Thoroughbreds Extend Streak to Eight as DeGregory Ties Scoring Record

By Skidmore Athletics  

Dani DeGregory ’16 scored three goals and assisted on a fourth to lead the Skidmore College field hockey team to a 6-3 non-league road win over St. John Fisher on Sunday afternoon.

DeGregory set up the first goal by Becca Halter ’17 at 16:54. The Cardinals managed a pair of goals to take a brief 2-1 lead. Skidmore ran off four straight goals to put the game away. Halter scored her second of the game at 35:00 from Sam Skott ’15, and DeGregory scored the next three goals. Sam Revera ’15 had the final goal late in the game.

Skidmore had a commanding 44-8 advantage in shots. Amy Beck ’15 stopped two shots in the net for the win.

DeGregory has thirty-two goals for the season, tying the program record set last season by Kelly Blackhurst ‘15. The talented forward has seven hat tricks this year: She has thirty-two goals and twelve assists for seventy-six points, three points off of the season total record of seventy-nine set last season by Blackhurst.

Skidmore, ranked 12^th nationally, finishes the regular season with a 15-3 record. The team will try to continue their now eight-game win streak when they take on Vassar at home on Wednesday, November 5 at 2 p.m.

Field Hockey Advances to Liberty League Championship Game

By Skidmore Athletics  

The 12^th ranked Skidmore College field hockey team will have the chance to defend its Liberty League championship after a 4-1 semifinal win over Vassar College on Wednesday, Nov. 5, at Wagner Park.

Dani DeGregory ’16 led the Thoroughbreds with her team record and national leading 33^rd goal of the season. She broke the previous mark set in 2013 by Kelly Blackhurst ‘15. DeGregory is also one point off Blackhurst's team season point record of 79.

Skidmore (16-3) has won nine straight games and will be playing for its second straight and sixth Liberty League championship in the past seven years.

The Thoroughbreds, seeded second, will host third seed William Smith, a 3-2 winner over top seed University of Rochester on Saturday, Nov. 8 at 1 p.m.

Home field won’t hurt the team's chances. Skidmore has won twenty-five straight overall home Liberty League games since 2009. The team is 10-1 in Liberty League playoff games at Wagner Park, with ten straight wins beginning in 2007.

Against Vassar (11-7), Melanie Webb ’15 opened the scoring off a rebound and scramble in front at 11:13, with Sofia San Marco ’15 getting the assist. Sam Revera ’15 made it 2-0 off a rebound at 28:27.  DeGregory closed out the first half, scoring when she dribbled in from fifteen yards out, and fired a shot home for her record-setting goal at 32:58.

The Brewers got on the board in the second half when Storm Sideleau scored her third goal of the season off a well played cross from Bianca Zarrella at 44:56. Revera closed out the scoring with her second goal of the game and sixth of the season at 45:25.

Skidmore outshot Vassar 25-6 and had a 9-3 corner edge.  Amy Beck ’15 stopped two shots for the Thoroughbreds, while Amreen Bhasin stayed busy with nine saves.

The Thoroughbreds last beat William Smith 3-1 on Sept. 26 in Geneva.

Reel Talk: ‘Nightcrawler’ is a slow, but broodingly dark thriller

By Sean van der Heijden A film debut by writer/director Dan Gilroy, ‘Nightcrawler’ focuses on Lou Bloom, a sociopathic man played by Jake Gyllenhaal who gets involved in crime journalism in Los Angeles. After witnessing a car crash, Bloom decides he can capitalize on the incident by filming it and selling the footage to news stations. After he becomes more involved with his craft, however, he crosses a ton of moral boundaries. Like, a ton—I lost count.

Gyllenhaal plays the part extremely well—it’s possibly his finest performance to date. He lost 20 pounds for the role, deprived himself of sleep, and overworked himself by running 15 miles to the set everyday. The dedication shows—his stare eats away at your soul and his unflinching lack of emotion for the crimes he films is both shocking and disturbing.

There are two more great performances in his costars—the first by Rene Russo, a TV news runner who Bloom sells his footage to. Their relationship is at first amicable but grows increasingly darker as Bloom gains more leverage over her. The second performance is by Riz Ahmed, who Bloom hires to help him film the crimes. Ahmed’s characters grows more and more reluctant to participate in filming them, but his incredible desperation for money drives him far past his comfort level. Bill Paxton also stars as a veteran and competitor in the nightcrawling business.

While the performances are essentially what drive this film, the second half becomes really captivating and, by the end, ‘Nightcrawler’ is impossible to turn away from. The first half is very slow as layers are slowly peeled away from the characters’ perfect veneers. Tension builds, however, and makes the ending even more disturbing, moving, and thought provoking.

This is a relentless satire on the state of media today. Both darkly funny and just plain dark, I found it a fascinating story.

Overall: 7.5 out of 10.

Seeing Stress Differently

By Brittany Dingler '15, PHE

Stress and chaos do not have to compromise our happiness and well-being. In fact, much research in the emerging field of Positive Psychology suggests that changing our perspective of stress allows us to feel the stress differently.

Unfortunately, eliminating stress entirely is pretty unrealistic, but also not entirely helpful.  Yes, high levels of chronic stress can suppress our immune systems—increasing our vulnerability to colds—or, over time, heart disease and cancer. However, most people have stressful responsibilities in their lives but aren’t getting sick from them. In other words, the key to staying healthy and productive may be in the realization that workload and illness is not a one-to-one correlation. For example, if we were to observe a large group of individuals with a heavy workload, strict deadlines, and a host of responsibilities (say, college students?), there would be apparent reactions to stress. Some individuals shuffle around with blood-shot eyes, hunched shoulders, ready to attack, while others bounce along, with wide eyes and straight backs, ready to tackle the next challenge. The answer to this variance appears to be in the perception of these challenges. 

