« September 2006 | Main | November 2006 »
October 27, 2006
Weekly Calendar 10/27-11/2
The BackPage | A Broad Abroad: Impressions of the Czech Republic
BackpageBackpage...Detroit Tigers score one for the proletariat
Lucas Mann
When the home run ball that won the Detroit Tigers the American League Championship on Oct. 14 flew off Maglio Ordonez’s bat, he took a few seconds, stood by home plate and watched. He looked stunned, having achieved the kind of feat that every kid who picks up a bat hopes will happen to him but doesn’t believe it will.
Athlete of the Week | Soccer captains provide leadership
Emma Carmichael
As the co-captains of the men’s varsity soccer team this year, Court Steiner ’07 and Adam Marsh ’07 have proven to be an impressive duo, combining to score 12 of the team’s 20 goals this season. The two have been playing together for the last four seasons, and coached by Andy Jennings for the past three.
Crew team eager for victories
Elizabeth Pacheco
For the Vassar crew teams, October is the most important month of the fall season. Having already dedicated numerous hours to practice, the men and women’s teams compete in four regattas in October: the Head of the Genesee, the Navy Day Regatta, the Head of the Charles, and the upcoming Head of the Fish.
VCTV shows annual marathon of classic, creepy films
Mally Anderson
For the third year in a row, Vassar College Television (VCTV) will host its marathon of classic Halloween-oriented movies—horrors, slashers, and thrillers—on the night of Tuesday, Oct. 31.
Dinotopia artist James Gurney to discuss real, imagined landscapes
Landscape painter James Gurney will discuss real and imagined landscapes on Thursday, Nov. 2 in Rockefeller Hall 200 at 5:30 p.m.
NoViCE hosts an array of bands at Halloween concert
Rachel Pittinger
Though Halloween falls on a Tuesday this year, NoViCE has plans for a unique weeknight of entertainment that should not be missed. On Tuesday, Oct. 31, from 10 p.m.-1 a.m. in the College Center Multi-Purpose Room, there will be a showcase of an extremely diverse group of bands from all over the world. Concert-goers are strongly encouraged to wear costumes, and candy will be provided.
Class studies Katrina aftermath over break
Lauren Sutherland
Before applying for a spot in the Environmental Science field course, Emily Vail ’09 had assumed she would be heading home for October break to catch up on sleep and enjoy the autumn. Instead, Vail found herself jumping not into a pile of vividly colored leaves last week, but into the Gulf of Mexico off of the Louisiana coast.
New bulbs save energy, cut costs
Stephen Cheng
Since the beginning of the semester, the College Committee of Sustainability and Buildings and Grounds Services have been collaborating on the Vassar Bulb Swap, an energy conservation project aimed at replacing all incandescent light bulbs on campus with energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs.
Tour guide brings life to local cemetery
Jackson Reeves
“There’s no in-between about cemeteries; people either love them or hate them,” said Virginia Buechele, a Poughkeepsie geneologist, as she led a tour through the Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery. This cemetery is the final resting place of Matthew Vassar and his family.
Campus Dining serves local produce treats
Elizabeth Pacheco
Across the United States, small farms are struggling to compete with larger, industrial producers. While local farms have a limited market, industrial producers have the resources to ship globally and provide a variety of products. Here in the Hudson Valley, the increase in industrial development has raised production costs by an average of 25 percent, and has made running a farm even more expensive.
Vassar Technology Today | Pimp your PC: Converting to “solid-state”
Matthew Leung
The aspirations of computer scientists to create artificial intelligence that replicates human intelligence are based largely on Moore’s Law. This law outlines the development of increasing speeds of the microprocessor and indicates that around the year 2050, a microprocessor as powerful as the human brain will be available to consumers for less than $1,000.
Library databases expand research options
Shirley Shangguan
The return from October break has many students turning to the library to begin research for their term papers, many of which are due in December. Vassar’s main Thompson Library subscribes to hundreds of online databases, many of which remain undiscovered by students. Most students doing research are intimidated by the maze of virtual information that Research Librarian Gretchen Lieb likened to “walking into a jungle.” However, the Vassar Library complements its dizzying wealth of research material with a knowledgeable staff of librarians and student research interns committed to connecting students with the sources they need.
This Week at Vassar in 1980
Staff Editorial | Heeding fire alarms essential for student safety
When a fire alarm rings, the Residential Life Web site advises: “Walk rapidly to the nearest exit. Do not run. Avoid panic and exit in a calm, orderly fashion.” Perhaps panic upon hearing a fire alarm is the wrong presumption to make.
