T PURCHASE H E INDEPENDENT
ISSUE 275 OCTOBER 25, 2012
y o u r. i n d y @ g m a i l . c o m
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR editor-in-chief:
R ó i sín M c C ar ty layout editor:
M el issa Foster senior staff writer:
A l yc e Pel l eg r ino writers:
My best friend is in labor as I type this, so forgive me for my lackluster editor’s letter. Actually, scratch that. Forgive me for this nonexistent editor’s letter. Everybody stay safe this weekend, and during the storm! OKAY, LATER PURCHASE, SORRY AGAIN!
Al ex a Dil l en bec k Noel l e M oore Car a Nuz zo M ike Rel uz c o Tom my Roach Sabr ina Sim s Ste phan ie Spen c er A ngel os Tr itar is R achel Weiss
LETTER FROM THE LAYOUT EDITOR
print manager:
Tom my Roach
Hey there’s some space here left for me!
copy editor:
Ste phan ie Spen c er:
Hope you all are doing well in your studies. Don’t forget to put some back into it, fellow students.
cover photo by: The Purchase Independent is a nonprofit news magazine, paid for by the Mandatory Student Activity fee. We welcome and encourage submissions from readers. The Independent is a forum for campus issues and events, to give students the voice they deserve. Any opinions expressed are those of the writers, not those of The Independent, its editors, or the PSGA. 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 case-by-case basis. Send all submissions and inquiries to your.indy@gmail.com. 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 are2held in the office every Monday night at 9:30; anyone is welcome.
Jake M ur phy
web design by:
Tom my Roach C in dy Mack
Any recommendations for the layout design of the issues would be really appeciated, just send them to your.indy@gmail.com. Thanks!
Melissa
in loving memory of
Brent “Tate” Ellis
In This issue: Cinemasai: The Digital Age and CGI written by Dylan Green
page 8
When A Stranger Calls Or ties your shoes for you written by Mike Reluzco
page 13
Purch Comes Out On Top Named #1 Theater School in the Country written by Tommy Roach
page 15
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y o u r. i n d y @ g m a i l . c o m
HALLOWEEN COSTUME CONTROVERSIES BY NOELLE MOORE Everyone and their mother knows that the approach of All Hallows Eve means three things: candy, spookiness, and people in scantily clad costumes. Halloween is essentially everyone’s free pass when it comes to wardrobe choices. If you want to be a witch with her skirt pulled up to her nipples, go for it. It’s expected nowadays, the sexy adult costumes. The same can be said about offensive costumes. The giant inflatable penis isn’t so much of a shock anymore. However, there are those more cringeworthy costumes that people are wearing, and putting their young children in. There are also costumes of mental patients, and slutty Cookie Monster. Sadly, it’s not all that uncommon anymore to see costumes like these. What is even scarier is the emergent trends in the kids costume section. You can see the beginnings of female sexualization even in the options for children’s costumes. A little girl cannot be Elmo in just a fuzzy red suit like a little boy can. There almost always has to be a skirt involved in the equation, and perhaps a glittery headband. The fact that there are alternatives to character costumes in regards to gender, sets up the paradigm that will become more blatant in a child’s later years. Little girls cannot be police officers or firemen without the ensemble having a sexy edge. This is especially disturbing because costumes start taking this turn as young as three to five years of age. It only gets worse as they grow older. But kids as young as this don’t comprehend
the image they’re giving off or how they’re being perceived, which means they’re going to grow up thinking this is the cultural and gender norm for them. That is a whole generation that is going to think that dressing your three year old in what is basically lingerie is acceptable. Society is sexualizing us younger and younger, which just may be part for the course. We are living in a world where “Toddlers and Tiaras” is airing, after all. Some of the most inappropriate costumes that are marketed to children are pimp costumes, a sexy version of Nemo, or the child suicide bomber. I’m serious. A suicide bomber set up designed for a child. Also, as many have seen around the Tumblrverse, there’s a stir over racist costumes that depict specific ethnicities with the slogans “This is who I am, and this is not okay” and “We’re a culture, not a costume.” It features Asian “geishas,” Middle Eastern “terrorist” garb, the disturbing trend of blackfacing, and sexy “Eskimos.” These costumes are implying that racial identity can be simplified into one stereotypical outfit, which only furthers racism and stereotyping in our country. Halloween is about assuming the identity of another, but that does not mean you should compromise the real-life identity of others. A whole confection of examples of the sexist Halloween costumes can be found on: fucknosexisthalloweencostumes.tumblr.com
