Issue 23 - Volume 135

THE VERMONT

CYNIC March 5, 2019

vtcynic.com

Student protestors return to Waterman

Should Sodexo unionize?

One year after a series of demonstrations, a student group reflected on progress at UVM.

Opinion writers make the case for and against a union for UVM’s dining staff.

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Fraternities aren’t to blame 7 / Students raise cattle 9

SGA edged out of pres search Lee Hughes ehughes7@uvm.edu

A faculty panel met with two finalists during the presidential search, but no student panel equivalent was created.

SGA has planned a resolution criticizing the lack of student inclusion in the process.

SGA President Ethan Foley, a junior, learned while attending a Feb. 25 Faculty Senate meeting that a panel of faculty members got to speak with two finalist candidates.

“I think it’s indicative of their valuing of student opinion, or lack thereof,” Foley said.

“I think it’s completely inappropriate.”

While this search process was described as the largest and most inclusive, this was not the case, Foley said, because one student represented all 10,000 undergraduates on the committee while there were multiple faculty members represented.

“It would have been very productive to include students beyond that point and within that confidential process,” Foley said. “Not only the search itself, but for the sake of the future of our University.”

SGA will be voting on a res-

Julianne Lesch jlesch@uvm.edu

ALEK FLEURY/The Vermont Cynic

A student asks a question during Suresh Garimella’s only visit to campus Feb. 14 before he was approved to be the next University president. Garimella was the sole finalist from the presidential search presented to the public, but there were two interviewed by a faculty panel. olution in the near future to express its disapproval of how students were underrepresented in the presidential search process, he said.

Plant biology professor David Barrington, a member of the presidential search committee,

addressed some of the grievances with the search process at the Feb. 25 Faculty Senate meeting.

“The faculty panel chooses from among its members the four representatives of the faculty that would be on the actual

search committee,” Barrington said.

The faculty panel met with two candidates, one of which was Suresh Garimella.

Presidential search continued on page 3

Provost steps down amidst campus strife Lindsay Freed lafreed@uvm.edu

Amid tensions between students, faculty and the administration, Provost David Rosowsky is stepping down at the end of the semester after six years at the University.

Rosowsky is leaving to allow President-Delegate Suresh Garimella to build his own leadership team, according to an email Rosowsky sent to the UVM community Feb. 25.

“It has been a privilege and an honor to serve the University of Vermont,” he stated.

It is relatively normal for the provost to step down when the president does as part of the transition into a new University administration, said associate English professor Sarah Alexander, president of United Academics, the faculty union.

UA hopes the new provost will support a budget and revenue model that prioritizes academics and UVM’s commitment to the liberal arts, Alexan-

facebook.com/ thevermontcynic

Concerns after rape on campus

NATALIE WILLIAMS/The Vermont Cynic

Provost David Rosowsky discusses his role on campus in his office in April 2015. He announced his resignation at the end of the semester in a Feb. 25 email to the UVM community. der said.

“I see the opportunity to hire a new provost as a way to demonstrate to the faculty that the administration is willing to hear about how their priorities really need to shift,” she said.

Senior Seth Wade said he hopes the next provost is more communicative with students.

@vermontcynic

“I hope the new provost will agree to transparent and open dialogue with us and tweet less,” Wade said.

Wade is a member of the Coalition for Student and Faculty Rights, a student activist group.

He has been hanging posters acround campus criticizing

@vermontcynic

the budget model encouraged

by Rosowsky.

According to a Feb. 22 statement from University Communications Director Enrique Corredera, Wade’s posters, and others distributed by students, blame Rosowsky for a situation he did not create.

President Tom Sullivan sent a Feb. 25 email to the UVM community to thank Rosowsky for his service to the University during his time as provost.

“We wish him well in his future plans and goals,” Sullivan stated in the email.

Sullivan will be appointing an interim provost after Rosowsky formally steps down, according to the email.

SGA President Ethan Foley, a junior, said he is thankful to have worked with Rosowsky this past year.

He hopes the interim provost will help bridge continuity between the current administration and the new one under Garimella, he said.

youtube.com/ cynicvideo

A recent rape on campus has raised concerns about dorm safety and resources available to victims.

Thirty-seven year old Tyson Cyphers, an Essex Junction resident, was arrested Feb. 23 on three different charges that occured on campus.

He is charged with aggravated sexual assault, stalking and theft, according to a Chittenden Unit for Special Investigation press release.

Cyphers is on the Vermont Sex Offender Registry, according to the release.

Cyphers was known by the victim, the affidavit stated, since he was her ex-boyfriend.

Cyphers had been seen on campus multiple times on the days leading up to the rape, according to the affidavit.

The victim found Cyphers waiting outside of her room.

The affidavit states that Cyphers waited outside of the victim’s residence hall until someone let him in.

Cyphers sent the victim threatening text messages while waiting outside of her dorm room so that she would let him into the room, according to the affidavit.

After Cyphers committed the rape, he stole several items from the victim, totaling over $900 worth of goods, according to the affidavit.

Sophomore Bernadette Benn said that in the residence halls, it’s easy for non-residents to enter.

“When people want to get in to other floors, they just knock on the doors and someone lets them in,” Benn said.

Events similar to this have caused SGA members Sally Short, a sophomore on the club affairs committee, and Grace Parker, a sophomore on the Committee on Legislative and Community Affairs, to create an ad-hoc committee on sexual assault, Parker said.

Ad-hoc committees are created within SGA when senators wish to work on issues that don’t directly fall into other standing committees, Parker said.

Sexual Assault continued on page 3

www.

vtcynic.com

NEWS

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The Vermont Cynic

March 5, 2019

Debate team disputes conflict Maeve Gurnis mgurnis@uvm.edu

Get the full story at vtcynic.com Video

Theatre Department debuts “Pippin”

“Pippin” tells the story of a young prince searching for passion and adventure. The UVM theater department debuted its performance of “Pippin” Feb. 27.

Video

Paint it Black: the BSU Fashion Show UVM’s Black Student Union held its annual fashion show at 7 p.m. Feb. 23 in the Davis Center’s Grand Maple Ballroom. This year’s theme was “Paint it Black.”

Podcast

Lee Hughes ehughes7@uvm.edu

Following student outcry and protests in response to faculty cuts, UVM’s Lawrence Debate Union held a debate about the importance of STEM and the liberal arts.

The union hosted the public debate Feb. 27 in the Davis Center’s Sugar Maple Ballroom to address the question: “Should we regret the prioritization of STEM in higher education?”

Teams of three worked as the defense and opposition. Audience members were able to vote for the position they supported both before and after the debate. The results split 5050 at the start, but by the end of the night 76 percent voted against prioritizing STEM and 24 percent were for it.

The debate was not meant to address UVM specifically, but rather to focus on the question of what colleges should be prioritizing nationwide, said debate union member Abigail Robbins, a sophomore.

Robbins emphasized that in debates, each side takes the opposing position to the other, with the hope being that a realistic middle ground emerges.

“STEM and liberal arts have distinct but compatible natures,” she said.

In the opposition’s opening statement, senior Miranda Zigler said higher education’s purpose is to give students a

zstern@uvm.edu

At the age of 16, Molly Bish vanished while working as a lifeguard in Massachusetts, leading to one of the most extensive searches in the state’s history.

Sports

Men’s basketball secures victory

UVM men’s basketball won the American East Division by defeating Stony Brook University March 2. The victory brought the team’s record to 23-6.

Promotional banners for STEM are displayed in front of Discovery Hall. A public debate held Feb. 27 in the Davis Center’s Sugar Maple Ballroom focused on whether prioritization toward STEM in higher education is appropriate or not. well-rounded education. Delivering that means that neither liberal arts or STEM should be prioritized over the other.

Robbins said that the increasing need for STEM-related skills gives those career paths increased job and pay security, necessitating an emphasis on STEM education.

