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November 30, 2007
College discusses downsized teaching load
Acacia O'Connor
The ever-increasing demands of teaching and scholarship, and recent policy changes at peer institutions, have led the College to examine its faculty teaching load.
TA fire sparks safety concerns
Elysia Glover
A recent electrical fire in the Terrace Apartments (TAs) has prompted a review of fire safety in senior housing.
Parade, tree-lighting to kick off holidays
Brian Farkas
Poughkeepsie’s 2007 holiday season will begin with a blast. On Friday, Nov. 30, the City of Poughkeepsie, in conjunction with the Bardavon 1869 Opera House and the Poughkeepsie River District Business Association, will host the 14th annual Celebration of Lights Parade and Fireworks.
ACT OUT! lobbies local politicians
Hayley Tsukayama
Seven Vassar students from ACT OUT! traveled to the New York Legislature on Nov. 15 to lobby Poughkeepsie-area legislators to co-sponsor a bill that would amend civil rights for gender discrimination.
Former Kennedy staffer campaigns for Barack Obama
Hayley Tsukayama
More than 100 members of the Poughkeepsie community gathered at the Vassars Alumnae House on Nov. 26 to hear Theodore Sorensen, former Special Counsel and Adviser to President John F. Kennedy, campaign for Senator Barack Obama’s bid for the presidency.
Law scholar discusses affirmative action
Julianne Herts
Acclaimed affirmative action scholar Frank Wu visited Vassar on Monday, Nov. 26 to give a lecture entitled “Dream of a Diverse Democracy: Affirmative Action and Higher Education” in the Villard Room.
News Briefs
House passes sweeping higher education bill
Brian Farkas
The U.S. House of Representatives education committee unanimously approved an omnibus bill to set federal higher-education policy for the next five years. Though most of the issues in the Nov. 15 legislation are uncontroversial, certain provisions related to accreditation have drawn sharp criticism from a number of colleges and universities.
November 29, 2007
Staff Editorial | Fire safety a serious concern in senior housing
The minimal fire safety preparedness for senior housing residents presents a significant concern for students’ well-being.
The Green Glance | Only infrastructure overhaul will bring reform
Nathan Zucker
The evidence suggests that relying on small changes in corporate business practices will not solve our environmental woes, and that only a comprehensive reorganization of our lives can bring about meaningful reform.
Views on the News | Increase in U.S.-Russian tensions troubling
Steve Keller
If you read the news coming out of Washington and Moscow recently, you might think that we’ve gone back to the days of the Cold War.
DNA analysis raises personal privacy concerns
Amory Meltzer
If discrimination based on gender or physical disability is already banned, why shouldn’t genetic profiling be illegal as well? The evolving nature of genetics dictates that a new regulatory structure be put into place.
Letters to the Editor | Coca-Cola supports workers' rights
Law eases burden of students' federal loans
Sarah Goetz
A law signed into effect by President Bush last month may have a dual impact on students seeking higher education. The bill provides more financial aid options for graduate students, as well as allocating aid and debt forgiveness to students who wish to enter the public sector.
Marist senior elected to county legislature
Alexandra Matthews
The votes were tallied, ballots counted and new leaders elected across Dutchess County as usual this past November. However, what makes this election particularly extraordinary is that the new District 6 Legislator Angela Flesland is a senior at Marist College.
Vassar Technology Today | Computo Ergo Sum: A Cartesian meditation
Matthew Leung
I had been using computers for several years when I realized that many things I had accepted about them, even the ones from my youth, were false. Hence, I found it necessary to start again at the foundation, to free myself from the common-sense assumptions about computers and distinguish the facts from the myths.
Classes explore virtual Vassar on Second Life
Stephanie Damon-Moore
Today, millions of people worldwide create alternative reality personas on Second Life. Vassar College became involved in Second Life last year with Vassar Island, the digital property that it owns on Second Life.
Penetrating Questions | Female ejaculation Part II: Try it at home!