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CRO-SSSSS-ROADS BY RACHEL WEISS When I first got my housing information, I wasn’t sure what to expect from Crossroads. Almost all of the upperclassmen I talked to would either roll their eyes, or laugh and call it the place where all the freshmen get dumped. Well, my experience in Crossroads has actually been great. It wasn’t until recently when a pretty sketchy situation arose in my suite. Since Move-In Day, there has been a hissing sound coming from the wall right outside my door. All of us ignored it for a while, but we knew it was there. When our heat wasn’t working, a respectable gentleman from the maintenance crew came and fixed the vents in our rooms. He walked past the common room area and remarked upon the hissing sound, saying it sounded like there was a pipe inside the wall that could possibly burst at some point. This worried the six of us living in the suite, and we weren’t sure what to do. He said the best action we could take at the moment, since it was pretty late at night, was to tell our RA. A few hours later, another man came into our room and listened carefully to the noise. He said it appeared that a thermostat appliance had been ripped out of our wall, and the hole had been plastered over. The gentleman calmed us down by saying he would put in a work order, and more of his team would come look at it first thing the next morning. As promised, two more crew members came the very next day to take a look, but they had something very different to tell us about this so-called pipe that could burst at any moment.
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They told us it was just a “leaking of air” rather than gas coming from inside the wall, and there was absolutely nothing to worry about. Another man came in a few hours later who was clearly appalled by the fact that our thermostat was missing. He said in all his years of working in maintenance, he had never seen something like this. But he also told us there was nothing to worry about. So the hissing noise in our suite remains, and apparently there is no impending danger for us. It’s been a crazy week in Crossroads, full of emotional rollercoasters for my suitemates and me. From just being a little irritated by this noise, to worrying that our suite could explode, to not even caring about this pipe; next year I will be able to tell all incoming freshmen one thing: Crossroads definitely has character.
campus
HOMESICKNESS AND MIDTERM BLUES BY SABRINA SIMS For most, if not all, incoming students freshman year is a period of transition. There are things like class schedules, living independently and other issues that take getting used to. New obstacles to college life like midterms and homesickness may come suddenly and leave underclassmen in need of quick solutions to address these issues. Homesickness, according to the MST Counseling Center website, is a “general term that represents grieving, feeling sad, feeling loss of meaning, fearing change, anticipating disappointment, or being lonely. Sometimes it can become a more serious depression if the person cannot begin to meet his/her needs for love and belonging with new people.” People can experience it in varying degrees, including not being homesick at all, to really missing the places and people that they’re used to. When asked about her experience with homesickness, one student, Mairead Keenan, 18 and a New Media major said, “It’s weird. I live thirty minutes away so I see my parents often. It’s not that bad.” Other freshman had similar thoughts, such as Niara Seña, 18, a BFA Acting major, said, “I don’t get homesick. Since I’m from the city, I just have to take the train home,” she continued. “It’s not the first time I’ve been away from home.” Distance and the ease of travel back home may have an effect on how students feel about being away from home. In other cases, the places where they come from can make a difference in one’s outlook towards being away from what’s familiar. “I’m fine living independently… My town is boring, so I’m not missing much anyway,”
said Matt Ettinger-Curnan, 19, a Biology major from Connecticut. Midterms are another thing that new students may not be familiar with. Most high schools have midterms and other cumulative exams near the end of the year, happening before or after holiday breaks. At Purchase, midterm week happens from October 15 to 26. Since that’s about a month and a half ago, it can seem to some like they spring up out of nowhere. Because midterms are on different days, it can be difficult to figure out when one should start studying. “Hopefully I will be [prepared],” said Keenan. “I think the only difficulty I’ll have is not procrastinating.” Ettinger-Curnan a non-chalant, positive view toward his midterms. “I have no idea when my midterms are, but I hope I’ll be ready. You just gotta keep a positive mind frame, you know?” Some advice and suggestions: • Call your parents and your friends from home every once in a while but not all the time. • Make sure to spend enough time with your new friends. • Don’t procrastinate studying for midterms. Look up the dates for your tests on your syllabus. If you know early, you’ll have enough time to prepare. • Study a little every day until you understand the material. It’s usually better than cramming the night before and being tired taking the test. • Finally, don’t be afraid to ask people for help.
