This afternoon at 1:19 p.m. the College officially launched its Sesquicentennial website, 150.vassar.edu, with an e-mail blast from President Catharine Bond Hill.

“Generations of our students have gone on to change the world in many different ways – some on a global level, others nationally, in their own regions, states, communities, and homes,” wrote Hill in her all-campus e-mail. “Vassar has a history of educating people who seek out new and better ways of doing things. That approach is in the Vassar DNA, whether graduates pursue lives in the arts, humanities, social sciences, or natural sciences, or some inventive combination thereof.”

Hill also referenced the College’s development campaign that has been in its “silent” phases and will officially launch early next year. “As an integral part of these celebrations, we will highlight our Vassar 150 / World Changing campaign, a major fundraising initiative for college priorities that honors our past and supports our future,” she wrote.

The website features hundreds of photographs and images from the College’s history, a timeline, histories of several departments and academic programs, reflections from alumnae/i and a calendar of events for the Sesquicentennial year of 2011.

The website’s “Memories” section offers the opportunity for members of the Vassar community to submit their own content. According to Hill, “I hope you will share your stories, photos, and videos in the ‘Memories’ section of the site, and come back often to see new content.”

7:02 | Vassar Student Association (VSA) Council is about to start.

7:03 | Attendance.

7:05 | Executive Report from Activities: The Activities committee will be working on reviewing organization that are hoping to be certified. Organization reports will be coming out soon, says Vice President for Activities Tanay Tatum ’12.

7:06 | Executive Report from Finance: “The VSA is in good financial health,” says Vice President for Finance Travis Edwards ’12.

7:07 | Allocation of $700 to MEChA from the Speakers, Lecturers and Panels Fund: MEChA is planning on hosting an Immigration and Education Forum. The allocation is approved unanimously.

7:09 | Open Discussion.

7:11 | Motion to Adjourn: The motion passes.

On Wednesday November, 24 just before 11 a.m., students received a “campus advisory” email from Director of Safety and Security, Don Marsala, reporting an incidence of sexual assault on campus. According to Marsala, a female student was accosted within a residence house computer cluster between the hours 8 a.m and 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning. The suspect, identified as a 5’10” student-aged male with no facial hair, entered the cluster and began to physically accost the female student. He then blocked her exit from the room and began to masturbate in front of her.  The female student was able to escape and sought the help of a fellow student.

According to Marsala’s email, “Vassar College Safety and Security is pursuing several leads” on the identification of the suspect. Safety and Security has not yet released the name of the residence hall in which the assault occurred.

In the conclusion of the campus advisory Marsala asks anyone with additional information to come forth. “Please feel free to report any persons or activities that you feel might be suspicious to the Campus Response Center (CRC) @ 845 437 5221 and we’ll investigate immediately,” he wrote.

6:56 | Council is about to start. Tonight there will be a forum with Associate Dean of the College for Campus Life and Diversity Ed Pittman ’82 and Executive Board Reports from Vassar Student Association (VSA) President Mat Leonard ’11 and Vice President for Operations Ruby Cramer ’12.

7:02 | Attendance. There are proxies in for Raymond House President Lita Sacks ’12 and South Commons President Brian Kim ’11.

7:03 | Forum with Ed Pittman ’82, Associate Dean of the College for Campus Life and Diversity and advisor to the VSA: Pittman says that he is originally from Poughkeepsie. The Campus Life Office works with the Vassar first year program, which began five years ago. The program began, Pittman says, with the understanding that there should be some programming for first-year students outside of the intensive week of orientation week.

The office also works on “dialogue and engagement on a range of issues,” says Pittman. This work includes a series of conversation dinners. The most recent dinner explored the concept of liberalism at Vassar.

The Campus Life Office also creates spaces for specific communities, such as through the Religious and Spiritual Life Office, LGBTQ programming, and the Women’s Center.

Pittman brings up some of the key issues on campus including alcohol and campus culture, “cyber ethics and civil discourse,” and the challenge to “be inclusive.”

