensive system and shape and the work ethic has been unbelievable,” Bloch analyzed. “Last year we lost multiple games 1-0 but I think this year we have the heart and the desire to push on and win those games just like

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

we did against Manhattanville a week ago.”

The midfield, dominated by Van Brewer and Smith, has plenty of depth as well. Freshmen TK Murphy and Nathaniel Kim are already seeing significant playing time. Junior Noah Snider, like Jennings, is crucial in the middle but is on the injured list with a pulled hamstring.

Gonzales also suffered an ankle injury early in the season that limited his playing time. Last year, the California native was fifth on the team with seven points, two goals and three assists.

Although only three forwards are listed on the roster, the team has had no problem scoring. Junior forward Jose Novas will look to provide offensive firepower along with freshmen Mrlik and Kenyan Baliat.

Last season, Novas played in all 16 games. He netted two goals and recorded one assist, all in the Brewers’ first win of the season against Maritime College.

Vassar has a challenging 17 game schedule ahead of it, consisting of 10 home games and seven road matches. The schedule includes eight conference matches, highlighted by an Oct. 1 road contest against St. Lawrence, which is ranked 11th in the NCAA Division III Pre-Season poll.

Other notable regular season matches include an away game against No. 3 SUNY Oneonta and the Senior Day home match against University of Rochester on Oct. 22. Shortly after the conclusion of the regular season, the Liberty League Championships begin. In order to qualify, the team must finish fourth or better in the conference.

With an experienced coach staffing and an abundance of talent, the Brewers will be tough for any opponent. If the team can improve on its record from last year and play well in the Liberty League Championships, then a spot in the NCAA tournament should be well within reach.

“There’s a really great team spirit this year which starts from the coaches and captains,” VanBrewer reflected. “We’ve worked hard in preseason to improve. Everyone is committed to reaching our team goal of hosting a Liberty League playoff.”

Vassar will take on New Paltz on Wednesday Sept. 14 at home, followed by an away contest against Oneonta on Saturday Sept. 17.

Page 19 SPORTS Athlete navigates identity Women’s volleyball serves after quitting native sport up skill despite young squad September 15, 2016

Hanna McGuire

I

Sports Editor

’ve only ever known life with tennis in it. I started playing before I can remember, and I immediately developed a passion for the game.

I trained hard at a young age, always incredibly competitive and determined to improve.

While I initially played other sports and was academically driven, my love for tennis outweighed everything else I did. I identified myself through the game.

When I came to Vassar, my relationship with tennis improved. Although I injured my elbow almost immediately, I grew as a player. This past season I played the best tennis of my career at one doubles with my best friend. Our two wins against Skidmore, once during the Liberty League Championships, are the highlight of my college experience.

Despite many wonderful memories, tennis eventually stopped being fun and became a job.

With so many obligations that come with senior year, I decided to quit the team.

Quitting has never been a part of my vocabulary, especially when it comes to tennis. I never thought anything would break my bond with the thing I cared about most. Which is why, while leaving made sense, it also scared me half to death.

I worried about upsetting my friends and family. I left my team and my doubles partner.

And I feared my dad, a professional coach, would be disappointed in my decision. Along with the mental tug of war I faced, I was concerned about the physical changes I’d have.

I would no longer have practice two hours a day, a lifting schedule, weekend matches or teammates. I was now in completely unchartered territory.

What would I do with my time? Would I ever play to the best of my abilities again? Who was I now that I didn’t play the sport I’ve always

had?

When I quit, I had no idea how to answer these questions. My identity was in limbo, and frankly it still is. I never thought I’d face the struggle of not knowing who I am because I’ve always been a varsity athlete.

This must be how student-athlete alums feel.

When you leave college, you also leave your sport. Maybe you don’t stop playing, but you likely won’t get the same challenging competition or schedule. The real world doesn’t allow for that.

But the real world is a valid excuse for graduates to stop playing their sport. You get a job and just stop having time. Although I didn’t need an excuse, I did question my decision because I still loved tennis.