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CINEMASAI: THE DIGITAL AGE & CGI BY DYLAN GREEN The Digital Age has severely affected the way that movies are made, and the way an audience of humbly minded cinephiles watch them. A fascination with CGI has overtaken the medium, giving us blockbusters constructed from digital parts that create new worlds for us to rapidly consume. In many ways, these digital frontiers seek to tell stories of their own, though this never fails to keep films from letting their actual stories slip into generic territory. Two recent CGI powerhouses, namely Disney’s 2010 sequel “TRON: Legacy,” and James Cameron’s 2009 franchise starter “Avatar” both captivated audiences worldwide with their brilliantly realized vistas of the world behind your computer screen- a world of lush greenery and exotic life light years beyond our own. That being said, they both share the same problems: an overly familiar storytelling framework and/or character beats that either hold them back from true greatness, or just drive the final nail into the coffin. Between “TRON: Legacy” and “Avatar’s” similarities, which works better? Are they both pure crap because of their respective digital veils? If something is considered generic, that means that element is customary of or used a lot in a particular genre. Superpowers are generic of fantasy. Cheesy make-up effects are generic of horror. Sappy writing and naked pandering are generic of romantic films. That little lesson highlights the major problem with both “Avatar” and “Legacy.” Both of their premises are extremely generic (almost derivative, actually) of sci-fi/fantasy: Cynical young men living in the shadow of a family mem-
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ber enter a world unfamiliar to them, in this case “TRON: Legacy”’s Grid and “Avatar”’s Pandora. Through their assimilation into the culture, and the thrusting of a destiny onto them, they find their purpose as the main protagonist. Beyond adhering to formula in terms of just its story, however, “Avatar”’s cast of characters, plot points, and even lines of dialogue are all pastiches that seem air-lifted from similar movies like “FernGully,” “Dances with Wolves,” and “Thundercats.” Cameron wrote the screenplay in 1985, but is his head really big enough for him to bring it 25 years into the future and pass it off as a sprawling space opera that we haven’t seen before? It reeks of disrespect on Cameron’s part and of a general lack of identity on the film’s part, and a fresh coat of digital paint can’t change that. “Legacy” comes out on top in my eyes, because as generic as its story may be, as cookie cutter as the characters may act, it has something that differentiates it, which is an identity all its own. It has a world that doesn’t feel derivative of about 6-7 different previously established worlds, instead continuing on 20 years from the ending of cult classic “TRON.” While “Legacy” employs many different established templates in terms of its plot structure, characters, and settings, all of it feels distinctly grounded in the digital universe of The Grid, rather than feeling air lifted from forgotten 90’s cartoons and 80’s films. A clear sense of identity can ground even the most generic film in the imagination, and “TRON: Legacy” does that sentiment proud.
entertainment
WAIT, WHEN IS HALLOWEEN?