Jiná Ashline
Find a copy of last week’s Miscellany News if you missed “Demystifying Female Ejaculation,” and get ready for the conclusion of the story: a how-to guide.
New magazine showcases student style
Chloe McConnell
Ever paused to admire a classmate’s unique sense of style? Contrast: The Vassar Style Magazine, the College’s first fashion rag, is taking a step beyond mere admiration and devoting its pages to showcasing student style.
Exploring life and death in 'Love-Lies-Bleeding'
Jackson Reeves
A family debates the meaning of life and death in Unbound’s new production, “Love-Lies-Bleeding” by Don DeLillo, opening Nov. 29 in Sanders Classroom.
FlyPeople bust moves of their own in show
Gulfem Demiray, Juliana Kiyan
Can you fleel the flove? FlyPeople, Vassar’s student-run dance group, will show some of this year’s dances for the first time with their Works-In-Progress show on Nov. 30 in Kenyon Hall.
Broadway remains dark as stagehands strike
Sarah Rebell
For the first time in history, Broadway stagehands are on strike. As a result, most shows have gone dark without the stagehands, who are essentially responsible for their smooth and safe production.
'Glass Menagerie' for a new millenium
Sarah Rebell
“This isn’t your mama’s ‘Glass Menagerie,’” said one of the students rehearsing for the Experimental Theater of Vassar College’s final show of the semester, “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams.
Music Box | Overlooked Albums: Life Without Buildings
Mike Newmark
Imagine a loose-limbed Gang of Four crossed with The Delgados and any of the girl punk groups that exploded in the late 1970‘s (see: Liliput, The Raincoats) and you’re about halfway to describing the sound of Life Without Buildings.
Music Box | Burial
Mike Newmark
Untrue—Burial’s sophomore effort and masterpiece—jettisons everything that kept his last record from being a truly immersive experience, ratchets up the emotionality, and comes bathed in an unearthly, ineffable glow.
Jay-Z critiques hip-hop game on new album
Acacia O'Connor
The tracks and lyrics that caught my attention on Jay-Z’s new album American Gangster—the ones that make it good—are the ones that critique the role of hip-hop in American culture today.
Athlete of the Week | Swimmers and diver shine in opening meets
Joe Bubar
Despite an early 1-5 record, Vassar’s men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams have shown strong individual performances.
Squash teams encounter off-court obstacles
Elizabeth Pacheco
For Vassar’s men’s and women’s squash teams, the winter season is off to a shaky start.
Sports Briefs
Lawrence Avitabile '08 was recognized as the Co-Forward of the Week for two weeks in a row and for the 19th time in his Vassar basketball career.J. Carlton/The Miscellany NewsLenny...Taking a gamble on pro tennis
Elizabeth Pacheco
While betting on individual matches and tournament winners is common, the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) is now concerned that players are being persuaded to "throw matches" to benefit gamblers.
Overtime | The controversy of an upset
Kyle Nelson
The consequences of the upset are consistent in all sports: A ranked team or a more highly regarded team loses to an unranked, lower ranked or less regarded team.
November 16, 2007
Cognitive Science celebrates 25 years
Julianne Herts
In 1982 Vassar College became the first institution in the world to grant an undergraduate degree in the field of cognitive science. In commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the cognitive science program, the College will host a series of discussions and lectures on Nov. 16 and 17.
Quad-side stairs remain unfinished
Julianne Herts
The four sets of dormitory stairs facing the residential quad have been undergoing renovations since August. To the surprise and frustration of many students, not one of the entrances has been completed.
WVKR officially cancels political talkshow
Elysia Glover
Vassar College’s campus radio station WVKR 91.3-FM officially cancelled its only student-run talk show last week, a decision which has sparked a debate between the WVKR executive board and the program’s hosts as to the reasons for the program cancellation.
