The Miscellany News
Since 1866 | miscellanynews.org
Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY
Volume CL | Issue 4
September 28, 2017
Notable instructor honored
Kelly Pushie
Jimmy Christon
Courtesy of Vassar Communications Office
XC team gets in formation Guest Reporter
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he Vassar men’s and women’s cross country teams have a lot to credit for their success this season, as many different runners have stepped up to post great times. This past weekend, the men’s squad finished 11th and the women’s crew finished 13th out of the 26 teams that participated in the Williams Purple Valley Classic this past weekend. Both teams had strong finishers, with the men’s team averaging a time of 27:52.5 over the 8k course and the women’s team averaging 24:46.7 over the 6k course. On the men’s side, Michael Scarlett came across the finish line first for the Brewers, with fellow senior Phillip Brown, junior Luke Arsenault and sophomore Will Dwyer coming in close behind. For the women, it was senior Savannah Wiman who came in first with a speedy time of 24:38.2, with junior Elise Matera trailing only a few seconds behind Wiman and junior Christiana Prater-Lee finishing only a few seconds after Matera. The women left the race this weekend feeling confident with their performance and eager to build on their momentum in upcoming races. AlSee CROSS COUNTRY on page 20
President Elizabeth Bradley, who started at Vassar in July, was officially inaugurated in a ceremony in the Chapel on Sunday, Sept. 24. Alums and representatives from other colleges came from far and wide to attend.
President Bradley inaugurated Laurel Hennen Vigil News Editor
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undreds of members of the Vassar community—students, faculty, staff, parents, alumae/i and trustees—gathered on the weekend of Sept. 23 and 24 to celebrate an event that occurs only once every 10 or 20 years: a Presidential Inauguration. “The inauguration of a new president is a joyous time in the life of a college, and one that provides us with the opportunity to come together as a community to celebrate our history,”
Courtesy of Olivia Feltus
The newest Palmer Gallery exhibit features pictures, clothing, newspaper clippings and more from the first women who enrolled at Vassar in 1865.
Palmer exhibits relics of first Vassar students Sasha Gopalakrishnan Assistant Arts Editor
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Inside this issue
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NEWS
Professor under attack for advocating diversity in field of study
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The lavish weekend was rumored among students to cost upwards of $1 million—though the College declined to disclose the cost beyond the fact that it was “considerably less” than $1 million, according to Baer. Along with Vassar affiliates, a number of attendees were faculty, staff and students from Bradley’s former institution, Yale University. This included a contingent of students from Branford College, one of Yale’s 14 residential colleges, of which Bradley served as See BRADLEY on page 3
Ford scholars dive into humanities research Laila Volpe
Assistant Features Editor
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ecause most students leave Vassar for the summer, they may be unaware of some programs and activities taking place on campus while they’re away. One notable example, The Ford Scholars Program, was founded in 1988 with a grant from the Ford Foundation and aims to pair professors and students to give students research experience in their chosen field. As Ford Scholar Kaitlin Prado ’19 [Disclaimer: Prado is a reporter for The Miscellany News] described in an emailed statement, “For the students it’s often about being introduced to focused research in their prospective field for the first time, and for the professor it’s a chance to continue projects that largely get put on hold during the rush of each semester.” In February, an email goes out to the student body inviting students to apply. The potential scholars can see a list of proposed projects that professors are working on and can apply to two, listing them in order of preference. Then an interview process with the professor takes place to determine if the student fits the project, and the chosen students begin work after school ends. According to Ford Scholar Matthew Au ’19, the projects span multiple disciplines and departments, and they range from a minimum of four weeks to the entire summer; most are gener-
Usage of term “differently abled” raises OPINIONS serious concerns
ally around eight weeks long. No two projects are similar, and they vary in terms of professor involvement as well. Stephanie Coons ’19, while her project was relatively independent in nature, still met consistently with her mentor, Associate Professor of Economics Benjamin Ho. Coons, who researched the degree of partisanship of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), described their working relationship, stating, “A lot of [the inspiration] would come from him and either I would add to it or figure out how to make it work in practice.” They would then regroup to discuss what worked and how to move on from there. Coons and her mentor used existing research to help her structure her own project, referencing a previous study in which two researchers looked at the Congressional Record, the official transcription of all congressional sessions. They found the words that Democrats and Republicans used most often, and noted how many of those words specific newspapers used in order to measure the partisanship in each paper. They applied this same idea to NGOs using CharityNavigator, a database of charities that conveniently provides mission statements for each organization. The question Coons and Ho wanted to answer was as follows: “Given a mission statement, what is the probability See FORD SCHOLARS on page 6
19 SPORTS
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t Vassar’s Thompson Memorial Library, there is currently an exhibit displaying a collection of children’s books by the late Nancy Willard, who, along with being a faculty member at Vassar for almost half a century, was also a prolific author. She wrote children’s books, poetry and novels, and a selection of these popular books are now commemorated in this exhibition. The collection of Willard’s books spans decades and hints at the author’s tireless work ethic behind the books. In conjunction with a memorial service held previously following her passing, this exhibit serves as an open memorial for one of Vassar’s central community members. Willard retired in 2013 but had been teaching on campus since 1965. She died in February of this year, a grave loss for Vassar and the generations of students she instructed. This exhibit, planned before Willard’s passing, is not just a showcase of some of her works, but it is also a testament to how the community here at Vassar engages with itself through both remembrance of a person and through exploration of the works they left behind. Willard reached international acclaim and popularity with her breakthrough book “A Visit to William Blake’s Inn,” which won the Newbery Medal in 1982. This book, which is on display in the library, transposes Poet WilliamBlake’s “Songs of Innocence and Experience” into a form for children. This is not to say that the book dumbs down any of the themes brought up by Blake;Willard deftly parses the works of Blake into a form that preserves the fantastical quality of his works without getting bogged down in details. This is to say that Willard shed new light on one of England’s foremost figures. Additionally, the works on display illustrate the theme of Nancy Willard’s role as both a teacher and artist. The exhibition style is a very understatSee BOOKS on page 14
Courtesy of Olivia Feltus
n Sept. 23, 1865, along with four women from Canada and one from Hawaii, 348 women between the ages of 15 and 27 from across the United States became the first students at Vassar College,” wrote academic intern Heather Kettlewell ’18, explaining the Vassar College Historian Colton Johnson’s recent project and the James W. Palmer III Gallery’s current exhibition, “The First Students.” This project maps the stories of 18 students from among the original 353 who graduated in the College’s first official collegiate year, 1868. Aiming to study these women in all their complexity as Vassar scholars, “The First Students” traces information about
their families and backgrounds, their pration to make their way to Vassar, their activities while they were at the college and their lives and careers after graduation. Currently on display at the Palmer Gallery are pictures, facts and anecdotes about these students, in addition to news clippings. These echo questions and responses raised by the college’s progressive ideals and will be on display for all to see through Oct. 5. This informative exhibit is paired with clothing displays that indicate the kind of attire these students sported in that time period, which differs drastically from what the average Vassar student would wear today. Thousands of women from all over See FIRST STUDENTS on page 14
said Vice President for Alumnae/i Affairs and Development Catherine Baer in an interview. Though President Elizabeth Bradley started at Vassar on July 1, inaugurations traditionally take place in the fall. The occasion featured two panel discussions liberal arts education and health care on Saturday; a celebration for students at the All Campus Dining Center on Saturday night, featuring music and a special menu; and, of course, President Bradley’s formal Inauguration ceremony on Sunday.
Reporter
Vassar engages with its own through both remembrance of past community members and through exploration of the works they left behind.
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