First-year Clara Martorano spoke against prioritization.

“The purpose of education is to make a well-rounded person who is going to be ready for society in all aspects,” she said.

Sophomore Natalya Hebert disagreed, saying that climate change poses an immediate risk to society, requiring emphasis on STEM education.

In her closing argument, sophomore CeCe Szkutak said that STEM can’t fix climate change alone because it needs liberal arts disciplines to persuade people of the importance of fighting climate change.

George Fitzpatrick, a theater department lecturer, attended the debate and said during the Q&A it’s important to remember that colleges are selling themselves to prospective students and want to appear competitive.

At UVM, enrollment in the humanities has decreased 44 percent since 2009. Two lecturer positions have been cut and 10 lecturers’ hours have decreased as CAS faces a $1.3 mil-

lion deficit, according to a Feb. 19 Cynic article.

In response to these cuts, the faculty union, United Academics, held a Feb. 14 rally and students have engaged in various social media campaigns and later organized into the Coalition for Student and Faculty Rights, according to a March 1 Cynic article.

Speaking for the defense, sophomore Isabel Birney said she would like to have a job that makes her happy, but she also wants job security.

“There is a ticking time bomb on our society,” she said.

“Prioritizing STEM now doesn’t mean we can’t prioritize liberal arts at a later date.”

Activist group challenges administration Zoe Stern

Local Mysteries: search for Molly Bish

SAM LITRA/The Vermont Cynic

A student activist group has released its list of demands aimed at the University administration.

The Coalition for Student and Faculty Rights was created by students in support of United Academics, the faculty union, sophomore Cobalt Tolbert said.

The organization is student-run and was created to challenge UVM’s cuts to faculty and programs in the College of Arts and Sciences, according to the coalition’s demand sheet.

The idea behind the coalition occurred during a meeting where students were encouraged to talk about what was going on, first-year Jordyn King said. The coalition is meant to get the attention of the administration.

“It was a couple weeks ago.

We met on a Sunday afternoon just to talk about different things that have been happening within the school, faculty cuts, the event center, the new president,” King said.

At the first planning meeting, the group came up with a

list of demands, many of which were similar to UA’s demands, coalition member Alex Smith, a junior, said. The list of demands was sent to administration Feb. 25.

The Feb. 5 UA meeting was the first time UA President Sarah Alexander, associate English professor, spoke to anyone involved in the coalition, she said.

“It’s a really inclusive group of a bunch of students who are involved in other kinds of activism,” Alexander said. “Their de-

mands overlap with the faculty concerns at this time.”

The students involved in the coalition care about the educational priorities at UVM, Alexander said.

“Because we have similar concerns and interests it can be meaningful if we try to support each other and work together,” she said. “I want to support student activists as much as I can.”

The demands include reinstating faculty and presidential search transparency, King said.

SAM LITRA/The Vermont Cynic

A flyer from the Coalition for Student and Faculty Rights displayed in front of Howe Library. The Coalition for Student and Faculty Rights has voiced support for humanities departments after a proposal to decrease faculty and funding.

“Initially we had a list that was like 18 demands, which was good, but it wasn’t very organized, so [our demand sheet] is our more organized form that we voted on,” Smith said.

UA and the coalition organized a rally Feb. 14 outside of Howe Library, according to a Feb. 14 Cynic article. “[UA] had a rally and many of the students that identify as part of the coalition spoke at that rally,” Alexander said.

The group plans to continue posting their demands around campus and making sure they are visible, King said.

“Next steps are current flyering, supporting NoNames for Justice, reaching other organizations,” Smith said. “In the long term, hopefully the administration will at least reverse the non-renewal faculty cuts, class increases and cuts to part time.”

If the administration were to reverse these, there could be more of a discussion about what is happening with the University, Smith said.

“We care deeply about this University and the quality of education that we’re paying for,” King said.

The Vermont Cynic

March 5, 2019

NEWS

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NoNames changes persist a year later Lee Hughes ehughes7@uvm.edu

One year after the 2018 Waterman Takeover, NoNames for Justice rallied in the Waterman Building to celebrate its accomplishments and promote other student activist groups on campus.

NoNames held several rallies in February 2018, including shutting down Main Street Feb. 22 and taking over Waterman for 10 hours Feb. 26 to protest racially charged incidents on campus.

Their demands included removing former President Guy Bailey’s name from the library due to his involvement in the eugenics movement, increased retention of students, staff and faculty of color and the reviewing and revamping of diversity curriculum, among other demands.

NoNames organizer Amanda Martinez, a junior, came up with the idea for the anniversary rally.

She said she has seen the implementation of some of the demands, including the library’s name change in October 2018 and increased campus awareness of racial issues.

“I have seen other organizations come together to try to make change and just students being more aware of what’s going on on campus,” she said.

Martinez said the administration is not transparent enough about its progress on other demands.

“Nobody had reached out to us to be in these meetings, except the ones we did before the school year ended last year,” she said.

MADDY DEGELSMITH/The Vermont Cynic

Sophomore Harmony Edosomwan, a leader of student group NoNames for Justice, speaks to the crowd alongside junior Amanda Martinez Feb. 26. The protest commemorated the one-year anniversary of the group’s Waterman takeover.

Color, said the library’s name change is one of the biggest takeaways from the protests.

Since the 2018 protests, the MCSC has gotten two counselors specifically for the identity center, who each work there two days a week, Colston said.

“The activism has really moved our institution to think about what kind of community we want to be,” she said.

The provost’s office started a diversity fellowship, which is headed by Pablo Bose, director of global studies, said Deb Noel, English lecturer and diversity fellow.

“Everyone was happy that it

was an initiative the upper levels of the administration were willing to support,” Noel said.

Since signing a memorandum of understanding last year, SGA has increased funding to the Diversity Enhancement Fund.

The fund provides money to diversity-focused groups and events, SGA President Ethan Foley, a junior, said.

In the future, Martinez would like to see more progress on the demands, a more diverse SGA and student voices being listened to more closely on campus, she said.

Presidential search continued from page 1

Sexual Assault continued from page 1

These meetings occured between the December 2018 interviews conducted by the search committee and the Feb. 4 announcement of Garimella as the sole finalist, he said.

David Daigle, chair of the board of trustees, stated in a March 3 email to the Cynic that students played an “active and important role” in the search process in part because they were able to submit input before the search and after the Feb. 14 forum.

SGA and the Graduate Student Senate were able to have independant meetings with Garimella Feb. 14 and then provide feedback to the chair of the board of trustees, Daigle stated.

“We are pleased with the scope of community input we were able to achieve while still meeting the confidentiality needs of our candidates," Daigle stated in a March 1 email.

"We are also grateful for the very many people who engaged with us, both in private and public settings.”

One undergraduate student and one graduate student sat on the search committee, and two

The Committee on Sexual Assault was created in November 2018 after both Parker and Short felt disheartened after hearing their peers’ experiences with reporting sexual assault on campus, Short said.

“The two of us have had so many friends that have been assaulted at school and have gone through supposedly all the right avenues you’re supposed to — talking to Title IX, victim’s advocate and UVM police — and a lot of them have felt really discouraged after the whole process,” Short said.

Both senators currently serve as co-chairs on this committee, which is working to get another victim’s advocate on campus and help clarify the process to what survivors should do to get help, Short said.

Parker noted the fact that sexual assault is not just isolated to the UVM campus.

“Sexual assault doesn’t just happen on this campus," Parker said. "People have trauma from elsewhere."

A victim’s advocate is an individual that supports survi-

vors through helping them find resources such as legal assistance and counseling, Parker said.

For UVM students, there is one victim’s advocate, Short said.

“With there just being one victim’s advocate, how can she truly help every single person who needs their help on campus?” she said.

