Miscellany News Volume CXLVI Issue 1

The Miscellany News Since 1866 | miscellanynews.com

September 13, 2012

Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY

Volume CXLVI | Issue 1

Miscellany News fall interest meeting this Friday, September 14 at 5pm in the Rose Parlor. Free pizza!

VC hires new SAVP, LGBT coordinators

Vassar seeks new student space ideas

Danielle Bukowski

Leighton Suen

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wo new administrators join the College this fall, one filling a reinstated position and another a vacancy.

After two and a half years without a Sexual Assault Violence Prevention (SAVP) Coordinator, the position has been filled by Elizabeth Schrock. Additionally, the College has hired Judy Jarvis ’07 for the position of Assistant Director for Campus Life/LGBTQ and Gender Resources, which will include the newly-created role of Women’s Center Coordinator. Although both administrators have only been at work a few months, they bring to campus an enthusiasm for their roles and large plans for the months ahead.

The position of SAVP Coordinator was originally funded by a government grant, but when the grant ended the College did not immediately have the funds to continue the position. In the absence of a Coordinator, Director of Health Education Renee Pabst took over many of the roles. “Having a full-time person dedicated solely to work on interpersonal violence issues allows the Director of [Office of Health Education] to put energy and resources in other areas, while at the same time, the SAVP program is able to get full-time attention,” Pabst wrote in an emailed statement.

The SAVP program takes a victim-centered approach to working with student survivors of sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking. “We aim to give students the power to decide what services they want, whether that be just talking to someone on the phone, crime, See COORDINATORS on page 4

Katie de Heras/The Miscellany News

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Maura Toomey ‘15 transcribes the journal of Hudson Valley based naturalist and writer John Burrough as part of her work with Professor of Earth Science Jeff Walker as a Ford Scholar this summer.

Scholars digitize Hudson Valley naturalist’s journals Jessica Tarantine

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ade possible by the Ford Scholars Program, a summer research opportunity funded by Vassar, Professor of Earth Science Jeff Walker and Ford Scholar Maura Toomey ‘15 worked this past summer to make the original journals of John Burrough, a Hudson Valley based naturalist and writer more accessible by digitizing and placing them online in a searchable format.

The nineteenth century essayist is considered to be the pioneer of the modern nature essay and provided a detailed analysis of the nature of the mid-Hudson Valley for over 50 years.

While many sections of Burroughs’s work have

surfaced in various published collections, this is the first time that these complete and unedited journals will be made available. The journals in Vassar’s collection were collected and donated by Burroughs’s granddaughter Elizabeth Burroughs Kelly.

“Most quotations from Burroughs currently used by scholars are taken from one of two books of extracts from Burroughs’s journals compiled by his literary executrix, Clara Barrus,” wrote Walker. “Once this project is completed the complete journals will be available to scholars in an easily accessible format (Hudson River Valley Heritage website).”

See SCHOLARS on page 4

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ith a new student space forming on campus when the College bookstore moves into the former Juliet’s Cafe and Billiards location, the Vassar Student Association (VSA) recently created the Student Space Committee in order to solicit student opinion about the use of the space. The Committee is composed of eight VSA Council members and two administrators, Dean of the College Christopher Roellke and Assistant Dean of the College for Campus Activities Teresa Quinn.

“I thought that it was really important for the VSA to take on the project of determining what the student body wants that space to be,” said VSA President Jason Rubin ’13, who is chairing the committee. “I think that the big question now that the committee has been formed to answer is: now that we have this big space in the center of campus, what does the student body want from it, and what’s going to best meet the needs of the students?”

As previously reported in the 9.21.11 issue of The Miscellany News, the move of the Vassar College bookstore from its current location in the College Center to the off-campus Juliet building has been progressing within the past year (“Plans to move bookstore advance”).

The subsequent commitment by the College to transform the space currently occupied by the Vassar bookstore into a new space specifically for student use was met with widespread approval. College administrators have held Town Hall meetings to solicit opinions on the space, but at the moment there is not a focused effort to seek student input concerning the space.

See SPACE on page 4

Library exhibit examines books in society Sport teams kick off year victoriously Emily Lavieri-Scull /The Miscellany News

Above, a playful set of book prints displayed in the library’s semester-long exhibit ‘Reexamining Books’ by artist Werner Pfeiffer. The collection of art books are a meditation on contemporary censorship.

Rachel Borné

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hey are torn, punctured, dipped in feathers, scattered with pebbles, sawn through front and back, split into pieces, and almost completely removed from their original forms as books. These pieces are part of Werner Pfe-

Inside this issue

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FEATURES

Vassar students ranked tenth happiest in nation

iffer’s exhibition entitled Reexamining Books, a meditation on creation and destruction, on censorship and the precarious place of books in an increasingly digital age. Located in the Main and Art Library gallery spaces and the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, the exhibit will be on view for the entire semester, showcasing art-

13 HUMOR

ists’ books, book objects, and installations.

In the foyer of the Main Library there hangs a piece called Suspended, and it is exactly that— three thick rope pulls weighted down by books stacked in a columnar form, completely white, tied tight to a bulky wooden beam. The work almost recalls the aesthetic of punitive gallows or a neck ligature. Pfeiffer uses such loaded imagery to signify the vulnerable state of the book and its turbulent history. He explains, “I’m working with this concept of censorship.

You begin with dallying with books and burning books, and that’s the beginning of a totalitarianism which ultimately hurts people.”

A native of Germany during the second World War, the artist grew up during a regime of book burning, when institutions worldwide placed limitations on what the public was allowed to read. Pfeiffer comments on these themes through his book objects, all on display in the Main Library gallery space.

“I silence them and make them mute,” he said. Each book is painted totally white with paint and then distorted in a way that is definitively anti-book. “The idea is to seal them, to sterilize them, to make them completely shut.

And out of this I take the liberty to give the books some other dimension,” he added.

Today the printed book is in the midst of a different type of turmoil, one in which hardcovers and paperbacks are swiftly being replaced by Kindles, Nooks and iPads. Pfeiffer commented, “We’re moving into a different diSee BOOKS on page 16

Mr. Bouchard gives his take on campus construction.

16 ARTS

Chris Brown

Guest RepoRteR

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ith a strong start across the board, the upcoming season of Vassar sports is bound to be filled with many intense matches from the women’s field hockey, men’s rugby, women’s volleyball and men’s and women’s soccer teams.

This year’s field hockey team has started off stronger than ever with a first-time win over Hartwick University, who knocked them out of the Liberty League championship last season.

Headed by Coach Cara Dunn, the team is looking continue this winning trend throughout their season. “This year we are striving for a record over .500,” says Dunn. With a 2011 record that ties the team’s best record since 2002, they are well on their way. Their current record stands at .750. After their 4-0 win against Bay Path College, Captain Anna Schroeder ’14 was chosen as Athlete of the Week while goalkeeper Maggie Brelis ’14 received Liberty League Defensive Honors. Schroeder and fellow Captain Becca Smith ’13 plan to lead their team through a memorable season.

See FALL PREVIEW on page 19

Professor of the Week: Jeanne Czula explores dance

The Miscellany News

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September

Thursday

Studio Art Exhibition

All day | Palmer Gal. | FLLAC Studio Art major summer work will be on display through Sept. 23.

Late Night at the Lehman Loeb 5:00pm | FLLAC | FLLAC

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September

15

Friday

September

Oneohtrix Point Never

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Saturday

September

Vassar v. Oneonta

7:00pm | FDF Quad | No-Vice Performance by video artist and musician One-oh-trix Point Never.

3:00pm | Skinner | Music Dept.

Seven member chamber ensemble SATORI will perform.

Serenading

1:00pm | All-campus | 2013

7:00pm | Martel Theatre | Math Dept A one-woman show telling the story of one girl’s romp through M.I.T.’s male math maze.

Sunday

Chamber Music in America

1:00pm | Prentiss | Men’s Soccer

Truth Values

September 13 , 2012

VSA Council

ViCE Serenading Concert

7:00pm | Main MPR | VSA

Unknown Mortal Orchestra and We Barbarians will perform.

Paper Critique

8:00 | Balantine Field | ViCE

9:00pm | Rose Parlor | The Misc Come tell us why we’re wrong!

The Things That Make Us Sing 8:00pm | Rose Parlor | Music Dept.

Cabaret duo Jennie Litt and David Alpher will perform.

Serenading Fireworks

9:00pm | Sunset Lake | 2013

ADVERTISEMENT Since my election last spring, the editors and I have been hard at work brainstorming ways to give back to the Vassar community for all that it has given us. And I am proud to say that I think we have been successful.

I present: The Misc Weekender.

The Misc Weekender is a one-stop-shop for Vassar students trying to figure out their weekend plans. Catch a show? Hear a lecture? Hit the Mug? We hope that the Misc Weekender can help you choose by presenting all of your options in a single convenient location.

“Wow, that sounds pretty amazing,” I desperately imagine you’re telling yourselves.

But wait! It gets better!

Event notices in the Misc Weekender will be provided to ALL campus organizations FREE of charge! To reserve some space, simply send me an email that includes a roughly ten word hook, a time, and a place.

So stop draining your VPrint accounts, and start spreading the word.

Editor-in-Chief David Rosenkranz Senior Editors Hannah Blume Ruth Bolster

Contributing Editors Matthew Ortilé Rachael Borné

News Danielle Bukowski Leighton Suen Features Jessica Tarantine Opinions Lane Kisonak Humor & Satire Jean-Luc Bouchard Arts Adam Buchsbaum Sports Tina Caso Photography Katie De Heras Online Nathan Tauger Copy Maxélle Neufville Gabe Dunsmith Jiajing Sun Jack Mullan Laci Dent Chris Gonzalez Bethan Johnson Bobbie Lucas Burcu Noyan Marie Solis Nicole Wong Casey Zuckerman Photographers Rachel Garbade Emily Lavieri-Scull

Assistant Opinions Assistant Photo Crossword Editor Reporters

Sincerely, Dave

PAPER CRITIQUE The Editorial Board holds weekly meetings every Sunday at 9 p.m. in the Rose Parlor. All members of the Vassar community interested in joining the newspaper’s staff or in a critique of the current issue are welcome. The Miscellany News is not responsible for the views presented in the Opinions pages. The weekly staff editorial is the only article which reflects the opinion of the Editorial Board. The Miscellany News is published weekly by the students of Vassar College. The Miscellany News office is located in College Center Room 303, Vassar College.

ADVERTISING POLICY The Miscellany News (1) reserves the right to reject or edit any advertising copy at any time; (2) will not accept advertisements that promote discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, sex or sexual orientation, nor will it accept advertisements of a political nature or advertisements that promote products or services illegal in the State of New York: (3) will print every advertisement with the word “advertisement” above it; (4) shall not be liable for failure to print, publish or circulate all or any portion of any issue if such a failure is the result of circumstances beyond the paper’s control.

Welcome back to school! This year promises to be another cornucopia of exciting Villard room parties, serenading controversy, and, most importantly, Vassar blogs! Wait, what’s that? You’re a freshman or unfamiliar with the history of virtual Vassar? Of course I can tell you more! Read on at the Main Circle blog on miscellanynews.com!

Nathan Tauger, Online Editor

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

LETTERS POLICY The Miscellany News is Vassar College’s weekly open forum for discussion of campus, local and national issues, and welcomes letters and opinions submissions from all readers. Letters to the Editor should not exceed 450 words, and they usually respond to a particular item or debate from the previous week’s issue. Opinions articles are longer pieces, up to 800 words, and take the form of a longer column. No letter or opinions article may be printed anonymously. If you are interested in contributing, e-mail misc@vassar.edu.

September 13 , 2012

NEWS

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“Gays of Our Lives” returns with new message, focus Bobbi Lucas RepoRteR

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Katie de Heras /The Miscellany News

his year’s “Gays of Our Lives” focused on returning the event to its original goal of creating dialogue about the assumptions regarding sexual orientation. Reacting to recent criticism about the event, sponsor Queer Coalition of Vassar College (QCVC) decided to eliminate the final game-show element of the event in which audience members guessed the sexual orientation of the panelists. Student responses from previous years indicated that this element often instilled stereotypes as much as it dispelled them. In its second year outside of the official Freshmen Orientation programming, “Gays of Our Lives” still drew a large crowd of both new and returning students.

“The goal of the program is to complicate people’s perceptions around identity, breakdown stereotypes and complicate how people perceive sexuality, relationships and gender,” said Assistant Director for Campus Life/LGBTQ and Gender Resources Judy Jarvis ’07.

The main event is a panel of eight students answering audience members’ questions about a range of issues pertaining to sexual orientation. While the event has always opened up a dialogue about these issues, its final guessing element as well as the focus on sexually explicit questions were criticised for moving away from good discussion.

This year, panelists waited until the end of the questions to reveal their own identities.

Co-President of QCVC Genesis Hernandez ’15 explained the change: “We realized that we wanted the panelists to be able to explain their own identities instead of having others try and label them, when most of the people in the audience are not even equipped with the right vocabulary.” Hernandez continued, “We also found that freshmen were using typical stereotypes to guess panelists’ sexualities. This year, we wanted to show that the panelists are not perpetuating stereotypes, they are perpetuating who they are as individuals with their own

unique identities.”

This year’s “Gays of Our Lives” emcee and panelists also refocused the questions away from being too overtly sexual, which has been a complaint in the past. “In previous years, the most memorable aspect seemed to be an inappropriate remark,” Hernandez said. “This year, I really wanted people to learn something substantial.” One perpetually provocative question has been “What is your favorite sexual position?” complete with demonstration. This year, emcee Cassidy Hollinger ’13 vetoed this question when it came up.

TransMission President Emma Matters ’13 wrote in an emailed statement, “In many ways, this fixation on sex felt alienating to those who chose not to be sexually active, and that the focus on hookup culture alienated those who preferred or were in monogamous relationships. It also presented sexual orientation, gender identity, etc. as being intrinsically linked to sexual activity, something that is not always the case and certainly should not be assumed to be so.”

Matters continued, “The message of ‘Gays of Our Lives’ is about recognizing diversity on campus, acceptance, keeping the campus a safe and open space, and allowing our perceptions to constantly be challenged and our views to be expanded.”

Jarvis commended QCVC’s hard work in making the event more inclusive for everyone. “[The QCVC Executive Board] have been taking into account the feedback from the past events and have thought long and hard about what dynamics are at play in students’ lives,” Jarvis said, “The panel needs to be interesting and complicated, because we are an interesting and complicated school.”

The new focus of “Gays of Our Lives” received favorable reviews from many students.

Lee Jacobson ’14 said, “This year was a really deep exploration of the variance of sexuality and gender identity. I really appreciated the format where the audience didn’t guess the panelists’ sexualities.”

Panelists Mark Han ‘15, Zoey Peresman ‘13, Morgan Foster ‘14, Genesis Hernandez ‘15 talk candidly about identity, sexuality and gender during the revampted Gays of Our Lives program by QCVC. New students were also impressed. Said Belle Shea ’16, “It helped me to see people as more than stereotypes and view them just as people I went to school with. At Vassar, this is such a cool event and everyone goes, whereas at any other school, it would be a very awkward deal. I also really liked that the panelists could not use any gender pronouns because it really made me think about them as people instead of in terms of their gender.”

“There is no norm at Vassar,” Hernandez said, emphasizing the importance of presenting to new students the language with which to discuss differences in sexual orientation. “People whose identities seem similar are actually very different. While labels exist, there are no norms for those labels. It is ok if people can’t process all of the information that we throw at

them, that is what the LGBTQ Center is there for.”

“Before this event, I didn’t even know how many complexities existed,” said Zachary Boylan ’16, who wished the panelists had been more outspoken.

While the modified “Gays of Our Lives” format is still a work in progress, this year’s design was considered by coordinators and audience members as a move in the right direction.

“This year was more thought provoking, in my opinion, than the previous two years that I have witnessed,” stated Matters. “I would hope that in future years the event would continue to expand on the goals of sex positivity and inclusion that were focused on this year.”

Ambitious summer construction projects push into fall Bethan Johnson RepoRteR

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Katie de Heras/The Miscellany News

ver the summer, Vassar College’s Buildings and Grounds (B&G) team accomplished 30 construction projects. Including roof and window renovations as well as the replacement of gas and steam lines, much of the work was necessary due to the age of Vassar’s campus. The other main objectives for the projects were accessibility, sustainability and safety. The main focus of construction this year remains the dramatic interior changes to Swift Hall.

The summer work was seen as a success by Executive Director of Buildings and Grounds Services Thomas Allen and project managers, who commended their workers on doing a good job with the unique projects. Their primary concerns were with completing projects directly affecting students prior to their arrival, so that the only visible construction would be large projects like the ongoing work on Swift Hall.

In order to achieve accessibility, the central elevator in Skinner Music Hall was reconditioned, and a restroom in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act is to be completed in the Mary Anna Fox Martel Recital Hall by the end of September 2012. For safety and sustainability, the residential houses received the most significant changes. Main was brought up to code with updated fire-rated doors, while the final phase of construction in Josselyn House—installing windows and masonry—is “substantially complete” according to the B&G project report.

Vassar’s administration has been pleased with the construction of Lathrop and Josselyn and plans to use this long-term, phase-oriented approach to renovations in the future. “Both [Josselyn and Lathrop] are templates for how we will end up addressing Raymond, Strong in the future, and Cushing…as opposed to Davison [which] we just shut down,” said Assistant Dean of Studies and Director of Residential Life Luis Inoa.

According to the B&G online report, of the 30 projects they oversaw, 11 of the jobs have been deemed completed, 5 are “substantially

Swift Hall, above, currently undergoing complete renovation is the most ambitious project that Buildings and Grounds undertook over the summer break. The building is expected to reopen in 2013. complete,” and almost all of the rest should be finished by the end of the fall.

The most noticeably incomplete project is not part of this fiscal year’s B&G plan: the Terrace Apartment footbridge. Despite Thomas Allen’s assertions (Issue 4.4.12, “College presents plan for infrastructure improvement”) that the footbridge would be open in time for the beginning of this year, the project’s end date has been extended. “I have already been approached by a few of my constituents with complaints about the inconvenience caused by taking alternative routes to and from the apartment area,” said Terrace Apartment Representative Devin Griffin ’13 in an emailed statement.

The footbridge was closed last semester following the determination that not only was the steel too weak to hold the necessary weight of people walking over it, but that the banks of the creek had also sustained significant damage. “I would like to say that the administration would

solidly benefit the Vassar community at large— and especially the TA residents—if they would keep us all regularly apprised of the project’s progress,” Griffin said. Allen declined to comment.

As is evident by the scaffolding and fences surrounding Swift Hall, the largest B&G project is well under way. “The goal is to bring the building into the 21st century while maintaining or preserving the beautiful historic character of the building,” Chair of the History Department Leslie Offutt explained. The History Department is currently operating out of the Old Laundry Building and will continue to do so until the end of the academic year; Swift will not officially open until Fall 2013.

According to Offutt, the project to redesign Swift has taken years to realize. Considered a priority project by the administration roughly 4 years ago, the Department campaigned for 2 ½ years with the Capital Campaign to reach the

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

$4.1 million required for the project.

While the project calls for numerous changes to the interior of Swift, the work began by dealing with fundamental issues in the building’s foundation and structural integrity. “Structurally [Swift] was not particularly sound,” Project Manager Jeff Horst said. When structural engineers came to assess the inside of Swift it was found that many of the walls were carrying too much weight. “[Since] we’ve always had flooding problems in Swift, the entire foundation was excavated, drainage was put in, waterproofing on the foundation…All the wiring and all the plumbing were replaced.”

After addressing these structural issues, the design team also addressed the issue of remodeling the interior to meet the needs of the History Department. “Essentially the interior [of Swift] was completely demolished,” explained Horst.

The new interior will include a student lounge, a faculty lounge and kitchen, and benched seating throughout the building.“[Swift] has a wonderful sense of time and place in it that the architects have been careful in preserving,” noted Offutt. She explained that the objectives of the construction was to revitalize, not destroy, the building as a space of learning within the context of Vassar’s rich history.

Moreover, there will be newly constructed offices to accommodate all History professors.

“It will bring all of the History faculty under the same roof for the first time in a number of years,” said Offutt. Previously three of the 17 History professors were forced to have offices outside of Swift due to lack of space. To accommodate these, the numbers of classrooms in Swift will be reduced from four to two. The department does not anticipate any problems finding locations for the other history courses. The renovation has allowed professors to experiment teaching classes in a variety of buildings Although most History professors have found the temporary move agreeable, Offutt does acknowledge that students probably feel the most disrupted. “Despite the decrepit state of Swift on the eve of our departure, students are genuinely fond of the building,” noted Offutt. “And I think they probably miss having courses [there].”

NEWS

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September 13 , 2012

Move to Juliet postponed Coordinators share goals SPACE continued from page 1 Rubin noted that the lack of input from students regarding the space of UpC, when that was created, resulted in a space that does not effectively meet the needs of the student body.

“There wasn’t any significant effort to reach out to campus at large. A big part of this [committee] is correcting for that, and making sure that some of those mistakes are not reproduced this year.”

