The Miscellany News | Dec. 2, 2010

The Miscellany News Since 1866 | miscellanynews.com

December 2, 2010

Volume CXLIV | Issue 10

Plans for sciences progress

Alternative space expected in January Joseph Rearick Reporter

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College plans for enhanced interdisciplinary opportunities Juliana Halpert/The Miscellany News

Molly Turpin

Editor in Chief

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On the morning of Tuesday, Nov. 23, a student was sexually assaulted in the computer room of an unspecified dormitory. Security apprehended the suspect on Sunday.

Suspect in assault case apprehended by Security Aashim Usgaonkar

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News Editor

he Town of Poughkeepsie Police Department arrested the prime suspect in a sexual assault case that occurred on campus before Thanksgiving break on Sunday, Nov. 18. “A student in Main House reported a suspicious individual to the [Campus Response Center], and we found him after a brief

chase,” said Director of Safety and Security Don Marsala. The man was reported to the Police Department, which responded and arrested the individual, against whom they already had an “outstanding warrant.”

The assault—which was made public

by Marsala in an all-campus advisory e-mail dated Wednesday, Nov. 24—took

See ASSAULT on page 4

‘Angels’ graces Powerhouse Theater Shruti Manian Reporter

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Juliana Halpert/The Miscellany News

The Drama Department is staging Tony Kushner’s “Angels in America: Perestroika” from Dec. 2-4 in the Powerhouse Theater. the play is their semester’s headline production.

Inside this issue

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NEWS

s soon as January, Vassar students could have a new, alcohol-free hangout spot at their disposal.

For the past few months, the College administration and the Vassar Student Association (VSA) Council have been investigating options for the creation of a venue that would provide a relaxed environment for students to use on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. This space would alleviate the absence of spaces on campus that are not used by student organizations for specific programming, and provide an alternative to the drinking culture that precedes many all-campus events.

Many students requested a space that would be consistently

available for relaxed recreation as opposed to the programmed parties and performances that take place in the Students’ Building and the Villard Room. That interest coincided with a rash of alcohol-related hospitalizations in the first weeks of school, which many students described as the result of intensive drinking prior to all-College parties, or “pre-gaming.”

The idea for the space came about as the result of the Town Hall meetings that Dean of the College Christopher Roellke and President of the College Catharine Bond Hill conducted in the first month of the school year in residential houses across campus.

Roellke and Hill created a committee in order to produce a consistently un-programmed space

See SPACE on page 4

Students, faculty debate laptop use in class

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FEATURES

Juliana Halpert/The Miscellany News

he plans for a new integrated science center are nearing completion as the College hopes to break ground for the new and renovated facilities in the summer of 2013.

The current plan proposes a group of buildings that integrate the psychology, biology, chemistry, physics and computer science departments as well as spaces for other programs to use. The current plans, designed by Ennead Architects, calls for the construction of a large “bridge” building for laboratory space over the Fonteynkill between Olmsted Hall and Skinner Hall of Music as well as for renovations of New England Building, Sanders Physics and Olmsted. The renovation of New England and its dedication to the psychology department represents a change in space and cost from earlier iterations of the project, which included a significant, and more expensive, addition onto the back of Sanders Physics. The bridge building itself is slated for LEED Gold certification

Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY

ony Kushner’s iconic play “Angels in America: Perestroika,” is the toast of Broadway this week.

But Vassar students are lucky enough to get to watch this illustrious play without the pain or expense of a twohour-long train ride to New York City.

Vassar’s Drama Department brings “Angels in America: Perestroika,” their semester’s headline production, to be performed on Dec. 2, 3 and 4 in the Powerhouse Theater at 8 p.m.

Undertaking the phenomenal task of recreating such a widely acclaimed play as “Angels in America,” also a much-applauded HBO miniseries, is a daunting challenge. But it is one that the Drama Department and students are more than willing to accept: “The challenge was to make our production different. Our production reflects our interpretations and we delve into the text and bring out so many minute details,” said Meredith Mueller ’11, the stage manager.

The play is complex in both its storyline and the socio-cultural

See ANGELS on page 16

Cooking with Challah for Hunger

The Aula, pictured above, and the Student’s Building are the two leading candidates for the alternative space. The space will most likely open early in 2011.

Use of ‘study drugs’ called into question Mitchell Gilburne

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Features Editor

he 21st century has seen numerous advances in the fields of psychology and medicine. Perhaps most definitive of the last decade of progress has been the rise to prominence of focus-enhancing medications such as Ritalin and Adderall for the treatment of the attention deficit disorder and other learning differences. In addition to the debates that have sprung up around today’s medicated youth, focus-enhancing drugs have developed an alternative, unofficial use as study aids. The popularity of such “study drugs” has risen to such a degree that they have become a key blip on the radar of academic culture in both second-

15 ARTS

ary schools and institutions of higher learning.

In the wake of the recent, ultimately unsuccessful but thought provoking nonetheless, crusade of Wesleyan University senior, Bradley Spahn, to classify the use of study drugs as cheating, the highest of academic offenses, and the swiftly approaching study period that characterizes the semester’s end, it is perhaps time to consider the prevalence and ethics behind the use and abuse of study drugs at Vassar.

However, when it comes to dialogues concerning the abuse of study drugs, the College has been relatively silent. Is this rapidly popularizing culture truly so discreet, or does the abuse of study See ADDERALL on page 5

A Miscellany guide to holiday events

The Miscellany News

Page 2

December 2, 2010

Editor in Chief Molly Turpin Senior Editors Angela Aiuto Matthew Brock

Contributing Editor Lillian Reuman Lila Teeters

Courtesy of 150.vassar.edu

Photo of the Week: The new Sesquicentennial website features hundreds of photos from the College’s history, such as the one above of students studying in the 1950s. The photographs lend incite as to how student life has both changed and remained the same in the last 150 years.

Miscellany News Staff Editorial

Dialogue needed on technology in classroom Class-specific policies should be encouraged A

generation ago, members of higher education, students and professors hailed the laptop as a positive, innovative tool for education. It was thought that laptops would enhance a student’s performance in the classroom. Recently, however, a debate has erupted over the laptop’s place in these classrooms, and some argue that the very features that constitute laptops’ innovative power also serve as their most potent distractions. This Tuesday, Vassar College and the Committee on Academic Technology (CAT) hosted a panel discussion entitled “Technology at Vassar: What are We Doing in the Classroom?” After members of the faculty voiced concerns regarding laptop use in their classrooms, the College and CAT took the admirable first step of consulting with the student body before they consider taking formal regulatory action. The Miscellany News editorial board commends this move, recognizing that such a conversation has the potential to be a productive tool for clarifying the hazy laptop policy currently afflicting students and professors alike.

The problem is not that technology in the classroom. Rather, the issue rests on the lack of communication surrounding proper use of devices in the classroom. Professors should make clear where they stand on personal electronic device use in their classrooms. The syllabi that are given to each student at the beginning of the semester would be the ideal medium for professors to express their individual policies. The syllabus already contains the professors’ rules regarding tardiness, absence and classroom participation; we have arrived at an age when technology use should be addressed as well. Such a clarification would help both students and professors alike; students will

know when their use of devices, such as laptops, is prohibited before inadvertently offending a professor or fellow classmates, and professors will have an opportunity to discuss their policies before it becomes an issue.

The explicit statement of professors’ stances on technology should further open up a space for students to express their stances as well. As much as students are accountable to their professors, they are also accountable to the peers they share classroom space with. One student, for example, may decide that the classroom time they (or their parents) are paying for is better spent on Facebook. That student must realize that the nature of the glowing screen he or she activates is viewable by those around them and that the ears around them can hear their typing. Although classified as “personal” devices, their use can easily transcend the personal into the more public sphere of a classroom space. On the other hand, there are some students who regularly rely technology in the classroom. In fact, that is the biggest expenditure for the Office of Disability and Support Services, constantly striving to make previously inaccessible curricula accessible for students with disabilities of every kind.

Because of the various positions brought to light by this discussion, there need not and should not be a campus wide policy regarding laptop use. Rather, it should be on a case-bycase basis. Just as different people have varying demands of technology, so do different courses. For example, a student in a political science class may have more of a need for a laptop than a student in an art class. While some college and universities have equipped

professors with switches that allow them to shut off wireless connection in their classrooms, Vassar College should stay dedicated to the wide array of demands as dictated by its curriculum.

As students, we are well aware of how important laptops have become to our college existence. They help us reduce paper waste, take better, faster notes, and allow us to search thousands of documents. It is therefore incumbent upon us to be responsible in how we use electronics for our own education, taking into consideration the preferences and demands of our fellow students and the wishes of faculty members.

Electronics in the classroom demand more discussion and dialogue across campus. The Miscellany News Editorial Board endorses an examination of laptop use, depending on the class and professor. As long as confusion persists and no clear policy set by professors exists, student and faculty members both suffer. Students may be penalized for a violating a policy they didn’t know existed and laptops may be impediments to our professors’ teaching. Students, on the other hand, have a responsibility to be respectful when using laptops in the classroom. A campuswide discussion presents Vassar with the opportunity to arrive at a consensus that will eliminate the obfuscation regarding technology use in the classroom. The time has come to stop ignoring the presence of laptops and electronics in the classroom and to begin conversations on the advantages, disadvantages, and challenges of etiquette that they present.

—The Staff Editorial reflects the opinions of at least two thirds of the 18-member Miscellany News Editorial Board.

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

News Caitlin Clevenger Aashim Usgaonkar Features Mitchell Gilburne Opinions Joshua Rosen Juan Thompson Humor & Satire Alanna Okun Arts Erik Lorenzsonn Sports Andy Marmer Design Eric Estes Copy Gretchen Maslin Photography Juliana Halpert Online Carrie Hojnicki Social Media Marie Dugo

Assistant Features Matthew Bock Danielle Gensburg Assistant Arts Rachael Borné Assistant Copy Sammy Creath Stephen Loder Assistant Photo Madeline Zappala Crossword Editor Jonathan Garfinkel Reporters Vee Benard Adam Buchsbaum Danielle Bukowski Corey Cohn Mary Huber Evan Lester Shruti Manian Kristine Olson Connor O’Neill Chelsea Peterson- Salahuddin Wilson Platt Joseph Rearick Dave Rosenkranz Jillian Scharr Columnists Michael Mestitz Andy Sussman Nik Trkulja Photographers Katie de Heras Carlos Hernandez Jared Saunders Eric Schuman

LETTERS POLICY

The Miscellany News is Vassar College’s weekly open forum for discussion of campus, local and national issues, and welcomes letters and opinions submissions from all readers. Letters to the Editor should not exceed 450 words, and they usually respond to a particular item or debate from the previous week’s issue.

Opinions articles are longer pieces, up to 800 words, and take the form of a longer column. No letter or opinions article may be printed anonymously. If you are interested in contributing, e-mail misc@vassar.edu.

The Editorial Board holds weekly meetings every Sunday at 9 p.m. in the Rose Parlor. All members of the Vassar community interested in joining the newspaper’s staff or in a critique of the current issue are welcome. The Miscellany News is not responsible for the views presented in the Opinions pages.

The weekly staff editorial is the only article which reflects the opinion of the Editorial Board. The Miscellany News is published weekly by the students of Vassar College. The Miscellany News office is located in College Center Room 303, Vassar College.

December 2, 2010

NEWS

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College launches Sesquicentennial website Committee hosts panel on V student tech Caitlin Clevenger News Editor

assar College’s 150th anniversary website, 150.vassar.edu launched officially on Tuesday, Nov. 30.

President of the College Catharine Bond Hill invited all members of the Vassar community to the website in an e-mail, writing, “I hear so often how Vassar has changed the worlds of our students, faculty, staff and alumnae/i, in ways large and small, earthshaking and quietly transforming. Your connection to Vassar is an important part of the College’s long history. I hope you will share your stories, photos, and videos in the ‘Memories’ section of the site, and come back often to see new content.”

In the “Memories” section, students, alumnae/i and faculty have posted their stories on topics ranging from ghosts to VPrint.

In one story, Geraldine Laybourne ’69 recalls her experience as a member of the Master Planning Committee that prepared Vassar to become a coeducational institution, writing “I am grateful for my Vassar education everyday: it taught me how to question everything, to have my own ideas, to stay engaged and to be collaborative with purpose.” Caitlin Ly ’10 concludes her story about her experience as an athlete and Vassar Student Association President with “my dear alma mater will be close to my heart and always in my mind.” -Memories will be one of the main features of the website. In the “About” section, it is described as an “oral history of the College,” and visitors are invited to participate with the statement, “It won’t be the same without you.”

Vice President for Communications Susan Dekrey wrote in an e-mailed statement, “I think the ‘Memories’ section of the site should be an especially rich section, with contributions from lots of people in the Vassar community.”

Angela Aiuto Senior Editor

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The Sesquicentennial “150” logo, pictured above, has multiple iterations on the College’s 150th anniversary website. When moused over, each logo reveals a different fact about the College.

The content from this part of the site will be archived after Vassar’s 150th anniversary year has completed.

In addition, the site has sections for photography from Vassar’s archives, a timeline of Vassar history, histories of Vassar departments, and a schedule of events celebrating the Sesquicentennial on campus and around the world. The collection of over 350 images from the archives serves as the site’s home page, from the earliest, a drawing of Main Building dating to 1864, they chronicle the changing fashions, technology and traditions up until 2009. In the upper left hand corner, a “150” logo changes in theme to commemorate the achievements of different Vassar alumnae and alumni.

Dekrey gives credit for the site’s design and development to Web Designer Christopher Silverman, with help from the Web Development staff and Director of Web Development Carolyn Guyer. According to an e-mailed statement from Dekrey, “[Silverman] has been working on the site actively since early last spring.”

The launch of the 150 website is the College’s first event in recognition of the College’s 150th year, which will officially begin on Jan. 18, 2011, marking 150 years after Vassar’s chartering by the State of New York. On Jan. 21 the Frederick Ferris Thompson Memorial Library will launch the first campus event commemorating the Sesquicentennial, an exhibition titled, “The Most Perfect Education of Mind, Body and Heart: Vassar and the Liberal Arts.”

Community Works campaign underway Edith Iyer-Hernandez

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Guest Reporter

ccording to the campaign website, “Community Works is a philanthropic campaign whose mission is to provide financial assistance to local not-for-profit organizations.” The 2011 Community Works campaign launched the week of Nov. 22. The program seeks donations from all sectors of the Vassar community, including students and employees. The College ensures that 100 percent of donations go towards the organizations by absorbing the modest costs of running the program.

Each year a Community Works Committee consisting of Vassar students, faculty and staff solicits nominations of eligible organizations from the rest of the Vassar community and reviews each organization in depth, and then the full committee selects 10, or in the case of this year, 11 recipients. In an e-mailed statement, Vassar Student Association Vice President for Operations Ruby Cramer ’12 wrote that “Overall…when considering which organizations should be recipients, we try to identify groups or charities that will take a Community Works gift and essentially put that funding back into the community for the benefit of its residents.” The committee also takes into consideration what percentage of the organization’s budget is used on programming, and this, says Cramer, “helps us gauge whether a Community Works gift will be funding events or programs that will further benefit the Hudson Valley community.” Each program gets 10 percent of the total amount of money raised.

The recipients change every year, but many of this year’s have received shares in the past.

Cramer points out that the Community Works Program enjoys being able to continue to support certain organizations and build relationships with them, yet that they also strive to include new organizations.

This year’s new recipients are Middle Main Revitalization (Hudson River Housing), Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) of the Hudson Valley, Grace Smith House, Poughkeepsie Royals Basketball Club, and Stringendo Orchestra School scholarship program.

GLSEN Hudson Valley is the Hudson Valley

chapter of an organization whose mission (according to its website) is “to assure that each member of every school community is valued and respected regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression.” Among other things, the organization conducts, compiles and presents research, provides anti-suicide services, and gives grants to area LGBTQ school groups.

Grace Smith House is an organization dedicated to raising awareness about domestic violence as well as providing a safe haven to women and their children who are suffering through domestic violence by providing temporary housing, counseling and advocacy.

Poughkeepsie Royals Basketball Club is a program for boys under the age of 17 who are interested in excelling as student athletes. On their website the program says, “we believe our program fills a needed gap in services for youth with an emphasis on sports activity and healthful lifestyle development.”

The Stringendo Orchestra School scholarship program enables students to gain financial assistance to participate in either an orchestra or a fiddle group or attend a summer music program within the Stringendo Orchestra School.

Middle Main Revitalization is a part of Hudson River Housing, which has, in the past, been a recipient of Community Works.

This initiative is dedicated to developing the middle section of Main Street socially, economically and artistically. Community Works is the first formal donation of monies to the program.

As an example of how the organization utilizes the money from Community Works, Middle Main Revitalization will, according to an e-mail sent by the Community Relations Manager Elizabeth Celaya, “use the funding for the following: 1) Expansion of the Middle Main neighborhood website, an interactive social media site that allows for an alterative form of community dialogue, networking, and promotion (www.middlemain.ning.com); 2) Continued development of a series of public events that will allow for dialogue around various community issues, including youth programming, arts enrichment, and cultural contributions (among others) that will take

various forms such as panel presentations, film screenings, art exhibits and hands-on volunteer projects. These events will be branded under the name “Open House Poughkeepsie”; 3) Development of neighborhood promotional materials that will increase awareness of the neighborhood’s assets and encourage more resident, business and public sector investment.”

The Poughkeepsie Royals Basketball Club and the Stringendo Orchestra School scholarship program are each getting half of the normal share given to recipients. Cramer explains the committee’s reasoning for this in her email: “This year, we felt that…[the two organizations] shared similar mission statements and, because of their sizes, would still benefit greatly from just half a share. The committee felt that this was a great option and we were glad to be able to include two smaller organizations in the campaign without affecting the rest of the recipients.”

Until 2001, Vassar contributed to the Dutchess County United Way campaign, another organization dedicated to raising money for non-profit organizations in Dutchess County. But according to Vice President for College Relations and Community Works Committee member Susan Dekrey, “There was growing concern on campus about the fact that the Dutchess United Way was continuing to fund the Boy Scouts of America, which chose to exercise its legal right to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation.” Vassar College has a strong nondiscrimination policy and to support an organization that retains its right to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation would mean Vassar does not adhere to its own policies. In order to maintain its commitment to giving back to the community, but discontinue its support of discriminatory policies, Vassar developed the Community Works program.

Fundraising is underway; all students have received letters asking them to contribute and all members of the Vassar community are invited to attend the Community Works Harvest Dinner on Dec. 7 at 5:30 p.m. in Ely Hall’s Aula, which will feature entertainment from RealSkills, a Community Works recipient.

Since its start in 2001, the campaign has donated $750,000 to recipients.

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

tudents, faculty and administrators converged in the College Center Multi Purpose Room on Tuesday to attend “Technology at Vassar: ‘What Are We Doing in the Classroom,’” a panel discussion about students’ use of technology in the classroom. The event was sponsored by the Committee for Academic Technology (CAT).

The panel, which was moderated by Associate Professor of Sociology and Chair of CAT, Leonard Nevarez, included the perspectives of both students and educators. The panelists were Assistant Professor of Art Andrew Tallon; Kelsey Forest ’11, a student intern in the Media Studies Department; Cordelia McGee-Tubb ’11, creator of “One Two Six Oh Four,” a popular campus blog; Adam Newman ’11, the founder of ACCESS and a member of the Committee on Disability Issues; and Marie Dugo ’11, a media studies major. [Disclosure: Dugo is the social media editor of The Miscellany News.]

The idea for the panel arose, in part, out of CAT discussions. “We occasionally hear concerns from faculty about distractions that laptops [and other personal electronic devices] cause in the classroom,” Nevarez wrote in an e-mailed statement.

Vice President of Computer Information Services Bret Ingerman had separately suggested that CAT consider proposing a college-wide laptop policy specifying what rights students have to use technology in the classroom, according to Nevarez. “We quickly dismissed the wisdom of creating a college-wide policy because its not in our authority to establish one by fiat,” he explained, “and because faculty deliberation of such a proposal would first need a broader range of perspectives than would be raised in a 15-20 minute period of a faculty meeting.”

Forest kicked off the panel by addressing what she termed the “myth of student distraction.”

“I do think there’s a heavy bias towards assuming that if a student is on a laptop or a personal phone, that they are doing something that is personal and not related to class,” she stated.

Dugo agreed, adding, “I would encourage professors, if you think a student in your class is just completely disengaged, [to] talk to them about it,” she suggested.

Tallon disagreed. “From my point of view, it’s purely distractive,” he said, worrying that technology and the multi-tasking it encourages may have a negative impact on students’ attention spans. “I fear that by asking students to bring these technologies in to the classroom to fill their academic time…with business, that we contribute as educators to the erosion of their ability to think.”

Newman opined that it isn’t the faculty’s responsibility to ensure that students remain engaged despite the presence of technology. “If I’m distracting myself, I’m devaluing my education.

It’s my problem.”

“That’s a rather selfish approach to the cohesiveness that you need to make a classroom function,” countered Tallon, suggesting that personal computer use could detract from class discussions.

McGee-Tubb agreed, noting that laptops don’t just distract the user, but also fellow students. “I personally don’t bring my laptop to class … So instead what I do in class is sit around and watch everyone else use their computers,” she joked.

While all panelists acknowledged that personal devices can complicate the classroom experience, several panelists acknowledged that they might also enhance it. Newman emphasized that laptops and other devices can be a necessity for students with disabilities. Dugo argued that personal technology could be more helpful in some departments than in others. “I think we need to recognize that this issue is a class by class, case by case, person by person basis,” she suggested.

While the panel obviously did not resolve the issues that personal technology has brought to the classroom, Nevarez sees it as a first step. “CAT wanted to do something besides create more policy and make more decisions,” he wrote following the event. “The College-wide conversation between students, faculty and administrators that today’s event has hopefully started is, we think, a much more productive outcome for this kind of issue.”

NEWS

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December 2, 2010

In wake of assault, administrators Aula, Students’ Building advise students on safety measures top contenders for space ASSAULT continued from page 1 place in the computer room of an unspecified residential dormitory at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 23.

The suspect, who was identified as a 5’10” student-aged male with no facial hair, entered the cluster and began to physically accost a female student. He then blocked her from exiting from the room and began to masturbate in front of her. The female student was able to escape and sought the help of a fellow student.

“The first thing our officers asked him was, ‘How did you get into the residence hall?” reported Marsala, adding that “it is most likely that the [perpetrator] piggybacked in.”

Piggybacking, or the act of entering a dorm through a door which has been unlocked by a previous entrant, may also explain how the accused entered a secure computer room. The suspect responded to initial interrogation by Vassar’s officers and admitted that he had followed Vassar students into buildings after they had swiped their Vassar College Identification Cards.