The Committee on Sexual Assault also hopes to provide a clear roadmap on how survivors can get help, Short said.

“When you’re already dealing with something so traumatic, you don’t need the helping systems to be confusing on top of that,” Short said.

Creating a clearer system for survivors will better support those affected by sexual assualt, Parker said.

“It’s really upsetting to hear because sexual assault is a hard thing to deal with in the first place and if you’re not going to get the support or help that you deserve, it’s discouraging for everyone involved,” Parker said.

Residential Life Director Rafael Rodriguez did not respond in time for publication.

On UVM’s website there is a page entitled “Diversity & Inclusion Update: Spring 2019” that compiles UVM’s progress on NoNames’ demands, said Jim Vigoreaux, associate provost for faculty affairs.

Some of the progress listed on the page includes increased opportunities for diversity training for faculty, staff and students, increased avenues of funding for diversity centers and increasing the bias response program’s response speed, among other things.

As far as retention of faculty of color, it is too soon to tell if UVM has made progress since

you need to look at trends over time to get an accurate gauge, Vigoreaux said.

UVM employs several strategies to hire faculty of color, such as forming relationships with historically black universities.

But, it is a long term process to build those relationships and recruit their graduates, he said.

While recruitment varies from field to field, UVM has had success in its efforts and its percentage of faculty of color has remained relatively stable over time, Vigoreaux said.

Bev Colston, director of the Mosaic Center for Students of

SAM LITRA/The Vermont Cynic

SGA President Ethan Foley, a junior, talks about plans for his presidency March 27, 2018. Foley was dissapointed with the lack of student involvement in the presidential search process, which included only one appointed undergraduate consultant. students — one undergraduate and one graduate — sit on the board of trustees.

There were four faculty members on the search committee and 12 on the faculty panel, which chooses which faculty sit on the search committee, Barrington said.

The implementation of a hybrid public-private search that produced one finalist for the public phase has prompted outcry on campus, including a

discussion at a Feb. 5 UA meeting and posters around campus critiquing the process from the Coalition for Student and Faculty Rights.

The search process began in fall 2018, ending its private phase with Suresh Garimella announced Feb. 4 as the finalist.

He was confirmed Feb. 22 by the board of trustees as the next president following a public open forum Feb. 14.

NEWS

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The Vermont Cynic

March 5, 2019

Campus cops patrol the college community Julianne Lesch jlesch@uvm.edu

A Saturday shift for UVM police services can range from dealing with rowdy college students, busting a driver for a DUI or doing crowd control at an athletic event.

Between three different shifts and officers, a day at UVM police services consists of dropping in at various on-campus activities, such as farmers markets and women’s basketball games, and occasionally dealing with the potential dangers that come with working in law enforcement.

All UVM police services officers attend the Vermont Police Academy in Pittsford, Vermont, said Jason Harris, a UVM police services officer.

A standard shift starts with roll call, where officers are given a briefing about assignments, and a cruiser check, Harris said.

Cruiser checks allow for officers to ensure that their cruisers are properly equipped with things such as radar speed guns and breathalyzers, he said.

Saturday day shifts are typically slower, Officer Bill Sioss said.

Sioss has been with UVM police services for 13 years, after previously working for the military.

For many officers, Saturday nights consist of patrols throughout the campus, neigh-

JULIANNE LESCH/The Vermont Cynic

Officer Bill Sioss of UVM police services patrols the campus looking for suspicious activity. UVM police officers respond to emergency calls on campus, but also perform daily safety walkthroughs of buildings and support during on-campus events. borhoods and parking lots that accompany UVM facilities, Harris said.

While on patrol, officers look out for potential breakins to buildings, driving violations and students incapacitated from drinking.

Officers will either bring students who have drank too much to detox at locations such as Act One, an alcohol treatment cen-

ter or the hospital.

Officers will also offer courtesy rides for a variety of reasons, like for a student who is walking home alone on a cold night, he said.

“Especially with the recent unfortunate circumstances, we try to make sure people are making it home safe,”’ Harris said.

After the Feb. 2 death of

Veterans course cut due to short staff Lindsay Freed lafreed@uvm.edu

A classics department class for student veterans has been cut because of a reduction to faculty.

Classics department chair John Franklin has run a class for veterans in which students read and discuss Homer from the perspective of soldiers returning from war, but the class won’t be continuing after faculty cuts, Franklin said.

Senior Michelle Caver, student head of the Student Veterans Organization, spoke about how important the class has been for her.

“We really connected in that course,” Caver said. “My heart aches today because we may not have this option for student veterans.”

Caver said he cannot afford to do the veterans course.

“We’re now scrambling to teach our basic curriculum,” he said.

Franklin was teaching the veterans course as a free overload course, which means he was teaching it outside of his allotted teaching hours for free, Franklin said.

The class was started to make it easier for student veterans to meet and talk with other veterans during the day in a structured format, Franklin said.

LINDSAY FREED/The Vermont Cynic

Senior Stephanie Wobby speaks with another student veteran during a Student Veterans Organization forum. The forum was held Feb. 28 after a class offered by the classics department for student veterans was cut due to faculty decreases.

“The special value of the ancient literature is that it’s at arm’s length,” he said. “It’s not like reading a more recent narrative about Vietnam or Iraq or Afghanistan. It can be neutral ground for everybody.”

Senior Stephanie Wobby, a combat veteran who served as an Army medic in Afghanistan and Iraq, said she joined the class because she thought it would be a good way of to meet other students transitioning to civilian life.

Wobby is disappointed the class won’t be able to continue because of the budget cuts, she said.

“I feel like the transition would be that much harder for them if this class was not offered at all,” Wobby said.

It can be difficult for student veterans to integrate into college because there’s usually a large age difference between them and the average college student, she said.

“It’s hard to make friends and connect with people,” Wobby said. “But this class really helps.”

Students, faculty and community members came together Feb. 28 to talk about veterans experiences reading classical literature.

first-year Connor Gage, Harris encourages students to use UVM police service as a resource.

“I don’t think you’re ever wrong to call the police. That’s why we are here,” Harris said.

Patrol routes for UVM police services extend far past UVM’s campus, with routes going downtown and even to surrounding towns such as Es-

sex, Colchester and South Burlington where there are student hotspots, like student neighborhoods, bars, fraternity houses and other UVM buildings and facilities, he said.

Harris has been with UVM police services since August 2018, after two years of working in nearby Lamoille County.

Officer Melanie Waldbrise ’13 has experienced both being a student and helping keep the student body safe. She has been working for UVM police services for the past five years after graduating from UVM. “Having been a student and now a police officer, I have a lot of empathy for what people are going through,” Waldbrise said.

“Ninety-five to 99 percent of people are good people.”

Junior Nieva Schemm has had various run ins with UVM police services. After having UVM police services called to her dorm hir first year, Schemm recalls having mixed thoughts about their interaction.

“Looking back at the interaction I feel like they really had my back,” Schemm said. “At the time it felt like they were digging me over.”

“They just very clearly said the words, ‘I’m not here to cause you undo annoyance or harm.’ And I sort of felt listened to,” she said.

Read the rest online at vtcynic.com/ridealong

Casting Call SINGERS Seeking 20 strong UVM student and alumni singers for a special musical presentation on May 17th at Royall Tyler Theatre. Written and directed by award winning Director Bill Castellino.

Auditions - March 25th & 26th Rehearsals—April & May 13– 17th For details:

uvmfoundation.org/sing

To schedule an audition:

802-656-6658 Housing & meal plan available as needed for week between exams & performance.

