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T H E O L D E ST C O L L E G E DA I LY · FO U N D E D 1 8 7 8

NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT · WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2014 · VOL. CXXXVI, NO. 80 · yaledailynews.com

INSIDE THE NEWS MORNING EVENING

SNOW CLOUDY

36 19

CROSS CAMPUS

“The only edible, breakfasttable daily newspaper in Cambridge, Mass.” The

Harvard Lampoon has set up an entirely fake version of The Harvard Crimson online.

Satirical articles on the site include “Faust Will Not Unvest | Will Wear This Three-Piece Pantsuit Forever,” “UC To Send 300 Troops to Syria” and “15 Arbitrary Freshmen Wearing J Crew.” The page also included the article, “Crimson Editors Congratulate Selves on Meaningful Contribution to National Political Discourse.”

Meanwhile in the real Harvard Crimson… In commemoration

of the 10th anniversary of Facebook, The Harvard Crimson ran a feature on its founding. Highlights from the piece include a photo of Mark Zuckerberg from 2004, a throwback to Facemash, cameos from the Winklevii and some discussion of the “poke” function.

#AmericaisBeautiful.

Blue State has released a new “mission poster” that is all stars and spangles.

“Coffee fueled American Independence,” and “The Founding Fathers planned the revolution in coffeehouses,” the posters read. The only colors used on the poster are red, white and blue.

Lunch Roulette. The

International Student Organization has started up their game of lunch tag once again. Students who sign up will be paired randomly with someone else for a meal.

Each meal is worth 1 point and taking a photo earns an additional point. The three top scorers will win Froyo World gift cards.

There’s a place on… York Street may not resemble Ocean Avenue at the moment, but Yellowcard stopped by this week for a performance at Toad’s on Monday. If you listen to the lyrics of their hit song carefully, it does seem to describe a night at Woad’s: “Sleeping all day, staying up all night … Staying up all night” THIS DAY IN YALE HISTORY

1970 Thefts rise on campus.

Every residential college is hit but Morse and Ezra Stiles have experienced particularly high rates of crime.

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EDUCATION

Slifka center promotes student initiative in art exhibits

MONTESSORI SCHOOL TO OPEN IN ELM CITY

PAGES 10-11 CULTURE

PAGE 3 CULTURE

PAGE 3 NEWS

Legend

Percent change

School

Number of Applications

UPenn

15%

+14%

34,295

STATE POLITICS Gov. Dannel Malloy backs minimum wage increase PAGE 5 CITY

Dean search waiting on Corporation

BY MATTHEW LLOYD-THOMAS STAFF REPORTER

10%

Brown

employs more admissions officers and begins committee deliberations earlier each year in order to ensure that decisions are still handed out in the spring.

Year-to-year fluctuations in the number of total applications are less significant than long-term trends, Quinlan said in a statement. He cited increased demographic and international diversity and the rise of the use of tools such as the online Common Application as examples of some recent trends.

Quinlan said that unlike some other universities, Yale does not seek to raise the number of applica-

Students and faculty anticipating the announcement of the new Yale College and Graduate School deans should not hold their breath.

University President Peter Salovey is unlikely to name the advisory committee that will recommend candidates for the deanships until around mid-March, said Yale College Dean Mary Miller. The deans themselves, who will be selected by Salovey and the Yale Corporation, will be named sometime before the end of the term.

Though past dean searches have varied in length, one of the reasons for the monthslong search timeline for Miller’s and Graduate School Dean Thomas Pollard’s successors is that the Yale Corporation must first make a decision on whether to overhaul the structure of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. In a report last week, a six-person ad-hoc faculty committee on decanal structures proposed the creation of a new dean of faculty position. The Yale Corporation — a group of 16 individuals including Salovey — will decide on the issue some time after their next meeting on Feb. 21 and 22.

According to senior adviser to the President Martha Highsmith, the Corporation needs to vote on whether to add the position of a faculty dean because it would involve altering the Corporation bylaws.

“I think it’s definitely worth considering, but we’re going to talk about it among other things at the upcoming corporation meeting,” Yale Corporation member Douglas Warner III ’68 said. “So I’m going to defer judgment until I hear the views from the president, the provost and others and then see where we come out.”

Though the faculty will be able to voice their opinions about the potential structures at a

SEE ADMISSIONS PAGE 4

SEE DEAN SEARCH PAGE 6

Yale

+4%

+4.4%

5%

26,498

30,291

Princeton

+0.4%

0%

26,498

Harvard

Percent increase from 2013

Soup kitchen. Miya’s Sushi gave out free “piping hot pumpkin miso soup” to everyone who came by on Tuesday during the shift of server Frank Blazi, who has already been everybody’s favorite source of sake bombs and miso soup for ages.

SLIFKA

Applicants break 30,000

Good money/bad money.

According to the New York Daily News, Yale Law School professor Ian Ayres has offered to help victims exploited by the real “Wolf of Wall Street,” Jordan Belfort. Ayres wrote to the judge overseeing Belfort’s case and offered to donate money to the restitution fund.

FOLK MUSICAL ‘DUST CAN’T KILL ME’ OPENS

-2%

30,922

-5%

BY RISHABH BHANDARI STAFF REPORTER Yale received a record-high total of 30,922 applications for the class of 2018, cracking the 30,000 mark for the first time.

The number of applications the University receives each year has doubled since 2002 when about 15,000 students applied to be a part of the class of 2006. This year’s application total marks a 4.4 percent increase over last year’s application count of 29,611. Because Yale expects to admit the same total number of students as it did last year — about 2,000 — the acceptance rate this year will likely drop

below last year’s 6.72 percent. The University’s acceptance rate for its early action program this year was 15.5 percent — 735 students were accepted out of 4,750 early applicants.

The number of applications jumped 3 percent last year for the class of 2017, after increases of 5.8 percent and 5 percent for the classes of 2016 and 2015, respectively.

Despite receiving more applications each year, Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Jeremiah Quinlan said in an email that he is confident the admissions office has the resources to thoroughly and holistically evaluate each candidate. He added that the admissions office

Miss America talks cultural awareness Note-taking service upgraded

BY BLAKE DIXON CONTRIBUTING REPORTER

BY CAROLINE WRAY STAFF REPORTER As spring semester classes take off, over 100 students look forward to receiving class notes provided by the Resource Office on Disabilities through a more streamlined process than ever before.

We’re like a firewall between the note-takers and the recipients.

JUDY YORK Director, Resource Office on Disabilities Each term, the Resource Office on Disabilities (ROD) hires student note-takers to offer their class notes to students with either temporary or permanent disabilities that hinder their note-taking ability in class. The system — which serves both undergraduates and graduate students with the exception of law school students — includes a work force of 108 students who sent more than 300 sets of notes to roughly 113 recipients, last fall. A December report by the Yale College Council highlighted a YCC investigation of the process, after the Council received complaints about “delays in receiving notes and a relatively low quality in some of the notes that were received.”

Preserving the anonymity of the recipients of these notes

is a key tenant of the process and fundamental to the integrity of the service, according to Judy York, director of ROD. In order to do this, the original system had note-takers sending their typed notes to Carolyn Barrett, the office’s senior administrative assistant, who then distributed the notes to recipients.

“We’re like a firewall between the note-takers and the recipients,” York said. “We ask the students to be their own quality control … if the students receiving the notes are not satisfied, we ask them to let us know as soon as they possibly can.”

Inevitably, she said, some recipients may forget to review the notes they receive until right before exam season, when ROD has little to no time to address problems in the quality of notes from weeks earlier.

About halfway through the fall semester, the YCC began a two-month investigation to improve the quality of the system — a process that included meetings with residential college deans, online research and collaboration with ROD staff members.

“I was so pleasantly surprised to see how willing and excited Judy York was to dive head first into the path of improvement,” said YCC representative Kathy Khalvati ’17, who managed the investigation. “Her concern for the well-being of the students SEE NOTE-TAKING PAGE 6

The identity of the American “girl next door” is evolving, according to Nina Davuluri, Miss America 2014.

In a Tuesday talk in Battell Chapel attended by roughly 100 members of the Yale community, the 24-year-old Davuluri — the winner of this year’s national Miss America pageant, and former Miss New York — discussed cultural competency and her struggle against the ignorance that stands in its way.

the national stage. She added that she learned to “turn it into a positive” by using her new title as a megaphone to share her experience.

Davuluri said that a lack of cultural understanding can exist at every level of society, even among college-educated individuals. As Miss Amer-

ica, she said she is helping to change that, both at home and abroad.

One of the ways she is helping to change societal standards is by changing the existing definition of beauty.

“For the first time, girls at SEE MISS AMERICA PAGE 4

Girls at home can say, ‘This year, Miss America actually looks like me.’

NINA DAVULURI Miss America Although she was born and raised in the United States and views herself as “first and foremost American,” Davuluri was the subject of a controversy in late 2013 when she became the first Indian American to be crowned Miss America. Many spectators took to various forms of social media such as Facebook and Twitter to express what has often been described as racist and xenophobic views against Davuluri.

The backlash was similar to another incident in 1983, when Vanessa Williams became the first African American to win the title.

Davuluri said she experienced similar vitriol after being crowned Miss New York, which prepared her for scrutiny on

ALANA THYNG/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

Miss America Nina Davuluri spoke Tuesday about her struggle against ignorance and changing standards in the “girl next door.”

PAGE 2

YALE DAILY NEWS · WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2014 · yaledailynews.com

OPINION

.COMMENT “Telling women to "lean in" is putting a tiny band-aid on a gaping yaledailynews.com/opinion

Conspiracy of silence T

here is a conspiracy afoot.

“I expect the faculty members on the committee to consult broadly with students,” President Peter Salovey told the News last week about the advisory committee that will propose a name for Yale College’s next dean. “They will search for individuals who are committed to students and have an ear for student concerns.”

So — would students actually be members of this committee? Salovey couldn’t — or wouldn’t — say.

Indeed, though the News asked him multiple times, Salovey repeatedly declined to give a specific answer to the question of whether or not there will be a full student member on the advisory committee to propose Mary Miller’s replacement. And it’s not just Salovey. Senior Advisor to the President Martha Highsmith, was also vague in her answers to the News — “members of the advisory committee are likely to be individuals with broad perspective on the University, strong academic connections, and an appreciation of the complexity of the role…” she said.

I understand that this committee is not one whose membership President Salovey will choose lightly. And I believe that he has not yet chosen the specific individuals who will make up the committee. Yet it seems to me — from Salovey’s and Highsmith’s answers and from Yale’s pitiful history of student involvement — that at least one decision has already been made.

There is no student appointment in the works. Students will be excluded yet again from an important committee that tangibly affects their lives. And the administration won’t even do us the courtesy of saying so.

After all, Salovey told the News, “I hope there will be a great deal of student input as the advisory committee considers individuals on the faculty.” Reading between the lines, it would appear that students are to be outside advisors, not inside deciders.

By refusing to give a specific answer to this simplest of questions, the administration is intentionally attempting to stifle student dissent. Yale’s name is a lightning rod in the national press, and those high up in the administration know that a definitive “no” could spur angry columns, public denunciations, protests or — scariest of all — national exposure.

It would appear that several administrators are refusing to give an unambiguous answer to an easy question because to do so might be unpopular. This is a roundabout attempt to silence the student voice.

