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NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT · MONDAY, APRIL 9, 2012 · VOL. CXXXIV, NO. 120 · yaledailynews.com
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CROSS CAMPUS
SUBJECT M. LACROSSE TEXTCOME TEXT TEXT ELIS BACK TEXT TEXT TEXT AT DARTMOUTH
SUBJECT YALE COLLEGE COUNCILSUBJECT ELECTIONS
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Text text text text text TEXT for TEXT TEXT The News presents the candidates the 2012-’13 text text text text president, TEXT TEXT TEXT YCCtext Executive Board: vice president, text text text text events director TEXT TEXT secretary, treasurer, and UOFC chair.
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Title IX, one year later
Interrupted. During the
vice-presidential portion of Sunday’s Yale College Council election debate, two interlopers dressed in full rabbit suits stood in the doorway of Linsly-Chittenden 102, without making a scene, until YCC Vice President Omar Njie ’13 escorted them out.
BY TAPLEY STEPHENSON STAFF REPORTER
To the Times. Economics
professor Robert Shiller wrote an editorial in the New York Times over the weekend highlighting the need to democratize Wall Street by allowing sophisticated economic tools to become better dispersed in society.
of new initiatives and accelerated existing projects, all designed to promote a safe campus environment. University President Richard Levin convened the Advisory Committee on Campus Climate, whose November report recommended that Yale expand the Sexual Harassment and Assault Response & Education center (SHARE), increase administrator training in sexual mis-
Last Thursday’s Yale College faculty resolution expressing concern for Singapore’s “history of lack of respect for civil and political rights” has garnered mixed reactions in the East Asian city state. Though several Singaporean residents, National University of Singapore professors and NUS administrators interviewed said they do not expect the resolution to lead to major changes at Yale-NUS, the jointly run liberal arts college set to open in 2013, they said the resolution lacked a nuanced understanding of Singapore’s political situation. Four NUS administrators expressed disappointment to see the resolution passed, and several added that they agreed with the viewpoint of University President Richard Levin, who said he did not support the resolution because it had a “sense of moral superiority.” “Both the tone of the resolution and some contributions to the debate have definitely struck a note of moral superiority,” John Richardson, director of NUS’s multi-disciplinary University Scholars Programme, said in a
SEE TITLE IX PAGE 4
SEE SINGAPORE PAGE 9
We’re number nine. A list out
from the Huffington Post last week ranks colleges in terms of Internet buzz, and Yale came in ninth. MIT topped the list, followed by Harvard and the University of Chicago.
Lock ‘em up! Ryan Nees
’11 appeared on Fox News Sunday morning to discuss indictments handed down in Indiana on Democratic elections workers charged with forging signatures to get Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton LAW ’73 on the ballot in the 2008 Democratic primary, charges traced back to Nees’ reporting.
They’ll never let go. A New Haven Register article published Saturday examines Yale research archivist Judith Schiff’s studies of the Yalies on board the SMS Titanic when it sank on April 15, 1912, including the the real-life romance of Karl Behr 1906 and his future bride, Helen Newsom. Behr and Newsom made it into a lifeboat. Less than a year later, the two were married. So much for no more hazing.
A number of men wearing blazers, pastel trousers and pig masks were spotted in the Davenport courtyard Friday night, yelling “I’m a little piggy. Oink, oink, oink.” Down with YCC? In addition
to the candidates profiled inside this issue, another candidate has entered the Yale College Council elections fray: Quinn Zhang ’14, who’s running for YCC tsar on a platform of ending YCC elections forever, violently silencing all opposition and instating River_Tam as chief of staff. “Not the dictator Yale deserves, but the dictator Yale needs,” campaign lit reads.
No respect. A crew of Oxford
rowers, including Rhodes Scholar William Zeng ’11, were interrupted in the middle of their regatta against Cambridge when a protestor swam in their path. Oxford was leading when the race stopped; in the end, Cambridge came out on top.
THIS DAY IN YALE HISTORY
1980 Local home builders gather on the Green to protest unchecked inflation. Submit tips to Cross Campus
crosscampus@yaledailynews.com
ONLINE y MORE cc.yaledailynews.com
Mixed reactions to faculty resolution
KELLY HSU/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
One year ago, 16 students and alumni filed a complaint with the Department of Education that Yale has a hostile sexual environment. BY CAROLINE TAN STAFF REPORTER Just over one year ago, Yale faced a bold accusation.
UPCLOSE According to 16 students and alumni who filed a Title IX complaint with the Department of Education’s Office for
Civil Rights (OCR), the University fostered a hostile sexual environment. Four days after news broke that the OCR had opened an investigation, Vice President Joe Biden announced new guidelines that clarified the OCR’s expectations for Title IX compliance. As universities across the country began to reevaluate their sexual grievance procedures, Yale became the focal point of the nationwide discussion. Yale administrators launched a flurry
Cops charged in off-duty incident BY JAMES LU STAFF REPORTER Three New Haven Police Department officers were arrested Friday for their involvement in an off-duty shooting incident outside the State Street bar Christopher Martin’s last Sunday. The NHPD secured arrest warrants from the state’s attorney’s office Thursday evening for the three officers, who voluntarily turned themselves in at police headquarters on Union Avenue Friday morning, according to NHPD spokesman David Hartman. Officers Charles Kim and Lawrence Burns were charged with interfering with a police officer, unlawful discharge of a firearm and reckless endangerment in the first degree, while officer Krzystof Ruszczyk was charged with interfering with a police officer. The arrests came after a week of investigation conducted by the NHPD’s Internal Affairs and Investigative Services divisions. Those investigations began after the NHPD responded to a report of gunshots around State and Pearl Streets at 2:27 a.m. Sunday and learned that fellow officers were involved in the incident. While Hartman declined to comment on the details of the incident, the New Haven Register reported that Kim and Burns fired their guns into the air while Ruszczyk did not fire his gun. All three face a charge of interfering with a police officer, for allegedly leaving the scene after being ordered to
YCC candidates face off at public debate
remain by another officer. “No one was shot at, no one was hit, no property was damaged,” NHPD Chief Dean Esserman said at a press conference last Sunday in response to the incident. “The actions of the few do not speak for the many.”
Police officers are meant to uphold the law — there’s no excuse for this if the officers are convicted of the crimes they have allegedly committed. BRIAN WINGATE Chair, Board of Aldermen public safety committee Esserman asked the three officers to surrender their guns, badges and police identification Sunday afternoon and promised that the NHPD would “move rapidly” in its investigation of the incident. The swift response comes as Esserman seeks to build public trust in the NHPD as part of his efforts to revive community policing in the Elm City, an approach that emphasizes strong public-police relations as a crime-reduction strategy. “The behavior [of the arrested officers] is unacceptable,” Mayor John DeStefano Jr. SEE SHOOTINGS PAGE 9
SARAH ECKINGER/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
The three candidates vying for the position of YCC president — from left, John Gonzalez ’14, Cristo Liautaud ’14 and Eric Eliasson ’14 — squared off at a debate in LC Sunday. BY CHRISTINA WANG CONTRIBUTING REPORTER The candidates for Yale College Council president and vice president faced off in debates Sunday afternoon before roughly 70 students in Linsly-Chittenden Hall. As candidates competed for endorsements from leaders of student organizations in the crowd, discussions centered around the expansion of the YCC’s mental health program, communication between the YCC and the Yale community, the return of ROTC to Yale, the administration’s recent ban on fall rush for freshmen and dining hours. Current YCC President Brandon Levin ’13 said while he was
impressed by the candidates’ knowledge of the work this year’s YCC has done, he wished the candidates had offered more specific plans of action. “I was hoping to see some concrete policy proposals and initiatives,” Levin said. “It’s easy to get caught up in rhetoric but I hope that later in the campaign they will get down to the basics and we will be able to see what their goals are and how they’re going to accomplish them.” Alexander Haden ’14, president of the Pierson Class Council, said while all of the candidates seemed “eager and willing to make successful all the different programs SEE YCC DEBATE PAGE 9
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YALE DAILY NEWS · MONDAY, APRIL 9, 2012 · yaledailynews.com
OPINION
.COMMENT “How much tinfoil do you need for your little hat?” yaledailynews.com/opinion
Twice bitten, finally shy G
hold as true for Iraq at first. But as Bremer conceded, a constitution is only a piece of paper. Governments can crumble as quickly as they are erected, and trends there are turning uglier by the day. If we go into Iran, we must limit ourselves to a narrower mission than the state building we have undertaken in the past. We must limit ourselves to destroying nuclear capabilities and toppling the regime, and leave the rest to the Iranians themselves. This is certainly a controversial position — detractors will leap to argue that this path will engender a chaotic state, a fertile breeding ground for terrorism. To that, I would respond that first, a nuclear Iran poses a greater threat to American interests, and second, Iran already serves as a state sponsor of terrorism — intervention could hardly cause worse terrorism to crop up. Prolonged intervention with troops on the ground would lead to accusations of meddling and another quick portrayal of Americans as “occupiers”. If we eliminate components of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure and eliminate its rulers, this empowers the inheritors of the Green Revolution’s legacy to create their own Iran. This is certainly not going to lead to a democratic Persian paradise. The impacts will likely be civil strife and killings, riots and bitter disagreements over governance. But the lesson of Iraq and Afghanistan is that our ability to tailor states to our liking is a myth. We should ensure that they cannot threaten us or our major allies, and then wash our hands of the mess. A prolonged engagement rivaling those in Iraq or Afghanistan would tax an alreadyexhausted military at a time when defense spending needs to be cut as the result of the budget crisis. Not only that, but it would also undermine our position vis-à-vis China, who would enjoy the luxury of sitting on the sidelines and watching its great rival once again flail ineffectually and squander resources. If a post-nuclear and postAhmadinejad Iran is a terrible country but not a direct danger to us, we should leave well enough alone, and we should make that commitment to leave well enough alone now, ahead of time. America has not the will, the wealth or the wisdom to build a nation in 2012 anywhere but at home. MICHAEL MAGDZIK is a junior in Berkeley College. Contact him at michael.magdzik@yale.edu .
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COPYRIGHT 2012 — VOL. CXXXIV, NO. 120
APPROVE YALE-NUS RESOLUTION’
POINT
GUEST COLUMNIST MICHAEL MAGDZIK
eorge Santayana’s observation that “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” is one of the most hackneyed phrases in all of writing, yet for all its overuse, it retains a certain placid stubbornness, preying on our collective subconscious as a potent, if not perhaps entirely reliable, indicator of truth. During a Pierson Master’s Tea on Thursday, diplomat Paul Bremer, former head of the Coalition Provisional Authority, which oversaw the early occupation of Iraq, came to discuss contemporary Middle East politics. He left the audience with no ambiguity about his conception of the future of AmericanIranian relations. Drawing from authority, he cited Churchill: “We shall see how the counsels of prudence and restraint may become the prime agents of mortal danger; how the middle course adopted from desires for safety and a quiet life may be found to lead direct to the bull’s eye of disaster.” Even the most clueless neophyte at history understands the appeal to the age-old example of Chamberlain’s appeasement of Hitler’s Germany. Bremer’s implication was clear: If we fail to act now, Iran may eclipse even the horrors perpetrated by the Third Reich. Bremer suggested that ten years of comprehensive sanctions on Iran had failed to bear fruit and the notion of a constructive dialogue was laughable. I probably agree that Iran is dangerous and all options should be on the table to prevent it from acquiring the bomb. Opponents will use the Santayana quote to bring up Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, but there are definitely other lessons from Iraq (and Afghanistan, for that matter) that we ought keep in mind. As we move towards a potential military assault against Iran, if we do exercise that route, policymakers must take care to exercise foresight and set a realistic plan for our mission there that we can adhere to. The evolving and nebulous nature of America’s goals in Afghanistan — from defeating the Taliban, to degrading the Taliban, to God-knows-what — has been a perennial source of frustration for the American public. Soon we will leave that country with a robust narcotics trade, a vibrant insurgency, pervasive corruption and a seething hatred of America exacerbated by Qur’an burnings and massacres. The problem of establishing civil order proved insurmountable. This did not
‘HRSN’ ON ‘FACULTY
COUNTER-POINT
G U E S T C O L U M N I S T S H AU N TA N
GUEST COLUMNIST E-CHING NG
Truth is arrogant
Respect Singaporeans
T
he most worrisome thing about Yale-NUS College is the effect it has had on our administrators. In their desire to bolster support for the project and please their Singaporean counterparts, they’ve subordinated the truth to an eerie political correctness. Lately, very smart people have said very ridiculous things. Last week, President Richard Levin opposed a clause in a faculty resolution expressing concern about Singapore’s “lack of respect for civil and political rights” because he claimed it “carried a sense of moral superiority.” His sentiments were echoed by Economics Department Chair Benjamin Polak, who worried that the resolution’s language would be considered arrogant or offensive. The administration has grown reluctant to make any kind of value judgment on Singapore. This stifling political correctness has produced absurdity. Last week, Fareed Zakaria, a trustee of the Yale Corporation, quoted Singapore’s former Education Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam (“A global education for a global age,” April 3). “We both have meritocracies,” Shanmugaratnam said, comparing the U.S. and Singapore. “Yours is a talent meritocracy, ours is an exam meritocracy. We know how to train people to take exams.”
SOMETIMES THINGS ARE WRONG, NOT JUST DIFFERENT. Zakaria seemed to endorse fusing the two traditions. Never mind that the purpose of an exam is to gauge talent, making a system that trains people to do well in exams for the sake of doing well in exams completely pointless. The exam meritocracy trains students to memorize large amounts of information, regurgitate it onto an exam script and then forget most of it within a week. The American system has a degree of this, too, except that here, rote learning is rightly viewed as a low-grade form of education to be minimized. In fact, even many Singaporeans recognize this — which is why NUS proposed a new liberal arts college in the first place. Zakaria, however, makes no judgment about it — things are not better or worse; they’re just different. Worse still was Yale-NUS Dean of Faculty Charles Bailyn’s comment on Singapore’s restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly. “What we think of as freedom, they think of as an affront to public order, and I think the two societies differ in that respect,” he told the News. Again, things in Singapore are
not better or worse; they’re just different. I don’t know what inspired such moral relativism. Perhaps it was the idea often spouted by proponents of Yale-NUS that repression is necessary to protect ethnic sensitivities and religious beliefs. They advocate viewing repression in context. Well, here’s its context. I’m from Malaysia, Singapore’s closest neighbor and the country it split from in 1965, and I have strong ties to the island-city. The sorts of arguments we’ve heard in the last few weeks sound familiar; I’ve heard them before, usually from local politicians seeking to defend despotic policies. Repression is necessary, they claim, because allowing free expression threatens to upset the delicate balance of their multiracial society, which operates on Asian values. The use of “Asian values” in this way is an insult to both Asians and the concept of values. Policies that limit speech in the name of harmony have stifled important debates and infantilized the people of Singapore and Malaysia, while also increasing intolerance by pandering to unreasonable sensibilities. By forever shielding their people from supposedly dangerous ideas, the governments of both countries keep their citizens politically immature, making them easier to rule. This is the kind of atmosphere Yale-NUS will have to overcome if it wants to help its students think creatively and independently. To succeed, Yale will have to build on Singapore’s strengths instead of lending undeserved legitimacy to the country’s dubious censorship policies. I want Yale-NUS to succeed because its failure will have dire consequences not just for Yale but also for Singaporeans. What will young Singaporeans think if they see the leaders of the great Yale University reduced to feeble relativism or recitation of PAP propaganda? Would they not grow disillusioned, concluding that the sanctity of the academy is a lie, that the West is every bit as hypocritical as they’ve been told? To succeed in Singapore, Yale must reaffirm its core value — the truth and the freedom to pursue the truth — no matter whom it might upset. Yale’s motto is Lux et Veritas, and it’s time our administrators remembered it. They owe nothing less to our University and to the people of Singapore. Yale’s leaders must recognize that truth, in a sense, is intensely arrogant. It cares not for political correctness and does not respect authority. Affirming the truth means daring to take a stand and risking being called arrogant or insulting. SHAUN TAN is a second-year graduate student in international relations.
L
ast month, the Singaporean student newspaper Kent Ridge Common published an excellent column by Koh Choon Hwee, who confessed herself bewildered by the “careless, generalized stereotypes being traded not only by students, but also by Yale faculty members — which seem to betray the very ethos of good scholarship.” She then asked pointedly whether Singapore should reconsider the partnership with Yale, “considering the quality of arguments proffered by some of her tenured best.” I believe Yalies can think, but I can see why my fellow Singaporeans might suspect otherwise. The crucial problem is that Yalies and Singaporeans have fundamentally different assumptions about political culture. Americans are outraged at certain Singaporean laws. Singaporeans just break them — and usually get away with it. Homosexual intercourse is illegal in Singapore the way underage drinking is illegal at Yale. The police have never bothered my openly gay brother, writer-activist Ng Yi-Sheng, despite his public gender-bending antics and book of comingout stories with real names and faces, which became a Singaporean bestseller. As for censorship, I read Wired’s description of Singapore as “Disneyland with the Death Penalty” in a high school class after the magazine was banned, and I later assigned the piece to my own students. There are guaranteed ways to invite trouble in Singapore, at least if you’re not protected by the YaleNUS guarantee of academic freedom. But usually, where freedom of speech and sexuality are concerned, written laws and enforcement are very different things. It’s a bit cognitively complicated, but if we can handle that, so can you. The Yale College faculty meant well when they passed Thursday’s resolution championing American-style political freedoms in Singapore. But — I hate to break it to you — our value systems aren’t quite the same as Yalies’. It’s hard for Singaporeans to imagine wanting the right to bear arms if it would mean worrying about getting home safely after partying all night. Singaporeans ridicule the ruling party’s self-protective censorship, but when it attempted to liberalize film censorship in 1991, public outcry forced it to backtrack. Qur’an-burning is illegal in Singapore, and we like it that way. We prioritize our values differently, and different doesn’t mean wrong. At least, that’s what I learned from a Yale liberal arts education. Unfortunately, nine years at Yale still leave me trying, in all sincerity, to understand the logic of well-meaning professors who say they support both YaleNUS and Thursday’s resolu-
tion. I see some attempt at tact, but it didn’t translate culturally. To a Singaporean, the resolution looks like a request to be kicked out of the country. Criticizing a partner publicly during this crucial trust-building phase is a last-resort negotiating tactic used just prior to walking away from the deal. The resolution also annoys the Singaporean in the street, who already thought Yale was getting a sweetheart deal — free campus, free staff, free rein to run pedagogical experiments on free subjects, not even the risk of putting the Yale name on the diploma. Unlike President Levin and others in the Yale administration, I don’t think it’s imperialistic for Yale to want to help Singapore change. But given the political and cultural constraints, the best way for Yale to effect change is not by stressing differences, but by showing Singaporeans how much we have in common. Singaporean gay movement Pink Dot has borrowed selectively from the U.S. gay marriage and adoption debates. By stressing family relationships and acceptance of diversity — both values at the core of Singaporean identity — last year’s rally drew over 10,000 people.
SINGAPORE HAS DIFFERENT VALUES. DEAL WITH IT. If enough Singaporean voters want change, the government will respond. After last year’s election exposed cabinet ministers’ pay as a huge grievance for the 99 percent, pay scales were promptly overhauled. It may seem strange to American observers, but our ruling party does care about popular sentiment, despite holding power for over 50 years. You don’t have to like the way Singapore works, and I don’t want to trivialize the heroism of political dissidents like J.B. Jeyaretnam, who was sued into bankruptcy by the ruling party, but disliking it doesn’t make our political culture any less real, and to change it, you have to start from that reality. Singapore is not an isolationist or stagnant society — it’s extremely open to foreign influences, as long as they’re seen as our own choice, not the preoccupations of hecklers. The aims of the faculty resolution can best be achieved by simply having a Yale presence in Singapore, not preaching but demonstrating — with steadfastness but also humility — what is admirable about Yale. E-CHING NG is a 2001 graduate of Morse College and a fifth-year graduate student in linguistics.