To explain, the degree of stress is a product of how we evaluate our experiences:  is this helping me? Is this hurting me? Could this continue to hurt me in the future? The most important question we must ask ourselves is, do I have the resources to deal with this?  If the answer is yes, then overall health, well-being, and even productivity appear to increase as stress deflates to a manageable, even helpful, level.  If the answer is no, then our nervous system recruits a stress cocktail of Norepinephrine and Epinephrine (together, known as Adrenaline) with a Cortisol chaser if we continue to feel unable to surmount the challenge. 

So how can we change our attitude towards stress to stay happy, healthy, and in control? Positive Psychology gurus offer three steps. First, acknowledge the presence of the stress—it’s here, it’s happening, and I’m feeling it in my chest/head/shoulders. Second, determine the cause of the stress—I’m behind in Biology and I have a test next week. Third, and this is key, reevaluate the stress and use it to motivate you—I might want to be a Veterinarian so this next test is an opportunity for me to get closer to vet school so that I can help puppies. Once we train ourselves to see challenges as opportunities for growth, we will be able to make our future and present selves happy. 

This learned happiness, generated by overriding our initial stress response, helps to boost our health and productivity, sparking a cycle of challenge and success.

Halloweekend Review

By Billie Kanfer '16, Features Editor

Halloween has come and gone, and after weeks of students preparing themselves for the “Halloweekend,” November has come in full force and the events of the former weekend  are a thing of the past. After the cancellation of Moorebid, many students were in an upheaval about the decision, claiming that a Skidmore tradition had been taken away. Year after year, Moorebid presented itself to be a booze-filled, out of control “tradition” that caused many to reflect on its harm to the Skidmore community.

After speaking to fellow students around campus and other leaders, it was clear that the weekend was still a success and that Halloween was just as great as ever. Megan Schachter ’17, VP for Club Affairs, said that the weekend “went extremely well! Many groups on campus did their own events… all well attended, and did not encourage reckless drinking.” The clubs definitely did their part as both Friday and Saturday nights were filled with events to occupy students. From performances by Awkward Kids Talking, Breakbeats, the Accents and more, to sports games on both days, Halloween weekend wasn’t a let-down and encouraged on-campus fun within the Skidmore community.

In past years, the amount of hospitalizations sky-rocketed come Halloween weekend—last year the number of hospital visits was in the double digits, yet this year the number of ambulances decreased to three. I spoke to Brittany Dingler ’15, who works with SCEMS and said that while on-call Halloween night, there were much fewer SCEMS visits than there have been.

Skidmore has been aiming at making the community a much safer environment through programs such as the Social Norms Campaign, the First Six Weeks program, and the cancellation of Moorebid. Their efforts have so far seemed successful.

Social Justice Month 2014 Events

Saturday, November 1

Kickoff: Social Justice Month Showcase

9:30PM Spa

Social Justice Month is having a kickoff event to officially start the month-long movement. Skidaiko, Ujima STEP, and various individuals will be performing interspersed with presentations of the three main themes of the month: Education, Human Rights, and Hunger & Homelessness. There will also be free Plum Dandy Cookies and Chipotle.

Monday, November 3

Environmental Justice: Brown Bag Dialogue - Energy, Exploitation, and Solutions

8PM ICL - Office of Student Diversity Affairs & Skidmore Unplugged

Ever thought about the impact of energy production on communities of color? Are campaigns such as Skidmore Unplugged effective? What are possible solutions to make a difference? Come join OSDP and Skidmore Unplugged in raising awareness on the implications of energy production in marginalized communities. Dinner will be provided.

Tuesday, November 4

Educational Equality: Film Screening of “To Educate a Girl”

8PM Emerson Auditorium - UNICEF

Sponsored by Skidmore's UNICEF Chapter, "To Educate a Girl" is a documentary highlighting the stories of several girls in Nepal and Uganda to investigate the barriers to equal access to education for girls.

Wednesday, Saturday 5

Fracking: Film Screening of "Triple Divide"

6PM I Emerson Auditorium - Skidmore Unplugged

Shale gas extraction has inevitable impacts. Public Herald’s documentary “Triple Divide” investigates how these impacts are being handled by the state and industry. The story highlights the need for more investigative journalism and detailed discussion. A discussion led by a Skidmore faculty member will be followed.

Saturday, November 8

Educational Outreach: Cultural Night Market

9PM Spa - Asian Cultural Awareness Club

Come learn about various cultures with performances, food, and gifts from a variety of clubs such as ACA, Skidaiko, NihonGo!, HAYAT, African Culture Club, and Chinese Culture Club. All proceeds will be donated to the Franklin Community Center, which supports at-risk children with afterschool programs.

Monday, November 10

Geoengineering: Film Screening of “What In The World Are They Spraying”

8PM Davis Auditorium – United Minds

This documentary investigates the phenomenon known as geoengineering. It pictures the story of a rapidly developing industry called geoengineering, driven by scientists, corporations, and governments intent on changing global climate, controlling the weather, and altering the chemical composition of soil and water – all supposedly for the betterment of mankind, but the effect has been devastating to crops, wildlife, and human health.

Tuesday, November 11

Settler Colonialism: Brown Bag Dialogue & Workshop: Kat Yang-Stevens and Settler Colonialism

12:30PM ICC, 4:30PM ICC - Office of Student Diversity Programs

Kat Yang-Stevens is a cisgender queer woman and first generation Asian American of Chinese ancestry living on occupied Cayuga nation territories, they center the needs of communities living on the front-lines of environmental racism and degradation and work to address intra-movement racism and the barriers that it presents to creating meaningful multicultural alliances. The Brown Bag Dialogue and workshop on settler colonialism will focus on what settler colonialism is and the connections between settler colonialism and the oppression of indigenous communities.