March 5, 2019

The Vermont Cynic

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EXECUTIVE Editor-in-Chief Greta Bjornson editorinchief@vtcynic.com Managing Editor Ben Elfland newsroom@vtcynic.com

Operations Manager Sorrel Galantowicz operations@vtcynic.com Marketing Daniel Felde dfelde@uvm.edu

EDITORIAL Copy Chief Sophia Knappertz copy@vtcynic.com Culture Bridget Higdon cynicculture@gmail.com Features Kian Deshler cynicfeatures@gmail.com News George Seibold news@vtcynic.com Opinion Mills Sparkman opinion@vtcynic.com Podcasts Chloe Chaobal vtcynicpodcasts@gmail.com Sports Sabrina Hood sports@vtcynic.com Video Jordan Mitchell video@vtcynic.com Web Connor Allan web@vtcynic.com Social Media Peter Hibbeler socialcyniceditor@gmail.com Illustrations Holly Coughlan illustrations@vtcynic.com Layout Kyra Chevalier layout@vtcynic.com Photo Alek Fleury photo@vtcynic.com Assistant Editors Henry Mitchell (Opinion), Allie O’Connor (Culture), David Cabrera (Podcasts), Nickie Morris (Sports), Lee Hughes (News), Sam Litra (Photo), Liv Marshall (Copy), Caroline McCune (Layout), Sophie Spencer (Illustrations) Copy Editors Zoe Sheppard, Lindsay Freed, Luke Zarzecki, Dalton Doyle, Elise Becker, Tori Wilson, Kelly Turner Page Designers Lindsay Freed, Meilena Sanchez

ADVISING Faculty Adviser Chris Evans crevans@uvm.edu

5

Students have a right to know

I

Staff Editorial

t’s another week on campus, and another wave of frustration has made its way through our community.

The divide between the administration and the student body has grown ever wider each day as conflicts escalate over budget cuts and the state of the arts at our University.

And a few weeks ago, the presidential search finalist was announced and quickly confirmed, much to the frustration of the faculty union, United Academics, and the student community.

With the revelation that there was a second finalist and a faculty panel as part of the search process, it has become clear that the administration is not being as transparent as it should be.

Leaving out student voices in the search process was disappointing to SGA especially, who had been told they could meet with the finalist, but were not allowed this opportunity at the last minute.

Before it was announced that Suresh Garimella was the sole finalist, a second contender was up for the position as well.

It’s a slap in the face to students to keep them out of the presidential search process and in the dark about the finalists.

To have an entire faculty panel with no student equivalent reveals that the opinion of faculty was valued over the opinion of the student body.

And, to keep this information private worsens the situation. Leaving the student voice

HOLLY COUGLHAN

HOLLY COUGHLAN

OPERATIONS

OPINION

out of the search process and concealing information from us is contrary to the idea that the University is a place for students.

We have a right to know what is going on, and the University must be more open with students about what decisions are being made and why.

This is a place we pay to attend and choose to come to.

We deserve to be informed on what is happening here.

It’s time to be more communicative with students and to put the needs of students first. Frustration should not be as rampant as it is and we shouldn’t have to fight to get the facts.

It feels like a tired request, to always ask for more information, but that’s exactly the problem. We are tired of asking for more.

To the administration, we ask for open lines of communication. Include us, listen to us, and inform us.

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. lease send letters to opinion@ vtcynic.com.

Corrections The Feb. 19 article “ROTC shouldn’t serve as scholarship money” ran with an image that did not align with the content of the article. The Cynic does not condone violence or threats against ROTC members. We regret the imagery depicted in the editorial illustration.

A Feb. 19 column by Seth Wade indicated he is a member of the Cynic staff. Wade submitted this as a guest column.

Democratic socialism is wrong for the U.S. Ian Nathan inathan@uvm.edu

A

lexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders helped bring it to the mainstream.

Democratic socialism is supposed to create a transition away from capitalism and shift to socialism.

Social democracy, or democratic socialism, is an economic ideology that is growing within the United States.

My intention is not to preach that democratic socialism is wrong, simply that it’s wrong for the U.S. Multiple countries run well under a socially democratic government including Belgium, Finland, Sweden and Norway.

There are also countries that run poorly under the system, notably Venezuela and Cuba.

The difference between successful and unsuccessful countries is simple: similarity, economic cooperation and true democracy.

Economic cooperation is the ability for an individual to act with the intention of helping others, rather than for per-

sonal gain.

Often, young Americans center their arguments on democratic socialism around Scandinavian countries.

Firstly, those countries are miniscule compared to the United States, so economies of scale become an issue.

Since the U.S. is roughly 10 times larger than the Scandinavian countries combined, in terms of GDP, we can’t compare economic factors of production between the two.

Secondly, according to a

May 2013 Washington Post article, Scandinavian countries are the most ethnically homogeneous nations while the U.S. is one of the least.

Comparing the two is not feasible.

The differences in societies was noted by Robert Kaiser of the Washington Post when he visited Finland in 2005.

“A strong Lutheran work ethic, combined with a powerful sense of probity, dominates [Finnish] society ... Every political party supports the

SOPHIE SPENCER HOLLY COUGHLAN

welfare state and high taxation that makes it possible,” Kaiser stated.

To understand how socialist economic structure affects a large, diverse country, you must look at similar countries that have attempted the system. Venezuela comes to mind.

It all began with former President Hugo Chavez’s electoral win in 1998. Chavez brought in a new socialist and populist constitution.

Chavez passed 49 land and wealth redistribution laws, decreasing GDP by 8.9 percent in 2001, according to a Feb. 25 BBC article. From there, businesses collapsed, and inflation rose to 1.37 million percent last year according to an October 2018 Bloomberg analysis.

Socialism assumes every player in an economy is cooperative, not competitive. Since the U.S. has a competitive economy, the assumption of individual cooperation would lead to failure of the system.

Ian Nathan is a senior political science and economics major. He has been writing for the Cynic since fall 2017.

OPINION

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The Vermont Cynic

March 5, 2019

POINT/COUNTERPOINT

SHOULD SODEXO UNIONIZE? Yes: unionizing protects workers’ rights and guarantees local jobs Chris Harrell crharel@uvm.edu

T

he UVM administration has not been inspiring much confidence in its employees lately.

The College of Arts and Sciences is facing a budget cut that is going to lay off 13 percent of non-tenure track professors and lecturers. And by all accounts, they “don’t give a shit” about doing it, according to assistant French professor Charles-Louis Morand Metivier.

The student body has witnessed large-scale opposition to the budget proposals that have greatly upset the faculty and their union, United Academics, which has taken visible action in organizing all over campus.

It’s hard to imagine that there would be such universal awareness among the student body without their work. It’s very easy to imagine a situation like this could strike the UVM Dining staff. They should unionize to either prevent it or lessen its effects.

To be clear, UVM Dining is a corporate branch of Sodexo, rather than UVM itself. But the University is responsible for the amount of money they choose to pay into their dining contract and they have some discretion on what that money is spent on.

The University, if it wished to, could look to decrease the size of its contract with Sodexo or change what it spends money on, which could affect any of its many employees.

UVM Dining employs people in 17 separate locations on campus and is a large employer of many working-class people in the Burlington area. In fact, 12.7 percent of Burlington’s overall population is employed in the dining services section of the economy, according to 2017 occupational data by DataUSA. If you stopped students around campus and asked them who their favorite dining hall employee is, most people could give you an answer.

The UVM Dining staff is composed of kind, hardworking individuals contributing an invaluable service to the campus environment.

The dining staff is also incredibly diverse, with employees from many different backgrounds, including students. For many employees, the job is their primary source of income.

All of these individuals deserve some level of protection from an administration seemingly intent on reducing sections of the budget deemed unimportant by UVM’s $1.6 million “branding consultant.”

The administration has yet to determine that UVM Dining is unnecessary, and it is unlikely to change course in the near future. But it is not foreseeable that the “decreasing enrollment” in the University means that there is less need for dining services.

In that instance, a strong union could help protect workers from losing

their jobs and serve students who want adequately staffed dining halls.