S TA F F I L L U S T R AT O R AU B E R E Y L E S C U R E
The newest family member
YALE DAILY NEWS · MONDAY, APRIL 9, 2012 · yaledailynews.com
PAGE 3
PAGE THREE TODAY’S EVENTS
“Although China and United States are competitors, China and the United States are indeed partners in trade.” ZHU RONGJI FORMER CHINESE PREMIER
Novelist reflects on effects of war
MONDAY, APRIL 08 10:00 AM Big Food: Health, Culture and Evolution of Eating. This exhibition will begin with the neuroscience of appetite, genetics of obesity and how food and energy are stored in the body. It will conclude with a challenge for visitors to reflect on their role in personal and community health and the sustainability of our food system. Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History (170 Whitney Ave.). 12:00 PM Career Lunch with Jackson Senior Fellow Alexander Evans. Alexander Evans is a counselor in the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office with particular expertise on South Asia. Rosenkranz Hall (115 Prospect St.), Room 241. 4:30 PM China Colloquium Series: War, Water, Power: An Environmental History of Henan’s Yalle River Flood Area, 1938-1952. The Yellow River’s floodwaters displaced millions during the conflict known in China as the Anti-Japanese War of Resistance. Micah Muscolino, associate professor of history at Georgetown University will give a talk on this period of strife. LUCE Hall (34 Hillhouse Ave.), Room 203. 6:00 PM MultiFaith Council Meeting. The MultiFaith Council is an interfaith dialogue group for students of all religions and no religion. It’s a great way to widen your perspective on religion and spirituality, and participate in meaningful discussions in a chill environment. Come participate in an hour worth of fantastic discussion over dinner. Bingham Hall (241 Elm St.), Chaplain’s Office. 6:00 PM The Mystery of the Matzah with Eli Rogosa. This workshop will expkore matzah, “the bread of simplicity,” as a symbol of resistance to the modern food system’s exploitative and depletive tendancies and techniques. Slifka Center for Jewish Life at Yale (80 Wall St.). 7:00 PM Surviving Progress. This film screening is part of the 2012 Environmental Film Festival at Yale, and it explores the concept of progress in our modern world. Yale Art Gallery (1111 Chapel St.), enter through the High Street entrance. 7:30 PM Frats, Sororities, and Athletic Teams: Being an Unconventional Ally. This panel will address issues that affect LGBTQ-identified athletes, fraternity brothers and sorority sisters. This event is part of Pride@Yale. Linsly-Chittenden Hall (63 High St.), Room 105. 8:00 PM Mindfulness Meditation Group. Sitting meditation followed by a discussion/informal lecture on the practice of mindfulness meditation, also called vipassana. Dwight Hall (67 High St.), Chapel.
U.S.-China conference seeks cooperation BY JACQUELINE SAHLBERG STAFF REPORTER Over 20 Chinese college students joined roughly 200 Yale students and faculty this weekend for the second-annual U.S.-China Forum at Yale intended to strengthen relationships between future leaders in the United States and China.
We hope to promote relationships between people of our generation. YONG ZHAO FES ‘14 Chief-Coordinator of the US-China Forum at Yale The two-day conference included speeches by policy experts, student discussions, and panels with professors and business executives on topics ranging from finance to the history of U.S.-China relations. Yong Zhao FES ’14, chief coordinator of the U.S.-China Forum at Yale, said the conference aimed to encourage cooperation between the two countries by fostering discussion among Chinese and American students. “The goal of the conference is to facilitate mutual trust between the United States and China on a different level,” Zhao said. “Instead of focusing on the government, we hope to promote relationships between people of our generation. We are trying to build a framework for people interested in China to work together.” Conference speakers discussed the state of U.S.-China relations, ongoing financial reform and investment in China and the sustainability of Chinese manufacturing, among other topics. Gang Fan, an economics professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Science and director of China’s National Economic Research Institute, gave the Sunday morning keynote speech titled “Financial Reform of China and Future Internationalization of the RMB.” Fan
discussed several economic reforms — such as increases in venture capital investment and the “breaking down [of] the monopoly” of state-run banks — that he said are needed to reduce the number of non-performing loans and stimulate the economy. He said he expects the Chinese currency Renminbi (RMB) will become more important in the global economy in the coming years, adding that he thinks the international community should begin relying less on the U.S. dollar. Fan said in an interview after his keynote speech that the conference allowed participating students to engage in informed discussion, and added that he hopes universities in China will hold similar events. “This conference is a good initiative,” Fan said. “It is important for us to share information and encourage students to engage in policy debates on the relevant issues.” On Saturday afternoon the conference held a student discussion on the ways Chinese and American cultures approach topics such as marriage, college and volunteer work. Also on Saturday, teams from Yale and Harvard, as well as Beijing’s Peking University and Tsinghua University, competed in the “Cross-Pacific Perceptions” debate. Austin Long ’15, who won the debate along with teammates David Yin ’15 and Shubo Yin ’14, said the debate helped him to better understand global issues from China’s perspective, adding that differences between Chinese and American students “are not that substantial.” Shu Fu, a senior from Tsinghua University, said participating in the debate was a good opportunity to “exchange opinions and get new perspectives.” The conference was organized by the Association of Chinese Students and Scholars at Yale. Contact JACQUELINE SAHLBERG at jacqueline.sahlberg@yale.edu .
SELEN UMAN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Novelist and screenwriter John Irving spoke about the story behind his latest novel, an adaptation of which was performed at the Yale Rep this weekend. BY HOON PYO JEON and EUGENE JUNG CONTRIBUTING REPORTERS At a Jonathan Edwards College Master’s Tea on Saturday afternoon, John Irving gave the background story behind his 1989 novel, “A Prayer for Owen Meany.” The Academy Award-winning screenwriter and novelist visited Yale to attend the Yale Dramatic Association’s Freshman Show, an adaptation of the novel which played at the Yale Repertory Theatre on Friday and Saturday. At the JE Master’s House before an audience of about 50 students, faculty and community members, Irving explored the central themes of his writing, such as faith, religion, war and friendship. Irving focused his talk on “Owen Meany,” tracing the origins of this novel to a 1975 high school reunion in his hometown of Exeter, N.H., where he attended Phillips Exeter Academy. Irving found himself engaged in a conversation with an old classmate about the friends they had lost in the war and what others had done to themselves not to go to the war . “[That] was the habit of the morbid Vietnam generation,” Irving said.
During this conversation Irving said he remembered a school friend named Russell, who he later recast in the novel as the protagonist Owen Meany, a small kid with “a rock-dust falsetto” from a highly religious granite-quarrying family who believes that he is God’s instrument.
[Owen Meany] definitely is a victim of that war, as our country continues to be a victim. JOHN IRVING Novelist Although Irving did not serve in Vietnam, he said the lasting impact of the war on his generation motivated him to write the novel 14 years after the war’s end. For some, Irving said, the damage was physical, as with young men who avoided the draft by cutting off their own fingers or shooting themselves in the kneecap. For others, the damage was much more gradual and metaphysical: Vietnam was a soul-crushing experience even for those who
did not fight, Irving said, an idea that served as one of the original underpinnings of the novel. “That was exactly what I was looking for: someone who is a victim of the war, but not the victim you see coming from Vietnam,” Irving said. “[Owen Meany] definitely is a victim of that war, as our country continues to be a victim of that war.” Reflecting on this idea of victimization, Irving argued that one of the fundamental themes in “Owen Meany” is the loss of friendship. Noting that college students enjoy close friendships which they will rarely find ever again, Irving added that losing a friend in one’s youth, either physically or symbolically, causes irreparable damage to the course of one’s life. “The last thing you expect is to lose someone of your age,” Irving said to his young audience members. “I lose people of my age all the time. But if you lose a friend at your age, it changes your life.” In light of the Freshman Show, Irving said that “Owen Meany” is a difficult novel to adapt for the stage. He said that in addition to its length, the novel’s supernatural element, which is very difficult to visualize, makes the novel a challenge to stage. JE Master Penelope Laurans
said Irving’s talk was one of the most riveting Master’s Teas she has hosted. “It was wonderful that it wasn’t a simple question-andanswer session, but rather spoke much more deeply about parts of yourself,” Laurans said. Eric Sirakian ’15, who proposed and directed this weekend’s play, said he wanted to examine institutions such as church and government, topics into which the play provides insight. Otis Blum ’15, an actor in the play, said that the tea allowed him to understand the story on a more fundamental level. “Meeting John Irving and [talking directly to a screenwriter] is an opportunity that many actors do not have,” Blum said. “I read the play and the novel, but listening to him speak about what his intentions were and what his feelings were in the play was an amazing opportunity and a valuable supplement to the book.” In 1999, Irving won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for “The Cider House Rules.” Contact HOON PYO JEON at hoonpyo.jeon@yale.edu . and EUGENE JUNG at eugene.jung@yale.edu .
‘Slamlet’ merges modern poetry, bard BY JULIA ZORTHIAN STAFF REPORTER Members of Teeth Slam Poets gave William Shakespeare’s 400-year-old texts a modernday update on Saturday night in “Slamlet” at the Whitney Humanities Center. The event, part of this semester’s “Shakespeare at Yale” festivities, featured Kate Tempest, a poet from London who combines Shakespeare’s language with spoken word poetry. After Tempest performed four poems, members of Yale’s Teeth Slam Poets took over the stage with their interpretations of various plays and sonnets. “I was really excited for us to be a part of Shakespeare at Yale, because people don’t usually think about slam poetry and Shakespeare in the same breath,” said Ifeanyi Awachie ’14, a member of Teeth. “People think spoken word is low-brow, too populist, too sensational. We wanted to show people that slam poetry can be anything,” Mark Bauer, associate director of the Whitney Humanities Center, approached Awachie last spring about coordinating a Shakespeare at Yale event with Teeth. When Bauer discovered Tempest online and sent Teeth a video by the poet, the group applied for funding from Shakespeare at Yale to bring Tempest to campus. Tempest opened the event with her poem “What We Came
After,” inspired by Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” and written for the Royal Shakespeare Company’s “Sound and Fury,” a 2010 project that fused Shakespeare’s language with contemporary wordplay. Tempest added that she did not consider the play’s title when she chose her stage name years ago.
People think spoken word is low-brow, too populist, too sensational. We wanted to show people that slam poetry can be anything. IFEANYI AWACHIE ‘14 Member of Teeth Slam Poets Tempest repeated the line “That’s when you know that Hell is empty, ‘cos all the devils are here,” many times during the poem, explaining after that it is a riff on one of Ariel’s lines in the play. Next she performed “Balance,” a poem about the relationships between four friends, Pride, Envy, Talent and Ambition. Her third poem, “Renegade,” made references to Banquo from Macbeth, and she concluded with the premiere of a poem about Shakespeare and his relevance today. In addition to performing at “Slamlet,” Tempest led a work-
shop on Saturday afternoon that focused on blending Shakespeare with spoken word poetry. Awachie said that in the workshop Tempest told Teeth members that she thinks Shakespeare is viewed as elite and elevated above spoken word poetry, and she encouraged the members of Teeth to “claim Shakespeare again.” Rebecca Aston ’14 and Juliet deButts ’14 introduced the event by explaining how, in the Elizabethan era, Shakespeare’s plays were viewed as lowly entertainment, on the same level as bearbaiting. Awachie added that she sees similarities between that phenomenon and how spoken word poetry is often viewed today. “I think slam or spoken poetry is so easy to dismiss as something not worth as much as written poetry,” Tempest said. “But Shakespeare’s language only makes sense when you hear it. It was written to be performed, to be lived with, just like spoken word. That kind of snobbery about expression is such a waste of time.” Members of Teeth held workshops on Shakespeare’s texts leading up to the events, in which they analyzed different passages and sonnets together and worked the language and ideas into their poetry. David Kastelman ’13, a member of Teeth, said his approach to incorporating Shakespeare into his poetry differed from his
usual writing process. Kastelman’s poem, “Helen of Troy, Helena of Shakespeare, Hella Cute of Right Now,” was inspired by the character Helena of “All’s Well that Ends Well.” Kastelman said while looking at different Shakespeare plays, he was struck by the idea of “acting stupid around a cute girl” that he found in “All’s Well that Ends Well.” He said that starting with an idea and writing from there differed from how he usually works around lines he has previously written. Sophia Sanchez ’13 wrote her poem, “The Anti-Shakespeare,” about the pressure to “write in the shadow of Shakespeare.” “With Shakespeare there’s always pressure to do [him] justice and not just be some punk who’s written a poem that mentions Hamlet a few times,” Sanchez said. “How do you respond to perhaps the greatest writer in the English tradition? It’s almost this mammoth task that’s impossible, but you have to try.” Tempest said that seeing students engaging with Shakespeare’s text during the show was inspiring, even if that engagement is “struggling with him.” Shakespeare at Yale will culminate in a Festival Weekend April 20-22. Contact JULIA ZORTHIAN at julia.zorthian@yale.edu .
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YALE DAILY NEWS · MONDAY, APRIL 9, 2012 · yaledailynews.com
FROM THE FRONT
“Feeling good about government is like looking on the bright side of any catastrophe. When you quit looking on the bright side, the catastrophe is still there.” P. J. O’ROURKE AMERICAN POLITICAL SATIRIST
Students, admins disagree over changes TITLE IX FROM PAGE 1 conduct issues and “reinvigorate” the role of Title IX coordinators. Meanwhile, the Yale College Dean’s Office unveiled a series of programs for undergraduates, including a revamped freshman orientation and mandatory leadership training for student organizations. Still, Title IX complainants interviewed said the University’s efforts to improve Yale’s sexual culture have addressed only part of their concerns, asserting that Yale still lacks sufficiently strict disciplinary measures for perpetrators of sexual misconduct. A majority of students interviewed said the Title IX complaint and the initiatives that followed have made the undergraduate population more attuned to issues of sexual misconduct. But not all agreed on whether the new programs have actually changed student behavior or on whether the push to maintain a positive sexual culture will continue after the OCR concludes its investigation. “It’s the first year after Title IX, and the University has a very vested interest in making itself look good right now,” said Kate Orazem ’12, one of the Title IX complainants. “I hope that attitude will continue.”
ORIGINS OF THE COMPLAINT
According to four complainants interviewed, Yale had failed to respond quickly and strictly enough to cases of sexual misconduct for many years. But the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity (DKE) incident — in which pledges chanted “No means yes, yes means anal” on Old Campus in October 2010 — was the “final straw” that convinced complainants that Yale needed a major change, Orazem said. “ ‘No means yes, yes means anal’ became this kind of catchphrase for what was wrong with Yale,” she said. “I think stuff like that just made it easier to mobilize.” Joseph Breen ’12, another Title IX complainant, said Alexandra Brodsky ’12, Hannah Zeavin ’12 and Presca Ahn ’10 were the first complainants to begin discussions that eventually led to the complaint, adding that the trio “did the most work” in putting together the complaint and handling media attention. When considering what action to take, complainants looked back at a controversy in 2008 when Zeta Psi fraternity members were photographed holding a “We Love Yale Sluts” sign in front of the Women’s Center, an incident that led the then-Women’s Center board to consider suing the fra-
ternity. Though board members did not ultimately press charges, Orazem said the controversy provided a precedent for considering legal action against Yale that helped pave the way for the complainants to pursue their own legal remedies. Brodsky said discussion about filing a formal complaint started around the 2010-’11 winter break, when Zeavin began consulting Harvard Law School professor Diane Rosenfeld for legal advice. Orazem said Rosenfeld encouraged the complainants to pursue legal action. (Rosenfeld did not return repeated requests for comment.) Over the next few months, Brodsky said she worked with other early Title IX complainants to reach out to other students and alumni who they thought would be interested in joining the effort. Breen, who said he was asked to join by Brodsky in early 2011, said the complainants reached out to a diverse range of people they thought would be interested in the initiative. He said his support was a “sort of recognition” that sexual misconduct issues applied to all members of the Yale community — not just women. “[The complainants] were people who were interested in gender and interested in issues about sexual violence, but we were not necessarily with each other all the time or in subsets,” Orazem said. “We all had a little piece of what we thought was going on, but we had never really pooled our knowledge and saw how systemic this stuff was.” The complaint includes testimonies from students unsatisfied with the University’s response to sexual misconduct, Brodsky said, adding that administrators’ response to the DKE controversy was only a small part of the complaint’s grievances against Yale. Rosenfeld and New Havenbased lawyer Anne Catherine Savage ultimately helped format the complaints’ individual testimonies into a formal legal document. Still, not all students and alumni who thought Yale needed to improve its sexual climate wanted to pursue legal action. Brodsky said some students opposed her decision to contribute to the complaint, questioning her “Yale loyalty.” One student, who declined to sign the complaint and wished to remain anonymous due to the sensitive nature of the controversy, said she worried that the complaint would divide the Yale community and run counter to the efforts already being made to promote dialogue and cooperation following the DKE incident.
Brodsky said the early complainants did not ask “much more than 16” students and alumni to contribute to the complaint. Eventually, the 16 complainants decided to proceed and file the complaint, a decision that launched Yale into the national spotlight.
PUBLIC IMAGE
The OCR announced its Title IX investigation just two weeks before administrators and students welcomed admitted students to campus on April 13 for Bulldog Days. Breen said the timing of the investigation’s announcement was “unfortunate” and “not planned at all.” The complainants ended up receiving “a lot of flack for seemingly trying to sabotage Bulldog Days,” he said, even though they had submitted their complaint at least a month before the event and did not know when the investigation would formally begin.
It’s the first year after Title IX, and the University has a very vested interest in making itself look good right now. I hope that attitude will continue. KATE ORAZEM ’12 One of the Title IX defendantsy Levin said he thinks the Title IX controversy may have deterred some admitted women from attending Yale. “I think we did see a small impact of publicity last spring, in the sense that we had a slightly diminished yield from admitted women,” he said. “On the other hand, we saw a huge surge in admissions applications this year.” The class of 2015 is 49 percent female — a 3 percent decrease from the freshman class of 2014. Still, four college counselors and admission officers interviewed said they do not think the Title IX complaint has significantly affected Yale’s public image or admissions statistics. David Petersam, a counselor at Admissions Consultant, Inc., said he has not noticed any change in Yale’s attractiveness as an institution among high school students. He said he thinks students who are interested in Yale will still apply because of the University’s national prestige and academic resources.
Three of nine college freshmen who were accepted to Yale but chose not to attend said they were concerned by the Title IX complaint and DKE incident, but all said the complaint ultimately did not influence their college decisions. C.C. Gong, a freshman at Harvard who was accepted to Yale, said she remembered talking to a fellow prospective student at the University of California, Berkeley’s admitted students weekend last spring when a news broadcaster on the television behind her began discussing the Title IX and DKE controversies at Yale. “Right when I said I was thinking about going to Yale, somebody pointed to the [television] and said, ‘Wait, you want to go to that school? Isn’t it sexist?’ ” she said. Though Gong said she was “kind of shocked about what had happened,” she said the complaint did not affect her college decision because she spoke with Yale students who reassured her that the issue was “not something that defines Yale.” She said she ended up choosing Harvard because of family reasons and “being in Boston.” Elliot Wilson, another freshman at Harvard who was accepted to Yale, said in an April 2 email that he had talked about Yale’s alleged Title IX violations and the DKE controversy with his Bulldog Days hosts, adding that he is still “bothered by defenses of this sort of behavior” that he has read on comment boards. Though Wilson said the controversy did not dissuade him from attending Yale, he said the negative perceptions of Yale regarding sexual misconduct issues “certainly makes him uncomfortable and angry.” Nancy Cantalupo, an adjunct law professor at Georgetown University who has been working on sexual misconduct issues for over 15 years, said she thinks students understand that sexual misconduct is an issue that can affect all universities. But she said questions concerning Yale’s public image are especially important to the University’s alumni since they feel a sense of “belonging” to Yale and that “Yale is their school.” Levin said he received “a lot” of questions from alumni when the OCR’s investigation began, but added that he has had “virtually no conversation” with alumni on the matter since the Advisory Committee report was released. Still, Mu Young Lee ’92, president of the Yale Club of Silicon Valley, said the complaint “definitely” remains on the minds of many alumni. During an alumni event in San Francisco last month, Lee said several alumni asked Levin about the ongoing
TIMELINE SEXUAL MISCONDUCT POLICY 1980 Alexander v. Yale case takes place after five students file a lawsuit against the University. The case represents the first use of Title IX for sexual misconduct issues in an educational institution, and Yale establishes grievance procedures for sexual harassment issues later that year. OCT. 13, 2010 Delta Kappa Epsilon (DKE) pledges chant offensive slurs on Old Campus. DECEMBER 2010 Committee on Hazing and Initiations forms in response to the DKE incident. The Committee later releases a report in April 2011 recommending that administrators form leadership training sessions and ban Greek organizations’ fall rush period for freshmen.
ADAM WEINER ’12,
YDN
ALEXANDRA BRODSKY ’12, TITLE IX COMPLAINANT
MICHAEL MARSLAND
RICHARD LEVIN, UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT
FRESHMAN COUNSELOR IN SILLIMAN COLLEGE
I’m really positive about the future of Yale and the environment we’re creating with freshman orientation. They just do so much these days to really drive home the point that you should treat people right. People are just more aware of who’s around them when they’re saying stuff that might be perceived as sexist or misogynist.
If we don’t want rapists on this campus, we need to kick them out of here. I think there’s also a sense of privilege that comes from being a student at this school, in particular a male , where it seems like the world is your oyster and it seems like you’re not going to get in trouble for what you do on a Saturday night.
