The Miscellany News
Volume CXLVI | Issue 6
November 1, 2012
Since 1866 | miscellanynews.com
Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY
Sandy devastates northeast
VC to issue bonds for Sci. Center
Leighton Suen
Ambitious project may decrease VC’s credit rating
neWs editoR
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Katie de Heras/The Miscellany News
urricane Sandy tore along the eastern coastline earlier this week, leaving some communities completely submerged in water and others with minimal structural and natural damage. Although classes and other campus services were canceled for 24 hours beginning noon Monday and extending through noon Tuesday, and residential houses were put into lockdown, Vassar College was fortunate to not suffer extensive damage. “Clearly we had to shut down,” said Dean of Students D.B. Brown. “The magnitude of this storm was such that we wanted to make sure students were safe, and we didn’t really know what was going to happen here. See STORM on page 4
A fallen tree behind Blodgett is among the damage done to Vassar’s campus by Hurricane Sandy. In the area, the storm left 43,000 homes without power in Dutchess County and caused significant flooding of the Hudson River.
VC’s peers curtailing College, CWA initiate need blind programs sixth month of talks David Rosenkranz editoR in CHieF
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or decades, Wesleyan University has operated a need-blind admissions program and pledged to meet the full demonstrated need of its students, proudly standing in the company of Vassar College and a few dozen other elite American colleges and universities. But, in the face of growing financial demands, the Wesleyan Board of Trustees met last May and made a difficult decision: to discontinue need-blind admissions. In its place, Wesleyan plans to adopt a “need-sensitive,” also called a “need-aware,” admissions
policy through which it would consider a prospective student’s ability to pay if that student’s qualifications fall in the bottom 10% of all qualified-to-attend applicants. Wesleyan will continue to meet the full demonstrated need of all accepted students. Although students at Wesleyan have protested the change since its approval, Wesleyan President Michael Roth defends it as being necessary for the college’s financial stability. “As the cost of higher education (both public and private) has continued to climb, and as the prosSee FINANCIAL AID on page 7
Alyssa Aquino Guest RepoRteR
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he ongoing contract negotiations between Communications Workers of America (CWA), a local union group representing half of the unionized Vassar College workers—mainly communication workers—and Vassar College have slowly begun to creep into the daily life of Vassar College students. The union, arguing for what they believe is a fair contract, has ramped up their efforts at visibility with the paper cut-outs of red shirts, and red posters with salary statistics scattered throughout
College Center. The number of informal picketings have also been increasing. They gathered last Thursday, Oct. 25 for their weekly Take-A-Break in the Retreat, only to move out the back door and into a side entrance to the second floor, marching past the opened doors of the administrative offices. On Friday, Oct. 26, they gathered in Main Circle and marched to the Alumnae House, where President Catherine Bond Hill was holding a biannual meeting with her personal advisory council, which is comprised of of trustees See CWA on page 6
Jessica Tarantine and Chris Gonzalez FeatuRes editoR amd assistant FeatuRes
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oming in at 125 million dollars, the new science facilities project— which includes the construction of the Bridge Building—represents a significant financial undertaking for the College, only about 20 million dollars less than annual operating budget. To finance the project, the College has already raised 40 million dollars dedicated exclusively to the project; funds that came from the World Changing campaign. The College plans to raise the remaining funds through additional fundraising and the issuing of bonds. By issuing bonds, the Colleges sells what are essentially IOUs which then are repaid over a period of many years with interest. “Vassar has the ability to issue longterm bonds as a way of obtaining capital for long-lived investments like new buildings or major renovations to existing buildings,” wrote Vice President for Finance and Administration Betsy Eismeier in an emailed statement. “As with any debt, we borrow the money and promise to repay over time with interest.” Since Vassar is a non-profit, it enjoys advantages in the bond market. “In this situation, we have the ability to borrow at rates that are generally lower than for-profit entities, so that we can invest in educational facilities,” she explained. “With interest rates on bonds at record low levels, we view this as an attractive option for financing needed facilities,” she concluded. See SCIENCE on page 8
Frisbee hosts annual regional tournament Chris Brown RepoRteR
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Inside this issue
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FEATURES
The Misc’s 2012 guide to voting in local elections
9
Katie de Heras/The Miscellany News
his past weekend, the Vassar College Ultimate Frisbee team held a two-day Ultimate tournament, the Huck for Red October, open to many universities in the region. This year’s tournament was the fifth annual Huck for Red October, executed by and held at Vassar. Seven open teams and seven women’s teams came to compete in this unique and intense sporting event. Vassar Ultimate is a co-ed club team on the Vassar campus dedicated to playing Ultimate Frisbee. There are three teams: a men’s A-Team called The Swinging Monks, a B-Team called B-Love, as well as a women’s team called The Boxing Nuns. All teams do not have an official coach, making the Ultimate teams at Vassar
completely student-run. Raffi Kiureghian ’13, co-captain of The Swinging Monks, wrote in an emailed statement about the vibe around Ultimate that comes from this student-run dynamic. “I found a space in which I could play a really interesting and difficult sport, while also being part of an accepting community that encourages you to be yourself,” he wrote. With this student-run system, the responsibility to come to practices falls on the shoulders of the student. As co-captain, Kiureghian takes on a type of coaching role. “We act as player-coaches, motivating during games and making changes to our strategy,” wrote Kiureghian. But while practicing is important, Kiureghian does not make it his sole responsibility to oversee See FRISBEE on page 19
Molly Richards ’13 passes the Frisbee to a teammate during the costumed match against the alum team during the fifth annual Huck for Red October, a major tournament in the area. Columbia, Connecticut College, and Ramapo were among attendees.
OPINIONS
Staff Editorial: Trustees must engage VC student body
15 ARTS
VC alum fronts up-and-coming pop band