The Purchase Independent - 10/06/2011

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October 6, 2011 | Issue #246

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: Z a c k B r ady A l ex a Dillen b eck Ch r i sti e Don ato F i Fi D ub ois M a da me Q u er y Ró i sí n McCarty N i ch o l a s Sh ap iro print manager: To ny Pon tiu s cover photo by: M el a n i e MacCas k ie 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

Purchase College is known for having politically-inclined students who don’t hesitate to get involved, and the past week has made it more clear than ever that Purchase students will continue to stand up for their rights.

Groups of Purchase students attended SlutWalk NYC despite issues with transportation, and many Purchase students participated in Occupy Wall Street, some of whom were arrested during the protest. No matter how you feel about these events, it’s important to support your peers in their efforts.

Students involved in Occupy Wall Street, I urge you to educate yourselves about your rights as protesters. If you plan on bringing a camera to photograph or videotape the occupation, read the ACLU’s legal guide for photographers at aclu.org/free-speech/know-your-rights-photographers and know your rights. When the demonstrations move to a new location, check to see whether the laws for protesters change there. If you’re concerned that a protest is taking a bad turn, ask the nearest police officer, “is [this specific action] legal here?” Above all, remember to respect officers of the law even when it seems like they are not respecting you.

CAMPUS

SLUTWALK MARCHES ON

BY ALEXA DILLENBECK

“SlutWalk NYC is part of a worldwide grassroots movement challenging rape culture, victim-blaming and slut-shaming, and working to end sexual and domestic violence,” according to the SlutWalk NYC website mission statement. Purchase groups FORTH, LGBTQU, Complexuality, TransAction and PUSH wanted to bring their members to the event via bus, but found resistance from Purchase administration. photo by Melanie MacCaskie

Elizabeth O’Brien, secretary of FORTH, contacted George Eversmann on Monday, September 26. FORTH had been updating Facebook to let members know what was going on for transportation starting on Wednesday after getting unofficial confirmation, and were under the impression that the grant for the bus would be provided. At meetings and on the group, they were already advocating for people to carpool to the event, in case that transportation could not be provided.

Eversmann responded on Thursday and told them that funds for bus transportation for the group would not be provided. The grant is reserved for recreation and intramural activities, like a haunted house later this month, trips to Yankees games and other events.

“I wasn’t entirely comfortable. Yes, it is not religious or political, but it is activism,” said

Eversmann. The school would have been liable if anything bad did happen, and the school’s name would be attached to it.

The response left members with a bad taste in their mouths. “[Rape and sexual assault] can happen no matter who you vote for,” said Arielle Cohen, head of FORTH. Other students also found the school’s response offensive because of their own experiences with sexual assault and how the event was being perceived.

“It wasn’t that I didn’t support them; it just didn’t fit the bill,” said Eversmann. “I applaud victim awareness.” He also said that if FORTH had come earlier, he would have been able to steer them to a person who could give them money for transportation. “I feel bad and if it changed the view of me or of Purchase athletics, I would like to smooth that over.” The main problems, in his opinion, were miscommunication and poor planning.

The Purchase administration was quick to respond when made aware of the issue with the bus. “The students sought to participate in an event, but it was too late to organize a bus for transportation. We therefore sought the next best solution, which was to reimburse the students. I hope that many were able to attend,” wrote John Delate, Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Director of Residence Life, in an email.

The administration helped out the SlutWalk attendees and gave $1,200 in reimbursements for students’ travel expenses.

Reimbursement was distributed on a first come, first serve basis with a receipt.

“I welcome working with FORTH and other activist groups as long as I am able to,” said Eversmann.

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OCCUPY WALL PERSONAL ACCOUNT BY CHRISTIE DONATO

photo by Melanie MacCaskie

Occupy Wall Street is a leaderless group of diverse individuals fighting a system that favors corporations over people. These protests began on September 17th, and show no signs of slowing down despite the lack of media coverage. What follows is an account of my experience during the Brooklyn Bridge march on October 1st.

