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February 01, 2007
The Backpage
Senior Class Gifts at the College.
Weekly Calendar 2/2-2/9
Swimming and squash take second at Sisters
Elizabeth Pacheco
On Jan. 20-Jan. 21 the Vassar women’s swimming and squash teams both placed second at their annual Seven Sisters Tournaments. Although facing challenging competitors, the Brewer women still gave outstanding performances, receiving various Seven Sisters Tournament honors.
Volleyball aces in opener
Vassar men’s volleyball team opened its season with a pair of wins this past weekend on Saturday, Jan. 27.
Super Bowl XLI preview
Matthew Elias
On Sunday, Feb. 4 the Indianapolis Colts will take on the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI in Miami, Fla. It is a match-up between two of the most storied franchises in the National Football League’s (NFL) history, both of which are looking to end their championship droughts.
Sports Brief | Serena Williams serves up surprises at Australian Open
Entering the tournament unseeded and from a 2006 season that was riddled with injury, few expected Serena Williams to come out on top at the 2007 Australian Open.
Teen Visions ’07 at Palmer
Rachel Pittenger
A different side of the local community comes to light in Teen Visions, the new exhibit in the James W. Palmer Gallery that features works by Poughkeepsie-area high school students.
For the People murals exhibit in FLLAC
Liza Darwin
For the People: American Mural Drawings of the 1930s and 1940s, the new exhibit at the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center (FLLAC), features preliminary drawings for large murals by artists working in an unstable era of American history.
Two Broads Abroad | Part 1: Let the cross-Atlantic adventures begin...
Where did all the juniors go? You may find yourself asking this question in the coming weeks, as you begin to miss some of the familiar Class of 2008 faces (and wonder who all those weirdos with fake accents, cute Euro-style, and newfound appreciation of tap water are).
Weird winter weather from coast to coast
Emma Epstein
Julie Mahoney ’07 found herself stuck at Vassar when, four days before Christmas, the Denver Colo. airport grounded planes due to severe winter weather. Fortunately, Mahoney lives in an off-campus apartment and was able to remain in her home until booking a flight home late Christmas Eve.
Vassar community sounds off on the troop surge
Greg Armstrong
“War makes good people very monstrous,” said Associate Professor of History and Africana Studies Ismail Rashid as he introduced the panel discussion “War, Peace and Justice: Building a Safer World.” “Many people feel that the war in Iraq and the war in Darfur are foreign wars. But wars always come home. They come home in body bags and with wounded soldiers.”
Vassar Technology Today | Legally free: Downloads make turning point with ads
Matthew Leung
Since the iTunes Store opened its doors for $0.99 music downloads in 2003, it has become the world’s largest music download store, cashing in two billion song purchases over the past four years. It seems that competing music download services must directly confront Apple’s near-monopoly in order to get noticed.
Mixed reviews for revamped Raymond Avenue Construction
Jenny Nigro
In the beginning of the fall semester, Raymond Avenue construction instigated much dissent within the campus and Poughkeepsie communities. Students complained of delays while crossing the street, noise from late-night construction and clogged inboxes from mass e-mails about the issue.
Staff Editorial | Slow streaming video frustrates campus Internet users
If you returned to campus on Tuesday, Jan. 23 and tried to watch the State of the Union address on the White House Web site, you may have found yourself out of luck. In fact, if you have ever tried to watch any Internet videos on campus, you might have discovered that they didn’t stream so smoothly either.
Eye On America | Electibility important question for one popular candidate
Ross Weingarten
Around Washington, D.C., one name seems to be on everyone’s lips: Barack. I don’t have to tell you that I am talking about Barack Obama, the Illinois senator who has made it clear that he is primed for a run at the Democratic presidential nomination.
Views On Vassar | Vassar has brought back parts of past hippie culture
Tendai Musakwa
The Princeton Review’s “2007 Best 361 Colleges” ranks Vassar 14th in the category “Birkenstock-Wearing, Tree-Hugging, Clove-Smoking Colleges.” A ranking such as this suggests the emergence of a neo-hippie movement among college students in the United States.
Freedom of expression not free for some in the U.S.
Evan Casper-Futterman
There are young citizens of this country for whom the primary concern is not whether there is room on the bus going to the weekend protest, but rather whether their presence at the demonstration will lead to criminal charges.
Feminism means going against the surge
Carolyn Bradley
Like most “competing” leftist movements, feminism and peace politics have always had a touchy relationship. It’s as true now as ever.
Letters to the Editor | Removal of stoplight makes Raymond unsafe
Students, professors protest Iraq war
Nadine Reitman
On Saturday, Jan. 27, over 100 Vassar students, teachers, and faculty members attended an anti-war protest in Washington, D.C.
Daily Princetonian parodies Asians
Juliana Kiyan
Shortly after Princeton University’s student newspaper ran its annual joke issue on Jan. 17, readers responded with outrage to an op-ed column that they claimed constituted anti-Asian bigotry. The Daily Princetonian column, written in broken English, parodied an Asian American student who filed a civil rights complaint against Princeton.
Commencement speaker chosen for Class of 2007
Amanda Melillo
President Catharine Bond Hill has selected Terry Gross to be the commencement speaker for the Class of 2007, Vassar College’s 143rd graduating class. Gross hosts the talk show “Fresh Air” on National Public Radio (NPR) and is known for interviewing prominent public figures in politics, entertainment, the arts, sciences and business.
Class of 2007 announces gift of solar panels
Amanda Melillo
The Class of 2007 will be hosting a kickoff party Friday, Feb. 2 to announce its selection of solar panels as the Senior Class Gift. Hudson Valley Clean Energy will be supplying several panels that altogether will be roughly the size of Ferry House’s roof.
Chris Roellke appointed new dean
Stephen Cheng
Associate Professor of Education Christopher Roellke has been chosen to succeed Professor of Economics Alexander M. Thompson III as the Dean of Studies. Thompson, who resigned the post last spring, will formally step down by July 2007.
House cuts student loan interest rates
Ilyse Kramer
On Jan. 17, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the College Student Relief Act of 2007, seeking to reduce interest rates on student loans and make college more affordable. The Act, which passed by a vote of 356-71, will next be debated in the Senate.
Vassar professors snag national grants
Brian Farkas
Associate Professor of History Mita Choudhury and Visiting Associate Professor of English Karen Robertson have both been awarded fellowship grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) for their research projects.
VSA to report on midterm progress
Hayley Tsukayama
The Vassar Student Association (VSA) Council will release a report on this year’s progress early next week. VSA President Abel McDonnell ’07 said that the Council feels the fall semester was largely a success.
