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May 03, 2007
Start planning your summer... almost
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Athlete of the Week | Weishaupt and Oriol-Morway lead teams on the rugby pitch
Emma Carmichael
Although lacking varsity status, the Vassar College men’s and women’s rugby teams have established themselves at the national level since Tony Brown took over as Head Coach in 1995. This year, both teams earned top 15 national rankings and won their respective Beast of the East tournaments in April.
Re-launch of pro women’s soccer
Elizabeth Pacheco
In Fall 2003, after only three years of existence, the Women’s United Soccer Association (W.U.S.A.) folded due the lack of funds, attendance and television ratings. However, the hope of establishing a professional women’s American soccer league did not fade away, and just over a year later on December 7, 2004, the Women’s Soccer Initiative, Inc. announced the launch of a new league.
Track team sprints into spring
Elizabeth Pacheco
Since the end of the cross country season, Vassar’s club track team has been training for spring competitions. The team is currently led by James McCowan, the Head Coach for cross country and a Vassar ’99 All-American runner.
Miscellany News Top 15 Albums of the Year
Rank-ordering is a more difficult process than it may seem on the surface, especially when the criteria are ambiguous. As we began to rank the best albums of the school year, we asked ourselves questions about what, exactly, we were looking for. Did the “best” albums mean the ones that we felt were the most artistically sound? The most creative or groundbreaking? The ones we liked best, or the ones we thought others would enjoy?
Summer promises big thrills, big laughs
Rachel Pittenger
Though summer doesn’t officially begin until late June, the much-anticipated summer movie season kicks off with a bang this weekend. Summer 2007 promises a variety of huge blockbusters and exciting sequels, and it seems that the quality (and quantity) of movies will be above and beyond those of recent summers, making it something to look forward to.
Philaletheis performs black comedy “The Pillowman”
Liza Darwin
Audience members who attend Martin McDonagh’s “The Pillowman” (2003) will laugh—but only until they realize what they are actually laughing about.
Music Box | Bjork
Mike Newmark
Like few others in her field, Björk has been christened by her admirers (are there any people left on Earth who don’t admire her?) as an “artist,” rather than merely a musician.
Pens From the Pen |Vassar and Otisville prison program participants collaborate
Lauren Sutherland
Getting these articles to you has been extremely difficult,” began Marlon Peterson in the foreword to a compilation of writings submitted to The Miscellany News by a group of four men incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution in Otisville, N.Y.
Pens From the Pen | Rehabilitation must begin with personal choice
Oftentimes, we look for change outside of ourselves. Change is a fundamental part of the human condition, due to environmental and institutional factors that may arise.
Pens From the Pen | Freedoms realized within the confines of prison
When I was growing up, my parents drilled into my head that I had opportunities I took for granted in the light of war-torn El Salvador; at Otisville I am reminded how ungrateful and selfish I am about my situation in comparison to incarcerated men in this small upstate town.
Reflections on Prison Life
Founder’s Day to be a symphony of rides, music, games, and food
Matt Baker
Founder’s Day today would hardly be recognizable to its creator, Vassar’s second President John H. Raymond. According to the Vassar Encyclopedia, Raymond organized Founder’s Day in 1866 as a campus-wide surprise birthday party for Mathew Vassar.
Eve Gartner to discuss current abortion politics
Juliana Kiyan
On Tuesday, May 8, Deputy Director of Public Policy Litigation and Law for Planned Parenthood Federation of American (PPFA) Eve Gartner will give a briefing about the abortion ban entitled “How did the Supreme Court restrict the right to choose?” followed by a question-and-answer session.
You are getting de-stressed; very, very de-stressed...
Mike Alberti
On May 8, the last day of classes, Vassar College Entertainment (ViCE) will give Vassar students a unique way to blow off some steam. Sailesh, an R-rated hypnotist, will perform on the second floor of the Students’ Building at 9 p.m. Sailesh will take willing volunteers from the audience, put them in a hypnotic trance and then do anything from giving them an orgasm by shaking their hands to making them speak Chinese.