After the spring season I took a break over the summer. I was so exhausted, almost overrun from playing so much. I think that I hit less than 10 times and I actually felt guilty about it.

I had just played the best tennis of my life and now I wasn’t playing at all. What a bad athlete I was.

Then I realized my decision might make me love tennis more because now I could play on my terms. I could still have the same passion that I’ve always had even if I wasn’t constantly playing. I may not ever be as good as I was last season, but that’s okay.

I’ll just be good at other things too. I will always identify as a tennis player, but that shouldn’t be my only defining factor. While tennis has given me experiences and relationships I am grateful for, I need to let other things give me those same opportunities.

I knew the day would come where I wouldn’t be a varsity athlete anymore, I just didn’t expect it to be so soon. As I reflect on my decision, I’m glad that day came early. I do miss playing, the competition and camaraderie, but I think I’m already becoming a better, wholer person.

Mack Liederman Guest Reporter

O

n Sept. 2, Coach Jonathan Penn took his women’s volleyball team cross-country to Tacoma, WA to open their season in the Puget Sound Premiere.

Although the Brewers would return to Poughkeepsie without a win, Penn believes it was a strong start to the team’s season.

“Tacoma was a great trip for us in the sense we got to open our season with some very good teams,” Penn expressed. “Two of them ranked in the top 20, and that’s the kind of competition we want to start with.”

On the first day of the tournament, the Brewers opened their season with two losses in six straight sets to University of Puget Sound and then Pacific Lutheran University. The team rebounded on the second day, taking one set on No. 16 Southwestern University.

In their third match, the Brewers were able to push No. 8 Carthage College to five sets. Down two sets early, Vassar rallied with back-to-back wins, 25-22 and 25-18. However, in the tiebreaker, Carthage held the advantage through the set and came away with the 15-10 victory.

Coming up big for the Brewers in that matchup was freshmen Jane McLeod. She recorded 22 kills in the loss, and currently holds the team lead in kills on the season with 106.

“I’ve been very aggressive and have been using the block a lot and listening to my teammates,” McLeod explained. “My overall experience thus far with the team has been amazing. ” Sophomore Annie MacMillan also excelled during the tournament, dishing out 141 assists over the four games. Fellow sophomore Devan Gallagher contributed significantly as well, and is currently second on the team in kills with 88 on the season. Gallagher is also the reigning Liberty League Rookie of the Year.

“I think we are off to a great start,” Gallagh-

er said. “We have definitely had ups and downs but I think we know the level we are capable of playing and are constantly trying to reach that level and exceed it.”

Penn said the team will rely heavily on some younger players like McLeod, Gallagher and MacMillan throughout the season.

The Brewers also have strong leadership in seniors Sarah Roberts, and co-captains Sierra Tobin and Gabby Miller. Tobin is currently tied for first in service points (32) and leads in digs (109), while Miller is tied for second in service points (30) and third in kills (77). Both Miller and Tobin have stepped into the crucial libero spot, vacated by 2015 graduate Chloe Hallum.

According to Penn, who is now in his 20th season at Vassar, this year’s team has what it takes to compete. “In terms of total depth and total talent, this might be as strong as a team as it has ever been.”

Since the Tacoma trip, the team has shown it can compete with more local talent. Since losing to Williams College 2-3 on Sept. 7, the women have won four straight matches on 12 straight sets in the Vassar Invitational.

On Friday, the Brewers defeated Purchase College and University of New England, both 3-0. On Saturday, the team swept the University of Pittsburg at Bradford and Alfred University to move to 4-5 on the season.

“I think our biggest goal for the season is to just train hard everyday and at the end of season have no regrets about how hard we fought and worked to get there,” Gallagher articulated, “We want to be able to say that we left everything on the court after every game.”

For the team’s success early in the season, McLeod notched Liberty League Rookie of the Week while MacMilan was named to the Liberty League Honor Roll.

Vassar will take on Skidmore College at home on Saturday Sept. 17 in Liberty League play.