According to Sodexo’s company policy, the local branches of the company are free to unionize if they see fit.

It is also illegal under both federal and Vermont state law for an employer to interfere with, discourage or fire employees attempting to unionize.

In 2013, when Sodexo tried to push many workers off their benefits as part of their nationwide company policy, UVM administration stepped in along with many other colleges around the state and invoked a clause in their contract that required university approval for any benefit changes, according to a September 2014 Burlington Free Press article.

But they only intervened after dining workers began to unionize to defend themselves against Sodexo’s new policy.

Performing a basic feat of dignity in the face of large public backlash and threat of unionization doesn’t mean that UVM has its workers’ best interests at heart. UVM Medical Center nurses had to strike, organized through their union, to get an adequate living wage raise.

Only a union composed of the workforce itself can truly advocate on their behalf next time they find themselves on the chopping block.

No: unionizing decreases pay and doesn’t increase workers’ benefits Emily Johnston ejohnst2@uvm.edu

U

nionizing is unnecessary — it is clear Sodexo tries its best to create a stable, happy work environment for employees and a union would only create more problems on campus.

First-year Kathryn Jones, who recently quit working at Brennan’s, one of Sodexo’s restaurants on campus, discussed the workflow and turnover of staff.

“The older employees are pretty steady but student turnover is, of course, high,” Jones said.

She attributed student turnover to a change in course workload between semesters.

High student turnover also means that a union could get messy — it would attach Sodexo to UVM not only by contract, but would allow students to hold power over the school.

Not every person will take advantage of this, but it could lead to complications that are best avoided.

The Sodexo dining halls are also spread out across 17 locations on campus. Uniting under one force would be difficult, as each dining location has its

own management and unique needs.

Workers at UVM Dining facilities make $12.60 to $17 per hour depending on experience, according to a job listing for Central campus dining hall on the job site Indeed. For many workers, this is their main income.

Unions take dues, so if the wage is average, employees may not want some of their paycheck to go to an organization that is not giving them enough benefits back.

This is already a competitive wage in the food service industry as well, according to Indeed.

A union would not increase this wage, as it is in line with other food service employers.

Sodexo offers a free meal each break to all of their employees and health care to full-time employees.

Staff at UVM do not need a union to get benefits they already have.

There was an issue in 2013 regarding what qualifies as a full-time employee at Sodexo.

After intervention from the University, anyone working over 30 hours a week at Sodexo is considered a fulltime employee, according to a September 2014 Burlington Free Press article.

Since this policy change, staff at dining halls have not actively tried to unionize.

According to the Sodexo website, they accept the right of employees to unionize and will not discriminate against those who choose to do so.

Recent upsets of United Academics, the faculty union, has students wondering whether all employees on campus should unionize to protect themselves.

Budget cuts to education departments do not mean dining halls will also receive budget cuts, especially when the school displays the Central campus dining hall at admitted student days and tours of the school as an example of their dedication to locally sourced food.

The dining halls are something the school is proud of. The administration would not take money away from something that attracts students to UVM. It is clear from the past that if Sodexo employees at UVM have a problem with their work, they can speak out and it will be fixed.

The University backed dining hall staff over Sodexo in 2013. There is no reason they would not do it again.

While unions have secured better wages and liveable working conditions in the past, they are unnecessary when workers have benefits and sustainable wages.

Sodexo workers should not be unionized. It is for the better.

Chris Harrell is a junior political science major. He has been writing for the Cynic since fall 2018.

JULIA BLISS

Emily Johnston is a first-year environmental science major. She has been writing for the Cynic since fall 2018.

The Vermont Cynic

OPINION

March 5, 2019

7

Prioritize safety, not just punishment Letter to the Editor

HO

LL Y

CO

UG

LH

AN

F

or weeks now, the University has upheld a ban on all fraternity activity, including philanthropy and leadership development.

This was enacted in response to the death of first-year Connor Gage.

The administration declared the ban after the Burlington Police Department found that Gage was likely present at one or more fraternity parties on the blistery, subzero evening he died.

With no other actions being taken, it’s clear the University believes his death to be the fault of a fraternity.

In addition, it’s clear the University believes that future situations could be made safer by eradicating fraternities.

That’s huge, and it could threaten many students’ only form of non-academic engagement with the campus community.

As we await the toxicology report, we lack details as to what exactly took Gage’s life.

However, the Burlington Police Department said extreme temperature was a factor.

Given that fewer than 10 percent of students at UVM are active in Fraternity and Sorority Life, it’s absurd to suggest that party culture and the normalization of binge drinking are the sole fault of those students.

Rather, it’s time we confront the truth – college students are going to drink, whether they are of legal age

or not.

People are going to host parties and serve alcohol to people under 21 in their sticky basements, whether or not they’re part of a fraternity.

Fraternities and other social groups are going to operate, whether or not the University sanctions their activities.

In fact, it might even be easier for an unrecognized fraternity to do as they please.

After all, they no longer have any reason to stay in good standing with the University.

Finally, it gets extremely cold here and that’s dangerous.

When UVM decides to accept that (gasp) their students sometimes drink too much, at fraternities and otherwise, perhaps we can begin to make progress.

This starts with making it safe for students to come back to their residence halls in whatever state they are in, without fear of getting in trouble.

As a former Wellness Environment student and former Residential Adviser in WE, I can confidently say this is not happening on our campus today.

The next step is to be real-

istic about the risk of traveling between campus and downtown.

Between sexual harassment, extreme temperatures and minor levels of violence downtown, there are many risks.

Thus, it would be logical to support and implement a program where students can be safely escorted home upon request.

Such an idea is already commonplace at other universities.

While I was touring colleges, UVM was the only school

I looked at that didn’t have a “safe rides home” program in place.

Now in the works, this student initiative is being kept from getting off the ground due to a lack of funding.

Once we have fixed these policies to make sense on a modern college campus, we must work to develop our empathy.

If a student can return safely to their residence hall, they still have to get there. If a safe ride is available, it still must be called.

This is the step that requires students to look beyond themselves and be aware of their surroundings.

This is where bystander intervention education is absolutely essential.

We must remember that this is not the first time a UVM student has died of hypothermia or extreme temperature conditions.

At the end of the day, Gage did not die because he may have had too much to drink at a fraternity.

Gage didn’t go out that night because fraternities exist.

Rather, Gage died because when he left wherever he was, no one stopped to say, “Hey, this guy shouldn’t be walking home alone.”

UVM, you can keep trying to stop people from partying – but you need to stop acting like that’s the end of the conversation.

Rachel Frankenfield Senior

Eco-Rep trash tips: compost, recycle, decontaminate Makayla Salas msalas@uvm.edu

L

et’s talk trash, baby.

What goes in it? What should go in it? Not all of us are Rubenstein students, and sometimes it’s easier to just throw things in the landfill.

That’s a good place to start: When In Doubt, Throw It Out. The UVM Eco-Reps are a group of student leaders committed to providing a deeper understanding of how to sort waste.

So committed, they spent the morning of Feb. 2 digging through over 1,000 pounds of residence hall trash and recycling.

We found that 22 percent of what was recycled was recycled incorrectly and 46 percent of what was thrown into the landfill could have been diverted to the compost, recycling, techno trash or donation bins.

Contamination, especially from recycling, is a bigger

problem than ever for the U.S. For the last 25 years, China imported most of the U.S.’s recyclables, but China’s recent National Sword Policy has a new contamination standard of merely 0.5 percent.

That means the U.S. must become even more knowledgeable and rigorous in its recycling practices, lest we contaminate our recycling to the point of no return — aka, it simply gets diverted to the landfill.

UVM Eco-Reps are taking results from the residence halls

HOLLY COUGHLAN to implement programs specific to local contamination.

