The Purchase Independent - 09/29/2011

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September 29, 2011 | Issue #245

y o u r. i n d y @ g m a i l . c o m editor-in-chief: Ri l ey Ken ny s mith layout editor: To m D au er writers: Li a m D elan ey A l ex a Dillen b eck M a da me Q u er y Ró i sí n McCarty print manager: To ny Pon tiu s cover photo by: D avi d Grimald i copy editor: To m my Roach artwork by: M a rg o t Allis on 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.

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 to join.

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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Normally I’m all about institutions being active in social networking.

I was really excited as a child to email Socks (the Clinton’s cat) at the White House. I’ve been generally pleased with how President Obama’s team has used Twitter to gather questions for his broadcast Town Hall meetings. I love how the Events Committee at Purchase connects with students via Facebook and Blogspot.

What I don’t like quite so much is when I feel like I’m being stalked online by my college. I didn’t mind the Twitter accounts for various campus entities, but I was slightly unnerved when my tumblr was suddenly being followed by Purchase. The final straw was when I received an email notification that my Huffington Post commenting account had been “fanned”

by SUNY Purchase. I can’t remember the last time I used that account, and I can’t fathom why my college should be following my online presence that closely. I don’t have anything to hide, but that doesn’t mean I don’t mind being watched. It feels a little too Big Brother.

I think it’s great for Purchase to have online accounts to interact with prospective students and inform current students. I’ll gladly follow any account that keeps me updated on the school’s happenings. But I don’t think those accounts should seek out and follow students. We deserve a semblance of respect for our privacy.

CAMPUS

RAVE FOR CHANGEBY Alexa Dillenbeck

Heavy bass electronic music for a cause is the main theme of NYPIRG’s Rave the Vote.

Rave the Vote’s goal is to create a student voting block to have people more involved in what can and could go on in the government. It’s a party so bring your dancing shoes and your hula hoops to the Stood on October 7th!

Instead of having a classic Rock the Vote event with mainstream music, NYPIRG Project Coordinator Alex Wojcik wanted to push the envelope and get electronic music into the Stood.

There will be information about local Westchester politicians and voter registration forms at the front desk, so students can get involved while enjoying music. This “übersexy disco,” as Wojcik has dubbed it, will also include voting-themed face and body paint.

“Electronic music is really burgeoning in the young crowd and can help get the word out about voting,” said Wojcik, who just purchased a LED hula hoop and will be among students for Rave the Vote, “The rave scene is about peace, love, unity, and respect, and we hope to empower students on that night.”

NYPIRG, a non-partisan student rights advocacy organization that is fueled by students, wants to get students’ voices heard. If people are registered to vote, students get a say in their school and local governments. NYPIRG brings the voter registration forms to the Board of Elections to get a tally of how many students register to vote and where they are registered.

Julianna Gilary, senior literature major, said, “I think it’s more of a privilege to vote.”

Most Americans, in her opinion, take voting for granted.

About 200 students have been registered through NYPIRG already this semester. Stephanie

Spencer, senior journalism major, said, “I think it’s an obligation to vote.” The deadline for voter registration is October 14th, which is why Rave the Vote is the week before. It marks the final days to register and makes sure more students get registered and fill the forms out correctly.

Not all students have been convinced yet.

Dina Cook, sophomore sociology major, said, “I don’t know enough about politics to even feel like I deserve the right to vote, but I think it is really important, if you do know something about it, so you can become a part of history.”

“I don’t see the point in complaining if you don’t get your word out,” said Keenan Humphrey, sophomore new media major, who is also known as Krytical H!t and will be DJing at Rave the Vote. “The rave scene is about freedom of expression and escaping the mundane reality.”

DJ RoXy is one of the DJs that Alex Wocjik is most excited for. He spun in Atlanta about a decade ago and since moving to New York has started up again. He has a knack for mixing popular music, like Lady Gaga and Britney Spears, with dance music. “The bass is going to be so heavy [in the Stood], it’s gonna be sinister,” said Wojcik. “Your face is going to be blown off.”

R AV E T H E V O T E Friday, October 7th The Stood

• voting registration • Krytical H!t • DubBerry • Buddstep • DJ RoXy

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SLUTWALK NEW YORK

BY Liam Delaney

The name is provocative. Purposely so, because the idea is to call attention to the worldwide crisis of rape—and a “rape culture” in which women and men are sexually assaulted but prevailing cultural ideals result in very few of those attacks ever getting reported. Only an estimated 60 percent of such crimes are ever reported, and it’s believed that globally only 6 percent of rapists ever see a day in jail.

