THE VERMONT
CYNIC Dec. 4, 2018
vtcynic.com
Professor in Forbes
Get into the scene
A UVM assistant professor was selected to be featured in Forbes magazines notable 30 scientists under 30.
There’s a lot a student can do to get involved in the UVM or Burlington music scene, here are the first steps.
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UVM’s retention rate 3 / STEM funding 5 / Hockey 10
Head in the Clouds: An inside look at Juul use on campus
Sawyer Loftus swloftus@uvm.edu
The first time Zoe Silverman, a first-year, hit a Juul, she was 16. When it was offered to her, she didn’t think twice. Two years later, Silverman abandoned her own Juul before coming to UVM because it was a waste of money, she said. Students on UVM’s campus have mixed feelings over vaping, which has become a common sight. Nearly one in four firstyears has used an e-cigarette at one point, said Dr. Harry Chen, UVM’s chief public health officer. With more evidence showing the negative impacts of e-cigarette use, there is a potential public health crisis in the making, he said. Senior Martin Sakansong said that everyone he lives with uses a Juul, but he would rather just smoke a regular cigarette. “You can literally sit there ripping a pod all day, whereas with a cigarette it’s a few puffs and then it’s over,” Sakansong said. “Once I have my [cigarette] it’s like, ‘I had one like an hour or two ago, I don’t need another one.’” Junior Ana Sleeman said she agrees with Sakansong. She owns a Juul but would rather just smoke a cigarette. “I would rather smoke a cig-
Fast Facts Of an alcohol.edu survey of
1,062
UVM first-years,
arette, 100 percent,” she said. “You make the time to smoke a cigarette, you’re not just watching TV.” Junior Rosey Lambert said she only vapes in social settings, but thinks that it’s troubling that younger children are using e-cigarettes. “When I was a first-year in college, people in my brother’s high school — kids I used to babysit — had Juuls and they’re like 14. It’s nuts,” Lambert said. “It would be nuts if you were 13-years-old and starting to smoke cigarettes.” The Juul was created in 2007 to help smokers quit cigarettes, according to Juul’s website. Senior Eamon Callahan said that he uses his Juul to help him curb his nicotine addiction. Callahan said that he started using a Juul in June to stay off cigarettes, and so far it’s been a viable alternative. Tom Fontana, a drug and alcohol counselor at UVM, said he thinks there are some people, like Callahan, that use the Juul appropriately, but largely it’s being abused simply because of its availability. “I just don’t think it has been used that way,” Fontana said. “I don’t think they want to get kids hooked on this, but I do think, however, it benefits them, and it’s very hard for a company to care that much about it.” Fontana thinks that Juul
23.63 percent
had used e-cigarettes in the past two weeks
ALEK FLEURY and LILY SHARP/The Vermont Cynic
(Top) (Photo Illustration by Alek Fleury) One in four first-years has used an e-cigarette, said Dr. Harry Chen, UVM’s chief public health officer. Research shows that nicotine addiction negatively impacts attention and learning. (Bottom) (Lily Sharp) Juniors Nora Johnson and Ari Audy take hits from their Juuls. The Juul and other e-cigarettes’ ease of use make them attractive to many college students. and other e-cigarettes’ ease of use and portability make them attractive for many college students, he said. “If you’re a middle schooler, you can’t be busting out cigarettes that easily, but you can hit that Juul a lot of places. Same thing even in college,” Fontana said. “It’s not that easy to smoke all the time. We’re kind of pushing you off campus a little bit, but the Juul makes it all the easier.”
6.59 percent
had used cigarettes in the past two weeks
Although e-cigarettes have been around for some time, users are getting younger and younger, which may be related to the image and cultural rituals around Juuling, he said. “People with a cigarette are like, ‘fuck you, I’m smoking and it’s fucking cool,’” Fontana said. “What is the character of the Juuler? There is a character of the smoker, going back to James Dean leaning against the car.”
Despite this emerging identity around Juuling, the risks are very present for people in college, Chen said. More research is showing that nicotine addiction negatively impacts attention, learning and susceptibility to further addictive substances, he said. “That is a potential disaster,” Chen said. “I mean, in terms of how it’s affecting brains, how it’s increasing susceptibility to addictions later.”
21
18
Manufacturer’s recommended age for Juul use
Minimum legal age to buy tobacco and e-cigarettes in Vermont (7 V.S.A. § 1001)
NEWS
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The Vermont Cynic
Dec. 4, 2018
Canadian slavery lecture shares lost stories Lindsay Freed lafreed@uvm.edu
The Waterman Memorial Lounge was crowded Nov. 28 with students and faculty waiting to hear history professor Amani Whitfield speak about slavery in Canada. Whitfield’s lecture was part of the College of Arts and Science’s Full Professor Lecture Series, started in 2007 by thenCAS Dean Eleanor Miller to honor professors who were recently promoted from associate professor to full professor, CAS Dean Bill Falls said. Full professor is the highest academic rank at a university, save for special distinctions. “When you become a full professor it’s because you’re a nationally recognized scholar,” Falls said. “What better way to celebrate that achievement than by sharing their work with the community?” Whitfield’s research is focused on the experiences of black slaves in the Canadian Maritimes, he said. The Maritimes include the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island. His most recent project is a “biographical dictionary” of slaves in the Maritimes. The dictionary is meant to be a list
LINDSAY FREED/The Vermont Cynic
History professor Amani Whitfield speaks about slavery in Canada as part of the College of Arts and Science’s Full Professor Lecture Series Nov. 28 in the Waterman Memorial Lounge. of the names and short biographies of over 1,000 Canadian slaves he has come across in his research, Whitfield said. “It’s telling a short biographical story of each person, whatever I have about them,” Whitfield said. “Sometimes it’s a lot, but other times it’s really depressingly sad.” Whitfield highlighted one
Prof. scores 30 under 30 Zoe Stern zstern@uvm.edu
A UVM assistant professor in chemistry was selected to be featured on the 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 list for science. Michael Ruggiero was selected for his work in trying to understand how atoms move. “What I ended up being interested in is a different kind of motion, so maybe it’s two atoms moving [side to side] or two atoms moving [up and down] but then certain types of motions are very directly related to certain properties,” Ruggiero said. Ruggiero used this information to see how the structure and movement of atoms and molecules affects the properties of different materials. Ruggiero didn’t expect to be nominated for the award, he said. Forbes candidates are nominated by other people, but Ruggiero said he still doesn’t know who nominated him. “I got an email, sort of out of the blue, that I thought was spam, actually, saying that I was a finalist and someone nominated me,” Ruggiero said. Forbes is a business magazine that reports on entrepreneurship, finance, technology and politics. Every year, it creates a list of “600 trailblazers in 20 industries,” according to the Forbes 30 under 30 webpage. These industries include fields
like education, healthcare, media, sports and science. Other luminaries on the 30 under 30 science list this year include Ewin Tang, an 18-yearold Ph.D. student who developed an algorithm that can allow conventional computers to solve a particular problem as fast as a quantum computer, and Julie Bliss Mullen, the co-founder of a company that produces a device that uses electricity to purify and disinfect water. Junior Luke Burgess has been working alongside Ruggiero in his lab for the past year. The work Ruggiero was doing interested him and he’s glad he decided to work with him, he said. “He’s really down to earth and relaxed. It’s also a lot of fun because it’s a new lab starting up. There’s a lot of stuff in other labs that you wouldn’t have the opportunity to experience,” Burgess said. After watching Ruggiero’s research talk, graduate student Peter Banks, who also works with Ruggiero in the research lab, was blown away. After watching his talk, he instantly emailed Ruggiero asking when they could meet to discuss Banks joining Ruggiero’s team. “He’s passionate about [chemistry] and that shows, and then that only gets me more excited about work,” Banks said.