Tuesday, November 11

Political Conflict: Discussion about ISIS with Professor Ocakli

7PM Davis Auditorium – Hayat & International Student Union

Professor Ocakli from the Government Department will provide an informative lecture about the current state of the issue regarding to ISIS. The talk will be followed by an open disucssion and Q&A session.

Wednesday, November 12

Community Organizations: Presentations from The Giving Circle & Seeds For Peace

8PM Emerson Auditorium – Benef-Action

Mark Bertrand, a local Saratogian, will be giving a presentation regarding his volunteer work through his founding of The Giving Circle, an organization with a mission to connect communities in need locally, nationally, and internationally with those with the resources to help. Additionally, Sue Johnson, who founded Seeds For Peace, an organization that provides garden tools to war- and weather- ravaged people in many nations will also give a talk.

Monday, November 17

Undocumented Students and Education: Brown Bag Dialogue - A Dreamer’s Nightmare: The Lack of Access to Education for Undocumented Students

5PM ICC - Office of Student Diversity Programs & Melvin Alvarez-Ortez ‘15

Ever wondered about the role that liberal arts institutions such as Skidmore play in accommodating undocumented students? Do you think that the Dream Act is effective? Are we violating human rights for DREAMERS? Come join the conversation for this special Brown Bag brought to you by OSDP and Melvin Alvarez-Ortez ‘15. Dinner will be provided.

Monday, November 17

Food Insecurity: Film Screening of “A Place at the Table”

7PM Library Viewing Room – SkidEats

50 Million Americans—1 in 4 children—don’t know where their next meal is coming from. This documentary highlights the stories of three such Americans. A Place at the Table shows how the issue could be solved forever, once the American public decides that ending hunger is in the best interests of us all.

Tuesday, November 18

Reproductive Justice: The Politics of Sex and Reproductive Justice - Lecture by Sara Alcid

7PM Gannett Auditorium - VOX

Sara Alcid from Everyday Feminism is a reproductive health and justice advocate based in Washington, DC. As a queer feminist with an academic background in Gender and Sexuality Studies, Sara bridges her strong theoretical and historical understanding of feminism with a modern practice of radical everyday feminism. Her work and writing ranges from the intersection of environmental health and reproductive health to dating as a feminist. While at Skidmore, she is going to discuss sexual assault on college campuses and how this social problem directly impacts reproductive right.

Wednesday, November 19

Microloans and Poverty: Film Screening of “Bonsai People”

7:30PM Emerson Auditorium - FeelGood

FeelGood believes in partnership, not charity. This philosophy is embodied in Bonsai People, a documentary about different individuals and communities that end their own hunger and rise out of poverty through the use of microcredit loans. Small loans of money can be used to spark an individual business, which in turn can create an economy between multiple communities.

Thursday, November 20

World Hunger: Hunger Banquet

7PM Tang Teaching Museum – Carmen Lin ’16 & Josh Saunders ‘15

The Hunger Banquet is an interactive event that allows participants to experience how our decisions affect others in the world. The banquet will help participants visualize and understand the current global hunger problem. Professor Nurcan Atalan-Helicke from the Environmental Studies Program will lead a discussion about food insecurity and food distribution. RSVP at skidmoresjm@gmail.com

Thursday, November 20

Climate Refugees: Film Screening of “The Island President”

7PM - 9PM 2nd Floor Dining Hall - International Student Union

The Island President is a documentary about the efforts of then-President of the Maldives Mohamed Nasheed to tackle rising sea levels resulting from climate change. It follows his first year of office, and shows a rare and candid glimpse into the politics of environmental issues, and lets us see what life is like in the Maldives, the lowest lying nation on earth. The movie screening will be followed by a Q&A/discussion panel.

Friday, November 21

Homelessness and LGBTQ People of Color: Screening of “Pier Kids: The Life”

5PM  ICC - Queer Lives In Color

Pier Kids: The Life follows three gay and transgender youth of color over the course of three years who, after being kicked out of their home for their sexuality, have become homeless on the same NYC street the Gay Rights Movement began on so long ago.

Co­-sponsored by:

American Studies Program, Art Department, Art History Department, Asian Cultural Awareness Club, Benef-Action, Chemistry Department, Christian Fellowship, Classics Department, Dance Department, Economics Department, Education Studies Department, English Department, Environmental Studies Program, FeelGood, Foreign Language and Literature Department, Government Department, Hayat, Health & Exercise Science Department, History Department, Intercultural Studies, Intergroup Relations, International Affairs Program, International Student Union, Late-Night, Latin American Studies Program, Lively Lucys, Management & Business Department, Neuroscience Program,  Office of Student Diversity Programs, Physics Department, Queer Lives In Color, Skidaiko, Skid-Eats, Skidmore Unplugged, Sociology Department, Social Work Department, Tang Teaching Museum, Ujima, UNICEF, United Minds, VOX

Riding Team Opens with Win

The Skidmore College women's riding team began the 2014-2015 season with a strong winning performance at Hartwick College on Saturday,  November 1.  The Thoroughbreds tallied 47 points.  The closest team to the Skidmore score was Reserve Champion, Hartwick with 36 points. Ursula Green led the team to victory by winning both her Open classes and the High Point rider honors.

Skidmore Hockey opens season with 5-4 win over Canton

The Skidmore College hockey team held off a late charge by SUNY Canton to post a 5-4 season-opening win, Saturday night at the Herb Brooks Arena. The Thoroughbreds used goals by five different plays in the win.

Skidmore opened a 5-0 lead before Canton mounted a comeback by scoring the game's final four goals.

Zach Arden scored first at 4:59 of the first half from Ondrej Kra and Marc Cibelli.  Anthony Bird made it 2-0 at 14:28 from Anders Gundersen and Connor Pelkey. An unassisted goal at 16:53 from Christian Leahy gave the Thoroughbreds a 3-0 lead after one.

