The Miscellany News Since 1866 | miscellanynews.com
Profiling concerns emerge
November 10, 2011
Alyssa Aquino
Mary Huber
Guest Reporter
“M
ad as Hell”: Thus read the headline for the Oct. 17 issue of the Dutchess Chronicle regarding Occupy Poughkeepsie (OP). Those Poughkeepsie residents that are “not going to take this anymore” have assembled in Hulme Park at the corner of Market Street and Church Street. The Occupy movements have drawn in the curious and polarized the critical, and some Vassar students have joined local Poughkeepsie residents in voicing their opinions. Compared to Occupy Wall Street, OP is relatively new: Protesters set up their tents on Oct. 15. Katia Chapman ’12 and Susan Randolph ’12 heard about OP through word of mouth when the movement just started. Out of curiosity they went to a General Assembly meeting, and they have been regulars in Hulme Park ever since. “[Occupy See OCCUPY on page 8
Mia Fermindoza/The Miscellany News
acial profiling is generally associated with police officers, but some students at Vassar have claimed it occurs much closer to home. Recent accusations against Safey and Security of racial profiling have sparked a discussion between Safety and Security, the Vassar Student Association (VSA) and members of the administration on race and profiling on campus. Two cases in particular, those concerning Akeel St. Vil ’14 and Leroy Barrington Archer ’12, have brought the issue to the forefront. St. Vil said that, while attending an academic program at Vassar over the summer, he was approached by a Security guard in Main. “[The officer] asked for my Vassar ID, so I gave it to him. Then he looked at it and walkie-talkied a couple of other Security guards. About three or four of them came from different directions,” he said. See PROFILING on page 8
Volume CXLV | Issue 8
Occupy movement localizes
Features Editor
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Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY
A Safety and Security officer makes her rounds in one of the residential halls. Students and the Vassar Student Association Council have recently voiced concern over a house reassignment policy used as punishment for unregistered parties.
Council drafts resolution against Men’s soccer captures house reassignment guideline first Liberty League title Joey Rearick and Dave Rosenkranz
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News Editors
n Oct. 27, Assistant Dean of Students and Director of Residential Life Luis Inoa sent an all-campus email regarding guest passes and unregistered parties which concluded: “Also, you should be aware that a
Courtesy of Shane Donahue, Vassar Athletics
Corey Cohn
Sports Editor
T
he Vassar men’s soccer team capped off a historic playoff run last Saturday, defeating Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) 3-2 to capture the program’s first Liberty League Championship. Earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships, the Brewers have more soccer to look forward to, but coaches and players alike have been savoring this moment nonetheless. “It’s been straight-up euphoria,” Captain Ross Macklin ’12, named All-
Liberty League First Team, said. Sam Erlichson-McCarthy ’12 added he was feeling a mixture of excitement and pride in his teammates. “We came out harder and were better than the other team,” he remarked. “We got the job done.” Going into this season, the Brewers had high expectations despite a difficult 2010 campaign. The 8-7-1 record and seventh-place finish in the Liberty League didn’t reflect the team’s potential in Erlichson-McCarthy’s eyes. “Last season was hard,” he recalled, See SOCCER on page 18
Inside this issue
2
NEWS
Students face voting pressures local elections
7
FEATURES
Student Association (VSA) Council adopted a resolution last week that opposed the use of housing reassignment as a standard consequence for hosting an unregistered party. VSA Vice President for Student Life Charlie Dobb ’12, See RELOCATION on page 4
Anne-Marie Slaughter to open sesquicentennial conference Molly Turpin
Editor in Chief
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s Vassar’s sesquicentennial year draws to a close, the College will turn to contemporary academia and current events in a conference and weekend-long series of discussions set to kick off on Friday, Nov. 11. “Most sesquicentennial events have been focused on history thus far,” said Michael Mestitz ’12. “But this one looks forward to see what students and schools can do to prepare us to face the next wave of challenges.” The conference, On Educating the Global Citizen, will span the weekend beginning Friday evening in “A Conversation on International Relations” featuring Bert G. Kerstetter ‘66 University Professor of Politics and International Affairs from Princeton University AnneMarie Slaughter. Shirley Ecker Boskey Professor of History Robert Brigham, who will moderate the conversation with Slaughter, described Slaughter as a path-breaking scholar.
Raw milk co-op brings controversial staple to campus
Courtesy of Ralph Aswang
The men’s soccer team celebrates after winning their first Liberty League Championship game against Rochester Instiute of Technology last Saturday Nov. 5, 3-2.
logical consequence of causing a disruption along the lines of an unauthorized party in the houses may be reassignment to a different house.” Both the language of the statement and the policy it describes have been the subject of recent debate. In response to Inoa’s email, the Vassar
Anne-Marie Slaughter speaks at a conference for the Center for a New American Security in 2007. Slaughter will speak at Vassar on Friday, Nov. 11. Slaughter is the former director of policy planning in the State Department—the first woman to hold the position—a post that she held from 2009 to 2011.
15 ARTS
“Some of the best minds in foreign policy have come from that position—George Kennan, Paul Nitze, Richard Haass, Anne-Marie See CONFERENCE on page 4
Thomas to talk on tactile, graphic art
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The Miscellany News
November 10, 2011
Editor in Chief Molly Turpin Senior Editors
Katharine Austin Erik Lorenzsonn Aashim Usgaonkar
Contributing Editors Katie Cornish Carrie Hojnicki Jillian Scharr
News Joey Rearick Dave Rosenkranz Features Danielle Bukowski Mary Huber Opinions Hannah Blume Humor & Satire Alanna Okun Arts Rachael Borné Adam Buchsbaum Sports Corey Cohn Andy Marmer Photography Juliana Halpert Madeline Zappala Online Nathan Tauger Social Media Matt Ortile Managing Qian Xu
In November 1978, 10 students were indicted for their participation in protests against the College’s investment in South Africa. The Nov. 17 issue of The Miscellany News also featured a two-page spread about the women’s health resources available to students on campus and in the local area.
This Week in Vassar History 1918, Nov. 11 “The whole of the Vassar campus arose at 3:30 a. m. on Monday morning when it became known that the Armistice was signed. The night watchman took his cue from the noise of whistles blowing…and immediately he rang the fire alarm and spread the news, a modern Paul Revere. In the evening, the students saw some Douglas Fairbanks movies….” The Poughkeepsie Courier 1920, Nov. 11 On the anniversary of the Armistice, the College welcomed the “French tank” to the campus. The 40-ton, camouflaged Saint-Charmond tank had been put out of commission by a German shell in 1918, at the battle of Chateau-Thierry while leading American forces to an Allied victory. A gift from the French government, it commemorated the services of some 150 Vassar women in France during World War I and its aftermath. In a “christening” celebration, the students marched around the tank carrying French and American flags and singing the “Marseillaise” and “The Star Spangled Banner.” Among the speakers were Margaret Lambie ’07, the leader of the “Vassar Unit” that served near Verdun, J. A. M. de Sanchez, head of the Economic Division of the French Commission in the United States and President MacCracken. Mireille Holland ’22 spoke for the student body, in French. The tank stood between Jewett and Josselyn halls, a memorial, landmark, hideout and fac-
By Dean Emeritus Colton Johnson
ulty children’s plaything, until it was removed in the summer of 1934.
friends, of the French village of Hattonchatel and its agrarian economy.
1926, Nov. 12 The College announced the trustees’ acceptance of the proposal of a special trustee committee appointed in June to resolve with a student and faculty committee the vexing question of compulsory chapel attendance. For two years students had advocated voluntary religious services, and as of Monday, November 15, a new, completely voluntary plan was in effect. Fifteen-minute services were held Tuesday through Friday, and the president could call a meeting of the whole college for Monday evenings, as he saw necessary. The weekday services consisted of prayer, a hymn, a reading from Scriptures and an optional short address. The only religious feature in the occasional Monday meetings was the singing of a hymn. Sunday services were continued.
1934, Nov. 10 Gertrude Stein lectured on “Portraits I Have Written and What I Think of Repetition, Whether It Exists or No,” under the auspices of the department of English.
1929, Nov. 12 In a morning assembly President MacCracken announced the gift by William Skinner of a music building as a memorial to his sister Belle Skinner ’87. Planned meticulously by Professor of Music George Sherman Dickinson, the building was designed by Boston architect Charles Collens in the French medieval Gothic style, thus reflecting Belle Skinner’s devotion both to music and to France. She devoted $1 million after World War I to the reconstruction, with the help of Vassar
1951, Nov. 14 The first program of the Vassar Broadcasting Association was given over WKIP, Poughkeepsie radio station, under the auspices of the Radio Workshop. The first Vassar radio programs had been broadcast over station WGNY of Newburgh in January 1938. 1968, Nov. 16 Dutchess County neighbor and frequent Vassar visitor, folk singer Pete Seeger performed. 1974, Nov. 13 President Alan Simpson broke ground for the Helen D. Lockwood extension to the Frederick Ferris Thompson Memorial Library. Funded by the generous bequest of Helen D. Lockwood ’12—a driving force in the English department and the College during her nearly 30 years on the faculty—and by gifts from other alumnae in her honor, the 32,000 square foot addition, designed by Helmuth, Oban and Kassabaum, contained a new rare book room, all-night study lounge, reserve room, faculty carrels and new stack space.
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
Assistant Features Ruth Bolster Jessica Tarantine Assistant Arts Charlacia Dent Shruti Manian Assistant Sports Kristine Olson Assistant Photo Carlos Hernandez Assistant Copy Jessica Grinnell Crossword Editor Jonathan Garfinkel Columnists Sarah Begley Brittany Hunt Michael Mestitz Tom Renjilian Sam Scarritt-Selman Andy Sussman Reporters Emma Daniels Jesse Hartman Matthew Hauptman Bethan Johnson Bobbie Lucas Burcu Noyan Jack Owen Alicia Salvino Leighton Suen Photographers Alex Schlesinger ADVERTISING POLICY
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November 10, 2011
NEWS
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Derogatory graffiti discussed in Davison Leighton Suen
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Reporter
ast week, derogatory graffiti was discovered in Davison House for the third time this semester. The statement, which read “Vassar is full of stupid cunts,” was etched into one of the first floor bathroom stall doors. Previously, two instances of homophobic graffiti had been found in the same dorm, prompting Davison to hold a mandatory all-dorm meeting on Oct. 25. Following the new incident, Dean of the College Chris Roellke issued a second statement concerning the campus climate on Nov. 1, condemning the poor decision-making that jeopardizes the inclusive and respectful atmosphere that is characteristic of Vassar College. “I was really upset because of the content and because it wasn’t the first time,” said Davison House President Doug Greer ’14. “My heart just sunk a little bit. I was disappointed. We [the Davison House Team] had just had a big discussion with the house about why graffiti and offensive hate speech are bad. They are both completely unacceptable and detrimental to the dorm and to the Vassar community.” House Secretary Emma Daniels ’14 concurred with Greer. (Disclaimer: Emma Daniels is a reporter for The Miscellany News.) “It is disheartening and unfortunate that not one but three acts of derogatory and offensive graffiti were discovered in Davison,” she responded in an emailed statement. “As a house team, we pride ourselves on instilling a sense of community and acceptance in the dorm. It was sad for all of us to hear about, and we are going to do our best to help make this negative experience into a positive one for not only Davison, but the whole Vassar community.” Elex Portell ’15, a Davison resident, expressed disbelief concerning the recent acts of graffiti in her dorm. “It’s hard to believe that somebody would do that, considering
how open Vassar is to sexuality in general. A big part of the reason why students come to this school is because it is so liberal and accepting of everybody. It doesn’t seem as though it could have been anybody in Davison or even a Vassar student.” “It shocks me that these things could have happened, especially at Vassar,” agreed Evi Lowman ’15, who also resides in Davison. “I think it’s a danger to the image of openness and acceptance that Vassar represents … but it’s great to see that Davison has been so active in responding to the situation so far.” In fact, according to Davison Freshman Representative Kayla Abe ’15, Davison House Team has begun to focus on rebuilding its community. “These incidents have rightfully evoked a great deal of upset among the residents here; however, it has been quite amazing to see everyone in the house come together with such strong support for one another and really get involved with making every person in this house feel safe,” wrote Abe in an emailed statment. Similar to the dorm-wide meeting that occurred after homophobic graffiti was discovered, another discussion is planned for Wednesday, Nov. 9. “Anti-women speech is just as bad as anti-gay speech,” said Greer in reply as to how the response this time will differ from the previous one. “This [meeting] will be more about supporting people who were affected by the graffiti. We want to provide a space for people who were affected personally and emotionally.” Other dorms have also begun having general meetings in order to discuss the hate speech and graffiti on campus. In addition, a teach-in responding to these events is currently being planned. “It will be a space for the Vassar community to discuss sexism on campus and have a dialogue about it,” said Davison Student Fellow Maddie Taterka ’14, an organizer of the teach-in.
“I don’t know why it happened in the first place or why the two incidents happened so close to each other,” continued Greer, on behalf of the Davison House Team. “It only takes one person to do this type of thing. We were really proud of our first response, but obviously, [some] people didn’t come to that meeting. One person put us a few steps back.” An emailed statement from four members of Vassar’s Feminist Alliance argues that the sentiments behind the derogatory comments are shared by more than a few individuals. “The graffiti in Davison was not an isolated incident, but rather indicative of a larger campus climate of intolerance,” wrote Kaylee Knowles ’13, Faren Tang ’13, Tristan Feldman ’12 and Rachel Ritter ’12. “Every oppressive incident is part of a spectrum that extends from physical violence (sexual or otherwise) to hateful graffiti to jokes and other microaggressions that reinforce dominant power structures. Vassar should be a place where people of all identities feel not only safe, but empowered.” According to Roellke, the Campus Life Response Team (CLRT) is “well aware” of this and the other incidents it is currently investigating. In his latest all-campus email, he emphasized that the CLRT will continue to work with his colleagues in the Dean of the College division to “consistently…promote dialogue and inclusiveness.” In an emailed statement, CLRT Coordinator and Associate Dean of the College for Campus Life Edward Pittman ’82 confirmed that a response is underway. “Our goal is to support individuals and communities affected, reflect that the institution is aware and also convey that these kinds of acts—often cowardly—are not welcomed here. At the same time, we’d like to focus on sustained efforts to produce the kind of culture that we do want here. And this effort does take an entire campus community.”
Google to replace Zimbra as email provider Kerrin Poole
I
Guest Reporter
Courtesy of Google.com
n a recent campus-wide email, Vice President for Computing and Information Services (CIS) Bret Ingerman wrote of the College’s plan to change email providers from Zimbra to Google Apps for Education. This decision was largely influenced by the prospect of reducing cost, of eliminating problems found within the present system and of the added benefits a program like Google Apps provides. Currently, Zimbra provides the College with an email service that also contains applications for a calendar and an address book. According to Ingerman, the calendar has proven to be problematic for heavy users. He went on to say that Zimbra has also failed to work with different desktop email programs and certain mobile devices. Despite its limited functionality, the Zimbra system’s software and hardware costs the College roughly $40,000 per year. Founded by a research project at Stanford University, Google Apps for Education is Google’s “integrated communication and collaboration solution,” and provides users with Gmail; Google Calendar; Google Talk, which allows students to send instant messages; Google Docs, where students can share documents, spreadsheets and presentations; Google Sites, which is a website creator; and Google Video for education, which, according to Google, “provides a hosting and sharing solution that enables schools and other organizations to use video as an effective medium for internal communication and collaboration.”Also, it’s free. Google doesn’t charge for Apps for Education because the program is meant to be a way that Google can give back to the community. “Personally, I don’t think that we really will be losing anything. There will certainly be changes, but I would not consider this a loss,” said Ingerman, explaining that student-level functionality would probably remain more-orless the same. However, he did acknowledge that the College will have to rely on Google’s servers, not its own, to maintain its email databases. “I do not think that it is a loss, but it
Computing and Information Services plans to switch the College’s email provider from Zimbra to Google Apps for Education. The email host offers several perks, such as Google Calendar and Docs. is one thing we are giving up to move from an on-premises email system [Zimbra] to a cloud based email system [Google].” The move to Google Apps will also make upgrades more readily available. “With Zimbra, we [CIS] decided when to upgrade the software, usually with a goal to minimize any changes during an academic semester. Google, on the other hand, rolls out changes as they decide to make them available,” explained Ingerman, adding, “they do give us some flexibility in when we make those changes visible to the people using the software, but they also give a date by which you must upgrade.” Ingerman attributes the decision to switch to cost. This coming summer, the College would have to upgrade its server hardware for Zimbra. This, in addition to the $40,000
yearly fee and the aforementioned dissatisfaction with Zimbra’s calendar and mobile accessibility, prompted the College to consider alternatives. “It seemed like the right time to see if we wanted to stay with Zimbra or move to another solution. Google Apps are free to educational institutions, so we will reap some yearly savings on hardware and software, and it also offers a breadth of services that I think people are interested in using,” said Ingerman. Students are also excited by this change of systems. Caroline Stanton ’14 said she was glad to see the shift in email providers and she “can only see positives” in doing so. She added that, as a Mac user, this change would only minimally affect her. Ingerman hopes that this transition will be completed by next fall.
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
VC students participate in local election Erik Lorenzonn and Aashim Usgaonkar
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Senior Editors
n Tuesday, Nov. 8, Vassar students joined residents of Dutchess County to vote in annual elections, making their way to Arthur S. May Elementary School to cast their ballots for such positions as county executive and family court judge. Some students, however, encountered obstacles reminiscent of 2009 injunction on student voting rights when, due to incorrect information in the poll books, they were told to instead visit the polls at City Hall. Students encountered similar problems in these elections in 2009, when they were turned away from the polls because of discrepancies between the addresses under which they registered and the those where they currently live. Indications that similar obstructions arose for this year’s voting cycle emerged when Dean of the College Chris Roellke, in an all-campus email, advised the student body of the problem and encouraged students who wished to vote to “reach out to a poll worker and/or a poll watcher for assistance and further instructions.” Roellke’s email was prompted by intimation from Elizabeth Ilechko ’12, an intern for candidate Dan French, who wrote him saying that “students are being turned away from the polls due to a mix up in the polling address book.” Ilechko further instructed students to “look at their voter registration cards and make sure they are at [the correct] location.” “From what I gather, no student was put in the books as being registered in their polling place,” wrote President of Democracy Matters Tim McCormick ’12 in an emailed statement. “Whether this is an attempt to purposefully block the student voice from local politics or a genuine mistake stemming from complex issues of address on campus I cannot tell. However, the fact remains that few, if any, students were able to vote directly on the local issues and candidates which matter to them and instead had to vote by affidavit.” Two salient races in this cycle were those of Dutchess County Executive and family court judge. French from the Democratic and Working Families Parties and Marc Molinaro from Republican and Independence Parties went head to head for the county executive elections, while Republican Denise Watson faced Democrat Marco Caviglia for family court judges. As this went to press, “Republican Marc Molinaro is set to lead as county executive,” reported the Poughkeepsie Journal, while a close mayoral race was yet to be decided based on 313 absentee ballots. Other positions voted on this election cycle included those of county clerk, member of Dutchess County Legislature, Town of Poughkeepsie justice and Ward council member. Besides the fact that there were some barriers for Vassar students in these elections, McCormick expressed concern about a dearth of student turnout at the polls. “I would have liked to see more students vote locally,” he said. “I know that the issue remains that students should only vote if they are knowledgeable about local politics, but that is a call on us to be more informed about the issues which matter to Poughkeepsie residents…rather than a call for us to stop voting.” Looking towards the future, Ilechko thinks that Vassar can take steps to ease students’ voting experience. “Vassar needs to have it’s own voting ward. It is not ok that part of campus goes one place and the rest go elsewhere,” she said. “There have been too many issues with voting in the last few years for this to continue. It is inexcusable that these kinds of mix ups occur with all the planning that goes into preparing for an election.”
NEWS
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Delegates flock to campus for conference CONFERENCE continued from page 1 Slaughter,” said Brigham. “It’s a very important position in many respects it may be one of the most important policy positions in terms of foreign affairs.” By any standard, Slaughter’s resumé and education is impressive. She received her Bachelor’s of Arts degree in International Relations from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University, a law degree from Harvard Law School and a Ph.D. from Oxford University. In addition to leading U.S. foreign policy, Slaughter has taught at the University of Chicago Law School, Harvard Law School, Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and has served as the dean of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton. Mestitz noted that Slaughter has had a breadth of experience that made her ideal for the weekend’s sesquicentennial conference. “She’s been an educator, but she’s also directed policy for the State Department,” he said. “And she’s a great lecturer, so we think that she’s going to provide a really strong opening to the conference.” According to Brigham, he plans to discuss the full breadth of topics that Slaughter’s scholarship has covered. This includes the international community’s Right to Protect, or Responsibility to Protect (RtoP), an international norm passed by the United Nations in a 2006 resolution. The essential concept of RtoP is that states have a responsibility to protect their citizens, and in the event that they fail in this commitment to the people, the international community has a responsibility to intervene. “We’ll talk a lot about Right to Protect, we’ll talk a lot about the Arab Spring to be sure, we’ll talk a lot about her ideas about the differences between government and governance,” said Brigham. “She has reoriented our thinking on a number of important issues … She knows all of the important hard power issues, but yet she’s this advanced thinker and really conceptualizes international affairs in new and exciting ways. “ The weekend is a mix of private and public events. Delegates from about 20 colleges and universities will attend to join conversations with student representatives from Vassar’s academic departments and programs. In addition to the open panel discussions, these delegates and representatives will participate in smaller discussions. “In an effort to find engaged students from all across the College, with different academic backgrounds, we reached out to departments to nominate students,” said Mestitz. “So all the students who are attending an expanded version of the conference were nominated by the Vassar faculty.” However, all lectures and panels will be open to the entire student body, and according to Mestitz students were to receive schedules of the events in their mailboxes and email inboxes by Wednesday afternoon. Off-campus delegates are being housed in Alumnae/i House and will join Vassar’s student delegates and speakers for meals and smaller discussion groups on Saturday morning on topics in foreign relations, economics and science led by Brigham, Professor of Economics Paul Ruud and Professor of Biology Kate Susman. Most of the speakers attending the conference are Vassar alumnae/i. On Saturday afternoon, a group of prominent alumnae/i will discuss communications and the media in a panel led by CBS National Correspondent Chip Reid ’77. Reid will also moderate a conversation on Saturday evening that gives its title to the conference: The Role of the Academy in Educating the Global Citizen. “This generation of Vassar students is much more cognizant than even 10 years ago that they are living in a world that is much smaller and where communication has shrunken the globe in phenomenal ways,” said Sesquicentennial co-Chair and Director of Regional Programs John Mihaly ’74. According to Mestitz, the Sesquicentennial Committee hoped to do more in the weekend than could be fit into it and announced that the series of lectures would continue into the spring, though he declined to divulge names. Said Mestitz, “The great thing is that we had such great response from speakers that we couldn’t actually fit everything into one weekend.”
