The Miscellany News Since 1866 | miscellanynews.com
December 8, 2011
Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY
Volume CXLV | Issue 11
Student arrested in string of laptop thefts Joey Rearick News Editor
S
As sesqui celebrations end, campaign lives on Ruth Bolster
Assistant Features Editor
A
s the college community collectively inhales to blow out the final candles on Vassar’s 150th birthday cake, events that have capitalized on the sesquicentennial celebrations are currently winding down or changing focus. While one might predict a post-party slump affecting the more long-term projects associated with the sesquicentennial, those behind Vassar’s 150: World Changing campaign think different-
ly. The fundraising operation hopes to extend this high-energy momentum associated with the sesquicentennial in order to continue to reach its $400-million goal. The campaign’s overall goal is the improvement of Vassar’s facilities and accessibilitiy for the benefit of future classes. Both alumnae/i and parents of current students are encouraged to give to one or more of the campaign’s three pillars. One pillar, Access to Excellence, hopes to increase Vassar’s financial aid See SESQUI on page 8
Madeline Zappala/The Miscellany News
hortly after 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 1, the Town of Poughkeepsie Police Department, working in conjunction with Vassar Safety and Security officers, arrested a Vassar student for burglary and possession of a controlled substance in the basement of Davison House. The alleged perpetrator is believed to be partially responsible for the high number of laptop thefts committed on campus this semester. He was apprehended after a few students, one of whom was recently the victim of theft,
reported a suspicious person in the basement area to the Campus Response Center. Security officers responded quickly and detained the suspect until police arrived and arrested him. Daniel Sohval ’13 was one of the students who aided in the arrest of the alleged thief. He was in the Davison basement on Thursday evening attending a club meeting when he observed a man enter the area and panic upon seeing a gathering in progress. “I guess he got nervous when he saw the large group of people seated in the basement See ARREST on page 4
Philosopher and professor Cornel West speaks before a packed Chapel on Wednesday, Nov. 30. West’s lecture, entitled “The End of Oligarchy,” raised issues such as introspection, death and social justice. See Page 2.
Begemann selected as new DoPAA Dave Rosenkranz
O
News Editor
n Dec. 1, President of the College Catharine Bond Hill announced in an all-campus email that Associate Professor of Chemistry and Associate Dean of the Faculty Marianne Begemann ’79 had agreed to become Vassar’s second Dean of Planning and Academic Affairs (DoPAA). Begemann’s decision to accept the position marks the end of
a nine-month-long search which began when Professor Rachel Kitzinger, Vassar’s current DoPAA, announced her resignation last February. Begemann’s application was unanimously approved by the College’s Board of Trustees on Dec. 6; and on Jan. 1, she will begin her new job as DoPAA. The office of the DoPAA oversees Vassar’s libraries, the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, the Athletics Department, the Office of Admis-
sions and Financial Aid, the Office of Institutional Research, the Faculty Housing Program, the Campus Investment and Responsibility Committee, the Exploring Transfer Program, and several larger academic and financial projects on an as-theycome basis. Kitzinger explained that, right now, some of those larger plans include the construction of the Integrated Science Center, which will See DOPAA on page 4
Library welcomes its millionth Campus Current offers forum for discussion Molly Turpin
Contributing Editor
T
5
FEATURES
VSA attends Seven Sisters Conference
V
Arts Editor
assar students love to critically engage with campus issues, whether the forum be The Miscellany News Opinions section, one of the many student-led organizations or through commentary on social media websites. But up until the creation of one of WVKR’s latest shows entitled “Campus Current,” local radio waves
were a relatively vacant arena for dialogue surrounding campus events and issues. The show, which strives to highlight Vassar’s rich and diverse cultural makeup as well as ongoing events and organizations, airs biweekly from 5 to 6 p.m. on WVKR 91.3 FM. “I think one of the great things the show does is give students an opportunity to be a part of See WVKR on page 16
Carlos Hernandez/The Miscellany News
Inside this issue
Rachael Borné
Courtesy of the National Institute of Health
he arrival of the Thompson Memorial Library’s latest acquisition, a 17th-century anatomical text, is already causing a stir. Vassar College has hit its millionth volume. “It is symbolic. It is special,” said Director of Libraries Sabrina Pape. “It’s large for a liberal arts college, certainly on the high end. We can always have more, but I think we’ve been really lucky.” The book, Medicinae Doctoris & Chirurgi, Anatomia Humani Corporis by Govard Bidloo with illustrations by Gerard de Lairesse, is described as a massive work in the history of the study of the human anatomy and is a literally massive work in itself. The collection of prints, published between 1683 and 1685 and still in its original binding, hardly fits on the foam pads that Special Collections uses for viewing. It seems to carry physical weight expected of such a milestone. Director of Special Collections Ron Patkus explained that choosing the millionth volume took great deliberation. It had to be a rare, ideally significant text, he said, but from there the choices were wide open. “One thing that we had in mind that as the millionth volume it should be something for the campus as a whole, and so ideally it would be something that would tie into the liberal arts
Gerard de Lairesse’s illustration, above, from Govard Bidloo’s Medicinae Doctoris & Chirurgi, Anatomia Humani Corporis, graces the Library’s millionth volume. and connect the various disciplines,” said Patkus. The Library decided on the Bidloo text for its multidisciplinary appeal, attracting students and professors from both the arts and sciences. The book is a gift of the Class of
6
1972 and is in part the product of a chance encounter between Patkus and a member of the Class of 1972 on a train—the graduate happened to be a physician and book collector. See MILLIONTH on page 3
Safety and Security begins loaner FEATURES bike program
Above, students record a program for WVKR’s newest radio show, “Campus Current.” The weekly show engages in dialogue about campus events and issues.
15 ARTS
Roseman launches NYC exhibition