Issue 11 - Volume 136 by Vermont Cynic

THEVERMONTCYNIC THE Issue 11 - Volume 136 | November 5, 2019 | vtcynic.com

Trustees lack female representation Emma Pinezich epinezic@uvm.edu

Nineteen of the 25 individuals that sit on UVM’s board of trustees are men at a university where women make up the majority. UVM’s board of trustees met Oct. 24-25 in the Davis Center for its third and ﬁnal meeting of 2019. Less than 25% of the members that met were women. The student body is currently 59.9% female, according to UVM’s 2019 Enrollment Report. As of fall 2018, 55.9% of the faculty and staff combined were female. Geology professor Paul Bierman said he believes it’s important for the board to represent the students, faculty and staff of UVM. “To me, there’s no excuse for that,” Bierman said. “This campus is almost 60% women, and you look at a board where it’s almost ﬁve to one. Isn’t there something wrong with this picture?” Trustee Carol Ode, one of the six women that sit on the board, said that she doesn’t see the lack of female representation as an issue. “I don’t think you have to be exactly represented as the population,” Ode said. “It just doesn’t work out that way. I haven’t seen it as an issue for me personally.” Ode said she doesn’t think there needs to be equal representation of men and women on the board. She said she sees herself as a trustee, not a woman-trustee. SGA President Jillian Scannell said that representation and diversity are important to her as a leader on campus. “I think we should always

Photo illustration by KYRA CHEVALIER / Image source: UVM

Pictured above are the 25 members of the board of trustees in alphabetical order by last name. The photos of the 19 men on the board are converted to grayscale, leaving only the six women – 24% of the board – in color. be having conversations about who’s in the room and who’s not in the room,” Scannell said. “Those should be ongoing conversations for any governance

body.” Scannell also said that it’s important when talking about gender parity to keep in mind that there are many students at

UVM that do not identify as either male or female. The board is meant to adopt policies that support the mission, principles and goals of

UVM, according to the board of trustees’ website. One of UVM’s goals is to strive for a diverse community, according to the UVM website. “It’s hypocritical in a way if the board is not actively seeking out those conversations and having those conversations, while our University says that it is doing those things,” Scannell said. “That’s an issue.” Bierman said he noticed the gender gap on the board after joining his students at the board’s public comment meeting Oct. 24, where students voiced their concerns about UVM’s investments in fossil fuels. “I started looking around the board, and there was one man whose body language just said, ‘I don’t care what you think,’” Bierman said. “And then I started counting and looking around and saying, ‘wait a minute, that’s one old white guy and another old white guy.’” Sidney Hilker, a medical student and one of the two student trustees on the board, said that she has been impressed by how diverse the board is on all dimensions, including where members are from, their expertise and their ethnicity. “We spend a lot of time thinking about what will make diverse students want to come to UVM,” Hilker said. “And by extension of that, how we can create the most diverse leadership and board to speak everything that we try to build at UVM.” The board is made of three people appointed by the governor of Vermont, nine elected by the Vermont legislature, nine trustees that are elected by existing members, two student trustees and the UVM president and Vermont governor.

McAuley Hall’s “hazardous” material removal delayed Lilly Page lpage@uvm.edu

Renovations planned for McAuley Hall that would remove hazardous materials and other problems has been pushed back another year. Students living in the hall right now are frustrated that the building contains hazardous materials, but a University ofﬁcial said there is no need to worry. The 15-month project, which was approved in 2017 and given an increase in funding in 2018, consists of replacing the walls and roof of the building, both of which contain asbestos.

The windows will also be replaced, but all of this construction won’t start until May 2021, said Robert Vaughan, director of capital projects. “We know it needs to be replaced,” Vaughan said. “We’ve put it on our list of projects. We’ve already done our design. We’ve been working on historic preservation.” First-year Jeannette Chien said the students living in McAuley know there is asbestos in the building, and it troubles them how the situation seems out of their hands. “It’s upsetting,” Chien said. “I feel like there is nothing we can do. Like, it’s helpless. We’re

helpless in McAuley.” First-year Grace Jack said she is upset at the fact that even though she pays the same in room and board as other students, she is placed in a building that was supposed to be going through construction this school year and has many problems. “It is unsettling considering that I pay just as much as anyone else who is living on campus,” she said. “This is serious, and you shouldn’t put this on people who are paying money to come here and live here.” McAuley continued on page 2

STEPHAN TOLJAN/The Vermont Cynic

McAuley Hall basks in the sunshine on Trinity campus, Nov. 1. Asbestos, one of the hazardous materials used in the construction of the building, was outlawed in the ‘70s because it causes cancer.