XC running with high expectations going into competition Lindsay Wolk

Guest Reporter

R

tablishing healthy competition that will benefit the Brewers as they start to compete in important races. In practice, different runners constantly push themselves to lead the pack and as a result, it is expected that Vassar’s top five finishers can change on any given race day.

Based on the preseason, the women’s team shows great potential. All members came back from the summer looking strong and feeling optimistic about the road ahead. Vassar looks to improve their ranking from last year and re-enter the United States Track and Cross Country Coaches’ Association Top 25 Poll, in which they were included for both the 2013 and 2014 seasons.

“Process is the goal,” says Coach McCowan. “It’s all well and good to set lofty outcome goals, but the key is to make sure each and every day we are doing the right work, practicing the right mental outlook and developing the

Courtesy of Carlisle Stockton

unning upwards of 50 miles a week in the offseason, the Vassar College men’s and women’s cross-country teams are looking to materialize their high expectations this fall.

The men’s preseason has been one of the most successful in Vassar history following a summer of incredibly difficult training. Many of the runners return to Vassar ready to race after running upwards of 60 and 70 miles a week in preparation for competition.

While the team is small with only 16 members, it returns all but one of last season’s top seven runners and the current school record holders in the 5K and 10K, juniors Michael Scarlett and Phillip Brown, respectively.

Freshmen make up a quarter of the team, and all look to make an immediate impact in the standings. Scarlett, top returning runner, says, “We’re confident in the group we have, especially since we have four talented freshmen who have already been contributing.”

Individually, Scarlett is looking to improve upon his record-breaking sophomore season by achieving new personal records and continuing to finish first among Vassar runners in every race he runs. Scarlett is one of the best runners in the Liberty League and he is looking forward to facing off against the top teams in the country in the upcoming weeks.

Senior captain Gabe Fishman gave voice to the team’s high aspirations, stating, “We hope to finish top 10 in the region and we believe that come November we should be able to mix it up with some of the best teams in the region.”

The Brewers are confident that this will be a season for the record books. “We have the pieces in place to be the best team Vassar has ever had and we’re excited to make a splash in the Atlantic region,” says Scarlett.

12th-year Head Coach James McCowan says, “The long-term goal is to advance our first team to the NCAA championships and compete well there. How close we get to that goal is up to the men to determine.”

The season began on Saturday, Sept. 10 at

the annual Ron Stonitsch Invitational located on the Vassar Farm. The men pushed through the humid conditions and damp course for a strong fourth-place finish to set the tone for the remainder of the season. Scarlett once again placed first for the Brewers and 13th overall.

Freshman Adin Becker had a breakout first collegiate race in which he placed third for Vassar and 25th overall.

With their first race under their belts, all members of the team look to continue on an upward trend for the rest of the season. They will race again on Saturday, Sept. 17 at the Rowan Invitational in Glassboro, NJ. The women’s team boasts the largest roster in cross-country history with 23 members.

They are excited to begin the season and showcase the depth that have as a result of having such a big team.

This strength within the team is already es-

Junior Michael Scarlett leads the pack during the Ron Stonitsch Invitational last weekend.

Scarlett, one of the top runners, was named to the Second Team All-Liberty League last year.

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

skills necessary to perform at our best.”

Vassar returns 11 runners from last year’s team who finished in the top five for Vassar at least once every race last season. This includes sophomore Christiana Prater-Lee who finished in Vassar’s top three in every race she ran in last year.

The team’s four seniors are extremely enthusiastic about their last cross-country season.

“Each [senior] brings her own unique skills to the team and all care deeply for the success of every runner,” remarks McCowan.

Two seniors, Lucy Balcezak and captain Jemma Howlett return to the team after missing their junior seasons to study abroad. Both look to contribute in big ways this season to make up for lost time.

The six freshmen bring even more depth to team, boasting various strengths that Vassar plans to utilize in both training and races.

Freshman Caroline Hartman states that the transition from high school to collegiate cross-country was very smooth. “The team was all in touch over the summer and were doing similar training so everything felt normal when I got to campus,” Hartman said.

