the
February 2, 2012 | Issue #255
y o u r. i n d y @ g m a i l . c o m editor-in-chief: R ó i sí n McCarty layout editor: To m D au er writers: A l ex a Dillen b eck D yl a n G reen Ra ch el Margolin La u r a Meltzer Jo sh M yer s To m my Roach Ste ph a n ie Sp en cer A l ex Wojcik print manager: To ny Pon tiu s cover photo by: Ty l er Daws on copy editor: Ra ch el Margolin artwork by: M a del ein e Bergman N i co l a s Sien ty web design by: D a n i el l e Lemp p The Purchase Independent is a nonprofit news magazine, paid for by the Mandatory Student Activity fee. We welcome and encourage submissions from readers. The Indy is a forum for campus issues and events, to give students the voice they deserve. Letters, articles, comics, ads, event photography and event listings are welcomed. The deadline for submissions is every Friday before midnight, and accepted pieces will be published the following Thursday. Publication of submissions is not guaranteed, but subject to the discretion of the editors. No anonymous submissions will be considered, but we will accept use of pseudonyms on a caseby-case basis. Send all submissions and inquiries to your.indy@gmail.com. Send questions to Madame Query at formspring. me/madamequery. Back page quotes can be submitted to formspring.me/ indybackpage or put in the Back Page Box that hangs on the office door.
2
Our office is located on the first floor of Campus Center North, room 1011. Staff meetings are held in the office every Monday night at 9:30; anyone is welcome.
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Twenty minutes before I was told I got the job as editor, Riley called me and told me she needed to talk to me about something but had to “cool off ” first. I spent the 20 minutes it took Riley and Tom to run off campus to buy me congratulatory cigarettes pacing my room and reminding myself to breathe. When they finally knocked on my door, I said the first thing that fell out of my mouth: “You guys are such assholes.” I am absolutely thrilled to hold this position, and I want to thank the PSGA and Harley Aussoleil for hiring me and giving me this wonderful opportunity. I would also like to give a huge thank you to Riley Kennysmith for all of the work that she’s done for the Indy, and everything that she’s done for me since I met her last year. She has consistently given me wonderful advice, and answered every question I’ve had, even if I happened to be asking it at three thirty in the morning. I’m thoroughly excited to work with the wonderful staff of the Indy, new and old, and I hope that everyone enjoys their work as much as I do. This issue, and every issue that will be published while I remain editor is dedicated to the most inspiring, beautiful, wise person I’ve met in my entire life: Róisín O’Brien, my grandmother who passed away this January. I’ll try my best to bring as much honor to our shared first name as you did. And finally, I really need to stress that this is YOUR Indy. The only way any publication can thrive is with feedback, whether it be negative or positive, so please tell us what YOU want out of this so we can try our best to give it to you. Email us, write in the Formspring, stop me in line at Starbucks, stop by the office, come to meetings. I want to hear your ideas, and I sincerely hope that you’ll let me know how you feel about mine as you see more of them in the coming weeks.
C A M PUS
THIS IS YOUR INDY
BY ALEXA DILLENBECK
Empty spaces in a publication are not very aesthetically pleasing. This new semester, you should make a resolution, promise, or goal to submit to The Independent. This is not a sneaky subliminal message, but an honest tip. You are our audience, but you also have the ability to become our voice, which is a very special opportunity. We want to see how you experience Purchase so we can show it to the campus, just in case they’re missing out. This is not Róisín’s Independent, Alexa’s Independent, or anyone’s diary. This is collectively yours, Purchase Student Body. You can write about a kick-ass show you saw at the Stood, how you feel about the rolls at the Hub, or anything else you think Purchase students need to hear. And that’s just within the realm of writing! Your photos, drawings, rants, raves, and insight on current Purchase events (and beyond) are an integral part of all publications on cam-
pus. You can help yourself by extending your collection of published work, showing your photos on a wider scale, or proving to your friends that your opinions are actually worth something, because they are! This campus has a lot of quirky things happening and if you want to tell us about an event that is totally worth going to, send us your reasons why and we will tell the campus what they would otherwise be missing out on if it weren’t for you. You can even take a copy home to your family, who will frame it and forever bring up how involved and successful you are at school. This could ensure better birthday gifts and yummier desserts on holidays. We can’t guarantee it, but it is a possibility. Submitting is as easy as emailing us at your.indy@gmail.com. You don’t have to go to Purchase and you don’t have to be attractive, but it sure does help if you are.