I think the [Advisory Committee] report and our response to it have all helped people understand that we are taking this seriously and it is being handled appropriately. We’re very committed to making this a safe place that’s free from sexual assault and sexual misconduct, and that’s been a strong commitment on our part.
MARCH 31, 2011 The OCR launches a Title IX investigation into Yale. APRIL 4, 2011 Vice President Joe Biden announces updated Title IX clarifications to all schools receiving federal funding. APRIL 15, 2011 University President Richard Levin announces the creation of the Advisory Committee on Campus Climate to examine the sexual environment at Yale and suggest ways to better combat sexual misconduct. NOV. 10, 2011 Levin releases the Advisory Committee’s report, which recommends expanding SHARE, reinvigorating the role of Title IX coordinators and increasing administrator training. NOV. 15, 2011 Deputy Provost Stephanie Spangler is appointed to oversee the University’s Title IX compliance.
MARCH 2, 2011 Task Force on Sexual Misconduct Education and Prevention, which also formed in response to the DKE incident, recommends changes to freshman orientation.
JAN. 31, 2012 Spangler releases the first biannual report documenting all of the sexual misconduct complaints brought to administrators from July 1 to Dec. 31 of 2011.
MARCH 15, 2011 Sixteen students and alumni file a formal Title IX complaint with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), alleging that Yale has a
MARCH 1, 2012 Administrators prohibit freshmen from rushing Greek organizations in the fall semester.
Title IX investigation and seemed satisfied with Levin’s “candid” response. Maria Lopez-Bresnahan ’78, president of the Yale Alumni Association of Boston, said she thinks the investigation has been a “source of embarrassment and disappointment for alumni.” “We kind of think of Yale as being a place that’s a little bit more enlightened even if it does include kids from 18 to 22,” LopezBresnahan said. “And so [the controversy] was disappointing. I was a little bit disgusted because obviously this is something we had hoped wouldn’t occur at Yale.” Lopez-Bresnahan said she thinks it is a “shame” that administrators have needed to expend resources and energy into addressing inappropriate behavior among students. She added that though she will not stop donating to the University, she plans to guide future donations more carefully and ensure that her contributions end up in specific areas she would like to support. Vice President for Development Inge Reichenbach said in a Sunday email that she has not received any feedback — either verbally or through donation patterns — from alumni donors about the Title IX controversy. Alternatively, Peter Lake, director for the Center for Excellence in Higher Education Law and Policy at Stetson University, said he thinks the University’s response to the Title IX controversy may have actually enhanced Yale’s reputation since he said administrators have responded to the challenge rather than “run away” from the controversy.
MEANINGFUL CHANGE?
KAMARIA GREENFIELD/PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
hostile sexual climate.
Despite the wave of new initiatives and policy changes over the past year, all four Title IX complainants interviewed said the University still has much room to improve, emphasizing the need for stricter disciplinary consequences for sexual misconduct offenders. “All these workshops and counselor positions and committees and pamphlets are lovely, but they aren’t worth a damn if Yale doesn’t also practice deterrence,” Ahn said in March email. “Yale needs to stop making new bureaucracy; instead, it needs to walk the walk. It needs to discipline students who engage in hate speech, and it needs to expel students who assault other students.” Disciplinary actions for sexual misconduct between July 1 and Dec. 31 of last year ranged from a “written reprimand” and counseling to a one-semester suspension, according to the University’s first biannual report on sexual misconduct released in January by Deputy Provost Stephanie Spangler. Ahn added that she thinks the “new bureaucratic activity” shifts responsibility from the “failure”
of University policies and instead focuses attention on other “culprits, the so-called sexual climate being the big favorite.” Brodsky said she has not yet noticed a “real shift in the University’s philosophy of approaching sexual violence,” adding that administrators still need to send a stronger message by considering expelling students convicted of sexual misconduct. Right now, she said, students “can assault someone and get off with a talking to.” “At a certain point, if we don’t want rapists on this campus, we need to kick them out of here,” Brodsky said. But Levin said he disagrees with concerns about the University’s disciplinary procedures for sexual assault, citing the newly established University-Wide Committee on Sexual Misconduct (UWC) — a centralized organization intended to streamline sexual misconduct cases — as an example of an “extremely sensitive and thoughtful new mechanism.” In addition, Assistant Dean of Student Affairs Melanie Boyd ’90 said in a Thursday email that it is “not enough to discipline those who are violent or abusive” — Yale must continue to establish a community that makes all students feel safe. She added that she thinks administrators are achieving meaningful progress by focusing on “cultural change,” which she called the “ultimate” prevention and intervention strategy. Lake said most universities’ disciplinary systems give administrators a wide range of discretion in determining appropriate student punishment. He said he thinks Yale’s system is relatively standard and that administrators tend to advocate for stricter penalties “in the abstract” but ultimately practice more lenient punishment in reality. Lake added that especially severe punishment systems can sometimes “backfire” since administrators can feel more “squeamish” about finding culpability. “If the punishment gets too strict, juries don’t convict,” he said. Still, Title IX complainants said the initiatives launched over the past year aimed at improving the University’s sexual climate represent steps in the right direction. Administrators interviewed said many of the recent policy changes were not implemented in direct response to the Title IX complaint but are instead part of ongoing efforts to improve Yale’s sexual climate. “I think the combination of incidents we had last year, plus the complaint, plus an increase in scrutiny of these matters by the Office for Civil Rights and the Department of Education all played a role in our thinking that we need to be responsive and SEE TITLE IX PAGE 9
YALE DAILY NEWS · MONDAY, APRIL 9, 2012 · yaledailynews.com
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ELECTION PREVIEW The Yale College Council candidates O N T H E N E X T F O U R PA G E S , T H E N E W S P R E S E N T S T H E C A N D I D A T E S , T H E I R P L AT FO R M S A N D T H E I R P E R S O NA L I T I E S
PRESIDENT Responsible for leading the YCC in all of its initiatives and ensuring the constant improvement of the organization. The president serves as the main liaison to the administration. ERIC ELIASSON ’14
JOHN GONZALEZ ’14
C R I S T O L I AU TAU D ’ 1 4
Branford College Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology Simi Valley, Calif.
Ezra Stiles College Political Science or Economics Modesto, Calif.
Davenport College History and East Asian Studies London, U.K.
ACTIVITES
ACTIVITIES
ACTIVITES
PLATFORM
PLATFORM
Sophomore Class Council, Undergraduate Organizations Funding Committee, peer health educator, Triple Helix magazine
SoCo president, YCC associate member, middle school tutor through the Dwight Hall Academic Mentoring Program at Yale, comedian (performed at Last Comic Standing)
Club Tennis, Yale-China Association, Davenport C-Hoops, Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity PLATFORM
A more effective capital equipment system, increased communication between the Undergraduate Organizations Funding Committee and administrators, a smooth transition from UOFC to the Undergraduate Organizations Committee.
“I truly care about this organization. I’ve been its dedicated member for two years, and I am now asking for the opportunity to prove to myself and to everyone else that I can implement programs and see them work.”
BY JULIA ZORTHIAN STAFF REPORTER During his two years on student government at Yale, Eric Eliasson ’14 has not only served as chair of the Freshmen Class Council, but he has also headed the YCC’s Academics Committee, and served on the Events, Dining and Communication committees. Now, Eliasson hopes to use that experience to serve students as the YCC president next year. Eliasson said he breaks his platform into three initiatives: improving overall student life, improving how the YCC interacts with committees in the Yale College Dean’s Office, and improving the quality of interactions between the YCC and the student body.
I think part of the reason why the YCC was so successful last year is what the [executive] board brought in experience and institutional memory. ERIC ELIASSON ’14 “I think part of the reason why the YCC was so successful last year is what the [executive] board brought in experience and institutional memory,” Eliasson said at the conclusion of the YCC debate Sunday afternoon. “We’re all really great guys and we have really different platforms. But think about experience when you go to vote.” Freshman will soon find Eliasson on their doorsteps: After launching a campaign website, Facebook page and YouTube video (featuring stop motion animation with an Eliasson voiceover), Eliasson said he will be going door-to-door on Old Campus for the rest of this week. He added that while this is a daunting task, he looks forward to meeting many members of the Class of 2015. Eliasson’s student life propos-
als include opening Commons Dining Hall as a study space in the evening and creating a centralized campus-wide events calendar. He also wants to create a way for students to change their ID photos. Eliasson said that while these are not broad policy reforms, “updating little things” can go a long way to improving student life. After an interaction he had with the Dean’s Office academic committee this fall, Eliasson said he wants to change how the YCC interacts with the various committees in the Dean’s Office. Eliasson said his committee on the YCC submitted a report about the Credit/D/Fail system to the Dean’s committee in October and did not hear back until two months later that the Dean’s Office wasn’t able to follow through with any of the YCC’s recommendations for change. “I want the YCC to work more closely with the Dean’s committees and Dean Mary Miller and communicate with them about how we can make real change,” Eliasson said. Eliasson said he also wants to involve more students with the YCC by creating opportunities for them to weigh in on the issues they care about most. He said that students may be too busy to serve full time on the YCC, so he would create issue-based committees with lower time commitments. “Students could join that committee, become a part of the YCC and put in effort that way, but not have to dedicate all of their time to student council,” Eliasson added. Beyond accomplishing his platform ideas, Eliasson said he wants to create a more open YCC. “Saying ‘the YCC did a lot this year’ is a great thing, but being president is also about making representatives feel comfortable in meetings and including the student body in decisions, in addition to tangible goals,” Eliasson said. While YCC is his main extracurricular activity, Eliasson is also involved with the Berkeley College community, as both a master’s aide and member of the college’s council. Contact JULIA ZORTHIAN at julia.zorthian@yale.edu .
To promote simple fixes that improve student lives, such as reforming the Credit/D/Fail policy and allowing transfer swipes at Durfee’s during dinner.
“I’m the candidate who’s been the most resourceful in leading a council with a very low budget, and I’ve thought long and hard about the small things that impact students’ lives.”
BY MICHELLE HACKMAN STAFF REPORTER After a year spent at the helm of the Sophomore Class Council, John Gonzalez ’14 is eager to take the next step. Gonzalez, who is running for YCC president, said he is uniquely qualified for the job as the only candidate who has experience leading a council. His platform combines current YCC initiatives as well as ideas he has gleamed from conversations with other students. Those who have worked with Gonzalez say his innovative ideas, organizational skills and genial personality are well-suited to lead a council as diverse as the YCC. As president, Gonzalez said he would take simple steps to make students’ academic experiences smoother. He will try to convince Yale’s administration to notify students sooner about seminar acceptances and change the Credit/D/Fail policy so that students can switch from taking a class for a letter grade to taking it Credit/D/Fail after the semester has begun. Like YCC candidates in previous years, Gonzalez advocates for the creation of language certificates in order to motivate students to take more language classes. Gonzalez’s platform focuses extensively on reforming Yale dining, recommending such changes as dinner swipes at Durfee’s, an expansion of hours at Uncommon, more power outlets in Commons Dining Hall and dining options for students who stay on campus for fall and spring breaks. He also said Yale should hold a “dining worker appreciation day.” “I find our lack of interaction with dining staff sad,” he said. “If we had a day to appreciate all that they do, relationships will improve.” Other initiatives he proposes are aimed at improving student life. For example, Gonzalez would create a comprehensive events calendar with the option to receive alerts on specific categories of events such as Master’s Teas or musical performances. He also advocates supporting underrepresented segments of the school’s population, such as athletes, through the appointment of athletic events chairs to publicize competitions, or student programmers through
increased computer science offerings. “He thinks of things and considers people’s situations that other people don’t [consider],” said Caroline Smith ’14, current SoCo vice president. She added that, in planning the Sophomore Dinner, Gonzalez was the only person to remember that there had to be kosher food. Gonzalez pointed to his role in developing SoCo as an indication of his leadership abilities. SoCo was only created several years ago, he said, and as a result, it was not known for getting much done. He said he did not inherit many resources or traditions, and had to build them himself. Throughout his tenure, Gonzalez said, he accumulated a network of contacts and established several programs targeted to meet sophomores’ needs. These include UCS career assessment tests, designed to guide sophomores toward career paths based on their interests and strengths. Gonzalez also sent out weekly emails listing upcoming academic and summer deadlines. Under his guidance, SoCo also hosted a record number of events this year, including the Sophomore Snowball Dance in December, Sophomore Assassins in February and the Sophomore Dinner, which will take place later this month. Though the council has an overall budget of only $3,000, Gonzalez pursued and succeeded in securing funding from external sources such as the Yale Corporation and the Association of Yale Alumni. “He really puts his heart into these events,” Smith said. “He has so much heart — and he puts it into everything he does.” Nancy Xia ’15, current FCC vice-chair and SoCo presidential candidate, said she sat in on several SoCo meetings to observe Gonzalez lead. She said that, though he was clearly in charge, his relaxed and joking demeanor put other council members at ease. Aside from serving as SoCo president, Gonzalez is also a YCC associate member and a volunteer tutor through the Dwight Hall Academic Mentoring Program at Yale. He was previously an elected member of the Freshman Class Council. Contact MICHELLE HACKMAN at michelle.hackman@yale.edu .
To increase students’ voice in YCC decision making, to effect “high-impact” changes on student life issues and to make the YCC more efficient and better able to execute policy. These goals involve the “YalePulse App,” which enables quick-poll voting, the creation of a Yale homecoming event and the addition of a non-elected YCC tech team.
“I know what it will take to get things done. I have the tenacity to see things through and the momentum and vision to forge a YCC next year that truly matters to students.”
BY JANE DARBY MENTON STAFF REPORTER After helping shape Yale College Council programs including trash to treasure and summer storage, Cristo Liautaud ’14 hopes to spearhead “bold but realistic” initiatives on the council next year. Liautaud, who is running for YCC president, said his experience on the YCC’s 10K committee — which funds one student-submitted project with $10,000 — in addition to his history of working with the administration would enable him to implement policies that benefit Yale students. His platform, he said, focuses on increasing the role of student opinion in the YCC’s decision making, making “high impact” changes in student life and better equipping the council to deliver tangible results. “I know what it will take to get things done, I have the tenacity to see things through and the momentum and vision to forge a YCC next year that truly matters to students,” Liautaud said. As president, Liautaud said he would focus on making the YCC more representative of student voice by implementing the “YalePulse App,” which he created this year as part of the YCC app challenge. The application enables students to register their opinions on student life issues through their mobile device and view polling data from across campus. Liautaud added that the application will have a trial run in the next few weeks. Liautaud said the greater accessibility of student opinion through the application would increase the YCC’s mandate with the administration, adding that administrators have historically been more responsive to initiatives when presented with evidence of how students feel. “This year has seen a host of [administration-led] changes and developments that many would argue should have been more inclusive of student opinion,” Liautaud said. “The YCC needs to take the lead in bringing students into all parts of the conversation.” Another part of Liautaud’s platform involves starting a fall homecoming event, which he said would
be an opportunity for both students and alumni to celebrate Yale. Liautaud said he has met with Marichal Gentry, dean of student affairs and Thomas Beckett, the head of Yale Athletics, to discuss the feasibility of beginning this tradition, adding that Yale is the only Ivy League university without a designated homecoming. “The Yale athletics director is in full support,” Liautaud said. “It’s a positive way to celebrate diversity of excellence and an opportunity to have lots of fun.” Liautaud said he would also focus on making the YCC more efficient and better able to respond to students’ needs by increasing its technological capabilities. To accomplish this, he said he is proposing a non-elected technology team to coordinate new initiatives, adding that he has garnered the support of Yale’s Information and Technology Services for this idea.
The YCC needs to take the lead in bringing students into all parts of the conversation. CRISTO LIAUTAUD ’14 “Cristo knows how the system works,” said West Cuthbert ’14, who is managing Liautaud’s campaign, “But he’s also far enough removed from the inner workings that he can see what he’s looking at and put it into a broader context.” Clark Zhang ’13, who has lived with Liautaud for the past two years, said he has personally witnessed his suitemate’s work ethic and time management abilities and thinks Liautaud could succeed at “dynamic” goals. Zhang added that while Liautaud may seem reserved initially, he is “very warm and genuine” and passionately cares about helping people. Liautaud is also a member of the club tennis team, the Yale-China Association and the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. Contact JANE DARBY MENTON at jane.menton@yale.edu .
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YALE DAILY NEWS · MONDAY, APRIL 9, 2012 · yaledailynews.com
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ELECTION PREVIEW VICE PRESIDENT
SECRETARY The YCC secretary is responsible for external communications for the council. This includes drafting campus-wide emails, including the weekly newsletter, communicating with outside groups, responding to student questions concerning YCC initiatives, managing the website and fulfilling other roles necessary for achieving greater student understanding of the council’s work. Additionally, the YCC secretary takes the minutes at the weekly full council meeting.
The vice president is responsible for running the internal affairs of the council and leading the council on all main policy projects. The vice president should also proactively approach student groups and organizations to see how the YCC can collaborate with them to improve student life. The vice president is also in charge of moderating elections. BY DIANA LI STAFF REPORTER
DEBBY ABRAMOV ’14 Ezra Stiles College Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry and Economics Norfolk, Va. ACTIVITIES
FOOT leader, community health educator, Ezra Stiles YCC representative. PLATFORM
Holding YCC events during Fall Break next year, improving mental health for sophomores and creating a centralized online “marketplace” on the YCC website.
Leandro Leviste ’15 said he believes that as long as someone in the world knows the answer to a question, there’s no reason anyone else shouldn’t be able to get it. Leviste once asked what would happen if all the useful information about Yale were put in one place, and then created YaleWiki — a website
that compiles information about the University — the next semester. As he runs for YCC secretary, Leviste, a FCC representative for Timothy Dwight College and one of the first freshmen to be elected to YCC as a college representative, plans to focus on centralizing information through event newsletters, a summer directory and an information handbook for freshmen. “There’s such a huge information gap at all levels no matter what field,
LEANDRO LEVISTE ’15 Timothy Dwight College Political Science Manila, The Philippines ACTIVITIES
FCC fall semester Vice-Chair, Yale International Relations Association, Yale Political Union and column-writer for a Filipino newspaper. PLATFORM
The centralization of information through weekly events newsletters, an opt-in summer directory of Yalies’ locations, an expansion of Freshman Lunch and an information handbook for incoming freshmen. BY SOPHIE GOULD STAFF REPORTER A road runner, FOOT leader and community health educator, Yale College Council vice-presidential candidate Debby Abramov ’14 said she prides herself on embracing challenges. A current member of several committees on YCC, chair of the YCC’s Undergraduate Career Services committee and former vice chair of the Freshman Class Council, Abramov said she thinks her experience with Yale student government qualifies her to represent fellow students. If elected, she said, she hopes to expand mental health resources, open a “marketplace” online where students can exchange items such as couches and subsidize activities for students who stay on campus during the new fall break next year. Abramov said her mental health reforms would be targeted at sophomores since they often receive less support than other students, and she plans
to host a series of workshops about academics, friendships and stress tailored to sophomores’ specific needs. “Improving mental health is a direct way to impact student life,” she said. She also said she hopes to help students make use of the new fall break by fielding ideas for events and allowing students to vote for their favorites. In addition, Abramson said she wants to create a centralized location for buying and selling furniture and books on the YCC website to help students save money. This “marketplace” will help eliminate the confusion that using Facebook and Yale Station for these transactions currently causes, Abramson said. “I really enjoy planning, organizing and giving back to Yale as an institution,” Abramov said. She planned Freshman Olympics last year, and has recently helped with the Iron Chef and Mr. Yale competitions. Abramov said a good Vice President should have an “intimate knowledge”
of the YCC, and her experience would serve her well. Abramov said the campaign process has helped her see the YCC as students do, rather than from “the inside looking out.” “She’s very much a team player,” said Eric Eliasson ‘14, who worked closely with Abramov last year on FCC. “She’s always there to fill in when something needs to be done.” Courtney Halgren ‘14, Abramov’s roommate for two years, said she thinks Abramov would bring energy and commitment to the position of vice president. “Debby’s a really passionate person who’s thorough and thoughtful,” Halgren said. “She sticks to her word.” Abramov currently serves on the YCC’s UCS, Mental Health, Events and Communications Committees, as well the Committee on Sexual Climate. Contact SOPHIE GOULD at sophie.gould@yale.edu .