It’s a calculated maneuver that goes all the way to the

top. And we shouldn’t stand for it any longer.

I hope I’m wrong.

I hope that Salovey — or someone — SCOTT announces STERN tomorrow that there A Stern will be stuPerspective dents on the co m m i t te e choosing the college’s dean, as there have been at pretty much every single one of our peer institutions.

I hope that I look paranoid and juvenile. I hope that I’m jumping the gun. But I don’t think that’s the case.

I think there is very little chance that there will be a full student member. Many students agree. Meanwhile, the case for student involvement has been made so often and so eloquently that to explore this issue again in detail would be repetitive. Suffice it to say that students can be trusted to bring an important perspective, to think broadly and to maintain secrecy — just as they do on numerous other committees. A single student voice, sworn to confidentiality, on a committee that can easily out-vote it is not too high a demand for students to make. Indeed, considering how far Yale has to go to more fully include students in University governance, it is a pathetically small demand to make.

This is a decision that President Salovey can make on his own. He will decide who is on this committee; he will decide whether there is a full student member. To deny students a seat on this critical committee will reveal his true face, and that will be the spectral face of Richard Levin.

It is neither petulant nor petty to demand a voice, especially such a limited one. It is our duty as engaged members of the Yale community to question those in power, to wrest representation from those who make the rules that govern our lives. If history has taught us anything, it is that this chance to represent our own interests will not be forthcoming. We must demand our rights, and seize them while we still can. It will be easier to change a decision that has not yet been announced publicly than one that has supposedly been set in stone.

We’re ready. We’re ready for a good, old-fashioned, chanting, sign-waving fight. Continue to ignore us, and we’re gonna party like it’s 1969.

SCOTT STERN is a junior in Branford College. His columns run on Wednesdays. Contact him at scott.stern@yale.edu .

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knife wound.”

'GEEGOLLY' ON 'AGAINST NARROW FEMINISM'

GUE ST COLUMNIST AUSTIN JOHNSON

Respect for service workers

ANNELISA LEINBACH/ILLUSTRATIONS EDITOR

E

arlier this year I made a Facebook status. Not that surprising. However, unlike most of the things that I publish on social media, it wasn’t of a trivial or superficial origin — it expressed a serious concern that I had. Here is what I said: “When a dining hall worker changes the food in front of you, take a second to ask them how their day was or say a quick thank you. We all deserve to be acknowledged no matter how insignificant it may seem at first.”

After reading the status, some of my friends told me I was being “a good person.” But not really — acknowledging a dining hall worker doesn’t necessarily make me a good person; it should be expected.

You can probably glean some sense of the incident that inspired me to write this status. One evening the rice had run out in one of the trays at Pierson dining hall and a worker came to replace it. There were six students standing by the rice wrapped up in a conversation and they failed to notice homegirl trying to refill the tray.

“Excuse me,” she said politely.

Without even glancing at her, the students stepped aside and continued to have their conversation as she went to go change the

rice in front of them. There was no acknowledgment of her presence, no “thank you” once she finished her task. She restocked the rice and that was that.

SAY HI TO THE WORKER REFILLING YOUR RICE This incident isn’t unique.

It’s just one of the many interactions (or lack thereof) between students and dining hall workers that I have witnessed over the last year and a half here at Yale. I’ve heard students complain about having to scrape their plates clean before handing them to dining hall workers. I’ve seen students thrust out their hands to have workers swipe their ID cards, neglecting to lift their heads from their phones to make eye contact, let alone say “thank you.”

Scenarios like these are downright disrespectful. And they happen almost every day, whenever we fail to say a couple of words or even acknowledge the presence of a dining hall worker.

I do not believe these negative interactions are intended to be malicious. Actually, most, if not all, are accidental. People forget how their gestures and body language can communicate something they don’t mean, even if they’re just spacing out because of an imminent problem set or other distraction. But, whether intended or not, failing to interact with people in the service industry is pretty rude.

These workers are making our daily lives better by doing us a service like putting out our food three times a day — we may be the nucleus of our own individual worlds, but it’s important that we step outside of ourselves and acknowledge them.

Maybe I’m being hypersensitive to this issue because I have worked in the service industry. People have done things like scoff at me or throw money instead of placing it in my hand, so I know how much it means for patrons to show respect. Maybe it’s also because I’m not blind to the fact that I share the same skin color as the majority of dining hall workers.

But my personal connection to the issue doesn’t take away from the fact that the way we treat people in the service industry needs to change.

It only takes a little extra effort, and soon it’ll become a part of your natural routine. Just pay attention to your surroundings — make eye contact, say hi to the card-swiper, thank whoever is refilling the food in front of you, give a half-smile to the dining hall worker who has been up since five and just made you an omelette in Commons. These basic gestures let someone else know that you are aware of their presence and acknowledge that their service is helpful.

And for those dining halls that you frequent multiple times a week (sometimes a day), you can easily become close with the workers. That’s not required, but it’s worth it. I enjoy talking with Miss Peggie and Chrissie in Pierson about what Shonda is going to do next on Scandal, and I love speaking to workers who are celebrating upcoming birthdays or going back to college to study sociology.

This isn’t a problem specific to Yale, but it’s one that needs to be addressed — starting tomorrow when you walk into your dining hall.

AUSTIN JOHNSON is a sophomore in Pierson College.

Contact him at austin.johnson@yale.edu .

Our language excludes Y

ou’re listening to a talk — maybe it’s a professor, a politician, a public speaker of some repute — and then it comes. Perhaps it’s subtle at first, but then, all of a sudden, the speaker’s laid it on you even faster than the last 14 times you’ve heard it: “You’ll be most successful in life if you do what you love.”

They then go on to reflect about how lucky they are: Who else gets to wake up in the morning and be thrilled about going to work? And then, the clincher: As the next generation of “leaders,” do as I do.

OUR WORDS CAN HAVE AN IMPACT ON INEQUALITY Not everyone has heard a version of this talk, though chances are pretty high if you go to Yale.

That said, it’s by no means restricted to those who’ve dabbled in (or soaked in) “elite culture.” It’s an increasingly common refrain for a few reasons. First, it’s good to hear, especially when most people know (or, perhaps as it applies to Yale, have at least seen on TV) other Americans who feel alienated from their work while they struggle to make ends meet. Second, for the middle and upper classes, it’s at least partially true: They have the resources to

acquire the skills needed for a job they won’t hate.

At Yale, this advice is often flouted.

It’s not bold to guess that JOHN most of the AROUTIthrongs of students curOUNIAN rently going through interJohnny weren’t Come Lately views born aspiring to spend their college summers crunching data for a consulting firm. But even for those who succumb, for whatever reason on the spectrum of legitimacy, most believe that the bit about doing what you love is true: Either you really love the highpressure situations those jobs provide, or you’ll do what you love after. Easy breezy.

Plenty of people talk about whether the “do what you love” advice is good or bad. But the more interesting question is whether it’s actually applicable to everyone.

In reality, only a privileged few can get away with loving their work all the time. For everyone else, a varying combination of personal satisfaction and the ability to put food on the table is much more likely. But it seems that the most pressing issue here involves how this language affects the inequality prob-

lem in America, particularly with the renewed focus on alleviating poverty.

Poverty, as I’ve seen it in my family and friends, is like a physical chain. We won’t know how fast those who are perpetually poor can run, because they’re never allowed to show the world without this unjust deadweight attached. Almost everyone, from President Obama to Paul Ryan, acknowledges this.

But unless you give in to some transhumanist, determinist belief that says everyone can be made — depending on the right combination of social variables — to experience equal levels of devotion, force of personality or desire to succeed, that’s not the whole nine yards. We know what happens to the folks in the middle classes and above who are, descriptively speaking, average — they continue living, for the most part, their not-too-shabby lifestyles. We all know plenty of people in this category. What does “average” here mean? Take an example: I knew a guy who had everything you could ask for — a wonderful home, good friends, good schooling — but he had very little drive to do much more.

There’s a distinction between poverty and ordinariness that our lexicon eschews. If you’ve been inculcated in the same culture as I’ve been, you might be thinking that talking about people this way is insensitive. But

there’s nothing wrong with not having all-consuming passions or ambitions. It feels that way because the culture we live in — of maximization — implies in many ways that anything below the maximum is worse.

But what happens to the poor who are “average”? Those who, even if society succeeds in providing opportunity ladders, simply don’t climb up very far, if at all?

Even the desire to be productive and to push yourself forward comes from an arbitrary combination of nature and nurture, plus (if you believe in it) some free will. But the truly meek — those not able to get themselves onto the ladder, whether because of their will or because that’s just how they were born — have no way out using the language so popular today.

Even if they don’t inherit the earth in this life, people like this will always exist. Which means, for the determinists among us, we have to find ways of engineering their lives. Or perhaps a little more realistically, we’ve got to sober up and adjust our language of success and opportunity so that it doesn’t rob them of the human dignity that they deserve just as much as you and I. JOHN AROUTIOUNIAN is a junior in Jonathan Edwards College. His columns run on alternate Wednesdays. Contact him at john.aroutiounian@yale.edu .

YALE DAILY NEWS · WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2014 · yaledailynews.com

PAGE 3

NEWS

“In Jewish history there are no coincidences.” ELIE WIESEL JEWISH AUTHOR AND POLITICAL ACTIVIST

Slifka Center to expand art programs

CORRECTIONS TUESDAY, FEB. 3

The article “Christakis talks networks” incorrectly stated the name of the Institute for Network Science as the “Center” for Network Science.

The article “Harp outlines state of the city” incorrectly identified Toni Harp as the 20th mayor of New Haven. She is in fact the 50th.

State ed. reform delayed

BY POOJA SALHOTRA STAFF REPORTER At a Tuesday press conference, Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, R-Fairfield, called for the resignation of the state’s Commissioner of Education Stefan Pryor ’93 LAW ’98.

In a statement released Tuesday afternoon, McKinney said that Pryor has failed in his chief assignment to implement Gov. Dannel Malloy’s education reform initiatives, including the Common Core curriculum and teacher evaluations. McKinney, who is seeking the Republican nomination for governor, said the state Department of Education has not been listening to the input of teachers, administrators and parents “By choosing to implement these new programs with limited input from teachers and on an overly ambitious schedule, both the governor and the commissioner have lost the confidence of parents and educators across our state,” McKinney said. “The rollout has been met with confusion and frustration by teachers, administrators and parents.”

In response, Malloy’s office said McKinney made the statement only to get attention.

“Time and again, Senator McKinney has proven that there is literally nothing he won’t say if he thinks it will bring him press attention,” said Mark Ojakian, Malloy’s Chief of Staff.

McKinney’s statement comes one week after Malloy called for a slowdown on his education reform initiatives. Superintendent of New Haven Public Schools Garth Harries ’95 said these changes would not affect New Haven public schools because the city implemented its own teacher evaluation system in 2009. He added that the city received a waiver from the state in the fall of 2013, allowing public schools to continue their own teacher evaluation system separate from the state.

C o n c e r n f ro m tea c h ers prompted Malloy to delay the new education measures.

