Vassar students will have the good fortune to hear a folk legend per-

form this Saturday. One Vassar stu-dent will have the particular good for-tune of performing with him. “Over the summer I saw that Pete Seeger had been added to the events calen-dar,” said Max Kutner ’11, an avid gui-tarist and former director of Vassar College Entertainment (ViCE) After Hours. “I saw they mentioned a stu-dent opener. I contacted the [Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center (FLLAC)], and asked to play. I know the people there, and they talked to College Re-lations, and it was okayed.” FLLAC is hosting the event.

Opening for legendary folk art-ist Pete Seeger is no small task. The musician and activist has become an American icon after 60 years of per-forming. He has played with the likes of Woody Guthrie, Joan Baez, Bob

Dylan and Bruce Springsteen. He pro-tested Vietnam on national television, popularized the song “We Shall Over-come” with the black Civil Rights Movement and was nearly arrested for fighting McCarthy’s red scare tac-tics. Today, he is not so much viewed as a celebrity as he is seen as a living part of American history.

Despite the intimidating prospect of playing for such a legend, Kutner is nevertheless excited.

“I love folk, especially Bob Dylan,” said Kutner. “And Pete Seeger is the grandfather of folk music. I am so thrilled to play with him.”

Seeger will be performing at Vassar on the Chapel Lawn this Saturday as part of the Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadricentennial celebrating the an-niversary of Hudson River’s explora-tion. Other related events have in-cluded an exhibit of watercolors from the New-York Historical Society at FLLAC and a choral concert at Skin-

ner Hall of Music by local a cappella and vocal ensembles. But Pete Seeger provides a more immediate connec-tion with the Hudson Valley region, and even Poughkeepsie.

In 1966 Seeger founded Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Inc. with his wife Toshi. The Poughkeepsie-based environmental advocacy group was named after Seeger’s sloop (now on the National Register for Historic Places) and fought for the Hudson River’s well-being. The group gained national attention during the 1970s when it protested General Electric’s contamination of the water with poly-chlorinated biphenyl. Seeger and the group’s efforts led to a government-enforced cleanup of the pollutants. The organization still actively pursues the ecological betterment of the Hud-son Valley. It also hosts the annual Clearwater Music Festival, which has attracted the likes of Dizzie Gillespie,

See SEEGER on page 15`

Last Thursday, Vassar Associate Professor of History Maria Höhn

and Heidelberg University Professor of American Studies Martin Klimke were focused on hanging paintings in the Palmer Gallery when an un-expected package arrived. It was a 1972 painting by East German artist Susanne Kandt-Horn arriving at Vas-sar on loan from a children’s hospital in Berlin named, surprisingly, after Martin Luther King, Jr.

To those in the know, the hospital’s namesake is not actually a surprising choice at all. In 1964, King gave a ser-mon at Saint Mary’s Church in East Berlin, and he has been a highly re-vered figure in Germany ever since, as Saint Mary’s representative Ro-land Stolte explained.

Stolte took a moment to admire the painting with Klimke before Höhn called everyone to the center of the gallery to look at another treasure. She unveiled the guest book from Saint Sophia, another Berlin church where King spoke in the 1960s. She pointed out his signature halfway down the page. “We didn’t think we would get this,” Klimke said. “It’s re-ally wonderful.”

King’s visit to East Berlin was the focus of last Thursday’s panel discus-sion entitled “Tracing an Untold His-tory: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Vis-it to Cold War Berlin in 1964,” which was chaired by Höhn and Klimke and featured American and German scholars.

Thursday was the first day of a five-day international conference, “African American Civil Rights and Germany in the 20th Century,” orga-nized by Vassar and the German His-torical Institute in Washington, D.C. The conference also featured a lec-ture by renowned civil rights activist Angela Davis—currently Professor Emerita of History of Consiousness at the University of California, Santa Cruz—on her experiences with the civil rights movement in Germany

entitled “Between Critical Theory and Civil Rights: A Sixties’ Journey from Boston to Frankfurt to San Diego.” Davis studied in Frankfurt between receiving her undergradu-ate degree and Brandeis University and her master’s at the University of California, San Diego, and in Frank-furt she was involved in radical stu-dent actions. Upon returning to the United States, Davis became heavily involved in the Civil Rights move-ment.

The conference accompanied a month-long exhibit in Main Build-ing’s Palmer Gallery featuring photo-graphs of American GIs in Germany. (Check out www.miscellanynews.com for additional coverage.) According to Stolte, a discussion of King’s ser-mon was a perfect way to begin the conference because the sermon left a lasting impact on East Berliners and set the stage for the decades of change that would follow in Cold War Germany. “The sermon gave [East Berliners] confidence and hope” at a time that was very difficult for East Berlin, said Stolte. “It was very im-pressive,” he added. “[East Berliners] never forgot it in their lives.”

The conference’s key organizers, Höhn and Klimke, echoed this sen-timent. Höhn remarked that during and after World War II, the United States and Germany’s histories be-came “intricately intertwined” in a way that is often overlooked in U.S. scholarship. “Why don’t we know anything about this?” she asked. “Why don’t we know about the his-tory of our soldiers there?”

Questions like these led Höhn to begin research on the relationship between American GIs and Germans during World War II as part of her 2002 dissertation. In many ways, she said, her research “opened up a new field of inquiry” into this particular chapter on race relations. While at-tending a conference in Heidelberg, Germany, she met Klimke and “im-mediately realized we had so much

See GERMANY on page 6

October 8, 2009

The Miscellany NewsSince 1866 | miscellanynews.com Volume CXLIII | Issue 5

Vassar CollegePoughkeepsie, NY

4NEWS

New teachers, TFAmembers reflect on transition

5FEATURES

Grizzly Bear to give Chapelperformance

14ARTS

Inside this issue

PETA lecturer questions campusanimal testing

Vassar, Höhn assembletop Civil Rights scholars

Folk music legend Pete Seeger to give historic performance

Community members react to staffreductions, Officers hold open forum

Iconic musician and activist Pete Seeger will perform on the Chapel Lawn on Saturday for the Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadricentennial.

Image courtsey of P

ete Seeger

President Catharine Bond Hill, Dean of the Faculty Jon Chenette, Dean of Planning and Academic Affairs Rachel Kitzinger and Dean of the College Chris Roellke answer student questions at an open forum on Oct. 6.

Kathleen M

ehocic/Th

e Miscella

ny

New

s

“We won’t be happy ’till every-one can come back and is

told ‘it will be a good Christmas, not a bad Christmas,’” shouted Science Support Technician Otto Bertsche outside of the College Center at the CWA’s weekly gathering on Oct. 1. Bertsche is the business agent with the Communication Workers of America (CWA), a national union which has a large body of members on Vassar’s campus.

Though CWA members meet each Thursday—always wearing red—the conversation this week took a more serious tone, given that the previous day, Sept. 30, President Catharine Bond Hill had announced the elimi-nation of 13 staff positions in an all-campus e-mail. In reference to the economic crisis affecting Vassar and

its peers, Hill wrote, “important to this effort will be our willingness as a community to adjust some of our expectations about the way services are provided and to understand that some officers will be working with reduced staffs.”

Following the announcement, some students expressed concern at the reduction. A group of students at-tended the CWA meeting last week, and several students posted signs outside Ferry House that read, “Sup-port Campus Workers” and “Va$$ar Cla$$i$sm in action.”

“I acknowledge that the adminis-tration has come a long way in reduc-ing the amount of staff that they have, especially by consolidating positions and taking on more work,” wrote Ali-son Denn ’12 in an e-mailed statement to The Miscellany News. Denn was one of the students behind the signs.

“However, I’d like to see an open and voluntary pay cut taken by every per-son in the upper administration.”

Hill and several senior officers ad-dressed such student concerns and questions on Tuesday, Oct. 6, at an open forum in Rockefeller Hall. In at-tendance on the administrative side were Dean of Planning and Academic Affairs Rachel Kitzinger, Dean of the College Chris Roellke, Dean of the Faculty Jon Chenette and Vice Presi-dent for Finance and Administration Betsey Eisemeir.

At the forum, Hill emphasized the necessity of “looking to the future” when making cuts, comparing short- and long-term losses and gains. “The mission of our College is to educate students,” she said, “in perpetuity, not just for students who are here today.”

Professor of English Donald FosSee FORUM on page 3

Matthew Brock and Jillian ScharrNews editors

Kelly StoutFeatures editor

Erik Lorenzsonnarts editor

Photo of the Week: In their homeopener against Seton Hall, sophomore Kornel Krysa dodges his op-ponents to help earn men’s rugby a 43-22 victory. The team’s next game will be against Iona on Oct. 10.

Editor in ChiefRuby Cramer

Senior EditorsCaitlin HalaszMolly Turpin

Contributing EditorsChloe McConnellElizabeth Pacheco

News

Opinions

Features

Arts

SportsDesignOnline

CopyPhotography

Managing

Matthew BrockJillian ScharrAngela AiutoKelly ShortridgeEmma CarmichaelKelly StoutCarrie HojnickiErik LorenzsonnLillian ReumanEric EstesElizabeth JordanLila TeetersKathleen MehocicEliza Hartley

The Editorial Board holds weekly meetings every Sunday at 9 p.m. in the Rose Parlor. All members of the Vassar community interested in joining the newspaper’s staff or joining in a critique of the current issue are welcome. The Miscellany News is not responsible for the views presented in the Opinions pages. The weekly staff editorial is the only article which reflects the opinion of the Editorial Board.The Miscellany News is published weekly by the students of Vassar College. The Miscellany News office is located in College Center Room 303, Vassar College.

LETTERS POLICYThe Miscellany News is Vassar College’s week-ly open forum for discussion of campus, lo-cal and national issues, and welcomes letters and opinions submissions from all readers. Letters to the Editor should not exceed 450 words, and they usually respond to a particu-lar item or debate from the previous week’s issue. Opinions articles are longer pieces, up to 800 words, and take the form of a longer column. No letter or opinions article may be printed anonymously. If you are interested in contributing, e-mail misc@vassar.edu.

Assistant PhotoAssistant Online

Assistant Copy

Reporters

ColumnistsPhotographers

Juliana HalpertKara VoghtKatharine AustinKatie CornishSarah MarcoEsther ClowneyDaniel CombsMitchell GilburneWally FisherRose HendricksAndy MarmerChristie MusketMartin BergmanJared Saunders

Staff Editorial | Students must observe the respect and responsibility which comes with free speechVoltaire once wrote, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will

defend to the death your right to say it.” Though the 18th century writer penned these words long ago, we at The Miscel-

lany News read them today as a key exemplar of the freedom of speech which is one of our most important and essential human rights. As a student-run collegiate newspaper, we treasure this right above all others and work to promote it by publishing a diverse set of student opinions that exist on Vassar’s campus.

We also, however, advise that students respect campus poli-cies and property while exercising the right to freedom of ex-pression. Though student voice should never be hindered, si-lenced or stifled, this sense of freedom should come with an obligation to remain credible by taking ownership for one’s ac-tions and statements. In a recent increase of unrelated instances of on-campus public expression, we have noticed that the respon-sibility that comes with having this right has been neglected. In a minor instance, prior to bringing People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) activist Alka Chandra to campus last Thursday, Oct. 1, members of the Vassar Ani-mal Rights Coalition (VARC) left messages in chalk along campus sidewalks. The markings had ar-rows pointing towards Blodgett Hall—the site of the Psychology Department’s laboratories—and towards Rockefeller Hall on the residential quadrangle, where the lecture took place. Although we appreciate students’ innovative ways of advertising for a pub-lic event, the College Regulations specifically state that “the use of paint, chalk, or any other marker on the grounds and build-ings of the College is prohibited.” The chalked messages were removed neither naturally, nor by members of VARC. Therefore, our already overworked Buildings and Grounds employees were left with the tedious task of scrubbing the chalk from the side-walks. We feel that this method of advertising is insensitive to the Vassar custodial staff.

In another instance, students anonymously spray-painted say-ings and symbols on the path from Raymond Avenue to the Town Houses with a dollar sign accompanied by a mushroom-like sym-bol pointing towards main campus, and the phrase “We have too much money.” While freedom of expression is welcomed on our campus, we feel that this method was, once again, disrespectful and uncalled for. This graffiti is something that Buildings and Grounds will have to clean up, which seems directly contradicto-ry to this particular message. Town Hall forums and other spaces for discussion facilitated by faculty and administrators serve as constructive arenas to express concerns regarding the adminis-tration and the endowment. Our paths are for walking.

The canvas signs that were hung from Ferry House at some

point on Friday or Saturday morning seemed similarly inspired to the TH path graffiti. The signs bore messages such as “Go to a school where the administration actually cares” and “Vassar Cla$$i$m in Action.” The banners are in an area frequented by current and prospective students alike. Though we are certainly not here to reprimand any individuals for their personal views, we simply suggest that they take personal responsibility for their opinions regarding the College and present their dissatisfaction within a productive forum where it can be challenged.

Lastly, yellow flyers were distributed among Residence Halls during Freshman Parent’s Weekend urging students to contact the Dutchess County Health Department if they were concerned about H1N1 virus, bedbugs, unattended vomit and other unsani-tary findings. Although these flyers has the potential to serve as

a helpful resource for concerned students, the creator neglected to include information regarding the student or student organization in charge of the initiative. The Col-lege regulations clearly mandate that “All fliers and posters must bear contact information of the individual or student organization responsible for the posting.” Our right to free speech ought of course to be preserved, but we urge stu-

dents to adhere to simple principles while disseminating infor-mation and opinions. Primarily, we ask that students respect the hardworking staff who are ultimately responsible for removing unwanted sidewalk chalk and graffiti from walkways—especially if their criticisms have to do with the College’s unfair treatment of these staff, directly or indirectly. It is distasteful and irrespon-sible to mark campus property and not clean up after oneself. Secondly, we ask that students take credit for their work and own up to their statements. The most reliable words are those that are attributed to their author. Thirdly, we ask these complaints and negative portrayals be brought to forms where they can be challenged, debated and therefore more productive in the long run. Free speech has an unstable definition on college campuses and therefore students must remain sensible and considerate when excising this right which we all find so invaluable.

—The Staff Editorial reflects the opinion of at least two-thirds of

the 19-member Editorial Board.

The Miscellany News October 8, 2009Page 2

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

Juliana Halpert/Th

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Free speech ought to be preserved, but we urge students to adhere to simple principles while disseminating information and opinions

EDITOR’S NOTE This will be the last issue of The Miscellany News before October Break, after which we will resume our regular printing schedule. Please con-tinue to check miscellanynews.com for daily online updates throughout the coming week and over the break.

ADVERTISING POLICYThe Miscellany News reserves the right to re-ject or edit any advertising copy at any time; will not accept advertisements that promote discrimination on the basis of race, creed, col-or, sex or sexual orientation, nor will it accept advertisements of a political nature or adver-tisements that promote illegal items.

NEWS Page 3October 8, 2009

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

At Vassar, 30 cases of seasonal flu reported: H1N1 vaccine due to be realeased by November

Vassar Health Services, Buildings and Grounds, the Office of Residential Life

and the Office of the Dean of the College have been working to secure the College against H1N1—colloquially known as swine flu—since last April, and thus far they have been met with tentative success. “There are Colleges that have had huge outbreaks,” said Dean of Students Da-vid “D.B.” Brown, but so far, “Vassar hasn’t really experienced an outbreak.” As of Oct. 6, there have only been 30 Vassar student cases of influ-enza, many of which may be linked to H1N1.

There have been multiple confirmed cases of H1N1 at Vassar, but Health Services has stopped keeping track of new cases. “When everyone was concerned…everyone started reporting cases,” said Director of Health Services Dr. Ire-na Balawajder, explaining that Health Services does not have the capacity to test everyone who gets sick for H1N1. “Ninety-nine percent of flu in circulation is H1N1,” she continued, so according to Balawajder, it’s likely that the majority of flu cases on campus originate from the H1N1 virus.

Regardless of whether students are suffering from H1N1 or just seasonal influenza, students are being treated as if they have the former and are being asked to self-isolate on campus or temporarily return home, per recommendation of the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the New York State Department of Health (DOH) and the American College Health Association.

“What we’re dealing with is a new virus,” said Balawajder. “When a new flu virus travels easily from person to person, you have a scenario with epidemic or pandemic potential.” As of June 11, the World Health Organization has classified H1N1 as a pandemic, meaning that the virus can spread easily and rapidly.

According to Balawajder, H1N1 manifests it-self as a “seasonal flu out of season,” with mild-er symptoms than the seasonal flu. “[H1N1] has low pandemic severity, but people have no im-munity,” she said, indicating why officials are so concerned.

What’s more, “the highest number of con-firmed H1N1 cases have been among younger people, making students who live in a college environment more susceptible to infection,” wrote Balawajder in an e-mail forwarded to the student body by Dean of the College Christo-pher Roellke on Oct. 1. Balawajder explained that young people are more susceptible to the virus because they have built up less of an im-munity to it over their lives than older people.

Fortunately, an H1N1 vaccine is currently be-ing developed and is due to be released by the end of October. “This new vaccine is being pre-pared in the same way as the seasonal flu vac-cine and will be made available to all Vassar students when it is released. In addition, people with medical conditions such as asthma, diabe-tes, immunosuppression or other longer-term

illnesses will receive priority for immunization with the H1N1 vaccine,” wrote Balawajder.

Once the College receives the vaccine, Health Services will set up a distribution clinic that will likely consist of a large-scale vaccination in the Villard Room, similar to the annual seasonal flu vaccination clinic. Here, students will receive the vaccination, consisting of one, possibly two, injections.

Distribution of the H1N1 vaccine is controlled by the state and federal governments. Because college students and other young people are considered a high priority, Vassar should receive the vaccine as soon as it becomes available.

However, the vaccine will probably not ar-rive before October break, when students travel off campus and are potentially exposed to new sources of H1N1, which is a major concern for Health Services at present. There have been re-ported cases of H1N1 in all 50 states, so most stu-dents will be at risk wherever they may travel.

In the mean time, Balawajder encourages students to practice mitigation strategies. “The very basic things work,” said Balawajder, indicat-ing that students should practice proper cough etiquette, stand six feet away from others if they might be sick, and practice self-isolation.

“Cough etiquette is very important because the flu is spread by droplets,” explained Bala-wajder. For instance, people should try to cough into their elbows, and they should also avoid touching their eyes, as that is a major point of ingress for flu viruses.

Students who come down with H1N1 are ad-vised to self-isolate either by going home, stay-ing in their rooms if they have a single, or mov-ing into an respite room if they have roommates. Students living in single rooms in suites or se-nior housing should respond as if they lived in

a single.According to Brown, there are approximately

10 respite rooms located in Cushing and Strong Houses. Students who present symptoms above a certain threshold—which at present is desig-nated by a fever above 100 degrees Fahrenheit—Health Services will alert the Office of Residen-tial Life, which will then provide students with a respite room, if needed.

Respite rooms are outfitted with linens by the Office of Residential Life and are thoroughly cleaned after each use. Upon entering a respite room, students are presented with a kit contain-ing facemasks, fever medication and informa-tion on self-isolation.

Students in isolation receive three meals a day from Flu Buddies, student volunteers who provide convalescent students with prepack-aged meals from the All College Dining Center.

Health Services also provides a list of stu-dents in isolation to the Dean of Studies Office so that the students can be excused from class.

Recently, the CDC and DOH have reduced the the suggested isolation period to “24 hours after [students] are free of fever (100 degrees Fahrenheit or 37.8 degrees Celsius) without the use of fever reducing medications such as Tyle-nol or Advil,” wrote Balawajder.

“For most students this change means staying out of class and the library, not attending social gatherings or activities, and not going to a caf-eteria for a total of four to five days on average,” she continued.

Unfortunately, despite the few number of H1N1 cases that have arisen thus far, Brown predicts that the situation may worsen in the future. “Nobody knows how long the flu season will last,” he said, “but we are probably at the front end of it.”

Matthew BrockNews editor

Officers respond to student questions, adviceFORUM continued from page 1

ter has been a dissenting voice in the debate and, although not present, was a major focus of the forum. Over the course of the last month, Foster compiled sets of data in a document which he distributed at his discretion to stu-dents and other community members.

During the forum, the Senior Officers dis-agreed with “six or seven of the main points” of Foster’s document, saying the data presented was misleading in many cases. “Some of it made sense,” said Hill, “for example, our spending is too high. On the other hand, quite a significant number of the data comparisons and statements are incorrect.” Though Foster e-mailed his doc-ument to various campus groups, including the Vassar Student Organization (VSA) and The

Miscellany News, he did not send it to senior officers themselves. Hill explained during the forum that she e-mailed Foster the administra-tion’s counter-statistics, asking him to e-mail them to everyone to whom he had sent his own, but he “declined.” In this administrative report, the administration responds to Foster’s allega-tions of “administrative bloat.” The Senior Of-

ficers explained that individual colleges com-plete the 990 form, a tax form required by the IRS, differently. “In 2007-08 Middlebury Col-lege reported three current and two former ad-ministrators [on the 990],” they wrote, “Vassar reported 10 current and three former adminis-trators…this does not mean that other institu-tions do not have the positions we list; it simply means that they have made a decision to report fewer—and possibly different—positions as ‘of-ficers.’” As the response explains, the compari-son made by Foster was an inaccurate one.

Robyn Smigel ’12, a student in attendance at the forum, suggested that the officers e-mail all students both Foster’s research and the admin-istration’s. Hill declined, saying that it was not her place to distribute Foster’s document.

In response to the suggestion that adminis-trators take pay cuts—one made by several stu-dents—Hill discussed the value of “competitive compensation” as a long-term means of main-taining a high-quality faculty, staff and College. “If this were something that we thought was go-ing to last for a year or two,” said Hill in regards to the financial crisis, “then that would be one

thing.” She continued to explain that to main-tain the long-term health of the institution, the College had the “philosophy” that compensa-tion levels must remain as competitive as pos-sible with those of the College’s peer institu-tions. “If you underpay your workers across the spectrum, you lose people,” said Hill.

In her comment on the recent staff reduc-tions, VSA President Caitlin Ly ’10 wrote in an e-mailed statement to the Miscellany,“the VSA Council and Executive Board are very sad to see friends and colleagues leave the College, but we are aware that Vassar is fundamentally over-staffed for a school of our size—a fact made in-creasingly clear by the economic crisis.”

“More than a year of planning and consulta-tion have occurred, and the VSA leadership has maintained constant dialogue with the admin-istration about these issues,” wrote Ly. “Though we must acknowledge the financial realities, we have pushed the College to do everything within its power to act humanely. For example, they are providing such employees with career services and/or job retraining to help them find new jobs as quickly as possible.”

In the week ending Sept. 18, New York State colleges and universities saw 399 cases of swine flu. Vassar has seen 30 cases of influenza, many of which may be cases of swine flu.

Information from

Am

erican College H

ealth Association

Peers assess SAT-optionaladmissions

One year ago, in September 2008, the Na-tional Association for College Admis-

sion Counseling (NACAC) released a report that questioned the value of standardized testing. The report suggested that colleges re-evaluate their use of standardized tests when considering applicants and suggested that many schools had an exaggerated sense of testing’s value.