I had been hesitant to join the protests until this past Friday, September 30th, when I joined the Anti-Police Brutality march just to see what it was all about. I was so inspired by the people who spoke during the General Assembly, which happens daily, that I decided to return the following day. The march on Saturday started out in the exact same way as the night before, but with a lot more people.

We left Zuccotti Park a little after 3pm

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and made our way to the Brooklyn Bridge, where everyone stopped marching and began chanting.

During a break in the chant, a single person shouted “take the bridge!� A few more people took up the call and the crowd slowly starting moving toward the bridge. My friend voiced her concern about actually crossing the bridge at that point, but from where I was standing it appeared that the NYPD officers were clearing traffic for us. I assumed, because we met no resistance from them, that we were being led across the bridge.

Once on the roadway, the crowd expanded and began crossing fairly rapidly. Not once did I hear that we were told not to cross the bridge. In fact, most of the people around me had no idea that we were doing anything out of sync with the intended plan. It was not until halfway

OCCUPY WALL STREET

STREET: down the bridge that we were stopped by police, who proceeded to arrest protesters up front. I was probably among the first 50–100 people in the crowd, so when the kenneling began it created a wave of panic throughout my section. People were pushed back until no one could move.

There was confusion as to what was happening, and for a moment I was afraid that the people in front would try to move backward and crush the protesters in back. This was the only time that I felt nervous at all for my safety, which calls into question NYPD’s strategy of kenneling.

Fellow protesters on the walkway above us sensed that the situation had the potential to become a riot, and immediately began using the People’s Mic, an invention of the Occupy Wall Street movement which allows anyone who wishes to speak to call out “mic check” and his words will be echoed by the crowd until it has been passed along to everyone. One man used it to help those of us on the roadway communicate, and I honestly believe that without his help there may have been a stampede. We were told to sit down by the protesters on the walkway, and everyone in the front with me complied with this demand.

However, the police continued making arrests by hauling people to their feet.

Once we realized that sitting down was not helping to diffuse the situation, everyone stood back up and waited for something to happen.

When I got to the front where the arrests were taking place, a man near me asked an officer if we could just be allowed to turn around and walk back across the bridge. “We can get everyone to turn around. Just let us turn around,” he reasoned.

The officer attempted to be friendly, but told him that no one was leaving and that everyone on the

PERSONAL ACCOUNTS bridge would be arrested. As this information was passed along people seemed to relax and even resorted to joking around with the arresting officers. I sent a mass text to friends who might be worried about me, and then called my mother to warn her that I was about to be arrested.

An officer called me forward and put me in plastic handcuffs. As I was led away a member of the National Lawyer’s Guild, standing on the walkway above, called for me to shout my name.

Each group of four to five protesters was assigned to a single cop, who then brought us onto a city bus.

We were told that our bus was driving to Central Booking, where we would then be processed and released. After almost an hour of driving around, our arresting officer voiced his frustration with the fact that we were being taken the long way to the precinct. The bus finally made it to Central, but we just drove past and repeated the loop around Manhattan for a second time. After another hour of being handcuffed in the heavily air conditioned bus, we were again in front of Central Booking. Only then did an officer receive orders for the bus to instead drive to the Midtown jail. At this point there was a moment of tension between a protester and cop, but it was resolved quickly. The entire bus began singing to keep up morale, which the officers around us simply ignored.

Once at Midtown, we were made to wait another hour for the bus in front of us to unload their “prisoners,” as I heard one cop call us. An officer came onto my bus looking for a specific person, who turned out to be the New York Times reporter Natasha Lennard, who was arrested along with protesters. (story continued on page 8)

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OCCUPY WALL PERSONAL ACCOUNT BY ZACK BRADY

Remember, you are the 99%! We are large and growing. Lend your voice so that the 1% of Americans, whose greed affects us all despite ethnicity, economic class, ability, or political leanings, may hear us and hang their heads in shame. Let the world know that we are not silent.

We are loud. We are frustrated. We are angry. We are determined. And we are powerful.

On October 1, 2011, I was arrested alongside 700+ others on the road of the Brooklyn Bridge. We found ourselves, almost halfway across, surrounded by cops. Until they began corralling us, it seemed that they were allowing us on the road, reserving one lane for vehicular traffic.