Junior Class President Daniel Shaw, a member of the committee, became interested in seeking input on a student space when he travelled to peer institutions for the VSA’s work on campus dining last year. “The other students and I noticed that almost every other school had a dynamic student space that Vassar lacked,” Shaw wrote in an emailed statement. Fellow committee member and Davison House President Kayla Abe ’15 also recognized the gap that could potentially be filled by the new student space, and wanted to get involved. “[This is] a tremendous and rare opportunity to redefine the nature of social spaces on campus by potentially creating a space for students to gather casually without the implicit expectations of strictly studying or having a meal,” she wrote in an emailed statement. “Just as students’ interests are diverse, the space must be versatile to accommodate a multiplicity of needs, whether those be workspaces, rehearsal rooms, or just a place to hang out and see friends.” Other than the agreement that this should be a space for students, there will be no consensus on what that will mean until the committee has conducted its research.

In previous Town Hall meetings concerning the new student space, topics that have come up include the importance of food and comfort, the convenience of a the space being available 24 hours a day,, and the need for meeting, rehearsal and storage space for student organizations.

“As is evident, we are in the beginning stages of these discussions,” wrote Quinn in an emailed statement. “Brainstorming has been useful in not only determining future use of this space, but has helped to further identify and clarify student space needs across campus…We are continually reviewing existing space to be certain we are addressing programming needs of the student body, and improving the function of spaces on campus with available resources.”

Even with this initial feedback, Rubin is hesitant to make any predictions about what the space will eventually look like. “Something that I’m working hard not to do, and I’m making sure the committee doesn’t do, is to form

a preconception of what the space should be before we do the work and find out what the students want the space to be,” said Rubin.

“The committee really isn’t designed to decide what the students want for the students.

The main purpose of the committee is to reach out to the students, and from that, determine what the students want.”

The committee does have the time to thoroughly research what students want out of the location, as the date when the space will become available has been pushed back considerably from its Spring 2013 projection date.

“The bookstore project is delayed due to the very ambitious and much needed deferred maintenance work that was completed on campus during the summer,” wrote Roellke in an emailed statement. “Despite this delay, it makes good sense to engage students broadly about their views of space needs on campus…

I look forward to working with the committee as the College sorts out financial priorities for deferred maintenance, new initiatives and the like,” Roellke continued.

The committee plans to begin with discussions with House Teams and residents during in-house meetings, with students who currently use UpC, and with VSA Council members.

“From those informal conversations, we’re going to move into the more formal focus groups and surveys, and really get into the meat of what people want in a more defined and systematic way,” said Rubin. Additional plans for the Student Space Committee include visiting comparable student spaces at peer colleges in order to research how they serve the needs of their respective students.

According to Rubin, student outreach will be one of the primary goals of the committee for the current semester. During the second semester, he hopes that the committee will meet with both Project Manager Bryan Corrigan of Facilities Planning and Construction and the architect in order to come up with more concrete options for the space.

He also plans to reach out to some of the non-student groups who have an interest in the space to try and figure out what will best suit the needs of campus as a whole. “One of the big conversations we’ve had,” said Rubin, “is whether or not this can be a space where faculty and students can meet, since that doesn’t always occur outside of the classroom to the extent that we want at a school like Vassar. That will be an important conversation to have and something that may take reaching out to faculty to determine how best we can facilitate that.”

COORDINATORS continued from page 1 receiving medical services, or reporting” Schrock stated. As coordinator, Schrock will increase visibility and outreach of the SAVP program, and hopes students will feel more comfortable coming forward and accessing SAVP and related supportive services. She will also coordinate and serve as part of the Sexual Assault Response Team (SART).

Schrock acknowledged the great work that Pabst did in the absence of a full-time SAVP coordinator, but wrote, “with more hours, we can dedicate increased time into adapting SAVP-related programs that are already in place, better understanding campus climate around these issues, and being as accessible and available to students as possible.”

VP for Student Life Michael Moore ’14 believes that having an administrator dedicated to SAVP will change the dynamic of the OHE for the better. “[Schrock’s] job is one of an amalgamator, as she’s trying to draw connections between student perspectives, student efforts, and all of the work the College does on Title IX. It is an extremely crucial keystone position,” Moore said.

Throughout the 2011/12 academic year, student organizations like CARES were vocal about their interest in reinstating this vital position. Regarding these student-led efforts, Schrock stated, “I feel incredibly fortunate to be given the opportunity to be surrounded by such dedication and activism.” Moore commented, “[Pabst] applauded Break the Silence, but you have to consider the question ‘why did students feel that they had to themselves create this massive effort [to bring awareness to these issues]?’... I don’t think it was bad that it was a student effort, but it is indicative of something that administrators and students should work together on.” He continued, “We need a professional voice working together with us, and I think that we have that now, which is very positive.”

Student response has also been positive to the creation of Coordinator of the Campus Life Women’s Center within Judy Jarvis’ new position as Assistant Director of Campus Life/LGBTQ and Gender Resources. Jarvis will oversee the Women’s Center in Strong as well as the LGBTQ Center in the College Center. “In both centers I supervise student workers, partner with other offices to put on events, and importantly I’m just here for students in an ad-hoc way, so that any time a student wants to meet with me about any kinds of issues happening to them I am here… it is something about my job I take very seriously, that I’m here for stu-

dents individually as well as through their organizations,” Jarvis said.

Jarvis sees this year as a revival for the Women’s Center. “[The Women’s Center] has always had student workers, and now with my added capacity we can do even more and become a more visible center; we hope to welcome more people in and put on a wide array of programs.”

The Women’s Center has already collaborated with Feminist Alliance and the Women’s Studies department for the Gloria Steinem events taking place throughout September. Jarvis is also looking forward to collaborating with Assistant Director for Campus Life/ALANA Programs Domenico Ruggerio on a social justice series in the works for the fall.

She would also like to foster a better relationship with Strong House, as the Center is located on its first floor. Student Advisor for Strong House Sitara Mahtani stated, “Strong House Team actually did not have a lot of contact with the Women’s Center last year; we’re hoping to change that this year.”

Said Women’s Center Intern Jessi Colla ‘13, “One of the things we actually wanted to do within the next few months is have some kind of open forum for the campus to actually come together to answer the question [of what the Women’s Center is], and just start a dialogue with women-identified students and what resources they would like to see.”

Jarvis wants to emphasize to freshmen as well as returning students that the LGBTQ and Women’s Centers, despite their names, are truly spaces for anybody and everybody on campus interested in having discussions about pertinent issues. “All the centers on campus—LGBTQ , the Women’s Center, the ALANA Center—are spaces for all students, and I would be really excited to see traffic increase in these centers this year,” Jarvis said. “That would indicate to me that students understand that they are not exclusive spaces, that these are places you can come to delve into a variety of issues, and that everyone’s voice counts and everyone’s presence is appreciated.”

The LGBTQ Center is also hosting a weekly LGBTQ and Ally dinner for freshmen as part of The Vassar First Year program. Jarvis said, “The idea behind this is to just have a more relaxing space for first-year students who identify with the LGBTQ and Ally community to get to know each other and chat about whatever is on their minds.” She concluded, “I think [discussions are] the best way to teach people about different concepts of diversities: you invite them into the conversation...I’m a fan of both informal and formal forums for discussion.”

News Briefs Freshman Elections Soon Underway The filing period for freshman elections began at noon on Wednesday, Sept. 12 and will end on Wednesday, Sept. 19. During this period, members of the freshmen class can file for positions on the 2016 Class Council, House Teams, Judicial Board, and joint committees. The elections are following an accelerated timeline, so that positions will be in place by the end of September.

“It’s a really good way to get involved,” said Vice President of Operations Deb Steinberg ’14. “The positions hold a lot more power than people think that they do. [For example,] the Freshman Class President gets to sit on VSA Council, which passes a fair amount of legislation through the year, interact with senior-level administrators and work on a lot of first year programs, including Orientation Committee and the First Year Committee.”

Freshman House Representatives will sit on both Class Council and their respective House Teams; Judicial Board representatives sit on hearings held for students accused of violating VSA Constitution or Bylaws. Freshmen also have the opportunity to be their class’s representatives on the committees on Admissions and Financial Aid, College LIfe, and Master Planning.

“Most students don’t realize how unique Vassar is in that we have a shared governance system [where] students, faculty and administrators sit together and make decisions,” said Steinberg.

The mandatory candidate’s meeting is on Wednesday, Sept. 19 at 5 p.m. The online voting period is from Sept. 26 to Sept. 28. In between those two dates is the campaigning period. “It would be great to see the Class of 2016 com-

ing into Vassar with an enthusiasm for student leadership,” wrote Board of Elections Co-Chair Devin Griffin ’13 in an emailed statement. “We’re hoping to encourage and support that excitement during the freshmen elections and see it carry into the spring when we have the VSA elections for next year.

—Leighton Suen, News Editor TurboVote Eases Registration Process Last Sunday, the Vassar Student Association (VSA) announced that the College will partner with TurboVote this fall to help students register to vote, request absentee ballots and remind participants of voter deadlines.

TurboVote is a web-based, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization founded last year by Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government graduate Seth Flaxman. It currently has 9,700 registered users, but is expanding quickly as the November election approaches.

“I was contacted by a representative of TurboVote this summer,” VSA President Jason Rubin wrote in an emailed statement. “After speaking with her on the phone and doing some research, I felt the program would be a perfect fit for Vassar.” Vassar is among 20 colleges that will join TurboVote this year.

Although anybody can access TurboVote’s services for $1.60 a document, participating colleges pay around $1 per document.

“The college does pay money for their services,” Rubin wrote. “There is a service fee to set up a Vassar integrated TurboVote website, as well as costs associated with the postage paid envelope TurboVote provides to all students.”

These costs are currently being covered by the

VSA, the Office of the President and the Dean of the College Division.

President of the College and Economics Professor Catherine Bond Hill agreed that the costs seem “reasonable and a good use of funds, especially if students take advantage of it.”

Both Rubin and Hill are optimistic about the program. “My hope is that the program will become the go-to resource for registering to vote and requesting an absentee ballot at Vassar,” wrote Rubin. “Many students come to Vassar not yet having registered to vote, and many more are registered at home and need to request an absentee ballot every year. TurboVote makes these processes as simple as they can get.”

President Hill wrote, “I’m a big advocate of all of us being engaged in the political process.

People should vote regardless of how convenient it is. Some seem to want to make voting more difficult, particularly for college students.

This is a way to fight back.”

Information on how to use TurboVote will be posted on the VSA website shortly.

—Hannah Blume, Senior Editor Outside the Bubble “Back to school: New anti-bullying policies in place” (Poughkeepsie Journal, 9.5.12) A groundbreaking new act in New York is the first state anti-bullying law providing protection for transgender individuals. Complying with the Dignity for All Students Act, which became effective on July 1, schools in all 16 local districts have adopted new guidelines and revised their codes of conduct. It is intended to facilitate a “safe and supportive environment free from discrimination, intimidation, taunting, harassment

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

and bullying” for all public school students. The law requires districts to create training programs to increase awareness of discrimination and harassment among students and staff, and for bullying incidents to be reported to the New York State Education Department. “The boy who puts on nail polish and the girl who only wears boys’ sneakers are usually the first to be targeted,” said State Assemblyman Daniel O’Donnell, DManhattan, who was the prime sponsor of the Dignity Act. “This was the first time New York recognized gender identity and expression.”

“Suits Challenge Classrooms That Segregate Boys, Girls” (Wall Street Journal, 9.5.12) Two weeks ago, a judge ordered a school district in West Virginia to desegregate its splitgender program, leading to a wave of other districts around the country voluntarily suspending their own. A decade ago a group of academics promoted the theory that children learn better when grouped with other students of their own gender, because teachers can “cater to innate differences in how males and females learn.”

National Association for Single Sex Public Education Founder and Executive Director Leonard Sax not only claims that there should be genderspecific lessons, but that seating and the color of a room’s lighting should also differ for boys and girls. Critics, including the ACLU, have sued three districts and sent letters of concern to 15 others, since separation “violates the Constitution’s equal-protection clause by providing education that is unequal.” In addition, they argue that single-sex education is ineffective, a product of pseudoscience and leads to stereotypes.

—Leighton Suen, News Editor

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here are some lessons that cannot be learned in a classroom. How to use the metro in a foreign country, having to deal with the fact that “the customer is always right”—such skills are ones that that are often learned best through experience.

To this end some students are taking time off before heading to college to gain some of these crucial skills.

Students who choose to defer their acceptance to Vassar must first enroll just like every other student. In order to gain permission to take a year away from Vassar, students must outline their plan for their time off, at which time they will hopefully be approved and Vassar will specify the conditions under which their deferral is allowed. Students normally apply through the Office of Admissions for one year, slightly after they are admitted as high school seniors.

Tessa Permar ’15 and Lauren Mulligan ’15, two sophomores who took time away from school before Vassar, are in the process of establishing a forum for students like them, as well as students who might have taken a leave of absence at any other time in college.

So far, they have been organizing the group through a Facebook group.

Though time away from formal education is different for everyone, typically students spend this period working, traveling or pursuing a hobby outside of academic interests.

It can also be a time to recover from the stress of the college admissions process and prepare for the academic work ahead.

Dean of Studies Joanne Long said that there could be a diverse set of reasons for wanting to take time off before heading to Vassar.

“There are a lot of reasons [a student will take a gap year]: feeling as though they’ve been in school for many years straight, having something enticing to do in the wide world, experiencing something you can’t explore in school,” she explained.

Permar can relate to all of these reasons.

“The first thing I did in August was go to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland to perform with my high school theatre troupe,” she

explained. “Then I spent two months at home working at two different restaurants. Then I went to Portugal for a month and studied [the language].”

Next, she went on to list several other endeavors including working at Harvard University admissions for two months and spending five months in Israel training for dance in a pre-professional company. She explained that while she was there she learned about the dance world as well as the history and culture of the country.

“In every place I found that I gained something that I didn’t expect,” said Permar. “My favorite thing…I found that cooking with people, learning about other people’s food was a way to connect and cross cultural barriers.

Food and cooking and eating together was one way to overcome them.”

Lauren Mulligan was also presented with the opportunity to overcome cultural barriers when she was travelling abroad. “I traveled to northern India for a semester and during that time I worked with youth there. I hiked the Himalayas and studied Buddhism...

Second semester I went to Peru. I lived independently in the city and I worked with two different teen orphanages. One was all girls. I basically taught workshops in different practices including yoga, meditation and writing,” said Mulligan.

Both Mulligan and Permar agreed that they had needed a different kind of learning, and for them, taking a gap year had been the opportunity to take a breath before four more years of classroom education.

“I chose to take a gap year because I wanted to experience a different style of learning.

I was really fed up with learning in a classroom and I found that I connected with a more experiential learning style,” Permar commented on her reasoning for taking time off.

Mulligan found that she had a certain thirst for travel that became part of her identity, stating “I had traveled a lot prior to graduating high school; it was always an integral part of my life and brings me alive. Experiential learning is vital to my education.”

Though it may seem that taking a gap year

Lauren Mulligin ‘15 and Tessa Permar ‘15, above, both took a gap year before matriculating into Vassar. The two hope to serve as a resource for other students with similar experiences. could better prepare a student entering his or her freshman year of college through having a better understanding of the world and adulthood, the transition back to formal educationcan be difficult. For most students who don’t take time off ,it’s hard to return to any kind of structure after a summer off. It is considerably harder to return to the daily grind of classes after spending an entire year with a more relaxed schedule.

“It was difficult to come back to the group mentality, though I started to remember how much I loved academia. I had a year of wonderful experiential learning but I also love learning in a classroom. I had to get back into that mode and remember that what it’s like to be in a classroom,” Mulligan said.

Soon though, Mulligan came to her own kind of peace. “And then I fell in love with Vassar. Both styles of learning are going to continue to be in my life.”

First year student Sacha Pfeufer ’16 described his gap year experience as less quint-

essential, but rewarding and meaningful in different ways.“I didn’t have the really nice “backpacking around Europe” or “working with penguins in South Africa” experience, so for me it’s just nice to have some money and a broadened musical ear,” said Pfeufer, who worked full time, ran a soccer program and volunteered at soup kitchens in Boston.

After surviving his first few weeks at Vassar, he said it is hard to tell how his overall college transition is going to fare.

“I’m not far enough in to tell for sure, but it’s a little overwhelming right now,” he said.

Mulligan and Permar hope to be a resource for students who might be feeling similarly.

“We want to create a space where they can share with each other their experiences and go through the transition together and not feel any isolation with their experience,” said Mulligan.

She had found a friend in Permar since they could share their feelings and struggles See GAP YEAR on page 8

Post-Grads Vassar switch to Google economically live, work and fueled, change well-recieved by most study at VC Alyssa Aquino Guest RepoRteR

Casey Zuckerman RepoRteR

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ot everyone leaves Vassar after they graduate. In fact, a small group of recent college graduates—mostly from Vassar—are staying on campus. They work for the college in one of the Post-Baccalaureate yearlong positions available.

While the positions are not new, they were significantly expanded from past years to allow recent graduates an opportunity to give back to undergraduate institutions and gain crucial experience working in the field of higher education. The job is complete with a meal plan on campus, the ability to take free classes, and even living accommodations in the dorms.

Although most Post-Baccalaureates are recent graduates from Vassar, this is not a requirement for the position. Joseph Glick, who graduated from Colorado College in 2011 and began work this past summer, is one of the few Post-Baccalaureates that is not a Vassar alum.

He commented that as someone who is new to the campus, he often gets asked if he’s a new student.

In fact, Vassar students don’t really know much about the roles of this small and selective group at all. About this article, he jokingly stated that, “It’s so nice to be able to have something printed that says that we’re not freshman, we’re something slightly different.”

He’s being modest. These recent graduates are doing outreach in various departments on campus, and work for a salary.

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t’s not a secret that Vassar went Google. Advertising the move was spared neither expense nor thought for student’s inbox: almost weekly, students would check their inbox and find yet another email from CIS. Last winter, those emails were comprised of the Google label and the happy news of Vassar’s transition.

Last spring, those emails contained information about Google Apps Training Sessions.

And sometime around mid-summer, students received a final checklist of tasks they needed to complete pre-migration.

Then, on July 2, G-Day occurred, and current students and faculty received the postmigration list of things to do now that Zimbra was no longer in the picture.

While the improvement in services that would be offered by Google Apps was considered in the decision to transition, the changeover was mainly for economic reasons. The Zimbra Collaboration Suite costs $20,000 per year, while the spam and virus filtering software required to host an on-campus email system cost an additional $30,000 per year.

In contrast, Google Apps for Education is free as a means of marketing to students.

“Google wants all of you to use it here, to become so entrenched in it that when you go out into the world, you will use it in your work where it is not free. [...] It’s a business strategy,” said Documentation & Communications Coordinator and Project Manager for the Gmail transition Jean Tagliamonte. While Google Apps for Education is free and scheduled to remain free, Google also offers Apps for Business ,which is a fee based service.

The timing of the switch also jives with

the increasing popularity of cloud computing systems—systems where data and information are stored offsite and online. Years ago, adopting the Google Apps for Education suite entailed dealing with the glaring security issues of a cloud-based system—all the stored data would be accessible to the outside mediator.

With the sheer number of people using Gmail, this security issue pales to the benefits (and is defunct with the privacy policies Google has adopted through the years): a tagging system to organize emails, contacts that automatically sync to your phone, and a calendar system that automatically schedules events based on attendee availability.

Currently over 100 colleges in the United States and abroad use Google Apps for Education including Northwestern University, Wesleyan University and Brown University.

Associate Professor Marc Smith of the Computer Science department praises the calendaring capabilities in an electronic statement.

“I was able to schedule a committee meeting with seven participants earlier this week in under thirty minutes,” he said.

Many students, while initially apprehensive about the transition away from Zimbra, have now warmed to the Gmail platform. “I like the Gmail format because I think it’s much more versatile and user-friendly than Zimbra. It makes life a lot easier,” explain Hallie Stollier ’14.

In regards to the security concerns, Smith writes, “The best we can do is choose strong passwords and take precautions about how and where we access our email—just as we did before the transition to Gmail.”

Fellow Associate Professor Jennifer Walter of the Computer Science department, who

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

equally praises the move, says, “How secure do the emails need to be? Vassar’s firewall will provide enough security.”

When asked about feedback on the transition to Google Apps, Patrick LaChance ’15 skipped over praising the applications and praised the move: “Well, frankly, I think it’s wonderful that Vassar has moved to a mailing system that isn’t roughly ten years outdated.”

“Overall, I think that the transition went very smoothly and CIS was very helpful in letting students know what needed to be done,” added Stoller. “I, personally, had no problems with the transition. Although to be honest, I’m still a bit nostalgic for Zimbra and the different email style is taking a little while to get used to.”

The well-received nature of Google by the student body is apparent even in the CIS office. In the main lounge is a bulletin board of “thank you”s from Vassar faculty and students (the names, though, were removed from the messages).

In the midst of this overwhelming praise for the transition, the one issues remains, namely that significantly fewer people are needed to run the email platform than with the Zimbra platform. “We still need human beings to do administration, but the bulk of the administration is off-site,” says Tagliamonte.

Despite this change, Emily Harris, the Director of Systems and Resources, is confident that the move will not affect the physical makeup of CIS and the same amount of staff will be needed. She estimates, “Over the long term we expect that the transition will not impact our staffing, as the work will shift from maintaining the email system to leveraging the full potential of Google Apps for Education.”

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September 13 , 2012

Email etiquette important college skill 19th century journals now I searchable Chris Gonzales Reporter

t probably goes without saying that, “Hey, teach, let me get that extension,” isn’t the best way to address your professor or any other superior via email unless you, in fact, do not want to get that extension.

Although many of us might feel that we have mastered the art of electronic messaging, there are a few things to keep in mind when conversing with faculty.