3
WHAT’S IN THIS SEASON BY Josh Myers Fashion is a fickle thing. One day something can be all the rage, and the next it gets a questioning eyebrow raise from the socialites drinking Venti Macchiatos, petting their tall-sized dogs sitting next to them on the couch. When you flip through magazines, you see big hair. You see extravagant dresses. You see ridiculous outfits styled by people who aren’t paid enough to put these things together. Every season there are trends that show up on the runways of different designers and, generally, these trends are related to colors, patterns, or fabric. One of the biggest challenges about fashion is translating the over-the-top runway looks into a more subdued look for every day wear. This season, one of the biggest trends is pastels. Pastel tops, pastel dresses, pastel bags. Pastels have shown up on runways of everyone from Versace to Louis Vuitton. There are a couple different options to make this look work for you. Stick to one shade. The combination of different colors is what leads to the quasinauseating feeling, similar to toddlers scrambling around a field full of hay looking for neon colored eggs. Use black accessories. The darkness of the black accessories mixed with the brightness of the pastels helps calm down the shocking color palette of the pastels. Another trend this season is anything relating to the sea. Chanel’s entire runway was staged “under the sea”, Versace had pieces that had a clear and strong “under the sea” inspiration, and Alexander McQueen showed pieces with
4
coral accents. The “under the sea” trend is a little trickier to translate to every day wear, but here are a couple of tips for pulling it off ! Accessorize, accessorize, accessorize. You can use the trend in your jewelry, with your necklaces or earrings. Even try using the trend in your nail polish. The combination of different blues looks great on your nails. This trend can be overwhelming if done incorrectly. Start subtle, and then slowly increase the visibility until you’re satisfied. Lots of fashion shows featured clothing with a very clear inspiration from the 1920’s with flapper dresses, fur shrugs, art deco accents, and feathers. This trend has been seen in the runways of Marc Jacobs, Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, and countless others. T-strap shoes were a large part of the clothing during the 1920’s, so try and rock them yourself. Pair them with skinny jeans, a jacket, a t-shirt, and throw on some long pearls knotted about 1/3 of the way from the bottom. The drop waist was also a huge staple during the 20’s, and it’s something that you can easily infuse into your own wardrobe. The waistline of the dress helps elongate your torso, so wear some sky high heels to keep you from looking like a classier version of Snooki. All of these trends may seem ridiculous when you look at them in magazines, but they can be easily incorporated into your closet. With a simple tweak, most of these over-the-top trends can be tamed, and you can walk the streets of your city with the same confidence as the models that walk the runway.
C ULTUR E
NEW YEAR’S FAIL I stank. I stank figuratively, and literally. I was a sight for sore eyes, and I reeked like a pile of dirty socks. I was lying on the floor panting like a dog, drowning in my failed attempt to complete my New Year’s resolution of being beach-ready by February. My outfit was designed by Reebok, I was in the fetal position on a crumpled yoga mat, and my forearms were as shiny as a glazed donut. Pitiful. Completely and totally pitiful. That was my first attempt at completing my New Year’s resolution for 2012, which failed miserably and effectively turned me off to even the most gentle of exercises, like walking to the mailbox, climbing the stairs at a subway platform, or raising the salad-heavy fork to my mouth. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a big-boned chick. I’m slim, some may even say I’m athletically built, but I’ve got that complex most people can relate to, known as “low-self image.” So although on the outside I seem fit, my internal crazy told me I needed to lose those last five pounds to have some confidence once the warm weather came around. This message had been haunting me since I quit classical ballet when I was 12. Puberty hit me like a brick wall, and I felt like I’d signed up to be a sumo wrestler. I was getting fucked over by my mind every time I looked in the mirror. So this year, over champagne and cheese and crackers, I resolved to take time out twice a week for an hour’s worth of yoga, which I’d just barely practiced in high school to pass my physical education requirement. I put on the clothes, I popped in the DVD, and I pulled my hair tightly into pigtails. I took a deep breath,
BY RACHEL MARGOLIN
and began what I believe is the saddest excuse for exercising I’ve ever seen. I couldn’t balance for more than a couple of seconds at the most, and my feet stuck like glue to the mat, which was incorrectly advertised as being waterproof. After 30 minutes of downward facing dog and grunting trying to touch my toes, I realized that I’ve got plenty of time until tanning season, and that the physical pain just isn’t worth it. Besides, my other New Year’s resolution (not feeling sorry for myself) was starting to make my self-esteem rise from underground levels. “Good hustle,” I assured myself, and threw my capri length synthetic spandex pants into the back of the closet. Only 364 days until next year’s (failed) New Year’s resolution!