Over the past several weeks, Connecticut educators have expressed frustration about how the teacher evaluations are being implemented. The largest teachers’ union in the state — the Connecticut Education Association — held a regional meeting on Jan. 27, and hundreds of teachers and administrators attended to tell lawmakers that the teacher evaluations were putting too much pressure on them.

In response, Malloy sent a letter to the Performance Evalu-

ation Advisory Council (PEAC) calling for a delay in the implementation of a key component of the evaluation system — linking students’ standardized test scores with teacher evaluations.

He also suggested school districts should have more flexibility in how they implement the teacher evaluations.

“Too much change all at once impedes teachers’ ability to be effective in their classrooms.

Teachers and administrators understandably are feeling burdened, and together we must take action to relieve this pressure,” Malloy wrote in his letter to PEAC. The council convened last Wednesday and voted to reduce and postpone some of the requirements of the education overhaul. It decided to postpone until the 2015-2016 school year the requirement that students’ scores on the new Smarter Balanced standardized test factor into teacher evaluations. This test aligns with the Common Core State Standards Connecticut voluntarily adopted in 2010.

The council also decided that teachers only need to set one goal for tracking their performance and that districts can reduce the number of mandatory teacher observations.

Under the original legislation, teachers would be required to have at least one in-class observation each school year, but the council decided teachers with positive reviews must only be observed once every three years.

The council is also giving local school boards until March 30 to submit new evaluation standards to the state.

Education experts have responded positively to Malloy’s call to separate the rollout of Common Core and the teacher evaluation system.

Jennifer Alexander, executive officer of the education advocacy group ConnCAN, said that while coupling standardized test scores with teacher evaluations is important, Malloy’s move to delay the reform would benefit teachers who must adapt to a new curriculum and a new evaluation system.

“I think giving folks more time to adjust is fair,” Alexander said. “But we have to make sure that student achievement is a factor in teacher evaluations.”

Malloy’s 2012 education bill also included increased funding for charter schools and a Commissioners Network to turn around chronically underperforming schools.

Contact POOJA SALHOTRA at pooja.salhotra@yale.edu .

YDN

Gov. Dannel Malloy has decided to postpone new education measures to allow Connecticut teachers to adjust to new evaluation policies.

JENNIFER LU/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

The Slifka Center hopes to spark dialogue in its community by hosting student-created and student-curated art in its display spaces.

BY EMMA PLATOFF STAFF REPORTER This spring, the number of undergraduate-run art exhibitions hosted by the Joseph Slifka Center for Jewish Life at Yale will increase.

The Slifka Arts Committee — which was informally founded in spring 2013 but has gradually grown in size and scope — has lined up at least three student-run exhibits for the rest of the semester, a substantial increase from previous years, said Lucy Partman ’14, the Slifka Arts Curator and a member of the committee.

The next exhibition, which will feature T-shirts and explore material culture, is opening in March, followed by an exhibit of cyanotypes — cyan blue prints produced by a photographic printing process.

Finally, either in April or May, the committee will present an exhibit of portrait photography focusing on issues of faith.

The Arts Committee has already organized three entirely undergraduate-run exhibits, Partman said. Partman herself was the artist featured in the first exhibit, “Times Ten,” which opened in February 2013. The following exhibit, “I Asked for Wonder” – which includes photographs

by Wesley Chavis ’14, Victor Kang ’14 and Emily Cable ’15 — opened in December 2013 and remains on display in Slifka’s dining hall. “Time is a Place,” a series of paintings done by Max Budovitch ’13, opened last week.

The Slifka Arts Committee currently has six members and is almost entirely run by Yale undergraduates, but the students receive mentorship from Chino Kwan, known as CHINO, Slifka’s Director of Operations. This year, Partman and CHINO said they hope to expand the committee by adding more members and developing its structure.

In the past, the Slifka Center has had several versions of an arts committee, but they were never undergraduate run, CHINO explained, adding that the Center began its effort to move towards a more undergraduate-driven arts program last spring. Partman added that the effort is still in a formative stage.

CHINO said he thinks the Center’s previous artistic efforts, which were mostly staff-driven, were not ideal for a college campus.

“Here, where we’re on a college campus and students are at the heart of everything we do, it’s a much better fit,”

he explained.

The undergraduate-run art initiatives are also advantageous for students because they allow them to go through every step of the process of creating an exhibit, CHINO noted. He explained that students choose, vet, hang and, in some cases, even create the art.

In addition to the new committee, Slifka has also made physical accommodations within the building, allowing students to display more art. Thanks to a new hanging system installed in fall 2012, art can now be displayed in every room in Slifka, CHINO said. Such adjustments have given curators the opportunity to show exhibits in different parts of the building as well as to display some pieces from Slifka’s permanent collection, which had previously remained in storage.

“The most exciting thing with the art and the formation of the committee is that very rarely do students have an opportunity to get in on something on the ground floor,” CHINO said. “Here is really an opportunity to shape an organization.”

Rabbi Leah Cohen, Slifka’s executive director and senior Jewish chaplain, explained

another advantage of Slifka’s many display spaces is their fluidity. She added that curators can first feature an exhibit in the main gallery and then move it to either a more intimate place, like the chapel, or a more busy space, like the dining hall.

The Slifka Arts Committee’s ultimate goal is to present art that will create a dialogue among its viewers, Partman said, opening them up to new perspectives and ideas — regardless of their religion.

Cohen noted that she thinks student-run initiatives can engender constructive exchanges better than staff-driven ones could. When students prepare, create and attend the exhibits, Cohen explained, the ensuing conversations are much broader than they would have been had the exhibits been staffcurated. Such broad conversations are also effective in making non-Jewish people feel welcome and included at Slifka, she added.

“The conversation is not only Jews talking to Jews,” Cohen said.

The Slifka Center is located at 80 Wall St. Contact EMMA PLATOFF at emma.platoff@yale.edu .

Montessori school founded

BY LILLIAN CHILDRESS STAFF REPORTER This fall, New Haven parents will have the option to send their children to a new type of elementary school —a Montessori School.

Elm City Montessori, located on Quinnipiac Avenue, will be New Haven’s first public K-5 Montessori school. Unlike the centralized instruction that mainstream public schools typically offer, the Montessori model relies on a philosophy of hands-on, independent learning. Though most Montessori schools across the country are privately operated, the founders of Elm City Montessori have committed to keeping the school public.

The school’s creation was largely spearheaded by three New Haven mothers — Kia Levey, Eliza Halsey and Joan Bosson-Heenan— who were seeking an alternative to the city’s current elementary school offerings for their children.

“Montessori schools are especially important because they combine two necessary elements for learning to take place, which are engage-

ment and a specific level of challenge,” said Alissa Levy, the principal who has been chosen for the school by the school’s board.

Elm City Montessori will have many of the hallmark features of a Montessori school: classrooms with a mix of three grade levels, individualized lessons and two home visits for each child per year.

We don’t want to present ourselves at all in opposition to the New Haven Public School System.

KIA LEVEY The idea started when a group of New Haven parents, including Levey, Halsey and Bosson-Heenan who had previously been working on making information about New Haven primary education more accessible, discovered that the public Montessori model was already in place in Hartford,

Conn. In the fall of 2012, the group created a petition and presented it to the Board of Education, which expressed strong interest in the idea, according to Halsey.

After receiving the Board of Education’s green light, the team applied for a local charter application, which granted the school unionized teachers and admissions through a lottery system that any child in New Haven can enter.

The school currently has room for 69 students from New Haven, although there will be a few spots open for children residing outside New Haven as well, according to David Low, an educator on the Board of Elm City Montessori.

There are currently three classrooms in the school, each with one full-time “guide” and one assistant.

The school’s growth plan calls for hiring staff for one to two additional classrooms each year over the next five years. The school’s board would also like to eventually expand to include grades 6-8, Halsey said.

“What we’re really hoping to build with this is a real community school, said

Levey. “[A place] where the educators, parents, children are rallying around educational promise.”

One of the board’s goals is to make the school accessible to harder-to-reach children who may come from lowincome neighborhoods, said Low. The board will attempt to achieve this by sending mailings to houses, informational sessions, the annual magnet fair and the help of community partners, Halsey said.

Members of the board expressed the New Haven Public School system has been very helpful and supportive throughout the entire process.

“One thing is that we don’t want to present ourselves at all in opposition to the existing New Haven Public School system,” Levey said. “This school is about expanding educational opportunities for all families in New Haven.”

The Montessori system was designed by Maria Montessori, an Italian educator who opened her first school in 1907.

Contact LILLIAN CHILDRESS at lillian.g.childress@yale.edu .

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YALE DAILY NEWS · WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2014 · yaledailynews.com

FROM THE FRONT

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Percentage drop of Harvard applicants

Though still in the lead for applicants at 34,295, Harvard still dropped down from 35,053 last year. Both Yale and Brown broke the 30,000 barrier, with Princeton lagging at 26,498.

Applications reach new high

I doubt that we’ll see another doubling of the applicant pool in the next decade.

RICHARD AVITABILE Former admissions officer, NYU Still, Princeton and Harvard, the only Ivy League schools other

YALE ADMISSIONS APPLICATIONS AND ACCEPTANCE RATES 35000

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Number of applicants Acceptance rate

30000 25000

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20000 15000 9

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tions it receives in order to report higher statistics. The University restrains its outreach efforts to target only students who would be very competitive applicants, he said.

In recent years, the admissions office has focused on conveying Yale’s affordability and accessibility to minority students and highachieving, low-income students.

According to Quinlan, both groups saw increases in application numbers this year, an indication that the University’s ongoing marketing efforts are proving successful.

Three of the four other Ivy League schools that have reported admissions numbers so far also saw continued increases in the number of applications received.

The number of high school students who applied to the University of Pennsylvania surged by 14 percent this year, from 31,250 applications last year to 35,788 this year. Brown University, like Yale, also broke the 30,000-application ceiling with a 4 percent uptick in applications. 30,291 students sought admission at Brown this year.

than Yale that practice non-binding early action programs, saw a slowdown from years of consistently rising numbers. 26,498 students applied to Princeton this year, making for a negligible 0.4 percent uptick from last year.

Harvard College’s applicant pool actually contracted by two percent, from 35,023 to 34,295 applications.

Educational consultants and experts interviewed were divided on whether the number of applications to selective colleges would continue growing.

“The decline in applications at Harvard and the stagnation at Princeton suggests to me that we’re reaching a ceiling for now,” said Richard Avitabile, a former admissions officer at New York University. “Although numbers might fluctuate from year to year, I doubt that we’ll see another doubling of the applicant pool [at top schools] in the next decade.”

According to a report entitled “Knocking at the College Door,” created by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, fewer students will apply to college from the Northeast and Midwest and more students will apply from the South and West in the near future because of demographic shifts across the country.

Avitabile said that this trend may affect Ivy League schools because their applicant base is disproportionately located in the Northeast.

Both William Morse ’64 GRD ’74, a former admissions officer at Yale, and Chuck Hughes, a former admissions officer at Harvard and the president of college admissions consulting service Road to College, disagreed with Avitabile’s prediction.

Number of Yale applicants

ADMISSIONS FROM PAGE 1

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'02 '03 '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 '10 '11 '12 '13 '14

Morse said that even if Yale has “maxed out” traditional pockets of college applicants such as New York or New England, the University is in the process of reaching more students from non-traditional college backgrounds. He added that as more low-income students realize the generosity and strength of financial aid programs at schools such as Yale and Harvard, the number of applications Yale receives will continue to rise.