With regards to the team, Hartman also noted, “The team is really great because when we’re doing hard workouts they make practice a fun place to go. I’m really excited to see how the team develops.”

Like the men, the women kicked off the 2016 season at the Ron Stonitsch Invitational, where they placed seventh. Balcezak led the Brewers and finished 26th overall. Senior Laura McDonald placed second for Vassar, and Prater-Lee continued last season’s trend of placing in the top three for Vassar while finishing third on the team and 31st overall. Three freshmen rounded out the top six runners for Vassar. Hartman, Erin Clark and Meghan Cook took fourth, fifth and sixth respectively.

With so much success at this invitational, the women will only continue improving as they continue the rest of their season. Vassar races again on Saturday, Sept. 17, Glassboro, NJ for the Rowan Invitational.

SPORTS

Page 20

September 15, 2016

Brewers display high potential at start of 2016 season Rochester Institute of Technology on Sept. 17.

Women’s Tennis Vassar opened its fall season on the road, competing in the Swarthmore College Invitational over the past weekend. In singles, junior Kate Christensen got her season started by edging Swarthmore’s Emma Kassan 7-5, 6-4.

Senior and captain Shayna Becker made short work of Ally Santerelli of La Salle, claiming the 6-2, 6-1 victory.

Junior Dasha Ivenitsky and sophomore Morgane Flournoy also fared well against their Swarthmore opponents, winning 7-6, 6-1 and 6-3, 6-4 respectively in their opening singles matches. The two would team for a victory in doubles competition later that day, strolling to an 8-1 win over La Salle. Vassar picked up four wins overall in doubles, kicked off by Becker and freshman Tara Edwards teaming up for a tough 9-7 win over Emily Shutman and Julia Gan of Haverford.

The first day of play saw three freshmen Brewers compete at the collegiate level for the first time. Vista Grinde won 7-6, 6-1 over La Salle’s Jade Smith, while three-star recruit Edwards cruised through her first singles match against Maansi Malhotra from La Salle 6-1, 6-1.

Ashley Fair was competitive throughout but couldn’t quite pull off the victory in her first match, falling 7-6, 2-6, 7-10 to Julia Gohkberg of Swarthmore.

Vassar continued to find success on Sunday, with singles wins from Edwards, Fair, Ivenitsky, Flournoy, senior Connie Yoo and junior Lauren DiFazio, as well as several doubles victories.

This weekend the Brewers will host the Vassar Scramble where they will compete against New York University, Connecticut College and New Paltz.

Men’s Soccer The Brewers have gotten their season off on the right foot, notching five wins in a row, the best start since the 2007 season. The men extended their winning streak to four with a 2-0 victory at home over the Pioneers of William Paterson University on Saturday.

Sophomore defender Mitch Davis scored his first collegiate goal in the 16th minute to put the Brewers up 1-0, with the assist provided by freshman forward Mattie Mrlik. Mrlik would double the Brewers’ lead 11 minutes from time, finishing at close range off a lofted free kick from junior Hayden Van Brewer. Junior netminder Matt Marcelino made four saves in his 80 minutes before coming off for freshman Will Marment.

The Brewers put another win in the books on Sunday, routing Elms College 7-0. Seven different Brewers found the back of the net. Junior mid Reid Smith opened proceedings in the 25th minute for the only goal of the first half. The second half saw juniors Jose Novas and Tanner Sands, senior captain Noah Bloch, freshmen Mrlik and Kevin Baliat and sophomore Desmond Curran tally goals against a porous Elms defense.

On Wednesday, the men went up against New Paltz. This Saturday, they will face Oneonta in an away game.

Guest Reporter

Women’s Volleyball The Brewer women hosted the Vassar Invitational over the weekend and went a perfect four for four, besting University of New England, Purchase College, Alfred University and University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, all in convincing, straight-set fashion.