We’ll share some of the biggest culprits here so you can do your part in effective waste disposal practices.

Food scraps: they are compostable. Apple cores, stale bread, orange peels etc. can be disposed of in the green compost bins in the lobbies of residence halls. Ask the front desk for a brown compost bag to keep in your room. When you’ve filled the bag, simply compost the entire bag and ask

for a new one.

Coffee cups: the only thing standardized about the coffee cup styles on campus are the sleeves, which are always recyclable.

Paper towels: any type, whether brown, bleached or colored, are always compostable.

Dirty recycling: this includes yogurt containers and pizza boxes with food stuck to them. These should be rinsed, cleaned out and recycled. If you can’t rinse or clean out these containers, it’s better to put them in the landfill than dirty up the rest of the recycling.

Packing products: remove material like packing peanuts and bubble wrap from cardboard boxes, break them down and recycle. Bubble mailers like the ones Amazon uses should go in the landfill.

Black plastic: black plastic, like the containers from Wow Bao at the University Marche, should be put into the landfill.

Starting in March, EcoReps will be implementing a Points of Intervention campaign focused on the upstream

factor of waste: the Linear Consumption Economy.

This system uses raw materials to create products that only end up in the landfill and whose production and packaging materials are also wasted along the way.

Not only is this method unsustainable, its effects are also mainly felt by marginalized groups in society, such as racial and other minorities.

Landfills, garbage patches and other waste-related undesirables are disproportionately near people who have little to no power to move away from them.

Eco-Reps will be offering ways to reduce waste and support social justice. Look for programming related to reusing, resourcing, repairing and repurposing. Follow @uvmecoreps on Instagram for updates.

Makayla Salas is a senior political science and philosophy major. She is the Writing Manager for the UVM Eco-Reps.

CULTURE

8

The Vermont Cynic

March 5, 2019

Flower Show brings the outdoors inside Anna Kolosky akolosky@uvm.edu

At the Vermont Flower Show, scents of lavender and basil filled the air as multicolored lights highlighted different grassy landscapes.

The show took over the Champlain Valley Exposition Center from March 1 to 3 and boasted a variety of vendors and flower displays.

The Vermont Nursery & Landscape Association has hosted flower shows since the organization’s creation in 1964, according to its website.

The show began in the north exhibit hall, where the grand garden display was being held.

Patrons walked through a pathway of natural and floral designs, stopping to take photos of the various sets.

The first couple of designs consisted of small houses with an outdoor sitting area, coupled with a garden of flowers that was labeled with their names.

Patrons were encouraged to touch and smell the different plants.

The show boasted over 1,000 perennials, more than 400 trees and shrubs and 450 bales of peat moss, according to the show’s website.

Sophomore Paloma Wallace said she enjoyed the way everything was carefully set up, all of the details and the effort that went into creating such a large exhibit.

“I liked the set up because everything seemed perfectly calculated, from the choice of colored lights to the little succulents scattered around the dirt,” Wallace said.

TAYLOR EHWA/The Vermont Cynic

A large flower display is admired inside the Champlain Valley Exposition. From March 1 to 3, the Vermont Flower Show showcased intricate landscaping creations to the public, along with hosting many landscaping vendors.

Wallace also added that her favorite part of the pathway was the maze at the end and how it was made to be interactive.

“I loved the section at the end where you touch and smell different flowers and textures from nature,” Wallace said. “It was kind of like sensory overload, but in the best way.”

After the garden display, patrons went into the exhibition hall to browse over 90 vendors and take part in what they offered.

While Full Circle Gardens

offered DIY succulent kits, the Flower Market had fresh bouquets for sale.

Junior Katie Moses said she liked the different vendors that came to the exhibition.

“I really liked how there was everything from making your own succulents to beekeeping to books about how to start your own garden,” Moses said.

“The variety was awesome and really kept me interested the entire time.”

Moses also said that she liked the different kinds of local

food that were offered and was impressed with everything she sampled.

“I got chocolate raspberry ice cream from a creamery that had a stand, and it was super creamy and delicious,” Moses said.

In addition to the long list of vendors, the expo continued into the blue ribbon pavilion and held even more events for families and patrons.

The family activity room held arts and crafts, live music and dancing for families

with young children, while the next door room had workshops about garden care.

Sophomore Becca Turley said that one of her favorite parts was the art gallery that was located next to the workshops.

“I thought that the art gallery was beautiful and showcased a lot of really great paintings and photographs,” Turley said. “I was impressed by the level of talent and thought it really added to what the Flower Show had to offer.”

Unassuming gem Pizzeria Ida serves up authentic pie Jack Eccleston jeccles1@uvm.edu

P

izzeria Ida is one of the North End’s newest and most exciting pizza joints, serving up authentic, wood oven, Neapolitan and Sicilian style “pies on demand.”

Since it opened in late September 2018, Pizzeria Ida has been hidden away behind a nondescript parking lot off of 662 Riverside Avenue.

Finding it on the internet is difficult, too; there is no website, Facebook page or even a phone number to call.

Chances are you heard about it from word of mouth alone. We did.

Although the pizzeria is rather plain from the outside and frankly uninspiring, stepping into Pizzeria Ida is like stepping into a modern-day pizza chapel.

Inside, the pizzeria is light, spacious and tastefully decorated. The star is its gorgeous high ceilings which are painted a re-

JACK ECCLESTON/ The Vermont Cynic

A Neopolitan pizza from Pizzaria Ida. The pizzeria opened in September 2018 in the North End. freshing shade of sky blue.

Half of the space is devoted to the kitchen — an openplanned spectacle where diners can watch as their meal is prepared and cooked in an authentic wood oven, the focal point of the room.

The other half serves as a dining space. When we arrived, the pizzeria was busy. We were forced to stand at a long table.

Accepting that it was my

fate to awkwardly lean on this table for the rest of the night, I could not help but feel as if this was not the best use of space.

These thoughts vanished when the smell of freshly cooked pizza wafted over, so we quickly ordered at the counter.

There are no waiters. Pizzeria Ida is a two-man show run by partners Dan Pizzutillo and Erika Strand.

To start, we were served a

very generous hunk of buffalo mozzarella with beetroot, parmesan and freshly baked bread. It is a tasty appetizer, but perhaps overwhelmed by the bulging blob of buff on top.

Beetroot beaten and quickly devoured, we hungrily awaited the main fight, the pizza.

Pizzeria Ida’s menu affords diners the choice of a pizza Napoletana, Sicilian square pie or calzone. We opted for a classic margherita Neapolitana.

Fresh out of the oven, our pizza bore the hallmarks of an authentic Neapolitan pizza.

Prepared with traditional ingredients, Pizzutillo makes his pies in a ferociously hot wood oven, leaving them characteristically charred and ready to eat.

The acidity of the tomatoes and freshness of the mozzarella were the star of the show, delicious and without any hint of sweetness. The crust was delightfully puffy and pocketed.

However, there was no sign of any fresh basil, a staple ingredient of a margherita pizza.

But be warned: Neapolitan style pizzas are notoriously wet

and soupy, and Pizzeria Ida’s offering was no exception.

Pizza purists will defend this adamantly, but ultimately, it feels like a shame to have such tasty ingredients droop, drip and pool onto your plate, especially if you have chosen to add extra toppings.

For a plain margherita, you’ll be expected to fork out $20 and that is before adding toppings, such as pepperoni for $4.

Neapolitan pizzas are famously small (think a frisbee) and usually feed just one.

The slightly larger calzone or square pie will cost you $25 and $30, respectively.

If you are a pizza aficionado, then Pizzeria Ida is a musttry. Just be prepared to spend some dough when the moon hits your eye.

Pizzeria Ida is open from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday.

Jack Eccleston is a junior buisness major. He has been writing for the Cynic since spring 2019.