November 10, 2011
Students voice concerns at town hall Bethan Johnson
O
Reporter
n Monday night, President Catharine Bond Hill and Dean of the College Chris Roellke hosted a town hall meeting with students in Main Building, the last of several such gatherings they have held in residential houses this fall. The meeting served as an open forum for students of Davison, Main and Ferry Houses to share their concerns with representatives of the administration. The main topics of discourse included recent incidents of intolerant graffiti, students’ relationship with Safety and Security officers, Admissions policies and all-campus dining. Students began the discussion by immediately addressing three recent instances of offensive graffiti found in Davison House that expressed homophobic and sexist sentiments. Victoria Weiss ’13 asked, “Is there anything being done about these incidents?” Students were also curious to learn if the administration had perceived a dramatic increase in the volume and severity of intolerant acts on campus this year. Roellke, in response to these concerns, said that while the number of bias incidents has not drastically increased relative to other years, the student body has been far more vocal this semester in reacting to offensive vandalism in public spaces. He said that he was proud of the responses made to the incidents by house teams and the Campus Life Response Team, a group of students and administrators that takes action to support the campus community in the wake of discriminatory incidents.
Some students expressed concern about the tone Roellke used in emails he sent to the campus community about the Davison graffiti, charging he had not criticized the offensive content of the graffiti strongly enough. Roellke said he was aware that some students felt he had not worded his emails appropriately, and would keep their opinions in mind moving forward. He also said he would be open to holding more office hours if necessary to help students deal with their concerns about the graffiti issue. The next wave of questions focused on Admissions policies and they way in which Admissions initiatives are reflected in the identity of the school. Some in attendance criticized discrepancies between acceptance rates for female applicants and acceptance rates for men; a significantly larger percentage of male applicants are admitted to Vassar. Some angrily cited a Miscellany News article in which Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid David Borus said his Office was “looking to enroll 300 to 330” men each year, calling that number a “quota” that unfairly hurt the chances of female applicants. Hill insisted that accepted male students have very similar numerical indicators of success, like SAT scores and grades, to the pool of admitted female students. She then asserted that no undeserving male applicants had been admitted to Vassar simply to satisfy a gender quota of any kind. The administrators’ also heard complaints from students who perceived growing animosity between Campus Safety and
Security officers and themselves. Some said that they felt many on the Safety and Security staff have emphasized punishment this semester rather than education or warnings about disruptive conduct. Roellke stated he thought more professional development was necessary to train Security officers in the College’s emphasis on education and safety above punitive measures. But he also said that students could play an active role in alleviating this tension. He suggested that house teams could organize events in which students and Security officers could meet and develop friendly and respectful relationships. Students also expressed their ongoing dissatisfaction with the state of campus dining. Despite the work of the Campus Dining Review Committee, students said they see no imminent improvement in the food. While Roellke could not promise immediate solutions, he offered students hope for the future. He announced that the negotiations with ARAMARK include the possibility of an annual contract that will only be renewed if student satisfaction increases. At several moments during the discussion, Roellke and Hill stressed their commitment to administrative transparency, and welcomed students to voice their thoughts about a variety of issues that affect them throughout the year. They also repeatedly referred students to organizations and administrative bodies that address the specific concerns that the meeting raised.
Campus reacts to use of relocation policy RELOCATION continued from page 1 discussed the email’s significance in a meeting with Inoa on Friday, Oct. 28. “My understanding was that [housing reassignment] was being articulated as a default response for an unregistered party,” he said of Inoa’s email. According to Dobb, Inoa told him that students caught hosting parties in residential houses were now more likely to be reassigned than not. Dobb voiced his concerns that Residential Life had established housing reassignment as a standard consequence for parties hosted in the dorms as opposed to one of many disciplinary possibilities. He argued that Residential Life had made this change in practice suddenly and without consulting the student body. “The abruptness of it was out of line with how Res Life has historically engaged students,” said Dobb. Dobb was worried that an increased emphasis on relocation might adversely affect house communities. In light of his experience as a student fellow and a house student advisor prior to this year, he was disturbed that housing reassignment might remove a freshman from the supportive atmosphere of his or her fellow group, or force a VSA representative from a residential leadership position. At the VSA Council meeting on Oct. 30, Dobb brought his concerns before his fellow representatives. The Council echoed Dobb’s sentiments, and criticized the relocation policy for being punitive rather than educational. Council members were also particularly upset that Residential Life’s move to prioritize reassignment as a penalty happened without the input of student leaders. “This is an abuse of our joint governance,” Dobb said, and was met with loud support from the Council. The following week, he organized an ad-hoc meeting of Council members who were interested in composing a resolution to criticize Residential Life’s implementation of a housing reassignment policy guideline. That meeting produced a rough draft, which was then edited by the VSA Student Life Committee and presented in its final form by Dobb to the entire Council last Sunday. The Council unanimously moved to adopt the resolution. The resolution places particular emphasis on the structural elements of the Col-
lege’s governance that allow administrators “broad discretion in interpreting and implementing practice guidelines.” Because student conduct administrators assert the importance of the circumstances in which any transgression is committed, they operate without firm regulations that dictate specific consequences for particular actions. The resolution voices the Council’s concerns that the Residential Life Office utilized its loosely defined parameters to install a policy guideline without notifying the student body or actually altering any College regulations. On Wednesday, Nov. 16, Dobb plans to present the resolution to the Committee on College Life (CCL), a joint-governance committee of administrators, faculty and students that votes on the regulations that dictate the College’s governing practices. Dobb, who sits on the committee as a student representative, hopes to use the resolution to begin a larger discussion about certain administrative offices’ ambiguous practice guidelines. “CCL mandates have been too broad,” he said. “We want Res Life to exercise discretion as they always have, but given CCL is the only space for student input on college regulations, we need [CCL] to exercise more control.” Despite the VSA Council’s concerns, administrators insist that reassignment was never prioritized as a default response to an unregistered party. House Advisor and Student Conduct Administrator Batia Epelbaum, for example, claimed that reassignment has historically been one of many options that can be employed by the student conduct system. After a student is caught breaking a college regulation which is clearly too minor to result in suspension or expulsion, he or she is investigated by either a student conduct panel composed of three members of the VSA Judicial Board or a student conduct administrator. These investigative authorities review the evidence collected by Safety and Security officers, and allow the charged student the opportunity to defend him or herself. Then, the investigative authority uses the threshold of “more likely than not” to decide whether the student is guilty; if the student is found guilty, some kind of sanction is agreed upon. These sanctions are
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
imposed at the discretion of the investigative body. According to Epelbaum, the possibility of dormitory reassignment has existed in the student conduct system for decades. She explained that there are general guides (largely based on precedent) that the investigative authority uses to determine an appropriate sanction, but no formal rubrics that specify consequences for a given action. “We have a contextually based process. By having a rubric, you are very limited to that rubric,” said Epelbaum, emphasizing that an explicit formula would restrict the conduct system’s maneuverability. Instead, the investigative authority must determine what kinds of punishments are logically appropriate for each specific violation. “If someone invites you over to their house as a guest and you behave in a way that’s significantly disruptive or dangerous...you could be asked to leave or, at least, might not be invited back,” wrote Horowitz in an emailed statement, explaining that reassignment would only be imposed if the investigative authority considers it to be a logical consequence of a particular violation—in this case, an unregistered party in a residential house. Judicial Board Chair Tiffany Shi ’12 thinks that students are overreacting to the policy. She believes that this policy is positive, saying, “the fact that [Residential Life] chooses to reassign rather than remove shows that [the Office is] willing to give students a second chance.” Although, she also thinks that the school has been cracking down on students recently, and that it has imposed the restriction on unauthorized parties to reflect that change. “I think that all of this may be the College reacting to its previous reputation for being relatively lax with regards to student conduct.” “This is an educational process. We’re trying to encourage students to be mindful of their decision-making. We don’t do students a service if we don’t hold them accountable for not meeting those expectations,” said Epelbaum, explaining that the purpose of the student conduct system is to prepare students for life after Vassar. “If we don’t take advantage of the educational nature of the process, then what’s the point of having the process?”
November 10, 2011
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Correlates allow for Meet Me in Poughkeepsie event in-depth subfield study promises excitement, awareness Jessica Tarantine
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Assistant Features Editor
Courtesy of Storm King Art Center
ith 29 departments, 6 interdisciplinary programs and 12 multidisciplinary programs, Vassar students face a delectable spread of educational opportunities and sometimes just one major doesn’t seem quite filling enough. And for those students who do not want to pursue a double major, correlates seem like the perfect solution. They offer the student a taste of another department without the commitments of a full major. Correlates can either be related to the students’ major or a chance to explore a completely unrelated academic craving. Each year over 200 Vassar students graduate with at least one correlate. According to Registrar Colleen Mallet the most popular correlates (called minors at other schools) are French and francophone studies, economics, Hispanic studies, mathematics, women’s studies, art history, religion, philosophy and anthropology, in descending order of popularity. “A correlate is declared after the major [is declared]. Historically, the correlate is supposed to have some correlation to the major and to enhance the major in some way, perhaps providing more depth or breadth,” said Mallet. She explained that while many students still make a connection between their correlate and major, others wait until the last minute to declare their correlate. Correlates are declared anywhere between the spring of sophomore year and a few days before graduation. While some majors are more difficult to coordinate with minors, one place where correlates seem to coexist in a meaningful way with a major was in the English Department. English major Juliet Simon ‘14 explained that she wanted to give depth to her major by adding a correlate in a related field. “I’m choosing between a minor in women studies and a minor in philosophy,” she said. “A minor in philosophy would enhance my critical thinking skills but a minor in women’s studies would give me another lens through which I could analyze texts.” While some students use correlates to add breadth to their majors, Mallet believed the connection between the correlate field and the major field was not always at the forethought of the minds of the students seeking to elect a correlate. While not necessarily bad, this decision seemed to lack some of the benefits of a connected major and correlate, in her opinion. “Unfortunately many students don’t make this connection and see it as a way to add credentials to the transcript,” she said. Some students agreed, saying that electing a correlate added formal recognition to an academic interest. “[It] sounds like you take the subject seriously,” said Robert Harvey ’14. Mallet saw this addition of credentials as a reason why many students elect correlates, which she connected with how the College notes correlates. “When a student declares a correlate sequence that correlate sequence is noted on the transcript, similar to the way the major is noted. This is beneficial as it brings the correlate to the attention of the transcript reader,” she said, explaining that it was beneficial for all types of correlates, both those connected to the major and not. “The reader would then have to delve deeper in the transcript con-
tent to find the courses with that subject code even though not all of those courses may be part of the correlate.” Throughout the disciplines the correlates are almost always comprised of six units. This is basically half of a major, which can require anywhere from 10 to 17 units. While correlates offer a shorter study of the discipline at hand, they often provide a more intensive look at a particular part of the discipline. For example, the Philosophy Department offers six correlates: aesthetics and philosophy of art, comparative philosophy, continental philosophy, ethics and social and political philosophy, history of western philosophy and analytic philosophy, with each correlate requiring more work within the chosen subfield than the major, which only requires one class within each subfield. This pattern of correlates focusing on a specific area of the field is found throughout the curriculum in departments such as English, economics and geography. The intensive study of a subfield made correlates attractive for some students whose minors are unrelated to their majors. “Doing a correlate in geography, specifically land use analysis, allows me to explore something I really have no experience in, but am very interested in pursuing,” said Hallie Stotler ’14. She went on to say that while the correlate which was designed to offers a succinct program detailing physical geography and environmental policy was for the most part unrelated to her concentration in music, the specific nature of a correlate in land use analysis allowed her to fulfill a very specific goal. “I want to be a more educated consumer and a more active and informed participant in the global dialogue pertaining to the environment,” Stotler said. While many departments offer multiple correlate sequences others, such as sociology and psychology, offer none at all. “Sociology does not have correlate sequence … A main reason for not having it is that we do not see compelling intellectual reasons to do so,” said Professor of Sociology and Department Chair Seungsook Moon in an emailed statement. She did, however, add that the lack of a correlate sequence was a topic of conversation. “The faculty has been discussing if we need to create it in response to growing inquiries from students,” she said. But without the ability to expand course offerings to accommodate the additional demand associated with a correlate, the establishment of a correlate seems unlikely. Across the curriculum in the Russian Department correlates exist, but they seemed less popular than the major: in the last five years, 28 students have earned majors, and 11 only have earned correlates. In explanation of this trend, where more extensive study is more popular, Professor and Chair of Russian Studies Dan Ungurianu said, “When you have invested so much time and effort into the study of the Russian language that you are at the advanced level, it makes sense not to limit yourself to the correlate.” Regardless of the historical precedent using correlates to add depth to the major, students today elect correlates for any number of reasons, from love of the subject to a desire to stretch their intellectual boundaries.
Vassar Public Art Collective will host a trip to the Storm King Art Center, above, during Meet Me in Poughkeepsie, taking place next Saturday, Nov. 19. The annual event intends to get students to interact with the local community. Lea Brown and Juan Bautista Dominguez
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Guest Reporters
vents for the fourth annual Meet Me in Poughkeepsie (MMiP), which will take place next weekend on Nov. 19, vary from philanthropic projects to a night of shenanigans on skates to a more sophisticated evening of wine tasting. MMiP intends to get the Vassar student body off campus and interacting with the local community. Through an array of events presented by different organizations, the Vassar Student Association (VSA) wishes to strengthen the bonds between the students it represents and the Hudson Valley populace surrounding it. An event that may appeal to many, but is only open to the older crowd, is wine tasting at a local vineyard. Presented by the ladies from Town House 112, of-age Vassar students can visit Millbrook Vineyards and Winery. Owned by John and Kathe Dyson, the vineyard produces chardonnay, tocai friulano, pinot noir and cabernet franc. However, besides the opportunity to have a more sophisticated evening of drinking, the trip serves an educational purpose as well. As one of the organizers, Julie MacDonald ’12, pointed out, “The Hudson Valley is known for its great variety of local wineries. As college students in the area we have a rare opportunity to gain a more thorough understanding of the winemaking process, as well as its implications within the economy, ecology and culture of the Hudson Valley region.” The Vassar Democrats invites you to visit Springwood, Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s estate in his native Hyde Park. It will be the second time the group hosts this event. As a National and New York historic gem, the property includes Roosevelt’s Presidential Library and Museum, as well as the Rose Garden and his burial site. President of the Dems Tess Dernbach ’12 clarified, “We chose this event because while the event does not include direct interaction with members of the community, it does locate Vassar students and the College within a broader regional, historical and cultural context.” Vassar students will have an hour-long tour of the home itself as well as time to stroll through the flora and ultimately pay their respects at the tomb of our country’s 32nd president. A fan of economical, stylish and vintage shopping? Join Contrast, Vassar’s fashion style magazine as they take a jaunt through the thrift stores of Hudson, N.Y. The town is said to be one of the most chic in the state as it is home to Vassar student body favorites like Five & Diamond Vintage Clothing. A 2011 online review of Hudson Valley’s best shopping states that this “small but crammed shop is stocked almost exclusively with pre-1980s clothing in good, wearable condition.” Want to trade in those ice skates for some retro roller skates? Join Black Students Union as it heads to Hyde Park’s Roller Magic Rink to boogie down on skates to some rocking jams. The rink boasts “the latest in lighting, sound and our live DJ likes to mix up the floor every now and then with interactive skating games.”This evening is a chance to reminisce about those middle school birthdays and first dates as well as to groove childishly with friends. The campus political group Democracy Matters will be holding an event called Meet Me in Occupy Poughkeepsie. Participants will travel down to the epicenter of the Occupy Poughkeepsie protests, an offshoot of the Occupy Wall Street protests, at Hulme Park on Market
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
Street. “Students will have a chance to spend the day and engage in dialogue with community activists and organizers,” stated President of Democracy Matters Tim McCormick ’12 in an emailed statement. Students will also be able to take part in the daily General Assembly meeting and rallies. Hunger Action, the Vassar chapter of the national organization Hunger Action Committee, will also hold a community outreach event. Students will help prepare and serve food at Hudson River Housing and The Living Room, organizations dedicated to housing help, as well as bring clothing, toys and toiletries to donate. “We wanted people from outside of Hunger Action to get to know some of the really awesome citizens of Poughkeepsie, who they may not meet otherwise,” said co-President of Hunger Action Hillary Frame ’14. “We would really like Vassar students to take that they can get involved and help those in need, and that it doesn’t have to be in the far off future, it can be in their own backyard.” The Vassar Prison Initiative, a group dedicated to raising awareness about issues regarding the prisonindustrial complex, will work in collaboration with Project More to present its own event. “[Project More] is a local non-profit organization that provides an alternative to incarceration for men and women with drugrelated criminal offenses,” said President of the Vassar Prison Initiative Dalia Sharps ’14. Students will take part in a discussion over lunch between Project More staff members and residents regarding their own personal anecdotes and the War on Drugs as well. “It is easy for people to envision the type of client we serve but when they come and talk to the 18-year-old who lives in an upper middle class neighborhood...sitting next to another 18-year-old from the inner city who has never met his father, has four siblings and has known nothing but welfare; and yet despite their grossly different backgrounds...it makes it much easier to understand that this crisis facing our youth is universal and knows no boundaries,” Sharps said. “The trip will engage the broader community, while simultaneously enriching our organization’s commitment to educating the campus about prison issues.” The Vassar Islamic Society will be holding its own event as well, Vassar Goes to Masjid Al-Noor and Kabab Palace. As the name implies, students will first travel for a meal at the Kabab Palace, which specializes in South Asian food. They will then visit Masjid Al-Noor, a mosque in the town of Wappinger Falls. Said Isra Amjed from the Vassar Islamic Society, “This will give Vassar students a chance to observe Muslim prayer and talk to the Imam (Muslim leader) and see how a mosque looks from the inside. Also, going to Kabab Palace will allow the students to experience Halal food (food prepared according to Muslim law) and taste the delicious South Asian cuisine shared by a great deal of Muslims around the world.” This trip may offer students the opportunity to discuss the current political circumstances in the Middle East with people who are uniquely affected by the situation. With such a diverse lineup of organizations and events, Meet Me in Poughkeepsie looks to take yet another step in uniting Vassar students and the area in which they live. Besides the broader goals, the assemblage provides a sometimes well needed diversion from the Vassar campus.