Mickey Foley made it 4-0 at 11:22 of the second half and Kenny Nelson extended the lead to 5-0 at 15:17 from Pelkey and Sam Bloom.

Skidmore would need all five of the goals as Canton battled back with four straight goals before time ran out.

Jack McDonald had 28 saves for the Thoroughbreds.

Sexism in the Classroom: This Time Towards Men

By Danny Graugnard, Staff Writer Classes late at night can put anyone on edge. People are tired, less formal, and perhaps a bit spacey. It's why I enjoy my classes on Monday nights. Not the tired part, but the laid back feeling that makes a great learning environment in my book. Not everyone showed up this past Monday though, two female students were absent, leaving an even three men and three women in

the class–an observation the professor pointed out. Of course, I knew exactly where this observation was going to lead.

No longer than 20 minutes were we deep in a class discussion, where truthfully the female students were leading. The professor then commented, "Notice that the men are so quiet tonight!" We laughed at this comment- of course, I've been laughing at those kind of subtle, unintentionally disparaging comments for four years.

I can't begin to explain how awkward it feels to, well, feel discriminated against for being a male in class. After all, it doesn't really make sense for prejudice against men to exist at school where the female-to-male ratio is skewed towards female, and feminism is always a hot topic in the minds of the student body, right? But regardless of the precursors and my own insecurities, it happens.

Last year on my way to another class, I just so happened to be running late. So did the other guy in the class. When we both arrived, the professor commented how it was "funny how the men in the classroom are both late to class." Innocent enough for sure, though after hearing that comment many times before at the time, I was beginning to really wonder whether or not being a man has anything to do with being late. I think I woke up late from a nap that evening. Don't know the other guy's story.

The semester before that, I happened to turn in my paper late, and wouldn't you know it? So did the other two men in the class. Which resulted in the inevitable observation by the professor that it was "peculiar how all the men in the class forgot their papers..." And before that was Women in Literature–one of the English department's feminist classes disguised as a literature class. Only two men were in that course, including myself, so the professor kept an eye on us for "interesting insight." I remember meeting up with a classmate at one of my house parties. We got into a heated debate because I didn't like Wide Sargasso Sea. Then she saw me kissing this dude and exclaimed, "OMG you're gay?!" We became besties. At the end of the course, the professor asked how to get other men to take this course. Sorry, I don't know what to tell you.

And I can't help but remember my close friend who noticed favoritism towards women in his psychology classes, or another friend who couldn't help feeling that the female history professor hated him. Not to mention the enumerable rumors of the one or two female professors in the art department who reportedly challenge male students more than female students.

Claiming that professors and students at Skidmore College are blatantly sexist towards men is a bold statement, even for me. That's why I'm not attempting to do that here. And I honestly don't believe any of them are. I mean, all these studies about women performing better than men in school are very impressionable. But the kind of language and implications mentioned in my anecdotes and the other times I've heard subtle, backhanded insults about my sex in connection to my productivity as a student in my four years of attendance is troubling.

Student Vandalism on Campus

By the Editorial Board As students on campus, we talk with each other about the issues that are most concerning to our lives: our schoolwork, relationships, jobs and internships. But we rarely focus on the behind-the-scenes operations that Skidmore maintains to sustain our lives on campus. There is a significant number of staff who clean our dorm bathrooms, cook the food we eat, and keep the campus as beautiful as it is. We are able to focus on schoolwork and friends because of these employees who take care of all the other maintenance issues on campus. But this Editorial Board believes that the amount of student vandalism on campus makes the staff’s job much more difficult than it must be and reflects a lack of respect for the people who make our lives comfortable on campus.

It is not uncommon for a student living in the dorms to notice broken glass, holes punched in the wall, or trash and cans littered within the common room or hallways. In this semester, there has been graffiti in Jonsson Tower elevators and ceiling lamps ripped down on the second floor of Wait. This vandalism is not limited to this term-- there have consistently been vandalism incidents every semester. Typically, this destructive behavior happens on weekends, when students have been drinking. The debris or vandalized area is left for maintenance staff to clean up.

This theme of vandalism is a poor reflection of the integrity of the student body. Vandalism primarily happens in the dorms, not the apartments: you wouldn’t punch a hole in the wall in your Sussman apartment, because you have to live with that hole for the next nine months and pay for the damage when you move out. But a hole in the entryway of Howe will be fixed, by someone who you likely won’t see or interact with, and won’t cost you directly. We are able to commit these acts of vandalism in public spaces and walk away unscathed because someone else cleans up after us. We should know better.

Individual actions are diffused throughout a community and affect everyone. Unaccountable vandalism is selfish on a number of levels. If there is enough vandalism, the cost will be distributed for all residents of the dorm to pay off. This unanticipated financial cost is a burden, particularly for low-income students and students who work to pay their own way. It’s an insult to your peers to assume that tearing down a lamp when you’re drunk will not cause ripple effects throughout the community. Damaging buildings takes up the time, energy, and resources of College employees who have greater responsibilities. Painting over a graffiti-covered wall is an unanticipated work order, a requirement to fix something that didn’t originally need.

We need to reexamine the costs of student vandalism on our campus. It affects College employees and your fellow students. We are old enough to understand the consequences, we should be mature enough to not create the problem.

The Red Side: Midterm Elections and the Fate of the GOP

By Jacob Reiskin, Staff Writer

Next week is midterm elections in the United States. The lead up has been rather typical: midterm elections do not get much attention, and for good reason. Nate Silver, the historically accurate analyst, predicted today that Republicans have a 68.3% chance of winning the Senate. That’s no certainty, but it is fairly comfortable in the world of politics. If Republicans win the Senate, however, it will not make much difference. The real stakes are in 2016.