LATE NIGHT UPDATE: CHRIS MURPHY
BY ALYCE PELLEGRINO
BY RACHEL WEISS
The month of October is one that many people get overly excited about. From apple picking, to fall themed drinks, to pumpkin flavoring going into literally everything we consume; but let’s not forget that grand finale, Halloween. The holiday may be a bit different than we remember as kids. Our costumes have gotten a bit more risque and our candy has been substituted with copious amount of alcohol. But the same nagging question still plagues us when Halloween falls right in the middle of the week. Why?! As kids we were forced to stop trick or treating earlier, now we have to decide if getting drunk on a Wednesday is really the best idea. So this is the question I ask my dear Purchasians, what weekend do we celebrate Halloween? It’s something I’ve heard asked for the past week and a half but can still find no answers. The most logical answer I have is that it will probably be celebrated campus wide the weekend before, but hey, I’m not privy to this information. There has been one flyer I have seen around campus promoting a costume contest the weekend before. There have also been whispers of parties happening that Friday and Saturday. Is it being early November the weekend after Halloween too much of a milestone to crack out those costumes again, or will there be more themed fun to come? No one really knows. My best guess is to keep an ear out and not let Thanksgiving or Christmas decorations in Stop and Shop get in the way of having that last hoorah.
If you want to know what it is exactly that Chris Murphy does as part of the Late Night Network, he can pretty much sum it up himself. “I’m a writer who does not perform in the shows.” He is a writer for Purchase Late Night and also created and directs “Thermobarbaric.” Murphy developed the idea for “Theormbarbaric” when he was in tenth grade for a film class. He is now a junior Film major here at Purchase, and “Thermobarbaric” has expanded into a public access television program broadcast on the Late Night Network. His show can be classified as a “mockumentary,” but what exactly is “Thermobarbaric?” “This show is about the adventures of a death metal air band in New York,” Murphy said. “The band is struggling to survive in an area where they have no fans at all…and will never get any.” “Thermobarbaric” started out as a homage to a television show called “Metalocalypse.” It has definitely come a long way since the days on the cutting room floor, and is popular among numerous Purchase students. Murphy stated that he is not currently filming new episodes of “Thermobarbaric,” but is there a reunion in store for our favorite air death metal band? “We’ll be together once this winter break, and we’re hoping to film a new episode,” Murphy assures. This episode may or may not feature the return of a demon baby. Stay tuned! You can catch Thermobarbaric Tuesday nights at 10 right here: facebook.com/thelatenightnetwork
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EATING DISORDERS DON’T DISCRIMINATE BY ALYCE PELLEGRINO
TRIGGER WARNING: Eating disorders, brief mention of abuse.
There are many illnesses and disorders that people deal with on a daily basis that no one knows about. Would you guess that some of the people you sit with in class every Tuesday and Friday had something they were struggling with, perhaps on medication for, or in therapy? Would you guess that the girl in your history class had an eating disorder? How about the boy? According to the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), there are more than a million boys and men who suffer from this illness day to day. This very issue was tackled in the September 2012 issue of GQ. A spread was done following the story of four men who have suffered from eating disorders while including information on eating disorders. This is extremely important on two levels. The first is that a magazine like GQ, which specifically targets men, would bring light to this issue. Eating disorders are commonly thought of as a “female problem,” so shaterring that illusion is not only a positive step but a progressive one. The second is that on top of bringing this issue to a head, GQ also disclosed many shocking facts about male eating disorders. “Many residential centers don’t admit men, out of a belief that treatment should be sexspecific,” Nathaniel Penn, author of the spread, wrote. “There is no data to support this belief, though clinicians think that certain gender-specific issues are best addressed in therapy or in single-sex groups within a larger coed facility. Some centers prefer not to treat men, because they may inadvertently remind female clients of the trauma they have endured at the hands of abusive fathers, husbands, or lovers. Of the fifty-eight residential
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treatment centers listed in the Alliance for Eating Disorder Awareness’s 2011-12 guide, only twenty-five admit men.” One of the men sharing his story, named Steven for the spread, commented on this very problem. “It was incredibly frustrating,” he said about trying to locate a residential eating-disorder facility. “It takes an incredible amount of balls to ask for help, because it’s thought of as a girl’s disease, and you finally work up the courage and there’s nothing there.” Though the GQ article in question only focused on one sect of male eating disorders, anorexia, it still seemed to do more than the NEDA’s website. Even when you click on the “stories of hope” only five or six out of the twenty-two names are male. “A male anorexic tends to conform to a particular personality type,” Arnold Andersen of the University of Iowa told Penn. “In preadolescents, anorexia halts puberty,” Penn writes in the break between another man’s story. “A boy’s voice doesn’t change, he doesn’t grow facial or pubic hair, the growth plates of his bones don’t fuse. If he can return to a healthy weight, all these mechanisms will probably start up again, even after a decade.” There is specific attention paid to how these disorders affect males instead of blanketing the issue with general terms and treatments. This is the kind of attention this issue and issues like it need. No more general. No more gender targeting a disorder that affects one in just as devastating of a way as the other.
