The Miscellany News
Volume CXLVIII | Issue 6
October 29, 2015
Since 1866 | miscellanynews.org
Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY
College appoints new Annual travel course flies to China Title IX Coordinator “I Julia Cunningham Features Editor
Rhys Johnson and Palak Patel News Editor and Editor-in-Chief
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any students consider the College’s Title IX Office to be among Vassar’s most important administrative bodies. Much to such students’ chagrin, the Title IX Officer position has been empty since June. After months of searching, however, the Administration hopes to put these concerns to rest with the appointment of Rachel Pereira as the next Director of Equal Opportunity and Title IX Officer.
Pereira, who will start at Vassar in January 2016, will inherit the position from Interim Title IX Coordinator and Assistant Director of the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action (EOAA) Kelly Grab, who herself took over responsibilities for the Title IX Office upon the departure of the College’s last Director of EOAA and Title IX Coordinator Julian Williams. After Williams left in June to pursue a job at George Mason University, See PEREIRA on page 3
’m a geographer, and geographers are interested in grounded knowledge. And we understand that to learn about a place, you have to put yourself in the place of study. Especially a place like China. You can’t exactly imagine it. When you do, you imagine wrong.” Professor of Geography Yu Zhou, together with Associate Professor of Political
Science Fubing Su, is taking a class of 27 students to China this Spring so students can better apply the knowledge that they will learn in INTL 110 to the sights they will see in China. Vassar’s International Study Travel class is offered once a year in conjunction with a spring break trip to the place of study. Professors submit proposals for this multi-disciplinary class each year, and the final class is
chosen by the International Studies Steering Committee. This year’s class and trip will focus on the effect of China’s development on the environment. Zhou said, “We’re interested in how China is reconciled or not reconciled the relationship between development and the environment.” The environmental focus will be on water projects, urban development, as well as See TRAVEL on page 6
Past Halloweens spur campus safety concern Rhys Johnson News Editor
n only a few days, the much-anticipated festivities for Halloween will be here, and many students have long since begun getting ready. Excited party-goers are not, however, the only ones making preparations for the coming weekend. The people tasked with keeping students on campus safe are also readying themselves for what many expect to be a chaotic, high-intensity weekend of drinking and partying. Yet unlike those putting their cos-
courtesy of Vassar College
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tumes together now, they are preparing not for a potentially spectacular Halloweekend, but for a potentially dangerous one. As many students are well aware, Halloween is one of the school’s most famously high-octane partying weekends, and accordingly has a reputation for being a time of heavy drinking and drug use. Last year, on Halloween night alone EMS responded to 11 emergency calls, five of which resulted in the hospitalization of a student involved, numbers that alarmed See HALLOWEEN on page 4
Professor of Geography, Yu Zhou, along with Associate Professor of Political Science Fubing Su will lead a group of students and professor through Wuhan, Shanghai and Beijing, China this summer as a part of the INTL 110 class.
Kozan spotlights Japanese music Squash teams look to build on new success T Matt Stein Reporter
Ashley Hoyle Reporter
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courtesy of Oyama Kozan
he guitar has been around for a while and violins get their fair share of orchestral pieces, but rarely do most traditional instruments get the spotlight they deserve. On Nov. 5, at 5:30 p.m. in the Villard Room, Oyama Kozan, a tsugaru-jamisen master, together with his wife, Rumi Shishido, will give a shamisen and koto performance, providing information about these instruments with a question and answer session as well. Having started in the early 19th century, Tsugaru-jamisen is a traditional Japanese genre originating from Northern Japan. The main instrument used in tsugaru-jamisen music is the shamisen, a threestringed instrument similar to the ukulele, but the process of playing the shamisen is much slower and more meticulous. Jewett House President Kohei Joshi ’18, who is from Kobe, Japan, talked about how he’s come into contact with the shamisen in the past, “A lot of Soba shops have shamisen music playing in the background for a very peaceful environment. It gives me the feeling like time has slowed down. I have positive feelings about the shamisen. It’s very unique.” There are two distinct types of shamisen, the thinner-necked ones See MUSIC on page 17
Oyama Kozan will visit campus on Nov. 5. He is a musician who specializes in tsugaru-jamisen, a form of Japanese music dating back to the early 19th century.
Inside this issue
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Haunted house revitalized by FEATURES house teams
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Let the Misc help you figure out HUMOR your costume
hen most students at Vassar think of their school’s squash team, the term “roller coaster” may come to mind as the men’s and women’s squash teams at Vassar have certainly had a tumultuous past few seasons. Two years ago, the teams were forced to combine to form a single squad due to a lack of numbers. After “re-splitting” at the start of last season, the men’s team went on to lead a successful campaign that culminated in the school’s first ever national title at the Collegiate Squash Association Team Championships. The women also had a successful season, advancing all the way to the CSA Semifinals before falling. After a few months of training and preparation, the VC men’s and women’s squash seasons have officially taken off. The women kicked off their season on their home court in Kenyon Hall—meeting Colgate University for their season opener on Oct. 24. They pulled out a hard fought, close win, posting a 5-4 score. The women currently sit in the No. 35 National position and are looking to improve. Three of the women scored perfect games—setting the tone as the first three matches proved to be the first three wins of the day—and thereby the season. Sophomore captain and number-one singles player
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for the Brewers, Hannah Nice, glided 11-3, 11-2, and 11-3 to a win over Colgate’s number one Freesia Ferrantino. Last season saw an excellent start for Nice, as she posted a 13-6 record overall, and a 12-2 record in the No. 1 spot. Halfway through last season, she had earned nine wins out of ten– her only loss being a close match that saw her lose in five sets. Nice enjoyed many more aspects than just her success on the court during her first season, she said (full disclosure Hannah Nice is the assistant social media editor for the Miscellany News), “Last season was really great! As a freshman, I felt really welcomed onto the team by both the men and women. It was exciting to be a part of an all-female team, which was reestablishing itself after the year before, when the women who played were on the men’s roster, due to a lack in numbers. Because of the shift back to two separate teams, we started the season with positive, open minds, but didn’t seem to be expecting much. But we ended up having an awesome season, both on and off the court, as we were competitive in our division and formed some really nice friendships with each other.” The Brewers will be taking a hit this season as their lineup is impacted by some key players being abroad. See SQUASH on page 18
Original play explores horror movie tropes