5
A WRITER’S LOVE LETTER BY STEPHANIE SPENCER
I’m Stephanie Spencer. I’m a senior at Purchase College and this semester, I’m one of your Indy writing interns. This means that my articles are going to be available in the Indy for you to read. Whether or not you like the topics or opinions of my future articles, or if you’ve walked by me in Starbucks and thought the jacket I was wearing was tasteless, you’ll still find yourself picking up the Indy and after first reading the Back Page out loud to your friends, you’re going to skim through the articles. One of them will be mine, so l figure we might as well make friends if this relationship is going to work and flourish. During break I received an email from my editor asking if it would be okay to write a short piece for the first issue of the semester. Now, as you may discover reading my work over time, I will take any opportunity bestowed upon me to talk. Anyone close to me will tell you that I have the gift of gab. Luckily, this is considered a gift in the writing world, however, as I sit here trying to figure out how to properly broadcast my writing debut to the students of Purchase, I find I have nothing lucrative to say! I can discuss Culture Shock, I can write about returning from winter vacation, or I can write about new clubs and events coming up. What will I truly be giving you as a writer, though? We all know these events are approaching, and when the time is appropriate you can bet your ass I will report on them, but how many times does a writer get to directly speak to its readers and be this candid? And don’t give me that “you’re speaking to your readers every time you put out an article” crap because you know exactly what I mean!
6
Ultimately, I want to encourage a writer reader love affair. Let’s make a deal that no matter what happens between us, and no matter what I say that may rub you the wrong way, that it’s all in good fun and in the name of accurate reporting. If you can’t agree with this it’s probably because you’re a hipster. The first step to recovery is admitting you are one. With this all being said let’s agree, disagree, fight, and then have wonderful make-up sex later.
PURC HASE LIFE
SOME FRIENDLY ADVICE BY LAURA MELTZER Even as a sophomore theatre major, I still see myself as the 5-year-old girl in the farmyard sweater that hyperventilated into a paper bag during the elementary school audition for “Bye Bye Birdie.” Auditioning is not an easy process. One has to choose a monologue filled with originality, buy an outfit that will not only be flattering to your body, but make you stand out from the crowd, wait hours to receive five minutes of the casting director’s attention, and spend weeks or even months anxiously waiting by your phone for the casting director’s call. Though I’ve bettered my auditioning skills, over the years I have made my fair share of mistakes. Hopefully, this list of top ten audition ‘don’ts’ will save you from embarrassment in front of the casting directors.
TOP TEN THINGS TO NOT DO DURING YOUR AUDTITION 10. Do not admit you crash into set pieces
and people when dancing in big musical numbers.
9. Do not try to convince the director that
Maria from West Side Story was pale and red haired, just like you. 8. Do not say, “My mom said I sang great.”
7. DEFINITELY do not say, “Do you want to
hear my Elmo impression?”
6. Do not write “bodily function noises” in the
“Do you have any other talents?” section.
5. Do not mention you loved Anonymous at
your Twelfth Night audition.