The Vermont Cynic

March 5, 2019

CULTURE

9

CARING FOR COWS

Students in UVM’s CREAM program wake up early to run the school’s dairy barn Juliet Malkowski jmalkows@uvm.edu

In an experience that seems unique to attending school in Vermont, a UVM program alows students to witness the birth of a calf and to name it.

“Everyone in the program gets to have a calf, and it gets to be your calf,” said senior Ariela Burk, a member of the program.

UVM’s Cooperative for Real Education in Agricultural Management is a student-run dairy herd that has been operating for about 31 years.

The dairy herd consists of about 100 cows, 48 of which are being milked at any given time.

The herd is made up of Jersey and Holstein cows, which were bred to be especially good milk-producing cows, according to the program’s website.

Senior Sam Keum said she thinks the CREAM program is well known to UVM students.

“All students should try it out,” Keum said. “You don’t have to be an animal science major to do it.”

Animal science lecturer Norman Purdie oversees the program.

“CREAM originated for students who wished to go back on a farm,” he said. “For students from Vermont who wanted to go back on a farm and who wanted a different experience

Image source: UVM CREAM Facebook

Inside UVM’s Miller Farm, the herd of almost 100 cows is kept inside during the winter. The CREAM program allows students to work with cows to produce milk for ice cream offered at many of the campus dining halls. then they might have gotten at home.”

Purdie said he considers himself an adviser and that he believes his role is to help students make the correct decisions.

“I am a facilitator of those decisions and I won’t stop a student from making those decisions unless it hurts a cow or it costs us a lot of money,” he said.

Purdie wants his students to get a chance to learn from their mistakes and learn the best way

to run their own dairy herd, he said.

CREAM has programs for students both throughout the year and during the summer.

Purdie said winter weather conditions do not affect the program at all.

The barn is heated and the floors are also warmed, along with the walls.

“The cows stay inside and have a beautiful, temperature-controlled environment,” Purdie said. “Big, huge snowy

days may make it hard to get feed to the cows, but we have tractors and snow plows.”

The UVM Dairy Barn is located on Spear Street, a mile from campus.

Both Keum and Burk described their daily summer schedule as “hectic” and “sleep depriving,” but ultimately worth the work and the time.

“It is a very introspective experience with so much to learn,” Keum said.

Keum and Burk said that

this program was an immense learning experience that is very demanding, but ultimately equally as humbling.

There are typically 14 to 16 students that are a part of the CREAM program.

Each student is assigned to a specific farm task, such as vet liaison, who will communicate with and lead the others in the program.

CREAM expects each student to put in about 20 hours of work per week.

Students attend calfings where calves are born, and help the mother cow through labor.

Students are also responsible for cleaning the cows, feeding them and maintaining the state of the barn.

“The group gets really close.

You can’t really not when you’re milking cows together at 3 a.m.,” Burk said.

Keum said one of her biggest takeaways was that she gained a lot of respect for the work that dairy farmers do.

Burk said prospective students should just do it, try it out and if you don’t like it, thenstop.

“CREAM is a unique animal experience for animal science and non-animal science people,” Burk said. “The hours and the proximity create an incomparable exercise in teamwork, perseverance and communication.”

CAS program allows students to take classes elsewhere Marjorie McWilliams mmcwilli@uvm.edu

It’s challenging to find the perfect program.

The UVM College of Arts and Sciences Consortium makes it possible to gain the best of both worlds between three institutions for CAS students.

Since fall 2017, the CAS Consortium has allowed students to take classes at either Champlain College or Saint Michael’s College if the course they wish to take is not offered at UVM. Champlain caters to those who are interested in technical film and graphic design courses, while St. Michael’s offers classes in studio art and art history.

This academic year, only five CAS students took advantage of the opportunity to stray from campus academically.

CAS Associate Dean Kelley Helmstutler Di Dio said she predicts more students will participate in the future.

“I think as students become more aware of this option, they will try to plan for it in their schedules,” Di Dio said.

Most students choose to take classes at another institution because of scheduling conflicts or because the course is not available at UVM.

The consortium allows for a greater range in class options and a way to reap the benefits of different universities, she said.

Students who have taken classes at either St. Mike’s or Champlain Collegereport satisfactory experiences.

Senior Alice Matthews, an art history major, took the class Saints, Kings and Barbarians at St. Michael’s in the fall.

“I greatly enjoyed the class,” Matthews said. “My professor there ended up writing me a letter of recommendation for graduate school.”

Matthews said she enjoyed taking a class with a different set of students.

“In many ways, it was very refreshing to study material with a new set of students and ideas,” she said. “At UVM, art history courses tend to have the same students each year so we have become quite familiar with each other’s work.”

This was not the case at St. Mike’s, Matthews said.

“I was able to bring my own background to the class, but also learn in a new environment,” she said.

Senior Juliet Duncan said she regrets not having the opportunity to take classes elsewhere sooner.

“If I weren’t [a senior] I defi-

nitely would utilize this every semester,” Duncan said. “I’m bummed that they didn’t have this option for my previous semesters.”

CAS Consortium only became an option in fall 2017.

Duncan is taking Video Composition at Champlain College.

“Classes on practical film skills, such as editing, are pretty rare at UVM, and I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity,” she said.

While Champlain’s Main Street campus is a closer walk for some than UVM’s Central campus, the commute to St. Mike’s requires more thought.

However, students without cars still have available options.

“There is a CATMA bus that leaves from Colchester Avenue and takes students right to St. Mike’s, so it makes it very easy to get back and forth between the two campuses,” Di Dio said.

Students interested in expanding the scope of available classes should speak to their advisers.

Advisers will determine whether the prerequisites have been met for the particular class. Students must be a full time student at UVM to be eligible to take classes at a second institution.

PHIL CARRUTHERS/The Vermont Cynic

Since fall 2017, the College of Arts and Sciences has allowed students to take courses at either Saint Michael’s College or Champlain College if the course is not offered at UVM.

10

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The Vermont Cynic

March 5, 2019

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The Vermont Cynic

March 5, 2019

SPORTS

11

First-year brothers start for lacrosse Ashley Miller amille68@uvm.edu

Two brothers have been recruited on the same college lacrosse team and now are both playing in starting positions during their first year.

Thomas and Jonathon McConvey are first-years on the UVM men’s lacrosse team.

Their place on the team isn’t the only similarity between the siblings.

Both are also midfielders and each scored their first career goals in UVM’s opening game, Jonathon McConvey said.

“We’re roommates, both majoring in business, have the same friend group, listen to the same music and are basically best friends,” Jonathon McConvey said. “We do everything together.”

Head Coach Chris Fiefs said that while the two brothers are very similar, they couldn’t be more different on the field.

“Both of them are very talented players, have a really high lacrosse IQ, but like any two athletes, they do have different approaches to the game,” Fiefs said.

The Catamounts have played four games this season, accumulating a 3-1-0 league record, he said.

“Despite it being early, I can say that they are already doing a great job, better than a lot of first-years do when making the adjustment from high school to college,” Fiefs said.

Earlier this year during preseason, attackman Ben French,

SAM LITRA/The Vermont Cynic

First-years Jonathon and Thomas McConvey (left-right) are both starters. The brothers play for the UVM men’s lacrosse team. a junior, predicted the McConvey brothers’ success at UVM. “All the first-years are looking really strong, especially the McConvey brothers,” French said. “They’re two to look out for.”

The duo began playing at an early age and were influenced by their father who didn’t play lacrosse but was very encouraging of their athletic endeavors, Thomas McConvey said.

“He signed us up for teams at a young age and has been supporting us ever since,” he said.

Throughout their early years, the two have always played on the same team and sibling rivalry has made its way onto the

field, Jonathon McConvey said.

“We’ve always been competitive with one another and we are constantly pushing each other to be better,” he said.

