The Miscellany News
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Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY
Volume CLI | Issue 3
September 20, 2018
A capella concert delights
‘Vassar Missed’ unraveled
Holly Shulman
Tiana Headley GUEST REPORTER
GUEST COLUMNIST
Courtesy of Vassar College via Flickr
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n the evening of Sept. 12, Main Building’s Villard Room slowly filled with the humming excitement and contagious nervousness of firstyears on the verge of tackling a new college experience. On this particular night, this experience took the form of the annual a capella preview concert, where students could watch and sign up to audition for any or all of Vassar’s nine a capella groups and/or UJIMA: A Groove Society. Students discussed the prospect of becoming one of the select few chosen to spend the next four years harmonizing, performing and (in some cases) competing with a group. For many, this experience has been a longtime dream. Dana McCray ’22 belongs to this category: “I’m a singer, and I’ve wanted to do a capella for a long time,” he said before the event began. “I’ve seen the Night Owls, and the Devils performed at our Accepted Students Day and they’re incredible, and I know that there’s a whistling group, which sounds dope,” he continued. Unsure See A CAPELLA on page 7
Senior students and faculty in academic dress convened with first-years and other members of the Vassar community in the Vassar Chapel for Convocation on Sept. 6 to officially inaugurate the 2018–19 academic year.
Convocation heralds start of year Marc Chien
GUEST REPORTER
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n Wednesday, Sept. 6, at 3:30 p.m., the Vassar community gathered in the Chapel to usher in a new academic year. While students and faculty members filed in, Adjunct Artist in Music Gail Archer played Alexander Glasunow’s “Prelude and Fugue in D Minor, Op. 98” on the Chapel organ.
Each year, Convocation serves as one of the primary opportunities for students and alumnae/i to gather and prepare for the coming year. For seniors, Convocation represents a reminder of the world awaiting them after college. Interim Dean of the College Carlos Alamo-Pastrana began by welcoming Vassar students, describing Convocation as an important occasion that
marks many new beginnings for firstyears and seniors alike. He asserted that students have changed Vassar as much as Vassar has changed them, challenging graduates to transmit Vassar’s teachings and history to the wider world and giving a special welcome to the “transformative Class of 2019.” President of the College Elizabeth See CONVOCATION on page 4
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avigating the college social scene can be confusing and frustrating for students, regardless of class year. We often find it difficult to express our true feelings or are too afraid to say them. One student recognized this common experience and decided to form an outlet for members of the Vassar community to anonymously and unapologetically share what’s on their minds. From incoming first-years to departing seniors, countless students have turned to the Vassar Missed Facebook page to confess crushes, express social anxieties and vent about college life in general. The idea was to share missed connections anonymously via Google form, hoping to recover them with the help of social media. But submissions soon branched out to a variety of topics. The posts often generate sympathetic responses or constructive feedback from fellow students, creating a forum for exSee VASSAR MISSED on page 10
Artist re-types powerful literature Women’s soccer picks up third straight win Christian Flemm GUEST COLUMNIST
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Inside this issue
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Prison strikes highlight need for legislative NEWS change
encounters with radical progressive politics (the latter McCarthy’s forte when writing for The Partisan Review). A bestseller, McCarthy was lauded for her depiction with deft hand and for the fact that over the course of her narrative she had found some truth and solidarity. In a world where women are forced to play the See TYPEWRITER on page 6
Courtesy of Clara Pitt
long an assembly line in another life, a master of boredom exchanges compulsion for quietude, toward the realization of some obscure industrial plan. Elsewhere, monastic pursuits at the Abbey of Gethsemani occur. Set to a strict regimen of work and prayer, Tim Youd finds synonymy in the two: truth from ascetic devotion. Yet in this life, where he is an artist, little is different. It’s still truth and revelation through work—in banal, rote repetitions—a typewriter his book of hours, the model and location his only variables. Process, procedure and meditation are the crux of Youd’s series of “100 Novels,” in which over a period of 10 years, Youd has set out to re-type that many great works of English-language literature. Youd commented, “[I am to carry out the project in a] location charged with literary significance specific to the subject novel… on the same model typewriter [used by the author to compose the novel.]” A smile on his lips, he called the project an “exercise in devoted reading.” At Vassar, Youd spent the months of April and May retyping Mary McCarthy ’33’s “The Group.” This was exercise number 56. The novel, McCarthy’s fifth, is the
fictional account of the post-grad lives of eight Vassar women, and their frustrations with a world still very much intent on stifling a woman’s agency. McCarthy is a writer revered and reviled in New York literary circles for her acerbic, critical pen. “The Group” created quite the scandal upon its release due to its frank depiction of sex, sexism and characters’
Artist Tim Youd’s re-typed verson of the novel “The Group,” penned by Vassar alumna Mary McCarthy ’33, is currently on display in the Loeb. Youd aims to replicate 100 novels over the course of 10 years.
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VHP celebrations highlight FEATURES Haitian creations
Max Swan
GUEST REPORTER
“T
ight-knit, hard-working, supportive.” These words, offered by first-years Emma Tanner and Madio Wallner and sophomore Emma Trasatti, define the culture of the women’s soccer team. That ethos was evident on Saturday, Sept. 15, as the team took the pitch against the visiting SUNY Oneonta team. The Brewers came in looking to extend their two-game win streak and did just that, dispatching the Red Dragons with a score of 2-0. Vassar’s ability to keep the intensity high and possess calmly before moving the ball upfield proved key in the decisive victory. It was a true team effort. At 12 p.m., the referee blew their whistle and the game was underway in front of 241 fans. For the first 17 minutes of the game, Oneonta dominated. From the first whistle they started strong and out-possessed against the Brewers, winning corners and firing shots on goal. However, thanks to senior goalkeeper Camelia Manring’s three consecutive saves, Vassar was able to keep the game square at 0-0. After multiple Oneonta attacks, as the 18th minute struck, Vassar righted
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the ship. Wallner explained, “We took control of the ball, settled the pace down—settled into our own game.” The Brewers began to relax their frantic play and move the ball around, growing into the game. After a few passes, the ball reached first-year Gabi Tulk, who was able to maneuver through the Red Dragon defense and find Tanner. The first-year forward, already leading the team in goals, took Tulk’s pass and ripped a one-timer from just beyond the box over the keeper’s head and into the left corner. Vassar 1, Oneonta 0. Hungry for more, the Brewers fought on. Play resumed shortly following the goal, and after a few Oneonta passes, Vassar was able to intercept the ball. Building out of the back, the Brewers moved upfield. To Wallner, the midfield made the difference. “[The] midfielders were calm with the ball, which made connecting into the offense a lot easier,” said the first-year attacker. “As we weren’t necessarily sending long balls to run onto, we got a lot more crosses because we were able to control the middle.” Vassar continued to push up and, less than three minutes after their first goal, senior Sara Seper was able to connect See SOCCER on page 18
Sports and spirituality: Blazers fan SPORTS shares mentality
The Miscellany News
Page 2
September 20, 2018
Happy Convocation to students and faculty!
Editor-in-Chief Talya Phelps
Senior Editor Leah Cates
Contributing Editors
Noah Purdy Charlotte Varcoe-Wolfson Laila Volpe Features Opinions Humor and Satire Arts Sports Design Outreach Copy
Andrea Yang Steven Park Hannah Gaven Izzy Braham Myles Olmsted Rose Parker Kimberly Nguyen Teddy Chmyz Jessica Moss
Assistant Social Media Patrick Tanella Assistant Design Scarlett Neuberger Assistant Online Chris Allen
Reporters Duncan Aronson Columnists Catherine Bither Jimmy Christon Olivia Feltus Jesser Horowitz Izzy Migani Sylvan Perlmutter Blair Webber Copy Natalie Bober Frankie Knuckles
All photos courtesy of Vassar College
The Miscellany News 20
September
Thursday
Weekender_ 21
September
22
Friday
September
Saturday
RISE/CDO Finance & Business Panel
Volleyball (W) vs. Skidmore College
Tennis (M) vs. Coast Guard/ Bard
6:00 p.m. | College Center 223 | Athletics and the Career Development Office
6:00 p.m. | Kenyon Hall Gym | Athletics
10:30 a.m. | Joss Tennis Courts | Athletics
Past Time: Geology in European and American Art Opening Lecture
Soccer (M) vs. RIT
Bonfire and Community Sing 8:30 p.m. | Joss Beach | Religious and Spiritual Life Office
5:30 p.m. | Taylor Hall 102 | The Loeb
1:00 p.m. | Prentiss Competition Field | Athletics
Baseball Alumni Game 2:00 p.m. | Prentiss Baseball Field | Athletics
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Sukkot refers to a Jewish holiday as well as to the temporary houses used in its celebration. To learn more about the sukkah constructed on the Library Lawn, visit www.vassarjewishlife.org/vassar-sukkah-project.
Tennis (M) vs. Bard College 4:00 p.m. | Joss Tennis Courts | Athletics
Guest Recital: Lorelei Ensemble
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September
Sunday
Rugby (M) vs. Union College 11:00 a.m. | Rugby Field at the Farm | Athletics
How We Gather: The Vassar Sukkah Project 12:00 p.m. | Library Lawn | Religious and Spiritual Life Office
Serenading 1:00 p.m. | The Quad | VSA Traditions
Rugby (W) vs. Siena College 1:00 p.m. | Rugby Field at the Farm | Athletics
8:00 p.m. | Martel Recital Hall | Music Dept.
Faculty Recital: Chamber Music and Opera Scenes by Jonathan Chenette
Craft Night
3:00 p.m. | Martel Recital Hall | Music Dept.
9:00 p.m. | The AULA | Big Night In
Paper Critique 9:00 p.m. | Rose Parlor | The Miscellany News
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
CORRECTION POLICY The Miscellany News will only accept corrections for any misquotes, misrepresentations or factual errors for an article within the semester it is printed. The Miscellany News is not responsible for the views presented within its Opinions pages. The weekly staff editorial is the only article which reflects the opinion of the Editorial Board.
NEWS
September 20, 2018
Page 3
Ransby lectures on MLK, Ella Baker, Black Lives Matter Ariana Gravinese GUEST REPORTER
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This week’s headlines... Tropical storm Florence—downgraded from its prior classification as a hurricane— made its way through the Carolinas from Sept. 14–18. The storm’s floods overtook areas along the shoreline, leading thousands of people to require rescue and leaving nearly a million households without electricity. Many cities issued mandatory evacuations as record-breaking amounts of rainfall poured onto the state of North Carolina. Thirty-four deaths have been reported in connection with the storm, and rescue operations are underway along the coast (The Washington Post, “Florence: At least five dead, nearly 1 million without power as storm swamps Carolinas,” 09.15.2018). The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) has condemned the Trump administration for its decision to shutter the organization’s office in Washington, D.C., a move it says was motivated by the PLO’s lack of attempts to build a meaningful relationship with Israel. Palestinian diplomat and parliamentarian Saeb Erekat stated in a press release that the Palestinian people will not succumb to “U.S. threats and bullying,” a sentiment shared by others who view the decision—which was spearheaded by Senior Advisor to the President Jared Kushner—as a push for Palestinians to negotiate with Israel. He also called for the International Criminal Court to prosecute Israel for war crimes. This further exacerbates tensions between the Trump administration and Palestine after the administration froze $251 million in aid and moved the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in May (NPR, “Trump Ad-
need strong leaders” and that “no one will save us except ourselves.” Ransby emphasized,“No one was left out of Ella Baker’s vision of freedom.” Bridging the past and the present, Ransby emphasized the importance in recognizing the differences between then and now, but also the similarities. She specified, “Some of the things that are different during this period is the presence of social media, of radical feminist leadership, of LGBTQ, Trans and Queer leadership and the incorporation of new, creative and sometimes very militant tactics.” As is true of Martin Luther King Jr. and Ella King, widespread misconceptions persist about the Black Lives Matter Movement, which Ransby distinguishes from the Movement for Black Lives. According to Ransby, the Movement for Black Lives is a rubric and a coalition that is largely defined by action and advocates transformative change. The 50 or so organizations forming this coalition have been collaborating for around five years. The Black Lives Matter Movement began on social media with a hashtag. However, according to Ransby, following the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO, in 2014, “[T]he widely televised and tweeted uprising about his death that Black Lives Matter migrated from the virtual world of social media to the real politics of the street.” More groups around the country formed in response to the violence toward Black people. Ransby praised their efforts, stating, “Without people who are facilitating something other than just organization building, movement building and connecting different sectors, then the reach of individual organizations would be much more limited.” To conclude her lecture, Ransby highlighted central characteristics of the Movement for Black Lives that embrace the philosophies of both King and Baker. One such component is a specific style
of leadership, characterized by its decentralized and grassroots nature. She also highlighted how the movement strives to create a society in which police are superfluous and prisons are obsolete. Ransby prompted the audience to take away lessons from the visionary leaders of the Black Freedom Movement from the past and present: MLK Jr., Ella Baker and the organizers of the Movement for Black Lives and Black Lives Matter. She proposed, “It is important that we not only listen to voices from the past and voices from the platform that social movements create, but we have to find our own moral compass, our own moral voices, and use those voices to speak truth to power.”
ministration To Close Palestine Liberation Organization Office In D.C.,” 09.10.2018). Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) confirmed on Thursday that a former classmate of Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh sent her a letter alleging that Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted her at a high school party over 30 years ago. The author of the letter, Christine Blasey Ford, later revealed her identity to The Washington Post on Sept. 16. Feinstein’s neglect in reporting the letter’s contents to the Senate Judiciary Committee stirred controversy. Kavanaugh and Ford are set to testify before the Senate on Monday (The New Yorker, “A Sexual-Misconduct Allegation Against the Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh Stirs Tension Among Democrats in Congress,” 09.14.2018). New York State held its primary elections this past Thursday, Sept. 13. Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo secured the Democratic gubernatorial nod in a race against Cynthia Nixon, an actress-turned-activist who has not previously held public office. Cuomo led with 65.6 percent of the vote. Nixon gained popularity among young voters disillusioned with Cuomo’s administration and with his perceived ineffectiveness in fighting the mass incarceration of Black and Hispanic people for drug offenses. Cuomo will face Republican candidate Marc Molinaro this November. Poughkeepsie’s Congressional Representative Sean Patrick Maloney unsuccessfully ran for Attorney General of New York State; his seat in Capitol Hill will be up for re-election this November (The New York Times, “New York Primary Election Results,” 09.14.2018). Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort accepted a plea deal with Special Counsel Robert Mueller and the Justice Department on Friday following Manafort’s guilty plea of conspiracy against the United States and conspiracy to obstruct justice. The Justice Department will drop other criminal charges—including money laundering to evade paying $15 million in taxes and foreign lobbying in the Ukraine that brought Manafort over $60 million—should Manafort
comply with the terms of the agreement (CNN, “Paul Manafort pleads guilt and agrees to cooperate with Mueller investigation,” 09.14.2018).
journalists found guilty of breaking the Official Secrets Act after reporting on the Rohingya genocide. She reaffirmed the validity of the jailing, stating, “They were not jailed because they were journalists, they were jailed because...the court has decided that they have broken the Official Secrets Act.” The Nobel laureate has come under international condemnation for the mass murder of Rohingya Muslims by Burmese military forces, and many have called on her to pardon the journalists (Al Jazeera, “Myanmar leader Suu Kyi defends journalists’ imprisonment,” 09.13.2018). Weeks after Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro instituted a new currency, inflation in Venezuela has reached 100 percent. The Venezuelan government removed five zeros over the summer from the value of the bolívar to combat hyperinflation that reached levels above 100,000 percent, and Maduro has relaxed rules tightly controlling foreign currency exchange, actions that many have analyzed as increasingly desperate. The government also raised the minimum wage 3,000 percent in an effort by Maduro to improve his political popularity, leading companies to let go of workers whom they cannot afford to keep (Bloomberg, “Venezuela Raises Minimum Wage 3,000 percent and Lots of Workers Get Fired,” 09.14.2018).
Around the world... Australian cartoonist Mark Knight faced widespread condemnation for his cartoon of Serena Williams’ loss to Japanese-Haitian player Naomi Osaka at the U.S. Open on Saturday. He depicted Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam singles winner, in a style evocative of racist caricatures and made Osaka’s character a white woman. Both Knight and the publisher of the cartoon, The Herald Sun, have defended the cartoon as having nothing to do with gender or race (The Guardian, “‘Repugnant, racist’: News Corp cartoon on Serena Williams condemned,” 09.10.2018). The Catholic Church is facing historic strife as news of widespread child abuse committed by members of the clergy has emerged. In Germany, reports have surfaced that, over the past seven decades, at least 1,670 priests were involved in the sexual abuse of over 3,677 children. At the request of Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, Pope Francis convened with members of the American Archdiocese on Sept. 13 to address the crisis in the United States. This news came after a Pennsylvania grand jury published a report that over 1,000 children had been abused by 300 priests, allegations covered up by the Church (NPR, “U.S. Leaders Of ‘Lacerated’ Catholic Church Meet Pope To Discuss Sex Abuse Crisis,” 09.13.2018). Italy and Germany are engaged in negotiations over the transfer of refugees from Germany who had applied for asylum in Italy. German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer announced on Thursday that the two nations had struck a deal, but Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini rebuked the statement on Friday by stating that further concessions were necessary. (Reuters, “Italy hesitates over refugee deal with Germany, seeks concessions,” 09.14.2018). At the World Economic Forum on Thursday, Myanmar’s State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi broke her silence on the jailing of two Reuters
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
Courtesy of Barbara Ransby
wanted to understand the world in order to change the world.” This was one striking quote from Professor Barbara Ransby’s lecture “Social Justice and Freedom-making in the 21st Century: Lessons from Martin Luther King Jr., Ella Baker and the Black Lives Matter Movement,” which took place on Sept. 13 in the Villard Room. Ransby, an award-winning author, activist, historian and professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, was warmly welcomed to campus as part of Vassar’s Social Justice in Question initiative. Professor of Religion Jonathon S. Kahn opened the lecture, explaining, “Social Justice in Question grew out of this set of faculty and student needs and concerns as to how we can highlight the notion and question of social justice.” Kahn explained the two parts of the initiative: First, there are 12 first-year writing seminars that are offered this year that are focused on questions of social justice. Second, Vassar will host a six-part lecture series in order to bring different viewpoints and expertise to facilitate the campus-wide conversation. Professor of History Quincy Mills highlighted how Ransby’s visit was germane to the matters at hand in the initiative, stating, “There is no better person, I would argue, to kick off this lecture series than Professor Ransby.” Ransby opened by informing the audience not only of her academic background but also of how she sees herself as both a scholar and an activist: “I have appreciated being in Chicago and being immersed in a very diverse, passionate and unrelenting activist community.” These experiences play a role in her stated belief that “we cannot discuss social justice without discussing racial injustice.” Ransby’s lecture focused on three figures and or-
ganizations in the Black Freedom Movement: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Ella Baker and the Movement for Black Lives and Black Lives Matter. Ransby asserted that Martin Luther King Jr. is “known widely, but not very deeply.” She elaborated on common misperceptions, “There are three distortions that persist about Dr. King: One, that he did it all alone; two, we pretend that it was all about integration; and three, we pretend that he was only concerned about Black people in the U.S.” King is closely tied to many of the Black Freedom movements in the United States today. Ransby illuminated how, in 2016, around the MLK holiday, organizers of the Movement for Black Lives movements use hashtags #reclaimtheradicalking and #reclaimMLK. Illustrating King’s ability to work alongside people from all walks of life, Ransby described his participation in the Black sanitation worker strike during Spring 1968 to protest for safer working conditions after two Black men were crushed to death due to a malfunctioning sanitation truck. “King chose to be with some of the most marginal people in society,” Ransby stated. “He could have made a choice to surround himself with people of great stature and privilege, but he went in the opposite direction. This is where many activists today take great inspiration.” Ransby went on to discuss Ella Baker, one of the most prominent female civil and human rights activists. She emphasized how Baker worked to lift up the most marginalized voices during her career, which lasted for more than five decades. She was an avid member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Baker promoted grassroots leadership, especially during her time at the SNCC. Ransby explained that Baker believed that “strong people do not
On Sept. 13, University of Illinois at Chicago Professor of History, African-American Studies and Gender and Women’s Studies Barbara Ransby presented a talk on 21st-century social justice.