To assist the Police Department in its investigations, Marsala’s office is now “following up with the students involved in Sunday’s arrest.”

If the individual is identified as the one responsible for the assault, the exact action Vassar will take is unclear at this point: “We don’t know if the student wants to press charges; if not, we will close the case, but the

suspect will still be in custody on the outstanding charge. There may still be other Vassar charges pending,” said Marsala. These charges, which may include trespassing, would only be pressed when all required investigations are complete. Another allcampus advisory e-mail will be sent out at this point to keep the Vassar community updated about all developments.

In the all-campus advisory e-mail, Marsala listed ways in which Vassar students could come forward to aid Safety and Security in this and other investigations that may be required in the future, asking community members to “feel free to report any persons or activities that they feel might be suspicious to the Campus Response Center (CRC) at (845) 437-5221 and we’ll investigate immediately.”

Marsala also advises students “not to confront anyone piggybacking into the houses themselves; instead, give us a call and we’ll check the person out.”

Other than security, Vassar is equipped with other ways of responding to such incidents such as professional and peer counseling.

His e-mail contained a link to Vassar’s Sexual Assault and Violence Prevention (SAVP) program, which deals with cases such as the one that took place last week. The program, which aims to “prevent sexual assault, domestic violence, relationship abuse and stalking crimes on

our campus,” can be reached at savp.vassar.edu. Students may also contact Counseling and Assistance in Response to Rape and Exploitive Sexual Activity (CARES), a studentrun calling service that aims counseling students who have felt any form of personal violation.

While instances of concern such as this have happened before, students seemed particularly concerned that the event took place within a residence hall and not in the open. This is why certain steps have been taken to secure Vassar’s dormitories, according to the Office of Residential Life.

“In light of the incident,” Director of Residential Life Luis Inoa asks “students to utilize the resources available to them—friends, House Team, Security, Campus Patrol” in an e-mailed statement. “[Students should] call Security if they see someone, Vassar related or not, behaving in a manner that is concerning. I think it is important to note that I mention “Vassar related” because we need to understand that most often Vassar students are harmed by other Vassar students,” wrote Inoa in an e-mailed statement.

In terms of future action that the College will take, Inoa claims that he has “notified the House Advisors of the matter and have encouraged them to discuss this with their house teams.” “I would like them to stress that safety is a communal matter and it starts with being able to call each other out on destructive and harm-

SPACE continued from page 1 where students can hang out with friends and be free of pressure to drink to have fun. This committee consists of Hill and Roellke’s student interns, VSA Vice President for Activities Tanay Tatum ’12, Director of Campus Activities Terry Quinn, Associate Director of Campus Activities Michelle Ransom and Senior Director of Campus Dining Maureen King.

“It has been a discussion that’s been around for a while,” said Quinn, who is excited to be working with the committee to meet a longstanding need.

When the College built the Students’ Building, it was originally intended as a place for students to socialize. “But,” she said, “it doesn’t have the right kind of environment; it never really captured the essence of what we were trying to do there. It’s evolved into a programmed space, and it’s great for that.”

So Quinn and the rest of the committee went about defining their vision of a space for students that is free of programming and alcohol. As a group, they agreed on certain elements that would attract students, including music, food, televisions, ping-pong and a generally relaxed atmosphere. “They all said conversation is important, that the music not be too loud. And it will not be a space where organizations are permitted to do any programming,” said Quinn. “Consistency is something I can’t stress enough, so you won’t go and find that the space is being used for something.” There are no specific plans yet as to how the space will be staffed.

Tatum agreed, saying, “I really wanted it to be a hangout space for students; most other colleges have a student center. I wanted it to have anything that would attract students to hang out on the weekend.”

The hope is that the absence of party programming will make it a comfortable space for students who don’t want to drink on nights when many students do. From the beginning, the committee was committed to creating “the type of environment where you wouldn’t feel like you had to participate in any kind of pre-gaming,” said Quinn.

But finding the right space is complicated, even for a project generated by students’ concerns and backed strongly by the administration. Two leading candidates, the Aula and the Students’ Building, each have their own limitations. The Aula is short on storage space and culinary facilities, and the Students’ Building is continually used for programming. “We flipflopped,” said Quinn, noting that she hopes to present a report to Roellke and Hill that describes a tentative budget for each of the potential locations by the end of the week. Tatum added, “Based on the last conversation, the group was leaning towards the Aula, because we wouldn’t want to interrupt all the student programming that goes on in [the second floor of the Students’ Building].” Still, she says, the committee can only recommend spaces to Roellke and Hill, who will ultimately determine the location of the space.

College hopes to break ground for sciences in 2013

See SCIENCE on page 4 SCIENCE continued from page 1 for its sustainable design.

“Thus far, the science design process has focused on large-scale schematic planning—ideal adjacencies of related spaces, locations of key program elements, and assignments of departments and facilities to particular building areas,” wrote Dean of the Faculty Jon Chenette in an e-mailed statement. “During the next phase of planning, known as design development, many detailed aspects of the science facilities layout and design will be determined.”

Two departments that will be moving to the Academic Quadrangle for the first time are computer science and psychology. “We are managing to accommodate computer science in the project, something that didn’t seem possible at one point in time, which is great because of the close connections between computer science and the other sciences,” said Associate Dean of the Faculty and Chair of the Science Facility Planning Committee Marianne Begemann.

Professor of Computer Science and Chair of the department Jennifer Walter added, “It also helps make us a little more visible to students.

Just having more students pass through would increase our popularity.”

As with other science departments, both Computer Science and Psychology report that they have simply outgrown their current spaces.

“I think we grew out of our space here a long time ago,” said Professor of Psychology and Chair of the department Randy Cornelius of the space in Blodgett Hall. “We’re ready to go.”

According to Cornelius the range of work that takes place in psychology, which often overlaps with other departments in and out of the natural sciences, calls for spaces that are both more accommodating and more flexible to the changing nature of research.

“We have a lot of different needs,” he said.

“We’re going to be able to design our laboratories from the walls in.”

The end goal of the project also includes the demolition of Mudd Chemistry building in favor of creating more up-to-date lab spaces.

Though it won design awards soon after its establishment in 1984, the practical problems with

Mudd are now widely acknowledged. The roof and building envelope leak, partly as a result of an awkward meeting of materials throughout the building. The steel, brick and glass components of the building expand and contract in different temperatures, making the building less than water-tight and difficult to seal. Inside, the ceiling heights are no longer up to current standards, and space for new equipment is rapidly running out.

“Every major system has been run past its normal lifetime,” said Associate Professor of Chemistry and Chair of the Chemistry Department Eric Eberhardt. “I really think the project is going to be transformative for student-faculty science research.”

In his own research space, Eberhardt pointed to how new equipment is packed into the lab taking up counter space that would otherwise be used for work, and he gestured towards a thin layer of now-dry mud that seeped in with rainwater.

This contrasts greatly with the facilities that will be created in the new building, which will include more than double the square footage of lab space available in Mudd per faculty member, literally giving the program room to explore new areas of research. After considering how the space might be renovated rather than torn down, the College determined that it would cost more to upgrade Mudd than to build new facilities along with renovating other buildings.

According to both Eberhardt and Cornelius, members of the science faculty have been involved in the process of planning for new facilities since it started about six years ago. In that time, the departments have undergone studies of their space needs and met with the architects to share their space requirements and respond to designs. “They’ve made changes based on what we’ve said, which is really nice and encouraging,” said Walter.

The relocation of psychology does mean the relocation of the multidisciplinary programs currently housed in New England Building to a location that is yet to be determined. The prospect of the move has caused concern among the faculty in the programs, and overall there is agreement among the directors that the programs should remain grouped after they move.

“What’s really important from our perspective

is to stay together,” said Associate Professor of Hispanic Studies and Director of the Media Studies Program Eva Woods Peiró.

There is also a connection that some directors expressed between the programs and New England Building itself. “People know that New England is the Multidisciplinary building,” said Peiró.

“People identify space with institutionalization.”

In addition to staying together, the programs hope that the architectural advantages of New England Building will be replicated in their new location. A memo, which Begemann wrote to Chenette and Dean of Planning and Academic Affairs Rachel Kitzinger on behalf of the multidisciplinary subcommittee of the Committee on Curricular Policy, requests that the programs undergo a “space utilization/programming study” before moving, that they move into a final home rather than swing space as soon as they leave New England, and that the budget for the project include some allowance for the renovation of the programs’ new space.

“Over the coming months, we will initiate a planning process for the facilities needs of the multidisciplinary programs,” wrote Chenette.

“Program directors have articulated clearly that they would like to see the programs currently housed in New England remain together and located centrally on campus. We need to consider a range of options and come up with a plan that preserves as much as possible of the fruitful encounters and collaborations that arise from the current arrangement of the multidisciplinary programs in New England. We can’t yet say what that solution will be.”

The revision of plans that introduced New England to the project took place over the summer and was necessitated by the estimated costs of the project. While the entire project with the major addition on Sanders Physics was estimated at about $140 million, the prospective cost of the current plan is about $110 million.

The financial burden will be split between donations and future debt that the College plans to take on. According to Vice President for Alumnae/i Affairs and Development Cathy Baer, the College hopes to raise between $40 and $50 million towards the project, and is already at about $25 million. The fundraising efforts for the

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

sciences will be a pillar of the development campaign that will officially launch in Vassar’s Sesquicentennial year.

According to Baer, the goal of a 2013 groundbreaking brings both motivation and excitement to the project. “It gives us a sort of urgency in talking to people and that support now is critical to making this a reality,” she said.

The cost and scope of the project represent a significant investment in Vassar’s science programs that aims to both meet current needs of the science disciplines and to extend the goals of interdepartmental work. Even as the plan for a single, connected complex has shifted to a cluster of buildings, opportunities for collaborative work remain essential to the project.

These ideas have been incorporated through the inclusion of lab space dedicated to the development of new research projects and curricula and through more informal spaces where students and faculty might meet to share ideas.

“These spaces will be available not only for intra divisional collaborations but for inter divisional collaborations as well,” added Begemann.

Walter, Eberhardt and Cornelius all said that collaborations are already taking place in the science curriculum, and having new facilities will only encourage more of it.

“Many schools would build the building and hope the program would follow,” said Baer. “We have that already and need the physical space that really does support it.”

Kitzinger emphasized the need for the science facilities for the institution as a whole and not just for a select population of students and faculty. “I think Vassar has a very strong reputation for the arts and for the social sciences, and doing this will bring that reputation more fully into balance,” said Kitzinger, and Begemann added that this reputation is perhaps misguided when 25 percent of Vassar students major in the natural sciences, and many more participated in the science curriculum.

“It is a mistake to think of this project as serving the sciences instead of serving the College’s liberal arts curriculum,” said Kitzinger. “To me what we’ve achieved and what I hope we continue to achieve is a sense of the whole communities of knowledge and the value of the intellectual life

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December 2, 2010

Page 5

Probing cyber bullying and the online disinhibition effect Carrie Hojnicki

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Online Editor

SA sucks,” writes an anonymous commenter on OMG Vassar, an anonymous forum self-branded as an “underground info site.”

To some, this is needlessly inflammatory; to others, it’s the First Amendment.

On Nov. 29 The New York Times ran an opinions piece by Facebook product design manager Julie Zhou titled, “Where Anonymity Breeds Contempt,” in which the author strongly denounced the cyber practice of trolling, or the posting of inflammatory, extraneous or intentionally provocative comments in an online community. Zhou’s definition is subjective, of course, but what it achieves is the application of a concrete critique to the ambiguous, and now ubiquitous world of cyber anonymity.

Since the dawn of the cyber age, the potential for anonymous online participation has been infinite. And for many, the abandonment of identity is synonymous with the abandonment of morals, a concept that scientists now call the “online disinhibition effect,” or the skewing of a commenter’s real-life ethical judgment. And this increased virtual aggression has not come without tangible consequences: Just this fall a Rutgers University freshman committed suicide after his roommate broadcast his sexual exploits over cyber space. This instance and others have put the question of cyber ethics at the forefront

of university dialogue. How can this be regulated and who should be responsible for the regulation?

Cyber regulation is not new to Vassar College. On page 126 of the College’s rules and regulations is a section entitled “Computer Regulations” that details the appropriate usage of the Vassar computing network. But with the recent formation of the Committee on College Life’s (CCL) Cyber Ethics Subcommittee, questions of the clause’s effectiveness have been raised.

According to Associate Dean of the College for Campus Life and Diversity Ed Pittman, who is at the vanguard of the CCL Cyber Ethics Subcommittee, the question is within the wording of the clause which fails to differentiate exclusively the consequences and guidelines surrounding digital harassment.

“The current wording just describes the regulations within Vassar that govern [communication on campus], the same regulations apply to something that might be said over the computer as they would in another context. This is one of the things we’re going to look at in CCL and other places, whether we need more direct language.”

Associate Dean of the College for Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action and CCL member Belinda Guthrie characterized this “directness,” citing areas within the current regulatory language that could benefit from increased clarity.

“I would like for the policy statement to say a bit more about cyberethics, cyber harassment, and responsibility in an academic, residential community,” explained Guthrie in an e-mailed statement. “I believe Vassar’s existing regulations effectively address computer ethics violations: Cyberstalking (23.02), Disruptive Conduct (7.02 and 7.03), and Discrimination and Harassment (Section 6).”

But Guthrie, Pittman and other members of the Vassar community recognize that such a change in language is not necessarily enough to induce a change in student behavior, especially on such a complicated front.

“Ultimately, cyber-bullying doesn’t befall a community because of a lack of regulations or punitive consequences. At Vassar, even with a significant change to College Regulations, we’d still have community members abusing cyber ethics on websites, blogs and other forums,” explained Vassar Student Association (VSA) Vice President for Operations Ruby Cramer ’12. “Even on the VSA’s blog, VSA Today, we’ve had to moderate comments which have been offensive. That’s just the culture of anonymity, and—without mandating commenters to identify themselves—there’s very little we can do about it.”

In the fall of the 2008 when the divisively tumultuous Kick Coke campaign, which aimed to cease the sale of Coca-Cola brand products on campus due to ethical and health concerns,

became the keystone of campus dialogue, angry students sought precisely these anonymous channels to express their opinions. The problem was, what came out was nasty, not characteristically “Vassar,” recounted first-hand witness Max Kutner ’11, the student-blogger responsible for the Mads Vassar Blog.

“I had always had anonymous commenting on [MadsVassar] and then around the time of the Kick Coke campaign, I started getting hundreds of comments and the blog turned into a message board,” explained Kutner. “Some of [the comments] were constructive, some of them were not and some of them would point out certain individuals.”

After pressure from The Miscellany News Editorial Board, the student body and Dean of the College Chris Roellke, Kutner revoked anonymous commenting and instated a login system.

Since then, he has reported a significant decrease in malicious messaging on Mads Vassar with the unforeseen consequence of a decrease in commenting in general and a change in his readership.

But Vice President of Computing and Information Services Bret Ingerman argues that the solution to online cruelty runs deeper than regulation.

“Part of [solving this] is education—encouraging people to behave as they would in person,” explained Ingerman. “Policies should educate people of the hurtfulness of cyber bullying.”

Ethics of Adderall abuse remain murkily defined, unexplored

Courtesy of New York Daily News

ADDERALL continued from page 1 drugs occupy a space so elusively defined that it is currently intangible to administrative oversight?

In response to the a question about the hesitancy to officially recognize the prevalence of the use and abuse of study drugs, Dean of Students Benjamin Lotto said, “I have no information about that, those are choices that students make in the privacy of their dorm room.” While none deny that these substances are being used on campus, definitive numbers concerning prescription drug abuse are elusive, leaving the College hesitant to quantify or define the issue even as it actively seeks an understanding of abuses such as those surrounding underage drinking.

Vassar Student Association Town Students Representative Maya Acevedo ’11, however, believes that the prevalence of study drugs at Vassar is something that is approaching the point of normalcy for students.

“I think there’s a lot of prescription abuse on campus,” she began. “Because these drugs are prescribed to some people they are so accessible to the extent that people will be sold out immediately around finals time.”

Acevedo references the possibilities of buying from a dealer, or taking a pill from a friend with a valid prescription as readily available channels for students to gain access to these substances.

When considering study drugs, the most prominently voiced concern from the College was that pertaining to the potential health risks associated with the practice. Dean of Students David “D.B.” Brown explained, “I worry because if you’re using something that’s prescribed you won’t know what the side effects will be, and it’s not yours.”

Lotto added, “If a student is introduced to this choice, there’s a health issue and the student needs to weigh the health impacts of making a choice like that.” Acevedo cites her lack of knowledge of the long term side effects of drugs such as Adderall as the turning point in her decision to not take such drugs. She added, “Just because a doctor prescribes it, doesn’t mean it’s safe.”

Brown extends the issue, noting the legal complications implicit in the abuse of study drugs. “The issue

The increasing use of “study drugs” like Adderall and Ritalin have sparked a debate over whether such practices constitute cheating. Members of the Vassar community remain undecided on the ethical implications of the use of focus-enhancing drugs. is that you are using someone else’s prescription,” he clarifies. “Not only is this illegal, but whoever is giving it to you is distributing drugs.” Responding to the legal issue, however, is mired in the same obstacles that allow other illicit substances to infiltrate campus. “The trouble is we’re not going to go room to room, there’s not going to be a sweep. Any drugs, any information that we have for the use, distribution or sale of anything illegal we respond to,” noted Brown.

However, Brown points out that the College is in the position to take action against students who are found to be illegally in the possession of any substance. “[Students in the possession of study drugs] are equally in violation of College regulations. The sanction that you might get if you are doing them might vary, [but] the sale of drugs is illegal regardless of what it is. It’s not like one is more okay than the other.”

Lotto, however, is more concerned with ethical implications of study

drug abuse. “If you’re separating out the legal issues you’re really talking about the ethics of choices that impact your health, the ethics of choices regarding dishonesty and honesty.

You’re really talking about the same considerations that we all give to all of our considerations everyday.”

Acevedo herself is aware of the complicated ethics surrounding the use of study drugs and confesses, “I made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t use any [study drugs] this year in writing my thesis; a big part of it is to see if I can do it on my own.”

It is when the issues of legality and prescription are temporarily suspended that the ethics surrounding the use of performance enhancing drugs, as it were, becomes murky.

“Suppose we had a documented case of a student using this drug to help them study for an exam and they’re brought up on these charges. How does this compare to coffee, [Red Bull] or even cocaine?” said Lotto of the issues complications. Associate

Dean of the College for Campus Life Edward Pittman wonders whether or not a focus-enhancing drug is simply drawing from one’s natural abilities rather than imparting a new talent, while Brown maintains that so long as study drugs are producing an effect that can be replicated, at least to a degree, by legal substances such as caffeine, that it is difficult to fully condemn the use of so called “study drugs.” It seems that so long as legal avenues for performance enhancement exist, the case against Adderall from the perspective of academic integrity will be an uphill battle.

Further complicating the issue, Acevedo calls into question the potential place of study drugs as a tool that connects the modern student’s digitally enhanced, instant gratification driven, terminally multitasking lifestyle with the traditions and expectations of academia. “There is no talk about the amount of stress that students are under that force them to resort to [study drugs.]” She contin-

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

ues, “I think the prevalence of study drugs is a product of our fast paced culture.” Acevedo added that students are further driven towards artificial enhancement due to the lack of “recognition for doing it all on your own.”

But is it cheating? For Brown, the answer is no. He again stresses the legal component as central to the conversation: “I think that if you’re using something that is illegal for the effects it will give you, then you’re breaking a law.”

Lotto, too, is unwilling to make a blanket statement concerning a potential administrative position on the use of study drugs. “My initial thought is that it’s not a black and white question, and it really needs to be thought through.” He continues, “These drugs have a legitimate purpose for students who have been diagnosed with conditions that make these drugs appropriate. Now you’re talking about sort of a kind of spectrum, and there are clearly some instances where using this drug is okay that are sanctioned by medical professionals. It seems to be complicated enough that I wouldn’t want to say, ‘This is cheating.’”

Lotto goes on to address the perceived hesitancy on the part of the administration to vocalize a position on the issue of study drugs. He explains, “At Vassar we try to promote ethical decision making, healthy living, but we don’t say, ‘Don’t choose this, don’t choose that.’ This is a deeply ingrained Vassar sensibility that students make their own choices on their own and face the consequences of that.” He concludes, “The consequences of drug use are medical, legal and personal.” Acevedo further defines the culture surrounding study drugs as one dependent on the modern emphasis placed on academic success. “There’s a self valuation,” she says, “that is based on how you do as a student. One thing I have learned is that I am not my grades. Most of us have been students since we were five and we can only identify as such.”

She concludes, “I think that when I finish my thesis without a pill, I will feel really good about myself. I know that I can do it; it just takes allowing myself the time to get lost and then find myself again.”

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December 2, 2010

Performance organizations Carino family force behind vary in audition methods popular, nearby Pizzeria Bacio Jillian Scharr

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Reporter

Madeline Zappala/The Miscellany News

orget papers and tests; auditions may be the most nerve-wracking experience that Vassar students undergo.

Whether it’s singing, dancing or acting, interested students almost always have to go through an audition before they can perform with a group. And though this process is often dominated by the aspirations of incoming freshman, that is not to say that there exists no opportunity for upperclassmen who wish to engage in a bit of 11th hour participation.

Not all auditions, however, were created equally. The various performancebased organizations on campus conduct try-outs in very different ways.

The theater groups Philaletheis, Unbound and Future Waitstaff of America hold auditions for each production. The members of the organizations themselves form a “production board,” as Unbound facilitator Michael Hirsch ’11 explained, which oversees the projects for the group as a whole and facilitates each production. At the beginning of each semester, would-be directors come before the boards and submit proposals for a production. The board votes to choose which plays to produce, and then auditions are almost entirely up to the discretion of that director.

“Anybody can apply to direct a show,” said Hirsch, “and Unbound is unique in that we do not require prior directing experience. So I had the opportunity to direct under Unbound my freshman year…

Often, it is the Unbound board members who are directors, but we still leave that opportunity available for those who want to give it a try.”

Both the a cappella groups and the comedy groups hold a Preview Show each September to exhibit their organizations’ unique styles. Interested students audition immediately after that, and swiftly go through the paces of thrill and disappointment that characterize the process.

Membership in these groups tends to be “once in, always in”; members do not re-audition from year to year. The groups generally only hold spring auditions if there’s a significant need; as Broadway and More member Sarah Rebell ’11 explains, “If you have three sopranos who are all going abroad, you’ll need another soprano.”

Unlike a capella groups, some performance groups see a large member turnover from audition to audition. The leaders of student-run Camerata Orchestra and Choir choose which pieces they plan to perform for that semester, and then hold auditions based on the instrumental needs of that set. “Our membership changes actually pretty drastically from semester to semester, due to changes in people’s schedules, JYA, as well as the differences in instrumentation needed for each concert program,” Camerata Orchestra director Ellen DeGennaro ’12 wrote in an e-mailed statement.