DA RY L H O K ’ 14 Silliman College Economics and psychology Orange, Calif. ACTIVITIES
AIESEC, CAMBO, DanceWorks, intramural sports. PLATFORM
Increasing communication between the student body and the YCC, improving campus safety, increasing flexibility of Durfee’s swipe policy and installing more handicapaccessible exits in residential colleges.
whether it’s about ways to conduct corporate business practices or finding study guides in classes here at Yale,” Leviste said. “No one will have to ask a question that’s already been asked.” Leviste has served on the YCC academics and dining committees, working to reform Credit/D/Fail policies and keep dining halls open during breaks. Leviste said he does not want opportunities to meet new people to end at Camp Yale. He wondered who else would be in his hometown Manila, Philippines this summer, and answered the question by compiling a database of 180 students from 73 countries willing to connect with other Yalies through the International Students Organization. Also the creator of Freshman Lunch, a program that randomly pairs freshmen interested in meeting new people for lunch, Leviste envisions extending the system to the rest of Yale. “Part of YCC that is incredibly exciting to me is the start-up mentality,” Leviste said. “These initiatives require nothing from the Yale administration, but are relatively small things that can have a huge impact on students’ lives.” Leviste also plans to create a weekly
events newsletter to keep people informed. As an example, Leviste created a 12-page sample newsletter for this upcoming week, manually gathering information about 57 events. Casey Watts ’12, co-founder of YaleWiki, said Leviste has an unusual ability to work in teams, motivate others and incorporate feedback when working on projects. Lincoln Mitchell ’15, an FCC member and Leviste’s campaign manager, said that when Freshman Lunch was announced, people from other years immediately asked why they did not have a similar option. “He’s very soft-spoken and quiet, but when he opens his mouth, everyone else stops and listens because when he speaks, it’s always something worth hearing,” Mitchell said. “He doesn’t care about being YCC secretary because of the title — he really just has a burning desire to help people.” Leviste has also been involved with the Yale International Relations Association and the Yale Political Union, and he writes a regular column for a Filipino newspaper.
BY MONICA DISARE STAFF REPORTER When Kyle Tramonte ’15 receives a request from a fellow student, he said one of his strongest qualities is his accessibility. Tramonte said as Freshman Class Council secretary this year, he designed a bi-weekly newsletter intended to provide freshmen with relevant information. If elected to YCC secretary, he said he plans to include information specific to each class in the YCC news-
letter, in addition to improving the Yale mobile app and making the take-out dining program in each residential college more convenient. “I’m easy to access and there for students,” Tramonte said. “My talent is combining people who work well together to accomplish tasks.” While serving on FCC this year, Tramonte was the leader of the committee that made the t-shirts for the Harvard-Yale Game. When Harvard Licensing tried to block production of the t-shirts, Tramonte said
he received a “crash course” in working with both the Harvard and Yale administrations. In the end, the t-shirts produced record sales, according to fellow FCC member Paul Parell ’15. Tramonte said he would also like to work with Yale officials to reform tailgating policies at football games. He said his strategy for reforming tailgating would be similar to the strategy used by students to achieve gender-neutral housing reform, in which the YCC compiled a report and pre-
sented it to administrators. Grace Lindsey ’15, who is helping Tramonte with his campaign, said Tramonte’s successes on FCC and his biweekly newsletter in particular, indicate that he would also excel on YCC. “The freshman newsletter is beautiful,” she said. “It makes sure we have all the relevant information in one place.” In YCC newsletters next year, Tramonte said he would include information about selecting a major for sophomores and career panels for juniors. He would also like to revamp the Yale mobile app, which he said is not as advanced as those at other schools like Harvard and Princeton, by adding an events calendar, a shuttle update component and dining information. Along with serving on the FCC this year, Tramonte was the vice president of his senior class in high school.
KYLE TRAMONTE ’15 Saybrook College Undeclared Galveston, Texas ACTIVITIES
Member or YIRA, FCC secretary. PLATFORM
Communicating information to students that is specific to them through an improved mobile app and class-specific newsletters, and making take-out meals in the dining hall more accessible.
Contact DIANA LI at diana.li@yale.edu .
Contact MONICA DISARE at monica.disare@yale.edu .
TREASURER The treasurer is responsible for managing the YCC’s finances, leading efforts to secure funding for council activities and ensuring transparency in the council’s spending. The treasurer meets with the assistant dean of student affairs, works closely with the events director and other council members to ensure appropriate funding of events and coordinates UOFC special events funding with the UOFC chair.
BY LINDSEY UNIAT STAFF REPORTER Nathan Kohrman ’15, a candidate for YCC treasurer, said he first felt inspired to participate in student government during Bulldog Days one year ago: The executive board elections were happening that same week, and his host, then-YCC presidential hopeful Brandon Levin ’13, spoke enthusiastically about the organization. “He said that FCC and YCC were some of the most rewarding and fun things he had done at Yale, so I decided to run for FCC,” Kohrman said. Now an aspiring YCC treasurer, Kohrman served as Freshman Class Council chair last semester and remains an FCC representative. He also became Saybrook College’s YCC representative this semester, after the previous representative stepped down from the position. With these roles, Kohrman said that he has experience with budgeting funds, leading committees and moderating conversation, which he said are necessary for him to succeed in the role of treasurer. He helped the
FCC raise a $1000 surplus from the sale of Harvard-Yale football game T-shirts and the YCC coordinate its summer storage program, which he said is now more accessible and expected to save the student body $50,000. “The position matches the experiences and the skill set I have,” Kohrman said, adding that because he currently sits on seven different committees in the YCC — academics, events, dining, sexual harassment, 10k, spring fling and communications — he is well informed of issues on campus. Kohrman’s six-point platform includes expanding the summer storage program, as well as more efficiently allocating funds to student initiatives. He also hopes to organize a fellowship fair with Undergraduate Career Services, where students can put themselves on mailing lists relevant to their plans and interests. In addition, Kohrman said he aims to push for a revised printing policy so that students can print some pages for free each semester, heighten transparency of the YCC budget and expand discounts for Yalies at local restaurants.
BY LIZ RODRIGUEZ-FLORIDO STAFF REPORTER
NAT H A N KO H R M A N ’ 1 5 Saybrook College Undeclared Washington D.C. ACTIVITIES
Freshman Class Council, Yale College Council, Baker’s Dozen, Yale Drama Coalition PLATFORM
Printing policy reform, increased YCC budget transparency, funding for student initiatives, restaurant discounts, cheaper summer storage, and UCS email coordination.
Victoria Hall-Palerm ’15, Kohrman’s campaign manager who met him in Directed Studies classes, described Kohrman as “trustworthy, approachable and passionate” about his FCC and YCC endeavors. She added that she has not seen him take anything as seriously as his stu-
dent government efforts. Outside of his involvement in YCC and FCC, Kohrman is a member of the Baker’s Dozen and the Yale Drama Coalition. Contact LINDSEY UNIAT at lindsey.uniat@yale.edu .
Joey Yagoda ’14 said he can’t wait to start knocking on doors. Throughout this week’s YCC campaign, he said he plans to go door-to-door to speak with “as many people as possible.” Yagoda, who is no stranger to student government at Yale, said his previous involvement with YCC has shaped his platform to emphasize seeking student opinion on how the YCC budget should be distributed. If elected YCC treasurer, Yagoda said he plans to integrate student needs with his plans for the budget. This year, Yagoda served as a Yale College Council representative and as Calhoun College Council secretary. During his freshman year, he served as FCC secretary. As YCC treasurer, Yagoda hopes to tackle issues such as how to improve dining, treatment of students at Yale Health, and relations with students living off campus or involved in Greek life, he said. “[As a YCC member], I just saw how important it is to channel student voices with [the] administration,” Yagoda said, adding that he also plans to publicize more information about
the winners of the annual 10K initiative following the event and invest more money in the FCC and Sophomore Class Council budgets. Yagoda chaired the YCC GenderNeutral Housing Committee and wrote the report which led to the expansion of gender-neutral housing to juniors. He also chaired the Sophomore Seminar Committee and said that serving on these policy groups allowed him to learn how to work with the administration to seek reform. “I know how to chair a committee and get things done,” he said. “I would want to be a YCC treasurer who not only manages finances but also takes an active role in policy initiatives.” Earlier this term, Yagoda said he also started to help plan events, which showed him just how closely events and financing need to work together. He spearheaded efforts to host the Blue Ivy party to welcome Beyoncé’s new baby in January and the Toad’s Leap Day celebration. Josh Rubin ’14 who served on the Sophomore Seminar Committee with Yagoda, said his work ethic is what gained his trust as a candidate. “Some candidates run for YCC asking students to trust them because of what they say. I trust Joey to be a great
J O E Y YA G O D A ’ 1 4 Calhoun College Ethics, Politics & Economics New Hyde Park, N.Y. ACTIVITIES
Yale College Council, Freshman Class Council, Calhoun College Council, Calhoun College Swim Team Captain, Jewish Life Fellow for Slifka, Captain of Calhoun swim team and a crossword enthusiast PLATFORM
Actively seeking out student voices and needs when planning the budget, revamping the 10K Challenge, investing in the Freshmen and Sophomore Class Councils in order to produce more student events, creating sustainable investments and policies, and improving Yale Dining.
YCC treasurer because of what he has already done,” Rubin said. “Joey is proactive, an effective negotiator with faculty and administration, and is first and foremost looking to deliver results for students.”
On YCC, Yagoda is currently working on planning the Mr. Yale event. Contact LIZ RODRIGUEZ-FLORIDO at liz.rodriguez-florido@yale.edu .
EVENTS DIRECTOR The events director is responsible for planning and executing YCC’s main events, including Spring Fling, Fall Show and Mr. Yale. Some other examples of YCC events include World Food Fair (Fall Festival), Fall Comedy Show, Iron Chef, Pep Rally, and the Yale-Harvard Dance. The events director works with the Yale College Dean’s Office, Facilities, Custodial, Dining, Police, Security, Risk Management, Grounds Maintenance, Physical Plant and Recycling. Additionally, the events director is tasked with forming the Spring Fling Committee.
MARISSA PET TIT ’14 BY CYNTHIA HUA STAFF REPORTER Daryl Hok ’14 describes himself as a people person. Hok, who is running for YCC vice president, says he will bring an approachable presence and leadership experience to the organization. If elected, Hok said he aims to foster better communication between the student body and the YCC, improve campus safety, increase the flexibility of the Durfee’s meal swipe policy and install handicap-accessible exits in residential colleges. Hok currently serves as Silliman’s Sophomore Class Council representative, vice president of finance for AIESEC, and president of the Cambodian American Multi-Branching Organization. He said this leadership experience has helped him create a platform that focuses on concrete, cost-effective goals. Though he has not served on the YCC previously, Hok said he has spoken with current YCC members about his platform, noting that he decided to concentrate on low-cost policies after consulting YCC Secretary Archit Sheth-Shah ’13 about the monetary challenges involved in accomplishing projects. Several points of Hok’s platform focus on improving communication the YCC has with students and other universities. To increase dia-
logue between students and the YCC, Hok plans to have the YCC hold “office hours” over meals, during which students could speak with members of the organization. Hok also plans to strengthen ties between the YCC and the Ivy Council, a student government organization that includes members from all the Ivy League schools. He said these communication-focused initatives will help people “to know this is their Yale.” “People feel comfortable talking to him,” said Lucy Chen ’14, who serves on the AIESEC executive board with Hok. “One of his big campaign platforms is making YCC more transparent and open to the student body … I think it will make YCC a more student-focused organization.” As for campus safety, Hok said he hopes to work with the Yale Police Department to increase the presence of Yale Security on and around campus. Hok said he was inspired to tackle safety issues because his suitemates Julian Sagastume ’14 and Martin Shapiro ’14 created BravetheHave, a website that maps crimes reported through YPD Chief Ronnell Higgins’ emails. The map shows the most concentrated crime on Dwight Street, Park Street, Lynwood Place and Howe Street, said Hok — areas he said regular Yale Transit routes do not reach. Hok plans to reroute Yale Transit to these areas, which he said would offer stu-
dents safer transportation options and deter crime by having Yale shuttles regularly pass through the areas. Hok said Yale police should focus more on addressing crime in neighborhoods around campus rather than breaking up student parties. “One thing I want to do is sit down with the YPD and tell them to focus on outward things that are not inward,” he said. Hok said some of his goals are more ambitious, such as his plans to increase the flexibility of Yale Dining by allowing dinner-time Durfee’s swipes and to install more handicap-accessible exits in residential colleges. “Dining is a really tough thing to change,” Hok said. “But if anyone were to have any change in dining, it would be YCC. I won’t promise things I may not complete but I will definitely sit down to work things out.” In addition to implementing new ideas, Hok stressed the importance of continuing current YCC programs. He plans to continue YCC’s mental health initiatives, and to gather feedback on the expansion of gender-neutral housing. Hok is an economics and psychology double major. Contact CYNTHIA HUA at cynthia.hua@yale.edu .
Calhoun College Biomedical Engineeering San Diego, Calif. ACTIVITIES
Calhoun College Council, Sophomore College Council, women’s varsity sailing team, Pi Beta Phi sorority, Calhoun Master’s Office and Chaplain’s Office PLATFORM
Improving both large events, including Spring Fling and social events at Harvard the night before the Game, and small ones, such as the creation of an intra-college sushi competition.
BY DAN WEINER STAFF REPORTER Marissa Pettit ’14 wants you to enjoy college. After two years of helping plan events on the Calhoun College Council and nearly a year of service as one of two Calhoun representatives on the Sophomore College Council, Pettit said she wants to be YCC events director so that she can help other Yalies let off a little steam. “Sometimes Yale and college can be stressful, and to put on an event where people can forget about the paper they
have due and the problem set they have due and just have fun and laugh — that’s really rewarding,” she said. Pettit said that her top priority would be partnering with the Harvard College Council in reforming the social options at Harvard the night before The Game this coming November. While Yale puts on multiple events the night before the annual football game, she said that the same night at Harvard her freshman year was “really anticlimactic.” Pettit said she would work to plan an event similar to the large dance at Commons that all students from both schools could attend.
Apart from tackling The Game, Pettit said she also wants to rethink various aspects of Spring Fling. Given all of the musical talent at Yale, Pettit said that a few student bands should have the opportunity to perform on a secondary stage to fill the downtime while the headliners are changing sets. Pettit also wants to throw an after-party right on Old Campus. Pettit said she wants to follow the lead of current YCC Events Director Katie Donley ’13 in planning more lowcost events like last fall’s “What Would You Do For A Wenzel?” contest. She suggested a competition in which students submit original sushi creations that reflect some aspect of Yale or New Haven, with the winner’s college enjoying a dinner of the victor’s sushi. Pettit said she holds the unofficial title of “Calhoun Mayor” for all the time she spends putting together events for the college. During her freshman year on Calhoun College Council and the Student Activities Committee, and as a master’s aide, Pettit said that she loved putting together Calhoun Screw, the residential college’s Harvard-Yale tailgate and the Trolley Night Dance. Seeking to scale up her involvement this year, Pettit became the Calhoun representative on the Sophomore College Council. Since the beginning of the academic year, she has planned DUS dinners to help sophomores choose majors as well as set up various other all-sophomore activities. Pettit remains on the Calhoun College Council and before break was elected to vice president of events on the council,
thereby also serving as the co-chair of the Calhoun Student Activities Committee. Given her time planning events for Calhoun and on the Sophomore College Council, Pettit said voters should not be concerned by her lack of experience on the YCC. “Although I haven’t worked on YCC, I feel like my experience in Calhoun and on SoCo works on very similar organizational structures, and has prepared me very well to work on YCC,” Pettit said. “I’ve worked with dining, I’ve worked with facilities and I’ve worked with security, and that’s given me the experience I need to do this job.” Rachel Ett ’14, a member of the Calhoun College Council who has worked with Pettit, said she believes Pettit would do a great job on YCC given her experience planning large events. While Calhoun always hosts Screw and Trolley Night dances, Ett said Pettit also has a talent for coming up with a wide range of more original events. “She is passionate about coming up with fun things for kids to do,” Ett said. “She is a girl who can make things happen.” Apart from her work in student governmwent, Pettit is a member of the women’s varsity sailing team, despite having never been in a boat before arriving at Yale. A member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority, Pettit works in the Chaplain’s Office and majors in biomedical engineering. Contact DAN WEINER at daniel.weiner@yale.edu .
B R YA N E P P S ’ 1 4 Silliman College Global Affairs Chattanooga, Tenn. ACTIVITIES
YCC representative and co-chair of Silliman College Council. PLATFORM
Reinvigorating the YCC Events Committee, reconnecting it with the student body, collaborating with representatives from student groups and organizing of high-quality events, such as a “Fall Fest.”
BY LORENZO LIGATO STAFF REPORTER Whether he is hiking, exploring New Haven’s East Rock or planning YCC projects, YCC events director candidate Bryan Epps ’14 said he knows how to get things done. A current YCC representative for Silliman and co-chair of Silliman College Council, Epps said that, if elected, he will put to use his two-year-long experience in student government in order to
organize high-quality campuswide events in cooperation with Yale’s largest student groups. “[Such] events are an essential aspect of the Yale education: events force Yalies to stop and let their minds rest, and little is more important to an education than periods of rest,” he said. “So I’m just psyched for a year of great events.” Epps, who has served on the Events Committee, Mental Health Committee and Academics Committee of the YCC this
year, also represented his college on the Freshman Class Council last year, co-chairing the Freshman Screw and collaborating on several FCC events. Through his work on the YCC Events Committee, Epps said he has contributed to the organization of the majority of successful YCC-sponsored events, including the Fall Show, the “What Would You Do for a Wenzel?” competition and Iron Chef competition. His experience with YCC, he said, has given him extensive preparation to lead the YCC Events Committee next year. “I’ve worked on a pretty huge array of events — many very successful, some less successful — and I’ve been able to learn a tremendous amount about events planning from these successes and failures,” Epps said. As YCC events director, Epps said he hopes to seek collaboration with Yale’s undergraduate student organizations in order to reinvigorate the Events Committee and reconnect it to the student body. By including representatives of key student groups on the committee, he said, YCC will be better able to gauge the needs of students and respond to them. Epps’ ideas also include a mental health week to raise awareness of “campus-specific mental health issues” and a “Fall Fest” in late September, an outdoor music festival to welcome student back
to campus for the new academic year. “This event needs to remind everyone early in the year how much fun Yale can be when the whole community comes together,” he said, adding that he is confident that YCC has the funds necessary to cover the costs of this event, which he compared to a smaller Spring Fling. Eric Eliasson ’14, the current chair of the YCC Academics Committee and a YCC presidential candidate, emphasized Epps’s commitment and experience in events planning. “The YCC events director should have time to commit to this position and experience for events to be successful,” Eliasson said. “Bryan has all of this: extensive experience and strong dedication to provide excellent events through YCC to the student body.” A native of Chattanooga, Tenn., Epps is a global affairs major. In his spare time, he loves to run to East Rock, West Rock and Lighthouse Point. “While [running] isn’t something I’ll put on my resume exactly, it is a very significant part of my life here at Yale,” Epps said, adding that he was unsure about coming to Yale until he saw the view from the top of East Rock. “After that, I was sold,” he said. Contact LORENZO LIGATO at lorenzo.ligato@yale.edu .
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YALE DAILY NEWS · MONDAY, APRIL 9, 2012 · yaledailynews.com
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ELECTION PREVIEW VICE PRESIDENT
SECRETARY The YCC secretary is responsible for external communications for the council. This includes drafting campus-wide emails, including the weekly newsletter, communicating with outside groups, responding to student questions concerning YCC initiatives, managing the website and fulfilling other roles necessary for achieving greater student understanding of the council’s work. Additionally, the YCC secretary takes the minutes at the weekly full council meeting.
The vice president is responsible for running the internal affairs of the council and leading the council on all main policy projects. The vice president should also proactively approach student groups and organizations to see how the YCC can collaborate with them to improve student life. The vice president is also in charge of moderating elections. BY DIANA LI STAFF REPORTER
DEBBY ABRAMOV ’14 Ezra Stiles College Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry and Economics Norfolk, Va. ACTIVITIES
FOOT leader, community health educator, Ezra Stiles YCC representative. PLATFORM
Holding YCC events during Fall Break next year, improving mental health for sophomores and creating a centralized online “marketplace” on the YCC website.