Eye On America | Juicy scandals have little to do with politics
Ross Weingarten
In recent weeks, headlines have been dominated by the scandal concerning Republican Congressman Mark Foley of Florida. It was revealed that he had been sending illicit e-mails to underage male pages that worked on Capitol Hill. Soon after this information came to light, Foley resigned and admitted himself into a clinic to treat his alcoholism. Foley’s inappropriate behavior and the alleged attempt to cover it up has much larger, negative implications for the already-weakened Republican party as the mid-term elections approach in November.
Views On Vassar | Attending Vassar is a privilege on which we should reflect
Tendai Musakwa
Rushing to classes, catching up on a reading assignment, writing a thesis, studying for a midterm, working out at the gym, dancing in The Mug, Facebooking, socializing, eating, and sleeping—these are just a few of the many activities Vassar students do on a daily basis. Having such hectic days is characteristic of the lifestyle of a Vassar student, and it is easy to forget what an honor it is to attend Vassar.
The Purple State | Coming to terms with being an angry Democrat
Benjy Sarlin
For the last five years, I've been warned over and over again about “the angry left.” Arch-conservative pundits Michelle Malkin and Ann Coulter have devoted entire books to the cause, entitled Unhinged: Exposing Liberals Gone Wild, and Slander, respectively, that make the case that the left has grown hysterical and extreme, and has even lost their bearings on reality.
The Observer | Foley scandal highlights abuse of trust by Republicans
Zachary Kaye
Faced with admitted allegations of misconduct with pages, Congressman Mark Foley recently gave up his seat in Congress and checked himself into a rehabilitation facility.
Letter to the Editor | Balanced approach needed to tackle right minority issue
How funny that a conservative cries out for affirmative action! Tendai Musakwa’s piece, “Vassar’s liberal environment is stifling the conservative voice” (9.29.2006 issue of The Miscellany News) reveals something really interesting: even conservatives can acknowledge once they’re in the minority that being stifled by a majority stinks.
Past inaugurations signaled start of new eras at College
John Palmer
Shahreen Saifi
This weekend, Catharine “Cappy” Bond Hill, will officially join the ranks of the presidents of Vassar College, a club with only nine other members. The days of events for Hill will colorfully mark the beginning of Hill’s tenure, and other presidents of the College had large kick-off celebrations as well. The previous college presidents each faced the challenges of their particular historical moments, and each inaugural ceremony was unique.
Inauguration of 10th College President celebrated with receptions, performances
Shahreen Saifi
The inauguration of Vassar’s 10th president Catharine “Cappy” Bond Hill and its celebratory events look to match the splendor of past presidential inaugurations to merit a place in the annals of Vassar’s history.
Vassar policy protested at hookah-in
Stephen Cheng
Approximately 20 students held a “hookah-in” protest on the Library lawn on Wednesday, Oct. 11, in opposition to the College’s refusal to allow the owners of the local Zorona Restaurant and Hookah Bar to establish an open-air hookah bar.
Students arrested in Lathrop, Main
Amanda Melillo
Two students were arrested by the Town of Poughkeepsie police in the early hours of Saturday, Oct. 7, between 2:30 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. The first arrest occurred when a student was found trespassing in Main Building, and the second after a student was caught discharging fire extinguishers in Lathrop House.
Blegen hosts Sober Nights
Brian Farkas
On Friday, Oct. 27, Blegen House will hold the first of its Sober Events series. This inaugural event will be co-hosted by Vassar Wholistic, which will be preparing a healthy dinner for participants.
Columbia University students protest Minuteman Project
Anita Varma
Thousands of students at colleges nationwide have become involved in debates over immigration and how to address illegal immigration in the U.S. Last spring, the school year concluded with many members of the Vassar community participating in the May 1 march in support of undocumented workers. This month, controversy over an anti-illegal immigration speaker has erupted at Columbia University, resulting in violence and slurs at the campus event.