“One goal of inclusion is to bring different bodies into the room,” says Pittman. However, “inclusion in terms of compositional [inclusion] is always limited in what you can do.” Inclusion, he says, is also more broadly a discussion of making everyone feel present and addressing a wide range of issues. “Most of you have read the [Audit of Campus Life and Diversity], and that’s only half the story.”

Pittman also brings up a series of controversies over some of last spring’s events. “I’ve used the word issues, challenges…and I just want to say that on the other side of these challenges or issues are opportunities,” says Pittman.

7:25 | President of the Class of 2014 Michael Moore asks Pittman to expand on any new patterns and trends of alcohol use on campus. Pittman says that there is a more ready availability of substances. “I think it is regulated to the extent that students have to register parties,” he adds. “I don’t see an environment where Vassar will say you can’t drink on campus.”

“I think there’s more tolerance for underage drinking,” says Pittman.

7:28 | President of Lathrop House Samantha Garcia ’13 is speaking about the Women’s Center and asks if there might be a way to publicize it more.

“I think there is room for volunteers who want to staff the center,” says Pittman.

7:34 | Town Students President Maya Acevedo ’11 brings up the issue of substances besides alcohol, particularly the abuse of prescription drugs.

“I should say something about drugs, too, which nobody says anything about,” says Pittman. “I will bring that back to [Dean of the College Christopher Roellke] to discuss how the administration can be more proactive about it.”

7:36 | Vice President for Academics Laura Riker ’11 asks how the VSA can work more with the Campus Life Office.

7:42 | Vice President for Activities Tanay Tatum ’12 asks what protocol the Campus Life Office has for dealing with controversial issues as they arise.

Pittman brings up the Campus Life Response Team, which includes representatives from the Dean of the College Division, Residential Life, Security, Counseling Services, the VSA, and Campus Relations.

7:47 | Vice President for Student Life Samin Shehab ’11 asks about the history of the Women’s Center and how issues of multiculturalism are included in the first year program.

“The Women’s Center is the oldest center on campus,” says Pittman. The Center originated in the mid-70s. The Women’s Center has moved between several spaces on campus; it is currently located in Strong House.

The history of the Women’s Center, says Pittman, is tied to the history of the Women’s Movement and Women’s Liberation. “I think the mission of it is similar to other spaces on campus—to provide a space for women.”

Pittman says that the Center has tried to expand its role to include gender education in order to be more inclusive.

7:59 | Garcia suggests that various spaces for particular communities should be moved outside of residential houses to give them a more “all-campus feel.”

She also brings up the challenges of sophomore year, including the stress that comes with the “sophomore slump.”

8:06 | The forum has concluded.

8:07 | Executive Report from the President: Leonard brings up the issue of communication. He says the blog, VSA Today, now has a schedule and will be updated regularly.

Leonard adds that the Executive Board will be re-evaluating its goals at the end of the semester. He adds that he is working on reviewing spaces available for organizations on campus.

According to Leonard, the All Campus Dining Center is looking into sustainability projects and is taking suggestions. Aramark earmarks $3000 per year towards sustainability efforts.

8:12 | Executive Report from Operations: Cramer says that the blog will be updated every day with the exception of weekends and breaks.

The Sesquicentennial website will launch on Nov. 30.

Cramer is working on the Mind the Gap program, which is run through the Office of Alumnae/i Affairs and Development. According to Cramer, even if every student paid full tuition, the funds would only cover 53% of a Vassar education.

Cramer turns the floor over to President of Noyes Jenna Konstantine ’13, who describes Operations’ Committee’s goal of reviewing the VSA’s governing documents. She says that the committee is looking into redundancies, transparency, contradictions and brevity in the documents, which include the VSA Bylaws and Constitution.

8:18 | Allocation of $1030 to Asian Students Alliance from the Conference Fund: The allocation passes unanimously.

8:26 | Appointment of Co-Chairs to the Founder’s Day Committee: The Operations Committee is recommending to appoint three co-chairs to the committee. The three applicants are Terrace Apartments President Samantha Allen ’11, Max Kutner ’11 and Marie Dugo ’11. All three are unanimously appointed by the Council.