Leandro Leviste ’15 said he believes that as long as someone in the world knows the answer to a question, there’s no reason anyone else shouldn’t be able to get it. Leviste once asked what would happen if all the useful information about Yale were put in one place, and then created YaleWiki — a website
that compiles information about the University — the next semester. As he runs for YCC secretary, Leviste, a FCC representative for Timothy Dwight College and one of the first freshmen to be elected to YCC as a college representative, plans to focus on centralizing information through event newsletters, a summer directory and an information handbook for freshmen. “There’s such a huge information gap at all levels no matter what field,
LEANDRO LEVISTE ’15 Timothy Dwight College Political Science Manila, The Philippines ACTIVITIES
FCC fall semester Vice-Chair, Yale International Relations Association, Yale Political Union and column-writer for a Filipino newspaper. PLATFORM
The centralization of information through weekly events newsletters, an opt-in summer directory of Yalies’ locations, an expansion of Freshman Lunch and an information handbook for incoming freshmen. BY SOPHIE GOULD STAFF REPORTER A road runner, FOOT leader and community health educator, Yale College Council vice-presidential candidate Debby Abramov ’14 said she prides herself on embracing challenges. A current member of several committees on YCC, chair of the YCC’s Undergraduate Career Services committee and former vice chair of the Freshman Class Council, Abramov said she thinks her experience with Yale student government qualifies her to represent fellow students. If elected, she said, she hopes to expand mental health resources, open a “marketplace” online where students can exchange items such as couches and subsidize activities for students who stay on campus during the new fall break next year. Abramov said her mental health reforms would be targeted at sophomores since they often receive less support than other students, and she plans
to host a series of workshops about academics, friendships and stress tailored to sophomores’ specific needs. “Improving mental health is a direct way to impact student life,” she said. She also said she hopes to help students make use of the new fall break by fielding ideas for events and allowing students to vote for their favorites. In addition, Abramson said she wants to create a centralized location for buying and selling furniture and books on the YCC website to help students save money. This “marketplace” will help eliminate the confusion that using Facebook and Yale Station for these transactions currently causes, Abramson said. “I really enjoy planning, organizing and giving back to Yale as an institution,” Abramov said. She planned Freshman Olympics last year, and has recently helped with the Iron Chef and Mr. Yale competitions. Abramov said a good Vice President should have an “intimate knowledge”
of the YCC, and her experience would serve her well. Abramov said the campaign process has helped her see the YCC as students do, rather than from “the inside looking out.” “She’s very much a team player,” said Eric Eliasson ‘14, who worked closely with Abramov last year on FCC. “She’s always there to fill in when something needs to be done.” Courtney Halgren ‘14, Abramov’s roommate for two years, said she thinks Abramov would bring energy and commitment to the position of vice president. “Debby’s a really passionate person who’s thorough and thoughtful,” Halgren said. “She sticks to her word.” Abramov currently serves on the YCC’s UCS, Mental Health, Events and Communications Committees, as well the Committee on Sexual Climate. Contact SOPHIE GOULD at sophie.gould@yale.edu .
DA RY L H O K ’ 14 Silliman College Economics and psychology Orange, Calif. ACTIVITIES
AIESEC, CAMBO, DanceWorks, intramural sports. PLATFORM
Increasing communication between the student body and the YCC, improving campus safety, increasing flexibility of Durfee’s swipe policy and installing more handicapaccessible exits in residential colleges.
whether it’s about ways to conduct corporate business practices or finding study guides in classes here at Yale,” Leviste said. “No one will have to ask a question that’s already been asked.” Leviste has served on the YCC academics and dining committees, working to reform Credit/D/Fail policies and keep dining halls open during breaks. Leviste said he does not want opportunities to meet new people to end at Camp Yale. He wondered who else would be in his hometown Manila, Philippines this summer, and answered the question by compiling a database of 180 students from 73 countries willing to connect with other Yalies through the International Students Organization. Also the creator of Freshman Lunch, a program that randomly pairs freshmen interested in meeting new people for lunch, Leviste envisions extending the system to the rest of Yale. “Part of YCC that is incredibly exciting to me is the start-up mentality,” Leviste said. “These initiatives require nothing from the Yale administration, but are relatively small things that can have a huge impact on students’ lives.” Leviste also plans to create a weekly
events newsletter to keep people informed. As an example, Leviste created a 12-page sample newsletter for this upcoming week, manually gathering information about 57 events. Casey Watts ’12, co-founder of YaleWiki, said Leviste has an unusual ability to work in teams, motivate others and incorporate feedback when working on projects. Lincoln Mitchell ’15, an FCC member and Leviste’s campaign manager, said that when Freshman Lunch was announced, people from other years immediately asked why they did not have a similar option. “He’s very soft-spoken and quiet, but when he opens his mouth, everyone else stops and listens because when he speaks, it’s always something worth hearing,” Mitchell said. “He doesn’t care about being YCC secretary because of the title — he really just has a burning desire to help people.” Leviste has also been involved with the Yale International Relations Association and the Yale Political Union, and he writes a regular column for a Filipino newspaper.
BY MONICA DISARE STAFF REPORTER When Kyle Tramonte ’15 receives a request from a fellow student, he said one of his strongest qualities is his accessibility. Tramonte said as Freshman Class Council secretary this year, he designed a bi-weekly newsletter intended to provide freshmen with relevant information. If elected to YCC secretary, he said he plans to include information specific to each class in the YCC news-
letter, in addition to improving the Yale mobile app and making the take-out dining program in each residential college more convenient. “I’m easy to access and there for students,” Tramonte said. “My talent is combining people who work well together to accomplish tasks.” While serving on FCC this year, Tramonte was the leader of the committee that made the t-shirts for the Harvard-Yale Game. When Harvard Licensing tried to block production of the t-shirts, Tramonte said
he received a “crash course” in working with both the Harvard and Yale administrations. In the end, the t-shirts produced record sales, according to fellow FCC member Paul Parell ’15. Tramonte said he would also like to work with Yale officials to reform tailgating policies at football games. He said his strategy for reforming tailgating would be similar to the strategy used by students to achieve gender-neutral housing reform, in which the YCC compiled a report and pre-
sented it to administrators. Grace Lindsey ’15, who is helping Tramonte with his campaign, said Tramonte’s successes on FCC and his biweekly newsletter in particular, indicate that he would also excel on YCC. “The freshman newsletter is beautiful,” she said. “It makes sure we have all the relevant information in one place.” In YCC newsletters next year, Tramonte said he would include information about selecting a major for sophomores and career panels for juniors. He would also like to revamp the Yale mobile app, which he said is not as advanced as those at other schools like Harvard and Princeton, by adding an events calendar, a shuttle update component and dining information. Along with serving on the FCC this year, Tramonte was the vice president of his senior class in high school.
KYLE TRAMONTE ’15 Saybrook College Undeclared Galveston, Texas ACTIVITIES
Member or YIRA, FCC secretary. PLATFORM
Communicating information to students that is specific to them through an improved mobile app and class-specific newsletters, and making take-out meals in the dining hall more accessible.
Contact DIANA LI at diana.li@yale.edu .
Contact MONICA DISARE at monica.disare@yale.edu .
TREASURER The treasurer is responsible for managing the YCC’s finances, leading efforts to secure funding for council activities and ensuring transparency in the council’s spending. The treasurer meets with the assistant dean of student affairs, works closely with the events director and other council members to ensure appropriate funding of events and coordinates UOFC special events funding with the UOFC chair.
BY LINDSEY UNIAT STAFF REPORTER Nathan Kohrman ’15, a candidate for YCC treasurer, said he first felt inspired to participate in student government during Bulldog Days one year ago: The executive board elections were happening that same week, and his host, then-YCC presidential hopeful Brandon Levin ’13, spoke enthusiastically about the organization. “He said that FCC and YCC were some of the most rewarding and fun things he had done at Yale, so I decided to run for FCC,” Kohrman said. Now an aspiring YCC treasurer, Kohrman served as Freshman Class Council chair last semester and remains an FCC representative. He also became Saybrook College’s YCC representative this semester, after the previous representative stepped down from the position. With these roles, Kohrman said that he has experience with budgeting funds, leading committees and moderating conversation, which he said are necessary for him to succeed in the role of treasurer. He helped the
FCC raise a $1000 surplus from the sale of Harvard-Yale football game T-shirts and the YCC coordinate its summer storage program, which he said is now more accessible and expected to save the student body $50,000. “The position matches the experiences and the skill set I have,” Kohrman said, adding that because he currently sits on seven different committees in the YCC — academics, events, dining, sexual harassment, 10k, spring fling and communications — he is well informed of issues on campus. Kohrman’s six-point platform includes expanding the summer storage program, as well as more efficiently allocating funds to student initiatives. He also hopes to organize a fellowship fair with Undergraduate Career Services, where students can put themselves on mailing lists relevant to their plans and interests. In addition, Kohrman said he aims to push for a revised printing policy so that students can print some pages for free each semester, heighten transparency of the YCC budget and expand discounts for Yalies at local restaurants.
BY LIZ RODRIGUEZ-FLORIDO STAFF REPORTER
NAT H A N KO H R M A N ’ 1 5 Saybrook College Undeclared Washington D.C. ACTIVITIES
Freshman Class Council, Yale College Council, Baker’s Dozen, Yale Drama Coalition PLATFORM
Printing policy reform, increased YCC budget transparency, funding for student initiatives, restaurant discounts, cheaper summer storage, and UCS email coordination.
Victoria Hall-Palerm ’15, Kohrman’s campaign manager who met him in Directed Studies classes, described Kohrman as “trustworthy, approachable and passionate” about his FCC and YCC endeavors. She added that she has not seen him take anything as seriously as his stu-
dent government efforts. Outside of his involvement in YCC and FCC, Kohrman is a member of the Baker’s Dozen and the Yale Drama Coalition. Contact LINDSEY UNIAT at lindsey.uniat@yale.edu .
Joey Yagoda ’14 said he can’t wait to start knocking on doors. Throughout this week’s YCC campaign, he said he plans to go door-to-door to speak with “as many people as possible.” Yagoda, who is no stranger to student government at Yale, said his previous involvement with YCC has shaped his platform to emphasize seeking student opinion on how the YCC budget should be distributed. If elected YCC treasurer, Yagoda said he plans to integrate student needs with his plans for the budget. This year, Yagoda served as a Yale College Council representative and as Calhoun College Council secretary. During his freshman year, he served as FCC secretary. As YCC treasurer, Yagoda hopes to tackle issues such as how to improve dining, treatment of students at Yale Health, and relations with students living off campus or involved in Greek life, he said. “[As a YCC member], I just saw how important it is to channel student voices with [the] administration,” Yagoda said, adding that he also plans to publicize more information about
the winners of the annual 10K initiative following the event and invest more money in the FCC and Sophomore Class Council budgets. Yagoda chaired the YCC GenderNeutral Housing Committee and wrote the report which led to the expansion of gender-neutral housing to juniors. He also chaired the Sophomore Seminar Committee and said that serving on these policy groups allowed him to learn how to work with the administration to seek reform. “I know how to chair a committee and get things done,” he said. “I would want to be a YCC treasurer who not only manages finances but also takes an active role in policy initiatives.” Earlier this term, Yagoda said he also started to help plan events, which showed him just how closely events and financing need to work together. He spearheaded efforts to host the Blue Ivy party to welcome Beyoncé’s new baby in January and the Toad’s Leap Day celebration. Josh Rubin ’14 who served on the Sophomore Seminar Committee with Yagoda, said his work ethic is what gained his trust as a candidate. “Some candidates run for YCC asking students to trust them because of what they say. I trust Joey to be a great
J O E Y YA G O D A ’ 1 4 Calhoun College Ethics, Politics & Economics New Hyde Park, N.Y. ACTIVITIES
Yale College Council, Freshman Class Council, Calhoun College Council, Calhoun College Swim Team Captain, Jewish Life Fellow for Slifka, Captain of Calhoun swim team and a crossword enthusiast PLATFORM
Actively seeking out student voices and needs when planning the budget, revamping the 10K Challenge, investing in the Freshmen and Sophomore Class Councils in order to produce more student events, creating sustainable investments and policies, and improving Yale Dining.
YCC treasurer because of what he has already done,” Rubin said. “Joey is proactive, an effective negotiator with faculty and administration, and is first and foremost looking to deliver results for students.”
On YCC, Yagoda is currently working on planning the Mr. Yale event. Contact LIZ RODRIGUEZ-FLORIDO at liz.rodriguez-florido@yale.edu .
EVENTS DIRECTOR The events director is responsible for planning and executing YCC’s main events, including Spring Fling, Fall Show and Mr. Yale. Some other examples of YCC events include World Food Fair (Fall Festival), Fall Comedy Show, Iron Chef, Pep Rally, and the Yale-Harvard Dance. The events director works with the Yale College Dean’s Office, Facilities, Custodial, Dining, Police, Security, Risk Management, Grounds Maintenance, Physical Plant and Recycling. Additionally, the events director is tasked with forming the Spring Fling Committee.
MARISSA PET TIT ’14 BY CYNTHIA HUA STAFF REPORTER Daryl Hok ’14 describes himself as a people person. Hok, who is running for YCC vice president, says he will bring an approachable presence and leadership experience to the organization. If elected, Hok said he aims to foster better communication between the student body and the YCC, improve campus safety, increase the flexibility of the Durfee’s meal swipe policy and install handicap-accessible exits in residential colleges. Hok currently serves as Silliman’s Sophomore Class Council representative, vice president of finance for AIESEC, and president of the Cambodian American Multi-Branching Organization. He said this leadership experience has helped him create a platform that focuses on concrete, cost-effective goals. Though he has not served on the YCC previously, Hok said he has spoken with current YCC members about his platform, noting that he decided to concentrate on low-cost policies after consulting YCC Secretary Archit Sheth-Shah ’13 about the monetary challenges involved in accomplishing projects. Several points of Hok’s platform focus on improving communication the YCC has with students and other universities. To increase dia-
logue between students and the YCC, Hok plans to have the YCC hold “office hours” over meals, during which students could speak with members of the organization. Hok also plans to strengthen ties between the YCC and the Ivy Council, a student government organization that includes members from all the Ivy League schools. He said these communication-focused initatives will help people “to know this is their Yale.” “People feel comfortable talking to him,” said Lucy Chen ’14, who serves on the AIESEC executive board with Hok. “One of his big campaign platforms is making YCC more transparent and open to the student body … I think it will make YCC a more student-focused organization.” As for campus safety, Hok said he hopes to work with the Yale Police Department to increase the presence of Yale Security on and around campus. Hok said he was inspired to tackle safety issues because his suitemates Julian Sagastume ’14 and Martin Shapiro ’14 created BravetheHave, a website that maps crimes reported through YPD Chief Ronnell Higgins’ emails. The map shows the most concentrated crime on Dwight Street, Park Street, Lynwood Place and Howe Street, said Hok — areas he said regular Yale Transit routes do not reach. Hok plans to reroute Yale Transit to these areas, which he said would offer stu-
dents safer transportation options and deter crime by having Yale shuttles regularly pass through the areas. Hok said Yale police should focus more on addressing crime in neighborhoods around campus rather than breaking up student parties. “One thing I want to do is sit down with the YPD and tell them to focus on outward things that are not inward,” he said. Hok said some of his goals are more ambitious, such as his plans to increase the flexibility of Yale Dining by allowing dinner-time Durfee’s swipes and to install more handicap-accessible exits in residential colleges. “Dining is a really tough thing to change,” Hok said. “But if anyone were to have any change in dining, it would be YCC. I won’t promise things I may not complete but I will definitely sit down to work things out.” In addition to implementing new ideas, Hok stressed the importance of continuing current YCC programs. He plans to continue YCC’s mental health initiatives, and to gather feedback on the expansion of gender-neutral housing. Hok is an economics and psychology double major. Contact CYNTHIA HUA at cynthia.hua@yale.edu .
Calhoun College Biomedical Engineeering San Diego, Calif. ACTIVITIES
Calhoun College Council, Sophomore College Council, women’s varsity sailing team, Pi Beta Phi sorority, Calhoun Master’s Office and Chaplain’s Office PLATFORM
Improving both large events, including Spring Fling and social events at Harvard the night before the Game, and small ones, such as the creation of an intra-college sushi competition.
BY DAN WEINER STAFF REPORTER Marissa Pettit ’14 wants you to enjoy college. After two years of helping plan events on the Calhoun College Council and nearly a year of service as one of two Calhoun representatives on the Sophomore College Council, Pettit said she wants to be YCC events director so that she can help other Yalies let off a little steam. “Sometimes Yale and college can be stressful, and to put on an event where people can forget about the paper they
have due and the problem set they have due and just have fun and laugh — that’s really rewarding,” she said. Pettit said that her top priority would be partnering with the Harvard College Council in reforming the social options at Harvard the night before The Game this coming November. While Yale puts on multiple events the night before the annual football game, she said that the same night at Harvard her freshman year was “really anticlimactic.” Pettit said she would work to plan an event similar to the large dance at Commons that all students from both schools could attend.
Apart from tackling The Game, Pettit said she also wants to rethink various aspects of Spring Fling. Given all of the musical talent at Yale, Pettit said that a few student bands should have the opportunity to perform on a secondary stage to fill the downtime while the headliners are changing sets. Pettit also wants to throw an after-party right on Old Campus. Pettit said she wants to follow the lead of current YCC Events Director Katie Donley ’13 in planning more lowcost events like last fall’s “What Would You Do For A Wenzel?” contest. She suggested a competition in which students submit original sushi creations that reflect some aspect of Yale or New Haven, with the winner’s college enjoying a dinner of the victor’s sushi. Pettit said she holds the unofficial title of “Calhoun Mayor” for all the time she spends putting together events for the college. During her freshman year on Calhoun College Council and the Student Activities Committee, and as a master’s aide, Pettit said that she loved putting together Calhoun Screw, the residential college’s Harvard-Yale tailgate and the Trolley Night Dance. Seeking to scale up her involvement this year, Pettit became the Calhoun representative on the Sophomore College Council. Since the beginning of the academic year, she has planned DUS dinners to help sophomores choose majors as well as set up various other all-sophomore activities. Pettit remains on the Calhoun College Council and before break was elected to vice president of events on the council,
thereby also serving as the co-chair of the Calhoun Student Activities Committee. Given her time planning events for Calhoun and on the Sophomore College Council, Pettit said voters should not be concerned by her lack of experience on the YCC. “Although I haven’t worked on YCC, I feel like my experience in Calhoun and on SoCo works on very similar organizational structures, and has prepared me very well to work on YCC,” Pettit said. “I’ve worked with dining, I’ve worked with facilities and I’ve worked with security, and that’s given me the experience I need to do this job.” Rachel Ett ’14, a member of the Calhoun College Council who has worked with Pettit, said she believes Pettit would do a great job on YCC given her experience planning large events. While Calhoun always hosts Screw and Trolley Night dances, Ett said Pettit also has a talent for coming up with a wide range of more original events. “She is passionate about coming up with fun things for kids to do,” Ett said. “She is a girl who can make things happen.” Apart from her work in student governmwent, Pettit is a member of the women’s varsity sailing team, despite having never been in a boat before arriving at Yale. A member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority, Pettit works in the Chaplain’s Office and majors in biomedical engineering. Contact DAN WEINER at daniel.weiner@yale.edu .
B R YA N E P P S ’ 1 4 Silliman College Global Affairs Chattanooga, Tenn. ACTIVITIES
YCC representative and co-chair of Silliman College Council. PLATFORM
Reinvigorating the YCC Events Committee, reconnecting it with the student body, collaborating with representatives from student groups and organizing of high-quality events, such as a “Fall Fest.”
BY LORENZO LIGATO STAFF REPORTER Whether he is hiking, exploring New Haven’s East Rock or planning YCC projects, YCC events director candidate Bryan Epps ’14 said he knows how to get things done. A current YCC representative for Silliman and co-chair of Silliman College Council, Epps said that, if elected, he will put to use his two-year-long experience in student government in order to
organize high-quality campuswide events in cooperation with Yale’s largest student groups. “[Such] events are an essential aspect of the Yale education: events force Yalies to stop and let their minds rest, and little is more important to an education than periods of rest,” he said. “So I’m just psyched for a year of great events.” Epps, who has served on the Events Committee, Mental Health Committee and Academics Committee of the YCC this
year, also represented his college on the Freshman Class Council last year, co-chairing the Freshman Screw and collaborating on several FCC events. Through his work on the YCC Events Committee, Epps said he has contributed to the organization of the majority of successful YCC-sponsored events, including the Fall Show, the “What Would You Do for a Wenzel?” competition and Iron Chef competition. His experience with YCC, he said, has given him extensive preparation to lead the YCC Events Committee next year. “I’ve worked on a pretty huge array of events — many very successful, some less successful — and I’ve been able to learn a tremendous amount about events planning from these successes and failures,” Epps said. As YCC events director, Epps said he hopes to seek collaboration with Yale’s undergraduate student organizations in order to reinvigorate the Events Committee and reconnect it to the student body. By including representatives of key student groups on the committee, he said, YCC will be better able to gauge the needs of students and respond to them. Epps’ ideas also include a mental health week to raise awareness of “campus-specific mental health issues” and a “Fall Fest” in late September, an outdoor music festival to welcome student back
to campus for the new academic year. “This event needs to remind everyone early in the year how much fun Yale can be when the whole community comes together,” he said, adding that he is confident that YCC has the funds necessary to cover the costs of this event, which he compared to a smaller Spring Fling. Eric Eliasson ’14, the current chair of the YCC Academics Committee and a YCC presidential candidate, emphasized Epps’s commitment and experience in events planning. “The YCC events director should have time to commit to this position and experience for events to be successful,” Eliasson said. “Bryan has all of this: extensive experience and strong dedication to provide excellent events through YCC to the student body.” A native of Chattanooga, Tenn., Epps is a global affairs major. In his spare time, he loves to run to East Rock, West Rock and Lighthouse Point. “While [running] isn’t something I’ll put on my resume exactly, it is a very significant part of my life here at Yale,” Epps said, adding that he was unsure about coming to Yale until he saw the view from the top of East Rock. “After that, I was sold,” he said. Contact LORENZO LIGATO at lorenzo.ligato@yale.edu .