“If anything, I think the growth rate will be even more aggressive in the next decade,” Hughes said,

adding that although Yale has tapped most geographic regions in America, the international applicant pool will provide the bulk of any future growth in the overall applicant pool.

As the number of spots available at each selective college stays steady despite the rising number of applications, high school students interviewed said the plummeting admission rates of Yale and its peer schools make for an anxious college process.

Ellie Nayes, a high school senior from Texas applying to Yale, said the college application

process is stressful because she is competing against the brightest students in the country.

“The college application process is scary, to say the least.

From the time I spent writing my essays up until I pressed submit, I was scared,” said Reymundo Cano, a senior from California. “I know that every year the applicant pool [at Yale] gets more competitive. It took some guts to apply outside my comfort zone, which was the [University of California] public school system.”

This was the second year that applicants to Yale were afforded

6

the opportunity to share their application with Yale-NUS, the liberal arts college Yale founded in partnership with the National University of Singapore. The number of applicants who elected to submit their applications to Yale-NUS has yet to be released.

The admissions committee will meet from the middle of February through March to deliberate. Yale, along with the other Ivy League schools, will release its decisions on March 27.

Contact RISHABH BHANDARI at rishabh.bhandari@yale.edu .

Davuluri talks prejudice MISS AMERICA FROM PAGE 1 home can say ‘this year, Miss America actually looks like me,’” Davuluri said, adding that the ideal of the blue-eyed and blonde-haired American “girl next door” is evolving as the demographics of America change.

Davuluri said she represents someone that parents are comfortable having their daughters look up to — the type of role model that has been missing in America.

Beyond beauty, Davuluri emphasized the extent to which the Miss America Organization is empowering for young women. She is especially proud of her education, she said, which is what the organization is all about. Through Miss America, Davuluri said she has received a considerable number of scholarships and has learned hard-to-

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teach skills like networking and how to give an interview.

According to Davuluri, being beautiful is just “icing on the cake.”

In using Miss America as a platform to launch her campaign of cultural understanding, Davuluri has taken to social media to launch her “Circles of Unity” movement, encouraging her followers to tweet their own thoughts about cultural awareness.

Social media is a wonderful resource, Davuluri said, but its biggest problem is that it can be used for bullying. But in the end, she said, all bullying stems from ignorance. Davuluri said there are “always going to be ignorant people” — but she believes that the spread of ignorance can be prevented by reaching out to the youngest generations.

She realized that her purpose in life is to serve others after

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taking a trip to India where she volunteered at an orphanage for kids with physical and mental disabilities, she said.

Many in attendance of the talk felt that Miss America was well spoken and that her talk addressed important cultural issues.

“I like that she is using her position to combat ignorance,” said Angie Fuentes ’17.

Elizabeth Tokarz ’17 agreed. “I also liked that she expanded her discussion on cultural competence to include every culture,” she said. “Too often we think that somehow only America faces these challenges, when in reality ignorance is widespread.”

Davuluri is a graduate of The University of Michigan and has a bachelor’s degree in brain, behavior and cognitive science.

Contact BLAKE DIXON at blake.dixon@yale.edu .

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YO UR YDN ;8 @ CP PF L I Y D N ;8 @ CP PF L I Y D N DA I LY

YALE DAILY NEWS · WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2014 · yaledailynews.com

PAGE 5

NEWS

“Racism is man’s gravest threat to man — the maximum of hatred for a minimum of reason.” ABRAHAM JOSHUA HESCHEL POLISH-BORN AMERICAN RABBI

Haqqani talks U.S.-Pakistan relations

BY HAILEY WINSTON STAFF REPORTER American military aid to Pakistan has had detrimental effects, according to former Pakistani Ambassador to the U.S. Husain Haqqani.

At a Tuesday afternoon talk sponsored by Yale’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, Haqqani spoke to approximately 30 members of the Yale community about the troubled relationship between the U.S. and Pakistan. Although the U.S. has funneled around 40 billion dollars into Pakistani military and developmental operations over the past few decades, Haqqani said America will not be able to change controversial Pakistani policies.

“The American delusion is that it can change Pakistani policy while arming and financing Pakistan,” Haqqani said.

American aid has had three major consequences: fueling continued military conflict between Pakistan and India, postponing essential Pakistani reform and breeding resentment against the U.S. as Pakistan becomes increasingly dependent on American funds, he said.

Haqqani, who is now a political author and journalist, said he thinks Pakistan and America would both benefit from the U.S. “backing away a bit” and letting Pakistan discuss its own national interests.

In part because American aid has allowed the Pakistani government to ignore the country’s lack of economic growth, Haqqani said Pakistan lags behind surrounding countries in both education and exports.

Haqqani, who resigned as ambassador in 2011 after facing accusations that he sought help from the U.S. against the Pakistani military, said he has not returned to Pakistan for over a

WILLIAM FREEDBERG/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

Husain Haqqani, former Pakistani Ambassador to the U.S., spoke at length on the rocky relationship between the two countries and what could be done to improve it. year. The environment in Pakistan is dangerous for those who advocate for policy change, he said.

“Frankly, I don’t want to run the risk of going to Pakistan and having some idiot shoot me, thinking I’m a traitor or an atheist or an American or an Israeli or whatever agent,” he said. “That is the environment that has been created.”

According to Haqqani, both Pakistan and the U.S. are to blame for the troubled relations between the two nations, and both nations have committed wrongs.

Pakistan, for example, harbored Osama Bin Laden, while the U.S. violated Pakistan’s sovereignty when searching for him there, he said.

“In a nutshell, the U.S.-Pak-

Malloy favors higher min. wage

BY ABIGAIL BESSLER STAFF REPORTER Although Connecticut is already in the midst of raising its minimum wage to $9 per hour by 2015, Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy threw his weight behind a second increase, to $10.10 per hour, in a statement on Wednesday.

Malloy’s announcement comes just one week after President Barack Obama voiced his support for a $10.10 federal minimum wage in his State of the Union address, a rallying point for progressive politicians across the nation. The governor’s proposal, which will be announced to the legislature on Thursday, is not the first wage increase Connecticut has seen in recent years.

In the summer of 2013, the Governor signed a bill that was projected to increase minimum wages by 75 cents over the course of two years, saying that workers’ wages had not kept up with the cost of living in the state.

Malloy’s new proposal would change the schedule and increase the minimum wage, currently set at $8.70 an hour, over the course of three years. The change would affect 70,000 to 90,000 workers in the state who currently earn the minimum wage, the Governor said in his statement.

“The minimum wage right now is so artificially low that people who are working full time still have to apply for government assistance programs in order to make ends meet,” said State Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney. “Anybody who’s working full time ought to be able to support a family.”

Immediately after Malloy announced the plan, members of the state’s Congressional delegation, including New Haven Rep. Rosa DeLauro and Senators Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal LAW ’73 praised the governor’s action, calling him a “key ally” in a statement. Murphy and Blumenthal are both original co-sponsors of a Senate bill that seeks to raise the federal minimum wage, currently set at $7.25 an hour, to $10.10 an hour.

Politicians across the country have turned to minimum wage increases as a tool to combat income inequality; 13 states set new wage floors on Jan. 1, 2014.

Connecticut’s income gap is the second highest in the nation, according to data tabulated from surveys by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Fred Carstensen, an economics professor at University of Connecticut, said the purchasing power of workers has gone down due to a stagnant minimum wage.

“Historically, the minimum wage was for jobs at places like fast food restaurants held by teenagers or college students,” Carstensen said. “Now, though, because the job market has been so weak for so many years, there are a lot of people trying to support whole families with jobs at or near the minimum wage.”

According to a study published last December by the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal think tank, the average age of workers nationally who would be affected by a change in the federal minimum wage is 35 years old. More than a quarter of workers who would see their wages increase have children.

The governor is concerned about the fate of working people in this state.

LARRY DORMAN Council 4 AFSCME union, spokesman Larry Dorman, a spokesman for the Council 4 AFSCME union, which represents 32,000 workers in Connecticut, said he applauded the governor for taking the lead on the issue of income inequality in the state. He added that, ideally, the wage should be even higher.

“The governor is concerned about the fate of working people in this state,” Dorman said. “Corporate profits are skyrocketing, and hedge fund managers and executives are doing well, but working people have fallen behind.”

Though Carstensen said he doubts the proposed wage increase would have much of an impact on Connecticut’s economy, he said Malloy’s proposal was a good idea since it would likely reduce the number of families who must now rely on Medicaid and food stamps to supplement their wages. That reduction, he said, would then lower costs to

taxpayers.

Looney also said increasing the minimum wage would be economically beneficial: since lowincome families operate on small margins, they would spend the additional money on necessities.

This would put the money back into the economy, he said.

House Republicans, though, are suspicious that Malloy’s proposal is a political move meant to aid his bid for reelection this fall.

In June 2013, 46 percent of voters polled by Quinnipiac [University?] said Governor Malloy did not deserve to be reelected.

“This announcement is not about a thoughtful public policy,” said Patt O’Neal, spokesman for the House Republicans. “This is purely election year pandering.”

O’Neal, who called increasing the minimum wage a “democratic wedge issue,” said the House Republicans put out a proposal 10 days ago including “targeted tax relief” to consumers and businesses. He said Malloy’s announcement will not affect Republicans’ chances at winning the gubernatorial election in 2014.

Republican State Senator Rob Kane, the ranking Republican on the Appropriations Committee, said the state Republicans’ plan going forward was to “educate people” on the cost of increasing the minimum wage.

“People don’t understand the full ramifications of these proposals,” Kane said, adding that increasing the minimum wage will cause costs to rise for small businesses. “It’s going to hurt the very people it’s trying to help because less people will get hired.”

Kane, like O’Neal, said Republicans remain optimistic about the fall elections.

Gary Rose, a political commentator from Sacred Heart University, said he thinks Republican opposition to the proposal will hurt their chances in November.

“Quite frankly, though,” he added, “A lot of people who make minimum wage don’t vote.”

When the Connecticut Legislature first proposed in 2013 to raise the minimum wage to $9 per hour, 75 percent of state residents expressed support in a March 2013 Quinnipiac poll.

Contact ABIGAIL BESSLER at abigail.bessler@yale.edu .

istan relationship needs to be based on reality and pragmatism instead of delusions and unrealistic expectations from one another that we both have had,” he said.

Members of the Yale community who attended the talk said Haqqani made them view U.S.Pakistan relations in a new light.

Huma Baig ’16, whose parents are Pakistani, said she is accustomed to hearing Pakistanis voice

a more anti-American view in regards to relations between the U.S. and Pakistan than those Haqqani expressed.

“It was very different from what I’m used to hearing,” Baig said. “His approach is much more western, whereas what I’m used to is much more anti-American.”

Jaya Chatterjee, assistant editor for politics and international relations at Yale University Press,

said she found Haqqani’s statistics on education and Pakistan most interesting and that she would be interested in exploring what the U.S. could do to help the country develop socially as opposed to militarily.

Haqqani became ambassador in 2008.

Contact HAILEY WINSTON at hailey.winston@yale.edu .