8:30 | Appointment of Class of 2014 Representative to the Committee on College Life: There were three applicants to the position. Cramer moves to appoint Naimah Zulmadelle Petigny ’14 to the role. The motion is passed unanimously.

8:34 | Allocation of $800 to the Black Students Union (BSU) from the Collaboration Fund: This allocation was tabled last week. The Council is discussing educational aspects of BSU’s event, Condom Couture. The allocation passes unanimously.

8:40 | Allocation of $1000 to CHOICE from the Speakers, Lecturers and Panels Fund: CHOICE is bringing Oh Megan to campus for an entertaining talk. The allocation passes unanimously.

8:43 | Open Discussion: Tomorrow afternoon there will be a presentation on the new Campus Landscape Master Plan at 3 p.m. in the Villard Room.

Council is discussing the possibility of bringing back mini-courses.

“Unthanksgiving” will be taking place tomorrow night from 6-8 p.m. in the ALANA center.

8:50 | Council has adjourned.

Four Loko manufacturer Phusion Projects announced today that it will remove caffeine and two other ingredients from the drink to render it  safer to consume.

As of now, the cause of this action—based on statements from Phusion’s representatives–seems to be preemptive of government regulation against drinks such as Four Loko. “We are taking this step after trying — unsuccessfully — to navigate a difficult and politically-charged regulatory environment at both the state and federal levels,” wrote the firm’s representatives in an open letter.

The Food and Drug Administration was expected to provide its stand on the issue of mixing caffeine and other stimulants with alcohol and the legality thereof today, Nov. 17, but is yet to release any statement.

Look for extended coverage on the above ruling and Vassar’s response to it in the next issue of The Miscellany News, on newsstands Nov. 18 and online starting today at 5:30 p.m.

6:51 | The VSA Council meeting is about to start. Assistant Dean of the College for Campus Activities Terry Quinn and Assistant Director of Campus Activities Mike Bodnarik will be hosting a forum.

6:53 | Also on the agenda: an update from the Drug and Alcohol Education Committee (DEC) and reports from the VSA Vice Presidents for Student Life and Academics, Samin Shehab ’11 and Laura Riker ’11.

7:01 | Attendance. Elizabeth Anderson ’11 is the proxy for President of the Class of 2011 Moe Byrne.

7:02 | Quinn and Bodnarik are beginning their forum. “I’m here because I absolutely love the students of Vassar College,” says Quinn.

“We’re in charge of Commencement; we’re in charge of the Convocations,” says Quinn of some of the responsibilities of Campus Activities. Quinn’s office is also in charge of the Campus Calendar.

“We’re really careful about trying not to have too many all-campus activities happening at the same time,” says Quinn. “We provide a lot of support, a lot of resources.”

Bodnarik meets with Vice President for Activities Tanay Tatum ’12 twice a week to go over programming. He says that the decisions about what activities move forward are the results of a full discussion.

Quinn is discussing the Fall Leadership Conference. “The conference is really for you,” she says. Quinn asks that Council for their input to make it work.

Quinn says that the new alternative weekend space will be open in January.

7:14 | Quinn discusses the possibility of hiring a student to stand behind the bar of the Mug to serve non-alcoholic beverages and snacks in January.

7:16 | Vice President for Operations Ruby Cramer ’12 asks whether more organizations have been planning alternative events this semester. Bodnarik says that houses have been hosting more movie nights, that there have been more film screenings, and small events earlier in the evening and day. “There was so much going on last weekend,” he says.

“Everything’s been well attended as well,” adds Tatum.

7:19 | “What you see when you go to the Vassar homepage is what we see in the office all day,” says Quinn in response to a question about the Campus Calendar.

7:22 | “I think that there’s always been an effort to create ‘alternative programming,’” says Quinn, though she acknowledges that there has been an emphasis on it. “Most recently there’s been a lot of discussion about it, and I think we need to think about what that really means.”

