New Smoking Policy

 

By Noa Maltzman

This year Skidmore welcomed a new smoking policy. The policy restricts smokers to certain designated areas on campus. Specifically, the interior of the main campus – including the tables outside the Burgess Café – has been declared “smoke free.”

Listed on the Skidmore College website, the smoking policy explains that the purpose behind this new development is "to limit the potential exposure of students, faculty, staff and visitors to the effects of second-hand smoke, reduce the risk of fires on campus and provide the community with a healthy, respectful working and learning environment.”

This year’s academic handbook gets into thick details regarding the smoking policy, unlike in the 2013-2014 handbook, which merely stated, “in compliance with New York State law, smoking is prohibited in all indoor areas of the College, including dining halls and the Spa. In addition, all residence halls and apartments are smoke-free buildings. Cigarettes are not sold on the College campus.”

No one is allowed to smoke indoors on campus, including residence halls and the dining hall. Nor is smoking permitted in college-owned vehicles, within 25 feet of a campus facility or in the designated smoke free areas. The interior of the college along the quad is one of the major smoke free areas. All college events are non-smoking and no smoking areas are provided.

Overall, the student reactions have been varied. The Skidmore News posed an online survey to the Skidmore community asking, “this semester, the College rolled out a new smoking policy that prohibits smoking in certain areas around campus. Do you support the new smoking policy?” The results showed in favor of the new policy. However it’s important to point out that the poll contained a mere 20 participants (16 in favor of new restrictions with only 4 counts against).

A few students – whom asked to remain anonymous – were smoking outside the library on Tuesday, the 16^th. Students have been spotted smoking in other smoke-free areas as well.

Dean of Students and Vice President for Student Affairs, Rochelle Calhoun, said simply, “we expect our students to follow the rules” (in regards to the new smoking policy). For those not sharing Calhoun’s enthusiasm for policy respect, the new smoking policy details the consequences for those who choose not to comply. Consequences vary depending on your connection to the campus. For example, a faculty or staff employee of the college should know that, “violations of this policy will be addressed through educational and corrective measures as outlined in Human Resources policies and procedures.” As a student, you’ll be sent to the integrity board. Lastly, visitors refusing to comply with the policy may be removed from the building, the event they are attending, or from the campus and may not be readmitted.

For smokers who wish to quit smoking should seek the assistance the college has made available. “We have additional services in place to help people stop smoking,” said President Glotzbach. On the Skidmore College website under the listed smoking policy, you’ll find resources from the NYS Smoker’s Quitline, Glen’s Falls Hospital, Employee Assistance Program, and Community Health Centers for those seeking to quit. On campus, Health Services can provide counseling, and even prescription medicine for more drastic cases.

The College plans to revaluate the smoking policy in spring of 2017, and hope that by the fall of 2017 the campus will be completely smoke free.

Preview of first annual State of the College Address: student participation, sexual assault and more

 

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Photos by Meredith Simonds, Co-Arts Director

By Andrew Shi, Editor-in-Chief

The first, annual State of the College Address will give students a peek into the plans and intentions of the college administration and the Student Government Association. Scheduled for Friday, Sept. 19 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the Arthur Zankel Music Center, the event will include speeches from President Philip A. Glotzbach and SGA President Addison Bennett '16.

In a preview of what is to come, Bennett summed up the main message of his speech to be, "the state of Skidmore is one of potential and growth. Making our school the way we want it to be will require all of us (students included) to buy into a culture that cares and works for Skidmore."

Much of the speech includes a plea to students to participate in campus life, especially the student government, whether that be through elections, which were held on Thursday, Sept. 18, or by direct communication to SGA officials.

Bennett's speech will also touch upon the summer's arrest of a Campus Safety official for sexual assault, last year's failed motion to increase wages at Skidmore, the minimum which hovers well below that of New York's mandated minimum, and the introduction of  a Student Activity Financial Aid Fund to help clubs pay for additional expenses when the alternative would be the exclusion of student participation due to socioeconomic disadvantages.

It is not yet determined what Glotzbach will speak about, but his speech will likely mention the recent smoking policy that was rolled out, and the stronger, more aggressive sexual assault policies implemented in conjunction with (but not because of, according to the administration) the nationwide, collegiate initiative called for by the Obama administration.

Speeches will be followed by an opportunity for Q&A from students and faculty. There will also be prizes, giveaways and food. For more information, check out the Facebook event page.

Club Profile: Fight Club

Today, Co-President Julia Diamond '15 broke the first rule of Fight Club to discuss its work with The Skidmore News

Q) In a nutshell, what is your club?

A) We are a peer mediation group. In our general meetings we teach basic skills that pertain to mediation such as listening and the proper techniques. Anyone is welcome at these meetings. However, we also have a team of trained mediators who are certified by both Skidmore and the state of New York.  When people have a conflict with another person or group of people, they may come in and we'll work with them in a productive fashion. Too often people just go back and forth and they get nowhere.