Colleges share institutional information
Brian Farkas
In a continuing effort to mitigate the influence of college rankings, many colleges and universities are establishing alternative ways for prospective students to compare institutions.
NYC, Columbia University to host Day Out Against Hate
Elysia Glover
On the front steps of New York City Hall on Nov. 1, New York City Speaker Christine Quinn announced a citywide “Day Out Against Hate” set for Nov. 29. This initiative is being spear-headed by a diverse coalition of New York governmental, law enforcement, religious and advocacy communities looking to lend their voice to the campaign for tolerance.
VSA creates long-term planning committee
Hayley Tsukayama
News Briefs
Staff Editorial | Physical barriers to education missing from access debate
The Green Glance | Independent dining promises better food at Vassar
Nathan Zucker
Instead of simply rehiring Aramark or a similar contractor, Vassar’s administration should consider in-house management, a system in which the College itself takes responsibility for the operation of the dining facilites. An independent system, which was used successfully by the College until 1989, would bring better food to campus and reduce the influence of major corporations on the lives of students.
Live from New York, It's Obama
Allison Good
Barack Obama's guest appearance on the Nov. 3 episode of Saturday Night Live was one of the first of this election, dramatically changing the dynamic of the presidential campaign.
Cruel holiday doesn't deserve thanks
Royce Drake
In a week, students will be traveling home for Thanksgiving. Simultaneously, many people from around the country will go to Plymouth, Mass. to protest a holiday that celebrates the genocide commited by religious fanatics.
Who's looking at your Facebook profile?
Stephanie Damon-Moore
Facebook and Myspace users beware: The people looking at your profile may not just be love interests and friends; they may be employers.
Students organize, apply for Junior Year Abroad
Alexandra Matthews
Each year nearly half of Vassar sophomores muster the courage to apply for international collegiate programs for the following year, what Vassar likes to call Junior Year Abroad (JYA).
Penetrating Questions | The Mysterious Female Ejaculation: Part I
Jiná Ashline
"Sometimes when I orgasm, I feel a release of liquid from my vagina that feels like I’m peeing, but I know I’m not! What is this liquid and is there something wrong with me?"
Dancers take stage for Final Showings
Gulfem Demiray
With works in ballet, modern, jazz and hip hop, the Vassar Repertory Dance Theatre (VRDT) will showcase a full semester of work with its Final Showings performances on Nov. 15-17, in the Fergusson Dance Theatre in Kenyon Hall.
Vassar Filmmakers lead Insomnia Film Fest
Juliana Kiyan
Making a movie in 24 hours from scratch? No problem for the Vassar Filmmakers. For Apple’s 2007 annual Insomnia Film Festival, the student group wrote, cast, shot, edited and scored their film, Hobopus, all within a 24-hour window.
Issues of the times intertwine in 'Stoning Mary'
Sarah Rebell
There are three things you should know about the new Philaletheis play “Stoning Mary”: It has no distinctive characters; it is intentionally being performed in classroom rather than a theater; and director Rachel Lee ’08 will take it as a bad sign if the audience leaves feeling entertained.
Glimpses of the world via VISA photo exhibit
Jackson Reeves
Since Sunday, Nov. 11, diners in the All Campus Dining Center’s main dining room have gotten the chance to look over student-submitted images from around the world, as part of the Vassar International Student Association (VISA) second annual International Photo Exhibition and Contest.
Music Box | Sigur Rós
Mike Newmark
Sigur Rós is a spiritual experience at best—an angel laying its hands on you and flying you above the clouds toward an exalted place. But if the band has a weakness—and it’s a significant one—it’s that they’ve been providing this experience for us over and over again since 1999’s Ágætis Byrjun.
Film explores family's survival of Khmer Rouge
Juliana Kiyan
“Uplifting” is not the first word that comes to mind in the context of the Khmer Rouge genocide. But filmmaker Socheata Poeuv feels it is appropriate for New Year Baby, her 2006 documentary about her family’s survival of the brutal regime and their process of healing.