I arrived at Zucotti Park around 3pm with four friends, right before the march began, for my first day at the protest. My workload this year is such that I have little time for anything not school or work related. It was my first chance to make it out to the protest, to give what little I could to keep the occupation alive.

We began marching toward the Brooklyn Bridge around 3:30pm, heading toward a Brooklyn park that I never got the name of. On our way to the bridge we made a lot of noise, but stayed within the law; we did not completely block the sidewalk and we stayed out of the road. The officers were constantly reminding us to stay off of the road; if someone stepped onto the road, they were immediately confronted and pushed back onto the sidewalk.

When my section (somewhere near the middle but toward the back) reached the bridge,

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many protesters had already taken to the streets.

The officers were walking alongside the protesters and making sure that at least one lane remained open for vehicular traffic. They were not asking us to leave the streets, but rather seemed to be facilitating the space for us. My four friends went ahead and immediately entered the streets. After a moment of paranoia I decided to take to the streets as well, but did not find my friends again until much, much later in the day.

After I was released from jail, I looked up articles on what had happened. A few media outlets report that as the first protesters took the streets the cops yelled for them to move back onto the pedestrian walkway, but I never heard an officer say this the entire time I was on the bridge. I was not near the front, and from what I perceived it appeared that the officers were not stopping us from going into the streets.

It was amazing. We had taken the bridge, one of the biggest political actions in New York in a very long time. We march, danced and cheered almost halfway across the bridge before the lane cleared for vehicles suddenly disappeared; suddenly we were spreading across the bridge, and it seemed more crowded despite the wider walking area. We soon learned that the police had blocked our advance, and most of us on the bridge immediately turned around to try to get back onto the pedestrian walkway. Our way back, however, was blocked. There were police officers, orange riot fences, police cars and paddy wagons surrounding us. On one side was a drop into the

OCCUPY WALL STREET

STREET:

PERSONAL ACCOUNTS

photo by Melanie MacCaskie

Harlem River, and on the other was the pedestrian walkway elevated at least ten feet above us.

We were trapped.

The next hour or so was pure confusion as those on the pedestrian path attempted to help us find a solution. I, like many others, sat down to wait out what would happen.

After a while of waiting, we heard that a few protesters had been arrested on both sides.

An amazing pastor named Omar, who I met later in jail, was the first to be arrested. One of the friends I had arrived with was also arrested very early on. A few arrests soon became many random arrests. The cops were picking us off one by one. This caused panic, as the vehicles pushed us ever inward. It was crushing and many were having difficulty breathing.

After the cops had been silent for what

seemed like a forever, we were told that we would all be arrested. If we didn’t turn ourselves in we would be charged with resisting arrest in addition to the charges we already faced.

I did what anyone with the privilege of a smartphone should do in such a situation: posted an update on Facebook. I also quickly called my mom to explain the situation, which she took surprisingly well, though she begged me to be compliant. I stepped forward, was placed in plasticuffs, and led into a bus with several other male-bodied people. Later I learned that 10 of these buses had been prepared for that day; such a large fleet was a first for the protest.

We were driven in a winding path toward a precinct to be processed, where we waited outside for about an hour in the heavy rain. (story continued on page 8)

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(Christie Donato’s story, continued from page 5)

I was the first person on my bus to be taken into the precinct, and as I was brought in a man on the street began video taping me, and yelling about the “results of a peaceful protest.”

An officer nearby told him to turn off the camera, but the man just screamed an obscenity and ran off. I was searched and put into a holding cell around 10pm. Two female officers came up to check on us a few times, but when we complained about being hungry and cold, they told us that we needed to speak with our arresting officers about the situation. Our arresting officers never came up to see us. I was not fed or given water even though we were held for more than nine hours, and I was never given my one phone call.

I was released at 2am on Sunday, October 1st and given a summons to appear in court on December 14th. I am being charged with “prohibit[ed] use of [a] roadway” and for “blocking vehicular traffic.”

Fellow Occupy Wall Street protesters were waiting across the street from the Midtown jailhouse with food and water for us. They said we were heroes back at Zuccotti Park.