info
CINEMASAI: “LOOPER” BY DYLAN GREEN Whether it be for violent, prophetic, or casual reasons, time travel has been an intense point of focus for science fiction films in the last 40-50 years. Now Mafia “waste management” can be added to the ever-growing list of cinematic uses for time travel with “Looper,” a wholly original, yet overly ambitious, sci-fi film not afraid to mix neo-noir aspirations with its futuristic story of guns and matter transportation. Well crafted but marred by time travel paradoxes and an inconsistent tone, writer-director Rian Johnson’s “Looper” is a better breed of thinking man’s science fiction movie: thoughtful, action-packed, well-acted, and nostalgic to send your brain back to better “Blade Runner”-esque days. In the not too distant future of 2074, time travel has been invented, but it’s so illegal that only the Mafia uses it to have “people of interest” killed by sending them thirty years in the past to the year 2044 to be killed by contract killers called Loopers. Loopers kill these people, dispose of their bodies in the past, and receive payments of silver currency they can cash for money, a clean getaway that mobsters of the future can’t afford. Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as Joe, a Looper who does his job, collects his silver, and doesn’t ask questions. Through some minor complications, Joe winds up pointing a gun at his future self (Mr. Action himself, Bruce Willis), who escapes into the world, prompting him to hunt his future self before the future mob accountants come calling for him. Despite the seemingly confusing plot above, Johnson manages to get his story across in a way that isn’t confusing and is always engaging. Except for when I left the theater and the slight follies of the screenplay began to fill my brain.
As thrilling and thought provoking as the screenplay overall may be, “Looper”’s second act comes to a complete halt, deciding to become a tense, mournful crime thriller. That’s not to say that any of these scenes are bad. In fact, “Looper” is probably one of the most interesting and ballsout audacious films of the year. It’s just too bad that the tone of the second act is its own separate movie. Call that what you will, but rapidly switching from Joe running and gunning for his future self to Joe building a tacked-on relationship with Emily Blunt’s Sara is a jarring switch. I don’t know whether to call it nuance or indecisiveness. That factored with Johnson tying himself a few too many time traveling paradoxical pretzels only disjoints the effort further. In lieu of these complaints, when it’s fun, BOY is “Looper” fun. Dynamically filmed gunfight and chases pop off of the screen thanks to crisp cinematography. When it wants to tug those heartstrings, the nuanced portions of Johnson’s screenplay and his rich characters really bring their A game, tops among them being JGL and Willis pulling double duty as Joe, two versions of a man both capable, confused, and desperate for a way to break free. There isn’t much else I can say without dropping massive spoilers, but suffice it to say even though lofty ambitions bite back in the form of minor screenplay issues, “Looper” is nonetheless a smart, emotionally balanced science fiction film with a committed and totally game cast and visually polished to an almost mirror shine. You can’t ask for much better, especially in modern day scifi, so make the time and go check it out. Watching on DVD in three months doesn’t count.
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B U T R E A L LY T H O HERE TO TELL YOU WHAT, WHEN, AND WHO TO DO Q: I recently broke up with my boyfriend
Q: My girlfriend keeps keeps asking me
of two years. My friends say that I should
to go down on her, I really don’t want to
jump back into dating, but I don’t know if
her vag smells like old fish. What do I
I’m ready yet. How do I know I am?
tell her?
