Tang Teaching Museum Announces 15th Anniversary Exhibitions

Saratoga Springs, N.Y., April 21, 2015 – The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College, known for its innovative interdisciplinary exhibitions and arts programs, is launching a series of initiatives to mark the Museum’s 15th anniversary. The Tang combines visual arts with other fields⎯from economics, to astrophysics, to organic chemistry, and dance⎯to explore new ideas and perspectives. This approach has become a model for college and university art museums across the country. The Tang’s anniversary in 2015 will be a springboard for enhancing the Museum’s programming and its leadership role in the national arts and academic communities.

Upcoming programs include: Affinity Atlas, an exhibition combining an international roster of contemporary works and an immersive “cabinet of curiosities” selected from the Museum’s collection, with rotating displays by Skidmore faculty that forge unexpected connections between the works; a collaboration and residency with Mark Allen and Machine Project to create new installations, performances, and events at the Tang; an exhibition developed with Berlin-based painter Arturo Herrera, featuring 100 new abstract paintings on books; and a reexamination of the influential—but often overlooked—artist Alma Woodsey Thomas.

The Museum is also expanding its community engagement offerings, including artist-led workshops and seminars, programs focused on object-based learning for community groups and public school students, and exhibitions developed and curated by Skidmore students. Detailed information on anniversary initiatives follows below; additional programs will be announced in the coming months.

“A common thread that weaves together everything we do at the Tang is to envision new connections between objects and ideas—seeing and thinking in unexpected, even provocative, ways,” said Ian Berry, Dayton Director of the Tang Teaching Museum. “We bring artists, students, visitors, and experts together for transformative experiences with art and to further our understanding of what it means to be human today. Having been part of the Tang since its launch 15 years ago, it’s inspiring to reflect upon what we’ve accomplished—and even more exciting to look to the future.”

EXHIBITIONS

Nicholas Krushenick: Electric Soup

On view through August 16, 2015 Electric Soup features Krushenick’s dynamic paintings that juxtapose bold forms with hard-edged abstraction in a body of work that is both independent of and connected to Op art, Pop, Abstract Expressionism, Minimalism, and Color Field painting. The exhibition includes well-known works created in New York in the 1960s and 1970s as Krushenick rose to prominence, as well as works

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created in Baltimore during the 1980s and 1990s, when market tastes shifted away from Krushenick’s unclassifiable style. The survey also includes Krushenick’s rarely seen drawings and prints influenced by Abstract Expressionist Hans Hoffman’s theory of “push-pull,” in which bright contrasting colors activate space—a practice Krushenick used throughout his career. Krushenick is called “the father of Pop Abstraction” and has been influential to many contemporary artists including Kathy Butterly, Peter Halley, Mary Heilmann, and Thomas Nozkowski.

Nicholas Krushenick is organized by Dayton Director Ian Berry and supported by Friends of the Tang.

Opener 29: Arturo Herrera

June 6 – August 23, 2015 The 29th project in the Tang’s long-running Opener series will feature 100 new paintings from Arturo Herrera’s recent body of abstract paintings, for which he selected small books from flea markets and then manipulated and altered these found objects. By drawing lines, patterns, or his signature cartoon images across the covers and sealing the book shut, the artist transforms the books into objects infused with new meaning.

Based in Berlin, Herrera has created an impressive body of work that includes cut-paper collages, sculptures, drawings, paintings, and wall installations. Much of Herrera’s work uses bold colors and fantastical, abstracted forms that shift childhood imagery—such as animated Disney characters—to invite reinterpretation of familiar modes of representation and seeing.

Opener 29: Arturo Herrera is organized by Dayton Director Ian Berry in collaboration with the artist. The Opener series is supported by New York State Council on the Arts, Overbrook Foundation, Ann Schapps Schaffer '62 and Mel Schaffer, Beverly Beatson Grossman '58, and Friends of the Tang.

Affinity Atlas

September 5, 2015 – January 3, 2016 Affinity Atlas will feature idiosyncratic treasures and contemporary art culled from the Tang’s and Skidmore’s collections, with images and objects spanning centuries and continents, suggesting new connections between the works.

Featuring a series of montages that underscore the Tang’s laboratory-like mission of experimentation, the exhibition will continue the Tang’s history of interdisciplinary collaboration by inviting faculty to insert rotating combinations of objects into the larger installation. An international roster of artists includes Ilit Azoulay, Michelle Grabner and Brad Killam, Camille Henrot, Vik Muiz, Michael Oatman, Sara VanDerBeek, and Hew Locke.

Affinity Atlas draws inspiration from the last work by pioneering culture theorist and art historian Aby Warburg, who died in 1929. Beginning in 1925, and until the year of his death, Warburg theorized about a collective psychology that connects humans across time and space. Forgoing the customary art historical narrative, Warburg instead chose to illuminate his scholarly research through a constellation of some two thousand images—a visual compendium of his life’s research. Warburg named this “picture atlas” after Mnemosyne, the mother of nine Muses and the Greek goddess of the art of remembrance. At the heart of the Mnemosyne Atlas lay an imaginative view of scholarly research that opened a new era in the study of images and offered an innovative approach to visual knowledge.

Affinity Atlas is organized by Dayton Director Ian Berry and supported by Friends of the Tang. 2

The Tang Museum Field Guide to Machine Project, Volume 1

September 19, 2015 – January 3, 2016 The Tang has invited Los Angeles-based Mark Allen and a group of artist collaborators—including poets, choreographers, musicians, and playwrights—to generate new works responding to the Museum space and its natural surroundings for an interactive, multidisciplinary installation that connects seemingly disparate objects and ideas. Allen will be in residence at the Tang beginning in September, undertaking a variety of activities—including camping in a tent on the roof of the Museum, building a theater in the gallery, and transforming the Museum’s elevator into a listening station, entitled Field Guide to Poets of the Machine Project Region.

Founded in 2003 by Skidmore alumnus and artist Mark Allen, Machine Project collaborates with artists, scientists, specialists, technology experts, and local communities to develop projects that explore new ways of seeing and thinking, and provide the opportunity for artists to perform “experiments” together with the public. Machine Project’s previous initiatives have ranged from vacations for plants, group naps, a farewell to analog TV, operas for dogs, pickle making, and mind reading.

Machine Project has organized projects at the Walker Art Center, the Former Robert Rauschenberg Painting Storage Facility in New York City, the Hammer Museum, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, SPACES Cleveland, the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, and the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, among others.

The Tang Museum Field Guide to Machine Project, Volume 1 is organized by Assistant Director for Curatorial Affairs Rachel Seligman and supported by the Friends of the Tang.

Alma Thomas: A Retrospective

February 6 – June 5, 2016 The paintings of Alma Woodsey Thomas (1891-1978) are characterized by bright primary colors and an independent vision that fuels her joyful and spirited work. Her art is inspired by elements in nature and unabashedly combines bright colors with her signature broken lines to create dense fields that recede and pulse with energy. This exhibition will explore the evolution of her highly personal style from the earth tones of the 1950s, to the abstract geometries of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

A woman who grew up under Jim Crow and racial violence, and who experienced the Civil Rights Movement firsthand, Thomas began her artistic career after her retirement as a school teacher at age 60. In 1972, at the age of 80, Thomas was the first black woman to have a solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art and her work was recently chosen to be prominently displayed in the White House. This exhibition will be Thomas’s first museum survey since 2001 and include works never before shown.