Some people may want to believe that this was a simple case of the NYPD doing their job, but I think the facts speak for themselves. The actions of the officers on the bridge almost endangered the safety of protesters, and just a month or two ago JP Morgan Chase, one of the banks Occupy Wall Street is protesting, donated $4.6 million to the NYPD. This is the largest donation they have ever received. Still wonder who the NYPD is truly protecting? No matter where you stand on the issues we are protesting, the mass arrests that occurred on Saturday evening are an example of the restrictions being placed on our constitutional rights to both freedom of speech and assembly.

(Zack Brady’s story, continued from page 7) Eventually, after having a fashionable Polaroid picture of an officer and myself taken by the department, I was locked into a holding cell with what ended up being, I believe, 116 other malebodied people. Every time another protester entered the room we cheered. The camaraderie was instant. We worked together to demand food, water, and medical attention for those who needed it. Food soon became abundant, but in solidarity with a monk who had vowed an oath of silence and hunger, many of us went on a hunger strike.

A lawyer who had also been arrested instructed us of our rights and made sure that we knew how to respond when interviewed.

We were assigned an arresting officer and questioned. Some, for various reasons, were charged immediately with higher offenses. We were in the cell until around 1am, when the first of us were let go. At 2:30am, a friend and I were released. We were given a summons to appear in court on the 16th of November at 9:30am. We face disorderly conduct charges on two accounts: obstructing the flow of traffic, and not dispersing from a public place when asked to by an officer.

The best and worst thing that could have happened to me that day was getting arrested. I do not know how this will come to affect myself and my future, or the lives and futures of others, but I’m going to take it a day at a time.

700 or more of us were arrested. If the police department wanted to make us go away, they failed. We occupied the Brooklyn Bridge, which was a loud action in and of itself, but the arrests have amplified our voices to a new level.

check out occupywallst.org to learn more, get involved and donate to the cause

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your.indy@g mail . c o m

REPTILIAN REPORT

BY NICHOLAS SHAPIRO

As of the year 2011, reptilian syndicates across the world have formed, developed and sustained a substantial amount of ever-growing influence throughout the cultures, societies and organizations of many. From the Amphibia class, the prefix Amphi- means “on both sides” and suffix -bios translates to “life.” Reptilians seek control of both sides of life, air and aqua. Their primordial grip on the scaly underbelly of spaghetti & meatball politics, world trade yacht slavery, popular energy culture, and the specialized infant photographers union knows no bounds. Reptilian affairs in the universal plane have proven to be history’s longest documented struggle between humans and nether-creatures. Research is vast and wide but has ultimately proven fruitless; reptilians are an elusive hierarchical order.

Reminiscent of the national portrayal of professional golf, reptilians maintain an air of supreme public royalty while their connections to fashionable corporations keep their image preserved in tow. Among the confirmed reptilians are reptilian representatives, and for those who

keep updated on worldly happenings, these representatives serve as supervisors of the reptilian persuasion. Kathy Griffin is a well-known confirmed reptilian. In her circle are underlings that also participate in their amphibious sphere of influence. Wiz Khalifa, Paula Deen, Tim Duncan, the Bravo network, Courtney Stodden, members of Diplo, Panera Bread, Pure Country 2: The Gift, and Drake are a few but very prominent figures in the reptilian dominance that correspond to higher levels of their realm.

However, reptilians exist in our own backyards, too. People who enjoy 2% milk instead of whole are smaller scale lizards. Those who refuse to switch from the Sprint to Verizon family plans are commoner toads. The select academic few that consciously choose to hand in their homework late are blue-blooded mudpuppies.

The dramatization of reptilian innocuousness is not to be taken for truth. Look out for your brothers and sisters and maintain awareness of the water breathers. Or in other words, we must watch the throne.

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THE BEST BUS DRIVER

BY RÓISÍN MCCARTY

I spend a questionable amount of time involved with the Purchase Loop. Waiting for the Loop, cursing the Loop, wondering where the fuck the Loop is going. But there’s one thing makes it all worth it: My Bus Driver.