A: It may sound silly to say, but when the time is
A: If you aren’t honest enough to tell your girl-
right, you will know. It will feel like a sudden weight has been lifted off your shoulders, small things will no longer remind of your ex-boyfriend multiple times a day, and you might even have a sudden urge or interest to explore something new. This feeling will manifest itself in your bones and you will no longer be asking yourself the question “Am I ready?” Friends usually assume that the best option is moving forward as fast as possible but you need time to process your past relationship so you can understand what was lost and what you gained. It isn’t until you understand what you learned that you can go out and effectively throw yourself back into the game.
friend that her down-there area smells like “old fish” then you probably need to reevaluate your relationship. However, since that doesn’t answer your question, I have another idea. You should suggest to your girlfriend that you take a steamy shower together as foreplay. This will come off as an innocent proposal to change things up but will also take care of her less than fresh scent so you will be able to go down on her without the “old fish” smell. If a shower doesn’t help then you should inspire her to eat healthier foods which can sometimes alter scent or taste of the body.
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advice & satire
NOT SO RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS BY MIKE RELUZCO Walking around campus alone is a kind of discouraging experience. People walk with their heads down, and unless they spot a friend from the corner of their eyes, they don’t look up. It’s like walking through a crowd of malaise. Even when eye contact is made, there is no acknowledgment, just a quick glance in the other direction. Not even a smile. So I figured it was about time to start brightening up people’s days. I figured that some random acts of kindness would be met with positive response. Seriously, who doesn’t like a little bit of a refresher in their faith in humanity? Who doesn’t like to be treated kindly? Well, it would seem the answer to those questions is students living on the Purchase campus. Seriously. In my first endeavor, I took note of a man’s shoes, untied and waiting to trip him at any moment. So, I tailed him until he stopped to light a cigarette, and that’s when I pounced. I began to tie his shoelaces for him, telling him that he would probably trip if he didn’t tie them up soon. But I wasn’t even done making my second bunny-ear when he pushed me off with a light kick, and said “What the fuck, man?” After an explanation that I was just trying to be helpful, he looked at me and walked away. Not too discouraged yet, I stalked the campus looking for more good-doing to do. Eventually, I saw a young lady struggling with an imperial shit-ton of bags. So I approached her, and offered to carry a bag, attempting to gently
remove one being carried between her teeth. She bit down on her bag as I tried to help, and shook her head. The bag was pretty heavy, so shaking her head must have been an endeavor. I asked if she was sure, and she answered me with a gruff noise and a faster gait. I’d failed again. Still determined to be kind, I begrudgingly moved a little bit out of my comfort zone, and I hugged a grumpy looking dude and told him, “I just wanted to let you know that everything will be okay and you are beautiful.” I was received with an odd glance, and a slow, but forceful removal of my arms from his torso. He quickly walked away. Honestly, I was done. Except not quite. I was boarding an elevator in The Fort, when I saw a guy walking to get his laundry. This was my chance. I was going to do something nice. I hit the “Door Hold” button until I heard him coming back in my direction. Then, quickly, I hit the door close button just as he rounded the corner, followed quickly by the “Door Open” button. The laundry-laden young man smiled, and thanked me. Finally, after all my waiting, I got a positive response. It’s unfortunate that my random acts of kindness were not well received, with the only exception being a not so random act which I manufactured over the course of five minutes. So this is my message to the Purchase campus. Smile a little. When somebody wants to tie your shoe, give them a shot. Appreciate hugs. Love each other a little bit, because if you don’t, I will.
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UNWINDING BY STEPHANIE SPENCER I’ve known Katie Skarvinko, 21, since we were sophomores. Randomly selected and placed in Fort Awesome, the first few weeks of being roommates were naturally followed by slightly awkward interactions. One of us would walk into the room after class, and we filled the silence with small talk about our day. Through minor conversation, however, we regularly hinted that we liked to party. We made a promise that we would unwind and party sometime. Most of the time, these kinds of promises are not followed through One random weekend, though, that promise came to fruition. Armed with a bottle of liquor and good intentions, Katie and I spent the night in our pink-tinted room (Katie decorated her side of the room with pink lights), talking about life and what we want from it. Then, just because, we went to the infamous Fort Awesome igloo, which I had no idea about until Katie mentioned it, and we laughed our way through the night. That night set the tone for the rest of the year. We haven’t been roommates in quite a while, but Purchase provided us with a bond that has transcended over time. As I sit on a Friday night in the Olde to interview Katie about what it’s like to unwind at Purchase College, I’m regularly brought back to the wild times when we were roommates. When Katie would text me during class at 3 p.m. to tell me that when I got back to the room, we were going to start the weekend early with a few drinks and laughs.
