After a challenging first day of classes, what sounds better than organic yogurt or a selection of fresh produce? Between the Farmers Market’s expanded schedule—it’s now open on Thursday and Monday—and today’s opening of My Market II on Raymond Avenue, the off-campus for students have markedly increased for the new semester.
Inside My Market
My Market II, which is occupying the space formerly filled by Wrapsody, may be especially welcome as it’s not limited by the seasons. The store features plenty of snack staples and dorm necessities like cookies, chips and detergent, but it also stocks a variety of more substantial groceries beyond general convenience store items. While a few drinks refrigerators and nooks here and there are still empty, store owner Bill Grimm said, “We have lots more to bring.”
Produce is available at My Market
My Market also carries a large selection of natural and organic products, a feature that is sure to appeal to Vassar students. Grimm said of the selection, “We’re trying to please everyone,” and he added that his goals for the store are to offer quality and choice for his customers.
Classes may only have started today, but dedicated Halloween enthusiasts are already planning the annual Raymond Haunted House. Though the name may suggest otherwise, previous incarnations of the Haunted House have moved out of Raymond, such as in 2008 when the event transformed Rockefeller Hall into a Haunted Mansion.
According to Official Consultant for the Haunted House Gerald Gilligan ’11, this year’s Haunted House will take over the entire second floor of the College Center, including the Villard Room. The event is being organized by the Raymond House team in association with a few other students dedicated to the art of haunted house creation.
Despite taking over the College Center, the Haunted House, planned for Oct. 29, will not be an all-campus party like the Halloween party planned annually by the senior class, though Haunted House planners may foster a collaboration with groups hosting a Mug Night at the same time. Gilligan would not yet disclose this year’s Haunted House theme, so more details are yet to come.
This past Thursday, April 8, 2010, Babycakes Cafe was filled to the brim with Vassar students dying to hear some live music. Courtesy of The Vassar Students Band Union and Democracy Matters, the event proved Babycakes was a new and interesting venue for Vassar bands to play, and Vassar students to spend their Thursday evening.
Vassar senior Zach Huckel-Bauer opened the night, setting the tone and atmosphere while engaging and involving the large crowd. By the time The Anti-Job, starring Vassar senior Amanda Jones as lead singer and guitarist, with junior Katie Troy on drums, came one, the tables in the front of Babycakes needed to be cleared, and it was obvious that the night was turning out to be quite successful.
Senior Zach Huckel-Bauer started off the night.
Katie Troy, Drummer for the Anti-Job
Amanda Jones, lead singer of The Anti-Job.
Ben Conant, the organizer of The Vassar Student Bands Union is also lead singer of The Facts and Figures, who finished off the evening. Even at the end the crowd was still pulsing with enthusiasm. Hopefully this event brought Babycakes enough success to become a weekly endeavor, but certainly it is encouraging to see The Vassar Students Band Union coming up with such a lively and fruitful event so early on in their history as an organization. Its safe to say there is a lot of good to come in the future.
All of the contestants were full of stage presence and sass.
This weekend was Queer Coalition Vassar College’s annual Flawless Extravaganza. As expected, it was a huge demonstration of gaudy, explosively colorful, and extravagant outfits, performances and personalities. But the clothing was really quite a spectacle. Fitting a male body into female clothing is always an experiment, and pulling it off well certainly a challenge. But, all of the five contestants in the drag show did so very well.
Judging the event was Senior Jodie Gerard, Junior Adam Shapiro, Sophomore Kevin Cho, Freshman Cydney Love Smith, and local professional drag queen Isis Vermouth. All looked fabulous and had many biting opinions about the contestants.
The Judges, from left to right, Isis Vermouth, Cydney Love Smith, Kevin Choe, Adam Shapiro, and Jodie Gerard.
After a colorful week of wearing masks of different personas, Kimmy’s back to being herself again. She said that her performance art project has been “an interesting personal trip” looking back to her life. Because, the project not only made her look back and think, but also lead her to having conversations with people where she talked multiple times about her life choices.
Kimmy also said that with this project, she has been able to find out what other people’s dreams were. It turns out a lot of girls at Vassar were dreaming of becoming Princess Jasmine when they were kids.