2020 hopefuls... Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has reestablished herself as a frontrunner for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, presenting herself as a champion of the progressive wing. Senators Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) took advantage of the exposure presented by the Kavanaugh hearings in a manner emulative of Barack Obama’s tenure as senator. Former Vice President Joe Biden also remains a strong contender as a well-regarded leader of the Democrats, but he may fare poorly as Democrats become increasingly progressive (CNN, “Booker, Harris emulate Obama, Clinton using Senate hearing as presidential launchpad,” 09.07.2018).
NEWS
Page 4
September 20, 2018
New Board Chair Friscia demonstrates inclusive leadership Isabella Boyne GUEST REPORTER
V
assar’s Board of Trustees, the group of 35 alumnae/i who manage the general affairs of the College, chose Anthony Friscia ’78 as its newest chair at its annual meeting in May. Friscia, an entrepreneur and education advocate, has served on the Board of Trustees since 2009. From 2014 to 2016, Friscia served as the CEO of Eduventures, a research and consulting firm dedicated to higher education. Before then, he was a consultant and special advisor to the president at The New School in New York City, where he also served as acting Chief Operating Officer. In 1986, Friscia founded AMR Research, an information services and market analysis firm acquired
Courtesy of Anthony Friscia
Above, recently selected Chair of the Board of Trustees Anthony Friscia enjoys the newly renovated ACDC. He looks forward to meeting more students and faculty when he’s on campus!
by Gartner, Inc., in 2010. His philanthropic work centers on the arts and education. President of the College Elizabeth Bradley is particularly familiar with Friscia in his role on the Board as he co-chaired the presidential search committee that resulted in her hiring. In an email interview, Bradley highlighted how Friscia’s personal connection with the school made him the best candidate for this role, stating, “The Board was thrilled to have him in this leadership role, after all his years of experience on the Board and in many roles on the Board. He himself was a first-generation student at Vassar and has had a diverse professional career—starting his own successful company—and his own children are close to college age, so he understands the campus from multiple perspectives.” Bradley also discussed Friscia’s ability to represent the Vassar spirit: “He demonstrates inclusive leadership. He is committed to hearing all voices and creating an environment that is open to new ideas, supportive of the College and constantly learning.” Finally, Bradley, when asked about Friscia’s best quality as a leader and member of the Board, commented, “He cares deeply about Vassar, listens carefully and is excited about being a positive force in the governance of the College.” Aside from Friscia’s personal connection with the school, his colleagues praised his personification of the Vassar ethos. As Professor of Film Mia Mask, who served on the presidential search board Friscia co-chaired in 2016, stated, “Tony is a genuinely warm person. He is the kind of person you like and want to get to know and want to spend time with.” In addition, Mask highlighted Friscia’s sense of humor as a quality that will serve him well as chair as a way to diffuse tense moments. VP for Communications Amanita Duga-Carroll also expressed what she thinks Friscia will bring
to his newly elected role. As she expressed, “I have only just started working with Tony Friscia, but two things strike me about him: One, he is passionate about Vassar; and two, he brings...a collaborative, inclusive leadership style, one that bodes well for the future.” The Miscellany News conducted an email interview with Friscia about his goals as a leader and what he envisions for Vassar’s future. The Miscellany News: What are your main goals as Chair of the Board of Trustees? Anthony Friscia: The board’s role is to focus on the long term and support President Bradley and the college’s senior leadership in achieving a bold vision. My goals as Chair are to create an environment where the Board becomes more familiar with the current challenges and aspirations of the campus...I believe the Board can learn a lot from our current students if we keep the lines of communication open. We also need to look beyond our campus to strengthen our presence in Poughkeepsie and the broader Dutchess County. The Misc: What contribution to the Board of Trustees have you made in the past that you are most proud of? AF: I’ve been fortunate to have had many rewarding roles on the board. The most rewarding of all was being co-chair (with Gerry Laybourne [’69]) of the Presidential Search Committee that hired President Bradley. Every member of the committee was confident that she was the right person to lead Vassar forward. It’s been gratifying for all of us to see her exceed our high expectations. Beyond the selection of President Bradley, working with the committee was an incredible experience. Beyond getting to know my fellow trustees better, I became friends with the five faculty members and two students who served on the committee. I learned a lot about the importance of
building relationships on campus. I’m very proud of the fact that though our committee started as three groups: trustees, faculty, and students, we finished as a group of peers who respected one another. The Misc: What is something that you would like to change at Vassar? AF: I believe the college has been moving in the right direction and while we sometimes face challenges, we are addressing them head on. I would like to see the community come together to support the liberal arts more broadly, and I would like to see us think strategically together to set priorities to ensure the future for Vassar in its community. The Misc: What do you think characterizes the spirit of Vassar, and how do your plans as Chair of the Board of Trustees overlap with this? AF: When Matthew Vassar started our college he used words like bold and innovative. I believe that’s the spirit that continues to characterize us. We were the first college to offer women the same high quality education that was only available to men; we became a coed institution successfully without sacrificing our core traditions; we have been a leader in the last decade in attracting a more diverse student body; and President Bradley’s commitment to engaged pluralism will help us make our community more inclusive and strengthen us. As Chair, I’m committed to working with the Board to maintain this spirit of inclusiveness and innovation as we look into the future. Ultimately, Friscia aspires to build a closer connection between the Board and the students and faculty on the campus. When asked if there was anything he would like to add to the interview, Friscia simply stated, “The only thing I’d add is that I look forward to meeting more of you when I’m on campus.”
Convocation speakers reflect on memory, search for truth CONVOCATION continued from page 1
Finally, the Frederick Weyerhaeuser Chair in Biblical Literature and Bibliography was given to Associate Director of the Library for Special Collections Ronald D. Patkus. Bradley then announced Stephen Hankins, a member of the Class of 1985 and the President of the Alumnae Association of Vassar College, to introduce senior students to their soon-to-be alumnae/i network. Hankins presented the Young Alumnae/i Achievement or Service Award, which went to Xiaoyuan “Charlene” Ren ’13, and the Distinguished Achievement Award, which went to Lynn Povich ’65. Hankins praised Ren’s clean water initiatives in China and commended Povich for her contributions to women’s rights, noting her class action lawsuit against Newsweek for their discriminatory hiring policies. Next, Bradley introduced VSA President Tamar Ballard, a former Ford Scholar who is researching the commodification of Black pain through music for her senior thesis. Ballard described personal hardships she underwent prior to and during college, but noted by contrast that support from her friends and professors rises above these struggles in her mind as treasured memories. As her parting words, Ballard reminded students, “Acknowledge the tough moments and live in the sunshine, make happiness your priority and remind yourself that you have made it this far and that you have so much more to see.” Finally, Bradley introduced Professor Kumar for his address, titled “You Will Not Remember All of This.” Kumar discussed students’ experiences during their college careers, noting the complex and transitory nature of memory. By way of example, Kumar noted various experiences he collected of students in past Convocation ceremonies, remarking that many could only recall the heat and humidity in the Chapel and that few remembered even the names of their Convocation speakers. Kumar related this fact to the zero-sum nature of attention, claiming that on
their initial days on campus, first-years remembered the heat and nothing else because they were focused on seeking comfort within their new surroundings and community. Kumar affirmed, “In my classes, I teach stories about the work that memory does,” crediting Alice Munro’s “The Bear Came Over the Mountain,” Tobias Wolff’s “Bullet to the Brain” and Milan Kundera’s “The Book of Laughter and Forgetting.” He recounted his own experiences with memory, such as when he returned to India as his mother was dying, recording details in her home that were as seemingly minute as a fresh bar of soap she had recently placed in her bathroom. Kumar reflected that all he remembered of that period was what he had written in a small notebook he always carries with him: “The event was replaced by writing. If I didn’t write, who knows? There
would be nothing but the oblivion of death and lost memories. I write these down because I believe we forget even what is most precious to us.” Kumar told listeners to write down on provided index cards something that they wanted to remember in that very moment, recounting his own struggle to find words while he was in college. He declared, “In time, words came to me. This is because I had never stopped reading or trying to write.” Kumar left students with a reminder to take walks and write every day. After Kumar’s speech, the Convocation Choir gathered to sing “Gaudeamus Igitur,” after which the Class of 2019 recessed out of the Chapel and proceeded to an ice cream social in the Bridge for Laboratory Sciences—a last break before the official beginning of what may well be their final academic year.
Courtesy of Vassar College via Flickr
Bradley continued this theme of change and transformation, reflecting on the value of Vassar’s education and liberal arts in the modern era. Bradley remarked, “At a time when liberal arts education is really under attack, with public questioning of our values, our expense, our potential elitism, Convocation is a ritual of coming together...[W]hen we’re under attack, it is good to begin to know ‘What are our rituals?’” Bradley then discussed her time spent working in hospital administration, which included heading a health project in Patna, the capital city of the Indian state of Bihar and hometown of novelist and Professor of English Amitava Kumar, who would give the Convocation address. She described her time in Patna as a period that taught her to tackle community health problems more imaginatively than ever before. Bradley recounted her troubles adapting to the local culture, government administration and community needs. She stated that her work in Patna involved a great deal of digging for the truth of the realities of the community, and as a consequence she learned to continually remain critical, engaged and curious. Posing the question “Can you really find truth?” Bradley emphatically declared, “Yes, but you need thinkers.” In that way, Bradley affirmed, Vassar is playing a role in creating generations of thinkers by nurturing its students, encouraging them to constantly and creatively seek the truth. The ceremony continued with Bradley presenting this year’s chairs. The Arnold Family Chair of Psychology was granted to Professor of Psychological Science Abigail Baird. The Class of 1951 Chair, given to Vassar’s most promising assistant professors, was awarded to Assistant Professor of Political Science Taneisha Means. The Mary Conover Mellon Chair in Art History was given to Professor of Art Molly Nesbit. Next, Professor of Philosophy Bryan Van Norden received the James Monroe Taylor Chair in Philosophy.
Professor of English Amitava Kumar delivered the Convocation Address, in which he spoke about the complicated nature of memory, relevant to seniors as they enter their final year at Vassar.
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NEWS
September 20, 2018
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VSA Updates Consensus Agenda—Passed •
—Contingent $10 subsidy of $15 tickets for students who attend MidAutumn Festival Celebration • 630/630 for Forum of Political Thought from Collaboration —Screening: Guangzhou Dream Factory
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Courtesy of Kelsie Milburn
Finance Allocations • 500/650 for Chinese Student Community from Community
Fall Election Schedule • Wednesday, Sept. 19: Filing opens at 12 p.m. • Tuesday, Sept. 25: Filing closes at 5 p.m. • Wednesday, Sept. 26: Candidates Meeting at 5 p.m. • Wednesday, Oct. 3: Election opens at 12 p.m. • Friday, Oct. 5: Election closes at 12 p.m., results posted that night
The Vassar Student Association (VSA) holds weekly Senate meetings on Sundays at 2:30 p.m. in Rockefeller Hall 112. All members of the student body are encouraged to attend!
CIS on Friday, Sept. 24 to talk about Workday. Chair and Co-Chair of Finance discussed increasing the number of BOEA membes. The last treasurers’ training is coming up!
Vice President • Operations Committee will appoint first-year and senior Board of Elections and Appointments representatives. • Vice President is meeting with Communications about the VSA website shortly. President • President is still figuring out details of Poughkeepsie pick-up project. Committee Chair Updates:
Executive Board Updates: • Chair of Academics • Academics is hoping to hold a Senate forum with Dean of Studies Benjamin Lotto, Dean of the Faculty Jonathan Chenette and Professor of Education Christopher Bjork.
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Chair of Organizations • Orgs Committee met last week and
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talked about the audit of Crafts Not Bombs. The committee reviewed the org’s constitution on Tuesday, Sept. 18. The committee held make-up SAVP training and now most org leaders are trained. The committee is preparing the timeline for pre- and full-org applications. The application process is complicated and takes a long time, so the committee is considering revising the bylaws. The committee is working on updat-
ing the VSA webpage for organizations. Chair of Equity and Inclusion • Chair met with Wayne Assing to discuss Character Day, which will take place on Wednesday, Sept. 26. This global initiave invites participants to attend film screenings and discuss building character strengths. Chair of Finance • Chair of Finance will meet with
Chair of Programming • There will be one NYC shuttle on Oct. 27 and two on Nov. 17. Chair of Health and Wellness • Chair encouraged members of health-related orgs and LGBTQ Center interns to attend committee meetings. —Charlotte Varcoe-Wolfson, Contributing Editor
Outside the Bubble Prison strikes protest exploitative labor Sunday, Sept. 9, marked the end of the latest United States prison strike. The strike was organized by the Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee (IWOC), a subunit of the “militant” union Industrial Workers of the World. The strike began on Aug. 21—the 47-year anniversary of the murder of Black social activist George Jackson at San Quentin prison—and ended on the anniversary of the 1971 Attica prison uprising. Prisoners refused to work, participating in sit-ins and hunger strikes and boycotted common areas. This is the most recent of such largescale actions since the month-long prison strike of 2016, the most wide-reaching jail strike in U.S. history. Spurred by the April riot at Lee Correctional Institute in South Carolina, Jailhouse Lawyers Speak (JLS), an anonymous group of inmates providing legal aid to fellow inmates, initiated the protest with a Twitter press release. The strike was scheduled for next year, but after the riot—which lasted for seven hours and during which seven prisoners were stabbed—planners decided to begin the protest immediately (Mother Jones, “Prisoners Are Getting Creative to Pull Off a Massive Strike This Week,” 08.20.2018). A zine released by the IWOC lists the demands of prisoners nationwide, yet asserts, “Most of the demands are not actionable items that prison authorities are able to grant, but rather they require deep legislative and cultural changes … The goal is not to hold out and win negotiations with officials, but to last those 19 days and punch the issue to the top of the political consciousness and agenda” (IWOC, “Prison Strike 2018”). The list of demands includes an immediate end to “prison slavery … the racial overcharging, over-sentencing, and parole denials of Black and brown humans … [and] racist gang enhancement laws, targeting Black and brown humans,” in addition to increased access to rehabilitation programs,
especially for those labelled as violent offenders, and the re-installation of Pell grants in all U.S. states and territories. The zine also includes a legal observer affidavit, which prisoners can use to describe the discrimination they have experienced while in prison. The IWOC accuses the nation of preventing prison rebellion leadership from arguing for the rights of prisoners, which have been violated for centuries through racial profiling, private prisons and the prison industrial complex. In addition to rendering prisoners disenfranchised, the Prison Litigation Reform Act prevents them from addressing violations of their rights, leaving them without a platform to express themselves. The Sentencing Reform Act and truth in sentencing policies decrease the probability that prisoners will be granted rehabilitation services or parole and allow prisoners to be sentenced to death in incarceration without parole. This latest protest in particular focused on socalled “slave labor” in prisons. The organization argues that the conditions of prisons and prison policies do not recognize or honor the humanity of prisoners, but merely use them as a source of capital gain. Imprisoned individuals are paid mere cents per day for their hard labor, and in several states, including South Carolina and Texas, prisons pay inmates nothing at all. According to The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news outlet focusing on the U.S. criminal justice system, the average pay in state prisons in 20 cents per hour. (“A Primer on the Nationwide Prison Strike,” 09.27.2016). With the disproportionate amount of Black and brown prisoners in the system, working conditions in prisons has been characterized as akin to a modern form of slavery. The IWOC also encourages prisoners to cease violence against one another. This violence arises in part from the placement of members of rival gangs in the same cells or units, increasing the prevalence of prisoner-on-prisoner violence.
Jailhouse Lawyers Speak released a statement in April saying: “Our collective message to prisoners, stop the violence against each other. Regardless of race, class or label, we are one” (NPR). In response to the press release, prisons restricted mail and phone privileges to prisoners, as well as isolating suspected strike leaders and organizers in preparation for the strike. In its pre-strike statement, Jailhouse Lawyers Speak claims that prison wardens and officials are already issuing threats of punishment to prisoners planning on participating. When asked about the strike, prison officials either denied or minimized their knowledge. For example, although activists circulated video footage of a California prisoner participating in a hunger strike, Vicky Waters, a spokesperson for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, stated, “I’m aware of the video but I have no way of identifying the inmate in the video or verifying where it was recorded … I can tell you we have had no reported incidents or activities from inmates related to the national prison strike” (The New York Times, “Prison Strike Organizers Aim to Improve Conditions and Pay,” 08.26.2018). Another spokesperson, Lori K. Haley of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), called news of prisoners striking at a federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Washington false, contrary to the claims of activists. Although rumors of protest emerged from facilities in Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, New York and South Carolina, officials in each state denied these claims (The New York Times). During the protest, outside organizers and allies did not expect any news from the inside. Days after the end of the strike, the scope and outcomes of the protest are still unknown. Before the strike, Jailhouse Lawyers Speak warned prisoners, “Do not expect to see major coverage of our strike on the mainstream media. Definitely do not expect any prison officials to give you
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accurate or updated information … The only time they will report an uprising is when it’s fullblown beyond their control. At that point they will label it a riot. Prisoners will have to sneak out updates. For those of you with these updates, please share with others.” Inmates in at least 17 states at federal, immigration and state prisons planned to join the protest, but prison system officials often suppress news of jail riots and protests and thus it rarely reaches the attention of mainstream media (NPR, “Inmates Plan to Hold Weeks-Long Strike At Prisons Across U.S.”). It took months for allies to comprehend the full scope and impact of the 2016 prison strike. Although Sept. 9, the official end of the strike, has passed, many prisoners continue to strike. Jailhouse Lawyers Speak and other activists are encouraging prisoners to set their own end dates for strikes or to continue indefinitely. There is at least one prisoner on hunger strike at a facility in Missouri and there are reports of protest activity and boycotts at two facilities in New York and Texas (IWOC, “September 11 strike update,” 09.11.2018). With the continuation of strikes across the country, prison officials are further restricting inmates’ communication with the outside world. Prisons increasingly censor the distribution of mail. Lockdowns and mandatory searches and seizures of prisoner property occur on a rising basis. Going forward, Jailhouse Lawyers Speak plans to endorse a campaign that would create real legislative change in accordance with its list of demands aimed at the national prison system. As the group stated, “The work of spreading and fighting for [our] demands will continue on all fronts until they are actualized, and then beyond that onto what JLS aptly calls the ‘dismantling process,’ as we build a movement toward abolition” (IWOC, “Sept. 11 update”). —Catherine Bither, Columnist
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September 20, 2018
Rising artist SOPHIE amazes with irresistible beats Jimmy Christon COLUMNIST
OIL OF EVERY PEARL’S UN-INSIDES
SOPHIE Future Classic
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n a summer that was full of stellar releases, the album “OIL OF EVERY PEARL’S UN-INSIDES” by SOPHIE was the clear standout for me. In a season where Autechre released eight hours’ worth of fantastic music and Aphex Twin released one of his best singles, Sophie’s debut album was a clear landmark release for electronic music. I could easily call this album a pop album and review it as such, but I think that would be a disservice to this record on the technical side of things. At the same time, I can’t overlook the infectious poppiness of this album that serves as a vehicle for its technical mastery. Yet this album doesn’t live in two worlds; it exists in just the one. This album is a masterpiece because of how seamlessly it blends this cutting-edge creativity with songs that ooze pop. Take, for example, the grand track “Ponyboy.” This abrasive song feels like it wants to push you away more than anything else. The synth lead is so grimy and rough, I imagine it’s what you’d hear before the world’s sexiest sports car hits you. The rhythm to this track is what makes you want to keep listening. It’s hypnotic and entrancing. And then the vocals come in underneath the beat. I can’t make them out. When I listen to this song I just hum something that is reminiscent of what’s on this track. The first part of “Ponyboy” is veiled by obscurity. As the song builds, however, the shield
seems to melt away. The only exception is a hint of pop that comes from the bubblegum vocals of Cecile Believe. These vocals are so bright and attractive, and when they are paired with this violent beat, the song finally opens up. At the minute-and-a-half mark, it becomes totally ecstatic. Obviously, this passionate song has something to do with sex. And once you look up the lyrics, this reading gets much more obvious. I love this. I have listened to this song so many times over this summer, and each time it has left me breathless and flushed red. I’m obsessed with this song with the same type of obsession that SOPHIE describes in its lyrics. This is one of the album’s most entrancing singles. This is the song that leads most people down the wild, imaginative rabbit hole of this record. The other top single tells a different story.