In the past year, Sacred Heart University, the State University of New York at Potsdam, and Washington and Jefferson College have eliminated SAT requirements. Meanwhile, in-stitutions that share a similar applicant pool as Vassar, such as New York University and Bryn Mawr College, have decided to allow SAT II subject test scores or Advanced Place-ment (AP) test scores to replace those from the SAT. In addition, Mount Holyoke College, Bard College, Bennington College and Con-necticut College are all SAT-optional.

The Washington Post Education Columnist Jay Mathews recently wrote about the schools that have made testing optional. In his Aug. 28 article entitled “What the SAT-optional Col-leges Don’t Tell You,” Mathews stated that “[Colleges] say [making standardized testing optional] is just one more way to give their applicants more choices and reduce stress.” However, Mathews continued, “they don’t let applicants avoid any standardized testing. Instead they allow them to substitute some-thing comparable,” meaning AP or Interna-tional Baccalaureate scores.

The reasons for eliminating SAT require-ments have varied. When asked about such motivations, Vassar Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid David Borus responded, “I be-lieve that some [institutions have removed the SAT requirement] for solid educational reasons and/or in an honest attempt to diver-sify their applicant pools, while others have probably been motivated at least as much by the possibility of reaping the increase in the number of applicants such a change some-times brings.” Borus explained, “going op-tional seems to make sense for colleges that already accept a higher percentage of their applicants. It also may be the right stance for institutions that lack what they define as an acceptable level of diversity in their applicant pools.” At this year’s NACAC meeting, many institutions demonstrated that when they be-came test-optional, the academic abilities of their classes, measured using their college GPAs, did not decline; if anything, they were strengthened, possibly by the newfound di-versity. In a Sept. 28 article in Inside Higher

Ed, George Mason University Dean of Ad-missions Andrew Flagel said that “the Uni-versity is trying to encourage students to tell their stories directly, without an emphasis on numbers.” In terms of Vassar’s future, Borus explained that he feels that standardized test scores, when evaluated in conjunction with class performance, strength of academic re-cord, teacher recommendations and other credentials, only “add to [the] overall view of each candidate.” He added that especially with the inconsistent grading at different high schools, the SAT or other standardized mea-sures “can provide at least one variable in the process that cuts across differences in school environments and standards.”

He stressed that standardized test scores are only “a piece of the holistic application process,” and are not the focus of the deci-sion-making process. Applicants can demon-strate strengths through their essays, Vassar’s Your Space and teacher recommendations.

The elimination of test scores as a man-datory element in the college application process may be a change many colleges are facing, but Borus stated, “I think it is likely that for the foreseeable future, Vassar, like the overwhelming majority of the schools with which we compete most directly, will contin-ue to require standardized test results from its applicants for admission.”

Rose HendricksGuest reporter

NEWS October 8, 2009Page 4

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

News BriefsClean up after yourselvesOn Oct. 2, a Security officer who was patrolling Jewett House spot-ted a smoke detector covered with what he identified as a cup. Nearby, marijuana and some glass pipes were also found.

—Jillian Scharr, News Editor

Access deniedFour males tried to attend Dormal For-mal on Oct. 2, but, as they were not stu-dents at Vassar College, they were de-nied admission and left campus without protest.

—J.S.

Just lookingSeveral teenagers were examining the bikes chained outside Ferry House. A Security officer intercepted the teenag-ers, after which point they were escort-ed off campus.

—J.S.

Say cheeseAn unauthorized party occurred on Oct 3. in Lathrop House. As Security was breaking it up, a student asked permis-sion to photograph an officer. The offi-cer denied permission, but the student photographed Security anyway using a computer.

—J.S.

Something smells fishyA Security officer patrolling Raymond House smelled marijuana near a closed room. The officer knocked, then could hear the noise of students hiding things in the room before being allowed entry. The officer confiscated several lit can-dles found in the room, but no other il-licit materials, though the room smelled strongly of marijuana.

—J.S.

Nice place you got hereAt 2:27 a.m. on Oct. 3, two youths tried to enter Josselyn House. When Security of-ficers asked for ID, they explained they were “checking out the College.” Vas-sar is a closed campus after 10 p.m. The youths were very cooperative, and the officers escorted them off campus.

—J.S.

Students present collaborative research at symposium

The 24th Undergraduate Research Summer Institute (URSI) Symposium took place

Wednesday, Sept. 30 in the Villard Room. URSI is an educational institute that sponsors 10-week summer programs for students to conduct re-search alongside Vassar professors. This sum-mer, the program—which focuses mainly on the sciences—took place from May 25 to July 31.

At the symposium, faculty representatives gave students a general introduction of the sum-mer institute and its past achievements. This was followed by three presentations by students who attended the program last summer. After this, Columbia University Associate Professor of Biochemistry Lawrence Shapiro, the keynote speaker, discussed his work on structural biol-ogy. A reception followed his talk, and attendees were able to view the poster presentations of other URSI projects on display on the second floor of the College Center. This symposium provided an insight into the study of science at Vassar and encouraged students to pursue more research opportunities.

Dean of the Faculty Jon Chenette started the meeting with a few brief remarks on the URSI experience. He described it as a chance to learn how to build on prior research, communicate, think on one’s feet and critically analyze. The core values of these projects lie within working in partnership with other researchers and going straight to a source.

Associate Professor of Chemistry and URSI Director Joseph Tanski further developed the meaning of URSI by discussing details about the program and what it accomplished over the past

summer. Since its inception in 1986, URSI has led more than 1,000 students through research and seen the completion of several hundred projects. For some students, URSI marked their first steps into their future studies and potential careers. In the summer of 2009, more than 60 students and 30 faculty members participated in URSI. Participating students got the chance to attend professional meetings and conferenc-es around the country. During the summer, as Professor Tanski described, the students in the program also developed a strong sense of com-munity.

Margo Kinneberg ’11, the first of the student presenters, introduced her physics project “Get in Shape: Understanding How We Recognize Objects.” She has been working on the project for two years with Assistant Professor of Phys-ics and Astronomy Jenny Magnes. According to Magnes, she and Kinneberg have traveled al-most all over America to do research and attend conferences.

During her presentation, Kinneberg intro-duced the basic idea of her project: to develop a systematic way of identifying and classifying the outside boundary of an object and eventu-ally to make computers and robots understand 3D shapes through scanning.

Group theory and shape recognition were in-volved in the project, which created multidisci-plinary connections through math and cognitive science. The pair’s future plan is to enlarge their shape library and promote the advantages of this shape recognition method over other methods.

According to Kinneberg, “As a freshman tak-ing intro physics, I was told about the URSI program and applied because I wanted to do

something productive over the summer.” She was both thrilled to get into the program as a freshman and a little apprehensive when she started working at such a rapid pace. She recom-mends the program to “anyone wishing to wet their feet in actual scientific work.”

The second URSI student to speak was Sam-uel Black ’12, who worked on the project “Eco-Immunology: Effects of Nutrition and Stress on Immune Function in Amphibians.” He worked with Assistant Professor of Biology Erica Cre-spi, who is also his pre-major advisor. Black impressed Crespi with both his interest and knowledge in medical chemistry, as well as with his lab work. His study started with research into the increase of diseases among amphib-ians, specifically frogs, and then continued with researching factors that affect disease suscepti-bility. Through his comparison experiments, he used blood cell quantification to determine the frogs’ immune status. The stress factor results came from an inventive experiment that deter-mined whether female frogs would be more sus-ceptible to disease when harassed by male frogs. Black would like to continue with this research in the future.

The last group to present was Katie Inter-lichia ’11 and Jeremy Teperman ’11. The pair teamed up with Associate Professor of Earth Science Kristen Menking to work on the earth science project entitled “Killer Chloride: How the Casperkill is Becoming the World’s Smallest Ocean.” Menking was impressed with the pair’s focus on earth science early in their academic careers.

The Casperkill, the subject of the team’s re-search, is a tributary of the Hudson River. It

exhibits several characteristics of unhealthy streams, one of which is a heightened level of chloride from road salting within the watershed. Interlichia and Teperman showed their inten-sive concern for the local environment as they revealed the surprising amount of chloride that went into the Casperkill and ground water.

They clarified the relationship between road salting and the contamination of streams biota, and they would like to extend further their re-search by finding the precise mass balance for chloride in the watershed of the Casperkill Creek.

In his keynote address, Shapiro discussed his work in structural biology, a newly developing field which seeks to understand biology through the shape and composition of molecules and vi-ruses. As part of his lecture, Shapiro discussed the virus that causes HIV, and showed that, be-cause the virus cell is covered in sugars, it is hard to find a vaccine that can penetrate this outer defense and attack the molecule. Howev-er, he confirmed that an HIV vaccine and cure are possible, and that one may be developed in the years to come.

His talk was followed by a reception, during which guests viewed students’ project posters that were on display in the College Center. This was followed by a dinner for URSI students and faculty.

Since the selection criteria vary depending on the project and are determined by the faculty member, Kinnenberg recommended that stu-dents “meet with the professor before applying and show their interest.”

The application process for URSI 2010 will begin in the end of January.

Xiaoyuan RenGuest reporter

PETA makes contentious visit to College

On Thursday, Oct. 1, the Vassar Animal Res-cue Coalition (VARC) hosted a lecture by

Dr. Alka Chandna of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). The lecture was entitled “Testing, 1, 2, 3: Behind the Scenes of Vassar’s Laboratories.”

In the lecture, Chandna accused three Vas-sar professors of animal testing abuse, two from the Psychology Department and one from the Biology Department. The fliers that VARC dis-persed before the event also named one of the three professors.

In response to these fliers, biochemistry ma-jor Hassan Sakhtah ’10 organized for a group of Vassar science students to attend the lecture as well. In the corridor outside of the lecture room, several heated discussions occurred in groups of two and three between the science students and the members of VARC.

“Two years ago,” said Chandna during the lecture, “PETA was contacted by a person work-ing inside [one of] Vassar’s labs. The person in-formed us of a very disturbing situation: birds becoming sick or injured, overcrowding...birds didn’t get [veterinary] care for sometimes up to a week.”

Examples of suffering among Vassar’s birds included “a quail kept in such a tightly confined area that she had injuries on her back...[and] a zebra finch who had plucked out 20-40 percent of the feathers on her body.”

PETA filed a complaint against Vassar Col-lege on Sept. 12, 2007, but Chandna explained that, because Vassar is a private institution, “our [PETA’s] hands were tied. We had to file a com-plaint with the National Institute of Health,” thus beginning a “paper-chase.”

However, in a Poughkeepsie Journal article on the complaint (“State clears Vassar in bird-research complaint, but PETA presses on,” 9.27.07), stated that “a state investigation…showed that the birds have been cared for ad-equately.” Chandna pointed out that birds, as well as most other animals commonly used in laboratory research, are not protected under the Animal Welfare Act.

In an interview after the lecture, Sakhtah crit-icized the lecture, calling it “unprofessional.”

“It’s important to question professors, to know what’s going on,” Sakhtah said. “If VARC wanted to really hold a discussion…with science professors, that would be extremely helpful, but the level of disrespect shown by these people was incredible. You’re going to tell these profes-

sors that the research they’re doing is irrelevant, that their studies are useless?”

“We wanted the emphasis [of the event] to be on debate,” wrote VARC in a joint e-mailed state-ment. “VARC started planning the event this summer after a PETA representative contacted us...we sent out emails to several professors that we knew had used animals in their research to see if they would be interested in potentially de-bating Dr. Chandna.”

However, some students who attended ques-tioned this motive. “I don’t think it was a discus-sion,” said Sakhtah after the event. “It was just the speaker trying to push her agenda on stu-dents.”

During the lecture, Chandna discussed the fallibility of data drawn from animal tests, citing several examples of drugs being deemed safe for animals but then harmful on humans, and vice versa. She also argued that the stress animals experience due to confinement is always a “con-founding variable” in an experiment.

Chandna discussed alternatives to animal testing, such as various silicon wafers developed at Cornell University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of California at San Diego. These wafers have compartments into which cells from different organs of a hu-man body are injected as well as the appropriate nutrient fluids and test substances.

“This is an example of something cheap [and]

fast [that’s] going to give you results of what happens in the human body,” said Chandna. She also mentioned the enormous amounts of information scientists have accumulated and then stored in databases and computers. These, Chandna argued, can be used to run advanced simulations without the use of live tests.

Faculty Research Associate Marianne Porter contested this by pointing out that the informa-tion in these databases comes from previous ex-perimentation with animals.

According to Porter, “We are trying to come up with new tools, but we do need that back-ground research.”

Sakhtah also criticized this point of Chand-na’s speech in an interview after the lecture. “It’s absurd, because all the data in those bases came from animal models.” He pointed out that Chandna disputes the validity of animal tests, but promotes the use of the databases, whose in-formation was drawn from experiments involv-ing animals.

In their email, VARC wrote, “We hope that the result of this event will be the renewal of an ongoing dialogue about the use of laboratory animals for research and educational purposes, and that the standards for the treatment of those animals will continually be questioned and re-evaluated. It is vital that we continue to explore alternatives to animal experimentation for re-search and educational purposes.”

Jillian ScharrNews editor

Information courtsey of the IL

R

Vassar College, as with every institution conducting research, abides by the National Guide-lines for the Care & Use of Laboratory Animals, by the Institue of Laboratory Research.

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

FEATURES Page 5October 8, 2009

Vassar grads reflect on teaching paths

It was mid-afternoon on a Sunday, and Made-line Robertson-Salt ’08 still had a pile of ninth

grade English tests she needed to grade. She quizzed her students on basic character traits in literature last week and was disappointed in the results. “They’re totally flunking,” she said on the phone, sounding crestfallen.

Robertson-Salt is a ninth grade English teacher at Ouchi High School in Los Angeles, a charter school opened in 2006 by the Alliance for College-Ready Public Schools. She is also a candidate for a master’s degree in education at Loyola Marymount University through Teach For America (TFA), the prestigious nonprofit organization that places recent college gradu-ates to teach in schools across the country. Robertson-Salt is now in her second year of teaching and—despite the Fs—she has seen significant improvement in herself as a teacher and in her students.

“After one year you feel so much more on top of your students’ behavior,” Robertson-Salt explained. “You can anticipate things much [more quickly].” At the beginning of last year, most of her students had scored in the 30 to 40 percent range on state tests; by the end of the year, all of her students had scored at least 80 percent.

“You can get really beaten down by day-to-day things,” Robertson-Salt said. “But when you work with your students for a year, you start to see the long-term difference you’re making. That’s what makes it worth it.”

Robertson-Salt applied to TFA during the 2007-08 school year at Vassar, her senior year. Although the program has always been both highly regarded and competitive, it has become increasingly more so in recent years. In the last year alone, TFA reported a 42 percent increase in their applications (from 24,718 in 2008 to 35,178 in 2009) and the organization has seen their first-year corps rise consistently, from 2,900 in 2007 and 3,700 in 2008, to 4,000-plus this year. The TFA website says that its 7,300 first and second-year corps members will “im-pact” approximately 450,000 students in Amer-ican public schools this year.

Many attribute these steady increases to the volatile job market: Working on Wall Street is no longer a viable option for the nation’s top college graduates, so a two-year commitment with a paycheck and a master’s degree in-cluded seems like a great option. Others, such as Melissa Jones ’08, an AmeriCorps service worker employed by a nonprofit in Manhattan, feel it is more directly related to President Ba-rack Obama’s focus on public service and the nation’s corresponding ideological shift.

“We are at the beginning of a time period in which volunteerism is very much on the rise,” Jones said. “We have a president that not only did this kind of work [himself], but he’s also encouraging us all to engage in service.”

But it is often this question of voluntary “ser-vice” that feeds TFA’s most ardent critics. Max-imilian Familian ’09 is currently working as the Operations and Finance Assistant at the Com-munity Roots Charter School in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. While at Vassar, Familian tutored at the Poughkeepsie Middle School and spent a semester student teaching in Queens and tak-ing graduate-level teaching courses through the Urban Education Semester. He said he per-sonally ruled out applying to TFA because he felt it would be “fairly irresponsible” to go into a classroom without “actual training” in teach-ing.

“I felt that if I decided to be a teacher, I would go get a proper education in teaching,” Familian said. “My job now is what gets me ex-cited. I’m not really doing this work just so I can help people; I’m doing it because it’s what I love to do. TFA builds the mentality, ‘I have to give back, and then I can move on,’ and that’s a serious problem.”

At Vassar, students have the option to be-come certified teachers through coursework and student teaching in area schools. Associ-ate Professor of Education Chris Bjork said that while he recognizes it may be difficult to make that decision early on in one’s college career, it is essential for undergrads considering TFA to gain experience standing at the front of a classroom.

“It’s important for students to revisit school-

ing from the teacher’s perspective and see what it’s like to be in a classroom when you’re in charge, and not the student,” Bjork said.

Before he was named Dean of the College last fall, Christopher Roellke was a professor in the Education department. He said that his recent research in teacher recruitment and re-tention has shown that programs like TFA tend to “exacerbate the problem of ‘churning’” (or consistent staffing turnovers) in hard-to-staff schools.

“The greatest challenge we have in promot-ing teacher quality is retention of the best teachers,” Roellke said in an e-mailed state-ment. “Turnover rates in hard-to-staff schools can exceed 40 to 50 percent, and TFA and other models do little to address this challenge.”

Bjork, along with a number of alumnae/i contacted for this article, encouraged Vassar students who were considering applying to the program to think critically about their motiva-tion and about other options to begin work in education. He speculated that most students don’t consider graduate school in education or other certification programs because it rep-resents a more long-term commitment to the field.

“It seems that many people commit to TFA without thinking carefully about where it will deliver them,” Bjork mused. “It’s very presti-gious and it’s guaranteed to look good on your résumé, but is building your résumé a good reason to spend two years in an incredibly challenging situation? And more importantly, is it fair to your students?”

“Think about why you want to do it first,” Familian agreed. “It’s one thing to go to a non-profit and work as an assistant to see if that job is for you; it’s entirely different to go into a classroom of third graders just to ‘test’ it out. That doesn’t seem to me like a socially respon-sible thing to do. This is a job that has signifi-cant implications on other peoples’ lives.”

The Teachers Of course, external criticism for TFA comes easily, and tends to disregard the real experi-ences of those who work, in the organization’s words, “to ensure their students have the edu-cational opportunities they deserve.” TFA at-tracts applicants from some of the country’s most respected institutions of higher learning (Harvard, Yale, Georgetown, Columbia, Uni-versity of Pennsylvania, Brown and Princeton were all among this year’s list of “colleges most attended” by corps members), and they are often students who wouldn’t have considered teaching after college had the program not drawn them in.

Thomas Weishaupt ’07 was a history major at Vassar and captain of the rugby team. Dur-ing the fall of his senior year, he, along with the other varsity team captains and student organization leaders on campus, received an email from a TFA recruiter encouraging him to apply. With just a week before the deadline, Weishaupt put together his application, had an interview and was selected for the program.

He worked for two years as a first-grade teacher at the Achievement First Bushwick El-ementary School in Brooklyn, earned his free Masters from Pace University and now teaches sixth grade math at a Knowledge Is Power Pro-

gram (KIPP) charter school in Philadelphia. He said he’s now grown to be more comfortable in front of a classroom, but recalls being “con-fronted with a lot of humility” during his first few weeks in TFA.

“Parents would approach me with questions about their kids and I’d think, ‘What the hell do I know? I’m 22 years old, I just got out of college and I definitely don’t have kids of my own,’” Weishaupt said, laughing at the memory. “But you can’t show that. In TFA you get a ton of responsibility, and that’s an incredible feel-ing when you’re right out of college. It’s helped me grow and become more confident, and ul-timately to find what it is I want to do with my life.”

When Alison McSheehy ’08 was accepted into TFA, she was placed in the Excellence for Boys Charter School of Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn, which operates under the Uncom-mon Schools network. She is now in her sec-ond year of co-teaching a Kindergarten class and still feels as if she’s adjusting to the de-manding lifestyle.

McSheehy wakes up at 5 in the morning and leaves her apartment by 6 a.m. to be at school by 6:30 a.m. Her students arrive by 7:15 a.m., and then the day begins, broken up by reading and math groups, art or music classes, meals, and so on. The school day ends at 4 in the af-ternoon, but McSheehy’s tutoring duties keep her in the building until 5:15 p.m. “Usually, I’m home by six or six-thirty,” she said, “and I’m completely exhausted.”

Both McSheehy and Weishaupt explained that their teaching assignments might have given them a different take on TFA. At charter schools, they explained, first-year teachers are provided with better administrative support than at most public schools, which tend to be under-staffed and under-funded.

“I have always felt less connected with TFA and more connected with my school,” Mc-Sheehy said. “No two experiences in TFA are the same,” Weishaupt agreed. “I got placed in a really high-functioning urban school. Some people are sorted into schools where they don’t feel supported, and that can be a very isolating experience.”

All TFA corps members are required to com-plete their training through the TFA Institute (informally referred to as “TFA Boot Camp”) during the summer before they begin teaching. McSheehy said even though she felt the Insti-tute was a necessary introduction to the stress and sleep deprivation that come with teaching, “nothing can truly prepare you for that first day of school. You will feel overwhelmed and underprepared. But it will get better.”

“They might try to weed people out during that time,” Weishaupt speculated. “They make things a little harder than they need to because they want to make sure you’ll stick with it once the year begins.”

Jimmy Kelly ’09 completed his Institute train-ing about 12 weeks ago. While at Vassar, Kelly had to learn to deal with time management. He was president of both the Vassar Students As-sociation (VSA) and Operation Donation while writing a senior thesis. Yet, he referred to Insti-tute as “the most intense thing I’ve ever done in my life.” The schedule—an 18-

See EDUCATION on page 6

Emma CarmichaelFeatures editor

Rockefeller Hall 200 was nearly full at 4 p.m. last Sunday, Oct. 4, when students, faculty

and Hudson Valley residents gathered to hear Maya Wind, a 19-year-old Israeli conscientious objector, give a talk entitled “Why We Refuse,” about her reasons for refusing to participate in the Israeli Military. Wind is a member of the Shministim, a group of Israeli high school seniors who refuse to join the military on the grounds that they do not support “the policy of occupation and oppression of the Israeli govern-ment in the occupied territories and in the area of the state of Israel,” according to a 2008 letter stating their reasons for not serving.

In Israel, conscription in the military is man-datory for all Jewish and many non-Jewish citi-zens, male and female, upon graduation from high school—unless they are exempted from service for reasons such as mental and physical disabilities or religious objections. Wind, who began her talk by discussing Israel’s conscrip-tion policies, said that the military also makes allowances for conscientious objectors, but they must be universal pacifists—that is, categorical-ly opposed to all violence, not specifically op-posed to Israel’s actions in Palestine—and must go through an interview with a committee to es-tablish conscientious objector status. “Mention-ing words like ‘occupation’ or ‘Palestine’ to the committee fail you pretty much automatically… [the Shministim] cannot get conscientious ob-jector status because we are considered ‘politi-cal’ or ‘selective’ refusers,” said Wind.