“Because Baroque music is very technically accessible, we are able to accept most interested players, depending on our repertoire,” DeGennaro wrote. “In most cases, the auditions are only for me to hear people and determine what their style of playing is like so that I can put them in an appropriate seat.”

And some groups don’t hold auditions at all. In the tap-dancing performance group On Tap, “people self-report their past experience and then in the first meeting of every semester we gauge who’s at what level and go from there,” said On Tap President Cali Calarco ’11.

“We’re a pretty new VSA organization,” said Calarco, “and when we were writing our charter we wanted specifically to include as many people as we can, and we didn’t want to make auditions part of the group…[so] we have taken complete beginners and they have performed with us in our final show.”

For the groups that err towards selectivity, the actual audition processes can also vary greatly, depending on the groups’ needs. Improv leader Kate Thulin ’11 explains their auditions: “We warm them up a little bit, play a fun little game…then we teach them two games and they do them for us, and we evaluate based on how well they followed instructions, how well they handle doing improv [without] trying too hard, because it’s a weird skill.”

Aside from general singing talent, a capella group Measure 4 Measure looks for an “ability to blend with the group,” wrote member Lillie McDonough ’11 in an e-mailed statement. “The voice should be versatile such that it should be distinctive as a soloist, but not pop out when part of a group.”

Nearly all of the groups use a second round of auditions to make a final decision. For example, explains Fly People member Caitlyn Lamdin ’11, “At the first audition…we teach a part of a group dance, which is something everybody has to do in Fly People, so no matter what, if they get in, they’re going to do it. Then if they get a callback we do different sessions from different styles, so we get to see…maybe this person is really bad at modern but maybe they can really shake it at hip-hop.

So that’s one way we try to make it fair.”

Talent is not always the only thing that groups look for in an audition. For “once in, always in” organizations, the candidate must also mesh well with current members. Explains Thulin, “The group needs to be tight and we need to get a good look at people for talent, for potential, and whether or not they’re going to be a good fit [in Improv]…Making things up on the spot is contingent on profound trust of your partner to support you, to be able to gauge where you’re coming from and to follow your train of thought.”

“In every student-run group you have to think about the dynamics of the group because you’re going to be with each other all the time,” said Lamdin. “Part of [Fly People’s] mission statement is to be this fun booty-shaking group, so I think we really do kind of look for people who fit that bill in certain ways.”

Sometimes, groups ask candidates to try out again at a later date. “A year or two can really help, and we see that” said Shakespeare Troupe member Kristen Schau ’12, whose organization holds auditions on a group-membership basis, not by show. “Sometimes you have freshmen who you see they’re going to be so good after doing a couple more shows. I’ve gone up to people and [said], ‘Please audition again next year because I thought you were really good.’”

The groups also addressed claims that their organizations can be “cliquey,” exclusive, or dominated by tendencies towards nepotism.

“There is definitely a theater community at Vassar that’s very present,” said Hirsch, “and Unbound certainly falls into that.” Hirsch, however, is careful to maintain that, “at the same time there are occurrences where people audition who haven’t done theater in a really long time, and there’s certainly a lot of people within student theater who do it solely as a hobby…I really do think that given the fact that [Unbound is] willing to let people act and direct without [prior] experience definitely creates an opportunity for anybody who’s interested to give it a shot.”

“No one’s ever gotten in just because they’re friends [with a current member],” said Lamdin. “Fly People has gotten so competitive that no one would be able to get in just because of that.”

“We [Broadway and More a capella] only sing Broadway music,” pointed out Rebell with a laugh. “That means that the process is already kind of self-selecting…

I think there is a certain type of person who wants to spend their time singing such specific music.”

Owner Gerardo Carino, pictured above, prepares food in the kitchen of Pizzeria Bacio Ristorante on Collegeview Avenue. Carino runs the popular restaurant with his brother, Frank, and his nephew, David.

Matthew Bock

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Assistant Features Editor

ince it opened in September of 2008 on Collegeview Avenue, Pizzeria Bacio Ristorante has occupied an important position in the Vassar community. Droves of loyal students travel in flocks for their plain, pepperoni, and buffalo chicken slices; many, having programmed the Bacio’s number into their cell phones, conveniently order a pie to their dorm rooms, apartments and townhouses.

“Of all the businesses around here,” owner Gerardo Carino said, “we are the most popular.

The school has also told us that we make the most money off the V-Cash system.” One Vassar student, Carino reported, visited Bacio’s 39 times over the course of two months; she was given a free slice as a reward.

Bacio’s is a family business. Gerardo Carino owns the store with his brother, Frank Carino, and his nephew, David Carino, who split their time working and overseeing its management, although David and Frank both work in construction during the daytime. The three collaboratively decided on Collegeview Avenue as Bacio’s location because of its proximity to the Vassar campus.

Many of the employees—Richie, “The Bacio’s Delivery Guy” among them—found work at the store because of their connection to the Carinos. This creates an enthusiasm amd intimacy that would, perhaps, otherwise be absent.

“I love working for Bacio’s,” Richie said. “And I’ve known the Carino family since the early ’90s when I used to work for [one of their relatives] in the Bronx.”

Gerardo Carino is the only one of his family members who possesses a background in the restaurant business, and as such, he explained, “everybody follows his rules.” He was the former owner of the popular restaurant Tiramisu Café in nearby Hopewell, N.Y. and started making pizza pies when he was 15-years-old after emigrating from Naples with his family in 1981. He reports that he enjoys making pasta dishes most of all: rigatoni bolognese, fettucini alfredo, penne a la vodka, to name just a few that are available at Bacio’s. “Everything we make and use here is fresh,” Carino added. “From the chicken, to the pizza dough—all the cheese is part-skim, all the vegetables are fresh—nothing canned.” Carino’s grandmother taught him how to make the celebrated sauce and pizza dough that he now uses in his Bacio’s pies—an unusual dough that is, he reports for those not already aware, 25 percent whole wheat. He says that he is also willing to pass his recipes on to interested Vassar students.

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

“I like the Vassar kids. They’re not troublemakers. If they do something wrong they’re always polite back. They apologize a hundred times,” Carino noted. “I’ve also had Vassar kids who forget to pay, and they always come back the next day. I’ve had kids come in here and speak Italian when they are learning it. I’m glad to talk with them.”

Richie the delivery man added, “it’s a great experience to be delivering to Vassar students.

The kids are great—they’re young, they’re full of life, they know how to have fun, and they love the pizza. I see their eyes light up when I deliver the food. I feel like a rockstar driving around with the Bacio’s light on top of my truck.”

It was, in fact, members of last year’s graduating class who suggested to Carino that he extend Bacio’s operating hours from 1 a.m. to 4 a.m. in order to better cater to the lifestyle of the College’s students. Carino implemented the suggestion and is thankful he did so; the extended hours have brought an increased amount of business to the store, and have allowed students to grab satisfying slices of pizza after long nights of studying.

“Bacio’s is the perfect end to a night out,” Lizzie McLean ’13, a self-professed Bacio’s fan, remarked. “The employees are always friendly and calmly handle crowds of Vassar students.

I love running into friends and enjoying a hot slice of Neapolitan or chicken Parmesan pizza.”

Being open so late at night, Bacio’s caters to a rowdy, often intoxicated, crowd. Carino observed, “One time a girl went into the bathroom and put a skirt on top of her dress. I also saw a few kids puke on themselves when they were eating. Usually, nothing like that happens, though.”

Bacio’s caters many of the school’s extracurricular gatherings—the Community Works dinner, the Vassar Haiti Project benefits, the Relay for Life events—free of cost. “Because the kids from the school give so much to us,” Carino remarked, “we like to give back to the school.”

When asked about the future of Bacio’s, Carino said that there are potential plans to expand the pizzeria by building a deck in the driveway next to the store which would allow for outdoor dining in the warmer months.

Whether or not this change will be effected, Bacio’s will undoubtedly maintain its studentfriendly atmosphere. Carino hopes, in fact, to decorate the pizzeria’s walls with plaques of students who have befriended him and his employees, chronicling the graduation of each Vassar class.

December 2, 2010

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Challah for Hunger cooks for a cause, rises to the occasion Danielle Bukowski Reporter

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Katie De Heras/The Miscellany News

ump day can be hard, so when traditional stress-relievers just don’t shake the midweek blues, stop by the Bayit between 3 and 7 p.m. to release stress by making challah.

Vassar’s chapter of Challah for Hunger bakes the traditional Jewish bread every Wednesday afternoon to sell in the College Center on Thursdays. If the prospect of pounding dough in a bowl and getting covered in flour isn’t reason enough to go, there is always the fact that the money from each piece of challah sold goes to a great cause.

Half of the profits are donated to the American Jewish World Service’s Sudan Relief and Advocacy Fund, which provides aid in Darfur, and the other half is given to the Dutchess Community Outreach Center, which provides various humanitarian aid services in the area.

Executive Board member and Coordinator Emma Coates-Finke ’11 explained the organization’s philanthropic focus. “It’s an important time to support this cause because Southern Sudan is about to vote on whether or not to secede from the North, and they are not set up at all for a peaceful separation.” she added, “Each chapter also chooses a local organization to donate the other half of their proceeds to, and we’ve chosen Dutchess Outreach.”

The Bayit, home to the Vassar Jewish Union, is located on Collegeview Avenue right behind North Lot. The group members make the dough between 3 and 5 p.m., and then braid and bake between 5 and 7 p.m. The members are all friendly; they’ve come because they want to help a good cause, because they enjoy baking, or both. Coates-Finke said, “We make a huge amount of bread; it’s fun to be a part of the process. You learn how to bake bread, and get to experiment with different flavors. It’s a very fun community.” Each week Challah for Hunger bakes and sells 50 loaves. They normally sell out.

In addition to baking and selling challah, the organization writes letters to the President of the United States, various senators, representatives, and other important public figures, regarding Darfur and social issues such as poverty. “We hand-write them; we learned that if advocacy letters are handwritten the readers will pay more attention to them,” said Executive Board member Bianca Pasternack ’11, who is in charge of publicity.

Vassar’s Challah for Hunger, created in 2008, was one of the first chapters in the country.

The national organization began in 2004 with the goal of raising money for victims of poverty and disaster. Coates-Finke was one of the founding members for Vassar’s chapter; the organizations other founder, Rachel Glicksman ’09, heard about the organization while studying abroad. The group is currently comprised of mainly seniors and freshmen. “We have senior leaders, then freshmen with a lot of energy, meaning the group is very fresh.

That can be hard to find among service organizations on campus. I think we do pretty well,” Coates-Finke commented.

As far as service organizations go, Challah for Hunger is fairly low-key. There is no required commitment; some students come and bake every Wednesday, while others will stop by every other month.

I joined the group at the Bayit one Wednesday to learn how challah is made. At 3 p.m. students begin mixing ingredients, kneading the dough until it became elastic—a process of releasing tension for which many students visit. Challah is made with a lot of yeast, so

Challah Bread Makes about 12 10-oz loaves »» 1 1/4 c. (later 2 1/2 more cups) warm water »» 3 3/4 Tbsp. dry yeast (5 packets) »» 3 3/4 Tbsp. sugar »» 1 1/4 c. Sugar »» 1 1/4 Tbsp. salt »» 15 c. flour »» 1 1/4 c. vegetable oil »» 5 eggs (plus one for egg wash) 1. Wash your hands, put up your hair, and put on your aprons!

a portion of the baking process is reserved for letting the dough rise, then punching it back down. By 5 p.m., the dough is ready to be braided. The loaves are placed into the oven after being coated in egg-water mixture, and baked for about 40 minutes. The recipe, reprinted here, may change in the near future as the Executive Board members recently went to a national Challah for Hunger conference where they developed explored the future of the organization, and may switch to the challah recipe used by the national organization. The current recipe is the one the Bayit uses for Jewish services on campus. A taste-test will be conducted, with Vassar students being the ultimate judges of whether it will change or not.

I miss being able to bake, and would probably be a fire hazard if left to my own devices in one of the dorm kitchens, and the Bayit

2. Combine yeast, 1 1/4 cups warm water and 3 3/4 tbsp. sugar. Mix well, set aside in a warm place.

3. In a large bowl, blend the 1 1/4 cups sugar, salt and 12 c. flour. Set aside.

4. Crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk them. Add the vegetable oil, 2 1/2 cups warm water and the water-sugar-yeast mixture.

5. Make a well in the dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.

6. Stir ingredients until fully combined. Put dough onto counter, and knead vigorous-

kitchen is a clean alternative complete with all of the trays and utensils necessary for baking. Some chapters have bought machines that would make baking run more quickly, but Vassar’s Challah for Hunger members enjoy the process of getting to make bread from scratch. There’s music, good company and the anticipation of eating one of your creations the next day.

Not only was this my first time baking challah, I had also never eaten any, and after spending so much time with that dough, I knew I had to buy a loaf at the College Center the next day. I bought chocolate chip ($5, gone within two hours), but there are different flavors each week. For the week of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollow’s release, the group advertised Harry Potter and the Deathly Challahs: the flavor was white chocolate chip and caramel. According to Pasternack,

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ly, adding flour until dough is elastic and does not stick to hands.

7. Place in an oiled bowl, cover with a damp towel, let rise for 1/2 hour. Punch down, let rise again for 1/2 hour.

8. Cover racks or trays with greased tinfoil and lay loaves on top with as much space as possible in between.

9. Brush loaves with a beaten egg and a little bit of water.

10. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes, or until golden brown and hollow-sounding.

11. Allow to cool covered with cloth towels.

three consistently popular flavors are pesto, chai and chocolate chip. But a lot of interesting experiments take place: raspberry chocolate chip, sundried tomato, vegan and Nutella were previous flavors-of-the-week.

Baking with Challah for Hunger was a great deal of fun. It’s nice to take time off from studying and stress to just knead dough and twist it into a loaf of bread. Talk around the table ranged from new classes and weekend plans to the future goals of Challah for Hunger and which flavor was everyone’s favorite.

Regarding her involvement with Challah for Hunger, Pasternack said; “I wanted to join a service organization, but larger groups can be overwhelming. I really like the people, and I really like challah!” The developing organization is working towards a larger presence on campus while maintaining its commitment to advocacy, community and enticing challah.

OPINIONS

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December 2, 2010

Survivors Chronicle to further marginalize conservatives of rape need our support I Kelly Shortridge Guest Columnist

Juan Thompson Opinions Editor

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charge of rape at a high school, college or in any other community is a serious issue and should be dealt with appropriately. I had always assumed that progressive, modern communities like college campuses would support female students when they file accusations of rape or sexual assault, but recently I’ve come across a couple of incidents that have caused me to realize the naiveté of my previous thinking. I’m more aware now of the continued abuse women face after filing charges against their attackers.

This past September, Elizabeth Seeberg, a student at the all-girls school St. Mary’s College, accused a Notre Dame football player of sexually assaulting her. St. Mary’s College is directly across the street from Notre Dame and students from both schools often fraternize with each other. Seeberg claimed that her attacker hadn’t raped her, but would have done so if not for a knock on the door. After the attack was interrupted, a vigilant Seeberg wrote down an account of the incident, leaving out no details. The next day she went to the Notre Dame campus security office and filed a report. The St. Mary’s student also went to a local hospital for treatment, submitted to a DNA test and sought counseling. The county sheriff, however, didn’t investigate, and a high-ranking official within the sheriff’s office callously questioned the importance of the case, according to Melinda Henneberger at Politics Daily.

Notre Dame also dropped the ball; they didn’t discipline the football player in any way—they didn’t even bench him, according to the Chicago Tribune. Seeberg, according to reports, was afraid of being socially shunned and harassed by her fellow students, so much so that she became a quasi–cheerleader; she donned the University’s attire and tailgated football games, activities she had rarely done prior to the assault. This girl, who should have wanted her attacker punished, was instead concerned with the hideous abuse she presumed was coming from the other students.

The Notre Dame cheerleading apparently didn’t work, because on Sept. 10, Seeberg missed a counseling appointment and was subsequently found unconscious after having overdosed on antidepressants. She died shortly thereafter.

The Notre Dame episode isn’t the only evidence of the sickening sexism that continues to harm female students who seek to bring their attackers to justice. Earlier this year a male student at American University, Alex Kneeper, attracted national media attention when he wrote a column that appeared to blame females for being date raped. In the American University campus newspaper, The Eagle, he wrote, “Any woman who heads to a party, drinks five cups of jungle juice, and walks back to a boy’s room with him is indicating that she wants sex,” according to CBS News. A BBC News report that polled women on the issue of rape also highlighted, what is to me, an incomprehensible truth.

The poll showed that an astonishingly high percentage of women, 71 percent, believe that a woman should take responsibility when getting into a bed with a man. Simply put, these women believe that if a woman gets into bed with a man and is raped by that man, she bears some responsibility for the rape. One out of 10 women were unsure when asked if they would report being See RAPE on page 12

n Rachel Anspach’s “Chronicle to provide missing campus voice” (11.17.10) she states that there is no adequate conservative voice on campus, and that The Chronicle, a political journal whose publication is spearheaded by the Moderate, Independent, Conservative Alliance (MICA), and which just recently received funding from the Vassar Student Association to publish a pilot issue, serves as an easily identifiable, discrete source of conservative news. As a former editor of The Miscellany News’ Opinions section, I disagree with her position that the Miscellany is not a sufficient platform for conservative voices. I personally have been able to submit content to the Opinions section that is very biased towards my libertarian political views. And while I have received online comments attacking my columns, so do many liberal columnists. You will find angry commenters on nearly every newspaper’s website, and your column is bound to push at least one person’s buttons. Furthermore, while I was an Opinions editor, I solicited content from many prominent conservative voices, and many weeks there was a nearly equal representation of conservative and liberal voices. Furthermore, even though I am no longer an Opinions editor, my own right-leaning columns have been printed without hesitation. The balance between conservative and liberal voices is important, as it exposes the Vassar community to alternate viewpoints along with those with which they typically agree.

I do not believe The Chronicle will alleviate the marginalization of conservative students, as Anspach argued—in fact, I think it will intensify it. This is not to say that I do not think there should be alternative publications to The Miscellany News; I think it is important to have a breadth of news sources, but my issue here is specifically with the purpose of The Chronicle. It should not be ignored that some of the Chronicle staff are

not conservative and barely moderate, especially when considering the scale of the “general population” as Anspach did. The voice of The Chronicle is specifically of MICA, not of conservative students as a whole, which is a critical distinction.

After all, MICA has done little in recent history except for last year’s debate with the Vassar College Democrats to reach out to other students, and has instead capitalized on the fact that Vassar is now becoming conscious that it tends to ostracize conservative students without exemplifying openness itself.

I believe The Chronicle represents a self-isolation that I and my conservative peers at Vassar have fought very hard against. I think conservative students should express their views, respectfully, in the classroom and in other outlets, but that this is defeated if they simply express it in a publication specifically for themselves—a form of “preaching to the choir.” While the founders of The Chronicle have stated that they will allow anyone on campus to write for the publication, given MICA’s reputation as a self-contained and provocative organization, I think that many students who are not members of the organization will hesitate to write in the paper. Furthermore, I don’t particularly see the point of students outside of the organization writing in The Chronicle, given that we have a larger and more professionally run paper, the Miscellany, that solicits and receives content from a variety of sources already.

Thus, having a new newspaper, The Chronicle, which may have a staff that runs the gamut from liberal to conservative—just as the Miscellany’s does—would be redundant and fiscally irresponsible.

I believe that the integration of more conservative viewpoints in campus dialogue is key to engendering mutual respect; progress has already been made on this front, but I fear that further progress will be made much more difficult by The Chronicle. I agree with Anspach that

attending a liberal arts college and only hearing one viewpoint is a tragedy, but I think since the 2008 election we as a student body have made great strides in having other viewpoints shown.

A libertarian club has been started, there is programming scheduled to feature discussions between the various political organizations on campus, and I personally have experienced a lessening of hostility against conservative viewpoints. The way to keep improving Vassar’s political culture is for conservative students to continue to speak up both inside and outside of class with their viewpoints, maintaining civility to earn it in return. This does not require The Chronicle, with its limited range of views, but for students not necessarily affiliated with particular clubs to express themselves in mediums, such as The Miscellany News, that are a staple of all students’ discussions. The more we separate ourselves and pronounce our differences, the less we can be treated the same as students of liberal bias.

While it is noble that The Chronicle believes it is fighting a crusade to save conservative students from ostracism, I believe that it is simply a result of particular “conservative” students finding themselves unwilling to continue the struggle to have their viewpoints heard, and to have a publication that serves the club, rather than conservative students as a whole. Instead of a publication, speakers, discussions, and other activities could benefit our campus political dialogue much more, and would further the integration of viewpoints that might soon be lost. Conservative students, submit to The Miscellany News, so that your perspectives can be presented respectfully alongside other Vassar students’ views so as to further a diverse discourse on campus.

—Kelly Shortridge ’12 is an economics major and was Opinions editor of The Miscellany News during the 2009-10 school year.

New TSA procedures ineffective, intrusive Angela Aiuto

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Senior Editor

hose of you who will shortly be flying home for the holidays may have heard about the new airport security measures recently implemented by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). If not, get excited—Christmas has come early this year!

Many airports, including nearby John F. Kennedy and La Guardia International Airports, have introduced the use of full-body scanners to detect what metal detectors can’t: plastic and chemical explosives and nonmetallic weapons. If passengers don’t like having their naked bodies ogled by a government employee—a choice that is not necessarily unwarranted, considering that 100 scans were recently leaked onto the Internet by the technology blog Gizmodo—they have the option of receiving the new, more aggressive TSA pat down, in which a screener feels around passengers’ genitals and breasts with the palms of his or her hand.

If you’re like me, you won’t find either of these options particularly palatable. (For now, let’s take solace in the fact that the scanners have yet to be widely implemented.) However, you would be in the minority according to a recent CBS poll, which found that a resounding 81 percent of Americans support the use of full-body scanners.

But should they? All of us want to be as safe as possible, but we also need to be mindful that we are paying a price for that safety, a price that is much higher than the $150,000 cost of a single fullbody scanner. As Ben Franklin once said, “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”

Data provided by statistician Nate Silver, who helms the political blog FiveThirtyEight, provides some idea of the nature of the terrorist threat we face. Having reviewed 10 years’ worth of data spanning from 1999 to 2009, Silver noted that only one out of every 16,553,385 commercial airline departures had been subjected to an attempted act of terrorism during that time period. After doing some simple calculations, he determined that the probability of being on a departure that will be subject to an attempted act of terrorism is roughly 20 times smaller than the likelihood of being struck by lightning; in other words, the probability is essentially zero. Indeed, the “threat” against

which we are protecting ourselves might as well be non-existent.