NHPD investigate slur

BY DAVID BLUMENTHAL AND TASNIM ELBOUTE STAFF REPORTERS The City of New Haven and the New Haven Police Department have been taking punitive measures after a racial slur was said on police radio, in an attempt to find the unknown caller and reform any lingering racial tensions at the police department.

The city has taken steps designed to identify and punish the offender, who said the word “nigger,” on a law enforcement apparatus’ airwaves at 12:30 a.m. on Dec. 30.

NHPD spokesman David Hartman said in a Tuesday interview that, while he and the force had not completely ruled out the possibility that an NHPD officer had uttered the pejorative, the police department believes that either a police officer from a neighboring municipality or an NHPD police officer’s acquaintance had done so instead.

The city’s police radio system — which anyone with a two-way “transceiver” radio available at many commercial outlets and the NHPD frequency available online can access — had never experienced this before. According to Hartman, when an officer comes on the tape generally a radio number or name comes up. However, in this case, such identification was absent.

“Nothing came up on this one, which makes us very suspicious that this may not have been a New Haven police officer,” Hartman said.

Still, the New Haven Police Department has since launched an internal investigation, even enlisting help from the FBI for voice recognition. In addition, officers must now identify themselves and state their car number and beat number when speaking into the radio. Internal Affairs Director Anthony Campbell ’95 DIV ’09 said Police Chief Dean Esserman now requires officers to attend sensitivity and diversity training. The number of training hours has been extended from two to three hours per annum in the wake of this incident. Camp-

bell added that the city could benefit in the long run from the increased introspection that has followed the “hateful and deliberate” remark.

“It’s opened up some good discussion and the feedback was extremely positive,” he said. “Now there’s communication on a level that wasn’t before the incident happened.”

New Haven residents’ reactions to the NHPD’s response were varied. Some had a similarly generous take on the event and its aftermath, as well as the Police Department in general.

The NAACP community is “somewhat pleased with the aggressiveness of Chief Esserman” in trying to identify the unknown caller, said Jim Rawlings, the President of the Greater New Haven Branch of the NAACP. Rawlings met with Chief Esserman on Tuesday morning, and pledged to address the issue collaboratively.

At this meeting, Rawlings and Esserman agreed to bring in professionals to support the sensitivity and diversity training.“If someone is saying these words, it’s a symptom of an element of racism in the police department … that may manifest itself in how police interact with our community,” Rawlings said.

Rawlings added “We need to excise this cancer.”

However, Ward 12 Alder Richard Spears said that the episode and its aftermath were the result of a police department that was “corrupt” and “prejudiced in its actions,”

and that he had serious doubts regarding both the thoroughness of the department’s investigation and the aggressiveness of its response.

According to the New Haven Independent, Harp responded immediately, meeting with several fraternal groups of African-American police officers to hear their concerns.

City Hall Spokesman Laurence Grotheer said the mayor was pleased with Chief Esserman’s “prompt and very thorough” response, and hopes the controversy will be resolved.

Among Harp’s constituents, indifference seemed to carry the day. Of 10 New Haven residents interviewed on or near the New Haven Green Tuesday, none said they had heard of the incident. Tom Chambers, a New Haven resident who said he is of white, Dominican and African-American heritage, called using racial slurs “a part of human nature,” comparing it to the slurs leveled at the Irish and Italians in the early 20th century.

“Racism is all over—you’re not going to stop it,” he said.

“Let’s not blow this out of proportion.”

According to the 2010 Census, 35.6 percent of New Haven residents are black, and minorities make up 57.4 percent of the population as a whole.

Isabelle Taft contributed reporting.

Contact DAVID BLUMENTHAL at david.blumenthal@yale.edu and TASNIM ELBOUTE at tasnim.elboute@yale.edu .

PHILIPP ARNDT/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

The NHPD has recently launched an internal investigation into an unexplained racial slur uttered over the police radio system.

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YALE DAILY NEWS · WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2014 · yaledailynews.com

FROM THE FRONT YCC reforms note-taking NOTETAKING FROM PAGE 1 at Yale is heartwarming and her dedication to her work is inspiring.”

Ultimately, Khalvati, her YCC supervisor Sara Samuel ’15, and York created a list of recommendations to improve the system. The general goals of the investigation included improving the delivery system of the notes while still maintaining its integrity — specifically, ensuring that the anonymity of the recipients remained protected and that the notes were available only to registered students — and systemizing a training effort for note-takers.

The recommendations of the December YCC report are currently in the midst of

implementation. Recommendations include the launch of a private Classes*v2 workshop page for note-takers and note-receivers to access notes, as well as an online training system that features a video module of Dean of Academic Affairs Mark Schenker’s notetaking seminar and a checklist that streamlines note takers’ responsibilities. Additionally, long-term and short-term note-takers will be recruited separately in order to manage quality control, and surveys will also be sent out periodically.

One large change in the system will be the creation of a a new “note-taking services assistant” student position. The assistant will work for eight hours per week for

a wage of $14 per hour to help ROD establish the YCC’s proposed changes.

Khalvati said applications for the position have been submitted, and the top three finalists are currently being reviewed. Associate Director to the Resource Office on Disabilities Tony Kulikowski has been

This process caters to Yale’s time of innovation and change under the new leadership of President Salovey.

KATHY KHALVATI ’17

charged with putting the YCC’s recommendations as his priority in creating changes in the office, and a YCC student task force has also been established.

“This process caters to Yale’s time of innovation and change under the new leadership of President Salovey,” Khalvati said. “This project, which YCC President Danny Avraham ’15 has called ‘one of the most rapidly successful projects in YCC’s history,’ is a manifestation of the incredible work and progress that can be made when students, representatives, and administrators come together.”

Student note-takers are paid $12.50 per hour.

“You might as well try and dam Niagara Falls with toothpicks as to stop the reform wave sweeping our land.” BILLY SUNDAY AMERICAN ATHLETE

Search committee still unnamed

Contact CAROLINE WRAY at caroline.wray@yale.edu .

YDN

Yale College Dean Mary Miller’s successor is unlikely to be named until the end of the semester.

DEAN SEARCH FROM PAGE 1

JENNIFER LU/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

The Resource Office on Disabilities has worked with the Yale College Council to streamline the delivery system for their note-taking program.

Thursday Yale College faculty meeting, the decision will not come to a vote before the faculty.

Douglas and his colleagues on the Corporation will have the last word about the structures.

Still, while compiling its report in November and December, the ad-hoc committee on decanal structures maintained an email account dedicated to receiving faculty opinions about adding a third dean. The account, according to the report, received over 25 emails from faculty.

Highsmith said Salovey first informed the Yale Corporation of the formation of the ad hoc committee on decanal structures last term. She added that Salovey plans to wait for more input from the Yale faculty before further engaging with the Corporation on the matter.

“The president will consider feedback and comment from the faculty before he reaches conclusions about the structure or discusses any changes with the Corporation,” Highsmith said.

Still, Warner said Salovey has spoken with members of the Corporation about the potential changes “on a number of occasions.”

Corporation member Neal Keny-Guyer said he had not yet examined the report or determined an opinion on the issue, though he added that he has been away for the past three weeks in Africa.

Whether the Corporation’s involvement in the interdependent processes of changing Yale’s decanal structures and replacing the College and Graduate School dean will continue past the vote on decanal structures, though, is yet to be seen. During the selection of Miller in 2008, the Corporation gave then-University President Richard Levin authorization to decide on the appointment himself.

When asked whether the Corporation would act similarly this year, Miller said she did not know.

“There’s an important committee of the Corporation known as educational policy committee, and I’d assume they’d be very engaged with both [the decanal structure and dean selection],” Miller said. “But I could be wrong.”

Once the Corporation reaches a decision on the decanal structures, the committee Salovey appoints will make recommendations for all of the deanships.

Highsmith said Salovey has yet to determine the makeup of the committee.

Salovey told the News last week that he hopes members of the committee will speak to students.

When the selection process for the new University president began in 2012, students groups — notably the progressive organization Students Unite Now — protested the minimal student engagement with the committee formed to advise the Yale Corporation on the choice of a new university leader.

On Tuesday, though, members of SUN interviewed did not have plans to advocate for greater student representation in the dean searches in the immediate future. Although SUN member Avani Mehta ’15 said she hopes the dean selection process is transparent and involves student input, she did not describe any currently formulated plans to engage on the issue.

“I haven’t had a chance to look at how the selection process is going to work yet,” SUN member Alex Lew ’15 said.

Miller was appointed as Yale College Dean in 2008.

Contact MATTHEW LLOYD-THOMAS at matthew.lloyd-thomas@yale.edu .

YALE DAILY NEWS 路 WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2014 路 yaledailynews.com

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YALE DAILY NEWS · WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2014 · yaledailynews.com

SPORTS Fencing drops Drew, Vassar FENCING FROM PAGE 12 The men’s épées were also perfect in the second match, and the foils finished with a record of 17–1 on the day.

The match allowed for our younger members to gain competition experience.

CORNELIUS SAUNDERS ’14 Captain, Men’s fencing team “We approached the meet with the strategic decision to rest for Ivy Championship,” men’s captain and epée Cornelius Saunders ’14 said in an email. “Moreover, the match allowed for our younger members to gain competition experience.”

Both teams will be looking for redemption at the Ivy League Championship. The men placed fifth out of six squads in the 2013 round-robin competition, while the women placed last out of seven.

Unlike in most other sports, the Bulldogs will head into the tournament without having faced a single Ancient Eight squad this

“I’ve looked at photographs of myself during concerts and it sometimes looks as if I’m in a fencing move, with a guitar in my hands instead of a sword.” NEIL DIAMOND AMERICAN SINGER

Squash downs Bears

season.

Despite the disappointing finish last year, epée Peter Cohen ’14 said the team has high expectations for the weekend.

“We have had a lot of new freshmen starting and performing pretty well throughout the year, and as our upperclassmen get older, we get more experienced,” Cohen said. “Overall, [we] should be a much better team than last year.”

Miller said the women’s team also holds high hopes for the tournament.

She added that the team will be performing to the best of its abilities because of the gravity of the event.

“We take this weekend very seriously, and since it marks the end of four consecutive weekends of competition, we want to leave everything we have on the table,” Miller said. “We have been working hard for this since captain’s practices started in September, so I know the entire team is excited to hopefully see all of that work pay off.”

The Ivy League Championship will kick off in Providence on Saturday at 11:00 a.m.

Contact GREG CAMERON at greg.cameron@yale.edu .

KEN YANAGISAWA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

The men’s squash team won 7–2 on the road against Brown yesterday.

SQUASH FROM PAGE 12

JENNIFER CHEUNG/SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER

The Bulldog fencing teams will compete this weekend at the Ivy League Championships, held in Providence.

tom, which forced the Bulldogs to work hard, particularly in their matches at the bottom of the ladder.

Shihui Mao ’15 added that although Brown is not the strongest team, the midweek match could prove helpful to the Bulldogs.

“Brown isn’t one of our closest competitors but playing them after two hard matches

over the weekend was good for us to strengthen our shots and become sharper,” Mao said.

Both Bulldog teams will close their regular seasons with two Ivy League games this weekend; they play Harvard in Yale’s home finale on Friday, then travel to Dartmouth on Sunday.