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YALE DAILY NEWS · MONDAY, APRIL 9, 2012 · yaledailynews.com
ELECTION PREVIEW UNDERGRADUATE ORGANIZATIONS FUNDING COMMITTEE CHAIR The UOFC chair is responsible for leading UOFC board meetings, assigning funding applications to UOFC liaisons, supervising the Capital Equipment Project and overseeing events funding. BOBBY DRE SSER ’14
RICHARD HARRIS ’15
Pierson College Undeclared Wayland, Mass.
Calhoun College Undeclared South Ozone Park, N.Y.
ACTIVITES:
ACTIVITES:
Undergraduate Organizations Funding Committee board, Baker’s Dozen, SigEp fraternity, FOOT leader, Students for Free Culture
ACTIVITES:
Sophomore Class Council, Undergraduate Organizations Funding Committee, peer health educator, Triple Helix magazine
PLATFORM:
Eliminating barriers for groups to obtain funding by accepting applications yearround, and increasing the UOFC’s accessibility and role in student life by opening a forum, hosting a cultural event and opening UOFC meetings to the public.
Making the UOFC simpler, more transparent, and more accessible by clarifying the funding process, redesigning its website, cooperating with other campus funding sources, and increasing communication between groups and the UOFC.
PLATFORM:
A more effective capital equipment system, increased communication between the Undergraduate Organizations Funding Committee and the Yale administration, and a smooth transition from the UOFC to the Undergraduate Organizations Committee.
“I respect the experience of [my opponents], but as an outsider, I could contribute a new perspective.”
“Instead of just looking at applications and reading them over, our [UOFC] members need to connect individually with each organization that they are assigned.”
Bobby Dresser ’14 doesn’t have a campaign team. He prefers to talk to people himself, he said. Dresser is one of three contenders in the election for chair of the Undergraduate Organizations Funding Committee, the student group which oversees funding for registered groups on campus. His plan for the position focuses on three principles: simplicity, transparency and accessibility, with the aim of making it easier to understand the funding process. He added that he wants to use the committee to advocate for changes in organization policy across the board, not just financially. “I want people to think of the [UOFC] not as another place to go to get funding, but as the center of funding,” Dresser said. In his bid for UOFC chair, Dresser is building on two years of experience in Yale student government. After working on the Freshman Class Council in the 2010-’11 school year, Dresser served as a board member on the UOFC this year. He said his time on the committee taught him that undergraduate organizations often feel confused by the funding process. To reduce confusion, Dresser said he would work with the University’s Information Technology Services department to redesign the UOFC website. He added that, if elected, he would also post more information about the committee’s decision process online. In addition, Dresser said he would seek to aid Yale organizations looking for funds outside of the UOFC by working with other funding sources, such as the Yale President’s
Branford College Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology Simi Valley, Calif.
Freshman Class Council associate member
PLATFORM:
BY ROBERT PECK STAFF REPORTER
A LY M O O R E ’ 1 4
national Night” that would combine elements of Halloween events and an extracurricular bazaar to “officially celebrate each other’s rich cultural heritages with food, dance, [costumes] and music.” Harris said he also hopes to use his web design skills to create an online forum on the UOFC website where students can anonymously submit and comment on any ideas and proposals regarding campus life. Harris conceded that his sophomore opponents have more qualifications, awareness and experience than he does, but he said being an outsider will enable him to approach the role with innovative ideas. He said he became aware of the difficulties of obtaining funding in the current system through conversations with student groups such as the Polish Club and a UOFC mmember. “It’s not simply a matter of me doing a better job than them, but also being willing to do more outside the traditional [organizational] bounds,” Harris said. “With the transition from UOFC to UOC, there will be a learning curve for everybody.” Harris said he has experience relevant to the position as an associate member of the Freshman Class Council, where he advocated organizing a scavenger hunt, inspiring FCC to hold an easter egg hunt. Harris said he did not apply to become a UOFC member earlier this year because at the time he was not aware of the committee. Rather than applying for that position next year, he said, he wants to play a leading role immediately. “I have ideas that I think can work, and if I was just put in that position, I would be able to implement them right away,” Harris said. “I think I will be able to create a smoother transition than my opponents.” Harris said he is considering a double major in political science and global affairs.
BY CLINTON WANG STAFF REPORTER
Fund, to help groups find the money they need even if it cannot come from the UOFC. Beginning next year, the UOFC will become the Undergraduate Organizations Committee, a redefinition that Dresser said will broaden the committee’s scope to cover all matters concerning student organizations. He said that he plans to use this change to open a dialogue with the University’s numerous groups. “I want to hear what our organizations like and dislike about the current system, and then advocate to the administration about what we want to change,” Dresser said. Joel Sircus ’14, who served with Dresser this year as a UOFC board member, said Dresser’s ability to maintain enthusiasm for a large number of activities simultaneously would serve him well as UOFC chair. He added that Dresser’s loyalty to fellow board members was key to Dresser’s success on the UOFC board. James Campbell ’13, a fellow member of the Baker’s Dozen a cappella group who has worked with Dresser on the YCC, said that Dresser’s commitment to his peers makes him a strong candidate. “Bobby is one of the best team players I’ve encountered in any organization I’ve been a part of,” Campbell said. “In the two years I’ve worked with him, I’ve never seen him miss a single deadline or fail to complete any of the many tasks for which he’s taken responsibility.” Beyond student government and a cappella, Dresser is also a FOOT leader and a member of Students for Free Culture and the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity.
With no experience in the UOFC, Richard Harris ’15 is not a typical candidate for the chair of the Undergraduate Organizations Funding Committee. Harris said he has no illusions that he is coming into the race as an underdog, but said he wants to become directly involved in overseeing and promoting student organizations. His platform aims to eliminate barriers for groups to obtain funding by accepting applications year-round and to increase the UOFC’s accessibility and role in student life by holding a forum, hosting a cultural event, and opening UOFC meetings to the public. He said his lack of experience is not problematic because in the fall the UOFC will become the Undergraduate Organizations Committee, meaning that any UOFC chair will face similar challenges as they adapt to the expanded responsibilities of the UOC. “I think my chances are a shot in the dark, but I think I can do what Aly [Moore ’14] and Bobby [Dresser ’14] can and push it further,” Harris said. Running under the campaign slogan, “Realize Your Vision,” Harris proposes to accept funding applications year-round, rather than at specific deadlines during the academic year, and to make connections to help groups with similar interests to obtain funding jointly. Harris also said he hopes to revise the UOFC’s approach to accessibility by eliminating the UOFC chair’s office hours and instead making himself available anytime via email. He said email availability would promote communication with student groups over the summer, which would be crucial in broadening the UOFC’s scope. Harris said he may also open board meetings to the public and allow frequent attendees to serve as associate members. Harris’s ideas are not limited to the traditional role of funding undergraduate organizations. He suggested organizing an “Inter-
Contact ROBERT PECK at robert.peck@yale.edu .
“I truly care about this organization. I’ve been its dedicated member for two years, and I am now asking for the opportunity to prove to myself and to everyone else that I can implement programs and see them work.”
BY ALEKSANDRA GJORGIEVSKA STAFF REPORTER Aly Moore ’14 says she wants to apply her passion for innovation to the Undergraduate Organizations Funding Committee. Moore, one of three candidates for chair of the UOFC, which oversees funding for registered groups on campus, said she will increase communication between the UOFC and the Yale administration and make it easier for student groups to receive the funding they deserve. Having served on the Sophomore Class Council and the UOFC’s board this year, Moore said she believes she can use her experience in student government to implement new initiatives, including publicizing the UOFC more widely and improving UOFC’s capital equipment system. Moore, who is running under the slogan “Let’s do Moore,” is looking to expand communication between the administration and student groups, and said she intends to organize dinners with administrators and leaders of student organizations in order to facilitate direct and open contact. In addition, she said she will make it easier for student groups to pick up checks and turn in reciepts, a process she thinks is currently too slow. Moore said she is the best candidate to ensure that the UOFC’s transition to the Undergraduate Organizations Committee goes smoothly. Next fall, the UOFC will become the UOC, expanding from a role exclusively involved with funding to one that encompasses all matters relating to student
organizations. “This recently approved transition, for which I helped write the proposal, will increase UOFC’s responsibilities and make the organization more autonomous,” Moore said, adding that her experience as a board member of UOFC has enabled her to “see what works and what doesn’t,” and that she will use this knowledge to make the transition as smooth as possible. Even though she is “not a big campaigner,” Moore said she likes reaching out to people, and hopes to gain support from the Yale community by making personal connections. “I am not doing the whole door-to-door thing,” she said. “I don’t believe in massive campaigning. I like taking the time to talk to people about my plans and about what they want.” Adin Lykken ’14, who served on UOFC with Moore, said some of the qualities that make her a great candidate are her willingness to collaborate and her energizing personality. John Gonzales ’14, who is running for YCC president, said he endorses Moore’s candidacy. “Aly was in charge of the Sophomore Snow Ball, and I saw her show an incredible amount of commitment,” he said. “She has been on the committee for a long time, and I think that she is now ready to lead.” Moore is a molecular, cellular and developmental biology major and a peer health educator. Contact ALEKSANDRA GJORGIEVSKA at aleksandra.gjorgievska@yale.edu .
Contact CLINTON WANG at clinton.wang@yale.edu .
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YALE DAILY NEWS · MONDAY, APRIL 9, 2012 · yaledailynews.com
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FROM THE FRONT
“Government is like a baby. An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.” RONALD REAGAN FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT
Resolution watched closely in Singapore
SARAH ECKINGER/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
YCC vice-presidential candidates Daryl Hok ’14, left, and Debby Abramov ’14 squared off in a portion of Sunday’s public debate in LC.
AVA KOFMAN/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Last week’s Yale College faculty vote to pass a resolution expressing concern with Singapore’s human rights record has garnered attention at NUS. SINGAPORE FROM PAGE 1 Sunday email. “More generally, both the resolution and certain comments assume that Yale, and the U.S. behind it, should and will enlighten the less fortunate parts of the world.” Many faculty members at NUS have been discussing the resolution, Richardson said, though like Yale, opinions have differed within the faculty. Shawn Tan ’01, vice president of the Yale Club of Singapore, said while he respected the Yale faculty’s right to voice its opinion, he found the resolution unbecoming of the University. “I am more afraid of Yale faculty tarnishing the Yale name than of the Yale-NUS collaboration,” Tan said. “I believe it is time to snap out of the “I’m holier than thou” attitude that might have worked in the post-Soviet era, but which actually makes one look like
a country bumpkin in today’s day and age.” Tan added that few of the Yale faculty have actually been to Asia, so they may not be in a position to judge the country.
I am more afraid of Yale faculty tarnishing the Yale name than of the Yale-NUS collaboration. SHAWN TAN ’01 Vice president, Yale Club of Singapore But Alex Au — whose political blog, Yawning Bread, is widely read in Singapore — said the resolution was fair in its critiques of Singapore, and he added that concerns about “moral superiority” are not a valid reason to avoid dis-
cussing a lack of civil liberties in the nation. “I would say this strikes me as being similar to one of the Singapore government’s favorite defences whenever their human rights record is called into question,” Au said. “As a Singaporean, I reject such a facile attempt at Singapore- or Asian-particularism. If anything, I think it is demeaning to think that we are incapable of aspiration [for more liberties].” Despite the ongoing debate over moral superiority, eight Singaporeans interviewed said they did not think the resolution would have a serious effect on the new school. George Bishop, an openly gay NUS professor involved with the planning of Yale-NUS, said he didn’t think the resolution would have a major influence on the program because it concerned a subject that Yale-NUS administrators and potential hires have been dis-
cussing for months. “From what I’ve seen of postings on Facebook from friends as well as discussion on Signel, Singapore’s gay news list, I don’t see any sense of offense,” Bishop said. “All of the arguments raised at the Yale faculty meeting have been heard before, often in far stronger terms.” Doris Sohmen-Pao, YaleNUS executive vice president for administration, said any partnership will have moments where differences of opinion emerge, and so as long as they were resolved “through discussion and understanding,” the new college would not be adversely affected by the Yale faculty’s criticisms. NUS was founded in 1905, 60 years before Singapore became independent from Malaysia. Contact TAPLEY STEPHENSON at tapley.stephenson@yale.edu .
Presidential and VP candidates square off YCC DEBATE FROM PAGE 1 they’re pushing for,” he felt that some of the questions were less than fully answered. “We were looking for a specific answer to the question about closer relationships between the YCC and the residential college councils, and I thought that answer was skirted around a bit,” Haden said. “But I hope whoever is elected will be able to keep that relationship going.” Frankie Costa, president of the Yale International Relations Association (YIRA), said the debate over-emphasized the importance of acquiring endorsements from student organizations and might not have been as relevant to students not representing specific groups. Representatives of student groups present at the meeting were informed that their groups’ presidents could
formally submit group endorsements by Tuesday at noon. “[YIRA] received multiple inquiries about endorsements this year, but we won’t be endorsing any candidate because we do not feel that that is a part of our organization’s mission,” Costa said. “It seemed that the vast majority of people [at the debate] were a part of groups who were looking to endorse candidates. I’m not sure how effective this was in reaching out to the regular student … and it was a much less dynamic discussion as a result.” Voting in the presidential and vice-presidential elections opens Thursday at 9 a.m. In addition, there are campuswide elections for YCC treasurer, secretary, events director and Undergraduate Organizations Funding Committee chair. Contact CHRISTINA WANG at christina.wang@yale.edu .
NHPD responds to Admins committed to lasting changes off-duty shootings TITLE IX FROM PAGE 4
SHOOTINGS FROM PAGE 1 said in a Friday statement. “It is not representative of the hard work and commitment of the men and women of the police department.”
Police officers are meant to uphold the law — there’s no excuse for this. BRIAN WINGATE Chair, Board of Aldermen public safety committee The NHPD’s response to the off-duty shooting incident was “appropriate,” DeStefano said. Since Esserman took office in November, DeStefano and the Board of Aldermen’s public safety committee have been supportive of the NHPD’s efforts to improve the depart-
ment’s community relations, including its introduction of walking beats in the city’s 10 policing districts and monthly meetings between police management teams and the public. Ward 29 Alderman Brian Wingate, chair of the public safety committee, said Esserman handled the “bad situation” of the shooting incident well. “Police officers are meant to uphold the law — there’s no excuse for this if the officers are convicted of the crimes they have allegedly committed,” he said. “We’re trying to build a community based police force, and to have any kind of incident like this is negative for what the chief and new assistant chiefs are trying to put together.” The three officers will appear in court for arraignment April 20. Contact JAMES LU at james.q.lu@yale.edu .
develop a stronger set of policies and programs,” Levin said. “The complaint was a factor in all but not exclusively responsible for any.” While the Advisory Committee was announced in response to the Title IX investigation, other programs had already been in the works. A fall 2010 report commissioned by Provost Peter Salovey’s office recommended that administrators establish the UWC, which began operating last July. In addition, the Yale College Dean’s Office took steps to address the DKE incident before the Title IX complaint was filed, forming the Committee on Hazing and Initiations — which led to the new leadership training sessions held in January — and establishing the Task Force on Sexual Misconduct Education and Prevention — which prompted changes to freshman orientation. Boyd said she has “always understood the Title IX complaint as a symptom of the changes underway at Yale.” A few changes, including the expanded role of the Title IX coordinators, can be traced to OCR’s Title IX clarifications rather than the complaint itself, she said. The University’s decision to lower the burden of proof necessary to find someone in violation of sexual misconduct regulations also came in response to OCR’s new guidelines. Regardless of the origins of each new initiative, administrators said their underlying goal has been to encourage a positive and safe sexual environment on campus.
AN EVOLVING CULTURE
All five freshman counselors and a majority of 15 other seniors interviewed said the complaint and the new initiatives that followed have made undergraduates more aware of sexual miscon-
duct issues, but they expressed mixed reactions about whether this awareness has translated into changes in student behavior. Adam Weiner ’12, a freshman counselor in Silliman College, said he has “absolutely” noticed a shift in campus discussions over the past year, a change he said is especially noticeable when he visits his hometown in California. “At home, people make jokes that would make women feel uncomfortable, [and] it’s just not something I even think to do anymore,” Weiner said. “Things have totally changed. You just don’t joke about it anymore.” Alex Birks ’12, former president of DKE, told the News in a December email that his fraternity has experienced an “attitude adjustment” since their controversial chants in October 2010. He added that the chanting incident encouraged his fraternity to scrutinize its traditional rush and pledge processes as well as members’ individual daily behavior. But Dan O’Connor ’12 said he thinks many people have ended up treating Title IX as a “bit of a joke” following the “explosion of conversation” on the issue. He said the attention directed toward the complaint has encouraged productive discussion among some students, but has become “more or less a punchline” for others. He said he thinks most students on campus are aware of the term “Title IX” but do not know much about the complaint itself. O’Connor added that he thinks the complaint has caused “anger” among some male students who believe the negative media attention has “cast aspersions” on Yale’s male population as a whole. Jamey Silveira ’13, president of Alpha Delta Phi fraternity, said he has not noticed any major cultural changes in fraternity life even though he said the complaint brought sexual misconduct issues to the “forefront of our collective
Yale conscience.” “The complaint has put a spotlight on this issue and encouraged a lot of discussion and made people consider whether this is a real problem in our culture,” Silveira said. “I don’t know if it’s reached a point where it’s really effecting any tangible change, but it’s on people’s minds, which in some sense might be the first step.”
LASTING EFFECT?
Soon, the OCR will conclude its investigation into Yale’s sexual climate, and national media scrutiny on the University will fade. Orazem said she thinks the intense media attention has created a strong incentive for the University to make visible changes, and she hopes administrators’ focus on improving the campus’ sexual culture will continue even after the University is no longer in the public eye. “I’m worried that as Title IX drops further and further into the past, so will the University’s commitment,” she said. A 1980 Title IX case against the University, Alexander v. Yale, led to changes at Yale and other universities across the country whose effects are still felt today. Though the plaintiffs did not win their suit, the case set the precedent for sexual harassment as a form of gender discrimination. Ann Olivarius ’77 LAW ’86 SOM ’86, one of the plaintiffs in the case, said in a speech at Sex Week 2012 in February that “literally hundreds of institutions” established sexual grievance procedures within five years after the case closed. Yale formed its own grievance procedures in 1980. “It was the start of what became a mighty river of law, and the impact that it had in changing campus culture and attitudes toward sexual harassment more generally is undeniable,” she said in her speech. Brodsky said the complainants aimed to “build on the founda-
tion” set by Alexander v. Yale to encourage administrators to make Yale’s campus safer. Yale College Dean Mary Miller said in a Tuesday email that she expects the University’s changes over the past year to have a permanent effect on Yale, citing the appointment of Spangler to oversee the University’s Title IX compliance, the initiatives by the Dean’s Office to enhance undergraduate sexual education efforts and the expansion of SHARE’s website to clarify Yale’s sexual assault resources. “The changes are lasting,” she said. “I hope … no one will ever again say that the resources at Yale are confusing.” Courtney Fukuda ’12 said administrators now have a strong incentive to avoid another Title IX investigation to prevent another wave of negative media scrutiny. Nico Barawid ’12, a freshman counselor in Silliman College, also said he expects the University’s recent initiatives to last since they have become “institutionalized” in programs such as freshman orientation. In addition, Weiner said he thinks the University’s sexual environment will improve in the coming years as incoming freshmen go through the revamped orientation workshops. Levin said Yale is “very committed” to creating a campus free from sexual misconduct, and he does not expect this commitment to diminish after media attention subsides. “Do I think it will fade?” Ilan Ben-Meir ’13 said of the Title IX complaint’s effect on the University. “It depends on how willing people are to let it.” Contact CAROLINE TAN at caroline.tan@yale.edu .