NEWS

UVM forced to add 25 gen eds Ella Ruehsen iruehsen@uvm.edu UVM will be forced to triple its number of distribution requirements for students because they are not meeting standards for accreditation. Students will need to take 40 general education credit requirements in order for UVM to continue being reaccredited with the New England Commission for Higher Education. Currently students are only taking 15. “After a NECHE team visited campus last spring, gen ed was one of the areas they flagged as needing attention,” Jennifer Dickinson, associate provost for Academic Affairs, stated in an Oct. 31 email. The University was only re-approved on the terms that the University would implement changes to meet the 40-credit general education requirement. After the accrediting body’s visit last spring, Interim Senior Vice President and Provost Patricia Prelock charged the Gen Ed Alignment Task Force with creating a proposal, according to an Oct. 26 email from Prelock. The goals of the task force are to align the UVM curriculum with NECHE’s expectations for general education requirments. All colleges and universities need to be reaccredited on a periodic basis, said Cathy Paris, a member of the faculty senate and Gen Ed Alignment Task Force.

Emma Pinezich epinezic@uvm.edu

LUKAS DRAUGELIS/The Vermont Cynic

UVM employee Luci Pecor works the front desk of the Registrar’s office, Nov. 1. The University currently has 15 gen-ed requirements in place and is looking to have 40 by 2025. “We have 15 credits of general education in place already, those being sustainability, quantitative reasoning, D1 and D2 for diversity and foundational writing and information literacy,” Paris said. “But, we should have 40 credits of gen ed University-wide.” The purpose of reaccreditation is to make sure that universities are updating their practices and policies in compliance with the accreditor, she said. “The thing is, we are supposed to be there in five years because in five years the NECHE team will probably make a return visit or at least ask for a

mid-point detailed report to follow up on the identified areas of concern,” Paris said. Social sciences, humanities, fine arts and natural sciences, which include mathematics, will need to become part of UVM’s gen ed to satisfy NECHE’s requirements and right now none of those are required of every UVM student, Paris said. “The complete proposal will be presented to the UVM community in the spring when faculty committees will be working on refining the requirements,” Prelock’s email stated. “We expect that the entering class of 2025 will be the first class

with expanded gen ed requirements.” The goal is to offer enough flexibility that all students will still be able to meet their degree requirements in four years, while also fulfilling new gen ed standards, Dickinson’s email stated. “Think about it, 40 [gen ed] credits is a third of your total credits,” Paris said. Junior Owen Doherty, vice president of SGA, said some students graduation may be affected due to the increased credit requirments. “It is definitely something to be of concern,” he said.

Student demand for CAPS services rises Irene Choi ichoi@uvm.edu

An increase in student demand for mental health services has led to the creation of two new drop-in programs, Let’sTalk and THRIVE, from UVM’s Counseling and Psychiatry Services. At UVM, there has been a 5.6% average increase in student enrollment, but a 29.6% average increase in demand for mental health services, according to a presentation to SGA by Dr. Harry Chen, executive director of Center for Health and Wellbeing on UVM. The average wait times for a CAPS appointment is 10.65 days for an initial appointment and 13.42 days for ongoing appointments, according to the SGA presentation. To help address the increased demand, CAPS has added the programs Let’sTalk and THRIVE. These programs are drop-ins, meaning they require no scheduling beforehand. Introduced in the 2019 school year, Let’sTalk offers 30-minute, one-on-one sessions with a CAPS counselor, while THRIVE, new to the 2020 school year, is a group

University appoints new admin

Photo Illustration by STEPHAN TOLJAN/The Vermont Cynic

Jacob’s House on Main Street is one location that offers counseling hours for students. The locations that offer drop-in hours during the school year are the Prism Center and the Davis Center. series where students discuss challenging topics like perfectionism and anxiety with CAPS staff. Let’sTalk is good for students who don’t need ongoing treatment, said John Paul Grogan, public health outreach director for the Center for Health & Wellbeing. Many students only need a couple meetings but the long formal process can deter students from getting help, Grogan said. “There’s clear data that

shows that a lot of students were only accessing CAPS one or two times,” Grogan said. “And so we tried to create something that met that need, especially for something that’s both timely and easily addressed by one or two conversations with someone.” CAPS has two locations on Main Street and Redstone campus. Let’sTalk was created as an effort to make meetings with CAPS counselors more convenient for students.

“We know that sometimes, getting across campus is a challenge,” Grogan said. “Time plays a factor in whether or not someone’s gonna choose to go that drop-in or go to that class.” THRIVE workshops were also implemented to create more accessibility for students but in a group setting instead of one-on-one sessions, Director of CAPS Carrie Fleider stated in an Oct. 31 email. “CAPS started the daily workshops this semester as a way to reach more people and provide more access to skills that students can get and use, without the necessity for ongoing treatment,” the email stated. These strategies for managing challenges with mental health are focused on groupbased workshops in order to be more accessible to students, the email stated. “What we’re trying to do is shift the focus to having that available to more students,” the email stated. “We’re excited about it because it means students can get the same kinds of strategies in a more convenient and easier way.”

