Staff Editorial | ViCE concert a step toward looking beyond the gate

The full range of our campus’ population, from students to faculty to staff, along with many excited residents from Poughkeepsie and the surrounding Hudson Valley enjoyed a concert together on Saturday, Feb. 11. Held in Walker Field House, the Vassar College Entertainment (ViCE) afforded not only the chance to see famous and well-regarded hip-hop artists Wyclef Jean and Blackalicious, but also the Poughkeepsie High School step team, who opened the event. Most importantly, the ViCE concert was a successful venue to bring together the Vassar campus and its neighbors, while treating everyone to an evening of music and dance.

In the 2.10.06 issue of The Miscellany News, we reported that ViCE's spring budget, particularly for the newly annual ViCE-Versa concert on the eve of Founder's Day, was directly tied to the financial results of this concert. According to members of ViCE, an estimated 1,700 people were in attendance at the concert on Saturday.

Beyond the gains of anticipated entertainment in April, what is notable about ViCE’s accomplishment of hosting an event that would appeal to an audience not only made up of members of the Vassar community, but also of the town of Poughkeepsie. The sight of many Vassar students waving their arms to Wyclef alongside professors and their families, staff from many different areas of campus, and many unfamiliar, but equally content, faces was a mark of success for ViCE and the College in terms of improving and broadening the relationship between Vassar and Poughkeepsie.
Every year, new and returning students note that the College is not as much a part of the Poughkeepsie community as it has the potential to be. Extending this observation to the planning of a large-scale event like the ViCE concert is a proactive response to this common complaint. Although one evening does not fix Vassar’s often-removed position in the local community, it is a step toward bringing together the residents of Poughkeepsie, be they Vassar students or Poughkeepsie High School students.

That next week’s All-College Day aims to address exactly these issues, under the banner “Beyond the Gate: Vassar and Poughkeepsie” only makes the result of the concert all the more resonant.

All-College Day provides an opportunity to consider the social, economic, political, and personal issues of our community, both on- and off-campus. In the wake of the ViCE concert, the need for discussion and understanding is now more pertinent than ever, as we start the process of both looking beyond the gates and opening them.