Two Broads Abroad |Like all good things, JYA must come to an end
Vassar Technology Today | What computers still cannot do: Replace paper and pencil
Matthew Leung
Since the time we first decided to attach the eraser to the pencil, we have seen many forms of technology integrating with one another. Cell phones can display time, freeing your wrist of a watch. Even though watches themselves are not completely obsolete, many people do not wear a watch today, but rather use a cell phone to tell time.
Seven students aided in summer endeavors with Class of ’08 gift
Sarah Siegel
It’s a familiar scenario: It’s May, final exams are fast approaching, and you’re trying to decide what to do with the next three months of your life. Your choices are between the amazing but unpaid internship and the soul-sucking yet profitable job that will help you pay off your student loans.
Staff Editorial |Reslife should take measures to eliminate confusion for students
During the bustle of the housing and room draw season, students received more e-mails from the Office of Residential Life than in previous years. Students were informed via e-mail of everything ranging from house draw numbers to the number of students drawing into wellness corridors to fire code violations in senior apartments.
Eye On America | Summer Olympics reveal tensions in China-U.S. foreign relations
Ross Weingarten
Next year, the world’s best athletes will gather in Beijing, China for the Summer Olympics. The games are a celebration not only of athletic prowess, but also of the host city, as past hosts have reinvented themselves in preparation for the games.
Object Lessons | Supreme Court abortion decision troubling for women’s health
Carolyn Bradley
It is a testament to the smug complacency of the Vassar left that I have spent the better portion of the last two weeks attempting to convince my friends that Gonzales v. Carhart constitutes a significant threat to women. The decision, put forward on April 18 with a 5-to-4 vote, upholds the legality of a nationwide ban on so-called “partial-birth” abortions.
Letters to the Editor | Potential reduced teaching load problematic
Letters to the Editor | Issues of class need to be confronted on campus
Article on campus fair trade initiative mistitled
International Workers’ Day inspires march through Poughkeepsie
Brian Farkas
An unusual structure occupied the Library lawn on Monday–a large wall, with a provocative phrase scrawled in black spray paint: “No Human Being is Illegal.” This wall, symbolizing the barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border, bore the names of immigrants who have died while trying to cross into the United States.
College to consider printer quotas
Hayley Tsukayama
The Committee on Computing and Educational Technologies (CCET) and the Committee on Sustainability renewed discussions this week about conservation, and considered limiting the number of pages that students can print at the Library per year. Inspired by concerns with paper waste on campus, theses committees hope that a quota will encourage students to be mindful of their resources.
Dean of the College reports to VSA Council
Hayley Tsukayama
On April 30, Dean of the College Judy Jackson, Associate Dean of the College for Campus Life Edward Pittman, and Associate Dean of the College for Campus Activities Raymon P. Parker met with the Vassar Student Association (VSA) Council about ongoing planning.
Sexual Assault Awareness Week sees changes in College’s policy
Stephen Cheng
Last week’s Sexual Assault Awareness program coincided with significant revisions to the College’s sexual assault regulations, composed by the Committee on College Life (CCL).
VAST program brings Poughkeepsie students to Vassar
News Briefs
Photo of the Week
On Wednesday, May 2, seniors enjoyed the sun in their graduation finery before entering the chapel for Spring Convocation, during which they became Vassar alumnae/i.H. Rosenblum/The Miscellany News...April 29, 2007
Weekly Calendar 4/27-5/4
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These days, people don't like to vote- What's up with that?
Aikido Club to enlighten campus in martial arts
Emma Carmichael
This weekend, April 28-29, the Vassar College Aikido Club will host a two-day seminar that will bring in the top martial arts instructors from the region. The lessons, according to Aikido Club President Eric Snyder ’07, “are meant to help propagate sharing and cooperation among martial artists in the region.”
Sports Briefs
Co-Captain Erik Skartvedt '07 in the championship match. "To win with this group of guys who have put in so much effort and hard work, it feels awesome to...Overtime | Showing love for basketball referees
Kyle Nelson
Ever since the first Olympics in Greece, referees have been the bane of the sports fan’s (and participant’s) existence. In Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) country, we’ve known the list of in-conference basketball referees for the past 10 years. When one cycles out, we cross them off the list.
