The Miscellany News
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Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY
Volume CLI | Issue 11
November 29, 2018
Lecture explores Uber, public transportation Jessica Moss
Assistant News Editor
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Sitomer talk centers trans allyship, Judaism Chris Dillon
Guest Reporter
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n Wednesday, Nov. 14, Rabbi Mike Moskowitz shared stories ranging from debates between first-century Jewish leaders to communities rebuilding in post-World War II Europe and modern struggles for social justice. These stories, along with his study of religious texts, informed how Moskowitz became an ally to the trans community while remaining
a firm believer in Ultra-Orthodox Judaism. Moskowitz’s lecture in Taylor Hall Auditorium, titled “Allyship as Spiritual Practice,” was part of the Dr. Maurice Sitomer Lecture series. Dr. Sitomer, a late Poughkeepsie resident and civic leader, endowed the series, which invites to campus speakers who encourage understanding of Jewish culture. When not speaking at colleges, MoskowSee SITOMER on page 4
Courtesy of Edward J. Guarino
ovement is a salient feature of the milieu of modern life, necessary for its most fundamental aspects: obtaining necessities, engaging in various forms of social interaction and getting to work. It is therefore troublesome that many U.S. cities lack adequate transportation systems to support this movement, often forcing indi-
viduals to depend on private companies for guaranteed travel. The failure of public transit was a defining feature of City University of New York Assistant Professor Dr. Kafui Attoh’s lecture, titled “Uber, Public Transit, and the Idiocy of the Smart City” and delivered on Thursday, Nov. 15. His lecture, sponsored by the Geography Department and Urban StudSee UBER on page 5
Kent Monkman’s “The Artist,” which depicts gender fluidity, is one of 31 contemporary Native American pieces that will be featured in “Imagining Indigenous Futures,” opening Nov. 29.
Indigenous art featured in Palmer Abby Tarwater Reporter
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odern art museums rarely showcase the works of Indigenous artists, especially in ways that do not infantilize and dominate Native voices. The upcoming Palmer Gallery exhibit “Imagining Indigenous Futures,” which will run from Thursday,
Nov. 29, to Dec. 20, seeks to rethink these exclusionary practices through its unique display of contemporary Native American art from the Edward J. Guarino collection. “Imaging Indigenous Futures” is the culmination of the American Studies class “Decolonizing the Exhibition,” taught by Associ-
ate Professor of English and Native American Studies Molly McGlennen. The course studies the significance and impact of Indigenous art through a Native American Studies perspective, and explores decolonizing approaches to the research and exhibition of such works. See PALMER GALLERY on page 6
Bullet journalers lay out benefits Rugby rides depth to fourth straight semi Frankie Knuckles
Assistant Features Editor
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Inside this issue
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Professor fights adversity by FEATURES promoting diversity
To get more of a grasp on how others use their bullet journals, I first met with Elianna Scheide ’20, who embraces the traditional bullet journal form with some twists. She runs an Instagram based around her bullet journal ([at] See BULLET JOURNAL on page 10
Frankie Knuckles/The Miscellany News
nyone who procrastinates by googling ways to stop procrastinating has probably already heard of bullet journaling: the magical productivity method invented and registered as a trademark by Ryder Carroll. In his system, one uses a dot-grid notebook to track anything and everything in life, listed under various bullets. However, the world of aesthetically-minded organizational strategists has reproduced Carroll’s ideas in abundant variation; colorful, calligraphic spreads are only the beginning. For me, bullet journaling encourages mindfulness. I first got into the practice through a recommendation from my therapist to manage my existential anxiety. As a secondary benefit, it helps me actually use the many art supplies I own—I have an entire drawer full of different pens (ballpoint, felt tip, fountain, etc.). Stationery fetish aside, laying out all of my obligations and thoughts in one place calms me down in a way that Google Calendar never could. Often, my best creative ideas germinate in my weekly note section, including the idea
to write this article. From a mechanical viewpoint, my bullet journal is somewhat atypical because I only do weekly spreads with a planner-esque section and a large open space for notes, rather than the traditional mode of habit-tracking and list-making.
Top: The author’s weekly spread. Bottom, left to right: Koolpe’s workout plan, Osterhout’s sketches and Scheide’s monthly tracker.
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As they coerce, Miranda OPINIONS Rights prove perverse
Myles Olmsted Sports Editor
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n Thursday, Nov. 29, the Vassar women’s rugby team will pile into a familiar bus to make a familiar pilgrimage down the East Coast to play in the USA Rugby Division II National semifinal, held this year in Charlotte, NC. In previous years—it will be the program’s fifth Final Four in six years—the bus would have driven through Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina, arriving in Greenville, SC, home to the last several Championship semifinals and finals. This year the bus will stop in Charlotte, where the team will rest and practice before taking the field on Saturday, Dec. 1, at 4 p.m. against the U.S. Coast Guard Academy Bears. A win would take the Brewers into the National Final game, to be played the following day at 3 p.m. For the Vassar squad it will be a familiar bus, a familiar route and a familiar foe. Vassar and the Coast Guard Academy have met in three consecutive post-
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seasons—first in the round of 16, then in the third-place game and last year in the national semifinal. (Vassar won all three matchups.) While this is the fourth consecutive Final Four for the Vassar senior class, the program has yet to capture the ultimate prize: a National Championship crown. Last year the Brewers coughed up a 29-7 first-half lead over Winona State in the National Championship game and went on to lose a 38-36 heartbreaker. Summarized senior Kaitlin Prado of the team’s quest for the crown, “Every season for the last several years, we have gotten so close to winning the national championships, and in slightly different ways each year we’ve fallen short.” According to Prado and fellow seniors Makena Emery and Oshana Reich, it is this recent history that drives the team. “We can’t help but be hungry for another shot at the national title,” attested Emery. “Last year we made program history by being the first squad to play in a championship game, so with one last shot, I See RUGBY on page 19
Americans refuse to have rights sunk, HUMOR defend liberty to drive drunk