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Other-option programming in UpCDC proves successful
November 10, 2011
Blodgett structure reveals history of VC euthenics Juan Bautista Dominguez
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Juliana Halpert/The Miscellany News
Students study and relax in the second floor of the Students’ Building, or UpC. UpC has been the principal location for other option programming on campus, such as the Witching Hour event on Oct. 28. Danielle Bukowski
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Features Editor
pC has been fully functioning as a lounge, student center and programing space since the start of the Fall 2011 semester. Interest in an alcohol-free space began UpC’s transformation in the spring of this year, and those involved with planning events there want students to enjoy and engage with the space as much as possible. The Witching Hour, held on Oct. 28, was UpC’s first successful other option event this semester; the success of subsequent events will depend on input and interest from the Vassar community. Associate Director of Campus Activities Michelle Ransom estimated that at its highest there were 450 people in UpC. “Especially with the snowstorm we thought people wouldn’t come, but at 9 o’clock the place started filling up,” said Ransom. The event boasted a costume contest, various bands, comedians and plenty of themed food and candy, a combination that Ransom believes lured students out from the cold and into UpC. “We were really happy with last Saturday and hope to recreate an event of that scale twice a semester, maybe,” she said. Vassar Student Association (VSA) Vice President for Activities Mookie Thottam ’12 said no students have complained to him about the new use for the space. However, proponents believe that its designation as a space for alternative programming can be misleading. “To some people alternative programming has come to mean alcohol-free or not as fun, but to me it just means the alternative to something. I like other option because it actually says what it is, and fits more broadly, without having the attributed connotations,” said Assistant Director of Residential Wellness Programs Terry Hanlon. In the case of the Witching Hour, the event was another option to the Villard Room, although Hanlon believes many students went to both as well as some that went to just Villard or just UpC. “I would say there’s the misperception that alternative means planning events counter to other events going on,” said Molly Cohen ’13 of the SuperFun Committee, which also hosted an event in Strong House on Oct. 28. “We do tend to set things up when large events are also happening on campus, but sometimes we’ll just want to have something fun when there’s not another event going on.” Said Rose Connelly ’13, also of SuperFun, “The idea isn’t that we want people to go to [our event] instead of that, many people move between events … it has never been ‘you shouldn’t go to whatever else is going on,’ which is what some people think [alternative programming] is.” Cohen and Connelly also preferred the term other option to describe what their group sets up. Not an officially VSA organization, Superfun does not have the funds to put on events to the scale of UpC, but they have thrown smaller film screenings and get-togethers in Raymond House. The group originated between Raymond and Strong House Teams, but has been branching out since the end of last year. While UpC can’t provide a large-scale event every weekend, the option to go and just hang with friends is a big draw for many. Ransom noted that UpC was in a bit of a trial period as an alternative
space last semester, as the administration did not cancel any events already planned for that space. “This is our first semester with a clean slate … I think what we learned is that [UpC] needs to be consistent [as an open space] because people depend on it. There were days when people expected to come up and play pool and there was an event going on. The most important thing is that it needs to be consistently available for students to use.” Because the space is new in its current position, the ability for groups to program there is not yet explicitly delineated. Some events traditionally viewed as UpC events will now most likely have to find another venue. “I have not heard complaints from organizations that have used UpC in the past,” said Thottam. “Some annual events like Harvest Ball and Roaring Twenties were held in UpC last year and we’ll see for this year.” This year’s Harvest Ball will be held in the Lehman Loeb Art Center. Thottam continued, “Those events can always be held in the Villard Room, although that is not always ideal for the event.” The loss of a larger all-campus programming space for a lounge space has not met with vocal objections, and students don’t see it as a direct trade-off. “There are days during the week when organizations can plan events in UpC that are not contradictory to the policy,” said Thottam, citing the Dia De Los Muertos event hosted by Movimiento Estudantil Chicano/a de Azatlan and Poder Latino. The call for a space where students could have fun without feeling pressured to drink came up in town hall meetings last year that Dean of the College Chris Roellke and President of the College Catharine Bond Hill held in the residence halls. While the success of a student hang-out place can be seen through UpC and UpCafe’s popularity on weeknights, administrators are looking ahead to include more programming for the campus on weekends. “What we’ve done so far [in UpC] has been successful, but I don’t think we’ve done enough,” said Hanlon. “I could be doing more and students could do more just to provide different options. What ViCE does is great, and they do a great job of setting up programming, but I think that we could challenge ourselves as community by helping to support programming other types of events.” There have been efforts to reach out to other houses to host events, and this year Hanlon began the Council for Residential Happiness (formerly the Council for Residential Wellness), which aims to promote more events within houses and on campus with wellness in mind. Although still in developmental stages, the Council is working toward more programming in the houses, and has representatives from each of the houses. , and is excited about opportunities in UpC. Hanlon expressed his belief that a space like UpC is necessary for students here. “I think that especially because it’s Vassar and we keep everything in house, as a result we have to reach as many different students as possible to keep events exciting.” “I think there is value in the space in that it contributes to a heathier campus culture,” Thottam said. While the house-hosted parties will be delegated to other venues, the variety of events in UpC is still expected to draw a crowd.
Guest Reporter
innie Cumnock Blodgett Hall of Euthenics ,is known for its idiosyncracies. Its Gothic Revival architecture lures visitors as they walk through the multi-colored brick arch while the labyrinthine hallways leave you wondering if you’ll make it out before dawn. A look at Blodgett Hall’s pioneering history, however, explains its unique qualities. Blodgett Hall was the result of a generous donation of $550,000 given by Minnie Cumnock Blodgett ’84 and her husband in 1925. Vassar historian Colton Johnson pointed out, “The Blodgetts’ gift was the largest gift given to the College after Matthew Vassar donated $408,000 in 1861 to get the College started ... Their intention was to bring into the curriculum of the College a course of study specifically designed around the ideas of Ellen Swallow Richards.” A plaque at the entrance of Blodgett commemorates the efforts of Richards ’70, who played a pivotal role in the building’s existence. She was the first woman to graduate from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a proponent of women’s education in the sciences. “Richards’s greatest achievement was her founding of the home economics movement, where she was able to synthesize many of her scientific and moral interests,” wrote Vassar historian Elizabeth Daniels ’41. “Bringing science into the home, Richards hoped to ‘attain the best physical, mental and moral development’ for the family, which she believed was the basic unit of civilization,” wrote Daniels. Women were instrumental in “the envisioned environmental reform through concentration on application of scientific principles to the protection of air, water and food, and the elimination of pollutants of the environment.” Home economics became a branch of the broader “euthenics,” a term she later coined. Richards helped build the foundation for the study of home economics and the sciences at Vassar when she was elected an Alumna Trustee at Vassar in 1894. However, she was not able to establish a euthenics program. It wasn’t until President of the College Henry MacCracken, the Blodgetts and a former student of Richards—Julia Clifford Lathrop—committed to the program that the nascent study gained further ground at Vassar. To them euthenics represented a revolution in the classical curriculum. “They continued the conversations that had taken place from the beginning of the College about whether there was something particular about the place of women in American culture that might make it wise to try and teach the elements of men’s education to see if they were most and best applicable to women,” said Johnson. Blodgett Hall was planned in order to embody the renovated idea of euthenics. Within its classrooms, emerging social sciences began to consider the interpretation of women in American society. Finished in December of 1928, Blodgett Hall proved to be the concrete result of a revolution of the classical curriculum. According to Vassar College’s Encyclopedia, “It incorporated under one roof facilities for lectures, laboratory work, museum displays, household technology, as well as library resources for the social sciences.” Even so, euthenics failed to achieve its potential, and the administration removed it from the curriculum in the late 1940s. Apart from not attracting many students, the course of study experienced backlash from professors. Daniels explained, “There were a lot of people on the faculty who didn’t like the euthenics program.” Johnson added, “Many of the faculty members couldn’t quite conceive of this recombination of studies with an emphasis on women’s role in society as a valid and viable academic discipline.” From then on Blodgett Hall became the site for
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economics, sociology, anthropology and psychology. The efforts of the Blodgetts, MacCracken and Lathrop weren’t altogether futile though, as euthenics was the first multidisciplinary course of study at Vassar. Its influence survives in multidisciplinary programs like international studies, Africana studies, cognitive science and science, technology and society, which were introduced in the late 1960s. “The renovated curriculum may have never been possible were it not for the courageous adoption of a more unorthodox field of study,” claimed Johnson. He emphasized its other accomplishments, saying, “Blodgett Hall also paved the road for what currently exists at the Town Houses, Apartments and Ferry House.” When the Great Depression delivered a heavy blow to the economy, Vassar initiated a program of cooperative living. Begun during the 1933 academic year, it aimed to curtail the costs born by students. The College charged each student in the cooperative $100 for utilities and shelter, and the residents did their own cooking and cleaning. Raymond and Main were also employed in the experiment, however the reforms in Blodgett were more extensive. Blodgett fully manifested the spirit of change. Not only was it already in the midst of an educational revolution, but it also converted many of its teaching rooms into living quarters. In the Fall of 1933, 28 sophomores, juniors and seniors moved to Blodgett. Daniels explained, “The East side of Blodgett was used for cooperative living while the rest of the building remained educationally oriented.” Blodgett Hall was stripped of its residential status in 1938 and replaced as a coop by Palmer House. During its spell as a dormitory, Blodgett hosted what came to be one of the most anticipated annual celebrations. Fondly named Blodgett Brawl by John Blodgett, it began with afternoon scavenger hunts or board games before a hearty four-course feast only to be followed by dances and the eventual cuddling of couples under a star speckled sky. The entertainment was not limited to Saturday alone, as Sunday morning included a buffet breakfast, a baseball game, picnics and an evening tea. The menu rivaled what the ACDC whips up on parent’s weekend. A piece in the Miscellany News issue of May 15, 1935 states, “Putting to good use their two years of practice in the fine art of mass cooking, the Blodgett cooking squad produced buckets of creamed chicken and asparagus and pails of ice cream and coffee.” This occasion also served the purpose of reuniting loved ones, as Vassar girls were escorted by men from Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia. After a busy first couple decades, Blodgett Hall saw less of the spotlight. From the late 1930s until mid century it housed the first social museum that showcased Vassar’s projects in the local community. In February of 1941 Blodgett housed an international exhibit that emphasized social issues in Latin America, more specifically trade between the United States and Latin America. Blodgett’s auditorium was the scene of several notable speakers. Among those who came were Gus Hall, chairman of the American Communist Party and frequent party presidential candidate; New York Times economic writer Leonard Silk; and Alvin H. Hansen, Emeritus Professor of Economics at Harvard University and former economic advisor to the State Department. A look at Blodgett Hall’s unique past reveals it was the focal point in a few movements. To many students presently enrolled, it is characterized by its conundrum-causing corridors. It was the tangible aspect of a revolutionary educational crusade, an alternative in living that kept many in school while also becoming the stepping stone to contemporary cooperatives and the site of some of Vassar’s most exciting weekend shindigs.
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November 10, 2011
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Co-op offers raw milk delivery service Food Stamp Divya Pathak Reporter
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Challenge ups awareness Roxanne Ringer
The Shunpike Dairy farm in Millbrook, N.Y., pictured above, supplies milk for the Vassar Raw Milk Co-op, a subsidiary of Slow Food Vassar. are not fed antibiotics or given hormones, and are kept on their natural diet of pasture. They eat grass and dried silage in the winter and are on pasture the rest of the year. This milk is perfectly safe (more so than pasteurized milk, actually).” Greenberg added, “Raw milk is not drinkable (and therefore must be pasteurized), when the cows are fed genetically modified (GMO) corn, grain and animal and factory by-products. This makes their milk toxic and undrinkable. From the unnatural feed, their stomachs become acidic (whereas pastured cows’ stomachs are neutral) and those chemicals leech into the milk.
Pasteurization also turns milk into a commodity, and allows for the industrialization and consolidation of the dairy industry, thus putting small farmers out of work and damaging local economies.” Students can find more information about the co-op and about raw milk through Slow Food Vassar’s website. They will also find an article by Greenberg detailing even further the facts and statistics behind raw milk. Taking into account both the FDA’s and Greenberg’s personal perspectives, students can make an informed decision to participate in the co-op. Slow Food Vassar meets on Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m. in the Faculty Commons.
Duo moonlights as bakers, entrepreneurs Lily Sloss
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Guest Reporter
Mia Fermindoza/The Miscellany News
am baking, I am Vassar,” Linnea Shaw ’14 joked, but with a touch of sincerity. Both she and her business partner, Carolina “Callie” Winkeller ’14, love Vassar and love to bake. These mutual interests have lead to the creation of the Vassar Baking Co-op, a group, an off-shoot from Slow Food, with the intention of “Vassar baking for Vassar.” Essentially, these ladies are baking goods that students can feel good eating because they will know where the food items originated from, who made them and that the ingredients are the most natural available. The Vassar Baking Co-op has a $5 subscription cost and is running on a two-week baking cycle. Every two weeks the girls will bake a variety of tasty treats and your money will go directly towards your slice of the cooking. This week the girls are making oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies and pumpkin bread with chocolate chips. The pair are open to suggestions, recipe ideas and dietary restrictions. This week, for example, they are making oatmeal chocolate chip cookies because some of their client base is allergic to peanuts. The two girls are members of Slow Food, which is where the idea for the baking co-op originated. Winkeller is a member of
the executive board. Slow Food is an international movement, started in Italy in response to fast-food chains. Slow Food is, in fact, the antithesis of fast food, supporting the trend of knowing where your food is coming from, who’s making it and what’s in it. Also, Slow Food encourages sitting down and enjoying your food with other people, savoring a meal and making it a social event with others. It seems natural that two members from the group would try to tackle a baking co-op together. The idea for the organization originated in Slow Food last year, but the members were unable to run it successfully due to overwhelming amount of people who wanted to bake and not enough people who wanted to buy the goods. While the Vassar Baking Coop was not created to make a profit, it does require a certain amount of funding in order to buy ingredients. “We just bought our first load of groceries, I spent $50. We’re not even breaking even this week. It’s okay, though, because it’s not about that. We’re willing to invest because this is something we really care about,” Shaw said. Winkeller, a member of the executive board for Slow Food, said seriously, “We are willing to fulfill orders, too. If you comes to us and say, ‘My best friend
Guest Columnist
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Carlos Hernandez/The Miscellany News
nyone who wrote book reports on Louis Pasteur in middle school may have thought that raw milk was a thing of the past; those people would be wrong. Raw milk has made a comeback among some environmentally aware foodies, despite what many contend are health risks. Slow Food Vassar provides an opportunity for Vassar students to get raw milk. Shunpike Dairy in Millbrook, N.Y. is the supplier of the Vassar Raw Milk Co-op, a program in which students can pay to be provided with raw milk from this local farm. Students can purchase gallon jars of raw milk for $16, half-gallon jars for $6, and quart jars for $4. The milk is delivered on a weekly basis. The program is relatively new. “I started the co-op in February of last year. It ran weekly from then on,” wrote Program Coordinator Jacob Greenberg ’14 in an emailed statement. The co-op is open to anyone who signs up, and has about a dozen members this semester. The co-op was not Greenberg’s introduction to raw milk. “I drank raw milk, raw goat’s milk actually, for the first time on the Kern Family Homestead, in North Fork, Calif., where I worked during winter break my freshman year as part of the WWOOF (World-wide Organization of Organic Farms) program,” he wrote. “When I returned to Vassar, I desperately wanted more and began researching for local dairy farms in the area.” A question that may come to mind, however, is why someone would choose to drink raw milk. “I love raw milk: It’s deli-
cious, healthful and unprocessed. Drinking it supports local dairy farmers who employ sustainable, traditional and ethical farming practices. I like knowing that the cows that produced my milk were not fed genetically modified corn or antibiotics and that they lead good lives (not confined in feedlots with concrete floors) but free to graze nutritious pasture,” wrote Greenberg. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has a different opinion. According to the FDA website, raw milk is not safe for consumption. “The FDA and other health agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics agree that raw milk is unsafe because it can contain disease-causing pathogens,” the website states. “As a science-based regulatory agency, the FDA looks to the scientific literature for information on benefits and risks associated with raw milk. While the perceived nutritional and health benefits of raw milk consumption have not been scientifically substantiated, the health risks are clear,” the website claims. The FDA does not advise drinking unprocessed, unpasteurized and non-homogenized milk. The sale of raw milk is illegal in some states. In New York, its sale is legal on farms, so long as the farmer has a license from the state Department of Agriculture and Markets. “The closest farm that legally sells raw cow milk is Shunpike in Millbrook,” Greenberg said. Greenberg defended the milk from Shunpike: “Raw milk is only drinkable from pastured (grass-fed) cows. These are cows
Linea Shaw ’14, left, and Carolina Winkeller ’14, right, started the Vassar Baking Co-op, which delivers freshly baked goods to hungry students. just took the MCATS and I want to make her brownies but I suck at baking,’ we could help you out.” As of today, they have 10 clients, which are limited to Slow Food members and students residing in Lathrop House, but they want to expand their clientelle. They also hope to get as many people involved with the co-op as possible. The two girls, put simply, love to bake. They bake while at home, they bake while at school and they want to bake for you.
Both members of the Vassar Baking Co-op are committed to providing baked goods which will be fresh, nourishing, natural and made with care by fellow Vassar students. If you are interested in treating yourself, and supporting a local small business, email either member: cawinkeller@vassar.edu, or lishaw@vassar.edu, or stalk the second floor of Lathrop until you see someone walking by with a cookie. Chances are, it will be one of these two enterprising ladies.
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
hat can you buy with $4.50 a day? Maybe a bottled green tea and a cup of organic strawberry yogurt? Now try buying three meals a day. Last week eight members of Congress participated in the Food Stamp Challenge. The challenge is to live for a week eating on the same budget as the average food stamp recipient. That’s $31.50 for the week, $4.50 per day. At these prices recipients can’t afford the luxury of worrying about sustainability, organic food, creative cooking or delicious taste. Their priority is cost-effectiveness. Most fruits and vegetables are too expensive for this budget and Americans lacking food security are forced to rely on heavily processed foods with little nutritional value, like pasta and peanut butter. The food stamp program is a federal-assistance program that provides small funds to buy food to low- and no-income people and families living in the United States. It was renamed the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance in 2008 and now gives out debit card like credit instead of the paper coupons it’s famous for. Fifteen percent of New York State residents are currently on food stamps, and there are almost 46 million people on food stamps across the United States. This number rocketed up after the recession and has been climbing for years. It’s not just the unemployed who need assistance these days; the economic crisis hit seniors, veterans, school children and the disabled hard. Plus, six percent of the 72.9 million Americans paid by the hour receive wages at or below the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. Food prices jumped 3.9 percent earlier this year—the biggest gain in 36 years. Vegetable prices alone increased 50 percent. The cost of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance doubled in 2010 to $68 billion. The government estimates that many more are eligible for help that aren’t receiving it. One in three people who could be on the program are not. The GOP’s 2012 budget plan proposed to limit Supplemental Nutrition Assistance funding and change the program from entitlement—where each state receives open ended subsidies and aid is contingent on work or job training—to a block-grant program. The House passed the plan and intends to cut the program’s funding by almost 20 percent by 2015. Though according to the eight members of Congress who took the Food Stamp Challenge and lived on $31.50 a week, the budget is insufficient as it is. There isn’t room to trim. Here’s a hearty lentil stew recipe that shouldn’t cost more than $3 to make. It will keep your winters warm and your wallet full.
Lentil Stew Ingredients:
»» »» »» »» »» »» »» »» »» »» »» »» »»
1 chopped onion 2 stalks celery, sliced 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 chopped green pepper 6 cups water 1 cup barley 1 cup dry lentils 1 carrot, shredded 2 cups tomato sauce 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar 2 Tbsp soy sauce 1 Tsp basil ½ tsp salt and pepper
Directions:
Sauté onion, celery, garlic, green pepper in a small amount of water until softened. Add six cups water, barley, lentils. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, stir, cover, cook 30 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, stir, cover, cook 30 minutes. Serve over brown rice or potatoes.
Page 8
FEATURES
November 10, 2011
Occupy Poughkeepsie movement small but impactful
Courtesy of Occupy Poughkeepsie
OCCUPY continued from page 1 Poughkeepsie] says here are our voices, don’t ignore us,” said Chapman. Added Randolph, “We’ve had people come down to talk to us who are older who grew up in the ’60s and the ’70s, and at a couple of the meetings, they said, ‘I never thought I would see this again in my lifetime. What you guys are doing is carrying the torch that we started’ ... That was just incredible. This is really something monumental that’s happening right now.” Every day around noon, or 7 p.m., the General Assembly holds its meetings. All those present are invited to speak. Randolph said, “Every person has an equal weight, an equal value.” Despite a relatively conservative Poughkeepsie population, OP has met with support from the locals. “People driving by past the park honk. Every 15 minutes, someone drives by screaming ‘Yay! Occupy!’” Randolph explained. “People are always showing their support, even if they’re not physically there.” However, not all of the locals have embraced the movement. “We’ve had people approach us and say that they don’t appreciate some of the things that we’re doing,” said Chapman. As OP expands, a number of protesters have begun to encroach upon the ballpark and basketball courts. Chapman has noticed fewer community members playing on the fields and they’ve told the protesters that they are the issue. “That’s so difficult, and I wish that we’d talk to them ... But we haven’t quite bridged that yet. So people have pointed this out to us and the way that we’re taking over a public park and that locals aren’t feeling welcome anymore.” Occupy movements in Oakland and Denver have been the target of violent police response, but Poughkeepsie police have not bothered the
Above, protesters conduct a General Assembly in Hulme Park as part of the Occupy Poughkeepsie movement. The protests, which began on Oct. 15, have received general support from local citizens. protesters since the first days. “I think they decided they can’t scare us away,” Randolph said, remembering the first night she and Chapman went down to Hulme. It was the second night of OP, and all the protestors were ticketed. In the language of the ticket: “The [defendants were] in the park during the clearly posted closing hours of 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.” Randolph then described the four police cars, the lieutenant standing in the back, the flashlights searching the faces of everyone, the
officers bringing the protestors in, identifying them, filming them.“I think it was a scare tactic,” she said. If so, the tactic failed: Chapman likened the citation to a buy-in: “Once you’ve made some sort of commitment to a program, or you’ve paid something, or been through hazing, then you are more likely to come back and be ‘I’m committed.’ And I thought, if that wasn’t a buy-in, what is?”A police car returned to the park that night. Sitting on the sidewalk were the same 16 people that were ticketed and brought in, maintaining
their vigil over the park throughout the night. Chapman still carries around her citation. Some Vassar College professors have gone down to Hulme Park to see OP themselves. Assistant Professor of Political Science Sarita Gregory went to OP over October Break, and was so impressed with the all-inclusive aspect of the General Assemblies that she is planning on bringing her Democratic Engagement class there to discuss inequality and democracy. Visiting Assistant Professor of Education Tracey Holland visited the protestors on Nov. 5, along with Adjunct Associate Professor in English Judith Nichols, who brought along one of her classes. “In so many ways this protest conjures up for me quiet protests I have seen in communities throughout Chiapas, Mexico over the years. People feeling fed up with a number of social inequities and quietly saying they have had enough.” The question of sustainability has to factor into the OP equation. As the weather prematurely reaches freezing temperatures, will OP maintain their occupation? The turnout for an event held on Nov. 12—a rally and march for which 50,000 people were invited—will give better clues on how the movement will do in a large sense. There are doubts, though about whether OP will gain new members through the winter. Despite the projected membership stagnation, Randolph said, “[OP’s] plans are stay the winter.” The fervor of the current protestors—who stood their ground even through the first snowstorm of the year—are positive signs.“We’ve been trying really hard to get Vassar students to come and support it. [OP] is really into Vassar students coming,” Randolph explained. “They expect us to come because Vassar is so close.”