“The ‘Pretend World’ on display here is a liminal space, an aural residence where all concepts and emotions float peacefully together.” While “Ponyboy” is a bit of a calloused song, “It’s Okay to Cry” is a song filled to the brim with triumphant sentimentality. This ballad isn’t just all heart and emotion—the technical prowess is still here. SOPHIE’s vocals paired with the chilly instrumentals presents a picture so wel-
coming that it’s basically a hug for your ears. Then all of that explodes into a display of fireworks in the last 30 seconds of the track. Drums roll in, Cecile Believe glides into the front spot again and a keyboard works its way up to what I’m fairly certain heaven sounds like. It’s fantastic and emotional and an undeniable high for music in this decade—especially when considering that “Ponyboy” immediately follows this big moment. If I can highlight a dichotomy that might get you into this album, a generalization that makes it more appealing than “EDM art-house pop made for a rave scene,” it would be this: “OIL OF EVERY PEARL’S UN-INSIDES” fuses emotional sentiment with technical mastery. This album is right up there with standouts of Electronic music like Daft Punk’s “Discovery,” Burial’s “Untrue” and, of course, Björk’s frozen magnum opus “Vespertine.” Tracks on “OIL OF EVERY PEARL’S UN-INSIDES,” like “Is It Cold In The Water?” “Infatuation,” “Immaterial” and “It’s okay to cry,” are lovely songs where hypnotic synths bore into your head so your heart can hear the vocals better. There’s an aesthetic that SOPHIE is going for when the chaotic zig-zaggy synths of “Is It Cold In The Water?” back Cecile Believe’s impassioned wail asking “Is it cold in the water?” It’s not a feeling I can put into words, but you can listen to it and recognize instantly what feelings SOPHIE was trying to evoke in the listener. And that’s a tremendous feat. I’d be remiss in my duty to review this record if I didn’t discuss the end of the album. The concept is that as the album progresses, the experience develops into a more immaterial plane. This is achieved on the technical side with a complete breakdown of the mechanical
aspects of what makes SOPHIE’S songs. So, in true Autechre fashion, SOPHIE ends the album by smashing all of the components of the album into a chaotic and beautiful mess at the close of the final track “Whole New World/Pretend World.”
“It’s loud, grand and inviting, and I wish I had an entire hour to explore it rather than just the five minutes we get on this album.” The “Pretend World” on display here is a liminal space, an aural residence where all concepts and emotions float peacefully together. It’s loud, grand and inviting, and I wish I had an entire hour to explore it rather than just the five minutes we get on this album. SOPHIE has her fingers on the pulse of not just modern EDM music, but the pulse of modern music in general. I love this project for many reasons. One reason is that so much of this album calls back to brilliant electronic acts of the last decades in a way that feels heartfelt and refreshing. Another reason is that it takes a myriad of influences, wears them on its sleeve and delivers these sounds in a way that feels unique and beautiful in its freshness. In a summer during which Autechre and Aphex Twin released some of the best tracks in their long careers, SOPHIE placed herself far ahead of them, solidifying a path that I hope continues to astound me well into the future.
Now on view in the Loeb: Tim Youd’s literary pilgrimages
Courtesy of Natalie Bober
In the midst of on a project to retype 100 classic works, artist Tim Youd aims to show that art and beauty is derived not only from the finished product but also from the creative process itself. TYPEWRITER continued from page 1 ingénue, McCarthy writes about the prison of appearances, and the suffocating, morose mask of performance. There is an element of performance to Youd’s work, but he’s not a performance artist. He is better labeled as a procedural artist, where the effect of the work (and it is, he insists, work) arrives in the residue. At first, the audience sees the man armed with a typewriter, a beverage and a plastic folding table. He types each novel on a single sheet of paper, a support sheet underneath, repeatedly re-loading the paper through the typewriter until the entire novel has been typed. Eventually, the top sheet, suffused with ink, will become perforated from overuse. Explaining the rest of the procedure, Youd stated, “[T]he sheet underneath becomes
embossed from indentation. Upon completion, the two pages are separated and mounted sideby-side as a framed diptych…[which] remains as a relic of the performance that embodies the novel, even though it is completely illegible.” The banality inherent to this work is totally removed from the spectacle that tends to characterize that lump phylum of “performance art,” from which the skeptical if curious midcult might depart with anticipations dully— albeit immediately—satisfied. Youd, whose procedure-through-performance is internal, concerns himself with no audience—he has set solitary work. If we happen to pass by, we might watch. But think again of the monk. Curious garb aside, for the uninitiated, there is no room or reason to gawk. For the curious Catholic, here a stand-in for the fellow artist, there is
reverence for the act. Then, Youd is less a performance artist, tirelessly slaving for our immediate satisfaction; and less a monk, because the procedure begets something residual and massive. Each finished piece is an eternal monument of page, drawn and hammered in remembrance. He states, “[Each mistake is a] metaphoric way for what happens to the brain when we read—it’s not legible but it’s all there.” Here, histories are recalled and resorted into something new, categorized into one hundred cenotaphs. Perhaps he’s a Boullée. Or perhaps he’s just Tim Youd spending a summer along the Hudson. *** The exhibition opens on Sept. 13 at 5:30 p.m., but Youd has set up early. This time, he is working at a collection of poems by Elizabeth Bishop ’34, a friend of McCarthy’s and spirited co-conspirator from their Vassar days. As a two-finger typist, Youd is a self-described hunt-and-pecker, but he says, “[P]lenty of great authors huntand-peck. [Raymond] Chandler and Hemingway, for example. That’s why I’ve stubbornly refused to learn.” If one arrives at the Loeb just before any other curious viewers, there is little to hear besides the echo of a spirited, persistent clack piercing the air. Youd is already typing away. But here, unique to all the previous work, Youd engages spectacle as the spectacle. It is the rare opportunity to watch the artist in his own studio, creating amongst his creations. The audience granted the opportunity to see time compressed, the before and after becomes both negligible and immediate. He is crowded by pilgrims, onlookers and cultish devotees (who, I am told, call themselves artists), themselves few in number but expanding throughout the night. They gather around a man who sits at a foldable table, armed only with a water bottle and a typewriter. The artist speaks. He does not
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shy away from questions. Unsurprisingly, he talks about McCarthy and Bishop in religious terms. These are pilgrimages, not just to locations but also from the front cover to the back. The texts are icons and relics for veneration. But Youd is punching into them, trying to break through. Truth—in the artist’s eternal quest—is underneath, or at the very least is something hidden. He is generous with his time, taking long breaks from work to engage the spectator if she should approach him. There is no “do not disturb” sign set atop his table. There never was. Approaching the McCarthy diptych—framed in the Loeb among others like an old master print—caught unaware, the agnostic is confronted by the relic, saved for the world by the faithful from a burning cathedral. You can see Youd reflected through the glass covering the piece. This is noticeable in the rightmost page, less a piece of paper than four connected corners covered in ink and stray letters. The leftmost page is covered in ink, the occasional hole in the page impressing itself more as an angered tear than a sign of weathering. But it is all intelligible. Why? Because, for Youd—and here, I think, is why he’s no factory worker, or why he’s not tossed his typewriter for a habit—the work is hagiography by destruction. Recall the right-hand page of the diptych. I am about to leave the exhibit when I notice an older woman staring intently at the piece. “The Group” is nearly pressed to her silent face, something missing where the page once was or a refracted glass vortex where Youd has broken through. I ask her what she sees and, like so many young women that read McCarthy’s novel upon its publication in 1963, through the page, she states: “I see myself.” Find Tim Youd typing on campus through Sept. 20. His work is on view at the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center until Oct. 14, 2018.
September 20, 2018
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Mitski’s ‘Be the Cowboy’ demonstrates layered brilliance Emma Bauchner GUEST COLUMNIST
Be the Cowboy
Mitski Dead Oceans
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it glow,” she declares, just as much to herself as to her audience. She lets us into her world in a way that feels very personal on “Remember My Name,” a song that explores her conflicting need for both immortality and emotional closeness: “I gave too much of my heart tonight/Can you come to where I’m staying and make some extra love/That I can save till tomorrow’s show.” In a Pitchfork piece published a month before the album’s release, Mitski issued a preemptive apology to fans who were excitedly anticipating new music to cry to: “Every time someone on social media is like, ‘I can’t wait to cry to your new album,’ I’m like, ‘I don’t know if you’ll cry. I’m sorry’”(Pitchfork, “Don’t Cry for Mitski,” 07.12.2018).
Yet, in a later interview for Fact Magazine, she declared, “This is my saddest album” (Fact, “Mitski on her Piano Teacher-inspired, ‘saddest’ album ‘Be the Cowboy,’” 07.19.2018). Listening to the album in full, these seemingly contradictory statements both ring true. Mitski certainly writes sad songs, and the extra maturity present throughout the album perhaps makes it her darkest set of songs yet. Still, “Be the Cowboy” is not an album purely of despair—it contains moments of excitement, devotion, self-doubt, confrontation and hope. Mitski’s world is filled with contradictions, and the honesty with which she navigates and confronts them on “Be the Cowboy” make these songs feel beautifully universal.
Courtesy of Courtney Emery via Flickr
he 14 songs on Mitski Miyawaki’s fifth studio album are short, most of them clocking in at around two minutes. But do not let that fool you— rather than feeling underdeveloped, the length of these songs reflects the meticulousness with which Mitski has crafted them. The 27-year-old singer-songwriter has made a name for herself in indie rock over the course of her past four albums, all of which have highlighted her advanced musicianship, genre-blending and unique lyricism in distinct ways. “Be the Cowboy”—released Aug. 17 by Dead Oceans—is no exception. Aside from the brevity of its songs, what sets “Be the Cowboy” apart from its predecessors is the strength of its thematic cohesion. While the title perhaps initially conjures up images of the Wild West, the phrase is given a new meaning in the context of the album art, which could just as easily be a shot for a movie poster (indeed, Mitski has commented that the album was partially inspired by the film “The Piano Teacher,” among others). The cover depicts Mitski, clad in an old-fashioned shower cap, with her makeup being done by a hand belonging to no one, staring out at the viewer with an expression that emanates both hesitance and quiet strength. This is an album about a woman trying to maintain control of herself and her narrative, navigating the contradictions of the messiness of life, love, adulthood and the glossy, performative nature of being an artist and celebrity.
The duality of glossy and messy is reflected just as much within the album itself. Production-wise, “Be the Cowboy” feels far removed from her breakout third studio album “Bury Me at Makeout Creek,” which used a lo-fi aesthetic and plenty of grungy distortion to capture the rugged intensity of her songs. “Be the Cowboy” is much more cleanly produced, filled with reverb-drenched guitar lines, soaring synths and booming percussion tracks that highlight Mitski’s powerful vocals, which she left fairly pristine compared to the double-tracking and intricate vocal harmonies present on her previous albums. The resulting music feels more pop-oriented than anything else Mitski has released to date. However, this stylistic change does not rob the music of any of its authenticity; despite its cleaner production, the burning tenacity that has always defined Mitski’s music shines through, as does the impression that she uses each song to push her emotions to their breaking point. The songs explore distinct emotions by capturing moments in time, and their brevity contributes to their fleeting, vignette-like nature. The album is filled to the brim with cinematic imagery: “Meet me at Blue Diner/I’ll take coffee and talk about nothing, baby” she sings wistfully on “Old Friend.”On “Nobody,” the album’s most successful single, she wonders aloud, “Venus, planet of love/ Was destroyed by global warming/Did its people want too much too?” The song then builds and explodes into a disco-tinged anthem to loneliness that feels almost impossible not to dance to. In one of the album’s standout tracks, “A Pearl,” Mitski uses a chilling metaphor to describe the realization that she has been holding on to past toxicity so strongly that it has become tied to her identity. “It’s just that I fell in love with a war/ Nobody told me it ended/And it left a pearl in my hand and I roll it around/Every night just to watch
Bringing something new to the table this summer, singer-songwriter Mitski showcases 14 intimate, varied tracks that reveal profound maturity on her album, “Be the Cowboy.”
A capella performers entice, embrace new members A CAPELLA continued from page 1
as to which groups he would end up auditioning, McCray kept an open mind. “We’ll see what happens,” he concluded, “I have to hear them first.” His friend Taylor Worthington, also a member of the Class of 2022, attended the event with a different mindset: “I was walking out of the building with a package and I saw a friend who was walking in, so I turned around and came in here with him,” he elaborated. “I’m just here to listen to some good voices.” At the preview concert, groups aim to not only showcase their collective talents, but also to convince students like McCray that their group is one worth auditioning for. Vassar Devils member and preview concert organizer Lily Carmichael ’20 explained in an email statement, “[The event] is put on mainly for the first-year students, especially for those looking to join one of the a capella groups.” According to Carmichael, this recruitment process can prove highly effective. She wrote of
her own experience, “I attended the preview concert when I was a first-year. I remember thinking I wasn’t going to join an a capella group, since I believed the stereotype that a capella music is ‘boring’ or ‘not challenging.’ After seeing all the groups perform, my view completely changed; the arrangements sung were more intricate and emotional than anything I’d sung ever before.” Hoping to produce the same effect that changed the course of her college experience two years ago, Carmichael took on the planning for this year’s preview concert. She explained the process behind organizing the event: “Members of the exec board of each a capella group came together to discuss the date, time, location, concert order, etc.” Carmichael believes that the effort of putting on the preview is warranted: “This event is important for…all the…groups because it offers a taste of what each group is all about.” The groups took on this opportunity with zeal, each performing an approximately 10 minute-long
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
On Sept. 12, Vassar’s nine a capella groups assembled in the Villard room to whistle, belt, croon and share their many talents in the hopes of drawing potential members to audition.
sample set. Vassar’s only all–male identifying a capella group, The Axies, served as emcees, opening with a skit which led into their stunning set, one highlight of which was a powerful rendition of The First Edition’s “Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In).” The group returned about two hours later to close out the concert with Paul McCartney’s “I Will.” Following The Axies, Measure 4 Measure, one of Vassar’s female-identifying and/or non-binary a capella groups, took the stage. The group opened with “The Story” by Brandi Carlile, featuring the melodic voice of Sophie Novak ’21 as soloist. Measure 4 Measure was followed by The Night Owls, a women-identifying jazz group. One definitive highlight of their set was “Bring on the Men” from the musical “Jekyll & Hyde,” in which a rotation of members soloed the song’s cleverly misandrist verses, interlaced with “oo”s and supportive choreography from the rest of the group. The famous Aircapella followed. Vassar’s whistling-only a capella group breathed their way through “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” and Britney Spears’ “Toxic.” After, Worthington proclaimed, “I think I have to do that. That was so cool!” Next was Home Brewed, who immediately broke the whistle-induced lull by racing on stage through side doors, whooping and screaming. Introduced by Axies members as “some of the coolest people on campus,” Home Brewed was determined to showcase themselves as a purely fun a capella group. According to member Georgia Hahn ’21, “Our literal only goal was HIGH ENERGY. We chanted it before we came out.” The Vastards followed, carrying out an equally high-energy and fun-filled set. When the group finished, UJIMA: A Groove Society came onstage. This was the first time UJIMA had been included in the preview concert, as they are not solely an a capella group. A POC artists’ coalition, the group focuses on “music of the African Diaspora, specifically soul, gospel, jazz, funk, spirituals and
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
rhythm and blues,” according to their Facebook page. Only the singers attended the preview, and many of them were already familiar faces to the audience as UJIMA members are allowed to be in a regular a capella group as well. Their voices filled the room with haunting gospel melodies. Beauty and the Beats, the Disney-themed group, followed, finishing with a rendition of Miley Cyrus’ “The Climb” which recalled for many childhood memories of belting Hannah Montana into hairbrushes—although Beauty and the Beats’ version was a touch more sophisticated. Finally, BAM, a group whose name is an acronym for “Broadway and More,” showcased an entertaining, dramatic performance of “Take Me or Leave Me” from “Rent.” The crowd members who stuck it out until the end found themselves swept into a mad dash to reach the audition sign-up sheets posted outside the Villard Room. The following weekend was full of nervous practicing for first-years, and stoic scale-leading and decision-making for veteran a capella members as auditions took place. Of the approximately 50 students who tried out for each of the nine groups, about 20 per group were called back for a second round of auditions on Sunday. Of that 20, an average of three or four singers were “sung in” to a group—a capella speak for woken up in the middle of the night by a group of singing semi-strangers, inviting the new member to join them for the next four years. Novak reflected on the importance of the preview concert in the process of reaching the end goal of recruiting first-years: “The idea that people were potentially basing their decisions about auditions on the performance...was honestly really terrifying...But it was cool to see so many people and not know who could end up being a part of the group.” Soon enough, new members will soon learn the tricks of the trade, continuing the cycle of impressing new students and inviting them to join in.
ARTS
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September 20, 2018
Unbound Student Theater presents 24-hour play festival Abby Tarwater GUEST REPORTER
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n Saturday, Sept. 15, Unbound Student Theater presented its second annual 24-hour play festival, with the theme “That’s a Rock Fact.” Twenty-four hour play festivals aim to bring together actors, directors and writers to create 10-minute plays under the time constraint of 24 hours. Unbound managed to create five plays this year, with five directors, five writers and 10 actors involved. All students were invited to participate or attend. Although this is only Vassar’s second year of holding of a 24-hour play festival, such events occur across the country, from high schools to
regional theater troupes. The 24-Hour Company implements a mandated structure, but Unbound altered it to allow for as much collaboration as possible in order to ensure a stress-free, positive experience for everyone involved. Mollie Lipkowitz ’20, president of Unbound and writer of the play “A Study on Bonobo Chimps,” stated: “Traditionally, there is someone with a designated role as a producer who stays up for the entire 24 hours, but we divided that up because it’s such a huge role...We’re a family! Everyone only works for eight hours. Additionally, halfway through the night at 2 a.m., all the writers check in with each other and read each other’s scripts…it’s really collaborative.”
Courtesy of Yijia Hu
On Sept. 15, experimental student theater group Unbound offered a 24-hour play festival in which group members and new students alike were able to write and perform their own plays.