Alma Thomas: A Retrospective is organized by The Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College and The Studio Museum in Harlem. The exhibition is curated by Ian Berry, Dayton Director of the Tang Museum, and Lauren Haynes, Associate Curator, Permanent Collection at the Studio Museum.

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RESEARCH AND TEACHING Faculty Engagement The Tang offers one of the most in-depth faculty engagement programs in the country, the Mellon Seminar, which is designed to foster exchange and to encourage faculty from all disciplines to use the Museum and the visual arts in their teaching. Each year nearly 20 percent of Skidmore College’s faculty—from choreographers and scientists to poets and business experts—collaborate on exhibitions, develop museum-based assignments and projects for their students, and conduct classes at the Tang using objects from the collection. Examples of recent faculty collaborations include:

• Classless Society, co-curated by faculty from the Economics and English Departments, presented a range of contemporary art and material culture to document and explore the nature of class and tease out hidden assumptions and misconceptions. More than 20 faculty members at Skidmore taught classes with the exhibition.
• Hope and Anger – The Civil Rights Movement and Beyond, co-curated by faculty in American Studies, featured work from the Tang collection that allowed students to examine the dominant narratives of the Civil Rights and Black Power Movements and the shifting construction and understanding of those narratives over time. Student research on the artwork led to the creation of a booklet of extended labels, which was made available to the viewing public.
• Projects in development include an exhibition engaging with issues of information privacy and surveillance, and an exhibition on patterns and systems. The surveillance show is a curatorial collaboration between Scott Mulligan of the International Affairs Program, Department of Management & Business, and Rachel Seligman, the Tang Museum's Assistant Director for Curatorial Affairs. Mulligan’s fall 2015 class No Place to Hide: Privacy, Technology, Surveillance and Liberty in the 21st Century, will study and write about the exhibition, and will produce a digital map of surveillance cameras in Saratoga Springs, which will be included in the exhibition. The exhibition on pattern will be a multi-faculty collaboration and will feature historic and contemporary artworks and material culture from around the world.Student Engagement

  The Tang offers a range of ways for students to engage with the Museum, including the Eleanor Linder Winter ’43 Endowed Internship. The current Winter Intern is a business major, Imaan Riaz, who is now researching her final project, which will be a curatorial project with objects from the Tang’s collection. Recent student-curated exhibitions include:

  • Masked presented a selection of unusual portraits from the Tang’s collection that challenged the convention of portraiture as intended to render a person’s physical likeness.
  • (Un)Known Lives of Objects featured a selection of objects from the Tang’s collection that were originally created in Nigeria. The exhibition explored the objects’ complex journeys from West Africa to Saratoga Springs, and displayed them in four distinct settings: a home, a retail store, an art museum, and an anthropology and ethnography museum.PUBLICATIONS

    The Tang has a robust publishing program to disseminate the ideas that underpin its exhibitions. The Museum’s catalogues have received awards from the AIGA (the professional association for design), American Alliance of Museums, and the International Association of Art Critics. The most recent catalogue is Classless Society, based on the interdisciplinary exhibition of the same name. Upcoming catalogues include Nicholas Krushenick: Electric Soup; Terry Adkins: Recital; Opener 26: Jeff Sonhouse: Slow Motion; Opener 27: Beverly Semmes: FRP; and Opener 28: Erika Verzutti: Mineral.

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GROWTH OF COLLECTION

The Tang is committed to growing its collection, with a particular focus on strengthening its contemporary holdings. In late 2014, during the lead-up to its 15th anniversary year, the Tang received a gift of 75 works of contemporary art from the collection of computer programmer and philanthropist Peter Norton. The gift was designed to support the integration of the visual arts in higher education, foster creative museum practice, and engage diverse audiences with contemporary art. The gift to the Tang included works by some of today’s leading contemporary artists, including Polly Apfelbaum, Matthew Barney, Willie Cole, Renee Cox, David Hammons, Glenn Ligon, Gabriel Orozco, Lari Pittman, Lorna Simpson, Carrie Mae Weems, and Fred Wilson. The gift included significant contemporary photography, and works by a number of artists who had early solo exhibitions at the Tang, among them Dario Robleto, Fred Tomaselli, and Kara Walker.

EXPANSION OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMMING

In February 2015 the Tang received a $1 million challenge grant from the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund to help build the institution’s endowment and support expansion of its programming. The grant will help fund such initiatives as artist-led workshops and seminars, object- based learning for community groups and public school students, student-curated exhibitions, and open houses for those in the Skidmore community and visitors to the region. The matching grant will also help the Tang expand programming to reach new audiences, including school-age students and adults in traditionally underserved areas.

ABOUT THE TANG TEACHING MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY

The Tang Teaching Museum at Skidmore College is a pioneer of interdisciplinary exploration and learning. A cultural anchor of New York's Capital Region, the institution's approach has become a model for university art museums across the country—with exhibition programs and series that bring together the visual and performing arts with fields of study as disparate as history, astronomy, and physics; one of the most rigorous faculty-engagement initiatives in the nation, the Mellon Seminar; and robust publication and touring exhibition initiatives that extend the institution's reach far beyond its walls. The Tang Teaching Museum's building, designed by architect Antoine Predock, serves as a visual metaphor for the convergence of ideas and exchange the institution catalyzes. The Museum celebrates its 15th anniversary in 2015. More information at http://tang.skidmore.edu.

Facebook/TangMuseum Twitter/@TangMuseum Instagram/TangTeachingMuseum

For media in the Capital Region, please contact:

Michael Janairo Assistant Director for Engagement, Tang Teaching Museum 518-580-5542 mjanairo@skidmore.edu

For media outside the Capital Region, please contact:

Maria Kucinski Resnicow + Associates 212-671-5173 mkucinski@resnicow.com

Isabel Sinistore Resnicow + Associates 212-671-5175 isinistore@resnicow.com

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Fun Day Injury Report

Fun Day 2015 injuries (data on medical assist calls provided by the Office of Campus Safety):

11 Medical Assist Calls

6  ambulance transports and 1 campus safety transport.

4 ambulance transports because of intoxication.

1 transport because of head trauma.

1 transport because of a head injury.

1 transport because of a sprained ankle.

Investigating the Brain: Current Neuroscience Research at Skidmore College

By Nick Toker '15, Mayumi Kohiyama '15, and Sarah Birdsall '15

Everyone has heard the “why go to a liberal arts college” spiel by this time in their careers. But why go to a liberal arts college for Neuroscience? Two major aspects stand out: the interdisciplinary nature of the field and the exciting opportunities for research with faculty. Firstly, the neuroscience major at Skidmore draws from the biology, psychology, chemistry, and computer science majors, allowing students the freedom to choose and focus in on their own specialized interests. Secondly, Skidmore provides the opportunity for hands-on, cutting-edge research with professors. Below is a description of the current projects of six core neuroscience faculty, who study a wide range of neuroscience hot topics—from the therapeutic effects of synthetic cannabinoids to Alzheimer’s disease pathways—and have contributed a tremendous amount of exciting, new research over the past several years.