Because of their specific disagreement with Israeli policies, said Wind, the Shministim were left with two options: to enlist, or to go to a mili-tary jail on a charge of disobeying orders. They chose the latter as a “public statement” of their ideas. Wind and nine other Shimistim members were tried and imprisoned.

The bulk of Wind’s talk focused on the rea-sons why she opposes the Israeli occupation of of the West Bank. She detailed the history of Is-raeli settlements in the West Bank and the ways that, in her view, Israel benefits economically from them. She also spent time discussing why she believes that Israeli policies are bad for Is-rael. “I’m an Israeli, and this is not just bad for the Palestinian society,” she said. She said that the militarism of Israeli society increases sex-ism: Women are generally given clerical jobs in the military, and since one’s military career is important for later job applications and politi-cal campaigns, women are less likely to become leaders in society without prestigious military pasts. Another effect she mentioned was that issues like the economy and the environment are rarely considered by voters; campaigns, she said, focus mainly on security and Palestine.

“Being a refuser in Israel is a very difficult position, a very isolating stand,” said Wind. “I don’t represent the majority of Israeli society; in fact, I’d be generous if I said [I represented] one percent. This opinion I’m presenting to you is not how most Israelis view the conflict.” And just as her positions are unpopular in Israel, Wind has also faced opposition on her U.S. tour. “Today was a very friendly audience, relatively,” she said after the talk. “A lot of times I get yelled at.” When she opened for questions, Wind said that she welcomed disagreement, though the questions ended up being fairly mild: A few au-dience members clearly disagreed with her, but their questions explored specific policies rather than disagreeing outright. The lack of strong op-position was surprising at Vassar, where debates of the issue can get heated on both sides.

Wind has been touring the United States for sa few weeks, giving talks at colleges and com-munity centers, some of them with another Shminstim member, Netta Mishly. She was brought to Vassar by Nadine Souto ’11, a friend of hers from high school, who contacted several Vassar groups when she heard that Wind was doing a U.S. tour and asked them to sponsor her talk. It was sponsored by the Student Activist Union, the Vassar Green Party, the American Culture Program and the Department of Earth Science and Geography.

Israeli political objector opens up to students

Caitlin HalaszseNior editor

The number of applicants for Teach for America (TFA) has risen dramatically in this de-cade. TFA takes applicants with a broad range of interests in education and advocacy.

Courtesy of T

each for Am

erica

FEATURES October 8, 2009Page 6

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

Collaboration across countriesinvigorates Rights conference

GERMANY continued from page 1

in common.” In addition to his work at Heidel-berg University, Klimke works out of the Ger-man Historical Institute in Washington, D.C. The focus of Klimke’s research at the Institute has been on the impact of black political activ-ism on student organization in both East and West Germany.

Whereas Höhn’s work focuses on the “huge transfer of people” from the United States to Germany in the 1940s, Klimke has investigated the impact those people left on Germany, par-ticularly how the Black Power movement in-fluenced organizers in East Berlin after World War II. He wondered, “What makes German students interested in the Black Panthers?” and used that as a starting point for his research.

According to Klimke, East Berliners were able to point to the inequality they faced under Soviet rule in East Germany and compare it to the injustices committed against black Ameri-cans. Despite their differences, East Berlin ac-tivists were able to eke out an unlikely solidarity with the Black Panthers. The movements were “highly politicized in both contexts,” Klimke said. The Black Panthers became “role models as revolutionaries [for East Berliners].”

Höhn added that German students were not a repressed minority like black Americans, and that the struggle for Germans was a more “ex-istential one,” particularly against old-world colonial powers. “For many [East Germans] it wasn’t an East-West thing,” she said, “inequality remained a global issue.”

She also pointed out that the Black Panthers benefited from the similarities they were able to draw between East Germany and the United States. By comparing the two countries, said Höhn, the Black Panthers were able to attack the credibility of the so-called “free world.”

“I wish someone would tell these stories,” said Höhn.

In addition to last weekend’s conference, Höhn and Klimke are finishing work on a web-site that they envision as a “depository for oral histories,” as a way to tell these stories. (Avail-able at http://www.aacvr-germany.org). They hope the relationship between black Americans and Germans can become an established part of history curricula in both Germany and the United States.

The formation of the website and the confer-ence have been particularly pleasurable expe-riences for both Klimke and Höhn for reasons aside from the obvious. Höhn says she spends as much time in Germany as possible—“I go every year”—and even took two full sabbatical years to study there, but it’s still easy to imag-ine that she racked up a fairly large phone bill in planning for last weekend’s conference. The

conference was the product of almost five years of international correspondence, but Klimke and Höhn had no complaints about the logistics of working with another researcher overseas.

In concert with the internationalism of the project, Höhn sees a local application for her work. She has been working with Poughkeep-sie and Arlington High Schools to incorporate some aspects of the conference and the digital archive into the curricula there.

“We see [the archive] as a democratic tool,” said Höhn, and she is hopeful will find its way to a broader audience.

Vassar students have gotten involved with Klimke and Höhn’s project as well. Madeleine Joyce ’10 has contributed to the digital archive by collecting oral histories from family, friends and neighbors. “I knew [Höhn] was collect-ing research and stories of African American soldiers who were stationed in Germany, so when I randomly found out that my neighbor had been in Germany in the ’50s, I told [Höhn], who wanted it up on the website,” wrote Joyce in an e-mailed statement. “I edited the footage I took of [my neighbor] into a little oral history documentary, and it’s up on the digital archive now.”

Daniel Gilberg ’10 has also been working with Höhn, who is his thesis advisor and whose research interests influence his own research. Under Höhn’s direction, Gilberg is conduct-ing research on black American athletes at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. “I’m looking at athletic competition and how it tested Hitler’s racial ideologies,” said Gilberg, adding, “and how it proved him wrong.”

Höhn has been an invaluable source of guid-ance for Gilberg, who said the topic came in large part from her research on black Ameri-cans in Germany. “It was sort of her idea,” he said, “and I expanded upon it.” He added, “The number of sources she draws upon is unfath-omable.” Last weekend’s conference helped Gilberg place his thesis topic in a larger con-text. For Gilberg, this topic is particularly inter-esting because he sees the 1936 Olympics as a “clash of racial and national ideologies” similar to the one that took place in post-war Germany and the United States.

Whether you call it a “clash” or a sharing of ideologies, it seems fitting that a confer-ence documenting and discussing the Amer-ican-German encounter in the 20th century should come from such an international team of researchers. “It has been a partnership that transcends countries and academic levels,” said Höhn. The exhibit African American Civil Rights and Germany in the 20th Century will be open for public viewing at the Palmer Gallery until Oct. 29.

Civil Rights activist and writer Angela Davis signs autographs after the conference’s key-note address on Friday, Oct. 2. Davis spoke about her time in Germany and her activism.

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hour work day for six weeks, teaching and taking classes each day—was “exhausting and overbearing.” Having survived the Institute, Kelly is now a seventh grade science teacher at Gateway Middle School in St. Louis, Missouri. Nearly all of the students at the magnet school qualify for free lunch and about 30 percent of his students met state testing standards last year. Kelly said that although most of his stu-dents come into his classroom with an assigned fourth-grade reading level, they “have experi-enced quite a bit in life, more than most of the people I went to college with,” and that “they are in many ways very mature young people in terms of their experience in the world.”

Still, Kelly said, “it’s very, very easy to become cynical quickly in this job. There’s so much that these students have to struggle with.”

Kelly studied sociology at Vassar and never took an education course. He said that it was his experience working in the Poughkeepsie community that directed him towards TFA, and encouraged Vassar students to use the city as a resource.

“At Vassar and in Poughkeepsie, you have a chance to really delve deeply into social issues that frame America today,” Kelly said. “I spent a lot of time working in Poughkeepsie, so urban issues and poverty were concepts that were al-ready very concrete to me. I didn’t necessarily know when I got accepted what a five-step les-son plan was, but I at least had some perspec-tive of what it’s like to live through poverty or to grow up in an urban setting where there’s not always a lot of stability.”

Kelly said his work schedule has remained fairly consistent. He is awake at 5:30 in the morning and in his classroom by 7:00 a.m. He teaches four classes throughout the day and leaves school by 4:00 p.m. or 5:00 p.m. At home he makes dinner and takes time to unwind, but is still up until midnight working on lesson plans and grading.

“Teaching is one of the most ridiculous jobs anyone will ever enter,” Kelly said. “If you come into this experience not 100 percent committed to giving every ounce of your being, it’s going to be really hard all across the board.”

Similarly, Robertson-Salt said that her ex-perience, although incredibly rewarding, has included a tremendous amount of self-sacri-fice—especially in comparison to her college lifestyle. She said it was a difficult transition to make just eight weeks removed from her Vassar graduation.

“You have to be completely willing to sac-rifice yourself to what you’re doing: your free time, what you enjoy, possibly your own sanity,” she added, laughing. “You have to be willing to completely put yourself aside for your kids.”

Although all of the Vassar alums working in TFA who were interviewed for this article said their experience was personally rewarding and productive, only McSheehy said she would con-tinue teaching immediately after her TFA con-tract expires this spring.

“TFA makes no bones about the fact that they don’t want everyone to stay a teacher,” Weishaupt said, explaining that the organiza-tion has a stated goal for the number of alums they hope to see in public office over the next decade. “The idea is to build a mission. They want people to become lifelong advocates for education.”

“Right now I’m not even sure how much lon-ger I’ll be teaching,” he continued. “One thing that’s appealing about TFA is it takes kids who don’t know the answer to the question, ‘What do you want to do when you grow up?’ and gives them a real experience.”

Kelly referenced a statistic that about 10 per-cent of TFA corps members enter the program with a stated interest in working in education long-term, and yet close to two-thirds of the alumnae/i base currently work in education in some capacity.

“The people that get into TFA believe in a re-sponsibility for taking care of larger issues, and in rethinking the education system,” Kelly said. “There’s often the criticism that TFA doesn’t prepare us well enough for teaching, but what that really means is that there’s a bad system. There’s no level of preparation they could give

[us] to be really prepared for the environment and not be shocked in some shape or form.”

Both Kelly and Weishaupt said they hope to pursue graduate school in the near future, and to possibly get involved in the administrative or policy branches of public education. Weishaupt also said he hopes to start his own charter school some day. Robertson-Salt, who worked as a docent at the Francis Lehman Loeb Art Center while at Vassar, will pursue a career in art education once her time with TFA is up.

“TFA will admit that it is not designed as a teaching program; it’s a leadership program,” Robertson-Salt said. “If anyone truly wants to go into teaching as a profession, then I don’t think TFA is what they should do. It’s so intense that it doesn’t make for a long-term commit-ment to the teaching field.”

“The double-edged sword is that in this pro-gram, you are much more than a teacher,” she reflected. “You’re a counselor, a parent, a coach, a motivator, a confidant. It takes so much out of you to be everything to these kids. On the other hand, you see how much you impact their lives—on personal and academic levels.”

McSheehy said that she will likely spend an-other year teaching at her school in Bedford-Stuyvesant and will look to stay in the class-room once she earns her Masters.

“Overall, TFA has definitely encouraged me to continue teaching,” McSheehy said, adding, “which is pretty impressive—I really do believe it is one of the most physically, emotionally, mentally exhausting jobs in the world. But I also think it’s a great job. A really, really hard, but often fun and rewarding job. I never go home feeling unsatisfied.”

Other OptionsZack Miller ’09 began looking for teaching jobs during October break of his senior year, when he had an “epiphany” and realized he wanted to be a teacher. By April, he had two offers on the table: he could teach special needs students near where he grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, or he could teach private school students in the suburbs outside of Washington, D.C. Miller accepted the middle school math teach-ing position at Browne Academy, a K-8 school with a $22,000 tuition.

Miller said that when he told the TFA re-cruiter that he would not be enrolling in the program, he was accused of being selfish.

“He phrased it as if I was choosing to give up on America’s youth and the students that needed me most,” Miller recalled. “I thought the other way. I said: I’m going to be a first-year teacher. I’m nowhere near being the best teach-er I can possibly be. I knew I could become a good teacher, but I wanted to learn to do it, and I wanted to learn to do it with kids who, as he said, don’t need my help that much.”

At Browne Academy, Miller—a film major at Vassar who took a number of education courses and twice taught in a summer school program—teaches four math classes, a technology class and a self-designed elective on screenwriting. His largest class has eight students. He said the majority of his students have “overly involved” parents who can pay for additional tutoring, music lessons and sports teams, and who won’t hesitate to demand more from their children’s educators. “Let’s be honest,” Miller said, laugh-ing, “most of these kids are going to go to col-lege anyway—even if I mess up.”

“I’m learning a ton, and when I do mess up, I feel like the consequences aren’t as dire,” Miller said. “The TFA model has some issues, and it would be interesting to work from the inside of their structure, but I decided that I wanted to learn to be a teacher first.”

Miller was hired through a recruitment firm called Carney & Sandoe Associates, which helps pair teachers looking for work with inde-pendent and private schools across the country. He said that he had no hesitation in beginning his career at a private school, and he plans to stay at Browne for at least another year before applying to graduate school for education.

“I love my job and I know I’ll stick to teach-ing,” Miller said, adding that even though his school might have better resources than a TFA placement, “it’s still hard. I’m up until 2:00 in

See EDUCATION on page 8

Graduates weigh in on costs, benefits of Teach for America

FEATURES Page 7October 8, 2009

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil »1 large onion, chopped »1 clove garlic chopped »1 bulb fennel, thinly sliced »1 butternut squash, peeled, de-seeded, »cut into 1/2 inch dice1 1/2 cups quinoa »3 1/2 cups vegetable stock »Salt and pepper, to taste »Chopped green onions, to garnish »

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over me-1.

dium heat.Add the garlic and onions and sauté 2. until translucent, (about 5-7 minutes). Remember: Each time you add an in-gredient you’ll want to sprinkle a little kosher salt over it to maximize flavor development.Add the fennel and sauté 3 minutes 3. more.Add the squash and 1/2 cup of stock. 4. Cook a few minutes until almost all of the liquid has evaporated.

Add the quinoa and stir until it’s well 5. combined.Add the stock and turn the heat to low. 6. Simmer for about 15 minutes, until all the liquid is absorbed and the squash is tender. (If you’re making this recipe with the salad, while the quinoa is sim-mering is the right time to start on the salad).To serve, place some quinoa in a bowl 7. and top with the chopped green onion.

1 1/2 tablespoons whole grain mustard »2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar »1/2 lemon, juiced »1 teaspoon honey »3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil »Salt and pepper, to taste »

A note on salad dressings: Salad dress-ings are easy—embarrassingly easy if you’re someone who has relied on Wish-bone your entire life. They can be made with virtually anything you have in your fridge, and really only require three things: some acid (lemon juice, balsamic vinegar), some oil (canola or olive) and some flare (mustard, maple syrup, honey, soy sauce, sesame oil, jam). If you look in cookbooks

from the 70s, they will tell you to maintain a ratio of three parts oil to one part acid. To me, that’s a recipe for greasy madness. I like my dressings a bit more acidic and usually do a 1:1 or 2:1 ratio at most. The trick is to mix everything together and then add the oil last—drizzling it in slowly as you whisk. This is called emulsifying—it’s what will keep your dressing from separating in the fridge.

Combine the mustard, vinegar, lemon 1. juice and honey in a bowl.Slowly drizzle in the olive oil, as you 2. whisk.Add salt and pepper to taste.3.

Quinoa with Fennel and Butternut Squash

Whole Grain Mustard Vinaigrette

ExposureVassar in pictures

Available Onlineat miscellanynews.com

To view this recipe step-by-step in photos, please visit the Miscellany’s photojournalism blog, Exposure.

Scout MacEachron /Th

e Miscellany N

ews

1 bunch arugula, washed and dried »1 head butter lettuce, roughly chopped »2 pears, cut into thin slices »6 oz. blue cheese (doesn’t matter which »kind—I used gorgonzola, but only be-cause it was on sale) »1/2 lemon »

Whole grain mustard vinaigrette, recipe »follows

Immediately after you slice the pears, 1. toss them with the juice from the lemon. This will prevent oxidization (turning brown) and make your pears appear fresh in the salad. And a quick note:

never never, never use lemon juice from a bottle. I dare you to taste it alongside fresh juice; you’ll understand.Combine the lettuces and top with the 2. pears.Carefully, use your fingers crumble the 3. blue cheese over the salad.Top with the vinaigrette4.

Arugula, Pear and Blue Cheese Salad

http://blogs.miscellanynews.com/exposure

Quick dish delivers garden-fresh, seasonal vegetables

If you have ever believed that vegetarian food was boring, bland, unsatisfying or unappealing, think

again. This week’s recipe is an absolute treat for your taste buds, whether you’re a meat-eater, veggie-lover or a little bit of both. It is healthy, delicious, filling and takes no more than forty minutes from fridge to table.

A quick aside—I had a great moment at Adam’s this week talking with the cashier while another em-ployee did a price check on the vegetable stock I pur-chased, which I noticed was marked down from the price that rang up on the register. After the cashier found out I was a student at Vassar there was a long pause, as he looked me up and down with deep sus-picion. Unsure of whether or not he should say what he was thinking, he blurted out that he didn’t take me for a Vassar student because I wasn’t wearing plaid. Not knowing how to respond, I chuckled awkwardly. Just then I was informed that apparently I can’t read and the stock was not on sale. Not the best ten sec-onds of my life. You’ll notice that I decided to cook in plaid this week as a tribute to my new friend, the cashier.

That behind us, I squeezed in just under budget this week, at $19.91. The quinoa and stock together ate up almost half of my budget, which should come as no surprise to anyone who clucks in disgust each time we shell out $4 for 4 cups of stock. A word to the wise: Make. Your. Own. You know all those onion skins and carrot tops, juiced lemons and pars-ley stems, cabbage cores and fennel frawns that clog your compost each week? Save them. Put them in your freezer and when you’ve gathered enough just toss them in a large pot, cover them with water and simmer the dickens out of them until you’re left with a rich, golden brown liquid. Your “trash” will save you money every time you shop and you’ll end up with a better product than anything you can buy in stores.

Let’s discuss quinoa for a moment. The first thing to know about it is that it’s pronounced keen-wah, not quinn-oh-a or queue-in-oh. It’s a grain that originated in the Andes region of South America about 6,000 years ago, and it is a vegetarian chef’s best-kept secret. Quicker-cooking than white rice, healthier than brown rice and more versatile than ei-ther, quinoa should become a staple in your kitchen. Paired with the delicious fall vegetables butternut squash and fennel, the quinoa becomes a hearty one-dish meal.

Fennel is a vegetable that looks sort of like a big onion with celery growing out of it, and it has a deli-cious crisp, anise-y autumn flavor. Though it is sau-téed in this recipe, it can also be eaten raw in salads, or braised for soup. Butternut squash, apart from being one of the most delicious creations the land has ever bestowed upon our dinner tables, provides a beautiful color and textural contrast in the dish.

The rustic, stewed quality of the quinoa dish pairs beautifully with the crisp fall salad of arugula, pear and blue cheese. Because arugula is a bit peppery, I added some butter lettuce to the salad to tone it down, but if you’re an arugula fan, eat it straight up. It is that pepperiness that works so beautifully with the sweet crunch of the pear and the pungent creaminess of the blue cheese. The dressing mirrors the flavors of the salad with the spicy mustard along-side the sweet honey. You should also note that this recipe easily becomes vegan by omitting the cheese and replacing the honey with a more natural, animal-free sweetener.

As a final note, I’d just like to let you all know that in future weeks I’m happy to devote some of this space to answering any questions you have or to take your suggestions on what to cook in an upcoming is-sue. I can keep dreaming recipes up indefinitely, but if there’s a dish you’re craving, don’t hesitate to let me know. Until next issue, happy eating.

Nate SilverGuest ColumNist

Grocery ListVegetable Stock $3.99Quinoa $4.99Gorgonzola Cheese $1.601 lemon $0.401 butternut squash $1.141 bulb fennel $2.292 Bosc pears $1.041 onion $0.59Green onions $0.69Arugula $1.49Butter Lettuce $1.69

Total: $19.91

FEATURES October 8, 2009Page 8

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

Students offer and counterassumed dorm stereotypes

Rewind to early summer, freshman year. Your hands trembled as you tore open the

housing letter to see whether you had been sorted into the party dorm, the dorm with the nice bathrooms or the all-women’s dorm. At Vassar, each dorm comes with its own stereo-types, but are they really true?

Jewett: Jewett House, with its snazzy-chic lobby and four-star-hotel-esque grandeur, is the pride and joy of some residents. Others are not so reverent. Jewett often carries the moni-ker “phallus palace” for its suggestive structure, and some students feel its residents are overly charmed by their living environment.Daniele Selby ’12 said, “it’s trendy, but in this irritatingly pretentious way.”

Davison: Fresh from a year of renovation, Davison is the newest dorm on the quad. Some students referred to Davison as “sterile,” “an-tiseptic,” and as welcoming as “a quarantine ward.” Davison resident Violeta Picayo ’13 ob-jected, saying, “Everyone who lives in it calls it a home.” “It’s my favorite dorm other than my own,” Main resident Aayushi Sethi ’13 said, add-ing that her friends there love its new features. “We’re so used to the neatness and the newness that we can’t go to other dorms because we’re not used to it,” added Picayo.

Raymond: “There isn’t even a stereotype about Raymond,” said Freshmen Class Vice President Matthew Horton. For their part, though, Raymond residents definitely love Raymond. Raymond Junior Representative David Isein ’11 described the house as a “close-knit dorm.” House President Samin Sheheb ’11 said that he sees an “increase in dorm pride” this year and that Raymond has a “strong com-munity and identity.” “One thing we have been called is the quirky dorm, and we do celebrate this,” Sheheb said.

Cushing: For those who don’t live in Cush-ing, the dorm can often seem too far away to care about. It has also earned the designation as Vassar’s “Harry Potter dorm” for its Gothic architecture. Cushing Sophomore Representa-tive Samuel Lahne ’12 said that a lot of the per-ceptions about Cushing were exaggerated. He defended the dorm’s location, saying, “It’s not that far away.” Lahne said that he liked living in Cushing because “it’s kind of like a real home. Everyone knows everyone.”

Josselyn: Joseph Hoffheimer ’11 described Joss residents as “a bunch of isolated hipsters.”

Josselyn House President Elianne Shutze ’12 is quick to defend her home. “Well, we do have a lot of hipsters,” she conceded, “but we’re not isolated.” “Beyond the amazing bathrooms and gorgeous hardwood floors, Joss is defined by its unmatched sense of community,” Josselyn Stu-dent Fellow Matthew Wheeler ’12 said.

Main: “Too much goes on in Main,” said Benjamin Dozier ’13. Unlike other dorms, stu-dents’ reactions to Main were largely neutral, and left little for its loyal residents to defend. Perhaps its use as an administrative building and the location of College Center effectively cloud Main’s identity as a dorm. Main residents said that they love living in the largest building on campus, even though it can at first be dif-ficult to navigate.