And these new security measures may not even be all that effective at diminishing an already unlikely threat. The scanners were first implemented in response to the Christmas bombing of 2009, in which an alleged member of al-Qaida attempted, and failed, to detonate a powder explosive that he had hidden his underwear. Ironically, the Government Accountability Office suggests that the new body scanners may not have been able to prevent that incident, having stated in written testimony to the House of Representatives’ Homeland Security Committee that “while officials said [the scanners] performed as well as physical pat downs in operational tests, it remains unclear whether the [advanced imaging technology] would have detected the weapon used in the December 2009 incident.” In addition to powders, the full-body scanners are unable to detect other low-density substances like liquids, thin pieces of plastic and anything that resembles skin. The scanners are also unable to detect objects hidden in body cavities.

Moreover, terrorist organizations adapt too rapidly to our airline security procedures for the implementation of full-body scanners to be particularly effective. As security expert Bruce Schneier told The New York Times in the wake of last year’s Christmas bombing, “If there are a hundred tactics and I protect against two of them, I’m not making you safer…If we use full-body scanning, they’re going to do something else.” Seriously, what will the TSA do when the terrorists learn that the new scanners cannot detect objects hidden in bodily orifices? Institute a mandatory cavity search for all passengers?

Given all of this, the notion that these new security procedures are increasing passengers’ safety is arguable, at best. And what are we paying for such a small return? One cannot discount the financial burden that the new security procedures will place upon an already-struggling airline industry; apart from the physical costs of the new equipment, airlines may also face reduced demand as travelers find security procedures increasingly time-consuming and invasive.

Purely financial considerations aside, the introduction of such intrusive methods entails a human cost. Many screeners are probably just as embar-

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

rassed by or uncomfortable with the new security procedures as some passengers are; however, this does not remove the potential for those procedures to traumatize passengers. U.S. Airways Captain John Cleary recently relayed an account of a fellow pilot’s reaction to a standard enhanced pat down: “In the aftermath of trying to recover, this pilot reported that he had literally vomited in his own driveway while contemplating going back to work and facing the possibility of a similar encounter with the TSA.” Howard Pinkham, another U.S. Airways pilot, had this to say about his experience with the routine: “I allowed [the screener] his groin check and was so humiliated and enraged that I was pretty much useless in the cockpit, I was self-absorbed.” Again, these men are pilots; one can assume they have come to accept a certain level of intrusion by airport security based on the nature of their work. One can only imagine, then, how traumatic these new procedures might be for more vulnerable passengers, such as children and the survivors of rape and sexual assault.

These visceral reactions speak to the biggest cost of the new security procedures: We are essentially telling our government that we see nothing wrong with procedures that would in any other context qualify as sexual assault, and that we will submit to such procedures even when they provide little to no benefit to the public. We are confirming that we will allow our bodily integrity and our most basic rights to be whittled away, all in the name of “safety.” While I usually laugh or avert my eyes in embarrassment when someone spouts the over-used and rarely appropriate warning, “If we do x, or admit to y, then the terrorists have won,” in the case of full-body scanners I tend to agree.

A glimmer of hope is developing, however: In what is quite possibly the most sensible idea to have recently come out of my home state of New Jersey, lawmakers have introduced a resolution in the state Senate urging Congress and President Barack Obama to address concerns related to the implementation of full-body scanners. I hope all of you will contact your own representatives to make your voices heard. Until our pleas are addressed, I suppose that us beleaguered travelers will have to “shut up and be scanned,” as the Los Angeles Times wrote in a recent editorial. Happy holidays!

December 2, 2010

OPINIONS

Page 9

January term would benefit students, the College Joshua Rosen

Opinions Editor

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s Vassar’s 31-day winter break nears, the last desire I have is for more academic work. Yet as I consider my prospects for that month-long period, I find myself choosing between a few undesirable options and some desirable ones far outside my means. This would most certainly not be the case at some of Vassar’s peer institutions—Williams College, Oberlin College and Middlebury College, among them. At those colleges, students have the College-sponsored option of taking a winter term course or engaging in a winter term project at their institutions.

At Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., during most of the month of January, students are required to take academic courses, engage in volunteer work or participate in an educational trip as part of Williams’ Winter Study program. These Winter Study programs are graded on a scale ranging from outstanding to fail, rather than on the traditional A to F scale, which encourages students to expose themselves to disciplines they may not have normally considered.

Vassar would do well to encourage the development of such a program. I was particular-

ly intrigued when I discovered the concept of a winter study, or 4-1-4 schedule, as the U.S. Department of Education terms a calendar system like Williams’, where students have to take at least four courses for four months, one course for a single month (their winter study), and another four courses for four months. The 4-14 system appeals to me because of the unique option to, as Oberlin College’s Office of Winter Term explains, engage in “intensive and/or unusual educational activities which might be difficult for students or faculty to fit into their fall and spring schedules.”

As economists are fond of explaining, choices require trade-offs. While a winter program would certainly involve trade-offs, it would open up more academic opportunities for students who have interests outside their major, correlate, or even outside of courses offered at Vassar that they may not be able to take due to time constraints imposed upon them by classes in their major, their athletic commitments or other responsibilities and undertakings, even to the point of protecting their GPA. For example, at Williams I would be able to take a course far outside of my usual areas of study, such as photography, without the risk of harming my GPA. While this sounds much like the

non-recorded option for courses at Vassar, in a way, the substantial difference is the fact that a student can take a single course for an entire month; this difference is particularly attractive, as it allows for intense focus on a single area of interest. Additionally, this concentrated period of narrowing in on an area of study encourages exposure to a new discipline. This is truly the goal of a broader liberal education, and is in the best sense of the liberal arts.

Though Williams’ program is certainly admirable, I would not suggest that Vassar ape this or any other program in their totality. Rather, a unique program befitting Vassar and its institutional goals would be necessary. It is immaterial, though, whether it would combine aspects of other programs or be generated de novo. I would strongly encourage the administration and Vassar Student Association to explore such a program. This program, to which I would like to attach the appellation “January Term,” could initially be small, accepting a limited number of students in exchange for subsidized room and board for the duration of the program, and offer a limited array of courses, activities and trips for credit. Eventually the program might, depending on its appeal to students, be expanded to include all students and perhaps become

mandatory. However, at this current time such a program would need to begin slowly. While the nature of the bureaucratic details of the implementation of a winter term program are beyond the scope of my knowledge, I would be remiss to not outline how I would envision a winter term program at Vassar.

A 4-1-4 program at Vassar could begin following the Christmas holiday to a few days before the beginning of second semester classes. Students would be permitted to stay on campus to take courses or engage in research projects. Additionally, several study trips led

by Vassar professors would be made available.

Students would receive one course credit for their course or trip. The availability of winter classes would benefit students and professors with interests outside of the normally available courses, and would allow professors to explore potential full-semester course offerings for the future. A winter term course could even be a compressed version of a normal-length course, though, naturally, the content would have to be up to the professor responsible for teaching it.

Any Vassar 4-1-4 schedule, or at least the January Term component of it, would need to offer a wide variety of courses. This would See WINTER TERM on page 12

With addition of caffeine, dangers of alcohol increase Carson Robinson Guest Columnist

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espite all of the discussion surrounding caffeinated alcoholic beverages (CABs), nobody has adequately explained how caffeine affects alcohol intoxication. I’m not just talking about The Miscellany News and Mads Vassar; even the Food and Drug Administration’s press releases don’t offer any concrete evidence that CABs are any worse than alcohol alone. The category of evidence doesn’t include the highly publicized medical crises involving Four Loko; the salience of Four Loko cans combined with the salience of young people in danger has led to exaggerated correlation.

As it turns out, there isn’t very much research on CABs, but the research that has been done is very interesting, and it suggests that CABs are indeed more dangerous than alcohol alone. Specifically, research shows that CABs are associated with more real-world negative outcomes than alcohol alone, and adding caffeine to alcohol will make your responses faster, but no more accurate. In fact, caffeine blocks the perception of alcohol intoxication, masking alcohol-induced impairment. Additionally, believing that caffeine will counteract impairment will itself make you sloppy. Now, if you’re like me, then you’re going to demand evidence for each of these points.

Compared to other college students who drink, those who drink CABs are more likely to be both perpetrators and victims of sexual assault, as it is broadly defined. They are also more likely to be injured, and are more likely to ride in a car driven by an intoxicated person. Even after controlling for the sheer amount of alcohol consumption, the relationship between CABs and negative outcomes remains, as a 2008 study in the journal Academic Emergency Medicine, entitled “Caffeinated Cocktails: Energy Drink Consumption, Highrisk Drinking, and Alcohol-related Consequences among College Students” found. But other factors may be conflated with caffeine, such as general risk-taking; people who like to mix caffeine and alcohol might be predisposed to dangerous behavior in general, according to a 2008 study entitled “Energy Drinks, Race, and Problem Behaviors among College Students” published in the Journal

of Adolescent Health. Only an experiment can tell us whether the caffeine itself is responsible for these elevated rates of problems.

In one 2006 study, entitled “Clubgoers and Their Trendy Cocktails: Implications of Mixing Caffeine Into Alcohol on Information Processing and Subjective Reports of Intoxication” and published in the journal Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, researchers had subjects come to the lab, and they served them a drink.

They did this multiple times. The drink looked, tasted and smelled exactly the same each time, but the contents were different. The drink either had alcohol, caffeine, both or neither. The order of conditions was random, and both the subjects and the servers were unaware of the drink’s contents at any given session.

Half an hour after drinking, the subjects did a “go/no-go” auditory discrimination task where they had to press a button when they heard a low tone, but not a high tone. Then they had to distinguish between Xs and Ls in a visual discrimination task. They had to do this really fast, or the computer monitor would display “INCORRECT.” And they had to keep alternating between the auditory and the visual discrimination tasks. This isn’t so difficult when you’re sober, but low doses of alcohol can make these “dual-task” procedures very challenging. Specifically, alcohol alone increases (a) the reaction time and (b) the number of errors.

Now, for the million-dollar question: What does adding caffeine do? As you might expect, reactions sped up. But caffeine had no effect on the number of errors. Uh-oh! See the problem?

When added to alcohol, caffeine sped up the responses, but caffeine did not improve the accuracy of the responses.

These findings are much more serious than they initially seem. Subjects only got up to .07 percent blood alcohol content (BAC). Imagine what the results would look like if the subjects each drank a Four Loko. A single Four Loko (12 percent ABV) puts a 160-pound male at about .13 percent BAC, according to a standard BAC chart; however, caffeine may actually intensify alcohol absorption, so this is a low estimate.

And imagine what the results would look like if they’d examined meaningful, real-world outcomes.

Getting Xs and Ls mixed up isn’t such a big deal.

But what if the researchers counted the number of times you mix up your friends’ names? Or the number of embarrassing text messages that you send? Or the number of Facebook pictures that you need to untag the next day? Or the number of rude comments you make? Or the number of crimes you commit? These errors matter (some more than others), and we know from the correlational studies that CABs are indeed associated with some very serious real-world errors. In sum, there’s evidence that mixing alcohol with caffeine expedites the rate at which you screw up.

Perhaps even more concerning is that subjects didn’t feel as drunk when caffeine was added. The subjects estimated the number of drinks they’d had using a picture scale of half-bottles of beer.

(Every marketable container of alcohol should have a similar diagram printed on it.) That piece of evidence by itself can explain why CABs are associated with so many problems; caffeine blocks the subjective experience of alcohol, so you have to keep drinking in order to get as drunk as you usually do.

Also, caffeine specifically blocks the perception of alcohol-induced impairment. In a different experiment, the results of which were published in a 2006 article titled “Effects of Energy Drink Ingestion on Alcohol Intoxication” in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, subjects drank either Red Bull alone, Red Bull with vodka, or vodka alone (with fake, stimulantfree Red Bull). Compared to vodka alone, subjects drinking the CAB reported less headache, weakness and clumsiness. But caffeine didn’t actually mitigate alcohol-induced clumsiness; both vodka conditions produced equal impairment in a motor coordination task—that is, it took just as long to rearrange pegs on a pegboard, whether or not they’d had an energy drink. This suggests that caffeine masks the impairment of alcohol intoxication.

Now for the most interesting experiment, which incorporated a psychological variable: beliefs.

They told some subjects that they were studying how caffeine counteracts alcohol-induced impair-

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ment. They told other subjects that they were studying how caffeine exacerbates impairment. (A questionnaire confirmed that this shaped subjects’ expectations about the effects of CABs.) This subtle manipulation turned out to have a strong effect on subjects’ performance on a motor coordination test that involved using a computer mouse to track a moving target on a computer screen. It didn’t even matter whether they were drinking caffeine or not; intoxicated subjects who expected caffeine to bolster their performance were, ironically, much worse at tracking the moving target.

Presumably, since they thought that caffeine would counteract their intoxicated sloppiness, subjects got cocky, and they didn’t take it upon themselves to make up for their impaired motor coordination. Instead of compensating for being intoxicated, subjects let the caffeine do the job for them, believing that caffeine would elicit a more graceful drunkenness. However, correcting these beliefs does not mean that you’ll be able to curtail your drunken clumsiness.

Again, these findings are more serious than you’d think. Even if CABs are nationally banned, energy drinks will still be available to mix with alcohol. And energy drinks are marketed as performance enhancers, given names such as Rock Star and Full Throttle, and the slogan “Red Bull gives you wings.” Although survey data is scarce, we can be sure that the myth about CABs and performance—that caffeine will mitigate alcohol-induced impairment—is widespread. Experimental evidence shows that this myth can actually make you clumsier.

The evidence I’ve reviewed here suggests that CABs are worse than alcohol alone. At this point, I’m not going to commenxt on whether CABs should be banned. For me, the question surrounding the banning issue is whether a ban will actually reduce people’s intake of CABs. That’s a completely different issue.

—-Carson Robinson ’12 is a psychology major and is student representative on the Drug and Alcohol Education Committee (DEC). The views expressed in this column do not reflect the opinion of the DEC or any person other than the author.

OPINIONS

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December 2, 2010

Interdisciplinary research requires more funding Sam Wagner

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Guest Columnist

he field of robotics—as well as the robots themselves—becomes more sophisticated with each passing year, and paired with the evergrowing sophistication is an increasing incorporation of other fields of science involved in the creation of the next generation of robots. Used in many major scientific fields of study at colleges and universities, robots are no longer solely creations of engineering, but rather a collaboration of numerous fields such as cognitive science, psychology, neuroscience and evolutionary biology.

Furthermore, it is this collaboration of, as well as the incorporation of, such numerous fields that allows for greater research and innovation. However, this research requires better funding.

John Long, professor of biology, defines an integrative scientist. He is active in the Cognitive Science and Neuroscience and Behavior programs, and is the co-founder and director of the Interdisciplinary Robotics Research Laboratory (IRL) at Vassar College. In collaboration with Tom Ellman and Luke Hunsberger, professors of computer science, and Ken Livingston, professor of psychology, Long was awarded a grant by the National Science Foundation to create the robotics lab in 2003. Today Long works along side a number of Vassar students known as the “Fish Fellows,” as well as professors from a variety of majors, on several different research projects in the lab. Most of the work in Long’s lab makes use of two robot systems: robot Madeleine and Neuro-Evolving Robotic Devices (NERD), otherwise referred to by Long as Tadros. Both systems, which are used by Long and his team of students in various experiments, are examples of what is called biomimetric robotics.

Biomimetric robots are constructed to be more accurate models of animal movement and behavior than traditional models, and are most often fully autonomous, meaning they can function without active input from a computer

or controller. Thus, with added accuracy, new hypotheses are more easily tested and results are more reliable. Long and the IRL’s first robot, robot Madeleine, was built by Nekton Research LLC in Durham, N.C. with funds from two grants provided by the National Science Foundation. Featured in several news articles and even on the History Channel documentary “Predator X,” robot Madeleine is a fully autonomous four-flippered aquatic tetrapod (think “Loch Ness Monster”) used to mimic either four or two-flippered aquatic tetrapods in nature. “What we can use robot Madeleine for is to examine differences in swimming ability between four and two-flippered creatures,” remarked Long. Madeleine has been engineered to be able to sense her environment and model creatures such as sea turtles and plesiosaurs (ancient tetrapods) as accurately as possible.

The creation of such an accurate robotic model required immense thought and the consideration of several fields outside of engineering. In addition to simply how tetrapods look, the way they swim as well as their overall behavior was incorporated into her design, and programmed into her onboard computer brain. This aspect of animal behavior, furthermore, would not even have been possible if not for the computer science and genetic algorithms created using cognitive science. Long currently teaches courses in the Cognitive Science Department, contributing to said considerations that were taken in creating Madeleine, and moreover to an overall interdisciplinary approach in the lab.

Long’s other robot system, Tadro, was also the result of a pair of grants from the National Science Foundation, and is no less a collaboration of interdisciplinary efforts than robot Madeleine.

The Tadros, also featured in several newspaper articles, online blogs and television programs, are a colony of evolving autonomous robots designed with a biomechanical system that accurately models caudal-finned fish and sharks.

Complete with nervous system (proximity and light sensors), brain (on-board computer loaded with genetic algorithms and the ability to learn from their environment and pass on hereditary information), and an accurate skeletal system (biomechanical models of actual axial skeleton movement and behavior in sharks and fish), Long’s Tadros perform similar to real fish and, based on their performance, can simulate evolution by passing on successful genes to the next generation. Each of these systems represents a contribution from, as well as combination of, many fields of science, including evolutionary biology in designing the algorithms, computer and cognitive science in actual programming of the algorithms, and mechanical engineering in putting the Tadros together, as well as many others.

So far, use of the Tadros in Long’s lab have been in testing hypotheses based on evolutionary development of spine and caudal fins in sharks and fish. What comes into play for these experiments is the actual biomimetric design and engineering of the skeletal portion of the Tadros. As portrayed in the episode “Speed” of the History Channel’s program Evolve, one of the lab’s first goals in experimenting with the Tadros was to recreate the Cambrian Explosion—a rapid appearance of most groups of complex organisms 350 million years ago, in this case predators—to test the evolution of different types of spines in fish. In the experiment, Tadros with either flexible spines (prey) or hard and bony spines (predators) were pitted in an environment where a light source for food is the goal for prey and the prey is food for the predator. Because the collaboration of many fields of science makes the Tadros such accurate models of prehistoric fish, Long’s lab was successfully able to model just why the introduction of predators with hard and bony spines led to a race for speed in the evolution of fish and sharks.

The availability of so many resources from other fields of science, or what Long calls “hav-

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MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

ing more tools in the toolbox,” has led the lab at Vassar to have the ability to offer the Tadro system as a method of testing several new hypotheses, with increasing participation from the students. Long’s newest experiment, still in the data collection stage, aims to test the ability of the Tadros to evolve intelligence in low-food environments versus environments with lots of food, the hypothesis being that the robots in low-food environments will evolve smarter behavior. Professor Ken Livingston is working with Long and students on the project. In an experiment that aims to test the ability to evolve smart behavior, Livingston’s knowledge of psychology only enhances the biomimetric nature of the Tadros. As mentioned above, the data is only now being collected, though early observations contradict the team’s hypothesis.

“We’re actually finding that they’re actually not acting the way we thought they would, and we have no idea why,” Long said.

While Long and the IRL’s robots have not reached the level of complexity of those in scifi movies and childhood fantasies, the exhibition of multidisciplinary research’s power is a promise that these dreams cannot be ruled out.

The collaboration of professors in the fields of evolutionary biology, cognitive and computer science, as well as engineering have made it possible for Vassar College and Long’s Interdisciplinary Robotics Research Laboratory to make good use of the grant that created the program. With advances in robotics already available today, such as cars that can park themselves and vacuums that clean the living room floor automatically whenever it gets dirty, the possibilities of interdisciplinary research are endless. This interdisciplinary research should be supported vigorously by our College and should be the recipient of more funding.

— Sam Wagner ’13 is a science, technology and society major

December 2, 2010

OPINIONS

Page 11

The next bubble: Chinese real estate?

Hao Fu

F

Guest Columnist

ive years ago, my family bought an apartment in Shanghai, China, not too far away from where we live now. It was close to the downtown area and cost $28,000. Last month, my father called me and said that he sold the apartment for $170,000. He sounded excited over the phone. Five years, 500 percent increase in housing price—no wonder he’s excited! This is not a wild dream of making a fortune; it’s happening right now. And, yes, you are looking at one of the biggest financial bubbles in the world today—the Asian real estate bubble. Far away as it seems, there are actually important lessons to learn from this issue, lessons that we have seen but haven’t learned in the United States.

The emergence of this real estate bubble can be attributed to the different market structures in those countries compared to those of Western nations. China is the prime example of this. Different from Western countries, the Chinese government generally had more influence over the economy through strong economic policies and regulations. Despite the influx of hot money—funds that are used in a particular country to take advantage of a high shortterm interest rate, which has high profit potential—and increasing money supply in China, the inflation was offset by the deflation caused by unemployment. Starting from 1996, China initiated a series of reforms in economic policies, one of which involved privatizing government owned enterprises. The ensuing unemployment led to an excess of labor that in turn caused deflation in the economy. Although the money supply in China is 10.6 times greater than a decade ago, the entire economy has wit-

nessed limited inflation, which would not be expected with such a large expansion in the money supply and influx of hot money.

Yet such limited inflation failed to prevent hot money from flowing into the real estate market. As a result, while the overall economy experienced little fluctuation, the bubble in real estate market started to boom.

A much more hidden factor behind the soaring housing price is the involvement of government. Here I am not talking about the centralized government with forceful regulation, but the opposite side, the corruption in the Chinese government. After the press exposed several corruption cases in which officials were found to have appropriated government funding and invested the money in the real estate market, it became evident that the booming real estate bubble is also partly sustained by these officials.

Currently, the rental rate of return in Chinese real estate market, according to statistics from Sina, a Chinese news media outlet, is over 10 percent, meaning that if you buy a house in China now and rent it out, you can expect 10 percent additional revenue.

In United States, the rental rate of return is about seven percent, much as it is German and Japan. Considering the lower wage level in China, Chinese economists such as Andie Xie, quoted by Bloomberg, a financial news service, generally agree that a rate of return of about five percent would be much more reasonable. If the rate goes under three or four percent, the revenue generally would not cover the cost of maintenance. It could take a while for the bubble to burst. It took the United States three years to recover from the highest housing price in 2006. Unlike the stock market, the real estate market takes a long time to digest a bubble.

There are a number of lessons to take from this bubble. Recall that the real estate bubble was partly due to the influx of hot money. Since 2002, the U.S. dollar has become weak, which has led to the expectation of the appreciation of the Chinese currency. This in turned caused hot money to flow into China. The debate on exchange rate, therefore, goes far beyond macroeconomic concepts or government manipulations. Because the exchange rate directs capital, the change in exchange rates is also affecting people’s cost of living. It impacts normal people like my father. When we are discussing exchange rate, it is not just a ratio between currencies, but it involves different aspects of a society in a very subtle way.