Dr. Sarita Lagalwar

Dr. Lagalwar’s primary research interests involve understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie the vulnerability of specific cell types and brain regions to neurodegenerative disease. Her research is currently focused on Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type-1, a fatal neurodegenerative disease similar to Huntington’s disease. Her laboratory incorporates many cutting-edge techniques, including advanced microscopic analysis and genetic manipulation. Her research has recently revealed novel information about disease propagation and mitochondrial dynamics in disease states in model systems.

Dr. Jennifer Bonner

Dr. Jennifer Bonner is interested in how our genes control the development of our nervous system. To do so, she utilizes the common fish species Danio rerio, or the zebrafish. This small transparent fish possesses a complex nervous system similar to our own, and makes an excellent model for studying development. Dr. Bonner primarily uses confocal laser scanning microscopy to visualize fluorescently tagged proteins that can indicate the path of nervous system development. She has also recently been investigating the effects of fluoxetine (Prozac) and cannabinoid use in early life on nervous system development using this model system. Her work has great potential to inform us not only about the normal course of our brain’s development but about how and why this course can be altered in early life.

Dr. Rebecca Howard

Dr. Howard focuses primarily on ethanol modulation and the mechanism of action of general anesthetics with respect to the central nervous system. To do this, she utilizes the bacterial version of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors known as the Gloebacter Ligand-gated Ion Channel (GLIC). This cation-selective channel has been crystallized with different general anesthetics and allows for insight into how ethanol impacts the structure of ligand-gated ion channels. Through neurophysiological studies, the specific location where general anesthetics and ethanol bind can be found and investigated, which further allow us to isolate which ion channels are responsible for the physiological effects of ethanol and general anesthetics.

Dr. Bernard Possidente

Dr. Possidente, Professor of Biology, conducts research on the biological clock mechanisms that control daily endogenous rhythms, or circadian rhythms, in mouse and fruit fly models. Generally speaking, Dr. Possidente’s research involves the pharmacological, photoperiod, and genetic manipulation of research. Perhaps one of Dr. Possidente’s most intriguing model organisms is the Alzheimer’s fly, which expresses the amyloid beta peptide known to be involved in AD progression. Recently, in a collaboration with University College London and the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, Dr. Possidente and colleagues found that the Alzheimer’s fruit flies showed a disruption of circadian behavioral activity with age, despite fully functional molecular behavior in central clock neurons.

Dr. Flip Phillips

Dr. Phillips, a professor of psychology and neuroscience studies human perception and action, a subset of which focuses on visual and haptic (touch) perception. Professor Phillips has researched in depth the superiority of either haptic or visual shape discrimination, and which is superior to the other in active perception. In a recent study, participants were asked to judge whether a pair of artificial stimuli, (inanimate star-like shapes) or natural stimuli, plastic bell peppers, had the same or different shape using only vision, only touch, or both senses to discriminate the shape of the object. Although the study showed that neither vision nor touch were more important in shape perception, participants were better at figuring out natural shapes than the artificial shapes. A current senior thesis further investigates visual object discrimination, using eye-tracking experiments to figure out which aspects of objects are used for shape perception.

Dr. Hassan Lopez

Dr. Hassan Lopez is a professor of psychology and neuroscience, and the current chair of the neuroscience department at Skidmore College. He teaches physiological psychology, giving undergraduate students practical laboratory experience handling rodent subjects and administering behavioral tests. He has previously investigated the physiological basis of sexual attraction and motivation in females, and is currently interested in the anticonvulsive properties of cannabidiol in epilepsy. A pilot study being conducted now at Skidmore is trying to determine whether cannabidiol treatment can prevent or lessen the effects of epileptic-type seizures. These investigations are particularly relevant given the current national debate about the legalization of marijuana, of which cannabidiol is a constituent, for both medical and recreational purposes. Hassan Lopez’s research is yet another example of the provocative, exciting, and relevant research being conducted in neuroscience at Skidmore College.

Women's Tennis Remains Unbeaten in Liberty League

By Skidmore Athletics

The 16th ranked Skidmore College women’s tennis team beat The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) women’s tennis team, 8-1, in a Liberty League match at Sharp Courts.

Skidmore, which is sixth in the Northeast Region, improved to 10-8 and 7-0 in Liberty League play. RPI is now 7-8 overall, and 3-3.

Skidmore opened the day by winning each of the three doubles matches: 8-6 at No. 1, 8-3 at No. 2, and 8-2 at No. 3. The Thoroughbreds took a 6-0 lead by winning the top three flights of singles, each in straight sets.

Zoe Valella ’15 was a 6-1, 6-2 winner at number one singles over Casey Olsen. Valella and Yumi Karlshoej ’15 defeated Emily Laurilliard and Melanie Frank, 8-6, at number one doubles.

Skidmore will host Trinity College on Saturday, April 25, at 1 p.m.

Aaron Hernandez Guilty of Murder

By Mia Merrill, Sports Editor

Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was found guilty of first-degree murder last week in Massachusetts. Hernandez was arrested in 2013 for the murder of Odin Lloyd, who was dating the sister of Hernandez’s fiancé, Shayanna Jenkins. Hernandez, who will be serving a lifetime sentence without the possibility of parole in a maximum-security prison in Massachusetts, is still engaged to Jenkins.

The prison, Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center, has 24 hour video surveillance and is currently struggling with an opiate smuggling operation.

The verdict for Hernandez comes at a time when the criminal profiles of professional athletes are more in the spotlight than ever. During the last National Football League (NFL) season, Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson was indicted for child abuse, and former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice was indicted for domestic assault. The NFL promptly acknowledged the legitimacy of the Hernandez verdict on April 15, the same day the verdict was released. However, during the trial, Patriots owner Robert Kraft testified that Hernandez had claimed innocence when Kraft had questioned him.

Hernandez will also face trial at an undetermined date for two 2012 murders, and possibly for a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Ursala Ward, Odin Lloyd’s mother.

Weekend A&E Briefing

Pre-Fun Day Concert and Open Mic

April 24, 2:30 p.m., Case Green

Open mic concert: Come listen to good music and play!

Dyno’s Pool Party: A Spring Jam

April 24, 8 p.m., Wilson Chapel

Come to this pool party of awesome music.

Late-Night Pre-Fun Day Comedy Special

April 24, 9 p.m., Spa

Presenting Alison Grillo, “NYC’s Woman Trapped Inside a Woman’s Body”. Come to the Spa and have some fun, food, and a few laughs.

Drastic Measures Presents: ‘Twas the Night Before Fun Day

April 24, 10 p.m., Wilson Chapel

Come and see the seniors’ last performance, listen to some good music, and sing along if you know the lyrics.

Fun Day

April 25, All Day, Case Green

Bouncy Houses. Food. Free Sunglasses.

Music.

“The Salmon of Knowledge” with Trash Johnson (Allan Brown) and Queen Ambrosia.