Claims of racial profiling against students brought forward PROFILING continued from page 1 “Then the police came, and [the guard] handed my Vassar ID to the police and they asked for my state ID. They asked why I was here over the summer, and I said I was in an academic program, working with professors, and they asked me where I’d just been, and I said Walker [Athletic Facilities].” “They finally told me that someone had been harassing women on campus, and that person fit my description. So they had me sit down for probably 10 to 15 minutes, before they gave me my ID and left.” “The next day, a detective calls me up, and asks if I’m a witness to any of this harassment... but I said I didn’t want to say anything. I said that they’d already questioned me like I was a suspect. Then he said he’d call me back, even though I didn’t have any information to share.” St. Vil plans to file a formal complaint of profiling with Director of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Belinda Guthrie, who will then conduct a formal investigation. He hopes filing a formal complaint will help bring profiling out into the open. “I want to make sure it doesn’t happen to other students, especially in light of other issues with Security,” St. Vil said. “There’s an attitude certain Security officers have toward some students. Before I was called the n-word by a Vassar Security guard at the [Acropolis Diner]—he was off-duty but had his jacket on.” St. Vil wasn’t aware filing a formal complaint was different from him talking to the President of the College Catharine Bond Hill and Director of Safety and Security Don Marsala until speaking with VSA President Tanay Tatum ’12. She stressed that the VSA can be a resource for facilitating meetings between affected students and campus resources. “I directed [St. Vil] to campus offices and administrators that I thought would be responsive, and that have a responsibility to respond to those complaints,” she said. Marsala was surprised by St. Vil’s decision. “I thought we had dealt with this well over the summer. We were singled out for something the police did.” Said Marsala of the incident, “We found that someone that had been kicked out of one of the local bars was loitering near the Powerhouse Theater harassing female students. Somebody pointed him out to us, and we had a description. Akeel came to Main Building, and a sergeant
came up to him, recognized him as a student and said, ‘Hey you’re on the rugby team?’ Then the [Town of] Poughkeepsie police came up behind him. The sergeant explained that he was one of our students and not a suspect, but the police weren’t satisfied, so they took down his information and called him later.” “[Akeel and his parents] thought we had called the police on him,” Marsala continued. “But we talked to Akeel and his parents. If they have a beef with the police, then they can take it up with them.” Archer’s case occurred in October at the Anything But Cloth Party, where he was outside with friends because he’d forgotten his ID. A security guard approached him and asked if he was a Vassar student. Archer eventually proved he was a student by showing the guard a Cushing lanyard and his house keys, but felt the guard had unfairly singled him out. After a confrontation with Main House Advisor Tom Park, Archer left and later spoke to Park and the Security guard in question. Archer asked the security guard why he had been singled out. “He said, ‘Well, you look older.’ And I said, ‘Half the students at this party had beards.’ And he said, ‘Well, you look older, and you weren’t approaching the door to show us your ID.’ And I was like, ‘Well, I talked to like five people out there who also didn’t approach you.’ And he’s like, ‘You look older.’ And I’m like, ‘Are you sure it’s not that I look older and something else?’ He’s like, ‘No, you look older.’ And I say, ‘Are you sure it’s not that I’m older and black?’ Then he gets mad and is like, ‘I’m not talking to you anymore,’ and storms away,” said Archer. Archer said that the officer in question apologized to him. “He was like, ‘We’re just trying to look out for the students. A lot of the girls get very drunk and leave with guys that they don’t know and we’re just trying to make sure that [doesn’t happen].’ And I was like, ‘But there were so many other guys out there other than me; you didn’t approach any of them. I was the only one who was of concern to you.’ “I felt like, if I’d actually been doing something, then there was a reason to come up to me, but I was honestly just standing up against a wall, watching people play pin the tail on the donkey. He just made the assumption that I did not go here ... And [the next day] I was like, ‘How many white students did you approach?’
He said, ‘None, I didn’t approach any.’” Of Archer’s case, Tatum said, “I understand students have a responsibility to have identification, but if only a certain group is targeted, then it’s profiling...We want to figure out how does the Security Office deal with these issues, and how do they respond to accusations.” Archer also met with Associate Dean of Campus Life and Diversity Ed Pittman about the incident. “My goal is always to offer support by way of first listening to both sides,” wrote Pittman in an emailed statement on the accusations. “I don’t think blaming gets to the core of the problem, but we must confront it head on. Education and awareness is a first step.” Though he doesn’t plan on filing a complaint, Archer says he would like to participate in conversations between Security and the student body. “Generally, I don’t think it was racism as much as prejudice,” said Archer. “I mean, I didn’t think that would happen, especially at Vassar.” Marsala said of the incident, “That was a mistake on the part of that sergeant, and we’ve counseled him since then, several times. We also reached out to the student and had a very positive conversation.” “We take [profiling] very seriously,” said Associate Director of Security Kim Squillace. “We’re probably the only department that has gone through several diversity training sessions.” Squillace wrote in an emailed statement that an officer from the Town of Poughkeepie police had conducted Diversity Training with security officers and students of color in 2007. She believed that the training was well-received by everyone involved. Marsala said that the officer, Ken Roman, may return to Vassar for another session in the next few weeks. Both Marsala and Squillace believed most accusations result from misunderstandings between students and Security. Said Squillace, “A lot of times people don’t know why we’re questioning someone. It’s not just because we want to stop someone, it’s because we have a complaint with a description. We’re following up on that description.” Said Marsala, “There’s been this trend at Vassar that things tend to escalate before we can properly investigate what happened.” They encouraged people to come to them with problems. “We’re here all the time to talk to people if they have an issue or a question about procedures. We don’t like to hear anything well after the fact, we like to hear about
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
any issues as soon as possible,” said Marsala. “We’re lucky here in that we’re small enough that we can address these issues as soon as they pop up. We don’t have to put anything on the back burner.” The Committee of Inclusion and Excellence (CIE) has now taken up the issue of racial profiling. “In response to a variety of incidents reported to us from students and faculty of color, we’ve created a CIE sub-committee charged with exploring and coming up with possible recommendations meant to make sure the very important job that campus security has to keep our community safe doesn’t work to make other members of the community feel unsafe or harassed,” Associate Professor of English and CIE co-Chair Eve Dunbar wrote in an emailed statement. “It’s a delicate balance but one we have to strike in order to have a safe, respectful and inclusive campus.” CIE member and Assistant Professor of Political Science Zachariah Mampilly wrote in an emailed statement, “Anecdotally, I know that Akeel’s situation is not the first time that a person of color has had to deal with racial profiling on campus. Members of the Vassar community—including our Security staff—are a part of society and as such are not immune from the prejudices that exist in our larger community.” They were, however, cautious about declaring a campus-wide problem. “Until we get a sense of how common his experience was, we don’t know whether it represents a systematic problem or whether it was an isolated incident,” stated Mampilly. “If there is a systematic problem, CIE will insist that the College do what is necessary to prevent these situations from occurring in the future.” Tatum was also concerned with whether there was a culture of profiling on campus. “Is this a problem with Security as a whole or just one person? Because that’s a completely different issue than an entire department that does this.” “We need to figure out the system, then work out a solution with students and Security and the campus as a whole so that members of the community are not being racially profiled—or profiled in any way.” Marsala and Squillace will have met with Tatum and VSA Vice President for Student Life Charlie Dobb ’12 by the time of printing to discuss a number of issues, though profiling will probably rank high on that list.
OPINIONS
November 10, 2011
Page 9
Miscellany News Staff Editorial
Email implicates lack of communication between Residential Life and student body O
n Oct. 27, Director of Residential Life Luis Inoa sent an email to the Vassar community informing students about guest passes and unregistered parties in anticipation of Halloween weekend. In an aside at the end of the email, he stated, “Also, you should be aware that a logical consequence of causing a disruption along the lines of an unauthorized party in the houses may be reassignment to a different house.” The Vassar Student Association (VSA) Council has raised issues with the email’s implications, which it discussed in Council on Oct. 30 and officially addressed in a resolution passed on Nov. 6. The Miscellany News Editorial Board worries that the email is indicative of a larger problem within the Office of Residential Life, namely the assertion of administrative control without student input or consent and a lack of clear information for students about sanctions. Though housing reassignment has been available to Residential Life as a sanction for some time, the decision to implement it as a baseline practice is the result of a yearlong discussion within Residential Life that the VSA was not a part of. This demonstrates a profound lack of communication between Residential Life and the student body. Part of the issue stems from Vassar’s system of college regulations, which judges cases based on the context of a given situation. This is entirely appropriate for such a serious sanction; however, the conditions must be made clearer. Inoa cited the Student Handbook, “The hosting of any gathering of any number of students, in which alcoholic beverages are being or are likely to be used in any manner inconsistent with college regulations is in violation of college regulations,” in his email. Though we agree that context is a key factor in determining the appropriate disciplinary actions for students who break college rules, this statement leaves
too much room for interpretation. What differentiates a “party” from a “gathering”? How does one know if alcohol is “likely” to be consumed? What differentiates a gathering that would warrant the removal of a student from their house from one that would not? Neither the email nor Residential Life offers any tangible guidelines on the subject. Second, the Editorial Board finds issue with the language of the Oct. 27 email, which is easily perceived as threatening and not as a reminder from a concerned administrator. In moving forward, Residential Life must be wary of the tones and language it employs to communicate with the student body. The attitude of the emailed policies condescends to students, assuming they are not capable of making wise decisions without the threat of serious punitive measures. It is safe to say that no one on campus wants to suffer from alcohol poisoning or any type of injury, and that students are interested in working with the administration to ensure the safety of everyone on campus. In addition to undermining the authority of student government and disregarding student input, the sanction itself does not make sense to us. We question the validity of removing a student from his or her home with the intention of educating him or her about the consequences of alcohol consumption. If the sanctioned students are freshmen, removing them from their house only cuts them off from their friends, fellow group and support system, possibly leading to worse behavior. It also complicates life for the roommate of the sanctioned student, and possibly other house members who may share no guilt. Furthermore, we fear that this practice guideline will scare students from calling Emergency Medical Services (EMS) whenever a situation requires it. The Good Samaritan policy states that no charges related to any involvement of drugs or alcohol will be pursued against a student
requiring medical attention. The likelihood, however, of a student seeking help from EMS may decrease if students fear they will be removed from their house if an underage person is discovered in possession of alcohol. This sanction disproportionately affects the students who live in self-selected housing, such as members of Strong House, Ferry House and the Town House co-ops. If residents of these buildings are forced to move houses, the corrective action only serves to disrupt the residential life of a tight-knit community. We understand that we are living in suspended reality on Vassar’s campus, and that the ramifications of any violation of regulations could be harsher outside of the College. However, we suggest that a more reasonable punishment for improper behavior in the College’s residential halls would be mandatory community service, alcohol education or a fine. These corrective actions are more akin to punishments executed under state and federal law, and do not disrupt the community or remove students from their residential support systems. As several administrators have said—and we agree—college regulations should offer a teachable moment, but we fear this policy does not. The VSA Council has asked for a review of this policy, an action that we heartily support. We suggest that this guideline be reviewed and used only when the situation is proportional to the punishment and that housing reassignment be an option only if it is clear that it will be ultimately beneficial to the individual and to the community. We encourage further conversation between Residential Life and students in order to promote communication and transparency between the administration, the VSA and the student body. —The Staff Editorial represents the opinion of at least two thirds of the 21-member Miscellany News Editorial Board.
House relocation policy ineffective, but warranted as response to party culture Vince Marchetta
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Guest Columnist
n light of a recent email from Director of Residential Life Luis Inoa, the Vassar Student Association (VSA) Council, class councils and the student body have had much discussion about the ways in which student conduct policies are both developed and presented to the student body. Inoa’s email, which warned us just before Halloween weekend that “a logical consequence of causing a disruption along the lines of an unauthorized party in the houses may be reassignment to a different house” came off to many as overbearing. It seemed to imply that this corrective action is the baseline for student conduct decisions related to unauthorized parties, which goes against the way other student conduct cases are treated, on an individual and contextual basis. While further discussion made it clear that student conduct hearings would still proceed as usual, and that this practice guideline was something that existed before the email, many are uncomfortable with the tone with which it was presented, feeling almost threatened. The house reassignment policy in itself raises some concerns. In conversations in VSA and with my constituents, I heard from many, including some who have been moved from one house to another as a result of unregistered party hosting, that this policy in no way serves to deter students from repeating this behavior. Moving someone from the place they consider home (as we take pride in referring to our residences as “houses” rather than “dorms”) and the community they have connected with
“When I raised my placard to vote in favor of the resolution, I did so with full conviction.” only makes a student more likely to not care about the place where they live and continue to throw parties within their new house, and removes them from close neighbors more likely to look out for them and discourage them from doing so. Consider a freshman removed from their house and fellow group, alone in an unfamiliar place and looking to make new connections; surely this person is more likely to disrespect their residence and engage in high-risk behaviors. Individuals moved from housing have told me that the reason they no longer throw unauthorized parties is in no way due to the housing change, but due to things like probation. The VSA recently passed a resolution urging the Committee on College Life to re-evaluate not only this policy, but the ways in which student voices are involved in the determination and promulgation of such policies. When I raised my placard to vote in favor of this resolution, on behalf of my entire class, I did so with full conviction. But while I, and others, may disagree with the policy, I have asked my classmates to still take into consideration the fact that Residential Life felt a need for this policy to exist. Residential Life, Security and student conduct policies
all are part of the College for the benefit of the students and campus as a whole. We must remember that students affected by the policy are being moved because they have broken the rules set forth by the College, and in many cases, state law (compared to police involvement, housing reassignment doesn’t sound so bad.) Party culture at Vassar, particularly within the houses, is an aspect of campus life that cannot be ignored, and the College only creates policies in response to student action. As students, it is important for us to consider how our own actions and the ways in which they prompt responses from the College. Though it may not seem it, this policy didn’t come out of nowhere, it was in response to the ways in which we, the students of Vassar College, drink and party on campus within our houses. I believe that house reassignment is not an effective way to prevent the further throwing of unauthorized parties and other risk behaviors, but I am unable currently to provide another option. I would hope that Res Life, student government and the student body can work together to do just that. —Vince Marchetta ’13 is president of the Class of 2013.
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
What would you occupy?
“My heart.”
Kelley Van Dilla ’12
“I would occupy a tree. That sounds nice.”
Clare Redden ’15
“Jewett. I’m way up there.”
Peter Dang ’14
“Twisted Soul. Duh.”
Emilia Petrarca ’14
“Ryan Gosling.”
Caroline Mills ’12
“Occupy occupations. I need a job after graduation.”
Michael Mestitz ’12 —Juliana Halpert, Photography Editor Alanna Okun, Humor & Satire Editor
OPINIONS
Page 10
November 10, 2011
Greece needs prime minister able to revive economy Lane Kisonak
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Guest Columnist
hat the hell happened last week? In all honesty, I’m pretty confused. In politics there are unexpected occurrences, such as Rick Perry making what could not have been anything other than the drunkest speech of his life in New Hampshire, or Herman Cain actually threatening to sue Politico for reporting on his sexual harassment settlements. But then there are unexpected occurrences. Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou’s sudden bout of democracy fever as he called for a referendum on the European Union (EU) bailout package last Monday is most certainly one of them. Until last Monday, it seemed as though Greece and the eurozone would be able to at least muddle through the next few months in their desperate efforts to avoid a regional credit crisis and a harrowing Greek default. The EU, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Central Bank had managed to pull together a deal which increased the size of the European Financial Stability Facility to $1 trillion and offered Greece another $100 billion in bailout funds as well as a 50 percent haircut on sovereign debt owed to private banks. The bailout would naturally have forced Greece to shoulder yet more austerity in the coming years; conditions which remain toxically unpopular. On the other hand it promised to save Greece from an agonizing return to the drachma and likely years off the credit market. The package, the fruit of a long and tense night of negotiations between French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, IMF head Christine Lagarde and a host of other leaders sought, among other things, to calm the storm sweeping through the financial markets in the previous weeks. The markets rallied on Thursday and then stepped
back a bit on Friday, but the consensus seemed to be that the package was not nearly the worst that could have been delivered––and there was much rejoicing. But then Papandreou dropped the bombshell, declaring that acceptance of the deal—and, realistically, membership in the eurozone— should hinge upon the consent of the Greek populace in a national referendum, pushing the timeline back possibly as late as December or even 2012. Stocks recoiled, Merkel and Sarkozy called Papandreou to the site of the G-20 summit in Cannes, and Papandreou’s opposition and deputies alike began seizing the opportunity to end his government. Much has been made of the undemocratic nature of the response to the European crisis— and of much of the EU’s dealings in general— but, in terms of preventing the crisis from spinning out of control, the referendum came many months too late. What could have been an inspiring push for democratic input instead became a cruel choice between the punishment of austerity and the potentially greater harms of a eurozone collapse. One wonders what good Papandreou expected to come from such a referendum. Opinion among Greeks, who naturally recognize the lose-lose nature of the choice, is naturally at odds with itself; according to a recent RBS survey, 60 percent disapprove of the bailout but 70 percent wish to remain in the eurozone. As if Papandreou’s decision-making process didn’t already look suspect enough, the prime minister thought it would be a good idea to sack every single one of his chief military officers the next day. Naturally, the move sparked fears that a military coup was in the cards and provoked a great deal of condemnation from his opposition. But Papandreou doubled down and on Wednesday met with members of his cabinet to try and speed up the referendum
process. But, one day later, the referendum was a thing of the past and, on Friday, Papandreou bought himself a little time by winning a crucial vote of confidence within his parliament. One wonders exactly how Papandreou’s colleagues in Greek parliament and the European leaders managed to get Papandreou to back down. Perhaps it was the threat that, if Greece failed to accept the new bailout deal, the EU would cut them off from funds keeping Greece from falling into bankruptcy in the meantime. Perhaps they convinced him that he didn’t want to be the guy who brought the euro to its knees. Papandreou backpedaled with blinding speed, stating that the referendum was “never an end in itself.” He is now working feverishly to pull together a coalition government that can continue the bailout process so he can resign having saved some semblance of face. Papandreou has been prime minister for over two years now and is no stranger to the complexities of Greek and regional politics. His father and grandfather were both prime ministers of Greece. From 1999 to 2004, he served as Greek foreign minister and was instrumental in Greece’s successful bid to host the 2004 Olympic Games. In 2004, he took over as leader of PASOK, Greece’s major socialist party, and led PASOK to electoral victory in 2009 in the midst of the global recession. He promised Obama-worthy levels of governmental transformation, none of which he has delivered. In terms of popular opinion and fiscal reality, Papandreou’s government has been mired in crisis for months. Much like President Obama, Papandreou inherited an economic situation much worse than people had realized at the time. Like Obama, Papandreou has had to contend with a strong opposition (in this case the Greek New Democracy party) whose
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solutions for the crisis at hand conflict with those offered by his own party; and as a result the average Greek has seen only drastic austerity cuts and quarterly economic decline in the contest of government gridlock. This is surely beginning to sound familiar. So what is it that brought Papandreou to the precipice of referendum, and what made him take the leap? The series of decisions he made this week can only be described as frenetic, as if he simultaneously played and lost track of several games of chess. From the outside it is fascinating to watch and frustrating to know so little of his line of thinking. Has he been trying to save his own skin this whole time or has he been honest in saying that he is “not wedded to the position of prime minister”? Was the referendum the last resort of a coward who wants to wash his hands of this crisis, or has he just lost all rationality? Could Papandreou simply be clinging to the dynastic legacy of his father and grandfather? This past week in the life of Greece was by and large the same as the life of Georgios Papandreou: fast, chaotic and full of intrigue. It is a bit alarming to realize that the fortunes of entire countries and regions are so close to the baggage of their leaders. This is why it is so desirable to have a steady hand at the wheel, and why one shudders at the thought of a loose cannon like Rick Perry sitting by the nuclear button or a potential sexual harasser like Herman Cain as leader of the free world. For Greece, and, due to the forces of global economic integration, the entire world, the next couple of months are make-or-break. Hopefully Greece will weather this crisis and find a prime minister who has the ability to steer the country down a less dangerous path and toward prosperity. —Lane Kisonak ’13 is a political science major.
