The Miscellany News | Oct. 7 2010

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The Miscellany News Since 1866 | miscellanynews.com

October 7, 2010

Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY

Volume CXLIV | Issue 5

Council continues discussion on alcohol Molly Turpin

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Carlos Hernandez/ The Miscelllany News

Special section | A local travel guide for October Break

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Editor in Chief

he Vassar Student Association (VSA) continued its discussion of alcohol and campus culture at its meeting on Sunday, Oct. 3. The conversation followed a similar one held at the previous meeting on Sept. 26 in which the Council discussed alcohol-related incidents, like dorm damage and hospital visits, at length. In the week between meetings, student representatives took the dialogue to their respective VSA committees and brought thoughts and ideas back to Council on Oct. 3. Vice President for Academics Laura Riker ’11 shared the ideas that came out of the VSA Academics committee, which included an emphasis on event advertising and a possible “Respect” campaign, though she added that there are no specific plans yet. “The Academics committee discussion was focused largely on the power of word of mouth, and how talking to people can really

help address these types of situations,” wrote Riker later in an e-mailed statement. “Additionally, we talked about the importance of respect—respecting the school, respecting your fellow students (in particular, making people aware that Vassar College Emergency Medical Services are student volunteers), and respecting yourself.” While much of the discussion focused on creating programs or spaces for students who preferred not to use substances, Riker and the Academics committee emphasized better advertising for the programming that already exists. From the Student Life Committee, Vice President for Student Life Syed Samin Shehab ’11 said that many of the ideas focused on the roles of house teams and upperclassmen role models. “The Student Life Committee will be encouraging the House Presidents to take the EMS statistics to their house teams and presenting See ALCOHOL on page 5

Advising CIS makes secure network Network A String Theory weaves to go live mythic, modern yarn Joseph Rearick Guest Reporter

Caitlin Clevenger News Editor

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Vassar and the Civil War Angela Aiuto Senior Editor

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Students rehearse for their upcoming performance of String Theory, a comedy that weaves together several Greek myths, each related to string

The “Matthew Vassar.” pictured on the far right, prepares for an attack on New Orleans in April of 1862.The schooner was donated to the Union army by Matthew Vassar, Jr.

Inside this issue

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FEATURES

Devin Leary/The Miscellany News

ith the Sesquicentennial quickly approaching, members of the Vassar community are taking the time to reflect upon and celebrate the storied history of the College. And what better place to start this journey than the very establishment of the College in 1861, which coincided with the start of one of the more tumultuous periods in American history: the Civil War. Perhaps the most spirited of the College’s war tales is that of the mortarschooner, the “Matthew Vassar,” which belonged to Matthew Vassar Jr., Vassar’s

nephew and a charter trustee of the College. Vassar Jr. had gifted the schooner, which had already been in his possession for some years, to the Union army at the start of the war; the small ship battled at the mouth of the Mississippi River and in the Gulf of Mexico, according to the Vassar Encyclopedia, and had even been visited by former President of the United States Abraham Lincoln. During the 1860s, however, Vassar was defined less by its involvement in the war than it was by the College’s growth; given that the College was founded at the Civil War’s start, much See CIVIL WAR on page 8

Courtesy of http://www.history.navy.mil

assar freshmen will soon have access to a student advisor in their area of interest as the Peer Advising Network now goes online. The Peer Advising Network will allow freshmen to choose a junior or senior majoring in a certain department and rely on that peer advisor as a supplement to their faculty premajor advisor. The process of building this network began in the fall of 2009, when then Vassar Student Association (VSA) Vice President for Academics Stephanie Damon-Moore ’11 and 2009-2010 Strong House President Laura Riker ’11, who has since succeeded Damon-Moore as Vice President for Academics, considered solutions for issues students had been having with the pre-major advising system. Under the current system, students are assigned a pre-major faculty advisor who may not share their academic interest, but feel, in such instances, that it is too difficult to change advisors and therefore do not receive the guidance the advising system is meant to provide. The idea for a student-based advising system was fleshed out in discussions with the Academics Committee, President of the College Catharine Bond Hill and some of the Deans, and coordination from Damon-Moore and Riker. According to an e-mailed statement from Damon-Moore, “We expect that this program will supplement the existing See ADVISING on page 3

n increasing number of Vassar students use hand-held wireless devices in addition to their personal computers to make use of Vassar’s wireless network. After years of waiting for technology accessible enough to meet these diverse needs, Computing and Information Services (CIS) has introduced two encrypted wireless networks that will provide a more secure means for the

campus community to use the Internet. Called the “Student-Secure” and “Faculty-Secure” networks, the new systems protect the information Vassar’s Internet users send each day through an intricate coding process. “The new encrypted wireless networks increase the security of your data by encrypting that data as it travels to and from your computer or hand-held device to the Vassar network, thus reducing the risk of See NETWORK on page 5

A look at ads from yesteryear in The Miscellany News

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FEATURES

Thornwillow Press founder on bookmaking

Rachael Borné

Assistant Arts Editor

“I

s it better to be part of a story or to make up a story?” This, according to actor Daniel Rajunov ’12, is a question that looms behind “String Theory,” the Vassar Drama Department’s Experimental Theater’s new production. The play takes three Greek myths, each somehow relating to string, and weaves them together using, among other devices, the comedic flavor of modern cultural references. “The stories are all

23 SPORTS

weaving a tapestry which is the play or the world. These characters live on a gigantic loom.” “String Theory” is the brainchild of visiting director and Vassar grad Michael Barakiva ’97, and was written with the help of Amy Boyce Holtcamp ’96 and Sarah Braunstein, both of whom Barakiva met during his time at Vassar (Braunstein attended Vassar for a year as a 12-College Exchange student). The play was initially written in response to a company of See PLAY on page 20

Men’s tennis coach resigns for DI post


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