Lipkowitz additionally stated that the event serves as an ideal introduction to theater at Vassar, especially for first-years. However, anyone and everyone was welcome to participate—no experience required. The event was for fun only, and despite the seemingly stressful and daunting nature of creating a play in such a short time frame, Unbound treats the experience as more of a synergistic bonding experience. Actor in the play “Not Quite Detroit,” Frances Rippy ’22 stated, “I thought it would be very highstakes with everyone very stressed, but it’s a very well-oiled machine—we’ve all [writers, directors, and actors] been called at different times, so no one had to stay up all night. It’s not about creating a perfect play, but rather about seeing how much work can be done in 24 hours.” The beginning of the 24-hour period is denoted by the reveal of the festival’s theme. This year’s theme, “That’s a Rock Fact,” was just as kooky as last year’s, which was “Smokin’ Hot Tea.” The theme was chosen by an unaffiliated student in an effort to ensure that everyone was on equal footing at the beginning of the writing process. The title is an esoteric reference to a Cartoon Network miniseries titled “Over the Garden Wall.” The seemingly nonsensical theme is representative of the offbeat and laid-back nature of the festival. However, the phrase itself is not widely known and only a small number of participants were aware of the origin of the phrase. Unbound props manager and actor in the play “Not Quite Detroit” Jordan Kalina ’20 is one of these select few. Kalina stated that there are some plays that align with the phrase’s true meaning and others that don’t. He explained, “[T]here are some things that may not be real, or hard to understand, and there may be an unreliable narrator in some sense. But we are also taking the definition a little bit
literally, as we are using physical rocks in some productions!” The ambiguity of the theme allowed for a wide variety of interpretations. The plays ranged from a humorous piece about chimpanzees to a dramedy about a tumultuous rock band to a harrowing drama about a man who chooses to be homeless. The theme also inspired the cast to create a collaborative Spotify playlist that played throughout the show, which included tracks as disparate as Hannah Montana’s “Rockstar,” Justin Timberlake’s “Rock Your Body” and Queen’s “We Will Rock You.” Although the small time frame increased the possibility for errors during the performance, the participants expressed more excitement than nerves. Discussing the emotions she felt as she awaited the show, Lipkowitz stated, “Honestly, anything could happen in the show and I would still think of it as a success because the point was to get a bunch of people together who didn’t necessarily know each other previously and have them create some form of art. We already succeeded at that, just by the nature of all being in this building at the same time.” In addition to the 24-hour play festival, Unbound hosts numerous other events throughout the year. In the 2018 to 2019 season, they plan on doing a full-length show, a sing-along stage reading of “The Nightmare Before Christmas” on Halloween and a first-year cabaret. Regardless of the production, however, Unbound members always feel attached to their creative or original work. Kalinas emphasized this attitude in reflecting on the play festival, stating, “I’ve really enjoyed seeing the things that people have brought to the stage and how we’ve been able to sort of stage these things and get them off the ground within the 24-hour period—which has been chaotic but rewarding.”
Swift’s ‘reputation’ tour showcases ingenuity, PR savvy Leah Cates
SENIOR EDITOR reputation
Taylor Swift Big Machine Records
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aylor Swift loves rain, from her voluntary soaking on her “Fearless” tour and in the finale of “reputation”-era music video “Delicate,” to the rain-drenched lyrics of songs like “Sparks Fly” and “Clean.” So when raindrops began to fall as Taylor, seated at her piano, introduced the “Long Live/New Year’s Day” mashup at Chicago’s Soldier Field on June 2, she exclaimed, “Yes!...There is absolutely no group of people I’d rather dance in the rain with.” And in a surreal, enchanting, tooperfect-to-plan moment, she played the opening notes of the anthemic thank-you note she wrote for her fans and her band. We had the “time of our lives fighting dragons” together in the rain. Evidently not all witches melt in water. After opening with “...Ready for It?” Tay dove into “I Did Something Bad,” which hits 13 times harder live than on “reputation,” where it already packs a scathing satirical punch. “They’re burning all the witches even if you aren’t one,” a wide-eyed Tay insists as her backup dancers recoil from her like she’s a viper. So Swift shrugs and growls, “Light me up!” as they hoist her high and tilt her on her back as the background screen erupts into flames. The effect is poignant and borderline disturbing. Besides dragons and witches, there were snakes. Lots of them. There were countless colossal snake statues (including a menacing 30-foot cobra), snakeskin costumes, a snake microphone, snake background visuals and a flying stage that was a snake skeleton with razor-sharp fangs and beady red eyes. But the snake I cared about most was Swift herself, whose knowledge of every nasty remark everyone has ever said about her—and
her eagerness to feed a crowd of 52,000 a virtually verbatim list—is a venomous and sardonic bite in the jugular to Swift’s skeptics. As announced by the final voice-over before Swift appears onstage, “We’ll talk about Taylor Swift’s reputation.” Indeed we will; she’s a snake (of course), she holds too many grudges, her pain is manipulative, her kindness is fake (as is her girl-squad), she draws attention to herself, she plays the victim... As with every other Swift tour, “reputation” underscores Swift’s signature capacity to command an audience with an extravagant and intricate epic pop spectacle—and with just an acoustic guitar or piano, plus her endearingly present, down-to-earth charm and homespun lyrics. The intended takeaway? Taylor Swift is, unequivocally, the reigning champion of everything. Although Swift’s acoustic moments remain the true masterpieces (more on those later), the special effects are astounding and rival those of Broadway or Disneyland. Swift, who leaves no sparkle unturned, brings with her just over 80 trucks worth of equipment: pyrotechnics, a four-tier fountain, five stages (three standing, two flying), two massive screens, audience wristbands programmed to flash in coordination, miniature newspaper confetti, a giant snake-adorned seesaw and more. But even the over-the-top moments are organic— they’re so glittery, vengeful, dramatic, obsessively detailed and downright bizarre that only Swift’s overzealous brain could have conceived of them. Swift always features whatever she’s passionate about (Princess dresses! NYC! Revenge!), trusting that when you see how adorably happy her latest obsession makes her, you can’t help but love life on Planet Swift. Tay employs her penchant for maximalism in the service of her characteristic intimacy. For example, Swift arranged the three stages in a triangle so that every portion of the stadium gets a head-on view at some point during the concert. So when Swift warmly assures the audience that she can see every single one of us, including the
people in the very back row, we believe her. (PS-If #taylurking wasn’t a thing, this would be sweet and uncreepy. But if she didn’t stalk her fans, then she wouldn’t be Taylor Swift.) Two weaknesses: First, “reputation” is too damn good for a tour. The album’s strategic song order tells a captivating story that’s absent when Swift performs them out of order, including finishing with “This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things.” The concert ends on an awkward note of cathartic yet childish vengeance, while the album’s refreshing finale features Swift’s newfound maturity. Furthermore, the hyper-production sometimes sapped Swift’s smart songwriting. “Gorgeous,” a self-aware, deliciously sarcastic and deceptively meticulous stroke of Swiftian genius becomes silly, pedestrian pop in an overly choreographed live performance. Second, Swift kinda sucks at setlists. She should’ve replaced songs like “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” and “Shake it Off”— overplayed on radio and bad from the outset— with lesser-known but exceptionally crafted gems like “New Romantics” and “Ours.” Two unexpected highlights: the “Bad Blood”/ “Should’ve Said No” mash-up and the speech before “Delicate.” As for the former, I thought nothing could rescue “Bad Blood,” a lyrically dull, melodically grating pop catastrophe about how much Taylor Swift hates Katy Perry, but Swift salvaged the song by melding it with “Should’ve Said No,” a fiddle-doused ditty from 16-year-old Swift about a boy who cheated on her. Leave it to Tay to figure out that one. As for the latter, Swift donned a rainbow dress to Pride Month: “May we end up with a world where everyone can live and love equally and no one has to be afraid to be vulnerable and say how they feel.” For a minute there, Swift evinced emotion dangerously close to sincere, selfless caring. Can snakes be compassionate? I’m a devotee of Swiftian acoustic guitar performances, which included “22” and “Dancing With Our Hands Tied,” two of the weaker tracks in her
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
songbook. Of course, Swift could transform an acoustic rendition of the alphabet song into a mesmerizing and dynamic tale of how “S” came before “T,” but it all started with “A.” So there’s nothing like nightly acoustic performances of “DWOHT” to rescue the one forgettable love song on an album of hard-hitting romantic ballads. Tay will never stop using her acoustic guitar as a crutch, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. But the undeniable showstopper was Swift’s acoustic piano performance, a melding of two killer album finales (“Long Live” and “New Year’s Day”) that didn’t need rain to be riveting. The confetti in “Long Live” falls to the ground and transforms into glitter on the hardwood floor in “New Year’s Day.” Swift’s vow to hold onto “spinning around” with the tens of thousands of strong mountain-moving, dragon-fighting “yous” flows effortlessly into her promise to hold onto the memories with the one “you” she holds onto as she sings the lyrics of “Long Live” over the melody of “New Year’s Day.” In 2009, Swift and legions of adoring fans reigned queens and kings of sold-out stadiums. In 2017, Swift and her boyfriend cleaned up bottles off a littered post-party floor. In both moments, “a band of thieves in ripped-up jeans got to rule the world.” One of Taylor’s favorite words is “magical.” It seems melodramatic, but “magical” best describes the last three songs, performed in a rainstorm. I tossed aside my phone camera and the poncho I had contemplated wearing, and let the drops fill my mouth and drench my clothes as I sang in the rain with Taylor who, with her sopping hair, soaked sleeveless dress and massive grin seemed genuinely to be having the time of her life, not in spite of the rain, but because of it. Kind of like how she’s crafted the sexist, jealous, superficial (and occasionally deserved) insults hurled at her in the last 13 years into an ingenuitive, electric, elaborate, intimate, acclaimed, sparkling, serpentine, Swiftian spectacle. There’s resilient and optimistic, and then there’s Taylor Alison Swift. Long live, indeed.
September 20, 2018
Campus Canvas
ARTS A weekly space highlighting the creative pursuits of student-artists
Page 9 submit to misc@vassar.edu
Excuse me, What’s your favorite conspiracy theory? “AVRIL LAVIGNE IS DEAD AND HAS BEEN REPLACED BY HER LOOKALIKE!!!!!!!” — Heather Phan Nguyen ’20
“That Toby is the Scranton Strangler.” — Abram Gregory ’21
“Didn’t believe in the SoCos.” — Stephanie Coons ’19
“I have a least favorite. It’s astrology.” — Emily Hwu ’20
Lindsey Sample Class of 2020 Neuroscience & Behavior and Cognitive Science Majors Economics Correlate I don’t have much time these days to dedicate to photography, but I sure do miss it! Featured are some photos from various portfolios I had created a few years back. I really enjoy trying to create interesting compositions that capture a very beautiful snapshot of something I’ve seen or experienced; for example, I loved the symmetry of Versailles and wanted to find a way to use the lighting to accentuate it (Versailles is such a work of art in itself... it’s not very hard to make it look beautiful). The ocean shot was such a gorgeous shade of blue with very interesting color variation in the water. I loved the smooth dark wood and white railing against it. I use it for almost every desktop photo. The photo of the girl was taken in my hometown, Atlanta, GA, as part of an Andy Warhol–inspired series I did as a graphic design/photography cross portfolio. Sometimes people strike poses naturally that beg to be photographed or look like they had been drawn that way. There are so many moments worth noticing every day, everywhere, in everyone you meet; what a treat to get to have little mementos for yourself of the life you’re living.
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
“Frozen envelope for the Patrick Ewing draft pick.’” — Jaan Choudhri ’21
“Government propaganda to eat avocados.” — Eric Feeney ’22
Hannah Gaven, Humor & Satire Hannah Benton, Photography
FEATURES
Page 10
September 20, 2018
Grieving student explores complex process of letting go Kimberly Nguyen
OUTREACH COORDINATOR
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But when my family left Vietnam, they took nothing with them. Or if they did, they lost all of it. They left photographs and their families behind. We have no altar, just bitter emptiness in a vast sea of hardship and loss. But now I’m in the habit of building altars to my grief. I’ve started collecting memorabilia on my dresser drawer: old books of Vietnamese poetry, an old letter from my mother, a pair of pants I cannot wear until the smell of my home in Vietnam completely fades off of them… Maybe the trick to grieving is learning how to let it all go. Perhaps building altars of grief is not truly grieving. Maybe I’m not good at grieving because I let nothing go. Once, in primary school, I won a game of tug of war, simply because I refused to let the rope go. The victory cost me the skin off my palms, left them tender, angrily pink and raw. I had felt it halfway through the match, but in my determination, I chose to hold on. My opponent had probably experienced the same thing and just let go in a way that I didn’t yet know how. But I held on for a win that, in retrospect, didn’t matter, and I hurt myself in the process. My grief is tugging on hands that refuse to let it go, hands that hurt but only know how to clutch tighter. Right at this moment, I cannot see how letting go will heal me, but someday I will be ready to take the pants off the top of my dresser. Someday, I will smell them one last time. Then I’ll throw them in the wash, watch the water carry the smell of home away from them and let the smell of detergent replace it. I hope it’ll feel like a weight I will no longer have to carry. I hope it’ll feel like remembering whatever it was I forgot.
Courtesy of Kimberly Nguyen/The Miscellany News
[CW: This article discusses death and the grieving process.] do a lot of terrible things purely for the sake of grieving. And I grieve a lot. I scream-sob on the floor of my room for hours, unable to stop. I make and listen to playlists of sad songs, even though I know that they only make me sadder. I indulge in online shopping sprees and buy random junk I certainly do not need and that will make me feel better only temporarily. I bingeeat and binge-drink myself into hazy stupors. I even shut myself in my room without eating, drinking or sleeping for days. Or I shut myself in my room and sleep for days with only short periods of consciousness in between. There has to be a correct way to grieve, a way that is not so self-destructive and time-consuming. There must be a grief with which you grow instead of collapse. When you get a cold, you do not prepare yourself for death, but when you grieve, it seems your whole life comes to a quiet halt. Sadness, of course, is not as easily treatable as a sore throat, but there must be something that soothes it like a cough drop. Perhaps they make a stronger drop for a deeper hurt. In grief, death could come and perhaps I’d barely notice the difference between life and the afterlife. My life in sadness exists half in the present and half in the past. Living in my own world takes on a whole new meaning. To me, loss/grief (I’m still trying to decide if they are the same feeling—at this time I think they are) is like a perpetually unsettling feeling of having forgotten something and not being able to pinpoint what it is I’ve forgotten. Loss
is a sinking anchor in my chest, a dive into the brain to recover what it accidentally threw away, and a return empty-handed and disappointed yet still unable to shake the feeling of terrible emptiness. Maybe this is what a hard drive feels like when you rip from its arms something it has held for a while. How it must hold an imprint of what it once had but cannot remember. How it must ache to fill that space again. The first time I can remember seeing anyone close to me grieving was maybe a couple of years ago, when my paternal grandmother died. My father was eerily quiet that day. He didn’t cry or say a single word. He sat at the top of the stairs, staring blankly forward, and I knew he was tunneling inward because I was doing the same. I have inherited from him the bad habit of tunneling in the same direction whenever I’m sad. I’ve come to know that my mother grieves by collapsing inward and exploding out. Her grief is over before it starts but ends violently. However, because of them, I think I’ve always understood grieving as a lonely activity, a moment of hurting that only you can heal yourself from. In my culture, when someone in your family dies, you place their photo on an altar and burn sticks of incense in their memory. On special days, you even send them fruit and gifts to the afterlife. My father used to tell me that the fruit rotting is symbolic of it being eaten in the afterlife. He joked that we will barely have enough to eat in this life, but we will feast in the next. When I was a kid, and even sometimes now, I’d imagine that’s how your family comes back to you after they leave you: walking back to earth along roads of smoke, following the smell of incense back to you.
Pictured above is the author’s original experiment with multimedia poetry: a project she showcased in one of her Instagram stories.
Missed Connection #0: Admin reflects on history of page VASSAR MISSED continued from page 1
changing opinions, wishes and advice. In an exclusive interview with The Miscellany News, the page’s admin, whose identity shall voluntarily remain hidden, shared their desire to allow Vassar Missed to turn in whatever direction students want to steer it. The Miscellany News: Can you tell me when you started Vassar Missed? Vassar Missed: My first submission came in on September 7th, 2015. The Misc: Why did you decide to create the page? VM: I felt like we all have a lot to say to one another. For whatever reason, sometimes folks at Vassar can’t do that face to face. The page
was meant to be a place where those honest, vulnerable, difficult things could be said more freely without the risks we feel like there are elsewhere. The Misc: Was this a joint effort with other students on campus, or was this solely a one-person project? VM: It was a solo mission. The Misc: So do you think you’ll be entrusting the page to someone else after you graduate? Or will it end with you? VM: I don’t really know! The page has never been what I expected. I suspect it will continue to surprise me. The Misc: What were your initial expectations for the page?
Courtesy of Vassar Missed Facebook page
Vassar Missed selected the womp-womp as its profile picture, representing Vassar’s mystical, underground legend. The page currently has over 5,000 posts and around 1,000 followers.
VM: I was just curious, but unsure, I suppose. The page has really been very different at different times. It’s been dynamic and has a complete mind of its own! The Misc: I can see you get some really interesting submissions from time to time. Speaking of which, what’s been the most outrageous submission or stream of submissions you’ve received? VM: I think the ones that stand out to me are inside jokes that I’m not a part of. They’re surprising and funny and nonsensical. [I’m] always glad to see a flurry of those to come through! The Misc: I remember a couple of months ago you were receiving a lot of submissions about the discussion of privilege on campus. What was going through your head as you were posting those? VM: Yes, that was definitely a phase of the page. It really becomes whatever people want to talk about [and] what they’re feeling and can’t express elsewhere for one reason or another. It’s really not about me or my head, so I guess my thoughts were mostly with students that were hurting. [I was] hoping that even though the discussions were tense and challenging that hopefully some people could come away having learned something. The Misc: Some of those submissions got a little controversial. Were there some you ended up not posting? VM: There are always some posts that don’t go through. The Misc: Are there some things that are off limits for posting? VM: Certainly! The Misc: Such as? VM: Personal attacks, mostly. I definitely don’t let anything outright nasty about someone go through. That said, it’s important to me to filter as little as I can, otherwise the purpose of the page kind of breaks down. Even some tense [or] tough stuff goes up because it’s important
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
for everyone to know the honest feelings of the campus—a realistic pulse I guess. And it’s always been policy to take down anything upon request that an individual opposes. The Misc: Have you gotten anything that was concerning enough to let someone know about? VM: Submissions are completely anonymous so that’s never really come into play. The Misc: Have you ever interfered with any submissions or been curious about its writer? VM: I’ve never interfered with a submission! I assume you mean changing it or discouraging it or something. I’ve most certainly been very curious about where some submissions have come from. It’s all part of the fun! The Misc: Do you also use it as a platform to share your thoughts? VM: Not typically, no. I really think the page belongs to the people who use it, not at all to me! The Misc: What’s the most difficult thing about running the page? How much of a time commitment is it? VM: The most difficult is when I see that people are being hurt. I don’t deny that the page has often played that part in the social landscape at Vassar. It’s tough to see conversations that play out where there’s a lot of hurt. It’s tough to read posts that are expressing really significant hurt, sadness, loneliness, etc. It’s also tough to get feedback from users on the page when they feel my judgement has been wrong or ineffective. It’s [also] a pretty big time commitment! I read every submission before I post it and add the number to each before posting multiple times a week. So, it ends up being a pretty good amount of time. The Misc: What do you find most rewarding about this role? VM: I feel in a strange way that these people trust me and each other. There’s a lot of remarkable vulnerability involved with the whole thing, and that’s moving to me!