OPINIONS
November 10, 2011
Summer trip roaming across Europe both exciting, daunting Jamie Turak
Guest Columnist
A neatly detailed map of the European Union (EU) hangs tacked against my dorm room wall. Glancing over it from time to time surely boosts my arbitrary knowledge of European geography. For example, it proves that Luxembourg is not a myth but actually a country. It displays that Germany neighbors the most countries in the EU, weighing in at a whopping nine. Honing my encyclopedic handiness, however, is only a peripheral reason for its position on my wall. Its main purpose is relatively simple. I have placed it there to remind me of an evermore-approaching summer destination. Following an upcoming spring semester abroad, I will be—hopefully—traversing Europe with friends like a band of jolly roaming horses for nearly two extra months overseas. In anticipating such a summer trip, going abroad second semester rather than first could not be more ideal for an obvious reason: I’m there and so I stay. Such plans for an attempt at a vagabond-ish lifestyle have long been in the forethought of my mind. A European summer has been one of my most undying pledges. A few of my friends, among other people with similar plans, share in this sentiment. We too, at a future moment in our lives, would like to drop smiling bombs of nostalgia beginning with the words: “Remember that time in Europe?” No, I have not watched the movie Euro Trip recently. But sensationalizing the thought of any trip in any way
—not the least bit limited to Europe—is never a bad place to begin the journey. Perhaps then, in the most non-physical sense, my spirit has already long departed without me. Still, I wonder if this spirit of mine has idealistic plans of its own. An extended summer in Europe seems massively daunting even if exciting. The map on my wall therefore exists as a fatalistic reminder. There is no turning back, for I have chosen it as such. It helps me confront a forthcoming trial of backpacking and stingy budgeting and face the reality of immeasurable situations and outcomes however good, bad, or ugly they may turn out. After throwing the map a nervous glance, I imagine myself as a paratrooper bracing for an adrenalized drop off into the heart of unfamiliar terrain. Parachute packed? Check. Provisions readied? Check—two previous summer jobs have yielded modest savings. Grit? Ch…wait. Not so fast. Finding the courage to stay is not so easy. For still the question remains: Why do I jump? There are many reasons to take on such a summer trip with paralyzed footing. An extended summer feels overwhelming due to expensive financing, for one. We aren’t exactly talking cheap, even though in relative terms the trip can certainly be made cheaper if need be. Additionally, the malady of homesickness pulses for many inexhaustibly. It lives between stages of intensity and near immunity, and who’s to say it won’t hit a peak? Even more formidable yet, the professional life of a normal summer insists on a job or
Page 11
Sexual assault deserves greater campus attention
internship over the folly of travel. But there is something to be said about equating two months of survival with full-time employment. And yet, restrictive as any of these reasons may be, they prove only minor in comparison to the real monster of the whole ordeal. By its very nature, a trip of two months almost inextricably includes disorganization, lack of concrete plans and open-ended questions of where and when we’ll eat, sleep, laugh and whine. To many, such unpredictability poses the most insurmountable of problems. This is partly due to the fact that our current collegiate environment yelps for obsessive time management and organizational skills. A summer without direction snarls like an untamed beast. In what way will I be devoured in the midst of wandering aimlessly? But like most monsters, leveling face to face with its growl can reveal softness in its heart if not too strength in your own. As convenient as an itinerary may be, who really wants to spend the time to figure it all out? It seems nearly impossible to draft a working itinerary of daily action given the vast movement and spontaneous appetite such a trip presents. After all, traveling implies roaming. Roaming knows little boundaries. If you can catch the drift, there is but one solution: Cower not away, my fellow second-semester abroad juniors and underclassmen, but attempt to walk the distance! We are talking thither here, people. For unpredictability allures anyone with immense appeal. See EUROPE on page 12
Hannah La Follette Ryan Guest Columnist
D
ear Dean of the College Chris Roellke, In response to your campus-wide email regarding campus climate, I was taken aback by your statement that suggested respect is a challenge and not an expectation at Vassar College. (“I write today to amplify my earlier message to challenge all of us to be committed to decision-making and use of language that is inclusive and respectful.”) When addressing the perpetrators of the latest sexist graffiti in Davison would you ambiguously lecture them, as you did us, “to be mindful of the impact that poor decision-making can have on one’s self and on our broader community”? Their actions were despicable and intolerable and should be unequivocally termed as such. While I appreciated the sentiments in your initial email re. campus climate, I was disappointed by your latest communication. You chose to copy and paste your previous message under the pretense of “amplifying” your tone, which as the recent episode in Davison demonstrates, did not succeed in curbing this kind of behavior. This issue deserves to be readdressed with fresh words and I am distressed that you did not feel it merited that time and consideration. In the Main town hall meeting on Monday night, you and President Catharine Bond Hill voiced your wariness of campus-wide emails that react to hate speech (statements included “how many is too many” and “the fear that [campus wide emails] could start falling on deaf ears.”) This commentary is premature when we have yet to communicate effectively in that arena. Sexist graffiti alludes to a more sinister epidemic plaguing the Vassar community. I have friends who have been sexually assaulted on this campus. I have personally
felt sexually threatened on this campus. I would like to think that our administration finds these incidents as disturbing as we do. I am disappointed to hear that sexist language exhibited on sayanythingvc. wordpress.com was dismissed by an administrator due to its anonymous format. During the Jewett town hall on Oct. 10, Hill was asked to comment on these sexist posts. Her words, according to students in attendance, were dismissive of the idea that anonymous blogs should have a place in our community discussion. That is not an ambiguous opinion, and especially in light of Break the Silence’s existence, needs to be refined and taken seriously. Whether Hill’s assertion was a case of imprecise language or true feeling, administrators and students should strive for a symbiotic relationship. This dialogue reaffirms a growing disconnect between the student body and the administration that we must address without further delay. I would implore you to respond to forums such as Break the Silence and consider the support they provide victims of sexual violence. I would ask you to fiercely condemn attitudes that perpetuate sexual violence as I have yet to see your language reflect the compassion that students on this campus deserve. At the Main town hall, you applauded student-led reactions to the rash of homophobic, misogynistic and racist grafitti around campus. You cited Davison in particular for its response of “not in my house,” but we have yet to hear the administration vehemently declare, “not in our house.” Respectfully, Hannah La Follette Ryan —Hannah La Follette Ryan ’14 is a student at Vassar College.
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Vassar commences search for new SAVP coordinator Daniel Sherwood and Devin Griffin
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Guest Columnists
s concerned members of the Vassar community, we wanted to commend the Miscellany News for its staff editorial from the Oct. 25 issue, “Sexual assault, violence cannot be ignored.” In light of the recently heightened exposure to these issues, the article was especially well timed. It discussed the Break the Silence blog, the search for a new SAVP coordinator and the addition of a relationship abuse charge into Vassar’s code of conduct. While we appreciate the light shed on these developments, we wanted to clarify some of the details pertaining to the relationship abuse charge. The editorial addresses last year’s Vassar Student Association (VSA) initiative to draft legislation to charge perpetrators with specific complaints of relationship abuse. However, it goes on to say that the VSA has, for the time being, stopped working on such legislation. While it is true that the VSA is no longer independently spearheading the effort to create the charge, the College’s administration has taken on the task. In an effort to fully uphold Title IX, part of federal law requiring equal gender representation in schools, Vassar has begun looking more closely at its policies on issues of personal violation. As a result, the responsibility no longer falls on the VSA but rather on a team of administrators, including Associate Dean and Director of Equal Opportunity Belinda Guthrie. This change in leadership is not a reflection of the VSA’s commitment to these issues; on the contrary, it demonstrates that student efforts to bring more attention to this subject have been successful.
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In addition to taking a new interest in creating the relationship abuse charge, Vassar’s administration has also decided to fund an SAVP coordinator position separate from other Office of Health Education (OHE) jobs. Although Director Renee Pabst has done a superb job acting as SAVP coordinator for the past two years, creating a position which would focus exclusively on these issues will hopefully see an increase in campus awareness, student reporting and community effort to reduce sexual violence. An additional article in the Oct. 25 issue of the Miscellany, “After two years, SAVP coordinator job to be reinstated,” inaccurately states that Vassar will not begin looking for a new coordinator for several months, when in fact the College has already initiated a nationwide search. This prompt action not only further shows the administration’s heightened interest to issues of personal violation, but also means that students may have a new SAVP coordinator for spring semester as a campus resource separate from others provided be the OHE. Relationship abuse and sexual assault are serious issues that occur on all college campuses. Too often, administrators ignore this reality, but we are incredibly grateful that Vassar is taking a stand against personal violation. As the editorial mentioned, there are numerous support resources available to students on campus, such as CARES, SART and Metcalf counseling services. Hopefully, this combination of community effort and administrative initiative will see our campus become a safer place for everyone. —Daniel Sherwood ’13 and Devin Griffin ’13 are members of CARES.
OPINIONS
Page 12
November 10, 2011
Trip a chance Hermain Cain must be held accountable for unplanned for sexual assault, harrassment allegations possibility “With all his political cunning, Cain has T Hannah Blume Opinions Editor
EUROPE continued from page 11 Embracing the psychology of spontaneity helps grant anyone surefooted confidence. Understanding its benefits helps in this process. The summer following my spring semester abroad details no specific program excursions. Its tinkering personnel are not prearranged by way of tidy roommate questionnaires. It could possess as much or as little routine as its group members desired. Its wheres and whens can be decided with personal inclination and convenience. In short, such a summer binds you to formalities and concrete decisions only as much as you prefer. Its route remains the design of you and your compadres (or you alone, for those particularly daring). Who knows how living within an engorged realm of unplanned possibility will affect you? Perhaps it’s safe to say it will impact you—at the very least—differently than a summer back home. For even though the idea of stepping back home into coziness of expectancy and boss-mode domination of that promising internship feels safer, its comfort seems just as much like a scary retreat to the familiar. Home for many assumes the inescapable paradigm of a past self-image. For this we hardly blame it. Yet perhaps a spontaneous summer plunge looks more easily forward than it does backwards. It’s time to conquer these landlocked blues and embrace the unplanned as a lodestar instead. Returning one final glance at the map on my wall, I notice it thumps with a most domineering presence. It takes an almost animated shape. Its roundly keen, crystal-blue oceanic eyes stare back at me; its draped flatness shimmers in the light. “Hey, buddy. I’m coming for you,” I say aloud with a burst of newfound confidence, leveling with the vastness of its latitudinal countenance. It’s about time, something mutters in charming response.
he Feminist Alliance’s launching of Break the Silence last month was a wake-up call that not even Vassar is untouched by sexual assault and harassment. I think its safe to say that some of the stories roused anxieties about this institution’s identity, flying in the face of Vassar’s sense of exceptionalism. What, then, does it say about our nation that we remain unscathed by the disturbing reality that a man with substantial chances of becoming our next president seems to be getting away with pushing his history of sexual harassment under the rug? Following the last few weeks, as four women stepped forward with allegations of sexual harassment against GOP presidential frontrunner Herman Cain, his poll numbers remain largely unscathed. Though a recent Gallup Poll tracked a marked decline in his positive intensity score, it still looms 15 points higher than Mitt Romney’s. Through the scandal, he has maintained his rank in first place alongside Romney, and there is a real chance that he could grab the Republican nomination. A recent ABC/Washington Post poll reported that a mere 55 percent of Republican respondents believed that these allegations are a “serious matter,” while 39 percent did. The results of an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll showed that 54 percent of respondents “had no concerns at all” about Cain’s questionable history. When more than half of the nation shows no concern that a man who may have pushed an
even managed to make himself the victim.”
employee’s head towards his crotch could become our president is outright frightening. Standing sheepishly in front of four American flags during a press conference last Tuesday, Cain stated, with a pathetic forcefulness, “I have never acted inappropriately with anyone... period,” continuing, “I’d never even seen that woman.” The whole thing reeked of absurdity. His citation of his wife’s response was almost as funny as his recent television commercial: “she said, and this is a direct quote: ‘I’ve known you for 46 years ... that doesn’t even sound like anything that you would ever do to anyone.’” These are just the facts, according to Herman Cain. And with all his political cunning, Cain has even managed to make himself the victim, to play the beloved role of the underdog. In the days following the first accusations were made, the campaign boasted record-breaking fundraising — almost a million dollars in 48 hours. A message displayed on the homepage of Cain’s website refers to the charges as “inside the beltway media attacks” and ends with the claim that “Mr. Cain—and all Americans— deserve better.” In a way, he’s right. Americans do deserve better—more than a sleazy politician who so resolutely refuses to step down after such se-
rious and likely true charges of sexual harassment. But if America isn’t outraged by Cain’s adamant and self-absorbed denial of the charges, then maybe they’re just getting what they ask for. The GOP primary race already amounts to little more than a charade, an act of theater for the American public—at once a comedy and a tragedy. But if voters are too stubborn to admit that their tea-party favorite—with his trendy tax plan and his wholesome sweater vests— should be held accountable for an offense like sexual harassment, then they are just as much to blame for our broken government as lobbyists or, dare I say, Obama. Something so simple and basic—that a man who has four separate accusations of sexual harassment, and possibly assault, should be nowhere near the presidency—completely escapes us. Where’s our anxiety, our identity crisis? Why can’t this nation come to terms with the fact that maybe we have gotten a few things really wrong? But to those who will cast their ballot for Herman Cain, America will always be number one. —Hannah Blume ’13 is Opinions Editor of The Miscellany News. She is a sociology major.
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—Jamie Turak ’13 is a student at Vassar College.
Crossword by Jonathan Garfinkel ACROSS 1. Relaxation spot 4. Corn unit 7. Stressor for some Sr.’s 10. “Tasty!” 11. Where to get le big mac? 12. Certain orange drink 13. Take a bit off the top 15. Outdoes 16. Spanish river 17. Prefix with tourism 18. What one might give a tit for? 19. Egg sitter 21. “Little Mermaid” baddie 23. Certain fancy neckwear 27. Boozy one
28. Fashionable monogram 30. Weepy 31. Word that might surround yes? 33. Congressional assent 35. Snooze 36. Home for the Barbary Pirates 40. Railroad bridge 43. Party type? 44. Hooter 46. Place for B&W flicks 47. Content 50. Keenan’s buddy 52. Certain Versaille resident, once 54. What the beer did? (Brit.) 55. Portends
Answers to last week’s puzzle
57. Raven Reed, and others 59. ___ Lanka 60. Pointy-eared one 62. ____ Romeo 65. One taking a five finger discount 67. Season, perhaps 69. Ring around the castle 70. Some falcons 71. Main Man in the Matrix 72. Cop alert 73. NYC venue 74. “It’s Always Sunny” actor Charlie ___ DOWN 1. Computer abbrev. 2. Lose it, perhaps 3. Certain brief 4. Agony’s partner 5. Alarm co. 6. ____ Hashana 7. Yap 8. A break from war, briefly 9. Trip type, perhaps 11. Granular 12. Like the Cuban Missile Crisis 14. Glum 15. Heating unit (abbr.) 20. Munch on 22. Mix 24. Tilt 25. Aloud 26. Put into Word? 29. Rent, in London 32. Ipanema’s city 34. Science’s counterpart 36. Ballers, briefly 37. Spring (ahead) 38. Ogle
39. Editor’s mark 41. Certain shade 42. ______ cake, ex-babycakes dessert. RIP. 45. Not buying 48. Skirt feature
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49. 1/1-now, briefly 51. Entices 53. Long thing, perhaps. 56. Meme format, briefly 58. Plant feature 61. Itchy little one
62. Group for docs 63. Hack (off) 64. Great! 66. Tick tocks, briefly 68. Plaything
HUMOR & SATIRE
November 10, 2011
Page 13
OPINIONS
LeCorbusier was here: An Humor & Satire editor’s open Art 105 look at SoCos, TAs missives to animals, things Michael Mestitz Columnist
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rt 105 is a Vassar institution, and if it taught me one thing when I took it sophomore year, it’s that I’m still surprisingly willing to giggle at terms like “groin vault.” If it taught me a second thing, it’s that art is all around us. With that in mind, I turned an eye toward two of our senior housing options on campus to see what I could find out about them from a formal analysis. Terrace Apartments, Jean Paul Carlhian with Acorn House, Inc., 1972 The entrance into the Terrace Apartment is cramped, but it directs the eye toward the staircase, which acts as the spiral, almost vertebral, core of the structure. The brilliance of this design is immediately apparent; I mounted the stairs and was invited into the home, encouraged upwards toward the main living space by the coiling energy of the steps themselves, which stretch from the base of the building to its high ceiling. When I emerged onto the level of the kitchen and the living room, I could see that the residents had chosen to accent this verticality in the furnishing; vertiginous piles of thesis books responded to the upward movement of the stairs, and a glistening stack of unwashed dishes in the sink provided visual continuity between the kitchen and the seating areas. The domestic space was filled with Swedish furniture bearing names like KLOBO, SMÅDAL and the admirably self-aware side table LACK, all of which appeared to be in various states of either construction, disrepair or futile struggle against gravitational force. One of my hosts wandered by and explained that they had lost the Allen wrenches that came with them, but I saw the furniture in the room for what it really was: the austere modernist aesthetic, ironically reappropriated to reflect the growing unease of a generation. What a graceful commentary on the mechanical certainty of Le Corbusier circa 1930! Each strip of duct tape seemed to speak to the inherent fragility of facture and the dissolution of mechanical order in domestic space. Not only did the cardboard box of Franzia on the counter strikingly affirm the eclectic aesthetic he so cavalierly dismissed in 1921’s “Vers une architecture,” but it responded to the cabernet-stained mason jars to evoke an unsettling interplay of paradoxical production—geometrical recycled-cardboard
construction juxtaposed with the organic curve of manufactured glass. It was like stumbling upon a cubist painting in the kitchen; a Braque, perhaps, or something by Max Weber. South Commons, Designed by somebody, at some point (Okay, I couldn’t find this, and in the noble tradition of art history students everywhere, did not bother to look further.) Approaching the South Commons, one is struck with the impression that they were designed as an homage to the natural beauty of the Hudson Valley. They are constituted of a dynamic series of barriers that simultaneously shelter the interiors and invite exploration. Each building has a wooden porch, delineated with tall square columns and a wooden railing: geometries constructed of natural materials that bridge the gap between the constructed and the undomesticated and embrace visitors, drawing them into the home. Large windows on the front dissolve the divide between interior and exterior, creating a permeable space that unifies the lawn and the common room. The kitchen and the common room are semi-divided by two large open arches that encouraged me to circulate through the spaces, exploring the gentle up-and-down slope of the ceiling and reflecting on the compressive flow of the architecture. In that respect, the SoCos remind me of Frank Lloyd Wright structures; they share the same usonian aesthetic—low-profile, permeable buildings that engage with their environment and have strong visual connections between interior and exterior space. It strikes me that this invitingness, this pervasive utopianism, is almost unsettling. A deer wanders across our lawn as I have tea in the morning on the porch. My housemates and I settle in for grilled asparagus in our tastefully appointed kitchen. Indeed, there’s more than a hint of the well-known Stepford aesthetic in the SoCos in the autumn and spring, but the winter is given over to something different— in the snow-peaked SoCos after the blizzard, I walked through the house again. It was eerily silent, and the big windows showed nothing but white. Someone had written “Red Rum” on the grocery list. And for some reason, the last three pages of my thesis only read, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” Anyway, come play with us! I mean, feel free to drop by anytime!
Alanna Okun
Humor & Satire Editor Dear Retreat,
So as you may be aware, I am now a senior. I know, right?! Seems like just yesterday I was a bright-eyed prospie really, really excited at the prospect of being able to buy a buffalo chicken wrap at any hour of the day or night (except before 11 a.m. and after 11 p.m. during the week and actually most of the hours during the weekend). But now that I live so far away from the center of campus, and I’d rather mop the floor of the Mug with my tongue than beg an underclassman to swipe me into that existential pit of suffering known colloquially as “The Deece,” you’re my last best hope, Retreat. You’re in the middle of everything. You’re an oasis of caffeine-based drinks. You’re the only place where me and my deadbeat senior friends can huddle over cups of tepid soup for hours, talking loudly and openly about sophomores in the vicinity who we would probably enjoy seeing naked. But as a result of our increased intimacy, Retreat, I have a bone to pick with you, and not the kind that I had to inexplicably extract from my plate of Matt’s Super Nachos last Wednesday. What is this bone, you whimper? The clocks. I’m an English major, right, and a newspaper editor and an a cappella conductor, and sometimes my pale flaccid fingers are just too weak to unzip my bag and get out my phone in order to check the time. I’d like to be able to rely on your clocks to give me at least a rough estimate, but you’ve failed me again and again. The next time I run panting into my Asian-American Literature class with an orange-pomegranate-mango juice mustache because you falsely assured me it was a leisurely 10:22 a.m., I will snap all the tines off those stupid new compostable forks one by one, and I will enjoy it. We’ve got a good thing going here, Retreat. Don’t blow it just because nobody bothered to tell you what Daylight Savings Time is. With actual real money because I don’t have a meal plan anymore and that means none of the food tastes as good, Alanna Dear Staplers by the Reserve Desk,
Huh. I’m a little confused here. So like, a printer prints, right? And a refrigerator refrigerates. Quilters quilt, beekeepers keep bees, and editors edit unless they are too busy eating smoked Gouda and Googling pictures of weird diseases. So why is it, staplers, that you
Weekly Calendar: 11/10-11/16 Thursday, 11/10
Friday, 11/11
With the thought that I guess I could just buy my own fucking stapler but I won’t because of the principle of the thing, Alanna Dear deer,
Did you see what I did there? No? That’s right, I forgot that you guys are a bunch of humorless d-bags with nothing better to do than stand around and judge. I saw the way one of you looked at me when I was stumbling back to the THs last Saturday night— yeah, you, the one with the tail. I saw how you turned to your friend/child/deer-rabbi and made a snarky deer-comment about the Rolling Rock peeping out of my pocket and the errant remnants of Bacio’s crust clinging to my lower lip. I’m sorry that our parties aren’t cool enough for you. Maybe if we invested in some deciduous forest berries and had the newest set of antlers you’d finally deign to hang out with us. But I guess until we catch up to your aesthetic level, deer, we’ll have to watch your “Silent Hoes and Standing-Around Bros” parties on Joss Beach from a distance like the peons we are. Look, I know we come from different worlds. I’m a raging carnivore, and you’re all self-righteous vegans; I enjoy folding my underpants while listening to “This American Life,” and you like lurking amongst the trees. But that doesn’t make you better than me, or than any other Vassar student. Can’t we find something we all have in common? How about bubble tea? Or Megavideo? I’d even be willing to give pooping tiny little pellets a try if it means you’ll give me a chance at friendship. Forget it. You guys will never change. Oh, and by the way, good luck in a few weeks. You’re gonna need it. With a vaguely ominous email from Don Marsala, Alanna
by Alanna Okun, Humor & Satire Editor
even be an option. Shiva.