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Stephanie: What is your favorite way to unwind at Purchase? Katie Skarvinko: I’d have to say my favorite
way to unwind at Purchase is to hangout with my girls in someone’s apartment and have a few drinks. Maybe more than a few! It definitely helps me to relax and be able to have some laughs, share some stories, and just keep each other updated on what’s going on in our lives. I think it’s important to have that girl time because at the end of the day your true friends will always be there for you. S: What is the difference between how you unwound when you were a freshmen, and how you unwind now? K: When I was a freshman I was... I don’t want
to say out of control, but yeah, I definitely was. I mean when you’re a freshman you’re finally not living at home anymore, you have so much freedom to do pretty much anything you want so it’s completely different now from when I first got here. When I was a freshman I would drink all the time maybe four or five nights a week, stay up till 3 a.m. when I had to get up 7 a.m. It’s definitely something everyone has to go through. I feel like an old woman now because I go to bed around 11p.m., I make sure I have all my work done before class, and I rarely drink besides the weekends. So right now my ideal way to unwind is just to hang out with a few close friends and have a few drinks, nothing too crazy.
campus
S: Where is the funniest place on campus to have a good time? K: The funniest place on campus to have a good
time is probably in the Olde. I say this because even though I’ve only been living in the Olde for two months I think it’s hilarious to watch freshman girls in their tight short dresses and high heels walk around trying to find a party. It’s funny and embarrassing because I look back and think, oh shit, that’s what I probably looked like as a freshman. I mean G-street is the party street of Purchase so it’s very entertaining and fun to be apart of all the commotion and excitement of the random things that happen on a Friday and Saturday night. S: What is one of your favorite experiences at Purchase? K: I’ve had so many good times here at Purchase
but the one experience that really sticks out to me was Sophomore year. Me and my best friend Michelle got super drunk and on a Saturday night we would walk around and never find any parties [as usual]. So we decided to sit in the grass in the Quad and chain-smoke like we always did. But this night was different. We sat and talked for hours and hours until the sun came up. It was such a good night because even though nothing was going on we still managed to make a great night out of it. S: Have you ever partied too hard? K: Have I ever partied too hard? Oh lord that
PURCHASE NAMED #1 THEATRE SCHOOL BY TOMMY ROACH In case any of you confused students living under a pile of rocks missed the memo, Purchase was recently honored in the Princeton Review. “What was the honor, then?” I’m glad you asked, disembodied voice in my head that I don’t care to investigate into! Purchase College’s school of Theatre Arts was recently named the number 1 theatre school in the country. That’s right, kids. We beat Carnegie Mellon. We beat Yale. We beat Wagner and Emerson. Bard and NYU aren’t even in the top 10. It’s also important to note that this school is the only public institution on the list of 20 schools. So, Purchase, what does this mean for us? Well, first of all, you should all be pretty darned honored to have inadvertently gone to the best theatre school in the country. Secondly, think about how much easier it’s going to be for any theatre major here to get a job post-graduation. You’re all on a list now, just because of this school’s name. As a member of the theatre department here, I absolutely am filled with a strong sense of pride for my school. Not that I didn’t feel that way before, but hey, now I don’t think this place sucks as much as I did three days ago. So there’s that. I’m going to go brag to my parents that I’m not screwing up after all.
would be an understatement. Of course I have, who hasn’t? I mean, come on, this is Purchase!