Strong: Strong House President Laura Riker ’11 said that “a lot of the struggle for the House team is to get people excited about liv-ing in Strong.” Riker noted that the all-female dorm is indeed “quiet,” but that a quieter dorm can be nice to come home to after a long day of classes.

She also said that Strong’s house team offered a number of opportunities for dorm bonding, and said that its residents made up the “most diverse dorm” on campus.

Noyes: While Christine Astor ’13 called Noyes “the coolest building I’ve seen on cam-pus,” others were not so positive.

“It’s fitting that all the awkward people are in the awkward dorm,” Jason Rubin ’13 said.

Noyes House President Hannah Groch-Beg-ley ’12 was vehement in her defense and love of Noyes. She praised its facilities, saying that the dorm has “doors on the showers” and “big rooms.” “We have such great living facilities. If people want to think we’re weird, that’s fine,” said Groch-Begley. She added that “Noyes is actually a pretty awesome place to live. It’s smaller, so we have great community.”

Lathrop: Lathrop House has a widely-ac-cepted reputation as a party dorm. “I’ve heard it’s the party dorm,” said Astor, “and that’s all I’ve heard.” Other non-Lathrop residents cited the dorm’s “useless” bathrooms, and “really small” hallways as negative points. “All those things are true, but we’ve got character,” said former Lathrop Junior Representative Jonny Yao ’11. “Our bathrooms may not be the hottest bathrooms on the block—but the people are,” he added. Yao also conceded his dorm’s party stereotypes, saying, “I’m glad people still think of us as the party dorm.”

Jill Levine and Aashim UsgaonkarGuest reporters

Poughkeepsie unveils historic Walkway Over Hudson

One year ago, the Poughkeepsie-Highland Railroad Bridge stood as a relic of a former

generation, a reminder of a time that had missed out on the benefits of the changing 20th-century economy. When it was built in 1889, the bridge was an engineering triumph—the longest bridge in the world, and, as the only river crossing be-tween New York City and Albany, was a linchpin of the Northeast’s infrastructure.

This past weekend, the bridge rose from the ashes of a 1979 fire that ended a century of use to become, once again, a marvel of design: the longest pedestrian footbridge in the world. As the newest member of New York’s 179 state parks, the 1.25 mile long, 212 foot high Walkway Over the Hudson, connecting the town of Lloyd with downtown Poughkeepsie, was opened to the public in a display of economic rebirth and historical symbolism befitting the quadracen-tennial of Henry Hudson’s epic journey and the state’s founding.

This weekend-long celebration featured Gov-ernor David Paterson, with New York’s First Lady Michelle Paterson, U.S. Senator Charles Schumer, U.S. Congressmen Maurice Hinchey and John Hall, and Vassar President Catharine Hill. These dignitaries came together with builders and donors for the grand opening cer-emony last Saturday morning. “This is a histori-cal cultural structure,” Governor Paterson pro-claimed in his opening remarks, “this has been transformed into a park unlike any in the world.” Indeed, most of the elected officials who spoke

hailed the economic boons of having restored this bridge.

“We’ve taken a powerhouse of the old econ-omy and transformed it into a powerhouse of a new economy,” said Schumer, who also spoke of how tourists from around the Untied States, and eventually the world, will hopefully make their way to the Hudson Valley to see this bridge and the unique surrounding landscape that has in-spired thousands.

The original bridge’s construction was also noteworthy for the speed with which it was constructed. The original Railway Bridge was built in just three years--an impressively short

time for the 1880s. The new Walkway raised the bar even further by being completely renovated in under two years, albeit with extensive public and private funding that totaled $38.8 million.

According to an economic impact analysis compiled for the project, however, profit from the bridge will be turned rather quickly, as pro-jections approximate that $21 million will be generated annually, and that 307 full-time per-manent jobs will be created to go along with the 258 full-time temporary, construction jobs.

Many of the workers involved in the day-to-day construction of the project were happy to describe the demands of the job. Crane opera-

tors worked every day inside the natural wind tunnel that is the Hudson River, often enduring winds faster than 55 miles per hour.

Metalworkers also had their hands full com-pletely reworking the structure of the bridge. “Every beam, every structure, every bolt has been taken care of,” explained one of the proj-ect’s foremen. The design of this new walkway focused on sustainable design and “green” con-struction. One key way the Walkway seeks to achieve environmental sustainability is by pro-hibiting automobile traffic on the bridge. Ad-ditionally, the bridge is lit with high-efficiency LED lighting that requires only 4000 watts to illuminate the entire walkway, saving hundreds of thousands of dollars in energy costs. The walkway is also interconnected with an existing network of trails, allowing visitors, in the words of the Frist Lady of New York, to be “linked to miles of trails and waterfront parks for exercise and recreation, drawing visitors to [the Hud-son’s] panoramic views for years to come.”

Folk legend Pete Seeger, who will make an ap-pearance at Vassar on October 10th, performed at the center of the bridge to crowds brave enough to face the rainy, gray day. Simultaneous parades were also held, proceeding from both sides of the walkway. Add to this the open-air, illuminated dances held at night, as well as the previous evening’s fireworks show, and the Riv-er became irresistable to many.

For those that are interested in running, bik-ing, or walking over the mighty Hudson, the park can be accessed via Parker Walkway in Poughkeepsie and Havilland Road in Highland.

Daniel Combsreporter

On Saturday, Oct. 3, New York politicians and local residents celebrated the long-antici-pated opening of the pedestrian walkway on the Poughkeepsie-Highland Railroad Bridge.

Image courtesy of W

alkway O

ver the Hudson

Some prefer commitment of traditional teaching career EDUCATION continued from page 6

the morning making lesson plans every night.”“Teaching private school kids is socially

just,” he added. “At Vassar I remember feeling I had to ‘help’ the poor inner city kids. But what if you’re not ready, what if you’re not a good teacher? Then, you’re having a negative impact. Obviously, that’s on a case-by-case basis. But it serves as an automatic invitation into the sys-tem without having to think thoroughly about the consequences. Teaching isn’t just some-thing you hop into to try out. It’s a craft and a career that you work at and perfect. It’s not a community service side project.”

Jerald Isseks ’07 admitted that he was intimi-dated by TFA and doubted that he could have handled the teaching environments its corps members are typically placed in. So when his application was rejected, he wasn’t too disap-pointed. Instead he enrolled in the graduate school for education at Boston University and earned a Master of Arts in Teaching through an affordable one-year program. He is now cre-dentialed to teach in the state of Massachusetts, but is having difficulty finding employment.

“I decided to take a lot of pedagogical and practical education courses to boost my confi-dence and my arsenal in the classroom,” Isseks explained. “My graduate program was great because I received a ton of consistent support from three separate sets of superiors—my pro-fessors, my supervisors and my host teachers.”

“I see teaching as something that I want to do for a long period of time,” Isseks added. “I see it as a skill I want to acquire from the bottom up, with each year becoming more innovative and more exciting. So I’m not really concerned about not having thrust myself into a wild and fast-paced full school year environment yet.”

Melissa Jones ’08 applied to the New York City Teaching Fellows program during her senior year and her application was rejected. She lived and worked in Brooklyn for a year and was accepted into the NYC Civic Corps, a sub-program of AmeriCorps VISTA. Jones now works on the volunteer management team for Girls Incorporated, a nonprofit advocacy organization for girls aged 6 to 18. “In this job, I’m still working toward the same overall goal as Teaching Fellows—to alleviate inequalities and close the achievement gap—I’m just ap-proaching it from a different angle,” Jones said. “Getting a hands-on, grassroots experience was great advice for me, and I would offer the same guidance to current students interested in

teaching.” Familian also encouraged students to consider alternative routes to teaching—such as graduate school, nonprofit work, or teaching abroad—and to attempt, during their undergrad years, to see if teaching is for them.

“Education is one of few subjects at Vassar that actually gives you opportunity to do things in the real world,” Familian said. “It enables you to apply the theory you’re learning to some-thing real—to actual people and actual lives—as opposed to being sort of lost in a theoretical academia that you never really see.”

“If someone really wants to teach, they should go for it,” Bjork said. “There’s no career that’s more rewarding. It’s also very challenging and at times frustrating, but whether it’s going to be for two years or twenty years, they should do it. The question to ask yourself is what route will make you feel most successful.”

Kelly said that students interested in teach-ing should consider TFA because it is part of a more long-term process to overhaul and im-prove the country’s education system. “Change takes time,” Kelly said. “Our education system is not going to change in a year or two years or a decade...We should critique the national sys-tem instead of what TFA is attempting to do, which is to provide our students with opportu-nity they might not otherwise have access to.”

Robertson-Salt finished her grading later in the afternoon. In an e-mail sent that evening, she admitted she had been feeling discouraged by the F’s on her students’ quizzes, and she wanted to give examples of the “good stuff,” the reasons she still loved her job—just in case it hadn’t been clear.

“My first year was rough,” Robertson-Salt wrote, “It takes so much out of you to be ev-erything to these kids. But the tenth graders I taught last year are now coming back to visit me. It’s unbelievably rewarding.”

Roellke said that our education system cer-tainly needs more ambitious, passionate young teachers with a liberal arts education, and that makes Vassar students such as Robertson-Salt perfect candidates for TFA. But he questioned whether or not it was a program that can sus-tain American schools.

“TFA’s strength is raising awareness among high achieving, talented undergraduates about potential careers in teaching,” Roellke said. “We could use more Vassar students in the classroom. But we need them there for more than two years, and we need them to be more fully prepared and supported.”

OPINIONS Page 9October 8, 2009

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

Chandna’s lecture was to spark debate:Reactions lacked constructive response

Last Thursday, the Vassar Animal Rights Coalition (VARC), with the help of People

for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), hosted a lecture by Dr. Alka Chandna, PhD. Her presentation on animal testing used Vas-sar as a stepping-stone, a way for students to explore the issue on a more personal level with the hope that we would be inspired to start a productive conversation—or at least a relevant one.

Four days later, I’m overwhelmed with conflicting emotions. I feel satisfied with Dr. Chandna’s professional and thorough discus-sion of animal rights and grateful for that op-portunity, though I feel truly saddened by the lack of a constructive response to the issue, I feel anxious about how to go on addressing the plight of animals when so few seem to view them as worthy of protecting.

I do not, however, feel apologetic. I am not sorry that VARC worked alongside an orga-nization (in)famous for scandal and I am not sorry that Dr. Chandna presented facts that put so many students and faculty on the defen-sive. It’s about time for an honest discussion of our complicity.

While I agree with Dr. Chandna’s stance on abolishing all animal testing, rejecting it as an antiquated, expensive, exploitative, and incon-sistent science for which there are several su-perior alternatives, I want to avoid using this space to reiterate her arguments.

Many students who attended the lecture—which cited only psychological research re-ports, published scientific studies, current legal regulations, and first-hand observations of mistreatment, neglect and abuse—are still voicing outrage at what they perceive to be “wrongful attacks” on their professional and academic work.

To be clear, never once did Dr. Chandna discredit the field of science, nor personally attack those working for or within the depart-ments of psychology, biology, or chemistry. When she did name specific individuals or cite certain department studies, it was in the context of showing that animal testing—which she vehemently opposes—is occurring on our campus.

Dr. Chandna was also clear in stating that the animal experimentation at Vassar is mild compared to that at other universities, and she was explicit in contrasting testing practices on campuses with those in pharmaceutical, cos-metic, and chemical labs.

In the end, however, her argument and mine is that all experimentation on living beings is cruel and, in the twenty-first century, unnec-essary.

I’d like to believe that the skepticism that

followed the event is a manifestation of an unwillingness to view animals as emotion-ally and intellectually complex beings. I’m sure if I attended a lecture where the suc-cess of the presentation depended on my ac-ceptance that a kitchen table—something my work depended on, something I was sure was less valuable, less capable, less evolved, than those I held dear—was being exploited, and that I was directly or indirectly responsible for that exploitation I, too, would walk away with skepticism and more than a little outrage. However, the problem, I feel, has roots much deeper than the minimization of a songbird’s worth. It is a problem born out of a culture of power struggles.

Thus it is both expected but ironic that several accusations have been made suggest-ing supporters of Dr. Chandna’s argument are ignorant or apathetic about the suffering of people, that we believe the lives of animals are more valuable than those of human beings.

This assumption is, frankly, baseless and superficial. The point that animal-testing ab-olitionists—or any individuals concerned with the welfare of other species—make is not that animals should be given higher consideration than humans, but that they should be consid-ered equally.

Yes, my family and friends will continue to benefit from centuries of animal testing, and for that I am somberly grateful. But as Dr. Chandna iterated and re-iterated, we can now thankfully move away from and beyond the in-adequate science of animal research. We can continue to find cures and solutions to human problems without leaving a death toll in our wake.

This fundamental point—the need to con-sider other species as our equals and not our subjects—alludes to what I believe was the core of Dr. Chandna’s talk, and what I consider the reigning problem on campus and else-where.

While I would never attempt, as some have, to draw parallels between human atrocities and animal ones, it would be naïve to miss the points of intersection.

In my opinion, the subjecting of animals to the will of humans—whether in the name of a cure for cancer or a new mascara—is a very real example of our privileged ideology.

By assuming that an “other,” in this case an-other species, is ours for the taking (for fac-tory farming, wearing, experimentation), and by ignoring its natural necessities, its sensory feelings and emotions, its family bonds, its psychological well-being, its fears, we are ex-plicitly exerting our privilege and power over it.

Clearly this ideology does not stop at animal testing. This is the mentality of our culture.

Sadly, this mentality has also shaped many of the campus responses to last Thursday’s event. Much of the talk, spawned by professors in classrooms, circulated via group emails, and even posted on Facebook pages, has consisted of self-defensive outrage and what I can only again call closed-minded assumptions. Regard-less of the diversity of cultural, socio-econom-ic, ideological, and academic backgrounds of the members of the Vassar Animal Rights Co-alition, gross accusations about our group have been spread in a way that is not only offensive, but also fundamentally counter-productive to any discussion about the issue at the heart of Dr. Chandna’s presentation.

We have been called a group of white, wealthy, privileged racists, accused of “mak-ing misinformed and damaging allegations,” and subjected to condescending and patron-izing questions from local media. Indeed, even campus-wide news media has been success-ful in covering “the response” to what they call “PETA’s accusations,” but not the urgent issues Dr. Chandna attempted to raise. Most disheartening of all is the absolute absence, in the aftermath, of a discussion of animals and their rights.

I would be happy to know that a productive kind of controversy was sparked by Dr. Chand-na’s presentation—that students and staff and faculty were debating issues of ethics and sci-entific validity and merit. But instead we have completely sidestepped the issues at hand and have resorted to defense tactics and reaction-ary slander.

Last Thursday’s event offered the fodder for a rich discussion and a chance to consider modern and non-exploitative alternatives in our labs.

Dr. Chandna brought her extensive research and her personal passion to our campus and we responded with a stubborn refusal to listen to her message.

When we should have taken this opportu-nity to look at larger systems of oppression, to draw connections between the way we eat and study and learn from others, to consider how we may become more prolific members of our ecological communities, some of us chose to remain content in ignorance.

While I can never hope to convince all stu-dents and faculty that the animals we view as specimens are beautiful, complex, valuable assets to our environment, I can still try to move this conversation forward in hopes of creating scientific progress rather than ethical enemies.

—Kristina Sarhadi ’10 is a member of the

Vassar Animal Rights Coalition. Opinions ex-

pressed in her guest column are not a represen-

tation of the Coalition as a whole.

Kristina SarhadiGuest ColumNist

Lecture driven by agenda, not honest facts

Last Thursday, the Vassar Animal Rights Co-alition (VARC) sponsored a presentation en-

titled “Testing 1...2...3: Behind the Scenes of Vas-sar’s Laboratories.” The presenter was Dr. Alka Chandna, a lab oversight specialist from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). The title and subject attracted a decent crowd to the event: about 50 students and even the local news. Gauging from applause and reactions to controversial slides, the audience seemed to be about 50 percent VARC members and support-ers, 25 percent curious scientists and 25 percent mostly neutral attendees. The presentation was a PowerPoint about 45 minutes long, but con-trary to what was advertised in the title, only a few slides and about ten minutes worth of time were devoted to discussing Vassar labs. Most of the presentation was criticisms of the cosmetic, pharmaceutical and food industries along with animal testing at other universities.

I have no issue with the concern shown about animal testing procedures and conditions. My primary issue—and the concern that many sci-ence majors in the audience expressed—with the event was the manner in which VARC and the PETA representative went about making their point. Prior to the event, flyers accusing Vassar faculty of abusing animals in research circu-lated about campus using unnecessarily harsh language to describe controlled procedures. In the presentation itself, Chandna identified three Vassar faculty members and criticized their research on animals as reckless and with-out restrictions. Furthermore, she showed the faculty’s publications that resulted from their work and pointed out that none had been fined by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). If this research was so crude, Vassar it-self, the peers who reviewed those publications or the USDA would have shut down these op-erations. In response, Chandna claims that since the animals tested were not protected under the Animal Welfare Act, no complaints could be filed against these researchers. This begs the question: Why are people condemning these re-searchers when they are conducting research by federal regulations? Isn’t the animosity shown in the flyers misplaced, and shouldn’t it be directed towards the USDA in hopes of reform?

During the rest of the presentation, Chandna made her case against the practice of all animal testing. She used slides containing evidence showing that no drug or therapy tested on ani-mals had ever cured a human disease—including HIV, cancer, and diabetes—even though a drug may have cured these diseases in an animal spe-cies. This data was very misleading. The key to this argument is the term cure: it is true that no drug has been proven to cure these diseases, however, many drugs that have been tested on animals have been approved that are proven to manage a number of symptoms associated with serious diseases. For example, fatal diseases such as HIV can now be considered chronic diseases thanks to antiretroviral drugs that were first tested in animals. For many, if not all, of these drugs, preliminary testing in humans could have proven dangerous or fatal. But, as Chandna made clear, peta2 does not support human testing ei-ther. Instead, the organization supports alterna-tive testing methods that do not involve higher-order organisms (animals or humans) such as computer modeling of human biological systems. Nonetheless, predicting how a compound, mu-tation or whatever a researcher may be testing would be processed within the body without a real biological reaction is difficult. If organism-less experimentation were possible and accurate, wouldn’t the government and private companies have saved money on animal testing long ago?

Regardless of one’s stance on the ethics of animal testing, the issues ought to be presented in an straightforward and honest manner. The event “Testing 1...2...3” did not truly present the facts of the issue and went about pushing for-ward its own agenda at the expense three pro-fessors’ reputations. If it existed, the “People for the Ethical Presentation of Arguments” would be outraged.

Marquise HopsonGuest ColumNist

Animal testing unfortunate but necessary

I didn’t make it to the lecture last week from the People for the Ethical Treatment of

Animals’s (PETA) Dr. Alka Chandna, but I’ve heard all about what went on. And I’ve heard the whole story before: that animal testing is wrong. That “species-ism” is just as bad as racism or sexism. And that we do horrible things in the labs here at Vassar. I sometimes get involved with PETA for anti-animal cruelty and anti-fur campaigns. I’m also a vegetar-ian. PETA sends me all types of e-mails and pamphlets about not dissecting and about not testing on animals. It all weighs on my con-science and I really do feel horrible about us-ing animals for research. Yet, when it comes to it, I’m a neuroscience and behavior major. And I work in Professor Kevin Holloway’s lab. And I’m okay with it. Animal testing is unfortunate, but it’s necessary.

I was surprised that PETA chose to come to Vassar to talk about animal testing. I’ve been told from many psychology professors that when inspectors come to our labs to make sure everything is up to code, they often comment that our labs are better than the government’s.

Our mice and rats have big cages with access to food and water. The quails, which I work on with Professor Holloway, have open access to food and water. I don’t have a lot of access to the animal labs in Olmstead Hall, but from the little I’ve seen, nothing looks like the ter-rible, awful labs that you see on PETA flyers.

Vassar lab animals have it pretty good. When a research project involving animals is being designed and ultimately proposed, scientists try to reduce as much animal testing as pos-sible. They also try to involve the least amount of surgery, the least amount of subjects and the least amount of suffering. A project won’t receive funding if there is any extraneous or unnecessary work done on animals. The goal

of animal experimentation isn’t to torture an animal just to find out “how it ticks.” We know all of that from previous studies and we don’t have to replicate some of the horrible things that happened in the past. Now, scientists use animals to help the animals in turn or to study similar effects in humans.

If this were a perfect world, we would be able to test everything on humans. Humans and animals would be considered equals and since we’d be the ones conducting the experi-ments, we would perform them on ourselves. The world, however, does not work like that. I regret that animals are considered below hu-mans and can therefore be sacrificed for sci-ence. But that’s how things are: the way we conduct research on animals isn’t perfect, but it’s the best we have in the way of studying the models of human physiology, behavior, immu-nology and biology.

For this reason, I doubt we will ever com-pletely get rid of animal testing in the scien-tific community. Instead of putting in effort and putting on protests to get this to change, I choose to take advantage of my time at this research-minded university to find some an-swers.

Marissa GauthierGuest ColumNist

I regret that animals can be sacraficed for science. But that’s how things are.

OPINIONS October 8, 2009Page 10

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

Advice, solutions to the senate: how to overcome a filibuster

Imagine a community in which you have 100 people. Of these 100 people, 40 are able to

stop all governance of this small community. Unless all of the other 60 stand together and tell them to lock it up, nothing can get done, and progress is halted.

Within our very own republic, we do indeed have such a system. In the United States Sen-ate, the Republican party has the ability to stop all legislation coming through unless all 60 Democrats vote to invoke “cloture” and end a filibuster.

Now, when Al Franken was elected to the Senate, there was a lot of hoopla about the Democrats’ filibuster-proof majority. They had the 60 votes they needed. And as long as Democrats maintained party discipline, they would be able to end Republican obstruction-ist tactics. Unfortunately, because the Demo-crats are either taking money from insurance companies, buying Michelle Bachmann and Sarah Palin’s crazy lies about death panels and sex clinics, or afraid of a tea party backlash, 60 votes are hard to muster up.

A brief synopsis of the filibuster: In the old days, senators would actually have to stand up and speak for hours, sometimes reading from the telephone book.

While the legal definition of the filibuster hasn’t changed, its practical use is now a ma-nipulation of the rules of the Senate which al-lows the minority party to halt any legislation coming through simply by stating that they will use the tactic. Faced with minority status, this is what the smaller party—sometimes Demo-crat, more often Republican—has had to do to halt progress.

This tactic has either stopped the President’s agenda from getting passed, or it has required that he water it down to satisfy the opposition. Remember the stimulus package?

In order to garner enough votes to get over that 60-vote hurdle, it had to be filled with tax cuts at the expense of gutting important health care, education and infrastructure provisions—you know, the kind that actually stimulate the economy.

So too it will be with the health care bill. In-stead of getting a public option—more choice, more competition—we are now faced with a sorry, pathetic bill that does not include a public plan to drive down costs, but instead provides

marginal reform to an industry that needs to be whipped upside the head. And to top it off, the current bill now mandates that everyone gets coverage from these crooks. Why? Because the Democratic majority has to cater to the Re-publican opposition and turncoats within their own ranks.