4. Do not confess at the end of the audition you
bull-shitted your way through the audition.
3. Do not answer the question “Have you
been involved in any previous productions?” with, “Yes, I sang a solo in ‘Sunrise, Sunset’ at my cousin’s wedding” 2. Do not write “I starred in Annie in my fourth
grade production.”
1. And finally, do not ever say, “Wait, what’s
this audition for again?”
7
Wednesday, February 2nd Humanities 1065 at 6pm
• • • •
Merchant of Venice Thursday Friday Saturday
Wednesday, February 8th Visual Arts Building 1016 at 6:30pm
Brock Enright (Sculpture Visiting Artist)
Wednesday, February 2nd Red Room at 5:30pm
Planning a Funeral (for higher ed)
Friday, February 3rd the Passage Gallery at 4pm
Works on Paper
PURCHASE MEETS the Radio Show
Friday, February 3rd PAC Pepsico Theater at 8:30pm
Come join the reunion as Abraham.In.Motion brings the Bessie Award winning work
Friday, February 3rd the Stood at 8:30pm
• • • • •
Rave If You Can Rave Against Hunger Nonperishable Food Drive DJ RxY • Sudden Takedown DuBBerry • Krytical H!T
Sunday, February 5th the Commons at 3pm
Gathering and Chili Cook-Off
Wednesday, February 8th the Stood Cinema at 10pm
Culture Shock Forum First Announcement FIRST ANNUAL FEMINISM 101
Monday, February 6th Southside (CCS) at 10pm
Have any feminist questions? Submit them to forthpurchase. tumblr.com/ask
THE END IS NEAR
HOLDING AN EVENT?
the Co-Op 8pm
Email us the information at YOUR.INDY@GMAIL.COM
Friday, February 3rd • Rotten Jazz Quartet • Coyote Campus • Murder By Scooter
8
NYPIRG
EVENTS
NYPIRG
BY ALEX WOJCIK
Thursdays Gamers United: G-Street Lounge at 6pm AMG: Witsons at 6:30pm RPGA: Hub Basement at 8pm Green Team: Co-Op at 7pm PEMS: Southside at 8pm Trans*Action: LGBTQU at 10pm
Mondays FORTH meeting: Southside at 8pm The Indy: CCN 1011 at 9:30pm Brick Meeting: Red Room at 10pm
Tuesdays Anthropology: SPARC room at 8:00pm PUSH: Hub basement at 9pm Complexuality: Hub basement at 10pm
Wednesdays Hillel: Hub basement at noon Purchase Comics United: Commuter Lounge at 2 Senate: Southside at 12:30pm Gamers United: G-Street Lounge at 7pm Chess Club: Commuters Lounge at 8pm Anime: Commuter lounge at 8pm WPSR: WPSR Office at 10pm PTV: Hub Basement at10pm LGBTQU: Red Room at 10pm
Dear Editor: Hello and welcome back to campus! As many of you already know, NYPIRG (New York Public Interest Research Group) is the state’s largest and most effective student-directed organization on 20 college campuses across the state. For the past 38 years, NYPIRG has been building student power through grassroots organizing and advocacy, public education, and offering students countless opportunities to become civically engaged members of our campus community and beyond to develop the skills needed to become effective student activists. As our campus’ NYPIRG Project Coordinator, I urge every member of our community to help build student power by building on the momentum we all helped create last semester. Let’s amplify the energy we created at the Moving Planet Eco-Activist Fest, Rave the Vote, and Fracking Call-In Mondays (among countless other advocacy events) and make each and every one of our voices heard on the issues that matter to us, including keeping higher education accessible and affordable, advocating for clean air and energy, protecting everyone’s drinking water from the dangers of hydraulic fracturing, educating students on consumer issues, and reaching out to the hungry and homeless. We can be a vehicle for positive social change, beginning this Friday (2/3) at our Rave If You Can: Rave Against Hunger beginning at 8:30 pm in the Stood. Bring your cans and other nonperishable contributions and party well into the night with a purpose. Get active and stop by our Student Action Meeting: Wednesday, February 22nd at 8pm in the Southside Lounge.