Q) Can you elaborate on conflict mediation?

A) Certainly, there are two kinds of mediation, group mediation and one-on-one. Most people seem to be more comfortable with the latter. We'll talk with them and try to root out the seed of the issue. From there, we'll often make a plan for how they can deal with the person they're having an issue with in a productive manner which will hopefully resolve the issue. One person I was working with went off and followed that plan, and he gave me feedback, telling me how much better he felt. We're open to the community and encourage students to come to us when they're fighting with their roommate, their friends, or when their friends are fighting with each other. We're confidential, and people can always choose their mediators. We really want to encourage people to use us as a resource.

Q) I think a lot of students might be uncomfortable coming to students with their problems, despite qualifications. How would you respond to that?

A) Well, as I said, we go through a lot of training to become certified, but a lot of the issues we want people to come to us for are roommate/ housemate problems. As students, I think we are better able to empathize and understand the problems at hand compared to older, more experienced mediators. As students we understand other students' needs.  I'd also say that you shouldn't knock it until you try it. 

Q) I think the other issue students might have is that the people they'd be sharing intimate details with are people they'd see around campus. Do you see that as a potential problem?

A) We are sworn to secrecy, we don't talk about it to anyone or amongst ourselves. We won't even talk about it to the students involved outside of the office. We have different hats, if you will. If we see the involved students outside of class, we'll smile, but say nothing more. There are a lot of mediators and chances are, there will be many you don't even know. I'm not even too familiar with some of the mediators. If you don't wish to speak to someone you know or might see often, there's definitely someone who will fit that description. We don't want people seeing us and thinking that we're judging them, because we're not. After the meeting or meetings we'll avoid talking about it because it's done, it's over for us. But if people ever want to return we're very open to that, and glad to hear feedback.

Q) What do you normally do at club meetings?

A) We do a lot of basic training on mediation. We hold workshops that teach people how to de-stress.  We'll look at film clips such as, The Breakup and try to determine the central problem that's causing the conflict. It's a lot of fun but also a great lesson. We may also try to get a speaker, perhaps from the mediation group down-town, Mediation Matters. Speaking of which, we have a great relationship with the group and they produce tons of opportunities and internships for our mediators, who will be able to sit on real court cases and sometimes even mediate between groups along with an experienced mediator.

Q) Do you host campus events?

A) We have a whole week of events in  mid-October called, Fight Week. The most notable of these events includes the “giving-thanks” cards. You'll see us set up in the Atrium, where you can fill out these cards for others and have them sent to their mailboxes. We're also going to try to do a pumpkin carving as a stress-release event; there'll hopefully be a capella groups performing and it'll be a great way to relax. There are plans for more events, too, but at the moments it's all tentative.

Make sure to keep an eye out for Fight Week, and if you're interested in joining Fight Club, meetings are Wednesdays from 9-10 p.m. in the ICC. Fight Club holds open-office hours for those interested in mediation from 2-6 p.m. on Sundays in the office of Campus Life on the third floor of Case Center. 

Yakking to the Top: Interview with the Founders of Yik Yak

By Billie Kanfer '16, Features Editor

Last week I had the pleasure of interviewing the founders of Yik-Yak, Tyler Droll  and Brooks Buffington who graduated in 2013 from Furman University in South Carolina.  Both Droll and Buffington were fraternity brothers who bounced ideas back and forth about an application that originated from their own college campus experience. They had realized how only a select few on campus were using Twitter and how most parody accounts were coming from a small amount of accounts and wanted to change that, allowing the entire student body to have the power to be witty. October 2013 marked the beginning of what soon became, Yik Yak which was later released in November 2013. In my interview with the founders, I discovered the reason they created Yik Yak and their hopes for the future of the app which has sky rocketed since its 2013 release. 

Q: When did Yik Yak begin?

A: After we graduated in May 2013, we began working on the app in October and finally released it in November. It only took a few weeks to make; however, the hard part was making it grow and take over the college scene. At first release the app only reached two colleges, one was our own. When spring rolled around, we upped our efforts and got into the southeast and east coast schools. Spring break was when people began to talk about the app and brought it back to their own colleges. When this year began we noticed a huge explosion with new college campuses picking it up every day since the summer. Yik Yak is currently being used in over 500 colleges in the states. 

Q: Who is your target demographic?

A: We definitely perceive the American college student as our target market. We want the users to be 17+, for the reason that they are more mature, and in college. Obviously our demographic lies within the college campus area in America and we believe there will be a natural spread to the Metropolitan areas such as D.C and NYC. 

Q: Do you believe the anonymity of the app will promote cyber-bullying?

A: We don’t feel that it will promote cyber-bullying on college campuses. It is not being used by high schools or middle schools because they are not psychologically mature enough. College kids can say a variety of things but we hope that they are good at handling their responsibility. Another way we attempted to escape the possibility of cyber-bullying is through making Yik Yak anonymous; therefore, gender, sexuality, etc does not matter. Everyone is on a level playing field where they are judged on content and content alone. 

