The Miscellany News
Volume CXLVI | Issue 20
April 18, 2013
Since 1866 | miscellanynews.com
Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY
LGBTQ Annual drag show Committee on Campus Center incites controversy Life passes smoking ban Survey finds majority of students vandalized D oppose band, but CCL nevertheless of two kings and three queens, at QCVC’s annual drag show last Friday. In the past, few drag kings have participated in the Flawless Drag Show, but Hernandez and others were pleased with the change. “I really wanted there to be some sort of drag king visibility on campus,” said Hernandez. “Last year I had intended to do it, because the See DRAG SHOW on page 6
Aja Saalfeld
FeatuRes editoR
rag often evokes feelings of spectacle, of gender play and big, over the top queens. And yet at this year’s Flawless Drag Show, presented by the Queer Coalition of Vassar College (QCVC), one drag king went home a champion. Genesis Hernandez ’15, co-president of QCVC, came first out of five performers, composed
Anna Iovine RepoRteR
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Katie de Heras/The Miscellany News
n Friday, April 12 the phrase “God hates fags” was discovered written in red marker on a wall behind the door of the Center. Chris Sundberg ’16 was one of the first to see the hate speech. “Seeing it was a bit of a shock,” he said, “I know Vassar isn’t perfect, but seeing [the vandalism] was proof that someone willfully hated the center so much they wanted to vandalize it and make a statement to everyone who is a part of it.” Sundberg pointed the vandalism out to Assistant Director for Campus Life/ LGBTQ and Gender ResourcesJudy Jarvis. “My initial reaction was disbelief—that this particular brand of hate speech was written inside the walls of a space that is so important to so many in the LGBTQ community was tough to believe,” Jarvis explained. As Dean of the College Christopher Roelke noted in his email to the student body on Saturday, the hate speech was especially jarring due to the campus wide support of the LGBTQ community during the Westboro Baptist Church protests in February. Tyler Fultz ’15, an intern for the LGBTQ Center, noticed that the campus typically gives more attention to outsiders—the WBC, for example— than to anonymous hate speech made on school grounds. However, this time community members are hopeful that See VANDALISM on page 4
Genesis Hernandez ’15 competed as one of Vassar’s first drag kings at this year’s QCVC ‘Flawless Drag Show,’ along with another king and three queens.
votes yes Noble Ingram neWs editoR
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ast Wednesday, April 10, the Committee on College Life (CCL) endorsed an all-campus Smoking Ban. The resolution that was passed will now go to the President of the College as a recommendation from the students, faculty, and administration that comprise the committee. The resolution provides for a period of education, smoking cessation programs, and other campus resources to be offered to the Vassar community before the ban would take full effect in July 2015. The passed resolution doesn’t speak to the specifics of the process in which smoking would be banned, instead focusing on more general terms. As President of the VSA and member of CCL Jason Rubin ’13 stated, “That was an intentional decision to stay away from [defining the specifics of the process] and to make the decision to move forward with this.”
As part of the decision process, CCL listened to a presentation done by the Smoking and Tobacco Research Action Team (START) which recently conducted an electronic campus-wide survey. This sub-committee was formed from CCL. As Rubin explained, “There was concern that in terms of shared governance that there wasn’t enough outreach to the students or that students weren’t involved or didn’t know that this was happening when the vote was taking place. START was a response to a feeling that students weren’t included in the decision more broadly.” President of the Terrace Apartments and Co-Chair of START Devin Griffin ‘13, echoed this idea, “At the end of last semester, it became apparent that these conversations [about the smoking ban] were more than that. They were looking to pass a proposal.” He continued, “A couple of the Council members decided to pass a See SMOKING on page 4
Special Collections to exhibit historic Bible
Quidditch teams flock to VC pitch Chris Brown spoRts editoR
ith brooms between their legs and pink dye in their hair, the Vassar Quidditch team is not easily missed by people on campus. One of the most eclectic sports held here on campus, the team recently held a collegiate tournament, aptly called The Cup That Shall Not Be Named. Over the course of one Sat-
ed from the mind of J.K Rowling in her best selling series Harry Potter. Played on flying brooms in the fantasy novels, the sport took on a shape of its own with the creation of what has become “Muggle Quidditch,” a real life interpretation of the fictional game. Vassar Quidditch was one of the second collegiate team to be formed after Middlebury College. See WORLD CUP on page 18
courtesy of New Mexico History Museum
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urday, Vassar hosted seven different schools in the tournament, played aggressive matches of the unique game, and made a statement to the International Quidditch Association (IQA). After the dismay of not being able to attend the World Cup, the team turned the event into what captains are calling something that will go down in Vassar Quidditch history. Quidditch is a sport that sprout-
Calligrapher Donald Jackson helmed the creation of the first hand-written and illuminated Bible made in over 500 years. He will present a lecture on his work on April 20. Jacob Heydorn Gorski/The Miscellany News
Nathan Hoston ’13 springs forward during the Vassar Quidditch Team’s tournament, The Cup That Shall Not Be Named. An alternative to the International Quidditch Association’s World Cup, the competition hosted seven schools last weekend.
Inside this issue
5
FEATURES
Computers and English: the jump from Middle to Modern
10
OPINIONS
Reviving Vassar’s pink roots with pride: an alum’s perspective
John Plotz RepoRteR
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elebrated calligrapher Donald Jackson will come to Vassar on April 20 as the 2013 Curtis Lecture speaker for his work as the artistic director of “The St. John’s Bible.” The lecture will be presented in the Taylor Hall 102 Auditorium from 5 to 6 p.m. Between 1998 and 2011, Mr. Jackson led a group of artists and scholars in Wales and Minnesota to create this bible. As the first hand-written and illuminated bible in over 500 years, it is a monumental undertaking, and Vassar will receive the Heritage Edition of
16 ARTS
the Bible, which is a rare and highly valuable copy of the text. The Curtis lecture is an annual event put on by the Library for Special Collections. Founded by John and Julia Blodgett Curtis ‘62, the latter of whom graduated from Vassar, the Curtis Lecture brings guest speakers to present research surrounding books, manuscripts, or printing.Ron Patkus, Associate Director of the Libraries for Special Collections and Adjunct Associate Professor of History, followed the creation of the St. John’s Bible because of his own interest before invitSee BIBLE on page 15
Bioshock Infinite and the eternal fight for games as art