The opening day of the Invitational saw Vassar take the court against Purchase College, but not for very long, as the Panthers struggled to keep matters competitive, falling to the Brewers 25-3, 25-6, 25-15. The women next took down the University of New England in a more contested matchup of 25-11, 25-18, 25-19.

On day two of the Vassar Invitational, the Brewers faced their toughest competition in the Pitt-Bradford Panthers, whom they would best 25-22, 25-20, 27-25. In the last game of the weekend, Vassar saw off the Alfred University Saxons, 25-19, 25-14, 25-15.

Women’s volleyball, beyond claiming the overall tournament title, also earned individual honors: Junior hitter Alex Sams was named to the All-Tournament Team, while sophomore Annie MacMillan picked up tournament MVP accolades.

This weekend, the Brewers are diving right into Liberty League play, taking on St. Lawrence University and Bard College on Sept. 16.

Then they challenge Clarkson University and

Women’s Soccer Vassar College Women’s Soccer fell 2-0 on the road versus the Stevens Institute of Technology Ducks at the 13th annual Stevens Engineering Cup on Saturday. Stevens outshot Vassar 12-11, but the Brewers outshot the Ducks in shots-on-goal 5-4. The Ducks were able to capitalize on scoring chances late in the first half and 15 minutes from full time.

The Brewers were edged again by Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Hoboken on Sunday. MIT got off to a quick start, finding the back of the net just three minutes into play.

The Engineers manufactured an identical start to the second half, poking in a second goal in the 48th minute.

In the 61st minute, however, sophomore Audrey Pillsbury found the net off a rebounded shot from fellow sophomore Sara Seper to narrow the margin for the Brewers. Vassar was unable to produce an equalizer though, and the Engineers came out with a 2-1 victory. Vassar will compete against Oneonta on Saturday Sept. 17 at Gordon Field.

Women’s Rugby Returning 10 starters from last year’s Fall Final 4 team, Vassar Women’s Rugby walloped inexperienced Siena College at the Farm on Sunday by a score of 70 to 5. Senior flanker Nathalie Freeman piled on the scoring for VC, racking up five tries on the day, while seniors Laila Blumenthal-Rothchild and Mariah Ghant scored twice and once respectively.

Sophomore Rachel Elson scored a try and a trio of juniors Kayla Lightner, Andrea Ramsay and Amanda Saich, added a try each as well.

Senior flyhalf Mary Margaret McElduff tacked

Courtesy of Carlisle Stockton

Senior Seamus Taylor goes for a tackle in the first game of the season against Monroe College on Sept. 11. The men easily bested the College Men 45-7 despite only four starters returning.

Courtesy of Carlisle Stockton

Jamie Anderson

Sophomore Evon Shay drives the ball during her 18-hole competition against Union College on Sunday, Sept. 11. The Brewers swept the Dutchwomen, with Shay placing fifth among her teammates. on 10 additional points for the Brewers, sending home five Cons.

The women’s B-side was also in action on Sunday, taking on their Route 9 rivals, Marist College. Junior Yasani Spencer opened the scoring, while her fellow juniors Michelle Urrutia and Alicia Menard-Livingston each added two tries of their own.

After a first half deficit, the Brewers pulled away for final score of 33-15 over the Red Foxes. Sophomore Makena Emery was efficient on the day, connecting on four of five conversion attempts.

Looking to continue the season’s strong start, the Brewers will travel on Saturday to take on the University of Albany.

Men’s Rugby A thinned-out Men’s Rugby squad took the field for their home opener against Rugby debutants Monroe College at the Vassar Farm on Sunday Morning, coming away with a 45-7 victory. Senior captain Seamus Taylor notched a try, as did juniors Nick Olkovsky and Dale Lord, while junior Joe Simon and sophomore Charlie Hooghkirk each had a brace.

Vassar had the lion’s share of possession and control of the field but found themselves down 7-5 early to the athletic but raw Monroe squad.