Q: What is the mission behind Yik Yak?

A: Many people are dubbing Yik Yak to be the new Twitter. We enjoy that; however, we have a much more noble goal in mind. Yik Yak has a huge potential to make a greater impact through the “peek”feature. This aspect provides students with real time updates. When you “peek,”the yaks are coming from the ground, they are much more authentic than someone on Twitter who is commenting from wherever they may be. We want to have an authentic and constant stream that is socially powerful.  

Q: What makes Yik Yak unique?

A: Yik Yak is unique because of its “peek”feature. On a more campus level, everyone is equal. Yik Yak allows everyone to participate in this social world, and no one is missing out on something witty being said. Sometimes there is a tendency for people to be shut out of a large portion of people on campus but Yik Yak allows you to connect with everyone. 

Q: How will you keep the app thriving?

A: The strongest part of our application is the community it creates. Every college student will have a specific bond with the community on Yik Yak because of the location feature. From small to large campuses, there aren’t many places where you can interact with everyone on campus; therefore, Yik Yak bridges that gap and brings everyone together. 

Q: What are your future hopes for Yik Yak?

A: It would be awesome to be used on every college campus in the states. We would also love to be the #1 app in an area when you arrive in a new location. We want Yik Yak to be used for entertainment but also as a database for people to know where the best place to eat is, etc. It is the best way to connect to everyone that might be a stranger around you. We also hope to generate lots of open discussion, a forum for people to talk and converse constantly. 

Editorial: Encouraging Transparency on Course Expenses

By the Editorial Board

With a whopping tuition of $59,942, including room and board, no one is fooling themselves into believing Skidmore College is inexpensive. However, tuition costs are upfront and made easily available to prospective students. The hefty fees for taking certain classes at Skidmore are not.

As part of our breadth requirement for graduation, each Skidmore student must take a class designated as an art. However, it is common knowledge among art students, and it soon becomes shockingly apparent to newcomers, that art classes entail numerous unlisted extra fees.

For an idea of just how pricy the average introductory level art class at Skidmore can get, Introduction to Drawing has cost students $200-300 for required supplies, although the price tag can vary with the professor. These students were not made aware of the specific supplies they needed until class began. Color Theory requires about $120 for paint and supplies, which one student reports actually using only about $40-worth throughout the semester. Another student dropped the course because they could not afford to pay for additional supplies. Printing paper for Intro to Printmaking costs $10 per sheet of paper, of which one student reports already having used three in just the past two weeks. Students were not made aware of the cost of printing paper unless they inquired ahead of time themselves. Jewelry and Metals 1 requires a starting kit for which students expected to pay $90, but ended up paying $150. Communication Design 1 students report having to spend an additional $130 on top of the preexisting $105 lab fee.

That being said, art is not the only discipline that springs unforeseen costs on students. Business and Organization Management (MB107) required its students to purchase an $80 set of case studies, which they were unaware of until the second week of the semester. However, these kinds of instances are more rare.

Few of the supply costs are explicit in course descriptions and some professors withhold this information deliberately so that they can go over the specifics in class. This practice prevents students from looking online for affordable options and assumes that they will readily have the spare money to purchase their supplies.

Of course, the arts are not the only department that demands extra fees, and the Board understands that classes require additional costs. The prices aforementioned are not unreasonably high. Rather, what the Board disagrees with is the lack of price transparency for supplies required by many art classes. Textbooks, required for the majority of academic courses, often surpass art supplies in price, but students are made aware of their classes' required reading far in advance, which gives them adequate time to compare prices. Renting a book or purchasing a used textbook is a great way to save money, but is not an option for art supplies.

It is important to note that the Board recognizes that withholding required materials from students does not hold true for all professors. Many are very conscientious about letting students know in advance what they will need to purchase. And we certainly are not accusing the professors who do not inform students of acting maliciously. But the board does ask that all professors consider the affordability of class supplies. Transparency would make required purchases much more manageable for students. Knowing the extra costs a few weeks before the first class, and ideally before even enrolling in the course, seems fair. That way, no student will be blindsided in their first week by the need to leave campus and spend hundreds of dollars of pocket money on supplies they never knew they needed.

On another note, many students report never finding a use for some of the leftover supplies that they purchased for a certain course. We would like to bring to the student body’s attention the Skidmore Swap Sale, an online forum in which students can exchange or sell items they no longer need. Using that forum, unused or lightly used supplies can be passed on and offer more affordable options amongst students on campus. As of now, it is underused and unpublicized. Perhaps if more students began visiting the forum, the school could work on improving its online format. The forum would also be great for the exchange of textbooks.

We do not ask for changes to the curriculum, or even for supplies to be readily available for students. But we do ask that professors keep in mind the burden of expenses they place on students and allow them the opportunity to minimize cost by informing them ahead of time what exactly it is that will be required of them.