On the other side, the “hidden hands” behind the bubble is also a timely caveat.

During the growth of capital markets, there is always room for corruption. In addition to the corrupt officials, it is reported that many publicly traded companies in China illegally invested their cash in the real estate market as well, since the rate of return is abnormally higher than their own return ratio. Without forceful regulation, such phenomenon will never disappear. From the financial crises in the United States in 2008 to the real estate bubble in Asia, the same pattern emerges again and again. Let’s recall our first lesson in introductory economics: Self-interest drives al individual behaviors.

Governments should keep in mind that there are always people seeking loopholes in the system to benefit themselves, and regulations are always necessary. It’s time to learn our lesson.

What are you researching?

“Analyzing the differences in Japanese animation and its re-dubbed American counterparts.”

Genevieve Lenoir ’13 “American journalists’ perception of Hanoi during the Vietnam War.”

Steven Chan ’12

—Hao Fu ’13 is secretary of the Vassar Business Club

“Tattoos.”

Drones cannot end bloodshed of war Emil Ostrovski Guest Columnist

W

e devote much talk to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, but relatively little to our third front in the War on Terror, Pakistan. According to an analysis by the New America Foundation, the 201 dronelaunched air strikes we’ve made in this third front have, since 2004, claimed between 1,283 and 1,971 lives, with something in the neighborhood of 300 to 500 civilian casualties. And though discourse regarding this theater of war has not seen a similar increase, our involvement in it has escalated dramatically in recent years. During the entire 2004–2007 period, we launched a mere nine strikes into Pakistan, which resulted in 86 to 109 deaths. Now, in the year 2010, we have so far carried out 106 drone strikes, and killed between 495 and 797 enemy combatants and 26 to 60 civilians. For comparative purposes, consider: American losses in the war in Afghanistan—intimately related to the strikes in Pakistan, which target terrorists that have left Afghanistan for neighboring Pakistan—in 2010 amounted to 458 soldiers, as of the writing of this column.

We’ve waged this third war on the territory of a foreign country, without any formal declaration of war, and moreover, without ever really bringing the issue up to the American people (though they pay for it with their tax dollars.) At issue is the CIA’s drone-based war in Pakistan, which has remained largely outside of the scrutiny of the American public, I think, because it is both overshadowed by the larger conflicts of Iraq and Afghanistan, and also, perhaps most significantly, because American lives are not at stake. I would like to draw a parallel between this covert war of ours, and a much overlooked conflict fought over a century ago—the 1904-1905 Russo-Japanese war. In much the same way that the 19041905 war preempted the horrors of World War I, I want to posit that our war in Pakistan and the way we’ve fought it may come to foreshadow the way in which future wars are fought—namely, with robots—and the dilemmas that will have to be confronted in fighting them in such a way.

The military already employs remotecontrolled robots widely. The two most widely known are Predators, which provide aerial surveillance and have single-handedly fought our secret war in Pakistan, and the armada of Packbots that provide our troops with ground-based support ranging from reconnaissance to the dismantling of explosives. Peter Singer, in his article for The Wilson Quarterly, entitled “Robots At War: A New Battlefield,” writes: “When U.S. forces went into Iraq in 2003, they had zero robotic units on the ground. By the end of 2004, the number was up to 150. By the end of 2005 it was 2,400, and it more than doubled the next year. By the end of 2008, it was projected to reach as high as 12,000. And these weapons are just the first generation. Already in the prototype stage are varieties of unmanned weapons and exotic technologies, from automated machine guns and robotic stretcher bearers to tiny but lethal robots the size of insects.” It is not coincidental, I think, that with the rise of a reliance on robots in Iraq, came a similar rise in the number of predator airstrikes in Pakistan. And this rise in dependency on robotic technology in war, according to Doug Few and Bill Smart of Washington University at St. Louis, will only continue in the years to come. They reported to Science Daily that the military goal is to have approximately 30 percent of the army comprised of robotic forces by approximately 2020.

Of course, America is not the only country interested in this technology. The Economist reports that in a recent lecture, Singer said “more than 40 countries…are building robot combatants.” Ron Arkin, from the Georgia Institute of Technology, offers a more precise figure: 56. With so many players, I don’t think we can stop the march of this technology onto our battlefields, any more than we could stop bombers dropping fire-bombs, or the spray from machine-gun nests, the hail of artillery shells, the hiss of poison gas, the mushroom cloud of the atom bomb. The question we must grapple with is: How can we do better than we have in the past while simultaneously

becoming more and more distanced from our war-making?

After all, we’ve already fought an entire war in Pakistan remotely, with little acknowledgement from our elected officials and less fuss from the public. Jane Meyer of The New Yorker contrasts the “widespread anger after The Wall Street Journal revealed that during the Bush administration the CIA had considered setting up hit squads to capture or kill al-Qaida operatives around the world,” to our decided lack of uneasiness at what amounts to the same thing, only carried out with bombs and button presses instead of bullets and knives. Vicki Doll, a Professor at the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, sums up our mentality by saying, “People are a lot more comfortable with a Predator strike that kills many people than with a throat-slitting that kills one.” The people she refers to are not some abstract and unknowable group.

They are you and me. And she’s right. It’s easier to press a button and have a machine pull the trigger. It’s easier to watch from a computer screen, and pretend it’s a video game—for all you know, it could be. And covert bombing of a suspected terror target sounds so much nicer to the ear than assassination.

Yet, we need to realize—and hold forever in our minds—that the comfortable feeling, the easiness, is an illusion. The machine is an illusion. The button press is an illusion. The video-game-ness of it all is an illusion. What is real now, when we wage war, is what was real a thousand years ago, and a thousand years before that. And that is that people die. And when people die, those responsible must be held accountable. Too many times in the 20th century did people fail to break free of the illusion, fail to hold themselves and those in power accountable, and too many are dead for it.

Our only hope is to succeed where previously we’ve failed. Otherwise, I fear we will become entrapped in a matrix of our own making, where waging war is easy and where waking up is but a dream.

—Emil Ostrovski ’12 is a philosophy major.

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

Eugene Carl Fasano ’14

“Diabetes in Poughkeepsie.”

Stephanie Mischell ’12 —Juan Thompson, Opinions Editor Juliana Halpert, Photography Editor

Word on the sassmore

Sam Seymour ’11

The first season of glee about 19 hours ago via web in reply to miscellanynews

seankoerner

Sean Koerner ’11

Dengue Fever Envelope Protein E and how its conformational changes enable viral capsid injection about 19 hours ago via web from Arlington, NY in reply to miscellanynews

comments Jill Scharr Medieval epic poetry!

November 22 at 12:59pm —Marie Dugo, Social Media Editor

OPINIONS

Page 12

Victims deserve benefit of the doubt RAPE continued from page 8 raped. What was the main reason they gave? 55 percent of the women who were unsure would feel too embarrassed. It is comments, like those of the American University student, and thinking like that represented in the BBC survey, that harms victims and protects perpetrators.

In yet another example, a female student in Matthews, N.C. accused a Butler High School football player of raping her. The local prosecutor dropped the charges, however, and in the process gave the most unbelievable explanation for why he had chosen to do so. The female student told police that she was in a relationship with the accused, but that they had agreed to not have sex and would limit physical touching to kissing. One night they were kissing, and eventually intercourse began.

The football player claimed that the sex began consensually, but that she had asked him to stop in the middle of it. He admitted to not stopping once she asked him to. She says that she never consented to sex and begged him repeatedly to stop. This is where the case takes an odd turn; the local prosecutor dropped the case because according to North Carolina state law, if sex began consensually no rape has occurred, even if the woman wanted to stop in the middle of it. That is correct; in North Carolina a person can ask their partner to stop during sex, and the latter will not face criminal prosecution if he or she doesn’t stop.

What sort of society continues to keep laws on the book that endorse rape? Even if the accuser in this case had consented—and she claims she never did—she should have the right to stop in the middle.

The draconian North Carolina law is taking away a woman’s right to change her mind and is giving the male all of the power. And it puzzles me as to why no one has challenged the 1979 state Supreme Court ruling that provides the legal precedence for a sexist, antiquated law. In North Carolina, the football player has not only been let off by the legal system, but has also faced no punishment at school, where he continues to play football. The accuser, meanwhile, has been forced to deal with the harassment that all too often, unfortunately, women must confront after filing sexual assault charges.

The cases I’ve highlighted tell us so much. They

tell us how rampant sexism is in both the criminal justice system and the education system. Why do young women who file charges against their attackers face so much social persecution from their fellow students? I don’t know the sociological and psychological reasons behind the cold-blooded reaction, but I do know it should change. That change should come from all of us who stay quiet when a woman is called a slut after alleging rape. We should call out the ignorant sexism of all those who say, “She’s lying,” when sexual assault charges are filed.

That quietness, on the part of decent people who don’t harass but who also don’t defend victims, is part of the reason rapists get off; women fear social reprisals from heartless cretins and a lack of support from their peers, so they refuse to report the assaults. Colleges and high schools are supposed to be places where all students feel comfortable, but instead, at least in the cases above, predatory athletes rule the nest. Rape is obviously a serious issue, and when a woman files a rape charge her case should be handled with the utmost seriousness, with the benefit of the doubt from law enforcement and the community as a whole.

December 2, 2010

Winter term demonstrates commitment to liberal arts WINTER TERM continued from page 9 certainly not be inexpensive, but owing to the nature of all the unused facilities at Vassar during the winter break, would not be prohibitively costly. Not only might some faculty be more than willing to teach over the winter—especially because they could teach a non-conventional class, even one outside their department—but students may be willing to cover some of the costs, perhaps through additional fees, since they could recieve credit for the course. Naturally, some financial aid could be offered, but assuming the winter term was optional, aid for all interested students would not be necessary, even if it is desirable. After all, the program would not be required, so there is no necessity for any given student to take part.

The introduction of a 4-1-4 schedule would require Vassar to change, but only to a limited degree. This mild change, of course, is in

the best interest of the institution—not only might it draw students to Vassar who desire 4-1-4 programs, but it would help to distinguish Vassar from the bulk of its peers that do not offer such a program.

The academic opportunities offered to students and faculty by a 4-1-4 schedule may not be measurable in a quantifiable sense. However, if the social goal of liberal arts is to broaden intellectual, cultural and social horizons, it would certainly be in the best interest of Vassar, as an institution committed to the liberal arts, to encourage students that are heavily focused into one or only a few disciplines to take classes outside their academic focus. After all, if I have the option to take a course on understanding art as artists can—as Williams undergraduates can during their winter term—without sacrificing a slot during the regular term, I certainly would benefit.

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Crossword by Jonathan Garfinkel, Crossword Editor ACROSS 1. Place to relax 4. Designer Hardy and others 7. Org. for overbearing parents?

10. Vassar, for one (Abbr.)

13. Ingredient in some baby powder 15. Small child 16. Corn location 17. Stein content, perhaps 18. Brazilian dance 19. Ben-___ 20. Each 21. Ruin 22. Mr. T’s crew 23. Actor Bana

25. Botanical in gin or absinthe 27. Zero 28. Be mistaken 30. Cure-alls 33. Group of experts 35. Sloping surface 36. Author Tan 37. Thin biscuit 39. Couch 41. Literary heroine Jane ____ 44. ___ Newton 46. Kabul denizen 51. Film units 53. Wild horses, cats, etc.

56. See 60-across 57. Philadelphia foot-

Answers to last week’s puzzle

ballers 59. Mo. number 10 60. With 56-across, famous last words 61. Type of tide 64. Confidence 67. Grp. including Canada, Mexico,and Brazil 70. Utopias 72. “Tommy Boy” actor David _____ 75. Ship’s lowest decks 77. Feathery neckwear 78. Dr.’s directions 80. Earthy color 81. “Chicago” leading man Richard ____ 83. Icy rain 85. “Norma ___” 86. Dr. Dre output 89. “Mad Man” Draper 90. Venison, steak, and sausage 91. Vase 92. Big event for a corp.

93. Cap 94. Equal 95. Agency issuing SSN’s 96. Summer in Nice 97. Trains overhead 98. Member of a bygone bloc (abbr.)

DOWN 1. Not moving 2. “Baywatch” actress

Anderson 3. “Sin City” actress Jessica ____ 4. Old-school anesthetic 5. Grumpy, humorless 6. Red _____ (Jamaican lager) 7. “Angel dust”, perhaps 8. Foot appendage 9. “Bric-_____” 10. Fan of green eggs and ham 11. Sophisticated, refined 12. Present 14. Photographer’s need 18. ___ Diego 24. Cleveland ballers 26. Teacher’s grp.

29. Official in stripes 31. Prefix with liberal or conservative 32. ____ Romeo 34. Inhabit 35. Cheese type 38. Bad grade 40. Fighter jet sta.

41. “Before”, to Shakespeare 42. Affirmative vote 43. Normal (abbr.)

45. Miracle-___ (food for grasses) 47. Talking head Van Susteren 48. Shelter with a thatched roof, frequently

49. Tel. co.

50. Original in Munich 52. NY’s Schumer or AZ’s McCain 54. Carries out 55. Envelope content, often (abbr.)

58. Oracle 62. Legislation requiring accesability? (abbr.)

63. “Shaun of the Dead”

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

actor Simon ____ 65. Troupe for troops 66. Twitches 67. Witty Wilde and others 68. Goddess on the Acropolis 69. “To be” in Barcelona 71. Irritate, perhaps 73. Hopes’ companions 74. NH acad.

76. Spooky 77. Curves 79. Peter, Paul, and John, briefly 80. “It’s them ____” 82. Stir up 84. Poetic fields 87. Appropriate 88. Author of “The Masque of the Red Death”

HUMOR & SATIRE

December 2, 2010

Page 13

OPINIONS

Riding the Metro-North after dark not for the faint of heart

In which we attempt to spell ‘Hanukkah’ correctly

Tom Renjilian

Alanna Okun

Guest Columnist

F

S

act: Metro North at 12 a.m. is no episode of Thomas the Tank Engine. It’s not family-oriented. It’s disturbing. The people who take the train at midnight are a diverse group with one thing in common: They’re not people who should be in public, at any hour. Ever; I decide to spend the ride observing my companions. Let’s meet some of my new friends.

§ The man sitting next to me is the type of person who leaves his home on only rare occasions, perhaps to replenish canned goods or to bury one of his Rottweilers in the “family plot.” I wonder what he was doing in the Urban Jungle of NYC. Additionally, I wonder why, when the train is nearly empty, we’re still awkwardly sharing a seat. Maybe he thinks I’m cute.

The close proximity gives me an opportunity to closely examine his Pre-Industrial-American Apparel. When he removes his requisite camouflage jacket, I notice my friend is wearing a shirt featuring a menacing but beautiful wolf sprawled gallantly across his chest.

At first glance, the wolf seemed to lack eyes. But now I realize that by some miraculous act of fate the shirt obtained holes exactly where the wolf’s eyes once were, allowing my friend’s chest hair to seductively poke out like one of those baby books with furry ani-

Courtesy of wikipedia.org

§ Behind me is a group of Hipster Youth returning from an Ecstasyfueled binge in En Why See to their Suffocating Suburban Life in someplace like “Ossining.” One of the hipsters is wearing pants so tight that I think they’re actually choking him. He’s been gasping for air since Yonkers. I am sincerely worried. But I also strongly desire his approval/MySpace friendship.

I consider “accidentally” dropping my iPod so he can see that I own EVERY SINGLE Arcade Fire album.

The Metro-North, pictured above, is patronized by the least pleasant people you will ever have the misfortune of meeting. Seriously, just don’t ride it. mal pictures that you can look at and also feel (although we’re still at the “look don’t touch” stage of our relationship.) I admire this fashion statement. I consider befriending the man.

“I love wildlife too,” I imagine myself saying to him.

“I killed a wolf with a rock last night,” I imagine him replying.

We decide to cohabitate in silence. § In the seat across from me a romantic date is happening. A burly man cuddles with a woman who looks like she might own a snake.

Over the dulcet notes of a band you’ve never heard of (Bon Jovi), I hear the man say the word “rave.” I turn my music off and lean closer.

The Lone Wolf is snoring and obscures parts of their conversation. I hear the following snippets: “Back in Ohio…burnt out 13-year-olds…in that scene…throw their lives away… little asshole…punched in the face… didn’t retaliate…nonviolent…that’s why I don’t go to raves anymore.”

From what I can gather, the man seems to be confusing the word

“rave” with “the ball pit at Chuck E. Cheese.” The woman seems impressed (although personally, I think she’s just glad this one didn’t try to put her in his trunk). Apparently she is impressed enough to decide that right now would be the perfect time for the two of them to share an intimate kiss. I toy with the idea of taking a picture of what I assume is both of their first kisses, but decide against it. The kiss started at Croton-Harmon and is still going full steam at New Hamburg.

Look at a map. That’s a long fucking time. The hipsters and my wolf friend are gone. It’s just me and the star-crossed lovers, and they’re not showing signs of stopping any time soon. I begin to get very, very nervous. Will tonight be the night I finally lose my innocence?

Fortunately, just before they begin to disrobe, the voice of God intervenes. “Poughkeepsie!” the Lord shouts from the heavens.

“Last stop, Poughkeepsie.” The two lovers spring apart in shame. I am saved— and never taking public transportation again.

Weekly Calendar: 12/2 - 12/8

Humor & Satire Editor

o Hanukkah started yesterday, on the 25th day of Kislev*. If you haven’t broken out the menorah, polished up your dreidel skillz and stocked up on gelt yet, you’re doing it wrong, because Hanukkah/Hannukah/Chanukah/Chanuxblargh is the most underrated holiday ever.

Hanukkah isn’t actually that important in terms of Jewish holy days; the ones where you get all your sins absolved because you’re just such a mensch are a lot weightier. The only reason it gets any play at all is because of its proximity to Christmas. The Semitic powers that be clearly saw a ripe opportunity, so they developed a hasty color scheme (silver and blue, you guys? Really? Are we a basketball team from the University of Totally Gay?) and started marketing chocolate coins to the masses. In the face of the red/green/tinsel**, carol-filled, mall-Santa’ed ball of goddamn joy and delight that constitutes Christmas, Hanukkah can come off looking kind of puny.

Even in my ostensibly Jewish family, Hanukkah has always played second fiddle to the Christmas juggernaut. My mother was raised Catholic, converting to Judaism when she married my father (and joining a klezmer band along the way, natch), and so her parents still celebrate the Big C***. We visit them in Virginia every year for eggnog, structurally-unsound gingerbread houses and some good old-fashioned rabid commercialism. In a way, growing up with both holidays was kind of a raw deal; I was always on the outskirts of all the Christmas fervor, nursing a malignant case of tree envy towards all my towheaded/button-nosed/probably uncircumcised friends. And yet the enormous letdown I experienced when I found out ALERT ALERT IF YOU DO NOT WANT YOUR CHILDHOOD PEED ALL OVER DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER ALERT that Santa was just my mom armed with a Toys ‘R’ Us bag and a dinner bell was singularly goy.

However, the Festival of Lights has a few distinct advantages over the Birth of the Savior. Unlike Christmas, Hanuk-

kah is eight days long, and you never know when those eight days are going to occur. (Like a surprise party! For everyone!) Also unlike Christmas, Hanukkah does not feature according foliage or a rotund man who really, really wants you to sit on his lap. What comes with the Chosen Peoples’ territory is a delectable potato-based food even greasier than disco fries, a motley assortment of Nickelodeon holiday specials and a totally bitchin’ origin story. Like, that whole born-in-a-manger thing is cute if you’re into Lifetime Original Movies, but fighting to overcome religious oppression and oil that burns for eight whole days and GRECO-FUCKINGSYRIANS? Take a seat, Baby Jesus.

It’s not as fun or sexy or marketable as Christmas, and there haven’t been as many claymation movies about adorable reindeer created in response to it, but I think there’s still room for Hanukkah even for college students. Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins is one of the great literary masterworks of the last century; I highly recommend checking that ish out. And not to debase a longstanding, family-oriented tradition or anything, but dreidel has the potential to be the best drinking game since a little thing I like to call “beer pong.” (I also may or may not have worked out a set of rules for strip dreidel.) While we’re at it, let’s give some love to Kwanzaa, Las Posadas, the Hopi Soyaluna ceremony, the Winter Solstice****, and any other upcoming festivals/ceremonies/ weird-ass rituals observed by angry Vassar kids who are at this moment writing strongly-worded letters to the Misc about how I am bound straight for Hell/Helheim/the Poughkeepsie DMV. Oy * I wouldn’t have known that date for all the shekels in Jerusalem if it weren’t for Yahoo! Answers. ** Tinsel is too a color! *** Not to be confused with The Big C, that terrible terrible new Showtime series about an insufferable suburban mom living with cancer that stars Laura Linney as said insufferable suburban mom. It’s terrible. **** All of those also thanks to Yahoo!

Answers.

by Alanna Okun, Humor & Satire Editor

Thursday, 12/2

Saturday, 12/4

7:30 p.m. Hanukkah Candle Light. It will technically have

3 p.m. Tea. “So, how was going home for Thanksgiving?”

8 p.m. “99 Nights In.” 99 nights in what? That weird single

Rose Parlor.

bathroom on the first floor of Joss? Mortal peril? The loving arms of Matthew Vassar’s exhumed corpse? Alumnae/i House.

Editor’s Note: I could have used this opportunity to make an alltoo-easy “your mom” joke, but I refrained because a) the Misc is a highly reputable and professional publication and b) I am a lady.

Editor’s Note: Your mom is all too easy!

already been Hanukkah for like five days before this, but what can you do. Cushing.

8 p.m. “Angels in America Part Two: Perestroika.” As I have mentioned in calendars past, perestroika is literally one of my favorite things ever…Powerhouse.

Tuesday, 12/7 3 p.m. Tea. “Yikes, that sucks. At least nobody got unbeliev-

ably drunk and tried to light the turkey on fire. I’ve heard that’s called ‘pulling a Cappy.’” Rose Parlor.

8 p.m. Condom Couture Fall Show …besides condoms

that have been melted and reformed into the shape of tiny little dick-tuxedos. HOW WILL I EVER DECIDE HOW TO SPEND MY THURSDAY NIGHT YOU GUYS?!?!? UpC.

11 p.m. Moulin Rouge. Come what may, I will love crepes with Nutella and maybe also some bananas and those delicious little crushed nuts until my dying day. Villard Room.

Friday, 12/3

9 p.m. Matthew’s Minstrel’s Final Concert. You’re going to suffer some pretty severe Minstrel cramps if you skip out on this. Unless, of course, you happen to have some Matthew’s Midol on hand. Taylor Hall.