entry, which was labeled “unnamed child,” that only had a short description about their mother and date of when they were sold. Whitfield’s intention is to humanize the individual experiences of slaves, which tends to be looked at more on a broader, societal level, he said. “I’m trying to put the stories
of these individual slaves back in the study of slavery,” Whitfield said. Whitfield began looking at slavery and the black experience in the provinces of the Canadian Maritimes while attending graduate school at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. “I became more and more
interested in the place I was living and found that there were thousands of black migrants who had gone to Nova Scotia, who would have thought, between 1783 and 1820,” he said. Before Whitfield began his talk, he was introduced by history Professor Sean Field. Field described how he first met Whitfield when the history department was looking to fill full-time faculty positions in 2004, he said. Field said that hiring Whitfield is one of the best decisions the University has made. “You will look like nothing but a pale reflection of [Whitfield] after he has been in your classroom,” he said. Juniors Kaleigh Calvao, Jason Goldfarb and Nathan Raike went to Whitfield’s lecture because they are doing an independent study with him. “He took me under his wing,” Calvao said. “He’s just a great guy.” Goldfarb and Raike both said they enjoyed having the opportunity to see the kind of work that their professor is doing outside of class. “It’s cool to see what goes on behind the scenes,” Raike said. “It’s like a ‘Wizard of Oz’ moment.”
The Vermont Cynic
Dec. 4,, 2018
NEWS
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First-year retention rates fall behind Lee Hughes ehughes7@uvm.edu
UVM has fallen behind its comparative schools in retention rate of students. Comparative schools, like Boston University, outdo UVM by four to five percent, a trend driven by a need to better connect students with academic opportunities and lower levels of school spirit, said Alexander Yin, director of the Office of Institutional Research. “There’s a myth that when someone leaves the institution [the reason] is that they failed out, and truthfully that’s not the case here,” he said. If all students with a 3.0 GPA or higher stayed after their first fall semester, the retention rate would be 92 percent, and if all students with a 2.0 GPA or higher stayed, the rate would be 97 percent. The current retention rate is 86.6 percent between a class’s first and second fall semesters, Yin said. A new app, the Guide, is intended to address those issues by better connecting students academically and socially to campus, he said. Yin hopes that expanded learning communities will also help boost retention. Katie Stango, assistant director for campus programs, said that although UVM has strong participation in its clubs, it has a smaller amount of school spirit than other schools she has seen, particularly when compared to schools with very
PHIL CARRUTHERS/The Vermont Cynic
Students rush pass the Royall Tyler Theatre on their way to class. UVM has recently fallen behind other schools in relation to its retention rate, which is 86.6 percent, between a class’s first and second semesters. strong Division I sports programs. The University tries to reach out to uninvolved students to help connect them on campus, Stango said. For example, when she is helping select UVM Program Board members, she doesn't consider campus involvement and pushes members to recruit uninvolved students, she said. Another possibility is that there is declining enrollment from Vermonters, which could contribute to reduced school spirit, Stango said. Stango said she wonders if
the students that are leaving might be disproportionately from marginalized groups, but she is not aware of any data that would indicate whether or not that is accurate. Overall, UVM is doing well in retention, since retention rates around 80 are generally considered good, Stango said. “I know there is always room for improvement, especially with peer institutions, but nationwide [87 percent] is still a really strong retention rate,” she said. Sarah Plutnicki, who began at UVM in the fall of 2016 and
studied political science, said she transferred to Clark University for the proximity to her family, lower cost of living and a more personal academic environment. “UVM says it's a liberal arts college, but it puts so much more into STEM programs,” Plutnicki said. UVM’s goal is a 90 percent retention between students’ first and second fall semesters, since UVM’s comparative schools reach 91 to 92 percent retention, Yin said. “The trick in the game is how do you connect with the 13
percent without ruining the 87 percent that we’re doing well with?” Yin said. “I think we’re going well with the mass but we’re not doing well sometimes at the fringes.” The comparative schools set by the board of trustees are: College of William and Mary, SUNY Stony Brook, University of Binghamton, University of Colorado Boulder, University of Connecticut, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Boston College, Boston University, Syracuse University and George Washington University, he said.