1-Honorifics and greetings Sometimes we don’t know how to address our professors in written form. Sometimes, you accidentally go a whole semester believing that your professor’s first name is actually his surname. Things happen.

Associate Professor and Chair of Anthropology David Tavarez stated in an email, “I do realize that sometimes students cannot decide whether to use a title, or a generic salutation (“hi”, “hello”). This is OK, trust me.”

“However, it is never acceptable to use a professor’s first name, unless he/she uses it as a signature,” said the Linguistics specialist.

“For me, the perfect Vassarite solution joins the demotic to the formal (‘Hey Professor’), and is perfectly acceptable, as it holds a certain charm.”

Other professors, like Associate Professor of Psychology Carolyn Palmer, feel that formalities vary from department to department, and, while a first name basis may be achieved early on, it often occurs only after a professor and student have worked intensely together. If there is any confusion, Palmer stated that it is best to ask, “[H]ow do you wish me to address you?”

2-Explain yourself clearly Professors receive a constantly growing pile

of emails, so a clear and straightforward subject line is more likely to get their attention than something general, according to Palmer.

“Like with advertising getting a quick idea out in the first seconds of a commercial, you have the chance in the subject line to accomplish a heads-up that will make the communication more efficient,” Palmer stated in an email.

She went on to explain that using “Could I come to your Tuesday office hour?” instead of the simple “request” as a subject line can be much more effective in getting a quick and helpful response.

Palmer further stated that, in the actual email you send to the professor, “[W]rite specifically enough that the professor might be able to address your questions in a reply email; it may turn out you don’t even need the office hour visit next week because the professor can answer your main questions in the email today.”

For foreign language students, try to make the effort to include what you have been learning in class. Of course, if you’re just starting out, don’t worry about being perfect. “I like to see my students use the learned language as much as possible,” Professor of Chinese and Japanese and Director of Asian Studies Peipei Qiu admitted. She also advised however that if a student was still in the beginning stages of learning the language writing the message in English as well was important to avoid misunderstanding.

3-Be respectful of a professor’s schedule Occasionally, in our busy lives as students we often forget that professors aren’t accessible every minute of the day. “Students sometimes expect professors to be on email constantly. This one isn’t. During the week, give professors a day to respond,” wrote Associate Professor of English Jean Kane.

Qiu stated in an email, in regards to setting up any kind of meeting, “Try to contact the teacher as early as possible so that the teacher can plan his/ her time to fit that appointment in.”

4-Be polite It is best to remember no matter how stressed or sleep deprived you are, you are contacting an actual person. The pleasantries can’t be completely abandoned. After all, you’re more likely to get the help you seek if you are courteous with your words.

“Perhaps the worst emails are those that forego niceties and plot right into a potentially contentious matter,” commented Tavarez. “In general terms, however, I would say that, contra [Canadian Philosopher Marshall] McLuhan [who argued that the medium was the message], if you are asking for an extension or justifying an absence, the medium is NOT the message. In some such emails, the degree of polite forms is in inverse proportion to the urgency behind the request, and that fact can be easily spotted (and deplored).”

Moreover, being polite doesn’t only apply to wording and tone. It’s also about remembering to not abuse a professor’s inbox. “I also don’t like students emailing me with questions that they could’ve asked in class or after class— sometimes I get emails right after I’ve seen the student,” stated Kane, who believes that meeting with a professor in person is preferable to digital contact.

Remember, proper email etiquette is a useful and necessary skill that will stay with you long after you graduate from Vassar. The professional workplace also demands frequent and appropriate emails.

So, to summarize this list, Tavarez wrote: “Be sincere. Be timely. Be polite, but not obsequious.

And most importantly, be real!”

Vassar students ranked tenth happiest in nation according to online guidebook≠ Jessica Tarantine Features Editor

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assar students are often surprising enigmas. That kid who sits in your English class and write those sestinas about his pain and the anonymous students who post on SayAnything about being marginalized are in fact among the happiest in the nation according to ranking published this August by Unigo, an online college guidebook.

In the 2013 rankings published by the source for college reviews and statistics, Vassar ranked as the tenth happiest college in America. The online guidebook remarked that the colleges on the list earned their spot because they were “schools where everyone’s a fan.”

Happier students were scare and could only be found at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Carleton College, Colgate University, Brandeis University, George Washington University, Grinnell College, Boston University, Barnard College, and—the happiest of them all—University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Despite the fact that most rankings fail to use the rigorous methods of polling that would be favored by statisticians and Math professors, most students responded positively to the ranking.

“While rankings of this sort are always flawed, we are, of course, delighted to learn that Vassar students are among the happiest according to this source,” wrote Dean of the College Chris Roellke in an emailed statement.

A major source of student’s contentment, acording to Unigo, was a strong alumni presence after Vassar.

“Students are anything but conformist, and although the rigorous academic environment is geared to learning for its own sake, the closeknit alumni network is definitely an advantage post-graduation,” stated the article explaining the justification for the school’s ranking.

Students agreed with Unigo’s analysis.

“Based on the atmosphere of Vassar—the aca-

demic environment, lack of fraternities and Greek life in general—there is a lack of pressure to behave in a certain way,” said Colin Crily ’15, sharing his views on why Vassar students were generally content, “[It] makes [for] an overall more free-spirited environment where everyone can make their own choices.”

“It is those freedoms that lead to happiness,” finished Crily, who agreed that Vassar students were generally content during their time here after reading the ranking.

Assistant Dean of Students and Director of Residential Life Luis Inoa agreed that Vassar’s residential environment and its commitment to the art of living cooperatively contributed to the ranking.

He said, “I think the ranking also speaks to the academic climate here. Students are pushed to learn in every aspect of their VC residential education.”

“It feels like a non-competitive space where the critique and creation of knowledge is a communal endeavor,” said Inoa, who said that he was also not surprised to learn of Vassar’s number ten spot on the list.

For others, Vassar’s charm is found in its open social space and commitment to social justice issues.

“I realized after ‘Gays of our Lives’ [last Saturday night] how open Vassar is,” said Anveshi Guha ’15, a Neuroscience and Behavior major.

“We often say there’s a ‘Vassar Bubble’— and it’s not the real world—but I realize that is good thing,” she finished Guha further stated that she believes Vassar’s strength is in the contrast between it and the outside world. “Because we are a lot more open and understating of differences, cognizant of our ignorances and very willing to learn, we have a much healthier atmosphere,” Guha concluded.

Economics and English double major Arushi Rania ’14 felt that this open environment allowed students to be themselves and indulge in activities that others outside Vassar might

find not within the norm. “There is a sense of freedom here and people are free to pursue their interests however quirky without judgement from peers,” she explained.

While the release of the ranking was a moment to take pride in the Vassar community (notably Roellke concluded his emailed remarks on the ranking with a hearty “go VC”) cautioned that becoming complacent in regards to student satisfaction might overlook crucial issues affecting students’ experience here on campus.

“What I love about VC is that students can be happy/content and still understand that there is still work to be done to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to feel that way. Happiness should not be confused with complete satisfaction,” explained Inoa, relating why some issues might still be present on Vassar’s campus.

Guha agreed with Inoa that while students were generally happy during their four years on campus, it did not mean that at least in her experience there were not sources of discontent. “One complaint is that there is a very prominent hook-up culture on campus,” she said.

Guha went on to say that she thought this hook-up culture led to a sharp contrast on how relationships existed on campus. “Either you have a serious relationship or a one night stand,” she finished, explaining her experience on campus.

While certainly there were areas that students felt more attention could be devoted to on campus, overall many felt that an uniquely positive environment existed for students on campus.

Ultimately Roellke suggested that the credit for that environment and the high levels of satisfaction was owed to the student, themselves.

Roellke wrote, “The credit for this, it seems to me, goes to the students themselves as they choose to fully engage in campus life, and choose to take full advantage of the resources and opportunities we offer at Vassar.”

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

SCHOLARS continued from page 1 This will allow researchers studying the Mid-Hudson valley to access primary sources without editing by publishers. “The selections that have been published appear to have been selected, and edited, to present a particular version of John Burroughs which may or may not represent his true character,” wrote Walker in the project abstract.

Walker continued by explaining the benefits of the unedited journals. He wrote, “in a transcription, idiosyncrasies even in such things as spelling and punctuation are useful for interpreting the ideas of the writer, yet previous transcribers have corrected both his spelling and his punctuation, removing that dimension from our view of his character.”

Walker believes that Borrough’s unedited journals could provide additional insight into his writing process. “I am interested in the sources from which Burroughs derived his inspiration. These sources include nature (most prominently), conversation with friends and acquaintances, and periodicals,” wrote Walker.

“His journals record his observations of natural phenomena over the course on nearly 50 years. Ideas and even phrases that are included in published essays of Burroughs’s are often found in the journals,” finished Walker.

It was the journals’ dedication to nature that in part drew Toomey to the project. “I enjoy writing, I keep a journal myself,” said Toomey.

“I spend as much time as I can in the natural world, whether I am hiking or gardening or just watching, so I feel like I can relate to what Burroughs writes about and why he feels the need to write it down.”

For Toomey a student with a wide range of academic interests across the circulum, the project was also an opportunity to explore academic interests and see multidisciplinary links between subject areas.

“This project was really a synthesis of a few different areas that I am pursuing at Vassar, and it was great because it made me realize that these different disciplines can actually work together seamlessly,” she said. “Working in the genre of nature writing combined my interests in English, Environmental Studies, and Philosophy.”

Although working on the project was an opportunity to explore a topic of interest, the project was not without its challenges. “The most challenging aspect of the work was double checking for errors against the original journal pages because the handwriting was not always perfectly legible. It was not too difficult, it just took a long time,” said Toomey, refering to the process required for transcribing the journals.

Aside from the actual digitization of the work with involved scanning and transcribing the journals, the project also involved presenting the results to fellow professors and students. “Maura and I participated in a conference during the summer in which Maura gave a presentation on her work, and I gave one on an application of the journals to understanding a related series of Burroughs’s essays,” wrote Walker, who explained that he also shared the works with some English and Environmental Studies classes at Vassar.

“The conference at SUNY Oneonta was an incredible experience,” said Toomey. “I cannot believe how lucky I am to have been able to not only attend but also present at a conference with so many interesting people, and receive feedback on my work along scholars in various fields who are all so brilliant and accomplished.”

Toomey also explained that the conference presented an opportunity to for meeting with students at SUNY Oneonta who were also attending the conference. “It is great to be able to share your ideas, enlighten people on what you have learned, and then learn even more from others.”

“The best part of the project was how much I learned in general,” continued Toomey. “The work took me to another time and place and taught me how people lived and thought and wrote and viewed the world.”

September 13 , 2012

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ncoming presidents of student organizations face many challenges. From recruiting membership to working with the Student Activities Resources Center (SARC) Office, and mastery of both technical and more strategic skills can provide a steep learning curve.

To ease the process, just before classes begin, the student leaders of Vassar’s over 120 certified organizations, class and house team presidents, are required to attend a Fall Leadership Conference (FLC).

According to the Assistant Dean of the College for Campus Life Teresa Quinn “[The aim of Fall leadership conference was to] bring students who are in leadership positions together, to network, to bond, and to prepare them for their upcoming responsibility for being a leader and working with their organizations.”

This year’s FLC, which occurred from Thursday, Aug. 30 to Saturday Sept. 1, featured the theme “Where Do We Go From Here?: Confronting Gender Inequality at Vassar.”

Women’s Studies Professor Lydia Murdoch ’92 and Psychology Professor Abigail Baird ’91 provided an interactive dialogue about the history of Vassar and the various issues the school has faced surrounding the issue of gender. Following the keynote, the Associate Dean of the College for Campus Life and Diversity Ed Pittman, and other members of the Campus Life department separated the students into groups in which they had discussions regarding the issue of inclusion “The keynote address, I think, was pertinent to everyone present, regardless of their organization,” said Vassar Camerata President Michael Hofmann ’13.

Squirm President Gretchen Heinel ’13, whose publication is a submission-based magazine about sex and sexuality, agreed, stating, “This was my third FLC, I thought it was the most helpful of the ones I had been to. I thought the keynote address and related discussions were

highly pertinent, especially to my organization.”

According to VSA Vice President for Activities Doug Greer ’14, the topic was chosen largely because of bias incidents that occurred last year. “Last year there were tons of incidents, such as Serenading [and offensive] graffiti in various dorms, which were attacks on various identities,” said Greer. “Now that, this year, we have brand new leaders...[we wanted to ask] where do we go from here?” continued Greer, who elaborated that the VSA was interested in trying to prevent the bias-based incidents of the past year from happening in the future.

Yet for many students, a complaint was that they were, in fact, not new and this marked the second or the third year of attending a FLC with very little variation.

“The only thing I would change about the FLC is to not make certain workshops mandatory for returning leaders who have already taken them before—most, if not all, of the breakout sessions were identical to ones done in the past, and really just a waste of time for those who have already attended them,” said Hofmann. Heinel agreed, stating, “I thought that the breakout sessions were less useful, but that might be because I’ve heard it all in previous years.”

Another area for overlap was for presidents that had already attended House Team or SARC intern training. Quidditch Captain and Strong House Treasurer Maddy Vogel ’15 stated, “For me, FLC was a large overlap with House Team (HT) training. The presentation on the Alcohol Task Force Programming Survey were almost verbatim from HT training.”

For SARC interns who spend the time before the FLC learning the ins and outs of event planning on campus also felt some of the training was repetitive. “I had SARC training right before the FLC, so some of the workshops overlapped, which made it a bit boring,” said SARC Intern and Asian Students Alliance President Ji Kim. Another concern some organizational presi-

Lydia Murdoch ’92 and Abby Baird ’91, above, jointly gave the keynote address at the Fall Leadership Conference. The speech, and the conference as a whole, addressed issues of gender equality on campus. dents had was the one-size-fits all approach to the Conference. “[As] a leader of a performance group organization, the FLC is not a very useful event. Many of the challenges a non-performing group has with leadership do not typically apply when your meetings are almost always musical rehearsals,” said Hofmann.

“I know that some of the org leaders at the conference did not learn much because it was geared toward event planning, which not all of them do,” offered Kim. A substantial change made to the conference this year was the inclusion of only presidents in the events of the FLC. In past years, both treasurers and presidents were required to attend to attain mastery of financial skills. Reactions to this change was mixed.

“The absence of treasurers did improve the conference by making it more intimate and

more focused on leadership, planning, and executing events rather than the nitty-gritty of paperwork associated with treasurer training,” said Hofmann.

Not all agreed, however. “Treasurers should be present. They have just as much control and power as do the org leaders—they handle all finances and that role is just as important,” said Unbound President Danielle Lemieux ’13.

In order to gauge feedback from student leaders, the committee responsible for planning the FLC distributed surveys to attendees on both days of the conference. The Debriefing Committee for this year’s conference is planning to meet sometime within the next two weeks to address any concerns the students may have had. Following this meeting, a committee will begin planning the structure and setting a time for next year’s FLC.

Student leaders increase comradere during Serenading

Mia Fermindoza/The Miscellany News

Members of the freshman class impress the seniors with their house spirit. The Senior Class Council is currently working with house presidents to encourage a positive enviornment duirng Serenading.

Thomas Lawler Guest RepoRteR

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his Saturday, Sept. 15, the freshmen and senior classes will gather on Ballantine Hill for the tradition of Serenading. Over the past several years though, as the college administration took a diminished role in regulating and organizing Serenading, there was substantial doubt whether the annual event, in which freshmen perform songs written for the upperclassmen, would continue.

“In recent years, there have been many concerns raised about this student activity including incidents of dangerous and disrespectful behavior and how this event is incongruous with many of the efforts made during orientation and vastly different than other student sponsored activities during the academic year,” explained Associate Dean for Campus Activi-

ties Terry Quinn.

“There was clearly a need for a collaborative approach in addressing these concerns and developing strategies and solutions to these problems,” she continued.

One of the contributing factors that jeopardized this year’s Serenading was the inflammatory comments made during the event last year. The comments, which were directed at Strong House, caused a campuswide controversy and discussion about the role and tone of Serenading.

Shortly after the event, the Class of 2012 Executive Board issued an apology for the incident. “Next year’s class and house leadership [should] to work as closely as possible in the planning of Serenading, and take time to evaluate the positive potential ofthe even moving forward,” advised the Executive Board.

Vince Marchetta ’13 as president of the Class of 2013 has taken heed of these cautionary words and worked with this year’s Senior Class Council Executive Board to reform and refocus the tradition. “We are really trying to emphasize that this event is about coming together as a community for a full day of nothing but good times, pride and love for Vassar,” said Marchetta.

A survey was sent out to all members of the senior class over the summer asking them for their opinions about Serenading, both negative and positive. To analyze the results of the survey, a Serenading committee of thirteen individuals that encompassed representatives from each class, as well as several Administrative members, was formed and met in August to determine the necessary steps to restructure the event.

“Everyone [that was part of the committee] was working toward the same goal—reworking Serenading as a fun, safe, and unifying event for all of campus to enjoy,” says Marchetta, who chaired the committee. The Serenading Committee has concentrated on the ways in which students, especially incoming freshmen, receive information about the event. The Senior Executive Board has worked with the individual house teams to be sure that the guidelines and structure of how the day will run are clear. Last week, members of the Senior Class Council went to each dorm, personally inviting all members of that house to participate in the event and providing them with an explanation of what the event would be like.

“It was great that the Senior Class Council went to each of the nine houses and explained the Serenading guidelines directly to the first year students: it would be a water balloon fight—using biodegradable water balloons— with house-specific parameters between the seniors and the first years who choose to participate in Serenading,” says Main House President Estello-Cisdre Raganit ’14.

After the water balloon fight, the first year students will proceed up Ballantine Hill where

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

they will perform their songs for the Class of 2013. Besides instituting parameters for the water balloon fight, the Committee and Senior Executive Board has decided to prescreen the songs written by the freshmen and do preliminary judging on Friday night.

In the push to overhaul the Serenading tradition and to refocus the event on campus and community building, the Class of 2013 Executive Board has outlined the criteria for judging the songs: creativity, performance, and pride. “We want to see how creative houses can get, how wittily they can craft their lyrics,” says Marchetta. “But our big focus for the songs, and for this event as a whole, has been pride. Serenading has evolved so much since it first began, but it is [in essence] a day about sharing pride in our college.”

To further facilitate this comraderie between classes, the administration decided to provide dinner for an event that would allow seniors to dine with freshmen. Specifically, the Dean of the College Division is sponsoring pizza parties at each dorm for seniors to return to their old houses and meet the underclassmen before Serenading the next day. On Saturday, after the winners are announced, the Campus Activities Office will be sponsoring frozen treats for all participants on Ballantine Field.

For further encouragement, participating houses will also win points for the Brewer House Cup based on Serenading performance.

“The changes implemented this year work to foster connections between the seniors and the first years in an effort to get back to the root of Serenading: students mingling with one another and showing house, class, and Vassar pride,” says Raganit. “The changes to Serenading don’t completely alter the tone of the event—they simply enhance it.” This year’s Serenading is in many ways an opportunity to restart the tradition. Both the College Administration and the Senior Executive Board view this as a chance to reintroduce the event as a possible bonding experience that unites the classes and the campus through pride—all the while having some fun!

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FEATURES

September 13 , 2012

Recent grads find job opportunities at VC students Vassar through year long fellowship share their experiences FELLOWSHIPS continued from page 5 Many of them live on campus as a part of the Residential Life Assistantship, which allows them to participate as a member of their adoptive house’s House Team, and take on a sideproject that is independent of their campus job.

Assistant Dean of Students and Director of Residential Life Luis Inoa stresses the importance of these positions, especially in our current economic climate. On living on-campus, he states that “Anytime you can alleviate the stress of rent and food it helps. It allows individuals to take on work that they are passionate and curious about.”

“The positions also give them some different opportunities for growth and skill building that should bode well when looking at future positions,” finished Inoa on the benefits of the position.

This is true for Glick, who works as the Tanenbaum Inter-Religious Fellow in the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life. He majored in Anthropology and studied Arabic while at Colorado College, but aspires to be an ordained rabbi.

“My dream job would be the director of an Office of Religious and Spiritual Life at a different college... so whether I can survive one year’s worth of sharing bathrooms and dining facilities and everything else with students will really be a test for me about whether this is the right path,” he said He also works as an administrator of Campus Patrol for his Residential Life Assistantship in his adoptive house, Jewett.

Other Post-Baccalaureates are involved in very different work. Alistair Hall ’11, who lives in Main, is one of them. At Vassar hall majored

in Urban Studies with correlates in Hispanic Studies and Economics and now works as the Assistant to Sustainability Affairs. Hall feels strongly that returning to Vassar was the right route for him after he graduated. “I’m happy I had a year away from campus to see the ‘world’ so to speak, but in returning I thought it was a great opportunity to give back to the school that’s given me so much,” Hall finished.

Laura Livingston ’12, who majored in Geography with a correlate in Biology is using her job, where she works on sustainability with the Dean of Strategic Planning and Academic Resources, to give her time to figure out her future and gain valuable skills in the coming year.

“Staying on campus to work is a transition between the student world and the working world. I’m privileged to work in an environment and with people that I’m familiar with.”

Matt Wheeler ’12, who graduated this past May with a double major in Women’s Studies and Sociology, believes that he will pursue a career in higher education student affairs.

He works in the Career Development Office (CDO), doing more administrative work and gaining insight into the career counseling profession.