In April, a group of women from Toronto, Canada decided that it was time to fight back, sparked in particular by what local Police Officer Michael Sanguinetti said during a safety forum at York University in January. Officer Sanguinetti declared, in a perfect demonstration of rape culture, that if women do not want to be sexually victimized they should “avoid dressing like sluts.”

Although he later apologized, it was too late. His comments spread across Facebook and Twitter like wildfire.

Sonya JF Barnett and Heather Jarvis of Toronto decided to show that how someone dresses is never an excuse for violence against her. They would do it by dressing like “sluts.”

Slutwalk was born. On April 23, between 3,000 and 4,000 people joined Barnett and Jarvis in marching against the Toronto Police Service and its stance on clothing and sexual assault. Many dressed in a way that Officer Sanguinetti might have condemned. But that was the point. How a woman dresses should be her choice.

“No one expected it to turn into the movement that it has, but then it became this movement out of need and necessity,” says Allison Turkos, an organizing member of the New York chapter.

Slutwalk continues to spread. Following the original Toronto Slutwalk, other marches

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popped up in Boston, Seattle, Chicago, Philadelphia, North Carolina, Dallas and Austin, Texas.

And now, the movement has reached New York. On Saturday, October 1st in Manhattan there will be a Slutwalk along Lafayette Street and Broadway. Marchers will meet in Union Square at 11am and start marching at noon.

“The march is generally to raise awareness that rape is not an inevitability in our society. It’s something that we have trained people to think is an inevitability and we have trained people to produce,” says Jaime Barak, another organizing member of Slutwalk New York.

Allison Turkos says that Slutwalk wants to raise awareness about a culture that can make excuses for rape, and that awareness includes encouraging people to realize their unconscious participation in rape culture.

“If Slutwalk manages to change only one person’s mind, then it’s done its job,” she says.

Clearly, though, the hope is to completely end rape culture. Slutwalk is a beginning. Although feminism has made huge strides in the past decades, there is still a lot of work to be done.

But as long as there are women—and men— determined to push back, something can be done, and something will get done. Every march is a step in the right direction.

your.indy@gmail .c o m

BROS BROS BROS BROS

BY RÓISÍN MCCARTY

Hi everybody, I’m nineteen, and I’m a bro. Oh? You want my name? Okay, it’s Brosheen.

Ahem.

So I spent a lot of time in the dark.

I suppressed my feelings, much like the star quarterback of a small town high school football team suppresses his sexuality, insisting that he thinks of Tom Brady when he ‘plays solitaire’ not because of his tight end, but because of the ease and grace with which he can throw a football over 60 yards.

I guess I shouldn’t be as surprised as I am, I’ve always loved hitting on mad bitches. Heh, just kidding, they’re called women. Sometimes people don’t take me seriously as bro because I respect ladies, but I mean, I can finish off a six pack of Keystone Light and watch football too.

And of course I never thought the yellow flags on the field were fans throwing banana peels, because that would be absolutely ridiculous and nonsensical and why would anyone think that was what happened?

My friends were very supportive of my coming out as a bro. I fought it at first, constantly insisting that I wasn’t a bro when it had become an almost undeniable fact. I just didn’t want anyone to look at me any differently, you know?

They let me come into terms with it on my own time, not saying anything when I slipped out of the room to enjoy some Manswers or the one thing that makes me feel alive: UFC.

As time passed, I became more comfortable with myself. I started to pop my

collar, fist pound like a champ, and sometimes I would even do both while totally owning the beer pong table.

This summer there was single event that finally made me feel completely comfortable. I was at lacrosse camp when I got a package from one of my friends. There was a piece of paper folded neatly into a square, tucked in between the bug spray and granola bars.

Dear Brosheen, You are a shiny bro that shines with all the light of bro-dom.

You are LAX where luxe lux lacks.

Brosheen, may your bro sheen never be dulled.

- Riley Kennysmith

With that encouragement, I submitted.

I felt safe with my brohood, and I applied for a citizenship for the Republic of Romania, which is why I’m standing in front of the board of appeals telling you my story.

I’ve passed the first round? Really? Oh my goodness, this is wonderful. The next round is a beer bong demonstration? I can definitely do that. I am ready.