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YALE DAILY NEWS · MONDAY, APRIL 9, 2012 · yaledailynews.com
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Mike Wallace, ‘60 Minutes’ interrogator, dies BY DAVID BAUDER ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK — “Mike Wallace is here to see you.” The “60 Minutes” newsman had such a fearsome reputation that it was often said that those were the most dreaded words in the English language, capable of reducing an interview subject to a shaking, sweating mess. Wallace, who won his 21st and final Emmy Award at 89, died Saturday in the New Canaan, Conn., care facility where he had lived the last few years of his life. He was 93. Wallace didn’t just interview people. He interrogated them. He cross-examined them. Sometimes he eviscerated them pitilessly. His weapons were many: thorough research, a cocked eyebrow, a skeptical “Come on” and a question so direct it took your breath away. He was well aware that his reputation arrived at an interview before he did, said Jeff Fager, CBS News chairman and Wallace’s long-time producer at “60 Minutes.” “He loved it,” Fager said Sunday. “He loved that part of Mike Wallace. He loved being Mike Wallace. He loved the fact that if he showed up for an interview, it made people nervous. ... He knew, and he knew that everybody else knew, that he was going to get to the truth. And that’s what motivated him.” Wallace made “60 Minutes” compulsively watchable, television’s first newsmagazine that became appointment viewing on Sunday nights. His last interview, in January 2008, was with Roger Clemens on his alleged steroid use. Slowed by a triple bypass later that month and the ravages of time on a once-sharp mind, he retired from public life. During the Iranian hostage cri-
sis in 1979, he asked Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini - then a feared figure - what he thought about being called “a lunatic” by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. Khomeini answered by predicting Sadat’s assassination. Late in his career, he interviewed Russian President Vladimir Putin, and challenged him: “This isn’t a real democracy, come on!” Putin’s aides tried to halt the interview; Putin said he was the president, he’ll decide what to do. “Many people who weathered a Mike Wallace interview grew to respect him greatly and, you know, have great regard for him because I don’t recall anybody ever saying to me, `He took a cheap shot’ or `He did the obvious,’ or that he was, you know, playing some kind of game,” Fox News Channel Chairman Roger Ailes said on Sunday. “He actually was trying to serve the audience, and that’s what made him great.” When a Wallace story found little to back up rumors that Coors beer executives were racist, the relieved company took out newspaper ads trumpeting that it had survived. The ad’s top: “The four most dreaded words in the English language: Mike Wallace is here.” He was equally tough on public and private behavior. In 1973, with the Watergate scandal growing, he sat with top Nixon aide John Ehrlichman and read a long list of alleged crimes, from money laundering to obstructing justice. “All of this,” Wallace noted, “by the law-and-order administration of Richard Nixon.” The surly Ehrlichman could only respond: “Is there a question in there somewhere?” In the early 1990s, Wallace reduced Barbra Streisand to tears as he scolded her for being “totally self-absorbed” when she was young and mocked her decades of psychoanalysis. “What is it she
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Mike Wallace, famed for his tough interviews on “60 Minutes,” died on Saturday. He was 93. is trying to find out that takes 20 years?” Wallace wondered. “I’m a slow learner,” Streisand told him. “He was hands down the best television interviewer ever,” said Steve Kroft, his former “60 Minutes” colleague. “I can’t think of anyone, besides (CBS legend Edward R.) Murrow, who had a greater influence in shaping television journalism.” “60 Minutes” pioneered the use of “ambush interviews,” with reporter and camera crew corralling alleged wrongdoers in parking lots, hallways, wherever a comment - or at least a stricken expression - might be harvested from someone dodging reporters’
phone calls. Wallace once went after a medical laboratory offering Medicaid kickbacks to doctors in this fashion. They were phased out after founding executive producer Don Hewitt termed them “showbiz baloney.” “Finally I said, `Hey, kid, maybe it’s time to retire that trenchcoat,’” Hewitt recalled. Wallace’s late colleague Harry Reasoner once said, “There is one thing that Mike can do better than anybody else: With an angelic smile, he can ask a question that would get anyone else smashed in the face.” As a young producer at the CBS’ New York affiliate, Fager first dealt with Wallace when he
had to cut down one of the reporter’s stories to 90 seconds for a broadcast. “I was scared of him and intimidated by him,” he said. “He knew it and he would just make you more miserable. That was Mike. He always had a twinkle in his eye, and even if you were intimidated by him, it was hard not to love him.” His prosecutorial style was admired, imitated, condemned and lampooned. In a 1984 skit on “Saturday Night Live,” Harry Shearer impersonated Wallace, and Martin Short played weaselly, chain-smoking attorney Nathan Thurm, who becomes comically evasive, shifty-eyed and nervous
under questioning. Wallace was hired when Hewitt put together the staff of “60 Minutes” at its inception in 1968. The show wasn’t a hit at first, but worked its way up to the top 10 in the 1977-78 season and remained there year after year. Among other things, it proved there could be big profits in TV journalism. It remains the most popular newsmagazine on TV. Wallace said he didn’t think he had an unfair advantage over his interview subjects: “The person I’m interviewing has not been subpoenaed. He’s in charge of himself, and he lives with his subject matter every day. All I’m armed with is research.”
YALE DAILY NEWS · MONDAY, APRIL 9, 2012 · yaledailynews.com
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BULLETIN BOARD
TODAY’S FORECAST
Mostly sunny, with a high near 61. Low of 41. Breezy, with wind between 18 and 22 mph, with gusts as high as 36 mph.
TOMORROW
WEDNESDAY
High of 59, low of 36.
High of 56, low of 36.
SCIENCE HILL BY SPENCER KATZ
ON CAMPUS TUESDAY, APRIL 10 4:30 PM Yale-China Fireside Chat: “Our Town: China/USA.” Alvin Eng is a playwright, performer and educator who along with his wife directed “Our Town: China/USA,” a devised theatre program for a Fulbright specialist residency at City University of Hong Kong during summer 2011. Yale-China Association, (442 Temple St.). 7:00 PM Eating Alabama at EFFY 2012. As part of the 2012 Enivronmental Film Festival at Yale, the East Coast premiere of the film “Eating Alabama” will be shown at the Whitney. In search of a simpler life, a young couple returns home to Alabama where they set out to eat the way their grandparents did — locally and seasonally. Whitney Humanities Center (53 Wall St.).
PANCAKES AND BOOZE BY TAKUYA SAWAOKA
9:30 PM Beyond Butch/Femme. What does it mean to be butch? What does it mean to be femme? And what would it mean to envision queer women’s gender presentation beyond these boundaries? Come join Sappho and the LGBTQ Co-op for a discussion on this theme. Dwight Hall (67 High St.), Library.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11 5:00 PM Lecture with Ajay Singh Mehta and Priyanka Singh, senior members of the Indian NGO Seva Mendir. Seva Mendir is an NGO working in over 626 villages and 56 urban settlements in impoverished and socially marginalized regions of Rajasthan, India. The organization reaches out to over 70,000 households and influences the lives of more than 360,000 individuals by working at a grassroots level to build empowered communities. 483 College St., Lecture Room.
THURSDAY, APRIL 12
THAT MONKEY TUNE BY MICHAEL KANDALAFT
4:00 PM Coexistence Regulations: Oops, Plants Can’t Read! This event is part of the “Biotechnology in Agriculture” series and features Dr. Carol Mallory-Smith, a professor of weed science at Oregon State University. Her main areas of research are weed management in agronomic crops, weed biology, and gene flow and hybridization between crops and weeds. Kline Biology Tower (219 Prospect St.), Room KBT 1214.
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4 Confines, as a pet bird 5 Violin maker Nicolò 6 Slowing, in mus. 7 Siamese or Burmese 8 __ loss for words 9 Most common food additive, to a chemist 10 Inquire about 11 Tropical fruit 12 “Almost ready!” 13 Garaged for the night, gearwise 18 Heidi of “Project Runway” 22 Light rope 24 Jeremy Lin or Kobe Bryant, e.g. 25 __ de Cologne 26 Imitate 28 “Casablanca” pianist 29 Chicken __ king 30 Southern Cal. airport 32 Popular sneakers 34 Barbershop sound 36 Eschew the subway and bus 38 Owns 39 N.Y. clock setting
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THROUGH THE LENS
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ale science labs house everything from proton-accelerating Van de Graaf generators, liquid nitrogen vials and powerful magnets to turbine engines, radioactive materials and oscilloscopes. Photography editor ZOE GORMAN captures laboratories in action at Sloane Physics Laboratory, the Becton Center and Gibbs Laboratory.
YALE DAILY NEWS 路 MONDAY, APRIL 9, 2012 路 yaledailynews.com
IF YOU MISSED IT SCORES
NBA Knicks 100 Bulls 99
NBA Nets 122 Cavaliers 117
SPORTS QUICK HITS
CREW LIGHT- AND HEAVYWEIGHTS WIN The heavyweights defeated Dartmouth to keep the Olympic Axe, winning in freshman, junior varsity, and varsity pairings. The lightweights swept Georgetown and MIT in all four races as well to keep the Joy Cup. See tomorrow’s paper for the full story.
SOCCER Man Utd 2 Queens Park 0
SOCCER Arsenal 1 Man City 0
MLB Tigers 13 Red Sox 12
MONDAY
ALECA HUGHES ’12 HOCKEY HUMANITARIAN Hughes, the team captain of the women’s ice hockey team, was awarded the 17th Hockey Humanitarian Award at the NCAA Frozen Four ceremony on Friday. Hughes founded the Mandi Schwartz Foundation and the annual “White Out for Mandi” fundraiser game.
“We had eight different guys score goals [on Saturday], it was good to spread it around.” MICHAEL PRATT ’12 CAPTAIN, MEN’S LACROSSE YALE DAILY NEWS · MONDAY, APRIL 9, 2012 · yaledailynews.com
Yale was in bad shape after Dartmouth scored three unanswered goals early in Saturday’s game. But the Bulldogs took control and held on to win 13–11 in Hanover. PAGE B3
ELIS OVERCOME EARLY DEFICIT TO DOWN DARTMOUTH BLAIR SEIDEMAN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Eight members of the men’s lacrosse team scored goals for the Bulldogs in Saturday’s 13-11 victory over Dartmouth. The Elis have now won three straight games, keeping their entry into the Ivy L eague tournament a possibility.
No holiday luck for Elis
W. tennis takes two BY JOSEPH ROSENBERG STAFF REPORTER No. 27 Yale (14–3, 2–0 Ivy) kicked off its Ivy season with victories over Penn (5–9, 0–3 Ivy) and No. 69 Princeton (8–10, 1–2 Ivy). The twin triumphs stretched the team’s winning streak to four matches.
W. TENNIS The Tigers proved considerably tougher competition than the Quakers. Before downing Princeton 4-3 on Saturday, the Bulldogs bageled Penn 7-0 on Friday. The Elis took their customary 1-0 lead by winning the doubles point 2-1. This was the 15th time in 16
matches that the Elis grabbed the doubles point to jump out to a 1-0 lead. And the doubles victory was a sign of things to come, as Yale won all six singles matches. No. 1 Elizabeth Epstein played the only three-set match against both Penn and Princeton. In both, she lost the first set 6-1 and went on to win the match. “In both matches my opponent played well in the first set,” Epstein said. “I made a few adjustments going into the second set that helped me and made the difference.” Penn’s No. 1, Sol Eskenazi, had lost just once this spring prior to facing Epstein. Epstein said that Eskenazi’s game was difficult SEE W. TENNIS PAGE 3
GRAHAM HARBOE/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Pat Ludwig ’12 pitched until the last out of Game 1 against Cornell and left the mound with the Bulldogs in the lead. BY GRAHAM HARBOE CONTRIBUTING REPORTER Over the holiday weekend, the baseball team took to the field in two doubleheaders against Princeton and Cornell. But the Bulldogs were not able to celebrate the holidays with a win.
BASEBALL Yale (6–22–1) is now 0–8 in conference play. In Game 1 of the doubleheader against Princeton, Yale was tied going into the bottom of the sixth when Chris Piwinski ’13 was thrown out at
the plate trying to give the Bulldogs the lead. In the following inning, Princeton took the lead and never looked back after starting pitcher Chris O’Hares ’13 hit a Cornell player with the bases loaded. “Talk about a momentum changer,” catcher and firstbaseman Robert Baldwin ’15 said. “The umpire calls him out at home, and they go on to win the game in the next inning. It was rough.” Game two featured fantastic pitching by Connecticut native David Hickey ’13 and Nolan Becker ’13. Hickey gave up two
runs in the second inning, and Becker followed him up with five shutout innings. The strong pitching efforts was not enough to defeat the Tigers, as Princeton pitchers held the Bulldogs to just one run on a sacrifice fly by captain Ryan Brenner ’12 in the fifth. Whereas previously, the Elis have struggled getting base hits, Yale outhit Princeton 18–13 for the doubleheader on Saturday. On Sunday, Game 1 against Cornell proved hardest to swallow for the Bulldogs and their fans.
STAT OF THE DAY 16 10
SEE BASEBALL PAGE 2
GRAHAM HARBOE/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Elizabeth Epstein ’13 went to three sets in both of her singles matches this weekend and won both.
THE NUMBER TEXT TEXT TEXT OFTEXT TIMESTEXT IN THE TEXT LAST TEXT 17 TEXT TENNIS TEXT MATCHES FIRSTNAME THATLASTNAME DOUBLES PAIR ’## TEXT AMBER TEXT LI ’15 TEXT TEXTVICKY AND TEXT TEXT BROOK TEXT ’12 TEXT HAVETEXT WONTEXT THEIRTEXT. POINT. TextAgainst text text No.text 69 text Princeton, text text thetext doubles text text pairtext beattext textNo. the text29 text ranked text text Tigers text pair text 8-6 text in text Saturday’s text text match. text text text text text text.
PAGE B2
YALE DAILY NEWS · MONDAY, APRIL 9, 2012 · yaledailynews.com
SPORTS
“I showed a serious mistake in judgment when I chose not to be more specific about those details.” BOBBY PETRINO ARKANSAS HEAD FOOTBALL COACH, AFTER ADMITTING TO AN “INAPPROPRIATE RELATIONSHIP”
Bulldogs face professional field jump, leapt 5.25 meters on Friday to take tenth. Amanda Snajder ’14 came in 12th, with Elle Brunsdale ’15 in 23rd. Brunsdale was also eighth in the triple jump. “This past weekend had us facing some strong competition, and it was important to see how we competed and where we need to improve, individually and as a whole,” Parent said. “In general we did well, and I think everyone is really excited about putting all the pieces together for our upcoming meet against Harvard.” The women’s team also had a strong discus throw by Antonia Renker ’13, who took 10th place in the event Friday with a distance of 34.33 meters. Similarly, Jennifer Donnelly ’13 was 14th in the 10000-meter run with a time of 37:32.83. On Saturday, the women’s team finally took home a medal when the 4 x 100 team of captain Alexa Monti ’12, Emily Cable ’15, Emily Shulan ’12 and Adele Jackson-Gibson ’13 finished in second with a time of 47.76 meters. Cable was also able to come in sixth in the 400-meter hurdlers, with Jenna Poggi ’13 in 10th and Dakota McCoy ‘13 in 13th. Allison Rue ’13 achieved a personal best of 56.74 seconds in the 400-meter dash, and captured ninth place. Emily Urciuoli ’14, who placed sixth pole vault after clearing 3.65 meters, said the weekend’s showing gives the team confidence going into the meet against Harvard. “Our annual showdown is the first big test of the season, and I think we are ready to give them a run for their money,” Urciuoli said. Harvard is currently ranked 163rd in Division, eight places behind Yale.
BY JORDAN KONELL STAFF REPORTER Against a number of professional runners and top teams, including teams from Harvard, Princeton, Dartmouth and Columbia, the men’s and women’s track and field teams each took home a medal at the Sam Howell Invitational at Princeton. The men’s weekend was highlighted by an impressive performance all around and a gold medal by Mike Levine ’14 in the discus throw on Friday. After fouling in his first four of six attempts, Levine launched the discus 50.58 meters, nearly three meters farther than the second place competitor. Levine also took sixth in the hammer throw. Despite his accomplishments, Levine said he was not content with his throw. “I was disappointed with my distance in the discus, although picking up the win is always nice,” Levine said. “I just have to keep working hard and get some big throws next weekend.” Next weekend, the Elis will take on Harvard in Cambridge, Mass. Steeplechase racer Nathan Richards ’12 also met success on Friday and placed sixth. While the Bulldogs did not medal Saturday, they did exhibit some impressive times. The 4 x 100-meter relay team of captain Matthew Bieszard ’12, Dana Lindberg ’14, Daniel Jones ’14 and Dylan Hurley ’15 finished fourth with a time of 42.90 seconds, the squad’s second best time of the season. Bieszard also finished sixth in the 400-meter dash, with Hurley in 13th. While the women’s team struggled to medal against top competitors last weekend, the Elis did show some impressive individual performances. Sarah Barry ’14, for example, placed 14th in the 1500-meter run, but professional runners filled the first six spots. Teresa Parent ’14, who competed in the long
Contact JORDAN KONELL at jordan.konell@yale.edu .
ANDREW GOBLE/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Despite a number of strong individual performances, the women’s track and field team struggled to medal this weekend.
Elis drop last-out loss
Bulldogs swept over weekend
BASEBALL FROM PAGE 1 With only one out needed to secure the Elis’ first conference win, head coach John Stuper decided to pull starter Pat Ludwig ’12 in favor of starting first basemen and closer Kevin Fortunato ’14. “It’s always nice to finish the game,” Ludwig said, “but I trust Fortunato more than anyone.” Unforunately it wasn’t Fortunato’s day. Cornell’s cleanup hitter Chris Cruz stepped up to the plate and blasted a game winning homerun over the fence in right field. Trying to put Game 1 behind them, the Elis took to the field and battled hard in the second game to tally six runs on 12 hits. Taking the lead into the sixth, the Bulldogs surrendered a game-tying homerun and could never quite get back over the hump. Once again, stellar pitching characterized the game. Starter Rob Cerfolio ’14 and reliever Eric Shultz ’12 combined for nine innings, seven strikeouts and only two earned runs. But not all was lost on the weekend. Many players look to be finally breaking out of hitting slumps as
SOFTBALL FROM PAGE 4 for its rotational hitting style, which drives in more home runs. It is the only school in the Ivy Leagues to adopt such a style, she added. In the first game, the hitting style was incredibly successful, and drove in seven of Big Red’s eight runs. Although Johnson said the team’s energy has run low, Hughes said the players have remained supportive of
each other. “Every time someone got a hit, everyone would get so pumped up and so excited, and just seeing that fire and passion from the team was a highlight for me,” Hughes said. The Bulldogs next face Wagner (10– 26) at home on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. Contact MASON KROLL at mason.kroll@yale.edu .
PRINCETON 6, YALE 3 GRAHAM HARBOE/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Outstanding pitching characterized play this weekend for Bulldog baseball. Fortunato, Brenner and Piwinski went 5-for-14, 7-for-12 and 5-for-13 respectively. Also, shortstop Cale Hanson ’14 continued his on base streak through all four games. The streak now stands at 27 games, as Hanson went 4-for-15
PRINCETON 3, YALE 3
with two walks on the weekend. The Bulldogs are back at Yale Field on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. for a doubleheader against Fairfield. Contact GRAHAM HARBOE at graham.harboe@yale.edu .
0
1
1
0
0
0
4
6
CORNELL
0
2
0
0
0
0
3
5
YALE
0
1
0
1
0
0
1
3
YALE
0
0
0
1
0
2
0
3
0
2
0
0
2
6
0
0
1
0
0
2
3
PTOWN
0
1
0
0
2
1
2
6
YALE
0
0
0
0
2
0
2
4
CORNELL
0
0
0
3
0
0
5
8
YALE
2
3
0
0
0
1
0
6
CORNELL 8, YALE 5
CORNELL 8, YALE 6
PRINCETON
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
CORNELL
0
0
1
0
0
1
2
0
4
8
YALE
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
YALE
0
0
0
2
0
0
1
1
2
6
M. tennis notches Ivy split win our first Ivy match of the year,” Hoffman said. “The conditions were really tough, but everyone battled really hard and played smart. All of the Ivies are really good this year, so everyone winning is extremely important.” Against the Tigers, the Bulldogs won the doubles point after the senior pair of Blumenkranz and Joel Samaha ’12 came back from match point to win 9–7. The No. 1 doubles pair of Powers and Hoffman suffered their first loss since losing to Stanford’s No. 1 pair 8–1 back in March. Hoffman said the doubles point was crucial to win in order for Yale to stay in the match. Both Hoffman and Huang won their matches at the No. 3 and No. 2 positions respectively, the only two to win their matches in singles. The Elis suffered a tough loss at No. 5 when
2
0
CORNELL 8, YALE 6
PRINCETON
M. TENNIS FROM PAGE 4
0
YALE
PRINCETON 6, YALE 4
CORNELL 5, YALE 3
PRINCETON 2, YALE 1
PTOWN
Zach Krumholz ’15 began to cramp after the first set. “I thought today was a great match; it could have gone either way,” head coach Alex Dorato said. “We put ourselves in a position to win it and that’s all I can ask for.” Next weekend the Bulldogs will come up against No. 50 Columbia in a home match. Columbia is now tied for first in the Ivies with Princeton. Both share a league record of 3–0. Staying at home, Yale will then take on Cornell, which currently has an Ivy League record of 0–3. Dorato said if Yale is able to defeat Columbia and if Princeton loses to Harvard, Yale will be tied for first in the Ivies. Contact ADLON ADAMS at adlon.adams@yale.edu .