He says that his age and the fact that he is a recent alum provides him with a unique advantage in both his work at the CDO and his Assistantship in Noyes, which focuses on addressing the needs of transfer students living in the dorms. “[The] residential working experience, I think, is a real boon to what I’m doing because I’m able to interface with students, stay integrated into the Vassar community, [and] be

able to meet with students at their level and at their time—say after 5 p.m. Because that’s when ‘student’ takes off on this campus.”

Many Post-Baccalaureates were told about these positions by professors they worked with while they were undergraduates at Vassar, and applied during their senior year.

Vassar After School Tutoring (VAST) is now run by Rachel Gorman ’12, who learned she had the job the day before graduation. As a history major with correlates in education and Hispanic Studies, she was happy to get a great deal of experience from the position that she would not be able to get otherwise.

“There are a lot of programs for postgraduates where you go tutor in schools, but with this I get to run the whole program... [That] will be really relevant in the future,” she explained.

Post-Baccalaureates, especially those who are back as Vassar alums, are excited to be back. Hall acknowledges that this will be new experience of Vassar than he had in his undergraduate years. “It’s definitely different, but I’m looking forward to taking full advantage of all the lectures, and events that I missed out on as a student because of stuff like homework or feelings of being ‘too busy’.”

The Post-Baccalaureate position provides an exciting opportunity to gain real experience in fields that graduates are passionate about, while in an environment that often allows them to assume more responsibilities.

Gorman explained why she decided to come back: “I applied to [other jobs]... [But] when I was offered this job I chose it because I wanted maintain my connection to this school—I love Vassar.”

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MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

GAP YEAR continued from page 5 with each other. They want this year’s gap year students to also have an opportunity to meet and provide each other with support.

“For me,” Permar said, “first and foremost it’s to facilitate a space where they can meet each other. We don’t want to act as an authority to them—we just happen to be a year ahead, the resource will be great for us as well.”

They both emphasized that not all gap year students might need the same attention. Some might not want to be a part of a specific group, some might have an easier transition than others, while some might really need to talk about how to adapt to life at college and life at Vassar.

“We simply want to create a community and be accessible as a resource. It can evolve into whatever they want it to be, though we were hoping to ideally meet a few times during the year and see what comes out of it,” said Permar.

“We want to make it a more formalized program in the coming years,” she said of the goal of the group. Though taking a gap year comes with its own unique difficulties at times, for the people who choose it, it’s always a good choice.

“We simply want to create a community and be accessible as a resource. It can evolve into whatever they want it to be,” Permar said.

Though taking a gap year comes with its own unique difficulties at times, for the people who choose it, it’s always a good choice.

Dean Long said, “Going out into the world if something is calling you, working for NGOs, and different orgs—it’s generally a positive thing. If it’s what you want to do, it’s great.”

September 13 , 2012

OPINIONS

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MISCELLANY NEWS STAFF EDITORIAL

Proactive measures to improve VC climate promising S

ince its inception as the first women’s college in the United States, Vassar has prided itself on being a progressive institution of higher learning. For many in the Class of 2016, Vassar’s forward-thinking reputation may have factored into their decision to matriculate. However, over the last three years, members of the Vassar community have been disappointed with the school’s lackluster treatment of issues relating to sexual harassment, sexual assault and hazing, calling this progressive reputation into question. But changes over the last academic year—many of which are being put into practice now— have strengthened Vassar’s stance against the aforementioned issues, bridging the gap between the College’s ideals and its practices.

In 2009, the position of the Sexual Assault Violence Prevention (SAVP) Coordinator was terminated after funding from the Department of Justice expired. After the SAVP position was vacated, the responsibilities of the job were absorbed into the Office of Health Education. Subsequently, groups like the Sexual Assault Response Team (SART), a coalition of faculty members that acts as a resource for victims, noted a sharp decrease in student-reported incidents. Although sustaining the post would have cost the college $35,000 per year, the position was instrumental in fostering a safer campus climate as well as general awareness of these critical issues.

Without an individual to directly address these sensitive concerns, students may have felt more hesitant to seek help and speak out against sexual discrimination and violence.

Some have cited last year’s Serenading as a marker of the school’s irresponsibility towards issues of sexuality and respect. Most upperclassmen, faculty and administrators recall the incident in which a member of the class of 2012 made sexually degrading remarks to the residents of Strong House. While it is easy, and perhaps convenient, to see this as an isolated occurrence, it was in fact indicative of a larger problem. Seniors have historically thrown food, condiments and even sprayed alcohol at freshmen during Serenading, further marginalizing incoming students and widening the divide between seniors and freshmen. Between sexually explicit, degrading song lyrics and the hostile and sometimes lewd behavior of the senior class, the event has devolved from an age-old, respectful tradition into a ritual of institutional hazing.

This year, both the senior class council and house presidents have made notable changes to this weekend’s Serenading activities with the hope of creating a positive experience for freshmen and seniors alike, such as the provision of biodegradable water balloons for all participating students. Throughout the past week, members of the senior class reached out to freshmen during study breaks in houses in an attempt to foster camaraderie and amiable ties across class year lines. Additionally, over the summer the College appointed Elizabeth Schrock as the new SAVP Coordinator in an effort to facilitate discussion, increase awareness about sexual safety and ultimately create a more open campus climate in the upcoming years.

But it is worth noting that these promising changes only came in response to mounting legal and student pressures. In 2011, the US Department of Education issued a letter pushing for greater enforcement of Title IX standards. Since then, Vassar, as well as other institutions of higher learning have made efforts to comply with these regulations, which explicitly prohibit instances of sexual harassment and hazing on college campuses. At Vassar, the Committee on College Life (CCL) regularly met last year in order to reconsider the College’s policies regarding hazing. The CCL revised the College Regulations appeals procedures, updated the complainant/alleged victim and respondent/accused Student Conduct Rights and edited the College’s record retention policy. While such appraisal of the regulations only came as a result of stricter enforcement of Title IX, the measures were promising. This year, we are beginning to see these efforts bear fruit.

Concurrently, pressure from students and other members of the Vassar community in response to the absence of an SAVP Coordinator gave momentum to these changes. The student-run blog Break the Silence, as well as the following response from the student body, brought much-needed attention to the lack of dialogue on sexual violence and harassment at Vassar. We applaud those who shared their voices as this only contributes to a movement towards a more mindful College conversation.

While the recent changes to Serenading and the hiring of the SAVP Coordinator were

In DNC speech, Obama avoids hard truths Lane Kisonak

opinions editoR

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he story of President Barack Obama’s third speech at a Democratic National Convention, in which he accepted the Democratic nomination for a second term in the Oval Office, began with a televised national address he had given in that very office over two years before.

On June 15, 2010, Obama spoke from behind the presidential desk, crafted from the timbers of the H.M.S Resolute. His charge was to show the nation he could assume leadership in the face of a cataclysmic oil spill triggered by the explosion of BP’s Deepwater Horizon offshore rig. In the days leading up to the speech, talk centered on the hazy but intriguing possibility that Obama might take the opportunity to spearhead a true transition for America into an age free of fossil fuels. Perhaps a single-minded push to pass the House of Representatives’ comprehensive emissions trading plan through the Senate. Perhaps something even more historic and beneficial for the planet—something to justify the nowderided (and admittedly self-indulgent) moment in 2008 when Obama marked his nomination as “when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal.”

But no such thing occurred. Instead, Obama delivered a workmanlike speech centered around his efforts to hold BP financially accountable for the clean-up—a necessary measure, of course, but months too late to act as a rally point.

He assured the country that, though millions of gallons of petroleum continued to flow into the Gulf of Mexico, “the one answer I will not settle for is the idea that this challenge is somehow too big and too difficult to meet.”

And then, seemingly bereft of ambition and unstruck by inspiration as to how the United States could do just that, he ended his speech by invoking an old Mediterranean fishermen’s prayer.

“It’s called ‘The Blessing of the Fleet,’” Obama said. “And today it’s a celebration where clergy from different religions gather to say a prayer for the safety and success of the men and women who will soon head out to sea…” His symbolic reference foreshadowed what would in the next couple of years become his standard stump speech line on the roles and abilities of government. He continued: “As a priest and former fisherman once said of the tradition, ‘The blessing is

not that God has promised to remove all obstacles and dangers. The blessing is that He is with us always…even in the midst of the storm.’”

In 2012 we find ourselves in the midst of multiple storms. On September 6 at the Democratic Convention in Charlotte, N.C., President Obama used his acceptance speech to lay out the broad outlines of his vision for a second term and make the case that Mitt Romney and the GOP could not bring us safely home from sea. A mundane task for a politician of Obama’s stature—and Obama gave a mundane speech to match.

Untold numbers of commentators have extolled the president’s virtuoso oratory skills since he took the 2004 Democratic convention by storm. Since his inauguration in 2009, however, it has often felt as if the “magic” that so endeared him to us has gone vacant from his speeches.

Obama’s speech in Charlotte has met with mixed reception among political critics. The New Republic’s Timothy Noah called it a “humblebrag” and said of Obama’s retelling of anecdotes that gave him hope: “I need a president who can cheer me up, not a president who needs me to cheer him up.” The National Review’s Yuval Levin pithily ranked it the “fourth best speech” of the DNC. The New Yorker called it “fairly tame stuff,” especially compared to Michelle Obama’s and Bill “It takes some brass” Clinton’s electrifying orations from earlier that week. Clive Crook of The Atlantic found it “underwhelming,” and lamented that “neither candidate can acknowledge the tight limits of presidential power.”

That last bit is interesting.

The plan Obama shared with us for his second term—aside from defending his already sizable domestic achievements—contains many worthy components (hiring 100,000 new math and science teachers, protecting and streamlining student loans, signing more trade agreements, reducing the long-term national debt), but lacks anything as lofty as the Recovery or Affordable Care Acts. These small-bore proposals, considered alongside Obama’s humility-rooted invocation of Abraham Lincoln (“I have been driven to my knees many times by the overwhelming conviction that I had no place else to go”), show that Obama is all too familiar with the “tight limits of presidential power,” and is struggling to express the harsh realities of his position in relation to an obstructionist Republican party and a mainstream media that disfavors the nuances of

national policymaking.

“You elected me to tell you the truth,” Obama said in his address, alluding to a number of stark choices that must soon be made. If the “great national myth” (as Crook put it) of presidential predominance over the legislature is so very fictional, why shouldn’t a person so well-positioned as Barack Obama finally bust that myth rather than continue to languish in the uncomfortable space between poetry and prose? Why shouldn’t he tell the truth instead of allowing others to define him in terms that vacillate from job-hemorrhaging incapacity to terrorist-killing omnipotence?

The idealist in me thinks that it would be good not just for our country’s grasp of political reality if he did so. It could also be good for his campaign and his party.

After Obama’s oil spill speech in June 2010, The Washington Post’s Ezra Klein asked, “Can you solve global warming without talking about global warming?” Viewers’ reactions to the speech revealed a significant problem of perception for the White House; a CBS News/ New York Times poll of viewers found that only 35% thought Obama had a clear plan to address the spill. Additionally, more people than not responded that Obama had no energy plan—this, despite the clear fact that he had backed the Democratic House’s carbon emissions bill.

The same dynamic of doubt threatens to take hold in the final two months of this election if Obama hides behind the mirage of presidential power that so dangerously obscures political reality. Because the economy, in the midst of a slow and painful recovery, is voters’ Number One Issue, the costs of such doubt could be game-changing.

Granted, the consensus is that Obama has to stay away from blaming others for the economy’s shortcomings. But last Friday the Bureau of Labor Statistics notified us that 94,000 jobs were created in August—a paltry sum that reflects badly on all those who have a hand in the recovery. As long as people continue to believe that Obama holds singular responsibility for the state of the economy, he and Democrats around the country may find themselves unhappy with the repercussions at the polls in November.

—Lane Kisonak ’13 is Opinions Editor for The Miscellany News . He is a Political Science major.

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

reactive to these pressures, the Vassar community has used this as an opportunity to become proactive in turn.

This year’s VSA Fall Leadership Conference, for example, emphasized the need for more productive conversation on sexism and sexual harassment. Student leaders were taught how to recognize sexual harassment and sexual assault on campus and within their organizations, implicitly dispelling the myth about Vassar’s near immunity to these problems. In the same vein, the changes to Serenading will hopefully have a lasting effect—both by creating a space where new students can feel comfortable participating in a school tradition and safe joining the College community.

Propelled by this momentum motivated by a spirit of inclusion and overall well-being at Vassar, we hope the entire College community—students, faculty, staff and administrators alike—will continue this preemptive stance toward such issues, rather than ignore them, let them fester and allow them to sour the campus climate.

Coming into a new academic year, our hope is that we can all learn from these challenges and failures and run with them. We must remember to enjoy Vassar, but not be afraid to be critical of it, too. By speaking up about these highly personal issues, we give others courage to do the same and help create a responsive and responsible student body.

Such a community will uphold the progressive motives of the College upon its founding and allow us to be proud to call Vassar home.

Summer ’12: U.S. gov’t. turns its back Gabe Dunsmith

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ver the past few months, President Obama has promoted an “all of the above” energy policy which translates to a Sarah Palin-esque “Drill Baby Drill” strategy that is all too eager to rake the earth for financial gain. The administration’s philosophy is this: Expand extraction of the earth’s resources and refuse to develop a plan for what to do after those resources run out. In pursuing these policies, Obama ignores the human suffering that the fossil fuel economy engenders. By expanding offshore drilling, the President gives his approval of the extraction economy. In 2012, the Obama of the 2008 campaign is long dead.

The Administration’s recent caving to the whims of Shell Oil, in which the President gave the oil company access to drill in the Arctic Ocean, is only the latest move in a series of disasters for the United States’ environmental policy.

On an environmental front, the summer of 2012 was an interesting one. The Courts blocked two significant EPA rules, one concerning crossstate air pollution and another concerning a toxic coal mine that the Agency had tried to shut down. The Obama Administration pushed for fracking public lands with toxic chemicals, and denied petitions to halt the use of a pesticide shown to cause massive die-offs in honeybee colonies. Then the White House weakened the EPA’s proposed rules on soot pollution. And the fuel-industrial complex pushed on, undeterred.

Simply put, almost all positive environmental action this summer came from the grassroots.

Greenpeace steered a boat into the Arctic to protest Shell’s imminent drilling, and then boarded and shut down a Russian oil rig. Thousands of protestors descended on Washington, D.C., to demonstrate opposition to hydraulic fracturing.

In West Virginia, in perhaps the boldest homegrown environmental action of the summer, people put their bodies on the line to stop a coal mining operation. Meanwhile, in Texas, people See ENERGY on page 12

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A brand new GOP unveils itself in Tampa Luka Ladan

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egardless of your political views, religious beliefs, and personal preferences, it is difficult to deny that one of the United States’ two main political parties is experiencing a rebirth of sorts.

As I watched the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla. from Aug. 27 to Aug. 30, I couldn’t help but think that the party on display in what has since 2000 become one of the country’s most important battleground states (as is usually the case) is now new, exciting, and refreshing. Most importantly, this modern Republican Party––or, at least, the segment that spoke in primetime at the convention––appears to be wholly unlike its predecessors.

Dynamic young leaders such as Paul Ryan, Marco Rubio, Chris Christie, and Susana Martinez seemed like a breath of fresh air for a party with a dynamically changing image.

Yes, “a breath of fresh air” is one of the more overused clichés known to the English language. Yes, all of these speakers carry their own unique forms of “baggage,” especially when it comes to their extremely conservative stances on social issues ranging from abortion to women’s health to gay marriage. This fact alone often sets them up as political dartboards for left-leaning media outlets. And, to be sure, this isn’t the first time we’ve heard of Ryan, the headstrong Chairman of the House Budget Committee whose wonkish reputation has made him a household name; Rubio, the outspoken and well-spoken son of Cuban immigrants; or Martinez, the first female Hispanic governor in the United States (who, as a matter of fact, started her political career as a Democrat.)

The Republican National Convention gave viewers a showcase of the change and optimism that have taken root in the GOP, a veritable picture of vigor. Oftentimes, the previous regime of Republicans stalwarts, headlined by the less than likeable Richard Bruce Cheney and Karl Rove, seemed to resemble today’s slow and aging Boston Celtics and San Antonio Spurs; now the party has found inside itself the energy of the ascendant Oklahoma City Thunder.

Was the old GOP formidable, despite all of the wear and tear? Of course. The presence of Dick Cheney in the Republican Party was an unchanging and unwavering one. You couldn’t miss him. Whenever the Republican Party was criticized, he was there with his resolute rebuttal. But was it exciting? Refreshing? Relatable to much of America’s youth? Not so much.

The GOP of Ryan, Rubio, Martinez, and Christie, among others, seems to have plans to upend that image over the next few months and years, and this shift was on full display in Tampa. When they exhibited their noteworthy oratory skills in front of millions of viewers worldwide, the Republican National Convention in 2012 seemed to mirror the emergence of Senator Barack Obama in 2004 and then again in 2008. There was just something different about this iteration of the Republican party.

Maybe the difference rests in the growing influence of Latin-American Republicans within the party, symbolized by Susana Martinez’s critique of Democrats and Marco Rubio’s inspiring introduction of Mitt Romney.

Perhaps it was the average age of prominent Republican speakers that flipped the script.

Ryan, Rubio, Martinez, and Christie, the Governor of New Jersey most famous for his attacks on statewide teachers unions, are all under 54 years of age.

It does bear mentioning that these leaders’ youth has the side effect of transforming Governor Romney into some sort of outdated relic in an antique store, rather than the eye-catching center of attention.

Regardless, the 2012 version of the Republican National Convention showcased to the country and the world an electrifying political party, like then-Senator Obama’s Democratic Party in 2008. It was exciting to talk about a potential Obama administration back then because there was a perceived potential for FDR-like transcendence of petty

“The 2012 version of the Republican National Convention showcased to the country and the world an electrifying political party.” political divisions, even if it went largely unrealized in the end.

Now, the same questions surround this younger vanguard of Republicans. Could it be Florida’s very own Rubio who becomes a transcendent president, à la Ronald Reagan in 1980? Is it possible that the budget-balancing Paul Ryan becomes the next revered Republican head of state, actually capable of cutting taxes and deficits in unison while

keeping the country safe and unemployment low?

Only time will tell, but a bunch of fresh up-and-comers was never a bad thing for an American political party, Democrat or Republican. What exactly does it mean, beyond 2012? Well, if there ever was a good time to be a Republican, the time is now.

The party’s high-profile personalities are younger, more diverse, and very, very passionate. There isn’t a single Protestant on this year’s presidential ticket, which is one indication of broader change within the party. Heck, Romney’s a Mormon and Ryan’s a Catholic. Also, there seem to be more Hispanic members within the GOP now than ever before, which bodes well for a Republican presence in minority neighborhoods.

And, on top of that, Republican speechgivers appear to have found a zealous, fiery energy over the past few months.

If I were a staunch supporter of the Grand Old Party, as conservatives still call it, I would be brimming with optimistic cheer when I consider the current state and potential of my political party. It has provided new faces, new backgrounds, and new attitudes, which, for lack of a better word, is something completely new.

The days of Dick Cheney and Karl Rove are over, and their successors seem to be more proud than ever to be Republicans.

All you have to do is look back at Paul Ryan’s, Susana Martinez’s, and Marco Rubio’s speeches to see that morale is remarkably high within the GOP. The old guard, one that has been thoroughly and consistently criticized from all possible angles over the past decade, has been replaced by a multitude of newcomers ready to do their part to revitalize the GOP. How will specific policies be affected?

Will unemployment finally begin to fall?

Can job growth be sustained over the long haul?

This has yet to be seen and the nation’s future is still largely unclear, much like the outcome of this year’s contentious presidential election. (Most polls indicate that campaign bounces are disappearing, and a neck-and-neck race to the finish is in order.)

One campaign slip-up in a key battleground state could prove to be the difference between a seat in the White House and a place in the history textbooks.

But, one thing that’s certain is that today’s a great day to be a Republican, and this upcoming election doesn’t change that undeniable fact.

—Luka Ladan is a sophomore at Vassar College.

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September 13 , 2012

How to help your diet and fix the planet Alan Darer

Guest Columnist

I

n a year fraught with natural disasters, political divisiveness, and senseless violence, many of us are left wondering: How can I make the world a better place?

At Vassar, we have the opportunity to make the world a better place each time we eat.

How? By participating in Meatless Monday, an international campaign that dozens of colleges and universities around the world, including Vassar, have signed onto to improve student health, help the planet, decrease our carbon footprint, and reduce animal suffering.

By now, most of us know that the vast majority of the meat, milk and eggs produced in the U.S. come from animals packed in factory farms where they are unable to engage in basic natural behaviors. Unable to even turn around in some cases for months on end, these animals’ lives bear no resemblance to the way most of us envision life on Old MacDonald’s farm. By choosing meatless options even just one day a week, we can all help reduce animal suffering in the world.

Pledging to go meat-free on Mondays can help prevent the dreaded freshman fifteen, too: A diet rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, and nuts alongside regular exercise, is consistently linked to lower rates of obesity, along with lower blood cholesterol levels and blood pressure.

“The vast majority of the meat, milk and eggs produced in the U.S. come from animals packed in factory farms where they are unable to engage in basic natural behaviors.”

It can also help you live longer; a recent study released by the Harvard School of Public Health tracked 120,000 patients for 20 years and found that those who replaced meat with plant-based proteins decreased their chance of mortality up to 11 percent.

Even Bill Clinton, the former fast-food loving President, has switched to a mostly plantbased vegan diet, shedding over 20 pounds and claiming he’s healthier than ever.