 The last four years have been characterized by a stagnant congress. The Republican Party has run a program of obstruction. They have jeopardized the future of the country by refusing to lead. Good conservatism requires effective leadership with restraint. In the next two years, Republicans will be better able to prevent government functionality. The only significant change may be the ease with which Obama will be able appoint his people to leadership positions. In general, the country can expect more of the same, which is to say more of not much.

Obama has increasingly operated using executive orders. Pushing policy this way has serious constitutional issues and sets a precedent for future presidents that Congress is unnecessary. Working with the President on some issues would allow Republicans to better keep executive power in check, but this will not happen. Obama has been fully convinced that the Republicans in office are not allies.

The real consequences of a Republican victory are the implications for 2016. Historically speaking, an unpopular president working with a Congress completely controlled by the opposing party has fought an uphill battle. Obama was swept into office in wake of a Congress controlled by Democrats and an executive controlled by a Republican. If this is a lesson, Republicans have a good chance at combating naive idealism two years from now. Republican control of the Senate will exemplify a conservative shift in the mentality of voters. It is no guarantee of a Republican presidential victory in 2016, but it’s a good start.

Professor Profile: Yelena Biberman-Ocakli

By Janine Kritschgau, Staff Writer Professor Yelena Biberman-Ocakli has had a journalistic instinct since she was nine years old. Reporting came naturally for this Belorussian native, who by this young age she was already making observations about mafia members in her neighborhood, assuming that some day Soviet Officials would come knocking for information. “If I hadn’t left, I probably wouldn’t be alive right now,” she explains, reflecting on various close encounters with kidnapping and child predators.

The former Soviet world of respect and equality had disintegrated into an unsafe community rampant with alcoholism and violence. It had come time for her family to leave.

They traveled from Moscow to Albany, New York, where Biberman-Ocakli began the fifth grade. Biberman-Ocakli hurled herself into her academics. “School became my refuge,” she says as she reflects on her transition to American culture.

Considering her extensive résumé, her commitment to scholarship is not at all that surprising. Biberman-Ocakli’s early endeavors were mostly centered around journalism. After graduating from Wellesley College and Harvard University, she spent a year as a Fulbright research scholar in Russia, and then stayed on as a journalist for a Russian publication.

“I had such a nostalgia for Russian culture,” she explains, noting a curiosity for the region where she spent her childhood. Although she had the opportunity to continue working in Moscow, she declined the offer due to her accurate prediction that her work might eventually be censored in the Russian media. Instead, she returned to America to complete a Doctoral Program at Brown University, while simultaneously being a Teaching Assistant.

Currently, her research focuses on unorthodox militant groups used by governments in South Asia. She has begun crafting her first book, after years of fieldwork, explaining when and why governments make the unusual decisions to hire groups of rebels or civilians to fight. She is simultaneously teaching three courses at Skidmore; States, Rebels, and Warlords, Politics of Modern South Asia, and Intro to International and Comparative Politics.

Despite being immersed in both research and teaching, she emphasizes that working with students is her priority. Teaching makes her feel “energetic and happy,” she explains, because for her, teaching is an experience one “gets addicted to.” Although she is relatively new to the Skidmore College community, her enthusiasm for teaching has already garnered positive feedback from students, who note how valuable her energy is in the classroom.

As I interviewed Biberman-Ocakli, it dawned on me that not only is she an accomplished researcher and professor, but also something akin to a life coach. She urges students to use their undergraduate years to develop fundamental skills such as writing and quantitative reasoning. She also encourages students to step outside of their comfort zones, a skill she was forced to acquire while traveling for research as this research often required interviewing dangerous people.

The hallmark skill that she attributes a great deal of her own success to is the ability to adapt and be self-sufficient. One must learn new skills quickly, and “become [one’s] own best teacher” while tackling weaknesses. Only through this uncomfortable process, she believes, will students grow past their barriers and be successful in an unpredictable world.

Biberman-Ocakli will be teaching a 200 level International Politics course centered around the rise of the BRICS, as well as a 300 level Modern Warfare course next semester.

Alpine Sport Shop: A Saratoga Native

By Billie Kanfer '16, Features Editor

Many students around campus know the name Alpine, but not for the ski shop that sits at the bottom of  Clinton Street hill right next to Skidmore. Down the big hill, at the first left is a wooden building with a retro sign out front that reads, “Alpine Sport Shop.”

The shop has been around since 1941 when Ed Taylor founded the store on Spring Street, by Skidmore’s old campus in town. In 1966, Thurlow Woodcock bought the store and moved it to its current location to accommodate Skidmore students, who once consumed most of the ski shops customer base. When Skidmore was all-women, Alpine Sport Shop made sure that they carried ladies apparel and catered to that demographic. Over the years, they have morphed their shop to adjust to the now co-ed college while still remaining a family-owned-and-run business since Woodcock purchased the store in 1966.

After opening the large wooden door, you step in to the ski-chalet-esque interior, greeted by their dog, Gilda, and a wood-burning fireplace accompanied by a large leather couch. Julia Lee, the granddaughter of Woodcock, said that, “we want people, especially Skidmore students, to know that our shop isn’t just for tuning, ski/snowboarding, but also for your winter apparel needs.” The shop is filled with clothing, aside from your typical skiing and snowboarding essentials. Their selection is vast and definitely caters towards the Northeast weather. Julia also reminded me that much of their collection is considered, “lifestyle.” Men, women and children would find all their winter needs in the Alpine Sport Shop—or if you’re a Skidmore student who has brought their own skiing and snowboarding equipment, you will be glad to know that they offer tuning in the downstairs portion of the shop.

If you are not one who brings their boards with them, then the shop offers daily rentals for only $39.95. Alpine Sport Shop caters to Skidmore students as well with their 10% discount and their bus services to various mountains including Okemo and Bromley. For an all-inclusive price, you receive a lift ticket and a bus ride to and from the mountain. More events are also listed on their website, www.alpinesportshop.com.