3 p.m. Tea. “Fine, I guess. You know how lovely the outskirts

of Detroit are at this time of year. I went to my high school’s homecoming football game and got hit on by my substitute algebra teacher. And then I got hit by the football.” Rose Parlor.

4 p.m. Caribbean Holiday. Best part: no air travel required

to get there, ergo no TSA regulations, ergo no getting your nads fondled by a large man in a polyester uniform. Probably. Villard Room.

Sunday, 12/5

7 p.m. Contrast Launch Party. The latest issue of Contrast will literally be launched through the stratosphere into the farthest known recesses of space in order to teach alien lifeforms about the profound benefits of jeggings. Take that, Russians! Faculty Commons.

Wednesday, 12/8 3 p.m. Tea. “Thanksgiving at Acrop next year?” “Totes.”

Rose Parlor.

Monday, 12/6

5 p.m. Group Reading of A Christmas Carol. Carol sure

3 p.m. Tea. “Yeah, mine was weird too. It’s the first time the

sounds like a slut. Rose Parlor.

whole family’s been together since my cousin’s bat mitzvah, and Great-Uncle Lou made some withering remarks about her nose job. At least we think he did; his English has always been kind of questionable.” Rose Parlor.

7:30 p.m. “Oh Ohh OHHH! Female Sexual Pleasure.” Here’s a tip: give her a foot rub and a box of Milk Duds and you’re halfway there. Oh, that’s just me? Shut it down. UpC.

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

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December 2, 2010

Fly People showcase semester’s dance progress Mitchell Gilburne

O

Features Editor

Juliana Halpert/The Miscellany News

ne part technique, one part energy and all attitude, Vassar College’s Fly People channel the ancient spirits of rhythm and coordination to great effect as they further the mission to bring the beat to campus. Sure to get heads bobbing and feet tapping, the Fly People make their presence known wherever there is music to be heard and fun to be had. In this spirit, the Fly People present a Works in Progress show at the end of every fall semester to remind campus that finals time can still be fly. This year, the showcase will be held on Dec. 3 and 4 at 8 p.m. in the Frances Daly Fergusson Dance Theater and boasts one of the most exciting programs in recent memory.

Boasting a record 31 members, the Fly People are poised to make an explosive impression. Kelli DevitteMcKee ’12 explained, “It’s the most talented group of people we’ve had yet and it will be the best works in progress show that we’ll have yet.”

Echoing this sentiment, Sam Schrader ’11 attributes much of the hype surrounding the performance to an incredible influx of talent from the class of 2014 noting, “I think the freshmen talent is incredible, when we had auditions earlier this fall we were just astounded by the amount of talent. We had to turn some very good people away because there were just so many of them!”

President Stephanie Alimena ’11 believes that that Fly People have something to offer every person on campus, citing their willingness to shake their groove thangs to any beat, “I’m most excited about the fact that we’re showing so many different styles of dance,” Devitte-McKee explained.

“It’s a really good mix. We have some ’80s, some hip-hop, and one dancer is even doing a dance about her thesis on American History which is very repre-

Vassar College’s Fly People, pictured above, will be performing their annual Works in Progress show on Dec. 3 and 4 at 8 p.m. in the Frances Daly Fergusson Dance Theater. The show will feature a group dance, the theme of which is super heroes. sentative…it’s so Vassar that someone would do a dance about their thesis!”

Other segments to look out for include the conceptual opening piece choreographed by Mike Graceffa ’13 which features a troop of animalistic forest dwellers encountering a great white bird who dances on point.

There is also a number that Alimena describes as “Toy Story gone bad” which portrays the ordeal of a little girl who is tormented by her toys as they spring into action under the cover of darkness.

The most anticipated component of the show, however, is always the group dance that features the entirety of Fly People, and promises a theme befitting the timbre of the organization. Devitte-McKee reveals this years motif with glee: “This year the theme

is super heroes, which is completely fly. I mean obviously, because superheroes fly! You can expect your usual Fly People flavor with even higher energy!”

Alimena is particularly invested in this, her final works in progress showcase, as it represents a final milestone in her Vassar experience. A “Fly Person” since her freshman year, Alimena is proud to look back upon the developments and accomplishments of her Fly family, “In the time that I’ve been at Vassar I’ve seen us grow so much,” she continues, “I’m excited to see the product of the hard work we’ve done so far.” Schrader furthers promotes the event as greater than its name may suggest, explaining, “I feel as though it’s going to be more than a works in progress showcase. All of

the dances are in such a solid place right now and have a really solid foundation, and its going to be a great show for that reason.”

Regardless of the quality of the performance, the spring semester represents an opportunity for the Fly People to improve, expand, innovate, and continue to spread infectious fun through dance. Schrader believes that the potential of the organization’s newest members will have a large bearing on the group’s future success noting, “I think the freshman talent is really encouraging, especially for the future of Fly People.”

It is this future which DevitteMcKee wishes to prepare for, “Over the past few years we’ve really tried to prove, and we’ve been successful, that we are a legitimate dance group

on campus,” she says, “We have very talented people, and I think that’s always a continuing goal; to show that we have lots of talent, and also to have fun and spread fun by performing and being able to express creativity.”

Coming off of the heels of the Spring 2010 semester, Alimena sees the immediate future as the perfect time to assess goals, refine techniques and outlooks, and push the club towards even greater legitimacy. She explains, “The theme of this year has been moving forward and expanding what we know is core to the group. We want to improve the things that have already been set down and trying to go beyond them a little bit too.”

Alimena specifically wishes to redefine the manner in which the Fly People engage with the community, especially beyond Vassar’s campus, “Next semester we are hoping to get out into the Poughkeepsie community more,” she asserts earnestly, “I think that dance has a lot to offer people and I would love to look into performing at nursing homes, and schools. I want to take it beyond just us.”

With these goals in mind and a group-wide attitude that looks beyond technical ability alone, the Fly People make up a unique brand of entertainer. When defining a Fly Person, Schrader offered: “I think that being a Fly Person entails having a certain level of technique and coming into a community of dancers whose common goal is to really create joy in dance. In other more professional settings it’s to create art, but I think with Fly People it’s more about the joy that’s created through dance.” And according to Devitte-McKee, the Fly People lavish in joy by the bushel: “[Being a Fly Person] means to be someone who really loves to move and dance and to have more fun than you’ve ever had in your life!”

‘Wizards of Poughkeepsie’ set to charm community Emma Daniels

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Reporter

hile other seven-year-olds play Thanksgiving vegetable sides or religious figures in winter-themed productions for their families and peers, Shatajah “Tajah” Kessler will be participating in a play for a much larger audience. Every elementary school student in grades three, four and five from the Poughkeepsie School District will be watching Tajah, one of the four elementary school kids in R.E.A.L. Hip Hop Theater’s production of “Wizards of Poughkeepsie,” a play loosely based on the musical “The Wiz.” “I like singing, I like wizards, I like ‘The Wiz,’” said Kessler, a singer in the production who says she is in talks with Disney about possibly getting signed. “And I like being in this show because the show is like ‘The Wiz.’” Hip Hop Theater was founded by Poughkeepsie native Tree Arington and Jackson Kroopf ’10 as part of Arlington’s R.E.A.L Skills Network, Inc., a program that strives to spread knowledge about Relationships, Empowerment, Affirmation and Leadership around the community it serves. When he was a Vassar student, Kroopf was a Community Action Coordinator, someone who finds and facilitates opportunities for Vassar students to get involved in the Poughkeepsie community. He met Arington at a lecture in 2008, who had long been active in working with youth in the Poughkeepsie community.

After Arington broached the idea of a hiphop theater program, Kroopf began to get other students involved to direct, write, stage manage or help in whatever capacity they could, and in September of 2008 R.E.A.L. Hip Hop Theater was born. After his graduation last semester, Kroopf received a Compton Mentor Fellowship to assist him in directing the program. The

Compton Mentor Fellowship is a $35,000 stipend given to support graduating seniors who plan on continuing real-world projects that began in college.

This year, the organization also developed an official tie with Vassar by partnering with the student group Hip Hop 101. The partnership came about because R.E.A.L. Hip Hop Theater wanted to have a presence on campus and institutional support from the Vassar Student Association.

“Hip Hop 101 is there to provide help for shows, advertising and applying for funds,” said Carola Beeney ’11, one of Hip Hop 101’s presidents. “Plus, we’re all friends!” Indeed, two of the members of Hip Hop 101’s executive board also participate in the R.E.A.L. Hip Hop Theater program.

A partnership with the theater program is also a perfect fit with Hip Hop 101’s philosophy.

“In Hip Hop 101’s mission statement, there is discussion of a desire to do community outreach in fun and meaningful ways, so the union made a lot of sense,” said Beeney.

Every Tuesday and Thursday from 4 to 6 p.m., the members of R.E.A.L Hip Hop Theater meet at the Family Partnership Center in central Poughkeepsie to rehearse, build sets and share knowledge about all four aspects of hiphop: graffiti, DJ-ing, rapping and dancing.

Charlie Warren ’12, the program’s director, said, “We aim to create really high quality theater productions, even though our subject matter may be untraditional.” When the program meets, the members of various ages do everything from making costumes to constructing platforms for sets made of donated wood. Warren explained, “There’s a lot of diverse tasks that go into the production of theater, and so there’s room for a lot of different skill sets in the program.”

“We’re a very diverse group of people,” said Kroopf. “There’s not any other group that gathers people from Vassar, Dutchess Community College, Poughkeepsie High School and Poughkeepsie Middle and Elementary Schools.”

Arington commented on the social change to which R.E.A.L. Hip Hop Theater contributes.

“It has a tendency to give voices to individuals who wouldn’t traditionally have one, to participate in productions that allow them to share,” he said.

The program’s setting is the Latif Islam Auditorium in the Family Partnership Center, and since the building formerly housed both Poughkeepsie High School and Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School, the auditorium has a lot of historical significance in the community.

Warren said, “The other day at the hardware store I met someone who performed in the space 30 years ago.”

The space’s original lighting board is still used; it resembles something from the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, a huge piece of equipment covered with quirky dials, labels and levers. The stage’s backdrop is a huge mural emblazoned with the words “Hip Hop Don’t Stop,” a piece of graffiti collaboratively painted during R.E.A.L Hip Hop Theater’s last performance, a sold-out production.

“It’s pretty significant that we filled a 1,100-person theater in a city of 75,000 people,” noted Kroopf. This fall’s production, “Wizards of Poughkeepsie,” further reconnects the space to the Poughkeepsie community, with the inordinate quantity of elementary school children coming to watch the Hip Hop Theater performance on Monday, Dec. 6.

“R.E.A.L Skills does most of its work outside the school district,” said Kroopf, “so having every third, fourth and fifth grader in the district come is a big step.”

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

To appeal to the large student audience, the play, written collaboratively by Kroopf, Warren, Sharon Onga ’13, Kevin Guckin ’11 and other Vassar students, is loosely based on both “The Wiz” and The Wizard of Oz, however it also addresses themes topical to the community with the help of a hip-hop feel and the moves of dance team M*Power.

“Only 30 percent of the kids who start in the Poughkeepsie School District graduate from high school, so we tried to make the play have a clear and accessible message for elementary school kids about the importance of education,” explained Kroopf. The protagonist is Destiny, a high school student in Poughkeepsie with no interest in going to college. She gets transported to “Power Kingdom,” where she finds a ruby backpack, and eventually travels on a path to R.E.A.L University. The acronym is slightly altered from that used by R.E.A.L Skills, to Relationships, Esteem, Academics and Leadership. Both Kroopf and Warren emphasized the fact that the purpose of the program is not solely to mentor.

“Because there is a high ratio of college to high school students, people are able to have conversations and develop relationships,” explained Kroopf. “The program can be seen as college students importing knowledge to younger students, but there is equal growth between high school and college students.”

Warren said, “R.E.A.L Hip Hop Theater is about creating an atmosphere where people feel comfortable being themselves; school doesn’t do this for everyone.” Kroopf agreed. “I didn’t find as much inspiration in my classes as in this space,” he commented, “and since we’re doing self representational stuff we’re able to reimagine our circumstances on stage.”

At noon on Sunday, Dec. 5, there is a dress rehearsal of the “Wizards of Poughkeepsie” at the Family Partnership Center open to the public.

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December 2, 2010

Page 15

A brief guide to Vassar’s holiday happenings Rachael Borné

Assistant Arts Editor

an aphrodisiac. Tickets are $5 at the door and $3 if purchased in advance.

Thursday, December 2

Hanukkah Candle Lighting Davison House MPR, 7:30 p.m.-8: 30 p.m.: Celebrate the second night of Hanukkah by lighting your own menorah, singing songs, and eating chocolate coins and delicious donuts deep fried in oil to symbolize the oil that burned for eight days in the Hanukkah story. The Vassar Jewish Union (VJU) sponsors dorm candle lighting every year to bring a warm sense of community to students celebrating the holiday away from home.

Saturday, December 4

Friday, December 3

Sunday, December 5

African Caribbean Navidad Villard Room, 6 p.m.-8 p.m.: Join the Caribbean Students’ Alliance (CSA), the African Students’ Union, and Poder Latino/a for a night of music, dance, food and holiday celebration. Student performers include The Body-Electric Afrofunk Band, CSA dancers, Rebecca Rose ’11, Crystal Tung ’11, Fairuz Faatin ’13, Nana Takyi Baffour-Awuah ’14, Akeel St Vil ’14, and Tajin Ribe ’12. Plantains, ham, cakes, and other traditional delights from the Caribbean and Latin America will be served. Tickets are $8 at the door and $6 if purchased in advance.

Lessons and Carols Service Main Chapel, 7:00 p.m.-8: 30 p.m.: This annual Christmas service will include readings, choral anthems, congregational carols and a candle lighting ceremony. The Lessons and Carols Choir, brought together specifically for this event and numbering almost 150 singers, is made up of the Vassar College Choir, Vassar College Women’s Chorus, and the Cappella Festiva Chamber Choir, as well as singers from the Vassar community. Emeritus Professor of English Eamon Grennan will read his poem “Still Life with Christmas Decorations,” Nathan Carlisle, member of the Metropolitan Opera Chorus will perform with the choir, and a piece composed by Thomas Juneau entitled “The People Who Walked in Darkness” will be performed. The event is very popular, so guests are encouraged to arrive early to ensure that they get a seat.

Squirm’s Hot Chocolate Rose Parlor, 9 p.m.-12 a.m.: Squirm puts a sexy twist on a classic holiday treat with its annual event, Hot Chocolate. Guests will watch the moves of Vassar Ballroom as well as the sultry, tantalizing belly dancing of a very special guest.

All are welcome to pass sinuous anonymous notes and feast their eyes on the slideshow of artistic nudes. A line up of scrumptious desserts includes a triple chocolate black forest cake, homemade baklava, Earl Grey truffles, fondue, along with other delightful vegan and non-vegan cakes and cookies. Use the holiday season as an excuse to indulge, not to mention—chocolate is

Hanukkah Candle Lighting and Israeli Dancing Lathrop House MPR, 7:30 p.m.-9: 30 p.m.: Join the Vassar Jewish Union to celebrate the fourth night of Hanukkah. Light a candle on your menorah, eat some donuts, some chocolate coins, and learn traditional Israeli folk dances from the Vassar Jewish Union’s rabbinic intern. The dances are fun and upbeat because they are done together as a big group in a circle.

Hanukkah Candle Lighting and Rugrats Cartoons Jewett Parlor, 7:30 p.m.-9: 30 p.m.: Celebrate the fifth night of Hanukkah with the Vassar Jewish Union. There will be chocolate coins, donuts, and after the candles are lit—Rugrats! The famous Hanukkah Rugrats episode will be shown to get students in the holiday spirit.

Matthew’s Minstrels Go to the North Pole!

Taylor Hall 102, 9:00 p.m.-10: 30 p.m.: Vassar’s oldest co-ed a capella group presents their final concert with holiday music and merriment. The group will be dressed in appropriate Christmas regalia—cozy holiday sweaters.

The Minstrels will sing some old favorites and bring some new hits to the stage.

ViCE Film League Holiday Spectacular Students’ Building 2nd Floor MPR, 8:00 p.m.10:00 p.m.: After some tough deliberation, Vassar College Entertainment (ViCE) decided they would mix it up this holiday season—they want to help students get on Santa’s bad list, so they’re showing a double feature of How the Grinch Stole Christmas (the old-school 1966 cartoon version) and Die Hard. Expect festive decorations and holiday snacks to get you in the winter spirit.

Wednesday, December 8

Dramatic Reading of A Christmas Carol Rose Parlor, 5:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m.: A group of English and Victorian Studies majors from the English 255 class on Nineteenth-Century British Novels will present a dramatic reading of Charles Dickens’ classic, A Christmas Carol. Students will act out voices of iconic characters like Scrooge, wear costumes and highlight Dickens’ creative story. Guests can snack on holiday cookies and tea. Benumbing!

Hanukkah Candle Lighting and Discussion Bayit MPR, 7:30 p.m.-8: 30 p.m.: The candle lighting tradition will make its last stop at the Bayit House for singing, eating, making merry and a community meeting. Students are invited to come discuss and give feedback on Vassar Jewish Union programs that have taken place throughout the semester.

‘Adding Machine’ ambles through afterlife Adam Buchsbaum

I

Reporter

Juliana Halpert/The Miscellany News

t is hard to describe “The Adding Machine.”

The 1923 play has a plot, characters, and interaction like other plays, but the work is intentionally encoded in ambiguity. Not even the cast agrees on what exactly it means. “The whole play is a loaded question,” said Paul Spanagel ’14. “It’s complex, in a really good way.”

Spanagel plays Charles in this latest Philaletheis production, a snarky know-it-all entity who acts as a guide for the protagonist, Mr. Zero, played by David Waldinger ’13, in his afterlife. The play follows Mr. Zero both as he lives, as a man working a dead-end, unfulfilling job he hates as a member of a larger, industrialized machine, and in death, when he awakes in the Elysian Fields, which in Roman mythology is a resting place for the souls of the dead.

A discussion the cast had with the director, Chris Campbell-Orrock ’13, is telling of how many different perspectives can be used to view the play. This talk began with the intent of being a simple 10-minute discussion. However, it easily spiraled into a one hour back-and-forth debate over the play—its characters, intent and meaning. “We couldn’t reconcile our ideas,” said Julia Sharpe-Levine ’14, who plays Daisy, one of Mr. Zero’s co-workers. “And the director ended up having a completely different take on the play than the person playing Mr. Zero, the lead.”

Sharpe-Levine herself also disagreed with Campbell-Orrock, feeling that the Elysian Fields Mr. Zero awakes in is a sort of nirvana—a final, blissful, and desirable paradise. Campbell-Orrock felt unsure of the meaning of this afterlife, but concluded it surely cannot be paradise.

Waldinger explained his interpretation of the play: “I think that the show is very much advocating for a sort of self-actualization. A person really embracing their own desires and passions and taking advantage of them.”

Campbell-Orrock chose the play because he found the script interesting in its strongly negative attitude against the industrialized marketplace. “I think it should raise a question in people’s minds and start a discussion. It’s not the most profound of discussions but it’s meant to continually question the goals of industrialization and its effects on social limits,” explained Campbell-Orrock.

Above, students act out a scene from the 1923 play “The Adding Machine.” Philaletheis will be staging its production of the play from Dec. 2-4 at 8p.m. in Rockefeller Hall room 200.

The production, like all productions, presented unique challenges. Rehearsals were inconsistent and sometimes split off the ensemble from the main characters, and the main roles from each other, as an unfortunate result of scheduling issues. Dialogue also provided a problem for both Waldinger and Sharpe-Levine. Waldinger has an almost exhaustively long monologue—in fact, he speaks five pages of text at one point without the luxury of a dialogue cue. Sharpe-Levine has to recite a long list of arbitrary numbers and must switch between talking to herself and to someone else.

It is befitting of this play, with its range of interpretations, to also have a wide range of acting experiences. Its cast is a hodgepodge of experience in theater at Vassar. New actors, slightly experienced freshmen and veterans alike are in the performance. “It really was just a pleasure to kind of pull all that together and try to marry different experiences with theater and expose people to new ideas,” Campbell-Orrock said. But there seems one commonality left: an agreement that the play makes you think.

“It’s forcing the audience and the actors to consider questions about the nature of our real-

ity and of our purpose, [questions] that people might think about, but not feel the need to come to an answer to,” Spanagel said. Despite the dark, somber experience it may present, the cast points to the strong connections they have forged with each other as one of the best things about the experience of creating this production. “The people that I’ve had the opportunity to work with have been wonderful and made this process so enjoyable,” Waldinger said. But of course, the differences of opinion will never be reconciled.

Sharpe-Levine said: “It doesn’t want you to feel comfortable when you leave the theater.”

Spanagel stands firm in his interpretation: “It presents things in a sort of light-hearted way that upon further inspection, upon further thought, you come to appreciate the depth of what was being said by the playwright and the actors.”

“The Adding Machine” will show from Dec. 2 to 4 at 8 p.m. in Rockefeller Hall room 200. “It’s a heavy piece. If someone’s looking for a load of laughs this may not be the best show,” Waldinger said. “But I think that it’s very thought-provoking and there certainly is comic relief, so I totally encourage people to come see it.”

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

Chic, safe: ProHealth’s latex looks Evan Lester

B

Reporter

rittany Ouyang ’11 just designed a vibrant dress that is both elegant and suitable for day-to-day wear. But the catch is in the material. “Using condoms as your primary material presents a host of challenges with construction,” wrote Ouyang in an e-mailed statement. “I wanted to create movement so my design incorporates forms of ruching and fringe, and a ton of bright colors. It’s a party dress perfect for any occasion.”

Condom Couture, dubbed “Vassar’s firstever condom fashion show,” hosted by ProHealth and the Black Students Union (BSU) on Dec. 2 at 8 p.m. in the second floor of the Students’ Building, is the reason behind Ouyang’s chic creation. The event will be engaging for the student body, while also raising awareness for HIV/AIDS in light of World AIDS Day on Dec. 1. .

“The idea behind the show was that we have done World AIDS Day week in the past, [and] they have never been successful,” said Nicole Krenitsky ’11, the president of ProHealth. “A condom fashion show has been an up-and-coming event for FACE AIDS chapters across the country, and ProHealth is one of those chapters. Recently, some very high-end designers have started doing them, so we thought this would be more eye-catching.”

On Dec. 5, 2008 Oregon State University held a similar Condom Fashion Show in celebration of Worlds AIDS day. The designs ranged from a giant, clear condom that fit over entire person to condom-sequined vests, condom-covered dresses and bikinis made entirely from condoms. Also, revered Colombian fashion designer Belky Arizala has organized, designed for and appeared in her own AIDS awareness event, The Soul has No Color, in Colombia.