Anonymous letter calls for more humanities funding Sawyer Loftus swloftus@uvm.edu
An anonymous email has been sent to UVM promising rallies and riots over funding for arts and humanities. Several pictures of an email were posted Nov. 29 on a popular UVM parents Facebook page. The message has been reportedly sent by a student on behalf of other students from the humanities, arts and language departments at UVM, according to the email. The email condemns UVM for incorrectly allocating funds to other departments in STEM fields and funding for a new $96 million multipurpose center, according to the email. The author demands new professors be hired to increase the availability of more courses that many need but are not being offered, the email stated. Specifically, the email cites a lack of Russian history professors which has caused the University to cut classes and put some Russian majors behind, the email stated. The Royall Tyler Theatre in-
dependently fundraised enough money to build a new theater but that the University “stole” the funds, the email stated. The email demanded that a new theater be built and is willing to discuss the demands with University administrators, the email stated. A student close to the writer or writers of the email said students are planning to meet with the assistant dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at some point this week. The student declined to provide their name fearing repercussion from University officials and parents in the UVM Facebook group, they said. In November 2017, UVM cut a dozen classes taught by assistant professors in the College of Arts and Science, according to a Nov. 18 Cynic article. In early 2018, the College of Arts and Sciences nearly eliminated 25 percent of all full-time, non-tenured faculty and 40 percent of part-time, non-tenured faculty, according to a Jan. 21 VTDigger article. David Rosowsky, provost and senior vice president of UVM, responded to criticism in
SAM LITRA/The Vermont Cynic
President Tom Sullivan and trustees convene at the board of trustees fall meeting Oct. 27. An anonymous email sent to UVM promises rallies and riots over the university’s lack of funding for arts and humanities.
a 2017 Cynic letter to the editor, stating he and President Tom Sullivan stand behind the humanities. “Recently, we have invested in a number of projects of direct benefit to the humanities including the Billings Library, the Taft School, Royall Tyler Theatre, Wheeler Barn and Southwick,” the letter stated. The University approved the building of a $100 million STEM facility in 2015, according to an April 2015 Cynic article. The building was the most expensive project ever approved by the UVM board of trustees, according to the article.
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OPINION
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Staff Editorial
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rowing up, we were all told not to smoke. It would make us wheeze, turn our lungs black, give us cancer. Cigarettes were a relic of the past. Now, few of us can be caught flicking a lighter during a smoke break. We’re puffing away discreetly: Juuling. Look around on campus and you’ll see it — in the library, outside the Davis Center, in a bathroom. Nobody pressures you to vape in college; it’s your choice. The intended clients of Juul have every right to use it. It’s assumed adults know the health risks and willingly take them. We can all agree Juuling is not healthy. But neither is drinking or smoking weed. The uproar is unwarranted when directed at adult users. Vaping is not going away. Right now, the research is inconclusive about how harmful this habit is, aside from the nicotine content (one Juul pod is the equivalent of twenty cigarettes). A Nov. 13 Men’s Health article stated there is not enough research to know what the consequences of Juuling are. “Researchers have lingering questions about the long-term effects that using e-cigarettes has,” it stated. Ask anyone, and if they don’t Juul, they know someone
Photo Alek Fleury photo@vtcynic.com Assistant Editors Henry Mitchell (Opinion), Allie O’Connor (Culture), David Cabrera (Podcasts), Nickie Morris (Sports), Sawyer Loftus (News), Lee Hughes (News), Kian Deshler (Features), Caroline McCune (Layout), Sam Litra (Photo), Liv Marshall (Copy) Copy Editors Mariel Wamsley, Dalton Doyle, Elise Becker, Fallon Clark, Tori Wilson Page Designers Lindsay Freed, Kira Bellis, Stephanie Hodel, Meilena Sanchez
ADVISING Faculty Adviser Chris Evans crevans@uvm.edu
cus of memes, Facebook exchanges and jokes. The incorporation of Juuling in internet culture makes it seem less harmful and widely accepted. What seems like an ironic fad is becoming the defining vice of our culture and generation. And it’s getting us all hooked, whether we reach for the vape in a moment of stress or take a few puffs at a party.
Gabby Lescadre glescadr@uvm. edu
Social Media Peter Hibbeler socialcyniceditor@gmail.com
Layout Kyra Chevalier layout@vtcynic.com
who does. That includes middle and high schoolers. These students are more susceptible to trends and peer pressure, and more likely to be attracted to Juul flavors like creme brulee. It makes sense that they’re hooked. But when we pick up the Juul, it’s a calculated decision, to quit smoking cigarettes or because you crave nicotine. It’s popular, but also the fo-
Staff editorials officially reflect the views of the Vermont Cynic. 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.
Take the rose-colored glasses off the 1950s
Web Connor Allan web@vtcynic.com
Illustrations Holly Coughlan illustrations@vtcynic.com
LILLY SHARP/The Vermont Cynic
Ari Audy uses her customized juul, covered in pineapples. The design of the Juul is very attractive to younger users and the small, almost invisible cloud allows it to be used more discretely.
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h, young love. I often hear people complain that they were “born in the wrong generation” and long for something more than our “swipe left, swipe right culture.” The truth is that in 2018, romance is better than ever. If you look closely, movies like “Grease” paint a pretty picture of romance with their lovey-dovey drive-in dates, prolonged summer flings and songs of hopeless devotion. Be careful what you wish for if you think you’d be better suited for an old-fashioned romance. In 2018, American women are more liberated than ever. Therefore, the implications of love and romance have been adjusted and updated; the sweet and chivalrous ’50s way is outdated, not timeless. The percentage of women who attend college rose from 5 percent to 35 percent from 1950 to 2017, according to a December 2017 article by Sta-
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tistica. This is accompanied by a 17 percent workforce increase from 29 percent to 46, according to a 2000 study by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and an increase in average age of marriage from 20 to 28 years old, according to a 2018 article by the Spruce. Women now aspire to more than what good old-fashioned love had to offer. Without the social obligation of marriage and the sacrifices that respectively came with being someone’s wife, being particularly smitten with someone no longer means sacrificing your own autonomy,
education and other opportunities. Let’s be real, romance is so much better, especially when it doesn’t confine you to a kitchen. The sexual liberation of women has been increasing since the last century. The first oral contraceptive pill was introduced in the 1960s, went through legalization in the 1970s, and now there’s a myriad of accessible options available to choose from. Today, sexual freedom in the U.S. is at an all-time high. Ninety-nine percent of sexually active women today have
reported using some form of birth control, compared to virtually zero percent 60 years prior, according to a 2018 Guttmacher article. One of the best parts about love in 2018 is its inclusivity. Romanticizing the past would also be romanticizing a time with laws against who you could marry. If we were to idealize our old-fashioned ways, we would be forgetting so much about what love in the U.S. actually looks like. Since its legalization in 1967, interracial newlyweds have increased by 17 percent in 2015 according to a 2017 report by NPR, and since the Supreme Court decision for Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015, 10.2 percent of LGBT adults have chosen to marry their partner, according to a 2017 Gallup poll. We are in an age where the genders, races, socioeconomics, etc. that constitute relationships are more diverse than ever before. And that is the age of love. Gabby Lescadre is a sophomore political science major. She has been writing for the Cynic since fall 2018.