September 20, 2018
FEATURES
Page 11
VHP to hold annual gala, unite community through art Duncan Aronson REPORTER
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Courtesy of the Vassar Haiti Project via Flickr
n Sept. 28, 29 and 30, the Vassar Haiti Project (VHP) will host its 18th annual art sale in the College Center. Vassar, through VHP, has had a long-standing commitment to the Haitian artists who create the original paintings and crafts. Founded in 2001, VHP provides a global view of art and sustainable development, connecting the College with the welfares of Haitian artists and artisans. On the importance of the art sale, VHP Co-President Daniel Elundu ’18 explained via email, “The annual sale is our oldest sale as an organization and our biggest event on campus. It is a way to engage students, administrators, faculty and community members. It is our most direct way to involve Vassar in our partnership with students and that is important for us as an organization that is based here on campus.” He went on to explain the significance of the artwork itself: “I definitely see how the artists in Haiti take pride in their work. I see how the people in the community are willing to bring themselves forward to help sustain the communities through the initiatives. I have learnt a lot about Haiti since I started working with VHP and that knowledge, interactions with people in Haiti, with the artists and young students paint a vibrant picture of a strong society with resilience.” The artwork also resonated with Events CoVice President Annabell Su ’21, who recounted in an emailed statement, “Every brush stroke on the canvas is the artist’s effort to paint life, every iron sculpture comes with the ‘bing-bangs’ of the hammer, every scarf is hand-painted, every bag of coffee comes from the tree planted by women in Chermaitre.” The paintings and hand-
Last year, VHP held its 17th art sale, tabling with numerous Haitian arts and crafts that featured natural elements such as fruits and animals. The entire center brimmed with color and energy. icrafts in the sale are evocative memorabilias of the Haitian culture. Recalling her decision to join the club, Handcrafts Manager Sonia Gollerkeri ’21 stated via email, “After coming to the last day of set up with a friend, I was drawn in by the org’s mission, all of the colorful art throughout the room and the excited energy of all of the people there. Everyone was incredibly invested and passionate about what they were doing. It’s been amazing to be a part of it!” The VHP’s enthusiasm and connectedness did not come about by chance and is not restricted to the art sale alone. Elundu explained the org’s fundamental ideology: “The philosophy
of VHP revolves around building relationships and strengthening partnerships. The organization is nothing without the interconnectedness, love and community among the people of Chermaitre, students, volunteers, donors and all our partners.” Describing the collaboration of and rapport among org members, Elundu added, “I think the students, under the guidance of older and more experienced adults, bring a lot to the organization and are able to coordinate big events and sales, refine their leadership skills and contribute to the work VHP does. The amount of different talents students have is really showcased as we all work together during the year on differ-
ent projects.” Su elucidated, “The funds raised from September Sale directly [go] to the Education Initiative of VHP, funding one of the programs in the primary school VHP built.” Gollerkeri further explained, “The proceeds from sales (such as the Families Weekend Sale) also allow us to partner with people in Chermaitre to support education, healthcare, water access/purification, reforestation and women’s initiatives.” Gollerkeri feels that the VHP’s role has expanded in the past decade. She articulated: “Since the 2008 earthquake, tourism, which used to be a major industry in Haiti, has greatly declined. This has harmed the local economy and impacted thousands of people’s livelihoods. By buying artwork directly from either local artists or galleries, we are able to directly support artists and their families and support an important cultural tradition.” Su stressed the importance of the art sales in establishing a more positive image of Haiti, saying, “Through buying arts from Haiti and selling them back in [the] US, the organization is not only able to raise funds, but can provide a revisualization of Haitian culture, as opposed to the negative portrayal of poor Haitians that the mainstream media often has.” This year’s art sale will take place on Sept. 28 from noon to 7 p.m., Sept. 29 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sept. 30 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Handcrafts start at $5 and original paintings at $35, and all sales are 50 percent tax deductible. A live auction of original paintings will be held on Sept. 29 from 3 to 5 p.m., with a preview from 2 to 3 p.m. of the items that will be on sale. Su summarized the spirit of the gala: “For me, the sale is just a great place to be and enjoy—to feel the arts and imagine the lives beyond.”
Student fellow role engenders unexpected growth, rewards Frankie Knuckles COPY STAFF
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Courtesy of Tammy Wang
ost of us realize that helping others feels nice. Certainly this isn’t the first thing a philanthropist will tell you, but it’s still noteworthy. This week, while talking to my dear friend and ex-roommate Samantha Steeves ’21 (a student fellow in Joss), I came to a stunning realization: Student fellows aren’t just saints who agree to shepherd a group of first-years through the many stresses of beginning college. In fact, the training they receive makes a lasting impact on how they manage their own lives. To better understand this phenomenon, I launched an investigation, starting with Steeves. On a sunny afternoon, we stayed inside to talk about her illustrious job. She regaled me with tales of her first days as a StuFel, saying, “Training was filled with very many long, hot, cockroach-infested days. I didn’t expect to learn so much about myself in the process. Before we even learned what a student fellow was, we went through student fellow retreat, and basically during those two days we didn’t even talk about helping another person; all we talked about was how to help ourselves first. That was my biggest takeaway from the whole training experience.” I caught up with another StuFel via email. Melissa Hoffmann ’21, who lives in Strong, took a similar view of the student fellow retreat. She noted, “We talked about vulnerability, curiosity and openness. It was quite the spiritual journey. We were on campus, but focused on the mindful part of being a student fellow.” Hoffmann also informed me of some of the concepts that they discussed during the retreat, like respecting silence and moving beyond one’s comfort zone. Training helped Steeves learn to prioritize support over problem-solving. “When someone comes to me with a problem, I certainly want
to jump in with a list of solutions. But that’s not always the best course of action,” she explained. Agreeing with this sentiment, Jewett student fellow Ziggy Robles ’21 touched on the less exciting aspects of training, saying, “I expected it to be a little bit more hands-on, but it was a lot of lectures and hours and hours of just sitting at the table and listening to people tell you about the resources available at Vassar. They could’ve just given us a packet and we would’ve been fine and done with it.” Even so, he found training enriching overall: “The biggest takeaway from the entire thing was bonding with my house team. We were miserable together, we were having fun together, we were doing activities together. It was fun, and I would definitely do it again.” All three shared that being a student fellow allows them to grow in unexpected ways. Hoffmann expressed a difference in how she perceives herself now, saying, “I spend a lot of time thinking about what I want the role I play in my fellowees’ lives to be and how I can do the most to support them. I think being a first line of support for nine students has really helped me contextualize my place in the universe. Right now, I feel like my life is pretty meaningful and that’s pretty rad.” Sharing this new perspective, Steeves told me that her role has somewhat altered her thought process. “Knowing that there are people who I’m responsible for and who are coming to me shapes how I do things, how I talk about things and how I react to things, because I think about what I would want my student fellow to do and what would be helpful for me. That’s a kind of a new thought that passes through my head nowadays,” she said, gesturing with a flourish toward her head, perhaps to indicate the changed neural pathways. My other intrepid interviewees experienced adventures no less life-changing. Hoffmann wove a woeful tale: Two fellowees asked her to
Hoffmann poses as some of her fellowees pop out from behind. Left to right: Quincy Dossett ’22, Emma Iadanza ’22, Ayo Opuiyo ’22, Olivia Stevens ’22, Ciara O’Donnell ’22, Lucy Postal ’22. help remove a centipede from their room, and she managed to remove the offending critter and reassure them that all would be well in the fullness of time. She said of the ordeal, “It was arguably one of the most transformative experiences of my StuFel career so far.” My interviewees also shared incredibly heartwarming anecdotes. Steeves described the last day of Orientation, when her fellowees spontaneously gathered to support one of their peers in a track meet and helped him win the race. Robles’ fellowees threw him a surprise birthday party last week. Hoffmann shared an equally wholesome happening: “During the Arlington Amble, my group went to a flower shop, and we all got free ones. Unexpectedly, one of my fellowees broke off her flower and put it in my hair. It absolutely made my day.”
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Finally, I asked each student fellow to share a piece of advice. Robles imparted the following wisdom: “My advice to first-years is definitely just to relax. Everything is going to take its course. Be your best self. Always understand that your best self is learning from everything around you, adapting to everything around you and understanding that other people around you have stories.” In a similar vein, Steeves said to me and also to the general public, “Just keep going. I know everything seems overwhelming, especially when you’re just starting a huge transition, but things will work out.” Hoffmann offered a tip for any future student fellows out there: “Please don’t call your fellowees kids. They are adults, and probably smarter/cooler than you; all of mine are.”
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September 20, 2018
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The Miscellany Crossword
“Fancy Fowl”
by Benjamin Costa
ACROSS 1. Ancient gravestone slab 6. A lump of slime 10. How Wolverine addresses a group 14. Mentioned 15. Jeans brand owner 16. Easily; like Cain’s victim 17. State a belief 18. Something that makes you older 19. Speckled horse color 20. Precursor to badminton 22. Not able to 23. Rage 39. 24. Straw roof material 26. Moment measurer 29. Class of fragrant chemicals 31. Pepsi, Coke, and Sprite 32. Penguins who stick feathers in their caps 36. Old, long since 37. Roman regalia 38. Magnetic kind of stone 39. Organization’s money manager 41. Poet Thomas Sterns
Answers to last week’s puzzle
Word puzzle answer: HOSE
42. Someone doomed 43. Detect an aroma 44. Group denoted by the sign of the second planet 47. Siphon sap 48. Nights before 49. Juicy communique 56. Baby powder 57. Dark brown color 58. Disruptively energetic 59. Bright thought 60. Leia’s loner 61. Eighteen or twenty-one Organization's money manager 62. Doe a ___, a 44 across ____ 63. Delphi psychic 64. Clever deceptions
37. Not a good singer 40. Four after the clue for 62 across 41. A penguin with a New Groove 43. ROT : RAT :: 40 down : _______ 44. Disgusting-smelling 45. Escape from 46. A brutal battle 1
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September 20, 2018
OPINIONS
Page 13
The Miscellany news Staff Editorial
DeVos’ Title IX proposals demand institutional resistance [TW: This article discusses sexual assault and harassment.] s students across the country filtered back to campus in August, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos was preparing new
harassment broadly, stating, “[It is] unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature,” DeVos’ new rules would adopt the Supreme Court definition: “unwelcome conduct on the basis of sex that is so severe, pervasive and objectively offensive that
happened off-campus would not be considered the responsibility of the school (The New York Times, “Rules Bolster Rights”). The regulations would likely reduce the average number of sexual assault investigations
fice for assistance. Pereira and Denley plan to continue to better their relationship with the student body, focusing on gaining insight into the perceived biases impacting their process. In an email, they stated, “[We need] open commu-
policies on campus sexual misconduct that enhance the rights of students accused of sexual harassment and decrease institutions’ liability. These policies, which also apply to elementary and secondary schools, narrow the definition of harassment, making it more difficult for survivors to seek institutional recourse. Although the administration has not officially announced these policies, The New York Times recently reported the proposed changes (The New York Times “New U.S. Sexual Misconduct Rules Bolster Rights of Accused and Protect Colleges,” 08.29.2018). These revisions would affect the processes of Title IX, the federal statute that covers sexual violence on campus as well as gender-based discrimination at educational institutions. Students have been increasingly vocal against sexual assault and harassment on campus and have called for institutions to take action to support survivors and hold perpetrators accountable. DeVos’ proposed rules change guidelines put in place by the Obama administration, critiquing them for denying the accused due process and burdening schools with bureaucratic decrees (The New York Times, “Rules Bolster Rights of Accused”). The recommendation centers impartiality in the investigation process, but at the expense of survivors’ emotional well-being and options for institutional recourse. While the Obama-era policy defined sexual
it denies a person access to the school’s education program or activity.” According to the New York Times, after a period of public comment, the new rules would have the force of law without requiring legislation by Congress (The New York Times, “Rules Bolster Rights”). The proposed changes differ from Obamaera policies in a variety of ways, all of which are characterized by relative leniency toward the accused. The Obama administration required a less stringent burden of proof to return a guilty verdict than would the proposed changes. The regulations would also eschew a suggestion that schools provide an appeals process. In addition, they employ mediation to settle informal resolutions, allowing parties to request evidence from and cross-examine each other. The Obama administration, by contrast, forbade even voluntary mediation due to potential hostility toward and further trauma for the victim (The New York Times, “Rules Bolster Rights”). Furthermore, under the new guidelines, schools would only maintain legal responsibility for investigating formal complaints that have already been filed. According to The New York Times, “[The complaints must be made to] ‘an official who has the authority to institute corrective measures.’” This policy is in stark contrast to a 2001 standard in which a school is legally liable for investigating a claim. Additionally, complaints pertaining to abuse that
by colleges and schools from 1.18 per year to just .72 (The New York Times, “Proposed Rules Would Reduce Sexual Misconduct Inquiries, Education Dept. Estimates,” 09.10.2018). Although this would save $19 million per year for colleges and universities and $54 million for school districts, it would promote nonpunitive, short-term measures against the accused (The New York Times, “Proposed Rules Reduce Sexual Misconduct Inquiries”; The New York Times, “Rules Bolster Rights”). At Vassar, there is a history of student distrust in the Title IX office. According to the results of the 2017 What Happens Here Survey, over half of students lack confidence in the office’s capacity to investigate claims in an unbiased manner. Reporting rates were equally alarming: only 10.3 percent of cis women, 6.3 percent of cis men and 25 percent of non-cis students responded that they reported their experience with sexual assault (VC Campus Climate Survey, “Perceptions of Vassar’s Title IX Sexual Assault/Misconduct Procedures, Outcomes, and Information,” 2017). According to Director of Equal Opportunity & Affirmative Action and Title IX Officer Rachel Pereira and Associate Director of Equal Opportunity & Affirmative Action and Title IX Investigator Brittney Denley, perceptions have improved over the past year, as an increased number of students have contacted their of-
nication, mutual respect, and a commitment to providing equitable processes.” The office is uncertain as to how the College must alter its policies; however, it must comply with New York State laws regardless of federal laws, which typically provide equal or lesser protection than the former. Even if DeVos’ proposal goes into effect, Vassar’s standards may change little. The Miscellany News believes that Vassar should resist the changes proposed by the Trump administration regarding sexual misconduct, work to regain students’ trust and increase transparency about sexual assault on campus and the College’s response. This juncture provides an opportunity for Vassar’s Title IX office and the college community to reassess the institutional avenues available to survivors of sexual harassment and assault. Specifically, we advocate for continuous student involvement in decision-making about resources for sexual assault victims. Ultimately, it is of the utmost importance that the College remains devoted to upholding standards for handling sexual assault and to improving the relationship between the Title IX office and the student body.
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—The Staff Editorial expresses the opinion of at least 2/3 of the Miscellany News Editorial Board.
Democratic Party should learn from New York primaries Jesser Horowitz COLUMNIST
T
he Sept. 14 New York Democratic primaries were a mixed bag for the state’s blossoming Progressive Left. On the one hand, Governor Andrew Cuomo easily defeated left-wing challenger Cynthia Nixon, winning almost two-thirds of the vote, while beloved left-wing activist Zephyr Teachout lost the primary for Attorney General to Letitia James, the New York City public advocate who earned endorsements from the state convention and Governor Cuomo (The New York Times, “New York Primary Election Results,” 09.14.2018). Yet the Progressive Left also achieved a major victory with the defeat of six of the eight members of the Independent Democratic Conference, a group of moderate Democrats who handed control of the State Senate to the Republican Party (Vox, “New York voters reject some Democrats who broke off to give state Senate control to the Republicans,” 11.14.2018). While it may seem unclear, the elections were still a tremendous victory for the progressive movement in New York State. In the past year, the Democratic Party has had reason to rejoice. Donald Trump has proven unpopular. A recent poll showed his approval rating has dropped to 37.8 percent (Vox, “Trump’s approval rating just sank in 8 polls,” 09.13.2018). The Democrats are ahead by eight percent in a generic congressional ballot and are poised to take back the House of Representatives (RealClearPolitics, “2018 Generic Congressional Vote”). They may even have an opportunity to retake the Senate (The Washington Post, “The Fix’s top 10 Senate races show Democrats with a narrow opening to win the Senate,” 07.20.2018). This year promises to be a repeat of 2010, when the Republican Party came back from a devastating election defeat to win back the House of Representatives. Much like the 2010 elections, the
party is becoming increasingly partisan, with centrist incumbents losing their primary campaigns to the far left. In New York State, no one has exemplified this trend more than Democratic primary candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. On June 26, 2018, Oscasio-Cortez pulled off the most stunning upset of the year, unseating Joseph Crowley, the Chair of the House Democratic Caucus, while running on an unapologetically progressive platform. The self-identified Democratic Socialist ran on a platform that emphasized universal Medicare, free college tuition and criminal justice reform (The New Yorker, “Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Historic Win and the Future of the Democratic Party,” 07.23.2018). Her election was a clear and decisive victory of the Socialist Left and a sign that the Democratic Party was moving in a different direction. It inspired other progressives across the country in running their own campaigns and provided hope for supporters of progressive advocate Cynthia Nixon, who made a long-shot bid for the governor’s mansion (The New York Times, “What Does Ocasio-Cortez’s Win Mean for Cynthia Nixon,” 07.27.2018). While Ocasio-Cortez’s victory proved most surprising, it probably was not the most important. That honor would go to the demise of the Independent Democratic Conference (IDC). The IDC was founded in 2011 by Democratic State Senator Jeffrey Klein. The senator and several Democratic colleagues were unhappy with policy leadership and decided to caucus with the Republican party in order to boost their own power and influence in Albany. This cost the Democrats control of the statehouse, stifling progressive legislation and giving the Republicans control of policy and the legislature’s agenda (The New York Times, “How 3 Little Letters (I.D.C.) Are Riling Up New York Progressives,” 09.11.2018). Last Thursday, six out of eight New York Democrats were defeated in their primary.
However, New York’s far left also had its fair share of disappointments this election day. Last week, I wrote an article expressing my view that Cynthia Nixon is not qualified to be governor. Apparently, most New Yorkers agreed with me, as the popular activist was trounced by incumbent Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary.
“This has been a year of surprisingly strong performances for unsuccessful progressive challengers.” This was not the only defeat the Progressive Left faced. New York City Councilman Jumaane Williams lost a surprisingly close election to incumbent Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, and Progressive advocate Zephyr Teachout lost the Attorney General primary to New York City Public Advocate and Cuomo ally Letitia James (The New York Times, “New York Primary Election Results,” 09.14.2018). These were all tremendous defeats for progressive advocates in New York State and clear victories for the New York Democratic establishment. However, they were not the wins that the establishment may wish they were, and members of the Progressive Left still have good reasons to hope. Examine the Lieutenant Governor race. The candidates were City Councilman Jumaane Williams and Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul. Williams, Nixon’s progressive running mate, was the longshot with a lot less name recognition. Yet he came close to winning, earning 46.7 percent of the vote (The New York TImes, “New York Primary Election Results,” 09.14.2018). This came even despite a questionable record
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
on LGBTQ+ rights, as Williams both publicly expressed personal opposition of same-sex marriage and abstained on a bill that would allow transgender people the right to change their gender on birth certificates (The Daily News, “NOW slams lieutenant governor candidate Jumaane Williams on abortion, same-sex marriage,” 06.11.2018). He earned a much higher percentage of the vote than his running mate, although he only won four counties: Brooklyn, Manhattan, Tompkins and Columbia. Zephyr Teachout, though not a winner, placed a strong second, with 31 percent of the vote and strong support from upstate New York. Andrew Cuomo enjoyed a victory in part due to a leftward drift, offering free public tuition, coming out in favor of marijuana legalization and publicly challenging the president’s ideology. This has been a year of surprisingly strong performances for unsuccessful progressive challengers, and even centrists saw success partly due to their adoption of Progressive Left policies. This doesn’t mean that Cynthia Nixon’s ideology is the future of the Democratic Party, and it’s increasingly clear that she personally is not. Democratic voters rejected her and her ideas, or at least her lack of qualifications. The takeaway should not be that progressives are guaranteed or owed victories in the future. Rather, progressive Democrats need to see that they have an opening to continue winning, as long as they field decent candidates and run good campaigns. Centrist Democrats need to be aware that, although the advantage of the incumbency still remains, they’ll need to do some appeasing if they want to keep their jobs. Most important, the Democratic Party needs to put its best foot forward. For now, Democrats are essentially guaranteed victory in New York State, but this security will not last forever. The party will need to be vigilant and field competent, qualified candidates if it is to continue moving New York forward.