My Bus Driver is the reason I don’t mind selling my soul to Mother Bread via You Pick Twos and Broccoli Cheddar Bread Bowls.

He greets each student with a warm smile and a whole-hearted “hello,” and sometimes gives tours of White Plains as the bus runs its route. On my first day of work, at the first stop his voice filled the bus as he announced what was accessible at the stop. “Oh, you know, the Westchestah, and Cheesecake dicks.” My Bus Driver doesn’t demand my More Card before I get on the bus when it’s pouring rain and my arms are full of extra bagels and cookies. He’ll patiently wait until I sit down and can open my wallet to show him that I am, in fact, a Purchase student. He now smiles at me when I show it to him, telling me that he knows who I am, of course.

I could write a novel about the things I hear come out of people’s mouths on the Loop, but nothing will trump the first day I worked until close. I had just spent six hours cleaning up after children who crumble muffins rather than eat them and dealing with the dramatic reactions to, “I’m sorry, but we just ran out of bread bowls.”

On top of that, my phone then died on me, so I couldn’t escape by blasting Ben Folds or Tegan & Sara, the only natural things to do after a day like that one.

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This was the day that My Bus Driver became mine.

I sat with my bookbag on my lap, trying not to listen to the group of men sitting in front of me talking about a woman one of them had slept with. They were cursing, which is fine, I love a good ‘fuck’ sprinkled into an otherwise innocent sentence, but My Bus Driver looked uncomfortable. All was fine until one man slapped his leg, saying “Yo, I would fuck the shit outta that girl, whether she liked it or not, man. She’s fuckin’ smoking.” My Bus Driver’s face grew red.

“Ay!” he yelled, “Don’t you fucking dare talk about a woman like that ever, and especially not on my bus. Get the fuck out of here. Do you really think that’s all right?”

“Sorry,” the reprimanded mumbled.

“Yeah, sorry. Tell that to every woman on this bus that you just made feel sick to their stomachs.”

“You don’t have to be a dick about it, I said I was sorry, try being polite.”

“Don’t tell me to be polite after the shit I’ve heard come out of your mouth. Get out of here,” he said.

He insisted that all four men get off at the next stop, and they complied, all muttering under their breaths as they left. As people left the bus, more than one thanked him for his actions, and he waved the compliments away. “I shouldn’t be praised for doing what any decent human being should do.”

your.indy@g mail .c o m

MY DOUBLE LIFE

Hey kids! My name is James Mullady and I’m currently a full-time second semester Junior dance major here at Purchase College.

But that’s not all! I also moonlight as professional Drag Queen Extraordinaire FiFi Dubois! I’ve been dancing for 14 years, but I’ve only been performing in Drag for 3 years.

I actually got my start performing in Drag right here at Purchase College at Fall Ball, Purchase’s annual Drag competition. (Which I’ve yet to win, hint, hint!) But ever since Fall Ball, I haven’t stopped! Of course I went through moments of denying my Queenly-ness, but still never stopped. In the beginning, I just went and performed at various Purchase events in Drag.

I would also occasionally try my hand at Drag at Rocky Horror and the occasional amateur contest while visiting my home in Florida. But in the spring of my sophomore year, I had my own talk show on PTV entitled “Face 2 Face w/ FiFi Dubois” which won show of the year that year!

It wasn’t until Zombie Prom (the one event I always attend in drag ‘cuz it’s the best excuse to put on makeup and be gore-geous!) of my sophomore year that I was spotted by the creator of DragDirectory.com. He told me he would take me to an amateur/co-hostess competition for a Drag show in Manhattan. So we went. I did my number, I turned it, and I won unopposed! Thus making me the new co-hostess for the month of the Shequida Show!

I did my duties and I got my name out there. I continued to do amateur contests, won

BY FIFI DUBOIS

a couple, was runner up in a pageant, but I wasn’t really getting jobs or shows. I then took a “hiatus” from being a Drag Queen and a fulltime student, to be a professional dancer and a ballerina impersonator. Not too far of a stretch for me, minus the finding Pointe shoes and the actual Pointe work! (Never ask to see my toes!) I danced with the company Les Ballets Grandiva on-and-off, traveling all over Japan as ballerina!

