Today marked the end of the 10th annual Modfest, a contemporary multi-media art festival.  Starting at the beginning of the spring semester on January 19th, the Vassar calendar was filled with concerts from students and outsider musicians alike, such as the JACK String Quartet.  The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center also presented new exhibitions of the work of photographer Serge J-F.Levy, graduate of the Class of ’95.  Not only is Modfest for the Vassar community to appreciate art and music, and its own artist and musicians, but some students used the festival as a way to fund raise and generally raise awareness of their organizations.  The Vassar Music Department Choral Ensemble put on a Cabaret Night to raise money for their tour to England and France this coming spring break, which will be one of the largest scale trips in quite a few years for the group.  Many other arts related events took place as a part of the festival, such as movie screenings, lectures, readings of plays and a performance from the Vassar Repertory Dance Theatre.

Photography by Katie De Heras ’13, Pavel Shchyhelski ’14, and Madeline Zappala ’12.

In celebration of the 60th anniversary of the House Fellow Program at Vassar, Miscellany News photographers were welcomed in to the homes of a few of Vassar’s House Fellows and their families.  A small, yet important faction of Vassar’s population, these professors, their spouses and their children all experience dorm life as we as students do, although their apartments are almost unrecognizable to our often small and cluttered dorm rooms.  The presence of House Fellows in the dorms allows for a greater connection with professors on campus, more babysitting opportunities, as well as an increased feeling of hominess in our dorm life.

Read more about House Fellows from last week’s issues of the Miscellany News here.

Read more about growing up on Vassar’s campus here.

Photography by Emily Lavieri-Scull ’15, Cassady Bergevin ’15, Angelo Roman ’15, and Jonah Bleckner ’15.

Over the course of first semester, Miscellany News photographer Rachel Garbade committed to capturing a time-lapsed view of the residential quad from the ninth floor common area of Jewett.  Her photographs capture the changes in foliage on the campus and the Hudson Valley, different lawn mowing patterns, the great snowfall on Halloween and the general mild weather of the start of winter.

Photography by Rachel Garbade ’15.

This Thursday, The Experimental Theater of Vassar College is putting up The Skin of Our Teeth, a play written by Thornton Wilder that first premiered in 1942.  Vassar’s production is directed by Christopher Grabowski, designed by Drama Department faculty members Paul O’Connor, Kenisha Kelly, and Stephen Jones, and features students majoring in Drama.  The play focuses on the struggle of human existence, weaving in biblical references to illustrate the advancement of humanity.  The Skin of Our Teeth focuses on colossal issues like the end of the world, but conveys the struggle with these issues in a deeply humorous and lighthearted manor, balancing on a fine line between comedy and tragedy.  Wilder grapples with the notion of storytelling as a means of moving forward, making the audience hyper-aware of the fact that they are seeing a play.  He does this by writing in moments for the actors to break character, therefore the actors are all playing themselves and their characters.  The production has involved a tremendous amount of collaboration and countless hours of preparation.

Come see the show at the Martel Theater on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8:00 PM.

Photography by Alex Schlesinger ’14. Synopsis by Emily Wexler ’14.

Last Wednesday, November 30, 2011, students, professors and Poughkeepsie residents alike gathered in the Chapel to hear the powerful words of modern philosopher and scholar Dr. Cornel West.  The Princeton professor spoke at Vassar last the day after September 11, 2001, enlightening the campus with a controversial lecture reflecting on the events.  This lecture, officially titled “The End(s) of Oligarchy: Our American Blues, Citizenship, and the New Democracy,” touched on subjects of poverty, economic inequality and injustice, specifically in the light of the Occupy movements around the country. The lecture was sponsored by The Vassar Association of Class Activists, Vassar Student Association, Africana Studies, Religious and Spiritual Life, American Culture Department, Office of the President, Dean of the College, Dean of the Faculty, Campus Life and Diversity Office, and the Religion, Political Science and Sociology Departments.

West urged the crowd that “the unexamined life is not worth living,” and to “act with compassion” for the purpose of truth-seeking. He also commented on the subjects of religious leadership in the political realm, prompted by the question “Where are our religious leaders?” in comparison to their prominent presence in the Civil Rights movement and inter-racial relationships in the contemporary United States.  The audience was enthralled with West’s intriguing and insightful words.

Photography by Madeline Zappala ’12.

On Wednesday, November 16, Office of International Studies and VISA put together their annual Kaleidoscope event.  After VISA had some trouble getting funds through supplemental budgeting, the event went on smoothly, bringing a plethora of food venders to offer students cuisines from all over the world.  Students also participated in the cooking in the Dessert Cook-off, as well as in performances in the World’s Got Talent competition.  The event was a part of an International Education Week, which included other events such as the annual International Photo Contest, and the Vassar World Cup.

Photography by Jonah Bleckner ’15.

This past Saturday, students filed into the Chapel for ViCE’s annual–and this time, free–Fall concert, featuring Fang Island and Anamanaguchi. Fang Island’s high-energy indie sounds and Anamanaguchi’s frenzied chiptune drew a large audience. Miscellany News photographers Jacob Gorski ’15 and Tim Serkes ’14 were there to capture the excitement.

Last Wednesday, November 16, 2011, the Dean of the College, Davison House, the Women’s Studies Program, the Women’s Center, the LGBTQ Center, the ALANA Center, Religious and Spiritual Life, the Feminist Alliance, and SAVP put on a panel in an effort to combat issues on sexism on campus.  The panel was made up of eight students, seven women and one male, representing different organizations and groups at Vassar. The panelists commented on questions about sexuality at Vassar, and how that intersects with issues of sexism, body politics, the power of language and how to deal with issues of conflict around sexism when they arise on campus.  The conversation was focused on opportunities to learn and grow as a community, and was a great way to open up a more public conversation about the issues of sexism that have been happening on campus.

Photography by Madeline Zappala ’12.

Students associated with the Vassar Greens organization went to a Tar Sands Action rally in Washington D.C. this weekend, focused on stopping the Keystone XL Pipeline, which is seen as counteractive the United States’ commitment to clean energy economy.  Young and old, human and non-human, everybody was protesting.  There were babies and small children, as well as many, older retired people. There were about 12,000 people in total in Lafayette Park in front of the White House.  Actor and activist Mark Ruffalo was at the rally as well to show his support. There were many chants, such as “Show me what democracy looks like,” “This is what democracy looks like,” “yes we can” and “stop the pipeline.” The crowd accomplished their goal of fully encircling the White House, which had never been done before.

Photography by Emily Lavieri-Scull ’15.

Senior Andrew Schaer caught Vassar under a blanket of snow from this weekend’s storm while running from class to class. While Duchess County was under a State of Emergency, Vassar escaped relatively unscathed with only a few flickering power outages and  a few programming cancellations.