“Los Elk” with Karate (Noah Prebish and Mike Rudinksi).

“Dope Mosely”.

Fun Day: Day of Fun.

UJIMA After Fun Day BBQ

April 26, 2-5 p.m., Case Green

Join UJIMA for their last event with BBQ, games, and fun. Music presented by DJ Simon.

Student Film Showcase

April 27, 5:30 p.m., Tang

These films are created by Skidmore students enrolled in the first Project VIS (Visual Storytelling course). The filmmakers spent seven weeks developing, directing, producing, and editing these films. The pieces range from documentary to experimental and the narrative structure.

Ad-Libs Big Show: Digital Shawties

April 28, 9-10 p.m., JKB Theater

Come watch the Ad-Libs as they perform new improv forms and some old favorites, along with some comedic videos.

Harnessing Grassroots Movement, Students Affect Direct Change

By Janine Kritschgau, '18, Features Editor

Seeds for Peace, a grassroots movement providing donated seeds to grow food for hungry families began almost two decades ago and, has undergone radical organizational change within the last ten months, largely due to Ana Lordkipanidze, ‘15, and Mustafa Chaudry, ‘14. Lordkipanidze and Chaudy created and submitted a business plan, that offered solutions to formalize the organization, to the Freirich Business Plan Competition, and took third place in the social entrepreneurship category.

Lordkipanidze and Chaudry developed the plan after about six months with the organization, and received a $2500 prize after the original prize of $1,500 was revised. “Mostly why we did it was for publicity,” Chaudry explains. The group hopes to raise awareness and gain recognition to attract more volunteers. With more people, “we can really, really make miracles happen.”

The organization relies on two types of donations, seeds that will not be used from farms, and monetary donations used to distribute seeds and pay for the organization’s other costs. Chaudry estimates that just $1 dollar buys 100 seeds, and will feed two to four families for a few months.

Today, Seeds for Peace has established 120 peace gardens, and countless partnerships with other gardens worldwide, including Skid Row in Los Angeles and the Capital District Community Garden in Troy, New York.

Although they now hold formal titles, Lordkipanidze as Director of Public Relations and Communications, and Chaudry as Director of Marketing, the two remember humbler beginnings. Seeds for Peace had only two employees when Lordkipanidze and Chaudry learned about the organization and were inspired to jump in. “It’s really a nice family atmosphere,” Chaudry says.

“You have to go out of your way…college is a bubble but you have to think of the real world,” Lordkipanidze reflects on the importance of ambition in entrepreneurship, not to mention networking. Lordkipanidze and Chaudry are currently working with Nino Tsintsadze, ‘14, to promote Seeds for Peace within the United Nations, where Tsintsadze is an intern . Because of this relationship, Seeds for Peace will soon be developing a short video that will be shown on UNTV.

Seeds for Peace is expanding on all fronts, including developing a stronger online presence to reach out to the public. The organization hopes to get involved in new areas, and develop Seed Libraries—institutions that provide seeds for local residents to grow food, and collect 10 percent of seeds from the subsequent harvest. Lordkipanidze will travel to her home country of Georgia this July to work towards the establishment of a library in the Pirosmani village. Efforts will specifically support single mothers and refugees of war in the area.

Visit Seeds for Peace’s website or Facebook page to learn more about volunteer and internship opportunities or to make a donation.

Reel Talk: “Ex Machina” is one of the best artificial intelligence movies ever made

By Sean van der Heijden

I know that is a bold statement, but hear me out. “Ex Machina,” written and directed by Alex Garland, is essentially a three-way mental game between Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson), Nathan (Oscar Isaac), and Ava (Alicia Viaknder)—who’s basically a female robot. The whole movie centers around Caleb, a young computer programmer, participating in an experiment testing the human-like qualities of a female A.I. It’s a deceitfully simple premise that raises hundreds of philosophical questions and leads only to shocking twists and turns.

The film is sleek beyond belief—streamlined down to its essentials, the camera never lingers a second too long, and mimics the hyper-modern research facility that acts as the setting. Nothing within the film is wasted, and nothing is superfluous. In that sense, it’s a refreshing break from all the CGI-heavy, dumbed-down Hollywood blockbusters. “Ex Machina” is way smarter than that.

It actually cares about its subject matter, and it cares about its audience. Artificial intelligence is tricky to portray, but Garland makes it seem so plausible that it becomes a terrifying possibility of our near future, and at the same time, a glaring critique of our present. Ultimately, the A.I. is presented as a living, sentient being, raising questions such as: do A.I.’s have consciousness of their state of being, or do they simply perform tasks? Is it humane to mistreat an A.I.? And, most importantly, how do A.I.’s react to us.

I’m not saying that the films offers any answers, but it lets you come to your own conclusion in a finale that literally had me on the edge of my seat with my mouth agape, totally unable to process what was happening before me. It’s Hitchcockian-style psychology and intensity, taut direction, and incredible production design, soundtrack, visual effects, sound effects, and cinematography easily make it the best film of 2015 so far.

Also, the acting. Isaac and Gleeson are very good as the drunken, billionaire creator of the A.I. and the bewildered computer programmer, respectively. But Vikander easily steals the show as the manipulative and sensual Ava. She simply disappears into the role and makes the A.I. so incredibly life-like and yet so distinct at the same time. She steals the screen every second she’s on it.

So if you want a thought-provoking, well-made, highly entertaining, and unbelievably gripping film away from the mainstream movies we’re fed today, I highly recommend this one. It’s just mind-blowing.

Overall: 9 out of 10.

Your First Fun Day Survival Guide

 

By Cara Dempsey, Pulp Co-Editor

Your First Fun Day Survival Guide:

What to bring:

• Snow boots. Just in case.
• A bottle of non-specific looking liquid.
• Ladies: crop top.
• Gentleman: yourselves.
• Towels/ lawn chairs

Greetings, Freshpeople and transfer students! You're about to embark on your first Fun Day escapade. As Mr. Krabbs once said, you're in for some "DEBAUCHERY!" Still, you want to be safe and not throw up at that cute guy from Spanish class's shoes. With that in mind, here are a few rules that you should follow:

RULE #1: WAKE-UP

Good morning, Sunshine! The Earth says, "SHOTS!" Get up and ready nice and early so you'll get a full day of fun.

RULE # 2: BREAKFAST

Eat. Please. Please eat a bagel. Eat two bagels. In all likelihood, you're about to do some awful things to the lining of your stomach. I know because I'm a doctor and I'm prescribing you one large, carb-filled breakfast to start your day. No worries. You'll still look adorable in your booty shorts, and Billy will totes still take you to the prom after.

RULE #3: ATTIRE

Fun Day actually originally comes from the German holiday Du bist Ein Idiot. As such, you should honor the German roots of this day of celebration by dressing in the traditional garb of their people: crop tops, booty shorts, sundresses, sandals, flannel, face glitter, body glitter, booty glitter, booby glitter, etc. That said, it's supposed to be a little chilly, so make sure you cover that in a jacket.

