Archive for November, 2009

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As announced in her Nov. 5 Letter to the Editor, President Hill takes five percent pay cut

November 4th, 2009 by

According to her Letter to the Editor—published in the Nov. 5 issue of The Miscellany News—President Catharine Bond Hill has promised to take a five percent pay cut from her salary during the 2010-11 academic year. Hill wrote the Letter in response to the Nov. 1 Staff Editorial from Miscellany’s Editorial Board (“As a symbolic act, if nothing else, senior officers must reconsider pay cut,” 10.29.09).

Though Hill still stressed the value of competitive compensation and her philosophy against across-the-board cuts, she still explained that “the key point made in the Oct. 29 editorial is that the symbolism of a voluntary pay cut on the part of the leader of the institution would be ‘meaningful’ to the community, not as a solution to our difficulties but as a sign that I understand that sacrifices are being made everywhere, and that such a cut would be perceived differently by the community than the private giving that the leadership of the College has undertaken this year.”

Hill continued, saying that while she and the senior officers have already made sacrifices for the community—including substantial gifts to the Vassar College Annual Fund—she would “as President of the College and a member of [the] community, reduce my current salary next year by five percent to signal—to symbolize—that everyone is sacraficing at this moment in our College’s history.”

Click here to read more of Hill’s letter or here to read Features Editor Emma Carmichael’s article on pay cuts at Vassar and at peer schools.

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Campus Solidarity Working Group displays visual presentation on job security issues at Vassar

November 4th, 2009 by

On Wednesday, November 4th student representatives from the Campus Solidarity Working Group displayed a visual presentation focusing on the issues of Vassar job security in the College Center Atrium.

The multimedia project, on display today from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., had several different facets—the center of the Atrium was stacked with dozens of “blocks,” cardboard boxes painted red and featuring pictures of Vassar employess. Nathan Orians ’10 explained that they represent the ways in which Vassar employees are the “building blocks” of the college’s success, and by “touching them and moving them around,” visitors to the project might gain a new understanding of the importance of the work employees provide for the college.

More photographs of Vassar employees were hung along the wall; some included the stories of individuals who had been laid off in the past few weeks. Across the ceiling of the Atrium’s lower level were 15 white teeshirts, each representing a worker that Vassar has fired due to budget cuts since the beginning of the year. Alongside these shirts were almost one hundred smaller, paper cut-out shirts, representing the projected number of employees the College will lay off over the course of the year. The shirts were hung as if on a clothesline, because the College “has hung them up to dry,” said Orians.

The members of the Campus Solidarity Working Group have been working actively through the semester to ensure job security for Vassar employees through many mediums, such as weekly protests, petitions, and meetings with senior administrators. Met with limited success in their endeavors, students involved in the project hope a new medium will help to raise awareness and to educate members of the Vassar community in the issues facing employees.

“There’s been a formal, official discourse about these issues, but no opportunities to discuss how it affects people on the micro, personal level, or how it affects the college beyond this one dialogue,” said Jamie Stevenson ’10, a student representative from the Campus Solidarity Working Group and one of the designers of the project on display in the College Center. She hopes the project will demonstrate to fellow students and community members the other ways in which job cuts affect Vassar, besides what is related by senior College administrators.

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Vassar students face challenges at Dutchess County polls

November 3rd, 2009 by

Picture 2Since November 2008 there has been a marked increase in the number of Vassar students choosing to vote in Poughkeepsie instead of their home districts. According to Board of Elections (BOE) official Ira Margulies, about 400 Vassar students are registered to vote in local elections.

However, students who have gone to vote at Arthur S. May Elementary School today have had their eligibility to vote challenged. The challenges have come on the grounds that their current addresses do not match up with the addresses under which they are registered in the voter rolls.

As of 5pm on Tuesday an injunction was filed against Vassar students wishing to vote at Arthur S. May Elementary School. This means that students whose votes are successfully challenged by the Board of Elections will be unable to vote on voting machines, and will instead have to vote by paper ballot.

In a 4:30pm all-campus email Associate Dean of the College Ray Parker wrote on behalf of Professor of Political Science Sarita Gregory, “The most important message for students: Do not leave the site without voting! You have the constitutional right to vote if you are registered in this county. The only reason you should fill out any paper or show any proof of identification is if you have been successfully challenged. At that time, you have to complete the challenge oath, but you can still vote!”