But whenever I was back in New York, I was back to the student and Drag grind, doing contest after contest, ballet class after modern class, and guest gig after guest gig.

It wasn’t until I had guest hosted at a friend’s show at the bar, Boots and Saddle, in the West Village that I was spotted and offered a job. My prospective job would be to host a Sunday afternoon game show right there, which I’m still hosting to this very day, every Sunday from 3–6pm! I’m still doing contests and looking for others shows, but I am now a professionally working Drag Queen in Manhattan. And I’m still a full time dance major at a highly recognized university in Westchester County that not too many people have heard of.

Life is bittersweet! Besos!

you can find FiFi Dubois online at about.me/fifidubois

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I MISS MY KITTIES!BY ALEXA DILLENBECK

I miss my cats. Actually, that is an understatement. I am homesick only for my cats. I need to snuggle with them. In an ideal world, I would live with my two fur babies all year long. Purchase allows service animals, but unfortunately, our school does not allow pets that can’t be submerged in a ten gallon tank of water.

“We used to have a turtle, but other pets would add more fun and make it more of a home experience,” said Jen O’Brien, junior. Not to prejudice fish, but they are not cuddly. Fish cannot snuggle up to a stressed student who just needs a little warmth.

According to the National Center for Infectious Diseases, pets can lower blood pressure, cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and relieve feelings of loneliness. They can also increase chances of exercise and socialization.

“While the impact on the individual is positive, the negative impacts are more than just the individual,” said John Delate, Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Director of Residence Life. The primary negative impact for students is allergens, he said. “Personally, I am allergic to cats,” said Eric Marchetta, junior. “It could ultimately form my decision on where to live.”

According to the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, about 10% of Americans may be allergic to animals and 20–30% of asthma sufferers have pet allergy symptoms. Because rooms aren’t sealed off, it would be difficult to have sectioned-off rooms solely for pet housing.

People who smuggle animals into their rooms pose a risk for the people who live in the room after them. If an allergic person goes into a room where a pet has been, they could have a serious problem.

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The care of the animal is also in question.

Students may become too busy, too poor, or have unreliable transportation to a veterinarian, jeopardizing their care for their pet. The pet could also be let outside, which could lead to problems with their safety.

SUNY Canton is one school that does allow pets, mostly for Veterinary Technology or Veterinary Science majors, but occasionally for other students as well. “The most positive aspect is that it allows students the opportunity to bring a little piece of home with them to campus,” wrote Courtney Battista Bish, Director of Residence Life & Assistant Dean of Students at SUNY Canton. “It helps aid in homesickness, and helps with retention efforts both for on campus housing and for the college. Students in this wing also tend to be academic high-performers, and are not disciplinary issues for us.”

“I definitely recommend other schools to consider a housing program that includes animals.

We were one of the pioneer schools who began this movement, and many schools have followed suit since. Students seek out SUNY Canton because of our innovative academic programs, and also because of this wing. Our waiting list for this housing option is always long!” wrote Bish.

Students on this campus seem to want pets even if they are allergic. “I am deathly allergic to hamsters and guinea pigs, but I still would love it,” said Julia Johnston, a sophomore acting major.

Unfortunately for pet lovers, Purchase may never warm up to animal friends that are not small fish in a tank that is 10 gallons and under.

“Could it ever happen? Sure, anything is possible, but I don’t see it on the horizon,” said Delate.

EVENTS Thursday, October 6th Friday, October 7th

Fusion: CCN 0014B at 7pm

Whitson’s at 8:30pm

Film: Humanities Theatre at 7pm

• Zona Mexicana • Hotchacha • Summer People • more TBA

RPGA: Hub Basement at 8pm Chess Club: comm. lounge at 8pm Cheese Club: Co-Op at 10pm

90s Throwback Party

Trans*Action: LGBTQU at 10pm

Friday, October 7th Southside at 10pm

Monday, October 10th MSA Club: Sparks at 5pm

Saturday, October 8th location TBA at 8:30pm

• Colby Nathan (of Hyena) • Kath Bloom • more TBA

FORTH meeting: Southside at 8pm Bible Talk: Starbucks at 9pm

Tuesday, October 11th CoCOaS: the Stood at 5:30pm

Sunday, October 9th Whitson’s at 8:30pm

• Laura Stevenson & the Cans • The World is a Beautiful Place and I Am No Longer Afraid to Die • The Act of Estimating as Worthless

RECORD FAIR!