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MADAME QUERY

HAS YOUR REMEDY

Dear Madame Query, Why am I finding

Dear

it so impossible to get over this complete

been able to focus on my work. I am

asshole of a guy? What do I do? I feel like

constantly distracted by whatever is on

I’ve tried it all.

E! Entertainment or just regular goofing

Fuck the pain away—with other people, of course. While that course of treatment may cure some, it may not be the best plan of action for you. You know this guy was an asshole so I think you should think for a moment about why he was an asshole. Take about a minute for all your examples to run through your head and then drop them all. Honestly, even a minute is way too long for you to be thinking about this guy. Please do not waste another moment on him. I know, I know, easier said than done, but you have to!

If this is one of the many things you have tried, well, then you need a pep talk. Okay here we go! How old are you? I don’t know, but most likely too young to be thinking that this asshole is really someone you could make your “one.”

Guess what? When you’re in college, you can’t mold someone to be your ideal. In fact, you just can’t ever mold someone out of being an asshole, so this guy is always going to be an asshole, therefore, always never going to be good enough for you. How many days have you spent thinking about whatever this guy did to you? Too many.

I don’t know what he did, maybe he cheated on you, lied to you, stole from you. Whatever it was, he is not good enough for you. Drop him. Drop him like a bag full of bees. Get his ugly face out of your sight. On Madame’s orders you have to go out, get some sun, keep yourself busy and meet people worth your time.

off with my friends. Any tips on how to

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Madame,

Recently

I

haven’t

fix this?

Here is an idea: Turn the TV off and tell your friends to go away! Honey, you have to have your priorities straightened. You have to realize that if they’re your real friends, then they’ll understand that you need to do what is best for you. You also need to realize that E! Entertainment consistently plays their shows on repeat so you can catch the shows at any time.

This should be common sense!

If these facts don’t put it in perspective enough, then think about what it can do to your future. Do you really want to know everything there is to know about Kim, Khloe and Kourtney, but not know anything about Kant? (I hear he is a philosopher, quite honestly I know more about the Kardashians than I do about him.) Yes, they are beautiful and funny, and they have great hair and a crazy to watch mother, but they and other celebrities will be around for you to stare at for the rest of your life. There are no re-runs of college.

As for the goofing off with friends, like I said, if you just say, “I’ve got a lot of work to do,” no one is ever going to judge you. Just because you can’t hang out with them now doesn’t mean they won’t invite you out later. Where is “regular goofing off ” going to get you? Nowhere, that’s where. Seriously, this isn’t even special goofing off like an adventure to Paris for the weekend? If it

A DV I C E isn’t on par with that, then it isn’t worth your time.

Don’t even try to convince me that smoking pot on a woodsventure was totally worth you pushing all your work aside and causing a subsequent mental breakdown from having to pull an all-nighter. Yes, Madame is speaking from experience with that last one, and doesn’t wish anyone to go through an experience like that.

Put the television aside and the friends on hold for some work time, and I can assure you nothing will be lost.

Dear Madame Query, I don’t know

Thursday, September 29th the Co-Op at 10pm

CHEESE CLUB!

Saturday, October 1st Whitson’s at 8:30pm

• Prawn • Caravela • more TBA the Co-Op at 8:30pm

• Rye ‘N Clover • Stefan Fink • more TBA

how to dance. It’s really embarrassing when I go to a party and everyone else just knows what to do. How can I get my groove on?

You have your groove, you just haven’t discovered it yet. It seems really hard when you go to a school with amazingly trained superstars, but even people without this experience know how to let loose. Don’t get caught up in what to do. People sway to their own rhythm, so see what takes you over in the music. I have seen great and I have seen foul. You can do no wrong, unless you hurt someone. Also a couple drinks usually help Madame release her inhibitions, but they are not necessary.

SUBMIT YOUR QUESTIONS

TO MADAME QUERY http://www.formspring.me/madamequery

FORTH meets next on

Monday, October 3rd Southside at 8pm

Tuesday, October 4th CoCOaS meeting:

the Stood at 5:30pm Green Team:

the Co-Op at 6pm Public Relations Committee:

the Co-Op at 8pm General Events Committee:

the Stood at 9pm

SENATE MEETING Wednesday, October 5th Southside at 12:30pm

STOOD MEETING Wednesday, October 5th the Stood at 2:30pm

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