Sports Briefs
RunVassar creates site for athletes
Elizabeth Pacheco
Wanting to reach all those in the greater Poughkeepsie community, the organization RunVassar developed a Web site, which offers a variety of resources including amps of running routes, training plans, shoe reviews and a calendar of upcoming races in which runners can particpate.
Intramural sports score points with Vassar students
Joe Bubar
At a college with academics as rigorous as Vassar’s, intramurals provide an environment in which the student body can “blow off steam, help their studies, and make friends,” said intramurals director and men’s lacrosse Head Coach Joe Proud.
The College Court | Female athletes misrepresented in media
Emma Carmichael
They are not just athletes, they are female athletes, and thus we perceive them in a distorted manner.
November 09, 2007
Poughkeepsie voters elect new leadership
Hayley Tsukayama
Preliminary reports show that Republican John Tkazyik has defeated his Democratic opponent, City Legislator Fred Knapp, in the City of Poughkeepsie mayoral election with 52 percent of the vote.
Community Works '08 kicks off
Brian Farkas
Last week’s Halloween pumpkin-carving contest marked the official beginning of the annual Community Works Campaign.
Nineteen university systems commit to economic diversity
Elysia Glover
A new initiative to reduce the post-secondary achievement gap was announced last Wednesday, Oct. 31., with the launch of the "Access to Success" program.
Alumnae/i association launches new monthly newsletter
Brian Farkas
Beginning this month, Vassar College alumnae/i will have a new way to learn about campus events and news. This Is Vassar: The eNewsletter for Alumnae/i will be published on the Alumnae and Alumni Association of Vassar College (AAVC) Web site each month.
News Briefs
Staff Editorial | Awareness of racial issues must outlast forum
University mascot an emblem of institutional racism
Kyle Nelson
It is essential for the administration to place this public display of hatred at Vassar in a national context in order to understand what these symbols mean in American society.
The Green Glance | Nuclear phobias should not block cleaner future
Nathan Zucker
Given the rapid pace of global warming and the languid progress of alternative energy, the construction of new nuclear facilities may offer the only hope of stabilizing the planet’s swiftly deteriorating climate.
Debate exposes weaknesses of Clinton campaign
Steve Keller
On Tuesday, Hillary Clinton’s aura of invincibility cracked, as the other candidates, namely John Edwards and Barack Obama, decided to put Clinton to task in the debate.
Letters to the Editor
November 08, 2007
Campus groups broaden consumer choices
Acacia O'Connor
The influence of a corporate world does not disappear when students step through Main Gate. However, student activists, in conjunction with Vassar College and its faculty, are thinking more about consumption and responsible investments.
Popular Babycakes café set to reopen
Alexandra Matthews
Have no fear: Babycakes café is better (and bigger) than ever and is set to reopen within the next week.
British Professor Mark Whalan comes stateside
Stephanie Damon-Moore
Throughout history, England has had much to offer the rest of the world in the way of icons, from Charles Dickens to Judi Dench. This year, Vassar College is benefitting from another great British export: Visiting English Professor Mark Whalan.
Scholar, EDRS dispel eating disorder myths
Stephanie Damon-Moore
Have you ever looked in the mirror and thought to yourself, “I feel fat”? On Thursday, Nov. 1, therapist and eating disorder expert Sharon Rebell asked Vassar students the same question during a discussion of body image and eating disorders.
Student organizations join to celebrate Diwali
Sarah Goetz
Along with nearly one billion people worldwide, members of the Vassar community are celebrating the Indian festival of Diwali this week.
Vassar Technology Today | Internet no longer immune to censorship
Matthew Leung
Censorship on the Internet by the government and large corporations is a familiar concept for countries such as China, Korea and Syria. But over the past few years, accumulating evidence from corporate Internet service providers (ISPs) and the government shows that this concept has been settling down in the United States as well.