To the Senate: We’re supposed to be living in a democracy. And because of this loophole in Senwwate rules, instead, we live in a system where 40 Republicans can bring the Democrat-ic leadership, and the President—all elected to Congress in a sweeping mandate—to their knees. This is not democracy. This is a tyranny of the minority.

The Democrats were elected into office with a sweeping mandate for change. The only road-block now has been the Republicans and a few Democrats who seem to be more beholden to their corporate sponsors than public opinion. Mind you, a full 65 percent of the American people support the public option. This is not some crazy socialist idea—this is an idea that the American people support.

However, there is a solution. Senator Chuck Schumer and other Democrats have raised the idea of using an obscure tactic known as “reconciliation” to pass healthcare as a budget item—which would only require 51 votes to be passed.

As expected, Republicans are up in arms about this. They frame it as Democrats steam-rolling their agenda through Congress. How could the Democrats possibly use such a tac-tic!? It’s undemocratic! It circumvents the American people’s will!

To Republicans, I say: You have been abusing a loophole in Senate procedure for years, and for Democrats to use another one to return the Senate to being a body that reflects the will of the majority is not circumventing the public’s will. It is enforcing their mandate, and it is a mandate for a public option.

Mind you, there is still debate on the use of this tactic. I’m not sure if it’s legal—Senate ex-perts do not necessarily agree on its use. I’m simply responding to Republican outrage that this would be outrageous because it pacifies a filibuster and is heavy-handed.

All I know is that if legal scholars decide that it would be appropriate to use it to pass the President’s health care package with a pub-lic option, I say, “Have at it, Hoss!” Let’s bring some democracy back to our government.

Steve KellerGuest ColumNist

Student input critical in decisions on courses, curriculum

This year, Vassar’s Senior Officers have been charged with reducing spending in the

faculty salary budget by $1.8 million. While the final decisions about how to accomplish this reduction are made by the Dean of the Faculty and the President, there is a sincere effort on their part to receive input from the wider Vassar community. One of the ways that this input is being garnered is in a faculty survey.

The conversation about achieving the $1.8 million spending reduction has been happen-ing in faculty meetings and the Faculty Club—meetings held without administrators present— since the necessity to make cuts became clear. However, it was obvious to many involved in these meetings that the same voices were being heard over and over again in these settings, and it was anyone’s guess whether those voices were representative of the entire faculty. Therefore, there arose a need for a survey that would al-low any interested faculty to offer their views on the alternatives anonymously and with equal weight. The survey was designed by the Faculty Policy and Conference Committee, the Adviso-ry Group on the Allocation of Faculty Resources (AGAFR) and the Faculty Compensation Com-mittee, and is in a two-phase format. The first phase, which has already been completed, asked the faculty to weigh in on money-saving alterna-tives such as reducing the rate of leave or retire-ment replacements, renewing fewer contracts for contingent faculty (non-tenure track posi-tions) and reducing the rate of growth in faculty salaries—no growth or one percent growth, in

contrast to the two percent increase for 2010-11 currently in the budget model. The responses to the reduction in salary growth option illumi-nated the usefulness of the survey, for despite many loud voices saying that reductions in sal-ary growth are the most conscionable alterna-tive, the majority of faculty did not support that choice in the survey. The first phase eliminated altogether the possibility of achieving savings through reduced sabbatical pay, since the faculty were overwhelmingly opposed to that option.

The second phase of the survey, which is scheduled to be open for voting from Oct. 7 to Oct. 12, has been guided by the responses of the first phase, and offers scenarios for faculty to rank in order of preference. The scenarios all re-sult in achieving the $1.8 million savings, and emphasize those potential areas of reduction that the faculty preferred in the first phase. For example, in one scenario faculty salaries grow at the projected two percent rate; the replacement rate for faculty retirements, leaves, and resigna-tions is 50 percent; and 40 percent of contingent faculty contracts are not renewed. These factors would achieve the necessary savings. Each sce-nario emphasizes different alternatives, but all of them involve some reduction in replacements and some reduction in contingent faculty con-

tract renewals. Another relevant piece of infor-mation included in the survey is the reduction in course sections that would result from each set of changes. These losses range from 83 to 115 sections, with the lower number in the scenarios also including a reduction in salary growth.

When results for the second phase of the survey come in, the preferred scenario will not be reflected exactly in the shaping of the cur-riculum for next year, but it will influence the decision-making process. The next step for the Dean of the Faculty Office and departments is

a dialogue re-garding staff-ing plans for next year. These plans were submit-ted at the be-ginning of the month, and indicate the courses that each depart-

ment hopes to offer next year. Unsurprisingly, departments did not scale back sufficiently in their requests, so the forthcoming discus-sions will involve the Dean of the Faculty and the department chairs and program directors deciding how to offer strong academic oppor-tunities, while maintaining a responsible level of spending. Because departments have varying needs—some departments had several faculty retirements or departures, for example, while others rely heavily on contingent faculty—a faculty-wide survey cannot be mapped directly

onto each department.In addition to the general faculty input gath-

ered by the two-phase survey, general param-eters and tradeoffs guiding faculty staffing de-cisions will be advised on by AGAFR and the Committee on Curricular Policy (CCP). This does not mean that these committees will be deciding the fate of individual faculty contracts; rather, these committees will be aiding the Dean of the Faculty Office in identifying savings that best preserve the curriculum.

As the Vassar Student Association (VSA) Vice President for Academics, I sit on both AGAFR and CCP and am charged with representing all Vassar students on those committees. CCP also includes five other student representatives, one for each curricular division: arts, social science, natural science, language and a representative for multidisciplinary and independent majors. All six of us were elected to represent Vassar students, but without student input that respon-sibility is meaningless.

As the time for final decisions regarding next year’s curriculum draws near, I hope to see my office hours inundated with concerned students and my inbox flooded with ideas, questions and opinions. Changes have to be made, but our in-stitution will be stronger if those changes are based on the interests of the Vassar community as a whole.

—Stephanie Damon-Moore ’11 is the VSA Vice

President for Academics. Contact her at vsaaca-demics@vassar.edu or visit her during her office

hours, Mondays from 1 to 4 p.m. in the VSA office

in the College Center.

Stephanie Damon-MooreGuest ColumNist

Changes have to be made, but our institution will be stronger if those changes are based on the community as a whole.

English Department course topicsshould be more diverse, inclusive

As an English major, every semester I am excited to scroll through the course cata-

logue and see what riveting courses will be of-fered by the English Department. While I do find interesting courses, I always end up with a nagging feeling that there are courses I would like to take that are not being offered. To me, it would be beneficial if there were more lit-erature courses centered on race, gender and sexuality offered in the department.

First and foremost, as stated by the English Department on its website, “foreign literatures fall outside of our field,” meaning that the cur-riculum of the English Department is grounded in the fact that they explicitly do not teach works in translation. Instead of considering it-self solely to be a department for “English,” it should take on the view of being a department for “literature,” which encompasses a lot more literary movements and literary diversity.

In the course catalogue it states: “Majors are required to take two units of work in literature written before 1800 and one unit of work in literature written before 1900. They must also take one course that focuses on issues of race, gender, sexuality or ethnicity.” It is extremely problematic that the pre-1800 and pre-1900 courses include classes such as “Pre-Modern Drama: Text and Performance before 1800” or “Pride and Prejudice: British Literature from 1640-1745.” While these courses are interesting and thought-provoking, they are based in dis-courses of literature written mainly by white males. Nowhere within the course selection for these particular requirements are there litera-ture courses featuring people of color, women or members of the LGBTQ community. Yes, there are courses such as “Latino/a Literature” but there is no such course that can be put to-ward the pre-1800 or pre-1900 requirement.

There have been many works written before the 20th century that focus on issues of race, gender, sexuality and ethnicity which could very well fulfill the requirements.

Rather than making available only a minimal number of courses that are offered concerning race, gender, sexuality or ethnicity, it would be beneficial if a wider array of courses were de-voted explicitly to these issues. Not even a third of the courses offered by the English Depart-ment are overtly focused on any of these top-ics. It is interesting to find that, out of 12 units,

an English major is required to take only one course that directly concerns any one of these four topics. Even more interesting is that only one course out of nearly 60 specifically scruti-nizes the topics of gender and sexuality.

From looking at the present courses offered by the English Department, there is a sense that an expansive view of the world is missing. Literature is able to provide a multitude of dif-ferent perspectives, opinions and experiences, and I cannot see why Vassar’s English Depart-ment should not take advantage of literature’s versatility. Vassar College encourages its stu-dents to take courses out of their divisions so that they leave here with a wider view of the world. The English Department can help to provide the Vassar community with a different view of the world, whether they are astronomy majors or art majors. Students taking a litera-ture course about transexuality, for example, would be more socially aware individuals out-side of Vassar. Class discussions would benefit from diversifying the English Department’s curriculum, as a lot of the discussions currently taking place leave out people of color, women and members of the LGBTQ community see-ing as they are not present within much of the literature being read.

A range of literature courses—whether they are concerned with South American texts, texts from Asian women or texts from such queer studies scholars as David M. Halperin—would also allow for more cross-listing and broaden the interdisciplinary learning that is encour-aged at Vassar College. As literature encom-passes not only fiction works but non-fiction works as well, science majors for example could be offered a course that explores the history of science with texts from influential scholars in the field.

What I propose is a shift in perception of what writers and pieces are important to dis-cuss. Alongside a course that focuses solely on Shakespeare there should be more courses that focus solely on writers like Toni Mor-risonv, Zora Neale Hurston or authors who must be read in translation, like Gabriel García Márquez. To really make the race, sex, gender and ethnicity requirement count, we should also have more courses that analyze queer lit-erature and texts written by women. Including such courses would help to shape discussions about issues that are real, contemporary and generally not addressed.

Dronile HiraldoGuest ColumNist

What would be your ideal Meet Me in Poughkeepsie event?

Bryan English ’13

“An event with the Family Partner-ship Center.

More Vassar students should volunteer there.”

Allison McManis ’11

Mudit Lakhmani ’11

“The drive-in movie theatre!”

“Bring Pough-keepsie into Vassar. We could cook for them”

“River rafting on the Hudson!”

Nicole Engelhardt ’11 and Jason Greenberg ’12

OPINIONS Page 11October 8, 2009

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

— Angela Aiuto and Kelly Shortridge,Opinions Editors

Danielle Falzon ’12

“A trip to Taco Bell because it’s amazing.”

“Go to a club.”

Nicole Guerrero ’13

Firms must be disciplined, allowed to fail

There is a sickness within the financial sec-tor currently. Unfortunately, the actions

of the Federal Reserve have only put a Band-Aid on a few symptoms and strengthened the sickness itself. As my co-editor Angela Aiuto pointed out in her article “Regulations should prevent firms becoming ‘too big to fail” (10.1.09), the survivors of this financial crisis have only become stronger, and the breadth of their influence on the world economy has only increased.

Where Angela, as well as others in favor of federal financial regulation, and I disagree is on how to tackle this sickness and ensure that a financial crisis of these proportions does not become a recurring epidemic. Instead of sweeping financial reforms that would mas-sively regulate the private sector, increasing government control of the activities and fu-ture of the economy, I believe we instead need to send a clear message to these companies: You are never too big to fail, and if you do, we won’t help you.

This approach, while seeming radical, is far from it. Excessively risky activities as a result of government regulations years before (see 10.2.08 article in The Miscellany News “Don’t blame the guiltless for economic crisis”) led to many mighty money giants’ fall; the un-derstanding—an understanding that was less than clear before the crisis—that if they fail, they will not be bailed out will undoubtedly discourage such risky endeavors.

Why? We have to remember that these

firms are made up of human beings, and they will react in human ways. If your parents tell you that if you deplete your bank account by spending too much money on Pabst Blue Rib-bon and vintage records then tough luck, they won’t fill it back up, you are much less likely to buy frivolously than if you had the knowledge that they would give you a “bailout” should you be irresponsible with your money. Some-times good old-fashioned discipline is the best medicine. Discipline, however, involves encouraging responsibility. Explicit, detailed, and stifling rules and regulations such as those proposed in Obama’s financial reform agenda will only limit innovative thinking and discourage risks that are not irresponsible, something we greatly need in order to pull out from this predicament and the very thing that has fueled the U.S. economy for many years.

The economy and financial markets are not areas in which regulation and reform should be hurried and bandaged with stage-one so-lutions; effects from these new regulations will affect commerce not only throughout the world but for many years to come.

Even if these measures are supposedly “temporary,” the inevitable outcome of “tem-porary” government solutions is that they become permanent problems. Much more thought, time, and critique needs to be put into “fixing” the financial sector than is cur-rently being given—if the proposed reforms will even fix anything.

Let me be blunt: these reforms won’t fix a damn thing. I think perhaps even Obama knows this, but feels that he must do some-

thing relatively close to the grandiose prom-ises he made on the campaign trail lest he completely let down his constituents. Sham-ing Wall Street and putting them on a form of house arrest may even make many private citizens feel better about the situation, that justice has been done, but soon, I believe, they will see the emptiness in his words and ideas through their empty pockets.

While abolishing the Federal Reserve—and thus eliminating the thorny and convoluted regulations and systems of “controlling” the economy that, in my opinion, led to this cri-sis—is the method of choice for staunch liber-tarian minds like Ron Paul, I doubt there will be much public support. There needs to be a middle ground between the thin Band-aid on a gushing wound and amputation. I think that middle ground is through finally making the banks and financial firms responsible for the failure of their risk.

The road to recovery may involve some bumps, but economic reform should not be about what feels nice in the short-term; if we want a long-term solution, we need to allow innovation—without oppressive reforms—that can lead to economic growth, but for companies to understand that the risk doesn’t always pay off, and they will be held respon-sible if that risk fails.

—Kelly Shortridge ’12 is the Opinions Edi-

tor. This year, she and Opinions Editor Angela

Aiuto ’11 are maintaining an alternating column

called “Point, Counterpoint,” in which they en-

gage one another in conversation.

Kelly ShortridgeopiNioNs editor

Animals’ experience must be considered

On the treatment of animals, esteemed neurologist Lord Brain (1865-1966) re-

marked, “I personally can see no reason for conceding mind to my fellow men and deny-ing it to animals...I at least cannot doubt that the interests and activities of animals are cor-related with awareness and feeling in the same way as my own, and which may be, for aught I know, just as vivid.”

One of our basic intuitions is that animals, like us, are sentient beings. Physiology, neu-rology and evolutionary history tell us so, and few biologists dispute this fact. The similari-ties between the nervous systems of human and non-human animals support the claim that animals suffer.

The capacity to feel pain increases an ani-mal’s chances of survival. And we can observe this capacity at work: like humans, animals exhibit external signs of pain. Experimenta-tion on animals induces not only pain, but also stress arising from being placed in an unnatu-ral environment. It is clear that finding a cir-cumstance in which animal experimentation is justified would be an incredibly difficult task.

Some people believe that the capacity for reason is a criterion that should exempt a creature from torture, or from being used as a means to an end, from which perspective the use of animals for scientific research, con-sumption, and other modes of exploitation seems tenable. But a person whose ability to reason is impaired (perhaps by a brain-damag-ing car accident) clearly merits all the respect we would give to a person whose rational ca-pacity is more developed.

Likewise, we have no right to exploit ani-mals on the basis of their incapacity for ratio-nal thought. Their status as sentient beings is the essential characteristic that should com-pel humans as rational beings to extend equal consideration to animals.

Not only are animals our equals in suffer-ing; they also show signs of empathy, compas-sion and attachment that further demonstrate their affinity to humans and invalidate any

attempts to justify their exploitation. Studies conducted on rhesus monkeys have revealed their empathetic abilities by constructing sit-uations in which one monkey’s consumption of food causes another monkey to receive an electric shock. Given the option of satisfying their hunger and consequently inflicting pain, or refraining from such satisfaction, monkeys starve themselves.

Many animals live for long periods of time in communities made up of their extended family, communities sustained by complex relationships. In the event of the death of a loved one, many animals undergo a grieving process comparable to that which humans ex-perience.

Any dog owner knows the reality of her pet’s capacities for empathy, compassion and loyalty. Who would dispute the fact that the abuse of one’s pet—kicking or beating a dog, not to mention more egregious acts of aggres-sion—is heinous (and illegal) behavior?

In light of this almost unanimous belief that pet dogs have rights, it is shocking that dogs are legal subjects in animal tests. Why do so many humans extend respect only to animals whom they love? The ethical laws by which we treat our pets should clearly apply to our treatment of other animals, given that all, of course, feel pain.

Of the several animal classes, the catego-ries of mammals and birds contain the species most closely related to humans. And yet the Animal Welfare Act, the only federally en-forced law regulating the human exploitation of animals, excludes mice, rats, birds and all agricultural animals from its protection.

People who experiment on animals routine-ly commit acts of cruelty, inflicting discomfort and agony upon innocent creatures.

Under the Animal Welfare Act, humans are allowed to starve, electrically shock and burn animals. Though on many occasions such ex-periments have enabled discoveries that have revolutionized medicine, it has been shown that most instances of animal experimenta-tion yield results that are not applicable to human beings due to the differences in the physiology of animals and humans. The rea-

son Penicillin was introduced into medicine is that Alexander Fleming happened to test the drug’s effectiveness on rabbits instead of the more commonly used guinea pigs, for whom Fleming later discovered the drug simply did not work. Doctor Richard Klausner, the direc-tor of the National Cancer Institute, identified the irrelevance of experimentation on mice—an incredibly common practice—to human suffering, stating that “The history of cancer research has been a history of curing cancer in the mouse. We have cured mice of cancer for decades, and it simply didn’t work in hu-mans.”

It is worth noting that the United States is far behind other developed countries in seek-ing alternatives to animal experimentation and in rigorously assessing the ethical nature of animal experiments: in Britain, the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act, requires that in assessing the justifiability of a proposal to ex-periment on animals, “the Secretary of State shall weigh the likely adverse effects on the animals concerned against the benefit likely to accrue.”

Alternatives to animal experimentation ex-ist. We need to avail ourselves of them, exhaust all alternative models, before we resort to animal testing. Even then, experimentation on animals is justifiable only when the number of lives sacrificed will certainly be significantly lower than the number of lives saved—when the benefit will clearly outweigh the cost.

I have demonstrated that it is necessary to consider animals as our equals on the basis of their ability to feel pain. When we conduct ex-periments on humans, we adhere to very strict rules to ensure that the human subjects expe-rience as little pain as possible. We must ex-ercise the same precautions when it comes to animal experimentation, always. Conducting such experiments for the sake of knowledge itself—not the alleviation of suffering—can never justify torture.

—Mollie Flannery ’11 is co-President of the

Vassar Animal Rights Coalition (VARC). Opin-

ions expressed in her guest column are not a

representation of the Coalition as a whole.

Mollie FlanneryGuest ColumNist

OPINIONS October 8, 2009Page 12

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

ACROSS1. Place to relax

4. Designer Hardy and

others

7. Org. for overbearing

parents?

10. Vassar, for one

(Abbr.)

13. Ingredient in some

baby powder

15. Small child

16. Corn location

17. Stein content, per-

haps

18. Brazilian dance

19. Ben-___

20. Each

21. Ruin

22. Mr. T’s crew

23. Actor Bana

25. Botanical in gin or

absinthe

27. Zero

28. Be mistaken

30. Cure-alls

33. Group of experts

35. Sloping surface

36. Author Tan

37. Thin biscuit

39. Couch

41. Literary heroine Jane

____

44. ___ Newton

46. Kabul denizen

51. Film units

53. Wild horses, cats, etc.

56. See 60-across

57. Philadelphia foot-

ballers

59. Mo. number 10

60. With 56-across,

famous last words

61. Type of tide

64. Confidence

67. Grp. including Cana-

da, Mexico,and Brazil

70. Utopias

72. “Tommy Boy” actor

David _____

75. Ship’s lowest decks

77. Feathery neckwear

78. Dr.’s directions

80. Earthy color

81. “Chicago” leading

man Richard ____

83. Icy rain

85. “Norma ___”

86. Dr. Dre output

89. “Mad Man” Draper

90. Venison, steak, and

sausage

91. Vase

92. Big event for a corp.

93. Cap

94. Equal

95. Agency issuing SSN’s

96. Summer in Nice

97. Trains overhead

98. Member of a bygone

bloc (abbr.)

DOWN1. Not moving

2. “Baywatch” actress

Anderson

3. “Sin City” actress Jes-

sica ____

4. Old-school anesthetic

5. Grumpy, humorless

6. Red _____ (Jamaican

lager)

7. “Angel dust”, perhaps

8. Foot appendage

9. “Bric-_____”

10. Fan of green eggs

and ham

11. Sophisticated, refined

12. Present

14. Photographer’s need

18. ___ Diego

24. Cleveland ballers

26. Teacher’s grp.

29. Official in stripes

31. Prefix with liberal or

conservative

32. ____ Romeo

34. Inhabit

35. Cheese type

38. Bad grade

40. Fighter jet sta.

41. “Before”, to Shake-

speare

42. Affirmative vote

43. Normal (abbr.)

45. Miracle-___ (food

for grasses)

47. Talking head Van

Susteren

48. Shelter with a

thatched roof, frequently

49. Tel. co.

50. Original in Munich

52. NY’s Schumer or

AZ’s McCain

54. Carries out

55. Envelope content,

often (abbr.)

58. Oracle

62. Legislation requiring

accesability? (abbr.)

63. “Shaun of the Dead”

actor Simon ____

65. Troupe for troops

66. Twitches

67. Witty Wilde and

others

68. Goddess on the

Acropolis

69. “To be” in Barcelona

71. Irritate, perhaps

73. Hopes’ companions

74. NH acad.

76. Spooky

77. Curves

79. Peter, Paul, and John,

briefly

80. “It’s them ____”

82. Stir up

84. Poetic fields

87. Appropriate

88. Author of “The

Masque of the

Red Death”

Crossword by Jonathan Garfinkel

Answers to last week’s puzzle

Letter: Justice requirement not endorsedIn its Oct. 1 issue, The Miscellany News pub-

lished an article entitled “Possible Social Justice Requirement would increase field work,” in which it was asserted that the Vas-sar Student Association Vice President for Academics was interested in a fieldwork re-quirement for all Vassar students. As the VP for Academics, I would like to correct that as-sertion. I do not, in fact, have any intention of writing or endorsing a proposal to add a field-work graduation requirement.

Personally, I have had a terrific fieldwork experience with the Vassar Prison Program, and would advise all students to take advan-tage of our fieldwork opportunities as often as possible. However, I think that the fieldwork programs would be damaged if reluctant, non-committal students were forced to sign up for them. A conscientious relationship with our community is both challenging and critical, and it would be irresponsible to tarnish that relationship by compelling disinterested stu-dents to work with our community partners.