President Suresh Garimella has created a new communications position within his administration to improve UVM’s profile and to oversee all communication efforts at the University. Garimella announced Nicci Brown’s appointment to the newly created position of Chief Communications Officer in a Nov. 1 email. Brown will join the five current members of the communications team and will work to expand UVM’s image nationally and internationally, according to the email. Thomas Gustafson, the VP for University Relations and Administration, chaired the search committee for the Chief Communications Officer position. Brown will oversee all communications at UVM, including student recruitment, branding the University and sharing UVM’s story with the public, Gustafson said. Brown worked at Syracuse for the last 20 years, most recently as Vice President of Marketing and Communications.

McAuley continued from page 1 Jack and Chein both heard about the asbestos problem from other students in the building and said it makes them feel unsafe. “Another girl who lives in the hall was like, ‘yeah, if you didn’t hear, there is asbestos in the building and they are going to close McAuley next year,’” Chein said. “Pretty much everyone knows about it.” Vaughan said that while evaluations are being done on all of the residence halls on campus, construction on McAuley Hall had to be pushed back a year while the evaluations are being completed. “We’ve decided to, while we are doing all of this evaluation, hold off on the project for now,” he said. Vaughan said even though asbestos is a hazardous material, the building is safe, since the asbestos is not being disrupted for construction. “In its current state, when it’s not being used in the construction process or removal process, it’s not harmful to anybody,” he said. While construction on McAuley has been delayed, progress is still being made on the $95 million Multi-Purpose Center, which was started last year. “Each project is viewed independently, not against one another,” Vaughan said. Construction on McAuley Hall has not been postponed because of the new Multi-Purpose Center, Vaughan said.

OPINION TH

More women needed on board

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EXECUTIVE Editor-in-Chief Bridget Higdon editorinchief@vtcynic.com Managing Editor Alek Fleury newsroom@vtcynic.com

OPERATIONS Operations Manager Tim Mealey operations@vtcynic.com Marketing Daniel Felde cynicmarketing@gmail.com Distribution Manager Dariel Echanis

EDITORS Copy Chief Liv Marshall copy@vtcynic.com Culture Sarah Robinson cynicculture@gmail.com Features Greta Rohrer cynicfeatures@gmail.com News / Sports Sawyer Loftus news@vtcynic.com sports@vtcynic.com Opinion Mills Sparkman opinion@vtcynic.com

Staff Editorial

he student population at UVM is currently 59.9% female, but barely a quarter of the board’s 25 trustees are women. As of fall 2018, 55.9% of faculty and staff combined at UVM were female. The class of 2023 is 61.6% female, according to an Aug. 28 Cynic article. The decisions of the board of trustees affect our daily lives, and therefore, the board’s gender make-up should reﬂect the body it governs. The board of trustees determines the cost of tuition, approves which buildings will be renovated and decides where the University’s endowment is invested. Legislation on issues of particular importance to women, such as women’s healthcare and childcare planning, are more likely to be introduced by women than by men, according to an ongoing Rutgers University study. On the UVM board, this could translate to issues such as longer paid parental leave, a designated nursing room in every building on campus and more accessibility of free menstrual products. The board of trustees is made up of 25 members. Three are selected by the governor of Vermont, nine are elected by the Vermont legislature and

Illustrations Noah Zhou illustrations@vtcynic.com Layout Kyra Chevalier layout@vtcynic.com Photo Stephan Toljan photo@vtcynic.com Assistant Editors Henry Mitchell (Opinion), Kate Vanni and Meilena Sanchez (Layout), Dalton Doyle (Copy), Allie O’Connor (Culture), Emma Pinezich (News), Bailey Samber (Photo) Page Designers Stephanie Hodel, Ed Taylor, George Weed

ADVISING Faculty Adviser Chris Evans crevans@uvm.edu

Photo by STEPHAN TOLJAN/Photo illustration by KYRA CHEVALIER/The Vermont Cynic

In the top photo, 10 members of the board of trustees are pictured. In the bottom photo, all men have been digitally removed. Of the 10 trustees in the original photo, two are women. Provost Patricia Prelock, as well as the three women seated at the table in the back, are not trustees. Of the 19 trustees in attendance at the Oct. 26 full board meeting, four were women. In its entirety, the board has 25 members, and six are women. nine are elected by the board of trustees itself, according to the Board Policy Manual. Another two members are student trustees. The president of UVM and the governor of Vermont also sit on the board. Each trustee – other than the two student members, president and governor – serves six years. A typical UVM student probably couldn’t name a member of the University’s board of trustees, much less a female member. However, given the board’s

involvement in nearly every aspect of the University’s functioning, we must remain aware of the board’s gender composition, even when it seems like their actions don’t affect us directly. Within the next two years, nine trustees will reach the end of their terms. This is our chance to be vocal about the change we wish to see within the board. Reach out to a Vermont senator or representative. Advocate for role models who you think would make good

trustees. For the board of trustees to reﬂect the student voice, we must ﬁrst have a voice.