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Thursday, 10/25 7:30pm
Gypsy, Pirate, Ninja, Mummy, Robot, Princess Tea Party Wednesday, 10/31 at 4pm
Cholral Hall, Music Building
Stood Mainstage
Freeheld: LGBT History Month Screening & Discussion
Anti-Fracking Event with Ghosthorse! Thursday, 10/25 at 6:30pm In the Stood Cinema
Makoshine Party Thursday, 11/1 at 8pm Whitson’s
THE BELLEGARDS//THE TINY ELEPHANTS//MURDER BY SCOOTER
Hip Hop Club Presents Party and Bullshit Friday, 11/2 at 8pm
Friday, 10/26 at 6pm In the Stood at Whitson’s
SOCA Presents: Nightmare on G-Street Friday, 10/26 at 9pm Stood Mainstage
FALL FEST Saturday, 10/27 at 1pm Stood Main Stage, Cinema, and Whitson’s
Some Scary Shit Sunday, 10/28 at 8pm Stood Main Stage
Gypsy, Pirate, Ninja, Mummy, Robot, Princess Tea Party Monday, 10/29 at 8pm Stood Mainstage
HALLOWEEN AT THE STOOD!!! Wednesday, 10/31 at 8pm Whitson’s & the Cinema
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Whitson’s
Mondays History Club: Commuter Lounge at 7pm The Indy: CCN 1011 at 9:30pm FORTH: In the Stood at 8pm
Thursdays LGBT Spoken Word: Stood at 7pm GRIOT: CCN 0025 at 9pm Transaction: Ft. Awesome at 10pm Green Team: 6:30pm Contact Brittany Bollenbach and Jonathan O’Connell for more info OAPIA: CCN 0016 at 10pm
HOLDING AN EVENT? Email us the information at YOUR.INDY@GMAIL.COM
info
KNOW YOUR HOME: THE THEATRE BUILDING
ALT CLINIC QUESTION OF THE WEEK: Healthy Relationships TRIGGER WARNING: domestic violence
BY TOMMY ROACH
BY ALEXA DILLENBECK
If you’re in any theatre related program on this campus, you may or may not have noticed that there is in fact, no true home for the department. You may find yourself asking, “Why, Purchase? Why not give a program that brings so much to this school its own home?” Funny story. In the college’s original plans (1967), there was actually a seventh academic building planned. The building was to be located next to the VA, and was to house the Theatre Arts programs on campus. If you’re wondering what that actual location would have equated to, look no further than the W1 parking lot. So yeah, let’s break this thing down, yo. Where it is: The mysterious missing theatre building is located in the hearts and souls of every student that wishes it actually existed. Why should I care: It’s kind of ironic that our school is currently ranked as the best theatre school in the country (according to the Princeton Review), yet we do not even have a true home for our theatre department. Also, this place would have, in all likelihood, made communication between theatre students and the PAC far easier than it currently is, due to location alone. I feel that I should mention that there are currently plans for a building of sorts to be built where the theatre building would have been. It is set to house the school of Theatre Arts, the school of Film & Media Studies, and related arts programs. So yeah, just an interesting tid-bit there.
Being a friend of someone who is in an abusive relationship can be very difficult because you can only do so much, but want to do as much as you can. If someone you know is affected by domestic violence, you can help by being supportive of them. According to TheHotline.com, the National Domestic Violence Hotline’s website, by letting someone know that you are concerned for their safety can help them recognize the abuse. You can always let them know that you just want them to be in a healthy, non-violent relationship. By being a good listener and providing time for you and your friend or family member to talk, you can give them your trust and love, which is crucial. If they do not leave their situation, don’t judge them. They might be choosing this for a certain reason. You can ask them if you feel comfortable, but respect their decision to not tell you. If they do not feel safe, you can help by providing a safe place to stay until they feel safe alone. You can simply go and do things they haven’t been able to do if their partner didn’t allow it. Just know, as a friend, that you cannot rescue them. It is their decision, which could be carefully calculated and specific. Support your friends and family who have experienced violence and if you have, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Love, The Alternative Clinic
Next week I’ll talk about SUNY Binghamton!
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