If it’s going green you care about, reducing your meat consumption is one of the best ways to lighten your carbon footprint. The Environmental Defense Fund put it simply: “If every American skipped one meal of chicken per week and substituted vegetables and grains…the carbon dioxide savings would be the same as taking more than half a million cars off of U.S. roads.”

Meat-free dining is gaining widespread popularity, with over 20 percent of college students saying they’re limiting their meat consumption. Vassar signed up to take part in Meatless Monday two years ago, and even though Campus Dining offers delicious meatfree options daily, it offers even more on Mondays.

Meatless Monday is a common-sense approach and a great start to a myriad of issues facing our nation, addressing the obesity epidemic, environmental conservation, and animal cruelty. Last year, 390 students (over 23% of students on a meal plan) took the pledge!

I’m proud to see our school do its part—let’s support that effort. You can get easy recipes and tips on meat-free eating at www.chooseveg.com. I hope to see you at ACDC next Monday!

—Alan Darer is a junior at Vassar. He lives in Ferry House.

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

September 13 , 2012

OPINIONS

Page 11

Dean of Freshmen highlights Vassar push to simplify November voting Benjamin Lotto Guest Columnist

V

oting is the quintessential expression of citizenship in any democracy, and engaged citizenship is a core value of a liberal arts education at Vassar. Most of this year’s Vassar freshman class were born in 1994 and will be turning 18 this year, and so those who are citizens of the United States are eligible to vote for the first time this November. Additionally, most sophomores, juniors, and seniors were not yet 18 in 2008 and so will be able to vote in their first presidential election this year. The choices that the electorate makes in that national contest and in the numerous state and local elections for senators, congressmen, governors, state legislators, mayors, judges, and so on will have a profound impact on each and every one of us as individuals, as members of the Vassar community, and as members of our local, state, and national communities.

Speaking both as an individual and as a member of the Vassar administration, I believe that every single individual who is eligible to vote should do so. For college students, voting presents a particular challenge, as each of you has the right to choose between your home location and Poughkeepsie as your residence for the purpose of registration and voting. Also, many of you will need to navigate the registration process remotely or in a new location, or figure out how to request and submit an absentee ballot. As an institution firmly committed to promoting engaged citizenship in their students, Vassar welcomes the responsibility to help you steer your way through the technical aspects of registering and voting. As such, I am proud to announce that the Vassar administration and the VSA have partnered with TurboVote, a nonprofit,

nonpartisan organization that simplifies registration and requests for absentee ballots and provides reminders of deadlines for submitting forms whether you choose to go to the polls in person or cast your ballot by mail.

The goal of TurboVote is to provide a onestop location that handles many of the technical steps involved in registration and voting.

For example, using TurboVote, students can register to vote for the first time or change their registration from one state to another (or to the District of Columbia). After answering the questions on the site, TurboVote will send you a completed registration form and a stamped, address envelope. All you need to do is sign it and mail it in. Additionally, students can request absentee ballots. As with registration, TurboVote will send a completed absentee ballot request and a stamped, addressed envelope for you to sign and send. Anyone who is registered with TurboVote can sign up for email or text reminders of deadlines, voting dates, and more.

All of this—including the postage—is paid for by Vassar and by the VSA, and so costs the student nothing. To get started with TurboVote, register at Vassar’s TurboVote website at http://vassar.turbovote.org.

If you do choose to register locally, be aware that even though the courts have repeatedly upheld the right of college students to register at their college address, there continues to be local opposition to student registrations. Formal challenges to the validity of student registrations happen every year here in Poughkeepsie. In order to make sure that those challenges are rejected, students need to pay particular attention to how they complete their registrations. I’ve put instructions on my blog at vcfreshmendean.blogspot.com that will ensure that local registrations are valid.

Of course, that’s not all there is to it— between registering and voting, we must all educate ourselves about the choices that we will be making on Election Day. Your Vassar education—a liberal arts education—embraces at its core the kind of tools that are needed to understand and tackle the complex and interconnected issues that face our society. The values that we promote here—multifaceted, multidisciplinary analysis that sometimes reveals conflicting truths; a “go to the source” reliance on verifiable facts instead of popular wisdom; a willingness to challenge and rethink one’s assumptions; and a commitment to embrace the perspectives of those unlike ourselves and engage collaboratively and with mutual respect in the difficult task of, to quote Vassar’s mission statement, “meet[ing] the challenges of a complex world responsibly, actively, and imaginatively”––are the perfect preparation for truly understanding those choices and the consequences thereof.

So, I challenge you to find those issues that you feel passionate about and determine where candidates and parties stand on them.

Take classes that both challenge and support your developing a deep understanding of the problems that you are concerned with. Join an organization or club that engages in the political process. Do field work in Poughkeepsie or elsewhere in Dutchess County that helps to make a difference.

But most important, remember that, as George Jean Nathan put it, “Bad officials are elected by good citizens who do not vote.” I urge that you register and make your voice heard on Nov. 6.

Columnist

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he Republican Party has undergone a remarkable transformation in the past fifty years. A transformation that is even more striking when one remembers the Party’s initial role in broadening voting and civil rights. Republicans were responsible for the Freedmen’s Bureau following the Great Civil War, as Lincoln called it. The Bureau, which W. E. B. DuBois referred to as a “great human institution”, was responsible, among other duties, for organizing and registering black male voters after the passage of the 15th Amendment, which gave voting rights to newly freed former slaves. At the 1888 Republican National Convention Fredrick Douglass became the first black person to receive votes at major party’s nominating convention. At the same time Republicans were, at least marginally, fighting for voting rights, the Democratic Party was home to racist politicians and Klansmen who actively sought to nullify the 15th Amendment by waging campaigns of gross violence and intimidation while erecting unconstitutional barriers.

Today the parties have effectively switched sides; Republicans are now engaging in widespread voter suppression efforts under the guise of protecting the sanctity of democracy. Nowhere is this more pronounced than in Ohio. It is the second largest battleground state and it is also home to some of the most egregious acts of voter suppression.

Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted, who has control over the state’s electoral administration, is an active supporter of Mitt Romney’s campaign. And in that capacity he has spearheaded the effort to limit early voting in the Buckeye state. Previously, all Ohio voters were able to go to the polls on the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday before the

election. Husted decided this was uncalled for and that only military members (who, incidentally, skew Republican) should be allowed to vote early. But before that the partisan warrior, masquerading as an objective election official, actually had the chutzpah to push for expanded polling hours in Republican leaning counties while decreasing hours in Democratic leaning counties—as if no one would notice such a brazenly unfair act. But folks did notice. After much uproar Husted backed down and decided that all counties should have the same hours—8 a.m. to 5 p.m., which is the time when most voters are at work. And he prohibited early voting during that pivotal weekend before the election when a lot of Democratic voters go to the polls after Sunday services.

In 2008 the Obama campaign got thousands of Ohio voters, especially black residents, to the polls during that crucial threeday window. In justifying the polling hours cutback, Husted claimed, quite absurdly, that such a scheme placed an undue burden on election workers. In fact, Husted becomes responsible for undue burdens when he advocates a policy that would swell the polls on Tuesday as opposed to relieving that pressure by allowing early weekend voting. Husted stubbornly went so far as to remove local Democratic election board members when they refused to comply with his directive. When a federal court ordered the out-of-control Husted to open up the polls in those three days preceding Nov. 6 he initially refused. After the judge ordered him to appear in court, Husted backed down.

Ohio isn’t alone. Pennsylvania House Majority Leader Mike Turzai let the cat out of the bag when he boasted that Republicans had passed “Voter ID, which is gonna allow Governor Romney to win the state of Pennsylvania, done.” In Florida, Republicans have purged thousands of black and Latino vot-

mascot, what would it be?

“Snoop Lion.”

—Yaniv Yaffe ’16

“A wizard.”

—Lindsay Lucido ’16

—Benjamin Lotto is Dean of Freshman and Professor of Mathematics. He is spearheading the TurboVote initiative.

Going against founding principles, GOP blocks swing voters in OH, PA Juan Thompson

If you could choose the Vassar

ers, while shutting down voter registration drives and implementing confusing voter ID requirements. The word “confusing” is important because that’s what Republicans are attempting to do. They’re hoping to confuse voters to the point where people will just throw up their hands and stay home from the polls; voting rights activists call this effect “voter depression.”

The Republican scheme mirrors the old Democratic scheme of years past. When Southern Democrats used the poll tax, the literacy tax and the grandfather clause to prevent black people from voting they never argued, outright at least, that black people were the targets. Instead they claimed, as Republicans do today, that the directives were put in place to protect voting integrity.

But, much like it will be today, the disproportionate effects of those policies were on minority and low-income voters.

When I was eight years old my old man started a tradition of taking me into the voting booth with him whenever he cast a ballot. He would pick me up into his arms, show me the ballot, and explain to me who he was voting for and why. As I grew to learn more about politics he, in turn, would ask me about certain candidates and their positions. The seeds of my love for politics were planted in those St. Louis voting booths. Voting is a sacred civic duty formed in the blood and sacrifices of many men and women.

Civil Rights icon John Lewis, who was nearly beaten to death while trying to register black voters, recently said, “And we have come too far together to ever turn back. So we must not be silent. We must stand up, speak up and speak out. We must march to the polls like never before. We must come together and exercise our sacred right.” I concur.

—Juan Thompson ’13 is a Political Science major.

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

“A llama.”

—Yasmine Salah ’14

“A racoon.

They’re always so sneeky.”

—Kennedell Amoo-Gottfried ’14

“High.”

—Josh Tempro ’16

“A bumblebee.”

—Sofie Cardinal ’15 —Katie De Heras, Photography Editor Jean-Luc Bouchard, Humor and Satire Editor

OPINIONS

Page 12

Awareness of Jud. Board must be raised Alaric Chinn and Deep Anand Guest Columnists

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he Judicial Board is the third branch of the Vassar Student Association (VSA) and a major part of the shared governance of Vassar College. Made up of sixteen representatives (four elected from each class) and one chair (elected at large), members of the Judicial Board serve on a multitude of panels and bodies to help facilitate the college’s judicial systems.

In its function as part of the VSA, the Judicial Board meets on an as-needed basis. According to Article IX of the VSA Constitution: “The jurisdiction of the Judicial Board shall extend to all cases arising under the VSA Constitution, the VSA Bylaws, and under any social regulations or other rules established by the VSA Council…”

Unsurprisingly, the responsibilities of the Board are myriad; constitutional issues, intra-organizational cases, and impeachment hearings all fall under the Judicial Board’s purview. Individuals bring written complaints to the Judicial Board, which are then to be resolved within 72 hours of the receipt. Further information can be found in Article IX of the VSA Bylaws.

The majority of the Board’s time, however, is spent in the college’s judicial system. Representatives—who are extensively trained by the College—can find themselves in one of the three main bodies: the Student Conduct Panel (SCP), the Academic Panel, and the College Regulations Panel (CRP). In each of these panels, representatives of the Judicial Board review evidence, deliberate, and recommend sanctions should the need arise. For background, the standard of proof governing the college’s judicial system is “more likely than not.” Numerically, this is equivalent to “more than 50 percent.” The reasoning for this stems from Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which mandates that the “more likely than not” standard be used for sexual assault cases. If such serious cases require a “more likely than not” threshold, logically, it follows that the college must apply the same standard to all other cases. It must be noted, though, that the systems used by the college are not court hearings nor are they legal forums.

Finally, context plays an extremely important role in judicial hearings.

The first major panel that Judicial Board members serve on is the three-person Student Conduct Panel. The SCP was spearheaded by Board Chair Dan Salton ’10, who made it his primary goal to magnify the student voice in the college’s judicial system. Last year, the SCP heard 92 individual cases—more than some House Advisors.

The SCP meets on a regular basis, typically on Fridays, to hear cases in which possible sanctions will not rise to the magnitude of suspension or expulsion. These meetings are generally informal in nature and last (on average) fifteen minutes. The SCP is made up of three Judicial Board members who ask questions and deliberate independently. (Associate Director for Residential Life and Student Conduct, Rich Horowitz, serves an advisory role.) The SCP is given a security file for each alleged violation and, if a student is found responsible, prior offenses are also made available. The types of cases that the SCP hears range in severity from excessive noise to alcohol violations to weapons violations to vandalism. The SCP’s range of sanctions extends from warnings to removal from housing. In this way, the SCP is equivalent to a House Advisor.

The Academic Panel is the body that evaluates cases stemming from alleged violations of academic integrity. This body is made up of three faculty members, three students, and is chaired by the Dean of Studies Joanne Long.

The Academic Panel normally hears two types of cases—those involving cheating on a test or assignments and plagiarism. Normally, a copy of the test or assignment is made available to panel members who then hear testimony from the student and the professor of the course (who brings charges against the student). Sometimes, character witnesses are allowed to testify. As a body, faculty members and students are equal, each panel member having a vote in deciding guilt and potential sanctions. Academic Panels are formal in nature and can, on average, last two hours or more. Many of these cases could have been avoided if the student had familiarized themselves with Originality and Attribution.

Specific sanctions can be found in the Student

ENERGY continued from page 9 took part in the Keystone XL Blockade, working to stopTransCanada’smassivetarsandspipelinethat, if completed, would snake through the Midwest.

And on all of these issues the President remained silent. Never once did he voice sympathy for Alaskans threatened by Shell’s invasion of the ocean. Nor did he attempt to break the cruel patterns of methane or oil drilling in the U.S., or make the connection between wildfires in the West and carbon dioxide pumped into the atmosphere. Worse, Obama voiced support for hydrofracking and domestic oil production.

In promoting resource extraction Obama turns his back on those whom fossil fuel production harms most, and he betrays future generations of Americans. The Obama Administration’s energy policy is one of denial—a denial of the harm these industries cause, and a shifting of the burden of climate change onto the shoulders of the poor.

The only positive federal action on the environment—finalizing fuel efficiency standards for cars—is no consolation for the havoc wreaked by oil spills, fracking injections, and exploded mountaintops.

Obama is playing politics with human lives.

We should not have to demand that the President make ethical choices regarding the land, water, and air upon which we all rely. It’s his job.

And as beautiful as this summer’s grassroots organizing was, these environmental actions only cropped up because of the government’s capitulation to corporate control of the earth.

It’s time for the President to respond to human need, not corporate greed, and implement the environmental policy that will guide the United States to a wholesome relationship with the earth.

—Alaric Chinn ’13 and Deep Anand ’15 are members of the VSA Judicial Board.

—Gabe Dunsmith’15 the Assistant Opinions Editor for The Miscellany News.

by Jack Mullan, Crossword Editor 1 Enter digits 5 Fresh talk 9 Net−acronym used to convey sarcastic enthusiasm 12 “Mad Men” accolade 13 Ivan, Nicholas and Peter 15 Delinquent G.I. 17 Ex−GOP candidate and pizza magnate Herman 18 Rand McNally product 19 Composer Bartók 20 John Hughes classic 22 Making Z’s 24 Summary 26 Half of octa− 27 Pixar’s adorable robot 31 Amateur 33 1 lb.

34 Swedish furniture giant 35 Halal cart order 39 Profit 40 “Throw me ___ here!”

41 Double−reed instrument 45 Classroom action 47 USA Women’s soccer goalie Hope 48 Legislative bill title 51 German connection 52 Forrest Gump’s amputee friend 53 Seaweed, e.g.

55 Bird on a quarter back?

59 Paltry 61 Vassar’s newest students, and a hint to the circled answers 66 Sammy Davis Jr.’s “I’ve Gotta ___” 67 Spanish rains 69 Grub 70 Advanced Practice Education Associates: Abbr.

71 Father: prefix 72 In a frenzy 73 Fast jet, for short 74 Not a jock 75 Queens club DOWN

1 Last day of study week, this semester 2 Apple desktop 3 “What ___ mind reader?”

4 Boston suburb 5 Musical warm−up 6 Montezuma’s people 7 Dish of modern day 6−down 8 Mallorca Mrs. 9 The “C” in CNN 10 Celebrated milestone for high−schoolers 11 Ravel opera 14 Federal old−age insurer 16 Bolivian capital

Obama must correct climate policy

Handbook.

The final major conduct body that Judicial Board members participate in is the College Regulations Panel. Very formal in nature, these panels consist of four students and two faculty members with an administrator serving as the chair. The CRP hears cases where there is a potential for suspension or expulsion because of the egregious nature of the alleged violation, the past record for the student, or both. An extensive case file is compiled by the Dean of Students Office that is made available to all panel members.

Due to the student to faculty ratio, students have a stronger voice on the CRP, as the panel’s main goal is to represent the college and the campus community. If the student is found responsible— after testimony given by the accused student (or respondent), the college’s investigator, and witnesses—the panel is read impact statements, priors, precedents, and character witness statements. Due to the seriousness of these panels, CRPs typically last two to six hours.

Awareness of the Judicial Board or of the student conduct system is generally at a deficit amongst the student body. Much of the time, students only begin to ask questions about the system once they are already being processed through it—for example, if they are being “written up” by Safety and Security or during a face-toface meeting with an administrator. This should not be the case. Vassar College is a residential institution that is governed by the regulations and policies outlined in the student handbook, with which students should become familiar.

That is not to say however, that additional resources are unavailable. To supplement existing sources, this year, the Judicial Board seeks to expand itself as a resource for students and community members in matters of student conduct.

In the very near future, the Judicial Board expects to have an operational website and regular office hours to hear concerns and answer questions. In the meantime, if you have any questions, feel free to contact a Judicial Board representative.

The Miscellany Crossword ACROSS

September 13 , 2012

21 Hip−hop doc 23 Eye affliction 25 Garden item 27 Artificial locks 28 Stage name abbr.

29 Aloha shirt accessory 30 Superman’s lady Lois 32 Without ___ (pro bono) 35 Narnia creature 36 Start of a well−known series 37 Mauna ___ 38 Complicated ABC show that took place on an island 42 Physique 43 Greeting in Lisboa 44 Ages and ages 46 Battle royale 48 Afro−Brazilian dance 49 Expletives deleter 50 NFL team’s annual schedule 52 lural of “la” and “le” 54 Take ___ (plop down) 56 Less than 90° 57 Fierce look 58 Corrective eye surgery 60 So to speak?

62 Email from a Nigerian prince, usually 63 Words of woe 64 Pick up, as a bill 65 Pregnancy stage: Abbr.

68 Comedic bit

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

September 13 , 2012

HUMOR & SATIRE

Page 13

OPINIONS

Breaking News

From the desk of Jean-Luc Bouchard, Humor & Satire Editor

In support of Michelle Obama’s campaign for healthy eating, VSA President Jason Rubin ’13 changes first name to Turkey

Mr. Bouchard’s discourse With fond rememberance; on campus renovations observing the freshmen class Jean-Luc Bouchard

Humor & Satire Editor

H

ello fellow Vassarians! Welcome back to campus for another year of incredible Mug awkwardness and using the word “meta” way more than we ever have at home. And what a different campus it is! Tons of buildings got new roofs, the library received great new chairs for sleeping/crying/sleep crying, Skinner Hall got a brand-new and decidedly less awesome/hilariously dangerous elevator, Swift Hall has been shut down like a hormonal freshman knocking on his student fellow’s door at 2 a.m., the science building in its early stages— a lot has changed since last spring. But nothing has changed in the way I hoped it would.

Here’s what the administration should have been working on over the summer instead of these so-called “necessary renovations”: 1. Changing the name of one of the Sanders buildings. Please, for the love of all that is holy, there is no reason to have two buildings named Sanders Classroom and Sanders Physics right next to each other. More freshmen have died trying to find their Freshman Writing Seminar in the physics building than we’re comfortable admitting. In terms of name changes, may I suggest The Building with the Statue in Front of It? The Cappy Pavillion Center? The Building Where the Freshmen Almost Sweated to Death Watching the Comedy Groups Almost Sweat to Death for Their Amusement?

Bouchard Classroom and Bouchard Physics?

Wait…

2. The administration’s been obsessed with renovating roofs this summer, when the real issue is the floor. Specifically, that the floors in the dorms aren’t made of trampoline-like material. You wanna encourage dorm togetherness? Forget Serenading. Forget House Love Lockdown and Study Breaks. Give everyone a paintball gun, a foam swim noodle and a floor made of trampolines. No one will ever leave the dorm again. Except for the occasional trip to Baldwin.

3. Air conditioning. Air conditioning. One more time—air conditioning. As much as I enjoy leaving Villard Room parties as some sort of half-man, half-pond creature, it may be nice to run into my crush when I smell slightly less like what I imagine Jabba the Hutt’s breath is like after a long night of watching the Rancor.

(Hint: not minty.) Though I will miss being

able to cook my eggs just by bringing them to the fifth floor of Main.

4. Some sort of Sauron’s tower with a blinding light that shines on the buildings where the actually good parties are happening. That way, we don’t have to walk to the TAs, then to the THs, then to the quad, then off campus, then back to the quad before collapsing on our knees at 3:27 a.m. and cursing the heavens for forsaking us. Alternative solution: we could also just play Settlers of Catan every night instead (although I think our campus skyline would really benefit from a two-hundred story fire-lighthouse made from orc sweat and tears).

5. An air raid siren that goes off when Meryl Streep or Lisa Kudrow is on campus. Because discovering an ambiguous post about it 9 hours later on LikeMeMaybe is not going to cut it for me anymore.

6. Secret tunnels. Do I even need to explain that one? Secret. Tunnels. “Dude, how’d you get to Kenyon from New England so fast?!”