The more general concept of a social con-sciousness requirement, which could be ful-filled by a new set of courses (like the fresh-men writing seminars) or by “tagging” existing courses (as per the quantitative requirement), is something that has been proposed to me and something I am happy to discuss. I am interested in seeing the College respond in a meaningful, sustainable way to the series of offensive events that occur all too often, and perhaps the only way to respond is by increas-ing student awareness through an academic requirement. That said, it is my responsibility to represent all students, and I am interested in discussing these possibilities with support-ers and critics alike.

—Stephanie Damon-Moore ’11 is the VSA Vice

President for Academics. She can be reached at vsaacademics@vassar.edu or visited during her

office hours, Mondays from 1 to 4 p.m.

Obama must commit to settlement position:Middle East peace talks require time, planning

We all knew that President Barack Obama’s big project was going to be the domestic

push for health care reform and the public op-tion. Affordable health care is important, but President Obama is missing out on the interna-tional political opportunity of a lifetime.

His position and prestige enable him to make a substantial impact on the Middle East peace process, and while it is certainly true that Obama has shown some interest in the world’s most contentious region, it is also painfully obvious that his initiatives and platforms have missed the mark completely.

The President’s most visible mistake is how he handles the issue of the settlements that Jew-ish Israelis have been building in the disputed West Bank ever since Israel regained control of the area in the Six Day War in 1967. He has made it obvious in the recent weeks that he can-not decide where he stands, and this approach will not contribute to conflict resolution and peace negotiations.

This summer Obama demanded that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu halt all Jewish settlement construction in the Palestin-ian territories.

In an interview with The Jerusalem Post in July he stated that “aggressive settlement con-struction would seem to violate the spirit at least, if not the letter, of agreements that have been made previously.”

Netanyahu rejected Obama’s demand, and it is unnerving that Obama thought his words could pressure the thick-skinned former Minis-ter of Finance and two-time Prime Minister. In order for Obama to really get to Netanyahu he will have to quickly develop the ability to suc-cessfully parlay with Israel, as well as gain the trust of Abbas and of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who is just as important to the equa-tion.

Right now, Mubarak is working on forging a deal between Hamas and Fatah to form a joint Palestinian government. And yet, Obama is no-where to be found on this issue. These are ex-

amples of the types of tact and strategic vision needed to wheel and deal in the Middle East, skills that are not so easily cultivated.

Obama also got ahead of himself by demand-ing a complete building freeze. Israel’s ruling political coalition, which includes the center-right Likud and the ultra-right Yisrael Beiteinu, opposes this.

His position and focus on settlements also alienated Israelis according to Aluf Ben, the editor of the left-leaning Israeli daily Ha’aretz, because “mainstream Israelis rarely have any-thing to do with the settlements; many have no idea where they are, even when they’re a half-hour’s drive from Tel Aviv.”

Decisions about building in the territories must be approved by a majority of Knesset rep-resentatives, who are directly elected by the people. Obama was never going to win over ei-ther group with his platform, and it would be technically impossible for Israel’s government to institute a building freeze because of the cur-rent Knesset’s political orientation.

The blanket call to halt settlement construc-tion only made Obama appear naïve, and it rein-forced his status as a rookie on the international stage.

Fast forward to the end of September. Netan-yahu and Palestinian National Authority presi-dent Mahmoud Abbas are in New York City for a tripartite meeting with Obama. On the morn-ing of Sept. 23 Obama addresses the United Na-tions: “We continue to emphasize that America does not accept the legitimacy of continued Is-raeli settlements.”

Later that afternoon President Obama con-venes the trilateral meeting at the Waldorf As-toria, but the signals are mixed. Middle East envoy George Mitchell says in his official state-ment that an “Israeli settlement freeze is not essential for peace talks with Palestinians to re-sume ... We do not believe in preconditions.”

Netanyahu says all parties agreed that “the peace process has to be resumed as soon as pos-sible with no preconditions.” Abbas, however, is obviously not jumping on this bandwagon: He refuses to relaunch peace talks until Israel

halts all settlement activity.Obama, however, tells a different story. His

official statement, according to CNN, is that “Israel has had meaningful discussions about ‘restraining settlement activity.’” Nowhere in any of his speeches or statements that day does he mention a settlement freeze.

The first issue here is that President Obama thought an emergency trilateral meeting with Netanyahu and Abbas, convened after a week of failed shuttle diplomacy, would actually yield something.

When Abbas and Netanyahu shook hands on live television that day, it was easy to tell they were both cringing on the inside.

If Obama wants to have a meaningful summit, it must be carefully planned and orchestrated. Like President Jimmy Carter’s Camp David summit in 1978, which led to the 1979 Israel-Egypt peace treaty, it should be in a secluded location and all parties should be notified at least several weeks in advance so they actually have time to prepare. One-day meetings cannot possibly move the peace process forward, much less make Israel back down on the settlement issue.

The toned-down rhetoric is also an issue. Even though he declared the settlements ille-gitimate, he never said the words “settlement freeze.” Obama was satisfied with a mere “re-straint” on building. These are signs of hesi-tation and weakness, and he has stepped into Netanyahu’s shadow. This is the worst sort of impression that the American president, a part-ner for peace in the Middle East since 1967 who has always had a rapport with the Israeli Prime Minister, can give to the international commu-nity.

The clock is ticking on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and President Obama must find a posi-tion he can stick to before it is too late for him to make a difference.

—Allison Good ’11 is a political science major

spending her junior year studying abroad in Jeru-

salem. Last year, Good served as Managing Edi-

tor for The Miscellany News.

Allison GoodGuest ColumNist

THURSDAY, 10/83 p.m. Tea. An excerpt from King Lear for your literary pleasure. Rose Parlor.

8 p.m. Squirm Model Mixer. It’s all fun and free snacks until you see that NSO kid from your psych class in full-frontal. Fac-ulty Commons.

FRIDAY, 10/93 p.m. Tea. Cordelia: Nothing, my Lord. Rose Parlor.

8 p.m. Grizzly Bear/Beach House. OMG GrizZly bEARRR!!!! I have to get a ticket!!!!@#^!$#@. Wait, can anyone hum any of their songs? Chapel.

SATURDAY, 10/1012 p.m. VJU Bagel Brunch. Careful. All it

takes is one bagel and you’re on their mail-ing list for the rest of your life. The Bayit.

12 p.m. Pete Seeger Concert. Bring an ex-hippy/total burnout mom that smells like patchouli and get in free. Chapel Lawn.

SUNDAY, 10/111 p.m. Men’s Rugby Game v. Iona Col-lege. The closest thing we have to an an-cient Greek Olympiad. Come watch these Herculean athletes go thigh-to-face in a to-tal display of manliness and brawn. Vassar Farm.

MONDAY, 10/123 p.m. Tea. Lear: Nothing! Rose Parlor.

9 p.m. College Democrats Meeting. Come help plan next month’s exciting

Death Panel. College Center MPR.

TUESDAY, 10/133 p.m. Tea. Cordelia: Nothing. Rose Par-lor.

5:30 p.m. Do We Still Need a Room of One’s Own? Yeah, we definitely do. And can we have our own phone line too? And cable? And an A/C unit? Thanks. Sorry, Pa-triarchy, we don’t mean to be demanding. It’s just that you kind of owe us. Rocky 200.

WEDNESDAY, 10/143 p.m. Tea. Lear: Nothing will come of nothing. Rose Parlor.

10 p.m. ‘80s Night. They call it this be-cause you can only drink if you were actu-ally born in the ’80s. The Mug.

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

OPINIONS

HUMOR & SATIRE Page 13October 8, 2009

Weekly Calendar: 10/8 - 10/14 by Kelly Stout

Meet Me in Poughkeepsie rejection pile

In case the Vassar Students Association’s (VSA) 5,000 e-mails didn’t keep you adequate-

ly abreast to this weekend’s upcoming Meet Me in Poughkeepsie Day, allow me to remind you again: Saturday is the day Vassar has chosen to send everyone out into Poughkeepsie to pretend we’re a real part of the community here.

It’s going to be lots of fun. The seniors are go-ing to get tipsy in Poughkeepsie at Mahoney’s bar, and everyone else will do a bunch of social-ly conscious—if short-lived—and/or delicious activities in the Mid-Hudson Valley.

In the midst of all this do-goodedness, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that not every MMiP event makes the cut. Granted, it’s hard to stack up next to events like “Po Town Food and Wine Sampling” or “Fun Central!” Nevertheless there was a slew of MMiP events that were 86’d this year. Here are a few proposed outings that the VSA rejected:

1. These are rock hard times: Drive four hours to a geological site, then look at rocks for what feels like an eternity with the Vassar Geology Department. Reason for rejection: Just too bor-ing.

2. Meet me in Berlin: Discussion of Germa-ny and Civil Rights in the 20th Century at the Poughkeepsie Historical Society with former German student activist Karl-Dietrich Wolff. Reason for rejection: Denied entry to the U.S. at JFK. Wait, too soon?

3. Meet me at the clinic: Come volunteer at a local swine flu clinic with Vassar EMS. Rea-

son for rejection: EMS van out of gas. No other reason.

4. Apple Grapple: This isn’t just your run-of-the-mill apple picking session. No no—“Apple Grapple” will give you the chance to talk about some of the hard-hitting issues at play in the Vassar-Poughkeepsie relationship—while eat-ing local healthy food! Reason for rejection: Lack of interest.

5. Do-it-yourself ink at Voodoo Tattoo: Come learn to wield an industrial tattoo needle right on Raymond Ave! Reason for rejection: Hepati-tis C risk too high.

6. Cappy-ccinos at the Crafted Kup: Come share a few laughs with Cappy and the rest of the high-level administration in a low-stress en-vironment while talking about the economy in a fun, transparent way. Reason for rejection: An e-mail will be forthcoming.

7. Relive the potato famine at the Dubliner: No bar snacks will be available—only beer and soul-crushing Irish pessimism. Reason for rejec-tion: Also too soon.

8. Meet me in the reference section: Seniors, meet senior citizens. This one’s designed for 2010ers who can’t bear even a moment away from their theses, but need a new study environ-ment. Check out Poughkeepsie’s underfunded public library, complete with AARP members and conspiracy theorists doing “research.” Rea-son for rejection: Proposal lacks focus/direc-tion. Not enough primary sources.

9. Lunch on the Ledge: Come eat burritos, then cliff-dive off the Mid-Hudson Bridge with the diving team. Food provided by Fresco Torti-

llas. Reason for rejection: too similar to “Brunch on the Bridge,” and much more dangerous.

10. Photoshoot with CONTRAST at Main Street’s NuTribe Barber Shop: Throw on your favorite American Apparel pencil skirt and shoes that look like they came from an ‘80s after-school special, and get your locks tousled by Poughkeepsie’s best. Then strike bizarrely sexual/ambiguously urban poses in front of the camera. Reason for rejection: Not enough hot people signed up.

11. Singles-only date night at the drive-in mov-ie theater: Come re-live that scene from Grease where Danny sings about how sad he is that he and Sandy broke up—in beautiful Hyde Park! Reason for rejection: heteronormative.

It’s a crying shame that so many MMiP events got the axe this year, but it’s pretty great that we’re all getting so involved in our community. I definitely think “Ice Cream at Debra T’s” and “Indoor Rock Climbing” will help everyone tus-sle with the complexity of the urban space that surrounds us.

Freshmen and seniors, I urge you in particu-lar to take advantage of this year’s (approved) activities. Freshmen, you won’t always have such a spring in your step, and you won’t al-ways find FDR’s house so cool. Seniors, when we’re all living in overpriced apartments in the uncool part of Brooklyn and working at second-rate non-profits next year, we’ll be wishing we had an “Adventure to the Eveready Diner” to oc-cupy/feed our jaded selves.

Hooray for town-gown relations! It’s sure to be a weekend to remember.

Kelly StoutFeatures editor

Finding a ‘rock’ a round-about first-year folly

So around this time last year I had that special type of experience that only me

as a freshmen could have. I was smarter and lazier back then (the two go together, I’ve found) and I had made my fall sched-ule with one goal in mind—Fridays off. This Friday started off as many of my previous Vassar Fridays had. The alarm went off, beckoning me with its ear-piercing siren song out of my slumber to catch up on all the work I hadn’t done during the week. As I awoke from anxious dreams I discovered that in my bed I had been changed from the optimist I’d been when I’d set the alarm into a monstrous realist. This new, transfigured me decided not to bother with the usual hopeful five more minutes, ten more min-utes crap. No, this new transfigured me de-cided I was going back to bed, indefinitely. Period.

Unfortunately, my roommate chose that morning of the week to be optimistic about his chances of getting up early enough to finish his homework before class. Five alarms later, he’s up working and I’m just plain up.

So to further procrastinate I went, as col-lege students are occasionally wont to do, to take a shower. I believe myself to be quite the exception in this regard, in that I shower religiously. Every full moon, praise be to the Mother Goddess.

When I got back to my room, or rather, the door to my room, I found that my room-mate had decided to help me procrastinate by locking me out. As he would later con-fess, he’d thought I left for class. Shower basket in hand. All in all, an understandable mistake. I’d done it before, after all.

Thankfully, I was able to lie in wait and ambush my student fellow on his way back to his unlocked, roommate-free room. My high school statistics teacher used to say correlation doesn’t imply causation. I used to believe him.

So my fellow told me that I needed to find a rock in back of Josselyn House. Now, I was familiar with rocks, and thanks largely to my one-day tenure as a campus patroller, and by this time last year I knew the cam-pus like the back of my head, so I figured I was like three-quarters of the way there. Joss, I recalled, was the big ugly building next to Jewett.

(Yes, considering I lived in Main my first year, it is indeed, dear reader, ironic that I’m calling other buildings on this campus big and ugly.)

So I got to Joss and I circled seven times or so. Not like I was counting or anything. I made friends with most of the tennis team—we were seeing each other so often that we grew pretty close. However, though I came across many a rock, none of them seemed like the sort that carried spare keys on hand, considering that they had no hands to begin with.

Another would have been royally screwed, but the Mother Goddess loves me when she doesn’t hate me, and so she sent my German Literature professor walking my way.

So I ran up and I explained the situation to him. He took me back to his office. No, nothing happened, you dirty, dirty people.

He called up the entire German Depart-ment, which consisted of approximately one other professor. So the two conferred as only highly educated scholars could, and decided unanimously that I was to find a rock in back of Joss.

So I went back, circled three more times, and finally found it. As it turns out, it was not a rock but a ROC. Ha. And the ROC was closed for the day.

(Okay, not really, but I’m allowed some artistic license, right?)

Emil OstrovskiGuest ColumNist

Cartoon by Liza Donnelly, Professor of Women’s Studies

ARTS October 8, 2009Page 14

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

Grizzly Bear to feed off Chapel’s ethereality

At Yellow Stone National Park the grizzly bear might be nearing extinction, but it is

alive and well at Vassar. Ever since ViCE an-nounced that Grizzly Bear would be perform-ing at Vassar this fall, a grizzly fervor has hit campus. Grrrrowl.

Grizzly Bear, a Brooklyn-based indie-rock band renowned for its calculated melodies and vocal harmonies, is scheduled to perform with indie-rock duo Beach House in the Chapel this Friday, Oct. 9 at 8 p.m.

With the recent release of their third album, Veckatimist, Grizzly Bear has gained signifi-cant recognition in both the alternative and mainstream music spheres.

“I think for an indie-rock band they’ve got-ten a lot more popular with the mainstream. We took a lot of sources of information—Pitchfork [the popular music website], CMJ [College Music Journal], radio top lists and feedback from the ViCE music committee in making our final decision,” said head of ViCE music Christine Yu ’10 on choosing Grizzly Bear to come to Vassar.

How popular is the band exactly? Well, to give an idea, the band has recently confirmed that that they will have a track on the Twilight

Saga: New Moon soundtrack, which will ap-pear alongside tracks by indie-rock giants such as The Killers and Death Cab for Cutie. This proximity to popularity has also extended to the band’s touring schedule, as they have per-formed with other indie greats like Radiohead, TV on the Radio and Feist.

Now with a tour of their own, Grizzly Bear is truly making a name for itself. This popu-larity has not come without significant me-dia recognition. Much to the band’s surprise, Veckatimist won the band a number eight spot on Billboard’s top 200 records list when it was released on May 26, 2009.

“We didn’t see it coming at all. It was a com-plete shock. I don’t think anyone, even inter-nally at the label, expected that,” explained guitarist/vocalist Ed Droste in a June 29 inter-view with Pitchfork.

Despite their rising popularity, Grizzly Bear still maintains an incredibly holistic and de-liberate recording process that yields undeni-ably beautiful tracks. The band is continually praised for its ability to craft carefully hyp-notic tracks that exude an ethereal power over the listener. In Rolling Stone’s review of Vecka-

timist, music critic Christian Hoard describes this phenomenon as it occurs in one of the re-cord’s most popular singles.

“Then there’s the focused standout ‘Two Weeks,’ an uptempo tune built on gorgeous choral harmonies that sounds like a teenage symphony to God, as conceived by Radiohead-loving postgrads,” wrote Hoard.

Although the band never cites whether or not they mean to diverge from the secular, there is something undoubtedly transcendent about their music. Interestingly enough, the music video for “Two Weeks” was filmed in

a defunct boys’ penitentiary chapel outside of L.A. It seems as if ViCE could not have chosen a more suitable venue than the Chapel to show-case the band’s hauntingly ethereal voices. Yu echoes these sentiments as she notes the cha-pel’s existence as an ideal concert space.

“I always hope that everyone treats the Cha-pel with respect. It’s a beautiful place, and I think it will look really good. Also, the acous-tics in the Chapel are a lot better than other venues on campus,” explained Yu.

Pitchfork has also picked up the suitabilty of religious space for the Grizzly Bear’s music, as they recently featured a series of videos in which the band performs in yet another chapel setting. Aptly titled “Cemetary Gates,” the re-cordings are an accurate preview of what is to come with Friday’s performance.

The dream-like melodies of Grizzly Bear will be a sharp contrast to the beats dropped by Clipse in ViCE’s first concert this year. Va-riety is a key element in ViCE’s entertainment success and is a goal towards which ViCE con-tinually strives.

“In the past we’ve had general complaints about bringing the same genre of music that brings the same sort of crowd. We like to think of the differences between concerts, like Clipse and Grizzly Bear for example. We always aim for diverse programming,” explained Yu.

Students seem to be coming out in thralls to show their excitement for Friday’s show. Each of the three ticket giveaway days saw students lining up outside of the Chapel hours before ViCE began releasing the tickets.

“We had really good turnouts every day. We’re sold out online. We’ve been receiving a lot of questions on our Facebook page: ‘Do you have any tickets left?’ There are definitely a lot of devoted fans out there,” explained Yu.

One of these fans, Madeline Zappala ’12 can barely contain her excitement as she waits for Friday’s performance.

“Ah! I am so excited. Vassar rarely gets bands

that I know, so this is a big deal for me. I love Grizzly Bear!” she exclaimed.

Aside from the three main ticket giveaway times, ViCE will sell a limited number of tick-ets the day of the concert. Also, as any student who is friends with “ViCE” on Facebook is aware, ViCE is sending students on, quite liter-ally, a bear chase around campus to competi-tively win additional tickets before Friday’s concert. The first of these competitive give-aways includes finding the letters V, i, C and E around campus, and the second involves recit-ing to costumed bears, “ViCE is nice, and I’m going to feed you.”

Exhausting the bear theme in the best possi-ble way, ViCE has teamed up with Hunger Ac-tion on the aforementioned grounds of feeding the bears, and, of course people. ViCE chair Peter Denny ‘10 explained the fruitfulness of the collaboration.

“ViCE entered into our collaboration with Hunger Action as a joint effort to raise aware-ness for HA’s cause, and help to generate more social awareness on campus by turning an event traditionally classified solely asenter-tainment into a beneficial cause, in this case, encouraging concert-goers to donate food and money to Hunger Action, who work with our surrounding community,” wrote Denny in an emailed statement.

Hunger Action co-chair, Ezra Roth ‘10 ex-plained how the food and money collected will reach individuals in need not far from campus. “Proceeds from all of these promotions go to-ward filling up or buying more non-perishables for Beulah Baptist Church’s food pantry. The attached soup kitchen draws on food from this pantry to prepare meals that serve hundreds of people in need each week,” wrote Roth.

Yu has faith that the concert will impress the Vassar community, as the band’s music exudes both beauty and talent. “I fully believe that they are great performers, great musicians,” concluded Yu.

Carrie Hojnickiarts editor

Vassar graduate to be opener for Grizzly Bear set

It’s hard to know where to begin with the eclectic pop duo Beach House. Perhaps with

the gentle sashay of an egg shaker, as they do on the first track of their 2008 hit album Devotion. “SHICKA-shacka-SHICKA-shacka-SHICKA-shacka...” But onomatopoeias do not do justice to the easy shuffle from “Wedding Bell,” nor any other song from the dream pop duo’s repertoire.

The ethereal but infectious sound created by vocalist Victoria Legrand ‘03 and keyboardist/guitarist Alex Scally has gotten attention. The Baltimore-based duo has already caught the eye of Rolling Stone, Slanted Magazine, Pitchfork.com and other music review journals. The lat-ter even included Devotion in their list of 2008’s best albums. The band has also dented the mu-sic charts when Devotion debuted at #195 on the Billboard Hot 200. Now the band is on tour with indie behemoth Grizzly Bear, and will open for the band when they play here tomorrow night in the Vassar Chapel.

Legrand, one half of the band and the lungs of the operation, is a Vassar alumnae. Her time at Vassar refined her musicianship with opera-workshops and voice lessons, but being a student also caused her to become a more “jaded” indi-vidual. Such is what she told The Miscellaney News in 2007 when a younger Beach House played a set for No-ViCE.

“As a person, it made me have a bunch of cra-zy experiences,” said Legrand. “And it made me have a very strange sense of humor. I got pretty jaded there, but I also think my mind was able to be protected by being in a small place, enclosed, with lots of people, lots of trees, everything.”

Vassar College Entertainment (ViCE) is sponsoring the highly-anticipated Grizzly Bear concert, and is very excited about the opening band.

“ViCE doesn’t usually book bands twice, but they were kind of a package deal with Grizzly Bear,” said Christine Yu ‘10, director of ViCE Mu-sic. “Plus, we figured it would be a nice home-coming for Victoria.”

Yu originally intended Beach House to per-form outside. From an artist’s conception of the event, Beach House is by nature an external experience. Multiple reviews have called the band’s work “autumnal,” likening the music to the crisp and color of a fall day. The name of the band itself, “Beach House,” conjures images of an ocean-side vista. Even the nature of their self-titled first album was immersed in the elements.

“These songs were written in the summer, but if anything the heat made us go slower,” said Legrand in the 2007 interview. “It was a time in our lives when we were perpetually yearning to make sounds that we enjoyed playing, having been in a project that was so unenjoyable, and the summer and the heat and all of that really added to the intensity of it.”

LeGrand met Scally in Baltimore in 2004 after having spent a year abroad in Paris. They estab-lished a musical rapport, and began recording music together right away. However, it took them a while to find their groove. For a long while they focused on edgier dance music.

“It was harder music, and it just got so weird by the end of it that it was like, the music was this weird monster and we had no idea what was go-ing on,” said LeGrand in the 2006 interview.