The Vermont Cynic
Dec. 4, 2018
OPINION
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Passion is the key to true success Jackson Schilling jschill1@uvm.edu
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common myth at college is that the only way to get a highpaying job is by majoring in a STEM field. In reality, students who dedicate themselves to their passion will be happier overall with their career than those pursuing STEM exclusively for a high-paying job. I know from my own studies that science classes require a lot of hard work. The only way for a student to push themselves through this hard work is to have an intrinsic interest in the material. Students who go for STEM and don’t feel passionate about it will likely not do well. If they do manage to get through their degree, they will be in a career that they don’t enjoy. It’s hard to blame students for choosing potential financial security over their passion. We’re all
aware that the job market is getting more competitive. A bachelor’s degree no longer holds the same value it used to. However, the idea that a STEM major somehow protects you from that is false. Unemployment is a problem no matter what your major is. According to Georgetown University, humanities and STEM majors face similar statistics for unemployment. Georgetown life and
physical science graduates have 7.7 percent unemployment, while humanities and liberal arts majors have 9.4 percent unemployment. Students in liberal arts and humanities majors may feel like outcasts as UVM makes changes to prioritize STEM. UVM seems to be shifting toward a STEM-based university, with the recent construction of Discovery Hall and cutbacks on liberal arts courses.
It’s fairly common for universities to specialize in certain subjects. However, UVM has the responsibility as a state school to accommodate the interests of as many students, especially in-state students, as it can. The three most popular UVM majors are business, environmental studies and psychology,
according to the University’s website. Psychology is the only course of study that could be considered part of a STEM field. When UVM cuts courses from disciplines that aren’t STEM, they are hurting a large portion of students. According to UVM’s website, in-state students made up 31 percent of the undergraduate student body in 2017. Many of these students chose to attend UVM because it’s the most affordable option for them. As their state school, UVM should represent them more accurately. More importantly, students should choose a major based on what they are interested in, rather than what they believe will get them a highpaying job, for the best chances of success. Jackson Schilling is a sophomore environmental science major. He has been writing for the Cynic since fall 2018.
SOPHIE SPENCER
Private donors due to lack of public funding Letter to the Editor
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have just now gotten around to catching up on my Cynic volumes. One article in particular that I am having trouble processing is “Public School, Private Donors.” Before I begin, I want to acknowledge my bias being in the Grossman School of Business and the recent private funding given to the business program in the last four years. However, also being in the College of Arts and Sciences as a music minor, I have observed the two very different colleges on campus. You also touched on the amount of funding given to the University and that the majority of that is private donors, such as the multipurpose center and Cohen Hall. One thing that disappoints me about this article is the lack of information given. As the title of the article is “Public University, Private
Donors,” you only touch on the private funding. You don’t say anything about the public funding that UVM receives from the Vermont state government. One key statistic that I think is essential that was missed in this article was that according to the 2016 budget (the most recent) only 7 percent of the total University operating budget came from the state of Vermont. Vermont is ranked No. 47 out of all 50 states for their contribution (or lack thereof) to their state university. A university is considered public whether the state government contributes 1 percent of the total budget or 100 percent. With Vermont being considered a “public” university, it is more of a private university due to the fact that 93 percent of the operating budget needs to come from other sources, such as increasing tuitions, donors and changes in investment
HOLLY COUGHLAN
portfolios. As future alumni, one thing that we can do is advocate for the future students and give back for our education. Even if it’s $50 per year, $50 per year with a graduation class of roughly 2,500 students each year is an extra $125,000 that the University will get to make improvements to arts that they don’t currently have,
nor receive from the Vermont state government. It’s time to look to the future instead of looking to the present, because there’s nothing we can do to change it. If you have a passion for advocating, join SGA or go work for the UVM Foundation and encourage past alumni to donate for current students. Thank you for allowing me
to express my opinion. Sincerely, Emily T. Wascura She/Her/Hers University of Vermont ’19 Grossman School of Business ewascura@uvm.edu
OPINION
The Vermont Cynic
JULIA BLISS
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Dude, where’s my Juul? Olivia Stafford ohstaffo@uvm. edu
T Henry’s final exams guide Henry Mitchell hdmitche@uvm. edu
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his has been a year of change and hope, where we finally learned to take matters into our own hands through sheer effort and dedication. So you’re all set for finals week and totally don’t need my assistance. Ah shucks, who am I kidding … I’ll help you out again. 1: Extortion. Professors have mutated over the past few years and are now more resistant to sympathy-based attacks such as pity and guilt. Gone are the days when you could just start bawling over your poor grade in your professor’s office, which would result in an automatic A for effort. Take control of your life by reminding them about their biannual evaluations and Rate My Professor scores. As a college student, you have about as much power as a depleted battery. Making use of the few advantages you have is the only way to hold professors accountable. Besides, receiving gleaming course evaluations makes the small price of lenient grading
seem definitely worth it. 2: Asking your parents for help. I’m not saying that you spend all your time at college having fun and forgetting about your family back home, but there’s certainly no harm in checking in every once in a while. When you have a paper due for an easy course, going over it with your parents isn’t really a big deal. In fact, they might as well go over all your papers. However, doing it together takes too long and could create conflict. I suggest that they put in the relevant information in neat and structured writing with documentation and all, then you touch it up with your name and submit it. Perfect. What great family bonding time.
3: Joining the Wellness Environment. As they say, “a healthy mind is a healthy body.” Or something like that, I’m sure one of their posters must’ve said it. At UVM, we have extremely well-funded learning communities that could surely accommodate our entire student population and show us the way toward healthy living. In fact, we should just expand the Wellness Environment to the rest of UVM to ensure that we all live up to our full potential as
human beings. Our monolith, which is a uniform and indivisible social structure, will triumph over finals week like no college ever has, receiving the highest grades known to all mankind. At the University of Vellness M-vironment.