“Secret tunnels.” “Oh, right. Man, I’m so glad I came here instead of Wesleyan.” “Totes. Let’s give the administration even more money to show our gratitude and then call Princeton Review and make them rank us higher.” See, administration?! Do you see what I do for you?

Meet me halfway, here! Come on!

7. The administration should have hired someone terrifying to just angrily stare at anyone who uses the word “guesstimate.” I’m not totally sure how it would benefit the campus as a whole, but I sure would appreciate it.

8. Electrical outlets in the trees so that I can procrastinate outside on addictinggames.com and the Pokemon page of Wikipedia as often as I procrastinate in the library on BBC news and the Yu-gi-oh page of Wikipedia.

9. Since we’ve had problems in the past with deer and squirrels and every other living creature taking over our campus, the school should invest in a Vassar Predator. Airlift in a wolf, give him a Brewers scarf, set him loose. When we need to get rid of the wolf, we’ll just bring in the Vassar Much Larger Predator. I see no issues here.

10. Water fountains in Joss. But actually.

Arick Wong

Guest Columnist

R

ecently, our campus has been infiltrated by flocks of cargo pant-wearing humanoids with white knee-high socks and senior 2012 class shirts. Some look straight out of an American Eagle catalogue while others may be a little more edgy in their Pac Sun. They rise like farmers long before we go to bed and have yet to grasp the wonder and might of the preclass nap…or the post-class nap, for that matter. But overall, their level of happiness and contentment is comparable to that of a Garnier Fructis commercial. Their lanyards are omnipresent and their stares are slightly daunting; I haven’t seen anyone look at things this often since the glory days of Kim Jong Il. Freshmen have arrived on campus.

Urban Dictionary defines freshmen as “Usually hanging out with people that are older than them so they can try to look cool.

Although they will never be cool they are followers kind of like an annoying boyle on ur neck.” This was obviously written by a freshman because I actually don’t mind the “boyle” on my neck. They’re a friendly reminder of our exponential loss of innocence and work ethic since leaving our hometowns entering the Vassar bubble. A more accurate definition refers to freshmen as “really skinny people [who] will, within a year, gain 20 pounds, lose 23 pounds, gain 15 pounds, lose their morals, and drink way too much.” Assuming they don’t develop a post-October Break, pre-finals Diet Coke addiction.

There’s a particularly endearing aspect about freshmen. Their cluelessness and naivety resonates deeply, for we have all been there. Observing them reminds us of our first TH party, our first time throwing up in a Main bathroom sink, our first time passing out in the bathroom of Bacio’s. The other day, I gave a freshman directions from the Deece to Davison. “You walk straight,” I explained.

I really hope she made it back safely, but if not, hopefully her student fellow was there to guide her—either that, or her parent tattooed the number for the Campus Response Center on the back of her hand.

There are also days when I believe in karmic balance. There was a casual Thursday morning where I was so hungover at the Deece that I struggled to make my stir fry. I was dropping eggs all over the ground, wreaking havoc all over the vegetables, and struggling to get my hot plate working. Luck-

ily, the freshman boy beside me felt some sense of sympathy and kindly assisted me in my moment of need; or rather he didn’t have much of a choice because I refused to pass him the turmeric unless he cooked my egg white omelet to perfection. I wanted to thank him with a handle of Crystal Palace, but I think he exclusively drinks Mike’s Hard and Retreat milk.

The gradual indoctrination into the Vassar community is fascinating and even slightly magical. I remember the exact moment my freshman year when I experienced Express Lunch for the first time. Aimlessly wandering on the second floor of the College Center, I encountered a mass of backpacked sophomores devouring what looked like magically-appearing chicken caesar wraps and Sun Chips. I immediately cut into the line and was transported into the existential k-hole otherwise known as Express Lunch. Here, I could choose what kind of sandwich and drink I wanted AND have unlimited mayonnaise. I’ve never felt more and less in control of my life. And in those brief 11:30-1:45 moments, I swear we are infinite.

Another magical freshman year moment is finding your first TH party, or one where you’re awkwardly standing outside chain smoking Marlboro 72’s and can’t decide if the ringing noise in your ears is from the music or the sirens of the EMS truck. Thankfully there aren’t that many girls who throw up in bushes. That’s so state school. As one freshman puts it, the TH’s “are really good if you get there early, steal their alcohol, and wait for security to leave. Though, the handlebar mustache guy is pretty awesome.” He sure is, little man. He sure is. Although if I ever catch you stealing my alcohol, you can bet that next time someone asks me for directions they’ll end up in Hyde Park. And not even the area near the Eveready Diner.

Anyways, freshmen, hold on to the magic while it lasts. Don’t go to the TH’s in the day time. You will get lost, and you will question your existence. Don’t wear ‘party with sluts’ shirts. I will question your existence.

Don’t spend your weekend cooped up in the library. I know you don’t have that much work, and if you do, then maybe you’re doing it wrong. And if you need any more friendly advice, as one freshman put it, “Everything at Vassar is really fun until you start talking about gender.”

The Misc’s Bedside Astrologer by Jean-Luc Bouchard, Humor & Satire Editor Virgo (August 23-September 22): Today is a good day to combine your career ambition and musical creativity into one project— front a new band called LinkedIn Park.

Libra (September 23-October 22): Today you may be feeling depressed or really happy.

Or ambivalent. It’s hard for me to tell because I don’t know you and I’m sitting alone in my room in my boxer shorts.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21): Stop doing problem sets and start writing science fiction erotica. Title suggestion: Fifty Shades of Gandalf the Gray.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21): Realize that you will have to give some things up to find the true love you desire. Specifically, you will have to give up your horrible personality and weird hair.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19): You’re pregnant with twins. A lot of twins.

Aquarius (January 20-February 18): You’re actually quite attractive in a hideous sort of way. Do not touch the hand of any Taurus today or something really bad will happen. You’ll know it when you see it, trust me.

Get lots of Vitamin C.

Pisces (February 19-March 20): The next person you see will try to murder you. Steal all the olives from the Deece salad bar as a desperate cry for help.

Aries (March 21-April 19): You’re actually quite attractive in a hideous sort of way. Do not touch the hand of any Taurus today or you will ruin time. Get lots of Vitamin C. Taurus (April 20-May 20): Stop holding back. Start screaming “Smash Mouth is objectively better than The Beatles” in the College Center until security drags you away. One of the security guards may be an Aries. I said

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

may, so don’t sue me.

Gemini (May 21-June 20): Wear more ironic t-shirts. People like that about you. Stop taking Vitamin C—I think it’s killing you.

Cancer (June 21-July 22): People will react very positively today when you speak in a German accent. If you stop for even just a moment, you’ll ruin everything.

Leo (July 23-August 22): You’ll find out some new information today, Leo. Use it wisely. Use it to hurt people who look different than you.

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September 13 , 2012

Couple partners up for intimate cabaret performance Nicole Wong RepoRteR

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Courtesy of litt-and-alpher.com

avid Alpher and Jennie Litt have been performing together ever since their first date in a New Hampshire cabin. Alpher, a staff accompanist in the Music Department, and Litt, an award-winning fiction writer, met at the MacDowell Colony, an artist’s colony.

There, the pair bonded over the Great American Songbook and became partners. The now husband-and-wife cabaret and songwriting duo will perform a repertoire of their wit-infused, original compositions on Saturday, Sept. 15 at 8 p.m. in the Rose Parlor.

The upcoming event has been in the works for almost a year now, according to Alpher. “Alpher and Litt are well-known cabaret artists and for many years have been performing shows that combine original songs with popular music standards,” explained Professor of Music Todd Crow.

It was five years into their musical relationship when Alpher and Litt tried their hand at composing and writing their very own songs; Alpher took up the music, and Litt the lyrics.

“I had written a few pop songs before, a lot of art songs and a lot of chamber music,” said Alpher. “And Jennie had written a lot of fiction, so we thought, ‘Let’s try writing some songs.’ And we found that this is something that we really love to do.” The duo has 35 songs, to date.

As for their spousal partnership, the pair is all for it. “We can rehearse so much more than any other team,” Alpher said. “We can get in a lot more rehearsals than most people. It makes for a more gradual and leisurely and thorough preparation. And we just have an outlet of knowing each other really well, which has to help any performance, in any genre.”

Alpher described bringing the disciplined structure of classic music into his cabaret, and the freedom and spontaneity of cabaret into his classical music. In turn, the duo promises to bring students a unique take on cabaret.

“I think the work we do, without being too presumptuous, is smart,” said Alpher, “Vassar students are smart. They will get something out of this. Those students who have an interest in the Great American Songbook will have a lot to chew on. Those who don’t will be exposed to something for the first time, which could change their lives. It could open doors.”

The pair has performed their show a few times, and Alpher expressed particular excitement over the upcoming performance and its

Musician wife and husband team Jennie Litt and David Alpher, above, will perform Saturday in the Rose Parlor. Litt is a writer of fiction and Alpher is an accompanist in Vassar’s Music Department. location in the Rose Parlor.

“One, Vassar students, being as intelligent as they are, they’re going to get these songs. Two, I love the Rose Parlor. I mean, I think it’s just a delightful place to make music. It’s casual and yet it’s beautiful. It has history,” Alpher said.

Alpher performed an evening of music by Schubert in the Rose Parlor last year with two students, Gretchen Eng ’12 and Michael Hofmann ’13.

“And it just had the right mix of the quasi-formal setting while still being casual and beautiful, and I think it’ll be the same for this,” Alpher said. “Cabaret, as you probably know, involves a certain level of informality, talking to the audience and talking with the audience. It’s not a stuffy art form. So it’s better, to me, to be doing it in a quasi-living-room, rather than in a concert hall.”

The Music Department is sponsoring the upcoming cabaret show. “David Alpher has been a staff accompanist here in the Music Department for several years, and has always had a great rapport with our singers. When we learned that

he and his wife were a cabaret duo, it seemed so natural to invite them to perform here. Cabaret is a special art form, with a wonderful blend of art and popular songs, close communication not only between the performers but between performers and audience, and thus a kind of intimacy,” said Associate Professor of Music Kathryn Libin.

Libin too appreciates the Rose Parlor location. “That intimacy is one of the reasons that this event will be held in the Rose Parlor rather than the more formal concert hall setting.,” Libin said. “We’ve observed a great revival of interest and enthusiasm for cabaret among Vassar students—a few of our recent senior recitals have been in cabaret rather than concert style— so we know that many students will want to attend David and Jennie’s evening of song.”

The couple’s songs run a gamut in tone. “Some of them are very serious. Some of them are very comic. There’s everything in between,” Alpher said. “The show is structured. We built it very carefully so the songs relate to each other in some way...When we put together a show, we try

to make it an architectural item, not just a collection of songs. The whole thing has a shape.”

One of their original songs, “Make Yourself at Home,” was inspired by their experience running a bed and breakfast out of their house in the Hudson Valley, and finding themselves not cut out to be innkeepers. Another song was created by for the pair’s daughter, Mirabelle, and written while the daughter was still in utero.

“We didn’t know who she was except that she was going to be a girl. We used a melody that I had written in 1974. So that’s 34 years that the song was in the making, though I didn’t know it. It became a song about an unborn person who I could not have even imagined existing in 1974,” Alpher said. More recently, the pair wrote a song called “The Brooklyn Lullaby” for their daughter, after moving back to the borough.

Litt draws upon her background in writing fiction to create and sing the duo’s song lyrics. “I came to performing in midlife, so I was probably already too old to be some rock ‘n’ roll icon, but cabaret doesn’t have a use-by date,” said Litt.

“You can do cabaret until you’re 99. And it fits the type of singing and writing that I do.

The songs that I like to write and the lyrics that I like to write are not at all like the pop music people listen to,” continued Litt. “My mind works much more literarily, my influences are mostly older. I’m interested in wordplay—a lot of stuff that is not a part of pop music, but is part of theatre in [the] cabaret tradition.”

Alpher shared his partiality to composing and performing cabaret. “It just expresses anything in myself,” said Alpher. “What I enjoy most is the element of improvisation that is allowable.

The kind of interpretation on the spot, and that you never know what’s going to happen. You have to react to the other person immediately.

If a musical idea occurs, you got to make a snap judgment. You do something you can’t even formulate. There’s an element of chance almost.”

He also enjoys the inclusivity of cabaret; the audience is right there, with them. “I like that.

I like that connection. I don’t like to be on a big stage separated by a big gulf in the audience or stage lights where I can’t even see the audience.

That to me is spooky,” Alpher said. “But this, when the audience is within a few feet of me, I feel something that I don’t feel in classical concert playing. So, I’d like people to come. The more people that come to a cabaret evening, the better it is. The energy flows from the audience to the performers and back.”

VC filmmakers march down festival’s yellow carpet Adam Buchsbaum aRts editoR

G

ilad Thaler ’13 called his fellow crewmember Elena Gaby ’13 the day before she was to go on set with the result. And Gaby relayed it to the working professionals.

“Hey, I have good news guys. I just had a film get in a film festival and I’m going to fly to L.A. to see it as my first premiere,” Gaby said.

“One grip actually told me, ‘Never forget that feeling, because it doesn’t matter how big or small, your first film on a big screen is your first film on a big screen. And that’s an enthusiasm that you can’t ever let anyone take away from you.’” Their short film, The Kid, was accepted into the Feel Good Film Festival (FGFF).

The Kid charts the story of a young boy, living in a tall apartment complex with his mother, who refuses to take the stairs down from a fear of heights—and, of course, the elevator is broken. Busy with work, his mother entrusts him to the neighbor, a playful twenty-something.

As the two bond over their mutual love of movies, especially Charlie Chaplin film (who starred in a film, not by coincidence, entitled The Kid) the titular kid learns to conquer his vertigo during one of the pair’s games.

Thaler both wrote and directed The Kid. The short film was his fourth and last one directed while at the Prague Film School during his junior year abroad.

Thaler worked with non-Vassar students as well as fellow Vassar Film majors and Prague Film School students Gaby and Max Powers ’13. Gaby was the film’s Assistant Camera Op-

erator; Powers its Director of Photography and Editor. Thaler drew upon his experiences during a gap year in Israel he took before he began his freshman year at Vassar College.

“I worked with a kid who had Apserger’s.

We’d meet twice a week and we would just do social activities. It was nothing academic at all, just having fun and working on different [confidence and] social issues and I found that he loved superheroes,” Thaler said.

The pair devised a comic book together, named The Wave, with an Israeli Aquaman— a kid who turns into a man who can breathe underwater at night, and then saves those denizens below in turn. This idea of a child overcoming a personal issue would later emerge in The Kid. “So we made this whole comic book. And after that we filmed it. And it was the first thing I ever filmed really, and it was shot on a stupid point-and-shoot camera, edited on who-knows-what,” Thaler continued. “But just seeing him watch this movie and envision himself as a superhero was very empowering for him, and then it just showed me the potential of filmmaking. It doesn’t have to be entertaining. It can actually socially help someone.” The experience inspired Thaler to do filmmaking and to make films like The Kid which inspire their viewers.

Thaler also recalled his own childhood experience to write the story for the short film.

Raised in an Orthodox Jewish family, the Sabbath forbade Thaler from taking the elevator down on Friday nights. So, he and his brother would chase balls dropped down the staircase to go through with it; in The Kid, a game

of ball-dropping pushes the boy protagonist to overcome his fear.

After its week of pre-production, a twoday shoot (with over sixty different shots) and 40-something hours of editing, the film was finally complete. This summer, Thaler began to apply The Kid to film festivals. The FGFF was the first festival where the film was applied. Thaler has already begun applying it to more festivals, Upon its acceptance, the trio of Thaler, Gaby and Powers booked tickets for Los Angeles and attended the North Hollywood film festival, which lasted from Aug. 3-5 this past summer. The Kid ran in a bloc with other student short films, some of which were from graduate schools and conservatories.

“Once we found out it was accepted, we all got our act together in getting ready for it as a production crew...so we had a very good team meeting and discussed how we were going to present ourselves, market ourselves,” Gaby noted. “We made a website...we got business cards.”

On the festival’s first day, the trio walked the yellow carpet (the red carpet equivalent for a festival with a bright, yellow sunflower logo). “There’s reporters everywhere and we were interviewed a million times. And we practiced, actually, with a few people that were standing in line,” Gaby said. “And then Gilad [Thaler] would turn to us and be like, ‘How was that?’ and we would tell him, ‘Oh you should just not say that part, because that got a little long.’”

The trio sorted out a clear message for their interviews. “And then we had a gala to

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

go to, and there were events for all the filmmakers to socialize, as well as tons of screenings to go to,” Gaby said. “And we’d make friends. We’d go to people’s films, we’d invite them to ours, and they came.”

Powers appreciated the film festival as a way to be involved in a distinctly uncommon community of filmmakers. “If you look at the breakdown, 70 percent of studio films are action films, 20 percent are kind of comedies/ dramedies, and you’ve got like 10 percent that are kind of indie but they’re backed by a studio,” Powers said. “And it’s just nice to have a film festival where it’s made for films that you actually have a really good time seeing.”

Thaler, Gaby and Powers as well as another Vassar student, Zac Nanus ’13, have an informal production company, Framework Productions, which they had formed during their sophomore years. They are looking into becoming a full-fledged LLC. Perhaps one day, Thaler noted, Framework Productions will make a feature film.

“We realized that we could do this…We just had an idea and the most important thing was getting it done and sending it, and it was not a big deal to do that,” Gaby said, encouraging aspiring filmmakers to apply their short films to festivals. “You don’t have to be afraid to press send…It’s less than the price of a book.

It’s less than the price of a nice dinner. Just do it and get it out there. And it just inspired us.

Let’s make something else and send it out.”

“I would hope people would realize that it is possible for students to get their films into festivals,” Gaby concluded. “Your film doesn’t have to be just seen by your friends.”

September 13 , 2012

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Lenihan breathes life into inanimate through artwork Steven Williams Guest RepoRteR

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Angelo Roman/The Miscellany News

ife at Vassar often bears an uncanny resemblance to a board game. Students are constantly moving, pursuing goals, all with an effort to reach the end successfully. Artist Rachel Lenihan ’13 was motivated by this vision when she came up with the idea for an installation that anyone on campus last year will instantly recall: life-size pieces from the game Candyland, placed at various points around the school.

“I also wanted to see Vassar in a new way and also cause everyone else on campus to see Vassar in a new way and introduce an element of surprise into everyone’s day. And to bring a childhood dream into reality (being inside a game),” Lenihan wrote in an emailed statement. “But on the more serious side, I was starting to feel, about college in general, as if I had no control over my everyday motions of going to class, going to my dorm, going to ACDC, go to my campus job, going to the library...After being accustomed to the same schedule my movements around the campus seemed monotonous. Similar to how I’d imagine game pieces might feel being moved from space to space.”

The nature of this in-your-face piece contrasts sharply with the artist’s personality— decidedly humble and soft-spoken. Last year, Lenihan’s memorable work evoked interesting reactions from students, who were naturally a little confused when they expected their walk to the College Center to be relatively normal.

“I felt like God for two days,” Lenihan said. “I knew this inside story that everyone was talking about.”

Lenihan’s interest in formally studying art is a fairly recent discovery. She was an artistic child. However, she didn’t really realize her

talent until high school. Her initial inspiration was low-key—it took off after she got a book on how to draw cats. She furthered her talent in high school art classes until she came to Vassar with the intent of honing her skill. She currently prefers a different medium, sculpture, as her highly visible work last year suggests. After taking a sculpture class at Vassar, she found it much more liberating than painting. “With sculpture it’s more personal,” Lenihan said.

Lenihan acknowledges the nerve-wracking experience of first going to a major’s critique.

There, students can display their independent artwork and receive input from fellow students as well as faculty. “The first major’s critique I went to was intimidating, first off, because it was the first time I was in the same room with all of the studio art faculty, not to mention all of the upperclassmen art majors,” Lehihan wrote. “It was like I stumbled into a secret communal gathering.” By now, Lenihan is able to shirk any inhibitions and get the most from these critiques.

Lenihan’s academic focus at Vassar is not solely art; she also majors in psychology. This has had a distinct effect on her experience as an artist. Her alternative perspective allows her to see meaning in her own art as well as in others’ which she wouldn’t otherwise. “A lot of times when I make something, I don’t know what it means, but if I think about it, is has to do with past memories or some psychological aspect... [that] I wouldn’t normally be aware of,” Lenihan said.

Lenihan draws upon surrealist artist Salvador Dalí for inspiration, among others. “Dalí was the first artist that really interested me because his work showed so much creativity and invited the viewer into so many potential worlds. I liked to see paintings of things that I couldn’t see in everyday life,” Lenihan wote.

Art and Psychology double major Rachel Lenihan ’13, above, considers herself a lifelong artist. She is behind the life-sized infamous Candyland sculptures which adorned Vassar’s campus last spring.

“In addition I found it interesting how he included human figures or parts of human figures in his work, but they were usually strangely morphed, and all of the inanimate objects in his paintings appeared to be alive.”

Lenihan knows for certain that her artistic work is far from over, and plans to make a career out of it. She doesn’t expect it to be easy.

“I know it’s a really hard world for artists out there,” Lenihan noted. Be that as it may, Lenihan feels that as long she works hard, the good fortune that art has endowed her with will continue. Currently she is thinking about what to do in her senior year at Vassar. She was eager to cite a phrase she once heard that helps define her own identity: “Art isn’t just a career, it’s who someone is,” she said.