Now they have established a comfortable niche, and are releasing a new album on Oct. 21 on the famous indie record label Sub Pop, which is credited for launching the careers of The Shins, The Postal Service and Iron & Wine.

Beach House has collaborated with the Griz-zly Bear with their recordings in addition to live music. Legrand provided the backing vocals for Grizzly Bear’s hit song “Two Weeks,” from their latest album Veckatimest. She also provided vo-cals on the band’s entry on the soundtrack of the upcoming film New Moon, a ballad called “Slow Life.” “When I saw Grizzly Bear and Beach House in Chicago, they had collaborated and Victoria Legrand was singing with Grizzly Bear,” said Yu. “It’s definitely possible they’ll do something like that when they come here.”

Beach House will open for Grizzly Bear at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 9 in the Vassar Chapel.

Esther Clownyreporter

CSA uses multicultural approach to Carnival

Midterms and a steep decline in tempera-ture may be getting students down, but

on Oct. 10, the Caribbean Students Alliance (CSA) will host a party in the Villard Room with the hopes of banishing any autumn blues. Drawing its theme from the festival season of Carnival, the event promises a night of danc-ing, music and fun, with an emphasis on com-bining different cultural traditions.

The CSA defines itself as an organization established to educate the Vassar community on the different traditional, cultural, social and political aspects of Caribbean life and people.

“It acts as a form of support for Caribbean students and students who want to learn more about the Caribbean,” elaborated Co-President Kristine Bell ’11.

The party will feature music, dancing and giveaways related to the Carnival theme. Car-nival, also celebrated as Bacchanal in Jamaica and Crop Over in Barbados, typically involves parades, street festivals and costumes.

“There are different variations of Carnival celebrated throughout all of Latin America,”

wrote Bell later in an e-mailed statement. “We have representations in the Spanish speaking Caribbean and South America, for example. Each culture’s influence on the event will come through in the music that is played at the party and in the decorations put up.”

In order to replicate a small part of the tra-ditional carnival costume, which usually in-volves sequins and feathers, half-masks and bandanas will be provided. Music will also play a big role in the event. In addition to stan-dard hip-hop and pop music, the party will feature the highly-danceable soca and calypso music, both of which originated in Trinidad and Tobago and are favorites in many parts of the Caribbean.

Bell describes the CSA’s vision of the party as “a good mixture of everything; something for everybody. If you just want to dance and have a good time, this is going to be the place to be.”

The event offers an opportunity for the CSA to increase its presence on campus. “A lot of people feel that if they’re not Caribbean, they can’t be a part of the organization,” said Bell, “I would love to expand the general body to

people who aren’t necessarily of Caribbean descent.”

This event should serve as an occasion for students unfamiliar with the organization to get acquainted with the culture. Aiding the CSA at the event will be the Black Students Union and Poder Latino. Bell intended for this collaboration to give publicity to these two or-ganizations as well as other student of color organizations.

“We hope to get the [student of color] orga-nizations out there, for people to realize that we have fun,” said Bell. “It’s not always about racial issues. We want to have it feel like an inclusive space for everybody. We want to rep-resent them in terms of their culture as well,” Bell added. “You’ll hear hip-hop music and a more Spanish/Latino influence from Poder Latino. It’s a way to fuse everything together.” She notes that both groups are able to repre-sent the Carnival theme as well, citing New Orleans’ Mardi Gras celebration and Cinco de Mayo as examples.

The CSA party will begin at 10 p.m. on Sat-urday, Oct. 10 and will last until 2 a.m. It will be held in the Villard Room.

Cynthea BallardGuest reporter

Grizzly Bear, a Brooklyn indi-rock band, is set to perform in the Vassar College Chapel this Friday, Oct. 9 at 8 p.m. Rolling Stone calls the band “a teenage symphony to God.”

Image courtesy of G

rizzly Bear

ARTS Page 15October 8, 2009

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

SEEGER continued from page 1

Taj Mahal and Ani DiFranco. “Who better to represent New York and this anniversary of the Hudson River than Pete Seeger, the legendary folk singer and environmentalist who champi-ons the Hudson River through his songs and his environmental education efforts?” said Patricia Phagan, the Philip and Lynn Straus Curator of Prints and Drawings at the FLLAC. Phagan per-sonally contacted Seeger’s manager to set up the performance. She is a longtime fan of the folk artist. “When I hear Pete sing, I think of the ’60s, and the quintessential ’60s songs ‘If I Had a Hammer’ and ‘Where Have All the Flowers Gone?’” said Phagan. “I think about the ’40s and Woody Guthrie and ‘This Land is your Land.’ But I think about his efforts today, too. With Pete I see an unbreakable idealism and opti-mism in this country, which is refreshing. So, I’m a fan, a big fan.”

The music Seeger will play is the product of 60 years’ worth of songwriting and an even lon-ger history of American folk music. His most championed composition is the ’60s hit song “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” The pro-test song describes flowers picked by young girls to decorate the graves of fallen soldiers, and laments to no one in particular: “When will they ever learn.” In a 2006 interview with the independent radio show Democracy Now, Seeger described how the historic song came to him when he was half-napping on a flight to Oberlin College in 1955.

“All of a sudden, three lines, which I had read in a book, took form,” said Seeger. “In the book, it simply said ‘Where are the flowers? The girls have plucked them. Where are the girls? They’re all married. Where are the men? They’re all in the army.’ It’s an old Russian folk song.”

“And all of a sudden, I had three verses,” concluded Seeger. Seeger is also famous for his rendition of the Huddie Ledbetter song “Goodnight Irene,” and is also given credit for arranging the civil rights-era hymn “We Shall Overcome.” Age is something that has drasti-cally affected Seeger’s music, if not his political activism. His voice over the last 20 years has become progressively more strained and war-bled, his hearing has gone and he has a difficult time playing the livelier songs from his youth.“I can’t really hear music,” said Seeger in the 2006 interview. “I don’t listen to CD’s. I don’t listen

to the radio. I don’t listen to TV. And occasion-ally, when friends come around, I’ll join in with them, but my fingers are slowing down. I hear records that I made years ago and say, “How did I ever play that so fast?”

Seeger is nevertheless remarkably spry for his age. He is famous for heating his Hudson Valley cabin with wood he’s chopped himself. He also regularly mentions the ski trips he goes on with his family to stay fit. Despite being 90 years old, Seeger is as musically and politically

active as ever. At age 89, he recently recorded his first album in 12 years entitled Pete Seeger,

which won a Grammy for best traditional al-bum. This year he received the 2009 Freemuse Award, an honor bestowed to musicians who have fought censorship awarded by Freemuse, a musician’s free speech organization. He has also been an active vocal opponent of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. “Here is a very famous folk singer who only a few months ago had a birthday celebration at Madison Square Garden

with Bruce Springsteen and other rock stars,” said Phagan. “And here we have Pete sharing his songs of hope and togetherness for students and the community. It will be a wonderful, spe-cial moment.”

The moment comes at a time that coincides with other anticipated events. Indie rock band Grizzly Bear will perform on Friday, and Lisa Kudrow will perform a spoken-word piece with the Vassar College Orchestra on Saturday. Since the event has fallen on such an eventful weekend, publicity for the event has been over-shadowed by the other marquee names. Even more alarming is that many students may not even know who Pete Seeger is. Out of 15 people randomly interviewed by The Miscellany News, only three knew who the folk artist is.

In light of Seeger’s apparent obscurity in the mind of Vassar students, it may be appropriate that he has famously been disillusioned with the academic life. He attended Harvard University, but dropped out when he lost his scholarship due to his intense focus on student journalism and political activism.

“I was disillusioned about academia,” said Seeger in the Democracy Now interview. “I went to one of my professors. I said, ‘Do you have to use such long words?’ And he kind of smirked, he says, ‘Well, you have to impress people.’ Well, he thought it was a joke. But I didn’t think it was a joke, and I wasn’t sorry when I left.”

Out of the students who did know who Seeger was, there was definite fervor for the Seeger concert.

“I’m really excited and thankful that he’s coming to Vassar,” said Samuel Caravaglia ’12.

In the meantime, Kutner will be spending his time honing his set for the big day. “I’m going to be playing for 45 minutes, which is a really long time,” said Kutner. “So I’m going to be playing half original songs and half covers. I’m going to do ‘Hallelujah’ by Leonard Cohen, which is my favorite cover.”

Pete Seeger will play on the Chapel lawn at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 10 in an event sponsored by the FLLAC and the Office of Campus Activi-ties. He will be preceded by Maxwell Kutner ’11 and three other opening bands—the Round-about Ramblers, the Dixieland jazz group and the Bearcats Jazz Group. The event is held as part of Vassar’s celebration of the Hudson-Ful-ton-Champlain Quadricentennial.

Seeger iconic nationally and in local Hudson Valley: Performance celebrates quadracentennial of Hudson’s voyage

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Pete Seeger, set to perform at Vassar on Saturday, Oct. 10, has one innumerable awards during his career, including a Grammy Award for 2008 best traditional album “At 89.”

Image courtsey of L

ife Magazine

Pandamonium an opportunity for Vassar’s comedic storytellersWith the hopes of introducing the conspic-uously absent form of literary comedy to Vassar’s largely sketch-dominated comedy scene, the Red Panda will host Pandamo-nium, an open-mic story telling event this Thursday, Oct. 8 at 8 p.m. in the College Center multipurpose room.

Although the Red Panda, Vassar’s first student-run humor magazine, was started two years ago, progress was stalled due to study abroad conflicts. Subsequently, this year is the organization’s first fully opera-tive year.

Red Panda co-President Kartik Naram ’10 explains that Pandamonium will be, in a way, a publicity event for the blossoming form of literary comedy on campus. “We hope to build a brand, to show people that we are funny,” says Naram.

Open to anyone who would like to par-ticipate, the event is purposefully organic. Although there is a set list of performers, there is also time built into the event for the open-mic part of the evening.

The concept behind the event is that peo-ple will share, in any form they choose, the funniest story they have to tell.

“Submissions can be in the form of monologue, poem, basically anything,” says Naram. “People will feel like they’re in a liv-ing room. My expectations and hopes are that it will be compelling and, of course, funny.”

—Carrie Hojnicki, Arts Editor

Kudrow ’85 to be big draw for up-coming Orchestra ConcertOne of Vassar’s trustees is making a stop on campus next weekend with more than just meetings on her itinerary. Friends alum Lisa Kudrow ‘85 will be narrating a piece composed by her uncle, the contemporary composer Harold Farberman, for the Vassar College Orchestra’s first concert of the year on Saturday, October 10 at 8 p.m. in Skinner Hall of Music.

Kudrow will narrate a piece written for children called “The Little Boy (or Girl) and the Tree Branch.” The composer, Harold Farberman, is well-known for his work com-posing and conducting in the tri-state area.

Three other pieces will be performed by the orchestra sans Kudrow. One is the com-plex and melodic Mendelssohn Violin Con-certo, which will feature soloist Laura Souza ’10 (See the article, “Sousa’s finessed fid-dling to highlight classical concert” on the following page). Brahms’ Tragic Overture is a dark and sinister affair that is arranged for just brass, winds and timpani. Finally, Johan Strauss’ Die Fledermaus Overture rounds off the set with some well-balanced, if light, opera fare. The majority of students in the orchestra are excited for Kudrow’s appear-ance, save at least one individual.

“I guess I should be sort of excited, but I never really watched Friends,” said bas-soonist Janusz Sulanowski ’12. “Everyone else is really pumped though.”

—Erik Lorenzsonn, Arts Editor

Arts Briefs

ARTS October 8, 2009Page 16

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

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Sousa’s finessed fiddling to highlight classical concert

The old adage “you have to do what you love to be happy” is not a new sentiment to the

ears of most Vassar students. But while most are still trying to figure out their passion, Laura Sousa ’10 is ahead of the curve. She found her niche before she began elementary school.

Sousa has been playing the violin for over 16 years. “I started the summer after preschool. I was five,” said the violinist. “Apparently, I went up to my mom one day and asked her to play.”

Since that fateful day, she has performed in eight different countries on seven orchestra tours. As a high school student, she studied at the New England Conservatory in Boston and was a part of All Eastern Orchestra. And that’s just a sample of Sousa’s accomplishments.

Sousa is currently slated to perform Felix Mendelssohn’s “Violin Concerto in E Minor” this Saturday at the Vassar College Orchestra’s first concert of the year. The concerto has long been considered an essential for aspiring solo-ists such as Sousa. The other highlight of the evening’s performance will be Harolde Farber-man’s piece for children “The Little Boy (or Girl) and the Tree Branch.” Former Vassar stu-dent, professional actor and Vassar Trustee Lisa Kudrow ’85 will provide the spoken-word narra-tion that is written in the score .

“This piece is definitely a standard in the classical violin repertoire,” said Sousa of the Mendelssohn’s concerto. “It is also a piece that involves a fairly high level of collaboration with the orchestra, another feature that made me think it might be a good piece to audition to play with the Vassar Orchestra.”

The piece is something that Sousa has worked on since she was in middle school. The piece was very technically difficult to learn, but now that she has mastered it, it is a piece she always looks forward to playing.

“It is one of my favorite concertos, as it is very fun to play and offers plenty of places to show off while still including many lyrical passages that are extremely beautiful,” said Sousa.

Music has dominated Sousa’s life for several years now. She is a music major, and, once she graduates, Sousa doesn’t plan on changing that focus. Her plan is to pursue a career in perfor-mance after attending graduate school.

“If you let it go, I think it’s hard to get it, the music technique, back,” she said of her decision to continue studying music.

While she admits to spending nearly all of her time at Skinner Hall of Music, Sousa is double majoring in music and psychology. She sees connections between the two subjects and cites music therapy as a possible career path. Sousa’s enriching experiences visiting the classroom of her mother, who teachers special-needs chil-dren, definitely shows music and psychology’s interconnections.

“The first thing they’d ask me is if I brought my violin,” said Sousa of the children. They re-sponded well to Sousa’s music; students who were normally non-responsive would sit still upon her playing.

“You could immediately see the change in them,” she said.

Seeing the reaction people have when listen-ing to music was something that piqued Sousa’s interest in the psychology of music. Opportu-nities like music therapy provide alternative routes for Sousa to continue playing if she could not be a full-time artist.

“It’s never a sure thing, especially in perfor-mance,” she said about her future in music. She cites injuries and money as factors that interfere with a career in music.

Sousa currently suffers from wrist problems, something that has developed from playing so often for so long. But with classes, rehearsals, lessons and individual practice sessions there isn’t room for anything but complete dedica-tion.

“You have to be fully committed to it; other-wise it’s not worth it,” said Sousa.

Sousa has nothing to worry about in terms of commitment. She plays in the Vassar Orchestra, the Vassar Camerata, three different chamber groups, and does various pit work for the Shake-

speare Troupe, the Opera Workshop and recit-als. Despite such a full schedule, she still enjoys playing. Said Sousa, “I love performing; it’s such a rush!”

And she is aglow when talking about the col-laborative aspects of performance: “Everyone is affected.” Music reaches people, makes con-nections otherwise impossible. It’s something to which everyone can relate. She recalls one such moving event as her experience with the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra in Venezuela. The

young musicians there practice five hours per day. “This is something they live for,” she re-marked. Getting to collaborate with that orches-tra and conductor Gustavo Dudamel is likely her favorite musical experience.

From such a vibrant musician, it’s not surpris-ing to hear Sousa be so excited about working with other visionary young people. The passion in them is like the passion of Sousa, the passion of her mother’s students. Music brings it all to-gether.

Wally Fisherreporter

Senior Laura Sousa will perform Feliz Mendelssohn’s “Violin Concerto in E Minor” this Saturday at the Vassar College Orchestra’s opening concert, held in Skinner Hall of Music.

Kathleen M

ehocic/Th

e Miscella

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New

s

If you think the zombie movie isn’t your cup of tea, think again. The genre has a tenden-

cy to get bogged down in its own canonical universe of horror convention, but once in a while something comes along to liven things up. Look at all the hybridizations that have been made: zombie action (28 Days Later), zombie spoof (Shaun of the Dead), zombie science-fiction (Astro-Zombies), even zombie blaxploitation (Sugar Hill). Not in the mood for a George C. Romero cookie-cutter? Some-where out there is a zombie movie for you.

Zombieland introduces something more novel than the rest. This movie is a foray into the quirky indie “dramedy,” an amalgam of Juno humor with Dawn of the Dead-esque ac-tion. Sound too kooky to be true? Look at the cast and their intensely comedic background: Jesse Eisenberg starred in Adventureland and The Squid and the Whale, Emma Stone was in Superbad and The Rocker, and Abigail Breslin was of course in the lovable Little Miss Sun-

shine. Imagine said actors in a zombie movie that takes itself seriously. It’s just not possible. Zombieland isn’t really a zombie movie at all, but a thoroughly enjoyable road movie with a legion of the walking dead tossed in for a gas.

This apocalyptic romp begins with our nameless hero, nicknamed Columbus, trying to find his way home in a world ravaged by zombies. Jesse Eisenberg is as adorable (not to condescend) as Columbus, outdoing Michael Cera as a high-strung adolescent virgin. His character is wonderfully replete with little awkward tics and foibles, like carrying around bottles of Purell and limbering up before zom-bie encounters with some dorky stretches. The character’s narration is especially fun due

to the internal list of survival-musts Columbus has created for life in the zombie apocalypse. For example: “Rule #1: cardio. When the zom-bie infection began to spread, the first ones to go were the fatties.”

The real fun begins when Columbus allies himself with another wayfarer named Tal-lahassee (Woody Harrelson). This guy’s got the chains, the cowboy hat, the leather jacket, the Texan accent, the buffness and a Hummer filled to the brim with blunt weaponry and automatic weapons. He is the stereotypical overtly masculine badass who enjoys nothing more than taking out wave after wave of viral-ly-infected mutants. But even though he may leave the first impression of being a testoster-one-pumped tool, director Ruben Fleischman has taken notes from Judd Apatow and Jason Reitman in the sense that there are no “bad guys” here (minus the zombies). Tallahassee is actually very likeable, and gets some of the biggest laughs of the movie.

What’s even crazier is that Tallahassee isn’t just likeable, but deep. The fact that the most complex character in the movie has cliché all over it is a bit of a mind-boggler. Of course, that’s not to say that this Tallahassee is Citi-zen Kane-deep. He actually is indicative of a bad habit I see in the recent slew of hit indie comedies. There seems to be a belief that character dimensionality stems in part from boiling them down to cutesy individual traits. Paulie Bleeker from Juno had his Tic Tacs, and Dwayne Hoover from Little Miss Sunshine had his pact of silence. Tallahassee has an obses-sion for Twinkies. But as Columbus observes, the obsession is more than just a superficial character trait. Ordinary things like Twinkies are all that Tallahassee has to hold on to in a world entirely disconnected from the one he used to know. His obsession becomes heart-wrenching as his backstory unearths that world. You genuinely feel a visceral connec-tion with the guy.

Back in the land of story development, two

sisters called Little Rock and Wichita (Breslin and Stone, respectively) also join Columbus and Tallahassee in their travels. Their desti-nation is an amusement park in Los Angeles, where Wichita hopes to give her little sib a re-minder of what it’s like to be a kid again. It’s sweet, but let’s be real: The only reason she’s around is to play the obligatory sex-bomb that coaxes Columbus out of his awkward phobia-ridden bubble and to enjoy life. When it comes down to it, the story isn’t compelling whatso-ever. The whole antisocial-teen-overcoming-his-problems theme is pretty hackneyed at this point.

But maybe that’s why this movie is so fun and refreshing. It refuses to take itself too se-riously, either as a zombie movie or as a com-ing-of-age scenario. Instead it’s just a loveable, if unoriginal, tale with a lot of laughs and a lot of zombies. And I should add that this movie has one of the funniest cameos I’ve ever seen, and great dialogue to boot:

“I actually saw Van Halen the other day. He was at the Hollywood Bowl.”

“No way! How was he?”“He was a zombie” (Awkward silence en-

sues).So whether you are a fan or hater of zombie

movies, see this movie. If gore is something you’re worried about, this movie’s violence is relatively tame for what it is. Seriously, trust me—I’m squeamish. This movie does not for one second play up gratuitous violence. Nor are characters killed off just for the sake of a single survivor at the end. Nor is there a “it was only a cat” moment. In fact, for each of these cliches named here, there is a moment in Zombieland that totally turns the conven-tion on its side. Talk about a movie that re-stores your faith in humanity, or at least their reanimated mutated corpses.

—Erik Lorenzsonn ’12 is writing a bi-weekly

column on movies and their meanings. He is the

Arts Editor.

ARTS Page 17October 8, 2009

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

Exhibit a snapshot of Black GIs in Germany

It was a pretty big indicator of how neces-sary the recent international civil rights

conference was when Angela Davis herself ex-pressed surprise at the German solidarity for her causes in the 1970s during Friday’s keynote address. The breadth of the civil rights move-ment’s impact abroad has been an overlooked facet of American history for a long time.

The current exhibit at the James R. Palmer Art Gallery puts the involvement of Germany in the Black American civil rights movement into perspective. Specifically, the goal of“The Civil Rights Struggle, African-American GIs, and Germany” is to show how Germany be-came a critical point of reference in Black American demands for an end to segregation.

The chronological layout of the exhibit is ef-fective in accomplishing this goal; participants travel from one end of the gallery to the other, starting with the earliest pieces and ending with the most recent. Earlier photographs depict the freedom that black soldiers expe-rienced in Germany. Although they certainly faced discrimination abroad, they were free from oppressive Jim Crowe laws. A plaque in the exhibit points out that black soldiers could “shop and eat wherever they wanted.”

The photos themselves will be ingrained into your memory. In one picture, African-American soldiers hold up a sign that reads, “Easter eggs for Hitler.” In another, more som-ber photograph, a soldier guards a division of captured Nazis, who glare at him with hatred. The sense of liberation and empowerment captured in these photographs suggests that war-time experiences led black Americans to subsequently become involved in Germany during the civil rights movement.The exhibit also speaks to the racial solidarity that oc-

curred at home in the aftermath of the war. One photograph taken in Philadelphia right after World War II shows two black men en-tertaining white women on the piano; another photograph shows a black man sitting next to white friends at the Noncomissioned Officers’ Club of Ramstein Air Base.

The exhibit’s most emotional and perhaps most important images are of Germans who, convinced of “America’s failure to fulfill its democratic premise,” banded together with the Black Panther party. By then the notorious militant group had reached out to Germany as a base of support. The stories these pictures tell are gripping. A particularly memorable one shows hoards of Germans with intent facial expressions run dramatically from the police during a demonstration in the streets of Frankfurt. Another photograph depicts stu-dents at a rally at the University of Frankfurt standing with their arms folded. These images illuminate the intensity of a movement that is not necessarily at the forefront of the popular understanding of the struggle for civil rights.