4: Unlocking your hidden potential. If all else fails, then surely it can no longer be your fault, but rather a larger force holding you back. Some force that allows some students to roam free with a 4.0 GPA while others suffocate under their shameful 2.0s. Clearly this is because some students have thoughtfully purchased healing stones. I understand that many might be unwilling to spend what little money they have on fancy pebbles, but sacrifices must be made for the life-changing powers of tourmalinated quartz! Unlike studying, which relies on searching through untrustworthy external sources for answers, healing stones are great because they work all by themselves and let the answers come to you. With all these amazing tips, I’m sure you’ll rock your exams. Henry Mitchell is a sophomore political science major. He has been writing for the Cynic since fall 2018..
Dec 4, 2018
he company Juul was created to help people quit smoking cigarettes, but the product has become a dangerous trend. While the Food and Drug Administration has begun cracking down on this issue by banning flavors kids enjoy, more action needs to be taken to educate kids about the risks of Juul. According to a November 2018 fact sheet by Tobacco-Free Kids, e-cigarette use has increased significantly, to 78 percent among high school students and 48 percent among middle school students in the past year. Eighty-one percent of kids say they use Juul because they like the flavor. Unfortunately, since kids have already begun to use the product, they may unknowingly be addicted to nicotine. According to an April 2018 article by the Truth Initiative, 63 percent of Juul users don’t know there is nicotine in the device, making them unaware of the danger. An April 2018 article by the American Academy of Pediactrics stated that the concentration of nicotine in Juul is twice the amount of other e-cigarettes. Those high levels put youth at a greater risk for addiction and make them more likely to use tobacco cigarettes. It’s no surprise that fruity flavors attract kids. The discreet look of the Juul also makes it easy for kids to vape in any place. Since e-cigarettes
produce vapor, there is no smell. This lets kids vape in school and at home without getting caught. Similar to the big tobacco companies, e-cigarette companies target young people with advertisements. Juul has deleted all social media pages besides Twitter in an effort to stop promoting to youth, but much of the promotion is not from the company itself. From tweets to memes, accounts are bringing a sense of “coolness” to using the product while ignoring the risks for young people. Our country has battled youth tobacco use for decades, but the invention of e-cigarettes, particularly Juul, has created a new battle. While there is general knowledge among kids about cigarettes being bad, there isn’t the same level of judgment surrounding e-cigarettes. The U.S. fought to lower cigarette use among kids, and the same needs to be done with e-cigarettes.
Olivia Stafford is a sophomore public communication major. She has been writing for the Cynic since fall 2018.
REESE GREEN
The Vermont Cynic
CULTURE
Dec. 4, 2018
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Breaking into the scene A guide to getting started in music Allie O’Connor aoconno8@uvm. edu
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here’s so much a student can do to get involved in the music scene at UVM and in Burlington that it might be intimidating for those who don’t quite know where to begin. While the campus is well known for fostering a creative environment, getting started in the music scene isn’t always easy. Here are several programs and individuals who want to help current and future Catamount artists find their musical foothold.
INDEPENDENT STUDENT MUSICIANS Junior Lili Traviato, who writes and produces music under the name Princess Nostalgia, said the best part of being a musician in Burlington and at UVM is that the music community is welcoming and not too difficult to get involved in. “The worst part is that being a female producer in a music scene dominated by men means dealing with a lot of bullshit,” Traviato said. “Men assume that I don’t produce my own stuff or try to downplay the amount of work that goes into my music.” She recommends that students who are looking to get into music in Burlington start by putting themselves out there. “I started performing at open mics and as a result got connected with people who started booking gigs with me,” Traviato said. She said networking is crucial on the path to musical success. “If you perform regularly, you’ll start to form relationships with local booking agents, reporters and fellow musicians,” Traviato said. Drew Steinberg ’18, former manager of and guitar player in the student band Jeddy agreed that new musicians should play as often as they can. “Play downtown, play in a dorm room, play in a basement,” he said. Because Jeddy kept putting itself out there, the band quickly became successful, Steinberg said. The band became a business, and the group moved beyond Burlington bars, to venues in New York, Massachusetts and Maine.
“It’s hard being a student musician, so it’s important to ask yourself, ‘do you want to do this?’” Steinberg said. “Jeddy’s answer was always, ‘yes.’ That’s what pushed us to go to class and get our work done so that we could practice.”
PEP BAND First-year students who are missing their high school bands should check out the UVM Pep Band. It might be the perfect replacement. Junior Will Wuttke joined the band as a drummer after being introduced to it by a floormate his first year. “He told me to just try coming to a rehearsal, and I fell in love right away,” Wuttke said. Wuttke’s favorite things about pep band are the people and that the noncompetitive nature of the group, which makes playing more fun, he said. “The hardest part is just the amount of music we play. Our song selection is massive,” Wuttke said. “I’m in my third year and sometimes we’ll play a song in a game that I’ve never practiced before, which can be scary, but also kind of fun.” To join, Wuttke suggests dropping into a rehearsal 8 p.m. on Wednesday at Gutterson Fieldhouse.
MUSIC COURSES Several introductory music classes are available to students who want to start playing an instrument but want a little guidance first or are already playing an instrument and want some one-on-one help. MUL 022 and 023 offer private lessons for several different instruments like piano, cello, flute, bassoon and more. MU 021 consists of guitar and piano group lessons available to beginner-level students regardless of major. “MU 021 is a class of about 12 to 15 students and is designed for those who have never played or have very little experience,” said Joseph Capps, lecturer and professional jazz guitarist. Only music majors and minors have access to eight private practice rooms, according to the department’s web page. Breaking into the local music scene is difficult, but doable with hard work. Allie O’Connor is a sophomore English major. She has been the Assistant Culture Editor since September 2018.