“If there isn’t a party, where do you guys go,” ask Quinn.

7:25 | Riker asks whether mini-courses will be coming back. Quinn says that if there is a lot of interest, the office could have a conversation about it. Registration and finding space for the courses was a challenge, she says, “but we can run them again if there is an interest.”

7:34 | Bodnarik asks the Council to prepare a basic sheet of information that could serve as a road map to becoming a VSA-certified organization.

7:36 | Quinn says that the College would compromise its ability to program in UpCDC if it became the alternative weekend space. The space will likely be in the Aula because it can more consistently be kept open on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights without interrupting other events.

7:44 | Bodnarik and the Council are discussing possible scheduling changes to the Fall Leadership Conference.

7:51 | Quinn is discussing the look of the Campus Calendar. She says that all changes to Vassar websites go through the Office of Communications.

7:54 | Quinn is updating the Council on the recent work of the Food and Dining Implementation Committee (FDIC). The committee is working on an optional senior meal plan and the visual appeal of the All Campus Dining Center with more lounge and less cafeteria space.

7:57 | President of Noyes Jenna Konstantine ’13 asks if there is a list of what capital items different organizations own. Vice President for Finance Travis Edwards ’12 says  that there is one in progress.

7:59 | The forum has concluded. Motion to recess for five minutes. Motion passes.

8:05 | Council is back in session. Carson Robinson ’12 is here from the DEC.  “A lot of what I have to say is irrelevant now because of Four Loko being banned in the state.”

Though Halloween went better, “it’s important that we don’t overstate that,” says Robinson. He invites any student input or questions for him to bring up at the committee’s next meeting on Friday afternoon.

8:18 | Executive Report from Shehab: “The Student Life Committee has dedicated the last two meetings to discussing the Cultural Audit,” says Shehab. The Committee has decided to look at hook-up culture and orientation.

The Student Life Committee has also recently discussed the role of Security. “Students have a big misperception of what their rights are,” says Shehab.

8:23 | Executive Report from Riker: The Majors Fair was on Wednesday, Nov. 10. The peer advising system is up and running. The Committee on Curricular Policy (CCP) is working on collecting data on opinions about the new Course Repeat Policy.

8:25 | The VSA will be purchasing a sound board for use by Organizations.

8:26 | Allocation of $502 to Merely Players, an organization that emphasizes training students in Shakespeare. The motion passes unanimously.

8:31 | Edwards moves to table an allocation of $880 to the Black Students Union (BSU). The motion passes unanimously. The allocation will most likely be brought before Council next Sunday.

8:36 | Open Discussion. Cramer says that the Sesquicentennial website, 150.vassar.edu, will most likely launch this week.

8:38 | Motion to Adjourn. The motion passes.

Following state-wide bans of the high-alcohol-content beverage Four Loko in Michigan, Washington, Oklahoma and Utah, New York’s State Liquor Authority (SLA)  and Four Loko’s manufacturer Phusion Projects, LLC have taken steps to reduce the drink’s prevalence in the state.

Retailers will not be allowed to house Four Loko on their shelves after Friday, Dec. 10, and the drink’s maker — Phusion Projects — has agreed to stop its shipment after Friday, Nov. 19.

In a statement to the New York Daily News, Chairman of the SLA Dennis Rosen expresses hope that the above will “end the sale of this product in the state.”

6:57 | Council members are arriving. Vassar Student Association (VSA) Council is about to begin.

7:02 | Attendance. Sam Thomas ’12 is the proxy for Raymond House.

7:03 | Executive Report from Activities: Vice President for Activities Tanay Tatum ’12 is discussing plans for the new alternative, non-drinking social space. The committee for the space includes Tatum, President of 2011 Moe Byrne, Dean of the College Chris Roellke and President Catharine Bond Hill’s interns and Director of Campus Dining Maureen King. The committee is looking into the Aula and UpCDC.  “This will definitely be happening by January,” she says.

