The Miscellany News | Nov. 18, 2010

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The Miscellany News Since 1866 | miscellanynews.com

November 18, 2010

Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY

Volume CXLIV | Issue 9

New York restricts sale of Four Loko Aashim Usgaonkar

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News Editor

Courtesy of the Vice President for Finance and Administration

ollowing state-wide bans of the alcoholic, high-caffeinecontent beverage Four Loko in Michigan, Washington, Oklahoma and Utah, New York’s State Liquor Authority (NYSLA) and Four Loko’s manufacturer Phusion Projects, LLC have taken steps to reduce the drink’s prevalence in the state. Such measures have prompted the manufacturer to remove caffeine from the product. This development was welcomed by the College and specifically by the Committee on College Life (CCL), which has been “discussing the ‘supplyside’ of this issue,” according to Dean of the College Christopher Roellke. Retailers will not be allowed to house Four Loko on their shelves after Friday, Dec. 10,

and the drink’s maker—Phusion Projects—has agreed to stop its shipment after Friday, Nov. 19. While the sale of Four Loko has been blocked by these regulations, it is not illegal to own the beverage on one’s person, so it cannot by fully eradicated. Still, Chairman of the NYSLA Dennis Rosen expresses hope that the agreement will “end the sale of this product in the state.” In an open letter to state authorities, the co-founders and managing directors of Phusion Project LLC, Chris Hunter, Jeff Wright and Jaisen Freeman, recognized the potential harm of the firm’s product if consumed without responsibility and staunch adherence by retailers to the legal drinking age. In reference to their decision to stop Four Loko’s shipment, the founders concluded, “This level See FOUR LOKO on page 4

Above are current and proposed views of central campus. In the new Campus Landscape Master Plan, the College commits to “pedestrian sovereignty” with the ultimate goal of removing parking and vehicular traffic from the center of campus.

College unveils Landscape Master Plan Molly Turpin

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he College is ready to reveal a new Campus Landscape Master Plan at an open meeting on Monday, Nov. 22 in the Villard Room at 3 p.m. The Master Plan, which is currently close to being finalized, proposes an ambitious return of the campus to “pedestrian sovereignty,” while also addressing issues of

sustainability and accessibility for the landscape as a whole. “A campus master plan can be very interesting because, while it is technically about the outdoor space and the landscape in particular, it can actually put forward some really powerful ideas about the organization of the campus,” said Vice President for Finance and Administration Elizabeth Eismeier.

Modern course selection Professors Web shifts question selection rating site strategies Ruth Bolster Reporter

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FEATURES

Foer to give 2010 Gifford Lecture Evan Lester

Guest Reporter

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Vee Benard

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Reporter

estled within a sea of extracurricular pursuits, it is easy to forget that classes account for the largest portion of a student’s purpose at an institution of higher learning. With a varied curriculum and constant encouragement to explore beyond one’s major, pre-registration is a time of excitement and anxiety at Vassar College. Registrar Dan Giannini was one of the developers of Vassar’s course registration system, which was was originally developed in the late 1980s to create an alternative to the chaotic “arena registration” of the pre-digital age. “The very second registration See REGISTRATION on page 7

Inside this issue

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Pablo Arenas ’11 carries the quaffle in a World Cup quidditch match. Turn to page 20 for full coverage of the tournament.

Celebrating ‘Unthanksgiving’ at Vassar College

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OPINIONS

Courtesy of derekgoodwin.com

he quality of a class is likely to be determined by its professor. For most Vassar students, creating a schedule for the upcoming semester entails not only a meticulous reading of the course catalogue, but also the thorough research of their potential professors. While some rely on the advice of friends to determine which professors they would like to have, others turn to RateMyProfessors.com, the online forum that allows students to assess educators at colleges and universities across the nation. Despite the site’s easy accessibility and the straightforward advice it offers students, the value of Rate My See PROFESSORS on page 7

A master plan addresses long and short-term goals for campus projects, serving as a guide for capital planning. As written in the new plan, “While the individual recommended projects are designed to be of manageable size and scope, they are underwritten by holistic analysis of site-wide landscape systems.” A commitment to a pedestrian campus is the document’s biggest theme, and perhaps the most ambitious aim is the removal of vehicles from the center of campus, in the area directly behind the College Center. While the new, wide See MASTER PLAN on page 4

Andy Marmer/The Miscellany News

Editor in Chief

Jonathan Safran Foer, author of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, will deliver a lecture in the Students’ Building next Monday, Nov. 22.

Commentary on New York’s Four Loko call

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unot Diaz, George Saunders and Michael Ondaatje are just a few of the highly-decorated authors who have visited Vassar College to give the annual Gifford Lecture, established to celebrate the craft of writing. This year, the Gifford Lecture will be given by possibly the most eminent author yet: Jonathan Safran Foer. Foer is best known for his novels Everything Is Illuminated and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. His lecture next Monday will include readings from these highly-acclaimed novels, while also touching on his writing style and history. The 33-year-old author is a native of Washington D.C., where he attended Georgetown Day School. At the age of eight, Foer experienced one of his life’s defining moments when he was involved in a chemistry explosion at See FOER on page 16

A ranking of the previous Potter films


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