Pop Art
Court Goes Pink
Exhibit at Fleming Museum takes visitors back in time
Men’s basketball team rallies against breast cancer
ARTS pg. 6
BURLINGTON, VT
VTCYNIC.COM
VOL. 132
ISSUE 18
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Email incites bias reports by kelsey neubauer kaneubau@uvm.edu
UVM is currently investigating the source of an email stating that an Auschwitz crematorium was a “hoax.” UVM police and the Office of Equal Employment and Opportunity received multiple bias reports filed by students regarding a Feb. 10 email sent to a number of students, Vice Provost for Student Affairs Annie Stevens said. The email presents various reasons as to why a particular crematorium at Auschwitz was created post-war. “As pointed out by many revisionists before, the four holes in the roof of the morgue of Crematorium I at Auschwitz 1 camp do not ‘fit’ the original configuration of the building. In fact, they are centered over the current post-war modified configuration of the room,” the email stated. Students across campus received the email, Hillel Director Matt Vogel said. Vogel and Stevens are working alongside UVM Enterprise Technology Services and the Office of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity to determine the source of the email, Stevens said. The group or individual that sent the email is in no part a University affiliate, she said. The email was signed by Bradley R. Smith, the founder of the Committee for Open De-
by kelsey neubauer kaneubauer@uvm.edu
The Hillel building on Colchester Avenue is pictured Feb. 15. Hillel represents Jewish students on campus. COLE WANGSNESS/The Vermont Cynic bate on the Holocaust. Smith has not responded to the Cynic’s request for comment. It currently appears that the email was sent specifically to Jewish students, according to an email sent Feb. 12 to the Hillel listserv by Stevens and Vogel. Following the initial incident, Vogel sent an email to the Hillel listserv Feb. 10 to offer support and guidance to UVM’s Jewish community. The University denounced
the original email and said it has no factual validity nor a place in an academic institution, Stevens said. “We want to be clear that a communication such as this that perpetuates anti-Semitism by falsely proclaiming inaccurate historical events has no place at the University of Vermont,” according to the Feb. 12 statement from Stevens and Vogel. Arielle Cheifetz, a first-year member of the Hillel community at UVM, said though the
email was very unsettling, she is not surprised by anti-Semitic instances on college campuses. “[It’s different here compared to other Universities because] 20 percent of the entire [UVM] population is Jewish,” she said. While in high school, Cheifetz attended workshops preparing Jewish students going into college for possible anti-Semitic issues. She said she feels that issues of anti-Semitism are not addressed enough at UVM.
Greek life petitions against tax bill by bryan o’keefe bokeefe@uvm.edu
Members of Greek life are fighting to repeal a bill that eliminates the property tax exemption on their houses. The bill will go into effect January 2017, unless the new opposing bill is passed before May, when Vermont’s legislative session ends, sophomore Will Sudbay said. “We are basically in the 11th hour as far as getting this passed goes,” he said. Sudbay, a member of the Sigma Phi Society, said Rep. Barbara Rachelson drafted the new bill on behalf of efforts by UVM’s Greek community. UVM’s Greek community created a website, savegreeklifeatuvm.com, to raise awareness of the issue and garner support for the bill. A petition on the website had received 1,663 signatures as of Feb. 15.
Marketing to cost UVM $1.58 million
The potential total cost of the property tax for Greek houses would be $350,576, according to the website. This breaks down into $241,082 paid to the state in taxes, while the city of Burlington would receive $109,494 from the houses. Greek life does not have funding to pay for the additional taxes, so the fees would fall on the students and be tacked onto their dues, Sudbay said. However, the state comes up with different numbers. The estimated property tax on Greek life is $173,000, according to the Vermont Tax Expenditures 2015 Biennial Report. If the bill is unsuccessful, Greek organizations are hoping to compromise and reduce the city tax burden on properties by 50 percent, Sudbay said. For sophomore Norma Techarukpong, a member of
The Alpha Chi Omega sorority is pictured Sept. 28. PHOTO COURTE-
SY OF BAILEY KIMBALL
the Pi Beta Phi Sorority, the issue is mostly about the meaning of home. “Our house was built by Pi Phis, for Pi Phis,” Techarukpong said. Most members of Pi Beta
Phi pay their own dues, and the new taxes would increase their financial burden, she said. A rally in support of Greek life will take place in the Davis Center March 3.
UVM is investing millions in a marketing makeover. UVM will spend $1.58 million in a “new enrollment management project,” in order to make UVM more appealing, according to contracts signed in October between UVM and Philadelphia design compan 160over90. The contract with the design company will last through 2018. The project began at the beginning of summer 2015, Vice President of Enrollment Management Stacey Kostell said. “This is an effort to use use storytelling and creative design – and the metaphor of an academic ecosystem – to put UVM’s unique advantages in sharp relief, so they stand out and break through the clutter of college admissions materials,” she said. The University is not rebranding, because it is still promoting itself, just with a different face, Interim Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences William Falls said. “We don’t consider this to be a ‘rebranding’ campaign, since we’ve focused on many of these same points in the past,” Kostell said. “I think that UVM is doing the right thing with this money,” junior Drew Flaherty said. “Although many students may feel indifferent toward improvements like this, I think it is good timing.” Flaherty said it is important to recognize how the University has developed its image over the years. “This University has been developing in just the few recent years that I have been here and it is apparent among all of the students,” he said. While looking at possible partners for the project, the Request for Proposals explained that the contract would include a three-month research period as well as a marketing campaign. Prospective students and parents, alumni and other university members are among those who will be tested for branding effectiveness, the proposal stated. The choice to hire 160over90 was decided by the University’s board of trustees during the 2014-2015 school year.