LILLY SHARP and DOMINIC PORTELLI/The Vermont Cynic
TOP: (Lilly Sharp) Junior Ben Schnier drums in the amphitheater at last year’s Furious Festival April 21. BOTTOM: (Dominic Portelli) First-year Charles Guglielmo hosts his radio show Dec. 2 in the WRUV radio station. WRUV FM Burlington provides students with an eclectic mix of genres of music while also providing students with technical training and opportunities to broadcast.
CULTURE
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The Vermont Cynic
Dec. 4, 2018
Listen to learn: Why we should all appreciate multilingual pop music
Sarah Robinson srobin14@uvm.edu
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he use of Spanish in American music has, until recently, only appeared sparingly in music’s top charts. This is despite there being 40.5 million Spanish speakers in the U.S, according to a March 2018 CNN article. Cardi B’s song “I Like It” featuring Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny and Colombian artist J Balvin made history, as Cardi B became the first female rapper to have two songs reach Billboard’s coveted No. 1 spot on the charts, according to Billboard’s website. This is an even more significant triumph because most of the lyrics are Spanish, and even those who don’t speak the language love the song. DJ Snake’s song “Taki Taki” features Cardi B, Puerto Rican singer Ozuna and Selena Gomez. As of Nov. 26, it holds the No. 2 spot on Shazam’s Global Top 100 chart and is mostly
of the two languages together demonstrates that music is being made as accessible as possible. We don’t listen to classical music because we can identify every note and instrument in the composition; we listen because it’s pleasing to us. I think that music in any language is ultimately enriching no matter if the listener speaks that language or not. Listen to music performed in any other language even if you don’t speak it. Listen to learn. Do this so that you can fight back against the racists who tell others to speak English in the supermarket because “this is America.” Yes, this is America, and millions of people who live here speak Spanish. What is most important is that the U.S. is moving toward a sonic experience that is representative of our diverse country, and I hope things only progress in this direction.
LILI TRAVIATO
sung in Spanish. Bad Bunny’s “MIA” features Canadian artist Drake singing in Spanish and is in the top 20 on Shazam’s United States Top 100 chart. The cultural importance of this emergence of the Spanish language in mainstream music can’t be understated. I am thrilled to see this becoming mainstream. I am a Spanish major and found a love of the Spanish language early in high school. Since then, I have sought out music sung or performed in Spanish not only because I could understand the words, but because the language itself is overwhelmingly beautiful. The trend of Spanish language in American music is not completely new. The sample track of Cardi B’s “I Like It” that recurs throughout the song is “I Like It Like That,” originally by the Latin-Bronx boogaloo musician Pete Rodriguez, popular in the 1960s. It’s not just the exposure to the Spanish language to an English-speaking majority that is important, pero el uso de los dos idiomas juntos, but the use
Sarah Robinson is a sophomore English and Spanish major. She has been writing for the Cynic since spring 2018.
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The Vermont Cynic
Dec. 4, 2018
FEATURE
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The compassionate creator The colorful life of music professor David Feurzeig Kian Deshler kdeshler@uvm.edu
Activism may be written in some individuals’ DNA. UVM music professor David Feurzeig will be the first to tell you that trying to trace his recent political protest participation would be reaching for a lineage that may not actually exist. “This is going to make it sound like there was this whole theme in my life of political activism, which is not really true,” Feurzeig said, chuckling at his own ambivalence. Intention and compassion are what led him to the July 28 protest in front of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Williston, after which he was arrested, he said. “It seems to me that compassion is the connecting thread between trying to be a good teacher, a communicative composer and performer and an engaged citizen,” he said. The Vermont Judiciary announced last month that the trial for the 14 protestors who stood outside the ICE building will be held Jan. 15, according to a Nov. 19 VTDigger article. Feurzeig faces 60 days in prison and/or $500 in fines. Feurzeig studied music at Harvard University and Cornell University after a nudge from his parents to take piano lessons as a kid. “I would goon around on the piano, and my parents said, ‘do you want lessons?’ and I would say, ‘no’. After I’d been playing for a year they asked, ‘do you
want lessons?’ and I said, ‘no,’” Feurzeig said. “They said I was going to take lessons anyway.” Feurzeig’s musical childhood was also colored by his father being arrested at a protest in Massachusetts. “I have this vivid memory when I was five, right about 1970, we lived in Lexington, [Massachussetts], which is among other things where the first battle of the Revolutionary War was,” he said. Feurzeig describes a protest that veterans put on after being told by the town that they couldn’t demonstrate.
“They decided to do it anyway. My dad was technically a veteran and he joined [the protest], and because they didn’t have a permit everybody was arrested,” he said. “This was a big deal in our lives, our dad in jail overnight.” During his time at Harvard and Cornell, Feurzeig studied around talented musicians and dreamt up intentions of continuing his creative development as a musician. “My intention was to, you know, be a musical hermit, to write music, go to some major urban center and maybe have a new music group and just be in my music cave doing my music thing and not worry about having a steady job and scrapping it, and being a bohemian, that’s what I imagined,” he said. Annelies McVoy, Feurzeig’s girlfriend at the time and now his wife, got pregnant and the creative hermit dream was redirected West. The necessity of health insurance and a steady income led Feurzeig to a teaching position at a Centre University in small-town Kentucky. Three kids later and a move north of the Mason Dixon line, Feurzeig and his family uprooted and moved to central Illinois, where he taught for 10 years. Eventually, Feurzeig accepted a teaching job at UVM. Having kids redirected some of Feurzeig’s creative energy, but his kids were invaluable in his growth as an individual and a professor, he said. Feurzeig and his wife homeschooled their children while
Feurzeig was navigating the most effective ways to teach students. “Professors I had, even a lot of the good ones, weren’t necessarily compassionate or kind. They were these characters that we admired and they could do anything,” he said. “They could get away with anything and we would think they’re brilliant.” His initial competitive nature tapered off as Feurzeig began to teach students differently. “It seems like it takes a long time to figure out what to do,” he said. “Unlike public school teachers, people who teach college, for the most part, aren’t trained to teach. Like, you train these English grad students to read James Joyce and write critically about gender issues and French simplist poetry, and they say okay, now you have to teach undergraduates.” He continues to revise his courses, consistently encouraging his students. Feurzeig admits compassion isn’t easy, but can be learned. He said his kids were instrumental in teaching him compassion. “I would be trying to be a decent dad and teach them stuff. It was not so much about me showing off, it was like I just want my kids to have fun and learn stuff, so that helped me to become more fun, more compassionate,” he said. It would be easy to say his father’s arrest, the not-so-compassionate professors and the act of homeschooling kids all led him to Williston July 28,
CAROLINE SLACK/The Vermont Cynic
TOP: UVM music professor David Feurzeig was arrested while blocking the road in front of the Immigration and Custom Enforcement building in Williston July 28. Feurzeig faces a potential 60 days in prison and/or $500 in fines at his trial in January. MIDDLE: Professor Feurzig scribbles down some notes after playing them on the piano. BOTTOM: Professor Feurzig plays the piano in his office. As an undergraduate, Feurzig studied music at Harvard University and Cornell University.