3 p.m. Tea. In honor of 11/11/11: Vassar wishes. Rose Parlor. 7 p.m. “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” Drink every time they do. Powerhouse.
do not think it worth your time to hold one or more pieces of paper together? Why must you always be out of staples. Or conversely, so high-capacity that you chew through my poor three-page reading response like so many vicious flesh-eating bees? I’m really not asking for much here. It’s just so degrading to turn in a paper to a professor with one of the corners of the pages folded down, like a CAVEWOMAN. Get your shit together and hold my shit together, or I might just stop doing all my assignments entirely as peaceful protest.
10 p.m. HEL Show. “If you’re going through HEL, keep going.” – Roman Czula. Rocky 200.
Sunday, 11/13
3 p.m. Tea. For that tree outside the Retreat to please for the love of God stop smelling like rancid feta cheese. Rose Parlor.
12:30 p.m. Occupy Wall Street Teach-In. First panel topic: “Seriously You Guys, ‘We Are the One Percent Jokes’ Really Aren’t Funny Anymore and Actually Never Were in the First Place.” Sanders Auditorium.
8 p.m. “Letters to Strangers.” Drink every time this sounds suspiciously like LikeALittle: The Musical! Kenyon Club Room.
Monday, 11/14
10 p.m. HEL Show. “HEL is other people.” – Catharine Bond Hill. Rocky 200.
3 p.m. Tea. For LaundryView for the Library, so you don’t have to wander around like a migrant worker, searching in vain for a table when you’re laden down with 13 American Culture books you will only pretend to have read. Rose Parlor.
Saturday, 11/12
Tuesday, 11/15
8 p.m. “Barefoot in the Park.” Drink every time it is just way too cold on this barren wasteland of a campus for that to
3 p.m. Tea. For regulations that don’t result in you getting summarily moved out of your dorm just because you kind of
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sort of glanced at an open can of Natty last Saturday night. Rose Parlor. 10 p.m. Trivia Night. Question #32C: Was the previous calendar entry too real? Mug.
Wednesday, 11/16 12 p.m. Rowing Team’s 24-Hour-Ergathon. Spandex. Commercial hip-hop. All of the butts. College Center. 3 p.m. “Over the Rainbow: Sexuality, Race, and U.S. Urban Politics Since the 1960s.” “Oooh, will there be Skittles?” – An anonymous senior in the hallowed Thompson Memorial Library. Taylor 203. 3 p.m. Tea. For the Mug to be converted into a yarn-storecum-cheese-shop-cum-microbrewery that only plays acoustic covers of Nicki Minaj songs and where you have to display at least a rudimentary grasp of human pleasantries in order to be admitted. Or maybe that’s just me. Rose Parlor.
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November 10, 2011
Baca’s poetry inspired by heritage, prison experience Charlacia Dent
Assistant Arts Editor
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years ago. “I found a lot of his work striking, and was so excited when a mutual friend introduced us,” Sharp recalled. Professor of English Molly McGlennen, having been newly introduced to Baca’s work this year, bears a new admiration for Baca’s work similar to Sharp’s long-felt appreciation. This semester, McGlennen plans to draw from a lot of Baca’s work in her Native American literature course. “I see him as a powerful and longstanding (he’s been writing since the ’70s) Indigenous voice. I find some of his early work to be incredible expressions of Indigenous solidarity and consciousness,” McGlennen explained. For students and members of the community interested in attending this event, it will be geared toward people fascinated by everything from the politics of prison reform to race to writing poetry and so forth. He will also give his account of teaching himself to read in his cell at the state penitentiary. He may also speak to the vast area of social work he has managed to do over the years. In 2005, he founded Cedar Tree Inc., a non-profit foundation that
Courtesy of the Texas Book Festival
ach year, the English Department invites a distinguished poet to lecture and read his or her work as a part of the annual Elizabeth Bishop Lecture Series. The writers and poets that grace the campus each year around this time are known to be among some of the greatest writers of the 20th century, having led some of the most remarkable lives. This upcoming Monday, Vassar will welcome Jimmy Santiago Baca, a man who was sentenced to prison at age 13 only to emerge a few years later as a poetic virtuoso. The lecture will take place on Nov. 14 in Sanders Classroom Auditorium at 5:30 p.m. “Jimmy’s accomplishments as a poet and a social reformer are remarkable by any standards but when one considers the challenges of his first two decades, which he describes brilliantly in his memoir, it’s difficult to think of anyone, in any walk of life, who has overcome more obstacles than Jimmy has,” said Professor of English Ronald Sharp, an organizer of the event who nominated Baca for this year’s lecture series. A five-year sentence at a maximum security prison was where Baca
began to look at his life through from a different point of view. It was in those prison cells that he taught himself to read and write. He had been inspired by the work of poets Pablo Neruda and Frederico Garcia Locra during a dispute that he had with another inmate. In the midst of this seemingly insignificant situation, Baca managed to do the impossible. While still in prison, he sent three of his poems to Denise Levertov, the editor of Mother Jones, who helped publish them in Immigrants in Our own Land in 1979. The alleged criminal had thus become a writer. Jimmy Santiago Baca appears to be one of those souls that was born to write. True to his mixed Apache and Mexican lineage, his post-prison life has been dedicated to tackling themes of the American Southwest barrios, addiction and injustice. He has also conducted hundreds of writing workshops over the years in prisons, schools and community centers. He is a walking and breathing presentation of his literary work come to life. This rare authenticity holds something special for many admirers of literary work. Sharp fell in love with Baca’s poetry and stories over 20
Poet Jimmy Santiago Baca, pictured above, will speak at the annual Elizabeth Bishop Lecture Series on Monday, Nov. 14 in Sanders Classroom Auditorium. helps underprivileged people become educated and improve their lives. It has a joint goal of reaching out to women of the Albuquerque Women’s prison and the South Valley Community Center. Baca’s life shows us that charity starts at home. In order to help
people, or contribute to a larger struggle, we must start with helping ourselves. In many ways it gives us all something to strive for. “That Baca has dedicated so much of his life to helping others in difficult circumstances is nothing short of heroic,” said Sharp.
‘Barefoot in the Park’ an Misako Rocks! to discuss endearing domestic comedy biography, culture shock Adam Buchsbaum Arts Editor
H Alex Schlesinger/The Miscellany News
Students rehearse for Philaletheis’ upcoming production of Neil Simon’s “Barefoot in the Park,” opening on Nov. 10. The show details the trials and tribulations of a newlywed couple, Paul and Corie Bratter. Jack Owen
“B
Reporter
arefoot in the Park,” Neil Simon’s classic romantic comedy, opened on Broadway in 1963, bringing audience members a potent combination of heart and hilarity. The play was so popular that it was adapted to the big screen in 1967, starring Robert Redford and Jane Fonda. The director and cast of Philaletheis’ upcoming production of the famed play agree that it still has the ability to charm and captivate viewers today. “The play is almost 50 years old, but it is still really accessible,” said director Angela Dumlao ’13. “Barefoot in the Park” will be performed in the Shiva Theater from Nov. 10 to 11 at 8 p.m., and on Nov. 12 at 3 p.m. While Dumlao has been heavily involved in student theater at Vassar since her freshman year, “Barefoot in the Park” is her first experience directing a full-length production. No doubt Dumlao’s participation in a highly varied set of theater roles has laid the foundation for her play. “Everything I’ve been doing with theater at Vassar has been building up to directing a full length,” Dumlao explained. “I have both acted and stage managed for Philaletheis, so I know how the community works well.” “Angela has been a wonderful director—she
has been organized, creative, strict, but fun-loving,” wrote cast member Isaac Lindy ’14 in an emailed statement. “I always leave feeling like I’ve accomplished something or, at least, have seen others develop their character or make strides in their performance.” The show tells the story of Paul and Corie Bratter, newlyweds who have just returned from their six-day honeymoon. Paul, a hard-working lawyer, is nearly the complete opposite of Corie, a talkative and emotive free spirit. Amidst a mess of inconveniences, including a leaky skylight, lack of heat, painfully small apartment, a bizarre neighbor and frequent visits from Corie’s wellintentioned but nutty mother, Corie and Paul must work through the trials of married life together. “It is very light-hearted, but it’s definitely not just surface level,” said Dumlao. “It goes deeper, and it grapples with relationships and how we all have to work to hold them together.” When Dumlao was looking for a play to direct, she wanted to find one that was both viable and resonant. “When I read it, it touched me deeply,” she said. “It’s not just a play that I could do, it’s a play that means a lot to me.” In addition, Dumlao found that Simon’s sharp dialogue and themes would be pertinent to the See BAREFOOT on page 14
ow an aspiring puppeteer in Japan becomes a graphic novelist in the United States is a complex story. “Ever since I was 11 years old, I knew I was moving to America. When I was that age I watched many Hollywood movies,” Misako Rocks!, current graphic novelist, said. “I feel Goonies and Back to the Future, those two movies, changed my life. I also had a huge crush on Michael J. Fox and thought I was gonna be his girlfriend. I wrote love letters to him when I was in junior high at Japan.” Rocks! will present a lecture on Nov. 11 in the Aula from 10 to 11 a.m. on her long, winding path to becoming the graphic novelist she is today. She will also discuss her Japanese upbringing, experience in America as a foreigner and her publishing, writing and editing process. Associate Professor and Chair of Chinese and Japanese Hiromi Dollase arranged for the lecture. “I heard about her and read about her in a Japanese community newspaper and also saw her on TV,” Dollase said. Dollase thought that Rocks! would not only tell an interesting biography but would also bring an insightful, personal approach to the differences between Japanese and Western graphic art and the experience of culture shock. “I teach Japanese popular culture and literature, and Japanese comics are getting very popular in the U.S. and many students are interested in writing about it,” Dollase said. “There are so many students who take Japanese because they’re interested in comics and anime.” Rocks! began her career by chance. After studying as an exchange student in the United States, she moved to New York City to realize her dream of being a puppeteer. “I was making marionettes. Doing the facepainting. I was part of a street theater in NYC for a while too, but I couldn’t make my life happen.” After she divorced her husband, Rocks! met writers for The Onion at a concert. They got to talking, and, once while hanging out at a restaurant, Rocks! had a fateful moment. “I just started doodling on the tablecloth, because it’s white paper, and they thought my style was pretty cute and interesting. So they asked me, ‘Hey are you interested at all in drawing?’”
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Bored and lonely in the tiny town of Madison, Rocks! began to draw cartoon illustrations to run alongside Savage Love, a sex column that began first in The Onion. “When I read it I just couldn’t understand anything ... I studied English but I didn’t know anything about this,” Rocks! said. “I always asked my boyfriend, ‘What’s this mean, can you describe this?’” She began to newly imagine herself as a graphic novelist. She returned to New York City, where she remains to today. She started contacting publishers around the city, hoping to secure a chance to get her work accepted—and finally Hyperion agreed. “Hyperion said, ‘Okay we can give you 10 or 15 minutes.’ So I just did my best. Gave all my effort on these 15 minutes to talk about myself and books.” Her books were rejected by multiple publishers, including Hyperion. She sought their advice, and kept at it. She went back again and again. Hyperion noticed her improvement, and liked what they saw. Hyperion offered her a two-book deal. “That day changed everything,” Rocks! said. “I became a comic artist.” Rocks! fuses both Western and Japanese styles in her current published work. “When I moved to America I read graphic novels,” Rocks! said. “These personal, really dramatic stories really inspired me. And this artwork too. I never even read this or watched this stuff before.” Rock and Roll Love, the first graphic novel Rocks! released, demonstrates just this aesthetic. The graphic novel is semi-autobiographical, telling the story of Misako, an exchange student from Japan dealing with new, American culture and her first love for a rock band’s lead singer. “She bridges two cultures, and to me it’s very interesting what kind of difficulties she had when she published her works and what adjustments she had to think about,” Dollase said. “Her story itself is fascinating. She has some much guts, and great ambition.” Misako Rocks! will present her lecture on Nov. 11 in the Aula from 10 to 11 a.m. The Vassar Bookstore will sell copies of her work, and Rocks! will conduct a book signing. Her lecture also kicks off Chinese and Japanese Cultural Day, which will feature performances by students from the Chinese and Japanese Department—performances like singing, traditional music, folk dances and the like.
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Tactile art engages with gender, race Screening looks at Hip T Hop origins Matthew Hauptman Reporter
Shruti Manian
Courtesy of Mickalenethomas.com
he Art Department’s Claflin Lecture Series gives students the chance to watch renowned contemporary artists speak pointedly about their careers and oeuvres. Artists from around the country, and around the world, have been the distinguished guests at the lecture series in years past. New-York-based artist Mickalene Thomas will be delivering the upcoming Claflin Lecture on Tuesday, Nov. 15, in Taylor 203 at 6 p.m. “She is someone whose work I have admired for several years, and students have also been eager to have come to Vassar,” said Associate Professor of Art Laura Newman. Thomas graduated from the Pratt Institute in 2000 with a Bachelor’s of Fine Art in painting and from the Yale School of Art in 2002 with an Master’s of Fine Art, also in painting. In the nine years that have passed since her graduating from Yale, Thomas’ career has skyrocketed. Thomas is especially well known for her elaborate paintings adorned with rhinestones, enamel and colorful acrylics. As Adjunct Assistant Professor of Art Didier William observed, Thomas and her work are constantly grappling with many of the same issues of race and gender that entice students at Vassar. “Her depictions of African American women explore notions of black female celebrity and identity while romanticizing ideas of femininity and power. Reminiscent of ’70s style Blaxploitation, the subjects in Thomas’ paintings radiate sexuality. Women in provocative poses sprawl across the picture plane and are surrounded by kitschy decorative patterns inspired by her childhood,” explained William in an emailed statement. As William’s remark suggests, Thomas is deeply interested in the intersections of race and gender as they manifest themselves in contemporary culture. But her engagement with these issues also has its roots in longstanding art traditions. As Thomas herself explained in one interview with the magazine ART iT, “From my experience, in Western art history when you see images of black women they’re generally depicted in positions of servitude or looked at through an anthropological perspective. They are not seen in Western art history
This year’s Claflin Lecture Series will feature artist Mickalene Thomas, whose work is shown above. Thomas is well known adorning her paintings with rhinstones, enamel and colorful acrylics. in the archetypal explorations of notions of beauty.” Thomas’ efforts to explore these delicate issues have not gone unnoticed by art critics and art historians. As William pointed out, “Mickalene’s work has been written about extensively and tremendously well received, and her work is part of many major collections around the world. While I don’t think her work is particularly contentious, it does challenge notions of gender, identity, sexuality and power and will greatly resonate with the interests of students at Vassar.” Although Thomas’ work focuses specifically on black women, she strongly believes that her work speaks to the general and universal. As she mused in the same interview with ART iT, “When I’m making the work, I don’t necessarily think of it as being representative of a specific cultural or ethnic identity. That may be one of the inspirations, but it’s really more an extension of who I am.” She added, “I personally think there are universal elements to the work.” One of her most acclaimed works is a portrait that she made of first lady Michelle Obama. As Thomas explained in an interview with Artinfo,
“I decided to do the portrait before Obama had won the election because I could see that Michelle was already becoming a major icon of both style and power. I wanted to highlight and pay homage to that fact by creating a portrait of Michelle Obama based on the iconic portraits that Andy Warhol created of Jackie Kennedy Onassis.” Her work stems from a long study of art history, not to mention the classical genres of portraiture, landscape and still life. Thomas is inspired by various sources that range from the 19th century Hudson River School to Edouard Manet, Henri Matisse and Romare Bearden. She continues to explore notions of beauty from a contemporary perspective infused with the more recent influences of popular culture and pop art. “To me, that comes back to thinking about painting and art history more than contemporary concepts of cultural identity,” said Thomas. There should be little doubt that Thomas’ presence at Vassar next week will stimulate and provoke students to think about contemporary art in different ways. “She absolutely is one of the most important and urgent painters of our time,” said William.
Robinson an observer since childhood Emma Daniels Reporter
“I
Christie Chea/The Miscellany News
’ve watched films ever since I was three or four years old,” Professor and Chair of Film Ken Robinson said. “At that age, my parents took me to see Bambi, and I sat there and asked them, ‘When is the deer going to come out from the back of the screen?’” Robinson’s youthful curiosity about film, and in particular the inner workings of film, eventually grew into a career. He has worked professionally on features, documentaries and television series, initially as a production recordist but primarily as an editor. Before coming to Vassar in 1987, he taught film production at the School of Cinema and Television at the University of Southern California for 15 years. “I love to do puzzles, and I find that editing film is like a puzzle, figuring how to put pieces together in a seamless and invisible way,” he explained. Robinson’s background spans far beyond his love of editing, though. “He’s been everywhere and done everything, from editing films to sound to shooting,” commented film major Robert Wagnerman ’12. Robinson’s interest in film comes largely from the sheer inquisitiveness of his personality. “I find I’m more effective behind the scenes,” he said. “I’m more of
an observer than a participant. When I was younger, I used to sit in the corner at bars with a club soda that would last me all night long—I don’t drink—and watch people, figuring out where they are going to go and what things will lead to. It’s just fascinating to me, what humans are and how they interact.” Although Robinson considers himself an observer, as a teacher he fulfills quite the opposite role. He fully immerses himself when teaching junior and senior film production classes, constantly challenging his students to engage critically with their work. “Professor Robinson always keeps us on our feet. He makes sure that we’re never too confident in our work, always looking to improve our films and ourselves,” said Wagnerman. “This keeps our entire class engaged, since he’ll only give you that tap on the shoulder every once in a blue moon. The rest of the time it’s, ‘How can you make this better?’ or, ‘Why did you choose to do that?’” “I am a teacher first and foremost,” Robinson said, “and my projects are centered around teaching—adapting what we do to the many changes in technology. As film professors, we’re always trying to find how we can make enduring premises and concepts work within the new technology, and also with the
Professor and Chair of Film Ken Robinson, above, worked professionally on features, documentaries and television series as a recordist and editor. new idiom that every generation brings with it.” Robinson’s latest film is Uncommon Sense, a documentary about the world of Poughkeepsie resident and Newberry Awardwinning children’s author Nancy Willard, tracing the chain of inspirations leading to her latest book The Moon and Riddles Diner and the Sunnyside Café. He also has recently worked on a film about the Obama election, and the huge wave of excitement and hope that went along with it. He began the project in 2008, but has struggled with the constantly
moving attitudes towards famous political figures. “The film is still trying to find its form and shape,” Robinson said. “There is such a radical change in the way people think about Obama today versus in 2008 that the project doesn’t seem relevant anymore.” He also noted that he was planning on retiring soon, but has postponed it for many reasons. The benefits of being employed are a definite incentive for Robinson to stay in the field, but he also added, “Besides, I love to teach.”
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Assistant Arts Editor
ip hop finds its roots during times of gang violence and socio-economic disparity. Yet rarely does campus group Hip Hop 101 have a chance to explore these fascinating origins. But come Nov. 10, in Blodgett Auditorum at 7:30 p.m., the organization will screen a documentary film, Rubble Kings, produced by Vassar alumnus Ben Velez ’94. The feature film insightfully traces the birth and progression of hip hop, focusing predominately on the gangs of New York City during the 1970 and their importance in bringing forth hip hop as we know it. “We literally rolled right from finishing our first doc, Downtown Calling, into making Rubble Kings as researching the one film led us to the story,” wrote Velez in an emailed statement. “The interest was already there and simply sparked by gaining a deeper understanding of the profundity of that era.” The film highlights the violence and discord that inspired hip hop. “Rubble Kings is the story of the outlaw street gang culture in NYC—how it developed and how its members came to brokering their own peace treaty, which led directly to the birth of hip hop,” said Velez. Between the period of 1968 and 1975, numerous gangs reigned over New York City. The early seventies were characterized by skyrocketing unemployment rates that created a sense of marginalization amongst minorities in the city. The social and economic discontent spawned widespread resentment and rage. This rising tension and volatile atmosphere would eventually give rise to the gangs of New York City. Soon the violence between gangs escalated to unimaginable levels, with thousands of youth joining gangs in this period. Neither law enforcement nor philanthropic endeavors could curb the growing violence that took place in the outskirts of the five boroughs of New York City. In the early ’70s the Ghetto Brothers, a prominent NYC gang, were driven for political reasons to secure a more peaceful life for the city. This led to a peace treaty that attempted to bring together the various gangs in the city through a party culture that was the initial impetus for hip hop. “The film shows how emotions like fear and anger were channeled into this creative outlet that became hip hop,” said co-President of Hip Hop 101 Sana Pierce-Wright ’13. Rubble Kings gives a valuable and riveting insight into the underbelly of New York City mafia and its lesser known role in bringing about hip hop, one of the more critical aspects of popular culture in today’s world. “Students will get to see behind the scenes of this culture that they experience everyday,” explained Pierce-Wright. The film addresses issues that continue to be a problem even today and helps to better understand a novel solution to these issues. “It generally has a powerful impact on viewers. Those not aware of the issues, which remain in different incarnations today, are moved to learn more. And those that are aware are generally overjoyed to see them addressed,” said Velez. “People are generally surprised to learn the nature of the birth of hip hop, as this angle has never really been exposed.” Hip Hop 101 continues to be one of the organizations on campus that successfully engages the wider Poughkeepsie community. “Hip hop is something that people can identify with,” said Pierce-Wright. Rubble Kings underscores this universal appeal of hip hop and highlights the relevance of hip hop and it’s culture to a wide audience that goes beyond the Vassar College student body. “Rubble Kings is not particularly apt for [Vassar]—it is apt for everywhere. It is, ultimately, the story of how individuals, no matter how disenfranchised, can change the course of history,” concluded Ben Valez.