Staff editorials ofﬁcially reﬂect the views of the editorial board, which includes the Editor-in-Chief, Managing Editor and Opinion Editor. Signed opinion pieces and columns do not necessarily do so. The Cynic accepts letters in response to anything you see printed as well as any issues of interest in the community. Please limit letters to 350 words. The Cynic reserves the right to edit letters for length and grammar. Please send letters to opinion@ vtcynic.com.

“Weed-out” classes cut out students’ goals Emily Johnston

Podcasts David Cabrera vtcynicpodcasts@gmail.com Social Media Sam Litra socialcyniceditor@gmail.com

ejohnst2@uvm.edu

n Oct. 28, popular Instagram account uvmbathrooms posted an opinion on the STEM classes at UVM. STEM students, those in science, technology, engineering and math, all must pass sets of classes for their major that are required prerequisites. These classes are known among students and faculty as “weed-out” classes because they are notorious for being so difﬁcult that they cause many students to switch majors. uvmbathrooms argues that STEM classes cause too much stress, can tank GPAs and can give professors too much power in deciding the futures of students. I agree with their argument. While it is important to challenge students, weedout classes cause countless students to lose all hope in their dream career. Instead of engaging with the material in ways that help them learn, STEM students instead become stressed to the point of tears.

VALENTINA CZOCHANSKI

Passing one class can mean the difference between students continuing their desired degree or having to switch majors. Since these classes are required, failing them sets students behind in their program or even force them to drop the program. They’re especially stressful when considering that weedout classes can often be the reason why students lose scholarships that keep them at UVM. UVM’s out-of-state tuition is $41,280, according to Student Financial Services’ website. And the majority of UVM students are out-of-state,

according to the University website. For many UVM academic scholarships, students must keep a certain GPA in order to receive their funding. Taking multiple weed-out classes can stress students even more who are on the border of losing their scholarships. For these students, passing the class is how they continue to afford UVM tuition. The most notable weedout course at UVM is general chemistry. This course spans two semesters, with Chem 31 and 32 being the for-majors option. Chemistry professor Erik Ruggles’ students created their

own slogan, “struggles with Ruggles.” Let me tell you, the struggles are real. I took general chemistry as a first-year, the norm for most STEM students, so I know how stressful the class is. I used to spend 72 hours minimum studying for the exams, missing out on social events in order to study. Despite countless hours of studying and practice, I still got 60% to 70% on the exams. This sounds like a bad score, and it is, but it was around average. Tests were not curved, but at the end of the semester, my final grade was about half a letter grade higher in the gradebook than it was averaged out. The system needs to be fixed. Weed-out classes are not the way to prove competence. Education’s purpose is not to create barriers for students to fight. If a class structure is built to fail students, it needs revision. That is why uvmbathrooms is right – weed-out classes are awful. Emily Johnston is a sophomore environmental science major. She has been writing for the Cynic since fall 2018.

OPINION

Don’t blame cattle for climate change Sophie Oehler soehler@uvm.edu

ecently, people have been cracking down on maintaining an eco-friendly lifestyle, as they should. We carry around trendy metal straws and use biodegradable silverware. We put stickers that say things like “Save the Bees” or “there is no Planet B” on our reusable water bottles. And recently, people have converted to vegetarianism to reduce their carbon footprint. The cattle industry is a large contributor to methane buildup in the ozone layer. The industry is one of the nation’s largest consumers of water, according to a 2018 study by the World Wildlife Fund. So it’s a good idea to switch diets, but it’s unlikely to save the world before it’s too late. First of all, becoming vegetarian or vegan is not always achievable for certain groups, namely the middle and lower classes. It’s no secret that fresh fruits and veggies aren’t cheap, and not everywhere is like Vermont with its seemingly endless farmer’s markets. Food deserts are areas without vendors of fresh fruit

NOAH ZHOU

and vegetables, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. They are common in southeastern and southwestern states, where poverty rates are high and income rates are low. People living in food deserts struggle to switch to fresh produce and meat alternatives

because there is nowhere to buy them and limited money to buy them with. Cows are not the only problem this world is facing, and they’re certainly not the biggest. As of 2017, agriculture caused 9% of national carbon emissions, based on a study by

the Environmental Protection Agency. Cows themselves create a little over 175 million metric tons of methane emissions. In terms of weight, that’s a little under 600,000 Boeing 747s. On the flip side, 29% of carbon emissions were caused by transportation, according to