The scoring chances would dry up for the visitors though, as mounting penalties from Monroe and improved play from the Brewers led to a final score of 45-7, with Vassar dominating the second 40 minutes of play at the farm, scoring 33 points in the second half. Stephen Kpundeh went five for seven on conversion attempts on the day, tacking on 10 points for the Brewer A-side.

On Sunday, the men will travel to Annandale-On-Hudson to tackle Bard College.

Men’s & Women’s Cross Country The Vassar College men’s and women’s cross country teams hosted the annual Ron Stonitsch Invitational at the Vassar Farm, named for longtime coach Ron Stonitsch, who has been with the program from the very beginning in 1982.

All the runners, beyond attempting to best their competitors, also had to contend with sweltering, humid conditions on Saturday morning. The field of 225 runners on the men’s side was the largest in the history of meets at Vassar, while the field of 197 runners on the women’s side was also a record number of participants.

Junior Michael Scarlett paced the Brewers, looking unaffected by the heat, finishing 13th overall with a time of 19:42.4. Fellow junior Philip Brown kicked into high gear in the home stretch, moving up more than 10 spots in the last 800 meters to finish 19th, with a time of 19:54.0.

Freshman Adin Becker also turned in a solid time of 20:02.3, good for 25th place overall. The lone senior runner, Gabe Fishman, was seventh among Vassar entrants and 59th overall with a time of 20:36.8.

The Brewer men finished fourth with 128 points, edging Stevens Institute of Technology, who had 143 points. Williams College came

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

away with the team title with 31 points; RPI finished second with 57 points, and NYU finished third with 61 points. All three were ranked in the United States Track and Cross Country Coaches Association of American Top 25 poll.

With 156 points, women’s cross country finished in seventh place in a field of talented teams. Senior Lucy Balcezak continued her strong run of form, finishing first for the Brewers. She finished 26th overall with a time of 19:55.1 and was the only Vassar runner with a time under 20 minutes.

Senior Laura MacDonald was the second runner to cross the line for the Brewers Saturday, chalking up a 20:05.1 to take 31st place overall. Sophomore Christiana Prater-Lee had a strong showing, finishing with a time of 20:05.9.

In the women’s competition, the Ephs of Williams earned the team title with 41 points; Stevens was second with 74 points and RPI third with 112 points.

Both teams will race in the Rowan University Invitational on Saturday in Glassboro, NJ. Field Hockey Vassar breezed past the College at Brockport 9-0 at home on Weinberg Field this past Saturday. The Brewers’ tally of nine goals in a game was the most since Oct. 5, 2013, when Vassar scored 11 on Morrisville State. Vassar outshot Brockport 34-1 Saturday, and earned all 20-penalty corners for the game. The Brewers produced an offensive onslaught in the first half of play, outshooting the Golden Eagles 16-1 and notching three goals.

In the second half, Vassar would break the Brockport defense wide open, knocking in six scores to soundly complete the rout. Senior Hayley Beach had an efficient two goals from two shots on target; sophomore Midfielder Gracie Tavakkol scored twice from two shots on target with an assist; senior captain Emma Bracken played facilitator, tallying four assists and two shots on goal, while sophomore Alyssa More had three shots on target, one goal and one assist. Sophomore Paige Amico and freshman Liz Rotolo can share credit for the shut out, with each turning in a 35-minute shift on the day.

The Brewers have a packed week of competition ahead. They played Western Connecticut State yesterday. Then on Saturday the Brewers will go up against Ramapo College, followed by William Paterson Univerity on Monday.

Women’s Golf Women’s golf started its 2016-17 season Sunday afternoon in winning fashion, sweeping Union College at the Casperkill Golf Course.

The Brewers and Dutchwomen played a modified match format on the par-72 course, playing all 18 holes with match play scoring. Two Vassar freshmen, Andrea Han and Qiwen Tan, debuted at the number one and two spots. Junior Annie Hsu sealed the victory at number three, while sophomore Evon Shay and senior Emily Prince completed the sweep at numbers four and five respectively.

Vassar will play in the Ann S. Batchelder Invitational in Wellesly, MA this weekend.