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Simon’s play an enduring, classic tale
Kahn continues legacy of song, acting Burcu Noyan Reporter
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f you’re interested in seeing Aidan Kahn ’14 “accidentally” thrown off of a cliff, then you’re in luck. Just rent a copy of the Canadian 2007 thriller TV movie Tell Me No Lies and watch the staged murder of Alex Mills, played by a 15-year-old Kahn. Now 20 years old, Kahn’s early involvement with performance can be seen in his pursuits here at Vassar. He sings in the allmale a cappella group the Accidentals (also known as the Axies), takes voice lessons, performs in the comedy troupe The Limit and will play a lead role in an upcoming, yet to be announced musical by the Future Waitstaff of America. Kahn did act in his hometown of Vancouver before coming to Vassar, but it wasn’t a major part of his life. Neither was singing. “My main focus in high school was academic, and I was a big rugby player. I actually ended up at Vassar largely because of the rugby team,” he said. He had been a huge fan of musical theater for a long time. “I’ve been a musical theater nerd,” he expressed with pride. But Kahn wasn’t planning on performing in a musical either. “[At Vassar] I got even more interested in theater than I had been before,” he said. His exploration of theater at Vassar began with the Philaletheis’ directing workshops, where he acted in a short student play, “Fireworks,” written and directed by Julia Anrather ’13. Khan decided to audition for The Limit after seeing one of their shows. He also joined the Axies, eventually becoming their musical director. Not all accidents are staged, however, unlike those in his earlier TV experience. Kahn had to take a break from playing on the rugby team because of his injuries—a blessing in disguise, as he found more time to devote to the stage. “Not being able to do theater the first semester [because of rugby] made me want to do theater even more in the second semester,” he explained. Kahn was soon cast in “Harm’s Way” as its lead, Santouche. “Harm’s Way” is a highly experimental play that explores a mythical American West and the figure of the cowboy. “I was taking Drama 102 at the time I was doing ‘Harm’s Way’ and that really formed the way I think about theater. I began to have
Celia Garrity/The Miscellany News
BAREFOOT continued from page 14 Vassar tight-knit community. “People here have generally heard of Neil Simon, but have not experienced his work firsthand, so I wanted to give them a taste of it,” she added. “At Vassar, we are all dealing with different kinds of relationships, and Simon’s dialogue highlights the give-andtake of relationships poignantly, in a way that still rings true today.” Simon is renowned for his deft ability to wring humor, with sympathy, out of the everyday people and situations he consistently portrays. The characters in “Barefoot in the Park” are relatable—flawed, zany and always ultimately very human. Kelly Schuster ’15, who plays Corie, found that she shares a lot of similarities with her character. “Before I auditioned people kept telling me that I’m ‘so Corie,’” said Schuster. “She is full of energy and she kind of has to bring up the energy of the rest of the people in her life who can’t keep up with her,” she added with a grin. “She commits to everything and is super passionate.” Mike Pauker ’14, who plays Paul, described his character as too wrapped up with work but ultimately a very well-meaning character. He and Corie are very much in love, but at times the clash of their personalities can lead to great strain. Schuster also finds that, even as a college freshman, she relates to Corie in many ways. “The show is about growing up in a lot of ways, and realizing that as much as you feel like you do know everything, you really don’t,” Schuster said. “In fact, it kind of reminds me of going through any big transitions with that attitude, such as starting college; you may think you have it all figured out, but in reality there are going to be so many challenging and exciting changes.” The show uses a simple, pared down set that allows for the characters’ relationships to take the forefront. “The whole show takes place in this small living room, and the set gets redressed but never moves,” Schuster said. “That close proximity really affects the outcome of the play, and by having a simpler set you really strip away so many things, and can fully focus on the characters,” Schuster further added. The catharsis of these characters will revive questions regarding relationships in a witty, comic manner that was relevant over 50 years ago— questions that people still grapple with today.
November 10, 2011
Aidan Kahn ’12, pictured above, balances his time as a rugby player, thespian and a capella singer. Kahn takes inspiration from his family of entertainers, particularly his younger brother, Rowen. a more fluid, academic understanding,” Kahn said. “I started understanding theater, drama and storytelling on a more holistic level. Theater is a literary work. It’s a form of media through which ideas can be expressed coherently and universally. It’s that expression of ideas that I was attracted to,” Kahn said. Kahn grew up in a family that is strongly engaged with the entertainment sector, from film to music to radio. “The way I came to see myself is that, fundamentally, I want to be a storyteller. Now I’m starting to find my wings in storytelling. Whatever it is that I’m performing, I’m telling a story, and I want to communicate ideas, emotions, sentiments,” he said. “Theater was created for that reason. We always talk about this in the family.” Kahn grew up in a family of entertainers. His eldest brother is a writer and producer, his parents film industry veterns, his uncle a cinematographer and his grandfather a radio show pianist. Even his aunt is famed singer Judy Collins, who won Song of the Year at the 1975 Grammy Awards for her rendition of “Send in
the Clowns.” Out of all his family members, it is Kahn’s younger brother who has influenced and inspired him the most. A budding movie star, Rowen Kahn has acted in various TV shows and movies, and has a big upcoming project not yet announced to the public. After the Interlochen Arts Academy’s camp that both brothers attended years ago, Rowen Kahn discovered his passion for acting and started to pursue it professionally. “Seeing him go through this realization process inspired me to believe that I could do that too, rather than just thinking that theater is only a hobby and that I should focus on my political science major,” said Kahn. “For now I want to study and educate myself to become a well-rounded individual and see what happens after college,” he said of his future plans. But he is sure of one thing: “I never want to do any production that doesn’t have at least some intellectual base. What’s the point of doing something that’s not the least bit smart? And that’s what Vassar has introduced to me.”
STS alum melds social action, media through web design Aaron Steinberg Guest Reporter
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t first glance, a film festival might seem an unlikely place for a science, technology and society (STS) major to wind up. However, for Vassar alumnus Anh-Phuong Nguyen ’95, spearheading all the web-related elements of the Social Change Film Festival and Institute (SCFFI) is the perfect way to combine his techsavvyness with a passion social change and action. After graduating Vassar in 1995, STS major Nguyen initially took what he described as a “conventional career path.” Nguyen explained, “I had worked in corporate America at nine to five jobs ever since Vassar and it got to me.” Although such work may have created a safety net, giving Nguyen a steady paycheck, he explained decidedly, “My first few jobs out of college were mind numbing. I’d spend my nine to five teaching myself web development while putting in the motions behind a desk at Corporation X.” After this awakening, he and a good friend got in a van and made the trek from Chicago to San Francisco, where Nguyen began doing freelance web design and strategy. Nguyen built the website for SCFFI, which raises awareness about social, environmental and political issues through film, networking, activism and youth educational programs. “I handle all web iniatives. Anything that is web or technology related. For example, if we need to partner with another website, I am in charge of integrating the content.” Nguyen is also in
charge of online promotion efforts for the festival: “Whether it be an iPhone app for the film festival of other mobile technology, we are trying to attract more people to the festival,” he said. Nguyen explained of the SCFFI, “[It’s’ a] festival created to support filmmakers to be effective social activists and help social activists to be engaging storytellers.” The SCFFI was founded in 2009 by the Solet Iniative, a non-profit organization that supports the growth of sustainable communities and businesses on a local and global scale. This past April, SCFFI held its inaugural film festival in Ubud, Bali. Over the course of four days, eight feature films were screened in open-air venues across the Indonesian island. The festival’s wide range of films included There Once Was An Island, which covers the erosion and climate change plaguing the small Pacific Island of Takuu and its inhabitants, and Dog Sweat, another documentary on the lives of six young people in Iran misunderstood by their families and oppressed by conservative Iranian society. An inspiring film entitled Fambul Tok took home best in show. According to the film website’s description, it is the story of the “tradition-based truth-telling and forgiveness ceremonies of victims and perpetrators of Sierra Leone’s civil war.” The film optimizes the festival’s main goal: “To build a global community focused on expanding the reach of conscious social change film and media.”
In addition to these emotional films, various panels, workshops, selected shorts and special events were also held. This year may have marked the first official Social Change Film Festival, but the event was a huge success nonetheless. “Although this was only the first year,” Nguyen said, “it was met with such a great reception that plans have been made for another in the spring of 2012 in New Orleans.” Logistics for the next year’s festival are already solidified, and the theme chosen—Water: Challenges and Solutions. SCFFI is now welcoming submissions. The success of the first film festival was largely because of Nguyen’s hard work at the helm of web development. Given the rising importance of social media and an online presence for businesses, festivals and institutes in today’s market, Nguyen’s work is particularly valuable. In addition to his contributions to the SCFFI web presence, Nguyen work is also notable as it applies to a largely female population of artists, filmmakers, writers and small business owners. “Most of my clients are women, and that’s part chance and now part design,” he explained. “I didn’t set out to help only women, but the further along I went I realized that my small contribution towards change, where I could have the most impact, was helping women define themselves and their enterprises online.” When asked to reflect upon his time at Vassar, Nguyen responded, “I was a great overall
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experience.” Although he very much enjoyed his four years here, Nguyen explained the most important impact school left on him was a deep rooted hunger for more information and education. Looking back, Nguyen relates an Angela Davis quote he first heard from his Africana studies professor, Dr. Constance Berkeley, to his present experience with the film festival: “We must learn to lift as we climb.” It is this profound effect that has helped prepare him for his endeavors with the SCFFI and his work with other clients, moving into areas like serious games and mobile development/ technologies for social change. Serious games are a new brand of video game that emphasize education, awareness and entertainment with a special focus on social and environmental issues. From his undertakings, it is clear that a concentration in a non-traditional major like STS can lead to very interesting and fulfilling work, especially if one has the courage and confidence to take on risks as Nguyen did. Because Vassar’s foremost influence for a graduate is a rich appetite for learning and education, like Nguyen explained, if one is creative and recognizes opportunities that are presented, personal satisfaction and professional success is likely. No doubt Nguyen is unique in his field, as he approaches traditional technological and webbased pursuits with a strong ideological undertone, one that in many ways stems directly from his experience at Vassar.
ARTS
November 10, 2011
Page 17
Rum Diary, Depp pay homage to gonzo Katharine Austin Senior Editor
The Rum Diary Bruce Robinson [GK Films, Infinitum Nihil, FilmEngine]
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o prepare for his role of Raoul Duke in Terry Gilliam’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Johnny Depp moved into the basement of Hunter S. Thompson’s Colorado home. Living there for four months, Depp and Thompson—the eccentric writer and creator of Gonzo journalism—became great friends. During his stay, Depp found the long forgotten manuscript for Thompson’s semi-autobiographical novel The Rum Diary. Depp was integral in getting the novel finally published in 1998 and pushed to have it adapted into a film since 1997. Fast-forward almost 15 years and Depp and Thompson’s goal is finally realized. The Rum Diary, directed by Bruce Robinson, opened in wide release late last month. Sadly, Thompson was not alive to see his dream become a reality, having taken his own life in 2005 at the age of 67. Set in 1960, The Rum Diary tells the story of Paul Kemp (Depp), an alcoholic journalist who ventures from New York to Puerto Rico to write for The San Juan Star. Joined by a motley band of misfits—the veteran staff photographer, Sala (Michael Rispoli), and the Hitler-phile wreck of a human being, Moburg (Giovanni Ribisi)— Kemp encounters the growing tensions between the native Puerto Ricans, the imperial-
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ist Americans and the journalists who are too busy writing horoscopes and bowling articles to report on what’s most important. Hired by businessman Hal Sanderson (Aaron Eckhart) to write favorable articles about Sanderson’s odious plans to convert an untouched island into a hotel and resort haven, Kemp observes the rampant social injustices taking place first hand and becomes caught up in a storm of treachery, greed, jealousy and lust. The Rum Diary offers much when it comes to the local color of Puerto Rico, from beautiful beaches to cock fights to the gallons of rum Kemp must have downed during the course of the story. Perhaps more importantly, the film also epitomizes Thompson’s persona: erratic yet passionate and blurring the lines between fact and fiction. Despite the film’s effort to pay homage to Thompson and his work, however, The Rum Diary is not without its kinks. The film sports a rather unconventional narrative structure. While such a format is not automatically a negative asset, it can lead to confusion. The plot is far from definitive. The Rum Diary possesses shades of a road movie, a love story and an anti-establishment manifesto, but does not completely follow through on any of the above. Its slow-paced, winding narrative works its way up to an expected conclusion that never materializes. Instead, it comes to a fairly abrupt ending, assigning all plot resolution to a short text epilogue shown during the final moments. Somewhat unsatisfactory, to say the least. As one viewer remarked after the film’s credits began to roll, “What was it about?” The confusion made by the meandering narrative, however, is partially compensated by
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the strength of the performances in the film, particularly Depp’s. I was struck by how subtly he was able to show the layers to Kemp’s character. While Kemp first appears to be solely concerned with getting by and getting wasted, he slowly reveals himself to be quite passionate, to the point of naiveté, about truth and justice. It is not that Kemp’s character changes or experiences some kind of life-altering event. Over the course of the film, Depp simply lets the viewer get to really know and understand the complexities of the same imperfect Kemp met at the beginning. The themes of American imperialism and class strife that Thompson found so significant at the time of the novel’s writing in the early 1960s remain just as relevant to today’s times in the shadow of Occupy Wall Street. “There is no dream,” Kemp says, “just a piss puddle of greed, spreading throughout the world.” In the spirit of the 99 percent, Kemp seeks to expose the avarice and entitlement that has corrupted the top players of society in a near-impossible attempt to overturn the system. While its plot may be difficult to untangle, The Rum Diary certainly attempts to function as a call to arms. How effective that call is, however, is questionable. Despite its drawbacks, The Rum Diary provides a reasonably enjoyable viewing experience, with a thought-provoking message to boot. While I’m sure the story means more to Depp and the memory of Thompson than it does for the audience, accounting for its largely mixed critical reception and low box-office receipts, the film pays homage to an unconventional man with an admirable desire to expose the truth.
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“Andrew Bird”
Zach Herwitz ’13
“Yann Tieren and Girl Talk”
Daniel Rajunov ’12
“I’ve been listening to ‘Comfortably Numb’ by Pink Floyd on repeat for days.”
Claire Oxford ’14
“God.”
Robert Ruggiero ’13
“ ‘Love Etc.’ by Pet Shop Boys.”
Kevin Choe ’12
I’ve been interested in ideas of framing lately, and how people think as they perceive them, both visually and psychologically. This piece suggests how a frame can encapsulate an image of a place as freestanding door jambs frame a path. This installation was an attempt for me to respond to a particular space on campus, connecting the bridge at the bottom of Graduation Hill with a set of steps that lead down to the path around Sunset Lake. Thinking about where to put the piece made me examine my relationship to the campus and how features of the landscape have framed my experience at Vassar.
For me the piece also brings up questions about passage and thresholds; doors not only frame but mark a transition into new spaces, constructing borders for one’s perception. One of the most enriching parts of making the work was getting to show it to my Sculpture I class, and see it transform with human interaction as people played with the opening and closing doors on one another. Still, I hope that engaging with a new object also encourages a more engaged contemplation of the landscape in which it is fixed. —Chelsea Cater
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“A strange combination of Rhianna’s ‘We Found Love’ and Ingrid Michaelson’s ‘The Way I am.’”
Caitlin Smart ’12
—Rachael Borné Arts Editor
SPORTS
Page 18
November 10, 2011
Soccer moves ahead to NCAA Division III tournament
Courtesy of Shane Donahue, Vassar Athletics
SOCCER continued from page 1 noting how many close losses the team suffered. (Five of the seven defeats came by one goal.) Nevertheless, he added, “[In] each of those games, our expectations were building, building, building.” Captain Zander Mrlik ’13, also named All-Liberty League First Team, added that, coming into this season, “We didn’t think any team was better than us.” Entering the playoffs as the fourth and final playoff seed, however, the Brewers knew they would be facing teams that, record-wise, were in fact superior. In the first round, they opposed the St. Lawrence University Saints, who not only stood atop the Liberty League but were also ranked No. 1 in all of Division III. After dropping their first two games against top-ranked opponents this season (including one against St. Lawrence), Vassar pulled off the dramatic upset, tying St. Lawrence 0-0 through regulation and two overtime periods and advancing to the Championship on penalty kicks, 3-1. As confident as they were going into the playoffs, players agreed that the win provided a major morale boost. “Holding the No. 1 team to no goals through 110 minutes and being able to get past them in penalty kicks—that proved we could get past any team,” Erlichson-McCarthy said. Mrlik added that goalkeepers Ryan Grimme ’14 and Gary Clauss ’13 put in tremendous performances in regulation and overtime, respectively. “[Grimme] made unbelievable, terrific saves,” he said. “[Clauss] would start on almost any Division III team—when he’s come in, he’s come up big.” Grimme made a career-high 15 saves against St. Lawrence, and Clauss held the Saints to just one successful penalty kick. Facing RIT in the conference finals provided another opportunity for redemption; the Brewers fell to the Tigers 2-0 on Oct. 14, a matchup Mrlik remembered bitterly. “We thought we played our worst game against RIT,” he said. “We lost our heads and they got a couple of fortunate breaks—we thought we were the better team.” With the slate wiped clean last Saturday, Vassar started off strong. Juliano Pereira ’14 capitalized off a corner kick from Macklin and subsequent header from Tom Wiechert ’15 to put the Brewers ahead five minutes into the con-
Above, the men’s soccer team steers its way to victory at a recent match. The Brewer’s Liberty League Chapionship win awarded them an automatic bid to compete in the Division III NCAA Championship. test. It was Pereira’s ninth goal of the season. The game turned into a back-and-forth affair throughout the first half; as RIT countered with a goal at 27:18, Vassar’s Evan Seltzer ’14 put the Brewers back on top with his first goal of the year at 31:44 and RIT knotted things up again at 38:15. With the game tied 2-2 at halftime, the Brewers were confident that all they needed was one more goal. “We knew if we put away another in the second half, we could win,” ErlichsonMcCarthy said. “Our defense is the strongest area of our team.” The Brewers also didn’t want to take their chances in overtime again. “[Assistant Coach Tony Flores] told us this game wasn’t going to OT,” Erlichson-McCarthy recalled. Mrlik commented that the team’s offense was running on all cylinders after halftime. “I honestly felt we were going to score,” he said. “We dictated play in the second half.” It was Mrlik who ended up scoring the deciding goal with 5:56 left in regulation. From 35 yards out, Macklin delivered a free kick to just inside
the back post that Mrlik headed in for the score. Mrlik called Macklin’s setup an “unbelievable cross.” He added: “It’s hard to miss when it’s that perfect. [Macklin] has the ability to put the ball exactly where it needs to be.” Fittingly, Macklin gave the credit to Mrlik. “[Mrlik] is such a monster,” he said. “If you just put the ball in a certain area, you know he’s going to win it.” It was the defender/midfielder’s first goal of the season. At that point, it was up to the aforementioned defense to prevent another equalizer from the Tigers. Once they took the lead, the Brewers strategically inserted a fifth defensive back into their formation. It was the same tactic they had used in overtime against St. Lawrence. “We knew if that worked against St. Lawrence for 10 minutes, we could hold off RIT for five,” Erlichson-McCarthy explained. Mrlik called the remaining time in regulation “the longest five minutes of my life.” The clock eventually expired, though, and once it did, Vassar officially completed its journey to the top. Ecstatic though they were with
themselves, the Brewers were just as, if not more, happy for their head coach, Andy Jennings. “After the game, I ran over to [Jennings] and gave him a great big bear hug,” Macklin said. The embrace was accompanied by the ceremonial “Gatorade bath,” though the cooler dumped on Jennings was filled with water. Jennings, who has spent parts of three decades coaching the men’s soccer team, experienced various emotions once the game concluded. “[I was] excited for the success for all the current players and the ones over the years that had worked hard for this—but relieved that the game was over and we could now relax,” he wrote in an emailed statement. Jennings added that he was satisfied with the particular obstacles the Brewers had to overcome in order to become champions. “They were both teams we hoped we would see again—[St. Lawrence] because we played so well against them and we wanted another crack at the No. 1 team, and RIT because we played so poorly against them in the regular season,” he wrote. “We got our wish and we got the right results.” Now, with the NCAA Championships looming, the Brewers hope to ride the momentum that has carried them since the end of the regular season. Currently on a five-game winning streak, the team has faced the same do-or-die conditions continually. “Going into the past couple of games,” Macklin said, “we kept telling ourselves ‘We’re going to make history, we’re going to make history.’” The Brewers will face Dickinson College in the first round of the NCAA Championships on Saturday, marking their first appearance in the tournament since 1999. Jennings’ approach is simple. “Just to win the next game—nothing more than that,” he wrote. “It is the only way to approach a knock out competition.” Erlichson-McCarthy echoed this sentiment, saying the team had to take things one game at a time, while Mrlik observed that they have already maintained this mindset throughout the entire season. “You [have to] go goal by goal,” he said. “In the beginning of the year, we weren’t thinking about the Liberty League Championships—you just need to be in the dance. Once you’re there, anything can happen.”