“Modern problems require modern solutions.”

the same 2017 EPA study. Fifty-nine percent of these transportation emissions are due to light-duty passenger vehicles, according to the EPA’s Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks. In simpler terms, that’s your Jeep Wrangler. Fossil fuel combustion alone produced 4,912 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, according to the same study. If you took those Boeing jets, tripled their weight and then put them on four helicarriers, you’d be about half way there. The cattle industry does produce an excessive amount of methane gas, but in comparison to the fossil fuel industry, it’s just the tip of the iceberg. If it’s economically possible and if you’re willing to give up burgers, then go vegetarian. But consider making other changes as well. Look into alternative energy sources for your home. Shop at thrift stores and avoid contributing to commercial fashion companies. The clock is ticking. Put down your tofu burger and start shopping for a Prius.

Tori Scala is a sophomore business major. She has been writing for the Cynic since spring 2019.

By Cole Fekert Cynic Illustrator

CULTURE

OLLI lets older dogs learn new tricks Marjorie McWilliams mmcwilli@uvm.edu

When typical college students enroll in a class, an exam looms on the horizon. This is not the reality for some older adults who are committed to continuing to learn. The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UVM is a program for adults over the age of 50. It includes taking classes, going on trips and educational opportunities without exams or credit. OLLI has been implemented at 119 different universities and colleges in the nation, including UVM since 2010, according to OLLI’s website. Former professor Mark Kessler, age 78, taught psychology at UVM while also a member of OLLI. “I stumbled upon the announcement that OLLI was sponsoring a trip to Alaska,” he said. “That was my first encounter with OLLI. Since then I have taken a number of classes, and I have been on a number of other trips that OLLI has sponsored.” Kessler went on trips to New Orleans, Turkey and Cuba with OLLI and will be taking a trip to Croatia in the spring. Kessler took one summer photography class, a continuing education class, with undergraduate students. Despite his higher level of education, Kessler expressed the benefits of taking classes with younger, less experienced students. “I was very impressed with them, with their knowledge and outlook,” Kessler said. “I found that their vision and ideas were well informed, and I learned

STEPHAN TOLJAN/The Vermont Cynic

Postdoctoral associate Arash Ghalehgolabbehbahani identifies different parts of the saffron plant, Oct. 31. Judith Allard ‘69, who is holding the saffron, is one enrollee of UVM’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute program. from them as well as from the professor.” Cathi Codi-Hudson, OLLI’s director since 2014, said that continuing to learn has widespread gains. “Research has shown that participating in lifelong learning enhances brain health, provides opportunity for connecting socially with others and helps people stay active,” Hudson said. Gladwyn Leiman, a member of OLLI, has experienced the impact of social and mental stimulation through continued

education. Now retired, she used to be the director of cytopathology at UVM Medical Center. Leiman said she took an OLLI class in Mah Jongg, a Chinese tile game, early on in her retirement. “I am now an avid Mah Jongg player and enjoy the cerebral challenge of the game as much as the social aspects,” Leiman said. While most students take classes to fulfill the requirements for a specific degree, Kessler enjoys his

freedom from the traditional path as a member of OLLI. “I can pursue side tracks without feeling that I am sidetracked,” he said. “I have the time to learn about stuff that I missed learning earlier in my life.” OLLI Leadership Council member Patsie Jamieson, age 69, said the nature of learning changes as you progress through life. She hopes to gain intellectual stimulation by engaging in learning. “Now it is for personal enrichment,” she said.

Jamieson has taken a variety of classes with OLLI including Spanish, tango and Photoshop. She also volunteers at OLLI, bringing her talents to the table. “I teach cooking classes and lead tours to Quebec,” she said. Codi-Hudson said working with like-minded adults in a learning environment is satifying. “The most rewarding aspect of my role is hearing from our members about how OLLI has enriched their lives,” CodiHudon said.

Tracking the progression of the unpredictable Kanye Connor Adams cadams21@uvm.edu

anye West has always gone through phases, but his latest may just be his least creatively fruitful. In the past months, Kanye has found new meaning in his religion. However, his new album, “Jesus is King,” proves what we have always known about Kanye: that more than anything, he loves himself. Kanye has compared himself to Jesus in albums as early as “The College Dropout.” Songs like “Jesus Walks” personify a sense of holiness within Kanye that allows him to justify his usual antics. The timeline of Kanye has its own Christ-like journey. As the prophet of a new form of hip-hop in the early 2000s, Kanye solidified himself as a