World AIDS Day represents a time of reflection regarding the widespread effects of a disease that today is as prevalent and damaging as ever. Since the beginning of the epidemic, over one million people have been diagnosed with AIDS in the United States. “I know we’re not going to solve the AIDs pandemic or anything but I think every little bit helps,” Victoria Qiu ’14 wrote of Condom Couture in an e-mailed statement.

Krenitsky is very excited about the prospects of this event. “I can’t wait to see the vibe of the audience surrounding the event because I think some of the educational material we will be doing will really drive the message home about HIV/AIDS on our campus and in our community,” she said.

“It will also be fun, with a DJ and fashion show. You cannot go wrong.”

Vassar students have been working hard to ensure the success of this event, and plenty of other students have designed entries using expired condoms from the Health Center.

“Working with condoms is definitely a unique challenge, but they are actually quite a dynamic medium,” wrote Logan Woodruff ’14 in an e-mailed statement. “My design experiments with different ways to present condoms in a unique, sexy, and accessible way.”

Celebrity judges Alyssa Aparicio ’11 and Mat Leonard ’11 will appear along with DJ Shark Attackz (Alejandro Calcano ’11 and Sarah Morrison ’11) and MC Mitchell Gilburne ’12, with a performance by the dance troupe Hype and desserts made by the Black Culinary Society of the Culinary Institute of America. The proceeds of the event will be split between a local HIV/ AIDS organization, The HIV Care Center: The Ryan White Organization for the Hudson Valley, and the global organization Partners in Health Rwanda.

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Kushner’s epic explores ’80s zeitgeist

Instrumentalist Healy conducts, composes Erik Lorenzsonn Arts Editor

F

or a high school pianist to be offered a gig at New York City’s hallowed Carnegie Hall is a striking achievement. But when opportunity presented itself to Will Healy ’12 to play there as a senior in high school courtesy of the Abby Whiteside foundation, he had no choice but to turn it down: Tendonitis in his wrists had forced him to take leave from the ivory keys.

Now in his junior year at Vassar, Healy finally ended his hiatus from piano with panache: last year he was a finalist in Vassar Orchestra’s concerto competition, and performed “Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart for their spring concert. But despite his break from piano, Healy had already made a name for himself as a talented musician at Vassar.

He is also an accomplished trumpeter, and participates in Vassar College Orchestra, Vassar College Jazz Ensemble and the Mahagonny Ensemble.

Healy’s successes at Vassar stem from an introduction to music at a young age. He began honing his skills on piano at the age of four, as his childhood friend Elodie Blakely ’12 recalls. “I’ve known Will since I was five,” said Blakely. “In kindergarten, I watched him play Carol of the Bells, and was like, ‘That kid is going places.’”

Healy took up trumpet in the fourth grade, and though he focused his attention exclusively on piano in high school, he made the decision to return to the brass his freshman year at Vassar while his tendonitis improved:“When I got here, I was like, shit, I really need to play an instrument,” said Healy.

One of his major musical commitments over the past two years has been as trumpeter with the Mahagonny Ensemble, the student organization devoted to contemporary chamber music. Recently, Healy stepped up to take on a leadership position as the ensemble’s director. The position comes with its own set of challenges, such as choosing the music the group will play—currently they are rehearsing some lesser-known ragtimes by Igor Stravinsky—and even conducting.

“It’s a lot harder than I thought it would

Matt Foster/The Miscellany News

ANGELS continued from page 1 questions it attempts to address. Set in New York City in the late 1980s, it attempts to capture the pulse of Americans struggling to discover their identity in a period of momentous change. There are multiple subplots woven around a central thread involving a neurotic Jewish man called Louis Ironson, who learns that his boyfriend has AIDS. Unable to face this reality, he moves out, but struggles with the intense guilt he feels afterwards.

The play’s title “Perestroika” is a reflection of the multiple themes of the play: the Russian word, basically meaning “restructuring,” refers to the alterations that were being made in the ’80s, both in the characters’ lives as well as in the larger international domain.

“The play parallels with the fall of communism and the theory of organizing governments and people. With the characters realizing their freedom of expression, the play shows how human life cannot be contained by this theory of organization,” said Mueller.

The play addresses numerous social themes, such as homosexuality in the ’80s, the stigma of AIDS in society and political issues like espionage and treason during the Cold War period. The play unwinds in a complex pattern that intertwines all these seemingly disjointed themes into a single, coherent story.

“It’s a sprawling play and exists on a couple of different planes of reality, it’s almost like the play is coming apart at the seams, but the beauty in the words and the language of the text produce magical moments, so the audience can connect to the story being told,” said Mueller.

“Perestroika” has elements of magic-realism, where characters escape into spiritual realms and encounter angels and dead ancestors. This magic realism blends with the daily struggles of all the characters as they attempt to find a path through the world they exist in and the world they have created in their minds. “The play tells a very interesting story of an individual’s relation to the world—how do you live in a world where you have to live with other people? How do you balance your individual earth-bound struggles, but also create your own spiritual place?” said Matt Bourne ’11, who plays Louis Ironson.

The complexity of the play is revealed in the convoluted nature of the characters as well. The portrayal of these multi-faceted characters poses a stimulating challenge to the actors. Said Bourne, “It’s challenging because I don’t agree with all the choices that my character makes. But this is also what makes it interesting, the fact that Louis does not have black or white morals but his ideas fall into the gray, like most of us. He is someone who wants to do the right thing, but he just isn’t able to.”

Perestroika is the culmination of almost three months of work on the part of the cast and crew. “I think we began working on the production two days before even classes began. There was just so much to be accomplished,” said Bourne. The focus of the production is chiefly on the richness of the characters and plot.

“We decided not to have a super-complicated set because we didn’t want characters to be married to the spaces,” said Mueller.

“The audiences are going to be engaged in the characters and the plot as opposed to the mechanics and technicalities.”

Despite being written in 1986, the themes of the play continue to remain as relevant today as they were 25 years ago. It throws light on what it means to be American in the last 30 years and illustrates the struggle of a generation. “Vassar is of course a very liberal environment, but in the outside world the issues addressed in the play definitely exist, the play energizes thought and reaction and makes us question how much progress is worth to us,” said Mueller.

December 2, 2010

Will Healy ’12, pictured above, is both an accomplished pianist and trumpeter. He serves as the director of the Mahagonny Ensemble, and also plays with the popular Body Electric Afrofunk Band. be,” said Healy of conducting; whereas players in the group have the simple task of following everyone else, “you have to make sure that everyone can follow you.”

Healy has further broken out of his mold of classical and jazz performance by joining The Body Electric Afrofunk Band, an ensemble that has become a popular mainstay for jazz nights at Matthew’s Mug and elsewhere.

“I always really liked The Body Electric, but never thought I’d have time for it,” said Healy, who has long been friends with many of the group’s members. When the regular trumpeter for the group, Joe Schiavo ’12, went abroad for the semester, the rest of The Body Electric approached Healy to join their ranks.

Given the opportunity and some unprecedented availability in his schedule, he agreed to join. He has now developed a knack for funk-improvisation thanks to his time with the band, and has reconnected with an aspect of instrumental performance he has not nurtured since high school.

“When I was in high school, I played in a

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MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

band,” said Healy. “And when I got here, I felt like I was focusing a lot on classical and jazz.

I felt something was missing.”

Healy has filled the void with both The Body Electric and The Undergraduates; the latter is a band fronted by Healy’s friend, singer-songwriter Nina Vyedin ’11, for which Healy plays keyboard. His involvement with the bands only adds to the eclecticism of his repertoire: from the folk-rock of the Undergraduates to the afro-funk of The Body Electric, Healy’s musicianship spans a wide variety of genres. This variety could affect Healy’s future endeavors as a musician, since in addition to piano performance he wants to pursue writing his own music as well.

“I’d like to pursue classical composition,” said Healy. “But since I’m playing in so many different styles, all of them affect my music.”

Advantageous? Healy thinks so: “I don’t want to just replicate classical music.”

Check out Healy’s work with the Mahagonny Ensemble in their concert on Sunday, Dec. 12 at 3 p.m. in the Skinner Hall of Music.

ARTS

December 2, 2010

Page 17

Kanye’s comeback to rap is hip-hop gold My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy Kanye West [Roc-A-Fella Records]

Connor O’Neill

N

Guest Columnist

icki Minaj. Yelawolf. Curren$y. Each of these artists released a major label rap album on Nov. 23. Each of these records are now stumbling into each other in the dark shadow cast by the critical and commercial success of the other release last Thursday—Kanye West’s fifth studio album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. While Minaj’s Pink Friday will likely sell around 400,000 units by week’s end, West’s opus is projected to clock 600,000 during its first week and according to the review-collating site Metacritic, it is the most well-received album of the year.

And with good reason. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy finds West back in rapping mode after 2008’s 808s and Heartbreaks, a detour into auto-tuned electro-pop, and his rhymes are easily the best he has ever penned. His first lines of the album, on “Dark Fantasy,” read: “I fantasized about this back in Chicago/Mercy mercy me that Murcielago/That’s me the first year that I blow/How you say broke in Spanish? me no hablo.” And from that point on he, along with a slew of guests, proceed to tear through beats that range from the blockbuster (“All of the Lights”) to the warbling (“Devil in a New Dress”).

Ironically enough, it is not West who has the first word; instead it is Nicki Minaj who launches the palatial album in a feigned British accent talking about a “Twisted fiction, sick addiction/Well gather round children/Zip it listen!” thus setting the tone for a mythic journey into the underside of fame and hip-hop via West’s ego and imagination. L.A. Weekly writer Jeff Weiss joked that the album’s title was a reference to an erotic pamphlet distributed by the Brothers Grimm. It’s not, but the fiction is just as interesting, as West is clearly looking to re-write the conventional hip-hop mythos.

The album’s closer, “Who Will Survive in America” lifts a large portion of spoken word poet Gil Scott-Heron’s “Comment #1,” inserting only a beat behind it. The sample is more than a casual one; here he takes more than a line or two, rather paragraphs worth.

Scott-Heron, whose rhythmic delivery is often cited as laying the groundwork for the

Campus Canvas

role of the MC in hip-hop, is the perfect, if peculiar note to end on. Right back to the beginning—West is attempting to swallow the genre whole. Never bashful and always ambitious, we can almost hear West licking his chops. “This pimp is at the top of Mt. Olympus/Ready for the world’s game, this is my Olympics” he raps on “Gorgeous,” while on “Monster,” he rhymes, “I’m living in the future so the present is my past/My presence is a present, kiss my ass.”

If his head is in the future, then his eyes are on the sky. In the 35-minute video to accompany the song “Runaway,” fireworks explode across the sky and illuminate West’s face while “All of the Lights” plays. The song, whose list of features includes Rihanna, Fergie, KiD CuDi, John Legend, the Dream and even Elton John, is a grandiose piano-based tune that is as much marching band territory as it is pop. He opens the song rhyming, “Something wrong, I hold my head/MJ gone, our nigga dead.” The reference isn’t a surprising one; West has long sampled Michael Jackson’s music, but this is the first album that can really hope to contend with the polished, far reaching pop.

If Jay-Z is “Michael (Jordan), Magic and Bird in one,” as he raps in his album The Blueprint then West is Michael Jackson, Zeus, a pharaoh and the “LeBron of rhyme.”

Self mythologizing isn’t new to hip-hop, but no one has had the same sized platform or the same notoriety as West does. Two of the original yarn-spinners, the RZA and Raekwon of the Wu-Tang Clan, who spent much of the 1990s crafting alternate universes that blended Shaolin temples, New York claustrophobia and grime, and chess into warped, soulful hip-hop, appear on the album but in curious incarnations. West has so thoroughly ravaged “Gorgeous” by the time we get Rae’s name-brand droppings that he falls flat, and the RZA is sidelined on “So Appalled” to ranting “fuckin’ ridiculous” as the track closes. Even the most cinematic of MCs are no match for West here.

He might share the spotlight but top billing is all his.

That said, there are plenty of incredible guest spots on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Jay’s verses on “Monster” and “So Appalled” sound like he channelled his intensity from a 1995 version of himself, while Nicki Minaj steals the show “with a bad bitch that come from Sri Lanka/Yeah I’m in that Tonka, color of Willy Wonka.” Pusha T, of Clipse, turns in two satisfactory verses and Justin Vernon of folk group Bon Iver— who shares a penchant with West for heartfelt emoting through auto-tune—clocks

two catchy hooks. No I.D. and Bink!, two of West’s mentors, turn in breathtaking beats (“Dark Fantasy” and “Devil in a New Dress” respectively). Credit West with eliciting the best performances from his guests.

The most interesting features perhaps come from Rick Ross, who, like RZA, is boxed out and only allowed four bars on “Monster,” serving only to clear way for West’s verse. On “Devil in a New Dress” however, Ross turns in a performance unmatched in lyricism and intensity by anything off of his album Teflon Don, which was released earlier this year. He is engaging, terrifying and hilariously absurd (“whole click’s appetite had tapeworms/Spinnin Teddy Pendergrass vinyl as my J burns”), but most of all, flattering West. Notorious for creating his own persona and reality as he goes, here Ross is bowing to West, saying “had ciphers with yeezy before his mouth wired/before his jaw shattered, climbing up the lord’s ladder.”

If “excess is just [Ross’] character,” then it is West’s whole narrative. His shorter songs are five or six minutes, while his cornerstone, “Runaway,” stretches nine minutes and includes a three minute indiscernible auto-tune solo. It’s the closest he comes to rap science fiction, exploring the boundaries of humanity via technology and sampling, all on a song dedicated to douchebags and assholes. “I thought I was the asshole, I guess it’s rubbing off,” West raps. But the ambition to pursue an album this large and the talent to execute it isn’t so easily obtained.

The hook of the opener “Dark Fantasy” goes “Can we get much higher?” It’s hard not to hear it as a question about the album as a whole. And a hard one to answer.

In the end West’s eyes might be larger than his appetite. While he structures the album to be a revolutionizing, re-codifying of the genre, he panders mostly in relationship musings. “All of the Lights” is epic, yet tinged with his imagined failures with women while Runaway is confessional, yet bristling with misogyny. He wants more than anything for this to be a game changer, but he can’t quit looking in the mirror in the locker room.

Lots of folks are already calling this album perfect. It’s not. It’s messy and it’s top heavy. It’s certainly a cornerstone of West’s career and probably a turning point for rap and for pop, but it is not an outlier. It is simply, or rather, complexly, even inscrutably, the feather in the cap, 40 years after Gil Scott-Heron started talking about living upside down.

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The medium is welded steel frames, fleshed-out with chicken wire and then covered with plaster, HydroCal and cement. The location [the Art Library courtyard] has been calling to me for a while and I’ve attempted to install another artwork in there already–I’m glad I didn’t because it would not have been anywhere near as successful! I have been drawn to it because of it’s weirdness and ambiguity—it has no discernable purpose (it’s not even a smoking space!); it’s neither an interior nor an exterior; the starkness of the stone and the windows on all sides creates this feeling of being alone and being surrounded at the same time.

This was for an assignment for class, which was to change a specific space using at least two figures, but I seized on the opportunity to use the library courtyard. I chose to use four figures partly because the space has four walls, and partly because fewer figures would create too much conflict between the figures rather than uniting them as a collective Other of sorts. Originally I wanted the figures to be more realistically human and to focus on the idea of surveillance as “Watchers”; they were supposed to make eye contact through the windows.

But I strayed away from the obviousness of this first concept as I constructed them. The four-week-long process removed me so much from my original goal that I was literally watching them lose that human-ness as I built each one up, as their female bodies became insectlike and their faces were reduced to holes in a birdlike wedge. But where they had lost humanity they somehow attained individual personalities and distinctive gestures. The monsters that I had meant to be objects of fear suddenly had a capacity for fear themselves. They are still “watching,” but they watch each other as much as they watch the viewers. Their intention is as ambiguous as the space itself. I still don’t have a title for them, but it’s not “watchers.”

I mean, they’re still pretty creepy. Maybe I sympathize with them because I know them so well.

-Sam Shin ’12

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

1

2

Artist: Zach Hill

Album: Face Tat

Label: Sargent House

Artist: Warpaint

Album: The Fool

Label: Rough Trade

3

Album: Hexadecagon

Label: Peek-A-Boo

4

Album: Liasons

Label: Soft Abuse

Artist: Octopus Project

5

Artist: Pigeons

Artist: Jonquil

Album: 100 Suns [EP]

Label: Dovecote

Listen live at wvkr.org

Celebration of Lights Parade and Fireworks Downtown Poughkeepsie, 35 Market Street Friday, December 3, 6:30 p.m.

Get nostalgic with a good ole’ fashion holiday parade. Poughkeepsie’s annual tree lighting, fireworks, and parade celebration kicks off the holiday season with music, live performance, floats, and fun. The event will feature the Poughkeepsie High School Jazz Ensemble and Middle School Choir, the Amerscott Highland Pipers, several Hudson Valley Philharmonic brass ensembles, classic cars from the 50s and 60s, performances by Arm of the Sea Theatre, and of course, Santa Claus will make an appearance on a City of Poughkeepsie Fire Engine.

Koo Jeong A: Constellation Congress Dia:Beacon November 5, 2010 - June 26, 2011 Koo Jeong A’s exhibition is spread over three locations—Dia: Beacon, the Hispanic Society of America, and The Dan Flavin Art Institute. This three part project represents the first in depth exposure of Koo Jeong A’s work to American audiences. At the Dia: Beacon location, the artist will bring back an installation she first featured at the Venice Biennale in 2009. Nearly five thousand glittering stones will be placed in the two-acre fiend that makes up Dia: Beacon’s backyard. Koo Jeong A’s works focus on simplicity, respect, and reverence; they arouse feeling characteristic of the refreshing, surprising instance of a first encounter.

—Erik Lorenzsonn, Arts Editor

SPORTS

Page 18

December 2, 2010

Intramurals provide casual athletic opportunities for all Nathan Tauger

I

Guest Reporter

Juliana Halpert/The Miscellany News

ntramural sports at Vassar offer something for everyone, even if you’re only interested in playing dodgeball during the study break next week. And for those not interested in dodgeball there are numerous other sports.

Joe Proud, Director of Intramural Sports at Vassar and Head Coach of the College’s men’s lacrosse team, wrote in an e-mailed statement, “We have leagues for the following sports: outdoor and indoor soccer, volleyball, basketball, softball, indoor and outdoor tennis. We have tournaments and one day events throughout the year in: fencing, squash, badminton, golf, touch football, volleyball, and dodgeball. We’re going to use April and May this year as “tourney time” and have tournaments in most of these sports.”

Proud also has an intramural solution for students already stressed with finals. “We’ll have some stressbuster [tournaments] in volleyball and dodgeball during the upcoming study break.”

While intramurals may provide a means of relaxation for players, it can be a source of frustration for organizers. Jessica Lance ’11, organizer of three vs. three and five vs. five intramural basketball games, wrote in an e-mailed statement her feelings about intramural sports at Vassar. “Intramural sports are generally adequately handled at Vassar. Sometimes it is hard to get consistent gym time and our students are involved in such a plethora of activities that scheduling can be difficult.”

Proud echoed Lance’s sentiments, writing in an e-mailed statement,

Above, students face off in a game of basketball, one of the many intramural sports offered at Vassar. Director of Intramural Sports at Vassar Joe Proud has also planned some stressbuster tournaments in volleyball and dodgeball for the upcoming study break.

“Between facility availability, staff and student schedules, it’s sometimes hard to find times that work for everyone.” Despite the struggle in securing times and locations, Proud believes that intramural sports have improved significantly this year.

He wrote, “We’re working hard to revamp and improve the organization in general as we head into the [winter and spring] seasons. Aside from increasing the web presence and content available through the Vassar Athletics website, we are creating a Moodle site for participating

students to give them more information and better keep them in the loop for all our offerings. This should be available at the start of the spring semester.”

When asked if she thought a significant population of Vassar’s campus would be interested in intramural sports, Lance answered, “I think a lot of students are interested in intramural sports but don’t think they have the time.” For students with those worries, Lance counters, “It’s only one or two days a week for two hours at a time and I know that

personally, I always concentrate on my work better after I get some exercise.” Lance also noted that the enjoyment of intramural sports is not exclusive to players. “If you aren’t sure about signing up for a team, you’re welcome to come watch.”

And some intramural teams are definitely interesting enough to watch. Before the playoffs in three vs. three intramural basketball began, a glance at the standings would reveal that the second seed was a team called “The Faculty.” This was not a joke by Vassar students; The

Faculty is an intramural basketball team actually composed of Vassar faculty. Andrew Jdaydani ’14, a member of the intramural basketball teams Argyle Assassins and Argyle Awakening, remarked on their speed. “I’m glad we never had to play them...for looking so old they moved fast.”

Another group gaining attention for their unique makeup is “The Football Team” a soccer team made up exclusively of international students. Current captain of “The Football Team,” Michael Mulat ’11 explained briefly in an e-mailed statement, “‘The Football Team’ has been around since 2007. Another international team, ‘Sundance’ was around before that. It’s gone now. Since 2008 there [has also been] another international team mostly made up of Bulgarians (they change their name often).” Mulat also noted the success of the team. “We are undefeated this year in four games. We’ve won two tournaments.” The team is composed of players from all classes and a variety of countries including Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, India, Pakistan, Mauritius and Denmark.

If the allure of playing study break dodgeball, watching a faculty basketball game or playing the international game with international students has not already encouraged you to sign up, take one more piece of advice from Proud. “The purpose of [intramural sports] is to have fun, get exercise, meet people and have a healthy, activity-based social outlet. It doesn’t matter if you are athletically inclined or have experience playing. You’re at a liberal arts school like Vassar to broaden your horizons. Come and see if you like it!”

Jeter and the Yankees: A match made in baseball heaven?

Corey Cohn

A

Reporter

Courtesy of baseball-picture.bo

s one of the most accomplished players in Major League Baseball history, Derek Jeter has experienced plenty of firsts. His first hit, home run, World Series ring, All-Star Game MVP Award and Gold Glove are all well in the past, happy memories that only set the foundation for the achievements to come. Now Jeter is dealing with a first of a different sort. Never before has the current face of the New York Yankees franchise been a free agent.

Fans knew at the start of the 2010 season that new contract negotiations for Jeter—as well as fellow free agents Mariano Rivera and manager Joe Girardi—would not take place until after the World Series ended. Now, with the San Francisco Giants—not the Yankees—left standing as the best team in baseball, and with Jeter coming off his statistically worst season, the mainstay at shortstop in the Bronx is left with somewhat limited leverage.

The Yankees’ front office has made an initial offer to Jeter, a three-year contract worth $45 million. Jeter has expressed dissatisfaction, hoping for a longer deal in the area of four to six years that is worth, according to reports, $23-$25 million per season.