RULE # 4: DRANKS

dranks, dranks, dranks, dranks, dranks, dranks, dranks, dranks

RULE # 5:  CAMPUS SAFETY

This is not Monopoly and you do not have a get out of jail free card. You have no invisible force field around your bong. Put it away. Put your can of beer away. Put your obviously vomiting friend away (or make sure he/she has the proper medical assistance, then put your friend away). Campus Safety officers on Fun Day are like bees; they won't bother you if you don't bother them.

Don't be a jerk-o.

RULE #6: DRUNK TEXTING

Did you ever have a best friend so bestest that the two of you spoke in your own secret code? Well, on Fun Day, you might feel that way about everyone on your contact list, but that doesn't mean they think the same about you. You're incoherent drunk pig Latin is indecipherable, and booty calls shouldn't be sent out into the universe before midafternoon.  Friends don't let friends dial drunk.

RULE #7: BOUNCY CASTLE

Please try not to break anything.

RULE #8: FUN NIGHT

Regardless of whether you end in up in your bed, someone else's bed, or a friend's couch in Northwoods, get cozy fall asleep drunk with your jeans still on and dream satisfied dreams of your super fun Fun Day.

The Best of Yik-Yak: 4/20 Edition

By: Nicole Smith, Pulp Editor, 16'

“You call it 4/20, I call it Monday”

“Woke up, had sex, got high, eating cake”

“It’s 420! AKA just a normal day at Skidmore College”

“I have high expectations for today”

“Appropriate that Skidmore’s school color is green.”

“No mom. What’s a marijuana?”

“I cannot express how much I don’t care about 420.”

“420 is to stoners as saint patty’s is to Irish.”

“I can’t believe marijuana was born today. Happy Birthday weed.”

“Don’t get high before a 2hr class cause then it’ll be 4hrs.”

Skidmore Hosted Business Battle, Quest Continues for Top Finisher

By Janine Kritschgau, '18, Features Editor

Helen Filene Ladd Concert Hall hosts a myriad of musical events each week, but what many students don’t know is that a lot more than music has taken place within the walls of Zankel. In February, the space hosted the Freirich Business Plan Competition, where students presented ideas for businesses in the hopes of winning the ultimate prize: $25,000 in investments and legal services. This year, the top honors in the for-profit category were awarded to Stella Langat, ‘16.

Langat, an international student from Kenya, was struck by inspiration for her company, Double Dees, two years ago. After buying second hand shoes, her mother contracted a fungal infection that quickly spread across her body. Across Kenya, 75 percent of women turn to second hand markets. Bras made in larger sizes are particularly difficult to find, driving women to shop consignment. These bras are missing labels and sizes, making finding an appropriate fit nearly impossible. Additionally, in all markets it is difficult to find bras to match darker complexions, making finding an ideal undergarment even more difficult.

After recognizing this problem, Langat and three partners, two of whom live in Kenya, the other attending the University of Pennsylvania, got to work. “It took time, but it’s worth it,” Langat reflects on an incredibly long process that included an 18 month search for a Chinese manufacturer. Ultimately it was a connection with Sam Shulles, ‘14, who lives and works in China, who found a manufacturer that would agree to smaller quantity orders.

The development of the business included a handful of drafts of the business plan and consultation with four mentors, culminating in the win at the Freirich Business Plan Competition in February. The title was accompanied by a $10,000 investment, and Langat was approached by judges individually regarding additional investments.

Langat overcame the unique challenges that presenting a business plan concerning bras surfaces, namely the demographic of judges. The fact that they were predominantly male meant that they did not know the importance of a comfortable, well-fitted bra. As she moves on to the New York Business Competition at University of Albany, this Friday in Albany, Langat worries that a judge’s panel made up almost entirely of men will take away from the salience of her business.

Langat is an inspirational, eloquent speaker with a charismatic smile. Her devotion to her business is undeniable, and her energy infectious. “I’m passionate about Double Dees…and I’m not tired!”

Summer at Skidmore

By Janine Kritschgau,'18, Features Editor

As students begin studying for finals, finishing term papers, organizing their belongings for storage units, and reviewing travel plans, everyone seems to be focusing on the next 14 days. But even after most students pack up and head off on their summer adventures, Saratoga Springs welcomes another 60,000 tourists, summer residents, and students for the coming season. What was once a stressful finals-crazed campus becomes a fun and sunny sanctuary for those who decide to stay.

Skidmore offers between 30 and 40 courses in each of three sessions. Students often take between one and three courses a session, giving them the opportunity to devote more time to a specific subject or try out something new. Jillian Shapiro, ‘17, a Sociology and Management and Business double major enrolled in Introduction to Computer Science and benefited from taking a course not included in either major. “Admittedly I do not have much of a Computer Science mind, but having some experience in the material is an extraordinarily useful skill,” she reflects.

Although taking classes is often what first draws students to staying, students opting to live in Saratoga May through August are in for a whole lot more than just a few credits worth of courses. Rachel Dyckman, ‘17, who stayed on campus summer 2014, participated in an internship in the dining hall and Real Food Challenge to increase sustainability efforts.

Although students at Skidmore are fortunate enough to be surrounded by a welcoming, thriving area, it can be hard to find time to stroll and enjoy the downtown. “You have more time to just explore Saratoga,” Dyckman reflects on her time last summer.

As for the other summer residents of the area, they add lively flavor to the town. “The big hats on women and pastel button downs on men are out of a movie. Saratoga in the summer is what I can only describe as the Hamptons of upstate,” says Shapiro.

For those students who worried about an empty campus, fear not. “I was surprised at how many students stayed at Skidmore over the summer. There were definitely a lot of familiar faces around town and campus,” Dyckman adds.

A common misconception about Saratoga Springs is that the main events revolve around the race tracks. Although they are popular, there are many other things to do, like going to the farmer’s market, taking yoga classes, enjoying great food. “Outdoor activities are plentiful. During the summer in Saratoga I spent a lot of time hiking. I explored Northwoods and drove out to Schuylerville where the area has more hills and open land,” Shapiro recounts.

“Everyone should [stay in Saratoga] at least once, otherwise you’re missing out on a seriously fun opportunity. I myself have stayed three [times] and am staying again this summer,” says Amy Munro, ‘15.

Book Review: Sheldon Solomon's The Worm At The Core

By Andrew Shi '15, Managing Editor

The Worm At The Core: On the Role of Death in Life. By Sheldon Solomon, Jeff Greenberg and Tom Pyszczynski. Random House. On Sale: May 12, 2015. $28.00

Is the death at the core of human behavior and civilization? That is the assumption under which psychologists Sheldon Solomon, Jeff Greenberg and Tom Psyzczynski operate as they set out to explore the role of death in society in their new book, The Worm At The Core: On the Role of Death in Life. The book outlines and expounds on the author's Terror Management Theory (TMT), the conclusion of thirty years of research, which draws on hundreds of experiments. TMT ambitiously postulates that the fear of death and the desire to overcome death is the driving force behind a large swathe of human behavior. It is death that encourages virtue and vice: rigorous exercise regiments and smoking, sexual promiscuity and gambling. Death is the fulcrum of beauty customs, including tattoos and piercings, and exacerbates homophobia and racism. It is death that inspires the greatest creative works, creations that will grant their authors symbolic immortality, and death that rouses science to push the boundaries of nature in an endeavor to secure literal immortality.