OPINIONS
Page 14
September 20, 2018
America must address own pollution before blaming China Isabella Boyne
GUEST COLUMNIST
W
hen you type the word “China” into the Google search engine, the second suggestion that appears is “China air pollution,” and the images that pop up are filled with face masks, haze and desolation. The West has consistently criticized China for its detrimental impact on the environment, but surely there is more to the story than China being the big, bad polluter that destroys our planet’s environment. In the news, we are constantly bombarded by images of pollution and waste in China, condemning both the leaders and the people of the country for the harm they cause to the environment. While China does contribute a significant amount to the environmental harms that our world is facing, it cannot be considered the sole perpetrator. China does contribute the most CO2 emissions overall, but its emissions per capita are nowhere close to that of the United States. According to a report by the European Commission, China produces 7.7 metric tons of CO2 per capita, whereas the United states produces 16.1—more than double China (EDGAR, “CO2 time series 1990-2015 per capita for world countries,” 10.30.2017). Moreover, the nation that produces the most waste in the world is the United States, which generates 4.4 pounds of municipal solid waste per capita every day (EPA, “Municipal Solid Waste Generation, Recycling, and Disposal in the United States,” 2012). In order to try and combat the pollution that it is producing, China has implemented policies to reduce environmental impact—the Chinese government has declared a “war on pollution.” The government has primarily focused on reducing coal usage and has taken steps toward dismantling coal-fired power plants in order to reduce overall
emission that contribute to smog and air pollution. It has also transformed its Ministry for Environmental Protection into a Ministry of Ecology and Environment; this new ministry has broader and clearer goals than the previous system, wherein environmental policies were scattered between different departments (World Economic Forum, “Here’s how China is going green,” 04.26.2018). The Chinese government has also enforced more stringent regulations by implementing an environmental tax, which targets enterprises and public institutions that discharge air and water pollutants into the environment in order to finance a transition into a greener economy (Xinhua, “China starts collecting environment tax,” 01.01.2018). Finally, the country is using its technology giants, such as conglomerates Alibaba, Baidu and Tencent, in order to accelerate the transition to a more environmentally friendly China. For example, Ant Financial, a banking subsidiary of Alibaba, aims to use technology to advance environmental finance; millions of users have signed up for an app called Ant Forest, which transforms carbon footprint tracking into a gamelike experience (World Economic Forum, “Here’s how China is going green,” 04.26.2018). Overall, China is definitely making an effort to rectify its environmental situation, a fact which Western media often underreports. Although it is not necessarily the biggest contributor per capita and does make some positive environmental efforts, China does make a significant negative impact on the environment. As China is a country that focuses on manufacturing goods, it is important to learn from where the demand for such goods comes and how these origins contribute to China’s pollution problem. A study investigating the way in which consumer demand in the United States and Western
Europe contributes to air pollution in developing countries has shown that demands from these countries for manufactured goods have indirectly contributed to tens of thousands of pollution-correlated deaths. Chinese emissions have been linked to over 64,800 premature deaths in other regions of the world, including more than 3,000 deaths in the United States and Western Europe. However, this is overshadowed by the fact that 108,600 premature deaths in China were linked to goods and services consumed in the United States and in Western Europe (The Guardian, “Thousands of pollution deaths worldwide linked to western consumers – study,” 03.29.2017). While the West may be eager to criticize China for the pollution that it creates, the West must stop and question why so much pollution is created in the first place and the extent to which we as consumers are responsible for our indirect environmental footprint. Unlike the United States and most of Western Europe, China is still a developing country according to the International Monetary Fund’s World Economic Outlook Database (International Monetary Fund, “World Economic Outlook,” 10.2017), which means that it has a less developed industrial base and lower human development index in comparison to other countries. Though this may imply that China has fewer capabilities and less knowledge when it comes to creating environmentally friendly solutions, China’s current policies show that it is attempting to reduce its environmental footprint. Despite China’s current role as a global economic player, its growth is relatively recent, which may be impacting the country’s attitude toward its economy, leading to the country’s tendency to favor the economy over environmental costs at
times. During The Great Leap Forward (1958-1962), China experienced tens of millions of deaths, as well as poverty and a rapidly shrinking economy. On the other side of the world, the United States experienced great economic growth with a boom in the aerospace industry, leading to an increase in employment and new technologies that improved industrial and agricultural sectors. In the 15 years after World War II, America’s foreign investment increased 1000 percent (Bernard Bailyn, “The Great Republic: A History of the American People,” 1985). It wasn’t even until late 1978, a mere 40 years ago, that China was able to break away from its previous Soviet-style central economy in order to become a more market-oriented economy, similar to that of already developed countries. Therefore, for a country like China, whose economy is so dependent on exporting cheap, manufactured goods, the negative economic impacts may be considered before improving environmental standards. This does not seem like such an absurd solution considering the fact that there are many people alive in China now who can remember times of dire poverty and starvation. It would be no wonder if they did not want themselves or their country to be in the same position again. In an increasingly global world, every nation and every individual has the responsibility to take care of the environment around them. It is important to remember that there is no sole perpetrator of this international issue, and as a result, we must recognise how we contribute to global pollution and how it affects us. Thus, rather than trying to blame and criticize one nation, we should, as a collective, recognise and attempt to rectify our own patterns and behaviors that contribute to the environmental crisis.
Media coverage on mass shootings needs cutting back Thelonious Seeds GUEST COLUMNIST
[TW: This article contains discussion of suicide, gun violence and death.] n “The Sorrows of Young Werther,” a German novel published in 1774, protagonist Young Werther falls hopelessly in love with a beautiful woman named Charlotte. Unfortunately for him, she is engaged to another man, Albert. As the fact that he can’t have her sinks in, he falls into a deep depression, which culminates in his suicide. After the novel was published, reports of suicide by gunshot—exactly the method Werther used—spiked (The New York Times, “Pattern of Death: Copycat Suicides Among Youths,” 03.18.1987). As a result, the critically acclaimed novel was banned in some countries, and the term “Werther effect,” which refers to the phenomenon of copycat suicide, was coined in 1974 (Open Access Government, “The Werther effect – About the handling of suicide in the media,” 05.17.2018). The “Werther” cluster was the first of many: In contemporary times, they occur frequently, both regionally and nationally, and particularly following the suicide or attempted suicide of a famous person. In addition, after a celebrity commits suicide, people similar in age and gender to the celebrity are at greater risk of suicide. The suicide of actor and comedian Robin Williams, for instance, preceded a 10 percent rise in suicides in the general U.S. population over the next five months, including an almost 13 percent increase in men aged 30 to 44 and a 32.3 percent increase in suicides by hanging (The Washington Post, “Robin Williams’s Suicide Was Followed by a Sharp Rise in ‘Copycat’ Deaths,” 02.07.2018). The copycat effect led to the creation of guidelines about suicide coverage. Today,
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though nothing legally enforceable exists, media outlets take reporting on suicide very seriously. First and foremost, suicides of obscure persons are rarely reported today. In cases where an individual’s status makes their death relevant to the general public, their method of suicide is typically not given, the death is rarely sensationalized and a sidebar with suicide-risk warning signs is often included. These media guidelines are limited to suicide; the copycat effect, however, is not. In his book “The Copycat Effect,” Loren Coleman, a former consultant for the Maine Youth Suicide Program, examines how many shocking human-inflicted tragedies, such as mass shootings, spike after the media gives the first incident widespread attention. This is correlational evidence, of course— other factors that cause these events may simply go through cycles, and the first incident may have been destined to be the first of many, reported or not. However, the cause-and-effect relationship suggested makes intuitive sense: One individual has a novel idea and executes it, people hear about it on the news and a small percentage of them are then inspired to do the same. There are documented instances of mass shooters expressing admiration for predecessors. An Oregon gunman commented on the sensationalization of a prior Virginia gunman, stating, “Seems the more people you kill, the more you’re in the limelight” (The Daily Beast, “Umpqua Gunman Chris Harper Mercer Hated Religion Online,” 10.02.2015). Another shooter mailed a series of videos of himself to NBC News in which he compared himself to the shooters at Columbine High School eight years prior and expressed hope that his own shooting would bear “children”
(Denver Post, “Cho Idolized Columbine Killers,” 04.18.2007). Based on these case studies, it is clear that needlessly extensive coverage of mass shootings in the news has the dangerous potential to cause even more mass shootings. Despite this, there are no agreed-upon media guidelines for covering mass shootings. As a result, whenever one occurs, it is given national publicity. Moreover, media outlets do not simply report the facts in a solemn tone. They frequently provide both the identity of the shooter (giving them publicity) and their methods and choice of weapon (giving those watching a template for how to execute a shooting of their own). The bottom line is that, like most teen suicides, mass shootings are generally isolated events that don’t affect the nation at large. There is therefore no need to oversaturate the news with this type of tragedy and risk inspiring others to imitate them. In addition, they ought not scare you, because the numbers prove that you are unlikely to die in one—only 1,102 people have died in the United States in mass shootings since August 1, 1966, compared to the 11,622 who died in the United States in 2015 alone (The Washington Post, “The Terrible Numbers That Grow With Each Mass Shooting,” 03.14.2018; Vox, “Mass Shootings Are Rare In The United States,” 06.13.2016). Moreover, mass shootings do not make for a strong argument in the gun control debate, because they account for only a small fraction of gun deaths: Only 40 gun deaths in the United States out of 7,075 so far this year, and 344 out of 15,549 last year, came in mass shootings (The Washington Post, “The Terrible Numbers That Grow With Each Mass Shooting,” 03.14.2018; The Trace, “The First Estimate of 2017 Gun Deaths Is In,” 05.15.2018). Media coverage should be re-
served for newsworthy events where the benefits of broadcasting them outweigh the costs. Given this guideline, the risks of broadcasting news about mass shootings far exceed the potential to do good, and thus they should not be featured so heavily in the news. If mass shootings no longer made headlines, we would live in a world where potentially dangerous individuals were not given a blueprint for causing needless harm and suffering, and we would incur little cost. Therefore, media outlets should establish guidelines for covering mass shootings similar to those for suicides. Such protocols should first of all minimize needless coverage of mass shootings. The media no longer reports the suicides of average people. In a similar vein, most mass shootings should not be given coverage either. Shootings should be covered only if they are somehow relevant to the general public, such as if individuals in the public sphere are affected. When they must be reported, the shooter should never be identified, as it is difficult to make a role model out of someone about whom you know nothing. Their motives should never be given, since someone who agrees with them might become inspired to do the same. And, to prevent people from knowing how to repeat the crime, their methods should never be stated. Until such guidelines are implemented, it is simple enough for us to tune out when violence is depicted for no reason. As consumers of news media, it’s our prerogative to choose what is newsworthy to us. If we simply decide that mass shootings are not worth the clicks, news outlets will invest less time in covering them and give front-page attention to other stories. The national suicide hotline is 1-800-273-8255 and the Vassar Listening Center can be reached at 845-235-2062.
The Miscellany News is not responsible for the views presented within its Opinions pages. The weekly staff editorial is the only article which reflects the opinion of the Editorial Board.
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
September 20, 2018
OPINIONS
Open mind vital to bridging political divide Sawyer Bush
GUEST COLUMNIST
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ne may argue that the greatest challenge to ever face American democracy is upon us. As Victor Hanson wrote in an article for the National Review, “America is no more immune from collapse than were some of history’s most stable and impressive consensual governments” (National Review, “Can a Divided America Survive?” 06.15.2017). Some would say that the system is failing—or has failed us already—while others would say that the country is going through a natural pendulum swing, which will inevitably swing back. Both of these two arguments are, in at least some respect, correct. The system is failing, but it is not beyond repair—it is in a pendulum swing for a reason. For too long, the far Right has felt as if they do not have a figure to voice their needs. For too long, the Left has ridiculed the far Right. They have not had a stage on which to stand, and they have not had willing ears turned their way. The great failure of the American system is the inability to create conversation across every aisle of opinion. The United States has become more divided than it has been since the Civil War fractured the country into two political parties divided by their views on slavery (Salon, “America may be more divided now than at any time since the Civil War,” 10.14.2017). Americans have forgotten how to have productive, civilized political discussions with one another. For our country to progress, we must relearn how to have these conversations. The late Julia Wu Trethaway, my former teacher at the Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, CT, left behind a motto with her passing. The Dean of the Class of 2012, Jay-Wu—as students called her—always told students to live with an OMAH, an Open Mind and Heart. This piece of wisdom is one of the premier guiding principles that can help drag our country out of the rut in which it currently lies. OMAH is the one great skill that so many Americans lack. We, as a nation, have become incapable of entering a conversation with an open mind and heart, especially with those whose views differ from our own. I can remember one particular instance at a ta-
ble in the dining hall with a group of my friends in my junior year of high school. It was just weeks after President Trump had been elected, and two of my friends began discussing the current state of affairs in the government. It was clear from the beginning that they held polar opposite views from one another. The further right of the two made a comment in support of Trump, which in turn inflamed the other, who leaned further left. The conversation quickly deteriorated into a shouting match in the middle of the dining hall in which both spewed out the reasons that their own views were correct. No one made any progress in this discussion. No minds were opened to new fleshed-out ideas. Instead, the only result was a bruised friendship and both parties becoming more determined to defend their beliefs at all costs.
“The great failure of the American system is the inability to create conversation across every aisle of opinion.” Every time one enters a discussion on politics coming from a place of prejudice, the conversation immediately becomes an unproductive one, for neither side will be able to communicate effectively with the other. Sociologist and social psychologist at Stanford University Robb Willer gave a TED Talk on the topic in which he stated, “When we go to persuade somebody on a political issue, we talk like we’re speaking into a mirror. We don’t persuade so much as we rehearse our own reasons for why we believe some sort of political position” (TEDxMarin, “How to have better political conversations,” 01.20.2017). Willer believes that when we enter a political discussion with someone with opposing views, we tend to have a script of our deeply rooted beliefs, which we refuse to relinquish, rather than choosing to listen to the other side. When the listener begins to respond with their views, rather than paying attention, we either shake our heads and laugh at their ridiculous
views, or we come back and speak over them about how their position is inexcusably wrong. Our self-righteousness inhibits healthy debates across the aisle and eliminates any possibility of having a productive discussion in which both sides feel heard and understood. This disconnect between groups is the reason that political views in this country have become so polarized. Neither side feels as if the other is willing to compromise or even attempt to understand their views. So, instead of trying to understand one another, they mutually reject each other’s ideas, resulting in their own preconceived opinions becoming even more deeply entrenched. This is not an issue that occurs only on the interpersonal level. Rather, it reaches the top branches of our government. On Jan. 19, 2018, almost exactly a year after Trump took office, the failure to pass the Extension of Continuing Appropriations Act led to a federal government shutdown (The New York Times, “Government Shutdown Begins as Budget Talks Falter in Senate,” 01.19.2018). Congress has become so divided that successfully passing any bill is now a significant feat. This dilemma has rendered our government slow and inefficient, leading to an increase in civil dissatisfaction in the government according to several polls (Gallup, “U.S. Satisfaction With the Government Remains Low,” 02.28.2018). It is time that we make significant efforts to unify our country. Call on those on the far ends of the spectrum. Invite them to have discussions on contentious issues, but do so with an OMAH. The solution is not to shy away from discussing controversial topics, but to engage in these conversations thoughtfully and with the intent to listen to the other side and understand their reasoning. Perhaps in doing so, we can rethink our own viewpoint or enrich our perspective so that we may share it elsewhere more thoughtfully and insightfully. A healthy democracy is one in which no views are suppressed and all voices have an audience willing to listen. Let’s restore our democracy. Heed the advice of Ms. Trethaway. Live with an open mind and heart. Start consulting news outlets that do not align with your political standing, and push yourself to have healthy discussions with those with whom you disagree.
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Word on the street What do you think dentists do with the teeth they pull? “They grind them up and create more teeth.” — Latoria Bailey ’22
“They throw them away, but they all pile up. There’s a teeth island in the middle of the ocean. They find teeth in fish.” — Massimo Tarridas ’22
“Each dentist has a catacomb full of teeth.” — Taylor Stewart ’22
“They grind them down and make jewelry out of them.” — Maliyah Faulstich ’21
Algorithm pandering lowers album quality Sylvan Perlmutter COLUMNIST
B
efore the widespread popularity of music streaming services such as Spotify, Apple Music and Tidal, music lovers would often torrent thousands of dollars worth of albums. Their justifications went as follows: “If I didn’t torrent this album, I wouldn’t have purchased it because I don’t have the money to buy every single album/single I enjoy. I’ll see the artist in concert if I really enjoy the product.” Thankfully, streaming services have mitigated this situation for the better. For a modest monthly fee, or at the price of listening to the occasional advertisement, one can access a virtually limitless body of music. Blogger David Turner, who focuses on the streaming industry, says: “A platform like Apple Music…pays $0.0007 per individual stream. Spotify…about half of that. Tidal, Jay-Z’s own streaming service, pays out significantly more than either one of those, but it’s still essentially fractions of pennies” (Slate, “The Spotify Effect,” 09.06.2018). Artists make a minuscule amount of money for each stream, but even a minute sum is superior to the zero profit made when the album is illegally downloaded. Unfortunately, the streaming model, despite its many substantial benefits,
is having a deleterious effect on the quality of popular music. Following Billboard’s decision to count 1,500 streams as an album sale, many artists began to produce bloated albums engineered to rack up streams and climb the charts under these new standards. For example, Migos’ 24-track “Culture II” evidenced a serious decline in quality control from the 13 compact tracks of “Culture I.” The online music magazine Pitchfork puts it aptly when their review states, “Maybe the Migos just had that many ideas they simply could not deign to edit down. But it seems more likely to be another attempt to game the current Billboard and RIAA rules” (Pitchfork, “Migos,” 01.30.2018). Drake’s recent output is representative of this trend as well. His past two albums, “Views” and “Scorpion,” consist of 20 and 25 songs respectively. What could have been strong albums of 15 or so songs became uneven, overly long projects. Variety music critic Andrew Barker writes, “The beauty of great kitchen-sink monster-albums…is that they seem to demand curation and customization; within all the bloat and the left-field experiments, there are infinite different track combinations to suit every mood and aesthetic inclination. On ‘Scorpion,’ however, the filler couldn’t be more obvious or less inter-
esting” (Variety, “Album Review: Drake’s ‘Scorpion,’” 07.02.2018). The overall quality of these albums was sacrificed to the algorithm gods. One only needs to recall the ambition and consistency of earlier albums like “Take Care” and “Nothing Was the Same” to know that Drake is capable of doing better. Thankfully, this algorithmically induced overstuffing has not infected every corner of the music industry. Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole continue to produce excellent albums with little to no filler. This may be because their fans expect them to not “sell out” and sacrifice their critical bona fides. It is not that Kendrick or Cole are made of stronger moral fiber than Drake, but rather that they cater to different consumer preferences. Still, it remains unsettling that both the emotional and financial interactions between musicians and their listeners have become so mediated by ornate algorithms beyond the understanding of the average person and that these opaque codes have so degraded the caliber of the output of certain musicians. Regardless of the questionable state of the music industry, at the end of the day, there is simply no substitute for taking music recommendations from your friends and attending concerts together.
“They grind them up for dentures for old people.” — Brian Stephenson ’20
“Trust me, you don’t want to know.” — Eliana Rich ’20
Hannah Gaven, Humor & Satire Hannah Benton, Photography
The Miscellany News is not responsible for the views presented within its Opinions pages. The weekly staff editorial is the only article which reflects the opinion of the Editorial Board.
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
HUMOR & SATIRE
Page 16
September 20, 2018
Breaking News
From the desk of Hannah Gaven, Humor & Satire Editor
Stowaway student rushed to hospital after spending 48 hours in Deece, losing all feeling in their buttocks Engaged listening leads to scuffle, takeover by student Blair Webber
“I swear if I hear her say, ‘well, to quote Hegel…’ one more time, I’ll chuck her in Sunset Lake. I can’t stand it, I really can’t. She can’t get on the WiFi and doesn’t have cell service for 150 minutes per week and suddenly she talks like she’s got her Ph.D. in philosophy. What is that? In the words of the Ancient Greeks, it’s the hubris of man,” Haden said. Tristan Elder, a first-year in Erkin’s class, gave their take on their newly attentive classmate. “I guess people get more confident as the semester progresses. She didn’t talk much for the first few classes, but now it’s all the professor can do to get a word in edgewise. I think they’ll have to have a discussion about her conduct in class because it’s seriously like she’s the only one there and it’s her time to tell us about how she knows everything,” said Elder. “It makes me feel bad. Like, if she’s trying that hard to sound smart, I have to try that hard to sound smart, too, but I don’t feel that smart. It’s hard being in class with someone like that.” Tensions came to a head when Erkin walked into class with a new syllabus and reading list and began to lead the discussion. After a confrontation and brief physical scuffle with the professor, Erkin submitted an application to the Committee on Leaves and Privileges to be allowed to teach the course due to the current instructor’s “gross incompetence,” and the administration launched an investigation into what disciplinary measures need to be taken to address the physical spat between the professor and Erkin. When pressed for comment about her investigation and petition, Erkin simply stated, “They shouldn’t try to educate us if they’re afraid of what we’ll learn.” To keep peace in the library classroom in the meantime, Computing and Information Services has installed new WiFi routers in the lower levels of the library in an effort to make it stronger and more accessible to any students down there who may consider listening during their class time.