The impasse reached between the two parties is simple to analyze. The Yankees are concerned about paying for Jeter’s future production, which, based on this past season, is not deserving of the highest shortstop salary in baseball. Jeter’s side, led by agent Casey Close, believes that Jeter’s new deal should reflect everything that he has done for this organization.

That latter point cannot be emphasized enough. Jeter has been arguably the most important figure of this most recent run of Yankee success. Team captain since 2003, he has been a part of five world championship teams, and through 15 seasons he has been the model of consistency, both on and off the field. No star’s intangibles are mentioned as often as Jeter’s, and for good reason. His leadership skills, work ethic and savvy gamesmanship are difficult to

find in any other ballplayer, especially in an environment as potentially hostile as New York.

At the same time, however, Close, who has likened his client to the historic Babe Ruth, may be focusing too much on the Yankees’ supposed obligation to respect Jeter’s overall contribution to the franchise. It’s not like Jeter hasn’t been sufficiently compensated for his services. The 10-year, $189 million contract he signed in 2000 made him not only the secondhighest paid shortstop (behind then-Texas Rangers shortstop Alex Rodriguez), but also the second-highest paid athlete in America.

The Yankees paid him, and very handsomely at that, during this prolonged run of both personal and team success.

The bigger issue is the number of years on the contract. (After all, the Yankees, who have never considered money an object, really have little to quibble about after paying a combined $33.5 million last year to A.J. Burnett, Javier Vazquez, and Nick Johnson.) Jeter is already the oldest starting shortstop in the league, and his offensive numbers last year invited cynics to chime about how it’s all downhill from here.

And although Jeter won his fifth Gold Glove for his defense, common belief is that his range at shortstop has deteriorated significantly over the years, which, combined with an aging ARod at third base, will make for a vulnerable left side of the infield in years to come.

In this case, though, it is fair for the Yankees to look to the past, not as a tribute to Jeter’s success, but as a sign of respect for his reliability and consistency. Last year was a poor performance by Jeter’s lofty standards (.270 batting average, .340 on-base percentage, and a .370 slugging percentage—all career-lows) but it is easily designated as the outlier in the summary of his career. For evidence of this, one need only look to one year prior, in 2009.

That season, Jeter was considered an MVP candidate, hitting .334 with 18 home runs and 30 stolen bases, all while leading the Yankees to a World Series title.

If anyone deserves the benefit of the doubt,

Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter’s 10-year contract expired at the end of the 2010 season. Having been dissatisfied with the Yankees’ offer of a three-year contract worth $45 million, Jeter is now a free agent. it’s Jeter. Especially in light of this heavy criticism from his own organization, he is the kind of player who will work that much harder to prove to everyone, most importantly himself, that he can still compete at a high level. That said, though, it is suddenly not unreasonable to think that Jeter would carry this strong motivation with him to another team. That thought might not haunt the dreams of General Manager Brian Cashman, who has publicly encouraged Jeter to test the market if he is unhappy with the offer on the table. But the Yankees’ vast fanbase, which has always been loyal to Jeter, would certainly be up in arms upon seeing their hero wearing anything other than navy pinstripes.

It is interesting to note that this is the first offseason that has taken place since the pass-

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

ing of George M. Steinbrenner III, the Yankees’ iconic owner who more or less built the franchise to what it is today. Although his sons have taken the reins over the last couple of years— and were the ones in control when the team let former manager Joe Torre walk—only with the death of The Boss does this shift of power become fully realized in the fans’ eyes. It’s hard to imagine there being any substantial support for this new regime if one of its first major moves involves cutting ties with the most famous Yankee of this generation.

Then again, the very thought that Derek Jeter may possibly end up on another team before his career is over was once outlandish, too. Only time will tell if this will remain just a painful possibility or become a gut-wrenching reality.

December 2, 2010

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Gay athletes find accepting community Lack of openly gay athletes E confounding Nathan Tauger Guest Reporter

d Gallager, an offensive lineman for the University of Pittsburgh football team, jumped from a dam 12 days after his first sexual encounter with another man in 1985. Catcher Andrea Zimbardi claimed she was not told of practices, given less playing time, and eventually kicked off the University of Florida softball team her senior year because her coach discovered Zimbardi was a lesbian. These are just two examples of closeted and openly homosexual collegiate athletes facing discrimination and isolation from their teams and schools. Maybe due to the close-knit nature of the campus, or the overall atmosphere of acceptance, Vassar has so far proven immune to these troubles.

Wrote volleyball captain Chelsea Mottern ’11 in an e-mailed statement, “Vassar [isn’t] the kind of place where I have to worry about [homophobia in collegiate athletics].”

Rafael Ricaurte ’13, from New York City, has no complaints about acceptance on campus or on the track. “I feel completely accepted...[the cross country and track] teams, they all know.” Fortunately, Ricaurte felt this way before he even came to Vassar. “It was fine in high school. I feel pretty lucky I went to a high school where there really wasn’t much discrimination about anything.”

Not all Vassar athletes come from accepting hometowns, however. “In Georgia there’s a stigma against being gay in general,” recounts Brandon Greene ‘13 from Kennesaw, Ga., who also serves as the president of Queer Coalition of Vassar College (QCVC).

“I’m originally from Albany, N.Y. I’ve lived

in Kennesaw for five or six years...it’s an old railroad town where they stage some Civil War battles.” But Greene never took part in a scrum in Kennesaw.

Greene’s first experience as a varsity athlete occurred at Vassar. He now plays second row forward, prop, and occasionally hooker for the rugby team. “I decided to join rugby on a whim. I never hid the fact that I was gay, I was always straightforward about it and [the rugby team] took it like it was.”

Greene has faced some antagonism from the rugby team, but nothing he sees as serious. “The team is vulgar but not in a negative way, they treat me just like any of the other teammates. I have a couple of nicknames on the rugby team, ‘Sassy Bro’ and ‘Gumby.’”

Greene and Ricaurte aren’t entirely representative of Vassar’s homosexual athlete population; they are male and open. Neither Greene nor Ricaurte were able to name another openly gay male athlete on campus. Of course there may be student-athletes who are not comfortable expressing their sexuality openly. Chelsea Mottern ’11, one of the volleyball captains, was one of these closeted female athletes.

“I started dating one of my teammates early into my freshman year and we thought it was a good idea to keep it a secret to avoid potentially messing up the team dynamic or causing drama. In retrospect, it caused more trouble than being up front to begin with,” she said. “This is the first year I’ve been open with the whole team. If I could go back I’d be open about it from the beginning.”

Based on stories like Zimbardi’s, Mottern’s choice to stay hidden was warranted. “I re-

member worrying that if our coach found out, he would have one or both of us kicked off the team, because there has been a history of homophobia in collegiate athletics. Looking at my relationship with my coach now... we can talk openly and honestly about it.”

She continued, “Since telling my team and my coach, they have always been the most supportive group I could possibly ask for, and while I know that this isn’t the fairytale ending that most gay athletes have, that has been my experience.”

Fairytale or not, Mottern still feels that in general there are baseless stereotypes regarding gay athletes. “I feel like the stereotype of female gay athletes is that [athletics] are all they’re interested in. People have a fear that, ‘I don’t want to be in the locker room and have someone hit on me.’ That’s not an issue though.”

Greene, however, noted stereotypes that he believes hold true regarding gay athletes.

“I think there are more gay friendly sports.

For swimmers, divers, track and cross country runners it’s a lot easier to be queer. The way those teams function, it works more for a gay identity. The camaraderie that develops between a cross country team and a football team is completely different.”

But Ricaurte dismissed the idea that sexual preference would have a significant impact on athletic experience: “As an athlete, when I’m about to start a race [being gay] is not something I think about. I’m just thinking about what I’m going to do. And everyone else feels the same way. Once you’re on the field, or on the court, competing is all that’s in your mind.”

LeBron James to blame for cooling the Heat Nik Trkulja

L

Columnist

eBron James and his amazing troupe of underachievers roll into Cleveland on Thursday for what is sure to be one of the most heated games of the year. With a quarter of the season under their belts, the selfprophesized “seven-championship winners” are just barely over .500 and aren’t looking all too impressive, despite adding James and Chris Bosh to a core already featuring Dwyane Wade. While the usual talking heads debate the significance of Dwyane Wade’s wrist injury and Chris Bosh’s inability to “find himself,” they are all overlooking the biggest problems plaguing this team: laziness, expectations and LeBron James.

Anyone who has seen a Miami Heat game of late will have undoubtedly noticed the slow pace of the games. Many attribute the slow offense to the age of both the frontcourt players and the point guards—both are on average over 31—and to a faulty system. However, those arguments don’t make sense. The ball is almost always in the hands of one of the Heat’s younger all-stars when a fast break is initiated, not with one of the elderly statesmen. Furthermore, the Heat’s first options on the break are either Wade or James, meaning that as long as they run the game should be fast. But herein lies the problem: Wade and James simply aren’t running. In fact, for most of the game the “three amigos” operate in slow-motion. Dribbling is prolonged, running is overrated and overexertion is not in their vocabulary. Laziness reigns supreme and that is glaringly obvious by the number of jump shots taken and the lack of highlight plays. Bosh, James and Wade are primarily athletic players who play their best going straight at the basket. Shooting is in essence settling for them. It’s not their bread and butter. So a high incidence of shooting is a clear indicator of avoidance of the more taxing penetration game. As for the highlights, ask yourself how many thunderous LeBron James blocks you’ve seen this

year? How many dunks have there been between these three? This time last year they were on every highlight, every day. Playing together that should be even more because they can set each other up, but instead we’ve witnessed the inverse.

To be fair, though, the highlight comment may be a little much, but that comes with the territory for these guys. Expectations are key and right now we expect them to be amazing. Realistically our expectations may be a little over the top, but their performance has also been very subpar. Forget that we as fans expect wins and dunks; we’re discounting the expectations of their opponents. No, I don’t mean that their opponents expect them to win; I mean their opponents lose sleep in anticipation of the game. Their opponents expect to gain national notoriety for beating them to the ground and stomping over them. When the Heat played the Celtics, everyone watching knew the Celtics wanted nothing more than to trounce Miami’s “three stooges,” and the same is true of every opponent. When these three joined forces they effectively insulted the rest of the league.

With press conferences and TV shows about their decisions, their training camp and even ESPN’s “Heat Index,” they claimed ownership over the league. That was bound to stir some people up. Add to the mix the fact that between them they have all of one championship and you know people were going to be mad. It’s no surprise that every game they play is the best game their opponents have ever had, and right now the Heat simply aren’t up for it.

That brings me to LeBron James. James really is the final problem in this puzzle.

Most would point to Dwyane Wade, primarily because he’s been shooting so poorly, his body language stinks and he left his effort somewhere back in 2006. Others poke their finger at Chris Bosh, highlighting his weak interior defense, the fact that he’s soft on offense and that really he’s not what the Heat needs right now, in that he’s not an interior

bruiser but an outside shooting big man.

But really, neither of these guys is to blame.

The blame rests squarely on the shoulders of the artist formerly known as King James.

Where is LeBron James? No, don’t point to the box scores; I’ve seen those and I don’t care. I watch the game and I see two things: James incessantly hides in the corner when he is not the focus of the offense, rendering himself useless, and when he is the focus he brings the offense to a halt. It’s not an accident that Miami’s offense has now become Cleveland’s when James was there; he causes stagnation. James doesn’t have a jump shot, so he can’t run off screens to get it. His post-up game is still meaningless so he can’t move around in the post area, and he seems unable to set off-the-ball screens.

James’ game is one-dimensional: set-up in front of a defender and either shoot off the dribble if tired or take it to the hole. After seven years, opposing defenses are aware of that and they adjust accordingly. They sag off of James, drop down and help. Essentially they clog up the lane. Now Chris Bosh has to step outside, Wade can’t cut through to get passes and the rest of the cast of misfits is left out to dry because you have four players on the perimeter supported by a geriatric center aimlessly pushing around under the basket. The result is a game filled with terrible jump shots and a ton of assists for James, who becomes the only active figure in the offense. The only movement that occurs is when James has the ball; not surprisingly he becomes the only facilitator, since when he is ball-less he is hiding in a corner.

At the end of the day, because of all this instead of a championship team, you end up with a bunch of lazy, slow underachievers that unwittingly resent the true hero that is supposed to lead them to glory. Last year proved James is not going to be the legend he could have become. This year proves he is a source of infinite frustration both for his fans and in many ways for his team, which much like us just can’t seem to figure him out.

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

Andy Sussman

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Columnist

n men’s professional sports, just about every race, religion and socio-economic background is represented. Yet there is one group that is entirely absent: openly homosexual and bisexual athletes. Between the MLB, NFL, NBA and NHL, there are several thousand athletes currently on a professional roster. Yet, despite an estimated 5-10 percent of the general population identifying as gay or bisexual, no active professional male athlete within these leagues is openly gay.

Why, in an era of increasing acceptance and visibility of homosexuality, is it still not out in the open in male sports? When retired journeyman NBA center John Amaechi announced he was gay in February 2007, he became the first professional basketball player, active or otherwise, to be open about his homosexuality. While most NBA players reacted positively to the news, there were several major factors that ensured that coming out would not yet become the norm. First of all, Amaechi was hardly a household name, as he never received significant minutes in his NBA career, so it was not as if an influential superstar revealed he was gay. Moreover, the revelation of Amaechi’s sexuality was met with intense bigotry, former NBA all-star Tim Hardaway voiced his opinion on a Miami sports talk show as follows: “Well, you know I hate gay people, so I let it be known. I don’t like gay people and I don’t like to be around gay people. I am homophobic. I don’t like it. It shouldn’t be in the world or in the United States.”

As distasteful and disheartening it is to hear Hardaway say such remarks, the fact is that he is not the only professional athlete who feels this way about gays. For as long as athletics have been in existence, sports have always represented traditional “male” attributes such as strength, speed, power and toughness. Despite an increasing national acceptance of homosexuality, in sports there is still the mindset that if you are a gay male, you are not “manly” enough to excel at the highest level in athletics. This is also why homosexuality and bisexuality in women’s sports is more widely accepted: gay female athletes are traditionally considered to be more masculine and thus “better equipped” to play sports well.

Although acceptance of homosexuality has increased more in the public sphere than in the sports world, the public still makes a spectacle out of athletes’ sexual orientation. Former Pittsburgh Steelers and Chicago Bears quarterback Kordell Stewart, who says he is heterosexual, claims that widespread rumors of his homosexuality negatively impacted his play on the field and his rapport with teammates. Similarly, former MLB all-star Mike Piazza and former NFL pro-bowler Jeff Garcia—who currently plays in the United Football League—carry the label of “gay athletes,” despite both repeatedly claiming they are straight, because of rumors spread over a decade ago about each. The fact that any person needs to even “come out” about his or her sexuality is problematic because it assumes that not being heterosexual is a bad thing that which one must “admit.” However, in all likelihood it will take either many current athletes or several great ones to publicly disclose their homosexuality for both the public and fellow athletes to accept it.

Team sports are largely about team chemistry and camaraderie. Every homophobic statement that someone makes gives closeted athletes fear that if they announce that they are gay they will not only be shunned by teammates but also soon be out of a job. The same athletes who welcome back athletes who commit heinous crimes with open arms refuse to even think about having a gay teammate. The majority of athletes say that they would be fine with having an openly gay teammate, but the minority is a vocal one, and the locker room traditions do not help the cause.

In 1946, there were no black athletes in any major professional league. As racial tolerance grew, however, people began to understand that the color of an athlete’s skin does not affect his play, and soon every professional team was represented with people of all races. Hopefully those involved in professional athletics will see that the same is true of one’s sexuality. Otherwise, the clubhouse is merely an exclusive “club.”

SPORTS

Page 20

December 2, 2010

As Dec. rolls around, Vassar winter teams in full swing Andy Marmer

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Men’s and Women’s Fencing

Sports Editor

Women’s Basketball

As of Dec. 1 the women’s basketball team holds a 2-2 record. The Brewers earned a season-opening victory against Smith College, 67-58 and won again three days later in their lone home contest, 70-48 over Hunter College. This season the squad has featured an up-tempo style of play led by a pair of sensational guards. Brittany Parks ’12 is averaging 22.5 points per game, while her compatriot in the backcourt, Cydni Matsuoka ’14 has notched 14.5 points per game and an impressive, 12:5 assist:turnover ratio.

This weekend, Vassar will travel to Wesleyan University for two games in a tournament format.

Men’s Basketball

With a Nov. 17 victory over Bard College, the men’s basketball team snapped a 24 game losing streak, dating back to last season. As of Dec. 1 the young group (the team’s roster

Carlos Hernandez/The Miscellany News

Madeline Zappala/The Miscellany News

s the weather in Poughkeepsie turns from delightful autumn to frigid winter it’s time to turn our attention to a new season. The beginning of November marked a transition from the outdoor fields to the indoor courts, and now, a month into the new athletic season, teams have begun to shake off the early season cobwebs and round into midseason form.

Nick Justiz ‘12, pictured above, played with the Vassar men’s basketball team in a game against Hunter College on Tuesday, Nov. 23. The team will host Williams College and State University of New York at New Paltz on Dec. 4 and 8, respectively. features six freshmen) holds a 1-3 record. The Brewer offense has displayed balanced scoring this season.

While only one player (John Donnelly ’13) is averaging double-digit points (10 points per game), four players are averaging more than seven points this year. Prior to the season, Vassar traveled to West Point, N.Y. for an exhibition game with the United States Military Academy at West Point, a 66-49 loss. The Brew-

ers will host two more games this semester, Saturday at 7 p.m. against Williams College and Wednesday against State University of New York (SUNY) at New Paltz.

Men’s and Women’s Swim-Dive

Both men’s and women’s swimming and diving have competed in four dual meets thus far this season. While the men are off to a slow start at 0-4 as they await the return of key juniors spend-

ing the semester abroad, the women’s team has started strong. In their opening meet, the squad bested Skidmore College and the following weekend, the team tied Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). Since that hot start the team dropped a pair of tight contests to Pace University and SUNY New Paltz. This weekend, both squads will travel to the Liberty League Championships co-hosted by Union College and RPI.

Forbes and Spangler travel to XC Nationals Kristine Olson

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Reporter

Men’s and Women’s Squash

The men’s squash team is off to a rough start in the hyper-competitive Liberty League, with a 1-6 record (as of Dec. 1). The men’s team recently hosted the Liberty League Championships where they faced some of the area’s toughest teams.

The Brewers’ lone victory was an 8-1 triumph over Bard College. The women’s team is off to a 2-1 start (as of Dec. 1). In their opening tri-match, Vassar overcame Haverford 9-0 but dropped a decision to George Washington University by the same score. Vassar defeated Smith to improve to their current record.

SCOREBOARD NOV 23 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL HUNTER COLLEGE AT VASSAR

Courtesy of Sports Information

onditions were mostly cloudy, 30s and breezy on Nov. 20 at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships hosted by Wartburg College on the flat, fast H.J. Championship Cross Country Course.

Johanna Spangler ’12 and Elizabeth Forbes ’12 were slated to compete; however, Spangler was ultimately forced out of the race due to an injury, while Forbes finished 199th out of 279 competitors.

Middlebury College claimed the Championship team title with 185 points, followed

by Washington University in St. Louis (193), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (214), University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire (218) and Williams College with 230 points rounding out the top five teams out of 32.

Wendy Pavlus from St. Lawrence University won the individual National Championship title in 20:49.3, finishing with a remarkable 11-second lead.

While Vassar narrowly missed out as a team, both Spangler and Forbes were able to qualify individually. This year marked Spangler’s second journey to the tournament, as the athlete had qualified as an individual for Nationals in 2008; Forbes, on the other hand, qualified for the first time this season.

Concerning his expectations for the races, Head Coach James McCowan ’99 explained that “NCAA Nationals is a unique race, and it’s a dramatic shift in the competitiveness of the field. Our biggest goal for [Spangler] and Forbes was to gain some experience at [a high level race] that will help serve them and the entire team next season as the team continues their hunt for a team qualification to NCAA Nationals.”

McCowan noted that Nationals can provide an unique challenge to runners, “It can be very easy to get lost in the crowd at such a race, and there are a lot of variables that can impact performance,” said McCowan.

Both Spangler and Forbes were believed to have an outside shot at All-American (top 35 in Division III), while Spangler looked to improve her 2008 93rd place finish.

As a first time competitor at Nationals, Forbes said that she hadn’t been nervous about any preconceived notions about the race. “I was just excited and ready to go,” she said.

The women’s team holds an undefeated 12-0 record, while the men’s squad maintains 9-2 record. The women’s squad has had only two teams hold the margin of defeat to single-digits, as Vassar defeated Haverford College 16-11, and Stevens Institute of Technology 1710. Meanwhile the men’s team has been similarly strong. The group has dropped just two contests 1710 to Haverford and 14-13 to Army.

Next week both squads will face their toughest tests as they face numerous top-ranked schools including defending National Champions Penn State University, Princeton University and Harvard University.

Elizabeth Forbes ’12, pictured above, ran in the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships on Nov. 20, placing 199th out of 279 competitors after having been deterred by a false start.

Spangler, who has been struggling with lower back issues this season, was prevented from training the week leading up to the National race due to a flare up. “She knew she wasn’t 100 percent on race day,” said McCowan, “but was willing to give it her best effort.”

Unfortunately, a false start called the field back in the first 150 meters, and “the sudden start and stop was too much for Jo’s back,” said McCowan.

Spangler withdrew from the competition.

“Honestly, when you have worked as hard as [Spangler] has to get to a championships race, it is difficult to pull back and not compete,” conceded McCowan.

But McCowan felt that Spangler made the right decision. “A runner of her caliber has little to gain from suffering through a race that she is physically impaired from performing at her best in,” he said.

Forbes was also deterred by the false start. “Her false start was fantastic,” said McCowan, “but the recall threw her off her game a bit and she had to play catch up in the second half of the race as a result.”

According to Forbes, “The false start threw me for a bit of a loop, and I definitely did not get out as fast the second time around and had some difficulty with getting boxed out as a result.”

In the context of her whole season, “[Forbes] ran a solid race and a strong time,” said McCowan. “To be running at the National Championships was [a] fitting crown to her season.” Forbes finished in 199th place out of 279 competitors in 23:06.5. McCowan said that while she undoubtedly would have wanted to place higher, “it was her second fastest 6k race ever, and she gained valuable experience in the jostling nature of the national championships.”

Added Forbes, “I’m so grateful for the chance and the experience, but finishing somewhat unsatisfied with my race made me have an intense need to show myself what I can do next fall.”

In regard to Vassar’s performance McCowan stated, “It wasn’t the day we were hoping to have at Nationals, but it will help fuel the fire for next year,” said McCowan.

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

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NOV 28 MEN’S BASKETBALL BERKELEY AT VASSAR COLLEGE

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NOV 28 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL VASSAR AT HARTWICK COLLEGE

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