Thursday, October 13th the Stood at 8pm

Green Team: Co-Op at 6pm DDR Club: the Stood at 7pm Public Relations: Co-Op at 8pm PUSH: Hub basement at 9pm SAC: PSGA Office at 9pm General Events: Stood at 9:30pm Complexuality: Co-Op at 10pm LU: Hub basement at 10pm

Wednesday, October 12th Hillel: Hub basement at noon Psych Club: NatSci1030 at noon Senate: Southside at 12:30pm Stood meeting: Stood at 2:30pm CBLA: commuter lounge at 7pm Anime: commuter lounge at 8pm SOCA: Hub basement at 8pm Hip Hop: Hub basement at 10pm LGBTQU: Red Room at 10pm

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MADAME QUERY

HAS YOUR REMEDY

Dear Madame, I am freshman living in

Dear Madame, My boyfriend and I really

the dorms. Like most freshmen, I have

care about each other, but we have stupid

never lived away from home before, so

little arguments every day. They aren’t

I’m really not used to going number two

even about anything important. Even

in a communal bathroom. How do I let go

when I don’t want to argue, it happens

of this fear and stop scheduling myself to

anyway. How can we stop bickering?

poop at two o’clock in the morning?

Everybody poops! You are not weirdo for going to the bathroom, but you are if you only choose so to do it at 2am. You should never back yourself up. Do you know how bad that is for your rectum? I actually don’t know how bad, but I can’t imagine that it’s any good.

I will, however, tell you something I know for sure. That stall you go into in the middle of the night? Take a deep look into the toilet bowl— many people before you have left their mark. You are not alone. I know it is a really weird concept, doing your business an inch away from someone else who is also doing their business. But that’s even more of an example of how you are not alone.

You said it yourself, most freshmen have never lived away from home, but everyone defecates.

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Madame is curious as to what the source of your arguing is. These small arguments, are they at all food related? Perhaps you two get into little fights about where to go out to eat. Maybe they’re about the way he snores at night. Or maybe they’re about the shows you watch when he wants to watch something else. Anything that aligns with these three example would be considered as a “stupid little argument” in Madame’s book.

The truth is, these sort of arguments may not mean anything on the surface, but it can stem from something larger.

Speaking from experience with various men of all types I know what you are talking about when you speak of these arguments that “aren’t about anything important.” If it isn’t about anything, then why does it get so heated? I think there are things in your relationship you two want to just get out in the open, but you’re too afraid, so you instead take it out on each other’s quirks that are not really that annoying. You don’t know what he might want to say, but I’m sure you can figure out what needs to be said on your end.

If I’m wrong and you have nothing to say, then try a simple, “I hate when we have these dumb arguments. What’s wrong?” Start talking and you may realize your issues are easily fixed.

A DV I C E Dear Madame Query, I have an obsession with Disney princesses. I’m not very vocal about it, but it is apparent in the decor of my room. Is this going to pose a problem when I bring a guy back to my room? If so, how should I fix it?

Madame has a special place in her heart for Disney as well, as shown through her many failed attempts to dress as Giselle from Enchanted and the time she wanted to show some skin off one Halloween as Jasmine (all at the age of six!). We all have a love of something from our childhood.

The fact that you don’t talk about your childhood obsession doesn’t mean it’s going to be a betrayal when a guy sees your room. It is very likely that he never told you about his childhood obsession with Pokemon that’s still going strong. Or you never know, maybe he has a Disney Princess obsession that still lives on. I don’t care how much Disney merchandise you have floating around your room, as long as only 50% or less of the walls are covered, then there is no reason to change it around. If it poses as a problem, it’s the guy. How would you fix that? By kicking him out!

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

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