Alpine Sport Shop has also partnered with Skidmore’s Outing Club for a fundraising event taking place Sat., Nov. 8th in Ganett Auditorium at 7 pm where a Warren Miller movie called “No Turning Back” will be screened. Tickets are $12 in advance, $15 at the door and proceeds will go to Double H Ranch, a local organization for young kids.

To learn more about the event, visit the shop’s website, or look for posters around. If you attend, you also receive a free lift ticket to Sugarbush mountain!

Guest Columnist Professor Seyb: Midterm Election Miasma

By Ronald Seyb, Associate Professor of Government and Joseph C. Palamountain, Jr. Chair in Government “Midterm elections” is the worst brand since Harley Davidson cologne. Recent surveys show that almost 50% of Americans are unaware that midterm elections will be held in less than a week. Even those Americans who are aware of the midterm brand are not bothering to do much product research. The Pew Research Center reports that only 15% of Americans are following the midterms “very closely,” a sharp drop from 2010 when 25% of Americans followed those midterm elections, which, for perspective, is just slightly higher than the number of Americans who believe that they can become a princess.

Such aggregate numbers can be, of course, misleading. What makes midterm elections midterm elections is that they fall in the middle of a president’s term, with the consequence that there is no national election capable of galvanizing the entire electorate. But voters in competitive states or districts this year are getting more attention from candidates and their surrogates than Lorde gets from aggrieved Kansas City Royals fans.

Senate elections in a number of states have taken on increased importance this year because a shift of six seats from the Democrats to the Republicans would make Mitch McConnell, Jon Stewart’s favorite live action turtle, the Senate majority leader. There are also, according to The Cook Political Report, 65 competitive House races that are capable of getting voters in those swing districts thinking about something other than whether it is appropriate for their 6 year old to dress up as a brain-splattered Daryl Dixon for Halloween. Ask voters in any of these states or districts if they are following the midterms, and they are likely to suggest that your question is akin to asking them if they are “following” that stump grinder squealing outside of their bedroom window. The Wesleyan Media Project reports that voters in six states—North Carolina, Iowa, Colorado, Georgia, Louisiana, and Kentucky—have seen more than 10,000 ads in the past two weeks. Less well known is that many voters in North Carolina volunteered as tribute during this span in order to escape from a dystopian political landscape that had been overrun by 20,389 ads that cost their sponsors $13.7 million.

Many political scientists claim that this conspicuous and exorbitant investment by campaigns and outside groups in political advertising is sound and fury signifying…well, maybe not nothing, but not as much as many media trackers would like to think. The new paradigm—a tired phrase that signals just how transitory this phenomenon promises to be—in campaigning is so-called “microtargeting” strategies that allow campaigns to tailor their appeals to voters based on not merely their political views or interests, but also on their consumer preferences and their social affiliations. While campaigns continue their past practice of slicing the electorate into demographic groups, they are also trying to identify what one Republican consultant has called “social precincts” such as homeschooling parents or community garden activists or middle-aged rugby players on the cusp of divorce (which is a category that includes all middle-aged rugby players). The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, for example, has invested $60 million in “The Bannock Street Project,” which is using data analytics to inform its efforts to employ techniques lifted from social psychology and behavioral economics to “nudge” to the polls, in particular, African Americans, unmarried women, and young people, all groups who both lean Democratic and have historically turned out at considerably higher rates in presidential elections than in midterm elections.

The perspective propelling Bannock Street’s effort is what Cass Sunstein calls in his book Nudge “libertarian paternalism,” which encourages so-called “choice architects” to take advantage of familiar decision-making biases such as the planning fallacy (i.e., people’s tendency to underestimate the amount of time it will take them to complete a task) and norm compliance (i.e., people’s propensity to adjust their behavior to match what they think their peers will do) to “influence people’s behavior in order to make their lives longer, healthier, and better.”

Perhaps it is too much to expect that campaigns can be more than efforts to prod one’s unwilling partisans to the polls, particularly in this polarized era when voters have sorted themselves into partisan camps whose walls are as unbreachable as those of Troy. This election cycle certainly suggests that, as Sasha Issenberg, the author of The Victory Lab, notes, campaigns have concluded that “the smartest way to win the next vote is by mobilizing a nonvoter instead of trying to win over a voter.” But, as Jeremy Waldron recently observed in The New York Review of Books, efforts to nudge nonvoters to the polls “take advantage of [their] deficiencies in the way one indulges a child.”

Those currently indulging voters are, of course, not interested in buttressing human dignity or even constructing a more participatory democracy. They are interested in winning. And if Willie Stark, Robert Penn Warren’s avatar for Huey Long in All the King’s Men, was right that “Man is conceived in sin and born in corruption,” then perhaps we can only expect elections that are as good as human nature. But the framers of our Constitution—who were not exactly Panglossian about humans’ ability to resist the urgings of their passions and interests—showed us that the proper institutional setting and political culture can breed a politics capable of transcending our base natures. To forget this lesson, that politics can inspire transcendence as readily as it prompts machinations to determine who gets what, when, and how, is to concede that we are merely sheep to be herded by the data analytic dogs rather than voters capable of making informed and autonomous choices.

Childish Immigration Politics: It’s Time to Call a Refugee a Refugee

By James Rider '16

Although the immigration problem has fallen out of the news with the advent of ISIS and Ebola, the problem has not gone away. The United States’ handling of the child immigration crisis has failed to address the root causes that are compelling immigrants to leave their native countries.