Penetrating Questions | Looking for an erogenous zone? Try the nipples
Jiná Ashline
"What role do nipples play in sex? Do women and men get pleasure from them?"
Club inherits yarn supply, knits for the poor
Sarah Siegel
In 2006, Vassar French Professor emerita Adrienne Hytier left an usual legacy: a house full of yarn and half-finished sweaters. Now a new student group, Knights of Commuknitty, will be putting the yarn to use by making blankets and cold weather clothes for the needy.
November 07, 2007
Poets join roundtable on Native American verse
Gulfem Demiray
Renowned contemporary Native American poets Janet McAdams, Kim Blaeser and Gordon Henry will come to Vassar on Nov. 8 for the poetry roundtable “Earthworks: A Night of Native American Poetry.”
Peanuts gang experiences rocky teenage years
Marcella Veneziale
Charles Schulz’s Peanuts characters has hit adolescence with unexpected results in “Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead,” a new play presented by Philaletheis.
An evening of Broadway without breaking the bank
Sarah Rebell
The Miscellany News has compiled a list of ticket venues and Web sites that will allow a college student to partake in an enjoyable theatrical experience in New York City on a modest budget.
Music Box | Britney Spears
Mike Newmark
Now that her personal life is hitting record lows (drug rehabilitation, losing custody of her children, a hit-and-run with a possible jail sentence), it’s as good a time as any to release Blackout, a “comeback album” of sorts that aims to combat all of the negative attention she’s received in the last couple of years.
Music Box | Overlooked Albums: Diverse
Mike Newmark
Mike Newmark spotlights an album from the past 15 years that has been neglected, maligned, or underappreciated.
Winter Sports Preview
Joe Bubar
As the days get shorter and the temperature drops, Vassar’s winter athletes are only just starting their seasons.
Women's volleyball set for postseason play
Elizabeth Pacheco
For the Vassar women’s volleyball team, last weekend’s Liberty League Champinships were bittersweet. Though the team lost five-game matches to Skimore and Union Colleges, resulting in a third place finish, the squad’s impressive performances were not left unrecognized.
Sports Briefs
Sports Briefs | Women's rugby advances to the semifinals of the NRU tournament
The Vassar women's rugby team gains possession of the ball during their Northeast Rugby Union quarterfinal game at home against Northeastern University on Nov. 3. With a 22-10 win, the...Overtime | Predictions for the NBA season
Kyle Nelson
It’s time for another season of the sport that is both the most and least controversial on Earth. That’s right, it’s National Basketball Association (NBA) time.
November 02, 2007
Campus responds to noose in Jewett
Chloe McConnell
On Thursday, Oct. 25, a Residential Operations Center attendant found the drawstring cord of a window shade on the sixth floor of Jewett House fashioned as a noose.
Students react to fires in California
Julianne Herts
As Evan Price ’10 returned from October break, the first flames of what would become a destructive series of wild fires ignited in California. Price, a native of Del Mar, Calif., was among the hundreds of thousands affected by the natural disaster.
Committee examines Vassar's hidden costs
Brian Farkas
Equality of opportunity. Financial egalitarianism. Access to student support. These are just some of the goals of the Committee of Inclusion and Excellence (CIE), established last year by Vassar College President Catharine Bond Hill.
Nobel physicist imparts Big Bang discoveries
Elysia Glover
The Nobel Prize-winning physicist whose graduate school dissertation led him to a career investigating the Big Bang theory of the origin of the universe shared his discoveries with the Vassar community this past Monday, Oct. 29.
Staph infections affect schools nationwide
Hayley Tsukayama
Though Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is not a new phenomenon, recent outbreaks at schools, as well as medical studies showing this particular staph strain on the rise have grabbed public attention.
News Briefs
Staff Editorial | Recent speakers prompt questions of campus dialogue
The Green Glance | Desert festival a model of sustainable community
Nathan Zucker
Every year, 45,000 people from all over the globe travel to the Black Rock Desert in Nevada for the psychedelic arts festival known as Burning Man. In the spirit of community action, the festival started to emphasize environmental sustainability in 2007, showcasing unique and unusual solutions to the ecological issues created by this temporary city.