Maddie Tomlinson ’17, who lost at the eighth spot after a tough battle, agreed the match would be good preparation for

Cotton ’15 helps Yale rebound COTTON FROM PAGE 12 that we didn’t have to rely on one particular guy … so it’s very important to have that extra person to help with the scoring load.”

Despite being the team’s thirdleading scorer, Cotton’s scoring output has fluctuated the most of any Eli from game to game, specifically between wins and losses.

When the Bulldogs win, Cotton averages 11.7 points per game.

He has struggled mightily in losses, however, scoring just 5.1 points per game in defeats.

Perhaps an explanation may be that Cotton is taking fewer shots in losses and is seeing his production drop for that reason. Yet a look at the numbers shows that overall, he has actually taken two more shots in losses (58) than in wins (56), even though Yale has won just as many games as it has lost.

Cotton more than doubles his efficiency in wins, shooting 48.2 percent from the field in victories versus 20.7 percent in losses.

Furthermore, he nearly triples his three-point percentage, knocking down 46.9 percent of his threes in wins as compared to 17.9 percent in losses.

“I can kind of get an idea of when my body is feeling best as opposed to other nights, and, at times, I just translate it into higher-scoring performances,” Cotton said. “But any time I’m on the court, I’m going to be giving my best and everything that I have.”

An evaluation of Yale’s statistics this year shows that no other player on the roster has such stark differentials between wins and losses.

Cotton, averaging 8.4 points per game overall, has been a likely candidate all season long to step up as a potent third scoring option.

Nagging knee injuries have slowed down the guard from New York, N.Y., at times, and he said that he is aware that Saturday games following a Friday night contest will be especially tough on his body. Yet when Cotton has gotten his body right and

produced, he has been a perfect example of a sentiment Head Coach James Jones has preached all season.

“Having a third scorer is great,” Jones said. “The more we can get production out of [third scorers], the better off our team is going to be.”

Beyond scoring, Cotton is averaging about two more rebounds per game in victories.

That figure may be the most telltale statistic for Cotton, according to Jones.

“He can really attack the offensive glass, which is something he is great at,” Jones said.

“Having him be productive makes us a much more dangerous team.”

With a critical weekend coming up that includes road tests against Dartmouth and Ivyfavorite Harvard, Yale will need

big performances from Cotton if the squad wishes to keep pace in the standings.

Luckily for the Bulldogs, Cotton said his health has improved since the beginning of the season, and his conference numbers are trending upwards.

“This half of the season, I’ve felt a lot better health-wise than the first half, and I think that’s allowed me to be a bit more consistent,” Cotton said. “Ultimately, it just comes down to taking care of preparation and doing all the exercises that I need to do during the week and doing everything that I can to make sure I am prepared come game time.”

In four Ivy League contests, Cotton is averaging a more than respectable 12 points per game behind 43 percent shooting both from the field as well as from long range.

He is also snatching over six rebounds a game in conference action, just one behind Sears for most on the team. “[Cotton’s] a great shooter, and he’s really one of the top rebounders,” Duren said. “When he attacks the glass looking for rebounds and put-backs, he really excels. Because he excels, we excel.”

For a 9–9 Yale squad, the Bulldogs have blossomed when Cotton has produced. Double-digit scoring games for Cotton have translated into a 5–2 record for the Bulldogs.

Cotton and the rest of the Elis will have a huge opportunity for a statement this weekend, beginning with Dartmouth Friday night at 7 p.m.

Contact JAMES BADAS at james.badas@yale.edu .

JENNIFER CHEUNG/SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER

Guard Armani Cotton ’15 (no. 12) leads all Bulldog guards with 4.7 rebounds per game, second overall on the Elis.

the Elis as they head into the final weekend of their regular season.

“We gave it our all,” she said.

“The Brown girls are not a bad team, so we had to be on our game, which made us focus.”

Tomlinson said this type of focus was what the team needed to demonstrate in order to come away with victories this weekend and win Ivies.

The Bulldogs said last night’s matches were crucial

practice for Friday’s showdown against Harvard.

“The girls played smart and aggressively,” said captain Lilly Fast ’14. “It was a great opportunity for more match play before we face Harvard.”

Both the men’s and women’s squash teams lost at Harvard 7–2 when the archrivals faced off last season.

Contact ERICA PANDEY at erica.pandey@yale.edu .

No smooth sledding for Jones COLUMN FROM PAGE 12 edly was at play in the Beijing race, and Jones underwent a successful operation to fix the problem.

Jones then went on to stage one of the great comebacks in recent Olympic history, racking up top finishes en route to her third place, Olympic qualifying performance in June 2012. One of the most wellknown, undecorated U.S. athletes, seemed to be poised for a trip to the podium after all.

And yet once again, Jones failed to deliver. A fourth-place finish in London landed her painfully close to a medal, but her Games ended in devastating fashion, leaving Jones once again looking for an answer she couldn’t seem to find.

The answer, at least for Jones, was bobsledding.

Jones’ quick and seemingly seamless transition to a new elite sport is nothing short of amazing. And yet the conversation has focused less on the awesomeness of her athletic achievement and more on her public persona.

Allegations of a marketing scheme have been thrown around by many, including two veteran bobsledders, Emily Azevedo and Katie Eberling, whose spots Jones usurped.

The Selection Committee and Jones’ fellow teammates deny the allegations, defending her right to be on the team even though trial times and everyone’s gut seems to be telling a different story.

Skeptics have argued that Jones has made the team for her looks and that she’s nothing but a publicity stunt used to help bolster interest in women’s bobsledding. Azevedo has gone so far as to claim that the number of Twitter followers Jones has seems to have been valued over her talent. Critics have even challenged the sport

of bobsledding itself, questioning how it could be possible that two amateurs in Jones and Williams could become Olympians in a matter of a year.

Admittedly, Jones hasn’t helped her own cause much.

She most recently tweeted a video of herself seductively unzipping her spandex USA bobsled suit, and has begged to know why everyone dislikes her “because of her popularity.” Sounding a bit more like Regina George than an Olympic hopeful, Jones continues to make skeptics out of could-be fans, myself included.

And yet I still can’t help but be drawn to Jones’ story: two-time medal hopeful who can’t seem to connect the dots, Olympian who responded to crushed dreams with renewed energy, track star who sought out athletic excellence any place she could find it, and athlete who has once again landed herself on the world’s grandest stage. There is something inherently compelling and likable about the message of perseverance and hope in Lolo’s story, despite how paradoxically unlikable she often seems.

Like her or not, she is headed to Sochi to compete at the highest level offered in her sport. She has been through a spinal surgery, heartbreak twice over and a rebirth as a bobsled pusher. Her story is inspiring, regardless of what you might think about her, and it speaks volumes louder than anything Jones herself can say.

If I could give Lolo one piece of advice, it would be this: Stop tweeting, stop speaking and let the story do the talking.

And let’s remember, nothing talks more loudly than a gold medal.

SARAH ONORATO is a junior in Silliman College. Contact her at sarah.onorato@yale.edu .

YALE DAILY NEWS · WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2014 · yaledailynews.com

PAGE 9

BULLETIN BOARD

TODAY’S FORECAST

Snow, freezing rain, and sleet before noon, then freezing rain between noon and 3pm, then freezing rain and sleet likely after 3pm

TOMORROW

FRIDAY

High of 29, low of 14.

High of 30, low of 14.

SCIENCE HILL BY SPENCER KATZ

ON CAMPUS WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5 12:00 p.m. Yiddish Reading Circle. Yiddish speakers and readers of all levels are invited to the leyen krayz (reading circle).

Joseph Slifka Center for Jewish Life at Yale (80 Wall St.), 3rd floor.

12:30 p.m. Gallery Talk: “Sculptors and Weavers of Borneo.”

Ruth Barnes, the Thomas Jaffe curator of Indo-Pacific Art, will introduce the arts of Borneo from works on view in the museum’s Indo-Pacific galleries, one of the best such collections in North America. Yale University Art Gallery (1111 Chapel St.).

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6 12:00 p.m. “War and Remembrance in Ba’thist Iraq.” The Council on Middle East Studies at the MacMillan Center is sponsoring Dina Khoury, associate professor of history and international affairs at the Elliot School of International Affairs, The George Washington University. Professor Khoury’s background spans the early modern and modern history of the Middle East.

Luce Hall (34 Hillhouse Ave.), Rm. 202.

OVER AND OVER BY ALLEN CAMP

4:00 p.m. Edward H. Hume Lecture: “What Drives Chinese Foreign Policy: Vulnerability or Ambition?” China’s ambition to achieve great power status faces daunting challenges.

Although miscalculation could lead China and the U.S. toward confrontation, wise management of the relationship could nurture a new equilibrium in Asian-Pacific security relations. Luce Hall (34 Hillhouse Ave.), Aud.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7 4:00 p.m. “How to Get Your Film on TV: An Afternoon with Producer Lois Vossen.” Sponsored by the Yale Film Studies, senior series producer at Independent Lens Lois Vossen will be explaining how aspiring filmmakers make it onto television. Free to the general public. (212 York Street).

XKCD BY RANDALL MUNROE

y SUBMIT YOUR EVENTS ONLINE yaledailynews.com/events/submit To reach us: E-mail editor@yaledailynews.com Advertisements 2-2424 (before 5 p.m.)

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Questions or comments about the fairness or accuracy of stories should be directed to Editor in Chief Julia Zorthian at (203) 4322418.

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To visit us in person 202 York St. New Haven, Conn. (Opposite JE) FOR RELEASE FEBRUARY 5, 2014

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

CLASSIFIEDS

CROSSWORD Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis ACROSS 1 Really mix up 6 Fashion 10 Alma mater of many gens.

14 Manitoba natives 15 Other, to Diego 16 “Cool!”

17 Glass-half-empty sort 18 Polite refusal, in Nuremberg 20 Resistance units 21 Bottom row key 22 “A Death in the Family” author 23 North __ 24 “Fall on your knees” carol 27 Mammoth traps 30 “Hometown proud” supermarket chain 31 “How relaxing!”

32 Fighting stats 33 She dedicated Imagine Peace Tower to Lennon 34 Roy Rogers’ birth name 35 Somewhat 39 Mudbath offerers 42 Clear (of) 43 Ball honorees 46 Tulsa sch. named for a televangelist 47 __ leaves 48 Hardly the latest buzz 51 Only just broke the tape 54 Through 55 Symbol for Macy’s 56 Prime time rating 57 Give a darn?

58 “You gotta be kidding!”

60 Big Apple restaurateur 61 Go-getter 62 Remedy 63 See 44-Down 64 Duel tool 65 “My word!”

66 Until now DOWN 1 Confront boldly 2 Arizona climate

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CALL (203) 432-2424 OR E-MAIL BUSINESS@ YALEDAILYNEWS.COM

By C.C. Burnikel

3 Where Lego headquarters is 4 Luau neckwear 5 Top row key 6 Quite a while 7 New Mexico county 8 Boring activity 9 Quite a while 10 Eel, at sushi bars 11 Mali neighbor 12 Seize the opportunity, sunshine-wise 13 Had a bite 19 Comical Carvey 21 Private bed 25 “Son of Frankenstein” role 26 Everyday article 28 Supplies on TV’s “Chopped” 29 Prefix with bar 33 Multivolume ref.