This past summer, American politicians (primarily Republicans) unethically and irresponsibly failed to identify people fleeing Central America as refugees. When people feel forced to flee violence and extortion in their home countries, it is the duty of neighboring countries to take them in and provide safety. By denying many Central American children and adults amnesty, the United States demonstrated not only heartlessness but also a continued disregard for the United Nations’ definition of refugees.

The United Nations defines a refugee as someone who, “owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to, or owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country." However, in American politics, refugee status has adopted a different meaning.

Historically, the United States has chosen to give refugee status only to those who provide a political advantage. This is why for the vast majority of the Cold War it recognized only those fleeing Communist regimes as refugees. For example, in the 1980s, the United States took extreme efforts to bring 125,000 Cubans to Florida in the Mariel Boatlift and at the same time refused refugee status to Haitians, Salvadorians, and Guatemalans fleeing from similar conditions.

Strangely enough, El Salvador and Guatemala were both on the list of the top three countries from which child immigrants fled last summer. Furthermore, they were fleeing their countries for largely the same reasons as they did in the 1980s: violence, extreme poverty, and fear for their lives. Once again, they were refused amnesty by the United States.

Why is this? Immigration has become such a divisive issue in the United States, that rather than face the facts, many politicians prefer to claim that Central Americans are flooding the United States in order to leech off of our social welfare and take away jobs from hard-working Americans. However, the driving force motivating Central Americans to leave their countries isn’t the “pulling” economic advantage of the United States, but the “pushing” fear of violence, particularly that of well-connected gangs which can bribe government officials and police officers.

Studies of the countries from which the immigrants are fleeing show the severity of this violent “push” factor. According to the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, Honduras, Belize, El Salvador, and Guatemala all rank among the top five countries with the highest murder rates in the world. In fact, Honduras has the highest homicide rate per capita with an average of 90.4 homicides per every 100,000 people.

This kind of danger has motivated many citizens to apply for asylum through the United Nations. The UN reports that from 2008 to 2013, there was a 712% increase in asylum applications to Central American countries like Mexico, Panama, Belize, and Costa Rica, which border the more dangerous countries. However, many people cannot wait for these applications to be processed while their lives and the lives of their children are on the line. It is clear that for the majority of Central Americans, crossing the border was not an act of selfishness, but an act of desperation.

Interviews conducted by the United Nations with children staying at temporary detention centers emphasize that fear of violence, not the promise of economic opportunity, was the driving force causing children to cross the border. When the UN High Commissioner on Refugees interviewed 404 Central American children immigrants staying in temporary detention centers, 58% of them mentioned threats of violence from gangs in their home countries as their primary cause for leaving their countries.

Although the United States is quick to grant refugee status to those in Syria, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, where it has more vested political interest, it is slower to recognize the crisis just next-door. It is time for the United States to take responsibility for those fleeing Central America, and recognize that a refugee is a refugee, no matter where they come from.

The inscription on the Statue of Liberty reads: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, yearning to breathe free.” However, many Congress members seem to prefer that immigrants suffocate from the violence below the border, rather than “breathe free” above it. Politicians need to stop calling those who fled Central America last summer poll-tested, politically palatable names like “undocumented immigrants” and “illegal aliens,” and recognize them as what they are: refugees. Only once this occurs will America truly begin to live up to its ideals.

In Response to Lemay & LeRay

Women's Field Hockey extends win streak to seven

Skidmore goals by seven different players were highlighted in a 9-0 non-league field hockey win over Hartwick College, Wednesday afternoon at Wagner Park. The 12th ranked Thoroughbreds have won seven straight games to move to 14-3 and will close out the regular season on Sunday at St. John Fisher. The Hawks are 4-13.

Dani DeGregory was the lone multi-goal scorer for Skidmore, with three straight goals in a 4:13 span of the first half to break the game open. Krista Lamoreaux had a goal and three assists for four points. Jenn Hanks and Shannon Sebor each had a goal and an assist.

DeGregory has 29 goals this season, three off the Skidmore record set last season by Kelly Blackhurst.

Sam Skott, Sofia San Marco, and Leigh FitzGerald had solo goals. It was the first career collegiate goal for FitzGerald.

Skidmore outshot Hartwick 42-1 and had a 22-0 corner advantage.

The lone Hawk shot came late in the game when Emily Marcotte got loose in front, but had her shot stuffed by Thoroughbred goalie Zoe McGuire.

Amy Beck played the first 46:33 in goal for Skidmore, while McGuire came on for the final 23:37. For Hartwick, Jillian Sabatino had 13 saves in 40:23 and Laura Downey had eight saves in 29:48.

The Blue Side: Midterm Predictions and Their Implications for the Obama Administration

By Noah Tananbaum, Staff Writer

The Democrats will lose their majority in the Senate in the upcoming midterm elections. Conventional wisdom has made the case for some time now that the Republicans will gain a majority and, in recent weeks, these predictions favoring a Republican victory have intensified. As history has shown us, time is often a politician’s worst enemy. In my view, the concept of the “6-year itch” is a very real phenomenon. In virtually all of the modern two-term presidencies, the opposition party has gained Congressional seats. The parallels between 2014 and 2006 are striking. As was the case with Republicans in 2006, many of the current Democratic incumbents come from swing states, their President remains unpopular with the country, and elected officials are doing everything they can to distance themselves from the President. This pattern seems to hold even if the President is popular. 1986 was a perfect example. President Reagan was immensely popular at the time and the GOP still lost seats in Congress. Ironically, the only recent midterm in a President’s sixth year where major gains were not made by the opposition was 1998, the year the Monica Lewinsky scandal broke.

It is also worth pointing out that the demographics generally do not support the Democrats in midterm years. Two of the major demographic forces that Democrats consistently rely on in presidential elections are young people and minorities. In presidential years, there is always a much higher turnout among voters as a whole but particularly among minority voters and young voters. In midterm election years, these cohorts show a sharp decrease in voter turnout. The voters who steadily show up are the older, whiter, and wealthier voters; these demographic groups usually vote Republican. Historical precedent tells us that, unless something irregular occurs in this election, this will not be a good year for the Democrats.