News Briefs
October 24, 2006
Vassar Technology Today: Extras Online
Extras Online contains additional tips, links, and information to supplement the printed Vassar Technology Today column.October 19, 2006
Anti-slavery symbol sails to Hudson Valley, greeted by educational festival
Visitors to the Amistad event from Oct. 12-Oct. 14 had a chance to actively explore the history of slavery in America, a history with which many would be surprised to learn that the Hudson Valley is quite intimately linked.October 08, 2006
New vendors, visitors flock to expanded street fair
Beaded necklaces, belly dancing, a cappella, and Ecuadorian wool hats: Raymond Avenue is never as eclectic and energetic as it is every fall during the Arlington Street Fair.October 05, 2006
Weekly Calendar 10/6-10/12
The BackPage | As goes Harvard, so goes the nation
Vassar hosts top players in tennis tourney
Lucas Mann
The Annual Wilson/Intercollegiate Tennis Association Championship made its 2006 home at Vassar College from Sept. 29-Oct. 1. Entries from 17 different northeastern colleges converged in Poughkeepsie.
Yoga Club provides students space to stretch out stress
Emma Carmichael
It’s often difficult for college students to find time to relax in the midst of their busy schedules. Classes, meetings, practices, and meals take up much of their days, and find ing time to unwind and slow down their bodies is a challenge. One of Vassar’s newest organizations, the Yoga Club, offers students an outlet of this sort.
Double Entente multi-media exhibit on display in Palmer
Anita Varma
Double Entente, local artist Monica d. Church’s multi-media installation at the James W. Palmer Gallery, consists of five pieces that address fear and denial in American society as related to the threat of avian flu.
Paul Muldoon reads as part of Bishop series
Lauren Tennenbaum
As part of the Elizabeth Bishop Poetry Series, 2003 Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Paul Muldoon gave a well-received reading of his work at Vassar on Thursday, Sept. 28 in Sanders Auditorium. Currently a professor at Princeton University, Muldoon taught for five years at Oxford University and has been the recipient of several honorary awards, including the T.S. Eliot Prize and the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award for literature. His work has been reviewed by nearly every major literary journal and magazine, including The New York Times, which classified Muldoon’s work as “witty, oblique poetry that in the best post-modernist fashion focuses on the slippery equivocations of language itself.”
Modern adaptation of “Pygmalion” opens at Powerhouse Theater
Rachel Pittenger
As we enter October, Vassar’s drama season arrives in full force. Within the drama department, the buzz about the upcoming production of “Pygmalion” is growing. Not only does it feature some of Vassar’s most talented actors, but it is also a unique spin on the traditional play.
Bardavon theater offers a classic film experience
Rachel Pittinger
For those students looking to explore the arts world outside the Vassar gates, the Bardavon theater is a great place to start. The historic theater was built in 1869, and hosts everything from concerts to shows to Vassar’s own Repertory Dance Theatre every year. The Bardavon will also begin its annual film series in November, providing an exciting and reasonably priced opportunity to enjoy high-quality films.
Vassar scientists make national news
Joshua Goodman
Misho Ishikawa
In recent months, several Vassar science professors have generated excitement on campus and off for their various projects and research grants. Professors Janet Gray, John Long, and Joseph Tanski have all received media attention for their work.
Vassar Technology Today | Useful tips for achieving peace with your PC
Matthew Leung
At this point in the semester, with midterms looming and thesis projects in early stages of development, we are reminded each day of how much we depend on hassle-free, harmonious relationships with our personal computers. Here are a few common sense (yet necessary) tips for getting along with the machines that are so important to our daily lives.
Stigmas confronted by Atheist League
Daniela Valdez
The April 2006 issue of The American Sociological Review published a study on race, religion, and cultural diversity in the United States. This publication is one of the first of a three-year study conducted by the American Mosaic Project of the University of Minnesota. The national study, based on a telephone survey of more than 2,000 households and in-depth interviews with more than 140 people, reported that “Americans rate atheists below Muslims, recent immigrants, homosexuals and other groups as ‘sharing their vision of American society.’ Americans are also least willing to let their children marry atheists.” Penny Edgell, lead researcher in a study of American attitudes towards atheism noted, “Americans traditionally have been a religious people and associate faith with being a good citizen.”
This Week at Vassar in 1980
Staff Editorial | Proposed student’s database unsettling
Alarming developments in the world of higher education have sparked mixed reactions among educators to reports from federal Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings.
Eye On America |Liberal media looking in wrong places
Ross Weingarten
Okay Vassar students, it’s time to take a survey. Raise your hand if you think The Daily Show with Jon Stewart is the best half-hour on television. Hands down. Now raise your hand if you think FOX News is just slightly below Satan and Stalin on the list of things that make you cringe.