CORNELL
0
1
2
1
4
0
0
8
YALE
1
0
0
2
0
1
1
5
Eli offense struggles W. LACROSSE FROM PAGE 4 and slammed in a goal to turn the score into 12-3, recording a hat trick while she was at it. Towards the end, when Princeton failed a clear attempt, Yale’s Murray and DeVito duo created a last minute goal chance, with Murray picking up the ball and DeVito rounding it out with a goal. Murray said that Princeton showed solid defense. She added that if Yale had had the ball for more time on attack, the team could have capitalized on the opportunities. Besides their high number of goals, the Tigers overwhelmed the Bulldogs in every aspect, except in saves (8-7). Draw control, traditionally one of Yale’s major strengths, recorded only
half of Princeton’s total (12-6). The Elis also committed almost double the number of fouls the Tigers generated (21-11). Phillips said extra possession on the draws and seven turnovers on the clear gave Princeton 13 extra possessions, on which they capitalized. As for the number of shots taken, the Tigers outdid Yale’s 20 with their 33. “We cannot shoot that poorly and win against a team like Princeton,” Phillips said. The Bulldogs now have five matches remaining this season, with three of them Ivy League matches. Although the team has so far scored 93 times in total to surpass last season’s recorded goals, it has yet to grab a win in the Ivies.
“We will continue to take one game at a time and work to improve shooting percentage, draw control and most importantly limit unforced turnovers,” Phillips said. After taking a four-day break, the Elis will travel to New York on Wednesday to take on Stony Brook at 3 p.m. Contact EUGENE JUNG at eugene.jung@yale.edu .
PRINCETON 12, YALE 4 PRINCETON
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YALE
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YALE DAILY NEWS · MONDAY, APRIL 9, 2012 · yaledailynews.com
PAGE B3
SPORTS
Tim Tebow attracts 15,000 to Easter Service At an outdoor Easter church service in Georgetown, Texas, 15,000 people came to see New York Jets backup quarterback Tim Tebow speak about his faith. Tebow scoffed at the notion that athletes aren’t role models, using his own position as public spokesperson for Christianity. “In Christianity, it’s the Pope and Tebow right now,” Celebration Church pastor Joe Champion said.
Elis back over .500
S C O R E S & S TA N D I N G S
MEN’S GOLF IVY SCHOOL
W
RANK AVG. SCORE W%
1
Yale
2
151
75.73
66.971
2
Columbia
1
186
75.67
65.102
3
Penn
2
169
75.44
67.536
4
Princeton
0
171
76.11
65.592
5
Harvard
1
200
76.55
53.247
6
Dartmouth
0
209
76.17
50.476
LAST WEEK
NEXT WEEK
SATURDAY, APR. 7 4th place
SATURDAY, APR. 14 at Princeton Invitational
SOFTBALL IVY 1
3
BLAIR SEIDEMAN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
5
The men’s lacrosse team dominated in face-offs on Saturday, taking 18 to the Big Green’s 10. Dylan Levings ’14 won 12 of his 17 draws. 7
BY JOHN SULLIVAN STAFF REPORTER Eight different Bulldogs found the net as the men’s lacrosse team overcame a 3–0 deficit to beat Dartmouth (2–7, 0–3 Ivy) 13–11 on Saturday. The victory stretched the Elis’ current winning streak to three and kept Yale (5–4, 2–2 Ivy) in the race to get into the Ivy League tournament.
M. LACROSSE YALE 11, DARTMOUTH 9 “We had eight different guys score goals [on Saturday]; it was good to spread it around,” captain Michael Pratt ’12 said. “We played great defensively too and strung a pretty good game together. We’re back to .500 in the Ivy League and looking forward to Brown on Friday.” Attackman Matt Gibson ’12 led the Bulldogs with four goals spread across the final three quarters. He was joined by fellow attackers Conrad Oberbeck ’15 and Deron Dempster ’13, who finished with two goals and three points apiece. The scoring was rounded out by goals from attackman Brandon Mangan ’14 and midfielders Matt Miller ’12, Colin Still ’12, Shane Thornton ’15 and Pratt in an impressive showcase of the Elis’ depth. Midfielder Greg Mahony ’12 played the role of facilitator for the Bulldogs, contributing two assists to the offensive effort. Yale won its second straight Ivy League game and moved back to .500 in the conference. The win gives the team some breathing space after losses to No. 5 Cor-
nell and No. 10 Princeton left the Elis with their backs to the wall two weeks ago. Only the top four teams in the conference make the Ivy League tournament, and Pratt said that the team will have to finish 4–2 against Ivy opponents to qualify. Cornell and Princeton are undefeated in the Ivy League and will likely take the top two spots, leaving Yale, Harvard (5–5, 2–1 Ivy) and Brown (4–6, 1–2 Ivy) fighting for the remaining two berths. The Bulldogs started the game off in a zone defense, but the Big Green exploited it early, finding the net three straight times in the first four minutes of the game. On the other end of the field, Dartmouth’s defense held Yale’s offense in check for the first 14 minutes and seven seconds of the first quarter. But with less than a minute remaining in the period, Miller’s goal broke the seal, and the Elis were off to the races. Yale’s defense switched to a man-to-man formation out of their zone, and the Bulldogs went on an 11–3 run over the next 35 minutes. Dempster scored his first goal with four seconds left in the first quarter to pull Yale within one, and equalized for the Bulldogs shortly after the first break. “I’m continually proud of our resilience,” coach Andy Shay said of his team’s comeback. The numbers told the tale of Yale’s victory, as the Bulldogs held an edge in almost all statistical categories. They outshot the Big Green 40–29 and held a 31–25 advantage in ground balls. Pratt led the loose ball effort, collecting a gamehigh seven for the Elis. “Once we changed our game plan [out of the zone] our defense did a good job of getting the ball on the ground,” Pratt said. “And after the ball is on the ground, it’s
always part of our game plan to go after it hard, and we just did a good job of executing.” The Bulldogs once again dominated at the face-off X, winning 18 of 28 contests. Dylan Levings ’14, the third ranked faceoff specialist in the country, won 12 of his 17 draws while Cole Yeager ’13 added six more wins of his own. Success at the X has been one of the most consistent elements of the team’s play this season, and the duo’s effectiveness will be important for the rest of Yale’s race to the Ivy League tournament. Gibson’s third goal opened the scoring in the fourth quarter and put Yale up 11–6. Two minutes later, Dartmouth attacker Kip Dooley cut the lead to four and for the last nine minutes of the game, the Big Green pulled its goalie and double-teamed the ball every time Yale entered the offensive zone. Head coach Andy Shay said that this tactic succeeded in forcing the ball out of his player’s sticks half the time, and the added pressure helped Dartmouth close the gap to two by the end of the game. Yet the Bulldogs’ defense held strong, and the Elis were able to come away with a crucial victory. The team travels to Providence next Friday to take on Brown in a 7 p.m. game. Contact JOHN SULLIVAN at john.j.sullivan@yale.edu .
OVERALL
SCHOOL
W L
%
W L
%
Harvard
7
1
.875
19
9
.679
Cornell
7
1
.875
16
13
.552
Penn
5
3
.625
20
13
.606
Princeton
5
3
.625
9
20
.310
Columbia
3
5
.375
9
22
.290
Brown
3
5
.375
6
16
.273
Dartmouth
1
7
.125
8
15
.348
Yale
1
7
.125
7
21
.250
LAST WEEK
NEXT WEEK
SATURDAY, APR. 7 Cornell 8, Yale 5
WEDNESDAY, APR. 11 Wagner at Yale, 2:30 p.m.
BASEBALL IVY SCHOOL
W
L
%
W
L
%
Cornell
7
1
.875
21
6
.768
Princeton
6
2
.750
12
12
.500
3
Columbia
4
2
.667
11
15
.423
4
Penn
5
3
.625
14
12
.538
Dartmouth
3
3
.500
7
13
.350
6
Brown
3
5
.375
5
21
.192
7
Harvard
2
6
.250
5
22
.185
Yale
0
8
.000
6
22
.224
1
LAST WEEK
NEXT WEEK
SUNDAY, APR. 8 Cornell 8, Yale 6
YALE 13, DARTMOUTH 11 YALE
2
4
4
3
13
DARTMOUTH
3
2
1
5
11
OVERALL
WEDNESDAY, APR. 11 Yale at Fairfield, 3:30 p.m.
MEN’S LACROSSE IVY
OVERALL
SCHOOL
W
L
%
W
L
%
Cornell
4
0
1.000
8
1
.889
Princeton
3
0
1.000
6
3
.667
3
Harvard
2
1
.667
5
5
.500
4
Yale
2
2
.500
5
4
.556
W. TENNIS FROM PAGE 1
5
Brown
1
2
.333
4
6
.400
because of the spin she put on her shots. Combined with the gusting winds, Eskenazi’s high, bouncing balls caused Epstein problems. No. 5 Vicky Brook ’12 enjoyed the most dominant weekend of any Yale player, losing a total of just three games in the four sets she played. “Playing at home and getting used to the windier conditions here helps me focus in and make smart decisions about shot selection,” Brook said. “That helps me to construct the points effectively and to finish at the net.” The other player to emerge from the weekend 2-0 was No. 3 Blair Seideman ’14, who won three of her four sets 6-1. Seideman explained that the beginning of Ivy League play prompted her to raise her game. “When I go into Ivy season it feels like a totally different part of the season, like the most important part,” Seideman said. On Saturday, Princeton provided fierce opposition before falling to the Elis 4-3. For the 16th time in 17 matches Yale clinched the doubles point, 3-0. That point proved crucial, as Princeton mounted a furious comeback in the singles matches to complicate matters. After No. 2 Hanna Yu ’15 lost 6-0, 6-1, Seideman and Brook both won 6-1, 6-1 to put the Bulldogs in a commanding 3-1 lead. However, No. 4 captain Steph Kent ’12 fell to Princeton’s Katherine Flanigan 6-3, 6-3 while at No. 6 Annie Sullivan ’14 came up just short in a 7-6(5), 7-5 defeat. The two points for Princeton tied
6
Dartmouth
0
3
.000
2
7
.222
Penn
0
4
.000
1
7
.125
Ivy season starts with wins
1
LAST WEEK
NEXT WEEK
SATURDAY, APR. 7 Yale 13, Dartmouth 11
FRIDAY, APR. 13 Yale at Brown, 7:00 p.m.
WOMEN’S LACROSSE IVY SCHOOL
W L
%
W L
%
Dartmouth
4
0
1.000
8
1
.889
Penn
4
0
1.000
6
4
.600
3
Princeton
3
1
.750
6
4
.600
4
Cornell
3
2
.600
7
3
.700
5
Harvard
2
2
.500
5
6
.455
Brown
1
3
.250
5
5
.500
Yale
0
4
.000
3
7
.300
Columbia
0
5
.000
1
9
.100
1 MARIA ZEPEDA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Blair Siedeman ’14 went 2–0 over the weekend as Yale rolled past Penn and edged Princeton. the match at three. The last match to finish was Epstein’s. At five-all in the decisive third set, Epstein broke her opponent, Hilary Bartlett, to serve for the match at 6-5. After going up 40-0 in that game, Bartlett fought back to knot the game at deuce. “I wasn’t nervous, per se,” Epstein said. “I think she played a couple good points in there. It was a pretty high quality game. Once it got back to 40-all, I just tried to focus on how I got up in the first place.” And she did just that, pulling out the game to secure the match for the Bulldogs. Epstein said she would not soon forget clinching the match in front of all her
teammates and fans. Next week, the Bulldogs will travel to New York to take on Columbia and Cornell. Coach Danielle McNamara is particularly wary of the threat Columbia poses. “Columbia is a much-improved team from last year,” McNamara said. “They have had very solid results this year. From what I’ve seen, they’re the strongest they’ve been since I’ve been at Yale.” Columbia beat Dartmouth on Friday 4-3 but fell to Harvard 4-3 on Saturday. Contact JOSEPH ROSENBERG at joseph.rosenberg@yale.edu .
OVERALL
7
LAST WEEK
SATURDAY, MAR. 31 Princeton 12, Yale 4
NEXT WEEK
WEDNESDAY, APR. 11 Yale at Stony Brook, 3:00 p.m.
PAGE B4
YALE DAILY NEWS · MONDAY, APRIL 9, 2012 · yaledailynews.com
SPORTS
PEOPLE IN THE NEWS BUBBA WATSON Gerry “Bubba” Watson of Bagdad, Florida, won the 2012 Masters Tournament yesterday, two-putting on the second hole of a suddendeath playoff to beat out South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen. Watson’s previous best finish was in 2010 when he placed second at the PGA.
Men’s tennis splits road trip BY ADLON ADAMS CONTRIBUTING REPORTER The men’s tennis team started off the Ivy League season with a win and a loss this past weekend while on the road.
M. TENNIS The Bulldogs battled 20 mph winds in addition to an unranked Penn team to come out with a hard-earned first victory in the Ivy League, 5–2. The next day’s match against the unranked Tigers did not go as well, ending in a tough 4–3 loss. “[This weekend] just shows that every single team in the Ivies is super tight and that any match can go any way,” John Huang ’13 said. “Today we were a little unlucky, and hopefully we can turn it around next weekend.” Against Penn, Yale (12–6, 1–1 Ivy) won the doubles point, extending its streak of winning the doubles point to six matches. At the No. 1 doubles position, the No. 67 pair of Daniel Hoffman ’13 and Marc Powers ’13 had an easy 8–4 win. At No. 2 doubles, Patrick Chase ’14 and Huang earned a close 8–6 win. In singles, the Elis came out on top as well. Huang won his sixth consecutive match when he played at No. 2 this weekend 6–2, 6–1. At No. 3, Hoffman won 6–1, 6–4. Team captain Erik Blumenkranz ’12 and Powers both split sets with their opponents and came out victorious in the third, at the No. 4 and No. 1 positions respectively. Yale’s only losses in the singles round came at No.5 and No. 6. “It was great to come out and SEE M. TENNIS PAGE 2
MARIA ZEPEDA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Yale won the doubles point against both Penn and Princeton last weekend. The team went on to a 4-3 victory against Penn, but a 4-3 loss to the Tigers.
Elis held off by Tigers BY EUGENE JUNG CONTRIBUTING REPORTER With 24 seconds remaining on the game clock, women’s lacrosse attacker Jen DeVito ’14 sent a shot into the Tigers’ net after taking a pass from Meghan Murray ’14. Despite the dramatic finish, however, DeVito’s goal was not nearly enough for the Bulldogs to reverse the 12-4 score in their favor. The Elis have shown improvement with every successive road trip, but the team still fell short of picking up a conference victory on Saturday in Princeton. Even with captain Caroline Crow ’12 recording her fourth hat trick of the season, No.18 Princeton’s home-field advantage proved too big an obstacle for the visitors to overcome.
W. LACROSSE YALE 4, PRINCETON 12 “Today was a tough game, mentally and physically,” Murray said. For much of the first half after Yale attacker Sabin van der Linden ’14 and Princeton’s Caroline Rehfuss faced off, both teams were evenly matched. Although the Tigers (6-4, 3-1 Ivy) ended up scoring first at 22:49 by taking advantage of a turnover, the Bulldogs (3-7, 0-4 Ivy) paced their game, marking key players and trying to look for openings despite the goal deficit. Goalkeeper Erin McMullan ’14 said since Princeton allowed a lot of turnovers and ground balls, Yale kept Princeton off the scoreboard. “Our defense played one of the most amazing games and really kept us in the game the entire first half,” Murray said. Twenty-four minutes into the game, however, Yale began handing a goal almost every two minutes to the hosts. Crow barely avoided a first-half shutout by scoring Yale’s first goal with about a minute and a half before the whistle to close the first half 5-1 in Princeton’s favor. Considering the Tigers’ goal average of 12.50 per game, the Elis displayed outstanding defense. “Princeton was a great team on both ends of the field,” McMul-
Bulldogs take narrow losses
lan said. She added its defense was very scrappy, which limited Yale’s offensive opportunities to score. McMullan blocked a couple of near-goals, deflecting two of Princeton’s Cassie Pyle’s powerful shots at 18:24 and 17:41. Head coach Anne Phillips said McMullan played extremely well with five saves in the first half to keep Princeton’s offence in check.
Our defense played one of the most amazing games and really kept us in the game the entire first half. MEGHAN MURRAY ’14 Attacker, women’s lacrosse The Bulldogs began the second half on a bad note by giving away the draw control to the Tigers. Almost immediately, the hosts connected the draw to a clear and took it all the way into Yale’s net. From that point on, the Tigers began their goal barrage. Three minutes after their sixth goal, they added one more and within a minute, they slammed in another for a total of eight, crushing Yale’s hope of coming back in the second period. Although Phillips called for a strategic time out to slow down the opponents’ pace, it was not enough to stop the Tigers from adding yet another goal two minutes after the match resumed. To exacerbate the situation, the Bulldogs’ desperation began to be reflected in their number of fouls committed. The fouls allowed Princeton to put two more goals on the board to show a score gap of 10 between the hosts and the visitors once the Tigers dominated the flow of the game. However, the Bulldogs refused to give up. Twenty-one minutes into the second period, assisted by DeVito, Crow ended Yale’s goal draught, although her effort was again negated 40 seconds later when the Tigers returned the favor. Four minutes before the end of the match, Crow rushed into the Tigers’ zone SEE W. LACROSSE PAGE 2
BRIANNE BOWEN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Christy Nelson ’13 hit a triple and three RBIs against Cornell on Saturday. BY MASON KROLL CONTRIBUTING REPORTER Despite noticeable offensive improvements, the softball team could not snag a win against its Ivy League rivals this weekend.
SOFTBALL The Bulldogs (7–21, 1–7 Ivy) fell to Princeton (9–20, 5–3 Ivy), on Friday and to Cornell (16–13, 7–1 Ivy) on Saturday for their eighth loss in a row. “I’m looking forward to the game where our team doesn’t beat ourselves,” Meg Johnson ’12 said. “We all know what’s doable, and we keep falling short.” On the surface, the Bulldogs made some key adjustments. They collected 18 runs and 38 hits last weekend, compared to 8 runs and 22 hits against Columbia and Penn on March 30 and 31. Furthermore, Yale managed to score early on — eight of their 11 runs against Big Red were in the first four innings. Johnson said the team has to work on ending the inning strong defensively. Often, Johnson said, the Bulldogs have little trouble getting two outs but cannot close the inning without witnessing a rally. In fact, 15 of the 28 runs the Elis gave up were on their opponents’ third out. “We are a team that is capable of put-
ting runs on the board and getting hits,” Johnson said. “But at the same time, we realize we have to focus more on defense and slam the door shut.” In the first game against Princeton, Yale waited until the fourth inning to score. Sarah Onorato ’15 started the inning with a single to center field, taking the score to 4–1 as she crossed home plate. But the Bulldogs could not deliver any more runs and left runners on second and third at the inning’s conclusion.
I’m looking forward to the game where our team doesn’t beat ourselves. We all know what’s doable, and we keep falling short. MEG JOHNSON ’12 Shortstop, softball At the bottom of the seventh, Yale was down 6–1. Although Johnson and Tori Balta ’14 scored, the Elis could not make up the deficit and ended the game 6–3. The second game panned out in a remarkably similar fashion. Again, the Bulldogs waited until late in the game to score and gathered their first run in the fifth inning. Yale scored two runs in the
bottom of the seventh but could not win the game, and the Elis lost 6–4. “When a couple things went wrong, we got a little scared,” Riley Hughes ’15 said. “I think we need to keep our mental composure when things don’t go our way.” Outhitting Cornell in both games, the Bulldogs performed better on Saturday. But Cornell still managed to sweep the Elis 8–6, 8–5. The Bulldogs took a sizeable 5–0 lead in the first two innings of the opening game with singles from Balta, Hughes, Jennifer Ong ’13 and Kylie Williamson ’15 alongside a three-RBI triple by captain Christy Nelson ’13. An additional run for Yale in the sixth left Cornell down 6–3 at the top of the seventh. But the Big Red came back with a five-run inning, including two home runs, and the Bulldogs could not respond. “We couldn’t go out there and finish it,” Kelsey Warkentine ’13 said. “We scored runs and then sat on them.” In the second game, Yale again took an early lead, 1–0 at the bottom of the first thanks to a triple by Balta to right center field. But Cornell responded with eight runs in the next five innings, and the Elis’ comeback fell short with just a run each in the sixth and seventh innings. Cornell, Johnson said, is notorious SEE SOFTBALL PAGE 2