but Feurzeig would say otherwise. He accounts his most recent activism to stability. He has tenure, his children are older and he can afford to be dragged to the courthouse once a month, he said. “It’s a matter of inconvenience. I can afford a little inconvenience,” he said. Whether it be his new piece, titled “Lingua Franca” (available on Spotify), about the sometimes sharp variations of language interpretation, his activism, his teaching or his composing, what becomes clear while talking with Feurzeig is his thoughtfulness. He deeply cares about music, his students, and thinks deeply enough to acknowledge his relative personal security as a form of leverage.
SPORTS
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The Vermont Cynic
Dec. 4, 2018
Women’s hockey meets assist record Ashley Miller amille68@uvm.edu
The UVM women’s ice hockey team beat University of Maine 3-2 at Gutterson Fieldhouse Dec. 1. Vermont had a double header against the University of Maine, losing the Nov. 30 game 2-1 and later redeeming themselves Dec. 1 by beating Maine 3-2. Head coach Jim Plumer said the Catamounts out-played Maine Nov. 30, but fell short when it came to hitting the net. “I believe that Maine knows we performed better last night,” he said. “That’s why they came out so strong and inspired in today’s first period.” The Dec. 1 game began with a winning face-off for Vermont. The Catamounts sustained this momentum by keeping Maine out of their defensive zone. The two teams received penalties within the first seven minutes of the period, but neither team was able to take these advantages to score. Sophomore forward Olivia Kilberg was able to put one in the net for Vermont with four minutes left in the first period. “The girls are definitely forechecking more than I’ve seen in past games,” Anna Holmes, sophomore forward Alyssa Holmes’ mother, said. “They’re going to the net and it’s working.” Maine returned to the ice with heightened energy and then scored to tie up the game within the same minute as Vermont’s goal. In the next period, the Catamounts kept control of the puck and shot more than the Bears. “In the second period we
PHIL CARRUTHERS/The Vermont Cynic
The UVM women’s hockey team celebrates a goal in the win against the University of Maine. The teams met twice this week with Maine winning the first game and UVM winning the second. stepped up and took over the game,” Plumer said. “We had the puck in their zone for a substantial amount of time.” Senior forward Saana Valkama scored at the 13 minute mark with an assist from junior forward Kristina Shanahan. However, Maine again matched Vermont with a goal in the same minute. As the second period wound down, both teams were becoming increasingly aggressive towards gaining possession of the puck.
“There’s definitely a lot of aggressive play for the puck,” Holmes said. “It’s the way that they should be playing.” At the end of the second period, first-year defender Maude Poulin-Labelle scored for the Catamounts. Shanahan delved off of the pass to Poulin-Labelle, resulting in her third assist of the game. Shanahan is the first Catamount to accomplish this record, since Taylor Willard in February 2018, according to UVM athletics.
“It feels good to be recognized, but everyone on the team contributed to our success,” Shanahan said. The third period continued this aggression, consisting of many turnovers in possesion. Vermont received two penalties towards the end of the period, resulting in a two player advantage for Maine. The Catamounts defense, as well as senior goalie Melissa Black, fended off the Bear’s numerous scoring attempts. Vermont came into the Dec.
1 game with a 3-9-4 record, according to UVM athletics. The majority of their losses report close scores within one or two goals differences, according to UVM athletics. “It feels really good to win today,” Shanahan said. “We’ve been working hard all season and it great to breakthrough our string of close-fought games and get a win.” The Catamounts’ will play their next two games 6 p.m. Dec. 7 and 3 p.m. Dec. 8 at Yale University.
Two men’s hockey games exceed regulation minutes Stephan Toljan stoljan@uvm.edu
The UVM men’s hockey team played the University of Maine Dec. 1, and the game went into overtime for the second night in a row. This game came after a defeat Nov. 30, with Maine winning 2-1 in overtime. In the Dec. 1 game, neither team scored during the five minute overtime period, so the game ended in a 3-3 tie. Maine took control of the puck first. UVM quickly regained control, leading a charge to the net that resulted in two shot attempts. Two minutes into the game, junior goalie Stefanos Lekkas had already stopped a goal attempt. UVM’s first power play came eight minutes into the first period, but didn’t result in a goal. By the end of the first period, UVM led in shot attempts with 13 to Maine’s 10, and the
score remained 0-0. Senior forward Liam Coughlin started the second period by putting a shot into the back of the net, making the score 1-0. Lekkas kept the score 1-0, after he saved an on-target shot. Maine answered UVM’s goal with one of their own, tying the game at 1-1. Later in the second period, sophomore forward Ace Cowans was penalized for tripping, giving Maine their second power play. Maine was unable to capitalize on this scoring opportunity, and the game stayed tied. UVM was also granted their second power play, but were also unable to convert the opportunity into a goal. The end of the second period was marked by three backto-back saves by Lekkas. Junior forward Derek Lodermeier was also penalized for hooking. Both teams entered the third period with one goal apiece, bringing the score to 2-2.
MADDY DEGELSMITH/The Vermont Cynic
UVM senior Connor O’Neil bodies University of Maine sophomore Sam Becker. The two teams tied Dec. 1, 3-3. A scoring drive four minutes into the third period had fans on their feet, as the action on the ice nearly resulted in a goal for UVM. Vermont fans were silent halfway through the period, as Maine beat Lekkas and made the score 2-1 Maine.
This silence didn’t last, as first-year forward Joey Cipollone scored 30 seconds later, tying the game again 2-2. Cipollone said that he couldn’t have made the shot without his teammates’ help. “I was in the right place at the right time,” he said.