Fans rooting for losses over wins betray their teams Sam Scarritt-Selman
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Columnist
here has long been a tacit social contract between sports teams and their respective fan bases: fans provide enthusiasm, loyalty and patronage, and in exchange, the players reward their fans with inspired, entertaining and, hopefully, successful play on the field. In times of triumph, this arrangement is simple. The fans get to cheer the big play and the players get to thank the fans; everyone gets what they want. When the team struggles, most fans find it depressing and demeaning to root ceaselessly for a failing team, but their absence makes it evermore difficult for the players on the field to elevate their game. Despite the challenges, historically, most fans remain loyal in the hope that if they cheer loud enough and the team tries hard enough, eventually some luck will come their way. Call it the cynicism of our time, but things have changed. Whereas victory on game day used to be the solitary directive of team and fan alike, a once infrangible bond has given way to entreaties of “If you can’t win on the field, at least you could try to help your position in the upcoming draft.” All of this has come to a head this football season, where multiple teams are facing immense pressure to “Suck for Luck.” Luck, in this case, is Andrew Luck, the quarterback from Stanford University, considered by most prognosticators to be the best collegiate prospect in recent history. The idea behind “Suck for Luck” is that, by securing the worst record, a team can guarantee that it will be selecting Andrew Luck in the upcoming NFL draft. (The draft order is determined by the reverse order of the previous season’s standings.) The primary teams in contention are the St. Louis Rams, Indianapolis Colts and Miami Dolphins. In the first two of these cases, though, the team’s futility is forgiv-
able: the Rams are a young, developing team with few weapons at present and the Colts are playing without future Hall-of-Famer and franchise cornerstone Peyton Manning, underscoring just how much he has meant to the team. With these teams, one gets the sense that the prospect of a favorable draft pick is but a moral victory for fans to salvage from a disappointing season. The same cannot be said for the fans and management of the Miami Dolphins, who seem to be taking a rooting interest in their team’s failure, actively playing a role in their team’s implosion. Over the past couple of seasons, the Miami Dolphins have quickly built and torn asunder a competent football team. After going 1-15 in the 2007-2008 season, the team surpassed all expectations the following season by going 11-5 and winning the AFC East under first-year Head Coach Tony Sparano. Now though, Dolphins fans and management have made fielding a competitive team nearly impossible, making it no great secret that Luck was their target. In the offseason, Dolphins ownership openly courted other coaches, including Luck’s head coach at Stanford, Jim Harbaugh, to replace Sparano, only extending a vote of confidence in Sparano once those overtures failed. Further, there has been a concentrated effort to mobilize popular support against quarterback Chad Henne, whose injury concerns and on-the-field struggles were magnified to the point that he lost all credibility with his team, creating a fractious locker room environment in the process. And now, in the middle of a season in which players are trying to find positives, keep their jobs and even just win a game or two, Dolphins players are brazenly asked at nearly every turn if they are excited about what it will be like to play with Luck next year. Unsurprisingly, most players find this more than a little offensive. Not that it matters, though. Fans and manage-
ment have already traded in the team they have for the one they want next season. It’s a matter of pride, almost. “Sure, stomp on us this year. Just you wait until we get Luck.” One of the easiest things for a team’s management to promise and for a team’s fan base to demand is a rebuilding process. Tear the whole thing down and start over! This is not a failsafe policy, and for every successful rebuilding initiative there are dozens of cautionary tales of teams sinking further into disrepair. Nevertheless, this strategy is generally appealing because it accomplishes several palliative effects that make a disappointing team seem digestible. First of all, it buys management time to find an answer to the team’s woes, for a rebuilding process is always a multi-year endeavor, through which, as management always guarantees, there will be hard times. It energizes the fan base, for the prospect of future success provides meaning to its team’s suffering. It also exonerates management from any culpability should the team encounter struggle, recasting any failure as deliberate growing pains that are all part of the plan. To this end, rebuilding processes can distort and confuse fan psychology, making it seem as though losing is necessary and therefore desirable. However, there is a very real difference between weathering the storm and praying for rain. “Suck for Luck” is not a new phenomenon— this is just the loudest and most obvious it has ever been in the history of the NFL. The threat of teams tanking in order to optimize the value of their draft picks has been around in some measure for as long as the draft system has been in place. This theoretically acts in the interest of parity, for it makes it easier for bad teams to improve and makes it difficult for elite teams to maintain their relative hegemonies on talent. However, embedded in this system of talent allocation is an unavoidable moral hazard, which
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in turn imperils the integrity of athletic competition: There is a very real and enticing incentive for struggling teams to forfeit their seasons in order to “win” the draft. This is not to say that this system is not good, equitable and necessary, but rather to say that it is vulnerable to manipulation. For a fan of a wayward franchise, this raises an important ethical question: Is it ever right to root against your team, even if it might be in the team’s better interest to lose? Furthermore, if losing presents an opportunity that can benefit the team, is it even rooting against the team in the first place? Make no mistake, “Suck for Luck” represents an abrogation of all that it means to root for a professional sports franchise. Of course, the counter-argument is that, in hoping for shortterm losses, the fan base is actually wisely hoping for the long-term vitality of the team, which surely cannot be an unethical aspiration. This, however, is not pragmatism, but condescension. Is there any greater insult an avowed fan base can confer upon the players on the field than to root for their failure so that the team might find better players? Maybe we only cheer for laundry, and perhaps the players themselves are arbitrary, but isn’t such a demonstrative attestation to that effect just impolite and disloyal? Hey, it might be the case that it is really in the best interest of a team to “Suck for Luck” and that whatever team ends up drafting him will be rewarded with years of unimpeded success. Even that will never justify a fan base celebrating the failings of its team and calling that support. Certainly a fan base that has to endure a thoroughly depressing season is within its rights to take solace in the knowledge that some good things are coming its way, but to be a party to the immolation of your own sports franchise means overstepping a line that a fan can never cross. I sure hope it’s worth it.
SPORTS
November 10, 2011
Page 19
Smart swimming his way into VC records Alicia Salvino Reporter
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Andy Sussman
I Courtesy of Jack Smart
or varsity swim captain Jack Smart ’12, swimming is in his blood. His mother was a member of the national water polo team and was a swim coach throughout his childhood, so it was only natural that Smart grew up swimming, whether at the pool or at the beach in his hometown of Honolulu, Hawaii. Smart began competitively swimming through his neighborhood club team at the age of six. In an emailed statement, Smart joked, “When I was 10 I was the Hawai’i State Champion in breaststroke, and...it’s been downhill ever since.” He played water polo and swam for two years in high school but found that theater began to overshadow athletics. Even still, swimming heavily influenced his college selection as he began to eliminate schools with inadequate aquatic facilities. “I knew that whether or not I was going to compete on my college’s team, I desperately needed to be able to sustain my chlorine addiction,” Smart explained. “It’s funny to think my choice of school came down to either Vassar or UCLA,” Smart said. “I imagine I wouldn’t be doing much competitive swimming at UCLA right now, and my college experience would be rather different.” In fact, Smart has found that his experience swimming for Vassar has profoundly impacted his college life. He spoke fondly of a strong bond with his teammates, whom he sees as a second family, as well as the confidence that their closeness has afforded him. “There’s something very fulfilling about spending almost 20 hours a week soaking in chlorine with a group of hard-working, half-naked people who are willing to push you,” Smart commented. “Swimming will probably be the most memorable highlight of my college career because of the friends I’ve made.” From the beginning, Smart has found this sense of community to be very powerful. As a freshman, Smart watched the entire team cheer on a junior swimming his last race before going abroad. Of that moment, Smart
Jack Smart ’12, captain of the varsity swim team, began swimming competitively at the age of six. He recently broke Vassar’s record for the 400 freestyle relay race at a state championship. said, “I think that was probably the moment I knew I was surrounded by people who would support and welcome me unconditionally.” One of Smart’s favorite moments swimming for Vassar is his record-breaking 400 freestyle relay race at the most recent state championship. Even in breaking a 15-year old record, Smart treasured the team celebration over his individual triumph: “Their cheers as we walked out for the final were louder than any other team’s. I still get chills thinking about that.” Smart also holds school records in the 200 breast, 200 individual medley, 400 individual medley as well as in a number of more relay events. Though Smart acknowledged that his position as captain comes with certain social challenges, he has risen to the occasion, paying attention to and discovering his teammates’ strengths both in and out of the pool. “I think solid leadership entails relentless positivity
and a genuine interest in the achievements of every member of the team,” Smart wrote. He added, “A sense of humor also comes in handy. Ultimately, I’m trying to provide the kind of support I have been given over the past three years. I owe to the [Vassar College Swimming and Diving] community the same unwavering friendship I’ve been lucky enough to count on.” Smart hopes to possibly break a few more records during the current season, but his goals for the year are not limited to the record board. As captain, Smart is making a point of “creating the same kind of positive atmosphere I’ve enjoyed since my days as an innocent freshman.” Though Smart hopes to pursue an occupation relating to his English and drama double major, he finds it likely that he will be in a teaching or coaching position after Vassar. As Smart explained, “It’s in my blood.”
McDavid adjusting to coaching at Vassar Kristine Olson
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Assistant Sports Editor
it too often unfortunately. But it has come in handy to make a flier or two, and has made me the first choice for hand made signs and anything involving Photoshop or Illustrator.” While McDavid was searching for employment, his coach at Rochester recommended Vassar. After visiting the campus and attending squash matches, McDavid stated that he liked the school and was impressed by its facilities. “I thought [Head Coach Jane Parker] was a great person and someone I would work well with,” wrote McDavid. Although he coached players of various skill levels for seven years prior to coming to Vassar, McDavid shared, “Coaching a college team seemed like a great challenge and a great opportunity for me to teach players all that I have learned in my years of playing and coaching.” And it has been a challenge. “The transition has been fairly tough,” admitted McDavid. “I moved into Vassar right after a busy summer of coaching and playing squash, and I am still trying to move stuff in and unpack,” he elaborated. Starting a new chapter in his life in a new place has been an “unbelievable feeling,” shared McDavid. Despite having to adjust to a new life, “It’s been great working with both teams, and getting to know the players,” stated McDavid. He continued: “They are all friendly and fun individuals, which has made it easy for me to work with them.”
Jiajing Sun/The Miscellany News
assar College men’s and women’s squash Assistant Coach Robert McDavid grew up watching his parents play squash for the Guyana national team. “I always went with my mom when she played with her friends and practiced with the team,” wrote McDavid in an emailed statement. Watching the sport growing up instilled a love of the game. “After seeing squash in competition I was hooked and became committed to playing and training to make the junior national team.” McDavid’s accomplishments are numerous on both the international and collegiate levels. He was named the Most Improved Junior in 1997 by the Guyana Squash Association. Later in his career, he played for the Guyana national team from 2007 to 2010, ranking as high as No. 2 in the South American country, while also starring at the University of Rochester. He graduated last May with a Bachelor of Arts degree in studio art. “Being able to play on a great college team and be coached by Martin Heath (a professional player who was ranked as high as No. 4 in the world) was a great bonus, and made Rochester a great college for me to attend,” stated McDavid about his experience. Regarding his degree in studio art, McDavid explained with good humor: “I don’t get to use
How NBA stars might use free time
Men’s and women’s squash Assistant Coach Robert McDavid played internationally for the Guyana national squash team from 2007 t0 2010. As a coach, McDavid notes that what has worked best for both squash teams is that “they see themselves as a family and enjoy squash ... they are dedicated to working together to make improvements,” he wrote. “They all help coach each other, and push each other in drills.” McDavid continued, “Having that bond between the players makes them want to play harder and win for the team, which in my experience of playing is a stronger commitment in matches than when you are playing for yourself.” As the team continues to de-
velop, McDavid recognizes that. “At the moment we need to continue working players’ individual weaknesses in their games, so that they can have greater confidence and be tough to beat in their games regardless of the competitor,” he explained. Based on his experiences as a player and coach, McDavid is poised to succeed as the assistant coach. Although he is still adjusting to his new home, his pedigree and background provide the tools he will need to help guide the Vassar program to new heights in the 2011-2012 season and beyond.
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
Columnist
hope you’re enjoying the NBA lockout, everybody! With little progress being made towards a deal that will begin the season, players have to find a backup plan to occupy themselves. Here’s a look at what some pros are doing, and what they should be doing. The plan: Star New Jersey Nets point guard Deron Wiliams signed a contract with the Turkish basketball team Besiktas and is currently averaging 20 points and eight assists per game playing against competition that even Williams has probably never heard of. My (better) suggestion: Williams should travel across Europe, looking for the tallest people, and force them to join him on the Nets so the team can finally get more than two rebounds per game. The plan: Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love, last year’s leading rebounder, participated in the Manhattan Beach Volleyball Open this summer. He and a partner lost easily to two Olympic hopefuls in straight sets. My (better) suggestion: If Love wants to try another sport so badly, why doesn’t he just play dodgeball? He can throw his outlet passes directly at the competition’s knees and give them celebratory noogies. You know, because he’s so much taller than everyone else. The plan: Reigning Rookie of the Year and slam-dunk champion Blake Griffin is interning for the comedy website Funny or Die, writing and appearing in multiple videos. The Los Angeles Clipper is staying in Hollywood, where Funny or Die is located. My (better) suggestion: Yes, Griffin is funny, but I’m pretty sure he could be saving the world with his magical jumping powers. Is there a cat stuck in a tree? Blake Griffin to the rescue! Did Clippers’ owner Donald Sterling take children’s Halloween candy and hide it in a tree just because he can? Blake Griffin to the rescue! The plan: Los Angeles Lakers forward Luke Walton was hired to be an assistant coach for the University of Memphis basketball team. Once the NBA lockout ends, Walton is free to join the Lakers again, even if it is during the Tigers’ season. My (better) suggestion: Stay in Memphis. Not because Walton is necessarily a good coach, but because every time Walton sits at the end of the bench in a 30-point Lakers win, Adam Morrison sheds a single tear. The plan: Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Baron Davis is taking classes at University of California, Los Angeles, the school which he attended through sophomore year before declaring for the NBA Draft 12 years ago. My (better) suggestion: Judging by Davis’ extra weight and lack of conditioning, it would seem reasonable for me to write that he should be working out extra hard while he has the time and few distractions. However, I think he should go in the opposite direction and enter competitive eating competitions throughout the country. Is there a pizza challenge in a fourth grade class in Iowa? You better watch out kids, Davis is showing up, and he likes his pizza. The plan: Troubled Boston Celtics guard Delonte West announced via Twitter that he is now working for Regency Furniture, located in the Washington D.C. area. My (better) suggestion: Since West pled guilty to multiple weapons charges last year, it’s probably not the best idea for him to be near the nation’s capital. Perhaps West could serve as a role model for the impressionable youth of today: They can learn that whatever West does, it is advisable to do the exact opposite. The plan: The famous (or is it infamous?) Ron Artest has been extremely busy during his NBA downtime, changing his name to Metta World Peace, participating in Dancing with the Stars and even spending time with singer Celene Dion in Las Vegas. My (better) suggestion: What do you think I am, some sort of career genius? I can’t possibly top Peace’s brilliance. Maybe Vassar could hire him to work in its Career Development Office.
SPORTS
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November 10, 2011
Fall, winter seasons collide for rare sports weekend Andy Marmer Sports Editor
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Celia Garrity/The Miscellany News
his past weekend was a rare one, in which sports from two seasons merged. The fall season is wrapping up with postseason play for many Vassar teams, while the winter campaign is just beginning for other groups of Brewers. The women’s volleyball team tried to capture some winning magic, facing Clarkson University in the first round of the Liberty League Championships. The Brewers got out to a fast start, capturing the first set 25-18, after a 16-3 advantage. Vassar was unable to sustain its momentum, however, dropping the next three sets, 25-18, 25-15, and 25-17, with Clarkson jumping out to early leads in each set. Freshman Marie Pitre was named to the All-Tournament Team for the Brewers, who finished the season 17-13. Three Brewers earned postseason awards as Amy Bavosa ’12 was named First Team All-Liberty League. The women’s rugby team kept its playoff run alive, defeating the University of Rhode Island 30-22. O’Mara Taylor ’12 led the Brewers, scoring all 30 points with five tries, a penalty and a conversion. The Brewers, ranked No. 7 in the Northeast, upset Rhode Island to advance to the Northeast National qualifier, which they are hosting. On Saturday, Nov. 12 the Brewers face the Univer-
A member of the women’s volleyball times moves to strike the ball at a recent game against Clarkson University in the first round of the Liberty League Championships. While winning the first set, the Brewers dropped the next three. sity of Rutgers at the Vassar Farm, while No. 1 seed Norwich University faces No. 5 seed Bowdoin College on Prentiss Field. The top three teams will advance to Nationals. The top-seeded men’s team will also host a national qualifying tournament this weekend. Vassar will face No. 5 seed Fairfield University, while No. 2 seed Marist College
faces No. 3 seed Colgate University. The winner of the men’s tournament also advances to Nationals. Men’s and women’s squash kicked off their seasons hosting Smith College, Haverford College and Ithaca College for the Guy Fawkes Challenge. The men’s team cruised to a pair of 7-2 wins over Haverford and Ithaca, avenging a 6-3 loss to Hav-
erford last year. The women’s team also cruised to a 2-0 start, defeating Smith 6-3 and Haverford 9-0. Next week, the men’s team will host Fordham University and Bard College, while the women face William Smith College and St. Lawrence University. The men’s and women’s swimdive squads each also improved
Quidditch alumna flies back for game Jesse Hartman
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SCOREBOARD Nov. 4 WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
Reporter
VASSAR
Andy Marmer/The Miscellany News
he About section on the Quidditch World Cup’s website contains a quote from Fox News which describes the event as “A cross between the Superbowl and a Medieval festival.” Indeed, this year’s World Cup features 100 teams and 2000 athletes from around the globe, as well as live music and entertainment. Despite its growth, intercollegiate quidditch has humble roots, beginning when Vassar faced Middlebury College in 2007 in the first World Cup. Now, five years later, the International Quidditch Association (IQA) is honoring this occasion with the first-ever quidditch alumnae/i game at this year’s World Cup. Vassar once again is taking a leading role in the sport as the school’s team, the Butterbeer Broooers, will take on the Middlebury College team in the alumnae/i game. While the teams will not consist solely of graduates from the two schools, they will wear gray and blue uniforms commemorating the championship’s first matchup. Commissioner, CEO and President of the IQA Alex Benepe, a 2009 graduate of Middlebury, explained the reason for this brand-new event in an emailed statement, writing, “Since this is the first year that a lot of quidditch players graduated college, we felt it was a good time to offer them an opportunity to play at the World Cup.” Marking the five-year anniversary of the first World Cup match between the two respective sides certainly provides a strong impetus for the event, but it was not the sole motivation. Overall, the IQA was looking for a way to include quidditch alumnae/i in the World Cup events. Benepe noted, “We wanted to set the tone and suggest for teams that [alumnae/i] should start to move on by creating an [alumnae/i]-only game that is only open to graduates who are not playing on their teams in the Cup.” Of course the Broooers weren’t overlooked when the two rosters were selected. Former Broooer beater Michellle Cantos ’11 was chosen to compete on the Vassar team, reprising a role she held five years earlier in the debut World Cup. In an emailed statement, Cantos commented, “I was elated when [Benepe] told me there would be an
to 2-0 with a pair of victories over Skidmore College. The men’s team earned a 167-128 win, while the women’s squad persevered 166-131. Jack Smart ’12 led the men’s team, earning victories in the 200-yard freestyle, 200-yard breaststroke and 200-yard individual medley. Mathue Duhaney ’13, Nicholas Veazie ’13, Luc Amodio ’15 and Frank Driscoll ’15 all earned multiple victories. The women’s team was led by Olivia Harries ’15 who captured the 500-yard and 1000-yard freestyle events and Caroline Shannon ’12 who won the 100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke. Both swim-dive teams will face Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Saturday. Men’s and women’s fencing also began their seasons, with a trip to Smith for an annual tournament, “The Big One.” The meet, an individual tournament, saw five Brewers medal, while senior epeeist Veronica Weser finished seventh and junior Katie Leclair placed fifth in the foil. On the men’s side, John Arden ’14 placed sixth in the sabre, while Nick Johnson ’12 and Tavish Pegram ’13 medaled in the epee. Pegram finished seventh in the weapon, while Johnson advanced to the finals before losing to Joey Rafidi of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, securing him a second place finish. The Brewers will host a number of schools on Sunday for the Vassar Invitational.
Fans lend their support to teams competing in last year’s Quidditch World Cup. This year’s Cup, featuring 100 teams and 2000 athletes, will also host the first ever alumnae/i game. [alumnae/i] game,” and expressed a desire to return to the quidditch pitch and compete once again. Cantos also discussed how graduates of the game were excited about returning to the pitch, and praised the idea of the alumnae/i game in this year’s World Cup. “We recent graduates believed our opportunities to play quidditch vanished once we joined the real world. I’m grateful to [Benepe] and the IQA for taking the time and effort to make sure we could still play in the World Cup,” she wrote. Not only does the alumnae/i game scheduled for this year’s World Cup generate excitement within the quidditch community, but the game as a whole is also gaining popularity. This is perhaps no more apparent than in the rapid growth experienced in just a short time. The first World Cup featured just two teams, while last year’s included 46 distinct squads. This rise in popularity has also led to increased participation worldwide, as teams from four continents will compete at this year’s tournament. The sport has also become more competitive, as IQA rankings have recently been introduced. Cantos wrote, “As
a founding member and former captain, I can say with confidence that Broooers aren’t just a team, we’re a family. For me, quidditch was never about the rankings, the win percentages and statistics. It was always about the spirit of the game.” The strong sense of teamwork and togetherness can sometimes be overshadowed by the lightheartedness of the game of quidditch itself, but Cantos summed up how special quidditch was for her. “When it comes to college quidditch in general, the Vassar Broooers will always hold a special place in my heart. We were merely freshmen when we started the team; in a way, the Broooers grew up just like we did during our four years at Vassar.” As she prepares to take the pitch once again during the fifth World Cup, held on Randall’s Island in New York City from Nov. 12 to 13, Cantos offered one last thought about Vassar quidditch. She wrote, “I hope the Broooers never take the game too seriously to the point that they lose the eccentric charm that made quidditch such an extraordinary adventure for myself and the other 2011ers.”
MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE
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