The VSA is working with ViCE to plan a Sesquicentennial party on the first weekend that students are back in January.

According to Tatum, the proposal to remove alcohol and Aramark control from the Mug has gone over very well and will likely go into effect in January.

7:08 | Report from the Committee for College Life (CCL): Sarah Wadlinger ’11 is here to report on CCL. The committee has met twice so far this semester. The committee is working on policies for Safety and Security, especially the room entry policy.

The committee has also discussed alternative space ideas and campus culture at length.

The committee’s last meeting was just prior to Halloween, so the conversation was dominated by Vassar’s alcohol culture, including the Halloween party, Four Loko, community and health education.

Students on CCL include representative from each class along with VSA President Mat Leonard ’11 and Vice President for Student Life Samin Shehab ’11. The committee has subcommittees for College Regulations, Safety and Security, Cyber Ethics, Drug and Alcohol and Sexual Assault Violence Prevention (SAVP).

7:16 | Report from the Committee on Curricular Policy: The committee has had five meetings so far this year.

CCP has the following subcommittees: Calendar, Review Committee, which con, Quantitative Review Committee, Advising and Registration Committee, Student Use of the Curriculum and the Multidisciplinary Studies Committee.

The committee recently passed a course re-take policy, which will go to the faculty at their next faculty meeting for approval. The policy would allow students who receive a D or lower in a class to take a class. The policy is limited to a student’s first three semesters, and the poor grade would remain on the student’s transcript even if the student decided to re-take the class.

CCP’s next project is the Course Evaluation Questionnaires (CEQs). They may work on a pilot program for online CEQs in the spring.

7:22 | Motion to decertify Asian Quilt: The publication has not produced an issue in the past two years. According to Tatum, an organization whose mission is to publish is considered inactive when it does not publish. According to VSA Bylaws, in order to be decertified, an organization has to be inactive for at least two semesters.

Tatum says that the VSA’s first response is never to decertify an organization, but it is to try to support them becoming more active. Asian Quilt’s current budget is $650, which would go to the VSA discretionary funding if the decertification moves forward.

7:29 | The decertification passes unanimously.

7:30 | Allocation of $700 to MeCha.

Vice President for Finance Travis Edwards ’12 moves to amend the allocation to $900. The money will fund “Teen Pregnancy Awareness Through the Arts,” an event for local high school teenagers. The funding will come from the VSA’s newly-created Community Fund. The amendment passes unanimously.

The allocation of $900 passes unanimously.

7:35 | Allocation of $1,000 to the Vassar International Students Association (VISA): The money will fund the organization’s Kaleidoscope event.

7:42 | Motion to amend the allocation to $2,000.

Tatum says that the inability to raise funds with meal swipes this year has made the event more costly. The amendment passes unanimously.

7:51 | Allocation of $2,000 passes.

8:08 | Open Discussion: President of 2014 Michael Moore questions the appropriateness of Council members writing opinions columns after the Council votes on an issue, referring specifically to the column written by Main House President Boyd Gardner ’12 in the most recent issue of The Miscellany News about the Moderate, Independent, Conservative Alliance’s (MICA) plans to publish the political magazine, The Chronicle.

Other Council members have expressed their feelings that it is okay to voice their opinions in forums such as the Miscellany. Tatum, however, suggests that Council members should always remember that their votes represent more than their personal opinions.

8:25 | The Council is continuing to discuss how they vote and express their opinions.

“The biggest thing that I was trying to get across with the article was that I feel that we were rushed,” says Gardner.

President of Ferry House Kate Dolson ’13  expresses her concern with how the column will change the campus perception of Council.

8:54 | The Council continues to discuss the Chronicle editorial, but discussion has largely shifted to internal issues within the VSA: Council members’ roles as representatives to the student body; the relationship between the Executive Board and the rest of Council; and communication between members.

8:57 | Discussion of the Chronicle editorial has ended. Vice President for Academics Laura Riker ’11 announces that a Majors Fair will be held on Wednesday, November 10.

9:00 | Council has adjourned.