SEASONED LIBRARY LEARNER
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aving class deep in the basement of the library isn’t anyone’s idea of a fun time. There are no windows to stare out of, no nearby classes listening to videos with the volume way up, and, worst of all, no cell reception. For those lucky enough to connect to the WiFi, this is hardly an issue. The rest must choose between panicking over their now-jeopardized Snapchat streaks or listening to the professor and diligently taking notes. When sophomore Julie Erkin found herself winding deeper and deeper into the library on the first day of classes, her waning cell connection worried her: “I didn’t know what I’d stare at in class when I wanted to avoid participating. I felt lost...dazed...confused.” For Erkin, the first two classes were a marathon. With no access to Tinder, Instagram, Snapchat or Vine compilations, Erkin struggled to stay seated for the entire 75 minutes. “I wanted to run,” Erkin told the Misc. “I wanted to scream and sprint up the stairs until I could see light again and know that I was within reach of a cell tower to check up on my Snap streaks.” At the beginning of the second week, a change came over Erkin. “I had nothing else to do, so I started listening. At first it was super boring, like who can’t define phenomenology in a simple and easily-digestible manner? But I started seeing the nuances of the essences of essences, and, like, grasping the essence of that, and suddenly I realized that the world is the fact and my thoughts are experiences of it, but that’s not right either because that’s an analysis of myself, which is a thought, which is not a fact stemming from the world. It was eye-opening. Everything feels fresh and new.” Friends close to Erkin report a change in her general attitude as well. Eli Haden ’20 described what it’s like to spend time with an Erkin who pays attention to her professor.
Variations on a Theme: Rice and Beans Frankie Knuckles
THE NEXT SHAKESPEARE
steamed brown rice salt and pepper navy beans snow peas. carrots. zucchini. steamed jasmine rice salt and pepper navy beans oven-roasted broccoli citrus-infused steamed brown rice salt and pepper pinto beans roasted. broccoli. steamed basmati rice salt and pepper pinto beans curried lentils onions and p e p p e r s RED RICE PILAF salt and pepper pinto beans BAR BE CUE JacKfrUIt tamari stir-fried brown rice and diced carrots salt and pepper pinto beans steamed cauliflower
Yelp Review: The High Life, Amsterdam Review posted by Izzy Migani, level 10.2 contributor Yelp User 2347 The High Life, Amsterdam 3/5 Stars Added: 9/12/18 eautiful scenery. Gorgeous canals. Friendly people. Confused about the high occurrence of scantily-clad individuals; must just be summer in Europe! Summer would be much more fun back home in the States if it were all like this. Place was located in an adorable area of the region in a neighborhood called the Red Light District. Was browsing around for restaurants and stumbled across this neat cafe! “The High Life”—what an interesting and quirky name! There was some sort of maple leaf symbol on the side of the restaurant. My husband and I didn’t get the reference—we asked a passing waiter and only got a side-eye. Unfortunately, not the only rude member of the staff. Waited for a waiter for over 30 minutes; they did not come up to the table we sat at. Water was provided, but waiter left the pitcher on the table
B
and did not return to pour our drinks. The meal was delicious—had an interesting herb-y flavor, but maybe was a little too strong. Though the waitstaff was ill-mannered, decided to tip generously, but we were met with contempt and scorn. Was thoroughly offended, told waiter that we would never be visiting the restaurant again—was greeted with more odd looks when called establishment a “restaurant.” Not only the staff, but the customers seemed rowdy and incoherent. Seemed the business was not under effective management. Rude waitstaff and unruly batch of fellow customers were not impressive. Giving this restaurant three stars because of eclectic location and unique-tasting dishes, especially enjoyed their “lingweedne” for dinner and “your roommate’s brownies” for a dessert option. Yelp User 2347 The High Life, Amsterdam 1/5 stars Updated: 9/13/18
Very upset and disappointed. Learned that the Red Light District is NOT family safe and an extremely bad choice of venue for a “restaurant.” Thought that “The High Life” was cute and clever name for a restaurant, but apparently instead it functioned to inform the customer the egregious nature and aim of the establishment. The term “coffee house,” as it was advertised by the surrounding populace, does NOT equate to a coffee house in the States—was not served coffee-related items. Instead, “coffee house” refers to “marijuana store.” Disappointed that the youth have sullied even the sacred age-old restaurant industry with their marijuana paraphernalia and culture. This would explain the strange maple leaf symbol on the side of the restaurant. Was informed that it was not a “maple leaf” but instead was a “marijuana leaf.” Don’t know why a neighborhood would allow the weed influencers to tout their wicked name where all could see. Yelp User 2347
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
The High Life, Amsterdam 1/5 stars Updated 9/14/18 Appalled and horrified. Apparently the establishment of “The High Life” was not just marijuana-themed, but also sold and distributed marijuana-themed food and objects. The unabashed attitude of youths toward the usage of such recreational substances was displayed in full with the existence of this establishment. My husband and I consumed items of food that contained marijuana and are equally as horrified that marijuana-crazed youths would even go as far to ruin the age-old tradition of the art of cooking. It seems the youths have no respect for restaurants, cooking, families, neighborhoods or the wholesome sanctity of eating. Am deeply worried about what I have observed. Will never be visiting the installation “The High Life” ever again, and will be telling my peers and friends about the features of this place. Am considering telling the neighborhood about the nature of this establishment.
September 20, 2018
HUMOR & SATIRE
Page 17
Hungry JYA-er eats stale baguette, experiences Deece-pair Tanya Kotru Gode SAD STORM CLOUD
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Courtesy of picserver
o you aspire to study abroad during your junior year? Then, boy, am I here like a sad storm cloud to rain on your beautiful dreams. Just kidding. Please don’t be discouraged by my whining. Yes, this article is going to be me complaining about my JYA experience in Paris so far, but don’t worry too much. I’m barely a month in. Classes haven’t even started. (No classes yet? Why are you complaining again, Tanya?) I merely want to give you a few insights and realistic words of advice, lest you still naively have your head in the clouds about how amazing studying abroad is going to be. Being an international student, my mindset before coming to Paris was “Pffff I’m already abroad at Vassar. I got this.” Man, was I wrong. If you think it’s all alcohol and parties with cute European dudes, travelling and using #wanderlust, there’s a chance you’re being unrealistic. I mean, that’s my opinion. If you’re one of those cool, outgoing people (to whom I look up in awe) who leave home every morning with a skip in their step, a twinkle in their eye, no meticulous plans and ready for a brand new day, then there’s a 75 percent chance you’ll have a more interesting time than I. There’s also a 95 percent chance you’ll use cheesy phrases like “I’m just going with the JYA flow” and “I’m trying to find myself” and “Abroad changed me. I belong abroad. I feel it in my soul.” Now I’ll start complaining for real. 1) If you like amusement parks, go study abroad, because JYA can be an emotional rollercoaster. Sometimes new places excite you, but sometimes you are incredibly homesick (Vassar-sick, in my case). Sometimes you feel good about meeting new people and making friends. But then it hits you that
Here is a picture of a frowning baguette. It haunts JYA students in Paris, demanding children in exchange for nourishment. Careful not to fall for its malicious ways, despite its charming face. your closest friends are what a million miles away. You feel truly lonely. You start dramatically gazing out windows on subway rides. Your life becomes a music video. You start contemplating why humans have an innate need for companionship. You become a philosopher. However, you can benefit from your sadness and become an artist. The other day I wrote a free-verse poem on sadness. It was garbage, but I could feel every word. Uh-oh. I’m turning emo. 2) Saving money? You have a better chance of saving the country from the unskilled orange hands of Donald Trump. You heard me right. Your lunch can be a boring baguette sandwich that costs a decent €4. Sometimes it can cost a kidney, a piece of your soul and your first-born child (maybe even your second-born). Plus, dollar-to-euro conversions are harder than you think. If you’re someone like me, who has the need to control every penny
of spending, well, you can’t. It’s too much math. Just give up and go eat a baguette. 3) Speaking of food, a warning: You’ll probably start missing the Deece. No, I’m not high. You’ll realize you don’t know how to cook, but you have to cook anyway. Sometimes your pasta turns out lumpy. You’ll eat eggs for dinner because that’s all you can cook. Sometimes you have to give up and eat a raw tomato and a baguette. You see why I miss the Deece? I’m filled with Deece-pair. (Side note: One of my main JYA gains so far is all of the puns I’ve made. Seek and I shall share!) 4) Language is another obvious hurdle. If you’re in a non–English speaking place and trying to learn a language, prepare to be embarrassed. Some strangers will judge your language and accent. It happens. Ignore them. If, like me, you know any other languages, yell out in those instead. Scare them off. One day I’ll snap at someone in Hindi
HOROSCOPES
and walk away. I should, however, watch it. Rich countries just need an excuse to deport me, as I’m a POC with a visa. Hard-hitting humor aside, sometimes not being fluent in a language is helpful. No one can ever harass or catcall me, because I usually don’t understand all the words. A convenient situation, really! To all the women out there: If you ever get catcalled, it’s obviously your fault because you’re too good at language. Be linguistically incompetent, stay safe! 5) The last insight I want to mention is culture shock. It happens to everyone. As an international student from India, I thought I had it covered. I mean, when I came to America, I totally mastered using phrases like “How’s it going?,” smiling at strangers and making small talk with cashiers (Fun fact: We don’t do that in India. If a stranger smiles at you in India, run away!). Well, American culture certainly didn’t prepare me for French unfriendliness. You’ll realize there’s a lot of things that don’t make sense. People are rude in general, but they also come and kiss each other on the cheek (in a very unholy exchange of germs that I prefer to avoid). Speaking of kissing, you’ll see PDA wherever you go! It’s cute, but also gross. Just don’t rudely yell at Europeans to get a room. And there’s also the endless smoking. If you’re a non-smoker, your lungs will feel personally victimized in Europe. And there you have it. A snippet of my first four weeks in France. I don’t mean to scare anyone away from JYA. Studying abroad can be an fun experience if you’re prepared for difficulties, and if you take the time to adjust. Self-care is essential, and so is accepting that it’s okay to not be okay! It helps to talk to the people you love! It took me a while, but I think I’m getting the hang of it! Au revoir. I gotta get back to eating my stale baguette.
Hannah Gaven
AMATEUR ASTROLOGIST
ARIES
March 21 | April 19
TAURUS
April 20 | May 20
GEMINI
May 21 | June 20
CANCER
June 21 | July 22
LEO
July 23 | August 22
VIRGO
August 23 | September 22
When you try your best and you don’t succeed, or you don’t try at all and you still don’t succeed, just NRO the class and you’ll succeed. If it’s really bad, and you’re failing all of your classes, you’re still fine because you have four NROs.
I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream. Except for me. I scream because I am overwhelmed and I want to cry or just give up on wearing clothes, but I can’t show weakness. If we collectively scream while in the ice cream line at the Deece, no one will even know that we’re stressed. Reading things out loud makes them funny. For example, read this out loud: “bloopy bloopy poopy poopy don’t kill Snoopy.” Now say, “all praise Overlord Hannah. All praise Overlord Hannah. All praise Overlord Hannah. All praise Overlord Hannah.”
Do you often feel lonely? You know what would help? Having a friend sleep over in your bed. Or a stranger, like me. Equally good options. But I’m not really a stranger, am I? You read my work every week in order to learn more and more about me. You’re in love. Makes sense. Sometimes I wish it wasn’t Elmo’s World. It should be Hannah’s World. I want to color with crayons. You want me to color with crayons. We all want to color with crayons. Screw Elmo. Create a petition to make Hannah’s World the new Elmo’s World.
It’s really hard to remember your class schedule or even what classes you’re taking. If anyone ever asks, just make them up and work on your BS skills. I like to tell people I take dinosaur lessons. Most of the time I can’t even remember my major, so don’t feel bad.
LIBRA
September 23 | October 22
SCORPIO
October 23 | November 21
SAGITTARIUS
November 22 | December 21
CAPRICORN
December 22 | January 19
AQUARIUS
January 20 | February 18
PISCES
February 19 | March 20
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
I don’t know about you, but I love to sit in the darkness when I’m taking a poop. I can blindly wipe my butt and smear poop all over my hand. Similarly, I loved trying to find my way out once when someone turned off the lights after my pee audibly hit the water. Consider doing the same for others! We all need the extra challenge in life. I like to eat, eat, eat, apples and bananas. I also like to eat, eat, eat, pasta and children. I worry you’re concerned that I’m a cannibal. No need to worry, I’m not a cannibal because I’m not human. So, it’s all okay. I’m trusting you with a secret; however, if you tell anyone, I will obliterate you. You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch. Don’t be Mr. Grinch, or any type of Grinch, for any reason this week. However, if you were the Grinch version of a cute kitty, I guess that would be okay. I love kitties. To be honest, I sometimes worry that in 30 years it’ll just be me and my seven cats. I want love. Every single time I see the word “Capricorn,” I accidentally read it as “candy corn.” I like to base my horoscopes off of what I think happens to my little candy corns every week. This week the stars say you should cannibalize. It’s time to put up your sex lights. You know the ones. They provide just enough light that you won’t chip teeth when going in for the kiss, but they don’t show everything. Even if you’re not into the sex or don’t have someone to do the sex with, they provide great lighting for seances. Eat. Sleep. Repeat. Sleep. Sleep. Sleep. Sleep. ZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzxdfcgvhbjknlh’o;p’ f;HGfls/dk.fjs,dahmsgnFBSDVDXGSVHBHJBFAKDHJSOGKMHDL
SPORTS
Page 18
September 20, 2018
Brewers win comfortably With seasons in full swing, a to stay perfect on Gordon quick look at Vassar’s teams SOCCER continued from page 1
with a jetting Ashley Ferry, a sophomore, who calmly placed the ball just out of the goalie’s reach to the far post. Vassar 2, Oneonta 0. The remainder of the half was a steady backand-forth. Both teams were able to initiate attacks and get shots off, but none found the target. While Oneonta won the majority of balls in the air, Vassar continued to maintain possession, communicating well when the other team pressured. The Brewers also defended superbly in transition, sprinting back to the middle before applying defensive pressure, thereby subduing the increasingly disgruntled Red Dragon offense. The second half played out much like the first, except this time without the scoring. Vassar sustained their relaxed, unflustered demeanour. Oneonta attempted to rally, but their efforts were time and time again curbed by the Brewers’ strong defensive core. In the 74th minute, the Red Dragons had their best look at goal when a shot by junior Cristina Kornfield ricocheted off the post. That would,
however, prove to be Oneonta’s best scoring opportunity for the rest of the game. The 90th minute arrived. Vassar 2, Oneonta 0. While the Brewers were able to land a solid victory, they know there is still much upon which to improve, noted Tanner: “2-0 is a solid win, but we know we are capable of doing better…we need to work on playing consistently for 90 minutes.” Trasatti also emphasized the need to look forward. “We must try to keep our energy and intensity up throughout the game. With such a deep team, we have the personnel to do so.” stated Trasatti. “It is also critical that we don’t play down to the competition, but maintain a high level of play no matter the opponent.” If the Brewers are able to improve in these areas, they will move one step closer to their ultimate goal: a Liberty League title and a birth in the NCAA Tournament. The team has all of the pieces necessary to achieve their goals—strong leadership, togetherness and a dogged work ethic. It’s simply a matter of putting them together.
Courtesy of Carlisle Stockton
Sophomore forward Ashley Ferry (Westfield, NJ) prepares to shoot in a game this season. Ferry has used her startling pace to rack up three goals and two assists already this fall.
Myles Olmsted SPORTS EDITOR
Field hockey—The team is off to a fast start, the only blemish on their 5-1 record being a defeat to 6th-ranked Christopher Newport. The Brewers have outscored their opponents 11-0 in their last three contests, jetting the team to a #20 ranking nationally. Seniors Emily Poehlein, Megan Caveny and Alyssa More have paced the Brewers so far, with 14, 13 and 12 points respectively. Men’s soccer—It’s been a balanced scoring load that’s gotten the new-look Brewers off to a 4-2-0 start, with junior Kevin Baliat and first-year Quinn Tunnell splitting the team lead in goals at two each. Junior Mattie Mrlik and senior Tyler Gilmore each have a goal and two assists. It’s Gilmore and fellow senior captain and central defender Tim Collins providing stability in the back for the squad. The team begins Liberty League play against RIT this Saturday at Gordon Field at 1 p.m. Women’s soccer—After early-season losses to tough NYU and Stevens sides, the Brewers have rattled off three straight convincing wins to carry them to a 4-2-0 record. Underclassmen have been key in the charge, with four goals from first-year forward Emma Tanner and three goals and two assists from sophomore Ashley Ferry. Senior Emma Lavelle and junior Jordan Moss have been constants in the Brewer backline. Women’s rugby—The team is off to a dominant start. With two games under their belt, the team has outscored their competition 154-0 thanks especially to a 117-0 opening game win against New Paltz (yes, you read that correctly.) Senior Oshana Reich and sophomore Molly Lynch have scored four tries each so far to lead the Brewers, with senior Makena Emery helping out with nine conversions and two penalties. They’ll expect stronger competition this Sunday when they host Siena. Men’s rugby—The team took to the field for the first time this year on Saturday, Sept. 15, facing Monroe College. After falling behind by two tries, tying it up, then falling behind again, the Brewers battled back for a 29-15 win. Senior Rob Eder scored two tries for Vassar, with one apiece from junior Evan Roberts, senior Louie Brown and
sophomore Logan Ragsdale. Women’s golf—The story of the team thus far is one of progress. A seventh-place finish at the St. Lawrence Invitational on Sept. 9 was bettered by four spots by the young Brewers at the Ann S. Batchelder Invitational in Wellesley, MA on Sept. 15 and 16. First-year Shihan Zhou exemplified this progress, shooting a career-best 157 over the two days, good for sixth place overall. Women’s tennis—Sept. 15 saw the women’s tennis team take to the courts behind Josselyn House for the first time this year to face Connecticut College, New Paltz and NYU in the annual Vassar Scramble. Overall, the Brewers posted an impressive 15-3 record across singles and doubles play. Junior Morgane Flournoy earned the honor of Liberty League Singles Performer of the Week after going 3-0 in singles during the Scramble. Men’s cross country—Men’s cross country took fourth overall at Rowan University’s Bill Fritz/ Charlie Way Invitational on Sept. 15. Sophomore Peter Ferretter and senior Luke Arsenault put together particularly strong performances in the 8000m race, finishing in fourth and fifth respectively. After hosting (and winning) their first two events of the season, the team will rest this week before racing again on Sept. 29 in Saratoga, NY. Women’s cross country—The Bill Fritz/Charlie Way Invitational was to be a commanding victory for the women’s team, who got two runners in the top five (sophomore Hannah Martin and senior Elise Matera) and three more in the top 15 (firstyear Keara Ginell, first-year Bailey Carrillo and senior Cameron Daddis.) These results led Vassar to a 42-point performance, 19 points better than second-place RIT. Women’s volleyball—Three straight wins has women’s volleyball sitting at a 7-4 record. An average of 4.91 kills per set over those games landed junior hitter Jane McLeod with Liberty League Performer of the Week honors. McLeod is second on the team in kills with 129, trailing only senior Devan Gallagher’s 143. On the defensive side of the ball, junior Jorden Schreeder has been key, piling up 168 digs, while junior Jennifer Kerbs leads the team with 17 blocks.