34 Witnessed 36 Locale 37 Carnation genus 38 Byrnes who played Kookie 39 Piglet’s mother 40 Place to have a racket restrung

Tuesday’s Puzzle Solved

2/5/14

SUDOKU MEDIUM

5 9 7 1 8 1 3

3 5 (c)2014 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

41 Opie’s guardian 44 With 63-Across, city whose zip code is suggested by the starts of 18-, 24-, 35-, 51- and 58Across 45 Shortchange 47 Newbie 48 Taloned predator 49 Cut of lamb

2/5/14

50 Inhumane person 52 Dance studio fixture 53 __ barrel: in hot water 57 Bordeaux “but” 58 Dedicated lines 59 Cable co. acquired by AT&T in 1999 60 __ Na Na

2 6 2 3 4 9 1 7

8 2 6 7

6

2

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YALE DAILY NEWS · WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2014 · yaledailynews.com

ARTS & CULTURE Original folk show to premiere at Yale

KAMARIA GREENFIELD/SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER

The student-written folk musical “Dust Can’t Kill Me,” which aims to depict American life during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, will premiere this weekend.

BY SARA JONES STAFF REPORTER This weekend, New Haven will see the premiere of an original folk musical written by Yale students.

“Dust Can’t Kill Me” seeks to capture life during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s as well as showcase elements of the American folk music tradition. Elliah Heifetz ’15, who wrote the music and lyrics for the show, noted that he and the show’s playwright Abigail Carney ’15, aimed to cast the original American folk story in a new light. Carney explained that “Dust Can’t Kill Me” incorporates many traditional folk characters. The plot follows the lives

of Lily and Angelina, two sisters who own a failing farm; Birch and Abe, two struggling migrant workers; Wesley, an outlaw; and Montgomery, a folk singer. All are visited by a prophet, who tells them about a place in the desert where they can escape their troubles — though once they all arrive there, overcoming life’s problems proves more difficult than they had been led to believe.

“We were trying to take the storytelling element of folk music and translate it onto [the] stage,” Heifetz said. “We wanted to figure out a way to have the kind of music we love, the drama that we love that happens in really character-driven plays, and the fun energy, the fun aspect of musical

theatre.”

The musical began as an act of collaboration, Heifitz said, explaining that he and Carney conceived the story together while listening to music by folk singers and songwriters such as Woody Guthrie. In fact, Heifetz and Carney said, the musical’s title comes from a Guthrie song of the same name.

Carney added that during workshops for the musical in the fall, the collaborative element of the production process grew to include not only the show’s writers, but its cast and designers as well — something she said she thinks rarely happens with shows that are not original works.

“Seeing the various ways that

they interpret the work and bring it to life … it becomes so much bigger and richer than what [Heifetz] and I had imagined on our own,” Carney said. “All of the talented people bringing their ideas, their interpretations to the work — that is what created the world of the show.”

Jonathan Lian ’15, the show’s producer, oversaw the costume, set and lighting designers tasked with creating the musical’s visual components. Because the story takes place during the Dust Bowl, he explained, designers had to find a way to stage natural disasters and complex weather conditions. Artistically, he added, “Dust Can’t Kill Me” accurately depicts the way those affected by

the Dust Bowl lived. “[The show is] a good reflection of what they had back then, which was nothing … they were basically traveling vagabonds,” Lian explained. “It’s centered around a theme of up-rootedness, lost hope and that’s all reflected in the technical aspects of this production. It’s very raw.”

Because of budget and space constraints, the team of designers working on “Dust Can’t Kill Me” had to find creative ways to evoke the Dust Bowl period, Lian noted.

He mentioned that it was particularly important for the lighting designer to conjure the illusion of the rain and dust storms that envelop the cast throughout the performance, adding that the

crew used light effects to draw the audience into the storms as well.

Heifitz explained that he hopes the show will expose audience members to the fun elements of folk music.

“We’re just trying to create and evoke a world and leave some songs and images in people’s heads,” Carney said. “And we just wanted it to be fun, a lot of fun, and something outside of what you’d normally be thinking or observing on your typical Friday.”

“Dust Can’t Kill Me” premieres on Feb. 6th at 8 pm in the Morse Crescent Theater.

Contact SARA JONES at sara.l.jones@yale.edu .

Musical explores transformation, self-worth

BY ERIC XIAO STAFF REPORTER This week, a folk musical will explore the value of acceptance from the perspective of a woman who has only experienced it in prison.

“The Spitfire Grill,” a musical by James Valcq and Fred Alley based on the 1996 film of the same name, opens Thursday night at the Whitney Theater. Directed by Cosima Cabrera ’14, the show centers on a female character named Percy, an exconvict on parole who is sent to work at the title restaurant.

As the initially unwelcoming townspeople gradually accept Percy into their community, she comes to terms with her troubled past and realizes her self-worth.

Cabrera said she believes that the play’s main themes are applicable to nearly all audiences, including ones that have not experienced the characters’ lifestyles firsthand.

“What is so moving is to see Percy’s personal journey of learning how to forgive herself and how to love herself, which is something that everyone can relate to,” Cabrera said.

Cabrera explained that Percy initially lacks self-confidence because of her traumatic past and her status as an outsider in the townspeople’s community. But as the Grill’s owner Hannah tries to sell the diner, she added, Percy organizes a raffle to decide who will inherit the property, which creates an atmosphere of enthusiasm and excitement within the town. By unifying a community that had been largely devoid of activity, Percy begins to realize that she can positively impact those around her, Cabrera said.

Cabrera added that because the play is set in a small town in Wisconsin and the protagonist is an ex-convict, few audience members will be able to directly relate to the characters’ circumstances. However, she said, the

play is more about the process of discovering one’s self-worth, which she thinks members of the Yale community can relate to.

Many college students are more critical of themselves than they need to be and struggle to realize how valuable they are to others, Cabrera noted.

Emma Spence ’17, who plays Shelby, a character who works at the Grill, said she thinks the play emphasizes people’s ability to move on from their past and transform their personalities. She explained that Shelby is initially submissive to her domineering husband Caleb.

Kerry Burke-McCloud ’17, who plays Caleb, said his character was once the foreman of a stone quarry, which is why he needs to feel a sense of control in every environment, including his household. He recalled a scene in which Shelby is asked if she wants coffee but Caleb interjects and says that Shelby does not usually drink coffee.

Throughout the play, Spence added, Percy inspires Shelby to think and speak for herself.

Shelby sees Percy as a free spirit who speaks her mind, while Shelby has spent much of her life learning not to speak freely, Spence noted.

Three cast members said they think the production also highlights the play’s small-town setting as a key element in the storyline.

Brandon Levin ’14, who plays Percy’s parole officer Joe Sutter, said he thinks his character is initially eager to leave the town of Gilead, Wisconsin because he feels life there is too monotonous. But after Percy arrives, he added, she stirs up a great deal of excitement around the Grill and also inspires Joe to appreciate the natural environment surrounding the town.

Spence recalled a song in which Percy sings about the beauty of the woods that Joe’s family owns, which causes Joe

STEPHANIE ADDENBROOKE/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

Emma Spence ’17, Katherine Paulsen ’14 and Lucy Cabrera ’14 act out a scene in James Valcq and Fred Alley’s “The Spitfire Grill.” to remember how much he treasured these woods in his childhood. The relationship between Joe and Percy becomes the romantic aspect of the musical, Levin said.

Spence added that the play’s intimate setting and relatively small cast allow it to create complex relationships between the characters, and that the play

deliberately sends the message that conquering obstacles in life is far from a straightforward task. He offered the example of Caleb and Shelby, who love each other but whose circumstances have created a marriage in which Caleb is overly demanding and Shelby is too submissive.

But even after Shelby learns not to be subservient to her husband,

Spence added, she still loves him because it is difficult to simply leave someone after many years of marriage.

Burke-McCloud noted that Caleb’s overly controlling behavior is a result of his attempt to protect his wife and that he does not realize that his actions hurt his wife more than they comfort her.

“Caleb is a very sad and frustrated character who actually loves Shelby very much but does not know how to express his love in the right way,” BurkeMcCloud said.

Performances of “The Spitfire Grill” will run through Feb. 8.

Contact ERIC XIAO at eric.xiao@yale.edu .

YALE DAILY NEWS · WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2014 · yaledailynews.com

PAGE 11

“I have that thing in my stomach where I just need to keep striving for things. In my mind, I want the fairy tale.” JANUARY JONES AMERICAN ACTRESS

Rep show stages dark side of fairy tales

BY ERIC XIAO STAFF REPORTER The Yale Repertory Theatre’s newest show will remind audiences that fairy tales can be about escaping death rather than finding a Prince Charming.

“The Fairytale Lives of Russian Girls,” written by Meg Miroshnik DRA ’11, opens Thursday night at the Rep. The play follows an American college student named Annie who travels to her native Moscow during the summer in order to improve her knowledge of the Russian language. But amidst the city’s modern urban environment are witches and bears from old European folklore that have come to life. Annie must ultimately confront these dangerous characters in order to keep herself and her friends alive. Miroshnik described the play as an accelerated ‘coming of age’ story in which the obstacles Annie faces leave her no choice but to grow up quickly.

“Annie has to either become an adult or die in this play,” Miroshnik said. “It’s not like the four-year process of moving out of your parents’ house, going to college and learning how to do your own laundry.”

Emily Walton, who plays Annie, said she believes that the play centers on the notion of young women taking control of their own lives. Annie, she explained, is initially an entitled, feckless girl who turns into a heroine figure for her friends after she is forced to save them.

Rachel Chavkin, the director, said the play challenges a stereotype that is found both in traditional fairy tales and in everyday life — the belief that a woman needs a man to help her solve problems. In this show, she noted, the women band together instead of relying on men. Chavkin recalled one of Miroshnik’s stage directions, in which the latter asked one of the cast members to “behave like what men think women do when they are alone” during the actress’s opening monologue.

The show has a humorous, playful way of challenging people’s assumptions about women’s behavior and desires, Chavkin said.

The play will be performed with musical accompaniment by a live punk band that includes many of the cast members.

JOAN MARCUS

“The Fairytale Lives of Russian Girls,” written by Meg Miroshnik DRA ’11 mixes the real with fairytales to explore Russia’s modernization.

Chavkin said the Russian feminist protest group “Pussy Riot” inspired this idea. She added that she often works with live music in her shows and believes that concerts can be more exciting to watch than traditional plays. Chavkin said punk music’s angry approach to challenging authority reflects the main characters’ desire to leave behind the constraints of traditional fairytale storylines and carve out their own narratives.

“Either you can be the victim in these fairy tales or you can take them and write them for yourself,” Chavkin said.

Miroshnik said that she also aimed to highlight Russia’s rapid modernization. Recalling her visits to Moscow in 2005 and 2011, Miroshnik described the city as a fast-paced urban environment, where people have to cross streets using underground passages so as not to disrupt the flow of traffic. Many stores were open 24 hours a day — even flower shops. At the same time, Miroshnik noted, these modern

establishments are oftentimes built into the basements of old Soviet apartment buildings, a fusion which creates “an interesting juxtaposition of capitalism and Soviet architecture.”