When a voter’s right to cast a ballot is challenged, there is a set protocol for resolution, according to Margulies. First, a voter or elections worker present at the polling location must make a challenge. Then the voter is required to take an oath certifying that his or her voter registration information is correct. Then there is an opportunity for the four elections specialists to question the voter and decide whether or not he or she is eligible. If at least two of the four specialists affirm that the voter is eligible, he or she can cast a vote in a polling booth.

Dutchess County Democratic Commissioner, Fran Knapp called these challenges to Vassar voters “nothing more than voter intimidation.” Knapp was outraged at the situation at Arthur S. May, and said, “you cannot wholesale block a group from voting. And that’s what [Republican election officials] are trying to do. It’s terrible. It’s a political tactic.”

Margulies urged students “not to get intimidated. Even if all inspectors [challenge you], you can still take an oath and vote.” Gregory encouraged students to visit votingatvassar.wordpress.com for updates on the situation at Arthur S. May and information about voting eligibility in today’s election.

Polls will remain open at Arthur S. May Elementary School on Raymond Ave. until 9pm tonight.

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Live blogging from the Nov. 1 VSA Council Meeting

November 1st, 2009 by

7:00 p.m. | Attendance

7:03 p.m. | Mike Faba ’10 and Sam Black ’12, Captains of Vassar Emergency Medical Services (EMS), begin their presentation on EMS calls last night for the 2009 Halloween Party. According to Faba, there were 9 Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) on call last night. While last year there were 12 EMS calls—11 of which were alcohol-related—this year there were 16 calls, 15 of which were intox-related, one of which was medical-related. “There was an increase of seven or six calls and we sent five more people to the hospital than we did last year,” says Faba.

According to Faba, there were four additional calls that were attended to by ambulances and not by EMTs, as all technicians were occupied with other patients.

Faba continues: “Last night saw the most EMS calls in one night of the history of EMS record-keeping, which goes back 8 years…This does not necessarily reflect a huge change in student behavior. We don’t know whether or not the increase in calls corresponds to an increase in drinking or of awareness of EMS on campus,” says Faba, explaining that the more students who trust and know about EMS, the more calls they are likely to get.

7:15 | Faba also explains that more calls came in for members of the Class of 2011, a trend that has continued since the class began its first year at Vassar.

Following Faba and Black’s presentation, the President expresses concern that the alternative programming planned this year was not as effective as hoped and that “next year the administration may be pushing even harder to get rid of the Halloween event.”

7:17 | Academics: “I wonder if we can work to change the culture of Halloween on campus.I think that’s the larger issue. Alternative programming is great, but it’s not really getting at the root of the issue.”

7:25 | Organization Report from ACT OUT. “The event was a huge success—I’ve heard positive feedback from everyone involved,” says ACT OUT President Leslie Hamilton ’10 of the Oct. 11 National Equality March, to which 102 Vassar students attended.

7:30 | Committee Report from Committee on College Life (CCL). According to CCL Representative Nate Silver ’10, CLL will be working this year on revisions to the student conduct guidelines and looking into alternative parking options.

7:40 | Executive Report from Activities: In the upcoming weeks there will be a “number of organizations up for certification,” explained Activities.

7: 50 | Activities moves to fine the Vassar Ultimate Frisbee Team. According to Activities, between 30 and 35 people were observed with open containers of beer playing frisbee on Ballentine Field before October Break. Last week, those at a meeting with the VSA Activities Committee, representatives from the Judicial Board and members of the Frisbee team discussed how best to move forward with disciplinary action. After the meeting, it was decided that the Frisbee Team would be fined $3,000. Earlier in October, the VSA Council approved supplemental budgeting, which included a $3,000 bonus for the team that was meant to enable them to go on a Spring Break trip to a conference. According to Activities, “that money was allocated based on a display of responsible behavior, and we believe that this was antithetical to that.” The fine would remove the money allocated to the team for the conference but would not affect the money allocated to them for their 2009-10 operating budget.

Frisbee Team representatives present, however, contend that the fine would affect events between now and the spring conference.

8:30 | Town Houses moves to amend the fine amount to $1500. Finance speaks against the amendment, saying that the Team can still apply for Special Purpose Funds later in the year, especially if players exhibit responsible behavior. Activities also explained that there are no grounds on which to fine the team $1500 and that the $3000 amount was chosen on the basis of this year’s supplemental budgeting.

8:44 | The motion to reset the fine amount to $1500 fails 21 to three. The motion to fine the Frisbee Team $3000 passes  23 to one. Motion to censure the Frisbee Team passes unanimously.

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