9
FILM REVIEW: THE ARTIST BY Dylan green
Many people born after the 1940’s are usually perplexed or frightened by the thought of black and white “silent film” for a number of reasons. They are used to exposition of characters and plot through dialogue rather than actions, for example, and they believe reading subtitles can break the flow of the plot. However simple they may appear to be, these monochrome marvels hide a breadth of craft and technique from view. Auteur director Michel Hazanavicius proves that everything old is certainly new again, re-introducing the black and white “silent film” to a time that thinks in Stereo Surround sound and sees in High Definition by crea ting a tribute to the genre that demonstrates what was so captivating then - and now - about the era of 50 cent meals, budding dreams, and silent cinema with “The Artist.” What better way to re-create the atmosphere of 1920’s Hollywood than by infusing some good ol’ fashioned melodrama into the proceedings? George Valentin is a superstar of the silent screen, capturing audiences by storm. The consumer base begins clamoring for sound, and Valentin loses his success to a fan girl, Peppy Miller, who he helped earn a bit part in one of his films. When the pictures began to speak, she became a break out star. Unable to swallow his pride and take on a speaking role, Valentin slowly loses relevance in the cinematic world as progress is made, and time passes him and his adorable dog Uggie by.
10
“The Artist”, despite its darker second act, is a lighthearted, peppy and involving work that will snatch up many neophytes to the style of filmmaking, no matter how jaded they may be. There is an inherent sense of charm and rawness that comes from watching an actor contort their face or move their body to express feelings that words could never articulate. Stars Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo (Valentin and Miller, respectively) have it down pat, hamming it up in absolutely delightful performances. In fact, the entire cast is pitch perfect and almost born to be silent film stars in their own rights, from John Goodman as the bombastic cigar chomping studio executive, to James Cromwell as Valentin’s personal driver, to Uggie the dog as Valentin’s extremely well trained animal companion. The cast, combined with truly inspired direction and attention to period detail from Hazanavicius, the essential and beautifully moving score from composer Ludovic Bource, and uplifting, if a little schmaltzy, storyline all convey the simplistic beauty of an art form passed over by worldly progress. It’s movies like “The Artist” that make me break my promise of no more star ratings. It deserves the old-fashioned classification that it embodies so well. Impeccably executed across the board and bound to leave you smiling, “The Artist” not only serves as a great introduction to silent film in general, but is also the best film of the year,
REVIEWS hands down. If Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo weren’t stars before, they sure as hell are now, speaking with their bodies using grandiose movements and exaggerated facial expressions. The infectious score, brilliant cinematography, general whimsy, pure craftsmanship and inspired direction from Michel Hazanavicius are enough to engage even those who don’t know their Melies from their Chaplin. Like it’s spiritual cousin “Black Dynamite,” “The Artist” is the best kind of cinematic tribute: one that is indiscernible from its precursors. Pure, smileinducing, toe-tapping, clever, monochromatic cinematic joy.
HAWAII
BY Tommy Roach
The Earth changes every day. Over time, tectonic plates shift, causing landmasses to move. Currently, science says this is what’s happening to Hawaii. For those of you who are unaware, Hawaii is moving 3 – 4 inches closer to Japan every year. Scientific “facts” say that this is due to the shifting of the tectonic plates, and that it has been going on for a very long time... But I call horseshit. What the hell does science know, anyway? There is no way the Earth would let Hawaii move further away from our glorious country like that. I say that witchcraft and trickery are afoot here. The obvious and true answer is that Japan has built a massive tractor beam that is slowly pulling Hawaii closer to them. The genius behind this plan is that the islands only move a few inches a year, so by the time we notice, it would be too late. Well, JAPAN, I’m on to you. My thinking is that if we deploy a giant lasso around Hawaii’s volcano, and train 4,000 squirrels to pull on said lasso for four to five years, we’ll be able to slowly start shifting Hawaii back towards the continental U.S. Overall, this plan should eventually cause Hawaii to crash into Mexico and California. I’m in no way alluding to any mischief. My thinking is this: since Hawaii will be forcibly fused with the US anyway, it might be a good idea to build a giant volcano-powered laser…
11
Starting now, and continuing in every issue, The Purchase Independent will have one page dedicated to a comic drawn by an art intern. If you have ideas for a comic strip that you want to see published stop by our meetings at 9:30 on Monday nights in CCN 1011 or email us at YOUR.INDY@GMAIL.COM
12
MADAME QUERY
HAS YOUR REMEDY
Madame, it is my last semester of college
Madame Query, I am freaking out! I am a
ever! How do I show everyone that I’m
Junior and I have to start thinking about
a star?