When in Rome: Musings on Basilica, belief, Blazers Emmett O’Malley GUEST COLUMNIST
A
bout a month ago, I was in Rome, officially initiating myself into a Vassar-elite lifestyle. A pre-multiculturalist perspective on history informs us that Rome is the birthplace of modern society. While gazing at some of the world’s great wonders, it was difficult for me not to agree. Of course, in my exploration of Rome, I couldn’t help but think about the Portland Trail Blazers, my hometown NBA team. Brace yourself. Perhaps the most striking place I visited was St. Peter’s Basilica, the historic church in the heart of Vatican City. To attempt to put into words what it looks like is to do it an injustice. It’s the largest church in the world. It took about 120 years to construct. Walking into the Basilica is like walking into a different world—one with greater meaning. It is where popes give sermons, and when their final words ring out, they are buried beneath its stunning marble floors. The centerpiece of the Basilica is the ornate architecture above the tomb of St. Peter, perhaps the second most important figure in Catholicism. For an Oregonian like myself, the Basilica was extravagance like I’d never seen before. Its beauty and its grandiosity are so awe-inspiring, it almost, almost, made me forget all of Catholicism’s baggage. It almost made me a believer. Amidst my walk through Vatican City, I got to thinking: What would inspire an individual, let
alone an entire civilization, to commit to something so grand? A belief in something higher? A thirst for conspicuous power? The sheer ability to command commonfolk, slaves and members of every class to stop what they were doing and dedicate their entire lives to the construction of one building? Again, keep in mind that the Basilica took 120 years to construct. Keep in mind the average lifespan of an individual in the 16th century. The more optimistic conclusion—and the one that allows me to halt my enunciation of the history of St. Peter’s Basilica—is that the construction of such a magnificent church must be centered around belief. It’s a simple conclusion, perhaps an oversimplified one, but simple minds cannot help but come to simple conclusions. That’s right, these Roman Catholics believed. In believing, they gained purpose. They gained a sense of service. They gained a sense of hope in something greater. They believed that something transcendent was in the works. These ideas can project onto many things—politics, sports, culture. For the purposes of this sports section (and perhaps your entertainment), I’m going to apply it to my favorite basketball team: the Portland Trail Blazers. It just so happened that the night before visiting the Basilica, I finally got around to listening to the first part of CJ McCollum’s now infamous (for NBA-geeks) interview with Kevin Durant. Of course, fans now remember the interview for is what happened afterward, when McCollum took
to Twitter and used a creative analogy to call Durant the most dastardly of snakes, and Durant responded by saying, “I did your [expletive] podcast” (Twitter, KDTrey5, 07.25.2018). In other words, you owe me your loyalty—I did you a favor. Kevin Durant: loyalty expert. However, what struck me about the interview was McCollum’s tepid endorsement of the direction of the Blazers. I believe his reservations come from a place of valid frustration, stemming from the fact that, since selecting Greg Oden first overall in the 2007 NBA Draft, and subsequently floundering in the face of bad luck (Oden and Brandon Roy’s injuries, namely), the Blazers have failed to build an inspiring message. They’ve failed so miserably that there is now a dearth of belief. Midway through the podcast, McCollum jokes that he’s “been in trade rumors for four years.” Indeed, despite the Blazers’ lack of direction, they’ve still failed to create an atmosphere of commitment to their second-most-prized asset. Later, McCollum explains that he wanted the Blazers to go after Demarcus Cousins in free agency. Durant, rightly, asks how that would work—the Blazers just poured $48 million into Jusuf Nurkic. McCollum claims to envision a scenario in which Nurkic takes the Anthony-Davis role alongside Cousins. That seems far too tall a task for a 280-pound center whose go-to move is the 12-foot floater off a pick-and-roll. This offseason, the Blazers once again failed to move anywhere but horizontally. They tried
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
to split the difference between building a culture and maintaining the talent they have. They let Ed Davis walk for the measly price (in NBA terms) of $4.4 million. They let fan-favorite Pat Connaughton walk. They doubled down on Nurkic, who might’ve been a slightly better version of Jamaal Magloire in the NBA of years gone by (for those less acquainted with insignificant NBA history, this is not a compliment). These moves did nothing to enhance the increasingly stagnant Lillard-McCollum era in Portland; the Blazers are in no position to be a legitimate contender now, nor are they built in such a way to develop young talent, maintain flexibility and go for it towards the end of Lillard’s prime. In short, the Blazers, led by general manager Neil Olshey, failed both the long game and the short game. They failed to make themselves a contender this upcoming season. They failed to construct something that would become better with time. They failed to inspire belief among their fan base (I can testify to this). They failed to inspire belief among their players (McCollum can testify to this, and so can Damian Lillard’s Twitter account). When an organization fails to construct a coherent message of hope and progress, belief inevitably wanes. This is true for the Catholic Church. This is true for the Democratic Party (as you’ll see in columns to come). This is true for the Portland Trail Blazers. Until that belief, that trust in the process, is rekindled, nothing as magnificent as St. Peter’s Basilica is possible.
SPORTS
September 20, 2018
Athlete Spotlight: Sport:
Kyle McConaughey
If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what are you picking?
Ultimate Frisbee
2019
personal highlight from our spring break tournament of skying some kid and
Either Zendaya or Natalie Dormer.
icing him immediately afterwards. Off the field, almost every instance of all
What’s your most listened to artist or album in the last couple
of us spending time together, singing/dancing/having fun. What are your team goals for this season?
I think either Cardi B or J Balvin? It kind of alternates depending on the
He/him/his
Naming just one moment is difficult. On the field, I’d have to go with a
Who’s your celebrity crush?
weeks?
Pronouns
(Durham, NC). What’s your favorite memory from playing frisbee at Vassar?
Eggs! When I’m on my own I eat half a dozen a day. Maybe more.
Class year:
Page 19
mood.
I’d like to see us get in good shape for the spring and get through some of regionals.
Where do you call home?
Who’s one person from history you’d like to have dinner with?
Chapel Hill, NC
Da Vinci. I’d love to talk with someone so ahead of his time.
What’s your major?
What’s one thing about you people would be surprised to know?
Cognitive Science
I like jamming out to classical music.
comfortable with both my peers and my elders on the team, and I hope to
What else do you do on campus?
What’s the hottest take you have?
ensure that’s true for everyone from rook to senior.
Other than Ultimate, I dance (past member of VRDT, FlyPeople and Vas-
The fear of looking childish is the last childish thing we grow out of.
sar on Tap), cook, spend time with friends and nap.
What do you see as your role on the team?
Who was your favorite athlete growing up? Tyler Hansbrough (UNC Tarheels Basketball). I’ve always been a huge UNC fan, having grown up in Chapel Hill.
I love the family spirit/mentality that is developed here. I’ve always felt
If students are interested in joining the team, what should they do?
Off the field, my role is to help form a cohesive team and create a welcom-
Show up to practice! We send out emails for each practice, so show up
ing and supportive environment. I also help organize the team and work on
and let us know that you’d like to be on the email list, and you’ll get all the
the logistics of being in charge of 60–80 people. On the field, I handle the
information. Practice is M/W/F from 3 to 5:30-ish, on Noyes Circle.
What’s your favorite building on campus, and why?
disc mostly, so my role is to keep the flow of the game going and maintain
Definitely the Deece—specifically, the second floor. I love booths, unlimit-
movement on the field. Additionally, I work to keep spirits high and encour-
ed food and big spaces with very few people in them.
What do you like most about the ultimate frisbee program at VC?
age a fun and focused atmosphere.
What’s one piece of advice you have for first-years? Call your parents—might not mean much to you, but it’ll mean the world to them.
What’s your best Deece hack?
When and why did you start playing Ultimate Frisbee?
Any last words?
Balsamic glaze makes everything taste better and look classier.
I started playing Ultimate in middle school, at Carolina Friends School
Go Heels!
Vassar Khalj Ultimate’s and Michael Eacobacci.
Courtesy of Kyle McConaughey
Courtesy of Kyle McConaughey
Senior Kyle McConaughey (Chapel Hill, NC) will captain Open team this year alongside seniors Peter Roumeliotis
McConaughey lays out for the Myrtle Beach, NC. This season,
disc while on a spring break trip to North the senior is eyeing team success at Regionals.
New lifting coach impresses varsity athletes from day one Fiona MacLeod GUEST REPORTER
A
s Vassar’s varsity athletes prepare for another new year of competition, they are joined by more fresh faces than just incoming first-years. After a year of coaching changes and inconsistent lifting schedules, Vassar’s student-athletes eagerly welcomed the newest addition to the athletic community, Varsity Strength and Conditioning Coach Alice Read. A former Division III soccer player, Coach Read earned her bachelor’s degree in Applied Exercise Science from the University of New England in 2012. In 2016 she earned her master’s degree in Health and Human Performance from the University of Montana, and she has worked previously with student-athletes at Dartmouth College, Bates College and Williams College. Vassar’s similarity to these institutions initially drew Read to the College. “The reputation in higher education attracted me to this position,” she explained. According to Read, her background in collegiate sports builds a strong foundation for her to understand the lifestyle and priorities of Vassar’s student-athletes: “I have worked at several
high academic institutions prior to Vassar, and I love working with student-athletes who challenge and push me. It makes me a better coach and teacher when I surround myself with student-athletes who will ask questions and challenge the ‘why’ behind our training.” Already, changes implemented by Coach Read to accommodate the wishes of student-athletes have improved the lifting program in the eyes of many Brewers. While most student-athletes used to partake in the same lifting schedules and exercises, lifts are now specialized to suit the needs of individual teams. Senior men’s basketball captain Steve Palecki has noticed this change already: “The main thing I’ve enjoyed about Alice’s lifts compared to prior strength plans is the individualized lifting strategy she employs for each sport,” Palecki attested. “The basketball team isn’t doing the same workouts as lacrosse or soccer, and vice versa. The specific nature of these workouts put us a step ahead of the competition when the season starts in terms of strength and injury prevention.” Other changes have pleased members of the Brewer athletic community, such as the shift from specific lifting days for arms and legs to
full-body lifts. According to senior women’s lacrosse player Cheris Congo, “Alice’s lifts have a variety that we’ve never seen before in the weight room. Her lifts are all full-body workouts, just three times a week.” Athletes note that this new schedule better complements their normal training and practices. “Rather than going to lift four times a week just to get strong, we’re working on our strength with respect to our sport,” explained Congo, “and with some sports, lifts that are even specific to position.” Congo also spoke highly of Coach Read’s attention to athlete feedback, adding, “Our lifting cards also now include a feedback section, meaning that Alice is willing to change workouts if they are extremely easy or taxing.” This focus on feedback is crucial to maintaining the health of athletes both in and out of season by allowing maximum strength development while avoiding potential overwork and injury. The structural and stylistic changes of the lifting programs are not the only positives of Read’s nascent tenure already noted by several athletes. Congo observed that Read has displayed an admirable dedication to strengthening
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
and conditioning college athletes, but also a passion for bettering each individual and furthering real knowledge of lifting, adding, “I think Alice’s passion for the weight room shines through in every single lift session. I’ve noticed that she never sits down during a session—she’s always walking around the weight room, checking on everyone, making sure our form is okay and just talking to us.” These gestures may appear minor, but never go unnoticed by her students. According to Congo, “[They make] a big difference in the morale of the weight room.” Coach Read reciprocates the excitement her students-athletes feel about her. “I love the work ethic and energy that our student-athletes bring on a daily basis to the weight room,” Read declared. “I’ve also noted how our student-athletes adapt and adjust easily. Our athletes do a great job adjusting to new or different exercises in a busy environment, and have adapted to my new format seamlessly and smoothly.” In her initial months as the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at Vassar, Read has already turned heads. Confident in Read’s new schedule, closely-tailored workouts and guiding hand, Brewer student-athletes are dreaming of success in their 2018–2019 seasons.
SPORTS
Page 20
September 20, 2018
Concussion crisis looms over football as NFL returns Dean Kopitsky
GUEST COLUMNIST
[CW: This article makes mention of suicide.] evon Gales led with the crown of his helmet. I have been mesmerized by a clip of wide receiver Gales, blocking for his Southern University teammate, since I first saw it three years ago. I found it on YouTube and watched it on repeat, tracing the steps of each player as they sped toward each other. It’s clear as day in video of the fateful play from the 2015 game between Southern and the University of Georgia. Sprinting with the full force, speed and will of a Division I college football athlete, Gales, playing special teams, tucked his head like a battering ram and prepared to make a block on the Georgia kicker, Marshall Morgan, just below his head. Then something strange happened. Gales didn’t finish the block. He popped up like a Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em robot. The returner for whom he blocked was tackled, the whistle blew and the lanky kicker tossed the much larger Gales to the ground. Gales shook his head like it was going to unscrew from his body and rocket into the sidelines. Then he lay still. Head fixed straight up at the sky, arms spread wide, frozen. The crowd roared, the band played, the Southern offense prepared to take the field, but Devon Gales, for the first time in his life, couldn’t move. Stories of paralysis in football, like that of Gates, are horror stories, but relative outliers. Rarely in the history of football have athletes gone from powerful and agile to immobile in the breathless instant of one hit. The reality is, heartstopping stories like that of Gales are lost in the deluge of one word, a much larger reckoning that threatens the entire culture of American football: “concussions.” After the Vietnam War, the memories of
D
combat cut painfully deep into the psyches of returning American soldiers. To these soldiers, car horns could be sirens, and planes humming overhead could be medic choppers descending to retrieve the dead and dying. During the Civil War, these symptoms were called “soldier’s heart” and railway “spine”; in the First World War they were called “shell shock.” After Vietnam, the soldiers came home to a new name: “post-traumatic stress disorder.” Giving PTSD a name, however, did nothing to remove the shame that hung around the suffering. It was seen as a lack of toughness, proof of thin skin. Too often in America, invisible wounds aren’t considered wounds at all. It is tha same veneer of toughness and dissonance that hangs around the NFL’s concussion problem. The public first became aware of football’s relationship to critical brain injuries in 1994, when then-Commissioner Paul Tagliabue created the Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Committee (MTB) to explore the correlation between football and severe head injuries. Despite the steps taken in 1994, the commissioner insisted that the NFL had no real concussion problem. He professed to a panel on sports that year: “On concussions, I think this is one of these pack journalism issues frankly … There is no increase in concussions, the number is relatively small, the problem is a journalist issue” (PBS, “Timeline: The NFL’s Concussion Crisis,” 10.01.2013). Nearly 25 years later, with a different commissioner and a league worth billions of dollars more, the effort made by the NFL on concussions looks just as flimsy. In 2012, Hall of Fame linebacker Junior Seau—one of the hardest hitting defensive players in league history—was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the heart. His brain intact, Seau’s family donat-
leagues are having trouble just filling rosters. So while the NFL may always be here, the athlete pool from which it draws is drying at the source. Despite declining youth participation, football is still incredibly popular to watch. No other American sport can touch it, actually. A 2017 Gallup poll found that 37 percent of Americans call football their favorite sport, with the next closest—the NFL’s supposed ratings rival—the NBA, coming in at just 11 percent (Gallup, “Football Still Americans’ Favorite Sport to Watch,” 01.04.2018). This all leads to where I was on Sept. 6, the first night of the NFL season. With the Philadelphia Eagles kicking off against my hometown Atlanta Falcons on Thursday Night Football, I was in my dorm, holding the Lathrop MPR hostage with an HDMI cable and a livestream. Ironically, it turned out to be a pretty pathetic season opener. Both sides botched opportunities, committed poorly timed turnovers and struggled to pull off any offensive fireworks. Yet there I was, yelling at my team, talking smack to my Eagles-fan friend and throwing popcorn in the air when the Falcons scored. Because, as it turns out, I will wince when our running back lowers his head to “run through a guy,” and tense when a quarterback lofts a pass down the middle to set up his receiver to get hit, but I will not stop watching football. For now, at least, the NFL is running full steam ahead. It is making money hand over fist, drawing in new fans with new narratives for a new season to come, it is Devon Gales running with the full strength of American football fans behind it. But should it drop its helmet and lose focus of where it and the public are going, it may find itself coming to a quick and violent end, and the league will be the last to see it coming, just like Devon himself. Until then, I’ll keep watching, although it seems I’m running out of excuses.
Women’s Field Hockey
Women’s Volleyball
Vassar College 5, Ramapo College 0
Vassar College 3, Hunter College 2
September 15, 2018
September 15, 2018
Vassar College #
ed his brain tissue to the NIH, who would go on to find signs of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative disease caused by repeated head injuries. The following year, amidst the PR storm surrounding Seau’s death, the NFL announced that it would invest $30 million in the National Institute of Health for brain research. (Thirty million dollars, it should be noted, is a not-so-impressive sum when considering the average value of each franchise is a cool $2.5 billion.) Yet even that underwhelming effort fizzled out. In the summer of 2017, the NFL announced that it would not renew the stipend, ending the research with $16 million still unused (NPR, “NFL, NIH End Partnership For Concussion Research With $16M Unspent,” 07.29.2017). The decision drew backlash from fans and the media, but only a month later the preseason media frenzy drowned it out. To the NFL’s credit, it has taken steps to try and make the game safer. In particular, new rules aim to lessen the risk posed by kickoffs—the type of play on which Gates was paralyzed. Kickoffs are shorter than before, and the returner is offered better field position for not advancing the ball at all, potentially improving the safety of what is considered the NFL’s most dangerous play. So might limiting full-contact practices, flagging players more aggressively for hits to the head and investing in better helmet technology. These measures should help somewhat, but they are only small changes that won’t affect the game’s violent base nature. Still, all of this may be coming too late. It’s clear that American parents are beginning to pick other sports for their kids. Basketball, for instance, is a safer and cheaper option—with higher paychecks and more guaranteed money at the top should an athlete make it that far. Many former powerhouse high school teams and Pop Warner
Player
Ramapo College
S H SOG G A
3
AquilinaPiscitello
0
0
0
0
4
Feeley
0
0
0
0
5
Caveny
4
4
2
1
6
Lopez
1
0
0
0
7
Pope
1
1
0
0
8
More
2
2
0
1
10
Poehlein
4
3
2
0
12
Plante
2
2
0
0
17
Youse
0
0
0
0
20
Young
1
1
0
0
30
Rotolo
0
0
0
0
13
Palma
1
1
1
0
19
Rizzo
0
0
0
1
18
14
5
3
Totals.......
Goalie
Minutes
GA
Saves
Rotolo Maguire
51:44 18:16
o o
o 2
#
Player
Vassar College
S H SOG G A
#
Player
Hunter College
K
A
DIG
#
Player
K
A
DIG
1
Tovar
0
0
0
0
2
Ninkovich
8
1
21
1
Cho
0
0
7
4
Oskierko
1
1
0
0
4
MacMillan
1
59
9
2
Hogan
0
59
21
5
Callery
0
0
0
0
6
Ehnstrom
16
0
6
6
Hurst
13
1
16
6
Ratkoski
2
1
0
0
7
Gallagher
12
1
14
23
Haiduk
22
0
21
7
Padilla
0
0
0
0
11
Kerbs
3
0
2
27
Budna
11
1
7
9
Wetzel
0
0
0
0
15
McLeod
24
0
4
11
Trunkett
0
5
27
10
Choka
0
0
0
0
1
Schreeder
0
1
13
14
Wasson
14
0
5
11
Doran
0
0
0
0
10
Zucchero
0
2
29
19
Moore
6
0
0
14
Ewanis
0
0
0
0
13
Lawrence
1
0
0
17
Laird
0
0
0
0
62
Stolker
0
0
0
0
67
66
104
3
Totals.......
Goalie Stolker Tomas
2
0
0
Minutes
GA
Saves
64:43 5:17
5 0
7 1
64
Totals.......
Set:
64
98
Totals.......
1
2
3
4
5
19
23
25
25
15
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
Set:
1
2
3
4
5
25
25
23
18
13