She added that the character Yaroslava, a manifestation of the legendary man-eating witch Baba Yaga, is partly a symbol of Moscow’s older generation, that could not adapt to the transition that Russia underwent after the fall of the Soviet Union. Miroshnik noted that by placing modern teenage girls in old folk tales such as “Masha and the Bear” and “Baba Yaga,” the play reflects the tension between Moscow’s past and present.

Chavkin, Walton and Miroshnik all emphasized the lack of a rigid boundary between the real and imaginary worlds of the play. Walton said Annie is initially very skeptical of the possibility that the fairy tale elements she encounters are real and remains somewhat doubtful throughout the show. Chavkin added that all fairy tale char-

acters appear in the real world, including Misha the Bear, who is primarily a metaphor for an abusive boyfriend but nonetheless exists on stage as a real bear.

Christopher Ash, the show’s set designer, said the set serves to constantly remind the audience that the real world in which the storyline unfolds is filled with fantastical elements. He singled out a large portal-like archway that stretches across the stage, explaining that the crew has decorated it with pictures of symbols from fairy tales, such as Baba Yaga’s house.

Directly underneath this portal, which invokes images of the supernatural, Ash added, is a large background panel that was painted to resemble an old apartment building, which further combines the real and imaginary aspects of the show.

Performances of “The Fairytale Lives of Russian Girls” will run through Feb. 21.

Contact ERIC XIAO at eric.xiao@yale.edu .

YUAG exhibition highlights Japanese screens

BY HELEN ROUNER STAFF REPORTER A new exhibition at the Yale University Art Gallery will highlight the beauty and complexity of Japanese folding screens.

“Byobu: The Grandeur of Japanese Screens,” which is opening on Friday, will feature paintings on paper layered over wooden spokes. The exhibit will take place in three successive installations — the first entitled “Tales and Poems in Byobu,” the second “Brush and Ink in Byobu” and the third “Nature and Celebration in Byobu.”

“The point of the exhibition is to show the multiplicity of Japanese aesthetics,” said Japan Foundation Associate Curator of Jap-

anese Art Sadako Ohki, who curated the exhibition.

The point of the exhibition is to show the multiplicity of Japanese aesthetics.

SADAKO OHKI Japan Foundation Associate Curator of Japanese Art, Yale University Art Gallery “Byobu” features screens dating from the 1550s but also includes one piece from 2004.

However, the bulk of the screens comes from the 17th and 18th centuries, Ohki said. She explained

that each installation also includes a number of 3D objects in addition to the screens, such as an earthenware tea bowl and a pair of cast iron and mother-of-pearl stirrups, which further illuminate Japanese history.

Byobu originally served to divide rooms and make private areas within larger spaces, Ohki explained, but the screens have assumed a decorative function as well. According to the exhibition’s press materials, paneled screens attached by silk or leather cords came to Japan from Korea in the seventh century.

In the 14th century, the Japanese began making screens’ hinges from paper, distinguishing byobu from its precursors, Ohki said. She explained that most of

the screens, which are “humansized,” consist of six panels and are portable and easily stored.

Ohki citied the screens’ intricacy and practicality as an example of “Japanese materiality.”

Curator of Asian Art and Head of the Department of Asian Art David Ake Sensabaugh called the show “ambitious,” explaining that dividing an exhibit into multiple installations is an atypical practice for the Gallery.

Ohki, who said she has been planning the exhibition for over three years, explained that the screens shown are so large that the first floor special exhibition gallery space can fit no more than 14 screens at a time. The exhibition will feature 38 screens altogether, many from the Gallery’s

holdings and others on loan from private collections.

Ohki explained that the exhibition’s division into three installations is an aesthetic one. The first installation, “Tales and Poems,” features colorful, opulent screens mostly from the 17th century, when byobu was at its most popular in Japan.

The second installation highlights calligraphy, which Ohki said serves as a contrast to the colorful motif displayed in “Tales and Poems,” and the third installation explores the connection of nature to Japanese festivities.

The Asian Art collection at the Gallery contains approximately 6,700 works of art, a third of which consists of Chinese art, and another third of Japanese.

Sensabaugh said the department’s Japanese collection has come to equal the Gallery’s holdings in Chinese art only within the last decade. A 2002 initiative to acquire more Japanese art at the Gallery has sparked a period of growth for the section, he explained, largely due to alumni interest in the country’s cultural legacy.

The Gallery will be hosting a series of tours, lectures and artists talks in conjunction with the exhibition, including a calligraphy workshop during the exhibition’s second installation.

“Byobu” will remain on display until July 6.

Contact HELEN ROUNER at helen.rouner@yale.edu .

YUAG

Byobu, — folding Japanese screens — dating from the 16th through 2004, are on display at the Yale University Gallery and highlight the Gallery’s expanded collection of Japanese art.

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JESSE ROOT ’14 AND KENNY AGOSTINO ’14 MEN’S HOCKEY The two senior forwards were named as semifinalists for the Walter Brown Award, given to the top American-born college player skating in New England. Root, the captain from Pittsburgh, PA, and Agostino, a Flanders, NJ native, are Yale’s top two scorers.

SARAH ONORATO ’15 AND TORI BALTA ’14 SOFTBALL Onorato, a North Reading, MA native, and Balta, from Valencia, CA, were selected to the CollegeSportsMadness.com preseason All-Ivy teams. Onorato, a catcher, made the first team, while her teammate, Balta, made the second team.

NHL N.Y. Rangers 5 Colorado 1

NCAAM No. 8 Kansas 69 Baylor 52

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“Having a third scorer is great.”

JAMES JONES COACH, MEN’S BASKETBALL

YALE DAILY NEWS · WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2014 · yaledailynews.com

Squash tops Brown

SARAH ONORATO

Bumpy ride to Sochi

SQUASH

Dembinski did not give up any games to his Brown opponent. He and fellow freshmen Kah Wah Cheong ’17 and Liam McClintock ’17 each have not lost to an Ivy League opponent thus far.

Blatchford said that the Bears’ ladder was consistent from top to bot-

Lolo Jones is perhaps one of the most notorious and incredible Olympic stories of the past decade. She’s a comeback kid who can’t quite complete the comeback, falling from track and field favorite to underdog to a now unlikely competitor in a different sport all together: bobsledding. Along with bobsledding teammate and fellow U.S. track star Lauryn Williams, Jones is one of only 10 U.S. Olympians ever to compete in both a winter and a summer games.

For Jones, there has rarely been a quiet moment in what has been a tumultuous and unfruitful quest for a medal. From proclaiming her virginity to the world to posting distasteful statuses in the wake of the Aurora theater shootings, Jones has never strayed far from the spotlight. Her appointment to the U.S. Bobsled team has been the latest way of stirring up controversy and getting people talking.

The story of one of the most well-known, undecorated Olympians ever is truly astonishing. Jones, a hurdler, was a favorite in the 2008 Games in Beijing to win the 100-meter hurdles. Everything changed when Jones tripped over the ninth hurdle, losing her lead and landing her a disappointing seventhplace finish.

In the wake of the devastation in Beijing, Jones encountered another hurdle off the track. She discovered that she had a spinal problem that was causing her brain to be unable to locate the lower parts of her legs and feet in space. This condition alleg-

SEE SQUASH PAGE 8

SEE COLUMN PAGE 8

KEN YANAGISAWA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

The women’s squash team defeated Brown 7–2 yesterday in Providence.

BY ERICA PANDEY STAFF REPORTER The men’s and women’s squash teams faced Brown last night in the final leg of a three-game road trip against Ivy opponents.

The Eli men (12–1, 4–0 Ivy) and women (13–2, 3–1) both had open season on the Bears, scoring match-

ing 7–2 wins. Both the Brown men (4–11, 0–4) and women (10–4, 0–4) sit at the bottom of the Ivy standings, while the Yale men are tied for first with Harvard and the Yale women are No. 3 behind Harvard and Penn.

“It was a good match,” Georgia Blatchford ’16 said. “We played well, and it was a nice way to get our confidence up.”

She added that the men’s and women’s coaches felt at ease experimenting with the ladder because Yale was facing a less experienced team.

The men and women both won the top seven spots and lost at the eighth and ninth.

“I played pretty well today,” TJ Dembinski ’17 said. “It was nice to get off the court in three games.”

Three’s company

Elis slash competition

BY JAMES BADAS STAFF REPORTER In a sport dominated by flashy numbers and star players, a basketball team’s success is often pinned on the play of its best scorer — think LeBron or Kobe or Carmelo.

For Yale (9–9, 3–1 Ivy), however, the play of leading scorer Justin Sears ’16, though critical, has not necessarily been a harbinger of whether or not Yale wins.

Leading the team at 15.3 points per game, Sears’ production has varied just two points per game between wins and losses. In fact, Sears has seen some of his best outings end in defeat — namely a 31-point performance in Yale’s 76–74 loss at Providence on Dec. 17.

Perhaps the second-leading scorer, point guard Javier Duren ’15, would be a more accurate indicator of success. But Duren averages more points per game in losses than in wins, and his field goal percentage is virtually identical no matter the result.

With Sears and Duren out of the picture, whose performance has predicted Yale’s success? Thus far, the answer has been forward Armani Cotton ’15.

“Teams are really starting to key in on Justin and I,” Duren said.

“Coming into the season, we knew that we were a balanced team and SEE COTTON PAGE 8

JENNIFER CHEUNG/SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER

Both the men’s and women’s fencings teams recorded sweeps on the weekend as each topped Drew and Vassar.

BY GREG CAMERON STAFF REPORTER In their final home matches of the year on Saturday, the men’s and women’s fencing teams each grabbed two decisive victories against perennial opponents Vassar and Drew.

FENCING JENNIFER CHEUNG/SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER

No. 12 Armani Cotton ’15 has started 16 of Yale’s 18 games, averaging 8.4 points on 33.3 percent shooting.

STAT OF THE DAY 33

The wins built up momentum for the men (6–2) and women (5–3) as they head into the Ivy League Championship this upcoming weekend at Brown.

“I was extremely happy with the team’s performance,” women’s captain and foil Lauren Miller ’15 said in an email. “We focused, fenced well and got the job done.

Having the support of our friends and family at the seniors’ last home meet also made this past weekend a special one.”

The women beat Vassar 19–8 before fencing their way to a 15–5 victory over Drew later on in the day. They could only compete in 20 bouts against Drew because the Rangers did not bring enough fencers to field a full 27.

The sabre team was a perfect

9–0 against Vassar. In the Drew match, it was the épées dominating for Yale, maintaining a 9–0 record and securing the Eli victory.

Miller noted impressive performances by epées Kate Spooner ’16 and Brenda Seah ’14, who just switched to epée this season. “[They] blew us away with their fencing,” Miller said.

The men’s team defeated Vassar by a score of 16–11 and then easily handled the Drew squad 22–5.

SEE FENCING PAGE 8

POINTS SCORED BY MEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM FORWARD JUSTIN SEARS ’16 COMING OFF THE BENCH IN YALE’S TWO WINS LAST WEEKEND. THE SOPHOMORE POURED IN 22 POINTS AGAINST COLUMBIA ON FRIDAY BEFORE ADDING 11 AGAINST CORNELL THE NEXT NIGHT.