“Who can score more goals, who can do that extra trick or whatever it is.”

The two have moved past this sibling rivalry and have transformed their competitiveness into helping one another, Fiefs said.

“They play off one another really well and compliment each other,” he said.

The brothers didn’t expect to be on the Catamounts roster together, but are pleased with how things have turned out, Thomas

McConvey said.

Jonathon McConvey solely applied to UVM, while Thomas looked at other schools, Thomas McConvey said.

After arriving on campus for a student visit day, each brother was excited to make Burlington their home, Jonathon McConvey said.

“We came here and loved it,” he said. “The people and team were all welcoming and the campus is beautiful.”

Transitioning onto UVM’s team has been smooth for both brothers because they grew up playing with many of the Catamounts players in Canada, Thomas McConvey said.

“We grew up with Ben French, Warren Jeffery, Rob Hudson and Liam Limoges,” Thomas McConvey said.

Fiefs said the McConvey brothers have had a smooth transition due to their humility.

“They understand they’re first-years and that they’re playing in starting roles,” he said.

“It’s a big deal.

“They handle their business with humility, keeping their heads down and working hard.”

The Catamounts have an extensive schedule this season, but the team and the McConvey brothers hope to win the NCAA title this season, Johnathon McConvey said.

“We’re a really young team and I’m excited to see us keep growing, getting better throughout the season,” he said. “My brother and I will help in any way we can.”

The duo eventually hopes to play lacrosse beyond college, Thomas McConvey said.

“Watching Ian McKay work up to where he is now is definitely inspiring,” he said.

Ian McKay ’18 is a former captain of the men’s lacrosse team, who is also from Canada, and has gone onto playing in Major League Lacrosse, according to UVM athletics.

The McConvey brothers have only begun their college athletic career, Fiefs said.

He is confident that their success will continue growing over the next four years at Vermont.

Vermont cold doesn’t trip up track and field athletes Nickie Morris nrmorris@uvm.edu

When heading down Dorset Street to go to the University Mall, one might see members of the track and field team out for a run.

With cross country in the fall, indoor track in the winter and then spring track, distance runners, especially, train yearround in Vermont.

If it’s the winter, it’s not uncommon to see an athlete slip on the icy sidewalks, men’s track and field Head Coach Matt Belfield said. Nevertheless, with these running conditions, athletes who play sports that typically require warm weather still choose UVM. Belfield graduated from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., as a college jumper, and said that the cold is preferable for certain track athletes.

“We’re very popular among distance and middle-distance runners because they’d rather be cooler and have this type of environment,” Belfield said.

“But there’s no question that it impacts sprinters and jumpers who want to be outside in

warmer weather.”

Belfield also said it’s common due to widespread preference for Northeastern schools to have strong distance running programs, while warmer schools are stronger in sprinters.

While sprinters and jumpers train inside on the indoor track during the winter, the small size of this track can frustrate distance runners who are used to training with much longer runs.

Additionally, javelin throwers like to be outside more than inside so they can see the javelin fly rather than hit a net, Belfield said.

“Most of our people would rather be outside under any circumstances,” he said. “We do have multiple options inside but you don’t want to run a lot of laps when you’re doing a 12mile run.”

Running on just one indoor surface can also damage the joints and change running gait over time, runner Maggie Mahoney, a senior, said.

This leads runners to vary the surfaces they run on during an indoor run for best results.

Mahoney is a distance run-

Image source: UVM Athletics

Dan Moroney ’16 runs a relay during a winter track meet in 2016.

Even in the winter, track and field compete in events and regular practices. ner from Massachusetts. She said she didn’t consider climate during the college search process.

“My home isn’t as extremely cold on the coldest days as Vermont, but I wasn’t considering climate when choosing my college,” Mahoney said. “I wanted to be in an environment where I would be challenged athletically in a program with good academics.”

She said that training for

long distance running on the coldest days can be a pain.

“It’s hard during indoor track running inside on really cold days,” she said. “Meeting 45 miles a week indoor can be hard because you can only do so many miles on the treadmill before you go crazy.”

She said runners will try to mix it up and run on the indoor turf and in both directions of the indoor track in order to avoid joint problems.

Senior high jumper Will Lynch came to UVM after growing up in Burlington and said the weather isn’t that much of a factor during the season.

“A good deal of the season is done by training indoors, so the weather doesn’t matter to me that much,” Lynch said. “But as far as outdoor competition, it can be tough with the cold in the earlier parts of the outdoor track season but doesn’t take an enormous toll.”

He said that his experience from years in Burlington’s cold temperatures give him an occasional advantage.

“We had a meet a few years ago where it was snowing a bit, and I definitely noticed some other guys struggling with cold hands,” Lynch said.

Belfield said that Vermont’s cold temperatures haven’t been a hinderance to track and field recruiting.

“The cold isn’t usually a topic of discussion with recruits because when most people are doing their research, they’re going to know what the weather is like,” Belfield said. “We have more people that want to be here because of the weather than not.”

SPORTS

12

The Vermont Cynic

March 5, 2019

Scholarship cuts expand in varsity athletics Stephan Toljan stoljan@uvm.edu

UVM athletics decided to reduce scholarship offerings to athletes in two women’s programs and one men’s program next year.

With the cuts, the University is still in compliance with laws against gender discrimination in college athletics.

Title IX is a federal law that prevents athletic programs from discriminating against athletes based on their sex and mandates that each program should be funded equitably, according to the NCAA website.

For women’s track and field only 2 1/2 full scholarships will be offered verses 3 1/2 offered for the 2018-2019 school year, and for swimming they will offer 4 3/4 full scholarships compared to 5 3/4 previously offered, according to UVM athletics.

Despite this, UVM will still meet the Title IX requirement that says every sport must be proportional in both its participation and scholarship figures, according to a February 2019 email from Nick Stanton, UVM’s Title IX coordinator.

UVM has reduced scholarship offerings in some programs to the incoming class of 2023, in order to keep the athletic department sustainable, Schulman said.

STEPHAN TOLJAN/The Vermont Cynic

Women’s swimming and diving and men’s and women’s track and field are the two NCAA Division I sports withs a decrease in scholarships offered in the future.

“The decision to not offer scholarships in these programs next year are part of a broader departmental effort to ensure a balanced departmental budget for the long term,” he said.

For the 2020 academic year, the University will scale back men’s track and field scholarships.

Athletics will do this by reducing the number of full scholarships available for track and

swimming.

By not offering new scholarships next year, the department will save around $180,000, according to a December 2018 VT Digger article.

Schulman said that this decision is in no way the first stage of phasing out these programs.

“This is something we’re going to reevaluate on an annual basis with all of our programs,” he said. “It’s part of a very con-

certed departmental effort to ensure that we can continue to sponsor all 18 of our varsity programs.”

With these cuts in place, the head coach of the track and field team, Matt Belfield, worries that the University will not be able to attract students outside the Northeast.

“If somebody is not already interested in us, we generally aren’t pursuing that student,”

Belfield said. “When we have no scholarship to offer, it’s hard to take someone who’s not interested and turn that around.”

Schulman said he realizes how the cuts look when contrasted with the $95 million Multipurpose center.

“I’m very aware of the optics of making these cuts at the same time as we’re making a $95 million investment in a big facility project,” he said. “It’s important to understand that these are very different sources of funding.”

Schulman said that he realizes that the decision to cut scholarships is not one athletes are excited about.

“Reducing scholarships is something that we certainly try not to do, but it’s been done in the past and we’ve added scholarships in the past as well,” he said.

Schulman also said that reducing scholarship offerings was not the first choice of action.

“These are some of the hardest working athletes both in their sports and in their academics, so it’s important that they know that they aren’t being targeted,” he said.

In 2000, men’s swimming and diving was cut, as well as baseball and softball in 2009, according to a December 2018 VT Digger article.