Views On Vassar |More frequent, shorter breaks in year would be beneficial
Tendai Musakwa
Ovid, the ancient Roman classical poet, once advised in one of his poems, “Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.” It is for this exact reason— rejuvenating ourselves so that we can gain more from our academic and extracurricular activities—that the College has breaks in the school year. While most people would agree that breaks are needed, the question remains: is it more useful to have longer spring and winter breaks as we currently do, or would it be more practical to have shorter breaks interspersed throughout the semester? I contend that having shorter breaks is more practical for college students. Shorter breaks allow students to re-invigorate themselves on a regular basis and makes it possible for them to focus on academics during their breaks. This would give them more time to concentrate on their program of study.
Object Lessons | Feminists need to voice opinions on issues besides women’s affairs
Carolyn Bradley
By this point, it has become a party line to say that feminism is facing its death bed, that the movement is losing relevance from focusing on “women’s issues” to the exclusion of broader concerns. In other words, as LiP Magazine recently put it, “The biggest problem with American feminism today is its obsession with women.” Like a high school student who only makes good grades, feminism needs to be more well-rounded, it seems. It must tackle larger questions about, say, domestic poverty or global war. Otherwise, feminism will go the way of the flapper outfit and the bob, and the whole project of modern American womanhood will be toast.
Staff Editorial | Delay in VSA election results problematic
The Vassar Student Association (VSA) fall elections ended in ambiguity when results were not announced at 10 p.m. on Tuesday as scheduled, and candidates were told at the elections party that results would come later that night. Tuesday night passed completely before any results were final, however, and an e-mail was not sent out until Wednesday morning. Although voting itself ran relatively smoothly as opposed to past years (one recalls last spring’s quick switch to paper ballots), this delay between when VSA planned to announce the results and when they actually did certainly did not help to restore student confidence in VSA elections, which VSA President Abel McDonnell ’07 identified at Convocation as his top goal for the year.
Letter to the Editor | US should say no to the Metric system
I must admit, when I read Evan Casper-Futterman’s article, “Assessing weight (in pounds) of empire” (9.22.06 issue of The Miscellany News), I had an immediate reaction. I've long supported metrification simply because the Metric system is a better system— the English system is old-fashioned and convoluted, while the Metric system is hip, modern, and logical. And while bitching about the confusion of the metric system is certainly a nice default conversation topic while abroad, you learn the length of a kilometer very quickly. It’s not hard. We could switch, we really could.
Letter to the Editor | Aims of Sept. 11 chalkers misinterpreted
Zachary Kaye wrote in his Letter to the Editor “Sept. 11 inappropriate day for chalking,” (in the 9.22.06 issue of The Miscellany News) that the chalkers who wrote on campus sidewalks statements such as “Iraq ≠ 9/11” and “Impeach Bush” acted childishly and disrespectfully. He believes that the chalkers had unnecessarily politicized 9/11, marring the memory of the innocent people whose lives were lost on that tragic, awful day.
Zorona’s plans for garden space hookah bar halted by College
Katie Paul
Rachel Wolff
After more than a year of wrangling over the terms of their lot rental, the owners of Zorona Restaurant and Hookah Bar are frustrated with their landlords. College Properties, LLC, the College’s real estate business, has put a stop to plans to develop the garden space next to Zorona Restaurant’s new home into an open-air hookah bar.
Baldwin provides new HPV vaccine
Juliana Kiyan
During the last week of September, the Women’s Health Center began offering Gardasil, a vaccine that guards against cervical cancer and genital warts caused by human papillomavirus (HPV), the most common sexually transmitted disease.
Green candidate stumps on campus
Stephen Cheng
Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins, who is running for the New York Senate seat in November, addressed a small audience on Sunday, Oct. 1 about the war in Iraq, health care, and renewable energy. Hawkins, the first politician to campaign at Vassar since 1988, spoke critically of his opponent, incumbent Senator Hillary Clinton (D), and of the Democratic Party. The Vassar Green Party, a new organization on campus, hosted Hawkins, who co-founded the U.S. Green Party in 1984.
Dorms undergo asbestos removal
Nadine Reitman
On Thursday, Sept. 28, an asbestos abatement project took place in Josselyn and Cushing Houses. The project, which is part of a larger effort on campus to gradually update all of the dorms, was done by state-licensed asbestos contractors BSB Construction, Inc. of Poughkeepsie.
News Briefs
Photo of the Week
October 01, 2006
VSA fall elections conclude, results delayed
Shahreen Saifie
At 8 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 25, students began voting on-line for their choice candidates for the fall Vassar Student Association (VSA) elections.