“Sawdust Mountain” focuses lens on Pacific Northwest

Emma Redden/The Miscellany News

Photography exhibition “Sawdust Mountain” by Eirik Johnson will be on display at the Francis Lehman Loeb Art Center until Dec. 9. It is the focal point of the class “Photography, Enviornment and Politics.”

Burcu Noyan RepoRteR

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lot of the time, people ask me where ‘Sawdust Mountain’ is,” said Eirik Johnson, a native of Seattle. He is the artist of the photography exhibition, “Sawdust Mountain,” which will be on view in the Francis Lehman Loeb Art Center (FLLAC) until Dec. 9. The term first appeared in a poem that novelist David Guterson wrote for the book of the photographs that Johnson was working on, in response to his photos.

The large-scale color photographs of the “Sawdust Mountain” exhibition document the complex nature of the relationships between the environment, communities and industries in the Pacific Northwest region. In his fouryear project working on the Sawdust Mountain book (Aperture, 2009), Johnson captured sprawling landscapes, the fishing and logging industries and the lives of the individuals in communities that they support, photographing areas in Washington, Oregon and Northern California. “[Sawdust Mountain] refers to the legacy of

the industries that were the backbone of the Pacific Northwest region for quite some time, but it’s also a visual cue to the region as a forested mountain area. It ties together both the industry and the environment, and represents the story in a very immediate and visual way,” said Johnson. “I wanted to make a project, a body of works that deal with this region because I grew up in this area.”

A lecture by the photographer Johnson titled “Wanderings Along the Makeshift Landscape,” with a reception and book signing by the artist, marked the start of the exhibition at FLLAC on Sept. 7. In his lecture, Johnson walked the audience through his past and current projects, which included “Snow Star,” a project that consisted of his photography during the Snow Star Festival in Peru, a traditional relgious pilgrimage, where he went on a Fulbright scholarship.

“What I liked about this project was telling a story through many photographs, so the book really does that. I’m not a journalist, and I never consider this work as photojournalism, but it does touch on bigger issues that have to do with social, economical, environmental and

cultural concerns,” Johnson said. “In that respect, I felt that you couldn’t just have empty photos, photos that lack signifiers. Even a picture of an alley, there are layers of meaning.”

The “Sawdust Mountain” exhibition, curated by Elizabeth A. Brown and organized by the Aperture Foundation, was first held at the Henry Art Gallery in University of Washington in Seattle, the alma mater of Johnson. After the book was published in 2009, selected works have been traveling around the country as part of a moving exhibition, and were eventually offered to the Exhibitions Committee at FFLAC. “The exhibition appealed to our committee not just because the photographs were stunning, but also because of a lot of the interdisciplinary quality of the pictures that could interest students in Environmental Studies classes and Photography classes, and anyone interested in landscapes,” said Mary-Kay Lombino, Curator at FFLAC. “We have a lot of audience who comes to the museum to see the Hudson River School landscape paintings, and we thought the exhibition would be a nice complement to those works and would appeal to the same audience.”

In terms of combining the arts and academics, Vassar College is making good use of the “Sawdust Mountain” exhibition. The Freshman Common Reading of the year is “Four Fish” by Paul Greenberg (The Penguin Press, 2010), a New York Times Bestseller that examines the declining fish populations, focusing on salmon, sea bass, cod and tuna through a culinary journey.

The Political Science Department is offering a half-credit interdisciplinary course, “Photography, Environment, and Politics: The Sawdust Mountain,” taught by Professor of Political Science Peter Stillman. The class will work directly with the exhibition photographs, environmental studies readings and political science concepts to examine especially the declining logging industry in the Pacific Northwest region. “To me, the photographs show the transformation of the physical and psychological landscape that logging has generated, the environmental and political power of the logging industry, and the consequences of that power now that logging is declining,” wrote Stillman in an emailed statement. The course will cover the environmental and social costs of the decline, and compare the

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

different approaches suggested by each branch of study to ameliorate the situation. The students will write descriptive and interpretive captions to the photographs in the exhibition.

“To study the environmental and political issues related to logging in Washington through the stunning photographs of the exhibition will be an exciting undertaking for both me and interested students,” Stillman added.

Lombino first encountered the works of photographer Johnson when bringing together a group exhibition titled “Utopian Mirage: Social Metaphors in Contemporary Photography and Film” in 2007, where artists’ works examined the urban decay, corruption and overuse of natural resources that took over the 21st century instead of utopian ideals. Johnson’s photography documented the strange, serendipitous beauty that occurred in unexpected places, where urban terrains and natural landscapes intersected. At that time, Johnson was already working on his “Sawdust Mountain” book project and had been on the radar of Lombino. “[Johnson] is an artist who is really engaged socially and cares deeply about his subject matter and the lives of the people in his photography,” said Lombino. Although Johnson reflects the environmental issues that arose with the industry, he does not take a personal stand.

“This project allows us to look at these issues objectively and appreciate what’s happening in a way that’s not guilt-ridden necessarily, but it does bring the issues to the forefront.”

According to Lombino, fishing and logging industries have been the main source of income for many families in the Pacific Northwest region for a long time. “Some of them [people in the community] might have grown up in families that were always fishermen, and they didn’t think much about what that would do to the salmon population,” Lombino said.

“As things change, people have to recalibrate their expectations and understand the planet in a very different way.”

“The artist doesn’t try to say that fishing is wrong, or logging is wrong. The exhibition shows them in a sympathetic light, and just says that these are their jobs and their lives, and their livelihoods have changed based on the fact that things are changing. It’s not a polemic exhibition; it just lays out all these issues in a very sensitive manner,” she concluded.

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September 13 , 2012

Czula passes on her love of dancing to students Matthew Vassar

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Jonah Bleckner/The Miscellany News

t’s only the beginning of the year, but Professor of Dance Jeanne Periolat Czula is already offering night classes. “I’m teaching a 7:30pm class today,” she says as we sit in her office in Kenyon Hall. Her voice is soft and controlled, much like her movements as she demonstrates ballet steps in class. But her tone, her cadence and lilt, hints at a secret but sincere sense of humor. “It’s for my beginners in ballet.”

Really?” I reply. “It’s only the second day!

Do they not know how to point their feet?” I mean, surely, she can’t just have them pick up a copy of Ballet for Dummies instead?

“After well over four decades of teaching, I didn’t know what else to do!” she says. The 40 years of teaching experience doesn’t even include times when she substituted for her own teacher. When Czula was asked to do so as a student in high school, she recalled her grumbling reply of ‘sure.’

“Didn’t you like teaching?” I ask when she mentions this.

Czula laughs. “I hated it!”

“What made you change your mind?”

For a moment, the lilt disappears and the cadence halts. “I stopped dancing.”

After taking ballet in her youth, Czula attended Purdue University as an engineering major.

She was there for 18 months before transferring to Indiana University in 1967 where she took math and science courses. There, she resumed dancing in her junior year with a brilliant teacher and soon changed her major to ballet.

During her teaching assistantship, she knew she wanted to teach as she found it fulfilling and rewarding.

“I’ve always loved to dance,” says Czula. “I love the stage. I love to show off.” And certainly, Czula has had many opportunities to do so: she has danced with the Radio City Music Hall

Ballet, the New York City Ballet’s Educational Division, the Poughkeepsie Ballet Theater and the Indiana University Ballet.

“Performing is ego-boosting,” admits Czula, “but it was not the same kind of lifetime reward you get from teaching, when you put something in a person’s brain and they cannot get it out.

It’s also a tremendous responsibility and I take it very seriously.”

For Czula, one of the hardest parts of teaching is seeing her students fall so madly in love with dance that they lose sight of themselves.

“Dance can be a disease,” she explains. She’s seen the professional dance world and seen students change for both the better and worse within and because of it. “As a teacher, you have to offer some dose of reality in that passionate relationship. Dance can break people’s hearts.”

However, Czula has had her standout students, one of them being Russell Baker ’91, who now serves as executive director of National Dance Institute of New Mexico after a long dance career.

Czula smiles fondly at the mention of Baker’s name. “I’m proud of him, yes, but I’m proud of any student of mine who succeeds in being happy. If they are fulfilled, then I’m proud they get to that point,” says Czula.

Since joining the Vassar faculty in 1975, Czula has played mentor to a long line of students. In addition to teaching modern dance under the umbrella of the Department of Physical Education, she taught ballet for an extra fee. Once she began teaching ballet full-time in 1978, the additional income was lost, but that didn’t matter to her. “I certainly never came to Vassar for the money,” she says.

I ask, “Why come to Vassar, then?”

“Well, I took my LSATs as dance was poverty-stricken with respect to legal counsel and I’d always been interested in law,” she answers.

“So I said, ‘If I can’t get a job teaching ballet at

Professor of Dance Jeanne Periolat Czula, above, offers weekly night dance classes for her students who can’t get enough of her graceful, yet energetic teaching style. She has been a faculty member since 1975. a place I like, a college—I definitely wanted a college environment and I love your age group —I’d go to law school.” Eventually, Czula chose a teaching opportunity at Vassar over attending Fordham University Law School, an opportunity she considered fortunate given the recession at the time.

Czula has been at Vassar for 35 years thanks to her students. “I absolutely love to teach because Vassar students are determined,” she says. “They are often very negative about themselves personally and that is the thing I try to correct. If you say, ‘I’ll never do that well,’ I do not tolerate that. You cannot have that mentality and be a dancer or an artist — but I could be

wrong.” She shrugs and allows herself a smile.

Now Czula’s lilt and cadence return. “There is nothing ballet will ever do to you that is negative,” she says. “It will always work for you. I think it’s an extraordinary thing. It can be an escape, it can be just fun, it can be extremely serious.”

She certainly made that clear during my first class with her two years ago in Kenyon’s Studio 1. I smile and ask her, “Have said that to your beginning ballet students yet?”

“I was just telling them, if you grow up to become a lawyer and have to argue a very strong case, at least you’ll know how to walk into that courtroom.”

Dirty Projectors best off Pfeiffer redefines traditionembracing their quirkiness al perception of the book.

Harrison Kesner Guest Columnist

American Reunion Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg [Universal]

Album: Swing Lo Magellan Artist: Dirty Projectors Label: Domino Release: July 10, 2012 Score: 6.8/10 ne could be forgiven for mistaking hipsterrific indie-pop subverters the Dirty Projectors, when distilled down to a singular being, for an ambivalent young college professor. He isn’t sure whether Monday’s history lecture should engage the artistic crisis of today’s youth, or the economic and ecological crises set to plague them once they mature.

They are certainly similar in scale and relevance, aren’t they? David Longstreth and co. would certainly contend so.

With their trademark flurry of finger-picked acoustic guitars and impossibly thick-layered female harmonies, the Projectors seek to step up their quirky pop. This time they’re plunging their cultured spoons deeper into the pot of societal-disillusionment-and-environmental-consciousness stew. 2009’s Bitte Orca was more readily concerned with sexual awakening and the psychoanalytical construction of the subconscious mind (oh you hipster devils!).

However, Swing Lo Magellan wants to publicly denounce any idea it doesn’t find original or economical or green enough to make an appearance in its next arthouse film.

A band with as much unapologetic originality and charm as the Dirty Projectors should not bother making environmental treatises and population-rousing rock anthems. Leave the protest songs to Coldplay and U2. The best songs these indie darlings have put out more often involved cryptic metaphors for personal direction than apt sociological issues.

O

Thankfully, this new direction in lyricism has plagued but a small handful of songs on Swing Lo Magellan. Some positively charming psychedelic songcraft is presented throughout the record, despite the brief lapses. “Offspring are Blank” is a good atmospheric opener with a nicely unpredictable chorus, although it seems a bit overshadowed by the sonic ear candy that immediately follows. “About to Die” is the runaway infectious hit of the record that puts Gotye’s recent earworm to shame. The title track resonates with a beautifully soft charm.

“Gun Has No Trigger” is the most minimalistic song presented here; it would work well when presented at the beginning of a James Bond or noir film. “Just from Chevron” dips into the recent subject of the Gulf oil spill; although it lapses into that “green doldrums” songwriting, the game of patty-cake as a percussive instrument is a little stroke of genius.

The second side of the record seems to lose steam, with tracks like “Impregnable Question” and “The Socialites” presenting finely articulated lyricism that doesn’t proceed far from the initial subject. They instead pepper the listener with pretty words and lack a denouement. Rescuing side two from failure is the vocally improvised, smart-alecky, and politico-smarting “Unto Caesar” (in this song’s case, the political consciousness is acceptable because it’s ironic). The album ends with the rather lackluster “Irresponsible Tune,” a simple ditty about songwriting which really doesn’t feel that irresponsible (I really wanted it to feel irresponsible).

All in all, this record succeeds as a whole despite its stumbles, although barely. The instrumentation throughout is extraordinary, but it often gets bogged down in its social meditation. While worrying over “The Socialites,” the record almost forgets that Longstreth is wondrously cooing “If the search has been long and futile/And brutal/And if you squint trying to recollect the bosom/Of your hoodlum love/You reach out.” Lovely, isn’t it? Go back to singing solely about abstraction — real life has no point.

BOOKS continued from page 1 rection and books are somewhere in the middle of it, but no one knows where.” This type of question is particularly resonant for the curator of the exhibit, the Associate Director of the Library for Special Collections Ronald Patkus.

He explained, “We’re obviously in a time of great change in terms of technology and in the field of the book. Society is still sorting this out.

It’s something we have to come to terms with.”

The book’s uncertain future has created a deeply creative opportunity for Pfeiffer to make something out of nothing, to build from a destroyed form and forge new avenues for an age-old vessel of information.

However, despite his eagerness to appropriate meaning to material books by changing shape and function, Pfeiffer avoids any emotional or intellectual attachment to his original materials. He explained, “I made myself a rule that I cannot open the book and look at it because if I do, it’s too painful. I’ll find something I like and I can’t destroy it.”

The works displayed in the Art Library and Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center are examples of books Pfeiffer has assembled from scratch rather than amalgamations of destroyed books and their unrelated material fragments. The artists’ books forge a platform for the medium that cannot be censored; they explore a new frontier of participation and personal freedom.

“The book is looking for another avenue.

That’s where I’m going with artists’ books.

Where I start from zero and think about what a book can be other than page after page of information storage,” he said.

What was once a meticulous process of literary development, careful binding, papermaking and printing is now a highly mechanized cycle based almost entirely on sales. “I’m making books that require another dimension than reading. It’s a puzzle. Sort of a game. That’s really where books used to be. Early books were exquisite, and people could really get a charge of that. Now they’re so mass produced that all of that falls by the wayside.”

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One piece in the exhibit shows an open book on a platform, hooked up to a medical IV, reading “Shakespeare,” while another includes countless permutations of words developed by physically unzipping and reordering the pages. These works employ wit to criticize the lowered standards surrounding book publishing, but also encourage a new involvement by readers in the process of reading and digesting information.

“It’s a game, but a very serious game. I’m using in a sense different formats like humor and irony to point at something that’s a very serious issue,” he said. “You play on the format and take it somewhere else by giving it a little push.”

Pfeiffer pulls from the Dadaist tradition in his plays on words, typeface and text, cutting through symbols and cues we easily recognize to create new and experimental approach to bookmaking.

Pages from one artists’ book entitled State of the Union hang along the staircase in the Art Center. The book covers seven hot-button social issues, like society and education. Each is addressed by a very industrial made-up invention or visual collage and a companion quotation. Pfeiffer commented, “I use mechanical language to discuss problems that are not mechanical at all. They’re human.”

These elements challenge where the book is currently located in the status quo and force us to physically interact with a form that is suddenly not so timeless. No doubt books will always exist in some form or another, but the function, purpose and usage is what Pfeiffer is working to redefine and explore.

During the opening reception for the exhibit on Thursday, Sept. 6 in the Art Library, Vassar College Art Librarian Thomas Hill appropriately described the works included in Reexamining Books: “True works of art are not merely precious objects meant to provide pleasure, but they tell stories, they engage us in discourses, they urge us to action and mindful change. This is clearly the case with Werner’s work.”

ARTS

September 13 , 2012

Page 17

Koepp’s “Premium Rush” small on plot, big on fun action and JGL’s good looks Lily Sloss Columnist

American Reunion Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg [Universal]

“N

o brakes,” Wilee says. And Vanessa smiles lovingly at him, charmed by his boyish sense of adventure and his undeniably smokin’ hot biking bod. The undeterred sense of pushing forward, an endless ongoing motion devoid of breaks, is the undercurrent charging the recently released action film: Premium Rush.

Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Wilee, the bike messenger who “makes $80 on a good day” but loves the thrill of a good ride, and Michael Shannon as Detective Bobby Monday, the quintessential NYPD-gonebad who chases Wilee through the streets of New York City, Premium Rush fulfills two of my summer-time needs. One, to see an action movie with an undemanding plot, and two, to see JGL in full-on workout mode for two hours.

The film opens with Wilee sprawled on his back, having been propelled from his bike. The majority of the film depicts the series of events leading up to this painful accident. The audience gets to know Wilee, the fastest bike messenger at his cycling job, and the dangerous life that he leads. A life made dangerous not only by the number of accidents which bike messengers get into every day, but also by the incredibly important package he happens to be delivering on this day.

After picking up an envelope from his girlfriend’s roommate Nima (Jamie Chung), Wilee attempts to deliver the “premium rush” order (it’s due at location within an hour and a half) but soon realizes this will be no ordinary delivery.

Detective Bobby Monday, addicted to gambling at Pai Gow, a form of Chinese dominoes, needs the coupon in the envelope desperately in order to pay off bad debts to the Chinatown kingpins.

However, despite his police credentials, Monday struggles to snag the package

Campus Canvas

from Wilee, since the cyclist is every bit as mischievous and quick-witted as his name suggests. The action flick follows the traditional “race against time” format, as Wilee struggles to deliver the envelope before the looming premium rush deadline and without getting taken down by the cop.

Although there are a few scenes to flesh out the background story behind the envelope, its contents and the relationship between the characters, the main propelling force in Premium Rush is the chase through the streets of Manhattan. The film’s nature is playful and engaging, due to Gordon-Levitt’s charismatic, easy nature, and the excellent work of the director of photography, Mitchell Amundsen.

One might think that a movie dedicated to bike messengers would be as painful as an hour-and-a-half-long cycling class, but Amundsen keeps the framing of the shots interesting and so varied that the audience remains compelled.

As the city flies by, Amundsen elicits a nearly reverent feeling towards the athleticism required to keep the wheels turning.

The camera interprets Wilee’s, and other bike couriers’, maneuvering of the cityscape from all angles, and the screen glows with sensuously toned legs, feet flush against the battered mechanics of their transportation, as they avoid the perils of high-speed cycling through the crowded streets.

Admittedly, mail can be sent faster and more efficiently by email, fax or even text message, as Wilee points out early on in the film, but there are some things which must be hand-delivered.

The movie further seems to indicate that the passion behind a bike messenger streaking through the streets is not only the most reliable form of communicating a message, but also the sexiest.

If you could choose to email your paper to your art history professor, or call up Joseph Gordon-Levitt to bike it over, wouldn’t you feel safer and more confident in the grade you would receive if it was JGL skimming the Vassar quad to deliver it directly to Molly Nesbit? I certainly would.

One uncomfortable aspect to the narrative in Premium Rush is that the characters in the film are just that, characters. Stereotypes of the Chinese run rampant, as do the

A weekly space highlighting the creative pursuits of student-artists

characterizations of the police. Nima, Vanessa’s roommate, is a Chinese immigrant.

With an affected Chinese accent (Jamie Chung is Korean), she serves as merely a pretty face throughout the movie. Demure, child-like and simple, she walks around in attractive clothes, shyly waves off the sympathetic questions of her roommate, and cries.

Detective Monday lacks even more greatly depth of character, parading about the film like he’s acting in an SNL skit, beating up strangers and flashing his NYPD badge nearly simultaneously. While curb-stomping a Chinese “thug,” he shouts out maniacally, “That’s right, I’m a cop!”

Impressive writing, David Koepp and John Kamps. Why would a police officer shout his profession, in broad daylight, as he is performing an illegal act? #ThingsThatDon’tMakeSense.

Finally, Wilee, the main character in Premium Rush, falls into the familiar bad boyfriend role. Racing about town without brakes, he expresses his love and devotion to Vanessa but admits that he missed “that school thing” aka her college graduation because he is more involved with his biking.

Did someone say commitment issues? Oh, yeah, that was Sex and the City calling. They want their male lead back.

Despite the lack of complex characters, and the rather flimsy plot, I still enjoyed Premium Rush. The editors, Derek Ambrosi and Jill Savitt, and cinematographer Mitchell Amundsen make an entertaining film out of a simple idea: bike chase scene between a good guy and a bad guy.

As Wilee tears around town, outsmarting the tough-talking cop and keeping the girl, the audience feels personally invested in his success. Out of breath and feeling as though I had similarly spent the past two hours cycling, I left the movie satisfied and with both needs fulfilled.

Ignore the stereotypes and countless “feel good” moments, and soak in all that Joseph Gordon-Levitt has to offer. Now say it with me, “Aahhhhh.” Yum. No brakes, indeed.

“ˆThe Trial by Franz Kafka”

—Jonah Bleckner ’15

“The Bible.”

­­—Joe Capotorto ’15 “My thesis, which is a play. The Cosmonaut’s Last Message to a Woman He Once Loved in the Former Soviet Unions.”

—Tatiana Collet-Apraxine ’13

“A collection of short stories by Chekhov.”