It’s also interesting to note the effects different outfits had on Kimmy’s mood and personality on specific days. She said she behaved a lot more seriously on the second day of her project when she was an architect, whereas she felt a lot more freer when she was a scuba diver.
Having completed this nostalgic and retrospective project, Kimmy decided she is happy to be who she is and likes where she stands in her life right now. It’s not hard to see that she is very happy to be an art student at Vassar, and judging from this project, I think she is a very creative one. Personally, I’m looking forward to see her future projects.
The Film Department and Vassar Filmmakers have been hosting lecturer after lecturer in rapidfire succession this semester, each speaker a respective badass in the realm of film and television. The series has been made possible by a grant received by the Department from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. TONIGHT in Vogelstein Center for Drama and Film 109, the next iteration of this series is here, this time funded solely by the Film Department.
Check out a screening of the 1978 Oscar nominee Pretty Baby at 5:00 pm, starring a 12-year old Brooke Shields, Susan Sarandon and Keith Carradine. And try this on for size: AT 7:00 PM in the same locale, Keith Carradine will discuss Pretty Baby, his other films and his experiences as an actor. The man might be familiar to students thanks to his robust television career. “Damages,” “Dexter,” and “Dollhouse,” have seen his latest roles (the killer D’s of drama, one might say).
On Saturday, Kimmy was dressed up as Princess Jasmine, and I loved it! She was wearing a pair azure-blue chiffon harem pants and a matching ruffle-trimmed cropped top, as well as a jeweled headband.
“When I was younger, I loved Disney movies. Aladdin was my favorite!” said Kimmy, adding that she loved and admired Princess Jasmine’s strong personality.
She also wished she could be Princess Jasmine, until she realized it was impossible. “I thought it would be so amazing to have a flying carpet and tiger,” she explained.
This is not the Day Six outfit I’ve been anticipating for so long– you have to wait for the evening to see it up here! Just for the sake of creating more suspense, I can say that the Saturday outfit might be the polar opposite of what you see in this picture.
As a marine biologist, Kimmy was wearing a lab coat, vizor, and stuffed animal turtle on Friday. Under the lab coat she had jeans and run down sneakers, along with “Spread Good Vibes” shirt. “I always had it in my head that marine biologists were the most hippy-esque of the scientists,” she said about the shirt.
Kimmy wanted to become a marine biologist when she was little, after she did an overnight in the Camden Aquarium with her girl scout troop and got to sleep in a room with a huge view into the main tank. ”The beauty of the underwater world really struck me and I dreamed of becoming a marine biologist!” she explained.
Pursuing her dream, she went to a vocational school for marine science. She unfortunately didn’t enjoy the marine biology courses there and thought that being a marine biologist is boring, after having to memorize the scientific names of algae and many other species.
So, today Kimmy has her naval uniform on, which she wore when she was in her highschool’s Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (NJROTC) program. More specifically, it is the blue summer uniform sporting her final rank of Lieutenant, along with the ribbons she earned during her time in high school.
Enjoying the structure of the program and the chance to excel through hard work, Kimmy dreamed of going to Annapolis, Maryland, throughout her sophomore year in high school. ”It is a bit strange to be wearing this uniform again, since I celebrated no having to wear it anymore after high school,” she reflected.
Kimmy also noted that she couldn’t assemble all the pieces of the uniform, as she had to return her uniform at the end of her high school career. “I feel like I am committing naval blasphemy, since I couldn’t get together all the pieces,” she said. “I also feel like I have taken a time warp, but into a different past where I don’t get written up for having the wrong shoes!”
Today, Kimmy’s walking around the campus as a scuba diver. She is wearing a lightweight wetsuit with matching wetsuit boots. A snorkel and a dive mask complement her outfit as accessories.
Kimmy started scuba diving in high school where she was a member of a scuba diving club. Amazed by the beauty of corals and everything else the underwater world offers, she got professional scuba diving certifications. So far she’s been diving at scuba diving spots within the US, and also in the Virgin Islands!
Main Circle is devoted to arts, culture and student life on campus. The Circle's bloggers have their fingers on the pulse of what's happening at Vassar—from concerts to fashion to daily life at the College, Main Circle will be your source.
Today, Kimmy’s walking around the campus as a scuba diver. She is wearing a lightweight wetsuit with matching wetsuit boots. A snorkel and a dive mask complement her outfit as accessories.