Death and its effects surround us, even if we are not fully aware of it. The Worm At The Core draws back the curtain and shows how death can explain nearly every facet of human civilization: religion, science, art, politics, history, human evolution and human development. Despite death's pervasiveness in the living world, the authors conclude that its inevitability should not entail a resigned languor in our daily activity. Rather, death should inspire a newfound appreciation of life, and perhaps even a reorganization of priorities and revision of lifestyles.

Such an ambitious theory is bound to raise questions about its plausibility, and some of the evidence the authors present is not always convincing. Many of the experiments cited in the book establish a correlation between thoughts of death and certain actions such as chauvinism or binge smoking. Yet it may be that death is not the causal variable, but rather the confounding variable. Death might incite a second emotion, sorrow, for example, that then encourages unhealthy behavior. Might the thought of a cheating partner also encourage binge-eating, or even racism if those thoughts engender a pessimism that leads to hostility?

Yet some 300 experiments and strong logic do present overwhelming evidence in support of TMT. Aspiring, expansive and thorough, The Worm At The Core will demand the reader to rethink not only their actions but also the society they live in. The book is very well written and incredibly accessible to the layperson without previous knowledge of psychology. TMT will challenge our reality and can yet prove to be one of the most important theories of this generation. It is well worth the read.

Car drives off Perimeter Rd; Suspected Male Student Flees Scene

 

By Billie Kanfer, Co-Editor-In-Chief

Update:  The Lieutenant Robert H. Jillson of the Saratoga Police Department provided a statement:

This morning, at about 12:40 am, campus safety called us about a car (an Acura SUV) that had struck a utility pole on Perimeter Road. The collision was strong enough to cause airbag deployment in the car. Initial reports were that the driver was seen running from the scene.

Campus safety and police were not able to locate the student whose car it is believed to be. It is also believed that this student resides on campus.

There was damage to both the vehicle and utility pole. 

At approximately 12:30 a.m Friday, April 24th a loud crashing noise occurred outside of lower Sussman A. After going outside, it was discovered that a car had barreled over the steel barrier along the Sussman entrance path and was stuck on top of the barrier. Three male students exited the car. They proceeded to rev the engine and attempt to reverse off the barrier. To no avail, the car tilted forward over the barrier and remained stuck. The three male students proceeded to flee the scene before campus safety officers arrived at around 12:45 a.m.  Two police cars also arrived at the scene at this time.

Two students identified as friends of the suspected driver were also at the scene shortly later.  When asked for comment, the two students reported that officers had identified the suspected driver by the car’s license plate number and were searching for him.

By 1:10 a.m a tow truck arrived to pull the car away from the crash site. After many attempts, the car was finally dislodged from the barrier and towed away. The Skidmore News has reached out to campus safety and the Saratoga Police Department for comment and will update this article with any news.

Editorial: The Skidmore News Self Reflects

By the Editorial Board

As the year comes to a close, The Skidmore News editorial board spent our last editorial meeting reflecting on our progress, accomplishments, and potential room for improvement. We are proud of the work we’ve done this semester to ensure Skidmore News’s relevancy to the Skidmore community.

This semester, we made a concerted effort to stay on top of relevant issues. We pushed ourselves to stay current and thought provoking, and we would like continue to be more successful in this endeavor next semester.

We responded vigorously to events on campus—for example, we live-updated the Skidmore News website during the lockdown when a criminal was on campus. We also published numerous articles in response to the dialogue surrounding sexual misconduct on campus. We made it our goal to stay connected to the students, and be the forbearers of on-campus news. This was reflected in the number of readers we gained—our readership went up significantly this year. Almost all of our articles published in March reached over 1000 views. Some of our highest view counts on recent articles are 3889, 3325, and 2449, and we average about 850 views per article.

Other big changes this year included our increase in leadership and our return to the print edition. We added members to our editorial board this semester, and switched editors-in-chief. We now have two EICs, who share the responsibilities of being editor. We also brought back the print edition of the paper, which we’ve published at the end of each month and distributed throughout campus.

Next semester, we’ll be switching up the types of pieces we’ll be writing. We’ll keep our Arts & Entertainment, Sports, and Pulp section, and will be dissolving the news and opinion section, with the goal being that all pieces will integrate news coverage and opinions. We’ll be adding a Student Life section, which will cover student club activity, SGA activity, and any notable student achievements. We will also include an Administration and Faculty section, in which we will cover policy and administrative changes, as well as faculty features and departmental news. Finally, we’re adding a National News Here section, which will cover national events that are relevant to Skidmore, and any Skidmore events that relate to national goings-on.

Additionally, beginning next semester, we plan on implementing some educational workshops that will be open for any students to attend. These workshops will cover reporting, writing, editing, and reviewing past material to see what could have been done better. We think this will be a great way to hone new writers’ skills, and improve the quality of our content.

We definitely have some room for improvement, though. Skidmore News would like to have published a larger variety of pieces throughout the past year. We also have not been on top of breaking news pieces, but rather have responded to pieces after they’ve already reached the public. The campus newspaper should be the source you hear news from first, so we’ll be making an effort to make sure that’s the case next semester. Similarly, we need more investigative pieces with thorough journalism on important topics.

On another note, our multi-media content has been lacking throughout the past year. We’d like to be producing videos and graphics alongside written pieces and we hope our new art directors will make this happen.

So, while we have done a strong job this year, we certainly have more work to do semester. We would love to publish an even wider range of pieces and we hope to continue to push the envelope even more in the upcoming semesters. In order to do so, we need more members of the community to come forward and join our team. We encourage you to stop by our meetings next year, Monday nights at 9 pm in the Newsroom.

Night of Listening Event, April 29

On Wednesday, April 29, the Storytelling with Radio class is hosting a showcase of audio projects made by students this semester. Come to Wilson Chapel to experience a wide array of topics explored in these pieces!

Facing and Acing Tough Decisions after College

By Michael Mandelkern, a member of New York University’s Class of 2014, and a former Skidmore College Student.

Five years ago, back when Skidmore News still had a print version, I was the News Editor. Watching students read our issues in the dining hall put a smile on my face. I spent a day in Albany job shadowing the Editorial Editor of the Times Union. Even though Skidmore College didn’t have a Journalism program, I aspired to be a reporter after graduation.

Now I am soon to be the Program Center Manager of Tufts University’s student fundraiser.

I haven’t published an article in nearly one year. I transferred from Skidmore College to New York University and graduated with a double major in Journalism and English. I interned for several newspapers and online magazines in New York City and enrolled in a writing program with the Bleacher Report during my Spring 2014 semester. With a diverse portfolio of clips ranging from local politics to professional sports, I thought that I was on the verge of becoming a reporter. Instead, I am a mid-level manager in the higher education fundraising management industry.

Graduating without a full-time job shifted me towards my current profession. My mom was determined to move out of New York City and retire as I entered my fourth year as a part-time student fundraiser (no longer as an active student) for New York University. I still contributed to the Bleacher Report without pay. Print journalism was my passion ever since I published my first article for my high school paper, but I ignored the fact that this industry is dying. Many writers spend the early part of their careers freelancing and barely getting by.