Letters to the Editor | Noose incident bursts Vassar bubble
Student brings Vassar EMTs to Uganda
Sarah Goetz | Acacia O'Connor
During spring break in March 2008, Jacquie Law, along with a group of student Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) will travel to Uganda, bringing with them medical supplies and a passion for humanitarian work.
November 01, 2007
Scholar highlights gender, economics in plastic surgery trends
Stephanie Damon-Moore
Why are white women turning to surgery in order to be comfortable with their bodies?
Letter From Abroad | It's all Russian to me: Struggling to communicate
Jocelyn Durkay
Communication—it’s a vital aspect of day-to-day human interaction the world over. I am reminded of this fact every day here in Russia as I go through my routine.
Geopardy, Sleep-Out seek to inform campus
Acacia O'Connor
“Just having an event raises awareness that these issues are out there,”
Popular blog has people spilling their secrets
Sarah Siegel
With more than 1,000 postcards flooding his mailbox every week, Frank Warren probably gets more mail than Santa Claus. Warren runs the meteorically popular Web site PostSecret, a community art project in which strangers send him secrets, which he posts each Sunday.
Penetrating Questions | P-Spot, the male G-spot, can provide different kind of orgasm
Jiná Ashline
"Do men have a G-spot, or are women the only ones who have this special button?"
'Picasso of cartoonists' comes to FLLAC
Marcella Veneziale
Saul Steinberg is primarily known as a prominent artist at The New Yorker. But he produced a huge body of work not only for the magazine—no less than 87 covers, 333 cartoons and 71 portfolios containing 469 drawings—but in other media as well. Saul Steinberg: Illuminations at the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center showcases more than 100 works by the prolific artist, representing a 60-year career that spans from the 1930s through the 1990s.
Watching society change from 'Cloud Nine'
Sarah Rebell
When many people think of the phrase “cloud nine,” a state of bliss comes to mind. But for Jessica Zalin ’08, it is the title of her senior project in drama, a play by the groundbreaking British playwright Caryl Churchill that dares to cross centuries, break gender boundaries and address the tensions of sexuality and sexual relations.
Seniors at the helm of new documentaries
Jackson Reeves
Five senior film majors are working behind the camera as directors of 20-minute documentaries for Professor of Film Ken Robinson’s and Assistant Professor of Film Kathleen Man’s Documentary Workshop course sections.
Music Box | Prefuse 73
Mike Newmark
Well, I’ll just burst the bubble now: Preparations isn’t very good. Yet it fails so strangely that anyone who cares about Prefuse’s career would have trouble dismissing it outright.
Athlete of the Week | Coogan leads on and off the course in cross country
Elizabeth Pacheco
Looking at this season’s results from Vassar’s women’s cross country meets, you’ll notice a common theme. In every race in which honorary captain Laura Coogan ’09 has competed, she has placed first for the team and no lower than 12th overall.
Sports Brief | Men's rugby falls short of a title
Omar Fayyaz '09 looks to bypass the Rutgers University attack on Sunday, Oct. 28. The team split games, losing to Rutgers 0-12 but defeating Seton Hall University 23-20, falling just...Muggles, mount your broomsticks: It's Quidditch time
Elizabeth Pacheco
If you passed by Joss Beach last Sunday afternoon, you might have been confused to see a group of Vassar students running around with brooms between their legs. These students were simply practicing Quidditch, the sport created by J.K. Rowling in the Harry Potter series.
The College Court | Division III athletics face problems
Emma Carmichael
Division III is the archetype of balance, where athletes play not for national recognition or sold-out crowds, but simply to play and to learn from their play. While over the years this model has operated well, the balance that defines Division III athletics may be toppled in the coming years, as the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) faces burgeoning membership and financial concerns.