The strangest part of the gallery was the multimedia “centerpiece,” an audio clip of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech to a crowded Church in East Berlin in 1964. The clip, while thoroughly engaging, does not reveal anything unexpected or particular to the situation in Germany. King speaks of the application of Christian principles to the civil rights move-ment, which he does in many of the speeches made in America. It is awe-inspiring to know that you are listening to something by Dr. King never heard by the public ear before. It is odd that the speech is so nondescript.

The exhibit, while it does raise awareness of overlooked frontiers of the Civil Rights move-ment, leaves much to be explained. What spe-cifically caused Germans to become involved

this cause in the aftermath of World War II? What is the connection – if any – between the wars and black solidarity in Germany? These photographs are provocative enough, but leave many questions unanswered.

Matthew BockGuest reporter

New zombie flick is infectiously funny

Ben FoldsUlster Performing Arts Center8:00 PM, 10/9$40

For anyone struggling with “being male, middle-class and white,” Ben Folds has been there to provide solace. The punk-rock pianist has made fifteen years worth of music immersed in a self-indicting take on American society. Folds laces his infec-tious melodies with somber messages, like with his suburban lament Rockin’ the Suburbs or his portrait of intra-societal alienation Jesusland. But for all the meta-consciousness, at the heart of Folds’ mu-sic is good old-fashioned piano balladry. The event is well worth the 20-minute drive to Ulster, and tickets can be pur-chased at the Bardavon. Aussie singer-songwriter Kate Miller-Heidke opens.

The Original WailersThe Chance8:00 PM, 10/9$25

As far as credentials in reggae music go, Al Anderson and Junior Marvin have got it made. The two played back-up guitar and vocals for Bob Marley and the Wailers in the 70s and 80s, and can be heard on such classic albums as Catch a Fire and Exodus. They formed The Original Wailers in 2008 and have since been performing the songs of Bob Marley around the world. When the Jamaican-based band performs I Shot the Sherrif and One Love, this is the real thing. The opening bands include Absinthe, Perfect Thyroid and The Wendels.

1 MÙM

Sing Along To Songs

You Don’t Know

[Euphono]

2 A SUNNY DAY IN

GLASGOW

Ashes Grammar

[Mis Ojos Discos]

3 MOUNT EERIE

Wind’s Poem

[P.W. Elverum And Sun]

4 LE LOUP

Family

[Hardly Art]

5 WHY?

Eskimo Snow

[Anticon]

ZombielandRuben Fleischer[Columbia]

From the exhibit The Civil Rights Strug-gle, African American GIs and Germany.

Image courtesy of C

ollege Relations

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SPORTS Page 19October 8, 2009

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

Gordon: Quiet leader, king of the scrum

It is 1 p.m. on a Sunday, and the Vassar Farm is alive with more than just thriving veg-

etation. Iain Gordon ’11 is a glistening figure charging, tackling, scrumming and enhancing the somewhat organized chaos that comes to-gether to create the great sport of rugby. As captain and a generally captivating figure, both Gordon’s skill and stature make him someone to watch on the field. “He’s marvel-ous,” offered teammate Adam Steel ’12. “He’s got those flowing locks.” True as this may be, after witnessing Gordon’s aggressive attempt at a try from midfield, it is clear that being marvelous is only a natural consequence of his commitment to the sport.

Gordon’s interest in rugby was cultivated during the gap year trip he took in New Zea-land. His involvement with the sport in New Zealand was the catalyst that cemented his future as captain of the Brewers. Rugby is not a common sport in American high schools, and as such, many players come into the game wide-eyed and innocent,though this innocence is quickly pummeled out of them. In order to polish his game and inspire his teammates, Iain draws upon the example set by those who came before him. Steel explained that Gordon “is a quiet leader. He leads by example, plays hard and makes us want to play hard.” And play hard they do.

One doesn’t have to stay long at a rugby match to see Gordon’s influence on his team. They are fearless, aggressive, but hold them-selves with a quiet dignity that prevents the game from getting too brutish. This is most clearly evidenced by the perfect form and graceful lines of the lifts performed to catch balls coming in from the touch. It’s a sight worthy of Vassar Repertory Dance Theatre

and showcases an impressive amount of coor-dination and precision.

As captain, Gordon is constantly aware of his team. He is mindful of how each cog fits into the machine, and of how the machine evolves over time. Gordon explained that the team had been comprised of primarily expe-rienced rugby players at the onset of his ca-reer and has since rotated the veterans out for fresh incoming talent. “We have a really young team,” Gordon explains thoughtfully. “They have a lot of talent, but we have to grow into that talent.” Gordon sees his position as cap-tain as an opportunity to oversee the develop-ment of his team from fledgling flankers into

a highly organized, aggressive unit capable of taking any scrum with little remorse for en-emy toes and fingers and collarbones crushed along the way.

The rough and tumble sport of rugby has had a firm grasp on Gordon since he first stepped onto the field. Gordon nostalgically recalls being put on the field with no idea how to play the game. It was this moment, a bit intimidating, and more than a bit exciting, that defined Iain Gordon as the rugby captain he was to become. Gordon is nothing short of ferocious on the field, and it is this contagious energy that makes rugby such a thrill on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Mitchell Gilburnereporter

Political agendamust not trumpOlympic athletes

There have been two very different U.S. reac-tions to the International Olympic Commit-

tee’s (IOC) recent announcement of Rio de Janeiro as the 2016 Olympic Games host city: relief and disappointment. Chicago, a perceived favorite in the race, was knocked out in the first round, and pundits reviewing Chicago’s “failure” have man-aged to completely forget the athletes and the im-pact the games could have had on them. Instead, we have only heard about the debate between the conflicting political camps: Liberals are displeased by the decision against Chicago, and conservatives are not.

Chicago’s bid for the Olympics was received with mixed feelings, especially once the recession took hold. While many were quick to promote the potential good that the games would do for the city, others felt that the costs associated were unac-ceptable. Both sides had a point, but both refused to explore one particular variable—the effects of the decision on young and amateur athletes.

Conservatives argued that hosting the Olympics would have cost the city of Chicago close to $2.1 billion in building and security costs, leaving it in serious debt, and would undoubtedly have set the stage for massive fraud. Liberals, meanwhile, were quick to point out the benefits. In one way or another, those $2 billion would be ploughed right back into a city hit hard by the recent recession. The games would create jobs, and the resultant rise in incomes would find its way back to state coffers through taxes.

Both sides’ arguments lie deep in speculation and past examples, but, despite their shortfalls, they have managed to fuel a fire that media outlets will use to politicize the debate and create an even deeper rift in the political landscape of this coun-try. That forces me at this point to slow down and ask: Is this what the Olympics are all about?

I was never under the delusion that the Olym-pics were devoid of politics, but I at least thought that common citizens would let athletes in on the debate. But the athletic aspect of the games has been ignored and left out completely, meaning that U.S. sports face a double loss.

It is undeniable that having the games in Chica-go would have had positive effects on U.S. sports. Though these effects are intangible in a quantifi-able sense, they are noticeable socially. If new athletic venues are built and old ones refurbished, athletes gain something.

If athletics began to dominate the landscape as Chicago geared up for the games, athletes would have gained from it. And if the Olympic games came to Chicago, a city beset with violent crime and glaring income disparity, the games would have united its people and given its children new heroes. It would have been Obama’s golden ticket to the “hope” that we all somehow need—in the form of sports.

We have lost this potential rallying beacon, and have decided to keep the Olympics political rather than showing support for our athletes. Media out-lets have argued over whether President Obama should have gone to Copenhagen to give a speech for Chicago’s bid and shown pictures of celebrating Rio citizens and disgruntled Chicagoans. Pundits haven’t let up in their tirades against whichever view they oppose. In the meantime, the American athletes who would have competed in the Olym-pics have remained completely forgotten.

After all, it seems as though everyone has for-gotten that regardless of the costs and benefits, an Olympic host country gets to have at least one ath-lete (or team) represent it in every single sport au-tomatically, with no qualification required. What better way is there to promote athletics and get kids interested in a variety of sports? This would take the focus back onto sports that seem to fall through the funding cracks and pick both adults and children out of the socio-economic gutter and onto a field, court or track.

In the wake of the IOC’s announcement, we have shown the worst in ourselves. We have been self-ish; we’ve waged a public battle over points which are no longer relevant; we’ve managed to totally and utterly forget those to whom the Olympics are most important. In case you forgot, the Olympics should be about the athletes.

Nik TrkuljaGuest ColumNist

Sophomore Ian Gordon plays in the opening home game for the men’s rudby team on Sunday, Oct. 4, against Seton Hall University. Gordon is one of three captains this year.

Courtesy of Sports Inform

ation

Yankees to recapture World Series title

Baseball playoff season means that only eight MLB teams are still playing, but just

because your favorite team might be among the 22 franchises that are no longer compet-ing doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take the time to celebrate those that are still progressing through the playoffs.

And what’s a good celebration without a little speculation? Here’s what I think will hap-pen in the MLB playoffs.American League (AL) Division Series: Anaheim Angels vs. Boston Red Sox

Pitching: The Red Sox have the clear ad-vantage. The Angels cannot compete with Jon Lester and Josh Beckett.

Hitting: The Angels have it. No one is deny-ing that Red Sox players can hit, but the An-gels’ have nine players hitting .287 or better, three of whom have hit over 20 home runs.

Intangibles: This category without a doubt belongs to the Red Sox. The Sox won 12 of the past 13 playoff matchups between the two teams since 1986.

Prediction: Red Sox win three games to one.AL Division Series: New York Yankees vs. Minnesota Twins

Pitching: The Yankees have the advantage. C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Mariano Ri-vera, against—who exactly? No Twins starting pitcher has an ERA under four.

Hitting: This goes to the Yankees. The Twins’ Joe Mauer has had the best season of any AL hitter, but his supporting cast isn’t strong enough.

Intangibles: The Twins have had to win frantically just to make it in, while the Yankees should be rested and ready to go.

Prediction: Yankees—three games to zero.AL Division Series: Yankees vs. Detroit Tigers

Pitching: When the game gets into late in-nings, I trust the Yankees’ Mariano Rivera more than the Tigers’ Fernando Rodney.

Hitting: Many of the Tigers’ top players have struggled this year. Only two have been hitting over .300. New York’s Mark Teixeira, with 39 home runs, is a better power hitter than any Tiger.

Intangibles: The Yankees have home field advantage and have had the opportunity to set up their rotation, while the Tigers had to win their last game just to make it in.

Prediction: Yankees will sweep the first three games.AL Championship: Yankees vs. Red Sox

Pitching: It’s a draw. Both teams bring high-quality starters as well as phenomenal clos-ers.

Hitting: New York’s Teixeira and Jeter are two great hitters, but I don’t trust Alex Ro-driguez in October. He has hit just .160 in the playoffs with the Yankees.

Intangibles: The Yankees—do you think they or their fans have forgotten the last time these two teams played in October?

Prediction: It will go to seven games, with the Yankees on top 4-3.National League (NL) Division Series: Philadelphia Phillies vs. Colorado Rock-ies

Pitching: The Phillies’ problem is that they have too much pitching, and that is a very good problem to have.

No one doubts Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee as their top two pitchers, but they also have J.A. Happ, Joe Blanton and Pedro Martinez, who all had very good years.

Hitting: The Phillies, again. It’s hard to go against a team that can use the likes of Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Shane Victorino.

Intangibles: This looks a lot like two years ago for the Rockies, when they won the Na-tional League pennant. The team starts off slow, gets red-hot after being left for dead and sneaks in as a wild card.

Prediction: Phillies 3-1NL Division Series: Los Angeles Dodgers vs. St. Louis Cardinals

Pitching: Is there a better pitching duo in baseball right now than the Cardinals’ Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright? Whenever you have two pitchers with at least 17 wins and an ERA under 2.70, you’re in very good shape in the playoffs.

Hitting: Draw. Aside from Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday is very good, the Cardinals are a pretty average hitting team. Meanwhile, the Dodgers have just one hitter hitting over .300 and two with over 20 home runs.

Intangibles: This goes to the Cardinals. The Dodgers started off hot, only to barely finish with the top record in their league.

Prediction: Cardinals 3-0NL Championship: Phillies vs. Cardinals

Pitching: It’s impossible to compete with the Cardinals’ pitching trio, although the Dodgers nearly do. The real game changer, though, is that Ryan Franklin has been a very solid closer for the Cardinals.

Hitting: Pujols and Holliday are exceptional hitters, but the Cardinals don’t have the weap-ons the Phillies have.

Intangibles: It’s a draw. The Phillies have home-field advantage, but the only reason Brad Lidge is in Philadelphia is because Pujols single-handedly drove him out of Houston in the 2005 playoffs. That he will blow at least one game because of that evens the score.

Prediction: Cardinals 4-1World Series: Yankees vs. Cardinals

Pitching: The Cardinals get it. If I say any more about Carpenter and Wainwright, I will just beat their abilities into the ground.

Hitting: The Yankees have Melky Cabrera, Jorge Posada, Alex Rodriguez, Johnny Damon, Nick Swisher, Hideki Matsui, Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira. Pujols and Holliday are great, but their supporting cast is lousy compared to that lineup.

Intangibles: The Yankees have not won a World Series since 2000, and I would be shocked if the New York crowd is going to let them lose a game, much less the series.

Prediction: Yankees 4-1

Andy MarmerGuest ColumNist

SPORTS October 8, 2009Page 20

MISCELLANY NEWS | VASSAR COLLEGE

Sports BriefsMattelson qualifies for ITA Nationals On Oct. 4, senior men’s tennis star Michael Mattelson defeated New York University’s Patrick Whitner to win the singles champi-onship title for the Intercollegiate Tennis As-sociation (ITA). After conquering opponents from Skidmore, Stevens and Hamilton, Mat-telson reached the final round. Entering the finals seated second, Mattelson took Whitner in three concise sets 3-6; 6-3; 6-1. With this win, he became the third player in Vassar history to accomplish the feat of winning an ITA championship. The ITA National Small College Championships will be held in Mo-bile, Ala. on Oct. 15-18. Mattelson’s teammates were not far behind; Junior Max Willner ad-vanced to the ITA Semi-final round before falling to NYU’s Whitner.

—Lillian Reuman, Sports Editor

Brown swallows women’s rugbyUnpleasant weather conditions in Provi-dence, RI and early scoring on Brown Uni-versity’s behalf lead to a nasty loss for Vassar this past Sunday Oct 4. The team fell to 3-2-0 overall after their 50-0 loss against Brown. Despite the extreme score, scrumhalf Keri Peacock ’11 had several breakouts but could not single-handedly conquer the opponents. Furthermore, starting center Morandi Hurst ’10 was substituted after breaking a bone in her face during the game. The loss at Brown University followed a 52-0 loss against Uni-versity of Massachussetts - Amherst that the team endured the weekend before.

The team, however, has a high morale with their hopes set high for their upcoming chal-lenge against the Yale University team on Sunday, Oct. 11.

—L.R.

Down the Hudson River:From the seat of the 8+ boat

On Saturday, Oct. 3, the Vassar rowing team raced as part of this weekend’s Quad-

ricentennial Poughkeepsie Regatta hosted at Marist College. The race was part of New York’s celebration of the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s exploration of the Hudson River. This event held a special meaning for me as a senior captain for the women’s row-ing team.

From 1895 through the early 1950s, Pough-keepsie’s stretch of the Hudson hosted the nation’s best collegiate crews at the Intercol-legiate Rowing Association’s (IRA) champion-ship regatta. The IRA later hosted events in Ohio, New Jersey and California to draw more competition.

To celebrate the IRA’s return to Poughkeep-sie, Marist College invited competing teams to a Friday night barbecue. We were joined by Cornell and Syracuse Universities, Marist Col-lege and Navy, under a tent between Marist’s boathouses, which stand on the site of the old Regatta Row. The women’s boats are kept in the renovated historic Marist boathouse, com-plete with a roaring fire in the brick fireplace. Black and white videos projected on one wall of the tent made us appreciate the race’s histo-ry. The presence of the regatta chairmen, who raced here half a century ago, amplified the feeling that rowing was born on the Hudson. They shared anecdotes of their experiences; Poughkeepsie was the place to go for competi-tive rowing. Thousands of spectators lined the shores of the Hudson and watched from trains crossing the river on the newly reopened train bridge over the Walkway Over the Hudson.

It’s a unique aspect of collegiate rowing that Vassar can race with Division I teams. Origi-nal stewards of the race Cornell, University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University sent their teams to Poughkeepsie to join traditional crews Syracuse University, Navy, and Army and also home crews Marist and Vassar. As the race approached, our team’s goal developed: finish before the other boats row back to the docks. We were discouraged going into the re-gatta as the only Division III crew, the serious underdog. Vassar rowing Head Coach Rodney Mott told us that Division I teams might out-pace us, but that those teams shouldn’t out-row us. On the morning of the race, as my crew of nine women stood in the boat bay, Mott told us that we couldn’t go into the race thinking that we were a Division III crew; we must attack the four-mile piece as a good crew.

Inspired, we strode to our docks for the first race of the day. The scene bustled as crews milled about rows of parked boat trailers, rigged their boats and brought oars to launch-ing crews. A southbound barge passed and crews had to stop (or “way-enough” as crew vernacular dictates) and wait for the wake to pass. We realized that in this field of Division I crews, we had an advantage; we understand the river and practiced on the course. We knew we were in for a long haul; our practice rows took 28 minutes, and today we were racing against the tide.

The course proved a test of athletic endur-ance. The demands rowing puts on the body are incredible. Winning crews depend on both aerobic and anaerobic systems; aerobic activ-ity giving way to the more painful anaerobic. Within the first minutes of a race, the oxygen in a rower’s blood has been used. Anaerobic ac-tivity is linked with non-endurance sports such as weight lifting, but when a rower switches to his anaerobic system, he still has minutes remaining. Rowing, though rarely said to be the most difficult sport because it requires no decision-making or agility, is perhaps the most grueling of sports.

Our training and attitude adjustment paid off. We pressed through the 6500 meter race with strength and consistency. As stroke seat of my 8+, I set a cadence strengthened by the rest of the lineup. Sophomore coxswain Jessi Panico motivated us, calling for us to overtake Marist’s boat in the first half of the race.

Vassar and Marist students, families, alumni and fans crowded the docks of Marist’s two boathouses as all boat traffic flowed through our docks.

Joining fans at Marist’s rowing compound was their college pep band, playing as we pushed their 8+ further behind us for open wa-ter. Passing the docks, 2500 meters remained to catch Army and leave Marist in our wake. We crossed the Mid-Hudson Bridge to finish in a time of 27:28, a definitive 37 seconds ahead of Marist, 32 seconds behind Army, and only a minute behind Ivy Leaguers University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University. Cor-nell’s women snagged the first win of the day in 24:39, followed by Syracuse University.

The weather deteriorated into rain and roll-ing waves. In the final race, our men saw the worst of it and demonstrated why races aren’t held on the Poughkeepsie course. The Vassar men’s varsity boat was swamped as it took on water over four miles.

Having never raced out of my own boat-house, it was a great experience to host a re-gatta. Racing close to campus meant a cheering section larger than dedicated parents, and my friends found the experience exciting and are a step closer to understanding why I’m up be-fore the sun three-quarters of the year. To be the first women to row in the once-prestigious Poughkeepsie Regatta is significant, and the men’s squads count themselves among Olym-pians and national champions that came be-fore. We are part of a new tradition that could include future champions.

This Saturday, the men’s and women’s squads are racing at the Head of the Housatonic. We will race against Division III powerhouses Wil-liams and Trinity Colleges, among others. The following week, the women’s side will compete at the 45th annual Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, Mass in both a 4+ and an 8+ compe-tition. The Head of the Charles is the world’s largest two-day regatta, drawing 7,500 athletes from across the globe and over 300,000 specta-tors to the banks of the historic Charles River. After October Break begins, winter training starts in preparation for the spring sprint rac-ing season.

Christina PeltierGuest ColumNist

Rugby dominates Seton Hall:Fall season and fans fill the air

Luxurious summertime weather in Pough-keepsie means it’s a good day for Rugby. On

Oct. 5 as the weather did its best to hang on to the waning warm season, the Brewers took on Seton Hall at the Vassar Farm in their first home game of the season. Sports fans, friends, and family made the trek out to the farm to enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells of the adrenaline-driven sport. Seton Hall proved a worthy oppo-nent last year, and though the Brewers won, it is never bad to hope for a wider margin of vic-tory.

Adam Steel ’12 set the pace for the match by scoring an early try. This was followed by some impressive maneuvering by Iain Gordon ’12 whose aggressive charge is only rivaled in visual impact by the surprising and delightfully grace-ful lifts coordinated in response to a ball drift-ing out of play. Rising like the phoenix, after a particularly forceful thrashing, Gordon went on to score the second try of the match.

The field was a knot of sweat, sinew, and spirit as Gordon scored this praiseworthy try mere minutes into the match, and a second suc-cessful conversion from James Purtie ‘12 placed the score at a comfortable 12-0 in our favor. It is readily apparent that Rugby is as exciting for the spectators as it is for the players. The com-bination of sunshine, eye candy, and a voracious appetite for victory unleashed a beast in the bleachers. These Rugby fans were not the sort to sit meekly by on the sidelines. Their spirited cries of “Take him down”, “Destroy him!”, and “Activate Scrum!” did not fail to intimidate.

Despite an impressive and enduring defensive effort from the Brewers, Seton Hall managed to score their first try, but missed the conversion,

allowing the Brewers to maintain their position of favor with a score of 19-5.

Of course, there can be no talk of defense without mention of Barrington Archer ’12 whose approach to thwarting an enemy advance is grounded in his ability to play the part of a hu-man wall. And it is thanks in part to his capacity to not budge that Vassar scored yet another try off of a successful scrum. And what a scrum it was! Even for the casual rugby fan, the scrum—a kind of showdown between each team’s forward positions, who join together to make a human wall of sorts—is a thing of excitement! When a player goes down, the scrum activates and in what can only be compared to a cyclopean head but, both teams put pressure on one another un-til the ball escapes the scrum and returns to play (hopefully in Vassar’s favor!).

This triumph was followed by a massive run from Roku Fukie ’12. He charged like furious quicksilver through enemy lines, leaving Seton Hall baffled and confused. The play finished with yet another try for the Brewers, who by now had gathered a comfortable lead of 24-10. With scores like this, it becomes quickly ap-parent that Vassar is producing and harnessing some serious talent. Two such superstars, Ken-dall Coleman ’11 and Purtie mesmerized all with their otherworldly agility. These athletes had a hand in nearly every successful maneuver of the game and the crowd’s recognition of their talent was verging on palpable.

The game concluded with a score of 43-22. It is safe to say that the Brewers dominated this match and left a very pleased, albeit sore throat-ed cheering section in their wake. If this impres-sive victory is any indication of things to come, then the Brewers are looking down the barrel of a very successful season indeed.

Mitchell Gilburnereporter

Senior on the men’s tennis squad Michael Mattleson qualified for the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Small College Championship, to be helf on Oct. 15-18.

Photo courtesy of Sports Inform

ation

Men’s rugby in a scrum during their first home game of the season last Sunday, Oct. 4, against Seton Hall University. The Brewers came out on top in the homeopener, 43-22.

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