— Katherine Zhou ’15

submit to misc@vassar.edu

“The Language of the Life.”

Two bears of honey placed next to each other, each staring off into the distance. Talking perhaps? Contemplating their limited existence as their sticky contents dribble down? Where are they, and who used and put them in this nondescript space? In our world outside of the canvas these bears of honey are only objects, used to satisfy our self-centered desire for sweetness with each squeeze.

But on the canvas they enter their own world. As viewers of this painting, we begin to see such objects from everyday life with a new twist. We may wonder if a similar conversation is taking place amongst the next pair of honey bears that we happen to come across.

—Case Stewart ’13

“An article about Japanese performance music, called ‘Noh.’”

— Zach Bokhour ’16

-Rachel Lenihan ’13

—Adam Buchsbaum Arts Editor MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

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September 13 , 2012

Athletes begin the year with high academic standards Meaghen Hughes Guest RepoRteR

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Jacob Gorski/The Miscellany News

s the summer pre-season at Vassar comes to an end, the athletes once again begin to find the balance between sports and schoolwork.

Between tournaments, overnight trips for games and late practices, academic stability can be especially difficult to maintain. However, Vassar has a history of sports teams that end the season with distinguished academic honors.

It is clear that with enough cups of coffee and incredible determination, it is in fact possible to be successful on the fields and courts as well as the classroom.

Last year marked the fourth consecutive year that the women’s lacrosse team was honored as an Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association Academic Merit Award recipient.

In addition to being ranked second nationally, several individual players were selected for the Academic Squad.

One of those players was Michela Garrison ’13, a Latin American Studies major from Austin, Texas. After playing lacrosse in her home state since seventh grade, she appreciated the higher level of competition found on the East Coast. But one of the things she loves most about playing lacrosse at Vassar is how well the Athletics Department works with the rest of the school.

“Jude, our coach, is always extremely understanding when we have to miss part of practice for a class or a school obligation,” said Garrison.

She continued, “[Jude] is constantly motivating us academically and checking in on us to make sure our grades are up and that we are getting all of our work done. It is really

Lacrosse player Michela Garrison ’13 is one of Vassar’s many student athletes with distinguished academic honors. Coaches encourage their team players to work hard on the field and in the classroom. important to Jude and to all of us that we earn the academic merit award.”

Another sports team that received recognition for its academic excellence was the women’s tennis team. Last year they were named an Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) All-Academic Team Award Winner in addition to being ranked 20th nationally out of 380 teams.

For Natalie Santiago ’13, a tennis player who earned an ITA Scholar-Athlete Award, playing at Vassar has been challenging as well as rewarding.

The Charleston, S.C. native has been play-

ing since childhood and enjoys being a part of the team. She has learned through the example of other teammates that it is possible, though not easy, to balance athletic participation, academic excellence and a healthy social life.

Santiago said, “Choosing class times that don’t conflict with practice times, giving professors advance notice as to when my tennis and academic schedules may conflict and working out a solution ahead of time…as well as learning from the leadership skills and work ethic both commitments demand have been some of the most valuable advice I have had in the past.”

Club sport Aikido receives national attention, brings home several accolades

Evidently, incoming freshmen have a lot of expectations for them as well as a lot of great models to follow. Take, for example, Winifred Yeates ’16. The freshman from New Orleans has been playing tennis since the age of seven and wanted to continue playing at the college level.

“I have always been a serious student as well as an athlete, and when I visited Vassar I fell in love with the passion of the students and professors here as well as the small, tightly knit community,” she said.

Already she has seen how well the team excels at managing their time and is impressed that they will often study together in the library. Yeates is grateful for the advice and support of players like Santiago who have already established themselves as student-athletes.

Students generally aim to excel at what they study, and athletes aim to conquer their opponent. At Vassar there are some who do both.

Though the pressure can build, there are certainly benefits to being so busy.

Garisson said, “In-season I procrastinate much less with my academic work just because there is simply no time to waste when we have practice everyday!”

It is crucial that student-athletes be given the chance to excel in a classroom in Kenyon Hall as well as in a game at Weinberg Field, or wherever else their college career may take them. In doing so they learn to balance a love of learning with a love of competition.

As Santiago noted, “[Vassar student-athletes] learn and grow in so many regards while making lasting connections with classmates and teammates that are truly invaluable.”

She continued, “It is often a challenge to balance both, but if you approach being a student-athlete with the right mindset it is well worth the time and effort!”

SCOREBOARD SEPT. 2 WOMEN’S SOCCER

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ith Vassar’s strong varsity program, clubsports often find themselves contending for recognition on campus.

However, the student-run Aikido Club is not only making a name for itself at Vassar, but has also received recognition on a national scale. This past month, the Aikido Club took part in the U.S. National Tomiki Aikido Tournament in Redondo Beach, California with great success.

Two of the club’s members, Kenny Lee ’14 and Chelsea Anderson ’13 won the kata competition for their performance of Junanahon, Aikido’s first seventeen techniques. Lee then teamed up with John Nguyen ’14, and a Californian yellow belt named Lorno for the Men’s Team Randori, which ultimately resulted in them taking second place. The Randori, or the full-contact sparring competition, involved teams of three facing off against one another in three successive oneon-one matches.

Lee, Nguyen and Anderson ended the day with significant individual wins. Lee took first place in the random partner kata competitions and second place in men’s Randori along with Nguyen. Lee also took home the Keith Benedix award, which went to the most well-balanced and successful competitor overall in the entire tournament. Nguyen took place in men’s Randori. Anderson took first in the kata competition with Lee, second place in the women’s Randori, and third place in random partner kata.

“The national tournament was a wonderful experience,” wrote Nguyen in an emailed statement. “[It] brought our club into contact with many of the other practitioners of our style from whom we are unfortunately separated by geography. It is a persistent inconvenience that many of our fellow tomiki aikido dojos are on one of the coasts.”

Aikido is a Japanese defensive martial art created by Morihei Ueshiba. The word “Aikido” means the way of homogenizing the

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Vassar’s Aikido Club recently attended a national tournament in which three of its members were distinguished with awards for excellent performance. The club will host a festival in November. energy. In this fluid art form, there is great emphasis placed on self defense and how one can sync the energy of the motion and dynamics of your opponent to overpower them.

“Aikido has become an integral part of my life,” wrote Nguyen. “It teaches a practitioner not to directly resist an attacker, meeting strength with further strength, but to redirect the force back on its source to neutralize the attacker without harming either side.” Unlike other sports, which focus on tension and explosions of energy, Nguyen noted that Aikido more closely resembles conflict resolution “where useless and wasteful conflict [is] diverted towards energy spent on productive cooperation.”

Nguyen began practicing Aikido two years ago as a freshman at Vassar, and has made great improvements since, reaching

blue belt status. The team is currently a small student-run organization composed of eight people, but the team is hoping to grow this year with the influx of freshmen. For anyone interested in learning or joining, the club will host a Fall Tomiki Aikido Festival Nov. 3 in the Walker Bays as well in addition to other events and seminars.

And after participating in the tournament, Nguyen and his teammates have many reasons to be optimistic for growth. “We made connections which will be useful for the future, and more importantly, we started the process of restoring Vassar as a big name in aikido,” Nguyen wrote, citing the largely unknown fact that Vassar once hosted the biannual national tournament. “We haven’t been very hot on the scene since then, [but] I’m glad to see that this is turning around during my time here.”

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Kwateng earns place on All-American rugby team Meaghen Hughes Guest RepoRteR

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courtesy of Shane Donahue

o be on the All-American team for any sport is a true honor, but to get a spot there after playing a sport for only two years is almost unheard of. But this is precisely what rugby player Margaret Kwateng ’14 has done.

Kwateng is not new to athletics. The Brooklyn native was a volleyball player throughout high school.

However, when she didn’t make the volleyball team at Vassar, she wasn’t ready to give up athletics and decided to try rugby instead.

Needless to say, Head Coach Tony Brown is glad that she did.

“She scored 29 tries for a total of 145 points in 19 games—a tremendous achievement for a rookie player,” said Brown in an emailed statement.

Kwateng’s first year of playing rugby was among the team’s most exciting, but also among its most challenging. The team defeated several Division I teams such as Yale University and the University of Connecticut and, though they advanced to the quarterfinals, lost to Boston University to end their season.

These were all unique opportunities for Kwateng to develop as a player.

Kwateng remembers feeling incredibly nervous to start playing a new sport but appreciated the support from both the men and women’s teams.

Her first game is still a vivid memory. She recalls dreading the moment when she would receive the ball: “[T]he kick off happened and I looked up to see the ball flipping in the air right toward me. Terrified, I caught it and ran as fast as I could toward the other try zone.”

At that moment, she realized that rugby just might be the game for her, even if the sport had not initially been her first choice.

But the 2011-2012 season presented even

more opportunities to Kwateng. The departure of several key players and a series of unfortunate injuries gave Kwateng the opportunity to try scrumhalf—a position that requires spending more time spent handling the ball as well as consistent pressure from defenders.

She notes that as she got more comfortable and confident in the scrumhalf position, she also became a better, more confident player.

Her excellent athletic performance not only put the Women’s Rugby team into the top eight teams nationally, but it was what earned her the selection on the Division II All-American Rugby Team. This honor means that she will have access to participation in tryouts for regional and national teams.The title of All-American is bestowed upon an athlete who is selected to play for the All American Rugby Team. Moreover, the selection for the All-American Team is made based on a player’s overall career and performance at the collegiate level. Only 22 players across the United States are selected out of an eligible pool of hundreds.

This is a privilege Brown feels that Kwateng deserves: “She is a player that wants to understand all the components of the game, physical, tactical and emotional so that she can use her athletic ability to it’s best effect.”

Brown added, “[Kwateng] is a disciplined student-athlete, quiet, and determined.”

However, Brown sees this recognition as a reflection on Vassar as a whole. “[Kwateng earning All-American] gives me and the team great pride and shows that players who choose to attend Vassar can earn select side recognition.”

Kwateng acknowledges all the help that she has had from the sidelines.

“I didn’t make it to All-American on my own,” she said.

“The many times Tony stood next to me correcting my form or explaining a different

Athlete of the Week Margaret Kwateng’ 14 earned a highly prestigious place on the All-American Rugby Team. Kwateng has played rugby since her freshman year when she joined the women’s team. route I could take definitely helped.”

Both Kwateng and Coach Brown hope to also change the way in which the administration views rugby.

With a version of the sport being included in the 2016 Olympics, Kwateng believes that Vassar has the chance to be part of the development of women’s rugby taking place in a larger scale.

“I hope that the school does as much as they can to support the program because… it is quickly gaining popularity around the world,” Kwateng said.

“I’m sure Vassar wants to be in the forefront as pioneers in this empowering women’s sport.”

All hopes for a promising future for the sport aside, rugby will continue to be a large part of Kwateng’s life. Though she has played on other teams, such as the New York Women’s Rugby Club, Vassar Rugby will always be her home.

She is passionate about her sport and especially admires the controlled aggression and quick thinking of the game.

“People always think I’m crazy when I say I play rugby but somehow I feel like it has been the perfect sport for me,” she said.

“Maybe I am a little crazy, you would be certainly a lot safer knitting on your couch, but you might as well take charge of your fear and have fun.”

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Upcoming althetic season begins with winning streak FALL PREVIEW continued from page 1 Dunn is also confident in the team’s abilities: “They are a great group of women that I am privileged to work with on a daily basis,” stated Dunn.

“No one should take VCFH lightly!”

The team recently added to their string of victories with an exciting 3-2 win over Keystone College in La Plume, P.A. “I am so proud to be their coach,” Dunn stated. The team is currently ranked high in the league, third only to University of Rochester and Skidmore College, both of which they will face back-to-back next weekend.

Vassar Field Hockey will have its first Liberty League game on the Sept. 21, with an upcoming home game on the 26th against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Their next non-league game will take place at 4 p.m. this Friday vs. Mercy College. The game will take place at Prentiss Field.

Men’s soccer has also had a promising start. The team is currently 4-1 with upcoming games against Maritime College as well as Manhattanville University. Men’s scoccer Liberty League matches begin on Sept. 12 at Gordon Field.

Women’s soccer, led by new Head Coach Laura Williamson and Assistant Coach Allison McManis, began its season with a 4-0 record, winning both games at the Husson tournament and its most recent matches against Arcadia University and Drew University in the Drew Tournament. The team has left the gate fast, clearly making its mark as a team to beat in the upcoming Liberty League.

Home to many freshman and sophomore athletes, the young team also has a lot of energy and spirit. Keep an eye on Chloe Wheeler ’15, a forward/midfielder who has the leading stats for assists and goals made.

Women’s soccer is striving to beat last year’s record of 7-9-1 and to win the Liberty League.

On the 15th and 19th of September the team

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

will have games against SUNY Plattsburgh and Western Connecticut State University, respectively. Its home game against Western Connecticut will be its before its all-important and first Liberty League game against Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Last Sunday, men’s rugby, coached by Tony Brown and Assistant Coach Mark Griffiths, won their first match against William Paterson University with a close score of 17-10. Players to watch out for include Jehan Shams ’13, Riley McCabe ’14 and Andrew Jdaydani ’14. McCabe, though a substitute for starter Zach Kent ’14, scored two tries for the Brewers.

Men’s rugby has its next match on Sept. 16 vs. Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J at 12 p.m. Its next home game will take place on Sept. 23 at 11 a.m. vs. Sacred Heart University.

Rounding out the fall preview is the women’s volleyball team. These girls have started off with a strong season as well, winning their first four games against Montclair State, Lyndon State College, Mount St. Vincent and Steven’s Insitute of Technology.

Headed by Coach Jonathan Penn and Assistant Coach Mike Pomares, the team looks to improve on last year’s record, and is well on its way to do so. With eighteen and seventeen kills respectively, Clara Cardillo ’15 and Jessie Ditmore ’14 are leading the team offensively. Captains Chloe McGuire ’13 and Hilary Koenings ’13 helped lead the team to a recent win against Stevens Institute in a close four set match. In the same tournament, Chloe Hallum ’16 had 59 digs, with a total of 75 digs in her most recent week of play.

On Sept. 18 the team will face Bard College in their first game of the Liberty League.

Overall, with four teams beginning with wins, this season is shaping up to be one of promise, as well as amazing games and action from the Vassar College athletes.

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September 13 , 2012

Williamson gives soccer team fresh start, new energy

Cassady Bergevin/The Miscellany News

Spring is in bloom at Vassar, despite hurricane force winds which struck campus on Tuesday. Spring is in bloom at Vassar, despite hurricane force winds which struckUnt vullumsan ex ex ero del dolutKerrin Poole Guest Reporter

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f you have seen Vassar College women’s soccer play recently, you may have noticed something slightly (okay, majorly) different about the team. It is not the uniforms, or the field or even the girls’ hairstyles, but it is something on the sideline: this year’s women’s soccer team is home to new Head Coach Laura Williamson and, along with experience, she is

bringing the attitude needed to help the program reach new heights.

For the past three seasons, Coach Williamson has been the Assistant Women’s Soccer Coach at Stevens Institute of Technology.

There she played an integral part in seeing the Ducks rise from having a season with twelve losses in 2009, to winning the Conference as the No. 3 seed one year later.

They went on to defend their position the

following season as they dominated play, won every single conference game and ended the season as conference champs.

In other successes, while the Ducks experienced victory in a very impressive first round win of the 2010 NCAA Division III Championships, Williamson herself triumphed by being named to the 2011 Empire 8 Conference Coaching Staff of the Year.

Having earned her National Soccer Coach’s Association of America Advanced National Diploma in January 2011, she continued to ensure future success at Stevens Institute of Technology in recruiting the previous two Empire 8 Conference Rookie of the Year selections.

All of these achievements as a coach, however, stem from her impressive record as a college soccer player at Colby College, where she not only captained the 2006 season but was also the school’s all-time leading scorer. Additionally, she was named the NESCAC Rookie of the Year in 2003 and earned All-Conference selection in all four seasons that she played. She graduated in 2007 with a Bachelor of Arts in English and a minor in Education.

Needless to say, Coach Williamson has an impressive history, and in taking on Vassar women’s soccer she wants most to make a name for the team.

“My expectation is for my team to do their absolute best to make this the best place to play college soccer.”

She added that, “I’m not talking about wins. I want this group to come together and really create an identity for Vassar women’s

soccer. As the first team under new leadership it is really important to get the environment right.”

In order to develop a team that brings home wins, Williamson recognizes the need for a solid foundation built on proper attitudes and camaraderie.

When asked about her aspirations to see the ladies win a Liberty League Championship, she wrote in an emailed statment, “Are we aiming for a Liberty League championship? That’s a given. But, that title, win or lose, will not be the primary measure of this team’s success.”

In order to achieve such lofty goals, Williamson plans on employing tactics that have worked for her in the past, tactics that allow her to create a bold and stealthy surprise attack effect.

Upon being asked as to what experience she is bringing to the program, Williamson stated that, “I bring an experience of accomplishing what other people may not have expected from the teams I’ve been involved with.

“Honestly, I’m not sure what other teams are expecting from us, but I do know I’m working with a group of young women who do not feel they fulfilled their potential as a group last season, and I’m really excited to see where this season takes us.”

Coach Williamson hopes to bring plenty of new energy, strategy and drive to Vassar women’s soccer and is ready to push the team to its limits.

So far, with a record of 4-0, the team seems to be well on its way.

Men’s soccer season kicks off with victorious record Amreen Bhasin Guest Reporter

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courtesy of Shane Donahue

he Vassar College men’s soccer team has kicked off their 2012 season with current 4-1 record. With big wins against New Paltz, Mount St. Mary, Western Connecticut State University, John Jay and a close loss against Catholic University, the team is looking ahead towards a very successful fall season. After going 11-6-3 last year with strong seasons by Zander Mrlik ’13 and Ross Macklin ’12, the team won the Liberty League and an NCAA berth.

The team’s ultimate goal remains the same as ever: to win the Liberty League. Head Coach Andrew Jennings hopes to help his team achieve a second consecutive championship. Coming off of last year’s postseason success, Jennings and the rest of the team have faith that they can pull it off again.

So far the Brewers are out-shooting their opponents and scoring an average of three goals per game. According to Jennings and the team, current and early success has been twofold. “The players came into preseason very fit [and] everyone has been contributing.” Jennings said. “[It’s been] very much a team effort.”

A strong freshman class has contributed to the team’s early season success. Juliano Pereira ’14, complimented the new underclassmen saying that they “came in fit and ready to play. They’ve been able to embrace our playing style and they’ve proved it by making an impact early and scoring a few goals in our first couple games.”

Jordan Palmer ’16, has scored two goals and garnered three assists to begin his career. Gavin Jennings ’16 has also scored two goals. One was during his first 30 minutes of play as a collegiate athlete, the other was the sole goal in the team’s single loss against Catholic University.

Along with the freshmen, the seniors have played a vital role, including defenseman Zander Mrlik ’13. Mrlik was named to First Team AllLeague and voted Vassar Athlete of the Year by The Miscellany News’ annual poll last year as a junior. He was also named Liberty League Player of the Year as a sophomore. After the team’s 5-0 shutout against John Jay in Glasboro, N.J. in the Rowan University Tournament, Mrlik was named to the All-Tournament team along with teammate Evan Seltzer ’14. Mrlik, along with senior forward Dante Varotsis ’13, serve as this year’s captains, who both had the only shots in their loss against Catholic University.

“Senior leadership has been important this year. They’ve been able to bring experience to

a young team and guide us through a physically challenging start to the season,” said Pereira.

“Our captains Dante and Zander have done a tremendous job motivating us and being leaders by example.”

Pereira and Tom Wiechert ’15 have also each scored three goals apiece and Wiechert has had one assist.

In the midst of a winning season, the team took their one loss in stride. Pereira noted that, “Our first loss was very tough. We knew we were playing a quality opponent and our nerves showed in the beginning of the game.” He added, “After going a goal down we were able to find ourselves and really dictate the pace of the game against a very good team. Although the loss was disappointing we have to learn from it and focus on the positives moving forward.” Though Gavin Jennings scored within three minutes of John Jay’s first goal off an assist by Adrien Demelier ’14, they were not able to finish their next two shots on goal. Goalkeeper Gary Claus ’13 had seven saves.

The Brewers will face stiff competition all season and throughout their league games, but one of their toughest matches is looming around the corner. The Brewers will face Oneonta, a nationally ranked team that made it to the final four last year. Oneonta will be the “toughest test of [their] non-conference schedule,” according to Jennings.

The game will take place Sept. 15, 2012 at 1 p.m. on Gordon Field.

But after last year’s success, the team’s mental game is stronger than ever. Jennings believes his players are “physical and tactically as good as any team [that they] play, but the difference is often the mental side of the game. We are a lot stronger from this perspective.” Moreover, he believes what sets the Brewers apart is their chemistry and psychology. As for the remainder of their season, Pereira is also understandably optimistic.

“Being Liberty League champions we have high hopes for this season. We know that we have a target on our back this year, but we have a chip on our shoulder. We want to prove again that we deserve our title but we know that doesn’t come without hard work and determination.”

Their first league match will be against Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute at 2 p.m. on Sept. 22.

Coming off of such an impressive season last year makes this year’s main focus repeating their excellent performance, and deciding whether that can build on that. With such a near-perfect start, the resounding answer seems to be yes.

Spring is in bloom at Vassar, despite hurricane force winds which struck campus on Tuesday. Spring is in bloom at Vassar, despite hurricane force winds which struckUnt vullumsan ex ex ero del dolut-

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

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