Regardless of midterm outcomes, Obama’s position will not change drastically. Public approval has consistently dropped for Obama ever since he gained reelection and it’s hard to envision circumstances that would impel a turn of events for him. Even with a majority in the Senate, Obama’s major domestic achievements (the bailout and the Affordable Care Act) were signed into law before the Republicans gained a majority in the House in 2010. The past several years have ushered in a climate of divisiveness and polarization in Washington. Arguably, a GOP takeover of the Senate in the current climate will not significantly affect the balance of power in Washington. An unwillingness to work across the aisle has dominated national politics since Obama took office and this is not a pattern that will change, regardless of the outcome of the midterms. One of the changes that will most likely take place if the Republicans gain a majority in the Senate is an increase in Obama’s use of veto power. Although the Republicans will have majorities in both chambers of Congress, the Democrats will still be able to easily muster a third of their party to prevent the Republicans from blocking Obama’s veto attempts.

Ezra Klein recently wrote that “elections are about stakes.” The stakes were high in 2006 when Democrats finally regained power and intended to defund the Iraq War and derail President Bush’s agenda. The stakes were high in 2010 when the Republicans took the House and threatened to block Obama at every turn. The stakes are not high now. All the evidence points to a continuation of the gridlock and ineptitude that has embroiled American politics for the last several years.

First half surge leads men's soccer past Bard, 3-0

 

The Skidmore College men's soccer team scored three first-half goals en route to a 3-0 conference win over Bard College, Tuesday evening at Wachenheim Field. The Thoroughbreds improve to 9-5-1 overall and 3-3-1 in the Liberty League, while the Raptors go to 5-11 overall and 1-6 in conference play.

Skidmore controlled play in the opening stages of the first half and pushed ahead in the 16th minute, as Adam Beek converted a penalty kick for his team-leading eighth tally of the season. Tim Sullivan doubled the Thoroughbreds lead with a rebound goal in the 21st minute. Brock Bakewell cut in from the left wing and ripped a shot that was parried away by Bard goalkeeper Daniel Gagne, but Sullivan was waiting on the doorstep and smashed home a strike from eight yards. Augustine Okoye netted Skidmore's third and final goal just over 10 minutes later, chasing down a Beek through ball and pushing past his defender before slotting a strike into the bottom left corner on the breakaway. The Raptors nearly pulled one back in the second half, but Nick Schenberger's headed attempt dropped over the crossbar after he rose to meet an Austin Higgins free kick.

The Thoroughbreds held Bard to three shots over the final 20 minutes, recording their fourth shutout of the season and their third in the last four games. Skidmore outshot Bard 18-5 and had an 8-1 advantage in corners.

Eli Kisselbach and Derrick Yam split time in goal for the Thoroughbreds, making one and two saves, respectively. Gagne tied a season-high with nine saves for the Raptors. Skidmore, which currently sits tied for fourth in the Liberty League standings, closes out its regular season at 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 1, hosting crosstown rival Union.

Ladd Recital Hall Hosts a Stunning Performance by the Finger Lakes Guitar Quartet

 

The Finger Lakes Guitar Quartet (Joel Brown, Brett Grigsby, Sten Isachsen, Paul Quigley) played a sonorous series of compositions to a home crowd in the beautiful Helen Filene Ladd Concert Hall on Thursday, October 23rd 2014. The concert began with “Guitar Quartet”, a delightful original piece by Joel Brown, Distinguished Artist in Residence at Skidmore College. A three movement suite in the style of bossa nova (Suite Amazonas by Celso Machado, b. 1953) brought the feeling of autumn into the warmly lit hall and lead gracefully into “Pavane op. 50” (Gabriel Faure, 1845-1924), the lilting notes of which resounded from a joyous, confident rendition. The quartet proceeded to lead the captivated audience to an emotional plateau with the harrowing, haunting movements of the Five Miniatures for Guitar Quartet, composed by Anthony Holland. One of the pieces entitled “The Devil’s Throat” was inspired by “a labyrinth of underwater tunnels off the Island of Cozumel, Mexico”, one of the most dangerous scuba diving destinations in the world.

After the intermission, the quartet resumed with the vibrant “Ponticello Tango”, composed by Patrick Roux (b. 1962). The modern composer Leo Brouwer (b. 1939) and his visions of an ever-changing Cuba were honored by the group’s performance of “Cuban Landscape with Rumba”. Flowing into a series of works originally composed for the piano by Enrique Granados (1867-1915), the Finger Lakes Guitar Quartet truly brought new life into the long-aged “Minueto”, “Villanesca”, and “Rondalla Aragonesa”. The crowd went wild, and the group returned to play a snazzy, jazzy encore - “Take Five” by Dave Brubeck. Brown initially founded the musical group over a decade ago with fellow player Isachsen when they were both located in Ithaca, New York. The bounty of this region’s natural waterscapes inspired Brown and Isachsen to name their group after the Finger Lakes. About two years ago, the quartet was completed with the joining of two more talented members, Quigley and Grigsby.  In addition to holding several teaching positions at colleges and universities across the state, Brown, Isachsen, Quigley, and Grigsby have been busily touring the eastern and central United States since the formation of the quartet. In recent times they have performed for Keuka College, the Great Lakes Guitar Society, and the Cleveland Guitar Society. Such rigorous schedules require a strong bond between group members, a key quality that Brown confirmed is the most important component and reward of being involved in the Finger Lakes Guitar Quartet. Brown commented that “the dynamic between us, first of all, is that we’re all really good friends.” This talented group of musicians, composers, and friends is in the process of recording an album, which is tentatively set to be released next year.