generational artist. The golden age of Kanye was in full swing. However, Kanye let this get the best of him and started to fall off once his new ideas in albums, like “808s & Heartbreak,” weren’t as widely accepted. The criticism got to a point where it seemed his career was on its last legs, but he resurrected himself in 2010. Kanye’s raw energy defined his work over the recent past and seemed like a promising phase of new music with projects like “Kids See Ghosts.” Instead, with the release of “Jesus is King,” Kanye continues to be inconsistent. In “Jesus is King,” Kanye tries to prove that he has changed and is starting a new direction in his life, but he fails in convincing us. In songs like “God Is,” Kanye devotely confesses his love of God, but instead of coming across as a devout Christian, he just sounds like

his usual narcissistic self. This idea just comes across as comedic because nothing Kanye does in “Jesus is King” shows his supposed holiness. When a song like “Closed on Sunday” comes on, the listener can’t help but wonder how seriously Kanye is taking this endeavor when he compares God to the “no. 1 with the lemonade.’’ No matter how much Kanye’s ego pisses us off, sometimes we can’t help but love it. But with Kanye trying to veil his ego under some greater meaning, he fails to present any of the likability or raw emotion that he did in the past. “Jesus is King” gives us a look into a possible future, but as always, Kanye is completely unpredictable. Connor Adams is a firstyear English major. He has been writing for the Cynic since fall 2019.

JULIA BLISS

CULTURE

Hand-poked tattoos rise in popularity Kellyn Doerr kdoerr@uvm.edu

Dip, poke and repeat. Tons of people are going under the needle to get new ink, and it’s not in the traditional method of tattooing with a gun. The art has been practiced since before the 19th century, when electric tatooing was invented, according to a June 2015 Guardian article. Stick and poke is not just a new medium of body art. It’s a new way to start a business and meet new people in a different kind of social setting. Stick and poke tattooing involves dipping a needle in ink and manually stabbing the needle into the skin repeatedly until the design is complete. Sometimes, they have to be redone several times to last. Junior Garet Ewing prides themselves on being a stick and poke artist. They do various designs on themselves, friends and strangers. “I started seeing it as more of an art form the more I did it and the more designs I thought up,” Ewing said. “I started challenging myself and used my own body to test out designs and techniques. My ankles are little museums of random pokes.” Ewing started doing their own tattoos because they were cheaper than getting traditional gun tattoos. A box of sterilized needles goes for under $10 on Amazon. Ewing said they try to be professional when it comes to

BAILEY SAMBER/The Vermont Cynic

A heart and devil adorn the leg of junior Garet Ewing, Nov. 1. Ewing has 20 tattoos in total, and only three of them are not stick and pokes. working with clients and does their best to give them a design they’d be proud to have on their body for life. “I start by poking out the general form of the design, then go in and solidify the lines. It usually takes more than an hour, so we take breaks along the way,” Ewing said. Ewing is not a stranger to getting inked but has three professional, traditional tattoos. All the rest are at-home stick and poke.

A lighthouse from Clive Barker’s “Abarat” was poked into their arm by Ewing’s best friend before they left for college. “That’s my favorite,” Ewing said, pointing to it. Ewing prefers getting stick and pokes over traditional tattoos. While the cost is a plus, Ewing cherishes the ode to personalized design and the intimacy that goes into the art. “I prefer getting stick and pokes because I’m not that into

perfection or precision,” Ewing said. “I think it’s overrated. I like the sense of personality you get from a tattoo that someone has spent hours on poking each individual point.” There is a health risk that comes with getting stick and pokes, but Ewing said they make sure the tattoo environment is clean. “Making sure everything is clean and sterilized is hugely important and deﬁnitely attainable,” Ewing said. “Don’t

share needles or ink, and make sure the work area and skin is clean.” Cameron Rokhsar, associate clinical professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital, said illnesses, infections and communicable diseases usually only happen when the needle is unsanitary or the needle is being shared, according to a May 2017 Vice article. Senior Emily Patnaude has not been deterred from the possible health risks and has three stick and pokes: a tree and a mountain on her ﬁngers and a snowboard on her foot, all representing things she loves. Due to the slower process, Patnaude said stick and pokes are more painful than traditional tattoos. “I have two ‘real’ tattoos, and stick and pokes just take way longer,” Patnaude said. “[The] depth of the needle hurts more as well.” Senior Sid Callaghan said he started getting stick and pokes because they were free and easier to get on a whim. With six random designs on his legs, Callaghan got them all before his other tattoos. “I have a triangle on my wrist, a ﬁsh skeleton, a crying heart face, a keyhole, some words and a dagger,” Callaghan said. Either way, the new and exciting trend of at-home inking doesn’t seem to be fading anytime soon.