The 90-second scoring ended when Maine answered Cipollone’s goal, bringing the score to 3-2. The next goal was scored by sophomore forward Max Kaufman, tying the game 3-3. Kaufman said after the game he felt he had a good offensive game and was also happy with the team’s performance. “I think we played most of the game we wanted to,” he said. “That’s the effort we want, that’s the resilience we want.” The third period ended with a 3-3 tie, making it the second game in a row that UVM would see overtime minutes. Following the game, head coach Kevin Sneddon said that he wasn’t displeased with his team’s performance. “The only thing I didn’t like is that we left some stuff out to dry,” he said. “On the flip side … I liked the mentality of our team on the bench.” The Catamounts’ next game is Dec. 7 at Colorado College.
The Vermont Cynic
Dec. 4, 2018
AD
11
SPORTS
12
The Vermont Cynic
Dec. 4, 2018
First-year surpasses rebound record Nickie Morris nrmorris@uvm.edu
Before a small crowd Nov. 28, the Tom Brennan Court glistened with the determination of two basketball teams. The UVM women’s basketball team lost to the College of the Holy Cross 65-40, which gave UVM a 3-4 record, according to UVM athletics. This was the Catamounts’ seventh non-conference game of the year, as Holy Cross traveled from the Patriot League to play UVM, a member of the America East Conference. Head coach Alisa Kresge paced the side of the court during the game, instructing the team on plays during the game and emphasized the benefits of playing teams outside the conference. “Non-conference is about trying to get teams that are going to challenge us and pick us apart so we know what we need to do better,” Kresge said. The game began with a quick 8-0 lead by Holy Cross caused by repeated missed shots by UVM. Slowly, UVM tried to catch up at the end of the period, but couldn’t as the period closed 12-7. In the second period, the Catamounts scored 11 more points because of an early charge by senior forward Candice Wright, who scored five points in the first two minutes. This still was not enough, as Holy Cross went into halftime with a 31-18 lead. UVM came within six points after halftime because of an early charge fueled by senior
Courtesy of UVM Athletics
Junior Hanna Crymble pushes up against a defender to get to the basket in a game against the College of the Holy Cross Nov. 28. UVM lost the game 65-40. forward Hanna Crymble. “We were playing solid defense after halftime but just weren’t hitting our shots,” Crymble said. “Shots will fall, but you just have to stay confident in your practice.” First-year guard Rose Caverly had a team-high 10 rebounds, which was also a new career-high for herself, according to UVM athletics. Crymble scored 15 points
during the game. She has scored 86 points total in the last four games, including a season high of 30 points during the Nov. 18 game against the University of Rhode Island, according to UVM athletics. Holy Cross scored the first 14 points in the fourth period to ensure their win. Additionally, first-year guard Nicole Crum scored
eight of UVM’s 12 points off the bench, during the third quarter another career high, according to UVM athletics. “Our rally in the third quarter showed that we can get over this in the next game and go over our downhills to learn from it and win,” Crum said. “It’s always a lesson.” Conference play for UVM, where the season’s fate is decided, will begin in January 2019.
Despite their losing record so far this year, the team expressed optimism for the upcoming America East games. “I think we’re going to be a lot better than people think in our conference,” Crum said. “We have a lot of first-years that I think are not playing like firstyears, so it’s going to be a big season.” The next game is 2 p.m. Dec. 8 against Yale University.
For hockey, early international recruits bolster team Stephan Toljan stoljan@uvm.edu
At age 14 or 15 years old, some student athletes receive offers from colleges and universities on potential spots for their team rosters, said Kevin Sneddon, men’s hockey head coach. In order to have a competitive roster for the season, Division I teams, like UVM men’s hockey, start the player recruiting process early during high school years, he said. “In all Division I men’s hockey, you have three staff members who can be on the road,” Sneddon said. “You rely on a network.” The three staff members Sneddon is referencing are himself, associate head coach Kevin Patrick and assistant coach Jeff Hill. Throughout this process, the Catamounts are able to add new players, like first-year forward Joey Cipollone, to the roster. Cipollone is from Purchase, New York, and is also
MADDY DEGELSMITH/The Vermont Cynic
Sophomore international recruit Martin Frechette, from Rockland, Ontario, traps the puck in UVM’s game against the University of Maine Dec 1. the current leading first-year goal-scorer on the team. He was recruited when he was just 15 years old, he said. When Cipollone began the college searching process, he said that Vermont was high on his list. “I was looking at a bunch of schools,” he said. “One thing that stood out at Vermont was the mix of academics and hock-
ey.” He said that Vermont reached out when he was still in high school. After two years of back-and-forth phone calls and meetings, the University offered him a place on the team. The Catamounts were also able to recruit first-year forward Nic Hamre to the team this season. Hamre played as assistant
captain for Brooks Bandits, an American Junior Hockey League team and was recruited by UVM when he was 16. Although his hometown is Cumberland, Ontario, he has been playing hockey in the U.S. for most of his career, according to UVM athletics. Hamre said that when deciding where to play hockey for high school, it was more about the education he would receive. “I felt that going to a boarding school could help me focus on my education while still maintaining my hockey,” he said. Additionally, he said how he was recruited was similar to the process that Cipollone had described. “One of the coaches reached out to me when I was a 16-yearold,” he said. “I came and toured, really liked the school and it wasn’t until last year that they gave me an offer to come play.” The team does include players, such as sophomore forward Martin Frechette, who hadn’t played ice hockey in the U.S.
until joining the Catamounts, according to UVM athletics. Frechette is from Rockland, Ontario, and played four seasons for the Cumberland Grads, a team in the Central Canadian Hockey League. He said his recruitment process was very similar to Hamre, even though he had never played ice hockey for an American team prior to coming to UVM. “I was 16, playing my first year of junior hockey in Canada,” he said. “The league I played in has a showcase … [the coaches] came one weekend and after that we just kept talking.” With the diversity that international students provide the team, American universities are extremely fortunate to be able to include international players on their teams, Sneddon said. “It’s great to have that different cultural experience in the locker room,” he said. “It just gives it a different flavor, which I think is great for the guys.”