I ascended from student fundraiser to supervisor over time at a company that fundraises for NYU and other programs worldwide. My responsibilities were to coach representatives on their phone calls, motivate the calling team and monitor the fundraising performance of NYU’s various institutions. My favorite part of the job was cultivating new hires into extraordinary callers, just as past supervisors had done with me.

Two months after graduation I was still working for a modest hourly wage. I completed an apprenticeship to become a manager at one of the company’s many universities across the nation, but I started applying to dozens of jobs in case the apprenticeship didn’t come to fruition. I had resumes and variations of cover letters handy. I scheduled interviews and still couldn’t land jobs. Many places didn’t even reply to my applications. Sometimes I gave up on the process for days. Then I emerged from the haze and realized I still didn’t have a full-time job and was only further behind.

My stomach was always bloated from stress. What if the next school year starts and I’m working at NYU with the incoming freshman class? Would I be able to swallow my pride? Then I landed a job in August 2014 as a door-to-door salesman in Brooklyn persuading local businesses to switch their electric contracts to a fixed rate with our company. It was hot in a suit. My feet were blistered and sweat dripped down my face. I earned $70 commission for every sale I made without any base salary. Days passed when I didn’t make any sales. I earned more working for NYU part-time.

There were a few times last summer when I thought my management apprenticeship would pay off. I had a few potential offers on the East Coast to be a manager that didn’t pan out. Then I was offered a Senior Supervisor position at the corporate headquarters in Cedar Rapids, Iowa just two weeks after becoming a salesman. The ranking was lower than the Program Center Manager position I was an apprentice for and I didn’t even know where Iowa was on the map, but I finally had a full-time job.

I knew that if I worked hard and hit the goals of my numerous campaigns programs I could eventually become a Program Center Manager. As a New Yorker born and raised, I didn’t want to live around cornfields and farm animals for the long term. The cost of living is dirt cheap in Iowa and I finally learned how to drive. Still, all I wanted to do was get back to the East Coast. Living in a two-story townhouse across the road from a golf course is spacious, but I don’t have a wife and kids.

Now I have been promoted to Program Center Manager of Tufts University and will be moving this summer. My commute will be a short drive from the heart of downtown Boston. I had to move to Iowa in order to get back to the East Coast, enduring a brutal winter 30 degrees below zero. One night it was so cold that my car wouldn’t start after work. The temperature warmed up to five degrees the next day and I had ignition.

If you asked me where I would be in five years back in 2010 I would say interviewing politicians and editing articles. Now my writing consists of several e-mails per day and analyzing my programs’ metrics at the end of the night. I thought that my mom would continue to pay for rent and utilities until I establish myself. Now I pay for all of my own bills (well, not the cell phone, but that’s coming).

You probably don’t know where you will be one year after graduation. I went the corporate route as I prioritized financial security over my love for words. I might not ever become a New York Times correspondent reporting on North Korea’s nuclear weapons and tensions with South Korean, or get another press pass to Citi Field and meet the team in the locker room.

Hopefully your passion is in a lucrative field so that you don’t have to make that tough decision. But trust that whatever choice you make is in your best interest. Only you know how to create the best possible world for yourself.

Tips on Life after College

By Emily Falcigno, Class of 2000, Studio Art Major (Concentration in Photography and Painting) Skidmore News Photographer 1996 / Photo Editor 1997-2000

Last summer, I left my cushy corporate IT job of 12 years, and traded it in for life as a freelance photographer, filmmaker, and art festival organizer. Creative thought really does matter! So does business savvy.

Tips on Life after College:

The real world is like college. There are freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors. The whole way through, you’re perpetually learning. So keep an open mind at all times. And focus on your goals. (I mean, not all the time. Fun is allowed. Some workplaces even allow spontaneous dance parties! You just have to show people how it’s done, stretch, and then get back to work.)

Speaking of seniors. Keep your ears open for the 401k-retirement package HR will push on you. Find a finance friend to explain it to you and sign up right away.

Surround yourself with a multi-generational group of people whom you admire, and listen to their experiences.

Make a Plan. Think about something you’re good at and love to do. Listen to people’s needs, and then shape your skill set into something people can’t live without. How can you solve their problems? Remember to work through obstacles; employers like to see you’re not afraid of challenges and can present solutions.

Studio Art Majors: Did you take a business class? If not, hang out with some business savvy friends because you’re going to need to know how to sell your work. Write about your work, and find out what it is that makes your work unique. Then, find a market for your art. Show it early and often.

Keep in mind that your time spent on your art is not free. Your work has a market value. Look up some industry specific societies who offer continuing education. Find out how the pros are doing it, and always be networking. It really is about who you know out here and the sooner you realize it, the better.

Create a story for yourself. Everything you set out to accomplish will be a paragraph in your story. That big video you’re making isn’t the end of the story. It may lead you down a new trail. Change is expected. See where your project leads and don’t be afraid to fail. What story is complete without an epic fail or two?

Take “no” for an answer and ask yourself why you got a “no.” Judge your actions before you judge the actions of others. Ask, “How can I improve myself?”

Ok, I know there are people at work who will drive you crazy! Take a breath. Learn how to deal with your feelings when you’re around them. There will always be someone in your life who drives you crazy so it’s best to figure out how to control your emotions.

When you go back to your five year reunion, hang out with people you always wanted to hang out with in school. You may find out one of them cheated off of you in Italian class. (That happened.)

Remember, when you turn 30, you’re in your “earlies” again. It’s fabulous, and it happens every decade. Woot!

Eventually, it’s ok to stop partying. Some day you’ll feel like *gasp* not going out, and ask “what happened? ” right before you doze off at nine o’clock p.m. on a Saturday. Then you’ll shrug it off because you know you can get up and go to your favorite exercise class in the morning.

Which brings me to my last bit of life advice: Exercise. It keeps you strong, young, and helps you pursue your dreams of surfing the Argentinean coast. Or living your dream as a professional photographer.

Good luck out there class of 2015! Find me at your five year (my 20 year) reunion. I’ll be the first one on the dance floor!

The Battle of the Two Asian Big Cats: Can India Beat China Economically?

By Bryn Hsu '16

Can India surpass China? The two countries, which together make up half of the continent of Asia, both have risen to power in the last few years and have grabbed international attention. China has stayed ahead of India in terms of economic growth and development of the country, but will this gap be sustainable in the future? China may be strong now, but India may have even more potential due to its different strategy, as the country focuses more on long-term governmental and economic strategies for growth.

India has not grown as quickly as China, but the much-loved former Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru famously stated decades ago that India did not need to grow quickly, as long as it grew steadily. Whilst China has rushed to the top in terms of economy growth and country development, India has focused on the application of longer-term strategies that are low-risk and has encouraged more stable and steady economic growth. It is likely that India will soon emerge as a formidable opponent.

India has encouraged the growth of high numbers of private companies. China, on the other hand, focused on exporting, but this left the country with no world-class companies because they only manufactured products. This could potentially cripple China’s future for years to come. India, on the other hand, has invested in white-collar jobs through creating companies competing internationally with the best that Europe and the United States have to offer, allowing India to sustain their growth long-term. Clear evidence for this is seen through the fact that Forbes 200 ranked 13 Indian firms as the world’s best small companies.