“Untitled Goose Game” beats all recent game releases Allie O’Connor aoconno8@uvm.edu

he months leading up to winter are some of the best when it comes to massive video game releases. Just take a look at the high proﬁle games that have hit the stands in recent weeks: “Borderlands 3,” “The Outer Worlds” and “Gears 5,” to name a few. However, one recently released game trumps the rest in its ability to leave players completely engrossed in the plot and charmed by its art style. You just happen to be playing as a goose in it. Released Sept. 20, “Untitled Goose Game” is a puzzle game that tells the tale of a goose’s comedic and disorderly romp through a quiet English town. Playing as the goose, your mission is to wreak havoc on the village, using only your beak, your honk and your own two wings. Am I about to argue that a game about the deeds of a chaotic and evil goose surpasses astronomically high-

budget games from critically acclaimed developers? Kinda, yeah. There are a lot of things that make this game so amazing. What is probably most notable is that every single mechanic acts not only as a way to progress in the game but for players to help set up and execute their own punchlines. Though the idea of messing around as a goose is in and of itself hilarious to me, the game’s humor comes from the sheer possibilities of what the player is allowed to do. It puts the responsibility for creating the kind of comedy players want to see into their own hands. Want to stealth around and steal from the villagers as covertly as a goose physically can? Awesome. Rather terrorize the town, untie shoelaces, break fences and get on TV? That works too. The game never forces jokes your way or has you sit through cut scenes that would do better as a late-night comedy set. Instead, players interact with the environment and the non-playable characters, the village’s residents, in order to work through their to-do list: a collection of pranks that

NOAH ZHOU

they are solely responsible for setting up, executing and escaping from. In a lot of other games with comedic elements, players are led by the hand and shown what they’re supposed to laugh at. And don’t get me wrong, these games can be funny and successful, but “Untitled Goose Game” lets players experience the comedy instead of just watching it from the sidelines. This sets it apart.

The majority of what’s funny about “Untitled Goose Game,” aside from the delightful soundtrack and the endearing art style, comes from what the player gets to make happen, and the multitude of different ways they can work through their list. I won’t lie and say I’m a puzzle game expert. I actually strongly hate puzzle games. I am impatient and only possess about three brain cells on a good day. But I do truly

love this game, puzzles and all. “Untitled Goose Game” doesn’t make the puzzles easier, but there are no frustrating failure screens. Everything you need to get to the answer is delivered via interactions with the villagers and the world around you. This makes the payoff of every joke and every solution to the items on your to-do list so, so satisfying. If I had to complain about anything, it would be the length. Clocking in at about ﬁve hours, the game is a pleasant little adventure. I was left wanting more. The game is so charming that I wish I could have experienced it for the ﬁrst time just a little longer. The manner in which “Untitled Goose Game” lets the player take the lead and explore the comedic possibilities of the world around them makes this silly and destructive avian romp one of my favorite games of the year.

Allie O’Connor is a junior public communication major. She has been Assistant Culture Editor since fall 2018

SPORTS

Day in the life of UVM’s Rally Cat

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Rally poses at a ﬁeld hockey game, Nov. 3. In addition to attending games, Rally also walks around campus on Fridays. Hayley Rosen hrosen@uvm.edu

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MADDY DEGELSMITH/The Vermont Cynic

Rally Cat attends a men’s hockey game, Nov. 30, 2018. Rally works during hockey games to pump up the crowd with cheers and dances.

An ordinary cat sleeps most of the day, but Rally Cat is far too busy for that. This past Friday, Nov. 1, Rally Cat had many duties to attend to, including a women’s field hockey game, a men’s ice hockey game and VCat Friday. One Rally Cat employee, who wishes to remain anonymous to keep the spirit alive, said VCat Fridays are an insane amount of fun to work at. “Every Friday, just walking around and seeing everybody and all of the cute little kids at the Living and Learning Center preschool as part of VCat Fridays is amazing,” he said. On this past VCat Friday, Rally was spotted giving out hugs in the lobby of Howe Library and walking along the Andrew Harris Commons as he moved towards the Davis Center. Getting ready for a shift as Rally takes a whole team and a lot of preparation, he said. “We check in with Nora King [UVM director of marketing and fan engagement], to figure out what we’re doing and determine what we will be giving away that day,” he said. Then he runs down to the secret Rally hiding cave and conquers the most challenging part of the day: putting on the suit. The suit has many clips to attach, and each employee also picks Rally’s outfit for the given event, he said. The main purpose of Rally’s presence is to engage fans, which is a fun, yet tiring job, he said. “It’s exhausting,” he said. “It’s really, really heavy in there, and it’s hot. I sit with fans or lean up against a fence and use that as a time to rest.” At Friday’s men’s hockey

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Rally kneels to greet a group of children, Sept. 13. The character “Rally” was created in the early 2000s to replace the previous mascots, Charlie and Kitty. game, Rally could be seen waving a UVM ﬂag, highﬁving fans and even throwing a frisbee down on the ice between periods. People tend to have different reactions to Rally’s presence. “Some college kids get very uncomfortable when they see him,” he said. “And with little kids there’s always one in every group that is just absolutely

terriﬁed.” However, a large part of the job is simply to make people happy. “There is a lot of freedom in what we do, and the main goal is just to show up and make people happy,” he said. “That’s my favorite part of being Rally.”

