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The Miscellany News

Since 1866 | miscellanynews.org

Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY

Volume CLI | Issue 14

February 7, 2019

Meghan Hayfield Guest Reporter

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n Friday, Feb. 1, Vassar’s Africana Studies Program celebrated its 50th anniversary by showcasing a variety of creative student endeavors, including spoken word, poetry, dance, live music and visual arts. Like many educational institutions, Vassar’s history features discriminatory policies. Until the 1940s, any Black students present at Vassar were accepted unknowingly, having been presumed to be white. Acknowledging this legacy, the packed event showcased students of colors’ talent to celebrate the progress the college has made in its diversity and recognition of students of color on campus. The Africana Studies Program, which is the longest-running multidisciplinary program at Vassar, was started in 1969 by a group of student activists. “Africana Studies grows out of the student protest movements in the late 1960s, where students across the country formed Black studies

programs at the time,” Associate Professor of History and Director of Africana Studies Quincy Mills explained. “Africana Studies at Vassar started in the City of Poughkeepsie, where students were taking a bus from campus to the City of Poughkeepsie to take classes and attend lectures.” These classes took place at the Urban Center for Black Studies. It was only after four years that the program moved to campus, and students no longer had to commute to attend their classes. Vassar’s Africana Studies Program offers over 40 courses, with themes ranging from the political to the artistic, as courses are taught by professors from a variety of disciplines. According to the program’s website, “Its educational mission is to promote a focused and critical study of the people, cultures, and institutions of Africa and the African Diaspora drawing from nearly all of the disciplines at Vassar College” (Africana Studies, “Home,” 01.21.2019). See AFRICANA STUDIES on page 5

Courtesy of Pat Mazzera via Flickr

Africana Studies’ 50th celebrates POC talent

This year marks the 17th Modfest festival, Vassar’s annual commemoration of 20th- and 21st-century art of various media. This year’s theme, “In Motion,” explores movement in performance, music and film.

Modfest features artistic diversity Madeline Seibel Dean Copy Staffer

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hile the bright colors of Marsden Hartley’s “Indian Composition” swirled behind them, the voices of the Vassar Women’s Choir lifted up to the high ceiling of the Frances Lehman Loeb Arts Center on Thursday, Jan. 31. The performance was a fitting kick-off for Modfest, as it demonstrated how the annual music festival can help bring different arts disciplines together and engage a community outside of Vassar and

maybe even the art world. They performed “Its Motion Keeps” by Pulitzer-Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw. Afterward, event organizers encouraged the audience, which was comprised largely of Vassar students and Poughkeepsie community members, to look around the Loeb. One of the exhibits on display was another Modfest endeavor entitled Flip Side, which opened last week. Flip Side shows off art created by members of the Vassar community, ranging from

color-pencil drawings representing patterns of mathematical formulas to more traditional portraits and photographs. The second Modfest visual art exhibit, featuring Inez Nathaniel Walker’s drawings, opened on Friday, Feb. 1. The collection consists of drawings completed over a twenty-year period, from the early seventies up to the artist’s death in 1990. Walker’s drawings are so colorful and richly patterned that they are hypnotic. Her work is characSee MODFEST on page 6

Students all ears for ‘Baby Driver’ Men’s tennis program welcomes new coach Holly Shulman

Assistant Arts Editor

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n the era of Netflix and Hulu, the idea of leaving the comfort of home and watching a movie with a room full of strangers can feel daunting and unnecessary. On Friday, Feb. 1, however, Vassar students found themselves doing just that, having been lured out of the online-streaming havens of their dorm rooms for a screening of “Baby Driver” in the Vogelstein Center for Drama and Film. The event was part of Vassar’s

annual music and film festival, Modfest, which, this year, centers around the concept “In Motion.” It was that theme which prompted one of the series’ organizers, Interdisciplinary Arts Coordinator for the Creative Arts Across Disciplines Initiative Tom Pacio, to include a movie screening in the festival’s lineup: “It felt like, when we decided on ‘In Motion,’ that maybe [we should extend] an invitation to the film department or incorporate film in some way.” Pacio began by reaching out to

Assistant Professor of Music Tahirih Motazedian, whose area of expertise includes movie soundtracks. He explained, “Through some conversations she picked ‘Baby Driver’ because it both has the theme of a journey in it, and also the music is really important to the plot.” In an email interview, Motazedian reiterated this sentiment: “Music is the driving force in this film, quite literally. Baby (the main character) is an inert shell without music, and he relies on music to See BABY DRIVER on page 7

Semester abroad sparks ‘shear’ joy Lindsay Craig

Guest Columnist

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Inside this issue

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Courtesy of Lindsay Craig

y first hour back at Vassar had me feeling perturbed by the Deece’s new name (GoCo? Geece?) and slapped in the face with the arctic conditions. I studied in Edinburgh, Scotland for the fall semester, and returning left me in a state of perpetual surprise. What struck me most upon returning to Vassar—aside from the deficiency in Scottish brogue, quality tea and free health care— was the insane hustle: a phenomenon so normal to me for two See SCOTLAND on page 10

Above, sheep congregate near a fence among tall grasses. Their easygoing attitudes echo those of the nearby residents of this idyllic setting.

JYA-er reveals discrimination, sexual FAR AND harassment AWAY abroad

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New Netflix series glorifies OPINIONS white, male serial killers

Kelly Pushie

Guest Reporter

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reparing itself to kick off another season, the Vassar men’s tennis program has a new addition to the team. Coach Tina McDermott moved from the sunny shores of Hawai’i to the beautiful Hudson Valley to take over at the helm for men’s tennis. Previously, McDermott was the head coach at the University of Hawai’i at Hilo for both the men’s and women’s teams. Last season, she left her mark in the record books at UH Hilo, guiding the men’s team to the winningest season in school history. The team went 17-3 and reached a high of No. 5 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) poll. For her success, McDermott was honored as the 2018 Pacific West Men’s Coach of the Year and for the second straight year as the ITA West Region Men’s Coach of the Year. In terms of what attracted the award-winning coach to Vassar, McDermott expressed her admiration for the value that the Athletics Department places on success both inside and outside the classroom. “Vassar is a place

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that aligns well with my longterm career goals,” McDermott noted. “It is an absolutely beautiful campus and prestigious institution that supports excellence in both academics and athletics.” McDermott also explained that, after meeting and speaking with some of the current players, she had an auspicious feeling that she would fit in well with and enjoy coaching the team. This sentiment is not one sided. Senior captain Jamie Anderson and other teammates reciprocated the feeling of excitement for the new leadership. “[McDermott] has instituted a litany of new things for us—new warmup, cool-down, and match-day routines, new drills, her vision and tenets of ‘championship culture’—in the first two weeks,” Anderson explained. “Our practices are longer, more demanding. I think that her positivity, transparency and consistency have made us all willing to put forth the extra effort.” He remarked at how smooth the transition into this season has been, especially considering the fact that McDermott was a See McDERMOTT on page 19

Vet views “NoTalent Talent Show” at Posse HUMOR retreat, debunks bald eagle myths


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