What the citizens of the two countries invest in also differs, and the focus of these 2.5 billion people potentially has massive effects on their nation’s economies. Chinese citizens purchase housing and property whenever they can, since they believe that housing prices always increase. This is known as China’s housing bubble, and if it were to collapse, that would heavily disrupt the economy, slowing down the country’s growth and decreasing its GDP.

Indian citizens, on the other hand, invest in gold. Culturally they love gold, and see it as an infallible currency that also symbolizes wealth and prosperity. Gold, unlike housing, is easily marketable. Gold is also low risk, as it is internationally desired. Thus, it is low risk because the price of gold will never drop as dramatically as housing prices could, assuring India that its economy will not be heavily influenced by market fluctuations.

Fortune believes that the most important aspect of India’s infrastructure is its human capital. India’s population is so valuable because of its large pool of young workers—65 percent of India’s population is 35 or under, while China’s population ages rapidly every year due to its only recently loosened one-child policy. China may become the world’s most aged society by 2030, whereas India’s population is still growing and likely to remain young and active in the workforce.

Most telling of all is Forbes’ recent report that India’s GDP is now growing faster than China’s. This increase in growth in India is expected to keep rising, as government consumption growth and investment growth are both on the rise and private consumption is expected to improve at a steady pace.

Governmental regime also appears to be an important factor for assessing where India and China will stand in the future. To support its private companies, India has had to develop methods that allow its markets to operate with greater efficiency and transparency than China’s do (China Now Magazine). China imposes substantial legal and regulatory constraints on private firms, limiting the potential of these companies. China’s government favours its own state-owned companies and discourages entrepreneurs. The lack of transparency and the focus on state businesses limits China’s potential. In the long-term, India seems to have more room and freedom for economic growth.

India and China adopted drastically different strategies in their economic and governmental policies. China’s strategy is now facing imminent problems, the most potentially damaging of all being the housing bubble that could disrupt the country’s economy. India’s strategies have taken longer to take off, but as of February 2015, they have begun to pay off as India takes the lead in the fight towards becoming the fastest growing country. India may be on the rise more slowly, but as a country, they take less risks and steadily progress, while China has been running fast for decades and has recently appeared to be a little out of breath.

How Sustainable is the Seafood in the Dining Hall?

< By Celeste Calderon '16 & Nandini Srinivasan '15

Skidmore College is the first liberal arts college in the state of New York to become Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Chain of Custody certified. As many marine species stocks are becoming depleted due to overfishing, people are becoming more aware of issues such as illegal fishing and seafood fraud. Does that mean all seafood that the dining hall (Dhall) serves is sustainable? No, but it is a step in the right direction.

MSC Chain of Custody certification is a traceability standard for supply chains from the MSC certified fishery, to the distributor, to the consumer’s plate. Each company or institution that handles or sells an MSC certified product must obtain a valid MSC Chain of Custody certificate. MSC eco labeled seafood comes from an independently assessed fishery, which is then certified as environmentally sustainable with full traceability.

Achieving MSC Chain of Custody certification promotes traceability within the food supply chain. However, it does not fully ensure that an institution, restaurant, or supermarket is 100 percent eco-friendly or sustainable. In general, sustainability can be defined as meeting today's needs without compromising the needs of future generations. According to NOAA, sustainable seafood entails farming or catching seafood responsibly "with consideration for the long-term health of the environment and the livelihoods of the people that depend upon the environment" (NOAA).

The only MSC certified seafood products that Dhall serves or sells is pollock, cod, and haddock. Dhall has even made the effort to label menus online and at the entrance of the dining hall with the MSC certified seafood label. However, Dhall still serves uncertified seafood such as: shrimp, salmon, catfish, unknown fish in the fish tacos, and mahi mahi served for special occasions like themed dinners (Pirates and Mermaids).

Although MSC is known as a sustainability label, some argue that it is simply a "blue washing" technique, and does not promote real sustainability in seafood. A paper released in 2013 by the Biological Conservation highlights some of the objections against MSC labels (Fairbrother, 2013). An overarching issue they bring up is that MSC uses third party inspectors who have discretion when it comes to determining whether a fishery meets MSC standards. For this reason, a fishery may not really meet the MSC requirements but could be granted certification (Ainley, Bailey et al. 2013).

Additionally, the MSC standards for fisheries are vague. The three principles include sustainable fish stocks, minimizing environmental impact, and effective management (MSC). They are more qualitative than quantitative, which leaves room for varied interpretation. This is especially possible because of the third party inspectors. The standards also do not address fishing methods.

About two years ago, NPR released an article discussing the controversy of MSC’s eco label. Even though the program is based on science and evidence, many environmentalists and scientists lost their faith in the company when the Canadian swordfish fishery was certified. On average, the Canadian swordfish fishery was catching about five blue sharks for every swordfish due to its unsustainable fishing method of longlining. A fishery using the longlining method usually lets out 30 to 40 miles of fishing line, suspending more than 1,000 hooks that result in tens of thousand of shark bycatches every year. Many of these sharks that are accidentally caught are “threatened,” “endangered,” or “of special concern” under the Canadian government. (Zwerdling, Williams. 2013)

This specific case reflects that the Canadian swordfish fishery did not abide by the one of the three fundamental MSC standards—an important standard for guaranteeing sustainability. Principle two of the MSC Fisheries Standard states, “Fishing operation must be managed to maintain the structure, productivity, function and diversity of the ecosystem.” Even though the swordfish population is plentiful, the fishery is ruining the integrity of the ecosystem by not being aware other the other marine species being negatively impacted.

The bottom line is that MSC has good intentions for protecting fish stocks and marine life, but needs to improve their standards as well as enforcement of standards. The organization is a strong advocate for raising awareness at a consumer level about the importance of traceability and sustainability in the seafood we eat. MSC’s official website provides information about the global impacts of unsustainable fishing, and even includes smart shopping tips for the consumer and businesses interested in purchasing sustainable seafood. MSC also highlights the significance of educating younger generations about traceability in the food chain supply.

So, with all this controversy over the effectiveness of the MSC certification and label, should Skidmore be commended for its MSC certification? One could argue that an MSC certification is better than no certification, and we have to say we agree. While the MSC standards definitely have flaws, Skidmore is making an attempt at supporting sustainable seafood, and as seafood tracing and monitoring increase, hopefully so will certification standards.

References Ainley, D. Bailey, M. et al. 2013. A Review of Formal Objections to Marine Stewardship Council Fisheries Certifications. Biological Conservation. "It's Official: You Can't Trust a 'Certified Sustainable' Seafood Label." TakePart. Web. 22 Apr. 2015. . "MSC Fisheries Standard." — MSC. Web. 22 Apr. 2015. . "Sustainability Information | EPA Research | EPA." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency. Web. 21 Apr. 2015. . Zwerdling, D., & Williams, M. (2013, February 11). Is Sustainable-Labeled Seafood Really Sustainable? Retrieved April 20, 2015.