FEATURE

Students practice mindfulness in the beginning of class. This kind of meditation is practiced before the start of each class.

STEPHAN TOLJAN/The Vermont Cynic

Exploring the effectiveness of WE required course Chelsea Seabold cseabold@uvm.edu

Bleary-eyed students shuffled into a lecture hall, clutching coffee mugs and iClickers as they prepared for their first class of the day, Healthy Brains Healthy Bodies. According to the Wellness Environment’s page on the UVM website, all students living in WE are required to take Healthy Brains Healthy Bodies, a course that highlights the effects our environment can have on our mind. The class focuses on components of health such as exercise, music, substance misuse and sleep. First-year Alanis Papoulias, a WE resident, understands the importance of living in an substance-free environment, but said that students seem to view HBHB as a course with little value. “I don’t think there are very clear expectations for that class, and I don’t think a lot of people take it very seriously,” Papoulias said. Going into her first year this fall, substance-free living was a necessity for Papoulias. She has such severe asthma that she requires a nebulizer, a machine she uses to take asthma medication, to be by her bed at all times. “I just can’t be around weed or anything, at all, or vaping,” Papoulias said. “It will totally set me off.” Though WE provides Papoulias with the safe environment she needs, she lacks a feeling of engagement in the learning community’s required course. Jeff Rettew, associate director of WE, views HBHB as a sort of common ground

between students in Wellness. “It is the foundation on which the whole program is built,” Rettew said. “It builds community through this common experience. It gets everybody on the same page.” According to the HBHB fall 2019 syllabus, the three-credit class meets twice a week for an hour and 15 minutes. Daily iClicker questions are 25% of the student’s grade, attendance is 20%, various Wellness Plans are 35% and two exams are 30%. Sophomore Zoe Huish, who took HBHB last year, also said she experienced a lack of significance in the course. She attributes this to her professor’s lack of enthusiasm for the course. “The lecture material itself was interesting and intriguing,” she said. “It’s just the way it was presented, very monotone. It didn’t really seem like [our professor] wanted to be there or wanted to teach us. Seemed like he was like, ‘alright, let’s get this done as fast as I can.’” First-year Kevin McDermott, a student taking HBHB, also believes the effectiveness of the course is questionable. “I don’t feel like I’m retaining that much, just because it’s structured pretty weirdly,” McDermott said. “They don’t let you take notes or really do anything except sit there and listen. It’s tough to retain any knowledge.” Though attendance is mandatory, students are prohibited from taking notes in class, as lectures and assignments are posted online. Correct answers for two iClicker questions during class not only make up 25% of the student’s grade, but an additional 20%, as they also

dictate the attendance grade, according to the syllabus. Psychiatry professor William Copeland, who teaches an HBHB class, seems to be aware of the discrepancy between what he teaches and what students absorb. “I don’t necessarily expect kids to go away with a lot of information,” he said. “Sometimes, I feel like it can go way over people’s heads.” Despite Copeland’s perspective on what students may or may not retain, he sees the value in teaching students about decisions that could impact their collegiate paths. “We want to motivate kids to make choices in their lives that are positive,” Copeland said. “We don’t just want to say, ‘this is all good for you, this is bad for you and that’s that.’” Though some students may not feel compelled by HBHB’s subject matter or how it’s presented, Copeland and other instructors are dedicated to the course and what it stands for. McDermott has Jim Hudziak, director of WE, as his professor this semester. “He’s pretty passionate, and

STEPHAN TOLJAN/The Vermont Cynic

(TOP) (Left to Right): William Copeland, Andrew Rosenfeld and Jeffrey Rettew, sit on a couch in Central Campus Residence Hall, Nov. 1. Copeland and Rosenfeld both teach the Healthy Brains Healthy Bodies class, and Rettew is the associate director of the Wellness Environment. (BOTTOM) First-year students sit in Healthy Brains Healthy Bodies, Oct. 31. The class is required for all first semester first-year students in Wellness. like, that’s nice because it does keep you awake,” McDermott said. “I can’t imagine having a professor that didn’t care about what he was teaching.” With Rettew’s experience as the associate director, he said he values HBHB’s role in creating an environment conducive to studying. Fostering this academic culture through HBHB, combined with the substance-

free aspect of WE, may help create a space for students who need certain accommodations. Overall, Healthy Brains Healthy Bodies is a course with the potential to have great impact, but students seem to be unable to reach a verdict about the effectiveness of what is being taught.