my senior project! How do I calm myself
First of all, why does it matter if this campus thinks you’re a star? You should already know that from inside yourself. You don’t need approval from people you don’t know. Second of all, while I’m sure most of this campus can point out a star, no one in his or her right mind who has dignity is going to go up to you and start kissing your ass. Madame is a little confused on what you mean by “star”. Do you dress really well? Because that’s about everyone’s claim to fame here. Do you play an instrument? Act? Dance? We all do! Maybe you excel in academics? Okay, that might be something that could make you famous here. In any case, why do you have to be seen as a star on this campus? This isn’t a big campus and you would be surprised at how many people already know you, or know of you. Maybe for something you’re proud of, maybe for something you don’t like. Does it matter when you’re in the “glamorous” life of Purchase? No, I think not. Many people do not realize that Madame was once famous. She is something of a one-hit wonder from the 80’s, like Shawn Young. (You don’t remember her? Well that makes sense…) She was famous for all the wrong reasons, mostly for being extremely annoying at parties and pretending to be Ke$ha. It’s all fun, but no matter what, you’re always going to end up with regrets and a headache. Shine as you, not as a crackpot fixture on this campus.
14 14
down?
Madame thinks you’re acting extremely prematurely. You are only a Junior and you have to start thinking about your project. Why don’t you start writing and then tell me how hard it is! Seriously though, this is how I’m going to calm you down -- smacking the Query sense into you. You still have time! It’s only the first week of the semester and you think you have problems? Wait until your advisor starts asking you for forty pages of writing a week! (Okay, it doesn’t really get that extreme, it’s more like five pages a week.) All right, Madame will tone down the yelling. To keep yourself calm, the best advice Madame can give you is to stay on track. Meet with your adviser and ask what he/she wants from you. Start reading and see what interests you. As long as you pick a topic you like, you won’t go crazy. Well, don’t hold everything off until the last minute because then you’ll go crazy.
SUBMIT YOUR QUESTIONS
TO MADAME QUERY http://www.formspring.me/madamequery
AD Q &VAI C E Madame, I was recently asked out on a date by a guy I kind of know, but not really. I was never really interested in him, so is it bad if I go?
Hell-to-the-NO! This is not bad at all! Madame would tell you to call it off if this guy was totally out of the question. If he’s just someone you hadn’t thought of going out with instead of someone who disgusts you, then I say go out on the date! Dates are for discovering if you like a person or not. It isn’t a commitment to be tied down for the rest of your life. Dates are for getting to know someone, so don’t be concerned that you don’t really know him. Do you really want to be going on dates with guy friends? That is just plain frustrating, and makes you continuously say, “I wish things could go back to before we were dating.” Go on a date to meet someone new! It might be refreshing, and you might be surprised at how you never knew how cool this guy was before.
make the paper you want it to be Come to our weekly staff meetings, everyone is welcome! Monday nights at 9:30pm Publications Office: CCN 1011 Bring yourself and your ideas! We’re always interested in what you have to say! email us with submissions, letters, questions or comments:
your.indy@gmail.com
15 15
SUBMIT BACK PAGE QUOTES VIA THE BOX OUTSIDE CCN 1011 OR ON THE WEB AT: HTTP://FORMSPRING.ME/INDYBACKPAGE
*some quotes have been rewritten for legibility or to preserve the anonymity of the submitter