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February 08, 2007
Weekly Calendar 2/9-2/16
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U.S. welcoming to international sports stars
Josh Bleiberg
Here in the United States, sports leagues have never shied away from importing international stars in an effort to rejuvenate enthusiasm among American sport fans. One of the most recent examples is Britain’s David Beckham, who left his club team Real Madrid to sign a quarter billion dollar contract with Major League Soccer’s (MLS) Los Angeles Galaxy.
Brewers show spirit at home competitions
Sports Spread...Athlete of the Week
Emma Carmichael
The Vassar College men’s basketball team is currently enjoying its most successful season since it joined the competitive Liberty League a few seasons back, largely due to the outstanding play of forward Lawrence Avitabile ’08.
Learn to live your Best Life
Elizabeth Pacheco
In a society where thin is always in and a new diet fad is continually on the rise, Bob Greene built a successful career in the fitness business. No, he has not developed a weight-loss pill or created a five-minute ab workout; rather he has designed a life plan for Americans to follow.
Vassar’s first ArtSwap
Anita Varma
Vassar students are involved in a variety of official campus groups, from sports teams to Vassar Student Association organizations. But students who harbor little-known talents without a structured club backing them can have a difficult time finding an outlet for their work.
Music Box | Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Mike Newmark
Around the time when Sony was caught giving Hawaiian vacations to radio programmers for airplay, underdog Brooklyn quintet Clap Your Hands Say Yeah dropped their eponymous debut like an atom bomb into a cynical musical landscape.
Exploring arts outside the Vassar campus
Rachel Pittenger
From film screenings to theater productions to art exhibits, the arts are a central aspect of Vassar culture. However, outside the College gates lies a great opportunity to experience such cultural endeavors in the broader Dutchess County setting.
Del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth blurs line between fantasy and reality
Matthew Poland
The great achievement of Pan’s Labyrinth, Guillermo del Toro’s phantasmic political fable, lies in its deep ambivalence about the nature of fantasy.
BARR show
Mike Newmark
Remember Les Claypool’s verses to “Pork Soda” in 1993? No? He sang in a gleefully deranged mutter about a sorry guy who buys a tasteless couch and whose girlfriend used to be a man.
Mr. Vassar candidates walk on the wild side
Weintana Abraha
It’s that time of year again: Students talk of crowns and excitedly whisper about themes., guys anxiously wait to find out if they have been nominated as one of the eight coolest, sexiest, funniest men on campus, and if they are set to vie for the honor of all honors: the title of Mr. Vassar.
Vassar Technology Today | Microsoft Office gets a free replacement with open-source
Matthew Leung
When Microsoft first introduced Internet Explorer (IE) as a free Web browser in 1996, it only got hold of 10 percent of computer users. As Windows became popular, and IE was bundled with it, that percentage went up to 40 percent in 1998 and 80 percent in 2000. IE’s monopoly status peaked in the summer of 2002 at 96 percent. Microsoft finally had control over the Internet.
Profit loss ends winter festivals
Shirley Shangguan
Wintertime excursions for Vassar students often include snow sculptures on the quad or traying down by Sunset Lake. Those who wish to add Winterfest or the Arlington Holiday festival to their list will have to go without this year.
Students still recovering from Katrina’s effects
Sarah Siegel
When Danielle Morvant ’10 went home over winter break, she slept on a box spring. Lulu Caruso ’07 is on her sixth house in the past 18 months, and Jessica Muller-Pearson ’08 is living in a government trailer.
Cultures clash as students readjust to college life
Margaret Files
Rachel Hui
Anna Volk ’08 misses empanadas. For Carrie Holland ’08, it’s good sushi. Lily Huang ’08 even misses burritos for breakfast.
Greysearch creators aim to create Vassar’s Craigslist
Mike Alberti
Have you ever wished there was a Web site where you could trade your books, check the menus of local restaurants, and look at professor ratings all in one place? Consider, then, checking out greysearch.com,, a new Web site created by Carlos Sawyerr-Ibriga ’07 and Ray Blackford ’07.
Staff Editorial |Changes to federal financial aid a step in the right direction
When Democrats swept the midterm elections last November and gained majorities in both the House and Senate, The Miscellany News asked, “What’s next?”
Eye On America | Soldiers’ strain caused by intensity of Iraq situation
Ross Weingarten
In the past months, there have been reported incidents of American soldiers performing brutal, horrible acts of violence against Iraqi men, women and children. Reports of theft, abuse, rape and murder have come back from the warfront and horrified the American public.
Views On Vassar | Mr. Vassar pageant reinforces male stereotypes
Tendai Musakwa
“Get your jungle juices flowing” is one of the advertising hooks that the Daisy Chain is using for Vassar College’s annual male beauty pageant, Mr. Vassar.
Demonstrations losing relevance in 21st century
James Boyd
Those Vassar students who listen to the “blogospehere” (during breaks from their busy schedules of skipping classes, sipping caramel-macchiato-espressos and looking as blasé as possible in eight-degree weather) heard about the Jan. 26 mass anti-war protest in Washington, D.C.
Staff Editorial | Creation of College Republicans would benefit political diversity on campus
When Vassar College is categorically ranked by the Princeton Review each year, it is almost always a contender for the list “Students Most Nostalgic for Bill Clinton.” While many members of the Vassar community relish the College’s longstanding reputation as a hotbed of far-left thinking, the unavoidable consequence is the prevention of political discourse between opposing viewpoints.
Vassar gets a “B” on sustainability
Brian Farkas
On Jan. 24, the Sustainable Endowments Institute released its annual College Sustainability Report Card, which grades 100 leading colleges based on environment-friendly policies. Vassar College received a B, tying with Brown University, Columbia University, and Duke University, among others.
New economic plans outlined in Poughkeepsie
Hayley Tsukayama
The Town of Poughkeepsie held the second public hearing regarding its plan for the future of the area on Jan. 31. The proposed plan is a revamp of the 1990 master town plan.
Bush, Congress support raising Pell grants
Ilyse Kramer
On Jan. 29, House and Senate Democrats agreed on a spending bill that will provide the maximum federal grant for middle-to-low-income students to attend college. Congress will raise Federal Pell Grants from $4,050 to $4,310. Unlike student loans, these grants do not need to be repaid.
Educators crack down on Wikipedia
Shahreen Saifi
Beginning this spring semester, the Middlebury College History Department has banned citing Wikipedia as a primary source. Although it is still acceptable for researching background information, members of the department unanimously agree that, as a main source, it is unreliable.
